News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-11-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. Excavators were 20 feet deep and maybe going deeper Friday chasing the last of some 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled early this week in the Montana Rail Link yard. The spill occurred when a coupling broke in a pump house servicing locomotives on the east end of the yard. It was detected early Monday morning. Missoula health officials say the spill isn't an immediate threat to drinking water. It happens to be in an area that was already a state Superfund site from Burlington Northerns operations years ago, said Michelle Hutchins, environmental health specialist for the city-county health department. Its a significant spill, but I dont think its anything near what they had in the past in that area. Hutchins, who was on the scene for a good part of Wednesday, said excavation started Wednesday. A vac truck was used before that to suck up pooling fuel on the frozen ground, according to Dan Kenney, who was initially in charge of the state response for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. MRL issued a press release Thursday night that was the first public notification of the spill. The statement said that 2,600 of the 7,000 gallons had been recovered with the assistance of two contractors who specialize in environmental remediation. Theyre digging down trying to find out when they hit clean soil, and then theyll just move around to find the area thats soaked, Hutchins said. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. For centuries, humans have dreamed of harnessing the power of the sun to energize our lives here on Earth. But we want to go beyond collecting solar energy, and one day generate our own from a mini-sun. If we're able to solve an extremely complex set of scientific and engineering problems, fusion energy promises a green, safe, unlimited source of energy. From just one kilogram of deuterium extracted from water per day could come enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes. Since the 1950s, scientific and engineering research has generated enormous progress toward forcing hydrogen atoms to fuse together in a self-sustaining reaction as well as a small but demonstrable amount of fusion energy. Skeptics and proponents alike note the two most important remaining challenges: maintaining the reactions over long periods of time and devising a material structure to harness the fusion power for electricity. As fusion researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, we know that realistically, the first commercial fusion power plant is still at least 25 years away. But the potential for its outsize benefits to arrive in the second half of this century means we must keep working. Major demonstrations of fusion's feasibility can be accomplished earlier and must, so that fusion power can be incorporated into planning for our energy future. Unlike other forms of electrical generation, such as solar, natural gas and nuclear fission, fusion cannot be developed in miniature and then be simply scaled up. The experimental steps are large and take time to build. But the problem of abundant, clean energy will be a major calling for humankind for the next century and beyond. It would be foolhardy not to exploit fully this most promising of energy sources. Why fusion power? Adding heat to two isotopes of water can result in fusion. (Image credit: American Security Project, CC BY-ND) In fusion, two nuclei of the hydrogen atom (deuterium and tritium isotopes) fuse together. This is relatively difficult to do: Both nuclei are positively charged, and therefore repel each other. Only if they are moving extremely fast when they collide will they smash together, fuse and thereby release the energy were after. This happens naturally in the sun. Here on Earth, we use powerful magnets to contain an extremely hot gas of electrically charged deuterium and tritium nuclei and electrons. This hot, charged gas is called a plasma. The plasma is so hot more than 100 million degrees Celsius that the positively charged nuclei move fast enough to overcome their electrical repulsion and fuse. When the nuclei fuse, they form two energetic particles an alpha particle (the nucleus of the helium atom) and a neutron. Heating the plasma to such a high temperature takes a large amount of energy which must be put into the reactor before fusion can begin. But once it gets going, fusion has the potential to generate enough energy to maintain its own heat, allowing us to draw off excess heat to turn into usable electricity. Fuel for fusion power is abundant in nature. Deuterium is plentiful in water, and the reactor itself can make tritium from lithium. And it is available to all nations, mostly independent of local natural resources. Fusion power is clean. It emits no greenhouse gases, and produces only helium and a neutron. It is safe. There is no possibility for a runaway reaction, like a nuclear-fission "meltdown." Rather, if there is any malfunction, the plasma cools, and the fusion reactions cease. All these attributes have motivated research for decades, and have become even more attractive over time. But the positives are matched by the significant scientific challenge of fusion. The progress in fusion can be measured in two ways. The first is the tremendous advance in basic understanding of high-temperature plasmas. Scientists had to develop a new field of physics plasma physics to conceive of methods to confine the plasma in strong magnetic fields, and then evolve the abilities to heat, stabilize, control turbulence in and measure the properties of the superhot plasma. Related technology has also progressed enormously. We have pushed the frontiers in magnets, and electromagnetic wave sources and particle beams to contain and heat the plasma. We have also developed techniques so that materials can withstand the intense heat of the plasma in current experiments. It is easy to convey the practical metrics that track fusion's march to commercialization. Chief among them is the fusion power that has been generated in the laboratory: Fusion power generation escalated from milliwatts for microseconds in the 1970s to 10 megawatts of fusion power (at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory) and 16 megawatts for one second (at the Joint European Torus in England) in the 1990s. A new chapter in research Now the international scientific community is working in unity to construct a massive fusion research facility in France. Called ITER (Latin for "the way"), this plant will generate about 500 megawatts of thermal fusion power for about eight minutes at a time. If this power were converted to electricity, it could power about 150,000 homes. As an experiment, it will allow us to test key science and engineering issues in preparation for fusion power plants that will function continuously. ITER employs the design known as the "tokamak," originally a Russian acronym. It involves a doughnut-shaped plasma, confined in a very strong magnetic field, which is partly created by electrical current that flows in the plasma itself. Though it is designed as a research project, and not intended to be a net producer of electric energy, ITER will produce 10 times more fusion energy than the 50 megawatts needed to heat the plasma. This is a huge scientific step, creating the first "burning plasma," in which most of the energy used to heat the plasma comes from the fusion reaction itself. ITER is supported by governments representing half the worlds population: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. It is a strong international statement about the need for, and promise of, fusion energy. The road forward From here, the remaining path toward fusion power has two components. First, we must continue research on the tokamak. This means advancing physics and engineering so that we can sustain the plasma in a steady state for months at a time. We will need to develop materials that can withstand an amount of heat equal to one-fifth the heat flux on the surface of the sun for long periods. And we must develop materials that will blanket the reactor core to absorb the neutrons and breed tritium. The second component on the path to fusion is to develop ideas that enhance fusion's attractiveness. Four such ideas are: The W-7X stellarator configuration. (Image credit: Max-Planck Institute of Plasmaphysics, CC BY) 1) Using computers, optimize fusion reactor designs within the constraints of physics and engineering. Beyond what humans can calculate, these optimized designs produce twisted doughnut shapes that are highly stable and can operate automatically for months on end. They are called "stellarators" in the fusion business. 2) Developing new high-temperature superconducting magnets that can be stronger and smaller than todays best. That will allow us to build smaller, and likely cheaper, fusion reactors. 3) Using liquid metal, rather than a solid, as the material surrounding the plasma. Liquid metals do not break, offering a possible solution to the immense challenge how a surrounding material might behave when it contacts the plasma. 4) Building systems that contain doughnut-shaped plasmas with no hole in the center, forming a plasma shaped almost like a sphere. Some of these approaches could also function with a weaker magnetic field. These "compact tori" and "low-field" approaches also offer the possibility of reduced size and cost. Government-sponsored research programs around the world are at work on the elements of both components and will result in findings that benefit all approaches to fusion energy (as well as our understanding of plasmas in the cosmos and industry). In the past 10 to 15 years, privately funded companies have also joined the effort, particularly in search of compact tori and low-field breakthroughs. Progress is coming and it will bring abundant, clean, safe energy with it. Stewart Prager, Professor of Astrophysical Science, former director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University and Michael C. Zarnstorff, Deputy Director for Research, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University Disclosure statement Stewart Prager receives funding, and has received funding in the past, for physics research related to fusion energy from the Department of Energy. Michael C. Zarnstorff receives funding from the US Department of Energy. He is affiliated with Princeton University, and is a member of the American Physical Society and the IEEE. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com. NASA is planning on sending a new orbiter to Mars. It'll be a chance to replace some aging hardware and also to get some more amazing science images and data from the Red Planet, in anticipation of more robotic missions to Mars and a possible human mission in the 2030s. While the full funding hasn't yet been approved for the new mission, the 2022 orbiter referred to as the Next Mars Orbiter or "NeMO" early conceptual work has been carried out. In July, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., awarded five $400,000 sub-contracts for concept studies, to five companies. But should it get final approval, what science will NeMO be tasked with? 1. Why go to Mars again? The vast Valles Marineris carves across the center of this view of the Martian globe, taken by a NASA spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS) While many would argue Mars is well-explored, there are several reasons to send another orbiter to the Red Planet in 2022. One of the main issues with spacecraft is, like all other machines, they eventually get old and break down. We have a robust network of spacecraft orbiting Mars right now, but in the future those spacecraft will eventually have issues and die. There is also a lot of science still to learn, such as how much water is on or near the surface, and whether the planet is habitable enough for humans to put a mission there in the 2030s. RELATED: Curiosity Finds Mars May Be Covered in Organic Materials 2. Telecommunications issues The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (pictured in an artist's conception) is one of the spacecraft that relay discoveries from the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers on the surface. But it's getting old, having arrived at Mars in 2006. (Image credit: NASA) It's no use having a spacecraft at Mars unless it can communicate with Earth, so the 2022 orbiter will make a vital technological step in helping spacecraft on the surface to relay data. NASA's Curiosity and Opportunity rovers are currently sending back amazing finds from the surface and NASA plans another Mars rover in 2020. But the rovers' abilities to hail Earth directly are limited, meaning that most of their information has to be sent to an orbiting Mars spacecraft and then to Earth. That's all great, but the problem is Mars' telecommunications infrastructure is aging. Mars Odyssey arrived in 2001, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2006. While the newer MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) arrived in 2014, it's always good to have a backup. 3. Probing for ice A composite image of the north pole of Mars, and its water ice cap, taken by one of the Viking orbiters. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/USGS) One of the science objectives for the next orbiter is to better understand what sorts of shallow ground ice deposits can be found across the Red Planet, and especially how these change over long periods. RELATED: To Find Life on Mars, Perhaps We Should Look Here Knowing about the ice deposits is also useful for possible future human missions, which could live off the land in terms of using water instead of hauling it all from home. "The key resource is water, which could make significant contributions to sustainable exploration when used in such diverse applications as life support, surface construction, and propellants for surface operations and ascent from Mars," the Next Orbiter Science Analysis Group wrote in a report published online last year. 4. Testing solar electric propulsion A future spacecraft to Mars could use solar electric propulsion, similar to what was used on the Dawn spacecraft that visited Vesta and Ceres (seen here in an artist's conception). (Image credit: NASA) Because spaceflight is expensive, engineers are always looking for ways to make it cheaper. One possibility is to swap out the gas that is used at Mars. Instead of traditional rocket fuel, NASA is considering using solar electric propulsion (SEP). It's been used before in deep space missions (such as the Dawn spacecraft that visited asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres), but never at Mars. The propulsion works off the electricity created by the spacecraft's solar arrays; this electricity ionizes xenon atoms that get pushed out the spacecraft's rear and thus, push the spacecraft. While it uses less fuel, orbital changes take longer to accomplish. RELATED: India's Mars Orbiter Mission Has a Methane Problem The NEX-SAG group suggests that SEP would increase the amount of mass and power available for other instruments, since this type of fuel requires less. Another benefit is NASA's desire to capture and tow asteroids in the future, which would likely be accomplished with SEP. Best to test that a lot before dragging space rocks around. 5. Learning more about Mars for science ... and human visits Recurring slope lineae are shown in Raga Crater. These are likely briny water features that disappear and reappear every Martian year, and scientists regularly study where they are to see yearly changes. Image taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) In 2015, NASA announced that briny water flows on the surface of Mars. Looking at features known as recurring slope linae, they found evidence of hydrated salts left behind strong evidence that these features are from liquid water. While the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has many years of observations of RSL, the key limitation is when it flies over these features typically at 3 a.m. or 3 p.m. mean solar time. These aren't times of day which are consistent with when near-surface ground water is most abundant, which would be mid-morning or early afternoon, the NEX-SAG group points out. There are other things that would be useful for future Martian explorers to know, such as how the atmosphere transports material or when major environmental transitions occurred. These are also science objectives the next orbiter would have, with an eye to better understanding the Martian climate overall past, present and future. Originally published on Seeker. This is the first image of the moon ever taken by a U.S. spacecraft Ranger 7 sent this back on July 31, 1964 about 17 minutes before slamming into the lunar surface. Ranger 7 was the first American spacecraft to image the moon's surface from close-up. Along with Rangers 8 and 9, its pictures helped the United States plan the excursions for the Apollo program, which saw astronauts land on the moon between 1969 and 1972. The spacecraft came at a very early time in space exploration, when engineers were still learning the fundamentals about how to keep a machine working in space. As such, Ranger 7 followed six failed missions in its own program over several years. It made the first pictures extra-special. Failure NASA was tasked with sending astronauts to the moon in 1961, when the agency had accumulated just 15 minutes of human spaceflight experience. It spent the next decade building the rockets and spacecraft needed for the journey, and training the astronauts across three programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo). This culminated with the first human landing on the moon on July 20, 1969. But before humans could go there, scientists needed to know what the surface looked like. Even telescopic views of the moon indicated lots of craters, and at least the first missions would be safest on flat ground. Some scientists also were unsure how much dust was on the surface; a few even thought an unwitting crew could sink into the dust upon landing (which turned out not to be the case.) The first Ranger spacecraft launched on August 23, 1961. While the launch went well, the Agena rocket stage failed to put the spacecraft in the right orbit around the Earth. Ranger 1 eventually ran out of gas, and its solar powers failed to track the sun, putting the probe on battery power until it died on Aug. 27. Only a handful of satellites had gone into space at this time, however. The urgency was that the Soviet Union and the United States were both engaged in a race to send people to the moon for national pride purposes, as well as to demonstrate which political system (communism or democracy) was more capable of taking on large challenges. In fact, in 1959 the Soviet Union sent two successful missions to the moon, including Luna 3, the first to take pictures of the far side of the moon. NASA continued suffering several failures with the Ranger program and other moon-bound probes (including several consecutive failures in the Pioneer program). Ranger 2 failed to leave Earth orbit. Ranger 3 got out of Earth orbit, but missed its target. Ranger 4 did hit the moon, but it didn't send back any data during its journey there due to a computer failure. Ranger 5 missed the moon completely; Ranger 6 hit the moon, but also didn't send back any pictures. By the time Ranger 7 launched in 1964, NASA had sent 12 missions to the moon and had still not achieved its main objective of taking pictures. Recovery It should be emphasized that NASA tried engineering fix after engineering fix to resolve the problems, including a lengthy examination into the camera problems plaguing Ranger 6. Tensions mounted when contractor RCA found a polyethelene bag inside a sealed electronic module on Ranger 7's television subsystem, containing 14 screws and a lock washer, according to "Lunar Impact: A History of Project Ranger," a NASA history book on the mission. While the initial suspicion was sabotage, interviews were performed and it was later determined that somebody placed it there out of fatigue and overwork. The launch proceeded as planned. A lengthy investigation into Ranger 6's camera failure turned up several dead ends until Alexander Bratenahl, a physicist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, looked at films of Atlas launches and focused on the gas plumes produced after the rocket went through staging. The gas likely caused an electrical short in the camera's power supply after it got through the (loosely held) umbilical door on the payload shroud, which contained the camera. Both the electrical system and camera were therefore modified for Ranger 7's launch. NASA also stepped up its testing procedures in general for Ranger 7, including a "buy-off committee" that reviewed all of Ranger 7's systems shortly before launch to make sure that it was flight-ready. Ranger 7 was designed to achieve a lunar impact trajectory and to transmit high-resolution photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes of flight up to impact. T (Image credit: NASA) The first launch attempt on July 27, 1964, did not go forward due to a ground equipment malfunction, but the next try on July 28 went perfectly. "At 1:20 pm, over the West Coast of South Africa, the Agena engine fired again, injecting the spacecraft onto its lunar trajectory," the NASA book stated. "The deep space station at Johannesburg reported separation of the spacecraft from its carrier rocket: Ranger 7 was on its way to the moon." JPL reported a 50-50 chance of success to eager reporters. A midcourse correction was performed on July 29, and at that time the television system appeared to be working. Ranger 7 slammed into the moon's Mare Cognitum region as planned that evening as controllers cheered. Film footage from the camera (which was transmitted to Goldstone, Calif.) required processing before the scientists could look at them, which took a couple of days. On July 31, JPL scientists finally had their hands on the pictures, which (though primitive by today's standards) showed high-resolution views of craters and other features on the moon. At an evening press conference, reporters asked if the pictures showed it was safe enough for Apollo astronauts to walk on the surface, according to the NASA book. "Many more days of analysis remained before any formal conclusions would be advanced," the book stated, adding, "All of the experimenters present were impressed by the continuity of features from the large craters observable with telescopes down to smaller and smaller ones." Further pictures taken with Rangers 8 and 9, along with landings from the Surveyor program, helped scientists confirm it would be safe to send astronauts to the surface. Twelve astronauts made the journey to the surface. While the Apollo program ceased in 1972, lunar missions have continued through the decades, with more recent missions finding evidence of ice in permanently shadowed craters, and investigating reports of dust levitation at the sunrise-sunset line on the moon. Additional resource The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency will test an early space junk removal tether prototype using its HTV-6 robotic cargo ship, as seen in this artist's illustration. The cargo ship launched to the International Space Station in December 2016. The Japanese space agency will soon be testing a new technology that would use a roughly half-mile-long tether to grab large pieces of space debris and dispose of them. The proposed technology (first announced in 2014) would include a spacecraft that would deploy a 700-meter-long (2,296 feet) electrodynamic tether (EDT) and guide it toward a piece of space junk. The tether would latch onto the orbiting hunk of trash, and the operating spacecraft would then drag the debris down into the incinerator of Earth's atmosphere (causing the operating spacecraft to burn up as well). A prototype system called the Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiments (KITE) arrived at the International Space Station on Dec. 12. That system will allow engineers to test the mechanisms that propel the tether when it is deployed in space.. [Worst Space Debris Events of All Time] The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, released a brief description of the tether technology, as well as an animated video illustrating the details of the tether and the spacecraft unfortunately for some of us, it's subtitled in Japanese only. Space debris, or "space junk," is becoming an increasingly large problem for space agencies and private companies. Even small pieces of space debris, when moving fast enough, can tear through satellites and human habitats such as the International Space Station; a collision with space debris may have been responsible for the loss of a Japanese science satellite earlier this year. In 2013, more than 500,000 pieces of space junk were being tracked by space agencies, according to NASA. That includes more than 21,000 pieces of space trash larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters) in size, and half a million bits of junk between 0.4 inches and 4 inches (1 cm and 10 cm). Agencies aren't just worried about space debris colliding with working satellites collisions among large pieces of debris can create showers of smaller pieces, which are more difficult to track. The EDT spacecraft will target large pieces of space junk, ranging in size from a few hundred kilograms to a few tons (roughly 400 lbs. to about 4,000 lbs.), a JAXA representative told Space.com in an email. The trick with this type of system will be figuring out how to attach the tether to an uncontrolled, orbiting piece of debris. There are various systems on the proposed spacecraft that would allow operators to control and monitor the position of the tether relative to the piece of space junk, including a current running through the tether itself. Once the tether has identified its target, it will initially be directed toward the space junk using GPS, and, as it gets closer, operators will use optical cameras to guide it, the representative said. A computer simulation shows how a technology proposed by the Japanese Space Agency would dispose of space debris using a tether. (Image credit: JAXA) Application of the technology to a real mission could take place as early as the mid-2020s, a JAXA representative told Space.com. This isn't the first time a tether has been proposed as a method of cleaning up space junk, according to the website for NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office. Nets are also a popular choice. "Many different methods for remediation of the orbital debris environment have been proposed over the years," according to the website. "These include the use of lasers, electro-dynamic or momentum exchange tethers, tugs, drag enhancement devices, and other, more exotic methods." Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. DECATUR The economy differs from the weather in that you aren't stuck with making the best of it. Amy Rueff, resource director of the AFL-CIO, reminded more than 40 people gathered at the Decatur Public Library that deliberate policy-setting is why rising productivity benefits corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent of the population more than anyone else. The way we're going to rewrite the rules is to organize and to get people together moving in the same direction, she said. Rueff's presentation Wednesday was the 16th annual Martin Mangan Lecture on Social Justice, which has been held every year around his Dec. 12 birthday. Mangan, who died in 2001, would have been 87 this week. He served St. James Catholic Church from 1991 until his death, gaining national prominence soon after he arrived in Decatur for his efforts on behalf of locked-out A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. workers and striking workers at Caterpillar Inc. and Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. Bob Sampson of Decatur, who organizes the lecture, said Wednesday the reason people are revering Mangan's memory for more years than they knew him is difficult to pinpoint. It's sort of like saying we remember Franklin Delano Roosevelt because he had a good radio voice or Martin Luther King Jr. because he was a good preacher, Sampson said. Martin Mangan rose to the occasion. He saw an injustice, and he took it on. Rueff said she knew Mangan after those three labor disputes ended in the mid-1990s and the city's labor unions were trying to rebuild. I think he was something different to everyone, she said. The part that I saw was his connection to working people. Consultant Fred Spannaus asked Rueff how the AFL-CIO would get union members to pull together when so often when driving around the Midwest this summer he would see a proud union family sign next to one supporting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, now president-elect. This told me that the hard-working individual who lived there somehow saw immigrants as a bigger threat to his or her job than the corporate bosses who were robbing them, he said. If they all saw the world the way you see the world, that would make a big, big difference. Unfortunately, even though we have 900,000 members in Illinois, we can't tell everybody the right thing to do and they listen, Rueff said. About 30 percent of union members vote Republican, which is not always but often not in the best interest of working people. Taurus is the first of the bright winter constellations to rise, carried high in the southern sky by late evening every December. The bull is tilted over as if charging nearby Gemini and Orion. His triangular face features the bright orange star Aldebaran and many easy-to-observe double stars. The ecliptic passes through the bull, resulting in frequent visits by the planets and occultations of Taurus' stars by the moon. The outer rim of the Milky Way passes nearby. Every year in early December, the distinctive constellation of Taurus the bull returns to the evening skies, rising as darkness falls and crossing the sky through the night. It's one of a handful of distinctive winter constellations that are easy to recognize with just your eyes. Even better, like Orion, Auriga and Gemini, it contains many wonderful objects to observe using small or large telescopes from spectacular star clusters to a supernova remnant and more. In this edition of Mobile Astronomy, we'll take a tour of Taurus, pointing out some things you'll spy during a winter stroll and others that make setting up your telescope on a cold winter evening worth your while. Your mobile astronomy app can point the way to these interesting objects and tell you what makes them special. Where to find Taurus The constellation of Taurus is located on the ecliptic, just north of the celestial equator, making it visible almost globally. With the dim constellations of Cetus, Pisces and Aquarius lying just to the west of it (on the right), Taurus makes quite an entrance as the autumn nights lengthen. Taurus is the first in a parade of much brighter and better-known constellations: Orion, Gemini and Auriga. Being on Taurus' eastern side, they rise later in the evening. To the north sits Perseus and below Taurus is dim Eridanus. [Best Night Sky Events of December 2016 (Stargazing Maps)] Several elements dominate Taurus, combining to make the bull. A large triangular arrangement of stars forms the bull's face, and the bright reddish star Aldebaran sits at one vertex, marking the animal's baleful eye. Two bright stars sitting 15 degrees to the east are the tips of the bull's horns, above the face; the little Pleiades cluster marks the hunched shoulders, and a handful of less prominent stars to the east form the chest and forelegs. The rest of the bull is missing. When the animal rises in the east, it is tilted sideways, horns down and legs extended, as if charging toward the twins of Gemini. The bull doesn't straighten up until after midnight when it enters the western half of the sky. The constellation Taurus from Johann Bayer's "Uranometria" star atlas, published in 1603. The brighter stars have more elaborate symbols. The Milky Way flows from lower left to upper right, and the ecliptic is the broad band running left to right through the bull. At right is shown the Inuit's traditional interpretation of the same stars: a polar bear (the star Aldebaran) being harried by a pack of sled dogs. At top, the Pleiades are called the breastbone. (Image credit: Wikipedia and Stellarium Mobile App Skywatchers have recognized Taurus' distinctive shape since ancient times. It was one of the first constellations to be described. At that time, the spring equinox occurred with the sun in Taurus. (You can see this by setting your app's date to noon on April 9, 2250 BC.) The bull's strength and fertility were featured in ancient Babylonian and Sumerian myths and legends. In the Mesopotamian poem "Epic of Gilgamesh," the bull was sent to kill the character Gilgamesh (probably represented by Orion's stars). In Greek mythology, Taurus represented Zeus in disguise, seeking to abduct lovely Europa, who was charmed by the animal's power and beauty. It may also have been the Cretan Bull, which Hercules slew during his 12 labours. In the Inuit traditions of the far north, Aldebaran represents a polar bear, and the rest of the stars in the triangle are dogs keeping the bear at bay. The Stellarium app for iOS (opens in new tab) and Android lets you see other cultures' representations of the constellations. Use the Starlore menu on the app and enable the constellation artwork to explore them. Spotting Taurus visually The constellation of Taurus is a wonderful area to observe, even with naked eyes. In mid-December, Taurus rises at 4 p.m. local time and climbs high into the southern sky around midnight, before descending westward to set at around 6 a.m. To find it, continue the line formed by Orion's belt westward (upward in early evening, or to the right later on) about two outstretched fist diameters (or 20 degrees) until you reach bright Aldebaran. If Orion hasn't risen yet, you can look high in the east for the little cluster of blue stars called the Pleiades. Taurus is about 12 degrees below that. Aldebaran means "follower" in Arabic. The star received that name because it chases the Pleiades across the sky. It's the brightest star in Taurus, an old orange giant located 65 light-years away from Earth. Somewhat cooler than the sun, it's more than twice as massive and 44 times the sun's diameter, because it has exhausted its core hydrogen and has swelled as it prepares to die. Aldebaran's position near the ecliptic means that it is frequently occulted (passed over) by the moon and visited by the planets as they traverse their orbits. Use your astronomy app to check out these occultations visible in the northeastern U.S.: June 22, 2017 (new crescent moon in daytime); Sept. 12, 2017 (first quarter moon in daytime); and Nov. 6, 2017 (waning gibbous moon in evening). The last one is the easiest, but you can use the moon to spot Aldebaran in daylight for the other two. Just center Aldebaran and adjust the time forward and backward to see the moon cross, or pass near, the star. Taurus contains interesting targets for viewing by naked eye, binoculars, and large and small telescopes. The SkySafari app will let you search for the objects and provides additional information on each of them. In addition to the close-by and bright Hyades and Pleiades open clusters, other rewarding telescope objects include the double-star 47 Tauri, abbreviated to Tau in the app, at bottom center, the eclipsing binary star Elthor, the very young t-Tau at far right and the Crab Nebula near Zeta Tau. (Image credit: SkySafari App Taurus' triangular face is actually one of the nearest star clusters to Earth, at only about 150 light-years away. In your mobile app, it will be called the Hyades, named for the five daughters of Atlas in Greek mythology. It actually contains several hundred stars, with a half-dozen or so readily seen under moonless suburban skies. It's a lovely target to view in binoculars. The SkySafari app contains a lot of additional information about this interesting naked-eye, deep-sky object. By the way, Aldebaran is actually not part of the cluster. It is less than half as far away! The star Elnath, or Alnath, which translates to "the butting one," is an old, bright, hot, blue-giant star located 130 light-years away from Earth that marks the bull's more northerly horn tip. On the border of Taurus and Auriga, it's one of only two stars in the sky that are shared by two constellations. (The other is Alpheratz in Andromeda/Pegasus.) The other horn-tip star is less bright, but is still readily seen by eye. It was once referred to as Shurnarkabti-sha-shutu, "the star in the bull toward the south," but nowadays it's simply called Zeta Tauri (or Tau). This star is a hot, blue subgiant. It's located 420 light-years away, but radiating 6,700 times the light of Earth's sun. Zeta is a candidate to explode one day in a supernova burst, which is ironic since it sits very close to a supernova remnant, the Crab Nebula (more on this below). The Pleiades One of my favorite objects in Taurus sits about one and a half fist widths above the bull's face: the beautiful star cluster known as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters. Your astronomy app will also refer to it as Messier 45 (or M45), part of Charles Messier's famous list of comet-like objects. It consists of young, hot, blue stars Asterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygeta, Celaeno and Alcyone that are indeed related, as they were all born of the same primordial gas cloud. In Greek mythology, their namesakes were the daughters of Atlas and half sisters of the Hyades. To the naked eye, only six of the sister stars are usually seen, with their parents, Atlas and Pleione, huddled together at the east end of the grouping. Under magnification, hundreds of stars appear. The cluster is about 450 light-years away and makes a wonderful target in binoculars or a telescope, where many more siblings are revealed! A large telescope under dark skies will also reveal blue nebulosity around the stars. This is reflected light from unrelated gas that the stars are passing through. Galileo was among the first to observe the object in a telescope. In 1610, he published a sketch made at the eyepiece. Not surprisingly, many cultures, including Aztec, Maori, Sioux and Hindu, have noted this object and developed stories around it. In Japan, it is called Subaru and forms the logo of the eponymous carmaker. Due to its shape, some people mistake the Pleiades for the Little Dipper. [Best Telescopes for the Money - 2016 Reviews and Guide] The beautiful Pleiades cluster is a favorite of many stargazers and astronomers. The stars to the right are the seven sisters of Greek mythology, the daughters of Atlas and his wife Pleione. Not every star will be visible to the naked eye, but a telescope reveals hundreds of members of this young cluster positioned only 430 light-years away, one of the closest clusters to Earth. A larger-aperture telescope, or a long-exposure photograph, reveals blue nebulosity, the stars' light reflected from gas and dust the cluster is passing through. (Image credit: SkySafari App Binocular and telescope targets The Hyades contains a number of nice double stars. Two degrees to the right of Aldebaran (toward the bull's chin), look with naked eyes or binoculars for the pair of stars designated Theta 1 and 2. The higher one is slightly yellower. Also easy to find, on the opposite cheek are three widely spaced stars all designated Delta Tauri. Your app may label them as Hyadum II, Delta 2, and Cleeia or Delta 3. Slightly below Aldebaran, hunt with binoculars for the close pair of white stars named Sigma 1 and 2. Here are a few more interesting objects to hunt for. Use your app to find 47 Tauri about 9 degrees to the lower right of Aldebaran. It's a close pair of unevenly bright yellow stars. Farther west, look for T Tauri, a very young star recently formed and still surrounded by some of its protostellar disk. Lambda Tauri is a fairly bright star located 5 degrees to the right of the bull's chin. Lambda Tauri is an eclipsing binary variable star; it dims in brightness for 1.1 days every 4 days. The changes are caused by the system's two stars, a bright star which is regularly obscured from Earth's perspective by an orbiting companion star as it crosses in front. Your app might also designate it as Elthor "the bull." Perhaps the most notable object in Taurus is the Crab Nebula, also known as Messier 1 (or M1). This fuzzy, gray cloud, visible via a medium-to-large telescope, is the fading explosion of a supernova. The star, 6,500 light-years distant, violently ended its life in a spectacular burst of intense light that was visible during the daytime for three weeks and shone brightly at night for two years. Classical Chinese astronomers first sighted the event on July 4, 1054. Nowadays, astronomers observe the still expanding and fading debris in visible light, and the signal of a rapidly spinning neutron star (or pulsar) in radio frequencies. The Crab Nebula is located about 1 degree above (northwest of) Zeta Tauri, the lower horn tip. In a backyard telescope under moonless nights, look for an elongated dim patch about 6-by-4 arc-minutes (the moon is 30 arc-minutes across). There are even more sights to see in Taurus, and the outer rim of the Milky Way passes just beyond the horn tips, so this area will reward scanning with binoculars or telescope, too. This image of the Crab Nebula is derived from a mosaic of color Hubble Space Telescope images. The light from this still-expanding supernova remnant first reached Earth on July 4, 1054, when Chinese astronomers recorded it. It was bright enough to see in daytime for three weeks. In the heart of the nebula sits a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits radio waves. They sweep across Earth's detectors 30 times per second like a fast lighthouse's beam. The intense radiation causes the gas in the cloud to glow. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University) via Wikimedia Commons Going beyond There is a remarkable hypothesis that the stars of Taurus and nearby Orion's belt were incorporated into the ancient paintings found on the caves of Lascaux in southern France. The paintings were created somewhere between 8,000 and 17,000 years ago. On the ceiling of the "Salle des Taureaux," or Room of the Bulls, are very large color paintings of horned bulls, one of which has dark facial spots approximating the Hyades, a grouping of six stars where the Pleiades should be, and a line of stars resembling Orion's belt. Even the horns are placed where the stars are found. It's wonderful to imagine early humans capturing the night sky for posterity! The paintings adorning the walls and ceiling of the caves at Lascaux, France, date from between 8,000 and 17,000 years ago. The black dots around the bull's eye in this excerpt from a larger painting (at the top left) seem to represent the Hyades cluster, while the six dots above the animal correspond to where the Pleiades are. The horn-tip placement and the four aligned dots that seem to match Orion's belt add to the evidence that the artists were capturing the night sky long ago. (Image credit: Adibu456 via Flickr In upcoming editions of Mobile Stargazing, we'll look ahead to the astronomical events for 2017 and check out what's new in apps and gadgets. Until then, keep looking up! Editor's note: Chris Vaughan is an astronomy public outreach and education specialist, and operator of the historic 1.88-meter David Dunlap Observatory telescope. You can reach him via email, and follow him on Twitter as @astrogeoguy, as well as on Facebook and Tumblr. This article was provided by Simulation Curriculum, the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of the SkySafari app for Android and iOS. Follow SkySafari on Twitter @SkySafariAstro. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. A lunar sample bag used to protect the first moon rocks collected on the moon is the property of the person who bought it, despite it being mistakenly auctioned. An Illinois woman is the legal owner of an Apollo 11 lunar sample storage bag that was mistakenly sold by the United States government at auction, a judge ruled on Wednesday (Dec. 14). Judge J. Thomas Marten ruled in the U.S. District Court for Kansas that Nancy Carlson of Inverness, Illinois, obtained the title to the historic artifact as "a good faith purchaser, in a sale conducted according to law." The government had petitioned the court to reverse the sale and return the lunar sample bag to NASA. "She is entitled to possession of the bag," Marten wrote in his order. [Apollo 11's Scariest Moments: Perils of the 1st Manned Moon Landing] The zippered cloth pouch, which was labeled in bold black letters "Lunar Sample Return," was used on July 20, 1969, as an "outer decontamination bag" to protect the first moon rocks retrieved from the surface of the moon as they were delivered to Earth by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. Carlson purchased the bag for $995 in February 2015, at a Texas auction held on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service. The bag had been forfeited along with other artifacts found in the home of Max Ary, a former curator convicted in 2006 of stealing and selling space artifacts that belonged to the Cosmosphere space museum in Hutchinson, Kansas. Ary, who has maintained his innocence and is now director of the Stafford Air & Space Museum in Oklahoma, served two years in prison and was sentenced to pay more than $132,000 in restitution. The forfeiture of the space artifacts found in his home, including the Apollo 11 bag, was carried out to meet that debt. But the Apollo 11 bag was incorrectly identified as Ary's. "In a nutshell, the government alleges that due to a mix up in inventory lists and item numbers, the lunar sample bag that was the subject of the April 2014 forfeiture order was mistakenly thought to be a different bag," Marten wrote in his summary of the case. "It alleges that no one, including the United States, realized at the time of forfeiture that this bag was used on Apollo 11." "[The U.S. government] further alleges that NASA was the owner of the bag but was not given notice of the forfeiture or the sale of the bag," the judge recounted. The government cited cases where federal courts vacated or amended forfeiture orders, including where inadequate notice was provided to a property owner, as a justification for the bag's return to NASA. Apollo 11 moon rock collected by astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. (Image credit: collectSPACE.com) The government's filings however, cited "no instance of a court ordering rescission of a sale to a bona fide purchaser after a final order of forfeiture," Marten stated. The bag's history was only discovered after Carlson sent the artifact to NASA to be tested for the presence of moon dust. After identifying remnants of lunar material from the Apollo 11 moon landing site, NASA retained custody of the bag and contacted the U.S. Justice Department. With her title to the bag now ordered by the Kansas court, Carlson needs to file a motion in the U.S. District Court for Texas for its return from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Marten stated that "NASA was a victim in this case, not a wrongdoer." "The importance and desirability of the [lunar sample] bag stems solely and directly from the efforts of the men and women of NASA, whose amazing technical achievements, skill and courage in landing astronauts on the moon and returning them safely [to Earth] have not been replicated in the almost half a century since the Apollo 11 landing," the judge wrote. "Perhaps that fact, when reconsidered by the parties, will allow them to amicably resolve the dispute in a way that recognizes both of their legitimate interests," Marten wrote. Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2016 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved. DECATUR The Revs. Jean and Bob Wollenberg, co-pastors of First Presbyterian Church since Dec. 1, are looking forward to being the newest hosts on a Christmas tour of historic Church Street churches. Having already caught a couple annual events even older than this one, including Millikin University's Vespers concert and the Downtown Christmas Walk, they see this weekend's church tour as another good way to see what Decatur's all about. What visitors might learn about the Wollenbergs is that they earned their master of divinity degrees at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and come to Decatur from Washington, Iowa, where Bob was pastor of the United Presbyterian Church and Jean was executive director of Hospice of Washington County. We were drawn by (First Presbyterian's) sense of mission and outreach into the community, she said. First Presbyterian Church is the second-oldest of several churches that congregated around Church Street after Decatur was platted in 1829. Its members built a church on the east side of the street along Prairie Avenue in 1859 before moving across Church Street to its present building at 204 W. Prairie Ave. The only congregation with a longer history on Church Street is that of First United Methodist Church, which held worship services in a log building on the east side of Church Street, between Prairie Avenue and Main Street, starting in 1834 and has occupied its current building at 201 W. North St. since 1906. First United Methodist was also the instigator of the first Church Street tour of churches in 2014, the inspiration for which was an offhand remark by an interim pastor of First Evangelical Lutheran Church, who said he'd like to see what some of the other churches along Church Street looked like inside. Hearing that, Barbi Gardiner took the idea of a Christmas tour of churches back to First United Methodist, where she is an administrative secretary, and the rest, as they say, is history. We all just felt it was important for the churches to work together ecumenically to open their doors to people who might be looking for a church or just a place to worship on Christmas Eve, Gardiner said. Other Church Street churches that have participated in all three Christmas tours are Central United Methodist Church, occupying a building dedicated in 1910; and First Evangelical Lutheran and St. Peter African American Episcopal, which came to Church Street in 1965 by different routes. That's the year First Lutheran's current building was completed, and also when the address for St. Peter changed from West Greenwood Avenue to 515 S. Church St. St. Peter, whose current building was completed in 1927, also has the distinction of being the only church on this year's tour that actually has a Church Street address. Church member and volunteer Beverly Holly said the congregation is proud of its heritage and happy to be part of the tour. We try to do our decorations a little differently each year so its not exactly the same, Holly said. Other churches on the tour are the Salvation Army, which has been at 229 W. Main St. since 1928, and St. John's Episcopal, built in 1892. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. 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In a statement released by Malloys office, Xerox disclosed that its Norwalk workforce now totals 150 people half the number that had relocated from Stamford a decade ago. The company on Friday promised to keep those jobs and add 20 to 40 more positions in Norwalk over the next four years under incoming CEO Jeff Jacobson. Malloy said the companys decision removes all uncertainty regarding the location of the companys headquarters. Todays news guarantees that Xerox will continue to invest in the state, contribute to the community, and create high-paying jobs where it has called home for nearly five decades, Malloy said. Under the loan agreement, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) will provide Xerox a 10-year, $4.4 million loan for improvements to 201 Merritt 7 Corporate Park. Xerox plans to move into the Merritt 7 Corporate Park adjacent from its current offices in The Towers complex at 45 Glover Ave. The company will use the loan to purchase new equipment and make leasehold improvements at 201 Merritt 7, Malloys office said. The building has been occupied by General Electric, which is moving former headquarters employees in Fairfield to its larger building at 901 Main Ave. at The Towers. Xerox Chief Financial Officer Leslie Varon cast the decision to remain in Norwalk as part of the companys half-century presence in Connecticut. Xerox has been headquartered in Connecticut for almost 50 years and with this decision, will continue to be part of the economic fabric of this state, Varon said. DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith linked the companys decision to remain in Connecticut to the local workforce. Though Xerox is a global company with access to facilities across the country and throughout the world, it chose to remain in Connecticut, Smith said. To have a valued headquarter employer like Xerox commit to stay in the state speaks highly of the strength of our talent pool, quality of life, location, and current business environment. We are proud to have such an iconic organization choose Connecticut. Joseph J. McGee, vice president of Public Policy and Programs at The Business Council of Fairfield County, described the announcement as positive news for Norwalk and Connecticut. Xerox has been a long-term citizen of Connecticut, so you want to keep them here, McGee said. Were a state with very slow job growth so maintaining blue chip companies is important and its good that they not only plan to stay but grow. Mayor Harry W. Rilling, state Rep. Bruce V. Morris, D-Norwalk, and state Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, also welcome the announcement. Having a global brand like Xerox headquartered in Norwalk has always been a huge source of pride for the city, Duff said. Building and strengthening Connecticuts relationship with Xerox will help the company expand and ensure that good jobs remain in our community. Today is a good day for Norwalk and a good day for Connecticut. State Rep. Fred Wilms, R-Norwalk, said the companys decision is good news for Norwalk but he added that Connecticuts business climate remains poor and must be addressed. This is good news for Norwalk. We want to retain Xerox and the jobs they are high-paying jobs. That is good news, Wilms said. It is unfortunate that our business climate is so bad that we bribe companies to stay, so we need to fix the overall state economy. But until we do, we need to take measures to keep our important businesses here in the state. In late October, Malloy signed the bill that gives the helicopter manufacturer $220 million in state subsidies to maintain its headquarters in the state. The company reached a deal with state officials to remain in Connecticut for the next 16 years. Under the deal, the Lockheed Martin subsidiary has also agreed to build 200 CH-53K King Stallion helicopters for the U.S. Navy in Connecticut, retain and grow 8,000 jobs in the state and double its annual spending with in-state suppliers. Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is on the verge of completing the spinoff of Conduent as an independent company with its business process outsourcing operations, with Conduent electing to establish its headquarters in New Jersey. Xerox had left open the question of where it would site its own offices, having long been located at 45 Glover Ave. in Norwalk and before that at 800 Long Ridge Rd. in Stamford. CEO Ursula Burns is retiring after the split, with Xerox promoting Jacobson to the corner office from his current position as president of Xeroxs document technology operations. DECATUR The Salvation Army is sheltering additional homeless men now that the weather has turned colder and will continue to offer respite from the cold and extra cots for overnight stays through March at its social service center at 110 S. Church St. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Traffic jams are a daily headache on I-84 in Newtown and other places where the highway goes from three lanes to two. It can be frustrating seeing a stretch of that third lane sit empty as motorists move over to the other two and wait ... and really frustrating when the stray car zips by you using every last inch of the lane thats disappearing before moving over and cutting in front of everyone else. The etiquette around when, exactly, you are supposed to move over, can be tricky. Connecticut is an early merge state, meaning you are supposed to move over as soon as you can after seeing signs saying that the lane you are in is going away. But other states, including Minnesota and Kansas, have implemented an alternative approach favored by many traffic engineers, and Connecticut is considering using it for construction zones. Its called the zipper merge, and calls for drivers to wait to merge until their lane is almost closed and then take turns with the car in the open lane when merging over. Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, said that the state has favored the early merge bo prevent drivers from getting stuck in a lane that is about to close or angering the drivers who poked along in the open lane. But the state may ask drivers to use the zipper merge in construction zones when two lanes go down to one. This would allow drivers to use all lanes for longer, preventing congestion. If everyone is paying attention and takes their turn, then you can really keep the traffic moving, Nursick said. John Ivan, a civil and environmental engineering professor from the University of Connecticut who studies road safety, said he supports the zipper merge. When drivers wait to merge, the majority of drivers in the designated lane wait a long time, while drivers who merge late cut the line, he said. If drivers use the zipper merge, the wait times are even and the line is not as long. Then, because that queue doesnt extend as long, its a bit safer as far as drivers being surprised by sudden stopped traffic, Ivan said. Still, the state is only considering the zipper for construction zones, Nursick said. In other merging situations, the DOT feels that traffic is moving too fast to safely pull off the zipper merge. You don't want to be waiting on someones good nature and getting in at the last minute, Nursick said. And the zipper merge only works if everyone knows to use it, he said. Weve all seen it where folks will streak down that lane before it comes to end only to bypass more traffic, Nursick said. And what does that result in? That results in traffic congestion for folks that are following the rules. Ronaele Williams was 16 when she entered the states foster care system. She wasnt thinking about anything but getting through high school as she bounced from placement to placement, four in all. It was really scary, because I didnt know what I didnt know, said Williams, who ended up being one of the lucky ones. Now 20, shes living with a friend and her family in New Haven and making her way through college. Most foster children arent as lucky, and continue to need significant support once they turn 18 years old and leave the system, a report released Thursday by Connecticut Voices for Children says. At least half of the aged-out youth rely on public assistance, one in five leaves the foster care system without a high school diploma and only 11 percent go on to earn an associate or bachelors degree. The state needs to do more to prepare them to be self-sufficient, said Nicole Updegrove, an associate policy fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children, and one of the studys authors. The report suggests that though some progress has been made in recent years, it is not enough. The state Department of Children and Families, Updegrove said, now manages to keep more children with their families or relatives. More, however, needs to be done when such arrangements cant be made, the study says. More Information What the future looks like for foster care youth In 2016, 79 percent of those who aged out of foster care had a high school diploma, compared to 90 percent of all Connecticut adults. Only 42 percent leave care with a job, and half of those are working just part time. On average, only 15 percent will go on to get a vocational certificate or licensure. More than 13 percent leave care pregnant or parenting at least one child. Follow-up with youth who age out found at least 29 percent had been incarcerated between the ages of 19 and 21. See More Collapse Cut loose at 18 or 21 Over the past five years, 1,374 youths have aged out of the states foster care system. For many, the cut-off age for receiving services is 18. Those who are still in school, or who meet specific guidelines can stay to age 21. Most who age out leave without a job. By age 21, only 16 percent are working full-time. This year, 565 foster care recipients are enrolled in some post-secondary program. DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, who participated in a youth forum Thursday at the State Capitol, said the success of foster children once they leave the system is perhaps the most important measure of how well the agency is serving youth. Nationally, we know that the outcomes for children who leave foster care are not good, Katz said. (There is) lower educational achievement, greater poverty and homelessness, less success in employment, and greater involvement in adult mental health and criminal justice systems. Unfortunately, Connecticut foster care faces these challenges as well. Katz said the state needs to build on existing strengths. We need to continue to work to engage youth, to listen to them, and to remove barriers to their success, she said. Also during the public forum, several lawmakers said they are focused on making the system better. Strengthening protections State Sen. Dante Bartolomeo, D-Meriden, said a law passed in the last session could begin to address some concerns. It has three components that will be effective as of Jan. 1, Bartolomeo said. The law gives children age 12 and older a stronger voice during hearings, requires youth advisory councils at certain child care facilities, and will survey foster children exiting the system to better recruit, train and retain high-quality foster parents. Williams, who knows the foster care system from the inside, said there needs to be a safety net for young people like her. I constantly felt I was bothering people, taking up their time when I had questions, she said. You feel like a burden sometimes when you dont want to be. Williams, who is in the process of transferring from Gateway Community College to the University of Connecticut to study human development, said foster youth need more help to prepare for their future and to maintain connections. She also wants access to someone who can answer questions, even for those who have officially exited the system. so we dont freak out, she said. There may be something we forgot to ask. The Voices report recommends that DCF adopt innovative policies in case planning, and better educate youth about post-secondary policies and support once they leave the system. The group recommends a guaranteed 90-day transition period, homelessness prevention and better data collection so those aging out dont face an abrupt cliff once they become legal adults. Contributed STAMFORD The Mayors Youth Leadership Council, in collaboration with the Child Guidance Center of Southern Connecticut, will celebrate the life and work of social worker Larry Feldman at a memorial service at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Feldman, 65, was the director of the emergency mobile psychiatric service team for the guidance center, where he responded to 211 calls and worked with more than 500 children who struggled with suicidal thoughts, severe depression, abuse and trauma. He died on Oct. 31. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media STAMFORD A New Canaan father accused of providing the heroin that caused his sons fatal overdose in September pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of second-degree manslaughter. On Sept. 25, police responded to Mark Lynchs home on Parade Hill Road in New Canaan after his son, Chris Lynch, was found unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene and a later medical examiners report confirmed the younger Lynch died from a heroin overdose. Court documents proved the elder Lynch knew his son struggled with a drug addiction and that his son had been sober after moving to Colorado to get treatment for this disease. Dear Dr. Roach: I am an 84-year-old man. I have been diagnosed with what my doctor says is inclusion body myositis. I have had several episodes of falling due to my leg collapsing. I have been taking 5 mg of prednisone for several years, with no improvement. I walk with a walker or cane. Do you have any suggestions? Anon. A: I wish I had better news for you. Inclusion body myositis is an inflammatory disease of muscles with an unknown cause. The "inclusion bodies" are seen on the muscle biopsy specimens. Neurologists are the experts in diagnosing and managing this condition. IBM is a rare disorder, with a few people per million diagnosed each year. It starts off very slowly, and often is misdiagnosed or attributed just to getting old (which is a perilous thing for any physician to do). The major symptom is weakness, usually of the legs. Sometimes symptoms start in the arms or with swallowing difficulties. It is more common in men, and most commonly starts at age 60 or so. The older you are at diagnosis, the faster it tends to progress. Many people with this condition have underlying autoimmune conditions, such as lupus or autoimmune thyroid disease, so a comprehensive medical evaluation is appropriate for anyone diagnosed with this condition. Treatment is aimed at stopping or slowing the progressive weakness. Some people can improve their strength with treatment, but many more do not respond at all. Prednisone, usually at much higher doses than you are taking, is considered first-line treatment. Medicines used for autoimmune diseases, such as methotrexate and azathioprine, are used for people who do not respond to prednisone. The medicines should be continued only in those who show a clear response. Unfortunately, most people do not respond to treatment, and will require assistance with activities of daily living within 15 years of diagnosis. More information, including support groups, is available at www.myositis.org. Rotator cuff Dear Dr. Roach: Recently I had a rotator cuff injury and consulted a physician's assistant at the orthopedic office. I chose to go with the "exercise and anti-inflammatory medication" option. As a retired nurse with hypertension, I check my BP weekly with a manual BP cuff. I was surprised at the end of a week of taking Aleve for pain that my BP was significantly higher. When I reported this to my GP, she recommended getting off the Aleve. My pressures are back to normal. Is this a common side effect of NSAIDs? T.A. A: Yes, NSAIDs are a frequent and underrecognized cause of elevated blood pressure. This is largely because they can make some people retain salt and water, which raises the blood pressure. In most people, the effect is modest, but others have a larger effect. In people with high or borderline blood pressure, this effect can be enough to get the blood pressure out of the target zone. Physicians and pharmacists should be asking about NSAID use (any NSAID can do it, as can COX-2 inhibitors, such as celecoxib), and patients on long-term NSAIDs or those with elevated blood pressure should bring it up if their provider doesn't. * * * The booklet on asthma and its control explains this illness in detail. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Roach, Book No. 602, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 with the recipient's printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery. THUMBS UP! To the chorus at Argenta-Oreana Middle School. The students made the holiday brighter for a homebound Lillian Jacoby and other senior citizens last week for the second straight year. The students gave Christmas music performances at a nursing home and at Jacoby's home, filling the living room and even some steps on the staircase. Their voices eventually encouraged Jacoby to sing along. THUMBS DOWN! To the lack of public comments about Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s carbon dioxide injection. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a session Tuesday at the Decatur Public Library, and no one showed up. Occasionally in the two years since ADM started the practice, social media has flitted with alarm about the process, generally when it's been reported on by a source outside of Illinois. Citizens' professed alarm is difficult to believe when none of them can show up at a public meeting to voice concerns. Of course, it's much easier to click a reaction button on Facebook than it is to leave the house and confront those responsible. THUMBS UP! To danielray Pickrel (yes, his first name is lower-case). Pickrel is a one-man street-cleaning crew, heading out twice a day in his own neighborhood and downtown, wearing inline skates and escorted by a pair of dogs. The 59-year-old says the work is as relaxing as it is fun. THUMBS UP! To the ongoing dredging of Lake Decatur. The project has reached its midway point, and about 55 percent of the material expected to be removed from the lake has been taken out. THUMBS DOWN! Yet again to our state politicians' inability to do their jobs and reach and agreement on a state budget. Public universities went almost the entirety of the 2015-16 school year, and the six-month spending plan that kept schools afloat expires on Dec. 31, and there's no sign of a resolution in sight. When most of us fail at our jobs for months, we are removed from it. Politicians simply take a bunch of time off without a concern about the thousands their inactivity is affecting. THUMBS UP! To Gov. Bruce Rauner for clearing the backlog of clemency requests. Some of the 2,000 requests had been pending since disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's first term, in 2003. Rauner did not grant an extensive amount of clemency. He's issued about 80 pardons, 3 percent of the requests. But as the governor said, every request deserved an answer, even if the answer was no. THUMBS UP! To Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Ameren Illinois for their plan to develop renewable natural gas. The plan is for ADM to purify methane, a byproduct of the anaerobic digestion process from ADM's Decatur wastewater treatment facility, into pipeline-quality natural gas. Ameren will distribute the gas into the interstate pipeline system. THUMBS UP! To Guns N' Hoses, a fundraising contest between Decatur and Macon County firefighters and law enforcement officers. The Salvation Army fundraiser gives the officials a chance for some competition, and the public a chance to give thanks. A n HSBC banker seeking $1 million (800,000) after losing his job was fired because he was extraordinarily lazy rather than because he exposed sexual harassment, a New York court heard. Michael Picarella, a former HSBC senior vice-president, claimed that his female boss took out a breast on the trading floor and openly discussed sex in the workplace. When he stood up for a female co-worker facing harassment, he was fired, he claimed. A lawyer for HSBC said that in fact Picarella was lazy and one of the very worst performers at his level in the bank. Picarella, on a salary of $480,000, sent offensive emails and couldnt do his job without constant spoon-feeding, the court was told. He sought damages, saying he was fired after a long campaign of animus by former bank executive Eileen Hedges and her allies after he stuck up for a female bank analyst who suffered from harassment by Hedges. The jury rejected his claims. We are pleased with the verdict and thank the jury for their time and attention in this matter, said an HSBC spokesman. A similar case from another former HSBC executive involving allegations of sexual harassment is yet to go before court. Hedges lawyer, Renan Varghese, said before the trial Hedges has always denied any allegations that she engaged in inappropriate behaviour. M ichael Sherwood might be winding down at Goldman, but he must have choked on his cornflakes this morning when he saw the size of Chinese firm Hyteras bid for Sepura. Shares in the London-listed walkie-talkie maker, in which Woody has a 4.6% stake, dived 4.25p, or 18%, to 19.5p today when its directors agreed to a lowball 20p-a-share offer worth just 74 million from Hytera. Sepuras battered shares were trading at 18.5p when it confirmed the takeover talks six weeks ago, but were closing in on 25p yesterday in anticipation of a punchy offer. Sherwood, who said he is quitting as Goldmans co-head of Europe last month after 30 years at the investment bank, bought Sepura out of administration in 2002 for just 1 with three other Goldman alumni: Jonathan Green, co-founder of hedge fund GLG Partners, Sion Kearsey, co-founder of private equity firm Kelso Place Asset Management, and John Drinkwater, who set up Kelso with Kearsey. They floated Sepura five years later for a 200 million valuation. However, despite a steady recovery from the financial crisis, a series of profit warnings this year has caused shares to tank from almost 200p in April. On the wider market, thin trading volumes put paid to hopes the FTSE 100 could break through the 7000 barrier and kick on after yesterdays rally as it edged 2.29 lower to 6996.72. Industrial thread-maker Coats strengthened 3.4p to 49.4p after a 255 million settlement with the pensions regulator over two out of its three pension schemes, covering 90% of its liabilities in the UK. Lee Rochford, Virgin Moneys former bean counter, starts as chief executive of Arrow Global off 1.25p today at 288.75p in January and showed his confidence by buying almost 500,000 of the debt recovery specialists shares. All-inclusive holiday-booking site On The Beach fell 17p to 259p after its management, including chief executive Simon Cooper, dumped shares for 34 million. Cherry-picker firm Lavendon rose 14.75p to 256.5p after accepting Loxams higher 425 million bid, although Belgain rival TVH is still considering a counter-offer. W hat was the Star of Bethlehem? Was there some sort of highly unusual event in the sky around the time Jesus was born supernatural or miraculous, or some sort of natural phenomenon that can be explained scientifically? We dont have much to go on, just 12 verses from the opening of Matthews Gospel. So nobody knows for sure what the star was. But we can make some educated guesses. If it was an astronomical event, it must have been something extraordinary. Usually, stars are orderly and predictable; after all, thats why we can use them to fix our calendars and guide our ships. But there are exceptions. Supernovas are spectacular; some can even be seen in the daytime. And they are rare the last naked-eye supernova in our galaxy was observed in 1604. (Another could be seen in our near-neighbour galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, in 1987.) But ancient astronomers such as the Chinese were very careful about recording such events, and they have no record of a supernova around the time Jesus was born. Furthermore, supernova remnants are quite prominent sources of radio emissions, which can tell us how long ago the event took place. There are no such remnants visible to us from 2,000 years ago. Astronomy can pretty much rule out a supernova. Comets are spectacular, and most come at unpredictable times. (Predictable comets such as Comet Halley are famous precisely for being so unusual.) We cant rule out a bright comet at just the right moment, 2,000 years ago. But in ancient times comets were universally interpreted as signs of doom, not a joyful event like the birth of a king or messiah. Nowadays most scientific explanations look for unusually close approaches of bright planets, called conjunctions. For example, the 17th-century astronomer Johannes Kepler used his new theory of elliptical planetary orbits to calculate that there was a particularly interesting series of conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC. These days, anyone can select a date say, December 25, 1 BC and plug it into a planetarium software app to see where the planets would have been. (Of course, no one really knows Jesuss exact birth date. And in any event, historians now realise that when Dionysius Exiguus in AD 525 started the tradition of counting years from the birth of Christ, he miscounted slightly.) The trick is to find something that happened when King Herod was alive, and probably in the spring when shepherds would be likely to be out at night tending their flocks; something that would indicate the birth of a king; something that indicates Judea as the location of this birth; and, finally, something consistent with the apparent fact that only astrologers were wise to this event. Thats a lot of constraints. One elegant modern theory I particularly like comes from a book by the astronomer Michael Molnar, Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. He uses the well-known astrological alignment of planets and the sun at the birth of emperor Augustus, which he claimed as evidence of his own destined royalty, to argue that such an alignment of planets was the sign of kingship. The key to the alignment was having the planets rise with the sun what is called a heliacal rising. And since nobody would actually be able to see the planets rising, given the presence of the sun among the planets, only an astrologer calculating the planetary positions would know when this occurred. Molnar finds just such a grouping of planets in the constellation Aries (which was associated with Judea) in late March of 6 BC, and again in April. And that is the year, he tells us, that historians have identified as the most likely year of Jesuss birth. It sounds quite convincing. Its all quite neat. And, indeed, its rather startling to realise that such an event really did occur in the sky about the time Jesus may well have been born. If you have a planetarium program, you can look it up for yourself. But was this really what Matthew was talking about? Search for Star of Bethlehem explanation online and youll find more than 40,000 hits, each site proclaiming that it has the one true explanation for the star. And each gives vigorous arguments why all the other theories are obviously no good. No one knows enough to argue convincingly which of these theories would provide the best scientific explanation for the star. Astronomy turns out to fail us not for having no answer but for having too many possible conclusions. Furthermore, for all we know, the star might have been a purely miraculous event. Or Matthews story could have been invented by him to emphasise the kingship of the Messiah. In our passion to explain the star, we cant lose sight of where it was meant to guide us. Its exact nature is neither the more important nor the most interesting part of the story. At the Vatican Observatory, our work is the same as any other astronomical observatory. We take new data about things in space and try to devise explanations for how they behave. But were interested in the Star of Bethlehem for the same reason that everyone else is: its a fun mystery, a place where science and hope intersect. Actually, to me the most astonishing part of the story of the Magi is not that they would predict the birth of a king from the positions of the planets; any fortune teller could have done that kind of calculation. Nor is it that theyd pull up roots and travel afar to find out if they were right; we astronomers do that all the time. Instead, its that they would be able and willing to recognise the king they were seeking in the child they found in a manger. Br Guy Consolmagno SJ is the director of the Specola Vaticana, the astronomical observatory of the Vatican City state O ne of the leaders of the National Police Chiefs Council, Stephen Kavanagh as it happens, one of the potential candidates to be the next Met Commissioner has said the police should be given new powers to shut down websites and to curb access to social media in order to reduce the harm caused by online child abuse and revenge pornographic attacks on women. Indeed, he goes further: he says officers should also be ready to push the boundaries of the law and sometimes go beyond what the regulations or the courts accept to protect the public from internet criminality. Me Kavanagh is right to say that the law is struggling to keep pace with the way crime is increasingly shifting online and these cyber-offences from fraud to child abuse are often very serious. In the year to March so far, some six million offences were committed online. He wants to bring the digital element of crime together to give greater clarity for police and insists the objections of the privacy lobby should not trump public safety. His suggestions are broadly sensible and it is important that both the public and police themselves are clear about what the law does and doesnt permit. Thats all the more the case as crime moves increasingly online and as offences such as stalking, harassment and accessing child pornography can all be carried out remotely and affect victims in their own homes. Despite concern about snooping, most police scrutiny of peoples online activity is carried out to protect victims and identify offenders. The privacy lobby has been too dogmatic in the face of the threat from cyber criminality. The obvious caveat is that creating new legislation can sometimes add to confusion because all new law has to be defined or tested in the courts. Also, clearly there is a need for adequate safeguards to ensure that over-zealous officers dont overstep the mark when using powers, even if doing so with the right intentions. But if criminals are cyber-savvy, police must be too. Peace for Aleppo There has been a halt in the evacuation of civilians and soldiers from east Aleppo, after the Syrian government accused rebels of reneging on their side of the deal to allow people in two towns besieged by their forces to be evacuated. We must hope this will be only temporary. Already, 6,000 people have left the city since yesterday but the UN says at least 50,000 are still trapped there, many of them rebel fighters and their families. The Syrian government must respond to the universal outrage at the suffering in east Aleppo by speeding up the evacuation. Besides, brutality to surrendering soldiers would deter rebel fighters elsewhere from giving up the fight. And if the siege were ended, the government could shift troops to Palmyra which IS has, disastrously, recaptured. There are some 30 areas in Syria under siege but eastern Aleppo has caught the imagination of the world, just as Sarajevo did in the Bosnian conflict. It has become emblematic of the suffering caused by this dreadful and complex civil war. We must pray its suffering ends soon. London for workers The rise of 38-year-old Vidisha Joshi to the top of the law firm Hodge Jones & Allen is a tale of how London takes to those who are prepared to work hard. Miss Joshi, whose parents came to the UK from Kenya, specialises in personal-injury law and only joined the firm four years ago with the task of sorting out its IT system. The message is clear: if youre willing to graft, and you know your way around a computer, 21st-century London has myriad opportunities. I write in response to Simon Jenkinss article regarding the continued disruption to Southerns rail services [Much more of this and businesses will turn their backs on London, Comment, December 14]. Regardless of the dispute between trades unions and management, it is not acceptable that one of the countrys major transport arteries can be brought to a standstill without them at least having taken part in Acas mediation prior to industrial action. Given that Southern has guaranteed that no compulsory redundancies will take place, it would seem that Aslef has acted in a heavy-handed manner and its members have caused great inconvenience to the public. The trades unions should tread carefully. Given the current high standing of the Government in the opinion polls, it is likely that further restrictions in addition to the Trade Union Act may be considered. Keeley-Jasmine Cavendish While I agree with Charles Sawyer [Letters, December 14] that Southerns management is poor, it is wrong to suggest that the strike is about safety. I read his comments while travelling home on a driver-only London Overground train that was previously operated as part of the Abellio franchise with driver-only operation. Independent safety regulators agree that driver-only operated trains are safe and there are many transport experts who agree with them. While I wouldnt mind if the unions stated that they were trying to protect their well-paid operatives, for them to claim the dispute is about safety is ridiculous, and this claim is rightly ridiculed by the majority of the travelling public. Ron Moss Simon Jenkins appears to forget that when our railways were nationalised they provided an integrated public service. He uses business logic to justify all our services being hollowed out to the point where there are hardly any people left to run them, but people are reassured by the presence of a guard. Without them, there could be an increase in crime, meaning people will not feel safe when travelling. In this age of touch-screen ordering and self-checkouts, lets turn the railways towards the ethos of public service and keep guards, for the very good reason that we like them being there. James Whiting I got off a train at Peckham Rye recently and there was no one on the train or platform to help when I was trying to determine which platform to catch a connecting train. I am very able-bodied and this was puzzling to me, never mind someone less so. All this means is that disabled people are less likely to go out due to their fear for safety on the train or getting lost trying to find their way around the unmanned stations and platforms. Gavin Robinson The way forward for St Helena flights We noted with interest the comments made by the Public Accounts Committee and the challenge of identifying a practical commercial air service to St Helena airport [Government slammed over spending 285m on unusable runway, Online, December 14]. Atlantic Star Airlines was set up more than 10 years ago with this objective in mind. We are willing and able to carry out safe commercial passenger flights to St Helena, with immediate effect, even taking into account the wind shear experienced on the runway. Back in October our team landed a jet at both ends of the runway at St Helena. We provided costed recommendations for immediate and longer-term solutions to air access to the Department for International Development and the St Helena Government. As the committee and DfID have both made clear, mistakes have been made during the development of the project. However, the priority now for St Helena residents and British taxpayers must now be to put in place the critical links between St Helena and the wider world. Captain Richard Brown, principal, Atlantic Star Airlines Care crisis is being tackled by councils The headlines around the issues facing adult social care paint a complex picture [Council tax rises cant solve care crisis, December 14]. With an ageing population and more people living with dementia, these are only likely to increase. But much is already being done at a local level to transform the way services are delivered. In Westminster we have significantly invested in home care through a new contract that pays carers above the London Living Wage, in recognition of the importance of highly qualified and motivated staff. Through this service, we help people to maintain as much independence as possible. Our focus on independent living continues with our Community Independence Service, in partnership with the NHS through the Better Care Fund, which offers rapid-response nursing and help with recovery with the aim of preventing hospital admissions. In 2014 the council and NHS began a 10-year programme to increase the quality and quantity of specialist care home places for older people with dementia and other complex needs. We are progressing with plans for a care home with 84 nursing care beds and more to follow. Raising council tax is only part of the solution to the acute financial pressures we face. But local government has demonstrated how it can achieve value for money while delivering excellent services, and will continue to do so in the future. Cllr Rachael Robathan, cabinet member for adults and public health, Westminster City council (Con) Sturgeon does not need a referendum I disagree with your correspondent Martin Redfern that English voters find Scottish independence only of passing interest [Letters, December 14]. On the contrary, I am tired of Nicola Sturgeons constant posturing. If she really wanted independence, she would gladly accede to a UK-wide vote on the matter. However, she wont do this because Scotland would be far worse off as an independent country and the Scots alone wont vote for independence. Sturgeon has enough powers to run her country successfully with minimal interference from Whitehall. Perhaps she should just get on with her job. Jeremy Gardner Review at a glance There are many ways to eat rat. A Vietnamese chef says this halfway through Morgan Spurlocks crude but crafty documentary, which encourages us to be repulsed by the ever-multiplying predators (we could be watching a horror movie) before showing that our fear and loathing is a key part of the problem. The film starts in New York but really gets going in New Orleans, where scientists explain how genuinely hazardous rat faeces/urine can be, digging out the deadly parasites that live inside a healthy rat. Try not to have food in your mouth as a roly-poly, pulsating grub is extracted (Im one of those reviewers who likes to nibble while they scribble but I made an exception for this movie). A US reviewer recently suggested that Spurlock, while stuffing himself with Big Macs for his breakthrough work, 2004s Super Size Me, no doubt ingested a fair amount of rat droppings. Whatever your views on the quality control enforced by fast-food venues, Spurlocks interest in low-cost food is illuminating. If rats live on rice (as they do in Cambodia), theyre a healthy option. Cheap doesnt have to be nasty. We watch Brits setting their dogs on rats. And Hindus, in an Indian temple, honouring them. Spurlock doesnt give any one group the thumbs-up but it seems obvious who has the right idea. Apologies to any vegetarian readers, but where rats are concerned the case is clear. Since we cant beat em, weve got to eat em. Cert (-), 84 Mins Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut Review at a glance D isney bought up Star Wars (Lucasfilm) for $4.05 billion in 2012, a bit of a punt since it was unclear how much more the franchise had to give. However, last years reboot, episode VII, The Force Awakens, was the highest-grossing instalment yet and the third highest-grossing film of all time, taking more than $2 billion. Episode VIII has been shooting this year and its due for release next December. Meanwhile, heres a new stand-alone film, a bolt-on to the existing Star Wars universe, slotting in neatly as the immediate prequel to the original 1977 Star Wars (re-titled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981). There, it will be remembered, we are told at the start that, a long, long time ago, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empires ultimate weapon, the Death Star. So thats the story of Rogue One, confidently predicted to be this years biggest release. These non-Saga films are intended to explore new genres and be slightly grittier, with the chosen directors empowered to tell the stories in their own way even. The first so empowered is 41-year-old Brit Gareth Edwards, who has previously directed Monsters (his 2010 tiny-budget debut) and Godzilla (2014). He has quite a distinctive style, favouring hand-held cameras and enveloping environments, this whole background being lit rather than just the actors themselves within it. His cinematographer here, Greig Fraser, has a sympathetically murky approach too (his work includes Zero Dark Thirty, Killing Them Softly, Foxcatcher and Lion). Edwards is still entirely credited by Disney as the director of Rogue One but it emerged during the making of the film that one of its writers, the Bourne hack director Tony Gilroy, had been given an enhanced role, his salary upped from $200,000 per week to $5 million, put in charge of re-edits and re-shoots, amounting, some insiders alleged, to as much as 40 per cent of the whole, including a revised ending. Disney has repressed this story and you too might think this industry background is irrelevant to the film before us. All you want to know is: is it any good? Is it fun? Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in pictures 1 /9 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in pictures But it is relevant. These films are minutely adjusted products, here the balance being between going a little off-piste as promised and yet delivering the required Star Wars experience, hitting numbers but not outdoing the core product. The resulting film shows signs of different approaches glued together: its a blockbuster palimpsest. The first half jerkily takes us to lots of different worlds, not staying long in any of them, as if lacking confidence that they deserve expansion. The climax is classic Star Wars, X-wings and TIE-fighters whizzing around, AT-AT walkers blasting and toppling, Darth Vader flashing the light-saber. In the second-hand motor business its called a cut and shut, and it is not a good buy. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story IMAX Featurette Rogue One opens with brilliant engineer Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) being kidnapped from his pastoral retreat by sneery Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn, very good in his first scenes, less so later on in a particularly sheety cloak), taken to help create the Death Star, so seeming to turn to the dark side. But before his abduction, Galen tells his little daughter: Whatever I do, I do to protect you. I love you, Stardust..To which she replies, I love you too, papa, so setting up major Daddy issues, as per regs, for the rest of the film. For, suddenly, 15 years on, this girl has become our heroine, Jyn Erso (names are crucial in the creation of fantasy: this one sounds like something from Ikea, perhaps a bit embarrassing from the bathroom range). Shes admirably played by Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, The Invisible Woman). Rogue One: A Star Wars Story IMAX Red Carpet Featurette Since her fathers disappearance, Jyn has been brought up by ferocious warrior Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker, a bit worse for wear). Now she finds herself charged with an almost impossible mission by a hologram of Daddy, generated from a data stick brought to the rebels by renegade Empire pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed, wearing goggles and playing a bit of a weakling, sadly). Jones emotes greatly before the paternal hologram, a performance revealing how rare any expression of feeling has been in the whole franchise. Theyre a rag-tag lot, the rebel alliance, shabbily dressed and poorly equipped. The look is definitely Second World War, their base, Yavin 4, resembling a hard-pressed RAF station, if not actually a branch of Dads Army. After the holy city of Jedha has experienced the destructive power of the Death Star, Jyn urges the Alliance leaders to support this almost impossible mission but they demur. Still, rebellions are built on hope, she tells them (the script, by Gilroy and Chris Weitz, is a clunker, so firmly in the tradition). And off Jyn goes, in a stolen imperial cargo ship, quickly named Rogue One for the occasion, with a select band of volunteers, first in search of her father to the extremely foggy world of Eadu, and then on to the beatific Scarif, rather like the Maldives, except with a Shard-like tower among the palms. Besides the nervous Bodhi, her companions in arms include a rebel soldier, Cassian Andor (handsome Diego Luna, Y tu Mama Tambien), and a couple of characterful Chinese warriors, casting that takes into thoughtful consideration the Far Eastern market. Blind but deadly martial-arts monk Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) keeps muttering to himself the Force is with me while his beardy, piratical mate, Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), blasts away with his big gun. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Featurette - Living In Star Wars And theres a droid you bet. K-250 is a reprogrammed imperial security guard, sinisterly black, bald, skeletal and pin-headed but an absolute wag since his reprogramming he tends to say whatever comes into his circuits, its explained, which includes repeatedly giving pessimistic predictions of the chances of survival at the wrong time. He is voiced with appalling pertness by veteran comedian Alan Tudyk. So this Star Wars veers off into a new style of near-realism (Gareth Edwards fancying almost a war-documentary look) only to be yanked back into the classic product by the end. There are treats here for knowing fans (an astounding digital resurrection or two, a new style of nasty trooper, etc) and some reviewers have been in five-star raptures. In many ways the new Star Wars films are better than the originals, thanks mainly to technical advances, a difference that only becomes fully apparent when you make the mistake of rewatching the classics rather than just remembering them. However, I can only report that I found Rogue One not just a dull but an oppressive experience, being force-fed a corporate product: a film that never comes alive, with none of the characters properly developed, none of the relationships gelling, the very adventure formulaic. You may do better. Cert 12A, 134 mins Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut J eremy Corbyn today backed the Young & Homeless Helpline as he said young rough sleepers in London could be the brilliant engineers, doctors and nurses of tomorrow. The Labour leader gave his support to our Christmas appeal, saying it would help to transform the lives of rising numbers of desperate people struggling with homelessness. The Standard is raising money to help charity Centrepoint launch the first national helpline for young people aged 16 to 25 on the cusp of homelessness or already sleeping rough. It will fill gaps in support for more than 150,000 youths facing nights on the streets who ask their local authority for housing help each year. A third are turned away with little or no aid. Centrepoint visit: The Labour leader helped with a cookery class / JEREMY SELWYN Mr Corbyn said: The helpline is a very good idea because many young people end up homeless for a very complicated variety of problems. These are often a mixture of health, education or family problems and sometimes they either dont know where to go or they are adjudged by a local authority to be intentionally homeless and they are simply stuck. As a London MP I do get young people turning up at the constituency office in this situation. Cookery class: Corbyn, a vegetarian, helped make chickpea burgers / JEREMY SELWYN Sometimes they are totally desperate. They dont know where to turn or where to go. This phoneline will be very, very useful a very good idea. The Islington North MP spoke during a visit with shadow housing minister John Healey to a Centrepoint hostel in Camberwell to see the work the charity does. Mr Corby, who revealed he meets and counsels young people he sees sleeping rough in parks or doorways in his constituency, urged people to support the helpline. Centrepoint helpline pkg Its a crying waste when young people are homeless and therefore getting into bad health therefore not achieving an education, he said. We all lose. How many brilliant engineers of tomorrow are sleeping on the streets and havent got a chance? How many doctors, how many nurses? Its such a waste of human resources. We must value everybody. Centrepoint visit: The Labour leader met residents and volunteers / JEREMY SELWYN But he warned that charities could not solve the issue alone and said the Government needed to step in. Mr Corbyn highlighted the social cleansing of central London through reduced social housing as an issue. He said young people in the capital were among those hardest hit by what he described as the de-housing of those in social need. Christmas packs: Mr Corbyn inspected packs of cosmetics to be sent out to female residents / JEREMY SELWYN Condemning a growing shortage of affordable housing in the capital, Mr Corbyn said: In London there is always a competition between expensive commercial development and the need for the provision of good quality social housing, but it seems to me more imbalanced than ever now. We are seeing, therefore, a de-housing of those in social need in central London. "We are seeing social cleansing of central London, because our local authorities are not equipped with the funds and powers to deal with the housing needs of their communities. The Government states that it has invested 500million to tackle homelessness and that homelessness among 16 to 24-year-olds has fallen by 17 per cent since 2010. Charities dispute the homelessness figures. Centrepoint: Monique's story Earlier Mr Corbyn, a vegetarian, had helped a group of current and former Centrepoint residents cook chickpea burgers during one of the charitys healthy living classes - aimed at teaching them life skills to help independent living. He also spoke with staff helping pack Christmas presents of donated cosmetics to be sent nationwide to more than 2,000 young women staying in Centrepoint accommodation. The Evening Standard's Homeless Helpline appeal is raising money for the Centrepoint Helpline, a brand new support service that will save young people from ending up on the streets. To donate please visit our Just Giving page. L anguishing in an economically enforced state of arrested development is nothing new; ask any member of Generation Rent. Prioritising the prosecco fund over a pension plan seems only rational when youre priced out of having children or buying a home but 2016 went beyond all that. This year, fully sentient adults with Waitrose loyalty cards and good credit scores walked miles out of their way in order to catch a snorlax while playing Pokemon Go. We buried our heads in giant adult ball pits, bounded obliviously onto a bouncy castle on the South Bank, drowned our dignity in freakshakes and allowed a Harry Potter spin-off to pass for serious theatre. If there were still a few proper grown-ups left to keep the institutions of state ticking over, that might have all been OK. But no. This year, electorate-wide tantrums became a common occurrence, and no amount of time on the Newsnight naughty step could calm us down. As Glenda Jackson said on Channel 4 News last night, at least Theresa May is very clearly a grown-up. But even she has become embroiled in a childish row about leather trousers. When kiddie Kanye shook hands with toddler Trump this week, it was the ultimate confirmation: 2016 was the year the kidults broke free from their soft-play area and began running the world. Please, then, in the name of good-quality cashmere, let 2017 be the Year of the Grown-Up. And were not talking about some light adulting either. That word first recorded by the American Dialect Society around 2008 is part of the jaunty vocab that the eternally youthful use to describe unglamorous yet essential life activities. What 2017 needs instead is some proper grown-ups, the kind who can change a light bulb, host a decent dinner party or support a friend in need without feeling compelled to boast about their achievement in a like-hungry social-media update. If thats a state of being beyond imagination, screen culture in 2017 will provide us with some role models. The hot tip for the Best Actress Oscar at next years Academy Awards is Natalie Portman, who made her name as a preternaturally composed child actor in films such as Leon (1994) and Beautiful Girls (1996) and has already received critical acclaim for her role as the ultimate icon of never-complain, never-explain composure. Portman plays the title role in Jackie, the Pablo Larrain-directed biopic of Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of her husbands 1963 assassination. Spoiler: she behaved with grace, poise and without ever slut-shaming Ladybird Johnson on Snapchat, however strong the temptation. No more trainers: backstage at the Spring Summer 2017 Prada Show / Rex Features Age-inappropriate Harry Potter fans were spoilt in 2016 with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on stage and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the cinema, but even they will have to GTFU if they want to enjoy the big JK Rowling event of 2017. The Cormoran Strike Mysteries is a BBC1 adaptation of Rowlings series of adult-targeted novels starring Tom Burke as the troubled detective. The most apt British TV character of last year was, without doubt, the emotionally stunted Fleabag, but as writer-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has hinted, the revelations in the finale episode will surely force her too into some serious self-reflection when the series returns. Self-help books for anxiety and depression - in pictures 1 /10 Self-help books for anxiety and depression - in pictures Scroll to see our pick of the best self-help books... Shutterstock The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking From numerous terror attacks to Brexit, the year 2017 hasn't been easy. This insightful book on Hygge a lifestyle from Denmark, the worlds happiest nation teaches us how to become happier and appreciate the little things in life. Meik Wiking, CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, shows some simple ways to incorporate the Danish concept into your daily routine think candles, cocoa and cosy pyjamas. 5, Amazon, Buy it now Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration by Meera Lee Patel With plenty of encouraging exercises, this interactive journal is ideal for those who want to manage (or discover) their long-term goals. Its filled with beautiful illustrations by Meera Lee Patel, a self-taught artist from New York, and aims to help the reader gain a better understanding of who they are through charts and writing. There are also various quotes throughout to uplift and motivate you. 7.69, Amazon, Buy it now Goddess Revolution, The: Make Peace with Food, Love Your Body and Reclaim Your Life by Mel Wells If youre ready to rise above self-destructive thoughts, then this is the book for you. In this inspiring tome, former-Hollyoaks actress and health coach, Mel Wells, empowers women to ditch fad diets for good and adopt a healthy relationship with food. In the age of Instagram filters and body image trends like #fitspiration, her methods for achieving body freedom couldnt come at a better time. 7.69, Amazon, Buy it now Hardcore Self Help: F*** Depression: Volume 2 by Robert Duff Ph.D. In the second volume of his Hardcore Self Help book series, psychologist Robert Duff is informative without being overwhelming and offers a practical guide to solving the issues caused by depression. Those looking to ditch anxiety for good will appreciate his no-nonsense approach to the self-help book, which involves light-hearted humour and straightforward solutions. 8.28, Amazon, Buy it now Declutter Your Mind: How to Stop Worrying, Relieve Anxiety, and Eliminate Negative Thinking by S.J. Scott and Barrie Davenport Life in the city can be busy, hectic and overwhelming. This concise read will you how to release the mind clutter that causes you to lose focus and misplace things. Inside youll find science-backed strategies for taming your mind, nailing life values and simplifying your surroundings. 8.99, Amazon, Buy it now A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled by Ruby Wax If you are totally new to mindfulness, then this fuss-free option from comedian Ruby Wax is a safe bet. The humorous yet handy guide features a six-week course where readers can test out various mindfulness exercises and see what works best for them. Theres also advice for improving relationships and becoming a better parent. 6.99, Waterstones, Buy it now Radical Self-Love: A Guide to Loving Yourself and Living Your Dreams by Gala Darling Blogger and author Gala Darling has been teaching self-love for almost a decade, and her gripping book is a great choice for those who lack positive thoughts. The techniques might not be suitable for those looking to make ground-breaking changes in life, but theyre simple enough for anyone who wants to make small improvements to their way of thinking. 10.68, Amazon, Buy it now Meanwhile, publishers slates for the next 12 months are brimming with manuals, how-to guides and memoirs for the newly matured, with titles such as Live Better and Longer, Mind Over Money and, most enjoyably, How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids. In February, Tiffanie Darkes Now We Are 40 promises to help Generation X call time on their extended adolescence by describing how it feels to want to burn down the establishment only to realise that now you are the establishment. Gen X-ers, but also millennials and baby-boomers, should benefit from the more practical advice in Sarah Knights Get Your Sh*t Together (out December 29). For me, the mark of a grown-up is someone who takes responsibility for their life choices, says Knight. Dont whine and complain about your situation if you are its chief architect. Perhaps most surprisingly, the winds of change are even blowing through the corridors of the tech industry, knocking Silicon Valley recruitment execs clean off their Space Hoppers. In a job advert posted last week, Facebook sought out a head of news partnerships with not just experience but 20+ years of the stuff. Thats a lot more than Facebooks then 23-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg had in 2008 when he became the worlds youngest billionaire CEO. And dont turn up to the interview in trainers either not even your lux activewear trainers because real grown-ups dont wear running shoes outside of the gym. They also know that stilettos are a health hazard, which is why kitten heels are making a comeback, with classic Prada slingbacks, Celine pumps and two-tone Chanel courts all striding purposefully down the Spring/Summer 17 catwalks towards a more mature future. Yes, werk werk werk werk werk is now just work, but living in the Year of the Grown-Up doesnt have to mean forgoing fun entirely. Its just that how much fun Sunday morning will be also factors into your Saturday-night decision-making. Creative wine subscription services such as Vinoa and intuitive apps such as Vivino make it easier to build up a connoisseurs palate on a commoners budget, meaning binge Britain is finally learning how to enjoy a glass with dinner. As opposed to downing five at the pre-lash, six at the after-after party and countless in between. First Lady: Natalie Portman playing ultimate grown-up Jackie Kennedy This will also be the year when restaurant pop-ups pipe down. It seems weve tolerated queuing in the cold for the latest food fad long enough. Now we just want to be able to sit down. In the warm. With proper bloody cutlery. And maybe even a napkin. Breddos Tacos started out as a shack in a Hackney car park but opened its first restaurant in Clerkenwell two weeks ago; Bleecker St Burger is due to do the same in Victoria in January, and also that month, Mumbai-inspired Kricket will evolve from a shipping container in Brixton to a 70-seat Soho eatery. The equipment weve got space for here, like a clay tandoor, allows us to add a bit more depth to the menu, explains co-founder Rik Campbell. Weve got a wine list, which is quite a big new addition. We used to just have one of each. The soundtrack to your moderate drinking and fine dining will be provided by this years winner of the BBC Music Introducing Artist Award, Izzy Bizu, a jazz-soul artist from south-west London whose sophisticated melodies and fully clothed performances make a welcome change to the dance-pop thats dominated the charts for the past few years. Your eight-year-old niece wont get it. Thats fine. Shes not supposed to. So thats the year ahead all mapped out advance planning is very 2017. Does it sound like a daunting list of new responsibilities? Too prescriptive for your free spirit? 2017 doesnt care. The mantra for the next 12 months is clear: just shut up and get on with it. Follow Ellen Jones: @MsEllenEJones A drunken City worker kicked an Uber drivers door causing 1,200 damage in a row over 5 in a booking mix-up. Rupert Phoenix, 28, a broker at a major aircraft insurer, ground his foot into the cars paintwork before making off, a court heard. He was traced by police via his online booking and pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing criminal damage to a VW Passat owned by Theo Nwachuku in Lower Richmond Road. Saliha Ayub, prosecuting, told Wimbledon magistrates court that Phoenix had drunk four pints when he got into the cab at 8.40pm on September 17. She said: The driver said hello but Mr Phoenix did not reply and the driver noticed a smell of alcohol. The driver understood the booking was for an address in Fulham, but Phoenix insisted he wanted to go to St Pancras station. Ms Ayub said: There was an argument in the cab, the driver said he would not continue and Mr Phoenix got out. He slammed the door, then kicked the door and rubbed his foot on it. Mr Nwachuku got out to confront Mr Phoenix, who was walking away from the scene, and he denied all knowledge of causing any damage. She said that when traced and questioned by police, Phoenix claimed there had been an argument and the driver had been rude to him. He said he had four pints and was fairly drunk, she added. How does Uber work and why is it so controversial? Phoenix told the court: I think part of the argument was that something had gone wrong with the system and he was charging me 5. My actions that night were reckless and idiotic. Phoenix, of Bedford, was conditionally discharged for six months and ordered to pay 1,200 compensation for the damage, plus 85 costs and a 20 victim surcharge. Phoenix apologised to the driver for his actions, saying he wished he could tell Mr Nwachuku in person. He told the Standard: If he had been there I would have said sorry, but unfortunately he wasnt. On October 2, 40-year-old Gourgen Martirosyan was reelected the mayor of Gavar, a small town of around 20,000 on the southwestern shore of Lake Sevan in Armenia, for the third time. Hes been at the job since 2005, and served one term as deputy mayor before that. As mayor, Martirosyan receives an annual salary of 3.2 million AMD (US$6,600). Nevertheless, Martirosyan owns five pieces of land and buildings in Gavar and a 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 4 worth around 15 million AMD. According to the financial disclosure filed by Martirosyan when he announced his candidacy for reelection, his only other source of income was the rents he receives from leasing his property. In fact, the non-profit Gavar Municipal Services and Improvement Agency (GMSIA), an arm of the municipality, pays 2 million to Martirosyan annually to lease one of his properties. Mayor Martirosyan has declared 200 million AMD and US$200,000 in cash. Family Businesses Gourgen Martirosyan founded GavarTrans, a passenger transport company. In 2008, Martirosyan handed over his 50% share in the company to Yervand Martirosyan, his father. GavarTrans also operates a natural gas filling station for vehicles. GavarTrans periodically gets contracts from the Gavar Municipality. Often, they have nothing to do with transportation. In 2014, the GMSIA purchased 71 two-wheel garbage receptacles from GavarTrans for 3.266 million AMD ($6,730 at todays exchange rate). In December 2015, the Gavar Municipality purchased 710,000 AMD worth of transportation services from GavarTrans. GavarTrans does business with other communities as well. In 2010, the Saroukhan village council paid GavarTrans 4.562 million AMD for buses to transport village students to school in Gavar and back. GavarTrans has also been singled out for deceptive business practices. Armenias State Commission for Economic Protection (SCEP) has charged the company with filing low trip price (500AMD) to win the Yerevan-Gavar-Yerevan transportation route tender and then charging passengers 1,000 AMD. The SCEP has charged the company with filing low-ball figures to win other transportation routes as well, and has levied fines of 10 million AMD for exploiting its position as market leader. Gavar Municipal Budget Used to Enrich Relatives Yervand Martirosyan, father of Gavar mayor Gourgen, has shares in several companies and is sole owner of Yeryouna LLC, a company that produces gypsum in Gavar. Yervand Martirosyan has a 32% share in Hyeland Fruit, a company that operates a hothouse in Gavar. In January 2016, the Gavar mayor signed a decree to lease a 13-hectare parcel of arable land to Hyeland Fruit at a sweet-deal price of just 6,500 AMD annually until 2040. A month later, the Gavar Municipal Council rezoned a 14-hectare parcel of land owned by Hyeland Fruit, allowing the company to build a hothouse enterprise on the site. Photos: Gavar Municipal Council meetings (Gavar Municipality Facebook) F ive women have been arrested over claims elderly residents were abused at a south east London nursing home. Police are probing multiple allegations of assault against residents of Rosecroft Residential Care Home in Plaistow Lane, Bromley, over the course of this year. Last Thursday, four women were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and were taken into custody. They have since been released on bail until February next year. On Wednesday police arrested a fifth woman on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. She was also bailed until next year. The residential home cares for elderly people who need nursing or personal care including those with dementia, physical disabilities and visual and hearing impairment. The Met Police have now launched an appeal for anyone including former staff and relatives of those at the home to come forward with any information which could help the investigation. Anyone with any information can call 07900 137 612 or 101 and ask to be put through to the Community Safety Unit at Bromley Police Station or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org. A former Credit Suisse banker has overturned a conviction for beating up his wife when he suspected she was having an affair. Marc Grosjean, 43, narrowly avoided prison in October when he was found guilty of attacking Artemis Berberi at their home in Kensington. Ms Berberi had told magistrates she was chased, grabbed round the throat and slapped in the face. They heard an incident in December last year was sparked when Mr Grosjean found notes of a sex game and the route to a hotel in her SatNav. He denied the attack but was found guilty of assault and sentenced to eight weeks jail suspended for two years, plus 200 hours community service. At Southwark crown court yesterday the conviction was dismissed on appeal. Judge Joanna Korner QC found differences between photos of the injuries and Ms Berberis account, and ruled some of Ms Berberis evidence was inconsistent with phone records. Mr Grosjean failed to overturn a second conviction for spitting in his wifes face but received an absolute discharge. The judge said spitting was despicable but his criminal record would be wiped to get back his good character". He said: "We have some sympathy as you found your wife was having an affair." Ms Berberi denied the affair in court. F our police officers were severely injured after being attacked while making an arrest in south-east London. One male officer suffered a suspected broken arm while a policewoman suffered cuts to her face. Another male police officer was bitten and a third suffered "facial injuries" after being called to a fight between a man and a woman in Woolwich. They tried to detain the 55-year-old man with tear gas but the suspect fought them off in a vicious struggle. 'Brave': The police tried to detain a man who put up a struggle at an address in Invermore Place, Woolwich. / Google The head of policing in Greenwich said he was proud of my officers bravery in the assault. The attack happened at a house in Invermore Place at around 9.50pm on Thursday. Residents described seeing a heavy police presence around the Glyndon and Woolwich area. Leanne Hone said on Facebook there were "lots of police cars and ambulances" driving around. The man was eventually arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a woman, as well as grievous bodily harm against one police officer, assault on police and criminal damage. He remains in custody at a south London police station. The officers were treated at the scene while the policeman with the suspected broken arm remains in hospital. Chief Superintendent Simon Dobinson, responsible for policing in Greenwich Borough, said: "This incident highlights the dangers police officers can face every time they attend any 999 call, and I am proud of my officers' bravery in dealing with this incident." Enquiries are continuing. T wo people have been arrested over the fatal shooting of a trainee gas engineer outside a Fulham chicken restaurant. Salim Coulter was gunned down as he got into a friends car outside Jerkys Jamaican in Walham Grove on Monday, December 5. The 24-year-old died at the scene. Police have now arrested a man and a woman at a home in Wandsworth over his murder. A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder while a 27-year-old woman was held on suspicion of helping an offender. Both remain in police custody. Mr Coulter was found by police and paramedics in the front of a parked silver and black Renault Captur outside the restaurant with a gunshot wound to the head. Police believe he was shot as to returned to the car after dining at the restaurant with a friend. Mr Coulters mother Faouzia said her son was training to be a gas engineer and studied hard to get his life on track. Police issued a fresh appeal for information after the arrests were carried out. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 020 8785 8099 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 A n obsessive stalker who subjected a woman to a prolonged campaign of terror has been jailed for more than four years. Faisal Hussain, 26, bombarded his victim with calls, messages and unannounced visits which left her fearing for her life. One day he called her 50 times and sent 49 texts as he continued his campaign to bombard her with phone calls, including one from her relatives mobile. The stalker threatened to hurl acid in the woman's face if she tried to contact the police. He carried out his crimes even after he was released from Wandsworth Prison when he received a five-month suspended sentence for stalking in August. On one occasion he followed the woman from her new address onto a bus, into a supermarket and back to her home before he tried to enter the property. He was also spotted by the victim staring through her letterbox, which indicated he had been keeping a close watch on her. Hussain, of Birmingham, was served a restraining order against the woman after he was charged in July with stalking but breached it on an almost daily basis. In August, he pleaded guilty and was given a five-month suspended sentence but continued to hound his victim despite his punishment. He was reported two days after his suspended sentence but took steps to evade police which included fleeing London. But on September 21 he was apprehended by officers in a street in Wandsworth and charged with various breaches of his order and for stalking the next day. On Thursday, he was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to four years and four months after he was found guilty of 13 charges which included stalking, breach of restraining order, and absconding from lawful custody. PC Lucy Marsh, Wandsworth CID, said: "Hussain subjected his victim to a prolonged and relentless campaign of terror, leaving her in fear of her life and always looking over her shoulder. On a number of occasions he threatened to throw acid in her face if she went to police. Thankfully she ignored the threats and courageously came to us to report the abuse. It cannot be underestimated how difficult this must have been for her and I commend her for her bravery, the result of which is a dangerous man is now behind bars. I hope this conviction will allow to try and move on with her life." A young Muslim woman was knocked down and dragged along the pavement by her hijab in a sickening attack in a busy shopping precinct. The woman had been visiting a friend at a hair salon when two white men approached her from behind and tried to remove her headscarf. The 27-year-old was forced to the ground and dragged for several metres by her hijab in Hall Lane in Chingford Mount, north London. Witnesses say she was left lying on the floor for almost 20 minutes before managing to dial 999 and limp to a Turkish restaurant. Paramedics attended and treated her for back injuries before taking her to hospital. A waiter at the Fes restaurant said: The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, we had to sit her down and give her water before she could speak. The woman eventually managed to call 999 in Fes restaurant / Google Streetview She told us two white guys shoved her then dragged her along the floor by her headscarf and left her on the pavement. She was having a panic attack when we saw her and could barely breathe. Its sickening that people can do this. Hussan Bukhari was dining in the Turkish restaurant when the visibly distraught woman was carried inside by two waiters. He told the Standard: She was absolutely terrified and in tears. She had back surgery last month and was really worried it was damaged again as she couldnt walk by herself. She said They took nothing from me, not my phone, not my bag. They just thought they could get away with it. I thought this area was safe. As a Muslim myself, that could have been my mother or sister who was carried in so I felt really protective of her. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said officers were investigating the incident, said to have taken place just after 8.30pm on Wednesday. Latest figures from Scotland Yard show reports of Islamaphobic hate crime have risen by almost two-thirds in the past 12 months, up from 844 to 1,335. Do you know the victim? Contact the newsdesk on 02036152500 or email news@standard.co.uk A violent thug who went on the run from Pentonville prison has been jailed for a ferocious attack in which he stabbed a man more than 30 times. Matthew Baker, 28, was handed a life sentence for attempted murder at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday. He was found guilty of the attack on October 4 and was on remand awaiting sentencing when he escaped from the prison about a month later. Baker broke free from the north London prison along with a fellow inmate sparking a nationwide manhunt. He was caught after two days on the run. The jury heard how Baker smacked a 23-year-old man, who he had met at a friends house in Dagenham, with a glass before stabbing him repeatedly with a knife. Pentonville: The prison from which the two inmates escaped / PA Police were called to an address on Lewis Way around 1.40am on March 21 last year after reports of a man suffering serious injuries. Officers quizzed Baker and the female who were at the flat and both claimed the victim was injured after an unknown group of males had forced entry to the flat. Both were questioned and the female eventually admitted that Baker had been responsible for the attack, using a glass to attack the victim. He was subsequently arrested and charged. His victim was rushed to Royal London Hospital where he underwent life-saving surgery to multiple stab injuries. Baker was found guilty following a trial on October 4. He will have to serve a minimum of 20 years and will not be considered for parole until he has served ten. Detective Sergeant Martin O'Donnell, of Barking and Dagenham CID, said: "It has never been fully established why Baker carried out such a vicious attack but what is clear is that this violent assault very nearly ended in the death of a man. It is only thanks to the skills of medical staff at the Royal London Hospital that the victim survived. "This has been a protracted and challenging investigation for police but I am glad that justice has finally been served and Baker will spend a considerable amount of time behind bars. "He has been classed as a dangerous offender and will not be released until he proves he is no longer a risk." A man has died after he was hit by a lorry near Putney Bridge. The pedestrian was killed when he struck by the HGV on Friday afternoon. Medics battled to save the victim but he was pronounced dead at the scene in Fulham High Street. Emergency services were called to the crash at the junction with the New Kings Road at 3.30pm. Fatal crash: Police at the scene in Putney / @Bparlma On social media, witnesses described seeing a swarm of police and ambulance vehicles and a cordon in place at the scene. Lorry collision: Emergency services vehicles on Putney Bridge / Transport for London Joe Hawkins tweeted: Bad accident Putney Bridge and New Kings Road. Pedestrian in a bad way. Putney Bridge, Fulham High St, New Kings Rd closed. Tyler Young wrote: Putney Bridge J/O Fulham High Street Currently CLOSED in both Directions due to a serious Road Traffic Collision. All Buses are diverted. A woman posted: I pray for whoever was hit in Putney that accident looked terrible. A Met Police spokesman said: Police are in the process of informing next-of-kin. The driver of the lorry involved in the collision stopped at the scene and is assisting police with their enquiries. No arrests have been made. Enquiries are ongoing. Local road closures are in place. Motorists are advised to avoid the area." Anyone with witnesses or anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. A mother killed her seven-year-old son before taking her own life at their home in west London, detectives said. Sinead Higgins, 37, and her son Oisin were found dead inside a two storey home in The Fairway, Ruislip, on Wednesday morning. Police forced their way into the rented property at about 10.50am after being concerned for their welfare. Scotland Yard said on Friday detectives were satisfied the deaths were consistent with a murder and a suicide. Post-mortem examinations carried out into their deaths were inconclusive and officers await further toxicology results. Sinead Higgins, pictured with a boy who is believed to be her son Residents said Ms Higgins, who was originally from Ireland, had lived in the west London suburb for two years. Neighbour Barbara Lonnon said: She kept herself to herself but we'd speak if we saw each other on the street. She added: "I never really spoke to her son Oisin, he was seven and ran around like little boys do. He was a friendly chap and its so sad his life has been cut short." Selfie: Sinead Higgins was found dead at a home in west London Neighbours in the road, which is close to South Ruislip Underground Station, said they were shocked to find a large police presence in the road on Wednesday. A Met Police spokesman said: Although formal identification has yet to take place, detectives believe that the deceased are Sinead Higgins and her son Oisin O'Driscoll. Next of kin have been informed. Post-mortem examinations commenced on Friday, 16 December, at Uxbridge Mortuary. Cause of deaths was inconclusive. Officers await further toxicology tests. Following the post-mortem examinations, detectives are satisfied that the deaths are consistent with a murder and a suicide. At this stage, nobody else is sought in connection with the two deaths. Anyone with any information that may assist the police investigation is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8785 8244 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. T his was the shocking moment a teenage thug sprinted across a road and floored a 14-year-old boy with a punch to the face in south-west London. Connor Duckett, 18, from Chessington, carried out the sickening unprovoked attack in Tolworth Broadway this March. CCTV footage shows him race across the road heading straight for his victim, who was wearing a cast for a broken arm. Duckett then punches him in the face before disappearing and leaving the boy crumpled on the ground with his jaw broken in two places. Vicious: Connor Duckett appeared to return to check up on his victim / Kingston MPS Bystanders rush to the boys aid as he attempts to stand up before staggering around and then crashing into the door of a cafe. Then, in an apparent display of guilt, Duckett is seen coming back to check up on his victims injuries. Police used the CCTV footage to track Duckett down and arrest him moments away from the scene of the attack. Jailed: Connor Ducket was sentenced to 30 months behind bars for this punch / Kingston Police He was convicted of GBH and on December 8 he was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars at Kingston Crown Court. DC Foley from Kingston CID said: I wish to praise the victim as he has shown maturity and courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. He was viciously attacked in an unprovoked incident which left him with lifelong discomfort in his face, he may also require further surgery in the future. We are sending out a clear message that deciding to behave in such a violent thoughtless manner has one outcome and that outcome will be a custodial one. "Any violence in Kingston will not be tolerated and we will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice, just like Connor. AmericaBank General Director Artak Hanesyan has yet to respond to a December 2 Hetq written inquiry regarding the banks decision to loan US$24 million to Lydian Armenia, a company planning to operate a controversial gold mine at Amulsar. The secured credit facility will be used for equipment purchases at the Amulsar operation. Construction at Amulsar started in October 2016; first gold production is expected during the first quarter of 2018. Hetq wanted to know why the bank decided to grant the credit facility, and if this means that it doesnt agree with many civil organizations that the mine would spell disaster for the local environment. According to the website of Lydian International, the parent company of Lydian Armenia, The Ameriabank Facility is available in multiple tranches; an initial advance of US$10 million is expected to be drawn as early as December 2016. Each tranche will be repayable over a 10-year period from the date of advance, including an initial principal grace period of one year. The Facility bears an interest at Libor plus 8.75%. On December 13, in response to several Hetq telephone calls, AmeriaBanks public relations and marketing unit promised to get back to us by days end. Today, the head of the banks outreach unit, Elmira Adamyan, told Hetq by phone that no comments would be forthcoming. AmeriaBank Corporate Banking Director Gagik Sahakyan, said that the bank was happy to assist such a promising mining project in Armenia that will be a great boost to the economy. Photo: prodeco.am A cademics at University College London have complained they are being forced to hold lectures in hotels because the institution has expanded too rapidly. Several senior staff are thought to be pushing for a vote of no-confidence in the universitys management after claiming they have not been given the resources to cope with a doubling of the student body over the past decade. Professors have called for a change of strategy from chair of the governing council, Dame DeAnne Julius, provost, Michael Arthur, and vice-provost in charge of operations Rex Knight. A letter signed by 15 senior UCL academics requesting a meeting with Dame DeAnne said the university was becoming an institution driven primarily by financial issues. A UCL statement said the university did not recognise the description of there being huge discontent at the institution. This is a world-leading university that offers sought-after programmes to students from across the UK and from the world, said the statement. A n online London radio station which was planned over a pint in the pub has been voted the best in the world. Soho Radio was launched two years ago by three friends Finlay Morton, Adrian Meehan and Dan Gray and broadcasts out of a building in Great Windmill Street. It was named the worlds best internet radio station at this years Online Radio Awards, set up by music streaming platform Mixcloud. Mr Morton said: It came to life in a strange conversation in the pub one day. Adrian said, Id like to have my own radio station that doesnt play all the rubbish on the air at the moment and we took it from there. We were all into radio and could remember what it was like before everything was playlisted and decided by committee. We wanted a station where a presenter could hear a song and say Thats great and just play it. The station, which broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, counts restaurant critic William Sitwell, Simpsons voice actor Harry Shearer and veteran DJs Gary Crowley and Norman Jay among its presenters. It beat stations in Africa, America and the Middle East to win the award. Presenter and music journalist Pete Paphides said: Its my best-case scenario of what a radio station should be no playlist, just a load of music fans left to their own devices. Its the only radio station that looks like a radio station from my childhood dreams. Mr Morton said the station came on air earlier than planned because the building they had in mind for the studio became available suddenly, forcing them to move in ahead of schedule. He said: It had to be in Soho because Soho is recognised throughout the world as being the artistic hub of everything. Its been the home of the music business for years and it wouldnt have worked the same way if it was somewhere else. Mr Morton who is also a musician said the stations DJs are free to play what they want and say what they want as well without fear of censorship. He added: Its not that we encourage swearing but you certainly would not be fired for it. Radio you can swear by is one of our mottos. A 38-year-old lawyer is becoming one of the youngest people in the country to run a major legal firm four years after she joined primarily to sort out its IT system. Vidisha Joshi, a personal injury solicitor, will take the helm at Hodge Jones & Allen next month after a rapid rise which she attributes to luck and incredibly hard work. The firm is best known for representing Neville Lawrence its work led to the conviction of two men for the 1993 murder of his son Stephen and a Supreme Court victory that allowed the families of soldiers killed in poorly armoured Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq to bring claims under the Human Rights Act. Ms Joshi, the daughter of Kenyan immigrants, succeeds founding partner Patrick Allen as managing partner. She was the unanimous choice of the firms nine shareholding partners. Recalling her first day in 2012, she told the Standard: When I first walked in, I dont think I would ever have imagined a few years later becoming the managing partner. Ms Joshi was brought up in Berkshire and went to Leicester University. She describes herself as a stop-talking, start-doing type of person who enjoys challenging herself. I just feel this incredible sense of pride to be able to say I lead this absolutely brilliant team, she said. That is the best feeling in the world. I dont look at myself and think, Isnt that just extraordinary, but people have said to me that it is amazing. "I have been offered wonderful opportunities but I have also made the most of them. I have worked incredibly hard but the real hard work starts now. The Camden-based firm, which has 230 staff, prides itself on taking on David v Goliath battles against government, public authorities and big business. Ms Joshi, whose personal injury team was named best in the UK last month, will continue to act for clients. Her cases include representing the husband of Teresita Sison, who was killed by a falling tree in Knightsbridge during Hurricane Gonzalo in 2014. Ms Joshi said: We recognise talent wherever it comes from. You can have the whole Oxbridge background, but equally you dont have to. Talent isnt limited to that group of people. "Im lucky that Patrick has seen something in me and has given me the support. Mr Allen made his name acting for victims of the Kings Cross fire in 1987, in which 31 people died, and those of the 1989 Marchioness disaster on the Thames. He said: I am confident that with Vidisha the firm has a great leader with the drive and determination to take it forward and continue the fight for justice for our clients. C ars, taxis and lorries will be banned from one of Londons most notorious junctions in a ground-breaking road safety measure to start in April. Only cyclists and buses will be allowed to use Bank junction between the hours of 7am and 7pm after the City of London Corporation voted overwhelmingly in favour of the scheme at a meeting on Thursday. Lasting an initial 18 months, the aim is to make the junction safer for cyclists and pedestrians with an estimated 50-60 per cent reduction in casualties per year. It comes after Cambridge graduate Ying Tao, 26, died after being hit by a turning HGV as she cycled through the junction on her way to work in June 2015. The newlywed City worker from China was riding to work at PwC when she was hit by an HGV during the morning rush hour. Crash: Ying Tao was killed at Bank Junction cycling to work in 2015 / City of London Police Collect A total of 34 cyclists and 31 pedestrians were injured in the 7am-7pm period between 2011 and last year. Seventy-five per cent of all collisions at the junction happen between those times. Chris Hayward, Chairman of the City of London Corporations Planning and Transportation Committee, said: Our number one priority for this work at Bank junction is to improve safety and reduce casualties. At the moment, Bank is too clogged full of traffic, confusing for road users and not really a place that people can enjoy, when it really should be, as one of Londons most iconic places. Blackspot: the notorious Bank junction / Getty Images Proposing to restrict motor traffic during the weekdays at Bank is a decision we have therefore taken after careful consideration and in close discussion with the local community, businesses and residents. Following a formal public consultation next year, a final decision will be made on whether to make the ban permanent. The Corporation proposed the ban a year ago and has been consulting with Transport for London and black cab drivers. Under the scheme, cars, lorries and taxis will be rerouted via signage on the approach to the junction. New taxi ranks will also be provided. Vehicles will be tracked through number plate recognition and anyone breaking the ban may face a 130 penalty. The corporation's Policy and Resources Committee approved the scheme by a vote of 22:1. Trevor Merralls, of the United Cabbies Group, said he they would fight the plan every inch of the way. W HAT better Christmas present could the FT want than an endorsement from Donald Trump? Yesterday morning, coupled with an attack on Vanity Fair, was a glowing tribute on Twitter to both Time magazine and the Financial Times for naming him Person of the Year. The Londoner spoke to FT editor Lionel Barber this morning to see if he was stoked by having won a plaudit from the President-elect. I hope he has read the piece in full, said Barber, dryly. And my piece on demagogues today.Had Trump read the Person of the Year piece in full he would have found less than rousing support. There is always the suspicion that Mr Trumps opinions come from the last person he spoke to, it states. What Trump doesnt know could fill an ocean he has literally never read a book, including the US Constitution, says a long-standing associate. What Trump does know fills up Trump Tower. In todays demagogue piece, Barber presents a comprehensive list of Trumps rabble-rousing. His demagoguery broke every taboo in the book, he writes but also points out that the Person of the Year is not an endorsement, nor does history always prove them right, and he cited previous winners George W Bush and French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur as laurels that might have fallen on the wrong crown. Barber adds that there are potential upsides to Trump, including for business. But as for his Twitter reviews on the media: I deplore his personal attacks on journalists, on singling them out to intimidate them. It is, of course, possible that Trumps attraction to the FT is more than just the award. Who could be rude about a newspaper whose salmon-pink-hued pages match ones own complexion? --- Last month Theresa May joked that she no longer has to read her red box thoroughly because I dont have to, I just read the Times. Who could forgive the paper for partying hard last night at Bermondsey Yard Cafe. Sadly there was no Michael Gove throwing shapes but The Londoner understands one staff member enjoyed herself so much she was grinding up against editor John Witherow on the dance floor. Could be awks in the office today. Bournes Red Shoes is not pants to Rice SADLERS Wells on opening night for Matthew Bournes The Red Shoes had a carnival vibe, with people spilling onto the street. Among those was Emma Rice, director of Shakespeares Globe. Rice fell out with the Globes board, apparently over her desire to be experimental, and she will leave in 2018. Still, Rice seemed chipper, looking forward to directing Twelfth Night this summer and considering a swansong at the end of 2017. As for Bournes production, she thought it was stunning. Ive directed The Red Shoes [with Kneehigh Theatre], she reminded The Londoner. But while Bournes version was a Forties film within theatre, with exquisite costumes, mine was a bunch of guys in underpants, said Rice. Collateral damage for Will Smith? Will Smith had a chilly welcome to London last night, which is apt considering the ice- cold reviews for his new film Collateral Beauty. The actor led the charge of stars including Dame Helen Mirren and Naomie Harris at the red-carpet premiere but there was no sign of Keira Knightley or Kate Winslet, who appear in the film too but perhaps had buyers remorse. Smith and his wife Jada boycotted this years Oscars after he failed to gain a nomination for acclaimed drama Concussion. Something tells us he wont be in the running for the little gold man this year, either. So its goodbye, Soho, from India INDIA Rose James may have a fortune that makes the Queen look positively brassic but that doesnt mean shes being idle. The Soho heiress who recently had a baby with fiance Hugh Harris of The Kooks, was at Berwick Street pop-up The Kodakery this week, taking a night off from nappies. She wont be taking the opportunity to relax, though. My Soho Revue gallery on Greek Street is closing as the building is being redeveloped, she told us. We will still do pop-ups but I am starting a new fashion business, Arty Farty Fashion Party. It will, James explained, showcase young, emerging designers and host fashion shows. India Rose and her sister Fawn own much of Soho due to inheritance from their pornography baron grandfather Paul Raymond. Her new status as mum, though, means she wont be sticking in the area for ever. We are looking at bigger houses in Chelsea as my Soho flat is not that big, she said. India was first helped onto the central London property ladder by a little family cash. I moved to Coventry Street as soon as I turned 18 and got the first bit of money from my grandads fortune, she says. Ill always be a Soho girl, she says as she prepares to decamp to SW1. Mary Stuart: off with the ending! MARY Stuart opened at the Almeida Theatre last night but anyone who read the online programme notes for the play, directed by Robert Icke, will have been left with a cliffhanger. Why? Because the author of the notes on Schillers 1800 play about Mary, Queen of Scots, the theatre critic Kate Maltby, avoids saying what happened. At a house party at the weekend, Maltby was overheard talking to Glenda Jackson who played Queen Elizabeth to Vanessa Redgraves Mary in the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots. She said her original programme notes had mentioned the beheading but the theatre requested that it be removed because it was a spoiler. Will heads roll? -- Earlier this month, actor Eddie Redmayne cemented his status as a national treasure by picking up an OBE. And despite having an Oscar, he almost fluffed his lines. I was so busy wondering how to bow and whether its mam or maam its Mam that rhymes with ham, in case you ever meet her, he tells Harpers Bazaar. As I was going in thats all I could think of, Mam rhymes with ham. Whatever you do, dont call the Queen ham. Were sure she would have been amused. --- Tagline of the Day: After being criticised by Donald Trump, Vanity Fairs website has a new slogan at its head The Magazine Trump Doesnt Want You to Read. S adiq Khan plans to put up council tax to cover the cost of keeping police numbers at around 32,000. The Mayor revealed that City Halls share of the tax was increasing for the first time since the days of Ken Livingstone in response to funding cuts. The move means the average band D council tax bill in London would go up by about 8p a week from April 4.50 a year. Even though the rise is small, it will draw criticism from the Tories. Mr Khan blamed his predecessor Boris Johnson for taking the reckless decision to cut the police precept last year ahead of the mayoral election. The Government said yesterday that the Mets budget next year would be 17.4 million lower than in 2015-16. Mr Khan told the Standard: Nothing is more important to me than keeping Londoners safe and that means maintaining the strategic target of 32,000 police officers. The Government has made it clear that they expect us to increase council tax by 8p a week and, reluctantly, I am left with no choice. But Conservative London Assembly member Steve OConnell said: Its absurd that the mayor could attempt to blame his predecessor for his own inability to balance the books. Boris was able to reduce council tax over his eight years a move supported by Sadiqs Labour colleagues - whilst maintaining police numbers. With his reckless spending announcements over the past seven months, this will likely be the first of many increases placed on the taxpayer. The first 100 days: Sadiq on progress and challenges so far "Londoners will end up paying for the mayors multiple irresponsible and publicity-seeking commitments. Mr Johnson announced the first-ever reduction in the mayoral share of council tax in 2012, having frozen it during his first term, and cut it 10 per cent over the course of his second term. Critics said the saving was not enough to buy a chicken from Tesco but he said it amounted to 500 for the average Londoner over his eight years in charge. The Government has warned there could be further reductions to funding for the Met next year as a result of changes to the police funding formula. It leaves the force facing a total funding black hole of 420 million until 2021: reducing officer numbers considerably is one way in which it could consider plugging the gap. This is on top of the 600 million already cut since 2013. Londoners pay on average 276 a year to the Mayor as part of annual council tax bills. His proposed increase would provide 11.2 million more to the Met. A buse survivors and womens rights activists turned their backs in protest on MP Philip Davies in the House of Commons, as he tried to block a bill to end violence against women. During a debate on the Istanbul Convention, a legal framework to tackle violence against women and girls, the Conservative MP said he was opposing the law because it was discriminatory and sexist. Women watching the debate from the public gallery turned their backs on the MP as he spoke for 78 minutes arguing that the law was hypocritical because men are also victims of domestic violence and were treated more harshly in the criminal justice system. He told the House of Commons: I am against it because we should have a convention that deals with all violence, violence against men and women. I of course oppose violence against women, but I also oppose violence against men and boys and having a strategy for one and not the other is just not acceptable to me. Surely we should just want to eliminate all discrimination full stop. He added: I oppose this bill because it introduces unnecessarily meddling from super national bodies that we can quite do without and we can do on our own. Adding that the bill flies in the face of everything were supposed to believe in if we believe in true equality. His comments sparked outrage among female MPs and activists with Labour MP Jess Phillips questioning whether Mr Davies had any interest in improving things for victims of domestic violence. MP delivers passionate speech on domestic violence Another MP, Gavin Newland, was incredulous that Mr Davies was even from the same species. The SNP politician said: "Its disappointing that Philip Davies thought that he could filibuster this life-saving bill. In the 78 minutes that he spoke, 78 women will have called the police to report abuse at the hands of their partner." Labour MP Thangham Debbonaire accused Mr Davies of wilfully misrepresenting the convention adding the safety of women and children is too important not to ratify this. Ms Debbonaire acknowledged the importance of protecting men and boys from domestic violence but said when you remain neutral in a circumstance of inequality you side with the powerful against the powerless. Sophie Walker, leader of the Womens Equality Party, tweeted her dismay over Mr Davies opposition to the bill. She posted: If anyone was in any doubt of need of #ICBill to counter sexism and misogyny in UK then Philip Davies speech is all proof needed. Thanks PD! The Government signed up to the Istanbul Convention in 2012 but the legislation has not been ratified into UK law. SNP MP Eilidh Whiteford, who put forward the Private Members Bill, opened the debate saying she believes very passionately that we can end violence against women. At the end of the debate the headcount was 135 MPs in favour of approving the legislation while only two, Mr Davies and Conservative MP David Nuttall, voted against the bill. One in five women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 16 and around 85,000 women are raped every year in England and Wales, according to the Office on National Statistics. On average one in four women has experienced domestic abuse and two women are killed every week by a current or former partner, according to Womens Aid. Mr Davies, who once claimed that feminist zealots really do want women to have their cake and eat it, caused controversy this week when he was elected to the women and equalities committee. A n ally of Angela Merkel today signalled that an early deal is on the cards to secure the rights of European Union citizens in Britain and Britons working abroad. It emerged that Prime Minister Theresa May used yesterdays EU summit in Brussels to appeal for a swift deal to ensure reciprocal rights continue after Brexit. There was a positive response this morning when Stephan Mayer, home affairs spokesman for Mrs Merkels CDU/CSU grouping in the German parliament, told BBC Radio 4: I have much sympathy and understanding for this British position. Certainly more than one million British citizens live in the other 27 member states so that is a very decisive issue for the UK Government and certainly the other way around, more than 300,000 German citizens for instance are living in the UK, so I think we have the same interests. Mrs May left the summit last night without answering any questions on the UKs break from the EU. The other 27 EU leaders then held a discussion on Brexit without her. The Prime Minister appeared isolated in a video that showed her standing alone and quickly went viral on social media. Mrs Mays appeal for a deal on citizen rights was not disclosed by No 10 during the summit, but was revealed after she had left when Irish leader Enda Kenny told reporters about it. She would like to have the question of UK citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that take place, he said. Philip Hammond today denied it will take a decade to reach a Brexit trade deal. The Chancellor, speaking on a visit to South Korea, insisted that trade talks could start in parallel with exit negotiations that will begin in March or April next year. Asked about a warnings from Britains ambassador that EU leaders thought it would take 10 years in total, he told the BBC: I dont expect that it will take as long as that. He said that once the exit talks had started we will, in parallel, begin to negotiate new arrangements with our former European Union partners so that we can continue to trade and work closely with them. Downing Street is claiming that both the divorce deal and a new trade agreement could be reached within the two-year timeframe set out under Article 50. But Mr Mayer said that sounded a little bit naive. He told the Today programme: I think it is very ambitious to finish these negotiations within two years. Mrs May did not answer questions about a potential bill for the UK after Brexit - which reports today said could amount to 50 billion, including payments to cover pension liabilities for EU staff. T he Government risks being sued by Londoners made sick by toxic air after it was branded negligent in Parliament, lawyers said today. They stressed the Government was vulnerable to being taken to court by citizens after repeated failures to act decisively against filthy air blamed for a death toll in the capital of more than 9,000-a-year. Judges have twice ordered ministers to improve the Governments air quality masterplan after it was defeated by environmental lawyers ClientEarth in high-profile cases. To lose once in the court could be seen as careless; to lose twice is negligent, Tory MP Neil Parish, who chairs the Commons environment committee, told a parliamentary debate on air quality. The Government is in the dock, he added. Lawyer Kate Harrison, of Harrison Grant solicitors, stressed the Government had a clear duty on ensuring air quality. Air pollution: the government was branded 'negligent' over the problem (Picture: Jeremy Selwyn) This means taking action to bring air pollution below legal limits, she told The Standard. If the Government does not do this, it is vulnerable to being sued by people damaged by its failure to act. Hammersmith Labour MP Andy Slaughter, who specialised in personal injury as a barrister, added: The chairman of the select committee has highlighted the dangerous complacency that this Government has shown on what is a matter of life or death, or damage to health, for so many Londoners. If it will not act, then the logical next step would be for individuals effected to seek redress through the courts. A test case would face the difficulty of having to prove a causal link between a persons poor health and toxic air, though there is increasing evidence of its harmful impact. Environment minister Therese Coffey insisted tackling air pollution was my top priority and that the Government aimed to leave the environment in a better state than inherited. She pledged a new and more ambitious national anti-pollution plan, which could include fiscal steps. But shadow environment minister Rachael Maskell accused the Government of adopting a minimalistic approach on addressing dirty air. Mr Parish urged the Government to change the taxation system to provide some stick to discourage people from buying diesel vehicles and backed a scrappage scheme for diesel models which could be weighted to favour the less-well-off. Tory MP Andrew Selous stressed his GP in Dunstable had warned him that many more children living in the centre of town near a busy trunk road were suffering from asthma than those with homes in the suburbs. Labour MP Geraint Davies emphasised that Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens were seeking to ban diesel cars within the next decade. B ritain must accept the West has lost the war in Syria, an ex-head of the armed forces said today as the evacuation of Aleppo was hit by fresh delays. Lord Richards also urged the Government to recognise the reality on the ground, with tyrant Bashar Assad still in power, in order to end the civil war and appalling humanitarian suffering. Russian president Vladimir Putin and Assad had outsmarted Western nations with their clear strategy. Syrian state TV this morning said evacuations of civilians and rebels from the last rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo had resumed for a second day. Four convoys were said to have set off from the rebel area of the ruined city. But later there were reports that the operation had been halted, amid conflicting claims that pro-Assad commanders had imposed new conditions and that rebels had sought to take prisoners with them. Forced out: Syrian civilians leave towards safer rebel-held areas of Aleppo. / AFP/Getty Images Aid agencies and vehicles were told to leave the area without explanation, said the World Health Organisation. With a final victory in Aleppo in sight, Mr Putin said today that he was working closely with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to start new Syrian peace talks aimed at securing a nationwide ceasefire. Lord Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff between 2010 and 2013, told BBC radio: Im afraid we have lost the war, but that does not mean that if we get the right strategy that we need to lose the peace. He stressed the Government and Parliament had rejected two opportunities to act to oust Assad, in 2012 and 2013, as there was no appetite for another military intervention post-Iraq. We have to be pretty grown up about this and say that moment has gone, he added. I remember saying at the time Well if you dont want to do this, wed better start thinking about backing Assad because the result of not doing it properly could be the worst of all worlds. The civil war had now to be brought to an end, he urged, otherwise the horrifying humanitarian situation would go on for years. After addressing the humanitarian situation, he said, the West should deal with Islamic State and thirdly focus on a strategy to win the peace. P rince Charles has recorded a special message to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of much-loved BBC Radio 4 show Just A Minute. His speech, which describes the programme as "one of this country's great institutions", will open a special festive episode broadcasting on Christmas Day. Just a Minute Does Panto! will be hosted as always by Nicholas Parsons, who has been the voice of the comedy game show since it first launched in December 1967. Having already heard the special royal tribute, Mr Parsons, 93, said: "It was a pleasure to hear The Prince of Wales recount years of listening to Just a Minute with such fondness. "But when he delivers his message will he make it to the end without hesitation, repetition or deviation? You'll find out on Christmas Day." Long-standing regular Paul Merton will undoubtedly be listening closely for a challenge, as he returns to the show with fellow players Gyles Brandreth and Sheila Hancock. The one-off episode will combine the traditional game with a journey through Panto-land to find the missing Golden Whistle, with special guests Pippa Evans, Tony Hawks, Rufus Hound and Josie Lawrence. Controller of the station, Gwyneth Williams, said: "We know the Prince of Wales has enjoyed BBC radio comedy over many years so how fitting that he should join Just A Minute for this special Christmas episode. "Radio 4 is the home of radio comedy and as controller I am delighted to welcome him to the team, but Nicholas Parsons and Paul Merton take no hostages so I can only wish him luck." Just A Minute Does Panto! will air on BBC Radio 4 at 1.15pm on December 25. B arack Obama has promised the US will retaliate over alleged hacking by Russia that he said tipped the presidential election in Donald Trumps favour. In an interview with National Public Radio, the outgoing president said the US needs to take action and we will after he received a comprehensive report into the breaches. The White House yesterday accused President Vladimir Putin of being involved in the hacking attacks on email accounts of Democratic Party officials and Hillary Clintons campaign chief John Podesta. The CIA has said hacking was linked to Russias intelligence agency and its military intelligence division with the ambition of helping Mr Trump win last months election against Mrs Clinton. The Kremlin has strongly denied the claims and Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putins spokesman, has said reports Mr Putin was personally involved were laughable nonsense. Mr Obama told NPR the US would respond over the hacking with both public and covert methods. Speaking about the US response, the out-going president - who has 35 days left until the Republican president-elects inauguration - said: Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be. President Obama on allegations of Russian hacking and interference in the US election But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections... we need to take action. And we will - at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be. He added: In fact what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign. Theres no doubt that it contributed to an atmosphere in which the only focus for weeks at a time, months at a time were Hillarys emails, the Clinton Foundation, political gossip surrounding the DNC, Kellyanne Conway, Mr Trumps senior transition adviser, called it breathtaking that the White House suggested Mr Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. Mr Trump wrote on Twitter: If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? A porn model has admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth more than 18 million on a cruise ship from Britain to Australia. Canadian Isabelle Lagace, 28, was arrested with two other suspects a man and a woman after the liner Sea Princess docked at Sydney harbour in August. Federal Police said the drug bust was Australias biggest-ever through passenger transportation. Solicitor Louis Ialenti, acting for Lagace, entered the guilty plea at Sydney central local court. The 95kg drugs haul, which had an Australian street value estimated to be at least $31million, was found in four suitcases one of which, it is alleged, was in the two womens shared cabin. They were arrested after the Sea Princess liner docked at Sydney harbour Lagace, from Quebec, sat stone-faced and dressed in maroon in the court beside her co-accused Melina Romberce, 23, and Andre Tamine, 64. Romberce was dressed in white and Tamine wore green prison clothing. Lagace was committed for sentencing at Sydney district court on February 3. Tamine did not enter a plea and he will stand trial on that date in NSW district court. No plea was entered by Romberce and a decision on her trial will be made by the central local court on December 21. Before their arrests the women had detailed their travels on the 11,000-per-person trip, which started in Southampton, through images shared on social media. Images posted on Instagram and Facebook showed them visiting New York, Bermuda, Ecuador, Tahiti, Colombia, Peru and New Zealand. Romberce, a Quebec jewellery store worker, shared pictures of them riding quad bikes, hiking in Peru and posing in bikinis. The maximum penalty for smuggling a commercial quantity of cocaine is life imprisonment. A convoy of British doctors are leaving London tomorrow with medical supplies to kit out an entire childrens hospital in Aleppo. Campaigners have raised more than 100,000 for gear to be sent from London to an area just outside the besieged Syrian city where they plan to set up a new facility. The team, The Peoples Convoy, are working with humanitarian bodies and non-governmental organisations for the mission, and will provide items such as stethoscopes and incubators. Led by British-Syrian doctor Rola Hallam, the convoy will travel to Turkey where they will hand over the supplies to the Independent Doctors Association, an NGO, which will then take them to the planned childrens hospital. The last hospital in East Aleppo was destroyed by Russian and Syrian air strikes last month, leaving up to 250,000 people without access to care. The organisation said the facility will be built within an existing building in the countryside north of the city and will serve 185,000 people, a third of whom are children under 12 years old. Dr Hallam said: This is aid from the people to the people. T he Oscars shortlist for the foreign language category has been revealed ahead of next years ceremony. While films including Maren Aides Toni Erdmann and Asghar Farhadis The Salesman have made the nine-strong list, there have been one or two notable snubs. Paul Verhovens much-lauded Elle, which has impressed critics and cinema-goers alike, has not been nominated in a surprise move. Verhoevens story about a woman who confronts her rapist in an unexpected way, which has been described by many as one of the best films of the year, will not be in the running when the gongs are handed out in Hollywood in February. Spanish heavyweight Pedro Almodovar has also been snubbed, with his new film Julieta failing to secure a slot on the shortlist. Its Only the End of the World, directed by Xavier Dolan and starring Marion Cotillard and Lea Seydoux has received a nod after winning the Grand Prix du Jury at Cannes earlier this year. Other countries to land films in the top nine include Denmark, who are represented by Martin Zandvlies Land of Mine and Russia with Andrei Konchalovskys Paradise. Australian Tanna, directed by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, has also been nominated for an Oscar. The main Oscars shortlist will be announced on January 24, with the ceremony taking place on February 26. Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less. Area law enforcement had a busy Thursday with two high-speed pursuits. One began Thursday morning in Gering and the other occurred in Scottsbluff in the afternoon. On Thursday, a Gering Police officer spotted a stolen Pontiac G6 at about 10:30 a.m. The car had been reported stolen at about 10:20 a.m. from the Maverik gas station in Scottsbluff. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver, identified as Frederick Ramirez, fled the scene. Ramirez led officers with the Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs Department and the Nebraska State Patrol, as well as other agencies, on a pursuit and traveled on county roads, Highway 92 and into Goshen County and back into Scotts Bluff County. They took a couple of county roads going south, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Troy Brown said. They ended up over in Wyoming. The chase lasted more than an hour and reached speeds in excess of 100 mph. Eventually, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper was able to successfully deploy spike strips, flattening one of the tires of the vehicle. The driver kept on traveling on the flat tire before the chase came to a stop in a field off Highway 92 between Morrill and Mitchell. The chase ended shortly after noon. Officers arrested Jennifer Roose, 34, of Scottsbluff, and Ramirez, 24, of Scottsbluff. Gering Police Department Capt. Jason Rogers said Ramirez was the driver of the vehicle. Rogers said investigators from SBPD and GPD are looking into whether Ramirez and Roose are connected to other vehicle thefts in the area, including the theft of a 2000 silver Chevy pickup last week. The vehicle has commercial license plates which are numbered 21-5189. Both were also wanted on Scotts Bluff County warrants. Roose had been sought on two Scotts Bluff County felony arrest warrants, one for possession of a controlled substance and another for theft. Ramirez was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for domestic assault. Also on Thursday, Scottsbluff Police pursued a suspect through town before discontinuing the chase for the publics safety. The driver of the fleeing vehicle reached speeds up to 80 miles per hour within Scottsbluff city limits. Officers attempted to stop a stolen white Cadillac identified as stolen at about 2:30 p.m. on Fifth Avenue Thursday but the driver, identified as Juan Naranjo, refused to stop. Naranjo traveled throughout Scottsbluff and was spotted heading southbound on Broadway, but officers had discontinued the pursuit out of safety concerns. Recovering a stolen car is not worth hurting somebody, Brown said. The chase occurred right when schools were dismissing classes. Schools in Scottsbluff and Gering were briefly placed on lockdown. Because of the time of day and the fact that it was in town, we discontinued that pursuit, Brown said. We got a call 20 minutes after discontinuation of the pursuit that the car was spotted heading into the Bellevue addition in Terrytown. Law enforcement personnel have been unable to locate Naranjo, but did recover the stolen car, which was located behind a white trailer. Naranjo is an associate of Ramirez and Roose, Brown said. All three are suspects in the recent thefts of vehicles and firearms. As of press time, officers were still searching for the Naranjo. Naranjo, who is 21, is described as being 5-foot, 5 inches in height, weighing 165 pounds and with brown hair and hazel eyes. Brown said Naranjo is potentially armed and dangerous. If Naranjo is spotted, members of the public are advised not to approach him and to contact law enforcement. Anyone with information in the vehicle or firearm thefts is encouraged to call Scotts Bluff County Crime Stoppers, 308-632-STOP (7867). This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. To help you find what you are looking for: Enter Search Term(s): Still cant find what youre looking for? Send us a message using our contact us form. To report a broken link or other problems with the website, please include the URL. Thank you for visiting state.gov. 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Statesville police believe a man charged this week with the robbery of a Raleigh convenience store is the suspect who robbed a Statesville convenience store at gunpoint Sunday. Cody Aaron Creel, 26, of Alabama, was arrested by the Raleigh Police Department on Thursday in connection with a store robbery that took place late Wednesday night, according to a press release from the Statesville Police Department. He was stopped shortly after the robbery in a black 2002 Toyota Tundra pickup with a black BB pistol in his possession. Creel was charged with robbery and given a $30,000 secured bond. Based on the descriptions, the robbery method and Creels photo, local authorities charged Creel with the robbery of the Fast Phils convenience store on Old Mocksville Highway. In that incident, the suspect pointed a handgun at the cashier and was given cash from the register before escaping in a black pickup, according to reports. On Friday, SPD obtained warrants on Creel for robbery with a dangerous weapon which will be served on him at the Wake County Detention Center. Iredell Memorial Hospital patient Beryl Banners eyes lit up as she watched Santa Claus walk into the room. Ive been a good girl this year, said the elder woman, grinning from ear to ear. I love you, Santa, and you can come down the chimney in my house and leave all the presents there. Banner joined patients young and old in expressing their joy as Santa Claus made the rounds at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Davis Regional Medical Center, and Iredell Memorial Hospital on Dec. 15, delivering good tidings and teddy bears. Sponsored by the Mooresville Tribune, the Statesville Record and Landmark, HealthSmart Pharmacy and Randy Marion Chevrolet of Statesville, the bear delivery has become an annual tradition. This is the fourth year Santa has visited local hospitals to spread cheer. Melissa Neiderer, the Mooresville Tribune multimedia advertising specialist who spearheaded the event, said that she was inspired to give back to the children, community, and hospitals when she worked for the R&L a few years ago. She enlisted the help of local businesses to buy the bears, as well as her husband, Scott, to play the role of Santa. Doug Balog, owner of HealthSmart Pharmacy, said he enjoys helping out with this event year after year because, I have young kids, and I know what it would mean to them to get something special if they were in the hospital. Rhyne Scott, General Manager for Randy Marion Chevrolet Statesville, said that this was the third year sponsoring the event, and theyve received positive feedback from the hospital patients. Its a great thing to do, especially this time of year, and were happy the patients enjoy it, he said. Lake Norman Regional Medical Center was Santas first stop, and Leigh Whitfield, marketing director for the hospital, said its so kind to remember our patients, especially our pediatrics and their family members. Especially this time of year, its lovely to have something to hand out to our children, she said. At Davis Regional Medical Center, Santa was able to catch up with a few newborns and their parents, as well as elementary-aged children, eliciting grins and even wish lists from the youngsters. Dasmin Imes gave Santa a fist bump, and whispered in his ear that he would love Spiderman Jordan shoes, while thanking him for the bear. Shortly afterward, two excited children ran screeching down the hallway toward Santa, jumping into his arms. Santa, you got a hat? asked Janai Wise-Sawyer as she hugged Santa alongside to her brother, Dillon. Do you have reindeer? The three youngsters werent the only ones who enjoyed a visit from Santa. Taliyah Barber sat up and leapt out of her hospital bed, saying, hey, Santa Clause, as he approached. I like my new teddy bear, she told him, as she hugged the bear to her chest, and complimented Santas curly wig. While walking through Davis, the hospitals marketing director, Janie Stikeleather, said it was a wonderful experience to deliver the bears to our patients at such a special time of year. Santas sleigh made one more stop at Iredell Memorial, visiting both the maternity ward and the Hospital-Based Skilled Nursing Facility, spending time with older patients who needed a smile and a pick-me-up. Elderly patient Gladys Sipes clutched her bear and exclaimed, Oh my gosh, what did I do to deserve all this? She smiled and told Santa she thought the bear was beautiful." As Santa was greeted and shared a few moments with the patients, Meagan Kowalski, director of Planning & Community Relations, said, we are grateful for the generosity shown today to our patients. This is a wonderful way to bring some holiday cheer to these individuals and their families, and we are proud to be a part of it, she said. State Debate: Public sector shouldn't serve private sector, says Beloit Daily News; James Rowen wants to know where's AG on drug suit? Organizers with the Police and Community Together (PACT) Turkey Tour collected several more donations this week for the Christmas dinner giveaway event scheduled for Saturday. Group co-founder J.D. Williams said PACT collected donations of $900 from several community groups, including Woodforest National Bank in Statesville ($100) Mariner Finance in Statesville ($250) and the Town of Troutman ($550). Those donations are in addition to the more than 400 canned and boxed goods given by Success Institute charter school in Statesville and 100-plus toys donated by Firehouse Subs in Mooresville. While originally hoping to get enough donations to give out 1,000 turkeys, the group has scaled back and is now looking at getting between 350 and 500 at a discounted price from Wal-Mart, Williams said. Despite not reaching the original goal, Williams said he and other PACT members have been overwhelmed by the show of support from the community. On Saturday, PACT will visit several locations around the county to distribute the turkeys and toys to those in need. Due to the threat of rainy, cold weather, the group will donate the canned goods to local charities and churches, Williams said. Here are the locations and times for the giveaway on Saturday: 10 to 11 a.m., Mooresville Police Department, 750 W Iredell Ave., Mooresville. 11:15 a.m. to 12 noon: Troutman Police Department, 400 N. Eastway Dr., Troutman. 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., Statesville Police Patrol Division at the Historic Statesville Depot off Shelton Avenue, Statesville. 12:45 to 1:30 p.m., Iredell County Sheriffs Office, 230 N. Tradd St., Statesville 1:45 to 2:45 p.m., Harmony Elementary School, 139 Harmony School Road, Harmony. Anyone who needs a turkey and cant make it to one of the giveaway locations can contact Williams at 703-310-7255. Some deliveries will be made, he said. 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"We request the management of Henri Coanda Airport to eliminate all the inscriptions advertising UBER in order to keep the contracts with taxi service companies. If this is not the case, we will withdraw from the airport, as we have previously announced, because we consider unfair the disloyal competition imposed on us by our contractual partner that is Henri Coanda Airport, but we do not want to be part of the endangerment of travelers, by accepting transport swindlers," reads a COTAR release sent on Friday to agerpres.. Taxi companies having a contract with the International Airport Henri Coanda declare themselves appalled by the strategy of the airport's management, that gave up on the banner outside the airport but kept all those inside it. "After the press release at the end of last month, in which COTAR announced that they would withdraw from the area if the banner outside the airport, at the exit point, wasn't taken down, measures were taken and the respective banner was removed. The other inscriptions inside the airport advising travelers to choose UBER transportation haven't been removed though," stated COTAR representatives. They emphasize that the sum they pay is about 220,000 euro annually, for taxi drivers to be allowed to operate in the Otopeni airport area. "The management of the Henri Coanda Airport in Bucharest ignores absolutely all the problems created by unauthorized taxi drivers swindling in the airport area and allows access of UBER cars and advertising of this unauthorized transport means inside the airport. Romanian or foreign citizens who need transportation understand that UBER is an accredited company to make transfers from the airport to any destination," they further say. St. Louis may be about to complete a record year for job growth, but there are questions about the numbers. New seasonally adjusted figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the metro area adding 4,300 jobs last month and 41,600 jobs between November 2015 and November 2016. The 12-month gain is the largest since at least 1991, which is as far back as metro figures go on the BLS' website. The largest calendar-year gain during that span was in 1994, when the St. Louis area added 37,500 jobs. The numbers are subject to revision, however, and we have at least two reasons for thinking they may be revised downward. The first, which I've mentioned before, is the unusually large increase in leisure and hospitality jobs. The BLS shows the metro area hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, hotels and casinos, adding 13,100 jobs between November 2015 and 2016. That's growth of 9 percent in an industry that has grown just 2.2 percent nationally. Another doubt, as the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank points out in its latest Burgundy Book, comes from a separate Labor Department report. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, generally considered more reliable than the monthly BLS employer survey, shows St. Louis area employment growing only about 0.3 percent in the first half of this year. The BLS' November jobs figure amounts to growth of 3.1 percent. Even as it raises doubts about the numbers, the Fed's Burgundy Book concludes that the St. Louis job market has strengthened. "Demand for labor is increasing," it says, adding that "anecdotal evidence suggests a lack of skilled labor will continue to put upward pressure on wages." The construction and business-services sectors are contributing to strong job growth here. Construction and mining employers added 6,500 workers in the latest 12 months, and professional and business services firms added 6,300. The health-care and social assistance sector has added 7,300 jobs since November 2015 and financial services companies have added 2,400. Figures for specific industries are not seasonally adjusted. The BLS also reported Friday that Missouri's unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in November from 5.1 percent in October. Illinois' jobless rate was flat at 5.6 percent. The unemployment rate for metro St. Louis, which was 4.7 percent in October, will be updated Dec. 29. Rex Teter, a member of the Electoral College, poses at his home in Pasadena, Texas, Dec. 13, 2016. The sharp divisions left by last months presidential election have cast more attention than usual on the Electoral College. Teter, 59, a music teacher and preacher, received about 35,000 emails and 200 letters urging him not to support Trump. It took him several hours to delete them the day after Thanksgiving. A Marco Rubio supporter in the primaries, he is solidly for Trump. "Some have been very personal letters. Some threatening. One was very funny. They view President-elect Trump as a threat so its personal for them and I can empathize. But I'm not changing my vote as an elector." (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) LOS ANGELES Scott Baio's wife is speaking out following a report that the actor claimed he was assaulted by the wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith over his support of President-elect Donald Trump. TMZ reported Thursday that Baio filed a police report over the Saturday incident in Thousand Oaks, California, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office is investigating. TMZ says Baio told law enforcement that Nancy Mack confronted him at an event he was attending with his daughter. The report says Baio told investigators that Mack attacked him by grabbing him under his arms and shaking and pushing him. Renee Baio repeated those claims on Twitter and also posted a picture of Mack taken from video she says she has of the incident. Scott Baio also shared his wife's tweets. Mack didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Eric Lenze wants to help people who have become increasingly forgetful and have other mental slowdowns pretty much anyone over 65. But more specifically, he wants to know how any help works and can it work better. Thats why he and his team of researchers are recruiting about 300 people for the MEDEX study mindfulness, health education and exercise under way at Washington University School of Medicine. Lenze explained, most people start having mental declines after their 30s. But in the 60s, its noticeable. This is an age when most if not all older adults start to have some slower or worsening of cognitive functions, Lenze said, namely memory, processing speeds as in how quickly you can come up with information in your head Volumes of studies show that exercise and meditation help improve aging. The MEDEX study hopes to learn how and why. We know less than wed like to think we know about the benefits of these things, he said. So this study is, first and foremost, trying to provide some clarity as to the brain benefits of these things, exercise and mindfulness (meditation) in particular. The study, about a year and a half old, already has learned a lot, Lenze said. Exercise 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week as prescribed by experts. Among the benefits, It seems that engaging in regular exercise for an older adult may increase certain brain fertilizers, he said. What we call neurotrophins are increased in the brain by exercise. On the flip side, theyre reduced by being sedentary or overly stressed out. Also, exercise increases efficiency of using insulin and other metabolic functions, he said. Many of these benefits happen instantly, he said. Mindfulness Mindfulness means being in the present in a nonjudgmental way, Lenze said. An example, If youre driving in your car, stressing about, ruminating about deadlines, about past things, mistakes, thats not being mindful. But if youre engaged in something that really engrosses you in the present, for instance, a challenging hobby, where you focus on the here and now, thats being mindful. Still, what about those bad memories that just invade your consciousness, even though theyre over and sometimes decades old? Mindfulness reminds us these are just thoughts; as quickly as they come into my brain, let them pass right out again, rather than getting stuck on them, he said. While you might say easier said than done, it seems that daily training and practice through meditation, one can develop the skill of being able to shake off bad memories. Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, moment by moment, without judgment, said Bridget Rolens, mindfulness instructor for the study. She leads a portion of the participants in two-hour, weekly sessions. Health education This is the commonality of working together as a group, improving yourselves, becoming educated about healthful activities, such as interacting with doctors, medications and their side effects Lenze said. Its how to communicate with the medical profession based on as people become older and develop medical conditions, we learn to manage those conditions. Put them all together, and One of the targets: We are examining whether their benefits are (cumulative). Does someone get twice the brain benefit if they engage in exercise plus mindfulness training? It might seem intuitively so, but there are other examples in medicine where this is not true, Lenze said. For example, doubling your exercise regimen does not double its benefits for health unless you are exercising only a very tiny amount. The study is unique in answering this question. It is also unique-ish in the size of the study. To my knowledge, there are no studies of this size, past or present, that have examined the brain benefits of these interventions. Another study is under way at the University of California at San Diego were theyve targeted 290 people. To measure the effects in the study here, researchers will administer physical and written exercises. Those include participants keeping logs, taking written tests and undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning to examine how the structure of the brain changes as people develop new skills. The study is funded by a $15 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, a branch of the National Institutes of Health. An early participant, Robert Kindle, 68, of Kirkwood, found the stress from his decades of climbing the corporate ladder failed to retire with him. He was increasingly cranky with a short fuse. During a visit to his physician maybe a year and a half ago he saw a flier on the study that addressed his issues of forgetfulness and cognitive decline. Im over 65, Im retired, I had time, he said. He didnt exercise much, if at all, and had never heard of mindfulness meditation, or at least never paid much attention when it was mentioned. After nearly 18 months in the study, he finds that things that once set him off no longer send up his heart rate and blood pressure. He exercises regularly. Hes feeling better, and his family says hes a lot easier to live with. Kindle says hes taking away a lot more from the study than he expected. Our study group has gotten very close, he says. Definitely. Were having a Christmas party. Other plans include regular reunions. Otherwise, Hes surprised at how easy the process has been. He recalls a day, when, Id get mad at the radio and throw it. The only thing that happened was the radio was broken, he said. Everything is not a crisis. CLAYTON A judge has refused to allow a member of a St. Louis County grand jury to speak out publicly about its decision not to charge the Ferguson police officer who killed Michael Brown Jr. Complete transparency is anathema to the very nature of a grand jury, which depends upon secrecy and anonymity for its proper functioning, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Ribaudo wrote in her order Tuesday that dismissed the unnamed jurors lawsuit. Officer Darren Wilson killed Brown in a confrontation on Aug. 9, 2014, that set off rioting that intensified three months later, after the grand jury decided not to indict Wilson. Grand Juror Doe, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a federal suit in 2015 seeking to bar Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch from enforcing the oath of secrecy. McCulloch issued a statement Friday that says, in part: Confidentiality is paramount to the proper functioning of the grand jury and the protection of the public, witnesses, the accused and the grand jurors themselves. Equally important is requiring each grand juror to abide by the oath they take. Anthony Rothert, an ACLU attorney, said, While we disagree with several premises in the decision, this is just one stop along the way of ultimately having First Amendment issues decided upon in federal court. He added, We are reviewing whether we will have further review in federal court. The ACLU insisted the juror has a right to speak out, especially with no way of knowing the prosecuting attorney would make a series of public statements that, in this grand jurors view, misrepresents what happened and what the grand jury decided. The original suit says Doe sought freedom to challenge McCullochs implication that the grand jury vote not to indict was unanimous, and also to advocate for legislative change of the grand jury process. Doe complained that prosecutors presenting evidence had placed special emphasis on Browns background and provided a muddled and untimely presentation of legal guidelines. The suit initially was filed in federal court, but U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel dismissed it, saying jurisdiction belonged with the state court. In June, a federal appeals court reversed that dismissal, but that ruling had no immediate effect as it required the resolution of the issue in state court first. A grand jury receives witness testimony in secret before deciding whether to file a charge, called an indictment, that would take a defendant to a public trial. Members are forbidden from discussing some aspects of their work. In the alternative, a prosecutor can file a charge that would go to a judge in a public hearing to decide if there is sufficient evidence for trial. When McCulloch announced the decision not to indict Wilson, he also took a rare step of releasing some transcripts and evidence from the case, but not the names of many witnesses nor information about the grand jurors. A separate Department of Justice investigation found that Wilsons use of deadly force was not objectively unreasonable. ST. LOUIS Giovanni Gabriele, founder of the well-known Giovannis on the Hill restaurant, has been charged with several crimes after a woman told police he molested her at the business. Gabriele, 75, of the 14000 block of Forest Crest Drive in Chesterfield, was charged Thursday with first-degree sodomy, second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree assault in the name Gabriele Giovanni. He surrendered that day and posted $30,000 bail, according to his attorney, Neil Bruntrager. We have cooperated with law enforcement and we are surprised that these charges have been filed, Bruntrager said. And we intend to defend vigorously the innocence of my client. A woman told police that on July 6 she went to the restaurant, at 5201 Shaw Avenue, as a security system representative. Gabriele restrained her to a chair with force, moved his hands up her dress toward her upper inner thighs and told her he wanted to perform an act of sodomy on her, according to accusations in court documents. The victim told police Gabriele also kissed and licked her without her consent. The same woman had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Cafe Napoli in Clayton alleging that a bar manager there exposed himself to her. That suit was dismissed in January 2014 and both sides were ordered to cover their own costs. According to Giovannis website, the restaurant opened in 1973, and has fed the likes of Frank Sinatra, Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney. Gabriele has cooked for Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, both George and George W. Bush, and Vice President Al Gore. Christine Byers of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ST. LOUIS Police are looking for the public's help to identify a man they say robbed the Midwest BankCentre, at 4914 Gravois Avenue in the Bevo Mill neighborhood, on Thursday afternoon. He walked in just after noon and handed a teller a note demanding money and saying he had a weapon. After receiving and undisclosed sum, he fled in a blue Chevrolet Impala with Missouri license plates number AJ7X7F. Police said the car was reported stolen in Jennings. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477. Jenni Dye: It shouldnt take Christmas miracle for Ron Johnson to do his job ST. LOUIS Almost half of the fraternities on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus are currently on probation. Most of the violations that led to probation, as well as three recent suspensions, stem from circumstances involving alcohol abuse, according to a series of records obtained Thursday by the Post-Dispatch through a records request. Among the more egregious incidents in the documents is a hospital visit March 18 for a new member of the Sigma Pi fraternity who had a blood alcohol level of 0.34 percent and bruising on his buttocks from a hazing incident involving being hit with a paddle. Missouri law says 0.08 percent is legally drunk. The incident led to the university revoking recognition of the fraternity chapter. Yet Sigma Pi initiated more than a dozen new members this semester. According to accounts from two Mizzou police officers on the scene, the student was transported to a hospital from a dormitory after he was found largely unresponsive and clearly under the influence. Both officers noted in the emergency room that the mans buttocks were bruised. Notes from student interviews by Mizzou administrators after the incident create a narrative for what was ruled as a hazing incident involving new members being paddled by more senior fraternity members. Mizzou found the fraternity guilty of coercing members to drink, as well as a slew of alcohol violations. Mizzou leaders opted to suspend the fraternity for five years as long as the fraternity basically disbanded during that time. The national group declined, moving forward with rush and its own homecoming events this fall. In October, the group was banned for life from Mizzous recognition. While we value our relationship with the university and recognize the important role our chapter must play in promoting a safe campus environment, we came to a different conclusion about the future of the chapter, national executive director Jason Walker said in a statement. Sigma Pi has imposed comprehensive, corrective sanctions on our University of Missouri chapter, which both hold individual members accountable as well as focus on accountability and risk prevention for the chapter. The documents released Thursday included incident reports for all fraternities and sororities at Mizzou from Aug. 1, 2015, through October 2016. While 14 of the 30 recognized fraternities are on probation, none of the 16 sororities currently face similar punishment. Probation puts organizations on notice that further violations could result in suspension. Five of the fraternities will be removed from probation effective Friday, the end of the fall 2016 semester. Delta Sigma Phi is on probation until May 2017 after Mizzou leaders found the chapter guilty in fall 2015 of alcohol violations and hazing activities. A parent called administrators in September 2015 and reported that his son was forced to drink and carry a pledge pack filled with condoms, cigarettes and gum. This is not the first time weve heard such things from this chapter, a Mizzou student life official wrote in an email about the parents allegations. According to a document from the fraternity, at least one member was suspended and possibly expelled from the group. At least 12 other fraternities were found responsible for alcohol violations, according to the documents. In addition, Delta Upsilon and Kappa Alpha Order were both suspended or removed from campus this fall. Many Greek life organizations met with administrators in preparation for the document release. The Interfraternity Council, governing board for Mizzous fraternities, issued a statement Thursday about the documents. For nearly 150 years, fraternities have played an important role in contributing to the University of Missouris safe, vibrant and engaged campus community, the council said in the statement. Recent media reports are deeply troubling to our fraternity community, which is united in its strong stance against sexual assault, hazing, alcohol abuse and intolerance. These behaviors stand in direct contradiction to every one of our fraternal values, the University Code of Conduct, the law, and basic human decency. In a recent interview with the Post-Dispatch, top Mizzou student life administrator Cathy Scroggs noted that while leaders have made progress with student organizations, each group turns over its members every four years, so the process is perpetual. Theres sort of a two steps forward, one step backward phenomenon that were seeing, she said. But Scroggs has hope. These are 18- and 19-year-olds that are learning, too, and theyre testing us from time to time, she said. Our students join Greek organizations because they want to be leaders and see opportunity. They join to be change makers, not to accept the status quo. I am encouraged by their willingness to take action. ST. LOUIS An investment banker convicted of felonies in 1995 and imprisoned for almost three years in a case that also landed former St. Louis Comptroller Virvus Jones in jail now is an executive with a firm doing millions of dollars in business with Jones daughter, city Treasurer Tishaura Jones. Craig Walker is a vice president for public finance for IFS Securities Inc., an Atlanta investment banking and brokerage firm. Since April 2015, the firm has been a part of underwriting more than $55 million in bonds for the St. Louis Parking Fund, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. Tishaura Jones was elected city treasurer in 2012 and is a Democratic candidate for St. Louis mayor. By virtue of being treasurer, she is in charge of the citys parking operations. Recent bond issues that involved IFS Securities and the citys parking operations under Jones were: April 2, 2015: $6.44 million in subordinated parking revenue bonds for a capital improvement project, new parking meters. IFS partnered with St. Louis-based Stifel investment firm on the deal. Dec. 28, 2015: $36.41 million in subordinated parking revenue refunding bonds. The investment firm of Siebert Brandford Shank also took part in the issue. Nov. 25, 2016: $12.365 million in parking revenue refunding bonds. IFS was the sole underwriter on this issue. Jones said she knew Walker was at IFS and was aware of his past criminal convictions, when the treasurers office hired the firm as one of three investment firms in 2014. No company is squeaky clean, Jones said. And Mr. Walker has paid his debt to society. Walker said his contact with St. Louis officials is infrequent and that he did not serve as the point person for IFS on the bond issues. On his LinkedIn profile, Walker states that he was hired as vice president by IFS to launch the public/corporate finance department within the firm. Jared Boyd, Jones chief of staff, said IFS and the other two underwriters were selected in 2014 after eight firms submitted their qualifications. He said the plan called for the firms to be used whenever the treasurers office needed to issue bonds. When asked why IFS had received more underwriting work than the other firms, Jones said the two later issues, the refunding bonds, came from an idea submitted by IFS. And it saved the city money, about $5 million, she said. Walker said he has talked with the treasurers office on occasion and has also discussed St. Louis issues with the IFS investment banker who directly deals with the office. Were a team; thats how the firm works, Walker said. This is not the first time Walker and Jones have worked together. Both said they worked for Blaylock Robert Van, an Oakland-based investment banking firm. Walker joined Blaylock in 2009 and Jones worked there from March 2010 to June 2011, while she was a Missouri state representative. Walker left the firm in September 2012 and joined IFS in October 2012, a month before Tishaura Jones was elected treasurer. He was named as a vice president for public finance in January 2013, less than two weeks after she took office, company press releases indicate. Along with his position with IFS, Walker also began working in July 2012 as a commissioned consultant with two companies in the St. Louis area: KAI Design & Build, and Power Up. That employment information was submitted by Walker to BrokerCheck, an online register operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which provides information about investors and brokers. On Nov. 15, KAI, an architecture and design firm, donated $25,000 to Tishaura Jones mayoral campaign. The chief executive officer of KAI, formerly Kennedy & Associates, is longtime Virvus Jones supporter Michael Kennedy Sr. Power Up designs and installs commercial electrical systems. Michael Kennedy Jr. identifies himself as the owner of Power Up on his LinkedIn profile. Walker said his work for Kennedys company was a one-time meeting that Walker set up for the firms. Walkers relationship with Virvus Jones goes back to the early 1990s, when he was a $600,000-a-year investment banker for Prudential Securities Inc. and a major contributor to Jones. In 1995, Jones, Walker and two other Jones allies were charged by federal prosecutors with scheming to rig the 1993 Democratic primary race for comptroller. Authorities had alleged that Virvus Jones, the incumbent, put Penny Alcott into the field as a stalking-horse candidate to siphon votes from Alderman James Shrewsbury, Jones main challenger. Jones edged Shrewsbury in the election. In September 1995, Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of felony tax fraud and later was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison. Prosecutors said Jones used about $118,000 from his campaign fund and a nephews guardian account to pay personal expenses. As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors dropped their claims that Jones had been part of the election-rigging scheme. Alcott and another Jones associate pleaded guilty to charges related to the 1993 campaign. Walker was the only defendant who opted to go to trial. In December 1995, he was convicted in St. Louis federal court of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice and encouraging perjury. In March 1996, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison. An appeals court upheld his conviction. Walker is licensed as a broker in Missouri and Illinois, according to BrokerCheck. A person convicted of a felony has to wait 10 years before obtaining securities licenses, according to FINRA. BrokerCheck shows that Walker did not work at any investment firm from 1995 to 2008. Im not involved in politics now, and I havent been involved in politics since 1995, Walker said. And I never had a securities violation prior to (the 1995 felonies), he said, and I havent had one since. JEFFERSON CITY At one point, Missouri Republican elector Janice DeWeese estimates she was getting an email every 15 seconds. In one 24-hour period, she received 9,722 messages. On slower days, she gets closer to 3,000. They are very She trailed off. Forceful, she decided. DeWeese doesnt read all of these messages, but she gets the general idea. Theyre from people throughout the country, urging her not to support Donald Trump. DeWeese is one of 10 Missourians who will get to vote directly for the president of the United States. And despite the messages, shell head to Jefferson City on Monday to cast her ballot for Donald Trump, on behalf of the Republican Party. After a polarizing election that culminated in a surprising Trump victory, theres been a movement to block his presidency by mobilizing faithless electors, or members of the Electoral College who choose to vote against the will of their party. But thats a Hail Mary pass, given that electors are often handpicked by the state committees of each established party thats how its done in Missouri and neighboring Illinois. It takes 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency, and Trump won 306 on Nov. 8. That means it would take 37 faithless electors to keep him out of the White House. Only electors from a states winning party travel to the state capital to vote, always on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. In Illinois, thats 20 Democrats casting a vote for Hillary Clinton. In Missouri, a state that went overwhelmingly red on Election Day, itll be 10 Republicans. Some states punish or fine electors who dont vote for their partys designated candidate. But Missouri isnt among them, which is one explanation for the onslaught of calls and emails from Trump opponents. DeWeese could change her mind if she wanted to. But she doesnt. This is certainly annoying and I consider it being hassled, said DeWeese, who serves as vice president of the Missouri Federation of Republican Women. I would never have done this and I have never done anything like this when my party lost the election. I would have accepted it as something decided by the American people. Im humbled. Its a privilege to be an elector, she added. But for some, that privilege has come with a loss of privacy. Several electors phone numbers that were once listed on organization websites are no longer in service. Messages sent to a number of former email addresses now bounce back. Their contact information and addresses have also been posted on certain blogs and websites, including Reddit, a popular discussion website. The Post-Dispatch couldnt reach elector Scott Clark but did speak to another man who said hed been fielding what felt like an endless stream of phone calls and text messages. He declined to give his name. That mans telephone number had been posted on websites, mistakenly linked to Clark. I guess I know now why so many people are telling me not to vote for Trump, he said. Barry County Presiding Commissioner Cherry Warren, another Republican elector, has also received many messages. The bulk of them were respectful, he said. They havent changed my mind, he said. Warren said he sees it as a duty, representing the people in his district and voting the way they would want him to vote. Trump got a resounding margin of victory in the district I represent, Warren said. I think the people down here felt strongly they needed a change. His fellow elector, Hector Maldonado, spoke to the AP about a similar need to live up to an oath. I took an oath once to become a U.S. citizen, and on Aug. 14, 1995, that was the first oath that Ive taken to support the U.S. Constitution, said Maldonado, a Missouri National Guardsman and Mexican immigrant. A year later I took the oath again, to support the duties of being an officer in the U.S. Army. This was the third oath that Ive taken to execute what I promised to do. Still, when Maldonado, Warren, DeWeese and the other electors gather Monday, theyll be greeted by protesters. The protesters will be wearing duct tape over their mouths because they feel silenced, said St. Louis native and organizer Linda Sherwin. Their hope is that the electors might consider a third-party compromise candidate a Republican who is less divisive than Trump. Were realistic about it. We know were talking to a group of Republican electors, Sherwin said. We just hope they vote with their conscience. Were not promoting one single Republican candidate. But for DeWeese, voting her conscience is voting for Trump, who she says is a proven businessman who will create jobs and be able to see the bigger picture. In the meantime, though, the emails keep rolling in. I sometimes feel bullied, she said. JEFFERSON CITY With just three weeks left before he leaves office, Gov. Jay Nixon Friday announced the addition of three state parks to Missouris collection of outdoor public spaces. The new parks, spanning more than 8,000 acres in southern Missouri, bring the total number of state parks to 91. At a time when other states are closing or even selling state parks or charging day use fees, we are expanding our system of state parks to offer more opportunities for Missourians to experience the outdoors, at no admission cost, Nixon said in a statement. The new parks, which are not yet developed, could become an issue in the upcoming legislative session after the Democratic governor leaves office. Just as members of the Republican-led House and Senate took jabs at Nixons attempts to open more land to public use last year, lawmakers are set to debate the merits of expansion again in 2017. I do think there is a little bit of a land grab going on. That concerns me, said Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville, whose district includes the proposed Ozark Mountain State Park, northwest of Branson. I think we have plenty of great state parks. But I think we need to maintain the ones we have before we do more expansion. I would favor putting a brick on these things, Sater told the Post-Dispatch Friday. Sen. Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, has two of the proposed parks in his district, including Eleven Point State Park in Oregon County and Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County. Cunningham has already introduced legislation requiring the state to begin paying property taxes on land belonging to the Department of Natural Resources as a way to offset the loss of revenue to local governments. A similar proposal was debated last year, but it did not move forward. Under current law, the state typically pays property taxes for the first five years after it purchases park land. After that, counties no longer see property tax revenue for that land. Park supporters say visitors to park areas spend money and offset any losses from property taxes. In 2015, for example, a record 19.2 million people visited Missouri state parks and trails. Nixon expects to release attendance figures for 2016 in the next few days. The new parks include: Ozark Mountain State Park, with 1,011 acres featuring an open, grassy, flower-filled landscape of ridges and hills, known locally as knobs. The property is located in Taney County, northwest of Branson along Highway 465. Bryant Creek State Park, with 2,917 acres, consists of thick oak and pine forests and nearly two miles of river hills and bluffs along Bryant Creek. The property is in Douglas County, near the Ozark County line about 22 miles southeast of Ava. Eleven Point State Park, with 4,167 acres, including six miles of direct river frontage on the Eleven Point River, a nationally protected river corridor. The property is located in Oregon County approximately 45 miles east of West Plains, near Alton, Mo. Plans for development of the properties and future use are in preliminary stages. Early development will focus on natural resource stewardship. The state park system purchased the Eleven Point State Park for $8 million, Bryant Creek State Park for $4 million and Ozark Mountain State Park for $2.8 million. Money for the purchases came from settlements reached with mining companies that had operated in the state. Indianas Thomas R. Marshall, who was Americas vice president 100 years ago, voiced he plucked it from a Hoosier humorist one of the few long-remembered utterances to issue from that office: What this country needs is a good 5-cent cigar, which would be $1.11 in todays currency. A century later, what the country needs is a $12 twelve-ounce cup of coffee. Or so Howard Schultz thinks. Betting against the man who built Starbucks to a market capitalization of $86 billion is imprudent. Today, you cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a Starbucks store. There are 25,000 in 75 countries, with another 12,000 due by 2021, so Starbucks is not an elusive or exclusive experience. This poses a problem peculiar to affluent societies, and an opportunity. Seattle, where the original Starbucks was opened in 1971, now has a Starbucks Roastery where customers can turn a cup of small-batch coffee into an experience Starbucks sells experiences as much as coffee of both conspicuous consumption and conspicuous connoisseurship. Bloomberg reports that for a pittance, aka $10, skinflints will be able to buy a cold-brew coffee, which presumably is an excellent thing, infused with nitrogen gas, which sounds like an acquired taste. Many existing Starbucks are located to capture foot traffic in malls and shopping centers, which have been losing customers to online shopping. The original 30 Roasteries Reuters says they will be ultra-premium, not mere tacky premium will be destinations where people will go to linger. So, by 2021, when there will be more normal Starbucks than McDonalds, the few Starbucks Roasteries scattered from New York to Shanghai will be Starbucks entry into the positional economy. Very pricey coffee is just a fresh-brewed variation on the familiar phenomenon of positional goods. They are necessarily, inherently enjoyments for the few. They exist because, particularly in the upper reaches of affluent societies, it is not love that makes the world go round, it is a compound of envy and pretentiousness. Four decades ago, the economist Fred Hirsch distinguished between the material economy and the positional economy. Once a society has satisfied basic material needs (food, shelter, clothing), it turns yesterdays luxuries (cars, air conditioning, college educations) into necessities. Because these are mass-market commodities, such material prosperity is a leveling, egalitarian force. Positional competition is emphatically not. In the competition for an elite education or an exclusive vacation spot, one persons success is necessarily a loss for many other people because positional goods cannot be expanded indefinitely. Of course, Starbucks Roasteries could be expanded by the thousands, but this would make the experience banal and drain the stores of their positional power. After elementary needs food, shelter, clothing are satisfied, consumption nevertheless continues, indeed it intensifies because desires are potentially infinite. People compare themselves to their neighbors, envy their neighbors advantages, and strive to vault ahead in the envy-ostentation sweepstakes. The political equality of democratic societies leaves ample room for, and incites, social inequalities, which are coveted because they counter the leveling forces of mass affluence. Furthermore, as inherited privilege has been replaced by social rationality Napoleons careers open to talents, a meritocracy based on skills and education there is a residual human urge for irrational distinction. Such as savoring a $12 cup not just for the let us stipulate divine flavor but for the sheer fun of showing that you can and that your palate is so refined that merely very good coffee would be excruciating. In any American city large enough to sustain a social ecosystem of snobbery, there is a magazine to guide fastidious consumers to the five best craft breweries or the five best artisanal cheese shops. Heaven forefend that anyone should have to settle for the sixth best. For discerning tipplers, there are artisanal ice cubes. In San Francisco, The Mill, a cafe and bakery, offers artisanal toast for $4 a slice. It is to die for, say the cognoscenti. Where will the positional economy end? It wont. Stanford professor Francis Fukuyama notes that it is a peculiarity of human beings that they desire some things not for themselves but because they are desired by other human beings. Hamsters have more sense. This characteristic of our species the quest for recognition by distinguishing oneself from others provides limitless marketing possibilities because for many wealthy people, the chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches. So wrote Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, published in the resonant year of 1776. TOWN OF LEEDS Roger Reible had one key question Tuesday for Wisconsin Department of Transportation officials: Id like to know how to get that dot out of my living room. The dot, according to Reible, is on a map of proposed reliever roads that DOT officials are considering, in the hope of diverting some traffic off the busy Interstate 39/90/94 corridor between Madison and Portage. Not only do three of the four proposed reliever routes run right through Reibles 450-acre farm in the town of Leeds but the dot on the map represents an interchange, which would be located at the spot where Reible built his house just five years ago. Reible was one of more than 100 people who packed the Leeds Town Hall on Tuesday for a public meeting about a study of the 34-mile corridor of Interstate 39/90/94 between Madison and Exit 108 near Portage, where Interstate 39 turns northward. Brandon Lamers, study supervisor for the DOT, started the session by outlining the problems that the study is designed to address. The existing I-39/90/94 corridor is about 50 years old, and no longer adequate to carry the traffic that it carries. This is especially true during weekday rush hours in Madison, and on Friday and Sunday afternoons in Columbia County, when people travel to and from recreation areas up north. Also, between 20 percent and 28 percent of the interstates traffic, on any given day, consists of semi-tractor-trailers. Lamers said DOT officials are studying options for addressing these concerns, including repairing or rebuilding the existing interstate without expanding traffic capacity, or making improvements in the existing interstate corridor to expand traffic capacity. Other options still on the table are east reliever roads, which would be designed to route some traffic away from the interstate. The four reliever options under consideration are: East Reliever A: Build a new freeway starting at Interstate 94 at Cottage Grove, east of Madison, and connecting with the existing I-39/90/94 roadway north of DeForest. East Reliever B: Convert Highway 51 north of DeForest to a four-lane freeway, with the new roadway bypassing the Columbia County villages of Arlington and Poynette. The existing Highway 51 would be a de facto business route for local traffic. East Reliever C: Build a new freeway from Cottage Grove that would reconnect with the existing interstate northwest of Poynette. East Reliever D: Convert Highway 51 into a freeway from north of DeForest all the way to the I-39 turnoff to Portage, bypassing Arlington and Poynette. This would add another bridge over the Wisconsin River, in addition to the 50-year-old bridge on the interstate, which is near the end of its useful life. It was the reliever road proposals that brought many of the attendees to the meeting. I do not understand why we here in Columbia County need to have our land desecrated, and have our public land destroyed, to address traffic problems that originate in Madison, said Franceen Heeren of the town of Dekorra. Leeds Town Chairman James Foley said hes heard of several people in the town of Leeds who stand to lose substantial portions of their land including prime farmland if one of the reliever road options is pursued. That would be devastating, Foley said, to the town of Leeds tax base a key reason why town officials, when they meet on Monday, are expected to go on record in opposition to the reliever roads. That opposition was evident in the audience at Tuesdays meeting. Reible said he found out, on Facebook, that the DOT was considering reliever roads, and that options B, C or D would take about 60 acres from his farm, and render him unable to access other parts of it for farming. If we took a vote in this room, he said, I dont think anybody would vote for A, B, C or D. While the discussion was going on, Heeren circulated a petition expressing that viewpoint. Lamers said public opinion especially specific concerns about any proposal is most welcome. And, said Project Manager Robert Knorr of the DOT, nothing will happen immediately. Although the DOT wants to hone in on a preferred option next year, he said, construction could be a decade off, or more. Were not saying were going to build this in five years or whenever, he said. We just need to consider how to address this. The cost of whatever option is chosen, he added, is unknown, as is the future availability of federal or state money to pay for it. Both Knorr and Lamers said DOT officials want to hear opinions on all proposals, and are willing to schedule more public-input sessions in addition to holding their own public involvement meetings at various sites along the corridor. Rather than negotiate a new deal, the city of Baraboo favors letting the town of Delton give up its ownership share in the Baraboo-Dells Municipal Airport. In response to a Dec. 5 letter from the town stating its intention to withdraw, the Baraboo City Council opted Tuesday not stand in Deltons way. Let them drop out, said Alderman Phil Wedekind. Mayor Mike Palm said he would inform the village of Lake Delton, the only other remaining owner, of the councils directive. The town balked at a $3.7 million runway widening project proposed for next year, an expenditure that prompted the city of Wisconsin Dells to bail on the airport in October. Wisconsin Dells decision played a role in the towns withdrawal, as it wouldve faced one-third of the cost of maintaining the airport, rather than one-fourth. Town Chairman Larry Volzs letter proposed that Delton withdraw freeing itself of future expenses but giving up its claim to the property and forfeiting past investments as of Dec. 31 unless a new intergovernmental agreement is pursued. Baraboo aldermen took the letters lack of specific suggestions as a sign the towns interest in a new deal is tepid. The letter is just very ambiguous, Alderman Joel Petty said. If they were interested in that, why arent there any specifics in the correspondence? The airports owners hired MSA Professional Services to design plans for rebuilding and possibly widening the main runway. A proposal to widen the runway from 75 feet to 100 feet divided the airports municipal owners. Wisconsin Dells and Delton withdrew from ownership rather than share the estimated $800,000 cost of widening the runway. Baraboo and Lake Delton support widening the runway to improve safety and generate commerce. Baraboo leaders said the airport would be better off without an owner that doesnt support a critical project. Theres probably not a lot of good reasons to continue the partnership with the town, said City Administrator Ed Geick. I think the town is going to hold us back, and we cant afford that, Wedekind said. Alderman John Alt said a modern airport is just as crucial to a communitys infrastructure as roads and broadband. It just boggles my mind that we cant figure out how important this is, he said. Were going to really hurt if we bail on this. Alderman Scott Sloan suggested revising the intergovernmental agreement to include penalties for withdrawal. Delton still will enjoy the benefits of having an airport within its municipal limits, without paying for future improvements. There ought to be a penalty, he said. City Attorney Alene Bolin noted that the town is giving up its claim to the airport property, as well as its past investments in the facility and its voice in future discussions. The tradeoff for not paying the ante is losing a spot at the table. There is a substantial amount theyre leaving on the table, she said. Engineers at MSA already are developing runway designs, with bids to be solicited in July. Reconstruction is needed because the base beneath the existing 5,000-foot runway pavement is substandard. It was last rebuilt in 1991. Some leaders are concerned the airport is losing out on traffic because its narrow runway can barely accommodate commercial jets. The narrow landing strip also poses safety risks for large and small planes alike. The plan supported by Baraboo and Lake Delton would take two years and widen the runway at the owners expense. Rebuilding the runway within its existing footprint, the option supported by Wisconsin Dells and Delton, would cost $2.9 million and take two years. Shepherd Walton Handy stands to the left of Spenser Flower in 1934. Below, writer Mark Carey, right, and Martin Taylor on the same spot today. Ilmington was the scene of a rather incredible historic event in 1934: the third Christmas Day broadcast by a monarch was introduced from the village. Writer and actor Mark Carey has taken this fascinating episode and turned it into a play, Voices in the Air, which is getting its first public reading this Sunday at Ilmington Manor. Gill Sutherland went to find out more about it. Eighty-two years ago on Christmas Day the small Warwickshire village of Ilmington got to say hello to the world via the revolutionary new medium of shortwave radio. The tradition of The Kings (and later The Queens) Christmas Message had begun in 1932 with George V addressing the nation and the countrys dominions, sending them greetings and talking about news from the Empire. Amazingly the 1934 broadcast was introduced from Ilmington, leading up to the Kings address from Sandringham. Listening to the crackling recording from that bygone day is an overwhelming experience it manages to make Downton Abbey seem very modern The broadcast starts with the bells of the village church, St Mary, ringing out and the choir in fine voice, then the broadcast cuts to Ilmington Manor, where upper-class owner Spenser Flower, a member of the Stratford brewing family, begins his momentous address to the Empire: We hope as you hear these ancient chimes you will think of them as a greeting, a message of goodwill from the English countryside. He then goes on to introduce local shepherd Walton Handy, who talks with a heavy country burr. Mr Handy appeals for a long lost brother who had emigrated to New Zealand to contact him It is from such a different era that it sounds almost comical, like listening to a Harry Enfield sketch. It is however also very moving; perhaps because it is redolent of more innocent times. I listen to the recording while standing in the manor with the current owner, a very jovial and welcoming Martin Taylor, grandson of Spenser Flower, and writer and actor Mark Carey, who lives in the village, and has based a new play, Voices in the Air, on this historic affair. The manor is a lovely rambling warren of rooms that was built from 1590 to 1600; its wood-panelled and atmospheric the kind of place where historic things should happen. Martin tells me his mother Spensers daughter was born in the house in 1924 and he himself in 1949. After Spenser died in 1939, the house passed to Martins uncle Dennis, and after he died Martin came to live here in 2003 with his wife Miranda and their two sons. Sadly, Miranda, an artist, died in 2010. I ask Mark how he first came across the story of the broadcast. I heard about it not long after moving into the village its often talked about. I think I first heard about it through Paul Bryan, of the local Morris men, whose grandma used to be the cook here. screen-shot-2016-12-16-at-17-22-50 Thats right shes in the photo from 1934, says Martin, meaning the photo taken of villagers and the manors then staff to commemorate the broadcast. She was called Beret Bryan because she always wore a hat like a French onion seller. According to Mark, the whole endeavour was a huge undertaking for the BBC, with shortwave radio very much in its infancy; it took the corporation two whole weeks to set up, record and decamp. Mark fills me in on more background: The Kings Christmas Speech was Lord Reiths idea. The royal family were seen as a bit distant. George V (the Queens granddad) was a pretty stuffy fellow, all he was interested in was the weather and sailing, and so Reith had the idea to do these broadcasts. Initially the King was against it. A lot of people thought that would be the end of the monarch; once they came down to our level they feared all the mystique and gravitas would go. But actually of course it was the making of them. Mark continues: When the King did a parade in 1936 for his Silver Jubilee with Queen Mary it was hugely popular; apparently he had tears in his eyes and said I didnt realise they loved me so much. It could be that these broadcasts made that difference. It was an amazing time for the BBC, continues Mark. Broadcasting House had just opened and Logie Baird was experimenting with TV. Technology was moving on and people were complaining about the licence fee! How come Ilmington was chosen for the broadcast? My grandpa was very interested in radio, says Martin. He worked at the Admiralty and probably had contacts at the BBC. Mark adds: Also the BBC had made ten actuality programmes what we now call documentaries and one was made in Ilmington, and was one of Reiths favourites. So how has Mark made it into a play, where did he even begin? My original thought was you cant just tell the story, you need some conflict, some sort of tension. After a few ideas, I decided to tell it from the point of view of a young BBC technician working on shortwave radio. Hes an engineer, very much a London lad, an urban person; and has to come to this place for three weeks over Christmas and New Year. Mark continues: So the broadcast is the background to the play and the central thrust of the play is the countryside versus the city; and technology moving on faster than people can quite deal with. Its also a love story the engineer has a sort of romance with a young woman working at the BBC. He has to leave her behind at Christmas and all that. What does he hope will happen with the play? Its very much a work in development. Ive done a couple of drafts. I think what would work nicely with this script is a radio play at Christmas, so Ive written it with that in mind. Its an hour long, and it works from the point of view of just hearing the words. So what were doing at the weekend is just getting a group of local actors together and reading through. Local director Michael Rolfe, who has a lot of experience on radio, is overseeing it. Its going to be quite casual. I want to get feedback, see what works and what doesnt, and just have a lovely jolly evening. And well say cheers to that! Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) today announced that Mr. Paul Wright will retire from his position of President and Chief Executive Officer following the Company's 2017 Annual General Meeting in April 2017. Mr. George Burns, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc., will succeed Mr. Wright as President and Chief Executive Officer and will also join Eldorado's Board of Directors. Mr. Wright will continue as a member of Eldorado's Board of Directors, moving to the Chairman position. Mr. Robert Gilmore, Eldorado's current Chairman, will continue to serve on the board, moving to the position of Vice-Chairman and Independent Lead Director. Paul Wright said, "I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Eldorado over seventeen years, a period of intense activity through which we succeeded in creating a truly leading international gold company. The quality of our global team and their relentless commitment to success have been integral to our growth and I am proud to have been part of this team. I am enthusiastic about George taking on the leadership role and look forward to working with him through both the transition period and subsequently in my role as Chairman." Robert Gilmore said, "On behalf of Eldorado's Board of Directors, I would like to express our sincerest thanks to Paul Wright for his 20 years of tireless dedication and leadership in building an outstanding gold mining company. Paul has earned the trust and respect of our employees, shareholders, partners and industry leaders. We wish Paul all the best as he begins retirement and for his continued success as he assumes the role of Chairman of the Board. We are excited to welcome George to his new roles, both on the Board and as President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board has selected a very capable and technically accomplished leader at a time when Eldorado is in a strong financial position, with an outstanding portfolio of producing mines and development projects. With George as Eldorado's President and Chief Executive Officer and Paul moving into the role of Chairman, Eldorado has a strong and promising future." Paul Wright joined Eldorado in 1996 as Vice President, Mining, and led the Company in the position of President and Chief Executive Officer since his appointment to the role in October 1999. Mr. Wright has overseen the Company's continued growth with Eldorado prospering under his 20 years of leadership. George Burns was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc. in August 2012. Prior to that he held the positions of Senior Vice President, Mexican Operations and Vice President, Canada and United States respectively. Mr. Burns has over 30 years of experience in the mineral sector including executive, operations, development and engineering leadership roles in gold, copper and coal operations. Prior to joining Goldcorp, Mr. Burns was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Centerra Gold Inc. Mr. Burns served in various capacities for Asarco including Vice President of mining as well as numerous capacities for Cyprus Minerals Corporation and he began his career with Anaconda Company in 1978. Mr. Burns received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1982. Employers Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EIG) today announced the appointment of Michael S. Paquette as its executive vice president, chief financial officer, with responsibility for the Companys Financial Reporting, Treasury, Corporate Planning, Investor Relations and Internal Audit Departments. Paquettes employment with the Company will commence on January 1, 2017. Paquette previously served as executive vice president, chief financial officer of Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. from 2008 to 2015 and chief financial officer of Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. from its inception in 2012 to 2015. Prior to joining Montpelier in 2007, Paquette spent 18 years with White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., and its subsidiaries, in various capacities including senior vice president, controller and 4 years with KPMG as an auditor. Paquette holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Certified Financial Manager and Chartered Global Management Accountant. Michael brings strong experience in the areas of finance, treasury and business processes, said Douglas D. Dirks, president and chief executive officer. His solid leadership skills promote accounting and financial discipline and generate operating and reporting efficiencies which will drive the planning and execution of immediate and long-term financial strategies. I am excited to be joining the EMPLOYERS organization, said Michael Paquette. I look forward to working with Doug Dirks and the entire EMPLOYERS team to profitably grow the business and drive shareholder value. InterOil Corporation (NYSE: IOC) today provided an update on the transaction with Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM). Amended and Restated Arrangement Agreement InterOil and ExxonMobil have entered into an Amended and Restated Arrangement Agreement, which among other items, extends the outside date of the transaction to March 31, 2017. Under the terms of the Amended Agreement: ExxonMobil has agreed to purchase all issued and outstanding common shares of InterOil for consideration consisting of US$45.00 per share payable in ExxonMobil shares and a contingent resource payment ("CRP"). This is consistent with the consideration provided for under the Arrangement Agreement entered into by InterOil and ExxonMobil on July 21, 2016. The CRP will provide for an additional cash payment of approximately $7.07 per InterOil share for each trillion cubic feet equivalent (tcfe) gross resource certification of the Elk-Antelope field above 6.2 tcfe, up to a cap of 11 tcfe of certified resource. This is an increase from the July Arrangement Agreement, which was capped at 10 tcfe, representing an increase in total potential consideration to approximately $78.94 per InterOil share from approximately $71.87 per share. The termination fee that may become payable by the Company in certain circumstances has been increased from $67 million to $100 million. "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with ExxonMobil on the transaction, giving our shareholders a chance to consider and benefit from the compelling potential value offered by the transaction," said Chris Finlayson, Chairman of InterOil. "We are now focusing on obtaining the necessary approvals to complete the transaction. We believe this transaction is in the best interests of InterOil and its shareholders, as it provides InterOil shareholders a material and immediate premium for their shares, as well as a potential direct cash payment through a CRP." Transaction Committee of Board Completes Comprehensive Review Further to InterOil's announcement on December 13, 2016, InterOil's Independent Transaction Committee ("the Committee"), consisting of four independent and experienced directors of InterOil, has undertaken a detailed and thorough review process to consider whether it is in the best interests of InterOil to proceed with the ExxonMobil transaction, and to ensure that the procedural and substantive aspects of the transaction are responsive to commentary from the Yukon court, relating to approval of the transaction. To assist in this process, the Committee retained independent legal counsel, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, to provide transactional and corporate governance advice and engaged BMO Capital Markets ("BMO"), an independent financial advisor, to provide a detailed fairness opinion on a fixed-fee basis. BMO has delivered to the Committee and the InterOil board a fairness opinion stating that based upon and subject to the various assumptions, limitations and qualifications set out in such fairness opinion, and as of the date of such opinion, the consideration to be received by the InterOil shareholders pursuant to the Amended Arrangement is fair, from a financial point of view, to the InterOil shareholders. The fixed fee was paid to BMO immediately following the delivery of the opinion, and was not contingent on the conclusion reached in the opinion, the entry into of the Amended Agreement with ExxonMobil or the completion of the transaction. The Committee also oversaw the engagement of GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd ("GLJ"), an independent qualified reserves evaluator, to provide an update to its Contingent Resource estimates for the Elk-Antelope field to include the results of the Antelope-6 appraisal well which was completed in 2016. GLJ's updated estimates for the gross unrisked Contingent Resources for the Elk-Antelope field are a low estimate of 6.83 tcfe (1C), a best estimate of 7.80 tcfe (2C) and a high estimate of 8.95 tcfe (3C). The GLJ updated estimates do not include results from the Antelope-7 appraisal well which is currently drilling. The GLJ updated estimates, along with other recent publically disclosed independent estimates, were reviewed by BMO in connection with rendering its fairness opinion. The Committee's unanimous conclusion and recommendation to the InterOil Board, and the subsequent determination of the entire InterOil Board, is that the proposed transaction is in the best interests of InterOil (considering the interests of all affected stakeholders) and that the consideration to be received by shareholders is fair to shareholders. Additional details regarding the review process followed by InterOil and the Committee will be set forth in a forthcoming management information circular. "After a thorough review process, consultation with our own independent advisors and careful consideration of available options, including remaining as a standalone company, the Committee has recommended, and the board of directors has unanimously approved, the new Amended and Restated Arrangement Agreement with ExxonMobil," said Dr. William Ellis Armstrong, Chairman of the Committee. "We believe that the proposed transaction with ExxonMobil is in the best interests of InterOil and its shareholders." Pathway to completion Based on the anticipated timing of the interim order hearing, InterOil expects to mail a management information circular relating to a special meeting to vote on the ExxonMobil transaction in mid-January 2017, and anticipates that the meeting will be scheduled for mid-February 2017. To accommodate this schedule, the InterOil Board has set a new Record Date of January 10, 2017. Holders of record of InterOil's common shares, options and restricted share units at the close of business on January 10, 2017 will be entitled to vote at the special meeting. In recognition of this new timetable InterOil and ExxonMobil have agreed to extend the outside date for completion of the transaction to March 31, 2017. Either party has the right to further extend the outside date to May 31, 2017 if conditions to closing have been satisfied other than those relating to receipt of a final order from the Yukon court. Chris Drosner Chris Drosner writes the Beer Baron column for the Wisconsin State Journal. Follow Chris Drosner Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Dates and grapes. Theyre two ingredients that could conceivably be paired in a beer. MobCraft Beer, now of Milwaukee but founded in Madison, could conceivably make such a beer. It could conceivably be OK. But it would not be OK if that beer were called Date Grape. And thats the situation sort of MobCraft found itself in two weeks ago, inciting social media fury, apologizing for the name, removing it from its website, pledging other changes and promising to make it right with a donation to an organization that helps rape victims. Controversy over beer names probably trails only brewery expansions and big-beer-vs.-small-beer politics on the big board of beer news. And beer names or label imagery that are in poor taste or in a different class that contribute to rape culture are all too common among the predominantly male industry. Wisconsin had its own skirmish on this front in 2015, when, to introduce its maibock The Twins, Lake Louie Brewing held an event at a strip club with the tagline Grab hold of a pair. This story, though, has a uniquely MobCraft twist in that the beer never existed and MobCraft didnt name it. MobCraft, remember, bills itself as the worlds first crowdsourced brewery. Most of its beers begin as ideas or even full-blown recipes submitted on MobCrafts website by homebrewers or beer fans. With enough social media activity about those ideas, they advance to appear to the public on the website and those ideas are put up for votes in which a vote equals an order. The winning beer in the monthly cycle joins the MobCraft stable, and more popular ones like Night & Day black IPA and Hop Gose the Grapefruit are continued with additional production. By Dec. 1 the beer had advanced to the point where it appeared on MobCrafts website and vote-orders were being taken. The social media uproar began Dec. 6, and co-founder Henry Schwartz said the first he heard of it was from a call from the alderman for the district in which the brewery opened this summer. Within hours, MobCraft issued an apology signed by Schwartz noting that staff did not screen names before the vote rounds began. I feel horrible that this oversight happened, the beer name has been changed and we now have a process where our team vets names before they ever appear publicly. We would Never promote rape culture as it is (a) very serious issue never to be joked about, Schwartz wrote. The beers name was changed to the less harmful Dates & Grapes for a time before the submission was removed entirely. MobCraft also pledged to donate a portion of sales at the taproom the following Saturday to a rape crisis center an effort that Schwartz said netted $200 for The Healing Center in Milwaukee. Taproom sales were down about 55 percent from a typical Saturday, he said, though he noted a snowstorm hit that night. Still, the explanation of the oversight left many questions, most of which contained the word really. Really, you didnt see a name that was published on your website; if you did see it, really, you missed an unmissable rape pun? Schwartz later clarified and expanded the apology on the MobCraft blog, noting that the recipe submission and winnowing process is so automated that effort has to be made to see the beer names before theyre published. Automation is used from the time of submission till the vote starts, URLs are auto populated, the beer name and images are also auto populated, he wrote. Schwartz told me the recipes that appear on the site at the voting stage are built by head brewer Andrew Gierczak, whos focusing narrowly on aspects like ingredients, recipe viability and government approval. Many beers are cut at this stage Schwartz said typically around 40 are submitted each month and perhaps six to eight appear for voting on the site but the focus had always been on the beer, not the names. That will change now, Schwartz said, with names run through Google and Urban Dictionary. Most beer names that came through were honest, funny and good beer names, Schwartz said. We never had a problem with it so there wasnt really a policy around it. Ive met Schwartz and Gierczak a few times, and while true character is often difficult to divine in such situations, they seem like solid guys who wouldnt condone or certainly try to capitalize on this type of ugliness. Because of this, I believed the official line that this was a mistake rather than an endorsement of an insensitive joke withdrawn after backlash. I also understood the skepticism that met the initial, limited explanation. And even now, if you dont believe them, thats up to you. But the action was clear and decisive: Schwartz quickly removed the offending submission, owned it and, with the rape crisis donation, took steps to right the wrong. The apology read to me as heartfelt, with the comments on the process seeking to explain the error rather than deflect blame for it. As for the origin of the recipe idea and the offending name, Schwartz told Kathy Flanigan of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the submitter was Jeremy Bergener of Westminster, Colorado. A Dec. 8 post on Reddit by the guy who submitted the name Date Grape to MobCraft apologized for the controversy and said, predictably, that it was all supposed to be a joke. He said he heard about MobCraft on Shark Tank and submitted the beer thinking it wouldnt make it through their screening process. He lamented putting MobCraft through the ringer but said he also felt Schwartz and Co. threw him under the bus. Was it a poor choice to name the beer as I did? Yes, yes it was, he wrote. But it was a joke. I never thought it would go this far. I do not condone rape or sexism whatsoever. This far is pretty far. Some national news outlets, including Fox News, picked up the story nearly all regurgitated from the Journal Sentinel report. Most of the ones I saw did a decent job of noting MobCrafts unusual business model and, by extension, its unique vulnerability to a damaging situation like this. Empowering the mob with creative control of its business also means relinquishing control of certain things, and theres no question there should have been more checks in place to keep MobCraft true to what I believe are the values of its owners. Schwartz suggested the episode has been a wake-up call for him and the staff half of whom are women. If you dont have those intentions internally, those thought processes internally, you kind of dont think that anybodys going to be malicious, Schwartz said. And then once you figure out that there are malicious ideas out there, you have to develop a new process and look at things through a new lens. But MobCraft has pushed the envelope with beer names and imagery before, and hopefully this reality check will clean that up going forward as they say it will. If you think this controversy was overblown, thats your prerogative. But the harm to those affected by sexual assault is real and significant, and no rape joke is funny enough to everyone else to inflict it on survivors of sexual violence. Theres plenty of blame to go around for this beer name but none of it should fall on those who object to it. Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), the companys anti-PD-1 therapy, for the first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumors have high PD-L1 expression (tumor proportion score [TPS] of 50 percent or more) with no EGFR or ALK positive tumor mutations. The recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission for marketing authorization in the European Union. A final decision is expected in the first quarter of 2017. KEYTRUDA is currently approved in Europe for the second-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express PD-L1 and who have received at least one prior chemotherapy regimen. Patients with EGFR or ALK positive tumor mutations should also have received targeted therapy before receiving KEYTRUDA. Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the EU, so todays news is an important step forward for many patients in Europe. If approved, patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with high PD-L1 expression could receive KEYTRUDA instead of chemotherapy as their initial treatment, said Dr. Roger Dansey, senior vice president and therapeutic area head, oncology late-stage development, Merck Research Laboratories. We are committed to working collaboratively with governments and other stakeholders to ensure that KEYTRUDA will be made available to patients in Europe as quickly as possible. The positive opinion is based on data from KEYNOTE-024, a pivotal study which demonstrated superior overall survival and progression-free survival with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) compared to chemotherapy in patients whose tumors expressed high levels of PD-L1 with no EGFR or ALK positive tumor mutations. KEYNOTE-024 is a randomized, open-label, phase 3 study evaluating KEYTRUDA monotherapy at a fixed dose of 200 mg compared to standard of care platinum-containing chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with both squamous and non-squamous metastatic NSCLC. The study enrolled patients who had not received prior systemic chemotherapy treatment for their metastatic disease and whose tumors had high PD-L1 expression with no EGFR or ALK aberrations. Waitsfield, VT (PRWEB) December 16, 2016 A US Geography IQ survey of Americans by Discovery Map International found that nearly half of participants (46%) do not know how many states make up New England and nearly a quarter (22%) cannot name the capital of New York state. Just in time for holiday travel, Discovery Map International, creators of the colorful and functional maps used by 40 million people in more than 130 destinations, now invites travelers to test their geography IQ. The 15-question, multiple choice quiz can be played online at http://www.discoverymap.com/geography-quiz or on Discovery Map International's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/discoverymap/). For vacation pre-planners, the geography IQ quiz can be downloaded and printed in advance of a road trip as part of Discovery Map International's "Are We There Yet" Survival Guide, which also includes classic car games and map reading activities. The full "Are We There Yet" Survival Guide can be downloaded at http://www.discoverymap.com/are-we-there-yet. "Discovery Maps are the maps you know and love," said Peter Hans, CEO of Discovery Map International. "The green, cartoon-like maps are instantly recognizable by people across the country and an engaging way for families to immerse themselves in the local community. The Geography IQ quiz and 'Are We There Yet' Survival Guide further enhance any vacation by making the 'getting there' more fun." In addition to holiday travel, new map editions recently launched in notable ski destinations are a helpful resource for folks itching to hit the slopes. Ski destinations with Discovery Maps include: Killington & Rutland, Smugglers' Notch, Stowe, and Mad River Valley in Vermont; Park City, Utah; Sun Valley, Idaho; Breckinridge, Colorado; Lake Placid, New York; and Bozeman, Montana. No matter the destination, vacationers of all kinds can take advantage of Discovery Map's Instagram Sweepstakes, running through March 2017. Travelers can enter the sweepstakes by posting an image, a destination shot or selfie, on Instagram from a Discovery Map location using the designated hashtag #discoverymap. One winner is randomly drawn each month to win a $100 gift card. For rules and regulations, visit http://www.discoverymap.com/instagram. Discovery Map International commissioned SurveyMonkey to conduct the Geography IQ survey among a sample of 500 travelers. About Discovery Map Discovery Map International is the country's leading provider of curated guides to top tourist destinations, cities and towns throughout North America. The distinctively colorful, hand-drawn maps are a favorite of travelers for navigating local dining, attractions, businesses, cultural experiences, ski destinations and even the best locations to take selfies. Discovery Maps can be found in local hotels, restaurants, shops and other participating venues, and also at discoverymap.com. Named by Forbes as "one of the best franchises to buy" in 2015, Discovery Maps International is headquartered in Waitsfield, VT, in the heart of the Green Mountains. Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/12/prweb13931324.htm VANCOUVER, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX: ITH) (NYSE-MKT: THM) ("ITH" or the "Company") announced today that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") of common shares to existing major shareholders to raise gross proceeds of approximately USD 22 million. The Offering will consist of 45,833,334 common shares of the Company, representing approximately 39.4% of the 116.4 million shares currently issued and outstanding, at a price of USD 0.48 per share. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement for full satisfaction of the final payment due in January 2017 with respect to acquisition of certain mining claims and related rights in the vicinity of the Livengood Gold Project in Alaska (the "Project") (approximately USD 14.8 million as of September 30, 2016), continuation of optimization studies to further improve and de-risk the Project, required environmental baseline studies, and for general working capital purposes. The Offering will be taken up by the current institutional shareholders of the Company, with Paulson & Co. Inc. ("Paulson") acquiring beneficial ownership of 32,429,842 shares, Tocqueville Asset Management, L.P. ("Tocqueville") acquiring beneficial ownership of 9,041,554 shares (taken together Paulson and Tocqueville will acquire a total of 41,471,396 common shares, representing approximately 35.6% of the common shares currently issued and outstanding) and AngloGold Ashanti (U.S.A.) Exploration Inc. ("AngloGold") acquiring beneficial ownership of 4,361,938 shares. Following completion of the Offering, Paulson, Tocqueville and AngloGold will beneficially own approximately 34.2%, 19.7%, and 9.5%, respectively, of the Company's 162,186,972 common shares. In connection with the Offering, the Company has agreed to appoint one Paulson designee to the Company's board of directors at closing. Commencing from the next annual general meeting of shareholders, Paulson will have the right to nominate two individuals for election to the board of directors. The completion of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions including obtaining any required regulatory approvals including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the NYSE MKT. All common shares issued in the Offering will be subject to a hold period in Canada of four months from the closing of the Offering. All common shares issued in the United States will be subject to resale restrictions under U.S. federal and state securities laws. As the aggregate number of common shares issued pursuant to the Offering exceeds 25% of the currently issued and outstanding common shares of the Company, the number of common shares issued to insiders pursuant to the Offering exceeds 10% of the currently issued and outstanding common shares of the Company and the Offering will materially affect control of the Company, the Company would ordinarily be required to obtain shareholder approval under the TSX Company Manual (the "Manual"). However, the Company has applied to the TSX under Section 604(e) of the Company Manual for a "financial hardship" exemption from the requirement to obtain shareholder approval. The Company's board of directors, who are free from any interest in the Offering and are unrelated to the investors, have authorized such application on the basis of their determination that the Company is in serious financial difficulty and the Offering is designed to improve the Company's financial situation and is reasonable for the Company in the circumstances. As a consequence of relying upon the financial hardship exemption under Section 604(e) of the TSX Company Manual, the Company expects that the TSX will commence a remedial de-listing review, which is normal practice when a listed issuer seeks to rely on this exemption. Although the Company believes that it will be in compliance with all of the TSX listing requirements following completion of the Offering, no assurance can be provided as to the outcome of such review and, therefore, the Company's continued qualification for listing on the TSX. As Paulson and Tocqueville are insiders of the Company, the Offering is a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The participation of Paulson and Tocqueville in the Offering is exempt from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements under MI 61-101 by virtue of the "financial hardship" exemptions contained in Section 5.5(g) and 5.7(e) of MI 61-101. The common shares to be issued in the Offering have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the common shares to be issued in the Offering, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the common shares to be issued in the Offering in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest of the Livengood Gold Project, located along the paved Elliott Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. On behalf ofInternational Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (signed) Thomas E. IrwinChief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements with respect to the anticipated completion of the Offering and the proposed use of the proceeds of the Offering by the Company, the outcome of the expected remedial de-listing review by the TSX, the ability of the Company to carry out and complete optimization studies with respect to the Livengood Gold Project, the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood Gold Project, the potential development of any mine at Livengood, business and financing plans and business trends are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned, potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the timing and pricing of the Offering, completion of the Offering, regulatory approval/acceptance of the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the potential inability of the Company to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company's Livengood Gold Project. This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States or Canada. SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, 16 December 2016 Van Lanschot today announced the intention of its Supervisory Board to nominate Lex van Overmeire as a member of the Supervisory Board. Lex van Overmeire, a Dutch national, (1956) is a chartered accountant and worked at EY in the Netherlands until 30 June 2016. During his career, he managed the external audits of a number of financial institutions. DNB has agreed to the proposed appointment of Lex van Overmeire as a member of the Supervisory Board. The proposal to appoint Mr Van Overmeire will be tabled at an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in 's-Hertogenbosch on 30 January 2017, at 10.00 am. The agenda and further details, including a biography, are available on our website at https:// corporate.vanlanschot.nl/egm. Media Relations: +31 20 354 45 85; [email protected] Investor Relations: +31 20 354 45 90; [email protected] Van Lanschot is the oldest independent bank in the Netherlands with a history dating back to 1737. Van Lanschot, a wealth manager operating under the Van Lanschot, Kempen & Co and Evi van Lanschot brand names, is active in Private Banking, Asset Management and Merchant Banking, with the aim of preserving and creating wealth for its clients. Van Lanschot NV is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Van Lanschot via Globenewswire SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Roostify, a provider of automated mortgage transaction technology, today announced that the company was chosen as Best in Show by attendees at the Digital Mortgage Conference, held last week in San Francisco. Roostify attended the first ever Digital Mortgage Conference, presented by National Mortgage News, to demonstrate the company's mortgage technology platform to an audience of nearly 1,000 stakeholders in the mortgage industry. Attendees voted on the most successful demonstrations, naming Roostify the winner. "The feedback from this event was incredible, for both Roostify as a growing company, as well as for the industry as a whole," said Rajesh Bhat, CEO of Roostify. "The enthusiasm for digital mortgage solutions was overwhelming and demonstrated that real change has come to the industry. A year ago, digital mortgage was something banks were considering in the future. Now, it's something that's happening, today, at lenders across the country." Earlier in the event, Bhat participated in the panel presentation "Real World Transformations," which featured case studies by prominent lenders and their partners on how they approached going digital. Bhat presented alongside USAA VP of Product Management John Harrell on how USAA worked with Roostify to bring USAA's mortgage process online and create an experience in line with USAA's member-first values. "This is a very exciting time for our industry and we continue to look forward to helping lenders offer a better solution for their loan applications and processing, that not only benefits them, but also creates the best possible experience for consumers," added Bhat. About RoostifyFounded by three technologists frustrated with their home buying experiences, Roostify enables a more efficient, transparent mortgage process for lenders, agents and homebuyers. Roostify's software platform is trusted by prominent banks and mortgage brokers nationwide to deliver more loan volume, faster closes and happier customers. Roostify is backed by private investors, and headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.roostify.com. Press Contact: Richard Berman, 1-415-359-4906, [email protected]. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/roostify-named-best-in-show-at-digital-mortgage-conference-300379522.html SOURCE Roostify MILANO, Italy, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SUPERNAP International today announced the opening of the largest, most advanced data center in Southern Europe. With 500 cabinets and more than 3.3 megawatts of power already sold, SUPERNAP International is delivering on the promise of bringing state-of-the-art multi-tenant/colocation data centers to Europe from the United States. SUPERNAP International data centers are designed and built to the specifications of the industry-renowned, Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers. These facilities are based on more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims developed by Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy that revolutionized the data center industry. The SUPERNAP ITALIA data center in Milano will include: 42,000 square meters of data center space with four data halls 40 mega volt amps of power distributed through two 132 kilovolt transmission paths Proprietary tri-redundant UPS power system Up to 40 kilowatts of power per cabinet 200 multi-carrier fiber couples with separate paths Patented Switch SHIELD: dual independent roof decks rated to withstand 322 kph winds 24/7 on-site network operations center (NOC), fire, safety and security On-site, on-net member resources including conference spaces "The lightning fast growth of the data that is running our planet has driven the demand from our clients who are global, industry-leading companies to be operating inside the most advanced, innovative and sustainable data center environment," according to SUPERNAP ITALIA Managing Director Luca Beltramino, a data center industry veteran who recently joined to lead the Italian operation. "They want their worldwide technology operations in the SUPERNAP International data centers." Telia Carrier, the operator of one of the world's largest fiber-optic networks chose SUPERNAP ITALIA's data center in Milano as a key location for its expansion in Southern Europe. "Telia Carrier is expanding into the SUPERNAP ITALIA data center for many reasons, including its high standards of data center security, availability and scalability, in addition to its carrier-neutrality and key geographical position," said Davide Binaghi, managing director of Telia Carrier Italy. SUPERNAP ITALIA is also a founding member of the Open Hub Med Project, which was developed to create a neutral, free zone for the internet and data exchange among Mediterranean Basin countries. Through this critical partnership, SUPERNAP ITALIA will play a key role in accelerating opportunities for companies in expanding their information technology footprint throughout EMEA. About SwitchFounded in 2000, this global technology solutions company, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States is built on the intelligent and sustainable growth of the internet. Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy has developed more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims covering data center designs that have manifested into their world-renowned data centers and their technology solution ecosystems. Visit switch.com for more information. About SUPERNAP InternationalSUPERNAP International is a partnership between Switch in the United States and the ACDC Fund, a fund whose two limited partners are Orascom TMT Investments and Accelero Capital. SUPERNAP International is the exclusive licensee of Switch's patented designs and operational protocols outside the United States and is the developer of SUPERNAP ITALIA and SUPERNAP THAILAND data centers based on the renowned Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers in Nevada, United States. Visit supernap.com for more information. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/supernap-international-brings-the-worlds-most-advanced-data-center-to-europe-300379372.html SOURCE SUPERNAP International By Michelle Nichols and Joe Bavier UNITED NATIONS/ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Violent clashes are spreading in Central African Republic despite successful polls that elected a new government earlier this year, U.N. sanctions monitors have reported to the Security Council. The new government of Faustin-Archange Touadera has limited control outside the capital Bangui and has failed to convince the dozens of armed factions around the country to lay down their weapons, according to their report. Central African Republic descended into chaos in 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority Christian nation, toppling President Francois Bozize and sparking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias. Touadera was sworn in as president in March, raising hopes for stability after a wave of ethnic cleansing and the nation's de facto partition into a Muslim northeast and Christian southwest. "The newly elected Central African government has not been able to come to grips with a deteriorating security situation, observed since June 2016," the monitors wrote in the unpublished report seen by Reuters on Thursday. France, which intervened in December 2013 to stop an escalation of civilian deaths, ended its peacekeeping mission in October, leaving security largely in the hands of MINUSCA, a 13,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force. The U.N. experts, who are charged with monitoring a U.N.-imposed sanctions regime and arms embargo, found the previously localized fighting within the former Seleka rebel coalition and against anti-balaka has "grown more severe and widespread". "Moreover, violent incidents in Bangui and the hinterland are increasingly interconnected, with political agendas entwined in the fighting," the report stated. Nourredine Adam - the target of U.N. sanctions and leader of the FRPC, one of the main rebel factions - has so far failed to reunite Seleka, which means "coalition" in the local Sango language. The UPC, another ex-Seleka group dominated by ethnic Fulanis, has extended its territory to control diamond mining areas and arms trafficking routes from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, the report said. Friction between the two groups led to deadly clashes in the town of Bria last month. Attempts to reconstitute Seleka have galvanized some anti-balaka groups in the southwest following the return from exile of ex-President Bozize's son, Jean-Francis Bozize, the monitors wrote. "Since his return, Jean-Francis Bozize has maintained and developed his networks among anti-balaka groups and (army) officers in Bangui," the report said. "(His) return is a source of concern for President Touadera and may explain the recent establishment of a presidential security guard." (Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Argentina's President Mauricio Macri meets his Chilean counterpart Michelle Bachelet at the Olivos presidential residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Chile would welcome Argentina as a member of the Pacific Alliance trade bloc, a group of four historically market-friendly Latin American countries, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said during a state visit to Argentina on Friday. In June, Argentina was granted observer status to the group, which includes Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who came to power a year ago pledging to open Argentina's economy after more than a decade of populist and protectionist policies, has sought closer ties to the bloc. "We are very interested in seeing Argentina become part of the Pacific Alliance," Bachelet said at a news conference in Buenos Aires after meeting with Macri. Earlier this year, Chile ratified an agreement reducing tariffs to 0 percent on 92 percent of commerce between the four countries in the Pacific Alliance. Argentina is a founding member of Mercosur, another regional trade bloc whose other members are Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela, which has lost allies in the region as several countries moved to the right, was suspended from Mercusur earlier this month on human rights and trade concerns. (Reporting by Luc Cohen and Maximiliano Rizzi; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's Finance Minister Fausto Herrera is stepping down for health reasons after three years in the cabinet, President Rafael Correa said on Thursday. "The economic team led by Fausto Herrera has done extraordinary work," Correa said during a meeting at the presidential palace in Quito. "He is leaving his post for health reasons, but the rest of the economic team is staying." The announcement came days after Herrera steered through a $750 million bond issue to finance the OPEC member's budget during difficult times due to the low price of crude. He had been in Correa's Cabinet since 2013. The president did not give details of Herrera's health, nor say who would replace him. (Reporting by Jose Llangari and Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Alistair Bell) By Euan Rocha and Aditi Shah MUMBAI (Reuters) - Ratan Tata, patriarch of one of India's most prominent business families, played down reports on Friday that he would step down soon as chairman of Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder in the Tata conglomerate's holding company. In a report, the Times of India cited a Tata aide, R.K. Krishna Kumar, as saying the group was preparing for Tata to step down from the Trusts next year after two decades. It said an external consultant had been asked to advise on the selection process for a successor. In a statement, Tata Sons said there were "no plans for (Ratan Tata) stepping down from the chairmanship of the Tata Trusts at this point in time." It said it would put in place a process for a "smooth succession at an appropriate time." Ratan Tata and the charities that make up the Trusts have been at the heart of a public dispute with Cyrus Mistry, who was dismissed as chairman of Tata Sons in October. Mistry has accused Tata of continuing to control the group's operations through the Trusts, even after retiring as chairman of the holding company in 2012. Tata, 78, rejects those claims. Two trustees of the Tata Trusts - public charities that own 66 percent of Tata Sons - told Reuters that a change was being considered, but said there was no timeline, and no external adviser had been retained. Krishna Kumar told Reuters that talk about succession began before the current row with Mistry, adding there was "no question of an external firm being consulted." V. R. Mehta, a trustee on the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one of several Trusts, also played down talk of Tata's departure, calling it "fairly premature". "Although succession planning has long been on the table, the trustees have not had any meetings to discuss the hiring of any external firm," he said. SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS Tata Sons has called for extraordinary shareholder meetings at over half a dozen Tata companies to dismiss Mistry as a director. Several shareholder meetings are due next week. Shareholders of Indian Hotels Co , parent of Taj luxury hotels, are set to vote on Mistry's ouster on Tuesday, while similar votes are scheduled at Tata Steel , Tata Motors , Tata Chemicals and Tata Power Co on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Dec. 26, respectively. Earlier this week, shareholders in Tata Consultancy Services (NYSE: TCS), the conglomerate's most valuable company, voted to remove Mistry from its board. (Writing by Euan Rocha; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Madison police looking for money stolen during a bank robbery near East Towne on Tuesday had to get a warrant to conduct a body cavity search of the suspected robber, according to the warrant filed Thursday. The search of Lisa M. Harding, 31, who was arrested soon after a robbery Tuesday at the U.S. Bank, 4602 East Towne Blvd., recovered an undisclosed amount of cash, according to the warrant, filed in Dane County Circuit Court. The warrant states that Harding took a cab to the bank, told the driver to wait outside, then one minute and 40 seconds later (the driver was timing his wait for cab fare) she got back into the cab and was headed toward Downtown when police stopped the cab at East Washington Avenue and Stoughton Road. But when police searched Hardings coat and sweatshirt and the inside of the cab, no money was found. A detective who looked at an in-cab video noticed that Harding had shifted in her seat and had been moving her hands around her waist area. For reasons not explicitly discussed in the search warrant, she was taken to Meriter Hospital, 202 S. Park St., and changed into a hospital gown. She allowed her shirt to be removed but wouldnt allow staff to help her remove her pants. While taking off her own pants, the warrant states, Harding kept her thighs together. Harding denied having any money, but while she was being moved between hospital beds, an officer saw a $10 bill fall from her groin area. A further search found she had been hiding additional money, the warrant said. Harding was sentenced in 2006 to about 4 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to robbing a bank in Beloit that year. Her sentence was later reduced to about 3 years. Last month, she was sentenced to four years of probation for retail theft in Dane County. National Councilors of the Swiss People's Party hold posters reading 'constitutional breach' and 'mass immigration continues' after the vote on curbing the immigration, in the parliament in Bern, Switzerland December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich By Michael Shields and Philip Blenkinsop ZURICH/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Swiss parliament passed a law on Friday aimed at curbing immigration by giving local people first crack at open jobs, skirting voters' demand for outright quotas, which it feared could disrupt close ties with the European Union. The European Commission offered a cautious welcome while it checks with members on how to handle non-member Switzerland, knowing that its treatment will be scrutinized for hints on what Britain might expect as it negotiates its EU divorce. A Commission spokesman said the Swiss law "appears to go in the right direction" by not setting quotas of EU citizens able to work there. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was due to talk with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann later on Friday, and a joint committee meeting planned for Dec. 22. Brussels has so far shown scant inclination to compromise on free movement of people - the principle underpinning Swiss access to the EU's single market of 500 million - so as not to encourage Britain after its Brexit vote. The bill's lack of upper limits on immigration to a country where a quarter of residents are foreign prompted the right-wing Swiss People's Party to say politicians had defied the people's will as expressed in a 2014 referendum. The SVP, the largest party in parliament, has accused other parties of caving in to Brussels and selling out sovereignty. Its members held up signs in the chamber reading "Breach of the constitution" and "Mass immigration continues". AVOIDING A ROW But a clear majority in parliament did not want a row with the EU, Switzerland's main trading partner, which could retaliate by abrogating bilateral accords governing trade worth about 7 percent of Swiss economic output. The Swiss debate mirrors that in Britain, where voters decided to quit the EU in part to control immigration, which critics said was straining social infrastructure. Asked if the Swiss approach might be a guide for Britain, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We have made it clear ... that part of leaving the EU is to regain control of our borders. What shape that takes will be decided in the future ... "The other issue is (single market) access ... We will negotiate a deal that allows us the best access ... to trade and operate within the single market." Rather than the quotas voters had demanded, the Swiss law says that, at times of economic upheaval, employers in sectors or regions with above-average jobless rates must inform local job centers of vacancies and get the names of job seekers. The presumption is that local residents will be more likely to register with the centers - although, to the annoyance of the SVP, cross-border commuters and any citizens from EU or EFTA countries will be allowed to do so, enabling the government to argue that it meets the EU's non-discrimination test. The right-wing isolationist group AUNS said it would try to force a referendum on abrogating the free movement accord with the EU because Switzerland was becoming "a colony of the EU". OPEN BORDER Nearly 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland and more than 300,000 commute in from neighboring countries. Bern believes it can win over Germany, France and Italy to its plan because many of their voters - especially in border regions where populist parties are strong - benefit from high-earning Swiss jobs. Passage of the law cleared the way for Bern to extend free movement on Friday to the latest EU member, Croatia. That, in turn, will restore Swiss access to the EU's Horizon 2020 program, which funds research projects. In any event, some form of second referendum on Switzerland's ties with the EU looks certain. Many analysts think voters will opt to uphold the accords that smooth business ties. But the wave of migrants that arrived in Europe last year, and a sense that the EU is divided and ineffective, could make it a close call. "You have seen what became of (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel's good idea (to welcome refugees from Syria). I would say 'yes' to quotas," said Siegfried, a retiree from Winterthur who did not give his family name. Others interviewed at random in Zurich disagreed. Conrad Hottinger, a retired engineer from Herrliberg, said parliament had found an elegant way out of a policy dilemma triggered by "mean" far-right politics. "The people have said many times that the bilateral accords have priority. This (the 2014 referendum) was a political chess move by the populist right," he said. (Additional reporting by Ruben Sprich in Bern and by David Milliken and Liz O'Leary in London; Editing by Kevin Liffey) A man stands atop a damaged building as he takes pictures of ambulances and buses evacuating people and driving out of a rebel-held part of Aleppo, Syria December 15, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki RIYADH (Reuters) - A senior Syrian opposition figure called on Thursday for an increase in Gulf Arab military support for armed rebels following the fall of the city of Aleppo to government forces this week. The loss of the rebels' last urban stronghold this week has dealt a devastating blow to efforts to oust President Bashar al-Assad, after nearly six years of a war that has claimed some 400,000 lives and left 11 million people homeless. "The support has not changed," said Asaad al-Zoubi, chief negotiator for the main opposition body, the High Negotiations Council, who is based in Saudi Arabia. "I would like and I request for there to be an increase in support. The present situation requires additional support," he told Reuters, citing a need for specialized weapons that the United States has blocked Gulf partners from delivering. The fall of Aleppo has also handed a major victory to Iran, whom the rebels' Gulf Arab backers see as their main foe in the battle for regional influence. Another rebel backer, Turkey, has indicated that its support for the rebel brigades is far from over. It is redeploying fighters from Aleppo to Syria's north to join a campaign to drive Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters away from the Turkish border. (Reporting by Katie Paul) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, December 14, 2016. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will have back-up plans if its deal with the European Union over visa-free travel to the bloc falls through, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with the president of Slovenia, without elaborating. Under a deal reached with the European Union to stem the flow of migrants to the bloc, Turks are supposed to get visa-free travel into the EU. However, that end of the bargain has been held up as Europe says Turkey's anti-terrorism laws are too broad. Turkey says it must keep the laws as they are, citing its multiple security threats. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Alison Williams) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 6-K Report of Foreign Private Issuer Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 For the Month of December 2016 001-36203 (Commission File Number) CAN-FITE BIOPHARMA LTD. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) 10 Bareket Street KiryatMatalon, P.O. Box 7537 Petach-Tikva 4951778, Israel (Address of principal executive offices) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F Form 40-F Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____ This Report on Form 6-K (including exhibits thereto) is hereby incorporated by reference into the registrant's Registration Statements on Form F-3 (File Nos. 333-195124, 333-199033, 333-204795 and 333-209037), to be a part thereof from the date on which this report is submitted, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished. On December 16, 2016, Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. announced that new preclinical data show its liver disease drug candidate Namodenoson (CF102) inhibited, in a dose dependent manner, the growth and proliferation of the liver fibrosis cells. A copy of this press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. 2 Exhibit Index Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Press Release, dated December 16, 2016 3 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. Date: December 16, 2016 By: /s/ Pnina Fishman Pnina Fishman Chief Executive Officer 4 Exhibit 99.1 New Preclinical Data Show Can-Fites Namodenoson (CF102) Inhibits Liver Fibrosis Supports Potential Efficacy in Treatment of NASH Phase II trial to treat NAFLD/NASH expected to commence in 2017 PETACH TIKVA, Israel, December 16, 2016 -- Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd . (NYSE MKT: CANF) (TASE:CFBI), a biotechnology company with a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs being developed to treat inflammatory diseases, cancer and sexual dysfunction, today announced that new preclinical data show its liver disease drug candidate Namodenoson (CF102) inhibited, in a dose dependent manner, the growth and proliferation of the liver fibrosis cells. This outcome suggests the anti-fibrotic effect of the drug and supports its development as an agent to combat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the precursor to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Pre-clinical studies which evaluated the effects of Namodenoson on fibrogenic hepatic stellate cells were conducted under the supervision of Prof. Rifaat Safadi M.D., a Key Opinion Leader in the field of liver diseases, and Director of Liver Unit, Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem. Prof. Safadi commented, Today there is a huge market need for drugs that fight the worldwide NASH epidemic. Lowering liver fat content and fibrosis are the main unmet needs in NASH. This is especially so for a drug candidate with the profile of Namodenoson, which recognizes the difference between diseased and normal cells, and targets only the diseased cells through the specific A3 adenosine receptor. This precision targeting is designed to lead to higher efficacy and safety by leaving healthy cells unaffected. We are all looking for drugs with this profile to treat NASH. "These latest study results add to the growing body of data that demonstrate Namodenosons potential efficacy in NAFLD and NASH, indications for which there is currently no FDA approved drug. We are advancing Namodenoson into a Phase II trial that we expect to commence in the coming months through leading medical institutions in Israel, stated Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman. By 2025, the addressable pharmaceutical market for NASH is estimated to reach $35-40 billion. About NAFLD/NASH NAFLD is characterized by excess fat accumulation in the form of triglycerides (steatosis) in the liver. According to a recent study published in Hepatology, an estimated 25% of the population in the U.S. has NAFLD, with a higher prevalence in people with type II diabetes. Incidence is increasing based on rising obesity rates. NAFLD includes a range of liver diseases, with NASH being the more advanced form, manifesting as hepatic injury and inflammation. According to the NIH, the incidence of NASH in the U.S. is believed to affect 2-5% of the population. The spectrum of NAFLDs resembles alcoholic liver disease; however, they occur in people who drink little or no alcohol. If untreated, NASH can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. About Namodenoson (CF102) Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential effect accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug. In Can-Fite's pre-clinical and clinical studies, Namodenoson has demonstrated a robust anti-tumor effect via deregulation of the Wnt signaling pathway, resulting in apoptosis of liver cancer cells. Based on preclinical data showing Namodenoson has strong liver protective properties, Can-Fite intends to initiate a Phase II study in NASH. Can-Fite has received Orphan Drug Designation for Namodenoson in Europe and the U.S., as well as Fast Track Status in the U.S. as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma. About Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE MKT: CANF) (TASE: CFBI) is an advanced clinical stage drug development Company with a platform technology that is designed to address multi-billion dollar markets in the treatment of cancer, inflammatory disease and sexual dysfunction. The Company's lead drug candidate, Piclidenoson, is scheduled to enter Phase III trials in 2016 for two indications, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The rheumatoid arthritis Phase III protocol has recently been agreed with the European Medicines Agency. Can-Fite's liver cancer drug Namodenoson is in Phase II trials for patients with liver cancer and is slated to enter Phase II for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Namodenoson has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in the U.S. and Europe and Fast Track Designation as a second line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Namodenoson has also shown proof of concept to potentially treat other cancers including colon, prostate, and melanoma. CF602, the Company's third drug candidate, has shown efficacy in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in preclinical studies and is being prepared for an IND submission to the FDA and a Phase I trial. These drugs have an excellent safety profile with experience in over 1,000 patients in clinical studies to date. For more information please visit: www.can-fite.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements, about Can-Fite's expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding, among other things, its product development efforts, business, financial condition, results of operations, strategies or prospects. In addition, from time to time, Can-Fite or its representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," "may," "should" or "anticipate" or their negatives or other variations of these words or other comparable words or by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. These forward-looking statements may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made by Can-Fite with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases or oral statements made by or with the approval of one of Can-Fite's authorized executive officers. Forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results as of the date they are made. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause Can-Fite's actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause Can-Fite's actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors summarized in Can-Fite's filings with the SEC and in its periodic filings with the TASE. In addition, Can-Fite operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond its control. Can-Fite does not undertake any obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact Can-Fite BioPharma Motti Farbstein [email protected] Execution of Commercial and Facility Agreements with the China Development Bank Rio de Janeiro, December 16, 2016, Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras informs that it executed yesterday a Facility Agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB) in the amount of US$ 5 billion for a 10-year term. The Agreement is the result of the Term Sheet signed between the parties, as disclosed on February 26, 2016. Petrobras also signed yesterday a commercial agreement with each of the following Chinese companies: China National United Oil Corporation, China Zhenhua Oil Co. Ltd., and Chemchina Petrochemical Co. Ltd. The three agreements together establish a preferred supply of 100 thousand barrels of oil per day in total volume to those companies, following market conditions, for a 10-year period. ________________________________________________________________________________ www.petrobras.com.br/ir Contacts: PETROLEO BRASILEIRO S.A. PETROBRAS | Investor Relations Department I e-mail: [email protected] Av. Republica do Chile, 65 10th floor, 1002 B 20031-912 Rio de Janeiro, RJ | Phone: 55 (21) 3224-1510 / 3224-9947 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements, which address the Companys expected business and financial performance, among other matters, contain words such as believe, expect, estimate, anticipate, optimistic, intend, plan, aim, will, may, should, could, would, likely, and similar expressions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. There is no assurance that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events or for any other reason. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those expressed or forecast in any forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of assumptions and factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) failure to comply with laws or regulations, including fraudulent activity, corruption, and bribery; (ii) the outcome of ongoing corruption investigations and any new facts or information that may arise in relation to the Lava Jato Operation; (iii) the effectiveness of the Companys risk management policies and procedures, including operational risk; and (iv) litigation, such as class actions or proceedings brought by governmental and regulatory agencies. A description of other factors can be found in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the Companys other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Amid barbs traded between members of both the treasury and opposition benches, the opposition-dominated Senate on Thursday passed the much-talked about Panamagate bill with slight amendments. However, the opposition will have little to rejoice because the important bill will now go to the National Assembly where the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz enjoys majority. The bill was passed with 37 votes in favour and 15 against. Jehanzaib Jamaldani of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal kept up his tradition of siding with the government while sitting on the opposition benches and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) abstained. We are at a loss to understand if the accusers are accused or accused are the accusers, MQMs parliamentary leader retired Colonel Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said while talking to Dawn after the session. Two of the three members of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party attended the session but they were not in the house at the time of the voting. Tensions started mounting when Law Minister Zahid Hamid and Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq criticised Leader of the Opposition Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan for backtracking on his commitment of supporting a move to seek extension in time for deliberations on the bill during a meeting of the Senates standing committee on law and chided him for the immoral tactic used for the passage of the bill. Mr Ahsan said that he had done nothing he should be ashamed of. He dragged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif into the controversy, saying he [the PM] gave one statement before parliament and said something else before the Supreme Court. He said the prime minister had not constituted a parliamentary committee on national security, though he had committed to do so within three days. Two amendments which were adopted to slightly change some clauses of the bill were moved by Senator Sirajul Haq of the Jamaat-i-Islami. Ayesha Raza Farooqs amendment to add Bahamas leaks and other sources in the purview of the bill was rejected by the house thorough voice vote. The bill titled Panama Papers Inquiries Act 2016, introduced by the opposition in the Senate on Sept 26, has been pending before the standing committee on law and justice, headed by PML-Ns Javed Abbasi, because of a deadlock between the government and the opposition. During the last session, Mr Abbasi had sought an extension in the period for the consideration of the bill, but the request was rejected. The Senate chairman asked the committee to submit its report to the house. The committee could not amend the bill and finally the bill landed in the Senate in its original form. The bill proposes a judicial commission to investigate the setting up of offshore companies by hundreds of Pakistanis, including the children of PM Nawaz Sharif, as revealed by the Panama Papers leaks. The government is opposing the bill. Terming it useless, it has pointed out that the Supreme Court has already taken up petitions of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and others on the issue. The Pakistan Peoples Party wonders if the apex court also decides to form an inquiry commission, then under what law will it be given powers since the court has already rejected such a commission under the 1956 Act. The bill suggests a forensic audit of all the money sent abroad through secret channels. The proposed law makes it binding upon all those whose names have appeared in the Panama Papers to provide the commission access to their bank accounts. It contains all the terms of reference proposed by the opposition for the commission, which the government has already rejected. The bill binds the commission to first investigate PM Sharif and his family before proceeding against the other Pakistanis involved. However, the text avoids naming PM Sharif or his office, instead referring to: the inquiry against a respondent, who publicly volunteers himself and his family for accountability or who publicly admits holding of offshore assets, along with his family, shall be completed and submitted in the first instance. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi conducted a media briefing on his current visit to the US at the Pakistani Embassy on Thursday. In his opening remarks, Fatemi said that the primary purpose of his current official visit to the US was twofold, to touch base with the outgoing US Administration by reviewing progress in the current bilateral relations and forge links with the new US Administration that will assume office in Jan, 2017. Fatemi highlighted the tremendous sacrifices rendered by the people and security forces of Pakistan in the campaign against terrorism during his contacts in Washington. He emphasized that Pakistan had paid a very heavy price and was firmly committed to eliminating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He, however, added that Pakistan, being a sovereign state, would decide the scale, pace and reach of its counter-terrorism efforts in line with its economic and operational limitations as well as other capacity constraints. Fatemi underscored that his current official visit to US afforded an excellent opportunity to explain Pakistan's perspective to his US counterparts regarding key issues such as governance, economy, counter-terrorism efforts. He claimed that he had a productive round of meetings with Deputy Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken & incumbent National Security Advisor Susan Rice. During his stay in Washington DC, he also met Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Bob Corker and Senator John McCain. Fatemi remarked that though Trump Administration was not yet in place, Pakistan looked forward to working closely with the new President-elect & his team with particular focus on economic linkages and trade that formed a common denominator in the agenda of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President-elect Trump. He concluded the briefing by indicating that his current visit to US would be followed by other high-level visits. Pakistan was aiming at building a comprehensive, sustained and forward-looking relationship with the US, Fatemi said. US President Barack Obama has declined to sign a bill renewing existing sanctions against Iran, but allowed the legislation to become law, in an apparent effort to alleviate the Islamic Republics concerns that Washington is backtracking on the nuclear agreement. The US Senate passed a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) on December 1, sending the measure to the White House for Obama to sign into law. The House of Representatives voted 419 to 1 last month to reauthorize ISA, which was first introduced in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry based on accusations that Tehran was pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Under the US Constitution, the president has 10 days after Congress passes legislation to sign it, reject it or do nothing. The White House had said that the US president was expected to sign the bill into law, but Obama did not approve the measure as the Wednesday midnight deadline passed. In a statement late on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president had decided to allow the legislation to become law without his signature. "The administration has, and continues to use, all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions" lifted as part of the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries, Earnest said. Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France as well as Germany reached a landmark nuclear agreement last year, under which Tehran agreed to limit some aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions. Read more: Iran eyes nuclear-powered ships after US sanctions move The two sides began implementing the deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on January 16. However, members of Congress said they wanted ISA to be extended for another decade to send a strong signal that any US president would have the ability to snap back sanctions on Iran. "This administration has made clear that an extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, while unnecessary, is entirely consistent with our commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Earnest said. "Consistent with this longstanding position, the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is becoming law without the president's signature, he added. "Ensuring the continued implementation of the JCPOA is a top strategic objective for the United States and for our allies and partners around the world," the Earnest statement said. Iran had vowed to respond strongly if the sanctions were renewed, saying they violate the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 group. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran had warned that the approval of the ISA would amount to a breach of the nuclear deal. Also read: US Senate passes 10-year extension of Iran Sanctions Act The Obama administration has expressed reservations about the utility of the legislation, yet American lawmakers argued that renewing the law was critical to maintaining pressure on Iran, claiming that Iran would be unaffected by the renewal, as long as it continues honoring the nuclear deal. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday he had told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that "to ensure maximum clarity," the State Department had issued new, redundant waivers exempting Iran from sanctions lifted under the nuclear agreement. "Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act does not affect in any way the scope of the sanctions relief Iran is receiving under the deal or the ability of companies to do business in Iran consistent with the JCPOA," Kerry argued. Germanys Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen refused to don the hijab on a visit to Saudi Arabia just a week after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the burka should be banned in her own country. Von der Leyen visited Riyadh for a meeting with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al Saud on Wednesday, but did not cover her hair for the event in the ultra-conservative state, reportedly saying women should enjoy the right to dress as they choose, just as men do. The defense minister instead chose to wear a dark blue suit with her hair visible for the meeting. The right to choose your own clothing is a right shared by men and women alike, she said, according to German news website Bild. "It annoys me, when women are to be pushed into the Abaya. While some social media users praised Von der Leyens decision, her actions also sparked outrage in Saudi Arabia. The apparent lack of a response from Saudi officials in relation to Von der Leyens clothing was described as "hypocrisy and double standards." Saudi police reportedly detained a woman last week for violating modesty rules after being seen walking in Riyadh without a traditional robe and headscarf. A number of Saudi staff were described as being astonished by Von der Leyens outfit, according to the German newspaper. Von der Leyens decision comes after Merkel said the full-face burka covering should be banned wherever it is legally possible during the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) congress in Germany last week. Saudi Arabias security forces have arrested a Syrian resident in the capital, Riyadh, for posting a picture on his Facebook page, hailing the liberation of the city of Aleppo from the grips of foreign-backed militants by forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad. According to a report published in al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday, Samer Lababidi was taken into custody the previous day after he flashed the victory sign in his Facebook picture following the recapture of Aleppo by the Syrian army soldiers and their allies. The man, who is in his forties, faces accusations of publishing statements related to the war on Syria, the report added. Saudi authorities deactivated Lababidi's Facebook account after his detention. The arrest comes as the Riyadh regime has been a supporter of militants fighting against the Damascus government since 2011, when the conflict broke out in the Arab country. Takfirism, which is trademark of many terrorist groups operating in Syria, is largely influenced by Wahhabism, the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia and freely preached by Saudi clerics. In a video statement published on the Syrian presidency's Twitter account on Thursday, Assad offered felicitations to the Arab nation on the liberation of Aleppo, saying it was "history in the making and worthy of more than the word 'congratulations'. Irked by Syrias recapture of Aleppo, Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Qattan, the Saudi ambassador to Egypt and the kingdoms permanent representative to the Arab League, said Riyadh will continue to support the militants until the government of Syrian President Assad is toppled. Egyptian officers are asking for bribes of up to $10,000 from Palestinians in Gaza desperate to leave the besieged coastal enclave, according to Gaza brokers who coordinate the bribe payments, former Palestinian border officials and travellers. Typically, an adult in Gaza must pay a bribe of $3,000 to get permission from Egypt to cross the border, two Palestinian brokers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told. The brokers said that they took a 20 percent cut of the bribe, sending 80 percent to the Egyptian soldier or officer who coordinated it. Sometimes, Egyptian officers put the names of Palestinians on a blacklist, declaring them to be a "security threat", both brokers said. The list forbids entrance to Egypt for those whose names are on it, but a $10,000 payment can have it removed. Occasionally, the Egyptians want bribes paid in goods, not cash, the brokers said. "Sometimes, they want iPhones or even gold," said one of the brokers, known in Gaza as the "King of the Border" for his ability to get almost anyone across. During a two-hour interview at his Gaza City office, this broker received six phone calls from people asking him for help getting into Egypt. "My phone never rests," he said. The willingness to pay such high fees to leave Gaza may reflect residents' desperation to escape the coastal enclave, which has endured three major Israeli military operations since 2008, leaving the most densely populated place on earth in ruins. Gaza's infrastructure is so damaged that a United Nations report last year predicted that, if current trends persist, the enclave would become "uninhabitable" by 2020. The Egyptian government of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has imposed extreme restrictions on Gaza's Rafah border crossing since the military coup in 2013. Sisi considers Hamas, the governing body in Gaza, to be an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt - declared a terrorist organisation in 2013 - and has accused Hamas of carrying out attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas has repeatedly denied any role in those attacks. In the first half of 2013, when former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was in office, an average of 40,816 people crossed between Gaza and Egypt each month. Since Sisi took power, Egyptian officials have rarely opened the border, allowing it to operate for a few days every month or two. This year, the average number of people who cross the border each month is 1,896, according to the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, an Israel-based non-profit organisation. There are about 30,000 cases of people in Gaza needing to urgently travel abroad for humanitarian reasons, many in order to obtain medical care, Gisha spokesperson Shai Grunberg told. Mohamed Abu Abdelqader, a cancer patient in southern Gaza, told that he would soon die if he were unable to go to a hospital in Egypt to receive proper treatment for his condition. But he says he is unable to, as he cannot afford the $2,000-$3,000 bribe to a broker to arrange his travel. "I don't have the money," the 55-year-old flower farmer said, appearing on the verge of tears. [The Rafah crossing] is basically Gaza's channel to the rest of the world. Palestinians' only other option for leaving the Gaza Strip, which has been under a joint Israeli and Egyptian-imposed air, land and sea blockade since 2007, is via the Erez crossing to Israel and then over the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Both Israel and Jordan impose severe restrictions, however, on who is permitted to use the Erez and Allenby crossings. But allegations of corruption at the Egyptian border crossing are nothing new. A former high-ranking Hamas official who worked for the Hamas Crossings Authority, which oversees the Rafah terminal, confirmed to international media that such bribe-taking occurs frequently, and that the business has become "a real moneymaker". Over the course of only two days last year, when he was working at the Rafah border, the official said that nearly half a million dollars in bribes were paid by 150 Palestinians in exchange for permission to travel to Egypt. The Arabic-language news website PLS48 also recently cited Hamas officials as saying that Egyptian officers working at the Rafah crossing during a two-day opening in May had insisted that Palestinians who had paid hefty bribes be allowed to cross the border before those who had not. The Egyptians went so far as to shut down the passenger terminal for seven hours until their demands were met, Hamas officials said. In addition, in 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gaza residents were paying Palestinian middlemen to facilitate their entrance to both Israel and to Egypt, often by obtaining fake documents saying they had life-threatening diseases. The Rafah crossing has become a lifeline for Gaza, Grunberg said: "It's basically Gaza's channel to the rest of the world." Amal Mustafa, 40, said she came to Gaza from Kuwait in 2012 to take care of her dying father. She stayed by his side during the military coup in Egypt and the closing of the border crossing in 2013. Her father died shortly after, but Mustafa found herself unable to return to her family in Kuwait. In early July, Mustafa paid a $3,000 bribe to a Palestinian "coordinator" to arrange her travel to Egypt. But when she got to the border, she was told that her name was on Egypt's blacklist, marking her as a security threat. "I'm just a housewife. I've never been involved in politics," she said. "I have no idea why they listed my name." Mustafa said the "King of the Border" told her that if she paid him $10,000, he could coordinate her entrance to Egypt - an amount she says she is willing to pay whenever the crossing opens again. To her, returning to her husband and family after years away is worth the cost. A suspended UW-Madison student accused of sexual assault, stalking or harassment of 10 women was released from the Dane County Jail on Friday after his bail was cut in half at a hearing earlier in the day. Alec Cook, 20, of Edina, Minnesota, was released after his parents posted $100,000 bail, which was set at a hearing Friday morning before Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn. After the hearing, Cooks lawyers, Chris Van Wagner and Jessa Nicholson, criticized an amended criminal complaint that was filed Thursday against their client, which they said unfairly gives the impression that Cooks bad behavior was escalating, and adds new charges against him that are nothing like those that prosecutors said in October that they expected to add. We took them at their word, Van Wagner said, explaining why he and Nicholson didnt initially challenge the original $200,000 bail that has kept Cook in jail since October. Their word has been shown to be almost completely untrue. He said that by adding the charges it appears that prosecutors took the dare presented in Cooks bail motion filed last week, which pointed out that no new charges had been added since October. What did they give you? Disorderly conduct? These arent the charges they threatened, Van Wagner said. They fed the media frenzy and the social media firestorm with the specter of horribly many more cases coming in. It didnt happen. Assistant Attorney General Michelle Viste, who argued the states case at the bail hearing, declined to comment afterward. Cook initially faced sexual assault, false imprisonment and other charges related to a single incident on Oct. 13 at Cooks apartment. More charges related to five other women were added in late October, when Cook was charged with 11 counts of sexual assault. On Thursday, prosecutors filed an amended criminal complaint that added two counts of stalking, three counts of disorderly conduct and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault, related to five other women. In court Friday, Nicholson said the comparison of Cooks case to others supported reducing his bail to a signature bond. She argued that despite the numerous charges against him, he was not at risk of failing to appear in court. She said he would live with his parents in Minnesota. Viste, citing the amended criminal complaint, said that Cooks behavior had escalated over time, from an alleged sexual assault in March 2015, leading to instances of reported harassment and stalking of women before other incidents of alleged sexual assault more recently. This is not under any circumstance what anyone might call date rape, Viste said. These are serious offenses committed by a serial rapist. Viste said that the potential total penalty of more than 343 years of combined prison and extended supervision makes Cook a risk not to appear in court, and asked Bailey-Rihn to set bail at $500,000. Bailey-Rihn said that while Cook is innocent at this point, a signature bond was not appropriate in the case because of the allegations of violence and Cooks current lack of ties to Dane County. She said the allegation, stated in the complaint, that he told a woman that he had let go of societal norms a long time ago also weighed in favor of cash bail. In addition to setting $100,000 bail, Bailey-Rihn ordered Cook to surrender his passport; stay away from Dane County except for court hearings, meetings with his lawyers or UW administrative hearings; not use social media or dating websites and to be accompanied by a parent when he visits Dane County. He is also to only be in Minnesota or Wisconsin. UW-Madison issued an email alert Friday telling students to call 911 if Cook is seen on campus. A preliminary hearing, originally set for Dec. 27, was pushed back to Jan. 20. Van Wagner said that he and Nicholson will file motions to dismiss the case before the preliminary hearing. They also may seek to move Cooks trial outside Dane County, citing the possibility of a tainted jury pool, Van Wagner said. Even before the first flakes of a two-day winter storm with the potential to drop up to nearly a foot of snow on the region began to fall Friday, Dane County officials had four words of warning: Stay off the roads. And as the afternoon rush hour approached, it was apparent why as heavy traffic began to crawl along increasingly snow-covered streets and highways. By Friday evening, authorities were reporting multiple slide-offs and minor crashes, but no significant injuries. While the heavy snowfall on Friday ended around 8 p.m. with 2.7 inches reported in Madison an hour later a second blast was expected to start late Saturday morning and continue through late afternoon. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning until 9 p.m. Saturday. The Weather Service expected a two-day total of about 7 inches of snow to fall in Madison by Saturday night, with more to the north and east and less to the south and west. The snow will be followed by a plunge into subzero temperatures on Saturday night when Madisons low is expected to drop to 11 below zero into Sunday, when a high of minus 3 is predicted. Another low approaching 11 below zero combined with high winds could bring the wind chill to about minus 25 Monday morning, before warming up above zero into the teens. The warning to stay off the roads comes on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year, but officials arent backing down due to conditions that could hit the countys rural areas hard and make driving treacherous. Obviously the timing is not great because its a big shopping weekend thats important for the local economy, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said. But, he added, we have a responsibility to let people know what the conditions are going to be. The danger to drivers will continue Saturday with the combination of gusty winds and more snow. Gusts could reach up to 25 mph and create snow drifts over the roads, according to Weather Service meteorologist Ben Herzog. Snow accumulation predictions vary across the state. In south-central and southeast Wisconsin, totals should be in the 7- to 11-inch range, while southwest Wisconsin should see totals around 5 to 7 inches. Plan for emergency The winter storm warning encompasses all of Wisconsin, the southern half of Minnesota, the northeast corner of Iowa and the north shore of Lake Michigan in Michigan. The Rock County Sheriffs Office also asked drivers to minimize travel over the weekend and limit the amount of time outdoors. Those who need to travel should pack an emergency kit with staples like blankets, extra clothing and outerwear, first aid kits, shovels and ice scrapers, bottled water and non- perishable food and cellphone chargers, the Sheriffs Office said. Vehicles should have a full tank of fuel, and drivers should slow down and wear seat belts. Officials are particularly worried that the combination of low temperatures and high winds and subsequent drifting could significantly impact safety and visibility, especially on rural county roads, Parisi said. We dont think its necessarily safe, particularly in the rural areas, to be out and about, particularly on Saturday and Saturday night, he said. Highway and Transportation Director Jerry Mandli said rapidly changing weather conditions on rural roads could impact drivers. One rural road may appear clear, but as soon as a driver rounds a corner, conditions could be completely different, Mandli said. Parisi also stressed that if drivers do need to go out, they should be prepared with warm clothing, blankets and charged cell phones in case they get stranded, and should let someone know where they are going, what route they are taking and when they expect to get there. Events postponed Several activities around the area have been postponed or canceled due to the snowstorm. Madison School District postponed all Friday events after 6 p.m. andall Saturday activities, including athletics. Across the state, about 65 districts and individual schools decided on Friday to end the school day early. For snowmobile riders, the snowfall and frigid temperatures are warmly welcomed. Dane Countys snowmobile trails opened for the season Friday, allowing riders to take their machines out on the countys more than 500 miles of trails. For the trails to open, there needs to be at least 6 inches of snow and continual below-freezing temperatures. With the trails opening, snowmobile enthusiasts are eager to take their first ride of the season, said Jim Blouin, president of the Dane County Council of Snowmobile Clubs. We would like to remind riders to use caution as there will likely be uneven terrain, the potential for open water in the marshes and waterways, and windswept areas with minimal snow. To ride the trails, snowmobile drivers must have a state snowmobile trail pass. Sun Prairie, Monona and Beloit declared snow emergencies on Friday, requiring all residents to follow winter parking rules. A snow emergency is likely to be declared Saturday night and Sunday night in Madison if the city gets as much snow as forecast. Road conditions across Wisconsin can be checked by calling 511 or checking the states online road condition map at 511wi.gov/web. Updated storm watches and warnings can also be found online as well at the National Weather Service storm alerts website at go.madison.com/weather-alerts. State Journal reporters Shelley K. Mesch and Bill Novak contributed to this report. CHICAGO Lately, when masses of people dont like a long-standing rule or tradition, they believe it should be discarded until it becomes useful. After Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly passed away in February and it seemed a Democratic presidential victory was likely, certain Republicans decided that not only should the outgoing president not have the right to appoint a new Supreme Court justice, but neither should the new president if she turned out to be a Democrat. It was a bipartisan impulse. Vice President Joe Biden had, in 1992, said much the same when suggesting that a Supreme Court nomination be delayed until after Election Day should there be a vacancy during a presidential campaign. Then, in the days after Donald Trump won the election, there were calls for Democratic lawmakers to obstruct the nomination and seating of any Trump nominee to fill Scalias seat. More recently the Electoral College has been a target for extinction. Immediately after President-elect Trump was declared victorious, calls to dismantle the Electoral College so that elections would be more democratic and mirror the popular vote crescendoed. But that changed when the Central Intelligence Agency confirmed that the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin actively worked to undermine the election by hacking into both campaigns but releasing only Democrats emails to WikiLeaks, thereby acting to give one candidate an advantage. The day after the election I observed a classroom of high school students who were emotional and confused they had no idea what the Electoral College was and why the popular vote didnt determine the presidency. The adult leading the class was unable to explain it, and he is not alone. A 2008 report by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses, found that 34 percent of all respondents to a national survey and 43 percent who identified as having been elected to a government office at least once did not know that the Electoral College is a constitutionally mandated assembly that elects the president. One in five of the officeholders thought it trains those aspiring for higher office or was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates. In this context, its obvious why the masses dont value the Electoral College how can you value something you dont understand? And yet, even the most surface-level understanding of why the Electoral College was put in place underscores its relevance today. To quote the Broadway celebrity of the moment, Alexander Hamilton, from the Federalist Papers: The process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of president of the United States. Now the same liberals who a week ago wanted to kill the Electoral College are hoping it will be used to serve its original purpose: Keeping someone who proved popular, but who they think is unfit for the presidency, from taking power. And thats how traditionalists found common cause with hypocrites. Some people appealed for calm after Trumps election, hoping it would all turn out OK. But adding a definitive tampering of our elections to the laundry list of craziness that has unfolded since Election Day and a president-elect who swore our electoral process was compromised but, in the face of evidence, is now claiming that the tampering is a fabrication is enough to make even the most starry-eyed positive thinker look for the panic button. The Electoral College was established to protect voters from the influence of outside actors, bullies, demagogues and populism. The electors deserve to be briefed by the intelligence community on the Russian sabotage allegations and, when they meet on Monday, they can make history by selecting a compromise candidate a level-headed Republican not likely to run our country off the rails sounds great right about now. Though this unlikely scenario was referred to by The New York Times as a moon shot, it would cement the Electoral Colleges utility in this, our messy, American republic form of government. The Madison lefties are in shock, and it doesnt look like they will recover soon. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau, called Madison a commie community. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin responded by saying Duffy cant call us names and then proceeded to call Duffy a bunch of names. You sure showed him, Soglin. Two things are readily apparent: First, Madison may not be a commie community exactly, but it is a commie and Marxist-loving community. Mayor Soglin went to Cuba to pay homage to the murderous thug Fidel Castro. He gave him a key to the city. Our blessed City Council has adopted sister cities in Nicaragua, Vietnam, El Salvador and Cuba. The left has never found a commie Marxist they couldnt love. Second, the lefties in this country have been calling conservatives names for years. Racist, bigot, homophobe, Xenophobe, irredeemable, deplorable and more. They see no problem with that. But when they get a little taste of their own medicine, they cry like a baby. They can dish it out, but they cant take it. So cry, babies, cry. Frank Berryman, Madison A Coromandel harbourmaster who helped free an entangled orca using a Waikato Regional Council boat has been stood down from operational tasks on the water. The breeding female had been trapped by a cray pot line for 16 hours before Whitianga harbourmaster Matthew Collicott decided to step in and help free the orca on Wednesday night. Speaking to Fairfax, Department of Conservation spokesman Steve Brightwell says staff were notified about the entangled orca in the waters off Tokoroa Rock at Kennedy Bay at 9am on Wednesday. The original informant told DOC the orca appeared to be in a good condition. At that stage, staff were busy and planned to go out later in the day, but by mid-afternoon conditions were unsafe and the decision was made not to risk sending staff out in the dark, so they planned to head back at 9am on Thursday, says Steve. Throughout the day multiple calls were made to the DOC hotline and to individual conservation officers on their cellphones. When the harbourmaster learned the orca was still trapped at 7pm, it was then he who decided to step in and help. Orca Research Trusts Dr Ingrid Visser confirms to Fairfax Matthew and a volunteer whod trained in whale and dolphin disentanglement, volunteered to help in the rescue and took a WRC vessel out to where the orca was trapped. I talked them through the protocol. They were onsite monitoring the animal and the rope became slack around the tail, so they were able to bring it alongside, explains Ingrid During the rescue, the pair engineered a grapnel hook out of a crowbar and hooked the line to bring the orca alongside the boat. Ingrid says the entangled orca was being held up by another orca in its pod. Once the rescuers established the orca wasnt trapped any further, they cut the rope free and it swam off. It had been entangled for 16 hours, so it was getting to the point where every breath was an issue for it. Thats just inexcusable. If they hadnt have stepped in, the animal would have died. Ingrid is aware Matthew had now been stood down from some duties and describes the decisions as an absolutely disgusting display of lack of empathy. She also believes someone should be held to account for doing a despicable thing to someone who was trying to help an animal in need. These guys are tasked with [knowing about] boat safety. The harbourmaster is a very experienced skipper and in a full moon and calm, there were minimal risks. [The harbourmaster] was incredibly responsible and someone who cared, Ingrid tells Fairfax. In a statement, Waikato Regional Council chief executive Vaughan Payne says they are checking whether any regulations were breached or operational procedures not followed during the rescue. In the meantime Matthew, who resigned some time ago and whose final day is today, has been stood down from operational duties as inquiries continue which is expected to take some time. - stuff.co.nz Ambulance officers cannot save your life if theyre trying to protect their own. This festive season St John is sending a strong, clear message to everyone in the community that abuse and assaults on ambulance officers will not be tolerated and prosecutions will be sought. Frontline ambulance officers are there to help those in need, and yet in the last year staff across New Zealand have been hit, kicked, punched, spat at, and verbally abused nearly 3000 times. A third of these cases involved physical aggression and violence, with up to 10 incidents a month being serious enough for ambulance officers to need hospitalisation and ongoing treatment. In St Johns Central-East district, which covers the Bay of Plenty and Tairawhiti regions, theres been 227 abuse incidents involving ambulance staff. Of those incidents, 162 involved some form of verbal abuse, while the 65 cases involved physical abuse, says district operations manager Jeremy Gooders. The Bay of Plenty currently mirrors whats going on nationally. The majority of people we go to are pleased to see us and are not an issue, but weve certainly seen over the last few years an escalating trend of frontline staff being abused. Weve had people punched, kicked, spat at, pushed, threatened. Obviously St Johns concern is our staff are out there trying to do their best for people in need, and thats the sort of reception theyre getting from some member of the public. So its not hard to imagine how frightening it is for frontline staff, especially those working in isolated areas or by themselves, when confronted by these situations. Jeremy says St John trains staff to recognise potentially dangerous situations and how to withdraw for them, but at the end of the day some incidents just happen unexpectedly and are unavoidable. The welfare of our staff is paramount, and incidents like these can have a physical and psychological effect on them. It can absolutely knock their confidence and thats the last thing youd want when youre sending them out to save lives. They cant concentrate on delivering good patient care if theyre at a scene where theyre apprehensive and constantly looking over their shoulder. My ambulance officers have had enough. We simply wont enter a dangerous scene, we will retreat and your mate or loved one wont get the treatment they need while our personal safety is at risk, says St John chief executive Peter Bradley. We recognise any situation involving emergency services can be stressful and emotions can run high but there is a clear pattern of behaviour here related to alcohol and substance abuse, and largely at weekends. One paramedic had a bow and arrow pointed at his head, another had a knife held to him and told that if the seriously ill, unconscious patient died, so would he. While on another occasion, a single crewed ambulance officer was punched, shoved and locked into a room at the rural property she was attending. Fearing for her life, she escaped out a window. Sadly, nearly every ambulance officer has at least one such tale to tell. Its pretty hard to concentrate in those circumstances. One patient attacked me, bit me and spat blood into my mouth, says paramedic Roger Blume. St John ambulance officers receive training to help them recognise dangerous situations and have processes to withdraw or not enter until back up arrives. The organisation is committed to ending the practice of single crewing but says the public needs to do their part too. Ambulance officers are caring, non-judgemental professionals there to help but we ask the public to respect our profession, says Peter. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says it is distressing that frontline ambulance officers are a target of violence and abuse, and hopes all New Zealanders take the message on board. A similar campaign in South Australia has seen a 16 per cent decrease in abuse and violence incidents against its ambulance officers. That campaign used the phrase hands off our ambos. It is time for New Zealanders to take that to heart. Ambulance officers cannot save a life if they are trying to save their own. BY THE NUMBERS: While 2695 incidents crew abuse incidents were reported in year December 1, 2015, to November 30, 2016, not all crew abuse incidents were captured pre-March 2015 because St John was transiting to electronic reporting Of those incidents, 70 per cent (2000) crew abuse incidents were verbal, while nearly 30per cent of incidents involved some form of physical and verbal abuse, with 6 per cent involving just physical abuse. On average, 65 physical assaults are reported per month, with 6-10 incidents considered very serious. Fifty per cent of all crew abuse incidents involved alcohol or recreational drug abuse, while 15 per cent of abuse incidents related to patients with mental health issues. Most incidents (37 per cent of abuse occur during between 12pm on Fridays to 11.59am Sundays, with the majority of incidents occurring in Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and the metropolitan areas But rural and remote communities also involve risks (including more single crewing). The profile of the risk changes and the likelihood is lower but the consequences are higher. Harvesting, preserving and storing food for animals and people meant hard manual labour in the 1800s and just how that was done is celebrated in the Western Bay Museums latest exhibition Summer Harvest. Last night 80 invited guests gathered to enjoy the fruits of early summer harvest locally grown strawberries, raspberries and boysenberries, together with traditional Christmas fare as the Katikati-based museum launched its third exhibition. Museum manager and curator Paula Gaelic told guests not many museums regularly change their exhibitions but the Western Bay Museum will stage a new one every three months, featuring topical and informative themes. On display in the current exhibition are the tools used by the districts early pioneers to cut and harvest animal fodder, and pick and preserve fruits and vegetables for humans. The new exhibits feature alongside the permanent exhibition Taonga Maori which is a collection of stone toki, kete, poi, moa bone and patu pieces. With the Spices of India display at the Western Bay Museum are from left, Pawan Mittal, Anu Bhardwaj, Bhupinder Bhardwaj, Karan Mittal and Sandeep Pawan of Spice Traders. For the first time the museum has focused on multi-cultural diversity in the district with the display The Spices of India provided by local business Spice Traders. Anu Bhardwaj says spices have for centuries been a traditional part of Indian cuisine, but also used to treat ailments and she has noticed an increasing interest among Kiwis in not only how to cook with, but also how to use spices, medicinally. Preserving jars, scales and an early Edmonds Cook Book among the essential tools for pioneers preserving fruit and vegetables are on display Western Bay Museums latest exhibition Summer Harvest. The display in the museum includes a range of fresh spices together with traditional Indian silk and hand-embroidered fabrics. The Summer Harvest, which runs until March next year, occupies the main exhibition room but the museum also features an interactive space with an operating telephone exchange, a dairy, replica 1910 coal range and an operating treadle print press. These hands-on activities are popular with children with 10 schools visiting in the last six weeks to learn butter churning, scone making on the coal range, mowing with a push mower and doing laundry on washboards, all while dressed in period costumes to add a real-life experience. The Western Bay Museum in Katikatis Main Street is open 10am to 4pm, seven days but closed December 24, 25 and 26, 2016 and January 1, 2017. Admission: adult $5, child (under 15) $2. For more information visit www.westernbaymuseum.nz Locally grown summer berry fruits were among the treats enjoyed by guests who attended last nights launch in Katikati of the Western Bay Museums latest exhibition Summer Harvest. An application has been made to the High Court by a Maori group looking to claim customary rights over the area around Motiti Island. The Motiti Rohe Moana Trust has made the application on behalf of several hapu, although not all hapu named in the application support the bid. The trust is seeking the right and responsibility to act as kaitiaki (guardian) of the wahi tapu (sacred places) and taonga tuku iho (ancestral treasures) within the common coastal marine area of Motiti Island. They also seek the ability to impose a rahui, or ban, if required for the protection of the site or resource. Among the sacred places are reefs, including Astrolabe Reef, upon which the wreck of the Rena sits. Buddy Mikaere whose hapu is named in the application, although he opposes it says the group have until next year to push their case. You have the ability up until next year to make a claim for customary marine title over a defined area of sea. This also includes the right to carry out customary activities in that area as well, which can be anything apart from fishing, which is covered by separate legislation. He thinks there is a monetary motivation behind the claim. The group making this application have signed up with the owners and insurers of the Rena, who wish to dump the wreck of the Rena out on Motiti. If this happens, the trust and those theyre representing get a substantial pay-out. If they can win this customary marine title case, they will then in effect become the equivalent of the environment court for that area of the seabed. If that happens, theyll have jurisdiction over the Rena wreck and will likely keep it where it is. They say they represent all the hapu on Motiti Island, but we say no you dont, argues Buddy. You dont represent our hapu (Ngai Te Hapu). Patuwai also say they dont represent them. Some of the hapu they name in their application also dont exist anymore. Buddy says he and many of his kinfolk are on the side who want the owners of the Rena to take the wreck away. He questions the motives of the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust. At the end of the day, its all about the money. He says he and others will be going to court and opposing the trusts application. The Motiti Rohe Moana Trust has been contacted for comment. Child poverty in New Zealand is bad and getting worse. Thats the conclusion of the fourth annual report prepared by the Child Poverty Monitor partnership the JR Mckenzie Trust, the Office of the Childrens Commissioner and the New Zealand Child and Youth Epidemiology Service. And we should be ashamed both as a country and individuals says Taurangas Peter Malcolm, spokesman for the income equality group Closing the Gap. The lobbyist has been joined in his concerns for children by Childrens Commissioner Andrew Beecroft. He is deeply surprised and shaken by the report and will ask new Prime Minister Bill English to set a poverty reduction target, a request rejected by former prime minister John Key. Key points of the 2016 report says 155,000 children, or 14 per cent of all children are living in material hardship, without seven or more items from a list of 17 that are considered necessary for their wellbeing. Another 85,000 children are experiencing even worse material hardship with households missing out on nine or more items from the list of 17. The items are the new measure for child poverty following its introduction to government reporting last year. Twenty eight per cent of children live in low income homes. That means 295,000 New Zealand children are in homes where money is tight and are considered to be in income poverty. More than 8 per cent of children are in severe poverty. That means 90,000 New Zealand children are experiencing both material hardship and living in a low income household. In 1982 the percentage of children in families experiencing income poverty was 14 per cent, compared to 28 per cent now. This is appalling says Peter. And our Government seems to be still sitting on its hands Child poverty has been identified by New Zealanders in recent opinion polls as one of the most significant issues facing our country. While New Zealands economy continues to grow and prosper, the 2016 Child Poverty Monitor shows there has been no real improvement in child poverty rates. Peter Malcom says the solution is very simple. Decent, affordable, warm, dry housing for all. Think Government supplied social housing and sufficient income, think the living wage as the minimum for all workers, benefits at the same level and decent child allowances. Closing the Gap says the economy is sound and growing and we are one of the lowest taxed countries in the developed world. Somebody is doing very well but it is not the many children who are in poverty. What has happened to our sense of fairness, concern and justice? asks Peter. The meteorite was photogaphed by Huelva University. :: METEOROIDES.NET An explosion, a ball of fire in the sky and even tremors frightened a number of people at 10.25pm last Sunday. The meteorite that flew over the provinces of Granada and Jaen could also be seen from several different parts of Malaga province. The phenomenon was due to part of a comet breaking up in the Earths atmosphere. However, there was no harm done, confirmed Jose Maria Madiedo, doctor of Physics and a specialist in astrophysics at the University of Huelva. This is the second time that it has happened in the last few months. The last time was on 29 August, when another ball of light crossed the province at an altitude of 38 kilometres. However, Madiedo affirms that these phenomena are very common and are most visible on nights with clear skies, such as those last Sunday. The Spanish network of investigation into meteorites, made up of astronauts, chemists, mathematicians and seismologists, have spent two days charting the place of impact. Yesterday a team began a search in a 20 kilometre area between the provinces of Granada and Jaen. However, they are reluctant to reveal the exact location of the search nor the equipment they are using. Their objective is to find the fragment of meteorite before collectors or traders, who could deny the scientists access to valuable information. The falling of a meteorite is the cheap version of a space mission: as we have established the trajectory and orbit it came from, the rock gives us an endless amount of information about its place of origin, explains Jose Luis Ortiz, investigator from the Institute of Astrophysics in Andalucia and member of the network. The scientists who followed the trajectory of the meteorite are ecstatic, for there have only been a dozen occasions in history where it has been possible to recover an extraterrestrial rock whose fall has been so well documented. This increases its scientific value enormously but makes it more sought after by collectors. Francisco Angel Espartero, director of the observatory in Alcala la Real, Jaen, has urged the public to help to preserve this treasure. If anyone finds a fragment, they should tell the IAA or the Guardia Civil. It is a race against the clock. Science means nothing to the collectors; they only think about the profit. Mark Ryden poses in CAC Malaga during the installation of the exhibition that opened on Friday. :: ALVARO CABRERA > Title. Camara de las Maravillas. > Venue. CAC Malaga. C/ Alemania, Malaga. > Dates. 16 December 2016 to 5 March 2017. > Open. Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 8pm. Admission free. Earlier this year artist Mark Ryden visited the city for the first time. It was Holy Week and Malaga-born actor Antonio Banderas offered to show him around. That day Banderas was recognised and stopped in the street just once; Ryden was stopped three times. The artist modestly explains that at the time he put this down to people being used to bumping into the actor, but he was really underestimating the extent of his own fame in Spain. Mark Ryden (Oregon, US, 1963), the artist behind album covers for Michael Jackson and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, the man who inspired Lady Gagas famous meat dress, has in fact a legion of followers who are heading to Malaga today from all over Spain and further afield for the opening of his retrospective exhibition at CAC Malaga. Camara de las Maravillas includes more than 50 of his works stretching back over the last 20 years of his career. How did this project come about? I had been talking with my gallery in New York, the Paul Kasmin, about trying to get another retrospective exhibition together. It had been ten years since Id done it before so it seemed it was time. And just as we were beginning to contemplate that, there was this synchronistic connection with Fernando [Frances, the CAC malaga director] coming to visit. We had a meeting about a year ago and we immediately hit it off. He showed pictures of the space which I thought was beautiful, a space that would hold the big show that I was hoping it would be, and so it just seemed like a perfect fit. I visited the space last March. My wife [the artist Marion Peck] had an exhibition in Paris and we came down. It just happened that it was Holy Week, by coincidence; that was another fun synchronicity. Had you been to Spain in Holy Week before? No! And what did you think? Its hard to put into words. I thought it was amazing. The whole thing, the processions, were so inspiring. All the beauty, the ornamentation, the dramatic presentations, the show of it... I found very exciting and deeply moving. Some of the works on display in the CAC show the influence of that experience, but on a broader scale; how has your work evolved over the last 20 years? Those questions are so good for other people to look at and evaluate. Its hard for me to really step back and have that much perspective. Seeing some of my older paintings for the first time in a long time, they seem to have so much more vibrant colour than I remembered painting them. But my work has always been a series of thematic shows so theres been a progression from one overall theme to the next rather than one individual painting to the next. Child characters The common factor in these series is the child character, now an icon in your work. Whats behind that? Its taken a while for me to find for myself who that figure is. My wife actually at one point thought that they were self-portraits which I found interesting, but really what they are is soul figures, so in that way a representation of myself but they are also the soul of anybody looking at the painting. But thats something that will connect people with the paintings - they become that person themselves, whether theyre man or woman or child - its a portrait of whoevers looking at the painting. -Hearing you speak in the birthplace of Picasso brings to mind his famous phrase: It took me a lifetime to learn how to draw like a child. Do you identify with that? Yes, something that artists share is trying to see the world through the eyes of a child, to see things with more imagination and to see the soul in things around them, that creative spirit that a child naturally has. And so holding on to that is a challenge. -You are known for your album covers and pop surrealism. How did you get where you are now? -I actually studied commercial art; I never studied to be a fine artist because at the time I was in college, in the early 80s, what was going on in the fine art world wasnt something I felt any connection to. I think part of what defines pop surrealism is that love of traditional painting, representation, narrative and all the things that were kind of forbidden in the high art world for so long. It was only in the 90s that it started to become acceptable again even to do figuration, and so thats why I pursued commercial art. And so for about ten years I did everything from very conservative corporate brochures to album covers, which ended up being the most similar to the personal fine art work I would do later. -Those covers opened doors to a mass audience. -The album covers kind of foreshadowed what my work would look like, but they were all very different. Its a very different process doing an album cover versus a painting for a gallery because youre still a hired hand for some other concept that wasnt born from your own brain. Theres only one of those works in the show and its the Michael Jackson painting [Dangerous, 1991] which I see as an anomaly. But its something people really like to see; its included for that reason. -You seem to move equally well in both fine art and lowbrow culture. Where are you most comfortable? Well thats another thing that defines pop surrealism - trying to combine them. Something that the artist Takashi Murakami is also interested in is collapsing the high and low and thats something I naturally do. I go in museums and appreciate classical paintings with the depths of my soul, but then I also love going to the flea market and collecting broken old toys and they inspire me too. I dont try and put one above the other, I take them in equally and combine that range of inspiration in my work and its a big range. I have shelves full of books, and pictures and papers and postcards. I have toys and models and taxidermy animals and religious statues - my house is quite packed full of stuff. The brand That combination has made your work both well-known and sought-after. Are you influenced by the market or a temptation to reproduce the same work? Its very difficult to get away from that. Youre still making something to sell and you want to make a living. I think it would be interesting to see how much one is being influenced by that. If I won the lottery and had infinite money and just didnt have to worry about making a living, would my work be different? I dont know. I try - I think most artists try not to let the sale of a work influence them. I think something that is even harder to break free from is that desire to be successful with your art. And if youve been making images that are successful its a challenge to do something that people arent expecting, whether you care about selling it or not. But you dont deny that your work has become a kind of brand... I dont really see it as that extreme, but I think others might look at it that way. It wouldnt surprise me. Another feature of your work is the importance of nature, an environmental awareness even. Is there a political element to your work? When I make my art I dont have any intention of making a political statement. I dont have political motivations behind my art-making but I do have strong political views. I do feel that were harming this planet in profound ways. I have a spiritual relationship with the planet; thats where my spirituality lies, in a respect for the divinity in the natural world around us. And I think of that as a feminine divinity. I think the patriarchy that has dominated the planet for so long is whats destroying it. Its that masculine competitiveness to conquer the universe and to make a commodity out of everything on Earth instead of respecting it as a divine thing. Art and politics Dont you think then that art should have a political message? Its a big question because the world turned upside down for Americans - and for the whole world - with the election of Trump. Its a nightmare; its such a profound, terrible, horrible thing. Everybody we know is just shocked by it, I do not know one single person who supported Donald Trump - its hard to believe there were any. I live on the West coast and people on the coasts are more connected with the whole Earth rather than just seeing America as an isolated thing. They travel more; they go to Europe. And because its such a profound thing - I think were in danger of him blowing up the world - I think that its hard not to let it affect your art. The way I communicate with the world is with my art. Do I have a responsibility to try and take my art in that direction? Its something Im struggling with right now. Maybe more than a responsibility, its become a desire. And so the world of fantasy in your works is a refuge from reality? It is. Thats what is helping us to get through, to remember what is important. And that is the beauty of a tree, the simple beauties, and I think that its a good thing to get away from the horrors that are coming politically and remember that theres beauty in the world and fantasy and imagination. Thats why the thought of having a painting with Trumps face on it making some kind of political statement in the middle of my show just doesnt seem right. The Junta has also started urgent work to repair damaged schools and clear steams blocked by the rain as local councils continue to assess costs A resident in the Guadalhorce valley clearing out a damaged property. :: SALVADOR SALAS Ministers in Madrid last week approved special emergency cash for Malaga province after the heavy rains earlier this month. The Cabinet declared Malaga an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, a status that allows the government to fast track aid. Although not all of the 20 municipalities affected in the province had submitted their analysis of damage to local infrastructure, estimates of the total damage done had reached 100 million euros by the time of the governments announcement. This included some 11 million euros damage to farmland and crops. In addition, analysts believe that there is about 25 million euros in repairs needed to private property. The government aid will go towards emergency public works in the towns and villages worst hit, including repairs to municipal and provincial-controlled roads, and help to local farmers. There will also be some breaks on municipal and national taxes for those suffering most, as well as social security payment subsidies. The Junta de Andalucia regional government has also released 18 million euros to speed up repairs to the public services under its control in Cadiz, Huelva and Malaga provinces. These include the regional road network and schools. Sixteen schools were damaged in Malaga province. Much of the Junta aid will also go to repair damaged water channels and clear blocked streams. In addition 2.7 million of this money will go directly to local town halls. Locally-based Unicaja bank has also promised 50 million euros in loans to customers to help with their repairs. The Pro Dunas association describes the damage caused as an "environmental disaster" from which the dunes will never recover The stream at Real de Zaragoza has carved out a new channel. :: SUR Nobody should think that what has been lost can be recovered. The dunes have a specific function. Without them, the sea will continue coming in. The damage has been incredible; in the 30 years that we have been working on the sand dunes in Marbella, we have never seen anything like this. The person speaking was Susanne Stamm, spokeswoman for the Asociacion Pro Dunas Bahia de Marbella-Playa La Adelfa, an environmental group which has spent three decades fighting for the local sand dunes to be protected. She had been inspecting the beaches after the recent storms, and was astonished at the damage. It has almost been like a small tsunami. The beaches have been damaged, but so have the dunes and that will have an effect, she says. The association says there are several places along the coast where the rain has literally swallowed up the cordon of sand dunes, leaving slopes of up to three metres high. One is La Vibora, where the barrier of stakes which was put in place by the association a few months ago to define the protected area and prevent people damaging it has also disappeared. This is an irreversible loss of a large part of two dune areas in Las Chapas and Elviria, says a source at Pro Dunas. One is at La Vibora, and the other is the dune in the Real de Zaragoza area. We are talking about an ecological disaster which nobody can do anything about. At Real de Zaragoza, the stream has designed a new channel across the dune area. We are telling the authorities that we have to learn from this, and that we have to respect nature. We have to respect this new channel, not the old one, which we understand was created artificially. If it rains in the same way again, the stream will follow its natural course and nothing will be able to stop it, says Susanne Stamm. It was here at Real de Zaragoza that the force of the water lifted one bridge and displaced another, and a nearby beach bar was also affected by the loss of sand. The force of the water was such that it moved a one-tonne block of cement which was the base for a flag, beside the wooden fence which had been put up to protect the area. The block moved several metres, even though it weighed so much, says Suzanne. Rio Real, La Adelfa, El Alicate and El Arenal are other areas which were damaged by the storms, and the council is applying for funding from the government to try to return them to their original condition, or as close as possible. The Pro Dunas association has a clear message for the authorities, who are considering building breakwaters on the beaches: the currents and storms need to be taken into account. Constructions of this type can change the normal course of nature. We have to learn to live with nature, not work against it, they say. ____________________________________________ INTERVIEW If this happens every year, the sea will eventually reach the residential area Susanne Stamm. Pro-Dunas Association Members of the Pro Dunas association have spent a week walking along the coast at Las Chapas, examining the damage caused to the sand dunes by the recent bad weather. A great deal of it is irreversible, says Susanne Stamm, the spokeswoman for the group. -How much damage has there been, from an environmental point of view? -The beaches have lost practically all their normal width. We have just come from Rio Real and Funny Beach, and there is no beach left. Beside the Realejo, the rain has made a river. Environmentally, the dunes have withstood the storm, although they have been badly damaged in areas where there are rivers and streams. -Will they be able to recover from the damage? -The damage caused to the beaches by streams and rain can be repaired, but at a cost. The sand will have to be replaced and the pipes repaired. The dunes wont be able to recover, though. At La Vibora, for example, nothing can be done. Three metres of dunes have been swallowed up by the sea, and it has advanced so much that it has already destroyed some of the native flora. -What can be done to protect the dunes now? -We have sent reports to the Junta de Andalucia and the Coastal Authority and we are waiting to hear from the Environmental Department about what can be done. If every year there are huge waves and the dunes are destroyed, the sea will eventually reach the residential area. -Could anything have been done to prevent this damage? -No, it was nature. Were not accusing anyone of anything. This couldnt have been predicted, and in 30 years we have seen nothing like it. Its due to climate change. However, the authorities need to act quickly now, and bring sand to the areas which have been most seriously affected. -Do you have a message for the authorities? Jose Luis Millet and Carmen Ortega get into the festive spirit in Trafalgar Square. :: SUR When Carmen Ortega, 36, and Jose Luis Millet, 34, moved to London in search of work as teachers in January 2014, little did they know that their futures, having successfully secured jobs in good schools, would be uncertain. Like so many young Spanish people, Jose Luis and Carmen were unable to find teaching jobs in Spain, despite being qualified to do so and studying English at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas in Velez-Malaga. The Spanish government was putting increasingly high demands on teachers, regardless of age, to acquire a high level (B2 or above) in order for them to achieve a strong bilingual education system. We both got the B2 in English before we went to London, but even that didnt secure us work in Spain, says Carmen. She adds, Spain is obsessed with qualifications but I have never been asked for my certificate here in London. The attitude there is that you go to an interview and if you have a high enough level to fully understand the questions and answer them, that proves your English is good enough to work. For many Brits living in Spain, learning the language is an enormous challenge and many have given up. Some people are simply not natural linguists. This does not count in Spain, where all teachers, even if their specialism is in Maths or PE, need to have a good level of English. Jose and Carmen have developed a vast knowledge and understanding of the UK educational system, from SATS (the form of standardised testing used in the UK to assess the performance of schools and pupils) to the curriculum. They have read classic English books by authors such as Roald Dahl and David Walliams and taught themselves about British kings and queens. They are then, more than prepared, not to mention dedicated, to teach children in schools in London. Carmen says that in her class of 30 children in southeast London, 50 per cent are non-English. Then along came Brexit. The school at which she was offered a permanent job for the start of the new school year in September(subject to the usual six-month probationary period) clearly isnt too worried about Brexit and the fact that Carmen is Spanish. Even though her job is safe for now, she cannot escape the feeling of unease:We are worried. Its all very unsettling. At the moment we are all working, but who knows what will happen when the UK finally leaves the EU, says Carmen. She adds that it wont be easy for them to find work in Spain as teachers. There isnt the demand for teachers like there is in the UK and the system for getting a job is very complicated back home, says Carmen. For Carmens parents, Carmen and Juan, who live in Torre del Mar, its not just one daughter who has gone to live in the UK in search of a better future; all three of their children are there another daughter, Paz, 31, has lived in Manchester with her husband for around two years and a son, Carlos, 39, works as an administrator at Birmingham university and has been in the city for almost five years. Carmen says that she has spoken to her brother and sister and they are all concerned about Brexit. In fact, Paz and her husband, Nirav, whose family is originally from India and is a physicist at Manchester university, are seriously thinking about moving to Switzerland, where Nirav says his job prospects are good in the field of physics and astronomy. Fortunately none of them has personally been affected by the racist attacks which seem to have risen since the referendum took place and Carmen says that in London there is a real mix of people and that you dont get the feeling that anyone has a problem. However, with a recent spate of attacks on Spanish people, Carmen says that she, Jose and her siblings cant forget that it is there. Once Article 50 is triggered, there will be a lot to negotiate, but the final decisions will affect not just individuals, but in this case entire families who have exercised their right as European Union citizens to live and work in other member states. Strawberry plantations and thousands of illegal wells, in addition to climate change, are posing a serious threat to the most valuable wetland in Europe The marsh which the deer is crossing looks like a desert. :: ANDONI CANELA / WWF Miguel Delibes de Castro, naturalist and director for 12 years of the Biological Station at Donana, says that man is a catastrophe for all other living beings. Perhaps that statement seems unnatural but it is so simple that it may just hold the explanation for the delicate present condition of a place which is considered the most important wetland in Europe. Donana, among other threats faced by its tens of thousands of hectares of land, is slowly and inexplicably drying up. The park is completely dependent on water and every year the aquifer becomes drier. This is a disastrous trend for the marshes, the lagoons, the flora and fauna. It has been overexploited to such an extent that it would take between 30 and 60 years to recover completely, and creating a very difficult situation for the hundreds of thousands of birds which arrive from Africa or northern Europe each year. Donana also has fantastic woodland and 32 kilometres of beaches where there are no buildings, something almost unheard-of in Spain, but its wetland is the most important part. It has now rained for three consecutive days and I know it must seem crazy for us to say that it is drying up; if it rained for three weeks at a time this would even flood, but the problem isnt what we can see. The aquifer dropped to its lowest ever levels during the last major drought in 199, and now there are parts which are at the same level even though it has rained more. The worst thing is that no water is being saved for when the next big drought occurs, warns Juanjo Carmona,the spokesperson for Donana at the WWF, one of the most important nature conservation organisations in the world. At present there appears to be plenty of water, but it is an illusion. The problem is the water table, the underground flow which is being increasingly exploited. Many people near Donana use its water and over 1,000 illegal wells dot the landscape. In the western part, there has been an exorbitant increase in agriculture. In theory that should be an asset, such as with olive groves or vines; they are basic in a natural area, but irrigation has grown out of all proportion and in a disorderly fashion, and the agriculture is taking up public space on the mountain, explains Juanjo. Strawberry crops are expanding from Huelva and recently so have blueberries. In the eastern part, in Seville, there are rice fields, and these contribute to the overexploitation of the aquifer, says Juanjo Carmona. Demand keeps increasing and now, in addition, they want to open Aznalcollar again. The authorities say the solution is to store more water to meet all the demand, but the problem is that the more water there is in the reservoir, the less will reach the marshes. Aznalcollar was the scene of an environmental disaster in 1998 when the dam of the mines settling basin broke. Now it wants to open again, posing an additional threat to the park, like the project to dredge the river so that bigger ships and cruise liners could sail up the Guadalquivir to the port in Seville. Lynx and Mozart The consequences would be dire for many species which breed here, such as prawns and anchovies, which feed from the sediment and are then fished in the gulf of Cadiz. It would also increase salinity, which would be very damaging for the rice fields. Nobody has taken into account the fact that these ships cant manouevre freely along a river with bends, so it would have to be modified to make a type of straight channel, and that would destroy the surroundings. And anyway, we already have ports in Cadiz, Huelva, Algeciras and Malaga, says Juanjo. And the final straw, which has put ecologists on the warpath, is that the Gas Natural company wants to create a gas store below Donana, an area which is classified as a National and Natural Park, a Unesco Heritage Site, a Biosphere Reserve, an internationally important Ramsar wetland, and part of the Nature Network 2000. This should mean that it cannot be touched, and not a place in which gas can be stored. It seems we never learn, complains Juanjo, who seems to agree with something else that was said by Miguel Delibes, who is an expert on the lynx, to illustrate the importance of things: If a lynx becomes extinct, it is as if Mozart has died. Nobody ever dies from a lack of Mozart, but... It is like comparing Donana with the Prado museum. Neither is vital for existence, but they both have an incalculable intangible value. Donana owes its name to Dona Ana de Silva y Mendoza, the daughter of the princess of Eboli and wife of the duke of Medina Sidonia, one of its most illustrious residents. However, it owes an even greater debt to Jose Antonio Valverde, a Spanish zoologist who succeeded in convincing the authorities of the importance of preserving this area, instead of using it to plant rice or eucalyptus trees. When this does not happen, as in the case of Matalascanas, the buildings encroach upon the land. This scientists intervention was a determining factor in Donana being declared a National Park in 1969 and a World Heritage Site in 1994. Unesco sent two missions to Donana, in 2011 and 2015, to ask Spain to protect the aquifer and the estuary, and to guarantee that the Guadalquivir would not be dredged. More recently the organisation has made it clear to the Spanish government that it should do this before December 1st if it does not want to become the first member state of the European Union to have a World Heritage Site declared in danger. Shorter springs At the same time, the European Commission has opened two cases against Spain for bad management of the water and putting the park in danger from dredging, and is threatening to take it to the European Court of Justice. The WWF is so unhappy at the situation that it organised a workshop with water experts, who concluded that the state of preservation of Donana is worse than shown in the Administrations planning documents. It also warns of the need to declare the aquifer at risk and to state clearer conservation objectives. These are the top priorities, but there are also others, such as closing down the illegal wells and farms, controlling the use of water, building and maintaining measuring stations to monitor how much water enters and leaves the marshes, improving the treatment of water which is released onto Donana and reducing contamination caused by agriculture. Also, as Juanjo Carmona points out, it would be a big mistake to see that a week of rain has filled the marshes with water and think that the problem is over.Donana is drying up, even though it may not look like it, he insists. The solution is not for the birds to seek water in the rice fields and fish farms. We are grateful for the support of their managers, but that isnt the model we need to follow, he explains. JuanJo lives in the park, in Hinojos, beside the marshes, and sees the threats to Donana from close at hand. That is why he knows well that the problem does not lie on the surface, but with the water which flows from the subsoil and which dries up earlier every spring, leaving too little time for many of the baby birds which are born here to grow. Donana is currently home to four varieties of endangered birds: the marbled teal, the white-headed duck - two of the most emblematic anatidae in Spanish fauna - the Spanish imperial eagle and Audouins gull. A young scientist, Oscar Jurado, is hoping to raise 150,000 euros for research which would mean that antiretroviral drugs were no longer necessary to treat patients with HIV The 27-year-old scientist from Torrox has a Masters degree in Virology. :: EUGENIO CABEZAS AIDS is one of the greatest pandemics in the world. It was only discovered 35 years ago in Los Angeles, but now around 38 million people have been infected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and approximately half of them are unaware of the fact. This is what the virus does: it spreads exponentially, at the rate of about 4,000 new cases a year in Spain alone. So far, no cure has been found for HIV; antiretroviral drugs only lengthen the lives of infected patients, and they have numerous side effects and are very costly for countries health systems. On average, every patient needs 7,000 euros a year, so public spending in Spain amounts to 490 million euros because there are 70,000 people with positive serology, and a total of between 150,000 and 180,000 are affected. Troubled by these figures, a 27- year-old researcher from Torrox, Oscar Jurado, wants to reverse the situation and put a stop to one of the biggest pandemics which threatens the world. He has begun a pioneering scientific project to look for a cure which will eradicate HIV, which is responsible for the AIDS illness, by applying genetic engineering techniques. This line of research differs from those which seek new antiretroviral treatments. Oscar, who has a degree in Biology from Malaga university and then went on to do a Masters degree in Virology at the Complutense university in Madrid, later carried out research at the National Microbiology Centre of the Carlos III Health Institute. Under the auspices of the Ramon y Cajal hospital in Madrid and its foundation, and at the request of the head of the Infectious Diseases unit at the hospital, he carried out a second phase which involved experiments on animals. If we can raise the money, in four or five years we could have an effective cure for AIDS and HIV, he says, but he knows it will be difficult because of cuts in funding for scientific research and because pharmaceutical companies are not enthusiastic about his project. The companies dont want there to be a cure; they prefer to go on selling their drugs, he says. Oscars method consists of genetically manipulating the HIV so that it is not pathogenic, in such a way that when it is introduced into an infected individual it can stop the virus expressing itself. It would do this by suppressing the HIVs ability to replicate, something which remains latent in the so-called resting memory cells, unlike the antiretroviral treatments which are currently used and which are ineffective in this sense. The antiretrovirals are efficient and they allow a controlled evolution of the virus, but they are incapable of carrying out the desired function in certain organs where the virus replicates at residual levels, explains Oscar. Other illnesses This research focuses on using gene therapy to establish small RNA interference (RNAi) in a stable manner, to suppress and prevent the replication and genesis of new virions in the case of reactivation. Oscar Jurado considers this objective to be realistic and says it could also have synergies with other therapeutic strategies. It will open the door for other illnesses such as diabetes and some types of cancer to be treated with this technique, he explains. This young scientist believes the possibilities of his project eradicating this illness are high and he says it will be developed in vitro in four or five years. He will continue his research in conjunction with the Infectious Diseases department of the Ramon y Cajal University Hospital. Paul_Morgan_DeWitt_2.JPG Paul Morgan, former SPCA CNY executive director, at his initial arraignment in DeWitt town court. He will be arraigned again after being indicted by a grand jury. (Sarah Moses | smoses@syracuse.c) Syracuse, NY -- Two of his co-workers have pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 from the Central New York SPCA. And today, former director Paul Morgan was indicted on 53 felonies for his alleged theft of $475,000 from the animal shelter from 2010 to 2016. He faces three counts of grand larceny, five counts of criminal tax fraud and 45 counts of falsifying business records -- one count each for every time he allegedly tried to cover his tracks. Morgan, 45, of Salina, discussed his case in November with County Court Judge Anthony Aloi and prosecutor Michael Kasmarek, but no agreement was reached. So Kasmarek tackled the cases of two co-defendants: Taylor Gilkey and Nicole Cafarchio, who each admitted to being part of the scheme. Gilkey will spend 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison for stealing $249,000, while Cafarchio will get probation for stealing $62,000. Gilkey, along with going to prison, also agreed to cooperate against Morgan, described by interim SPCA director Nick Pirro as Morgan's off-and-on girlfriend and gambling partner. Prosecutors say that Morgan emptied the non-profit's coffers by writing checks to himself and to the two women. He's accused of pocketing $475,000. Morgan's case had been scheduled again for January. But the DA's office had signaled it didn't plan to wait that long. So it took Morgan's case to a grand jury, getting the indictment announced today. The indicted case provides a stricter framework for plea negotiations, turning up the heat on Morgan going forward. Given that Gilkey is going to prison for up to 7 years, expect any plea agreement with Morgan to include a prison sentence, as well. It's not clear how much money Morgan could pay back if convicted. For the time being, Morgan remains innocent and free on bail. He will be arraigned on the charges in coming days. Fort Drum.jpg SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An Army sergeant based at Fort Drum has been arrested on charges of downloading thousands of images of child pornography. Staff Sgt. Scott McKay told investigators he was a collector of child porn because the victims "are younger and not corrupted, they are innocent, and beautiful," according to an affidavit of FBI Special Agent Heather Weber. McKay was stationed in Kuwait in June 2015 when a civilian worker in the Armed Forces' cybersecurity unit notified criminal investigators that McKay had used an Army computer the previous week to browse 94 websites that contained child porn, the affidavit said. McKay was on active duty at Camp Arifjan Kuwait, working as a payment processor with commercial vendors. He used search terms such as "my young jailbait" and "little girl models ages 13-16," Weber wrote. A forensic review of McKay's laptop computer at Fort Drum showed he'd downloaded about 9,000 images of child pornography, the affidavit said. Some of the images were downloaded in January 2015, a month before he was deployed to Kuwait, the affidavit said. McKay appeared Thursday in federal court in Syracuse, where U.S. Magistrate Judge David Peebles released him from jail on the condition that he remain in his home with an electronic ankle bracelet. Contact John O'Brien anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-2187 Update Dec. 28: 14-year-old boy stable after critical gunshot wound to the head, Syracuse police say SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A 14-year-old boy was found unconscious in a home after seemingly being shot in the head, according to the Syracuse Police Department. Police received a call at approximately 12:30 p.m. Thursday to respond to a home on the 500 block of Wolf Street, authorities said. Police found an unconscious 14-year-old boy suffering from a head injury, police said. Authorities currently believe the injury came from a gunshot wound. The boy was taken to Upstate University Hospital by American Medical Response ambulance and is in critical condition, police said. No suspect information is currently available, though authorities are still investigating the incident. Syracuse police ask anyone with information to call (315) 442-5222 or use the "SPD Tips" app. aleksey.jpg Aleksey Shevchenko, 40, was sentenced to 13 years in prison today for raping a woman he brought home from Armory Square in June 2015. He's now facing new charges. (Douglass Dowty | ddowty@syracuse.com) Aleksey Shevchenko Syracuse, NY -- A Russian national convicted of raping a woman he brought home from Armory Square has now been charged with fashioning a jail toothbrush into a weapon. Aleksey Shevchenko, 40, formerly of Van Rensselaer Street, is charged with felony promoting prison contraband and misdemeanor weapon possession. He was charged five days after being sentenced to 13 years in prison for raping a woman last summer. Shevchenko brought the woman back to his apartment and had sex with her while she was incapable of consent. The woman testified that she woke up to him on top of her. There was ketamine, a known date-rape drug, in her system. County Court Judge Thomas J. Miller sentenced Shevchenko for the rape a week ago Monday. On Saturday, Shevchenko was still at the downtown Syracuse jail awaiting his transfer to state prison. A jail deputy found the sharpened toothbrush while doing a random search of Shevchenko's cell, according to court paperwork. "I located an altered 6-inch Colgate white toothbrush that was wedged between the toilet and the wall...The handle of the 6-inch white toothbrush had been sharpened to a point," Deputy John Drapikowski wrote in a court affidavit. The deputy called the sharpened toothbrush handle a "shank." That's considered dangerous contraband, "readily capable of being unlawfully used against another inmate or deputy," the criminal complaint read. The paperwork did not say what Shevchenko may have planned to do with the sharpened toothbrush. His lawyer in the rape case, Michael Spano, said he did not know the facts of the new charges. Shevchenko remains in custody. He will appear in Syracuse City Court next week on the new charges. Once those are disposed of, Shevchenko will be sent to state prison. After prison, it's likely that he will be deported back to his native Russia, which he left when he was 19 years old. Jason Kopp.jpg Jason Kopp, who Kerry Smith is accused of texting child pornography to in 2014. (Chrissie Cowan | The Post-Standard) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A federal grand jury has indicted a Syracuse woman on charges of producing child pornography of a 10-year-old girl then texting it to another child pornographer. Kerry Smith, 41, was indicted on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and distributing child pornography. She was accused in April of sending multiple photos of a naked 10-year-old girl to Jason Kopp, including pictures of her genitalia, according to the indictment. After Kopp was arrested in March, he told investigators he'd received sexually explicit images of a child from a woman he knew only as "Kerry B," according to an affidavit of FBI Special Agent Alix Skelton. Investigators determined the woman was Smith by examining Kopp's phone, the affidavit said. They confronted her and she admitted she'd produced the photos and texted them to Kopp, Skelton wrote. Kopp, 40, of Liverpool, was sentenced to 235 years in prison in September for sexually exploiting two children for the purpose of making child pornography. Kopp pleaded guilty in May to taking sexually explicit photos of two children with help from an aide at All Saints Elementary School in Syracuse. Neither of those victims was a student at the school. The aide, Emily Oberst, is accused of exploiting those two victims, plus a third who was a student at the school, photographed naked in a bathroom, sources have told Syracuse.com. The charges against Oberst are pending. Contact John O'Brien anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-2187 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -U.S. Rep. John Katko wants better answers from the New York State Department of Transportation's about its plans to replace a 1.4-mile section of Interstate 81 that slices through Syracuse. Katko, R-Camillus, sent a letter to DOT Commissioner Matt Driscoll Thursday asking for more analysis of the options proposed to replace the interstate that reaches the end of its useful life next year. He asked Driscoll: Whether the state has considered the impact of increased heavy truck traffic on non-interstate roads if "through" traffic is re-routed on Interstate 481, as has been proposed in one option. To clarify why building an underground tunnel to carry traffic through the city was eliminated based on cost, since no budget range has yet been made public. Why a tunnel, or a tunnel with streets crossing over it, has not been given the same amount of consideration as the two options the DOT has recommended. They are rebuilding the current elevated highway taller and wider, or re-routing "through" traffic and allowing city streets to carry traffic to local destinations, called the community grid option. And whether the DOT has considered public concerns expressed in past Auburn, Skaneateles, Salina, and Dewitt public meetings relating to the community grid alternative. Some members of the public are concerned about the potential for truckers to take a shortcut on local roads to avoid the city if traffic is re-routed on I-481. The DOT has not yet received the congressman's letter, said Tiffany Portzer, speaking for the DOT. "We cannot comment on something we have not received," she said. Katko stood at the back of the Henninger High School auditorium Wednesday night listening to DOT officials answer questions about the project. Most of the people commenting at the forum appeared to favor building a tunnel to carry I-81 through the city, with local streets crossing above it. The DOT considered three tunnel options, but has rejected them because of the high cost of the construction and other reasons. "As I listened to community members, business owners, and town supervisors from across Central New York, I am troubled that many of my constituents did not feel their concerns had been addressed by NYSDOT in this, or other forums," Katko said in a press release Friday morning. The congressman has not taken a stand which option he favors to replace the highway. "I have not advocated for one particular option to rebuild or upgrade Interstate 81. However, I believe that it is important that members of the community have access to all the necessary information regarding the scoping process and potential rebuild options," said the congressman representing all of Onondaga, Cayuga, and Wayne Counties and the western portion of Oswego County. The state works with the Federal Highway Administration to choose the option that will replace the highway. The DOT is collecting the public's input on the two options that will be part of a draft environmental impact statement issued early next year. A final decision on the project will come later in 2017. Katko sits on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and was able last year to get the I-81 project high priority status, making it eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. The federal government provides block grants to the state for highway projects and would pay for 80 percent of the cost of replacing I-81. The DOT estimates replacing I-81 place would cost about $1.3 billion for the community grid option, $1.7 billion to rebuild the elevated highway and up to $3.1 billion to build a tunnel. Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2161. Electoral College Timeline In this Jan. 4, 2013, file photo, pages lead a Senate procession carrying two boxes holding Electoral College votes through Statuary Hall to the House Chamber on Capitol Hill on Capitol Hill in Washington. Election Day isn't the final step in picking a president: Under a system that's been tweaked over two centuries, the election sets in motion a timeline and process by which the 538 members of the Electoral College select the president. (Jacquelyn Martin | AP ) James Roger Sharp is professor emeritus in the Department of History at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. By James Roger Sharp | Special to Syracuse.com The presidential election this year took place on November 8. Or did it? Yes, but this statement is only partially correct. The truth is a more consequential election is still to come -- the casting of Electoral College votes this coming Monday, Dec. 19. Under our system, the president is not democratically elected by a nationwide popular vote. If that were the American system, Hillary Clinton would have won the presidency by a margin of some 2.8 million votes. Instead however, the president is elected by the Electoral College, which is now predicted to cast 306 votes for Donald Trump -- 36 votes more than is needed for him to be elected president. So then, what is the Electoral College, how does it work and what were the Founding Fathers' intentions when they created it as part of the Constitution? The most important answer to the first two questions is that it is not an organization dedicated to a totally democratic outcome to a presidential election. And, at present, it is a complex institution with 538 presidential electors selected by differing means by each state's political parties. However, the number of electors in each state is equal to the total number of seats the state has in the House or Representatives plus the two in the Senate. Electoral votes in 48 states are under a "winner take all" system that awards all the electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote of that state. Nebraska and Maine, however, allocate their electoral votes somewhat differently. State laws differ somewhat on this, but, in general, electors are expected simply to cast their votes for the candidate in their state who won the popular vote. This is not the plan the Founding Fathers had in mind when at the 1787 Constitutional Convention they debated how to elect a president. There, some delegates argued for more popular participation while others argued that Congress should elect the president. The compromise was the Electoral College. During the Constitutional Convention, it was assumed that George Washington would be the first president and that he would be the unanimous choice of the Electoral College. However, after Washington's presidency, the Founders believed that the role of the Electoral College would change. It would become a filtering and nominating institution for numerous presidential candidates. Under such a scheme, they reasoned, it would be highly unlikely that any one person would win a majority of the electoral vote and, failing that, the House of Representatives would decide the election between the five leading candidates -- with each state having one vote. Thus, the Founders believed that the Electoral College, made up of distinguished and selfless men, would only chose presidents who understood and would govern on behalf of the public good. Or, as James Madison wrote, these governing elites would wisely "refine and enlarge the public views" so that the "true interest" of the country could be discerned. In the debate over the ratification of the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton mounted a powerful defense of the Electoral College, believing it to be a screening institution that would provide a safeguard against candidates for president whose "Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity" might give them some undeserved local admiration. However, it would "require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union...." Furthermore, perhaps being somewhat clairvoyant about the Russian interference in behalf of Donald Trump in this year's election, he argued that the Electoral College might prevent the "most deadly adversaries of republican government" which could arise "from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils" by "raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union." Despite the Founders' optimism, the role of the Electoral College has not turned out to be what they anticipated. It does not operate as an independent filtering and screening device to prevent demagogues "with the little arts of popularity" from becoming president. And it has become an unrepresentative and undemocratic institution, as the winning candidates for president in both the elections of 2000 and 2016, while winning the electoral vote, lost the popular vote. So, if the Electoral College is an antiquated and undemocratic system and does not now reflect what the Founding Fathers intended, what is to be done? The Constitution could be amended and the Electoral College replaced by a nation-wide popular vote to elect a president. However, that would be difficult if not impossible to achieve. An amendment would require a two-thirds vote of support in both Houses of Congress and the approval of three-fourths (38) of the states. One plan would have each state pass a law requiring their electors in that state to vote for the candidate who wins the nationwide popular vote. Another would allow the Electors to rise above partisanship and be independent and free to vote their conscience in favor of a candidate of their choosing whose qualities best lived up to the Founder's hopes and expectations. There are no easy answers. But the survival of our democracy requires public confidence in the country's institutions - a confidence that has been shaken by this election. Cynicism promotes resignation and non-participation and a dangerous and thoughtless acceptance of facile, misleading and false promises. To the Editor: On Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, my granddaughter Korrina put a letter in our mailbox addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole. She stamped it and put her return address on it then raised the flag to have it picked up. Korrina asked for a Barbie Dream house and then asked the $64 million question: "Santa are you real, my classmate said you are not?" Well, last night, because of the inclement weather, we didn't pick up the mail until after dinner. That's when Grandpa saw a red envelope addressed to Korrina with a return address of "S. Claus, North Pole." The envelope had a stamp of Santa with his bag on front left and, in the postage spot, a stamp of a snowflake. Grandpa called Korrina and said she got a letter from North Pole. The excitement of the letter was infectious and with shaking hands she opened it with the family all around her. The handwritten letter said he would try to get the doll house and that she should tell her friend she heard from him. This letter was a real joy to a little girl on the cusp of growing up. Thank you to the Post Office for the happiness in Liverpool. With many smiles, the magic of Christmas still rings out in 2016. Elizabeth Fallon Liverpool deer in park.JPG The Harlem buck. (CBS Channel 2 News) A young buck that found its way somehow to a city park in Manhattan died in captivity today after city and state Department of Environmental Conservation officials wrangled this week about what to do about it. The deer, which is was in the city's possession at the time, died just before noon while DEC staffers "were arriving on (the) scene" to relocate it, the DEC noted. "Sad news," Eric Phillips, the mayor's spokesman, said this afternoon, reported The Harlem Patch. "While under the stress of captivity & while awaiting potential transport upstate by state (Department of Environmental Conservation), the Harlem deer has died." The Harlem Patch that the deer "was captured Thursday after vaulting a fence into the nearby Polo Grounds Towers public housing development." The deer, with just one antler, had been roaming Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem, for the past two weeks or so, wrote the New York Times earlier this week. It had been spending a lot of its time "around the corner of 145th Street and Edgecombe Avenue, near a bogeda and a block from a subway entrance. The carrots and the celery that people slip through the fence there could have something to do with it," the Times reported. Some residents pleaded with the city to capture and relocate the deer. Many worried about it wandering out into traffic and getting hit by a car or truck. State regulations, though, prohibit the capture and relocation of deer except for scientific purposes. The Times reported that Yvette Toma, a resident who tried to get help for the deer was told by a DEC wildlife biologist that capture and release was "not a viable management tool because acceptable release sites are not available and because of the poor chances for deer survival." Richard Simmons, director of the city's parks department, issued a statement saying "should the city successfully capture this deer, it would likely be euthanized." A spokesman for the NYC Police added, "that if the deer got out on the street and posed a threat to motorists or pedestrians, "We will attempt to take possession of the deer." At 12:55 pm today, DEC spokesman Sean Mahar issued the following statement: "After repeated attempts to provide the city with alternative options to euthanasia, including relocation, the state is securing the safe transport of the deer to suitable habitat in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Inspection Unit." But things turn a different and deadly turn. Mahar issued the following statement at 2:29 p.m. "We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat. The city did not accept our offer until just before noon, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the city's possession." Mahar did not note how the city captured the deer or any other specifics. It's not clear how the buck got to Manhattan. The Times noted: "He probably migrated from the Bronx, which unlike Manhattan is on the mainland of the United States, either by crossing a bridge or swimming the Harlem River. "He may have wandered down from Highland Park, a much biger part that lies just across 155th Street from Jackie Robinson Park." 2014-11-20-sdc-suprotes_3.JPG Protesting Syracuse University students and staff met with SU Dean Bea Gonzalez at Crouse-Hinds Hall on Thursday afternoon Nov. 20, 2014. Dean Gonzalez responds to a question by a member of the negotiating panel. (Stephen D. Cannerelli | sccannerelli@syracuse.com) SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Former city councilwoman and University College dean Bea Gonzalez has been named vice president for community engagement at Syracuse University. Gonzalez's appointment was announced by Chancellor Kent Syverud along with other leadership changes at the university. Gonzalez, now dean of University College for part-time and non-traditional students, was the first person of Latino descent to be elected to the Syracuse Common Council in 2001. She also served on the Syracuse City School District's school board. Gonzalez was appointed to the position by Syverud, and is expected to be approved by the Board of Trustees at its next meeting. She will step down as dean of University College in February. Gonzalez's new role will focus on creating community partnerships and building on past initiatives. "Bea has been a champion of our community, and of students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences for nearly four decades," Syverud said. "There is no one better to lead Syracuse University's robust and impactful portfolio of community-connected initiatives." SU is making some changes to its leadership structure in addition to the appointment. Michael Haynie J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor of strategic initiatives and innovations, and one of the founders of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families, will now be overseeing the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation as well as University College and the restructuring of the Office of Government and Community Relations. He will continue his focus on veterans affairs. Haynie has served in a number of roles at SU, including as interim dean of the Whitman School of Management earlier this year. Gonzalez will report to Haynie under the new leadership structure. Both will be involved in the appointment of an interim dean for University College. Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Two teachers have turned themselves in for the mysterious disappearance of a snowman from a Syracuse school. Students, teachers and administrators have been searching for Frosty, a nine-foot inflatable snowman since his disappearance from Frazer Pre-K Vice Principal Bruno Primerano's office last week. Multiple sightings of Frosty have been reported. Photos of Frosty's appearances around town have been circulating around the school. Shortly after Frosty's disappearance, captors sent images of the snowman appearing to be in distress -- but since, sightings of Frosty seem to indicate he has enjoyed his time away from the school. Frosty has been seen wistfully gazing across Clinton Sqaure in the heart of downtown Syracuse. He socialized with another inflatable snowman at Dunkin Donuts, where he purchased himself a coffee. Meanwhile at Frazer, mysterious songs about snowmen have been blaring across the walkie talkies adults use to communicate with each other. Fliers with Frosty's photos have gone up on the walls. Surveillance video at the school showed Frosty there one day, and gone the next. At least one teacher was captured on camera removing a large box from the office last week. Syracuse.com interviewed the teacher, Mark LaClair. He admitted he smuggled the snowman out of the school as a prank, with help from fellow physical education teacher Andrew Hockenbery. LaClair removed the snowman using a large box under the guise of trying to get a set of damaged hula hoops repaired. Hockenbery also brought the snowman in and out of the school using a parachute and other disguises. People at the school have started to solve the mystery, so the two gym teachers thought it was time to confess. They thanked the many people at the school who helped plot and cover up Frosty's escape. LaClair said the prank is a testament to a fun, playful and improved environment at Frazer, which has been identified a "struggling" school by New York state. Frazer has been working to improve its academics, and the relationships among students, administrators and teachers. A recent report from the state showed that Frazer has met 85 percent of its goals for improvement this year. "People are putting forward as much effort as they can to make this place work. Seeing those good relationships -- I think it's just different this year," LaClair said. Hockenbery added that the administrators, who are all new to the school in the last year, have led the change in atmosphere by being supportive, in the trenches and down to earth. Primerano, the vice principal, has been at the school about a year now. "It just goes to show you that in a happy work environment you can do something like this. We're seeing success, we're seeing a better atmosphere so we figured we'd be able to pull something like this off," Hockenbery said. LaClair said Primerano in particular has been a force in the school, and has reacted to the prank as a good sport. "We appreciate his willingness to have fun, his sense of humor, and his holiday spirit with bringing in the nine-foot snowman in the first place." LaClair and Hockenbery are prepared to face their sentence for the abduction of Frosty. They suspect Primerano might have a counter-prank up his sleeve. "Please be nice to me!" LaClair pleaded. "Frosty was treated very well in Bruno's absence." Update (12:30 p.m.): Frosty has been safely reunited with Vice Principal Primerano. Frosty the snowman was reunited with administrators at Frazer PreK-8 School Friday after spending a couple of weeks out on the town. From left: Physical education teacher Andrew Hockenbery, Vice Principal Bruno Primerano, Principal William Mecum and physical education teaccher Mark LaClair. LaClair and Hockenbery were behind the "abduction" of Frosty from Primerano's office. Reporter Julie McMahon covers Syracuse University and Syracuse city schools. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 I-80 crash This video still from WKBN shows part of a crash on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. (WKBN video still) Interstate 80 in western Pennsylvania has reopened after a 59-vehicle pileup shut down part of the highway Thursday. Pennsylvania State Police said 37 cars and 22 tractor-trailers were involved in the crash that began just after 8 a.m. Three people were reportedly hurt with minor injuries; uninjured drivers were transported by bus to a nearby hotel. According to WJAC, a mixture of diesel fuel, milk, oils and Budweiser Beer spilled into the road from numerous vehicles involved. PennLive.com reports I-80 was closed for eight hours from Exit 90 (Route 830 East/DuBois Regional Airport) to Exit 97 (Route 219/DuBois/Brockway). It re-opened around 4 p.m. Thursday. Other crashes on I-80 included a truck fire that shut down traffic between Exit 4A and the Ohio state line, and multi-vehicle crashes between mile marker 25 and 27 in Mercer County. According to the Associated Press, officials blamed lake effect snow bands for slick roads and poor visibility. PennDOT spokesperson Jim Carroll urged drivers to be alert in snow and other dangerous road conditions. Lake effect snow and wind gusts up to 70 mph caused traffic problems in Upstate New York on Thursday as well. Parts of the Adirondack Northway, north of Albany, were closed for more than four hours after a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a snowplow, and portions of Route 57 and I-81 were closed after a fatal crash in Oswego County. Flag must be proactive in difficult market conditions The Liberian Registry has stressed that in todays challenging shipping markets, flag states must be proactive in the best interests of shipowners, operators and managers, rather than simply fulfilling their traditional role as certification bodies. Alfonso Castillero, vice president of the Liberian Registry, told a recent Liberian Port State Control (PSC) seminar in Tokyo, "In the current difficult market conditions, flag states can no longer afford to regard themselves as mere factories for issuing registration certificates. It is necessary to evolve and to embrace new challenges. Shipping registers need to combine quality and innovation with tradition, experience, reputation and flexibility. Castillero was speaking at the PSC seminar organised by the Liberian Registry. The objective of the seminar, which was attended by representatives of the Australian Maritime Safety Agency (AMSA), was to promote among its clients a clear understanding of the PSC process in Australia, so that owners, operators, and managers can achieve full compliance with and facilitate efficient inspections under Australias PSC regime. At the seminar, Benson Peretti, managing director of the Liberian Registrys Singapore office, outlined the Liberian Registrys PSC results for the year to date, showing a major reduction in detentions in China, Australia, and the US, mainly thanks to the free compliance assistance programmes being implemented by Liberia to help owners ensure full compliance, and reduce the incidence of PSC detentions worldwide. In addition, Takeshi Okamoto, LISCR Japan general manager, explained how and why the Liberian Registry is leading the global campaign to seek an extension to the implementation date for the Ballast Water Management Convention. The seminar was attended by over 100 industry professionals, including Liberian flag clients and potential clients looking to switch flags or register new vessels under the Liberian flag. The mood of the seminar was summed up by the CEO of one leading Japanese shipowner who emphasised, We must comply with all international regulations, and that is why we need a flag that will always stand beside us." Markets - Looking good A continuous tightening of tonnage lists resulted in charterers bidding well forward on dates to secure VLCC tonnage out of the MEG and West Africa this week. High volumes of business was recorded with rates for MEG/West Africa- East cargoes hitting $50,000 per day. The Atlantic was also active, Fearnleys said in its weekly report. Suezmaxes also benefited from a good week with strong activity reported in all areas and tighter position lists. For example, TD 20 was fixed at over WS100 or close to $40,000 per day. More modest improvements were seen in the Med and Black Sea but the outlook for next week is positive, Fearnleys said. There was limited Aframax activity in the North Sea, which left non-Ice Class tonnage with little alternatives. One cargo attracted nine offers resulting in rates being cut by 50%. Baltic cargoes remained at the WS105 level as charterers looked for Ice Class tonnage. Rates have bottomed out but we could see a two-tier market going forward, Fearnleys said. Med and Black Sea rates hovered around low WS120s to mid WS130s. However, earnings could soften as delays in the Turkish Straits have been reduced. The Black Sea programme is more or less covered for this month. Some Libyan cargoes were covered by Suezmaxes bringing added downward pressure on Aframax rates, Fearnleys concluded. In the product tanker sector, the MR market in North Asia firmed this week, with rates recovering from last months lowest levels of 2016 as charterers rushed to fix an influx of fresh cargoes before the holiday season, reported Ocean Freight Exchange (OFE). Rates for the key South Korea-Japan route rose by $20,000 week-on-week to $290,000 lumpsum, while rates for South Korea-Singapore route jumped by $75,000 w-o-w to $380,000. Earnings for Singapore-Japan route basis 30,000 tonnes were up by WS17.5 points w-o-w to WS125 points. Robust winter heating demand, increasing Chinese product exports, as well as weather delays lent support to MR rates. For example, strong regional winter heating demand in response to the La Nina weather conditions contributed to the spike in MR freight rates. An earlier-than-usual winter in Japan led to increased demand for kerosene, which is widely used as a heating fuel. Japanese refiners typically import the heating fuel from South Korea where they lease storage. Japans kerosene stocks stood at 13.67 mill barrels in the week ending 10th December, down 3% from the previous week. More cargoes loading out of North China (mostly Dalian) also helped to boost MR rates. Chinese refiners typically ramp up product exports in December, as they try to use up their leftover quotas for the year. Total Chinese fuel exports hit a new record high of 1.19 mill barrels per day in November, up by 18.3% year-on-year. Weather delays in North Asian ports have also led to congestion, tightening the tonnage list, OFE concluded. In the charter market, broking sources reported that Shell had fixed the 2003-built VLCC Nave Celeste for 12 months for $18,500, plus a 50/50 profit share if TD3 reaches in excess of $33,000 per day. The 2011-built Handysize Atria was thought taken by Scorpio for 12 months at $11,000 per day. In the S&P sector, Minerva was believed to have acquired the 2011-built Aframax Nissos Kythnos for $27 mill, while Marmaras was thought to have purchased two newbuilding resale VLCCs originally ordered by GC Tankers at Jinhai Heavy Industries. No price details were revealed. They are due for delivery in July and August, 2018, respectively. US exports increasing to Europe and Asia Following OPECs recent cuts announcement, all eyes now focus on two key issues - compliance, and rising non-OPEC supply, in particular US shale production. In Gibsons tanker market report in August, a rising rig count was noted. Since then the rig count has risen every week bar one and now stands at 477, up 96 rigs since the August count. And with prices firmly above the $50 per barrel level, the gains look set to increase, the broker said in its latest report. According to Rystad Energy, the average breakeven price across the Permian, Niobrara, Eagle Ford and Bakken fields stood at $67 per boe in 2014. Today average costs across these regions are said to have nearly halved to $35 per boe. With many plays now in a profitable zone, it is little surprise to see US crude production bottoming out, with some marginal upside now being observed. Data from the EIA showed that US crude production reached a floor in July, trading sideways until mid-October but since then, production rose by 200,000 barrels per day. Such increases may well be small, but if it is the start of a sustainable trend, US crude production could be rising sooner than anticipated. Thus far, export growth appears to have been limited at 475,000 barrels per day, broadly in line with 2015 levels. However, a clear shift in terms of export destinations is taking shape. In 2015, 92% of US crude exports went to Canada, with little or no benefit to the tanker market. However, this year, just 62% of exports went North, creating an increase in seaborne exports, even if outright volumes remained largely unchanged. Unsurprisingly, US exports are finding a home in Europe, where the medium haul nature of the trade makes it suitable for Suezmax and Aframax tonnage, which can load in US ports. However, seaborne exports are also going to longer haul destinations. In September for example, Singapore received 3 mill barrels of US crude, part of which was shipped in VLCCs loaded via ship-to-ship transfers in the US Gulf. So what are the prospects for seaborne exports going forwards? The EIA remained pessimistic for crude production in 2017, projecting output of 8.8 mill barrels per day, only 100,000 above its latest historical supply estimates. However, the administration acknowledged that its latest forecast is based on a Brent price of $52 per barrel, and suggested that the OPEC deal could provide further upside in terms of prices and shale production. If, this happens, exports look set to rise, supporting tanker demand at a time of potentially declining exports from Middle East OPEC producers, and supporting long haul trade to the Far East, Gibson concluded. 130 fellows have signed a motion promoting the Universitys divestment from fossil fuels, meaning that the issue could be voted on in Regent House. The motion, or Grace, proposes that none of the Universitys Endowment Funds should be invested directly or indirectly in companies whose business is wholly or substantially concerned with the extraction of fossil fuels. The Grace also calls on the University Council to publish a Report to the University within 12 months setting out how this is to be achieved. It will now be put forward to the University Council, having exceeded the 50 signatures necessary, who will decide whether or not to submit the motion to voting in Regent House. Cambridge currently has an endowment money from charitable donations augmented on the stock market then used to run the University of around 5bn, 2.2bn of which belongs to the University itself with the rest belonging to individual colleges. Although it does not invest in coal and tar sands, the University does not currently have an ethical policy for the investment of its funds unlike similar institutions including Oxford. Cambridges Zero Carbon Society have been campaigning to change that, and have won the support of previous Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Emma Bryan, President of Zero Carbon, told The Cambridge Student that: We are really pleased about the proposal of this grace. Resolute action on climate change is so important, and following the Discussion at Regent House in November we think that there is a promising chance that a vote could lead to full divestment, which would be amazing. Zero Carbon believes that anything short of full divestment is not far enough; the University really needs to show that they back their own research and teaching through their investment policy, acting as a leader on climate change and social justice, and standing with the 688 institutions that have already divested. Next term, it is really important to get the message out about why divestment is so necessary, so we will be having discussions with fellows to increase engagement and awareness on both a college and departmental level. A report from Cambridges Advisory Committee on Benefactions and External and Legal Affairs (ACBELA) guaranteed partial divestment in June, but Cambridge is still free to invest in oil and gas companies. Five months after this ACBELAs report, Senate House debated the issue of divestment further with six students and eight members of Regent House speaking in favour of divestment, and seven members of Regent House speaking against. More than 2,300 people have signed Zero Carbon Societys petition calling on the University to divest, whilst CUSU Council has previously voted 33-1 in favour of supporting the group. Although uncertain, it is likely that the Grace will now be taken forward to voting in Regent House. Taking responsibility for more than eight million books and volumes, the University Library will have a new leader at its helm. Dr Jessica Gardner has been appointed as the University Librarian, a post previously held by Anne Jarvis, who gave up the post in September of this year. Dr Gardner is only the second woman to take on the top role at the University Library since the post was first created in 1577, nearly 450 years ago. It will be an honour to join Cambridge and to lead one of the worlds great research and copyright libraries, rich with world heritage treasures, said Dr Gardner, who will assume her new role in April 2017. The collections held by Cambridge span more than 4,000 years of recorded human thought. Ill want to develop a shared vision with staff and students of the University to help build the Librarys global profile for its leading role in collection, shaping, preserving and inspiring world knowledge, she added. At present, Dr Gardner holds the post of University Librarian and Director of Library Services at the University of Bristol. She has previously held roles in the libraries of the Universities of Exeter and Leeds. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. The White House has suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the series of high-profile cyberattacks on US government organizations that took place this year. The Obama administration also said it was a "fact" that the hacks helped Donald Trump win the election, and the President-elect must have known what Russia was doing. In response to the interference, Barack Obama said the US must and will take action against the country. Earlier this week, the CIA concluded that Russia had been promoting Trump over Hillary Clinton in the run-up to the election. The agency reportedly found that while Russian-backed hackers compromised both the Republican National Committee (something it denies) and several Democratic organizations, they passed only the Democrats' documents to WikiLeaks, thereby damaging Clinton's campaign. At a press conference yesterday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: "Only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." Another senior White House official, deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes, named Putin directly. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," he said on MSNBC. "When you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government." Obama spokesman Josh Earnest believes it was "obvious" that Trump knew what Russia was doing. The Republican has called the CIA's report "ridiculous," while his senior transition adviser, Kellyanne Conway, said the suggestion Trump knew about the Russian interference was "breathtaking" and irresponsible. Barack Obama says Russia will now face the consequences of its actions. He told NPR News that the US will respond at a "time and place of our choosing," and that while some of the response may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not. The President added that he has spoken directly to Vladimir Putin about the hacking. Back in November, American officials warned Russia that it would face a US attack on its key systems if it interfered directly with the vote itself. The Kremlin has called the accusations of Putin's involvement "laughable nonsense." Earlier this month Samsung announced that it was going to issue an update to all US Galaxy Note 7 smartphones that would prevent the devices from charging, effectively turning the troubled handset into a brick. Shortly after Verizon took the controversial stance not to follow through, explaining they would not be taking part in the update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note 7 users that haven't yet switched despite Samsung's best efforts to recall the device. Indeed, many are reportedly still clinging to their Galaxy Note 7 handset despite the risk of it catching fire, and independent engineers pinning the blame on a faulty design --- meaning it's not a faulty batch of batteries but all Note 7 handsets that are at risk. Today Verizon has issued a follow up statement that they will issue the update after all, just not on December 19 as Samsung originally intended. Instead the company will wait until January 5. "We want to make sure you can contact family, first responders, and emergency medical professionals during the holiday travel season," the company clarified. Rival carriers now appear to be taking holiday travels into consideration as well when scheduling a roll-out date for the update. T-Mobile is waiting until December 27, AT&T will roll out the update on January 5, while Sprint expects to kill the remaining Notes on its network on January 8. The company has already tried other methods of getting owners to hand over their Note 7s, with updates that limit charging past 60 percent, and show a popup every time the phone is turned on reminding people that the handset had been recalled. Samsung also turned the remaining Note 7s in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand into expensive paperweights by disabling their cell and data services. If that wasn't enough, owners also found their Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities had been removed. According to the company, 93 percent of recalled devices have been returned since announcing the global recall in September. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey conducted an interview through video conference with the controversial whistleblower Edward Snowden last Dec. 12. Snowden became controversial after releasing classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013. It is unclear how Twitter managed to bag an interview with the whistleblower. The interview was streamed live on Periscope and can now be viewed by those who missed it. Snowden And The Interview Snowden's case had gained global interest. Despite hiding in his undisclosed location he still manages to resurface every now and then through video feeds and the live Twitter interview last Dec. 12. To access the watch-only video, anyone can visit the Twitter page dedicated to supporting the whistleblower with the handle @PardonSnowden. The video link was provided on the page. For those who prefer to interact and comment on the content will have to download Periscope on their iOS and Android devices. Snowden's Supporters Despite his controversial stance on the political system of the United States, Snowden received a surprising mix of detractors and supporters alike. Actress Alyssa Milano shared the live interview link while Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who played Edward Snowden in a movie, categorized the whistleblower as an "extreme" patriot. Last September, Fortune reported that the Twitter's CEO himself reportedly endorsed the campaign to lobby for Snowden's pardon. This ushered in a link between Snowden, who joined Twitter in December 2014, and the social media platform CEO. Snowden sent a Tweet saying "Can you hear me now?" to which the Twitter CEO replied, "Yes, welcome to Twitter." More than a year after that, Snowden agreed to an interview with Twitter's Jack Dorsey. Privacy And Fake News The elusive whistleblower warns against fake news and the responsibility of the users to help curb the problem. "We need to make sure that our best responses to lies, the problem of fake news, isn't solved by hoping for a referee, but rather because we as participants, we as citizens, we as users of these services help each other," Snowden said during the interview. "We talk and we share and we point out what is fake. We point out what is good," Snowden added. The whistleblower also warned against the use of Google Allo earlier this year. Although he is currently hiding in Russia, Snowden is known for his surprising appearance just like what he did in this years CES through a screen-on-wheels robot. To watch the video, visit the Twitter handle @PardonSnowden to get the link of the Periscope interview. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Nokia Lumia 520, a mid-range Windows Phone 8 device launched back in 2014, has been recently spotted running Android 7.1 Nougat. The phone, now essentially forgotten, was the most popular Windows Phone 8 handset during its heyday. It received the Windows Phone 8.1 update, but never Windows 10, so it's odd to see the phone now running Android's latest operating system. Android 7.1 Nougat On Nokia Lumia 520? Although the phone seems perfectly capable of running the software, it's far from something users would actually want to experience. While some standard features such as multi-touch and battery charging operate snag-free, the software is still very unstable. Regardless, it's quite impressive to see an old Lumia phone running a modern piece of software, and the whole thing is the crafty handiwork of XDA dev thinhx2, who managed to boot CyanogenMod 14.1 on the phone. This is not the first time that the a Lumia phone was able to run a software exceeding its capacity. In August, the moderately spec'd Lumia 525 was also spotted running Android Marshmallow, albeit missing a couple of features such as accurate touch input and Wi-Fi, among others. Multi-Window View For a bit of perspective, the phone has a dual-core 1 GHz processor and 512 MHz of RAM, and yet it was able to run multi-window view, a taxing Nougat-specific feature that splits two apps in one screen. What's more, the Lumia 520 managed to achieve such a feat even with its small 4-inch display. It remains to be seen whether the developer pushes it out for others to test, although the idea seems kaput, at least for now, seeing that the ROM version is unstable. How About Other Lumia Phones? If an underpowered phone such as the Lumia 520 can run Android 7.1 Nougat, then it's well within the realm of possibility that the same thing can be done for the Lumia 950 or the Lumia 1020, which are far more powerful successors to the beloved Window Phone 8 device. Upcoming Nokia Android Phones But there's actually no need to waste effort on forcing a Nokia phone to run Android, since Nokia is slated to do the exact same thing itself. Nokia has been progressively gearing up for a smartphone re-entry, and the first offspring to herald its return is rumored to be the Nokia D1C, a mid-range Android offering powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, with reportedly 3 GB of RAM for the $200 variant, and 2 GB of RAM for the $150 variant. What do you think of the Lumia 520 being able to run the most recent version of Nougat? Are you excited for Nokia's forthcoming Android handsets? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below! 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Scientists have been aware for years now that aspirin does seem to be useful in fighting certain types of cancer. The exact mechanisms of this effect are only starting to be understood. Latest research managed to shed some light on the way aspirin manages to stop the spread of certain types of cancerous cells. The Complexities Behind A Simple Pill A team of scientists from Oregon Health and Science University and Oregon State University decided to identify the exact mechanisms that make aspirin efficient in fighting certain types of cancer, specifically several types of pancreas and colon tumors. Aspirin, if taken in small amounts, has been known to reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancers that affect the gastrointestinal tract. On the other hand, the manner in which it reduces the spread of tumors was still not very clear. As a result, researchers isolated three types of cancerous cells (from the colon and pancreas) and evaluated the manner in which they reacted to aspirin. The non-metastatic cancer cells from both the pancreas and colon proved to be severely affected, as their growth and replication slowed down massively. On the other hand, metastatic colon cells (from cases in which the tumor has spread to other tissues outside the colon) continued to replicate, even in the presence of aspirin. The scientists conducting the study think the cause of the effect is represented by the anti-platelet effect of the well-known medicine. Platelets are blood cells that participate in the clotting process. In the case of cancerous tissues, platelets increase their development by releasing certain proteins that simulate growth. When aspirin is added, this effect is strongly reduced and platelets are no longer able to stimulate the growth of the cancerous tissues, at least in the case of non-metastatic tumors, as stated by the team of researchers. "Our study reveals important differences and specificities in the mechanism of action of high- and low-dose aspirin in metastatic and non-metastatic cancer cells with different tumor origins," noted the team. The new discovery opens new avenues for both the prevention and treatment of certain types of cancer, confirming what has been known for quite some time the cheap medicine most people have in their homes can prove to be a great weapon against certain types of cancer. One Of The Oldest Medicines In History Initially extracted from willow by ancient civilizations like the Sumerians, aspirin is one of the first anti-inflammatory substances used for treating humans. Although it is one of the most common medicines used today, it is also one of the most researched, as almost 1,000 clinical trials are conducted every year to discover new ways it could be used. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Yahoo recently revealed that it was victimized by another security breach that compromises the personal data of double the number of users compared to the previous hack that was reported by the company. In September, an investigation by Yahoo revealed that 500 million users had their account information compromised in late 2014, including their names, contact details, and encrypted security questions and answers. It was said to be the biggest data breach in history, but the new one eclipses it. The new security breach that Yahoo identified comprises the same information, but this time, for over 1 billion users, with the incident occurring in August 2013. This is at least double the number of users affected in the previously reported hack, placing Yahoo in even hotter water over cybersecurity concerns. The Latest Yahoo Hack Is Even Worse Than It Looks The stock price of Yahoo, which has been trading at over $40 per share since Verizon made a $4.8 billion offer to purchase its online operations, dropped by 6 percent as news of the latest security breach circulated. It has also been reported that the White House has tasked the FBI to launch investigations into the hack, following claims that among the victims of the security breach were over 150,000 employees of the United States government and military, including NSA, CIA, and FBI employees and former diplomats. With cybercriminals in possession of the personal information of these people, they could be trying to break into their personal and work accounts, which would be a national security threat. Probably one of the more alarming characteristics of the reported data breach is that it took years from the time that the incident happened until it was discovered and reported. There is no telling what the hackers have been able to do with the personal user information that they acquired and if there are several more such security incidents that Yahoo has not yet found out about. Will Verizon Still Buy Yahoo For $4.8 Billion? After the first security breach was revealed and in combination with the email scanning scandal that also enveloped Yahoo, it was reported that Verizon was seeking a $1 billion discount on its initial $4.8 billion offer to acquire the company's online operations. Verizon said that it is still pursuing the purchase despite Yahoo's ongoing security concerns. However, the carrier is now attempting to get Yahoo to change the terms of the initial agreement to incorporate the financial impact caused by the two separate incidents. The carrier said that it will be reviewing the impact of the latest security breach before making any final conclusions. However, according to sources familiar with the matter, Verizon has threatened that it would go to court to cancel the acquisition if the price of the deal is not lowered. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. BlackBerry phones will be manufactured by China-based device maker TCL going forward, marking this the first time the Canadian company has inked a long-term licensing agreement since it turned its focus to software. This news comes fairly hot on the heels when BlackBerry announced that it'll stop manufacturing and designing handsets after suffering a loss amounting to $372 million back in September, saying that it'll depend on partners for the hardware side of things. BlackBerry And TCL: A Strong Partnership According to the terms, TCL will take the reins when it comes to designing, manufacturing, and selling BlackBerry phones, including providing customer support for the devices. That said, TCL believes blending its hardware and BlackBerry's software will let the two achieve a strong standing in the smartphone competition in markets across the globe. "Together with BlackBerry's smartphone software platform, this partnership will strengthen our position in the global mobile market," TCL CEO Nicolas Zibell says. Unsurprising Decision Considering that BlackBerry collaborated with TCL to produce the DTEK50 and DTEK60 phones before, this is more or less a natural move for the company to take, as the two already have a familiar common ground to work on, so to speak. "With our unparalleled expertise in mobile security and software and TCL Communication's vast global reach and consumer access, we are confident that BlackBerry-branded products developed and distributed by TCL Communication will address the needs of BlackBerry users and expand the availability of BlackBerry Secure products throughout the world," Ralph Pini, BlackBerry chief operating officer and Mobility Solutions general manager, says, singing the same tune as TCL. More On The BlackBerry-TCL Deal For the record, BlackBerry will remain responsible of the development and management of security and software, and it'll also continue to serve its customers. It should also be cleared up that while TCL will mainly oversee manufacturing and distribution on a global scale, it won't handle the markets in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India. Interestingly enough, Indonesia is where BlackBerry's largest phone market lies, and back in September, it signed an agreement with BB Merah Putih to let the Indonesian company source, distribute, and promote BlackBerry-branded devices in the country. Wrapping Up In light of the partnership, BlackBerry will continue to have a presence in terms of hardware in the market thanks to TCL while it narrows down efforts on software. With all said and done, feel free to let us know what you think of BlackBerry and TCL's newly inked deal in the comments section below. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung recently confirmed that it will be rolling out an update starting Dec. 19 that will disable charging for the explosive Galaxy Note 7, effectively shutting down units of the smartphone that are still out in the wild for good. The update will look to be the final nail in the coffin for the 133,000 units of the Galaxy Note 7 in the United States that have not yet been returned by their owners. T-Mobile will be the first carrier to launch the update on Dec. 27, followed by AT&T on Jan. 5 and Sprint on Jan. 8 next year. Verizon, however, has initially refused to take part in the shutdown update, claiming that it will not do so in the heart of the holiday travel season as subscribers still using the Galaxy Note 7 might need the smartphone in case of emergency situations. There were no indications on whether Verizon is planning to launch the update much later than the other carriers, or if the company was not participating in the rollout of the update at all. Verizon Backtracks, Sets Release Date For Galaxy Note 7 Final Update It seems that Verizon has now changed its mind on launching what would be the final software update for the Galaxy Note 7, setting a release date of Jan. 5 next year. Verizon will now be launching the update alongside AT&T. According to the Galaxy Note 7 recall page on Verizon's official website, the carrier has chosen Jan. 5 as the day for the release of the update so that subscribers still using the Galaxy Note 7 would be able to contact family, first responders and medical professionals in case an emergency arises during the holiday travel season. Verizon, however, still recommends Galaxy Note 7 owners to stop using the smartphone and send it back to the company to have it replaced. Galaxy Note 7 Recall Finally Coming To An End Verizon made a controversial move when it initially refused to roll out the update that will permanently shut down the Galaxy Note 7. However, with the carrier's decision to also release the update, the recall program for the explosive Galaxy Note 7 could finally soon be coming to an end. After Sprint rolls out the last of the planned updates on Jan. 8, the date could then be marked as the official end of the Galaxy Note 7's turbulent life in the United States, allowing Samsung to move ahead with its research into how to prevent explosive batteries in the future and to mend its battered image. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (CPW) is looking to cull local populations of black bears and mountain lions to allow mule deer in the state to recover in number. CPW commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday, Dec. 14, to carry out the controversial plan to kill up to 25 black bears and 15 mountain lions living in the Piceance Basin every year starting in the spring of 2017. Some of the bears and mountain lions that will not be part of the culling will instead be relocated to a different site. The CPW hopes that more mule deer fawns will be able to survive once there only a few predators left in the wild. Plans have also been made to conduct a nine-year study to find out how the density of mountain lion populations in Colorado affects mule deer populations. The state will pay $435,000 every year to fund this study. The wildlife population management initiative is expected to cost Colorado $4.5 million to carry out. Dwindling Mule Deer Populations Chris Castilian, one of the CPW commissioners who voted on the plan, said their goal is to understand what is contributing to the decline in mule deer populations. Castilian pointed out that as stewards of mule deer populations, they should be very sensitive to the animals' concerns. However, some scientists argue that the state's wildlife population management plan contradicts its own science. Biologists Barry Noon, Kevin Crooks and Joel Berger from Colorado State University wrote to the commission, stating that the drop in mule deer numbers is not caused by predators but by the lack of enough food, loss of habitat and disturbances caused by humans. The scientists said deer habitats in Colorado have been fragmented because of road constructions as well as gas and oil drilling. Some animal homes in the wild have also been rendered inhospitable because of other developments. Noon and his colleagues pointed out that the commission is not using its own scientific findings as basis for a better action plan that would benefit mule deer populations. The CPW refuted the claims made by Noon and his colleagues, arguing that ongoing studies of mule deer population in the Piceance Basin point to predation as the most likely factor for the number drop. "Habitat is a primary focus in other areas where habitat may be more limiting than the two areas where the influence of predation is being examined," the commission said. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. General Motors seems determined not to get sidelined by the recent flurry of announcements in the self-driving car category such as those issued by Waymo and Uber. GM's Chairman and CEO Mary Barra presided a rare press conference last Dec. 15 to declare that GM's autonomous vehicle called Chevrolet Bolt is now prowling the streets of southeast Michigan. Fleet of self-driving Bolts have already been unleashed in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona. Like other fully autonomous vehicles such as the UberX, the Bolt vehicles are getting tested and monitored while learning the lay of a specific's city's streetscape. Autonomous Vehicle Prototype The press event was held at GM's headquarters in Detroit where Barra touted Michigan's role in the autonomous vehicle development. She pointed out that the first generation Bolt EV will be manufactured at the state's Orion Assembly Plant. Barra also noted that GM will be the first mainstream automaker that will build a fully autonomous vehicle prototype in an assembly plant. GM's initiative could prove beneficial for Michigan because the EV and self-driving car makers have so far chosen California and a number of other states due to their favorable regulatory environment. Bolt's trial near GM's facilities came after Michigan passed a law detailing the parameters that pave the way for the safe testing of driverless vehicles in the state. The test will expand to Detroit in the coming months. "By adding Michigan to our real-world testing program, we're ensuring that our AVs can operate safely across a wide range of road, weather and climate conditions, from desert heat to Great Lakes snow to crowded city streets," Barra said. "This is necessary to make certain our AVs meet the same strict standards for safety and quality that we've been building into traditional vehicles for generations." The extreme weather condition in Michigan this winter is said to have pleased GM engineers who are eager to test the Bolt in challenging conditions. GM, China And Donald Trump The expansion of Bolt's testing and Barra's announcement could also have been triggered by recent developments in China. A Chinese high-ranking official has just accused an unidentified American automaker of price-fixing. This was widely reported in the China Daily, which is an official media outfit. Observers believe that the price-fixing charge alludes to GM and the reference is aimed as a warning for president-elect Donald Trump not to further aggravate American relationship with China. China is considered as the largest market for GM, which also includes the United States. After the Chinese pronouncement, investors have sold down shares and this is also the case for Ford Motor Co. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The earliest humans in Europe did not use fire for their food. Early human species that lived in Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca in Spain did not cook their meals. What they had were meat and plants that were eaten raw. Ancient Dental Plaque Reveals Diet Of Early Humans In a new study, Karen Hardy, from the University of York, and colleagues removed dental plaques from a 1.2 million-year old hominin whose fragments, one of the earliest of its kind in Europe, were found in Sima del Elefante. Analysis of the ancient plaque offered the earliest direct evidence of the kind of food consumed by early human species as indicated by entrapped remains. Researchers found traces of starchy carbohydrates from plants, meat and plant fibers. Raw Foodies: Hominins Did Not Cook Their Food Hardy and colleagues noted that the fibers were not charred. They neither find evidence of inhalation of micro charcoal which could mean proximity to fire. "This study has revealed the earliest direct evidence for foods consumed in the genus Homo," the researchers reported in their study. "All food was eaten raw, and there is no evidence for processing of the starch granules which are intact and undamaged." New Timeline For Use Of Fire In Cooking The timeline for the earliest use of fire for cooking has been a subject of debate. Some researchers argue that habitual use of fire for cooking began about 1.8 million years ago. Some suggest this happened between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago. Potential evidence for fire has been discovered at some early sites in Africa. Evidence shows fire was not used at Sima del Elefante, which suggests that the knowledge of fire was not carried by the earliest humans after they moved out of Africa. In Europe, the earliest definitive evidence for use of fire is 800,000 years ago at Cueva Negra in Spain. Based on these and the new evidence, fire technology likely developed at some point between 800,000 and 1.2 million years ago. Cooking And Human Health Study author Karen Hardy, from the University of York said that the new timeline helps researchers better understand human evolution. She cited that cooked food is associated with rapid increase in brain sizes that happened 800,000 years ago. Cooking did not only potentially influence human evolution. Studies have also revealed that the way we cook food still affects likelihood for developing certain health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cataract and heart disease. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sony has started pushing Android 7.0 Nougat to more Xperia smartphones, expanding the update's availability across its range. The new firmware is now rolling out to the Xperia X (F5121), the Xperia X Dual (F5122) and the Xperia X Compact (F5321), all of which are now bumped up to version 34.2.A.0.266. This extends the availability of Android 7.0 Nougat to more devices in the Xperia range, following the update's release for the Xperia XZ and the Xperia X Performance. Android 7.0 Nougat For Sony Xperia Smartphones The latest update for the Xperia X, Xperia X Dual and Xperia X Compact is now rolling out in a number of markets, including Latin America, Australia, Russia, Middle East, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. The update is not limited only to these markets, however, and it should roll out in more regions worldwide in the near future. Sony Xperia Nougat Plans With the latest release, Sony is one step closer to upgrading most of its powerful smartphones to Android 7.0 Nougat. Nevertheless, the device maker has bigger plans for the future, pledging to release the Android 7.1.1 update before any other OEMs (besides Google, of course). Just to be clear, this refers to the Android 7.1.1 update release and has nothing to do with OEMs such as LG which already launched smartphones with Android 7.0 Nougat on board out of the box. With that in mind, the Xperia devices that already got Android 7.0 Nougat will likely be the first ones to make the jump to the 7.1.1 version, but it doesn't mean that handsets still running Marshmallow will never get it. Sony might decide to skip the 7.0 step and upgrade some Xperia handsets straight to Android 7.1.1 Nougat, albeit it remains to be seen. Android Nougat Features The latest flavor of Android brings a number of exciting features, tweaks and improvements to enhance the overall experience. Android Nougat top features include instant apps, better notifications, enhanced user interface, more power saving optimizations, lower system requirements, seamless updates, Daydream VR, Google Allo and Duo messaging apps, improved multitasking and more. Sony is expected to release the update for more devices including the Xperia Z5 line, the Xperia Z3+ and the Xperia Z4 Tablet, but it can't upgrade all devices at once. For now, the Xperia X, X Dual and X Compact are getting the treat so if you already received the update, tell us all about it in the comments section below. If you have yet to get it, fret not it's on its way. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Govt Warns Of 4 Apps That May Lead To Hacking Your Phone | TechTree.com Hacking seems to have become so common nowadays. Even Yahoo got hacked twice recently. But, heres a report that warns you of four mobile application that may end up hacking your smartphone immediately. Interestingly, this report is from the home ministry that cites security intelligence reports. Pakistani cyber criminals have release four malware-ridden apps on major app stores, that are capable of stealing sensitive information, including bank details, reports IB Times. According to the report, smartphone users are advised to uninstall a couple of apps including Top Gun. Mpjunkie, Bdjunkie, and Talking Frog immediately. To recall, it was earlier reported during the terrorist attack on Indian Air Force (IAF) Pathankot base, that Pakistan armys Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) was able to track Indian armys movement using SmeshApp. In-fact, after this, Google even banned the app from Play Store. The IB Times post also states that the recent warnings have come from the home ministry after people started using more and more e-wallets and net banking. It is being said to remain careful while installing applications, and it is also advisable to always install apps from known developers. [representative image only] TAGS: Smartphone, Android Apps Over 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since January. | Read More Thanks to Rheta Grimsley Johnson for her column of Dec. 11. She summed up my feelings perfectly. Thanks again to Johnson for standing tall. In his recent visit to Louisiana, President-elect Donald J. Trump told the adoring crowd that he would strip away job-killing restrictions on energy production and encourage the construction of refineries in the United States. It was a campaign rally at Baton Rouges airport before the senatorial runoff, so it was hardly a policy discussion, but he made it clear he wants a more robust domestic energy industry. We will cancel the job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy, Mr. Trump said in an airplane hangar in Baton Rouge, the day before Louisiana voters went to the polls to vote for Senate and House candidates. We havent had refineries built in decades, right? Were going to have refineries built again. His comments came a day after he had announced his selection of Scott Pruitt, Oklahomas attorney general, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt is a staunch ally of the energy industry. Former oil-state Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is apparently slated to head the U.S. Department of Energy. What does this, practically, mean? For the industry, with prices having plummeted from a worldwide glut of oil and gas, the idea that government can quickly reverse the laws of supply and demand is a vain hope. Clearly, though, the eight years of regulations and rules enforced by the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama may well require more effort to change than is obvious to the eye. Typically, federal regs are vetted through a process of meetings in this case, with industry and environmentalists before drafting and then publication in the Federal Register. It's simply not true that industry is not consulted in these matters. Those steps cant be immediate. Where Trump and his appointees might act more quickly would be in cases of reversing President Barack Obamas direct presidential orders. Building new refineries after decades without having done so in the continental United States raises even more difficult questions about financing of the facilities and likely opposition of local groups the sort of people who want cheap gasoline, but want it refined far from their neighborhoods. Still, Trump backer Eric Skrmetta, a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, said the new administration will be more positive for the industry. He told the Press Club of Baton Rouge before Trumps visit that the future looks bright for Louisiana industries. One of the projects he cited was the Keystone XL pipeline, scuttled by its builder in part because of plummeting oil prices but also by a death-of-a-thousand-cuts of bureaucratic delays during Obamas second term. Skrmetta said the pipeline might well be resurrected. Louisiana will get a large amount of the flow from the Keystone pipeline eventually, he said. That will flow into our refineries. If so, it will be good news. Despite the recent controversy in the Dakotas, and the previous issues with Keystone intended to go to Canadian oilfields, the reality is that pipelines remain the safest way to transport large quantities of oil, gas and other energy products. Safety of the pipelines themselves is obviously critical, but a more balanced assessment of these issues is welcome. A close loss in Saturdays election for a purely local facility in Baton Rouge nevertheless has statewide implications for the continuing discussion of prisons and jails across Louisiana. A big issue is keeping the mentally ill out of jail and getting them needed treatments, as one way of reducing Louisianas big prison population. Its a statewide challenge that Gov. John Bel Edwards said he will make one of his legislative priorities next year. A commission headed by state Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc is to make recommendations after the first of the year on ways to deal with the high costs of prisons and jails. But because of the way that Louisiana prisons and local jails interlock financially, with LeBlancs department often paying local sheriffs to house state prisoners, any reform plan has to take into account the role of local as well as state financing of alternatives to incarceration. Sheriffs operate jails, and sometimes those are big operations, with state prisoners daily fees generating revenues that pay off the bonds for local jail facilities. Or local jails, like those in East Baton Rouge Parish, may send some prisoners elsewhere and pay for their food and housing. And in every parish, it is the local government like the New Orleans City Council, or Baton Rouges Metro Council, or police juries that have to pay for the operating costs of the local jails. If this seems convoluted, it is. But clearly one of the ways to reduce the overall cost of prisons and jails is mental health treatment, and the state has lately made those problems harder for local government. Budget cuts under former Gov. Bobby Jindal have reduced the number of inpatient beds for the mentally ill and closure of the old Earl K. Long charity hospital in Baton Rouge made that problem more acute. The political and civic leadership in Baton Rouge responded with a local tax initiative, a 10-year, 1.5-mill property tax that would have generated $5.8 million annually for a 30-bed mental health facility offering drug rehabilitation services and psychiatric care. The tax revenue would have also funded a crisis response team partnering with police to evaluate potential patients in the field. The Advocate endorsed the proposal as a way to reduce prison costs, which are borne by city-parish government; the sheriff and law enforcement officials backed it. The mental health tax was narrowly rejected by 51 percent of the vote. The proposed facility's executive director, Rob Reardon, said the setback only delays plans, but doesn't mean the project won't come to fruition. Officials now have to figure out how they're going to pay for it. "We're kind of in the regrouping phase right now," Reardon said Monday. "We're going to look at other alternatives like grants. We think the need in the community is still there." There are local factors, obviously, in every tax election. The mental health center was only one of several taxes stacked on Saturdays ballot, most of them being defeated. Taxes in East Baton Rouge are not easy to pass. There's a huge divide in the community and every poll shows it, said Bernie Pinsonat, a Baton Rouge-based pollster and political consultant. I just think it was tax fatigue, said John Couvillon, another Baton Rouge-based pollster. It was unwise for the Metro Council to approve multiple tax increases on the ballot at the same time. If the loss of the Baton Rouge tax may well be seen in other jurisdictions as a defeat for the cause of prison reform, that may set back the statewide initiative. But local revenues used for mental health diversion programs will have to be found if the incarceration problem is going to be addressed meaningfully, and not just in East Baton Rouge Parish. Already signed until the end of 2019, Cyril Rioli's contact at Hawthorn has been extended by a year. The Hawks announced on Friday that the livewire small forward had committed for 2020 as well, a year in which Rioli will turn 31. Contract extension: Cyril Rioli has re-committed to the Hawks Credit:Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Rioli, 27, has played 178 games in nine years at the club. A four-time premiership player, he won the Norm Smith medal in the 2015 grand final win over West Coast, and was rewarded for another outstanding season this year by being named All-Australian for the third time. Rioli told the club's website that he was happy to again re-commit. "I'm very happy where I am, and I couldn't see myself being anywhere else," Rioli said. National Australia Bank mistakenly sent information such as the names, addresses and banking details of about 60,000 migrant banking customers to a wrong email account. The bank says "human error" was behind a mistake in which it sent out an email to migrant customers who had recently set up an account in Australia to an "incorrect" address. On Friday afternoon, the bank released a statement apologising to affected clients, and saying it had already written to people affected by the error. The bank also said it was working with relevant regulators, including the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. When Col Fullagar isn't jumping out of helicopters volunteering as a firefighter in remote areas of NSW he works in the cutthroat world of life insurance, assisting insureds and claimants in disputes with life insurers. The voluntary work is physically demanding, while his work as principal of Integrity Resolutions can be mentally draining, particularly when some of his work involves dealing first hand with sick and dying people that are in battle with an industry that has earned itself the reputation of putting profit before people. As a parliamentary joint inquiry locks in dates next year to hold hearings into the $44 billion life insurance sector, the expectation is that discussions will include the use and role of independent medical examiners (IMEs) and the level of capture and true independence. Prominent life insurance lawyer John Berrill at Berrill & Watson Lawyers questions how much reliance should be given to IMEs who are paid by insurers to examine and report on claimants they have never seen before, compared with a report produced by a treating doctor. Illustration: John Shakespeare This year was not a blip on the radar 2017 promises more of the same. Turnbull has proven himself unwilling to take on the conservative wing of his party over totemic issues such as an emissions intensity scheme (a form of carbon pricing) for the electricity sector or over same-sex marriage. Similarly Shorten has shown he is unwilling to tackle the shibboleths of the labour movement, upon which he relies so heavily for political support, or reform the Labor Party itself. Both men buy peace through compromise and reinforce the image of politician-as-insider. But as 2017 rolls around, a younger class of politicians the next generation of would-be party leaders are grappling with the insider-outsider question and how to re-engage voters. In a little-noticed speech on Friday, Labor's newish finance spokesman Jim Chalmers just 38 years young addressed an ANU graduation lunch. Chalmers has as he pointed out in the speech the quintessential insider's CV: a PhD in political science from one of Australia's best universities, deputy chief of staff to opposition leader Kim Beazley, chief of staff to treasurer Wayne Swan, member of parliament and precocious shadow minister. But, he says, "every day I try and think like an outsider". "Your degree from an extraordinary university like this is a ticket to the 'inside', to the 'establishment' but you've got to try and think like an outsider." "We are not here you are not here to replicate our heroes' triumphs but to transcend them. You can do better than join the club, and be part of some insider stitch-up; you can bust the clubs open, you can make social and economic mobility the defining feature of our future not just our past. The only way to do that and this is my advice today is to think like outsiders. "So much of the next decade's challenges, and so many of the things we need to do to spread opportunity to places like my part of the country [Logan, in outer-suburban Brisbane], will demand that we shake the place up a bit ... so I want you to shake things up as well." On the other side of the country and at the opposite end of the political spectrum, is Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who holds the sprawling seat of Canning, a seat on the urban fringe which comprises wealthy retirees, tradies, FIFOs and young families struggling to pay their mortgage, and suffers high unemployment rates. Hastie is a Scots College, University of NSW and RMC Duntroon graduate; before politics, he was a captain in the SAS: another insider's CV. But like the Labor man, he diagnoses a similar problem in disaffection with the political class and believes that thinking like an outsider is part of the solution. However, while Chalmers believes Labor's program tackling negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks, increased funding for health and education and a greater role for the state is the answer, Hastie advocates a return to the principle of subsidiarity, that "those closest to the problem are best equipped to solve it". That means, for Hastie, a greater focus on civil society; churches, footy clubs, Lions and Rotary groups, and community engagement; government is not the answer and, sometimes at least, it is the obstacle. "Civil society and the pre-political intuitions, which form its make-up, need to grow again and be vibrant," he says. "That will be the difference, if we are going to change the trends we are seeing [in politics]." "If you were born in 1940, you had a 90 per cent chance of bettering your parents," he says, "if you were born in 1980, you have a 50 per cent chance of bettering your parents." The middle class is, he argues, disintegrating and in its place is polarisation the wealthy and the rest. Voters at least in Canning are concerned about stagnant wages, the hour-plus drive to work and job security. So how to turn it around? Hastie argues that tackling housing affordability an area the Turnbull government has only dipped its toe in the water over is crucial. He also supports income splitting for single-income households "to give them a break and to recognise the imputed labour that goes into parenting, if mum or dad chooses to stay at home and look after the kids". Labor's Clare O'Neil, another rising star of the political class with an insider's CV, nominates two issues that must be tackled in 2017 to address the rise in outsider disaffection. The first is the breakdown of political consensus, the end of the era of agreed facts and the rise of fake news and, second, the need to reform the Parliament itself, to restore trust. "You can't put the genie back in the bottle with fake news, but we need to talk about the issues that matter for people most," she says, adding that "politicians need to create an agenda the mainstream can get behind, rather than focusing on niche issues ... and have an evidence-based policy framework that reduces inequality". Referring to her book Two Futures, written with fellow Labor MP Tim Watts, she is brutal in her assessment of Capital Hill: "Question time is the ground zero of the contempt cycle for Australian politics ... we need to think about re-scheduling it so more people watch it, get rid of Dorothy Dixers, re-engage people in politics directly and think about how politicians conduct themselves". The final word on how the political class can re-engage voters belongs to Liberal MP Angus Taylor, a Rhodes scholar and former management consultant who is now the assistant minister for one of Turnbull's passions the transformation of cities. "Addressing the divide we are seeing between insiders and outsiders is crucial," he says "and it will only become more important, that is central to our cities policy. "We need growth that includes good jobs in outer suburban areas and the regions ...we have gotten to a point where people buy a job by buying an expensive home near job centres. "The escalation of house prices, close to our CBDs, has been a major factor in what we are seeing and I am convinced that the major driver of that has been a shortage of [housing] supply in Sydney and Melbourne. It needs to be addressed, that's what we are seeking to do in our cities policy." There is, of course, an irony in four political insiders rising stars all, future national leaders grappling with the rise of the outsider, and the solutions that serve as an antidote to rising disaffection. This newspaper has been a critic of Tony Abbott's stance on climate change, but we acknowledge the former prime minister was partly right. At the height of the frequently dishonest debate about climate policy and electricity prices that has dominated so much of Australian public discourse over the past decade, Mr Abbott noted that rising bills would be felt across the economy. It came during his crusade to axe Labor's carbon price, which he promised would cut average household bills by $550 a year. On both points, he was broadly correct. Rising bills are felt by businesses and households, and the repeal did offer some short-term relief, though analyses suggest the size of the reduction was not as great as predicted. Whatever steps are taken, electricity prices are likely to rise. Credit:Robert Rough But the great irony is that Mr Abbott's abolition of the carbon price, married with the government's failure to introduce anything in its place to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity industry, is now actually increasing costs, not just for consumers but for the Coalition's supporters in the business community. Despite the at times hysterical political debate, the carbon price was not the main driver of skyrocketing power bills in recent years. The cost of electricity has overwhelmingly surged due to what has become known as "gold plating" the extraordinary amount network businesses have spent on poles and wires. As documented in a report by chief scientist Alan Finkel, it has been the main factor in a 61 per cent increase in just six years. This point is well understood by those responsible for our energy systems. Federal and state ministers acknowledged it this week by agreeing to some initial steps to prevent further price gouging by the companies that own electricity transmission systems. It is a welcome, though limited, measure. Beyond this, the energy ministers' meeting in Melbourne like COAG the week before avoided the main game. Australia finds itself in the ludicrous position where the major threat to the electricity system cannot even be discussed when our leaders get together. Canberra has removed it from the table. The truth is that, whatever steps are taken, electricity prices are going to rise. The challenge for policymakers is to limit the increase while tackling the two other challenges faced ensuring the electricity supply remains reliable and cutting emissions so Australia plays its part in addressing climate change. Dr Finkel lucidly diagnosed the problems facing the electricity system. After 120 years of relative stability, it is undergoing unprecedented change. It is moving away from coal and toward cleaner forms of generation. That shift is inevitable and cannot be reversed. The change will bring challenges. The grid was not designed to run on variable wind and solar technologies. There are solutions available, but market rules do not encourage them and will need to be changed. But the biggest issue is that investors do not have the confidence to build the power stations the country needs. Old coal plants such as Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley are closing and replacement stations will need to be ready as they do, but the industry cannot plan when there is no national policy to tell it what types of generation will be viable in the decades ahead. Some solutions will be cheaper than others, but the government has ruled out considering an emissions intensity scheme despite expert advice suggesting it would be cheaper than doing nothing. Doing nothing remains the option favoured by powerful voices within the government, despite the likelihood it would leave the industry scrambling to build plants at short notice and inflated cost to make sure the lights stay on. I recently left New York, where I was a fashion editor for nearly a decade, to attend graduate school in the suburbs of Washington DC, where I grew up. I'm happy to be home in most ways, but there's one suburban habit that I can't get used to: yoga pants. Women in my neighbourhood go about their entire day in yoga pants and running shoes. Mums with strollers, undergrads on campus, girlfriends meeting up for coffee dates or errands - I have even seen women dressed this way for cocktails. At first I thought this must be a suburban thing. In New York, I didn't know anyone who left the house in gym clothes, unless he or she was actually going to the gym. In fact, I once had a roommate who was the director of a fancy children's gymnasium down the street from our apartment in Brooklyn. She would get fully dressed each morning, including hair, makeup, and heels, just to walk the 10 blocks to work and then get undressed again. I loved her for this. I loved all of New York for this for always putting in a little extra effort, for never taking the easy way out. In New York, after all, 10 million people are always looking. But yoga pants aren't just a suburban trend. Athleisure is the name given to a class of street clothes that adopt the look and comfort of gym wear but are not designed for any actual sweating. It's been a trend on the runways and in retail over the past few years, with forecasters predicting it to be one of the biggest sellers this holiday season. And I'm against it. Hailey Baldwin has become a powerful influencer this year, with the model making waves in the fashion world and on social media. But the 20 year-old up-and-coming model and actor has entered a new business venture, by launching her own beauty collaboration with Australian brand ModelCo. The niece of Alec was in Sydney last week singing the praises of beauty baking among other things and celebrated her 20th birthday at Mrs Sippy with Zac Stenmark, Tahnee Atkinson, Kate Waterhouse and Fely Irvine. While the model, who dated Justin Bieber earlier this year said she is taking a step back from social media, it is her beauty and fashion presence that has earned her a mass social media following around the world. Hailey Baldwin in Sydney last week. So between hanging out with her famous friends including Kendall Jenner and launching the beauty collab, I chatted to Baldwin to get the ultimate low-down on her beauty routine. Early makeup memories Balgowlah Boys was the only non-selective public school to make the top 20 this year. Selective school James Ruse topped the merit list for English (Advanced), Extension 1 and Extension 2 this year, toppling fellow selective school Sydney Girls, which plunged to 10th - the biggest fall among the top 10 schools. Seven schools have tumbled out of the top 10 on this year's higher-level English merit list, while for higher-level maths a new rising star has leapt an astounding 65 places to storm into the top 10. "It's so nice knocking off our local selective school [Northern Beaches Secondary College] Manly," said Balgowlah's deputy principal, Benjamin Seldon. The class of 2016: James Ruse Agricultural High School achieved the triple first overall, first in higher English and first in Maths. Credit:Isabella Lettini "To be honest we are pretty competitive. We have been the bridesmaid for a few years to a range of schools. It's been so rewarding to be able to knock them off and smash it out, and to say we are the top comprehensive school, not just the top comprehensive boys school." Mr Seldon said the key to the school's success was not just hoping students could interpret texts like Shakespeare's Hamlet or George Orwell's 1984, but actually providing a scaffolding upon which they could build their understanding. "The most important things are industry, passion and engagement," he said. "There is a belief that English is full of waffle but its not, it's so important to everything and the HSC is a test of character and that's what gets you through life." A Sydney man has been released from jail one week after he was charged over breaking into his former home, which had been compulsorily acquired by the NSW government for the WestConnex motorway project. Van Ngo, 68, spent seven nights in Silverwater Correctional Centre after he allegedly returned to his former home in Campbell Street, St Peters, in Sydney's inner west, hours after being evicted last Friday. In Newtown Local Court on Friday, Mr Ngo, through his lawyers, pleaded not guilty to one count of property damage and one count of entering a premises without a lawful excuse In a decision that surprised his lawyers and his family, Mr Ngo was denied bail at his first court appearance on Tuesday despite having no criminal record or history of violence. An alleged Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Gang member has been charged for wearing "colours" in public, the first person to be charged under the state government's tough new bikie laws. Police stopped a four-wheel-drive in Hamilton, Brisbane, just after midday and said one of the three men inside the vehicle was wearing two large gold rings a diamond ring that reads "1%" and another with a Mongol Nation motif. Police took action against Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) member for allegedly wearing a number of gold rings in public. Credit:Queensland Police Service It is understood the "1%" is the mark of an outlaw motorbike gang member. Police also found other OMCG paraphernalia inside luggage in the vehicle. Bill Shorten was barely through the door before his suit jacket was gone, replaced by an apron. In a flash, the Opposition Leader was given a tray of food and directed to a table in the corner of the room. The cameras followed, their spotlights sweeping across the dimly lit Salvation Army dining hall. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten helps out at the Salvos' Bourke Sreet cafe. Credit:Penny Stephens It happened so quickly that Mr Shorten had been restocked with food and was shaking the next set of hands before some diners realised what was going on. "Are they going to be filming everywhere in here?" asked one woman, who had just sat down to lunch. "I don't want to be on camera." A large fire that raged out of control at a metal factory in Melbourne's west has been brought under control. It took more than 70 firefighters and about 20 trucks two-and-a-half hours to control the scrap metal fire at the OneSteel factory in Laverton North on Dohertys Road. The blaze broke out before 6pm on Friday. A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said firefighters used specialist equipment to break-up the fire. Atmospheric monitoring was conducted throughout the night to monitor the potential impact of the smoke for firefighters and the community. Police are investigating reports that a pack of as many as 40 youths harassed staff and attacked customers at a McDonald's in Melbourne's west. The incident took place at about 9.30pm in Tarneit on Derrimut Road, when a group of males began attacking cars in the fast food outlet's carpark. Police are investigating the reports of the Tarneit attack. Credit:Christopher Pearce Witness Steve Rodwell told radio station 3AW that he saw the group of 15 young teenagers grow to between 30 and 40. He was there with his 16-year-old son when the youths began harassing people who were getting out of their cars or walking into the store, he said. George thought he'd lost his shopping trolley. Maybe it had rolled away, the 83-year-old thought, or he'd left it elsewhere. But the Camberwell man was wrong. George with members from Oakleigh police station. Credit:Victoria Police He'd left the trolley outside a grocery shop he'd ducked into to pick up some vegetables for his local senior citizens club's Christmas feast. But when he returned, the trolley had disappeared, as well as $200 worth of groceries he'd bought for the lunch that were inside it. Staff from the store helped him search for it, but the trolley was gone, said Senior Constable Melissa Leeds. The Andrews Government will overhaul the Safe Schools program and cut ties with its controversial founder Roz Ward amid a public backlash that was set to intensify ahead of the Victorian election. In a bid to protect the anti-bullying initiative, the education department will be in charge of delivering Safe Schools from next year, ensuring that the government is solely responsibility for rolling it out to every state secondary school by 2018. The move is a significant shift for a program that was co-founded by Ms Ward almost seven years ago and has been delivered through her employer, La Trobe University, ever since. But in recent months, Safe Schools has come under sustained attack by critics who claim it promotes "radical gender theory" or believe Ms Ward's history as a hardline Marxist is too extreme. If you're planning to take an Uber home from your Christmas party, chances are you could be in for quite a ride. Surge pricing, when Uber hikes its fares in peak periods, is bound to be off the charts, and customers are also reporting recent issues with navigation and pricing. Not appy, Uber. Passengers are complaining about a new version of the ride-share app, which they say is producing unfair pricing and poor navigation. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Several comments on Uber's Facebook page reveal the extent of the troubles people are experiencing with the ride-sharing service this festive season. Jazz Ocfemia writes the new user interface, launched last month, is "restrictive and not customer centric". Dunsborough locals are furious Puma Energy will reapply for approval of a service station on Dunn Bay Road, only this time disguised as a convenience store. An application to build a third service station in Dunsborough's town centre has been unanimously rejected twice by planning authorities. An artist's impression of what the proposed 'convenience store' would look like. However, developers DCSC and Puma Energy will go back to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) on February 1 to seek approval for a 24-hour "convenience store", which has sparked outrage in the community. The proposal before SAT is for an application for a convenience store, rather than a service station - only the convenience store plan happens to feature a six-bay petrol station. Ms Dhu being loaded into the back of a police van. The woman's family initially opposed media requests to obtain the vision, which was repeatedly played during a coronial inquest into her death, but their lawyers later said they had reconsidered because it was in the public interest. The damning footage, taken between August 2 and 4 at the police station's lock-up and Hedland Health Campus, showed Ms Dhu being dragged from her cell, handcuffed, while paralysed. Ms Dhu's grandmother Carol Roe hugging a friend outside court. She was then hauled, dying, into the back of a police vehicle and either died in transit, or on arrival at hospital. Handing down her inquest findings on Friday, the Coroner said she was releasing the footage publicly, however vision of Ms Dhu's final moments - when she was possibly already dead - would not be released, at her father's request. Ms Dhu died after she was held at South Hedland police station in WA. Credit:ABC News There's still no justice for the family. Ms Fogliani called the treatment of Ms Dhu at the police station "inhumane and unprofessional". "The circumstances around her death are tragic and disturbing," the Coroner said, before extending her condolences to Ms Dhu's family. Carol Roe outside court after the Coroner's findings were handed down. Read the Coroner's findings here She found the conduct of the medical staff and police officers involved was well below the standards expected. Officers and medical staff were not motivated by conscious racism but it would be naive to deny existence of unfounded assumptions about Ms Dhu being formed, the Coroner found. "Officers disregarded her welfare and right to treatment," she said. "The majority of the persons responsible for Ms Dhu's care formed the view that she was exaggerating or feigning symptoms of being unwell. "On the morning of 4 August 2014 the police assumed that she was feigning her collapse. "That assumption persisted up until the time the doctors commenced their resuscitation attempts at Hedland Health Campus at 12.45 pm on 4 August 2014." The Coroner made eleven recommendations at the inquest, including a review of incarceration as a penalty for unpaid fines. Shortly after the findings were made public, Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan announced people on arrest warrants for unpaid fines would no longer be held in police lock-ups. "A police lock up or watch house is not a place for any person to be held for a significant period of time.They are not designed for that purpose, especially those in regional Australia... it is simply not suitable," he said. "[The warrants] will be served in prisons." Mr O'Callaghan said people on arrest warrants would not be held more than eight hours in a lock-up, and that arrest warrants would not be executed unless a plan had already been made for the person to be transferred to a prison. Despite family calls for the police officers involved in Ms Dhu's care before her death to be charged, Mr O'Callaghan said three investigations, including a CCC and internal police investigation, had revealed no criminality on the officers' part. Four officers were sanctioned and another seven were found to have breached police procedure following the internal police investigation in 2014. Mr O'Callaghan said he was not aware of how many of the officers were still serving with WA Police, or if any were still serving in South Hedland. Meanwhile, all liquor outlets in Ms Dhu's home town of South Hedland have been closed by police due to concerns of "civil disorder". South Hedland Police Senior Sergeant Dean Snashall said the booze ban was enforced following a series of serious alcohol-fueled assaults in recent days and the pending release of the footage showing Ms Dhu's final moments. Infection could have been prevented: Coroner Ms Dhu died from pneumonia and an infection from a broken rib that went untreated after police officers and medical staff tending to her assumed she was a "junkie" faking her illness. But the Coroner found that, although Ms Dhu died from natural causes, she was not adequately assessed at Hedland Health Campus. Her infection could likely have been treated with antibiotics on her first or second visit if she had been given an x-ray or her vitals had been checked. Ms Dhu was on her third visit to hospital in as many days while in custody when she died. The CCTV footage shows Ms Dhu in her cell, in the back of a police van and at hospital. Some of it shows police dragging and carrying her limp body to a police van, while another clip shows an officer pulling Ms Dhu by the wrist to sit her up before dropping her, causing Ms Dhu to hit her head. Aboriginal Legal Service WA chief executive Dennis Eggington said the family and the Aboriginal community had suffered enough, describing Ms Dhu's death as a cruel injustice. "I hope the coroner gives the utmost consideration to the family's wishes and their need for healing," he said. Human Rights Law Centre spokesperson Ruth Barson said it had been two years since Ms Dhu's "cruel" death but the Barnett Government continued to lock up people who could not pay their fines - a policy that disproportionately affected Aboriginal women. "Western Australia desperately needs to fix its over-imprisonment crisis and to change its fines laws to be fair and flexible," she said. On Wednesday, Ms Roe said she wanted the world to know the truth. "I hope the Coroner hands down the truth, then we will feel like there has been some justice, then we can put my girl to rest," she said. "People need to see with their own eyes how my girl was treated. "All Australians need to see this footage we all need to stand together and say enough is enough, no more Aboriginal deaths in custody." The Coroner's recommendations: 1: In every police station where detainees are held, there must be a dedicated lock-up keeper. Alternatively that a minimum of two officers are rostered for custodial care duties at any time. 2: Mandatory training course on the roles and responsibilities of lock-up keeper/supervisor be developed and introduced across Western Australia. 3: Mandatory initial and ongoing cultural competency training for its police officers to assist in their dealings with Aboriginal persons. 4: That it be a standard procedure for all police officers transferred to a location with a significant Aboriginal population to receive comprehensive cultural competency training, tailored to reflect the specific issues, challenges and health concerns relevant to the location. 5: Parliament consider whether legislative change is required in order to allow medical clinicians to provide the Western Australia Police Service with sufficient medical information to manage a detainee's care whilst in police custody. 6: Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act (WA) (Section 53) be amended so that a warrant of commitment authorising imprisonment is not an option for enforcing payment of fines. Alternatively, that the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act (WA) (Section 53) be amended to provide that where imprisonment is an option, the imprisonment must be subject to a hearing in the Magistrates Court and determined by a Magistrate who should be authorised to make orders other than imprisonment if he or she deems it appropriate. 7: Pending reforms outlined by the Justice Ministers' Working Group be given a high priority for consideration by Parliament, with a view to providing alternatives to incarceration through legislative reform. 8: Fine defaulters, if incarcerated pursuant to a Warrant of Commitment, should be transported to the nearest prison within four to eight hours of their arrest, where the transport time does not exceed the detention period. 9: A policy be introduced by the Western Australian Police Service that requires the police to contact by telephone the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme once a decision has been made to detain an Aboriginal offender in a police lock-up. A West Australian mother has been sentenced to 10 years' jail after she killed her three-month-old daughter through neglect and tried to cover it up. Supreme Court of WA Justice Stephen Hall says 38-year-old Tamara Louise Thompson from Geraldton let her baby Destiny starve to death because she'd never wanted her. Tamara Louise Thompson. On Friday Thompson was sentenced to a non-parole period of eight years after pleading guilty to manslaughter and with time served she could be free by July 2023. During Thompson's trial in early December some members of the West Australian Supreme Court jury cried as prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo outlined the state's case, while Thompson also wept throughout the proceedings. Everything seemed to be going well for Miss Canada, Anastasia Lin, during an interview Wednesday promoting the Miss World pageant until she was asked whether she would be attending a screening of her new movie, which has reportedly enraged officials in her native China. Lin shot a glance at the four pageant officials assigned to listen in. "You can ask them," she told a Washington Post reporter. One of the officials maintained that Lin could go "if she has spare time" but that she hadn't yet asked to go. That's when things got testy, Lin noting sharply that the screening's hosts had repeatedly sent requests on her behalf, her handlers insisting she just needed to abide by certain protocols. Auto Lab Radio Talk - LIVE From NYC Saturday December 17, 2016 7-9 AM (Eastern) Auto Lab Radio Talk The Auto Lab Radio Show is Broadcast every Saturday 7 to 9 AM On New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 and Streamed Worldwide On The Auto Channel Broadcast Date: December 17, 2016 Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 Auto Lab is a 28 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice. Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format. Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com. Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures Broadcast Date: December 17, 2016 Auto Lab In-Studio Experts Discuss - Repair Second Opinion, Regular Maintenance, How To's, Safety, Used and New Car Buying, Ombudsmen Suggestions Harold Bendell- Major Auto Fred Bordoff-Bronx Community College, CUNY Tim Cacace-Master Mechanix David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs Joseph Guarino-Joe Guarino's Auto Repairs Joanne Porcelli, Esq Michael Porcelli - Central Avenue Auto Repairs & I-CAR Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY Auto Lab Correspondents Report Auto Safety News, New Car Reviews, Technology and Latest Auto World Information That May effect You! Broadcast Date: December 17, 2016 Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England ALL CHANGE-WINNING EUROPEAN BUYERS WITH DIRECTESALES Robert Sinclair-AAA Northeast MISSING ONE TO TWO HOURS SLEEP DOUBLES DRIVERS' CRASH RISK THIS HOLIDAY TRAVEL HIGHEST ON RECORD Sharon Sudol & John Russell Senior Correspondents 2017 KIA SEDONA 2017 GMC ACADIA Hospital offers safe option to dispose of meds, narcotics Los Robles Health System is working to crush the opioid drug crisis by raising awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Crush the Crisis will take place... Alzheimers Foundation to host free conference The Alzheimers Foundation of America will host a free virtual educational conference from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tues., Nov. 15. The event is part of the foundations 2022 national Educating America Tour. The conference, which is free and open... Authorities warn about rainbow fentanyl Victims often arent aware theyre taking it The Ventura County Office of Education and state health officials have issued a warning to schools and families about rainbow fentanyl, a form of the potentially fatal synthetic opioid that comes in bright colors. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in... Cancer support community to host remembrance event Cancer Support Community Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara invites family members and friends of those who have died from cancer to attend the second annual Evening of Remembrance from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 3 at Cancer Support Communitys Garden of Hope,... Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. On Monday, Steinbach mayor Chris Goertzen returned home from a jam-packed trip to Ukraine that saw him meet and share with numerous elected officials. At the International Mayors Congress in Kiev, Goertzen delivered a brief presentation and took part in a panel discussion on trends and innovations in city development alongside representatives from Ontario, Poland, and Ukraine. The prime minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Groysman, also attended the congress, and addressed participants. Goertzen said he primarily spoke about how the City of Steinbach has had success in managing the challenges associated with rapid growth by focusing on maintaining basic infrastructure like roads and sewers, and on preventative spending to save money in the long term. SUBMITTED PHOTO On the island of Chortitza, Valery Edelyev, the deputy mayor of Zaporizhia (third from right), along with a delegation, present Goertzen with a memento: a roof tile made by Mennonites who lived in Chortitza many years ago. Goertzen said he was struck by the similar challenges faced by cities large and small. Whether youre a municipality of 16,000 people, or 1.6 million [people], its not incredibly dissimilar, other than the scale. Infrastructure is a challenge for all of us, and we all want to communicate better with our citizens, Goertzen stated. Themes of citizen engagement, government transparency, and operating with limited resources were high on the conferences agenda. Infrastructure is the overriding thing thats a problem, Goertzen said of the concerns voiced by Ukrainian attendees. Goertzen said his time in Ukraine reaffirmed his civic pride in Steinbach, and the appreciation he has for the achievements of Steinbach councils past and present. Theyve set us up well. Were kind of standing on the shoulders of the people who came before us, and we have a lot to be proud of. Translators assisted Goertzen in communicating with Ukrainians, though he explained that many conference attendees spoke English to varying degrees. Goertzen also took part in an ongoing joint initiative between the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Global Affairs Canada in which municipal experts from Canada assist their Ukrainian counterparts in implementing strategies to improving democratic governance and local economic development. This part of the trip saw Goertzen deliver a presentation on openness and transparency, and attend workshops with representatives from across Ukraine. That was very interesting, because their system [of government] is very different, said Goertzen, explaining that Ukraines government structure and funding models are highly centralized. The mayor reports once a year to council or to the public in regards to whats going on. Thats a little bit different than what we do here. He continued, Many people there are fighting corruption, and we certainly told them about the tools that we have in place, the checks and balances, that are there to eliminate that possibility here. So theres a lot to learn for them, but certainly a sense of determination I think we could probably learn from. Reflecting on his trip as a whole, Goertzen underscored the strength of the Ukrainian people, and the potential that resides therein. Theres tremendous opportunity in Ukraine. They have people who are intelligent, who are well-educated, and they have the drive to make good things better. It was really encouraging in that way. The trip also afforded Goertzen the opportunity to visit Zaporizhia, a city of roughly 800,000 people located 500 kilometres southeast of Kiev. As Goertzen explained, the city and surrounding area possess historical ties to the Steinbach area. There a lot of Mennonite history there, said Goertzen. I met with some of the council members there, [and] the deputy mayor. We talked about our common history as communities, as that is where the Chortitz colony was. They, later on, took me on a tour to a number of heritage sites, including what we call the Chortitzer oak. The 800-year-old oak tree, which died over a decade ago, held great significance for Mennonites in Ukraine who settled in southeastern Manitoba. Saplings from the tree live on at Steinbachs Mennonite Heritage Village, said curator Andrea Dyck, and continue to grow. When he visited the site of the original tree in Ukraine, Goertzen presented local leaders them with a painting of their historic oak tree when it was thriving. During his trip, Goertzen also participated in a Ukrainian talk show, with the assistance of a translator, and had the opportunity to take a quick trip to Vladovka, formerly known as Waldheim, a village in which his grandparents grew up. Theres a police barricade now permanently surrounding Trump Tower and the Tiffany next door, and on Thursday afternoon, officers braved the cold to monitor passers-by who said they needed to get through. Past the doorway adorned by an enormous Christmas wreath with a gold bow, my bag was screened by security and then I was free to roam toward the Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry display, featuring a picture of the future first daughter modeling her products, or up the escalator to the Starbucks. It was crowded, but no more so than any other public space on Fifth Avenue during the holidays. People walked by clutching shopping bags from Saks and Nike, stopping to gawk at the gold elevators and the small crowd of cameras and reporters camped across the tiles and trapped behind a red velvet rope, like an ugly odd holiday window display. At the bar downstairs, at Trump Grill, two middle-aged men who identified themselves as Donald Trump supporters but requested they not be named handed me a Trump reelection pin they said was passed out by the Naked Cowboy, the guy who strums a guitar in Midtown in his underwear but who, perhaps due to the snow, was strumming up and down the escalators on this occasion, wearing a red, white, and blue robe over his otherwise bare body. One of the middle-aged men drank red wine, while the other drank a vodka martini on the rocks out of a wine glass, a single green olive sunk at the bottom of the murky yellow liquid. He finished it. But this wasnt the scene that was supposed to be unfolding on Dec. 15, 2016not even close. The president-elect was supposed to be here on this day in the familiar marble lobby. He was supposed to descend down the escalator from his 26th-floor office, or his 66th-floor penthouse, dressed in his standard dark suit and blue or red tie, which would hang just a few inches too low past his belt buckle. He was supposed to tell the pressin his first press conference in 140 days, since late July, long before he was electedhow he would address his international business conflicts, which are unprecedented in their scope, to reassure us that America is still a first world democracy, reality TV star leader notwithstanding. And then he didnt show. Trumps decision to prioritize staffing his nascent administration, taking meetings with celebrities, and embarking on a thank you tour around the country over disentangling himself from business interests that could pose dire conflicts of interest in the White House is just another confirmation that we, as a country, are in uncharted waters. And Trump apparently doesnt care. I will hold a press conference in the near future to discuss the business, Cabinet picks and all other topics of interest, he tweeted, after news of his cancellation broke earlier this week, Busy times! So busy that he found time to meet with Kanye West. So busy that he spent part of Thursday fighting with Vanity Fair because it published a negative review of Trump Grill (and the writer didnt even see the wine glass martini). So busy that hes continuing his thank you tour in Pennsylvania and Alabama this week. Trump added added that sons Don Jr. and Ericthough noticeably not daughter Ivankawould be managing his businesses, which he claimed he would be leaving before his inauguration. Earlier Thursday, he tweeted, The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complexwhen actually it isnt! If thats true, one wonders why his allegedly busy schedule precluded him from explaining why its not complex on Thursday afternoon. Trump should have appeared here before the media and explained when, exactly, Don Jr. and Eric would be taking over the business and if they would leave their posts on his transition team to do so. He should have informed us in detail about what Ivanka would be doing in his administration and whether she would continue to run her own businesses, and why she sat in on a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He should have explained how a trust could possibly be blind when his children are in charge of it, or when the nature of his business is, in part, to license his name, which then appears visibly on projects hes connected to. He should have told us why on earth the president of the United States has the spare time to executive-produce The Apprentice. He should have answered the presss questions calmly and respectfully, in an acknowledgement that a free press is necessary to preserve a republic. Now, assuming he doesnt cancel again, well have to wait until January. The U.S. Navys newest warship has an ammunition problem. One that could render the $7-billion ship obsolete just two months after she joined the fleet. The destroyer USS Zumwalt, commissioned into Navy service on Oct. 15, boasts two high-tech, 155-millimeter-diameter cannons that the sailing branch designed to fire GPS-guided shells at targets as far as 80 miles away. But in early November 2016, the Navy confirmed what observers of Zumwalts protracted development had long suspected: The so-called Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is simply too expensive. That left Zumwalt and her two sister ships, together costing $22 billion to design and build, without ammo for their guns. And without much reason for existing. Now the Navy reportedly has figured out a fix. But its a veritable Band-Aid on a $22-billion wound. The new shell travels less than half as far as the old one does. To be clear, the original Long-Range Land-Attack Projectile is a technological marvel. It packs a rocket booster, a powerful high-explosive, and a precision seeker into a casing tough enough to survive the intense shock of firing from a cannon. The LRLAP and the gun that fires it both performed flawlessly in tests. We dont have an issue with the gun, and no issue with that ship carrying the gun, an unnamed Pentagon official told Defense News, a trade publication. We have an issue on the price point. Each LRLAP round costs as much as $1 million. Arming all three planned Zumwalt-class ships with 300 shells apiece plus another 1,100 back-ups would have set the U.S. government back up to $2 billionnearly enough to buy a whole extra Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. On Nov. 7, 2016, the Navy announced it would stop buying LRLAP rounds after Lockheed had finished producing an initial 150 shells for testing. For more than a month following that announcement, Zumwalt was in a kind of ammunition limbo. She possessed powerful cannonsand nothing to fire from them. The Navy hoped that these Advanced Gun Systems, as the cannons are officially designated, would help to fill a firepower gap that has existed since the Navy finally decommissioned its increasingly hard-to-maintain World War II-vintage battleships back in 1992. The four Iowa-class battleships with their huge, 406-millimeter-diameter main gunsnine on each shipwere ideal for bombarding enemy shores to soften up defenses before U.S. troops stormed ashore, a role they played devastating effect during World War II. All other major U.S. Navy warships have guns. But with a diameter of 107 millimeters, theyre smaller than the Zumwalts AGS are and can fire their shells a maximum distance of just 13 miles. In 2007 the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Chaffee reportedly fired more than a dozen shells at Islamic militants in northern Somalia, apparently covering for American Special Operations Forces that had landed nearby. With more and more countries buying sophisticated anti-ship missilessome of them even winding up in the hands of insurgents and terror groupsthe Navy has become more reluctant to sail its expensive warships close to shore. The Marine Corps has argued that Navy ships should approach to within 25 miles of the shore before launching landing craft and helicopters full of Marines for a beach assault. Navy leaders are more comfortable with a 50-mile buffer that puts ships and crew farther from dangereven if that means a riskier ride for the Marines. Zumwalt, with her Advanced Gun Systems and Long-Range Land-Attack Projectiles, was supposed to fit neatly within the Navys conservative approach to beach assault. Bobbing 80 miles from shore, Zumwalt and her sister ships would be able to lob their GPS-guided munitions at enemy forces with relative impunity, helping to keep enemy defenders heads down as the Marines traversed the 50-mile gap from ship to shore. But at a million dollars a pop, that kind of long-range bombardment is beyond the Navys means. To replace the LRLAP, the Navy has reportedly selected the Excalibur GPS-guided shell that Raytheon builds for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps land-based artillery batteries. The news website of the U.S. Naval Institute reported the selection on Dec. 13. The Navy declined to confirm the report. The Navy is evaluating industry projectile solutions, Capt. Thurraya Kent, a Navy spokesperson, told The Daily Beast. The Excalibur munition is roughly the same size as the LRLAP shell but is less sophisticatedand has a much shorter maximum range than the LRLAP does. Current versions can travel no farther than 25 miles or soless than half the distance the LRLAP can reach. There was some speculation in the defense trade press that Excalibur might not be compatible with the bespoke AGS cannons. USNI News reported that modifying the Zumwalts guns to shoot Excaliburs could cost $250 million. But Lorenzo Cortes, a Raytheon spokesperson, told The Daily Beast that the companys shells can be loaded and fired from the AGS. Excalibur is comparatively cheap$250,000 per round, including R&D costs. The Navy could, in theory, buy 2,0000 Exaliburs for a quarter of the cost of a similar number of LRLAPs. With Excalibur, the Navy is trading cost for risk. It will be cheaper to load up Zumwalts magazines. But shell have to move closer to shore to fire the less-expensive shells. If Zumwalt can only shoot at targets 25 miles away, then she must sail right up to the edge of what even the famously fearless Marines consider the danger zone in seaborne invasion scenarios. If in some future war, the Navy decides that it cant risk sending its ships to within 25 miles of the enemys coast, it might discover that it spent $22 billion building Zumwalt-class destroyers that cant shoot far enough to actually play any role in the fighting. Early Thursday morning, the President-elect took aim at one of his many favorite media targets, Vanity Fair, on his most favorite platform, Twitter, calling out the magazines really poor numbers and its editor in 138 inane characters. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out! Trumps tweet read, predictably petulant and one syllable short of a Haiku. The apparent provocation was a scathing review of Trump Grill, the restaurant inside Trump Tower, front and center on Vanity Fairs website. It was a critical piece de resistance, as restaurant reviews go, on how the dining experience at Trump Grillsloppily over-the-top, a cheap version of the richperfectly encapsulates its namesake landlord. The headline read like a PSA: Trump Grill Could Be the Worst Restaurant in America. And the fantastically biting review hit a nerve, as these things often do. While it doesnt take much to expose the president-elects fragile ego, Vanity Fair went about it artfully rather than gratuitously, giving readers a taste of the tragicomedy (sad!) that is Trump Grill. Vanity Fairs takedown joins a long list of food critics greatest hits. In 2012, New York Times Pete Wells penned a devastating review of Guy Fieri's new American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square, written as a series of incredulous questions needling the celebrity chef. On the beverages: Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? And the food: Why is one of the few things on your menu that can be eaten without fear or regretcalled a Roasted Pork Bahn Mi, when it resembles that item about as much as you resemble Emily Dickinson? Wells hatchet job went viral (some declared it the most brutal review ever) as the battle between the food critic and the Food Network star took on a larger narrative, with non-New Yorkers viewing Wells as the snooty East Coast elitist and Fieri as the ruddy face of Americas Heartland. Even as the food fight was overly politicized, plenty delighted in Wells acid tongue, just as theyd done when Frank Bruni called Ninja New York a kooky, dreary subterranean labyrinth that seems better suited to coal mining than supping in his 2005 New York Times review; when William Grimes sharpened his knives over the Asian fusion at Roys New York, a parade of exotic ingredients, confused and overpowering sauces, and ideas piled one on top of the other until the recipes simply collapse under their own weight. AA Gill was perhaps the most prolific and unsparing master of the hilariously bitchy restaurant review (in the UK Sunday Times). Theo Randalls namesake, upscale Italian restaurant in London was so perfectly bland and devoid of personality, it could be a late-night DJ on Classic FM, Gill observed acidly in a 2007 review, before remarking that a pasta dish looked as if all the ingredients had been fed through an office shredder with half a pint of water and kept under a hot lamp since lunchtime. There is an art to these waspish critiques, which might seem plain nasty if they werent so wickedly fun to read. Where the restaurants lack style and the meals substance, the critiques are an embarrassment of riches. In the annals of acerbic restaurant reviews, Vanity Fairs take on the Trump Grill doesnt disappoint. In all its gaudy, phony splendor, the restaurant features a stingy number of French-ish paintings that look as though they were bought from Home Goods. Wall-sized mirrors serve to make the place look much bigger than it actually is, the author writes before heading to the restrooms, which transport diners to the experience of desperately searching for toilet paper at a Venezuelan grocery store. The menu, like the restaurants owner, would like to impress diners with how important it is, randomly capitalizing fancy words like Prosciutto and Julienned (and, strangely, House Salad). Once dared to eat roasted pigs eyeball, the critic notes that it tasted better than the Trump Grills Gold Label Burger, a Pat LaFrieda-branded short-rib burger blend molded into a sad little meat thing, sitting in the center of a massive, rapidly staling brioche bun, hiding its shame under a slice of melted orange cheese. One wonders if the president-elect picked up on this delicious metaphor while reading the reviewif he was able to make it past the second paragraph before angrily sputtering about Vanity Fairs poor numbers and its editor (no talent!), with whom Trump has a long-running feud. The Vanity Fair piece is as much a character indictment of Trump as it is a brutal review of his restaurant. It flayed and provoked the establishments owner just as Wells did Fieri, who was so threatened by Wells review that he counterattacked in an interview with Todays Savannah Guthrie. I just thought it was ridiculous, Fieri said, dismissing the Times critique as unnecessary hyperbole and suggesting that Wells must have had another agendaIts a great way to make a name for yourself: go after a celebrity chef thats not a New Yorker thats doing a big concept in his second month. Gordon Ramsay was similarly provoked in the late 90s, before he was a celebrity chef, after Gill panned one of his restaurantsthen was kicked out of another Ramsay establishment. Ramsay was so ruffled by Gill that he wrote an op-ed smearing him in The Independent, insisting that food critics in France, where hed previously lived for three years, were more professional than the likes of Gill and dont make vindictive personal remarksI have made it quite clear that [Gill] is not welcome at my restaurant. I dont respect him as a food critic and I dont have to stand there and cook for him. Gill, unsparing as ever, responded that Ramsay was a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being. Sound familiar? ROMEIt is no great secret that Frontex, the European Unions border patrol, strongly disagrees with the practice of rescuing migrants and refugees at sea. For years, its been warning that efforts to save the lives of migrants left on foundering boats and ships create a pull factor that entices people to attempt the dangerous journey. The issue first came up with Italys Mare Nostrum humanitarian program, and today there are dozens of aid groups, from Save the Children to Doctors Without Borders and other less-known private organizations like MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) that risk high water and a lot of hellish situations to prevent mass drownings. Since January 2016, nearly 360,000 people have made the deadly crossing to Europe, mostly to Italy, according to statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR. Another 4,770 people are known to have died trying to make the crossing so far in 2016, and the figure likely would be much higher without rescuers risking their own lives to save others. How does one parse the difference between the pull of a chancy rescue at sea and the push of war, famine, and poverty driving refugees and migrants to Europes shores? Thats hard to know, and further complicated by sinister and brutally cynical human traffickers who take advantage of a growing number of desperate people and exploit any opportunity they see to make money off them. Now Frontex has taken the accusations against rescuers a step further. According to confidential reports obtained by the Financial Times and published Thursday ahead of a crucial European Union summit that will deal with migration, Frontex officials are accusing charities operating in the Mediterranean of colluding with people smugglers. According to the Financial Times, Frontex wrote several reports in which it contends that smugglers had clear indications before departure on the precise direction to be followed in order to reach the NGO boats. That, coupled with what it says is a drop in distress calls from boats carrying migrants must surely mean that the NGOs are colluding with traffickers. The rescuers, many of whom are out there on a volunteer basis, overwhelmingly disagree. Both Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders adamantly deny the allegations. So do the Italian coast guard and the Italian navy, whose spokesman told The Daily Beast, The EU is surely looking for a scapegoat as a way to justify their blatant mishandling of the migrant crisis. Antonino Parisi, the Italy director of MOAS, also says the claims are false. MOAS denies the alleged accusations mentioned in the article published by the Financial Times today. Our operations have always been conducted in coordination with the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome as well as with any navy units present in the area, Parisi said in a statement to The Daily Beast. MOAS was created and continues to function in a legal and transparent manner within the framework imposed by International Maritime Law, Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), and search-and-rescue conventions. MOASs primary aim has always been to mitigate the loss of human life at sea. The Daily Beast also reached a rescue worker on a rescue vessel that is currently docked in Sicily after delivering hundreds of people rescued over the last week. He said that most aid agencies do have local contacts on the ground in North Africa who often warn them when large ships are sent into the sea. Thats hardly colluding, said the rescue worker, who didnt want his name used out of fear his organization could be punished. What it does is give us a heads-up so we can try to save people. In an earlier report seen by the Financial Times, Frontex also charged that it found the first reported case where the criminal networks were smuggling migrants directly onto an NGO vessel. Rescue groups argue that it is precisely because they are transparent, and because the rescue ships constantly tweet their activities, that they are easy to find, either by calling known helpline numbers, which are published on their websites and flyers that are distributed in refugee camps, or by searching ship locations on the Marine Traffic website, which includes all coordinates. Smugglers hardly put safety first, but, in many cases, they also have people on the vessels, so being rescued is the preferred outcome. On Wednesday, a court in Catania, Italy, sentenced Tunisian smuggler Mohammed Ali Malek to 18 years in prison for manslaughter after the wooden ship he was navigating in April 2015 crashed into a cargo ship trying to help save people. The migrant boat sank, killing more than 700 in what was the largest single loss of life known to happen in the current crisis. That ship was brought to shore last summer and used as evidence against Malek and his Syrian first mate Mahmoud Bikhit, who was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the disaster. Malek had called the Italian coast guard on a satellite phone preprogrammed with the number, which dispatched the closest ship in the area, the Portuguese-flagged King Jacob, which rushed to the scene in the absence of any rescue vessels in the area. As for the drop in official distress calls that go through the Italian coast guard control room, an official in Rome says thats because there are so many rescue boats out in the waterthe sinking vessels are often spotted before calls for help can be made. According to the Financial Times expose, Frontex also takes issue with the use of spotlights from the rescue vessels to scan the waters for sinking vessels, especially at night, calling them a beam for the migrants to follow. Gemma Gillie, with Doctors Without Borders, told the Financial Times that they actively search for boats in distress. We spot them earlier. This is a response to the needs that we see at sea, she said. It is not about whether there is collusion between NGOs and smugglers: the issue is why so many people die, which is what Frontex should be focusing on. They should be looking at their own actions. At 6:45 p.m., Hillary Clinton rode up East 58th Street in a gleaming black van that turned into a side entrance more often used for food and linen deliveries. A sign read: PLAZA HOTELLOADING GARAGE A man in her security detail opened the side door of the vehicle and held it open so it blocked the view of the handful of photographers and pedestrians on the sidewalk as Clinton stepped out. The City of New York had voted for Clinton overwhelmingly every time she had been on a ballot, but she now disappeared into the building without allowing anybody in the street so much as a glimpse and offering not so much as a wave. She had rich people to thank. The guests at her big thank you event for big money donors looked the part as they arrived by the grand front entrance. Most of them suffered Thursday nights bitter cold for only the few strides from their own gleaming black vehicles and up the eight carpeted steps. They passed on through the brass revolving door into the warm glow. Former campaign chairman John Podesta was one of the first to enter, five minutes after Clinton, in a dark gray overcoat. A woman came up and embraced him. John, I sent you an email! she said without the slightest hint of irony. Podetsa just smiled and the two continued on to the third floor and the 4,800-square-foot Grand Ballroom for the gathering of mega donors. The mega pertaining only to the number of dollars. Not to how hard-earned a particular dollar might have been. Or to how much of a squeeze it might have been to give it. Or to how pure a spirit accompanied the giving. More guests arrived, some complaining that they had been delayed. The usual traffic holiday congestion was compounded by the heavy post-election security being maintained around Trump Tower just a block and a half down Fifth Avenue. The traffic! a guest exclaimed. A bellman stood in a brocade uniform, and the sight of him brought to mind one of his profession who had been listed among thousands of Clinton donors who were mega by another measure in the Federal Election Commission records, which include occupation and amount. Hotel bellman$45School librarian$100Registered nurse$38Retired horticulturalist$100Retired Episcopal priest$100Student$10Teacher$25Unemployed bank teller$5Rabbi$25 If the Clinton campaign had used meaning and not just moolah as a measure of mega, if she had insisted that a dollar from a contributor who did not have a dollar to spare and was giving it with no expectation of anything in return meant more than millions from a mogul looking to buy influence and cachet, then she might have had a party at the grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel to outdo any in its storied history. Just imagine if the guest list to Clintons thank you event had included the hotel bellman who had given $45 rather than a hedge-fund guy who had given $20 million. Picture the bellman and the unemployed bank clerk and the school librarian and the registered nurse and the others partying with their candidate in the same ballroom where Truman Capote held his legendary Black and White Ball in 1966. And this other thank you event of true megas would have been all the more remarkable for the Plaza Hotel having once belonged to none other than Donald Trump. He had purchased it in 1988 and placed his then wife, Ivana, in charge of the renovations. He himself took a particular interest in the railings of the balconies in the grand ballroom, and spent a considerable sum deploying everything from hair driers to sandblasters to remove layers of paint and restore the woods smooth finish. All had been just how Trump wanted it by 1993, when he married his second wife, Marla Maples, in the ballroom. The guests included big money guys Carl Icahn and Ronald O. Perlman, as well as Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. The comedian Rosie ODonnellwhom Trump would years later call a fat pigjoined other B-list celebrities ranging from O.J. Simpson to Howard Stern. Its just like I was afraid of, Im the biggest name here, Stern told the New York Daily News. I dont see any big stars." In 1995, financial troubles forced Trump to sell the hotel at a loss to foreign investors. His third wedding was at Mar-a-Lago. The guests sitting in the front row included Hillary Clinton. The new owners of the Plaza renovated the ballroom, but it was essentially the Trump-ian same when Hillary Clinton held a fundraiser there in June 2015. A birthday party for Rep. Charles Rangel of New York had originally been slated for the space on that day, but that event was moved to the summer. Clinton supporters paid $2,700 a person, which seemed reasonable enough given that campaigns do need considerable sums. But more than money, a campaign needs meaning. And this comes from small contributors as surely as millions come from millionaires. Five dollars from an unemployed bank teller means more than ten thousand times that amount from a banker. In the end, the Clinton campaign had more than enough money, but it came up short on meaning for too many working people. The result surprised even Trump. The failed Clinton campaign had cash left over and is said to have used $100,000 for the party at the Plaza. The money had been raised from bellmen as well as billionaires. Clinton here had a chance to restore some meaning. But the only bellman present at the Plaza on Thursday night was the uniformed one on duty, directing the big-money invitees to the elevator that would take them to the ballroom, where the balcony railings are still as smooth to the touch as the short-fingered one insisted upon. One couple listened to the directions, but stopped in confusion when they had to choose whether to turn one way or the other. I wasnt paying attention, the woman said. Other guests came and the couple followed them up to the ballroom to be thanked by Hillary Clinton. The outcome of it all had surprised even the man who should be thanking her for choosing moolah over meaning. Do you believe this shit? Trump remarked to a fellow native of Queens after he was elected our next president. I left my job as an underground coal miner at the beginning of August 2010, bringing to a close a family tradition that spanned five generations. The following spring, I moved my children away from the valley my family had lived in for 10 generations. Today, each time I return to my Appalachian home, I see more emptiness. I see once well-maintained yards overgrown in front of vacant houses falling into disrepair; For Sale signs speak to the air of desperation that grips the region. Many of my former co-workers have also left, each searching for better economic security for their families. Among those who remain in the region are the aging retirees from the glory days of coal, surviving on a fixed income provided by their pension and health care benefits. It is their basic want and hope to spend their final years in peace after decades of backbreaking, dangerous work supporting their families. Coal miners worked forand fought forthe promise of pension and health care benefits that would carry them and their spouses through to the end of their lives. But now, that promise is being broken. Tens of thousands of aging, disabled miners and widows will lose their income and their ability to go to the doctor if action isnt taken. These people arent simply numbers in a news article. They are people like my parents, my grandparents, and many of my friends and family members. They are people with faces, with stories, who laugh and smile with their children and grandchildren, and grimace when they feel pain. In Appalachia, we know that the coal we mined, and the energy it produced, has been consumed unabated by hundreds of millions of people. We took pride in helping others live the American dream, even though we knew that energy was often wasted to heat and cool oversized homes, unnecessary business spaces, and to power lifestyles that continue to have less and less meaning. We know too, that the cheap steel produced by our coal made it possible for nearly every American household to own a car, and that it provided the strength for countless bridges and buildings. Some of that steel even produced the weapons used to defend our country. Trillions of dollars of coal, mined with our labor, left our mountain home over the course of a century, and yet we remain some of the most impoverished communities in the nation. Every ton of coal that was extracted from Appalachia came as a detriment to our people; each ton came with externalized costs that were never paid for by a nation that continues to feel entitled to cheap energy. The United States and its citizens have failed the Appalachian people. They have never come to our aid in countless battles to provide long-term health and retirement benefits for coal minersbattles that have been ongoing since 1946, including strikes, protests, watered-down acts of federal law, and appeals by coal corporations seeking to maximize their profits. Even as I write this, the Miners Protection Act has been shelved, caught in the bureaucracy of our government at the hands of politicians whose interests remain deeply vested in the coal industry. The nation owes a great debt to the people of Appalachia. It is a price tag that includes the entirety of the industrial revolution and our present-day technological revolution. The least that can be done, as people who benefit from the sacrifices that have been made, is to educate ourselves and see to it that corporations, the wealthy individuals who run them, and the politicians who have built their careers assisting their affluent friends pay their fair shares and ease the suffering of those who have given so much. Nick Mullins is a ninth-generation Appalachian and was the fifth generation of his family to work in the underground coal mines of Southwestern Virginia to support his family. He is featured in the upcoming documentary Blood on the Mountain, opening in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Dec. 16. President Barack Obama will hold his final press conference of the year at the White House on Friday, December 16, at 2:15 pm EST. The press conference is set to take place before President Obama and his family depart for their annual family vacation in Hawaii, according to White House representatives. President Obama will likely discuss some of the high points of his presidency while offering advice to President-elect Donald Trump. It is also likely that the president will discuss recent discoveries regarding Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. The press conference will be live streamed from the White House press room. ROME Most people start to slow down when they turn 80. Not so with Pope Francis who will celebrate his birthday on December 17. But Francis is no ordinary octogenarian. The Argentinian-Italian is relatively spry for his age, suffering only a few age-related health glitches, including sciatica and lower back pain, all while globetrotting to Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bolivia, Kenya, Uganda, Cuba, Mexico, the United States, Greece, Armenia, Poland, Georgia and Sweden among his apostolic voyages in the span of just two years. At the age of 21, he suffered a severe infection, which led to the removal of one of his lungs, but he is not known to suffer any other major health problemsunless superstition counts. Ahead of his birthday, the Vatican press office had set up a string of new email addresses for well wishers to send their felicitations in seven different languages, including English at PopeFrancis80@vatican.va, Spanish at PapaFrancisco80@vatican.va, and Latin at Papafranciscus80@vatican.80. They even encouraged people to tweet to @Pontifex using the hashtag #pontifex80 so the wishes could be easily collected and given to the pope. The only problem is that the pope thinks it brings bad luck to anticipate birthday greetings. On Wednesday during his regular weekly audience, Francis made a confession. Ill tell you something that will make you laugh, he said, smiling nervously. In my country, expressing greetings ahead of time brings bad luck and those who do it are jinxers. Then he went on reluctantly to accept cards and even a cake as he made his way through the crowds, no doubt hoping that his holiness would be enough to ward off any bad luck that might ensue. Its not the first time Francis has shown himself a little bit superstitious. Almost since his papacy began in March 2013, he has asked people to pray for him and said on numerous occasions that he had a feeling that he would only last two or three more years, which some have construed as his wish to ward off death by talking about it. Whether he is really worried that early birthday greetings will bring him bad luck may never be known, but the significance of his 80th birthday is lost on no one. Its the age at which cardinals can no longer vote for the next pope, and it is the age that most clerics are asked to resign from their committee and congregations within the Holy See. Pope Benedict XVI was 85 when he resigned, paving the way for the Francis papacy, citing his deteriorating health due to his advanced age. Still, Francis doesnt look like he means to slow down any time soon. He already has plans to visit Brazil, Colombia, India and Indonesia in 2017, and hes said he would visit Ireland in 2018 and maybe even Panama in 2019. Clearly, he thinks his luck will hold out until then. MOSCOWAs the Putin-Trump bond appears to grow stronger by the day, the idea that Washington will simply cede to Moscow its desired sphere of influence is sinking in on the collective consciousness of Russias neighboring states. What used to be called the near abroad is quickly becoming the fear abroad. What is Russian President Vladimir Putins real plan for the former component pieces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republicsthe USSRthat crumbled in 1991 a quarter of a century ago? That is one huge puzzle, and while several leaders of former Soviet republics welcome access to Russias market, they are not ready to surrender their political power to a resurgent Russian empire. The first to show a fit of nerves in public is Putins closest ally, Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is now threatening to jail anyone who insults Belarusian identity or calls for a merger of Belarus into the Russian state. Lukashenko, who is known in the West as Europes Last Dictator and at home as Batka (Father), is warning former Soviet republics: One should be cautious with Russia. If U.S. intelligence is right and Vladimir Putin was actually personally involved in a hacking campaign that helped Donald Trump win the American presidency, that must have happened for a reason. Does Putin think such a bold and risky move would give him free rein for his ambitions? But that bigger picture is blurry. If he really does get the green light from Trump, Putin could be planning to take more control of the Commonwealth of Independent States, to which many former Soviet republics belong. Or he could move Russian borders to wherever people speak Russian, to create the so-called Russky Mir (Russian World). Or maybe Putin needs Trumps help to reconstruct the entire old USSR? After Trumps victory, President Putin was in a great mood, and even joked to kids at a recent event linked to the study of geography: Russias borders dont end anywhere, he said, chortling. But in Belarus, theyre not laughing. Last week Belarusian authorities arrested three local journalists, correspondents for the Russian online publication Regnum, Yuri Pavlovets, Dmitry Alimkin, and Sergey Shiptenko, for inciting national hatred and calling Belarus a mad pseudo-state. Separatist calls are now strictly punished, our authorities promote values of our identity to make a point: We are an independent nation, Irina Khalip, an independent journalist and analyst, told The Daily Beast. Lukashenko is terrified by the annexation threat. He does not want to become some regional governor. If a few years ago anti-Lukashenko activists got in trouble for using the Belarusian language and national symbols, now banners promoting traditional values can be seen all over the country. One of them, for instance, depicts an office manager type who says that his favorite word is pospekh or successin Belarusian. Some symbols are suddenly irritating to the state authorities, especially the Ribbon of St. George, the major Russian military symbol. On a recent afternoon a bus passenger spotted the ribbon on the drivers rearview mirror in Brest, a town on the Belarusian-Polish border. The angry passenger reported it to the local authorities, who officially forbade drivers of public transportation to use the ribbon, which was very popular among pro-Russian rebels in Donbas and in Crimea, after the annexation. In Moscow, certainly, grand dreams are growing grander by the moment. The chair of the public Movement of Development, Yuri Krupnov, says he hopes that Putins plan is much bigger than just the reconstruction of the USSR. The plan is to unite the entire Eurasian continent, said Krupnov. But our economy is too weak right now, so it is unclear what economic revolution the president is planning for all these countries in this coming year. It should be something grand enough to mark the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. But the optimism unleashed by Trumps victory in the United States must also contend with Putins not-so-impressive record during 16 years in power trying to extend Russias spheres of influence. All of Putins previous unions failed, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Commonwealth of Independent States, independent political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin told The Daily Beast. China did not agree to help Putin revive the SCO, so today Putin is looking at Japan, looking for other allies in Asia. The circle of Putins wandering around the world is growing smaller. Certainly the first thing Russia wants from Trump is to get rid of economic sanctions imposed after Putin annexed Crimea and started supporting a separatist war in eastern Ukraine. Then he can start rethinking grand designs for the near abroad. All the geopolitical models created by Putins minion Vladislav Surkov have failed, including Novorossia and Russky Mir, said Krupnov. To move forward, to create a bigger Eurasia, we need to find some artificial way to boost our economy and make Russia attractive for the countries it is going to lead, Krupnov told The Daily Beast. Which way would that be? Clearly, that part of the plan is still a secret. JOHNSON Gladys Holland June 15, 1920 - December 12, 2016 Gladys Holland Johnson, 96, Glade Hill, passed away peacefully Monday evening, December 12, 2016 at her residence. She was born June 15, 1920 in Union Hall, the youngest daughter of the late John Henry Rufus and Lydia Parker Holland. She attended the old Timber Ridge School, walking from the Holland home place near Old Bethel Primitive Baptist Church. In 1941 she married the late Berks Allen "B.A." Johnson who preceded her in death on June 20, 1977 and they settled at the Johnson home place known as "Popular Camp" and were blessed to raise nine daughters there. She was a homemaker who took pride in raising her family. She was a talented quilter who loved to spend countless hours putting quilts together and quilting them and sharing them with her family. She was always very proud that all of her family members from daughters to great-grandchildren had a quilt that had been lovingly created by her. She loved her flowers and working in her yard and flower beds as well and you could always be assured that her porch was filled with beautiful flowers during the summer season and she had a special knack for raising geraniums. She loved to dance and was especially fond of bluegrass music and always enjoyed her time spent at the Redwood Community Center on a Saturday night with the dance group. She had a great love for Crafts and enjoyed making dolls and ceramics throughout the years. She always enjoyed her family and friends and always had a smile to greet you when you arrived for a visit with her. In 2000 she was named the Mother of the Year by the Franklin County Merchants Association. She was of the Primitive Baptist Faith and attended Old Bethel Primitive Baptist Church. She was the last of her generation and was preceded in death by her brothers, Willie, Albert, Clyde, Paul, and Grady; her sisters, Dotsie, Virgie, and Peggy. She was also preceded by two grandchildren, Berkley and David; one great-grandchild, Jordan; and a son-in-law, Kenneth Spear. She is survived by her daughters, Marcille J. Motley of Gretna, Ruth J. Mattox (Eugene) of Rocky Mount, Delsie J. Spear, Brenda J. Aveline (Dave), Barbara J. Quinn (Neil), Norma J. Turner (Garry) all of Glade Hill, Betty J. Powell (Warren) of Burnt Chimney, Nancy G. Johnson of Hardy, and Kaye J. Dent (Steve) of Boones Mill. She is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. She leaves a cherished group of nieces and nephews as well. Although she never had any sons, she always looked at her sons-in-law as the sons she never had. The family wishes to acknowledge the Wonderful Care that the caregivers, Tonya Crookshanks, Becky Sparks and Sally Martin provided to our mother. Funeral services will be conducted 2 p.m. Friday, December 16, 2016 at Conner-Bowman Funeral Home Chapel with Elder Larry Hollandsworth and her grandson, R. Keith Motley officiating. She will be laid to rest in the Ayers Family Cemetery by her beloved Berks. Family received friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, December 15, 2016 at the funeral home and other times at the residence in Glade Hill. Arrangements are being handled by Conner-Bowman Funeral Home, 62 VA Market Place Drive (Route 220 at Wirtz Road), Rocky Mount. www.connerbowman.com (540) 334-5151 Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ... Where, when to get tickets for Swedesburg's annual Scandanavian feast One of the oldest traditions in Silvermine is the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. For Silvermine residents, this celebration is one of the most popular events on the community calendar. After some correspondence with the North Pole, the Silvermine Community Association is pleased to report that Santa will once again make an appearance at the Silvermine Arts Center on Christmas Eve. This years festivities will begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. As usual, there will be lots of hot chocolate for everyone while seasons greetings are exchanged amongst neighbors. For those who are new to the community, this is the way things work: On Dec. 24, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., sneak away to 297 Silvermine Ave an antique red home near the Silvermine Tavern. Youll find a large box awaiting the arrival of your childs gift. Label the gift with your childs name in large block letters. Tie multiple gifts together. Later that afternoon, at approximately 3:40 p.m., youll hear the jolly sound of Santas elves ringing bells on the fire truck. For the next hour or so, the air will be filled with the merry sound of childrens excited voices as gifts are opened and admired. Elves will also hand out candy canes to all those youngsters waiting to hear their names called! Dont miss this very special annual tradition. Plan to join the festivities on Thursday, Dec. 24 at 3:30 p.m. in Silvermine. SOUTH NORWALK Join the South Norwalk Columbiettes this Tuesday as they host their annual community Pot Luck dinner. Starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 20, members of the South Norwalk Columbiettes 1253, will host a Pot Luck Dinner in the basement of St. Ladislaus Church on Cliff Street. All members, including the Knights of Columbus, are urged to bring a dish of your choice. The Columbiettes have invited representatives of STAR, Inc. and St. Vincent de Paul to help enjoy the festivities, as well as receive an annual donation from money raised throughout the year from various fundraising efforts. Attending members are also asked to bring a wrapped Christmas gift for the infants or mothers of The Malta House. The Malta House currently houses seven children, ages 3 months to 2 years old. The gifts will be delivered the very next day. For more information, call Kay Tortorella at 203-845-0388. ROWAYTON Each year, the Rowayton Civic Association (RCA) offers residents a number of community events, from the Summer Music Festival and the July 4th Fireworks to the Fathers Day Run and the Light Up Rowayton holiday tree lighting. Now, the RCA is requesting that those same help them to meet their year-end fundraising goal, so that they can continue to bring Rowayton their 19 annual events. All RCA events are free to the public, and are funded in part through annual fundraisers including this year-end appeal, Comedy Night, River Ramble and Oktoberfest. With your help, the RCA plans to continue providing funding grants to Rowayton Elementary and Roton Middle schools, the Rowayton Library, Rowayton Little League and more. To donate to the RCA, log on to their website at hwww.rowaytoncurrents.com. It is a cherished piece of Norwalks history and a National Historic Landmark, but most importantly the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion remains dedicated to teaching residents about the past, the present and the future. For their dedication, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from GE Capital for its Education Program. With this very generous support, the museum plans to serve a greater population of students and continue to offer this National Historic Landmark as a site where students can learn, in stimulating and engaging ways, mid-to-late 19th century history, art, architecture and technology. Visitors to the mansion experience life in the mid-19th century as it actually looked - to an industrialist, technology buff, and patron of the arts, and to the everyday people who worked to support one of the fine houses of the era, GEs Managing Director of Communications Eleanor Mascheroni said. This grant, Mascheroni continued, will enable school children from Norwalk to learn about history in an engaging way, consistent with our mission to support education and community development. The museum offers an array of educational programs to students including educational tours and PowerPoint presentations to public schools at a highly reduced admission, a writing competition to third and eighth graders, a successful internship program for high school students throughout Fairfield County, and free admission to children under eight years old. For more information on educational tours and programs, visit www.lockwoodmathewsmansion.com, call 203-838-9799, or e-mail info@lockwoodmathewsmansion.com. Share your neighborhood news To share your community and neighborhood news with The Hour, contact staff writer Pat Tomlinson at 203-354-1046, or at ptomlinson@thehour.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK A permanent music stage is among the items on residents wish list for Irving C. Freese Park. For several years, Councilman Steve Serasis has helped put together jazz and other concerts at the half-acre city park, which is at the corner of Main and Walls streets. The musicians have played on a temporary stage provided by the Norwalk Department of Recreation and Parks. Where we put the band now is directly in the center of the park, with their backs up against the river, Serasis said. The major thought is putting some kind of permanent structure that looks good and that is a performance stage not just for music but for other performing arts. On Thursday, the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency and design consultant Stantec held a six-hour, open-house design forum in the Community Room of City Hall to get peoples ideas as part of a forthcoming master plan for the pocket park. Music has been a very popular theme, said Tami Strauss, Director of Community Development Planning at the Redevelopment Agency. The desire is to have a more welcoming, useful venue for continuing the music program that they already have going on. John DiScala, partner with M.F. DiScala & Co., which is building a new residential complex along upper Smith Street with more apartments planned for High Street, said the company also favors a permanent music space at the park. We would definitely like to see there be some kind of a music pavilion, DiScala said. And with all the apartments going in, it makes sense to have a general meeting area for people to hang out. Were all for anything to make (the park) better and make Wall Street thrive. Stantec representatives set up display boards in the Community Room showing the park and what amenities might be added, based on ideas from an outreach meeting held Oct. 4. A performance stage, better views, signage, lighting and landscaping as well as bike racks, WiFi, public art and a waterfront boardwalk were among the suggestions. Adding such things isnt necessarily constrained by the small size of the park, said Stantec Vice President Gary Sorge. Way-finding signage and a river crossing, WiFi power, a lot of these things are built in or could be built into the existing infrastructure without taking a large footprint, Sorge said. The park can accommodate, I think, almost everything that is here. By contrast, adding a restroom building without blocking views would prove more difficult, Sorge said. A riverfront boardwalk or crossing could become part of the master plan. Sorge pointed to the riverfront park designed by Stantec and built in Calgary, Canada, where steps, lighting and landscaping have been added there create an inviting space. Elsa Peterson Obuchowski, an East Avenue resident, stopped by the open house to view whats been put forward so far. She said she sees plenty of room for improvements at the park. As long as Ive lived here 22 years its always just looked kind of sad and neglected, Obuchowski said. So any improvements on that will be great. The master planning process comes amid redevelopment of the Wall Street neighborhood. Hundreds of new apartments have been approved, with many already under construction. In addition, the Wall Street Theater is slated to re-open early next year as a next-generation performance space. The Redevelopment Agency plans to schedule another open house, after which Stantec will prepare a draft master plan for consideration by the public, the agency and the Common council. Strauss said the agency hopes to bring a final master plan before the council for approval next summer. Afterward, the agency would seek funding in Norwalks 2018-19 capital budget to begin making the park improvements. NORWALK A New York man was arrested Thursday night after he allegedly dropped his young son off at Wal-Mart and then took off to Stamford. Police were dispatched to Wal-Mart at 680 Connecticut Ave., at 7:29 p.m. on a report from security staff that a 9-year-old boy in the store had asked for help contacting his father after the man had dropped him off there. The boy told police that he had been with his father earlier and that the man had walked him into the front entrance of the store and told him to walk around and he would be back. The child did not know how long he had been in the store before he walked up to the customer service desk and asked to have his father called. The boy was in the stores loss prevention office for 45 minutes before police were able to reach the father identified as 45-year-old Naushad Datey by phone. Police say that Datey told them that he was on his way back to the store and was near Exit 12 on Interstate 95. When Datey arrived at Wal-Mart, he told police that he had been having car trouble and was unable to find a mechanic in Norwalk so he drove to Stamford. He said that he dropped the boy off at the store because he didnt want him to be in the car if it broke down, police said. Police said that the boys mother was contacted and she came to Wal-Mart to pick up her son. The parents are divorced and Datey has visitation rights. The state Department of Children and Families was notified. Datey, of Church Street, Spring Valley, N.Y., was charged with leaving a child unsupervised. He was given a court date of Dec. 27. llake@hearstmediact.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3 NORWALK Following a months-long investigation into heroin sales in South Norwalk, a 61-year-old Hartford woman and a 72-year-old Norwalk man were arrested on warrants for the sale and possession of narcotics. Lt. James Walsh, commander of Norwalk Police Special Services Division, said officers were investigating reports of narcotics sales in South Norwalk specifically in the area of Ryan Park on Day Street. Vladimir Putin must feel as though hes won the lottery. His government made a modest investment in cyberespionage against Hillary Clinton, a candidate he roundly disliked, and it paid off, big league. Never mind the flap over whether the Russian president aimed to put Donald Trump in the White House; U.S. intelligence agencies agree unanimously that Russia wanted to disrupt the campaign and succeeded. Now the incoming president of the United States says he yearns for a friendlier relationship with Putin and dismisses the evidence of cyberespionage as partisan whining. His nominee for secretary of State, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, is an oilman who lobbied the Obama administration to relax economic sanctions against Russia (understandably, because they were costing his company millions) and was awarded the Order of Friendship by Putin. This is a fantastic team, Sergei Markov, a Putin adviser, told Bloomberg News this week. These are people that Russia can do business with. Id say Russia has eaten our lunch, Fiona Hill, a Russia expert at the Brookings Institution, told me. From their standpoint, it sounds as if theyre getting a lot of what they want. And what does Putin want? Hill ticked off a list: First, he wants recognition as the leader of a great power and a resumption of summit meetings between the two presidents. According to the Kremlin, Trump has already agreed to a meeting. Second, NATO: Putin wants the United States to reduce its military presence in the NATO countries on Russias western border, including the three Baltic states. President Obama has increased troop deployments there; Trump said he might cut them if NATO countries dont spend more on defense. Third, Ukraine: Putin wants the West to revoke the sanctions imposed after his 2014 invasion of Ukraine and to recognize Russias annexation of Crimea. Well be looking at that, Trump said in July a noncommittal answer that opened the door to a big concession. (It would be easy, too; the executive order on sanctions comes up for renewal by the president in March.) Fourth, Syria: Putin wants the U.S. to support his efforts to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assads corrupt, autocratic regime. Trump says he wants a U.S.-Russian-Assad alliance to fight jointly against Islamic State. Fifth, missile defense: Putin wants the U.S. to cancel plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, including bases in Romania and Poland. Trumps position on the issue isnt known. Sixth, ironically, Russia wants talks about cyberwarfare. The Russians think weve been doing it to them all the time, Hill said. The Russian-sponsored hacking of the Democratic National Committee may have begun as retaliation for U.S. cyberespionage in Russia, she said. Theyre telling us to knock it off, she added. The danger isnt that Trump will seek a warmer, more cooperative relationship with Russia; that would be a good thing. But even before his inauguration, Trump has already moved the starting point of any reset partway toward Putins position, with nothing offered in exchange. The Russians would love to get rid of NATO, Hill noted. For them, nothing could be better than if the U.S. walks away from it. And on hacking, Trump is doing the work of the Russian government for them, she said. Hes pushing back against the CIA, so they dont have to. All this by the guy who wrote The Art of the Deal. Trump has long claimed he will bargain more aggressively than the Obama administration, but when it comes to Russia hes not negotiating very hard. Indeed, hes taken positions Republicans would criticize if he were a Democrat. And some Republicans are pushing back. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said this week that he wants a serious, bipartisan investigation into Russian hacking. Sens. John McCain and Marco Rubio and others said they plan to question Tillerson closely before they decide how to vote on his nomination. Their point isnt to relitigate the presidential election; thats over. Instead, theyre warning Trump that he cant cozy up to Russia without creating serious trouble in his own party. Its to make clear that a foreign government cant meddle in a U.S. election without penalty, no matter who benefits. And its to remind the president-elect that in high-stakes negotiations, a president should rarely give anything away for nothing a rule Donald Trump, of all people, ought to endorse. Photos: Phillies fans converge on CBP for Game 4 Phillies fans were hyped up for Game 4 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park and the stadium complex Wednesday. An interesting friendship formed between Edwardsville residents Zach Miller and Mike Zanger when the two met through their interest in acoustic music. Their friendship quickly evolved into opening a business together. The result is Taqueria Z, a new restaurant in Edwardsville that offers quick and simple Mexican street food. Zach explained that he first met Mike a few years ago when he attended acoustic concerts at Mike and Megan Zangers home. He does house concerts outside of town at his house. I went to those and we became friends, Zach recalled. We started cooking together and serving tacos at his house parties, and we decided to actually make a business out of it. Mikes always cooked, Zach added. He has the Mexican background. Hes lived in Mexico and Brazil. Mike pointed out that he had lived for about two years in central Mexico. I cooked Mexican food there and here. I have a lot of Mexican friends and family. A lot of them have moved here to the states. So I continue to collaborate with them on recipes, Mike noted. Mike elaborated about the timing of opening Taqueria Z, explaining that he survived a recent health scare which prompted him to finally take action on his dream of owning a taqueria. I had been talking about it for at least three years, but it was more of a pipe dream, he recalled. I went through a health scare with cancer. Had a liver transplant about five months ago. Kind of a rebirth. So it kind of triggered sort of a mid-life crisis I would say, Mike said with a chuckle. And this is it. I didnt buy a Corvette. Zach added that Mike was kind of the expert and that he was there to help. I have more of a business background so I thought together we could make it happen, Zach said. And with the help of Mikes wife, Megan, the trio opened Taqueria Z earlier this month. The menu includes starters of rice and beans, chorizo and cheese dip, which is spicy chorizo with melted chihuahua cheese, and chips and then Rooster Beak, a chunky guacamole that the menu notes is like nothing you have had before. Mike helped to explain the odd name of this starter by pointing out that Pico means rooster in Spanish. And Pico de gallo in Spanish is a mixture of tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro and we add avocado and lime juice and that becomes Rooster Beak, he said. Tacos, chacos and burritos round out the entrees. Chaco is a variation of a taco, Mike noted. Its a taco with crispy cheese grilled on it. We flip it over on the griddle and toast the cheese on the griddle. The three entrees come with meat choices of Al Pastor (marinated pork), Carne Asada (Marinated skirt steak), Chorizo or Pollo (chicken). Vegetarian options include mushrooms, nopalitos, and poblano y papas. And of course there is chips and homemade salsa. The salsa comes in three varieties a green salsa, a milder version of the green salsa and then a spicy orange salsa. Taqueria Z has six taps for draft beers. We also have a collaboration beer with Recess Brewery. A Mexican brown ale, Zach pointed out. In addition, Taqueria Z offers a variety of tequilas. We have an original margarita thats nothing but tequila, cointreau and lime juice. Very simple but very good, Mike said. Theres no other alcohol available. No other alcohol here, Zach added. No rum, no gin, no vodka. They also offer non-alcoholic drinks of Mexican sodas, bottled sodas (both local and Mexican) and an assortment of teas, and they will be serving Goshen coffee. Zach also pointed out that everything that goes out of the restaurant will be compostable. Everything from our trash bags to utensils even the food itself will be composted, he stressed. Really the only thing that will be thrown away will be the packaging that stuff arrives in. Everything going out otherwise is biodegradable. And the to-go containers are biodegradable, Mike added. Megan is getting us certified as a green restaurant. Taqueria Z is located at 109 East Park St. which is one-half a block off of Main Street in downtown Edwardsville. Theres seating available inside the restaurant for about 25 people and another 20 seats are available on the patio. Initially Taqueria Z plans to be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Wednesday and from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Tuesday is No Taco Tuesday. Were closed on Tuesdays, Mike said. Taqueria Z is on Facebook or visit the restaurants website at www.taqueriaz.com. The phone number is 618-307-5018. Like many individuals, Danny Smith has faced his share of battles and has struggled with ways of overcoming them. Thanks to expertise from the Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center, Smith has founded a clothing and brand company, Built By Battle, to inspire others to tackle their battles and succeed. We all have battles in our lives, Smith said. Its how we choose to face those battles that define who we truly are. We are all Built By Battle. Smiths online storefront offers a line of mens and womens cotton tees, hoodies, tank tops, crop tops and leggings displaying the signature Built By Battle brand. Built By Battle provides premium-quality apparel with a message, Smith said. We take pride in providing incredibly comfortable clothing for you to tackle whatever life brings you each day. Transitioning through career changes and tapping into his artistic and musical talents, Smith discovered that the common denominator of all his experiences was his passion and gift for encouraging others to persevere. During the darkest times of my life, I started going to the gym, he said. Thats when I realized the importance of investing in yourself. At that time, a friend shared with me the concept of a clothing company that was based on the premise of who people are at their very core. It inspired me. I was deeply motivated to create a comfortable line of clothing, but even more than that, a culture that encourages people to own their battles and overcome them. In 2015, Smith approached the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for expertise in setting his business plan and vision into motion. He met one-on-one for a confidential, no-cost business counseling session with Illinois Metro East SBDC Interim Director Jo Ann DiMaggio May and attended the SBDCs low-cost workshop, How to Start a Business in Illinois. The two worked steadily toward Smiths goal of founding Built By Battle. In April 2016, Smith launched his company. Jo Ann walked me through the business plan process step by step, he said. She helped tremendously. In addition to business counseling, the SBDC connected me with valuable resources including an intellectual property attorney, a videographer and more. Im grateful to Jo Ann and the SBDC for helping me turn my vision into reality. May said working with Smith has been a rewarding experience. Danny has diligently developed his business, said May. He is connecting with many great people and creating brand awareness. We all face battles in our lives. Danny is proof that we can overcome them, and succeed if we work hard and build a support team around us. I am so excited for Danny and Built by Battle. Smith also plans to expand the Built By Battle business strategy to include public speaking on business, self- awareness and networking. For more information about Built By Battle and for pricing, see the companys website builtbybattle.com. The Illinois SBDC at SIUE assists new businesses like Built By Battle and existing businesses headquartered in the nine-county Metro East region of Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe and Randolph. It is a no-cost service to the community supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. By aiding entrepreneurs and companies in defining their path to success, the SBDC network positively impacts the Metro East by strengthening the business community, creating and retaining jobs and encouraging capital investment. It enhances the regions economic interests by providing one-stop assistance to individuals by means of counseling, training, research and advocacy for new ventures and existing small businesses. When appropriate, the SBDC strives to affiliate its ties to the region to support the goals and objectives of both the SIUE School of Business and the University at large. To learn how the SBDC can help your small business, contact the Metro East SBDC at (618) 650-2929 or sbdcedw@gmail.com. The Village of Glen Carbon unanimously voted to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Edwardsville regarding the partnership with the management of the SIUE pool. In the first year of the agreement, Glen Carbon paid $10,004.60, or 32.7 percent of the operating costs associated with the pool. For the coming season, Glen Carbons share will be $6,196.95. Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said the villages cost went down because of start-up costs that wont be in the budget for the coming year. There were some unforeseen expenses, like a pump replacement that cost approximately $7,500 and the purchase of the shuttle and the ice machine, he said. According to documents presented at the Village Trustee meeting, for the 2016 year, the pool had a loss of $30,595,51. During the first year, the pool generated $51,085.70 in revenue with $81,681.21 in expenses. Projected costs for 2017 show $57,500 in revenues, $76,400 in expenses for an operating deficit of $18,900. Trustee Micah Summers said the Public Services Committee recommended the village continue the agreement. Though the pool didnt get the number of members as expected, we are looking at different things to generate more members, Summers said. From a cost benefit analysis for a community pool it was the position of the committee to move forward. With what they fixed and what they are proposing to change we feel we should move forward. Some of the changes being discussed are lowering the membership fees and extending the hours of the pool. One of the things they did last year was allow non-residents to use the pool at the same fee as residents, Summers said. Id like to see our residents get a better benefit than non residents. According to documents, there were 35 memberships sold last year. The projected number of memberships for 2017 is 75. Summers said the pool is now offering a reduced membership rate. The winter new member sale began on Dec. 1 and goes through Feb. 28, 2017. Residents signing up during this period will receive a discounted membership. In total, 2,448 Glen Carbon and 5,731 Edwardsville residents visited the pool. More than 900 people from neighboring communities also utilized the pool over the summer. Bowden said the village should also reach out to the business community for more sponsorships. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Wildan Pramudya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Fewer people will rely on surveys as primary data sources within the next five to ten years. Surveys are not only expensive but also time consuming; this is where big data comes in. Big data is not only big because of its massive volume but also for its capability to produce real-time updates and complex sources, types and categories. In short, big data presents a broader and more complex depiction of reality, which is difficult to reach through conventional surveys. So far, most researchers, analysts and academics rely on static data derived from a research fields primary data available at the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), research institutes, universities and international institutions, such as United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and World Bank. Big data not only accommodates static data but also provides dynamic data, which changes rapidly. Dynamic data comes from online portals, including social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Dynamic data is useful for urgent and short-term purposes. Through dynamic data, we can quickly identify and respond to critical events, such as crop failure, fires, infectious diseases or violence against women and children. We can even identify the symptoms of radicalism or predict political preferences. Big data machinery help us know the number of occurrences in a certain period of time, the spread of region, the cause category, and even the relationship between the group and the actors involved. In other words, big data provides information that is not available from traditional research institution and conventional methods. Building the truth Big data is a new technique for presenting certain truths; proliferation of information technology plays a vital role in constructing societys knowledge. Big data requires availability of information technology to process millions and even billions of data, whether structured or not structured, fragmented or intact. A large volume of data cannot be processed and analyzed by conventional analytical computational techniques. With a big data analytical engine, the original raw unstructured data unveils information through patterns, relationships and coherences. As of now, only a researchers and academics in the country are interested in Big Data. At the international conference, Big Data for Life, in, none of the speakers were researchers and academics. Instead people reporting on big data came from business and media industries. (Read also: Big data driven strategies to solve global problems) The lack of attention researchers and academics have given to big data compared to the enthusiasm among businesses, shows that big data has not been utilized to develop science. Chris Anderson, former Chief Editor of Wired Magazine, criticized academics by saying big data is the approach to produce knowledge in a new era that marked "the end of theory". The conventional scientific method is outdated. We do not need to bother building a hypothesis on the basis of a theory. Big data algorithms facilitate a variety of complicated data analysis. Constructing the truth is the duty of scientists, academics and researchers. The responsibility of big data is in their hands. For scientists, researchers and academics, big data opens a door to enrich the variety of data, to strengthen the analysis, which further develops opportunities for more elaborate interdisciplinary research. However, big data absorbs dynamic data from open sources, such as news sites and social media, which presents fragmented data. Big data leaves a hole in scientific rules, for example, reliability and validity. This is a challenge for researchers and academics, to examine and reconstruct big data so that it becomes more reliable. Structuring fragmented large volumes of data requires scientific procedures. Only by exploring big data, researchers and academics can draw from the benefits. *** Wildan Pramudya is a senior researcher and head of the research division at Indonesia Indicator (i2) Jakarta. He is deeply concerned with social-political issues, philosophy and big data. He can be reached on Facebook (Wildan Pramudya) and through his blog: https://pramudyarifin.wordpress.com/ --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Miftah Fadhli (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Hatred can be spotted throughout the history of civilization, whether against scientists or the targeting of Jews, the list goes on. In the internet era, hatred is merely binary numbers that float across cyberspace but indeed it can be overtly devastating. The current outbreaks that occupy social media and the internet as a whole have signified to us that we are living in a society oiled by hatred. The rejection of nine Muslims at Kupang airport recently is just an interim alert that hatred has released an unhealthy imagination toward particular identities. It happened days after a number of Muslims broke up a Christmas service in Bandung. The raid has provoked public outcry and the hatred has become reciprocal. Online media has occupied a supporting role in spreading the hatred as the internet has become a home for those spoofed by hoaxes. In no time, our society has been taken over by anger that has influenced many into believing in a narrowminded view of identity. This year, according to the National Police, 483 Indonesians are known to have joined the Islamic State (IS) radical group, which has gained worldwide popularity by its extensive and professional use of the internet. They have been deemed as the most effective terrorist group in using online media that has successfully deceived many Muslims into joining and have benefited from the internet by engaging in cyber crimes to raise millions of dollars to sustain their propaganda. Today, we can easily find on the internet tutorial videos on how to construct self-made bombs and websites that propagate hatred against supposed infidels. Off-line hatred, nowadays, has transformed into online propaganda. It is reaching more and more communities and fuels society with fear, insecurity and panic. The explosion of fake news has made the internet no longer a socially pleasant place. Social intimation is at stake due to our judgement toward dissent and identity. It is a matter of time until we realize that something far more valuable in our common humanity will be ripped away. What is the actual cost to society if the internet is being filled with hatred? Since its penetration in the 1980s, the internet has been accelerating our lives in economics, military, politics, culture and even spirituality. The internets emergence brought a new medium of expression for people. Society has never been interconnected in such a way than ever before. But, hatred has always been part of mankinds history. It exploits issues to survive but also at the same time can deflect our attention from more pertinent matters. The ever-increasing use of the internet to deploy hate propaganda is being taken into account by governments but in a way we have never imagined before. The internet is rather being considered as a new threat to society, so governments have been thinking in order to save people, mass surveillance has to be employed. In the name of combating hate speech, governments covertly have been watching our screens and have passed laws to restrain our ability to articulate online. It is not only a matter of expression but also privacy. Bulk collection of personal data online is required to identify alleged threats. We are profiled based on the information being extracted from us wittingly or unwittingly. We may not worry since there may be nothing to hide while our intimate correspondences between family members or business relationships, movements, or even sex life are being analyzed. The case of the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 has proven to us that governments can be uncaring of our fears of hate propaganda or as to what we do not try to hide. This is more political economy than the fear of real hate. Marc Goodman (2015) says terrorism is just an excuse, meaning societies have been filled with government-endorsed hatred in order to employ ever-wider surveillance on their citizens. Online propaganda exists but laws rarely are justly enforced. Currently, in Indonesia, we can find off and online movements of hatred against kafir (infidel) or leftwing people and the LGBT community of which have not yet faced due process at all. We can find thousands of websites that propagate hatred but not one of them have been sanctioned properly. Instead, censorship has targeted the wrong websites while online surveillance has been instilled. The revision of Law No. 11/2008 on electronic information and transactions that recently came into effect contains no significant changes to combat online hate speech. Rather, it provides the government with significant capabilities to screen online activity (Article 40/2a) and employ likely-hazardous censorship accordingly (Article 40/2b). It also reaffirms literal errors as to how to better interpret hate speech online and to sanction a culprit based on agreed human rights standards. In this regard, the government can potentially infringe the principles that require legality, legitimate objectives and proportionality on regulating internet content. Instead of providing people with full protection from online hatred, the law rather authorizes the practice of surveillance toward communication in an expansive and potentially repressive way. The law is only a curative model to quell hate crimes and overlooks the full role of civil society to cope with the issue. The law at it stands calls into doubt the independency of authority and the proper guarantees of privacy collection is at stake. But, what is more dangerous than the persistence of surveillance? That is an unwitting society fueling a governments will to employ mass surveillance on innocent citizens arbitrarily. Once arbitrary surveillance is applied, our basic freedom to express online will either become to extremes: too much expression for condemnation or less expression without any guarantee of human rights. It is our common humanity to have full protection of privacy for the sake of freedom of expression. Our society needs to play its role to watch over the government so as to comply with standards that have been determined in the Constitution. Hatred, however, is not one of our values. The misuse of the internet shall be surmounted without sacrificing our humanity. --------------- We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com. For more information click here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Barbara Ortutay (Associated Press) New York, United States Fri, December 16, 2016 Facebook is taking new measures to curb the spread of fake news on its huge and influential social network. It will focus on the "worst of the worst" offenders and partner with outside fact-checkers and news organizations to sort honest news reports from made-up stories that play to people's passions and preconceived notions. The social network will make it easier for users to report fake news when they see it, which they'll be able to do in two steps, not three. If enough people report a story as fake, Facebook will pass it to third-party fact-checking organizations that are part of the nonprofit Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network. Five fact-checking and news organizations are working with Facebook on this: ABC News, The Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Politifact and Snopes. Facebook says this group is likely to expand. Stories that flunk the fact check won't be removed from Facebook. But they'll be publicly flagged as "disputed," which will force them to appear lower down in people's news feed. Users can click on a link to learn why that is. And if people decide they want to share the story with friends anyway, they can but they'll get another warning. (Read also: Zuckerberg: 'Crazy' to say Facebook influenced election) WHY FAKE NEWS MATTERS "We do believe that we have an obligation to combat the spread of fake news," said John Hegeman, vice president of product management on news feed, in an interview. But he added that Facebook also takes its role to provide people an open platform seriously, and that it is not the company's place to decide what is true or false. Fake news stories touch on a broad range of subjects, from unproven cancer cures to celebrity hoaxes and backyard Bigfoot sightings. But fake political stories have drawn outsized attention because of the possibility that they influenced public perceptions and could have swayed the U.S. presidential election. There have been dangerous real-world consequences. A fake story about a child sex ring at a Washington, D.C., pizza joint prompted a man to fire an assault rifle inside the restaurant. By partnering with respected outside organizations and flagging, rather than removing, fake stories, Facebook is sidestepping some of the biggest concerns experts had raised about it exercising its considerable power in this area. For instance, some worried that Facebook might act as a censor and not a skillful one, either, being an engineer-led company with little experience making complex media ethics decisions. "They definitely don't have the expertise," said Robyn Caplan, researcher at Data & Society, a nonprofit research institute funded in part by Microsoft and the National Science Foundation. In an interview before Facebook's announcement, she urged the company to "engage media professionals and organizations that are working on these issues." FACEBOOK AND FAKE NEWS Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that fake news constitutes less than 1 percent of what's on Facebook , but critics say that's wildly misleading. For a site with nearly 2 billion users tapping out posts by the millisecond, even 1 percent is a huge number, especially since the total includes everything that's posted on Facebook photos, videos and daily updates in addition to news articles. In a study released Thursday, the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of Americans say they have shared a made-up news story, either knowingly or unknowingly. Forty-five percent said that the government, politicians and elected officials bear responsibility for preventing made-up stories from gaining attention. Forty-two percent put this responsibility on social networking sites and search engines, and a similar percentage on the public itself. Fake news stories can be quicker to go viral than news stories from traditional sources. That's because they were created for sharing they are clickable, often inflammatory and pander to emotional responses. Mike Caufield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University Vancouver, tracked whether real or fake news is more likely to be shared on Facebook. He compared a made-up story from a fake outlet with articles in local newspapers. The fake story, headlined "FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide" from the nonexistent Denver Guardian, was shared 1,000 times more than material from the real newspapers. "To put this in perspective, if you combined the top stories from the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times, they still had only 5% the viewership of an article from a fake news," he wrote in a blog post . Facebook is emphasizing that it's only going after the most egregious fake news creators and sites, the "the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain," wrote Adam Mosseri , vice president of product for Facebook's news feed, in a blog post Thursday. FOLLOW THE MONEY The social network's first public step toward fixing the fake-news problem since the election was a statement barring fake-news sites from using its lucrative ad network. But it wasn't much more than rhetorical. Facebook's policies already blocked sites that spread misleading information from its ad network, an automated system that places ads on sites across the internet. Now, Facebook says it has also eliminated the ability for spammers to masquerade as real news organizations by spoofing domains. And it says it's weighing a crackdown on publishers of fake news as well. Depriving scammers of money could be effective. "Google and Facebook are the single two biggest engines for monetization," said Susan Bidel, a senior analyst at Forrester Research focusing on digital publishers. "I don't think you are ever going to completely eradicate it. But it could get down to a manageable level." Facebook will not allow publishers to promote any story flagged as disputed. If this works, users should not see fake news stories in Facebook advertisements. ROBOTS VS. FALSEHOOD Facebook's main approach to problems has been to tackle them with studying its vast troves of user data, with algorithms that can be more effective at things than humans, and to favor engineers over editors. Data rules all else at the Menlo Park, California, company. Beyond the human fact-checkers, Facebook is also using its algorithms to de-emphasize fake news stories. For example, if people are significantly less likely to share an article after they have read it, it's a "really good sign that the article was misleading or not informative in some way," Hegeman said sort of like when you try a cereal sample at the grocery store, then decide not to buy it. Fake news stories won't disappear from Facebook, not the way child porn and spam and various illegal stuff does. That is not Facebook's goal. "We believe providing more context can help people decide for themselves what to trust and what to share," Mosseri wrote. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 State-owned telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) has launched a city guide app that features tourism information on several cities in Indonesia. Among the places of interest included in the Hi City app are hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, healthcare and financial services providers, places of worship, transportation facilities, travel agents, public services and online radio, according to dailysocial.id. As for the cities, users can expect to explore Bandung, Yogyakarta, Bali, Lombok, Solo, Medan and Padang via the app. (Read also: Labuan Bajo named international tourists' favorite destination) Among the places of interest included in the Hi City app are hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, healthcare and financial services providers, places of worship, transportation facilities, travel agents, public services and online radio.(play.google.com/File) The app also features the Trip Plan service to help its users arrange their trips, booking services and viewing Points of Interest information that includes reviews in the form of write ups, photos and videos. It aims to be a city guide app that is useful for tourists who want to explore Indonesian destinations, said Living Lab Smart City Telkom Indonesia coordinator Imanuddin. Available for iPhone and Android devices, Hi City is also expected to be able to record the number of tourist arrivals in certain cities and act as promotion tool and platform to track the users reviews of local destinations. (wir/kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Good Indonesian Food (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 For me, the deliciousness of a bowl of Soto Betawi (Betawi beef soup), and its dense broth is able to alleviate my exhausted body and soul after a spell on the congestion-stricken streets of Jakarta. Luckily, this city is simply teeming with restaurants and warungs that offer this traditional Betawi dish. The following are some of the best that the Big Durian has to offer. Soto Betawi H. Husein Soto Betawi H. Husein(Good Indonesian Food/File) My favorite Soto Betawi joint, Soto Betawi H. Husein, requires that you be there early even before lunchtime as it tends to run out of beef, cow lung and a few other essential ingredients. Jl. Padang Panjang No. 6C, South Jakarta T: 021 8370 6476 Open daily from 7am-1pm Soto Betawi Afung Soto Betawi Afung(Good Indonesian Food/File) Each of its Paru Goreng (fried cow lung) offers crispiness that is unparalleled. Founded in 1982, Soto Betawi Afung relocated a few times before settling down at its current location in 2005. Jl. Gang Gloria No. 12, Glodok, West Jakarta T: 021 690 1496 Open daily from 6am-5pm Soto Roxy H. Darwasa It will be worth your time and effort to join in the long queues that tend to form here once you have tasted its delectable Soto Betawi. Do not forget to order its fried beef. Jl. Tidore No .2, Roxy, Central Jakarta T: 021 632 6801/555 0638 Open daily from 7am-3pm (Read also: Gado-gado, soto Betawi recognized as 'intangible cultural heritage') Soto Betawi H. Maruf Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf(Good Indonesian Food/File) Frequent visitors of Taman Ismail Marzuki in Cikini are certainly familiar with this place. Established in the 1960s, Soto Betawi H. Maruf already has a few branches running across the city, with the favorite spot located on Jalan Gondangdia Lama. Jl.Gondangdia Lama No. 36A, Central Jakarta Open daily from 10am-9pm Soto Kaki Sapi Mencos H. Sarnadi Soto Betawi Mencos H. Sarnadi(Good Indonesian Food/File) Soto Kaki Sapi Mencos H. Sarnadi has been around for more than five decades now, and its popularity has never waned since its inception. In fact, the number of visitors coming here for its legendary Soto Kaki Sapi (cow trotter soup) has swelled. You are able to opt for beef for your Soto instead of cow trotter too. Jalan Percetakan Negara No. 2C, Central Jakarta Open daily from 10am-10pm Soto Jakarta Pak H. Yus It has one of the most extensive lists of Soto Betawi around, including Soto Kikil (cow trotter soup), Soto Daging Sapi (beef soup), Soto Tulang Muda (cow cartilage soup), Soto Lidah (cow tongue soup), Soto Paru Iso (cow lung soup), Soto Babat (beef tripe soup) and Soto Ginjal dan Jantung (cow kidney and heart soup). The coconut milk broth here is also second to none. Jl. Minangkabau No. 40, South Jakarta T: 021 9575 5070 Open daily from 8am-6pm Explore more about Indonesian cuisine here. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru Thu, December 15 2016 Investigators from Meranti Islands Police stopped a tug boat towing 34 tons of reportedly illegal timber in midsea early on Wednesday morning. The boats captain and crew members have been arrested. Meranti Islands Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Barliansyah said police officers had been pursuing the boat because they suspected it was carrying smuggled goods. It turned out that the boat was towing Meranti timber. They were unable to show legitimate documents, he said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Banyuwangi, East Java Thu, December 15 2016 After 59 years of existence, Indonesian state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina has overtaken its competitor, Malaysian state-owned oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), to become the most profitable oil firm in Southeast Asia. In the first nine months of this year, Pertamina booked net profit of US$2.83 billion, surpassing Petronas net profit of $1.6 billion in the same period. Last year, Pertamina only posted $1.4 billion in net profit. Pertamina vice president director Ahmad Bambang said Pertamina had become the largest oil company in Southeast Asia by profit thanks to an overhaul in the fuel subsidy policy that scrapped subsidies for Premium-branded gasoline, Solar-branded diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), boosting the companys top and bottom lines. Low-octane Premium gasoline used to dominate gasoline sales, accounting for 96 percent of the total. At present, it only accounts for 48 percent of overall sales, because many consumers have shifted to the higher-octane Pertalite, which is sold at around Rp 7,600 ($0.57) per liter. Our economy keeps growing and people have purchasing power. So we can sell higher-grade fuel at no more than Rp 8,500 per liter, Bambang explained recently. Second, there is a younger generation that loves the environment and enjoys social causes, so we sell more environmentally-friendly products. Thats the key. In 2014, during the first months of his presidency, President Joko Jokowi Widodo scrapped the Premium subsidy completely, raising the fuels price to Rp 8,500 per liter from Rp 6,500 per liter when subsidized. Consumers started to shift away from the lower-octane, previously subsidized Premium to more environmentally friendly and higher-octane Pertalite and Pertamax. Apart from the scrapped fuel subsidies, cost efficiency measures on all fronts, including the procurement of imported goods, operating expense and tankers and the procurement of goods directly from manufacturers, had also boosted the companys net profit, Bambang said. Moreover, we were able to manage theft and losses to amount to only 0.18 percent, which is much better than the worlds standard of 0.3 percent, he added. While Indonesia divides the management of oil reserves between Pertamina and Upstream Oil and Gas regulatory special task force (SKKMigas), Petronas manages Malaysias oil reserves by itself. Thankfully, Pertamina is integrated both upstream and downstream. If the upstream slumps as oil prices fall, the downstream will revive, Bambang said. Crude oil prices stood a little over $50 per barrel recently, about half the price seen in 2014. On the other hand, Pertamina is also boosting oil production at the Banyu Urip field in the Cepu block in East Java in a bid to maintain national oil production at 800,000 barrel per day (bpd) to 830,000 bpd, as targeted by the government. The block has total oil reserves of 375 million barrels. The Cepu block, Bambang said, was able to produce 210,000 bpd, which is above the peak production target of 205,000 bpd. The production volume is also in line with SKKMigas expectation. SKKMigas spokesperson Elan Biantoro said earlier in Jakarta that he hoped peak production at the Cepu block could be achieved by the end of the year to maintain national oil and gas output. (wnd) ----------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 The Attorney General Office (AGO) has admitted that Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) deputy chief Eko Susilo Hadi, who has been arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for alleged bribery, is one of its prosecutors. Yes he [Eko] is our prosecutor, but he is now inactive as he has been assigned at Bakamla, AGO spokesman Muhammad Rum told kompas.com on Thursday night. (Read also: KPK looks into large-scale maritime graft) Rum said AGO did not interfere with Eko's duties when he served as an official at Bakamla. He claimed that Eko never violated ethics and regulations while serving as a prosecutor at AGO. On Wednesday, KPK apprehended Eko at his office just after receiving bribes related to the procurement of sea surveillance satellites worth Rp 400 billion (US$30 million). The anti-graft body also arrested three executives of PT Melati Technofo Indonesia (MTI), which won the bidding for the procurement. (jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's legal team said that they hoped the presiding judges would accept the evidence they conveyed during the first hearing into their client's blasphemy case on Dec. 13 and dismiss the charges against him. "We really hope the judges would accept our evidence. The conveyed evidence has explained why the judges need to dismiss this case," Ahok's lawyer Josefina Syukur told The Jakarta Post on Friday. During Tuesday's session of the North Jakarta District Court, which is now temporarily located at the former Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta, Ahok tried to convince the judges that he had never had the intention to insult Islam when he mentioned Surah Al Maidah 51, a verse from the Quran. He also told the judges that he had always had a harmonious relationship with Muslims, something he said was proven by the several pro-Muslim programs implemented during his term as Jakarta governor. Ahok's lawyers also highlighted what they said were irregular actions police and prosecutors took against Ahok. They said the actions had violated prevailing laws. On Dec. 20, prosecutors are scheduled to read their response to Ahok's evidence. "We haven't made special preparations for the next hearing because it will be prosecutors' turn to read their response. However, we are now preparing strategies to be implemented further should judges decide to disregard our evidence," she said. Josefina said that the lawyers are preparing eyewitnesses and experts to be presented in the trial. Ahok's Muslim godbrother Analta Amir has been looking forward to defending Ahok, she said. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan and his running mate, Sandiaga Uno, plan to widely socialize their programs to residents by attending more debates on television to boost the pair's poor polling results. The recent polls, conducted by Charta Politika, Lingkaran Survei Indonesia and Lembaga Survei Indonesia, showed that Anies and Sandiaga's electability was lagging behind incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono. "The number of undecided voters is still very high, and they want to see the issues brought up in the debates. For that reason, we plan to attend all TV debates to promote our programs," Sandiaga said in Recapital Building, South Jakarta, on Friday, admitting there are still a lot of Jakartans who do not know about his programs. (Read also: Ahok has only focused on physical development: Anies) During the Kompas TV debate on Thursday, Anies and Sandiaga introduced their program to create 200,000 new entrepreneurs in the capital and provide more education assistance to residents. They also criticized the current administration's performance, which according to them, had failed in mitigating the inequality, social disparity and poverty in the city. Sandiaga added that to attract more voters, he and Anies would continue to meet residents directly. "From the visits, we have concluded that residents want a new governor because the incumbent has caused disunity among people," he said. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan said that he would rely on the development of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system to mitigate traffic congestion in the city. The former education and culture minister said that the LRT would be developed along routes currently passed by the TransJakarta Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network. "It will be more efficient for us to carry passengers with the LRT than with the BRT," Anies said at the Greenpeace office in South Jakarta on Friday, adding that he would focus on the development of rail-based public transportation if he is elected next year. (Read also: Ahok has only focused on physical development: Anies) Anies added that the LRT system would be integrated with Transjakarta, buses and minibuses. A person would only need to pay Rp 5,000 (20 US cents) to commute via integrated public transportation, he said. With an affordable and integrated transportation system, more people would prefer to take public transportation than private vehicles, Anies said. The central government is still constructing the LRT, which will connect the capital with areas in Greater Jakarta. Jakarta administration is constructing the LRT from Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta to the Velodrome stadium in East Jakarta to prepare for the Asian Games 2018, an international sporting event held in Jakarta and Palembang. (jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan, East Kalimantan Fri, December 16, 2016 Australian volunteer Kate Warren, 25, who has been helping to care for animals at a shelter in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, has pledged to raise funds for owa-owa (gibbons) when she returns home to Sydney for Christmas. Speaking to The Jakarta Post about her plan to fundraise through crowdfunding site GoFundMe, Warren said she thought owa-owa were forgotten compared to orangutans, although they both had survival problems due to dwindling habitats. It is hard for owa-owa to adapt to new territory, Warren said. If their habitat was destroyed, owa-owa would stay in the same place despite the lack of food, leading them to go hungry, fall from the trees and die, she added. Warren said she wanted to do something to save owa-owa. Australian volunteer Kate Warren takes care of an owa-owa at a shelter in Sumatra.(Courtesy of Kate Warren/File) Warrens tasks at the shelter, the Environmental Education Tourism Site in Balikpapan, included taking care of sun bears and hundreds of cats. Like a Muslim, I wake up when I hear the early morning call for prayer and prepare food for the cats, she said. Before volunteering in Balikpapan, Warren volunteered at the Sumatra Rainforest Institute (SRI), where she took care of owa-owa, especially sick animals, including feeding them and talking to them. They understand when we are talking to them and their eyes are beautiful, she said. Warren, who previously worked as an assistant at an animal clinic in Croydon Park, Sydney, said she planned to return to Indonesia next year. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law does not require that any actual harm be caused in order for a post to be labelled criminal, an expert from the Communications and Information Ministry said on Friday. Prosecutors need only prove that the person charged under the article has indeed made a post containing hate material, the expert, Teguh Arifiyadi, told South Jakarta District Court. The court was hearing a pretrial challenge brought by Buni Yani against his being named a suspect by the Jakarta Police for inciting religious and ethnic hatred when he posted a video on his Facebook page of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama making an allegedly blasphemous speech. "[An alleged crime] may have been committed [under this article] without it having caused any harm," Teguh, who is the head of the ITE crime investigation division at the ministry, said. (Read also: Ahok says Buni Yanis post also hurt city's residents) Buni has been charged with violating Article 28 of the ITE Law, which is punishable by up to six years imprisonment.The university lecturer has insisted on his innocence, saying that he merely intended the post to be shared by his inner circle of friends. During questioning by the police, Ahok claimed that Buni's post had caused harm to him and the city and its residents. He pointed to two mass rallies held on Nov. 4 and Dec. 2 as having been triggered by Buni's post.(jun) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 Publicly listed aviation support and food services company PT Cardig Aero Services (CAS) will expand its catering and vocational business, which have helped keep its revenue and profit target on track this year. CAS president director Nurhadijono Nurjadin said its subsidiary CAS Food would extend its services to non-airline customers, namely industrial firms and institutions. We are looking to find several new customers. This year we have already served [Japanese automaker] Toyota and [tire maker] Goodyear factories, he said Thursday. CAS Food, which also oversees flight and industrial catering services, currently serves 25 groups of customers and produces 7 million meals annually. It has teamed up with similar service providers for regional low-cost carriers Air Asia and Etihad Airways on in-flight catering. The firm will build a central kitchen on Java to support its food business, enhancing efficiency in food preparation for services at airports and other places nearby. In addition, it expects to enlarge its food catering business to Juanda International Airport in Surabaya next year, adding to its current operations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali. CAS expects airport services to be lucrative next year as the government aims to build 62 new airports amid its ambitious target to lure 20 million tourists by 2019, nearly double this years target of 12 million. Nurhadijono added that CAS had develop a vocational business through the acquisition of a pilot training center in 2017. We have agreed to do so [the acquisition], but it is still an ongoing process, he said. CAS has seen its revenue increase slightly by 6.6 percent to Rp 1.29 trillion (US$96.3 million) in January to September from the same period last year. CAS Destination, which oversees ground and cargo handling and priority lounge services, contributed 78 percent of its total revenue with Rp 1 trillion as of September. However, its profits slumped 13.4 percent to Rp 204.68 billion during the period. Nurhadijono attributed the moderate rise in revenue to reduced air traffic during low season at the start of this year as well as the settlement of a recent rift with state-owned port operator Angkasa Pura I (AP I). CAS ground handling subsidiary Jasa Angkasa Semesta (JAS) alleged that AP I violated an agreement between the two companies and the Transportation Ministry in July by taking over international cargo handling at Juanda Airport in September, which the firm claimed had caused short-term damage to its business. However, the companies eventually reached an agreement to share the warehouse. Around half of JAS revenue is derived from its cargo services. In the third quarter of this year, the firm handled 198,385 tons of cargo, up 3 percent from last year. Nurhadijono declined to elaborate on CAS revenue and profit targets for next year, though he revealed that this years targets were on track. CAS has spent 61 percent of its Rp 522 billion capital expenditure this year, mostly on rejuvenating ground handling equipment as required by Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 174/2015 and upgrading capacity and facilities at its kitchens. Moving forward, we will also keep spending on rejuvenating equipment, Nurhadijono said. -------------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Beijing Fri, December 16, 2016 China's first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its first live-fire exercise, the Defense Ministry has announced. Dozens of ships and aircraft took part in the exercise "a few days ago" in the Bohai Sea in eastern China to test weapon performance and training levels, according to a statement posted Thursday on the ministry's website. China said last month that its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was ready to engage in combat, marking a milestone for a navy that has invested heavily in its ability to project power far from China's shores. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. China-developed J-15 fighters carried live ammunition and performed strike exercises, the ministry said. Footage on state broadcaster China Central Television showed fighters launching missiles and hitting targets, and one pilot wore a helmet with "SHOOT IT" written in English across the top. The Liaoning was commissioned in 2013 after being purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago. China hasn't described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce China's increasingly assertive claims over almost all of the South China Sea, which is home to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of mineral resources. Five other governments claim the maritime space either in part or in whole, and the Philippines and Vietnam in particular have sought assistance from the US and others in beefing up their ability to resist China, including its construction of seven islands by piling sand atop coral reefs. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 A sharp increase in palm oil and coal delivery significantly pushed up exports in November, giving an early sign of recovery for Indonesias dwindling overseas shipments. Exports in November jumped by 21.34 percent, to US$13.5 billion from the same month last year, boosted by a surge in palm oil shipment volume amid a persistent low price and a rise of coal shipments by both volume and value, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Thursday. This is the highest growth rate since 2011. [...] Hopefully, the export surge can continue until next year, said BPS deputy head for distribution and statistics Sasmito Hadi Wibowo. Palm oil exports rose by 20.37 percent to US$16.05 billion, while coal exports climbed by 10.04 percent to $13.06 billion. Other commodities that contributed to the jump in monthly exports included jewelry, ore and clothing. Despite a marked year-on-year increase, exports only rose slightly, by 5.91 percent, on a month-on-month basis. Similarly, overall exports from January to November dropped by 5.63 percent to $130.65 billion, with non-oil and gas exports declining moderately by 1.96 percent to $118.8 billion. After hitting an all-time high of $203.4 billion in 2011, Indonesias exports have steadily fallen, dropping to only $150.2 billion last year. Economic slowdown in its major trading partners, including China and India, have put strong pressure on its exports as demand drops. In addition, the majority of the countrys exports are commodities such as palm oil, coal and rubber, of which prices are vulnerable to movements in the international market and with the global economic crisis, exacerbated by a supply glut for some of the commodities, economists have warned that price increases are unlikely. Maintaining a gloomy outlook for 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) lowered in September its forecast for worldwide trade growth from 2.8 percent to 1.7 percent. In a return to a past trend, trade growth has stopped outperformed global economic growth, according to the global trade governing body. Monthly imports also recorded an increase although not as significant as exports climbing 9.88 percent to $12.66 billion from the corresponding month in 2015, while import figures were up by 10 percent compared to October. Total imports for the first eleven months also slipped by 5.94 percent to $122.9 billion. With this result, Indonesia enjoyed a surplus of $7.79 billion so far this year, thanks to a non-oil-and-gas trade surplus of $13.01 billion that balanced the deficit from the oil and gas trade of $5.2 billion. Exports and imports seem to have returned to their normal pattern, which usually sees high growth at year-end. In recent years, it has usually been bad even at year-end, said Sasmito. He referred to exports of palm oil, coal and winter clothes to northern countries as well as the rest of the world that were boosted by year-end holidays. Centre of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia director Mohammad Faisal predicted that despite remaining uncertainties in the global economy next year, Indonesia could possibly expect bigger exports as prices of its commodities have shown an upward trend. The coal price, for example, has been rising in the third quarter of this year and there is reason to hope that the trend will continue next year, he said in an economic outlook publication from the Trade Ministry. The research body estimates that the contribution of trade to the countrys gross domestic product will expand next year. Exports contribution will increase to 1 percent in 2017, up from 0.8 percent this year, while imports contribution will rise to 0.9 percent, from 0.3 percent. Separately, Development Planning Board (Bappenas) director for trade, investment and international cooperation Yahya Rachmana Hidayat projected that exports would climb further next year as, according to his claim, Indonesia has successfully diversified its range of export destination countries to include non-traditional markets like South Africa and Russia. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java Fri, December 16, 2016 Personnel from the National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism squad seized several items of evidence during their search of the houses of three suspected terrorists in Surakarta and Klaten, both in Central Java, on Thursday and Friday. The three suspects, namely Sunarto, 26, Imam Syafii, 33, and Sumarno, 44, allegedly committed Molotov cocktail attacks on an Alfamart minimart in Serengan, Surakarta, and Candi Resto, a restaurant in Solo Baru, at the end of November and the beginning of December, respectively. Densus 88 personnel arrested the three terror suspects on Wednesday evening before they searched Sunartos and Syafiis houses in Banyuanyar, Surakarta, and Sumarnos residence in Pedan, Klaten. The police seized two masks, several books, compact disks and documents during their one-hour search of Syafiis house at around 8:30 a.m. local time Friday. On guard -- Police personnel secure the location of a counterterrorism search in Cemani, Sukoharjo, Central Java, on Dec.13. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi) Syafii is suspected of having participated in the Molotov cocktail attack on the Alfamart, together with Khafid Fathoni, 22, a resident of Ngawi, East Java, whom the police arrested on Dec.11. They were allegedly involved in a terrorism network led by Nur Solihin, the leader of a small terror cell arrested over an alleged bomb attack plan centered on Bekasi, West Java. The police later searched Sunartos house, located only around 1 km from Syafiis house, at 9:30. During the search they confiscated several flash disks and one motorcycle allegedly used by Sunarto together with Khafid in the attack on Candi Resto. They didnt bring a search warrant, said Anis Priyo Ansori, a spokesperson for Syafiis family. Previously on Thursday afternoon, the police searched Sumarnos house. His wife Sri Mulyani claimed she did not know that her husband had been arrested by Densus 88. We learned of it from journalists, she said on Friday. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Markus Makur (The Jakarta Post) West Manggarai Fri, December 16 2016 A group of divers plunged into the water near Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, over the weekend to collect waste from the seabed. The team, comprising 50 divers from several countries, picked up about 482 kilograms of plastic trash. Komodo Dive Operator Community (DOK) head Ica Marta Muslin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the effort was part of the divers commitment to Komodo National Park, known as one of the best diving spots in the world. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 A group that intercepted nine Muslims at El Tari Airport in Kupang last week has said its actions were not a form of retaliation for the recent disruption of a Christmas gathering in Bandung. In a press release on Friday, the group, which calls itself Brigade Meo, said the media reports claiming that its action was made in retaliation for what had happened in Bandung were not accurate. We received a tip-off from a member of the public that nine people would arrive in Kupang and we coordinated with the police, the release said. According to the group, the nine were to be picked up by a supporter of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, an organization whose ideology is not in line with [the state ideology] Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Hizbut Tahrir is prohibited from conducting any activities in East Nusa Tenggara, the realease read. The group said the police had examined the nine men and then consulted with East Nusa Tenggaras Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). Read also: Nine Muslims ejected from Kupang in retaliation for anti-Christian action in Bandung Considering all those facts, we, the police, and the MUI agreed to send the nine men back, Brigade said. So the decision was made collectively. And the event does not have anything to do with any previous events, and definitely nothing to do with what happened in Bandung, the group said. I was not an attempt to intimidate our Muslim brothers and sisters but an action to curb radicalism in this country, it added. Brigade Meo has previously cooperated with Nahdlatul Ulama's GP Ansor to curb radicalism, the group said. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 The House of Representatives and the government have agreed to retain provisions in the Criminal Code (KUHP) that may force citizens to pay as much as Rp 6 million (US$446) in fines for promoting condoms or the contraceptive pill. However, activists doubt the article can be implemented. The criminalization of the aforementioned activity in the KUHP bill, which is already controversial for outlawing numerous activities such as sex between unmarried couples, has led legal experts to question whether the government is serious about reforming the countrys penal code, an adopted version of the Dutch colonial-era code enacted nearly a century ago. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 The government says it is forging a partnership with the South Korean government to improve its cyberdefense capacity. Jakarta is currently in the process of establishing an integrated national cybersecurity agency. The government said it was hoping that Seoul, which established the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) in 2009, would share best practices in cybersecurity management with Indonesia. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 The arrest of Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) deputy chief Eko Susilo Hadi on Wednesday by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) indicates potentially rampant corruption in the countrys maritime security sector, with investigators claiming to have found strong evidence of rigging of the tender for the procurement of sea surveillance satellites worth Rp 400 billion (US$30 million). The case has also once again put the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the spotlight. The KPK confirmed that Eko, whom the KPK reportedly caught red-handed accepting Rp 2 billion in bribes on Wednesday, had rigged the projects with the help of a one-star TNI general seconded to Bakamla in exchange for kickbacks from businesspeople. The KPK has kept the TNI generals identity confidential. KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said he had notified the TNI about the finding because the commission did not have the authority to investigate active military officers. The KPK has asked the Military Police to launch a separate investigation into the TNI general, he said. The TNI has said it appreciated our information. The military has also granted access for us should it be needed to support our investigation, Agus told a press briefing on Thursday. The latest scandal was uncovered just two weeks after the Defense Ministry was rocked by two big corruption cases involving an active TNI general, Brig. Gen. Teddy Hernayadi, who was handed a life sentence for pocketing US$12 million from the procurement of defense weaponry between 2010 and 2014. A mid-ranking Air Force officer, Col. Irwan, has also been named a suspect for allegedly embezzling Rp 25 billion from different defense weaponry procurements in 2014 at the ministry. Both Eko, who was appointed as acting Bakamla secretary seven months ago from his former post as Bakamla information and legal division head, and the anonymous TNI general, allegedly acted as officials in charge of the surveillance monitoring satellite project. The bribery case was revealed as Bakamla, dubbed the Indonesian coast guard, was preparing to celebrate its 2nd anniversary on Thursday. Six KPK investigators arrested Eko at the Bakamla headquarters in Jakarta as he was reportedly accepting Rp 2 billion from three executives of PT Melati Technofo Indonesia (MTI), which won the bidding for the procurement. The three businessmen, Hardy Stefanus, Fahmi Darmawansyah and Muhammad Adami Okta, have also been detained. According to the KPK, the Rp 2 billion was part of a commitment fee, or kickback, amounting to 7.5 percent of the total value of the project. KPK investigators also subsequently went to the MTI office in Jakarta and arrested another MTI executive, identified only by the initials DSR. As of Thursday evening, DSR was yet to be named a suspect. KPK commissioner La Ode Muhammad Syarief said the project was initially not included in the 2016 state budget but Bakamlas proposal on the procurement was approved when the state budget was revised in June 2016. This is a vital project for our defense sector and the corruption in the project has greatly harmed the countrys defense, Syarief said. According to the projects procurement document obtained by The Jakarta Post, Bakamla planned to procure five maritime monitoring satellites to be stationed in Tarakan, East Kalimantan; Ambon, Maluku; Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara; Semarang, Central Java; and Jakarta. Bakamla spokesman Capt. Mardiono refused to disclose the identity of the TNI general implicated in the case. Mardiono said Bakamla would support the KPK in completing its investigation. It is the commitment of Bakamla to help eradicate corruption, Mardiono told the Post. According to him, Eko was a prosecutor from the Attorney Generals Office seconded at Bakamla to fill the position of information and legal division head at the body before being appointed as acting Bakamla secretary. It is the first graft case to hit Bakamla, an agency created by President Joko Jokowi Widodo in December 2014 to be the countrys first ever coast guard. Jokowi has lauded Bakamla as an important part of his mission to make Indonesia a maritime axis in the region. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri has suggested that Indonesian nationals possess relevant skills and competencies before working in other countries to reduce professional risks. "I am telling the workers, do not ever work in other countries before you have the skills and competencies required, because the risks are higher when you work abroad," he said at a discussion commemorating International Migrants Day, which falls on Dec. 18. According to data from the Agency of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BNP2TKI), there are 97,349 Indonesians working in countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Hong Kong. From the figure, 40.49 percent were junior high school graduates and 28.57 percent were elementary school graduates. Only 1.7 percent held a diploma or bachelor's degree. However, Hanif said that the government could not prohibit workers from taking a job abroad as it was not against the law. "Working abroad is the basic right of every citizen. The government's job is to facilitate and ensure the worker placements and protections," he said. One of the facilities the government provides, Hanif said, is the One-Stop Integrated Service for workers, which aims to optimize administrative processes ranging from registration and skills assessment to placement. "For this year, nine one-stop services have been operating in several regions, including in Surabaya, East Java, and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara," he said, adding that next year the government planned to build 10 more service centers across the country. (adt) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said the Indonesian Ulema Councils edict banning Muslims from wearing other religious paraphernalia was a form of religious tolerance. The spirit of the edict is that tolerance does not mean you have to immerse yourself [in a different religion], he said as quoted by Antara news agency on Friday. Lukman said Muslims should follow the edict without dismissing others and while respecting other religions. We should see the edict as having that spirit, he said. He emphasized that the edict was based on a principle of tolerance, respecting each other and other religions. We don't have to wear religious symbols that are not part of our faith, he explained. Lukman said he hoped Muslims would respect the Christmas celebration because many Indonesians are Christian. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 The National Police confirmed on Thursday that its Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) had summonsed comedian-turned National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Eko Hendro Purnomo for questioning as a result of a statement made by the House of Representatives member, in which he expressed doubt about the polices recent arrest of alleged terrorists. Yes, he was asked to come to the police for questioning related to his statement to the newspapers, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said as reported by tribunnews.com. Boy said Eko was reported by a police investigator, named Sofyan Armawan, on the basis of Article 207 of the Criminal Code and Law No. 11/2008 on information and electronic transactions. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Nuffic Neso Indonesia on Friday announced three senior high school students as winners of the Youth Writing Competition (YWC), themed Education and the Netherlands, held to coincide with the 2016 Dutch Placement Days on Oct. 31 in Bandung, West Java, and on Nov. 4 in Jakarta. With a tight evaluation process, we selected three students as the winners of the YWC 2016, Nuffic Neso Indonesia education promotion officer Inty Dienasari announced in Jakarta. Tobias Thariq Hartmann, a student of HighScope Indonesia in Jakarta, came first, while Dhiya Nadira of state senior high school SMAN 8 Jakarta and Faris Abdurrachman of SMAN 3 Bandung ranked second and third, respectively. Inty said the winners were selected based on three criteria, namely English proficiency, consistency with topics and creativity, by a group of judges from the Netherlands Embassy in Jakarta, The Jakarta Post and Nuffic Neso Indonesia. They received the highest scores from a total of 47 participants from Bandung and 41 from Jakarta, she added. This competition aimed to make students get more motivated to write down their ideas in English. This is because a lack of capacity in writing in English has often become the biggest challenge Indonesian young people are facing in pursuing their studies in the Netherlands, said Inty. Nuffic Neso Indonesia director Mervin Bakker praised Indonesian students enthusiasm to participate in the competition. To sharpen their writing skills, we also gave them today a creative writing workshop with a hope that after this event, they can improve their writing skills. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian defended the polices efforts to counter a bombing attack plot on the State Palace, ensuring that the threat was real, and he was willing to step down if it was not. We have worked hard to arrest [the suspects]. Its not true that the plot was orchestrated. I am ready to be dismissed if it was, Tito told the press on the sidelines of a ceremony at the National Police headquarters on Friday. Tito was responding to a circulating statement by lawmaker Eko Hendro Purnomo of the National Mandate Party (PAN) saying that the recent arrests of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) linked individuals to a bomb planned for the State Palace was staged by the police as a diversion from the blasphemy case implicating Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. The polices criminal investigation department has summoned Eko to clarify his statement that was quoted by several newspapers. I would also encourage the Indonesian public to not be easily influenced [by any statements], Tito emphasized. He further explained that the polices Densus 88 Counterterrorism squad had arrested nine suspects over the plan to attack the State Place. Those arrested include the bomb maker, the person in charge of finances, the suicide bombers and the person who conducted a survey for the plan. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said Friday that terrorist groups have developed a new trend of recruiting women to launch attacks in the country. Using women to carry out acts of terror is becoming increasingly more popular with terror groups because women are seen as less suspicious, Tito told the press on the sidelines of a ceremony at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta, adding that recruiting women for terrorism was not new in other parts of the world. The National Police have arrested three women that have been implicated in a foiled plot to bomb the State Palace. The women include Dian Yulia Novi, Tutin, alias Ummu Abza, and Arinda Putri. They are suspects for their roles in planning and preparing for the thwarted attack. The three women are affiliated with the Surakarta terrorist cell, which was reportedly planning to attack the State Palace under the guidance of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian jihadist who is currently fighting for the Islamic State in Syria. National Police Spokesperson Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police had anticipated involvement of women in terrorist groups in the the country but did not expect that women would take on direct and core roles in planning attacks. Terrorist groups here are recruiting women to avoid suspicion when carrying out attacks. Its a new strategy to deceive the targets, Boy said. (dmr) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Emily Wang and Mari Yamaguchi (Associated Press) Nagato, Japan Fri, December 16, 2016 The leaders of Russia and Japan move to Tokyo on Friday to wrap up a two-day summit on an economic cooperation agreement and a protracted territorial dispute that has prevented their countries from signing a peace treaty to end World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of their first round at a hot springs resort in western Japan on Thursday discussing small steps to move forward on the dispute over four small islands. "We had in-depth discussions on a peace treaty," Abe told reporters afterward. He said they discussed possible joint economic projects on the disputed islands. A sticking point: Japan says they should be operated under a special legal status that does not raise sovereignty issues. Russia, which governs the islands, wants them to be run under its law. Japanese media reports say Japan and Russia may ink a broader economic cooperation agreement Friday that the two sides have been negotiating for several months. For Putin, the summit meeting marks his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Abe invited Putin even though the G-7 nations, including Japan, still have sanctions on Russia. Abe said the two leaders talked for three hours Thursday, spending about half of the time on the dispute over the southern Kuril islands seized by the former Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II, and a peace treaty. Japan calls the islands the Northern Territories. Japan says the Soviet Union took the islands illegally, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. Putin expressed concern about the deployment of US missile defense systems in Japan, calling them an overreaction to North Korea's missile program, Japanese media reported. Abe assured him that they are limited to self-defense and do not pose a threat to neighboring countries, while stressing the importance of discussing defense issues amid growing security concerns in the region, they said. To that end, the two leaders agreed to resume "2+2" talks among the countries' foreign and defense ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Lavrov, who is accompanying Putin, attended the first and last "2+2" meeting three years ago. Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, particularly to its far east. Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time. ___ Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow and videojournalist Kaori Hitomi in Tokyo contributed to this story. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Patrick Whittle and Matthew Brown (Associated Press) Portland, Maine Fri, December 16, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump this week tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as his secretary of state. If confirmed by the Senate, where opposition is emerging, the move could have broad consequences for US environmental policy and affect the role the US plays in multinational discussions about climate change. Here are some questions and answers about the selection of Tillerson. Q. What's his background? A. Tillerson, 64, is a Texas native and has spent his entire career at Exxon after graduating from the University of Texas with a civil engineering degree. He started as a production engineer and rose to become general manager of the company's oil production division in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas in 1989. He was named president of Exxon Yemen in 1995 and was later put in charge of Exxon's operations in Russia and the Caspian Sea. After being named president of the corporation in 2004, Tillerson became chairman and CEO in 2006. He was expected to retire next year in line with the company's mandatory retirement age of 65. Q. What's his relationship to Trump, and who was in the running for the post? A. Trump has said he believes Tillerson's role as an international businessman for Exxon makes him uniquely qualified for the cabinet position. He has cited Tillerson's experience in "global enterprise" as evidence that Tillerson can represent US interests around the world. The two share an established network of contacts in international government and business, while both lack public policy experience. Tillerson's selection for the nation's top diplomatic job came after former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney emerged as early favorites. John Bolton, a member of President George W. Bush's cabinet, was also mentioned. Q. What is Exxon's environmental record? A. Eleven million gallons of oil spilled when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989. The accident fouled birds and marine life and left a lasting stain on Exxon's reputation. Tillerson last year described it as a turning point that ushered in a new "culture of safety." Nevertheless, accidents and violations of pollution regulations have continued. Since 2006, Exxon's pipelines have spilled roughly 350,000 gallons of oil, costing US$158 million in property damage and repairs, including major spills in Montana's Yellowstone River and in Mayflower, Arkansas. The Environmental Protection Agency lodged at least 73 enforcement cases against Exxon and related companies in the same period, resulting in $11.3 million in assessed penalties and $436 million in compliance costs, according to an Associated Press analysis. Q. What is the status of the federal lawsuit involving accusations that Exxon hid climate change research? A. Officials in Massachusetts and New York have said Exxon understood a connection between burning fossil fuels and global warming as far back as the 1970s. They contend the company deliberately misled the public about the issue. Exxon has denied the accusations, and pushed back. Exxon went to court in Dallas in June to throw out the Massachusetts request and later added a New York subpoena. Lawyers for the company have said in their lawsuit that the state investigations were politically motivated. Federal Judge Ed Kinkeade in Texas has the case. Q. How has Exxon's position on climate change morphed? A. Exxon was long considered a leading opponent of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels that scientists say is responsible for climate change. That changed over the past decade, coinciding with Tillerson's leadership and shifting energy markets, said David Levy, a management professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. The company now supports imposition of a "carbon tax" that would put a price on each ton of carbon emitted. Criticism lingers. "While the world needs to go one direction, he's been hell-bent as CEO trying to go the other direction," said US Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. Q. What has Exxon's position been on President Barack Obama's efforts to protect the environment? A. Exxon has been critical of some of Obama's efforts to safeguard natural resources. The company, under Tillerson's leadership, has questioned the wisdom of limiting offshore oil drilling off the Atlantic coast and Alaska. Tillerson told The Associated Press last year that drilling off Alaska is important despite disapproval from environmentalists because "eventually we are going to need it" to meet energy needs. US policy about domestic drilling would fall under the Interior Department more than under Tillerson. Q. How would Tillerson interact with other countries on climate change? A. Tillerson would be responsible for representing US interests in international meetings on climate policy and in dealings with world powers about issues that overlap with climate, such as energy, security and environmental protection. John Kerry has put a focus on climate change as secretary of state, in keeping with the agenda of Obama. The selection of Tillerson signals to other countries that the Trump administration is changing diplomatic priorities, said Varun Sivaram, director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations. But he added it's important to note Tillerson has acknowledged that the world is warming. "There certainly is symbolism to nominating the CEO of the biggest oil company in the world as secretary of state," Sivaram said. "I think it's important to separate the man from the symbolism." ___ Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Associated Press writer David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Edith M. Lederer (Associated Press) United Nations Fri, December 16, 2016 Four Syrian organizations say Russia bears "a high likelihood" of responsibility for 304 attacks in Aleppo that violate international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. In a letter to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press, the groups said the attacks resulted in 1,207 civilian deaths, including 380 children. "Evidence clearly indicates that Russia has committed or been complicit in war crimes in Syria," it said. The letter is signed by the Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Independent Doctors Association and Violations Documentation Center. The organizations told the commission they would be "honored" to provide "evidence, testimonials, and any other relevant information to assist your investigations and help the identification of suspected perpetrators." The letter was addressed to Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who chairs the independent commission that said in a report in February that war crimes are "rampant" in Syria and that the conflict has become "a multisided proxy war steered from abroad by an intricate network of alliances." The four organizations said "it is vital that the commission investigate thoroughly all credible allegations of Russian violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law." The 304 incidents they cited include 28 attacks against civilians including children, 101 in which children were killed, 42 using banned cluster munitions, 20 using incendiary weapons in populated areas, 51 on hospitals and medical centers, 18 on schools and 21 on mosques. The Syrian groups urged the Geneva-based commission "to explore fully all credible accounts of Iran's complicity in war crimes in Aleppo." They noted that Iranian-backed militias "have played a central role enforcing Syria's sieges and overseeing local forced surrender negotiations." Iranian security and intelligence services have reportedly advised and assisted the Syrian military, they said. "It is estimated that Iran oversees some 70,000 paramilitary troops in Syria, many of whom have been involved in atrocities against civilians," the four organizations said. "Yet nowhere has Iranian intervention been more egregious than in eastern Aleppo, where Iran deliberately obstructed a Dec. 13, 2016, cease-fire, which would have permitted thousands of innocent civilians to be safely evacuated from the besieged city," they said. Eastern Aleppo, which had been in rebel hands since 2012, fell to the Syrian government after a relentless bombing campaign and thousands of civilians evacuated the city Thursday in a watershed moment in the 5-year-old civil war hailed by Syrian President Bashar Assad. An annex to the letter documents what the four groups said were 304 of "the most egregious" Russian violations that mainly took place between July and December in Aleppo. Since Russian airstrikes began in October 2015, the groups said attacks on medical facilities across Syria increased from one attack every four days to one every two days. "Over the past two weeks attacks on medical facilities have increased to a rate of one every nine hours," they said. The four organizations said they made a determination that there was a "high likelihood" of Russian responsibility for the 304 incidents based on witness testimony and corroborating evidence including video footage and identification of aircraft. But they stressed that these incidents "represent just a fraction of the many indiscriminate acts of violence perpetrated against Syrian civilians by either the Syrian regime or Russia, where Russia could not be identified as the perpetrator with a high degree of certainty." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ralph Jennings (Associated Press) Taipei Fri, December 16, 2016 As Taiwan becomes a contentious issue between China and US President-elect Donald Trump, Taiwanese are hoping it will lead to closer ties with Washington but are wary of becoming a bargaining chip between the world's two largest economies. Trump's Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raised expectations that he will upgrade relations with the self-governing island with which Washington has only had unofficial ties since recognizing the Communist government on the Chinese mainland in 1979. Trump followed up the call with tweets and comments criticizing Chinese trade and foreign policy, stoking speculation about a major change in American policy toward the nearly 70-year-old regional rivalry. But the euphoria has been tempered by worry about what might happen to Taiwan if Trump uses it to press Beijing on trade, China's territorial expansion in the South China Sea or its ties with North Korea. "On the surface, it looks like this means America is getting closer to Taiwan," said Jonathan Wang, a civil engineering student at National Taiwan University in Taipei. "But Trump is a businessman, so he has own considerations," Wang said. "If Taiwan becomes a bargaining chip in negotiations with China ... [Trump] might give up the goodwill." The mix of excitement and fear poses a tricky challenge for Taiwan's government. Despite being shunned by Beijing for her pro-independence stance, Tsai has repeated over the past two weeks that she values ties with both China and the US China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing continues to view the island as its territory, to be unified with by force if deemed necessary. China suspended dialogue with Tsai's government shortly after her inauguration over her refusal to endorse its principle that the two sides are part of a single Chinese nation. China already uses its diplomatic and economic heft to prevent Taiwan from making formal contacts with most other countries or joining international organizations such as the United Nations that require statehood as a prerequisite. Since Tsai's May inauguration, Beijing has sought to increase the pressure by discouraging Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan and blocking its participation in some international forums. As a further step, China could use its influence to win away Taiwan's remaining 22 diplomatic allies. An indication of Trump's approach to the issue may come as soon as next month when Tsai is due to transit in the US on her way to visiting allies in Central America. A Taiwanese foreign ministry official declined to say whether Tsai might meet Trump transition team members during the transit stop, something that has been hinted at by both sides. Many Taiwanese expect a new relationship with Washington to bring economic advantages for their export-dependent half trillion-dollar economy, long-term access to senior US officials and more sales of advanced US weapons to defend against China. Washington has been Taipei's staunchest ally and chief arms supplier since the break in diplomatic ties, despite occasional protests from Beijing. The United States approved a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan in 2010 and a US$1.83 billion one in 2015. "Trump is a businessman, and he always thinks about making money so he's probably thinking of Taiwan as a good source of buying US arms in the future," said Shane Lee, a political scientist at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan. Taiwan could also use stronger US relations to build confidence in negotiating with China, said Lai I-chung, the former head of China policy for Tsai's political party. Regardless of the outcome, the Taiwanese public has warmed to Trump following his outreach to the island's government, said Lee Chun-yi, a legislator from a southern Taiwan city where distrust of China runs high. "Before the election people were kind of down on Trump, and now they're really keen on him," Lee said. "The public sees Taiwan as a sovereign country. We hope there can be more contact." A stronger relationship with the United States could help Taiwan make contacts in India and countries in Southeast Asia, part of Tsai's strategy of reducing economic reliance on mainland China, said Douglas Hsu, deputy director-general of North American affairs with the foreign ministry. Yet people on the island are also bracing themselves for a backlash from Beijing or some form of a grand bargain between China and the US, analysts say. Taiwanese have long been inured to Beijing's hostility and the international isolation it seeks to impose. "Most of my colleagues are really, really worried about that, because Taiwan would serve as a pawn between major powers," said Nathan Liu, an international affairs and diplomacy professor at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. The major risk, Liu says, is that Trump might trade support for Taiwan to gain economic concessions from the mainland. "Taiwan will be virtually abandoned by the United States because it's that bargaining chip," he said. China considers recognition of Taiwan to be non-negotiable and lodged a diplomatic protest after the Trump-Tsai phone call. Faced with Beijing's hard-line position, some Taiwanese question whether Trump has the diplomatic chops to negotiate the tricky trilateral relationship. "Trump is an economic success but on politics he lacks the foresight of [Hillary] Clinton," said retired Taiwanese high school teacher Chao Chiu-chin, referring to Trump's Democratic Party rival and former US secretary of state. "We can't predict. But Trump is strong and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping is strong. That won't be good for the experience of Taiwan." Ultimately, Trump's approach is seen as shaking up established US policy toward Taiwan, for better or for worse. "This is a crisis as well as an opportunity," Taiwan legislator Lo Chih-cheng said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Kupang Fri, December 16 2016 A knife attack at an elementary school on an island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) has left teachers and students, as well as nearby residents severely traumatized. A man attacked pupils in a classroom in state elementary school SD 1 Seba on Sabu Island, Sabu Raijua regency on Tuesday morning, injuring seven students. The assailant, who was later identified as Irwansyah, a migrant from Bekasi, West Java, had only been on the island for two weeks, was quickly arrested by the police. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Julie Pace (Associated Press) Washington Fri, December 16, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel, selecting an envoy who supports Israeli settlements and other changes to US policies in the region. Friedman said he looked forward to carrying out his duties from "the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. Trump, like some of his predecessors, has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. The move would also distance the US from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. The president-elect said Friedman would "maintain the special relationship" between the US and Israel. But the nomination sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, called Friedman's nomination "reckless," citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trump advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. "He has made that promise," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Thursday. "I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly." One option Trump allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing US consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trump advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. It's unclear how far those discussions have gotten or whether Trump himself has been briefed on the proposal. Trump's transition team did not respond to questions about the matter. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but backed away from the idea once in office. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told The Associated Press this week that he has been in touch with Trump's staff about the embassy issue. Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 After two turbulent years that have been marked by a power struggle between the government and political parties, the House of Representatives vowed on Thursday that it would pass more bills into law next year. The House, which now consists of seven progovernment factions and three in opposition, announced that it would complete 50 priority bills for the 2017 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas). The target is higher than in the two previous years during which the legislative body listed 40 bills annually as priority pieces of legislation. The government, which was only supported by a minority of members led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) during its first year, had a hard time passing bills with its legislative partner, which was still dominated by opposition factions that blocked bill deliberations and other processes at the House. The lawmakers only managed to pass three laws at that time. This year, the House passed all of nine laws as President Joko Jokowi Widodo managed to get major support from the Golkar Party, the second largest faction at the House, and the National Mandate Party (PAN). House Speaker Setya Novanto of Golkar pledged that the House would try its best to optimize its legislative functions. We must have a new spirit in the new year, said the Golkar politician, who had led the House in its first year before he was forced to resign amid political turmoil at the end of 2015. Setya, who regained the speakers post after winning an election to become Golkar chairman and turning the party to support the government, said that he had been told by the President not to list too many bills. The President has said so because he wants quality over quantity, but ahead we should strengthen coordination with the government to fix [the performance], he said. The House passed the list of the bills during a plenary meeting that closed this years sitting period. Of the total number, 40 are bills that were not completed in 2016. Some of them are controversial. For example, a bill for the revision of the Criminal Code will remain a priority despite its numerous debatable aspects, which, as many rights groups maintain, would result in overcriminalization. Some articles in the bill may limit freedom of press. Under the bill, the press and public are not allowed to criticize judges or their verdicts. If they do they can face up to five years in prison. Also, people could be imprisoned for insulting the government, although lawmakers still do not have a clear definition of the government. The bill may also threaten peoples private lives, as recently most political parties endorsed a regulation that would criminalize all sexual activities outside marriage. The punishment would be five years imprisonment. An election bill is also on the list carried over from previous periods and is one of the bills that has sparked concern among lawmakers and the government because they only had four months to complete deliberations about its complex substance. The House will likewise rush an amendment to the terrorism bill, which is also on the priority list. It is currently deliberating the bills problem inventory list (DIM) and aims to finish in mid-2017. Observer Lucius Karus of Indonesian Legislature Watch (Formappi) was pessimistic about the House reaching its target, saying that Setya had not done the job any better during the Houses first year. In fact, the House wont be able to reach the target of 50 next year. The lawmakers could not make systematic plans regarding the priority list, meaning they failed to show their preparedness for legislative functions, Lucius said. ________________________ Prominent bills in 2017 * Criminal Code (KUHP) revision to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, December 16, 2016 Unlike the 2014 presidential election, the 2017 regional elections have so far not brought significant advertising income to media companies, an industry player has said. Surya Citra Media president director Sutanto Hartono said the rule limiting donations for political campaigns was the main factor behind the slump in advertising income, with political parties now not spending as much as they once did. "Moreover, in the gubernatorial elections, the campaign has not been as intense as the legislative and presidential election [campaigns]," he said at the company's press briefing in Jakarta on Friday. Sutanto added that net advertising expenditure growth for 2017 would be 7 to 8 percent, similar to 2016, and it would still be dominated by advertisements for consumer goods. "Political advertising expenditure may jump again for the 2019 presidential election," he said, adding that during the 2014 election, advertising expenditure jumped by 89 percent. Media research organization Nielsen Indonesia recorded that during the first half of 2016, gross political advertising expenditure reached Rp 3.8 trillion (US$283.54 million). However, Nielsen Indonesia executive director Hellen Katherina mentioned that most political parties advertised themselves in their own TV channels and newspapers. Because of this, the net spending could be far lower due to the special rate given to them. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani and Viriya P. Singgih (The Jakarta Post) Sorowako, SE. Sulawesi/Jakarta Fri, December 16 2016 Major nickel producer Vale Indonesia is on the lookout for a partner willing to develop a US$2 billion ferronickel smelter in Pomalaa, South east Sulawesi. Vale Indonesia president director Nico Kanter said the company was currently conducting feasibility studies on the smelter, which may take four to five years to develop, and was also accepting partnership offers from both international and domestic companies, including state-owned diversified miner Aneka Tambang (Antam). However, he cited particular interest by Chinese companies because of the high demand for processed products and also cheap but effective smelter technology. Right now weve had offers come in and were reviewing their feasibility. Furthermore, were open to Chinese technology. We used to believe that our own technology was the best, but its very expensive. Now were more often seeing successes from companies like Tsingshan [Group], Nico said on Thursday. Vale Indonesia is also currently offering a partnership for another smelter in Bahodopi in Central Sulawesi. Although Nico declined to disclose the size of share it is offering in the prospective partnership, existing regulations stipulate that a local company must own at least 30 percent of a smelter to be able to continue exporting processed ores. Vale Indonesia already has a smelter in Sorowako, South Sulawesi, as part of its integrated laterite nickel mining and processing operation. The Indonesian Smelter Association seems to agree that companies from China have the greatest potential and willingness to partner up with local companies to develop smelters. Right now China has the most potential because, first, most of the demand comes from China, right? Thats a huge point, chairman R. Sukhyar said, adding that Japanese companies also had a lot of potential. Meanwhile, Nico said the company was also looking to boost production to 90,000 tons next year as stipulated in our contract. In the third quarter, the government recorded a 1 percent year-on-year decline in production to 58,000 tons. The company has set a production target of 80,000 tons this year, but is also expecting a slight shortfall due to technical issues in one of its electric furnaces. Furthermore, in the January-September period this year, Vale Indonesias revenue dropped 33.8 percent to $405.46 million from $613.13 million the previous year. Even so, Nico was optimistic about next years outlook, especially since nickel prices have risen slightly after a long period of sluggish prices. Nickel prices have risen slightly as a result of a drop in global nickel supplies caused by the shutdown of several mines and factories because of a lack of economic feasibility. Furthermore, global prices may be slightly boosted by the shutdown of almost a quarter of mines in the Philippines because of concerns over the environment. The Philippines is the largest supplier of nickel to China. However, Nico warned that global nickel prices might head downward once more if the Indonesian government decided to relax an impending mineral ore export ban next year. The governments policies are very influential because we hold 30 percent of the global nickel market. This means that any policy issued by the government will affect the world, he said. -------------------- To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim, Arya Dipa,Ganug Nugroho Adi and Suherdjoko (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Bandung/Surakarta/Semarang Fri, December 16, 2016 A recent string of terror raids by the nations antiterror squad has revealed the growing role of women in local terror networks. The National Police have arrested three women implicated in a foiled plot to bomb the State Palace. The women Dian Yulia Novi, Tutin, alias Ummu Abza, and Arinda Putri are suspected to have played key roles in planning and preparing for the thwarted attack. Tutin, who was arrested in Tasikmalaya, West Java, on Thursday, is thought to have been the person who radicalized Dian and encouraged her to become a suicide bomber, West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said. Dian was arrested in Bekasi, West Java, near Jakarta, on Dec. 9, along with her husband Nur Solihin, the alleged leader of a small terrorist cell from Surakarta, Central Java, that is thought to have devised the terror plot. The police said they believed Dian was the one assigned to carry out the suicide bombing. Dian is the second wife of Solihin.But it was revealed that Dian was far earlier exposed to violent jihadist ideology from Tutin before she met Solihin. Yusri claimed that it was Tutin who originally introduced Dian to Solihin. The police spokesman said Tutin and her husband were still undergoing intensive questioning as of Thursday evening. The respective detainees are still being questioned at the Tasikmalaya Police station for further investigation, Yusri said in Bandung on Thursday. The local militants decision to use women to carry out the attack is in defiance of the policy of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, which discourages extremists from using their wives to launch suicide attacks and instead mainly relies on children to carry out such missions. The director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), Sidney Jones, told The Jakarta Post that female extremists in Indonesia wanted to have a greater role in attacks because of their admiration of women carrying out terrorist attacks abroad, which they learned about from the internet. Because they think it is more prestigious, more honorable, more satisfying if they want to be mujahidah [female jihadists]. While some [Indonesian] women are content to just be wives and mothers, they want more active roles in fighting, Jones said. And we know because of conversations or chats online that some of these women have had where they expressed admiration for some of the women who played an active role in terrorist movements in Europe, the expert went on. The Surakarta terrorist cell was reportedly planning the attack on the State Palace under the guidance of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian jihadist who is currently fighting for IS in Syria. Bahrun, a tech-savvy terrorist, also reportedly taught members of the cell how to make bombs. I dont think that it was a special instructions from ISIS central, but I think that Bahrun may have encouraged women to take a role because they were less likely to be suspected. As Indonesian women wanted a greater role, they did not need to wait for instruction, Jones said. On Thursday, the National Police finalized the suspected roles of the seven suspects in the alleged terrorist plot, including the women. Solihin is accused of recruiting the others and buying the chemical substances needed to make the 3-kilogram triacetone triperoxide (TATP) bomb seized by the police before the attack. He is also thought to have received money transferred by Bahrun from Syria. Another suspect, Agus Supardi, allegedly acted as a courier alongside Solihin. It is thought that the pair took the bomb from Surakarta to Dians boarding house in Bekasi. Khafid Fathoni is suspected of helping the group make the pressure cooker bomb at his house in Ngawi, Central Java, with the help of another suspect Suyanto. Meanwhile, Arinda allegedly facilitated the transfer of money from Bahrun to the group. The other suspect, Wawan Prasetyawan, reportedly stored the chemical substance at his house. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Associated Press) Manila Fri, December 16, 2016 Philippine officials have criticized the United States for deferring a decision on a major aid package over human rights concerns, and said the Philippines can survive without it. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said Friday that uncertainty over the aid package emerged after Duterte declared he would chart a foreign policy independent of the United States. Yasay said the country can endure without the US assistance. A US government aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said this week that it deferred a vote on a renewal of the development assistance package for the Philippines "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties." The US government has raised concerns about Duterte's deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, angering Duterte. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Chevel Johnson (Associated Press) Fri, December 16, 2016 Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by US troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67. Lisa Colburn, speaking with The Associated Press on Thursday evening, said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday. "It was very quick," she said by phone from her Canton, Georgia, home near Atlanta. "He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world." She also called him "a compassionate person who was a hero in many people's eyes." Colburn was the last surviving member of a US Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him. Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The company's soldiers had begun shooting that day even though they hadn't come under attack, authorities later said. They added that it quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed as many as 504 civilians most of whom were women, children and the elderly. In an initial Facebook post, Lisa Colburn confirmed the death and wrote: "As most of you know, Larry has been very ill for a while but his suffering ended today, 12/13/16/." She added: "Your friendship meant a lot to him." She added the she and their son, Connor, "appreciate your love and support during this difficult time." Trent Angers, the biographer for Thompson, who wrote "The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story," said Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai. "He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did," Angers said. Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldier's Medal, the highest US military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy. Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, Louisiana, died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in the Vietnam War three weeks after My Lai. A memorial service for Colburn is planned Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Darby Funeral Home in Canton, Georgia, the funeral home said on its website. It said that in addition to his wife and son, Colburn is survived by three sisters. Tenants at 159 Stanton St. have filed a lawsuit in housing court against Steve Croman, the controversial landlord already in the cross hairs of the state attorney general. The residents say renovations in the building have made their lives miserable, and that theyve become victims of intimidation and harassment. They braved bitter cold temperatures this morning, gathering in front of the building near Clinton Street with organizers from the Cooper Square Committee and lawyers from the Urban Justice Center. Also on hand were State Sen. Daniel Squadron and a representative of City Council member Margaret Chin. According to the tenant association, residents have been forced to endure collapsing ceilings, dust and debris, mold, rats and floods. The lawsuit also alleges that poor security has led to numerous burglaries. Back in May, Croman was arrested and charged in criminal court with multiple felonies, including grand larceny, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. Hes being prosecuted by the State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is also suing Croman in civil court. The notorious landlord owns more than 180 buildings in Manhattan, some of them on the Lower East Side. Among the residents speaking today was Francis Di Donato, who moved into 159 Stanton 25 years ago. He has a 12-year-old son. Di Donato said Croman took him to court over money he did not owe. He was also, visited by complete strangers who were really menacing, [Croman has been accused of using unscrupulous tenant relocators to drive rent regulated residents out of his buildings.] Di Donato said he was offered, pathetic amounts of money to move out. There have been recurring leaks in the ceiling and cracks in the walls. One day he came home to find a gaping hole in the ceiling that burglars used to ransack his apartment. Senator Squadron said, Unfortunately weve seen it again and again and again with landlords whose strategy it is to drive you out of your homes, your lawfully protected homes, in order to make a quick buck, against the law and against every sense of decency and morals. He pledged to stand with the residents as they wage a protracted fight against Croman. According to a press release from Cooper square Committee, Nearly half the apartments are vacant and were demolished more than a year ago they are now sitting gutted, vacant, and unsecured leaving tenants vulnerable to crime and vermin. Cooper Square Committee and Urban Justice Center have successfully used housing court lawsuits to win settlements for local tenants against other property owners. Tenant organizers helped form the Stop Croman Coalition, which is made up of residents from many buildings throughout the city. We have been in touch with a spokesperson for Croman. Well update this story if a statement is provided to us. UPDATE 12/16 Heres a statement received today from a spokesperson for 9300 Realty, Cromans company: 9300 has been very responsive to the Cooper Square Committee and the tenants at 159 Stanton St. The communication is well documented and our good faith efforts are very transparent. We have reached out to the tenants of 159 Stanton and the Cooper Square Committee on multiple occasions offering to immediately address any open issues at the building and in tenants apartments. Management has not been informed of any open repair items in tenant apartments, however we remain willing to immediately address any such issues as they are brought to our attention. Additionally, past repair issues have been addressed promptly. We have copied city officials on our past correspondence with these tenants (and the Cooper Square Committee) as our good faith efforts are well documented. Save The first in a supposedly never-ending line of Star Wars spin-offs is finally here, and it even manages to give everybodys favourite galaxy far, far away a surprisingly needed tune-up. Taking things long back to the days before A New Hope, Gareth Edwards newest spin on the Lucasfilm classic ditches the main Skywalker-centric timeline, for a much more extravagant tour around the universes more distant quadrants, tying up some loose ends and introducing plenty of new cult favourites in the process. Acting as very much a closely-knitted prequel to the original trilogy (and pretty much ignoring all of George Lucass later callbacks along the way), Rogue One pits a ragtag team of rebel mercenaries against the rapidly expanding Galactic Empire. Centred mostly around a masterplan to take down the Empires classic (and here, newly-formed) super-weapon, the Death Star, it quickly becomes a fresh-look into what is essentially the foundations of what the series became. Saying anything more plot-wise might be deemed spoiler-territory, but rest-assured, theres plenty of exciting new avenues explored and this is by all means far away from being considered another retread. Which at first sounds rather suspect; mention the word prequel around any Star Wars fan worth their salt and therell no doubt be a fair amount of nervous twitching involved, but here Edwards does a truly phenomenal job of rewriting many wrongs and truly enriching the new-look universe in the best manner possible. It certainly takes some getting used to at first, but the further away from the tried, tested, but actually fairly tired mainstream formula this spin-off gets, the cleverer and more entrancing it really becomes. The lack of the trademark opening text crawl is definitely missed, as are the lightsabers initially (understandable considering they rarely factor into the plot at all, but still) but these are more issues with audience expectations than actually with Disney themselves. In fact, at times it feels almost as if the relative Star Wars newbies werent entirely sure how connected they wanted these stand-alone efforts to be tonally, and how much fan-service they should pay, so there is still a fair bit of wonkiness in this department from time to time. A much-loved character might randomly show up, waving from the background, and a certain Lord Vader is probably around for a little longer than actually needed, but luckily these teething problems are never too damaging in the grand scheme of things. The only issues they really pose are against Rogue Ones core personality, as much more of a war film than a sci-fi blockbuster, but thats not always necessarily a bad thing. Rumour has it that quite a large chunk of Edwards original cut ended up being re-shot, and whilst its not entirely clear which sections were from the final edit, its fairly understandable why the meddling took place. Rogue One isnt really a grand scale space opera in the vein of any of the existing Star Wars titles and as a result, it can feel a little too grim at times, especially considering how highly-expendable its core character base seems to be. Considering this is essentially a Star Wars-focussed, big-budget shot at recreating the Buffy classic The Zeppo, taking on the background characters that make up the wider story, its fairly understandable that theyre a little underdeveloped, although a smile or two here and there wouldnt go a miss. Felicity Joness name-taking rebel child Jyn Erso is a more than capable lead, and her misfit cohorts, though crudely characterised by basically whatever weapon they carry, are definitely a breath of fresh air. But what none of them ever really are is fun. Alan Tudyks gratingly-sarcastic battle droid K-2SO seems happy enough running off the entire movies cold-store of sass, but aside from his occasional (admittedly, very, very funny) outbursts, Rogue One is a surprisingly straight-faced affair. This is nothing really against Edwards or his action at all; the battle sequences he pulls together, from beach-bound invasions, to the spaceship-centric aerial dogfights are positively breathtaking and well up to the Star Wars standard. But for fans wanting a bit more pizzazz and humour with this years instalment, dont expect much. Theres still a fair share of grand reveals and decent-enough twists to keep the majority of the fanbase interested though, not to mention a truly terrific use of modern hi-tech filmmaking gizmos to rebirth everything from Episode IV-era Star Wars. From the gorgeous grubbiness of the original, button-pushing computer consoles to the surprisingly textured re-appearance of the dearly-departed Peter Cushing, Rogue One stands as a glowing example of just how far cinema has come. Ironically, its occasionally a little on the dark side, but on the whole Disneys first big-budget shot at a standalone Star Wars is both hugely clever and thoroughly engrossing, making it a worthwhile gap-filler for an otherwise superior main saga. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is out in UK cinemas now. The University of Bristol is set to start accepting students with lower grades if they have attended schools with poor A-level results or come from a low-income family. The university has announced it will be accepting pupils with up to two grades lower than the average offer if the pupil is attending a school that is in the bottom 40% for A-level results. Local schools in Bristol are being promised five spaces for disadvantaged pupils, which will be reserved for pupils who the teachers feel have 'potential' rather than being based on a grade. The project has been backed by the mayor of Bristol in the hope that it will make Bristol a 'fairer city'. Students from low-income families are less likely to attend university and four times less likely to even apply than wealthier students. The project, dubbed The Bristol Project, is being launched in the hope to increase social mobility and increase the diversity of students attending university. Pupils who have been in care, are the first in their family to go to university, are eligible for free school meals or have overcome some other obstacle meet the criteria for being classified as 'disadvantaged'. The scheme is being launched at a catholic college in Bristol with the first pupils set to start their degrees in September 2017. Netflix is known for producing binge-worthy dramas, and from Orange is the New Black to Stranger Things, their original series are now up to par with most TV distributors. Thankfully, they arent looking to stop anytime soon, as their next drama, The OA, is set to be released this week. Netflixs decision to release a tense and eerie trailer just four days before the series' premiere suggests they obviously have a lot of faith in it. Then again, thats not surprising since their last sci-fi/horror series Stranger Things was such a huge hit that it could probably already be considered a cult classic. This new show appears to be a mix of mystery, sci-fi and horror. Netflix have described it as a powerful, mind-bending tale about identity, human connection and the borders between life and death. Sounds promising, right? In terms of storyline, not much is given away from the trailer. Prairie Johnson (played by Brit Marling, who is also co-creator and producer of the show - impressive much?) has returned to her family after being missing for seven years. To make things ever weirder, she was blind when she went missing, and now shes not... cue the WTF reactions. The series also stars Scott Wilson (aka Hershel from The Walking Dead) and Jason Isaacs (Peter Pan, Harry Potter). If that's not a good enough reason to watch it, I don't know what is. So, what happened to Prairie Johnson? Will the show delve into the supernatural and give her superpowers, or was she just tortured by a psychopathic lunatic that made her lose her mind? And what the hell does The OA mean? We have no idea, but we're looking forward to finding out. Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. 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The hazardous conditions Friday prompted the City of Auburn Hills to issue a snow emergency that was set to begin at midnight. Parking on the street in residential areas or on Auburn Road would not be allowed after midnight within city limits. Additionally, motorists are being asked to avoid driving if possible. Snow, sleet and freezing rain were predicted to begin at 7 p.m. Friday and last through noon Saturday, from around three inches near the Ohio border to six inches in the Port Huron area. Affected counties include: * Midland * Bay * Huron * Saginaw * Tuscola * Sanilac * Shiawassee * Genesee * Lapeer * St. Clair * Livingston * Oakland * Macomb * Washtenaw * Wayne * Lenawee * Monroe Into next week Sunday and Monday will have highs below 20 degrees and lows in the single digits, according to Accuweather. High temperatures are expected to reach just above freezing from Wednesday through Saturday in the coming week, with lows just above 20 degrees. After the weekend weather conditions, the rest of the coming week appears to have little precipitation, with mostly cloudy or partly sunny conditions. BISP students win several national awards, one to be presented by Prime Minister Chan-o-cha By The Phuket News Friday 16 December 2016, 09:14AM Ravipon Est Sangaworawong has been recognized as an outstanding Thai student and will be awarded by the Prime Minister early next year. It has been announced that British International School, Phuket (BISP) Year 10 student Ravipon 'Est' Sangaworawong has been recognized as an outstanding Thai student who has represented the country positively on the international stage. As well as being a student at BISP, Est is also a member of the BISP Swim Academy, and has represented Thailand. The award is organized by the National Council on Social Welfare of Thailand, and marks Thailand Children's Day. Est will receive his award in person from Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at a ceremony on 14 January 2017, which will be held at the Prime Minister's residence in Bangkok. Congratulations to Est on his deserved award. Further good news for BISP students came on Tuesday, November 22, when the Cambridge International Examinations held the annual Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards at Bangkok Prep School. BISP Secondary School Principal Mr Meredith and IGCSE Coordinator Miss Newton supported the two BISP award winners as they collected their Top in Thailand awards. They are: Foreign Language French: Maximilien Cloesen International Mathematics: Raksina Phongsermsuk Congratulations to both winners, said Mr Meredith. It should be recognised that Raksina entered the examination as an early entry candidate. She will sit for the remainder of her IGCSE examinations in May and June 2017. Additional congratulations to Maximilien who this year also received the BISP Orange Riband award for the top student of Year 11. BISP has now taken out the Top in Thailand prize for International Mathematics in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Asked how he felt about winning the Top in Thailand award for Foreign Language French, Maximilien Cloesen said: I am fortunate and grateful to have been taught by excellent teachers who know the Cambridge IGCSE French curriculum very well and I feel honoured to have been awarded with the Top in Thailand certificate. Studying IGCSE courses was challenging but I learnt that endeavour and motivation always leads to success. There is still a great deal of work ahead but obtaining this certificate is definitely a very significant milestone. Top in Thailand award winner for International Mathematics Raksina Phongsermsuk said, At first, I felt really shocked to hear that I had won the Top in Thailand award. It was a very pleasant surprise. Then I felt a real sense of accomplishment as I had been putting a lot of effort into maths. It made me feel more confident in my skills and myself. Pylon crushing Phuket truck driver charged with reckless driving, fined PHUKET: The trailer truck driver who ploughed his vehicle into an electricity pylon in Thepkrassatri on Wednesday (Dec 14) has been charged with reckless driving and fined police have confirmed. accidentscrimepolicetransport By The Phuket News Friday 16 December 2016, 11:56AM The driver of the truck was fined B500 after being charged with reckless driving. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Police were notified of an accident at 3:45pm on Wednesday where it was reported that the driver of an 18-wheeler truck carrying a backhoe had lost control of his vehicle and crashed into an electricity pylon on Thepkrasattri Rd northbound. Police were told that two people were trapped inside the cab of the truck. (See original story here.) Thalang Police Capt Sunan Pethnoo told The Phuket News today (Dec 16) that the trailer truck driver, Somporn Teapphuti, has been charged with reckless driving causing injury and damage to government property. Capt Sunan said, The driver has been charged. He and another man (his passenger) were taken to hospital that day for treatment to minor injury but were released soon after. No child was involved or injured in this accident as reported in other media, he said. Capt Sunan said that Mr Somporn went to the station after being released from hospital to face his charge. Normally a fine for accident like this can be anywhere from B500-B10,000. However, after questioning the victims and taking an alcohol test, which came back negative, we agreed that this was just an unfortunate accident so he only paid the minimum fine. The motor insurance company will take care of all the costs for repairing the electricity pylon, wires and the part of the road damaged in the accident. They are figuring out the cost of damage at this time I was told, he said. Thai drug police make record crystal meth bust CHUMPHON: Thai police today (Dec 16) unveiled a record half ton seizure of crystal meth (ya ice), as authorities target a key overland drug route through the kingdom and into Malaysia. By AFP Friday 16 December 2016, 05:32PM A Thai policeman stands guard beside boxes containing confiscated drugs ahead of their destruction during a ceremony in Bangkok in June 2016. Photo: Christophe Archambault/AFP The haul of high-grade meth has a street value of around $40 million (B14.4bn), the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) said in a statement. Seven Thais have been charged with drug trafficking, it added. Wednesday night's (Dec 14) bust unfolded after a car stopped suspiciously short of a police patrol in southern Chumphon province. A police search found nothing in the vehicle. But the driver was acting suspiciously, refusing to answer mobile phone calls in the presence of police... he began to shake and sweat, the NSB said. Officers scoured the road for other suspicious cars, aware that drug runners often operate in convoys, and found two suspects in another vehicle who confessed to acting as lookouts for a truck carrying the ya ice. The 18-wheel vehicle was found parked at a petrol station in Chumphon town with 500 bars of the drug wrapped in black plastic bags and hidden under sacks of corn husks, the NSB said. Its a record seizure of these drugs (ya ice), Maj Gen Dusadee Choosangkij said. I believe they were to be stored in Malaysia and then destined for either Australia or Taiwan. Ya ice, which is highly addictive, sells for around three million baht a kilogramme on Bangkoks streets. With long land borders, Thailand is a key route for ya ice, methamphetamine ya bah and heroin produced in factories in Myanmar and Laos. Much of the production is controlled by Myanmars powerful and heavily armed Wa ethnic group, whose high quality pills and heroin are stamped with their own logos. The drugs are transported by car or foot across remote borders and sold to Thai gangsters. Last week six Wa tribesmen were killed in a late night shoot-out with a Thai army patrol near the rugged Golden Triangle border region. Thai trawlers evade illegal-fishing crackdown Thai fishing fleets have shifted to remote and ecologically vulnerable waters off the east African coast to evade a regional crackdown on illegal fishing and human trafficking, environmental watchdog Greenpeace said yesterday (Dec 15). immigrationmarinetransport By AFP Friday 16 December 2016, 08:58AM The bio-diverse and environmentally fragile bank, which lies more than 7,000km away from Thailand, has become a haven for rogue Thai fishing operations over the last 18 months, the report said. Thailand is the worlds fourth-largest seafood exporter. The European Union has the industry under a yellow card and claims the multi-billion dollar trade is largely unregulated and rife with rights abuses. Without a a much-needed monitoring system in such distant high seas, there is no control over what happens there, said Anchalee Pipattanawattanakul, from Greenpeace Southeast Asia. The country has come under heavy international pressure to clean up the scandal-hit sector after the EU threatened to ban all Thai seafood products last year. But despite government efforts to rein in illegal practises and clamp down on human traffickers, violations remain rampant onboard vessels that have moved to faraway and poorly policed waters, according to the new report by Greenpeace. According to the watchdog, up to 76 Thai-flagged vessels shifted their operations to the Saya de Malha Bank, an area off the coast of Africas Madagascar, after crackdowns last year in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea common fishing grounds for Thai ships that long ago depleted stocks off their own coastline. The bio-diverse and environmentally fragile bank, which lies more than 7,000 kilometres away from Thailand, has become a haven for rogue Thai fishing operations over the last 18 months, the report said. Many of the ships transport their catches back to Thailand through refrigerated reefer vessels, allowing captains to keep their crews at sea and out of the purview of authorities for extended periods of time. This practise, known as transshipment, has given unscrupulous fishing operators a free hand to continue to exploit their labour and degrade the environment, the watchdog said. These Thai fleets remain as ruthless as ever, Ms Anchalee said, calling on the military regime to consider banning transshipment altogether. Thailands fishing department, which did not respond to requests for comment, has won some cautious plaudits over the past year for rolling out new regulations and moving to register ships and workers. The US upgraded Thailand in its annual human trafficking report in July, citing significant efforts to eliminate forced labour in the seafood industry. But it stressed that corruption continues to undermine reforms and that trafficking and other labour abuses in the fishing sector remain a significant concern. How to watch, what to know about South Dakota State at Northern Iowa Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe gestures during a news conference at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. McAuliffe announced a proposed $50 million settlement to resolve claims stemming from the release of mercury from the former E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) facility in Waynesboro, Virginia (AP Photo/Steve Helber) Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. The questions have been a recurring undercurrent throughout the presidential campaign: What is Donald Trumps relationship with Russia? Why does he keep praising its president, Vladimir Putin? Is Russia meddling in the U.S. election? And is the FBI investigating any of this? (Mikhail Klimentyev/Pool Photo via AP) In this photo provided by Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, David Friedman, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for ambassador to Israel. (Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP via AP) LETTER: Instead of dropping 'The Ode,' find another way to honour Labrador Many writers to the Telegram have chimed in, some with vitriol, on the decision by MUN not to sing "The Ode to Newfoundland" at the recent or future graduation convocations. I am astonished, however, at the number who see no problem with changing its ... By PTI: Vadodara, Dec 16 (PTI) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has organised a four-day meeting of its pracharaks here from tomorrow, where Mohan Bhagwat, head of the organisation, would remain present. Bhagwat is scheduled to arrive in the city late tonight for the meeting, an RSS office-bearer said. "RSS has organised a meeting of regional pracharaks between December 17 and 20. The meetings will take place on the Swaminarayan temple premises located on the outskirts of the city," Bhaskar Bhatt, media in-charge of central Gujarat of RSS, said, advertisement RSS chief Bhagawat and other office-bearers will attend the meeting, he said. "Tomorrow, a meeting of pracharaks from western region, comprising Goa, Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Gujarat, will be held. On Sunday, regional pracharaks from across the country will meet," he said. According to Bhatt, on Monday, full-time RSS pracharaks from India, will hold discussions. "On the last day, Bhagwat will hold a meeting with industrialists before addressing a general meeting in the city. Thereafter, he will leave for Ahmedabad," Bhatt said. Chief Minister of Goa (Laxmikant Parsekar), Maharashtra (Devendra Fadnavis) and Gujarat (Vijay Rupani) are likely to pay a visit to the meeting, Bhatt said. PTI COR NP RYS --- ENDS --- A first convoy of ambulances and buses with nearly 1,000 people aboard drove out of the devastated rebel-held area of Aleppo.Two more convoys of 15 buses each reportedly followed. Around 3,000 civilians have been evacuated from Aleppo until now. Syrians walk over rubble of damaged buildings, while carrying their belongings, as they flee clashes between government forces and rebels in Tariq al-Bab and al-Sakhour neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo towards other rebel held besieged areas of Aleppo; Ph By Reuters: Thousands of people were evacuated on Thursday from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo, the first to leave under a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A first convoy of ambulances and buses with nearly 1,000 people aboard drove out of the devastated rebel-held area of Aleppo, which was besieged and bombarded for months by Syrian government forces, a Reuters reporter on the scene said. advertisement Syrian state television reported later that two further convoys of 15 buses each had also left east Aleppo. The second had reached the rebel-held area of al-Rashideen, an insurgent said. The International Committee of the Red Cross said late on Thursday that some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded people, including children, had already been evacuated. Buses are seen parked in Aleppo's government controlled area of Ramouseh, as they wait to evacuate civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters People walk as they gather to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters Men react as they stand outside buses evacuating people from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters ICRC official Robert Mardini told Reuters there were no clear plans yet for how to ship out rebel fighters, who will be allowed under the ceasefire to leave for other areas outside government control. ALSO READ | Syrian rebels reach ceasefire, to evacuate Aleppo in surrender deal CELEBRATION, FEAR AND TEARS AS THOUSANDS EVACUATED Women cried out in celebration as the first buses passed through a government-held area, and some waved the Syrian flag. Assad said in a video statement the taking of Aleppo - his biggest prize in more than five years of civil war - was a historic moment. A child reacts from inside a bus evacuating people from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters An elderly woman, who had gathered with others in a government area to watch the convoy removing the rebels, raised her hands to the sky, saying: "God save us from this crisis, and from the (militants). They brought us only destruction." Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher in the rebel zone, said most people were happy to be leaving safely. But he said: "Some of them are angry they are leaving their city. I saw some of them crying. This is almost my feeling in a way." A man reacts as he waits with others to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters A man reacts as he waits with others to be evacuated from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters Men push an evacuee on a stretcher as vehicles wait to evacuate people from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo; Photo: Reuters advertisement Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian adviser for Syria. ALSO READ | #SaveAleppo: Syrians in Aleppo are making goodbye posts, say they're prepared to die Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, said about 50,000 people remained in rebel-held Aleppo, of whom about 10,000 would be evacuated to nearby Idlib province and the rest would move to government-held city districts. Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed. The once-flourishing economic center with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverized during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. 'PLACE THEM ALL IN IDLIB' The United States was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in an ever-diminishing pocket of territory, culminating in this week's ceasefire. advertisement US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the Syrian government was carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo. UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien will brief the Security Council on Friday on the Aleppo evacuation. The Syrian White Helmets civil defense group and other rights organizations accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo region had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. In a letter submitted to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria and seen by Reuters on Thursday, the groups listed 304 alleged attacks carried out in the Aleppo area primarily between July and December and said there was a "high likelihood" of Russia responsibility. The Russian UN mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations. Russia has said it stopped air strikes in Aleppo in mid-October. In Aleppo's rebel-held area, columns of black smoke could be seen as residents hoping to depart burned personal belongings they do not want to leave for government forces to loot. advertisement A senior Russian general, Viktor Poznikhir, said the Syrian army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo. ALSO READ | Before and after images show how Syrian civil war destroyed its largest city Aleppo WAR IS FAR FROM BEING OVER But the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province southwest of Aleppo, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week. Rebels and their families would be taken toward Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria that is outside government control, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Idlib province, mostly controlled by hardline Islamist groups, is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated. A senior European diplomat said last week the fighters had a choice between surviving for a few weeks in Idlib or dying in Aleppo. "For the Russians it's simple. Place them all in Idlib and then they have all their rotten eggs in one basket." Idlib is already a target for Syrian and Russian air strikes but it is unclear if the government will push for a ground assault or simply seek to contain rebels there for now. The International Rescue Committee said: "Escaping Aleppo doesn't mean escaping the war ... After witnessing the ferocity of attacks on civilians in Aleppo, we are very concerned that the sieges and barrel bombs will follow the thousands who arrive in Idlib." Also read: Assad wins big, thanks to Russia; battle over Syria's Aleppo over Also read: Syrian civil war maybe over, but Aleppo still needs your help. Here's how you can SAFE PASSAGE FROM THE SHI'ITE VILLAGES The evacuation deal was expected to include the safe passage of wounded from the Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya near Idlib that are besieged by rebels. A convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. Efforts to evacuate eastern Aleppo began earlier in the week with a truce brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey, which has backed the opposition. That agreement broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned. A rebel official said a new truce came into effect early on Thursday. Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo. Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari - one of a handful of districts still held by rebels - and brought half of the neighborhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. The Russian Defence Ministry said - before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari - that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km (1 square mile). THE EVACUATION PLAN The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire. By taking control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region. Rebels have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but that support has fallen far short of the direct military assistance given to Assad by Russia and Iran. Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria more than a year ago turned the war in Assad's favor after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year. --- ENDS --- ATLANTIC SKIES: Stellar asterisms eye-catching pretenders to the constellation throne and just part of the bigger picture Most everyone, or at least most amateur astronomers, are familiar with the constellations in the night sky to some degree. Many, however, may not be familiar with the numerous asterisms in the night sky. What is the difference between a constellation ... But the tribe has a long way to go Opposition parties on Friday petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee against the Narendra Modi government, who they claimed did not allow them to put their views on demonetisation on the floor of Parliament. The winter session, which ended on Friday, has been a near washout. The opposition parties, which included the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the RJD and the JD(U), handed over a memorandum to the President, in which they complained about the government's alleged high-handedness during the winter session. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi led the delegation of opposition leaders to meet the President. However, miffed over Rahul's meeting with the prime minister in the morning to discuss farmers' issues and to hand over a charter of demands collected from the election-going Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, many opposition parties decided not to be a part of the delegation which met the president. Parties including the BSP, the SP, the NCP, the left parties, as also the DMK, decided to stay away as they are said to be upset with the Congress meeting the prime minister and not taking them into confidence. This, in effect, disrupted the opposition unity, which had held during the winter session. As many as 16 parties had come together to forge a joint strategy to take on the Modi government on the issue of demonetisation. Meanwhile, in the memorandum to the President, the opposition parties said, "We are extremely pained by this trampling of our democratic rights and the suppression of our right to present our views and make our voices heard in Parliament. We are deeply concerned that our parliamentary democratic system itself is under severe threat." Congress' leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said: "We told the President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament and on problems faced by farmers and small traders. We wanted debate in Parliament, but the government flouted all democratic values and blocked it." The memorandum also sought to bring to the notice of the President, the problems being faced by the public on account of demonetisation. "The government has failed miserably in giving proper direction on the way out of the situation after demonetisation. They avoided Parliament and chose to speak outside Parliament," said TMC leader Sudip Bandhopadhyay. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Targeting Congress, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today said there should be a debate in the House on AgustaWestland kickbacks case and the purported exchange of old currency notes in AICC headquarters shown in a sting operation. "We are ready for debate on demonetisation in both Houses since day one. We were ready yesterday and we are ready today as well. But since the first day Rahul Gandhi, Congress and other opposition parties have been running away from debate," Kumar said outside Parliament. advertisement He accused Congress of making "baseless allegations" against the Narendra Modi dispensation in the last two days of the session and said the government was ready for discussion on any issue. The minister also called for a debate on a news channel sting which purportedly showed some leaders from rival parties, including Congress, offering to change old currency notes for a commission,. "We also want a discussion on the alleged currency management (note jugad) at the Congress headquarters. We also want a discussion on AgustaWestland kickbacks. The name of UPA governments first family was also mentioned by Christian Michel. There should be discussion on this in the House," he also said. Michel was the alleged middleman in the chopper deal. He said Augusta kickbacks should also be discussed in the August House. "They were not ready for debate on demonitisation or Agusta. Rahul Gandhi has not given any notice since the beginning of the session on any issue. That shows his seriousness." Kumar termed as false Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhis allegation that he had proof against Modi. "Rahuls friend (Arvind) Kejriwal has said that if Rahul had any proof he should bring it out. He did not have any evidence. His remarks are baseless. His strategy is different. If he wanted to say he could have said by now who has prevented from speaking. It is a false allegation," he said. PTI ARU AAR --- ENDS --- Winter is here and the 170 children in the Bnei Avreichim Sephardi Talmid Torah in the Nvei Yaakov neighborhood of the capital are really feeling it. They are in classrooms without electricity or head. Why you ask, this depends on whom one speak to. The neighborhood in question, in the northern capital, continues to become more chareidi, attracting both Ashkenazim and Sephardim. In this case, instead of Sephardim pleading to have their son accepted to an Ashkenazi cheider, the avreichim established the Bnei Avreichim cheider for the little ones from Sephardi homes. The talmid torah began seven years ago, in the living room of Rabbi Mordechai Tamim, with four children, and little by little it has grown and they began renting apartments to use them as classrooms until the principal asked for a building for his over 100 students to enable them to learn in acceptable conditions. Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen (Shas), who hold the Chareidi Education portfolio, visited Nvei Yaakov to see for himself. He got a firsthand look at the difficult conditions in the talmid torah and the need for a building. He allocated eight classrooms from a city building being used for a girls school, which has since relocated to its new building. The building used by the talmid torah is divided into three, some classrooms still used by the girls school, the talmid torah, and Talmid Torah Kehillas Kaminetz. 170 talmidim entered the classrooms with the start of the current school year and they immediately realized there was no electricity. They basically have been learning in the dark for the past months but now winter is rapidly moving in and conditions are getting increasingly difficult, if not posing a health hazard to the children as the temperatures drop. It is added that Shas party leader Minister Aryeh Deri visited the building last month, promising to take care of the issue of the electricity. The question being asked now is how is it that the others have electricity to the exclusion of the 170 children of the Bnei Avreichim Sephardi Talmid Torah? The talmid torah blames its neighbors from the Kehillas Kaminetz Talmid Torah for intentionally cutting them off towards ousting them from the building. They claim that the talmid torah wants some of their classrooms and they want the community to be Anash, just Ashkenazim, hoping to rid themselves of the Bnei Avreichim Talmid Torah. The Sephardim explain the Ashkenazim will not permit them access to the electric controls until they turn over some of the classrooms to them (Kehillas Kaminetz). It is added they had a separate meter to pay their own way but have been cut off. It is also added that an electrician was brought in and told them It should be clear to you this is simply because you are Sephardim. The Kaminetz version explains it is a registered private NGO and is responsible for paying its own electricity without funding from other sources. Officials explain Bnei Avreichim was hooked up but was stealing electricity, leaving Kaminetz with the bill. It is added the entire hookup was illegal, cutting a 100-ampere line without authorization to tap into the electricity paid for by Kaminetz. All allegations of Kaminetz acting out of racial motives is baseless, adding they davka want the Sephardim to continue in the community despite their statements to the contrary. The statements and accusations and counter-accusations continue. For now, the 170 talmidim are without electricity and time will tell who or what agency steps in to provide a solution if any. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) According to the latest Bituach Leumi report on poverty in Israel, released on Wednesday, 14 Kislev, poverty in Israel was down last year including the chareidi community, due to steps taken by government agencies to alleviate the situation. According to the report, at present, the state-defined poverty line for a family of four is NIS 8,086 monthly. For an individual, the poverty line is earning less than NIS 3,158 monthly and for couples, less than NIS 5,053 per month. A family of five individuals is defined as poor by earning less than NIS 9,475 monthly. In 2015, the numbers in this category fell from 22% in 2014 to 21.7% in 2015 and among the elderly, it fell from 23.1% to 21.7%. In the Israeli Arab sector the poverty increased from 18.8% to 19.1%. Bituach Leumi CEO Professor Shlomo Mor Yosef explains that with an increased minimum wage and an addition NIS 320 million allocated to assist the disabled, the picture should improve. The bottom line is that over 1.7 million Israelis live in poverty, 21.7% of the population and that has many worried. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) adds, in 2015 there were 1,712,900 people, including 460,800 families and 764,200 children living below the poverty line. When compared to OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations, Israel remains at the highest poverty of developed nations. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Scuba gear, which was likely heading to Gaza-based terrorists, was Bchasdei Hashem intercepted by authorities before crossing the border into the Hamas-controlled area. The equipment was discovered on Wednesday 13 Kislev at the Kerem Shalom Crossing between Southern Israel and Gaza. The diving gear, which is on the banned import list, was on a truck carrying clothing. The truck carrying the equipment was confiscated by authorities. The equipment includes diving suits, oxygen tanks, vests, masks and required accessories. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) On December 14, 2016 the Conference of Presidents and the Embassy of Azerbaijan co-hosted nearly two hundred guests who filled the room for a reception in Washington, DC to celebrate the upcoming Chanukah holiday and honor those countries and others that provided crucial firefighting personnel and equipment to assist Israel in battling the devastating fires last month. The event was attended by the ambassadors representing the diverse group of nations and others who aided Israel, leaders from many important American Jewish organizations, Ambassador Ron Dermer of Israel and other honored guests, including members of Congress. Joining Ambassador Suleymanov of Azerbaijan were ambassadors and diplomats from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, the PLO, Romania, Russia, Tajikstan and Turkey. The event also followed by one day the visit to Azerbaijan of Prime Minister Netanyahu for meetings with President Ilham Aliyev which resulted in stronger ties between the two countries. Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO said, Last night, in a spirit of celebration, mutual respect and gratitude, we brought together a full house of guests from many different faiths, cultures and countries who joined together with us to reaffirm our common humanity. In his address to the capacity crowd, Ambassador Suleymanov stressed the value Azerbaijani society has historically placed on acceptance and respect for religious diversity and saying it is who we are as a people and a nation. He added that the centuries old Jewish community is and has always been an integral part of Azerbaijan. Mr. Greenberg in his welcoming remarks noted there has been a significant Jewish presence in Azerbaijan for many centuries. Originally part of the Jewish population in the Caucasus known as Mountain Jews, the Azerbaijan Jewish community today continues to enjoy full acceptance in Azerbaijani society and to freely and publicly express their Jewish religious identity. He said, A large delegation of leaders of the Conference of Presidents had a remarkable visit to Baku and experienced firsthand the open acceptance of Jews as a part of the Azerbaijani people. It is model for nations everywhere to emulate Ambassador Dermer also spoke, noting that the diverse array of guests represented the essence of Chanukah as a public celebration of religious freedom and expression, noting that Israel is a country founded on the principle of protecting the rights of religious minorities and is committed to maintaining and preserving the holy sites of all religions under its protection. Ambassador Dermer also stressed the importance of finding more opportunities like the event last night to reinforce the common values and interests and nurture the relationships among the varied participants. Turning to the assistance Israel received in fighting the fires, he said, Chanukah is a holiday of lighting flames to illuminate the world. Tonight we have lit those flames together and we have shown we can douse the flames of destruction together. Together, we must continue to do both. In remarks before presenting each of the diplomats with a traditional chanukiah (candle holder) used during Chanukah to Mr. Hoenlein expressed the gratitude of the Conference of Presidents for the help to Israel provided by their countries. He said, We were moved by Ambassador Suleymanovs suggestion to hold this event. It represents an essential part of who the Jewish people are to publicly mark the Chanukah holiday, to express our respect for other religions by joining with Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, Christians and every other faith tradition and to promote understanding by focusing on what we have in common rather than what separates and divides us. The outpouring of assistance to Israel from so many different countries, in its time of dire need, is something Israel is always prepared to do for others and should be the model for international cooperation. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A meeting between state and federal highway officials regarding New Yorks I Love NY highway signs ended with no resolution to the dispute. Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau met with state Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll in Washington on Tuesday to discuss New Yorks refusal to take down the 514 tourism signs. Both parties opted to create a working group that will examine the issue at some undetermined point in the future. FHA officials say the signs dont comply with federal regulations. The agency wants New York state to remove the tourism promotion signs. The state has also been asked to cease all over-the-counter sales at its new rest stop on the Long Island Expressway. State Department of Transportation officials contend that both the signs and the stores sales are legal. (AP) The main suspect in a high-speed train attack thwarted by three Americans last year in northern France acted on orders from the leading member of the Islamic State cell that attacked Paris three months later, his lawyer said Thursday. Lawyer Sarah Mauger-Poliak told The Associated Press that Ayoub El Khazzani testified that he received specific orders from Abdelhamid Abaaoud to attack a Paris-bound Thalys express train in August 2015. El Khazzani, a 27-year-old-year Moroccan, was questioned at his request by a Paris counterterrorism judge Wednesday for more than five hours. It was the first time he agreed to answer questions about the case. He gave the judge the name of the person who instructed him to attack this specific Thalys train: its Abaaoud, Mauger-Poliak said in a phone interview. French authorities had earlier linked El Khazzani to Abaaoud, but without elaborating. It has never been reported before that Abaaoud also ordered the Thalys train attack. Abaaoud died a few days after the Paris attacks in a police raid outside the capital. During Wednesdays hearing behind closed doors, El Khazzani told the investigating judge he made a trip to Syria and later traveled with Abaaoud in summer 2015, the lawyer said. The two men made several stops together, including one in Budapest, Hungary, the lawyer said. In front of the judge, the suspect presented himself as a jihadist, as a soldier who wanted to attack other soldiers, Mauger-Poliak said. He never intended to commit mass killings of civilians. He was aiming at a specific target in a first-class car of the train. The lawyer said El Khazzani explained what the target was to the judge, but she didnt want to disclose it because of the ongoing investigation. The hearing was only attended by the judge, the suspect and his lawyer. Investigating judges are not allowed to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation, and it was not immediately possible to verify Mauger-Poliaks account. El Khazzani decided to speak to the judge after 16 months of silence because he wants to differentiate himself from the indiscriminate attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in November 2015 and another 84 in Nice in July, she said. He never wanted to do that kind of things. It was not his mission, the lawyer added. During Wednesdays questioning, all the subjects were discussed, a general picture was made, and El Khazzani was moved throughout his hearing, sometimes in tears, Mauger-Poliak said. A new hearing with the judge is set for next week, and several more will follow because El Khazzani is now determined to talk, she said. Investigators are hoping El Khazzani will provide key details on the Thalys attack, but also on the jihadist network and ordering persons both behind it and the Paris attacks. On the Thalys train, El Khazzani allegedly tried to open fire with an assault rifle but was overpowered by a group of passengers, including three childhood friends from the U.S. state of California. They were all awarded the Legion of Honor, Frances highest decoration. (AP) Gopi Krishnan was caught with over Rs 16 lakh in new currency of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination at Port Blair's Veer Savarkar Airport. By Manogya Loiwal : A passenger of an Indigo flight bound for Chennai was caught at Port Blair's Veer Savarkar Airport in Andaman while trying to shift a huge amount of money. Gopi Krishnan, 50, was caught with over Rs 16 lakh in new currency of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination. CISF officials at the airport noticed Gopi due to his abnormal body language and was caught by CISF during the scanning process. advertisement He was handed over to the local Police and later to the Income Tax Department for further investigation. Sources have confirmed that Gopi Krishnan was carrying an amount of Rs 16,18,440. During the investigation the accused initially disclosed that the money was received as donation at some temple in Port Blair but later he confessed that it belonged to an affluent jeweller in Port Blair. Meanwhile, the South Andaman Police headed by Deputy SP South Andaman, Nishant Gupta along with his team of SHO PS Aberdeen, Inspector Mahesh Yadav conducted an awareness programme at Mohanpura Market amidst the vendors and general public. The Police team explained the vendors about the benefits of cashless transactions and how to use the mobile phones and chip based debit cards for transferring money. The connectivity has always been an issue in the Islands but cops are taking all possible steps to provide basic information and alert the citizens about any use or misuse of digital payments. --- ENDS --- Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff is warning business owners about a repeat scam that has been attempted over the past few days. Callers claiming to be from New York State Gas and Electric (NYSEG) or from Orange and Rockland Utilities (O&R) are contacting businesses claiming that there is an overdue electric bill and threatening to cut off the power if the bill is not paid immediately. The businesses are then directed by the scammers to either provide a credit card number, obtain a prepaid debit card or send money via Western Union. The scammers are so sophisticated that they may ask for a specific business owner by name and display the utility companys phone number on caller ID. We seem to get reports about this type of activity around the winter holidays, said Sheriff Michael Schiff. The scammers target businesses who know their livelihood could be ruined if the electric is turned off. The Sheriff said the scammers are typically aggressive and sometimes downright nasty or threatening. Citizens are instructed to hang up immediately if they receive such a phone call. They can then call the utility company at the telephone number that is included on the monthly bill or from a listing in a phonebook or the internet to see if they really owe money. Do not call back a number provided by the scammer, said the Sheriff. The last wave of utility scam phone calls hit Sullivan County in December of 2014. They are believed to have originated overseas. Citizens are reminded stay vigilant and never provide a credit card number or personal information to strangers who call you over the phone. Additionally, you should never send money to anyone you have never met via Western Union. (YWN Sullivan County Newsroom) On December 8th, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroners Office inaugurated its new CT scanner with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by more than fifty people. The scanner was procured through grants and funds from the LA County Board of Supervisors at the behest of Agudath Israel of California. LA is the fourth city in the country to have such a unit designated for post-mortem purposes. The impetus to purchase this specialized equipment was the untimely death of a young Jewish child and the difficulties the family faced in dealing with post mortem issues. Following that tragic incident, the childs family joined Dr. Irving Lebovics and Stanley Treitel of Agudath Israel in a meeting with County Supervisor Zev Yaroslovsky to inquire about obtaining a CT scanner for the Medical Examiner-Coroners office. This would allow for digital autopsies in many cases instead of invasive dissections. The scanner would also help relieve the backlog of cases in the understaffed ME-Coroners Office, in a quick and more cost efficient manner. Mr. Yaroslovsky led the charge at the Board of Supervisors and a unit was purchased in 2015. Since beginning operation in May of 2016, the scanner has been used in over 400 cases and is expected to be used in about 10 cases per day. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Agudath Israel was one of the groups singled out for its efforts by Interim Chief Medical Examiner- Coroner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran, and representatives of the County Board of Supervisors. In his remarks, Dr. Lebovics spoke of how the purchase of the new machine was a win-win for all involved. It will greatly help the operations of the ME-Coroners office, said Dr. Lebovics, while enabling the proper care of Jewish decedents, and potentially those of other religious faiths. Dr. Lebovics and Stanley Treitel were joined by Rabbi Berish Goldenberg, a member of the Presidium of Agudath Israel of California, at the ceremony. The Plotzker family, parents of the young deceased child, were honored to cut the ribbon. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday announced the nomination of Mr. David Friedman to serve as the United States Ambassador to Israel. Mr. Friedman, a renowned attorney who has been counselor to some of the worlds top businessmen and companies, was one of the President-elects principal advisors on the US-Israel relationship during the campaign. The 57-year-old, who hails from Long Island, is an Orthodox Jew. Speaking at the Saban Forum in December, Friedman went further, stunning liberal American Jews by saying the Trump administration would freeze out J Street, the left-leaning, pro-Israel lobby group based in Washington, D.C., which has been influential in recent years. In previous interviews, Friedman called the organization far worse than kapos, a highly insulting Yiddish word for Jews who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Friedman is the president of American Friends of Beit El Yeshiva, whose offices are located in Forest Hills, New York. He has been married for 35 years to Tammy Sand of Miami Beach, Florida. In addition to their home in Woodmere, they own a residence in the affluent Jerusalem neighborhood of Talbiyeh, where they typically spend the Yomim Tovim along with their children and grandchildren twice a year. When Israel proclaimed itself an independent republic in 1948, the United States was the first country to extend formal recognition of the new government. From that moment forward, the two nations have enjoyed a special relationship based on mutual respect and a dedication to freedom and democracy. With Mr. Friedmans nomination, President-elect Trump expressed his commitment to further enhancing the US-Israel relationship and ensuring there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries. The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when Im President, said President-elect Trump. As the United States Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad. Mr. Friedman, whose bar mitzvah was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 45 years ago, is a fluent speaker of Hebrew and a lifelong student of Israels history. On Thursday, he expressed his resolve to be a rock-solid partner with the Israeli leadership as our two countries seek to advance our mutual interests and keep our people safe. I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its Ambassador to Israel, said Mr. Friedman. I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Mr. Friedman is a founding partner of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP, a national law firm with approximately 350 attorneys. For the past 35 years, he has specialized in litigation and bankruptcy law, playing a leading role in restructuring many of the nations most complex financial and business operations. Mr. Friedman has been widely recognized for his outstanding contributions to the legal profession, and has been named one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States. Mr. Friedman has been a generous philanthropist to Jewish causes, including United Hatzalah of Israel, a nationwide volunteer service of first responders providing aid to all injured Israelis, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity, and Aleh Negev, one of the worlds most advanced facilities for the care of severely disabled children. Under his leadership and at the President-elects direction, the US-Israel relationship will be a model of cooperation and respect. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Donald Trumps barnstorming tour across the states that won him the White House continues to feature far more taunts of triumph than notes of healing after a bruising election. Thursdays rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, found the president-elect calling for the mostly white crowd to cheer for African-Americans who were smart to heed his message and therefore didnt come out to vote for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. That was the big thing, so thank you to the African-American community, Trump said. He also edged closer Thursday to completing his Cabinet, announcing his choice for interior secretary: Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who should fit smoothly into an administration favoring more energy drilling and less regulation. The president-elect who also found time to hit Twitter, playing media critic and then stating anew his doubts about charges that Russia hackers tried to disrupt the U.S. election boasted to the crowd in Pennsylvania that he captured a state that for many Republicans was the bride that got away. Everyone leaves Pennsylvania, Republicans, thinking they won Pennsylvania. And they never do. They just dont win Pennsylvania, said Trump. Pennsylvania had not gone for a Republican candidate since 1988. But the Trump campaign staff long thought that the state, rich in white working-class voters, would be receptive to his populist message and not be part of Clintons hoped-for firewall. Trump repeatedly campaigned there, drawing some of the largest and loudest crowds of the campaign. He won the state by less than 1 percentage point, giving him a vital 20 electoral college votes. The evening rally in Hershey also featured a nearly 20-minute recap of Trumps election night win with the crowd cheering as the president-elect slowly ticked off his victories state by state, mixing in rambling criticisms of incorrect pundits and politicians from both sides of the aisle. Trump earlier praised Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, as having built one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and public land issues. Zinke, 55, was an early supporter of the president-elect and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Montana in May. As with several other Cabinet selections, Zinke has advocated increased drilling and mining on public lands and has expressed skepticism about the urgency of climate change. House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the pick, saying Zinke has been an ardent supporter of all-of-the-above energy policies and responsible land management. But his nomination could have a ripple effect on control of the Senate, since Zinke now may forgo what was once a near-certain challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. The president-elect also tapped attorney Daniel Friedman, his adviser on Israeli affairs, to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Friedman, in a statement, said he would help fulfill Trumps promise to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Many Republican presidents have made a similar vow without success. Trump also added to his national security team by announcing the appointments of retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as chief of staff of the National Security Council and Monica Crowley, a Fox News analyst, as the organizations director of communications. Kellogg spent more than 35 years in the Army and, in 2003, oversaw the efforts to form the new Iraqi military after it was disbanded. Crowley and Fox ended their relationship on Thursday. Trump has two Cabinet selections yet to make though he also needs to fill out much of his White House staff. And he was busy on Twitter Thursday morning. He again cast doubt on U.S. intelligence assertions about Russia election hacking, writing: If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? That assertion is untrue. A month before the election, the Obama administration bluntly accused Russia of hacking American political sites and email accounts to interfere. Trump has repeatedly said hed like to improve ties with Russia, a hope that has been echoed in Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday lauded Trumps Cabinet selections, and particularly Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, as people with no anti-Russian stereotypes. The Kremlin has cheered Trumps victory although some Russian officials have recently said they are not expecting relations between Russia and the U.S., which were battered after Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, to improve overnight. Trump also tweeted, The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex when actually it isnt! His declaration came on the day he was supposed to hold a news conference, now postponed until January, to reveal how he plans to distance himself from his business. Aides said more time was needed to finalize the complicated arrangement. (AP) NYC Council Land Use Chairman David G. Greenfield was honored at the largest economic development conference in Israel last week for his work in bringing together the Israeli and New York real estate communities to share viewpoints and explore mutually beneficial opportunities with respect to development and affordable housing. Greenfield spent 48 hours in Israel at the Nadlan in the City Conference, an annual gathering of real estate and development professionals where Greenfield was the recipient of the Israeli Building Centers 2016 Leadership Award for promoting economic development between Israel and America. In his tireless advocacy on behalf of the Jewish community around the world, Councilman David Greenfield truly personifies leadership, said Nadlan founder and president Eran Rolls. New York and Israel are truly blessed to have such an outstanding leader promoting economic development between us. In his keynote remarks at the conference, Greenfield emphasized the importance of connecting the thriving communities in Israel and New York so that both will continue to see robust, healthy, environmentally sound development that is responsive to the needs of the people who live there. Billions of dollars come into New Yorks real estate and development community from Israel every year, Greenfield said. Its good for America and Israel that these funds are invested successfully. I am committed to working with you to make sure that you have continued success in your real estate ventures, Greenfield told that gathering of top Israeli real estate executives. The conference, which was attended by 2,700 experts, leaders and investors from all aspects of the real estate and development community featured a number of panels on dealing with the many complex facets of development and real estate in urban environments. The Israeli Building Centers mission is to promote and educate the real estate construction market in Israel. The organization enjoys an excellent reputation with top-ranked professionals in the fields of construction, design, and real estate. Greenfield also led a separate panel with Israeli professionals on how to build affordable housing. Greenfield went through the intricacies of the city, state and federal affordable housing programs and shared lessons learned from New Yorks robust affordable housing program with the key decision makers in Israel. Finally, Greenfield met with Israels Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon to discuss Israels housing programs, including Kahlons initiative to lower the cost of housing for Israelis in Israel. I was impressed at how seriously Israel is taking its housing crisis and honored to be able to share the lessons from New York with my Israeli counterparts, said Greenfield. Its important that we not just say that we support Israel, but that we put our support into practice. By traveling to Israel to build relationships and work on mutually beneficial projects, we are helping Israel build for its future. (YWN Desk NYC) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been fined over $47,000 for violating spending rules during his 2013 mayoral campaign. The citys Campaign Finance Board announced the fines on Thursday. Among the fines was a $550 makeup bill for his whole family on Election Night. His campaigned argued it was necessary in the age of television, but the board noted that no grooming expenses are allowed under campaign finance laws. De Blasio was also fined for a trip to Washington, D.C. with his son Dante for the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream speech. The mayor unsuccessfully argued it should be picked up because it makes visible the candidates life experience as a credential for public office, similar to using the family in TV ads. (AP) Civil rights groups are concerned about transparency as the Boston Police Departments test of body-worn cameras reaches its halfway mark this week. A study meant to assess the six-month pilot, launched Sept. 12, is not yet underway, researchers told The Associated Press. And law enforcement officials havent provided updates three months in, civil rights groups say. Segun Idowu, co-founder of a local group that had pushed for the cameras, said his organizations request for more detailed information about the pilot has gone unanswered. So, too, has a request by the AP, which sought copies of complaints, investigations, audits, budgets and other documents as well as any relevant body camera video starting over a month ago. If this is how they are running the pilot, then God help us when this moves to a full program, Idowu said. It lacks both accountability and transparency. Police spokesman Michael McCarthy said that the pilot program equipping 100 of the departments over 2,000 officers is progressing as planned but that the department wasnt in a position to provide more detailed information, likely until after an independent study has been completed next spring. I can share that officer compliance with the program is at or near 100 percent and the BPD has collected over 1,000 hours of video, he wrote by email last month. Jack McDevitt, director of Northeastern Universitys Institute on Race and Justice, which has signed on to conduct the study, said his team hasnt started work simply because they have not secured financing. The study isnt being paid for by the university or the city, which has budgeted about $500,000 for the body camera pilot effort, he said. So researchers are seeking a grant through the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Michael Curry, outgoing president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, said the city should have found other ways to pay for the study, which police said was a critical piece as they weigh a department-wide rollout of the cameras. The clear sign when someone is not committed to doing something is when they come up with too many excuses, he said. If and when Northeastern receives funding, McDevitt said, the plan is to review citizen complaints and department data on officer activity and workload. Researchers will also compare the costs for the two types of cameras being tested and host focus groups with officers and community organizations. Most large and mid-size cities with some form of a body camera program havent been forthcoming once their programs are underway, said Harlan Yu, a principal at Upturn, a consulting firm working with civil rights groups to study police body camera programs. One exception is Washington, D.C., where the law requires police to release a report twice a year about body camera usage, he said. Boston community leaders say theyve heard few complaints or problems so far from residents or officers. But the shooting by police of an emotionally disturbed man in October underscores the need for wider use of body cameras, they say. None of the officers involved in that shooting, which prosecutors are reviewing, had been assigned a body camera. Police maintain 31-year-old Terrence Coleman was shot after lunging at them and emergency medical technicians with a knife. But Colemans mother, who had called for the assistance, says her son was unarmed when police burst through the door and shot him. There are such divergent versions of the incident, said Darnell Williams, of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts. We should not be in the position to have to choose between what a mother is saying and what police and EMTs are saying. (AP) President Vladimir Putins spokesman is expressing dismay at U.S. accusations of Russian meddling in Americas presidential election. Dmitry Peskov said Friday in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that the U.S. should either stop talking about it or finally produce some evidence, otherwise it all begins to look unseemly. Peskov made the statement in response to President Barack Obamas comment Thursday. Obama promised that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia at a time and place of our own choosing. Obama said that he spoke directly to Putin about it. Russia has fiercely rejected the accusations of hacking. Putins foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders discussed the issue at a G-20 summit in China in September and Putin gave a very clear answer. (AP) As innocent civilians continue to be slaughtered within the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo, our greatest present-day humanitarian catastrophe can be largely attributed to the fact that the Muslim world has failed the people of Syria. Even though many nations and organizations (especially the United States and the United Nations through inaction, and Russia through direct aggression) rightfully bear the majority of collective blame for their woeful treatment of Syria, it is important to acknowledge that 1.7 billion Muslims have also let the people of Syria down in several different ways. Independent war-crimes investigators working for the Commission for International Justice & Accountability once smuggled out of Syria more than 600,000 official documents tracing the systematic torture and murder of tens of thousands of suspected members of the opposition, as reported in the New Yorker. According to these groups, these official documents were direct orders emanating from President Bashar al-Assads highest-level security committee and approved by President Assad himself. The Syrian government and their Russian benefactors have been violating international law for several months by dropping incendiary bombs on areas populated by civilians, according to an August 2016 report by Human Rights Watch. The Syrian government and Russia should immediately stop attacking civilian areas with incendiary weapons, Steve Goose, arms director at Human Rights Watch, said in the report. These weapons inflict horrible injuries and excruciating pain, so all countries should condemn their use in civilian areas. And yet, despite the reckless destruction of so many Muslim lives, two supposedly Islamic countries Iran and Saudi Arabia are acting like petulant children, callously using Syria as the latest staging ground in their Sunni-Shiite proxy war for regional power. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are funding their respective fighting forces, with the Syrian civilian population as the casualties of their endless crossfire. Of course, the Sunni-Shiite framing of the ongoing Saudi Arabia-Iran proxy war is something of a misnomer: The fight is about political power, not theology, and both of these apparently Muslim countries should be ashamed of themselves for using innocent Syrian women and children as expendable pawns in their dastardly geopolitical chess game. Meanwhile, international Muslim organizations like the Arab League and Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have also completely failed in mobilizing 57 Muslim-majority nations in adequately addressing the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Wealthy petro-monarch gulf Arab states have been cruelly remiss in accepting Syrian refugees, likely because it would trigger legal protections for the refugees under international law. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently over 2.764 million Syrian refugees living in tent cities in the neighboring country of Turkey, making theirs the largest refugee population since Afghan citizens began fleeing their conflict-ridden nation in the seventies. As a Muslim, I am shocked and appalled at the complete abandonment by the Muslim world of the plight of their brothers and sisters in Syria, Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, told me during a recent interview. We always see massive protests [in the Muslim world] if an offensive cartoon is drawn against our prophet. But we have seen silence as genocidal massacres take place against Muslim women and children in Syria. Moustafa added that not a single Muslim country has effectively intervened to help the Syrian people outside a failed effort at a cease-fire by the Turkish government. Finally, our own American Muslim community of 7 million has also failed the Syrian people miserably by inadequately mobilizing to help them. We havent succeeded in lobbying the White House and Congress in any meaningful manner, nor have we managed to pressure our elected lawmakers to do away with no-fly zones or create humanitarian corridors which would allow civilian populations to escape widespread destruction. Even though our American Muslim community raised millions of dollars for Syria aid efforts during fancy suburban fundraising banquets, we have been utterly unable to leverage our political capital to demand that the White House and Congress take decisive action in ending the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. One of the few glimmers of hope are groups like the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) which provided essential medical services to over 2.3 million people inside Syria and 320,000 Syria refugees last year. There is a very well-known verse from the Holy Koran which states that any person who saves the life of one person, it shall be as if they saved all humanity. Even though our entire global community is collectively responsible for our tragically weak response to the continued carnage against the Syrian people, I must also own the fact that our global Muslim community bears much of the blame when it comes to the ongoing disaster in Syria. I pray that God forgives us for living our charmed lives while millions of other people are just trying to stay alive every day. Special To The Washington Post Arsalan Iftikhar First ladies arent always presidential spouses. In fact, two early uses of the title refer to the popular Harriet Lane, niece of James Buchanan, the only lifelong bachelor president. She was an able hostess who, not long before the Civil War, arranged for Northern and Southern guests to be seated apart at a White House function in order to keep the peace. Harpers Weekly called her Our Lady of the White House, and Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper captioned Lanes picture thusly: The subject of our illustration . . . may be justly termed the first lady in the land. So as we learn that Ivanka Trump, Donald Trumps oldest daughter, arranged a meeting between the president-elect and former vice president Al Gore; that she and husband Jared Kushner are reportedly house-hunting in Washington; and that Ivanka is rumored to be looking at White House office space, its pretty fair to say she isnt breaking completely new ground. Theres no job description, so like other first ladies, Ivanka can define her position and it looks like the gig is hers in a unique way: to advocate for nonpartisan causes as Laura Bush did with childrens literacy and Michelle Obama did with nutrition, or she can do what Hillary Clinton did and set up in the White Houses West Wing and serve as a de facto policy adviser. But unlike her predecessors who werent the wife of the president, Ivanka appears poised to be an adviser, advocate and hostess all at once. Which could revolutionize the role and make her the most powerful first lady ever. Ivanka and Jared and Don Jr. are more influential than any Cabinet member, a friend of the Trumps told me recently, referring to the first daughter, her husband and her older brother. And given Ivankas enthusiasm on the campaign trail and her understanding of the ways of official Washington in contrast to her stepmothers apparent indifference its not only conceivable that shell be the incoming administrations titular first lady, shell redefine the position by expanding it in ways that will make it almost unrecognizable. When I interviewed Rosalynn Carter earlier this year, she clearly remembered the uproar over her decision to sit in on her husbands Cabinet meetings, even though she did so without saying a word. Then, first ladies were expected to hide their influence. Ivanka, on the other hand, was at the table Wednesday (along with Don Jr. and brother Eric) when the president-elect met with tech CEOs. And she hasnt done much to dispel the notion that she and her husband will be top advisers, despite describing her role in the administration to 60 Minutes reporter Leslie Stahl by saying, Im going to be a daughter. Throughout our nations history, nontraditional first families, with a president who had remarried, or with someone other than the presidents wife serving as first lady, were not as uncommon as they have been in recent years. In part, thats because life expectancies used to be so much shorter. Martha Jefferson Randolph was first lady because her mother died nearly 20 years before her father, Thomas Jefferson, was inaugurated. Rose Cleveland was her brother Grover Clevelands first lady until his marriage to Frances Cleveland. In more recent times, filling in for the first lady hasnt always been a coveted assignment: 17-year-old Susan Ford stepped in temporarily, and reluctantly, during President Gerald Fords first diplomatic reception, when first lady Betty Ford was recovering from a mastectomy and couldnt attend. A mix of daughters, nieces and sisters have held the position. But it has become increasingly unusual for a first daughter to take on more than a peripheral role in her fathers administration, and it has been a century since there was a first lady who was not the presidents wife. The last time it happened was in 1914, when President Woodrow Wilsons wife died less than two years after his inauguration and their daughter, Margaret, became hostess until President Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. Edith would become the most powerful first lady seen almost as an acting president after the president suffered a debilitating stroke in 1919, 18 months before he left the White House. Ivanka probably wont wield that much unilateral clout, but the breadth of her involvement will be singular. Theres also precedent for reluctant first spouses. Jacqueline Kennedy depended on Lady Bird Johnson to fill in for her so often that Kennedys staff took to calling the then-second lady Saint Bird. Bess Truman fled Washington to her home in Independence, Mo., as often as possible, but as wives of presidents, both she and Kennedy were still expected to make themselves available for state dinners, holiday celebrations and foreign trips. Melania Trump is a more exaggerated and, in a way, more transparent version of these women. Though Melania emerged occasionally during the campaign, shes been almost invisible during the transition. Up to now, shes not even made the pretense of moving into the White House, planning instead to remain at Trump Tower for at least the first several months of her husbands administration. Ivanka, then, will start out as the most prominent woman in her fathers White House. And while Im not sure shell always delight in playing hostess, I do think she is intrigued by the potential to serve as an envoy from President Trump to skeptical blue America. She has, after all, already brokered meetings between her father and Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, two of the countrys most visible environmental activists. She was already a powerful voice in the campaign, and before that she was the most visible representative of the Trump brand, next to her father. Shes already participated in calls and meetings between Trump and heads of state, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Argentine President Mauricio Macri signaling that her father trusts her diplomatic instincts, but also raising questions about conflicts of interest between her role as a member of the first family and her post in the Trump Organization, which has business dealings in both of those countries. One way to view Ivankas unapologetic assertion of herself as a policy adviser is that shes already cleared the bar that Lady Bird warned her daughters about: Dont do anything you wouldnt mind seeing on the front page of the newspaper. Ivanka has lived her whole life understanding this maxim and is prepared for the White House in a way that presidential daughters who came before her, including Luci and Lynda Bird Johnson, Tricia and Julie Nixon, and Jenna and Barbara Bush, werent. She always appears unflappably cool, calm and collected. And while it is nothing new for presidential children to give campaign speeches (Lyndon Johnson routinely graded his daughters speeches) it is rare to have a presidential daughter so eclipse the presidents wife. Melania made only two big speeches during the campaign including her embarrassing remarks at the Republican National Convention when it appeared that she had cribbed from Michelle Obamas 2008 Democratic National Convention speech. By contrast, Ivanka was a constant presence, traveling the country to places that wouldnt automatically be seen as likely campaign stops for a glamorous New Yorker, avoiding major gaffes and being widely viewed by political observers as an asset to her fathers political operation. Other presidential daughters whove waded into politics have had to make tremendous personal sacrifices. As Vietnam War protests raged in the spring of 1970, the head of Julie Nixons Secret Service detail warned her against attending her own graduation from Smith College. She had been one of her fathers fiercest public defenders and in a heart-wrenching plea she wrote to her fathers adviser, John Ehrlichman: I truly think the day will be a disaster if he comes. To wield the power she potentially could, Ivanka will need to have the same flexibility. During the campaign she unwisely cut short an interview with Cosmopolitans Prachi Gupta because she said the reporters questions about conflicts between her statements on child care and her fathers statements years before had a lot of negativity. Thats an answer the media probably wont accept from someone with West Wing influence. If Ivanka does move to Washington, she will soon learn why many first ladies found the White House confining, from Bess Truman (who called it the great white jail) to Michelle Obama, who once joked that the White House was like a really nice prison. So maybe its best that Ivanka relishes her incredible position and at least clearly seems to want to be in Washington. When reporters tried to interview Truman, she replied, You dont need to know me. Im only the presidents wife and the mother of his daughter. In a Washington Post interview in April, then-candidate Donald Trump described Melanias reluctance: We have such a great life. Why do you want to do this? he said she asked him. He replied with his usual modesty: I sort of have to do it, I think. I really have to do it. Ivanka doesnt share her stepmothers reticence. She fits the mold of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Theodore Roosevelts first daughter, who described herself as ecstatic when her father became the 26th president (leaving aside the reason for his sudden succession: President William McKinleys assassination). Perhaps we should applaud a woman who wants to put her own stamp on a role that has continually evolved. Just as so many were anticipating Bill Clintons redefinition of the role of first spouse, maybe Ivanka will force a reconsideration of what being first lady means and who should fill that position. I think it should be someone who wants it, and who recognizes the incredible responsibility and opportunity that comes with the admittedly outdated moniker. Not just someone who inherits the title. Special To The Washington Post Kate Andersen Brower By PTI: Jammu, Dec 16 (PTI) Paying homage to valiant martyrs on the occassion of Vijay Diwas, Chief of Armys Northern Command, Lt Gen D Anbu today said the Army changed the course of history with its undeterred courage, dedication and professionalism, bringing honour to the country. "The Indian Army changed the course of history with its undeterred courage, dedication and professionalism, bringing glory and honour to the nation," he said. advertisement The Northern Command commemorated the occasion with a wreath laying ceremony at Dhruva Shahid Smarak by Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen D Anbu. Lt Gen Anbu and all ranks of Northern Command and a large number of veterans and serving soldiers laid wreaths in honour of the valiant martyrs and to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives for the country. In this message, he said, "This glorious day in the annals of history of India was made possible due to the supreme sacrifices of valiant soldiers during the War." Thereafter Lt Gen Anbu interacted with the veterans and service personnel present on the occasion. Each year, December 16 is celebrated as Vijay Diwas to commemorate Indias historic victory over Pakistan, a defence spokesman said. Swift and professionally planned operations executed by the armed forces led to one of the greatest military victories for the liberation of the people of erstwhile East Pakistan and the creation of a sovereign independent Bangladesh, he said. It was on this day, that the largest military surrender took place at Dhaka when Indian Army, accepted the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops from Lt Gen A A K Niazi of the Pakistan Army. The Western Command of the Army, located in Panchkula district of Haryana, also celebrated the 45th anniversary of Vijay Diwas with full military grandeur and dignity at its Headquarters today. A large number of ex-servicemen and service personnel participated in the celebrations and paid homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives in Indo-Pak War of 1971. Lt General I S Ghuman, Chief of Staff, Western Command, and a large number of veterans and serving soldiers laid wreaths in honour of our valiant martyrs, a spokesman said. To mark the 45th year of victory of Indian Army in 1971 Indo-Pak war over Pakistan Army Vijay Diwas was celebrated at Nagrota Military station. General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen A K Sharma, laid wreath at Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal War Memorial at Nagrota this morning to honour the valiant martyrs of Indian Army. advertisement Vijay Diwas celebrations were today also held at all stations of Jaipur-based South Western Command where the officers paid tributes to the martyrs. General Officer Commanding -in Chief (GOC-in C) of the South Western Command Lt Gen Sarath Chand along with other senior officers and jawans paid rich tributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath at Prena Sthal at Jaipur Military Station in a solemn ceremony. PTI AB SDA DIP --- ENDS --- Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) slammed Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS DOT Friday morning for completely ignoring Mayor de Blasios office and the NYC Department of Transportations request to halt the disastrous Ocean Parkway Project. Traffic signals were activated along Kings Highway and new signage unveiled Friday, as part of the states motion toward implementing changes to traffic flow thanks to the two-year, $15 million Ocean Parkway Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety project. The decision to move forward comes days after NYS DOT officials met with Assemblyman Hikind and several other elected officials to hear their concerns regarding the proposed traffic changes, to which the concerns were ignored. Government is supposed to work for the people, not against them, said Hikind, who was joined by Public Advocate Tish James and representatives from Councilman Chaim Deutschs office on Kings Highway. This is the epitome of chutzpah to completely ignore both the Mayors office and the NYC Department of Transportations request to halt this project. Something is terribly wrong here. I thank Mayor de Blasio and NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg for addressing our concerns, Assemblyman Hikind said. It is a travesty and an embarrassment, however, that our Governor and NYS DOT, despite an outcry from thousands of residents adjacent to Ocean Parkway, could move forward with these disastrous traffic changes knowing that thousands of people are disgusted. These traffic changes will only wreak more havoc for all parties affected and will severely endanger the lives of children, senior citizens and pedestrians, in general, by diverting more traffic down these service roads, where there is already an abundance of school buses, sanitation trucks and emergency service vehicles, Hikind said. Apparently the NYS DOT and Governor Cuomo know whats better for us than lifelong residents of Ocean Parkway and local elected officials. I support Assemblyman Dov Hikind, and the fact that we stand here in the bitter cold represents the sacrifices this community is willing to make. I urge Governor Cuomo to follow the recommendations of Assemblyman Hikind to stop this insanity. This is a reasonable approach; all we are asking is for a simple delay to these changes, said Public Advocate Tish James. I stand united with Assemblyman Dov Hikind, Public Advocate Tish James, and my colleagues in government, calling upon Governor Cuomo to stop this project. Mayor de Blasio and New York City DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenbergs offices have said they have asked the State to halt the implementation of this ban while it is further reviewed. However, New York State DOT plans to continue to proceed. Tens of thousands will be adversely affected by this plan, including motorists, residents, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Studies have shown that turning, particularly left-hand turns, are more likely to cause vehicular accidents. While I appreciate that the NYS DOT seeks to reduce collisions by establishing this ban, data shows that it might in fact increase them, because drivers will ultimately end up making more turns than they have been with the current traffic layout. I ask that Governor Cuomo and the NYS DOT hear the voices of our community and agree to hold off and review the project until its impacts can be studied more thoroughly, said Councilman Chaim Deutsch. Assemblyman Hikind vowed to continue to fight the changes slated for Ocean Parkway for the thousands of outraged residents and commuters who oppose certain parts of the project. We must continue to call the Governor at 212-681-4580 and ask him why your concerns are being shoved aside, Hikind said. Ask the Governor why he doesnt care! We must remain united on this issue and continue to do all we can to fight these unsafe, disastrous changes. (YWN Desk NYC) An association of exporters in Chile gifted an inflated sex doll to country's minister of economy. The act infuriated the social media and the president of Chile. By India Today Web Desk: A business leader from Chile on Tuesday presented the country's minister of economy with an inflatable sex doll at an event. The gift has sparkled a storm on social media and has even attracted criticism by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Association of exporters -- Asexma -- is known to give humourous gifts as a tradition, to the VIPs attending its annual dinner. This time it backfired, when the association gifted economy minister Luis Cespedes an inflated sex toy. The toy came with a comment that it could be used to "stimulate the economy". advertisement Pictures of the event taken by the local media showed Luis Cespedes grinning and holding the blow-up doll on stage. Alongside were other ministers clutching their gifts, which included a blond wig meant to represent the US president-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters CHILEAN PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE SPEAK "The fight for respect for women has been an essential principle in my two governments," President Michelle Bachelet who is also Chile's first female leader, said on her Twitter account. "What occurred at the Asexma dinner cannot be tolerated". Her comment was retweeted more than 1,200 times, and echoed by others on the platform. "I am an entrepreneur and a union member," small business owner Jacqueline Galvez tweeted. "This kind of situation is unacceptable." GLARING INEQUALITIES IN CHILE Access to abortion is illegal, skimpily dressed female 'promoters' are a common sight at business and sporting events, and women's participation in the labor market remains relatively low. "The event with the Asexma doll proves right those who say that our business world is ignorant and isolationist," tweeted political scientist Cristobal Bellolio. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Anisur Rahman Dhaka, Dec 16 (PTI) Bangladesh today celebrated the 44th anniversary of its victory against Pakistan in the liberation war with Indias support. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post while thousands followed them as the nation also bowed in gratitude to the 1971 martyrs and heroes. advertisement Hamid later joined as the chief guest a parade of armed forces and other state-owned organisations at a ceremony, also attended by the premier at the National Parade Square in the capital. Streets and buildings at the capital and other major cities were illuminated overnight of buildings in Dhaka and other major cities marked the anniversary. The premier last night hosted a reception in honour of 29 Indian and Russian war veterans, who fought for Bangladesh?s 1971 independence from Pakistan. Retired lieutenant general G S Sihota led the Indian delegation at the function while Kozhurin Victor led the Russian veterans, who took part in sweeping mines at Chittagong Port after the countrys independence. "Bangladesh will always remember your contributions," Hasina told the reception. The war in 1971 broke after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Officially three million people were killed during the nine-month long war. PTI AR NSA --- ENDS --- Banks need to work harder to tackle money transfer scams and how they respond when customers fall victim, a watchdog said this morning. The Payments Systems Regulator is probing whether banks are shirking responsibility when customers lose their cash after being tricked into transferring money. Banking customers are reimbursed if they are caught out by some scams and when their accounts are hacked. However, there is currently no consumer protection for those who are scammed into making a transfer into a fraudster's account. Worryingly six in ten Britons don't realise they have no protection from their bank if they fall prey to this type of scam. This is Money has covered this plague of scams comprehensively in the last few years. Huge concern: Thousands of individuals and businesses have been tricked into transferring cash straight into a fraudster's account We also recently launched a new hub page Beat the Scammers after being concerned about the wave of fraud hitting Britain. This type of scam typically works when a fraudster - pretending to be from the bank - will claim the victim's account has been compromised. They will say money needs to enter a 'safe account' or sometimes in the case of businesses, a phony invoice will be e-mailed with 'new' payment details. The PSR is responding to a 'super complaint' sent from consumer group Which? in September. The PSR found evidence to suggest some banks could do more to identify potentially fraudulent incoming payments, and to prevent accounts falling under the influence of scammers. Hannah Nixon, PSR managing director, said: 'In a short space of time we have built a clearer picture of the problems we are facing, and it is evident that this type of scam is a growing problem that needs to be tackled. 'Tens of thousands of people have, combined, lost hundreds of millions of pounds to these scams, but the data we have seen so far is incomplete. 'We need a concerted and co-ordinated industry-wide approach to better protect consumers, and we need it to start today.' Which? had raised concerns that, unlike many other payment methods, victims conned into transferring money by bank transfer to a fraudster have no legal right to get their money back from their bank. But the PSR said there was not enough evidence to justify making banks liable for reimbursing victims of such scams. It added that, as more evidence comes to light, it will consider whether it is appropriate to propose changes to the obligations that banks have for these types of scams. The PSR has agreed a programme of work with Financial Fraud Action UK - a body that co-ordinates the fight against fraud - on which the banking industry should lead. It said the industry needs to develop, collect and publish 'robust scam statistics' to address a lack of data on the scale of the problem and enable the issue to be monitored over time. An investigation by This is Money and sister title Money Mail found that just one per cent of fraud cases received by FFA UK are ever acted upon. The industry should also work to develop a common understanding of what information can be shared, and the barriers that exist to sharing information which could help scam victims to recover their cash, the PSR said. The Information Commissioner's Office will be involved in this. It also said a common approach to best practice standards needs to be developed, which both the victim's bank and the bank that receives the money should follow when responding to reports of scams. It will monitor this work and review the progress made by the industry in the second half of 2017. A super complaint allows certain bodies to complain to regulators about features of the market significantly harming consumer interests. It is the first super complaint the PSR, set up in 2015, has received. Which? says Britons make more than 700million bank transfers a month, compared with just over 100million in a whole year a decade ago - but consumer protections had not kept up with changes in the way people paid. By contrast, when people fell victim to fraudsters in other ways they had a better chance of getting their money back. Which? said if a consumer authorised a payment to a scammer using a credit card they were likely to be able to recover lost funds from their bank under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. Alex Neill, managing director of Which? Home & Legal Services, said: 'The regulator has finally acknowledged the considerable consumer harm caused by bank transfer scams. 'However, while recognising that the industry is not doing enough, it has failed to adequately address the issue of liability and has let the banks off the hook, giving them little incentive to do more to protect their customers. 'The outcome for people is unfortunately that they will continue to be scammed out of millions of pounds. We need to see swift action and not see this kicked into the long grass in the second half of 2017.' Last month, the Payments Strategy Forum, revealed a key new safeguard called 'confirmation of payee' which it believes will help prevent financial fraud. When does the tenant fees ban begin? I have been looking for properties to rent and letting agents are still saying on their websites that I will have to pay an administration charge. But didnt these get banned in the Autumn Statement? Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, referred to banning letting agency fees during the Autumn Statement last month Sarah Davidson, of This is Money, replies: You're right that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, did refer to banning letting agency fees during the Autumn Statement last month. However, as with nearly all Government policy, what sounded like an immediate ban was actually a proposal to 'consult' on a ban. It's almost always normal practice for the Government to consult with experts in the industry, consumer groups and any other stakeholders before they make a final decision on the exact rules they draft into law. A ban on up-front fees for tenants is no different. While many letting agents simply charge tenants the cost of items such as references, others ramp up the price to make a profit on checks that they do and also impose charges for administrative work such as contracts and inventories. It's these unfair charges the Chancellor is hoping to target. And you could be forgiven for thinking the ban was immediate, as there was very little effort to point out that it could take some time to come in, We have spoken to the Department of Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for handling this particular consultation, and they confirmed it's likely (though not definite) that talks will start at the beginning of next year. While there is no fixed scope for the consultation yet, it's a pretty safe bet that they will want to talk to landlords, letting agents, the owners of the estate agency groups affected, tenants and consumer groups such as Which? and Citizens Advice who often represent tenants before they decide exactly what a ban on tenancy fees will look like. So even an outright ban itself isn't certain. It could be that up-front fees are banned altogether; it might be that after a lot of lobbying a cap is placed on admin fees to reflect the reasonable costs incurred by letting agents when arranging a new tenancy. Unfortunately, letting agents don't have to scrap any of their fees until the outcome of this consultation is revealed. And going by usual timeframes for this sort of consultation, it's likely that discussions won't be concluded until at least September 2017. It will then take time for the agreed rules to progress through parliament and be passed into law. It's possible that the ban may come into effect by the end of 2017, but it's by no means certain. Currently, traditional letting agencies typically charge tenants 337 in fees to rent a home many tenants in London are forced to pay over 400. This has led to a great deal of criticism that costs are being ramped up rather than passed on. Credit checks, for example, can cost as little as 3 but many letting agents charge tenants in excess of 50 for them. In other instances, tenants can be charged for admin work, such as tenancy renewals and inventories, when these should be covered by the letting and management fees already being charged to landlords. A 12-month consultation period during which letting agents are free to keep over-charging unfortunately doesn't help you in the short-term but, depending on the property you want to live in, there are a growing number of online letting agents that charge much lower tenancy fees. The tremors beneath the surface at Marks & Spencer briefly broke into the open this week with the decision of Robert Swannell to step down as chairman. In spite of M&S's struggles with fashion competitors and the internet, the store group retains its totemic status among British consumers and has high brand recognition overseas. Even modest eruptions attract great attention. Swannell previously advised M&S from his lofty seat at Schroders/Citi for several decades before taking the top job at the retailer. He was the 'go to' figure of his day when it came to High Street deals. M&S boss Steve Rowe, the firm's former head of food, has been tasked with turning around the iconic brand At Schroders / Citi he was highly regarded as a genuine, patrician investment banker who was as concerned with a good outcome for his deal-making as the fat fees for his employers. Doubtless they were still very welcome. His finest hour as an adviser to M&S was to recall Sir Stuart Rose to action in July 2004, carefully orchestrating the defeat of a bid by 'King of the High Street' Sir Philip Green, who had armed himself with cash provided by Bank of Scotland. But in spite of Swannell's immense knowledge of the financial underpinnings of retail, he never looked entirely comfortable as M&S chairman when he took on the role in 2011. It is always said that the job of the independent chairman, if they are doing the business for shareholders, is to sack the chief executive. The criticism of Swannell, both inside the company and out, was that he never did enough to restrain the ambition of Marc Bolland, the former chief executive. Bolland made a valiant effort to turn M&S around and the vaunting success of the food stores is a tribute to the former chief executive's marketing skills together with the sheer hard work of his successor Steve Rowe. The last boss also brought M&S's online offering into the 21st century and modernised the company's logistics. But Bolland was never entirely comfortable with women's fashion, the core of the business, and was too fond of vanity projects. The very expensive French store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the partnership with Dutch designer Marcel Wanders and a home furnishings deal with Conran fall into this category. When Bolland left earlier this year, Swannell's first choice of replacement was Carolyn McCall, EasyJet's chief executive. She judged the turnaround too complex and decided to stay with the no-frills airline. That made room for the head of food and M&S lifer, Steve Rowe. After conducting his strategic review, Rowe decided that Bolland's international expansion was too expensive at a time when the mainstream domestic business was losing clothing sales. Rowe's decision to pull out of China, but stay in Hong Kong, has been enormously contentious inside the company. The Marks & Spencer brand has strong recognition in mainland China and some executives pushed back against closure. Rowe recognised that his own job largely depended on restoration at home, a two- or three-year time frame, whereas investment in China is a long-term proposition. He and colleagues have understood that the proliferation of M&S sub-brands, both in Britain and overseas, had gone far too far. The British consumer might just about understand that Per Una is something special and Autograph more cutting-edge than other brands. But the cold reality is that M&S customers want the durability and quality represented by the M&S name. Overseas, the sub-brands have no traction at all. It is M&S that is trusted by the customers and it won't be that surprising if, over time, most of the sub-brands gradually vanish. The new concept of catering for 'Mrs M&S', mentioned by Steve Rowe, seems to have been an accident rather than a carefully thought-out marketing call. There is a tendency in some quarters to see M&S as being finished as a fashion brand and the clothes being suitable only for an older generation. Certainly it is challenged by Next (just ahead of it in market share) and High Street newcomers including Primark, H&M, Zara et al. Yet nearly a quarter of its customers are under 25 years old and website data shows that demand from around the world for M&S lingerie and children's clothing remains as robust for ever. All the signs (reports of over-crowded chicken sheds notwithstanding) is that M&S is having a bumper Christmas for food. Providing it can get the turkeys and special meat orders to customers, without the ugly queues outside some stores as in 2015, food sales should not be disappointing. Simplifying the clothing offering and making it more user-friendly will take some time, but it is not the hopeless task that some people might imagine. My own view has always been that M&S turning in on itself by axing overseas stores is a huge mistake and will be seen as such by M&S's post-Rowe chief executive. Shareholder short-termism has encouraged too much chopping and changing. A drugs firm has been accused of ripping off the NHS by hiking the cost of one of its drugs by more than 12,000 per cent. According to the competition watchdog, Actavis UK abused its dominant position by increasing the price of hydrocortisone shortly after purchasing the rights to sell the drug from another firm. The cost of a 10mg pack of the drug rose from 79p in April 2008 to 88 by March 2016, and the price of 20mg tablets increased by nearly 9,500 per cent to 102.74 over the same period. Actavis UK increased the price of hydrocortisone shortly after purchasing the rights to sell the drug. The cost of a 10mg pack of the drug rose from 79p in April 2008 to 88 by March 2016 The NHS had previously paid only 1.07. As a result, between 2008 and 2015 NHS annual spending on the drug rose from 522,000 to 70million. Hydrocortisone is used to treat Addison's disease, a life-threatening condition caused when adrenal glands do not produce enough natural steroid hormones. Around 943,000 packets of the tablets were distributed over the past year. According to the Competition and Markets Authority's findings, Actavis UK was able to increase the price of the drug, which it purchased from Merck, Sharp and Dohme in 2008, once it became generic because it was the only drug of its kind on the market and was no longer subject to price regulation. The company has seen its earnings rocket massively in recent years, but it has a complicated structure. The drug maker, which is based in Barnstaple, Devon, saw profits for the year to December 31 increase from 44million in 2014 to 88million in 2015. RIP OFF PHARMA GIANTS Watchdogs are cracking down on rip-off drug prices. Earlier this month, Pfizer was fined 84.2million over a drug it makes to control epilepsy seizures. The US firm and British company Flynn Pharma were accused of charging excessive and unfair prices. As a result the NHS bill for the drug increased from 2million in 2012 to 50million in 2013. Flynn was fined 5.2million. Earlier this year, GlaxoSmithKline was hammered by the CMA for effectively paying off rival companies that wanted to make cheap copies of its best-selling antidepressant paroxetine. Glaxo was fined 37.6million. From this, directors paid a dividend to the firm's holding company, Actavis Holding II, of 81.1million in 2015 despite receiving nothing the year before. At the time of its last report and accounts, Actavis Holding II had 125.9million in investments. The firm's ownership is made further opaque because Actavis UK was recently bought by Israeli firm Teva for 33billion in August. However, in October, Intas, one of India's biggest privately owned drug makers, announced it planned to buy Actavis UK for 600million after Teva was forced to sell parts of its business for competition reasons. As a result, Teva claimed it had no 'effective control' over the hydrocortisone product following the CMA decision because it was in the process of handing over the business. It added that generic medicines had saved the NHS more than 13.5billion a year overall and claimed its products accounted for more than 3.2billion of the amount. It said in a statement: 'Teva is proud of our track record in bringing cost savings to the NHS as the UK's largest generic medicines manufacturer. 'Although the pricing of the acquired Actavis product (Hydrocortisone) under investigation was never under Teva's effective control, Teva believes that intervention by the CMA in prices for generic medicines raises serious policy concerns regarding the roles of both the CMA and the Department of Health.' Top tipple: Gin distiller Sipsmith is to be taken over by a Japanese spirits conglomerate British gin distiller Sipsmith is to be taken over by a Japanese spirits conglomerate. Beam Suntory, which also owns Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon, is paying an undisclosed sum for the company in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of gin. Sipsmith, which creates a range of specialist gins and vodkas, said the takeover by the Japanese giant would allow it to expand its brand all over the world. Under the deal, Beam Suntory aims to sell Sipsmith alongside its other major brands, which include Yamazaki whisky, Laphroaig Scotch and Courvoisier cognac. This would include new markets for Sipsmith, such as South and Central America The Chiswick-based distillery was established in 2009. Its founders, Sam Galsworthy and Fairfax Hall, will continue to run the operations which will remain in the capital. Gardeners, IT contractors, hairdressers, driving instructors and cleaners could all suffer from a flat rate VAT crackdown that is meant to take aim at big businesses manipulating their accounts to pay less tax. The flat-rate VAT scheme was introduced over a decade ago to make life easier for small businesses: removing complicated administration and providing a buffer between their incomings and outgoings, with a standard rate of 14.5 per cent handed over to the taxman. But from April the Government is hiking flat-rate VAT to a uniform 16.5 per cent for all limited costs traders - mainly affecting businesses that predominantly charge for a service they provide, as opposed to selling products. It means a tax squeeze for a whole range of small businesses. Small businesses that offer a service rather than goods, such as driving instructors, often quality for flat rate VAT What is flat rate VAT? The flat-rate VAT scheme was first launched in 2004 and allows small businesses to pay a fixed rate to HMRC if they are under the 150,000 turnover threshold. These businesses then get to keep the difference between what they charge customers and what they pay to HMRC. The idea was a simple and popular one: A business charges VAT at the going rate of 20 per cent, but pays a flat rate of 14.5 per cent on its gross sales including that VAT uplift to the taxman. So, a business that charged 1,000 for something would add 200 of VAT and hand over 14.5 per cent of the 1,200 total, which is 174, to the taxman. It keeps the money in the middle but cannot reclaim VAT on its purchases as those outside the scheme can. The standard flat rate is 14.5 per cent, but different businesses pay different rates designed to give a reflection of what they have to spend to provide their goods or services. So while an accountant pays 14.5 per cent, a cleaning service pays 12 per cent and a plasterer pays 9.5 per cent. How flat rate VAT works - and how it will be cut The gap in the middle of VAT charged and paid out through the flat rate scheme provides both a small tax break and a buffer for small businesses. These firms can find VAT administration complicated, expensive and easy to fall on the wrong side of. There is one crucial thing to note here, however. While the business charges 20 per cent VAT on top of its net price, it pays the flat rate VAT percentage on its gross price. So a business that charges 100 for something would add 20 per cent VAT to take the gross price up to 120. It then currently gives 14.5 per cent of that gross price to the taxman, so 17.40. In return for keeping that small amount in the middle, the business cannot reclaim the actual VAT that it pays out. This means it misses out on reclaiming VAT, but avoids the admin headache that VAT involves and gets a small buffer between incomings and outgoings. Plans revealed in the Autumn Statement by Chancellor Philip Hammond have changed this though, and now the flat rate will go up to 16.5 per cent from 1 April 2017 for firms classed as limited costs businesses. So a business that charges 100 for something would add 20 per cent VAT to take the gross price up to 120. It then gives 16.5 per cent of that gross price to the taxman, so 19.80. The buffer will therefore be slashed from 2.60 to just 20p. The Government expects to make money from the changes, pulling in an extra 195million in the 2017 tax year, according to Office of Budget Responsibility figures. What are the limited cost firms that will be hit? Limited cost traders are defined as those that spend less than 2 per cent of their total sales on goods in an accounting period. Spending on services does not count, nor items bought for or used by employees, such as food and drink, or vehicle maintenance unless you are a vehicle hire firm. You can also be a limited cost trader if you spend less than 1,000 per year, on goods, even if these are more than 2 per cent of your total sales. If you are classed as a limited cost business, then your flat rate of VAT will be 16.5 per cent. This move will hit companies where relatively little is spent on materials and the main charge is for labour or knowledge. These could range from gardeners, to driving instructors, hairdressers, IT contractors, management training consultants and dog walkers. Construction workers and tradespeople who deal with sub contracts and have raw materials paid for by a main contractor could also be hit, for example, an electrician who mainly does work for building firms that buy the materials needed for the job. For limited costs businesses the new flat rate VAT will be a standard 16.5 per cent across the board. Why cut flat rate VAT? The flat-rate VAT scheme was designed to give low-overhead small businesses some tax relief, but the Government says bigger companies are manipulating their accounts to make it look as if they have a turnover below the 150,000 threshold to qualify for the relief. Critics of the move are upset. They argue that the Government has trashed a scheme that was designed to help small businesses and was genuinely doing so. This has been done in order to crack down on larger businesses skipping tax, but small firms will pay the price. Gardeners are among the labour intensive small businesses that could be hit by the flat rate VAT changes What is the point of flat-rate VAT? VAT stands for value added tax and is levied by the Government as a general consumption tax on goods and services sold by UK businesses. Since the start of 2011, it has been charged at 20 per cent. Companies and sole traders with turnover above the VAT threshold of 83,000 must register for VAT and charge it. Those under this threshold can either not register and charge VAT, or they can opt to do so. Many small firms and sole traders do register for VAT under the threshold, as they say that companies they deal with insist that suppliers must be VAT registered. If you are VAT registered then you charge VAT at 20 per cent on your goods and services and can reclaim the VAT that you pay on business-related goods and services. Registered businesses must report to HMRC what they have charged and the amount they have paid in VAT, usually done through a VAT return every three months. To make life easier for small businesses, the flat rate scheme was introduced. The aim was to simplify the book-keeping very small companies have to do and remove something that can prove to be an admin headache, with penalties for late or wrong returns. Why change the rules? Raising the flat rate is intended to stop what Chancellor Philip Hammond described as the 'aggressive abuse' of the current system. The Government has seen a spike in applications to join the flat rate scheme recently and says the higher rate of 16.5 per cent will reduce the incentive for larger firms and agencies to make their workers self-employed or contractors to exploit the rules. When announcing the hike in the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor said it 'will help level the playing field, while maintaining the accounting simplification for the small businesses that use the scheme as intended'. Small firms have not seen it that way and claim that they are having a popular helping hand withdrawn, with many saying there will no longer be any point being in the flat rate scheme. What does this change mean for my business? For limited cost traders enrolled in the flat-rate VAT scheme, it means they will pay more in tax. It will affect contractors, freelancers and small businesses who predominantly provide a service rather than goods: they could be consultants, accountants, dog walkers, builders, hairdressers, or freelance journalists. It means that from 1 April 2017 tax year, if an IT consultant enrolled in the scheme charged a client 1,000 for their service plus 20 per cent VAT to make 1,200, the government will now take 16.5 per cent of that full amount or 198. This would leave the accountant the other 2. That buffer is 24 less than the current 26 they would currently keep under the 14.5 per cent tax rate, where the Government takes 174 of the 200. How do I check if I am affected? The Government said in December 2016 that it would introduce a simple online test and calculator to help enable current and future users of the flat rate scheme work out whether they need to use the new rate. The flat rate VAT changes are due to arrive in two weeks and This is Money can find no evidence of that online tool existing yet. For an estimated 4,000 businesses, it will be cheaper to switch to standard VAT accounting. If you think these chnages might affect you, speak to your accountant. Don't try to avoid the tax increase The Government has stressed that any attempt to 'forestall' the incoming tax increase is illegal. Businesses supplying a service taking place on or after 1 April are not allowed to issue an invoice or take payment in advance at the lower rate. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Months after selling its stake in China, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick today said it sold its stake to rival Didi since the "battle in China became global", prompting the US-based company to focus on other areas such as Ubereats, driverless cars and markets like India. "The battle in China had become global. We had sovereign wealth of China being invested in our competition globally. We had American tech companies that were being compelled to invest in our competitor in China. And so China battle had become a global battle," Kalanick said at the TiE Global Summit here. advertisement In August, the Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing announced acquisition of Ubers operations in China in a USD 35 billion deal. While Didi acquired Uber Chinas brand, business operations and data, Uber received 5.89 per cent share of the combined entity, totalling 17.7 per cent economic interest in Didi Chuxing. Interestingly, Didi is an investor in Ubers rival Ola in India as well as Lyft, a competitor to Uber in the US. "At some point we realised that we cant do everything ourselves. So we partnered in China so that we can focus on other interesting things we are doing worldwide like Ubereats, what is going on in India, driverless cars. There are whole bunch of things that we needed to focus on. We could not do everything ourselves. We did put our heart and soul in that effort (China operations)," he said. Kalanick, who is on a five-day trip to India, yesterday said the company was losing USD 200 million a month in China and that merging was a "great strategy". The billionaire entrepreneur started Scour (a file sharing service) with four other co-founders and then went on to set up another file sharing platform, Red Swoosh before starting Uber with Garrett Camp in 2009. Asked about his views on the ideal number of co-founders for a successful startup venture, Kalanick said: "The thing is when you have too many co-founders...it takes too long to arrive at a decision. Solo, likewise, is a tough road too." In India, many of the Unicorn Club members (private companies with valuation of over USD one billion) like Flipkart (Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal), Snapdeal (Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal), Ola (Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati) and Zomato (Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah) have two co-founders. PTI SR PRS SBT ABI --- ENDS --- Atleast three students have been injured in the clash and have been admitted in Chinsurah hospital. By Indrajit Kundu: Supporters of students wing of TMC and CPI(M) clashed at Hooghly's Mohsin college on Friday. Trouble began when Students Federation of India (SFI) supporters took out a rally from the college premises in Chinsurah and were on their way to the District Magistrate's office. SFI students wanted to submit a deputation to the DM seeking free, fair and peaceful elections to students bodies across colleges. advertisement When the rally got back to the college, there was an altercation with Trinamool Chatra Parishad supporters. It soon turned into a scuffle followed by a full-fledged clash. Atleast three students have been injured in the clash and have been admitted in Chinsurah hospital. Additional police force have been rushed to the spot to bring situation under control. READ | Demonetisation: People are being forcefully bulldozed, Mamata tells Bengal assembly --- ENDS --- EZULWINI Hardly 40 minutes into the Swazi Med Annual Shareholders Meeting, Dr Gina stormed out after a heated debate with members of the Board. This transpired yesterday during the meeting that was held at the Royal Swazi Convention Centre. Continue well with your meeting Mr Chair, said Gina as he walked out of the meeting. The heated debate was about minutes of the previous meeting, which Gina said were inaccurate. Gina said the minutes were misleading and appeared to be fabricated as there were additions he had noted that were not said in the previous minutes. He accused the Board of trying to make members of the medical aid scheme adopt false minutes. Gina first raised his dissatisfaction at the manner in which the meeting had been called. He said it was too short notice and some of them did not have enough time to go through a lot of the information contained in the report. He said it was not satisfactory that they were asked to attend the meeting to discuss the documents that were given to them so late. He asked that it be noted that there were other people who wanted to attend the meeting but could not due to the short notice. Gina said the Board should not assume that their apologies, which he said some would be viewed as excuses, were accepted by everyone. At your age Mr Chairman I am pleased that we can speak directly and try to stick to the truth. I know you were not present in the meeting last year but I was and I have gone through the minutes and quite frankly some of the things that have been inserted, and I repeat the word inserted, are shocking, said Gina. QHAWE MAMBA LEAVING THE COURT AFTER HE WAS ACQUITTED AND DISCHARGED YESTERDAY. MBABANE - The prophecy by Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Khulani Mamba, who is also a prophet, that Channel S boss Qhawe Mamba will be acquitted in the E50 million fraud case has been fulfilled. This comes after Qhawe was yesterday acquitted and discharged by High Court Judge Nkululeko Hlophe. In a previous interview Khulani said he delivered the prophecy in his capacity as a prophet and senior pastor of Jesus Dominion Centre International. This was during an end-of-the-year party hosted by Channel Swazi staff and management at its new broadcasting house at Nkoyoyo, on the outskirts of Mbabane in December 2015. Khulani delivered a prophecy on the E50 million fraud court case, declaring that Qhawe would possibly be acquitted. The party was aired live on Channel Swazi, a private television station owned by Qhawe, a veteran journalist. Qhawe is also a former Executive Director of the Outside Broadcast Unit of Swazi TV, a government-owned television station. Khulani was quoted as having said he did not deliver the prophecy on behalf of the police service, but spoke on behalf of God. He said he was invited to the thanksgiving party to join his colleagues in the Christian ministry in wishing Qhawe, staff and viewers of the station, as well as the Swazi Nation at large, a Happy Christmas and a better New Year. Our sister publication, the Times Sunday, reported that Mamba said while he was there, he was asked by Channel Swazi management to share the Word of God. His gift of prophecy, he said, was activated while he was proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He said he then began to see things happening in the spiritual world. EZULWINI Ezulwini Town Board CEO Vusumutiwendvodza Matsebula has been accused of allegedly enforcing an illegal 28 per cent salary increase for one of his female friends, who is his subordinate. The female friend, Town Planner Zwakele Dlamini, is alleged to have been awarded this percentage while the cost of living adjustment had been set at seven per cent across all employees. This is the same woman who it has been alleged used to spend some time with the CEO at her house situated next to Mantenga. The allegation was made by accountant Bhekithemba Gama when he made his appearance before the commission of inquiry yesterday. Gama was justifying his allegation that the CEO was guilty of being selective and giving preferential treatment to some employees. The veracity of the allegations is yet to be determined by the commissioners and all parties remain innocent until the finalisation of the inquiry. As he began his submission, he informed the commissioners that he decided to come in order to make them aware of the many things that happen without being noticed by the councillors. There is a lot that happens in front of us but we are not able to alert the councillors because we do not have the permission to do so. We can only tell the CEO but this cannot work if most of the concerns are about him, said Gama. He alleged that the exact percentage for Dlaminis salary increase was 28.64, which was four times more than what the rest of the employees received. When the commissioners asked him how he got to know about the anomaly, Gama alleged that he spotted it on the payslips. The commissioners further asked Gama to shed light on what instrument the accounts department used in enforcing the salary increase and he responded by stating that there were minutes from councillors, which were issued after a salary review that contained recommendations. MBABANE Emotions which had been held in for over a decade, yesterday finally erupted as four of the E50 million suspects were acquitted and discharged by the High Court. Prayers punctuated by tears of both joy and pain played themselves out in the corridors of countrys High Court as Channel S Boss Qhawe Mamba, businessman Sabelo Mavuso and civil servants Nonhlanhla Dlamini and Tsembani Simelane were acquitted of all charges by Judge Nkulukelo Hlophe. The verdict was finally delivered by the judge at 2pm after the suspects had all arrived in court just after 9am. Just like the trial which had dragged for over 10 years, it appeared to the accused that they would never hear the verdict as they first moved from Court B to Court C, but the judge at that time was listening to urgent matters. Please come back at noon, announced one of the accused, lawyers and at noon sharp, again the suspects were asked to move to Court A as the recording system in Court C was faulty. At 2pm, Hlophe finally delivered the much awaited verdict after reading from his summary for an hour and a half. However, it was not only good news that the judge delivered as three of the other accused, businesswoman Sebenzile Thango, government accountants Ethel Matsebula and Phindile Gwebu were found guilty and had to watch their co-accused immediately walk out of the courtroom. As soon as Hlophe had finished delivering the verdict, Attorney Sabelo Bhembe who represented Dlamini and Simelane could not hold his excitement and asked the judge if his clients could exit the courtroom, a request that was granted. Actor Bernard Fox, best known for his role as Dr. Bombay from the popular sitcom Bewitched, died of heart failure on Wednesday. By Indo-Asian News Service: Actor Bernard Fox, best known for his role as Dr. Bombay from the popular sitcom Bewitched, is dead. He was 89. The actor died of heart failure on Wednesday at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, California, reports vareity.com. Fox was born Bernard Lawson in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1927 to stage actors Queenie and Gerald Lawson. advertisement His first tryst with cinema took place when he just 18 months old. He worked as assistant manager of a theater by the time he was 14. Also read: Shocking! Crime Patrol actor Kamlesh Pandey commits suicide by shooting himself He served in the Royal Navy during World War II before returning to films. He had 30 film credits from 1956 to 2004. In that period, Fox was featured in two films revolving around the sinking of the Titanic - the 1958 movie A Night to Remember and James Cameron's 1997 version Titanic. His other films included the The Rescuers Down Under and The Mummy. Apart from portraying Dr. Bombay on Bewitched, Fox also appeared in several television shows, playing Colonel Crittendon on another popular sitcom, CBS' Hogan's Heroes, and Nigel Penny-Smith on the daytime soap opera General Hospital. --- ENDS --- Priyanka Jagga is back to doing what she's best at. By India Today Web Desk: Here's some news for Bigg Boss 10 fans who were missing Priyanka Jagga's troublemaker side. The wild card contestant is back to doing what she is best at--picking fights and making personal comments on the contestants. It was Priyanka who nominated Lopa for the captaincy task along with Manu. But now she is in a vindictive mood after Lopa decided to punish her for playing a spoilsport in the ring task by splashing water on her face. advertisement Last night, Lopamudra was declared the captain by Bigg Boss after she defeated Manveer and Bani in the ring task. The first thing that she did after becoming captain was punishing five contestants--Swami Om, Priyanka Jagga, Bani Judge, Gaurav Chopra and Nitibha Kaul. Priyanka will lose her cool on hearing the punishment and will enter into a huge argument with Lopa. She will call her things like makeup ki dukaan and pheeka pakwaan. Nitibha will try to stop Priyanka from making personal comments on Lopa saying that host Salman Khan might reprimand her for the same in the Weekend Ka Vaar episode. Priyanka, however, will refuse to stop. She will be heard saying, "I'm not scared of Salman Khan. I don't want to do a film with him. I can even say that on his face." Well, we will say that Priyanka has gone even one step ahead of Swami Om. What do you say? Bigg Boss 10 airs Mon-Fri at 10:20pm and Sat-Sun at 10pm on Colors TV --- ENDS --- Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Mark Hallum Members of the Jackson Heights South Asian community spoke out about concerns following the presidential election on Saturday at a Chhaya CDC town hall meeting and were joined by state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst). Chhaya is an organization dedicated to advocating for South Asian immigrant centers in the city to build economically stable, sustainable, and thriving communities. The town hall meeting took place at Renaissance Charter School, 35-59 81st St., with more than 200 people in attendance. Its all about working together and ensuring that not only does the city of New York remain a sanctuary city, but we have each others back, Peralta said. Naheed Bahram from the Women for Afghan Women told the audience her organization has been working with immigrant communities for the past 15 years. The current level of fear is unprecedented following the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. Zaiban Akberzai, 15, from the organizations girls leadership program said her mother was harassed for wearing her head scarf. In the previous years, this has never occurred. But now with the recent election that has taken place with President -elect Donald J. Trump, hate crimes have accummulated,Zaiban said. But Im very confident that we as New Yorkers will fight against harassment and stand united as one. Zarmina Zadran, a 13-year-old with the leadership program, said the recent weeks have been a difficult time for her because she has experienced bullying from peers at school. A paralegal who did not give her name described how she felt the morning her husband told her Trump had won the election and the experience of clients where she works offering legal aid to immigrants. Of course, if you havent lived immigration, if you havent been touched by it, you really cant relate to it, she said. But hearing the stories of these people each day who have been persecuted, who have fled their counties and have come to the U.S. for a different life. Trying to fight for that person, and then having others tell them otherwise, that they dont belong. Thats heartbreaking. Another person at the microphone spoke in place of a Pakistani woman who had lived in Jamaica for 11 years and was the victim of a hate crime, but too scared to report the incident to authorities. The woman was walking through the streets of southeast Queens and was verbally harassed as well as having her hijab tugged at. I said to her, Youve got to report this, she said. But Im not so sure shes comfortable doing this. The woman said the narrative for the Pakistani woman in Jamaica is different from the experience she has heard from Muslim women in places such as College Point. She speculated that the safety and comfort varied from community to community. On the panel at the town hall meeting were Alina Das, associate professor of Clinical Law at NYU; NYU law student Sarika Arya; Nishan Bhaumik, an attorney at Anti-Violence Project; and Queens Borough Director for the Office of MayorNick Gulotta. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Patrick Donachie The acting principal of Townsend Harris High School is facing criticism from students, teachers and alumni, some of whom are calling on the city Department of Education to ensure she is not installed as the schools permanent principal. Rosemarie Jahoda was appointed as interim principal after Anthony Barbetta, the schools previous principal, left the school in September. A chang e.org petition requesting Jahoda not be named the permanent principal had gathered 3,463 signatures as of presstime. There was unfortunately no input as to the selection of Ms. Jahoda as interim acting principal when Mr. Barbetta transferred. In her three months as interim acting principal, Ms. Jahoda has demonstrated that she is not the right fit for this school, the petition said. This semester, there have been rumors of numerous instances of faculty harassment, significant changes to programs and course offerings without input from the faculty and SLT (Student Leadership Team), and as time has passed, less parent engagement. She has simply not been as approachable as previous principals. Students at the school also engaged in a sit-in protest Dec. 8, which students streamed on Facebook Live. The video shows lines of students sitting against lockers in a school hallway. The video was later uploaded to the YouTube channel for The Classic, the schools newspaper. Were here to protest making Principal Johada a permanent principal at Townsend Harris, one student said during the video. She treats teachers unfairly, everything she is doing is unfair to everyone in the school. A call for comment from Principal Jahodas office was not returned. A DOE spokesman stressed that the process for hiring a permanent principal, known as C-30, had not yet been initiated. Principal hiring and assignment decisions are made by the superintendent in accordance with the chancellors regulations, and based on consultations with members of the school community, the spokesman said. We listen closely to the feedback and concerns of all school communities and engage them as part of the C-30 process. The chang e.org petition cited Jahodas tenure as assistant principal at the Bronx High School of Science as an additional cause for concern. An independent arbiter found in 2010 that 20 of the 22 mathematics teachers under Jahodas supervision expressed concern about her leadership, including the creation of a hostile work environment through the harassment and intimidation of teachers and the inequitable implementation of department and school policies. Townsend Harris High School is renowned for its high academic standards and college enrollment. The New York Post listed the school as the best high school in the city in its annual high school performance list released in September. The Post reported that nearly 6,000 students throughout the city applied for 306 freshman seats last school year. Inside Schools reported that 100 percent of students graduated in four years and enrolled in college, with an average 640 SAT reading score and a 680 math score. The school is located on the Queens College campus. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams By Bill Parry Since moving into the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth Oct. 10, 30 homeless men have been subjected to raucous rallies each weeknight from area residents. But on Thursday afternoon a half dozen of the residents received kindness instead in the form of care packages full of toiletries and basic necessities prepared by neighborhood high school students. Theres been a lot of protests and we just want to make sure they feel supported, 17-year-old Ryan Chang of Middle Village said. Chang and Alfred Chan, 17, of Elmhurst handed the gifts to each man along with handshakes and hugs. The two high school students are members of City Mission, a non-profit that was started by Elmhurst resident Lester Lin in 2014 after his neighbors rallied against the homeless families the city moved into the Pan American Hotel to show a better side of his Elmhurst community. Lets just say Elmhurst didnt put its best face on during those protests, especially our Asian community, Lin said. I knew I had some work to do to mend fences and help these people. What began with a simple barbecue for families in the Elmhurst shelter in a nearby church parking lot has grown into a youth movement with monthly events and holiday parties in numerous shelters and hotels across the borough. I just hope they feel a bit of love, especially at this time of year, Chan said. Mission accomplished. Ive seen those protests every night and I have to say this reception is a little nicer, Steven from Brooklyn said. Its very nice of them to take the time for us. Real nice around Christmas. He lost his home after it was declared unsafe from water damage and has not found an affordable home despite his full time job at JCPenney. Tyrone Burton, 52, lost his home in Jamaica when his relationship broke up. He was also unable to find affordable housing despite a full time job at Macys for 16 years. Its really tough out there, he said. I just cant afford $1,200 for a little studio apartment, but I keep looking. There were only a handful of residents present at the reception. The rest were still at work, according to a city official. Its amazing and Im overwhelmed by these kids and their Christmas spirit. It really says a lot about this community, Carl Brennan, 49, said. Brennan worked for as a hair stylist for 30 years before he broke his neck in a car accident and can no longer raise his arms. I didnt pay attention to those nightly protests, which finally ended last month, he said. I figure they didnt understand. They think we are just derelicts who dont want to work and thats just not the case at all. Bihar government is working on a war footing for constructing new roads and widening of old road ahead of the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh to be celebrated in the first week of January next year. By Rohit Kumar Singh: Violent clashes took place between police and locals in Patna City area after the district administration demolished a temple for widening of road. The Bihar government is at the moment working on a war footing for constructing new roads and widening of old road ahead of the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh to be celebrated in the first week of January next year. advertisement People from the Sikh community from across the world are expected to be thronging to Patna City for the mega event. The Patna administration, which had been trying to demolish the temple for a long time, had served several notices to the temple authorities but to no avail. Left with no choice, the administration, fully backed by police personnel today reached the spot where the temple was located and an attempt to demolish the temple was made that faced stiff resistance from the locals. The angered locals soon turned unruly and attacked the police and district administration officials. The mob set on fire police vehicle, motorcycles and pelted stones on the district officials and cops. The police soon retaliated and fired in the air to disperse the agitated mob. Once the mob was dispersed, administration brought down the temple using a JCB machine. The priests of the temple were also arrested for obstructing government officials from doing their work. The situation, after the temple was demolished, remains tensed and heavy police deployment has been put up in the area to avert any untoward incident. --- ENDS --- Beaver County preparing for robust Election Day As the Nov. 8 midterm election approaches, nearly 114,000 people are registered to vote in Beaver County. Terming the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as legal, the Centre has rejected the suggestion to hold a meeting of the selection panel by the end of December. By Ahmad Azeem: Responding to the Supreme Court notice on a plea challenging appointment of Rakesh Asthana as the acting director of the central bureau of investigation (CBI), the Centre refrained from giving a concrete date for appointment of a full time chief of the agency. Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi told the Supreme Court that a meeting between the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition would be held soon. advertisement He said concurrence of the three has been obtained for the meeting and some candidates have also been decided. READ| SC issues notice, seeks Centre's reply on appointment of Rakesh Asthana as interim CBI director However, the attorney general opposed the petitioner's demand that the meeting should be held in December itself. If the said meeting is not held this month, it is almost certain that the incumbent CJI TS Thakur will not be in the panel of selectors as he demits his office on January 4. WATCH This raises a question as to whether Modi government wants to avoid Justice TS Thakur in deciding the full time director of the CBI. Was this the reason why Rakesh Asthana was made acting chief of the premier agency? READ| CJI slams Modi government: We have vacant court rooms but no judges During the hearing today, the attorney general told the apex court that appointment of Rakesh Asthana as the acting director of CBI was not illegal. Next hearing on the matter will be held on January 17. WHAT HAPPENED IN EARLIER HEARING Hearing the petition filed by NGO Common Cause, the apex court had sought to know why senior CBI officer RK Dutta was shifted out of the agency two days ahead of the retirement of the then director Anil Sinha. In the last hearing on December 9, the Supreme Court had asked the government if it followed the procedure laid down under Section 4-C of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. READ| What to know about CBI's new chief According to the DSPE Act, the tenure of a senior CBI official can only by curtailed after approval by a committee comprising the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the Vigilance Commissioners and the Secretaries in the ministries of home affairs and the department of personnel and training. The Centre replied to the questions today in the Supreme Court, when it said that appointment of Rakesh Asthan was made according to due process.RK Dutta was in the contention to become the next CBI director upon the superannuation of Anil Singh. advertisement HOW IS CBI DIRECTOR APPOINTED There are two laws concerning appointment of CBI directors- The Lokpal Act and the DSPE Act. According to the Lokpal Act, the CBI director is appointed by the Centre on the recommendation of a selection panel. The selection committee is headed by the Prime Minister with the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge nominated by him and the Leader of Opposition. WATCH: If this selection panel meets before January 4, CJI TS Thakur will be on the panel to decide the CBI chief. Justice TS Thakur has been critical of the Modi government on several issues. There are whispers in the power corridors that the government wants to avoid Justice Thakur in appointment of CBI director. Before the Lokpal Act was legislated, the CBI director was appointed under the provisions of the DSPE Act. The Centre made the appointment on the recommendation of a selection panel consisting of the CVO as the chairperson. The vigilance commissioners and secretaries of home affairs and coordination and public grievances in the cabinet secretariat acted as the members. --- ENDS --- advertisement This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox is preparing to retire from the department he's led for the past year, several people briefed on Cox's plans said. Leah Golby, chair of the City Council's Public Safety Committee, said Cox told her Thursday night that he planned to leave for a job with a Seattle-based not-for-profit organization. He offered no specific retirement date. Cox, who has 22 years on the police force, is leaving for a job with Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, a national program aimed at reducing low-level arrests, racial disparities and recidivism. Golby said. Albany was the third city in the nation, following Seattle and Santa Fe, N.M., to launch a LEAD program. "I've worked with six or seven chiefs in my day and Cox, I believe, was the best chief for Albany," said Alice Green, a longtime social justice activist in the city. "He has worked to change the culture of the Albany Police Department." "Police officers were mainly interested in controlling the inner city and its people," Green said. "Now, officers see themselves as partners of the community." Cox, 45, declined to comment Friday morning. When word of his possible retirement surfaced in October, Cox told the Times Union that he had no plans to leave. Mayor Kathy Sheehan's office declined to comment, but the mayor and Cox will hold a joint news conference at 10 a.m. Monday, city officials said. Golby was one of several people who said they've been told the chief is on the verge of taking another job. Cox was eligible for retirement two years ago but decided to stay on in leadership. "He'll be deeply missed," Golby said. "Brendan has a long tenure with the police department, and he was instrumental in bringing community policing into the city." Cox, who grew up on Wood Terrace off New Scotland Avenue and now lives in Loudonville with his family, was intimately involved in the creation of the city's revamped beat patrols and a citizen advisory panel. "Community policing is the backbone of what we do," Cox said in an October address to 11 new police recruits. "We can't make change alone." Cox took over as acting chief in April 2015, and was confirmed by the Common Council in July of that year. Less than 48 hours into his tenure as acting chief, a mentally ill Arbor Hill man died after officers stunned him with a Taser. A grand jury took no action in the case involving four officers and the District Attorney's office closed its investigation in the death of Donald "Dontay" Ivy, which played out against the backdrop of national unrest over high-profile cases of African-American men dying in police custody and sparked local protests and calls for reforms. Green, who is the executive director of the Center for Law & Justice, said those protests never boiled over to violence in Albany as in other places in part because of the work of Cox and his predecessor, Chief Steven Krokoff. "He called me I was out of the country and said, 'This is what happened,'" Green said in a 2015 interview. "And that's really special, and I think that speaks well of who he is and what his commitment is." Cox worked with Green to introduce LEAD in Albany. All of the city's roughly 340 officers completed four hours of training last spring on exercising discretion to divert offenders involved in crimes such as shoplifting and marijuana possession. A relatively small number of these offenders, who often suffer from mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction, repeatedly tie up limited resources in the criminal justice system and are called "frequent fliers." About 15 people have been diverted since April, Cox said in October. "We know these are long-term clients. They're not going to be, in 24 hours, ready to go," Cox said. "He looks at drugs and mental health as a public health issue," instead of solely a criminal justice issue, Green said. "He doesn't like to see people go to jail." The son of a stay-at-home mother and a boiler operator who worked two jobs, Cox attended Christian Brothers Academy and majored in criminal justice at the University of Dayton. He later earned a master's degree in public administration from Marist College. "Everybody always says this, but I wanted to get into some sort of career to help people," he said in a 2015 interview. He began working midnights patrolling West Hill and Pine Hills out of what's now known as Center Station. He was promoted to sergeant in 1998 and lieutenant in 2004, a path that included two tours in the Children and Family Services unit and brief stint overseeing special operations. Cox was elevated to commander in 2006, after which he oversaw the detective division, then to assistant chief in 2008 and deputy in 2013. The department won a federal grant for a body-worn camera program for officers, which is being piloted this winter. Under Cox's leadership, all city officers received implicit bias training a policy protesters across the country have called for to combat prejudiced policing. "It is important for officers to realize he or she has bias," Green said. The training has changed "the way officers see people and how they approach them," she said. "Cox has balanced the needs of his officers with the needs of the community," Green said. Albany Capitol sources on Friday said they were expecting former President Bill Clinton to attend Monday's meeting of the Electoral College in the Senate chamber. Secret Service agents were seen in and around the Senate late Friday morning, a sign that Clinton may at least be considering a trip to Albany to cast a vote for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Multiple calls to members of the Clinton campaign, the Secret Service and attempts to reach spokespeople for Clinton and the Clinton Foundation did not bear fruit. A majority of the state's 29 electors have confirmed their attendance for Monday's ceremonies. Aside from Clinton, one other notable dignitary who has not yet publicly said whether he'll attend is Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who served in the Clinton White House as the secretary of Housing an Urban Development. A Cuomo spokesman said Friday morning that there is still no update on the governor's Monday plans. Meanwhile, more than a half-dozen New York electors who are planning to show up are calling for intelligence briefings regarding potential foreign interference with the presidential election ahead of Monday's voting in states nationwide. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James on Friday issued a statement saying that "it has become abundantly clear that ... all electors across the country must receive a full briefing on the alarming reports of communication and interference that transpired between Donald Trump, his campaign, and the Russian government." "Our system can never function in darkness a true democracy can only serve the people in sunlight," she said. James is one of nine New York electors who have signed on to a letter calling for intelligence briefings. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union President Stuart Appelbaum, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, state Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and electors Hazel Ingram, Melissa Sklarz and Anastasia Somoza also have signed the letter. The noontime meeting of the electors will mostly be pomp and circumstance, though it is not expected to be a jovial affair for these New York Democrats. All 29 electors will cast ballots for Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote but not enough Electoral College votes to win the White House. Though electors nationwide, whether pledged to Clinton or Republican President-elect Trump, can choose to vote for a candidate they are not currently pledged to, it's almost certain Trump will not be deposed during the formal process. mhamilton@timesunion.com 518-454-5449 @matt_hamilton10 This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Austrian firm ams AG is backing out of plans to build a $2 billion computer chip factory outside of Utica in partnership with SUNY Polytechnic Institute. State says it is disappointed in loss of Utica chip fab The project was a major part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's NanoUtica program. A Swiss publication called Finanz und Wirtschaft obtained internal ams documents that blamed delays by New York state for the project falling through. More on this story is available here exclusively to Times Union and timesunionPLUS subscribers. A Bay Area man says his home security camera captured the end of a successful mountain lion hunt right on his front porch. Peter Rauenbuehler has posted video online showing a mountain lion attacking a deer and then dragging the limp animal away from his Hillsborough home. The incident occurred at 3:58 a.m. on Wednesday morning, according to Rauenbuehler. A previous version gave the incorrect source of the funds as the city of Albany. An Albany-based nonprofit will have an extra $250,000 to invest in local small businesses after receiving a grant from the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation. Washington The Obama administration suggested Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election and said it was "fact" that hacking had helped President-elect Donald Trump's campaign. The White House also leveled an attack on Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russia's interference. No proof was offered for any of the accusations. The claims of Russian meddling in the election also have heightened already debilitating tensions between Washington and Moscow over Syria, Ukraine and a host of other disagreements. After an NBC News report quoted U.S. intelligence officials pointing the finger specifically at Putin, White House press secretary Josh Earnest pointed to an October assessment of the U.S. intelligence community saying that "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." Earnest said the reference to "senior-most officials" wasn't supposed to be subtle. "It's pretty obvious," he told reporters. The explosive accusation paints the leader of perhaps the nation's greatest geopolitical foe as having directly undermined U.S. democracy. No U.S. officials have claimed, however, that Trump would have been defeated by Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russia's assistance. Nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote-counting. The Kremlin flatly rejected the claim of Putin's involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissing it as "laughable nonsense." The White House on Thursday also was harshly critical of Trump, who has dismissed the allegations of Russian interference as the partisan anger of Democrats over losing the election. Trump's criticism has opened up a deep rift between the intelligence community and its incoming commander in chief. It is "obvious" that Trump knew of Russia's behavior during the campaign, Earnest said, also disputing Trump's claim that he was joking when he encouraged Russia to find emails that Clinton had deleted from her private email server. No one in the White House, Congress or the intelligence community found it "funny" that a U.S. adversary was trying to "destabilize our democracy," he said. U.S. intelligence officials have linked the hacking to Russia's intelligence agency and its military intelligence division. Moscow has denied all accusations that it orchestrated the hacking of email accounts of Democratic Party officials and Clinton's campaign chief, John Podesta, and then leaked them to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Austrian computer chip maker ams AG is pulling the plug on a $2 billion factory in Utica that was a centerpiece of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's NanoUtica program. A press conference is scheduled for Friday afternoon in Utica where Oneida County officials will discuss the news. Thorsten Riedl, technology editor for the Swiss-based publication Finanz und Wirtschaft , reported Friday that ams AG's board has informed employees that it is no longer pursuing the Utica chip factory due to delays. Work has stalled on what ams called "Fab C" since an April groundbreaking and the subsequent arrest of SUNY Poly founder Alain Kaloyeros. Using state money, SUNY Poly was going to build the facility for ams, which would lease the plant for $1 but invest $2 billion on equipment and operating expenses over many years. State says it is disappointed in loss of Utica chip fab The site is at the so-called Marcy Nanocenter, a large 400 acre plot of land located across the street from SUNY Poly's Utica campus in the town of Marcy. "We will inform our negotiating partners that we are not pursuing the Fab C project," says an internal ams memo obtained by Riedl. Spokesman for Empire State Development, SUNY Poly and Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not immediately offer any comment on the news. The state has committed $600 million to the project so far. Officials in Oneida County, which has provided financial assistance to the project in addition to state funding, scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. Friday in Utica. Otilia Ayats-Mas, a spokeswoman for ams at the company's Plano, Texas office, wouldn't talk. "We have no comment due to agreements with the New York state," she said, although it is unclear if she is referring to a non-disclosure agreement. The contract between ams and the state has been made public. The Fab C project was a major component of Cuomo's NanoUtica program, which also includes a major chip packaging research facility on the SUNY Poly campus there that would be overseen by General Electric Co. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter. The Marcy Nanocenter where Fab C would have been built is owned by SUNY Poly and Mohawk Valley EDGE, a Rome-based economic development group. Mohawk Valley EDGE officials also did not respond to requests for comment Friday. However, in an interview with the Rome Sentinel, Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steve DiMeo said that the arrest of Kaloyeros and the transfer of the project to ESD froze everything up enough to scare ams into believing it would fall behind in technology advances. "That just froze everything up," DiMeo told the Sentinel. "This is a fast-moving industry." A GE spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment Friday to discuss GE's plans in light of the ams decision, although neither facility is related. Riedl, who is based in Munich, reports that ams has decided to focus on expanding its capacity at its plant in Austria, known as Fab B and working with contract manufacturers. Riedl reported "time constraints were not met, and all efforts by New York state and ams officials to find a solution were 'not satisfactory,'" according to the ams memo. China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the United States criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. A live-fire drill using an aircraft carrier is seen carried out in the Bohai sea, China, December 11, 2016. (Photo: Twitter) By Reuters: China's military has carried out its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighters in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea, state media said. China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the United States criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. advertisement No other country has claims in China's busy waterway of the Bohai Sea, but the drills come amid new tension over self-ruled Taiwan, following US President-elect Donald Trump's recent telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing. Ten vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday. ALSO READ | China flexes muscles: Western border command stages massive drill "This is the first time an aircraft carrier squadron has performed drills with live ammunition and real troops," it said. China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated, CCTV said. It broadcast images of fighter jets taking off from the carrier, firing missiles and destroying a target at sea. The Liaoning has participated in previous military exercises, including some in the South China Sea, but the country is still years off from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the United States has practiced for decades. On Wednesday, a US think tank said China had been installing anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on artificial islands in the South China Sea, prompting China to defend its right to install military hardware there. China's exercises aim to test the equipment and troop training levels, an unidentified navy official told the official China News Service. Last December the Defence Ministry confirmed China was building a second aircraft carrier to go with the existing vessel, but its launch date is unclear. China keeps its aircraft carrier programme a state secret, and CCTV blurred images showing the cockpit instrument panel of one aircraft involved in the Bohai Sea drills. Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years, the Pentagon said in a report last year. China's successful operation of the Liaoning is the first step in what state media and some military experts believe will be the deployment of domestically built carriers by 2020. --- ENDS --- Tinkers Honor Guard held a flag folding ceremony Dec. 12 to honor World War II veteran Staff Sgt. Alvis Tinsley, who served with the 367th Bomber squadron, 306th Bomber group (heavy) in 1942. He was killed in action Oct. 8, 1943, over Bremen Germany, after his aircraft took several direct hits from enemy fighters. Sergeant Tinsleys great niece, Amber Skelton, brought the flag to Tinker to have it folded. Her 89-year-old grandfather, Thomas Hardee Tinsley, Sergeant Tinsleys brother, received the 48-star flag that was originally sent to Sergeant Tinsleys mother from Belgium and later passed on to a sister. It was a very touching moment to be with our grandfather as he opened the box containing this beautiful piece of WWII history, representing the sacrifice he made, along with the thousands of our brave military, said Ms. Skelton. Although most of our family didnt get the opportunity to meet this amazing man, we are very proud of the accomplishments he made in his short life. Sergeant Tinsley was awarded the Air Medal with three oak clusters and the Purple Heart with oak clusters. He is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery located just outside of Liege, Belgium. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. To help lessen any feelings of cabin fever this festive period, we here at the Tipperary Star have compiled a list of top events to get you through this Christmas! From family fun at the Christmas panto, top local bands, national comedians and charity events weve got you covered! Check out the The Mellow Tones, Cloughjordan's new female voice choir, who will present a family concert this Saturday 17 December at 5pm in the Methodist Church, Cloughjordan. The choir will perform a selection of seasonal carols and songs to get everyone into the Christmas spirit! Admission for this event is free, but a collection will be taken for the Living Links charity, supporting people affected by suicide. Audience members of all ages are welcome as well as audience participation during the concert. Venue: Methodist Church, Cloughjordan. Duration: c. 45 minutes For those looking to go further afield, Christmas at Limericks Milk Market has officially just begun with a fantastic line up of events running until December 24th! The ever popular farmers market be in operation this Saturday while Sunday will see Christmas Crafts and Vintage Fashion Fair take over the famous square delighting those in search of something a little extra special! For a full Christmas line up of events check out www.milkmarketlimerick.ie/xmas Crooning at Christmas this Saturday 17th December Direct from playing Dean Martin in the West End hit The Rat Pack, Emmerdale star Liam OBrien presents his original show Crooning at Christmas in Nenagh Arts Centre this Saturday December 17th. Now in its 12th year, this nationwide tour is packed full of seasonal hits like White Christmas, Let it Snow, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and many more. The Irish ambassador of swing will take you on a sentimental journey with iconic songs by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. A night for every lover of swing and jazz with a world class vocalist backed by the stellar Million Dollar Swing Band. , 8pm, tickets 18/15 Lets go a Caroling! Thurles Cathedral Carol Service will take place this December 18 at 7pm. This year the childrens nativity will be the central focus of the night with each of the youth groups involved (including Thurles Youth Choir, Dwan Theatre School, Thurles Folk Group and the Holy Communion classes) performing individual pieces. Meanwhile the adult choir members will be leading the evening with firm favourites Silent night and O Come All Ye Faithful among others! Get on those hiking books for Upperchurch Christmas Night Hike! The annual Christmas Night Hike will take place in Upperchurch this Sunday, December 18 starting from the community centre at 6.30pm. Registration costs 5 for adults and 2 for students while primary school children go free. Complimentary tea and sandwiches will be available afterwards! Urban Kicks Christmas Variety Spectacular at the Source Thurles On Thursday December 22 the Source Arts Centre Thurles will be the exciting venue for an evening of dance and song and festive cheer for parents, family and friends of Urban Kicks Dancers. This is a fun and upbeat show allowing the performers to showcase what they have been working on over the past few months, a lot of which is their very own choreography. Featuring some original comedic monologues written by the students themselves, solo vocal performances, Poi and dance routines.Come along and join in the fun! Tickets cost 10 and the show will begin at 8pm. Get into the festive spirit with Thurles band Seskin Lane this Dec 23! Thurles own Seskin Lane gather together a group of artists and guests for a night of cheer in this special pre-Christmas event. Influenced by Rock n Roll, Gospel, Blues, Traditional and Classical music, we can also expect the band to include a seasonal song or two. Start your Christmas in style with this special night. Doors open 8.15pm. Standing and seated event. Tickets 12. Pantomime Time! Catch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dec 29-31 Get ready for a thoroughly enjoyable performance from a very talented and local cast! And, keep your eyes peeled for a special guest! A great night out for all the family, tickets for this show are a perfect stocking-filler. This is one not to be missed! 2pm Thursday 29 December 2pm & 7pm Friday 30 December 2pm & 7pm Saturday 31 December Dont miss Alex in Wonderland in Nenagh Heal those Christmas blues with the young budding actors of Play Youth Theatre as they present this hilarious contemporary twist on a favourite olde tale. This is a show now to be missed! The inhabitants of Wonderland are under threat from the Red Queen while a shocked and dazed local teenager is catapulted into Wonderland to go on a quest with Mad Hatter, White Rabbits and their magical comrades to save Wonderland from the evil wrath of the Red Queen. This adventure is filled with music, laughter and the age old 'he's behind you' of the tradition Panto! A great fun show for all the family. In association with Nenagh Arts Centre, Tipperary Arts Office and the Arts Council of Ireland. Directed by Joanne Quinn and Mary O'Neill Alex in Wonderland - Saturday 14th January, 4pm and 7.30pm, Tickets 6/20 Neil Delamere: Learning to Handstand Following his sold out show last year, the master of mirth Neil Delamere is back with his own unique brand of his irreverent humour. 2016 was another busy year for the perennially popular star of the Blame Game, which celebrates its 10th birthday on TV this year. With that, a science comedy series for RTE2 and his radio show on Today FM under his belt, now he is back to where it all started, talking to strangers in rooms for money. Thursday 29 December Tickets 24/20 early bird. Show starts at 8pm [December 15, 2016] Acerus Announces NATESTO License Agreement with Hyundai Pharm Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation (TSX:ASP) today announced the signing of an agreement granting the exclusive right to market NATESTO in South Korea to Hyundai Pharm Co., LTD., a South Korean pharmaceutical company. NATESTO is the first and only testosterone nasal gel for androgen replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone (hypogonadism).1 Under the terms of the license, development and supply agreement, Acerus will receive a non-refundable upfront fee, with a first instalment paid at signing and the remaining payable in January 2017. Additionally, Acerus is eligible to receive a milestone payment upon regulatory approval of the product in South Korea. Acerus will oversee the manufacturing of NATESTO and receive a supply price for the product. "We are very pleased to be partnering with Hyundai Pharm for the commercialization of NATESTO in South Korea" said Tom Rossi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acerus. "Hyundai has a proven track record of success in launching products, building new markets, and developing strong brands across multiple therapeutic areas. Hyundai's expertise in commercial operations within the speciality pharmaceutical market, and their growing presence in Urology and Endocrinology make them an excellent partner to maximize the full potential of NATESTO in this important market". About NATESTO (Testosterone) Nasal Gel NATESTO is approved and available in Canada for replacement therapy in adult males for conditions associated with a deficiency or absence of endogenous testosterone (hypogonadism). NATESTO is a testosterone nasal gel available in a 'no-touch' dispenser with a metered dose pump for reduced transference risk. The recommended starting dose of NATESTO in Canada is 11 mg of testosterone (one actuation per nostril) administered twice daily for a total daily dose of 22 mg, the lowest topical gel testosterone dose approved in Canada. A copy of the NATESTO product monograph can be found at: http://www.aceruspharma.com/English/products-and-pipeline/natesto/default.aspx. NATESTO is also approved and available in the United States. For further information, specificto the U.S. product dosing and administration, please visit: www.NATESTO.com. About Acerus Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a Canadian pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of innovative, branded products that improve the patient experience. Acerus currently markets two products in Canada: ESTRACE, a product indicated for the symptomatic relief of menopausal symptoms; and NATESTO, the first and only testosterone nasal gel for testosterone replacement therapy in adult males diagnosed with hypogonadism. Acerus' pipeline includes two new innovative products: GYNOFLOR, an ultra-low dose vaginal estrogen combined with a probiotic, used in the treatment of atrophic vaginitis, restoration of vaginal flora and treatment of certain vaginal infections; and TEFINA, a 'use as required' drug development candidate, aimed at addressing a significant unmet need for women with female sexual dysfunction. For more information, visit www.aceruspharma.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Hyundai Pharm Co., Ltd. Founded in 1965, HYUNDAI Pharm Co., Ltd. is a pharmaceutical company engaged in R&D, manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products, health and food drinks, as well as medical equipment. In the pharmaceutical field, HYUNDAI is a leading expert in various therapeutic categories (CV, respiratory system, women's & men's health, CNS, and oncology) with specialized and unique products. Currently, HYUNDAI is ready to begin a phase I study in Europe with a novel Type II diabetes molecule. Over the past 2 years, HYUNDAI has in-licensed 5 branded products and 3 generic products from outside of South Korea, including Canada, focused on the patient and meeting unmet medical needs. The company is head quartered in Seoul, South Korea and is publically traded on the Korea Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.hyundaipharm.co.kr/english/index.jsp Notice regarding forward-looking statements Information in this press release that is not current or historical factual information may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of securities laws. Implicit in this information are assumptions regarding our future operational results. These assumptions, although considered reasonable by the company at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. Readers are cautioned that actual performance of the company is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including with respect to NATESTO and its regulatory approval in South Korea, and could differ materially from what is currently expected as set out above. For more exhaustive information on these risks and uncertainties you should refer to our annual information form dated March 1, 2016 that is available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on our current estimates, expectations and projections, which we believe are reasonable as of the current date. You should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While we may elect to, we are under no obligation and do not undertake to update this information at any particular time, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law. References: 1. NATESTO Product Monograph, December 30, 2015 and Rogol et al. J Andrology 2015, 4(1), 46 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006351/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 16, 2016] Announcement of a Supplement to the Prospectus Regarding Tobii's Rights Issue STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION OF THIS PRESS RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR ANY OTHER MEASURES. The Board of Directors of Tobii AB (publ) ("Tobii" or the "Company") has prepared a prospectus supplement (the "Prospectus Supplement") to the prospectus regarding the invitation to subscribe for shares in the Tobii, authorized and registered by the Swedish Financial Supervisory on December 1, 2016 (the "Prospectus"). The Prospectus Supplement has been prepared on the occasion of that the smartphone customer which Tobii previously announced as an unnamed design win today launched a smartphone which includes eye-tracking by Tobii. Thus, Tobii today announced that the customer's name is Huawei and that the product model is Honor Magic, which will be available on the Chinese market with expected sales start on December 23, 2016. The Prospectus Supplement, which was authorized and registered by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority today, should in all regards be read in conjunction with the Prospectus. The Prospectus and the Prospectus Supplement are available on Tobii's website (www.tobii.com/sv/group/investerare/foretradesemission-2016/) and on Carnegie Investment Bank's website (www.carnegie.se) and will be available on the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority website (www.fi.se). Investors who before the publication of this Prospectus Supplement have notified or otherwise agreed to subscribe for new shares in the offering are entitled to withdraw their notification or consent within two working days from the publication of the Prospectus Supplement, i.e. until December 20, 2016, in accordance with Chapter 2. Section 34 of the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act (1991:980). The withdrawal must be made in writing and submitted to Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ), Regeringsgatan 56, SE-103 38 Stockholm or by way of email to [email protected]. Investors who applied for subscription of shares through a nominee should contact their nominee regarding the withdrawal of their notification or consent. Applications that are not withdrawn in time will remain binding. Investors who wish to remain with their subscription of shares do not need to take any action. For full terms and additional information about the offering, reference is made to the Prospectus which together with the Prospectus Supplement is available on Tobii's website, www.tobii.com. This information is information that Tobii AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, on December 16, 2016, at 2 p.m. CET. CONTACT: For more information, contact: Sara Hyleen, Corporate Communications Director, Tobii AB Phone: +46 70 916 16 41, E-mail: [email protected] Esben Olesen, CFO, Tobii AB, Phone: +46 8 663 69 90 (switch), E-mail: [email protected] Henrik Eskilsson, CEO, Tobii AB, Phone: +46 8 663 69 90 (switch), E-mail: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/tobii-ab/r/announcement-of-a-supplement-to-the-prospectus-regarding-tobii-s-rights-issue,c2151979 The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Main/2874/2151979/605135.pdf Announcement of a supplement to the prospectus - press release - 16Dec2016 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 15, 2016] Texas EquuSearch and the Digital Billboard Industry Form Alliance to Find Missing Persons In Texas Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team, a nonprofit organization that spearheads recovery efforts for lost and missing persons launched a new partnership with the Texas outdoor advertising industry including the Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas (OAAT) and OUTFRONT Media. Outdoor advertising companies are donating periodic messages on digital billboards across the state for missing person's cases. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006511/en/ Houston City at Large Council Member Michael Kobush stands with TexasEquuSearch and the Texas Billboard Industry in search for missing persons. (Photo: Business Wire) "Our major companies including Clear Channel (News - Alert) Outdoor Americas (CCOA) and Lamar Advertising are dedicated to assisting the communities in which we operate. A program suchas this will help many Texans who are searching for missing loved ones," said Lee Vela, president, OAAT. "We welcome OUTFRONT Media in this effort." "OUTFRONT Media has a long tradition for helping our communities, this is one more effort that could help save lives and make a true difference to those families who are looking for lost family members," said Curtis Gogburn, OUTFRONT Media. The first case for the new partnership features the current case of Connelly Wirth who was last seen in Houston on November 24, 2016. Mr. Wirth was in a serious accident several months ago and is in need of medication. These messages are now displayed throughout the Harris and neighboring counties on up to 35 digital billboards operated by CCOA and OUTFRONT Media and will continue while the case is active with Texas EquuSearch. Other messages concerning other cases will be displayed on an "as needed" basis in the areas of Texas closest to search efforts. "The exposure these digital billboard messages will give to cases like Connelly's is valuable to the success of finding missing persons," said Tim Miller, founder, Texas EquuSearch. Houston City at Large Councilmember, Michael Kubosh was instrumental in developing the program with Texas EquuSearch and the outdoor advertising industry. "Anytime we can blend the corporate private sector with the great work of non-profit organizations like Texas EquuSearch, it is a win/win for everyone," Councilmember Kubosh, said. "Having these messages on digital billboards throughout Texas will be a key in solving so many of these cases, we need to expand the coverage of digital billboards in our area." Texas EquuSearch was founded by Tim Miller as a dedication to the memory of Laura Miller, his daughter. Laura was abducted and murdered in North Galveston County in 1984. Currently EquuSearch has approximately 600 members and is growing rapidly conducting searches throughout the United States and worldwide for missing persons. It is a charitable organization funded solely by donations. The Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas represents the majority of billboard operators in Texas though its member companies such as Clear Channel Outdoor and Lamar Advertising (News - Alert). OUTFRONT Media operates 1,200 signs in Texas markets and in 50 markets across the country. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006511/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 15, 2016] Global Aircraft Avionics Market Driven by Increasing Defense Budgets in Asian Countries: Technavio According to the latest market study released by Technavio, the global military aircraft avionics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 3% during the forecast period. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005442/en/ Technavio publishes a new market research report on the global military aircraft avionics market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire) This research report titled 'Global Military Aircraft Avionics Market 2017-2021' provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions. The pilot's vision from the aircraft remains the single most critical factor for safety in military missions, encouraging the innovation of synthetic vision system (SVS). A SVS is an aircraft cockpit display technology that improves situational awareness using the 3D computer-generated imagery technology enhancing visibility in low and unfamiliar territory. The use of SVS has helped the pilots to fly safer with increased positional awareness regardless of the weather or the stretch of the day. "The military aircraft avionics systems market is driven by Asian nations such as India, South Korea, and Thailand due to their increasing defense budgets to strengthen national security. China has the largest military power in the region, undergoing significant military modernization and restructuring to deal with potential threats and enhance its defense capabilities. China is followed by India, which deploys a large number of military aircraft along the Line of Control with Pakistan for monitoring and surveillance missions," says Moutushi Saha, one of the lead market research analysts at Technavio for defense research. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=54373 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Based on application, the report categorizes military aircraft avionics into the following segments: Flight control systems Communication and navigation systems Monitoring systems Flight control systems The introduction of automatic flight control systems (AFCSs) has improved stability and handling of aircraft, along with enabling automation of flight, thus reducing the workload of the crew. Similarly, the autopilot system enables functions like point-to-point navigation and automatic tracking of the instrument landing system, which help in efficient and safer landing operations. Artificial feel system controls most of the operations of AFCSs. These advanced systems prevent any unauthorized pilot or potential hijacker from controlling an aircraft. In 2015, the UK Ministry of Defence signed a contract worth USD 224 million with the Royal Air Force, to upgrade of their Chinook helicopter fleet with digital automatic flight control system. In 2016, the European Aviation Safety Agency certified the Rig'N Fly for Airbus Helicopter H225. Such initiatives put the value of the global military aircraft avionics market by flight control systems at USD 8.25 billion in 2016. The market segment is expected to showcase a CAGR of 3.88% in the market forecast period. Communication and navigation systems "Military aircrafts are fitted with various technologies to ensure seamless communication between the ground base and the aircraft, using radio systems made of radio transmitters and radio receivers. Recently, this market saw the adoption of satellite communication (SATCOM) system for clearer and reliable communications. In aerospace telemetry, SATCOM data links are utilized to upload real-time weather data from any remote operation area of the world," says Moutushi. Navigation systems in aircraft have always been dynamic and are continuously evolving to improve efficiency and features. Navigation systems now include gyroscopes, global positioning system (GPS), and inertial navigation system (INS), which provide highly precise positioning, navigation, and timing. This system determines the quickest travel times with minimum number of delays, allowing the pilots to get the exact positioning of nearby air traffic. This information greatly helps to maximize air safety and minimize the chances of mid-air collisions. Monitoring systems Avionic systems have cockpit displays which provide flight route pictures and flight instrument data. These displays provide the pilot with situational information such as speed, position, altitude, vertical rate, and GPS active waypoint. This information is imperative for the smooth control and handling of the aircraft. Garmin (News - Alert) has introduced the G500H flight display which features LCD screens with multifunctional display and primary flight display combined into a single unit. The global military aircraft avionics market by monitoring systems was valued at USD 3.7 billion in 2016. Several key vendors such as Honeywell (News - Alert) Aerospace, Rockwell Collins, and Cobham are involved in the effort to design and develop the new and improved avionics monitoring systems. Many of these vendors have innovative projects in the pipeline which are expected to be introduced during the market forecast period, aiding the market growth. The top vendors highlighted by Technavio's research analysts in this report are: Avidyne GE Honeywell Aerospace Rockwell Collins Thales (News - Alert) Group Browse Related Reports: Global Display Market for Avionics Applications 2016-2020 Global Aircraft Synthetic Vision System Market 2016-2020 Global Multi-function Display Market 2016-2020 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you. About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies. Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users. If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005442/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 15, 2016] Binatone to Showcase Suite of Nursery Innovations at Hong Kong Baby Products Fair HONG KONG, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Binatone, the official licensee of Motorola, will have the entire suite of connected and traditional Motorola baby monitors on display at the Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, January 9-12, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. As the world's leading baby monitor brand, Motorola has continued to further the connected home experience for parent and baby with the launch of Smart Nursery. Smart Nursery, Innovation Award winner in the "World of Kids Safety" category from trade show Kind + Jugend 2016, is an intelligent family of connected products that are smart on their own but even smarter together. The ecosystem offers a wide array of interactive market-firsts, like baby analytics and a rechargeable camera. Each product works through Hubble Connected, Binatone's IoT platform and connected provider of video cloud services, that helps simplify lives by connecting the user to their smart device within the home or nursery. On display at the Hong Kong Baby Products Fair will be the entire collection of Smart Nurser, consisting of Smart Nursery 7, Smart Nursery Dream Machine, Smart Nursery Cam, Smart Nursery Alert Sensor, Smart Nursery Humidifier+ and Smart Nursery Baby & Me Scale. Though Smart Nursery will be the highlight of the showcase, Binatone's exhibit will also feature the complete line of traditional audio and video baby monitors along side Motorola's Wi-Fi and Hubble Connected compatible products. Examples include: 2.8" Video Baby Monitor with Wi-Fi , MBP667CONNECT , MBP667CONNECT 4.3" Video Baby Monitor with Two Cameras, MBP38S-2 MBP38S-2 5" Portable Video Baby Monitor, MBP36XL MBP36XL 5" Video Baby Monitor with Wi-Fi, MBP854CONNECT "At Binatone, it is a continuous goal to bring new innovation to our demanding product category of baby safety," said Dino Lalvani, CEO and Chairman, Binatone Global. "With today's technology, baby monitors are so much more than a way to keep an eye on your son or daughter; they monitor safety, health, comfort and happiness, and we are proud to display our top of the line technology, and breadth of Motorola baby products that deliver peace of mind to parents at this show." For more information and a personal look at Motorola and Hubble Connected please visit the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, booth #3FD04, January 9-12, 2017. About Binatone: Binatone is a leading provider of innovative consumer electronics and lifestyle products for a broad range of applications including baby nursery, pet nursery and family connectivity at home. Its products are sold under world leading brands such as Motorola, AEG, Binatone and iDECT. For over 56 years, Binatone maintains its position as a key player in the consumer electronics industry by offering innovative products and solutions. For more information, visit www.binatoneglobal.com About Hubble:Hubble makes it easy to stay connected with your favorite people, places and pets with live video streaming and up-to-date smart notifications wherever you are. Hubble is also the first Platform-as-a-Service for the connected home. Offering complete SDK, API integration documentation and reference design, Hubble enables leading brands and hardware manufacturers to rapidly integrate and connect new products to the cloud. For more information, visit www.hubbleconnected.com For more information contact: Sherry Chan [email protected] 852-2802-7388 Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20161216/8521608247 Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150825/8521505498LOGO-a [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the UUV, officials said. File image provided by the US Navy, shows the guided missile destroyer USS Decatur, right, pulling into position behind the Military Sealift Command USNS Matthew Perry, during a replenishment-at-sea, seen from the bridge of the guided-missile destroyer US By Reuters: A Chinese warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by a US oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return, US officials said. The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), officials said. advertisement "The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property," the official said. The Pentagon later confirmed the incident at a news briefing. It said the drone used commercially available technology and sold for about $150,000. Still, the Pentagon viewed China's seizure seriously since it had effectively taken US military property. "It is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said. The seizure by the Chinese Navy will add to concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts. A US think tank this week said new satellite imagery indicated China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea. Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow in the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said China would have a hard time explaining its actions. "This move, if accurately reported, is highly escalatory, and it is hard to see how Beijing will justify it legally," Rapp-Hooper said. SNATCHED AWAY The drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, the US official added. The data can help inform US military sonar data since such factors affect sound. The USNS Bowditch, a US Navy ship crewed by civilians that carries out oceanographic work, had already retrieved one of two of its drones, known as ocean gliders, when a Chinese Dalang 3 class vessel took the second one. Officials said the Bowditch was only 500 meters (yards) from the underwater drone and, observing the Chinese intercede, used bridge-to-bridge communications to demand the drone be returned. The Chinese ship acknowledged the communication but did not respond to the Bowditch's demands, Davis said. advertisement "The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: "we are returning to normal operations," Davis said. The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the drone. The Chinese acknowledged it but have not responded, officials said. --- ENDS --- [December 16, 2016] Saksoft Acquires Majority Stake in DreamOrbit to Strengthen its IoT Offering CHENNAI, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Saksoft Limited (NSE: SAKSOFT) (BSE: 590051), a leading digital transformation company, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire majority stake in Bengaluru based DreamOrbit Softech Private Limited (technology solution consulting firm with a focus on providing IT services to the logistics industry). With this acquisition, Saksoft will further strengthen its offerings in the digital space with special emphasis on IoT. Incorporated in 2010, DreamOrbit has been providing specialist technology solutions for the logistics & transportation (including air, land & ocean) enterprises and has offices in Bengaluru (India), Delaware (USA). The company has 230 employees and works with 40+ active customers. Almost all the revenues are offshore driven and cater primarily to the US market with a small portion coming in from rest of the world. DreamOrbit has been recognised in Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India for the past three years. Speaking about this acquisition, Aditya Krishna Chairman & Managing Director, Saksoft said, "I am happy to share that with this acquisition, Saksoft has strengthened its offering in the IoT space. Also, we have adde a very capable team of founders to enhance Saksoft's overall delivery organization. With our presence in Analytics, Digital Testing, Cloud, Mobility, Application Services and IoT we are in a better position to serve our customers in their Digital Transformation journey." Commenting on this acquisition, Nirajkumar Ganeriwal, Chief Financial Officer, Saksoft said, "Saksoft & DreamOrbit share the same vision to provide digital & innovative solutions to customers. The overall profitability of the combined entity will improve since the DreamOrbit revenues are offshore driven. This acquisition will happen in a phased manner and will be completed by 2019." Sanchit Jain, CEO & Abhishek Porwal, CTO, DreamOrbit in a joint statement said, "We are excited to join the Saksoft Group as they provide the scale we need to grow our business. Together, our aim is to become leaders in offering software services to the logistics & transportation vertical by offering a compelling value proposition for our customers." About Saksoft Limited: Saksoft Limited (NSE: SAKSOFT; BSE: 590051) is a global leader in providing digital transformation solutions and helping businesses stay relevant in a highly connected, rapidly evolving world. Saksoft offers a gamut of services including strategic consulting, information management, application development, digital testing, cloud, mobility and IoT. The company's experience in chalking out the digital journey from ideation to execution has given customers a competitive-edge. Delivering cost-effective solutions and providing superlative customer experience has been the key differentiator for Saksoft. Headquartered in Chennai (India), Saksoft has offices across the USA, Europe and Asia employing over 1000 people. For more information, please visit http://www.saksoft.com For further information, please contact Karthik Subramanian Head - Marketing Saksoft Limited +91-44 2454 3500 | +91-98409 05522 Email: [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 16, 2016] Holden Beach, NC Returns to Sparta Commercial's Municipal Lease Program for New Dodge Ram Special Service Vehicles New York, NY, Dec. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. (OTC: SRCO) today announced that the Town of Holden Beach, NC has, for the third time, utilized Sparta's Municipal Leasing Division for acquiring additional vehicles for their Police Department's Special Vehicle fleet. Sparta's Municipal Leasing Program is a highly popular source for the acquisition of essential equipment by cities, towns, and other municipal jurisdictions around the country. The popularity of the program is due to its ability to provide governmental agencies with a more economical method for acquiring needed vehicles and other equipment than traditional up-front purchasing. The Sparta alternative enables jurisdictions to spread the payments over time, making budgeting much more flexible while still securing the often costly items that are required. Frank Dilworth of the Holden Beach PD commented, Our department made the decision to try financing select vehicles initially in 2013. We chose Sparta Commercial Municipal Leasing as a source, as we could see they had a good reputation in the community and had a good existing relationship with our vehicle vendor. Our needs were a bit specialized in that we required funds disbursed not only for the vehicle, but for cage, video, and communication accessories as well. Sparta was able to smoothly work with all of our vendors on the financing side, allowing us to concentrate on the simple delivery of the vehicle. We have since gone back to Sparta in 2014 and again just now in 2016. Nothing has changed - Sparta makes the process as easy as possible and gives us flexibility in our budget so we dont have to decide between competing needs. Anthony Havens, CEO of Sparta Commercial Services, Inc., noted, "We've seen a clear pattern in that municipal agencies that use our program often use it again as new needs arise. This naturally recurring business is great for the company as it allows us to concentrate our marketing efforts in more needed places, and it is great for the clients we serve as they can be confident that they will be supported by a reliable solution when new equipment is required." Sparta has already provided finance leasing to 24 other Carolina agencies, including the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte and Greenville. The vendor for the transaction is Ilderton Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram, based in High Point, NC, which has provided the vehicles in over a dozen previous Sparta leasing transactions. About Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. (OTC: SRCO) (http://spartacommercial.com/), through its subsidiary, iMobile Solutions, Inc., is a leader, in developing, managing, and servicing custom mobile apps for vehicle dealers from Harley-Davidson to John Deere, automobiles and RVs, restaurants, liquor stores, clubs, and other businesses in 49 states and Canada; as well as developing and hosting innovative websites. In addition to mobile apps and websites, Sparta provides motor vehicle title history reports to dealers, insurance companies, credit unions, and consumers. The Company also ofers vehicle and capital lease finance programs for municipalities. iMobile Solutions, Inc. offers customizable mobile applications designed for vehicle dealers, providing for ongoing contact with their customers and communications of upcoming and ongoing promotions, special events, new and used inventory, and more, and for a wide range of other businesses and entities, offering a customized mobile app designed specifically for their purposes, at a fraction of the cost of both traditional and web marketing. iMobileApp, (http://imobileapp.com/), is a custom, fully-branded app that is an extension of a businesss e-presence. In addition, the company offers complete website design, development, hosting, support and maintenance. The Company also provides detailed used vehicle title history reports to dealers, insurance companies, credit unions, etc., as well as to consumers. The reports are trusted by industry professionals to provide buyers accurate, timely, and thorough title history reports. The Company targets four motor vehicle markets through https://www.carvinreport.com/ (automobiles and light trucks), https://cyclechex.com/ (motorcycles), https://www.rvchecks.com/ (recreational vehicles) and http://truckchex.com/ (commercial trucks). Sparta's Municipal Leasing Division (http://spartamunicipal.com/) offers and administers a specialized municipal leasing program for local and state agencies. The Company is dedicated to serving jurisdictions with small and growing vehicle fleets who seek a better and more economical way to finance their essential equipment needs - from police motorcycles and cruisers, to EMS equipment and busses, to virtually any type of equipment a municipality requires. The Municipal Leasing Division also works with larger jurisdictions to provide competitive leasing facilities for specific segments of their fleet portfolio. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements are valid only as of today and we disclaim any obligation to update this information. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses, competition, financing and commercial agreements and strategic alliances, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, management of potential growth, system interruption, consumer and industry trends, limited operating history, and government regulation. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved. Further information regarding these and other risks is described from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, which are available on its website at: http://www.sec.gov. Company Contact: Sandra L. Ahman Vice President, Operations Sparta Commercial Services, Inc. [email protected] 800-882-0778 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 16, 2016] RizePoint Named On Food Logistics' 2016 FL Top 100+ Software and Technology Provider List SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RizePoint, the global leader in compliance management solutions, has been named on the 2016 FL Top 100+ Software and Technology providers list, a recognition by Food Logistics, the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global food supply chain. "RizePoint helps some of the largest food brands in the world maintain a high quality supplier network and keep food safe," said Frank Maylett, President and CEO of RizePoint. "We are proud to be recognized by Food Logistics for our award-winning compliance software." RizePoint's Mobile Auditor and Management Dashboards are used by top foodservice companies to identify issues, manage corrective actions, enhance business processes, and assure compliance for internal and external regulations from the Food Safety Modernization Act to internal supplier standards. The FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list serves as a resource guide of software and technology providers whose products and services are critical for companies in the global food and beverage supply chain. "The software and technology sector continues to generate new and exciting opportunities for growers, food manufacturers, grocery retailers and the many logistics providers that support them," notes Lara L. Sowinski, editorial director at Food ogistics. "Today's cloud-based solutions and mobile connectivity are helping create tools that are more flexible, affordable and responsive, making software and technology even more valuable to those in the global food supply chain." Companies on this year's 2016 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list will be profiled in the November/December 2016 issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com. RizePoint At-a-Glance RizePoint mobile and cloud-based software helps organizations improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of their products, services, and facilities. RizePoint's software is used by 5 of the top 8 hospitality brands and 5 of the top 8 food service brands. RizePoint serves more than 387,000 users in 120 countries and territories, speaking 40 languages: 105,000 food service restaurants 27,000 hotels and resort properties 13,000 grocery and retail stores About RizePoint RizePoint formerly Steton Technology Group is the global leader in software solutions that proactively safeguard enterprise compliancefor both internally-imposed standards and externally-imposed regulations. RizePoint software builds and protects brand equity by enabling a consistent customer experience. Our customers gather better data, see necessary actions earlier, and act faster to correct issues before they become costly liabilities. Considered the industry standard for foodservice, hospitality, and retail, RizePoint mobile and cloud-based solutions serve nearly 2 million audits with 200 million questions answered annually. RizePoint is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, visit RizePoint.com. About Food Logistics Food Logistics is published by AC Business Media, a business-to-business media company that provides targeted content and comprehensive, integrated advertising and promotion opportunities for some of the world's most recognized B2B brands. Its diverse portfolio serves the construction, logistics, supply chain and other industries with print, digital and custom products, events and social media. Press Inquiries: Whitney McCarthy 801.285.9827 [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rizepoint-named-on-food-logistics-2016-fl-top-100-software-and-technology-provider-list-300377029.html SOURCE RizePoint [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Five candidates in race for NLCS District 3 board seat Five candidates are seeking election to the district three NLCS board seat: Tony (Rock) Fleetwood, Tye Hooten, Scott King, Rob Payne and Autumn Ray. The Chinese foreign ministry has expressed 'strong dissatisfaction' over President Pranab Mukherjee's meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama last week. By Ananth Krishnan: China has strongly hit out at India after President Pranab Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama and other Nobel laureates at Rashtrapati Bhavan last week. The Foreign Ministry said Beijing was "strongly opposed" to the meet which would have a "negative impact" on relations. Indian Prime Ministers or Presidents rarely meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The Narendra Modi government has taken a different approach to the Tibetan issue, analysts say, showing less caution for China's sensitivities by approving visits by prominent Tibetan leaders to Arunachal Pradesh. The Karmapa visited the state on November 30, while the Dalai Lama is likely to in March. advertisement ALSO READ | China tells India to 'not complicate' border issue after Karmapa visit 'CHINA IS STRONGLY DISSATISFIED WITH THE VISIT AND FIRMLY OPPOSE IT' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Friday: "Recently in disregard of Chia's solemn representation and and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to the Indian Presidential palace, participation in the event with the Indian President and meeting with President Mukherjee." "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that. The Dalai Lama is in political exile and has long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion. The Chinese side firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him." "We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect China's core interest and major concerns take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident so as to avoid any disturbance to China India relationship," he said. Also Read: Edu reforms needed to put an end to violence, fear: Dalai Lama --- ENDS --- By PTI: India has also rescinded the notification which named India has also rescinded the notification which named Cyprus as a notified jurisdictional area for lack of effective exchange of information. India blacklisted Cyprus in 2013 for not sharing tax information. It had classified the island nation as a notified jurisdictional area on grounds that Cyprus was not providing information requested by tax authorities under the taxation treaty. advertisement Following the notification, all payments made to Cyprus attracted a 30 per cent withholding tax and Indian entities receiving money from there were required to disclose the source of funds. India and Cyprus had on November 18 signed the revised bilateral tax treaty under which capital gains tax will be levied on sale of shares on investments made after April 1, 2017, bringing the island nation at par with Mauritius in terms of tax treatment. The new agreement also provides for exchange of banking information and allows the use of such information for purposes other than taxation with prior approval of competent authorities of the country. PTI JD SBT JM --- ENDS --- While other tech companies merely spit out iterations of existing products in 2016 waterproofing an identical phone or slimming down their laptops and tablets Lenovo was busy reinventing these categories with bold new gadgets in 2016. That's why we're giving the company Tom's Guide's first annual Most Innovative Company of the Year award. Image: Nick Bush/Tom's Guide Lenovo took bold risks in two key categories with three devices: Yoga Book: A 2-in-1 sporting a completely flat keyboard that transforms into a writing pad you can use with a real pen. Android and Windows versions are available now, and Lenovo confirmed that a Chrome OS edition is on the way for 2017. Phab 2 Pro: The first true augmented-reality phone, which leverages Google's Tango depth-sensing technology. Moto Z: A phone that lets you add mods (and new capabilities) via an intuitive magnetic system. "Lenovo is definitely innovating," said Avi Greengart, research director for consumer platforms and devices at market research firm Current Analysis. Jeff Meredith, general manager and vice president of Lenovo's Android and Chrome Computing Business Group, knows that this trio of groundbreaking products isn't for everyone. But he cited a quote by Amazon's Jeff Bezos: "If you never want to be criticized, for goodness' sake, don't do anything new." Yoga Book: A Retro (and Futuristic) 2-in-1 The Yoga Book is different from every other 2-in-1 hybrid we've tested, and that's because of the way it combines new and old as well as new input methods. For starters, you can draw, sketch or take notes on this device (available in Android and Windows varieties) using real ink and paper, which magnetically attaches to the bottom of this very sleek 1.5-pound device. The Yoga Book will digitize it all for safekeeping. Image: Nick Bush/Tom's Guide Meredith said the device bridges an important gap for a sizable consumer group. "One of the things that we found is that a lot of people actually like to write in pen on paper," he said. "So rather than try to force people down a path of changing behavior, we figured out a way to integrate that behavior into our device." MORE: Best 2-in-1s (Laptop/Tablet Hybrids) You don't have to use old-school paper, though. The so-called Create Pad portion beneath the screen also doubles as a Wacom drawing pad, giving digital artists real precision with 2,048 levels of pressure. Meredith said he's been pleasantly surprised by how many early Yoga Book owners are either semiprofessional digital artists or just have a passion for digital art. Things get even more interesting when you press a button on the pad, which lights up the Halo keyboard. It's completely flat, which is quite a departure from the company's legacy ThinkPad keyboards. Lenovo explicitly targeted 13- to 24-year-olds, who are accustomed to typing on a touch screen. As we noted in our review, this is not a layout for touch typists. Nonetheless, Meredith said users' reactions to the keyboard have been more positive than he had anticipated. Image: Nick Bush/Tom's Guide "You know that a touch-based keyboard is very different" from a traditional keyboard, Meredith said. But most people who used the keyboard for even just a few hours said they enjoyed the experience, he added. Stephen Baker, the primary hardware analyst at research firm NPD, called the Yoga Book "interesting, innovative and maybe a little ahead." But he also said he wonders if it is "too different" for the customers Lenovo is trying to reach. Although Meredith said U.S. Yoga Book sales have been "just average," Lenovo is definitely forging ahead. The product's retail sales are expanding beyond Walmart in the U.S., where it has been available exclusively. Plus, Lenovo will be offering this 2-in-1 in a new flavor: Chrome OS. The product should hit the market by midyear. MORE: Lenovo Yoga Book (Windows): Full Review and Benchmarks The company is evaluating how the evolution of Googles platforms will impact future versions of the Yoga Book. "Over time, we probably see the Android and Chrome versions melding together, especially based on the fact that we've now seen Chrome roll out the Google Play store capability into Chrome," Meredith told Tom's Guide. "We'll probably maintain the three distinctive products throughout the next year at least." Lenovo Phab 2 Pro: Augmented Reality Way Beyond Pokemon Go Walk with giant dinosaurs. Redecorate your house with new furniture. Shoot at killer robots. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro is a big deal for augmented reality and mixed reality, as it turns the world around you into a virtual playground for doing all sorts of things that just aren't possible with a typical phone. And no geeky headset is required. (Image credit: Samuel Rutherford/Tom's Guide) The key ingredient is Tango, a technology developed by Google that uses a combination of two cameras with a special depth sensor. That's why you can try out that handsome new sofa in the corner of your living room with the Lowe's Vision app without breaking a sweat. The phone measures the room in real time as you move around. "A wide-angle lens can give you a broad field of view, but what enables Tango to have contextual understanding is the depth sensing," Meredith said. "If you don't have everything properly synced, the device's understanding of your precise location falls apart." Google had demonstrated Tango in a small tablet, but Lenovo worked more than six months to make the tech ready for mass production in a phone. Granted, at 6.4 inches, it is a huge phone but this is just the first generation. That's not the only challenge for Lenovo. There are only about 36 Tango-enabled apps in the Google Play store. "Tango is still experimental and is caught in a catch-22: There are few apps, and few devices to justify developing apps," Greengart said. MORE: Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Review: The Future of AR Lenovo is addressing this issue head-on. The company had 4,000 developers purchase its Tango device to create new experiences, and an additional 2,000 purchased the device at a second hackathon. Meredith also noted that Lenovo will release a follow-up Tango phone in 2017, and the company expects similar products from competitors. "I think it will keep us ahead of where some others are," Meredith said. "You're going to see new devices, Tango devices, in 2017, that aren't from Lenovo." Moto Z: Smarter Modular Thinking Although Google backed away from its own modular-phone effort in 2016, dubbed Project Ara, other companies launched their own initiatives. The goal: add new capabilities to your handset without requiring you to buy a whole new device. LG attempted first, with its G5. But the device's design was awkward, requiring users to remove the battery and power down the phone to swap in some new modules. Lenovo's Moto Z, by contrast, is much simpler and straightforward, because its Moto Mods attach via magnets. They're a cinch to snap on, even if they take a bit of effort to pull apart. Image: Nick Bush/Tom's Guide The Moto Mods range from a snap-on power pack from Mophie and a powerful JBL speaker (both $80) to a Hasselblad camera with a 10x zoom ($249) and a mini projector ($299). Those add-ons are fairly pricey, but Style Mods (e.g., cases for the back) start at $39. John Touvannas, senior director of product management at Lenovo's Motorola Mobility division, said the company wanted to take a new approach to innovation. "Moto Mods was our opportunity to take a stand against incrementalism plaguing the industry," he said. "We didn't just start with gimmicks or add-ons that might look cool in a store. We honed in on real consumer pain points and created an ecosystem that complements the user experience." MORE: Best Smartphones - Here Are the 10 Best Phones Available The biggest challenge in creating the Moto Z was keeping the device very thin and light so that it didn't feel like a brick when you attached Mods. Lenovo reps said this required ditching the headphone jack a move Apple also made with the iPhone 7. So far, the Battery Power Packs and JBL SoundBoost are the top-selling Moto Mods, according to Touvannas. Image: Nick Bush/Tom's Guide There are two main obstacles the Moto Z faces. First, it's sold through only one wireless carrier in the U.S. (Verizon), although you can buy it unlocked. Second, its main new Android rival on Verizon the Google Pixel is a huge hit. "The Moto Z is absolutely the best implementation of modular accessories, but an accessories ecosystem is only valuable when you have a market-leading product," Greengart said. "Most consumers walk into retail asking about Apple or Samsung, and if a carrier rep has only one opportunity to present an alternative, Lenovo needs to capitalize on it and thanks to Google's Pixel, that is not happening." MORE: Moto Z Force and Moto Z Droid Review: Modularity Done Right Despite these headwinds, Motorola is determined to continue innovating with modular phones, and as Motorola and Lenovo become more integrated, a Google Tango Mod likely will be released in the coming year. "There is certainly opportunity to have Tango embedded in a mod," Meredith said. Motorola also has teamed up with crowdfunding site Indiegogo to further spur mod development. "Building a new mobile hardware ecosystem takes time and requires multiple strategies for growth, including new partnerships and collaborations with third parties," Touvannas said. It seems that PSVR, Sonys virtual reality head-mounted display, will be receiving more apps already available for the HTV Vive. VR Education and Radial Games both announced (separately) that their flagship VR applications (Apollo 11 VR and Fantastic Contraption, respectively) will be arriving on PSVR. Although a specific release date was not offered by either company, both Radial Games and VR Education alluded to a Spring 2017 release. In the case of Apollo 11 VR, VR Education hinted at improvements to the lunar-landing simulation. The long awaited new & improved Apollo11 VR PSVR release date is January 2017. Something to look forward to early in the new year, stated the company Twitter page. Further down in the thread, the company further explained that these improvements include new animations, and that the PC version will be updated on the same day. The price will also remain unchanged. Concerning Fantastic Contraption, no improvements or upgrades were announced, but the release of the problem-solving VR puzzle game on PSVR goes to show that PC isnt the only way to play anymore. While a European tour is always going to be at least a little bit of fun, weve been hearing back from so many Aussie bands this year about the absolute joys of playing in one place above all others: Spain. The crowds go absolutely nuts for rock bands, even those shipped over from the opposite side of the world, and on every tour diary we run, Spain seems to be an undeniable highlight. Melbourne hard rockers Palace of the King are one of these bands, having just wrapped up the Spain leg of a European tour and feeling absolutely spoilt by the crowds. Taking their new record Valles Marineris to eager punters, theyve returned with a first-hand account of their trip, and a lesson to all Aussie rock bands: tour Spain. Now. CHAPTER I And were away! Welcome to the first tour diary entry for our second European POTK tour. Day one was all travel. A couple of long haul flights until we arrived in Spain, collected our bags from oversized luggage along with Alain Johannes from QOTSA/Them Crooked Vultures etc. (legend) and all convened at the hotel where we presented our tour manager Max with his killer POTK denim jacket hand sewn by the one and only Travis Dragani (hes pretty handy with a needle and thread). Yesterday was our first show day at Rocksound in Barcelona which coincidently was the venue in which we performed the last show of our previous European tour. Sadly the promoter who booked us, Javier, passed away earlier this year but Rocksound still rocks on in his honour. Before the show, we headed into the city early in the afternoon to wander around and check out the sights of Barcelona. On return to the van however, we discovered that the passenger side window had been smashed and some iPods, a phone, guitar pedals, cameras and Seans passport had been stolen. It obviously wasnt an ideal way to start the tour of course but we gathered ourselves, swept the glass out of the van and headed to the venue to get on with business. Currently were en route to Castellon; traveling along the beautiful coast line of the Mediterranean in the warm Autumn sun through the green hills and winding roads which feel like you could jump out the window of the van into the warm shiny blue water below. CHAPTER II I remember our last show here in Castellon very fondly so I was hoping for a repeat of last time and I wasnt disappointed. In fact it was bigger and better! The place was packed with even more people than last time and they were singing twice as loud. Its such a great feeling being able to fly to the other side of the world and have a room full of people come to see your band and enjoy it so much. Its something were hugely appreciative of. The highlight for me was Travs drum solo tonight. Because the backstage room was too hard to get to between the end of the gig and the encore I just jumped in to the audience at the end of the set and watched the drum solo at the start of Free from there and it was awesome. I was screaming along with the Spanish mosh pit too! Tomorrow we rock Murcia. CHAPTER III Hola! Great gig tonight at the Garaje Beat Club in Murcia. Being a larger stage, we were able to spread our wings a little more tonight without worrying about getting knocked out by a guitar headstock. The drive today took us through thousands of acres of olive and orange trees. We also travelled through the occasional hilly, rocky town at the centre of which there was usually a crumbling castle placed on top of a mountain. One can only imagine how the view from the castle has changed over hundreds of years Tonight the guys are at the bar downstairs celebrating a great show and tomorrow we drive to Tarragona for the next instalment of POTK Europe 2016. CHAPTER IV Hola from Tarragona everyone! I know youd Iove me spill the beans and get all Motley Crue The Dirt in my diary entries but unfortunately for you I was in bed sleeping and looking after my voice while the afterparty kicked on downstairs last night Youll be happy to hear that things got messy for some and everyone had a great time but no one threw up in anyone elses bag this time; which Seany managed to do after a particularly big night on our first European tour. Tonights show brings us to the end of the first week of shows and weve already travelled 1,100km with many more to go. The gig was in what felt like a western-inspired indoor/outdoor type of building with sawdust on the floor and rock and roll memorabilia all over the walls. We hadnt played this venue on the last tour so we didnt know what to expect but it was awesome. Our first sold out show of the tour! A bunch of legends even came from Barcelona to catch us again which was great. Seany had to be set up on a road case beside Harri because the stage wasnt quite wide enough initially but it worked great and he had everyone dancing around him and looking over his shoulders all night which was funny to see. Tomorrow is a day off so Ill touch base after the next show. CHAPTER V Yesterday was largely spent driving from Tarragona to Ourense which took about ten hours with a stop in Madrid to fill out paper work and pay for Seans replacement passport at the Australian embassy. Sean and I jumped through the hoops to get upstairs and sort things out with the very helpful Scottish woman at the embassy. Naively I thought everyone at the Embassy would be Australian Once we arrived at our accommodation in Ourense, I caught up on things there while the other guys went out to get a well-earned feed and a drink. They returned sporadically throughout the night with Max and Sean stumbling in as the sun came up after hanging in the bar downstairs all night playing DJ and drinking. CHAPTER VI We woke up in Ourense this morning to the sound of the kids from the school bouncing around the courtyard below our accommodation and we then proceeded to head down to the club and load out pushing road cases down the cobblestone pathway around the parents, grandparents and younger siblings waiting to pick the little tackers up for afternoon siesta. During the drive today to Leon it was more obvious than ever that it was Autumn with all the deciduous tress showing their gold and yellow coverage before dropping their leaves for winter. Musically, Max took over the AUX cable and we listened to The Ramones, Dirty York (from Melbourne; Max has also toured with these guys) and some French music. The long drive the other day was spent largely listening to Leon Russell and Leonard Cohen; a bit of an in memoriam session after they both passed away recently. It wasnt until talking to Max today in the van that he explained to me about the Spanish being under a dictatorship until the 70s and that meant they were not getting any of the western music or cultural influence before that. So suddenly when they became a democracy all the rock n roll music flooded in causing a glacial cultural shift for teenagers at the time. This serves as some kind of explanation for me as to why you can be sitting at a restaurant here in Spain and the music in the background can be Master of Puppets era Metallica or Iron Maiden! Music and particularly rock music is such a huge part of the culture here passed on down from those teenagers who were blown away when the flood gates opened in the 70s to their kids who come to the gigs here. CHAPTER VII Tonights gig at Sala Mardi Gras in A Coruna was always going to be a good one. Last year it was one of the highlights of the Spanish leg of the tour and tonight lived up to it! Great venue, great sound and great crowd just like last time. There were multiple technical issues as we powered through our non stop 90 minute set of rock but the momentum never dropped. Travis broke the front skin on his kick drum and performed running repairs without a hiccup assisted by Max. Patching the hole where the beater hits the skin with tape and cardboard every time there was a guitar or keys intro. The running repairs got us through without the audience even noticing and all this while Anthony had issues with his Bass input jack making it cut in and out until the spare guitar could be deployed. In the end none of this technical stuff caused the vibe of the show to drop and thanks to Max we were able to rock all the way to the end of the encore. The drum solo became like a Paul Stanley rave tonight with a call and response thing going which was hilarious to hear from the band room Badam buddu blap blap boom YEAH! Bibadum bibadum blam blap bam bam YEAH! A Coruna is a beautiful seaside city positioned on the Atlantic and although the weather was a little rainy it was still as I remembered it. Beautiful. It was a nice feeling returning to this place after remembering it so fondly. Tomorrow we get up and visit Picassos house and then drive to the show in Cangas which was also awesome last time. CHAPTER VIII Madz, Trav and I visited the Picasso residence in A Coruna this morning. After pressing the buzzer on the busy street we were allowed entry in to the old unassuming apartment building. We then proceeded to climb the worn wooden stairs to the front door three flights up where we were welcomed by a very nice Spanish woman and then treated to a guided tour of the family home and some amazing artwork by Picasso and his father. I didnt know his father was an art teacher! The drive from A Coruna to Cangas took us through hilly terrain with epic Big Sur/Great Ocean Road-esque views of the moody wintery blue/black Atlantic Ocean crashing on the shore line. As we approached Cangas the water settled in the Harbour to a calm pool surrounded by tree-covered mountains and Casa-covered valleys which was very picturesque. Last years show in Cangas got really crazy with Gilps crowd surfing his way to the bar at the back of the room after I politely declined the invitation (more like resisted being torn off stage by the ankles) from the rabid rock heads at the front of the stage. We were hoping things might pick up where we left off 12 months earlier and they certainly did Cangas goes off! Best gig of the tour so far and close to best gig ever for POTK. No one sings like the Cangas crew and they were certainly in fine voice tonight. As expected, I was almost forcibly pulled from the stage during the show but I politely declined again After the second encore we jumped off the stage and hung out with our Cangas brothers and sisters while the boys drank beer and DJd on the bars Spotify playlist until late. STARRING: Tim Henwood Vocals/Diary Entries Matthew Harrison Guitar/Local Beer Sampler Leigh Maden Guitar/Madzipedia Sean Johnston Keys/Still Quitting Travis Dragani Drums/Snoring Loudly Anthony Licciardi Garcia Bass/Swearing Loudly Max Longin Tour Manager/The Warden Mike Shanin interviews Mike McShane, Director of Education Policy for the Show Me Institute, about Betsy DeVos, the new Secretary of Education. Then Mary O'Halloran, Jon Stephens, Laura McConwell and Steve Mirakian discuss the future for Plaza carriage rides after a recent accident, the controversy over safety pins in the Shawnee Mission schools and ways to fix the budget crisis in Kansas. Theof Kansas City discourse gathers a veteran groups of panelists and takes on more than a few important topics tonight and offers a glimpse at both the culture war and economic policy.Check the description . . .You decide . . . The Bank of Greece sees risks in achieving fiscal targets for 2016 related with recent measures announced by the government on supporting pensioners and lowering VAT rates on islands hit by the refugee crisis. In its Interim Report on Monetary Policy, submitted to Parliament, the central bank said that despite the current positive indications and the progress achieved, the outlook for the Greek economy remains subject to risks. The most significant and immediate risk relates to a failure to reach a timely completion of the second review of the programme, especially in the light of upcoming national elections in a number of euro area countries. Furthermore, the achievement of the fiscal outcome in 2016 is subject to downside risks, related to measures announced by the Greek government on 8 December 2016 corresponding to a fiscal loosening of roughly 0.4% of GDP. These measures, which were announced after the present Report went to print, reduce significantly the estimated safety margin beyond the target for 2016. Besides, the execution of the 2016 Budget has not yet been completed and the general government performance for 2016 has not been finalized, the Bank of Greece said in its report. Also, any postponement of decisions on the part of our partners on concrete measures aimed to ensure the long-term sustainability of public debt, would hamper the improvement of Greeces economic and investment outlook and weaken the prospect of a return of the Greek government and Greek businesses to international financial markets and, thereby, the prospect of a definitive exit from the crisis. The Bank of Greece said there were several hurdles burdening domestic business climate and hindering investments and noted that unless some of them were resolved then recovery prospects could not be confirmed, as one of the basic pylons for economic growth in the coming years was an expected increase in investments. Fiscal adjustment On the fiscal leg, the central bank noted that fiscal adjustment was based mostly on higher revenues and warned of the risk that increased taxation could have more than-expected negative consequences on economic activity. Therefore, it would be better to improve the mixture of fiscal policy. The central bank said there were still some gaps in a legislative framework to drastically reduce the volume of non-performing loans, with possible negative implications on the ability of credit institutions to fund new investments. The Bank of Greece said in order to deal with these risks, to correct previous deviations and to confirm positive prospects for the Greek economy in 2017, a number of specific and coordinated actions were necessary. A basic precondition was a timely conclusion of a second review of the Greek economic program, accelerating the pace of implementing reforms and privatizations. The government should remain focused on the timely implementation of structural reforms and privatizations agreed with the institutions and to lift any remaining hurdles still facing privatization that have been approved. The country must also resolve the problem with NPEs. The size of the problem has not allowed a significant strengthening of the intermediary activity of the Greek banking system and the support of the real economy. The central bank noted that additionally to changes in the legal and regulatory framework already made, it was necessary among others to offer legal protection to officials from the banking system and state organizations for their actions during the restructuring of enterprises. Finally, Greece needed to resolve the problem with its huge public debt. The central bank said it was feasible to lower a fiscal target from 2018 onwards to a primary surplus of 2.0 pct of GDP (from 3.5 pct). These lower primary surpluses, combined with implementation of structural reforms will create the preconditions to lower taxation, it said. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report German authorities say they were unaware that an Afghan migrant accused of the recent rape and murder of a female medical student in Germany had been convicted of attempted murder in Greece after violating parole there. The news added a disturbing twist to a case that has rattled Germany and is causing an uproar in Greece over the negligence of the authorities and the Jutsice Ministry. Both Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos and Alternate Minister of Public Order Nikos Toskas have come under intense criticism in Greece for their negligent handling of the case. During an acrimonious exchange in Greek parliament he defended his decision to release the suspect on a short term leave4 from prison, claiming it was part of the law. There is a cost, there are inmates who get a leave from prison and commit crimes, he said, responding to criticism by opposition MPs in parliament. The incident raises concerns about European officials ability to enforce laws within the 26 countries that allow for free travel across their borders. The course of events is very aggravating, Thomas de Maiziere, Germanys interior minister, said of the discovery that the suspect had been convicted of a violent crime in Greece. Mr. de Maiziere said Germany would take up the issue with the Greek government. The suspect, whose identity and age have not been made public, was living with a foster family in Freiburg, a university city in southwestern Germany, at the time of his Dec. 3 arrest on suspicion of the rape and murder of the 19-year-old medical student, Maria Ladenburger, whose body was found in the Dreisam River in Freiburg on Oct. 17. He has been publicly identified as Hussein K. The surname that he provided has not been made public, in keeping with German laws protecting the privacy of suspects. Seven weeks later, the police said, the suspect was identified through DNA evidence from a strand of hair found near the crime scene. The man was released on parole in February 2015 on good behavior. When he violated parole, the Greek authorities only issued a national warrant for his arrest, so when he arrived in Germany, his fingerprints failed to turn up on the databases European security officials use to share information, Mr. de Maiziere said. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Greeces Public Power Corporation on Friday signed an agreement transferring 24 pct of shares in the Greek power grid operator ADMIE to Chinas State Grid for 320 million euros Greeces Public Power Corporation on Friday signed an agreement transferring 24 pct of shares in the Greek power grid operator ADMIE to Chinas State Grid for 320 million euros. The signature of the agreement was attended by Environment and Energy Minister George Stathakis, who said it was one more step further cementing the close economic relations between Greece and China. The minister also noted that the government hopes the major changes taking place in Greeces energy sector will attract investors but also to protect the environment. PPC Chairman and CEO Manolis Panagiotakis noted that the complex sale process had been completed in record time on a global level and expressed confidence that the entire process will be concluded within deadlines, before the end of March. This signature begins the separation of ADMIEs ownership from PPC and the completion of a difficult project, he said, noting that State Grid had shown its confidence in PPC and Greece in what he called a strategic partnership. Major technological potential ADMIE has major technological potential, an excellent workforce and its role in electrical energy union will be important on the basis of the connections that will be made in coming years, since there is expected to be a strengthening of interconnections with other regions to the east but also with Crete and the islands, Panagiotakis said. State Grids presence in ADMIEs share capital created new prospects and conditions for a successful completion of the project, he added. State Grid President Kou Wei noted the strategic importance of the Greek market, due to its location between Asia, Europe and Africa, as well as its role in the Balkans. He said that State Grid is also planning to enter the energy markets of Italy and Portugal. The sale of a minority stake of ADMIE to State Grid was approved by PPC shareholders on November 24. A new shareholders meeting is expected to be held at the start of 2017 to form the ?Pubic Holding Company ADMIE?, to which the operators shares will be transferred. The new company will be listed on the Athens stock exchange in March, according to the rules set out in the bailout deal signed with Greeces creditors. At the end of the process, the State will own 51 percent of ADMIE shares, State Grid 24 percent and other investors the remaining 25 percent. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Nellore Police detained few persons and recovered Rs 1.54 crore all in new Rs 2,000 currency from their possession in Andhra Pradesh. By Ashish Pandey: After receiving a specific tip off about black money deal of a real state property, Nellore Police in Andhra Pradesh detained few persons and recovered Rs 1.54 crore all in new Rs 2,000 currency from them. On Thursday night, the police team received information about the alleged black money transaction and rushed to the Minerva Grand hotel and asked five persons who had come from Hyderabad to come along with them police. advertisement The police team also found a SsangYong SUV and an Innova Car with assembly sticker issued in the name of Telangana Rastra Samiti (TRS) MLA B. Sanjeeva Rao representing Vikarabad Assembly constituency of Telangana. Also read: Modi says demonetisation should have been done in 1971, blames Indira Gandhi for selling out India The seized amount of around Rs 1 lakh 54 thousand are in the newly introduced Rs 2,000 and the existing Rs 100 currency notes. According to the sources, one of the person detained with the cash, identified as Raoof, is an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) worker of Saidabad, Hyderabad. He was named in Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya murder case and was later acquitted by court. The police detained the person with cash and the Income Tax officials have been informed for further investigations. Also read: Telangana: 2 arrested for circulating photocopies of new Rs 2,000 note Also read: Bengaluru: In India's biggest seizure since Nov 8, Rs 5.7 crore found - all in new Rs 2000 notes --- ENDS --- As a country with many bodies of water, the Philippines is blessed with lakes, rivers oceans and beaches. As one of the Asian countries visited by many foreigners and travelers, the Philippines truly have many beautiful tourist spots. The Philippines also have beautiful lakes that are peaceful and breath taking. These lakes are visited by many travelers hoping to get a glimpse of real nature and adventure. Tourist Spots Finder and Way PH listed down some of the best lakes travelers can visit in the Philippines. 1. Taal Crater Lake- Known as one of the famous lakes in the Philippines, the Taal Crater Lake is truly awe striking. This lake is along the craters of the famous Taal volcano created by history of eruptions. 2. Lake Sebu- In a place a little far from the city, the Lake Sebu is popular among foreign and even local travelers. Located in South Cotabato, Lake Sebu is famous along with its 7 falls. Seeing the 7 falls through riding the zipline and riding a boat while cruising in the lake is surely a peaceful and serene experience. 3. Kayangan Lake- Surrounded by mountains and green forests, the Kayangan Lake is one of the best tourist destinations in the Philippines. The waters of the lake is said to be the cleanest among all others in the country. With 70 percent fresh water and 30 percent salt water, the lake is indeed beautiful and all natural. 4. Barracuda Lake- As one of the best diving sites in the Philippines, the Barracuda Lake is indeed a wonderful site. Having crystal clear and fresh waters, divers surely enjoy coming to this lake despite the rough road they encounter going to the lake. 5. Mount Pinatubo Crater Lake- Known as the deepest lake in the Philippines, the Mount Pinatubo Crater Lake is best for tourists who loves to take pictures of the wonders of nature. The lake came about after the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano. The said lake is not fit for swimming but just looking at the magnificent view makes visiting the place all worth it. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Gift-giving is an important part of the holiday season. Now, even astronauts aboard the International Space Station can receive gifts, thanks to a Japanese cargo spacecraft. A capsule called "Kounotori 6", or "White Stork", was launched atop an H-IIB rocket four days ago, December 9. It contained 5 tons of food, water, batteries and other crew commodities including TV cameras and Small Satellite Orbital Deployer. The success of this mission was celebrated by flight controllers in Japan and Houston, and this is said to be a welcome event especially after space launch failures of the Russian and SpaceX supply ships two weeks ago. The launch was initially scheduled in September, but a leaking pipe was detected during a pressurization test, postponing the launch. It took days for the cargo ship to reach the ISS, Science World Report said. The gifts arrived on Tuesday at the International Space Station. NASA said that there were also Christmas presents for the two Americans, three Russians and one Frenchman on board. American Commander, Shane Kimbrough, and French Thomas Pesquet used a robotic arm made in Canada, Canadarm 2, to capture the cargo ship from the orbit which hovered 250 miles above Chile. "The vehicle is beautiful, and it performed flawlessly," Kimbrough said. The pressurized section of Kounotori 6 contained seven CubeSats, while in the unpressurized section of the ship, six new lithium-ion batteries were sent. These lithium batteries will replace the currently used 12 nickel-hydrogen batteries for the forthcoming space walks scheduled on Jan. 6 and Jan. 13, 2017, Space Flight Insider reported. "Based on a lot of the equipment that's brought up, we're going to see a lot of robotic and spacewalk activity coming up in the new few weeks, and it's going to be really exciting," Kimbrough said after receiving the cargo. Kounotori 6 is scheduled to remain berthed for the next six weeks. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 The Azamara Club Cruises have made an official announcement about its destinations this coming March 21, 2017, and its first destination will be Havana, Cuba. Since Cuba is now more open to tourists, a lot of people are swarming the place to experience its beauty. As recently reported by USA Today, the 686-passenger Azamara Quest will be making its scheduled trip starting off from Miami. This trip will cover a number of stops, which includes Florida, Tampa, Key West, New Orleans, Louisiana, Cozumel, Mexico and one final overnight stop at Havana, Cuba. There are some discussions about adding more voyages to Azamara's schedule on top of the Cuba cruise. However, this is just for the March 2017 schedule and the company is still looking into adding more trips later on. "Our guests rely on our programs to provide authentic, interactive experiences that dive deep into the cultures of the destinations we visit," Larry Pimental stated in a report from Breaking News Travels. The company also mentioned that it have always aimed to refine its voyage for its guests to discover new places to explore. Sister Company, Royal Caribbean, is also scheduled to be making its first trip to Cuba on April. This is to allow guests who may miss the Azamara Quest roundtrip, though details for the roundtrip are still scarce as of the moment. The same goes for Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line. The following lines also received clearances to have their trip to Cuba in the following months after Azamara Club Cruises. For those who are interested in booking for the trip, Azamara's Cuba voyage prices start around $2,799 for each person. For more details, customers can also directly contact Azamara Club Cruises. Those who are seeking other destinations can also find other voyages Azamara's official website under the FAQs page. Various destinations from Asia, West Indies, Central and North Americas are covered as well as New Zealand and Australia at reasonable prices. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 People from Brownsville Texas received a warning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC regarding Zika virus. The CDC has been warning citizens especially pregnant women and their sexual intercourse partners to refrain from traveling to Brownsville Texas. According to CDC's doctor, Dr. Denise Jamieson, "We're recommending pregnant women not to travel to Brownsville, and if they do travel to that area, to ensure that they avoid mosquito bites and they avoid the risk of sexual transmission." Zika virus has been feared by many people all over the world due to the danger it carries. This virus is passed on through mosquito bites and sexual intercourse transmission. The said illness is dangerous especially for pregnant women and their partners since it would have a big effect on their child bearing. Some of the dangerous effects of Zika virus among pregnant women are having children with small heads and birth defects. According to Chicago Tribune and Washington Post, five cases of the Zika virus, all in close areas, in Brownsville have been discovered. However, there is no affirmation of the further widespread of the disease. In order to prevent harms caused by the Zika virus, the authorities in Brownsville along with the CDC are performing further examinations regarding the matter. Those pregnant women who have come in, out and even had sex in Brownsville on or after October 29 is requested to participate on tests for Zika virus. The federal government and the CDC are trying to do their best to stop the spreading of the said virus. As several tests and investigation are still ongoing, people are still advised to be vigilant especially those who are engaging in sexual activities and for those who are pregnant. Besides Texas, Florida is also a state in the U.S. known for having Zika virus. Same procedures in Texas have been undertaken to prevent and stop this dangerous virus. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 For so many clinical studies to cure Alzheimers disease, here is one you wouldnt believe is actually effective and has been studied by scientists in progress for couple of months now. This particular drug is actually from a herpes virus drug, and is assumed to treat Alzheimers disease. According to Express UK, the primary experimental study ever to examine if the medications can have a result on the dreadful illness has been hurled at Umea University in Sweden. Scientists at the university hurled the study after discovering a connection between the herpes virus infection and an augmented peril of Alzheimer's disease. This study will be concluded for the next four weeks of progress. There were 36 people with Alzheimer's will obtain treatment with Valaciklovir, a medication which precisely targets active herpes type one virus which creates cold sores. Researchers will use brain imaging to observe the subjects, as well as a tracer substance which accrues in cells with active herpes virus infection. In addition to this information in previous researches, according to Web MD: Certain viral infections may increase the likelihood of mental decline and dementia, especially among older adults with heart disease. A new study shows that elderly people with evidence of infection with three common viruses -- viruses that cause cold sores, genital herpes, and a mono-like illness -- were more than twice as likely to suffer from dementia. They are foreseeing the two procedures will distinguish herpes virus infection in the brain cells of people with Alzheimer's. Their study comes after numerous preceding research which have found a positive link between the herpes virus and Alzheimer's. The latest came out in March this year subsequently in an international group of senior researchers and clinicians said there are two explicit types of bacteria and one virus - herpes type 1 - which causes Alzheimer's. Researchers are eager for the present study, the first of its kind, will prove the relation does exist and could indicate a main invention in a disease which has so far taken scientists to a dead-end. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Cassie De Pecol, a 27-year-old girl from Connecticut, is set to see the world. Unlike most travelers, her goal is to be the fastest person to visit the whole world. According to the Independent, Cassie De Pecol started her journey 16 months ago and has only 20 more countries left to visit before she reaches her goal of 196 countries. If she makes it, she will be the first female to do it, and beating Yili Lui, the current record holder who took 3 years and 3 months to finish. De Pecol has already spent $200,000 including airfare of 254 flights on her journey as stated in a report by Forbes. This was made possible by some donations from sponsors as well as being able to get free rooms from luxury eco-hotels in exchange for her promotion via Instagram posts. #fbf to Angkor Wat A photo posted by | (@expedition_196) on Jul 9, 2016 at 2:33am PDT On top of her trip, Cassie De Pecol is also working on a few projects, collecting water specimens for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, and acting as an ambassador for the International Institute of Peace Through Tourism. She stays for 2 to 5 days on each country meeting with other tourism leaders and visiting schools. In an interview, Cassie said that she was not really much of a traveler before she started. She also had several jobs before she took on her quest from web development, sales, childcare, and marketing. Though she developed great relationships with the people she worked with and really enjoyed taking care of children, she felt that she will not have any career growth there. De Pecol also did not want others to keep her from doing what she wants that is why she kept the plan to herself until she felt that she was 100% sure of pursuing it. Halfway through, she finally shared her plan to her family and friends and she was overwhelmed at how supportive they all were. As of December 4, 2016, Cassie De Pecol is six countries away to achieving her goal. Despite her achievements, not everyone supports her due to their trips not a legitimate traveling for others. Some people believed that true traveling is immersing themselves into the culture, tradition, and people the country has to offer. But, because of her short stints, not everyone is a big fan of her. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 When going on a vacation, purchasing airplane tickets is a very major factor. For budget travelers, this means planning the vacation ahead of time, so that they can still have time to look out for discount deals on airplane ticket prices. And for some, they don't have an idea where to start. There are several tips on how to land the perfect airplane ticket and when you should actually start looking. Believe it or not, there are certain days in a week where you can always find discount prices on your selected airplane flights, which, compared to the normal fares some airlines offer to the public, always makes an astounding difference. For example, did you know that the weekends are the best days to look for discounted airplane fares? This is based on the study conducted by Expedia and Airlines Reporting Corporation. On their latest study on 2015, it showed that weekends provide cheaper rates than most days of the week. Before this report came to light, it was disclosed that Tuesday is the best time to look for airplane fares. Why weekends? It's because several airlines have factored in the fact that most leisure travelers often buy their tickets during weekends, while those who travel for business often buy on weekdays. That's when they raise the price of their tickets. Another tip is to subscribe on your favorite airlines' email alerts. This way, you'll instantly know if they're giving a surprise or last-minute promo deals, since these kinds of fares often get snapped up quickly. This is opposed to visiting their website every now and then, hoping for a price decrease. Last tip is to not book tickets during Fridays. This is when airlines usually run out of cheap flights, hence the price hike. Just be patient and wait until the following day, Saturday, because that's when ticket prices go down. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today likened demonetisation woes to "labour pain", saying its end result would be as "joyful" as the birth of a baby. Prasad made the remarks at an event organised by the Delhi BJPs IT cell that lay emphasis on how demonetisation was an opportunity for the countrys transition towards a cashless economy. advertisement However, Prasad said the governments motive behind demonetisation was "less cash", not cashless. He criticised the Opposition parties for "not allowing" the Parliament to function. "People will face a little problem. But the pain is like the one that a woman in labour undergoes. Eventually one will experience the joy like one does hearing the first cry of a baby," Prasad said. He asserted that the defunct notes deposited in the banks will be scrutinised and not all of it will be considered "white". At the gathering, largely consisting of lawyers, Prasad also took jibes at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying, he was "happy" when Singh spoke. "I eagerly wait for the speeches of two people. Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi," he said, and went on to hail Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having "raised" Indias stature in the global community through his foreign trips. He said the amount deposited in the banks will help in investing in strengthening the Indian Army, assisting farmers, small traders, building roads, adding that "naxals and terrorists" are a troubled lot due to the decision. Speaking at the event, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said politicians like Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav, who are opposing the measure, are actually "aware of its benefits". Tiwari also referred to Modis statement that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had "rejected" Wanchoo Committees recommendations in 1971 to bring demonetisation. PTI SBR RCJ --- ENDS --- Most people who wish to travel from Singapore to Europe would normally take the plane to get there. But, a woman named Dina Malyana managed to go from Singapore all the way to Europe by train. The journey took seven days and a 3000SGD (US$2079). How did this traveler manage to do this? In a blog posted on Tripzilla, Dina Malyana described how she was able to fulfill her dream of traveling to Europe without having to take a plane. The young traveler describes how the initial plan for her trip was not overly ambitious. Her initial goal was to travel across the Trans-Mongolian Railway, one of the Trans-Siberian Railway's three routes. The route starts off in Beijing, goes across Mongolia, and then continues westward all the way to the city of Moscow. The Trans-Siberian Railway is considered to be the longest train journey in the world, and the entire trip took her a week to finish. One of the websites that Dina used during her journey from Singapore to Europe by land was Seat61. A website with plenty of information about train rides all over the world. Her incredible journey took her from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, and finally Russia. A more accurate depiction of the route she took can be seen here on Google Maps. What is even more amazing about this trip is that she was able to do many other things along the way such as experiencing The Great Wall of China, swim in the Kuang Si Waterfalls in Laos, and ride a bike on the frozen Lake Baikal in Russia. While S$3000 doesn't seem like much of a budget for a seven-day land trip to Europe, Dina managed to make her finances work and ended up spending only S$2800 at the end of her trip. A complete breakdown of her expenses can be seen in her blog post on Tripzilla's website. If there is anything we can learn from this traveler, it's that exorbitant amount of money to travel the world is not that crucial as long as the plan is thorough and stays within the budget. See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018 Starting on June 1st, 2017, the airline will operate a nonstop daily flight between these two cities - This is the carrier's fourth destination in Canada and its 19th destination in North America Aeromexico announced the beginning of new service on June 1st, 2017 from Mexico City to Calgary, the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta. With this new flight, Calgary becomes the fourth destination Aeromexico serves in Canada, and its 19th destination in North America. The carrier will operate the new route with its Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 160 passenger seats, including 16 in Clase PremierAeromexico's Business Classwith the following schedules: Calgary Mexico City* Mexico City Calgary* AM613 11:30 p.m. 06:05 a.m. Daily AM612 06:00 p.m. 10:30 p.m. Daily *Times are published in local time and are subject to changes without notice. "Calgary is a very important destination for Aeromexico, as it will allow us to offer our customers the only nonstop flight available from Mexico City, providing customers with more choices for travel from Mexico, Central and South America to Canada, in addition to our flights to Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver," said Aeromexico's Chief Revenue Officer Anko van der Werff. "Canada is Mexico's third largest trading partner, and this destination promotes the oil, gas and mining industries, as well as health services and education so the airline will continue to offer increased connectivity options for its passengers," added the executive. "Bienvenido a Alberta! This new direct flight connecting Calgary to Mexico City is fantastic news. Not only will the flights bring more visitors between Mexico and the province of Alberta, but they will also help boost tourism, investment, trade and cultural opportunities," said the Honourable Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism for the province of Alberta. Tourism from Mexico to Canada has grown 65.4% over the last six years, and this figure is expected to grow even more after Canadarecently lifted the visa requirement on Mexico. "This new YYC-Mexico City non-stop service will enhance opportunities with an important two-way travel and trade market and provide great connection opportunities from YYC to countries throughout Central and South America," said Garth Atkinson, President & CEO of The Calgary Airport Authority. Aeromexico's new service offers Calgary customers connect to beaches in Mexico, such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, Huatulco, Los Cabos and Ixtapa, business cities such as Guadalajara, Monterrey, Merida, Leon and Aguascalientes, Mexican Gulf cities such as Villahermosa, Veracruz, Ciudad del Carmen and Tampico, and countries in Central and South America such as Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia. The carrier also strengthens its offer to connect to 20 destinations in Canada and the United States thanks to its codeshare partnership with Canadian airline WestJet. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Travel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2022 Travel Industry Wire The Supreme Court has stayed all the proceedings related to demonetisaiton in various high courts in the country. By Anusha Soni: While refusing to pass any interim order, the Supreme Court today referred to a larger bench of five judges the matter of a batch of petitions challenging the November 8 demonetisation decision of the government and the issues arising out of it. The Supreme Court also stayed proceedings before various high courts and subordinate courts on the petitions arising out of the demonetisation, and directed that, henceforth, any petition challenging the November 8 decision or issues related to it could only be moved before the apex court. advertisement Thereby, the SC barred all courts in the country from entertaining any petition challenging demonetisation. The apex court referred the matter to a constitution bench by framing nine questions for adjudication. SC SAYS CENTRE 'SENSITIVE' The Supreme Court refused to pass any interim order extending exemptions permitting the use of scrapped currency notes for essential services, even medical, and left it to the Centre to take the call. Observing that the Centre was sensitive enough to the situation, a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur said the government will consider and take appropriate decision from time-to-time to ease the hardships being faced by the people. WHAT ABOUT RS 24,000 A WEEK: SC The Supreme Court today asked the government to honour its demonetisation commitment to allow withdrawal of Rs 24,000 per person per week. The Supreme Court also refused to extend deadline for any exemptions given like in pharmacy, toll plaza and other places. READ| Supreme Court asks 9 questions from government over demonetisation The apex court left it to the Centre to decide on extension of the order on depositing old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations after December 30. The Supreme Court did not give any relief to the cooperative banks. The court said that the government was right in putting condition of compliance with KYC norms for accepting deposits from cooperative banks. WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- Ascott's EUR1.2 billion portfolio in Europe to get boost with landmark acquisition in one of the world's most attractive business locations (TRAVPR.COM) SINGAPORE - December 16th, 2016 - CapitaLands wholly owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott Limited (Ascott), has expanded its global footprint to Ireland, one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. It has acquired an operating hotel in Irelands capital city Dublin, the 136-unit Temple Bar Hotel, for EUR55.1 million (S$83.6 million). Located within Temple Bar, the vibrant cultural heart of Dublins city centre, the property is close to museums, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, galleries and attractions such as the famous Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery. Mr Lee Chee Koon, Ascotts Chief Executive Officer, said: Europe is a key market for Ascotts global expansion. Irelands pro-business environment has attracted some of the worlds biggest companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and LinkedIn to establish their European headquarters in Dublin. Ireland is also used as a launch pad to the European Union (EU) by many U.S. companies and U.S. is amongst Ascotts top source markets globally. Ascotts entry into Ireland will cater to this rising demand for accommodation by corporate and leisure travellers. The acquisition will boost Ascotts EUR1.2 billion (over S$1.8 billion) portfolio in Europe and bring us closer to our target of 10,000 units in the region by 2020. Ireland, which has a predominantly English-speaking population and a law system similar to the United Kingdom, is rated by The World Bank's Doing Business Report as amongst the easiest places in the EU to start a business. Post Brexit, Dublin has stepped up efforts to woo multinational companies to site their EU-based operations in Ireland. Irelands economy is expected to expand by 4.9% this year, one of the top three fastest growing economies in Europe. Tourism is booming in Ireland. It had a record number of visitors, up 12% in the first nine months of this year. Dublin hotels had the highest Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth rate in Europe in 2015, and the city is expected to top the European cities in RevPAR growth again in 2017. With extended stay accommodation supply at only 0.08 unit per 1,000 overseas visitors in Dublin, the market presents huge potential for Ascott. Mr Alfred Ong, Ascotts Managing Director for Europe, said: Ascott has built a strong presence in Europe as one of the regions largest international serviced residence owner-operators. We look forward to bringing our signature hospitality to Ireland with a centrally located and quality accommodation in Dublin for our corporate and leisure guests. Acquiring an operating property in Dublin will give us a much faster time-to-market. The property has been achieving over 80% occupancy in the last few months and we are confident that we will be able to add value to this prime asset. There are already plans to rebrand the property at a later date. This acquisition brings Ascotts portfolio in Europe to more than 5,400 units in 45 properties across 19 cities in Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The Dublin property sits on Fleet Street, minutes away from Dame Street, a main thoroughfare in the Irish capital where many financial institutions such as the Central Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Bank and Ulster Bank are situated. It is also within walking distance to the International Financial Services Centre that houses more than 500 companies including global financial institutions, law firms, audit firms and taxation advisors. Its central location offers guests convenient access to Grafton Street and Henry Street, the two main shopping streets in Dublin. In addition, major event facilities such as the Convention Centre Dublin, the 3Arena and Aviva 4 Stadium are nearby. The property also benefits from key transport services that are within easy reach from its door step the Dublin Area Rapid Transit and LUAS (Dublins light rail tram system) lines as well as extensive bus network provide guests with swift connection to the airport and the rest of the city. Ascott achieved record growth this year with more than 10,000 apartment units added globally. It also launched lyf, a new brand designed for and managed by millennials, which will complement its other existing brands to accelerate Ascotts growth to achieve its 80,000-unit target globally by 2020. About The Ascott Limited The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international serviced residence owner-operators. It has over 29,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, as well as over 22,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 51,000 units in over 300 properties. The company operates three award-winning brands Ascott, Citadines and Somerset. It has also launched lyf, a brand designed for and managed by millennials. Ascotts portfolio spans more than 100 cities across 28 countries. Ascott, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Limited, pioneered Asia Pacific's first international-class serviced residence with the opening of The Ascott Singapore in 1984. Today, the company boasts over 30 years of industry track record and award-winning serviced residence brands that enjoy recognition worldwide. Ascotts achievements have been recognised internationally. Recent awards include World Travel Awards 2016 for Leading Serviced Apartment Brand in Asia, Europe and the Middle East; Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Brand; Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Apartment Company; Business Traveller UK Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Apartment Company; Business Traveller China Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Brand; TTG China Travel Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Operator in China and DestinAsian Readers Choice Awards 2016 for Best Serviced Residence Brand. For a full list of awards, please visit About CapitaLand Limited CapitaLand is one of Asias largest real estate companies headquartered and listed in Singapore. The company leverages its significant asset base, design and development capabilities, active capital management strategies, extensive market network and operational capabilities to develop high-quality real estate products and services. Its diversified global real estate portfolio includes integrated developments, shopping malls, serviced residences, offices and homes. Its two core markets are Singapore and China, while Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam have been identified as new growth markets. The company also has one of the largest real estate fund management businesses with assets located in Asia. CapitaLands listed real estate investment trusts are CapitaLand Mall Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust. Visit Issued by: The Ascott Limited Website: www.the-ascott.com 168 Robinson Road, #30-01 Capital Tower, Singapore 068912 ### C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitments Travel Salary Index November 2016 (TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - December 16th, 2016 - Travel Salaries Rebound With Highest Monthly Rise In Four Years C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitments Travel Salary Index November 2016 November 2016 % Change In Month % Change In Year Average Salary 25,955 +6.65% +0.39% Three-Month Average 25,089 +0.46% -0.14% Standard Travel Salary 22,973 +8.11% +0.84% Salaries rise to highest point since April 2016 Highest monthly rise in salaries since January 2013 Double figure annual rise in new candidates, but vacancy numbers fall Strong November for wages Salaries for new jobs in the travel industry rose at their fastest pace for nearly four years in November, according to the latest Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment which surveyed the months new vacancies. The average travel job now comes with a wage of 25,955 which is up by 6.65 per cent (1,618) from October 2016 and is the biggest monthly increase since January 2013. Salaries rose across the country in November with London wages rising to their highest point since April, Southern salaries reaching their highest level since May and Northern pay hitting its strongest mark since July. In addition, wages for standard travel roles (those paying up to 40,000) stood at 22,973 in November, which was up 8.11 per cent from the previous month and is the highest figure since April, while wages for executive travel jobs (those paying more than 40,000) reached 57,333 their highest point since July. Speaking about the figures, Barbara Kolosinska, Director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment, said: November was a very strong month for wages in the travel industry with increases in all areas of the country from Brighton to London, Manchester, the West Midlands and Yorkshire. In particular, last month saw a large number of Business Travel Consultant placements in Manchester and the North West, and these roles are likely to continue to be attractive to top candidates seeking new positions with competitive salaries in the next few months. Increased candidate numbers The month also saw a double figure annual rise in the number of candidates looking for roles in travel, although the number of new positions being made available in November dipped below last years levels. As we near Christmas and the holiday season, its encouraging to still see so many people searching for a new role before the end of the year, said Ms Kolosinska. December is typically the quietest month of the year for the travel recruitment sector, but it appears that many people will still be taking time out from the turkey to search for a new job this winter. All figures are drawn from the salaries of the months new vacancies advertised with C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment. C&M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK. For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Content Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Director - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk). ### By PTI: Legendary actor Dilip Kumar was discharged from hospital on Thursday after being admitted there earlier this month following a swelling in his right leg. Kumar was admitted to Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra on December 6. "We have brought him home today. He will be resting at home. He is recuperating, he is doing well. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers," the actors wife and noted actress Saira Banu told PTI. advertisement The veteran actor turned 94 on December 11 and had a low-key birthday celebration in hospital. Kumar made his debut in acting with Jwar Bhata in 1944. He entertained the audience with films like Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jaumna, Devdas, Andaz, Babul, Aan, Amar, Shaheed, Naya Daur, Madhumati, Ram Aur Shyam, Shakti and Mashaal others. Born in Peshawar as Yousuf Khan, he adopted the screen name Dilip Kumar. He earned the moniker of Tragedy King due to the tragic roles he played in films like Mela, Devdas, Dil Diya Dard Liya and others. He was last seen on-screen in film Qila in 1998. The thespian has been honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1994 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2015 for his contribution to the Indian cinema. (Photos: Milind Shelte, India Today) --- ENDS --- "You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK?" Trump said. By Press Trust of India: US president-elect Donald Trump has slammed White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest by describing him as a "foolish guy" who delivers a "positive message that sounds bad". "This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I don't know," Trump told thousands of his supporters in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK?" Trump said. advertisement He then said that Earnest is taking orders from someone else. "Maybe he is getting his orders from somebody else?" the president-elect said hours after Earnest at his daily news conference said that Trump knew that the Russian alleged hacking and interference in general elections was helping him and hurting that of the rival Hillary Clinton Campaign. Also read: Buy American, hire Americans: Donald Trump to follow '2 simple rules' "It is just a fact you all have it on tape that the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent, because he believed that would help his campaign. It is not a controversial statement. I'm not trying to be argumentative. But I am trying to acknowledge a basic fact," the White House Press Secretary told reporters at his daily news conference. "I recognise that the defence from the Trump campaign is that he was joking. I don't think anybody at the White House thinks its funny that an adversary of the US engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilise our democracy. That's not a joke. "Nobody at the White House thought it was a joke. Nobody in the intelligence community thought it was a joke," he said. "I'm not aware that any members of Congress in either party that was briefed on this matter multiple times dating back to the summer thought it was a joke. Also read: After Twitter, Facebook says won't help Donald Trump build Muslim registry --- ENDS --- Amritsar, December 15 Dal Khalsa has termed claims of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress on water crisis nothing, but gimmicks to garner more votes. Its leaders reasserted that all New Delhi-based parties and their agents working in Punjab were responsible for the continuous loot of states more than 55 per cent river waters and draining of its economy. The AAP would be no exception, they added. Dal Khalsa spokesperson, Kanwar Pal Singh, said from SAD to Congress to AAP all were playing cheap politics on Punjabs water-sharing issue. He added that all their hyperbolical claims were nothing but vote-catching gimmicks. He said Sukhbir Badal, Amarinder Singh and Arvind Kejriwal were neither sincere nor serious to protect interests and resources of Punjab. Ironically, the three were sincere and serious to get the chair of Chief Minister only to enjoy the privilege, pelf and power, he added. Terming it a self-contradictory statement, he said in Ludhiana Kejriwal promised that AAP would not allow waters of the state to go outside and in Majitha he said everyone had right on the Punjabs water. He said Kejriwal joined the list of politicians infamous for somersaults and opportunism. He asked Kejriwal to first show his sincerity and pay royalty to Punjab as Delhi was getting 0.2 MAF water from rivers in the state. AAP claims to be a party thats not corrupt. Its vying for political power in Punjab. Let Kejriwal set the precedent and pay for using states waters, he added. Slamming the Akali government, he said there was no follow-up to get the Assembly resolution passed that sought recovering cost of waters from non-riparian states. We know from day one that unless Punjab government issues ultimatum to non-riparian states for repaying the cost within a specific time frame, all its efforts will end in futility, he added. He said without an action plan to stop flow of waters to Rajasthan and other non-riparian states, the crisis would never be resolved. TNS Gagan K Teja Tribune News Service Patiala, December 16 The state Medical Education and Research authorities have finally swung into action to save 50 MBBS seats in Government Medical College, Patiala, that were increased in the 2014-15 session. The Medical Council of India (MCI) had recommended their cancellation. The department is now holding departmental promotion committee (DPC) meetings and is also planning to hold fresh recruitment in the coming month, hoping to keep their seats intact. This is not the first time that the authorities have been warned against the cancellation of these seats mainly due to faculty shortage. The college had been running with 150 MBBS seats since 1969. These were increased to 200 in 2014 on the condition that there will be annual inspections to see whether the college is capable of accommodating the increased strength. In the very first inspection in April 2015, the MCI recommended cancellation of these 50 seats due to various anomalies, mainly 13 per cent faculty shortage. The college authorities pleaded their case and the college was allowed to continue with the increased seats. However, the Medical Education Department did not learn any lesson from it and the faculty position went from bad to worse in one year. The authorities claim that they tried to fill the vacant posts, but did not succeed due to multiple reasons including non-availability of competent doctors, delay in DPCs and some legal hitches. Now, the faculty shortage is 16.4 per cent. It is expected to reach 35 per cent by March 2017 if the government does not make timely efforts to fill these posts. A senior faculty member, requesting anonymity, said that for MBBS seats, the shortage is at the senior resident, assistant professor and associate professors levels. It could be rectified just by doing time-bound promotions as not many professors are required for the MBBS seats as per the MCI. She alleged that the government was doing the wrong thing by filling seats through re-employment of retired professors. It is not only hindering the new recruitment of assistant professors but also promotions of associate professors to professors. Accepting that the college had been grappling with staff shortage for long, Vikas Partap, secretary, Medical Education, said the department was taking some quick steps to rectify the shortcomings. He was hopeful that the MCI would reconsider its decision. We held a DPC today. We are also planning to review another DPC which was conducted in June but had to be stalled due to some objections. Also, we have recently held interviews for super specialists and are planning to hold interviews for fresh recruitment soon, he said. Amit Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 16 In yet another trap, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized Rs 30.71 lakh, including Rs 18 lakh in new currency, and 1.5 kg gold during a raid at the house of a tailor as part of its operations to check hawala trade in the wake of demonetisation. Sources said ED sleuths raided the house of Joginder Pal Singh, Gurmeek Singh and Gurwinder Singh at Phase VII, Mohali. They are the owners of Maharaja Tailors in Sector 22. The sources said Rs 18 lakh in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination was seized while Rs 75,000 was seized in Rs 50 denomination and the remaining currency was in Rs 100, Rs 20 and Rs 10 denomination. The sources said the 1.5 kg gold recovered from the house was in the form of a gold brick weighing 1 kg, two biscuits of 100 gm each and the remaining in the form of gold coins. The ED sleuths reached the house in the morning and searched the entire house. The shop in Sector 22 was also searched by the sleuths. The bank lockers were also searched. Enforcement Directorate officials said they would investigate the source of the new currency notes. The source of money is being investigated, the sources said. Banker held for exchanging demonetised currency Two days after the ED seized Rs 2.19 crore new currency notes valued at Rs 69,35,500 and Rs 1.5 crore in demonetised currency during a raid at the house of Inderpal Mahajan, a local businessman, in Sector 22, the UT police arrested Bhupinder Singh Gill, an employee of HDFC Bank, Sector 70, Mohali. Inspector Ranjit Singh, SHO, Sector 17, said Gill was cluster head of security, share trading and the loan department in two states. The accused used to charge between 20 and 25 per cent and get the demonetised currency exchanged, the SHO said. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) THERE is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions unfolding in the Syria- Iraq conflict zone and big powers which once contributed to the stabilisation of potential conflict situations during the Cold War are now perpetrators of the worst human rights violations. Each time it appears that the human race would learn from its mistakes and that world institutions existent to prevent such carnages would become stronger. Exactly the opposite happens. The current round in the five-year-old Syrian conflict and the 30-month-old Iraqi conflict situation essentially goes back to the 2003 US intervention in Iraq for regime change. It is a first-ever situation of media blackouts from a conflict zone. Ever since the ISIS (Daesh), other surrogates and lesser elements unleashed their concept of extreme cruelty and depraved behaviour with prisoners it has been impossible to get genuine media men to report from inside the conflict zone. Information, therefore, is one sided and second or third hand, based upon who is providing it. The groups involved place much of the news on social media wherever internet connectivity is intact. The humanitarian situation is one of the worst witnessed in any conflict zone for long, with an estimated 2.2 million people evicted and homeless. This adds to nearly half the pre-civil war population of Syria now in a state of displacement and there is more around Mosul, the northern Iraqi stronghold of Daesh. Water and food supplies are stretched to the limit and UN and other humanitarian agencies are at risk with premature entry without ceasefire due to the sheer nature of the fighters. Ceasefire is a word which has little meaning in this environment. There have been numerous attempts to hammer out the agreement but the February to September 2016 ceasefire held in patches.It failed once the Russian and Iran-backed Assad regime pushed for strategic advantage to wrest Aleppo. Aleppo's location will give any military mind an instant deduction; it is strategic, located closer to the Turkish border and is sufficiently nestled to the East to cover Latakia, the only port that the Russians have the facility of in the Mediterranean with the nearby air base. The recent surge of Russian military activity and backing to the Assad forces appears to be partially due to the urgency to complete operations before the transition in Washington. US support to the rebels forces during the Obama administration has been hesitant and for good reason. There are just too many rebel groups in loose coalitions with little command and control. The US does not have an effective policy in place nor the right controls to allow its support developing into stronger resistance. It has to chart a careful path as those aligned with the Syrian rebel groups include the Jabhat al Nusra and even the Al-Qaida. Empowerment of the rebel groups indirectly strengthens these anti-US elements also. The control over Syria is in patches, without intact frontlines making support to an anti-government coalition challenging. Conversely, the forces of Assad and his allies, Hezbollah, Russian and Iranian special forces and Russian airpower have greater intact territory to operate from. The role of Turkey in this conflict has been significant with Recep Erdogan joining the Saudi-Qatar effort to arm the Syrian Sunni rebels. A contentious issue was always the small 30-man sub-unit Turkey maintained inside Syrian territory for the upkeep of the tomb of Suleiman Shah, grandfather of Osman the founder of the Ottoman Empire; it has since been vacated along with the mortal remains. Although Russia-Turkey relations have improved marginally after the low after the Turkish shooting of a Russian fighter jet in 2015. NATOs military presence at the Turkey-Syria border is viewed suspiciously as was its awkward stance in the facilitation of leakage of ISIS fighters into Syria till late in 2015. On the eastern flank is Raqqa, the virtual capital of Daesh. However, it is not a weakened Daesh which holds the city but the Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) funded, armed and sponsored by the US to which 200 more US Special Forces personnel are being added. Raqqa in SDF hands means advantage US. With Mosul under siege and the dominant role being that of the Iraqi Army and US Air Force plus the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Turks also joining in, there is a mish- mash of forces minus the Russians. Iran does not appear to have a frontline role although it is a Shia-dominated Iraqi Army which is the dominant element. Sooner than later, Mosul will fall and the rump Daesh elements would make a beeline for Raqqa and for Aleppo. Hence the necessity to have at least Aleppo in Syrian and Russian hands; the urgency is high and hence ceasefires are being broken before they are even agreed upon. All the urgencies involved in the battles for Mosul and Aleppo are creating humanitarian crises in which the ICRC and the UN aid agencies are struggling. Many are pointing to the inability of the UN doing anything to put an end to violence. There is not much the UN can do. "Syria has become an experiment lab for geopolitics between US and Russia and failure of UN and the international community". It is this situation which Donald Trump is going to inherit on Inauguration Day and for all his contacts with Vladmir Putin it is unlikely Russian interests are going to be compromised by the Russian leader. Once Aleppo is in the hands of the Assad forces a degree of consolidation can commence. The future looks as complex and confused as the present. Iraq's Prime Minister Abadi is now closer to Assad. For Shia power to proliferate Iran's outreach to the Hizbollah is equally important and for that Iraq's cooperation is necessary. In a post-Daesh configuration (whenever it emerges), it is the Iran-Saudi proxy conflict which will continue. To set the stage for that the populations of all the important cities of Northern Iraq and Syria continue to pay a huge price. The writer, a former General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, is now a Fellow with the Delhi Policy Group. Tahir Mehdi THE areas that constituted Pakistan in 1947 were ruled by the British under different arrangements. Bengal, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then 'NWFP') were provinces with elected assemblies. Balochistan was governed by an appointed Commissioner; tribal areas by Political Agents; and a number of so-called princely states by Rajas under the paramountcy of the British Crown. *** The people who were handed over the reigns of the new country on August 14 were tasked with working out a system which allowed all the above-mentioned entities to coexist peacefully and prosper together. But when they sat down to figure out this formula for an equal distribution of power, every option they considered led to the same concern: the Bengalis were more in number than all the rest put together, and under a democracy, nothing could bar them from getting a majority share in the new state. Now that did not sit well at all with the infant country's larger, grander designs of spearheading a new Islamic renaissance and hoisting its flag on every other building in South Asia. The dark-skinned Bengalis, who shared their language and culture with their Hindu compatriots did not cut a figure to fit the coveted slot. This glorious feat could only be performed by the blue-blooded Muslim elite that had migrated from India, with a few others playing second fiddle and the rest serving as foot soldiers. So, that was the first crossroad that our nation found itself at; that if the simple democratic path was to be taken, we would miss the golden opportunity to revive all of our lost glories (by losing the government to a Bengali majority). And if we stuck to this cherished goal, we would need to get around democracy and find some undemocratic solution to 'the Bengal problem'. At the end, it didn't turn out to be very difficult. Bengalis held faith in democracy and lost in Pakistan. *** East Pakistan was deadly against separate electorate while the central and Punjab Muslim Leagues were its biggest supporters. Almost a quarter of East Pakistan was Hindu and/or Scheduled Caste while non-Muslims in western provinces made less than five per cent of population. In present- day Punjab, non-Muslims (mainly, Christians) are barely two-and-a-half per cent of the population. So the province that had a miniscule population of non-Muslims advocated separate electorate while the one with a sizeable and significant one wanted Muslims and Hindus to vote jointly! There was an ideological dimension to the issue as well. Those who wanted to make Pakistan an Islamic state considered it important to not let the votes of non-Muslims mix up with those of the chosen faithful so that the sacred state's mandate is not polluted. For others, the non-Muslims started symbolising all of their identity markers other than Islam like language and culture which they shared with them and did not want to abandon while building the new state. But I think more important than the ideological exegeses were the hard political facts, the hardest being that there were more Bengalis than all the rest put together. This was worsened by the fact that the rest were divided into too many smaller units. So under a democracy, Bengalis would always win. And Bengalis ruling Pakistan was somehow against the blueprint of Islamic republic as laid down by its self-appointed architects. It had to be ruled by the rent-seeking jagirdars of Punjab and khandani bureaucrats hailing from northern India. They had no respect for the Bengali political leadership comprising mainly of middle class persons who were politically conscious, articulate and quite active. They fretted at the prospects of numerically dominant Bengali Muslims ruling over them. They fumed at the tenets of democracy and geared up to fix it. They engineered a two-pronged strategy: One, was to unite all except East Bengal into one state entity, called One-Unit scheme resulting in what was named the West Pakistan province. But even that was not enough to counter-weigh Bengalis who were a whopping 54 per cent of population. The second part of the strategy thus was to divide East Bengal into smaller units. And Muslim League had the experience of only one kind of division, that is, along religious lines. So if Bengali voters were separated on the basis of religion, the Bengali Muslim representatives will fall fewer than the elected members of West Pakistan. *** It was embarrassing for many in the government to be unable to agree upon one system of elections in a country that wanted to take pride in its Muslim unity. The Act was soon amended to provide for the same joint system for both the wings. However, no elections could be held under this law, as General Ayub took over and abrogated the nascent constitution. When the general was tailoring a constitutional dress for his brazen military rule, he too was advised to separate electors but he didn't. Nor did General Yahya dare to do that while drafting his Legal Framework Order that provided the basis for the first general elections in the country held in 1970. *** The Constituent Assembly found itself in a perpetual logjam. Bengalis were not asking all else to bow before them. They simply demanded their democratic rights their language, culture shall be respected; their resources shall belong to them; they should get from the federal pool a share proportionate to their population. The blue-blooded Muslim League thought that it could continue to gamble on the back of the wild card of religion. So if you demanded rights for your homeland, you were accused of narrow provincialism that was against the lofty pan-Islamist ideals, if you dared to ask for your share in resources, you were blamed for obstructing the renaissance of Islam and if you wanted respect for your language, you were definitely a traitor and an Indian stooge. *** Bengalis were not afraid of their fellow Hindu citizens and the ruling elite of Pakistan could not instill this fear into them either. Or maybe the Bengalis had started fearing their fellow Muslim overlords more and the state of Pakistan failed to divert their fear towards Hindus. Whatever the case, the Bengali refusal to reject Hindus as integral part of their polity actually made our elite dread Bengalis even more, or perhaps their fear of Hindu and Bengali dominating them got mixed with each other. Blocked effectively on the premise of democracy, they did what people who feed on fear do. They inflicted the worst possible fury on Bengalis to stir fear in their hearts and yet, the lean, placid Bengalis smiled, refusing to be afraid of their freedom. That's how Bangladesh was born. The writer works with Punjab Lok Sujag, a research and advocacy group in Pakistan. By arrangement with the Dawn By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) today asked the government to extend the FAME scheme for a longer period of five years so as to push the sectors growth. The society also sought a long term policy for the sector that clearly states the incentives based on demand of the industry, supply and research and development. advertisement It also asked for easy credit, mandating petrol pumps to set up at least one charging pillar and institutional adoption of the electric vehicles for government use. To promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government had formally launched the FAME India scheme last year offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars. It envisaged Rs 795 crore support for the first two fiscals. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India (FAME India) is part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. SMEV Director Corporate Affairs Sohinder Gill said: "The extension of FAME Scheme for the next five years will encourage more investments in the country. This will help in better adoption and infrastructure development, bringing stability to the EV industry with policy support." PTI RR SA --- ENDS --- This week, scores of small industry owners in scruffy jackets took to the streets in several towns all over the country against the shortage of cash for the past six weeks. In Amritsar, they symbolically handed over a key to the Deputy Commissioner. Small entrepreneurs are getting strangled slowly by the paucity of money in the market. But the distress, confusion and frustration inflicted on those lower down the economic ladder makes a mockery of the rather sterile phrase collateral damage used to describe their current predicament. A labourer's wife killing her infant sons after failing to feed them for two days and the photo of a wizened man weeping on being pushed out from a queue are microcosms of individual tragedies being enacted all over the country. Demonetisation's indignities and humiliation bring to mind the trigger of Arab Spring the suicide by a Tunisian vendor as he could not break out of the authoritarian dead-end in his country. In India, the Prime Minister has been in constant communication with the people. He and his colleagues have been holding out hopes of a better tomorrow. The promised date is now a fortnight away. People anticipate personal windfalls after the wait is over and, perhaps, an equally high-profile but less-universal crackdown on black money. None of the hopes and promises can wish away the mini tragedies that have already taken place. They also cannot wish away the spectre of inspector raj. Now that all the demonetised money has come in, the governments only hope to salvage some capital from the project is to urge more aggression by its investigating agencies. Despite efforts by the government to calm down people, India cannot remain invulnerable to a Tunisia moment. On one hand, stashes of new notes are being seized while lakhs cannot lay their hands on a single currency note. The visible manifestation of inequity indicates that the government has missed its original goals. To be honest, no one has any idea of how demonetisation will end up. Unless Narendra Modi conjures a rabbit, the blowback may not be pretty. Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 16 The government has told bankers to start debiting money from accounts of farmers across the state towards premium for insurance of the rabi crop under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) though farmers claims for the kharif crop are yet to be settled. The state government has set a target of completing the process of insurance before December 31. Sensing resistance, officials of the Agriculture Department and Revenue Department and bankers have been told to motivate farmers by creating awareness about benefits of the PMFBY. We have divided Haryana into three clusters, placing Sirsa, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Faridabad, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panchkula and Rewari in the first; Hisar, Sonepat, Gurugram, Karnal, Ambala, Jind and Mahendragarh in the second; and Fatehabad, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Mewat, Palwal, Panipat and Yamunanagar in the third cluster, said a senior official of the Agriculture Department. This time, the government had notified wheat, barley, mustard and chickpea (gram) under the PMFBY. Farmers in most districts of the state would have to pay Rs 333.86, Rs 151.75, Rs 166.93 and Rs 151.75 per acre, respectively, towards premium for insurance, except for a little difference in some districts. The sum insured would be Rs 22,000 per acre for wheat, Rs 11,000 per acre for mustard and Rs 10,000 each for chickpea and barley, said the official. Insurance was compulsory for farmers who had taken crop loans from banks. Prahlad Singh Bharukhera, president of the Haryana Kisan Manch, alleged that farmers were yet to get claims for the kharif crop though premium had been debited twice and even thrice in case of some farmers and the government was forcing them to pay again. Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa, said insurance was an agreement between insurer and the insured and it could not be done unilaterally. During the kharif crop, bankers had debited Rs 184 crore from farmers, but insurance companies had maintained that they got Rs 121 crore, leaving an unexplained gap of Rs 63 crore. The claims of farmers, which were hardly worth Rs 10 crore, were yet to be settled by insurance companies, Bharukhera pointed out. Jagraj Dandi, Joint Director, Agriculture Department, said farmers would get their claims as soon as the government paid its share of premium of nearly Rs 75 crore and crop-cutting experiments to determine the average yield of kharif crop was completed. Tribune News Service NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 16 China today fumed at Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lamas meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan during a childrens summit on Saturday and said that bilateral ties could be damaged if India continued to ignore Chinas core interests. India, on its part, maintained the standard line and said that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a respected and revered spiritual leader. It was a non political event organized by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children. Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to The Tribune on this issue, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister, Tibetan Government in Exile, said, India is a sovereign country and the head of the state is free to meet anyone he wishes to. China shouldnt be dictating its terms to India. We are glad that President publicly met with His Holiness. This sends a strong message of hope to Tibetans inside Tibet and to governments around the world. China has always reacted sharply on the issue of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and todays angry reaction from Beijing comes as no surprise. Recently in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing. China further said that it is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the presence of the Dalai Lama at the opening session of the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit, organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthis Childrens Foundation. China went a step ahead and pointed out that the Dalai Lama is in political exile and has long been engaged in anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion. In October this year, China had objected to Indias decision to grant permission to the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of southern Tibet. Simran Sodhi Tribune NEws Service News Delhi, December 16 In an exclusive interview to The Tribune today, Lobsang Sangay, the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile, made an appeal and a request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the Tibet issue in a manner similar to the one in which he has raised the Baluchistan issue. He clarified that this is not a demand but then India is one of the critical components when it comes to the Tibet issue. India is already doing the most for the Tibetan people, he said and added that he wants the Indian government to speak quite strongly on the issue of Tibet because India has the legitimacy, the privilege, the ability to really speak on the issue because the largest number of Tibetans are in India. He pointed to the fact that President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday hosted the Dalai Lama in a function at Rashtrapati Bhawan is an example of Indias support. China today reacted angrily to this and even threatened that the India-China ties could be damaged because of the presence of the Dalai Lama at the Presidents event. With regards to the recent spat between Mongolia and China following the visit of the Dalai Lama to Mongolia, Sangay said that, Mongolia is very bold and they are taking a principled stand. The largest percentage of people in Mongolia is Buddhist who are followers of the His Holiness. But Sangay was also a tad dismissive of the Chinese reaction saying that the Chinese retaliations are always temporary. The Chinese make noise but its always temporary since China needs coal and the raw materials from Mongolia as much as Mongolia needs Chinese investments, he said. Sangay, who was elected earlier this year as the head of the Tibetan administration in a democratic manner, admitted that at the moment talks with China look difficult because the last meeting between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese was in 2010 but he expressed the hope that Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, will focus on some legacy items in 2018, his second term. He explained that Tibet was a low hanging fruit for Xi since We are not seeking independence from China, we are seeking genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution. This is today being referred to as The Middle Way Policy, and has the support of the Dalai Lama. Sangay said, We will succeed, sooner or later. We dont fear the Chinese, we know how to deal with them. We have lived with them. Srinagar, December 16 The Srinagar-based 15 Corps of the Army, also known as the Chinar Corps, celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Armys victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war and commemorated the sacrifices of those who laid down their lives. Lt Gen JS Sandhu, General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, paid homage to the martyrs by laying a wreath at the war memorial here on behalf of the Army fraternity. A function was organised at the war memorial in the Badami Bagh Cantonment, Srinagar, where rich tributes were paid to those who laid down their lives in the Indo-Pak war. The day is celebrated every year as Vijay Diwas to commemorate the Armys victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The Chinar Corps had the responsibility of J&K during the war. The day was also celebrated at various Army formations and units across the Kashmir valley, an Army spokesman said. TNS Dinesh Manhotra Tribune News Service Jammu, December 16 Decision of the state government to sanction ex gratia to the family of Hizbul Mujahideen self-styled commander Burhan Wani has developed cracks in the unified Sangh Parivar as various offshoots of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have opposed the controversial step of the government and warned of taking to the streets to oppose it. Following their failure to oppose the decision of the government, BJP ministers are facing severe criticisms of the Sangh Parivar for meekly surrendering before the PDP on this highly controversial issue. State president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Leela Karan Sharma has publicly termed the decision as a brazen attempt on the part of the coalition government to glorify terrorists and to encourage anti-India forces in the state. Leaders of the other offshoots of the RSS have vented their anger during an in-house meeting of the Sangh Parivar against BJP ministers for not opposing the decision. As a leader of the VHP I am of the opinion that the decision to grant ex gratia to the family of Burhan Wani was taken only to boost morale of those terrorists who have taken up weapons against the Indian state, Sharma said, adding that the decision amounted to glorifying terrorists and demoralising security forces fighting proxy war in J&K. Khalid Wani, brother of Burhan Wani, was an over-ground worker (OGW), who was killed by the Army. By announcing ex gratia the state government is trying to make Army men guilty of killing him, he observed. When asked why BJP ministers are silent on the issue, Sharma said he was not authorised to speak on behalf of them. I cannot speak on their behalf but one thing is clear that there is strong anger among people, he said. The PDP-BJP government has announced compensation for Burhan Wanis elder brother Khalid Wani, who was killed by the Army on April 13, 2015, in mysterious circumstances. The Army had claimed that Khalid was an OGW of the Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit and was killed in an encounter but his family said that he was tortured to death. As BJP ministers in the coalition government have maintained a guarded silence over the decision of their own government, activists of various groups have started protests against compensation to Burhan Wanis family. The Bajrang Dal, which is one of the offshoots of the Sangh Parivar, has announced to launch an agitation against the decision. Highly placed sources said the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the student wing of the Sangh Parivar is also thinking of taking to the streets to oppose the decision. Manika Ahuja Countrywide arrests of many people and assault on more for failing to stand up for the national anthem in cinemas, after the Supreme Court made it compulsory on November 30...wondering whether the implementation, passed in a bid to instil a feeling of committed patriotism among citizens of India, is proving efficacious? Well, a closer look at single screens and multiplexes located in the city reveals a different picture. The implementation might have left citizens divided, with some supporting it and others terming it an assault on civil liberties, but a similar patriotic fervour is seen at every multiplex every time Jana Gana Mana plays in the backdrop with the image of a waving tricolour flag on the screens. Be it Chandigarhs plush multiplexes such as Elante mall, DT Cinemas and Fun Cinemas or single screen theatres like Kiran, cinema-goers proudly stand up in unison to observe the national anthem and many admit to experiencing goosebumps as they do! A cross-section of cinema-goers narrate their experiences. National pride One of the pioneers of the patriotic crusade, actor Harsh Nagar, who filed a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court seeking implementation of the rule not so long ago, shares why he supports the move so ardently. I get goosebumps every time Jana Gana Mana plays in the backdrop. Our national anthem is that one common thread that binds us all together in patriotic fervour. It is our pride. Sparing a couple of minutes to pay our respect to the nation is not much to ask, is it? Why the hullabaloo? Nagars sentiments find an echo in many Tricity people. Matalli Bhadu, LL.B. student at Panjab Universitys Department of Laws, and Chandigarh-based businessman Harshit Trehan, do not understand the hullabaloo around the issue. The duo asks in unison, Back in our school days, each one of us used to sing the national anthem with great ardour. So, what is the big deal if you are asked to stand up to observe it in a movie hall? Look at it the right way and you will find that it is a great way to promote the patriotic spirit. Keep off jingoism Some cinemagoers, however, hold the view that though the honourable Supreme Court had its heart at the right place when it passed the order for love and respect for motherland; cases of compelling others to stand up for it by beating them black and blue are nothing but clear-cut indications of jingoism. Veena Verma, a homemaker settled in city, believes that although playing the national anthem ahead of each movie is a nice way to boost national integration, it is the element of compulsion that makes the move jingoistic. If you need to compel someone to stand up to respect the national anthem, thats a battle thats lost already. You may arrest people under the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, but that way you cant instil patriotism. At best you can lead a person to jingoism, she observes. Agrees Parveen Jaidka, Though there is nothing wrong with playing the national anthem before films, it is very unsettling to read about disabled people being thrashed by others for not standing up during the national anthem. Misplaced fervour A group of people feel the good move is a bit misplaced. Bharat Hiteshi, Chairman, Panchkula House Owners Welfare Association, observes, Playing the national anthem is great before any India sporting encounter. Thats the mood. But, I feel its a little misplaced before a film. I love singing my national anthem. I dont like being forced to sing it before a film. After all, the emotion to stand out of respect should come from within. Agrees Madhav Pubby, BA final year student of DAV College, who sees the new rule as an unnecessary imposition to curtail ones freedom. It is only leading to vigilantism, and people bashing up others for not standing to observe the national anthem stands testimony to it, shares Pubby. manikaahuja@tribunemail.com Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke the ice with the Opposition on Friday as he met a 20-member Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi for about half an hour to discuss farm distress and agricultural debt issues. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "complicity in corruption" over two crore kisan mang patras from farmers in UP and Punjab. "Come more often, I will benefit from meeting you," the Prime Minister told Gandhi and a host of senior Congress leaders after the meeting in which Gandhi introduced the issue and led the demand for farm debt waiver. Gandhi spoke of farmers' suicides due to rural distress. He later said, "The PM heard our demands and concerns about the mounting farm debt and farmer suicides. We have asked for a farm debt waiver. He heard us, but didn't make any commitment." The delegation comprised Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, Anand Sharma, Raj Babbar, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Deepender Hooda. All these leaders spoke of farmers ' problems in their respective states. Meanwhile, major Opposition parties were miffed with the Congress's unilateral meeting with the Prime Minister and accused the Congress of double standards. Left parties gave an independent call for a three-day national protest against the note ban and other issues from December 27 to 29. Panaji, December 16 Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation drive was "firebombing of 99 per cent honest people" but did not mention the personal corruption charges against Modi that he had recently threatened revealed. The attack came within hours of Modi accusing the Congress of putting self-interest above the country and sought to paint it as a votary of corruption at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Delhi. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) "Narendra Modi got up on November 8 and announced that the money which is in your pocket has now turned into mere paper. This not a surgical strike on black money but it is firebombing of the 99 per cent of honest people of India," Rahul said addressing a rally at Fatorda near here. Rahul said demonetisation was akin to 200-300 aircraft "firebombing" cities during the World War II, destroying them completely within 25 minutes. "The impact of firebombing was far worse than the atom bomb. Narendra Modi has done similar firebombing through demonetisation and burnt entire India," he said. He said: "As Modi did not allow me to speak in Parliament, I am speaking at this public meeting". The Congress leader claimed the Prime Minister did not take into confidence even the Finance Minister while going for demonetisation of high-value currency notes. "Demonetisation is not an action against black money, but against 99 per cent of the honest people of India. This is an attack against poor people of India," he said. Accusing Modi of "dividing" India into two parts, Gandhi said: "One per cent (is of) super rich and the other 99 per cent honest Indians including common people, workers, farmers, small-time businessmen and the middle class. In the last two-and-a-half years, one per cent super rich has amassed 60 per cent of the wealth". He said total 50 Indian families have most of Indias wealth. "These are the people who travel with PM to Australia, America and China to strike big business deals," he said, adding that people knew to whom he was referring. Gandhi said as the Congress wanted to root out corruption from the country, the party would give "complete support to BJP if it takes even a small step to curb it". \"All cash is not black money and all black money is not cash. The black money is with these 50 super rich families and not with 99 per cent honest Indians...and these families don't keep their black money in cash. They invest it in real estate, gold or park it in the bank accounts abroad," Gandhi said. "If you look at the entire projection of black money, only six per cent is in cash while 94 per cent is in real estate, gold or (is) parked outside country. Modiji knows this very well," he said. PTI New Delhi, December 16 As it levies stiff penalties on unaccounted cash in banks, the government said on Friday political parties depositing old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in their accounts will be exempt from income tax. Besides, farmers who are exempted from paying tax on agriculture income will need to furnish a self-declaration that their earnings are less than Rs 2.5 lakh in a year to make bank deposits without PAN. For those unable to do that, furnishing PAN will be required, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said. He said deposits in bank accounts of political parties are not to be taxed. "If it is a deposit in the account of a political party, they are exempt. But if it is deposited in individual's account then that information will come into our radar. If the individual is putting money in his own account, then we will get information," he told reporters here. Also read Cap on bank withdrawals to be reviewed after Dec 30: Lavasa Govt announces new email id for complaints on black money conversion No estimates on black money either before or after demonetisation: Jaitley Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 grants exemption from tax to political parties in respect of their income. This income could be from house property, other sources, capital gains and income by way of voluntary contributions received from any person. These categories of income qualify for exemption without any monetary or other limit and the income so exempted is would not even be included in the total income of the political party for the purpose of assessment. However, the tax exemption is applicable only if the political party keeps and maintain such books and other documents of the income and the accounts are audited by a Chartered Accountant. Asked if PAN will be mandatory for deposits made by agriculturalist, he said: "A farmer has to give self declaration in Form 60 where he has to declare that his income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh. If he files Form 60, then PAN is not required. Those who are not able to give declaration, they have to give PAN". Adhia said the tax authorities would not unnecessarily chase deposits of less than Rs 2.5 lakh. "We will not go unnecessarily after those with Rs 2.5 lakh deposits. But where we people have tried to misuse the provision by putting in multiple accounts in different banks (we will go after them)," he said. Adhia said that within one/two month's time banks will accumulate PAN numbers of all existing account holders except for Jan Dhan/BSBD account. After the shock demonetisation announcement on November 8, the government allowed junked Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to be deposited in bank accounts. For individuals and companies holding unaccounted cash, it has offered new tax evasion amnesty scheme wherein 50 per cent tax will be charged on declarations and quarter of the total sum be parked in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years. PTI In 1996, when we did a story on 50 technologies of the future, we couldn't have imagined how soon we'd be living in Tomorrowland. We'd predicted, among other things, that shopping would become a virtual exercise, with "interactive computers bringing malls into drawing rooms"; that with the computer and fax, "home could become the new workplace" and display advances would "lead to wider-and still lighter-TV screens''. The story was done by Raj Chengappa, then Senior Editor. Now, as Group Editorial Director (Publishing), Chengappa has put together a remarkable list of technologies of the future. It seems impressive. Immune engineering will use the patient's own cells to defeat diseases like cancer. Plastic-eating bacteria will dispose of poisonous plastic waste. Gene editing of plants will improve yields while vertical farming will save on land and water. Car-to-car communication will make roads safer. Super-insulated clothing could eliminate the need for indoor heating. Aroon Purie Twenty years on, we'll know how much of this came true. For now, we can only marvel at the change technology has wrought in our lives. When we began India today in 1975, the country had one television channel and that too black and white. Now we have nearly 900 and counting. We had 1.6 million phone connections; now with cell phones, we have one billion subscribers and 1.1 million cell phones added every day. Back then, we had three car models, now we have over 80. There was one domestic airlines, now there are 12. So it is only fitting that we mark the magazine's 41st anniversary by gazing into the crystal ball, with a lot of help from experts, to see where technology is taking us. advertisement But what will happen to our world when the Next Big Things become a reality? No doubt there will be an improvement in the quality of life, with saving on time and effort. Already we can book a flight or a train, make a payment, buy household goods, watch a movie and even play a game without moving an inch. India may have missed the bus on the First Industrial Revolution in 1784, when water and steam first mechanised production; the Second Industrial Revolution in 1870, which saw a proliferation of technologies to create mass production; and played catch-up in the Third Industrial Revolution in 1969, which used electronics and information technology to automate production, but how is it placed in what is now being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with the fusion of technologies blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres? How will it impact the individual, the corporate and the government? Technology, as we have found in the explosion of social media in India, brings us closer, but it can also deepen old divisions and create new hatreds. It can generate new jobs in new sectors, but it can also endanger jobs. It can allow government to reduce its size and raise its efficiency, but it can also increase surveillance and expand regulation. Pablo Picasso is believed to have said that computers are useless. They can only give you answers. Indeed, we still have to ask the questions. Humanity still needs its imagination and conscience to survive and thrive, and no remote has been invented for that as yet. The special issue also commemorates some technologies that have transformed our lives over the past four decades-from the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, which showed the potential of television in communicating change in 1975, to the introduction of e-voting in 2004, which has made India's mammoth elections more efficient and less error-prone. Add to it photographs of some of the defining moments of the past 41 years, and you have an issue in your hands that is worthy of reading, keeping and remembering. For even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes us towards a paperless economy, this is one paper product we hope will never go out of style-the India Today magazine-even though you will find us online and on television too. For the simple reason that technology will never replace the human quest for knowledge, it will only enhance it. advertisement --- ENDS --- Chennai, December 16 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery hospital in Chennai on Thursday night after he complained of difficulty in breathing. The hospital issued a statement saying Karunanidhi was readmitted with breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection, adding that he was stable and being treated. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Karunanidhis daughter and Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu Kanimozhi told ANI that Karunanidhi had some lung infection and breathing difficulty, adding that he was much better now. This is for the second time that the 93-year old DMK chief has been admitted in a fortnight. He was first admitted to the same hospital on December 1 for optimisation of nutrition and hydration and was discharged after he improved substantially. ANI Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 16 With Governor VP Singh Badnore refusing to sign the ordinances proposed by the Akali-BJP government in the run-up to the Vidhan Sabha election, the Punjab Government today convened a special one-day session of the Vidhan Sabha on December 19 to pass the proposals as Bills in the House. The decision to call a special session was taken after a delegation led by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and senior BJP minister Madan Mohan Mittal called on the Governor this morning, requesting him to sign the ordinances. The latter, however, refused to do so, citing some "irregularities", including the one to regularise services of 27,000 contractual employees. Governor Badnore is learnt to have also said that the government should desist from taking the "ordinance route" and instead get the legislative business passed in the House. Sources say the delegation then sought his permission for a special session. A Cabinet meeting was called in the evening and a one-day session recommended to get pending Bills passed in the House. By late evening, the government had also got the approval from the Governor to bring in some money Bills. The Governors appeal is pending for as many as five ordinances, including the one to change the terms and conditions for appointing chairmen in the Punjab School Education Board; creating an additional post of Senior Vice Chairman in the Board; creating a post of Senior Vice Chairman among women; and appointments in Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board. While the Akali-BJP hopes to garner support of the huge employee base with the regularisation of posts, it wants to "adjust" political rebels and the faithful" in various posts ahead of the model code of conduct. Official sources say the government could also bring in Bills regarding setting up of a regulatory authority to check the "malpractices" indulged in by private schools, including arbitrary fee hike; regularising services of EGS teachers; allowing the CT Group of Institutes to set up a private university in Ludhiana; and raising the age limit of members in the Punjab State Commission for Minorities. Will he sign the Bills before poll code of conduct? The main issue before the government remains whether the Governor will again keep the Bills (if and when passed on Monday) pending or accord approval for these to become laws in time before the model code of conduct is imposed. Cong says MLAs have quit, no point attending CLP leader Charanjit Singh Channi said they were not aware of the special session, but since all Congress MLAs had submitted their resignation and have been summoned by the Speaker on December 20-22, there was no point in attending it. Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 16 Warning black money hoarders that just by depositing money in bank accounts would not make it white, the government today announced a long window for the income declaration scheme stretching up to March 31, offering a chance to pay 50 per cent tax on bank deposits of the old currencies made post-demonetisation. The Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana will commence tomorrow and will remain open for declarations up to March 31. Announcing the new black money disclosure scheme, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the window has been put in place to give an opportunity to a large number of people to disclose their black money and also give time to the Income Tax Department post the deposit of notes after December 31 to analyse the data and issue notices to income tax evaders. Adhia warned that people should not think that merely putting money in banks would make it white. Until due tax is paid, the money will not be white, he said. Adhia said stringent penalties have been prescribed in the new provisions, but the declarations made under the new scheme will be kept secret. The scheme allows people to deposit money in their accounts by paying 50 per cent of the total amount 30 per cent as tax, 10 per cent as penalty and 33 per cent of the taxed amount, that is 10 per cent, as Garib Kalyan cess. There is also a mandatory deposit of 25 per cent of the undisclosed income in Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme. The deposits are interest free and have a lock-in period of four years. Not declaring black money under the scheme now but showing it in the income tax return would lead to a total levy of 77.25 per cent in taxes and penalty. In case the disclosure is not made either using the scheme or in return, a further 10 per cent penalty on tax will be levied followed by prosecution, he said. Adhia said the Financial Intelligence Unit is providing data on a daily basis on the suspicious bank deposits on the basis of which raids are being carried out. Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Sushil Chandra said I-T searches since November 8 have led to admission of undisclosed income of Rs2,600 crore. Email info on hoarders The government has created a new email id to which people can send information about those holding black money or converting it into white at blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in Post-note ban deposits under lens People should not think that merely putting money in banks will make it whiteWe are getting data on suspicious deposits on a daily basis. I-T department will probe it and clearance will be given only after deducting taxes. Hasmukh Adhia, Revenue Secretary Its firebombing of 99% honest Narendra Modi got up on November 8 and announced that the money which is in your pocket has now turned into mere paper. This is not a surgical strike on black money but it is firebombing of the 99% of honest people of India... the impact was far worse than the atom bomb. In the last two-and-a-half years, 1% super rich have amassed 60% of the wealth. The biggest share of wealth is with 50 families. And they go with Modi to Australia, the US, crack big deals. Rahul Gandhi, Congress VP Mumbai, December 16 National Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran's Tamil drama Visaranai has been winnowed out of the Foreign Language Film category of the upcoming 89th Academy Awards. And now all eyes are on music maestro AR Rahman, who stands a chance to be nominated in two categories. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday announced the nine films that will advance to the next round of voting, after which a list of final five nominations will be finalised. Visaranai was chosen as India's official entry for Oscars' Foreign Language Film honour by a Film Federation of India-appointed jury led by Ketan Mehta from 29 movies that were in competition Udta Punjab, Thithi, Sairat, Neerja and Nil Battey Sannata among them. A movie based on the novel Lock Up by auto rickshaw driver-turned-writer M. Chandrakumar, Visaranai is about organised crime within the police force. At the international level, it was competing with 84 films from other nations. Vetrimaaran along with the film's executive producers Guneet Monga and Aalif Surti, who were in Los Angeles for the campaign for two months, issued a joint statement while reacting to the news. The statement read: "We did our best to ensure that the film was viewed widely by opinion makers and committee members and the fact that we made it to the top contenders' list in both Hollywood Reporter and Variety shows that the film did make an impact, which is a first for a Tamil film, and huge for an Indian film at the Oscars. "But finally we have to accept that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' voting members preferred nine other films in a year which had an all-time high record of 85 competing films." Visaranai was the ninth Tamil film to have been chosen as a hopeful to bring the Oscar statuette to India. Kamal Haasan's 2000 release Hey Ram was the last film in the language to compete. Mother India, Salaam Bombay! and Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India are the only Indian films that made it to the top five in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards, but none have won the honour. The 89th Academy Awards, to be held next year, will mark the 60th anniversary of the Foreign Language Film category. The films that have been chosen in the Foreign Language Category this year are: Tanna (Australia), It's Only the End of the World (Canada), Land of Mine (Denmark), Toni Erdmann (Germany), The Salesman (Iran), 'The King's Choice (Norway), Paradise (Russia), A Man Called Ove (Sweden) and My Life as a Zucchini (Switzerland). Meanwhile, India still has hopes from the double Oscar winning Rahman, who is once again in the race for Academy Awards this time, for his work for Pele: Birth of a Legend. He has found a spot in an initial list of Oscar contenders for the year in a 'long list' of the Original Score category and in the Original Song category for the track Ginga. Final nominations for the 89th Oscars will be announced on January 24, 2017, ahead of the presentation ceremony on February 26, 2017. IANS New Delhi, December 16 A delegation of senior Congress leaders will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers and also will express their apprehension at not being allowed to speak in Parliament. According to reports, the delegation will submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister. A total of 16 Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ghulam Nabi Azad, would call on the Prime Minister. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Following this, opposition leaders would call on President Pranab Mukherjee. These meetings come even as the ruckus continues in Parliament over several issues, including demonetisation and corruption. On Thursday, Azad said, It is for the first time in history of India that the ruling party is not letting the House function. Azad gave a notice in the Rajya Sabha on the hardships faced by farmers due to demonetization. I have given notice so that the debt of the farmers is waived. The BJP is not in support of the farmers, he said. ANI Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday claimed that for the Congress, party was above the nation whereas for the BJP the nation came first and then the party. Modi was addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting before the House met on the last day of the Winter session. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, quoting the PMs address in the meeting, told the media that at the time of Bangladesh liberation, no questions were asked by any political party about the army action. But today, the political discourse had stooped so low that questions were being asked about the surgical strike by the army in the PoK, he added. Earlier, the ruling UPA would indulge in corruption and the opposition would fight it. Now it is the government which is fighting corruption and the opposition parties were opposing it, the PM was quoted as saying. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The PM also asked MPs to go back to their constituencies and take the message of digital and cashless economy to the people. He told MPs to directly approach people and educate them about digital economy. The meeting also wished External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is admitted to hospital with a kidney ailment, a speedy recovery. The Prime Ministers address came just ahead of the last day of the almost washed-out Winter session of Parliament. His asking the MPs to take the message of digital economy to people follows BJP president Amit Shah asking MPs to spend at least a week in their constituencies for this purpose. With demonetisation dominating the thinking of all political parties, the Winter Session remained stalled for most days with the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the issue remaining inconclusive and discussion in the Lok Sabha never really taking off. Both sides countered each other bitterly on the issue but outside Parliament. The government was of the view that it was ready for a debate but not with conditions like the mandatory presence of the Prime Minister during the debate in the Rajya Sabha. The Opposition said it was ready for a discussion but was not being allowed to speak. New Delhi, December 16 Reservation for disabled is set to increase by 2 per cent in colleges while one per cent in government jobs, with the passage of the Disabilities Bill in both Houses of Parliament on Friday. With the passage of this Bill, every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years will have the right to free education. The Bill seeks to increase reservation in government jobs for persons with benchmark disabilities from 3 per cent to 4 per cent, and in higher education institutes from 3 per cent to 5 per cent. The legislation, drafted to make Indian laws compliant with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, will replace the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995. The Lok Sabha passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016 Bill within two hours after a short debate on the last day of the session with the treasury and opposition benches, who have been at loggerheads over demonetisation and other issues, joining hands to clear the legislation. Describing the passage of Disabilities bill by Parliament as a "landmark moment", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it would add tremendous strength to 'Accessible India Movement'. "Passage of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016 is a landmark moment & will add tremendous strength to 'Accessible India movement'," he said. Thanking all the Parliamentarians for supporting this landmark legislation, Union Social Justice Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot termed it as a "historic" decision that will bring substantial positive change in the life of crores of differently-abled people. He said the winter session did not witness much business but ended on a high note with passage of the Bill. The proposed legislation makes assaulting, insulting, intimidating, denying food to a person with disability or sexually exploiting a differently-abled woman and performing a medical procedure on such women without consent that may lead in termination of pregnancy a penal offence with a jail term up to five years. Any person who contravenes any provision of the act will be punishable with a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh. PTI Gurvinder Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 16 Congress leader Sunil Jakhar has termed demonetisation as an all-out attack on the Indian economy. Jakhar said that if Modi was trying to be an economist, he should have taken advice from an expert as there is no scarcity of experts. He claimed that former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had the guts to differ with Modi on demonetisation, but he was asked to leave. He claimed that Rajan was not in favour of this insanity. Jakhar was speaking during a protest against demonetisation by industrialists. He pointed out that the Modi government had said that militant infiltration would stop after the surgical strike, but it has increased after that. The surgical strike happened on September 28, but infiltration happens every day. It has not served any purpose, he said. Jakhar said that it was not notebandi but taalabandi, leading to the closure of industry. Questioning the Badals silence on demonetisation, he said the Badals should go and speak with Modi on the issue. Neither Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal nor Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal have the guts to take a stand against Modi or the BJP, said Jakhar. BJP leader and state Planning Board Vice-Chairman Prof Rajinder Bhandari was not allowed to speak by industrialists when he tried to defend the Modi government and demonetisation. Bhandari said that he would convey the concerns of the industry here to the government. But the moment he termed demonetisation as a historic decision, the industrialists told him to stop speaking. After that, they didnt let him speak further. Other leaders, including Lok Insaaf Party leader Simarjit Singh Bains and AAP leader Harjot Singh Bains, also spoke against demonetisation. Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 15 Mention "notebandi" and an agitated Lakhbir Singh walks towards us. He opens his wallet and shows a coin of Rs 2 and another of Re 1. This is all he has. It is almost sunset. Yet like him, many daily wagers gathered at Mohali's Madanpura Labour Chowk are still hopeful of finding work. Lakhbir, who earns a living transporting goods on his horse cart, is surrounded by carpenters, porters and painters. On seeing a man approaching the chowk, they disperse in haste and gather around the potential employer. Lakhbir says he doesnt have money to feed his horse that is surviving only on grass. He has an injury on his hand. I accidentally hurt myself yesterday while cutting grass. The doctor asked for Rs 50 for a tetanus injection. Since I have been without work since the past several days, I had no money, he says. We ask for his cellphone number. He says he doesnt have a phone. "A week ago, my pregnant daughter-in-law fainted while standing in a queue outside a bank. The doctor, who said the foetus had suffered an injury, sought Rs 700. I mortgaged my cellphone to borrow money for her treatment, he says, cursing the "good-for-nothing" government. Not only in urban areas, but daily wagers in rural pockets too are reeling under the impact of demonetisation. Zora Singh Nasrali, president, Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, says: " Rural labourers have been the worst-hit. During this time of year, there is little work in the fields. So, rural workers would visit nearby cities for work. Post-demonetisation, works in cities have come to a standstill. The rural workers have nowhere to go. Migrant labourers, who have neither identity cards nor bank accounts, continue to be paid in banned notes. For exchanging an old Rs 500 note, they are given Rs 400 and for the banned Rs 1,000 note, Rs 900. Shopkeepers too exploit us. Even if we have a note of Rs 2,000, they force us to either spend the entire amount or make purchases from another shop, claims Mahesh Kumar, a construction worker from Bihar. He curses the village 'mukhiya' back home for denying him and several others an identity card. He says many workers employed at construction sites have returned home. Owing to the cash crunch, most companies have halted work. How can we survive in such a scenario, he asks. Modi Sahib has done well. He will surely deposit in our accounts the black money recovered by the authorities," he adds. Sunil Kumar from Bhagalpur shares his optimism. I have heard that people in Ludhiana have already received the money, he says innocently, provoking a hearty laughter. Science is throwing new miracles at us every day. This woman from Dubai is the perfect example. By India Today Web Desk: While we were just about wrapping our heads around the awesome idea of getting our eggs frozen--for procreation later in life--a new piece of news has bowled us over. A 24-year-old woman from Dubai has had a baby using ovary tissues that were saved from before she hit puberty. Moaza Al Matrooshi delivered a baby boy at the privately-run Portland Hospital on December 13. She told the BBC, "It's like a miracle. We've been waiting so long for this result--a healthy baby. I always believed that I would be a mum and that I would have a baby. I didn't stop hoping and now I have this baby--it is a perfect feeling. advertisement Moaza's doctor, Sara Matthews, said, "This is a huge step forward. We know that ovarian tissue transplantation works for older women, but we've never known if we could take tissue from a child, freeze it and make it work again." The reason Moaza decided to freeze her ovarian tissue was because she was born with beta thalassaemia--a blood disorder that can prove to be fatal if left untreated. Moaza needed chemotherapy, which damages the ovaries, before receiving a bone marrow transplant. So, before her doctors started the treatment, when Moaza was nine years old, she had her right ovary removed in an operation in Leeds, where the tissue was frozen, reports BBC. Fragments of her ovarian tissue were mixed with cryo-protective agents and slowly reduced in temperature to minus 196 Celsius, before being stored under liquid nitrogen. Last year, surgeons in Denmark transplanted five slivers of the ovarian tissue back into her body--four were stitched on to her failed left ovary and one on to the side of her uterus. Moaza had been going through menopause, but after the transplant, her hormone levels began returning to normal, she began ovulating and her fertility was restored, the BBC report said.Moaza and her husband, Ahmed, also underwent IVF treatment, just to be doubly sure. This procedure working out is giving hope to young women all over the world, especially who think it would be difficult to conceive after going through therapy for curing cancer, blood or other immune disorders. --- ENDS --- Sanjeev Singh Bariana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, December 16 Affected by a flood of images of people queuing up outside banks and ATM kiosks to withdraw money following demonetisation, NRIs are cancelling travel plans to their homeland Punjab this winter. Some had family functions lined up, while some had decided to campaign in the Assembly elections. Several of them have postponed their trip, hoping that rush for money settles down with time. Talk to them and they say they dont want to enter the scene of mismanagement. The common refrain is, The Centre and the RBI are flashing messages for cash withdrawal, deposits and limits. But there is no clarity on finances of NRIs. We dont want to lose a penny of our hard-earned money. Jarnail Singh of Seattle, US, who visited his native place in Jalandhar district recently, told The Tribune over phone, The special cash counter at the Delhi airport was out of money when I landed there. I borrowed money from my uncle to manage my basic needs. I spent three days in getting high denomination notes exchanged after standing in serpentine queues outside banks. Jagvir Singh Shergill, a member of the NRI Sabha, had a similar experience. On occasions when I stood in line outside ATM kiosks, the machines went dry before my turn. Most of my friends in Canada and the US have cancelled their trip to Punjab because they fear harassment. Ask Satinder Pal Singh, visiting Chhabewal in Hoshiarpur district, and he said the government needed to announce special help desks for NRIs not just at airports, but also in districts. Why should we come home unless we are made to feel special? he said. There are some who received lesser exchange rate at airports. A case in point is Adarsh Sachar of the UAE. He received Rs 61 against a US dollar at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, on December 6. Then, the exchange rate was Rs 66. No one listened to my pleas of a higher return on a dollar that day, he said. A Toronto-based professor said, Demonitisation has cast doubts on plans of several NRIs, who were preparing to visit Punjab during elections. There are a sizable number of committed enthusiasts for political parties. They always look forward to participate in the campaigning, but not this time. Manjit Singh Dasuya from California said, I am confused and worried by the scenario. We are already fighting cases to get our lands back. So, we are frightened to get trap in a financial problem in India. Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, December 16 Sitting Akali MLA of Jagraon SR Kaler, who is also the party nominee from Nihalsinghwala (reserved) constituency, faced an embarrassing situation when Jasdeep Singh Garry, a young sarpanch of Dhudike, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai, returned a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to him. This happened during a party function at Badhni Kalan town in Moga district earlier this week. The cheque was meant for rural development works in the village. Senior Akali leader and Agriculture Minister Tota Singh inaugurated the election office of Kaler at Badhni Kalan on Wednesday, after which the cheques worth Rs 7 crore were distributed to 100 village panchayats by the MLA at the office. However, when Kaler handed over the cheque to Garry, it was returned by him with folded hands. The sarpanch alleged that the SAD president and Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal had promised to give a grant of Rs 12 lakh to his village for various development works, but the local leadership of the Akali Dal had influenced upon the district administration to trim down the grant. He alleged that a sum of Rs 7 lakh had been diverted by the local Akali leadership for the youth club of the village. The total grant must have been given to the village panchayat as it is the prerogative of the panchayat to decide on how to spend the grant, based on the priority of development works, he said. The aggrieved sarpanch left the venue thereafter. Kaler claimed that no disparity was done in the distribution of cheques. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former minister Malti Thapar alleged that the Akali leadership was hurriedly distributing crores of rupees to village panchayats in the Moga district to lure the electorate. The rural development grants were also being diverted to the youth clubs and other organisations to secure votes, she alleged. PPCC secretary Ravinder Singh Grewal has demanded a CBI probe into the diversion of rural development grants to lure voters. The SAD and BJP are misusing their powers and using public money to secure votes, he alleged. Meanwhile, it was learnt that minister Tota Singh, his son Barjinder Singh Brar and SAD district president Tirath Singh Mahla were hurriedly distributing rural development grants these days in Dharamkot, Moga and Baghapurana assembly constituencies, respectively. Sources said grants worth Rs 20 crore had been distributed to the village panchayats in Moga district in the last few weeks. However, no official was willing to confirm it. Manish Sirhindi Tribune News Service Patiala, December 16 A group of youths was attacked outside the residence of PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh here today. One of those injured was taken to the Government Rajindra Hospital. The Azaad Group, comprising college students, had reached the place apparently to join the Congress ahead of the Assembly polls when car-borne armed men attacked them with swords, rods, bottles and stones. Local MLA Preneet Kaur alleged that the attack was carried out by Akali supporters in connivance with the SHO concerned to prevent the group from joining the Congress. Preneet said, Some of the police officials have been handpicked by the halqa incharge to foment trouble and disrupt the Congress campaign. I spoke to DGP Suresh Arora and SSP Gurmeet Chouhan and told both to stop the local police from acting at the behest of the Akalis. SP (City) Satinder Atwal said the police had rounded up three persons and impounded a Tempo loaded with rods, stones and bottles. He said the statements of the suspects were being recorded and a case would be registered accordingly. On the allegations against SAD leaders, Atwal said all aspects of the case would be probed. Harpal Juneja, son of Bhagwan Das Juneja the SADs halqa incharge said the allegations were baseless. When the youths clashed during the Youth Congress elections, the party leaders had tried to blame us. We have nothing to do with this incident, he claimed. A. Shankar Amritsar, famous for the Golden Temple, is a major spiritual and cultural centre in India which attracts more visitors than Taj Mahal. On any given day, nearly 1 lakh religious tourists visit the city. Amritsar is the second-largest city of Punjab after Ludhiana, and the most ancient and historic city for Sikhs in Punjab. It is also the most popular destination for non-resident Indians (NRI) in India. The city enjoys a strategic location with good connectivity to prime cities of India and Pakistan, as it is only 28 km from the border of Pakistan. Along with excellent connectively through road and rail transport, the city houses an international airport with a capacity of 150 commercial flights per week, both domestic and international. For the population of 1.21 million (2016) in Amritsar, a 31 km-long BRT corridor is nearing completion stage to ease traffic congestion and improve public transportation in the city. The urban population comprises 34.08 per cent in the district, with 80 per cent of this population based in Amritsar City. Amritsar has a radial and ribbon-style growth pattern, emanating from the city core and expanding towards the northern and the eastern directions. The citys economic fabric is diverse, with manufacturing and the service sector forming the backbone and about 93 per cent of the workforce engaged in secondary and tertiary services. Historically, the city has been part of international trade routes like the ancient Silk Route from China to Europe. With improvements in the bilateral ties with Pakistan, Amritsar is likely to re-emerge as a Gateway to West and prominent trade hub of Northern India. There are approximately 25,000 industrial units in the Amritsar district, with the major commodities of production and export being woolen blankets, embroidered clothes, printed textiles, shawls, carpets, local cuisine perishables, etc. It is also among the 20 focal point industrial estates identified by the state government. Amritsar is the largest grain and commodity trade market of Punjab, supported by strong educational and healthcare facilities which provide ample opportunities for growth of the city. The city is strongly visualised to captivate upcoming investments into the real estate sector in the near future due to following attributes: Emphasis on heritage and spiritual tourism: Increased connectivity Industrial developments to boost economy Top-ranked city in Round # 2 of Smart City Challenge Improving education and healthcare facilities Transformation evident in commercial and retail In Amritsar, the commercial sector is largely in the form of high street retail markets, some organised malls and industrial houses. The citys commercial market was not significantly office space-driven, and the demand for real estate has by and large been for residential, agricultural and industrial property in past years. Keeping in trend with the organised retail mall culture, Amritsar also has a few specialty malls. This trend has created business opportunities for developers for developing commercial spaces, and has also opened the doors for investments into the retail sector by various retailers. Moreover, as Punjab is inviting the service industry besides its two main occupations of business and agriculture, the demand for residential and commercial properties is also growing in the city. Sensing this, realtors are making a beeline for the city as it gets ready to embrace faster economic and real estate growth. Office space demand for organised Grade A and B spaces on the outskirts of the citys core market area has been sluggish; a majority of the occupiers prefer to position themselves in Amritsars established markets as these provide them better access to their clientele. However, the current outlook has changed drastically by shifting towards uptake of commercial spaces in select micro markets. Prime locations for commercial space in Amritsar are: Ranjit Avenue, Mall Road and Lawrence Road, which are characterised by high absorption and limited supply. Prevailing average rental values in prime retail-cum -commercial areas such as Mall Road, Ranjeet Avenue and Lawrence Road vary between Rs 40- 120 per sq. ft. per month depending on the grade of building, floor and specifications among others. These locations typically house buildings which have retail on lower floors with top floors occupied primarily by BFSI sector. With the increase in demand from BFSI sector and retailers, many big developers are planning to develop retail cum commercial office spaces in the city. The road ahead Due to comparatively cheaper realty prices and many proposed infrastructural improvements, Amritsar is expected to become a hub of residential, commercial and retail activity in the region going forward. Realty experts are upbeat about the growing interest from investors in Amritsar, which has not only augmented its economic growth but also positioned it prominently among the fastest-growing tier-III cities in India. Amritsar is now well on the way of transcending its image as a 'holy city' and transforming into a prime real estate investment destination. The writer is National Director & Head of Operations - Strategic Consulting, JLL India Tribune News Service Dehradun, December 16 Veteran politician Narain Dutt Tiwaris son Rohit Shekar Tiwari has asked the Uttarakhand government to make necessary amendments to law and rules to ensure that former chief ministers could retain their official accommodations. The father and the son were in Dehradun to extend their support to the ongoing agitation of employees of Uttarakhand Poorv Sainik Kalyan Nigam Limited at the Parade Ground today. Rohit while talking with mediapersons said his father had no house anywhere in the country and evicting him from his government residence in Dehradun would be grave injustice to the 90-year-old man, who had fought for the countrys independence. The Uttarakhand High Court on a PIL by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra had directed the state government to ensure that all former chief ministers vacate their government bungalows and pay rent for the period they unlawfully occupied these accommodations. These former chief ministers are ND Tiwari, BS Koshyari, Vijay Bahuguna, BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Rohit said Uttarakhand should follow the Uttar Pradesh Government decision that had recently approved key amendments to law enabling former chief ministers to retain their official residences indefinitely. ND Tiwari, however, refused to comment on the matter. Tribune News Service Dehradun, December 16 Members of the Rajiv Gandhi Sena staged a protest against the Central Government at Lansdowne Chowk here yesterday. They burnt an effigy of the Centre to protest demonetisation. Slogans against the Prime Minister were also raised. The protesters alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken a dictatorial decision without thinking about the problems of common men. This decision has created financial crisis in the country. Middle class and poor are the most affected. Farmers and business fraternity have also suffered heavy losses in the past one month. However, big corporate houses are unaffected as the Central Government has filled their pockets with new currency and converted their black money into white, alleged Sachin Dixit, district president of the Rajiv Gandhi Sena. He alleged that bank employees were converting black money and supplying new currency notes to BJP leaders. Maan Bahadur, Rupesh Rana, Joginder Singh, Mohammad Javed, Vimal Chauhan and Suraj Singh took part in the protest. BD Kasniyal Pithoragarh, December 16 Munsiyari has witnessed a steep fall in tourist arrival, especially foreign tourists since the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. Around 6,222 tourists visited Munsiyari from November 8 to December 15 in 2014, and their number increased to 7,633 in 2015. However, the count has fallen to 1,422 this year. Foreigners arrival at Munsiyari has plunged after the demonetisation of higher denomination currency notes, causing losses to local tour operators, says Jagdish Rawat, president of the Munsiyari Hotel Association. He says Munsiyari has accommodation capacity for over 1,000 tourists in 31 hotels and 100 home stay facilitators. The tourism industry will collapse if these establishments do not get clients till New Year celebrations. Munsiyari hoteliers say if they get bookings for December 31 or year-end celebrations, the industry will survive, otherwise, they will have to lay off most of their employees after December 31. The next four months will be a lean period. Tribune News Service Dehradun, December 16 Chief Minister Harish Rawat said soldiers had proved their worth in the 1971 war with Pakistan. He said people could not forget the sacrifice made by the soldiers of the Indian Defence forces. He paid tribute to martyrs at a function to commemorate Vijay Diwas held here today. He said the role played by soldiers during the 1971 war was commendable. The Chief Minister said it was a matter of pride for everyone that a large number of youths from Uttarakhand were serving in the defence forces. The state government would take all steps to address the grievances of next of kin of the martyrs. Rawat urged youths to come forward in a large number to join the Indian defence forces. He said brave soldiers from the state had laid down their lives in wars fought since India got Independence. Forest Minister Dinesh Agarwal, MLAs Rajkumar and Ganesh Joshi were present. In another function, Brig Paritosh Pant, Deputy General Officer Commanding, Golden Key division, laid a wreath on behalf of all ranks of the division in a wreath-laying function held at Prernasthal, Clement Town. The gathering was told that Vijay Diwas is celebrated on December 16 every year to celebrate the glorious victory of the Indian Army over Pakistan in 1971. India emerged victorious after 14 days of the war with Pakistan that also led to the creation of Bangladesh. Golden Key Division celebrated Vijay Diwas by honouring the brave and courageous men who had sacrificed their lives fighting for the country. Pithoragarh, December 16 Wreaths were laid at the Kumaon war memorial in the Pithoragarh cantonment during the Vijay Diwas celebrations today. Brig Rakesh Minocha laid a wreath at the war memorial in Pithoragarh. Veer naris (widows of war martyrs of the 1971 war with Pakistan that created Bangladesh) were honoured. Later a medical camp for the welfare of Army veterans from Champawat and Pithoragarh districts was organised, said Navin, an Army spokesperson. On this day in 1971, Indian armed forces handed a humiliating defeat to Pakistan at every front that were opened by the enemy forces. The war led to the creation of Bangladesh as a new nation, dividing Pakistan permanently. The 1971 war that witnessed martyrdom of over 2,998 Indian soldiers had begun in 1970 when the political crisis in eastern Pakistan deepened and actuated from March 1971 when Mukti Vahini became active in eastern Pakistan and Pakistan began bombing Indian posts in eastern and western sectors, said Lt Gen MC Bhandari (retd), a 1971 war veteran. OC Aleppo, December 16 The evacuation of people from eastern Aleppo was suspended on Friday and a Reuters witness heard at least four blasts at a location where buses had been departing. A state-run Syrian TV station reported that rebels had breached an agreement with the government by trying to take prisoners with them during the evacuation. A Syrian official overseeing the evacuation told Reuters it had been obstructed due to "obstructions". The International Committee of the Red Cross said late on Thursday that some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded people, including children, had already been evacuated. ICRC official Robert Mardini told Reuters there were no clear plans yet for how to ship out rebel fighters, who will be allowed under the ceasefire to leave for other areas outside government control. Women cried out in celebration as the first buses passed through a government-held area, and some waved the Syrian flag. Assad said in a video statement the taking of Aleppo his biggest prize in more than five years of civil war was a historic moment. An elderly woman, who had gathered with others in a government area to watch the convoy removing the rebels, raised her hands to the sky, saying: "God save us from this crisis, and from the (militants). They brought us only destruction". Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher in the rebel zone, said most people were happy to be leaving safely. But he said: "Some of them are angry they are leaving their city. I saw some of them crying. This is almost my feeling in a way". Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian adviser for Syria. Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, said about 50,000 people remained in rebel-held Aleppo, of whom about 10,000 would be evacuated to nearby Idlib province and the rest would move to government-held city districts. Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed. The once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. Turkey offers assistance Turkish officials said Turkey would set up a camp in Syria to host people evacuated from the city of Aleppo but will continue to take in the sick and wounded to its own hospitals. Two potential sites, around 3.5 km (2.2 miles) inside Syria, have been identified for a camp with the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, two senior officials told Reuters. "Work on the infrastructure for the camp will begin shortly," a separate official from Turkish aid organisation IHH said by phone from inside Syria. The camp will be jointly set up by the Turkish Red Crescent, disaster agency AFAD and IHH. The IHH official said evacuees had so far largely found shelter with relatives in and around Syria's Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, but that work to identify those with nowhere to go was underway. Turkey has taken in 55 wounded and sick evacuees, according to Hasan Aydinlik, head of an emergency response division of Turkey's health ministry. He told reporters at the Cilvegozu border crossing that one of the wounded had died in hospital while three including a young child were in serious condition. Turkey is already sheltering around 2.7 million Syrian refugees. Officials said Ankara was working to increase the number of buses used for the evacuation to speed up the process. An aid official with Syrian NGO Shafak, working inside Syria on the Aleppo evacuation, said he expected more people to come towards the Turkish border on Friday as the villages in the countryside west of Aleppo were full. 'Place them all in Idlib' The United States was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in an ever-diminishing pocket of territory, culminating in this week's ceasefire. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the Syrian government was carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo. UN aid chief Stephen O'Brien will brief the Security Council on Friday on the Aleppo evacuation. The Syrian White Helmets civil defense group and other rights organisations accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo region had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. In a letter submitted to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria and seen by Reuters on Thursday, the groups listed 304 alleged attacks carried out in the Aleppo area primarily between July and December and said there was a "high likelihood" of Russia responsibility. The Russian UN mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations. Russia has said it stopped air strikes in Aleppo in mid-October. In Aleppo's rebel-held area, columns of black smoke could be seen as residents hoping to depart burned personal belongings they do not want to leave for government forces to loot. A senior Russian general, Viktor Poznikhir, said the Syrian army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo. But the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province southwest of Aleppo, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week. Rebels and their families would be taken towards Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria that is outside government control, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Idlib province, mostly controlled by hardline Islamist groups, is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated. A senior European diplomat said last week the fighters had a choice between surviving for a few weeks in Idlib or dying in Aleppo. "For the Russians, it's simple. Place them all in Idlib and then they have all their rotten eggs in one basket." Idlib is already a target for Syrian and Russian air strikes but it is unclear if the government will push for a ground assault or simply seek to contain rebels there for now. The International Rescue Committee said: "Escaping Aleppo doesn't mean escaping the war ... After witnessing the ferocity of attacks on civilians in Aleppo, we are very concerned that the sieges and barrel bombs will follow the thousands who arrive in Idlib". Shi'ite villages The evacuation deal was expected to include the safe passage of wounded from the Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya near Idlib that are besieged by rebels. A convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. Efforts to evacuate eastern Aleppo began earlier in the week with a truce brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey, which has backed the opposition. That agreement broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned. A rebel official said a new truce came into effect early on Thursday. Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo. Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari one of a handful of districts still held by rebels and brought half of the neighbourhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. The Russian Defence Ministry said before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km (1 square mile). The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire. By taking control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region. Rebels have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but that support has fallen far short of the direct military assistance given to Assad by Russia and Iran. Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria more than a year ago turned the war in Assad's favour after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year. Reuters By PTI: United Nations, Dec 16 (PTI) Pakistan said it has declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and has been forthcoming in offering to translate this into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with India. "It is in the interest of all states to prevent proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) to states as well as non-state actors," Pakistan?s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Nabeel Munir said at the Security Council debate on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-State actors here yesterday. advertisement Listing the steps taken by Pakistan to fulfill its non-proliferation obligations, he said Pakistan has elaborated and implemented a comprehensive export control regime, harmonised with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). "We have declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and have been forthcoming in offering to translate this into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with India," he said. He claimed that Pakistans credentials clearly establish its eligibility to become a member of the NSG. "The grant of waivers to long held non-proliferation norms and rules carries obvious proliferation risks and also undermine regional strategic stability. It is critical that an equitable, nondiscriminatory and criteria-based approach to promote civil nuclear cooperation and membership of export controls regimes, in particular that of the NSG, is adopted," he said. PTI YAS NSA --- ENDS --- Beirut, December 16 The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo just hours after they resumed today, saying that rebels had opened fire on a convoy of evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave, state TV reported. It wasnt immediately clear how long the suspension would last or whether it would delay the ceasefire deal under which tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. Earlier today, as the evacuations resumed for a second day, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a major new Syria peace initiative, saying he and his Turkish counterpart are working to set up peace talks between Damascus and the opposition in Kazakhstan. The evacuations seal the end of the Syrian rebels most important stronghold, the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, and mark a watershed moment in the countrys civil war, now in its sixth year. In announcing the suspensions, the Syrian TV also claimed that the rebels had tried to take with them captives they had seized and were holding in the rebel enclave during bitter battles to defend their territory from a ferocious, weeks-long onslaught by Syrian President Bashar Assads troops. Lebanons Al-Manar Hezbollah TV said the Syrian army stopped the evacuation process because the rebels had violated the ceasefire deal. AP Kathmandu, December 16 The last king of the isolated Himalayan region of Upper Mustang died today in Kathmandu, eight years after he lost his royal title when the centuries-old Buddhist monarchy was abolished. Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista, who was 86, reigned over the arid kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau for more than half a century before stepping down in 2008 when Nepal abolished its own monarchy. Nepal annexed the former kingdom of Lo in the 18th century, but allowed the king to retain his title. Bista supported a CIA-funded guerrilla campaign to oust Chinese forces from Tibet. AFP Islamabad, December 16 The Pakistani Army chief, Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa, laid a wreath and offered prayers on Friday to mark the second anniversary of a deadly terrorist attack on Peshawar's Army Public School. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) "That time was very difficult for the whole country. It felt as though we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy," the APS principal said on the occasion. Paying tribute to over 150 victims, mostly school children, the principal said: "We have not forgotten our children, our brave Principal, Tahira Kazi and the young soldiers whose martyrdom strengthened the country. Today, we have gathered to present a tribute to the martyrs. We will always remember them and make this loss a sign of courage and a sign that guides us success." On December 16, 2014, seven terrorists attacked the Army Public School, and killed over 150 people. IANS Washington, December 16 President Barack Obama has warned Russia that the US would retaliate overtly and covertly against it for its meddling in the recent presidential election through cyberattacks. The outgoing US President said he was waiting for a final report he has ordered into a range of Russian hacking attacks that may have swayed last months tight election in which Republican candidate Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, we need to take action and we will, Obama told the National Public Radio in an interview. At a time and a place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicised; some of it may not be, he said according to excerpts of the interview. He said he directly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about a potential US response, and said his counterpart acknowledged his stance. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it, Obama said. Obama has ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of the hacking and report back to him before he leaves office on Inauguration Day January 20. Meanwhile, the Kremlin slammed Washington for pointing the finger at President Vladimir Putin over cyberattacks targeting the US election. At this point, they need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof. Otherwise this looks extremely scurrilous, Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a visit to Japan. Republican President-elect Donald Trump has also dismissed the claim as ridiculous and politically motivated. Agencies Friedman to be US envoy to Israel Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated David Friedman, a fervent opponent of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as his ambassador to Israel to maintain relationship between the two allies. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who has been counsellor to some of the worlds top businessmen and firms, was one of Trumps principal advisers on the US-Israel ties during the campaign. The US-Israel bond runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when Im President, Trump said. pti WH Press Secy is a foolish guy: Trump Washington: Donald Trump has slammed White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest by describing him as a foolish guy who delivers a positive message that sounds bad. This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I dont know, Trump said in Pennsylvania. You know, having the right Press Secretary is so important because hes so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have defeated IS, and it wouldnt sound good, OK? he said. pti By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) India and Bhutan share a special relationship and it is a shining example of good neighbourly relations, President Pranab Mukherjee today said. Greeting King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the people of Bhutan on the eve of their National Day, he said, "Over the years, our close bonds of friendship have strengthened and our wide ranging cooperation has diversified in all areas of our shared interest." advertisement "Our enduring friendship owes a great deal to the wisdom and commitment of successive Druk Gyalpos, including Your Majesty," he said in a message to the King. Bhutan celebrates its National Day on December 17. "On behalf of the government, the people of India and on my own behalf, it gives me immense pleasure to extend to Your Majesty and the friendly people of Bhutan my heartiest greetings on the occasion of your National Day," Mukherjee said. PTI SMJ AAR --- ENDS --- SAN DIEGO President Obama is being pressured by immigration activists to pardon hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people so that Donald Trump cant deport them. Democratic Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois recently sent a letter to Obama asking him to use his authority to forgive the past and future civil immigration offenses of the more than 740,000 so-called Dreamers who benefit from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. White House officials quickly nixed the idea, insisting that such a pardon would be the equivalent of granting permanent legal status. As they noted, the president has no such authority. No surprise there. Obama doesnt listen to immigration activists, as he has shown by ignoring their pleas to curb deportations. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, shouldnt we stop and ask whether deporting Dreamers is something that President-elect Trump even wants to do in the first place? It doesnt appear so. Granted, Trump did say that those who are in the country illegally would have to leave. He also threatened to reverse Obamas executive actions, including DACA, which allows the young and undocumented to apply for a two-year work permit and temporary reprieve from deportation. But Trumps chest-thumping on immigration could be nothing more than theatrics. This is the kind of stuff Republicans do when theyre trying to get elected. Now that he has been elected, it doesnt appear that Trump has the stomach for following through on much of his tough talk. After Time named Trump its Person of the Year, the billionaire told the magazine this when asked about his plans for the Dreamers: Were going to work something out thats going to make people happy and proud. They got brought here at a very young age, theyve worked here, theyve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And theyre in never-never land because they dont know whats going to happen. That doesnt seem so harsh, does it? Hard-line restrictionists who want to see the Dreamers tossed out by the only country theyve ever known should brace for disappointment. And those left-wing organizations that are asking for money to stop Trump from deporting a group of people that he doesnt seem so interested in getting rid of should find a new scare tactic for fundraising. Its the immigration two-step. Republicans act tough when campaigning but go soft once theyre in office to help big business. Democrats act soft on the campaign trail, but drop the hammer once theyre in office to please organized labor. Everyone gets deceived. Nothing gets done. Nevertheless, the White House was right to throw cold water on the whole idea of Obama issuing a mass pardon to Dreamers. Lets start with what makes these young people special in the first place. Its not the attributes that seem to impress politicians. It has nothing to do with the fact that many of these undocumented immigrants are going to college and pursuing big-shot careers. Or that as Trump put it some were good students and some have wonderful jobs. Thats elitist, superficial nonsense that only drives a wedge between these young people and their often less educated but hardworking parents who have sacrificed so much for them. What really makes Dreamers special is the same thing that makes them appear so sympathetic to many Americans. Its the fact that since they were brought here as children by their parents they did not make a conscious decision to break our immigration laws. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently seized on that point when he delivered to Trump a letter co-signed by 15 other municipal leaders from around the country vouching for DACA students. Emanuel, a one-time immigration hard-liner who is undergoing an extreme makeover as a savior for the undocumented, told reporters that he informed Trump that these young people should be able to remain in the United States because its no fault of their own their parents came here. That makes sense. For these young people, coming to the United States was no more a voluntary act than the time your parents dragged you to Yellowstone Park for summer vacation. Theres the problem. A pardon would be legal, but it wouldnt be logical. A pardon is the official forgiveness of wrongdoing. And, as weve repeatedly been told, the Dreamers are innocent. So how do you forgive wrongdoing by a group of people who did nothing wrong? Tulsa homicide detectives searching for a missing witness to a shooting found a body Wednesday in Muskogee County. The body has not yet been identified, Tulsa Police Sgt. Dave Walker said. Detectives were searching land in an effort to find Courtney Lee Palmer, 23, of Tulsa. We recovered human remains on the land and the Oklahoma Medical Examiners Office was called in to recover the remains, Walker said. Tulsa County prosecutors charged three people with first-degree murder Friday in the beating death of Palmer, who reportedly witnessed the Nov. 8 shooting of Carl Harris at the Tamarack Place apartments, 1110 E. 60th St.. Gerald Keith Lowe Jr., 39, Jeannetta Thomas, 18, and Michaela Riddle, 24, are accused of killing Palmer on Nov. 11, three days later. Police believe Palmer was beaten to death at a residence in the 4000 block of North Boston Place. Lowe and Riddle are additionally charged with one count of descecration of a human corpse related to their alleged attempts to conceal Palmers body, as well as a gang-related offense on claims they are members of the Hoover Crips street gang. Lowe, Thomas and Riddle, who have been jailed since at least Dec. 6, are each additionally accused of intimidating and kidnapping Palmer to prevent him from testifying in the shooting. Walker has said Harris, 39, loaned his car to Palmer on Nov. 8, and a woman took his keys because he apparently used PCP and was therefore unfit to drive. When Palmer told Harris the keys were taken, Walker said, Harris grabbed a gun and kicked in the door of an apartment at Tamarack Place to try to find them. Harris was shot at the complex and transported to a hospital in critical condition. Charletha Mack, who was arrested Wednesday in connection with the case, faces one count of being an accessory to murder because she failed to report that Palmer had been beaten, police said. Walker said last month that Palmer was interviewed at the scene of the shooting on Nov. 8 but had not been seen or heard from since Nov. 10. Witnesses have reported seeing Palmers body in the early morning hours of Nov. 11 in a bag or tub in the bed of a pickup, police said. Tulsa police detectives said they found the remains while serving a search warrant in conjunction with Muskogee County authorities. Here is the Tulsa World coverage of the case so far: By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) India today said the revised tax treaty with Cyprus will come into force from April 1 next year under which capital gains tax shall be levied at the source of investments. "Both sides have now exchanged notifications intimating the completion of their respective internal procedures for the entry into force of the DTAA, with which the revised DTAA shall come into effect in India in the fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2017, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. advertisement Experts, however, said that Mauritius would continue to score over Cyprus as a better investment route at least in the initial two years of the treaty as investments will have to pay short-term capital gains tax at half the rate prevailing during the two-year transition period. The revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with both the island nations would enable source-based taxation of capital gains on shares, however, investments made prior to April 1, 2017, have been grandfathered. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP Senior Director S P Singh said, "Mauritius has remained the favoured route for foreign investments and for the initial two years beginning April 2017, it will definitely score over Cyprus." The amendment to the two decade old Cyprus DTAA comes after India in May signed a revised tax treaty with Mauritius under which capital gains will be levied on investments made after April 1, 2017. Following amendment of the 33-year old tax treaty, companies routing funds into India through Mauritius after March 31, 2017 will have to pay short-term capital gains tax at half the rate prevailing during the two-year transition period. The levy is currently at 15 per cent. The full rate will kick in from April 1, 2019. "It is interesting to note that while the protocol to the India-Mauritius DTAA provides for a scenario wherein the taxes in India will apply at 50 per cent of the domestic tax rate on capital gains during the transition period of two years. No such relief is granted in the new India-Cyprus DTAA and therefore, capital gains arising from sale of shares of an Indian company will be taxable at the applicable domestic tax rate," Nangia & Co Partner Rahul Jain said. India has been in the process of revising tax treaties with foreign nations, including Singapore and Netherlands, to provide for source based taxation of capital gains. Between April and September 2016, India has received USD 5.8 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) from Mauritius, USD 4.6 billion from Singapore, USD 1.6 billion from the Netherlands and USD 381 million from Cyprus. advertisement Besides FDI, a large number of institutional investors or FIIs investing in stocks are also based out of low tax jurisdictions like Mauritius and Cyprus. (MORE) PTI JD SBT JM --- ENDS --- Rumors are circulating that the Trump organization might bethinking about appointingSylvester Stallone to head theNational Endowment for the Arts. Mostof us know that Stalloneis an actor (Yo, Adrian), but few realize that he also identifies asa painter and is represented by Galerie Gmurzynska,a Swiss gallery thatspecializes in Russian avant-garde, modern art and classic contemporary.In2015 Stallonehad a soloexhibition at Muse dart moderne et dart contemporainin Nice, France, during whichhe spoke toAndrew Pettie at The Telegraph about his work. Here are some excerpts from their interview. If I put a frame around a tree, the tree is going to grow through the frame. Well, I think that a painting, the more you look at it, [the more it] takes on different impressions and interpretations. You cant frame an emotion forever. Its constantly being expanded or taking on a bigger myth. Some paintings have taken on such grand history. I dont think you can hold in anything thats artistic. You cant freeze it in time. The [incomplete] frame is symbolic of just letting it grow. As Anselm Kiefer said, the art is in transition. Early on in my life I realised that man is totally pressed upon by the sense of time racing. Everything is timed. So I started to put clocks on my images, usually the ones of actors Marilyn Monroe, W?C Fields, Errol Flynn. Now if you imagine their lives lasted 12 hours, I would paint them at 10, as opposed to what they looked like at four. At four theyd be youthful, vibrant, optimistic. But then you move ahead to the 10th or 11th hour and reality has set in. Life is not everything you thought it was going to be. The colours have become darker, the eyes more sunken. Usually I try to visualise something before I put it into words. Words are very difficult and sometimes unforgiving. So if I could see what Rocky looked like, then perhaps I could write about him. So I began to work on this image. But I didnt want to use a brush because I felt that the character was made out of industrial tools. He was a man that was forged by the hardships of life. So I put this image up there and I started to actually carve it with a screwdriver. Then I took newspaper clippings which would reflect what it would be like to be a very poor, unsuccessful man, especially a boxer, and then, all of sudden, the image came alive. Then I said, OK, this is a character I would like to see written about because he looked interesting visually. If he looked interesting visually, then I think that he would translate through to literature and then cinema. I know it sounds ambitious but that was the genesis of Rocky. Sylvester Stallone, Real Love: Paintings 1975-2015, Muse dart moderne et dart contemporain,Nice, France.ThroughMay 30, 2015. The exhibition is not posted on the museums website, but Stalloneis represented by Galerie Gmurzynska,Switzerland. According to the gallerys page onArtsy, they specialize in Russian avant-garde, modern art and classic contemporary. Related posts: Quick study: David Bowie and art Dylans show at the Kunstsammlungen India's greater prominence on the world stage over the past two decades has spawned a wealth of material originating in Washington analysing its foreign policy, global orientation and strategic culture. The latest in this long list is India at the Global High Table: The Quest for Regional Primacy and Strategic Autonomy by two veteran US diplomats, Teresita and Howard Schaffer. The volume does not lack ambition. In just over 300 pages, it attempts to dissect the many facets of India's foreign policy-making-its core principles and rival schools of thought, its multiple foreign policy institutions, Indian negotiating strategies in defence, nuclear weapons, trade and climate change and bilateral relationships with China, Pakistan and smaller South Asian states. Each of these topics is deserving of a book-length treatment in itself, but the authors tackle them largely successfully without losing sight of the common thread that forms the core of their argument. advertisement The volume's grounding in practice rather than theory and its disproportionate focus on the Indo-US relationship as permeating almost all chapters is but natural given the authors' background and expertise. Therefore, it is not altogether surprising that the most insightful sections of the book relate to India's foreign policy institutions, the analysis of Indian negotiating culture and a blow-by-blow account of the tortuous negotiations over the Indo-US nuclear deal. The latter chapter, in particular, provides an excellent window on how political will at the highest levels can overcome even the most daunting structural barriers in crafting an agreement of strategic import. Except for an inexplicably essentialist foray (p. 121) on the lack of a culture of sin and forgiveness in Hinduism and Buddhism, the authors' description of Indian negotiation styles is illuminating and largely on the mark. They illustrate in detail how Indian negotiators are meticulously prepared and demonstrate a mastery over their subject matter, thrive on symbolism, are deeply hierarchical and prize loyalty and personal ties. The Schaffers' central thesis is that Indian foreign policy is marked by three core elements, namely strategic autonomy, regional primacy and economic diplomacy. Undergirding these elements is a strong belief in the uniqueness of Indian civilisation. This civilisational identity lends a certain exceptionalism to Indian attitudes to world affairs. Indian exceptionalism, in turn, leads to a negotiating style that is highly sensitive to sovereignty, abhors the perception of being a supplicant and often takes a moral rather than a bargaining approach to key disputes. The three core elements are all common to the three schools of foreign policy thought identified by the authors, namely the non-alignment firsters, broad power realists and hard power hawks. As the authors acknowledge, this classification is essentially a variant on scholar Kanti Bajpai's definition of Nehruvians, neoliberals and hyperrealists. The United States, of course, also possesses a sense of exceptionalism and moralism, though as a far stronger power, it operationalises it differently. The authors do identify this congruence on more than one occasion. However, they do not highlight it sufficiently in one critical case, namely US pressure on India to jettison its Iran relationship as a price for the Indo-US nuclear deal. The pointed language of the Hyde Act indicates that US lobbying in New Delhi on Iran was not simply a case of routine diplomatic 'advocacy' as the authors suggest (p. 63). Extra-territorial mandates may originate in the US Congress, but the US diplomatic corps is the frontline actor in ensuring their compliance. This forces Washington's partners to adopt a zero-sum approach to their relations with America's major adversaries, and militates against India's principle of strategic autonomy. advertisement The authors lay great stress on strategic autonomy as a persistent principle of India's foreign engagements. They see strategic autonomy as the direct intellectual heir of non-alignment in the post-Cold War era. It is certainly true that the two share a core characteristic, namely maximising freedom of action. However, there are important differences. Non-alignment was a project aimed at fundamentally transforming the Cold War-era international system with its existential conflict between two nuclear-armed blocs and the North-South divide. By focusing mainly on foreign policy independence, the aims of the strategic autonomy doctrine are much more modest. Another important difference lies in the revisionist nature of non-alignment. Strategic autonomy, while revisionist in terms of India's place at the global high table, in many ways reveals a status quoist bent towards the existing international system. India in the post-Cold War era does not seek a fundamental transformation of the system as much as being accepted into its elite core in order to enhance its own power and prestige. The Indo-US nuclear deal is a good example of this major shift in India's orientation. Instead of its traditional argument that the non-proliferation regime was fundamentally discriminatory in its entirety, India sought and obtained an 'India exception' to the regime, substantially admitting it into the club of legitimate nuclear powers. This, of course, may have been a practical adjustment to the contingencies of a new era. But it is an analytical oversight to not highlight the major discontinuity it represents from the much more ambitious doctrine of non-alignment. advertisement India's strategic autonomy is, however, constrained by two major factors. First, its operationalisation in a world of economic interdependence presents a challenge, especially for a country running a persistent trade deficit. India's massive dependence on arms imports presents the second constraint. Defence indigenisation, a goal of every Indian government since Independence, seems no closer than it was several decades ago. It is, therefore, legitimate to ask, as it was for non-alignment post-1971, whether Indian strategic autonomy lies more in the realm of aspiration than practice. The authors take note of these complications, but do not explore them in sufficient detail. advertisement Regional primacy, the second core Indian foreign policy element, is dissected more convincingly in the chapter summarising India's relations with smaller South Asian neighbours, particularly Nepal and Sri Lanka. The principle, with strong parallels to America's own Monroe Doctrine, looks unfavourably upon the entry of outside great powers into the region, with China being the most recent entrant. Moreover, as the authors note, the principle has had mixed success, failing most spectacularly with respect to Pakistan. The authors' analysis of the India-Pakistan relationship, however, covers little new ground in what is a well-trod topic in the literature. The authors are relatively coy about analysing the India-US-China triangle and Indian and US motivations in this regard. At one point, they state that the Indo-US strategic convergence is motivated primarily by a common bond of democracy (p. 159). However, India has been a democracy since 1947 and that has not prevented a near-adversarial relationship with the US at some critical junctures such as 1971. Elsewhere, they speak of the drivers being "future contingencies" and "shared strategic interests" in the region (p. 136) and a move toward "implicit balancing" (p. 301). All these references are to China, but the authors do not develop their analysis much further. The reader's appetite is whetted for more. Going forward, what exactly could be the nature of Indo-US strategic coordination in Asia? What would be the costs and benefits to India and the United States? Could it fundamentally weaken India's strategic autonomy doctrine? In hindsight, these questions have become even more urgent in the wake of what appears to be a sharp departure in China policy under an incoming Trump administration. The volume rightly spends considerable effort in analysing India's economic engagements, in bilateral settings with the US, multilateral settings at the WTO and in the use of Indian foreign aid as a tool in South Asia. Here, the third core element of Indian diplomacy, namely the use of its newfound economic power, comes into play. Case studies include Enron's Dabhol power plant project, agricultural trade and food subsidies at the WTO and the Indo-US bilateral investment treaty. The analysis of the Dabhol fiasco brings an insightful perspective of fragmented governance as a key barrier to the deal's realisation. Equally pertinent questions about the ethical practices of Enron and the Indian government that led to some of the controversies are delicately skipped over. The authors' narrative on climate negotiations is interesting but unfortunately stops short of the crucial Paris Agreement timeline. There are a few other oversights in the book. For instance, there is virtually no reference to the vital India-Israel relationship, with all its sensitivities and implications for India's engagement with West Asia. Newer (though no less critical) global governance issues such as cybersecurity, internet governance, renewable energy and space are also omitted. With all its lacunae, however, India at the Global High Table is a cogent, insightful and original contribution to India's foreign policy discourse, and well worth a read. Sarang Shidore is a researcher and consultant in international relations and energy/climate policy and currently Visiting Scholar at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin STATECRAFT, MODIFIED Three recent releases on India's national security and foreign policy One of India's biggest security conundrums has been the lack of a formally declared national security strategy. The irony is even more stark since this is the country which produced the groundbreaking treatise on statecraft, Arthashastra by Kautilya. But that was over two millennia ago. Today, the absence of a national security strategy is felt at many levels. From a military build-up which many experts term arming without aiming, and in a situation where security problems continue without any end in sight. This book brings together experts from various fields to define the key national interests in 20 crucial areas, spanning defence to diplomacy and intelligence. A must-read for security policy watchers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014 without anyone having the slightest idea about his foreign policy mandate. Two-and-a-half years later, foreign policy has been one of the startling achievements of his government. Chaulia attempts to explain it through what he calls the 'Modi Doctrine', the seeming transformation of India's foreign policy from a lumbering, slow-moving elephant to a sure-footed lion. The central argument here is that Modi is globalising and revolutionising India's foreign policy like no other prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru. The main conceptual difference that Modi has brought about since becoming PM, Chaulia argues, is to imbue Indian foreign policy with a doctrinal purpose. This compilation of essays from 21 contributors tries to understand the contours of the Modi government's foreign policy outreach. For the PM, global understanding stems from a firm belief that in a glocalised, polycentric world, which is uniquely tied with prosperity and vulnerability, foreign policy is closer to home than ever before. Hence the neighbourhood first initiative, the Act East initiative and linking India's foreign policy to domestic transformation. PM Modi is today among the most travelled heads of government. This movement is not without purpose. by Sandeep Unnithan --- ENDS --- For last two years, the European Union has been providing Ukraine with about EUR 25 million in humanitarian assistance a year. Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said this at a press conference on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "For last two years, the European Union has been providing Ukraine with about EUR 25 million in humanitarian assistance a year," he said. In addition, Mingarelli noted that the European Union had two main objectives in Ukraine: to help Ukraine preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to provide assistance in the reform process. As a reminder, the European Union is the largest bilateral donor in Ukraine as it supports the reform process in the country, annually providing approximately 250 million euros. ol United Nations Foundation President & CEO Kathy Calvin issued the following statement today following the announcement by UN Secretary-General-designate Antnio Guterres on three senior appointments to his office. In the announcement Mr. Guterres announced Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as the next Deputy Secretary-General, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as Chef de Cabinet, and Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea as the newly created post of Special Advisor on Policy. The Deputy Secretary-General, Chef de Cabinet, and Special Advisor are crucial first appointments that can serve as the foundation of the Secretary-General-designates team, and each bring incredibly distinguished careers with them to their new roles. Amina Mohammed is the perfect choice for the important role of UN Deputy Secretary-General. Throughout her career, Amina has demonstrated a remarkable ability to build support across multiple partners for progress on challenging issues. In her two most recent positions as Nigerias Minister of Environment and as the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General leading post-2015 development planning her leadership has helped advance some of the top priorities shaping the work of the UN in the years ahead. She understands the challenges ahead include both country implementation and citizen engagement. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti brings considerable international experience from being a career diplomat and her current role as the Under-Secretary for Asia and the Pacific at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will serve her well as Chef de Cabinet. As the current head of the Secretary-General-designates transition team, Kyung-wha Kang also brings years of humanitarian and human rights experience as the previous Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. Their breadth of experience on important global issues will serve us in the years ahead. We look forward to working with these three dynamic women as they assume their roles to help advance the pillars and priorities of the UN and build the momentum for progress on peace and security, human rights, climate change, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Newly displaced families from east Aleppo reach a shelter in Mahalej, Syria. UNHCR/Mohamed Jertila ALEPPO, Syria Hunger finally drove 16-year-old Mohammad and his family to abandon their home in embattled east Aleppo, dodging snipers' bullets as they ran for their lives. We were starving in east Aleppo, we had to leave, Mohammad told staff from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, after he and several members of his family reached safety in the west of the city. We used to be given bags of bread, but then bread stopped and there was just rice. Then there was no rice and the prices of food became so expensive and we could not afford it anymore. As they picked their way through the artillery ravaged streets, running from cover to cover, Mohammads father became separated, forcing the youngster to choose between looking for him or getting the rest of his family to safety. We were starving in east Aleppo, we had to leave. They finally made it to the Mahalej cotton factory, a transitional shelter for new arrivals where UNHCR is providing winter clothes, blankets, mattresses, sleeping bags, water and food to those in need. As his six-year-old sister Ahlam meaning dreams in Arabic played in the background, Mohammad said he still does not know what happened to his father. Mohammad is among several recently displaced residents of eastern Aleppo who have described the hardship and terror of life in the embattled enclave, as UNHCR repeated calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of civilians believed to be still trapped inside the city. Displaced residents from east Aleppo rest at a centre where UNHCR and other agencies provide shelter and aid including clothing and thermal blankets in west Aleppo, Syria. UNHCR/Dima Alnaeb Weeks of intense fighting have taken a high toll on civilians across Aleppo, which prior to Syrias conflict was the countrys largest city and commercial hub. The ferocious battle for control of the eastern part of the city, which has been under opposition control for much of the past four years, has forced an estimated 40,000 civilians to seek safety in the government-controlled west in recent weeks, although with accurate numbers hard to gauge the true figure could be far higher. Men, women and children who have recently arrived at shelters provided harrowing details of suffering weeks of bombardment as well as shortages of food, medical care and fuel for heating. Their ordeal was compounded by the fact that the fighting has prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching the east for the past five months. "It was very shocking to see our home turned to ruins. As well as providing essential relief items, UNHCR is also offering counselling and protection services to traumatized new arrivals, including many children. Bader, 12, who lost his mother to illness before the outbreak of the crisis, sat huddled inside the shelter with his father, step-mother and six siblings. I was very cold and very hungry for the past 10 days, said Bader, his eyes glistening with tears. We had a house, but it was completely destroyed. It was very shocking to see our home turned to ruins. Aziza, a single mother in her late thirties, was crying in a corner of one of the large hangars turned shelters, sitting on the floor with her two young daughters. She told UNHCR staff: When we arrived here, I realised that we were cursed with displacement. I am very scared of what the future might hold for us, and especially for my daughters. UNHCR and its partners are scaling up their humanitarian response in Aleppo to meet the needs of the newly displaced, as well as those previously displaced in western Aleppo. Alongside food, water and protection services, one of the most pressing humanitarian needs is finding secure shelter for the newly displaced. The onset of winter makes it even more vital that families are kept warm and dry a small comfort after months spent living in constant fear. Donate now A group of several hundred women and children from near the town of Al Shirqat arrive at the newly opened Qayyarah Airstrip camp in Qayyarah. Having opened just 3 days ago the camp already has more than 300 families living there. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett As the Mosul conflict enters its third month, and the number of people displaced climbs towards 100,000, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is bolstering its capacity to host and support civilians fleeing the fighting as cold weather sets in. So far, 96,864 people have been displaced by fighting since October 17, when military operations began. The bulk of new arrivals 57,000 people are currently being sheltered in UNHCR-supported camps in the area. Significant numbers have also been fleeing Hawija in Kirkuk ahead of an offensive to retake the last areas controlled by armed opposition groups; since August, 51,000 have been displaced. This week, UNHCR visited recently accessible areas around Mosul. Living conditions in the villages were rudimentary. Returnees and displaced families staying in the villages lack electricity and access to clean water. Local markets are not functioning and there is an urgent need for kerosene and warm clothing. UNHCR is coordinating with partners deliveries of needed assistance. We have been stepping up winter distributions, providing thermal blankets and quilts to 11,200 people around Mosul, and we plan to step up distributions in coming days to reach an additional 5,000 families. UNHCR has six camps receiving people from Mosul, with another three under construction. The nine camps would have a capacity for 102,000 people. UNHCR-built camps include Al Alam (2,400 people); Qaymawa (4,792 people); and Hasansham U3 (10,860 people). There is still some capacity at Al Alam (140 plots). The Iraqi Government is building Al Alam 2 camp nearby, with a planned capacity to host up to 8,000. Camps built by the Ministry of Migration and Displacement with UNHCR support include Khazer M1 (29,072 people) and Khazer M2 (10,103 people). In Kirkuk, additional camps are hosting people mainly displaced from Hawija. UNHCR camps in Kirkuk include Daquk (7400 people, available 120 plots); Leylan 2 (2900 people, available 420 plots); Leylan (2900 people); Nazrawa (8700 people). UNHCR's Mosul emergency response fund, set at USD 196.2 million, is 57 per cent funded. The largest funding gap is for the winter programme and we are urging donors to help us close the shortfall to prepare for possible additional displacement and help offset the miserable living conditions. Assistance items distributed to the newly arrived families in camps include blankets, mattresses, stoves, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, quilts, insulation sleeping mats, tent insulation kits and heaters. Away from camps, 48,972 blankets and quilts have been provided in the newly accessible areas of Gogjali, Nimround, Shura and Qulan Tappa to 12,243 families. Winter kits and other items like kerosene are also being provided in other parts of Iraq including the centre-south (camps in Anbar, Baghdad and Salah Al-Din), and the southern region (Diyala). In Dohuk, Erbil and Sulimaniyah, UNHCR has reached more than 10,000 displaced families with cash assistance since October. We have also provided cash assistance to almost 10,000 Syrian refugee families in those areas. For further information on this topic, please contact: Displaced Iraqi mother Bade reaches the newly opened Laylan 2 camp, south of the city of Kirkuk, after fleeing her home town of Hawiga, Kirkuk province, Iraq. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett LAYLAN 2 CAMP, Kirkuk, Iraq Driven by hunger, Iraqi mother Iqbal Qalaf picked her way across a minefield in the dark with her children in search of food and safety. No one would be crazy enough to walk for three hours in the night but we had to we were hungry. We had to cross through areas with mines, she said, clutching her youngest son, shortly after they arrived at Laylan 2 camp. She is among hundreds of displaced Iraqis who came in their hundreds at night, wading through rivers, walking across minefields and carrying their children to reach safety at the recently opened camp, south of the city of Kirkuk. No one would be crazy enough to walk for three hours in the night but we had to we were hungry." Im so cold and tired, weve been walking since yesterday evening, said Bade Hussein, 33, as she arrived at the camp from her home town of Hawiga, Kirkuk province. Hawiga district fell in the summer of 2014 and has been encircled since Iraqi security forces advanced towards nearby Shirgat earlier this year ahead of the offensive to retake the city of Mosul and surrounding areas. In addition to nearly 97,000 displaced by fighting in and around Mosul since the start of the offensive on October 17, an estimated 51,000 people have also fled the deteriorating humanitarian situation in and around Hawiga since August. Civilians have reported a lack of access to medical care and children suffering from malnutrition. At the entrance to Leylan 2 camp, Iqbal, 32 (far left in blue) embraced her relatives with tears in her eyes. She had not seen them in three years. Iqbal and her family fled Hawiga and arrived at the camp six days earlier. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett Some male members of families who fled their homes in and around Hawiga arrive at Kurdish security forces reception area near the Makhtab Khalid front line area South of Kirkuk city. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett Some male members of families who fled their homes in and around Hawiga arrive at Kurdish security forces reception area near the Makhtab Khalid front line area South of Kirkuk city. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett On December 10, more than 500 displaced Iraqis arrived at Laylan 2 camp. These numbers are expected to rise as supplies in the town of Hawiga to the South of Kirkuk and still under militant control run critically low. Families are being forced to pay smugglers to escape to Kurdish controlled territory in order to find food. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett Tents at Laylan 2 camp near Kirkuk, Iraq. UNHCR/Ivor Prickett Laylan 2 camp was opened by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, at the start of December in response to the large numbers of displaced people fleeing Hawiga. Hundreds of civilians have been arriving at Kurdish peshmerga front lines every week after walking all night over open ground ridden with explosives. On December 10, more than 500 displaced Iraqis arrived at Laylan 2. These numbers are expected to rise in the coming weeks as supplies in the town run critically low. Families are being forced to pay smugglers to escape to Kurdish controlled territory in order to find food. If you went to Hawiga you would cry from hunger. There is no medicine for the sick, nothing. People with asthma are in a very difficult situation, said Bade whose cousin was killed by extremists because he was working as a smuggler and selling cigarettes, which is forbidden, she said. People fleeing for their lives are in a state of utter distress and are in need of both moral and material support. There was nothing left just some rotten wheat which we crushed to make bread, so we had to escape. For five months, the villagers in her town had no tea. I hoped for a bright future for my children but when [the extremists] came that was destroyed. We are in a really bad condition and we need assistance right away. I hope it is better here, said Bade, assessing her new tent in the darkness after reaching safety. It is horrible on the other side - they take kids and slaughter them. Her youngest daughter coughed and rattled an empty plastic jar that had contained some milk. Her four young children had skin lesions and were wearing filthy, wet clothes. Families arriving at Laylan 2 on Saturday evening received blankets, mattress and food parcels from UNHCR and its partner organizations. As the sun set, they were led to their assigned tents. Winter help for displaced Iraqis As the Mosul conflict enters its third month, and the number of people displaced climbs towards 100,000, UNHCR is bolstering its capacity to host and support civilians fleeing the fighting as cold weather sets in. UNHCRs Mosul emergency response fund, set at US$196.2 million, is 57 percent funded. The largest funding gap is for the winter programme, with thousands of families in urgent need of support to survive the harsh winter cold. People fleeing for their lives are in a state of utter distress and are in need of both moral and material support, said Bruno Geddo, UNHCRs Representative in Iraq. Our priority as UNHCR is to make sure that they receive relief items and have access to a safe place as soon as they reach us. Armed groups took over the districts hospitals and ambulances, so families have not had access to medical care. Fighters confiscated civilians animals and farming equipment and imposed harsh punishments for smoking or trying to escape. Families escaping Hawiga and nearby villages told UNHCR that they were living off bread made with stale wheat and water after basic items like tomato paste and sugar became too expensive. There was nothing to eat. The price of tomato paste was 35,000 dinars (around US$30) for one kilo and sugar was 40,000 dinars (around US$34), recalled Qalaf. Our kids almost died of hunger. Donate now Anita Kumari, Indian Army Major, ended her life by shooting herself with her service revolver in the Samba district in Jammu. By Asian News International: Indian Army Major, Anita Kumari allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself with her personal weapon on Thursday at Bari Brahmna Depot of Samba district in Jammu. Prima facie, she shot herself on the intervening night of December 14-15. The officer did not come to the unit and no one was aware about her whereabouts till her neighbours broke the door. advertisement Further details are awaited. --- ENDS --- Syrian refugee Suhail Qamber uses a card provided by UNHCR to withdraw cash from an ATM machine in Saida, Lebanon in this 2014 file photo. UNHCR/Andrew McConnell 2016 has been a record year for UNHCRs cash-based aid programme for refugees and other displaced people, with an expected $430 million in cash going directly to people in need by years end signalling an important shift in how the worlds refugee situations are increasingly being managed. Traditionally, aid has been largely delivered through in-kind support. But with some 80 per cent of the worlds displaced people living in cities, and often with either only limited or no access to legal employment, cash aid is now a critical tool across all sectors from health and food, to shelter and meeting basic needs. UNHCR is working with other agencies and the private sector to streamline aid with tangible benefits for refugees and for our donors. For the individual refugee, it also empowers them by giving them the choice over how to meet their most immediate needs. Freed from having to queue or travel to receive one-size-fits-all aid, people can buy their own food, fuel, clothes, medicine or pay the rent based on their personal priorities. In this way, refugees contribute directly to local economies and foster positive relations with host communities. Spearheaded in the Middle East UNHCR has spearheaded the new emphasis on cash in its Middle East operations. Cash programming expanded in response to the Iraqi refugee crisis in 2007 and scaled up to new levels in response to the recent Syria crisis. Some 1.8 million people in the region received up to $355 million in cash-based aid in 2016. In Jordan, where we have been giving cash to high vulnerability Syrian refugees in urban areas since 2012, studies show cash is the preferred means of assistance. Vulnerable families are often headed by women alone who can face cultural, legal and childcare obstacles finding work. Cash aid is helping prevent thousands of refugees facing severe hardship and resorting to desperate survival strategies such as pulling children out of school, child labour and begging, survival sex, early marriage or returning to war zones. The Jordan programme, which provides cash mainly through the use of iris scans at ATMs linked to UNHCRs pioneering biometric registration system, has recently been expanded. It now includes extra support for refugees to get health care, buy fuel and clothes for winter (including for refugees in camps), and one-off emergency support. Recent developments We have been expanding our use of cash through the region in 2016. Last month in Turkey, for example, UNHCR expanded its new cash distribution system to help more than half a million refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas in keeping warm this winter. Debit cards are being provided to 108,000 refugee families, including 96,000 Syrian households, through UNHCRs financial services provider Turkeys Postal and Telegraph Corporation (PTT). Eligible families can receive the cards, linked to their identity numbers, at any PTT Office countrywide and use them at any shop which is part of the MasterCard circuit network. The $27 million winter programme in Turkey is operating in 50 out of 81 provinces from November to January. UNHCR cash programme for Turkey includes a personalized SMS system, an interactive webpage which provides real-time verification of eligibility by applicants, call-centre support and leaflets in several languages. New efficiencies Our new partnerships with cash-based aid are yielding efficiency dividends and improving services to refugees. In Lebanon, we are part of a new partnership forged between three UN agencies and six NGOs giving refugees aid through the first-of-its-kind common card. Launched earlier this month in Beirut, the common card simplifies aid delivery to vulnerable refugees from various agencies. Instead of having to report to various distribution points, refugees can now get help through one e-card and buy food, fuel or clothes, pay their rent and funnel cash back into the local economy. The system has one joint assessment, one bank agreement, one distribution, one call centre and other common elements. The efficiency gains of this new approach between UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF and a consortium of six NGOs has led to unprecedented reductions in costs. For example, in Lebanon, thanks to the common systems in place, the costs in some areas have been halved or brought to zero. Cash programming from various agencies in Lebanon serves over 900,000 beneficiaries. UNHCR is already helping 150,000 vulnerable people (30,000 families) through monthly cash-based assistance year-round, and in November started assisting 840,000 refugees in need with seasonal winter aid to help them stay warm and dry throughout March next year. Beyond the Middle East While two-thirds of UNHCRs cash-based assistance in 2016 was spent in the Middle East region, we are also expanding our programmes in Africa, Asia and Europe, in line with commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit in May. Cash has been a part of our aid to refugees since the 1980s, but we have massively scaled up in recent years. This year we have pursued cash-based help programmes in 60 countries worldwide a doubling of the number of operations over the past four years. Our new Policy on Cash-Based Interventions launched in October commits UNHCR to doubling the proportion of cash in its total direct assistance to refugees by the end of 2020. To deliver on this, we are building a growing team of experts in delivering cash programmes. Next year, we are significantly expanding our team of cash experts worldwide. This year we have been training staff to assess the feasibility of cash-based programmes, integrating these findings into our programme and contingency planning across the globe. UNHCRs largest cash-based programmes in 2016 were in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, Egypt, Kenya, Turkey and Yemen. In 2017, at least 11 countries Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, Uganda, Afghanistan and Iran will receive dedicated technical support to expand cash-based programmes for the most vulnerable refugees. UNHCR is grateful to its many donors who support our cash-based aid either directly or indirectly. These include: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom and United States. For further information on this topic, please contact: Syrian refugee Suhail Qamber uses a card provided by UNHCR to withdraw cash from an ATM machine in Saida, Lebanon in this 2014 file photo. UNHCR/Andrew McConnell TYRE, Lebanon During close to six years she has spent as a refugee in Lebanon, Tharwat, 38, has faced a constant struggle to meet competing needs such as putting food on the table and buying medication for her ill mother. But since her inclusion by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in its programme replacing aid in kind with a monthly disbursement of cash, Tharwat has regained control over her finances and a corresponding boost to her dignity. The money I receive has changed my life, said Tharwat, who has devoted herself to caring for her sick mother. I now have the freedom to buy what I need the most, and thats my mothers medication. She would fall very ill without it. For me, food comes second. The money I receive has changed my life. I now have the freedom to buy what I need the most." Tharwat is among some 1.8 million forcibly displaced people across the Middle East who this year received cash-based aid, part of an important shift in how the worlds refugee situations are increasingly being managed. Traditionally, aid has been delivered mainly through in-kind support. But with some 80 per cent of the worlds displaced people living in cities, and often with either only limited or no access to legal employment, cash aid is now being used to target help those most in need. Recipients receive cash through cards or ATMs. The direct cash aid reduces costs and also empowers refugees like Tharwat by giving them the choice over how to meet their most immediate needs. UNHCR cash helps Syrian refugee buy medicine for her ill mother. We used to queue for hours to get blankets or hygiene items. Those were items that we really needed, but now we can decide what to buy and when to buy it, said Tharwat, who is among 30,000 economically vulnerable refugee families in Lebanon who benefit from the monthly disbursement of US$175. More than 800,000 refugees in Lebanon are also currently benefiting from additional monthly cash during the winter months, from November through March. As well as helping refugees, the programme is also providing a welcome fillip to local businesses in Lebanon, which hosts over one million Syrian refugees - the largest per capita concentration worldwide, equivalent to one in four of the population. The cards the refugees get have transformed them from passive recipients of assistance to active consumers. They are really greasing the wheels of our economy in the Bekaa Valley, said Mohammad Taha, the owner of a gas station in Jeb Jennine, a town in West Bekaa where some 8,000 registered refugees live. Refugees are really greasing the wheels of our economy in the Bekaa Valley. The sale of fuel to refugees for heating during the winter has increased my revenues by almost 10 per cent, he added. The cash programme has helped integrate the refugees into the e-banking age, says Chafica Salaam, Assistant General Manager of UNHCRs current financial service provider. At the outset of the programme, refugees used to struggle with the card and have basic questions about the pin code and how to go about managing their resources, she said. But since then, weve managed to improve their banking skills. Salaam explained that many refugees have now learned to stagger their spending and only withdraw small amounts at a time. The world has rapidly moved to electronic transfers and payments, and now the refugees are completely up to speed with that, and they are funneling the cash they receive back into the local economy. Salaam added. The 3 students from Delhi's St. Stephen's College and a local private resort owner drowned around 6.30 pm at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, police said. By Revathi Rajeevan: Three students from Delhi's St Stephen's College and a resort owner from Kerala have drowned in the state's Periyar river, police said. The mishap took place yesterday evening. A group of seven female and five male students, one warden and warden's mother left from Delhi for a trip to Kerala on December 14. Third-year Sanskrit students Anubhav Chandra and Aditya Patel, first-year Chemistry student Kenneth Jose and Benny, a private resort owner from Kerala, drowned around 6.30 pm at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, police said. They had toured Kannur, Irinjalakuda and Athirapally before coming to this spot. Aditya Patel Anubhav Chandra Kenneth Jose Benny, a local private resort owner advertisement THIS TOURIST SPOT A DEATH TRAP It is at this tourist spot that the river has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks. The spot is known for its death traps for tourists because of strong undercurrents, though the water is only few feet deep. The bodies were recovered and kept at the Taluk hospital at Perumbavoor , police said. Resort owner Benny's daughter also studies in the same college. Chandra hailed from Bihar while Patel belonged to Uttar Pradesh, police said. Kenneth John was a resident of Wayanad in Kerala. ST. STEPHEN'S COLLEGE CONFIRMS MISHAP In Delhi, St Stephen's College Principal John Varghese confirmed the news, saying it was true and they were in the process of finding out more details. At around 4.30 pm, Anubhav and Aditya got into the river to take a bath. Kenneth jumped into the waters when he saw both of them drowning. Resort owner Benny also jumped to save them but all four drowned. (With inputs from PTI) WATCH VIDEO --- ENDS --- The world's most infamous diamond, as authors William Dalrymple and Anita Anand describe it, is believed to come accompanied with a curse that condemns its owner to an early and often grisly demise. Much that is known about the Kohinoor is myth, rumour or conjecture. The world's most infamous diamond, as authors William Dalrymple and Anita Anand describe it, is believed to come accompanied with a curse that condemns its owner to an early and often grisly demise. Before the Earl of Dalhousie extorted it from the Sikh Maharaja Duleep Singh and it made its way to Queen Victoria in 1851, it's thought to have numbered among the favourite baubles of Mughal emperor Babur. It's believed to have been plucked from the eye of a temple idol in Southern India by marauding Turks. And it's sometimes thought to be the legendary Syamantaka-a gem brought to earth when the sun god Surya removed it from a chain around his neck to bestow it on the Yadava king of Dwarka. Many think it's the largest or most valuable or at least the most beautiful diamond in the world. Yet many of those 'facts' are outright falsehoods, and few of the other stories that surround the Kohinoor can be verified, Anand and Dalrymple learned, even as they uncovered newly translated sources that deepen the sense of magic and bloody intrigue behind the diamond that once represented history's greatest conquest and now stands for its most infamous theft. In separate interviews excerpted below, they spoke with India Today's Jason Overdorf about their discoveries. Overdorf: With William working on the early history of the Kohinoor and Anita covering its fate after the British finally defeated the Sikh empire in 1849, there's not a great deal of obvious crossover in this collaboration. How did you work together? advertisement Anand: Right from the start, we were constantly pinging each other, saying, "William, I found this, this is amazing." And then he would say, "Look what I've just found from the Persian archive. Look at this translation." In that way, we were terribly in each other's business. Although there are two distinct halves, there are fingerprints of each of us on both. Overdorf: The book is a bit of a historical detective story. What was the most surprising or interesting discovery that you made? Dalrymple: There is, in fact, not a single reference to a diamond that is to a hundred per cent certainty the Kohinoor before 1750, which is very late. What's happened is that, retrospectively, because the Kohinoor's so famous, people assume that when a large diamond turns up in a Mughal source or another source that it must be the Kohinoor. We just don't know how the Mughals got the Kohinoor or where it came from. The probability is that it came from a Golconda mine; that seems almost certain, but you can't trace a diamond with crystallography. The strong possibility is that it's the stone referred to by Babur in the Baburnama, which Humayun took to Persia. All we know for certain, and the first reference to it is translated for the first time in this book, is that around 1740 Persian historian Muhammad Kazim Marvi says, "I saw the Kohinoor. It was at the head of one of the peacocks in the Peacock Throne." He saw it in Herat. All the great Mughal experts have known this, but I certainly hadn't. Anand: I'm a journalist, not a historian, so I go looking for eyewitnesses. A European called John Martin Honigberger, who was there after the death of [Sikh Emperor] Ranjit Singh, was my eyewitness. He wrote about the committing of sati by the queens of Ranjit Singh. At first you hear his deep discomfort at the way in which these queens are burnt alive on the pyre of their husband, and then he sort of mentions in passing that these seven slave girls of Ranjit Singh are also burnt to death-but they're not even named. When you write such things, you just feel a little wiped out from the horror of it. Overdorf: What was the most striking moment for you in the diamond's history? Dalrymple: I think there are two incidents, just for the sheer mayhem that this diamond can cause wherever it goes. One is the story of Shah Rukh, the grandson of Nader Shah, who it turned out didn't have the Kohinoor, being tortured to surrender it. He has paste put on his head, and then they pour molten lead on him. It's just like the end of Daenerys Targaryen's brother in the first season of Game of Thrones. Then there's an extraordinary moment when the Medea takes the stone over to England in Anita's half of the book, and cholera breaks out on the ship. It's like another of my favorite movies, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu, when the plague ship arrives in Amsterdam and rats pour off it. The diamond does seem to leave havoc in its wake. advertisement Overdorf: The book covers a great deal of Indian history. What makes the Kohinoor an effective lens through which to view the rise and fall of empires? Anand: That's the kind of thing I'm interested in anyway: looking at one person and how history radiates out from that one person. With the Kohinoor, it is this pivotal point with history teetering around it. It is a stone that is surrounded by stories of blood, intrigue and murder. It has divided empires. It has pitted empires against each other. And even now if the Kohinoor is mentioned, you will have extraordinarily hot passions running. The British may have cut it to almost half of its size but it still retains all of its power. Overdorf: Shashi Tharoor re-energised the debate over the question of its possible return to India last year. How do you feel about that question lying in the backdrop to the book? advertisement Dalrymple: It becomes a symbol for colonial loot, a touchstone for the whole question of what do you do about colonial history. Do you try and right the wrongs of the past, or do you just say that history is bloody? There's no question that Ranjit Singh got the Kohinoor by torturing Shah Shuja's son. Shah Shuja's ancestor got it on the bloody night of Nader Shah's assassination. Nader Shah got it by defeating the Mughals. So the diamond, whether or not you believe in the existence of a curse, certainly has the ability to create discord and discontent and division wherever it goes. It could potentially be a major issue in British-Indian relations in the future. Overdorf: As your book makes clear, India isn't the only country with a claim to the jewel, either. Anand: I am as interested as everybody else to see what happens next. India wants it back, Pakistan wants it back, Iran has asked for it back, the Taliban has asked for it back. Whatever legal moves will be made, William and I have done a lot of the casework, if you like. Do I think the British will give it back? They have said many times, "Not on your nelly," which is a peculiar British expression that means "No way." They don't want to set a precedent for giving things back. Once they give the Kohinoor back, then the Greeks are going to immediately want their Elgin marbles back and any number of claimants will want other artefacts back. The museums of Great Britain will empty. advertisement --- ENDS --- DeVry University has agreed to pay $100 million as settlement. This is for its case with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that the school deceived its students. USA Today reported that DeVry University and its parent company have agreed to pay a $100 million settlement. The school was accused of misleading prospective students with its graduates' success rates and income. In a statement, the FTC revealed that DeVry University violated the law with its claim that 90 percent of its graduates, who are actively-seeking employment, were able to land jobs within six months of graduation. Moreover, the school allegedly misled students when it said that its bachelor's degree graduates had an average income that was 15 percent higher than their peers from other colleges and universities one year after graduation. The $100 million settlement will be distributed with DeVry University paying $49.4 million in cash to the students who were affected by the deceptive ads. The other $50.6 million will be paid for debt forgiveness. The second figure includes the full balance owed on all unpaid private student loans issued to DeVry University undergraduates between Sep. 2008 and Sep. 2015. The breakdown is $30.35 million plus $20.25 million in student debt for tuition, books and lab fees. The FTC order also requires the school to directly notify the students who will be receiving debt forgiveness as well as inform credit bureaus and collection agencies regarding the arrangement. The university is also required to release the transcripts and diplomas that were withheld from students due to outstanding debt. According to the New York Times, tens of thousands of students will benefit from the agreement. "When people are making important decisions about their education and their future, they should not be misled by deceptive employment and earnings claims," Edith Ramirezthe commission's chairwoman, said. The publication added that DeVry University neither admitted nor denied the allegations. It was previously reported that the school has agreed to withdraw its misleading claims about its graduate employment rates and income levels through a settlement with the Department of Education. A student from Newcastle University died after drinking too much alcohol. The student died on Wednesday in the hospital. Local source ITV News reported that the student was described to have consumed "an excessive amount of alcohol." The Northumbria Police received a report from the RVI of a 20-year-old man who was brought to the hospital in a life-threatening condition. He died on Dec. 14. The investigation into his death has been passed to the coroner. "It is with deep sadness we can confirm the death of one of our students," a spokesperson for the university said. "At the family's request, we have nothing further to add at this time." University president, Jack Taylor, added that they are still in shock about the student's death. Taylor admitted that they still do not have any further details and offered his deepest condolences to the student's family. According to BBC, the university is also providing services for additional support to the student's friends as well as to other students who may have been affected by the tragic news. It is important that college students are made aware of the dangers of too much alcohol intake. There are a lot of factors that contribute to binge drinking in college and could prove to be lethal when paired with established drinking habits. It was found that about 40 percent of college students aged 18 to 22 engaged in binge drinking. The consequences of such drinking habits resulted to thousands of assaults, accidents, injuries, arrests as well as deaths every year. About 1,825 college students aged 18 to 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries, including DUI, every year. Factors that contribute to the problem are peer pressure from social groups such as Greek Life and sports. Nearly 75 percent of college students revealed that they drank alcohol to break the ice and enhance social activity. Pre-gaming and tailgating are common practices before a game as well. La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, is the big Hollywood release this week. How good, or bad, is the film? Here is our La La Land movie review. By Ananya Bhattacharya: La La Land, with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, has stacked up seven Golden Globes nominations this year. How is the Damien Chazelle-directed film? Here is our La La Land movie review. La La Land Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone La La Land Direction: Damien Chazelle La La Land Rating: (4.5/5) Rarely are there musicals that leave you completely unable to get over it even half a day after exiting the theatre. La La Land is one of those films. It will make you wonder like Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) if the 'City of Stars' is 'shining just for me'. advertisement Damien Chazelle's La La Land is the happy summer to the long winters of our form of filmmaking. It is grand. It is dreamy. It is everything you want to see on screen. Yet, it is so relatable, so real. Los Angeles. The City of Stars. Mia, an aspiring actress, makes ends meet as an on-studio barista. Sebastian is a pianist on a solo quest to save jazz from dying. She attends film parties in the hope someday, somewhere she will be 'found'. He plays Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas to not rub yet another restaurant owner the wrong way. They break into song and dance, tell each other how it is a waste of a 'lovely night' because love doesn't happen. Until it does. And their journey weaves magic for the viewers. La La Land, the epithet for Los Angeles, the word that means a place out of touch with reality.The riveting La La Land makes you believe in magic, in good things, in dreams. It is an ode to, as its lead actress says, 'the hearts that ache... the mess we make'. It is a message that even the mess we make need not be the end of our dreams. La La Land is the story of coming of age of Mia and Sebastian, and so many other such dreamers. It is an ode to the could-have-beens. Chazelle takes Maud Muller's famous verses, 'For of all sad words of tongue or pen / The saddest are these: "It might have been!",' and adds his refreshing touch to it. La La Land is of being hopeful in the face of hopelessness. Making a musical with the words 'romantic' and 'drama' together is not an easy task for the strained patience levels of the day. When Mia and Sebastian spontaneously break into a dance on the streets, not for a moment do you feel distanced from the story. The numerous songs blend in seamlessly with the story, leaving no room for a person to take their eyes off the screen. And added to that is Gosling and Stone's compelling performances. advertisement ALSO SEE: 5 reasons all Bollywood song-and-dance fans should watch La La Land OPINION: How choreographer Mandy Moore makes La La Land more memorable Emma Stone, devastating in the way she carries off Mia, is a sight to behold. She symbolises all our crushed dreams, all our butterflies in the stomach, that one glance, the one rhythm in the step. Gosling's oeuvre is a lot richer after La La Land. If he broke your heart with Blue Valentine and The Notebook, Sebastian in La La Land will drive a dagger through your heart. The chemistry between Mia and Sebastian, the way they coordinate their moves together is fluid. Justin Hurwitz's soundtrack is haunting. City Of Stars will stay with you long after the film is over. So will its music. The charm of La La Land lies in its details. In the glances that Mia and Sebastian share, in the references to Casablanca, in the jazz musicians telling the tale of a dying music form, in the coming full circle. Along with his team, director Chazelle crafts a tale that is nothing short of magic. That, in one word, is what La La Land is. advertisement Watch La La Land this week. It is an experience. Not a mere film. (The writer tweets as @ananya116.) ALSO WATCH: Befikre movie review --- ENDS --- Unions are calling on the University of Washington to protect undocumented students. The groups are urging the institution to become a safe space for said students. Seattle Times reported that six unions that represent an estimated 15,000 workers at the University of Washington and UW Medicine wrote a letter to leaders of the school to protect undocumented students. The letter was addressed to Dr. Ana Mari Cause, university president, as well as chancellors Dr. Mark Pagano and Dr. Bjong Wolf Yeigh. "Since the U.S. Presidential election, we have engaged in a number of membership conversations, and learned in horror and dismay about the increase in hate-related attacks to members of our campus community," the workers wrote. "Among the groups most likely to be targeted by a Trump administration and those emboldened by his campaign promises are immigrants." It was also noted that, while the statement issued by President Cauce and Provost Baldasty confirms that the school supports undocumented students, the unions are asking UW leaders to continue with their efforts to protect its students and employees by taking concrete steps to assist minority members of the campus community. The unions want the University of Washington and its campuses in Seattle, Tacoma and Bothell, along with the UW Medical Center and Harborview Medical Center to become sanctuary campuses. Other UW facilities are also included in the petition. The group asked for the university to make sure that the identities of undocumented and Muslim members of the community be protected. They also asked for the school to continue allowing qualifying DACA and undocumented students to pay in-state resident tuition, among other requests. "We believe that all, regardless of country of origin, belief system, or immigration status are welcome, all are valued and all must be safe," Andrea Canini, a bargaining committee member of student workers union UAW 4121, said. "We know there is a strong competing vision that surfaced during this election our opponents say that non-citizens, particularly non-white citizens, are less central and less valued in our society and therefore suitable targets for hostile action." Following President-elect Donald Trump's statements about revoking the Paris Agreement, dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and reversing environmental laws because climate change is a hoax, scientists from all over the world are now working on the double to save valuable information housed in government websites. In light of the Mr. Trump's nomination of climate change dissidents to key positions in his Cabinet, scientists are being proactive, anticipating changes not just with government policies and funding but also access to decades' worth of public scientific data and information about climate change this is why they are archiving websites that contain irreplaceable information. The Washington Post reported that while the President-elect and his transition team did not disclose plans of controlling publicly available data, scientists don't want to take their chances. Meteorologist and self-proclaimed "climate hawk" Eric Holthaus caught the public's attention last week when he tweeted, "Scientists: Do you have a US.gov climate database that you don't want to see disappear?" Responses from all over the country are collected in a Google spreadsheet that was flooded within hours. There was also a strong show of support with investors offering to help fund the initiative, lawyers offering pro bono services to scientists and database experts offering server spaces. A "guerilla archiving" is also slated for this weekend according to the BBC. Here, scientists, researchers, academics and environmentalists with the help of volunteers will go through roughly 75,000 publications from the EPA website to map a database in a race-against-time effort to preserve the information. The University of Pennsylvania will be working in collaboration with the University of Toronto's Technoscience Research Unit and the San Francisco-based nonprofit Internet Archive with its End of Term 2016 project. Data on the EPA's website is considered most vulnerable which includes climate change, water, air and toxics programs, data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also at risk. For Prof. Andrew Dessler of Texas A&M University, the real threat is not that the administration would try to get rid of the data but that they would try to end the collection of data. That would minimize the value of the current information we have. Continuous data is important for understanding the long-term effects of climate change and establishing trends. The Google Pixel was specifically designed to rival the iPhone and marketed directly to entice iPhone users to make the switch and enjoy the full benefits of the Android Nougat. Moreover, Verizon has signed a deal to make the Pixel an exclusive at the carrier level, but consumers say that the Pixel is now displayed in T-Mobile stores. Google SVP of Android and ChromeOS Hiroshi Lockeimer spoke to ALL About Android Podcast last week and admitted that the Google Pixel was really designed to rival Apple's iPhone. The key consideration was to entice iPhone users to make the switch and embrace the Android Nougat with its exclusive software features. The marketing for the Google Pixel is also mainly directed to iPhone users particularly on its inclusion of the Quick Switch Adapter, which connects an iPhone device directly to the Google handset to transfer data, including contacts, photos and messages according to the Express. Evidently, iPhone users will be able to easily make a switch with this nifty piece of hardware. Moreover, the Google Pixel like the iPhone has a hardware that is streamlined and nicely-built. It also has a software that is user-friendly and practical. When it comes to pricing, the Google Pixel also matches that of the iPhone. For this year, the Google Pixel and its bigger variant, the Pixel XL have featured prominently as one of the top selling smartphones despite being a relatively new player in the market. Morgan Stanley estimated that Google sold 3 million smartphones for this quarter while Kantar Insights puts it at 0.5 percent share on all US devices sales in a three-month period ending on Oct. 31. This puts the Google Pixel at equal footing with other top smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Microsoft, accomplishing the feat in just 11 days according to Fortune. Nowadays, the Google Pixel and Pixel XL are hard-to-find with sales high and supply limited. The Google Pixel is an exclusive to Verizon at the carrier level, although the carrier seems to make it appear as having the sole right to sell the product in its recent ad. T-Mobile is also displaying the Google Pixel, but will not sell it unless users sign up with the carrier and avail of the $350 dollars bill credits good for the first two years. However, T-mobile will still not be able to sell the Google Pixel, but will redirect consumers to the Google online store or Best Buy. Though the Google Pixel is unlocked, the Christmas holidays will surely make Verizon complain on the technicality of its arranged exclusivity, Forbes reported. Lalu Prasad Yadav was accused of disrespecting the national flag after the pictures of an event came out. Take a look at what really happened. By India Today Web Desk: RJD chief and former CM of Bihar Lalu Prasad Yadav, was accused of disrespecting the Indian national flag. As ironic as it can get, Lalu Yadav was accused of disrespecting the national flag as he participated in a 'Tiranga Samman Yatra' organised by Sudhanshu Suman and Astrologer Acharya Amrendra Mishra representing the Re Gram foundation. Lalu met the organisers at his official residence situated at 10 circular road. advertisement The foundation aims to organise this yatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The members of the foundation met Lalu to discuss about the endeavour and the leader was seen holding the Indian flag and praising it. Lalu was accused after pictures of the event were sent out because it showed the RJD chief holding a flag with the Ashoka Chakra not aligned to the centre of it. The Indian national flag has an Ashoka Chakra, with 24 spokes, aligned to the centre of the flag. The flag former CM was holding had the Ashoka Chakra towards the left side. Maybe the leader didn't see the flag properly before waving it and talking volumes praising it. --- ENDS --- Throughout its 240-year history, the United States has been known as the Great American Melting Pot. With a diverse population of more than 320 million, its citizens represent just about every nation and culture on the planet, its Military is no different. Soldiers serving with the Army and Army Reserve are no different. While coming from many different walks of life, they may sound and appear different, the reality is that they're all the same. They share a great love for this Nation and take pride in their service. With the prospect of a brighter future always forefront in their minds, the common thread that bonds them all is the pursuit of their American dream. Army Drill Sergeant, Staff Sgt. Akia Sieben, of Company A, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, is a first generation American, but she isn't the first person in her family to serve in the U.S. Army. Her mother came to the U.S. from Jamaica when she was 17. She graduated high school and joined the Army, said Sieben. She felt like she owed something to America. She felt that she wanted to do something to sublimely let the country know that she appreciated the opportunity she was afforded. In that aspect, Sieben sees a connection with many of the Soldiers under her charge. October 19, 2016 - Army Drill Sergeant, Staff Sgt. Akia Sieben assist Pvt. Diego Garcia, an Army Reserve Soldier, both with basic combat training Company A, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, SC during the hand grenade assault course. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. Stephanie Hargett) When I see Soldiers that come from other countries to better enhance their American dream, I think it shows a lot of pride, said Sieben. It definitely shows a big sense of selfless service and that's an army value that we live by. Because they came to a country that they don't know and a country that doesn't really know them. They decided to put their life on the line as if they were born and raised here, For Sieben, it's not just about the Soldiers that she trains and leads. It's a much more personal meaning. Just to see that that's the same thing that my mother did, came from another country, loved America and decided serve her country. I see that in these Soldiers that come here, said Sieben. I see my mother in them, I see myself in them, and I see that we all just want a great place to live and a great place to raise our children, this is the way we decided to do it and I salute them for that. Pvt. Rolando Swaby, an Army Reserve Soldier in basic combat training with Company A, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, and citizen of Jamaica, recently left his family behind to join his father and uncle in Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly thereafter he left for the army. I joined because my family started growing. My wife, she's pregnant, said Swaby. I wanted to go to school, but I needed the assistance to do it. Since I'm not a citizen yet, it also helps me become naturalized and help my family better. Through the Naturalization at Basic Training Initiative, Soldiers who are not U.S. citizens are given the opportunity to become naturalized when they graduate from basic combat training. More than 60,000 servicemembers have participated in the program since its implementation in 2009. Swaby served as a law enforcement officer back in Jamaica, but decided to sign up as a medic in the Army Reserve. Most of this stuff (military training) I've been through a lot, said Swaby. I just wanted to change it up, because it was rough being a police [sic]. I wanted to learn something new. The first in his family to serve in the U.S. Army plans to major in business in college so that one day he can start his own company. Pvt. Diego Garcia, also an Army Reserve Soldier with of Company A, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson has been back and forth between Mexico and Texas in the last 11 years. The son of Mexican immigrants, Garcia says his parents divorced when he was in second grade. Because of the divorce his mother should have moved back to Mexico due to her citizenship status, but chose to stay in order to give her children the opportunity of a better education and ultimately a better life. That same year she crossed the border to visit his grandparents in Mexico, says Garcia. Upon returning she was not permitted back into the US. I remember my grandparents came to pick me up and they wouldn't tell me anything, said Garcia. We went to the house to pack a little luggage and we left to Mexico. Garcia and his family moved to Valle Hermoso, which means Beautiful Valley; according to him it was anything but. According to a 2011 Stanford University Survey, organized crime related deaths increased by 290% between 2010 to 2011 in Valle Hermoso. This one time I was in middle school, my second year, we were in a class room and all of a sudden we hear shots fired, said Garcia. There was a point when teachers started teaching how to do the prone position, kind of like how we do when they say grenade and you get to the ground. So we're in the classroom and the classrooms are open. It's open with windows all-around so we had to learn how to do the prone positions which is called pecho a tierra, which means chest to ground. Everyone falls to the floor until they are done. After this and many other acts of violence the family decided it was time to leave and start over somewhere else. At first it was really shocking, then it became the norm, said Garcia. There were a lot killings, a lot of kidnappings and a lot of people ran away to safety. That's when I moved up here to South Texas with my father. Due to Garcia and his mother being separated for the last 6 years she has missed out on many important moments in his life. My mom hasn't really seen me walk when I graduated from high school, my military ball, my prom, all of those big things that a mom would be proud of, said Garcia. He is hoping his mother will be present at his big day when graduates basic training and becomes an American Soldier. With graduation just days away for Swaby and Garcia, basic combat training has not only transformed the two from citizens to Soldiers, it's helped them achieve their American dream. I don't know if that's how the other Soldiers feel, but I can only imagine their sense of pride when they're walking across that field knowing not only are they going to get a chance to serve their country but they're going to be an American citizen after the process is complete, Sieben said. Note: Both Swaby and Garcia graduated basic combat training on November 17, 2016. The day prior, Swaby along with 13 other Soldiers swore their allegiance to the nation and are now U.S. Citizens. By U.S. Army Sgt. Stephanie Hargett Provided through DVIDS Copyright 2016 Comment on this article Page Content December grad finds right career path 'UW-Stevens Point gave me the resources to be successful' Like many students, Dacia Giordana began her college career without declaring a major. Unlike many, she had not decided by the end of her second year at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She was interested in every subject she studied. "I was in the undergraduate advising center every week. Julie Schneider (academic adviser) helped me more than I can tell you. I'd say 'I'm interested in this -- what can I do with it?' I really used that resource," Giordana said. She enjoyed taking introductory courses astronomy, biology, anthropology, communications and explored a variety of career paths. "She used college to explore interests of hers until she made a well-informed, thorough decision that allows her to pursue many different avenues following graduation," said Tobias Barske, chair of the World Languages and Literatures Department. Schneider suggested she explore Spanish and international studies. "I worked really, really hard for a B+" in Spanish, Giordana recalls. Her Spanish professor, Antonio Valle de Anton, taught her, it's not what comes easiest, it's what you want to do with your time, that matters. Giordana, of Kaukauna, chose UW-Stevens Point as her older sister did, and she knew the study abroad program was strong. "Stevens Point was the farthest I had ever traveled from home," she said. Her Spanish teacher encouraged study in Spain. "I didn't know if I could afford it, but UW-Stevens Point made it possible," she said. Living with a host family who knew no English and traveling around the country convinced Giordana to major in Spanish. Working with children during College Days for Kids and Read Across America at UW-Stevens Point convinced her to pursue a teaching certificate. Giordana discovered she could add a second major in international studies with only a few more classes. Barske and John Gaffney, recruitment and retention coordinator in the School of Education, helped her plan coursework to complete both majors and English as a Second Language minor in only two more years of college. "Even with being undeclared for two years and with a semester abroad, I was able to graduate in four and a half years. These professors really helped me map it out," she said. Taking Advanced Placement courses in high school and one winterim course also helped. "Dr. Barske takes the time to get to know his students and goes above and beyond. He inspired me to become the best person I could be," Giordana said. "Without the guidance of so many wonderful professors, I'm not sure where I'd be today. I don't know if I could find amazing professors elsewhere. I know I found them at UW-Stevens Point." "Dacia is one of the bubbliest students I have ever had. She has the biggest smile and is a very warm and caring student. She will be a fantastic Spanish teacher," Barske said, adding Giordana received the highest test score in her department on the edTPA, a test student teachers need to pass. Her college experience was richer because she got involved on campus. She participated in environmental groups such as Earth Club and 350 Stevens Point, volunteered with the Student Wisconsin Education Association and attended the annual International Dinner. Giordana began working at WWSP radio station in her first year on campus, and she and her sister co-hosted a weekly program. "The university has so many fun, cool things to be involved in. 90FM was an amazing opportunity," she said. She also worked on campus for Dining and Summer Conferences all four years. "My bosses were so accommodating, they made it easy to work. I felt like everyone cared about me." From the welcome picnic during move-in week to advising, support and challenge, UW-Stevens Point seems to know what students need when they need it, Giordana said. "This university gave me the guidance I needed and the push I needed." Student teaching Spanish and ESL in Ashwaubenon schools through January, Giordana feels like she's on the right career path. "I love it." She graduates Saturday, Dec. 17, from UW-Stevens Point and is among select students to receive the Chancellor's Leadership Award Friday. "UW-Stevens Point gave me the resources to be successful," she said. "My professors helped me discover the path I know is right for me." UW Student Organization Helps Build Dormitory in Africa University of Wyoming Engineers Without Borders (EWB-WYO) members pose with Kenyan villagers at the dormitory construction site in summer 2016. (EWB-WYO Photo) The University of Wyoming chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB-WYO) completed its biggest project to date, helping construct a dormitory in an African country in the summer of 2016. For the past four years, EWB-WYO has partnered with a primary school in Mbita, Kenya, to build a 60-bed dormitory for students. The school serves orphaned and vulnerable children, and it develops programs to provide a safe living and learning environment for the schools attendees. Two assessment trips were conducted in 2014 and 2015 to evaluate community needs, perform a technical assessment and gather data for structural design. Directed by UW College of Engineering and Applied Science students Adam Block and Brett Prettyman, who served as project managers, a group of students, professionals and faculty members progressed from contractor selection to structural completion of the dormitory in slightly more than two months. UW Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering Associate Professor David Mukai was the faculty adviser for the project, and Erin Radosevich and Duncan Kline of Malone Belton Abel P.C. were professional advisers. The team used a confined masonry technique, a unique construction method deployed in seismic zones to resist earthquake effects. Block says the team has received very positive feedback about the completion of the design, adding that community leaders have said the dormitory is the strongest building we have ever seen. In a press release, EWB-WYO praised its supporters. Engineers Without Borders would like to say an enormous thank you to those of you who helped make the dormitory a reality, the release states. Your time and donations will have a significant impact on generations of Kenyan and American students to come. By PTI: Imphal, Dec 16 (PTI) An organisation of women vendors today brought out a rally and called for a 24-hour Manipur bandh from 7 PM this evening to protest against the killing of three policemen in Chandel district yesterday. Kh Mangi, vice-president of Khwairamband Keithel Saktam Kanba Lup, also demanded that the Centre remove NSCN(IM) from Manipur immediately, failing which it would intensify the agitation. advertisement Three policemen were killed and 14 others injured in ambush at two places as the United Naga Council (UNC) was gearing up for a mass rally in four Naga dominated districts of the state in protest against creation of the seven districts in the state by the O Ibobi Singh-led government. Earlier, women vendors from Khwairambandh market here downed their shutters and hit the streets. They shouted slogans, displayed placards against NSCN (IM) for their alleged involvement in yesterdays attacks. PTI COR NN BSA LNS --- ENDS --- The mayor had called Michelle Obama an ape in heels after Hillary Clinton conceded defeat to Donald Trump in the US Elections. By India Today Web Desk: To call Michelle Obama one of the classiest First Ladies ever would be an understatement. An influential public figure, FLOTUS has often been subjected to inappropriate, hurtful comments--a recent one being a rather racist one referring to her as "an ape in heels." Also Read: Thousands are really angry at those who called Michelle Obama an 'ape in heels' advertisement Made by Pamela Taylor, mayor of a small town in West Virginia--the insensitive remark came into existence after Donald Trump emerged as America's President-elect this November 8. Also Read: Michelle Obama's latest Gucci dress makes a hidden political statement "It will be so refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels," Taylor had written in a Facebook post that went viral for all rhe wrong reasons, caused massive outrage and cost her her job. But now, she is all set to return to work. As per latest reports, Taylor--who resigned after the uproar--is returning to work soon enough. "[Taylor] plans to return to her job later this month, according to a letter from the agency's acting director," the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. An online petition seeking the removal of Taylor had gone viral when her Facebook post first surfaced, forcing her to resign. But now, as she returns to work, the disappointment of a rebellion against racism falling flat in its face is bound to fill many with despair and anger. --- ENDS --- "The Prime Minister appealed to the people of India that digital economy should be a way of life. It will be transparent and effective," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said. By Brijesh Pandey: In his yet another appeal to the people of India to adopt digital economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi named his predecessor and Congress icon Indira Gandhi, accusing her of snubbing a report on demonetisation and by doing so, send a message to the Congress in particular and the Opposition at large. "The Prime Minister appealed to the people of India that digital economy should be a way of life. It will be transparent and effective," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said. advertisement Also read | Demonetisation: Focus on Rs 500 notes now, situation to improve in 2-3 weeks, says government Addressing BJP MPs today, Modi is reported to have said, "The Wanchoo committee had given recommendation of demonetisation to Indira Gandhiji in 1971, but she snubbed the report. The subsequent regimes didn't do anything either. We are not doing anything new." The Wanchoo committee had recommended withdrawing certain banknotes in 1971. However, it was not implemented after the publicity over the proposal resulted in black money operators getting rid of their high-value currency notes. 'I DID WHAT INDIRA COULDN'T' Modi said that after the Wanchoo committee recommended demonetisation, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him if he doesn't want her to contest election or not. "This was the plank of the Congress but they didn't have the guts to implement it," he said. The message that Modi did what Indira could not was not lost on anybody. Terming demonetisation as step number one and not the last, Modi emphasised that a lot needs to be done. According to sources, the PM also touched upon the subject of benami properties and said that soon, the government will implement the Benami Properties Act and will take every possible step to eradicate black money. Saying that the winter session of Parliament was a washout, Modi said it's time to reach out to the masses. He asked his MPs to go to their constituencies for seven days and spread the real reason behind demonetisation. He asked his MPs to explain to the people the reason why Opposition parties are angry. "Because we have hit out at their cash reserves and their black money is gone. We will take steps to make sure that it does not come back again," he said. The attack on the Congress leader was intended to diffuse the Opposition's protest over demonetisation, announced by PM Modi in a televised address on November 8. It's the last day of the winter session of Parliament, which has been a virtual washout over demonetisation. --- ENDS --- advertisement The Healthcare Openness and Access Project (HOAP) by Mercatus Center ranked Vermont among the worst states when it comes to health care systems. Being one of the most restrictive states in the country, Vermont placed 42nd overall in the assessment of the discretion patients and providers have over health care areas. The state also ranked lowest in the area of free-market insurance based on the study. One of the proponents of the study, Jared Rhoads, blamed the state's over-regulation on the health care sector as the reason for Vermont's bad scores. He said that the result of the study reflects the obsession of state officials for insurance regulations. "Repealing some of the many state coverage mandates would be a step in the right direction there, although that could be a difficult policy change to get through," Mr. Rhoads commented in an interview with Watchdog. Through the regulatory power of the Green Mountain Care Board, Vermont has control over aspects of health insurance that are typically covered by regulators in other states. With its strict rule, insurers cannot increase their rates unless approved by the board. While health system administrators define "access" simply as having an insurance card, Rhoads said that researchers at Mercatus examined a more diverse set of indicators. "A better way to think about access is to look at what kind of legal or governmental barriers have been erected," he said, adding that the barriers have impact among patients, providers and insurers. The study also noted that Vermont scored low partly because of the state's certificate of need restrictions. CON laws require the existence of needs in the services to be proven by health care providers. There have been studies suggesting that such laws actually decrease the quality of care, resulting to higher average of patient deaths compared against other states without the restrictions. Critics also claimed that the laws create hospital monopolies by stifling competition. Other states that do not have a very restrictive regulation on health care were seen to enjoy greater entrepreneurial activities. However, supporters have insisted that the laws cut costs and ensure the quality of health care. The results also showed that Vermont ranked 44th on pharmaceutical regulations, with its prescription monitoring system said to be inefficient and outdated. The study also noted on the aspects where Vermont was said to perform well, including its recent deregulation of naloxone, as well as the ability to use telemedicine, an area where the state ranked third. The countries of Japan and Russia will create a $1 billion fund to invest in joint energy and infrastructure projects over the next five years, the leaders of the two countries said in Tokyo Friday at the end of meetings that looked cozy but fell well short of Japanese expectations. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been hoping for progress on a territorial dispute that prevented them from signing a peace treaty at the end of World War II, but instead had to settle for giving money to Russia for economic projects. The Japanese prime minister said both sides needed to be flexible. "We need to work towards a breakthrough so that we don't disappoint the next generation," said Abe, who addressed his counterpart by his first name, a surprisingly informal gesture in Japan. It was the two leaders' 16th meeting since both returned to office in 2012, and there was a clear camaraderie between them. Putin praised the sake and hot springs in Abe's hometown of Nagato, where the two leaders met Thursday, while Abe said the meeting in Japan was worth the three-year wait. Relations between the two leaders had been somewhat constrained by the deterioration in ties between the United States - Japan's key ally - and Russia in recent years. Putin arrived in Japan just as President Obama said the United States would retaliate against Russia over its cyberactivity during this year's election. However, the election of Donald Trump, who has openly praised Putin and promised much warmer U.S.-Russian ties, has given Abe a green light to pursue closer links with Moscow. But for all the conciliatory words in Tokyo, the trip was a clear win for Putin, who was making his first visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and was keen for investment to counteract low oil prices and international isolation over Ukraine and Syria. Russia's Direct Investment Fund and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will each invest $500 million in a new fund that will make investments in sectors including energy, urban planning and medical services, the two sides said. The fund will back Japanese companies operating in Russia, local media reported. Putin has been particularly interested in Japanese investment in the relatively undeveloped Russian Far East, the part of the country closest to Japan. Abe said agreements on more than 60 other projects the two discussed in Sochi six months ago were near completion, but the details remained vague. Neither the Japanese prime minister's office or the foreign ministry would provide details on any of the projects. Japan also relaxed visa requirements for Russian tourists and for business visitors. But the encounter was not so successful for Abe, who had been hoping to pave the way for the return of at least two of four disputed islands northeast of Hokkaido, known as the Northern Territories to Japan and the southern Kurils to Russia. During World War II, the Soviet Union seized the islands just days before Japan surrendered in 1945 - causing almost 20,000 Japanese residents to hurriedly flee - and the dispute over the islands' ownership has hamstrung the countries' relations ever since. Abe and Putin agreed to begin discussions on joint economic activities on the islands, which remain under Russian administration. But working out the details of any joint economic activities will likely prove challenging, analysts say, as Japanese companies will balk at the suggestion of operating under Russian law while the government would see this as a recognition of Russian sovereignty. Abe said he wanted to allow the elderly Japanese residents who lived on the disputed islands to make a final visit to their former home while they are still alive. During their meeting at a hot spring hotel in Nagato on Thursday, the Japanese prime minister presented Putin with a 20-foot scroll depicting a warship that Japan made for Russia in the 19th century, while Putin gave Abe a samovar made in 1870. Still, not all protocol was observed: Putin was almost three hours late to their first meeting on Thursday - a dinner that included raw pufferfish and Japanese vodka - and was an hour later to their lunch on Friday. Putin has something of a reputation for being late, but within Japan's strict rules of etiquette, being late is a serious faux pas. Today, Thursday, Dec. 15, representatives from Las Vegas Hospitality Association (LVHA) delivered more than 300 bags of cheer to children in need this holiday season at Harvey N. Dondero Elementary School with the help of Santa (Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas). Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas. The bags were filled with shoes, socks, coats, blankets, gloves, hats, clothes as well as toys, games and books. All the bags and their contents were donated by LVHA members. Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas. In its ninth year, LVHAs Fill a Bag with Cheer program paired the organizations members up with children from Harvey N. Dondero Elementary School. Each member then compiled a personalized holiday bag for their child based on a list of items that particular child needs: shoes, coats, socks, blankets, gloves, hats, jogging outfits, books, toys and clothes. Representatives from LVHA visited the school today and personally delivered the bags to the children. Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas. Originally founded in 1962, Las Vegas Hospitality Association (LVHA) is the oldest and largest hospitality association in Nevada. The primary goal of the LVHA is to promote its members, comprised of local hospitality and tourism industry professionals, within Las Vegas and across the world. LVHA is a non-profit association with a strong emphasis on philanthropy and education. To date, the organization has raised more than $1 million for scholarships and various non-profits. In addition, LVHA holds monthly networking and educational events for its members. Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas. Photo credit: Giles Luker of Image Las Vegas. Speaking during the BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting, just ahead of the last day of Parliament's Winter Session, Modi said, "We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971." The PM noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday blamed his distant predecessor Indira Gandhi for causing huge losses to the country by not implementing demonetisation in 1971. Speaking during the BJP's Parliamentary Party meeting, just ahead of the last day of Parliament's Winter Session, Modi said, "We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971." advertisement The PM noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. He recalled that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting. "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress," the PM said. ALSO READ: For Congress, party comes above nation; for BJP, country supreme: PM Modi Modi referred to former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole's book in which he has recorded how then Home Minister YB Chavan had recommended demonetisation to curb ill-gotten and hidden wealth. "Godbole says in the book that Gandhi replied saying 'are no more elections to be fought by the Congress'? Chavan got the message and the recommendation was (dropped)," he said. The PM said, "This was in 1971 when everybody recommended this. Had it (demonetisation) been done in 1971, the nation wouldn't have been in this situation today." Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country's," the PM said. He said the Congress had put the party ahead of the nation but the BJP follows "nation first" ideology. ALSO READ: Demonetisation: People must get Rs 24,000 a week, says Supreme Court Modi also took a dig at Leftists for opposing the government's November 8 decision to scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. "The Communists have compromised their ideology by aligning with the Congress," he sad and recalled how the late veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu had famously said that "Indira Gandhi survives on black money". "The government (of the Congress) is of the black money, by the black money and for the black money," Modi said, referring to Basu's remarks. --- ENDS --- Steel industry to continue on its growth trajectory The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) announced that the steel industry is projected to grow at a rate of 10-12 percent in 2017. The association stated that steel consumption depends on the countrys GDP; with a GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent this year and the operation of 10 steel projects next year the industry is likely to further expand. However, the local industry faces competition from Chinese steel imports, which are cheaper. The industry also faces strict technical standards for exporting steel. To counter Chinese imports, the VSA has asked the government to impose anti-dumping measures. The VSA has sent amendments to Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), which has made a draft plan of the steel sector until 2025 and extendable to 2035. The VSA has proposed a slew of measures, including less government intervention in the industry. The issuance of investment certificates, it said, should also be done with the relevant ministries rather than just the MoIT. In addition, it noted that the draft is not complete as it does not have a development plan for hot rolled and high quality steel, as these are 100 percent imported. Reports say that Vietnam will need to spend approximately US$15 billion a year to import steel. RELATED: Dezan Shira & Associates Corporate Establishment Services Government plans new coastal SEZs Vietnam has approved the construction of three new special economic zones (SEZs). These zones will be built in the coastal areas of Van Don (Quang Ninh), Van Phong (Khanh Hoa), and Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang). The government will use the zones to pilot new economic policies before applying them nationwide for developing the maritime economy. The government intends the coastal SEZs to be superior than traditional SEZs, which are limited to offering tax and lease incentives, but have thus far failed to attract foreign investors. The government will also need to come up with a law on SEZs so that they can compete with other zones around the world. Vietnam earlier had created the Vung Tau Con Dao SEZ in 1971 but made it redundant in 1991. Vietnam currently has no SEZs, but has 15 coastal economic zones and 28 border gate economic zones. Making Use of Shareholder Meetings in Vietnam Government invites bidders for stake in state-run beer company Vietnams government has invited interested global banks as it looks to sell a stake in the countrys largest state run beer company; sources say the stake is valued at around US$1.8 billion. The sale of the company, Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp (Sabeco) is expected to start in April. The government wants to open its economy by relaxing strict ownership limits and selling its stakes in state-run companies. While such moves are welcome, many analysts have suggested that the government has often backtracked on similar commitments. The sale of Sabeco, of which the government owns 90 percent, has been delayed several times in the last few years. Investors say that government officials have little experience and fear selling assets too cheaply. Sources say that the government could sell up to 40 percent of its stake in Sabeco. Shares of Sabeco just started trading last week; the beer company has a market capitalization of US$4.6 billion. Sabeco sells several brands, including 333 and Saigon beer, and controls over 40 percent of Vietnams beer market. The government is also looking to sell its nearly 82 percent stake in another beer company, Hanoi Beer Alcohol Beverage Joint Stock Corp (Habeco); the company is the countrys third largest brewery. If the sales of the two companies go ahead, it will renew investor confidence and bode well for foreign investors. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in Vietnam 2016 In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we address pressing changes to audit procedures in 2016, and provide guidance on how to ensure that compliance tasks are completed in an efficient and effective manner. We highlight the continued convergence of VAS with IFRS, discuss the emergence of e-filing, and provide step-by-step instructions on audit and compliance procedures for Foreign Owned Enterprises (FOEs) as well as Representative Offices (ROs). Navigating the Vietnam Supply Chain In this edition of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the advantages of the Vietnamese market over its regional competition and highlight where and how to implement successful investment projects. We examine tariff reduction schedules within the ACFTA and TPP, highlight considerations with regard to rules of origin, and outline the benefits of investing in Vietnams growing economic zones. Finally, we provide expert insight into the issues surrounding the creation of 100 percent Foreign Owned Enterprise in Vietnam. Tax, Accounting and Audit in Vietnam 2016 (2nd Edition) This edition of Tax, Accounting, and Audit in Vietnam, updated for 2016, offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in Vietnam, as well as other tax-relevant obligations. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who must navigate Vietnams complex tax and accounting landscape in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their Vietnam operations. Representatives of the central citys Investment Support and Promotion Board and Gifu Shinkin bank from Japan sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on investment promotion for small and medium-sized enterprises from Japan in Da Nang.-Photo Diem Phuc Gifu Shinkin, the largest bank in Gifu, Japan, has more than 156,000 customers, of which seven are Japanese enterprises in Da Nang. Director of the citys Investment Support and Promotion Board, Le Canh Duong, said this was the first MoU that the board has signed with a Japanese bank. He said Japan is the biggest investor in Da Nang, with 113 projects worth $397.5 million 10.78 per cent of the accumulated foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the city creating 32,000 jobs. Duong said 84 per cent of Japanese investment is focussed on manufacturing, food processing, construction and information technology, while healthcare, real estate, tourism and education have emerged as new investment fields among Japanese investors in recent years. Bank Chairman Masatoshi Takahashi said many Japanese investors eye Da Nang investments and are eager to explore the investment environment there. Takahashi said a business delegation from Aichi will visit Viet Nam next March, and Da Nang will be a favored stop. a Nang has smoothed the way for Japanese investors by setting up a Japanese to support investors by explaining administrative procedures, investment licences, policies and other issues. The city has developed an Information Park on 344ha of land in Hoa Vang District and an IT park on 55.6ha nearby, where space has been reserved for IT investors from Japan. The city also plans to build an industrial park for small- and medium-sized businesses from Japan on 134ha. Da Nang will begin construction of the Japan-Viet Nam Culture Centre in Ngu Hanh Son District and launch a new direct flight from Da Nang to Osaka next year. The Route Inn Group from Japan has started construction of a coastal resort, the first of its kind in Viet Nam, with a total investment of $18 million, while the Japanese JP Holdings company plans to invest in a high-quality kindergarten education project in the city from next year, with estimated capital of $5 million. According to the latest reports, Da Nang has attracted 423 foreign investment projects worth $3.68 billion to date. Last year, the board also inked a MoU with KPMG, one of the largest audit, tax and advisory firms in the world, on co-operation, investment promotion and providing service for businesses and investors in Da Nang. The central city greatly improved its administrative reform and Provincial Competitive Index over the past few decades, but poor investment promotion abroad has prevented key investors from approaching the city and central region in recent years. Alvin Ng, general manager of GE Digital ASEAN, talked about the Predix 2.0 platform. During this campaign, GE Digital has been hosting a series of talk shows to introduce the companys digital industry and Predix platform. The recent talk shows in Ho Chi Minh City highlighting a presentation by general manager of GE Digital ASEAN Alvin Ng attracted more than 60 enterprises and nearly 100 students. Industrial Internet has entered a new era allowing the industry to manage information resources (big data), apply and connect industrial machines to the cloud for data analysis and solutions, thus improving operational efficiency. At the talk show with the start-up community, more than 60 business representatives attended at CirCO Co-working Space, especially with the appearance of FPT Telecom, VNPT, Unilever, Bosch, Lazada, and Axon Active, among others. At this event, Alvin Ng shared the story of how GE had developed together with its partners, such as Intel, Cisco, and Microsoft, to apply the IoT platform, big data, and software in the energy, transport, aerospace industry or medical equipment. Also, as part of the event series, Mr Alvin shared with nearly 100 students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology useful information from the application of the IoT platform in industries to the method with which GE is leveraging Predix as an Operating System to transform itself into an IoT. Take a look at the images recorded at these events: More than 60 enterprises operating in diverse fields, such as technology, energy industry, healthcare, and finance, participated in the talk show. More than 60 enterprises operating in diverse fields, such as technology, energy industry, healthcare, and finance, participated in the talk show. Enterprises expressed concern about applying the new technology platform in their fields. Enterprises expressed concern about applying the new technology platform in their fields. Alvin Ng during the Q&A session, answering participants questions and giving advice of appropriate technological solutions to each business. Alvin Ng during the Q&A session, answering participants questions and giving advice ofappropriate technological solutions to each business. After the talk show, many business representatives stayed for further discussions with GE Digitals experts. After the talk show, many business representatives stayed for further discussions with GE Digitals experts. The talk show at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology attracted many students. The talk show at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology attracted many students. Alvin Ng introduced a list of the largest companies in the world and GEs position in this nexus. Alvin Ng introduced a list of the largest companies in the world and GEs position in this nexus. Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology were eager to share their points of view with GE Digital Experts. Students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology were eager to share their points of view with GE Digital Experts. Through these talk shows, GE wants to share with all those interested in technology, from large enterprises through start-up businesses to young students, the transformation of the digital industry as well as opportunities for businesses and individuals. Previously, GE also hosted two digital talk shows in Hanoi with IT and business partners as well as students at the University of Science and Technology. On January 1, Viet Nams leading mobile phone service provider, Viettel Corporation, will become one of the first carriers in the world to no longer collect roaming fees from subscribers in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.-Photo baotintuc.vn Viettel subscribers in Viet Nam, MetFone in Cambodia and Unitel in Laos (both of which are Viettel subsidiaries) will pay domestic fees only for their phone calls and other services in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. There is no region in the world without a roaming fee, despite the fact that the EU has discussed this issue for a long time. But they havent been able to carry it out yet, Nguyen Manh Hung, a member of the Party Central Committee and general director of Viettel Corporation, said. EU planned to vote for a no-roaming fee policy on June 17, but there was no agreed price for a telecommunication fee. In 2013, Information and Telecommunications ministers of South East Asian nations discussed a no-roaming policy within ASEAN. International roaming fees are fairly high, about US$2 per minute. Thus, under the new plan, Viettels three companies will lose 2 per cent of turnover. At first, Viettel will suffer a loss of $1 million each day. However, we hope our customers will increase their calling time and internet access, Hung said. Regardless, the policy will definitely promote trade and business among the three nations. The no roaming fee policy was recently mentioned by Vietnamese government leaders in a meeting with their Laos and Cambodia counterparts. The aim of the policy is to promote friendly relations as well as cultural, trade and economic exchange. Moscow, a general view of which is seen in May 2016, was among possible targets for an attack by the Islamic State group, according to Russia's federal security service. (AFP/JOEL SAGET) "Four members of the terrorist group were detained" during raids on Thursday, the FSB security service said in a statement. "The militants were preparing the terrorist attacks on direct orders of a Turkey-based emissary of the Islamic State international terrorist organisation, who has been put on an international wanted list by Tajikistan," the statement said. The FSB did not identify the suspect in question but said the four people detained were citizens of Tajikistan and Moldova. The group was "planning to carry out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in Moscow using powerful homemade explosive devices." An AFP employee at the scene of the FSB operation in southern Moscow saw a block of apartments cordoned off for several hours as special forces stood by. During the raid, police seized firearms and ammunition as well as "homemade explosive devices and a large amount of explosive blend material for making a high-energy explosive device." In a separate statement, the FSB said it had arrested two further suspects in Samara. TNT was allegedly found at the homes of the men who are from Central Asia and born in 1992 and 1995. The FSB did not say if the arrests were linked to those in Moscow. Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria last year in what it claimed was an attempt to prevent terror attacks in Russia. The Russian defence ministry told local media on Thursday that more than 2,000 jihadists from Russia and other former Soviet republics were killed in Syria last year. illustration photo Notably, on the first transaction day on December 6, Sabecos shares increased by the maximum allowed in a day on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE). Notably, from a reference price of VND110,000 ($4.9), the SAB ticker opened the day already at VND132,000 ($5.84), a 20 per cent increase from the get-go. After eight transactions sessions, Sabecos shares increased to VND211,500 ($9.40) apiece, up 92.3 per cent from the launch. The soaring prices made Sabeco become the second largest company on the stock exchanges in term of capitalisation with VND135.63 trillion ($6.03 billion), following Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk). Regarding Habeco, on October 28, the company was officially listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX)s UpCom trading platform. As of the closing date of the transaction on December 15, Habeco shares increased to VND201,400 ($8.95) per unit, 5.2 times higher than the initial reference unit price of VND39,000 ($1.78). Habeco currently has a total capitalisation of VND46.7 trillion ($2.08 billion). Vietnams largest brewer, Sabeco currently has 24 beer production factories across the country with a total capacity of 1.8 billion litres per year. In the 11 months of this year, the corporations consolidated revenue reached VND28.3 trillion ($1.25 billion) with a pre-tax profit of VND5.035 trillion ($222.78 million). The countrys third largest beer producer, Habeco owns many reputable brands, such as Truc Bach, Premium, Lager Beer, among others, and operates 17 subsidiaries and 9 affiliates across North and Central Vietnam. In 2015, Habecos equity rose 7.38 per cent on-year to reach approximately VND6 trillion ($274 million). At the same time, the companys after-tax profit increased by 6.66 per cent. The company paid 18 per cent dividend in 2014. For 2016, Habeco targets an after-tax profit of VND848.5 billion ($38.7 million) and a dividend of 15 per cent. Tra fish harvesting in the Mekong Delta. The regions many tra fisheries are expected to increase product quality and shift toward the domestic market -Photo nghenong.com Difficulties stemming from global warming, prices and export taxes will force the tra fish industry to enhance product quality and reduce cost, said Cuong at a conference on Wednesday organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Steering Committee for the southwest region and the People Committee of An Giang Province. He also explained that export difficulties offer opportunities on the domestic market with 92 million potential consumers. Vietnamese tra fish producers and processors must work together with farmers in the value chain, as well as the government of Viet Nam, to create a trademark for domestic tra fish, establish an advantage and gain market share without succumbing to the shift in prices. A number of aquacultural businesses have successfully implemented their own tra fish farming area, from eggs to hatcheries to adult fish, complete with their own feeds and veterinary medicine to create a closed production chain from start to finish, said Nhu Van Can, Director of Aquaculture Department, MARD. According to Can, the Mekong Delta had 4,786 commercial tra fish farming ponds, of which 2,267 are privately owned (47.38 per cent), 2,486 owned by businesses (51.95 per cent) while only 32 belong to local co-operatives. However, links between production and distribution have been less than close between businesses and individual farmers in many areas, ranging from provisional contracts to mass buying problems. Small farms have also been facing difficulties in working with exporting companies. The Mekong Delta needs moe than 30 billion tonnes of tra fingerlings annually for export, yet the quality has been neglected and isolated from the rest of the production chain, said Duong Ngoc Minh, President of Hung Vuong Group. As such, the final product has been affected in terms of both quantity and quality. Tra fish exporters have petitioned the MARD to allocate resources to improving high quality production of tra fish hatchlings in regions with an advantage in said production and creating a sustainable integration in terms of feed, aquacultural and veterinary medicines between fish farmers and exporting companies. Minh also said that his company had sponsored more than 50,000 experimental fisheries in An Giang from input to output. In 2016, the prices for tra hatchlings at fisheries fluctuated between VND18,000 and VND23,000 per kilo ($0.81 to $1.03), down $0.2 compared to 2015,. At the moment the selling price of tra fish is still largely dependent on export demand and payment methods, though farmers are still making profits. According to a report by the MARD, at the end of November 2016, the total area for industrial tra fish fisheries reached 4,552 hectares, with an annual capacity of 1.047 million tonnes. Total export turnover could reach $1.67 billion, up 6.6 per cent from 2015. The 2017 tra fish market is expected to reach $1.7 billion, up by 10 per cent compared to 2016. Viet Nam is currently exporting to 140 global markets, four markets more than in 2015, with its main markets being the United States, the European Union, China, ASEAN, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Saudi Arabia. YouthSpark Live is a Microsoft's global campaign to provide young people global-wide with necessary technology skills which will accelerate them forward, and get connected to programmes that will help them get there. With the aim to inspire youth to get connected, integrated, and develop themselves with technology, YouthSpark Live provided participants with opportunity to network, and exchange views with outstanding Vietnamese and international experts in technology sector. Over 100 students from upper secondary schools, vocational schools, and universities participated in the event. At YouthSpark Live 2016, participants have chances to experience activities that help improve their computational thinking, such as Computer Science Unplugged activities. Participants got trained on using technology tools, such as Office Mix to support their study. Beside, in the panel discussion on Factors to encourage the youth to explore and use technology for study and career development, ICT and STEM experts sent a strong message that technology is the foundation for much of todays innovation, young people should explore and use it to develop themselves and contributing to improve national economy. In addition, all students had great experience with the ICT and STEM activities such as 3D scanning and robot coding. This activity not only facilitates networking but also enables the youth to merge themselves into a creative and scientific environment without any limitation. The experiments helped them discover their personal abilities and improve their digital skills. YouthSpark Live is a Microsoft initiative consisted of 30 different programmes to support the youth around world. Microsoft is co-operating with the Vietnamese government and NGOs to implement programmes to support training human resource for Vietnam's future development. More specifically, Microsoft YouthSpark supports disadvantaged youth to access technology education to improve their skills, and thus have better career opportunities. YouthSpark Live would be a special experience for youths to begin discovering their potentials and passion in computer science and ICT, said Nhi Le, Microsoft Vietnam Philanthropies lead. On this occasion, Microsoft organised an awarding ceremony for Microsoft YouthSpark scholarships for female students in technology. Eighty outstanding female students majoring in Computer Science from top eight universities in Vietnam won Microsoft scholarships for their great effort in pursuing their passion in technology. Phan Thi Hong Hanh, a student of Polytechnic University, has shared her experience in encouraging her colleagues to pursue their aspiration and dream. By learning hard to become good at technology skills and knowledge, they will enhance women's role in the development of Computer Science and ICT in the future. Find out more information about this programme, its free courses and materials at YouthSpark Hub and imagine.microsoft.com or youthvietnam.vn Lauding the note ban move, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said, "Demonitisation will curb black money, terrorism, corruption and fake currency. (It is) Good for nation building." By Ashish Pandey: In a significant boost to the Narendra Modi government's demonetisation initiative, Telangana becomes the third non-NDA ruled state to lend its support to the Centre. Bihar and Odisha have already backed the BJP-led government. Lauding the note ban move, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said, "Demonitisation will curb black money, terrorism, corruption and fake currency. (It is) Good for nation building." #Demonitization will curb black money,terrorism,corruption and fake currency. Good for nation building: KC Rao,Telangana CM&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 advertisement Rao claimed that Telangana is the "number one" state when it comes to cashless transactions. He announced that Siddipet in the state will become completely cashless. Telangana is the number one state when it comes to cashless transactions,Siddipet to be completely cashless:KC Rao,CM pic.twitter.com/Qf0NouhqUX&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Rao is the third chief minister after his Bihar and Odisha counterparts - Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik respectively - to give thumbs up to Narendra Modi's demonetisation move. The development is significant because the winter session of Parliament, which concluded on Friday, was a near total wash out primarily over the ruckus created by the Opposition over demonetisation. ALSO READ | Demonetisation: Focus on Rs 500 notes now, situation to improve in 2-3 weeks, says government Just like Nitish, Rao has expressed some reservations over the implementation of the note ban step taken by the Centre. Despite the reservations, Rao's Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) backed the NDA in the winter session of Parliament, like Nitish's JD(U) and Patnaik's JDS. However, it asked the Centre to take steps for easing the hardships of the common man in withdrawing cash from ATMs and banks and exchanging new and smaller denomination notes. TRS did not support West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and others who opposed demonetisation. --- ENDS --- remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Sweet Mesquite: Quietly Invasive yet Incredibly Useful While many of us are familiar with mesquite as a distinct barbeque flavor, or the charcoal that lends such a flavor, the mesquite tree has much more to offer. Called everything from the tree of life to the devil with roots, mesquite has played an important role in the life [Editors Note: Democratic California State Senator Ricardo Lara represents the 33rd Senate District, including Long Beach, home to the greatest number of Cambodian-Americans in the United States. He spoke in a recent phone interview with VOA Khmers Sok Khemara about early plans to form a partnership with Cambodia to promote trade, commerce, tourism and cultural exchanges.] SK: Why have you proposed that California form a sister state relationship with Cambodia? RL: Well, you know the state of California has the largest population of Cambodians and particularly the city of Long Beach which I represent is known around the world as the home of to the largest Cambodian community outside of South East Asia. And I think building a sister state relationship with California would be a tool that we can use to promote international trade, commerce, tourism, and increase the potential commercial relationship among Cambodians in California and, quite frankly, I am very proud of the fact that California is the most diverse state in the country, one that respects our immigrant population, one that celebrates our rich tapestry of culture, and the Cambodian community is part of that unique experience of being a Californian. Could you give a few examples of specifically what the benefits might be? The sister state relationship allows us to further expand on promoting international trade, promoting tourism and commerce. And so understanding that we had such a rich population of Cambodians in California that we can further exploit our relationship by investing in both our countries and states. Have you had a response from the Cambodian government? We have been working with a local community in Long Beach and what we have heard is that they are excited to have this opportunity to formalize this relationship with California. And we are looking forward to working with them on further enhancing our economic, cultural ties with Cambodians in California. Will this move help the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime in any way? You know, I think what we have done in the past, we actually carried another resolution that commemorated the the genocide that occurred. This was the first legislative recognition of the Cambodian genocide and we had people come two years ago and we had Cambodian folks come from the entire state and witnessed the legislature for the first time ever recognize the travesty that happened in the killing fields. What is your message to the Cambodian community at this point? My message to the Cambodian community is that you know I am proud to represent the large Cambodian community in my district. And as somebody who also comes from an immigrant background, I understand and respect their traditions, culture and their experience in the US, and we are going to continue to fight like I did to get more resources so that Cambodian children and families get the mental health services they need and deserve to be able to overcome this horrific tragedy that many of them are still facing, with [post-traumatic stress disorder] and with any other issues that are associated with people who have suffered tremendous violence. Ensuring that we work together and we incorporate them into our state and into our democratic process, so that they cannot only feel included, but they can feel respected as well, as the great community that they are. So its an honor for me to represent the Cambodian community in the California State Senate. Hundreds of brightly colored kites in all shapes and sizes hovered over Phnom Penhs Diamond Island on Wednesday to mark the 20th annual kite festival. Some 68 kite runners from across the country attended the festival, which organizers say they hope will help to keep the tradition alive in the age of smartphones and social media. Samrang Kamsan, secretary of state at the Ministry of Culture, said he hoped the event would create interest among young Cambodians. "The event not only creates a joyful moment but also promotes culture and tradition to the next generations to pay attention to the protection of national identity, he said. When you run the kite in the countryside, you will always remember the scenes of your hometown paddy fields and palm trees, so that you would not want to migrate. Kamsan said he also wanted to see youth developing the tradition with new ideas. Kites in Cambodia, known as Khleng Ek, are equipped with a musical instrument called an Ek, which plays a melody when the wind passes through it. They are usually built with bamboo and paper. The kites were invented by Cambodians almost 2500 years ago, according to historians, and were flown during the rice harvest to give thanks to the spirits of the ancestors for bringing rain. Chhom Mao, 56, a festival attendee from Siem Reap, said it was the first time he had flown a kite since he was 10 years old. All kite runners love to fly the kite whenever they see the wind. When we fly kites, the neighboring kids always come around. Its always a happy moment, he said. Khleng Ek was revived in 1994 after it was banned during the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975 to 1979. The head of parliaments anti-corruption commission has criticized the minister of mines for dodging questions on an apparent $750 million discrepancy in reported exports of sand to Singapore since 2001. Suy Sem, minister of mines and energy, was called in front of the commission after a group of NGOs analyzed U.N. trade figures and found a 70 million ton shortfall in what Cambodia had reported as being exported to Singapore, compared with the island nations imports data. Ho Vann, an opposition lawmaker who heads the anti-corruption commission, said after the three-hour questioning session, that Sem had blamed the discrepancy on different trade reporting categorizations. Sem declined to answer reporters questions after the meeting. Dith Tina, ministry spokesman, said the figures were markedly different due to different reporting standards. This is what the U.N. COMTRADE writes on its database, he said. We are not sure about the reporting system in Singapore, therefore, we cannot decide who is right and who is wrong, he said. San Chey, executive director of the League of Social Accountability Cambodia, one of the NGOs who analyzed the U.N. data, expressed doubts about the explanation offered by the ministry. If the sand was illegally exported, it would have adverse effects on the national revenue and the amount of illegal sand mining would also increase, he said. When 41-year-old Nanda Mahadik questioned a couple for beating an old dog, they physically assaulted her. By India Today Web Desk: A couple has been booked for molestation and causing harm after allegedly manhandling an animal activist in public only because she tried to stop them from torturing a stray dog. Resident of Mumbai's Vasai area, 41-year-old Nanda Mahadik was following her routine of feeding stray dogs outside her house when she saw a couple assaulting an old dog. advertisement Also read: Hyderabad man arrested for raping and killing dog The couple is also a resident of the same building. When Nanda questioned them, they claimed that the dog had bitten their nine-year-old daughter. When she inquired and insisted for a medical report of a dog bite, the couple could not produce it. A report in TOI says Nanda alleged that when the couple failed to show any bite marks on the minor, Rahul Lamba charged towards her, and pulled her kurta, tore it and exposed her upper body. Also read: Attagirl: Bangalore woman rejected arranged marriage proposal because the guy didn't like dogs The couple assaulted her with a bamboo stick and punched her on the chest, all in front of other residents. Nanda was admitted to a private hospital for internal injuries in her chest. An FIR was registered, but no arrest has been made so far. Also read: Caught on cam: Mumbai man runs over stray dog, video sparks furore on Facebook --- ENDS --- In Donald Trump's view, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillersons experience in striking global oil deals is such an asset that the president-elect nominated him as secretary of state. In Asia, analysts said ExxonMobil's deep involvement in developing some fields could complicate his work as America's top diplomat. For years, the U.S. energy giant has been drilling for oil off the coast of Vietnam near the South China Sea, where the offshore reserves are located in a disputed area claimed by both Vietnam and China. Earlier this month a senior ExxonMobil executive received a warm welcome from Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung. Both highlighted the importance of close cooperation in the oil exploration projects in that country. ExxonMobil is also keen to continue developing the Ca Voi Xanh gas field. China had warned foreign energy companies against exploring the disputed South China Sea. Tillerson will have to assure allies like South Korea and Japan while working to stop potential conflicts, primarily with China and North Korea, Alex Ward, associate director of the Atlantic Councils Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, told VOA Monday. The competition for control of potential energy resources and key energy transit routes through the South China Sea is considered a critical factor heightening the stakes in the maritime disputes. Although the United States is not a claimant to the sovereignty over disputed islands in the South China Sea, Washington said it is vital to its national interests that various claimants pursue their claims peacefully. America's commercial investment and other economic interests in Southeast Asia depend on America's security presence there, said Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College. Dutton advocates for a robust U.S. freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea. Maintaining American economic relationships and political influence in the region will be a tall order that needs the support of traditional allies," Dutton told VOA. About 20 percent of ExxonMobils global refining capacity is located in Asia Pacific, including facilities in Australia, China, Singapore and Thailand, according to the companys 2015 Financial and Operating Review. But Tillersons nomination, and his companys Asian connection, drew mixed reaction from analysts and environmental activists. Trump has picked staffers on Asia policy that reflect a much tougher line when it comes to China. And Tillerson, whose company drilled in the South China Sea in partnership with Vietnam, which angered China, is clearly a reflection of this shift, said Harry Kazianis from the Center for the National Interest, a U.S. foreign policy think tank. Nguyen Truong, diplomat-turned-expert on Vietnam-U.S. relations, said Tillerson's selection was as surprising as the election itself. "The Vietnamese side welcomes anyone who has deep knowledge about the [Asia Pacific] region, as there is concern that it might not draw much attention [under the incoming administration]," he told VOA's Vietnamese service. "But I think [Tillerson], who is fully aware of Asia, China and the South China Sea ... is a good choice for the United States in approaching Asian issues. Le Hong Hiep, visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said Vietnam is closely monitoring Trumps foreign policy. Like other countries, Vietnam is still trying to 'decode' Trumps approach to the world in general and their [own] countries in particular," he said. "It takes time for policies to take shape, but, first and foremost, we need to know members of his cabinet, especially his Secretary of State. Oceana, an advocacy organization for ocean conservation, voiced concerned on Tillersons nomination. Jacqueline Savitz, Oceanas vice president for the United States said, Its impossible to imagine that Tillersons leadership could reverse the course of climate change impacts given he has dedicated a four decades-long career in the oil company that has used its enormous resources and influence to obfuscate climate science and stifle climate action. Some experts said a policy review might be possible, especially after Trump told Fox News that the United States is not necessarily bound by the one China policy, and he broke decades of diplomatic protocol by speaking with Taiwan President Tsai Ingwen earlier in December. "Every new administration there is some kind of policy review on all issues, Richard Bush, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, told VOA. The United States recognized Beijing as the sole legal government of China in 1979, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. Bush was the chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) from 1997 to 2002. AIT is the mechanism by which the United States conducts substantive relations with Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic relations. I dont anticipate a Taiwan Policy Review like 1993-1994, but Ive been surprised so many times this year that I could be wrong, Bush told VOA. In 1994, then-President Bill Clintons administration did a thorough review and adjustment in its policy toward Taiwan, while still maintaining the one China policy. Some of the policy adjustments include sending high-level officials from U.S. economic and technical agencies to visit Taiwan. Taiwans office in the United States also had a new name -- the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). In addition, the U.S. supports Taiwans membership in organizations where statehood is not a prerequisite. In New York Wednesday, Trump spoke with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who congratulated the president-elect and stressed maintaining relations between the two countries, a statement on the government website said. "President-elect Donald Trump spoke highly of Vietnam's recent achievements, the positive developments in bilateral relations and asserted his wish to cooperate with Vietnam to accelerate the relations," the statement said. It also said the two leaders discussed ways to accelerate economic ties, trade and investment. Russia said the operation to evacuate civilians and insurgents from eastern Aleppo has been completed, but opposition leaders say there are tens of thousands remaining in once rebel-held neighborhoods and accuse Iranian militias and Hezbollah of executing several men in the last convoy to leave the city. According to Syrian opposition leaders, a convoy that left Aleppo Friday carrying 800 people, including rebel fighters, was stopped by Iranian-commanded militias in the Jisr al-Haj district, who forcibly disarmed the insurgents in breach of the cease-fire agreement, seized the team of civil defense workers overseeing the convoy evacuation, and killed three of them. "Militias forced everyone to get off the buses, confiscated all individual weapons, forced men to get undressed to their underwear, killed three men and injured 7 others, then forced the convoy to go back to the besieged area of Aleppo city, and some buses are still missing, said Ahmad Abo Al-Nour, who witnessed the events. Another eyewitness among the evacuees said that about 20 buses accompanied by members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and International Red Cross in separate cars successfully navigated a checkpoint controlled by Russian soldiers but were subsequently stopped at a checkpoint by Shiite militiamen from the Lebanese movement Hezbollah. Hezbollah killings reported According to the eyewitness, who did not want to be named in this article, the convoy was halted for 15 minutes, then tanks and Hezbollah militiamen surrounded the convoy, fired indiscriminately in the air and expelled the accompanying Red Cross and Red Crescent workers. The militiamen forced all the men to get off the buses and confiscated their weapons and mobile phones. Accompanied by his pregnant wife, a fighter who tried to resist was killed along with four others. They seized some of the civil defense cars and ambulances and forced the rest of the convoy back to the besieged pocket in eastern Aleppo. Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, said the Aleppo evacuation was complete, with all rebels and their families who wanted to leave having done so. It put the number of evacuees at more than 9,500. Opposition leaders and Turkish officials disputed the Russian claim, saying thousands still wanted to leave. Speaking in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said consultations were still underway with Russia and Iran, another key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, as well as elements on the ground. Massacre fears In light of the Russian announcement that the evacuation of civilians and fighters from a sliver of territory still controlled by the insurgents is now complete, fears are mounting that a full scale massacre may unfold. U.N. officials say between 6,000-8,000 people have been evacuated this week from eastern Aleppo after regime forces recaptured most rebel districts. They estimate 50,000 people remain in a pocket still held by anti-Assad insurgents. That pocket, however, may be shrinking rapidly. Russian military officials Friday said regime forces were inside the pocket, and there were unconfirmed reports of pro-government units engaging in mopping up operations. There still are high numbers of women and infants that need to get out, according to World Health Organization officials. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused the Syrian government of carrying out nothing short of a massacre in Aleppo, and he has warned that the way in which Aleppo falls will determine whether peace talks will even be possible in coming weeks. Russian President Vladimir Putin urged all sides to agree on a nationwide cease-fire. Speaking Friday during a visit to Japan, he said Moscow and Ankara were working on a round of peace talks to be held in Kazakhstan between the Assad government and opposition. Syrian officials provided a different version of whats happening with the evacuation. They said Friday they had suspended the operation, which U.N. officials had calculated would take weeks, because rebels had failed to observe an agreement to lift their own siege of two pro-government Shiite towns, Foua and Kefraya, which lie west of Aleppo in neighboring Idlib province. Fighters and civilians who have been evacuated were taken in convoys to rebel-held parts of Idlib. Stalled evacuation A Syrian official overseeing the operation told the AFP news agency the evacuation had been halted because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement. Syrian state media also accused rebels of trying to smuggle captives and heavy weapons as they left the besieged enclave. Later on Friday, rebel commanders said an al-Qaida-linked militia group had agreed to ease its siege on Foua and Kefraya, and that evacuations from the two towns were likely to start shortly. Whether that would lead to a resumption of the evacuation from eastern Aleppo remains unclear. Seven-year-old Bana al-Abed and her mother, Fatemah, whose plight in eastern Aleppo has captured the world's attention through Twitter, appealed Friday for help to U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in a video message sent to NBC News. "I talk to you as a mother," Fatemah said in the message. "I implore you to help us ... because we are so afraid." The message ends with a plea from seven-year-old Bana: "Hello, Mrs. Obama. Please help us. Its been over a month since Donald Trump pulled off an upset victory over Hillary Clinton, bringing an end to one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in U.S. history. Or so you thought. In reality, the result wont be official until Monday, when the 538 members of the Electoral College meet at statehouses across the country to cast their votes the ones that actually decide who is the next president. The Electoral College serves as a formality and usually receives little attention. But this year, there is a last-ditch effort to use the Electoral College to deny Trump the presidency. Its a long shot, but the electoral revolt is injecting one last bit of uncertainty into an election that has been one of the most unpredictable ever. Hamiltons compromise The drive is being encouraged by a group called the Hamilton Electors, named after Alexander Hamilton, a U.S. founding father and one of the Electoral Colleges main architects. Hamilton and the other founding fathers devised the Electoral College as a compromise between those who wanted a direct presidential election and those who wanted Congress to choose the president. The system was also meant to serve as a safeguard against those unfit for the presidency, a point emphasized by the Hamilton Electors. We honor Alexander Hamiltons vision that the Electoral College should, when necessary, act as a constitutional fail-safe against those lacking the qualifications from becoming president, says a statement on the groups website. Emoluments clause Heres how the Electoral College works: When U.S. voters cast their ballots in November, they dont technically vote for presidential candidates. Instead, they vote for electors, or representatives, with the number of electors in each state being in proportion to its population. Those electors, in turn, normally cast their votes for the popular-vote winner in their state. If Trump gets all the electoral votes from the states where he won the popular vote, he will have 306 electoral votes, many more than the 270 needed for a simple majority. That means for the electoral revolt to succeed, 37 Republicans who are scheduled to vote for Trump would have to abandon him. So far, only one Republican elector has publicly pledged to do so. That elector is Christopher Suprun, a paramedic who lives in Dallas, Texas. In a phone call with VOA, Suprun said Trump is unqualified to be president because the billionaires global financial dealings represent a conflict of interest. The emoluments clause is the most objective reason, said Suprun, referring to a section of the Constitution that prohibits federal officeholders from accepting gifts or compensation from a foreign government without the consent of Congress. Suprun also cites Trumps inflammatory campaign rhetoric against women, minorities and others. He has not shown any attempt to overcome the demagoguery. And where is he going to be on national security? Is his allegiance to America? Suprun asked. Russian involvement The attempted electoral revolt is receiving more attention this year because Trump lost the popular vote to Clinton by more than 2 percent. This is the fifth time in history that theres been a split between the popular and electoral votes. Tensions were further stirred after reports surfaced last week suggesting the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes the Russian government hacked the computers of Democrats in an attempt to throw the election to Trump. Specifically, the reports reference hacks into the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, both of which resulted in a series of leaks that damage Clintons candidacy. Trump has slammed the reported CIA conclusion as unwarranted, saying there is no evidence that Russia was involved in the hacking at all, let alone that Moscow supported his candidacy. But that hasnt stopped a growing number of electors from expressing concerns about Russias involvement in the election. As of Thursday, 67 electors had signed a petition demanding an intelligence briefing ahead of the Monday vote. All but one of the electors who signed the petition are Democrats, a fact that gives credence to the idea that the electoral revolt has failed to make much progress where it matters most. Electors Harvard University constitutional law professor Lawrence Lessig earlier this week suggested as many as 20 Republican electors were considering changing their minds about Trump, though that report has not been confirmed. If the electors were to abandon Trump, they would face no penalty under federal law. However, 29 states and the District of Columbia have laws purporting to exercise various degrees of control over how the electors vote. Many constitutional lawyers question whether those laws are constitutionally enforceable. However, the effort to allow the electors to vote their conscience was dealt a blow earlier this week when a Colorado judge ruled that electors in that state were not allowed to switch their votes. Given the hurdles, the anti-Trump revolt is unlikely to succeed, admits Larry Tribe, another professor at Harvard Law School. But Tribe insists that electors have a responsibility to the country and the Constitution, in extreme enough situations. And I think this is a pretty extreme situation, he said. One of Indonesia's most wanted men is a computer geek skilled at bomb-making who joined the Islamic State in Syria, where police say he now directs terror attacks against his native land. Indonesian authorities say they have linked Bahrun Naim to a string of terror attacks and plots to destabilize his homeland. He reportedly directs IS operations in Indonesia through the Telegram app favored by IS in Raqqa, which is the militant group's de facto capital in Syria, the officials said. On Friday, Indonesias anti-terror police said they arrested 11 suspected terrorists linked to Naims network. Police said the group had planned to attack the presidential palace in Jakarta. Naim, 33, was the alleged ringleader of a terror plot in Jakarta that was foiled over the weekend. Authorities said a female would-be suicide bomber and a suspected IS loyalist were arrested while planning to attack high-profile targets in the nation's capital. "They learned how to assemble a bomb from Bahrun Naim," police commissioner Awi Setiyono told reporters. Using social media channels and contacts in Indonesia, Naim has been actively recruiting people from Syria for terror activities and funds terror plots in the country, Indonesian police said. Coordinating activities Authorities said they thought Naim was the leading coordinator for IS activities in Indonesia. "Bahrun Naim continuously tries to appeal to people in Indonesia, as well as in countries like Malaysia and Singapore, to carry out terror activities for IS," Sidney Jones, director of Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, a Jakarta-based research group, told VOA's Indonesian service. Naim has been tied to a number of attacks and failed terror plots in Indonesia this year, including a July suicide bombing in the Javanese city of Solo, police said. He was identified as the mastermind of coordinated bomb and gun attacks in central Jakarta in January that killed eight people, including the four attackers. IS claimed responsibility for the incidents. Naim was also linked to a suspected militant arrested during a raid last month. Police said that during the raid, they found enough chemicals to build a bomb twice as powerful as the one used in the Bali bombing in 2002, which killed 202 people, according to Reuters. "On the orders of Bahrun Naim, they formed small cells and assembled bombs with other suspected militants," police commissioner Setiyono told reporters. Naim is known to be an expert in explosives, analyst Jones said. "He has written some sort of a guidebook containing instructions on how to make bombs," she added. Radical groups According to media accounts, Naim was born in Central Java's Pekalongan city in 1983. He grew up in Solo, a city where radical groups have had a longtime presence, and graduated with a degree in computer technology in 2005. Naim was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a terrorism network in November 2010, and he was convicted in June 2011 of illegal possession of ammunition. The court, however, found insufficient evidence to pursue the terror charges, Indonesian authorities said. He fled the country in early 2015. Authorities tracked him to Syria, where they say he has continued strengthening his terrorist network in Indonesia. Naim has used Telegram message channels to communicate with his network in Indonesia and has taught followers how to assemble explosives, Setiyono said. "Bahrun communicates also through Twitter and sends messages to people, not only in Indonesia but also in several other countries," Wawan Purwanto, an intelligence analyst at Indonesia's anti-terror agency, told VOA. "He [Naim] has a huge influence over his network. He brings new inspiration to his followers through social media," Purwanto said. "In fact, people are influenced by what he posts on social media." Blog on terrorist attacks According to the BBC, Naim reportedly maintained a blog, portraying himself as a "freelance journalist." He has published posts on how to carry out terrorist attacks, make bombs and dodge surveillance. The blog also praised several attacks carried out by IS and its affiliates, the BBC reported. Attempts by VOA to access the blog found that it had been blocked. Islamic State remains a threat to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, authorities said. As many as 384 Indonesians have joined IS, according to Indonesia's counterterrorism agency. Most of those have traveled to Syria and Iraq. Indonesian authorities last month said they were investigating the reported death in Iraq of a prominent IS commander from Indonesia, who was defending the militant stronghold of Mosul during a U.S.-backed military effort to dislodge the group. Andy Lala and Ahadian Utama of VOA's Indonesian service contributed to this report from Jakarta. Prosecutors on Thursday charged former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his wife and a former finance minister with more corruption charges in the investigation of graft at state-run oil company Petrobras. It is up to federal judge Sergio Moro to decide if the new charges will result in another trial for Lula, who is already accused in Moro's court in southern Brazil with separate corruption charges. A ruling on those charges is not expected before late January or early February. Lula, an extremely popular two-term president who left office in January 2011, faces another trial on graft charges in a Brasilia court, but a start date has not been set. Lula's lawyers have repeatedly said that he is innocent of all accusations. In an emailed statement Thursday night, lawyer Cristiano Martins called the latest charges "a work of fiction." In bringing the new charges, prosecutors said in a statement that Lula oversaw a scheme in which Latin America's biggest construction firm, Odebrecht, paid 75 million reais ($22.18 million) in bribes to win eight Petrobras contracts. Prosecutors said Lula orchestrated the political appointment of Petrobras executives who would carry out the kickback scheme, with the money being funneled back into the campaign coffers of Lula's Workers Party and its allies, including Brazil's current ruling party, the Democratic Movement Party. Lula's wife, Marisa, was also charged in the case with money laundering, while Lula's former finance minister, Antonio Palocci, was charged with corruption and money laundering. Both already face separate charges and trials in the Petrobras case. Prosecutors said part of the illicit money made its way to Lula and his wife and that they benefited by surreptitiously using Odebrecht money to purchase and renovate real estate. The so-called Car Wash investigation is the biggest graft probe yet carried out in Brazil. So far, 200 people have been charged and 81 have been convicted . The charges involve at least 6.4 billion reais in bribes. Marcelo Odebrecht, the former chief executive of his family's construction firm, who is serving over 19 years in prison after being found guilty on other Car Wash charges, was also hit with more corruption charges on Thursday. But he has turned state's witness, along with nearly 80 other executives from the firm, and their statements are expected to implicate more than 200 politicians. Odebrecht is expected to remain imprisoned until the end of 2017 and remain on probation for several years in exchange for his testimony. ($1 = 3.3817 reais) China has expressed serious concerns about President-elect Donald Trumps decision to call into question the United States continued adherence to the one China policy. Since 1979, no United States president or president-elect has spoken directly with Taiwan. Its a policy based on a series of communiques between Washington and Beijing and grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act. White House spokesperson Josh Earnest called the practice an important diplomatic tool saying, commitment to this policy has advanced the ability the United States to make progress in our relationship with China. After the president-elect took a call from Tsai Ing-wen, the president of Taiwan, and said he didnt know if the U.S. should be bound by the One China policy, Earnest explained why Beijing was so quick to respond to Trumps comments. "The Chinese government at Beijing places an enormous priority on this situation, said Earnest, and it's a sensitive matter and some of the progress that we have made in our relationship with China could be undermined by this issue flaring up. It's also unclear how the people who live in Taiwan benefit from this issue flaring up the response from the Chinese government in the aftermath of this call has primarily been to ratchet up the rhetoric against Taiwan." The United States has routinely provided weapons and other military equipment to Taiwan, and a recently passed bill has provisions for yearly military exchanges with Taipei. The EastWest Institutes Jonathan Miller explains why there are concerns about Trumps approach to nearly four decades of U.S. foreign policy. More concerning to me than the phone call itself were the comments he made since that point, said Miller, pointing to the president-elects Twitterstorm where he berated China for its activities in the South China Sea. Miller points up that the most divergent change is his comment in a recent interview with Fox News seemingly bartering one-China policy, dangling that as something that could be bartered for economic concessions. Possible motives The Center for the National Interests Harry Kazianis analyzes Trumps motivation. I think its a one word answer: leverage. If you look at the people who are advising Donald Trump right nowthese are all people [who] are [aligned] in one fact: that the United States needs to push back on China. And theyve all called for in one way or another to have a much more robust relationship with Taiwan, said Kazianis. Kazianis notes that the longstanding policy of agreeing to disagree on Taiwan formed the bedrock of the relationship between Washington and Beijing. Miller says he isnt necessarily ready to take Trump literally. He sees himself [as a businessman], said Miller, He talks about doing deals. He likes to push buttons as well. Chinese actions What can Beijing do to counter Trumps statement? Kazianis tells VOA that China was largely caught unprepared for the remarks, but currently feels the best response to the president-elect is through editorials and interviews. Their response will be very different when he takes the Oval Office on January 20th," he said. Kazianis lists several possible actions for China to take, it just depends on how far theyre willing to go. China could implement a sea blockade, cutting off Taiwans trade partners and weakening it economically. Beijing also could move in other military assets like aircraft carriers and fly fighters in the region. Keep in mind, one of the reasons the Chinese military has been rebuilt in the last 20 to 25 years is if Taiwan ever tried to declare independence to take back that so-called renegade province, said Kazianis. These are merely possibilities that hinge on the implementation of Trumps foreign policy and not the actions of, as Kazianis notes, a private citizen poised to take the highest office in the United States. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday reassured coalition partners that the United States would remain a key player in the fight against Islamic State militants under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump. "I can't give assurances. I can't speak for the next administration. However, I do have confidence in the future of the coalition campaign," Carter told his counterparts from 14 coalition nations meeting in London. "I'm confident that, based on the results we're seeing and the strength of our coalition, the United States and its military will continue to be with you as a leading partner in this campaign," he said. Carter opened the last of the coalition planning meetings to be held during the Obama administration, a gathering that was overshadowed by European partners' questions about the Trump administration's strategy for combating IS. Under President Barack Obama, the United States has had a force of 5,000 troops in Iraq, relying on small teams of special operations forces and advisers who assist local fighters. Trump has criticized that as an insufficient and slow-moving response to the threat posed by IS, one that has allowed the militants to become entrenched in Iraq and Syria. The president-elect's nominee for secretary of defense, retired General James Mattis, has described the Obama administration's approach to IS as "replete with half-measures" and has said the next president "is going to inherit a mess." Analysts say it appears evident that Trump's strategy is going to be different, but details of it have yet to be unveiled. Among the questions remaining is whether the Trump administration will keep up support for Syrian rebels or cooperate with Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The meeting in London capped a world tour in which the U.S. defense secretary has visited with American troops and assured them that efforts against IS are going as planned. Determined to hold around two dozen Senate seats in 2018, Democrats will use the coming series of confirmation hearings to try to distinguish themselves from President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire nominees and convince working-class voters who elected him that he's not on their side. While Democrats have little leverage to stop the Republican's picks in the Senate, they still plan a fight. To highlight what they say is the hypocrisy of Trump's campaign promise to be a champion for the economically struggling little guy, they'll focus on the nominees' wealth, ties to Wall Street and willingness to privatize Medicare, among other issues. In some cases, they'll seek to drag out the process by demanding more information and ensuring a full airing of potential conflicts of interest. "We're going to give each of them a thorough examination to determine whether they'll actually stand up for workers against the special interests or rig the system even more,'' said incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, echoing some of Trump's own campaign rhetoric. Democrats gave up their ability to block Trump's nominees in 2013, when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed Senate rules and reduced the number of votes needed to end filibusters, or procedural roadblocks, on nominations from 60 to a simple majority, usually 51. Republicans, now in the majority, will hold 52 seats when the new session convenes next month. The limits of the Democratic minority have already been tested, as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the new session, has repeatedly asked Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley for more time to review documents ahead of Jan. 10-11 hearings for Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's choice for attorney general. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has declined to delay the hearings. Still, Democrats are hoping a populist message will resonate outside of Washington, where in the 2018 elections the party faces multiple tough races in deep red states full of white, working-class voters who overwhelmingly supported Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton this year. Democrats are defending 23 seats, including in states such as North Dakota, Montana, Indiana and West Virginia that went overwhelmingly for Trump and also in once traditional Democratic states that flipped, like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Much of their focus will be on the wealthy business executives whom Trump has tapped for his Cabinet - notably Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive picked to head the Treasury Department. Other wealthy executives chosen by Trump include Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce. To head the Labor Department, Trump turned to Andrew Puzder, the head of fast food chain CKE Restaurants Holdings who has drawn the ire of labor leaders. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination whose populist message resonated in some Republican-leaning states, has criticized almost all of Trump's picks, saying they signal he will do the opposite of what he told voters during the campaign. "That is not the type of change that Donald Trump promised to bring to Washington - that is hypocrisy at its worst,'' Sanders said of Mnuchin's nomination in a joint statement with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. On policy, Democrats will highlight the fault lines between the nominee and Trump. Georgia Rep. Tom Price, the president-elect's choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, strongly favors privatizing Medicare, arguing that a voucher system is necessary to ensure its long-term solvency. But Trump repeatedly promised his supporters he wouldn't cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. But Democrats won't fight Trump on every nominee. Many senators up for re-election in 2018 from Trump states say they will pick their battles carefully. "I think I'll be supporting some of his nominees, I don't think there's any doubt about that,'' said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who faces re-election in a state Trump won by 20 percentage points over Clinton. Tester said he'd support nominees whom he believes know rural America and "understand what's going on in my neck of the woods.'' West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, another Democrat up in 2018, says he plans to be generally supportive of Trump's nominees because he believes an executive should have to answer for his own staff. That is, he said, "unless there's just something scathing coming out that I don't know about.'' Unlike liberal stalwarts Sanders and Warren, the more moderate Senate Democrats are likely to focus their criticism more narrowly. And because Democratic support isn't necessary to confirm Trump's nominees, the senators are freer to choose whom to support without the added pressure of being a needed vote for confirmation. Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, for example, have expressed concerns about particular nominees. Both are up in 2018. Donnelly said he will oppose Price because of potential cuts to Medicare. Heitkamp said she has concerns about Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's attorney general and a frequent critic of environmental regulations and the agency he is tapped to lead. Heitkamp is concerned that Pruitt won't support corn-based ethanol fuel, which is big business in North Dakota. "If we're going to have an EPA administrator who understands rural America, that means they also have to understand the needs of farmers and want to support those farmers,'' she said. The Philippines' top diplomat criticized the United States on Friday for deferring a decision on a major aid package over human rights concerns and said the Philippines can survive without it. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the uncertainty over the aid package emerged after President Rodrigo Duterte declared he would chart a foreign policy independent of the United States. A U.S. government aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said this week that its board deferred a vote on a renewal of the development assistance package for the Philippines "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties." The Philippines had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434 million poverty reduction program was completed in May under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. Duterte took office in June. The agency's spokeswoman, Laura Allen, said Thursday it will continue to monitor events in the Philippines before the next board review in March 2017. The U.S. decision is among the first signs of how concerns about the rule of law and human rights under Duterte could entail economic costs. The U.S. government, along with European Union and United Nations officials, has raised concerns about Duterte's crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left more than 2,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead in purported gunbattles with police. More than 3,000 other deaths are being investigated to determine if they were linked to illegal drugs. Duterte has lashed out at President Barack Obama, his administration and other critics of his crackdown with expletive-laden tirades. "If we will be given this assistance ... we first have to bow down to the impositions of conditions that they are making and this is something that we feel is not conducive to strengthening our relationship with friends, especially traditional allies, especially close friends," Yasay said at a news conference in Singapore, where he and other officials are accompanying the president on a two-day visit. "This has always been our appeal to America. Treat us with mutual respect and treat us as a sovereign equal," Yasay said. "You cannot just simply (say) that ... 'we would like to give this to you but you have to toe the line insofar as our policy is concerned.'" Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at the same news conference that Duterte's government does not condone extrajudicial killings or human rights violations. Yasay said the proposed U.S. aid for the Philippines is potentially larger than the first package granted to the country but that Filipino economic experts believe the loss of the assistance "will not really have a great impact." "This is what our economic experts say, we're not really bothered by it, we will not be sleepless over this decision," he said. Several thousand people have been evacuated from an enclave in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Humanitarian groups say the full evacuation of civilians, and rebels and their families could take days. U.S. and European officials have condemned the massacre of civilians at the hand of government forces in their effort to regain full control of the city. Zlatica Hoke reports. By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 16 (PTI) Top Myanmar leaders today paid tributes to the exiled Burma king Thibaw, on his 100th death anniversary today. Myint Swe, First Vice President of the Republic of Union of Myanmar and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, were among those present at the commemorative event, in Maharashtras coastal Ratnagiri district. advertisement Union minister Ramdas Athawale was also present. King Thibaw, who was crowned in 1878, ruled Burma (now Myanmar) for seven years with his Queen Supayalat in the Golden Palace in Mandalay. When the British attacked the reigning Konbaung dynasty of Burma in 1885, King Thibaw surrendered within two weeks. The royal family was exiled to Madras (now Chennai), briefly, and then to Ratnagiri, a sleepy coastal town in Maharashtra. The king, the queen and their four daughters lived in exile for nearly 31 years. From a life of riches and resplendence, they had to live in complete social isolation. The first princess had settled in Ratnagiri. Her descendants, the Pawar family of Ratnagiri was present at the event, a senior government official told PTI over phone. King Thibaw died in Ratnagiri on December 16, 1916. PTI VT NSK --- ENDS --- Last month, the leader of a hard-line Muslim group, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), was hospitalized after being beaten up by the Indonesian military at his own headquarters. Actually, nothing of the sort happened. But thousands of Indonesians still think it did, thanks to an enormously popular fake news story that circulated ahead of a mass protest in Jakarta December 2. Several websites alleged that FPI leader Habib Rizieq, who helped organize the protest against Jakartas ethnic Chinese governor, was abused by the state a provocative, albeit false, claim that roused public sentiment. Fake news is not new in Indonesian politics, despite its ascent as a buzzword after this years U.S. presidential election. Blatantly false stories have circulated within the social-media-loving populace since at least 2014, when they threatened to derail the campaign of current president Joko Jokowi Widodo. But they have taken on a particularly inflammatory zeal in recent months, when sectarian tensions have been high because of the blasphemy trial of Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama. This week, military General Gatot Nurmantyo stated that the fake news revealed foreign interference in Indonesian politics. Its not clear this is the case, but its still striking that Indonesias government, which is notorious for censorship, hasnt been able to stop the problem by just blocking problematic sites. New Jersey, Australia, or neither? The fake news about Habib Rizieq was traced to servers in New Jersey and Australia, Gatot told the press this week. But this isnt necessarily evidence of meddling foreign interests. The Habib Rizieq story was actually a convoluted clickbait ad for an online gambling website, jitupoker.biz, said Damar Juniarto, founder of the Digital Democracy Forum. That site was already shut down by the Ministry of Communications, by the way. Its a common practice of online gambling sites to use masking IP addresses from foreign countries to dodge Indonesian laws that prohibit online gambling. Still, said Juniarto, the storys timing was perfect for maximum outrage: it circulated November 20, right between the two hard-line rallies in Jakarta on November 4 and December 2. Fake news spreads particularly fast in Indonesia because its citizens are such heavy users of social media and mobile phones, said Juniarto. It proliferates not just on Facebook and Twitter, but also messaging platforms like WhatsApp. We can trace the explosion of fake news to the rise of social networking, he said. It started as a 'joke,' then it became a business, and now its being used as a 'political strategy.' Stoking the anti-Ahok flames Every day on social media we find stories or memes that are proven untrue. It is really worrying, to be honest, said Raja Juli Anthoni, a spokesperson for Ahoks campaign. Even the blasphemy accusation against Ahok arose, in part, from a piece of doctored media. This blasphemy case started when Buni Yani, a lecturer at Paramidan University, posted an edited version of Ahoks speech quoting the Quran on Facebook, said Tubaghus Ramadhan, a social media consultant who has worked on both the Jokowi 2014 and Ahok 2017 campaigns. He included an edited transcript of his speech that made it seem like he was directly insulting the Quran. In an ironic twist, Buni Yanis trial for circulating misinformation started the very same day as Ahoks blasphemy trial. Parallels to Jokowi In a precursor to the racially charged debate around Ahoks candidacy, current president Jokowi also faced fearmongering about his background when he ran for president in 2014. He was accused of being ethnically Chinese, a secret Christian, and a communist. Fake news about Jokowis racial, ethnic and religious background was one of the most troublesome issues we faced in the 2014 general election, Ramadhan said. Jokowi eventually took a highly publicized pilgrimage to Mecca to prove his Muslim credentials. Other recent instances of fake news include allegations that a mosque was deliberately burned down by intelligence agents in the Christian province of Papua, and that Ahok drank beer at an official meeting. It was bottled mineral water. Assigning responsibility Following claims that fake news influenced American voters in the recent presidential election, Facebook this week announced an initiative to curb bogus content by making it easier to report and disrupting financial incentives for spammers. Twitter and WhatsApp have yet to announce anti-fake-news measures of similar scale. Although these platforms should take the lead on making false stories harder to circulate, they cant eliminate them, especially because much of the damage occurs within days or hours of their dissemination. For its part, Indonesias communications ministry has blocked several fake news sites, although new ones are cheap and easy to make. The country also walks a fine line on free speech because of its record of heavy-handed censorship. I think we must see the fake news as a social problem, not just as a technological problem, Juniarto said. We must try to understand why people believe in fake news, rather than news from reputable media. Ahoks campaign spokesperson, Anthoni, said their best strategy until the February election is to put out factual and positive information so voters can decide for themselves. We believe the only way to clarify this kind of stupidity is to give people more valid information, he said. In his first 100 days in office, President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo will implement measures to improve Ghanaians' lives and restore dignity to the presidency, his spokesman said Thursday. It's hoped that Ghanaians "would begin to see a difference," Mustapha Hamid said. Akufo-Addo will "establish the presidency as the embodiment of the spirit and soul and the values of our country." President John Mahama, meanwhile, continued to lead his team in meetings with Akufo-Addo as part of the transition process following the December 7 election. Hamid expressed concern that the outgoing team has yet to fully comply with the Transition Act. The act stipulates that a month before a general election, notes of all ministries are to be prepared and given to the administrator general. That person then is to give them to the incoming administration's transition team to study. Hamid said notes had been received from eight ministries land and forestry, transport, chieftaincy, food and agriculture, interior, defense , trade and industry, and fisheries and "we are awaiting the rest." Civil society groups say expectations are high as Ghanaians wait to learn whom Akufo-Addo will choose as ministers. However, he can announce his choices only after he is officially installed as president. The swearing-in ceremony is set for January 7. Hamid said Akufo-Addo would keep his campaign promises, which included the addition of one factory per district and one dam per village. "I believe by the caliber of people whom he is going to name as ministers and deputy ministers and so on, he would send a clear signal to the country that he intends to run this country well and to run it on the principles of good governance, integrity, honesty and so on," Hamid said. "We simply cannot default on certain promises" designed to drive the country forward, he said. In particular, the dam-per-village plan "should be non-negotiable, because the northern part of our country is such that without agriculture, nothing else works. The mainstay of the people is agriculture, and for agriculture to thrive in those parts, you need a system where people can engage in their farming activities 12 months in a year." In Nazi Stefanishvili's family home in Gori, posters, paintings and books fill a tiny room dedicated to the Georgian city's most famous son, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Although Stalin's rule was marked by mass repression, labor camps and famine, Stefanishvili, 73, a retired economist, says she has admired him since her childhood and over the years has filled a room in her daughter's house with memorabilia. Among dozens of items on display are paintings, photographs and busts of Stalin, depicted both as a young and older man. "Every morning I go to the room to say good morning to Stalin ... I take part in every occasion marking the anniversary of his birthday or death," she said. "I have paintings, a lot of books about Stalin, busts, old newspapers, souvenirs. Most I bought, others were gifts; some were even found in the garbage." Stalin, who was born in Gori in 1878 and died in 1953, is largely reviled today in Georgia, which regained its independence during the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Over the years, his memorials have been dismantled, most recently in 2010 when authorities removed a statue of the dictator from Gori's central square. Aging Fan Club But Stalin is still revered by a small group of mainly elderly supporters who stress his role in the industrialization of the Soviet Union and in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II. "Unfortunately, Stalin is not popular nowadays. Our people don't respect him. Only we, members of the [Communist] Party, respect him," said retired builder Vasili Sidamonidze, 70, who keeps a huge painting of Stalin at home. "I always try to attend Stalin's birthday anniversaries in Gori. Unfortunately many people don't want to join us even if they live nearby. They look at us from their windows." Each Dec. 21, a few dozen people mark his birthday by gathering outside a Gori museum dedicated to Stalin, where they make speeches and walk to the square where a 6-meter-high bronze statue of him once stood, calling for it to be reinstated. Opponents say it was a symbol of Moscow's still lingering shadow. In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia and recognized its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. "I cannot say how many people support us but we have regional offices all around Georgia," said 77-year-old Jiuli Sikmashvili, a leader of the United Communist Party of Georgia, one of several such small parties in the country of 3.7 million people. "Unfortunately the youth don't want to join our party, so our members are mostly elderly people." The communist parties are not popular in Georgia, which wants to move out of Moscow's sphere of influence and join NATO and the European Union. Following a 2011 law, dozens of Soviet-era monuments and symbols were removed and street names which referred to Georgia's communist past changed. Older Georgians, especially those who had personal and business ties with Russia, resent how much relations have soured. Others say the relationship only brought hardship. At 40, Natia Babunashvili, an unemployed mother of two in the capital Tbilisi, is among the younger Stalin supporters, teaching her teenage children about Soviet times. "My father was a party boss in one of the regions of Soviet Georgia and he taught me to love Stalin from childhood," she said. "I tell my children of my childhood during Soviet times ... how good my life was, how happy I was in the USSR. They form their own opinions but they share my views for now." The United States has more than doubled to $25 million the reward for information leading to the capture of Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program announced the increase Friday from $10 million, saying the threat Baghdadi poses has increased significantly in recent years. The reward will be paid to anyone who can offer "information leading to the location, arrest or conviction" of the militant. "Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the State Department said, using an acronym for Islamic State. It said Islamic State also has "enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate." Baghdadi declared himself the leader of a Muslim caliphate two years ago. He generally keeps a low profile, but last month he released an audio message urging his supports to defend the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, Iraq. Baghdadi's location is not known, but some believe he could be in Mosul or in territory outside the city, near the border with Syria. Officials believe that the coalition military assault on Mosul could cause Baghdadi or his top officials to move around to remain hidden. Baghdadi has been reported injured or dead multiple times, but the claims have never been verified. In a statement released to the media in early July 2014, Baghdadi widely condemned the West and summoned all Muslims, especially those with military, medical, administrative and public service experience, to emigrate to the caliphate to "take up arms and fight, fight!" An Israeli advocacy group on Thursday asked a U.S. federal court to block aerospace giant Boeing Co.'s planned $16.6 billion deal with Iran Air, saying the Tehran government must first pay off billions of dollars in damages to families of people killed or wounded by Iranian-backed militant groups. In papers filed in the Northern District of Illinois court, the Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center organization said it was seeking a lien against Boeing until the damages against Iran are recovered. "We are going to seize all 100 airplanes," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the group's director. "If Boeing thinks it will simply sell to Iran Air, which is 60 percent owned by the Iranian government, and pretend it is providing some sort of humanitarian civilian aid to a non-governmental entity, we will reveal the truth." Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Darshan-Leitner has represented attack victims in dozens of lawsuits in American courts. She said 10 rulings in her favor have ordered Iran to pay victims some $2 billion in compensation. Thus far, she says she has been able to collect about $200 million in seized Iranian bank accounts and assets on American soil. Her organization represents families who are relatives of Americans victims of attacks perpetrated from 1995 to 2006 by Iran-backed groups like the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Last year the group filed to block the release of $100 billion in frozen Iranian assets in the United States following the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Tehran. Shurat HaDin is known for suing states such as Iran and Syria, as well as the Palestinians, on behalf of attack victims' families, aiming to cause these governments bad publicity even if it can't get them to pay. Matthew Levitt, director of the counterterrorism program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said "these cases can be very impactful, both in terms of creating a legal record of Iran's support for terrorism and in terms of providing closure and financial compensation to the victims and their families." "Collection can be challenging," he added. "But law firms have had much success in finding Iranian assets and making claims on them." Iran Air's deal for 80 jetliners is the biggest agreement Iran has struck with an American company since the 1979 revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover. Last September, Washington granted permission to Boeing and the European consortium Airbus to sell billions of dollars' worth of aircraft to Iran. Airbus needed U.S. approval because at least 10 percent of its planes' components are of American origin. Boeing said it worked closely with the U.S. government throughout the deal-making process and will continue to "follow all license requirements" stating that the Iran Air deal "will support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs." "If an American company like Boeing is going to profit from multi-billion dollar business ventures with Iran, at least the terror victims will seize whatever Iranian assets are produced as a byproduct of the deal," said Darshan-Leitner, saying there are almost $43 billion in unsatisfied American judgments against Iran overall. "Iran should not get the benefit of any new aircraft or airplane parts while the victims of its horrible crimes are forgotten." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended two days of talks without any significant breakthrough on the major issue that divides them, a territorial dispute that dates back to World War II. The two leaders met Friday in Tokyo after holding talks the day before at a hot spring resort in southwest Japan. In the Japanese capital, police kept nationalist protesters away from the summit. The demonstrators were demanding that Russia give back the southern Kuril islands in the western Pacific that were seized by Soviet forces at the end of the war, forcing about 17,000 Japanese residents to flee. The two countries have been unable to agree on a post war peace treaty because of the ongoing dispute over ownership of the islands. Investing for peace In Tokyo, the two leaders discussed a possible peace treaty and agreed that fostering economic cooperation would help create the conditions to reach some future agreement on the island chain. At a news conference following the leaders summit, Abe said without trust the goal can not be reached. To that end the two leaders Friday signed 68 agreements, many focusing on energy development deals. The Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a $1 billion investment fund to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. And the Russian energy company Novatek announced it had signed agreements with Japans Mitsubishi and Marubeni corporations on an Arctic liquefied natural gas project. Grant Newsham, a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, said Japan has long tried to use the promise of significant economic investment in Russia in exchange for returning the disputed islands, but Moscow has been unwilling to compromise. Theres always going to be trouble giving back territory that is strategically important from a strategic geography perspective for Russias defense, and also for the simple fact these islands are being seen as have been taken after a war in which Russia spilled a whole lot of its own blood, Newsham said. The Kuril chain of islands is near key shipping lanes connecting Russia to the Pacific and a region with abundant commercial fishing and the potential of offshore reserves of oil and gas. Putin said that Russia may relax rules for Japanese citizens to visit the Kuril islands. A Kremlin economic aide Thursday the two sides would issue a statement about possible joint economic activity on the disputed islands at the summit, adding that any activity would be based on Russian legislation. Hosaka Yuji, a Japan analyst with Sejong University in Seoul, says residents living on the disputed island support some sort of compromise that would bring in more jobs and investment. People living in the islands are mostly in favor of joint economic activities, and Japan has suggested to have joint economic activities in the four islands (that are under the control) of Russia, (governed) by Russian laws or by establishing special laws, Hosaka said. A Japanese spokesman, however, reiterated Japans policy that any joint economic activity should not infringe on Tokyos legal claim to the islands. Military value Last year Russia announced plans to build a military base on the Kuril Islands, along with four Arctic bases as part of Putins plan to build up his countrys military presence in the region. Tokyo has raised concerns with Moscow over the militarization of this disputed territory. On Thursday the two leaders stressed the importance of resuming a security dialogue, according to a Japanese official. Ministerial level security talks were halted after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimea region in 2014 and the United States and other Group of Seven countries imposed sanctions in response. Russia has reportedly increased spending by more than $600 billion in the last decade to modernize its military, and that includes deploying new nuclear submarines, jets and helicopters. China By developing closer ties with Russia, Japan may undermine Beijings relationship with Moscow. I think it is more the Japanese are trying to hedge their bets against the Chinese and perhaps, sort of, put a crack into the Russian Chinese defense relationship that has emerged in the last four or five years, Newsham said. Since 2012, China and Russia have conducted five joint military exercises, including a joint naval drill in the South China Sea in September, a region where China has territorial disputes with a number of its neighbors. Newsham said the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is complicated by mutual mistrust and Russias arm sales to Chinas adversaries India and Vietnam. Tokyo and Beijing have competing claims to islands in the East China Sea. The two adversaries have complained about provocative military actions taken by the other that include close encounters between fighter jets in the airspace above the Pacific Ocean. Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report. Refugees from the genocide in Cambodia lost their country when they fled the Khmer Rouge regime 40 years ago. Now settled in the United States, many Cambodian-Americans are afraid of also losing their culture. When I was growing up, I had the same questions of identity that most immigrant children have: Who am I? What am I? Am I Cambodian? Am I American? What am I? asked Nielson Sophann Hul, who left Cambodia when he was a baby. For Hul, the answer to these questions of identity was learning Khmer, the language of Cambodia. "It allowed me to feel Khmer. It gave me a connection back to who I was. ... Without a proper understanding of the language, you cannot have a proper understanding of the culture," said Hul, who now teaches Khmer and English at Long Beach City College. Free classes That is one of the main reasons why the City of Long Beach started a free weekend Khmer class for adults and children eight years ago at its Mark Twain Neighborhood Library. Bryant Ben, who volunteers his time to oversee the program, stressed it's important to "keep your culture alive and to have your identity of who you are." Time and distance can loosen a culture's hold, "but at least we try to keep it as long as we can, Ben said, adding that if "you know the language, you know the culture. Any language, any culture. Anything that you know is better than nothing." Henry Ouk has been taking his American-born son, Daniel, to Khmer class for the last three years. "I want him to know his nationality so that he won't forget his parents culture, as well as his own, Ouk explained. Daniel, 11, says his dad makes him come to class, but he appreciates it. "I wanted to learn about the language so I could understand my dad." Thirteen-year-old Satya Weir started coming to class two months ago. I am half Cambodian and my moms Cambodian, and so she thought that would be a great thing for me to do," Satya said. He agreed, "because when I went to Cambodia over the summer, I loved the culture and everything, and I thought we should learn" Khmer. Passing it on Traveling to Cambodia showed the young man that language and culture are intertwined. "I want to carry on my culture and I want pass it onto my children so that they can learn Khmer, and then I hope that they can do the same from generation to generation because its really important to be bilingual. And the Cambodian culture is pretty awesome, I think," he said. While there is demand for this class, resources in the community are limited. Its been a challenge finding teachers because they are all volunteers. Hul is trying to find sponsors to help with the textbooks and supplies, so these classes can continue for as long as the need is there. You cant forget about this community-based approach to language teaching and really, ultimately, the goal is to teach language or to have functionally fluent Khmer speakers and increase the overall number of literate Khmer, Hul said. Its for the Cambodian children, to know about their culture and tradition. He [my son] needs to know that Khmers have a country as well, Ouk said. Several civil society organizations are calling for a return to justice in Mozambique following a series of killings targeting lawyers and judges in the country. Carlos Mondlane, president of the Mozambican Association of Judges, said that in recent years, criminals have tried to intimidate and silence the justice system through attacks against judges and lawyers. Another group, the Mozambican Human Rights League, said the killings were going unsolved because of police indiscipline, corruption and an absence of professional ethics. The most recent examples of assassinations of jurists included the killings of Giles Cistac, a French-Mozambican lawyer shot in Maputo in 2015; senior prosecutor Marcelino Vilanculos, slain in April of this year; and Dinis Carlos Silica, another prosecutor. "Organized crime is rampant," Mondlane told VOA's Portuguese service. He said judges and prosecutors handling cases related to abductions and violent crimes such as homicides needed the most protection and often received death threats. Kidnappings probed When he was killed, Vilanculos was investigating the kidnappings of a Portuguese citizen and two Mozambican businessmen. His investigation led to at least five arrests. In 2013, he investigated two other abductions, in which four people were ultimately convicted. Silica, slain in May 2014 in Maputo, was investigating cases of trafficking in persons to South Africa and Swaziland, abductions in Maputo, and drug trafficking including the case of Mohamed Bashir, an infamous narco-trafficker accused of exporting millions of dollars' worth of drugs and overseeing expansive networks reaching Asian countries. Each prosecutor had a reputation for being honest and professional. According to the U.S. State Department, organized crime takes advantage of Mozambique's porous borders and proximity to the South African market to traffic in narcotics and wildlife and engage in human smuggling. Cistac was a constitutional law expert known for defending the positions of the Mozambican opposition, the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO). He was a supporter of the RENAMO project to decentralize power in Mozambique, which was opposed by the country's ruling party, the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO). The lawyer's killer or killers have never been brought to justice, although the crime happened in broad daylight in the nation's capital. Political assassinations Other killings of public officials have plagued the country in recent months, including assassinations of members of the nation's three main political parties. The violence threatens to derail peace talks between FRELIMO and RENAMO. Mondlane hopes government officials can offer more protection to lawyers and judges because, he said, the killings are an attempt by organized crime to maintain control in the country. For her part, the president of the Mozambican Human Rights League, Alice Mabota, is worried for the security not only of the legal community but also of all the citizens who live in Mozambique. Mabota said that "heinous crimes like murder and kidnapping occur in broad daylight," and she stressed that the police weren't taking appropriate actions. Jurist Dinis de Sousa considers this issue to be larger than these cases involving the killings of judges and lawyers. In what was said to be politically motivated attacks, at least 10 high-profile figures have been killed since March 2015, according to Zenaida Machado of Human Rights Watch, who spoke to VOA in October. Machado added that the numbers were higher than those officially reported. Meanwhile, the Mozambican justice minister, Isaac Chande, said the government had done everything possible to ensure that the administration of justice was efficient and that those guilty of homicides were brought to justice. "We are working with all justice departments, as judges and prosecutors, to solve all those problems," he told journalists. Anabela Guedes and Alvaro Andrade contributed to this report. Mexico expects a sharp increase in people seeking asylum from Central America next year, fleeing gang warfare and poverty in their home countries, a senior official said on Thursday. There has been a steady surge of Central Americans applying for asylum in Mexico since 2015. Cinthia Perez, a director of Mexico's refugee agency COMAR, said in an interview that she is receiving about 9 percent more applications each month. There were 3,424 asylum applications in 2015, and she predicts ending 2016 with around 8,000. That figure could well rise to 22,501 by the end of 2017 if the trend of 9 percent more applications each month continues. "Everything seems to indicate that the number of applicants will keep rising," Perez said, adding that violence and a widespread regional drought that had forced the rural poor into cities were the main causes driving asylum applications. She said 72 percent of applications have been accepted in 2016, up from just under 40 percent in 2013. Perez said there was evidence that more of those people granted asylum were choosing to stay in Mexico, but she acknowledged that some might use their refugee status to travel unimpeded up to the United States border. During fiscal year 2016, the United States detained nearly 410,000 people along the southwest border with Mexico, up about a quarter from the previous year. The vast majority hail from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. COMAR was founded in 1980, during the height of the Guatemalan civil war, when tens of thousands of refugees flooded into Mexico. Until 2015, when the numbers of asylum-seekers started rising drastically, the agency was a relative backwater inside the interior ministry. Last year, COMAR spent just over 26 million pesos ($1.28 million) according to official data, a tiny amount relative to the problem. Perez said she was hoping for more funds in the 2017 budget, but acknowledged a sustained drop in government oil revenue made it unlikely. In September, after realizing COMAR was struggling, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stepped in and gave COMAR money to hire fresh staff. It remains to be seen how U.S. President-elect Trump will handle the issue of immigration, a topic he used to great effect in his election campaign. He vowed to deport millions of undocumented U.S. immigrants, build a wall along the Mexican border and possibly even impound remittances. Nonetheless, since he won the November 8 vote, Trump has appeared to soften some of his immigration policy proposals. After Trump's victory, Central American countries said migrants were surging north in order to reach the United States before Trump takes office on January 20. The foreign ministers of Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala last month agreed to create a migrant protection network, liaise for coordination with U.S. authorities and to meet regularly. Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has followed his declaration of intent to run in Russias next presidential election by saying one of his top priorities if elected would be to implement the Minsk accords aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL and VOA, on December 15, Navalny said that "the first measure that we must carry out is implementation of the Minsk accords." Those accords agreed among Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany in the Belarusian capital in February 2015 called for elections, a return of border control, and other measures to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 9,700 people as Kyiv battles Russia-backed separatists. "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin himself talks about this endlessly but does practically nothing about it," Navalny said. "The Minsk accords were signed by Russia, they need to be fulfilled, and that would be the first step to resolving the situation with Ukraine." WATCH: Navalny lays out campaign finance plan The United States, European Union, and allies responded to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with economic sanctions and other punitive measures. The Minsk accords call for pulling out all foreign armed groups from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, withdrawing heavy weaponry, returning control of Ukraine's border to Kyiv, and ensuring local elections in parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are held by Russian-backed separatists. Russia's next presidential election is scheduled for March 2018, although there has been speculation lately that Putin might move that forward to 2017. As-yet unscheduled election Navalny, who announced on December 13 he would run for president but has not yet officially registered for the as-yet unscheduled election, also said he would seek a "fair" referendum in Crimea so that the inhabitants of Ukraine's Russian-annexed peninsula can choose if they want to be with Ukraine or Russia. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after covertly flooding the peninsula with troops to secure key facilities, taking control of the regional legislature, and staging a referendum on annexation that was denounced as illegitimate by Ukraine, the United States, and the U.N. General Assembly. Navalny has frequently tread a cautious line on topics that resonate particularly in nationalist circles, including migration and the possible return of Crimea, whose Soviet-era handover to Ukraine is seen as illegitimate by many Russians. In October 2014, Navalny vowed that Crimea "will remain part of Russia and will never again in the foreseeable future become part of Ukraine." In the wide-ranging interview with Current Time, Navalny said another of his priorities if elected would be to assure that money hidden abroad by oligarchs close to Putin is returned to the country. He said he has confidence that foreign states would cooperate with any efforts to recover such funds. "If the position of Russia itself will be such that we request that money stolen from Russian citizens be returned, it will be returned for the most part," he said. Navalny, who rose to prominence as an anticorruption blogger before entering politics, operates the Anticorruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow. He said upon announcing his election bid on December 13 that he wants to be the voice of "those tens of millions of people who work honestly, raise children, pay taxes, love their country but whose voice the authorities do not hear" and who are "ignored, robbed, deprived of the dignified life they deserve." He has said money returned to the country would be channeled toward hospitals and education. Presidential terms Putin served two presidential terms before stepping aside for four years, then returning for a third term in 2012. Navalny, 40, faces an uphill battle to get on the ballot for a presidential race in which it is still unclear whether Putin would run again for office or step aside in favor of a Kremlin insider. Russian authorities have thrown numerous impediments in Navalnys way as he has emerged as one of the countrys most active opposition figures, with a proven ability to bring out tens of thousands of voters. Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013, finishing second with more than 27 percent of the vote. Ahead of the election, the Kremlin sought to discredit him with embezzlement charges, saying he used his position as an unpaid consultant to the governor of Russias Kirov region to try to steal timber from the state-run forestry company. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison but after a protest by supporters in Moscow, was released without explanation. As Navalny now prepares to run for the presidency, he faces the likelihood that the Kremlin will again seek to tar him with criminal charges. A retrial of the alleged embezzlement case is now under way in Kirov, east of Moscow, and earlier this month the Russian state prosecutor's office demanded that Navalnys FBK publish information on its sources of funding. The state prosecutors demand raises the possibility that Navalnys foundation will be charged with receiving foreign funding a punishable offense under Russias controversial foreign agents law. The FBK says all of its financing is through donations by Russian citizens. Contributions Speaking to Current Time, Navalny said he would also seek to finance his upcoming run for the presidency through citizens contributions. "The first two days of fundraising, which we are doing through small donations, showed us that we most likely will be able to finance a full-fledged election campaign based precisely upon small individual contributions," he said. He estimated he would need a budget of some 1 billion rubles ($16 million) for campaigning but did not provide details regarding his campaign strategy. Asked if he feared that trying to collect funds across Russia in his presidential bid could make him an easy target for new Kremlin charges of financial misdoing, Navalny said he refused to be deterred by such possibilities. "If we live and make plans while taking into account what kind of accusations they can trump up against us, we will not be able to do anything at all," he said. By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Dec 15 (PTI) A staggering 51 tonnes of drugs estimated to be worth USD 239 million were burnt today by Pakistani authorities in Rawalpindi. Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) Director-General Major General Nasir Dilawar Shah said on the occasion that the organisation has arrested 1,479 smugglers in the last 10 years, 505 of whom have been sentenced. advertisement "The narcotics torched estimated to be worth USD 239 million were seized in raids carried out by the ANF and from smugglers at airports in 2016," he said. The drugs, including cocaine and heroin, were destroyed by the military-run ANF at a ceremony attended by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Country Head Cesar Guedes, diplomats and local official. Shah said Pakistan has been free of poppy, adding that in the past decade 298 tonnes of narcotics worth USD 896 million have been set on fire. He said drugs were being produced and smuggled the most in Afghanistan. "The ANF is performing this difficult task to making Pakistan free of all kinds of drugs," Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control Mian Balighur Rehman said. UNODC Country Head Cesar Guedes in his address said that World Drug Report released in June 2016 also highlighted the enormity of the drug problem in the region and the resultant fall out not only on Pakistan but the world at large. PTI SH KJ UZM KJ --- ENDS --- U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States will take action against Russia or any other foreign government that tries to meddle in U.S. elections. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action. And we will, the president told National Public Radio in an interview to be broadcast Friday morning. Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be, he said. WATCH: Excerpt from Obama's NPR interview The president said Friday during a White House news conference that U.S. officials are in agreement about a CIA conclusion that Russian hackers broke into the Democratic Party computers. The heads of major U.S. intelligence agencies FBI Director James Comey and National Intelligence Director James Clapper FBI Director are said to have concurred that Russian hackers leaked potentially embarrassing emails about Democrat Hillary Clinton to help Republican Donald Trump win last months election. Officials: Putin knew Top White House officials say such a thing could not have happened without Russian President Vladimir Putins involvement or direct knowledge. Moscow called the allegation laughable nonsense. Obama told NPR there is still a whole range of assessments going on among U.S. intelligence agencies, and he is waiting for a final report on exactly who was involved and why they did it. But that does not in any way detract from the basic point that everyone during the election perceived accurately that in fact what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign, Obama said. Trump, however, has asked in a Twitter comment, If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Obama declined to say whether he thought the Russian computer hacking cost Hillary Clinton the election. He said many factors can make the difference in a presidential vote, but there was no doubt it had an impact. He also would not say whether he believed the Trump campaign played any role in the hacking other than exploiting the leaked emails for political advantage. Obama said he is mystified by Trumps insistence that Russia did not hack into Democratic Party computers and by the president-elects pro-Russian stance. Theres been a pretty sizable wing of the Republican Party that has consistently criticized me for not being tough enough on Russia, he said. Some of those folks during the campaign endorsed Donald Trump ... that kind of inconsistency I think makes it appear at least that their particular position on Russia on any given day depends on whats politically expedient. Ben Rhodes, a top foreign affairs adviser to Obama, told MSNBC, Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when youre talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, were talking about the highest levels of government. And ultimately, Vladimir Putin is the official responsible for the actions of the Russian government. White House spokesman Josh Earnest, speaking with reporters, pointed to the U.S. intelligence communitys October assessment that only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities. He said the reference to senior-most officials wasnt supposed to be subtle. Its pretty obvious, he said. Earnest dismissed concerns about efforts to delegitimize Trumps presidency, saying Obama has made clear that he is committed to a smooth and effective transition. But he also encouraged Trump to be supportive of a thorough, transparent and non-political investigation into the hack. One of Trumps top aides, Kellyanne Conway, in a TV interview rebuked Earnest for suggesting Wednesday that Trump might have known during the campaign of the Russian interference in the U.S. presidential contest and that their involvement was having a negative impact on Clintons campaign. That is just remarkable, Conway told Fox News. That is breathtaking. I guess hes auditioning to be a political pundit after his job is over soon. That is incredibly disappointing to hear from the podium of the White House press secretary. Because he basically he essentially stated that the president-elect had knowledge of this, maybe even fanned the flames. Its incredibly irresponsible and I wonder if his boss, President Obama, agrees. On Thursday, Earnest also doubled-down on his assertion that Trump not only knew about Russian interference during the campaign but encouraged it. Its just a fact, you all have it on tape, that the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent because he believed that that would help his campaign, he told reporters at the White House briefing. Thats not a controversial statement. At his last formal press conference in July, Trump invited Russian hackers to look for emails deleted from Clintons private server, then a day later said he meant it as a sarcastic joke. But Earnest said Trumps suggestion to hack Clintons computer might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved. Earnest also said Thursday that no one at the White House, in Congress or in the U.S. intelligence community considered it funny that Russia was trying to destabilize our democracy. No GOP emails The White House has not suggested Clinton would have won the election absent the Russian hacking. However, the vast array of U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow hacked into computer accounts at the Democratic National Committee that helped oversee Clintons unsuccessful campaign and the computer of Clintons campaign chief, John Podesta, to help Trump win. WikiLeaks, without citing its source, released thousands of Podestas emails in the last month of the campaign, many of them revealing embarrassing in-fighting among Clinton aides, without any corresponding disclosures about the Trump campaign from accounts allegedly hacked at the Republican National Committee. Trump has denounced the U.S. intelligence conclusion of Russian involvement, calling it ridiculous. He has said that any hacking related to the election might have been carried out by China, Russia or anyone, including someone sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds. Pakistan says it would be willing to discuss with U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps administration freedom for a jailed Pakistani doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden. The doctor, Shakil Afridi, is serving 33 years in a Pakistani prison on treason charges. U.S. authorities have denounced Afridis treatment as unjust and unwarranted and have frequently demanded his release. Pakistan would be willing to look at how we could move forward in a resolution of this problem, Tariq Fatemi, the Pakistani prime ministers foreign policy aide, told VOAs Urdu service. We are not holding on to Dr. Shakil Afridi because of some personal animosity, he insisted. Afridi a hero Afridi is hailed as a hero in the United States for helping the CIA obtain the Bin Laden familys DNA by staging a fake immunization campaign in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. The move led to the May 2011 covert U.S. military raid that killed the al-Qaida leader. Weeks later, media revelations about Afridis role prompted Pakistani authorities to arrest him. He was tried and imprisoned in 2012. Afridi has challenged the sentence in an appeals court. During his election campaign, Trump told Fox News that if elected he would get Afridi out of the jail in two minutes. Fatemi told VOA that a presidential pardon could be sought for the doctor under Pakistani laws but only after judicial proceedings are concluded. The whole process has to go through the judiciary, and it is for the judiciary then to decide whether a case is ripe or not ripe for it to be sent to before the president for a possible exercise of the powers of the president to give pardon, Fatemi said. He reiterated that Afridis fake immunization drive seriously hurt and raised suspicions about vaccination programs the World Health Organization is running in Pakistan. Observers expect the Afridi issue will continue to strain historically complicated bilateral relations under Trumps new administration. Relations are strained The incoming administrations election platform document has also indirectly referred to the issue, warning that the process of strengthening of historic ties between the United States and Pakistan cannot progress as long as any citizen of Pakistan can be punished for helping the War on Terror. The two countries are allies in the war against terrorism, but Pakistans alleged support for Taliban insurgents and the Haqqani network fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan has long strained bilateral relations. But despite the troubled history and skepticism, some in Pakistan foresee a better future for mistrust-marred bilateral relations. Syed Mushahid Hussain, a key Pakistani senator, believes President-elect Trumps frank and friendly phone call to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last month and his nomination of General James Mattis to be the secretary of defense have set the stage for better future ties. Hussain says that during Mattis time as the head of the U.S. Central Command, which also covers Afghanistan and Pakistan, he frequently visited Pakistan and interacted with both military and civilian leaders. He knows Pakistan very well and he knows the region quite well also. So, I think we already have laid the basis of a very robust and a very pro-active engagement between Pakistan and the United States at the highest levels of the Trump administration vis-a-vis the government of Pakistan. According to a Pakistani government readout of the November 30 phone call between Trump and Sharif, the U.S. president-elect said Sharif was a terrific guy and doing amazing work. It also quoted Trump as telling the Pakistani leader he would love to visit what he called a fantastic country with fantastic and amazing people. The Philippines would not protest Chinas moves to militarize its man-made islands in the South China Sea, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said Friday, amid Manilas efforts to improve ties with Beijing. China has deployed anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on the artificial islets it has built in the disputed Spratly Islands, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in findings reported by Reuters this week. Speaking to reporters in Singapore during an official visit by President Rodrigo Duterte, Yasay said the government would not issue any diplomatic protest to China via a verbal note. We will make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal, Yasay said, referring to another group of disputed islets. Let them take whatever action is necessary in the pursuit of their national interest ... and we will leave it at that, for the Philippines, we have our bilateral engagements with China, he said, adding that other countries could deal with any issues. Whereas the Scarborough Shoal was disputed solely by China and the Philippines, several countries, including China and the Philippines, have rival claims in the Spratly Islands. Since his election six months ago, Duterte has sought to strengthen previously strained relations with Beijing, while cooling ties with long-time ally, the United States. Yasays remarks contrast with those of Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana, who Thursday described Chinas latest actions in the Spratly Islands as a big concern for the international community. Every year, about $5 trillion worth of maritime trade passes through the sea, which is believed to hold deposits of oil and gas. Aside from China and the Philippines other countries with maritime claims in the sea include Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. We cannot stop China ... there is nothing that we can do about that now, Yasay said, adding improving relations with Beijing had paid off because Filipino fishermen can now fish around Scarborough Shoal. In Manila, coast guard officials from the Philippines and China concluded two days of talks to draw up an action plan to cooperate in fishing, environmental protection and humanitarian assistance in the South China Sea. Coast guard spokesman, Commander Armand Balilo, said the two sides also discussed joint law enforcement operations as well as adopting a set of protocols to avoid accidents. The stormy resignation of the Philippine vice president from her countrys Cabinet will allow her to mount more opposition to the deadly, internationally controversial anti-drug campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte, though her voice is not expected to change policy. Vice President Leni Robredo quit the Cabinet post of housing secretary this month after Duterte asked her to stop attending meetings, according to reports and photos of a text message in local media. She has been critical of Dutertes campaign against drugs, which her office estimates has killed 5,000 people. Duterte told a business forum Monday he had killed people himself as mayor of Davao, the countrys second-largest city, which he ran for 22 years before becoming president. Speaking tour Robredo will probably travel around the Southeast Asian archipelago to speak out, said Eduardo Araral, an associate professor at the National University of Singapores public policy school. But Duterte remains popular for his decisive approach to a once-festering crime problem. She goes around the country to rally people in the villages and there might be voices who egg her on to rally the opposition, Araral said. He added, the president still has the bully pulpit when it comes to agenda setting. He is on the top of his game. Filipinos elect presidents and vice presidents separately for purposes of checks and balances. Duterte won the presidency in May with the PDP Laban, a party founded in 1982 to advocate nationalism and federalism. The vice president ran that month with the 70-year-old centrist Liberal Party. Robredo's focus The 52-year-old lawyer and social activist will refocus her energy on a unit of the vice presidents office that promotes education, rural development, womens rights and poverty relief around the country. She will be a unifying voice of the opposition, her spokesperson Georgina Hernandez said. In part she has been quite vocal against extrajudicial killings, against lowering of the age of criminality as well as bringing back of the death penalty, Hernandez said. Poor families are victims of the killings, she said. Right now aside from being vocal about it, she is also in constant communication with the local families (of people killed) to see what their needs might be, but nothing concrete has been settled at the moment, except that she is committed to see this through until it is put to a stop, the spokesperson said. Some estimates place the death toll closer to 6,000, including suspected drug dealers gunned down vigilante style. Duterte has said he would ask the Philippine Congress to reinstate the death penalty, which was scrapped in 2006. Lawmakers have proposed reducing the legal age of criminality from 15 to as young as 9. Support not likely Robredos opposition to the use of extrajudicial killings is expected for now neither to sway the anti-drug campaign nor other Duterte policies. People in Philippine cities say they feel safer since Duterte took office and rid methamphetamine dealers from street corners. A Pulse Asia poll gave him an 86 percent approval rating in October. According to Philippine National Police figures, reported crimes grew from 217,812 in 2012 to 1.16 million in 2014, with another upswing in the first half of last year. The suspected extrajudicial killings have generated international attention, including criticism from the European Union, United States and Catholic Church leaders over perceived human rights violations. The campaign gives police too much power for the comfort of some Filipinos, as well. If Duterte goes too far, the vice president will suddenly earn a stronger following, said Rhona Canoy, president of the International School Cagayan de Oro and part of a local political family. Her voice would probably be louder if there is a threat, Canoy said. If this becomes a real and like a legal issue of declaration of martial law, thats when Robredo would get massive support. The loudness of the people who dont (like) martial law, they would stand behind her, I think. Philippine environment officials have canceled a compliance certificate for a housing project by President-elect Donald Trumps business associate, saying it would endanger a watershed that supplies drinking water to 12 million people. Century Communities Corp. seeks to build the 58-hectare (143-acre) housing project within the 2,000-hectare (4,942-acre) La Mesa Watershed in the capital. It is the source of metropolitan Manilas drinking water. Thats the watershed of 12 million people and I cannot see the possibility that a business interest is more important than the water our people drink, said Environment Secretary Regina Lopez. The certificate issued by the previous administration has been canceled because of scientific recommendation against any kind of development inside the watershed, she said. The company was founded by Jose E.B. Antonio, named by President Rodrigo Duterte in October as a special envoy to the United States. It is a subsidiary of Century Properties Group Inc. that Antonio chairs and which has partnered with Trump for the branding of the posh Trump Tower in Manila. The tower is expected to be completed next year. The company said Friday it would wait for official communication from the Environment Department before issuing a statement. The projects construction has not yet started. Mtaani Radio has become the voice of Nairobi's Dagoretti area since its founding three years ago. The station serves the community, making announcements about lost children, calling out pickpockets and lobbying politicians to keep to their promises. Mtaani is Swahili slang for "our ghetto." The 100-watt station broadcasts both in Swahili and Sheng, a dialect favored by local youths. It reaches an estimated 5,000 listeners. Kelvin Nyangweso grew up in this deprived area of Nairobi and developed the station as an initiative to inspire and empower young people the majority of its listeners, he said. "We felt like there were a lot of issues that can be highlighted and the message can reach to more people, because Dagorreti itself has a population of 240,000," Nyangweso said. "... So can you imagine the message that's being aired on the radio can transform this person who is listening to the radio." Nyangweso started the station using a transmitter donated by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. The station gets financial support mostly from well-wishers, using the money for rent and electricity. He said financial donors continue to give because they've seen positive impact on the community. All nine Mtaani Radio journalists live in Dagoretti and donate their time. Tebby Otieno, who has been with the radio station for three years, said she volunteers because she believes in the power of communication. When I am walking around and hear people talking about things they are going through and what is affecting them, thats the topic I will come talk [about] in the studio," Otieno says. "As a journalist, I believe when I talk about it, maybe its an issue about insecurity here or water shortage, if I talk about it they will feel like issues affecting them are being handled." Through her show, Otieno lobbied local politicians to build a local road and improve street lighting for better security. Two years later, there is a paved road and good lighting. Some residents say the journalists or presenters have become their spokespeople. One listener, Alex Opondo, said Mtaani Radio's coverage of issues such as gender-based violence and insecurity spurs improvements. Once a problem "is reported to the Mtaani Radio, they do take action because most of the time they do not just leave the issue that way, said Alex Opondo, an ardent listener. Organizers say they hope the station eventually will be able to offer paid staff positions and to have the ability to reach other parts of Nairobi. The evacuation of people from Aleppo has been suspended, leaving thousands of people trapped. Blasts were heard Friday near the convoys moving people out of the city. State media report rebels have violated the cease-fire agreement with the government. It is not clear when the evacuations will resume. Earlier, Russias president says his country is working with Turkey to start a new round of peace talks on Syria with a goal of a nationwide cease-fire. Speaking Friday during a visit to Japan, Vladimir Putin said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan propose holding negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition, possibly to take place in Kazakhstans capital, Astana. His comments came as more civilians are preparing to leave the destroyed city of Aleppo after thousands of people fled Thursday under a cease-fire brokered by Russian and Turkey that essentially ceded what has been a divided city to Syrian government control. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday at a rally in Pennsylvania the U.S. would create "safe zones" in Syria. "We'll build and help build safe zones in Syria, so people will have a chance." Trump said "When I look at what's going on in Syria, it's so sad." The president-elect, in his first comments on the U.S. role in Syria since winning the election, said he would ask Persian Gulf nations to contribute to the financing of the zones. In Photos: Aleppo Evacuation The U.N. Security Council is expected to meet in an emergency session Friday to discuss Aleppo. France, which called for the meeting, wants international observers on hand to monitor the evacuation of civilians, which is taking place after years of fighting in the city. Previous cease-fires collapsed almost immediately, putting a halt to evacuation efforts. Convoys of ambulances and green buses pulled away from the devastated city, which was a crown jewel of Muslim and Arab history and culture before the Syrian civil war turned it into a ruin. The buses left eastern Aleppo and went into government-held territory before eventually making it to another rebel-held part of the province. Some of the evacuated civilians praised Allah for saving them even as they left behind the bodies of friends and relatives under slabs of concrete that used to be schools, homes, and stores. Scores of wounded civilians arrived in Turkey Friday for treatment. Syrian rebels and government forces agreed to a three-day cease-fire to let civilians leave. Previous cease-fires collapsed almost immediately, putting a halt to evacuation efforts. Syrian rebels hold on to only a sliver of eastern Aleppo after Syrian forces, with Russian military support, began their push to retake the city. President Bashar al-Assad said Thursday that history would be made with what he referred to as the liberation of Aleppo. "What is happening today is the writing of a history written by every Syrian citizen. The writing did not start today. It started six years ago when the crisis and war started against Syria," Assad said in a video posted to his official Twitter account. WATCH: Related video report by Zlatica Hoke Assad likened his governments recapture of Aleppo to other historical events, including the birth of Jesus Christ and the fall of the Soviet Union, and said history would be permanently altered. In Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry was not talking about history Thursday but of what he calls a massacre by the Assad regime. "We have witnessed indiscriminate slaughter, not accidents of war, not collateral damage, but frankly purposeful, cynical policy of terrorizing civilians." Kerry said the United States is going to work to save lives and continue pushing all parties in Syria toward a resolution and allow full access by humanitarian groups throughout all of Syria. "We believe this is a moment where the Syrian regime and the Russian military have an opportunity to make the decision to, a strategic decision I might add, for peace." WATCH: Kerry on Aleppo With tens of thousands of lives still concentrated in a small part of Aleppo, Kerry said the last thing anybody wants to see is another Srebrenica -- the Bosnian town where 8,000 Muslim men and boys were massacred in 1995 during the war in the Balkans. "There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the indiscriminate and savage brutality against civilians shown by the regime and by its Russian and Iranian allies over the past few weeks, indeed over the past five years," Kerry said. More violence was reported early Thursday, with activists and local medical officials saying pro-government forces fired on an ambulance that tried to leave rebel-held territory, wounding at least three people. France called for another emergency session of the United Nations Security Council Thursday to discuss the situation in Aleppo. French diplomats say the meeting should address "the imperative need to ensure full, immediate, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access and guarantee the evacuation of all civilians in proper conditions." U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter criticized the Russians Thursday for failing to carry out their stated reasons for getting involved in Syria, which was to help in the political transition. WATCH: Carter on brutality of Syrian regime The Russians came in Ill remind you to Syria saying that they were there to promote precisely that political transition. And they haven't done that. And they also said they were coming in to fight ISIL [Islamic State] and they havent done that either, Carter said. The Pakistan prime ministers foreign policy aide tells VOA that Pakistan-India relations are passing through a difficult phase and that Islamabad would be open to offers of assistance regarding talks with New Delhi, including from the incoming Trump administration. Late last month, President-elect Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held an unusually frank conversation that included the incoming U.S. leader telling Sharif he would be willing to help Pakistan resolve its outstanding issues with India. I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems. It will be an honor and I will personally do it, Trump said in a transcript of the phone call. The governments readout of the very casual phone call, in which Trump said Sharif was a terrific guy doing amazing work, raised considerable debate over diplomatic practices. Sharif had called to congratulate Trump on his election win. Kashmir issue Tariq Fatemi, Sharifs key foreign policy aide, said earlier this month that Trumps offer was referring to Pakistans long-running dispute with India over the Kashmir region, which is split between Pakistani and Indian control and claimed in its entirely by both nuclear-armed rivals. On Thursday, Fatemi told VOAs Urdu service the entire region wants Pakistan and India to end this state of acrimony and hostility. Pakistan is open to a sustained dialogue, he told VOA. India and Pakistan, in my humble view, have no other option but to talk to each other. Asked if Trump could help mediate talks between Muslim-majority Pakistan and neighboring Hindu-led India, Fatemi said, Any assistance, any help, any intervention, any offer of good offices (people) that have good relations with both India and Pakistan will be welcome. While Pakistan previously has sought U.N. or U.S. mediation over Kashmir, India has long opposed involving a third party mediator. In speaking with VOAs Urdu service, Fatemi said Pakistan looks forward to engaging in very substantive ways with the incoming administration, particularly with the State and Defense departments. Fatemi is ending a 10-day mission to Washington to talk with members of Trumps transition team as well as to brief members of Congress and research institutions on Pakistans efforts to counter terrorism and promote regional peace and stability. The U.S. has blamed Pakistan for years for being behind the rise of the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, where thousands of U.S. troops are battling terrorist groups and training Afghan security forces. Taliban issue Officials say the porous 2,600-kilometer Pakistan-Afghanistan border encourages illegal insurgent movements, and the presence of nearly 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan affords Taliban militants a hiding place. Islamabad has denied, however, that Taliban insurgents are sheltering in Pakistan. We are involved in peace in Afghanistan. We have a conviction that peace and stability in Pakistan is dependent to peace in Afghanistan, he told VOA. Our economic and energy plans with Central Asia and trade to Eastern Europe can only happen if there is stability in Afghanistan. Fatemi said Pakistan is willing to play a role in the Afghan peace process, but to do that Pakistan and Afghanistan will have to take their military and intelligence relationship to a higher level. We used our limited influence on Taliban to bring them on the table. It didnt sustain because they (Taliban) think that the incentives are not attractive enough, he said. Some think that there are divisions with Taliban leadership; some think that foreign powers send conflicting signals to them. On December 9, Fatemi met with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice at the White House, where the two discussed anti-terrorism measures and defense, as well as human rights violations in the Kashmir region. Ayaz Gul in Islamabad and Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi contributed to this report. After 28 years of false starts, director Martin Scorsese has finally brought a passion project about faith and religion to the big screen with Silence. Based on the acclaimed 1966 novel of the same name by late Japanese writer Shusaku Endo, the drama tells the story of two Portuguese Jesuit missionaries, played by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, who travel to Japan in the 17th century to search for their missing mentor, portrayed by Liam Neeson. There, in an era when Christians were persecuted and tortured, the missionaries face a choice: they can save themselves and Japanese converts from death by crucifixion, burning and drowning but only if they renounce their religion. I think it's a beautiful film, it's incredibly thought-provoking. It's one of those films you don't just forget about when you leave the cinema, Neeson told Reuters. Whether you're religious or not it's very, very questioning, the actor added. Scorsese, a staunch Catholic, had been keen to make the film since first reading the book in 1988 after the release of his film "The Last Temptation of Christ." The Italian-American director has said he was struck by the questions the book raises over faith, doubt, weakness and God's role in the face of human suffering. But getting the screenplay right alone took the Oscar-winning director 15 years, and finding funding proved difficult. The drama, shot in Taiwan and playing for an unusually long 2 hours 45 minutes, will open in U.S. movie theaters on December 23 before expanding nationwide. Driver and Garfield lost weight for their roles, which Driver said helped put him in the mindset of his weary and frightened young priest. You're playing a persecuted 17th century Jesuit priest. So it's good to, I think, have a little struggle. Also you're very tired and hungry, as are the characters, said Driver. Silence has already been screened at the Vatican, where Sorsese had a meeting with Pope Francis in November. But despite strong reviews and Scorsese's high profile in Hollywood as the man behind such films as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and Raging Bull, his latest movie has gained little traction in the current Hollywood awards season. Silence was snubbed by both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild this week, receiving no nominations for their 2017 awards. Scorsese will have to wait until January 24 to find out whether the movie is recognized when Oscar nominations are announced. With conflicting reports about who is responsible for the suspension of the evacuation of civilians from Syrias eastern Aleppo, it was not immediately clear Saturday when or if Aleppos battle-weary civilians will have another opportunity to leave. U.S. President Barack Obama has denounced the horror in Aleppo and warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he cannot slaughter his way to legitimacy. The Syrian government suspended the evacuation Friday after blasts and gunfire were heard in parts of the city, and both rebels and government forces accused the other of breaking the fragile cease-fire agreement. The Syrian government ordered trucks and buses that had been carrying people out of the rebel-held parts of Aleppo to turn around as the army set up roadblocks along the highway that had been used in the evacuation. Turkey, which has been heavily involved in the Aleppo peace process, said the suspensions are temporary. The evacuations are not over and many people still want to leave the area, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Trading blame Syrias government says the rebels broke the agreement by trying to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages out of Aleppo. The rebels accused the government of suspending the evacuation as a way to pressure them into releasing civilians from two government-held Shiite villages currently under siege by the rebels. The government says the evacuations in the Foua and Kfarya villages must coincide with those in eastern Aleppo, but the rebels say the two are unrelated. Russias Defense Ministry, however, says the evacuation is complete and, all of the women and children have been moved from the rebel-controlled neighborhoods. The ministry says only radical and intransigent militants remain. Peace talks Earlier, Russias president said his country is working with Turkey to start a new round of peace talks on Syria with a goal of a nationwide cease-fire. Speaking Friday during a visit to Japan, Vladimir Putin said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan propose holding negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition, possibly to take place in Kazakhstans capital, Astana. His comments came as more civilians prepared to leave the destroyed city of Aleppo after thousands had fled Thursday under the cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkey that essentially ceded what has been a divided city to Syrian government control. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday at a rally in Pennsylvania the United States would create safe zones in Syria. Well build and help build safe zones in Syria, so people will have a chance. Trump said, When I look at whats going on in Syria, its so sad. The president-elect, in his first comments on the U.S. role in Syria since winning the election, said he would ask Persian Gulf nations to contribute to the financing of the zones. The United Nations Security Council met in a closed-door emergency session Friday to discuss Aleppo, with more talks planned Saturday. France, which called for the meeting, wants international observers on hand to monitor the evacuation of civilians, which is taking place after years of fighting in the city. Previous cease-fires collapsed almost immediately, putting a halt to evacuation efforts. The conflict in Syria, which began nearly six years ago as a protest against the government, has so far killed more than 310,000 people and forced millions of people to flee their homes. Violence continues The developments come after convoys of ambulances and buses pulled away Thursday from Aleppo, which was a crown jewel of Muslim and Arab history and culture before the Syrian civil war left it in ruins. The buses left eastern Aleppo and went into government-held territory before eventually making it to another rebel-held part of the province. Scores of wounded civilians arrived in Turkey Friday for treatment. Syrian rebels hold only a sliver of eastern Aleppo after Syrian forces, with Russian military support, began their push to retake the city. Assad said Thursday that history would be made with what he referred to as the liberation of Aleppo. What is happening today is the writing of a history written by every Syrian citizen. The writing did not start today. It started six years ago when the crisis and war started against Syria, Assad said in a video posted to his official Twitter account. Kerry criticizes terrorizing of civilians In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, We have witnessed indiscriminate slaughter, not accidents of war, not collateral damage, but frankly purposeful, cynical policy of terrorizing civilians. Kerry said the United States is going to work to save lives and continue pushing all parties in Syria toward a resolution and allow full access by humanitarian groups throughout all of Syria. We believe this is a moment where the Syrian regime and the Russian military have an opportunity to make the decision to, a strategic decision I might add, for peace. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter criticized the Russians Thursday for failing to carry out their stated reasons for becoming involved in Syria, which was to help in the political transition. The Russians came in, Ill remind you, to Syria saying that they were there to promote precisely that political transition. And they havent done that. And they also said they were coming in to fight ISIL (Islamic State) and they havent done that either, Carter said. Also see: Aleppo Evacuation in photos By PTI: Toronto, Dec 16 (PTI) Scientists have developed a new method that will detect roughly ten black holes per year, doubling the number currently known within two years, and unlock their history in a little more than a decade. Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada came up with the method that has implications for the emerging field of gravitational wave astronomy and the way in which we search for black holes and other dark objects in space. advertisement "Within the next ten years, there will be sufficient accumulated data on enough black holes that researchers can statistically analyse their properties as a population," said Avery Broderick, professor at the University of Waterloo. "This information will allow us to study stellar mass black holes at various stages that often extend billions of years," said Broderick. Black holes absorb all light and matter and emit zero radiation, making them impossible to image, let alone detect against the black background of space. Although very little is known about the inner workings of black holes, we do know they play an integral part in the lifecycle of stars and regulate the growth of galaxies. The first direct proof of their existence was announced earlier this year by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US when it detected gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes merging into one. "We do not yet know how rare these events are and how many black holes are generally distributed across the galaxy," said Broderick. "For the first time we will be placing all the amazing dynamical physics that LIGO sees into a larger astronomical context," he said. Researchers propose a bolder approach to detecting and studying black holes, not as single entities, but in large numbers as a system by combining two standard astrophysical tools in use today: microlensing and radio wave interferometry. Gravitational microlensing occurs when a dark object such as a black hole passes between us and another light source, such as a star. The stars light bends around the objects gravitational field to reach Earth, making the background star appear much brighter, not darker as in an eclipse. Even the largest telescopes that observe microlensing events in visible light have a limited resolution, telling astronomers very little about the object that passed by. Instead of using visible light, Broderick and his team propose using radio waves to take multiple snapshots of the microlensing event in real time. The study was published in The Astrophysical Journal. PTI NKS SAR SAR --- ENDS --- advertisement Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday referred to Aleppo, Syria, as a "synonym for hell" during his final news conference before stepping down at the end of the year. "We have collectively failed the people of Syria. Peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen," Ban said. Earlier Friday, the Syrian government suspended an evacuation operation to move civilians out of eastern Aleppo, leaving thousands of people trapped in the besieged city. Rebels accused the government of calling off the evacuation to put pressure on them to allow civilians to evacuate two villages currently under siege by rebels. The government said it called off the evacuation because rebels opened fire on a convoy of vehicles. Ban called on the Syrian government to continue the evacuation effort. The U.N. is "urging the parties to take all necessary measures to allow safe resumption of this evacuation process," he said. In his farewell address to the U.N. press corps, Ban covered a variety of topics, including the conflict in South Sudan, Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the signing of the Paris climate agreement, which he called a "precious achievement that we must support and nurture." "Difficult as it may sometimes be, international cooperation remains the path to a more peaceful and prosperous world," he said. Ban, who has led the U.N. for nearly a decade, will hand over the reins to former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on January 1. Guterres was sworn in as Ban's successor on Monday. The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has destroyed 14 Russian tanks captured from Russian and Syrian military forces near the city of Palmyra. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Friday coalition airstrikes also targeted three artillery systems, two Islamic State-held buildings, two tactical vehicles and Russian anti-aircraft guns that had been captured by the militants. The equipment was destroyed in the vicinity of an airfield northeast of Palmyra. Davis said 16 coalition aircraft fired a total of 22 munitions during the strikes. Lt. General Stephen Townsend, the U.S. general leading the fight against Islamic State, told reporters earlier this week that if Syrian and Russian forces failed to take back their losses at Palmyra, the U.S. would strike Islamic State there. We will do what we need to do to defend ourselves, the general said Wednesday. He said Russia and Syria probably took their eye off the ball in Palmyra" and failed to secure their gains "because they were so focused on Aleppo. The border between Nigeria and Cameroon has been completely reopened for the first time in three years. Its a key sign of progress in the war against Boko Haram. Officials from the two countries met this week in Yaounde to review security issues. They were welcomed by a military band before sitting down to discuss Boko Haram. Officials here say the threat of terrorist attacks has been greatly reduced due to joint cross-border military raids targeting the Islamist militant group. They say that the border between Cameroon and Nigeria is now completely reopened, a process that began last month. "Only a secured environment can provide avenue for meaningful trade and commercial activities as well as unimpeded exchange of goods and services," General Abba Mohammad Dikko, the head of the Nigerian delegation told VOA. "The unflinching cooperation and support of Cameroon has indeed curtailed the menace of the Boko Haram sect in all its ramifications. Success against Boko Haram will end movement of refugees across boundaries and create an enabling environment for the return and repatriation of internally displaced persons back to their ancestral lands," he added. Insurgency origin The Boko Haram insurgency began in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, eventually spreading to neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The conflict has displaced 2.7 million people, according to the U.N. At least 20,000 people have died in the violence. But an end to the conflict, while welcome, will present fresh issues, said Professor Saibou Issa, a historian and member of the Cameroon delegation. "We know today that thousands of people especially young men from Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad joined Boko Haram," said Issa. "As progressively Boko Haram attacks are diminishing, it is may be time to think about how the states are going to cope with these young people. There is the challenge of managing the vigilantes who are contributing a lot in fighting against Boko Haram." Cameroons northern border areas were hit hard by the insurgency. Farming and trade ground to a halt. But the area is slowly returning to life, said the governor of the Far North region of Cameroon, Midjiyawa Bakari. "We have been authorized by the heads of state to open the border between Nigeria and Cameroon and people are very happy," Bakari said. "Schools have been reopened. We have trucks coming from Maiduguri to N'djamena through Fotokol, Cameroon, and from Cameroon to Nigeria and also the cows. Security concerns remain, with both countries warning about Boko Harams continued use of female suicide bombers, described by officials here as the last lashes of a dying monster. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Writing about visual art, perhaps more than any other cultural category, tends toward the incomprehensible and, well, artless. Too often its either jargon-laden and academic or deadeningly explanatory. But there are of course noteworthy exceptions to this norm, and we rounded up ten of the best. Here are our favorite art books a term that encompasses books about art, books by artists, and books of art from 2016. 1. The Art of Rivalry: Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art by Sebastian Smee Smee, a Pulitzer Prizewinning art critic for the Boston Globe, dishes out the dramas of four famous artistic rivals Pollock and de Kooning, Picasso and Matisse, Manet and Degas, Freud and Bacon with page-turning zeal. The book is dense with juicy tidbits like how Picasso used to throw darts at a Matisse painting in his living room that brings to light the interminable power and pettiness of the male artistic ego. 2. Francis Picabia: Our Heads Are Round So Our Thoughts Can Change Direction To appreciate the wildly eclectic range of the French painter Francis Picabia, one must see his art in survey form either at the outstanding retrospective currently up at MoMA, or in this catalogue for the show, illustrated with 500 images mapping the painters zigzagging forays into Surrealism, Impressionism, graphic art, Dada, and beyond. 3. Eye of the Sixties: Richard Bellamy and the Transformation of Modern Art by Judith E. Stein This comprehensively researched book looks at the groundbreaking vision of art dealer Dick Bellamy, who ran the avant-garde Green Gallery on 57th Street from 1960 to 1965. The space served as a launchpad for now-legendary names like Donald Judd, Claes Oldenburg, Dan Flavin, and James Rosenquist, of whom this book offers fascinating glimpses, as seen through the lens of their fearless champion. 4. Reductionism in Art and Brain Science: Bridging the Two Cultures by Eric Kandel The Nobel Prizewinning neuroscientist has been uncovering the links between art and brain science for years, most famously in his superb 2012 book The Age of Insight. He has now turned his attention to the ways that reductionism is a skill that has been employed to revelatory effect by both scientists his prime example is research using sea slugs and modern artists, like Mark Rothko and Dan Flavin, who distilled art to its basic elements of color, form, and light. 5. Mounting Frustration: The Art Museum in the Age of Black Power by Susan E. Cahan A Yale historian reveals how art museums lagged woefully behind even the military and public schools when it came to integrating African-American artists after the Civil Rights movement. She looks at blundering oversights like the Mets 1969 Harlem on My Mind, which failed to include the neighborhoods black artists, and the notorious Primitivism show at MoMA in 1984, which paired low tribal artifacts with the high art it inspired in the West. Protest histories like this feel like more vital than ever as we prepare to set forth into the long winter of unrest ahead. 6. Before Pictures by Douglas Crimp Covering the years immediately preceding the legendary Pictures show that Crimp curated in 1977, this memoir recalls what life in New York City was like during one of its most fabled heydays. Crimp recounts his encounters with the art of Merce Cunningham and Agnes Martin, and charts the building of a queer art scene just before the ravages of AIDS nearly laid it waste. The result is a vital piece of cultural history as much as it is a personal one. 7. Chardin and Rembrandt by Marcel Proust Unearthed as part of David Zwirner Books series on ekphrasis a Greek word for the process of describing a work of art, sometimes to such an imaginative degree that the writing itself takes on a dimension of the artwork Proust wrote this essay 20 years before publishing In Search of Lost Time. One gleans in the youthful text how Proust began his perceptual education, translating from art into prose the brilliant, compelling language of Chardin and the gleam and frisson of Rembrandt. 8. Les diners de Gala by Salvador Dali Named for his beloved wife Gala, this 1973 cookbook, newly reprinted by Taschen, is an ode to the extravagant Surrealist dinner parties the couple famously threw. The collection includes 136 recipes illustrated by Dali including such delicacies as Toffee with Pine Cones, Frog Pasties, and Bush of Crayfish in viking herbs. The book comes with a personal warning from Dali: If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once. 9. How to See: Looking, Talking, and Thinking About Art by David Salle This collection of essays by the virtuoso painter provides the rare mix of eminently readable art criticism and close scrutiny of process and technique. His admiring descriptions of the wrist-inflected brushstrokes of Dana Schutz and the quality of paint that is applied from the shoulder, moving your whole arm, as Alex Katz does, allows the reader to momentarily inhabit the consciousness of an artist and to rediscover painting through his eyes. 10. Social Medium: Artists Writing, 20002015, edited by Jennifer Liese Artists themselves rarely have a voice in traditional critical forums, but theyve been writing for eons in journals, manifestos, blogs, alternative magazines and always will. In this anthology, Liese, director of the RISD Writing Center, assembled 75 recent texts from artist-writers, including Glenn Ligon on David Hammons, Tania Brugueras manifesto on artists rights, Adam Pendleton on Black Dada, and Molly Crabapple on Guantanamo. The writings are by turns provocative, playful, erudite and, at their best, plain weird. J. Cole went double platinum with no features is the rare internet rap-nerd aphorism that works perfectly on both literal and satirical levels. On one hand, it is a statement of chart fact: The North Carolina rapper-producers last album 2014 Forest Hills Drive ducked standard operating procedure with its lack of famous guest performers and cruised to a formidable 2 million equivalent units sold earlier this year. But the saying is also a dig at the artists fan base, which is home to a certain cloying brand of rap crusader that sees him as a light in trying times for smart introspection in the art form. The barb suggests Cole is corny, and his fans cornier still for idolizing a guy who dreams about Martin Luther King Jr. signing to his record label, and sells a line like She shallow but the pussy deep as biting social commentary. The truth is Cole deserves the accolades and a fair amount of the ridicule. He is a capable rapper and a good producer who, in arranging his discography as a monument to classic conscious rap through referential sample choices and stylistic cues, has entombed himself in the pitfalls of the stuff. He respects women (Crooked Smile) unless hes chastising them for not respecting themselves (No Role Modelz). He preaches acceptance (Love Yourz) but is reticent to acknowledge the hurtful power of slurs (Villuminati). Cole came back this month with Everybody Dies and False Prophets, two surprise tracks that rattled sabers at trap teens and called out unnamed colleagues he believes have lost their way. Theyre proof he buys into the defender of the faith business as much as his listeners do, but neither party seems to understand that rap flourishes better without strict rules and boundaries. All of this makes the ease and maturity of the new 4 Your Eyez Only a shock. In the space between 2014 and now, J. Cole got married and had a daughter, the latter completely in secret, and the ten songs on his new album present a change in his artistry to match the changes in his story. Fatherhood is historically the jelly filling for even the toughest of rappers; nothing warmed Eminems frosty facade on record like his daughter Hailie. Life as a new parent hasnt made J. Cole a more sentimental songwriter so much as iron out the ideological kinks of his art. The songs about women come from a different kind of awe and admiration now. The two-part Shes Mine finds the rapper in gobsmacked glee about the new additions and fighting back separation anxiety on a tour bus. (A few times this warmth verges on schmaltz: One songs chorus actually goes, I wanna fold clothes for you, I wanna make you feel good.) 4 Your Eyez Only isnt just a survey of the artists growth into a family man, its a patchwork of stories about finding maturity out of necessity. The songs about marriage and fatherhood dovetail with social and political commentary to explain why J. Cole cant be the bull-headed wiseguy of old anymore. Neighbors stresses over race and class as Cole moves into a nice neighborhood and worries about his wealth leading people to mistake him for a drug dealer. Immortal and Ville Mentality examine the dangers of the job of being a rapper and fantasize about an early exit, the former in death and the latter in retirement. Eyez finds Cole tiptoeing around traps that ensnared friends, family, and heroes, fearful of loss as he greets new life. On a technical front, this album delivers some of the best rapping J. Cole has ever committed to tape. Immortal is thoughtful and insular, but the delivery is grand; its a deceptively layered party song about the strain of being a guy who makes em for a living (in the same way that Kendrick Lamars Swimming Pools (Drank) was a radio hit about the perils of hitting the bottle too hard). Again, there are no features, but Cole is better suited to the task of performing for 45 minutes alone than he was two years ago. He still lacks a certain grace as a rhymer, but theres no dreck like Cole heating up like leftover lasagna or She tellin him she missed her period like typos killing every songs momentum, although Shes Mine Pt. 1 comes dangerously close with The head game is stronger than a few Excedrin. The upshot of Cole being such a voracious student of his medium is that he gets better with every release. Many major-label rap catalogues open on a great release and spend a decade straining to recapture the magic, to diminishing returns, but J. Cole started out on the schlocky commercial instincts of Cole World (The Sideline Story), learned how to make great singles with Born Sinner, grasped the structure of great albums with 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and pulled together the wisdom and range to populate one of his own with 4 Your Eyez Only. The new album is far from faultless: For a guy who just put out a song tearing into Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert for making music that moves crowds without much budging brains, Cole sounds leagues more animated over the trap-style beats here than the sleepy orchestral stuff elsewhere on the album. Hes an austere guy who does best when hes cutting loose, so Eyez is an exercise in getting the knotty, emotional songs as sharp as the radio jingles. It feels like he finally landed. Youre a mean one, Mr. Grinch. Photo: The Cat in the Hat Productions December 18, 2016, marks the 50th anniversary of the first airing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas on CBS, a 24-minute Christmas special that, all these years later, continues to air during the holidays. To commemorate, on this weeks episode of the Vulture TV Podcast, we talked about the classic TV special and the hallmarks of TV animation from that era: most famously, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Were joined by an expert in the field, and particularly, the work of Chuck Jones, who animated the movie version of Dr. Seusss The Grinch: Kevin Sandler, associate professor at Arizona State University and author of Reading the Rabbit: Explorations in Warner Brothers Animation. Listen to our conversation on How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and read an edited transcript below. Plus, dont miss our discussion of the best Christmas TV to watch, with film critic Alonso Duralde, at the top of the show. Gazelle Emami: Can you start by just telling us a little bit about the hallmarks of animation at this time. Is there anything particularly distinctive that sticks out to you? Whats distinctive is that you have Chuck Jones, who was an extremely famous director at Warner Brother who had gotten laid off by Warner Bros. four years earlier because there no longer was a market for seven-minute cartoons to play in front of movies. So a lot of those animators and directors moved to television. You now went from fully animated cartoons, in which you have lots of movement and character idiosyncrasies that cost maybe $35,000 to $40,000 for a six-minute cartoon, to, lets, say $20,000 for a half hour. The cost of making a cartoon plummeted by almost 70 percent, and you had to now have animators find shortcuts in order to create movement. Chuck was one of those artists who, for the most part, refused to move to television. Matt Zoller Seitz: So, they had to essentially do more with less, as the saying goes? Yeah, you had to find a way to create the illusion of movement in animation while having much less money to do it. You would have to do a cartoon, maybe, in three to four weeks when you almost six to nine months prior to that to be making a cartoon that lasted a third as long. So you would find ways of doing it. Just having a talking head, backgrounds repeating themselves, like the Flintstones driving by the same house over and over again, similar character design among all the characters Jen Chaney: Can you speak to what Chuck Joness relationship was with Dr. Suess, because I believe they had worked together before the Grinch in some capacity, like on animated shorts maybe during the World Was II era? Is that right? That is correct. He had met Dr. Seuss, who was in charge of the first animation unit for animation documentaries during World War II, and so together with Seuss, they wrote a series of cartoons known as the Private Snafu cartoons. They were training films for the soldiers that showed this kind of bumbling, idiotic type of private, and showed what you should not do as a soldier. So they had that relationship in the early- to mid-40s, but Dr. Seuss had been screwed by a lot of other animation companies after that. Not given due credit, not given a lot of money for loaning out his stories. But the relationship he had beforehand with Chuck and the drawings that Chuck Jones had shown Dr. Seuss gave him faith in order to be able to translate the Grinch to the small screen. GE: What was their collaboration like, in terms of figuring out how to translate it from the book to the screen? In the book I believe the Grinch was in black and white, for example, and hes in green in the TV special. Chuck was an auteur, he wanted complete control over the work. So once he got the go ahead, pretty much he was given somewhat carte blanche to re-create the Grinch book in animated form. Chuck always said, Im not trying to add things to it. Im trying to just extend the original idea out. He wanted to preserve everything about the Grinch, but in a way he had to make some change, particularly since the book is about 12 minutes and he had to do 24 minutes of animation. So a lot of what Chuck had done, not only with certainly adding the color, adding the animation, was trying to flesh out, how do these characters move, how do they speak, from Cindy Lou Who to the Grinch. He fleshed out, pretty much, the character of Max. MZS: Thats a great relationship between the two of them. I was also going to say there are also some action scenes in there. The whole montage where hes stealing all of the presents and loading them into the back of his sleigh, and then theres this whole segment, its like suddenly becomes a Werner Herzog film where theyre going to the top of Mt. Crumpit to dump all the presents. Its a wonderful action scene that came from Chuck and something he had been accustomed to doing at Warner Bros. when he was there. But such things wouldnt have been possible if he didnt have the money to do a variety of scenes and action that could be fully animated to capture those events. He also took some shortcuts, so on some of those actions scenes that you see, or even big scenes involving a lot of characters, there is lots of looping thats happening. When you see the toys hes stealing from the homes, and you see the bags flying out of the chimneys, its the same shot, again and again. But for the most part, hes able to accomplish that with a budget to be able to meet the demand of a lot of action. GE: How much did the Grinch cost? You mentioned this was during a time when a lot of animation wasnt getting a big budget. The reports are that it cost $300,000. Pretty much ten times more than any other half hour at the time, though the Flintstones was the most expensive because they had to pay a lot for writers and the voice actors. Flintstones cost $65,000 for a half hour. Charlie Brown cost $76,000 for its half hour, a year earlier. So $300,000 was a lot, and reported at the time the most expensive half hour or maybe animated show that CBS had done in a long time. But they got that money because they had sponsors. Charlie Brown was sponsored by Coca-Cola and How the Grinch Stole Christmas was sponsored by, strangely, some company Ive never heard of but it was the Foundation of Corporate Banks, Foundation of Service Banks. something like that MZS: Sounds like the umbrella organization for the bad guy in a post-apocalyptic action film. JC: And kind of funny for a show thats anti-commercialism. Theres that line in the cartoon in which he says, Christmas is not about going to a store. You would think the banks, if they were going to sponsor, perhaps would want that line changed. [Laughs.] MZS: Do you know anything about the songs? At what point did they come in? Dr. Seuss, Ted Geisel, wrote all the lyrics to the songs. GE: Thats great. I read that Ted Geisel once mentioned that Chuck Jones had drawn the Grinch to kind of look like himself. Chuck Jones acknowledged that he kind of sneaks his own face into thing that draws. Is that one of his trademarks? I think with his grumpy characters, and certainly the Grinch does look like Chuck a lot. Chuck was not known to be the friendliest animator, though he was one of the most talented ones of the studio era and the early television era. When you put his face next to the Grinchs, its unmistakable. They both have these rounded chins and chubby cheeks, and eyelashes MZS: The smiles of the two are very distinctively alike. The moments where the Grinch smiles genuinely or with malice, its like the curtains are opening before a play. Thats how gradual it is, like wires that are drawing the sides of the mouth up to produce the smile. Chucks great ability was using a subtle design to achieve character within a scene. It was quite impressive, his ability to do something like that. JC: I wanted to ask, one of my favorite voices in this is June Foray as Cindy Lou Who. Why are you taking our Christmas tree, why? And once you know that shes also the voice of Rocky from Rocky and Bullwinkle, you cant not hear that a little bit when she does Cindy Lou Who. To what extent did Chuck Jones really want her to do it or did it just kind of fall in place through other means? June Foray was pretty much the go-to person of any type of female or asexual character. She was the voice of Granny in the Warner Bros. cartoon, of the witch in a lot of the Warner Bros. cartoons, and a voice in other studios as well. So he got top talent and probably could pay top talent for this cartoon and he got that across the board. June Foray would pretty much do anything. The fact that she could go from that little voice to a granny voice to doing Rocky to also doing Natasha on Rocky and Bullwinkle. Her range was absolutely impressive. GE: Chuck Jones also directed How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Im curious, what does that mean how does one direct an animated film? The way one directs an animated film is pretty much that they are like any director, in charge of the variety of jobs that go into doing it. But specifically, hes the one that does all the key drawings, the main drawings that show the characters in action, how theyre going to respond to certain situation. Traditionally, theyre the ones that design whats known as a model sheet. So if you ever see a model sheet of Bugs Bunny in 20 different poses how Bugs Bunny looks in profile, looks from behind, looks out front and his response to a variety of action, so the assistants then can redraw each cell similar to what this director has envisioned for the character. Hes probably there also to monitor all the editing, monitor all the voice acting, and guide the designers for backgrounds. So hes got his team of some key people who hes overseeing to help him achieve his visions in all these various departments. JC: Given the amount of money that was spent, was the expectation that this was going to be a special that they would show every year over and over again? It seems that it wouldve been hard to foresee just how enduring it was going to be. Thirty-eight million people, it was reported, had watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I dont know if people thought they were going to be a big hit, and I think a lot of people were pleasantly surprised. But by the time the Grinch came out in 66, Charlie Brown Christmas had been a hit a year earlier. By that time, people were like, Wow. This isnt really a risk. Theres an audience out here who is looking for a holiday specials and we think that if we do this right, then we can replay it over and over and over again. GE: Kevin, I saw that you also study censorship in film and Im curious, does this cross over with your work in animation, and the types of things that may have been censored in TV animation at this time? Most certainly. Im currently working on a book on the history of Scooby-Doo. I havent been able to prove it, but one of the things from How the Grinch Stole Christmas that was supposedly edited out of later broadcasts was the scene in which the Grinch comes in and sees all the little Whos sleeping in bed and he has this creepy grin that might imply child abduction or something of a creepy predatory nature. That reportedly had been edited out of subsequent viewings but then put back in. GE: Lastly, I wanted to ask I saw theres going to be a 2018 computer-animated film version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch. Do you have any thoughts on seeing it remade again? Its just the way things are going in the film world and television world. How many times can one do the Grinch? I approach it with trepidation, as I would toward any property that has been recently done. But its Benedict Cumberbatch so hes got a good track record. JC: The thing thats strange to me about doing the Grinch like that, and also the previous one that Ron Howard did, is like you said before, this was a story that takes 12 minutes to read and so even just doing it as a 24-minute special was beefing it up a little bit. So then to make it into a feature-length movie feels like youre really stretching it pretty thin. Its one thing to stretch out something in 12 minutes to another 12 minutes, its another thing to stretch out a 12-minute story to 100 minutes and then some, and so that would be up to, hopefully, the writer and director to come up with a really good story. But thats hard to do. As weve seen in the past, things go into production without a script ready and then you get something like Fantastic Four. Stormtroopers on holiday. Photo: Lucasfilm Rogue One spoilers below. There are few documents more pored over than trailers for tentpole geek movies. YouTube is littered with astoundingly long videos and fastidious blog posts (including some by your very own Vulture) breaking down every single frame of the promotional clips for superhero flicks, Harry Potter installments, and, of course, Star Wars films. The latest of the latter, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was no exception, which makes it all the more odd that the finished product strayed pretty far from its trailer content. Theres a surprising number of shots and lines that didnt make it into the final cut many of which were pretty rad! Heres a breakdown of the ones we noticed the absence of, in our best attempt at chronological order. (This post has been updated to include more shots that didnt make it in, with a hat tip to ScreenCrush.) Jyn-soner The very first Rogue One footage that anyone in the general public saw was a pair of shots in the teaser trailer depicting Felicity Joness Jyn Erso being walked through Rebel Alliance headquarters on Yavin IV in space-handcuffs. But savor that cherished memory, because the movie only shows what happens after shes done being escorted and un-cuffed. Accordingly, they also cut the line where her questioner asks if she can be trusted without her shackles. Rebel yell There was a little bit of action-hero one-liner-ing in the early footage, as well, when Jyn spat back at Mon, This is a rebellion, isnt it? I rebel. Such tough-gal talk was abandoned in the end. The stakes Once the questioning starts, that guy is joined by Rebel commander Mon Mothma, who also wants to have words with our heroine. Our Rebellion is all that remains to push back the Empire, she intones, laying out the direness of the situation. Apparently, the powers that be felt that we were already pretty clear about how badly the war is going, because that line is gone. So, too, is Mothmas statement that a major weapons test is imminent, which could have been a line from later in the films chronology, though well possibly never know. Jyns resume Mon also engages in the silly action-movie trope of rattling off a protagonists accomplishments or demerits as an expository shortcut substituting for a backstory. In one of the trailers, Mon describes Jyn as On your own since the age of 15, reckless, aggressive, undisciplined. She also shot a man on Boz Pity, just to watch him die. Cassians resume Poor Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) has to speak for himself when it comes to his qualifications. In a trailer, he tells Jyn, Ive been recruiting for the Rebellion for a long time. We dont hear that in the finished movie, possibly because it makes the life of an intelligence operative sound a little too much like that of a headhunter for a consulting firm. Its all good This ones a shame. In a trailer, we see Jyn and Cassian in the cockpit of their ship as it takes off from Yavin IV and, silhouetted by a distant sun, they look at each other. Good, Jyn says, cracking a quarter-smile. Good, Cassian replies, charming as ever. And yet, ironically, the absence of the line in the final movie is Not Good. Photo: null/null Droid mercy Rogue One derives much of its comic relief from the reformed Imperial murder-droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk). We still get a lot of solid gags from him in the finished product, but one that we lose is him telling Jyn, The captain says you are a friend. I will not kill you. Though the line is gone, the fact that he doesnt kill her remains. Photo: Lucasfilm Working on the chain gang There was also a shot of some X-wing pilots being paraded through Jedha in one of the trailers. Its gone, and its a little unclear how it would have fit into the story line as it played out in the film. Fallen Jedi In both the trailers and the finished product, the Jedi are decidedly absent from the narrative a first for a Star Wars flick. However, both feature footage of a giant statue of a Jedi that has crumbled, Ozymandias-like, into the sands of Jedha. But the overhead shot in the trailers was replaced by one from the side. Before Rogaine and after! Photo: null/2016 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Saw shorn One of the biggest differences between the first glimpses and the final film is a purely visual one, and it has to do with Forest Whitakers head. In the first teaser, his anti-Imperial terrorist character, Saw Gerrera, is bald; in the movie, he has the wildly angled curls of a graying Yahoo Serious. Its possible that these were scenes that were supposed to take place earlier in the timeline, as well. Saws jeremiad In a trailer, we also hear Saw lament what has happened to his beloved Galaxy. The world is coming undone, he says in the inexplicable accent Whitaker chose for the character. Imperial flags reign across the Galaxy. In the movie, were left to just assume things are bad without having to hear it from a grizzled old terrorist. Saw cares Saws fears are multitudinous and can also exist on a more personal scale. In a trailer, he asks someone (presumably Jyn), What will you do when they catch you? What will you do if they break you? If you continue to fight, what will you become? She gets a reprieve from this oral exam in the movie. Never tell me the odds Rogue One features a pile of homages to the existing Star Wars movies, one of which is K-2SOs perpetual aping of C-3POs declarations about the overwhelmingly negative odds of success in a given situation. However, it appears that there was at least one estimation too many. A trailer featured the bot telling the crew, There is a 97.6 percent chance of failure, after which Cassian tells the listeners, He means well; the finished film just has a bajillion bits of dialogue about the odds, as opposed to a bajillion and one. Remembha Jedha We first meet Jiang Wens middle-aged gunman Baze Malbus on the desert world of Jedha, where he hangs out with his friend (and, if you ask me, boyfriend) Chirrut Imwe, played by Donnie Yen. Their home burg of Jedha City gets blown up by the Death Star midway through the story, and in a trailer, we see Baze shooting at Imperials on the rainy planet of Eadu while yelling, You destroyed our home! The finished movie deletes the line, presuming that we remember what happened literally like 15 minutes earlier. JynTube One of the sleekest images of the Rogue One promotional campaign and the one chosen as the kicker for the first teaser showed Jyn in an Imperial Deathtroopers uniform (sans helmet) during the heist sequence that acts as the climax. She gazes slightly upward of the camera while standing in a tube-shaped corridor resembling those traversed by Luke Skywalker on his journey to fight Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. Though Jyns high-risk theft still occurs and she still dons the troopers duds, that particular shot is sadly absent. Photo: Lucasfilms Photo: Lucasfilm Vader, viewer Speaking of that venerable Dark Lord of the Sith: The first image of Vader that we got in the run-up to Rogue One depicted him looking at what appears to be the giant view-screen of the Death Star as it prepares to fire, as well as another one thats likely from the same scene. Vader doesnt visit the big ol weapon in the movie. Krennic is not amused Similarly, we saw Ben Mendelsohns Imperial bastard Orson Krennic standing near the view-screen while holding a surprisingly large gun near his crotch in the first teaser. That shot is no more. Photo: Lucasfilm Hes got the power Even worse, we lost the bit where Orson goes full ham and writhes his fist while telling Vader about the pow-ah of the Death Star. However, thats not the biggest Orson-related crime. That title goes to Watersports the deletion of his puddle scene! That teaser also featured the white-garbed gent traversing a very large puddle littered with dead Stormtroopers on Scarif, his cape dragging along in the dirty water. Similarly, we didnt get a live version of the promotional photo in which some still-alive Stormtroopers walk through a larger body of water on that tropical world. Photo: Lucasfilm Battlefront One of the biggest changes signals a drastic revision in the way the final act played out. In the first teaser, we see Jyn and Cassian running in front of Imperial AT-ACTs on Scarif but in the finished film, they spend that battle indoors or high above the ground, thus preventing them from obtaining sick tans. Photo: Lucasfilm Run, Jyn, run Along those lines, we also had shots of Jyn and Cassian dashing through the Scarif base in their civilian clothes, not their Imperial disguises. Man, the original version of this ending really was overhauled, wasnt it? Photo: null/null Eye-to-TIE Rogue One saves the worst for last when it comes to deletions. Jyn makes her last stand on a vertiginous tower and, in one of the trailers, we see her face down a quite-large Imperial TIE Fighter that elevates itself to eye level. That sweet image is wholly absent; indeed, its sort of unclear how it would even fit with the way the climax ended up playing out. Mayhap it was a victim of Tony Gilroys much-discussed reshoots? Bye, TIE. Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in the first Star Wars. Photo: Lucasfilm Spoilers ahead for Rogue One. There are few, if any, ongoing film franchises more connected to the passage of time than Star Wars. Its there in the dates of each release: 1977 to 1983 for the original trilogy; 1999 to 2005 for the prequels; and now, starting in 2015, one movie a year through at least 2020, including this years Rogue One. Thats more than 40 real-life years for the franchise to span onscreen, and 40 years of filmmaking means 40 years of human events, including the most human events of all: aging and death. The problem is particularly acute for Rogue One, which takes place shortly before 1977s A New Hope and features a few of the same characters. In one instance, the movie addresses this problem in a more or less unprecedented way. Rather than recast the role of baddie Grand Moff Tarkin, once played by the late Peter Cushing, director Gareth Edwards and Industrial Light and Magic simply digitally re-created the actor. They did this through a combination of techniques: British actor Guy Henry, probably best known to American audiences as Minister of Magic Pius Thicknesse in both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movies, performed the role of Tarkin during shooting, then was digitally altered in post-production to appear as if he was Cushing. According to the Daily Mail, which first reported that Cushing would be re-created back in 2015, the effect was achieved by drawing on preexisting footage of the actor, particularly his work in A New Hope. (Apparently, his legs and feet were difficult, because Cushing hated the boots he was given for Tarkins costume and gave his original performance in slippers; as a result, Lucas only shot him from the knees up.) Thats the technical How of Cushings return. The legal How is a bit less straightforward. As CGI has improved over time, concerns have grown regarding actors rights to their own personas and likenesses, either onscreen or in video games. Netflixs BoJack Horseman featured a story line in its third season in which BoJack is replaced in a film by a digital re-creation of himself, having signed away those rights in his contract; hes subsequently nominated for an Oscar, and the performance is praised as the best of his career. Meanwhile, digital plastic surgery and postproduction enhancement have become not only commonplace but expected, going so far, at least in one instance, as replacing an actors face with anothers after the performance was already in the can. But Cushing in Rogue One represents a more extreme version of the case: This is a deceased actor being made to look as though hes giving a new, living performance. Is it ethical? Good question. Is it legal? Probably. Its very likely that [the filmmakers] secured permission from Cushings estate or his direct heirs, because the laws regarding postmortem rights of publicity differ from state to state, Tyler Ochoa, a professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, told Vulture. Two states expressly do not recognize a postmortem right of publicity, including New York, but among the states that do recognize, the period can range anywhere from ten years after the actors death, to 50 to 70 years, to 100. In one state, Tennessee, its even perpetual, thanks to a statute the Elvis estate got passed. In California, that right of publicity the legal term for the the right to prevent others from profiting off your image without your consent lasts 70 years after an actors death, and the state could choose to enforce that even if Cushing resided in a state or country with a shorter postmortem right of publicity, or, as in the case of Cushings United Kingdom, none at all. Because of this situation, permission is almost always obtained before such a use of likeness is attempted, which is why theres been very little litigation on the issue so far. An actors contract also usually defines the extent and nature of his or her rights as far as whether the copyright holder of their performance can use their likeness in a sequel, or a video game, or an advertisement; according to Ochoa, the rights of publicity tend to be cumulative, meaning an actor would need to give permission for further use of footage in addition to permission from the copyright holder. (A moot point for Rogue One, as Lucasfilm held the copyright to Cushings old performance.) There is a gray area: Copyright is federal law, while rights of publicity are state law, and federal law is supreme to state. Theoretically, a challenge could be made to an actors rights of publicity by a copyright holder, or over a person who could be said to exist in the public domain, as has been happening with Marilyn Monroe. But smart lawyers are going to handle this with contracts, Ochoa said. Theyre going to continue to get permission wherever they can, and if they cant get permission, theyll avoid it. Considering the stakes involved in a film the size of Rogue One, its almost certain that Disney did their due diligence in making sure that the use of Cushings likeness was legal; when reached for comment, a Disney representative pointed to two mentions of Cushing in the credits: With Special Acknowledgment to Peter Cushing, OBE and Special Thanks to The Estate of Peter Cushing, OBE. Actors union SAG-AFTRA, meanwhile, issued this comment: Using a digital or virtual re-creation of a performer, deceased or living, in a film, television show, video game, or any other audio-visual work, requires, at minimum, prior consent of the performer or the performers beneficiaries. The issue for us is straightforward and clear: The use of performers work in this manner has obvious economic value and should be treated accordingly. Either way, its safe to assume that this is only the first instance of what could become a major trend in filmmaking. Plumbing the past has proven a powerful tool for studios selling blockbusters: If franchises can be revived, why not actors, too? This post has been updated with comment from Disney. Hailing Nirbhaya as a martyr not only belittles her unjust death, but also rape as a whole. By Shreya Biswas: I walked into my office this morning and noticed two news pieces running on television screen hanged over my desk. A one-line flash about Nirbhaya -- as it was the fourth anniversary of the 2012 Delhi rape case -- and a red-banded headline about a rape in south Delhi's Moti Bagh yesterday. I couldn't help but laugh. Yes, I laughed. advertisement This would possibly the first time I had such a reaction to a news about rape. But I don't feel guilty about it, because it was not a laugh of callousness. The irony made me laugh. I switched on my work station, and logged onto Twitter. Tweets with #Nirbhaya had filled my feed. People remembering her, paying respects, calling for the rapists' blood, calling to put an end to rape altogether. #Nirbhaya was one of the top trends on Twitter. A girl who was raped to death four years ago, now just an annual Twitter trend. I logged out and got to work. But the itch in my mind stayed. An itch I had been ignoring for a long time. Four years. I was not laughing anymore. WHY DO WE CALL JYOTI SINGH 'NIRBHAYA'? Nirbhaya, loosely translated, means one who is not afraid. Jyoti Singh was given this alias when she was not named publicly. I gather this name was picked to identify the rape victim as someone who fought back, as a brave survivor who was still fighting for her life. It showed respect, admiration and that the nation did not pity her for being raped. When we stuck to the name 'Nirbhaya' after her death, even after her real name was revealed, purposely or by mistake, it became more than a sign of admiration. It became a tag, an SEO keyword, a synonym for a girl who was raped to death. Now, it was all shades of wrong. Jyoti Singh was a young woman who hoped and possibly believed she would be able to return home safely. Believe it when I say this -- as a girl of the age she was when she was brutally murdered -- living in this city where she boarded the bus that night, I know what she must've felt. Your Nirbhaya felt scared. And there is not a shred of shame in it. She was trapped in a moving vehicle with a bunch of monsters, was held down and stripped against her will. Beaten, injured and raped. Even Wonder Woman would've been scared, Mother Mary would've been scared. Fear does not make someone any less brave. Jyoti's fear did not make her any less of a fighter. advertisement We don't call her Nirbhaya with the slightest intention of degradation, yes. But unknowingly, every time we do so, we dehumanise her. We disregard the very human and natural instinct that made her one among us. In an attempt to bow down to the girl we couldn't save, we ignore the fact that she was just another human being who wanted to live well. Like you and I. Jyoti Singh was a woman who was raped and murdered. Nirbhaya is a martyr, a hero we put on a pedestal. Does this really honour her? Has this thrown in any change in the reality since December 16, 2012? Because let's face it, Nirbhaya was not a martyr. By the books, Maria Goretti was a martyr. Bhagat Singh was a martyr. Jyoti did not give her life for a cause or a belief. She did not succumb to the grievous injuries to become a beacon of our rebellion against rape. She wanted to live. And she died an unjust death. advertisement Calling her a martyr belittles the loss of her life. Jyoti's rape triggered our conscience in unison, granted. We woke up to her horror story and refused to back down without a fight. We thought, enough is enough. But if she had a choice, like 'martyrs' by definition do, do you really think she would've boarded that bus to set an example, to be a "hero"? I'm aware that I'm not the only one who feels a twinge of hollow regret every time Jyoti Pandey's story is mentioned. I know I cannot be the only one who wishes she had lived, who cannot wait for her culprits to be punished by law. And honestly, I was not trying to shame those who remember her as Nirbhaya. But as someone who has moved around in Delhi-NCR, and other cities late at night, as a girl who is as young as Jyoti was when she was gangraped till her innards spilled out, I tell you, she was scared. We all are scared. And if we want to honour her memory, let us admit and respect Nirbhaya's fear, and make every last attempt to make sure no one -- women, children or men -- ever feel that fear again. advertisement Also read: 3 years since Jyoti Singh was raped and murdered: How much have we changed? --- ENDS --- How did this (Death Star) get made? Photo: Lucasfilm Medium-size Rogue One spoilers ahead. Theres a useful literary concept that comes from the world of fanfiction: fix-it, a term for stories that fix the canonical version of a given tale to make it more satisfying. A fix-it is a subcategory of the concept of the retcon the act of retroactively overriding or reframing an existing story in a subsequent work. Sometimes, it means outright rewriting a bit of plot so a beloved character doesnt die, or a distasteful narrative beat never happens. But more interesting are the fix-it stories that dont seek to change the original work, but rather to fill in the blanks. In such cases, the writer will take some infuriating plot hole or an inconsistency of characterization Khan inexplicably remembering Chekov in Star Trek II, Scullys motherhood going unmentioned in later X-Files material, why a computer virus can affect human bodies in Mega Man X and come up with a plausible fictional explanation. When done well, it can be an elegant effort of streamlining and invention; when done poorly, it can just make the original story even more baffling. Nitpicky Star Wars fans can rejoice, because this weekends Rogue One is a shining example of the former. In one simple scene, a major problem from 1977s Episode IV A New Hope is solved in a way that will leave eagle-eyed geeks breathless. Its made all the more remarkable by the fact that Star Wars has, historically, been terrible at retcons. The examples of such creative errors are legion and infamous. Theres the loathed alteration that George Lucas made to Han Solos encounter with bounty hunter Greedo in the special edition of A New Hope: instead of Solo slyly and cold-bloodedly shooting his Rodian rival by surprise, the new version has Greedo shoot at Han first, making the killing blow a boringly noble act of self-defense. In 2002s Attack of the Clones, Lucas erased dozens of cool stories from novels and comic books about Boba Fett by retroactively explaining that the jetpacked gent was actually a clone of his bounty-hunter dad. Solos infamous boast that he made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs a unit of distance, not time was eventually explained by a labored workaround involving black holes, replacing the simpler interpretation: that Han was a terrible bullshitter. To be fair, there have been some useful (and, significantly, non-Lucas-executed) attempts at official fix-its in the Star Wars corpus. For example, Tom Anglebergers 2015 young-adult novelization of Return of the Jedi explains how Leia can say she remembers her mother despite Revenge of the Sith revealing that her mom died in childbirth. According to Anglebergers text, Leia secretly isnt sure whether her memory is real. But though thats useful, its in no way aesthetically satisfying it accounts for the line by undermining it. Similarly, the inconsistencies with Boba Fetts filmic origin story and the reams of contradictory content that came before has all been forced and awkward: Remember all those stories where Fetts real identity was a guy named Jaster Mereel? As post-2002 works told us, that was actually just a totally separate guy who knew Boba. In other words, canonical Star Wars fix-it is nothing new, but its almost always been irritating at best and actively damaging at worst. Not so in Rogue One, thank the Force. The big fix-it moment comes about halfway through the story, when Felicity Joness rebellious loner Jyn Erso gets her hands on a holographic message from her long-absent father, Galen, played by the eternally glamorous Mads Mikkelsen. A brilliant scientist and engineer, Galen was long ago taken prisoner by the Empire and pressed into helping that totalitarian regime construct its world-exploding Death Star. On the dusty planet of Jedha, Jyn watches a recording in which her father reveals what hes been doing all these years, and what she has to do in order to save the Galaxy. Before we go any further, we have to establish the problem that the movie fixes here. In A New Hope, the Rebel Alliance is able to destroy the aforementioned planet-killing space station through a highly improbable David-and-Goliath maneuver. Despite the fact that this sucker is the size of a moon and the crown jewel of Imperial engineering, the secret schematics that the Rebels swipe reveal that the whole thing can be destroyed if you shoot a couple of small torpedoes into a tiny exhaust port thats just sitting on the surface, unprotected. Aim your gun correctly and flick your thumb on the firing button and youll make this massive mechanical horror go kaboom. How could such a disproportionate chain reaction be possible? And why the hell would the Rebels even know such a tiny flaw exists, given that the schematics are likely to be insanely complex? Enter Galen. He informs Jyn and loyal longtime fans that the exhaust port was his idea. During his captivity, he realized that, even if he died, the Empire would still finish the Death Star, so his best move was to use his unenviable position for the greater good. Over time, he carefully and covertly inserted that Achilles heel into his loathsome cosmic WMD. It was so well hidden that the only way one could find out about it would be to personally hear it from him, so he gives the information to Jyn in the tape, as well as instructions on how to find the plans. Spoiler alert: She does, and the way is cleared for the Rebellions success in A New Hope. Its so fantastically simple and makes all the sense in the Galaxy. Not only does the fix tie up the loose ends, it also provides Rogue Ones most interesting connection to the existing films. Its not empty fanservice like the various unnecessary cameos scattered throughout the run time, nor is it a cheap laugh line designed to make us proud that we can get insider-y references. It genuinely fleshes out this beloved mythos. The revelation is also a true surprise: The whole point of the movie is that it explains how the Rebels got the plans, but you dont see Galens secret coming. The news also doesnt interrupt the flow of the story; indeed, it pushes the story along with renewed urgency, since theres suddenly hope for the characters that the Death Star might be destroyed. Plus, we get to hear the expository information intoned with classily restrained urgency by a truly great Dane. Let the scene be a lesson to future Star Wars installments, especially prequels like the forthcoming Han Solo solo film. Hell, given that every studios clamoring for continuity-filled cinematic universes these days, theres going to be plenty of opportunity for fix-it retcons. We already got another good example earlier this year, when Tony Stark told us in Captain America: Civil War that he was back in his armor in Avengers: Age of Ultron, despite ostensibly quitting in Iron Man 3, because he went back on his promise to Pepper Potts, just one of the many times hes done so. So its not impossible to do well. We live in a strange new world of byzantine pop-culture tapestries, and any tapestry is going to have flaws in the stitching. An expert hand will reweave with great care and graceful precision; a lesser stroke will tear the whole thing up. Scott Baio. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images Chachi lovers everywhere arent the only ones having a hard time with Scott Baios vocal support of Donald Trump. Baio, who declared his allegiance to Trump long before Kanye West made it disturbingly trendy, has filed a police report against Nancy Mack, wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. In the report, Baio alleges that Mack attacked him because of his Trump support. According to TMZs account of the incident, Baio and Mack were at an elementary school event over the weekend when Mack began to press Baio about Trump. She allegedly repeatedly yelled, Grab em by the pussy, demanding to know how Baio had stuck by Trump after those disturbing Access Hollywood comments. Baio reportedly told police that Mack then grabbed him, shaking him and pushing him. TMZs sources explain Macks behavior as an attempt to make Baio experience the way Trump hugs women, insisting that no physical harm was intended. The weird incident is now being investigated by the Ventura County Sheriffs Department, with Mack presently listed as a battery suspect. the national interest Bidens Defense of Democracy May Not Work, But It Is Right Bidens Defense of Democracy May Not Work, But It Is Right A perfect pairing. Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell are going to start singing about every product you own, including the kitchen sink. Wiig and Ferrell have signed up to star in a movie musical based on the book Everything Is Coming Up Profits: The Golden Age of Industrial Musicals, which tells the often overlooked history of corporate America using Broadway talent to write and perform material about their products. Per Deadline, as part of many of these musicals, the actors would play inanimate objects or get overly excited about diesel engines, bathtubs or selling tires. Marc Platt (La La Land, Grease Live!) will produce the adaptation, which is getting a script from Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) and an original score from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, who also did the music for Hairspray and Smash. We cant wait for Kristen Wiigs heartbreaking ballad about washer dryers sung, of course, from the perspective of a fridge. Woody Harrelson. Photo: Fathom Events Woody Harrelson sees your Hairspray Live! and he laughs in its face. The actor has announced his plans to expand the scope of what live productions have ever done, making history with a live movie. Called Lost in London, the film will be shot while it is airing in theaters. The format marks a milestone, according to Harrelson, who vows that no ones ever been that stupid until now. The actor is also directing and writing Lost in London, which he describes as being about one of the worst nights in my life that I thought would make good comedy. Again, depending on how this whole live movie things goes until now. The live event, set to run in theaters on January 19, will also star Harrelson compatriots Owen Wilson and Willie Nelson, so steel yourself for a whole lot of drawling pauses. Watch Harrelsons (pre-taped) announcement of the project below. Hearing a bundle of petitions seeking regulation of noise pollution in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court is all set to send a retired bureaucrat to jail for deliberately not complying with the orders. By Vidya : Irked by what it considered as deliberated delay in complying with its orders, the Bombay High Court will decide on the punishment to be handed over a former additional chief secretary of Maharashtra KP Bakshi in a case related to containing noise pollution. The Bombay High Court had directed the Maharashtra government for procuring 1,843 decibel meters to be installed at all police stations across the state. advertisement READ| Bombay HC issues contempt notice to 2 ACPs for not taking action against noise violators The home department was tasked with procuring the noise meters so that noisy processions and locations could be measured and people responsible for high decibels beyond permissible limits could be booked. But, 11 months after the order, the Maharashtra government failed to procure noise meters, which upset the division bench headed Justice Abhay Oka. READ| Bombay High court raps Maharashtra government for delay in procuring noise-measuring meters REPEATED DELAY BY GOVERNMENT In May, the high court had issued contempt notice to Bakshi after the government informed it that no steps had been taken for procurement of noise meters. In October, the government again informed the Bombay High Court that the decibel meters would be procured by November 10. The court was hearing a plea seeking implementation of noise pollution guidelines and regulations. READ| Bombay HC blasts Maharashtra govt for failing to control noise pollution during festive season In an affidavit filed by Swadheen Kshatriya, the court was told that the procurement dates for the decibel meters were different from the ones mentioned by former additional chief secretary (Home) KP Bakshi. WATCH: This change of procurement dates, without in contravention with the assurance given to the court, did not go well with the bench, which had given KP Bakshi an exemption from appearing before it in person. 'THEY MUST GO TO JAIL' Justice Oka said, "It was a mistake to give exemption from appearance to additional chief secretary home and giving adjournments each time you asked." Miffed at the government's approach in the matter, Justice Oka said that Bakshi 'is guilty of contempt of court'. Justice Oka asked the government counsel as to how much sentence would be appropriate for Bakshi for his offence. While Vishal Thadani, appearing for the government, did not respond to the court, one of the petitioners said, "Until these people go to jail, nothing will happen." ALSO READ| Ganesh Mandals may face music for using high-decibel sound systems: Maha govt --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today said it does not just want prevention of air pollution, but a reversal of its impact also, after it was told that pollutants once generated continue to affect the environment for years. "What about what has already come into the (environment) system every year? We dont just want prevention, but we want a reversal also," a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar said to the Centre, the Delhi government, all civic bodies and pollution control authorities which were also asked to carry out pollution mapping of the national capital. advertisement The court asked the authorities to map the areas in Delhi which are the highest polluters, after it was told by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) that Anand Vihar had the highest levels leading to increase of the average ambient air quality level of the city. During the hearing, the bench was told that 9000 tonnes of PM 2.5 and 10,000 tonnes of PM 10, both particulate matter, were generated from burning of stubble by the state of Punjab alone during a 20-day period and these pollutants do not dissipate easily from the environment. Terming as "alarming" the figures of particulate matter generated from one state alone during the crop-burning season, the bench said one effective way to reduce this pollutant was by having more green cover. This view was echoed by amicus curiae and senior advocate Kailash Vasdev who also suggested regulation of landfill sites and cleaning up of road and construction debris as additional measures to improve air quality. DPCC, represented by advocate Sanjeev Ralli, claimed the reason for high pollution levels at Anand Vihar was due to the presence of a inter-state bus terminal and a railway station there, apart from the chaotic traffic situation. Taking note of the submission, the court as an "immediate short term plan" directed Delhi Traffic Police to "rectify and rationalise the traffic situation there". Similar directions were issued to the Uttar Pradesh government to control the traffic situation in neighbouring areas of Anand Vihar which fall in that state. DPCC, meanwhile, was asked to give average ambient air quality figures for Delhi by excluding Anand Vihar. The East Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Public Works Department were directed to focus on Anand Vihar area and remove the roadside rubble, dust and construction debris from the area. (More) PTI HMP PPS SC --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Government today said an SFIO probe has been ordered against FTIL as well as its 18 subsidiaries and associates in connection with the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) scam. Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies (India) Ltd has changed its name to 63 Moons Technologies. Asked whether the government has directed SFIO to investigate the NSEL scam, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal replied in the affirmative. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, he said probe has been ordered into the affairs of NSEL, FTIL, their 18 subsidiaries and associate companies. The agency will also investigate the "20 defaulting entities and their role/nexus with the brokers", the minister said. The probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), which comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, was ordered on October 28. advertisement In the wake of Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at NSEL, which came to light in late 2013, the ministry had sought merger of the bourse with FTIL as well as replacement of the existing FTIL management. The ministry, in February this year, directed the merger of the scam-hit NSEL with FTIL, in a first-ever order to merge the two private companies. While the merger order has been challenged at the Bombay High Court, the matter regarding replacing the current FTIL management is before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The government has been monitoring the action taken by investigating and enforcement agencies for violations of law, criminal offences and default in payments to investors on the NSEL platform. Investigations and other enforcement measures are being taken by EOW, ED, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Financial Intelligence Unit?India (FIU-IND). PTI RAM ARD --- ENDS --- A new 156,000 square-foot Wal-Mart in Hewitt is scheduled to open in late January. Employees are making final preparations for the store at 733 Sun Valley Blvd., which will include a full line of groceries, a wide assortment of merchandise, a full pharmacy and a fuel station. The location has filled most of its 300 positions. With major construction complete, were in the home stretch for our grand opening, store manager Cory Reimer said. Activity is buzzing at the location almost 24-hours a day, Hewitt City Manager Adam Miles said. The company has told city leaders the grand opening is planned for Jan. 25, Miles said. It is fast and furious over there right now, he said. Its a big deal, and its a nice looking store. Hewitt officials have predicted the new store will generate $80,000 to $100,000 monthly in sales tax revenue for the city. Sales tax revenue goes into the citys general fund to cover salaries and ongoing infrastructure maintenance. City leaders also expect the new store to generate about $250,000 in property taxes each year. Wal-Mart bought 21 acres near Interstate 35 in Commerce Park for about $4 million. Construction was delayed a few times, once forcing the city to cancel a bond election for projects city leaders hoped the new tax base would cover. Another Wal-Mart operates on Hewitt Drive but is in Waco city limits. There is a significant amount of land surrounding the new Wal-Mart available for development, Miles said. The owner of the property is actively working with national retailers to get the right mix of development surrounding the new store, he said. Hopefully well be hearing some big announcements early 2017, Miles said. City leaders will continue to monitor traffic patterns as the store opens to ensure efficiency and safety, he said. The police department also is working with the stores loss-prevention team, Miles said. When you have a store like that in any city, your calls for service increase. I dont just mean shoplifters, but fender benders in the parking lot to someone locked their keys in the car, Miles said. Anytime you have more people in a concentrated area, calls go up. You can already tour downtown Waco and the Brazos River corridor by land and water. Soon you can see it all from the air. BlueSky Helicopter Tours is preparing to launch aerial tours in early 2017 from Heritage Square, allowing visitors to see Baylor University, McLane Stadium, the Magnolia Silos, Cameron Park and other sights from about 1,000 feet up. The tours are a side project of Waco-based Night Flight Concepts, whose leaders saw an opportunity in the 20,000 tourists who reportedly visit Magnolia Market each week. Thats a lot of people coming to Waco, Night Flight President Adam Aldous said. This is a chance to expose them to a different view, literally, of where they are. The Waco City Council approved a six-month special permit on Dec. 6, allowing Aldous firm to lease 2.8 acres at 311 Austin Avenue for a helipad. The firm will pay $1,000 per month to use the parking lot next to Heritage Square and will vacate it when the city needs the space for convention center events or festivals. Council members approved the permit unanimously but directed the city staff to work with Aldous to ensure temporary fencing and a storage building the operation will need are appropriate for downtown. Councilman Jim Holmes said he has heard some concerns about noise from the helicopter, but he said the permits short time span will give the operator a chance to prove its not a nuisance. Holmes said he thinks the helicopter tours could encourage visitors to make Waco more than a quick stop. Weve got all these Magnolia people coming to downtown, and we want to give them other things to do, he said. Weve already got the trolley pushing them out to Austin Avenue and the Dr Pepper Museum. This will be one more thing they can do. . . . If a lot of people use it and it gets a good buzz, well try to keep it going. Aldous, an Iraq War veteran, will be among the helicopter pilots leading the tours in a new four-seater Robinson R44. The pilots will be in communication with local airport towers, he said. The first-come, first-served tours are set to start in January and will be available Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $99 for a 10-minute tour. BlueSky is already offering tours out of its base at the Texas State Technical College airport. Aldous and his partners opened a Night Flight Concepts office in Waco last year, and the company is in the process of moving its headquarters here from Bedford. Night Flight Concepts provides night-vision training to helicopter pilots, including students in Texas State Technical Colleges helicopter training program. Our core business had nothing to do with helicopter tours, Aldous said. To be honest, this isnt where you make money. Youve got to have the numbers and a good location. . . . These things are very expensive to operate. He said this type of helicopter typically sells for about $700,000 and costs about $750 per hour to operate. The firm gave demonstration rides to members of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce and the Waco City Council in October, launching from Heritage Square. Since then it has been offering rides by appointment at TSTC Waco Airport, including some with night vision goggles. Wacos Keller Williams Realty office recently hired BlueSky for a corporate event, allowing employees to take a tour of the city they sell on a daily basis. Its a unique experience, Keller Williams broker Jeff Bird said. I know a lot of my staff who went up with me rescheduled with Adam to do a short tour. People have paid a lot more for a lot less fun. Bird said the helicopter perspective allowed real estate agents to see Waco in a new way and understand the proximity of certain neighborhoods to the river and downtown. Some of them said we need to buy a helicopter, he said. Aldous said he intends to offer helicopter services to a range of local enterprises, including real estate companies, photography firms, television stations and law enforcement. Having a helicopter business in the city of Waco puts the city on the map from a growth standpoint, he said. The other piece of that is that we hope it enhances opportunities for other businesses downtown. Moving to Waco Aldous, 42, established Night Flight in 2006 after a 14-year career in the military that included flying Chinooks during the invasion of Iraq. His wartime experience made him adept at night flying. We flew in the nighttime and slept during the day, he said. Darkness was our tactical advantage against the enemy. Aldous moved the company from Florida to Bedford in 2011 but found that its growth required a new location. He said TSTCs flight program and Wacos uncrowded airspace were selling points. Its challenging to find the airspace to do the kind of training we do, he said. Aldous said an associated portable helipad business, Heliwagon, is also moving to Waco. Aldous moved here in April with his wife and daughter, now 2. He said Waco has quickly grown on him, and he thinks the city has a bright future. I love Fort Worth, and once we got down here, I was a little hesitant at first, he said. But Ive lived all over the world, and this is one of the best places Ive been, not only because of the people but because of the community leaders here. You dont have a ton of things to do like in Dallas and Fort Worth, but the things there are to do are quality and they fit our lifestyle. The Waco District of the Texas Department of Transportation held its 29th annual Safety Awards Banquet in November, with more than 100 employees being recognized for their years of service and their accomplishments in driving and working safely without accidents or injuries. The keynote speaker, TxDOT Executive Director James Bass, congratulated the group on its second consecutive year with a no lost-time, injury-free record. Your achievements demonstrate to our districts statewide that an organization of this size can achieve this kind of tremendous safety record, he said. Bass urged the employess to stay focused and continue to strive toward the achievement of both zero accidents and injuries in their work environments and daily lives. Samual Salazar, TxDOTs Occupational Safety Division director, also praised the Waco Districts maintenance, construction and district staff sections, for their daily operations, in often hazardous environments, resulting in zero incidents and lost time injuries for the past two years. You are going places, in safety, where no district has been before, Salazar said. A job done exceptionally well, he added. Bobby Littlefield, Waco District engineer, presented the Employee of the Year awards to two employees. The Richard J. Skopik Employee of the Year Award went to Rendy Drews, of Lorena, district construction records auditor. The award was established to recognize a district employee in an engineering or district support office and is named for Richard J. Skopik, the Waco District engineer from July 1998 to August 2012. The Skopik Award went to Rendy Drews, of Lorena, district construction records auditor. She was selected for her outstanding work ethic, positive attitude and dedicated service as the districts safety point of contact, as well as her consistent excellence in support of TxDOT Waco District construction operations. The Kirby W. Pickett Employee of the Year Award went to Jaime Olvera with the Coryell County maintenance office. The Pickett Award, established to recognize an employee in a maintenance office, special maintenance crew or signal/radio shop, is named for Pickett, the Waco District engineer from September 1986 to April 1998. ----- TxDOT photo Rendy Drews (center) is shown with TxDOT Executive Director James Bass (left) and Bobby Littlefield, Waco District engineer, after receiving the Richard J. Skopik Employee of the Year Award at the Bell County Expo Center. Officials have high hopes for reopening Waco High Schools planetarium, but certainty on funding sources will have to wait at least a little while longer. The districts board postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday that could have guaranteed district money to pay for the reopening if fundraising efforts fall short. Waco Independent School District leaders have been focused on raising between $700,000 and $800,000 in private sponsorships from businesses, grants from foundations and donations from alumni and individuals since about October to cover the cost of renovating the planetarium. Built in the 60s, the planetarium has been closed for more than 20 years, Waco ISD spokesperson Bruce Gietzen said. The reopening could make Waco a destination for science field trips for thousands of students in the region, Gietzen said. Were trying to build a reputation of being an innovative school district, he said. Were trying to think outside the box to do whats best for our students and give them learning opportunities they might not get somewhere else. We think this is a step in that direction. During the meeting Thursday, board members asked for at least another month to sort out specifics of the renovation before they vote on whether to commit $999,350 of unassigned money from the districts general operating fund balance to cover shortfalls in private fundraising. This is such a great item, and weve got so many plans, Superintendent Bonny Cain said during the meeting. We want to look at all the different options, so Id like to ask for more time so we can make certain this is just exactly what yall need. With new technology and software and an interactive space for students, district officials and community leaders say the project will open doors for Waco ISD and for 180,000 students from 76 other school districts in Education Service Center Region 12. The new planetarium will also allow local entities, including Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum, to partner with the district and give students a chance to be part of a city becoming an education hub for science, they said. Once funding is secured, the planetarium is expected to open next school year or by January 2018. We think a planetarium is an excellent addition to Waco ISD, and planetarium experiences are wonderful for kids, Mayborn spokeswoman Rebecca Tucker Nall said. In 2019, the museum is expected to host an exhibit called Be the Astronaut, which allows students to experience space and flight simulation and space-related video games, Nall said. The planetarium would provide an excellent chance to partner with Waco ISD during that time and show students another level to exploring, she said. The planetarium will give students, teachers and scientists the chance to create and customize lessons however they want on whatever topic they want, Evans & Sutherland project manager Kevin Scott said during a demonstration of the companys equipment. Evans & Sutherland, which pioneers software used in digital planetariums worldwide, showed off what new projectors and updated technology could do in the facility and is expected to provide technology for the renovation. Whether operated from a computer, cellphone or Xbox controller, students will be able explore everything from the depths of the galaxy or the inner workings of the human body to four-cylinder motors or real-time weather and earthquake observations, Scott said. Students could even connect with scientists at other planetariums and stream content live, similar to using Skype software but on a 24-foot screen, Scott said. The technology would be light-years beyond anything Waco ISD already has, Gietzen said. Baylor and McLennan Community College each have science exhibits, and Texas State Technical College has the recently-opened Challenger Learning Center, which focuses on engaging science, technology, engineering and math activities, Gietzen said. Plus, rocket and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX is not too far down the road in McGregor. With that kind of opportunity, Gietzen said he could easily see entities creating full science days for students from all over the county and for all ages. For example, a student could go to the Challenger center for a flight simulation, then visit the planetarium to learn all about where they traveled, he said. He even sees the possibility of interns from local colleges using the facility, he said. One of our greatest opportunities with students today is to discover innovative ways to get them engaged in learning, Region 12 Executive Director Jerry Maze said. I cant imagine a more exciting and innovative way of learning than this planetarium. The planetarium will allow school districts the chance for cross-curriculum collaboration as students travel through the city, ultimately building a larger avenue for sharing ideas and science, technology, engineering and math education, Maze said. The proposed facility will also include a dedicated entrance to the planetarium, and the cost would cover replacing the facilitys current dome with one similar to displays used by IMAX, Universal Studios and the Adler Planetarium. The project will feature a new dual-lens multi-million pixel digital projector system and theater seating for 40 to 45 people. Operational revenue is expected to be generated by field trips from other schools, public admission tickets, special events and venue rental fees, as well as ongoing sponsorships. For more information or to make a donation, contact Gietzen at 755-9454. Michael Penix, who a prosecutor said snuffed out his wifes life like he would a pipe from his cherished collection, was sentenced to 99 years in prison Thursday. Penix, 53, a former credit union marketing director, pleaded guilty Monday to shooting his wife of 15 years, Rebecca, four times in the face at their West Waco home in September 2015. He asked a 54th State District Court jury to assess his penalty, which the panel of eight women and four men did after deliberating two hours Thursday afternoon. Penix, diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, showed no emotion as he was led away, his hands shackled to a waist chain. Penix admitted shooting his wife but said the anxiety medication and sleep aid he was taking made his memory of the entire incident fuzzy. He testified he shot his wife after she woke him up in the middle of the night. Rebecca Penixs daughter, Mallory Davidson, of Austin, said after the four-day trial was over that 99 years is not enough for Penix, who must serve at least 30 years in prison before he can seek parole. I just hope that other families see this and get out of bad situations before they end up here, Davidson said. Rebecca Penixs father, Carl Adams, of Ivanhoe, told Penix in a victim-impact statement that Penix fooled him and others in his family, but not his late wife, who had him figured out from early in his marriage to their daughter. You have no idea what youve done to my family, Adams said. He asked Penix what he expected them to do with his daughters body after he killed her and chastised him for never offering to help pay for her funeral or help with the arrangements. He said he is going to put a marker at the foot of his daughters grave saying Penix murdered her. I want everybody who goes there to know why she is there, Adams said. Prosecutors Michael Jarrett and Gabrielle Massey asked the jury for a life sentence, saying if any case deserves it, this one does. We are proud of the message this verdict sends to Mike Penix, Rebecca and her family and the people of McLennan County that believe violence against women and domestic abuse will not be tolerated, Jarrett said. It is our hope that Rebecca can now rest in peace. In jury summations, Jarrett noted how proud Penix was of his extensive pipe and tobacco collection, which was estimated at being worth $75,000 to $80,000. Snuffed out He snuffed out her life like one of his gourmet pipes, Jarrett said. He said Penix led seemingly different lives one of the genial professional his friends in the pipe club knew and one of the callous, abusive husband who choked his wife in 2009. Defense attorney Rob Swanton and Phil Frederick offered testimony from a doctor and a psychologist, who said Penixs use of Xanax and Ambien could have contributed to his violent reaction when his wife woke him. The circumstances surrounding this case make it difficult for everyone involved, Swanton said after the trial. The loss of life is always a tragic event. We appreciated the fact that Mike had friends who testified on his behalf and showed support for him, and they have indicated they will continue to do so. Trial testimony showed Penix shot his wife four times in the face and once in the hand as she tried to shield herself from the assault. Forensic evidence showed Rebecca Penix was lying on her back and Penix was standing over her body when he emptied his five-shot, .38-caliber revolver. Penix said he remembers his wife shaking him to wake him up and making the call to police. However, he testified he doesnt remember firing the shots that killed his wife. Lee Carter, a Waco psychologist who examined Penix in jail, testified Thursday for the defense that Penix was more open and honest than many other criminal defendants he has interviewed. He said Penix has a generalized anxiety disorder, marked by worrying, intensified tension and stress. He said the disorder was brought on at an early age because Penix was adopted and raised in a dysfunctional world. He is a man who filters life through emotions, rather than reason and common sense, Carter said. Wadia, who is independent director in Tata group firms, is facing vote by respective shareholders of the companies to a resolution moved by Tata Sons seeking his removal from the boards. By PTI: Industrialist Nusli Wadia, who is an independent director on some Tata group companies, has filed a Rs 3,000-crore defamation suit against Ratan Tata, Tata Sons and its directors. According to sources close to Wadia, the suit was filed at the Bombay High Court yesterday. Wadia, who is independent director in Tata group firms, including Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Chemicals, is facing vote by respective shareholders of the companies to a resolution moved by Tata Sons seeking his removal from the boards. advertisement TATA SONS CALLS FOR WADIA'S OUSTER Tata Sons have called EGMs to remove ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry and Wadia from the boards of Indian Hotels, Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Steel. Tatas have also accused Wadia of trying to take control of some of these companies. "Despite purportedly being an independent director on the boards of certain Tata group of companies including in Tata Steel, Wadia has been conducting himself as an interested party. In our opinion, Wadia has been conducting himself as an interested party in a manner that is designed to cause harm to the Tata group," a notice by Tata Steel had said. Also read | Nusli Wadia files defamation suit against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata DEFAMATION NOTICE SERVED TO TATA SONS BOARD Earlier, Wadia had served a defamation notice on Tata Sons board asking it to withdraw "false, defamatory and libelous" allegations against him. In a letter to shareholders of Tata Steel, which has convened an EGM on December 21 to consider a resolution to remove Cyrus Mistry and him as directors, Wadia said several allegations levelled against him were false, unsubstantiated and baseless. Terming the allegation that he has acted in concert with Mistry as "totally false and baseless", he wrote, "My actions as an independent director are totally independent and not linked to any individual." --- ENDS --- They got brought here at a very young age, theyve worked here, theyve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And theyre in never-never land because they dont know whats going to happen. So which political leader made these compassionate remarks about the Dreamers the roughly 1.8 million children who were brought to this country illegally by their parents and know no other home than the United States? President Barack Obama? Hillary Clinton? No, it was Donald Trump. Trump told Time magazine during his recent Person of the Year interview that while he was not backing off his pledge to rescind Obamas executive amnesty, when it comes to the Dreamers, Were going to work something out thats going to make people happy and proud. Trumps latest comments have dismayed immigration hard-liners, who see the president-elect softening his position. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, blasted Trump, declaring somebodys heart got a little softer than it was before the election. Actually, for those who were paying attention, Trumps heart has always been soft on immigration not just for Dreamers but for most illegal immigrants. During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly said that he wanted to find a way for the vast majority of illegal immigrants (the good ones, as he called them) to get right with the law and secure legal status. The mainstream news media ignored this because this did not fit with the medias narrative of a heartless Trump who wanted to break up families and send all 11 million illegal immigrants permanently back to their countries of origin. Dont believe me? Lets review what Trump actually said. In a July 2015 interview with Sean Hannity, Trump declared: Some of these [illegal immigrants] are fantastic people. Ive been to the border. I was there a few days ago. I met some people. These are fantastic people and they have great reputations within their community. . . . The bad ones, theyre gone. They never come back. Theyll never get back into this country. But the good ones, of which there are many, I want to expedite it so they can come back in legally. Touchback When he was pressed in an interview by CNNs Dana Bash about the Dreamers, he said: I actually have a big heart. Something that nobody knows. A lot of people dont understand that. But the Dreamers, its a tough situation. Were going to do something. . . . I would get people out and then have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal. . . . A lot of these people are helping us . . . and sometimes its jobs a citizen of the United States doesnt even want to do. ... I want to move them out. I want to move them back in and let them be legal. Indeed, his son Eric expressed frustration at the news medias inability to get this: The point isnt just deporting them, its deporting them and letting them back in legally. Hes been so clear about that and I know the liberal media wants to misconstrue it, but its deporting them and letting them back legally. As I have pointed out, what Trump is describing here is a policy called touchback. Championed by then-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, in 2007, the idea is that illegal immigrants must return briefly to their countries of origin, where they can apply for a special visa that would allow them to re-enter the United States in an expedited manner and work here indefinitely. The policy was endorsed by none other than the New York Times, which declared in a 2007 editorial that its not ideal, but if a touchback provision is manageable and reassures people that illegal immigrants are indeed going to the back of the line, then it will be defensible. The touchback plan lost narrowly in the Senate by a vote of 53-45. Among those who voted for it are two vulnerable Democrats up for re-election in 2018: Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri (a state Trump won by 19 points) and Sen. Jon Tester of Montana (where Trump won by 21 points). So any touchback plan Trump proposes is likely to get at least some bipartisan support. If Trump implements a proposal like this, he wont need a deportation force. Majority would comply The vast majority of illegal immigrants would voluntarily cooperate. A 2007 Los Angeles Times poll of illegal immigrants found that 63 percent would leave voluntarily if they were promised a chance to return and 85 percent would do so if they were promised a path to citizenship. No need for the lefts imagined jackbooted thugs or Hillary Clintons revolting allusion to boxcars. Trump is not likely to pursue touchback legislation in Congress anytime soon. He knows he needs to secure the border first before he can do anything to settle the status of those here illegally. As he explained in August: That discussion can take place only in an atmosphere in which illegal immigration is a memory of the past, no longer with us, allowing us to weigh the different options available based on the new circumstances at the time. Legal status Since Democrats are unlikely to approve border security measures without amnesty, Trump will have to focus at the outset on vigorously enforcing current immigration law and use existing authorities to build a wall, deport criminal aliens and crack down on sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate. Only when the bad ones are gone and the border is secured can he turn to resolving the status of the good ones. But make no mistake: Trump intends to give permanent legal status to the vast majority of those here illegally. And he may be the only president who could do so. Just as only Richard Nixon could go to China, it may be that only Donald Trump has the credibility to enact a plan that secures the border and gives legal status to illegal immigrants. That is his plan. He has said so repeatedly, even if his critics and some of his supporters were not listening. Marc A. Thiessen is an American author, columnist and political commentator. He served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He is a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. In a letter written on Friday to Prime Minister Modi, these MPs condemned the government's action cancelling the foreign funding license of eight NGOs. By Anindya Banerjee: Members of Parliament (MPs) of some political parties have condemned the Narendra Modi government for revoking licenses to NGOs and demanded that they be restored. In a letter written on Friday to Prime Minister Modi, these MPs condemned the government's action cancelling the foreign funding license of eight NGOs. The signatories to the letter include Sitaram Yechury and P Karunakaran of CPI(M), D Raja of CPI, Ahmed Patel and Renuka Chaudhury of Congress, Premchand Gupta of RJD, Praful Patel and Supriya Sule of NCP and Neeraj Shekar of the Samajwadi Party among others. advertisement Controversial NGOs licenses, including Teesta Setalvad's, not cleared by us: MHA alleges system hack The MPs condemned the government action of cancelling the FCRA registration of NGOs "critical of its policies". "The licenses had been earlier renewed showing that in the normal course these NGOs had fulfilled the criteria required for registration. The decision to cancel the registration is, therefore, a decision motivated by the politics of vendetta, victimisation and an effort to bully them to silence," the letter said. 'ABHORRENT AND ANTI-DEMOCRATIC' The MPs noted that in contrast, the government did not investigate a single RSS affiliated NGO. They alleged that these NGOs linked to RSS collect huge amounts of money abroad and then use it to further a hate filled agenda. "Selective targeting is abhorrent and anti-democratic," they said. The MPs demanded that the cancellation of licences to NGOs like Sabrang Trust and others run by Teesta Setalvade, ANHAD, Lawyers Collective, Greenpeace India, Navsarjan Trust, RDRC and others should be revoked and the licences be restored. On Thursday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) cancelled the foreign funding license of prominent NGO - Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD) - run by prominent social activist Shabnam Hashmi. ANHAD's foreign funding license was renewed in March, 2016 though it was under adverse notice of the MHA. Home Ministry cancels foreign funding license of ANHAD, Shabnam Hashmis NGO MHA said it had inadvertently renewed the license of Hashmi-run NGO despite it being under adverse notice. ANHAD is among eight such NGOs whose licenses got renewed by accident. It is feared that more such cases may come out. Cancellation of ANHAD's license came close on the heels of annulment of another social activist Teesta Setlavad's controversial NGOs. In her case too, the licenses were first renewed and then cancelled. Though a high level internal inquiry has been ordered now as to how Teesta's Sabrang Trust and Greenpeace India, both canceled by the ministry in the past one year, got renewal. A third NGO of Setalvad, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), was put under the prior permission category, and so does not qualify for renewal. MHA inquiry has found that licenses of all the three NGOs were renewed online in August this year. advertisement In September, MHA suspended four officers including joint Secretary (IAS) officer for granting clearance to Zakir Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). The license was later cancelled and an NIA inquiry was ordered. But the ministry was left red faced after the "goof up" came to light. --- ENDS --- Qantas Founders Museum (QFM) has made some significant progress with their Lockheed C-121J Super Constellation Bu.131643. As many of our readers will be well aware, this aircraft has sat outside at Manila International Airport in the Philippines for the best part of 30 years. The Australian museum acquired her at auction back in September, 2014, probably saving the iconic aircraft from destruction. Being so far from her new home and having a limited budget has presented many logistical challenges to the project team. The first hurdle was to safely disassemble the massive airliner into manageable subsections and store them nearby. This they completed successfully in April, 2015, with Cebu Pacific Air generously donating the secure storage site. But on Monday, December 12th, QFM was finally able to move their prize to the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) facility at the Manila International Container Port, where she now awaits a seaborne passage to Australia. The nine mile journey on seven low-loader trucks took about four and half hours in the early morning. It was a complicated affair, as one might imagine, and required the close cooperation of a number regional agencies, including the police. The massive move required them to lift power lines and temporarily close sections of a major Manila highway to allow the oversized load to pass over some of the opposing lanes. The journey seems to have gone smoothly though, thanks to the professionalism of the transportation crew and local support. In their press release, Qantas Founders Museum Chairman John Vincent said Moving a 60 plus year old disassembled, very large aircraft is no easy feat so we are delighted that this stage of the project has been completed and the aircraft is one step closer to its final home of Longreach. Qantas Founders Museum has spent over two years fundraising and working on this project and we look forward to having this iconic aircraft in our museum collection soon. I want to sincerely thank and to acknowledge all the support, assistance and advice we have received from Qantas Airways and Qantas Engineering, retired aviation engineers, Lufthansa Technik Philippines, MIAA, Cebu Pacific Air, our contractors and advisers in Manila and Australia and now ICTSI. I want to particularly acknowledge the hard work that our Project Manager Rodney Seccombe has contributed to get the project to this stage. QFM hope to have the Connie on her way to their base in Longreach, Queensland in mid-2017. They are still very much in need of funding to help finance both the aircrafts move, and her restoration. Anyone wishing to help with this important task or to help the museum in general should click HERE to find out how they can contribute. ABOUT THE MUSEUM AND THE SUPER CONSTELLATION AIRCRAFT Qantas Founders Museum is a non-profit organization which tells the story of Australias national airline, Qantas Airways, and how it began in Western Queensland in 1920. The museum, which has an annual visitation of 40,000 people a year, has a variety of exhibits, interactive displays, artefacts and aircraft including an original Qantas Boeing 747, Qantas first Boeing 707, a DC3 and a Catalina flying boat together with replicas of early-era aircraft. By PTI: Karachi, Dec 16 (PTI) Pakistani security forces today claimed to have thwarted a possible attack on an Imambargah of minority Shias after killing a suspected suicide bomber during Friday prayers in Hyderabad city of Sindh province. One suspected suicide bomber was gunned down while another managed to escape from the spot, a spokesman for the Pakistan Rangers said. advertisement He said the two suspected suicide bombers tried to enter the Imambargah, worship place of Shias, during Friday prayers in Latifabad area of the city. "One of the bombers hurled a hand grenade at a Rangers vehicle parked near the Imambargah while another tried to enter the premises but was shot dead," the spokesman said. A suicide vest with explosives was recovered from the killed militant. Bomb disposal squad defused the explosives. He said the Rangers were carrying out a house-to-house search for the other suspected bomber who managed to flee in the crowded and congested neighbourhood. Sectarian attacks on Imambargahs and the minority Shia Muslims are common in Pakistan with radical and outlawed militant groups claiming responsibility for such deadly attacks which have killed hundreds in the last a few years. PTI CORR CPS AKJ CPS --- ENDS --- As Melbourne seek to resolve the Heritier Lumumba situation by year's end, they are also chasing a sponsor for the back of their jumper. While automotive group AHG re-committed to the club last month, it did so in a remodelled capacity. AHG's previous three-year deal with the club had been as sole major sponsor, with the organisation's name on both the front and back of Melbourne's jumper. AHG's new three-year agreement is as co-major sponsor, meaning the AHG logo will appear only on the front. The real estate on the back is still for sale. Chief executive Peter Jackson said the available space provided a terrific opportunity to join a club that has been on a steady rise for three years. "We were keen to go towards co-major sponsors rather than just the single," Jackson said. A Queensland police officer who was stabbed in the neck while on duty three years ago has slammed his employer for allegedly failing to support him after the attack. Senior Constable Luke Weiks was stabbed in the neck and had his throat cut while patrolling Santa Fe Nightclub in Townsville on December 14, 2013. Senior Constable Luke Weiks after the attack. Credit:Facebook He returned to a desk job, despite claiming he wanted to return to operational duties, and on Wednesday took to Facebook to criticise his "toxic workplace". "They reject my claims requesting psychological help, and when I do/did ask they served me with paperwork to sack me two days later reason being "you've admitted to suffering from mental health issues"," the post read. From 28 November to 9 December 2016, WCO training experts and a specialist from Moroccan Customs conducted the first Theoretical Training in the framework of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme at the Center for Promotion of Exports (CEPEX) in Tunis (Tunisia). Officers from Customs, Border Police, Port Authority (STAM) and National Port Security (OMMP) of the Port of Rades attended the training that focused on the latest international standards in risk analysis and the profiling of high-risk containers used for cross-border movements of illicit goods. The aforementioned agencies will form the joint Port Control Unit in this important trade hub. The CCP is a joint initiative between WCO and UNODC which assists countries in establishing and maintaining effective container controls on high risk cargo whilst facilitating legitimate trade. Currently, Port Control Units established in the framework of the CCP are operational in 34 countries; funding for additional 20 countries has been granted by donors to this joint UNODC-WCO programme. The implementation of the Container Control Programme in Tunisia is funded by the Government of Japan. By PTI: Peshawar, Dec 16 (PTI) Marking the second anniversary of the Peshawar army school carnage today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to take the war against militancy to its "logical conclusion" to ensure a peaceful and stable Pakistan for future generations. About 150 people, mostly school children, were killed when Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed the Army Public School (APS) here in 2014. advertisement Sharif said in his message that Pakistan took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," he said. "I assure the nation that we will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for our future generations," he said. Sharif extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the martyred students and all those who became victims of the tragic incident. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," said the Prime Minister. He said December 16 reminds of the most painful tragedy of "our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies". "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," he said. A solemn memorial service was held here to mark the tragedy which was attended by families of the victims, politicians, military leadership and others. Moving scenes were also witnessed as several parents were seen crying on the occasion. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa laid a wreath and offered prayers as he attended the memorial service. "We can never forget these children, I have photos of them in my office and keep looking at them periodically to remind me of our losses," he said later in a brief address. He said the armed forces were working hard to make the country safer. APS Principal Tahira Kazi recalled it was a difficult day for the country as everyone felt as though "we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy". PTI SH SAI AKJ SAI --- ENDS --- advertisement Bombay High Court on Friday ordered jail authorities to file a report on efforts being taken to trace Sajjad Mugal alias Pathan, convicted for the 2012 murder of lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha. By Vidya : Bombay High Court on Friday ordered jail authorities to file a report on efforts being taken to trace Sajjad Mugal alias Pathan, convicted for the 2012 murder of lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha. Mughal was sentenced to life imprisonment in July last year, but he jumped parole early this year. He has been missing since. Pallavi's father Atanu Purkayastha, a Delhi-based IAS officer, was present in court for the proceedings. advertisement COURT PROCEEDINGS The trial court that convicted Mughal sentenced him for life, but refused to hand him the death penalty observing that the case did not fall under the purview of 'rarest of rare'. Maharashtra government eventually sought enhancement of Pathan's life sentence. A division bench headed by Justice R V More was on Friday hearing this appeal when it was informed that Mughal was nowhere to be found. "What steps and efforts have you taken to trace his whereabouts? Merely lodging FIR would not suffice. Trace him out. This is a very serious matter. How can a person convicted in such a serious offense be granted parole? Bring all the concerned papers. We will monitor this," said Justice More. Jail authorities have to submit their report in the matter by December 21. The court also observed that convicts jumping parole has become common and some stringent measures will have to be taken by the government to tackle the issue. MISSING SINCE FEBRUARY Mughal, who used to work as security guard at Purkayastha's building before the murder, was granted parole by Nashik prison authorities in February this year. He did not report back to jail, however, after a lapse of leave. Investigating agencies eventually theorised that Mughal may have crossed LoC, since he was a Jammu and Kashmir native. Mughal's disappearance caused much uproar and led to Maharashtra government amending its prison rules and limiting parole and furlough sanctions to only a certain group of prisoners. The court asked public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde to take instructions from Nashik Jail superintendent and file a report, after which Shinde told the court that a FIR has been lodged. --- ENDS --- Rahul handed over his party's memorandum to Modi seeking an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of the crops. By India Today Web Desk: Rahul Gandhi today led a Congress delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems being faced by farmers of the country. In the brief meeting, Rahul handed over his party's memorandum to Modi seeking loan waiver to farmers and an increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of the crops. Here are the latest developments: Opposition leaders arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. Farmers are committing suicide all over the country, government removed import duty on wheat; this is a devastating blow: Rahul Gandhi. While the PM conceded that farmers were facing a serious crisis, he said nothing on waiving off loans for them, says Rahul Gandhi after meeting Modi. Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die. Ruling party is fighting corruption and black money,while some opposition parties are fighting for the corrupt and terrorists:Venkaiah Naidu pic.twitter.com/tIA2RycgSN&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 pm. PM Narendra Modi attends Rajya Sabha #wintersession pic.twitter.com/nrc9XWB4Vj&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Congress delegation gives memorandum to PM Narendra Modi on farmers loan waiver issue. Delhi: BJP leaders leave after the party's Parliamentary meet pic.twitter.com/atb9xzLOZA&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 advertisement PM appealed to people of India that digital economy should be a way of life,it will be transparent and effective: Ananth Kumar pic.twitter.com/OMw5x45HxA&; ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Modi and BJP president Amit Shah today presided over a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting ahead of Parliament's session. In his meeting with BJP MPs, Modi attacked the Opposition over the disruptions in Parliament. The winter session is most likely a washout. "It is surprising that the Opposition has unified for corruption. Earlier, Parliament would unite against corruption, now it is uniting for corruption," Modi said. The month-long deadlock over demonetisation - and later additions like AgustaWestland scam and allegations of corruption against Kiren Rijiju - is unlikely to be resolved on the last day. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, is looking forward to speak in Parliament to expose "personal corruption" of PM Modi. On Thursday, in his address to Congress MPs, Rahul Gandhi claimed he has "solid, bullet-proof" evidence against Modi. The strategy of the BJP, which has called Rahul's claim the "joke of the year", is to prevent Rahul Gandhi from speaking in Lok Sabha. The Parliament rule book allows Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to stop Rahul if he tries to speak on allegations of personal nature against Modi. ALSO READ | Evidence against Modi bullet-proof, Rahul Gandhi assures Congress MPs --- ENDS --- Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. Modi's remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting came on the last day of the Winter Session, which has been a washout due to impasse over demonetisation. By PTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today ripped into the Opposition over Parliament logjam, saying unlike earlier when opposition parties stalled theHouse against scams, Congress-led parties are now doing so against government's steps to curb black money and corruption. Modi's remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting came on the last day of the Winter Session, which has been a washout due to impasse over demonetisation. advertisement Targeting Congress, the Prime Minister alleged that it has always put its interest over that of the country while for BJP the nation's interests are supreme. He again pitched for digital economy as he appealed to the masses to adopt it as a "way of life" to rid the society of corruption and black money. Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been unsparing in his criticism of demonetisation, Modi said he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did "nothing" during his rule of 10 years. Also read | Also read | Govt announces awards, cashbacks worth Rs 340 crore to push digital payments He also cited late Left stalwart Harkishan Singh Surjeet to support his government's action. "Earlier the ruling side, especially Congress, would commit scams like 2G, coal-gate, Bofors and the Opposition would then unite and fight against it on the principle of honesty. NDA BEGAN CAMPAIGN AGAINST BLACK MONEY "But now the ruling side, the BJP-led NDA, has started a campaign again black money and corruption and opposition parties are standing against it," he said. Modi also noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, recalling that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting. "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress," he said. Also read | Modi's digital pitch at BJP MPs meet includes an attack on Indira Gandhi Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. COUNTRY'S INTERESTS PARAMOUNT: MODI "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country's," the PM said. On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes. advertisement The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. --- ENDS --- The following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Limited, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Limited, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AFD.TECH, AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, AIG Shared Services Business Processing Inc, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co. Ltd., Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. 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Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, solid-serVision.com GmbH, and umlaut. Read More Cardinal Health, Inc. operates as an integrated healthcare services and products company in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It provides customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, physician offices, and patients in the home. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Medical. The Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded and generic pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical, and over-the-counter healthcare and consumer products. The segment also provides services to pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers for specialty pharmaceutical products; operates nuclear pharmacies and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities; repackages generic pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter healthcare products; and offers medication therapy management and patient outcomes services to hospitals, other healthcare providers, and payers, as well as provides pharmacy management services to hospitals. The Medical segment manufactures, sources, and distributes Cardinal Health branded medical, surgical, and laboratory products and devices that include exam and surgical gloves; needles, syringe, and sharps disposals; compressions; incontinences; nutritional delivery products; wound care products; single-use surgical drapes, gowns, and apparels; fluid suction and collection systems; urology products; operating room supply products; and electrode product lines. The segment also distributes a range of national brand products, including medical, surgical, and laboratory products; provides supply chain services and solutions to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and other healthcare providers; and assembles and sells sterile, and non-sterile procedure kits. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Pegasus Equine Guardian Association has filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against the U.S. Army and Brig. Gen. Gary M. Brito, in his capacity as Fort Polk commander, over the "trespass horses" at the installation. Members of Pegasus Equine, a horse advocacy group, have been vocal in their opposition to the Army's plan to eliminate trespass horses. Fort Polk officials estimate that approximately 700-to-750 trespass horses occupy U.S. Army training lands on Fort Polk and the Peason Ridge Military Training Area. A large population of horses has been at Fort Polk for decades. Some believe they are descendants of old farm and World War II cavalry horses, and maintain they are part of the area's heritage and history. Army officials contend they are strays from an open-range period in the state or have been abandoned by owners over the years. They say they are a risk to soldiers and impede training. As part of the Army's plan, the Humane Society of North Texas, has been taking in hundreds of horses and adopting them out. The Army maintains their plan "provides the best opportunity for 501c(3) organizations to assist with the effort while not being overwhelmed with a large volume of horses at one time." The suit Pegasus has filed centers on the historic and cultural significance of the horses, according to court papers filed Wednesday. Members ultimately claim the Army's plan violates the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Pegasus is being represented by the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic. In 2000, the clinic represented another group, the Coalition of Louisiana Animal Advocates, in their suit that claimed the Fort Polk horses were protected. The group aimed to stop a proposed roundup of the horses amid fears, at the time, about Equine Infectious Anemia, or "swamp fever." A year later, COLAA's lawsuit was dismissed when the court upheld a decision by the U.S. Forest Service that said the horses were not wild. The horses are classified as "trespass" and are not protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. Pegasus' complaint says the case, "is about the horses at Fort Polk, including the 'Kisatchie Horses,' and the significant historic and cultural role they play in the landscape of the Fort Polk Military Installation and Kisatchie National Forest, and the Armys intention to eliminate them. The Kisatchie Horses are herds of undomesticated horses that have lived in the region for generations, and they are a critical component of the cultural history in Western Louisiana." The group claims the Army has not completed, "the requisite analysis of the impacts of its proposed actions on the horses as a part of the environment as a historical and culture resource, and has not proposed a range of alternatives that provide significant choices for properly managing the horses." The group further alleges that the Army's plan will "likely result in the slaughter of many Kisatchie Horses." "Before the Army commits an irreversible and significant change to the landscape of west-central Louisiana, it must complete further analysis on the impacts of the removal, the alternatives available, and actions the Army can take to mitigate harm. Thus, Pegasus asks this court to declare the Armys action illegal and enjoin it from authorizing the removal of any horses until it publishes an environmental impact statement and completes a historical and cultural resources analysis," the suit states. Army officials have also said the horses themselves are at risk because of training devices such as concertina wire, live ammunition and military vehicles. The horses also wander onto airstrips and into drop zones, creating a danger to both troops and aircraft, said Col. David "Gregg" Athey, Fort Polk Garrison Commander, who spoke with the West Central News Center at a public meeting about the horses in 2015. "The horses tend to congregate on our drop zones, so they impact airborne operations. They also impact landing zones or landing strips for our fixed wing aircraft as well as in our rotary wing aircraft. Consequently, they represent a pretty significant safety risk to our soldiers, to the aircraft and equipment themselves, and frankly, they also are a hazard to the safety of the horses as well," he said. No one disputes that over the years, people have abandoned horses, dumping them with the herd. Athey said there is no documentation that supports the horses are connected to Fort Polk's cavalry days. "I will tell you there is no strong evidence, especially the number of horses that we have, that they are strongly connected to the heritage aspects," Athey said in 2015. That supposed cavalry connection has been noted, however, in at least one historical publication funded by the U.S. Army. "A Soldier's Place in History, Fort Polk, Louisiana," by Sharyn Kane and Richard Keeton, was written in 2004. It was funded by the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk. The book was published by the Southeast Archaeological Center, National Park Service. In a chapter that covers the Louisiana Maneuvers, an article reads: "Some cavalry horses escaped permanently during the maneuvers and mated with local herds. In the late 1990s, wild offspring of the cavalry's horses still roamed Peason Ridge." The federal court's online record system, PACER, reflects that the suit has been assigned to Judge John W. deGravelles, presiding, and Magistrate Judge Erin Wilder-Doomes, referral judge. A hearing has not been set. A lawsuit represents a grievance of one party against others. It does not present all sides of the issue in question. You can find more on the Army's plan HERE, and on Pegasus Equine HERE. LEESVILLE -- Apeck Construction was awarded the bid Monday for work on the second phase of the Leesville 2016 Street Rehabilitation Project. Engineer Byron Racca, of Meyer and Associates, the City of Leesville's contracted engineer, addressed the Leesville City Council about the work. Bids were opened Dec. 1, and Apeck was the low bidder. This phase was to be funded by a mix of funds from state capital outlay and a city bond issue, but the state funding was pulled this fall amid Louisiana's budget woes. Funding was included in the state's construction -- or capital outlay -- budget. "At one time, it was set up for funding, Priority 1, but in their recent reshuffling, the money was pulled," Racca said. The money, $255,000, now sits in Priority 5. Funding is allocated using a priority system. Priority 1 funds are usually dispersed within the fiscal year, while money for higher-numbered priorities may take years to become available. Total cost for Phase II will be around $320,000. Mayor Rick Allen said the work will continue despite the state cut, with city bond issue funds, and will start after a pre-construction meeting. He said a date for that has not been set by Meyer and Associates. Officials hope to seek state money again, a match, to put toward higher-cost street repairs, for later phases. "The idea, though, is for our future phases, like Phase III and such, that we can obtain that money back again and we can put it toward some other streets," Racca said. "As you know, capital outlay is pretty rough right now," Racca added. "We are going to continue pushing like we always do, but there is no guarantee. We do have commitments from the local legislators." Phase II includes W. Arkansas St. - 7th St. to 6th St.; E. Fertitta Blvd. - 6th St. to 5th St.; and Fertitta Blvd.- 10th St. to 6th St. R.C. Paving Inc. was the low-bidder for Phase 1 work, which is underway and includes cold planing, patching and overlay. Phase 1 includes Anderson Street - intersection with Westwood Drive; Kings Road - Jean Street to Abe Allen Memorial Drive; Marvin Avenue - Douglas Street to Edwards Street and East Union Street - 6th Street to 5th Street. The cost is $158,770, all coming from city bond money. There are other phases in the total project. Work on 10th Street is down-the-line and will be costly, to the tune of $800,000, Allen said Monday. The city has a long list of streets on its repair list and Racca said it's a matter of coordinating the work with the right funding allocation when and if money becomes available. See more on city projects HERE. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit LEESVILLE -- The Vernon Parish Police Jury will meet at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19. Here's the agenda: AGENDA REGULAR MEETING VERNON PARISH POLICE JURY PARISH GOVERNMENT COMPLEX BUILDING 300 S. 3RD STREET, 2ND FLOOR LEESVILLE, LOUISIANA MONDAY, DEC. 19, 2016 10 a.m. 1. Call to Order 2. Invocation 3. Pledge of Allegiance 4. Roll Call 5. Visitors 6. Public Comment 7. Motion to accept the minutes of the October 10, 2016 committee meeting, the October 17, 2016 regular meeting, the November 7, 2016 special call meeting, the November 7, 2016 committee meeting, and the November 14, 2016 regular meeting and dispense with the reading of the minutes. 8. Committee Reports: 1. Capital Properties 2. Econ. Development & Planning 3. Equipment 4. Finance 5. Fire Protection and Solid Waste 6. Permit & Claims 7. Personnel 8. Road Maintenance & Construction 9. Veterans Affairs 10. Ways & Means 11. Wildlife & Lakes 9. Motion to enter into public hearing to hear public input on proposed ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Lebleu Road, District 1, to 15 MPH, beginning at Hwy 171 and ending just past the Pickering School Parent Pick Up road. 10. Motion to return to regular session. 11. Motion to adopt an ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Lebleu Road, District 1, to 15 MPH, beginning at Hwy 171 and ending just past the Pickering School Parent Pick Up road. (ROLL CALL) 12. Motion to enter into public hearing to hear public input on proposed ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Poor Boy Lane, District 2, in its entirety, to 15 MPH. 13. Motion to return to regular session. 14. Motion to adopt an ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Poor Boy Lane, District 2, in its entirety, to 15 MPH. (ROLL CALL) 15. Motion to move the January regular meeting to Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 10 a.m. in recognition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. 16. Motion to hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 10 a.m., during the regular police jury meeting, to hear public input on proposed ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Shorty Poston Road, beginning at Hwy 392, District 2, to 25 MPH. 17. Motion to hold a public hearing on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at 10 a.m., during the regular police jury meeting, to hear public input on proposed ordinance to amend section 13:31 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to change the speed limit on Boswell Road, District 6, Ward 8, beginning at Hwy 121 and ending at Leander Loop, to 15 MPH 18. Motion to enter into public hearing to hear public input on a proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 11 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to adjust the business license tax rate fee in Vernon Parish, not to exceed the schedules outlined in Louisiana Revised Statute 47:341-47:363. 19. Motion to return to regular session. 20. Motion to adopt an ordinance to amend Chapter 11 of the Vernon Parish Code of Ordinances to adjust the business license tax rate fee in Vernon Parish, not to exceed the schedules outlined in Louisiana Revised Statute 47:341-47:363. (ROLL CALL) 21. Motion to adopt a resolution authorizing the jury to approve Cooperative Endeavor Agreements with State of Louisiana, Facility Planning and Control for Capital Outlay projects and authorize the President and/or Administrator/Treasurer to sign all project documents. 22. Motion to approve the Amended 2016 Budget and the Proposed 2017 Budget for the operation of the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory Commission; annual budget must be approved by a majority of the parish level governing body in the laboratory service area. 23. Motion to authorize payment of all invoices as authorized by the Finance Committee and authorize payment of all expenditures above the budgeted amount from Ward Maintenance and/or Construction accounts. 24. Adjourn. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance, please contact Belinda S. Diehl, Parish Secretary, at 337-238-0324, describing the assistance necessary. With less than two weeks left for the retirement of the present Army chief General Dalbir Suhag, the Modi government has not yet announced the new chief. There is speculation that the delay might mean the appointment of a CDS and not a permanent chief. Army chief General Dalbir Suhag is just about to retire and his successor hasn't been announced yet; Photo: PTI By Gaurav C Sawant: There is less than a fortnight to go before the retirement of Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, and his successor has still not been announced. Usually, the next chief is announced between 30-60 days before the retirement of the chief in office. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is learnt to have weighed in favour of appointing a Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), despite all the services not being on the same page. advertisement The CDS will be a single-point military advisor to the defence minister on matters of military and nuclear issues which are of critical significance. He is expected to be the first among equals - a four star general, admiral or air chief marshal. The forces are also keen to have direct access to the defence minister and prime minister on issues pertaining to nuclear deterrence. ALSO READ | Who will be the next Army chief? WILL PARRIKAR APPOINT A CDS? There is speculation in the military circles that the delay in announcing the next chief is on account of the government deliberating on the appointment of the CDS and perhaps not a permanent chairman of the chiefs of staff committee. "Parrikar has studied the subject closely and has taken suggestions of both the serving and retired soldiers as well as bureaucrats on the subject. He, unlike West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is confident that there will be no coup," a senior officer tongue firmly in cheek told India Today. Recently, Banerjee got spooked fearing a coup during a routine military exercise across several states. ALSO READ | Manohar Parrikar writes to Mamata Banerjee about 'Army coup', says 'deeply pained' by allegations Army rejects Mamata Banerjee's toll plaza allegations, shows papers The current system of the senior most chief of the three services performing the duties of the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee in addition to his role as the chief of his own service has not given the desired results. WHY THE DELAY? Eyebrows have been raised over the delay in announcing the name of General Suhag's successor. The uncertainty has also led to speculation whether the government is having second thoughts about an Armoured Corps officer. Lt Gen Pravin Bakshi, Army Commander, Eastern Command, is the senior most among the army commanders. As per accepted norms, while all army commanders and the vice chief are considered by the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC), it is the senior most who is elevated as first among equals. This norm was not followed by late Indira Gandhi as prime minister when then senior-most officer late Lt General SK Sinha was overlooked and Lt General AS Vaidya was elevated as the army chief. advertisement What has led to the speculation is also the fact that Lt General Bipin Rawat, Army Commander Southern Command, was moved in as the Vice Chief of Army staff. The previous UPA government had announced the name of the current chief General Suhag almost three months before he took over. Similarly, General Bikram Singh's name was also announced three months before he took over. There is speculation that the government may decide to elevate Lt General Bakshi as the first chief of defence staff and Lt General Rawat as the army chief. However, defence minister Parrikar is non-committal. He recently told journalists the file is in the prime minister's office. ALSO READ | Expect no change in Pakistan's anti-India policy after Bajwa takes over as army chief INDIA MAY HAVE ITS FIRST CDS THIS TIME On the issue of the appointment of a CDS, Parrikar had said in reply to a question at the launch of "The New Arthashastra: A Security Strategy for India" that he would soon send his recommendations to the cabinet committee on security. However, he recently said a decision will be taken after studying the Lt General Sheketkar committee report. advertisement Sources say the government is deliberating upon total integration of armed forces including at the level of theatre commands. It is a work in progress and the delay can perhaps be explained as the government deliberating on the subject before arriving at a decision. Asked in Parliament over the years about the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff, successive defence ministers have said a decision would only be made once political consensus across parties was achieved. What's brewing now at the South Block suggests that either political consensus has somehow been reached, or that the Modi government has decided to go ahead with a tough executive decision to make real one of the key recommendations of the Arun Singh committee and later of the K. Subrahmanyam-headed Kargil Review Committee. ALSO READ: Manohar Parrikar: Peace at border because our soldiers are roaring Peace is fine but no compromises due to fear of war, says Manohar Parrikar at Agenda Aaj Tak --- ENDS --- Astros throw group no-hitter at Phillies to tie Series at two games each Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 16, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 16, 2016 | 01:16 PM | PADUCAH, KY As students prepare for Christmas break, collections for the School Challenge portion of Christmas in the Park has ended, with outstanding results. On Thursday, Paducah Power System, which sponsors the event, gathered up all of the canned goods collected by the fourteen area schools that participated. The utility says the received a total of 34,590 pounds of food for local agencies that help feed those in need - Paducah Cooperative Ministry, Family Service Society, the Salvation Army and St. Vincent DePaul Society. In a social media post, Paducah Power expressed pride in the schools and gratefulness for what they do for the community. Their winners are as follows: 1st Place Large School - Concord Elementary Runner Up Large School - Lone Oak Elementary 1st Place Small School - Community Christian Academy Middle/High School Runner Up Small School - St. Mary Middle/High School Other schools participating included: Heath Elementary Heath Middle Lone Oak Intermediate Lone Oak Middle McCracken County High Morgan Elementary Paducah Middle Paducah Tilghman Reidland Elementary Reidland Middle During the challenge, schools in Paducah and McCracken County compete against each other by collecting canned goods, with the school that collects the most pounds of food per student winning $1,000. Last year the schools generated 39,445 pounds of canned goods, which is the most they have ever collected. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 16, 2016 | 11:16 AM | GRAVES COUNTY, KY Six Graves County residents were arrested Thursday night on drug charges after the search of a home in Mayfield. Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon said a search warrant was executed at a home in the 900 block of West Broadway, after deputies received several tips and complaints of illegal activity occurring inside the home. During the search, deputies reportedly found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and several bags of synthetic marijuana known as spice. Police arrested 63-year-old Glynn Futrell, 25-year-old Jeremiah Sayles, 37-year-old James Vasquez, 18-year-old Martaevus Noonan, 32-year-old Daniel Hodges and 25-year-old Prisilla Derevage, all of Mayfield. They were all charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of synthetic marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. All six were lodged in the Graves County Jail. Redmon said a seventh person will be charged at a later date but he didn't release that person's name. By The Associated Press Dec. 16, 2016 | 09:53 AM | LOUISVILLE, KY Longtime Republican stalwart Jim Skaggs received tens of thousands of emails from people urging him to back someone other than Donald Trump when Electoral College members make their picks for president. Other diehard Trump foes called Skaggs at his Bowling Green home. He was polite but firm in his response: he's sticking with Trump. Kentucky's eight presidential electors will gather Monday in Kentucky's Supreme Court chamber in Frankfort to cast their votes. Electors nationwide will do the same in their own states. To be elected president, the winner must get at least half the total plus one or 270 electoral votes. Trump won by a landslide in Kentucky in last month's election. By PTI: New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) President Pranab Mukherjee today hailed the relations between India and Bangladesh on the day of Pakistans surrender before the Indian military during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and said both the countries share common histories, heritage and tradition. Mukherjee lauded the "able and mature leadership of Sheikh Bangabandhu (Mujibur) Rahman" and described him as the father of Bangladesh and praised the helping hand provided by India under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to uphold the dignity of human lives and also the basic fundamental lives of individuals to have its "freedom from the atrocities of military Junta of Pakistan". advertisement "It was the conspiracy of the military Junta and the ruling Pakistan to deny the legitimate rights of the people of East Pakistan to have their own elected government," he said. December 16, 1971, Pakistans occupation army had surrendered before the joint forces of Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh and Indian soldiers who fought side by side for the liberation of 750 million people of Bangladesh at that time, the President said in a video message during a seminar on 1971 India-Pakistan War and the Liberation of Bangladesh organised by India Foundation at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Mujibur Rahman received a massive mandate from the people of Bangladesh, winning majority seats in the National Assembly and as per the normal democratic practice, he should have been invited by the President to form his government, he said. Instead of that, denying the basic democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh, military junta started cracking down on the civilians from the midnight of March 25, 1971, Mukherjee said. He said the historic linkage created by the heroic struggle will "no doubt further enhance the cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Particularly the context when we share common histories, heritage and tradition". "We are fortunate to have the poet to compose national anthems for both the countries, Rabindranath Tagore," he said. The seminar was also attended by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, Bangladesh Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and India Foundation Director Shakti Sinha. PTI CPS ACB SMN --- ENDS --- Loading... If anyone wants a lesson on how to tell a story with pure dance, they should ring up Matthew Bourne. The man is a master of narrative, a wizard at staging the apparently unstageable. Take the first few moments of his brand new version of Powell and Pressburger's famous 1948 film about beautiful young Vicky Page, the talented ballerina forced to choose between her passion for dance and her love for the young composer Julian. On stage, within the real proscenium arch, there's a smaller golden one, with red curtains that part as Victoria (Ashley Shaw) steps forward and dangles the enchanted Red Shoes in the spotlight. Then the curtains pull back to reveal a lovely parody of a 1940s ballet, with romantic, swirling couples, big jumps and bigger sighs. The frame turns and we see the dancers backstage and glimpse Vicky watching in the auditorium that is now at the rear of the real stage. With confidence, she steps from the imaginary audience, onto the stage, which is transformed into a party which the impresario Boris Lermontov (Sam Archer) is reluctantly hosting in aid of his ballet company. Vicky dances, full of raw grace, hands flicking the air, trying to attract his attention, to get into the company she has just been watching; but it is the pianist Julian (Dominic North) who is noticed. The next day, both are backstage taking a class introduced by a wonderful witty duet for the prima ballerina and her tutu (still on a hanger) walking in and out of the following spot. And the story is underway. Barely ten minutes have passed and Bourne, with the help of the fluent, fabulous sets of his long-time collaborator designer Lez Brotherston, has created entire worlds. This particular world is one that has always enchanted Bourne and he makes it entrancing here, paying tribute to the old ballet companies and the old movies that inspired him in his youth. The score is by Bernard Herrmann, orchestrated by Terry Davies and although the lush, evocative music mainly predates his associations with Hitchcock, it is a neat touch to make the actual ballet of Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes, redolent of the early films of the Master of Suspense. Here Vicky, wearing the cursed red shoes that won't let her stop moving, is blown through a sumptuous stylised landscape of black, white and greys, trees and buildings scudding by. It's very affecting, as she judders and jumps desperately trying to pull the shoes from her feet, but it also has the dance equivalent of perfect pitch, exactly catching a sense of period. Throughout, Bourne's choreography is supremely expressive. When Lermontov explains the ballet to Vicky, he pushes her gently by the wrists, flicking her into motion; when she falls in love with Julian they walk by the sea, their movements mimicking the flow of the waves, her body draping around him; when disillusion sets in, he tries to tear the red shoes off her feet they have become even in private a symbol of her possession by art. Her final headlong rush to tragedy where onstage and off have become too intertwined to tell them apart is also dramatically imagined, and features a wonderfully realised train crash. If anything, the second half is perhaps too rushed: we see the lovers happy, but we don't experience enough of the professional jealousy and misgiving that makes Lermontov try to tear them apart. And try as he might, without words neither Bourne nor the excellent Archer, lurking suavely in the shadows, can quite capture the obsession with the purity of art that drives his vision. But the story is beautifully told, and full of vivid incident. As the story whisks from Monte Carlo, to the south of France, to the rougher edges of the East End, each scene moves the narrative along with imaginative fertility and sharp contrasts. When the company cavort with beach balls you see the life of creative luxury they lead; when Vicky is forced to dance in a music hall, the bottom-twitching of the strongmen is both truly funny and a revelation of the dancing depths to which she is condemned. Every performance, from the least significant to the leads, is committed and finely drawn. As Vicky, Shaw has just the right mixture of innocence and driving devotion, North is fiercely compelling as Julian the scene where he dances his passion for music is one of the best of the night- and Michela Meazza and Liam Mower as the leading members of the Lermontov company illuminate the stage every time they step on it. It has become a tradition for Bourne to bring a show to Sadler's Wells to enliven Christmas; this sumptuous offering is one of his most deeply felt and very best. Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes runs at Sadler's Wells until 29 January 2017 and then tours. VIDEO According to Mashable, a 51-year-old man and his dog were pulled from the blaze. The owner had serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital. The dog collapsed from smoke inhalation shortly after being removed from the fire.Firefighter Costache Mugurel saw the dog lying lifeless on the sidewalk and immediately rushed to help the animal. Following basic training, Mugurel started performing CPR on the pup. The firefighter gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions until a oxygen mask was made available for the dog.Local journalist Costi Tudor posted a video of the rescue to Facebook with the comment, Nobody gets left behind.The mans quick thinking saved the canines life, and earned him plenty of praise online. But Mugueral appears to think of it all as part of his very important job description.After receiving assistance from the firefighter, the dog was taken to a nearby veterinary hospital, where he is said to be in stable condition. Dimitar Berbatov has returned to Manchester United but, before you go getting all excited and messing your litter trays, it would appear that its only a fleeting visit. The Bulgarian rake, who is without a club after leaving PAOK in the summer, posted a photo of himself alongside Wayne Rooney at Carrington Sadly, however, it doesnt look like Berba will be completing a full reunion, with the Mirror reporting that hes merely training with his former club until such time that he finds himself a new means of gainful employ. All the chatter is of interest from MLS and the A-League, with the prospect of any Premier League side gambling on a silky 35-year-old (36 in January) with an acute case of lazyitis looking slim at best. Still, we can but dream. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has once again dared Rahul Gandhi to divulge the information he has on PM Modi. By India Today Web Desk: First declaring that he had "bullet-proof" evidence against personal involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in corruption but not disclosing it is now apparently going against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. On Friday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal once again dared Rahul to reveal the charges against Modi. He tweeted, "Rahul does not have guts to expose anything against Modi ji. The day he does it, Modi ji will arrest Robert Vadra." advertisement Kejriwal had challenged the Congress vice president even a couple of days ago. He had then said, "If Gandhi actually has papers on Modi ji's personal involvement in corruption then why doesn't he expose it outside the Parliament?" Besides Kejriwal, BJP has also asked Rahul to "expose" Narendra Modi if he had proof of the Prime Minister's involvement in corruption. READ | Rahul Gandhi has attention-seeking disorder, says BJP, demands apology for remarks against Modi Rahul has been maintaining that he has personal information regarding corruption involving the Prime Minister. He said his revelation will cause earthquake. However, he alleged that the government did not allow him to speak in Parliament. The BJP has dared the Congress vice-president to speak out. Instead of an earthquake, the ground beneath Rahul's feet will disappear, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. READ | Demonetisation: My speech will cause earthquake, says Rahul Gandhi --- ENDS --- Ratan Tata has denied reports that he is thinking of stepping down as the interim chairman of the Tata Sons. By Sahil Joshi: Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata has denied reports that he is planning to step down. Reacting to the reports suggesting that he may resign as the interim head of the conglomerate, Ratan Tata clarified "that there are no plans for his stepping down from the chairmanship of the Tata Trusts at this point in time." Ratan Tata said in a statement that a process was being "put in place for the leadership succession in the Trusts in the future, to enable an ordered and smooth transition of leadership." advertisement READ| Ratan Tata likely to step down as chairman of Tata Trusts, says report The interim chairman also said that a process should be in place for a smooth succession at an appropriate time. Earlier, it appeared in news reports that Ratan Tata was "most likely" to step down as interim chairman of the Tata Trusts, which control a 66 per cent stake in the USD 100 billion conglomerate. Reports of his possible resignation were attributed to Tata's long-time confidant R K Krishna Kumar. WATCH The Tata Sons has asked an external consultant to advise the group on the selection process. The selection of the next chairman could be finalised by the middle of the next year, Krishna Kumar had been quoted as saying in earlier reports. It was also said that the next chairman of the Tata Sons would be an Indian but might not necessarily be a member of the Tata family. ALSO READ: Nusli Wadia files defamation suit against Tata Sons, Ratan Tata --- ENDS --- The role of the Trusts has been at the center of the ongoing feud between Tata and Tata Sons' ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry. By Reuters: Ratan Tata is "most likely" to step down as chairman of the Tata Trusts, which control a 66 per cent stake in the $100 billion Tata conglomerate's holding company Tata Sons, said a newspaper report citing Tata's long-time confidant R K Krishna Kumar. The Trusts have asked an external consultant to advise them on the selection process, which could be completed by the middle of next year, said Krishna Kumar according to the report, adding that the next chairman of the Trusts will be an Indian, but not necessarily a member of the Tata family. advertisement Also read | Mistry's removal was 'absolute necessary' for group's future success: Ratan Tata The role of the Trusts has been at the center of the ongoing feud between Tata and Tata Sons' ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry. --- ENDS --- By PTI: The DEA Secretary further said that more number of 50, 20 and 10 rupee notes has also been circulated in the system. "Roughly about almost 50 per cent of the notes which were in circulation would be supplied in the next 10-15 days," Das said, adding seized notes are being put back to circulation as soon as possible. advertisement Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and replaced by new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes. The demonetised notes accounted for 86 per cent of currency in circulation or Rs 15.4 lakh crore. "More and more production lines have been diverted in printing 500 rupee notes because we have enough number of 2000 rupee notes that have been supplied and there is enough stock available. But now the printing of the 500 rupee notes have been significantly stepped up. "It has been pushed into the market so that the supply of 2000 rupee notes becomes more mobile. So with increased supply of 500 rupee notes, the 2000 rupee notes which people were hoarding till now will come back to the system," Das said, adding notes are being airlifted to areas facing shortage. He further said that the security features and design of the new notes were indigenously developed and hence the possibility of counterfeiting it is far far lower. Das also promised to sort out issues faced by Nepal and Bhutan due to non-availability of 500 and 2,000 rupee notes. "As far as Nepal is concerned we have already examined the report, so we will be taking some action, whatever action govt will take is under examination. As far as Bhutan is concerned, the RBI has made necessary arrangements for supply of cash required by Bhutan authorities because Indian rupee is accepted in Bhutan. So the RBI has given necessary instructions to connected banks to give necessary cash required by Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan," he said. Das said the RBI has a particular plan of action with regard to currency supply. "With regard to remonetisation process, it would be as per requirement and also government has given a big push to digital transaction. There is very significant growth of digital transaction and therefore the requirement of cash will be measured and based on requirement the cash will be remonetised." He said the CBDT is taking "surgical action" on data provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) filed by banks for detecting illegal accumulation of new currency. "Further action is being taken by the tax department and it is not an aimless fishing expedition," Das said. With regard to the impact of demonetisation on rabi sowing, Das said the total sowing area so far is almost at par with last year and whatever shortfall has happened will be made good in the coming weeks. PTI JD MKJ --- ENDS --- advertisement By PTI: Washington, Dec 16 (PTI) Scientists have successfully increased the lifespan of mice by reprogramming their bodys cells using a breakthrough technique that may lead to new therapeutic approaches for improving human health and longevity. Researchers at the Salk Institute in the US have found that intermittent expression of genes normally associated with an embryonic state can reverse the hallmarks of old age. advertisement This approach, which not only prompted human skin cells in a dish to look and behave young again, also resulted in the rejuvenation of mice with a premature ageing disease, countering signs of ageing and increasing the animals lifespan by 30 per cent. The early-stage work provides insight both into the cellular drivers of ageing and possible therapeutic approaches for improving human health and longevity. "Our study shows that ageing may not have to proceed in one single direction. It has plasticity and, with careful modulation, ageing might be reversed," said Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, professor at Salk Institute for Biological Studies. As people in modern societies live longer, their risk of developing age-related diseases goes up. Data shows that the biggest risk factor for heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders is simply age. One clue to halting or reversing ageing lies in the study of cellular reprogramming, a process in which the expression of four genes known as Yamanaka factors allows scientists to convert any cell into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Like embryonic stem calls, iPSCs are capable of dividing indefinitely and becoming any cell type present in our body. "What we and other stem-cell labs have observed is that when you induce cellular reprogramming, cells look younger. The next question was whether we could induce this rejuvenation process in a live animal," said Alejandro Ocampo, research associate from Salk Institute. While cellular rejuvenation certainly sounds desirable, a process that works for laboratory cells is not necessarily a good idea for an entire organism. For one thing, although rapid cell division is critical in growing embryos, in adults such growth is one of the hallmarks of cancer. For another, having large numbers of cells revert back to embryonic status in an adult could result in organ failure, ultimately leading to death. For these reasons, researchers wondered whether they could avoid cancer and improve aging characteristics by inducing the Yamanaka factors for a short period of time. advertisement They turned to a rare genetic disease called progeria. Both mice and humans with progeria show many signs of aging including DNA damage, organ dysfunction and dramatically shortened lifespan. Moreover, the chemical marks on DNA responsible for the regulation of genes and protection of our genome, known as epigenetic marks, are prematurely dysregulated in progeria mice and humans. The study appears in the journal Cell. PTI NKS SAR SAR --- ENDS --- Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WASHINGTON Yahoo says a foreign nation may have played a role in its gargantuan and humiliating data breach but some experts suggest Yahoos staff and leadership were simply negligent at detecting intrusions. These experts say the breach, affecting an estimated one billion accounts, was not technically sophisticated and possibly the work of a cyber-crime gang operating in eastern Europe. I just think the capabilities werent there, and now they are scrambling to provide some sort of explanation other than, We were asleep at the wheel, said Christopher Pogue, chief information security officer at Nuix, an Australian security and intelligence company. Marcio Jose Sanchez / The Associated Press A breach that compromised more than one-billion Yahoo user accounts was 'not a complex attack,' according to security industry professionals. Yahoos stock plunged five per cent Thursday, following the companys announcement that data from more than one billion user accounts were lost in a hack that began in 2013. The announcement casts new doubt on Verizons pending US$4.2-billion takeover of Yahoo. Verizon executives, aware of the potential class-action lawsuits and shareholder actions that may result from Yahoos announcement of a breach the second in three months are likely to lower their bid for Yahoo. They are going to say, Hey, Ive got a hotdog and some pocket lint. Take it or were walking away from the deal, said Pogue, who is based in Oklahoma. Just three months ago, Yahoo said a breach in 2014 resulted in the loss of data from 500 million accounts. The combined breaches are the largest ever recorded by any company in the world and have turned the once-pioneering Sunnyvale, Calif., company on its head. On Thursday, it faced satiric and even wicked humour on social media. On its website, Yahoo said the company did not know precisely who was behind the latest reported attack, which came to its attention through law enforcement agents in November. That revelation underscored the role federal agents play in notifying private corporations of major breaches. Using that information, Yahoo raised the spectre that a foreign country was involved. We have connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft we disclosed on Sept. 22, 2016, Yahoo said. Three experts consulted by McClatchy suggested Yahoo may be exaggerating the role of a foreign government in the hack. Eighty per cent of the time, the use of advanced and sophisticated and nation state is overstated, said Paul Calatayud, chief technology officer at FireMon, a Kansas City, Mo., company that offers cyber-intelligence and compliance services. It just kind of glorifies the situation more rather than the onus being on, What happened? Its more defensible. Yahoo said it believes the hackers obtained names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. It said payment-card data and bank account information were stored on a separate system. The hack appears to have occurred in August 2013, the company said. Hackers used forged cookies to break into accounts, bypassing the need for a password, the company said. Cookies are bits of data stored on a users computer that allow a website such as Yahoo to recognize unique visitors and respond to their website preferences. This is not a complex attack, Pogue said. It really has more to do with the session management of the website than it does a super-skilled attacker These are not ninjas. These are not deeply technical people. Cybersecurity experts accustomed to the growing frequency and magnitude of hacks appeared startled at the size of the newest Yahoo penetration. Ive heard of millions. But a billion? said Michael Patterson, chief executive of Plixer, a cybersecurity company in Kennebunk, Maine. Its crazy. McClatchy Washington Bureau Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/12/2016 (2149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Canadas move to ban asbestos is not winning any high praise from the former Manitoba MP whose political career revolved around getting the toxic mineral out of production. The federal government announced Thursday it will be outlawing the manufacture, use, import and export of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in 2018. It intends to introduce new workplace safety rules to limit the risk people will come into contact with asbestos while at work, expand the list of government buildings known to contain asbestos, work with provinces on new building codes to prohibit the use of asbestos in new construction and renovations, and raising awareness of the health impacts of asbestos. Four cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Jane Philpott, held a press conference at an Ottawa hospital Thursday morning to announce the details of the ban. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press Files Former MP Pat Martin has asbestos-induced lung damage linked to his years working in an asbestos mine in the Yukon when he was young. We are taking action that is long overdue, and we are doing it in the best possible way, Philpott said at the event. But its not enough for Pat Martin, who devoted much of his 18-year career as the NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre crusading against the deadly mineral. Asbestos fibres when inhaled are toxic and linked to lung damage and cancer. Martin has asbestos-induced lung damage linked to his years working in an asbestos mine in the Yukon when he was young. My first reaction is no gold stars for political courage here, Martin said by email from Australia where he is currently visiting. I think its sad they had to wait until the last producing asbestos mines went bankrupt before they found the political courage to do the honorable thing and ban this Class A carcinogen. And why wait until 2018 when theyve known that all asbestos is deadly for decades? Canada has been dragged to this ban almost kicking and screaming. Asbestos was linked to cancer in the 1970s. It accounts for more than one-third of workplace compensation death claims. More than 500 Canadians are diagnosed with mesothelioma a year, an asbestos cancer that has a five year survival rate of just seven per cent. Most people diagnosed with it will die in less than a year. Yet until 2012 Canada continued to promote the use of some forms of asbestos as safe, and even refused to allow the United Nations to include it on a list of substances in the Rotterdam Convention. Countries that want to export substances on that list can still do so, they just have to inform the recipient of the health risks. It wasnt until 2011, after the last of the asbestos mines in Quebec closed, that Canada finally began to change its position. It dedicated $50 million to the economic redevelopment of the Quebec region affected by the mines, and stopped opposing the addition of asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention. Canada stopped exporting raw asbestos in 2011, according to Industry Canada trade data. However, products containing it, such as jointing sheets, gaskets and friction materials, were still headed overseas as recently as 2015. Martin said banning its use and export is not enough, adding Canada has a moral obligation to be at the leading edge of diagnosis and treatment of asbestos related disease. We are not. As penance for being the worlds biggest cheerleader and promoter of asbestos, we should now be the worlds centre of excellence in the diagnosis and treatment of the made in Canada epidemic weve unleashed on the world, said Martin. He also wants a nation-wide program to help with the cost of removing asbestos from private homes, schools and other buildings. Martin was the NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre until losing to Liberal Robert-Falcon Oullette in the 2015 federal election. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. It seems a councillors public apology isnt enough. Mayor Brian Bowman has called on Coun. Jeff Browaty to meet with elders from the mayors indigenous advisory circle after the North Kildonan councillor disputed the need for civic staff to take a reconciliation course. Bowman said he met with Browaty Friday to reiterate his disappointment with the comments made Wednesday at councils meting, where Browaty said the city cant afford to send its entire workforce on a half-day training session to learn about indigenous culture and the effect of residential schools. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS City Coun. Jeff Browaty approaches the media to make a comment during the lunch break at City Hall Wednesday. I feel strongly the city, and government overall, has an important leadership role to play in responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and undertaking reconciliation efforts, and I conveyed my disappointment in Coun. Browatys opposition to educating civic employees about the history and impact of residential schools, Bowman said in a statement issued following his meeting with Browaty. Browaty was the only councillor to vote opposing acceptance of an administrative report outlining reconciliation efforts city hall has taken, and will be taking, in response to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Browaty said he felt it unnecessary to send staff who mow boulevards and fill potholes to attend such sessions, adding staff should visit the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on their own time, at their own expense if they felt the need to learn more about the effect of residential schools. Browaty retracted his comments and opposition to staff training and issued an apology, but not without continuing to express concern about the cost incurred by civic departments and the potential for service disruption while staff attend the course. Bowmans immediate reaction was disappointment but not surprise, telling reporters Browaty had expressed similar statements privately. In the statement released by his office Friday, Bowman said Browatys comments were harmful to the citys reconciliation efforts and said many members of his indigenous advisory council had questioned whether Browaty was qualified to remain as chairman of the Winnipeg Police Board. Bowman said while he accepted the apology, Browaty needs to take further steps to demonstrate his desire to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of reconciliation. Browaty said he wasnt surprised by Bowmans decision to issue a statement, adding the comments reflected what he told him at the meeting. The mayor invited me to his office (Friday) morning. We met and had a good conversation. I recognize that I need to further my education on the matter, and Ive committed to doing that. Browaty said hell be meeting with the police boards indigenous liaison committee, where he said he will repeat his apology and explain his comments and retraction. Ill assure them to my commitment to additional education and training on the matter, Browaty said, adding part of his education will be to meet with elders and residential school survivors. aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/12/2016 (2149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Charitable giving in Canada is at a 10-year low, but Manitobans are still the top charitable givers in the country. Of the provinces, Manitoba had the highest percentage of tax filers who donated to charity in the 2014 tax year (24.8 per cent), and the highest percentage of aggregated income donated to charity (0.81 per cent), says the 2016 Fraser Institute report on generosity in Canada and the United States. New Brunswick had the lowest percentage of tax filers who donated to charity (19.6 per cent), and Quebecers donated the least of their aggregated income (0.27 per cent). However, Manitobas numbers represent the best of the worst in a decade. The Fraser report says charitable giving in Canada hasnt been this low since 2004. The institute also reported Canadians donate 2.5 times less of their income to charities than Americans. Manitoba was the only Canadian jurisdiction to rank among the top 20 donor states, provinces and territories, placing 19th out of 64 jurisdictions. PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Connie Walker, the new United Way President Since 2004, all of the provinces and territories saw a drop in the percentage of tax filers donating to charity. Most notably, Ontarios charitable giving decreased by 18.7 per cent, New Brunswicks by 14.4 per cent and Nunavuts by 29 per cent. Connie Walker, president and CEO of United Way Winnipeg, said the slow decline in donations could be attributed to a number of things, including a changing donor demographic and economic instability. We have baby boomers who are getting older and retiring, so that new phase in their life can have an impact on whether they donate or not, said Walker. Walker said the recession of 2008 was a watershed moment for charitable giving, and the not-for-profit sector never quite recovered. The new normal seems to be turbulence and uncertainty, said Walker. The stress is being felt. United Way, in the meantime, has been working on its annual campaign, which is part of its three-year plan. It focuses on continuing work the organization is already invested in, as well as expanding on mentorship and mental-health support programming, job and money management training and access to neighbourhood family centres. However, Walker said United Way is concerned with the pace of the campaign, noting the organization may not be able to even match the $20.4 million it raised last year. The last time United Way was unable to match a previous years total was 15 years ago. I think what these trends are saying to us is that as a community, we have a challenge, said Walker. rebecca.dahl@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rebeccadaahl Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitobas only commercial producer of medical marijuana wants Premier Brian Pallister to wake up and smell the budding potential for Manitoba to become Canadas cannabis capital. John Arbuthnot, who runs Delta 9 Bio-Tech Inc. with his father Bill, says Manitobas access to cheap hydroelectric power, cheap cost of living and cheap warehousing costs presents the opportunity for Manitoba to become economic leaders in the production of recreational marijuana. Manitoba has an incredible opportunity. This is the Manitoba advantage. When you look at our industry, the major cost centres for any producer are power, labour and warehouse space, and we are blessed in Manitoba, he said. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES John Arbuthnot VP at Delta 9 Bio-tec with medical marijuana being produced in Winnipeg at a undisclosed location. The time to act is now. I think that provinces that are being proactive on this, that are actively researching a regulatory framework, are those that will in the best position to capitalize on this rollout. Arbuthnot was reacting to comments by Pallister earlier this month that the federal government should slow down in its drive to legalize marijuana until the provinces are better prepared to deal with the legal and social implications it will have, particularly drug-impaired driving. Pallister and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson repeated their concerns Tuesday after a federally appointed task force released its recommendations to the federal Liberal government on how the rollout of legalized marijuana should be handled. An internal task force on marijuana legalization has been set up by the province and includes members of the finance, justice, Crown services and agriculture departments, along with Liquor & Lotteries. The aim is to come up with a made-in-Manitoba model for recreational pot sale and distribution, explained Stefanson, without offering any other details. Pallister said Tuesday he is more concerned about public safety than generating revenue. Im concerned about the safety of the innocent people who are not using the product, Pallister said. I dont see this principally as a revenue generator for government. The framework report included 80 recommendations, including that cannabis should be sold in storefronts but not in the same places as liquor or cigarettes with an age limit of people 18 and older, two measures Arbuthnot applauded. However, he took issue with some of the recommendations limiting packaging and advertisement, explaining if the intent is to stamp out the black market, commercial producers need the opportunity to brand themselves. Currently, Delta 9 Bio-Tech is the only private company in the province that cultivates and distributes marijuana under a federal licence from Health Canada. It operates an 80,000-square-foot production space in an industrial park on the east side of Winnipeg. Arbuthnot currently employs 22 people, but plans to ramp up and expand the production and distribution to 400 to 500 employees by 2020 due to an expected increase in demand. He expects the companys profits by the end of 2016 to hover around the $1-million range. If the legislation allows for it, Arbuthnot said he wants to enter into the sales side of recreational marijuana. Colorado, a state with a population of 5.4 million, had over $1 billion in marijuana sales in 2016, which brought in roughly $150 million in revenue for the state. There is a model here for Manitoba to become a very large producer and exporter of cannabis, but it wont be done with government and business and other groups sitting on the sideline. The time to look at it is now or the opportunity will pass us by, he said We will see jobs growth, so for a province currently sitting in deficit, looking for economic and expansion opportunities, look no further than the marijuana industry. We are here, we are ready to grow. with files from Mia Rabson kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @kristinannable Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Manitoba First Nations are the first in Canada to have their own school board and indigenous leaders framed the importance of the agreement with their personal testimonies. Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was in Winnipeg this morning for an event where several First Nations signed on for the initial phase of the Manitoba First Nations School Board. It is set to begin operating in time for the 2017-18 school year. Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson, of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said she attained perfect school attendance for 10 straight years, after her parents and grandparents drilled into her the importance of education. Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs calls the agreement a 'transformational change.' Grand Chief Terrance Nelson of Southern Chiefs Organization keeps his mothers graduation picture in his wallet she graduated from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay as a language teacher at age 62. Investing in education is a helluva lot better than having the province invest in welfare, said Nelson at the ceremonial signing. Its also better than paying $300 per day to house people in prisons, he said, noting that 70 per cent of inmates in Manitoba prisons are aboriginal. A whos who of aboriginal leaders attended the historic signing on Friday, as well as federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett. In an opening prayer, Elder Gertie Ballantyne of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation said the agreement that allows greater self-determination over aboriginal education will give our children a stronger foundation to do better in the future. Meanwhile, Bennett called the signing transformational change and said its now incumbent on Manitoba to serve as an amazing inspiration to the rest of Canada. First Nation educators said the indigenous school board will result in both increased graduation rates and greater retention of teachers. Funding per student will rise to up to $18,000, versus $4,000 to $5,000 previously, officials said. It will also help stem teacher turnover in indigenous communities by paying salaries comparable to those of provincial teachers. Its not unusual for some communities to have three or four different teachers in a single year, said Nora Murdoch of Fisher River Cree Nation, who is the school boards first superintendent, officially called the director of system development. Its historic because its the first time First Nations have really collaborated and joined forces for education, she said. While an indigenous school board gives First Nations control of education, it will still follow the provincial curriculum. However, it will now be able to add programs customized to indigenous people in areas such as language and history. The initial phase of the school board will include nine First Nations and 2,100 students: Bloodvein, Brokenhead, Dakota Plains Wahpeton, Fox Lake, Keeseekoowenin, Lake Manitoba, Pinaymootang, Roseau River and Sagkeeng. Three more First Nations Lake St. Martin, Mathias Colomb, and York Factory are close to signing, which would bring enrolment to 3,000 students. Not every First Nation is signed up. Bands have to relinquish control of education funding to be part of the school board. Besides larger budgets, an indigenous school board should mean greater program flexibility, more networking and sharing of resources between schools. It should also mean an interactive distance education network, and lower administrative costs through shared functions. bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA Manitoba First Nations will become the first in Canada to have their own school board designed and operated by First Nations people, as the federal government and provincial indigenous leaders signed an education agreement Friday. Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was in Winnipeg for an event where as many as 12 First Nations will sign on for the initial phase of the Manitoba First Nations School System. It will begin in time for the 2017-18 school year. ADRIAN WYLD / CANADIAN PRESS FILES Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett is in Winnipeg this morning for the announcement. The agreement will come with a hefty new investment several thousands dollars more per student to bring up funding to levels comparable with provincially funded schools in Manitoba. Most reserve schools receive only about $4,000 to $5,000 per student. Meanwhile, Manitoba will spend an average of $13,016 per student in this school year. For years, Ottawa argued it was spending more to educate students on reserves than the provinces, but its not an equal comparison. Only 13 First Nations have high schools, meaning students have to attend public schools to finish their education and Ottawa pays full price to those school boards for tuition. In the Frontier School Division in the north where many reserve children from remote communities are sent to study the tuition is more than $20,000 a year. The Manitoba First Nations School System will manage and administer both elementary and high school education for participating First Nations, with additional communities welcome to join. It will be designed by First Nations, making it unique in Canada. The school board will focus on enhancing programming in indigenous languages, culture and anyting that improves academic achievement. The agreement puts back into motion a process that derailed four years ago when the First Nations Education Act introduced by the former Conservative government fell apart without enough buy-in by indigenous communities, who felt they were having it thrust upon them without consultation. The act never passed, and the attached funding evaporated with it. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised $2.6 billion for First Nations education during last years federal election and, while the money was included in the budget, it was spread out over five years rather than four, disappointing many communities. As well, the bulk of that money isnt scheduled to roll out until the final two years, including $800 million in 2020-21, after the next election. There was $287.5 million included in this years budget for improving primary and secondary education on reserves. Bennett was warned in a briefing note prepared by her department shortly after taking office that the state of schools on reserves was dismal. Band-operated schools lack a proper curriculum, training for teachers and supports such as school boards. They are largely left to operate on their own, although Manitoba reserves have all received some support from the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre a support agency created by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs that will form the basis for the new school board. Manitobas Public Schools Act and the Education Administration Act oversee off-reserve schools with 150 pages of rules, regulations and requirements. The Indian Act covers education in just three pages, leaving schools that are underfunded, have high staff turnover and lack of access to materials to determine on their own how many education days there should be and what kids will learn. While many follow provincial curriculum where possible, it is made harder when sometimes even basic education materials such as textbooks are in short supply. Many of the schools dont have libraries or gyms. In 2011, a Senate committee that studied the issue of education on reserves found a dismal situation with low-quality services being provided in substandard facilities, which led to extremely low graduation rates. It found 70 per cent of children growing up on a reserve will never graduate from high school. Attendance rates are low, driven by a lack of trust in education systems among parents and grandparents scarred by residential school tragedies. It recommended First Nations school boards as a possible solution, but experts have long said they had to be run by indigenous communities or parents and students simply will not trust them. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/12/2016 (2149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. After being chased from their homes by Islamic State group terrorists in northern Iraq, two Yazidi families are expected to arrive in Winnipeg their new home next week. The refugees are privately sponsored by Operation Ezra (Hebrew for help), a multifaith coalition in Winnipeg thats helping local Yazidis reunite with relatives forced to flee to UNHCR camps in southern Turkey. Operation Ezra plans to sponsor, welcome, house and support eight Yazidi families made up of 50 people. A committee of community volunteers will welcome the families and do what they can to make the Yazidi refugees feel comfortable and welcome in their new home, Operation Ezra said in a news release Thursday. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Khudher Naso Chalo and his family are greeted by family and supporters at the Winnipeg airport Monday. The Yazidi refugees arrived from Turkey. The Yazidis are an ancient ethno-religious group that originated in Mesopotamia and were based primarily in Iraq, Operation Ezra said. They have been subjected to an estimated 73 massacres throughout history and now are being subject to a genocide recognized by the United Nations as well as Canada, it said. Its been widely reported in the media that Yazidi women and girls are being sold into sex slavery by the terrorists. Canadas only comprehensive Yazidi refugee relief project is Winnipegs Operation Ezra. The push to sponsor the persecuted minority with no homeland was spearheaded by the Jewish Child and Family Service and the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. Operation Ezra has grown into a multifaith coalition including Temple Shalom, Mennonite Central Committee, the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, the Salvation Army, Manitoba Multifaith Council, Gray Academy and several Jewish agencies and individuals that have donated household and personal items, time and skills. Businesses have provided kitchenware, linens and towels and warehouse space for the household items. The Salvation Army is providing beds and mattresses as well as vouchers for their thrift stores. Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, the National Council of Jewish Women and the young adult division of the Jewish Federation have conducted drives to collect furniture, warm clothing and furnishings. When the families arrive in Winnipeg Tuesday, Operation Ezra will help them move into appropriate housing and provide assistance with transportation, grocery shopping and adapting to their new lives. Congregation Shaarey Zedek Synagogue has committed to sponsor the two families arriving Tuesday and will provide an extra measure of support, Operation Ezra said. The Jewish Child and Family Service will provide settlement services. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca By PTI: From Aditi Khanna London, Dec 16 (PTI) In a relief to Keith Vaz, Scotland Yard today dropped its investigation against Britains longest-serving Indian-origin MP over alleged drug offences. 59-year-old Vaz, a Labour MP, had resigned as chair of parliaments influential Home Affairs Select Committee in September amid a sex scandal over allegations involving male prostitutes. The Metropolitan Police had opened an investigation under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 last month. advertisement "Following that assessment, which included obtaining early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) started an investigation in November," a Met Police statement said. "During the investigation, new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS, following which the MPS has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged," it said. An article in Sunday Mirror on September 4 claimed Vaz had been secretly recorded offering to pay for cocaine, a banned drug, if it was brought to a future meeting, though he stressed that he did not want any himself. He was also accused of encouraging others to use poppers, an illegal party drug. The Met had received a letter soon after the media allegations, calling for a police investigation. The correspondence was passed on to a specialist team, which "started an assessment process to identify what criminal offences, if any, may have been committed". A spokesperson for Vaz said, "The Metropolitan Police Service has informed us that they have decided not to proceed any further with their investigation arising from reports in the Sunday Mirror and The Mirror and that the investigation is now closed". "This investigation followed the complaint made to them by Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire," the spokesperson said. The House of Commons watchdog - Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards - has also launched an inquiry into Vaz, who has since joined the Parliaments Justice Select Committee in October. PTI AK CPS AKJ CPS --- ENDS --- Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. News reports in Manitoba over the past few weeks have been littered with stories of our shameful treatment of children. The Manitoba Child and Family Poverty Report Card for 2016 was released in late November, noting Manitoba has the highest child-poverty rate of any province at 29 per cent. This means more than 85,000 children in Manitoba are living in poverty, or one in every 3.5 children. Meanwhile, the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy released a report highlighting the alarming rates of childrens mental-health problems, including rates of teen suicide at twice the Canadian average. Not surprisingly, the centre also reported these increased rates are often related to poverty, poor housing and low family income. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS There have been reports that children at the Manitoba Youth Centre are being unnecessarily restrained, kept in isolation and pepper-sprayed. We also learned children held at the Manitoba Youth Centre are being unnecessarily restrained, kept in isolation and shockingly pepper-sprayed. Children in Manitoba are imprisoned at the highest rates in Canada, due to violent behaviour, mental-health issues and lack of foster placements. The lack of foster placements is in part due to our shameful rates of children in care, the highest in the world. But these local examples reflect a larger problem in Canada when it comes to protecting and advocating for our nations children. In a country of riches, child trafficking, sexual and physical abuse (we have still not repealed the spanking law), missing and murdered indigenous girls, high incarceration rates for youth, lack of access to education and extreme poverty rates are not diminishing. Yet the Canadian government consistently refuses to step up. For example, the government is denying responsibility for the outcome of the disturbing policies authorizing the 60s Scoop. And the government has still not rectified the funding inequity in supporting First Nations children on reserves, even though the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled against the government and two compliance orders have been issued. It is thanks to the tireless work of advocates such as Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, that the government is being held to account at all. A much more comprehensive and focused approach to caring for our countrys children is required, one where we make central the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Canada 25 years ago. The three main themes of the convention focus on childrens protection, provision and participation. In addition to keeping children safe from torture and cruel punishment, it is the governments responsibility to ensure childrens rights are protected and healthy environments are created for children to be safe and reach their full potential. Rights of provision include preserving identities and providing opportunities for childrens physical, mental, spiritual and social development. Childrens participation means that children have a right to be heard, to have opinions, to be taken seriously and to participate in decisions that concern them. We are a long way from actualizing childrens rights. In fact, according to the KidsRights Index, Canada ranks 72nd, below Algeria, Lebanon and Colombia. We might consider following top-ranked Norways lead by appointing a commissioner for children, whose role is to include the opinions of young people, ensure their rights are upheld and vet laws and policies for compliance with the convention. Imagine what might be possible for Canadas children if we put childrens protection, provision and participation at the centre of our laws, policies and decision-making. Imagine the improvements to childrens quality of life in education, health, welfare and justice systems. Imagine the future health and well-being of our nation if we took the care of and investment in kids seriously. Ensuring the protection, provision and participation of children is a collective responsibility, where the onus is on all of us, and the ultimate leadership falls to our government. What if, this holiday season, we granted children their rights, the ones we agreed to implement and to which they are legally entitled? Melanie D. Janzen is an assistant professor in the faculty of education and research affiliate with the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the pessimists among us have dismissed multiculturalism as an abysmal failure. This claim is based on three assumptions. First, that multiculturalisms ethos of tolerance rejects the assimilation of immigrants from non-western societies. Second, non-coercion allows immigrants to segregate and to maintain their traditional values. Lastly, that segregation leads to the fomentation of violent extremism. These assertions, however, distort the Canadian multicultural experience. Multiculturalism, as envisioned by then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau in 1971, did not encourage cultures to celebrate division. In fact, the official policy emphasized shared citizenship, communication among groups and increased participation of minorities in society. In other words, integration of diverse cultures was always the central feature of Trudeaus original multiculturalism framework. This historical reality represents an inconvenient truth for peddlers of the segregation dilemma. Furthermore, if multiculturalism was a contributing factor to increased segregation and extremism, Canadians would reject the policy outright. The fact is, they continue to embrace multiculturalism as part of their core identity. When a recent Nanos Research poll asked, What makes you proud to be a Canadian? multiculturalism ranked among the top three of all values chosen, an attitude that has not changed in a decade. Empirical data also suggest Canadians are integrating. One reliable indicator of this trend is the increase in mixed marriages. In 2011, such relationships comprised 4.6 per cent of all couples in private households, up from 3.1 per cent in 2001 and 2.6 percent in 1991. As Macleans magazine notes, All this suggests Canadians are no longer bound by outdated cultural mores or strictures when picking a partner. Love is colour-blind. Sociologist Reginald Bibby acknowledges There is probably no better index of racial and cultural integration than intermarriage. After 9/11, another myth was laid to rest concerning Muslim integration. According to Michael Adams, founder and president of the Environics Institute for Survey Research, the values most espoused by Muslims are freedom and democracy, followed by multiculturalism and living in a peaceful, stable country. These are the same values held by non-Muslim Canadians. Moreover, a multicultural society does not foster radicalization. In Unlikely Utopia: The Surprising Triumph of Canadian Pluralism, Adams found nearly nine in 10 Muslims admitted they have a responsibility to report potential violent extremists. This is a strong indication Muslims have assimilated the host countrys values concerning rights and freedoms, respect for others and compassion. Put simply, Muslims deplore violence and want it addressed as seriously as the rest of Canadians. In contrast, anti-multicultural attitudes are directly linked to violent behaviour. Take, for instance, Norway mass murderer Anders Breivik. He fondly referred to multiculturalism as an anti-European hate ideology that facilitates Islamic demographic warfare. Directing his anger at advocates of multiculturalism namely, tolerant politicians he went on a killing spree that left 77 dead 69 of these Labour Party youth. Violent racists view multiculturalism with disdain, not because it facilitates segregation, but because deep down, they hate the thought of immigrants integrating. Once thing is certain: multiculturalism is not in crisis mode here in Canada. Balkanization is not gaining traction, nor are we overrun by terrorist threats and extremist groups. The main thrust of Pierre Trudeaus multicultural policy integration is, in fact, a success story. All Canadians are bound together by common values, such as tolerance, equality and social justice. Though naysayers may disagree, it is our affinity for multiculturalism and our ability to negotiate its ideals that make us the envy of the globe. Stuart Chambers is a professor in the faculties of arts and social sciences at the University of Ottawa. schamber@uottawa.ca Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA It seems pretty clear Canada is going to fully legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use in just a matter of months. The marijuana task force reported its findings publicly this week, recommending recreational use be legalized with certain limitations, including how much can be grown or possessed at a time and where it can be sold. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said Tuesday plans are in place to introduce legislation for legalization in spring 2017. There is no indication the government is going to put the train back in the station on this one. MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Regardless of when Ottawa goes ahead on marijuana legalization, there are things the province could already be doing about public awareness. Back in Manitoba, Premier Brian Pallisters government is intent on waiting to respond until the legislation is laid out in full. Crown Services Minister Ron Schuler even said earlier this year the government doesnt want to spend a lot of money on the issue until the feds lay out their whole hand. Nonsense. There are many things that do have to wait, including deciding how to regulate the sale, whether Canada will give provinces leeway on the minimum age for pot use and exactly where it can be sold. And sure, Pallister can continue, rightly, to push Ottawa to slow things down until things are in place, including better roadside testing for marijuana use. But whether Ottawa holds off a few months or even a year, there are things the province should already be doing with or without legalized pot. Young people in Canada are already accessing pot at alarming rates. Statistics Canada reports one-fifth of Canadians between 15 and 19 smoke marijuana. A UNICEF study in 2013 found 28 per cent of Canadian kids between 11 and 15 had used marijuana in the previous year, the highest rate of pot use in that age group in 29 of the worlds wealthiest nations. The suggestion is legalizing it and regulating it will make it harder for kids to get something the experience in the Netherlands might back up. But why are we waiting at all to start massive public-awareness campaigns about the dangers to kids of smoking weed, on par with anti-tobacco campaigns that have helped drive tobacco use down to record lows in most of the country? When I was a teenager, smoking cigarettes was considered cool; but several decades of effort to make smoking seem gross, to ban it in public, to denormalize it and let people know it can kill you, have worked. Why are we waiting even one more day to do the same with pot? Then there is the driving issue, which Pallister has raised as one of his chief concerns. Task force head Anne McLellan herself noted Tuesday drug-impaired driving is not something thats going to suddenly appear in Canada after marijuana is legalized. It already exists. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse made clear years ago drug-impaired driving was already a significant problem, almost on par with alcohol. Its 2011 report said a study of nearly 13,000 drivers who were killed between 2000 and 2007 found one-third had drugs in their system, while 39 per cent had alcohol. Thats almost 4,300 people killed while driving high in seven years, and that was a decade ago already. This doesnt include crashes where the drivers were not killed but their passengers were, nor did it include crashes where drivers or passengers were injured. We may not know yet exactly how much marijuana is safe to smoke before driving, or how long before driving you have to wait before it becomes safe. Roadside testing is, in many ways, still in its infancy, and a study released by the University of Toronto just this month concluded, upon examining a number of international approaches to the subject, that far more work has to be done before we figure out what works best. But we do know drug-impaired driving is a risk, and that for young people, brain development can be affected by using marijuana even up to the age of 25. Why arent we already training more cops to conduct the roadside testing that can detect impairment? Why arent we immediately launching anti-drug-driving campaigns and embarking on massive education campaigns to warn kids smoking pot can be dangerous to your health, and delivering the message that if you smoke up, do not get behind the wheel? Doing these things would not implicitly give legalizing marijuana the provincial stamp of approval. But they would indicate government awareness that these problems exist, whether pot ever becomes legal, and need to be addressed as soon as possible. Mia Rabson is the Free Press parliamentary bureau chief. mia.rabson@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mrabson Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Its pretty unusual to see the members of Winnipeg city council going after the president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce for his remarks regarding the 2017 budget. Yet, thats the state of city politics right now. And it once again highlights the inability of embattled Mayor Brian Bowman to build consensus and communicate effectively. The fracas began earlier this week, when chamber president Loren Remillard and Manitoba Heavy Construction president Chris Lorenc challenged the citys executive policy committee members and the mayor about how the spending on roads was communicated to the public. It became a bit of a free-for-all, with some members of EPC alleging that Mr. Remillard and Mr. Lorenc were acting on behalf of council curmudgeon Russ Wyatt. That ended up in a screaming match between Mr. Wyatt and Marty Morentz (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Whyte Ridge), who was the past chairman of the citys finance committee. Talk about your holiday spirit. This is somewhat reminiscent of Rebel Medias Ezra Levant accusing the Raging Grannies (a satirical singing group of women of a certain age) of being NDP plants when they recently showed up at one of his protest rallies against carbon taxing in Calgary. Conspiracy theories appear to abound in politics, no matter what level. WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Coun. Shawn Dobson Things degenerated so much, that the normally mild-mannered Shawn Dobson (St. Charles) erupted, declaring: This secrecy crap has got to stop, in reference to the limited access council members outside of EPC had to the budget numbers as they were being determined. Mr. Bowman was elected mayor two years ago with limited political experience. That appealed to many Winnipeggers, who were unhappy with the previous council and its role in a number of somewhat poorly thought-out decisions and scandals. At the time, he ran against two former city councillors and a former MLA and MP with lots of experience. But two years in, Mr. Bowman still has not been able to grasp the basic politics of his job and the implicit silo building under which each city councillor operates. Each of the 15 councillors elected wants to be able to go back into their ward and explain policy decisions without fearing an electoral backlash. What Mr. Bowman needs to do is get those councillors onside before problematic issues become public. Mr. Bowman should have learned this with the growth-fees fiasco, which riled well-organized and well-heeled lobby groups such as the Manitoba Home Builders Association. In the end, changing the name of it to an impact fee didnt make the charge any more palatable. Those on the inside say Mr. Bowman seems to be following bad advice in terms of his communication with councillors and other stakeholders. Couple that with the ongoing concern that city administrators those responsible for providing information to councillors as decisions are made at both the committee level and at general council do not provide information in a timely manner and the city is left in a mess or one hot mess, as columnist Dan Lett has already suggested. But when it all devolves into a screaming match between the citys biggest booster and those elected to represent it, its obvious somethings going to give. Despite the fact that incumbent mayors rarely lose in a re-election bid, Mayor Bowman may have to look beyond city hall to determine his future in two years. Following more than 18 months of study and deliberation, the Winona Area Public Schools board made a decision Thursday on the future of the districts elementary buildings. On a 4-3 vote, the board chose to expand and renovate Jefferson and Goodview elementary schools, while closing the Madison, Rollingstone and W-K buildings. Board members Steve Schild, Jeanne Nelson, Brian Zeller and Karen Coleman voted for the plan, with members Jay Kohner, Ben Baratto and Tina Lehnertz voting against. The plan agreed upon Thursday night is expected to save the district in excess of $1.5 million annually, and address the mounting maintenance needs for the aging buildings, at a time when both money and student head counts are at a premium for the district. The plan was one of two endorsed by the districts facility task force, a group of volunteers, parents, district staffers and community members who spent months working through options, studying detailed financial plans, and debating the districts short-term and long-term future. The other option forwarded to the board called for closing both the Madison and Rollingstone buildings, but keeping W-K open. Paul Aplikowski, of Wold Architects and Engineers, presented the task force recommendations to the board. This is not a happy process, he said. The prospect of closing schools is not, he noted, a decision easily made. Julie Heinrichs, a member of the task force and mother of a Madison School student, told the board how she had entered into the process a strong opponent of closing any elementary buildings. But seeing the districts enrollment numbers, building capacities and conditions, and the impact they had on the districts financial condition and its ability to provide quality education for all children, her attitude underwent a complete reversal, she said. We cant operate as we wish we were, she said, but as we are. During the boards community comment period, seven members of the Rollingstone community spoke passionately of that communitys support of its elementary school and the quality education it offered their children. But, ultimately, they would be disappointed. Faced with the need to cut $1.5 million from the districts operating budget each year for the foreseeable future, and with more than $62 million in overdue maintenance identified in district buildings, financial considerations weighed heavily in the boards decision. The plan that gained final approval had the lowest initial cost estimate and highest estimated annual savings, while meeting all criteria for providing comprehensive education programming in a setting conducive to 21st century learning. Board member Steve Schild described the proposal as the best educationally, best financially, with the lowest initial cost, highest savings and most efficient options for staffing. Tina Lehnertz, who represents the Rollingstone area, proposed keeping Rollingstone open. It might cost us a little more, she said, but would be worth it to the district in terms of offering an additional option to parents. I have nothing ill to say about Rollingstone, Schild said, but we simply cannot go on without recognizing financial realities. On the 4-3 vote, the board sided with Schild. Aplikowski and Wold will spend the next month refining the proposal, coming back to the board Jan. 19 for further discussion. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified votes two board members took. Board member Jay Kohner voted against the motion to renovate and expand Jefferson and Goodview elementary schools and close the W-K, Madison, and Rollingstone buildings. Jeanne Nelson voted in favor of the motion. The text has been corrected. Department of Natural Resources Secretary Cathy Stepp has rolled out a far-reaching plan to streamline the environmental permit processing of the state agency charged with protecting Wisconsins land, air and water quality and it has, understandably, raised eyebrows and opposition. Under Stepps plan, a year-and-a-half in the making, the DNR would rely heavily on the work of consultants and engineers hired by those being regulated to work up the draft environmental permits for their projects including those for manure handling practices of large-scale farms. Critics say thats like giving the key to the henhouse to the foxy farms and businesses intent on expanding their operations, but Stepp insists its a matter of streamlining the state agency and making it more effective in performing its environmental responsibilities. In a commentary earlier this month, Stepp put it bluntly: Lets be clear from the start the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is not going to be allowing large livestock operations to write their own environmental permits. If you have seen or heard that we are, you have been given wrong information. We are not giving away the environmental store. I cant stress this enough, none of these changes will diminish, relax or loosen the laws, rules of standards currently in place or our commitment to upholding those standards. In fact, Stepp wrote, by allowing hired consultants and contractors to help operators fill out permit applications, DNR staff will be able to address issues more effectively and free up time from non-essential work so staff can focus on what this agency has been charged to do. She said under the assurance program she is proposing, the DNR will rely on consultants who have a high expertise in an area and be assured their information is correct and complete allowing the DNR to go ahead with the development of a final permit without the back-and-forth and get right to the crux of the issue reviewing the application based on those laws, rules and standards. The back-and-forth Stepp alludes to has been one of the chafing points in the environmental permitting process since it can often delay projects until the DNR gets the answers it requires. That takes time and staff and the DNR, like most state agencies, has felt the belt-tightening imposed by Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP-controlled Legislature in recent years. In the current budget, the DNR dropped more than 500 positions, an 18 percent decrease, according to news reports. That has lead to some charges that the DNR has slacked off on its enforcement of environmental laws under Stepps oversight in the past five years. Thats worrisome. But so is the prospect of creating more and more delays in permit processing by an overworked agency. In theory, Stepps plan could eliminate some time-consuming permit-writing work and give the DNR staff more time to focus on the final permit process and enforcement monitoring for potential violations. That streamlining is worth pursuing, but only if the DNR has clear benchmarks and the oversight capability to make sure the initial permit information the staff is getting is accurate. Revamping the environmental permit process must be done deliberatively to make sure the states natural resources are not compromised. The list of disturbing attempts to undermine good government principles in Wisconsin just got longer. Former Judge J. Mac Davis and two other members of the partisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission Democrat David Halbrooks and Republican Katie McCallum tried to strike the goal of furthering Wisconsins tradition of clean and open government from the commissions mission statement. That just seems way too highfalutin to me, Davis said at a recent meeting of the commission, recorded by WisconsinEye. Highfalutin? Really? Wed call it fundamental to honest and accountable public service something the Ethics Commission is supposed to help protect on behalf of voters and taxpayers as it oversees campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws. It seems to imply that were far more than we are that were going to do the right thing, Davis continued. If were going to do the right thing, thats not our job. Our job is to administer these laws and hope its the right thing. My, how the backbone of Wisconsins watchdog agency now a lapdog has weakened. Thats not a big surprise, given that most members serve at the pleasure of top lawmakers. Gov. Scott Walker and the GOP-run Legislature this year dismantled the commissions predecessor, the Government Accountability Board, which was stronger, independent and nonpartisan. Davis, appointed to the new commission by Gov. Walker, could at least try to build a little trust in his panel. And for his part, Democratic commissioner Halbrooks should look up clean and open in the dictionary if he truly doesnt know the definition of those words when applied to government, as he stated. The panels latest embarrassment follows the Legislatures witless attempt last year to gut the states open records law on the eve of the July Fourth weekend. Public outrage quickly stopped that. A similar backlash reversed the Walker administrations bid last year to nix the search for truth from the University of Wisconsin Systems mission statement. Thankfully, the full Ethics Commission rejected Davis bad idea with a 3-3 vote, which was just enough to stop it. Three commissioners reserve judge Robert E. Kinney, former Republican Assembly Majority Leader Pat Strachota, and former Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager voted to stick with strong goals. It would be folly to strike any reference to this important, aspirational purpose of clean and open government, Kinney correctly told Davis. Kinney this week resigned from the commission, citing its weak and secretive behavior. The GOPs dismantling of the nonpartisan and independent GAB continues to prove a big mistake. Nov. 30, 5:15 a.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to a fire on the side of a house on Farnham Street in the city of Columbus. Dec. 4, 10:38 a.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded and found no incident on Hwy 151. Dec. 5, 5:16 p.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to a fire alarm due to malfunction on Stuart Street in the city of Columbus. Dec. 8, 7:49 p.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to assist EMS on South Ludington Street in the city of Columbus. Dec. 9, 11:52 a.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to a carbon monoxide alarm due to malfunction on Hall Road in the town of Columbus. Dec. 11, 10:05 a.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to a gas leak on Hwy 16/60 in the town of Elba. Dec. 12, 6:08 a.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to a Carbon Monoxide alarm due to malfunction on Warner Street in the city of Columbus. Dec.12, 1:27 p.m., The Columbus Fire Department responded to ice rescue call for two dogs that broke through the ice on Hwy 73 in the town of Elba. Total fire calls for the year so far, 195 Reposing full faith on Rahul Gandhi, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in an exclusive interview with India Today's Karan Thapar said that the vice president will soon share evidences with the public. I am personally against disruption in the Parliament: Shashi Tharoor By India Today Web Desk: Rallying strongly behind Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, party MP and senior leader Shashi Tharoor said evidences against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's involvement in corruption are 'earth-shattering.' Reposing full faith on Rahul Gandhi, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram in an exclusive interview with India Today's Karan Thapar said that the vice president will soon share evidences with the public. advertisement Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was himself involved in corruption. The Congress vice-president said he wanted to reveal it in Parliament, but is being prevented by the ruling BJP from speaking there. "Read my lips... the PM is personally terrified of the information I have, we have. It is personal corruption of the PM that we have detailed information on," Rahul Gandhi said. "My information is personal information on Narendra Modiji, which I want to put out in the Lok Sabha. I want to say it there as an elected member of Parliament," he added. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERVIEW Centre didn't allow Rahul Gandhi to speak in Parliament on demonetisation Evidences against PM Modi a secret and are earth-shattering. Rahul Gandhi will soon share evidences with the public. Government deliberately obstructed Parliament. There is a distrust between the Centre and the Opposition. Disruption by the Centre in the Parliament unprecedented. PM Modi should have taken Parliament's approval before implementing demonetisation. Government afraid of voting on demonetisation. BJP disrupted us for 10 years in the Parliament. Demonetisation is an ill-implementation by the Centre which will significantly hit GDP. ALSO READ: Modi personally involved in corruption, terrified with information I have: Rahul Gandhi ALSO READ | PM Modi has already made society cashless, no one has money: Rahul Gandhi --- ENDS --- When Columbus Community Hospitals Prairie Ridge Center for Orthopedic Excellence had a need for new patient beds, United Cooperative, headquartered at Beaver Dam, provided funding of $7,000 to help fund the campaign. As a farmer-owned cooperative, our member/owners believe in sharing with our communities where there is need, said David Cramer, United Cooperatives President and CEO. We believe this support will provide added comfort for the many farm families and community members who utilize the resources at the Prairie Ridge Center. Emily Kosterman, RN and Manager for the Prairie Ridge Center for Orthopedic Excellence, said the center helps patients transition from hospital to home following hip and knee replacement surgeries. New patient beds within the Prairie Ridge Center for Orthopedic Excellence unit will increase the comfort level of our patients, while the built-in features will enhance safety and improve recovery time. We know the new Stryker beds will exceed our patients expectations. The Department of Justice will likely convene a grand jury to investigate a leak of evidence collected during a secret criminal investigation into whether Gov. Scott Walkers recall campaign circumvented state campaign finance law, Attorney General Brad Schimel said Thursday. This isnt the type of investigation that you go knocking on doors and ask people to talk with you, Schimel said in an interview with the Wisconsin State Journal. (The investigation is) going to be best suited (in) a protected environment of a courtroom where were asking questions and developing information. The grand jury would investigate a leak of materials to the Guardian US, an arm of the British newspaper, which published hundreds of leaked documents from a closed secretive John Doe investigation looking into Walker raising millions of dollars for a supposedly independent group to help win the 2011 and 2012 recalls. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the case in October. The documents were published shortly before that decision. DOJs pursuit of the grand jury option to identify the leaks culprit comes after the state Supreme Courts late November decision to reject Schimels request to appoint a court official known as a special master to investigate the leak. Schimel said a grand jury investigation requires more logistics than using a special master with subpoena power to investigate the leaks and offered to provide investigatory support and legal advice. But in rejecting Schimels request, the Supreme Court said its up to the states executive branch to start any further investigation. At least part of the reasoning was that theyve kind of had it on being the investigator on this, said Schimel. Thats fair. Schimel said he was unsure of when the grand jury would be convened. A Guardian spokesman declined to comment on the matter. The leaked documents provided the public with the most complete record yet of how Walker raised millions of dollars for Wisconsin Club for Growth, a supposedly independent, tax-exempt group that coordinated the fundraising effort to help Walker and Senate Republicans beat back recall attempts in 2011 and 2012 activity that prompted the John Doe investigation. The documents revealed donations to the Club for Growth including six-figure sums from a lead producer who later stood to benefit from changes slipped into the 2013-15 state budget. The more than 1,300 pages of documents, which had been held under seal, were posted online in September by Guardian US. An article published in September by Guardian US based on the documents includes previously unreleased information about the effort by Walker to raise millions of dollars for the Club for Growth. In response to the Guardian report, Democrats have called for an investigation into Walkers fundraising activities, while Republicans have called for an investigation into the leak. Two political operatives who were under investigation also have asked the court to investigate the leak. Schimel said he wont investigate a leak of materials to other publications, including the Wall Street Journals conservative editorial page. Wisconsin Club for Growth director Eric OKeefe acknowledged in 2014 in an interview with conservative radio show host Vicki McKenna that the subpoena he received during the 2012 John Doe investigation included a gag order, which if violated could result in a contempt of court ruling. Before filing a federal lawsuit against the John Doe prosecutors, which resulted in the release of hundreds of documents detailing the investigation, OKeefe disclosed much of what was known about the John Doe to the Wall Street Journal. OKeefe has been an outspoken critic of the police tactics used to deliver subpoenas to those under investigation, comparing the experience to rape. Schimel said earlier this year in response to a Democratic lawmakers call to investigate the Wall Street Journal leak that it was OKeefes right to publicly voice his objection to the manner in which he was being treated. As a career prosecutor and now as Attorney General, I respect the Constitution and would never threaten to prosecute a private citizen who is exercising his or her individual rights, Schimel said in a statement in October. No judge has the authority to place a gag order on a private citizen to prevent that person from talking about acts committed against them by the government. This isnt the type of investigation that you go knocking on doors and ask people to talk with you. (The investigation is) going to be best suited (in) a protected environment of a courtroom where were asking questions and developing information. Brad Schimel, Wisconsin attorney general, in an interview with the State Journal Recently Ive been pondering what Donald Trumps eventual presidential nickname might be. Presidential sobriquets have always fascinated me. Theyve certainly varied in regard to favorability: The Father of His Country Washington, The Trust Buster Teddy Roosevelt, Old Rough and Ready Zachary Taylor, Silent Cal Coolidge, No Drama Obama, Tricky Dick Nixon and Slick Willie Clinton. Give Em Hell Harry Truman had just the one, which also served as his campaign slogan; Reagan had four including Dutch, The Great Communicator, The Gipper and The Teflon President; Lincoln had no less than six, of which Honest Abe, The Rail-Splitter and The Great Emancipator are probably best known. The appellations arent arbitrary. Grover Cleveland was called His Obstinacy because he vetoed more bills than the first 21 presidents combined, and Rutherford B. Hayes was known as His Fraudulency because many did not consider him legitimately to be president after the disputed results of the 1876 election. Unfortunate, isnt it, that His Fraudulency is already taken. Ive seen several suggestions on the internet for Trump: most are crude, crass and vulgar. I think wed agree that they are highly inappropriate for the President of the United States. But, then, so is Donald Trump. Robert Reid, Wisconsin Dells COLUMBUS -- Eugene Kegler didnt have to calculate his corn yields to know that he had a bin-buster. Over a chicken and ham luncheon at Club 60 near Columbus, after Wednesdays Columbia County Corn Growers winter meeting, Kegler -- who farms near Waterloo -- said he measured his bounty mainly by the grain trucks frequent trips to and from his fields this fall, to haul away more and more harvested corn and soybeans. If he had to guess, he said, his corn yield was easily 250 average -- as in 250 bushels per acre. Thats a lot. Its well above the nationwide average of 175 bushels per acre this record-breaking harvest season. But it wouldnt have been enough for Kegler to win a prize in this years Columbia County corn yield contest. Those honors went to three Columbia County farmers, two of whom topped the national average by more than 100 bushels per acre. The first-place winner was Jim Casey, who farms in the Friesland area, and who got just short of 287 bushels per acre. Second place went to a Cambria area farmer, Cory Stiemsma, who achieved 279.68 bushels per acre. In third place was Jerry Franz, who got 259.53 bushels per acre on his farm near Rio. None of the winners was present to receive his cash prize -- $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $200 for third place. But more than 80 others, mostly farmers, spent the morning learning from University of Wisconsin-Extension experts, and sizing up the harvest. Its a mixed blessing, noted George Koepp, agriculture agent for the University of Wisconsin-Extension Columbia County. Could you ask for a better growing year? Koepp asked rhetorically. Yes, we had some amazing yields, he said, but yes, we also have some pretty low prices. According to Garry Gard, grain merchandising manager for Didion Milling in Cambria, corn prices are running in the range of $3.61 per bushel for March futures and $3.89 per bushel for fall futures. Nationwide, the record corn harvest yielded 15.2 billion bushels, which is 1 billion more than another recent big harvest year, 2014. In Wisconsin, 558 million bushels were harvested this year, Gard said -- an all-time high. But with big harvests all over the nation (record yields also were reported in Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota), and surpluses from previous seasons, supply is greater than demand. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects the United States to export 2.2 billion bushels of corn, but Gard said fewer foreign nations are buying, partly because many of them have harvested bumper crops of their own. Exports are not the answer to get the supply down to where the market is higher, Gard said. And, if the ethanol industry werent buying corn, the prices would be even lower, he added. Yet, Didion has had to reject some of the corn thats come in from this harvest, because wet weather in September, while the corn was still in the field, resulted in fungal infection that can produce toxins that are poisonous to livestock that eat the corn. Morrie Bryant, senior marketing manager for specialty markets for Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., said the most common fungal infection showing up in corn in this area is Gibbrella, which starts as a red or pink mold, almost always at the tip of the corns ear. Not all fungal infections produce toxins, but even those that dont can result in corn that is not palatable to livestock. Bryant recommended that farmers plant corn hybrids that are resistant to fungal diseases. But if fungus is detected in corn thats still in the field, he said, it should be harvested as soon as possible and dried to lessen the likelihood of the toxins spread to healthy corn. This has been a big crop, Bryant said, but its not a crop without sin. According to the Portage Community School District Twitter account, Portage schools will be dismissing early today due to pending inclement weather. Endeavor Elementary and Lewiston Elementary will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m., Rusch Elementary and Woodridge Elementary at 12:40 p.m., John Muir Elementary at 12:50 p.m., and Wayne E. Bartels Middle School and Portage High School at 1 p.m. Poynette and Montello Schools will be closing at 1:15 p.m., Rio, Lodi and Pardeeville Schools, including Pardeeville-St. Johns, will be closing at 2 p.m., and Westfield Schools will be closing two hours early. A consultation team from the UW-Extension stopped in Reedsburg to talk about how the community could benefit from its services. Placemaking 53959 and several interested residents have banded together to see if Reedsburg would support an assessment of the communitys advantages, disadvantages and potential growth areas. They invited representatives from the Design Wisconsin Team, a program through the UW-Extension, to talk about their efforts during a meeting Dec. 13 at the Reedsburg Public Library. Should Reedsburg decide to move forward with the UW-Extension it would need to raise $5,000. Experts from businesses and schools would then converge on Reedsburg for an intensive weekend of assessments, brainstorming and community engagement. This type of program has existed in Minnesota for some time and Wisconsin decided to borrow the idea, launching its own design series in 2014, said Todd Johnson, land use and community development specialist with the UW-Extension in River Falls. He said the combined experience of experts can top $250,000. However, all professionals who work through the program provide their services for free. The $5,000 fee covers transportation costs for these individuals, who mostly come from within Wisconsin and sometimes Minnesota. Experts stay with hosts during their visit and those families provide lodging and meals. Johnson said public participation is critical to the success of a design team visit. There are at least two public gatherings held during a typical program and these sessions let residents share their views about the present and ideas for the future. These opinions can vary from how to revitalize a downtown, how to repurpose old buildings, how to create attractive green space and other economy and morale-boosting measures. Team members work around the clock during their three-day visit. Just before they leave they present their findings and suggestions to the community. Its intense. Its fun, Johnson said. He noted that every recommendation is feasible; the committee will not propose ideas that are too expensive or out of reach. We want you to be able to execute this, he said. The UW-Extension will help Reedsburg identify resources to achieve its goals. The team doesnt just churn out a plan; it points out stepping stones to help the community succeed, said Jen Erickson, a community development educator with the Sauk County UW-Extension. The ultimate goal is for the UW to hand off a workable blueprint to residents in Reedsburg. She said it makes sense because local change requires local efforts. Such a visit from the team would be a valuable opportunity for Reedsburg, said Sarah Pittz Ganem, member of Placemaking 53959 and Sauk County placemaking planner. She said such a study would likely focus on the downtown since healthy downtowns equate to strong communities. She added that its important for cities to consider how they can continue to attract families and talented workers. Going forward her organization will rely on community feedback to decide whether or not to move forward with the UW-Extension. For more information or to share opinions on a design team visit contact Pittz Ganem at sarahmpittz@gmail.com or 608-445-3362. By PTI: Mumbai, Dec 16 (PTI) With the year coming to an end Indians are now planning for their travel next year and Singapore, Bali and Malaysia continue to remain on top of the travel list in 2017, according to a report. "Singapore, Bali and Malaysia is likely to remain top of travel lists in 2017," according to global travel search engine Skyscanners Travel Trends report. advertisement Skyscanners Travel Trends Report is an analysis of three years data from Indian travellers, dating back to 2013. The report revealed that among the countries listed, Singapore records the highest growth with a whopping 202 per cent average increase in searches since 2013. The Lion city-state draws the attention of travellers from across India due to relaxed visa regulations, diverse culture and its multitude of tourist attractions. Skyscanner expects continued growth in 2017, with its easy flight connections and multiple-airlines flying to Singapore. The report revealed that Australia, South Africa and select European cities are aspirational destinations. Australia has emerged as an ambitious contender for the top spot with 67 per cent increase in searches since 2013, it added. Other countries that made top five are Malaysia (46 per cent), Maldives (22 per cent) and South Africa (11 per cent), respectively. While Malaysia and Maldives have been popular holiday choices in the past, South Africa coming in the top five underlines the Indian travellers adventurous streak to seek uncharted destinations, it opined. Similarly, Skyscanners data has placed Bali as a favoured destination in 2017, with 35 per cent recorded average growth in searches in the past three years. Whether a solo trip or a family holiday, the travel search engine anticipates Bali to remain on top due to relaxed visa-regulations introduced in 2016, it said. (MORE) PTI SM RMT RYS --- ENDS --- Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Capt Amarinder Singh and Anand Sharma among others. By Javed M. Ansari : Cracks have developed within the Opposition over a Congress delegation meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately on Friday. Miffed with the development, several non-Congress Opposition parties boycotted the march to Rashtrapati Bhavan today. A delegation of Congress led by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi called on the Prime Minister before the last day of Parliament started business. They apprised Modi of the hardships being faced by the farmers. Among other demands, they requested him to increase the minimum support price (MSP) of crops. advertisement Rahul was accompanied by Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Capt Amarinder Singh and Anand Sharma among others. ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi meets PM Modi, submits memorandum on loan waiver to farmers The other Opposition parties such as Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party, DMK and the Left have taken strong exception to the Congress delegation's separate meeting with the Prime Minister. They boycotted the Opposition's meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee over disruptions in Parliament. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda has questioned unity in the Opposition's ranks, alleging that parties move forward according to their convenience. Is there any unity in the opposition? Parties move forward according to their convenience: HD Deve Gowda,former PM pic.twitter.com/RDUG6C12ee ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Sources said Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPM leader Sitaram Yechury tried hard to persuade the sulking leaders of these Opposition parties. However, leaders of these parties could not be mollified. The Congress leaders went and met Mukherjee without the representation of several Opposition parties. --- ENDS --- The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. 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Read More Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. It also offers ProxyEdge, an electronic proxy delivery and voting solution; data-driven solutions and an end-to-end platform for content management, composition, and omni-channel distribution of regulatory, marketing, and transactional information, as well as mutual fund trade processing services; data and analytics solutions; solutions for public corporations and mutual funds; SEC filing and capital markets transaction services; registrar, stock transfer, and record-keeping services; and omni-channel customer communications solutions, as well as operates Broadridge Communications Cloud platform that creates, delivers, and manages communications and customer engagement activities. The company's Global Technology and Operations segment provides solutions that automate the front-to-back transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, foreign exchange and exchange-traded derivatives, order capture and execution, trade confirmation, margin, cash management, clearance and settlement, reference data management, reconciliations, securities financing and collateral management, asset servicing, compliance and regulatory reporting, portfolio accounting, and custody-related services. This segment also offers business process outsourcing services; technology solutions, such portfolio management, compliance, fee billing, and operational support solutions; and capital market and wealth management solutions. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York. Aetna Inc. operates as a health care benefits company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Health Care, Group Insurance, and Large Case Pensions. The Health Care segment offers medical, pharmacy benefit management service, dental, behavioral health, and vision plans on an insured and employer-funded basis. It also provides point-of-service, preferred provider organization, health maintenance organization, and indemnity benefit plans, as well as health savings accounts and consumer-directed health plans. In addition, this segment offers Medicare and Medicaid products and services, as well as other medical products, such as medical management and data analytics services, medical stop loss insurance, workers' compensation administrative services, and products that provide access to its provider networks in select geographies. The Group Insurance segment offers life insurance products, including group term life insurance, voluntary spouse and dependent term life insurance, group universal life insurance, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance; disability insurance products; and long-term care insurance products, which provide the benefits to cover the cost of care in private home settings, adult day care, assisted living, or nursing facilities. The Large Case Pensions segment manages various retirement products comprising pension and annuity products primarily for tax-qualified pension plans. The company provides its products and services to employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates. Aetna Inc. was founded in 1853 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut. Inaugurating the second India Today State of State Conclave in Lucknow, UP vocational education and skill development minister Abhishek Mishra said the state was lucky to have the present SP government. He said Akhilesh Yadav has been responsible for transforming the state. By Kaushik Deka : Uttar Pradesh Vocational Education and Skill Development Minister Abhishek Mishra today inaugurated the second India Today State of the State Conclave in Lucknow. The Conclave is a signature India Today event where a special report on various growth indicators of a particular state is released. The report was prepared in collaboration with Nielsen. All the districts in the state are ranked based on various parameters and categories. advertisement Later in the day, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will give away awards to the district magistrates for best performing and most improved districts of the state. Speaking at the occasion, Abhishek Mishra said development is meaningless if it does not focus on human development with a humane and compassionate approach. ALSO READ | UP has world's largest skill progamme: State's skill development minister Abhishek Mishra 'TRUE LEADER NEEDS TO HAVE COMPASSION' "One cannot be a true leader if he does not have compassion," said Mishra. Drawing analogy with physics, the former professor said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is the change agent, which has been responsible for transforming the state of Uttar Pradesh. "We can convert a piece of matter to anything conceivable by changing the frequency of inter atomic vibrations. External pressure agents can bring in this change. Uttar Pradesh has been lucky to have that agent in the form of Akhilesh Yadav." Referring to the recently inaugurated Lucknow-Agra Expressway, he said that others in the country would never replicate such a large-scale project, with no parallel in the world, because "only Samajwadis know how to do it". "Most people know the solutions but very few knows how to get things done. What differentiates Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is his ability to execute and deliver projects within a time frame." ALSO READ | PM Modi lauds India Today for State of States, Swachh Bharat initiatives, calls it benchmark THE STATE OF STATES CONCLAVE While delivering the welcome address, India Today Group Editorial Director (Publishing), Raj Chengappa explained the purpose of the Conclave and said the engine of growth in the country is fuelled by the work done in the states. It is, therefore, important that micro-level study at district level is done to understand the socio-economic health of a state. "The goal of the study is not to applaud or criticize any government authority but to detect what is propelling or stalling development in the state in various sectors," said Chengappa. ALSO READ | Here is the full coverage of 2016 India Today State of the States Conclave --- ENDS --- advertisement Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure, Gas Utilities and Infrastructure, and Commercial Renewables. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, renewable generation, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity. It also engages in the wholesale of electricity to municipalities, electric cooperative utilities, and load-serving entities. This segment serves approximately 8.2 million customers in 6 states in the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States covering a service territory of approximately 91,000 square miles; and owns approximately 50,259 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure segment distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation natural gas customers; and owns, operates, and invests in pipeline transmission and natural gas storage facilities. It has approximately 1.6 million customers, including 1.1 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, as well as 550,000 customers in southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The Commercial Renewables segment acquires, owns, develops, builds, and operates wind and solar renewable generation projects, including nonregulated renewable energy and energy storage services to utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, and corporate customers. It has 23 wind, 178 solar, and 2 battery storage facilities, as well as 71 fuel cell locations with a capacity of 3,554 MW across 22 states. The company was formerly known as Duke Energy Holding Corp. and changed its name to Duke Energy Corporation in April 2005. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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Read More Suriya's upcoming actioner Singam 3 was supposed to hit the screens on December 23. By India Today Web Desk: Of late, Suriya's Singam 3 is facing a lot of problems. The film, which will mark Suriya's return as a fierce police officer Duraisingam, is once again postponed. Earlier to this, Singam 3 was initially planned for a worldwide release on Diwali. However, reports suggested that Suriya pushed the release of the film for his brother Karthi, whose multi-genre Kaashmora hit the screens on October 28. advertisement ALSO READ: Singam 3 music review SEE PIC: Rajinikanth launches Dhanush's Velai Illa Pattathari 2 While the film was slated to release on December 16, Suriya once again postponed the release to avert a clash with the Telugu star Ram Charan's Dhruva. However, Singam 3 is now postponed indefinitely. Suriya took to Twitter and shared the news. He wrote, "Dear all! #S3 stands postponed due to several external factors not under our control!Believe it's for the larger good!Need all your support!" Dear all! #S3 stands postponed due to several external factors not under our control!Believe it's for the larger good!Need all your support! Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) December 15, 2016 Notably, Cyclone Vardah with its massive winds uprooted close to 10,000 trees (and counting) in Chennai alone. Singam 3, which is directed by Hari, will feature Shruti Haasan and Anushka Shetty as the leading ladies. Produced by Studio Green, S3 will have popular television actor Thakur Anoop Singh locking horns with Suriya. Music composer Harris Jayaraj is collaborating with the Singam franchise for the first time. The album of Singam 3 was released on November 27 and has opened to decent response from the audience. --- ENDS --- Centre had decided to withdraw the NSG cover for the former Assam Chief Minister after a recent review of his security cover. By Indrajit Kundu: Alleging political vendetta, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of downgrading his security cover. On Thursday the Centre had decided to withdraw the NSG cover for the former Assam Chief Minister after a recent review of his security cover. "It is very unfortunate that the state intelligence is not aware of Centre's development to withdraw my NSG cover. If that is so, either the state intelligence is not properly functioning or the Centre has not given importance to state intelligence," Gogoi alleged on Twitter. advertisement The decision to pull out NSG cover comes about six months after the BJP dethroned the Gogoi-led Congress government in Assam. Due to a high threat perception, the three times chief minister was given NSG cover along with his Z-Plus security by the previous UPA government for close to a decade. Surprised by the centre's sudden revision of his security cover, Gogoi said that such decisions were generally taken in consultation with the state intelligence. "It is nothing but a political vendetta. Since Former CM Prafulla Mahanta is in alliance with the BJP government he is enjoying the same. It can't stop me from raising issues of Assam," Gogoi added. --- ENDS --- The body that has appointed the independent director can remove him, not the SEBI or, even the court, Senior Counsel for Tata P Chidamabaram told the court. By Vidya : Without stating any reason for rejecting the ad interim relief that four minority share holders of the Tata companies were asking for, Bombay High Court today allowed the Extraordinary General Meetings in three companies of Tata to go ahead without any hindrance. During the hearing Justice S J Kathawalla asked the company stake holders if they were replacing Nusli wadia. There are 180 days that a company has before an independent director can be replaced. Although Tata Sons told the court that they did not think about this, the court did take an undertaking from the Tatas that until the suit regarding the ouster of independent Director Nusli Wadia is decided, until then the post would be left vacant. The EGMs are slated to take place next week. advertisement Four shareholders belonging to one family had filed a suit against three Tata group companies, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals against the Special Notice by these companies to remove independent director, Nusli Wadia from the their board. The petitioners had prayed for an urgent relief by asking for a stay on the Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) of the three companies. The minority share holders wanted a special resolution to remove the independent director while there is only an ordinary resolution that has been set in motion. In special resolution, 75 per cent votes by share holders are required to oust an independent director while in an ordinary motion only 50 per cent votes are required. Senior counsel P Chidambaram appearing on behalf of Tata sons said, "This relief cannot be granted at the instance of four shareholders and it cannot be granted by a court. This is corporate democracy. The body that has appointed the independent director can remove him. The SEBI or, even the court, cannot remove him." He questioned the last minute approach of the shareholders at Bombay High Court. He said, "Where were these people for the last month and three days? They were trying to garner support but when they realised that they could not do so then they came at the last minute to court. Why should the result not be announced? Why should they assume that Mr Wadia will lose? Is it because of the 33 day exercise did not yield any result?" Advocate Navroz Sidwai appearing for the minority shareholders said that there were four other directors who had sided with Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata group. However, he was only one who was being shown the door. He said, "They are just testing the water and since he was most talkative so he was marked and then they started galvanising other independent directors." There were lengthy arguments by all parties involved including Advocate Janak Dwarkadas who was representing Nusli Wadia himself told the court, "They (Tatas) chose the wrong man as I am not going to take this lying down." Wadia has also filed a defamation case worth thousands of crores against Ratan Tata and 11 others. --- ENDS --- advertisement Reaching new heights: the year in giving Green and gold: The Empire State Building was illuminated in green and gold Sept. 29 as the university launched its $1 billion For the Bold campaign in New York City. Photo courtesy of University Advancement Photo - of - Hide Caption Over the last year, William & Mary celebrated many extraordinary milestones thanks to the loyal and generous support of donors. More than 42,000 Tribe faithful collectively helped the university raise an unprecedented $143.1 million including more than $68 million for scholarships. Whats more, the number of alumni supporting their alma mater increased and alumni engagement continues to be strengthened, said Matthew T. Lambert, vice president for university advancement. In September, William & Mary rose to new heights by kicking off its For the Bold campaign in New York City against the backdrop of the Empire State Building shining brightly in green and gold. The power of Tribe Pride can be felt across the globe, said Lambert, and will continue to grow stronger as the university takes the campaign into other cities around the world in the months and years ahead. The university continues to break fundraising records, and the reason is simple alumni, parents and friends believe William & Mary is a good investment, Lambert said. Donors are giving to areas they are most passionate about and helping to raise the level of excellence in the classroom and on the field. Generations of talented students and faculty will feel the impact of their gifts for all time coming, and the nation and world will be a better place for it, Lambert added. Some of the major gifts that the university received this year will help support: Superstar Rajinikanth gave blessings to his son-in-law and actor Dhanush's upcoming film Velai Illa Pattathari 2, which is a sequel to the blockbuster film of the same name. By India Today Web Desk: Rajinikanth, who is currently wrapping up the remaining portions of his upcoming mega-budgeted 2.0, kickstarted his son-in-law and actor Dhanush's Velai Illa Pattathari 2. Dhanush recently made a decent comeback with his political thriller Kodi. While the Kolaveri star is currently working on his upcoming directorial project Power Paandi, his upcoming film VIP 2 went on the floors yesterday (November 15), with Thalaivar Rajinikanth's blessings. advertisement ALSO READ: Rana Daggubati's new look from Baahubali 2 revealed ALSO READ: Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya reveals Thalaivar's Hindi film plans An elated Dhanush took to Twitter and shared the pictures. Superstar Rajinikanth, who recently turned 66, also wished the team on Twitter. Wishing #Vip2 team all the very best ... god bless pic.twitter.com/IppXZklyha Rajinikanth (@superstarrajini) December 15, 2016 A sequel to the 2014 blockbuster, Velai Illa Pattathari 2 will be helmed by Rajinikanth's younger daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth and will be bankrolled by Kalaipuli S Thanu. Interestingly, reports also suggested that the Bollywood glam queen Kajol is likely to play a pivotal role in the film. If things fall in place, Kajol will be making her comeback in Tamil after Minsara Kanavu (1997). Dhanush, who will be next seen in Gautham Menon's Ennai Nokki Paayum Thotta, will resume the shoot of his much-anticipated Vada Chennai later this year. --- ENDS --- China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page In a developing country like India, attending school can be a daily struggle for many underprivileged children. By Avarnita Mathur: While most of us understand the need to educate a child, we hardly think about the ways through which this can be done. In a developing country like India, attending school can be a daily struggle for many underprivileged children. These children have to walk several kilometres to reach their destination as they come from poor family backgrounds. Their parents do not have enough money to send their kids via school buses or other transport system. advertisement Moreover, the roads leading to the schools are either not properly built or the schools lack proper infrastructure which often adds to the woes of children. This also raises a question on the safety of the young children who sometimes have to walk through tough terrains, isolated areas and even get exhausted or drained out by the time they reach their schools. Changing the whole idea of accessing education easily, The Walking School Bus, a non-profit organisation is working towards empowering students in developing countries. The Walking School Bus (TWSB), which has previously worked in countries like Uganda and South Africa, has now come to India and is holding its first-ever event here in January. Photo: http://thewalkingschoolbus.com/ THE EVENT TWSB in partnership with Raahgiri Day will conduct an event in Gurgaon on January 8, 2017. A walk will be held to understand the problems several children face in accessing education. Through the event, TWSB will try to raise awareness as well as funds. The funds collected at the event - Access In Motion (AIM) - will be used to gift a computer lab to a school so that they can join the 'Reading Program' of the TWSB and improve access to education. Under the 'Reading Program', TWSB volunteers read and record chapters from books and make them available through audio recordings. THE TEAM TWSB founder Aaron Friedland , after years of research, initially launched the organisation and its programs in Uganda. TWSB has just recently set-up a 4-member team in Delhi which is currently working towards changing the lives of young children who are still struggling to get basic education. "What really catalysed the creation of TWSB was an experience that took place 2 years ago in Uganda. I was staying in a rural area and while going with the students to a school that was 3 kms away, I realised that a lot of them did not even have food before entering the class. As a result, the students were mostly tired and were disengaged. The lack of nutrition and no proper curriculum were the key reasons behind this," said Friedland. advertisement "We have built chicken coops, water catchment systems and community supported agricultural gardens in TWSB partnered schools. This not only helps in providing necessary nutrition to the students but also puts in place good agricultural practices," he said. "I am incredibly excited for the event in India. It is a huge milestone for us. India holds a special place in my heart," added Friedland. "There are a lot of socio-economic similarities between Uganda and India. The number of children who need support to provide access to education is higher in India due to the sheer size of the population. Our priorities here might be different from the focus points covered in Uganda. However, anything that makes school life of a child easier is something we want to work towards," said Sukriti Sachar, TWSB member who has worked closely with Friedland in Uganda. "Our government has identified a problem with readability and hence the program called 'Reading Mela' has been initiated. In line with this, our (TWSB) reading program will enable students to read and understand better and faster," said Sachar. advertisement HOW YOU CAN HELP You can do your bit in supporting the TWSB team by joining their event in Gurgaon and by donating whole-heartedly. Watch the video --- ENDS --- IEA urges decision on Czech nuclear power expansion 16 December 2016 Share The Czech Republic needs to decide on the mechanisms for financing the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants "as soon as possible", the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said this week. Speaking at the launch in Prague of the Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Czech Republic 2016 Review on 13 December, Fatih Birol noted that nuclear is "one of the major pillars" of the State Energy Policy (SEP). Adopted in 2015, the SEP targets the expansion of Czech nuclear energy capacity in order to strengthen energy independence and security of supply. The Czech Republic has six nuclear units at two sites with an installed capacity of 3924 MWe and electricity generation of 26.8 TWh, which is up 8.5% since 2005. Nuclear accounts for 32.5% of the country's electricity generation. Four recommendations The report by the Paris-based IEA makes four recommendations on nuclear policy to the Czech government: to work with utility CEZ to ensure that all nuclear power plant operating licences are renewed well before their expiration so that electricity system planning can proceed; determine mechanisms of government support for the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants; choose a specific technology by 2020 so that permits can be approved by 2025, and construction can be completed before 2035; "minimise the burdens" of used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste on future generations "in all ways possible, given that a repository might not be available by 2065"; determine, with CEZ, how each type of decommissioning waste will be managed, as well as update their decontamination and decommissioning cost estimates based on these inventories and waste management strategies. The SEP anticipates one new unit at the existing Dukovany nuclear site and possibly three more at Dukovany and Temelin. According to the IEA report, this process should involve a detailed analysis of the roles of the government and nuclear plant operators. "Nuclear is expected to become the main source of electricity production with its share rising from present level, 32.5% in 2014, to between 46% and 58% in 2040." International Energy Agency Nuclear energy plays an important role in the nation's energy mix, the report noted, and to ensure security of supply and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and solid pollutants, the Czech government envisages the construction of additional reactors. CEZ will build new nuclear facilities at Temelin and launched, in August 2009, a public tender to select a contractor for the construction of two nuclear units of advanced pressurised-water designs, it added. The development of additional nuclear facilities will, in the first place, be aimed at replacing thermal power plants at the end of their licensed operating periods, it said. Coal is the dominant energy source in the Czech Republic, representing 39.2% of total primary energy supply, but since 2005 energy produced from coal has decreased by 21.1% from 20.2 Mtoe. "The SEP favours reducing GHG emissions ... which taken together with restrictions on brown coal mining resulting from territorial ecological limits means that coal's position as the backbone of the power system will be gradually replaced by nuclear," it said. Nuclear energy accounted for 7 Mtoe or 17.2% of total primary energy supply (TPES) in 2015. This represents a moderate increase since 2005 from 6.5 Mtoe, following a surge in 2003 when the 2000 MWe Temelin nuclear power plant was commissioned, the report noted. By 2040, the government projects that the share of nuclear energy in TPES will reach between 25% and 33%. This is supported by the National Action Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy (NAP NE) approved in June 2015, which ensures the future development of nuclear energy "by preserving competencies and technologies", it added. "[The NAP NE] involves preparations for the siting and construction of one unit at each nuclear power plant site, with the possibility of the construction of two units at each site in anticipation of the closure of currently operating units in Dukovany within two decades. In January 2016, the government also initiated a new committee led by the Minister of Industry and Trade to co-ordinate the development of nuclear power in the country. The committee will be responsible for the co-ordination of new construction, the supply chain, wastes and legislation to move the nuclear sector forward," the report said. "Nuclear is expected to become the main source of electricity production with its share rising from present level, 32.5% in 2014, to between 46% and 58% in 2040," it added. Compared with other IEA member countries, the Czech Republic is "around the median level" with regard to the share of fossil fuels in TPES at 76%. The share of coal ranks third-highest after Estonia and Poland, and oil and natural gas rank "relatively low". With respect to the share of nuclear, the Czech Republic is the seventh-highest among the 16 IEA members with nuclear energy in their energy mix, according to the report. Capacity expansion Nuclear power capacity in 2014 was 3924 MWe: Dukovany 1878 MWe and Temelin 2046 MWe. All Dukovany and Temelin units have undergone uprates in the past ten years, and further uprates are under consideration, the report noted. The original capacity at Dukovany was 1760 MWe (four 440 MWe units). All four units were uprated to 456 MWe between 2005 and 2008 by replacing low-pressure turbines. Further uprates of units 3 and 4 were implemented from improved fuel, replacing the high-pressure turbine, refurbishing the generator, and instrumentation and control changes. Similar uprates of units 1 and 2 followed, all completed by the end of 2012, reaching 1878 MWe of capacity in total. An upgrade of the Temelin units began in 2013, which resulted in an increase in the capacity of each block from 1000 MWe to 1023 MWe in 2015. The operating period of the four Dukovany units was extended by ten years, with the first closure due in 2025. CEZ is reviewing plans to extend the lifetimes by an additional 20 years. The Czech government publicly declared the country's intention to build two nuclear units - one in Temelin and one in Dukovany. New nuclear capacity of 2500 MWe is to be added by 2035, and more thereafter. The government sees that Dukovany 5 has priority over Temelin 3, the report said. "There was much discussion about building new NPPs in the Czech Republic between 2010 and 2015. In March 2010, CEZ announced that negotiations had begun with three candidate NPP providers: a consortium led by Westinghouse/Toshiba with the AP1000 plant design of 1140 MWe (net); a consortium led by Skoda/Atomstroyexport/Gidropress with the water-water energetic reactor VVER-1200 of 1078 MWe (net) with Russian financing; and Areva with the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) of 1650 MWe (net)," the report noted. "Bids were formally invited by CEZ in October 2011 for the supply of two nuclear power units on a 'turnkey basis, including nuclear fuel supply for nine years of operation'. Bids were submitted in July 2012, and the contract was to be signed in late 2013, but was then deferred to mid-2015 following completion of the SEP and the NAP NE," it added. Implementation steps and roles of the Czech government were described as follows: regulation in the field of nuclear safety through the State Office for Nuclear Safety; ensuring a long-term sustainable infrastructure necessary for construction; the decommissioning of nuclear installations and the disposal of nuclear waste of all categories, both from nuclear power and from nuclear research, medicine and industry through the Radioactive Waste Repository Authority; and research in the field of nuclear power or learning and education primarily through the Nuclear Research Institute at Rez. "The previous government was planning to create a contract-for-difference program for electricity from Temelin Units 3 and 4. This would cover the difference between market electricity prices and the cost of construction and operation. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) wanted this included in the SEP, but it was opposed by the Ministry of Finance, and the prime minister of the coalition government opposed any price guarantees," the report said. "In April 2014, following government confirmation that it would not provide any price guarantees, CEZ informed bidders that it had cancelled the procurement process in accordance with the public procurement law. The SEP anticipates one new unit (between 1200 MWe and 1700 MWe gross) at Dukovany, and possibly three more at the two sites. It recommends that CEZ create a subsidiary company to prepare construction plans and explore options for financing the new build, even though the first might not be approved until 2025," it added. There are three construction organisation options, the report noted. These are: plants would be built by CEZ or a wholly owned subsidiary of CEZ; plants would be built by international consortiums, with or without CEZ participation; or the Czech ministries would form a state-owned enterprise to build the plants, then lease or sell them to CEZ. To ensure local content, the government would prefer CEZ as a favoured investor. "Whoever builds the units, they must secure financing of approximately CZK 125-150 billion [$4.7-5.65 billion], with allowance for a second unit at each site," the report said. "The feasibility study for a new reactor at Dukovany is in progress, and CEZ is preparing for an environmental assessment at the site. The NAP NE envisages that construction permits would be gained/approved before 2025." Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics By PTI: HC New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Telecom major Vodafone today told the Delhi High Court that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indias recommendation to the Centre to impose Rs 1050 crore penalty on it for not giving interconnectivity to Reliance Jio was an "arbitrary" decision. TRAI has recommended imposition of a fine of Rs 50 crore for each of the 21 circles of Vodafone, except in Jammu and Kashmir, coming to a total of Rs 1050 crore. advertisement Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva did not pass any orders after TRAIs lawyers sought time till December 19 to take instructions on the steps taken by the authority after it issued a show cause notice to Vodafone on September 27. Vodafone has claimed that the entire process adopted by TRAI was "arbitrary" as Reliance announced Jio offer on September 5-6 and had thereafter made payment for "augmentation of interconnection links" on September 25 after which there was a 90-day period to provide interconnectivity. Senior advocate Meet Malhotra and central government standing counsel Kirtiman Singh, appearing for TRAI, sought time for instructions after the court asked how the September 30 meeting of TRAI with all operators was held before expiry of 10 days given to Vodafone to reply to the show cause notice. "In these circumstances, how can even the findings be sustained," it asked and added that once a recommendation was made it could cloud judgement of decision-taking authority. Vodafone, represented by senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, contended that it had time till December end this year for providing interconnectivity to Jio and even before expiry of the period it has provided 10,000 connections. During arguments, Nayar said TRAI did not have the power to recommend imposition of penalty and it can only recommend revocation of licence for breach of licence conditions and sought setting aside of the recommendation. He argued that TRAI has the power to impose "financial disincentives" for breach of Quality of Service regulations and to ensure compliance of terms and conditions of licence. Vodafone has also said that no proper hearing was given to it by TRAI before issuance of recommendation of October 21. The court will hear the matter again on December 21. TRAI, in its recommendation to the DoT, had said it has found Vodafone to be non-compliant with licence conditions and service quality norms given the high rate of call failures and congestion at interconnect points for RJio. (more) PTI HMP PPS AG SC --- ENDS --- advertisement Email Sign Up For Our Free Weekly Newsletter Sign Up Free | The WPJ Weekly Newsletter Relevant real estate news. Actionable market intelligence. Right to your inbox every week. Go Thank you for your interest! You will now be receiving our Weekly Real Estate Newsletter. Real Estate Listings Showcase According to analysis from Knight Frank, competition for office assets in Madrid Spain is pushing yields to record low levels.Over 1.1 billion ($1.15b USD) has been invested in Madrid in the first nine months of the year, with Knight Frank predicting investment in 2016 could total 2 billion ($2.1b USD) , well above the long-term average. Intense competition for assets is putting upwards pressure on pricing, with yields now below 4%, and approaching their pre credit crunch level.According to Knight Frank's research, the prospect of double-digit rental growth over the next two years makes Madrid a compelling proposition for investors moving forward. Demand for office space in the city remains robust, with take up for 2016 forecast to reach nearly 500,000 sq m, in line with the long-term average. The vacancy rate currently stands at 10%, but Knight Frank points to a supply squeeze at the top end of the market, where the paucity of high quality space is driving rental growth.Humphrey White, Managing Director, Spain at Knight Frank said, "We are seeing strong appetite from investors to place capital in Madrid, and competition is fierce for high quality office assets."Investors are encouraged by the recovery in the Spanish economy, which continues apace, and relative political stability following this year's election."Demand for office space is robust, and we forecast an increase in prime rents in 2017, which many investors wish to capitalise on." Brett Greenhill and Meg Alexander By: Chan Yuan (Scroll down for video) A couple from Atlanta, Georgia, who were very much in love, decided to celebrate their bachelor and bachelorette party together with their friends and family. However, tragedy stuck when the groom became paralyzed in front of his soon-to-be wife and friends during their celebration. Brett Greenhill, 39, and Meg Alexander, 29, already sent out invitations and were set to tie the knot in just ten weeks. Greenhill broke his back while jumping into the ocean in Naples, Florida. Doctors believe that Greenhill hit a submerged sandbar, which caused him to shatter his vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. When he was pulled out of the water, Greenhill was conscious, bus unable to move. Alexander said that Greenhill looked at her and said aIam so sorry Meg I love you so much, Iam so sorry.a Greenhill was flown to a hospital, where doctors gave him a one percent chance of recovering. aWere holding on to that one percent chance because if anyone will do it, its Brett. Hes the hardest-working person you could ever imagine,a Alexander said. Alexander said that she will stay at his side and she will still marry him one day. A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took Santa Claus arrests four drug dealers By: Feng Qian (Scroll down for video) Police officers in Peru, successfully raided a drug house by having one of their group dress as Santa Claus, according to a video that was uploaded to the Internet. Lima police said that the raided the home in middle of the night, and arrested 60-year-old Victor Pinto Carrasco, and three of his relatives. The four suspects were part of the Pinto drug family. Officers also found nearly 5,000 packages of cocaine that were ready to be sold to customers. Police recorded the raid, and uploaded the video on the Internet. The video shows the officer disguised as Santa Claus break down the door of the home. Moments later, the officers emerge with the four suspects, and they were taken to the police station. The police chief said that the holiday disguise was used in order to raid the home safely, without getting involved in a gun battle with the crime family. "It is imperative that to advance justice, law must be formulated without any repugnance to the religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution of India," Justice Mohammed Mushtaq said in a statement. By Revathi Rajeevan: Hearing a batch of pleas regarding divorce using triple talaq, Justice Mohammed Mushtaq of the Kerala High Court today came out with a strong repudiation of the triple talaq practise and stressed the need for law makers to make sure Muslim women are treated justly. He further said that those upholding triple talaq are guilty of denigrating the divine law as mentioned in the Quran which they profess to follow. advertisement FULL STATEMENT FROM JUSTICE MOHAMMED MUSTAQ The State is constitutionally bound and committed to respect the promise of dignity and equality before law and it cannot shirk its responsibility by remaining mute spectator of the malady suffered by Muslim women in the name of religion and their inexorable quest for justice broke all the covenants of the divine law they professed to denigrate the believer and faithful. Justice has become elusive for Muslim women in India not because of the religion they profess, but on account of lack of legal formalism resulting in immunity from law. Law required to be aligned with justice. The search for solution to this predicament lies in the hands of the law makers. It is for the law makers to correlate law and social phenomena relating to divorce through the process of legislation to advance justice in institutionalised form. It is imperative that to advance justice, law must be formulated without any repugnance to the religious freedom guaranteed under the Constitution of India. It is for the State to consider the formulation of codified law to govern the matter. Therefore, I conclude by drawing attention of those who resist any form of reform of the divorce law of Muslim community in India to the following verses of Holy Quran. (Chapter 47:2) "And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord-He riddeth them of their ill deeds and improveth their state." "Thus we display the revelations for people who have sense" (Chapter 30:28). ALSO READ: Triple talaq: What is behind Allahabad High Court judgement --- ENDS --- Lawrence McKinney was imprisoned by the state of Tennessee for 31 years for a rape and burglary he did not commit. Under Tennessee law, McKinney could be compensated $1 million. However, the Tennessee Parole Board has refused to grant him an exoneration hearing, and the only compensation he ever received was the paltry $75 given to him when he was released from prison in 2009. McKinney has now been forced to bring his case before Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, whose office received the application for executive clemency on November 21. McKinney was charged in October of 1977 with having raped a Memphis, Tennessee woman and burgling her apartment. Six months later, he and his codefendant were found guilty after the victim identified them in court as her attackers. McKinney, then 22 years old, was sentenced to 115 years in prison for the crime. In 2009, DNA evidence from the victims bed sheets demonstrated that McKinney had not been present at the crime scene. He was then released from prison; the state issued him the $75 and the crime was expunged from his record. Tennessee is one of 31 states with compensation statutes for the wrongly accused. It is also one of many states that complicate the compensation process. McKinney was forced to go before the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole to seek compensation and exoneration, even though he was released from prison and the crime had been expunged from his record. The board voted 7-0 to deny his exoneration in November. Patsy Bruce, who sat on the parole board that denied his first exoneration hearing, has stated that she is not convinced that McKinney is innocent, despite DNA to the contrary. She also claimed that the judge and the District Attorney failed to provide properly tested evidence to support McKinneys innocence. In the United States DNA evidence was used to exonerate a wrongfully-convicted inmate for the first time in 1989. Since then, nearly 350 people, including McKinney, have been freed on the basis of DNA evidence. The states, however, have been criminally remiss in responding to the life-changing implications of this technology. Nineteen statesAlaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyominghave yet to enact statutes providing compensation for those exonerated of crimes. In the 31 states where compensation laws do exist, the processes to obtain compensation can be prohibitively time consuming and expensive. In New York, an exoneree has only a two-year window to file civil cases against state and municipal governments to receive compensation. These cases can take years to adjudicate, as demonstrated by the ongoing case of Alan Newton. In 2010, Newton successfully sued New York City for $18.5 million after his exoneration. Newton had been convicted of rape, robbery, and assault in 1985 in a case that prosecutors had built around eyewitness testimony. He had requested DNA testing of evidence in 1994 and was denied; in 2006, after serving over 20 years in prison, he was finally released on the basis of such evidence. The city appealed the judgment. In 2011, United States District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin set the judgment aside. Newton appealed Scheindlins decision. In 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated Scheindlins ruling and turned the case back over to her. In March of this year, Scheindlin reduced the award to $12 million, claiming that the previous amount was excessive. If Newton did not accept the reduced amount, Scheindlin said, he would have to suffer another trial. She also cited the fact that Newton had been accused of a separate rape, although he maintains his innocence and no judgment has been made. In another case, David Ayers, a Cleveland, Ohio man, served 11 years for a murder he did not commit. He was exonerated by DNA evidence in 2011, and two years later, he sued the two Cleveland detectivesMichael Cipo and Denise Kovachupon whose manufactured evidence he had been incarcerated. The city of Cleveland was originally named in the suit, but was removed before it went to trial. The appellate court judge in the case stated that there was sufficient evidence that Detectives Cipo and Kovach conspired to violate [Ayers] civil rights. Ayers was awarded $13.2 million by the jury. Three months after the verdict in Ayers favor was delivered, Cleveland Law Director Barbara Langhenry helped Kovach and Cipo obtain a bankruptcy attorney. The city contracted to pay the attorney $1000 for each bankruptcy judgment, as well as the filing fee for the bankruptcies. The contract also stipulated that the attorney was required to obtain permission from the citys law department to undertake legal research into the cases, effectively discouraging the officers and the attorney from exploring alternatives to bankruptcy. Cipo died a few months after Cleveland contracted with the attorney. Kovach declared bankruptcy. Ayers, now over 80 years old, fights on for his compensation. McKinney, Newton, and Ayers all live in states where statutes provide for compensation for those exonerated of crimes. In each case, though, state and municipal governments have exploited loopholes designed to reduce payment to those they have incarcerated or avoid payment altogether. In some states, someone who has lost years in prison on false murder charges can lose compensation if they are later convicted of another, unrelated crime. As evidenced in McKinneys case, a parole board can decide that it is not satisfied with exonerating evidence that has already been recognized by courts. Those exonerated of wrongful convictions spend, on average, 14-15 years in prison. They are released into a society that has changed drastically, after enduring the myriad stressors and threats inherent to prisons. Parents and other loved ones die during their incarceration. There is no uniform provision that would allow those exonerated to secure housing, employment, health care, or counseling so they can re-enter society successfully. To the contrary, the governments that energetically and enthusiastically prosecuted and imprisoned them expend just as much energy to avoid paying for the damage they inflict upon these exonerees. Fijis police, corrections and military officers are committing torture against people accused of crimes or in custody, according to an Amnesty International report released on December 4. The report, Beating Justice: How Fijis Security Forces Get Away with Torture, details repeated violations of international law by the security forces, including beatings, rape, sexual violence, attacks by police dogs and murder. Amnesty charges the Fijian authorities with acting with impunity, their brutal activities condoned at the highest levels. Security forces personnel who commit abuses rarely face sanction and even when officials are convicted of crimes, they are usually quickly pardoned and released from prison. Fijis 2013 constitution entrenches absolute and unconditional immunity for any government actions between the 2006 military coup and 2014, when a so-called democratic election installed Frank Bainimarama, the coup leader and military head, as prime minister. The election was held under conditions of press censorship, military provocations and severe restrictions on opposition political parties. The authoritarian, anti-working class regime continues to rule through fear and intimidation, using draconian anti-democratic laws and restrictions on the right of assembly and the media. In a state visit to New Zealand in October, Bainimarama insisted that the institutions of the Fijian state are functioning properly and are truly independent and free from personal and political influence. New Zealands then prime minister, John Key, downplayed any criticisms. He told the media that human rights were an area where discussion and engagement was needed. I have always said the restoration of democracy in Fiji was a good and important step, but it does evolve over time, Key declared. The Amnesty report observes that the military continues to play a direct role in all levels of government, as well as in civilian policing. Military officers are routinely appointed to senior government roles, including head of corrections and head of police, effectively militarising the posts and making it impossible to hold officers accountable for their violations of international law. According to the report, police are effectively left to police themselves, while the military brass has frequently interfered in investigations involving military officers. In a few cases where perpetrators have been successfully prosecuted, custodial sentences were reduced under Community Supervision Orders, allowing them to be released within weeks of being convicted and return to their previous posts. Bainimarama and Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Qiliho have both expressed support for military and police officers when allegations of torture have come to light. The brutality routinely handed out by the security forces, dating back at least to the 2006 coup, is ongoing. In a video clip circulated online from October, three police officers are shown beating suspects on the side of the road. In September, Isaac James was taken in for questioning at Nakasi police station, where he was allegedly denied food and water for two days, beaten by police using sticks, a belt and a screwdriver. He escaped custody, fearing for his life, and remained in hiding for most of October. On November 29, Ricardo Fisher was beaten unconscious by five police officers while in custody. Fisher, who was hospitalised with fractured ribs, claimed that police have not followed up his official complaint. The secretary of the Coalition for Human Rights, Monica Waqanisau, told Radio New Zealand that Fishers case showed little is changing. Fijian human rights lawyer Aman Ravindra-Singh told Radio NZ that state-sponsored torture is still happening despite Fiji signing a UN anti-torture treaty earlier this year. He said there had been no progress on prominent cases, including the alleged 2011 torture by a military officer of trade unionist Felix Anthony and the alleged police beating of businessman Rajneel Singh a year ago. Ravindra-Singh said the police stonewall by claiming investigations are continuing when there is ample evidence to prosecute. The Amnesty report cites other videos of police assaults on civilians circulated on social media, including footage shot in November 2012 that shows a half-naked man being beaten and sexually assaulted by police and military officers, while another man has a police dog set upon him. Police regularly torture suspects in order to obtain confessions. In August 2014, robbery suspect Vilikesa Soko died, four days after being arrested, from a blood clot on his lungs after a sustained physical and sexual assault. His autopsy showed multiple traumatic injuries. The report cites another case of a person having a leg amputated. Witnesses and lawyers also raised concerns about threats and intimidation against them. At least five people have been beaten to death in police or military custody since 2006, including 19-year-old Sakiusa Rabaka who in 2007 was beaten, sexually assaulted and forced to perform military exercises. He died from his injuries on a military base in Nadi. Eight police officers and one military officer were ultimately convicted over his death and sentenced to prison terms. All were released within a month. Kate Schuetze, Amnesty Internationals Pacific researcher, said that in Fiji accountability for torture is the exception rather than the rule, This amounts to a climate of near impunity. It is the result of the fact that torture is poorly defined in law, immunity is granted, there are few legal safeguards and there is no independent oversight. Amnesty has called on Bainimaramas regime to make limited changes, such as to withdraw the armed forces from policing tasks. But Fiji Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum rejected the Amnesty report out of hand, branding it biased and selective. Moreover, the local imperialist powers, Australia and New Zealand, have never been concerned about democratic rights in Fiji. After the 2006 coup, fearing that political instability in the region would open the door to China and other countries, wide-ranging international sanctions were imposed. This backfired, with Bainimarama gaining aid and investment from Beijing under his look north policy. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with representatives of the regime in 2010, signalling an end to Australian-led efforts to force it into submission. In 2014, Washington, Canberra and Wellington all rushed to endorse the bogus election and re-forge ties with Fiji. Bainimarama has bluntly called any criticism of Fiji hypocritical. In a speech in October, Bainimarama admitted torture remained an issue in Fiji, but claimed there were only isolated incidents. He pointed to the US, which uses torture under the guise of combating terrorism, and to Australias detention of asylum seekers in cruel, inhumane or degrading circumstances as examples of state-sanctioned policies that, he claimed, were vastly different from the situation in Fiji. The author also recommends: Regional dispute erupts over arrest of Fijian opposition leaders [20 September 2016] Hamid Ansari today asked the MPs to introspect after he was forced to adjourn the Rajya Sabha sine die following disruption by the Opposition. "All sections of the House need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation," Hamid Ansari said; Photo: PTI By India Today Web Desk: Forced to announce the adjournment of Rajya Sabha sine die following disruption by the Opposition over demonetisation and other issues, Vice-President Hamid Ansari today rapped the Upper House MPs and asked them to introspect. "All sections of the House need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation," Ansari said. Commenting over one of the worst performances of the Upper House in three years, the Rajya Sabha chairperson said, "I had fervently hoped that I would not have to repeat what I said at the conclusion of 221st session in December 2013. My hope stands belied." Full text of Hamid Ansari's valedictory speech. advertisement Ansari said regular and continuous disruptions have characterised the winter session. "The symbolism of dignified protest, so essential for orderly conduct of parliamentary proceedings, was abandoned. This deprived members of the opportunity to seek accountability of the executive through questions and discussions on matters of public interest," he added. The Vice-President said the prohibition in the rules and shouting slogans, displaying posters and obstructing proceedings by leaving their assigned places, was consistently ignored by all sections of the House. "Peace prevailed only when obituaries were read," he said. WEEK AFTER PRESIDENT'S RAP The rap from the Vice-President came a week after President Pranab Mukherjee expressing his strong displeasure over the continued logjam in Parliament. "For God's sake, do your job... Dharnas can be organised anywhere else," Mukherjee had said. ALSO READ | For God's sake, do your job: President Pranab Mukherjee on Parliament disruption "The majority never participates in disruptions. Only the minority comes to the well, shouts slogans, stops proceeding and creates a situation," he said. The rap from the President was used by the government to corner a belligerent Opposition, whose protest in Parliament has led to a virtual washout of the winter session, which ends today. ALSO READ | Opposition seeks President's appointment to complain against BJP over demonetisation --- ENDS --- Shelter has revealed that the number of homeless people in England has risen to over 250,000. The homelessness charity included the following sources in order to record an accurate figure: national government statistics on rough sleepers, statistics on those in temporary accommodation, the number of people housed in hostels, and those waiting to be housed by social services departments (obtained through Freedom of Information requests). Of these homeless people, almost half are children. Shelter released the new figures to mark the 50th year since it was founded in response to the appalling social conditions of post-war Britain. Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb explained, Shelters founding shone a light on hidden homelessness in the sixties slums. But while those troubled times have faded into memory, 50 years on, a modern-day housing crisis is tightening its grip on our country. Shelter explained that their analysis gives a conservative, lower-end estimate and real homelessness figures are much higher. They report that calls to their helpline are up by 50,000 since last year, so they now receive one call every 30 seconds. The number of families living in temporary accommodation rose by 15 percent. Further thousands do not qualify for formal housing assistance. The geographical breakdown of the figures reveals homelessness hotspots in the urban centres. London is worst affected, with a shocking 2 percent of people facing housing insecurity. Here, the number of people sleeping rough has doubled in five years from 3,673 in 2009-10 to 7,500 last year. The city hosts widespread social deprivation alongside incredible wealth as one of the worlds major playgrounds for the corporate and financial oligarchy. In Birmingham, Britains second-largest city, 9,650 people lack proper accommodation each night and dozens are forced to sleep on the street. At the end of last month Chiriac Inout was found dead after sleeping rough when temperatures plunged to six degrees below freezing. The next worst affected cities are Luton, where one in every 63 people are housing insecure, Brighton (one in every 69), Slough (one in 164), Bristol, Coventry (one in 204), Reading (one in 170) and Manchester (one in 266). Around 3,600 people sleep on the streets each night in England. Precise figures are not available and the real number is likely to be much higher. These numbers have doubled since 2010. Homelessness is a frightening and isolating experience that causes difficulties finding employment and has a massive impact on mental and physical health. The life expectancy for homeless people is only 47 years of age, dramatically lower than the national average of 81. Rough sleepers are 35 times more likely to commit suicide and are extremely prone to mental health and drug problems. Homelessness causes permanent psychological damage to the children it affects. Thousands are being forced out of their homes by rising rents and cuts to housing benefit. The biggest immediate factor is eviction from accommodation in the private rented sector, as many face tighter budgets and insecure tenancies. This causes two-fifths of homeless cases in London and the figure nationally has risen fourfold between 2010 and 2015, according to homelessness charity Crisis. The financial issues are often compounded by social problems, mental health disorders or relationship breakdown. Existing state aid for homelessness is barely adequate, with hostels or bed-and-breakfasts often run-down and at a large distance from schools and local connections. Councillor Martin Tett of the Local Government Association stated, Funding pressures are combining with housing and rents continuing to rise above household incomes to leave many councils struggling to cope with rising homelessness across all areas of the country. Tett is leader of the Conservative-led Buckinghamshire County Council and neglects to mention that his party has vastly exacerbated the homelessness crisis over the past seven years with its imposition of over 100 billion in austerity cuts to services and job losses. Local authorities of all political stripes are imposing harsh measures affecting the homeless following central government spending reductions. Labour-run Birmingham City Council is cutting its supporting people budget, which covers homelessness among other social problems, by 10 million over two years. Another Labour-run authority, South Tyneside, recently imposed 100 fines, under draconian Public Spaces Protection Orders, on homeless people who accept food and drink from members of the public. Fully 1.5 million private renters rely on some form of welfare benefits, rising to 4.6 million, including social housing tenants. Around 500,000 are in paid work but still rely on such supporta figure that has almost trebled since 2009. The Tory government freeze means that housing benefits are falling in real terms due to rising rents, affecting over 300,000 of the poorest households. The governments 25 billion housing benefits budget has been cut by 7 billion in recent years. According to Shelter, by 2020 four-fifths of local councils will not be able to provide housing benefits sufficient to afford even the cheapest accommodation. More broadly, a dearth of affordable housing has developed over the past few decades due to the anti-working class policies of consecutive Labour and Conservative governments. Council housing has been privatised and no new stock has been constructed to replace it. In 2013-14, only around 140,000 new houses were built, far below the 250,000 required to meet demand. It is notoriously difficult to be accepted for homelessness assistance. Local authorities are only obliged to assist those who fulfil a strict set of criteria. Of the 275,000 people that applied for local authority support last year, only half were accepted, according to research by several homelessness charities. As Matt Downie of Crisis explained, Its only half a safety net. In Wales, the proportion of accepted applications is only 36 percent. Most single homeless people are not entitled to assistance and form many of the hidden homeless getting by in hostels and staying with friends. There are around 35,000 hostel beds for single homeless people nationallydown 4,000 since 2012due to funding cuts. The government denied the new figures, with the Department for Communities and Local Government claiming that rough sleeping had fallen to half its peak figure in 2003. In reality, economic stagnation and government austerity measures are driving hundreds of thousands into poverty. The bourgeoisie requires that the bank bailouts that followed the 2008 global financial crisis be paid off by the working class through a new age of austerity. This agenda could only be imposed with the complicity of the Labour Party and the trade unions. Alongside years of cuts to welfare entitlements, last month the Conservative Government of Prime Minister Theresa May imposed a draconian welfare cap, agreed by her predecessor David Cameron. This massively reduces the income of the most vulnerable layers of society. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond promised an additional 1.4 billion for housing in England in his Autumn Statementenough to construct just 40,000 homes. Even if these houses are built, it is far below what is required to meet the real scale of the housing crisis. Even as columns of green buses were ferrying the last of the Western-backed Islamist rebels out of eastern Aleppo Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry took the podium at a State Department press conference to describe the situation in the northern Syrian city as unconscionable and to denounce the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out nothing short of a massacre. Kerrys denunciations, which extended to Syrias allies, Russia and Iran, expressed the growing anger and desperation within US ruling circles and Washingtons military and intelligence apparatus over the debacle of the five-year-old regime change operation in Syria. With the driving out of Aleppo of the Al Qaeda-linked militias that have been armed and funded by the CIA, the so-called rebels have lost their last foothold in a major urban area, and the prospects of these proxy forces toppling Assad have largely evaporated. Kerry was reduced to demanding a cessation of hostilities in Aleppo under conditions in which a cease-fire brokered between Russia and Turkeywith no apparent prior notification of, much less participation by, Washingtonappeared to be holding on Thursday as the orderly evacuation of both rebels and civilians proceeded. Kerry vowed, The fall of Aleppo, should it happen, does not end the war. It will continue. The statement amounted to a threat, under conditions in which the Obama administration recently issued a waiver of the US Arms Export Control Act to allow the CIA to funnel in more weapons to irregular forces in Syria. Even with these arms, however, it is difficult to see how the rebels can regain the offensive. The hypocrisy of the US denunciations of the brutal methods employed by the Syrian government and its allies in eastern Aleppo has been underscored by the unfolding of a similarly savage siege being directed by the Pentagon against the far larger urban population of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city. As many as 1.5 million people still live in that metropolitan area, which the Iraqi army surrendered to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in June 2014. With the US-backed offensive against Mosul now nearly two months old, conditions for the citys residents are growing increasingly desperate, while the number of civilians killed continues to mount. Scattered reports from media in the region provide a glimpse of the carnage unfolding in Mosul. Turkeys Anadolu news agency reported that an entire family of nine was wiped out on Tuesday in a US drone missile strike against a house in Mosuls al-Falah district. Nine family members were killed in the attack, an Iraqi police officer told the agency. And The New Arab (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed) reported Thursday: At least 40 civilians have been killed including women and children and dozens of others injured in air raids and artillery fire in the east of the Islamic State group [IS] bastion of Mosul, local and medical sources have said. The civilians were killed early on Wednesday with many of the injured still trapped under rubble... While similar accounts of human suffering in Aleppo have received non-stop coverage in the Western media amid official denunciations of Syria and Russia, reports of the slaughter in Mosul have been effectively blacked out. Instead, what reports there are concentrate on the terrorization of the local population by ISIS, which is described as preventing civilians from leaving besieged districts so as to use them as human shields, employing identically brutal tactics as those used by the Western-backed rebels against the civilian population in Aleppo, whose plight was blamed entirely upon the Syrian government. Appearing at a joint news conference with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the Qayara air base earlier this week, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top US commander in Iraq, estimated that the US-backed forces had killed or badly wounded over 2,000 ISIS fighters since the launching of the offensive on October 17. No such estimates have been offered as to the number of civilians who have been killed, but given the tactics that are being employed, using special forces units to call in airstrikes and artillery and tank fire against houses in urban neighborhoods believed to be occupied by ISIS fighters, it is inevitable that more civilians are dying than combatants. The UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in the week ending on December 11 alone, 685 civilians were wounded by the fighting. This figure is only a fraction of the real toll, given that victims inside areas still under ISIS control are not recorded by the agency. Doctors and nurses in the city are working under impossible conditions, without access to medicine, clean bandages and even water and electricity, which have been cut off to most of the city as a result of airstrikes. The government has reported that 100,000 people have been displaced by the siege, including at least 35,000 children. Preparations are reportedly being made for 500,000 civilians to be ultimately driven out of the city. With winter weather having set in, temperatures are falling below freezing under conditions in which the population is left without the ability to heat or light their homes, and those who have fled are living in tents. Food supplies, meanwhile, are running low, with prices soaring. In the end, the assault on Mosul may claim more victims through exposure, starvation and disease than by means of bombs and bullets. Despite the barbaric conditions that have been inflicted by this siege, which is backed by US and allied airpower as well as an army of 10,000 US and NATO troops and military contractors, no one in the West is talking about war crimes, much less advocating a ceasefire in Mosul, as they are in Aleppo. In their brutal siege against the Iraqi city, the US and allied imperialists are asserting their interests and hegemony, while in Aleppo, they confront a stunning setback in their attempt to pursue the same interests by other means, using CIA-armed and Al Qaeda-affiliated proxy forces. That is what determines the stark contrast in the medias reaction to these two human catastrophes unfolding barely 300 miles apart. Meanwhile, the London-based monitoring group Airwars estimates the minimum number of civilians killed by US-led airstrikes since Washington launched its intervention in Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014 at 2,013, with the real number thought to be considerably higher. Thus far, the Pentagon has acknowledged killing only 173 civilians in the campaign, which has involved over 16,500 airstrikes. Europe UK rail catering staff strike Staff working for the DHL global group, which supplies catering services to Virgin West Coast Rail services, held a 48-hour strike beginning at 10 p.m. Tuesday. The members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are striking against poverty wages. DHL offered a 2.2 percent pay increase backdated to July this year, but only to staff who did not receive increases in line with the National Minimum Wage of 7.20, which was awarded in April this year. The workers are due to hold a 48-hour strike next week. UK high technology staff in Manchester hold further strike Staff working for technology firm Fujitsu in Manchester struck for 72 hours on December 10. The strike is the latest in an ongoing dispute over the companys plans to reduce pension benefits and cut jobs. The members of the Unite union are also pursuing a pay increase. Initially Fujitsu said it was seeking to cut the workforce by around 18 percent, representing 1,800 jobs, but is now seeking to cut another 2,500 jobs. UK delivery drivers strike delayed The Unite trade union suspended a threatened strike by drivers who deliver goods for the Argos retail store chain. The drivers are employed by Wincanton, a logistics firm used by Argos to make deliveries, and were due to strike for three days on December 20. They are based at Argos national distribution centre in Burton-on-Trent. The drivers voted by over 80 percent in favour of the action. The dispute is over the companys failure to pay holiday back pay amounting to an average of 700. Unite says the company failed to take into account overtime and additional shift payments when calculating the holiday pay figure. On Wednesday, Unite called the strike off following talks between the company and union at the governments Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Unite regional officer Rick Coyle said, We have had constructive talks with the Wincanton management today [December 14] and, as a result, we have hammered out a deal that Unite feels it can recommend to our members. The details of the deal are confidential and we will be balloting our drivers on the offer. The Burton-on-Trent centre distributes goods to seven regional distribution centres, which in turn supply Argos shops. UK post office staff to hold five-day strike Post Office staff working for high street UK Post Offices (Crown Post Offices) are to begin a five-day strike December 19. They are taking action in opposition to job cuts and plans to end the superior defined benefits pension scheme. In April, the Post Office announced plans to transfer 61 of its post offices to be run in house by the book and stationery retailer WH Smith. The workers are members of the Communications Workers Union and have taken previous days of action over the issue. British Airways cabin crew vote to strike Around 2,000 British Airway (BA) cabin crew staff have voted to strike on December 21. The members of the Unite union are demanding a pay rise and have rejected the latest offer from BA of a two percent pay increase. According to the union, basic cabin crew salary is 12,000 a year, with average pay, including allowances, just 16,000 a year. Many of the cabin crew hold second jobs because they are unable to live on the low wages they earn working for BA. Some say they have to work even when they are sick because they cannot afford to take time off. Others report having to sleep in their cars, as they are unable to afford the petrol to go back home. More than eight out of 10 workers report suffering stress and depression as a result of their financial insecurity. Strike by UK teaching assistants Teaching assistants in Derby struck Wednesday and Thursday of this week, with further strikes planned for December 19 and 20 and again on January 19 and 20. The members of the Unison union have been involved in a long-running dispute after Derby City Council imposed a 25 percent pay cut on the already lowly paid staff. UK equality staff hold further strike Staff working for the UK governments Equality and Human Rights Commission held a further one-day strike Monday. It was the third strike in the dispute and was well supported at offices nationwide. Unite and the Public and Commercial Services union members are opposing government plans to cut the commissions budget by 25 percent, which would lead to job cuts. Strike by Dutch oil refinery workers Oil refinery staff at Shells installation in the Pernis district of Rotterdam came out on strike on December 9. Initially announced as a five-day strike it was then extended until Thursday of this week. The action of the members of the FNV union led to a 20 percent reduction in output. The strike is to protest the failure to agree a new collective bargaining agreement, which would cover March 2016 to March 2018. The agreement covers the 1,800 staff at the Pernis and Moerdijk plants. The Shell workers have rejected a pay offer of 1 percent for the first year and 1.25 percent for the second year. They are also concerned over Shells plans to cut in half the amount of money available to fund pay progression scales. Strike by Eiffel Tower staff in French capital Around 300 staff employed at Pariss landmark Eiffel Tower came out on strike for 24 hours on Tuesday. This was the third strike this year by the members of the CGT union, who struck twice in June over the governments draconian labour reforms. The current dispute is over health and safety concerns around a paint stripping operation being carried out ahead of a re-painting of the structure next year. The workers accuse the SETE company, which runs the tower, of not being transparent about the possible health risks. SETE has agreed to talks with the union. Last year nearly 7 million people visited the tower. Strike threat by refuse collectors in Hungarian capital Refuse collection workers employed by the Budapest Public Area Maintenance Company (FKF) are threatening to strike in the run-up to Christmas. The FKF staff are responsible for clearing the domestic waste of around 800,000 households in Budapest, as well as cleaning public spaces and snow clearing. They rejected a 4 percent pay increase made by the employer and are seeking an 8 percent rise. The workers are members of the Local and Industrial and City Economy Workers Union 2000 (HVDSZ). The city mayor brokered talks between FKF and union representatives, but FKF broke off the negotiations. The union has applied to the courts to receive the legal sanction to go ahead with the stoppage. Irish nurses protest low staffing levels Nurses are staging lunchtime protests at Cavan and Mayo general hospitals against unsafe staffing levels. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), across the country there is a near 10 percent vacancy rate with 140 vacancies for staff nurses. INMO pointed out that on one recent day, there were over 500 patients waiting on trolleys for admission to emergency departments across the country. This figure compares to around 330 waiting on trolleys the same day last year. It noted that 180 acute beds are currently closed nationwide. Icelandic teachers accept new pay offer This week grade school teachers in Iceland voted by a 55 percent majority to accept an 11 percent pay rise. The wages of Icelandic teachers are 20 percent below the countrys national average. They have twice before walked out of school to protest their low wages and in early November held a rally outside the city hall in the capital, Reykjavik. They have handed in a 3,000-signature petition. Portuguese airport staff to strike Baggage handlers working for Portuguese firms Groundforce and Portway are to strike December 28-30. They will be joined by employees of Prosegur and Securitas, who provide security services at Portuguese airports, with a total of 1,300 staff taking action. Groundforce staff are also due to strike on Christmas Eve. The portugalnews web site reported that the Sitava union accuses the National Civil Aviation Authority of having illegally licensed Irish low-cost airline Ryanair and aviation recruitment agency Groundlink to provide assistance services on the ground in airports. The report said this was the cause of collective firings in the Portway company. Irish bus union agrees to route closures The National Bus & Railworkers Union (NBRU) recently announced it would be willing to support the closure of up to seven bus routes currently operated by the Expressway Service of Bus Eireann. This would lead to the loss of around 150 jobs. It is estimated that this year Bus Eireann is expected to lose around 6 million on its Expressway Service operation. NBRU represents the majority of drivers working for the company. The Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), which represents some drivers, has currently ruled out agreeing to any route closures. Middle East Iranian petrochemical workers win pay arrears Iranian petrochemical workers at the Bushehr complex returned to work December 10 after beginning a strike five days earlier in a pay dispute. The company does not recognize trade unions and the action was unofficial. The workers struck over the non-payment of due wages and returned after receiving wage arrears for July, August and September. However, administrative and support staff, who were also in arrears of wages but had not been part of the walkout, then came out on strike. The state-owned National Petrochemical Company runs the complex. Crackdown on migrant workers in Lebanon Two Nepalese migrant workers have been arrested by the Lebanese authorities for campaigning for rights for migrant domestic staff. Sujana Rana was arrested in November and subsequently deported. Roja Limbu was arrested on December 5 and is currently being detained without access to a lawyer. They were both members of the domestic workers union and had legal status to work in Lebanon. There are estimated to be around a quarter of a million domestic migrant staff working in Lebanon. They are excluded from protection under Lebanese labour laws. Africa Kenyan court orders tea plantation to reinstate sacked workers Kenyan tea plantation and process employers at Eastern Produce Kenya have been instructed to reinstate sacked employees. Two thousand plantation workers who went on strike to demand their employers honour the second half of a two-part pay deal have been summarily sacked. The Kenyan industrial court ordered the international company, which has tea production and other concerns in African countries, to stop sacking and throwing workers out of their company houses and reinstate strikers already sacked. The order came several days after workers had been shot on plantation picket lines by Kenyan security forces, with one worker dying from his wounds. Strike by Kenyan doctors and nurses continues The all-out strike by Kenyan doctors and nurses, which began on December 5, is continuing. They are demanding the implementation of a 2013 collective bargaining agreement, which addressed promotion issues, wages and working conditions. The doctors union, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, rejected a pay offer of Sh36,000-42,000 (US$350-410), saying similar offers made in the past had not been followed through. It is reported that the Kenyan National Union of Nurses has signed a pay deal with the government, but according to the unions secretary any such offer would have to be put to the nurses. Other reports state that nurses have turned it down. The deal is reported to be between Sh17,000 and Sh20,000 ($165-195). Army doctors from the Kenyan Defence Force are being drafted into hospitals. Namibian fruit processing workers complain union in cahoots with management Namibian workers employed to process grapes and dates at the Al Dahra factory, in the Naute Dam area, have demonstrated against slave labour. The demonstration took place outside the company offices, which management ignored. Workers called for better wages and an end to abusive conditions in which they have to work long hours and overtime without payment. A worker read a petition outside the company offices, comparing their circumstances to those in colonial days, and said this should not be tolerated today. He said workers were forced to live in crowded rooms, with no pensions and with low wages of N$1500, (US$110) a month. Some workers have had to continually renew their contract on a monthly basis, even though they have been at the company for two years. Workers complained over the relationship between the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau), management and the Minister of Labour, saying they were in cahoots with each other. The protesters said they have lost confidence in Nafau, complaining that it stops them from striking, and every time there is an issue at dispute, the company wins. Nigerian parliamentary staff strike Workers in the Nigerian parliament went on strike after a two-week warning period expired. They walked out after the Delta state authority ignored the unions strike notice a month ago. PASSAN, the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, is calling for the position of the deputy clerk of the legislative house to be filled. The union also wants a commitment to a Memorandum of Understanding involving wardrobe allowances and benefit payments owed to heirs of deceased staff of the House of Assembly Service Commission. SA Gauteng forensic staff threaten to resume strike Staff at Gautengs forensic labs in South Africa are threatening to resume strike action. Lab employees are demanding wage increases and clearer job descriptions. A previous strike held two weeks ago ended when the state authority took a court injunction out against them, forcing them to return to work. Workers say they will strike again if their two-year-old grievances are not addressed. Employees are aggrieved over the lack of recognition of how hard, dangerous, and undervalued their work is. They have been demanding registration of their job description with the Health Professional Council, but without success. In a guarded threat, Gautengs representative for health, Qedani Mahlangu, said that while the officers had the right to strike, disruptions in service delivery were unacceptable. On December 5, dogs, barricades, heavily armed sheriffs deputies, and undercover police from the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department (LASD) were deployed to the subway system of Los Angeles, California in response to a fake bomb threat called in from Australia. Commuters taking the Red Line subway were subjected to compulsory bag searches, then accosted by waiting news reporters fishing for public endorsement of these authoritarian measures. The Metro system in Los Angeles serves a vast portion of the regions working class, with over 33 million boardings a month. The bomb threat and the ensuing police deployment were publicly announced only the night before in a hastily convened news conference. Most commuters, unaware of the threat, were surprised by the militarized police at Metro station entrances and were kept uninformed of the threat. Zara, a worker who regularly takes the Red Line every morning from the Universal City station to downtown Los Angeles, told the World Socialist Web Site that areas of the station were cordoned off to control commuter movement, and that the station was filled with a plethora of police, army figures, and media with cameras. What looked like an army person said [to me], We need to search your bag. After Zara expressed her fear that she would miss her train, another heavily armed officer stepped forward and told her not to worry and that it wouldnt take long. Zara felt compelled to comply with the searches. I placed my bags on the table and they searched thoroughly. After he was done, a reporter who said she was from the Daily News stuck a mic in my face and asked me how that felt, which I thought was rather bizarre. I did not answer, first because I was in a rush, secondly I felt intimidated and shocked by what had just happened, leaving me speechless The bogus tip came from an anonymous, English-speaking man in Australia. Deputy Chief Michael Downing of LAPDs Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau admitted at the time that the credibility [of the threat] is not high But it does present an opportunity to say there are people that want to do bad things to good people. LA Police Commander Horace Frank told reporters that even if the call wasnt credible, we have shown the ability to gather information overseas and respond rapidly in Los Angeles. An FBI statement released at the end of the following day said that the source of the bomb threat has probably called in fake threats in the past. Based on significant similarities, law enforcement partners also believe the anonymous caller may have, on a previous occasion, reported threats that did not materialize, the FBI said. In the name of the fraudulent War on Terror, workers and youth have been subjected to the abrogation of their civil liberties, mass surveillance, and domestic deployments of militarized police forces. The massive police deployment on December 5 is only the latest development in the steady militarization of LAs Metro system. Sheriffs deputies clad in olive drab body armor and carrying rifles are a not infrequent sight throughout the Metro. Posters in trains encourage commuters to report suspicious packages. In the days after the March terror attacks in Brussels, squads of militarized deputies and sniffer dogs swarmed the Metro. Ive noticed an influx of armed personnel patrolling the subway system gradually becoming more pronounced this year, Zara told the WSWS. There are clusters of armed personnel dressed in green. Some of them have dogs. After tapping your [fare] card through the main entrance, theyll set checkpoints within the station where they ask you to show your Tap card again More recently, when youre on the train, undercover police, upon exhibiting their ID, request that you show your Tap card whilst the train is in motion. The trains were often populated with homeless people. That has now decreased since the military presence has increased but I dont think thats the solution for homelessness. Zara offered the following insight: Since the War on Terror has been pushed on the masses, Ive seen an increase of police activity not only in the Metro system, but on the streets in general. Im seeing weird-shaped vehicles that look like they came from the Iraq War being deployed on the streets and at the station. Presence of security and police personnel has definitely increased through the years since the Iraq War began. To me, it looks like its morphing into a police state. Now that they can search your bags in the Metro station without any explanation, let alone a court order, it seems to me that we are entering a dictatorial regime. It starts gradually and you may not even realize until your freedoms are drastically curtailed and were in a different democracy. Los Angeles Democratic mayor Eric Garcetti said that the abrupt and intimidating police operation on December 5 would reassure people that we will have the necessary forces around and near in our public transportation system to assure passengers that today is a safe day to go about our business. He urged commuters to continue going about their business while heavily armed men stood behind orange barricades outside the Metro stations and a police helicopter flew overhead. Garcetti rode Red Line trains throughout the morning, offering unsolicited reassurances of personal safety to passengers desperate to get to work and school on time. The eyes and ears of the people of Los Angeles are the most important force multiplier we have, Garcetti told the press. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) has proposed a new policing plan that would increase the daily police presence throughout the Metro from 200 officers to 240 officers. The five-year, $547 million contract would split policing of the Metro system between the LAPD, LASD, and the city of Long Beach Police Department. The LASD currently holds an exclusive contract with the LACMTA. Garcetti supports the proposal, saying that the new policing system would immediately be able to multiply our force in different cities. Zara warned that workers and youth internationally should anticipate more mass militarization. There has been an increase worldwide of police presence in public affairs, as I gather from the media. We need to reject this and be conscious of whats happening. Here in the US especially, police kill with impunity. This reflects this countrys foreign policy Zara noted the increase in state repression at home and internationally. They are taking away important democratic rights and we cannot just accept this... soon there will be no freedom of speech or movement in the name of the War on Terror. One has to ask oneself who the actual terrorists are. The American population is being subjected to a furious barrage of propaganda by the media and political establishment aimed at paving the way to war. The campaign was sharply escalated this week, beginning with Wednesdays publication of a lead article in the New York Times. Based entirely on unnamed sources and flimsy and concocted evidence, it was presented as definitive proof of Russias hacking of Democratic Party emails and waging of cyberwar against the United States. These allegations were followed Wednesday by a press briefing in which White House spokesman Josh Earnest declared that media outfits in the US, in reporting on the Democratic Party emails released by WikiLeaks, essentially became the arms of Russian intelligence. On Thursday, Earnest declared that president-elect Trump had encouraged Russia to hack his opponent because he believed it would help his campaign. Later that day, President Obama threatened to retaliate against Russia, telling National Public Radio, I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action and we will. These warmongering comments by the Obama administration were accompanied by editorials in leading US and international newspapers denouncing Trumps accommodative stance toward Russia and clamoring for a more aggressive response to the alleged hacking. News reports, based on unnamed intelligence officials, breathlessly proclaim that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly ordered and oversaw the hacking. The Times followed up its inflammatory article with an editorial Thursday all but accusing the president-elect of acting as a Russian agent. There could be no more useful idiot, to use Lenins term of art, than an American president who doesnt know hes being played by a wily foreign power, the Times declared. The editorial further defined Russia as one of our oldest, most determined foreign adversaries, adding, Kremlin meddling in the 2016 election justifies retaliatory measures. The declarations by the Times and other media outlets combine all of the noxious elements of 1950s McCarthyism, with capitalist Russia replacing the Soviet Union: hysterical denunciation of wily Russia, shameless lying and attacks on domestic opponents as spies, traitors and agents of foreign governments. There are bitter and raging conflicts within the state, and a faction of the military-intelligence apparatus is determined that there be no retreat from an aggressive confrontation with Russia. This is connected to anger over the debacle of the CIA-led regime-change operation in Syria. Trump has packed his cabinet with generals and is planning a massive escalation of war, but he has also indicated a preference for greater accommodation with Russia. Bound up with this internecine conflict within the ruling class, there is a concerted effort to politically bludgeon the American people into supporting further military escalation, both in the Middle East and against Russia itself. The propaganda campaign alleging Russian interference in the US election parallels a related media blitzkrieg claiming that Syrian government troops, backed by Russia, are carrying out massacres as they retake the Syrian city of Aleppo. The Times' lead editorial on Thursday, titled Aleppos Destroyers: Assad, Putin, Iran, declares: After calling on Mr. Assad to step aside in 2011, Mr. Obama was never able to make it happen, and it may never have been in his power to make it happen, at least at a cost acceptable to the American people. The front-page lead of Thursdays Times bemoans the fact that efforts to whip up public support for US military intervention in Syria have not resonated as much as previous propaganda campaigns. The international press has joined in the hysteria. An op-ed in Germanys Der Spiegel bitterly complains that Obama sought a diplomatic, not a military solution to the crisis in Syria. It made him popular, both in the United States and here [in Germany], the piece states, but adds that such self-righteousness is wrong. Such media propaganda campaigns are not new. Without exception, they have preceded every bloody military adventure: the attempts to blame Afghanistan for the September 11 terrorist attacks in the run-up to that countrys invasion in 2001; the lying claims about weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and the reports of an imminent massacre of civilians in Benghazi that preceded the US bombing and destruction of Libya in 2011. The difference now, however, is that this campaign is directed not at a virtually defenseless and impoverished former colony, but at Russia, the worlds second-ranked nuclear power. None of the figures carrying out this campaign care to explain how a war against Russia should be fought, how many people will die, and how such a war could avoid a nuclear exchange leading to the destruction of human civilization. Behind the banner headlines and vituperative editorials, real steps are being taken to prepare for warfare on a scale not seen for 60 years. Earlier this year, US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley told the Association of the United States Army that the military must prepare for wars against great powers, which will be very highly lethal, unlike anything our Army has experienced since World War II. The campaign that has developed over the past two weeks makes clear what the policy of a Clinton administration would have been. The Democratic Party and its allied media outlets have rooted their opposition to Trump not on the basis of his losing the popular vote by nearly three million ballots, or that he is appointing a cabinet dominated by right-wing, reactionary billionaires, bankers, business executives and generals, but on the charge that he is soft on Russia. That is, the Democratic Party has managed to attack Trump from the right. Whatever the outcome of the conflict within the state, the American ruling class is preparing for war. The dissolution of the USSR 25 years ago was greeted with enraptured declarations of an era of perpetual peace, in which a world under the unrivaled hegemony of the United States would be free of the wars that plagued mankind in the 20th century. Now, after a quarter century of bloody regional conflicts, the blood-curdling declarations of the press make it clear that a new world war is in the making. Among broad sections of workers and young people, there is deep skepticism toward government lies and hostility to war. However, this opposition can find no reflection within any faction of the political establishment. The building of a new anti-war movement, based on the international unity of the working class in opposition to capitalism and all the political parties of the ruling class, is the urgent task. The shooting this week in Bakersfield, California of Francisco Serna, an unarmed 73-year-old man suffering from dementia, is the latest horrifying episode in the continuing wave of police violence in the United States. The family of Serna said the father of five children left his house late Sunday night for a walk. Shortly afterwards he was shot multiple times by a police officer who claimed he would not take his hands out of his pockets. Afterwards police say they recovered a faux wooden crucifix from the mans body, but no gun. Some 150 people participated in a candlelight vigil Tuesday in Bakersfield to protest the killing of Serna. The family of the slain man is demanding a state and federal investigation. It is difficult to accept that our dads life ended so brutally, abruptly and with such excessive violence, the family said in a statement. Our dad was treated like a criminal. The family spokesman, Cyndi Imperial, said the police treated the family with callous indifference. Police prevented Franciscos wife Rubia and daughter Laura to check on him even when they asked to be allowed to be next to him just to hold his hand, she said. Family members only learned that Francisco had died from social media and the 5 oclock news, Imperial noted. Serna had worked at a cotton gin in McFarland, California for many years. He had retired in the mid-2000s. About eight years ago, he moved to Bakersfield to be closer to his children. He lived with his wife and one of his daughters. According to the police account of events, Serna approached a neighbor and her friend around 12:30am Monday as they were unloading the friends car. The man was acting strangely and they were frightened. The friend drove off while the neighbor ran inside her house and contacted police, thinking the man might have a gun. Again, according to police, when about six officers arrived Serna refused to take his hands out of his pockets and continued walking toward them. When Serna was 1520 feet away, one of the officers, Reagan Selman, opened fire. Police admitted that Serna never lunged at or threatened officers. Rogelio Serna, the victims son, said the older Serna had showed signs of dementia since 2015 and occasionally experienced delusions. His condition had gotten worse in the last month. A recording of the call by the police dispatcher shows that police were alerted beforehand that Serna suffered from dementia. Police had visited the home several times in the past when Serna became confused and activated a medical alarm. A neighbor interviewed by local ABC News reporters said, They killed that man for absolutely no reason. Sernas daughter told ABC, They all knew this was a man with dementia and my father gets killed. Its inexcusable... The BPD [Bakersfield Police Department] needs to be held accountable because this is happening to too many people. The shooting of Serna continues an epidemic of police violence, which to date has claimed the lives of 912 people in the US this year, according to the Washington Post. The relentless procession of police killings crosses all ethnic and geographic boundaries. On Thursday, a former Milwaukee police officer, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, was charged with murder in the death of Sylville Smith last August. Smith was lying on the ground when he was shot by the officer in the chest. The killing sparked days of angry protests in the city. Smith was African-American, as is Heaggan-Brown. While Smith was initially armed, he had thrown his gun away before he was fatally shot. A video taken by police body cameras show that at the time Heaggan-Brown fired the fatal shot, Smith had his hands near his head. Indictments of police officers are rare, and the conviction of a police officer is even less common. Philip Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University, told the Associated Press that he knew of only one cop convicted of murder by a jury for an on-duty shooting since he began compiling statistics in 2005. During that same period there have been multiple thousands shot and killed by police, many victims unarmed. In Reno, Nevada 14-year-old Logan Clark remains in extremely critical condition in a medically induced coma after being shot December 7 in the chest by a campus police officer at his high school. Campus officers said the boy, who was white, was wielding a large knife (which turned out to be two dull butter knives). According to the boys father, Justin Clark, the youth had been punched hard several times in the face by an upperclassman just before the shooting. Cell phone video taken by classmates seconds before the cop fired show that Justins mouth had indeed been bloodied. My son wasnt a knife wielding psychopath, said Logans father, He wanted to make sure he wasnt beat up and robbed. A friend of the family pointed out that the shooting took place in the midst of a crowd of students, who could have been hit by the officers bullet. They should actually be writing formal apologies to every single students parents there for putting all their children in danger. Supporters of the shooting victim have collected a petition with over 1,000 signatures decrying the use of lethal force. A group of 100 classmates, family and friends marched two miles to school district headquarters to deliver the petition. Meanwhile, police and school officials have praised the actions of the officer involved. Other recent police shootings include: December 12, Kenneth Robaldo, a 28-year-old black man in Philadelphia who police say was armed with a gun and was wanted on an arrest warrant. December 11, Jose Angel Vallarta, a 30-year-old Hispanic man in Laredo, Texas. Police were called to his house after a report of domestic violence. They say Vallarta had a knife. December 11, Timothy Case, race not recorded, shot in Lincoln, Nebraska. Police were called to a hospital where the man reportedly had threatened staff with a knife. December 10, Samson Varner, a 36-year-old white male from Greenwood, Indiana who police say was armed with a knife and refused police orders to drop it. The continued police shootings across the United States point to deep and festering social tensions. The city of Bakersfield has been hammered by the slump in the oil industry, a product of the collapse in petroleum prices. Bakersfield and surrounding Kern County is the largest oil producing area in the United States, making up 10 percent of US oil production. Widespread layoffs have decimated employment in the oil industry, impacting sales tax collections and school and municipal budgets. A report issued earlier this year cited Bakersfield as a US city with a high level of concentrated poverty, with 32 percent of residents living in what are defined as extremely poor neighborhoods where the poverty rate is 40 percent or greater. This is nearly double the pre-2008 level of 17 percent. What is happening in Bakersfield is happening all across the US, where there has been no recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and where levels of social inequality are rising as wages and incomes fall and stagnate. These conditions will only be aggravated when the administration of Donald Trump takes office in January. Trump is pledging to dismantle what remains of social programs while opposing protests against police violence and pledging full support to the cops in their murderous attacks on workers and youth. After a week-long trial in which evidence of his guilt was undisputed, white supremacist Dylann Roof was convicted of all charges in his federal murder and hate crimes trial. A jury of nine whites and three blacks took only two hours to approve 33 counts against him, 18 of which carry the death penalty. Family members of the victims sat in the courtroom holding hands as the verdicts were read out, with guilty sounded after every one. There had been little doubt about the verdicts, since video footage of Roof confessing to the massacre was played to the jury, and even his own attorneys did not suggest he was innocent. The defense did not call a single witness, but was entirely focused on laying the groundwork for the sentencing phase, in which Roof declared he intended to represent himself. Federal prosecutors have said they will seek a death sentence. The sentence will be decided by the same jurors who heard the evidence in the trial, and that phase of the proceeding will begin on January 3. The trial included not only Roofs videotaped confession, but graphic testimony from the three survivors of the massacre, in which Rev. Clementa Walker and eight parishioners, all African-Americans, were slaughtered, as well as excerpts from Roofs journal, including a list of churches he was considering as possible targets, and an online manifesto he posted, declaring his desire to trigger a race war. On the second day of the trial, Roofs mother Amelia Cowles suffered a heart attack after saying sorry out loud several times. She was hospitalized and survived. The 22-year-old defendants grandmother also attended the trial. Defense attorney David Bruck, who specializes in death-penalty cases, told the jury in his closing argument that even though Roof was clearly motivated by racial hatred, he was also mentally ill. He called his client an immature young man who embraced the mad idea that he can make things better by executing those kind, virtuous people. Roof apparently planned to kill himself or force police to shoot him to death in a final confrontation after the massacre, and he left one elderly black woman in the church alive, telling her that he needed her to be the only witness to his murders. In the event, however, he was taken without resistance the next day, after police pulled his vehicle over in Shelby, North Carolina, more than 200 miles from Charleston. Media coverage of the trial has been completely superficial, repeatedly characterizing Roof as evil, without attempting to explain the deeper social roots of his terrible crime. The bloodbath in Charleston is only one of a seemingly endless series of such violent mass killings, many of them motivated by confused right-wing and racist sentiments, others without any discernible rationale except despair and alienation from society. There has been zero mention in current media reports about the trial of Roofs connections to ultra-right political circles in South Carolina, a hotbed of what is now termed the alt-right, or his white nationalist sentiments. Roof cited the web site of the Council of Conservative Citizens as crucial to his own development as a white supremacist. The president of the Council of Conservative Citizens, which calls for opposition to all efforts to mix the races of mankind, gave $65,000 to Republican campaigns over the past few years, including the presidential candidates Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum. Roof cited the groups web site as a source of his becoming truly awakened about racial tensions in the United States, particularly its commentaries on brutal black on white murders, justifying the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black youth killed by vigilante gunman George Zimmerman. The Council of Conservative Citizens has high-level connections in the Republican Party. One of its members, Roan Quintana, was a co-chair in the 2014 re-election campaign of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haleychosen by Donald Trump to be his ambassador to the United Nations. Worse than that, Steven Bannon, former head of the ultra-right Breitbart News, has been named by Trump as his senior policy adviser at the White House, co-equal with chief of staff Reince Priebus in the inner workings of the new administration. Breitbart, considered a major forum for the alt-right, went on the warpath after the Charleston massacre to defend the Confederate flag, after Haley and other Republican politicians decided that the emblem of the old slavocracy had to be removed from the state capitol in Columbia in the wake of Roofs racist massacre. Two weeks after the massacre, Breitbart carried a commentary headlined, Hoist It High And Proud: The Confederate Flag Proclaims A Glorious Heritage, effectively declaring its solidarity with the racist murderer. Beyond the overt white racist motivation of the massacre, the killings in Charleston followed in a long line of such atrocities, most involving young, alienated and deeply troubled young men. As the World Socialist Web Site noted at the time, What psychological and sociological features do the various perpetrators share in common? A highly advanced state of social alienation, great bitterness at other human beings, self-hatred, isolation, general despondency and the recourse to extreme violence to solve their real or imagined problems. These tendencies recur too often and too devastatingly to be mere personal failings; they clearly come from the broader society. They reflect a terrible malaise, the mentality of individuals living perpetually under a dark cloud, who have no hope for the future, who can only imagine that things will get worse. Only look at the Facebook photograph of Dylann Roof if you want some idea of this bleakness and despondency! The militarism, bullying and celebration of wealth and privilege that characterize the incoming Trump administration will only insure that such tragedies occur with even greater frequency and ferocity. The author also recommends: The mass killing in Charleston, South Carolina [19 June 2015] Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was the guest speaker at a town hall meeting in Kenosha, Wisconsin Monday, sponsored by the cable news network MSNBC. The event, dubbed Bernie Sanders in Trump Country, was hosted by Chris Hayes and included both Trump and Clinton voters in the hard-hit industrial town just south of Milwaukee. The site was chosen, Hayes said, because the city of 99,000, long a stronghold of the unions and the Democratic Party, had cast a narrow majority of its ballots for Trumpthe first time that city residents backed a Republican presidential candidate in 46 years. The state of Wisconsin voted Republican for the first time since Reagan in 1984. Following Clintons crushing defeat, there has been a raging internal discussion within the Democratic Party over how her single-minded focus on racial and gender politics and disdain towards the concerns of working-class voters allowed Trump to win in Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Iowa, which Obama had carried in 2008 and 2012. Hayes, the former Washington, DC editor for the Nation magazine and senior editor of the union-backed publication In These Times, provided Sanders with a platform to rebrand the Democratic Party as the real champion of working people. To underscore Sanders close collaboration with the trade unions, the event was held in the hall of United Auto Workers Local 72, which once had 14,000 members before Chrysler shut its giant Kenosha plant in 1988. Sanders said he did not believe the argument that Trump won because many of his supporters are sexist, racist or homophobes. Instead, he said, There is a lot of pain in this country, people are scared and worried. Fifty percent of older workers have zero for retirement. This was [Trumps] main success story: I will stand up to the establishment, to business, government and the media. As for workers, Sanders said, they thought, We dont want the same old, same old, and Trump comes along, a multi-billionaire saying, I dont pay taxes, I got companies in Turkey, in Mexico and in China, but I am going to stand up to the economic establishment and the political establishment, and a lot of people responded, Ok, well give this guy a shot. The comments from workers participating in the forum who had supported Trump are revealing. Jamie Sebana, a divorced mother of two who has worked several jobs, said going online to get health insurance was a massive disaster, adding that she had to pay premiums of $300-400 a month and a $10,000 deductible. Thats ridiculous. How can someone afford that? Another worker, Richard Bizer, who had voted for Obama in 2008 and for Sanders in the Democratic primary last April, said he supported Trump because he wasnt Hillary. He added that he would have voted for Sanders if he had been the Democratic nominee. Sanders thanked Bizer but did not say a word about Clinton, the favored candidate of Wall Street and the Pentagon, who Sanders spent months palming off as a progressive who would enact sweeping reforms to protect working people. Matt Augustine, a union worker at a Snap-On tool manufacturer who retired after 30 years, said, The leadership of the unions is lacking. The unions have lost their way over the last 20 years and they dont represent the people like they used to. Sanders responded by praising the unions for creating middle class living standards, ignoring the complicity of these pro-corporate organizations in the systematic slashing of jobs, wages and benefits in the name of making US corporations more competitive and profitable. It is significant that throughout the televised event, Sanders avoided the term working class and instead spoke only of the middle class, adopting the standard terminology of the American political establishment. During his primary election campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders routinely invoked the term working class, in line with his attempt to present himself as a socialist running in opposition to social inequality and the billionaire class. Increasingly since his endorsement of Hillary Clinton, and particularly since the election of Trump, Sanders has dropped any reference to the working class. This is not a small matter. Rather, it is part of his rightward move to accommodate himself to Trumps election and further integrate himself into the Democratic Party establishment. As a result, references to the working class are reserved for the extreme right, which presents itself as the defender of the working class in opposition to the establishment. Trump regularly makes use of the term. Sanders effort to draw workers back into the fold of the Democratic Party has nothing to do with reversing its decades-long effort to dismantle the social reforms of the New Deal and Great Societywhich it will not do, regardless of Sanders claims to the contrary. To a great extent, it simply boils down to out-Trumping Trump on economic nationalism and demands for trade war against China, Mexico and other countries. After Sanders complained that Trump did not paid taxes, a worker in the audience pointed out that Jefferey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric had not paid taxes either, but that did not stop Obama from appointing him as a leading economic advisor. Visibly flustered, Sanders said, You are damn right, that was a stupid thing to do. He quickly changed the subject from Obama and the Democratic Party, however, saying, Many years ago Immelt got up before a group of people and said when I see the future of General Electric, I see China, China and China. Throughout the event Sanders promoted the hoary myth, long peddled by the UAW and other unions, that job cuts and declining living standards were caused by unfair tradenot the capitalist system and the relentless pursuit of profit by the global corporations. Echoing Trump, Sanders said, For years and years, we have been told by Republicans and many Democrats that our trade policy was working, that it was a good idea for America. Well, the American people dont believe it. They think something is wrong with permanent normal trade relations with China and the Mexican free trade agreement. We have lost four million decent paying jobs. The American people want candidates who will stand up to the billionaire class and start representing the middle-class and working families of this country. This only underscores that Sanders has nothing to do with socialism. Nationalism, whether peddled by Trump and his alt-right advisor Stephen Bannon, or the left variant promoted by Sanders and the trade union bureaucracy, serves the same reactionary purpose. Its aim is to block the development of class consciousness in the working class and prevent US workers from uniting with their class brothers internationally. Whatever their differences, both Sanders and Trump seek to subordinate workers to the profit interests of corporate America and the war drive of American imperialism. During the entire event Sanders never mentioned the danger of war. As he had done throughout the primaries and afterwards, Sanders carefully sought to conceal the class character of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party. Throughout the evening, he did not make the slightest criticism of Clinton, Obama or the Democrats. On the contrary, Sanders said there was overwhelming evidence that we are better off than when Obama came inbut despite that the middle class continues to decline and millions are hurting and scared their kids will have a lower standard of living than they did. Sanders made no effort to square this contradiction. Yet it is impossible to understand how Trump was elected without understanding the impact of the anti-working class policies of the Democrats, which were escalated under Obama. Nor did Sanders care to discuss his own role in facilitating Trumps victory. Sanders overwhelmingly defeated Clinton in the states Democratic Party primary last April, winning every county except Milwaukee County, and trounced her by 15 percentage points in Kenosha County. Addressing Sanders, a retired toolmaker said, For the people I know it was either Trump or you, thats from a grassroots point of view. They liked Trump or Bernie because they talked to the people. Everybody else was talking hogwash, they were talking over us. Sanders support for Clinton, the favored candidate of Wall Street, the corporate-controlled media and the political and military establishment, gave Trump an open field to run as the sole anti-establishment candidate and monopolize social discontent. As the World Socialist Web Site warned from the beginning, Sanders campaign was aimed at corralling anti-capitalist sentiment and containing it within the Democratic Party. Sanders now wants to prevent workers from drawing lessons from the 2016 elections and understanding how the Democrats paved the way for the most right-wing government in US history. Along with the rest of the Democrats, the Vermont Senator has already signaled his willingness to collaborate with Trump. Two reports on company taxation show that more than a third of the largest companies operating in Australia paid no tax in 201415 and that multinational tax evasion cost an estimated $4.8 billion that year. These reports show the fraud of the claims being made by the Australian government and corporate media that Donald Trump-style tax cuts will boost plummeting investment and benefit the countrys population. Addressing a business dinner last month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull renewed his call for the company tax rate to be reduced from 30 to 25 percent in an attempt to meet the demands of the financial elite for his government to match the unprecedented cut from 35 to 15 percent promised to the US ruling class by President-elect Trump. Turnbull insisted that investment would flood out of the country and into the US and other lower-taxing countries, unless the population accepted tax cuts for the corporate giants and other pro-business reforms to boost profits. Hard decisions required winners and losers, he declared. Yet billions of dollars in corporate tax concessionsall permitted by the lawhave failed to halt the slump overtaking Australian capitalism. Far from using tax windfalls for investment, major corporations have continued to boost their profits and reward their wealthy shareholders while restructuring their operations at the cost of workers jobs and conditions. In the most recent result, the Australian economy contracted by 0.5 percent in the September quarter, driven by an ongoing collapse in business investmentdown 9.7 percent over the past year. Almost 700 of Australias largest 1,904 companies paid nil tax in the 2015 fiscal year, according to an annual corporate tax transparency report issued by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) this week. It showed that 36 percent of the companieswhether locally-listed, private or foreign-ownedpaid no tax. But the ATO insisted that this was perfectly legitimate and not a sign of tax evasion or avoidance. Of the companies that paid no tax, 291 reported an accounting loss. Another 125 reported an accounting profit but reconciliation items (for example, tax deductions allowed at higher rates than accounting permits) resulted in a tax loss. A further 128 reported a taxable income but prior-year losses were available to deduct against that profit so no tax was payable. Lastly, 135 reported a taxable income but were entitled to offsets (such as research and development incentives) at least equal to the tax otherwise payable. One reason that the ATO cited for the outcome was the collapse in commodity prices, which continued into the 2016 fiscal year. In all, energy and resources corporations paid $3.2 billion less tax to the government during fiscal 2015, with almost 60 percent of the companies in this sector paying no tax at all. The worlds biggest mining company, BHP Billiton, more than halved its tax bill from $3.95 billion in 2014 fiscal year to $1.7 billion after its taxable income fell from $40.4 billion to $33 billion. Its effective tax rate fell from less than 10 percent to about 5 percent. Mining giants were not the only tax-dodgers, however. Among the big names that paid nil tax, IBM paid nothing despite recording $3.6 billion in total income and $49.3 million in taxable income. Amazon Corporate Services paid just $4.3 million on $148.3 million in revenues and $14.2 million in taxable income. Apple and Google increased their tax payments a little in 2014-15, after coming under public fire for global tax evasion. Apples tax bill almost doubled to $146.3 million, on the basis of local income of $8.4 billion. That is an effective tax rate of less than 2 percent. Googles tax bill lifted $3 million to $12.2 million, on reported income of $438.7 milliona rate of under 3 percent. The Business Council of Australia, representing the largest firms operating in Australia, backed the ATOs declaration that nil tax returns were not a sign of tax evasion or avoidance. This includes 109 companies that paid no tax, despite reporting more than $1 billion in total income, BCA chief executive chief executive Jennifer Westacott said. Westacott claimed the discrepancies could be explained by the fact that companies only pay tax on their profits, after paying all expenses including wages, capital replacement, supplier costs, fleet costs and other operating expenses. Such items, however, often allow companies to reshuffle their results to minimise tax liabilities. An Oxfam report on global tax evasion, due out next Monday, estimates that Australia loses more than $4 billion a year due to the use of 15 of the worst global tax havens by multinationals. The top three offshore financial centres used by those multinationals operating in Australia were Switzerland, Singapore and the Netherlands. On a global basis, Bermuda topped the list as the most serious tax haven, with 0 percent corporate income tax, 0 percent withholding taxes, evidence of large-scale profit shifting and a lack of transparency. The charitys report implores the government not to join the race to the bottom on corporate tax rates. Oxfam notes the average corporate tax rate across G20 countries was 40 percent 25 years ago. Today it is less than 30 percent. Despite net profits by the worlds largest companies tripling in real terms over the past 30 years, from $US2 trillion in 1980 to $7.2 trillion by 2013, tax contributions of large corporations were diminishing, the report says. On top of that, Oxfam says 90 percent of the worlds biggest companies had a presence in at least one tax haven. Oxfams report appeals to the Australian government to ensure that companies pay their fair share of taxes, so that money is available for schools, hospitals and other social services. In reality, as the record of the past 30 years demonstrates, what the financial elites regard as fair is determined purely by their capacity to keep ramping up profits and dividends via a combination of tax-dodging, cheap labour exploitation and free-market deregulation. In this process they constantly play one country, and one section of the working class, off against the others, shifting production and financial operations to wherever they can extract the lowest costs and biggest margins. As a result, social inequality has widened immensely, and even more so since the 2008 global financial breakdown. Trumps tax cuts and America first economic program will only heighten this endless international race to the bottom at the expense of workers and young people, who face further job destruction, the driving down of wages and conditions and the devastation of essential social services. While Turnbulls Liberal-National government is under immense corporate pressure to accelerate this offensive, it has long had bipartisan support in the political establishment. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Labor governments of Hawke and Keating began the assault, lowering the corporate tax rate from 49 to 30 percent, and the top marginal personal tax rate from 60 to 49 percent. Even so, as the latest reports confirm, major corporations and the wealthy often pay little or no tax. President-elect Donald Trump met with 13 prominent US technology company executives on Wednesday in yet another widely covered event at Trump Tower in New York City. In attendance were also Vice President-elect Mike Pence, a group of Donald Trumps business advisers and cabinet nominees, as well as four members of Trumps family. Several videos of the public portion of the meeting show the attendees seated around a conference table and introducing themselves followed by introductory comments by Donald Trump. Several of the Silicon Valley executives are seen expressing how pleased, privileged and excited they are to be meeting with the President-elect. Trump then returns the favor, referring to the assembled executives of the richest companies in the worldincluding Tim Cook of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Larry Page of Google and Elon Musk of Tesla and Space-Xas a truly amazing group of people, and saying, Im here to help you folks do well. As Trump began discussing trade policy and adding we are going to make it easier for you to trade across borders, the reporters were ushered out of the conference room. According to a press announcement published on the Trump transition team web site GreatAgain.gov, the 90-minute meeting covered a multitude of topics including jobs, trade, taxes, tech infrastructure and cybersecurity. The statement said the meeting was intended to begin a conversation and partnership in order to spark innovation and create more jobs in the U.S., particularly for working Americans. Most media coverage of the event has focused on Trumps conciliatory approach to the technology executives, many of whom opposed him in the 2016 election and some whom he attacked publicly during the election campaign. In the case of Bezos, Trump fired off tweets that assailed Amazon for tax evasion, largely in response to critical reporting that appeared during the election campaign in the Bezos-owned Washington Post. In one of the few published comments from attendees following the meeting with the President-elect, Bezos said, I shared the view that the administration should make innovation one of its key pillars, which would create a huge number of jobs across the whole country, in all sectors, not just techagriculture, infrastructure, manufacturingeverywhere. Most attendees declined to comment on details of the meeting. Other media reports and television news coverage focused on the propriety of the presence of Donald Trumps three adult children and son-in-law in the meeting. Some coverage also noted the absence of a representation from Twitter, despite Trumps daily use of the social media platform as a public relations tool. There were suggestions that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was not invited because the company had blocked an effort by the Trump campaign to have a #CrookedHillary emoji created during the election campaign. The willingness of the technology CEOs and billionaires to troop into Trump Tower and kiss the ring of the President-elect comes as no surprise. It is part and parcel of the falling in line by the ruling elite before the inauguration of the most right-wing administration in US history. Like the Democratic Party establishment and media representatives that endorsed Hillary Clinton, the Silicon Valley moguls are eager to work with the incoming Trump administration in securing their profits and collaborating with the state apparatus in every way. During the campaign Trump frequently lambasted the tech industry for its alleged failure to fully accede to the demands of the Pentagon, FBI and other intelligence agencies, particularly denouncing Apple over its reluctance to help the FBI break the encryption on the cellphone of the husband and wife who gunned down 14 co-workers in San Bernardino, California a year ago. It was reported on Wednesday that both Tim Cook of Apple and Elon Musk of Tesla and Space-X remained at Trump Tower following the conference to meet privately with Trump. The Trump transition team also announced that Musk and Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber, would join Ginni Rommety of IBM as advisers on economic policy. A notable feature of the gathering technology company executives was the presence of billionaire investor and Trump transition adviser Peter Thiel in the meeting. He was introduced and specifically praised by Trump at the opening because he saw something very early, maybe before we saw it, although just exactly what he saw was not explained. It has been reported that Thiel sees government spending on information technology and cyber-security as a huge growth area for the military-intelligence apparatusand a huge source of profits for Silicon Valley. This was doubtless among the primary topics of the discussions with tech industry representatives behind closed doors. The Supreme Court was told on Thursday by the CBI that there was no tampering with the hard disk of Vyapam system analyst. While this has come as a relief for the Madhya Prdesh Chief Minister, the Congress said it would challenge the lab's findings. By Rahul Noronha: The CBI counsel and solicitor general of India's statement in the Supreme Court on Thursday that there was no evidence of tampering in the hard disk of Vyapam system analyst found by the forensic lab in Hyderabad has come as a shot in the arm for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It has also come as a setback for the Congress that had been pursuing the matter in the apex court. advertisement The BJP and Congress in Madhya Pradesh are giving their own spins to the CBI's statement in court. While the BJP is celebrating the CBI counsel's statement, the Congress has maintained that the matter is far from over and they would challenge the findings of the forensic lab, based on the evidence they have from the Bangaluru- based Truth Labs in the trial court. On Thursday, a few hours after a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Ramanna were informed in the Supreme Court that there was no evidence of tampering found in the hard disk of Vyapam system analyst Nitin Mohindra, there were celebrations across BJP offices in MP. ALSO READ | Vyapam ghost haunts Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan BJP CELEBRATES, CONGRESS TO CHALLENGE FINDINGS BJP State President Nandkumar Singh Chauhan said that the Congress had attempted to tarnish the image of the Chief Minister and his family by bringing their name in the Vyapam scam and alleging that the hard disk had been tampered with to remove names of the CM's family members. With the forensic lab informing the court that there was no evidence of tampering, truth has prevailed. Vivek Tankha, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and a member of the party's legal team that appeared in the Supreme Court on Thursday said that the BJP is spreading false hoods about the outcome of the case. He said that the Supreme Court had disposed off Digvijaya Singh's petition stating that all points raised had been met. He also said that Digvijaya Singh and Prashant Pandey, the whistle blower who claims to have a mirror image of the allegedly tampered hard disk, will now give their evidence in the CBI trial court. Tankha said that the Supreme Court did not ask the CBI for the findings of the forensic lab but it was the CBI counsel who informed the court of his own accord. The envelope with the findings has still not been opened. advertisement ALSO READ: Vyapam scam: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan calls for CBI probe Aaj kal paon zameen par...: Shivraj Chouhan's midair throne goof-up leads to flood of jokes --- ENDS --- People standing in the queue outside a branch of State Bank of India were informed that every customer would be given only Rs 1,000. By Indrajit Kundu: In Malda's Ratua area, a group of agitated customers pelted stones at an SBI branch and even destroyed a nearby closed ATM. The people got angry when the bank officials told them that due to shortage of cash they will not be able to dispense enough cash. Residents of the nearby area standing in the queue outside the Balupar branch of State Bank of India were informed that every customer would be given only Rs 1,000. advertisement Also read: Demonetisation: Due to cash unavailability, East Delhi residents decide to worship ATM Many of them urged the bank officials to at least dispense Rs 2,000 in cash to every customer, as it was the RBI guideline. But when they got to know that the bank did not have adequate amount of cash, out of sheer frustration they started pelting stones at the branch. In fact, a closed ATM near the branch was also smashed. "Yesterday I could only withdraw Rs.2000 and today again they are giving me Rs. 1000. We want to withdraw atleast 5000 -10000 rupees at once. They are making us poor people stand in line the whole day for just Rs.1000," said Abdul Haque, one of the angry customers at the bank Also read: Amid cash crunch, IAS couple get married spending just Rs 500, return to duty within 2 days When the situation got out of hand, the staff of the branch downed shutters and informed the police. However, no one has been arrested in connection with the incident. Watch the video here: WB: Customers vandalize SBI branch and closed ATM in Malda alleging that the bank was not dispensing cash as per RBI guidelines pic.twitter.com/8mu1XUiOmw ANI (@ANI_news) December 15, 2016 --- ENDS --- HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) - Police in Homestead have charged a state prison guard with having sex with a 15-year-old girl whom he met at a Dollar Tree store. Citing arrest documents, news outlets reported that 35-year-old Detrick Hussey was arrested Thursday and charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a child. Hussey works at Dade Correctional Institution, but Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady tells the Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/2hWQQlr ) the department is now moving to fire him. Police say the suspect and the girl had dinner in Miami on Saturday and drank alcohol at a bar before Hussey then drove the girl to his home, where they had sex. Police are also investigating how the girl managed to order drinks at the bar. It is unclear whether Hussey has an attorney. (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A northeast Florida student suffered a minor injury after someone fired shots at a school bus. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that the student didn't need to be taken to the hospital after Friday's shooting and may have been hit in the finger by debris. The sheriff's office says in a statement that 12 students from Wolfson High School were on the bus when someone shot at the back of the vehicle. Deputies aren't sure if BBs or bullets were used but they believe at least two shots were fired. Deputies were asking members of the public for help in tracking down the suspect. (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Discrimination in the job market, and a lack of sufficient job training are two reasons why recidivism is a problem facing individuals who once served time behind bars. According to the National Institute of Justice, within three years of release, two-thirds of released prisoners are arrested again. The institute of justice also says recidivism can be prevented through rehabilitation. But rehabilitation is usually followed by employment and the American Centre for Economic and Policy Research says criminal conviction can have a major effect on the ex-offenders prospects in the labor market. Tackling the ex-con unemployment rate in the Capital City is no small task, but its a matter of great importance to officials like Mayor Andrew Gillum, who attended the grand opening of Ready4Work Tallahassee. The new re-entry center is located on West Tennessee Street in Tallahassee and will become a venue for job placement and training. The center's goal is to be a place where ex-offenders can find support in any job search. The program is modeled after a nationally recognized re-entry program called Operation New Hope, which provides ex-offenders with the skills and support necessary to re-enter the community workforce as productive and responsible citizens. TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Just because we live in the Sunshine State doesn't mean we always use solar power, but one group is trying to make a push for more renewable energy sources and keep fracking illegal. The organization, Rethink Energy Florida was at Cascades Park Thursday afternoon to help spread awareness about the dangers of fracking and how the community can get involved. Fracking uses very dangerous chemicals to withdraw gas and oil from the earth. Because Florida has very porous ground, the chemicals are able to seep into our drinking water a lot easier. "This should not be a partisan issue," says David Cullen , a representative from the Sierra Club Florida. "This is about protecting the health and safety of the people of Florida, the state as a whole, and the local communities. It should not be partisan. This should be an easy decision for people." Rethink Energy Florida hopes to plan more events like this one in hopes to stop fracking before it's allowed to start. If you would like to help with this effort, contact Rep. Raschein's district office at (850) 971-2589 and Rep. Beshears office at (850) 508-3207. Let them know that you would like them to commit to co-sponsoring Representative Mike Miller's bill to ban fracking in the Florida House. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Senator Bill Nelson stopped by the Capital City Friday to discuss a number of hot topics to include Russia and potential ties to the states, as well as President-Elect Donald Trump's cabinet appointees. Every cabinet appointee must go through numerous background checks before they can be confirmed for their position. Senator Nelson thinks that some appointments thus far have been brilliant, like General James Mattis for defense secretary. But when it comes to Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State, Senator Nelson has some reservations and a very big question about Tillerson's Russian ties that could affect his role as Secretary of State. "To what degree would all of his Russian contacts and his friendship with Putin, and the fact that he has so many of the contracts are on going with the Russian government. What would that do to affect his ability to impartially represent the U.S.?" Nelson mused. While he has these doubts, Senator Nelson knows that he'll have to wait to see each appointee in office to see what each is capable of. New currency notes worth Rs 10 lakh were seized today early morning by the West Bengal police from the West Midnapore district. Most of the seized currency were Rs 2000 notes. By Sahajan Ali: The West Bengal police has seized new currency notes worth Rs 10 lakh from Debra in the west Midnapore district of the state. This new seizure was made in the wee hours of today morning. Acting on a source information, the West Bengal police tracked a Scorpio vehicle carrying the cash on National Highway 6 in West Midnapore. advertisement Most of the currency found were new Rs 2000 notes. While the police has arrested two persons, the investigation is still on. Also Read: Delhi: Income Tax officials recover old notes worth Rs 3.25 crore from Karol Bagh hotel Note ban: Karnataka accounts for 20 per cent of seized unaccounted money Black money crackdown: Rs 60 crore cash, 245 kg gold seized from 10 airports since demonetisation Another law firm raided in Delhi, Rs 13 crore in cash recovered Demonetisation a case of khoda pahaad, nikli chuhiya: 10 not-to-be-missed P Chidambaram quotes --- ENDS --- AIADMK has rejected the demand for a white paper on treatment given to Jayalalithaa terming it as an attempt to malign Sasikala Natarajan, tipped to be the next general secretary of the party. By India Today Web Desk: AIADMK has rejected the demand for issuing a white paper on the treatment given to late chief minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa. The party spokesperson C Ponnaiyan termed the demand for white paper as a 'planned campaign' against Sasikala Natarajan, the long-time close aide of Jayalalithaa. Earlier, opposition DMK and PMK had demanded a white paper on the treatment given to the former Tamil Nadu chief minister. advertisement READ| DMK, PMK demand white paper on treatment given to Jaya The opposition parties said, "There are apprehensions among the public and party supporters on the matter." 'NO WHITE PAPER ON JAYALALITHAA' "The Tamil Nadu government should release a white paper on the treatment given to former chief minister Jayalalithaa. Since AIIMS doctors had also treated her, the treatment details should be informed to public by the Centre," DMK leader MK Stalin said. Stalin was supported by PMK founder S Ramadoss, who said that, there were 'apprehensions' among the public and AIADMK workers over the treatment given to Jayalalithaa as well as her death. WATCH: READ| Jayalalithaa's death: Chennai NGO files PIL, demands CBI probe Responding to the demand, Ponnaiyan said, "They (DMK and PMK) are doing politics over the matter. Doctors monitored Amma. Specialists from Apollow Hospita, AIIMS and Dr Richard Beale from London and also from Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore worked as a team." "Ramadoss and Stalin are not the ones who are not aware about it," Ponnaiyan contended. 'OPPOSITION SEEKS CLARIFICATION' Ramadoss and Stalin's demand came in the wake of conflicting reports about Jayalalithaa's health and medical treatment given to her before her demise in Apollo Hospital in Chennai. READ| Sasikala to succeed Jayalalithaa as AIADMK General Secretary Stalin asked why the Tamil Nadu government or the health ministry did not release a statement when Jayalalithaa was hopitalised on September 22. He said that this had been the practice in the past when former chief ministers CN Annadurai and MG Ramachandran were hospitalised. --- ENDS --- PV Sindhu avenged her Rio Olympics defeat by thrashing world No.1 Carolina Marin of Spain 21-17, 21-13 in her third match of the Dubai World Superseries Finals. By Indo-Asian News Service: Olympic 2016 silver medallist shuttler P.V. Sindhu vanquished her Rio tormentor Carolina Marin of Spain in Group B to sail into the semi-finals of the BWF Superseries Finals here on Friday. World No.10 Sindhu moved past World No.2 and reigning world champion Carolina 21-17, 21-13 in 46 minutes to enter the last four stage of the season-ending tournament. advertisement The 22-year-old Indian, who had beaten Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the opener before losing to Sun Yu of China, needed the win over Carolina to progress to the semi-finals. The 23-year-old Spanish ferocious talent had already lost two consecutive matches and was already ruled out from the race to the semi-finals. (PV Sindhu loses to Sun Yu in World Superseries Finals, faces Carolina Marin next) For her it was a matter of playing for her pride and for Sindhu, it was more than a matter of moving past an opponent who had a 5-3 head-to-head advantage coming into the contest. And she looked determined to avenge her losses right from the start. Even though the Spaniard took a 7-3 lead, the Indian fought back, not only equalising but also taking an 8-7 lead with the help of five consecutive points. Carolina again stood at a two-point lead at 10-8 but soon Sindhu equalised at 11-point mark. After the mid-game break, Sindhu looked much better playing an attacking game and not allowing space to Carolina. Riding on a five-point stretch which helped her going to 16-11, Sindhu never allowed Carolina to catch up with her. And three points on the trot helped her gain a six-point advantage at 19-13 and afterwards it was a formality. In the second game, Sindhu started off strongly and raced away to a 9-5 lead which soon became 13-6. The huge lead allowed her to control the game and thereon, she kept on rattling points. Carolina ended up earning only 13 points till the end, as the Indian, with her childhood and national head coach Pullela Gopichand urging her on, overcame a big barrier. In the Group A, Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and Sung ji-Hyun of South Korea advanced to the knock-outs. In the men's singles category, Chinese Tian Houwei and Denmark's Jan 'O' Jorgensen advanced from Group A, while Wan Ho Son of South Korea and Viktor Axelsen of Denmark qualified from Group B. Malaysian icon Lee Chong Wei was eliminated after winning only one match. --- ENDS --- advertisement According to Tuesdays reports , the city of Aleppo which was ruled by the rebels has fallen to the Syrian governments control, and the opposition fighters will be evacuated on buses together with the residents who remain in the ruins that used to be Syrias second largest city. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The ceasefire agreement, which was brokered by Russia and Turkey, will empty Aleppo of Bashar Assads opponents, and the Syrian president will be able to declare that he has gained control of Syrias economic capital after three and a half years of fighting. Destruction in Aleppo (Photo: Reuters) Assad and his partners in the countrys civil war scored a major military and morale achievement once the battle for Aleppo was decided. But the battle for Syria is far from being over, and it will continue a long time from now. The reason is the rebels refusal to give in, and the fact that the Syrian army is not well-prepared to remain in the areas it has occupied for long. The defection and draft-dodging phenomena, as well as the many casualties, have caused the army to shrink to about half of its size from the eve of the civil war. The number of maneuvering units, armored, infantry and engineering forces, has been reduced as well. This is the reason why towns and villages conquered by the regime forces often return to the rebels hands, and then back to the army. A similar situation could happen in Aleppo as well and in the Idlib province in northern Syria, where the last rebels have fled. That is where the next major battle will likely take place. Iranian and Russian forces have contributed to Assads war effort and are sending thousands of fighters of Hezbollah-led Shiite militias, as well as enormous amounts of weapons and modern munition, in addition to massive and indiscriminate bombings on population centers where the rebels are hiding. But even the massive aid is incapable of deciding the war, just like what happened in the old and strategic city of Palmyra, where Assad diluted his forces in favor of the fighting in Aleppo and lost it to ISIS this week. Who gains from the victory in Aleppo? Members of the Alawite minority and other minorities, including the middle-class Sunnis who earn a living thanks to the regime, are the ones who stand to gain most from Assads victory in Aleppo. The Aleppo takeover provides the regime with many strategic advantages: The city served as a logistic and operational home front for the Syrian army, and its occupation by the regime disconnects the rebels from their supply bases in Turkey. Above all, the moral achievement boosts Assads confidence and crushes the combat spirit of the rebels, who are being slaughtered these days in the eastern part of the city along with its residents. The Russians stand to gain from the regimes victory in the city as well. According to Russian President Vladimir Putins method, the aerial force he sent to Syria will keep Assad in power while preserving the Syrian dependence on Mother Russia. The Russians indiscriminate bombings on civilian centers will maintain the control of two military bases and the seaport in Tartus. Russia is being harshly criticized in the international arena for its dubious cooperation, and Kremlin officials are worried about the economic price the war is claiming. This is likely another one of Putins interests to bolster Assad in order to allow him to negotiate from a position of power and take part in the talks to end the fighting which are being held between Russia and the United States. Syrian President Bashar Assad. Excessive self-confidence (Photo: AP) Assad, however, is not showing any signs of flexibility and compromise on the issue. He is demonstrating excessive self-confidence as the Russians and Iranians stand by his side. The rebels leadership is not accepting the world powers conditions for a ceasefire either, and is playing a part in the collapse of the lull in the area time after time. The possibility of a peace agreement that will lead to the end of the war is, therefore, still far away. Another country that stands to gain from the Assad victory is Iran. While the Russians contributed to the occupation of Aleppo with aerial bombings and military supplies, the Iranians provided what the Americans call boots on the ground. If it were not for the Hezbollah and Shiite militia fighters, there would have been no one to wave the Syrian flag in the destructed neighborhoods and quarters in the eastern part of the city. The fact that Assad is growing stronger will allow the Iranians to strengthen their hold on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and arm Hezbollah undisturbed. And so the radical Shiite sequence will spread even more, from Tehran, through Baghdad and Damascus, all the way to Beirut. The radical Shiites and the Iranians are openly declaring that their goal is to destroy Israel. The losers: Syrian citizens, Israel and oil states Israel is not alone on the losing side. The massacre of Aleppos residents, which intensified in the past week, is a bright mark of disgrace like the yellow, poisonous gas showered on the city. This is a direct and horrible result of the zigzagging and confused policy of US President Barack Obamas administration in Syria in the past four years. Obama tried to satisfy all the elements involved in the fighting but failed, causing his country to be dragged by Russia where the split country is concerned. Syrian flag waved in Aleppo after the city is captured from the rebels (Photo: AFP) The biggest losers are the Sunni rebel organizations, and the Arab oil states which supported them together with Turkey. While the last rebels have fled northward to Idlib in favor of the next battle, we must wait and see if they recover from the blow Assad has dealt to them. What illustrates the conscious blow most of all is the rebels feeling of solitude. No one in the world rushed to help them during the war crimes carried out by the Russians, the regimes army and the Shiite foreign legion in Aleppo. The Islamist rebels are not charitable noblemen, and they have also used the civilian population as a human shield. But their crimes are nothing compared to the barbaric massacre of the Russian and Shiite coalition, which has left the eastern part of the city in ruins. And the world, as always, is standing idly by. Andrew Breitbart lived, died and was buried as a Jew. In 2007, during a visit to Jerusalem, he decided to start a website and name it after himself. The sites purpose was to defend Israel against its critics. Id like to fight on behalf of the Israeli people, who I adore and I love, he said. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter He was a gifted media personality, one of the first to understand social medias economic and political potential. The website he created turned into the home field of the American conservative right, including racist groups existing in its margins. Trumps chief adviser, Steve Bannon. A racist or an opportunist living on other peoples racism (Photo: AP) Breitbart died in 2012, at the age of 43. Stephen Bannon, another gifted media personality, took over Breitbart News and pushed the websites content beyond the extreme: The margins became the center; racism, xenophobia, misogyny and anti-Semitism were welcomed. During the US presidential election, Breitbart News served as Donald Trumps semi-official mouthpiece. Bannon, a racist or an opportunist living on other peoples racism, was appointed head of the election campaign. In Trumps White House, he will serve as the presidents chief adviser We are familiar with the combination between racism and enthusiastic support of Israel from Europe, from the far right parties there. Actually, we are also familiar with this combination from Israel from the culture minister, for example, or from the coalition chairman. In America, it is somewhat of an innovation. It placed the Anti-Defamation League, the important Jewish organization, in a difficult dilemma. From its very beginning, the ADL has been fighting against racism and in favor of Israel. Suddenly, in Trumps America, the two values have clashed. The dilemma is how to fight against racists without harming the pro-Israel body; how to fight for Israel without teaming up with racists. Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADLs new CEO and national director, visited Israel last week. I asked him what were his thoughts when Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer legitimized Steve Bannon in front of the cameras. The Israeli envoys willingness to meet with Trumps adviser was a necessity that cannot be condemned. The public groveling marked the abyss that has been created between Israel and the majority of the Jewish community. The ambassador has a role to fill, said Greenblatt. I respect that. I have a role too. For 100 years, the League has been working with the perception that the way to fight for the Jews is to fight for other minorities as well. We were at the forefront of the battle for African Americas, for immigrants and for LGBT people. That is our world view. When Trumps supporters, led by the Breitbart website, incited against minorities Muslims, Hispanics, black people, and Jews here and there Greenblatt accused them of racism. In response, he was showered with death threats. The people who cursed him on social media included Jews, Trump supporters. He was also cursed on the left when he slammed Bernie Sanders criticism against Israel. I have no intention of turning into a tool in the battle between Americas parties, he told me, but we must fulfill our mission. The groups that believe in white supremacy dont control America, but during the elections they became part of the central stream. These are the same elements which burned crosses in Ku Klux Klan ceremonies 50 years ago. Social media made this lawlessness possible, I said. There is no doubt about it, Greenblatt replied. What is happening on social media is very troubling. According to our estimate, there have been 2.6 million anti-Semitic tweets online in the past year, and thats an underestimation. We are not the only ones who are worried; so are Jewish businesspeople who are suffering financially. Extremism is bad for Jews its bad when it comes from the right and its bad when it comes from the left. "Arent you exaggerating?" asked. I spoke to Jewish journalists who were attacked, he said. Some said, I wont write against them anymore; some said, I wont publish my comments online; and some said, Ill write books or go teach. Why do I need this trouble? He showed me a picture saved on his phone which has been widely spread on social networks: Two Auschwitz ovens with a fire burning in them, and a sign on top reading, Beds for sale, for Jews. BRUSSELS- The European Union offered Niger 610 million euros ($635 million) on Thursday to curtail migration from Africa through the Mediterranean to Europe and said it was seeking more such money-for-migration deals ahead. Some 1.4 million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe this year and last, and the EU wants to cut back on the uncontrolled influx of people. Niger's desert city of Agadez is a popular waystation for people trying to cross the Sahara to reach Libya and eventually Europe via Italy. This year has become the deadliest on record for those seeking to make the journey. The EU has already offered similar schemes to Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Mali, as well as to Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, among others. On Thursday, EU leaders agreed in Brussels they would seek to engage more African countries in such collaboration. The bloc has also strengthened control of its external borders and is trying to deport more people who make it to Europe but have no case for asylum. US President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he will nominate bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel, and Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post in Jerusalem, implying a move from Tel Aviv that would mark a break in longstanding US foreign policy and anger the Muslim world. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter While campaigning for the presidency, Trump pledged to switch the embassy from Tel Aviv, where it has been located for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital regardless of international objections. David Friedman (Photo: EPA) "(Friedman) has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said in a statement issued by his team on Thursday. Trump made clear during his campaign that he would support Israel in a number of critical areas, said he would not put pressure on Israel to engage in talks with the Palestinians. The United States and other powers do not regard Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Friedman stated that he would work tirelessly to "strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a fractious relationship with US President Barack Obama, has welcomed Trump's election, chatting with him by phone and posting a video on Facebook promoting ties with the United States. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli embassy in Washington on the news. The statement does not detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trump advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. "He has made that promise," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Thursday. "I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly." One option Trump allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing US consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trump advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. An advocate of the settlements Friedman is also considered far-right on issues, including settlement building and has advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. The Obama administration has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal. The Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last US-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014. J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group based in Washington, said it was "vehemently opposed" to Friedman's nomination. "This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk," the statement said. The Zionist Organization for America, a conservative Jewish-American pro-Israel group welcomed the nomination, saying he had "the potential to be the greatest US ambassador to Israel ever." Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations, said Friedman's nomination "was designed to send a signal that there will be significant break in tone, style and perhaps substance from the Obama administration" in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. "The peace process is just dead right now," Miller said, alluding to the Obama administration's failed efforts. But he said it was too early to see Friedman's nomination as Trump's disavowal of a two-state solution. Miller noted that Trump's aides have sent conflicting signals on whether they are serious about acting quickly on his promise to move the embassy, and that it was unclear whether that would happen. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today strongly condemned anti-Semitic lyrics in a newly released song by popular rapper Lupe Fiasco. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In the song, N.E.R.D., Fiasco rhymes about, Artists getting robbed for their publishing by dirty Jewish execs who think that its alms from the covenant. In response to a tweet from DJ Booth - a resource for DJs and hip hop fans on Twitter -- questioning his lyrics about dirty Jewish execs, Fiasco reportedly responded Oh Please with an expletive, clearly indicating that Fiasco is either unaware or unconcerned with the impact of his offensive statement. Rapper Lupe Fiasco (Photo: Justrandomthings.com) The lyrics about artists being robbed by dirty Jewish execs are offensive, said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. These lyrics reinforce the anti-Semitic myth of Jewish control of the music industry, a stereotype that has been exploited in recent years by well-known hatemongers. It is irresponsible for a recording artist to perpetuate the hateful anti-Semitic stereotype of the greedy Jew. Even if Lupe Fiasco has concerns about exploitation of his artistic output, its deplorable to stigmatize an entire group in response. Fiasco has a well-earned reputation as a highly respected hip-hop artist, Greenblatt said. At a time when there are significant divisions across the country, we are disappointed that he has not chosen to use his platform and voice to promote a more inclusive message, he continued Past ADL surveys of anti-Semitic attitudes in America have shown that the notion of Jewish control of Hollywood and the music industry is a pervasive stereotype. In a 2013 poll ADL found that 18 percent of Americans believe that Jews have too much influence over the American news media, and 24 percent agree that the movie and television industries are pretty much run by Jews. Lupe Fiasco is a Chicago based rapper who garnered outstanding success with his first two albums Food and Liquor released in 2006 and The Cool released in 2007. ISTANBUL- Close to 8,000 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo with a sixth convoy currently "en route to safety", a Turkish official said on Friday. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter that more than 7,000 civilians had been evacuated in the first five convoys. The evacuation, from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo, began on Thursday under a ceasefire deal brokered by Turkey and Russia that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Only about 1,200 Christians remain in Gaza -- a tiny fraction of the population in a territory run by Hamas Islamists -- but artist Naser Jeldha is doing what he can to preserve its Christian heritage through art. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In his studio in the heart of old Gaza, not far from a 5th century Orthodox church, Jeldha spends his days carving religious figurines, chiseling low-relief carvings of Biblical scenes and painting portraits of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the saints. "My message is about my religion," said the grey-bearded 57-year-old, a member of the Greek Orthodox community. "I want to make it visual, I want to make people see it, not only to be kept as texts in church." Naser Jelda at his home in Gaza (Photo: Reuters) As he works, steel-rimmed spectacles perched on his nose, Jeldha listens to Byzantine prayer music that echoes softly around the studio, creating an atmosphere from another era. The walls are covered in his pictures, with more laid out on the arms of chairs and sofas, and others propped on a 150-year-old Russian piano in the corner. As well as painting and sculpture, Jeldha plays the accordion, piano and guitar. In the run up to Christmas - celebrated on Jan. 7 in the Orthodox church - Jeldha is busy making pieces as gifts for friends and relatives. While he has been an artist for 35 years, he does not display his works or offer them for sale. Instead, he presents them as gifts at weddings or events on the Christian calendar. He does, however, have plans for a public showing soon. In the next two weeks, he is also hoping he will be one of about 800 Christians granted a permit by Israel to leave Gaza and travel to Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to attend prayer services in Jesus's birthplace. "We have applied for permits and if we get them I intend to travel with my family," said Jeldha, who is determined to remain in Gaza despite the departure of many Christians over the last decade in the face of rising economic hardship. While Gaza's Christians generally enjoy good relations with their Muslim neighbours, there have been isolated attacks by hardline Salafist groups on Christian tombs and symbols. Hamas, the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza since 2006, is keen to ensure the Christian community feels safe and protected. Its leaders occasionally visit the heads of the three Gaza churches to build stronger relations. Jeldha acknowledged that the economy was suffering, with the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt, a move to pressure Hamas, limiting trade, driving up costs and causing despair. Despite that, Jeldha, whose white front door is adorned with a small cross painted in blue, said he would never leave. "I have lived in this neighbourhood for 54 years. I have brotherly and wonderful relations with Muslims," said the father of four. "Gaza is beautiful and I will not leave it...I do not feel I am a stranger here." WASHINGTON- President Barack Obama is promising that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia for its suspected meddling in America's election process, an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied. Amid calls on both sides of the political aisle on Capitol Hill for a full-bore congressional investigation, including assertions President Vladimir Putin was personally involved, Obama said in an interview that anytime a foreign government tries to interfere in U.S. elections, the nation must take action "and we will at a time and place of our own choosing." "Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be," he told NPR News Thursday. "But Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it." White House officials said it was "fact" that Russian hacking helped Donald Trump's campaign against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Administration officials on Thursday also assailed Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russia's interference. Obama was to hold a news conference at the White House on Friday afternoon. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson is expressing dismay at US accusations of Russian meddling in America's presidential election. Dmitry Peskov said Friday in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that the US should "either stop talking about it or finally produce some evidence, otherwise it all begins to look unseemly." Peskov made the statement in response to President Barack Obama's comment Thursday. Obama promised that the US will retaliate against Russia "at a time and place of our own choosing." Obama said that he spoke directly to Putin about it. Russia has fiercely rejected the accusations of hacking. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders discussed the issue at a G-20 summit in China in September and Putin "gave a very clear answer." OUAGADOUGOU - Ten soldiers and a gendarme in northern Burkina Faso were killed on Friday in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a military post, the army said. Attacks in Burkina Faso were rare before a major strike by al Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital Ouagadougou killed 29 people in January. Islamic militants are active in Burkina Faso's northern neighbour Mali and Burkinabe authorities are concerned the long desert border between the two countries could become a transit point for militants. Friday's attack about 30 km (19 miles) from the Malian border began at around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) and was carried out "by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified," the army said in a statement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on Friday, prior to Amona's scheduled evacuation, expressing his solidarityat least in spiritwith the outpost's residents. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "Dear Amona residents, my heart is with you," opened his letter. "We are living in a difficult time, for you, your families and the entire people of Israel." Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters) He stated that "The government is committed to settlements of Judea and Samaria. We are more committed to this than any other government in the history of the state." "As such, the government's ministers are making every possible effort, every effort, to find a solution that would allow the settlers (to stay) in place. We have dedicated days and nights to this, tens of discussions, we have come up with creative solutions, out-of-the-box solutions, but sadly these suggestions have not been accepted." He cautioned, however, that the settlers are still expected to adhere to the court's decision. "One thing must be made clear: the State of Israel is a lawful one. The court's ruling binds us all, including the Israeli government." Amona residents (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) That said, Netanyahu remarked that evacuating the Jewish settlement of Amona would be followed by the evacuation of other illegally built communities, possibly Arab ones. "But the law must be equal. The same law that necessitates the evacuation of Amona also necessitates the evacuation of illegal building in other areas of our country." "For this reason," continued Netanyahu. "I instructed to carry out the demolition of illegal building in the Negev, Wadi Ara, the Galilee, the Centerall over the country, which we will do in the upcoming days. I will not tolerate discrimination regarding the enforcement of building regulations between Israeli citizens, between Jews and Arabs, between one person and another. I will fight so that Israel will have one law for everyone, and one path to enforce it for everyonesomething that has not been the case for several decades." "I call on everyone to act responsibly," said Netanyahu. "Not to harm IDF soldiers and security forces in any way. These are our sons, the apple of our eye, they are dear to all of us, they protect us. There is no place for violence." Referring to the endangerment of civilians during an evacuation scenario, Netanyahu said, "I also turn to the dear parents in Amona: your protest is understandable, but it is no place for the presence of boys and girls, or for that of adolescents." "I call on all leaders to show national responsibility during this time," concluded Netanyahu. "The unity of Israel is amongst the highest of principles, and it is the source of our strength. We are one people. We are brothers." WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is promising that the US will retaliate against Russia for its suspected meddling in America's election process, an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied. As the White House grew more bullish about suggesting President Vladimir Putin was personally involved, Obama said he'd spoken directly to Putin about his concerns about Russian meddling. He said whenever a foreign government tries to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action "and we will at a time and place of our own choosing." "We have been working hard to make sure that what we do is proportional, that what we do is meaningful," Obama said in an NPR News interview airing Friday. Obama's remarks were the clearest indication that whatever response the US is planning, it hasn't happened yet. The White House has insisted for months that when the US did retaliate, it might not be made public, a position that has created uncertainty about the strength and timing of any response. BEIRUT -- A top UN official for Syria is calling on its government, its allies Russia and Iran, and a leading rebel group to allow for a resumption of evacuations from besieged parts of eastern Aleppo. In a text message to The Associated Press on Friday, Jan Egeland of the office of the UN Syria envoy praised the "very successful" evacuations over the last day that "brought many thousands of civilians to safety" -- but added that others are trying to leave too. Egeland said: "Among those desperate to be evacuated are a group of orphans and unaccompanied children." He said his office was urging "parties the ground, including Syria, Iran, Russia, and the armed opposition groups led by Ahrar al-Sham to let the evacuations resume unimpeded and in safety." BEIRUT -- Syrian state news agency SANA, quoting a Damascus police source, said on Friday there were reports of an explosion in a police station in the Midan neighbourhood of Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said there had been an explosion in the Midan area and there were reports of casualties. Beki Ikala Erikli, a Jewish-Turkish writer, was murdered Thursday in a shooting attack at the entrance her office in Istanbul by an unknown female assailant. The motive behind the attack is still unknown. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Erikli is best known for her book "Living with the Angels" and was a member of Turkey's Jewish community. Beki Ikala Erikli Turkish news site Hurriyet reported the murder took place at approximately 6:00pm and that Erikli was shot three times and found in a pool of blood. The shooter escaped on foot. According to Hurriyet, bystanders who heard the gunshots rushed to the scene and alerted rescue services who attempted to resuscitate Erikli, but to no avail. Police are currently checking surveillance from the area in an attempt to locate and identify the suspect. Erikli, who is married to a Turkish Muslim man, lived for a time in the United States before returning to Turkey. Her books and other works have been well received in Turkey, especially among the female population. Turkey's Jewish community has expressed concern of anti-Semitic motivations behind the murder prompting authorities to investigate the possibility. BERLIN -- German police have arrested a 31-year-old Turkish man who is suspected of providing information on Kurds living in Germany to Turkish intelligence agencies, the German federal prosecutor's office announced on Friday. The arrest could exacerbate tensions between NATO partners Germany and Turkey, which has accused Berlin of harboring militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - fighting a three-decade-old armed campaign for autonomy - and far-leftists of the DHKP-C, which has carried out attacks in Turkey. German officials reject that claim. The prosecutor's office said in a statement police had arrested the man, identified only by the initials M.S., in Hamburg on Thursday and searched his home. "The accused is strongly suspected of working for the Turkish intelligence agency and providing information about Kurds living in Germany, including their whereabouts, contacts and political activities," it said. Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, led a delegation of 14 UN ambassadors to Israel as part of a project initiated by the American Jewish Committee and the Israeli delegation at the United Nations. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The delegation was attended by countries such as Argentina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uganda, Georgia, Jamaica and Micronesia. Danon speaking with ambassadors (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Danny Danon ambassador delegation (Video: Roi Idan) (: ) X "When I walked around Israel, I saw peace and a cosmopolitan atmosphere where Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side in harmony. Before I came here, I thought that there was oppression in Israel. When we entered the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, I was shocked to see Arabs speak Hebrew and Jews speak Arabic. I saw coexistence. It is very exciting. For me it's a game changer. I did not expect to see that, "said Sierra Leon's ambassador. Ambassadors at the Barzilai Medical Center (Photo: Motti Kimchi) The visit also has a practical side however, as Israel is currently dealing with several problematic initiatives at the UN, among them one put forth by the Palestinians and another put forth by New Zealand. In addition to the problematic initiatives, Israel is also launching an ambitious project for a seat on the Security Council in 2019. Elections will be held in June 2018 and Israel is up against Germany and Belgium. As such, visits by other ambassadors to Israel are vital if Israel hopes to secure votes. Photo: Motti Kimchi During the visit, the delegation was given a tour of Israel and received an extensive review of Israel's security challenges in addition to Israeli developments and technologies. The delegation was even given a tour of the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the border with Syria. Photo: Motti Kimchi Jamaica's ambassador to the UN, Courtenay Rattray, was impressed by a visit to Nahal Oz where he saw fortified kindergarten. "Now I have a better understanding of the constant tension this community is in," he said. Ambassadors on the northern border (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Ambassador Danon said, "The purpose of this visit is to use the UN platform in order to strengthen bilateral relations between countries and to influence UN policy towards Israel. A large number of countries are influenced by anti-Israel lies circulating around different forums in the UN, but with a seminar in Israel, ambassadors see with their own eyes the reality of this country." Tunisian media outlets are reporting that the Mossad is responsible for the assassination of Mohammad al-Zawahri, a flight engineer who was shot to death Thursday at close range in his car in the city of Sfax. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Tunisian journalist Burhan Basis writes that al-Zawahri left Tunisia in 1991 for Syria, where he made contact with Hamas and eventually became a close associate who supplied the terrorist organization with his technical expertise. Al-Zawahri's vehicle Scene of the assassination X Al-Zawahri was an engineer who worked in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. According to Basis, he was under Mossad surveillance until his murder on Thursday. Additionally, Gulf media site Al-Khaleej Online is reporting from "well-informed sources" that over the last few years, Al-Zawahri had received a series of threatening phone calls due to his work on unmanned aerial vehicles and his support for the Palestinian cause. As such, the same sources claim that foreign security agencies were involved in the assassination. Mohammad al-Zawahri Tunisian media outlets are also reporting that several suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder. Five hours after the assassination, the Tunisian National Security Commissioner, Abed al-Rahman Balhaj Ali, announced his resignation without specifying why. Political sources in Tunisia have not ruled out the possibility that the resignation came against the backdrop of the assassination. Hamas UAV capabilities took a severe hit during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, but have steadily been rehabilitated in recent years culminating in several Hamas attempts to infiltrate UAVs into Israeli territory. The IDF believes that Hamas will make extensive use of UAVs in the next confrontation with Israel despite limitations in materials and technology. As an alternative, Hamas has been using kites fitted with cameras to gather intelligence on what is happening near the border. Israel began the process of returning the bodies of seven terrorists from the West Bank who were killed while conducting terror attacks in which Israelis were murdered. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The decision to return the bodies was taken after the families of ten terrorists petitioned the High Court to return them. Following news of the petition, the government informed the High Court it would return the bodies of seven terrorists, following discussions in the security cabinet. Bodies of terrorists returned by Israel (Photo: EPA) The state agreed to the return under the condition that the funerals do not become a scene of protest and incitement to terror. Regarding the matter of the additional three bodies, the government said the issue required more deliberation as the three were affiliated with Hamas. The names of the three were not released, but two were identified as Mohammad Faqih, who carried out the shooting attack on Route 60 which killed Rabbi Miki Mark , and Masbah Abu Sabih, who carried out the shooting attack at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, which killed Levana Malihi and police officer Yossi Karmia. Another discussion is expected to be held concerning the return of the body of Mohammed Taraireh, who murdered Hallel Yaffa Ariel in her bed in Kiryat Arba. The return of the bodies on Friday was conducted in spite of fierce opposition from Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman, who claimed that the funerals would encourage further terrorist attacks and calls for revenge. Teenager gives father gift of life for Christmas Christmas came early for one Palm Bay, Florida military family. The family patriarch had been facing the harsh reality that he may not make it to Christmas Day due to a chronic medical condition that was worsening. His kidneys were functioning at only 12 percent and his hope of finding a viable donor in time was grim. But fate decided he would get the perfect gift this year - life. His 19-year-old daughter, the giver; her gift a kidney. In fall 2014, recently retired Air Force Master Sgt. Derrell White faced a harsh reality: his kidneys were slowly failing, and his survival depended on a kidney transplant. While he'd known since 1986 that he had IgA Nephropathy, a chronic kidney condition, he hadn't felt the effects for nearly three decades. While he was taking all the necessary precautions to manage his overall health, his kidneys were only operating at 18 percent. The first person to volunteer as a kidney donor was his wife, Master Sgt. Heidi White, 920th Rescue Wing, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. She was a match, which they thought would solve their problems, but due to kidney stones in both kidneys, Heidi was eliminated from being a donor. They were devastated. The process of finding a donor has been an emotional rollercoaster for their family. Family members and a good friend tried to be donors, but all were ruled out. Disappointed yet hopeful, Derrell signed up for the national kidney donation registry in June 2015. It could be years -- or too late -- by the time he would be contacted for a transplant. One night in July 2015, Derrell received a call from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami that they had a kidney from a cadaver, and they would be able to perform the transplant at 5:30 a.m. if he could get to the hospital in time. He and Heidi rushed to the hospital three hours away in time. "They were rolling me down the hall for surgery, then they said time out, Derrell recalled. The kidney had been out of the body too long. Again, Derrell and Heidi had gotten their hopes up only to have them abruptly dashed. They drove back home feeling helpless. In November Derrells kidney function degraded to 12 percent. His 19-years-old daughter, Elissa, couldnt bear to watch as her fathers health decline so she decided to offer him her own kidney, again. Shed made the offer previously when she was 18, but her parents declined. With reluctance, this time the Whites agreed to her offer. She learned she was a match and the surgery was set for Dec.7 at Florida Hospital in Orlando, three weeks later. Elissa and Derrell are recovering from surgery and doing well. While everything went better than we anticipated, we are cautiously optimistic, said Heidi White. She did say both dad and daughter are doing exceptionally well and were both sent home after four days in the hospital. The family agreed the whole process has been challenging both emotionally and physically, but say family, friends and unit members were always there offering support in many different forms. They couldnt have done it without all the outpouring of support. This has been a long time in the making, but in our continuing pursuit to bring only the best of firearms, 2nd Amendment and defence related news to our readers, we are very excited to announce the next step in our evolution as a company. As of 2020, Minuteman Review is now the proud owner and operator of Your Defence News, a website with a long history of breaking huge news stories and investigative journalism. We hope you are equally as excited as us. This means that now the teams of Minuteman can combine with the firepower of Your Defence News to stay at the absolute forefront for our readers. Keep an eye. Big things are coming soon. We couldn't be more excited. In the meanwhile, here are some of our most popular posts and categories to keep you busy. Happy shootin' my friends! Buying Guides: Firearms Firearm Accessories Ammunition Gun Safes Scopes & Optics Hunting Air Rifles Best AR-15 Best AR 15 Scope Best Hunting Rifle Best Gun Safe Best AK 47 Best AR 10 Best Glock Triggers Best Glock Best Home Defense Shotgun As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More Como Park Zoo & Conservatory excitedly welcomed a new Reticulated Giraffe on November 10th. The male calf, named Prince, came into the world at 6 6 tall and weighed 160 pounds. The new baby boy is the seventh calf born to mom, Daisy, and the 20th giraffe birth at Como Zoo in the last 22 years. Comos current herd consists of Clover, Daisy, Skeeter (father) and Prince. The honor of naming the new Giraffe was given to Como Friends supporters, Gretchen and David Crary, who have been the lead individual donors on Give To The Max Day for the past three years. Photo Credits: Como Park Zoo/"Zookeeper Jill" The Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), also known as the Somali Giraffe, is a subspecies of giraffe native to savannas of Somalia, southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya. Reticulated Giraffes can interbreed with other giraffe subspecies in captivity or if they come into contact with populations of other subspecies in the wild. The Reticulated Giraffe is among the most well known of the nine giraffe subspecies. Together with the Rothschild Giraffe, it is the type most commonly seen in zoos. They are known to often walk around with birds on their backs. These birds are called tickbirds. The tickbirds eat bugs that live on the giraffes coat, and alert the animals to danger by chirping loudly. A female has a gestation period of about 15 months and usually has only one young at a time, but a mature female can have around eight offspring in her lifetime. Females return to the same spot each year to give birth. The mother gives birth standing up and the calf falls seven feet to the ground. Calves can weigh up to 200 lbs. at birth and stand as tall as six feet. They are able to stand less than an hour after birth. The young are weaned at around one year of age. In the wild, giraffes have few predators, but they are sometimes preyed upon by lions and less so by crocodiles and spotted hyenas. However, humans are a very real threat, and giraffes are often killed, by poachers, for their hair and skin. Currently, there are thought to be less than 80,000 giraffes roaming Africa, and some subspecies are thought to be almost completely gone, with fewer than 100 individuals. Reticulated Giraffes are currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Como Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). AZA is Americas leading accrediting organization for zoos and aquariums, and accredits only those institutions that have achieved rigorous, professional standards for animal welfare and management, veterinary care, wildlife conservation and research, education, safety, staffing and more. With only 200 accredited members, AZA is building North Americas largest wildlife conservation movement and is your link to helping animals in their native habitats. Washington: President Barack Obama said Thursday the United States will retaliate against Russian hacking aimed at interfering in the US election. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing." "Some of it may be explicit and publicized," the president added. "Some of it may not be." NPR said Obama avoided endorsing a CIA conclusion that Russia hacked into email accounts of Democratic Party institutions and officials with the specific goal of hurting the party`s candidate Hillary Clinton and helping Republican Donald Trump win the election. Trump did win. Obama has ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of the hacking and report back to him before he leaves office on Inauguration Day January 20. "There are still a whole range of assessments taking place among the agencies," Obama told NPR. The full interview is set to air Friday morning, hours before Obama is scheduled to give a year`s end news conference. "And so when I receive a final report, you know, we`ll be able to, I think, give us a comprehensive and best guess as to those motivations," Obama said. The president`s language on retaliation was not new. When US intelligence agencies took the extraordinary step in October of publicly accusing Russia of staging cyberattacks against American political organizations, officials used similarly tough terms. "We will take action to protect our interests, including in cyberspace, and we will do so at a time and place of our choosing," a senior administration official told AFP at the time. State of New York: Hillary Clinton blames Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had a "personal beef" against her, and a late-hour FBI intervention over her e-mail scandal for her loss to Donald Trump in the US election, a newspaper reported on Friday. Hillary, 69, has kept a low profile in the weeks since her shock defeat to the Republican billionaire, but made the remarks to campaign donors in Manhattan on Thursday night, The New York Times reported. The Democratic former secretary of state won the popular vote by more than 2.7 million ballots but lost the crucial Electoral College by 232 to 306. Trump walked away with the election because he won a string of swing states. Crucially his wins in three of those states, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, amounted to a combined total of around 100,000 votes. The Times said Hillary told donors that a letter from FBI director James Comey revisiting her private server scandal dating back to her time as secretary of state, 10 days before the election, cost her close races in several states. "Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey," the Times quoted her as saying. She said the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and her campaign chairman John Podesta`s e-mails stemmed from Putin`s "personal beef" against her, the newspaper reported. Hillary said the reason was her accusation that Russia`s 2011 Parliamentary Elections were rigged. "Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," the Times quoted her as saying. On Thursday, Podesta lashed out at the FBI in a scathing op-ed published in The Washington Post, slamming the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its "failure" to adequately respond to the Democratic Party e-mail hacks. An investigation published by the Times earlier this week said that when the FBI discovered the hack in September 2015, it left phone messages with the DNC "help desk" but did not warn senior Democratic officials or visit in person. "Comparing the FBI`s massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI," he wrote. In the immediate aftermath of the election, however, some Democrats including advisers close to her husband, former president Bill Clinton, directed blame at Hillary`s own campaign. The campaign reportedly ignored calls from Bill Clinton to spend more time focusing on disaffected white, working class voters -- a key demographic that elected Bill Clinton twice and backed Trump. Hillary did not visit Wisconsin as the Democratic nominee and only pushed late into Michigan after polls showed the race tightening. Vatican City: Pope Francis brought together Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his predecessor Alvaro Uribe at the Vatican Friday, without managing to persuade them to overcome their differences over an historic peace accord with FARC rebels. Uribe led the campaign opposing the agreement inked by Santos`s government with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The peace deal, aimed at ending a half-century conflict that has claimed more than 260,000 lives, was ratified last month after an earlier version was voted down in October. Santos had already been set to meet the pope on Friday while on tour in Europe after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for the deal, and Uribe joined them after a last-minute invitation. The Argentine pope talked with the men separately for 20 minutes each before holding an audience with both that lasted 25 minutes. The Colombian president told journalists Pope Francis had "repeated his support for the new peace agreement" and stressed it should be "implemented immediately". But Uribe told the media that there were still problems with the deal, which he said grants impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes, giving them seats in Congress rather than sending them to prison. "Changes were made (to the old deal), but there are certain very delicate points that the government did not want to revise," he said. "Right now there are Colombians in prison who have committed crimes that are much less grave than those of the FARC," he added.Francis talked to both men about the "importance of sincere dialogue between all parts of Colombian society," the Vatican said. He added that the Roman Catholic Church in Colombia should do what it can to aid national reconciliation and teach "the lesson of forgiveness". Uribe, a rightwing leader, spearheaded opposition to the peace deal, which was forged after nearly four years of negotiations. After voters rejected the earlier deal by a narrow margin in an October referendum, the government and FARC renegotiated it, and had it ratified in Congress rather than risk a second referendum. Santos described telling Uribe during their Vatican meeting that he welcomed the search for common ground on how to implement the deal. "Peace is built -- we were talking about it with His Holiness -- like a cathedral. Brick by brick. And this demands an effort by many people over a long time. "This is what Colombia faces, fortunately without the burden of war and armed conflict," he added. Jerusalem: US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated hardliner David Friedman as the next ambassador to Israel, in a move welcomed by conservatives in the Jewish state but opposed by two-state campaigners. Here are some Friedman quotes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israel seized Arab east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The city`s status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and foreign governments base their embassies in Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem. Friedman, who is Jewish, backs moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, saying in a Trump transition team statement Thursday that he wanted to work from "Israel`s eternal capital, Jerusalem". Around 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the Jewish state also captured in 1967. The United Nations considers all settlements to be illegal, and settlement expansion has been a key source of friction between Israel`s right-wing government and outgoing US President Barack Obama. Asked by AFP in October about Trump`s view on the settlements, Friedman said: "I don`t think he believes that the settlements are illegal." In a separate column for the Jerusalem Post, Friedman wrote that Trump would "not ask Israel to curtail its development" in the West Bank. The issue of an independent Palestinian state, the so-called two-state solution, is another question. Asked whether Trump would support Palestinian statehood, Friedman told Israeli newspaper Haaretz it was not an "American imperative". "The Israelis have to make the decision on whether or not to give up land to create a Palestinian state. If the Israelis don`t want to do it, so he (Trump) doesn`t think they should do it. It is their choice." Earlier this year, he wrote that leaders of J-Street, an American Jewish organisation that campaigns for Palestinian statehood, were "far worse than kapos". He was referring to inmates of Nazi concentration camps put in charge of other prisoners in return for special privileges. In the same article, he accused Obama of "blatant anti-Semitism" for not condemning incitement against Jews sufficiently. Right-wing Israeli politicians, including ministers, have repeatedly called for the country to annex parts of the West Bank -- claiming the territory as an integral part of Israel. The international community says large-scale annexation would make an independent Palestinian state near impossible. Asked whether Trump would support annexing parts of the West Bank, Friedman told Haaretz: "I would expect that he would." "I think there are parts of the West Bank that will stay part of Israel in any peace deal. I am sure he wouldn`t have any problem with that at all." Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest by describing him as a "foolish guy". Trump lashed out at Earnest after he admitted that President Barack Obama had known about the hackings prior to the election, but refrained from acting on it to avoid being seen as "meddler in the election". Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania, the US President-elect said, "This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I don't know." "You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK? Trump said. The White House on Thursday clashed with Trump`s transition team over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. "It is just a fact that the Republican nominee for President was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent because he believed it would help his campaign," Xinhua news agency quoted White House spokesman Josh Earnest as saying during the daily briefing. The remarks came one day after Earnest suggested on Wednesday`s briefing that Trump was aware before Election Day that Russia was involved and "their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent`s campaign". President Barack Obama has said the US will retaliate against Russian hacking aimed at interfering in the US election. Beijing: In a show of strength amid increasing tensions with the United Sates over the South China Sea and Taiwan, China's first aircraft carrier battle group - 'Liaoning' - has carried out its maiden live-fire exercises on a massive scale. Aircraft carrier 'Liaoning' conducted the massive drills with live ammunition in the Bohai Sea, which involved dozens of ships and aircraft. Several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles were also involved in the drill, the PLA Navy said in a statement. The exercise was aimed at testing combination of various types and numbers of ships to optimise the carrier's combat ability, the Navy said. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft. However, the time and exact location of the exercises were not disclosed. The statement, however, maintained that the drill was held in the Bohai Sea which is located between Chinese coast off Dalian and North and South Korea. Earlier reports said the aircraft carrier would be deployed in the disputed South China Sea when it is ready. It was the first time that the weapons used on the carrier were displayed in public since it entered service in 2012. Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were also broadcast on China Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi, commander of the Liaoning carrier battle group, said the exercise is a "milestone" for the unit. With PTI inputs Peshawar: Marking the second anniversary of the Peshawar army school carnage today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to take the war against militancy to its "logical conclusion" to ensure a peaceful and stable Pakistan for future generations. About 150 people, mostly school children, were killed when Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed the Army Public School (APS) here in 2014. Sharif said in his message that Pakistan took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," he said. "I assure the nation that we will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for our future generations," he said. Sharif extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the martyred students and all those who became victims of the tragic incident. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," said the Prime Minister. He said December 16 reminds of the most painful tragedy of "our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies". "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," he said. A solemn memorial service was held here to mark the tragedy which was attended by families of the victims, politicians, military leadership and others. Moving scenes were also witnessed as several parents were seen crying on the occasion. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa laid a wreath and offered prayers as he attended the memorial service. "We can never forget these children, I have photos of them in my office and keep looking at them periodically to remind me of our losses," he said later in a brief address. He said the armed forces were working hard to make the country safer. APS Principal Tahira Kazi recalled it was a difficult day for the country as everyone felt as though "we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy". Bengaluru: In a shocking case, a Bengaluru youth murdered a Flipkart delivery boy to lay his hands on a Rs 11,999 Chinese mobile phone. It was just another day on work for 29-year-old Nanjunda Swamy when he reached Vijayanagar to deliver a Redmi Note 3 phone. He had called the customer on his landline number to confirm his presence at the delivery address and would have expected to complete the transaction in a few minutes. However, the customer, 22-year-old gym trainer K Varun Kumar, had stitched together a sinister plan to kill Swamy. The motive? Kumar, who had recently got employed as a gym trainer, had no money to buy a cell phone for himself all his friends and clients had one. He had sought help from his father, a mechanic, but was told that he should save from his salary to buy a phone. Varun couldn't wait that long. He hatched a plot order phone online and then kill the delivery man. Varun executed his plan by ordering a Redmi Note 3 from Filpkart. Varun gave the gym's landline phone number as his contact number. On December 9 afternoon Swamy called up Varun from near the building in Vijayanagar who asked him to come to the second floor. As Varun did not have money, he first tried to snatch the smartphone, however, the victim managed to free himself and ran out of teh gym. However, Varun threw a flower pot him, rendering him unconscious. The 22-year-old youth then took out a knife he had hid in the gym and slit the throat of Swamy. Varun sent away clients that evening on some false pretext and waiting till night fall to drag Swamy's body to the basement, where he shoved it into a left shaft and escaped with the Redmi phone, an HTC one and Rs 10,000 in cash. Varun was traced after the body was found in the lift shaft. The police have booked him under IPC 302 (murder) and IPC 397 (robbery). New Delhi: A Parliamentary panel has recommended an 'All India Common Recruitment Exam' for school teachers which would be acceptable to all states to address the issues related to quality. In its 285th report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD has felt that in order to standardise the quality of teachers, an All India Common Recruitment Exam in the line of Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) would be a step in the right direction. The panel in its report has also said that this exam should be accepted by all states "leaving no scope for irregularities. The panel has also expressed concern over a large number of Teachers' vacancies and sought urgent steps in this regard. The panel has also laid emphasis on strengthening the aspects related to teacher training in the country. London: A 101-year-old man, thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history, was on Friday found guilty of historical child sex offences. Jurors found Ralph Clarke from Erdington, Birmingham, guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls in the 1970s and 80s. He admitted nine charges relating to a young boy part-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Clarke told police he was "immune to feelings", the court heard. The former Royal Air Force serviceman, of Holly Lane, who was born in March 1915, sat impassively as the unanimous verdicts were delivered, the BBC reported. Judge Richard Bond said he needed to "ponder with care" the sentence and added: "The reality is that he's so old it's unlikely he'll be released back into the community." He said the public would be "horrified" if Clarke was not sent to prison. At the start of Clarke's trial, prosecutor Miranda Moore said the defendant was arrested after two of his victims walked into a police station in August last year. Detective Con Emma Fennon from West Midlands Police's historical sexual offences team described the crimes as "horrific offences" and said Clarke showed no remorse. When questioned on the merits of taking a 101-year-old man to court, she said: "The day that not prosecuting someone who hurts a child is not in the public interest, we may as well all pack up and go home." Con Fennon added that his age was "no defence to what he has done". She said: "The nature of what he did to his victims has robbed them of their childhood." Claire Nicholls from the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said for more than 40 years "Clarke thought he'd got away with his crimes". "However, due to the courage of the victims we were able to bring this defendant to justice," she said. His victims reported the offences to West Midlands Police in August last year after seeing Facebook posts celebrating Clarke's 100th birthday. Investigations revealed a catalogue of abuse spanning many years, the report said. Clarke admitted two counts of attempting to commit a serious sexual offence, two of indecency with a child and five indecent assaults on the boy. The retired lorry driver was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Monday. United Nations: India has called for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) to prevent terrorists getting weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Chastising nations for holding it up, India`s Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal emphasised the need for adopting the CCIT, which has been hung up in the UN for two decades. Lal said, "Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to world peace since 1945." He was speaking on Thursday at the Security Council debate on the threat of WMDs falling into the hands of terrorists. "As a victim of terrorism for over three decades, India is cognizant of the catastrophic dangers that the transfer of WMDs to non-state actors and terrorists could entail," he said. "The proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery to non-state actors continues to constitute one of the biggest and most serious threats to international peace and security today." He said that meeting the new proliferation challenges requires new approaches that differentiate between "responsible States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realisation of its objectives." Earlier, the Council unanimously called on all countries to strengthen national anti-proliferation laws to ensure that non-state actors don`t get nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliason warned about WMDs becoming "increasingly available" to "vicious non-state groups with no regard for human life." He added, "We have seen this in the use of chemical weapons by Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq." About the possibility of nuclear threats, he said there were legitimate concerns about the security of large stockpiles of weapons grade nuclear material outside international regulation. "Scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons," he said. "And emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles, are adding to threats of an attack using a WMD." New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure rooting out of corruption and black money for the country. Briefing the media about PM Modi's speech at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Ananth Kumar said that Prime Minister has said that a digital economy will be more effective and transparent and will provide that the rights of poor are protected and the middle class gets freedom from the twin bane of corruption and black money. The Prime Minister also asked BJP MPs to go to their respective constituencies and spread the word on the benefits of a cash less economy and reasons that forced the government to go for a tough measure like demonetisation. Quoting PM Modi, Kumar said, Earlier the government used to commit scams and the opposition used to oppose it. Now the NDA has started a mission to eradicate black money and the Opposition is opposing it. For the NDA, the nation is bigger than the party, but for the Congress, the party is always ahead of the nation, the PM said. The winter session of Parliament which began on November 16 is set to be washed away over Opposition's protests over government's November 8 demonetisation move. Today is the last day of the session. Both sides have been claiming that it's the other side that is not allowing a debate in the Parliament. Opposition to meet President Pranab Mukherjee Opposition parties led by Congress will meet President Pranab Mukherjee at 12:30 PM today to apprise him of problems caused by demonetisation, and also on them "not being" allowed to speak in Parliament. Opposition leaders will first assemble near the Gandhi statue in Parliamen and then proceed towards Raisina Hill. The leaders have been asserting that they had every right to speak in Parliament and it was "unconstitutional" not to allow them to speak in both Houses. New Delhi: The opposition leaders have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the FCRA licenses of NGOs, alleging they were selectively targeted. In a letter to Modi, leaders from Congress, the Left and other parties sought rollback of the decision. They accused the Centre of trying to "bully the NGOs", while RSS-affiliated NGOs were given a freehand to "collect huge money to further their agenda". The Home Ministry recently barred some NGOs from receiving foreign funds following alleged adverse intelligence reports against them. Registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD), run by Hashmi, Marwar Muslim Education and Welfare Society, Gujarat-based Navsarjan Trust, Rural Development Research Centre, Ahmedabad, and three others were cancelled by the Ministry, PTI reported. "The licences had been earlier renewed showing that in the normal course these NGOs had fulfilled the criteria required for registration. "The decision to cancel their registration is therefore motivated by the politics of vendetta, victimisation and an effort to bully them to silence," PTI quoted the Opposition statement as saying. The letter was reportedly signed by Sitaram Yechury and P Karunakaran of CPI(M), D Raja (CPI), Ahmed Patel and Renuka Chaudhury (Congress), Premchand Gupta (RJD), Praful Patel and Supriya (NCP) and Neeraj Shekar (SP) among others. "Such selective targeting of NGOs is abhorrent and anti-democratic... We, therefore, demand that the cancellation of licences to NGOs be revoked," the statement said. New Delhi: Opposition parties led by Congress on Friday met President Pranab Mukherjee to apprise him of problems caused by the Centre's demonetisation move to the common man, and also informed him about "not being" allowed to speak in Parliament. Addressing a press briefing outside the Rashtrapati Bhawan, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, ''The govt failed completely in running the proceedings in the Parliament. Due to the government's attitude, the House couldn't function.'' ''Leaders from Opposition parties also gave a memorandum to President. We told President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament and on problems faced by farmers, small traders and the common man,'' Kharge added. We sincerely wanted to discuss notes ban in Parliament and even gave several notices but government wasnt interested in it, Kharge added. A delegation of Leaders and MPs of opposition parties called on #PresidentMukherjee today at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/jutOMcIYM1 President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) December 16, 2016 Farmers do not have money for seeds, small traders are facing cash crunch. We apprised the President of the woes of the common man triggered by the demonetisation move, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav said on his turn. We will continue to oppose the government's anti-people policies and initiatives in the days to come too, warned TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyaya. Besides Kharge, prominent among those who met the President were Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sharad Yadav of Janata Dal United, Rahul Gandhi, Sudip Bandyopadhyay of TMC. However, the Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led BSP and the Left parties skipped the meeting. At a meeting of Opposition held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday, representatives of various parties decided to appraise the President about the problems faced by the common man since the announcement of demonetisation. Opposition leaders had said that they will meet the President on Friday, and before that they will assemble near the Gandhi statue in Parliament. Leaders of various parties said the entire Opposition will meet the President to "complain" against the ruling party for "not allowing them" to speak in Parliament. The leaders said they were elected representatives of the country and had every right to speak in Parliament and it was "unconstitutional" not to allow them to speak in both Houses. Sources said it was also decided in the meeting to raise the plight of farmers and common people in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and demand a loan waiver for farmers. All parties decided that while Azad will raise the issue in Rajya Sabha, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge would raise the issue in Lok Sabha. Azad also gave an adjournment notice under Rule 267 for allowing a discussion on hardships faced by farmers due to notes ban. Opposition leaders have been meeting every morning to decide on a united strategy in Parliament during the Winter Session, which has been a virtual washout. Representatives of Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, SP, JD(U), CPI, CPI(M), NCP, DMK and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) were present in yesterday's meeting. New Delhi: The much talked about unity in the Congress-led Opposition camp appears to be shattering at the moment. In apparent signs of cracks within the Opposition, a host of parties, including Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, NCP, DMK and the Left parties, today pulled out of the demonetisation protest march to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, minutes before it was to begin from the Gandhi statue in the Parliament premises. Leaders of these parties were reportedly upset with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who went to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi with select Congress MPs this morning. Opposition leaders questioned why Rahul Gandhi went with only a handful of Congress MPs to meet the PM and did not take along representatives of other parties. Sources said that around 9.30 am it was decided in a meeting that all Opposition leaders will meet PM Modi but BSP chief Mayawati and leaders from Samajwadi Party expressed anger over Rahul's meeting with the PM alone with his party MPs. "Are we not concerned about the plight of farmers?" asked a leader of the BSP, which is a major player in the Uttar Pradesh elections, as is the Samajwadi Party, which rules the state and is seeking another term. NCP leader Praful Patel said, "We were together in the Parliament. It would be better if they would have taken all along. Outside house everyone has a different role." The rift in the Opposition became clear after some of the parties (Left, SP, BSP, NCP and DMK) decided to stay away from the protest march to meet the President over farmers issue and demonetisation. At the meeting, Rahul Gandhi raised with the Prime Minister the plight of farmers who he met during a tour of Uttar Pradesh while campaigning in the state, where elections will be held soon. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi led a considerably whittled down Opposition delegation to meet the President and not the 15 that have together attacked the government over its decision to ban 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and its impact on the people, disrupting the entire winter session, which ended today. New Delhi: Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Friday expressed unhappiness over total washout of Parliament's Winter Session and, at the same time, questioned the unity within the Opposition. While doubting the unity among the opposition parties, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader said, Is there any unity in the opposition? Parties move forward according to their convenience. Anguished over no work in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, the ex-PM said, I never witnessed this type of atmosphere. I am sorry this is people's money, common man is unhappy. The JD (S) leader also backed Vice President Hamid Ansari's concerns saying I agree with him 200 percent, the Parliamentarians should introspect. Gowda's comments came shortly after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die after an emotional speech by Chairman Hamid Ansari, who voiced anguish over disruptions of the house during the entire Winter Session. "I had fervently hoped that I would not have to repeat what I said at the conclusion of the 221st session in December 2013.'' "My hope stands belied. Regular and continuous disruptions characterised the session. The symbolism of dignified protest so essential for orderly conduct of parliamentary proceedings was abandoned," he said. A host of opposition leaders including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal-United met President Pranab Mukherjee and blamed the government for not allowing Parliament to work over demonetisation. Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, however, stayed away from joint Opposition delegation meeting President on demonetisation and Parliament logjam. New Delhi: With high-voltage Uttar Pradesh elections just months away, here's good news for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is facing huge Opposition protests over demonetisation. 40 BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh have told party president Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh that despite facing hardships, people are supportive of PM Narendra Modi's demonetisation decision. The Parliamentarians informed Shah and Singh that in some rural areas non-availability of sufficient cash is a matter on concern and the government urgently needs to take some steps to improve the situation, a report published in The Times of India said. However, the BJP MPs informed the two senior leaders that despite facing cash crunch people still have faith in PM Modi's promises and there is widespread support from people for the decision Some of the lawmakers told Shah and Singh cash shortage prevails in rural areas and some bank employees are converting old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes for commissions of 10-15 percent. The BJP president is learnt to have the MPs to educate the people about government's steps and digital payments. The Opposition has been vociferously attacking the Prime Minister over demonetisation. The Winter session of Parliament is on the verge of a washout as it has failed to transact any business due to the standoff between the government and Opposition over demonetisation, AgustaWestland scam and some other issues. To give a big push to cashless transactions, the government on Thursday announced daily, weekly and mega awards worth Rs 340 crore for consumers and merchants on small digital payments beginning Christmas Day. Announcing 'Lucky Grahak Yojana' and 'Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana', to be launched on December 25 as a "Christmas gift" to the nation, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said it is specially focussed on bringing the poor, lower middle class and small businesses into the digital payment fold. The schemes will cover small transactions between Rs 50 and Rs 3,000 to encourage every section of the society to move to digital payments. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday ripped into the Opposition over Parliament logjam, saying unlike earlier when opposition parties stalled the House against scams, Congress-led parties are now doing so against government's steps to curb black money and corruption. Modi's remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting came on the last day of the Winter Session, which has been a washout due to impasse over demonetisation. - The Prime Minister alleged that it has always put its interest over that of the country while for BJP the nation's interests are supreme. - He again pitched for digital economy as he appealed to the masses to adopt it as a "way of life" to rid the society of corruption and black money. - Attacking former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who has been unsparing in his criticism of demonetisation, Modi said he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did "nothing" during his rule of 10 years. - He also cited late Left stalwart Harkishan Singh Surjeet to support his government's action. - PM said, Earlier the ruling side, especially Congress, would commit scams like 2G, coal-gate, Bofors and the Opposition would then unite and fight against it on the principle of honesty. But now the ruling side, the BJP-led NDA, has started a campaign again black money and corruption and opposition parties are standing against it. - Modi also noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, recalling that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting. - PM further said "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress. - Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. - The PM said, "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country's." - On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes. Also Read: Opposition parties meet President Pranab over demonetisation woes - The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. New Delhi: Amid the war of words between the government and the Opposition over demonestisataion, a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday over issues concerning the farmers. Besides Rahul, senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Khrage, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Capt. Amrinder Singh, Raj Babbar were among those who met the PM at his office in Parliament and submitted a 'Mang Patra' (demand letter). Later addressing the media, Rahul said, We met the Prime Minister over the plight of farmers in the society. Farmers are committing suicide in the country, every day a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab...government has removed import duty on wheat, that is a devastating blow. The farmers want that there loans be waived off. Referring to the Kisan Yatra undertaken by him in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul said, The farmers had mainly three demands. Loan waiver, reduction in electricity bill by half and the right price for thier proiduce. We told the Prime Minister that farmers of the country want him to waive off farm loans, we want that the way the government (UPA) had waved off Rs 1,40000 crore worth of farm loans, the Prime Minister to do the same, Rahul said. As per reports, the Prime Minister has assured the Congress delegation that he will look into the issues be raised by them. Later in the day, the Opposition party leaders will meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the demonetisation issue. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday did not hear a petition filed by a group of lawyers opposing the elevation of Justice JS Khehar as the next Chief Justice of India after a judge in the bench recused himself from hearing it. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was part of the bench along with Justice L Nageswara Rao, preferred to opt himself out from hearing the plea filed by National Lawyers' Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms. "List before a bench of which one of us (Ranjan Gogoi, J) is not a member," the bench said. In its plea, the lawyers' body said that instead of Justice Khehar, Justice J Chelameshwar, now the fourth senior-most judge, should be elevated as he had given a dissenting view when the National Judicial Appointments Commission was struck down by a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Khehar. India and Pakistan have always had a tempestuous relation, courtesy Islamabad's 'bleed India with a thousand cuts' policy. Since Independence, India has suffered numerous terrorist attacks such as 26/11, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and 2006 Mumbai train bombings. And all these dastardly terror attacks have had one similarity - Pakistani stamp. Pakistan has a long record of carrying out cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy and over the years India has suffered numerous terrorist attacks which have been supported and sponsored by the establishment including the notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistani Army. 2016 was no different, it all started with Pathankot air base terror attack in January, which was carried out by terrorists belonging to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammmad (JeM) led by Masood Azhar. The attack killed seven security personnel and led to a downslide in Indo-Pak bilateral ties. Besides JeM, Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a subsidiary of terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba has continuously targeted India. In September this year, heavily armed militants stormed a battalion headquarters of the Army in North Kashmir's Uri town in the wee hours of September 18, killing 18 jawans and injuring 20 other personnel. Talking tough, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to the nation that that those behind the "despicable and cowardly" attack would not go unpunished. The promise was fulfilled. Just few days later, India carried out surgical strikes on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 on seven terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) with the Army inflicting "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Reports claimed around 40 terrorists were present in the seven terror launch pads and they may have been killed. However, there was no official word on it. Following the surgical strikes, the relations between the two immediate neighbours took a major hit. The situation became so tense that the people living along the border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab were asked to shift to safer places and schools ordered to be shut. Since the surgical strikes, Pakistan has resorted to relentless unprovoked shelling along the border in order to help terrorists sneak into the Indian side. Seven soldiers, including two officers and five of other ranks, were killed in Nagrota on November 28, when three terrorists dressed in police uniform stormed an Army camp of a field regiment in the town. Following the terror attack, India ruled out any talks with Pakistan, saying it took "very seriously" the killing of seven soldiers. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan cannot be taken as the new normal and asked Islamabad to stop using terrorism as an instrument of its foreign policy. He ruled out any possibility of resuming peace talks with the neighbouring country and said: "We will never accept continued cross-border terror as the new normal. Pakistan must stop terror and then we can talk." Houston: Some employees of Microsoft and Amazon.Com have joined their peers in Silicon Valley in pledging to never help US President-elect Donald Trump in his reported plan to register and create a database of all Muslim immigrants. A group of Silicon Valley technologists, engineers, designers and executives have co-signed an online pledge stating that they will refuse to participate in data collection that can be used to discriminate against Muslims in America. The "never again" pledge, which has drawn more than 1,300 signatures as of Thursday, invokes a history of genocides carried out, at times, with the cooperation of businesses in identifying victims, the Seattle Times reported. The signatories said they would "refuse to participate in the creation of databases of identifying information for the United States government to target individuals based on race, religion, or national origin." The open letter is a response to the election of Donald Trump, and particularly his campaign-season call for a mandatory registry of Muslims living in the US. In addition to dozens of people who identify themselves as employees of Microsoft or Amazon, signatories include employees of Google, Apple, IBM, Oracle, and a slate of other technology firms. Silicon Valley workers who signed the pledge promised to fight back or resign from their positions if their employers force them to conduct surveillance on minority communities or invade their constitutional rights to privacy. They also vow to ask their companies to minimise data collection and retention that could potentially be used to target minority communities. "We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration's proposed data collection policies," the pledge states. The pledge was released on Tuesday, one day before technology industry executive meeting of the high-ranking Silicon Valley executives like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Larry Page. The leadership of most of those companies has been silent on the petition and the issues around it. Facebook, which gathers a trove of personal information about its users in the service of selling targeted advertising, on Wednesday said in a statement that no one had asked the company to build a Muslim registry, "and of course we would not do so." In a statement, Microsoft yesterday said the company has "been clear about our values. We oppose discrimination and we wouldn?t do any work to build of a registry of Muslim Americans." During his campaign, President-elect Trump proposed building a database of Muslims in the US. He later emphasised plans to look into deporting millions of illegal immigrants. Dhaka: Bangladesh on Friday celebrated the 44th anniversary of its victory against Pakistan in the liberation war with India's support. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post while thousands followed them as the nation also bowed in gratitude to the 1971 martyrs and heroes.Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post while thousands followed them as the nation also bowed in gratitude to the 1971 martyrs and heroes. Hamid later joined as the chief guest a parade of armed forces and other state-owned organisations at a ceremony, also attended by the premier at the National Parade Square in the capital. Streets and buildings at the capital and other major cities were illuminated overnight of buildings in Dhaka and other major cities marked the anniversary. The premier last night hosted a reception in honour of 29 Indian and Russian war veterans, who fought for Bangladesh?s 1971 independence from Pakistan. Retired lieutenant general G S Sihota led the Indian delegation at the function while Kozhurin Victor led the Russian veterans, who took part in sweeping mines at Chittagong Port after the country's independence. "Bangladesh will always remember your contributions," Hasina told the reception. The war in 1971 broke after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Officially three million people were killed during the nine-month long war. London: British Prime Minister Theresa May wants an early deal on Britons living in the European Union countries, the media reported on Friday. She said as much while updating her fellow leaders while attending the European Council summit meeting in Brussels on Thursday, BBC reported. May left the meeting without answering any questions on Britain`s break with the EU. However, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny revealed what May told them. Kenny said: "She would like to have the question of British citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that takes place." Kenny said Ireland would not sign a bilateral deal with Britain unless it agreed on its future relationship with the EU first. There was concern in other countries about the status of their nationals in Britain after Brexit. Meanwhile, EU leaders said negotiations over Britain`s exit would be approached in "a spirit of trust and unity". After May`s departure, the 27 other EU leaders met informally for 20 minutes to discuss their approach to Brexit negotiations. They agreed that European Commission official Michel Barnier would lead talks for the EU -- although MEPs want a greater say. European Council President Donald Tusk said: "Short, informal meeting had reconfirmed our principles, meaning the indivisibility of the four freedoms, the balance of rights and obligations and the rule `no negotiations without notification`." European Parliament President Martin Schulz warned the negotiations could be vetoed if MEPs are not fully involved. Downing Street had played down suggestions that a Brexit trade deal could take 10 years to complete, after Britain`s ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, suggested that others in the Europe believed this could be the case. District of Columbia: A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a US defense official told Reuters on Friday. The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, occurred on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," the official said. "It`s a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property." The "naval glider" was used to test water salinity and temperatures to help in the mapping of underwater channels, news agency AFP quoted an official as saying. Also Read: Donald Trump criticises China over currency manipulation, military expansionism in South China Sea While the probe was a US Navy vessel, it was operated by civilians, the official said. The Chinese seizure will add to concerns about China`s growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts. A US think tank reported this week that new satellite imagery indicated that China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea. The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the underwater drone. Also Read: 'Liaoning' - China's 1st aircraft carrier conducts maiden live-fire drills amid rising tensions with US The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it, the official added. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China sea, which is laced with the world`s most heavily traveled international trade routes. While the United States takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly stressed that all maritime claims must comply with international law. The US military has conducted several "freedom of navigation" operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims. Such missions have drawn howls of fury from China, which accuses Washington of provocation and increasing the risk of a military mishap. Adding to the tension, Beijing is facing a new US president in Donald Trump, who has questioned longstanding US policy on Taiwan, called Beijing a currency manipulator and threatened Chinese imports with punitive tariffs. (With Agency inputs) North Koreas fifth and most powerful nuclear test, packing a force of 10 kilotonnes, in September this year sent ripples across the world capitals. The blast was equivalent to 10,000 tonnes of TNT - so powerful that it caused a 5.3-magnitude earthquake in the region. It was Pyongyangs second test after the January 6 explosion. The US Geological Survey had initially thought it was a seismic activity but later said it was a huge explosion at Punggye-ri underground test site, where four other tests were earlier conducted. The US bombs that wiped out one million people in Japans Nagasaki and Hiroshima cities during the World War II had packed a force of 21 and 15 kilotonnes respectively. Pyongyang hoped the tests would enable it to create nuclear warheads with higher strike power. And as Kim Jong Un chuckled over the growing prowess of his military, the neighbouring South Korea and Japan never looked so venerable before. The blast of such a high intensity was bound to draw attention, particularly when it originated in North Korea, a pariah state whom the West religiously keeps a close watch. And the world reacted At a hurriedly called emergency session, the UN Security Council warned North Korea of appropriate action and said Pyongyang posed a clear danger to the international community. It noted the test was a grave provocation and a violation of its past resolutions that prohibit North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles. American President Barack Obama threatened Pyongyang with fresh sanctions and stressed, "To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state." South Korean President Park Geun-hye hoped, Such a provocation will eventually hasten its path to self-destruction." Park described the test as "fanatically reckless" while Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was "absolutely unacceptable". Seoul now plans to deploy a missile shield with the help of its American friends. And its currently negotiating with the US for the deployment of the American THAAD anti-missile system. Reiterating the American position to Park again following the test, Obama said the US has "unshakeable commitment to defend its allies -- South Korea and Japan. Sanctions never worked The repeated UN sanctions have had little effect on the North Korean regime or its leader Kim Jong Un. The UN had imposed a round of sanctions after the January blast but that didnt stop the North Koreans from testing a range of ballistic missiles, including some launched from underwater. Some of the sanctions included ban on exporting its natural resources, supply of aviation fuel and the sale of arms. The Bomb North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. The explosion was less than one kilotonne. But it repeated that feat in 2009 and 2013 with more powerful two-kilotonne and 6-7 kilotonnes respectively. Although North Korea continued to improve its nuclear and missile capabilities, it is not yet known how close Pyongyang is to mounting a nuclear warhead. The North Korean regime opposed any plans to install THAAD on the Korean Peninsula, and sees the annual US joint military exercises with the South a major provocation and threat to its security. Geneva: The United Nations is getting daily reports of rapes and killings of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and independent monitors are being barred from investigating, the UN human rights office said on Friday. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra`ad al Hussein said in a statement that the government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, had taken a "short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous" approach to the crisis, risking grave long-term repercussions for the region. At least 86 people have been killed, according to state media, and the United Nations has estimated 27,000 members of the largely stateless Muslim Rohingya minority have fled across the border from Myanmar`s Rakhine state into Bangladesh. "The repeated dismissal of the claims of serious human rights violations as fabrications, coupled with the failure to allow our independent monitors access to the worst affected areas in northern Rakhine, is highly insulting to the victims and an abdication of the Governments obligations under international human rights law," Zeid said in the statement. If the authorities have nothing to hide, then why is there such reluctance to grant us access? Given the continued failure to grant us access, we can only fear the worst. UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the UN human rights office had submitted a formal request for access to the area, which had not yet been granted. Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, said his colleagues in Bangladesh had spoken to more than 1,000 newly-arrived refugees in the past few weeks who gave accounts of houses being burned, targeting of civilians and traumatised women and children who had witnessed the killing of family members. UNHCR could not verify the accounts first-hand but it was extremely concerned and it urged the Myanmar authorities to investigate and the government of Bangladesh to give the refugees a safe haven, he said. Zeid said in June this year that crimes against humanity may have been committed and if the government did not handle the situation very carefully and address the grievances of the Rohingya minority, violence could ensue, Shamdasani said. "Unfortunately this is exactly what has happened in the past couple of months," she added. "We are worried that this is going to get further out of hand. This is perfect breeding ground for violent extremists." District of Columbia: The United States on Friday more than doubled the bounty on the head of the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to $25 million. The announcement by the State Department "Rewards for Justice Program" came as US-backed local forces close in on the jihadist movement`s main urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the cities of Mosul and Raqa. The cash will be paid to anyone who can offer "information leading to the location, arrest or conviction" of the elusive militant, known to his followers as "Caliph Ibrahim". "Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the State Department said. "The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate." Baghdadi has kept a low profile, despite having declared himself the leader of a renewed Muslim caliphate, but last month released a defiant audio message urging his supporters to defend Mosul. It is not clear if he is in the besieged city, where he declared his caliphate in 2014 after the IS group seized territory covering much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq. The video, which showed a man with a black and grey beard wearing a black robe and matching turban, is the only one IS has released of Baghdadi to date. He has been reported wounded in US-led coalition air strikes multiple times, but the claims have never been verified, and his apparent survival has added to his mystique. According to an official Iraqi government document, Baghdadi was born in Samarra in 1971 and has four children with his first wife -- two boys and two girls born between 2000 and 2008. An Iraqi intelligence report records that Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic studies and was a professor at Tikrit University. Baghdadi apparently joined the insurgency that erupted after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and spent time in an American military prison. Caracas: Venezuela extended the closure of its borders with Colombia and Brazil for another 72 hours as part of a drive to fight what it calls criminals hoarding 100-bolivar banknotes. The closure in place since Monday will now last until Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro said. The government is withdrawing the 100-bolivar note on the grounds that "mafias" are hoarding it abroad in what Maduro calls a US-backed plot to destabilize Venezuela. Drones launched from an autonomous vehicle could help guide it by mapping surrounding areas beyond what the car's sensors can detect, according to Ford company officials Ford Motor Co. is studying a system to use drones to help guide self-driving vehicles, including on off-road adventures, company officials said. Drones launched from an autonomous vehicle would help guide it by mapping the surrounding area beyond what the car's sensors can detect. Vehicle passengers can control the drone using the car?s infotainment or navigation system. "At some point, people are going to want to take their autonomous vehicle into the woods or off road where the drone could guide them," said Alan Hall, spokesman for Ford's in house technology department. Hall told AFP the drones also could prove useful in areas beyond the digital maps of urban and suburban areas and inter-city highways. The idea for using drones came out of a "brainstorming" session of researchers and engineers working on Ford's autonomous vehicle, Hall said. Tony Lockwood, Ford manager, virtual driver system, autonomous vehicle development, said, ?Ultimately, customers benefit as we open ourselves to new ideas and advance mobility using emerging technologies." Lockwood was granted a patent for the idea along with fellow Ford employee Joe Stanek. - Digital mapping key - Pieter Gillegot-Vergauwen, vice president of product management at the Map Production Unit of TomTom, the Amsterdam-based mapping company heavily involved in the development of self-driving cars, said digital mapping is one of keys to building autonomous vehicles. "We've actually looked at using drones for guidance," he said during a visit to Detroit for a seminar sponsored by Microsoft. Earlier this year, Ford, along with China-based maker of sophisticated drones DJI, held a competition for programmers to see if they could teach a drone to fly from and return to a moving vehicle. The idea was to see if a drone could use its cameras to guide a vehicle into and out of a disaster area where communications and roads have been destroyed or disrupted, Hall said. The plan was to create drone-to-vehicle communications using Ford Sync, the automaker's car-based wireless connection, or other similar systems as a means to inspect areas in an emergency. Story continues Only one of the 10 participants actually succeeded, with a drone launched from a moving Ford F-150 pick-up truck which returned after completing the assigned task. Similar technology uses cameras or infra-red systems to help vehicles see around blind corners or terrain where the mapping is incomplete, Hall noted. "It was a really cool challenge." Hall said Ford has joined forces with a team of researchers in the Silicon Valley Research Center in Palo Alto, California, working with the idea of find way drones could help autonomous vehicles solve future navigation problems. Viacom Executive Chairman Sumner Redstone (L) and honoree Jerry Bruckheimer at the 27th American Cinematheque Awards on December 12, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California Sumner Redstone, the 93-year-old media tycoon whose health has been questioned, is stepping down from the board of his conglomerate Viacom, the company announced Friday. Redstone will remain chairman emeritus and "will continue to participate in meetings of the board in a non-voting role," a regulatory filing said. The statement indicated Redstone would no longer play a role on the board after the February 6 annual meeting. It marks a further step back for Redstone, whose failing health has been the object of litigation as his daughter Shari assumes increasing control of his corporate empire. The Redstone family, through its National Amusements holding company, controls Viacom, which includes an array of television operations and the Paramount studios in Hollywood, as well as television giant CBS. Earlier this month, the family scrapped a plan to re-merge those two firms a decade after their breakup. Viacom has been in turmoil for months, having ousted chief executive Philippe Dauman, who clashed over control of the company with the Redstone family. Dauman had filed legal actions claiming the aging Redstone was unable to manage his affairs and had been manipulated by his daughter Shari. Dauman eventually dropped his lawsuit as part of an agreement to leave the company, which controls Paramount, a global television empire that includes MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other properties, with operations in 180 countries. Longtime company executive Robert Bakish was named interim CEO earlier this year, and confirmed in that role this month. Yahoo announced in September 2016 that hackers in 2014 stole personal data from more than 500 million of its user accounts The massive hack affecting a billion Yahoo users shows how seemingly innocuous bits of data gleaned from cyber attacks can be exploited for profit -- and potentially for espionage and information warfare. The latest breach disclosed Wednesday is the largest on record and comes just months after Yahoo disclosed a separate breach of data from 500 million users. On the surface, the trove of data is "a bunch of junk," says John Dickson at the security consultancy Denim Group. But he said that the ability to create a searchable database with these tidbits of data such as birth dates and phone numbers makes it enormously valuable to hackers seeking to make a profit, or for industrial or state espionage. "If you're trying to research and get information about a target, you're going to use everything you can find," said Dickson, a former officer in the Air Force Information Warfare Center. The Yahoo hack did not collect credit card or social security numbers, leading some analysts to speculate that the goals were not financial. "For someone using data as a weapon, this is of tremendous value," said Steve Grobman, chief technical officer at Intel Security. The disclosure of the breach comes amid intense scrutiny over cybersecurity in the US election campaign and the potential impact of hacked email accounts from people close to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. One of the hacks was a Gmail account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta -- who, according to media reports, was fooled by a fake email that prompted him to reveal his password. Security analysts say these kinds of attacks are often preceded by lengthy data-gathering campaigns that might look for personal information such as a birth date or former school or university. Yahoo said it was not clear who was behind the billion-user hack but that some evidence pointed to "the same state-sponsored actor" believed responsible for the previously disclosed cyber attack. Story continues The security firm InfoArmor said in September its analysis of the first breach indicated "professional" hackers stole the Yahoo data, and only later sold it to a state entity. InfoArmor said at the time that the breach "opens the door to significant opportunities for cyber espionage and targeted attacks to occur." - Weaponizing data - James Scott, a senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology, a cybersecurity think tank, argues that these hacks can fuel disinformation campaigns, which are a new tool used by governments. "Espionage and geopolitical manipulation can now be easily achieved through cyber and information warfare from any adversary," Scott said in a recent blog post. "Now, at least China, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela have funded political propaganda campaigns that digitally weaponized information by spreading disinformation and polarizing content throughout Western nations." Scott noted that the breaches affecting Clinton and the Democratic National Committee were "dangerous because they provide a context-less release of information to the public that breeds distrust and resentment." Grobman said an additional concern is that attackers may mix real data with manipulated information to distort facts, creating further confusion and mistrust. "One of the things we are concerned about is that the public is conditioned to see leaked data as legitimate, and this data can be manipulated," Grobman said. - Hacking for profit? - Some analysts argue that the hackers' goals may be more financial than political. Security researcher Graham Cluley said certain bits of information such as phone numbers could be of value to criminals. "If a hacker or scammer has your telephone number, they can ring you up and trick you into believing they are an organization you already have a relationship with, which means that you might be tempted to hand over more personal information," Cluley said in a YouTube posting. James Lewis, a senior fellow specializing in cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said new analytics tools can sift through databases for political espionage purposes, but that it is not clear if Russia has those capabilities. "If you're a criminal, you would think you could monetize a billion accounts," Lewis said. "Even if you got a penny or a dime for each, you would still be making a lot of money." The attacks also pose a new threat to the future of Yahoo, the former internet star which has seen its fortunes decline and is in the process of selling its main assets to telecom group Verizon. Dickson that it's likely that "Verizon is doing a double take" on the $4.8 billion deal. "If this kills that deal, I think it will increase the focus on cybersecurity hygiene across the board," he said. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.The prison doors may be about to swing shut on the principals of the now-defunct Prenda Law firm, as attorneys John L. Steele and Paul Hansmeier have now been arrested by federal marshals after having been charged by a federal grand jury with 18 counts of fraud, perjury, money laundering and extortion stemming in part from the pair's filing of allegedly hundreds of bogus porn copyright claims targeting ordinary citizens who may or may not have downloaded material created at the direction of the defendants and planted on pirate websites to attract just such legal breaches. According to the Star Tribune's Stephen Montemayor, in 2013, "U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright in Los Angeles found that Prenda Law began its 'copyright-enforcement crusade' in about 2010. It set up shell companies that bought copyrights to pornographic movies and made them available on online file-sharing websites like BitTorrent. Prenda Law, or a local attorney it hired, would then file federal lawsuits against the 'John Doe' internet addresses captured during the downloads of the films and sought to subpoena the internet Service Providers for the identity of the users. They sent cease-and-desist letters to subscribers and offered to 'settle' the lawsuits if the subscribers would pay them settlements that averaged roughly $4,000. Wright said the lawsuits were filed using 'boilerplate complaints based on a modicum of evidence, calculated to maximize settlement profits by minimizing costs and effort.'" Wright then placed sanctions on Hansmeier, Steele and their late partner Paul Duffy in the amount of $81,319.72 for "brazen misconduct and relentless fraud," "vexatious litigation," "[stealing] the identity of Alan Cooper" (a former groundskeeper for Steele whose name was fraudulently used as an officer of one of the Prenda shell companies) and "representations about their operations, relationships, and financial interests [that] varied from feigned ignorance to misstatements to outright lies." He also fined the trio and their companies an additional $1,000 per day until the sanctions were fully paid. The Prenda attorneys (who later changed the name of their firm to the Anti-Piracy Law Group) filed an "emergency appeal" of Judge Wright's sanctions with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected the motion on July 10, 2013. After their loss, Hansmeier and Steele reportedly abandoned their attempts to sue porn downloaders and, according to Montgomery, Hansmeier inaugurated "a new business strategy of suing mostly small businesses for allegedly failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility rules. He filed more than 100 such lawsuits in Minnesota, reaping minor settlements from defendants who said it would cost too much to fight him in court. The practice led the Legislature last year to modify the laws authorizing whats come to be known as 'drive-by' disability lawsuits." Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced charges against Hansmeier and Steele Friday morning, shortly after they were arrested. It is not currently known when a trial date will be set. SEATTLE, WA Streamate is hosting a private Model Appreciation Cocktail Party in Las Vegas on January 19 at the Cabaret Show Lounge. As a thank you for the support and loyalty of its international model base, Streamate is throwing a private, models-only party in their honor. The party will kick off at 10pm with an upscale cocktail party with hosted bar. The event will also feature prizes, gift bags, raffles, and one attending model will win a Sybian Package valued at over $1500 provided by Sybian.com. Streamate has had an amazing 2016 with increased expansion in the European market, multiple industry award nominations and is the first live adult streaming site to partner with T-Mobile's widely popular Binge On program. We are so excited about this party! It's a perfect chance for us to meet our models in person, and for models to 'talk shop' and have some fun. Well be bringing some great gifts and have some surprises as well. This is a perfect way to show our appreciation for the models who represent our site every day, said Liz, Streamate Marketing Director. December 31, 2016 . This is an 18 and over event. ID is required. This is a private event for models and invited industry members only. Models wishing to get on the private complimentary guest list, and receive promotional mentions for attending must email no later than. This is an 18 and over event. ID is required. Wells Fargo didn't merely open 2,000,000 fraudulent accounts and bill its customers for them; it also tricked its customers into signing up for insurance policies, at mass-scale. The scandals keep coming: US regulators have rejected Wells Fargo's "living will" a plan for unwinding the bank's affairs if it fails for the third time, meaning that the bank will now face tough sanctions, including a ban on establishing international subsidiaries and on acquiring nonbanking companies. The City of San Francisco, the birthplace of Wells Fargo, has now blacklisted the bank from doing its business something the state of California had already done. But lucky for Wells Fargo, Donald Trump personally owes them $100,000,000, and a further $410,000,000 through various business fronts. Trump will have the personal power to determine whether and how any further federal investigations are conducted, and sanctions are applied. Trump's election has been seen as a boon to Wells Fargo, pushing its troubles off the front page. The continued Republican leadership of the Senate could prevent additional hearings into Wells Fargo's practices, and the company's main federal antagonist, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is in line to be neutered in a Trump administration; Republicans are planning to put CFPB's budget under Congressional appropriations control, which could limit their resources. In addition, incoming Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has sat on the Wells Fargo board since 2011, earning $1.2 million. She plans to step down after her Senate confirmation to the Trump cabinet. Trump's personal involvement with Wells Fargo adds a clear conflict of interest. In the case of the living wills, Trump will have the opportunity to add at least two board members to the Federal Reserve, one of the two agencies governing the process. Wells Fargo Is on a Losing Streak, But Still Has Some Trump Cards [David Dayen/The Intercept] By Giuseppe Fonte and Paola Arosio ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's government is ready to pump 15 billion euros (12.5 billion) into Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) and other ailing banks, sources said, as the country's third-largest lender pushes ahead with a private rescue plan that is widely expected to fail. The world's oldest bank has until Dec. 31 to raise 5 billion euros in equity or face being wound down by the European Central Bank, potentially triggering a wider banking and political crisis in Italy. If needed, the government will pump 15 billion euros into the Siena-based lender and several other smaller banks to prevent that, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday. One source said unlisted regional banks Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, which were rescued this year by a state-backed fund, would also get support from the state. The government would make the 15 billion euros available in a decree on Dec. 22, La Repubblica newspaper said on Thursday, adding that Banca Carige (CRGI.MI) could also benefit. Italy's banking sector is saddled with 356 billion euros of bad loans, around a third of the euro zone's total and a legacy of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis when, unlike Spain or Ireland, Italy did not act to help its banks. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, advised by investment banks JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), plans to raise equity to remove 28 billion euros in bad loans from its books. Italy's opposition 5-Star Movement has called for JPMorgan's fees to be voided if taxpayers have to come to the rescue. "We would have never done a deal like that with JPMorgan. In any case we would not pay the commissions (if the bank had to be nationalised," Alessio Villarosa, a 5-Star lawmaker, said. FEE NEGOTIATION The JPMorgan-led plan calls for Monte dei Paschi to raise 5 billion euros in equity through a share sale and an offer for holders of its subordinated bonds to convert them into shares. Story continues Monte dei Paschi is in the process of renegotiating fees with JPMorgan and the other banks that will try to sell the bank's stock after they walked out of a deal to underwrite the share issue, sources have said. Back in October, its CEO Marco Morelli had said that commissions for the cash call would only be paid in case of success. Monte dei Paschi said on Thursday that 65 percent of the share sale would be reserved for institutional investors. It would also extend its debt-swap offer to include investors who hold 1 billion euros in hybrid securities known as "Fresh 2008". It also wants retail investors to convert their subordinated bondholdings, totalling 2.1 billion euros, into shares. Italian market watchdog Consob approved the offer late on Thursday, a source close to the matter said, paving the way for it to start as early as on Friday. In a sign of doubts still surrounding the plan, Monte dei Paschi said it had set a range of one to 24.9 euros per share for the new equity. Even at 1 euro, the bank would be demanding a higher valuation than nearly all its domestic rivals. Another source close to the matter also said Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which bankers have said could invest 1 billion euros in the bank, had yet to make up its mind. If Rome bails out the lender, European Union rules require that private investors share in its losses -- a politically dangerous condition for Italy's main ruling Democratic Party given early elections are looming next year. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Italians have invested in shares and bonds of local banks. A bailout of four small banks last year hit thousands of small savers. Italy is in talks with the European Commission over ways to shield retail bondholders who would see their notes converted into shares in the event of a state bailout, sources have said. As in the case of the four rescued banks, the Commission would allow the government to spare small bondholders only if they can prove they were victims of mis-selling and did not understand the risk in their investment, one source said. (Additional reporting by Stefano Bernabei and Gavin Jones in Rome, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Alexander Smith, Adrian Croft and Alan Crosby) BlackBerry Ltd. BBRY recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Chinese handset manufacturer, TLC Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. (TCL), to make Blackberry handsets. Notably, TCL is the fourth-largest manufacturer of phones in North America. Earlier, Blackberry has announced that it would stop hardware manufacture, outsource production and focus on software. The company also launched the Android-based DETK60 handset this November, which was manufactured by TCL. BlackBerrys deal extension with the market leading company phone manufacturer displays its dedication to ensure availability of its branded devices in most countries across the world. Notably, this is the first licensing agreement that the company has entered into since its declaration of shifting to software business. The deal allows TCL to produce and sell Blackberry phones in all countries except India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Indonesia. These countries form some of the key markets for BlackBerry. The company also manufactures Alcatel-branded handsets. TCL will be responsible for design, manufacture, sales and customer support. BlackBerry will license its security software and service suite as well as related branded assets to TCL. Notably, Blackberry has also entered into an agreement with Indonesia's BB Merah Putih company for manufacture and sale of its handsets in the country. Changing Focus at Blackberry Blackberry has been undergoing a transformation from a leading mobile handset brand to dominant software and licensing firm. The company's change in focus has primarily been influenced by increasing competition from popular operating platforms of peers such as Apple Inc. AAPL iOS, Microsoft Corporation MSFT Windows and Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL Android. The shift in the company's focus is expected to generate better returns in the future. BlackBerrys stock has outperformed the broader Telecommunications Services industry over the past six months. The company has inched up 10.42% compared with the industry which has declined 0.42% over the period. Story continues Zacks Rank BlackBerry carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report BLACKBERRY LTD (BBRY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Cramer's comments come after Trump threatened Toyota Motor with a large border tax if it builds a new plant in the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump 's pledge to keep auto industry jobs in the United States may have some unintended consequences. Trump has said he intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement in a bid to keep factories and jobs from moving across the border. But data from the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research suggests a 35 percent tariff on imported vehicles would lead to the loss of 6,700 auto industry jobs in the United States due to higher costs. The tariff would also reduce the number of total vehicles sold annually in the United States by 450,000. "It would be a pretty huge impact on the auto industry, and also very geographically focused on certain parts of our auto industry," said Kristin Dzizcek, a Director with the Center for Automotive Research, which is funded by auto manufacturers. Mexico's auto industry is in the midst of a decade-long boom in production. By the end of 2017, Mexico will build 4.17 Million vehicles, making it the seventh largest country for auto manufacturing in the world. While vehicles built south of the border are increasingly shipped to countries worldwide, the biggest market for Mexico-made autos is the United States, including 1.8 million in 2015. "It would be a pretty huge impact on the auto industry, and also very geographically focused on certain parts of our auto industry," said Kristin Dziczek, a director with the Center for Automotive Research, which is funded by auto manufacturers. Mexico's auto industry is in the midst of a decade-long boom in production. By the end of 2017, Mexico will build 4.17 million vehicles, making it the seventh largest country for auto manufacturing in the world. While vehicles built south of the border are increasingly shipped to countries worldwide, the biggest market for Mexican-made autos is the United States, including 1.8 million in 2015. If President-elect Trump starts taxing cars and trucks coming from Mexico, the impact will ripple beyond companies General Motors (GM), Ford (F), Toyota (7203.T-JP) and virtually every major automaker. Auto parts companies, materials suppliers, and other firms that contribute to the content in vehicles made in Mexico could also take a hit. Story continues "Focusing purely on where the final assembly plant is, I think, displays a lack of knowledge on how the automobile industry actually works," said Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of General Motors. Instead of giving incentives to automakers to keep operations and jobs in the U.S., the unwinding of NAFTA would likely lead to automakers shift production from Mexico to other low-cost countries, including China, India and other parts of Asia. "If we close off Mexico it becomes a game of Whac-a-Mole," Dziczek said. "Where else do you close off next? Because they are going to move from other places." Periodic Fever Syndromes are rare diseases mostly affecting children[1] and cause recurrent and disabling fevers with potentially life-threatening complications[2] Ilaris (canakinumab) is recommended for approval in Europe for the treatment of three Periodic Fever Syndromes: TRAPS, HIDS/MKD and FMF disease If approved, Ilaris will be the first and only biologic treatment in Europe for these rare diseases, providing rapid and sustained disease control for patients[3] Basel, December 16, 2016 - Novartis announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of Ilaris (canakinumab) in Europe to treat three rare and distinct Periodic Fever Syndromes. If approved, Ilaris will be the first and only approved biologic treatment in Europe for Tumor Necrosis Factor-Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS), Hyperimmunoglobulin D Syndrome (HIDS)/Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency (MKD) and Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF). "Few treatments exist for people with these potentially life-threatening conditions. Today's positive recommendation is a great stride forward for patients who urgently need new treatment options," said Paul Hudson, CEO, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "Novartis is committed to paving the way forward for rare diseases especially through treatments like Ilaris which has the potential to raise the standard of care." The CHMP positive opinion, which also recommends the use of a new formulation which is a 150 mg/ml solution for injection, is based on results from the pivotal Phase III CLUSTER study. Results showed rapid (at Day 15) and sustained disease control with Ilaris compared to placebo through 16 weeks, in patients with either TRAPS, HIDS/MKD or FMF[3]. Data show Ilaris to be a well-tolerated and effective treatment for these three rare conditions. All three conditions are part of a group of rare autoinflammatory diseases called Periodic Fever Syndromes, which are also referred to as Hereditary Periodic Fevers (HPF). These can cause disabling and persistent fevers which may be accompanied by joint pain, swelling, muscle pain and skin rashes with complications that can be life-threatening[2]. The most common syndrome is FMF, which mainly affects people of Eastern Mediterranean ancestry. It affects 1 in 250 to 1 in 1,000 individuals in these populations, many of whom are children[1]. In August 2016, the European Commission approved Ilaris for a license extension to treat patients with Adult-Onset Still's Disease (AOSD), a rare type of inflammatory arthritis. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously granted three simultaneous approvals of Ilaris for the treatment of TRAPS, HIDS/MKD and FMF in September 2016. About Periodic Fever Syndromes Periodic Fever Syndromes are a group of diseases that cause serious recurrent fever and pathogenic inflammation through non-infectious activation of the immune system. Most patients present with symptoms in infancy or childhood, but in some patients the condition only becomes apparent or diagnosed in adulthood[1]. Previous treatments for these rare conditions consisted of oral anti-inflammatory drugs, such as corticosteroids, which were used only to help manage the symptoms. While other medicines, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, have also been used to help reduce symptoms, they do not prevent or change the overall course of a flare[2]. About Ilaris Ilaris is a selective, high-affinity, human monoclonal antibody that inhibits Interleukin-1 (IL-1) beta, which is an important part of the body's immune system defences[4]. Excessive production of IL-1 beta plays a prominent role in certain inflammatory diseases[5],[6]. Ilaris works by blocking the action of IL-1 beta for a sustained period of time, therefore inhibiting inflammation that is caused by its over-production[4]. Novartis has reformulated Ilaris from a powder that needed to be reconstituted into a solution prior to use to a solution for injection (ready to use) which will ease administration of the product. Ilaris is currently approved and marketed for the treatment of Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA) in the US and EU and for the treatment of AOSD and the symptomatic treatment of refractory acute gouty arthritis in the EU. Ilaris is also approved in more than 70 countries, including in the EU, Switzerland, US, Canada, and Japan for the treatment of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes (CAPS): rare, lifelong, genetic disorders with debilitating symptoms. In the EU, Ilaris is approved for following subtypes of CAPS: Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS), neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID)/chronic infantile neurological, cutaneous, articular syndrome (CINCA), severe forms of familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS)/familial cold urticaria (FCU) presenting with signs and symptoms beyond cold-induced urticarial skin rash. The approved indications may vary depending upon the individual country. Disclaimer The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "positive CHMP recommendation," "recommended for approval," "will," "recommended approval," "positive recommendation," "stride forward," "committed," "potential," "positive opinion," "recommends," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new indications or labeling for Ilaris, or regarding potential future revenues from Ilaris. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that Ilaris will be submitted or approved for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that Ilaris will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding Ilaris could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including unexpected clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; general economic and industry conditions; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing pressures; unexpected safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2015, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.4 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 8.9 billion (USD 8.7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are available in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com. Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com References [1] National Amyloidosis Centre. Amyloidosis Patient Information Site: The inherited periodic fever syndromes - general information. Available at: www.amyloidosis.org.uk/fever-syndromes/inherited-fever-syndromes/. Accessed December 2016. [2] Cleveland Clinic. Periodic Fever Syndrome. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/orthopaedics-rheumatology/diseases-conditions/periodic-fever-syndrome. Accessed December 2016. [3] Novartis Data on File. [4] Dhimolea E. Canakinumab, MAbs. 2010 Jan-Feb;2(1):3-13. [5] Jesus AA, Goldbach-Mansky R. IL-1 blockade in autoinflammatory syndromes. Annu Rev Med. 2014;65:223-244. [6] Toker O, Hashkes PJ. Critical appraisal of canakinumab in the treatment of adults and children with cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). Biologics. 2010;4:131-138. # # # Novartis Media Relations Central media line: +41 61 324 2200 E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com Eric Althoff Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 7999 (direct) +41 79 593 4202 (mobile) eric.althoff@novartis.com Bhavin Vaid Novartis Global Pharma Communications +41 61 324 8175 (direct) +41 79 792 7510 (mobile) bhavin.vaid@novartis.com Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com English French PRESS RELEASE December 16, 2016 ARBITRATION RULING from the ICSID delivered in Edenred's favor in Hungary On December 13, 2016, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) delivered its decision in Edenred's arbitration claim against the Hungarian State in the Group's favor. Due to a change in the regulatory and tax framework in Hungary related to the issuance conditions of Meal & Food Vouchers, in August 2013, Edenred filed a claim for arbitration against the Hungarian State before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The decision delivered at the outcome of the proceedings is favorable to Edenred, and the Hungarian State is ordered to pay Edenred an award of approximately 23 million[1], excluding interest. This decision represents an important step in the process of solving this dispute. The next step consists of making sure that the ICSID's decision is implemented. ___ Edenred, which invented the Ticket Restaurant meal voucher and is the world leader in prepaid corporate services, designs and manages solutions that improve the efficiency of organizations and purchasing power to individuals. By ensuring that allocated funds are used specifically as intended, these solutions enable companies to more effectively manage their: Employee benefits (Ticket Restaurant , Ticket Alimentacion, Ticket CESU, Childcare Vouchers, etc.) Expense management (Ticket Car, Ticket Clean Way, Repom, etc.) Incentive and rewards programs (Ticket Compliments, Ticket Kadeos, etc.) The Group also supports public institutions in managing their social programs. Listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, Edenred operates in 42 countries, with 6,300 employees, 660,000 companies and public sector clients, 1.4 million affiliated merchants and 41 million beneficiaries. In 2015, total issue volume amounted to 18.3 billion. Ticket Restaurant and all other tradenames of Edenred products and services are registered trademarks of Edenred SA. Follow Edenred on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Edenred ___ CONTACTS Media Relations Anne-Sophie Sibout +33 (0)1 74 31 86 11 anne-sophie.sibout@edenred.com Investor and Shareholder Relations Louis Igonet +33 (0)1 74 31 87 16 louis.igonet@edenred.com Aurelie Bozza +33 (0)1 74 31 84 16 aurelie.bozza@edenred.com [1] Amount based on the HUF/EUR exchange rate of 312.392, for a total amount of Ft7.3 billion. Attachments: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2556f0f6-257f-4adf-85b3-4c0e7142bff1 As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council on improving the property rights protection (PRP) system and lawfully protecting property rights (, see the Chinese full text China on Nov. 27 released a guideline on better protection of property rights --, see the Chinese full text here , and a general official report here ) -- in an effort to shore up social confidence and promote social justice. Known as the first state-level guideline of property rights protection (PRP), this centrally authorized top-level design has attracted global attention. *** Background *** starting to correct the mistakes of PRP -- merely information lag. In fact, China has been making great efforts to promote the reform of PRP for decades: from establishing the family-contract responsibility system in rural areas during the early stage of This InternKat, as a Chinese blogger, disagrees with some critiques mingled in overseas news saying China is finallyto correct the mistakes of PRP -- merely information lag. In fact, China has been making great efforts to promote the reform of PRP for decades: from establishing the family-contract responsibility system in rural areas during the early stage of the Economic Reform (1978), till the shareholding-system reform in state-owned enterprises in the 90s; then protection of private property was written into the Constitution in 2004, later the Property Law of PRC became effective in 2007 -- by which China had preliminarily built up the PRP legal system. The 18th CPC National Congress (2012) led to the serial connotation-enriching of PRP, and most recently, setting up modern PRP system became a specific chapter in the 13th Five-year Plan (2016). Yet, as the Opinion has pointed out, problems still exist. For instance, due to the lack of clarity between the owner and agent of the state-owned-property, losses of state assets caused by insider controls or intra-group transactions are still happening; abuses of public power to violate private property, in particular to illegally seal up, distrain and freeze private enterprises properties are occurring often; and the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) is still weak, which has caused the easy, frequent occurrence of infringements. The Opinion aims to solve the above-mentioned problems. Further, it pledges to raise peoples sense of wealth security, boost social confidence, foster positive expectations and raise the impetus for entrepreneurship and innovation by various economic entities. Protection will also help social justice while maintaining healthy economic and social development. The Opinion states clearly that the essential strategy to strengthen the PRP is to comprehensively promote the Rule of Law (instead of Rule of Men). In light of that, 10 tasks need to be carried out, amongst which to reinforce the protection of IPR is stressed as an important one. *** Zooming in the IPR section *** 4 sub-tasks are included in the IPR section: 1) Efforts should be made to step up punishment of IP infringement, and to raise the upper limit of infringement damage compensation. Punitive damages systems shall be explored and established; in severe circumstances, the compensation shall cover the reasonable expenses paid by the right holder to stop infringing -- the cost for infringement shall be raised. 2) A mechanism that collects the information of counterfeit products sources shall be established. IP infringement shall be incorporated into credit records of enterprises and individuals, and the information-transparency in IP-related administrative punishment cases shall be further promoted. 3) To improve the working mechanism of IPR trials, and to actively play the role of IP courts. Further, to intensify the (consolidate three traditional judicial procedures, namely civil, criminal, and administrative to one system), to enhance the connection between administrative enforcement and the criminal justice, and to step up the intensity of IPR judicial protection. 4) To improve the enforcement mechanisms of foreign-related IP affairs, to strengthen the international cooperation of criminal law enforcements and the intensity of investigation. To severely punish unfair competitions, and to reinforce the protection of brands reputation. In addition, to combine the IPR protection with IPR utilization, in order to speed up the IP transfer and transformation. PPR (the umbrella) covers property rights, creditor's rights, stock rights and IPRs. (Picture from Xinhua News) *** Comments *** This Opinion shows a strong problem-solving orientation, though it may not directly provide concrete measures. It urges wide participation in the new stage of PRP, which involves legislation, law enforcement, judicature and law-abiding. To some crucial questions that Chinese people have been concerned and worried about for a long time (e.g. the 70-year-lease rule of housing), it is now clear that finally the solutions in the near future can be officially expected. Foreign investments are also beneficiaries of the new policy. The lack of PRP used to cause reluctance for them to plunge headlong into Chinese economic activities, when Chinese characteristics policies may ambush them unpredictably and sharply. As you may have noticed, the Opinion is neither a law (laws of PRP in China have existed for many years), nor a brand new slogan (you see lots of "strengthen" or "reinforce", instead of "create") -- yet, why does it still draw so much attention? And why does it seems to be such a big deal (actually, it really is )? Well, it has everything to do with the enormously influential role which policy rather than law plays in China, in particular centrally-issued policy (from the Communist Party of China and the State Council). To be sure, Rule by Law is the ultimate pursuit of us all (and is the direction toward which China is heading), yet it does not necessarily lead to a purely negative judgement on the "policy-antecedent" style of governance. Take a look at the history of the PRC: many massively revolutionary developments were launched, pushed forward and led by central policies. Similar examples exist in foreign countries, for instance the Nation Built on Intellectual Property Policy appeared in Japan first (2002), and then the related legislation appeared subsequently. Yet, once again on Wednesday, air strikes, shelling and gunfire erupted, and Turkey accused government forces of breaking the truce. However, Syrian state television blamed rebel shelling, saying it had killed six people. In Yahoo News, Astrid Zweynert and Umberto Bacchi present reports of the views of some aid agencies and human rights organizations regarding the humanitarian situation in eastern Aleppo and their concerns for the conflict in Syria. Civilians must be permitted a free choice as to whether or not to flee fighting, and do not lose their civilian status should they choose to stay in their homes and with their families. CARE calls for a desperately needed cessation of hostilities not only for Aleppo, but throughout Syria to both allow humanitarian access and medical evacuation in out of areas, including besieged areas which still contain many hundreds of thousands of people, says Richard Hamilton, CARE International Regional Syria Response Director. We cant continue to let the Syrian population fear for their future. Syrian humanitarians ask, Aleppo today which city tomorrow? Many are afraid of suffering the same fate as the inhabitants of Aleppo who have been massacred by bombs or those in Daraya who were forcibly evacuated from their city. All they want is to live in peace at home. We are also extremely concerned that access to healthcare in east Aleppo has become close to impossible, says Evita Mouwad, Humanitarian Affairs Advisorfor the Middle East, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), All the hospitals have been severely damaged by the bombings in the last months The medical staff we are in touch with tell us that they have run out of medical supplies, ranging from very basic supplies such as bandages, to more extensive surgical tools. It has been heart-wrenching to hear the desperate pleas for protection from civilians stuck in the inferno that is Aleppo. The Syrian authorities should ensure that civilians are allowed to safely leave the city and to go where they want, Lama Fakih, Deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch states, The risk of atrocities in Syria is not over with the government takeover of Aleppo. Unless combatants and commanders on all sides can see that there could be consequences for their unlawful actions, we will see more crimes replay themselves in other places. A large number of these people are injured, sick, exhausted, traumatized and many are wounded. We know that health services in parts of the city they come from were extremely limited and often inaccessible. Given months of neglect, other priorities are to vaccinate children and to treat people with chronic diseases. People on the move need to have access to health care. We are helping doctors and health personnel to reach as many of these people as possible as fast as possible. This includes the deployment of mobile health clinics and provision of surgical supplies, medicines for acute and chronic diseases, stated Elizabeth Hoff, World Health Organization Representative in Syria. Over the past year Syrian government forces with the support of Russia have ruthlessly targeted civilians and civilian property including hospitals as a strategy of war as a way to empty the city of residents displaying an utterly callous disregard of international law, says Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for Research at Amnesty Internationals Beirut Regional Office. As well as ending attacks on civilians at this critical time it is crucial that the Syrian government and its allies, namely Russia and Iran allow U.N. monitors to be deployed to eastern Aleppo to ensure civilians are protected from revenge attacks and unfettered humanitarian access is granted so that life-saving aid can reach all those in need. Escaping Aleppo doesnt mean escaping the war. After witnessing the ferocity of attacks on civilians in Aleppo, we are understandably concerned that the sieges and barrel bombs will follow the thousands who arrive in Idlib, says Paul Donohoe, Senior Media Officer, International Rescue Committee. We already know Idlib isnt a safe area of Syria. The attack on a school in Hass in October left 22 children and six teachers dead, and two IRC supported hospitals were attacked in the province in 2016. There is a real danger that such outrages will not only continue but intensify. And unlike with Aleppo, this time the world wont be watching. Children in east Aleppo have been living for months with the bare minimum to survive. Too many children have been prevented from life saving vaccination. We are seeing more cases of malnutrition. All children have witnessed violence; too many have been confronted directly with the worst of mankind. Many children have been separated from their families, according to Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director. The only answer to all that innocent suffering is simple: stop the war and put the rights and interest of children at the heart of decision making. As Sandi wanted, the blog continues. If you would like to make a donation of support, you can do so at the links below. Most of the donated funds go to the purchase of medical supplies and covering my medical bills. Some goes to the purchase of various reading materials which are eventually read and reviewed here. Ms. Power, who is now ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama, sat inside the Security Council chamber as world powers argued over the genocide thats become so familiar, that weve seen in places like Rwanda, Srebrenica and Guernica. With the months long siege of Aleppo nearly over, but the political backlash has just begun, with Barack Obama a prime target. In an article in Yahoo News, the question is, How did this happen? No one really knows how many people have died, but estimates place the number at some 300,000 people over the six years of Syrias war. As Aleppo falls, this number will increase. In the citys last rebel-held areas, residents are trapped alongside the fighters. They face death from the sky if they stay, and torture or execution if they flee. How did this happen? Ms. Power, agrees with the White House administration, who points directly at Damascus, Moscow and Tehran. The regime of Bashar Al-Assad, Russia, Iran, and their affiliated militia are the ones responsible for what the UN called a complete meltdown of humanity, she told the Security Council, and demanded, Are you truly incapable of shame? Is there literally nothing that can shame you? Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin, that just creeps you out a little bit? Is there nothing you will not lie about or justify? Assads loyalists, Russian warplanes and Iranian-backed militia have killed Syrian civilians, but for many, at least part of the culpability lies with President Obama. The slaughter in Syria will forever be a challenge to the reputations and the consciences of US officials, from the president on down. The US President said in September, There hasnt been probably a week thats gone by in which I havent reexamined some of the underlying premises around how were dealing with the situation in Syria. White House spokesman Josh Earnest stated, I readily acknowledge that we are not seeing the results that we would like to see in addressing the violence inside of Aleppo, and added, its offensive to somehow suggest that the United States government and the world is not doing anything. Obama has believed that putting American troops in Syria would be disastrous, and that establishing a no fly zone would have risked war with Russia. He ignored his own red line on Assads chemical weapons use, as well as aides who warned that Americas reputation would be damaged by inaction. The lack of public pressure to act, allowed the administration to believe that there was no military solution to the conflict in Syria. Powers observations nearly 15 years ago are echoed here faced with unspeakable violence, American officials often talk themselves into believing that US intervention wont work, or will possibly make things worse. Especially because events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and even as far back as Vietnam, are seared onto the American psyche. Obama opted for diplomacy as the way forward. During a recent trip to Europe, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters, I think that we have done, frankly, as well as you can do under the circumstances, He was ridiculed over his repeated efforts to coax Russia into a deal to end the fighting. Critics alleged that Russia had no intention of making a deal. Like the White House, Kerry believes it was worth a try. Im not going to spend time regretting bona fide efforts to do things. The White House understands that with power comes responsibility, and its spokesman, Earnest stated, The United States has a special responsibility because we have the most influential, strongest country in the world. We readily accept the responsibility. As the US President prepares to leave office, his opportunities to intervene have dwindled to nothing, and leave us wondering why decent men and women in Washington, once again, chose to look away. Hello everyone! Sorry for the late notice on the chat. I pushed some wrong button and it scheduled last week at 1 pm rather than today. Good times! I published my favorite music of 2016 today. What did I miss? Also, Donald Trump continues to put his Cabinet together, Hillary Clinton keeps blaming Russia for her loss and the fight to the next Democratic National Committee chairman heats up. Let's do it! President Rouhani of Iran has ordered the countrys scientists to develop a peaceful nuclear program to be used in marine transportation while accusing the U.S. of breaching the nuclear agreement reached between the so-called P5+1 and Tehran with the renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act by the Senate. The announcement made on Tuesday raised eyebrows in some quarters but Washington stated that it does not run counter to the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Rouhani wants work on planning the design and production of nuclear fuel and reactors for maritime transport to begin the soonest. He also underlined that while Tehran continues to abide by the agreement, it will react against any violation of the nuclear deal by other parties. Under the agreement, Iran is not allowed to enrich uranium above 3.67% purity for 15 years, a level unlikely to be enough to run such vessels. The new program is likely to receive Russias support as a source in its foreign ministry stated that it does not violate the agreement because it will only be developing power-supply units for nuclear-powered marine vessels, and there is no suggestion in the letter about enriching uranium to higher levels. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the announcement made by President Rouhani gives an unprecedented insight into any countrys nuclear program and allows us to verify their ongoing compliance with that program. Our expectation is that as they undertake these kinds of research and development efforts, theyll do so consistent with their international obligations, he said. Ford South Africa said it is currently investigating alleged incidents of its Kuga SUV models suddenly catching fire. This comes after reports that a third forensic investigation into the cause of a Ford Kuga fire which killed driver Reshall Jimmy in December 2015 was underway. The Jimmy family believes that a mechanical or electrical fault with the Ford Kuga was to blame for the fire. The Rapport newspaper said it was in possession of an independent investigation report which showed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the vehicle. According to the report, the fire started behind an electrical panel board on the passenger side. Other Ford Kuga owners have also reported that their vehicles experienced sudden fires. According to the Rapport, these owners said Ford refused to investigate the cause of the fires. Keveen Jimmy, the brother of Reshall, said 17 local Kuga owners have come forward regarding their vehicles experiencing problems. Ford responds Ford South Africa said in a statement that it has met with the Jimmy family and their legal representatives to go through the findings of its detailed examination into Mr. Jimmys Kuga incident. Our examination shows that the fire in Mr. Jimmys Kuga originated at the rear of the vehicle and not in the engine compartment. We have lodged a request to gain access to the police report and other investigative materials to better understand all the facts concerning the case, it said. Responding to the reported claims, Ford said: Our investigations into the alleged incidents involving Ford Kugas in South Africa are not complete at this time. Ford said Kuga owners who have a concern relating to their vehicle can bring it into a Ford dealership for an inspection. BusinessTech About 70 Chinese tourists took part in the Mannequin Challenge on the worlds longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge. They froze in action on the 430m high see-through structure in Zhangjiajie, southwest China, according to The Daily Mail newspaper of Great Britain. Management of the tourist attraction also gathered 30 employees to take part in the filming. Chairman of the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon also participated in the challenge. The documentary We Are Egyptian Armenians, directed by Waheed Sobhi, relays the history of the Armenian community in Egypt as recounted by many of its members, and supported with archival materials including photos, videos, and paintings, reported Ahram Online. The film, created in cooperation with scriptwriter Eva Dadrian and researcher and executive producer Hannan Ezzat, was screened at the Cairo International Film Festival 2016. The director said, during the shooting of this documentary, he learned many facts about Egyptian Armenians, and their great contribution to the history and society of Egypt. The older [Armenian] generation is an eyewitness with many stories, Sobhi said, in particular. People who create vivid links between their own lives and the stories of the trip their ancestors and parents made to Egypt to escape the [Armenian] genocide. Bloomberg: Turkey unlikely to sign Sweden's bid for NATO membership before the end of the year IEA calls for urgent action on gas shortages in Europe Indonesia reveals its own kamikaze drones UN: Russia resumes participation in inspection of ships in Black Sea Grigoryan: Armenia interested in using communication routes through Azerbaijan FT: Azerbaijan demands EU funding and long-term contracts for gas supplies US becomes 2nd largest gas supplier to EU Russian Defense Ministry reports release of 107 Russian servicemen from Ukrainian captivity How U.S supports Azerbaijan in 20 years by suspending 907th Amendment? Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive less funds in 2023 than in previous two years German government urges its citizens to leave Iran Armenian MFA: Unblocking infrastructures is one of the main directions of talks Armenia MFA: We expect positive results in relations with Turkey in near future Armenia to open diplomatic representations in several countries in 2023: Uruguay among them Former Pakistani Prime Minister injured in shooting of election motorcade Russian MFA: Great Britain transferred underwater drones to Ukraine Armenia FM: International community has sent very clear signal to Azerbaijan Prime Minister receives Arin Karapet, Swedish MP Dollar, euro drop in Armenia Armenia FM: In few days there will be meeting between me, Bayramov, Blinken in Washington IRNA: Iran's IRGC eliminated a group that was planning attacks on government agencies Lawcoster 'Pobeda' to resume flights to Armenia at end of this year Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: One cannot despair, struggle must continue Deputy FM: Armenia can make some progress in simplifying visa regime with EU Turkey says Russia assures not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine CSTO deputy chief: Armenia-Azerbaijan escalation, confrontation risk remains Armenian MFA: Cautious optimism in restoration of diplomatic relations with Hungary Uzbekistan refuses to resume operation of Mir cards in country Belarus Council: If Poland unleashes aggression, war will spread throughout Eastern Europe Peskov: It is up to the Ministry of Defense to increase the term of military service Valerie Boyer: Corrupt, racist Azerbaijan is attacking Armenia borders, seeking to continue ethnic cleansing, genocide Meeting of CIS Security Councils chiefs kicks off in Moscow Charles III travels with teddy bear and toilet seat EU plans to finance programs in Armenia for AMD 55 billion 747 mln Economy minister: Armenia and Iran are making efforts to jointly sell goods to third countries Azerbaijani Armed Forces practice capturing borders during exercises on border with Iran Storm in Philippines leaves 150 people killed Inflation in Turkey is up to 85.51% in October Armenia economy minister on Central Bank: First they said increase would be 4%t, then 1%, then 6% Borrell thanks UN and Turkey for facilitating Russia's return to the grain deal Foreign direct investments in Armenia last year totals AMD 129.2bln Minister: Examination of Armenian soldiers' bodies continues Jaguar station wagon from Elizabeth II fleet to be sold at auction IMF plans to provide more than $165 million to Armenia Marukyan: Baku says Karabakh Armenians should either stay on Azerbaijan terms or leave for 3rd country Minister of Economy: Armenia's role in Eurasian Economic Union grows Biden says U.S. troops will stay in Europe for a long time Vahan Hunanyan: Yerevan and Tehran have no disagreements on most issues Armenia, Russia to collaborate in information security Artsakh State Minister: There are many principal disagreements with Armenian authorities Public TV Company of Armenia to make purchase worth AMD 2 698.6mln for Junior Eurovision 2022 Armenian-Russian trade turnover up by 71.7%, Economy Minister Secretaries of CIS Security Councils to discuss nuclear security Economy minister: Armenia exports to other EEU countries increased 2 times Outgoing Artsakh Minister Artak Beglaryan to take position in state government system Japan Coast Guard reports 3 North Korean missile launches in a day Pashinyan says Armenian government did a lot for revival of Armenian aviation Oil falls in price Patrushev comments on Zelenskiy's statement about preventive nuclear strike WSJ: Americans favor Republicans over Democrats Turkey announces normalization of grain corridor Gold prices are down Putin calls on CIS countries security councils to use all their security capabilities SPRING PR founders were awarded the 'Global PR Leader of the year' Copper prices are rising State Duma member proposes to extend term of military service in Russia Iranian MPs: Powerful Iran will never tolerate changing of its borders Turkey to complete construction of pipeline in Black Sea in November Newspaper: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty to be signed in Georgia US delivers more than 200 artillery systems to Ukraine since February Secretary of Armenian Security Council to visit Moscow Switzerland to direct $100 million to repair energy infrastructure in Ukraine Study: Blue whales eat 10 million particles of microplastics a day Microsoft president warns of shortage of staff to fight climate change Latvia extends state of emergency on Belarus border WSJ: UAE tried to convince Saudi Arabia not to cut oil production Cavusoglu: Greece must stop arming the demilitarized islands in the Aegean Sea Moody's downgrades outlook for banks in Germany, Italy, and 4 other countries to negative About 40 international companies to announce their relocation to UAE by end of year Israeli Prime Minister cancels participation in climate summit in Egypt YEREVAN. Chorrord Ishkhanutyun (Fourth Power; ChI) newspaper of Armenia has learned that the deputy governors of some provinces of the country have traveled to India these days, for exchange of know-how, according to the newspaper. The Republic of Armenia actually has money to organize the deputy governors recreation in [places like] India, but it has no money to provide additional funds to the army. According to the reliable sources of ChI, the deputy provincial governors, who are spending a very happy time these days in India, will return [to Armenia] on December 20, wrote Chorrord Ishkhanutyun. STEPANAKERT. The adversary violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces around 30 times, from late Thursday night to early Friday morning. During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces fired about 450 shots toward the Armenian military positions, and with rifles and machine guns, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Defense Army informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. In addition, the adversary fired from a mortar, toward the northeasterly (Martakert) defense sector. The NKR Defense Army vanguard units, however, continued to maintain vigilance all along the frontline, but without shooting in response, and confidently carried out the military task set before them. In an article on December 14, in Popular Mechanics, by Kyle Mizokami, he writes that theres good reason to believe this is just bluster, and more than Irans military-industrial complex can truly provide. The U.S. Senate voted to extend the Iran Sanction Act by 10 years to punish Iran for breaching the nuclear deal, and in response to its association with terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. The act thwarts the development of Irans oil industry, targeting both exports to Iran and financial transactions. Irans indignant President ordered Irans Atomic Energy Organization to develop nuclear propulsion for warships. Rouhani stated that the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action (JCPOA), which is an agreement between Iran and the West that ends Irans nuclear weapons research, in return for lifting economic sanctions, but does not block the construction of nuclear-powered warships. Mizokami writes, The worlds first nuclear powered warship was the submarine USS Nautilus. It was commissioned in 1954 and was built in just two years. Could Iran do it too? His answer? Maybe, and maybe not. Nuclear propulsion is very different from what Iranian scientists and engineers have been working on for 20 years nuclear explosion. However, it has been 60 years since the first nuclear warship, and the technology is dated. Mizokami says that if Iran is as close to a bomb as some think, then it has the know-how to build a nuclear reactor. Still, it would take years to develop and hundreds of millions of dollars to develop. Iran is one of the largest petroleum exporters in the world, so why would they want to build nuclear reactors for ships? Mizokami sees no rational explanation for Rouhanis decree, except that he is trying to irritate the United States. Irans Navy is tinyafter decades of sanctions, it amounts to a collection of small surface warships of questionable quality. The ship above, the frigate Alvand, is one of its largest vessels and yet is just one-quarter the size of the U.S. Navys smallest warship, the Littoral Combat Ship. Irans Navy also rarely travels outside the Persian Gulf. A warship reactor for such a naval force would be an expensive white elephant. This isnt the first time Iran has announced a dubious weapons system. In 2010, Iran paraded in public what it announced were S-300 surface-to-air missile canisters, canisters which were later accused of just being 55-gallon steel drums welded together. In 2013 Iran announced a new stealth fighter, the Qaher, which was clearly a fake and unable to actually fly. In 2014, Iran announced it built copies of a highly classified RQ-170 Sentinel drone that accidentally crashed in the country in 2011, copies that were later derided as fakes, Mizokami concluded. YEREVAN. A cash machine was blow up at night in Armenias capital city Yerevan, in an attempt to steal money from it. Police news service informed Armenian News-NEWS.am that they had received such a call, and law enforcement officers are working at the scene. According to Shamshyan.com, about 7.5 million drams (approx. US$15,450) were stolen from this ATM in downtown Yerevan, by way of detonating it. An attempt was made at night to steal money also from a cash machine of a bank branch. An unusual incident occurred Friday in Gugark village, in Lori Province of Armenia. An emergency call was received, at around 10am, that there was a woman lying on the street in snow at the village, informed the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter in Lori. The ambulance staff, which was dispatched to the scene, found that the woman was dead. We have learned that this woman was Roza M., 85, who, according to those that knew her, was mentally ill. According to preliminary information, the woman had fallen asleep and frozen to death. As maintained by another theory, however, she had died and fallen on the snow. The body will be autopsied. YEREVAN. Prime Minister of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan, received a delegation from the Public Safety Research Institute at Tsinghua University, and GSAFETY Company of China. The interlocutors conferred on the prospects for cooperation in the introduction of safety systems in the transit sector, the government press office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. In addition, the parties reflected on the opportunities for introducing the smart city urban development vision in a town in Armenia. GSAFETY management board member Xue Hailun presented the company activities, and expressed readiness to collaborate. The PM, for his part, welcomed Chinas readiness to get involved in the investment projects in Armenia, and noted that the latter can also become a good platform for GSAFETY toward entering the market of the Eurasian Economic Unionwhich comprises Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. STEPANAKERT. Azerbaijan is attempting to go to a new level in the case of Alexander Lapshin, and launch a criminal persecution against people that have visited Nagorno-Karabakh. Davit Babayan, Spokesperson of the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh), stated the aforesaid, as he commented, at the request of Armenian News-NEWS.am, on the Azerbaijani authorities attempts to have Lapshin extradited from Belarus. The attempts are also considered interference in the internal affairs of another state, stressed Babayan. In fact, Azerbaijan wishes to achieve the extradition of a citizen of a foreign state, to try [him] on a fictitious crime; this is a gross violation of international law and international humanitarian law. If Azerbaijan behaves this way toward the citizens of third countries, then there is no doubt that it will launch genocide, [if] getting the slightest chance to oversee Nagorno-Karabakh. The Artsakh presidential spokesperson added that such attempts should be stopped, forthwith. If the citizen is extradited, nonetheless, this will reflect on the image of Belarus, he noted. As per Davit Babayan, at any rate, such demeanor of the Azerbaijani authorities attests to their steady degradation. YEREVAN. The explosives, with which an attempt was made to blow up a cash machine, are still hooked up next to this ATM that is located near a bank branch in downtown Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, police told Armenian News-NEWS.am. It is yet unknown why the criminals could not detonate this cash machine. Another ATM in downtown Yerevan, however, was blown up Friday at around 6am. Law enforcement officers are working at the scene. The specialists are using dogs to find the criminals. The Investigative Committee informed that the circumstances behind this incident are being ascertained. According to Shamshyan.com, about 7.5 million drams (approx. US$15,450) were stolen from this cash machine, by way of blowing it up. YEREVAN. The Court of Appeal of Armenia on Friday confirmed the consideration of the appeal that was filed in the case into Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, who was found guilty of the brutal murder of Avetisyan family of this city. The presiding judge noted that the respective ruling will be handed down on December 19. Fridays court hearing lasted solely about two minutes. The court was convinced that the parties do not have motions, and therefore considered the process as completed. Permyakovs attorney as well as the representatives of the successors of the victims had petitioned to the appellate court. The convicted Russian soldiers statement, according to which he is withdrawing his appeal and does not want to attend the court session, was submitted during the previous hearing. Upon the attorneys motion, however, it was decided to verify this stand of the defendant. The aforesaid murder took place on January 12, 2015. According to the indictment, Valery Permyakov entered the Avetisyan family home on that day, and he killed home residents Aida Avetisyan, Hasmik Avetisyan, Seryozha Avetisyan, Armen Avetisyan, Araksya Poghosyan, and little girl Hasmik Avetisyan. Subsequently, he stabbed 6-month-old Seryozha Avetisyan five times. The baby boy died in the hospital one week later. Armenia and Russia instituted criminal cases on charges of murder and military desertion, respectively. On August 12, 2015, the Russian court sentenced Permyakov to ten years in prison. And on October 16 of the same year, Armenia formally brought criminal charges against the Russian soldier. And on August 23, 2016, the court found Valery Permyakov guilty of all chargesmurder, robbery, and attempt to cross the Armenian state borderthat were brought against him. And he was sentenced to life in prison. U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE, Daniel B. Baer, has made another statement at the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna in regard to the violation of human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan, contact.az reports. Recalling that on November 3 he already expressed concern about the decision of an Azerbaijani court to sentence activist Giyas Ibrahimov to ten years in prison on political and fabricated charges, Baer stressed that on December 8, the Azerbaijani authorities sentenced another activist, Bayram Mammadov, to ten years in prison on similar charges. We are concerned by the sentencing of both individuals, and by allegations of ill-treatment during their detention. We urge the Azerbaijani government to release Mr. Mammadov and Mr. Ibrahimov, as well as all other individuals who have been incarcerated for exercising their fundamental freedoms. We also urge the government of Azerbaijan to remove the travel ban on journalist Khadija Ismailova, the Ambassador noted. The United States again urges the Azerbaijani government to abide by its OSCE and other international commitments, the statement reads. Despite the statement of the European officials on the need to halt the talks between Turkey and EU, the talks between Ankara and Brussels will continue in some form or other. Expert at the Center of Central Asia and Caucasus of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, political analyst Andrey Areshev told the aforementioned to Armenian News NEWS.am. In his words, these statements have a conjuncture character. ''The talks between Ankara and Brussels will continue in some form or other, although at this stage they will most likely yield no specific results,'' the analyst noted. According to him, the sides are interested in such talks, since the economic ties and political contacts between Brussels and Ankara depend on many inter-political and extra-political factors. ''As you know, now a significant group of fighters is concentrated in Idlib, which is on the border with Turkey, and the Europeans are unlikely to want the Turkish authorities to open the doors for these potentially ''peaceful refugees'' to the West, providing them all the necessary documents,'' Areshev noted. Everything will most likely happen the other way round, the West exerting maximum efforts for the prosperity of the further Syrian resistance. ''And this, in its turn, give the Turkish partners an additional ace,'' he stressed. Against this background, as per the expert, the Russian-Turkish relations will as before have an extremely complex and controversial character. YEREVAN. - It is necessary to continuously work in order to strengthen the friendship between Armenia and Georgia. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said the aforementioned at the meeting with the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Giorgi Mghebrishvili, on Friday. The Armenian President welcomed the guest, underscoring the importance of his visit in terms of deepening the close and productive cooperation formed between the Armenian and Georgian police agencies and resisting current challenges with united forces, the press-service of the Presidents office reports. Sargsyan expressed hope that the declaration On strengthening cooperation between the police of the Republic of Armenia and Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia signed between the Armenian police and Georgian Internal Affairs Ministry will be significant for its productivity. Stressing that Armenia and Georgia are not merely friendly states but also have centuries-old good neighborly ties, Sargsyan noted that it is necessary to constantly work to strengthen that friendship. The interlocutors agreed that the Armenian-Georgian political dialogue is actively and dynamically developing especially in the recent years, the mutual visits and discourse between the representatives of the law enforcement authorities significantly contributing to this. This enables to discuss issues of mutual interest on the agenda in a constructive and warm climate. Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mghebrishvili, for his part, expressed satisfaction with the mutually useful and productive cooperation formed with the Armenian partners. Bloomberg: Turkey unlikely to sign Sweden's bid for NATO membership before the end of the year IEA calls for urgent action on gas shortages in Europe Indonesia reveals its own kamikaze drones UN: Russia resumes participation in inspection of ships in Black Sea Grigoryan: Armenia interested in using communication routes through Azerbaijan FT: Azerbaijan demands EU funding and long-term contracts for gas supplies US becomes 2nd largest gas supplier to EU Russian Defense Ministry reports release of 107 Russian servicemen from Ukrainian captivity How U.S supports Azerbaijan in 20 years by suspending 907th Amendment? Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will receive less funds in 2023 than in previous two years German government urges its citizens to leave Iran Armenian MFA: Unblocking infrastructures is one of the main directions of talks Armenia MFA: We expect positive results in relations with Turkey in near future Armenia to open diplomatic representations in several countries in 2023: Uruguay among them Former Pakistani Prime Minister injured in shooting of election motorcade Russian MFA: Great Britain transferred underwater drones to Ukraine Armenia FM: International community has sent very clear signal to Azerbaijan Prime Minister receives Arin Karapet, Swedish MP Dollar, euro drop in Armenia Armenia FM: In few days there will be meeting between me, Bayramov, Blinken in Washington IRNA: Iran's IRGC eliminated a group that was planning attacks on government agencies Lawcoster 'Pobeda' to resume flights to Armenia at end of this year Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: One cannot despair, struggle must continue Deputy FM: Armenia can make some progress in simplifying visa regime with EU Turkey says Russia assures not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine CSTO deputy chief: Armenia-Azerbaijan escalation, confrontation risk remains Armenian MFA: Cautious optimism in restoration of diplomatic relations with Hungary Uzbekistan refuses to resume operation of Mir cards in country Belarus Council: If Poland unleashes aggression, war will spread throughout Eastern Europe Peskov: It is up to the Ministry of Defense to increase the term of military service Valerie Boyer: Corrupt, racist Azerbaijan is attacking Armenia borders, seeking to continue ethnic cleansing, genocide Meeting of CIS Security Councils chiefs kicks off in Moscow Charles III travels with teddy bear and toilet seat EU plans to finance programs in Armenia for AMD 55 billion 747 mln Economy minister: Armenia and Iran are making efforts to jointly sell goods to third countries Azerbaijani Armed Forces practice capturing borders during exercises on border with Iran Storm in Philippines leaves 150 people killed Inflation in Turkey is up to 85.51% in October Armenia economy minister on Central Bank: First they said increase would be 4%t, then 1%, then 6% Borrell thanks UN and Turkey for facilitating Russia's return to the grain deal Foreign direct investments in Armenia last year totals AMD 129.2bln Minister: Examination of Armenian soldiers' bodies continues Jaguar station wagon from Elizabeth II fleet to be sold at auction IMF plans to provide more than $165 million to Armenia Marukyan: Baku says Karabakh Armenians should either stay on Azerbaijan terms or leave for 3rd country Minister of Economy: Armenia's role in Eurasian Economic Union grows Biden says U.S. troops will stay in Europe for a long time Vahan Hunanyan: Yerevan and Tehran have no disagreements on most issues Armenia, Russia to collaborate in information security Artsakh State Minister: There are many principal disagreements with Armenian authorities Public TV Company of Armenia to make purchase worth AMD 2 698.6mln for Junior Eurovision 2022 Armenian-Russian trade turnover up by 71.7%, Economy Minister Secretaries of CIS Security Councils to discuss nuclear security Economy minister: Armenia exports to other EEU countries increased 2 times Outgoing Artsakh Minister Artak Beglaryan to take position in state government system Japan Coast Guard reports 3 North Korean missile launches in a day Pashinyan says Armenian government did a lot for revival of Armenian aviation Oil falls in price Patrushev comments on Zelenskiy's statement about preventive nuclear strike WSJ: Americans favor Republicans over Democrats Turkey announces normalization of grain corridor Gold prices are down Putin calls on CIS countries security councils to use all their security capabilities SPRING PR founders were awarded the 'Global PR Leader of the year' Copper prices are rising State Duma member proposes to extend term of military service in Russia Iranian MPs: Powerful Iran will never tolerate changing of its borders Turkey to complete construction of pipeline in Black Sea in November Newspaper: Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty to be signed in Georgia US delivers more than 200 artillery systems to Ukraine since February Secretary of Armenian Security Council to visit Moscow Switzerland to direct $100 million to repair energy infrastructure in Ukraine Study: Blue whales eat 10 million particles of microplastics a day Microsoft president warns of shortage of staff to fight climate change Latvia extends state of emergency on Belarus border WSJ: UAE tried to convince Saudi Arabia not to cut oil production Cavusoglu: Greece must stop arming the demilitarized islands in the Aegean Sea Moody's downgrades outlook for banks in Germany, Italy, and 4 other countries to negative About 40 international companies to announce their relocation to UAE by end of year Israeli Prime Minister cancels participation in climate summit in Egypt Earthquake strikes in Antalya Polish manufacturing output falls amid economic uncertainty IEF: Oil price to exceed $100 due to EU sanctions against Russia Regnum Agency suspends its work Iranian MFA denies information about country's planned attack on Saudi Arabia Lebanon: U.S. guarantees will protect maritime border agreement with Israel if Netanyahu wins Belarusian MFA responds to Armenia after reaction to statements of Alexander Lukashenko Azerbaijani propaganda machine launches anti-Iranian rumors in social networks National interest: Why China fears the emerging Turkic alliance Lavrov and Abdollahian discuss situation in Persian Gulf zone and South Caucasus Erdogan and Aliyev discuss results of Sochi meeting of Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders Goldman Sachs predicts that natural gas prices in Europe will fall by about 30% White House alleges Iran's plans to supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles Iran to send delegation to Vienna to strengthen relations with IAEA Iranian Foreign Minister to discuss state of nuclear deal negotiations with Borrell Putin: Russia is ready to supply grain to the poorest countries even without participation in the deal First list of Armenian servicemen killed as result of Azerbaijan's September aggression is published Pentagon to supply Vampire anti-drone system to AFU Russian Foreign Ministry issues statement on prevention of nuclear war Xi Jinping confirms China's readiness to invest in Pakistan YEREVAN. Sam Adams, Manager for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Invest Atlanta, believes startups must be simple, at least from the beginning. He told the aforementioned to Armenian News NEWS.am during the Empowering Ideas: Startups and Development Tech Forum that took place in Yerevan on December 12. Many startups fail, just because they want too much, too quickly. Lots of mentors and investor suggest to start with solving one problem. Once youve solved this problem, you can expand your service, says Sam Adams. Invest Atlanta Manager for Innovation and Entrepreneurship thinks the best way is to develop a fairly simple business plan first as you start a small business, and that might be enough. Startup can also start simple and then elaborate as for preparing to approach bankers or investors. Know that there are three choices you get to make and the rest is heavily influenced by circumstance and luck. You choose your idea. You choose your business partners. You choose your investors. Your choice of partners and investors should be thought of as permanent and are therefore the most important two decisions you make. The idea can change and evolve, but this ability and the direction of this evolution will be highly influenced by your choice of partners and investors, Adams says. Giving an advice to Armenian startups, Adams says we should start from local market: In many successful startups Ive seen, they have started from local market, figuring out all the buttons here. Its the right choice, because nobody knows your market better, than you, but targeting the regional and international markets, is long going plan, that you should have in your mind. Weve seen that businesses that export, have higher sales, longer life circles. When thinking about a regional and international markets, develop a product that will maximize that market, he explained. 'We Know How to Prevent These Deaths': Perez Responds to CFOI Numbers Fatal exposures to electricity were down in 2015, but fatalities due to exposure to temperature extremes rose, while occupational deaths from nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol, unintentional overdose, increased 45 percent in 2015 to 165, and there were 136 workers who died in incidents associated with confined spaces in 2015. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released key findings from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries on Dec. 16, reporting there were 4,836 fatal work injuries recorded in the United States in 2015, which represents a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries reported in 2014. BLS said the release is the first time that the CFOI has published a single annual release with no revisions, and this will be the only release for 2015 CFOI data. (A similar schedule will be followed in future years, BLS reported, so there will be no August or September preliminary releases.) Key findings of the 2015 CFOI: The annual total of 4,836 fatal workplace injuries in 2015 was the highest since 5,214 fatal injuries in 2008. The overall rate of fatal work injury for workers in 2015, 3.38 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, was lower than the 2014 rate of 3.43. The number of Latino workers dying on the job in 2015 -- 903 -- is the most in any year since 937 fatalities in 2007. Work-related deaths among workers 65 and older totaled 650, the second-largest number for that age group since the national census began in 1992. Still, it was down from the 2014 figure of 684. Road fatalities were up 9 percent from 2014 totals and represent more than 25 percent of the fatal occupational injuries in 2015. Workplace suicides decreased 18 percent in 2015, but homicides were up 2 percent from 2014. Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers recorded 745 fatal injuries, the most of any occupation. There were 937 fatal work injuries in the private construction industry in 2015, the most since 975 cases in 2008. Fatal injuries in the private oil and gas extraction industries were down 38 percent in 2015 from the total in 2014. Seventeen percent of workers who died were contract personnel at the time of the incident. BLS' release said while workers age 45 and older accounted for 58 percent of the workplace fatalities in 2015, they accounted for only 45 percent of the total hours worked. Fatal injury rates were generally lower among younger workers (2.3 per 100,000 FTE workers for those age 25-34) and higher among older workers (9.4 per 100,000 FTE workers for those age 65 and older). It says falls to a lower level accounted for 81 percent of all fatal falls and, of the cases where the height of the fall was known, more than two-fifths of fatal falls occurred from 15 feet or lower. Fatal falls to a lower level accounted for nearly 40 percent of fatal work injuries in the private construction industry in 2015. In addition, workers were fatally struck by an object or equipment 519 times in 2015, and they were most frequently struck by plants, trees, and vegetation (110); highway vehicles (104); and construction, logging, and mining machinery (54). Fatal exposures to electricity were down in 2015, but fatalities due to exposure to temperature extremes rose, while occupational deaths from nonmedical use of drugs or alcohol, unintentional overdose, increased 45 percent in 2015 to 165, and there were 136 workers who died in incidents associated with confined spaces in 2015. U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez issued a statement saying the number "underscore the urgent need for employers to provide a safe workplace for their employees as the law requires. We have a moral responsibility to make sure that workers who showed up to work today are still alive to punch the clock tomorrow. The fact is, we know how to prevent these deaths. The U.S. Department of Labor is and will always be committed to working with employers, workers, community organizations, unions and others to improve safety and health in our nations workplaces. This effort is essential to ensuring that no more workers are taken unnecessarily from their families." Brian Sandoval AP Photo/David Becker, File Brian Sandoval. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has some words for people who are questioning Faraday Future, the mysterious electric-car startup that wants to build a $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas. In a joint statement issued by the governors office and North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee earlier this month, Sandoval went after state treasurer, Dan Schwartz, who has been Faraday Futures most vocal detractor. It is unclear whether or not the Treasurer has read the legislation or understands the agreement between Nevada and Faraday Future, but the state and taxpayers are fully protected should Faraday not meet its $1 billion investment, the statement, dated December 1 and viewed by Business Insider, reads. Although the Treasurer appears to expect failure, I have always planned for success, it continued. Schwartz, in multiple conversations with Business Insider has expressed doubt that Faraday Futures primary investor, Jia Yueting, had the financial means to shepherd the upstart from concept to a functioning operation. I think Mr. Jia built a bridge too far, Schwartz told Business Insider in a conversation earlier this month. Gov. Sandoval disagrees. His statement continues: We fully vetted the project, its financing, and pursued the opportunity. The state continues to communicate with Faraday and the company has spent more than $100 million in development related to the site, which includes payments to local businesses and contractors. However, when you add to the mix some unpaid debts, a work-stoppage at the companys inaugural plant in North Las Vegas, and production deadlines that are in flux, the skepticism meter starts to peak. For its part, Faraday Future has insisted the bills will be paid, the factory will be built, and the cars will be produced, but, so far, there is precious little to inspire confidence, outside of a handful of teaser videos and images ahead of the companys second debut at the Consumer Electronics Show next month. Story continues NOW WATCH: Tesla is powering an entire island with clean energy The post Nevadas governor lights up Faraday Futures naysayers in a scathing statement appeared first on Business Insider. More than $47 million worth of properties were sold at auctions in 4Q2016, accounting for more than half of the total sales of $92 million for the year, according to the latest auction report by JLL Singapore. Despite the strong 4Q sales numbers, the full-year sales of $92 million is still 10% below 2015s total sale of $102.3 million. The $47.2 million achieved is more than four times 4Q2015s sales of $10.8 million, and more than double the $20.5 million sales chalked up during 3Q2016. According to JLL, the high sales value was a result of the $15.2 million sale of three vacant plots in the prime Swiss Club estate as well as a landed property at 4 Jalan Bahasa for $12.3 million via liquidators sale. The sales of these four sites were handled by JLL. Other large quantum deals sold at auctions include the sale of a unit at Seascape in Sentosa Cove for $6.35 million and a house on Daffodil Drive for $4.35 million. Related Articles From TheEdgeProperty.com.sg Overall auction sales jump 42.8% in 3Q2016, says JLL More landed homes under the hammer GCB in Dalvey Estate for sale by auction at $30 mil Overall auction sales jump 54.1% q-o-q in 2Q2016, says Knight Frank A Singaporean private banker was sentenced to two weeks jail on Friday for fraud relating to Malaysia's 1MDB financial scandal, becoming the second person convicted in the international multi-billion dollar affair. Allegations that huge sums were misappropriated from the Malaysian state fund through money laundering have triggered a massive corruption scandal embroiling Prime Minister Najib Razak. Prosecutors say Yvonne Seah, a former director at the Singapore branch of Swiss bank BSI, helped forge documents and failed to report suspicious money transfers from accounts allegedly linked to Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho, a close family friend of Najib. Seah, 45, was sentenced to a fortnight in jail after pleading guilty to three charges of forgery and failure to report suspicious transactions related to the investment fund. She was also fined Sg$10,000 ($7,000) by a Singapore district court. Seah had faced a maximum penalty of four years jail and a Sg$20,000 fine. Seah's superior Yak Yew Chee, a former managing director of BSI, was last month sentenced to 18 weeks jail and fined Sg$24,000 for similar offences. Prosecutors said the actions of Seah and her colleagues had "brought about a certain degree of disrepute to (Singapore's) financial system". "Such conduct must be stamped out through the imposition of a deterrent sentence," they said. Singapore, a regional financial hub, is known for its transparency and strong stance against corruption. Since news of the scandal broke, several countries have launched criminal investigations, including the United States and Switzerland. Singapore is the first country to successfully convict figures relating to the saga. It's the second Scandinavian city on its network. Singapore Airlines will launch flights to the capital of Sweden starting May 2017, the flag carrier said in a release. The flights will be routed via Moscow, where SIA currently operates four weekly flights. The frequency will increase to five per week starting May, subject to regulatory approval. The flights will be operated with Airbus A350-900 aircraft and will complement SIAs existing flights to Copenhagen in Denmark. Star Alliance partner Scandinavian Airlines will codeshare on the new services. Subject to approval from competition authorities, the new services will also be included in a joint venture agreement between the two airlines that took effect in 2013 covering flights between Scandinavia and Singapore. More From Singapore Business Review Thrusting their arm into a box full of hungry mosquitoes, a group of brave volunteers in a Burkina Faso laboratory test an innovative weapon in the fight against malaria -- soap. The team behind the "Faso Soap" project aims to create a cheap, accessible product to repel mosquitoes and protect people from a disease that claimed nearly 500,000 lives in 2015, most of them in Africa. With one eye on a stopwatch, Gerard Niyondiko, the Burundian researcher behind the special soap, watches the behaviour of around a hundred hungry female mosquitoes. The volunteers wait to be bitten, but the odorous liquid -- a secret mix of local plant oils -- applied to their skin beforehand protects them from the cloud of hungry insects. In the small laboratory in Burkina Faso's National Centre for Malaria Research and Training in Ouagadougou, Niyondiko has been working since June to test the effectiveness of the soap at repelling mosquitoes and refine the recipe using different oils. In West Africa, "malaria kills a child every two minutes", Niyondiko says. Of the 214 million people infected with malaria in 2015, 88 percent of cases were registered in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Among them, 438,000 died and children are the most vulnerable. - Protection for all - The idea of using soap came from seeing that malaria continued to spread despite the distribution of mosquito nets. "Mosquito nets offer protection during sleep but they keep the heat and the most vulnerable populations can't afford to buy repellent for the whole family to protect them the rest of the time," Niyondiko said. "So we thought about a product used in the everyday life of these populations, which doesn't require any change of habits." Soap was ideal, he said, because "it's a product that even the poorest households buy and the whole family can share it". "If we manage to integrate (malaria) prevention into this product which is already available at an accessible price, it will mean we can save people who are unwilling or unable to spend more to protect themselves," he said. The project is targeting the six countries worst affected by malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Burkina Faso. "We are working on prevention with a new tool: bringing together two things which don't at first glance have anything in common: hygiene and malaria," said Lisa Barutel, 28, one of Niyondiko's two associates on the project. By using local essential oils as repellent, Niyondiko and his team hopes to keep costs to a minimum. "Our aim is not to get rich. We want to save 100,000 lives by 2020," he said, echoing the project's slogan. - 'Invention for everyone' - After training first as a chemist, Niyondiko won a bursary to leave Burundi and study for a master's degree at the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou. There in 2013 he met Frenchwoman Barutel, who was in charge of helping students with their projects. She set up an incubator for projects with a social aspect in Ouagadougou and helped Niyondiko gather funding. Faso Soap hit the headlines in 2013 when it won the $25,000 Global Social Venture Competition, an international award run by a network of business schools around the world. But a lack of funding put the project into standby mode until 2015, when it relaunched with a more scientific approach and partnered with a French start-up specialising in micro-encapsulation, a technique to allow the soap's active ingredients to work effectively for longer. A crowdfunding drive earlier this year raised 70,000 euros ($73,000). The laboratory tests now are being done in line with a scientific protocol so the soap can be approved by WHO and afterwards used in other countries. There are two stages of development to go before the soap can be released to the public, and Barutel said she hopes to "help a whole country" with their "invention for everyone". (This December 15 story deletes reference in second paragraph to Lim being only Western citizen known to be held currently in North Korea) OTTAWA (Reuters) - Diplomats from Canada this week paid a rare visit to North Korea and were able to see a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence for subversion, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday. Hyeon Soo Lim, who served at one of Canada's largest churches, was sentenced to hard labour for life in December 2015 for what North Korea says was an attempt to overthrow the regime. Chantal Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, confirmed a report by North Korea's KCNA news agency that said the diplomats visited the country from Tuesday until Thursday and saw Lim. "We are still very concerned about his health, well-being and continued detention and are working actively to secure his release," she said. Gagnon declined to give details of Lim's health. Canada established diplomatic relations with Pyongyang in 2001 but froze them in 2010. Ottawa now says it will only talk to North Korea about regional security, human rights and consular cases. No one from Lim's church was immediately available for comment. The church has said Lim visited North Korea more than 100 times since 1997 and helped set up an orphanage and nursing home. In January, Lim told CNN he spends eight hours a day digging holes at a labour camp where he has not seen any other prisoners. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by James Dalgleish) AFP News Denmark's left-wing Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday kicked off the process of forming a new, broader government one day after scoring a narrow election victory. The Social Democrats, the largest party in parliament with 50 of 179 seats and accustomed to leading minority governments, now want to govern across the political divide after Frederiksen secured their best election win since 2001. "It will be very, very difficult. We don't know if it will be possible, but we will try our utmost", she told a party debate on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the prime minister formally presented the resignation of her outgoing government to Queen Margrethe. The leaders of Denmark's 11 other parties in parliament were each meeting the queen individually on Wednesday before the monarch formally tasks Frederiksen with trying to form a new government. Frederiksen will then "enter into negotiations to form a broader government and that will probably take a while," political scientist Rune Stubager, a professor at Aarhus University, told AFP. Her left-wing bloc, which includes five parties plus three seats from the autonomous territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands, won a majority of 90 seats, compared to 73 for the right and far-right, and 16 for the centre. It was the Social Democrats' best election outcome in two decades, gaining two seats and securing over 27 percent of the vote, and allows Frederiksen to enter negotiations from a position of strength. Frederiksen's photo-finish win scuppered hopes of former two-time prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who founded a new Moderates party just months earlier, of becoming kingmaker in the new administration. - Broken dreams - The Moderates won more than nine percent of votes and Lokke Rasmussen insisted he wanted to be "the bridge" between the left and right, but daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten concluded that "in theory, Mette can do without Lars Lokke". While the Moderates will be part of negotiations, Stubager expressed doubt that they would be willing to "compromise sufficiently" to secure posts in the cabinet. A "more realistic" plan for Frederiksen would be a coalition government with various parties on the left, he said. While Frederiksen's government was largely hailed for handling the Covid-19 pandemic, the election was triggered by the country's so-called mink crisis. The affair erupted after the government decided in November 2020 to cull the country's 15 million minks over fears of a mutated strain of the novel coronavirus. The decision turned out to be illegal, and the Social Liberal party propping up Frederiksen's minority government threatened to topple it unless she called early elections to regain voters' confidence. The Social Liberals paid a price for the gamble, losing nine of their 16 seats and on Wednesday their party leader resigned. - 'Zero refugees' - To rule, the Social Democrats will still need to depend on support from the Social Liberals, which has made clear it will not support another minority one-party government. Broad consensus for Denmark's restrictive migration policy left the issue largely absent from the election campaign, but it could resurge in government negotiations. Advocating a "zero refugee" policy, the outgoing government had worked on setting up a centre to house asylum seekers in Rwanda while their applications are processed. The Social Liberals oppose the plan. "It will be very difficult for the Social Democrats to turn soft or to the left on immigration, because that has been a very pivotal point in their strategy over the past five, six years," Stubager said. "To give up on that would have dramatic consequences for them." The far-right has heavily influenced Danish politics in recent decades, but three populist parties together won just 14.4 percent of votes and are not expected to play a key role in the upcoming negotiations. The anti-immigration Danish People's Party, which hovered above 20 percent a few years ago, fell to 2.6 percent, its worst result since entering parliament in 1998. A new party founded by former immigration minister Inger Stojberg, the Denmark Democrats, instead won 8.1 percent, on a platform of less centralisation, less influence from Europe and fewer immigrants. cbw-jll/po/jm By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government of carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo, where thousands on Thursday were evacuated under a ceasefire deal from the last rebel enclave in a city besieged by fighting for years. Kerry vigorously defended U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the war - all of which have been futile - and in which Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias, has gained the upper hand in the latest turn of the nearly six-year-old conflict. Ultimately, Washington was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in a steadily shrinking pocket of territory in eastern Aleppo, culminating in this week's ceasefire deal. "There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the indiscriminate and savage brutality against civilians shown by the regime and by its Russian and Iranian allies over the past few weeks, or indeed for the past five years," Kerry told a news briefing in Washington. "We are seeing the unleashing of a sectarian passion." He added, "The Assad regime is actually carrying out nothing short of a massacre." Kerry said the United States was seeking an immediate, verifiable and durable cessation of hostilities in Aleppo, and said it appeared that air strikes and shelling had stopped and that convoys were moving out. But there were also reports that a convoy of injured people had been fired on by Syrian government forces or their allies, he said. Activists and residents inside the remaining rebel enclave said this week that pro-government militias had summarily executed dozens of civilians. Russia has denied that its strikes had killed civilians in large numbers, and said this week that rebels were keeping people in east Aleppo as human shields. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this month that Russia would treat rebels who stay in east Aleppo as "terrorists." LITTLE LEVERAGE Kerry has repeatedly invested diplomatic capital into deals with Russia that would establish a ceasefire between Assad forces and anti-government rebels, only to have those deals largely ignored by Damascus and Moscow. In recent days, he has publicly expressed frustration with the complete failure of diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. Speaking in the waning weeks of the Obama administration, Kerry on Thursday reiterated long-standing U.S. policy on Syria, and called on the international community to exert pressure on all parties to end the war. Five years of international efforts aimed at reaching a peace deal have failed to do so. Kerry has little leverage to influence the situation in Syria, former and current diplomats say, partly because of President Barack Obama's unwillingness to involve the United States heavily in Syria's war. The United States has provided some support to moderate rebels. "He just feels that the Russians and the Iranians are culpable and he wanted to make sure that's clear. At the same time, he also wants to say 'I am always willing to do more diplomacy,' which is kind of a ridiculous position," a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. "It's not going to get solved in the next (five) weeks. There is something about the Middle East that doesn't meet U.S. schedules," the official added, alluding to the Jan. 20 transfer of power from Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. Obama's caution, predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the Middle East, has prompted criticism from officials in his administration, including dozens of American diplomats who wrote a leaked internal memo this year calling for more aggressive action against Assad, including military strikes. Assad has vowed to fight until he has regained full control of the country. The government's takeover of Aleppo, the most populous city in Syria before the war, would mark a major victory for him. Kerry did not elaborate on any influence or leverage the United States could use on Russia to persuade it to pressure Assad to negotiate with members of the Syrian opposition. (Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and David Alexander in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and and Jonathan Oatis) US President Barack Obama warned his successor Donald Trump on Friday against provoking a "very significant" response from China by reaching out to Taiwan. Trump has broken with four decades of US diplomacy by suggesting Washington's "One China" stance may be reviewed and by accepting a call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has already expressed anger at Trump's move. Tension between the world's two greatest powers is running high, as was underlined Thursday when Chinese sailors seized an unmanned US naval probe in the South China Sea. Obama, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for Trump, has taken a cautious stance with the Asian giant and urged the president-elect to proceed with care. "The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation," he told reporters at an end of year news conference at the White House. "And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they'll treat some other issues. "This goes to the core of how they see themselves, and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant." - 'Crush his own toes' - On Monday, China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned that Beijing would not allow "any force in the world" to play tough with Beijing over its territorial claims. In a shot across Trump's bows, Wang said anyone who "tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests... will lift a rock only to crush his own toes." A Chinese spokesman also warned the Taiwanese not to get any ideas, warning: "Facts will show those people that 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end." Since Trump's declaration, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first live fire exercises involving dozens of ships and aircraft. Taiwan's defense minister, meanwhile, has urged young people to join the armed forces. Trump took a congratulatory call from Tsai after he won the November 9 US presidential election, one of dozens he received from leaders around the world. At first it was not clear whether he had done so without realizing that China would see it as an affront or whether it was a deliberate change in practice by his incoming administration. But, challenged by critics over his apparently reckless move, Trump doubled down and insisted he would not accept China "dictating" to him over protocol. And, resuming the attacks on Chinese trade policy he made throughout his campaign, he implied that US support for "One China" would depend on Beijing making concessions. - Courtesy calls - "I don't know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump told Fox News on Sunday. Obama was careful not to condemn Trump's initiative out of hand, but warned that if ties between Beijing and Washington break down, both sides will be worse off. "So I think it's fine for him to take a look at it," Obama said. "What I have advised the president-elect is that across the board on foreign policy you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way." And he implicitly criticized Trump's decision to make diplomatic moves without seeking the advice of the State Department and US intelligence agencies. "My advice to him has been that before he starts having a lot of interactions with foreign governments other than the usual courtesy calls that he should want to have his full team in place," he said. "He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience." Trading is expected to begin today, with Anacle System looking to raise between US$9 million and US$11.7 million Singapore-based property and energy management systems startup Anacle Systems has filed for a listing on an exchange set up by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), according to a report by Techgoondu . The startup is looking to raise between S$13 million (US$9 million) and S$17 million (US$11.7 million), with about 100 million shares will be placed with prices between 71 Singapore cents and 91 Singapore cents. After the listing, the startups market capitalisation will be between S$52 million (US$36 million) and S$68 million (US$47 million). Trading is expected to begin today (December 16), with listing exercise had begun on April. Anacle Founder and CEO Alex Lau explained that the startup chose to list in Hong Kong because it offers more publicity and better access to the larger number of investors and fund managers based in the area. The upgrade path to the main HKSE is also faster. Also Read: 3 reasons why Snap might be in a hurry for an IPO Well also have to show a profit of S$30 million (US$20 million) in the last financial year. This means we must at least have $100 million (US$69 million) revenue to get this profit. This is tough for small companies, he said. The startup plans to use the capital to fund expansion to China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Middle East. It will also double its team, which currently stands at 100 staffs particularly in engineering and sales and marketing departments. Founded in 2006, Anacles two key products are a property management and an energy management system. It has secured clients such as Singapore Airlines, CapitaLand, Mapletree, and Singapore Ministries of Health and Education. The startup also operates in Malaysia, Taiwan and the Middle East. The startups biggest shareholder is iGlobe Partners, which invested SG$1 million (US$693,000) in 2011. It went on to invest another SG$1 million (US$693,000) in 2013 when Anacle raised SG$5 million (US$3.4 million) in a round led by Majuven. Story continues Also Read: Mark Schwartz who played a major role in Alibabas US$25 billion IPO joins Paytms Board GEM itself is an alternative stock market operated by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. According to information in its official site, GEM does not require growth companies to have achieved a record of profitability as a condition of listing. Image Credit: danielvfung / 123RF Stock Photo The post Singapores Anacle System to list in HKSEs Growth Enterprise Market appeared first on e27. [December 15, 2016] Armor Joins Fight Against Ransomware, Partners with Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Providers in Global Initiative A prevalent threat to enterprises in 2016, ransomware is anticipated to be an even larger threat in the year to come as hackers become more advanced and organizations struggle to stay ahead. Armor, a leading provider of managed cloud security, announced today it is partnering with the No More Ransom (NMR) project, a non-commercial initiative pairing global IT security companies and law enforcement agencies in a collaborative effort to educate individuals and businesses in an effort to prevent the onslaught of ransomware. "What started as a consumer issue has evolved into a serious threat for enterprises subject to extortion through increasingly high monetary demands," said Jeff Schilling, chief of security and operations, Armor. "In fact, our team views ransomware as one of the most concerning cyber threats in 2017 with attacks and ransoms reaching historic proportions. Armor looks forward to expanding our participation with law enforcement agencies, government entities and cyber security providers to help mitigate this threat through a public-private concerted effort." News - Alert), Armor will join the project's growing ranks which now encompasses 19 countries and 20 IT companies and organizations. Partners of the project contribute to its mission by developing exclusive decryption tools or decryption keys. These resources are available via website, contributed materials and content, as well as prevention campaigns. "Cyber criminals recognize no borders," said Schilling. "Therefore, this threat must be pursued by an international coalition. Free initiatives such as this will help to equip the global community with the education and tools they may not otherwise have access to in order to defend against this criminal activity." For more information or to join in this effort, visit www.nomoreransom.org. About Armor The leader in active cyber defense, Armor offers customer-centric security outcomes for retail and eCommerce enterprises, healthcare organizations, payment leaders and financial institutions. Armor protects highly sensitive data for the most security-conscious companies in the world. With its proven cybersecurity approach and proprietary cloud infrastructure built specifically for security, compliance and performance, responsible businesses choose Armor to reduce their risk. For more information, visit armor.com or call 1-844-682-2858. For more information, visit armor.com or follow @armor. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006019/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Usefulness Functionality Price Postblazer is a fast, reliable and powerful social media scheduler that works with both Facebook and Twitter. If your seeking an effective social media scheduler for both Facebook and Twitter, Postblazer deserves some consideration. Managing Multiple Social Media Accounts with Postblazer How it Works Signing up for an account is quite easy. Click on their Start for Free tab on their website and you will be taken to a page with all their subscription plans. Choose your preferred plan, enter your details and wait for the verification email. This is how your account will look when set up. Click Add Facebook Profile, Add Facebook Page, or Add Twitter Profile to add them on the scheduling app. If you are prompted with a dialog box to accept permissions, opt to do so, as the platform requires your permission to effect the changes. Also, you will be provided with a list of all your pages assuming you own more than one. Choose the ones that you want Postblazer to post to. Use the drag and drop feature to quickly upload multiple posts to your social media networks. Click the post now button if you want to send the messages out immediately or use the scheduler to dictate when you want to post. Please note that if you are scheduling using multiple post options then you will be asked to specify the time you want each post published. You can be as specific as you want by inputting the specific minute and hour. You can also queue your posts using their advanced queuing feature that allows you to set different times for different media types. Blast videos, photos and messages into a queue. Easily separate when photos and links get published and maximize the synergy between improving your social reach and driving traffic to your business. At the very top of your account you will also see a Published posts tab which basically shows you all the posts that have been successfully published. Pricing Postblazer offers a variety of Pricing Plans. Fortunately, you can try all of the plans since they all come with a 14-day free trial period. The platform offers a Free version that connects to only 2 social profiles/pages, a $9.99 per month Lite package that accommodates up to 4 social media profiles/pages, a Plus package that goes for $19.99 per month and connects with up to 20 social profiles/pages and a Pro package that costs $49.99 per month and connects with 50 social profiles/pages. Conclusion It goes without saying that regular engagement with customers online improves traffic to your business and this is where Postblazer comes in handy. Its advanced queuing and scheduling features will also free your time, allowing you to concentrate on other business matters. This week in New York City Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) held their Small Business Basecamp, a half-day long pop-up event that attracted over 1300 registrants and a capacity overflow crowd of small business owners. The event brought together Amazon Business, Chase, LegalZoom, FreshBooks, Revel, SquareSpace, WeWork, Zenefits, RingCentral and Yelp to help show small businesses how CRM and related technologies can help them scale their abilities to find and keep customers more efficiently. During the event, I had the opportunity to do a Facebook Live broadcast featuring conversations with: Tony Rodoni, Executive Vice President of SMB Sales, Salesforce Jamie Domenici, Senior Vice President of SMB Marketing, Salesforce Darnell Hollaway, Director of Business Outreach, Yelp Below is an edited transcript of my conversation with Tony Rodoni. To view the full conversation click on the embedded video below. My conversations with Domenici and Holloway will be posted in the upcoming weeks. * * * * * Small Business Trends: Tell us a little bit more about your role at Salesforce? Tony Rodoni: I run the SMB sales teams at Salesforce. Ive been here for 10 years. And during that whole time Ive been working with small businesses; on their use and adoption of CRM for sales, marketing and service. Small Business Trends: How has small business evolved over your ten years at Salesforce? Tony Rodoni: When Salesforce was founded it started with small businesses. Since the day the company started 17 years ago. We used to have to evangelize why people would use the cloud; Is it safe? Are they comfortable? Were not evangelizing that anymore. If anything, small businesses are the innovators and early adopters of almost every type of technology we come out with. And the reason is technology makes small businesses more nimble. And makes them look bigger than they are. We call this the blowfish effect; How do I look bigger than I am? Fifteen years ago it cost a lot of capital and time if you wanted to build an ecommerce company or distribute/market over the web. Now those costs have come down so much. And at Salesforce we make our customers look bigger than they are, and grow faster. With our cloud technology, we future-proof technology for them. Because were generating new releases three or four times a year. Small Business Trends: Salesforce is here with Amazon Business, Ring Central, Yelp and other partners. Why is it important for Salesforce to reach out to small businesses by doing these kinds of events? Tony Rodoni: When we speak to small businesses, they often tell me were using you for CRM but what other technologies should we use? And they really think of us as advisors for small business technology. And the people weve invited here today are the types of companies we think can make a big difference for small businesses. And theyve already started Salesforce, this is a good segue into accounting, payroll, reviews, website development, etc. We really think its less about an individual vendor and more about the community were creating together in CRM. Small Business Trends: The landscape has changed tremendously. How are the small businesses youre talking to keeping up and Staying ahead of the of the pack? What are they doing to stay competitive in this really tough environment? Tony Rodoni: Theyre just more nimble. And whether its in a competitive environment, an economic environment, they see it first. They can act first. And what I see happening is they use technology to shift in their business as quickly as possible. If theyre a retailer they know how to change the offers theyre providing. If theyre using CRM to sell through a direct organization they know how to shift their product mix or pricing mix. And its really about shifting from being a system of record to using CRM as a system of engagement. And the biggest trend were seen right now is around this area of data science and artificial intelligence. No small business should have to have a data science department. But we want to put functionality into the product that helps them see trends, recommend actions, and take next steps. And our SMB customers are going to see that in our products pretty darn quick. Small Business Trends: We talk about that kind of thing: machine learning, data science. Most people do think of it as a big enterprise. What are some of the best ways small businesses benefit from some of the insights that are coming from these systems. Tony Rodoni: The best thing that you can use systems using data science are things like lead scoring; and knowing which leads to respond to the quickest. Today clients do that themselves. And our data science will do that for them. Or if you have multiple leads coming which ones do you call back now? Which one is the highest priority? Or if Im in support how should I automatically escalate a case. or automate a task. Whether its sales, service or marketing, people want the features in it to tell them what to do next. And the first generation of CRM left it to the user to figure out what to do next. And the innovation in CRM is to start recommending to people what to do for them. See Also: 9 Things About Salesforce that Small Business Owners Should Know Small Business Trends: What is exciting the small business you talk with about the latest tech can do for them. Tony Rodoni: The proliferation of devices. Were streaming this this today with a little tiny camera on your phone. And what we see more and more is small businesses running their business from their phone, because theyre mobile as well. And the exciting trend thats happening there is they dont want to be tethered to their desk when running their business. The best decisions happen when youre out of your office. Small Business Trends: After being at this event what do you want the small businesses to walk away with today? Tony Rodoni: This is a mix of people. People that use Salesforce and people that dont. Some are very early small businesses. And when we research small businesses, 80 percent still are not using any marketing automation. 85 percent still use email and spreadsheets to manage their customer action. And Id say the simplest thing were doing here today is evangelize the fact that theres a better way to manage their business for when they want to grow and doing it with Salesforce is dead simple. Small Business Trends: A year from now what are we going to be talking about when it comes to small business and technology? Tony Rodoni: Were going to talk about the graduation rate. Were going to talk about the new batch of small businesses and how theyre created with technology. Because the ones who are here with today will graduate. Theyll grow into larger companies. Theyll pivot in their industries. I dont mean to say every company is trying to be much larger. But theyll do more with less. And Salesforce will help them be smarter in doing that. Small Business Trends: Tell folks out there where they can learn more. Tony Rodoni: Salesforce Small Business Solutions. This is part of the One-on-One Interview series with thought leaders. The transcript has been edited for publication. If it's an audio or video interview, click on the embedded player above, or subscribe via iTunes or via Stitcher. We are very excited to announce that Mediapart, an independent French investigative journal, has decided to support Tails financially every year. In the past years, Mediapart has played a central role in the revelation and investigation of several major French political scandals. As such they are well aware of the digital threats faced by their sources, their journalists, and their readers. Tails has gained recognition by being used by Edward Snowden and the journalists reporting on his NSA leaks in 2014. According to Barton Gellman: Privacy and encryption work, but it's too easy to make a mistake that exposes you. Tails puts the essential tools in one place, with a design that makes it hard to screw them up. I could not have talked to Edward Snowden without this kind of protection. I wish I'd had it years ago. Since then many journalists around the world understood this approach and adopted Tails to make it easier to stay safe. As Jean-Marc Manach puts it: War reporters have to buy helmets, bullet-proof vests and rent armored cars; journalists using the Internet for their investigations are much luckier: to be as secured as war reporters, they only have to download Tails, burn it on a CD, install it on a SD card, and learn the basics of information and communication security, and it's free! In the same way that news organizations invest in physical security or proprietary software tools to do their work, news organizations should also invest in free software tools that, as security experts like Bruce Schneier have repeatedly stated, are going to be safe: I think most of the public domain privacy tools are going to be safe, yes. [...] I think that Tails is going to be safe. [...] You know, the NSA has a big lever when a tool is written closed-source by a for-profit corporation. There are levers they have that they don't have in the open source international, altruistic community. And these are generally written by crypto-paranoids, they're pretty well designed. As such, Tails has been the recommended secure platform for use with the SecureDrop and GlobaLeaks whistle-blowing platforms. Talking about the challenges of the adoption of encryption by journalists, the Internet freedom expert Christopher Soghoian said at #EncryptNews, a conference on digital security and journalism: News organizations need to also contribute to this community pool of tools. We need to have [reporters] contributing patches to PGP, OTR, and Tails. These organizations need to be funding $5.000 or $10.000 improvements to make these tools better. Because everyone is relying on these tools and none of the major organizations that are actually benefiting them are actually contributing to their development. Mediapart is the first news organization to officially endorse Tails and answer our call for donations. We hope they are not going to be the last. If your organization is also interested in becoming a regular donor, please contact us at tails-accounting@boum.org (OpenPGP key). Online Schools Virtual Charter School Network K12 Rejects Transparency Proposal Virtual charter school company K12 Inc. rejected a transparency proposal Thursday that would have required the companys board of directors to create a new report detailing K12s lobbying efforts. The proposal came from a group of shareholders, represented by Arjuna Capital, who said the company spends millions on state lobbying, even as its stock has been dropping and revenues have decreased. K12 Inc. has spent at least $10.5 million to hire lobbyists in 21 states, according to more than a decade of state lobbying disclosure forms examined by Education Week as part of a recent investigation into the lobbying efforts of for-profit virtual charter school operators. The shareholders called on the companys board to prepare an annual report detailing spending on direct or indirect lobbying or grassroots lobbying communications. They also wanted the company to report K12s membership in, and payments to, any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation such as the American Legislative Exchange Council. The K12 shareholder effort to push for more transparency was headed by Bertis Downs, the legal counsel for the rock group R.E.M. as well as a traditional public school parent and advocate in Athens, GA. Downs also sits on the board of the Network for Public Education, the group co-founded by education historian and traditional public schools advocate Diane Ravitch. K12s board of directors opposed the proposal. In a proxy statement put out ahead of the annual shareholders meeting, the board said the requirements outlined in the proposal are not necessary and could hurt the company. The expanded disclosure requested by this proposal could place the company at a competitive disadvantage by revealing strategies and priorities designed to protect the economic future of the company, its stockholders and employees, the statement said. K12 has faced major challenges in recent years. Revenues are down by $75 million from last year, according to an Education Week report. Investors sued the company in 2014, claiming it had misled them before its stock prices fell in 2013. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year. And California Attorney General Kamala Harris launched an investigation into the company for alleged false advertising and unfair business practices. In July, K12 Inc. agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle the state's claims and provide $160 million in balanced budget credits to the nonprofit schools it manages, including California Virtual Academies. Despite those setbacks, the company continues to open new schools in states such as Alabama, Maine and North Carolina. By Michelle Nichols and John Irish UNITED NATIONS/PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Friday it is pushing for the United Nations Security Council to ensure the evacuation of Aleppo is coordinated by international observers, that humanitarian aid is allowed in to the Syrian city and that hospitals are protected. French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre outlined a draft resolution to the 15-member council after a briefing by U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said negotiations would begin on Friday. "We're hoping to vote over the weekend at least because of the extreme urgency," she told reporters. The evacuation from the last opposition-held areas of the city was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded the wounded should also be brought out of two Shi'ite villages besieged by rebel fighters. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that while he had not yet seen a copy of the draft resolution, it appeared that Russia was already carrying out everything it described. "Now France comes in and says that they're actually on top of it all and they're showing the right way to do things on the ground," he said. "If it is a sensible initiative and we see it on paper, why not entertain this initiative." He said he wanted to see greater involvement of U.N. agencies in Aleppo, but dismissed the idea of deploying U.N. observers as it would "take weeks" when the International Committee for the Red Cross is already on the ground. Delattre and Power said U.N. officials and resources were already present in Syria. "The issue is that the regime, Russia and Iran and the militia they are backing aren't allowing U.N. people to reach civilians and then to be present at the sites where people are crossing from eastern Aleppo into other territory," Power said. Syrian ally Russia, which has provided military backing to President Bashar al-Assad's troops, has vetoed six Security Council resolutions on Syria since the conflict started in 2011. China joined Moscow in vetoing five resolutions. "If we have no consensus within the Security Council we would go for an emergency special session of the General Assembly," Delattre said. Under a 1950 resolution, an emergency special session can be called for the 193-member General Assembly to consider a matter "with a view to making appropriate recommendations to members for collective measures" if the Security Council fails to act. Such a session can be called by an assembly majority or nine members of the Security Council. The session could adopt a resolution recommending action. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but can carry political weight. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and John Irish and Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris; Editing by James Dalgleish) [December 15, 2016] New White Paper: The State of Automotive Cybersecurity CHEVY CHASE, Md., Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The auto industry is on the verge of major, disruptive change. Connected and self-driving cars hold the promise of transforming the way the world uses transportation. To realize this transformation however, the auto industry and federal and state governments must tackle and solve the thorny issue of automotive cybersecurity, according to Billington CyberSecurity, A free new white paper, Cybersecurity and the Automotive Sector: Addressing the Key Challenge for Tomorrow's Autonomous and Connected Cars, has just been released by BIllington CyberSecurity. The white paper draws on the findings from the inaugural Billington Global Automotive Summit where cybersecurity experts from the auto industry, federal government, the white hat hacker community and academia, offered insights and solutions to the complex issues surrounding automotive cyber safety. When it comes to automotive cybersecurity, the stakes are high. As cars become more connected and reliant on wireless and interoperable communication networks, cybersecurity safeguards have become imperative. Sen. Gary Peters, D.-MI, told the Billington Automotive Summit, "failure is not an option. The auto industry is going to have the highest bar of anybody in cyber." Echoing Peters, Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, has warned that connected and autonomous vehicles will succeed only if cybersecurity best practices are adopted by all 18 world automakers. The white paper includes links to the Automotive Cybersecurity Best Practices released by the Auto-ISAC, The Department of Transportation's Federal Automated Vehicles Policy and the National Highway Transportation Security Administration's Cybersecurity Practices for Modern Vehicles Click on the report title to receive your fee copy Cybersecurity and the Automotive Sector: Addressing the Key Challenge for Tomorrow's Autonomous and Connected Cars, In related news, three automotive cybersecurity experts join Billington CyberSecurity's founder and CEO to explore the current state of automotive cybersecurity on January 11, 2017 at the North American International Auto Show. Thomas Billington will sit down with Jeffrey Massimilla, Chief Product Cybersecurity Officer, General Motors and John "Four" Flynn, Chief Information Security Officer, Uber, and Jeffrey Moss, Founder, Blackhat and Defcon to explore the automotive cybersecurity landscape in 2017 and beyond. Uber has been road testing autonomous vehicles this year as part of its strategic plan to change the face of ride sharing. General Motors will be launching its first autonomous vehicle with its partner Lyft, another ride sharing company. This important conversation takes place Jan. 11, at the AutoMobili-D Show, sponsored by the North American International Auto Show. AutoMobili-D will focus on the rapidly evolving global auto and mobility markets. Billington CyberSecurity will hold its 2nd Annual Billington Automotive Cybersecurity Summit July 18, 2017, Cobo Center, Detroit, MI. Billington CyberSecurity will convene two other summits in 2017. The 2nd Annual Billington International Cybersecurity Summit, March 30, 2017, The National Press Club, Washington, D.C. The 8th Annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit, Sept. 13, 2017, The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington, D.C. About Billington CyberSecurity Billington CyberSecurity is an independent media company that produces high-level executive forums, conferences, and seminars about cybersecurity. The mission of Billington CyberSecurity is to bring together thought leaders from all sectors to examine the state of cybersecurity and highlight ways to strengthen the cyber defenses within government and the private sector. Media Contact: Helen Hoart [email protected] 203-536-5545 Sponsorship opportunities are available for all three summits. Please contact Peggy Holland at 301-641--4150 or email her at [email protected] This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-white-paper-the-state-of-automotive-cybersecurity-300379291.html SOURCE Billington CyberSecurity [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Attorney General Loretta Lynch increased the pressure Thursday on Baltimore leaders to sign a court-enforceable agreement that would reform its police department, saying she would travel to the city next month with hopes of making an announcement on the matter. That announcement in the Justice Departments ideal world would be that months of negotiation with Baltimore had finally produced a consent decree mandating a series of police reforms. The department said in an August report that Baltimore police had engaged in years of racially discriminatory policing and using excessive force. City leaders at the time said they would work with federal officials to implement reforms, though a self-imposed Nov. 1 deadline to hash out an agreement came and went. At a Politico Playbook breakfast Thursday, Lynch said getting a deal inked remained a priority. At this point, the balls in the citys court, but we are looking forward to getting a positive response from them on finalizing this consent decree, Lynch said. She added later: Having that court enforceability is key, and its vital. Reforming local police departments has been something of a hallmark of Lynchs Justice Department, and Baltimore always seemed to hold a special place in her heart. She was sworn in on the same day as the funeral for Freddie Gray, whose death in Baltimore police custody sparked riots in the city, and her first trip as attorney general was to visit the city to meet with police and residents. Soon after, the Justice Department opened what is known as a pattern or practice investigation into whether the police department employed systemic policies or tactics that violated the Constitution. Lynchs Justice Department is in the midst of a similar, high-profile review in Chicago, and officials under Lynch are pursuing another though less heavy-handed reform agreement through its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in San Francisco. The reforms there will not be court-enforceable. In Baltimore, the Justice Department has for months been sending city leaders various proposals for pieces of the agreement, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Newly elected Mayor Catherine Pugh recently told WBAL that she wanted to get a deal done, though her previous comments had not been quite as emphatic. Asked whether she believed a court-ordered agreement was necessary, she said, I would not say the consent decree is not needed, according to the Baltimore Sun. She also said she worried about paying twice for changes that were already implemented, according to the Sun. A spokesman for Pugh did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The timing of an agreement is critical, as Lynch will be out as attorney general on Jan. 20, and her likely successor, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., might not be as committed to police reform. In previous public statements, Sessions has taken a somewhat circumspect view of consent decrees. The decrees can be good and healthy. But as the Supreme Court is telling us, we ought to be respectful and understanding that it does impact in a significant way our separation of powers, the entire nature of our democracy, because it is removing the power from the people and putting it into the hands of an unelected judge who is not accountable, he said at a 2005 hearing on the subject. President-elect Donald Trump has positioned himself as a law-and-order candidate wary of restrictions on police. He said police in Chicago could stop a spate of deadly violence by being very much tougher than they are right now, and wrote to the International Association of Chiefs of Police that he would generally keep the federal government out of local law enforcements business. baltimore-police TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Rapper Pitbull released his $1 million contract with Floridas tourism marketing agency via Twitter on Thursday, two days after a lawmaker sued to find out details of the agreement that included production of a video for the song Sexy Beaches. Pitbull tweeted (asterisk)FULL DISCLOSURE FLORIDA(asterisk) with a link to the 11-page agreement to produce the Sexy Beaches video for Visit Florida and to promote the hashtag #LOVEFL on his social media sites and during concerts. Visit Florida was also responsible for expenses and production costs. Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to have details of the contract disclosed. Visit Florida refused to say how much it paid the rapper, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, or details of the arrangement, saying it was a trade secret. Corcoran found that unacceptable, saying taxpayers should know just how Visit Florida was spending its money. It is unfortunate that it took litigation to lift the veil of secrecy on this particular contract, Corcoran said in a statement. This was a long unnecessary journey through claims of trade secrets, threats of prosecution, and corporate welfare paid for by taxpayers. House Democratic Leader Janet Cruz said she was furious over the deal. The state watches every pen that I buy. Were subject to approval for everything that we buy in our state office, Cruz said. Yet these guys have the audacity and the arrogance to think that they could spend a million dollars on talent and not have to disclose it. A lawyer for Pitbull let the tweet speak for itself. There will be no further comment from the Pitbull camp, Leslie Jose Zigel said in an email. Visit Florida didnt return an email and a phone call seeking comment. The video features images of women frolicking in the surf and sand as well as pictures of iconic Florida hotels such as Miami Beachs Fontainebleau and the pink Don CeSar Hotel in St. Pete Beach. It ends with an image of #LOVEFL written in the sand. Cruz called the video and song lyrics offensive and awful. Cruz pointed out lines in the song like, Little mama wanna live it up/Well, little mama better give it up and Im looking for a freak, not a soulmate. The video has nearly 10.7 million views on YouTube. ___ AP writer Gary Fineout contributed to this report. Follow Brendan Farrington on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bsfarrington LAS CRUCES A U.S. Department of Energy field office manager on Thursday said WIPP is extremely close to reopening nearly three years after a radiation accident forced closure of the nuclear waste repository. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeast New Mexico has been working to recover from an accident in February 2014 in which a drum of nuclear waste overheated and burst underground, contaminating a large swath of the salt mine repository. Facility managers must take dozens of corrective actions in response to a DOE operational readiness review, which found issues in emergency management, ground control, radiation protection of workers and oversight. The issues must be corrected before the facility begins receiving waste from the nations nuclear sites. Speaking at a town hall meeting, DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader said WIPP workers have been working seven days a week and performed a dry run this week to practice emplacing waste. It means we are extremely close, Shrader said. We have been saying for six months that our goal is to open in December. If it takes a little bit longer, thats OK, but were at the end state of the readiness process now. The readiness review by DOE inspectors identified 21 issues that needed to be corrected. Six of those have been addressed and approved by DOE, according to Phil Breidenbach, manager of WIPP contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership. He said the rest of the issues should be taken care of over the next few days. The review also listed 15 findings that DOE said can be addressed after WIPP resumes taking waste. There have been multiple challenges in the cleanup. Work has been slowed by limited ventilation underground, since air moving in and out of the radiologically contaminated mine must be filtered. Workers must wear cumbersome protective gear and respirators to work in contaminated areas, including Panel 7 where waste will be stacked when WIPP reopens. And it has been a challenge to keep up with underground maintenance, especially of the salt ceiling that must be constantly bolted back to prevent dangerous roof collapses of the kind that have dogged the facility this year. Breidenbach said workers have doubled their rate of roof bolting over the past two months, and four waste storage rooms in Panel 7 are stabilized. The salt is destined to creep and encapsulate the waste permanently once WIPP is full and permanently sealed. The drum of defense-related nuclear waste that burst underground was improperly packaged at Los Alamos National Laboratory and shipped to WIPP for disposal. LANL must complete its own corrective actions before it can begin sending waste to WIPP again. The New Mexico Environment Department must sign off before WIPP can reopen. Six state inspectors completed their own review of WIPP operations last week, the results of which have not been made public. The state performed a very thorough inspection above ground and below ground, Breidenbach said. They found some areas for us to improve but overall they were very complimentary of the progress they saw. We need their authorization we expect to get that shortly. [December 15, 2016] FullHost Sets New Standards with Managed WordPress Hosting VICTORIA, British Columbia, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FullHost, a Canadian hosting provider, has today announced a new hosting product geared to the unique needs of WordPress users: Managed WordPress Hosting. In the age of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and more, a well-designed website is essential to building and sustaining any sort of following. As a result, many are turning to WordPress, a quickly growing and completely personalizable web site building tool. Because of its popularity, the number of resources available for WordPress is absolutely phenomenal. With a supportive community paired with the ability to completely customize any web page has given WordPress over twenty-five percent of the market share, and this number is on the rise. In response to this popularity, FullHost, an acclaimed Canadian web-hosting provider, has launched its Managed WordPress Hosting product line. With FullHost's proven record in over a decade of providing hosting solutions, WordPress users will enjoy unmatched performance, uptime, security, and more. By its very nature, their Managed WordPress Hosting has been completely optimized for WordPress use. In this vein, FullHost understands that a WordPress website can go viral in an instant as social media like Reddit or Twitter can make views skyrocket in a matter of seconds. The unfortunate downside of this is that a WordPress website is often unprepared for the massive uptick and crashes, resulting in masses of disgruntled users. To remedy this issue, a key to FullHost's Managed WordPress Hosting platform is the ability to scale up infinitely, growing as iewership grows. In this way, no website-owner will have to worry about going viral. Another aspect of the Managed WordPress Hosting service is the 'managed' part, meaning that FullHost will take care of absolutely everything that is technical and pesky. While WordPress is a great platform, it is notorious for doling out patches incessantly. To help website owners handle this madness, FullHost automatically applies these patches, enabling site owners to focus on what is really important: furthering their website. When it comes ensuring every WordPress installation is secure, the FullHost technical team is well versed with the finer nuances with securing WordPress. This expertise allows FullHost to protect WordPress websites with measures and methods specifically designed for the WordPress platform, preventing malicious attacks. As a side benefit, the FullHost team is committed to repairing any damage a hacker may cause to the outer layer of cyber defense during an attack, keeping websites secure no matter the situation. As for the non-hacking related issues that may come up, FullHost is prepared for that too. A full-fledged support team with vast knowledge of the WordPress platform is available around the clock. What's more is that these support personnel are trained to explain complex issues in layman's terms, ensuring that the solution to a client's problem is easily actionable. Should worse come to worst, the FullHost team always has a backup of their clients' websites on-hand. These backups can be made whenever a Managed WordPress Hosting client requests one and are automatically made by FullHost. In addition, those who decide to switch to the FullHost platform, migration is completely free, making the first step to a better website owning experience easier than ever. To learn more about FullHost's Managed WordPress Hosting visit www.fullhost.com/managed-wordpress-hosting. About FullHost Since 2004, FullHost, a premiere web-hosting provider has offered comprehensive online solutions to small, medium, and large organizations across Canada and beyond. From their headquarters in Victoria BC and their data centers in Vancouver and Toronto, they are trusted by Canadians from coast to coast to deliver a best in class web hosting experience providing a wide array of options from shared web hosting and reseller hosting services, to managed virtual cloud and bare metal dedicated servers. To learn more about FullHost, please visit https://www.fullhost.com A division of Pretecs Networks Inc. Media Contact: Email: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fullhost-sets-new-standards-with-managed-wordpress-hosting-300379294.html SOURCE FullHost [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] New Mexico has a drunken driving problem. And its up to all of us to stop it. At the state Department of Transportation, ending DWI is a priority. Thats why weve launched various initiatives to crack down on it like finding and arresting dangerous DWI offenders who are running from the law, and a program that sheds light on how the courts handle drunken driving cases. Our latest campaign highlights the dangers of over-serving someone alcohol whether its a waiter or bartender. The campaign includes TV ads and educational materials for establishments to share with their customers. In addition, we rolled out a powerful video that anyone serving alcohol will have to watch during their training. This ensures servers understand the impact of their decisions. We also work with other state agencies and law enforcement to crack down on establishments that break the rules and over-serve their customers. In the last year, law enforcement issued about 75 citations to establishments that over-served. I urge owners and servers to recognize just how dangerous it is to keep pouring for someone who is already drunk. But its not just law enforcements job to stop drunken driving. And not just a servers job. We all share the responsibility. When you drink, dont drive. Call a friend. Ride with Uber or Lyft. Or stay where you are. If you suspect a driver is drunk, dial #DWI. At our department, we will continue educating New Mexicans of the dangers and work with law enforcement as they crack down on drunken driving. We need your help. Make the decision now to never drive drunk. Servers make the decision now to stop pouring for someone who has already had too much to drink. And if a bartender refuses to give you another drink, be grateful they may have just saved your life and others. We can all end DWI. But it takes all of us. Remembering Dolores Elizabeth Lola Chavez de Armijo: Unless youre a New Mexico history buff, most arent going to recognize the name. Nevertheless, Lola was the New Mexico territorial librarian in 1912. Why should she be remembered? Slightly over 100 years ago, the governor of New Mexico claimed women were unqualified to hold office under the Constitution and laws of New Mexico and tried to replace Lola as the state librarian. The New Mexico Supreme Court, at the time, found it their task to decide whether Lola should be ousted. The sole basis for the proceeding was to determine whether Lola was ineligible on account of sex, she being a woman. The states attorney filed a petition in quo warranto, a proceeding where the right to hold office is challenged. The justices wrote a detailed analysis and were divided in the outcome. All three justices wrote separate opinions. One justice said, women, although citizens of the United States in the broad sense have, under our political system, no political power, and cannot, except under an enabling statute, be considered eligible to hold office. One justice wrote, the legislative intent to grant the right to all citizens to hold appointive office is manifest. Therefore, there is implied statutory authority for women to hold appointive office. The chief justice wrote the majority decision and began his comments by stating the right to hold public office is not a natural right. It exists, where it exists at all, only because and by virtue of some law expressly or impliedly conferring it. The chief justice researched the laws of Congress and found that every free white male inhabitant, above the age of twenty-one years, shall be entitled to vote , and shall be eligible to any office within said Territory. The New Mexico Territorial Legislature had also enacted a law that defined the qualifications of holding elective office. The law stated: Every white male citizen of the United States, over twenty-one years of age, who shall have resided in the Territory one year, shall be entitled to vote and be elected to office. Undoubtedly, free white male inhabitants over 21 had the right to vote and hold office, but what about women? The law was silent. The chief justice, through a bit of verbal gymnastics, concluded that despite these laws there was no statute specifically denying or conferring the right to vote or hold office by a woman. Since there was nothing that denied the right, the Court needed to look at the common law. Common law, developed by judges, allows prior decisions to help shape current decisions. However, the chief justice found that under common law the right of women to vote and hold office was never recognized. The court cited many cases where women were excluded from being a judge, lawyer member of a board of health and school board. The chief justice actually cited a case that said: It is generally supposed, in that period of the history of the world, when the common laws had its birth, that women were incapable mentally of exercising judgment and discretion and were classed with children, lunatics, idiots and aliens insofar as their political rights were concerned. With no written law or common law that allowed women to hold office, what did the chief justice decide? Well, he shifted gears and stated that this case wasnt really about the right of a woman to hold public office, but merely about the right to hold an appointive office, which was purely ministerial. The chief justice went back to old English law, which stated women were permitted to hold certain appointive offices depending upon the nature and duties of the office. He described the duties of a librarian, and concluded that a librarian was not required to exercise judgment in any respect. The office was purely ministerial. Ministerial offices are those which give the officer no power to judge, and which require them to obey some superior. The chief justice concluded by stating a woman could hold the office of librarian because it was purely ministerial and called for the exercise of neither judgment nor discretion, and the duties were not incompatible with the ability of a woman to perform. Shortly after the decision, the New Mexico Legislature enacted legislation clarifying that a woman could hold public office. We have come a long way! Thanks, in part, to Lolas courage, the ingenuity of justice, and a recognition that equality may not be historical, but its the right thing to do. Frank A. Sedillo is a judge of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the judge individually and not those of the court. Congress needs to dust off its Magic 8 Ball. At this point, how else are our elected representatives going to get to the bottom of allegations that Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, tried to influence the U.S. general election? After all, the Central Intelligence Agency isnt being very open at least not with our elected representatives. Instead of briefing the House Intelligence Committee about the alleged Russian role in hacked emails made public during the campaign which Democrats desperately seek to blame for Hillary Clintons loss the agency is leaking conclusions without facts to the Washington Post, New York Times and television networks. The media, naturally, are quick to report the anonymous bits of blame Putin information to the public. So to the extent Putin meddled, our own spies have at least matched his efforts to discredit our electoral system. To recap: Private emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign were made public via WikiLeaks, allegedly through hacking, even though the FBI had tried to warn the DNC back in September 2015 of problems with its security system. The agency couldnt get past the partys technical help desk harking back to Hillarys email security problems on her own private server. The media reported on the leaks daily and if a reporter had obtained the same information from inside sources, there would be no controversy at all. Todays uproar is over the source not the substance. But the CIAs alleged conclusion that Russia intervened to help Trump win does not square with comments made Nov. 17 by James Clapper, director of National Intelligence. He said he lacked good insight about whether there was a connection between the WikiLeaks releases and Russia. Congressional Republican leaders are taking the allegations seriously. The Russians are not our friends, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. House Speaker Paul Ryan called any Russian intervention especially problematic because, under President Putin, Russia has been an aggressor that consistently undermines American interests. But Intelligence Committee member Peter King of New York flatly accused the U.S. intelligence community of waging a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining Trumps credibility if not changing the course of the Electoral College. Not surprisingly, President Obama is seizing a newfound political opportunity and is taking a new interest despite earlier claims of knowing all along of Russian shenanigans but choosing not to go public with whatever evidence he had none of which he has produced. He has ordered an investigation into whether Russia has attempted to influence U.S. elections going back to 2008. He said the reported CIA findings should come as no surprise to anyone, as suspicions that Russia was trying to influence the election were widely reported before the general election. Clinton herself spoke frequently about the possibility. President-elect Donald Trump rejected the idea that Russia helped him win as ridiculous. Concerning the source of the leaked emails, on Sunday he told Chris Wallace of Fox News, Personally, it could be Russia. I dont really think it is. But who knows? They dont know and I dont know. The source of the campaign leaks remains an interesting question, but one unlikely to be answered credibly unless the CIA coughs up its findings to Congress. Cooperation also might help answer the question of possible Russian motives if it was involved: Was it to cast doubt on the U.S. election system? If so, it was highly successful with the help of our own intelligence community and desperate Democrats who simply cant accept that Trump won 306 Electoral College votes. Though the CIA based its supposed findings of pro-Trump intervention on the fact that no Republican emails were leaked before the election, the Republican National Committee says it wasnt hacked. And Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange stands firm in his claim the Russians were not the source of the leaks. Cyber hacking has become one of the mainstays of life Yahoo most recently was hacked of more than one billion user accounts. And intervention into foreign elections is something many nations, including the United States, do regularly. Obama recently tried to influence the Brexit vote. And while nobody should feel good about foreign interests intervening in U.S. elections, the reluctance of the U.S. intelligence community to share its information with official sources charged with making decisions about national security, while leaking information via media outlets, is very disturbing, raising the spectre of a political coup by our nations intelligence forces. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. The National Hispanic Cultural Center received some good news on Thursday. At the NHCC Board of Directors meeting, it was announced that the center received a $150,000 planning grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grant is to find ways to bring the community together to work through the deep historical and contemporary issued that falsely divide by race, gender and more. The grant will allow the NHCC to plan story sharing and community dialogues set for 2018. The NHCC will also commission artwork that draws from these community stories and will be presented in 2019. We believe in the power of our New Mexico community to openly and honestly work together through and beyond the false hierarchy of human value that has defined our history, so that it will not define our future, said Rebecca Avitia, NHCC executive director. By empowering artists to create works from the wisdom shared by the people of our state as they engage in deep and meaningful dialogue about their divided experiences, both historical and contemporary, we believe we can create more than beautiful artwork. We can create the very foundation of healing our state and community are ready for. Avitia said the NHCC is inviting as many community organizations and individuals of all backgrounds. Those interested in being part of the effort should contact Avitia at rebecca.avitia@state.nm.us. At the meeting the board overwhelming showed support for the grant. Avitia says the grant can be multi-year. Two New Mexico House Democrats are reviving a proposed constitutional amendment to support early childhood education by tapping the Land Grant Permanent Fund and this time they think the plan could make it to the ballot. On Thursday, Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, announced House Joint Resolution 1, which would invest 1 percent of the $15 billion funds growth to help 78,000 New Mexico children who lack high-quality childcare. The lawmakers have tweaked last years proposal, opting to funnel the money to the Public Education Department rather than the Children, Youth and Families Department. From there, the funding would be passed along to school boards. It is a moral imperative that we fully fund early education programs in our state, Maestas said. We cannot grow as an economy until we deal with the social conditions of our children. Its a familiar battle cry. New Mexico Democrats have been trying to advance the early childhood plan for the past six years without success, fighting with Republicans over access to the permanent fund. Last month, Gov. Susana Martinez said the fund should be protected in spite of a budget shortfall that has slashed allocations for education. Allen Sanchez, president of CHI St. Josephs Children and a backer of the early childhood plan, acknowledged that the opposition is strong, but said he isnt discouraged. The public supports this, he said, citing a 2011 poll that showed 71 percent of New Mexico voters favor the proposed constitutional amendment. The resolution also has backing from about 40 organizations, including both of New Mexicos teachers unions: the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association. Considering the economic crisis New Mexico is facing, it is fiscally smart to ensure our children reach kindergarten ready to learn and take full advantage of the states investment in the K-12 system, said Charles Goodmacher, government and media relations director for NEA New Mexico. Recent studies have shown strong yields from early childhood education. Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman of the University of Chicago found that high-quality pre-K programs for low-income kids create a 13 percent per year return on investment each dollar generated $6.30 in value. Children who participate in such programs have better grades, health and employment outlooks, according to Heckmans research. BEIJING Chinas first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its first live-fire exercise, the Defense Ministry has announced. Dozens of ships and aircraft took part in the exercise a few days ago in the Bohai Sea in eastern China to test weapon performance and training levels, according to a statement posted Thursday on the ministrys website. China said last month that its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was ready to engage in combat, marking a milestone for a navy that has invested heavily in its ability to project power far from Chinas shores. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. China-developed J-15 fighters carried live ammunition and performed strike exercises, the ministry said. Footage on state broadcaster China Central Television showed fighters launching missiles and hitting targets, and one pilot wore a helmet with SHOOT IT written in English across the top. The Liaoning was commissioned in 2013 after being purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago. China hasnt described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce Chinas increasingly assertive claims over almost all of the South China Sea, which is home to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of mineral resources. Five other governments claim the maritime space either in part or in whole, and the Philippines and Vietnam in particular have sought assistance from the U.S. and others in beefing up their ability to resist China, including its construction of seven islands by piling sand atop coral reefs. A debate about marijuana legalization sponsored Thursday by an Albuquerque business group suggests that Colorados three-year experience with recreational pot has done little to settle arguments about the industrys risks and benefits. A leader of Colorados cannabis industry said legalization has provided an economic boon for the state, with about 22,000 people directly employed in marijuana production and sale. We have more people moving to Colorado and less people out of work, said Dan Anglin, CEO of Americanna, a manufacturer of edible cannabis products. A Colorado tax official said revenue from cannabis excise taxes and fees climbed to $141 million in fiscal 2016, which ended June 30, up from $88 million in 2015. But legalization opponents said those benefits must be weighed against the social costs of marijuana use. My fear is we are creating a new tobacco industry, said Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a policy group in Alexandria, Va. Alcohol and tobacco rack up $10 in social costs for every dollar they generate in tax revenue, he said. We made a horrible mistake with tobacco, and were still paying the price. The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce sponsored the panel discussion to help board members form opinions ahead of the 2017 legislative session, when lawmakers are expected to consider a variety of pot-related measures. Dr. Paul Romo, a University of New Mexico professor of psychiatry, said the health effects of potent new strains and extracts are potentially dangerous. A lot of people have the perception that marijuana is completely safe, Romo said. But many people developed their perceptions years ago when cannabis contained relatively small amounts of THC, the plants active agent, he said. Cannabis growers since have developed potent new strains and extracts that have high levels of THC, which can cause lifelong psychosis for people who are genetically predisposed, he said. As you get the cannabis in more and more concentrated forms, it gets to the point where the system cant handle it, Romo said. Anglin said the edible products his company manufactures contain maximum THC dosage levels required by state law, and all products are rigorously tested. By the time it gets to market, it has been tested 11 times, Anglin said of his products. The industry also took the initiative of banning edibles in the shapes of animals or people and recommended childproof packaging, he said. SANTA FE A Democratic senator and a Republican House member plan to make another run at expanding to private businesses the states ban the box law, which prohibits public employers from asking job seekers right off the bat about criminal convictions. The proposal was introduced in 2015 and narrowly passed the Senate before dying in the House amid concerns from business groups. Sen. Bill ONeill, D-Albuquerque, and Rep. Alonzo Baldonado, R-Los Lunas, who sponsored the earlier version, will offer it again in the 60-day legislative session that begins in January. The idea is to give someone a fair shake who has truly changed their life and is headed in a better direction, said Baldonado, who has seen friends go through a rough life and become fantastic individuals. If you have 100 applications and you ask the felony question and 25 answer yes, those 25 never get another look, the lawmaker said. At least 24 states have adopted some sort of ban the box or fair chance policies, according to the National Employment Law Project. The law New Mexico enacted in 2010 was pushed by Clint Harden, then a Republican senator from Clovis who had been the states labor secretary. It says that a conviction may not automatically be a bar to getting a government job or license, and that a public employer cant ask the question on an initial application. A conviction can be considered only when the applicant is a finalist for the job, under the law. Employers are authorized, however, to reject applicants under certain circumstances for example, if a convicted sex offender or child abuser were to apply to work at a child care facility. A draft of proposed legislation ONeill presented recently to a legislative committee says the public or private employer cant ask the question on an initial application if the employer uses an initial application. Thats aimed at reassuring small businesses that use only one application in their hiring processes that they can ask the question upfront, ONeill said. Nothings more important than a good job, and its oftentimes hard to coax this population into believing they could even have a chance, said the lawmaker, who formerly helped parolees with job placement. ONeill emphasized that the proposal is a work in progress and more changes could be made as the sponsors get feedback from the business community. Jason Espinoza, president of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, said in an email that previous drafts of the bill would have had negative unintended consequences, and he hopes the 2017 legislation minimizes legal liability, administrative burden, and exposure to risk of New Mexico businesses. What small business is afraid of is the liability, that they could get sued, for example, by rejected applicants or by people claiming they were harmed by the hiring of convicted offenders, said Minda McGonagle, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business. Its in the hiring process they feel very vulnerable, McGonagle said. The NFIB, which represents nearly 2,000 businesses in the state, also doesnt like mandates, preferring that businesses be able to make their own decisions, she said. While the legislation raises a legitimate issue for business and the larger community, At this point, we havent found a consensus solution. We dont have answers yet, McGonagle said. LAS CRUCES The private company contracted to provide bus services to Las Cruces Public Schools on Thursday handed out grand prizes to children who rode the bus to school on Dec. 1. It was all part of the LCPS Ride the Bus to School Day initiative held earlier this month. Dec. 1 was the 80th school day of the year and the New Mexico Public Education Department allots transportation funding, in part, on the average ridership on the 80th day and 120th day. The promotion aimed to increase ridership on that audit day and thereby increase state funding by giving students who rode the bus a chance to win a variety of high-tech gadgets and toys. STS-NM gave away about $3,000 in prizes to students and lauded the grand prize winners during during school visits on Thursday: Elias Baron, Sonoma Elementary, 39-inch flat-screen TV Mattias Maez, Zia Middle School, Phantom III Drone Tegan Hubbard, Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy, Segway Officials said ridership increased about 5 person on Ride the Bus to School Day. Van Wamel, general manager of STS-NM, said he is considering repeating the promotion for the 120th-day audit, on Feb. 8, and that he will begin working to secure sponsorships from local businesses to help provide even more prizes. 2016 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ HAIFA, Israel The wildfires that swept across Israel and the West Bank last month were the worst in a decade, a torch lit in a tinderbox. The scary conflagrations caused millions of dollars in damage, destroyed hundreds of homes and sent tens of thousands of people fleeing in panic through the black smoke. As fierce winds ripped across the rainless land, Israeli leaders took to social media and stood before television cameras to condemn what they called a new campaign of pyro-terrorism. Palestinian terrorists, they said, were burning out the Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet members charged that Israeli Arabs and Palestinians were setting the fires and then dancing in celebration. But in the weeks since then, only a handful of Palestinians have been arrested. Arab Israeli leaders say Netanyahu and others are guilty of incitement. Instead of bringing the nation together, they sought scapegoats. On Twitter, hashtags such as Israel is burning and Tel Aviv is burning appeared. From Kuwaits Grand Mosque, Sheikh Mishary al-Afasy Rashid posted, All the best to the fire. Israels domestic security service, Shin Bet, and the police asserted that half the 40 major fires, and hundreds of smaller burns, were started intentionally. But after the finger pointing, only six Arab Israeli youths have been indicted so far, for setting what authorities describe as minor fires in northern Israel, according to national police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. It caused little damage. No arson indictments have been brought against perpetrators of the major fires that caused widespread damage in Israels third-largest city, Haifa, and the forests around Jerusalem. Israeli officials who condemned the fires as terrorism defend their statements. They say it is not hard to prove arson, though it is much more difficult to find the perpetrators. According to police figures, out of roughly 2,000 suspicious fires each year in Israel, authorities routinely prosecute only about 5 percent of the cases. In Haifa, where three huge blazes roared through forested suburbs and destroyed 100 homes and damaged another 800, local authorities sought to dampen claims that their Muslim neighbors intentionally set the fires. No one dares to point a finger at the local Palestinians here, said the citys mayor, Yona Yahav. Yahav boasted that his was a city of peaceful relations. The mayor said Christians, Jews and Muslims all condemned the fires and all offered their homes to evacuees. That is the real story, he said. Yahav said it would not matter much if an arsonist or two were discovered. His point was that the people of Haifa collectively condemned the fires and fought the blazes together. He said the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank sent teams of firefighters to Israel help battle the blazes. Thats the message, the mayor said. Not what the others are saying. But his own city engineer, Ariel Waterman, said the location of the fires pointed toward suspected arson. During the fires, Netanyahus spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeted, Arabs & Palestinians on social media rejoice over the wildfires that have erupted across Israel. Despicable fanatic hatred. Israels Culture Minister Miri Regev said, Anyone who has eyes and a brain can see that the fires in many places in Israel are not natural. Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted: Only someone to whom the land doesnt belong could be able to burn it. In Haifa, a Muslim cleric, Rashad Abu Al Hija, said, When I heard that they were saying it was Muslims it hurt me very much. The imam said, Even the mayor said it couldnt be Arabs. I said if even one of us is found to have done this, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. A large and deadly fire on the outskirts of Haifa in 2010 was later found to have been started by a group of Druze youths who failed to extinguish their tobacco pipe appropriately. That blaze became a national tragedy when it claimed 44 lives, mostly prison guards sent to evacuate a nearby facility. Israels national police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said of the recent fires that 39 people had been detained for arson and incitement, most of them Arabs with Israeli citizenship. He said 23 people are still being held, including some under house arrest. In addition to the six youths indicted on a charge of arson, two Arab Israelis have been charged for incitement on the Internet, the police spokesman said. But in the turmoil, Israeli police clearly overreached. One Arab Israeli who was arrested for incitement after a Facebook post was released after proving that his comments were actually sarcastic condemnation. He had been criticizing those calling for Israel to burn. Arab Israeli leaders criticized Netanyahu and his ministers for incitement during a national emergency. Everyone knows that there wasnt a wave of terrorism, there was no fire intifada, said Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli member of parliament. Odeh and his Arab Israeli allies in the parliament have threatened to sue Netanyahu for incitement. Some Palestinians lit fires and celebrated in the streets, Netanyahu said as the conflagration threatened Haifa. Others are helping extinguish the flames. Israels Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the best response to alleged Palestinian arson was to expand the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Israels Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called for the demolition of homes of any Palestinian family found guilty of arson and said the cases of alleged arson were a new kind of terror. In an interview with The Washington Post, Erdan said, It is ridiculous to judge these attacks by the number of people who we have proof that they did it. I cant share with you all the information I have, but experts from the Fire Authority and the police say 50 percent of the fires were arson. This is what they saw on the ground, they found molotov cocktails. Erdan said Israeli military drones captured images of Palestinians throwing firebombs over Israels security wall. He also said that incitement stoked the flames. Maybe the first fire was not started deliberately, but some people realized that they had an opportunity. After we told the public to be careful because of climate and the speed of wind some people realized they had an opportunity, Erdan said. Michael Horowitz, director of intelligence for Prime Source, an Israeli based geopolitical consultancy, said the fires had been blown out of proportion. If you look at the map of fires across the region, it was not only in Israel. It was a trend linked to the weather. This situation also affected Palestinian villages and we saw the Palestinians sending firefighters, Horowitz said. He said that if some of the fires had been started intentionally it was most likely a self-fulfilling prophecy inspired by the media and by politicians. There needs to be due process and the politicians need to let the police do their work, said Horowitz, to find who set the dry forests alight. israel-fires [December 15, 2016] ASAE's Technology Conference Provided Strategies on Data Breaches, Technology Trends for Association Professionals WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 1,200 association and industry professionals attended the 2016 Technology Conference & Expo, December 12-14, and took part in 32 high-level education sessions and a sold-out expo hall. The conference was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The final attendance was 1,214, and here's the breakdown: Execs (Association Executives, Consultants) 600, Exhibitors (Industry Partners, Exhibiting Booth Staff) 428, and Other (Industry Partners, Press, Speakers, Staff, and Vendors) 186. Additionally, a total of 135 companies representing 180 booths exhibited in the expo hall this year, which resulted in a strong ratio of 58 percent buyers to 42 percent sellers. ASAE supported Byte Back, a nonprofit group that aims to improve economic opportunity by providing computer training, access to technology, and career services to underserved adults in Washington D.C., with complimentary registrations, exposition space, and mentorship during the conference for five students from volunteer members from ASAE's Technology Section Council. "This year's conference focused on how technology is impacting our members from mobile, strategy, leadership, and marketing technologies to infrastructure, security, operations, and analytics. We introduced a new learning format called the Futurists Lab, which let attendees get hands-on with new technologies that associations can use to enhance education, marketing, and member engagement," said ASAE President & CEO John H. Graham IV, FASAE, CAE. Also new this year were three in-depth preconference education programs on Monday, December 12. The first was "Digital Convergence: A CEO-CXO Summit," which included 54 senior executives ncluding CEOs, CIOs, CXOs and CMOs. The session focused on the impact of consumerism on member expectations, major forces impacting technology during the next 30 years, and how to embrace risk to stay ahead of the changing digital landscape. ASAE strategic partners Visit San Jose and YourMembership supported the workshop. In "Ctrl-Alt-Del: Dissolving Tech and Marketing Silos," 55 attendees focused on how to leverage a collaborative culture and convert data into business intelligence and association growth. In "Reboot: Women in Technology," more than 40 attendees discussed diversity in the technology industry - particularly where it applies to digital fluency, talent, and women. Erik Qualman, professor at Harvard & MIT's edX labs and best-selling Pulitzer-nominated author of Digital Leader & Socialnomics, kicked off the conference as the opening keynote. Through video storytelling, he encouraged attendees to practice at least two of five digital leadership habits of simple, true, action, map and people (STAMP), post it forward (highlighting the success of others online), and balance between online and offline relationships. During the closing keynote, Dr. Charlie Miller, senior security engineer, and Chris Valasek, security lead at Uber's Advanced Technology Center, gave insight on why hacking "for good" to expose vulnerabilities in software in order to keep people and their data safe is important. ASAE will host its next Technology Conference & Expo on December 12-13, 2017, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. ASAE thanks the following Alliance Partners for continued support of the association community: Strategic Partners Abila Atlanta CVB Business Events Canada Experience Columbus Reno Tahoe USA Team San Jose YourMembership Corporate Partners Visit Baltimore Visit Dallas Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB Fort Worth CVB GEICO Louisville CVB Mexico Tourism Board Naylor Association Solutions Omaha CVB Visit Orlando Visit Salt Lake Meet in Washington State Event Partners BrightKey The Broadmoor CliftonLarsonAllen DelCor Technology Solutions Dubai Association Centre Hong Kong Tourism Board Johnson Lambert LLP and Vault Consulting Korea Tourism Organization Manifest MemberClicks Meet In Minnesota New Orleans CVB and New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center About ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership ASAE is a membership organization of more than 21,000 association executives and industry partners representing 9,300 organizations. Its members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. With support of the ASAE Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession, and provides resources, education, ideas and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. For more information about ASAE, visit www.asaecenter.org. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/asaes-technology-conference-provided-strategies-on-data-breaches-technology-trends-for-association-professionals-300379289.html SOURCE ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) Two Florida men are spending the holidays in jail, thanks to observant neighbors who spotted them taking Christmas gifts from a nearby home and another homeowner who chased them with a metal pipe. The Polk County Sheriff's department announced that a Lakeland resident heard a loud noise Wednesday morning and called another neighbor, who looked outside and saw the men taking gifts from a nearby home. The neighbor yelled and they fled in a car. Lakeland police and sheriff's deputies tracked them down. They bailed from the car and ran into a home, but the homeowner chased them out with a metal pipe. Authorities arrested 18-year-old James Davis and 21-year-old Antonio Thomas. Both face multiple charges and remained in the Polk County Jail Friday. Records don't list attorneys for them. 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The middle school students had spent 10 weeks learning computer programming code and gathered Thursday for a Jeopardy!-style competition to test their knowledge. The topics ranged from basic coding concepts (What are variables?) to questions on pop culture (Who is the small screen science guy who is a dapper dresser?) and also about the educational programs sponsor, Capital One. (The category: Whats in your wallet?) Then came the final round. The clue? This show opens with: Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery that all started with the . . . Actress Mayim Bialik appeared on stage to read the answer: The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom about a gang of geeky and nerdy friends that, in its 10th season, remains one of the highest-rated sitcoms on television. One of the stars on the show, Bialik plays Amy Farrah Fowler, a neurobiologist in love with Sheldon Cooper, an idiosyncratic theoretical physicist, portrayed by Jim Parsons. Bialik told the students another bit of trivia: like her TV character, she also has a PhD., earning a doctorate from UCLA in 2007. I dont only play a scientist on TV, I am one in real life, Bialik said. In an interview with The Washington Post, Bialik said that she chose to speak at the event in McLean, Virginia, to promote subjects involving science, technology, engineering and math, known as STEM. Her surprise entrance during the contest for the Fairfax County, Virginia, students from Cooper, Glasgow, Kilmer and Poe middle schools was driven in part by her own foray into computer programming as a college student. At the time, she had to write code to better analyze data from MRI brain scans. Coding is complicated, but the best time to learn it is when youre younger than I was, Bialik said. Bialik began her acting career as a child on the popular 1990s show Blossom. She later received a bachelors degree in neuroscience and Hebrew and Jewish studies at UCLA before beginning her doctoral research in psychoneuroendocrinology. And to really understand what that is, you might need a PhD., as Bialik explained. She said it is the study of how hormonal secretions from the hypothalamus can affect relatively common mental health issues, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, to rare genetic disorders, such as Prader-Willi syndrome, which can lead to physical abnormalities and alter brain development. Bialiks abiding interest in science led her to take part in the Capital One initiative, which involved 1,000 students in 20 schools throughout the country enrolled in a 10-week course in coding. The program is one right in my wheelhouse in terms of inspiring young people in learning aspects of STEM they may not have known about before, Bialik said. In her television role, Bialiks character is a bespectacled intellect who embraces her own quirks. The show is as much about poking fun of nerds and geek culture, but in another way we are celebrating it, she said. Part of why I do these things is to celebrate that theres something beautiful and creative and interesting in a life that has a knowledge of STEM fields. Before gaining a recurring role on the show, Bialik taught neuroscience for five years to children who were being home-schooled. When she takes the set in character as a neurobiologist, there are still aspects of her former life teaching science that she wishes she hadnt have to leave behind. I miss not having to wear makeup or not having to care what I look like, Bialik said, noting that she used to teach her classes in pajamas. In her current line of work, Bialik said, she can use her visibility as a high-profile actress on a comedy where being dorky is both empowering and part of the punchline to encourage others to pursue a life in STEM. She can also rely on her deep credentials as a published scientist in her current mission to ensure that students learn that coding ultimately can be cool. education-bialik JERUSALEM President-elect Donald Trumps pick for the new U.S. ambassador to Israel was warmly welcomed by many Israelis, who said they felt more comfortable with a vocal Jewish supporter of Israel in the top diplomatic spot. Trump announced late Thursday that he will nominate a close friend, New York bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, as his ambassador to Israel. Israelis on the right, especially the Jewish settlers and their supporters, were almost giddy with news of the nomination, saying that they hoped the decades-long, bipartisan U.S. policy of condemning the Jewish settlements as obstacles to peace would soon end. The diminished Israeli left was nervous, not sure what Trumps pick would mean. Palestinians were disappointed but not surprised, they said. They have abandoned much hope that the United States will broker a deal for them. Israelis who want to preserve the two-state solution, meaning one state for Israel and one future state for Palestinians, have been puzzling out what Trump may want to do in the long-running conflict. Trump sent a clear signal with his choice of Friedman. Friedman has close ties to Israel, writing as a columnist for right-wing Israeli news media outlets such as Arutz Sheva, the Jerusalem Post and others. In a June column, Friedman compared the dovish pro-Israel lobbying group J Street in Washington to kapos, Jewish inmates of Nazi concentration camps who helped exterminate fellow Jews. As an adviser to Trump, Friedman vowed that the incoming administration would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israels contested capital. Friedman serves as president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, an organization that finances activities in the settlements. Friedman, who grew up in Woodmere, New York, is the son of a prominent rabbi and owns an apartment in an upscale neighborhood of Jerusalem. He often spends Jewish holidays in Israel. The Trump announcement said he speaks fluent Hebrew. Despite all of that, Friedman is not yet a well-known name to most Israelis. Among Trump supporters in Israel, especially those Americans who have immigrated to Israel and now live in Jewish communities in the West Bank, his nomination sends a clear message that Washington will stop calling the settlements an obstacle to peace and may even embrace them. Israeli commentators said that Friedman appeared to be the most overtly pro-Israel, pro-settler nominee in a generation. Friedman has not only supported the settlements in the West Bank but he has also donated money to their construction. Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this. There are now 400,000 settlers in 300 communities in the West Bank. The Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on Friedmans nomination, saying the government should await his confirmation. But Israels deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, issued a statement of her own. This is good news for Israel. His position reflects the desire to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and he understands the settlements were never the real problem area, she wrote on Facebook. Israels education minister, Naftali Bennett, from the hard-line Jewish Home party, tweeted, Good luck to David Friedman, the nominated U.S. ambassador to Israel. A good friend of Israel. Israels consul general in New York, Dani Dayan, a former head of the Yesha Council, which represents the settlements, tweeted a photo with Friedman that welcomed him to the position. Batya Medad, a U.S.-born blogger and resident of the Jewish settlement of Shilo in the West Bank, wrote, Many of us can now breathe a sigh of relief, since Friedman is the sort of American we trust as a friend of the State of Israel and Jewish rights to live here. Martin Indyk, a former peace negotiator and now the executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, called Friedman a great ambassador for the deep settler state. He asked: But David Friedman needs to be U.S. envoy to all Israelis. Is he up for that? Friedman was closely tied to efforts in Israel to get out the vote among American expatriates who could vote for Trump. In an impassioned speech to the small crowd at the edge of Jerusalems Old City in November, Friedman called Trump Israels greatest hope. Under Trump, the United States will never pressure Israel into accepting a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the wishes of the Israeli people, he said, to cheers and few shouts of Crooked Hillary! according to a Reuters report. Alon Pinkas, a former diplomat and adviser to Israeli prime ministers, said that based on Friedmans previous comments, he wondered whether Friedman could put U.S. interests first. Based on what he has said in the past, it seems as though he is very opinionated on Israeli issues, even though his role is to advance U.S. policies and interests and not the other way around, Pinkas said. Oded Revivi, mayor of the Jewish settlement of Efrat and chief foreign envoy for the Yesha Council, said he met with Friedman two weeks ago in Washington. He is definitely a man with a great love for the State of Israel and the people of Israel, Revivi said. He said that during their meeting, Friedman took an ancient Israeli coin out of his pocket and told him: When anyone asks me about the right of the State of Israel to exist, I show them this coin and show them how long the Jews were living in this part of the world and why they have a claim to this land. Revivi said, It will definitely not be what we saw over the last eight years, that an outsider thought he knew better than us how to handle our affairs. transition-israel-1stld-writethru Hanna Skandera, New Mexicos public education secretary, is reportedly under consideration for a top education job in President-elect Donald Trumps administration. Politico reported Friday that Skandera, who has sparred with teachers unions and drawn criticism for her support of the PARCC standardized testing system in New Mexico, could be offered a job as education deputy secretary or undersecretary of the department. Skandera told The Associated Press two weeks ago she had not been approached about a job in the Trump administration, but that may have changed. A Skandera spokesman declined to comment Friday. The New Mexico education secretary a staunch supporter of charter schools toured one such school at Jemez Pueblo on Friday with U.S. Education Secretary John B. King, Jr. In August, Skandera said she was encouraged by signs of progress in New Mexicos K-12 education system, although the state typically scores poorly on measures related to public education compared with other states. New Mexicos progress has been good overall, particularly among districts that embrace reform, Skandera said. Im very encouraged. On all measures, we are seeing the improvements. The Democratic Party of New Mexico said it was worried about the possibility of Skandera working in the Trump administration. Skandera has a history of pushing policies that take valuable instruction time out of the classroom, excessively test, and have pushed many of New Mexicos educators out of state or into early retirement, said Debra Haaland, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Gov. Martinezs appointment of Skandera was the wrong choice for New Mexico, and consideration of Skandera for a Trump administration post is wrong for the country. Hopeful: New Mexicos Democratic U.S. senators seem to be keeping an open mind about President-elect Donald Trumps nominee to run the U.S. Department of Interior. Trump this week announced he will nominate U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., a former Navy SEAL and current representative from Montana, to lead the agency that oversees federal lands, some energy production and Native American policies. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, who both denounced Trumps choice of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to run the Department of Energy, took a more conciliatory approach to Zinkes nomination. I look forward to meeting with Rep. Zinke and learning more about his plans to safeguard Americas public lands, promote outdoor recreation and protect tribal sovereignty, said Sen. Martin Heinrich, who sits on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, which will conduct Zinkes confirmation hearing. I also want to be sure that Rep. Zinke will join me in resisting recent calls from extreme interests to auction off Western public lands or abolish our national monuments. Zinke has pledged not to support the sale of public lands. The sale or transfer of our land is an extreme proposal, and I wont tolerate it, Zinke said in a June news release. As a senator from a Western state where hunting, fishing and other recreation are central to the economy, I feel strongly that we need our interior secretary to fight to defend our nations legacy of keeping public lands in public hands for the benefit of all Americans, Udall said. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., said Zinke has been a partner on many legislative and regulatory issues impacting New Mexico and the West and called him a wise choice to lead the department. Michael Coleman: mcoleman@abqjournal.com Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Raquel Reedy will stay on the job as head of the states largest school district through at least June 2019. The APS Board of Education approved a one-year contract extension Friday morning in a 5-2 vote after a closed-door discussion of Reedys performance. Board members Peggy Muller-Aragon and Analee Maestas both voted no, citing concerns about the school boards changing makeup. An election is scheduled for Feb. 7, which could replace up to four board members. Muller-Aragon and Maestas said they think those new board members should have been allowed to weigh in on Reedys contract negotiation. We are tying the hands of the future board, Muller-Aragon said. But the other board members argued that the contract could be changed if necessary. Under the terms, Reedy will keep her $240,000 yearly salary. The contract also includes a no buyout agreement meant to end a string of big-dollar payments for departing superintendents Reedys two predecessors took deals worth a total of $430,000 after they were fired for poor performance. Reedy agreed not to take any exit package and her salary would stop immediately after she received a written copy of the school boards decision to terminate her. In an interview, Reedy said she will keep her focus on the students and do her best to guide APS through a difficult budget climate. I am looking forward to continuing the work we are doing together corroboratively with students, parents and teachers, she said. The work is going to be hard, but together we can get on the right course. The tight budget is an immediate concern APS could lose a total of $29 million for this fiscal year, about 4 percent of its total allocation. Reedy said she is also working to develop a new five-year academic master plan that is meant to address perennial issues, such as low graduation rates and poor test scores. Schools are our priority from Day One, always have been and will continue to be, she said. A longtime APS administrator, Reedy took over as acting superintendent in August 2015 after her predecessor, Luis Valentino, was forced to step down amid revelations that his handpicked deputy was facing child sex assault charges in Colorado. A Denver jury later found former Deputy Superintendent Jason Martinez not guilty. Reedy earned praise for steadying the district and was named permanent superintendent in April 2016. I believe this is the right superintendent for us right now, board President Dave Peercy said Friday. She has done a fantastic job during the short time she has been superintendent, and I think the community and I think the staff are very much behind her. Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein endorsed Reedy this spring, lauding her knowledge, professionalism and listening skills. A Harvard graduate, Reedy began her career in 1974 as a teacher of the visually impaired in Boston, focusing on Spanish-speaking children who were not receiving services. In 1977, she started at APS as a special education teacher at Atrisco Elementary. After an eight-year stint as a personnel specialist in the APS Human Resources Department, Reedy served as principal at E.G. Ross and Mitchell elementary schools before being named associate superintendent for elementary education in 2007, overseeing 45 elementary schools. Known as a low-key team player, Reedy never previously applied for the superintendent job. CINCINNATI (AP) A Kentucky man bothered by a rattle in a car he'd recently bought at an Ohio auto auction has found 2 pounds of heroin in a secret compartment inside the vehicle. WCPO-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2h8fQ92 ) the man drove the Volkswagen Jetta for several weeks before discovering the heroin beneath the front passenger seat. A Highway Patrol spokesman says the car was thoroughly searched before it was released to the auction. The auction company has agreed to take the car back. Information from: WCPO-TV, http://www.wcpo.com 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The Federal Council Bern, 16.12.2016 - Switzerland has ratified the protocol extending the free movement of persons to Croatia. On 17 June this year, the Federal Assembly authorised the Federal Council to ratify Protocol III extending the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons (AFMP) to Croatia, subject to a specific condition. After Parliament passed the act implementing Article 121a of the Federal Constitution, the Federal Council concluded that this condition had been fulfilled. At its meeting on 16 December 2016, it therefore authorised the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), in cooperation with the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP), to confirm the ratification of Protocol III to the EU. This also means the precondition has been met for Switzerland to participate fully in the Horizon 2020 research programme. Parliament approved the Croatia protocol on 17 June 2016. It authorised the Federal Council to ratify the protocol on condition that "there is an arrangement with the EU for managing immigration which is compatible with Swiss law". The Federal Assembly today passed the act implementing Article 121a of the Federal Constitution. Parliament favours a solution that can be implemented in accordance with the AFMP, meaning that Switzerlands bilateral agreements with the EU will continue to apply. The Federal Council discussed the outcome of the parliamentary debate today and came to the conclusion that the condition imposed by Parliament had been fulfilled. On Friday, therefore, the Federal Council instructed the FDFA, in cooperation with the FDJP, to confirm to the EU, as the other party to the agreement, that the ratification process has been completed. The EU already informed Switzerland of its completion of the ratification process on 9 November 2016. Protocol III will therefore come into force on 1 January 2017. The State Secretariat for Migration will inform the relevant authorities in the cantons about the applicable provisions in due course. Full participation in Horizon 2020 The ratification of Protocol III is key to the Federal Councils plans to consolidate and further develop the bilateral approach. It will also mean that from 1 January 2017 Switzerland can participate fully in the Horizon 2020 research programme as a fully associated member. This is vitally important for the quality of the research conducted in Switzerland, for the countrys reputation as a research centre and for its competitiveness. Swiss researchers will therefore be able to participate fully in the European research projects funded by the programme. The international partnerships entered into by Swiss higher education institutions are just as important as the financial aspects. Address for enquiries FDJP Information Service, T +41 58 462 18 18 FDFA Information, T +41 58 462 31 53 For questions about Horizon 2020: State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SBFI, Philipp Langer, T +41 58 462 96 93 Publisher The Federal Council https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html Federal Department of Justice and Police http://www.ejpd.admin.ch Federal Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research http://www.wbf.admin.ch Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research http://www.wbf.admin.ch We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain. [December 15, 2016] Fitch Rates Texas A&M University System's 2017AB Rev Bonds 'AAA'; Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'AAA' rating to approximately $621 million taxable series 2017A and tax-exempt series 2017B revenue financing system (RFS) revenue and refunding bonds issued by the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS). Proceeds will be used to provide about $387 million of new money for various state authorized TRB capital projects, advance refund all or portions of various parity RFS bonds, and pay issuance expenses. The bonds are expected to sell the week of Jan. 9, 2017, through negotiated sale. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the 'AAA' rating on approximately $2.3 billion parity RFS bonds issued by Texas A&M University System and TAMUS. Fitch also affirmed the 'F1+' rating on TAMUS' $300 million authorized RFS commercial paper (CP) program. The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY RFS debt is secured by a lien and pledge of all legally available revenues and fund balances of the system. Specifically excluded from the pledge are state operating appropriations and the Available University Fund (related to Permanent University Fund [PUF] income). RFS CP is on parity with outstanding RFS bonds. KEY RATING DRIVERS STRONG INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE: The 'AAA' rating reflects TAMUS' co-flagship status, the benefits of its constitutional 1/3 share of the PUF, significant research base and strong fundraising, consistently positive operating results, diverse revenue streams, stable state operating appropriations, and adequate balance sheet ratios for the rating category. SOLID DEMAND: Student demand at the flagship College Station campus, and other system campuses, is strong with a solid demand niche and growing overall enrollment. Student-generated revenues, about 30% of annual operating revenues, contribute to revenue diversity. MANAGEABLE DEBT BURDEN: The fixed-rate, rapidly amortizing RFS bond structure provides some capacity for additional debt to support the system's capital improvement plans. Post issuance, about 27% of RFS debt will be supported by state tuition revenue bond debt service appropriations. SUFFICIENT LIQUID RESOURCES: TAMUS covers the maximum potential liquidity demands presented by its $300 million RFS CP program from internal resources, well in excess of the minimum 1.25x coverage expected by Fitch for an 'F1+' short-term rating. Such resources include cash and highly liquid, highly rated investments. RATING SENSITIVITIES SOLID FINANCIAL PROFILE: Fitch expects the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) to maintain balance sheet ratios relative to both debt and operating revenues consistent with peer institutions, and sustain positive operating margins, as adjusted by Fitch. CREDIT PROFILE TAMUS is one of two public flagship university systems in Texas, and is also the state's (Texas rated 'AAA'/Stable Outlook) designated land grant institution. It consists of 11 academic institutions located throughout Texas, seven research and service agencies, a health sciences center, and a law school. Between fall 2012 and 2016, system headcount increased over 19% to 149,740. TAMUS' flagship campus (currently 60,400 headcount) is located in College Station, Texas. TAMUS benefits from a one-third interest in the PUF, which had a $17.8 billion market value at Aug. 31, 2016. DIVERSIFIED REVENUE BASE SUPPORTS OPERATIONS TAMUS benefits from a diverse revenue base. Major operating revenues in fiscal 2016 came from student-generated revenues (about 30%), state appropriations (about 25%), grant and contract revenues (about 23%), and gifts (4%). Modest enrollment growth and student fee increases are expected to continue to grow student-generated revenues in the near term. In fiscal 2016, net tuition revenue increased 4.8% from modest tuition increases and enrollment growth (a portion of tuition revenue increases is dedicated for scholarships). TAMUS has a significant research base. Grant and contract revenue increased modestly again in fiscal 2016, and at more than $1 billion represented about 23% of operating revenues. Several large TAMUS contracts and grant awards related to infectious disease research and vaccine development have supported this revenue stream, which is impressive given pressured federal research funding nationally. As these contracts are completed, TAMUS officials expect research grant revenue will stabilize. POSITIVE OPERATING RESULTS TAMUS' operations are historically positive, consistent with expectations for a co-flagship public university. Fiscal 2016 operating margins, as adjusted by Fitch, were positive $110 million, a margin of 4.8%. This compares to 7.2% in fiscal 2015 and an adjusted 5.6% margin in 2014 (excluding the effect of a one-time $533 million gift). ADEQUATE BALANCE SHEET RESOURCES Available funds, defined by Fitch as cash and investments less certain restricted net assets, were $4.03 billion in fiscal 2016, up solidly from $3.5 billion in fiscal 2015. As a percentage of operating expenses ($4.4 billion) and pro forma RFS, PUF and lease debt (about $4.8 billion), this represented a solid cushion of 90% of expenses and 83% of pro forma debt. Included in pro forma debt is about $413 million of state-authorized RFS debt (the balance of an $800 million authorization) expected to be issued for projects eligible for debt service reimbursement. Fitch considers TAMUS' liquidity ratios conservative - when self-supporting PUF debt (about $915 million) is excluded from pro forma debt, the AF-to-debt ratio is stronger at 103%, and consistent with peer public universities. Additionally, Fitch's AF calculation excludes restricted endowments, which are substantial for TAMUS and provide financial flexibility. As of Aug. 31 2016, endowment fund market value was approximately $9 billion (including TAMUS' one-third interest in the PUF). Fundraising is robust. TAMUS' College Station campus is in a $4 billion comprehensive campaign expected to extend through 2020. The system reports that about $2.4 billion of gifts, pledges and commitments have been received to date. MANAGEABLE DEBT Pro forma debt remains manageable at about $4.8 billion, including RFS and PUF bonds, leases, and authorized CP. This amount also includes $413 million of debt related to state-authorized tuition revenue bond projects, wich has not yet been issued. The state does not pledge TRB debt service payments to bondholders, but has historically made related payments on schedule. The system maintains a conservative debt portfolio of 100% fixed-rate RFS bonds (excluding the relatively small RFS CP program) with a front-loaded debt service structure. Pro forma maximum annual debt service (MADS) for RFS and PUF debt is about $350 million. This represented a moderately high 7.7% of fiscal 2016 operating revenue. However, Fitch considers this debt burden manageable due to the conservative debt structure, the self-supporting nature of $915 million PUF bonds, and the annual receipt of debt service for TRBs (post issuance about 27% of RFS debt will be TRB eligible). When debt burden is adjusted for separately secured PUF debt, it moderates to about 5.9%. Institutional debt service coverage of all debt remains positive. Fiscal 2016 net income from operations, as adjusted by Fitch, provided sound coverage of 1.7x pro forma MADS. This calculation is conservative, as it does not adjust for non-cash OPEB expense accruals of $134 million. Coverage excluding OPEB accruals would have been closer to 2.1x. CAPITAL PLANS The system maintains a long-term capital improvement plan (CIP), with the current plan from 2017 - 2021. Of this multi-year CIP of about $3.6 billion, about $2.9 million remains to be funded from a mix of RFS and PUF debt proceeds, internal resources and gifts. Approximately $800 million of the plan includes state-authorized TRB projects. Fitch considers the system's CIP to be manageable. SELF LIQUIDITY The system provides self-liquidity for its RFS CP program, which has a maximum authorization of $300 million. As of Sept. 30, 2016, the most current date available, system investments available for self-liquidity, as discounted per Fitch's criteria, totaled about $1 billion. This generated liquidity coverage well in excess of the minimum 1.25x Fitch expects in order to achieve an 'F1+' rating. TAMUS officials report no plans to increase the RFS CP authorization. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. Applicable Criteria Rating U.S. Public Finance Short-Term Debt (pub. 17 Nov 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/873508 Revenue-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 16 Jun 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/750012 U.S. College and University Rating Criteria (pub. 12 May 2014) https://www.fitchratings.com/site/re/748013 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1016570 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1016570 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/regulatory ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTPS://WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. 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Credit ratings information published by Fitch is not intended to be used by persons who are retail clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006265/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [December 15, 2016] Wolters Kluwer Enhances Formulary Monograph Service and Pharmacogenomics Content in Lexicomp The Health division of Wolters Kluwer, a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry, is continuing its commitment to providing user-friendly access to timely, relevant drug information by enhancing valuable special features in its Lexicomp Online electronic drug reference solution. This includes upgrading the interface of the Formulary Monograph Service module and introducing summary pharmacogenomics monographs for easier, point-of-care clinical use. Formulary Monograph Service, available as an optional add-on module to Lexicomp Online, provides access to information on newly released and investigational drugs to assist with Pharmacy & Therapeutics reviews, drug use evaluations, and other formulary decisions. Its new, convenient interface looks and feels like the rest of Lexicomp Online, with more user-friendly navigation to provide a better overall user experience within the Lexicomp workflow. Lexicomp has long been at the forefront of providing pharmacogenomics content and helping professionals incorporate this evolving field of study into clinical practice. New summary pharmacogenomics monographs facilitate quicker access to actionable content, focusing on a single drug or drug class, management considerations, and quality of evidence. Summary monographs also link to traditional Lexicomp in-depth pharmacogenomics monographs, which delve deeper into information on the relevant gene for research purposes. "Providing efficient access to drug information designed for use in clinical practice has longbeen a hallmark of Lexicomp medication safety resources," said Denise Basow, MD, President & CEO of Clinical Effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer. "Our ongoing development efforts and enhancements are driven by the needs of our clinician users to make it as easy as possible for them to reach the crucial information they seek to help them make smart decisions and provide better care." About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer N.V. (AEX: WKL) is a global leader in information services and solutions for professionals in the health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with specialized technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2015 annual revenues of 4.2 billion. The company, headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands, serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries and employs 19,000 people worldwide. Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY). Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information and point of care solutions for the healthcare industry. For more information about our products and organization, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com/, follow @WKHealth or @Wolters_Kluwer on Twitter (News - Alert), like us on Facebook, follow us on LinkedIn, or follow WoltersKluwerComms on YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006296/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Retail industry sales are currently trending down against this time last year according to new figures from Retail Excellence Ireland. The organisation claims this is down to contributory factors including a post Brexit and Trump erosion in consumer sentiment, a significant increase in online shopping into the United Kingdom and the forward movement of spending into the Black Friday weekend. While some sectors will trade slightly up or on par against last year consumer electronics, beauty and pharmacy, telecommunications, ladies wear, footwear and jewellery are all trending downwards. Logistics companies are reporting a 30% to 80% increase in packages arriving into the country from the United Kingdom and Retail Excellence Ireand claim this is having a very obvious and significantly damaging impact on the local economy. The largest like for like increases in parcel deliveries for Christmas 2016 were recorded in Counties Wexford, Tipperary and Laois. Commenting on the trading update, Retail Excellence Communications Director, Lynn Drumgoole said, "It is disappointing to report that most sectors within the Irish Retail Industry are currently trading down against this time last year. We have witnessed a significant increase in shopping with .co.uk websites in November due to weakened sterling. We have also seen a measured increase in Black Friday shopping at discounted prices. These reasons, added to a general deterioration in customer sentiment, have resulted in a challenged retail situation so far in December." Source: www.businessworld.ie Modified On Dec 16, 2016 06:13 PM By Rachit Shad It will be officially formed on January 1, 2017 Japanese carmaker Toyota is one of the worlds largest automotive firms. It has its products on sale in most of the established and emerging automotive markets around the world. To cater to and compete in emerging markets, Toyota will form an internal company, called Emerging-market Compact Car Company (EmCCC) with its fully owned subsidiary, Daihatsu. As the name suggests, the company will place utmost priority on emerging automotive markets across the globe. The company will also work towards introducing competitive cars based on Daihatsus approach of manufacturing affordable and high-quality products. Toyota says that under this newly formed company, there will be three separate divisions: Emerging-market Compact Car Product & Business Planning, Emerging-market Compact Car Product Planning and Emerging-market Compact Car Quality Planning. Even the already established Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Engineering and Manufacturing Ltd. (TMAP-EM) will be renamed to Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TDEM) and internally moved to fall under EmCCC. TDEM will become responsible for supporting the production of Daihatsu-centered compact cars. The primary aspect on which the Emerging-market Compact Car Product & Business Planning division will focus on will be to conduct overall planning for products and business operations, including making proposals for Toyota-brand vehicles portfolio for relevant markets. The other two divisions will be responsible for final product development and quality for Toyota-brand vehicles. Once the company is formed, current Daihatsu president, Masanori Mitsui will be appointed chairman and, Toyota managing officer, Shinya Kotera, will be appointed president of the new internal company. This formation can potentially lead to a dominant role of the Japanese car firm in emerging car markets like India. Here Toyota doesnt have products to compete in many segments, such as a premium hatchback, a sub-4 metre sedan or even an entry-level hatchback. All these segments are hotly contested and form a major chunk of the top 10 selling cars in the country month-on-month. Toyota needs to be more aggressive in the Indian market and with the formation of the new internal company, a great platform will be laid for the Japanese auto giant to flex its muscles further. Today, on the first ever Local Charities Day, we look at what is happening throughout the sector. Research shows widespread support for local charities The Charities Aid Foundation has released research showing that 64 per cent of people believe that local charities make a significant contribution to their community, while 1 in 4 people would give to small charities. The CAF polling, carried out by YouGov, also showed that 56 per cent of people wanted to see local charities receiving more support from local authorities, and 51 per cent from central government. When asked about how important a role local charities play in British society on a scale of 1-10 (where 1 is not at all important and 10 is essential) the mean score was 7.7. John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: Local charities are at the heart of the UKs social fabric and there is no doubt their work makes the country a better place. It is good to see the government recognising and celebrating that by introducing a Local Charities Day. Of course, the hard work of these thousands of organisations up and down the country is something that should be celebrated all year round. As government looks to devolve greater powers to local areas, both local and central government should embrace the huge amount of expertise and experience that local charities can offer to develop a stronger Britain. The full report can be seen here. Grants for Good campaign calls for minister to become Grants Ambassador The sector campaign, Grants for Good, is using today to highlight the importance of grants for local charities, and is calling for Rob Wilson, minister for civil society, to become a grants ambassador. The campaign, which brings together the Directory of Social Change, NAVCA, Children England, CLINKS, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales and Charity Finance Group, has written to the Minister for Civil Society to ask him to become a grants champion on Local Charities Day. The campaign is highlighting the significant cuts in grant spending made by central and local government over the past decade, which according to the NCVO Civil Society Almanac has fallen by over 60% since 2004. It is also pushing a Thunderclap which allows supporters to tweet the same post at the same time to call on Wilson to take up the role. It has signed up over 100 charities and individuals and has a social media reach of over 300,000. It also sent letters to council leaders across England to ask them to carry out reviews of their commissioning practices to ensure that grants are used where appropriate and distributing the Principles of Good Grant Making. Andrew OBrien, head of policy and engagement at CFG, said: Local Charities Day is a great opportunity to highlight that one of the things that is key to their survival: grants. Sadly, grants are becoming rarer as commissioners have not been given the support that they need to consider grant making. The minister for civil society should be commended for putting local charities in the spotlight, the next step must be to do something that will support their work. Improving and increasing grant making would be the single biggest thing that government could do to support them. Government match-funding Localgivings Grow Your Tenner campaign The government has committed to providing match funding for Localgivings Grow Your Tenner campaign. The Office for Civil Society has provided 250,000 in match funding to boost Grow Your Tenner and support a #GiveMe5 campaign which will run on Local Charities Day. This brings the total match funding available for local charities participating in the campaigns to 350,000. The Grow Your Tenner will match one time donations from the public by up to 10 and monthly direct debits by up to 10 for the first three months. #GiveMe5 will give people another opportunity to get involved and support charities in their area by matching 1,000 5 donations made on Local Charities Day - 16 December. Message from the minister Welcoming the day, minister for civil society Rob Wilson said: Up and down the country there are people working tirelessly in local charities to improve the lives of those living in our communities. Their commitment and enthusiasm often goes unrecognised and I want us to change that. Local Charities Day means we can say a collective thank you to these organisations and the unsung heroes whose work is helping to build a society for everyone. To read Wilson's blog on Local Charities Day, click here. For your consideration, Diary proposes that this should henceforth be known as the moment parliament entered 'The Bone Zone'. Our weekly round-up of interesting and outlandish information, collected from the corners of the charity sector. Here it is, the final Society Diary of the year. Oh, weve had some laughs, havent we, in this, the brutal year of our Lord 2k and 16. Maybe its the acute vitamin-D deficiency speaking, or the lack of circulation to this columns brain from the hastily purchased and overly tight Christmas jumper, but despite all the travails of the year, the charity sector has, for the most part, kept its sense of humour. Who could forget John Lewis Boxer the Dog advert; Brian Blessed voicing a Glastonbury outhouse, or the woman who shacked up with well-renowned deceased philanthropist Joseph Rowntree? At the risk of blowing its own trumpet, Diary must say its all good stuff, and thats only going back as far as the summer. The weather outside might not be particularly frightful, but please join Society Diary for one last trip down the charity sector satirical slipway for this year. Thanks for reading! Where better to start than this: You're now entering 'The Bone Zone' Yes, we need to talk about Peter Bone MP. The bespectacled Brexiteer and arch-conservative chrome dome with a penchant for privatising the NHS and condemning gay marriage. Why, you may ask? No, its not because in some pictures on Google he looks remarkably like a furless version of Dr Suess Grinch. Its because he wore a hat in parliament yesterday and, because the United Kingdom continues to be - in terms of political traditions at least stuck somewhere between the Norman Conquests and the Reformation, he got in trouble for it. See the picture attached to this article. The hat plopped onto the crown of his head like a sad, multi-coloured souffle taken out of the oven too soon. Peter Bone looks, in this photo at least, for all the world like a befuddled old man who somehow found himself on a Marbella party-cruise. That, or the least popular of all the Sherpas. Yet Diary can forgive Peter Bone for this crime against headgear because, at the end of the day, it shows that even soulless Tories have a heart. Yes, in honour of Local Charities Day (which is today, by the by, in case you somehow missed the fact that it exists at all) Peter Bone wore this hat in the Houses of Parliament to highlight one of the local charities in his constituency Crazy Hats, a breast cancer charity. And, as such, found himself on the highway to the dangerbone. Go on. Sing it. You know you want to. Hiiiiigh-way. To. The. Dangerbone! Anyway, dear reader, you can probably find the video of this interaction somewhere, but here's the BBC report on it, play-by-play: Standing up in the Commons, Mr Bone, said: "Tomorrow is local charities day and we also have very good local charities in our constituencies and one of mine is Crazy Hats. It's run by Glennis Hooper and a group of dedicated volunteers. They've raised over 2m... "He then paused as he bent over. "Placing the hat - perhaps intended as a South American-themed take on Santa's - on his head, be continued: "....by people wearing crazy hats and they've spent that money on breast cancer in Northamptonshire." Speaker of the House, John Bercow was, surprisingly, not exactly thrilled by Bones choice of scalp covering. Bercow responded: I've indulged the honourable gentleman for the duration of his question, but I'm glad that he's now taken that hat off. "And I sincerely hope that he won't put it on again, preferably at any time, but certainly not in the chamber." And yeah, that was about it. This story (generously so called) has been covered by just about every major media organisation in the land. Quite what that will mean for the coffers of Crazy Hats remains, for the moment at least, unknown. Hats off to you though, Peter Bone. No, seriously, take that hat off. Playing Buckfast and loose Buckfast Tonic Wine raked in a record 8.8m this year for the Buckfast Abbey Trust. Yes, the drink which needs to carry a disclaimer on every bottle - The name Tonic Wine does not imply health giving or medicinal properties - has had a bumper sales year, which is good news for the Benedictine monks who make it. Yep, riding high on the crest of this wave of cash, the Benedictines are moving into the black. Well, okay, technically, they were already in black. Since that's the only thing they're allowed to wear. But anyway, you know what Diary means. Good news, right? Well, that depends on which side of the River Tweed you find yourself. A sheriff in Scotland where the drink is most enjoyed claims the good men in habits are breeding bad habits. He claims the Benedictine brew breeds violence in those who drink it, and strongly linked its consumption to violent crime. Well, thats not very Godly, is it? In response, the abbeys spokesperson said it was saddened by the judges opinion that a fraction of satisfied Bucky swillers (or as the monks have called them: people in Scotland) arent enjoying Buckfast in a responsible way. As it transpires, one of Diary's Christmas elves spent many years in Glasgow, and speaks hazily of the substance's alcoholic properties. It is, effectively, a very cheap bottle of very strong red wine laced with more caffeine than five cans of Redbull and a Starbucks venti-latte, as well as a hell of a lot of sugar and several chemicals that are banned in most industrialised countries. It's no wonder it does funny things to the addled brains of those who consume it. A spokesperson for Alcohol Focus Scotland said that, while the Devon monks shouldnt get all of the blame, the charity knows from police figures that Buckfast is mentioned in thousands of anti-social behaviour and crime reports in certain parts of the country. Still, the monks are building a 33-bed hotel on the site of the abbey with the money so, silver linings and all that. Blessed are the meek and, apparently, the inebriated. Also, let's just say that correlation isn't causation. Diary's native Weegie wonders whether it is just possible that Buckfast doesn't so much drive the population of south Glasgow into a state of incoherence, inebriation and fury, as, well, find them that way? Bill at the BBC? Finally, Society Diary has heard rumours that William Shawcross, the sectors favourite (only) chair of the Charity Commission, may be leaving us soon. Yes, it would appear that Shawcross has tossed his hat (deerstalker, size seven and three quarters) into the ring to become the next chairman of the BBC Trust. Shawcross isnt the only dog in this fight however, and finds himself in a race with a bunch of seriously racially and gender diverse candidates. Who is Diary kidding? Theyre pretty much all old white men. Anyway, good luck, Big Bill and, if you get it, farewell. You were a long time coming, and you'll be a long time gone. The following companies are subsidiares of NOV: APL France SAS, APL Norway AS, APL do Brasil Ltda., ASEP Otomotiv Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Acker Holdings LLC, Ackerman Holdings C.V., Ackerman Holdings GP LLC, Advanced Production and Loading, Advanced Wirecloth S. de R.L. de C.V., American Pipe and Construction International, Ameron B.V., Ameron International, Ameron International Corporation, Ameron Pole Products LLC, Ameron Polyplaster Industria E Comercio de Tubos Ltda., Ameron Singapore Holding LLC, Andergauge Limited, Andergauge Redback LLC, Arabian Rig Manufacturing Company, Big Red Tubulars Limited, Bondstrand Ltd., Brandt Oilfield Services (M) Sdn. Bhd., C.M.A. Canavera S.R.L., CJSC Fidmash, CJSC Novmash, Chemineer Inc., Coil Services Middle East LLC, Cooperatie Intelliserv Holding U.A., Cooperatie NOV NL U.A., Danco AS, Elmar Far East Pty Ltd, Enerflow Industries, Environmental Procedures LLC, Fiber Glass Systems (Qingdao) Composite Piping Co. 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S.r.l., RHI Holding LLC, ReedHycalog International Holding LLC, ReedHycalog L.P., ReedHycalog LLC, ReedHycalog UK Limited, Robannic Overseas Finance A.V.V., Robbins & Myers B.V., Robbins & Myers Foundation, Robbins & Myers GP LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings LLC, Robbins & Myers Holdings UK Limited, Robbins & Myers Inc, Robbins & Myers Inc., Robbins & Myers Italia S.R.L., Robbins & Myers N.V., Rodic S.A. de C.V., Romaco S.a.r.l., STAR Sudamtex Tubulares S.A., STSA, Screen Manufacturing Company Unlimited, Slip Clutch Systems Limited, South Seas Inspection, Subseaflex Holding ApS, T-3 Energy Preferred Industries Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Holdings Ltd., T-3 Energy Services Cayman Ltd., T-3 Energy Services LLC, T-3 Energy Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., T-3 Investment Corporation IV, T-3 Mexican Holdings Inc., Telluride Insurance Limited, Tianjin Grant TPCO Drilling Tools Company Limited, Tuboscope & Co. LLC, Tuboscope (Holding U.S.) LLC, Tuboscope Brandt de Venezuela S.A., Tuboscope Norge AS, Tuboscope Vetco (France) SAS, Tuboscope Vetco (Osterreich) GmbH, Tuboscope Vetco Capital Limited, Tuboscope Vetco Moscow CJSC, Tuboscope Vetco de Argentina S.A., Tubular Coatings Solutions Ltd., Tucom Composites Polyester Sanayi Ticaret Ltd., Urban WLY LP, Varco BJ B.V., Varco CIS LLC, Varco International de Venezuela C.A., Varco L.P., Varco US Holdings LLC, Vetco Enterprise GmbH, Vetco Saudi Arabia Ltd., Visible Assets Inc., Wilson International, Woolley Inc., XL Systems Antilles N.V., XL Systems Europe B.V., XL Systems International Inc., voestalpine Tubulars Corporation, voestalpine Tubulars GmbH, and voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co KG. Read More CHARLESTON -- The American Red Cross Central and Southern Illinois Region will offer a special Zero to Hero disaster volunteer training in Charleston on January 13-15. Zero to Hero is a unique opportunity for people to fast track the required training to become a Red Cross disaster volunteer. In just one weekend, Zero to Hero participants will go through a concentrated training session to complete all the initial training to become a Red Cross disaster volunteer. The Red Cross encourages anyone who has considered becoming a Red Cross disaster volunteer to attend the Zero to Hero event. In addition to the training, participants will learn more about Red Cross disaster response and volunteer opportunities. Red Cross disaster volunteers are trained to respond to all types of disasters and Zero to Hero is a great opportunity for new volunteers to fast track that training into one weekend, said Alyssa Pollock, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross Central and Southern Illinois Region. Zero to Hero participants will also have a chance to interact with Red Cross staff and other volunteers to learn more about the Red Cross. The Zero to Hero event will be held at the Coles County Human Services Building at 825 18th Street in Charleston. The Zero to Hero event is free, but advance registration is requested. To register or learn more about Zero to Hero or other Red Cross volunteer opportunities, email Samuel.Evans@redcross.org or call Sam at 217-222-2477, ext. 7304. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, visit redcross.org or visit them on Twitter at @RedCross. One expert suggests allowing extra time before a flight just to offset any hiccups Once upon a time flying used to be fun and kind of glamorous, but the pandemic and the airlines' struggle for profitability sucked the life out of the experience. Even though COVID-19 seems like a fading vapor trail, air traveler satisfaction with North American airports cant seem to get airborne again. According to the J.D. Power 2022 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, overall satisfaction with airports is down 25 points this year as travelers encounter fewer fl... Nobel Laureate Art McDonald dared to dream big when it came to testing the hypothesis behind what was to become his biggest discovery. The world-renowned physicist and Dal alumus built a team of 274 scientists, secured 1,000 tonnes of heavy water and oversaw the construction of a giant lab the size of a 10-storey building in an underground mine. But Dr. McDonalds experiment wasnt just physically and operationally massive it was also scientifically bold and adventurous. The aim of his high-stakes, years-in-the-making experiment was to answer the long-held question in physics of whether neutrinos (one of the tiny building blocks of the universe) have mass. Luckily, he found an answer: they do. While their specific motivations may vary, most great researchers embody at least some of the same visionary qualities that have defined Dr. McDonalds work: curiosity, ingenuity and drive. Thats certainly the case with Dal researchers Randall Martin and Jean Marshall, named Thursday as the first holders of a prestigious new research chair award set up at Dal this year in Dr. McDonald's honour. Advancing world-leading research As awardees of the Arthur B. McDonald Chair, Drs. Martin and Marshall will receive $50,000 a year for up to seven years to build upon their already substantial bodies of research. Dr. Martin, a professor in the Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, has dedicated his career to understanding atmospheric composition and its implications for human health and climate. His lab is best known for its pioneering use of global modelling in producing satellite-based estimates of fine particulate matter, now recognized as the leading environmental risk factor for premature mortality worldwide with 4 million attributable deaths a year. The World Health Organization, the World Bank and UNICEF are a few of the organizations using data produced in Dr. Martins lab to drive their advocacy and policy work. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has even estimated that the welfare costs of the deaths related to these tiny atmospheric particles to be in the range of 3-4 per cent of global gross-domestic product. I continue to be amazed by the impact that these data are having, says Dr. Martin, whose previous awards and honours include the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship and induction into the Royal Society of Canada. Dr. Martin says the McDonald Chair will provide him with the flexibility he needs to expand his research in this area. That flexibility is of immense value, he says. It allows one to be nimble, to react quickly to new discoveries, and to pursue creative lines of inquiry. Similarly, Dr. Marshall says the fresh support from Dal will enable her lab to attract more promising trainees in areas that can drive her research program forward. Rather than waiting until funding becomes available to bring in new talent, she says shell have the ability to act more quickly to build her teams strength in priority areas. Dr. Marshall joined Dals Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the Faculty of Medicine nearly 20 years ago and her lab has been internationally recognized for its studies on the role of mast cells in defence against infection and cancer and in chronic inflammatory diseases. Mast cells had for a long time been seen as useless in a therapeutic sense, but her research helped show that they could be used strategically to manipulate immunity to fight cancer or prevent allergic diseases. Some of Canadas largest health-related research investment agencies have funded Dr. Marshalls research, much of which is done in close collaboration with clinicians. She says that direct impact is something that drew her to the field of immunology in the first place. There were these large areas of very poorly understood science and big questions about where cells go, what they do and how they interact, she says. They were of direct relevance to human health and you could see that. Honouring outstanding researchers Drs. Marshall and Martin were invited to a ceremony Thursday afternoon in Dals Collaborative Health Education Building to receive plaques from Dr. McDonald, who was in town to mark the launch of the new research initiative. "It is a tremendous honour to be recognized in this way by Dalhousie, Dr. McDonald said ahead of the event. I am pleased that the Chairs encourage a strong future research program at Dal where I was first introduced to the joy of discovery. Dal established the McDonald Chairs this year as a way to honour Dr. McDonald and to recognize and retain professors of high-calibre at the university. Nominees for the chair are expected to have achieved some international prominence in their field and demonstrated the impact of their research in that area, much like Drs. Martin and Marshall have. (The chairs are also aligned with Dal's Strategic Research Plan.) The establishment of the Arthur B. McDonald Chair further enhances Dalhousies reputation for research excellence and provides a means of rewarding and retaining our outstanding scientists, said Martha Crago, Dals vice-president of research, ahead of the event. I am very pleased that we have the opportunity to celebrate the incredible work being done by two very talented researchers, Dr. Martin and Dr. Marshall. Chair holders are also expected to be successful in attracting top-quality students to their labs and training them to become future research leaders, something both of the Chairs first occupants cite as a key priority. For Dr. Martin, that means fostering his trainees rigorous independence. For Dr. Marshall, its seeing them take ownership of their projects and getting creative in their approach to them. Its that same spirit of ingenuity and determination that inspired Dr. McDonald to undertake his ground-breaking experiment more than 15 years ago and that will no doubt continue to inspire generations of scientists at Dal and beyond in the years to come. BMJ, one of the world's leading healthcare knowledge providers, has partnered with Guangdong Family Doctor Association to make their fully translated Chinese edition of BMJ Best Practice available to over two million primary healthcare professionals across China. Last week, the UK's Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, attended the signing ceremony at the UK-China Healthcare summit in Shanghai. The partnership builds on existing links between BMJ and China. It also forms part of the Chinese government's framework for 'Healthy China 2030' that aims to use innovation to drive health system reform across the country. BMJ Best Practice is a clinical decision support tool that gives doctors fast and easy access to the latest information when making diagnosis and treatment decisions. Updated daily, it draws on the latest evidence-based research, guidelines and expert opinion on over 10,000 different diagnoses to offer step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and prevention. The Chinese edition is the result of a collaboration between BMJ and the Chinese Medical Association (CMA). In addition to the full translation of all BMJ Best Practice content, it also contains the latest clinical guidelines and expert opinion from the CMA, providing access to both international standards and local clinical practice recommendations. It is available both online and offline, and as a mobile app, giving busy clinical staff an immediate head-start on making diagnosis and treatment decisions. BMJ Best Practice is already in regular use by clinicians in more than 60 countries and is accredited by the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangzhou Municipality in China. Yuyan Kong, Managing Director at BMJ China said: "We are delighted to be partnering with Guangdong Family Doctor Association to help doctors in China practice evidence-based medicine and improve outcomes for their patients. Making BMJ Best Practice accessible in this way is also an important step for us towards our vision of helping to create a healthier world." Yuxiong Wu, Executive Vice President of Guangdong Family Doctor Association said: "Developing primary healthcare is the fundamental way to achieve the 'Healthy China 2030' goal. The Association will use BMJ's advanced evidence-based resources and tools to establish a comprehensive and effective information system for the general practitioners, to better contribute the primary healthcare institutions in China." A recent independent review of clinical decision support tools published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (1) ranked BMJ Best Practice equal first for breadth of disease coverage, editorial quality, and evidence-based methodology. ### Find out more at: http://china.bestpractice.bmj.com (1) Providing Doctors With High-Quality Information: An Updated Evaluation of Web-Based Point-of-Care Information Summaries Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol 18, No 1 (2016): January About BMJ BMJ is a healthcare knowledge provider that aims to advance healthcare worldwide by sharing knowledge and expertise to improve experiences, outcomes and value. For a full list of BMJ products and services, please visit bmj.com Minneapolis, MN, USA - Over one million children are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year. When children with CHD receive timely treatment, 85% can survive into adulthood to live healthy, productive lives. Sadly, 90% of the children with CHD live in poor regions with little or no access to care. Congenital heart disease and other serious birth defects are among the top five causes of death of children worldwide. In its new report, A Voice for the Invisible Child, and echoed in this week's The Lancet, Children's HeartLink calls for the needs of children with heart disease to be included in efforts to strengthen health systems around the word. Specifically, priorities must be made to build a pediatric cardiac workforce, collect data on CHD in national health surveys and cause of child death statistics, and finance health coverage in a way that protects families from impoverishment when they seek care. Brian Atwood, former Administrator of USAID, urges leaders in global health and development: "Increasing access to pediatric cardiac care is a lofty but not insurmountable goal. It is an achievable goal, grounded in health system sustainability and equity. It will save children's lives." Since the turn of the millennium, child deaths have been cut in half thanks to improved public health and poverty reduction efforts. It is predicted that the number will halve again by 2030. That is the year that the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for the world to end preventable child deaths. This target will not be met without addressing congenital heart disease. As the overall rate of child deaths decreases, the burden of children born with heart disease will become more apparent. ### Established in 1969, Children's HeartLink is a Minnesota, USA-based nonprofit humanitarian organization currently working in Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Ukraine and Vietnam. We partner with local institutions to strengthen health systems in order to develop pediatric cardiac centers of excellence. Children HeartLink's strategic vision includes developing 50 Centers of Excellence and reaching one million children with heart disease by 2030. Nationally, the highest rates of asthma-related deaths and hospitalizations are among low-income minority adults, but most existing research doesn't focus on these patients. In particular, studies may not investigate patients where they live, in complicated, difficult circumstances. Many adult asthma patients have multiple diseases and exposure to tobacco smoke, but much research reflects the convenience of recruiting patients in clinics and on the relative simplicity of studying patients who do not have accompanying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. A new study analyzes patients at ground level, drawing on reports from community health workers who visit asthma patients at home, where extreme living conditions such as poor housing, neighborhood violence, and lack of social support impose steep barriers to public health care, as well as to high-quality research. The research team argues that home visits offer a fuller understanding of how the social environment of asthma patients impacts their overall health. Researchers from the Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania describe those challenges in a study in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The authors focused on 301 adults living in low-income Philadelphia neighborhoods who were prescribed an inhaled corticosteroid for asthma and required oral steroids for an exacerbation and/or had an emergency or inpatient visit within the last six months. Community health workers visited patients in their homes and found 71 percent rented, with many living in one-room apartments or overcrowded spaces with multiple family members. Many patients also live in typical Philadelphia rowhomes, which were built in the late 19th century and are difficult to maintain on a limited income. These patients are routinely exposed to common indoor asthma triggers, such as rodents, roaches, and mold. Only 25 percent of people who participated in the study were currently employed either part or full-time. Community health workers reported their impressions of these stark, and sometimes bleak, living conditions: "It's not just the finances, it's the violence, lack of education and job opportunities." "Homes are in poor repair. Some are just unlivable." "Depression survey seems to trigger a lot of emotions. Often patients are crying as we try to complete it." "Many of these patients start to feel a sense of hopelessness, especially the very sick," says Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, corresponding author and medical director of CAPP at CHOP. "They feel there is very little possibility of changing their current living situation, which includes poor housing, exposure to violent crime, and limited access to transportation. Some of these living conditions make it difficult or impossible for patients to get to their medical visits, which results in a further decline of their health." Living in a high-stress environment encourages many patients to continue smoking, despite knowing it contributes to their asthma symptoms. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed admitted they currently smoke. Other issues community health workers encountered were low education rates, limited access to healthy foods, and poor general health; 58 percent of patients had hypertension and 32 percent had diabetes. "Medical personnel no longer make house calls, so this research gives us a view of how poverty, unfavorable home conditions, and lack of social resources limit patients' ability to access healthcare," says Andrea J. Apter, MD, MSc, MA, principal investigator of the study and Chief of the Section of Allergy & Immunology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "Without the knowledge of these barriers, health providers do not have the information needed to create a tailored and empathetic approach to asthma management." Bryant-Stephens adds, "As long as there is poor housing, health disparities will continue to exist, despite medical advancements being made in the fight against asthma. The issue is not limited to Philadelphia and needs to be addressed on a national scale. Without addressing poor housing, we will never be able to truly eliminate disparities in outcomes among adult asthma patients." ### Research reported was funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Program Award. Tyra Bryant-Stephens, Shakira Reed-Wells, Maryori Canales, Luzmercy Perez, A. Russell Localio, Andrea J. Apter. "Home Visits are Needed to Address Asthma Health Disparities in Adults," Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Published December 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2016.10.006 About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals, and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 535-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu For those suffering depression or anxiety, using cannabis for relief may not be the long-term answer FORT COLLINS, COLORADO - For those suffering depression or anxiety, using cannabis for relief may not be the long-term answer. That's according to new research from a team at Colorado State University seeking scientific clarity on how cannabis - particularly chronic, heavy use - affects neurological activity, including the processing of emotions. Researchers led by Lucy Troup, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, have published a study in PeerJ describing their findings from an in-depth, questionnaire-based analysis of 178 college-aged, legal users of cannabis. Recreational cannabis became legal in Colorado in 2014. Since then, seven other states have enacted legalization for recreational use, while many others allow medical use. "One thing we wanted to focus on was the significance of Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational cannabis, and its own unique population and use that occurs here," Troup said. Through the study, which was based solely upon self-reported use of the drug, the researchers sought to draw correlations between depressive or anxious symptoms and cannabis consumption. They found that those respondents categorized with subclinical depression, who reported using the drug to treat their depressive symptoms, scored lower on their anxiety symptoms than on their depressive symptoms - so, they were actually more depressed than they were anxious. The same was true for self-reported anxiety sufferers: they were found to be more anxious than they were depressed. In other words, "if they were using cannabis for self-medication, it wasn't doing what they thought it was doing," explained co-author Jacob Braunwalder, a recently graduated student researcher in Troup's lab. Study co-author Jeremy Andrzejewski led the development of the questionnaire, called R-CUE (Recreational Cannabis Use Evaluation), that took a deep dive into users' habits, including questions about whether users smoked the drug, or consumed stronger products like hash oils or edibles. The researchers are particularly motivated to study biochemical and neurological reactions from higher-tetrahydracannabinol (THC) products available in the legal market, which can be up to 80-90 percent THC. The researchers are quick to point out that their analysis does not say that cannabis causes depression or anxiety, nor that it cures it. But it underscores the need for further study around how the brain is affected by the drug, in light of legalization, and by some accounts, more widespread use in Colorado since legalization. For example, said Andrzejewski, "there is a common perception that cannabis relieves anxiety." Yet research has yet to support this claim fully, he said. Graduate student and co-author Robert Torrence pointed to past research that shows that chronic use reduces naturally occurring endocannabinoids in the brain, which are known to play a role physiological processes including mood and memory. "There is research to suggest that cannabis can help with anxiety and depression in the beginning, but it has the reverse effect later on," said Torrence, a U.S. Army veteran who is especially interested in studying cannabis' effectiveness in treating post-traumatic stress disorders. Due to the federal government's stringent regulations around researching cannabis, which is a schedule I drug, the general public's perception of how it affects the brain is often based in "mythos," Braunwalder said. "We want to add more information to the entire body of research." There are currently no CSU research labs that administer cannabis to study participants, as administration of the drug for research would require special licensing and security. Moving forward, the researchers want to refine their results and concentrate on respondents' level and length of exposure to legally available high-THC products like concentrates and hash oils, around which there has been little scientific inquiry. "It is important not to demonize cannabis, but also not to glorify it," Troup said. "What we want to do is study it, and understand what it does. That's what drives us." ### LUGANO-SINGAPORE, 17 December, 2016 - The first data on rare sarcomas in Asian patients is presented in three studies today at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. Just half of patients with advanced angiosarcoma received chemotherapy even though it improved overall survival. CIC-rearranged sarcomas are shown to have a much worse prognosis than BCOR-rearranged sarcomas and clinical features are identified to aid accurate diagnoses. Angiosarcoma is the focus of two studies conducted by the newly formed Asian Sarcoma Consortium (ASC).1,2 This heterogeneous cancer has two distinct subtypes: elderly patients with scalp/cutaneous disease and a younger cohort with visceral disease typically in the liver, vascular systems, and breast. Treatment is challenging since the disease tends to be infiltrative, making surgery with clear margins difficult, while radiation is a poor option for tumours on the scalp and face. Chemotherapy has demonstrated activity in angiosarcoma but long term remission is rare. Both studies retrospectively included patients attending eight sites in six countries during 1990 to 2016. The first study outlines the epidemiology, real world treatment and clinical outcomes of angiosarcoma in Asia. The median age of the 423 patients was 67 years, about 60% had cutaneous angiosarcoma (they were more likely to be older, male, and have localised disease), while 40% had visceral angiosarcoma. In the localised setting, only about 60% of patients underwent surgery, but this was significantly lower in the cutaneous (55%) than visceral (75%) cohort. In those who underwent surgery, negative margins were only achieved in approximately 70% of cases. Close to half of patients who underwent surgery relapsed. Median relapse free survival was just 12.3 months with no statistical difference between the cutaneous (12.9 months) versus visceral (9.5 months) groups. Patients were more likely to relapse if they were more than 65 years old or had positive surgical margins. In the advanced setting, only about half of patients received chemotherapy. Median overall survival was 9.5 months with no significant difference between cutaneous (11.5 months) and visceral (8.3 months) groups. ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) performance status was an independent predictor of survival. However, after adjusting for ECOG performance status, overall survival was significantly better in patients who received chemotherapy than those who did not. "This is one of the largest studies in angiosarcoma and we found that overall prognosis was poor," said lead author Professor Richard Quek, deputy head and senior consultant, National Cancer Centre Singapore. "In patients with localised disease, negative surgical margin was prognostic for relapse free survival yet it was only achieved in 70% of patients. Neoadjuvant (pre-operative) treatment, be it chemotherapy or radiation, might enhance resectability of these tumours and thereby improve survival outcomes." Quek continued: "In patients with advanced disease we demonstrated that after adjusting for ECOG performance status, chemotherapy was associated with improved overall survival. But only half of our patients actually received chemotherapy, hence it would be important to understand the reasons behind this low treatment rate. Could these be physician-related factors? And if so, is more sarcoma-related continuing medical education needed to enhance care for our patients?" The second angiosarcoma study outlined the clinical characteristics and treatment of 277 patients with advanced metastatic or unresectable disease. The median age was 64 years. The predictors of better prognosis were younger age, female sex, and cutaneous (rather than visceral) disease. Use of chemotherapy gradually increased over the 20-year period, with a preference for paclitaxel and liposomal doxorubicin over other treatments. Progression-free survival in patients receiving at least one line of chemotherapy was 3.8 months. Overall survival was 8.3 months but was significantly higher in patients who received at least one line of palliative chemotherapy (11.5 months) than those who did not (4.4 months). "It's the first time we have data on expected survival for Asian patients with advanced metastatic or unresectable angiosarcoma," said lead author Dr Tom Chen, attending physician, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. "This data will help us to develop clinical trials and new treatments for Asian angiosarcoma patients." The third study focused on Ewing sarcoma-like small round cell sarcomas.3 Ewing sarcoma is molecularly characterised by a EWSR1 gene alteration or FUS rearrangement. Small round cell sarcomas without these molecular characteristics are designated "Ewing sarcoma-like" disease. Recent molecular genetic studies have identified CIC-rearranged sarcoma (CIC-DUX4, CIC-DUX4L, CIC-FOXO4) and BCOR-rearranged sarcoma (BCOR-CCNB3, BCOR-MAML3, ZC3H7B-BCOR) among these Ewing sarcoma-like small round cell sarcomas. The study presented today describes the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of these two sarcomas. The study included 17 patients with CIC sarcoma, of whom 12 were male. Median age was 22 years, all cases were soft tissue tumours, and 59% of patients had local pain. The seven BCOR sarcoma patients were all male. Median age was 14 years and cases included bone and soft tissue tumours. The five-year overall survival rate was 28.2% for CIC sarcoma and 100% for BCOR sarcoma. Metastases were present in 71% of CIC patients at the initial visit and none of the BCOR patients. Only 29% of CIC patients responded to chemotherapy compared to 75% of BCOR patients. "CIC-rearranged sarcomas have a much worse prognosis than BCOR-rearranged sarcomas," said lead author Dr Makoto Endo, attending physician, National Cancer Centre, Tokyo, Japan. "CIC and BCOR sarcomas were previously classified as the same tumour. Our research will help us to make a precise diagnosis and should improve the management of these patients." Commenting on the studies, Professor Thomas Brodowicz, programme director, Bone and Soft Tissue-Sarcoma Unit, Medical University Vienna, Austria, said: "The two studies on angiosarcoma show that immediate progression-free survival and overall survival are low, which reflects the aggressiveness of this disease. It would be useful to have a more detailed breakdown of the patients - for example, the treatment and outcomes of primary angiosarcoma versus secondary, which forms at the site of radiation treatment for a previous cancer. It would also be helpful to know whether paclitaxel is more effective when taken every three weeks or weekly, which has an antiangiogenic effect that could be beneficial in angiosarcoma." He continued: "The study by Dr Endo provides practice-changing information. It shows that Ewing sarcoma-like small round cell sarcomas can be further categorised by their specific mutations, which have a strong prognostic impact. This should help us to tailor treatment." ### The determination of the spatial distribution of erosive processes is difficult. Especially in rough terrain the installation of measuring devices for a continuous measurement is complicated. This is why to date there are only few data available, especially on millimeter scale. In a new feasibility study, a Swiss-German team of scientists with the participation of Jens Turowski, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, shows how erosive processes can be visualized by simple painting. In a gorge in the Swiss Alps close to Zermatt, the scientists applied horizontal and vertical patterns of paint on an area of thirty times five meters of rock and monitored them for three years via photographs taken from defined positions. Based on these photographs they were able to show the erosive processes in time that become visible by the removal of the paint. They call the new method "erosion painting". Erosion painting allows for an analysis of the spatial distribution and intensity of erosive processes in a riverbed. Knowledge on this helps to better understand the physics behind erosion. The study aims at implementing the new method within process research. Until now, sophisticated techniques like photogrammetry, fixed monitoring stations, laser scanning, or erosion sensors had to be applied to measure and map topographic changes on rock surfaces. But "why so complicated?" the scientists asked themselves. Erosion painting needs no expensive installation, can be applied fast and on high-resolution even in rough terrain, and only requires visual inspection via photography. Jens Turowski: Using paint is a cheap and easy method to analyze the spatial distribution of erosive processes. With this study we would like to show that this method can be applied for science". By repeated laser scans the scientists did validate their method. This also revealed that laser scanning cannot assess erosion rates on smallest millimeter scale that is, however, made visible by erosion painting. The scientists only used environmental friendly, water-insoluble latex paint. To minimize the effect on nature the scientists advise to only use the paint sparsely and to avoid sensitive areas. ### Original study: Alexander R. Beer, James W. Kirchner, Jens M., Turowski, 2016. Graffiti for science - Erosion painting reveals spatially variable erosivity of sediment-laden flows. Earth Surface Dynamics 4, 885-894. DOI: 10.5194/esurf-4-885-2016 Emphasis should be on the energy needs of companies and communities rather than locally available resources. Furthermore, social acceptability and active involvement of the aboriginal communities are key to developing renewable energy in the North. These were two main takeaways that emerged from the workshop on defining energy solutions for northern regions held at INRS on December 9, 2016, in the wake of the international research cooperation agreement between Quebec and Iceland. The workshop, which brought together INRS (which initiated the agreement), Universite Laval, Reykjavik University, University of Iceland, Landsvirkjun (Iceland's national power company), Hydro-Quebec's Research Institute (IREQ), and Ouranos Consortium, was an opportunity for university partners and energy producers to discuss and define collaborative projects aimed at replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, not only to preserve the environment but also to reduce price volatility. Participants highlighted the importance of improving: Short-, medium-, and long-term energy demand forecasts for northern regions Our understanding of weather and climate change in order to adapt energy systems to the realities of northern regions By pooling their complementary expertise in shallow geothermal energy, mobile energy system development, geothermal system engineering, and new materials research, partnership members want to provide private and public decision makers with valuable scientific and technical insight. To succeed, they plan to: Develop capacity-building projects on common issues relating to integrated energy systems Incorporate bilateral activities into ongoing research projects and to establish a dual degree agreement between universities in Quebec and Iceland Promote student enrolment in summer sessions at participating institutions and to foster faculty mobility and personnel exchanges with industrial partners Geothermal symposium Choosing the right materials for geothermal operations remains a constant challenge, which is why cooperation and knowledge sharing between universities, industry, and government is crucial to the growth of geothermal energy. That was the general consensus following the geothermal symposium held on December 8, 2016, at INRS's Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre. The event gave researchers from Iceland, Sweden, and Quebec an opportunity to review the state of knowledge in this multidisciplinary field. They concluded that: The scarcity of equilibrium temperature measurements in Quebec leads to considerable uncertainty when analyzing regional geothermal potential Deepening our knowledge of available geothermal resources is critical to dealing with the growth of the drilling industry, which may affect the energy market Geothermal energy can be used anywhere, regardless of local geological conditions There is a lack of data on northern Quebec, and an easier access to geothermal data is essential Demonstration projects are required to validate assumptions regarding low temperature heat pumps Research on new materials is boosting the performance and reducing the cost of geothermal systems "Iceland's and Sweden's experience with geothermal energy in the Arctic Circle is paving the way for Quebec," asserts INRS professor Jasmin Raymond, holder of the Northern Geothermal Potential Research Chair. ### Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a computer simulation that helps predict under which circumstances a new short-course treatment regimen for drug-resistant tuberculosis could substantially reduce the global incidence and spread of the disease. The computer model was developed to help understand the impact of a recommendation issued in May by the World Health Organization for wider use of a new nine- to 12-month treatment regimen for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The conventional treatment regimen takes 18 months to two years. Tuberculosis, which is spread through the air from one person to another, is the No. 1 cause of infectious disease deaths in the world, with an incidence of approximately 10 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths each year. MDR-TB is strains of TB bacteria that cannot be killed by the strongest-available TB drugs, rifampin and isoniazid. These strains alone are estimated to cause almost 500,000 new TB cases and over 100,000 deaths each year. In the study, described in the Dec. 15 edition of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, the researchers found that the new regimen could lower the incidence of MDR-TB in Southeast Asia by 23 percent more than conventional treatment over eight years. Importantly, they describe the types of situations where this number might be an over- or underestimate. If the new regimen could achieve this same impact on a global scale, over 100,000 new cases of MDR-TB could be averted every year. Conventional treatments for MDR-TB are costly and uncomfortable. The drugs used include a daily injection that must be taken for the first eight months of the regimen, followed my many more months of pills. These drugs frequently cause severe side effects, such as nausea, headache, chest pain and rash. MDR-TB costs five to 10 times more to treat than other TB cases, and the costs of drugs and time are a burden to health systems and patients worldwide. In the U.S., treating MDR-TB can cost anywhere between $17,000 to $482,000 per person. As a result, compliance with the regimen and its availability in poorer countries is limited, leading to further spread of the disease. "About 15 to 20 percent of patients who start conventional treatment for drug-resistant TB don't finish, mostly because of the length, expense and discomfort associated with it," says Emily Kendall, M.D., an instructor in the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "The short-course regimen could cut both treatment time and cost of treatment in half." Promising outcomes of preliminary studies in patients in Southeast Asia and parts of Western and Central Africa led the World Health Organization to make the recommendation, but safety and efficacy have not yet been proven in large-scale clinical trials. Kendall says uncertainty about the new regimen's role prompted her group's interest in creating a computer model to assist health care groups and governments in deciding whether or not to switch to the new regimen, which uses a combination of seven drugs. Kendall says the model her team created allows researchers to "virtually" explore the new regimen's impact in a simulated population. By tuning the model to replicate population data, such as the number of people at risk for developing TB and the fraction of TB patients who have drug resistance, the model can predict changes in the TB disease burden -- or number of cases -- over many years. For the test study, Kendall's team based the model on experience in Southeast Asia, where the short-course regimen was originally developed by a group of researchers in Bangladesh. They found that, compared to using the conventional treatment in this population, which only reduced current MDR-TB incidence by 14 percent, using the new short-course treatment decreased the incidence of MDR-TB by 23 percent in eight years in the model. The Johns Hopkins investigators caution, however, that the short-term treatment's impact is dependent on several assumptions, including that no more than 10 percent of possible patients are excluded from treatment by additional drug resistance and that using the new regimen actually increases the number of MDR-TB patients treated. If these assumptions do not play out in actual practice, using the new regimen could have substantially less impact -- and even lead to more cases -- than using the conventional regimen, in some cases. The model is helpful in describing the situations where the new regimen is likely to have large impact, small impact or no impact at all. "Several important factors are still uncertain, but if we can keep the number of excluded patients down to around 10 percent, if treatment of the other 90 percent of patients is as successful as preliminary studies suggest and if cost savings from the shorter regimen allow more patients to be treated, then this regimen is likely to have a really big impact," says Kendall. Kendall also cautioned that there are some populations in which the short-course regimen may not work well. For example, the regimen is not yet recommended for children or for TB infections outside of the lungs. "Our computer tool can help guide certain decisions about the short regimen," Kendall says, "but scientists and health care workers still need to be really vigilant about gathering more data on how it's working and for whom it is working best as we begin to use it more widely." ### Other researchers involved in this study are Anthony T. Fojo, M.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and David W. Dowdy, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (5T32AI007291-25) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Work Order 10). The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded JIC Project Leader Dr Christine Faulkner a Consolidator Grant to carry out research on cell communication in plant immunity. The ERC Consolidator Grants support early/mid-career scientists to establish their scientific independence by providing the necessary resources to form a team of scientists and students within a host institute. The ERC funding scheme is among the most highly coveted sources of funding in Europe, and potential recipients must submit a research proposal of the highest standard. The ERC only considers researchers with an exceptional track record for their career stage. Dr Faulkner's research addresses how plant cells communicate and co-ordinate their responses to pathogen threats with the ultimate aim of understanding how defence signals triggered by single cells are transmitted through whole plants. Dr Faulkner said: "It's very exciting to launch a new project with support from the European Research Council. This grant will enable us to perform research on a large scale and will identify new elements of how the plant immune system operates across whole plants. I'm very pleased to have this opportunity and can't wait to get the project started." ### Notes to editor 1. For further information about ERC Consolidator Grants please go to: https://erc.europa.eu/funding-and-grants/funding-schemes/consolidator-grants 2. An image of Christine Faulkner can be downloaded from: http://bit.ly/2h8z1Qm 3. About the John Innes Centre The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology. Our mission is to generate knowledge of plants and microbes through innovative research, to train scientists for the future, to apply our knowledge of nature's diversity to benefit agriculture, the environment, human health and wellbeing, and engage with policy makers and the public. To achieve these goals we establish pioneering long-term research objectives in plant and microbial science, with a focus on genetics. These objectives include promoting the translation of research through partnerships to develop improved crops and to make new products from microbes and plants for human health and other applications. We also create new approaches, technologies and resources that enable research advances and help industry to make new products. The knowledge, resources and trained researchers we generate help global societies address important challenges including providing sufficient and affordable food, making new products for human health and industrial applications, and developing sustainable bio-based manufacturing. This provides a fertile environment for training the next generation of plant and microbial scientists, many of whom go on to careers in industry and academia, around the world. The John Innes Centre is strategically funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). In 2015-2016 the John Innes Centre received a total of 30.1 million from the BBSRC. The John Innes Centre is also supported by the John Innes Foundation through provision of research accommodation and long term support of the Rotation PhD programme. The John Innes Centre is the winner of the BBSRC's 2013 - 2016 Excellence With Impact award. Cambridge, Mass. -- Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are tiny machines fabricated using equipment and processes developed for the production of electronic chips and devices. They've found a wide variety of applications in today's consumer electronics, but their moving parts can wear out over time as a result of friction. A new approach developed by researchers at MIT could offer a new way of making movable parts with no solid connections between the pieces, potentially eliminating a major source of wear and failure. The new system uses a layer of liquid droplets to support a tiny, movable platform, which essentially floats on top of the droplets. The droplets can be water or some other fluid, and the precise movements of the platform can be controlled electrically, through a system that can alter the dimensions of the droplets to raise, lower, and tilt the platform. The new findings are reported in a paper in Applied Physics Letters, co-authored by Daniel Preston, an MIT graduate student; Evelyn Wang, the Gail E. Kendall Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; and five others. Preston explains that the new system could be used to make devices such as stages for microscope specimens. The focus of the microscope could be controlled by raising or lowering the stage, which would involve changing the shapes of supporting liquid droplets. The system works by altering the way the droplets interact with the surface below them, governed by a characteristic known as the contact angle. This angle is a measure of how steep the edge of the droplet is at the point where it meets the surface. On hydrophilic, or water-attracting, surfaces, droplets spread out nearly flat, producing a very small contact angle, while hydrophobic, or water-repelling, surfaces cause droplets to be nearly spherical, barely touching the surface, with very large contact angles. On certain kinds of dielectric surfaces, these qualities can be "tuned" across that whole range by simply varying a voltage applied to the surface. As the surface gets more hydrophobic and the droplets get rounder, their tops rise farther from the surface, thus raising the platform -- in these tests, a thin sheet of copper -- that floats on them. By selectively changing different droplets by different amounts, the platform can also be selectively tilted. This could be used, for example, to change the angle of a mirrored surface in order to aim a laser beam, Preston says. "There are a lot of experiments that use lasers, that could really benefit from a way to make these small-scale movements." In order to maintain the positioning of the droplets rather than letting them slide around, the team treated the underside of the floating platform. They made the overall surface hydrophobic, but with small circles of hydrophilic material. That way, all the droplets are securely "pinned" to those water-attracting surfaces, keeping the platform securely in position. In the group's initial test device, the vertical positioning can be controlled to within a precision of 10 microns, or millionths of a meter, over a range of motion of 130 microns. MEMS devices, Preston says, "often fail when there's a solid-solid contact that wears out, or just gets stuck. At these very small scales, things break down easily." While the basic technology behind the alteration of droplet shapes on a surface is not a new idea, Preston says, "nobody has used it to move a stage, without any solid-solid contact. The real innovation here is being able to move a stage up and down, and change its angle, without any solid material connections." In principle, it would be possible to use a large array of electrodes that could be adjusted to move a platform across a surface in precise ways, in addition to up and down. For example, it could be used for "lab on a chip" applications, where a biological sample could be mounted on the platform and then moved around from one test site to another on the microchip. He says the system is relatively simple to implement and that it would be possible to develop it for specific real-world application fairly rapidly. "It depends how motivated people are," he says. "But I don't see any huge barriers to large-scale use. I think it could be done within a year." The research team included MIT graduate students Ariel Anders and Yangying Zhu, Research Affiliate Banafsheh Barabadi, alumna Evelyn Tio '14, and undergraduate student DingRan Dai. The work was supported by the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. ### N-acetylcysteine reduced PTSD symptoms, cravings, and depression in veterans with PTSD and substance use disorder in a randomized controlled pilot trial conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center N-acetylcysteine, when combined with group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), reduced symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cravings, and depression significantly more than CBT alone in veterans with co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorder, a particularly difficult-to-treat population, according to the findings of a randomized controlled pilot trial conducted by researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. This trial is the first to use NAC as a pharmacotherapy for PTSD and a broad range of SUDs. The results were published online ahead of print on October 11, 2016 by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The National Center for PTSD estimates that seven to eight percent of Americans will have PTSD at some point in their life. The numbers are even worse for veterans: it is estimated, for example, that 30 percent of Vietnam veterans will have experienced PTSD at some point in their life. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of veterans with PTSD also have a substance use disorder (SUD). "Addiction goes along with virtually every psychiatric disorder at a higher percentage than it does in the general population" said Peter W. Kalivas, Ph.D. the senior author on the article and chair of the Department of Neuroscience at MUSC. "People who are prone to psychiatric disorders are also prone to addiction." Currently, there are no well-explored pharmacological treatments for patients with co-occurring PTSD/SUD. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been approved by the FDA for treatment of PTSD, pharmacological treatments for co-occurring PTSD/SUD have yielded suboptimal results. Groundbreaking basic science research by Kalivas has shown that levels of glutamate transporters are decreased in SUDs and that administration of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine can help restore those levels and guard against relapse in animal models of SUD. Because evidence suggests that SUDs and PTSD share overlapping neurobiological pathways, Sudie E. Back, Ph.D., lead author on the article, hypothesized that NAC treatment with CBT would be a novel approach to treat co-occurring PTSD and SUD. Back is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC and a staff psychologist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. In the eight-week randomized controlled trial led by Back and Kalivas, 35 veterans with PTSD and SUD, all of whom were receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for their SUD, were randomized to either 2400 mg/day of NAC or placebo. The average age of the veterans was 49 years and many were veterans of the Vietnam War. To be included, veterans had to have abstained from substance use for at least seven days. Of the veterans enrolled in the trial, 83% completed it, a very high rate for this difficult-to-treat population. Veterans in the NAC-treated group showed a 46% reduction in PTSD symptoms, compared with a 25% reduction in the placebo group on the Clinical-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), which assesses trauma history and symptom severity. The threshold CAPS score for diagnosis of PTSD is 50. "As a group, the NAC-treated veterans were below diagnostic level for PTSD at the end of treatment," said Back. "For PTSD, these are some of the best outcomes we have seen in the literature for a medication." Craving and depression were also reduced in the NAC-treated group. The amount of craving was reduced by 81% and the frequency of craving by 71% in the NAC group, compared with 32% and 29% in the placebo group. "Craving is a key component of substance use in relapse," said Back. "If you have a medication that can really reduce craving, that will go a long way to helping people stay clean and sober." Depression, gauged using the Beck Depression Inventory, was reduced 48% in the NAC group vs. 15% in the placebo group. Veterans in the study had low rates of substance use during the trial, and the study found little effect of medication on use, perhaps due to the fact that all participants were receiving SUD treatment and exhibiting low levels of use. This finding could also be due to the relatively limited number of participants or to the chronic nature of the participants' PTSD. "This is a tough patient population with SUD to work with." said Kalivas. "We have Vietnam vets that have had PTSD for 15 to 20 years. This is not an easy-to-turn-around population." Although these early, promising findings show that NAC reduced PTSD symptoms, craving, and depression, NAC should not be used as a monotherapy or substitute for evidence-based behavioral treatment, but instead be seen as an adjunct therapy that enhances it. "We would not advocate using it instead of therapy," said Back. "But this could be something to help prevent relapse when used alongside a behavioral treatment." NAC is available over the counter and does not cause side effects at the doses used in the study, but it degrades quickly when stored, is contraindicated in patients with asthma, and can cause nausea at higher doses and so should always be obtained and administered under a physician's supervision. The next steps in Back's research are to run a longer-term trial of NAC in veterans with PTSD and SUD and to use MRS magnetic spectroscopy to better explore the effect of NAC on glutamate levels in patients with PTSD and SUD. ### About MUSC Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents in six colleges (Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy), and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.2 billion, with an annual economic impact of more than $3.8 billion and annual research funding in excess of $250 million. MUSC operates a 700-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized children's hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center), Level I Trauma Center, Institute of Psychiatry, and the state's only transplant center. In 2016, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the number one hospital in South Carolina. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org. About the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center Located in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is a tertiary care teaching hospital providing the highest level quality care from cardiology to neurology to primary and mental health care for 70,000 Veterans along the South Carolina and Georgia coast. The Ralph H. Johnson VA achieved a 5-Star rating according to VA's Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning Value (SAIL) model. The SAIL rating ranks the Charleston VA in the top 10 percent of VA medical centers nationwide for quality of care and efficiency. The Charleston VA is also ranked in the top 10th percentile according to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). HEDIS is an independent review that measures performance of 90 percent of America's health plans and facilities in both the public and private sector on dimensions of care and service. The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is a center of excellence for robotic surgery and orthopedics, and is the first VA National Tele-Mental Health Hub providing care for Veterans across the U.S. The 149-bed hospital includes six community based outpatient clinics, a 20-bed nursing home, women's health, and the full range of inpatient and outpatient care, including medical and surgical intensive care. The VAMC provides more than 875,000 outpatient visits and approximately 4,400 in-patient stays annually. With more than 2,500 employees, Charleston VA has an annual budget of $458 million, research funding of more than $21 million, and more than 100 principal investigators participating in approximately 300 research studies. For more information, visit http://www.charleston.va.gov. After moving into the very warm waters of the southeastern Arabian Sea the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Vardah seemed to have regained some life. Both NASA's Aqua satellite and the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite saw some strong storms develop in the remnant low pressure area. The GPM core observatory satellite had a good look at lively remnants of Vardah when it flew over on Dec. 15 at 9:21 p.m. EST (Dec.16 at 0221 UTC). GPM's radar (DPR Ku Band) found that powerful convective thunderstorms south of the low's center were dropping rain at a rate of greater than 156 mm (6.1 inches) per hour. GPM's radar (DPR Ku Band) data were used to create a 3-D slice through the convective storms associated with Vardah's remnants. At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland a 3-D view of precipitation revealed that some of the tall storm tops in this cluster were reaching altitudes above 17 km (10.5 miles). GPM is co-managed by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. On Dec. 16 NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the remnants of Vardah and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument captured a visible image of the storm. The MODIS image showed strong storms still lingered west of the center. The Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre or New Delhi is monitoring this system as it continues moving through the Arabian Sea and away from India. ### Over the past six decades, China has carried out an aggressive program to control schistosomiasis, or snail fever, a disease caused by a parasitic worm that moves from its snail hosts to humans. Cases of the disease in China plummeted by more than a hundred fold. In recent years, however, areas where the parasite had been eliminated are seeing new infections, and the range of the snail host has expanded into new areas. Now, to help inspire new ways of stopping the spread of schistosomiasis, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have studied the dispersal patterns of the snails that carry the infection. Irrigation channels and other land use patterns, they found, affect the likelihood of the snails spreading between neighboring areas. In East and Southwest Asia, Schistosoma worms spread to humans from Oncomelania hupensis snails when the snails live in the same water that humans use to bathe, swim, or wash. Little was known, however, about how the Oncomelania snails spread throughout the environment. In the new work, Justin Remais, of the University of California, Berkeley, USA and colleagues collected 833 snails from 29 villages in the eastern mountainous zone of China's Sichuan Province, where Schistosoma has re-emerged in recent years following previous control. Each snail was genotyped and the gene sequences were used to determine migration patterns between the locations. Additional data were collected on land use and geographic features around each collection site. The researchers found that, across the studied villages, 14 to 33 percent of sampled snails were recent migrants--new to the location within one or two generations--and they found genetic evidence of dispersal as far as 27 miles (44 kilometers). But some sites had higher rates of migrants than others. While distance between villages, and greater connectivity, was predictive of movement between sites, land-use patterns also played a significant role. The more irrigation channels a village had, for instance, the more likely they were to both attract and retain new migrant Oncomelania snails. Agricultural lands and streams were also conducive to movement, while barren land, built land, and standing water slowed the snails on any given path between sites. The work was limited, however, in that it did not track actual routes and means of snail movement and did not study differences in migration between snails infected with Schistosoma and those not infected. "The progress China has made toward elimination of schistosomiasis is threatened by an expansion of territory suitable for intermediate hosts under future climate and land use scenarios," the researchers write. "A combination of the analysis reported here with control programs based on landscape suitability could yield new control strategies that target where snails currently are, as well as where they may migrate, providing barriers to the establishment or re-establishment of host populations in new areas." ### Photosynthetic algae have been refining their technique for capturing light for millions of years. As a result, these algae boast powerful light-harvesting systems -- proteins that absorb light to be turned into energy -- that scientists have long aspired to understand and mimic for renewable energy applications. Now, researchers at Princeton University have revealed a mechanism that enhances the light harvesting rates of the cryptophyte algae Chroomonas mesostigmatica. Published in the journal Chem on December 8, these findings provide valuable insights for the design of artificial light-harvesting systems such as molecular sensors and solar energy collectors. Cryptophyte algae often live below other organisms that absorb most of the sun's rays. In response, the algae have evolved to thrive on wavelengths of light that aren't captured by their neighbors above, mainly the yellow-green colors. The algae collects this yellow-green light energy and passes it through a network of molecules that converts it into red light, which chlorophyll molecules need to perform important photosynthetic chemistry. The speed of the energy transfer through the system has both impressed and perplexed the scientists that study them. The Scholes lab's predictions were always about three times slower than the observed rates. "The timescales that the energy is moved through the protein -- we could never understand why the process so fast," said corresponding author Gregory Scholes, the William S. Tod Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University. In 2010, Scholes' team found evidence that the culprit behind these fast rates was a strange phenomenon called quantum coherence, in which molecules could share electronic excitation and transfer energy according to quantum mechanical probability laws instead of classical physics. But the research team couldn't explain exactly how coherence worked to speed up the rates until now. Using a sophisticated method enabled by ultrafast lasers, the researchers were able to measure the molecules' light absorption and essentially track the energy flow through the system. Normally the absorption signals would overlap, making them impossible to assign to specific molecules within the protein complex, but the team was able to sharpen the signals by cooling the proteins down to very low temperatures, said Jacob Dean, lead author and postdoctoral researcher in the Scholes lab. The researchers observed the system as energy was transferred from molecule to molecule, from high-energy green light to lower energy red light, with excess energy lost as vibrational energy. These experiments revealed a particular spectral pattern that was a 'smoking gun' for vibrational resonance, or vibrational matching, between the donor and acceptor molecules, Dean said. This vibrational matching allowed energy to be transferred much faster than it otherwise would be by distributing the excitation between molecules. This effect provided a mechanism for the previously reported quantum coherence. Taking this redistribution into account, the researchers recalculated their prediction and landed on a rate that was about three times faster. "Finally the prediction is in the right ballpark," Scholes said. "Turns out that it required this quite different, surprising mechanism." The Scholes lab plans to study related proteins to investigate if this mechanism is operative in other photosynthetic organisms. Ultimately, scientists hope to create light-harvesting systems with perfect energy transfer by taking inspiration and design principles from these finely tuned yet extremely robust light-harvesting proteins. "This mechanism is one more powerful statement of the optimality of these proteins," Scholes said. ### Read the full article here: Dean, J. C.; Mirkovic, T.; Toa, Z. S. D.; Oblinsky, D. G.; Scholes, G. D. "Vibronic Enhancement of Algae Light Harvesting." Chem 2016, 1, 858. This work was supported as part of the Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the Basic Energy Sciences program of the US Department of Energy Office of Science under award DE-SC0001035. People who leave school without a school certificate are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack as those with a university degree, according to groundbreaking new Australian research from the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study. Researchers investigated the links between education and cardiovascular disease events (such as a heart attack or stroke) by following 267,153 men and women in the state of New South Wales aged over 45, who are part of the Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study, for over five years. The results were published in the International Journal for Equity in Health and were the subject of discussion today at the Cardiovascular Disease Inequalities Partnership Project meeting in the nation's capital, Canberra. "The lower your education, the more likely you are to have a heart attack or a stroke - that's the disturbing but clear finding from our research," said lead researcher Dr Rosemary Korda, a Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University (ANU). "Our study found that in adults aged 45-64 years, heart attack rates among those with no educational qualifications were more than double (around 150% higher) those of people with a university degree. The risk was around two-thirds (70%) higher among those with intermediate levels of education (non-university qualifications). "Mid-age adults who hadn't completed high school were 50% more likely to have a first stroke than those with a university degree; those with intermediate levels of education (non-university qualifications) were 20% more likely." Dr Korda said a similar pattern of inequality existed between household income and cardiovascular disease events. "What these differences in cardiovascular disease rates between more and less disadvantaged groups show us is just how much cardiovascular disease in the population can be prevented. The Cardiovascular Disease Inequalities Partnership Project is continuing research in this area to better understand what is driving these socioeconomic differences." Professor Emily Banks, Scientific Director of the 45 and Up Study and Head of Epidemiology for Policy and Practice at ANU, said these findings demonstrated the value of the 45 and Up Study as an unparalleled Australian research resource making it possible for researchers to investigate big questions in large numbers of people and to get faster answers that are useful for policy makers. "This research demonstrates, now that we have more robust data, how much worse the inequalities in cardiovascular disease are than we previously thought," said Professor Banks. "This research also provides important clues about how much cardiovascular disease can be prevented." CEO of the Heart Foundation New South Wales Kerry Doyle said that heart disease was the single leading cause of death in Australia, with an average of one Australian dying every 27 minutes. "We know that a good education impacts long term health by influencing what type of job you have, where you live and what food choices you make," said Ms Doyle. "This research provides an opportunity to further unpack the specific relationship between educational achievement and cardiovascular disease risk, and what can be done to reduce this risk," she added. ### Download the paper: https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-016-0471-0 About The Sax Institute: The Sax Institute is an independent Australian leader in helping decision makers find and make best use of research to solve real-world health and social problems. About the Cardiovascular Disease Inequalities Investigators Project: The Cardiovascular Disease Inequalities Partnership Project is collaboration between the Australian National University, The Agency for Clinical Innovation, The Consumers Health Forum of Australia and The National Heart Foundation. It is partly funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council and The National Heart Foundation. About the 45 and Up Study: The Sax Institute's 45 and Up Study is the largest ongoing study of healthy ageing in the Southern Hemisphere, involving a quarter of a million people - one in every 10 men and women aged 45 and over in New South Wales. It is a major national research tool being used by both researchers and policy makers to better understand how Australians are ageing, how they're using health services, how to prevent and manage ill-health and disability and how this can guide decisions on our health system. Over time, we are asking all participants ongoing questions about their health, lifestyle, and the medications they use. This is providing the first large-scale, comprehensive measure of health as people move from mid to later life and allowing governments and health policy makers to better plan health services and programs for our ageing population. Previous research findings from the study include: Up to two in every three Australian smokers can be expected to die from their habit if they don't quit Sleeping more than nine hours a night, sitting too much during the day and a lack of exercise is a hazardous combination for health Overweight and obesity account for $1 in every $6 spent in hospitals, costing our hospitals around $4 billion per year Retirement is good for your health, with retirees smoking less, more physically active, sleeping more and sitting less than those in the workforce. MEDIA ENQUIRIES Barry Dunning, Communications and media manager M: +61 415 510 755 E: barry.dunning@saxinstitute.org.au BOSTON (Dec. 16, 2016)--Two legends in the Tufts and dental medicine communities will be honored with Dean's Medals from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine at a ceremony today. The medals celebrate the contributions Hilde H. Tillman, D.M.D. and Esther M. Wilkins, R.D.H., D.M.D., both Tufts alumnae and faculty emeritae, have made to the Tufts and dental medicine and education communities. Dr. Hilde Tillman is clinical professor emerita of public health & community service and a leading champion of geriatric dentistry. She graduated from Simmons College in 1945, and from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1949 and was a member of the Tufts faculty for more than 50 years. She has devoted her career to dental education and was instrumental in developing Tufts' geriatric dentistry program, which has grown to become a unique educational model, blending academic knowledge and community outreach to effectively serve a diverse aging population. Today, Dr. Tillman continues to serve Tufts in conjunction with the City of Boston's Elderly Commission to provide free dental screenings for the elderly and disabled in the greater Boston area. Dr. Esther Wilkins, who passed away this week at the age of 100, was clinical professor emerita of periodontology and a world expert on dental hygiene. She graduated from Simmons College in 1938, received a certificate from the Forsyth School of Dental Hygiene in 1939, graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1949 and went on to establish the Dental Hygiene Program at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. In 1959, she published what has become the definitive text on dental hygiene, Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist, now in its 12th edition. She returned to Tufts in 1966, where she stayed until her retirement in 2011. Dr. Wilkins received the American Dental Education Association's William J. Gies Award for Achievement by a Dental Educator in 2012 and the International College of Dentists Distinguished Service Award in 2013. "Drs. Tillman and Wilkins enrolled in dental school when not even 2 percent of practicing dentists were women. Now, more than 50 percent of the dental students at Tufts are women," said Huw F. Thomas, B.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., dean of Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. "Drs. Tillman and Wilkins have been leaders in dental medicine, at Tufts, in their communities, nationally and internationally." "Dr. Tillman's ongoing work with the school and our local communities exemplifies the leadership principles of passion and humanitarianism that we embody in our students," he continued. "And Dr. Wilkins was a true pioneer, a devoted educator and a friend to everyone at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine." Established in 1996, the Dean's Medal recognizes individuals who have demonstrated loyalty, service and generosity. It is the highest honor bestowed by the dean of a school at Tufts University and is awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to their school and the greater community. ### About Tufts University School of Dental Medicine Founded in 1868, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) is committed to leadership in education, patient care, research, and community service. Students obtain an interdisciplinary education, integrated with medicine, with access to training in dental specialties. Clinics managed at TUSDM provide quality comprehensive care to more than 18,000 diverse individuals annually, including those with special needs. Nationally and internationally, the School promotes health and educational programs and researches new procedures, materials and technologies to improve oral health. RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have camels and llamas to thank for their development of a new cancer treatment that is highly selective in blocking the action of faulty matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). MMPs are a group of 26 closely related proteinases (enzymes that break down other proteins) that are essential in tissue regeneration and other normal cellular processes. However, when a tumor grows, certain MMPs are over-produced, allowing cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body. In research published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Xin Ge, an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering in UCR's Bourns College of Engineering, and his colleagues describe the development of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies that are highly selective to MMPs, meaning they can bind to a specific MMP and block its activity without affecting other MMP family members. The creation of these human antibodies was inspired by antibodies found naturally in the camelid family of animals, which includes camels and llamas. The results could lead to new treatments--not only for a variety of cancers, but also other diseases that arise from faulty proteinases, such as Alzheimer's, asthma, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. For more than 20 years, scientists have been developing drugs that block faulty MMPs in order to stop cancers from starting and spreading. But clinical trials on a variety of promising small molecules have failed--largely because they lack the specificity needed to target faulty MMPs while still allowing "good" MMPs to perform their regular cellular duties. "Clinical trial failures have taught us that selective, rather than broad-based, inhibitors are required for successful MMP therapies, but achieving this selectivity with small-molecule inhibitors is exceedingly difficult because of the incredible conservation among MMP family members. As a result, broad-spectrum inhibitors have failed in clinical trials due to their low overall efficacy and side effects," Ge said. Monoclonal antibodies, with their large and inherently more specific binding sites, have been touted as an alternative to small molecules. However, until now, scientists have struggled to develop MMP-blocking antibodies due to the incompatibility between their binding sites. "Both human antibodies and MMPs have concave--or buried--binding sites, making interactions between them almost impossible. They simply won't stick together," Ge said. That's why the researchers turned to the convex, looped binding sites found in camel and llama antibodies that are ideal for interactions with the concave MMP sites. The team chemically synthesized billions of variants of human antibodies with convex loops found in camelids. In testing them, they identified dozens that are highly effective at blocking MMPs and reducing the spread of cancer in laboratory models. "While we can't use camel or llama antibodies directly in humans because they would cause an immune reaction, we essentially used them as our inspiration in the creation of human antibodies that are now promising candidates against tumor-promoting MMPs," Ge said. ### In addition to Ge, contributors to this paper included Dong Hyun Nam, a postdoctoral researcher, and Carlos Rodriguez, an undergraduate researcher, both at UC Riverside, and Albert Remacle and Alex Strongin from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, Calif. The research was supported by the National Institute of Health and a National Science Foundation Career Award to Ge. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Dec. 15, 2016) - A research team led by University of South Florida College of Marine Science professor Dr. Steven Murawski has been awarded a $1 million grant to explore how oil spills, such as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in 2010, impact the economic, ecological and social system aspects of fishing communities. The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced Thursday a total of $2.1 million in grants. Murawski's team, which also includes Dr. Claire Paris, a bio-physical modeler from the University of Miami, and an environmental science and policy expert Dr. James Sanchirico from the University of California, Davis, will receive the grant funding over two years. "We are deeply appreciative of the grant by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies to pursue this important research. Our team represents expertise in biology, economics and oceanography and will provide information relevant to assess these real-world problems," said Murawski. The DWH spill released approximately two million barrels of oil into the water, resulting in significant impacts on coastal communities, especially in the western and northern Gulf, where many towns are co-dependent on both commercial fishing and the petroleum industries. Concern for the integrity and safety of the seafood supply during the DWH spill resulted in large-scale fishery closures, causing fishers to either travel long distances from ports to reach open grounds or re-locate to other ports adjacent to open fishing areas. Using high-resolution, fishery-dependent datasets, Murawski's multidisciplinary team will identify how individual communities were affected by the DWH spill, specifically those communities in coastal Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Alabama. Working with key fisheries stakeholders and local decision makers, the team plans to identify adaptive strategies that communities could use to mitigate the effects of future oil spills. This project has the potential to transform disaster planning and fisheries management responses to such disasters in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere. All three Gulf Research Program grants awarded Thursday support projects that will generate new insights, address critical questions, or lead to new approaches to interpreting data by bringing together concepts and methods from different disciplines. The grants also advance study design, tools, models and technologies for assessing human exposure to environmental contaminants, including acute or chronic exposures related to oil spills and other sudden and large-scale environmental disasters, and related impacts on individuals and populations. "We're pleased to support innovative scientific syntheses that can help us better understand the interdisciplinary challenges coastal communities face," said Evonne Tang, GRP's director of external funding opportunities. "The new tools and products that the project teams develop would make existing data usable for stakeholders and decision makers." The proposals were selected after an external peer-review process. These awards are part of a broad portfolio of GRP funding opportunities outlined at http://www.national-academies.org/gulf/grants/synthesisgrants/synthesis-grants-2016-awardees/index.htm. ### The Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was established in 2013 as a result of the DWH oil spill. It seeks to improve understanding of the interconnecting human, environmental, and energy systems of the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. outer continental shelf areas. The program funds studies, projects, and other activities using three broad approaches: research and development, education and training, and environmental monitoring. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine. The Academies operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln. Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, have identified a new way of blocking the spread of cancer. Calcium channel blockers, which are used to lower blood pressure, block breast and pancreatic cancer invasion by inhibiting cellular structures By screening already approved drugs, the team led by Postdoctoral Researcher Guillaume Jacquemet and Academy Professor Johanna Ivaska has discovered that calcium channel blockers can efficiently stop cancer cell invasion in vitro. Calcium channel blockers are currently used to treat hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, but their potential use in blocking cancer cell metastases has not been previously reported. Cancer kills because of its ability to spread throughout the body and form metastases. Therefore, developing drugs that block the ability of cancer cells to disseminate is a major anti-cancer therapeutic avenue. Developing new drugs, however, is a very lengthy and expensive process and many promising drugs fail clinical trials because of unanticipated toxicity and side effects. Thus, finding new targets for drugs already in use to treat other diseases, in other words drug repurposing, is an emerging area in developing anti-cancer therapies. - Identification of anti-hypertension drugs as potential therapeutics against breast and pancreatic cancer metastasis was a big surprise. The targets of these drugs were not know to be present in cancer cells and therefore no one had considered the possibility that these drugs might be effective against aggressive cancer types, says Professor Ivaska. Sticky finger-like structures in cancer cell enable its movement For several years, the research team from the Turku Centre for Biotechnology lead by Professor Johanna Ivaska has focused their efforts on understanding how cancer cells move and invade surrounding tissue. The team has identified that aggressively spreading cancer cells express a protein called Myosin-10 which drives cancer cell motility. - Myosin-10 expressing cancers have a large number of structures called filopodia. They are sticky finger-like structures the cancer cells extend to sense their environment and to navigate - imagine a walking blind spider, explains Dr Jacquemet. The team found that calcium channel blockers target specifically these sticky fingers rendering them inactive, thus efficiently blocking cancer cell movement. This suggest that they might be effective drugs against cancer metastasis. However, at this stage much more work is required to assess if these drugs would be efficient against cancer progression. The team and their collaborators are currently assessing the efficiency of calcium channel blockers to stop the spreading of breast and pancreatic cancer using pre-clinical models and analysing patient data. The findings were published in Nature Communications journal on 2 December 2016. ### Original publication: L-type calcium channels regulate filopodia stability and cancer cell invasion downstream of integrin signalling. Jacquemet G, Baghirov H, Georgiadou M, Sihto H, Peuhu E, Cettour-Janet P, He T, Perala M, Kronqvist P, Joensuu H, Ivaska J. Nat Commun. 2016 Dec 2;7:13297. doi: 10.1038/ncomms13297. Link to publication: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13297 Download a high resolution microscope image: https://apps.utu.fi/media/tiedotteet/syopasolu-tahmeat-sormet.png Image: Dr Guillaume Jacquemet, University of Turku Caption: High-resolution microscope image of an invasive breast cancer cell (magenta) expressing Myosin-10 induced "sticky-fingers" (green). HOUSTON - (Dec. 15, 2016) - Rapid population decline among vertebrate species began at the end of the 19th century when industrialization was at its peak, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The research was recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Industrialization is the most natural explanation as to why we have rapid population decline in that period of time. It has to be somehow caused by human impact," said Yun-Xin Fu, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Biostatistics and the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health. To reach this conclusion, Fu and his co-authors, including first author Haipeng Li, Ph.D., who was a visiting School of Public Health student and postdoctoral fellow now with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reviewed thousands of scientific articles about the genetic diversity of vertebrate species. Their efforts yielded genetic data from 2,764 vertebrate species, 600 of which are endangered. The researchers used a population genetics approach to model when each threatened species began to rapidly decline in population size. On average, the population size of endangered species declined by about 25 percent every 10 years starting 123 years ago. Rapid population decline is widespread among endangered species and when it occurs, genetic diversity suffers. While conservation efforts have typically focused on maintaining genetic diversity within a species, Fu believes that preserving ecosystems and natural habitats should hold more weight. "Genetic diversity is important to preserving a species from a long-term standpoint. However, preventing the rapid population decline by protecting the native habitats of species appears to be and should be more important because the overall difference of genetic diversity between threatened and non-threatened species is not at an alarming level," said Fu. Fu hopes the study will better inform conservation efforts and encourage more of an emphasis on the effects of human impact on habitats and ecosystems. ### Funding for the study was provided by an endowment from the School of Public Health and grants from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. A big shipment of UK milling wheat is heading to Algeria, thanks to the good quality of the 2016 harvest. Gleadell loaded 25,000t at Great Yarmouth earlier this week, the largest shipment of grain to leave East Anglia so far this season. The MV Occitan Sky was loaded with a cargo of 11% protein, 220 Hagberg and 78kg/hl wheat. These are the standard Algerian grain agency milling wheat requirements that earn growers a premium of 4-8/t over feed value. See also: Heating and transport offer big opportunities for biogas Despite the smaller UK crop, the yield and quality disaster that hit the French wheat crop has provided opportunities for UK milling wheat to be shipped to North African destinations, said Gleadell trading director Jonathan Lane. This, combined with some reasonable feed wheat exports, means the UK will have shipped in the region of 1.1m tonnes by the end of December. The Algerians have more to buy, but we are currently 7-8/t too expensive, said Mr Lane. Increased use of wheat in UK bioethanol plants and a smaller crop had tightened the domestic wheat balance sheet, with use for compound feeds also rising this season. UK wheat exports have reached their fastest pace for six seasons, hitting 859,000t by October. In contrast, barley exports have been at their lowest level for four years, with a total 430,000t shipped by October, compared with 507,000t at the same point last season. Barley use for feed is down 10% and the gap between feed wheat and feed barley prices has grown to about 20/t. A badger cull should be introduced to reduce the level of infection in wildlife and help eradicate cattle TB in Northern Ireland, a new independent report has concluded. The document, called a Bovine TB Eradication Strategy for Northern Ireland (PDF), says the Northern Irish governments current TB policy is deficient because there is no strategy to address disease in wildlife. However, experience in other countries, including England and the Republic of Ireland, has shown that culling badgers can help to reduce levels of TB in cattle, which costs NI taxpayers up to 30m each year. See also: Wales sees 34% rise in TB cattle slaughterings The report was published on Thursday (15 December) by the TB Strategic Partnership Group (TBSPG), a high-level independent advisory group to the NI government. Deer can act as a host of M bovis infection, but there is little data to suggest they act as a widespread carrier of disease in Northern Ireland. However, the report says the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) NI should act to address the risk of badger-to-cattle transmission as soon as possible and ahead of the completion of the Test, Vaccinate and Remove (TVR) badger research study. It recommends a culling strategy with up to 10 intervention areas, with a total area of at least 100sq km initially, but preferably as large as possible. The intervention areas would comprise a core (central) zone, surrounded by a buffer zone up to 1,500m around the edge. Intervention areas Government vets would test badgers for TB in the core zone. Those that test positive should be removed by shooting, but if TB is not confirmed in the badger population no further intervention should be considered at that time. To mitigate the risks of further disease spread associated with the perturbation effect badgers fleeing cull zones vaccination of badgers combined with culling of test positive badgers should take place in the surrounding (buffer zone) area. The report recommends a two-stage process in the intervention area. Firstly, the testing, culling or vaccination of badgers in the buffer zone, followed by badger culling in the core zone immediately afterwards. After the multi-year programme of badger culling is completed, further consideration should be given to vaccination in the core zone. Simon More, professor of veterinary epidemiology and risk analysis within the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, peer-reviewed the scientific evidence in the study. He described the approach as both reasonable and prudent. TB consultation A Daera spokeswoman said: Over the coming weeks, the minister [Michelle Mcllveen] intends to consider carefully the TBSPG strategy in full. The minister has asked her officials to examine the proposed recommendations in detail and has tasked them to bring forward options for her consideration. Her aim is to formally consult on the proposed approach early in 2017. Opponents of culling maintain it will do little to reduce the level of TB in cattle. But ministers in England and the Republic of Ireland believe lowering badger numbers can help reduce TB in cattle. The family of a man who died of a heart attack, after disturbing a gang ransacking his isolated rural home, have hit out at the sentences imposed today on two members of the gang, writes David Raleigh. Cousins David and Michael Casey - jailed for three and a half years for burglary - will likely serve only 16 months in prison. Limerick bachelor John O'Donoghue, (62), collapsed and died from a heart attack as he prepared to confront the two men, at his home in Toomaline, Doon, Co Limerick, on August 27, last year. The criminal cousins - who had 60 previous convictions between them - ran from Mr O'Donoghue's home, leaving him collapsed on the ground, despite calls from his sister Christina for help, Limerick Circuit Court heard. Reacting to the sentences, a spokesperson for the O'Donoghue family said they hoped the State would appeal the men's jail terms on leniency grounds. "The sentence was lenient given the circumstances, and I'm disappointed that the sentences were concurrent rather than consecutive, given the premeditation," said a family spokesperson. They added: "It's a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. I would hope she would consider (an appeal)." The nature of John O'Donoghue's death caused national outrage. Michael Casey (33), from Bay 9, Clonlong, Southill, Limerick, and David Casey (21), with an address at Carragh Park, Coolock, Dublin 17, both pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of criminal damage. All four offences happened in the Doon/Cappamore area on the same afternoon. Imposing terms on each defendant of four years and six months with the final 12 months suspended, judge Tom O'Donnell said: "The court is deeply conscious of the loss suffered by John O'Donoghue's family. (The sentence) will not change the fact Mr O'Donoghue is no longer with us and it will not alleviate his families pain. The court must deal with the burglary charges, and those alone." Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has been urged to increase garda numbers in Cork city due to fears the recent shooting of a senior Real IRA member will set off a series of "tat-for-tat" killings in the city, writes Fiachra O Cionnaith. Fianna Fail justice spokesperson Jim O Callaghan called for the action on Friday as he warned if dissident paramilitary groups are not monitored closely events could spiral out of control "in the same way as gangland criminality n Dublin in recent times". Speaking during a Dail debate with Ms Fitzgerald, Mr O Callaghan said he was deeply concerned at the killing earlier this month of Aidan O Driscoll, who was shot three times in broad daylight on the Commons Road in Blackpool on December 7. The 37-year-old, who was nicknamed the Beast, was believed to have been heavily linked to the Real IRA and had previously survived an earlier punishment shooting in 2013. Raising the issue on Friday, Mr O Callaghan said he is deeply concerned the situation could result in a domino effect of shootings in the city, and urged Ms Fitzgerald to take action now to address the potential problem. "We have unfortunately seen in recent times an upsurge in paramilitary activity from dissident groups. It is very important that the Government, the Minister and our security service keeps a very close eye on this. "We do not want to a situation to develop where paramilitary activity among dissident groups gets out of control in the same way as gangland criminality has got out of control in Dublin in recent times. "The reason I raised this question is because of the unfortunate man who was murdered in Cork last week. "It appears to me that there is some form of a split in the dissident republican movement in southern Ireland. We need Garda presence stepped up, particularly in Cork where this problem seems to have culminated in recent times. "We have to be careful we do not allow a situation to develop where tit-for-tat killings take place in respect of the dissident community," he said. Responding to the concerns, Ms Fitzgerald said she can "only agree" with the need to prevent further attacks and said actions are being taken to address the issue. While not going into the specific shooting of Mr O Driscoll, she said gardai have recently been given fresh powers to covertly intercept communications from individuals who are "serious threats to the State's security", while a new special criminal court has also been established. Meanwhile, the same debate also heard Ms Fitzgerald confirm she will bring new domestic violence prevention laws to cabinet next week, including the full implementation of the Istanbul convention. The new laws, if enacted, will extend access to interim barring orders and give judges fresh powers to refer offenders to counselling and anger-management programmes On a combined basis, those three countries are expected to account for around 40% of the total growth in Irish merchandise exports, HSBC has said. In its latest Irish trade forecast, HSBC said despite the economic uncertainty opposed by Brexit, the UK will most likely remain Irelands second largest merchandise export destination up to 2030. HSBCs outlook for Irish export growth to the far east is for the years between 2020 and 2030. Ireland will continue to look at advanced economies as its primary merchandise export market and the UK and US will continue to be key in the long-term, said HSBC Ireland chief executive Alan Duffy. However, rising disposable income levels in Asia will also lead to some rebalancing over time, with exports to China expected to grow by 10% a year in the decade to 2030, he added. HSBC said that while Irish exporters will continue to spread trade across the EU, the loss of preferential access to a key export market namely, the UK, in light of Brexit will weigh on Irelands economy, reducing supply side potential and actual output. As we navigate uncertainty, making trade forecasts is unusually difficult. But, whilst we will see uncertainty and confidence effects on domestic demand over the medium term, it is unlikely to derail it completely, Mr. Duffy said. Elsewhere, the latest Deloitte CFO (chief financial officer) survey shows that nearly a third of Irish finance chiefs are more optimistic about the financial prospects for their company than they were in either of the last two quarters. That said, Brexit remains a concern, with 50% of Irish CFOs (and 37% of European CFOs) saying the UKs decision to leave the EU will have a negative impact on their business. Deloitte Ireland partner Alan Flanagan also pointed to upcoming elections in France and Germany as matters concerning finance chiefs. A supplier to nine of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world, the Cork-based firm is nearly 20 years old and has doubled in size over the last two. It now employs just over 700 people and has 16 offices worldwide. And its looking to grow further, as evidenced by its latest engineer recruitment campaign across all its disciplines. Zenith Technologies chief executive, Joe Haugh, says: Zenith is always looking for dedicated, innovative and driven talent to join our ever expanding operation in Ireland, Europe and worldwide. It is recruiting at every level from graduate to the most senior levels. Zeniths employee retention levels are very high, something that was recently reflected in its performance in Great Place to Work, a highly valued scheme recognising Irelands best workplaces. Zenith is an Irish multinational success story. Founded in Cork in 1998 by executive chairman Brendan ORegan, it has grown into a leading global technology firm, employing hundreds of talented engineering and IT professionals servicing the top pharmaceutical companies around the world. Mr Haugh says the company attracts and develops the brightest and best talent in the sector, which allows Zenith to aggressively progress its agenda of delivering enterprise performance, customer value, innovation and operational excellence. This allows their clients to get their products to market quickly and efficiently. Shea Fahy, Global HR director, Zenith Technologies The fact that we work repeatedly with most of the worlds leading life science companies is validation in itself of our efforts, and ambition to be the best in our business, he said. Career opportunities with Zenith are wide and varied. A lot of our senior managers have grown up [with] the company, developing their careers as the company expanded. Our focus is to continue with ongoing improvements to continue to make Zenith a great place to work. To ensure that we achieve that aim we recently appointed a new human resources director to strengthen and develop our strong culture, ethos and team spirit. Zenith Technologies offer a variety of career opportunities for team members who want to work for a successful world leading industrial automation, process control and MES provider of products and services for life sciences. We currently have over 700 people working with us predominately from the industrial automation and MES arena. Its all about our people. People are a big part of our success and we have been growing steadily for many years. There are a lot of opportunities to join our dynamic teams. We are continuously looking for dedicated, innovative and driven talent of all levels to expand our growing engineering teams, said Mr Haugh. He added that there has been massive capital investment in the pharma sector in Ireland and around the world over the last few years. We are building on the considerable growth we have experienced in the US and Asia and meet demand for our services in key territories including India, China, Malaysia and Singapore. As a service-based business, our people and their knowledge are our most important asset and we are constantly looking to add further talent to our team. Continuing to strengthen and build relationships with some of the best technology providers in the industry will of course also be a focus. He added: Our goal has always been to work with pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers as long-term partners, not only connecting them with the latest technologies, but providing ongoing, on-the-ground support to help achieve operational efficiencies, performance improvements and compliance. In this way, we become an intrinsic part of their operations. Zenith is involved in the production of medicines and therapies that prolong, enhance and save lives, said Shea Fahy, human resources director: It is often forgotten in the course of a project, and the technical challenges within any project, that our software and systems are essential parts of the ability to produce these lifesaving solutions. Working with our life science partners, we help to automate and validate their facilities to enable the production of these lifesaving medicines, he said. We have a strong people and team culture in Zenith and we are constantly building and developing that culture. Our people and our customers work together as a team so that our customers can deliver their products to market as quickly and efficiently as possible. We must ensure that we have the right structures in place to effectively engage and communicate with our people. They must understand their role and the part they play in fulfilling the companies aims in terms of customers and growth, he said. Mr Fahy said people enjoy working with Zenith because of the culture, the challenges and the opportunity to continue to grow while working with the best in the life science industry. They get to work with different systems and experience the work environments of the top pharma companies in the world. We offer employees the chance to work on exciting and challenging projects, said Mr Fahy. We offer continuous training and mentoring, career development opportunities, and exciting travel opportunities. - zenithtechnologies.com ORLA CUSSEN WHEN University of Ulster, Derry, graduate Orla Cussen from Donegal joined Zenith 15 years ago straight out of college there were only roughly 50 people working with the company. Today there are 700, operating in 16 countries around the world. She started as a junior validation engineer and worked in EU countries and in Singapore.A dedicated and highly experienced engineer She now works with Zenith clients Janssen Pharmaceutical and Janssen Biologics within the execution systems department. Zenith has a great graduate programme, which I wish was there when I started, she said. It offers a great overview of a whole project lifecycle in a condensed amount of time and gives a challenging, rewarding learning opportunity. As part of an employees career development Zenith offers ongoing training and career development opportunities to all employees and employees are encouraged to use them. I got my masters in technology management through the programme, which has helped me further my career within the company, she said.Orla is now one of the lead engineers responsible for the project and day-to-day activities for the execution systems department at JanssenPharmaceutical and JanssenBiologics in Cork, while her co-engineer is responsible for project management. Brendan Sheridan THE experience to-date has been very positive, says CIT graduate Brendan Sheridan, who joined Zenith Technologies last June and is based in Cork. The biomedical engineer says that Zenith made the transition from academia to the practical application of his training exciting, challenging and very positive. They didnt just throw you in at the deep end; they involved us in a practical, structured eight-week programme working on a project already implemented by Zenith engineers, at the end of which we compared results. The atmosphere is very friendly and helpful. During the eight-week programme each graduate received his or her own contact person for advice, which was always very forthcoming and helpful. Donal Costello SENIOR automation engineer Donal Costello joined Zenith five years ago is now a team leader working on system integration projects out of the companys Cork offices at Portgate. A UCC chemical engineering graduate, Donal did his masters in UCD and went straight from college into Zenith. The career opportunities are tremendous. They are wide and varied. The travel opportunities are equally good. Since I joined Zenith Ive lived and worked in Belgium and worked on projects in France and Sweden for a few weeks at a time. There is an opportunity to work across a number of systems; software and hardware and different areas of software so youre never pigeonholed into one system, if you dont want to be. Its an exciting team-oriented place and a good place to work from the moment you begin. The people around you help you to learn and you learn quickly. They encourage you to ask questions and they provide great guidance. Ive been here for five years, starting as a graduate junior engineer and progressing to senior engineer to team leader and now I work as project lead, which is indicative of the good opportunities to develop, internally, he said. Judge Marie Keane imposed the fines on Ionel Rostas, of 5 Southern View Place, High Street, Cork, at Cork District Court. Inspector Vincent OSullivan said Rostas, 42, was obstructing pedestrians by begging on December 9. He was actively begging and had a dog with him, at the time. He did not have the relevant licence for this dog. He has two previous convictions for begging, the inspector said. Dennis Healy, solicitor, who represented the accused on free legal aid, said Rostas was a street sweeper in Transylvania and came to Cork hoping to find similar work, but he resorted to begging. Judge Marie Keane said: He came over here one year ago. When did he get the dog? The defendant said, through a Romanian interpreter: I bought it here, it is mine. The dog is three months old. Judge Keane said: How could he afford to buy a dog, when he is begging on the street? Rostas said: I was asked for 10 for the dog, so I paid just 10. Judge Keane asked: How does he keep the dog? Rostas replied: I am buying food for him from the shop. Judge Keane said: I note this man is in Ireland 12 months. He is actively begging and obstructing the free passage of pedestrians. He has acquired the dog and is feeding the dogs, and using begging to feed the dog, which is unacceptable. A co-accused, Chicuta Rostas, of 91 Great William OBrien Street, Cork, pleaded guilty to begging on December 7, his fifth begging conviction. Judge Keane said of the 30-year-old: He is a menace. This persistent obstructing of people on the streets going about their business, it is not acceptable. He was in Romania, he was not working, he came to Ireland one wonders how he funded his trip to Cork and he is now begging on the streets. The judge fined him 250. Fines of 250 for begging were also imposed on Lacrimioara Rostas, 41, of New Line, Charleville, Co Cork, and Madian Rostas, 28, of 11 Springview, Commons Road, Cork. All four defendants pleaded guilty to begging, on different dates, in the past fortnight. Mr Healy, solicitor, said the defendants were tempted by the generosity of people at Christmas time. Judge Keane said they were getting money that deserving charities, like St Vincent de Paul and Penny Dinners, would be delighted to receive. Eldorado Gold Corp. (TSX: ELD) ("Eldorado" or the "Company") today announced that Mr. Paul Wright will retire from his position of President and Chief Executive Officer following the Company's 2017 Annual General Meeting in April 2017. Mr. George Burns, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc., will succeed Mr. Wright as President and Chief Executive Officer and will also join Eldorado's Board of Directors. Mr. Wright will continue as a member of Eldorado's Board of Directors, moving to the Chairman position. Mr. Robert Gilmore, Eldorado's current Chairman, will continue to serve on the board, moving to the position of Vice-Chairman and Independent Lead Director. Paul Wright said, "I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Eldorado over seventeen years, a period of intense activity through which we succeeded in creating a truly leading international gold company. The quality of our global team and their relentless commitment to success have been integral to our growth and I am proud to have been part of this team. I am enthusiastic about George taking on the leadership role and look forward to working with him through both the transition period and subsequently in my role as Chairman." Robert Gilmore said, "On behalf of Eldorado's Board of Directors, I would like to express our sincerest thanks to Paul Wright for his 20 years of tireless dedication and leadership in building an outstanding gold mining company. Paul has earned the trust and respect of our employees, shareholders, partners and industry leaders. We wish Paul all the best as he begins retirement and for his continued success as he assumes the role of Chairman of the Board. We are excited to welcome George to his new roles, both on the Board and as President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board has selected a very capable and technically accomplished leader at a time when Eldorado is in a strong financial position, with an outstanding portfolio of producing mines and development projects. With George as Eldorado's President and Chief Executive Officer and Paul moving into the role of Chairman, Eldorado has a strong and promising future." Paul Wright joined Eldorado in 1996 as Vice President, Mining, and led the Company in the position of President and Chief Executive Officer since his appointment to the role in October 1999. Mr. Wright has overseen the Company's continued growth with Eldorado prospering under his 20 years of leadership. George Burns was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc. in August 2012. Prior to that he held the positions of Senior Vice President, Mexican Operations and Vice President, Canada and United States respectively. Mr. Burns has over 30 years of experience in the mineral sector including executive, operations, development and engineering leadership roles in gold, copper and coal operations. Prior to joining Goldcorp, Mr. Burns was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Centerra Gold Inc. Mr. Burns served in various capacities for Asarco including Vice President of mining as well as numerous capacities for Cyprus Minerals Corporation and he began his career with Anaconda Company in 1978. Mr. Burns received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1982. About Eldorado Gold Eldorado is an international low cost gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Brazil. The Company's success to date is based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term partnerships with the communities where it operates. Eldorado's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ELD) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EGO). Source: Eldorado Gold Morumbi Resources Inc. (TSX.V: MOC) ("Morumbi" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to the company's previous news releases concerning its acquisition (the "Acquisition") of the El Mochito zinc mine in Honduras ("El Mochito") from affiliates of Nyrstar NV ("Nyrstar"), the Honduran Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Competition has provided the necessary approval of the joint application by the Company and Nyrstar for the completion of the Acquisition. Receipt of this approval is one of the final escrow release conditions for the $19.5 million acquisition financing of subscription receipts, which closed on October 13, 2016. Accordingly, the Acquisition is expected to close next week. Commenting on the milestone, Chris Buncic, President and CEO, stated, "We have worked exceptionally well with Nyrstar and the Honduran anti-trust officials to expedite this process and are very pleased to be approaching the completion of the acquisition of El Mochito within the anticipated timeline. We have been shown strong support from the community, members of government, and other stakeholders as we prepare to assume ownership of the mine." He continued, "We are very excited with the El Mochito opportunity and strongly believe we can bring the mine back to previous strong production and cash flow generation levels. We are eager to start this process." About Morumbi Resources Morumbi is a public company focused on evaluating producing and advanced development stage mineral resource opportunities principally in Latin America. The Company recently announced a transaction to acquire the El Mochito mine in Honduras from Nyrstar NV, and is working to close this acquisition targeting the end of the year. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "MOC". Source: Morumbi Resources Wolfden Resources Corp. (TSX.V: WLF) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") announces it has completed a previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of 3,500,000 flow-through units (the "Flow-Through Units") at a price of $0.10 per Flow-Through Unit for gross proceeds of $350,000. Each Flow-Through Unit consists of one common share of the Company that is a "flow-through share" within the meaning in the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant a "Warrant"). Each such Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.15 per common share until December 15, 2018. In connection with the Offering, the Company has paid an aggregate of $5,000 in finder's fees to arm's length parties. Securities issued under the Offering (including the underlying common shares) are subject to a four-month hold period, which will expire on April 16, 2017. The Offering is subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. The proceeds of the Offering are intended to be used for ongoing exploration on the Company's Rice Island nickel-copper-cobalt property in Manitoba and for potential work at the Company's Tetagouche Property in New Brunswick. In other developments, the Company has commenced ground geophysical surveys (fixed-loop EM) on its recently consolidated Rice Island property. The consolidated property comprising 2,600 hectares, includes the Rice Island Property (the "RIP") and the Rice Island Tie-On Property (the "RITOP"). The survey is intended to help refine drill targets testing for the southwest extension of the Rice Island nickel-copper-cobalt deposit on the RITOP. The prominent magnetic anomaly and associated conductors associated with the Rice Island deposit continue for an additional 800 metres to the southwest, on the RITOP (see Figure 1). Wolfden's recent drilling on the claim boundary between the RIP and RITOP, included intercepts returning 2.57% Ni, 1.07% Cu and 0.08% Co over 17.4 metres as well as 1.14% Ni, 0.70% Cu and 0.06% Co over 14.1 metres. The geophysical survey is planned to be completed prior to year-end in preparation for a winter drilling program, anticipated to occur in late January of 2017. About Wolfden Resources Wolfden is a mineral exploration company exploring the Rice Island and Nickel Island properties in Manitoba. Manitoba is ranked #6 in Canada and #19 in the world as the most favorable jurisdiction to conduct mining and exploration (Fraser Institute (2015-2016). The Company also holds a dominant, 24,000 hectare land position in the heart of the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick. Source: Wolfden Resources Friday, December 16, 2016 Scandal Rocks Martinez Administration As Taxation Secretary Resigns; Her Offices Raided; Tax Evasion, Embezzlement Alleged; What Will Demesia Say? Padilla and Martinez Its been an unusually busy political December and it continued Thursday with Padilla resigned Thursday, the day after the Attorney Generals office filed a search warrant alleging that she and her husband embezzled more than $50,000 from one of Padillas former clients, and that Padilla might not have reported $128,000 in income in addition to her state salary. The warrant also alleged that Padilla did work for the former client up until 2013 and didnt report either the income or the work on her financial disclosure statement as required by state law. The warrant said that of the $128,763 in income that Padilla might not have reported, $47,753 came from QC Holdings, which appears to be a short-term lending institution, catering to individuals needing income to sustain until their next paycheck. QC Holdings? A payday lending company? Say what? We offer this reader email with caution but she is a longtime reader and reliable political source: About a year ago I was playing a slot machine at Route 66 Casino when Demesia Padilla sat down next to me. I recognized her, but did not say anything. She began small talk with me: "These slots aren't paying. Are you winning?" and I responded accordingly. This went on for about twenty minutes when my husband came up to me, saw Demesia and said, "Hello, Demesia!" She looked at him startled, looked at me incredulously, then cashed out of her slot machine. She grabbed the voucher from the slot machine and said, "I think you have me confused with someone else," and hurried off without looking back. This was after the Diana Duran debacle, so maybe she didn't want to be painted with the same brush. Republican Secretary of State Duran resigned after pleading guilty to corruption charges that resulted from a gambling addiction. No one is saying that's the case here but the payday lending reference in the search warrant is bound to raise the issue. Well, it just did. DECEMBER BLUES December has been a month fraught with peril for the Martinez administration. The Padilla scandal went viral nearly a year to the day of Susana's infamous Dec. 13. 2015 holiday BIG PROBLEM; BIG LAWYER Paul Kennedy Now the fear on the Fourth Floor has to be what Padilla tells investigators as she labors to avoid a criminal indictment and/or time behind bars. Will the Governor be dragged into this? On that point, readers immediately pointed out that the former cabinet secretary has signed up an attorney who has a deep and personal connection to the Governor, Albuquerque's Paul Kennedy. Alligator analysis of that is imperative and here it is: Paul Kennedy has been attached at the hip to Gov. Martinez throughout her two terms, and he has consistently represented Martinez in most if not all legal or potentially legal matters that have touched or come near her. He's a sharp-elbowed guy and a top-notch attorney. No coincidence therefore that Demesia Padilla's case is characterized by the kind of foot-dragging and prevaricating that is Martinez's hallmark, or that Martinez defended Padilla. Also it's no coincidence that Paul Kennedy now pops up as the attorney for Padilla et al., a sure sign that the one person he's actually protecting from flack of any kind is Gov. Martinez. An example: after vocally defending Padilla, suddenly Padilla "resigns" and there's claimed to have been no discussion between Padilla and Martinez, the world's biggest control freak. Sure. I guess you could sort of "thuthily" say there was no discussion between Padilla and Martinez if Kennedy was the conduit between them. FOUR KEY POINTS Balderas Here's what we see as four key political points about this scandal: First, it is a body blow to Gov. Martinez. With her approval ratings already plummeting below 40 percent in one poll and the state budget crisis hovering over her like a dark rain cloud, this resignation casts the administration in the worst possible light. Padilla is close personally to the Governor and has been with her since Martinez took office in 2011. Here's what is really damaging to the chief executive's credibility and that will likely cause further erosion in her approval rating. Look at what Martinez's office first said when they circled the wagons over the corruption allegations when they first surfaced last year: We believe these are nothing more than unsubstantiated claims that are being driven by disgruntled former employees, who either work for the State Auditor or were fired for sexual harassment. Flash forward to today: As a former prosecutor, I take any allegations of misconduct seriously and dont believe anyone is above the law. That is why I ordered the tax department to fully cooperate with the Attorney Generals Office during the course of their investigation. Keller But it was the auditor who waved the first red flag in 2015 and Martinez dismissed him as "We heard you the first time, Governor." And so did the public. One reader reacted this way: I know every once in a while a cabinet secretary goes bad, but the Guv has failed to perform her due diligence, she owns this. A reasonable executive would have gotten to the bottom of this internally when it first came to light and dealt with it. The Martinez administration is as incompetent as I have ever seen. Second, the fact that Attorney General Balderas is pursuing tax evasion and embezzlement allegations and also investigating the charge first As the ink was drying on Padilla's resignation, Balderas' agents were raiding her state office seeking personal and business tax records of Padilla and her husband. Of course, a lot of the political import depends on how Balderas concludes the case. But as one of the Alligators cracked: "Hector just raided Michelle's campaign office." Remember, when Balderas prosecuted Sec. of State Duran on corruption charges? She received only 30 days in jail, a sentence that was widely derided but the public and did not help Balderas' image as one who treads lightly when it comes to Martinez and her allies. Now he faces another test. Third, for Keller, a likely candidate for ABQ mayor next year, it is another notch in a belt that already has quite a few. He has emerged as the most aggressive pursuer of the administration and could reap rewards for that when the mayoral campaign gets into high gear. Balderas did not appear on TV news to talk about the scandal. That was the right call. His search warrant said it all. Keller did appear on TV and benefitted. Fourth, this is more bad news for Lt. Governor John Sanchez who is tied inextricably to Martinez, even though they have no use for each other personally. What hurts her hurts him as he weighs a bid for the '18 GOP governor nomination. But hold on. . .Sanchez says he is now thinking of running for the ABQ congressional seat that will be vacated by Dem Congresswoman Lujan Grisham in '18. Considering the state of things in Santa Fe, it's no wonder that Sanchez is considering some kind of exit strategy from the governor's race. Thanks for stopping by this week. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. ( c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2016 Its been an unusually busy political December and it continued Thursday with the resignation of Secretary of Taxation and Revenue Demesia Padilla . She submitted her walking papers amid a burgeoning scandal. Journalistic warhorse Dennis Domrzalski came with this tight and eye-opening lead at the ABQ Free Press QC Holdings? A payday lending company? Say what? We offer this reader email with caution but she is a longtime reader and reliable political source:Republican Secretary of State Duran resigned after pleading guilty to corruption charges that resulted from a gambling addiction. No one is saying that's the case here but the payday lending reference in the search warrant is bound to raise the issue. Well, it just did.December has been a month fraught with peril for the Martinez administration. The Padilla scandal went viral nearly a year to the day of Susana's infamous Dec. 13. 2015 holiday pizza party replete with bottles being thrown from the balcony and the Governor intimidating hotel staff and police responding to noise. That was, as we predicted at the time, her political undoing. This month's development sounds like a death knell. Susana's nightmares must have Christmas trees in them.Now the fear on the Fourth Floor has to be what Padilla tells investigators as she labors to avoid a criminal indictment and/or time behind bars. Will the Governor be dragged into this? On that point, readers immediately pointed out that the former cabinet secretary has signed up an attorney who has a deep and personal connection to the Governor, Albuquerque's Paul Kennedy. Alligator analysis of that is imperative and here it is:Here's what we see as four key political points about this scandal:it is a body blow to Gov. Martinez. With her approval ratings already plummeting below 40 percent in one poll and the state budget crisis hovering over her like a dark rain cloud, this resignation casts the administration in the worst possible light. Padilla is close personally to the Governor and has been with her since Martinez took office in 2011.Here's what is really damaging to the chief executive's credibility and that will likely cause further erosion in her approval rating. Look at what Martinez's office first said when they circled the wagons over the corruption allegations when they first surfaced last year:Flash forward to today:But it was the auditor who waved the first red flag in 2015 and Martinez dismissed him as a political hack when she could have done something. Like the old saying goes:"We heard you the first time, Governor." And so did the public. One reader reacted this way:, the fact that Attorney General Balderas is pursuing tax evasion and embezzlement allegations and also investigating the charge first developed by State Auditor Tim Keller that Padilla gave preferential treatment to a taxpayer gives him some credibility on the street. There is a large faction of the Democratic Party that has said Balderas has gone way too easy on the administration. His Padilla probe will be noted if he seeks the '18 Dem gubernatorial nomination. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week she would run. Balderas' move Thursday was seen by insiders as perhaps slowing her momentum.As the ink was drying on Padilla's resignation, Balderas' agents were raiding her state office seeking personal and business tax records of Padilla and her husband. Of course, a lot of the political import depends on how Balderas concludes the case. But as one of the Alligators cracked: "Hector just raided Michelle's campaign office."Remember, when Balderas prosecuted Sec. of State Duran on corruption charges? She received only 30 days in jail, a sentence that was widely derided but the public and did not help Balderas' image as one who treads lightly when it comes to Martinez and her allies. Now he faces another test., for Keller, a likely candidate for ABQ mayor next year, it is another notch in a belt that already has quite a few. He has emerged as the most aggressive pursuer of the administration and could reap rewards for that when the mayoral campaign gets into high gear. Balderas did not appear on TV news to talk about the scandal. That was the right call. His search warrant said it all. Keller did appear on TV and benefitted.this is more bad news for Lt. Governor John Sanchez who is tied inextricably to Martinez, even though they have no use for each other personally. What hurts her hurts him as he weighs a bid for the '18 GOP governor nomination. But hold on. . .Sanchez says he is now thinking of running for the ABQ congressional seat that will be vacated by Dem Congresswoman Lujan Grisham in '18. Considering the state of things in Santa Fe, it's no wonder that Sanchez is considering some kind of exit strategy from the governor's race.Thanks for stopping by this week.This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Links HOME E-MAIL ME About Joe Google News Real Clear Politics Huffington Post Drudge Report The Politico New Mexico newspapers NM TV stations Gov. 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The Organisation discussion at the congress was introduced by comrade Paras Jan. He drew a balance sheet of the split with The Struggle group and outlined the direction the organisation is going to go in the next period. The old organisation in the latter years had adapted to the PPP environment, and adopted a conservative approach to organisational and political questions. A section of the leadership insisted that after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the objective situation was a reactionary one long after this had ceased to be the case. The truth is that things have changed and there are new elements in the situation. In such a situation, it was the objective changes that demanded a rethink in the way the organisation was working, with a review of tactics and methods of building. Unfortunately, the old leadership had become stuck in a routine, repeating ideas and slogans that were valid for the previous period, but had long ago lost their validity. This routine approach had an impact on the political way of thinking of the comrades. For example, after winning and MP in 2002 the approach to the PPP was affected. In the past there was greater attention to the political education of the new recruits. Over time less attention was paid to this, but in spite of this lack of political education, there was a lot of talk about Bolshevik cadres. All this demanded discussion throughout the organisation. Instead there was none. When the former MP, Manzoor Ahmed, split from the organisation in order to pursue his own interests within the PPP bureaucracy, taking with him a group of comrades, there was no discussion about what had happened. With such methods, it was inevitable that a split would take place; in fact, it was necessary in order to save the revolutionary core of the organisation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union there was an ideological offensive of the bourgeoisie, which affected the whole left. We saw this in Pakistan with the former Stalinists. But it also eventually affected our own organisation. We were winning lefts, many of whom came from organisations that had been Stalinist in the past, who went through the motions of revolutionary politics, using revolutionary phraseology, but in reality they had lost confidence in the possibility of building a genuine revolutionary Marxist organisation. They had adopted a routine approach to the work of building. There was the tendency to mix with top party leaders, which was presented as doing party work. All this had a frustrating effect on a layer of the organisation that wanted to turn outwards and build on a healthy basis. For us, all this was like a rediscovery of what we really are and what we stand for. Although they did not say this at international meetings, they argued that the International leadership of the IMT was far away and could not understand the situation in Pakistan. The opposite is of course the truth. We had to break with this kind of thinking. Now we have finally understood what genuine internationalism is. There should be no fetishism in tactics and strategy, but what is needed is a flexible approach that corresponds to the real conditions we are working in. We required a balance sheet of what we have won and what we have lost. We must reiterate the point that a Bolshevik organisation can be built in Pakistan. We were not doing that, we were not really dedicating sufficient time to developing the cadres. The present congress is very different to the recent congresses of The Struggle, different in its political content and in the mood of the comrades. There is a feeling that this is our congress. Comrades here are thinking of how to build. We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. When it comes to appraising the role of the congress, we must see it not as the objective, but as a stepping stone in building the organisation. In the old organisation six months were spent in building for the congress, but what was happening to the branches and the organisation as a whole? Branch work was neglected. How could it be possible that many attended the congress each year and then did practically nothing else for the rest of the year and werent seen in the branches? We must develop our own goals based on the objective situation and the subjective possibilities. The new organisation is obliged to revisit the question of tactics and strategy. How are we going to build? Tactics flow from the objective analysis of society. That explains the need to open new fronts, such as the Progressive Youth Alliance and the Red Workers Front. Numerically we are now fewer, but the objective situation remains the same. Last year we successfully launched the PYA with more than 1500 youth participating. We can use the open youth front to engage with the youth. The students are beginning to be mobilised, and are being politicised. This opens new possibilities for us. The generation of the 15-25 year olds of today is qualitatively different from previous generations. An example of what is developing is the student movement in Peshawar against fees. What was noted was that although the traditional student organisations were present, they were incapable of offering a lead. They do not have the authority they had in the past. We must build on a concrete basis on the ground, in the movement, not on Facebook! We must break with petit bourgeois individualism. We must take the ideas to the youth on the campuses and to the factory gates. We will need to concentrate on the urban areas. The wave of strikes in Quetta is a symptom of the real situation that is developing before us. The trade union leaders do everything to stifle the movements of the working class. They have moved in the same direction as the leaders of the PPP. The old organisation tended to seek relations with the union leaders, but we must build direct links with the ranks of the labour movement. We have developed our paper, the Worker Nama, as a tool for reaching the workers. We must develop our tactics and adapt them to the different fields of work we are involved in. Although we have a number of women in the organisation, this is far from satisfactory. We must not use the excuse that the conditions are difficult which they are of course but must find ways of reaching women workers and youth. Women in Pakistan are doubly and triply oppressed, but the real issues facing working class women are those of poverty, lack of healthcare, unemployment. We must fight NGOism and bourgeois liberalism in this field of work. By fighting for the interests of working class women, we can win new female comrades to the organisation. As part of strengthening our work among women, we are preparing to intervene with all our forces in the 8th March events that will take place next year. But the first step in developing our womens work is to educate the whole organisation on Marxism and the Womens Question. In our youth work, the plan is to organise a series of city conventions to gather around us the periphery we have and to widen our influence and recruit the best layers. To raise the level of the new recruits we are organising a national cadre school in February. A finance report was also given. It was revealed that the new organisation is collecting almost the same amount as the old organisation, although on paper we have about one fifth of the official membership of The Struggle before the split. This reveals a serious approach to finance, which is always an indication of the health of any revolutionary organisation. The group started with nothing, no office or paper. This raised the urgent need to collect the necessary funds. We have done that successfully, raising the money to rent a new office, and also several offices around the country. The financing of the congress was also indicative of the health of the new organisation. Donations and congress fees not only covered all the costs, but there was also a sizeable surplus which will be used to cover the growing costs of the organisation. The collection itself, held during the congress, raised over $500, a large sum considering the size of the organisation, the low wages and the large number of youth attending. The report on the paper outlined its development since the split in March. Seven issues of the Workers Nama have come out, which now covers all its costs, with over a thousand copies being sold each month. The comrades have also published Alan Woods article on Che Guevara as a pamphlet. They are planning to publish the new updated version of Trotskys book on Stalin in Urdu next year. They are also preparing a small pamphlet with Questions and Answers on Socialism. And just before the congress, the comrades started publishing their quarterly theoretical magazine, Lal Salaam. The areas have all set targets, which will bring overall sales of the new journal to around one thousand. Regional reports were then given from all around the country, from Baluchistan, from KPK (Peshawar and Swat), Kashmir, North Punjab, Gujranwala, Central Punjab, Lahore, South Punjab, Dadu (Sindh), from expatriate comrades living in several different countries and also from Karachi where we have an important base. What was significant was that all the regions reported important growth since the split in March, with some even doubling their membership. It is true to say that a large part of the membership joined since the split. This is very positive, as it shows that the comrades are not looking inwards. The comrades drew the necessary balance sheet of the past, but then moved outwards decisively to the workers and youth with the aim of rebuilding the forces. The targets set by each region for growth over the next three months and one year, show the real concrete possibilities in the new objectives situation that has developed. We now have 306 members, and it is not an exaggeration to say that this figure could be almost doubled over the coming twelve months. The contacts are there to be recruited. There was some discussion after the congress to appraise the work done so far and the outcome of the congress. There was a discussion on the nature of the congress. In the past the congresses of The Struggle had become more like rallies, which can play a useful role, but they are not real congresses where the organisation, its cadres and members can seriously discuss issues. It was revealed that at the 2015 congress of The Struggle at least half and possibly the majority of those present were not members of the organisation. This had been developing for some time, with pressure to bring as many people as possible. This led to a growing number of people attending the congresses who had not much interest in the proceedings. In 2015 this reached the point where many were not listening and some even whistling during speeches. All this is what prompted a layer of the leadership those who went on to found the new Lal Salaam organisation to pose the question of limiting participation to members only. This had provoked a huge conflict within The Struggle organisation, but it was clearly necessary to change the nature of the congress. It was finally agreed that non-members should be allowed to participate, but only genuine contacts and sympathisers, with the aim of recruiting them. An example was provided at the congress itself where one young participant spoke from the rostrum to say I came to this congress as a visitor and I am leaving as a member. It was agreed that the two main planks of the organisation in the coming period should be a bold open approach to the youth and a serious attitude to theory and education. The mood of the whole congress was one of immense enthusiasm without enthusiasm one will build nothing but it was an enthusiasm that flowed from an understanding of the political ideas, of the perspectives, and of the need to urgently build the forces of Marxism in Pakistan. We have every confidence that the comrades will dedicate themselves to this important task. Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate New York bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as his ambassador to Israel, saying in a statement issued by his transition office that Friedman's "strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission." Friedman said in the statement that he would work "tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries . . . and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." Trump has indicated that he would overturn more than two decades of presidential waivers overriding the 1995 law mandating the U.S. embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move weighted with heavy religious and political significance. Jerusalem's status is contested by Palestinians and most of the world's nations, which recognize lines drawn after the 1967 war. A senior Trump adviser on Israel during the campaign, Friedman has been outspoken in describing as "legal" Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which every U.S. administration since 1967 has considered illegitimate. In an interview last summer with Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, he said Trump would support Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank. He has called liberal Jews supporting a two-state solution with the Palestinians "worse than kapos," a reference to Jews in World War II concentration camps who were assigned by Nazi guards to supervise forced labor and camp administration. Liberal Jews have returned his views in kind. J Street, the Washington-based organization that supports a two-state solution, said it was "vehemently opposed" to the nomination. "As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials . . . Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel," J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. Calling the proposed nomination "reckless," Ben-Ami said it put "America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk. Senators should know that the majority of Jewish Americans oppose the views and the values this nominee represents." Friedman represented Trump in bankruptcies surrounding his Atlantic City casinos and has said they have been friends for 15 years. Trump, in the statement, called him "a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me." Involved in a number of philanthropic activities in Israel, Friedman is president of the American Friends of the Beit El, a settlement located east of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. The settlement has also received charitable contributions from the foundation headed by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In a column for the Jerusalem Post before the election, Friedman wrote that a Hillary Clinton presidency would ensure U.S. demands for an immediate suspension of settlement activity, giving "new life . . . into all of the worst anti-Israel and anti-Semitic movements" and flooding the United States with "Syrian and other refugees," some of whom "will turn to domestic terrorism." "In contrast," he wrote, "there is virtually zero risk that the foregoing parade of horribles will occur under a Trump administration. Quite the contrary, under president Trump, Israel will feel no pressure to make self-defeating concessions, America and Israel will enjoy unprecedented military and strategic cooperation, and there will be no daylight between the two countries." United Nations (United States) (AFP) - African countries are reviving a bid at the United Nations to block the appointment of the first-ever UN expert tasked with investigating violence and discrimination against LGBT minorities. Burkina Faso on Thursday circulated a letter to the UN General Assembly on behalf of African countries urging support for its demand to hold talks on the appointment. The measure is scheduled to come up for a vote at the General Assembly on Monday. The UN Human Rights Council in September appointed international law professor Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand to investigate abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide. African countries failed last month to push for the adoption of a draft resolution demanding talks on the legality of the new expert's mandate during a vote in the assembly's human rights committee. A total of 73 countries -- almost 40 percent of all 193 UN members -- still have laws on their books making homosexuality a crime. In Africa alone, 33 countries have anti-gay laws including Uganda, Nigeria, Sudan and Mauritania. In the letter to UN member states, the African countries criticized Muntarbhorn after he set out goals for his mission in an address last month, including decriminalization. "This shows clearly that the mandate is already being abused by the independent expert to promote legally baseless new rights that are not internationally recognized," the letter said. Muntarbhorn, who began work as the UN expert last month, has been appointed for three years. He will carry out country visits, raise allegations of LGBT rights violations with governments and work to protect rights defenders. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council stepped up calls Monday for regional troops in South Sudan, to help a UN contingent already there stem ongoing violence and stave off a brewing humanitarian crisis. Olof Skoog, UN ambassador from Sweden, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency, said after a closed door meeting that the 15-member body was ramping up its earlier call for a speedy deployment of additional troops in the war-torn African nation. "The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern that fighting continues throughout South Sudan, and that there are continued denials of humanitarian access to many regions of the country where the South Sudanese people are suffering and in need," Skoog told reporters. The Council urged the Juba government "to work constructively with the UN on a swift deployment of the regional protection force and to end obstructions" to the deployment of additional peacekeepers. The Security Council decided six months ago to deploy the 4,000-strong protection force in Juba to bolster the UN peacekeeping mission that failed to protect civilians during heavy fighting in the capital in July. But a confidential report obtained by AFP last week concluded that efforts to put a regional UN force in place are bogged down in delays over visas, the allocation of land for bases and a dispute over protecting Juba airport. Rwanda and Ethiopia are ready to send their troops to be part of the new force, with the first elements from a Kigali battalion able to arrive in late February or early March. Kenya has also told the United Nations it was open to discussing its participation in the new force, even though it withdrew its peacekeepers from South Sudan to protest a UN decision to fire the Kenyan commander of the mission. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into war in December 2013, leaving tens of thousands dead and more than 3.1 million people displaced. There is growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in the country now at the start of its fourth year. More than six million people -- half of South Sudan's population -- are in need of urgent aid, and humanitarian organizations expect this number to rise by 20 to 30 percent next year. Abidjan (AFP) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara is hoping voters will shore up his parliamentary majority Sunday to help keep the world's top cocoa producer in the fast economic lane. The weeklong election campaign was peaceful, but the authorities have ordered some 30,000 security forces into the street in the wake of scattered incidents in recent months, including attacks on police posts. "Give me a strong majority to enable me to speed up the work that I have set as an objective in the four years to come," Ouattara said in a TV broadcast, playing up his economic achievements to win support among the 6.2 million voters. The country was long the star economic performer in the region until hitting a decade of political strife but is back on the rails. The International Monetary Fund has said the west African state will be the continent's fastest-growing economy this year. The presidential coalition -- named the Houphouetist Rally for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) in tribute to the country's founding president -- aims to take an absolute majority in a National Assembly comprised of 255 members of parliament. Most observers and even some in the opposition acknowledge the economic benefits of Ouattara's rule, but find his political record less convincing. National reconciliation after a decade of strife and violence at the last legislative polls in 2011 remains unfinished, the judiciary is under fire, and the opposition shunned a constitutional referendum in October. Street vendors stand in front of an electoral poster of candidates of the Ivory Coast's Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, on December 16, 2016 in the popular district of AdjamA in Abidjan, ahead of Ivory Coast's legislative election Ouattara, known to Ivorians by his initials "ADO", has enjoyed an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly because the opposition boycotted parliamentary polls in 2011 in the wake of a bloody political crisis. Ouattara's predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat in a long-delayed presidential poll in November 2010, sparking conflict that claimed 3,000 lives before Gbagbo was arrested in April 2011. Gbagbo is being tried by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity, but part of his former party, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has decided to participate in Sunday's election. "The politics of the empty chair hasn't brought any fruit," commented former prime minister Pascal Affi Nguessan. "The battle to come is to conquer the National Assembly." No fewer than 1,337 candidates are standing in the single-round poll, in which winner takes all in each constituency. This electoral system has forced Ouattara's own Rally of Republicans (RDR) party to find common ground with other parties in the RHDP coalition, particularly its main allies of the Ivory Coast Democratic Party. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Thursday decided to extend for one day the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan to allow more time for negotiations on a new measure to bolster its mandate. Talks on a US-drafted text have been bogged down for nearly a week over provisions on sanctions, the deployment of drones and UN support for a new war crimes court set up by the African Union. The mandate of the UNMISS mission expired on Thursday, forcing the council to take action to keep peace operations running. A new vote is now expected on Friday. The council in August adopted a resolution to bolster the peacekeeping mission with a 4,000-strong regional force but Russia, China, Egypt and Venezuela abstained, citing concerns over South Sudan's sovereignty. A Security Council diplomat said the latest US-drafted measure was opposed by Russia, China, Venezuela and more importantly, the three African countries on the council: Angola, Senegal and Egypt. If no agreement is reached on Friday, the UNMISS mandate is likely to be extended for a month to allow for more time for negotiations, said Spanish Deputy Ambassador Juan Manuel Gonzalez de Linares. Spain holds the presidency of the Security Council this month. Russian Ambassador Petr Iliichev cited concerns in the draft resolution on tighter provisions for sanctions and the use of drones "which the government does not support" in Juba. He also rejected a proposal to request reports on the establishment of the AU hybrid court, saying "the UN has nothing to do" with the proposed war crimes tribunal. Rift over sanctions The United Nations has some 14,000 peacekeepers serving in South Sudan, where a brutal war has been raging since December 2013. "We are working toward the strongest mandate renewal possible to give UNMISS the tools it needs to carry out its mission," said a US official, speaking on background. The struggling talks on the draft resolution came as the United States, Britain and France continued to face opposition at the Security Council from Russia and China on imposing an arms embargo on South Sudan. Angola's Ambassador Ismail Gaspar Martins said the council must adopt measures to engage with South Sudan's leadership to try to end the war, signaling his opposition to sanctions. "We cannot repeat the same resolution that was adopted some time ago," he told AFP. "It has to be something that takes account of the situation and gets people in South Sudan engaged in working on a plan which brings about a more peaceful situation in the country." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month warned that South Sudan faces a "very real risk of mass atrocities" and that peacekeepers would be powerless to stop such a bloodbath. The peacekeepers have come under heavy criticism for failing to protect civilians, including women who were raped by government soldiers during heavy fighting in July, not far from the gates of a UN compound in Juba. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 2.5 million. The National Democratic Congress is accusing spare parts dealers at Abossey Okai in Accra of either sabotaging the outgoing Mahama administration or exploiting patrons of their products. A Member of Parliament's Finance Committee James Avedzi does not understand why the traders will cut prices of their products by as much as 30% a week after his party has lost power. He told Joy News' Evans Mensah that while the conduct of the traders is still open for investigation, he suspects they were out to sabotage the government than exploit consumers. Traders at the country's spare parts hub have announced price cuts for various products shortly after the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party Nana Akufo-Addo was declared winner of the 2016 election. The price cuts was in solidarity of the incoming government which has promised a relatively business friendly policies including tax reductions, import duty reduction etc. Accordingly, fuel pump which sold at 350.00 is now selling at 20.00. Other products including car tapes have all seen marginal reductions. The traders are praying the Akufo-Addo led government will redeem the promise he made to them when he settles in as president. But the NDC MP is pessimistic the Akufo-Addo government will be able to redeem such a promise. "I can tell you what they are expecting will never happen. If the government that is coming want to reduce the duty, want to reduce the taxes then probably they have other ways of getting money that we in the public don't know yet," he said. Avedzi added if the traders could reduce prices by as much as 30% and still make some profit margins then it beggars belief why they would keep the prices that high until after the election. "For a trader to make profit, the price at which you buy the product, cost and margin of profit will determine price." "Were they actually sabotaging the government by increasing prices to make the government look bad before the people? "Why should they reduce prices just a week after an election in which an opposition party won or were they just exploiting the people of Ghana all this while?" he asked. He was emphatic, however the traders were more for sabotage than for exploitation. But the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Obuasi West Kweku Kwarteng said the decision by the traders made absolute sense. "It makes business logic. It is not sabotage. I think they are responding to policy signal by the NPP," he rebutted. While he agreed in part with Avedzi about the cost determinant of a product, he was quick to add that the anticipation of price levels also plays a role. He said if a trader anticipates that his price levels will rise, he will increase it or vice versa. On whether the NPP will be able to keep their promise of reducing the taxes he said Ghanaians will soon be the witnesses. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah 15.12.2016 LISTEN Accra, Dec. 15, GNA - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President-Elect on Thursday said he has no interest in chieftaincy matters in Dagbon and wants the stakeholders to help him build a progressive and prosperous Ghana. 'I want to have the same relationship I had with the late Ya Na Yakubu Andani II with his son, the Kampakuya Naa. I have stated it, and I want to repeat it,' Nana Akufo-Addo stated during a meeting with a delegation from the Dagbon and Mamprugu Traditional Councils in Accra. The members were in Accra to congratulate Nana Akufo-Addo, and to assure the in-coming government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of their continued support and prayers. The Mamprugu delegation conveyed messages of congratulation and co-operation to the President-Elect from the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional area, the Nayiri Naabohagu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga. Nana Akufo-Addo noted: 'I am committed towards fulfilling the promises I made to the Chiefs and people of the Northern Regions, and I assure you that they were not campaign or platform talk. That is my only interest.' He said he would rely on Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to help him build a prosperous economy. On his part, the Sagnari Naa, Abdulai Yakubu, who spoke on behalf of the delegation from Dagbon, explained that the purpose of the call was to congratulate the President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the NPP on their victory on December 7. "You can count on us, and be rest assured that we will support you and your government to succeed and, thereby, help improve the living standards of our people," Sagnari Na told the President-Elect. Sagnari Naa, Abdulai Yakubu, also conveyed a message from the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Abdulai Andani. 'Kampakuya-Naa extends his warmest congratulations to you on your victory. He followed your campaign closely and is impatiently waiting for you to assume the seat of government so you can start implementing your pledges to Ghanaians. 'He believes these are policies, which when implemented, will bring prosperity to his people'. GNA By Francis Ameyibor, GNA 15.12.2016 LISTEN Agona Nyakrom (C/R), Dec. 15, GNA - Okofo Katakyi Nyakoh Eku X, the Paramount Chief of Nyakrom Traditional Area, has congratulated Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President-Elect, for his resounding victory on December 7 elections. He said the victory made by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was not for the party supporters alone but for all Ghanaians. Speaking to the media at Agona Nyakrom, Okofo Katakyi Nyakoh Eku said the divisional chiefs, queen mothers, elders and all heads of clan in the traditional area are solidly behind the President-elect and would ensure that succeed. The Omanhene also used the opportunity to deny allegations made against him that on eve of the election, he kept ballot boxes stuffed at his palace at Agona Nyakrom. He said the allegations were unfounded and outrageous and sought to bring his hard won reputation into disrepute. The Omanhene said investigations by the Police and the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) show that the allegations are untrue. He appealed to political party leaders and supporters to be cautious about spreading unfounded allegations about certain personalities especially traditional rulers which could not be substantiated. He said politics should not be done in manner that could lead to violence in the country, adding that the December 7 elections were held peacefully nationwide. The Omanhene commended the outgoing President John Dramani Mahama of NDC for conceding defeat before Electoral Commissioner announced the result to declare Nana Akufo Addo as the President-Elect. GNA Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - People living in a tent city for the displaced near Bangui airport in the Central African Republic started packing up their belongings Thursday and heading home, an AFP journalist said. Plans to evacuate the airport camp, where tens of thousands of people have taken refuge since the country's brutal conflict erupted in 2013, were dubbed "Home for Christmas". At the peak of the crisis, nearly 80,000 people took shelter in the Mpoko camp. Many have since returned home, though nearly 30,000 remain to this day. In an initiative launched by President Faustin-Archange Touadera, the airport began to be evacuated Thursday -- spelling the end of a camp that visitors arriving in Bangui International Airport would see minutes after landing. The vast majority of camp residents are from Bangui, and so only have a few kilometres (miles) to travel in order to return to their homes. They had sought refuge in the camp by the airport during a civil war that erupted in 2013 following the overthrow of former president Francois Bozize, a Christian, by Muslim rebels from the Seleka coalition. The area near the airport was deemed safe because French soldiers deployed in Central Africa and a UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) had a presence there. "This is just the beginning of the operation. It concerns 28,000 people. Every day, displaced people living in at least one zone will go home and this will take at least 13 days," Social Affairs Minister Virginie Baikoua said. 'Thank God we're going home' People living in the camp said they were glad to go home, and hoped the authorities and the UN could guarantee their safety. "It's been just over three years that I've been here with my family. We didn't have the choice, faced with the violence and massacres," tradeswoman Yvette Pandone Kitiye said. In the airport camp "we have been exposed to other risks... Thank God we're going home. The government and MINUSCA will have to ensure that the displaced who are returning home are safe," said Jean Ndende, a teacher. Many of those living in the camp had fled the flashpoint PK5 neighbourhood, a Muslim neighbourhood of Bangui where armed groups remain active to date. Among the PK5 residents, many had seen their homes looted or burnt to the ground. While Bangui is now relatively calm, militias are still flourishing elsewhere given the weakness of the state. MINUSCA on Wednesday condemned in a report what it described as "an alarming increase" in human rights violations in recent months. The report came after UN chief Ban Ki-moon on November 29 called on armed groups to "immediately stop the violence". Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL), Ghana Leading Total Beverage Business has launched the 4th edition of the Twa Kwano Mmom Dont Drink and Drive campaign. Twa Kwano Mmom is a behavioural change programme aimed at reducing the incidence of drink driving among commercial drivers. The campaign which begun 4 years ago, has been supported by the National Road Safety Commission and Police MTTD to help curb road damages, especially during festive seasons. The first 3 years of the campaign focused on reaching commercial drivers to educate them against drink driving, marked the first phase of the project. The second phase which starts in the 4th year is focused on enforcement in collaboration with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, to run random breathalyser tests in the various bus terminals and on selected roads to check drivers who engage in drink driving. Speaking at the launch, Controls Compliance and Ethics Director of GGBL, Helen Opoku-Agyeman said, Twa Kwano Mmom sits under Goal 12 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) specifically Responsible Production and Consumption. Indirectly, we support 3 other goals of the UNSDGs. We believe its the right thing to do, to educate our consumers on the responsible consumption of alcohol. We will stay committed to the cause of reducing drink driving and will continue to work with all stakeholders such as the National Road Safety Commission and Police in their effort to do same. Director of Programmes and Planning at the National Road Safety Commission, Ing. David Adonteng who was the guest speaker at the event, reiterated the Commission's support for the programme, Im encouraged by the presence of the number of commercial drivers present at this launch. This shows their dedication to issues of road safety. I commend GGBL for their consistency in the organisation of this event. The attendant effects of driving under the influence of alcohol include speeding, impairment and wrongful overtaking which leads to accidents on our roads. It is in line with this that drink driving must be taken seriously. Twa Kwano Mmom which literally means go the distance instead communicates to the motorist to abstain from alcohol and concentrate on the journey. In a speech read on his behalf, Director-General of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department, ACP Patrick Sarpong added, Many people were initially not interested in road safety discussions as they thought that drivers and the Police were responsible for their safety to their destinations. But now the public have come to accept and appreciate the fact that road safety is a shared responsibility. It is for this same reason that GGBL has thought it wise and desirable to play a role in ensuring safety on our roads. It is our hope that during the period, drivers and the motoring public including pedestrians will abide by traffic rules and regulations to avoid road traffic crashes. In 2012, Diageo (GGBLs parent company) together with 12 other global drinks companies signed up to the CEOs commitments a set of 5 commitments to reduce alcohol abuse. GGBLs Alcohol in Society programme is shaped by these commitments and research to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation. The programme has run for 3 consecutive years and recorded impressive results including a +176% jump in the number of drivers who participated and a leap from 6,430 breathalyser tests in the first year to over 30,000 breathalyser tests in the 3rd year. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com A group of lawmakers tasked with keeping tabs on ACCESSNebraska says targeted legislative oversight of the state's public benefits portal is no longer needed. On-hold times at ACCESSNebraska's four call centers continue to fall, and food stamp applications the subject of a class-action lawsuit settled earlier this year are being processed more quickly. Leadership by Gov. Pete Ricketts and Health and Human Services CEO Courtney Phillips has "really been the marked improvement," said state Sen. Sara Howard of Omaha, chairwoman of the Legislature's special ACCESSNebraska Oversight Committee. "More than ever, I have seen a commitment to making some of the necessary improvements that we have been suggesting for several years," Howard said. In a letter to fellow senators Thursday, members of the committee recommended disbanding next year and returning oversight of ACCESSNebraska to HHS and the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee. The decision reflects the "increased functionality and productivity of ACCESSNebraska," the letter says. ACCESSNebraska was intended to modernize how Nebraskans apply for and obtain Medicaid and economic assistance benefits. When it launched in 2009, backlogs and blunders piled up immediately. Lawmakers intervened, forming a special investigative committee that, in 2014, summarized the program as "largely a failure." Yet ACCESSNebraska has, by most accounts, improved consistently since Ricketts took office the following year. Phillips credited a "dedicated team" at HHS and "everyone just rolling up their sleeves to get it done." A survey of ACCESSNebraska employees done each of the past three years showed those workers feel that recent improvements are helping them provide good customer service, the committee said in its letter. The surveys were conducted by the state ombudsman's office, which reports to the Legislature and isn't under the governor's control. And independent organizations that help people use ACCESSNebraska, surveyed separately by the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed, also noted the system's steady improvement but asked for more staff to help customers in person at local offices, rather than by phone. "Somewhere in between there's a happy medium," Howard said. HHS also put a new process in place to address reports of overpayments to benefit recipients. A state audit last year found that thousands of those reports, representing potentially millions of dollars owed to the state, had languished in an email inbox while a team of state workers struggled to keep up. The new process for recovering those funds is sufficient, Howard's committee said. Phillips said HHS will continue to evaluate ACCESSNebraska and work for "constant improvement," but Thursday's letter from the committee is good news. "That's very exciting to know that they have full confidence and support in the department," she said. The governments transition team has rubbished allegations by the Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, suggesting that the handing over notes made available to the incoming government have been doctored. In a statement signed by the spokesperson for the government's transition team, Hanna Tetteh, government has said such comments convey the impression that the NPP is looking to demonize the out-going John Mahama-led administration. The statement is regrettable and ill-informed and indeed conveys the impression that the NPP is looking for any opportunity it can obtain to demonize the out-going NDC administration instead of concentrating on understanding the state of affairs of the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies over which they will soon have political oversight. This statement is the latest response to some rumours and allegations that have rubbed the government transition team the wrong way. The government transition team was earlier forced to deny reports that the handing over notes for the incoming President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration were not ready. There were also some concerns that government was awarding last minute contracts and recruiting personnel into the public service a few weeks to the official change in government. Government in this statement once again reiterated that the handing over notes for the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies were ready within the required time frame. The handing over notes for the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies were ready within the time frame required by the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845), however the Ministers responsible for each sector Ministry were required to sign the handing over notes before sending them to the office of the Administrator General, the statement explained. On allegations that the government was recruiting new employees and signing last minute contracts, government has also reminded it remains the lawfully elected government of the Republic of Ghana and has the authority to exercise all the functions of government until the hand-over on January 7, 2017. It is important to point out that the current administration is the lawfully elected government of the Republic of Ghana and has the authority to exercise all the functions of government until the hand-over takes place to a new administration. The transition process should not be seen as a shut down of the administration of the outgoing government. Find below the full statement PRESS STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNMENTS TRANSITION TEAM RE: INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE HANDING OVER NOTES It has come to the attention of the Governments transition team that some allegations have been made by the Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to the effect that the handing over notes that have been made available to them so far have been doctored. The statement is regrettable and ill-informed and indeed conveys the impression that the NPP is looking for any opportunity it can obtain to demonize the out-going NDC administration instead of concentrating on understanding the state of affairs of the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies over which they will soon have political oversight. The handing over notes for the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies were ready within the time frame required by the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845), however the Ministers responsible for each sector Ministry were required to sign the handing over notes before sending them to the office of the Administrator General. The last two months of the year have been a period of intense campaigning and not all Ministers had the opportunity to review the notes and sign them within the period defined in the law. That notwithstanding, the handing over notes are now all complete and are available to be handed over to the Transition team of the President elect. Indeed at yesterdays meeting of the Transition team the reports from eight of the Ministries were handed over. Further at the meeting of the Transition team held yesterday (14/12/16) it was agreed that the rest of the handing over notes would be made available at the next meeting of the Transition team on Monday the 19th of December. Other allegations have been made in the public domain to the effect that the Government is recruiting new employees and signing contracts, creating the impression that the outgoing administration is engaging in acts of illegality. It is important to point out that the current administration is the lawfully elected government of the Republic of Ghana and has the authority to exercise all the functions of government until the hand-over takes place to a new administration. The transition process should not be seen as a shut down of the administration of the outgoing government. Members of the Governments transition team are available for consultation and discussion with our counterparts on the other side in respect of any concerns they may have at any time. The Committees that have been established under the provisions of the Act are required to work to ensure a smooth transition and are appropriate venues for discussions of any issues. Requests for discussions/information/clarification can be made to the leadership of the transition team on the government side or directly to individual members of the team. We wish to assure the people of Ghana that on the side of the out-going administration we are ready to do everything necessary to ensure a smooth transition. While there has been a mandate for the change of political leadership as a result of the outcome of the elections held on the 7th of December 2016, the Government machinery and the institutions of government remain and continue their operations under the laws of our Republic. Both sides of the Transition team owe it to the people of Ghana to make our best efforts to work together to facilitate a peaceful transition and the more we engage each other as opposed to engaging ourselves through the media, the better it would be for the success of the process that we are undertaking. We do not believe that the transition exercise should be used as a platform to facilitate a witch-hunt, after the new administration of the next President takes over the reigns of Government. The members of the transition team of the current administration want to affirm our commitment to ensuring a smooth handing over process to further enhance Ghanas reputation as a beacon of democracy on the continent of Africa. Hanna Tetteh Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Spokesperson for the Government Transition Team Dated at Accra this 15th day of December 2016. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana Baghdad (AFP) - Multiple ground assaults and a deluge of air strikes shrank the Islamic State group's "caliphate" to a rump and decimated its fighters in 2016 but the organisation remains a potent threat. The jihadists have squandered close to half of the land they controlled in 2014 and many of their losses came this year, which saw major operations by myriad forces and countries. The loss of symbolic bastions such as Fallujah in Iraq or Dabiq in Syria dented IS's aura, revealing it could not defend places it once vowed were impregnable and central to its own mythology. The jihadists were driven out of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's vast western province of Anbar, as well as Manbij in Syria -- strategic areas crucial to the caliphate's territorial continuity. Earlier this month, they also lost Sirte, their last major bastion in Libya, a country the jihadists had hoped could drive the expansion of the caliphate. A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), flashes a victory sign in the northern Syrian town of Manbij after the SDF pushed out the Islamic State (IS) group In October, tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition launched a massive operation to retake Mosul, the city where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his "state" in June 2014. The going has been tough for the security forces in the booby-trapped and sniper-infested streets of Iraq's second city but there is little doubt the vastly outnumbered jihadists will eventually lose their stronghold. Shaping operations for a similar assault on Raqa, the only other major urban centre in IS hands, were subsequently launched in Syria setting up a battle that could be the caliphate's last stand. "The loss of Raqa will mean the end of IS's state-building project and would leave the group with no territorial symbol justifying its name of Islamic State," said Mathieu Guidere, a Paris-based professor of Middle East geopolitics. Western powers, Turkey, Iran, Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces and militias and paramilitary outfits have played a part in the surge against IS in 2016. Terror attacks In October Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition moved to retake Mosul, where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his "state" in 2014 Despite the formidable arsenal IS seized from regular forces and the fear it instilled in the world with its campaign of well-publicised atrocities, the jihadist group stopped expanding and eventually buckled. According to the Pentagon, at least 50,000 IS fighters have been killed since 2014, twice the number of fighters the coalition estimated the group had when the caliphate was proclaimed. "Almost three million people and more than 44,000 square kilometres of territory have been liberated" from IS in 2016, coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said Wednesday. But coordination between the various, sometimes rival anti-IS forces is still lacking and the jihadists have shown in two months of Mosul fighting they would not be defeated easily. Their urban tactics are well-honed and their seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers is a threat even the best-trained and equipped forces on the ground fear like no other. IS has also launched a number of diversionary attacks in both Iraq and Syria in an effort to stretch their opponents' ranks and retain some level of initiative, at least in the media. Forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) drive through the former Islamic State (IS) group bastion of Sirte during a clean-up operation Those came in the shape of a spectacular commando raid on Iraq's oil-rich and Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and earlier this month with the recapture of the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra from regime forces. Observers have long warned that territorial reconquest would not spell the end of the Islamic State group, which will find in both Iraq's and Syria's instability a fertile ground for future attacks. "2016 was the year of IS' decline but its influence is still great because there is no political solution in sight... especially for the Sunni population in both countries," Guidere said. The remnants of IS could in some ways be harder to fight once they have fully reverted to a clandestine insurgent group focused on terror attacks. The feared mass return of the caliphate's routed foreign fighters is also a huge source of concern at the end of a year that saw attacks claimed or inspired by IS in the United States, France and Belgium. "The group has been laying the groundwork to outlast its territorial defeats, framing such losses as temporary setbacks in Iraq and Syria and arguing that the Islamic State is a state of mind as much as it is a governing state," the Soufan Group consultancy said earlier this month. No doubt that Turkeys Schindlers List today involves members of the Gulen movement who have done nothing wrong other than volunteering their time, money and expertise to improve the lives of people around themselves with a special focus on science education, eradication of poverty and reconciliation efforts. They are viciously being demonized and vilified by Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because they stood up against this tyrants massive corruption dragnet and arming of radical militants in other countries. Most importantly this non-political movements special emphasis on efforts at outreach and dialogue represent an antidote to what a xenophobic political Islamist like Erdogan is doing in order to further his political goals, by triggering clashes with other faiths and cultures. Erdogans religious zealotry thrives on extremism and violence by constantly seeking an open and latent confrontation with others, shifting blame to scapegoats and seeking to frame debates with religion to legitimize his actions. At the same time, he exploits the democratic space, renders checks and balances ineffective and, for all intents and purposes, makes a mockery of democratic principles, the rule of law, rights and freedoms. Whereas Erdogan tries to use Islamic symbolism to rally Muslims at home and abroad, Gulen, with unimpeachable credentials in interfaith dialogue and a thorough knowledge of Islamic principles and values, presents a formidable challenge to this tyrant. The fact that Gulens progressive stands differ distinctly from Erdogans views of Muslims and non-Muslims is the main reason why Erdogan declared this man a traitor, terrorist and coup plotter with all sorts of false charges. Simply put, Turkeys autocrat wants to muzzle the voice of common sense, taint the success story and kill this very dynamic network that has established itself with its transparent structure in over 170 countries. Having set up the Gulen movement for an unprecedented persecution at home with trumped-up terror charges that lack any evidence, Turkeys fundamentalist president has mobilized the nations diplomatic, economic and political muscle to hunt down members of this civic group abroad, asking foreign governments to jail and deport their members as well as shut down their institutions, including high-performing science schools. So far, most countries have balked at Erdogans overtures, with some labeling it as an outright interference into their own domestic affairs and others simply putting the Turkish presidents requests on ice. Unlike many observers of Turkey tend to believe, Erdogan and his Islamists are not just anti-Western in his political discourse but also anti-Asian as well. Russia and China are perhaps the number one on Erdogans list of enemies, although he does not say it out loud, in contrast to the public bashing of the West. Erdogans pouring in of arms and the facilitating of the Jihadist network in Syria exposed deep fault lines between Erdogans Turkey on the one hand and Russia and China, with a sizable Muslim minority, on the other. The Chinese and Russian foreign Jihadists who entered Syria through Turkey with the help of Erdogans intelligence services providing passports, arms and funds are leading the pack, according to Turkish military data that revealed border incidents. That put Erdogan squarely at odds with both these major powers in the north and east of Turkey. This is hardly surprising knowing how Islamists in Turkey are predisposed against Russia and China. But, above all and at its core, Erdogan is in a fight with the soul of Turkey, which is rooted in Sufi tradition and represents moderation, self-reflection and going along with others. Put differently, Erdogan and his Islamist pack that draws most support from less educated segments of society are clashing with the best and brightest part of Turkey. To some degree, the Gulen movement is a microcosm of that soul, given the fact Erdogans crackdown includes members of society across the board and among many different professions. The arrest of some 50,000 doctors, teachers, journalists, lawyers, academics, human rights defenders, union workers, public employees and even housewives in four months is quite telling about this terrible picture. It also reveals the path through which Erdogan wants to transform Turkish society. He envisions a nation that is rooted in aggressive, expansionist and fundamentalist ideals that are often manipulated by a wrong interpretation of Islamic principles rather than a democratically forward-looking and progressive nation. For that, he has adopted a Machiavellian mentality and a McCarthyism-style witch-hunt to create a leadership vacuum and rob the nation of role models that people ought be looking up to on critical issues. He wants to discredit anyone, be it Gulen or anybody else, who may threaten the political Islamists long-held dream project of backward transformation. This process has already taken a toll on Turkish society. The void that was created by the forced exodus of Gulen movement members from the public and private sphere is now being quickly filled by all sorts of radical groups including Al-Qaeda affiliates. Many Islamist extremist groups such as the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders Front (IBDA/C or IBDA-C), Hizbut-Tahrir and Kurdish Hezbollah all now operate freely under Erdogans protective political cover. No wonder it was the Salafi-Wahhabi champion nation Saudi Arabia that pushed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to smear the Gulen movement in a political statement at the foreign ministers meeting in October by labeling it terror group without a shred of evidence. Erdogan returned the favor by launching a relentless public campaign against the US Congress bipartisan 9/11 bill that allowed families of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia. Erdogan also succeeded in adding a sentence to a political resolution adopted by the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that described the Gulen movement as terrorist. Even though the GCC and OIC approaches are based on short-term tactical and political considerations and do not represent a blanket check for Erdogans ideology and his ambitions in the Arab and Islamic world, it nevertheless shows the dismal state of performance by the so-called Muslim countries. They dumped everything for political expediency by quickly jumping on Erdogans bandwagon of labeling his critics as terrorist without due process, the right to have a fair hearing or the presumption of innocence. Perhaps the deep resentment and hostility harbored against the West in general and the United States in particular among the leadership of many Muslim states has also played a role in misjudging Erdogans behavior toward the Gulen movement, whose leader has been living in the US in self-exile since 1999. In any case, this explains why these Muslim nations performed the worst in compliance with Islamic values as opposed to many Western nations that are on top of the chart. According to a study of 153 countries based on the Islamicity index developed by professors of international business and international affairs at The George Washington University Hossein Askari and Scheherazade S. Rehman, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland were ranked the top three countries, respectively, in a 2015 survey in terms of how they stacked up against the values and teachings offered by the Quran. Turkey was ranked 65th, showing how its governance, economy, politics, human rights and foreign policy were in terrible shape compared to many non-Muslim states. A new survey will be released this month. As members of the Gulen movement face unprecedented persecution in todays world, it remains to be seen who is actually stepping up to thwart Erdogans full-frontal attacks against these peaceful, open-hearted and humble Muslims who have a strong track record of community volunteerism and philanthropic activity to improve the lives of people around them. Turkeys Islamist government has been using a range of unlawful actions to oppress these people, from jailing them en masse, dismissing them from their jobs and seizing their private property to demonizing them in government media. Every day, police raid their homes and workplaces and drag them to detention centers where they will be subjected to torture and cruel treatment. Im not sure whether they are safer in prison or on the street after being blacklisted and publicly vilified. Since the Turkish government profiled them based on the list of subscribers to a critical newspaper or membership in an opposition union or an association that is affiliated with Gulen, they have no prospect of finding a decent job, at least legally, because they are marked for good. Their past employment records will come up in the social security system when they apply for a job with a company, showing that they have been declared pariahs in Turkish society. Erdogan does not want them to leave the country, either. He unlawfully denies granting them passports and arbitrarily bars them from travel even if they have valid travel documents. For those whose number has not yet come up in the crackdown, obtaining a visa from an embassy of a safe country is no easy job, either. Some try to get out by way of dangerous and illegal border crossings. Even if they manage to get out of the county and apply for an asylum in a foreign country, Erdogans agents will not leave them alone. Why is Erdogan doing all these reprehensible things to his own citizens? He has already tightened his grip on Turkeys institutions, including the military, the last bastion of the secularists, using the July 15 abortive coup as a pretext, and did away with transparency, accountability, the constitution, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and democratic principles because he feels quite insecure and vulnerable. He knows that Turkeys diverse social fabric and its trade/investment-dependent economy cannot survive this rollercoaster turmoil. This is a fight for survival for him, and for that hell risk anything and everything to cling to power. His interests are no longer aligned with Turkeys national security interests. In short, President Erdogan has become a clear and present danger for Turkey as well as for its allies and partners. One day, this embattled president will be remembered in the history books as the villain who did great evil to Turkey and its neighbors. Those who stand up to tyrant Erdogan at a terrible cost will be remembered as heroes who paid a heavy price for their commitment to principles and values. Perhaps we will later know how many Schindlers were out there to offer sanctuary, grant safe haven and help alleviate the suffering of Turks, including Gulen movement members, in these most daunting and challenging times. http://www.turkishminute.com/ 2016-12-16 074837 In response to reports that the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered internet firms to block access to social media sites on 18 December, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said: The social media shutdown on the eve of the end of President Kabilas mandate is a blatant attempt to keep the Congolese people in the dark at a critical time, and must be rescinded immediately. Instead of emulating the repressive tactics of other governments in the region that have shut down social media at critical junctures during political contests, the DRC government should be upholding the right of the Congolese people to share information. President Joseph Kabilas constitutionally-mandated second term comes to an end on 19 December. 16.12.2016 LISTEN The Intellectual Zongo Group(IZG) wishes to congratulate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo for emerging victorious after the December 7th, 2016 Presidential Elections. We believe the election results show the overwhelming support and goodwill the people of Zongo and by extension Ghanaians have in the President Elect and the NPP. As a group interested in the development of Zongo communities across the country, we also wish to congratulate our people. Our Zongo people made a clear statement that the days when politicians could deceive them by whipping up tribal and hate sentiments was long gone. IZG found it extremely depressing to see leading Zongo politicians make pronouncements which was aimed at creating division and fear for their selfish political ends. We are happy that despite these unhealthy campaigns, the people of Zongo showed our discernment and sophistry by voting against those politicians. It is our hope that those politicians have learnt bitter lessons. The people of Zongo love development and will want to see progress in our communities. We wish to commend the President Elect, Nana Akufo- Addo and the Vice President Elect, Alhaji Dr. Mahamoud Bawumia for promising to deliver the most comprehensive policy that will develop Zongo communities i.e. Zongo Development Fund. We believe this policy has the potential of improving the lives of our people. We wish to advise that this policy is placed in the hands of qualified and competent individuals to avoid the fate of SADA on this fund. Sgn. Executive Director Ibrahim Tanko 0548190004 The Intellectual Zongo Group is a non-political and development -oriented organisation which is made up professionals and academicians with Zongo background. Our mission is to offer policy alternatives for the development of Zongo communities across the country. The group was formed with a genuine desire to help policy makers, government agencies and non- governmental organisation in properly identifying problems in Zongo communities and offering workable solutions. The Writer 16.12.2016 LISTEN It is only in Ghana where post-election violence is perpetrated and decorated in partisan colors. Frustrated opportunists of winning parties and intoxicated mercenaries of losing parties often engage in battles over the "ownership" of public toilets, tollbooths, and selected state organizations. These hoodlums also visit mayhem on political opponents with impunity. It is disheartening that after more than two decades of democratic dispensation, the evil culture of lawlessness in the name of partisan loyalty still exists. Perhaps, the unfortunate trend is partly due to the seeming partisan politcs in the Ghana Police Service itself, which is responsible for maintaining law and order. I was amazed when I watched a group of police officers in uniform dancing to an anti-Mahama song minutes after the declaration of the recently held presidential election. Personnel of the same Ghana Police Service had sat aloof when ranting imbeciles of NDC attacked the residence of the then NPP Presidential Candidate and now President-elect. I am not questioning the constitutional basis of the political loyalty of police personnel. I am expressing concern about the open politicking in the security agency. I appreciate the voices of President John Dramani Mahama and of President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akofu-Addo in condemning the looting and burning after the December 7 general elections. However, it is my contention that the wave of violence and the avalanche of condemnations the violence attracted could have been avoided. In fact, if the Ghana Police had been proactive, ethical, and non-partisan, the violence should not have attracted the attention of the two great leaders at all. I call on the Inspector-General of Police to act decisively. Let the Number One Constable ensure that the men and women under his command do not allow partisanship to water down his efforts at crime combat. Ghanaians deserve state policing rather than regime policing. In this regard, the perpetrators of the post-election violence should be arrested, arraigned, tried, and punished if found guilty. Their partisan loyalty should not serve as defense counsel for them. Their partisan loyalty cannot make them supreme. Their partisan loyalty cannot constitute impunity. Their partisan loyalty cannot constitute a violation of the democratic rights of others. Their partisan loyalty should subbirdinate to the rule of law which is the cornerstone of democracy. Conclusively, It is important for all of us to understand that the change of regime by the ballot cannot be a coup d' etat. Also, ours is constitutional order not a military junta. Let us accept to live in a state of national unity in partisan diversity. Let us refrain from the politicization of lawlessness. Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo Lecturer, University of Applied Management, Germany - Ghana Campus, McCarthy Hill, Accra. 16.12.2016 LISTEN Throughout Ghana, there are daily allegations of NPP supporters maltreating the defeated NDC party faithful and supporters since the defeat of the NDC at the 7 December 2016 polls. Some of these allegations are true and others are totally false; they are purely fabrications churned out of the NDC propaganda machines. In the year 2008 when the late President Evans Atta Mills, then NDC presidential-candidate won the elections with NDC winning parliamentary majority to form the government, the NDC supporters went on spontaneous rampages. They started to beat NPP supporters. They resorted to total violence to chasing NPP supporters who were then managing public toilets and other public facilities out of their jobs. They even went to the extent of hacking some NPP supporters to death using machetes, it was alleged. A typical instance of such deaths took place at Agogloshie market in Accra. I do not support any idea of tit for tat or an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth in running Ghanas politics. The NDC started it but I will not support anyone who desires to pay them back in their own coin. However, legal means must be used to redress the excesses of the lawless NDC fanatics and supporters. It is very strange that in Kumawu, the land of my birth, what may clearly seem a reverse psychology with regard to the alleged ongoing inter-party violence is the order of the day. A few NDC supporters from the Kumawu Zongo Community are rather those who have stupidly been taking a fight to the majority NPP supporters who are principally of the Akan extraction. These Zongo yobs are led by one lady called Abiba and one Line mans son called Yasil. I did personally go to Kumawu to see things for myself. I had the opportunity to speak to one Sophia who although was attacked by one of the Zongo ladies, she did not fight the woman back even though she could have beaten the Zongo woman to a pulp. These same few Zongo boys and girls did attack the daughter of a midwife at Kumawu Gyidi not far from the Kumawu Zongo. They beat her up and nearly damaged her eye, I was informed. She went to the hospital to have her injury treated, reported the case to the Kumawu police who are, but displaying a lukewarm attitude to the whole case. I understand the MP, Hon. Phillip Basoah, has been to the Kumawu police station to question why the police are not making any efforts to arrest the girls attackers to bring a closure to the ongoing political attacks on the supporters of the NPP by those few NDC activists who are indeed no match for the NPP supporters should they avenge the beatings on some of them. I may know why those few NDC supporters are doing that but I shall reserve its revelation until I have conducted a full investigation into it. On that day, there shall be wailing and shedding of tears. What is Reverse psychology? Reverse psychology is a technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what actually is desired: the opposite of what is suggested. This technique relies on the psychological phenomenon of reactance, in which a person has a negative emotional reaction to being persuaded, and thus chooses the option which is being advocated against. The one being manipulated is usually unaware of what is really going on - Wikipedia. One would normally expect the NPP supporters who are the majority in Kumawu with their party about to form the government to attack the NDC supporters but not the vice versa hence using Reverse psychology as title for this publication. I expect the Kumawu Police to be more proactive than reactive. They have to take appropriate measures to deter the few Zongo yobs from continually pursuing their criminal intents before the problem escalates into a bigger inter-party/inter-tribal violence. Even though most of the Zongo people are naturally NDC members and do vote NDC, it is just a few yobs who are causing troubles. In Kumawu, most of the Zongo men have married or have had children with the Ashanti women and we all live in peace as one people despite our political affiliations. Therefore, the police should not allow this handful of yobs to cause problems for the remaining majority of law-abiding Kumawu subjects. Rockson Adofo The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) through the Swedish Embassy in Kampala has contributed 35 million krona - about 4 million US dollars - to support maternal, newborn and child health programmes in Ugandas West Nile region. The support is expected to reach an estimated 135,000 pregnant women and over 300,000 children with key health interventions. This contribution is part of our efforts to improve maternal and child health by strengthening heath service delivery in Uganda, indirectly supporting gender equality and womens empowerment, said Mr Per Lingarde, the Swedish Ambassador to Uganda. UNICEF plays an important role in supporting the Ministry of Health to end preventable maternal and child deaths across Uganda, so we are proud to further strengthen these efforts. The West Nile sub-region is among the most disadvantaged areas of Uganda with very poor maternal health indicators. These include low rates of immunization, high rates of unattended births, limited use of bed nets, and high rates of malaria, diarrhea and HIV/AIDS, among others. As a result, the region has one of the highest under five mortalities in the country with 125 deaths per 1,000 live births compared to the national average of 90. West Nile, along with the Karamoja region, also has the highest child poverty rate in the country with 68% of all children under the age of 5 living in poverty and being deprived of a number of their most basic needs such as health care, adequate nutrition, safe water, education, and shelter, among others. In addition, the region is hosting over 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers from South Sudan. The continuous flow of refugees into the region poses a major challenge for District social service systems as they lack both human and material resources to meet the needs of the increasing population. The UNICEF Representative, Ms Aida Girma, thanked Sweden for its support, particularly for the West Nile region which is overstretched by the increasing number of refugees. Nearly 340,000 refugees from South Sudan have arrived since July and we expect at least 300,000 more to arrive in 2017. These funds therefore come at a critical time and will help to save childrens and mothers lives, both from within the South Sudanese refugee community as well as within the local communities that are hosting them across West Nile she said. Since 2013, with a contribution of over 3 million USD, SIDA has been supporting a similar programme in Karamoja, which has thus far: helped more than 22 000 pregnant women deliver their babies in health facilities; provided 68 health facilities with emergency equipment; and trained 162 health workers to manage maternal and newborn conditions related to pregnancy and child birth. Ouagadougou (AFP) - Thrusting their arm into a box full of hungry mosquitoes, a group of brave volunteers in a Burkina Faso laboratory test an innovative weapon in the fight against malaria -- soap. The team behind the "Faso Soap" project aims to create a cheap, accessible product to repel mosquitoes and protect people from a disease that claimed nearly 500,000 lives in 2015, most of them in Africa. With one eye on a stopwatch, Gerard Niyondiko, the Burundian researcher behind the special soap, watches the behaviour of around a hundred hungry female mosquitoes. The volunteers wait to be bitten, but the odorous liquid -- a secret mix of local plant oils -- applied to their skin beforehand protects them from the cloud of hungry insects. In the small laboratory in Burkina Faso's National Centre for Malaria Research and Training in Ouagadougou, Niyondiko has been working since June to test the effectiveness of the soap at repelling mosquitoes and refine the recipe using different oils. In West Africa, "malaria kills a child every two minutes", Niyondiko says. Of the 214 million people infected with malaria in 2015, 88 percent of cases were registered in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Among them, 438,000 died and children are the most vulnerable. Protection for all A volunteer at Burkina Faso's National Centre for Malaria Research and Training, puts "Faso Soap" on part of their hand to test its effectiveness The idea of using soap came from seeing that malaria continued to spread despite the distribution of mosquito nets. "Mosquito nets offer protection during sleep but they keep the heat and the most vulnerable populations can't afford to buy repellent for the whole family to protect them the rest of the time," Niyondiko said. "So we thought about a product used in the everyday life of these populations, which doesn't require any change of habits." Soap was ideal, he said, because "it's a product that even the poorest households buy and the whole family can share it". "If we manage to integrate (malaria) prevention into this product which is already available at an accessible price, it will mean we can save people who are unwilling or unable to spend more to protect themselves," he said. The project is targeting the six countries worst affected by malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Burkina Faso. "We are working on prevention with a new tool: bringing together two things which don't at first glance have anything in common: hygiene and malaria," said Lisa Barutel, 28, one of Niyondiko's two associates on the project. By using local essential oils as repellent, Niyondiko and his team hopes to keep costs to a minimum. "Our aim is not to get rich. We want to save 100,000 lives by 2020," he said, echoing the project's slogan. 'Invention for everyone' By using local essential oils as repellent, Burundian researcher Gerard Niyondiko hopes to produce a cheap way to protect people from mosquitoes After training first as a chemist, Niyondiko won a bursary to leave Burundi and study for a master's degree at the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou. There in 2013 he met Frenchwoman Barutel, who was in charge of helping students with their projects. She set up an incubator for projects with a social aspect in Ouagadougou and helped Niyondiko gather funding. Faso Soap hit the headlines in 2013 when it won the $25,000 Global Social Venture Competition, an international award run by a network of business schools around the world. But a lack of funding put the project into standby mode until 2015, when it relaunched with a more scientific approach and partnered with a French start-up specialising in micro-encapsulation, a technique to allow the soap's active ingredients to work effectively for longer. A crowdfunding drive earlier this year raised 70,000 euros ($73,000). The laboratory tests now are being done in line with a scientific protocol so the soap can be approved by WHO and afterwards used in other countries. There are two stages of development to go before the soap can be released to the public, and Barutel said she hopes to "help a whole country" with their "invention for everyone". 16.12.2016 LISTEN The Son of Man has no place to lay his head. However, Rockson Adofo counted himself a lucky person when he went to Ghana on a special mission. As one of the honest, dedicated and dynamic NPP supporters, he decided to proceed to Ghana to join other NPP faithful and sympathizers as well as the financially-strapped Ghanaians who yearned for a change in government, to campaign to bring Nana Akufo Addo and NPP to power. Before going to Ghana I was not well. I had been taken ill for the last five months. I was a complete shadow of my former or normal self. My wife would rather not have me go to Ghana because of how I looked like a ghost (osaman). I had lost thirteen kilos in less than three months and looked shabby in my usual shirt and trousers sizes. Nonetheless, I told her how could I stay back in London when it was the last and final attempt by my adorable incorruptible Nana Akufo Addo to secure the presidency? Would I not feel guilty vis-a-vis the following two quotations if I had chosen not to go to Ghana to campaign alongside the teeming economically-suffering Ghanaians who were clamouring for a change in government? Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph, said the Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. Mark Twain on the other hand said, In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his course succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot". I wanted to be seen when it mattered most and did not want to be a coward. I told my wife no amount of resistance from her could stop me from going despite her other concerns about my safety and security. On the day of my departure to Ghana, she made me kneel down, prayed and committed my life, safety and security into the hands of the Almighty God. When I landed at the Kotoka airport, within a few minutes, I noticed two problems of which I offered the two immigration officers attending to me a brilliant suggestion. I followed this up with a publication on Modernghana and Ghanaweb of which the following web link takes you to. https://www.modernghana.com/news/738424/undesirable-problems-at-the-arrival-hall-of-kotoka-internati.html While in Ghana, my brother-in-law, a lawyer by profession, was of great help to me. My aunt Julie and her children ensured I was properly fed because they wanted me to regain some of my lost weight before returning to the UK. My friend Joseph Baidoos sister, Angela Nkrumah, allowed me to use her laptop until my return to London. One Kofi Basoah and my younger brother Kwaku Osei kept my company day in day out whenever I went to the Ashanti region. What about the two trusted Saviour Church of Ghana prophets who offered me immense spiritual assistance in times of need? What about Fati, Nana Yaa, and the Koko ne dokono wura (the porridge and kenkey sellers) from whom I normally obtained my breakfast or at times my supper? Shall God richly bless all of them! Unlike Jesus Christ who had power but could at times have no place to sleep and food to eat, I had all such things in great abundance so I say a big thank you to God and all the above mentioned persons. As said by Julius Caesar, vini, vidi, vici meaning "I came, I saw, I conquered", so do I wish to tell Ghanaians that we all went to the polls hoping for a change in government and change have we obtained. By spotting an existing problem at the airport and suggesting a solution with Nana Akufo Addo and NPP winning the election, I can confirm to my wife that my journey to Ghana was worthwhile. All the burgers who came down to assist with Nana Akufo Addo and NPPs successful election can proudly say, we came, we saw, we conquered. Rockson Adofo The parents of a 13-year-old Kansas girl who died of viral meningitis have sued Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital in Lincoln, alleging doctors there were negligent when they treated her in 2014. Terrisa and Scott Waters filed a wrongful death lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Omaha. "We can't make any comment about pending litigation," Madonna Vice President John Glenn said Thursday when asked about the lawsuit. He said the hospital will investigate the allegations and respond appropriately in court. In the lawsuit, Omaha attorney Christopher Welsh said Brandi Waters was admitted to Madonna on Nov. 10, 2014. Complications during a September surgery elsewhere to remove a benign tumor near her pituitary gland left her a quadriplegic, the lawsuit says. Brandi participated in rehab aimed at improving her quality of life, the suit says, but on Dec. 8, 2014, she was confused and hallucinating. A day later, her condition worsened and her temperature spiked. Her doctors began treating her with antibiotic and antiviral medications but held off on doing a lumbar puncture to look for signs of viral meningitis or a spinal tap to help diagnose what was wrong, the lawsuit says. "Had a lumbar puncture been ordered at this time (Dec. 10, 2014), it likely would have been positive," Welsh said. Specific antibiotics could have been started, and Brandi could have been transferred to another facility to be treated, he said. Welsh said in the lawsuit that Madonna's only response was to change her antibiotic medication and monitor her. On Dec. 14, 2014, her parents insisted Brandi be transferred to Kansas University Medical Center, but that didn't happen until the next day. Scans done there showed her entire brain, brainstem and cervical cord were severely affected, Welsh wrote in the lawsuit. Brandi died Dec. 16, 2014, as a result of the infection, he said. The Member of Parliament for Keta in Volta Region, Richard Quashigah, has described as infantile and immature the recent violent attacks allegedly carried out by members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). According to him, such actions do not resonate with the country's aspiration to build a nation based on trust, respect for human rights and tolerance. In a statement issued on Thursday, December 15, 2016, on the developments on Ghana's political landscape following the December 7 general elections, Mr Quashigah said the perpetrators of such acts must depart from the unhealthy tendencies. For those who think that when a political party to which they belong wins an election, then members of the vanquished party must be attacked, cowed and subdued to feel insecure should understand that it is a display of infantile and immature behaviour. We need to build a nation that is based on trust, respect for human rights and tolerance. Political actions and behaviours must be informed by the tenets that guide its practice and not acts of beastiality and criminality He said, following the elections, the country can be touted as one of the few countries in Africa with the most matured democracies. He however expressed concern that the in spite of the positive stride, the country is yet to build very effective institutions devoid of political interference. With some degree of certainty, one could aptly say we have joined the league of matured and stable democracies of the world. What perhaps is missing is the effective functioning of our institutions devoid of political interference and absence of apolitical personnel manning these institutions. This is a palpable minus for our glowing and admirable constitutional development which we all count as a pride. He said this situation has led to some youth of the NPP in the wake of their victory over the governing NDC in the recently held presidential elections, resort to rampaging and illegally taking-over public establishments because those running these establishments are perceived wrongly as necessarily members of the vanquished political party even at a time when the vanquished political party is still in charge of government business. He further expressed shock over what he describes as lackadaisical attitude of the Ghana Police Service in dealing with the criminality. What was most surprising was the lackadaisical attitude of the Ghana Police Service to act against what was an obvious criminality; a clear manifestation of systemic and institutional failure. Addressing an accusation by former Minister of State, in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Yaw Osarfo Marfo that the NDC government was recruiting new personnel and selling state property few month of exiting office, Mr Quashigah said the NDC government cannot afford to halt regular national administration activities because the country was in a transition period. Does those pronouncements and misgivings by Mr Osafo Marfo to suggest that government machinery must grind to a halt within the transition period? We must admit that the recruitment exercise started months before the general elections that was won by Nana Addo. Should it be truncated simply because a new government has won political power and is expected to assume the reins of government in some three weeks to come? That lends itself to the lack of trust in our own institutions, he quizzed. By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @jnyabor GoldStar Air is likely to commence operations by April 2017, barring any last minute hitch. This comes on the back of the granting of an air carrier license by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, GCAA. The Air Carrier License is among others an indication of the economic and financial strength and capability to operate as an airline. According to the regulator,(GCAA), the license begins a five stage process that will culminate in an air operator certificate, for a full take off by GoldStar Air. GoldStar will have to get their manuals for their operations together and present them to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority; so the process has begun for the company to go through the certification process to get an air operator certificate. It could take longer depending on how compliant or responsive they are to the process, the Deputy Director General for Technical at the GCAA, Martey Boye Atoklo told Citi Business News. Mr. Atoklo further explained that the successful completion of the process should intensify competition in Ghana's aviation industry. It means that the whole civil aviation sector will become more competitive; the numbers are being added onto so it is more beneficial to the civil aviation and the economy as a whole, he remarked. The remaining four processes include; formal application, documentation on manuals on training of air crew; demonstration of the operations with the inspectors as well as the completion and the provision of air operators certificate. GoldStar Airlines plans to operate regional and international flights when its activities start in full. Regional flights include; Abidjan, Monrovia, Freetown, Dakar, Guinea Conakry while the long haul flights include; Dubai, Guangzhou and London. The CEO for GoldStar, Eric Bannerman, tells Citi Business News he is hopeful his outfit will work to complete the processes within the stipulated three to four month period. We've done the application and have the manual ready; plus all the personnel that is needed to carry out the operations are available. We therefore do not anticipate any delay in completing the process to get the air operator certificate, he stated. By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana 16.12.2016 LISTEN Periodically, some traditional council and/or rulers of many areas in Ghana impose bans lasting as long as a month or more, to restrict people living within their jurisdiction from making any form of noise including funerals. Generally, a chief may impose a ban during and including the period leading to the following occasions. 1. The celebration of the anniversary of his ascension to the throne. For example, the Asante Traditional Council placed a ban on funerals and other forms of noise for about 7 weeks between April 2014 and 25 May 2014, because the Asante King was celebrating the anniversary of his ascension to his throne (see: https://www.modernghana.com/news/529659/the-implications-of-banning-funeral-while-otumfuo-celebrates.html). (2)Performing a burial and funeral of a chief or a queen. For example, the Asanteman Council has since about 17 November 2016 placed a ban on any form of noise making until the late Queen of Ashanti is buried. Similarly, in May 2016, the Okere Traditional Council in Eastern Region imposed a ban on funerals and weddings between 10 July 2016 to 8 August 2016, because the funeral of the late Okerehene, Osuodumgyam Otutu Kono II would occur between 2 8 August 2016 (see: http://www.starrfmonline.com/1.9213383 3. The celebration of festivals such as Homowo by the Gas. The Ga Traditional Council usually imposes a one month ban every year on any form of noise during the celebration of the festival. It is important to mention that the announcement of the bans come with a warning that a breach of the ban carries punishment. In the past, some people have advocated that the imposition of usually, a month long ban causes harm to people living within those traditional areas. For example, in 2014, Nene Abayateye Amegatcher who was the President of Ghana Bar Association considered seeking an interpretation from the Supreme Court on the legality of such bans because of the burden it imposes on the people (see: http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/local/social/201405/201582.php). Moreover, Nana Odeneho Kyeremanteng (also a lawyer) while commenting on the issue explained that the bans are bad for the economy because they affect some businesses (see: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Traditional-leaders-can-t-ban-noise-making-311473). In addition, in 2014, Rockson Adofo in an article published on Ghanaweb explained that the seven weeks ban that Otumfor Osei Tutu imposed on noise making in Asanteman was not reasonable and infringed upon the fundamental human rights of the people living within the Asanteman Council. In particular, Rockson highlighted how the ban would affect families that could not perform the funerals of their dead ones. (see: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/The-Implications-of-Banning-Funeral-While-Otumfuo-Celebrates-His-303447). While I do not necessarily have problem with the traditional councils imposing such bans, I strongly believe that any ban longer than one week is inappropriate because it causes significant hardship and unreasonable burden on many people. It is significant to note that the tradition of banning noise making was established several centuries ago. At that time the Ghana population was very low and therefore, places such as Accra and Kumasi had low population. Accordingly, it was possible that imposing one month ban on people in order to prepare for royal funerals or celebrate traditional festivals would not cause too much harm, as for example, not many people were dying during that period. Meanwhile Ghana is now democratic and the application of any traditional customs must be consistent with the democratic values and not infringe on the freedom of the people. More so, the population has increased and aged, the society has become dynamic and diverse and many parts of Ghana, particularly, Accra and Kumasi have become very cosmopolitan. Therefore, the rights of many people are infringed upon during the period of such bans. For example, churches are prevented from using microphones and etc. during church services. Although, it is true that some churches make a lot of noise during their services. And in some cases, the level of noise is so high that it causes significant disturbance to people living near where the church services are held, particularly during the early morning and late night. Accordingly, the churches that are close to residential areas should reduce their noise to a reasonable and acceptable level after 9 pm and before 5 am, and closing the church doors fully can in some cases help. However, restricting churches entirely from using their musical instruments for a month or so just because a chief or traditional council is celebrating a festival appears inappropriate. More importantly, the chiefs cause significant hardship to families when they are prevented from having the funerals of their loved ones during the period of the ban. As indicated earlier, the population has grown significantly since these customs were first developed. Accordingly, many people are dying and for that matter, it does not make sense for one person or traditional council to take one whole month for himself or itself just to prepare and celebrate a festival or a royal funeral, while others are prevented from having funerals for their loved ones who have passed on. Some poor people are forced to keep their dead ones in the mortuary for months during and after the period of the ban as there will be a backlog of funerals to be organised, which will take several weeks if not months to clear. This clearly shows it simply does not make sense to impose these unreasonable lengthy bans on people. Moreover, organising funerals and weddings require some planning. There are some people who plan funerals and weddings months ahead. Therefore, to abruptly prevent such people from having their funerals or wedding as they had anticipated is not fair. For example, the Asante Queen died about 14 November or so and by 17 November the ban on funerals was put in place until the Queen is buried, which no one knows exactly when. Accordingly, all families who have planned for funerals after 17 November would have to wait despite they would have incurred some costs. Accordingly, it appears inhumane that people are suddenly prevented from holding funerals despite the initial high costs involved in the preparation for the funerals. I note that in the case of the Asante Queen, there is at least a provision allowing people to bury their loved ones which is good to some extent because the deceased bodies do not have to be kept at the mortuary. However, the provision does not solve the entire problems of the ban because it is cheaper to have the funeral on the same day that the person is buried. Moreover, many dead people have their children overseas therefore having burial and funeral some weeks or months apart is not ideal because the one coming from overseas may not have the convenience of being at the burial and the funeral scheduled on different dates. The person coming from abroad may not have the financial ability or adequate leave from employer to come for both the burial and the funeral occurring on separate dates. Meanwhile it will be a devastating blow to some people particularly, the women if they were to miss either the burial or funeral of their parents and it can devastate them for the rest of their lives. Thus, it is ideal that everyone one will be present during the burial and funeral of their parents so he or she can be at peace with him/herself for the loss of the loved one. Accordingly, in 2014, someone came from Australia to visit her ill parent and unfortunately, the parent died soon after her arrival. However, because the Asantehene had placed a ban on funerals due to his anniversary of ascending to his throne, the person had to wait for unreasonable period of time before the funeral could be organised. And some of the obvious challenges in cases like this are financial, how to convince ones employer in order to extend ones leave and whether the person has further leave accumulated. It is even more challenging if the person has children and what to do with them if she has to stay longer as that may affect their schooling and etc. In fact beside the financial costs, grieving families also go through hectic time and the intensity of their grief continues until their loved one is buried and the funeral is held. Therefore, restricting people from having funerals increases their pain. I only understood the pain people feel when my mother passed away. In conclusion, I think the traditional authorities have to recognise that time has changed and therefore, it is not appropriate to preventing people for a month or long from having the funerals of their loved ones. Some families just simply want to have the funerals of their loved ones and move on. Accordingly, I think the only appropriate thing is that the chiefs have to impose only one week ban on funerals, weddings and etc. The fact is that all activities relating to a festival or royal funeral usually peak within a certain week. I think it is only fair and reasonable that any ban will be confined to this peak period so that people do not suffer extremely unreasonably. Accordingly, unless the chiefs become realistic with the changing times and take a compromise position, there will come a time that someone will challenge them and the Supreme Court may rule against them and they will have no basis to impose a ban at all. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), for three consecutive times, has presented one ticket in the personalities of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, a distinguished lawyer and a banker cum economists of no mean status respectively. In the year 2008, the pair led the presidential race in the first round but lost marginally in the second round. The NPP, despite that narrow defeat, still reposed its trust and confidence in Nana Akufo-Addo in 2010 and re-elected him as the flagbearer of the party for the 2012 general elections. He in turn re-affirmed his confidence in Dr. Bawumia as a partner for the race. The outcome of the elections is history not in the electoral sense, but the advanced form of rigging which took place and was shown to the whole world during the elections petition at the Supreme Court. Nana Addo offered himself to lead the NPP once again in 2014 primaries of the party, he won convincingly and for the third time, he chose Dr. Bawumia as his running mate. The significance of these co-incidences baffles the mind of the ordinary observer of the political landscape. What is in Nana Akufo-Addo that the party has on three consecutive times elected him among other very prominent and distinguished party people to lead the party? It is important for the public to also note that the electoral colleges in terms of the people who voted at each time had never been the same in any of the three elections. The party structures below, from the Polling Station Executives, the Constituency Executives, Regional Executives and the National Executives are elected at their various levels before the primaries for the Presidential candidates take place. Some, if not many, of the old party executives at all levels are replaced by new ones at all levels before the presidential primaries, yet the party for three consecutive times elected Nana Addo out of the other distinguished personalities from the party. In my view, his confidence in the party has been founded on his commitment and impeccable dedication to the philosophy and ideology of the party. His personal belief in the rule of law and natural justice has guided his social, political and professional lives as an individual. His patience and respect for the hierarchy of the party structure, founded on principles and party discipline has endeared him to the generality of the party faithful. He was the Director of Campaign for Prof. Albert Adu Boahene during the 1992 presidential elections. After the 1992 Presidential elections, which obviously was rigged in favour of the NDC, the minority parties boycotted the Parliamentary elections amidst serious protests. The NPP did not fight from the bush, the party expressed its observations in a book titled the 'STOLEN VERDICT'. The lead author was Nana Akufo-Addo. He was still patient, he did not participate in the post 1992 primaries which elected Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor as the flagbearer. He still played no mean role in the 1996 general elections which saw an alliance between the NPP and the PCP. When things did not go the party's way, he offered himself for the flagbearership of the party in 1998 alongside many other distinguished personalities of the party. The party retained Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor once again in Sunyani. Nana Addo overcame the initial frictions just after the elections by dealing with the problem internally. He supported the Kufuor campaign which saw the party taking power from the NDC in the year 2000. He still shelved his ambitions to lead the party in 2004 elections since he believed that President Kufuor had done so well that there was no need for the party to change him. Indeed, the phrase 'so far, so very good' was coined by Nana Addo at an annual meeting of MMDCEs at Nkawkaw in 2003. He is indeed a patient man. The knowledge by many that, his Law Chamber has also churned out hundreds of very brilliant lawyers in this country, whose contributions towards ensuring the rule of law, the attainment of human rights and social justice endears him to Ghanaians far and near. The second question is, why has Nana Addo also chosen Dr. Bawumia as his running mate for three consecutive times which never received a single objection from the National Council all these years? Dr. Bawumia, a hitherto unknown person to many Ghanaians, had his name resonating in the world of finance when he became the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana. Politically, the Bawumia of political history had been Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia who happened to be his father. So why has he been the preferred choice of Nana Akufo Addo in his quest to change this country for the better? Good governance hinges on the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and participation in the main. Nana Addo is a known believer in the rule of law. He is transparent in everything he does, he is the only public officer in the history of this country who has publicly stated that 'I am not corrupt, I have never been corrupt and I will never be corrupt' and no one has contradicted him. For one to have these attributes, that person has to be accountable in his dealings with the public. Good governance requires the respect for public institutions and structures and there is no doubt that Nana Addo will ensure that. Next to the above, is efficient husbanding of the nation's resources driven by very good policies which will ensure that fiscal policies of the government are geared towards enhancing productivity in all spheres of our national economy. Businesses at all levels of economic activities must be such that the operators do their work with less stress, plan their activities within a stable economic environment that is predictable and produces results. The monetary policies of the Central Bank must be supportive of the private sector such that credit to individuals and corporate bodies are available and affordable for businesses to grow. A nation's economic development does not depend so much on how wealthy it is, even though being wealthy is very much welcomed, a nation which does not manage its resources prudently is bound to live in poverty and deprivation. Ghana, a nation with the potential to rise and compete with other nations classified as developed countries, is now crawling to be considered as a middle income level country. Dr. Bawumia over the years has been able to diagnose the very causes of the current economic strangulation the people of this country are going through. He has over the years cautioned the outgoing government on its policies and predicted the outcomes of those policies. The economic prophet that he is, all his predictions have come to pass. Dr. Bawumia, has not just exposed the economic mismanagement the Mahama administration has taken this country through, he has proffered workable solutions to salvage the economy and get Ghana to work again for the benefit of our generation and the generations yet to be born. He has endeared himself to the business community in the country with the assurances that good fiscal policies, ably supported by effective monetary policies of the Central Bank, the business environment of the country would rise and be competitive in the business world. Government expenditure will be managed in a manner that all sectors will benefit from what is due them so that the system will operate efficiently as a whole. Public resources would not be expended with blatant disregard for the basic rules and regulations governing public expenditure. The financial health of this country will be restored and insulated from crookish create, loot and share contractors who do not care about the future of this country. Ghana will rise again. It is therefore not coincidental that the duo, Nana Akufo Addo and Dr. Bawumia, have come into our lives this time. They told Ghanaians what they can do for the nation by way of programmes and policies to create jobs for the teeming youth whose aspirations do not seem to see a translation into practical achievements under the NDC. They listened, business people believed them, farmers trusted them and all Ghanaians expressed their confidence in the duo. The rest is known to all. Sweet victory. [email protected] It has emerged that President John Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo met and had fruitful mutual discussions before the December 7 polls and after the elections to smoothen some rough edges. The secret and reportedly important meeting was said to have been held at the instance of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II a few hours to the polls. The Asantehene reportedly called the meeting to help foster peace and unity between President Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo. The closed-door meeting reportedly took place at Otumfuos official residence at the Manhyia Palace, DAILY GUIDE has learnt. Outspoken MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, insists that President Mahama lodged a complaint against him (Agyapong) to Nana Akufo-Addo during the said meeting. Fresh Meeting DAILY GUIDE has also gathered that President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo and President Mahama again met with Otumfuo last Tuesday. The latest meeting took place at the Asantehenes private house at Ahodwo, at about 11:00 pm. President Mahama, who was returning from The Gambia where he had gone for mediation over disputed election, flew straight to Kumasi where he had discussions with Nana Akufo-Addo and Otumfuo. Details of the second meeting were scanty, but checks indicate that it was meant to bolster peace between the two dignitaries and their numerous supporters, as well as ensure a smooth handing over process. Mahama Complaints Mr Kennedy Agyapong, who claims to have details of the first meeting, said President Mahama made several complaints to Nana Akufo-Addo. For instance, he said the president complained that he (Kennedy) had threatened to cause the arrest of First Lady, Lordina Mahama, should the NPP win the polls. Speaking on Adom Television on Wednesday, the Assin Central MP asserted that the president also complained that I have also threatened to call for the arrest of his brother and one, Ali Seidu, a businessman. Nana Akufo-Addo asked me whether President Mahamas complaints were true, and I said I have indeed threatened to get the three people arrested, Kennedy said. He said President Mahama during the meeting also hinted about how he had used a lot of resources to get me kicked out as MP during the recent polls, but I still won. He made mockery of President Mahamas complaint about him to Nana Akufo-Addo and Otumfuo, saying the president was scared about his threats. I have proved to President Mahama that I am tough. He planned for my defeat in the polls but I won convincingly, the MP stressed. The NPP's candidate Nana Akufo-Addo secured 53.85% as against the president's 44.40% and over one million votes margin to make Mr Mahama a one-term president in the history of Ghana. Apart from President Mahama's humiliating defeat, the NDC also lost about 49 parliamentary seats to the NPP and are now going into the next dispensation as minority in parliament with only 104 seats against the opposition NPP's 171. NDC's Plans A group calling itself Students Network for Nana Addo (STUNNAD) had alleged that the NDC failed to win the elections because its rigging tactics were checkmated by the NPP. According to the group, the NDC leaders had relied on their unholy alliance with the EC to rig the elections, asking the outgoing ruling party to explain to the public where its so-called collation centre was located. He alleged that the NDC positioned their collation hub into the Electoral Commissions E-transmitting System and channeled it to their system on the top floor of their new Adabraka office in an attempt to massage the figures as coming from various constituencies before they forward it to ECs National Collation Centre. The group added, This was how the NDC was planning to rig the election with the EC. Thank God the NPP and the media got the results first. STUNNAD wanted to know whether the sets of pink sheets the NDC was going to use to collate the results were different from the media houses and the rest of the political parties. From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi Kofi Portuphy, National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has encouraged members of the party to retaliate and defend themselves if they are attacked by supposed supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). According to him, despite several calls on the NPP leadership to caution its supporters, NDC supporters are still being attacked. There have been several reported cases of violence being allegedly perpetrated by members of the NPP against some members of the NDC, although skeptics believe the supposed attack could be staged by members of the NDC for public sympathy over their massive defeat in the December 7 polls. The NDC particularly mentioned the case of comedian Ebenezer Osae Aryeh (Wofa K) who claimed that he was attacked by NPP activists. Pictures of the NDC activist have gone viral on social media with him accusing NPP supporters of assaulting him. But some NPP activists believe the actor was deceiving the general public just to court attention from President Mahama and some NDC leaders for financial gains. A family member of Ebenezer Osae Aryeh has told manassehazure.com that photos of his alleged attack are fake. The comedian, who featured in a number of campaign ads of the governing party, is said to have been attacked after the NPP's victory. I'm 300% sure that the said attack is fake, the source, who does not want to be named, said. The family source said, As far as we are concerned, no attack happened in the house here. And if he was attacked elsewhere and was taken to the hospital, at least one family member would have been called. The first place we saw those pictures was on Facebook. The family source said all attempts by family members, including Wofa K's mother, to get any answers from him regarding the attacks had failed to yield any fruits. He would not talk to anybody. He locked himself up in the room and when his mother knocked he would not open. Ask Dela Coffie and those sharing the pictures on Facebook which hospital he was treated. If he was really attacked would he not be in the hospital at least for some time? Why are the photographs not taken at the hospital but in a room somewhere? Tit For Tat At a news conference at the NDC headquarters in Accra yesterday, Portuphy said the party was running out of patience and that if the NPP attacks persisted even after the January 7 hand-over of power, the NDC would be left with no option but to retaliate. I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death, he charged. Roll Call Cataloguing the supposed attacks on the NDC followers, Mr Portuphy claimed that the NDC parliamentary candidate for Ejisu Juaben in the Ashanti Region, Gloria Hudze, nearly met her untimely death after some NPP supporters completely damaged her car. The Ejisu police have however, denied the report. Mr. Portuphy continued that Dr. Hannah Louisa Bisiw, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, was also left traumatized after she was attacked and harassed while travelling from Techiman to Accra, insisting that she had to abandon her car. He said NPP members had raided NADMO headquarters and chased out its National Coordinator, Brigadier General Francis Vib Sanziri, while pro-NDC entertainer, Mzbel, had had to move out of her home for fear of further acts of intimidation. Portuphy also claimed that NPP supporters had destroyed lights at the recently commissioned Kwame Nkrumah Interchange as the frenzied jubilation continued. Properties of Sena Okity-Duah, he said, had been destroyed after she lost the Ledzokuku parliamentary seat to NPP's Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye. He further listed attacks on the Brazilian contractors and workers who are working on the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and the alleged killing of an NDC supporter in Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region. We cannot move in NDC paraphernalia the National Chairman, flanked by Deputy (NDC) General Secretary Koku Anyidoho and Director of Elections Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, said. That is democracy indeed, he complained. The NDC chairman warned amidst applause from his backers, We want to say in very clear and unequivocal terms that anybody who tries this after January 7 will not have it easy with the NDC at all. I lie? Blame Game Mr. Portuphy urged the party supporters to stop blaming the executives of the party for the defeat. Some angry NDC members disappointed in the party's defeat have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the party's defeat. A video has since gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office probably to vet his anger on anybody in sight. He nearly beat up National Youth Organiser of the party, Siidi Abubakar, before Peter Otukunor intervened. Open Fire Later in an interaction on Joy FMs 'News Night' yesterday, Kofi Adams defended the order of the partys chairman. He said although the police are doing their best, it is not enough. He quizzed, If someone is holding a stick and heading to your direction will you allow him to strike you with it?- adding that the best action would be to react. Police Speak Meanwhile, the police administration has entreated the NDC to abandon its decision to retaliate the alleged attacks by supposed NPP supporters on its members. Superintendent Cephas Arthur, Police PRO, said NDC members who attack persons who harm them would be infringing on the law. He indicated that the police were in-charge of the situation and had arrested eight persons since the alleged violence started. We are on cases like what happened in the Brong-Ahafo Region where some people burnt down toll booth. Some of them have been granted bail after they were arrested, he disclosed. By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson [email protected] Ms Dzigbordi K. Dosoo, the Founder of Allure Spa in the City, has urged politicians who contested various positions in the December 7 Elections to go through a massage therapy. This she said will heal the psychological trauma, which politicians went through during the electioneering. Ms Dosoo said, elections, just like other competitions, were full tension, anxiety and frustration, which could have adverse effects on contestants. Ms Dosoo, who is also the CEO of Allure, was speaking on the sidelines with the Ghana News Agency during the 10 years anniversary launch of the organisation. She said both outgoing or incoming parliamentarians as well as the presidential candidates ought to go through massage therapy. Those who need stress prevention or stress reduction should engage spas like the Allure Spa for quality service geared to provide rejuvenation and to keep their immune system, she said. Ms Dosoo noted that, those who lost the elections needed more massage because they were more likely to go through psychological trauma and distress. Meanwhile, the CEO dismissed the often held claim that massage and spa services connoted sex trade and luxury. She stated that, massage had nothing to do with prostitution but rather a solution for fighting emotional, physical and psychological strains. In some part of Asia, spa is seen as a place where people go and engage in all sort of sexual activities. But globally, spa is seen as a place for pain relief and healing. A place where people go to experience physical treatment and emotional healing, she said. Ms Dosoo outlined free blood circulation, reduction of blood pressure, high level of alertness and the protection of the immune system against diseases as the primary benefits of massage. She urged the public to patronise the services of Allure spa, adding that the organisation had laid down prudent mechanisms to ensure that quality services are rendered. On 2 December 2016, SBC - a joint venture between UK company Colas and local company SBI Uganda - formally presented its proposal for the Kabaale International Airport project to the Ministry of Works and Transport. The SBC team submitted its proposal to the Ugandan Minister for Works and Transport, Hon. Monica Azuba Ntege, in the presence of Ugandas Attorney General, William Byaruhanga and the British Deputy High Commissioner Mary Shockledge. Following its submission of the proposal, SBC gave a brief presentation. The Kabaale International Airport project is expected to offer immediate benefits in facilitating the movement of materials and manpower for the development of the oil sector in Hoima District, and the Western Uganda region in general. In the longer term, there are expected to be wider benefits for the development of tourism and agriculture in the region. At the event, Deputy High Commissioner Mary Shockledge stressed the importance the UK government attaches to supporting UK companies operating in developing markets such as Uganda. She thanked the Government of Uganda for its work to date on the development of the project. She lso commended Colas UK as a reputable UK firm that has delivered similar projects on time and on budget, meeting high environmental and social safeguarding standards. TOP GUNS of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been admonished to desist from pressuring the president-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to appoint them into his incoming administration. Odeneho Nana Oppong, President of the 'Nana Onetouch 2016 Movement' a group in the NPP which campaigned vigorously to help the party to achieve the massive electoral victory on December 7 gave the piece of advice. According to him, the NPP boasts of several knowledgeable and competent people therefore the probability of the party's members putting pressure on Nana Akufo-Addo to appoint them into his administration is high. Nana Oppong has therefore urged the uncountable academicians in the NPP to exercise patience and allow the president-elect to select the team he believes can help him deliver to the satisfaction of the citizenry. Speaking at a press conference in Kumasi yesterday, he stated that Nana Akufo-Addo knows the capabilities of all the NPP gurus therefore, I am cock sure that the president-elect will select the right people into his administration. He noted that every member in the 'elephant family' has a role to play for the NPP government to succeed, stressing, Nana Addo cannot appoint all of us into his government at a go but we must all rally behind him to succeed. Nana Yaw Gyapong, National Coordinator of the group, appealed to Nana Akufo-Addo to appoint some of the competent youth in the party like Sammi Awuku into his administration to motivate the rest of them (youth). He commended members of his group for working hard to help the party to secure the targeted first-round electoral victory, urging NPP members to continue to explain the party's policies to their opponents. In his succinct remarks, Martin Osei Adu, Patron of the group, admonished NPP members across the country to exercise patience and hope for the best, stressing that Nana Akufo-Addo would fulfill his campaign promises to better their lives. Kwaku Owusu Antwi, another Patron, charged the teeming NPP members to continue to stand firmly behind the president-elect so that he could properly transform the state as he assured during the campaign period. FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi A 30-year-old trader has been apprehended by the Tesano Police for allegedly snatching an unregistered Mercedes Benz from a nursing mother at Roman Ridge in Accra. Agyeman Kweku Kodua allegedly feigned interest in buying the car and while they were going on a test drive, he reportedly snatched the vehicle from the owner. Luck eluded him as a Good Samaritan chased and caught up with him while in traffic at the tunnel linking Abofu and Achimota. He was immediately handed over to the Tesano police for investigation. Briefing DAILY GUIDE, DSP Edward Tetteh, Tesano District Police Commander, said the incident occurred on December 14, 2016. The victim, had pasted her mobile phone numbers on the car and displayed it for sale at the Achimota Mall area. The suspect, upon seeing the vehicle, reportedly made a call to the owner to express interest. He then arranged for his mechanic to meet with the woman for the vehicle to be inspected. After the inspection, Kweku Kodua, according to the police officer, asked the victim to meet him at the Lincoln School area with the vehicle for him to test it before negotiations and payment. On December 14, 2016, the victim was said to have taken the vehicle to the agreed location and when Kweku Kodua showed up they negotiated for the price and agreed on an amount of GH85,000. He agreed to the price and requested that he tests the vehicle. The victim then sat at the passenger side while Kweku Kodua drove the vehicle for a while. Upon reaching a spot at Roman Ridge, the suspect allegedly asked the victim to take over the steering and drive the vehicle while he sat at the passenger side. Immediately the victim got out of the car to take over the steering, Kweku Kodua purportedly sped off with the vehicle. The victim raised an alarm and with the help of a Good Samaritan, he was chased and arrested. By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey ([email protected]) Seven people have been arrested in connection with the death of a Lincoln man whose body was found Thursday morning wrapped in blankets and carpet in the trunk of a car, Lincoln police said Friday. According to court documents, police received information that 41-year-old Jamie Watson was killed in a house at 215 Fairfield St. Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said he couldn't confirm that, but local police searched the house Friday morning. Court documents say Watson suffered a gunshot wound and was possibly dead on Wednesday. An autopsy was performed Friday. The chief said his death appears to be drug-related. A neighbor on Fairfield Street said he's suspected the people living in the house were involved in selling drugs. The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he saw many cars come and go from the split-level house that stands out in the neighborhood because trash is strewn about and the house itself is in disrepair. Sometimes, the neighbor said, the same car would return with different license plates on it. Police have been called to the house 47 times since 2013, including 27 times this year. On Thursday, police arrested Jamez Henderson, 32, on suspicion of second-degree murder, and Omaha police arrested Sidney Jackson, 25. Jackson, Juanita Lara, 31, and Stacey Bigelow, 27, of Lincoln, were arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting murder. The car in which Watson's body was found belongs to Bigelow, according to court documents. Three others -- Brandi Bond, 22, listed as a transient, Ronald Auzenne, 19, of Glendale, Arizona, and Ivon Butler, 19, of Phoenix -- were arrested on suspicion of accessory to a felony. Police believe those people either helped move Watson's body or had knowledge of the homicide, Bliemeister said. He said he didn't know what they planned to do with the body. Police found nearly 10 ounces of meth and a small amount of marijuana in a car Lara, Bigelow and Henderson were in early Thursday morning, documents say. The two women have been cited on suspicion of possession with the intent to deliver, although both have denied the drugs were theirs. Police began looking for Henderson after finding Watson's body in the trunk of a Buick at Northwood Terrace apartments, 1025 N. 23rd St., about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. They struggled with Henderson in the parking lot, but he got away. Lara and Bigelow were arrested at the complex. Henderson was spotted leaving the 215 Fairfield St. house with three other people in a Pontiac G6 at 12:35 p.m. Thursday. Police tailed the car to a convenience store at 6801 Wildcat Drive, where officers tried to detain Henderson at gunpoint. According to court documents, he managed to get into the driver's seat of the Pontiac and drive off. Police came across Henderson again an hour later near Interstate 80 and 27th Street, riding in the same car. An officer tried to cuff him there, but Henderson pushed the driver out of the seat, got behind the wheel and took off again, this time with the handcuffs still attached to one wrist, Bliemeister said. He crashed the car into a creek in a field near Interstate 80 and took off running, the chief said. Bond, Auzenne and Butler were in the Pontiac with Henderson, Bliemeister said. Authorities searched a wooded area near TownePlace Suites, a hotel near the interstate, for a couple of hours before finding Henderson hiding behind a cedar tree. They arrested him at 2:40 p.m. Police reports show Henderson had three separate bags of meth on him totaling an ounce and a half when he was arrested. Henderson spent 12 years in an Arizona prison on charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and armed robbery. He was released in December 2015. Jackson spent four years in prison on a charge of first-degree assault after shooting a man in the chest with a shotgun in 2009. He was released in 2014. Watson himself completed a 10-year prison sentence for robbery out of Douglas County in July. His death marks the city's 10th homicide in 2016, matching Lincoln's previous most deadly year in 1987. There is uneasy calm at the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) over some ongoing promotions. DAILY GUIDE intercepted wireless message dated Tuesday, December 13, 2016 from the Human Resource Department of GIS and signed by one Chief Superintendent Faisal Disu for and on behalf of the Controller-General. The memo titled, 'submission of Curriculum Vitae for promotion interview,' which was addressed to all management members, regional commanders, the commandant, Immigration Service Academy and Training School, sector commanders, departmental and sectional heads and controls, asked the selected officers to submit their Curriculum Vitae for promotion from the rank of Assistant Commissioner to Deputy Commissioner. The list includes eight Assistant Commissioners: Louis Francis Aikins, Laud Ofori Afriffah, Eric Afari, Prosper Price Delali Asima, Isaac Owusu Mensah, Robert Kwadzo Abofra, Peter Claver Nantuo and Isaac Luortey. It said, I am directed to inform you that the attached list of senior officers have been shortlisted for promotions to the next higher ranks. They are to submit copies of their CVs to the Human Resource Department not later than 30th December, 2016. Please inform them accordingly. The timing of these promotions has raised eyebrows in the Service. There are reports of mass promotions in various government agencies with less than a month for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to hand over to the incoming NPP administration led by Nana Akufo-Addo. Similar promotions are said to be taking place at other government agencies such as Ghana Maritime Authority where the Director General, Peter Azumah has been in office for more than 15 years. The question is why are they in a hurry to promote people at this time? some officers quizzed. Such promotions are usually politically motivated, we wonder why they want to do it on the blind side of the incoming administration, according to them. By Charles Takyi-Boadu The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Weija/Gbawe, Rosemond Comfort Abrah has provided a new six unit classroom block with headteacher's office and teachers' common room for the New Gbawe Cluster of Schools in her constituency. Inaugurating the new classroom block, the Weija/Gbawe MP, who is a member of the Education Committee, said the classroom is to help ease the congestion in the school. The Junior High School (JHS) runs on shift system as a result of the congestion in the school. She asked the teachers to dedicate themselves to their work since the future of the children would be determined by their commitment and hard work. As a teacher myself, I have always been encouraging teachers to always give off their best because the teacher is satisfied when his students pass well in the exams. The Head of the Education Management Information System of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Office in the Ga South Municipality, Ramatu Gariba, thanked the MP for the gesture which she said would go a long way to help boost teaching and learning in the school. She appealed to the MP to help support some of the pupils with scholarships to enable them further their education. In another development, the MP has completely renovated the Methodist Cluster of Schools also in Gbawe in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region. By Thomas Fosu Jnr High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the leading risk factor for death and disability globally. The situation, initially known to be 'predominant' in developed countries, is becoming increasingly prevalent in lower middle income countries, including those within the West African sub-region. Ghana is, indeed, no exception to this public health threat. It currently records a significant increase in the prevalence of the disease with about a quarter of the population suffering from hypertension. The 'silent killer' remains unknown to majority of the population, especially those affected. Effective control of hypertension continues to be fought with access and adherence to available treatment. Amidst these challenges, the Novartis Foundation, with Ann Aerts as its head, believes simple and affordable steps to integrate routine blood pressure checks into the community, using chemists and other allied health professionals in partnership with existing healthcare settings, could play a major role. This is innovative, Prof Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explained. Ann Aerts and Prof Piot both spoke to Kobby Blay of Ghanaealthnest.com at the ' Talking NCDs' health dialogue organised by the Novartis Foundation and Novartis Access in Basel, Switzerland. The event brought together global health leaders to discuss how to improve care for chronic patients in lower income countries. It focused on the Novartis Foundation's telemedicine and the community-based hypertension improvement project (ComHIP) challenges and successes achieved so far since its implementation, together with the health authorities in Ghana and its other partners. UNICEF Ghana commemorated its 70 years of tireless work for children with a meeting with influential goodwill partners it has been working with to advocate children to interact and share ideas on moving the children agenda forward. As it launched the 'Child Poverty & Equity Campaign' this year, UNICEF partnered with personalities such as Noella Wiyaala, Rebecca Acheampong, Ameyaw Debrah, Francisca Forson and Gary Al-Smith. These personalities who were influential, particularly on social media, took up steps to advocate Ghana's most vulnerable to help spark conversation and drive change through their various platforms. The celebration brought together the above named personalities, as well as media personalities like this reporter, Winifred Affum of Ghana Television and Gabriel Ashong of Metro Television who through their platforms have contributed to making the issue of sanitation in Ghana a principal part of the country's agenda. The meeting over dinner also had UNICEF Representative, Susan Ngondi, Deputy UNICEF representative, Rushnan Murtaza, and the communication team in attendance. It's amazing how further we can get when we collaborate. We have been able to reach a wide range of people through our goodwill partners as well as inspire young people particularly to talk about the issues that affect them and drive change in their communities, Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Ghana Representative. The meeting with the goodwill partners was also aimed at sharing ideas on future collaboration to continue to raise awareness and advocate the protection of children's rights to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. It's been great working with UNICEF so far but there's more work to be done though. I say thank you to UNICEF for the experience, UNICEF Goodwill Partner, Gary Al-Smith, said. UNICEF was established to bring help and hope to children whose lives and futures were at risk. Our mission is no less urgent today. As UNICEF gives children hope, children are the world's hope for a better future for all of us, Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, said. BY Jamila Akweley Okertchiri Daniel Aseidu, one of the suspects in the murder of J. B. Danquah-Adu, Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, has quizzed a District Court in Accra as to what was going on in his case. Asiedu said: My lord, I don't understand what is going on. I don't understand the beginning and the end of the matter. Please have the Police finished with investigations. What causes delay at the Attorney General's Office? Asiedu during court proceedings raise his hand up to address the Court and said: Please My Lord I want you to help me. I need some toiletries to use in cells. I pray the court to order the Police to also release my phone so I can give it to my pregnant girlfriend residing at Agbogbloshie. The Court presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu explaining the trial proceedings to Asiedu aka Sexy Dondon said the Police had completed their investigations and forwarded a duplicate docket to the Attorney General's (AG's) Office for advice. According to the judge, based on the advice of the AG the Court would then commence with a committal process which would enable him appear before the High Court for trial to commence. If the evidence of the Police supports the facts then I would have to ask you certain questions at the Court, the Judge noted. On the other hand if the AG fails to establish any case against you, I will make it known to you. Let's pray that the advice of the AG is received early. On Asiedu's request for access to his mobile phone, the Judge explained that: For now, you cannot get access to your mobile phone because it's one of the exhibits tendered by the Police. The Judge therefore advised Asiedu to communicate through his father who constantly pays him visits in cells to the pregnant girl-friend. Meanwhile it is on record that Association of State Attorneys is on an indefinite strike which has negatively affected criminal cases at the various courts nationwide. The Association on October 19 this year, declared an indefinite strike over government's failure to meet their salary demands. Vincent Bosso, an accomplice on the other hand requested the Court to order the Police to send him to a barbering shop to have his bushy hair shaved. Their counsel, Mr Obuor was not in court. The case has been adjourned to December 28. The facts of the case are that: Asiedu aka Sexy Dondon and Vincent Bosso are being held for murder of the late MP in an incident which occurred on February 9, 2016, at the MP's Shaishie residence. Bosso has been charged with abetment of crime, to wit, murder and both pleas had not been taken. GNA Cyprus State University and IQJET ARTISIA Company will open the most advanced bioprinting laboratory next year. The project will be in collaboration of NextGene Biosystem (Blagoveshchensk, Russia), Amur State Medical Academy (Amur region, Russia) and IQDEMY SA Holding (IQJET ARTISIA Company is a part of the Holding, Switzerland). NextGene Biosystem and Amur State Medical Academy are leading science organizations for research on tissue engineering (cell engineering) and health technology in Russia. Research activity at the new bioprinting laboratory will target development of disease treatment based on application of 3D printing for tissue engineering (structural cell changes). Currently, IQ ARTISIA and NextGeneBiosystem are jointly developing an innovative bioprinter that creates a kind of artificial skin for patients with skin burns and scalds as well as tropical ulcer. The bioprinting laboratory is a result of the long-term collaboration between IQDEMY SA and NextGene. It all started with joint research at IQDEMY CHEMISTRY laboratories in Novosibirsk, Russia. The laboratory is located in Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, a hub of companies from the IT, pharmaceutical, metallurgy and fossil fuels industries. The area is also sometimes called Silicon Forest. IQDEMY CHEMISTRYs expertise encompasses research of material rheological properties, bio-ink and bioprinter engineering, meeting both biotechnology and digital printing requirements. Bioprinting as well as 3D printing are promising fields of research for solutions for bio-cellular printing will undoubtedly advance medical science and implantology. This is one of the reasons why the bioprinting industry gets popular among scientists and potential investors thus being a topic that is raised and discussed with ever increasing frequency by scientific communities. Last August, the Biointerfaces International Conference (BIC), one of the significant events of this industry, took place in Switzerland. The conference was organized by the University of Zurich. At the conference, Doctor George Guttinger specified the need for establishing a bioprinting laboratory in Europe that would cater to global demands for this technology. This vision inspired ARTISIA IQJet company and initiated a meeting of Vladislav Mirchev (IQDEMY SA President), Olga Kondratieva (IQDEMY SA Development Director) and the Head of the University of Cyprus. Vladislav Mirchev and Olga Kondratieva represented ARTISIA IQJet Company. The meeting was organized by KPMG Company. KPMG is a professional service company, being one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, EY and PwC. On the other hand, KPMG is ARTISIA IQJets official auditor. Further, Mr. Angelos M Gregoriades (KPMG Cyprus Chairman) and Mr. Tassos Yiasemides (KPMG Cyprus Board Member) attended the event on behalf of KPMG. The companies representatives discussed possibilities for joint investment in a bioprinting laboratory project. As a result, Artisia IQJet and University of Cyprus decided to start the scientific project for bioprinting industry research and development. The project initiators are convinced, that joint research a the new bioprinting laboratory by NextGene Biosystem, Amur State Medical Academy and IQDEMY Chemistry as well as European Scientists will help to achieve scientific breakthroughs in bioprinting. Dear Legal Luminaries, It had, and has always been my intention to consult you for free legal advice with regard to the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy wrangling and particularly, on a role the Chief Justice has played that makes me doubt her integrity. Procrastination is said to be the thief of time. If I do not seek the advice now, it will be very difficult for me to contact especially, Brother Martin Amidu, for any such future advice once he is offered any ministerial post in the government of the NPP by President-elect Nana Akufo Addo. I expect him to be part of President Nana Akufo Addos NPP government. I have immense respect for both of you when it comes to legal discourses in relation to being of selfless service to your people and country Ghana hence my long desire to drink from your overflowing fountain of legal wisdom. You might have heard or read about the ongoing Kumawu chieftaincy dispute with all the attendant breaches of both constitutional and traditional laws. I shall not go into details but will rather restrict myself to a role the Chief Justice seems to have played that has unsettled my mind and since kept me fuming. The supposed paramount chief of Kumawu, Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua who in private life is Dr. Yaw Sarfo, untraditionally, unconventionally and unconstitutionally removed four Kumawu sub-chiefs from office when he was fraudulently sworn in as Kumawu Omanhene. They were Kumawu Akwamuhene Nana Akwasi Bafo II, Kumawu Aduanahene Nana Sarfo Agyekum, the late Kumawu Akyempemhene Nana Okyere Krapa and Kumawu Sumankwaahene Nana Okyere Darko Fordwuor. The below web links are references to their illegal destoolment and other committed malpractices surrounding the enstoolment of Dr. Yaw Sarfo as Kumawuhene going by the stool name Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua. https://www.modernghana.com/news/589565/1/kumawuhene-sends-a-manipulative-letter-to-police-c.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8wZIPlVu8 After a few failed attempts to get justice done to the sub-chiefs as the Kumasi lawyers and judges were probably being influenced by a powerful overlord, a Mampong High Court judge, a professional and a man of integrity, finally sat on the case and determined it according to the stipulations of the Chieftaincy Act and the 1992 Ghana Constitution. The destoolment of the sub-chiefs by Kumawuhene Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua was declared null and void by the judge. The sub-chiefs were declared victorious in their suit against their illegal destoolment. While the case was still pending in court, Barima Sarfo Tweneboa Kodua enthroned another person as the Kumawu Akwamuhene in the person of one Nana Kwarteng Amanin. This newly-installed Akwamuhene went to the house where the stool regalia and other properties belonging to the Akwamuhene stool are kept, forced himself into the room, helped himself and started behaving in the capacity as the new or the replacement Akwamuhene. When the Mampong High Court judge made a ruling in favour of Nana Akwasi Bafo II, the supposedly deposed Kumawu Akwamuhene, he returned to the court to seek orders. The issuance of the would-be orders is understood by me, a layman in the law profession, to have given an extra legal backing that could have authorised the police to accompany Nana Akwasi Bafo II to access the stool room. When he had served the court notice of request for the orders, he returned a week or two later only to be informed of a letter coming from the Chief Justice, Mrs. Theodora Georgina Wood ,subsequent upon which proceedings were adjourned sine die. She had directed the case to be transferred to a Kumasi High Court. In a follow up letter, she had directed the case to be heard by a particular High Court judge at a particular branch of the Kumasi High Court. From my inquiries, the registrars of both the Kumawu Traditional Council and Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs had petitioned the Chief Justice that the judge was biased in his ruling so they could see him to be biased in the next case pending before him in which they had been issued a mandamus to produce a true certified copy of the forms filled out by Dr. Yaw Sarfo upon the authenticity and acceptance of which he was gazetted as Kumawu Omanhene. Following their petition and failure to produce the said document in which the sub-chiefs and many a Kumawuman subject suspected a foul play, the Chief Justice for reasons only best known to her, took the action she did and also, has since transferred the judge from Mampong to Bolgatanga. Being a subject of Kumawuman, I have vested interest to ensure that nothing, but absolute justice prevails in the ongoing Kumawuman chieftaincy dispute to help bring peace and tranquility and essential infrastructural development to Kumawuman. Are the actions so far taken by the Chief Justice to presumably forestall the acceleration of processes to creditably bring the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute to a closure, legal and devoid of any selfish interest, collusions, corruption and malpractices? I mean no malice but I want to understand the legal implications of her actions. I shall be happy if you could volunteer advice before I publish my laymans views about the Chief Justice as regards her interventions in the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute with its attendant legal wrangling. I can be contacted on email address [email protected] Yours Sincerely, Rockson Adofo Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Dr Anthony Akoto Osei has bemoaned what he called pressure on the President Elect for ministerial appointment. His call came at a time many lists are making round the social media purporting to be proposed names of minister constituting the next government. Speaking on Onua Fm morning show with Bright Kwesi Asempa, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei said the President Elect should be given free hands and room to appoint capable hands to lead the country. At a meeting with the party National Executive Committee (NEC) in Accra, President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo, has asked for more time to enable him name ministers who will serve in his government from January. Although the meeting was reported ended without decision being taken, Akufo-Addo rather asked for more time. Both the main stream media and the social media are flooded with speculated lists of purported ministers who will be working in the next NPP administration for the next four years. Below is the list of some of the purported potential ministers who will be governing with the president elect between 2017 and 2020. 1. Chief of Staff - Hackman Owusu Agyemang 2. Minister of Trade & Industry - Alan Kyeremanteng 3. Minister of Communications - Mustafa Hamid 4. Minister of Finance - Anthony Osei Akoto 5. Minister of Health - Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh 6. Minister of Interior - Dr. Addo Kuffour 7. Minister of Defense - Ken Dapaah 8. Attorney General - Ayikoi Otoo 9. Minister of Justice - Martin Amidu 10. Ministry of Agric - Dr. Akoto Osei But Dr Anthony Akoto Osei maintained that the names are mere speculations since the president elect has not finished his consultation and therefore finds it difficult how people are putting undue pressure on Nana Addo. The appointment is for the president to do and he is doing series of consultation so those who are visiting him should exercise some patience, we should give him room to do his work, he is the president and I believe he will come out with experience hands to help him Dr Anthony Akoto Osei said various groups are calling on the president elect daily, as well as some chiefs but I think these are all pressures although expected but we need to be mindful our lobbying for now since it can create a lot of problems for the party, we dont want to reach situation where people will be grumbling because their choice is not picked What people forget is even when their choices are selected; they have to go through parliamentary approval and I am not sure they want us to repeat what NDC has done The vital role of journalists, in safeguarding human rights and democracy around the world, is in contrast to human right abuses and corruption amongst others. As a result, journalists, in their quest to access and disseminate information, are confronted with intolerance and brutalities on the part of the wrongdoers. According to UNESCO, 700 journalists have been killed for reporting news and bringing information into the public domain and that, in nine out of ten cases, the killers go unpunished. It is important to note that apart from conflict zones, it is mainly independent journalists who are subjected to arbitrary detention and torture by dictatorial regimes. Journalists in exposing rampant corruption and the abuses by security forces are usually targeted and manhandled. Two French journalists, Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, were killed on the 2nd of November 2013 while reporting in Mali. The United Nations General Assembly, in commemoration of their assassination, adopted Resolution A/RES/68/163 at its 68th session 2013 which proclaimed 2nd November as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). Through this milestone decision, the UN denounces any assault against journalists and media practitioners. However, it is the responsibility of all democrats and peace loving people around the world to promote a safe and enabling working environment for journalists in order to ensure accountability in the management of the affairs of the people. Journalists should exercise their duties in the most impartial manner without undue interference mainly on the part the State. The All Africa Students Union (AASU), on the occasion of IDEI, wishes to pay tribute to the memories of all journalists who lost their lives in line of duty. Without a free press, humanity will be plunged into information darkness whereby the rights of people will not be respected. AASU condemns violence against and killing of journalists and any act aimed at preventing them to exercise their duty freely without any undue influence or hindrance. We urge all member and well-meaning organizations to support and promote the rights of journalists and media practitioners for a safe and enabling working environment. Long live the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists! All encouragement to journalists! Awaah Fred (Secretary General) www.aasuonline.org ; [email protected]/[email protected] ; +233(0)243101626 Economists and financial analyst are divided on their advice to the incoming government led by President elect Nana Akuffo Addo on either to continue to run the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program with Ghana or to review it first before continuing. Any sides the incoming government takes has a negative consequence on the economy and to the government. But, with inference from some of the comments of the economists, it is likely the NPP government will renegotiate Ghanas deal with the IMF in a bid to stabilize the economy. According to some of the economists, renegotiating aspects of the IMF deal will save the country from further increase in its debts. Economist Dr Adu Sarkodie has expressed that the new government must restructure the deal to grow the economy. We must renegotiate certain parts of the IMF deal. One of the items that have contributed to the slow effectiveness of the program is that they have front loaded the policies and programs and have kept the money. So in other words I go into a deal with you, I expect you to take certain good steps before I hand you the money but it has not been the case in the previous IMF programs. He added, So I think that this time round the IMF should rather front load the money. They should frontload about 70% of the remaining 50% for us to stabilize because the macroeconomic stability is the most important thing. Ghanas three-year agreement with the IMF which will see the disbursement of a total of 918 million dollars (USD 918,000,000), was approved on April 3, 2015. The program aims to restore debt sustainability and macroeconomic stability in the country; to foster a return to high growth and job creation, while protecting social spending. Meanwhile Dr Adu Sarkodie has cautioned the incoming administration to be cautious of some economic fundamentals in order to propel economic growth. If we are not vigilant and the exchange rate gets out of hand, it is going to multiply the external debt. Right now what we need to do is research our debt and grow our economy. he concluded. Ghana has so far received a total of about US$464.6 million as disbursements from the IMF. The latest was on September 28, 2016. The completion of the third review of Ghanas economic performance by the Executive Board of the Fund led to the disbursement of US$116.2 million. A judge has sentenced a 56-year-old man to 10 to 15 years in prison for getting caught in August with nearly 13 ounces of methamphetamine. Estevan Espinoza Alcala pleaded no contest to attempted possession. On Aug. 18, 2015, the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force searched the mobile home where he was living near 42nd Street and Cornhusker Highway and found the meth packaged in 13 bags, along with $6,732 cash that included $150 law enforcement had used to make undercover buys. Espinoza told police he had been selling about 1 pounds of meth a month in Lincoln for the past three months, according to court records. In court Thursday, Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Jennifer Houlden said Espinoza was sorry but felt he had no choice because of pressure put on him by people in Mexico. Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong said the seriousness of the crime required an extensive sentence. Good news coming in has it that, the Tema Oil Refinery after several calls by energy experts and civil society organisations is preparing to refine crude from the Tweneboa, Enyera and Ntomme (TEN) oil field. The news was confirmed by the management of TOR after it took stocks of crude from the TEN oil field to test run to identify the structures and component of the crude and to also determine whether the Ghanas premier and only refinery can refine the crude. TOR begun a test run on about one million barrels of crude oil from the TEN fields in the Western Region to establish whether or not the oil is compatible with the refinerys Crude Distillation Unit (CDU). The crude oil from the TEN fields was discharged to the refinery last week Monday, December 12, 2016 from an oil tanker vessel, the Bordeira, that docked at the single point mooring (SPM) facility at the Tema Port last week Saturday. The test run will afford officials of TOR the opportunity to identify the structure and nature of the crude oil and the various yields it would generate when processed. The management of the refinery is also expected to use the test run to determine whether the crude oil could be optimised by blending it to improve the quality of the yields if need be. The Managing Director of TOR, Mr Kwame Awuah-Darko, has expressed that expectations were that the crude oil would yield high-quality gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), aviation turbine kerosene (ATK), among other petroleum products. According to him, the revamping of the CDU to 45,000 barrels per stream day (bpsd) was expected to marginally reduce TORs operational cost and further improve on its efficiency. He was of the view that the delivery of the locally produced crude oil formed part of TORs strategy to produce at a flat price to improve the commercial viability of TOR. However, energy analyst, Kwame Jantuah called for the expansion of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in order to be able to refine much, if not all, crude from Ghanaian production fields for local consumption. According to Mr Jantuah, the country cannot continue to import refined oil while holding huge stocks of crude in its reserves. Currently, all the oil produced at Jubilee and TEN fields are exported in their raw form. He is of the view that, We have jubilee, in six years weve got the TEN project going. After TEN, there are others coming into production. OCTP, Sankofa is also coming into production. Government has signed nearly 20 oil contracts with companies who have blocks. They will all start production between 2018 and 2025. So you can see the amount of oil revenue that is going to come into the economy. So if that is the case, are we still going by the same mantra we went with cocoa, we went with gold where we are exporting whole? Or do we say that a certain portion will be exported whole and value will be added to a certain portion? Now where TOR is concerned, we will need to expand it to be able to refine our own fuel for Ghanaians. The key there is that you do now have to expend foreign exchange out in bringing refined petroleum products in and to be able to do that you need a good refinery and you save a lot of money that way, he added. However, the Petroleum Minister, Hon. Kofi Armah Buah recently revealed that, he will be very happy if TOR is able to refine Ghanas crude. He added, although TOR is in talks with GNPC for supply of crude from TEN field. Currently, TEN production is at 23,000 bpd which is adequate for the TOR to take full supply since it has 45,000 bpd refinery capacity. Moreover, the Petroleum Commission is confident more oil would be discovered in the very near future to the benefit of the economy. The commission has licensed several companies to prospect for oil and gas both onshore and off-shore. The companies are stepping up exploration activities towards finding oil-rich wells in the country. Commercial production of oil at the countrys 2nd major oil field, Tweneboah Enyenra Ntomme (TEN) commenced few months ago 5 years after a similar exercise on the countrys first, the Jubilee field. The Technical Advisor to the Commission Nii Adjei-Akpor said the prospects for more oil find are high. I think right now we have about 15 oil licenses awarded with each company supposed to do a thorough work on the block they have taken. By doing that they would be able to confirm some of the prospects that have been identified, he said. He said apart from the old companies the rest are all at the exploratory stage adding the success rate depends on the prospects these new companies identify. Accra, 16th December, 2016 Jumia Travel, Africas leading online hotel booking website has taken another giant step in satisfying its loyal customers by ranking the various hotels taking into consideration the reviews and comments these customers place on their website. This exercise which is dubbed the Jumia Travel Customers Choice Selection is primarily aimed at showing customers the hotels who performed creditably well, and are recommended by the company. The basic criteria used in this selection process was based on the number of good reviews the hotel gets from its customers all year round. On www.travel.jumia.com , one of the things we do to break down the barriers of travelling in Africa, is listing reviews of hotels by Jumia Travel customers. After staying at the hotel, every customer rates the hotel between 0 and 10 on different dimensions like security, accessibility staff and comfort and might add more specific feedback to the review. The objective is twofold: the reviews help future Jumia Travel customers to choose their perfect place to stay, and at the same time they help hotels to improve their services. We believe that these two together contribute to growing the hospitality and tourism business on the continent - said Eduard Meyjes, Global head of Revenue Management. Claire Staal, MD of Jumia Travel Ghana also added Anytime I want to make a booking or buy a product, I need to check for reviews from other people who have used the product or service. This gives me the confidence to either buy the product or use the service. This Customer Selection Choice will further enhance the already existing great relationship between Jumia Travel and our hotel partners as well as give customers more assurance that the hotels they have doubts about are actually great because other guests like them have used the service. Hotel managers have expressed content about becoming part of the Customers' Choice selection initiative. About Jumia Travel Jumia Travel ( travel.jumia.com ) is Africa's No.1 hotel booking website, allowing you to get the best prices for more than 25,000 hotels in Africa and more than 200,000 hotels around the world. Our ambition is to bring every bit of available accommodation online, and to create the easiest and cheapest way for customers to book it. At Jumia Travel, we have hundreds of travel specialists constantly in touch with our customers. Our offices are located in Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Algiers (Algeria), Douala (Cameroon), Kampala (Uganda), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Nairobi (Kenya) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Before June 2016, Jumia Travel was known as Jovago. Jumia Travel was founded in 2013 by Jumia and is backed by MTN, Rocket Internet, Millicom, Orange, Axa and financial partners. 16.12.2016 LISTEN Gold Fields Limited (Gold Fields) (JSE, NYSE: GFI) has announced the retirement of Messrs Kofi Ansah and Alan Hill as non-executive directors of the Gold Fields Board of Directors with effect from 31 December 2016. Gold Fields Chairperson Cheryl Carolus thanked Messrs Ansah and Hill for their valuable contribution and the enormous depth of experience they brought to the board over the many years in which they served as directors. Mr Ansah has been a Gold Fields director since April 2004 and Mr Hill since August 2009. We wish them everything of the best in their future endeavours, Ms Carolus added. Between 1 July and 1 September 2016 Gold Fields appointed four new non-executive directors to the Board to ensure continuity of the skills set as a number of the directors were approaching retirement age over the next two years. In addition to Messrs Ansah and Hill, former director David Murray also retired from the Board on 1 June 2016. Newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representatives to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), H.E. Gamal Elsheikh Ahmed, has presented his Credentials to the AU Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on 13 December 2016. The AU Commission Chairperson welcomed and congratulated the new Permanent Representative, noting that the AU does a lot of work with Sudan, and looked forward to the usual support and collaboration of his country. After presenting his Credentials, Ambassador Gamal Elsheikh Ahmed, thanked the Chairperson for accepting his credentials, assuring her of his commitment and support in the discharge of her duties. The Chairperson wished him a successful tour of duty, as the Union looks forward to huge programme in the January 2017 Summit of Heads of State and Government. The Ketu North Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabriel Kwasi Awudi, has expressed appreciation for what he described as an increase in their votes during the just ended general elections in the constituency. The Ketu North Constituency has been identified as one of the hotbeds of political activities in the region, which features fierce contests between the two major political parties; the National Democratic Congress and New Patriotic Party. A former Volta Regional Minister under erstwhile Kuffour's Administration, Kofi Dzamesi, has been making strides in the constituency to unseat his opponent Dr. James Avedzi, the incumbent Member of Parliament. For instance, in 2008, Mr Dzamesi polled close to 11,000 votes making the area a fertile ground for the NPP. Results from this year's elections saw a significant leap of more than 15,000 votes with a difference of about 10,000 votes relative to that of the incumbent who is going for the fourth time. The obvious support for Dzamesi especially people from the district capital Dzodze, where he hails from, was evident in the skirt and blouse voting pattern revealed in the recent elections where some NDC sympathizers threw their support for Kofi Dzamesi at the detriment of their Parliamentary Candidate. The party's prospects in the constituency according to Chairman Gabriel Awudi, could be attributed to the selfless contributions of constituency executives under his leadership, and the unflinching support from the Mr. Kofi Dzamesi who but for the constituents' stronger bond with the NDC, could have snatched the seat at ease. What worked the magic for us was the hard work exhibited by the executives and continuous support from Hon Kofi Dzamesi and the Regional Chairman Hon Peter John Amewu. Kofi Dzamesi has the charisma and most people love him but because of their strong ties with the NDC it was challenging to sail through he stated However, the Constituency Chairman thanked the constituents for their continuous resolve to change the status quo and reassured them of the incoming governments pledge to enhance the lives of the people. We are very grateful to the people of Ketu North for believing in the NPP government and we promise never to let them down. We are very confident of taking over Ketu North in years to come judging from our previous performances he added. By: King Nobert Akplablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana 16.12.2016 LISTEN The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, will be strongly sanctioned if he tries to stay in power, the UNs regional envoy, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, is quoted as saying by the Daily Graphic. Yahya Jammeh, who lost power through the recently held general elections after being in power for 22 years, has sent the military to virtually seize the Gambian Electoral Commission headquarters, claiming that the polls were full of irregularities and must, therefore, be re-run. The action has already been condemned by the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Kin Moon. The army could compromise 'sensitive electoral materials, he has been quoted as saying. Some ECOWAS member heads of state, comprising of President John Dramani Mahama, Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, have already visited the tiny West African nation, but Jammeh still insists on hanging on to power meaning the diplomatic efforts have failed. International media reports suggest that ECOWAS would be discussing The Gambian crisis at its next meeting, which is scheduled for this Saturday (tomorrow). The leaders, according to some reports, are considering military intervention, now that the persuasion of Jammeh to respect the will of his people has failed. But, per the Daily Graphic report, Mr. Mohammed Chambas is not in favour of the military intervention. For Mr. Jammeh, the end is here, and under no circumstances can he continue to be president, Chamabas said, but still insists that military intervention is not the option, and that sanctions must rather be applied. The Chronicle understands Mr. Chambas, because, as a career diplomat, this is how he would talk. We, nevertheless, have problems with his stance, because any economic sanctions imposed on Jammeh would not affect him (Jammeh), but rather the people of The Gambia who would suffer. Imposing travel bans on him and his senior government officials too is not punitive enough to force him out of power. It is based on these factors that we think ECOWAS must apply force to get the tyrant out of power. The Chronicle has been following the debate, where some university professors in Ghana have argued in support of Chambas' position. To these professors, what happened in Libya and Iraq among others should guide ECOWAS to avoid toeing similar lines. This is no doubt a reasonably argument, but, again, it would be wrong to compare what happened in the aforementioned countries to the situation in The Gambia. The people of Gambia went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted to kick Yahya Jammeh out of power. This means that the people themselves are calling for change, unlike Libya and Iraq, where, despite all the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein and Gadhafi, they still had the support of the majority of the people. Controversial Jammeh, we understand, has gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the results, yet he does not see anything wrong in sending his soldiers to surround the Electoral Commission headquarters, with the sole aim of intimidating the workers. Clearly, Jammeh is only using the so-called irregularities to cancel the elections through the back door, and then perpetuate himself in power. There is no way this coup maker would step down for Adama Barrow, the legitimate choice of the people of The Gambia, to lead the country. He is afraid of his own shadow, having committed atrocious crimes, including the gruesome murder of Ghanaians on false charges of invading his country to overthrow him. Now that stability has been restored to both Sierra Leone and Liberia, ECOWAS and the international community should not allow this monster to cause instability in the sub-region again. The Chronicle is happy that the US Embassy in Banjul is talking tough and has already demanded that the security forces be withdrawn from the Electoral Commission headquarters, saying the unnecessary and unprovoked show of force is seen as a move to subvert the democratic process. It is the hope of The Chronicle that other world powers would join in condemning Jammeh and help in forcing him out of power. The time for Jammeh to leave the scene is now, and nothing must delay that! The Secretary-General is following developments regarding the formation of a new Government in Guinea-Bissau closely, notably the decisions taken by President Jose Mario Vaz in this regard on 12 December 2016 and the statement by the Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) of 13 December 2016, distancing itself from the new Cabinet. He urges the Bissau-Guinean political stakeholders to demonstrate goodwill and a spirit of compromise to take advantage of the Conakry Accord of 10 September 2016 as an important first step in the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Roadmap aimed at ending the political impasse and restoring institutional viability in Guinea Bissau. The Secretary-General encourages ECOWAS to continue to support the efforts of the Bissau-Guinean leaders towards this end. He is looking forward to the pertinent decisions of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government at their Summit on 17 December 2016 in Abuja to facilitate full implementation of the Conakry Agreement. His Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Modibo I. Toure will continue working closely with all the stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau, in close collaboration with ECOWAS, the African Union and other key partners towards a definitive solution to the institutional crisis. The 2nd Africa Mining Summit came to a close today in Dar es Salam. The Africa Mining Summit was comprised of a two-day conference including extensive presentations and panel discussions on all aspects related to the continents ongoing mining and mineral resource development efforts, an exhibition, a matchmaking 1-2-1 sessions, various networking breaks and a cultural dining experience. The objective of the Summit was to enable delegates to establish valuable connections and relationship in a relaxed and professional environment. On the margins of the Summit, the African Union Commission (AUC) held an interactive African Union Ministers Symposium under the leadership of the Commissioner for Trade and Industry, H.E. Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl. The First-Ten Year Plan of the Agenda 2063 stated that the Africa Mining Vision, within the framework of the Agenda 2063 aims for a transparent, equitable, and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad based sustainable growth and socioeconomic development on the continent. This is to be achieved through creation of downstream (manufacturing), up stream (mining capital goods, consumables and services industry), side stream (power, logistics, water, communications) linkages for mineral beneficiation; building of mutually beneficial partnership between the state, private sector and civil society in the exploitation of mineral wealth and developing capacity for building a comprehensive knowledge base of member states mineral resources and development process. It is with this in mind that the AUC co-organised the AMSII. In her keynote speech the Commissioner pointed out that Africa is at Crossroads as people in Africa are still poor even though countries are rich. She evocated the fact that countries are not homogeneous as some are fragmented or rushing into middle class economies, some embroiled in conflicts or land-locked or others considered as LDCs. She also mentioned two key things that unite Africa, namely the growing young population and abundant resources (human and natural). According to Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl, these abundant resources are underutilized and the challenge for Africa is not about poverty but the countries inability to turn the abundant resources into wealth and assets. For the Commissioner, regional Integration with no borders, harmonization of policies, legal, fiscal regimes and regulatory framework to harness the abundant resources are still a challenge. Africa must re-write its narrative and walk the talk, she said. For Commissioner Acyl, Africas known mineral reserves stand at 30% of the Global Mineral Reserves but at the same time she acknowledged that almost four fifth of Africa's Mineral Resources are not yet explored. In this regard, the African Minerals Geoscience Initiative (AMGI) that was developed by AUC working with the World Bank and AMDC and adopted by Heads of State in 2015 is expected to support Member States in their exploration efforts. There are other geological information initiatives and Programmes operational on the continent such as the 20 Million- 6 Year African Geological Information (PANAFGEO) programme. The first 10 million, 3year phase of PanAfGeo was launched in August this year and AUC working with OAGS to launch a programme that will build the capacities of all African National Geological Surveys. It is estimated that by the end of three years it will have built the capacities of 1200 African Geologists in various areas of geological information and geosciences. Others include West African Exploration Initiative (WAXI) and one Geological among others, she said. In this regards, the commissioner announced that AUC Working with the AMDC, developed a Geological and Minerals Information System GMIS Strategy to coordinate the implementation of all these continental geological information Initiatives and Programmes stated above. Commissioner Acyl also pointed out that there are a number of mining laws on the continent that are not aligned to the continent as well as Countries own development agendas. In the area of Legislation framework, she underscored the fact that AUC is working with the World Bank and African Legal Support Facility to support Member States review their mining laws. The Africa Mining Legislation Atlas (AMLA), is working in key areas of dissemination and sharing of existing mineral or mining laws and mining codes through an on-line interactive platform as well as capacity building for mining law review and home-grown well researched policy guidance for mineral resource Development, she stressed. Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl informed the gathering that AUC has developed an AMV-Private Sector Compact that targets mining companies including oil and gas, Chambers of Mines and other mining associations, to ensure responsible investment and curb illicit financial flows today are hindering Africas efforts in mobilising domestic resources. The Compact is based on principles that can be aligned with corporate core values, policies, strategic plans and mission statements of companies in the extractive sector. The Compact provides a platform of cooperation for mutual benefits and for the industry, shared benefits in implementing the AMV that include: Cost reduction, Business opportunities, Transparency and social license to operate as well as Corporate image environment and social responsibilities just to mention but a few, she concluded. The Commissioner then chaired a High Level Panel Session composed of Government Ministers and Private Sector Precedents to explore the process of the AMV Implementation and the process to date. On Wednesday 14th, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry also had an opportunity to visit and inspect the African Minerals Geoscience Centre AMGI, formerly the Southern and Eastern African Minerals Centre (SEAMIC) based in Dar es Salam. H.E. Mrs Fatima Acyl who was accompanied by Ministers from Uganda, South Sudan and Zambia was briefed by the Director General Mr. Ibrahim Shaddad about the history of the Institution and its relevance in the Implementation of the AMV particularly in providing services to Member States in the areas of Geological information, Geosciences, small-scale mining capacity building, environmental scientific analysis ceramic as well as gemstone cutting among others. Later the Commissioner and her entourage conducted a tour of the facilities and laboratories and was amazed by the huge potential the 39-year Institution has in supporting member States if it can perform at full capacity. Currently the Institution operates at less than 20% capacity and Commissioner Acyl reiterated the commitment of AUC under her office to support AMGC to become a full-fledged African Institution that can effectively provide services to AU Member States. Statement by the Spokesperson on efforts in favour of a peaceful transition in The Gambia: The European Union supports the current efforts by the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union and the United Nations, to ensure a peaceful transition in The Gambia, following presidential elections on 1 December. We particularly welcome the recent mission of four ECOWAS Heads of State, under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, together with the UN, to Banjul to this end. In the light of the ECOWAS summit taking place on 17 December, we stand ready to lend further support to these efforts. The European Union expects President Jammeh to respect the will of the Gambian people as expressed on 1 December. In this context, the occupation of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) premises by Gambian security forces is unacceptable, as it violates the principle of independence of the IEC. The European Union is looking forward to fully engage with President-elect Adama Barrow as soon as he has taken office on 18 January, to step up our relations in a wide range of areas and support progress regarding democracy, human rights, good governance and sustainable and inclusive development. 16.12.2016 LISTEN By Maxwell Ofori [email protected] Professor Mike Oquaye, Former Deputy Speaker of Parliament has indicated his readiness to be the next Speaker of Parliament if given the nod by the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He noted that the power to appoint anybody to serve under the next administration rests in the bosom of the President, and that the President-elect was the only one who could appoint somebody as the next Speaker of Parliament. He was speaking to the press after a National Executive Committee meeting of the party in Accra yesterday. When Prof. Mike Oquaye was asked whether the President-elect dropped names as to who would serve as his ministers, he responded in the negative, adding that the discussion had nothing to do with appointments by the President-elect. We came to discuss matters concerning our party. You know we have got victory; we must definitely sit down and see what some of the implications of the elections are. We looked at matters concerning the transition, and new instructions were given to regional chairmen, so that they would coordinate everything concerning the transition in a nice, efficient and peaceful manner, until we take over for our new President, Prof. Mike Oquaye stated. However, responding to his name being widely circulated as the next Speaker, and whether or not he would accept, Prof Mike Oquaye, who served as the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 2009 to 2013, while he was the Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency from 2005 to 2013, said: of course, if given I will do what I have to do in the name of God. Readers may recall a publication in yesterday's edition of The Chronicle, captioned 'Nana Names Ministers,' suggesting some names which were to be presented to the NEC by Nana Addo for vetting. Amongst those names given by a credible source was Prof Mike Oquaye, who had been tipped for the Speaker position of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana. According to the publication, the President-elect had kept the names on the list close to his chest. However, the reporter was, nevertheless, told that the ministers would be coming from the following names: Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Kwamena Duncan and Afenyo Markin from the Central Region; Nana Obiri Boahen, Prof Gyan Baffuor, Kwaku Agyeman Manu representing Brong Ahafo Region; Samuel Atta Akyea, Dan Kwaku Botwe, Boakye Agyarko and Nana Akomea from the Eastern Region. 16.12.2016 LISTEN By Maxwell Ofori [email protected] The National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Sammy Awuku, has said that the first budget of the Nana Addo-led administration would capture the allowances of teacher and nursing trainees. The allowances, which were scrapped by the outgoing National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, was met with strong resistance from the teacher trainees, who complained bitterly about the difficulties it had brought upon them. The excuse given by the NDC government for embarking on such an action was that it would help the government create more of such institutions to enroll more people, as the government could use the huge amount of money it paid as allowances to establish more of such institutions. Also, the outgoing Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, once defended that restoring the allowances would threaten the future of Ghanas economy. He further told students of the Nalerigu Nursing and Midwifery College in the Northern Region, to disregard promises by the then opposition NPP to restore the allowances, citing that it would not be in the interest of the state. Following persistent protests by the students from the affected training institutions, the government was compelled to set up a committee, which recommended that the students be met halfway. Subsequently, the government started paying GH150 to each of the nursing-trainees in the heat of the election campaign, but the teacher- trainees were left out. Meanwhile, the NPP, prior to this year's elections, assured students of the various teacher and nursing training institutions of the party's commitment to bring back the allowances, to ensure they had smooth training to serve the country. That notwithstanding, the promise of the NPP was rubbished by communicators of the NDC, including the Vice President, who said the future of the country would be jeopardised if the allowances were restored. However, speaking with the media at the Alisa Hotel in Accra yesterday, Mr. Sammy Awuku reiterated the promise of the next government to restore those allowances. He noted that the first budget of the NPP would have in it the allowances and other interventions, to enable corporate Ghana also get support to grow. On the other hand, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NPP met yesterday at the Alisa Hotel for the first after winning the elections. Though there was no official press briefing, checks by this reporter revealed that the leadership of the party reminded themselves of the need to help the President-elect Nana Addo and the party to be able to carry out its promises made in its manifesto. 16.12.2016 LISTEN From Ernest Best Anane, Kumasi .. The Kumasi-based National Democratic Congress (NDC) serial caller, Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as Appiah Stadium, has accused former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, as the cause of the partys humiliating defeat in the December 7 elections. According to him, the Rawlingses do not even have sympathy for their daughter, Ezenator Rawlings, who was vying for a parliamentary seat on the ticket of the NDC, and kept campaigning against the party they founded. He accused Mr. Rawlings of calling the chiefs in the Volta Region on phone, urging them to vote against the NDC, while his wife was in the region throughout the electioneering period, campaigning against the Mahama administration. Appiah Stadium, who claims he is shocked by the electoral defeat, because the NDC should have won so easily from the unprecedented works by President John Mahama in his first term of office. The NDC lost the general polls, both presidential and parliamentary, in an election that the party was so confident of winning, due to the massive infrastructural development carried out by President John Mahama in his first term of office. But, on Friday, December 9, 2016, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Charlotte Osei, declared the NPP's presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, winner and President-elect of the Republic of Ghana. The opposition leader polled 5,716, 026 votes to beat the incumbent, President John Dramani Mahama, who garnered 4,713,277 votes out of the 10,615,361 valid votes cast. The NDC's painful defeat, suffered at the hands of its arch political opponent, has caused some angry and disappointed members, including the former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Ejusi-Juaben, who were moving from one radio station to another, mentioning names of certain key party and government officials whose actions and inactions, they claim, caused the NDC's downfall. Speaking on Kasapa News via Kumasi based Abusua 96.5FM, Appiah Stadium also blamed the bad attitude of some leading members, such as the Campaign Co-ordinator, Kofi Adams, for the defeat, saying his arrogance cannot be rivaled. According to him, after he assumed office as the National Organiser of the NDC, he had divided the party, adding that the party's defeat has even affected his sexual life. A ceremony has been held in Kumasi to mark Universal Health Coverage Day, with a call to governments to take steps to make quality healthcare accessible and affordable. This comes against the background that globally in excess of 400 million people, 17 per cent of them in low and middle-income countries, reportedly lack the most basic life-saving health care. Mr. Christopher Dapaah, Ashanti Regional Chairman of Coalition of NGOs in Health, said that had trapped many families and nations in poverty. He indicated that up to one-third of households in many African countries borrowed money or sold assets to pay for health care. The day has been set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to remind nations of the need to provide affordable, quality health care to every person, everywhere. This year's event, funded by Global Health Strategies, with focus on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), was on the theme, Health for all, right, smart and overdue. Mr. Dapaah said when heath care was made affordable and accessible, families could send their children to school, and also save for emergencies. It was, therefore, important to put in place realistic and workable policies to assure everybody of access to improved health care, he added. Mr. Felix Frimpong, a Health Promotion Officer of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), identified non-communicable diseases as a major health worry, killing many across the world. He said these were not only a health problem, but also a development challenge, as most of these diseases were chronic affecting finances of the patients. He stated that these were, however, largely preventable through proactive interventions and the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Dr. Awudzi Yeboah, Ashanti Regional Deputy Director of Health in charge of Public Health, urged everybody to step back from tobacco use, alcoholism and other unhealthy lifestyles. Source: GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN Accra, Dec. 15, GNA - The Australian High Commissioner has praised the roles of human rights institutions and the defenders of such rights as the world celebrates the Human Rights Day. Mr Andrew Barnes, the Commissioner, said the important role of such rights bodies and individuals in advancing civil rights and promoting equity in societies cannot be understated. He, however, urged Ghanaians to take opportunity of the Day to reflect on the critical work being done by Ghana's Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). 'To all human rights defenders and national human rights institutions working for stronger societies-we thank you for your tireless efforts to defend our rights,' he said in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on the commemoration of the Day on December 10. 'May you continue to be beacons of human rights for us all,' Mr Barnes said in reference to the topic, 'A beacon of Human Rights - promoting stronger institutions and capacity building.' He said: 'I would like to ask Ghanaians to take the opportunity today to reflect on the critical work done by the CHRAJ, and to consider the vital importance of ensuring such an institution is allowed the necessary condition to perform its work to a high standard.' Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10 every year in honour of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. 'We celebrate [the Day] under the Presidency of former Australian Foreign Minister Dr H V Evatt, in 1948,' he said. Human Rights Day is also the final day of the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, which begins on November 25, the International Day to End Violence Against Women. Mr Barnes said such activism seeks to demonstrate that no matter where 'we live, we are entitled to the most basic fundamentals of being born free and equal in dignity and rights, with the right to life and liberty amongst others.' Australia prides itself as a champion of Human Rights, he said adding that, 'We were one of eight nations to draft the original declaration that we now commemorate on Human Rights Day.' 'We were also a founding member of the United Nations and we believe that all states should be treated equally, no matter their size. ' He said: Next year we will contest for election to the United Nations Human Rights Council, in an endeavour to advance human rights in five vital areas: gender equality; good governance; freedom of expression; the rights of indigenous peoples: and strong national human rights institutions and capacity building. '[On] this Human Rights Day I want to take the opportunity to honour the unsung heroes in the defence of human rights: National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI). 'Although perhaps a less trendy aspect of human rights promotion, NHRIs are at the forefront of defending the rights of citizens around the globe. 'NHRIs independently monitor the effective implementation of international human rights standards, by providing feedback to governments and the international community, as well as offering a way for citizens to air grievances.' The Paris Principles of 1991 - adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993 - identified six criteria that national human rights institutions should meet in order to be effective. This includes: a clearly defined and broad-based mandate based on universal human rights standards; autonomy from government; independence guaranteed by legislation or the constitution; pluralism, including membership that broadly reflects their society; adequate resources; and adequate powers of investigation. Ghana, a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has its own NHRI in the form of CHRAJ established in 1993. The Commission is mandated to promote and protect universal human rights and freedoms which include civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Every person who comes before the Commission is offered free services and the opportunity, Mr Barnes said 'to present his or her case through a process that is fair, just and transparent.' GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN By Joyce Danso, GNA Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - A banker who is accused of siphoning GH356,100.00 from various accounts with Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court on Thursday. Frednard Kofi Amponsah, an employee of the Bank, and Issah Abdul aka Issah Alhassan have been charged with Conspiracy and Stealing. The two have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of GH400,000.00 with four sureties each with a justification. The accused persons are to deposit their passport to the court's registry and report to the Criminal Investigations Department every Wednesday. The case had been adjourned to December 29 by the Court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku. Prosecuting Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) George Amega said Amponsah is stationed at the Takoradi branch of GCB and Abdul is an auto-mechanic and a customer of the Bank. DSP Amega said during the period between September and November this year, Management of GCB Bank, Accra, received complaints on fraudulent withdrawals from various customers' accounts. According to the prosecutor, these withdrawals were carried out with cheques found to be 'cloned cheques,' drawn on accounts located at the Bank's branches in Accra. Prosecution said it was established that while the true account holders had their genuine cheque books intact, replicated copies of leaflets bearing the serial numbers of leaflets not yet issued by account holders were produced with forged signatures. DSP Amega said these cloned leaflets were drawn on the Bank and presented at braches outside Accra and various withdrawals made. The Prosecutor said the Police established that four accounts of the Bank had fraudulent withdrawals made on them. Police investigation revealed that Amponsah even though stationed at Takoradi at the Corporate Banking used his identification number FC07072 which was assigned to him at Mampong to make several enquiries on the accounts prior to or after the cloned cheques were presented. Based on that, prosecution said Amponsah was nabbed and during Police investigations, he admitted the offence and disclosed that it was upon the request of Abdul that he made enquiries on the account. According to the Prosecutor, Amponsah also indicated that he took photographs of signature mandates, cheque book serial numbers, photographs and other confidential details of high valued accounts holders, which he forwarded to Abdul and others. It came to light that Amponsah in his current deployment was not permitted to check or query individual customer accounts of the Bank but he was engaged in these activities secretly in collaboration with accomplices to steal money from the Bank. Prosecution said cloned cheques presented at various branches of the Bank had resulted in the theft of GH356,100.00. Prosecution said Amponsah had admitted receiving money from Abdul and claims to own two houses at Kosoa , which were built from the proceeds of the crime. Prosecution said seven other accounts have also been identified as being used by Amponsah and other staff of the Bank and huge withdrawals made. The Prosecutor said investigations were underway. GNA By Afedzi Abdullah, GNA Cape Coast, Dec. 16, GNA - Beautiful Creations Company Limited, Importers and Stockist of hospital equipment has donated medical tools valued at GHE100, 000.00 to the School of Allied Health Sciences of the University of Cape Coast (UCC). The items included office swivel chairs, four drawer cabinets, metal cupboards, printers, laptops, hospital wheel chairs, laboratory coats, an advanced microscope, steel dustbins and an eye charts. The rest are weighing scale with adult height measure, scanners, diagnosis sets and hospital trolleys. Additionally, the Company has promised to build a modern laboratory for the School for students to have first-hand experience of their course-concepts and to explore methods used in their areas of discipline. Mr. Samuel Dankyi Ansong, Chief Executive Officer of Beautiful Creations, who presented the items to the School believed that the donation would facilitate teaching and learning and help in the smooth administration of the School. "We will increase our co-operation further and our firm will build a very big laboratory for the School, so that our aim of working closely with the University will produce quality graduates and to help solve the education needs of the country," he said. The Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Professor Harold Amonoo- Kuofi, who received the items on behalf of the School, expressed appreciation to the Company for the kind gesture. He said the equipment donated were directly relevant to the work and vision of the School and would help to produce quality graduates. Prof. Amonoo- Kuofi assured the donor that the equipment would be put to good use. He appealed to the public, philanthropist, non-governmental organisations as well as corporate institutions to emulate the exceptional example of Beautiful Creations Company Limited. GNA By Gifty Amofa/Mispah Twumtuo, GNA Kumasi, Dec 16, GNA - Seven persons, two of them women, have run into trouble with the law for alleged rioting at Apagya in the Afigya-Kwabre District. They are Yaw Opoku, Nana Sampene, Owusu Ansah, Kwadwo Adjei, Asare Boateng, Doreen Osei and Mary Gyamfua. They were on Friday put before the KMA Circuit Court charged with conspiring and causing riot. The accused denied the offence and were each granted GHE20,000.00 bail with two sureties, to be justified. They were ordered to make their next appearance on January 10. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Asumadu Okyere-Darko, told the court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire that the incident happened on September 02. For some time now, there has been a land dispute between the people of Apagya and Akrofrom with the matter, pending before the Mampong High Court. The prosecution said on the said day the accused and other persons who managed to escape arrest, clad in red and carrying offensive weapons - cutlasses, sticks, stones and carbide cannon blocked a section of the Apagya-Akrofrom road. Amid the chanting and singing of war songs, they fired the carbide cannon, creating panic among road users. ACP Okyere-Darko said police officers called in to restore order, were pelted with stones and one of them got hurt. They, however, managed to over-power the riotous group and arrested seven of them, while the rest slipped through. GNA By Philip Tengzu, GNA Wa, Dec. 16, GNA - Mr. Bashiru Mohammed Jumah, Upper West Regional Program Officer of SEND-Ghana, has urged pregnant women to visit health facilities to access Antenatal Care (ANC) services. He said attending ANC was the major means of reducing the rate of maternal mortality in Ghana and called on husbands to encourage, support and accompany their pregnant wives to the health facilities for the service. Mr. Jumah made the call when he addressed participants at a stakeholder's dialogue meeting, which focused on assessing the draft report of the '2016 Clients' Satisfaction Survey Report', and as well addressed maternal health care delivery challenges in Wa. The report, which centred on Family Planning, Antenatal Care, and Postnatal Care as well as supervised delivery, is a subsidiary of SEND-Ghana's 'Improving Maternal Health Service Delivery through Participatory Governance (Improve)' Project, started in 2014 and expected to end in 2017. The survey was conducted in 30 districts in the three regions of the north and covered a sample size of 5,311 women who attended and received health delivery at some selected health facilities in the districts. The Programme Officer noted that though Ghana had made significant improvement in reducing maternal mortality from 780 to 320 per 100,000 births between the periods of 1990 to 2015, much was still needed to be done to reduce the rate to the barest minimum. 'Although interventions such as the Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) and the free maternal health policy has contributed to the reduction of maternal deaths, there is still the need for much to be done in order to meet goal five of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)', he said. He expressed regret about some findings of the report, which indicated that 'only 17 per cent of the sample size said they met the four minimum requirements of ANC attendance throughout their pregnancy period while the remaining 83 per cent indicated that they attended ANC less than four times throughout their pregnancy period'. He said the participants in the survey stated that they did not go for ANC due to the unfriendly attitudes of some health providers and charging of fees which they could not pay among other factors. The participants at the forum observed that lack of passion for the job, lack of discipline at training institutions, and the 'get rich quick' attitude of some health personnel accounted for their unfriendly attitude and, sometimes, the alleged charging of illegal fees for service delivered. They suggested that it was prudent for SEND-Ghana and other stakeholders to meet with heads of health training institutions to discuss with them, the need to instill discipline among the students as well as establish client service centres at the district assemblies to garner report about irregularities at the health facilities. SEND-Ghana organized the forum which was attended by representative from district assemblies and district directors of health among others. GNA By Gifty Amofa, GNA, Kumasi, Dec 16, GNA - Three persons caught with 128 fake election observer accreditation cards on voting day, have been ordered by a Kumasi Circuit Court to be held in prison custody. Stephen Shandu, Richard Gyan and Awuah Amoah Gyasi, have been charged with conspiracy, forgery of official document and possession of forged document. They all pleaded not guilty and would make their next appearance on Thursday, December 22. Their one other accomplice, whose name was only given as Sly is, however, on the run. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Asumadu Okyere-Darko told the court, presided over by Mrs. Mary Nsenkyire, that Shandu is the Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the two other accused persons, printers. On December 07, at about 10:30 hours, when voting was underway across the nation, the police received information that the Electoral Commission (EC) accreditation cards were being printed by the accused at Adum and moved in to arrest them. The prosecution said, in all, 128 printed election observation cards were seized from them, which the EC later confirmed were fake. Shandu in his caution statement claimed that he was instructed to print the cards by his fugitive colleague, Sly. The court refused the plea for bail by their counsel, George Fuseini. GNA By Laudia Sawer, GNA Dawhenya, Dec 16, GNA - Nene Kwaku Darpoh I, Chief of Dawhenya, in the Greater Accra Region has cautioned the public against buying land in Miotso and Ladoku from unauthorized persons. Nene Darpoh in a press statement made available to the Ghana News Agency, said some persons belonging to his family, Arden and Darpoh Family of Dawhenya were illegally selling lands to unsuspecting people and issuing them with fake documents. 'I am by this notice warning members of the general public to desist from dealing with one Faradey Martey Arden and Isaac Botwe Arden,' he indicated. He added that the two persons through false representations had engaged in the indiscriminate and illegal sale of family lands even though the family has warned them to desist from that. Nene Darpoh stated that 'I am by this notice asking them to stop holding themselves out as the acting heads of the Arden Darpoh Family of Dawhenya particularly Faradey Martey Arden'. He stressed that the public must directly transact land business with him and his principal elders, adding that anyone who dealt with the two persons were doing so at their own peril. The Dawhenya Chief also debunked an assertion from the Numo Awuley Kwao Family of Miotso that his family did not have ownership rights over the lands in Miotso and Ladoku. According to him, the Numo Awuley Kwao family had no judgement in its favour against his family over the said land as being published by them in the media. He explained that the High Court's ruling that was quoted by the other family to back their claims, did not hold as according to him, 'the High Court refused to enter judgement in favour of the Awuley Kwao Family as regards the instant land', adding that 'as the Supreme Court observed on appeal in Civil Appeal No: JA/38/2015 that there was never any issue set down for trail between the two families at the High Court for it to be resolved by any court in either of the parties favour'. Nene Darpoh also debunked accusations of his family members entering the said land with disregard to the court stating that they were law abiding and a peace loving family therefore 'the misrepresentation being spewed by the Awuley Kwao family in the press as regards ownership of those lands should therefore be disregarded'. GNA A 29-year-old Lincoln woman pleaded no contest Thursday to a felony child abuse charge in the death of her 2-year-old stepson nearly a year ago. Jacqueline Cooley faces up to three years in prison and 18 months post-release supervision when she's sentenced in February. In court, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jeff Mathers said Cooley told police she left Jase Queen in the bathtub on Jan. 7 and left to get a towel. When she came back two or three minutes later, he was face down and turning blue in about 10 inches of water, the prosecutor said. She pulled him out and screamed for his father. Mathers said William Cooley got to the bathroom to find his wife doing CPR on Jase, who was small for his age and had Down syndrome. He was put on a ventilator and taken to Children's Hospital in Omaha, where he was declared brain dead Jan. 13. Mathers said Catherine Cooley, Jase's grandmother, told police Jacqueline Cooley left Jase unattended in the bathtub on Nov. 15, 2015, and he had turned blue before she got him out. He said Catherine Cooley told police her stepdaughter said she had learned her lesson and wouldn't leave the kids alone in the tub again. In exchange for the no contest plea, Mathers reduced the charge from a higher class felony with the possibility of up to 20 years in prison. Earlier this month, Lancaster County Juvenile Judge Reggie Ryder ordered five of the Cooleys' six kids, 15 months to 13 years, to remain in foster homes. The sixth was placed with his mother in Texas. By Edmund Quaynor, GNA Mamfi (E/R), Dec 16, GNA - An appeal has been made to President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, to focus on the task of uniting all Ghanaians behind his government to push through its development agenda. Mr. William Ohene-Ayeh, a retired Educationist, said he should go the extra mile to keep his promise of being the 'President for everybody'. Making the appeal through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Mamfi, he asked that nobody was made to feel they were being persecuted. He said the priority must be on building a nation that worked for everybody and not a privileged few. The expectations of the people, he indicated, were high, adding that, the Akufo-Addo Administration could not disappoint. Mr. Ohene-Ayeh said there should be no time to waste since four-years was not long enough. GNA Ho, Dec 16, GNA - Mr Emmanuel Ampofo, the Volta Regional Manager of the Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS) has appealed to the incoming Akufo-Addo government to equip the Foundation to expand and be competitive internationally. He said currently the Foundation was producing below capacity and needed assistance to manufacture appropriate technology-based products for small scale businesses to facilitate socio-economic and industrial development in the country. Mr Ampofo, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the Foundation welcomed the New Patriotic Party's 'One District, One Factory' policy and was ready to support the initiative with the fabrication of equipment needed for the factories. He expressed optimism that the successful implementation of the policy would re-position the Foundation as a provider of technical support to industry and liberate it from 'competing with roadside engineers.' Mr Ampofo described GRATIS as highly competent to offer technological support to industry in the country and that it was unnecessary to import agri-agro processing equipment, prototyping, waste management equipment and spare parts from China and Brazil. He said the Foundation had Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ho Technical University to train students and master technicians thus needed support for modern equipment. The GRATIS Foundation was established in 1987 with the vision to be the centre of excellence for research and innovation for appropriate technology products and services in Africa. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN By Caroline Pomeyie, GNA Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The Solar People, a social enterprise which provides solar lighting solutions to rural off grid communities, has appealed to the public for support to meet its target. 'We need organisations and the general public to support our course in helping communities which have no electricity,' Mr Gideon Commey, the Founder of Solar People, told the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday. Mr Commey said the organisation had so far donated about 4,000 Ghana cedis worth of solar lamps to two communities. 'They are Likpe Nkwanta and Hobor in the Ga South Municipality.' Mr Commey said: 'The organisation has the vision to meet consumer energy needs with solar for one person in a community at a time and has, therefore, made commitment to inspire innovation and sustainability. 'We believe that energy poverty in Ghana is challenging and so we want to bridge the gap with clean and renewable energy.' Mr Commey bemoaned the condition under which school children studied in areas that lacked electricity where they used kerosene lanterns and other unsafe sources of light to study at night. Besides not having electricity, the school buildings are in a terrible state and require a facelift. Pupils are also in need of educational materials such as books, pens and school uniform. Mr Commey said: 'We have an off-grid map we use to identify communities. We look for schools in the community and then move in to work with the school authorities. 'We also get requests from our Facebook community to intervene.' 'We are looking at the Bomba DA JHS in Kansa on the Mampong road in Takoradi, Western Region. The community has no light and pupils use kerosene lanterns. There are about 90 pupils. We have appeals from schools in other electricity deprived areas awaiting intervention,' he said. Mr Commey, therefore, called on organisations, companies and institutions to support its mission by making donations through the email [email protected] or phone number 233 206 923 399. GNA A Kumasi High Court, Commercial Division has impounded three Toyota Hilux vehicles belonging to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly last Friday. Other vehicles belonging to the assembly are also due to suffer same fate later in the day, Luv News can confirm. The action follows an Order for Attachment issued by the Court to Freko FD Enterprise to claim the movable properties of the assembly for failing to respect the judgment of the court. The plaintiff, Freko FD Enterprise, in a writ filed on the 19th of November 2013 demanded a number of reliefs which included the sum of 524,746 being the cost of solid waste collection from October 2007 to March 2010. They also demanded interest on the said amount at the prevailing bank rate from March 2010 to the date of final payment. But the defendant, KMA, contested the claims, insisting that the plaintiff did not have a valid contract. The judge, Justice Kofi Akrowiah, upon hearing the case and perusing the documents of the parties involved ruled that the "plaintiff have proved their case as claimed and accordingly, judgment is entered for the plaintiffs as endorsed on the writ of summons. They are adjudged to recover the amounts involved. The judge also awarded cost at 5% of the total amount of the claim, to the plaintiff. But the KMA since February 16, 2016 have not paid the amount hence the issuance of the Order of Attachment to the Plaintiffs. The vehicles were seized by Court bailiffs, policemen and assigns of Freko FD Enterprise from the premises of the Metro Director, Metro Engineer and Town and Country Planning Department. The Toyota Hillux cars with Registration numbers GN 692-16, GN 2857-16 and GW 2856-16 have since been parked at the office of an auctioneer in Kumasi. The Coalition for Integrity in Governance (COFIIG)-GH, a Policy think tank, has congratulated President elect and presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) , Nana Akufo-Addo, over his victory at the presidential election. The Executive Director, Mr. Simon Awadzi in a congratulatory message, obtained by the Daily Express in Accra, also commended President John Dramani Mahama for displaying good sportsmanship and democratic character by conceding defeat in the election. Our congratulations goes to President Mahama for conceding defeat to Nana Akufo- Addo in this historic elections which was free and fair. We salute him for his unprecedented statesmanship, he stated. The group also saluted Ghanaians for a peaceful election and called for harmony between the NDC and NPP in their quest for a prosperous Ghana. Despite the enormous tension and apprehension that preceded the election, Ghanaians have demonstrated political maturity that elections can be lost or won without course to acrimony or violence, Mr. Simon Awadzi stated. Mr. Awadzi praised the electoral commissioner, Mrs. Charlotte Osei for her courage, vision and patriotic zeal with which the 2016 general elections proceeded. We must thank the EC under the able leadership of the chairperson, Mrs. Charlotte Osei for the vision and patriotic zeal with which the 2016 general elections has proceeded so far, he said. He further lauded the security agencies and voters for peaceful and successful conduct of the elections. Mr Awadzi said, On behalf of COFIIG-GH, we wish you the best success in carrying out your assignments to achieve the yearnings and aspirations of the people of Ghana and the African continent,. He called on other presidential aspirants who lost the election to see Nana Akufo Addos triumph as wish of God and enjoined them to work together with him to make the country a truly progressive and economically prosperous one for all. President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he would execute all the promises he made to Ghanaians in the course of his campaign. He said his victory over incumbent President John Mahama in last week Wednesday's presidential poll is a demonstration of the confidence Ghanaians. He promised the people that his government was not going to disappoint them. Nana Akufo-Addo made these remarks when he joined hundreds of Ghanaian Muslims for a thanksgiving prayer at the Central Mosque near Abossey Okai in Accra, Friday. Refresh page for more Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] 16.12.2016 LISTEN EPHESIANS 4:7-13 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christs gift. Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. Now this expression, He ascended, what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (NASB). INTRODUCTION Alexander the Great once gave a magnificent golden cup to one of his lowly servants. The servant was overwhelmed. Your majesty: he said, This is too much for me to take. Alexander looked at him with a smile and said, But it is not too much for me to give. Once the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit is given to us, we understand just how unworthy we are and, what truly sinful people we are. Gods gift is overwhelming. This is the Holy Spirits work for us. Basically, the Holy Spirit does three things for us as believers. First, the Spirit does work for us. This is the work of salvation. Second, the Spirit also works in us. This is called sanctification. Finally, the Holy Spirit accomplishes His work through us. This is the area of Christian service. This third area is the concern of our message. I. THE GIVER OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS VV. 7-9 According to verse 7, each gift is Christs gift to His church. Every Christian at least has one spiritual gift. There are some Christians who have more than one spiritual gift. The question is: are you using your spiritual gift to serve Christ? In verse 8, Paul quotes from Psalm 68:18. When He ascended on high, He led captives a host of captives and He gave gifts to men. In this Psalm, God is portrayed as a conqueror marching to the gates and taking tribute from the fallen city. Paul used that picture to teach that Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection was victorious over Satan and his demonic host. When Christ ascended to heaven, He gave gifts to His church. In ancient times what conquerors took from their captives in war, they gave away to their people. The spoils were divided and the booty was shared (Gen. 14; Judges 5:30; 1 Sam. 30:26-31; Psalm 68:12). Verse 9 has posed problems to many preachers and teachers of the Bible. There are three theories that have been proposed. Let me give them to you and tell you which I prefer. The first theory refers to the lower parts of the earth as the grave. The second theory refers to the lower parts of the earth as Hades (the place of the dead). The third refers to the lower parts of the earth as the earth itself. If you have heard some preachers say that when Jesus died, He went to hell, they base their statement on this verse and 1 Peter 3:19. The problem is that there is no obvious reference to Hades or hell in Ephesians 4:9. This is reading too much into the biblical text. It is a stretch of Scripture to say what is not there. I subscribe to the third theory that refers to the lower parts of the earth as the earth itself. I believe Paul is simply referring to Christs incarnation. The incarnation precedes the ascension. In His incarnation, Jesus descended to the depths of humiliation when He came to earth. In His incarnation, Christ divested Himself of insignia of majesty, especially the suffering He endured on the cross (Phil 2:5-11). It is through this renunciation and humiliation of death on the cross that Christ has defeated the principalities and powers in His resurrection. One thing you and I need to guard against is to separate the three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Together they are involved in every aspect of the churchs well being. II. THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ARE VARIED VV. 10-11 The incarnate Christ is the same as the ascended and exalted Christ. The Christ who descended in humiliation is the same who ascended in exaltation. Because of His ascension and exaltation, Christ has retained His universal authority and power. And with this exaltation, power and authority, He has dispensed spiritual gifts to His church to bring it to maturity. In verse 11, the Apostle Paul tells us the variety of gifts. Notice the word some. He does not say He gave all. Ladies and gentlemen there are varieties of gifts. It is important to recall this because today many have a restricted view of charismata (spiritual gifts). There are others who are preoccupied, even obsessed with only three of the more spectacular gifts, namely, tongues, prophecy, and healing. The New Testament lists about nineteen to twenty spiritual gifts, and the list is not exhaustive. In this text Paul presents only five of the spiritual gifts. First, Christ gave some to be apostles. The Greek word for apostle means, one sent with a commission. The word apostle has three main meanings in the New Testament. First, the term applies to every Christian. Jesus said, the servant is not greater than his master; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him (John 13:16). Therefore, in a general sense every Christian is both a servant and an apostle. The word apostello means to send. All Christians are sent out into the world as Christ ambassadors and witnesses to share the gospel of Christ. The context in Ephesians 4:11, eliminates the first meaning of apostle because Paul says some not all . Second, there were apostles of the churches (2 Cor. 8:23; cf. Phil. 2:25). These were messengers that churches sent out as missionaries or on some errand on behalf of the church. One important distinction of a missionary is this: a missionary is sent on behalf of a local church to plant a church or to serve Christ in a certain capacity. There is nothing like a missionary or apostle who is not affiliated with a local church. There is no lone ranger missionary in the New Testament. Third, there were apostles of Christ, a very small and distinct group, consisting of the Twelve, including Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, Paul, James the brother of Jesus, Barnabas, and perhaps one other. These were personally chosen and authorized by Jesus, and had to be eyewitnesses of the risen Lord (Acts 1:21-22; 10:40-41; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8-9). The apostle Paul is using the term apostle in the third sense. The apostles were the foundation of the church and the organs of revelation (Eph. 2:20; 3:26). Therefore, without hesitation it is fair to say that there are no apostles today in a narrow and restricted sense. What about prophets? Here again it is important to make a distinction. The English word prophecy derives from a Greek word meaning, public expounder. In the primary sense in which the Bible uses the word, a prophet was a person who stood in the council of God, who heard and even saw Gods word, and who in consequence spoke from the mouth of the Lord; and spoke His word faithfully. See Jeremiah 23:16-32. In other words, a prophet was a mouthpiece or spokesman of God, a vehicle of Gods direct revelation. In this sense we must conclude that there are no prophets today. Nobody can presume to claim an inspiration comparable to that of the prophets of the Bible, or use their introductory formula, thus says the Lord. If these were possible, we would have to add their words to Scripture and the whole church needs to listen and obey (Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18-19). If anybody tells you that he/she receives fresh revelation from God that person is a false prophet. Apostles have no successors, any more than prophets have, for the foundation was laid and finished centuries ago. You cannot tamper with the word of God and go scot-free. In fact, church history has revealed many people who claimed to receive fresh and special revelation from God. One of them even claimed that he was the Holy Spirit. Today the New Age Movement is teaching a similar concept (Sherry McCraine). The gift of prophecy was a supernatural gift. And in order to discern between false and true prophets, the Holy Spirit gives the gift of discerning of spirits to other believers. NT believers were not to despise prophesying but they were told to test the spirits (1 Thess. 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1). Is there a subsidiary gift of a prophet? The answer is yes. Some see it as a special gift of biblical exposition, an unusual degree of insight into the Word of God so that by the ministry of the Holy Spirit modern prophets hear and receive the Word of God. Notice that this is not a new revelation, but a fresh understanding of the old. The second part of the prophetic office was the edification, instruction, consolation, and exhortation of believers in local congregations (1 Cor. 14:3). In this sense, prophecy was not given to scare an individual or as a form of divination or fortune telling as we see today. Prophecy was given to encourage and build the body of Christ for the purpose of advancing the kingdom of God on earth. There are some who have a sensitive understanding of the contemporary world and can read the signs and times together with the denunciation of social sins by making a perceptive application of Scripture to them (Francis Schaeffer, A. W. Tozer). After apostles and prophets Paul mentions evangelists . The word evangelist occurs only three times in the NT (here, Acts 21:8 and 2 Tim. 4:5). The verb form evangelize is used frequently to describe the spreading of the gospel. The term evangelist simply means one who announces good news. It may refer to the gift of evangelistic preaching, or of making the gospel particularly plain and relevant to unbelievers, or of helping timid people to be committed to Christ, or effective personal witnessing. In a sense, every Christian is an evangelist, because in the Great Commission Christ commands us to take the gospel to all the nations of the world. Therefore, evangelism is not limited to professional evangelists (Billy Graham, Louis Palau, Bonke, etc). The gift of evangelism is also given to many lay people (Philip, a deacon). There is a great need for gifted evangelists today who will pioneer new ways of using and developing their gift so as to penetrate the vast unreached people of the world for Christ. There are many millions of people who have not heard the gospel. We need many evangelists to reach these people with the good news that Jesus saves. This leads to the gift of pastor . The Bible does not often use the word pastor. In the OT, the term translates the Hebrew word for shepherd. The NT uses the word pastor only once with the root idea of shepherd (v. 11). Pastors are called to tend Gods flock, doing so in particular by feeding them through teaching (John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2). Every Pastor must be a teacher, yet not every Christian teacher is a pastor. Among many Christians the word pastor is one of the most commonly preferred designations for ordained clergy. Its use is consistent with the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ who called Himself the good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20). If Jesus is the chief Shepherd, then there must be assistant or under shepherds. Someone has said that evangelists catch the fish and the pastors clean them. What about teachers? The word teacher means an instructor. When the message of Christ has resulted in conversion, the new believer must be taught (Matt. 28:18-20). One of the great needs of the church is for more gifted teachers of the Bible. Teaching is simply a Spirit-given ability to build into the lives of Christians the knowledge of Gods word and its application to their thinking and conduct. The goal of teaching is to conform Christians to the likeness of Christ. III. THE PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS VV. 12-13 In verse 12, Paul states clearly why Christ gave these gifts to His church. The purposes of the spiritual gifts are both immediate and ultimate. The immediate purpose is to equip the saints for ministry or to equip Gods people for work in His service. The ultimate purpose is for building up the body until we all reach maturity in Christ. The mentality that lay people come to church to sit and hear a sermon and then go home is not from the NT. It was a deviation and a corruption that crept into the church during the medieval times. That is why I dont believe the pastor doing it all in the church. I dont like one man or one woman show church. That is not the NT concept of church. Why does the Holy Spirit give spiritual gifts to Christians? Does the Holy Spirit give you a spiritual gift to sit on it? God will one day ask you what you did with the spiritual gift He gave to you. The work of evangelists, pastors, and teachers is to equip, and edify you to develop your spiritual gift for service to Christ. What are you doing with your spiritual gift? It is a human tendency to overestimate what you can do alone and to underestimate what we can accomplish as a team. As a body of Christ, we can accomplish more working together as a team than we would dream possibly working as an individual. Therefore, use your spiritual gifts as a part of the team in building the church as we advance the kingdom of God on earth. Kinshasa (AFP) - Tensions ran high Friday in volatile Congo as the Roman Catholic church endeavoured to clinch a key political transition deal days before President Joseph Kabila's mandate expires next week. Congo's episcopal conference, CENCO, has set Friday as the deadline for the government and the opposition to do a deal on setting up a transition authority until presidential elections can be held. The vote for a new Democratic Republic of Congo head of state was supposed to have been held this year as Kabila's mandate ends December 20, but the authorities failed to organise the polls. The 45-year-old president, who stepped into his assassinated father's shoes in 2001 and is now ruling for a second elected term, is barred from a third mandate under the constitution. Opponents accuse him of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend the Kabila family's hold over a nation hugely rich in minerals that is almost the size of western Europe. The international community has warned the current tension could lead to spiralling violence. Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead. The CENCO-sponsored talks launched early this month pit the ruling party and fringe opposition groups against a mainstream opposition coalition headed by veteran Kabila rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, who is 84. Sources close to the talks said a deal was closing in on the date and organisation of a presidential vote. Talks continue People protest plans by Congo President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his term in December But there was still no progress on Kabila's political future or on his role during a transition period. CENCO spokesman Donatien Nshole sounded a positive note Friday, saying the mediators had had talks with Tshisekedi during the night and were to meet Kabila later Friday. There were hopes of quickly holding a plenary session that would lead to the signing of a deal, he added. A democratic handover would break ground for Congo's 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box. And in the last few years hundreds of people have died in political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, and elsewhere. Tshisekedi and his allies had threatened nationwide protests from Monday to press Kabila to step down, but have suspended the call to the take to the streets pending the negotiations. The government for its part has ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 GMT) on Sunday. "If we win guarantees (on an election date and a pledge that Kabila will not seek a new mandate) we will speak to the people because the challenge begins from December 19," Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary-general of Tshisekedi's party, told AFP. The Prime Minister of United Kingdom (U.K) has lauded New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his victory in last Wednesdays presidential poll. Theresa May in a statement addressed to the President-elect on December 13 said she was impressed with his tenacity in the course of the campaign. I recognize that it was a hard-fought campaign and that your margin of victory was impressive, the statement read. The U.K Premier's letter is one of the many congratulation messages that the incoming President has received since his declaration as winner of the presidential election. Nana Akufo-Addo unseated incumbent President John Mahama by polling 53.86 percent of the valid vote cast. The President had 44.4 percent. Research institutions and political analysts have said the economy would have to be one of the first things the new President has to fix. Theresa May called for effective cooperation from Ghana to address issues such as "defence, drugs, crime and national security." She also urged a strong fight against challenges such as "tackling corruption." The U.K, she said would continue with its support to Ghana in the areas of "governance, poverty reduction, education and health." "I hope that we can look to deepen our economic co-operation." Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | AKABP The Northern Region Secretary of the National Democratic Congress has played down the influence of the running mate of the New Patriotic Party for the calamitous defeat the governing party suffered in the December elections. Abdul Rauf Halid said the defeat was more as a result of the "political tsunami that swept through the entire country" than a seeming magical performance by the NPP running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. The governing National Democratic Congress lost both the executive power and parliamentary majority in an election that saw the incumbent president John Mahama losing by over a million votes to his fiercest contender Nana Akufo-Addo who represented the opposition New Patriotic Party. The NPP who was in the minority in Parliament with 122 seats, now have a whopping 171 seats out of the 275 seats. Even though it was a collective effort by the NPP in winning the election, the effort of Dr Bawumia has received national acclaim. His depth of knowledge on the country's economic issues, and piercing political jabs at the president and his vice appeared too hot to handle by spokespersons of the governing party. The impressive results from the Northern Region where Bawumia hails from was a testament of the influence of the NPP running mate. A region that is traditionally NDC, the opposition New Patriotic Party made massive inroads and won more seats than they did in the 2012 elections. Even though they are yet to sit and have a regional postmortem of the election results, the Northern Region Secretary of the NDC said the defeat could not have been the ingenuity of Dr Bawumia. He said there were other self inflicting reasons that made the party lose the elections. According to him, internal wrangling between parliamentary candidates and District Chief Executives was part of the reason the party lost in the region. Abdul Rauf Halid said as many as six seats were gifted to the NPP just because of the differences between the DCEs and parliamentary candidates. He named some of the seats as Nalerigu and Gushegu. He hopes that with better understanding the party will come out strong in the region in the next election. He also dismissed assertions that the party was unable to manage its personnel well ahead of the election which led to some going independent. Rauf Halid said even when some of the men were threatened with dismissal from the party, they still went independent thinking they were more popular than the party's candidate only for them to lose together with the party's candidate. Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah Police Thursday night were investigating a reported armed robbery at a convenience store near Lincoln High School, according to scanner traffic. Officers were called to the Super C convenience store at 745 S. 21st St. at about 6:40 p.m. Two men had just entered the store, one pointed a gun at the clerk, and they demanded money from the register, Capt. Jeff Bucher said. They left with an unknown amount of cash. Police had only general descriptions of the men, though one was reportedly wearing a black bandana over his face. No injuries were reported. The National Trust Holding Company (NTHC) has drilled a mechanized borehole to provide potable water for inmates of the Weija Leprosarium in Accra. The gesture ends several years of scarcity of water faced by the Leprosarium where vulnerable old men and women had to walk several kilometres in search of water daily. NTHC Acting Managing Director, Francis Apanka said the decision to help the Leprosarium forms part of the company's programme to give back to the community while building a strong and sustainable business into the future. The company is 40 years and as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) it decided to address the water challenge by drilling a borehole with 7,000 litre water storage tank. The project cost GH15,000. It is a natural position to arrive after 40 years in operations. In accordance with the adage that life begins at 40, NTHC is beginning new life and naturally we are asking ourselves where and how we want to take our business in the next 40 years." Mr Apanka said the company wants to add more value to all of its stakeholders namely "customers, shareholders, partners, and staff and of course our community including the most disadvantaged sections." "Therefore we consider a duty and a privilege to be able to bring some comfort to our brothers and sisters at the Weija Leprosarium, he added. Chairman of the Lepers Aid Committee , Reverend Father Andrew Campbell commended NTHC for the project which he said would go a long way to address the water challenges of inmates. Considering the limited resources allocated for the upkeep of inmates, he said the support rendered to the Leprosarium by NTHC would help them cut cost. Rev. Campbell pleaded with the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIS) to consider registering inmates onto the scheme. He urged Ghanaians to desist from stigmatizing inmates of the Leprosarium because they are no longer carriers of the leprosy disease. Story by Ghana/Myjoyonline.com Kinshasa (AFP) - Congo's volatile political crisis rumbled on Friday after church-led talks were forced into another day, edging closer to the legal limit for President Joseph Kabila to hold on to power. The country's Catholic episcopal conference, CENCO, had set Friday as the deadline to get the government and opposition to agree on a transition for the country after Kabila's second and last legal term expires on Tuesday. An election for a new Democratic Republic of Congo head of state was supposed to have been held this year, but the authorities failed to organise the polls. The 45-year-old president, who stepped into his assassinated father's shoes in 2001 and is now ruling for a second elected term, is barred from a third mandate under the constitution. Opponents accuse him of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend the Kabila family's hold over a nation hugely rich in minerals that is almost the size of western Europe. The international community has warned the current tension could lead to spiralling violence. Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead. The CENCO-sponsored talks launched early this month pit the ruling party and fringe opposition groups against a mainstream opposition coalition headed by veteran Kabila rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, who is 84. Talks continue Sources close to the talks had said early on Friday a deal was closing in on the date and organisation of a presidential vote. People protest plans by Congo President Joseph Kabila to stay in power beyond the end of his term in December But later CENCO mediators returned from meeting members of Kabila's cabinet, declining to speak to the press and resuming talks with the rival groups behind closed doors. Discussions will resume at 0800 GMT on Saturday, they later said. But that round will be limited as Congo's bishops will leave Saturday for a long-planned visit to see Pope Francis. The main sticking point in any future deal is the political fate of Kabila, who true to his reputation as a man of few words, has not announced his plans. A democratic handover would break ground for Congo's 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box. And in the last few years hundreds of people have died in political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, and elsewhere. Tshisekedi and his allies had threatened nationwide protests from Monday to press Kabila to step down, but have opted to hold off pending the negotiations. "If we win guarantees (on an election date and a pledge that Kabila will not seek a new mandate) we will speak to the people because the challenge begins from December 19," Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary-general of Tshisekedi's party, told AFP. The government for its part has ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 GMT) on Sunday. Police said they were setting up checkpoints in large Congolese cities to "discourage criminal intentions that have started to take on worrying dimensions". By D. I. Laary / Deborah Apetorgbor Accra, Dec.16, GNA - The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and UNICEF has held an engagement with the media on reporting effectively on the District League Table (DLT) to generate the desired responses from stakeholders. The District League Table, initiated in 2014 with consecutive annual publications since, is a simple ranking tool of the level of development in each of Ghana's 216 districts, and seeks to increase social accountability for development across all the districts so as to improve responsiveness in service delivery. Mr Rexford Kwaku Asiama, Research Officer at CDD, said the DLT needed more 'constructive coverage' as the purpose for publishing the table was not to 'name and shame' districts that are saddled with severe challenges. He said since the development level of a district is the responsibility of the government, the least ranked districts needed more targeted support in terms of resource allocation to overcome their hurdles. Mr Asiama said the media should be cautious not to present their reports in ways that would completely dismiss districts at the bottom of the table as non-performing and wasteful. He said the DLT could serve several purposes including its use by citizens to inform themselves on their districts ranking and to call the attention of stakeholders at the national level to address their deprived status. Mr Asiama said the civil society and media are also expected to use the table to strengthen their understanding of the level of development across the country and call for greater accountability from national government. Moreover, he said, government could also use the DLT to acquire valuable information on the status of service delivery and to improve their services. He said the publication of the District League Table is predicated on six key indicators: education, health, security, sanitation, water and governance. Mr Asiama said these aggregates are specifically narrowed down to the average Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE) pass rate, percentage of communities that are certified as Open Defecation Free, percentage of women that have a skilled attendant at birth delivery, coverage of police officers, FOAT Performance Measurement score and coverage of water in rural communities. He said the criteria used in selecting the above indicators were premised on their representativeness of outcome and output levels, annual stability, and availability at the district level in an annually produced national database. Mr Asiama said certain observations made in the DLT processes that have informed a change and review of the specified indicators in subsequent publications. These observations, he said, include inequity in districts at the top and bottom of the table, high within region inequity, challenges in access to data, regular data verification, need for better indicators, resource mobilisation, need for greater commitment to monitoring and evaluation, supervision and accountability from national government to district facility. Mr Asiama said in terms of feedback, the districts recalled delays in the disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund which hampered projects and programmes execution. He said the state of fiscal decentralisation is shallow among government and MMDAs as well as the persistence of low compliance with local level tax and non-tax revenue mobilisation. Mr Awal Mohammed, a Research Officer at the Centre, urged the media to delve more into the disaggregated scores and report on particular sectors where the various districts were either performing well or otherwise. This, he said, would invariably prompt the District Assembles to inject more energies and resources into the sectors where they fall short. Doing so would also realize the total objectives of the DLT, that is, increasing social accountability for development and improving responsiveness in service delivery, he added. The District League Table continuously receives various contributions from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Statistical Service. GNA Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA), a centre for intelligence gathering, has described the attack on Former President Jerry John Rawlings on the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as hypocritical and a bad post mortem. The Bureau said the NDC Executives stood unconcerned as Government appointees mostly those in their youth heaped insults on the Founder and Leader of the Party, compelling him to spew out the famous phrase 'babies with sharp teeth'. Mr Godfred Nkrumah, BIA Coordinating Director said in a statement issued in Accra on Friday and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra that Flt Lt Rawlings was also described as 'an oldman' who was not fit for the 2016 elections campaign, by some executives of the NDC. It said the principles and objectives that brought Flt Lt Rawlings into the political arena was probity and accountability, hence his distaste about corruption and rumours of corruption, yet anytime he raised issues of malfeasance he was called names and vilified. The statement claimed that some people in the Party were interested in rubbishing Rawlings than to see him as the Leader of the NDC, compelling the former President to accuse certain personalities in Government of instigating the Abacha bribe scandal to bring him into disrepute. It accused certain personalities in Government of using resources to influence people to cause the defeat of Dr Zanetor Rawlings who stood on the ticket of the NDC to win the Klottey Korle Constituency. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN Sege (GAR), Dec. 16, GNA - Two hundred and eighty-two Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the Ada West District have received a total amount of GHE68,500.00 as their portion of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF). The categories and number of beneficiaries include education- 54, business support- 47, health- 8, apprenticeship- 11, petty traders -95, farming -64 and three from the welfare group. The stated amount represents the two per cent of the DACF, which was established in 2012, to improve upon the livelihood of PWDs and forestall the incidence of begging on the streets. Mr G.A.T. Matey-Teye, the District Chief Executive for Ada West District Assembly, who presented the money to the beneficiaries, urged them to use the funds for its intended purposes. He said the assembly would monitor how they utilise the money, adding that those who would invest into viable ventures would automatically qualify for the next allocation. Mr Yaw Theophilus Awudu, the Chairman of the Sege branch of the Ghana Society for the Physically Challenged of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, urged the beneficiaries to be careful of how they utilize the monies so as to improve their lot. He said although the amount was not huge, it could serve as a springboard to other ventures over time. Mr Exorgbe A.K. Divine, the Head of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, commended the Assembly for the timely release of the funds. He said the continuous payment of the monies to the PWDs would alleviate their plight in society and help make them independent. GNA By Kodjo Adams, GNA Nsawam (E/R), Dec. 16, GNA - Passion for Needy, an NGO of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), on Thursday donated assorted items to the inmates of Nsawam Medium Security Prison. The items, which were distributed between the male and the female prisons, included pharmaceutical products, 200 bags of rice, 140 packs of toilet rolls, 10 gallons of vegetable oil, 10 cartons of tomato paste, 10 cartons of key soap, 10 cartons of omo washing powder, 50 crates of soft drinks and two cows. Presenting the items Mrs Janet Torgbor El-Aschkar, Chairperson of Passion for Needy, said the donation was in response to an appeal from the Prison Service made for medicines to support the Prisons Hospital at Nsawam. She said the organisation has for the past years been donating to the Prison Service as part of its corporate social responsibility to give back to society. Mrs El-Aschkar said in 2009 and 2010 the organisation donated plasma television sets with satellite dish receivers, pharmaceutical drugs, and other items to support government's effort in providing healthcare and social services to inmates. She said the organisation has paid medical bills for both children and adults at the Korle-Bu Hospital, Ridge Hospital and Manna Mission Hospital, and registered the needy under the National Health Insurance Scheme at Glife, Spintex road and Teshie communities to access health care. "We thank the Prisons Council for the transformation introduced into the system and appeal to other organisations to come out and support the good work", he said. The organisation began operations on August 11, 2009. It was founded by the Senior Pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua, the General Overseer of SCOAN and managed by Ghanaian executives. Mr Edmund Boye Odonkor, the Assistant Director of Nsawam Prisons, thanked the organisation for the gesture, saying the pharmaceutical products came at the right time since the hospital was out of medicine. He said the donation has brought relieve to the Prisons Hospital and appeal to other organisations to complement government efforts in providing healthcare for the inmates. Madam Hellen Esi Gomado, Deputy Superintendent of Prisons Head of Industries at Nsawam Female Prisons, commended the effort of the organisation for supporting the female unit and promised to use the items for its intended purpose. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN GNA Reporter Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The JSA, a non-profit social enterprise championing male child personal development will host the maiden Ghana Boys Fair and Awards on December, 30 at the Christ the King Hall. The main objective of the fair and awards ceremony is to bridge the gap between boys from public schools and private schools in their early years as well as foster networking among these future leaders irrespective of their background. Mrs Ethel Marfo, Founding Director of JSA, told the GNA that activities towards the ceremony include free health screening, life skill sessions, educative fun games and child development consultations for parents. She said the awards ceremony would also reward well-behaved boys, amazing talents and proactivity on the day of the event. She said items produced by these boys would be auctioned to support their 'Public Schools Boys Clinics' and to enroll 10 underprivileged boys with low self-esteem to benefit from the Junior Boys Mentoring Clinic (JBMC) programme next year. 'JBMC admits new mentees in January 2017 and it is held on the last Sunday of every month,' he added. JBMC is run as a monthly mentorship programme that seeks to motivate and groom boys from 6-15 years to understand their future role as responsible men with the assistance of devoted mentors and Influential role models. Launched on September 21, 2015, the JSA comes in as a 'supplementary force' to ensure that children are well-rounded in virtues and mental capacity to contribute meaningfully to their families and nation building. She said the programme desired to groom every African boy to step up to responsible manhood, impact lives and also appreciate the value and contribution of women in our society. JSA has also partnered with Etiquette Plus Ghana to cater for young girls by developing a Self-worth programme that grooms girls from four -16 years known as The Junior Girls Grooming Class (JGGC), which was launched on 1st July 2016. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN GNA Reporter Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The Junior Boys Mentoring Clinic (JBMC), a programme designed to groom and motivate young boys, will mark its first anniversary on December, 30. An initiative of Junior Shapers Africa (JSA), formerly known as Tod-Teen Republic, the JBMC, since its inception in December 2015, has impacted over 500 boys from selected schools and communities within Accra and Tema. Through its monthly programmes, JBMC has served as a booster to propel responsible behavior among boys. The programme covers three levels namely; the Foundation Level, Intermediate, Maturity and Peer Mentor Trainee. Mrs Ethel Marfo, Founding Director of JSA, said every JBMC mentee had gained knowledge about the attributes of a man of integrity, how to be guided by principles and values among other essential virtues and life skills. 'Through JBMC, our boys have been inspired to contribute meaningfully to their communities by identifying and addressing pertinent problems affecting their communities. 'We have noticed a significant transformation in the attitude of our regular mentees; they have become more responsible and resourceful during our clinics and at home and a couple of them are currently holding leadership positions in their schools,' she said. She said with the vision of seeing a transformed Ghana and Africa where every young man upheld high standards of integrity, with strong family values and responsible for himself and his community, the core values shaping the boys were integrity, forward thinking, sense of ownership, and personal growth. 'Aside the regular monthly meetings, JBMC is currently offering free mentorship clinic for boys at the Kanda Public School JHS,' she added. She said the programme was indebted to some very selfless mentors, guest speakers and supporters for collaborating with them on the journey to shape up Ghana's future men. GNA By Patience Gbeze, GNA Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - Stakeholders in both internal and external migration has reaffirmed their commitment to increase protection and promotion for Ghanaian migrant workers. They pledged to ensure greater protection of the citizens against exploitation and abuse and to strengthen the provision of direct assistance and integration to victims. That, they said, they would do through developing standard operating procedures to strengthen the process of assisting victims of such exploitation, from the moment of identification through return and reintegration. This was announced at day's worship organised by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Accra for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with direct mandate on both domestic and international migration to mark this year's celebration. It is also to deliberate on how to step up coordination of efforts to increase protection for migrant workers. The MDAs are Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; the Interior; Employment and Labour Relations; Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Police Service. Mr Sammy Longman Attakuma, the Chief Director of Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, who read the joint statement on behalf of other stakeholders, said they would also develop information sharing protocols to well inform stakeholders to enable them contribute to the protection of migrants as well as ensure their rights and that of their families. He said: 'We also intend to negotiate additional bilateral agreements as needed with key receiving countries, to facilitate humane and orderly labour migration and decent work for all. "Strengthen access to information for potential migrants in Ghana and contribute to their ability to make informed decisions by improving the capacity of institutional structures to serve as one-stop migrant workers' resource centres. "Improve access and availability of training and pre-departure orientation opportunities, to increase knowledge amongst potential migrants on issues if job training, adjusting to a new culture, cultural sensitivities in the country of destination, their rights, among others," he added. Mr Attakuma said they would enhance the law enforcement response including the closure, investigation and prosecution of illegal recruitment agencies and individuals who facilitate the recruitment and trafficking for domestic work if Ghanaian migrants. Ghanaian migrants, particularly women and young girls are increasingly recruited through licensed and unlicensed recruitment agencies for domestic work in various countries. According to information collected by the Ghana Immigration Service, more than 2000 Ghanaians women departed for work in the Middle East between September 2014 and January 2015. Since then about 350 women have returned, reporting exploitation and abuse. Ms Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, Chief of Mission, IOM blamed the plights of these women of fraudulent advertisements for jobs opportunities in various countries including the Middle East. She said these advertisements were now common in the streets of Ghana as well as on social media channels, such Facebook and WhatsApp and expressed the need to take various measures to address those challenges to protect Ghanaian migrants. She said it was fair for IOM and the Foreign Ministry to organise to bring back the migrants any time there was a problem, yet the perpetrators of the illegal act- illegal recruiting agencies- are left unpunished. December 14 every year, is recognised by the UN as International Migration Day to remember and identify the challenges of migrant workers as well as their contributions to national development in terms of remittances to the families. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN Accra, Dec.16, GNA - The Board of Governors of Achimota School has set up a committee to investigate the recent death of a form one student. The committee would probe the circumstances that led to the death of Kelvin Moses and also make recommendations to help improve health delivery response protocol for students and staff. A statement signed by the Chairman of the Board, Mr Osei Kwame Agyeman, said its findings would be shared with the general public. According to the Board, Kelvin was taken ill in the school and taken to the school's hospital; the designated point of call for reported ill health, on December 2 and his parents were duly informed. He was later sent to the 37 Military Hospital when his situation took a turn for the worse where he passed away on December 4. "We extend the sincerest condolences to the parents and family of Mr Kelvin Moses. His intelligence and pleasant personality described by those who were privileged to have known him will never be forgotten," the Board said. GNA 16.12.2016 LISTEN Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - The National Trust Holdings Company (NTHC) has provided a mechanised borehole with a 7,000 litre water storage tank at a cost of GHE15,000.00 to supply potable water to the inmates of the Weija Leprosarium. The donation formed part events marking the company's 40th anniversary and the occasion was used to announce its commitment to increasing its Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives next year. Mr Francis Apanka, Acting Managing Director of NTHC, said the company came to the decision as part of a bigger programme to give back to the community while building a strong and sustainable business. 'It is a natural position to arrive after 40 years in operations,' he said adding that in accordance with the adage that life begins at 40, NTHC is 'beginning a new life and naturally we are asking ourselves where and how we want to take our business in the next 40 years. He said they wanted to add more value to their stakeholders including customers, shareholders, partners, and staff as well as the community, particularly the disadvantaged sections. 'Therefore, we consider it a duty and a privilege to bring some comfort to our brothers and sisters at the Weija Leprosarium,' he said. Mr Apanka said as part of their sustainability drive, they have rolled out a financial literacy programme targeted to reach over a million students and other groups of young people across the country to 'promote a culture of savings and investment very early in life.' Reverend Father Andrew Campbell, Chairman of the Lepers Aid Committee, receiving the items on behalf of the residents at the facility, expressed immense delight at the gesture from the company. He said they were grateful for the thoughtfulness and consideration and encouraged people to 'cultivate the habit of regular check-ups in order to avoid preventable illnesses such as leprosy.' He, however, express worry about the daily stipend of the inmates, saying it was too low to cater for them, especially as they were not receiving any support from their families. He also enumerated other challenges they encountered, citing stigma from their relatives and the society in general as their biggest concern. He extended a plea to the National Health Insurance Authority to consider the inmates of the leprosarium for the NHIS. Father Campbell said they had cured about 600 lepers and asked the society to take care of them, integrate them back into the society and let them feel wanted and loved. In this regard, he also called for more sensitisation to ensure public understanding on their concerns. According to the 2016 World Giving Index report, Ghana ranked the 77th most charitable country in the world. Published by the Charities Aid Foundation, the report was the result of a survey of 150,000 people from 130 countries on their giving and volunteering tendencies. The National Trust Holdings Company thus hoped to improve Ghana's ranking next year by creating more avenues for their staff and clients to give more. NTHC launched its 40th anniversary in earlier June and has developed a youth literacy programme targeted at second cycle and tertiary institutions. The programme is expected to cover more than half a million students with the goal of encouraging young Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of good financial choices and planning. According to the Acting Manager, they would also focus on the informal pensions sector and the expansion of their presence in the Upper East and Upper East Regions. Other activities for anniversary celebrations also include plans to donate to the Lepers Aid Committee in Kokofu in Kumasi. GNA GNA Reporter Accra, Dec. 16, GNA - Ethiopian Airlines Los Angeles Area Office has received the Star Alliance Chief Executive Officer Awards for 2016, as a member of Star Alliance project team at Tom Bradley International Terminal. A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Hanna Atnafu, Manager Corporate Communications, Ethiopian Airlines said the awards was presented to the Airline, during the Annual Chief Executive Board Meeting held in Los Angeles. The award recognises outstanding and unique contributions of teams that have worked together to transform the check-in experience for customers, involving co-location of the Star Alliance carriers online in that location and the introduction of new self-service processes for economy class passengers. 'We are honoured to receive this recognition as member of the Los Angeles International Airport team for the successful team work Ethiopian has forged at Tom Bradley International Terminal,' Sasahulish Laeke, Traffic and Sales Manager, Regional Sales & Services Europe and the Americas has said. It said through the Star Alliance Network, the Airline offered their customers streamlined benefits including seamless connectivity options, through check-in and access to Star Alliance lounges. It also redeemed miles on frequent flier programmes of member airlines, priority check-in and baggage tags for Star Alliance gold members and coordinated schedules. Ethiopian Airlines joined Star Alliance, the largest airline network, in 2011 and currently operates thrice weekly scheduled flights to Los Angeles, one of five gateways in the Americas. GNA Accra, Dec 16, GNA - As part of efforts to reward customers, Vodafone Ghana has launched a campaign for this December dubbed: "Vodafone Super Red Christmas." This holistic approach by the telecommunication giant is to excite its customers throughout the festive season and to also reward all loyal customers. According to Vodafone, the month of December is unlike any other month, especially due to the Christmas celebration that always takes the centre stage. In a release, Vodafone Ghana's exciting line-up has already begun with a " night of Drama and Cocktail" which was held for Vodafone's high valued and enterprise customers across the country at the Kempinski Hotel over the weekend. According to the release, other activities lined up from December 5- December 30 will include a fixed broadband team bringing Santa Claus to the homes of more than 300 customers, bearing different kinds of gifts in appreciation for their commitment over the years. Other activities including a Vodafone X Mall Day, an insomnia movie night and a musical concert for the youth have been arranged throughout the festive season. Furthermore a programme dubbed: "24th Akwantuo aye free," is going to see bus fares paid for Vodafone customers traveling to spend the Christmas through Vodafone agents positioned at vantage bus stations where they will also ensure customers arrive safely at their destinations. Commenting on the Super Red Christmas campaign, Yolanda Cuba, CEO, Vodafone Ghana said is a way of recognising the importance of the very people Vodafone is into business. "As another year comes to an end, there is no doubt that the continuous loyalty of our customers coupled with a renewed strategic focus have continued to provide us with a competitive edge in the current environment. "Vodafone-Super-RED-Christmas is our way of appreciating the most important stakeholders in our business operations," she added. GNA President-elect Donald Trump will take over more than just the White House in January 2017, he will also be taking over the Air force one presidential jet. Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. What this means is that Air Force One is any Air Force aircraft designed, built, and used to transport the president. The presidential aircraft is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power. Below are some features of the Air Force One aircraft Trump will be taking over: 1. General features A full view of the aircraft Air Force One can carry more than 100 people, with space for 26 crew, as well as 76 passengers. It carries two pilots, as well as a flight engineer, a navigator, and cabin crew. It has a whole variety of rooms inside, including a conference and dining room, kitchens, and a communications suite. At the back of the plane there is space for the press corps, with designated blue carpet, and business class seats. 2. Sleeping areas A bedroom inside Air Force One Costing 116,000 per hour to keep the ultimate in presidential privileges in the air, the planes interior resembles a luxury if predominantly beige hotel, boasting 87 phones, 19 TVs and a gym, among other facilities. READ ALSO: Donald Trump appoints Ben Carson as housing secretary 3. Air Force One situation room Air Force One situation room The White House Situation Room, is known as the John F. Kennedy Conference Room. It is run by the national security council staff for the use of the President of the United States and their advisors. It is used to monitor and deal with crises at home and abroad and to conduct secure communications with outside persons. A secure direct feed to Air Force One was added. 4. Air Force One secretarial area Air Force One secretarial area The secretarial area of the Air Force One is found on the upper deck. It also operates as an airborne military command centre, with secure global satellite communications and TV studio facilities allowing the president to address the nation from the air. READ ALSO: Soyinka to hold funeral on Trump's inauguration 5. Air Force One relaxation area Air Force One relaxation area While the president works hard, he also needs some relaxation. So, Obamas executive suite includes a lounge with two sofas, a workout room, toilet, shower, vanity unit and double sink. A taste of comfort is also to be found with the unique souvenir presidential M&Ms, with each box bearing the Presidential Seal and embossed with the autograph of the current president. The conference room, which also doubles as a dining room, comes with a 50in plasma screen which can be used for teleconferencing. 6. Aisle seats in Air Force One Aisle seats in Air Force One The presidential suite at the front of the plane contains two twin couches, which turn into beds. The suite has blinds that come down over the portholes at the push of a button, and it was kitted out with a special Wii games console and television for when the Obama children were travelling. Source: Legit.ng Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy Senator Shehu Sani has dismissed a statement stating he voted against the acting Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Ibrahim Magu during the Senate's plenary session. The Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, on December Friday 16, took to his Facebook page to make a statement saying Magu is doing a good job as the Boss of the EFCC. Read the statement below: "Magu;my attention has been drawn to a fabricated,concocted,mischievously assembled statement credited to me by those opposed to Mr Magu,trying to use my name to strengthen their position.My personal opinion on this is simple;Magu is doing a good job as the Boss of the EFCC.All that is needed is the rule of law and fundamental human rights elements which need to be strongly observed by the commission,rule of law remains the most potent weapon in the fight against corruption.I remained respectfully bound by the majority position of the Senate on the issue, but wish to categorically and unambiguously state that I'm personally impressed with his performance." READ ALSO: Magu remains EFCC chairman whether confirmed or not - Sagay Shehu Sani denies voting against Ibrahim Magu Majority of the senators on Thursday, December 15, rejected President Muhammadu Buhari's nomination of Ibrahim Magu as the EFCC chairman based on the security report sent by the Department of State Service (DSS). Source: Legit.ng Borno is in total chaos as soldiers of the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army drafted to put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency in the state and around the Sambisa Forest, have reportedly turned against their senior officers. The soldiers are reported to be shooting sporadically in all direction in extreme protest against the way they are being treated by the senior officers of the Army. The soldiers reportedly went on rampage against ill-treatment from their senior officers Premium Times reports that the information came from those who are familiar with the matter. According to the report, the soldiers had complained of maltreatment and then "began to shoot indiscriminately, threatening to kill any officer who stands on their way." READ ALSO: Army rescues women, girls in Sambisa operation The report quoted a military source as saying: The brigade is based in Bama but is currently deployed at Bula Bello in Sambisa for Operation Rescue Final. But suddenly soldiers started mutinying at 6AM today, firing in all directions and threatening to pull out of the operation. As some of them fire gunshots, some started preparing vehicles to move out of location. They also warned officers to steer clear or they would be shot dead. They are saying their commanders have been treating them badly and telling them lies. As I speak to you, the firing is still going on, and there is confusion everywhere. READ ALSO: Nigerian Army suspends operations against cattle rustlers and bandits in Zamfara The report said the commander of the brigade, Col AG Laka, could not immediately be reached for his reaction while the Nigerian Army is yet to issue a statement. Spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, was said to have refused to comment on the development. Source: Legit.ng III 2022 , 8 , - 2,2 . Sometimes the announcement that a grant has been awarded signals the start of work. Thats not the case with new funding for the effort in Lincoln to get chronically homeless people off the streets and into housing. The organizations involved already had done an impressive amount of groundwork. The announcement that Matt Talbot had been awarded a $200,000 federal grant was followed within days that another $1.9 million federal grant had been awarded to a group of agencies led by Region V Systems, a quasi-governmental agency involving 16 Southeast Nebraska counties. The announcements are a high point in an ongoing process. The Most Vulnerable Review Team, with representatives from a dozen organizations, has been meeting every week for more than a year. They have a list of people it numbered 38 last week of people who met the definition of chronically homeless; they have a disability and have been continuously homeless or homeless for four times for a total of 12 months over three years. We know everyone, weve assessed everyone and we have a plan for everyone, John Turner of Region V told the Journal Stars Peter Salter. The local organizations are using the Housing First approach -- housing first, services later -- that has proven successful in other locations. Last year Utah declared that it had reduced chronic homelessness by 91 percent. The effort was championed by Lloyd Pendleton, who told National Public Radio that he was someone who used to say, "You lazy bums, get a job, pull yourself up by the bootstraps." Proponents contend that putting a permanent roof over the heads of the chronically homeless actually saves money. The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates that the annual cost to government for a homeless person is $30,000 to $50,000 for things like jail and emergency medical services. Its cheaper to put them in housing. People arent going to get better if theyre living on the streets, said Topher Hansen of CenterPointe in Lincoln. Now that the organizations have vouchers to put people in apartments, one of the next hurdles in the effort is to work with landlords. Region V is hoping to meet concerns by offering to pay for damages. And some landlords are willing to try. Landlord Jack Irons was watched some formerly homeless people master their addictions and reunite with their families. I think everybody comes across hard times one way or another. I believe in their program and I believe in helping people that need help, Irons said. No one imagines that ending chronic homelessness in Lincoln will be easy, but the effort in Lincoln appears to be on the verge of making substantial progress. The landslide re-election of Algerias 77-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, last Thursday to a fourth term comes as no surprise. Despite reports that many younger Algerian voters stayed home, as well as accusations from the political opposition of election fraud, the official tally gave Mr. Bouteflika an incredible 81.5 percent of the vote. Mr. Bouteflika is in such fragile health following a stroke last year that he did not participate in three weeks of campaigning, and he cast his vote from a wheelchair. It is past time for Algeria to move toward a more open society and a more diverse economy. Mr. Bouteflika and his government, led by a small group of army generals and intelligence officials, many of whom are also in their 70s, enjoy support among older Algerians who credit them with ending a civil war during the 1990s that claimed up to 200,000 lives. Still, there is discontent among Algerians under the age of 45, who make up four-fifths of the countrys 37 million people. Youth unemployment has steadily increased in recent years in Algerias overly oil-dependent economy, and riots and demonstrations have increased as well. For years, the Algerian government has managed to keep its grip on power and a lid on social upheaval by a combination of political repression and generous social handouts financed by the countrys oil wealth. A 2001 decree bans all demonstrations in Algiers, the capital, and the authorities are quick to crack down on public political gatherings elsewhere. Basic freedoms of association, peaceful assembly, collective bargaining and movement into and out of Algeria are severely restricted. According to Human Rights Watch, on the eve of the election, police detained and beat members of the new movement Barakat! (Enough! in Arabic), whose members opposed a fourth term, as they headed toward a peaceful protest at Algiers University. After the 2016 presidential election, Ohio Governor John Kasich strikes many as an archetypal moderate Republican. News flash: hes not. To be sure, Kasichs selectively compassionate conservatism compelled him to expand Medicaid in his state when many Republican governors and state legislators opted not to in order to express their opposition to the Affordable Care Act. He was also the only GOP presidential contender in 2016 who refused to betray his principles (or, perhaps, set aside his sour grapes) and back Trump, notably refusing to endorse the nominee or even attend the Republican National Convention in Ohio. But the fact that Kasich seemingly possesses a shred of integrity does not mean he is a friend of progressives or Democrats. Like most Republican governors, Kasich has decimated unions in his state. And on the issue of reproductive rights, Kasich is far from moderate. In fact, he is something of an extremist when it comes to limiting womens reproductive rights. Notably, half of the abortion clinics in Ohio have closed since he took office. Yes, Kasich refused to sign an ill-conceived fetal heartbeat bill that would have banned abortion after six weeks of gestation and been unlikely to survive legal challenges. But he enthusiastically approved a measure banning abortion after 20 weeks, with highly limited exceptions for rape, incest, or health of the mother. Significantly, the bill Kasich signed holds fetal pain (a highly contested phenomenon that varies from pregnancy to pregnancy) as the benchmark by which to regulate abortion. This is a notable and alarming departure from the Constitutional standard set by Roe v. Wade, which holds that fetal viability outside of the womb, not highly uncertain notions of when and how a fetus experiences pain, must be considered. It is probably not coincidence that the Ohio law marks a departure from the accepted standard, intended as it is to eventually to undermine or perhaps even lead to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Donald Trump has promised to fill Supreme Court vacancies with socially conservative justices receptive to the standards found in Kasichs bill. Under the right circumstances (say, two to three Trump justices replacing liberals Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer), a case involving a 20-week abortion ban could be the one that fulfills the long-time goal of abortion opponents to overturn Roe vs. Wade. The 20-week abortion ban is a perfect Trojan horse to strike a devastating blow against reproductive rights because it has some credibility with the 39% of the public that does not identify as pro-life or pro-choice. Many consider 20 weeks ample time for a woman to decide whether to get an abortion. However, as Emily Crockett of Vox powerfully explains: But most women dont seek later abortions because theyre indecisive. Some women discover a medical problem late in a wanted pregnancy. Others want an earlier abortion but face long delays due to barriers like high cost, long wait times, or the difficulty of dealing with an abusive partner. Most 20-week bans, including Ohios, dont make exceptions for fetal anomalies or other problems even though many serious issues cant be detected until a 20-week ultrasound. Thats what happened to Taylor Mahaffey, who was forced to give birth to a stillborn baby due to the 20-week abortion ban in Texas. Rather than induce labor immediately once doctors knew the baby had no chance of surviving, which would have technically been an abortion, Mahaffey had to wait four days for her baby to die and her water to break. We cried ourselves to sleep, waiting for him to come, Mahaffeys husband Daniel told the Daily Beast. Eventually she was just screaming at them to get the child out of her. Ohios 20-week ban doesnt make exceptions for rape or incest, either, which means a woman who is traumatized by rape would be forced to carry her rapists baby to term if she took too long to realize shes pregnant and process what happened to her. And Ohios health exception is much narrower than Roe v. Wade requires. For instance, if a woman needs an abortion for medical reasons because she has diabetes or multiple sclerosis, she wont actually be allowed to get the abortion until she is literally sick enough to die or have organ failure. Given the moral and logistical complexities of all abortions, especially procedures taking place later on in a pregnancy, government is singularly ill-equipped to step in and make reproductive decision on behalf of women. It is difficult to reconcile a passion for small government with the government intrusion that pro-life abortion laws entail. It would be more just and, ultimately, less controversial to advance norms calling for women to make highly personal decisions with those they love and trust to advise them (or by themselves, if that is what they prefer), rather than according to the dictates of ideologically driven politicians and bureaucrats. The question of when human life begins is highly subjective; ask a dozen Americans, men and women, and you will likely receive multiple answers. Given this ambiguity, the only sound policy is one that allows individuals to choose in accordance with their own values. This argument need not be considered pro-abortion; rather, it is pro human autonomy. If more operated with this level of moral humility, perhaps the culture war would de-escalate and Americans could focus on shared priorities. Alas, politicians like John Kasich keep the culture war raging by forcing their particular interpretations of Christian morality on others, presenting their way as the only right way of thinking about abortion and reproductive rights. In the name of God, they force women to act as incubators against their will, even when doing so endangers womens lives or causes them to re-experience terrible trauma after having been raped. This is not the compassionate conservatism government Kasich prides himself on. It is paternalistic sexism. All are entitled to their views on abortion; it takes a profound arrogance for social conservatives to impose their morality on the rest of the country. Pundits and citizens alike should consider whether it makes sense to bestow the term moderate upon men like Kasich who advance radical attacks on womens right to choose according to Roe vs. Wade which, much to the chagrin of social conservatives, still applies. Sam Greenwood Wins the Second EPT13 Prague 25,500 Single-Day High Roller (226,600) December 15, 2016 Christian Zetzsche Contributor Who is interested in playing another single day 25k tomorrow at #EPTPrague? I'm starting an interest list, staff said they will consider. steveodwyer (@steveodwyer) What started as an idea by Steve O'Dwyer on Twitter after a very successful 25,500 Single-Day High Roller one day ago and gathered interested by several high roller regulars, was turned into a reality by the EPT staff upon request today. A second edition of the event at the 2016 PokerStars EPT13 Prague festival with a starting stack of 100,000 and levels of 30 minutes each saw 19 players and six re-entries gather a field of 25 entries. The prize pool of 612,500 was to be divided among the top five spots and226,600, a high roller title and bragging rights among the familiar faces on the international poker circuit were up for grabs. Position Player Country Prize 1 Sam Greenwood Canada 226,600 2 Jean-Noel Thorel France 156,200 3 Mikita Badziakouski Belarus 99,530 4 Ali Reza Fatehi Iran 71,970 5 Steve O'Dwyer Ireland 58,200 Ultimately, it was Sam Greenwood who emerged victorious after a 90-minute heads-up battle with Jean-Noel Thorel. O'Dwyer cashed in fifth place. Among those to participate were Paul Newey, Ben Heath, Ole Schemion, Vladimir Troyanovskiy, Timothy Adams, Justin Bonomo and Isaac Haxton among others. Yesterday's champion Haxton bowed out early this time while EPT 13 Prague 50,000 Super High Roller runner-up Charlie Carrel bubbled. Six players returned from the dinner break and Carrel as well as Ali Reza Fatehi were the two shortest stacks. Fatehi doubled, then Carrel shoved jack-nine suited into the ace-king of Thorel to miss out on yet another high roller score. O'Dwyer had to settle for fifth place when his king-jack suited found no help against the ace-queen of Greenwood. Fatehi soon followed him to the rail in fourth place with ace-seven suited. Again it was Thorel who did the work with ace-king. Down to three players, the lead changed several times. Mikita Badziakouski came back from almost zero before running low on chips again. Eventually, the Belarusian had to settle for third when his queen-jack suited was out-flopped by Greenwood's jack-ten and a fierce duel for the victory without any deal discussions followed. Thorel started with a slight lead and pulled away several times. Greenwood doubled up three times and eventually secured the win after calling Thorel's shove on a king-high river with ten-three suited for second pair. Thorel had bluffed with four-deuce. All those who missed out on the event don't have to worry, as O'Dwyer and the EPT staff already confirmed that another edition of the tournament is scheduled. The action will get underway at 2 p.m. on Dec. 16 with the same structure. PokerNews will be providing updates to follow the action. The last official EPT High Roller title will then be up for grabs in the three-day 10,300 High Roller from Dec. 17 until Dec. 19, while the 5,300 Main Event will play down to a winner during the same time span as well. Sharelines Sam Greenwood wins the second EPT13 Prague 25,500 Single-Day High Roller for 226,600. Savills has advised Aberdeen Asset Management on the sale of 3 Kobmagergade, in the heart of Copenhagen's luxury shopping district. The prime retail asset has sold to a private investor. K3 comprises 3,400 sq m of lettable space with current tenants including global retail brands Zara Home and Monki (of [] Your edition revisiting Pearly Harbor and the surprise Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, was well done ("After Pearl: A young man willing to serve," LJS, Dec. 7). Thank you. The single page listing the names of the 2,402 people who died that day gives a significant, understandable sense of reality to the tragedy. If it would be possible for you to list the names of the more than an estimated 60,000,000 people killed during World War II, you would need to add nearly 25,000 similar, additional pages to each newspaper to print it. When such numbers are placed in an understandable perspective as you have done, then extended forward to include the entire WWII conflict, they are beyond comprehension and cause serious pause about the future of the human experience. Stephen Hawking, the noted English physicist and scholar, in a recent article, gives the human race 1,000 years to solve just the existing problems. That is also cause for considerable pause. Don C. Ficke, Pleasant Dale Warsaws office stock topped 5 million sq m in 2016. High growth dynamics and changing market conditions have led to inter- and intrazone tenant migration in the past two years. Building age is still central to the choice of a suitable location. Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services [] Waters Romania will occupy 3,500 sq m in N1 building, belonging to the second phase of development of Coresi Business Park. The building, with a total area of 8,500 sq m, will be delivered in the second quarter of next year. The second phase Coresi Business Park comprises three low-height, [] Last year, Bajaj took a dig at Royal Enfield owners when the first Haathi Mat Paalo ad was launched (Haathi here being referred to Royal Enfield bikes). That was by far their boldest ad till date. But guess what, they are not done poking fun at RE owners, yet. The company launched Part 2 of the Haathi Mat Paalo series. In this, not one, but 6 new ads are shown. In the first ad they show how Royal Enfield bikes are pathetic when it comes to braking. In the second ad, the cold start issue is highlighted whereas the third ad shows how RE bikes cannot take on a steep climb. Now, they have launched a three more ads. One which shows how the LED headlight of the Dominar is far superior and the other, how Dominar can overcome any trouble thrown at it. The fifth ad shows Dominar riders throwing a banana at the Haathi, in return, the Haathi salutes the Dominar. The latest, ad no 7 in the series, shows a tired Haathi rider, getting massage from none other than the Haathi, whereas the Dominar riders continue riding at ease. Watch all the ads below. Also See Royal Enfield fans have the last laugh after Bajaj Dominar gets stuck during off-roading Video You can watch the previous ads below. Demand for bikes in the 350-500cc segment is on the rise. Royal Enfield has been posting healthy sales growth for quite some years now. Bajaj wants to have a piece of the same pie. Which is why the Dominar was launched. A much more advanced motorcycle in every possible way. But, it has failed to beat Royal Enfield as far as sales are concerned. At the time of launch, Bajaj aimed to sell 10,000 units of Dominar every month. But, their sales average at about 1,500 units instead. Whereas, sales of Royal Enfield continue to grow. For the month of Jan 2018, they registered sales of 76,205 units, a staggering 30% growth. This, in spite of Bajaj being in aggressive marketing mode ever since the launch of Dominar. CEOs of the two company have also spoken about the rivalry. At the launch of Dominar 400, Mr Bajaj stated that Siddhartha Lal (CEO, MD Eicher Motor, parent of Royal Enfield) is a good friend. Rajiv Bajaj added that he is sure Siddhartha will be able to take brand Royal Enfield across the globe and register many more sales. Speaking of sales rivalry, Mr Bajaj said there is no rivalry Those who want slow bike, can ride Royal Enfield. Those who want fast, powerful bike can ride Dominar. Mr Lal of Royal Enfield on the other hand has stated that he is not at all worried about the Bajaj Dominar. And with less than 1,500 units sold last month in India, he is quite right. In an interview, Mr Lal said, When one succeeds in a segment, others try to enter and take a bite. Of course, there will be competition but we are not worried. This segment is not open for anyone to simply enter and walk away with the market. One has to be the opposite of what the market leader is. It has been about 1 year since the Dominar has gone on sale and we have already seen multiple ad campaigns, social media posts, new editions, new colours, new alloys, etc being offered with the Dominar. This shows that Bajaj believes that their bike is worthy rival to Royal Enfield, and some day it will result in positive sales growth. Speaking about the bike itself, Bajaj Dominar 400 offers relaxed riding position, comfortable ride, and effortless mile-munching capabilities. It aims to deliver the best traits of traditional motorcycles and cruisers in a single package. The design remains identical to the concept that was showcased at the Auto Expo 2014 but there are a few changes like the front suspension system which is a regular telescopic fork (concept used USD fork), split seats, etc. The motorcycle employs LED headlights (first bike in India to do so), fully digital instrument console with auxiliary display on the fuel tank, front and rear disc brakes (with optional dual channel ABS), MRF tubeless tyres, LED taillights and indicators. As expected, the engine is borrowed from KTM. It is the same 373cc single cylinder FI unit with liquid cooling. But the power output has been detuned to 35 PS while torque output stands at 35 Nm. It has a top speed of 148 kmph and does 0-100 kmph in just 8.23 seconds. A move which is aimed at reducing the number of road deaths caused due to drink and drive, Government of India passed a new law from 1st April 2017, which will bring an end of all alcohol shops which were previously being operated on the National as well as State Highway. The order was passed by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice, Mr T S Thakur. The ban states that alcohol shops cannot operate within 500 meters from state or a national highway. This way, the alcohol shops will not be visible to people travelling on the highway. India has one of the largest network of highways in the world. This has resulted in a large number of liquor shops to operated on the highways. For example, there are 62 liquor shops along a 1 km stretch on the national highway in Mahe district, Puducherry. Last year, 1.4 lakh people lost their lives due to road accidents a considerable number of them died because the driver of the vehicle was drunk. This new move will surely help in reducing the number of deaths registered due to drunk driving cases. Basically, the rule has been implemented to stop bars from operating near the highways. But, as is the case with most of us, some ingenious always manage to get their way one way or the other. Here is the case of Aishwarya Restobar in Paravoor, Ernakulam. Sitting well within the 500 meter range from highway, the bar legally should have been banned from selling alcohol from 1st April 2017. But, the owner of this bar decided to build a maze surrounding the bar, thus increasing the distance of the bar from the highway by more than 500 meters. Situated on NH17, the bar owner spent INR 2 lakh to build this maze. How do you think the government should deal with this situation? Should they ban the bar from selling alcohol, or let them sell because of this maze construction? Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below. The arid Atacama Desert, thought to be a barrier to early South American settlers, may have held lakes large enough to sustain small human populations, according to new research. The lakes' presence challenges the current understanding of the paths early settlers took to explore and settle South America, according to the researchers. Chile's Atacama Desert spans roughly 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) along South America's western coast. The desert is sandwiched between two mountain ranges, which prevent water from reaching its valleys and salt flats, making it the world's driest location outside the poles. Now, new research shows standing water may have existed in the heart of the Atacama. Scientists recently discovered remnants of freshwater plants and animals buried in the sediment of the desert's salt flats: the large stretches of dry, salty soil that pepper the Atacama Desert. Many of the flats span 600 to 1,000 square meters (6,400 to 10,400 square feet), though some are larger. Radiocarbon analysis showed the freshwater lakes and wetlands existed in the desert between 9,000 and 25,000 years ago, according to the researchers. Many archeologists believe South America's early settlers traveled from the west coast inland toward the Andean Mountains, avoiding the desert's dry center by walking along its wetter edges. But the new findings suggest the Atacama's ancient lakes could have provided another path through the desert, and possibly even homes for South American settlers. "The implication is that a landscape previously thought to be uninhabitable was actually an important stepping-stone for colonization of South America," said Marco Pfeiffer, a soil scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and lead author of the new study. Pfeiffer will present the study's results today at the 2016 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. When Pfeiffer and his colleagues dug into the salt flats, they discovered organic material left by freshwater plants, snails and microorganisms. Radiocarbon dating suggested those organisms lived after one or more wet climate cycles, known as the Central Andean Pluvial Events. Pfeiffer said the climate cycles likely brought rain from the Andes down to the water-starved soil of the Atacama Desert, creating the lakes and wetlands. Even populations of guanaco, the undomesticated parent of the modern llama, may have once thrived near the Atacama's ancient water bodies, he added. When the climate cycles ended, the lakes and wetlands transitioned from fresh to saltwater before completely disappearing several thousand years later, Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer said the new findings could help guide future archaeological expeditions. Only three archaeological sites within the desert have been searched for evidence of human settlement, all of which stand near streams. Pfeiffer believes the Atacama Desert holds a "rich, early archaeological record remaining to be discovered and analyzed." The American Dawn space probe has been orbiting the asteroid Ceres between Mars and Jupiter since March 2015. Thanks to the two identical onboard cameras from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), the Framing Cameras, the dwarf planet has been almost completely mapped. In a current study, a team headed by scientists from the MPS reports on Ceres' most northerly regions, where the Gottingen cameras have performed a very special feat: they have succeeded in taking photos of water ice deposits in places ruled by almost eternal darkness. Thomas Platz is the lead author of the study now published in Nature Astronomy, a new specialist journal. "Using our cameras, we looked at the craters in the region near the north pole between 65 and 90 degrees north. Some of these craters are at least partially in eternal darkness which means they are never reached by sunlight. The reason for this is that Ceres' rotational axis has an angle of inclination of only 4.028 degrees," explains the member of the Framing Camera team at the MPS. The small axial inclination means the Sun never rises far above the horizon in the sky above Ceres' polar regions. This in turn means that obstacles such as crater walls cast long shadows; considerable areas of the polar region are even shrouded in eternal night. Although sunlight never falls directly onto these locations, tiny amounts of scattered light do reach them, reflected from directly illuminated crater walls in the vicinity, for example. The camera can use this weak light and explore the darkness. This is how it came across several bright deposits -- water ice. Hunting for ice deposits is hard work: of the 634 identified craters with permanent dark areas, ten craters with conspicuously bright spots in their interior were found in the images of the Framing Cameras. A comparatively young crater, still unnamed but provisionally called Number 2, plays a special role here; it lies 69.9 degrees north and has a diameter of 3.8 kilometres. The bright deposits there extend beyond the permanent darkness right into the area which is sometimes illuminated by direct sunlight. "This offers the opportunity to analyse the light reflected from there with Dawn's VIR (Visible and IR Spectrometer) onboard instrument, which was supplied by the Italian space agency," explains Andreas Nathues, who heads the Framing Camera experiment at the MPS. "We can clearly see the spectral signature of water ice, but were unable to find other frozen gases." The scientists assume that the other bright deposits are also made mainly of water ice. Scientists have long thought that Ceres' interior contains large amounts of ice because its density is so low -- 2.1621 grammes per cubic centimetre. This is now the second time that water has been found directly on the surface. The current results join measurements from the Herschel telescope operated by the European Space Agency ESA, which measured water vapour close to Ceres in 2014. In December 2015, moreover, Max Planck researchers in Gottingen used the Framing Cameras to record patches of mist over two craters close to the equator, likewise an indication of water in vapour form. Deposits of ice on parts of Ceres' surface which experience direct sunlight are found to be unstable over long, geological periods of time. The dwarf plant has no atmosphere and thus the ice sublimates in a relatively short period of time once it reaches the surface. This means it passes directly from ice to the gaseous state. At places which are permanently in darkness, and thus extremely cold, where the temperatures fall below minus 163 degrees Celsius, ice can survive for a very long time. "We know ice deposits exist in the polar regions of our Moon and the planet Mercury, both of which have no atmosphere either. These ice deposits can be explained as the result of external events such as the impacts of comets," says Nathues. "The craters near Ceres' poles, however, contain ice which is probably indigenous to Ceres, i.e. it originates mainly from Ceres itself," explains Platz. As the co-authors of the study of the Free University of Berlin have been able to show in a simulation, the impact which originally created the Oxo crater, for example, could have blasted away icy rock which exists below the surface and hurled it as far as the polar regions. Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK, Inc., of Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The framing cameras were provided by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Gottingen, Germany, with significant contributions by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, and in coordination with the Institute of Computer and Communication Network Engineering, Braunschweig. The framing camera project is funded by the Max Planck Society, DLR, and NASA. Conservation scientists have used layers of data on biodiversity, climate, transport and crop yields to construct a colour-coded mapping system that shows where new road-building projects should go to be most beneficial for food production at the same time as being least destructive to the environment. The hope is that this "trade-off" strategy might guide governments, investors and developers to focus on road expansions that make the most difference for current agricultural areas, rather than projects that threaten to open up significant natural habitats for conversion to farmland. As a proof of concept, scientists applied their technique to a specific sub-region: the Greater Mekong in Southeast Asia -- one of the most biologically important parts of the planet, and a place that has lost almost a third of its tropical forest since the 1970s. They found a number of current road proposals in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have potential for massive habitat conversion with little benefit for populations and food security. They also found areas where new roads could increase food production and connectivity with limited environmental cost. Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, the Kunming Institute of Botany and the World Agroforestry Centre in China say their study, published today in PLOS Biology, is an attempt to explore a more "conciliatory approach" in the hope of starting greater dialogue between developers and conservation experts. They call on organisations such as the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as well as Asian Development Bank to use such analyses when considering investment in future road expansion projects in the Mekong region -- an area undergoing rapid development. advertisement "It is estimated that by 2050 we will build 25 million km of new road lanes, the majority of which will be in the developing world," says Andrew Balmford, Professor of Conservation Science at Cambridge. "Conservationists can to appear to oppose nearly all new infrastructure, while developers and their financial backers are often fairly mute on the environmental impact of their proposals. This can lead to a breakdown in communication." "The Mekong region is home to some of the world's most valuable tropical forests. It's also a region in which a lot of roads are going to be built, and blanket opposition by the conservation community is unlikely to stop this," says Prof Jianchu Xu from the Kunming Institute of botany in China, as well as regional coordinator for the World Agroforestry Centre, East and Central Asia Regional Office. "Studies like ours help pinpoint the projects we should oppose most loudly, while transparently showing the reasons why and providing alternatives where environmental costs are lower and development benefits are greater. "Conservationists need to be active voices in infrastructure development, and I think these approaches have the potential to change the tone of the conversation." The Greater Mekong encompasses Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and the Yunnan Province of China. It is home to around 20,000 plant species, 2000 types of land vertebrates and 850 species of freshwater fish. Much of this biodiversity is found nowhere else on the planet. advertisement The saola, for example, is a mammal resembling a small antelope that was only discovered in 1992, and is so rare it is known as the "Asian unicorn." The region's vast forests also act as critical carbon 'sinks', absorbing greenhouse gases. The Greater Mekong is also home to over 320 million people, and habitat loss has been accelerating. Between 1973 and 2009, an estimated 31% of the region's natural forest disappeared. Alongside this there is widespread poverty; food insecurity and malnutrition remain major challenges. The researchers created the new framework for road planning in the Mekong by analysing various data sources: including crop yield gaps across the region, travel times between population hubs, range maps for birds and mammals, and biomass carbon stocks in soil and vegetation. By combining this data into composite layers, the team were able to map them over the region and reduce the results to a simple green-to-purple colour scale comparing food production benefits to environmental costs. In areas such as Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta, new roads could substantially boost food production through improved transport links for getting produce to market, lowering waste and increasing access to new technologies. This would come at a relatively limited environmental cost, as much of the area has been converted to agriculture, yet crop yields remain low. However, researchers warn that planned projects in other areas with extensive forests, such as in northern Laos and western Yunnan in China, could devastate vital ecosystems with little gain for food production. "If new roads are deployed strategically, and deliberately target already-cleared areas with poor transport connectivity, this could attract agricultural growth that might otherwise spread elsewhere," says Prof Xu. For Balmford, this is perhaps the crux of the argument, and something he has long been vocal about: "By increasing the crop yield of current agricultural networks, there is hope that food needs can be met while containing the expansion of farming and so sparing natural habitats from destruction. The location of infrastructure, and roads in particular, will play a major role in this." However, the researchers caution that the channeling of roads into less damaging, more rewarding areas will have to go hand-in-hand with strengthening protection for globally significant habitats such as the remaining forests of the Mekong. New cancer therapies harness the immune system to fight tumors. One of the main principles behind these therapies is to find out precisely which molecules on cancer cells trigger an immune response. A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry has for the first time identified suitable protein structures directly from patients' tumor cells. Unlike former approaches, their method does not rely on prediction algorithms but makes use of mass spectrometry. The procedure therefore opens up new possibilities for individualized targeted cancer treatments. Through evolution, the immune system has developed sophisticated mechanisms for fighting illnesses associated with viruses and tumors. T cells play an important role in this setting. They can identify small protein structures, known as peptides, on cells. The body's own cells "present" the peptides on their surface and thus offer information about molecules on the inside. Individual peptides may, for example, indicate a viral infection or a mutation -- the latter being a characteristic of tumor cells. Peptides identified by immune cells are known as antigens. T cells that recognize antigens can trigger a reaction that destroys the targeted cells. In recent years research teams, including TUM researchers, have successfully utilized this characteristic for cancer treatments. Different approaches have emerged. Vaccinating a patient with an antigen can stimulate the body to enhance the production of specific T cells. Another possibility is to enrich T cells that are "trained" for certain antigens and transfer them to the patient. In both cases, it is important to know which antigens derived from viruses or tumors may be recognized by the T cells. Many different peptides can be found on the body's own cells and cancer cells. Consequently, the pool of potential candidates when searching for suitable antigens is very large. The authors of the new study identified approximately 100,000 different peptides from tumor tissue samples derived from only 25 melanoma patients. The T cells are particularly good at identifying peptides on tumor cells with mutations, i.e. structural changes. The peptides that mutate and the type of mutations they undergo generally varies from one patient to another. Time-consuming and error-prone search for antigens In the past, the search for mutated peptides actually presented on the tumor was a time-consuming and error-prone process. Scientists had to start by sequencing the DNA from tumor cells. That process alone takes one to two weeks. The sequencing data is then fed into prediction algorithms to determine which mutated peptides might be found on the surface of the cell. Subsequently, time-consuming laboratory experiments had to be performed in order to find out whether these molecules actually existed and were presented on the cell surface. An alternative to this process has now been developed by a team led by Angela M. Krackhardt, professor of translational immunotherapy at the Third Medical Clinic at TUM's Klinikum rechts der Isar, and Professor Matthias Mann of the Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. Krackhardt and Mann have described their approach in an article published in the journal Nature Communications. Unlike other methods, it is not based on predictive models. Instead, the scientists use a mass spectrometer to identify the peptides actually present on the tumor surface. Accurate and time-saving The genomic sequence, or blueprint, of the tumor cells is also required for the new method. At the same time, surface structures of the malignant cell -- in this case presented peptides -- are removed directly from tumor tissue and investigated by mass spectrometry. Combining both analyses by bioinformatics results in the identification of mutated antigens actually presented on the cells with considerable accuracy. The team headed by Krackhardt and Mann was also able to demonstrate the clinical relevance of the new method: In the blood of melanoma patients they found T cells that recognized tumor cells by means of antigens identified with mass spectrometry. The new approach offers numerous advantages. By avoiding time-consuming simulations and laboratory experiments, information on mutated peptides on the tumor cells is much faster available. "For the first time, we have used the mass spectrometer to investigate not just expanded, cells, but rather heterogeneous tumor tissues of real patients," adds Matthias Mann. "That gives us much more detailed information about the molecular characteristics of the tumor." Moreover, the method is highly sensitive. The results of the study are already serving as the starting point for promising research initiatives, for example on the role of phosphorylated peptides. Angela Krackhardt sees no major obstacles for clinical application of the method. "Our approach opens up new possibilities for the personalized treatment of cancer," says Krackhardt. "Identification of suitable antigens by this method will allow us to provide individualized vaccines or adoptive T-cell therapies for our patients within weeks to a few months." A paper published this week during the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting in San Francisco points to new evidence of human influence on extreme weather events. Three researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are among the co-authors on the paper, which is included in "Explaining Extreme Events of 2015 from a Climate Perspective," a special edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) released December 15 at the AGU meeting. The paper, "The Deadly Combination of Heat and Humidity in India and Pakistan in Summer 2015," examined observational and simulated temperature and heat indexes, concluding that the heat waves in the two countries "were exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change." While these countries typically experience severe heat in the summer, the 2015 heat waves -- which occurred in late May/early June in India and in late June/early July in Pakistan -- have been linked to the deaths of nearly 2,500 people in India and 2,000 in Pakistan. "I was deeply moved by television coverage of the human tragedy, particularly parents who lost young children," said Michael Wehner, a climate researcher at Berkeley Lab and lead author on the paper, who has studied extreme weather events and anthropogenic climate change extensively. This prompted him and collaborators from Berkeley Lab, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and UC Berkeley to investigate the cause of the 2015 heat waves and determine if the two separate meteorological events were somehow linked. They used simulations from the Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5), the atmospheric component of the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Earth System Model, performed by Berkeley Lab for the C20C+ Detection and Attribution Project. Current climate model-based products are not optimized for research on the attribution of the human influence on extreme weather in the context of long-term climate change; the C20C+ Detection and Attribution Project fills this gap by providing large ensembles of simulation data from climate models, running at relatively high spatial resolution. The experimental design described in the BAMS paper used "factual" simulations of the world and compared them to "counterfactual" simulations of the world that might have been had humans not changed the composition of the atmosphere by emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide, explained Daithi Stone, a research scientist in Berkeley Lab's Computational Research Division and second author on the BAMS paper. advertisement "It is relatively common to run one or a few simulations of a climate model within a certain set of conditions, with each simulation differing just in the precise weather on the first day of the simulation; this difference in the first day propagates through time, providing different realizations of what the weather 'could have been,'" Stone said. "The special thing about the simulations used here is that we ran a rather large number of them. This was important for studying a rare event; if it is rare, then you need a large amount of data in order to have it occurring frequently enough that you can understand it." The researchers examined both observational and simulated temperature alone as well as the heat index, a measure incorporating both temperature and humidity effects. From a quality-controlled weather station observational dataset, they found the potential for a very large, human-induced increase in the likelihood of the magnitudes of the two heat waves. They then examined the factual and counterfactual simulations to further investigate the presence of a human influence. "Observations suggested the human influence; simulations confirmed it," Wehner said. The research team also found that, despite being close in location and time, the two heat waves were "meteorologically independent." Even so, Wehner emphasized, "the India/Pakistan paper confirms that the chances of deadly heat waves have been substantially increased by human-induced climate change, and these chances will certainly increase as the planet continues to warm." Data from Berkeley Lab's simulations were also analyzed as part of another study included in the special edition of BAMS released at the AGU meeting. That study, "The Late Onset of the 2015 Wet Season in Nigeria," which was led by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, explores the role of greenhouse gas emissions in changing the chance of a late wet season, as occurred over Nigeria in 2015. "The C20C+ D&A Project is continuing to build its collection of climate model data with the intention of supporting research like this around the world," Stone said. The C20C+ D&A portal is hosted and supported by Berkeley Lab's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), a DOE Office of Science User Facility, and the simulations for the two papers were run on NERSC's Hopper supercomputer, while the data analysis was done on NERSC's Edison and Cori systems. The simulations were conducted as part of a program dedicated to advancing our understanding of climate extremes and enhancing our ability to attribute and project changes in their risk because of anthropogenic climate change. The research was supported by the DOE Office of Science and the National Science Foundation. "Explaining Extreme Events of 2015 from a Climate Perspective," a special edition of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, can be accessed here: http://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/publications/bulletin-of-the-american-meteorological-society-bams/explaining-extreme-events-from-a-climate-perspective/ HIV, SARS, Ebola, H1N1, Zika, the list of communicable global health threats seems ever growing. And all too often, the limited resources available to fight these diseases must be picked up and redeployed, often haphazardly, as the next new threat emerges. But what if there were ways to wage a more effective war against all communicable diseases, using new combinations of proven complex sociological and statistical mathematic models to tell where an outbreak might occur, how it might spread, and how it could best be rolled back or even eliminated by a more tactical application of resources? That's exactly what Carlos Castillo-Chavez, a regent's professor of mathematical biology at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and colleagues propose the need for in a new article published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. As executive director of the Simon A. Levin Mathematical and Computational Modeling Sciences Center, Castillo-Chavez isn't satisfied with the traditional mathematical epidemiological approach to tracking these diseases, which relies heavily on the amount of per capita points of "collisions" between those with a disease and others not yet infected. These models often fall short because they fail to take into account the unique complicating factors of what is referred to in the study as a "patch" (or a zone of shared socioeconomic, geographic or other traits) where those interactions occurred. Instead, Castillo-Chavez is now looking at and prompting others in his field to consider the intersection of two evolving approaches that could be used to better address the problem. The first is economic epidemiological modeling (EEM), which includes examining information flow in affected areas and the financial risk/reward perceptions that may drive movement of individuals to, from, and within affected "patches." An example might be someone having to choose between self-quarantine as a protection strategy versus leaving home during an outbreak to go to work and receive income -- which can also be a matter of life and death. The second is the Lagrangian approach, which also assists with projecting human crowd movement and behavior, but broadens the scope of patches considered related to a disease and allows them be assigned their own associated risk of infection per residency time. This information can then be layered over EEM-driven population mobility calculations for more accurate transmission projections. "The Lagrangian perspective has helped increase our understanding of the consequences of the deliberate release of biological agents in 2003 and most recently in the study of Ebola in West Africa and Zika in the Americas," Castillo-Chavez notes. Both the development and the application of these types of new, complex mathematical and social theories would be no easy feat. But it might be a first step towards the goal of identifying consistent patterns -- such as those starting to emerge in the study of host-parasite systems -- that can account for not just known and recurrent variables, but also emergent natural and social shifts in a world where people can move anywhere, at nearly any time. "These efforts emerged as the result of multi-institutional collaborators that met regularly at NIMBioS in Tennessee with the support of NSF for more than two years," Castillo-Chavez says. "The research has been carried out with my former students and postdoctoral associates Benjamin Morin, now at Vassar and Derdei Bichara, now at Cal State Fullerton." Questions surround the Saturday death of a 7-year-old girl with special needs who was found face down on a therapeutic beanbag chair in a Fremont elementary classroom on Dec. 8. Staff at Milliken Park Elementary found first-grader Kira Hales unresponsive that afternoon and said fewer than five minutes had passed since the girl had been checked on, according to Fremont police. At least one school staff member was in the room, they said. Kira suffered from nonketotic hyperglycinemia, a rare genetic disorder that causes the amino acid glycine to build up in the body. She used a wheelchair and was unable to speak. An autopsy was done Wednesday, but it likely will take about 30 days for the pathologist to issue a report, Dodge County Attorney Oliver Glass said. Fremont police are investigating the incident and have not ruled out the possibility of criminal charges, Detective Brandon Lorenson said during an interview on Thursday. Ultimately, Ill end up forwarding everything to the county attorney to decide whether somebody will be charged, he said. Kira used to have seizures that could cause her to roll forward, but she hadn't had one in years, Lorenson said. The school called 911 just before 1 that afternoon, and an officer arrived minutes later and helped give CPR until paramedics arrived. Rescue workers were able to restore her pulse on the way to Fremont Health Medical Center, Lorenson said, but she died after being flown to Childrens Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha. Her dad, Jerrad Hales, said on his Facebook page that his daughters brain had ceased to function. He said she was an organ donor and helped save four lives. That is four families that will not have to deal with this excruciating pain, he wrote. Shes a little hero indeed. Hales also said he believes his daughter's death could have been prevented. Seven students spend time in the basic skills classroom at the elementary school, said Fremont Public Schools Superintendent Mark Shepard. They also spend part of their day in other classrooms, and Shepard didnt know how many were in the basic skills room at the time of the incident. Staff assigned to the room include one teacher, two para-educators and a health aide who is there part-time, he said. No district employees have been disciplined or put on leave, Shepard said Thursday. School officials are waiting to review the police report before deciding whether anything could or should have been done differently or whether changes need to be made to ensure student safety, Shepard said. We believe student safety is our paramount duty, and we strive to create a safe environment for all of our students, he said. The school districts thoughts and prayers go out to Kira's family and all those affected by her death, said Shepard. A school crisis team met Sunday, and grief counseling, including a therapy dog, was made available to staff and students Monday and Tuesday, Shepard said. The family has started a Go Fund Me campaign to help with funeral costs. Search gofundme.com for her name. While Kira couldn't speak, she had her own personality and a warm smile, Heather Marie Silvey wrote on the Go Fund Me page. She liked hard rock music, horror movies, muscle cars and loved to go places," her obituary said, "but her favorite thing to do was spend time with her father." Kira also is survived by her mother, Elizabeth Zastera, and other family. A funeral is set for 10:30 Friday morning at Moser Memorial Chapel in Fremont. Have you ever collected coins, cards, toy trains, stuffed animals? Did you feel the need to complete the set? If so, then you may be a completist. A completist will go to great lengths to acquire a complete set of something. Scientists can also be completists who are inspired to identify and catalog every object in a particular field to further our understanding of it. For example, a comprehensive parts list of the human body -- and of other organisms that are important in biomedical research -- could aid in the development of novel treatments for diseases in the same way that a parts list for a car enables auto mechanics to build or repair a vehicle. More than 15 years ago, scientists figured out how to catalog every gene in the human body. In the years since, rapid advances in technology and computational tools have allowed researchers to begin to categorize numerous aspects of the biological world. There's actually a special way to name these collections: Add "ome" to the end of the class of objects being compiled. So, the complete set of genes in the body is called the "genome," and the complete set of proteins is called the "proteome." Below are three -omes that NIH-funded scientists work with to understand human health. Genome The genome is the original -ome. In 1976, Belgium scientists identified all 3,569 DNA bases -- the As, Cs, Gs and Ts that make up DNA's code -- in the genes of bacteriophage MS2, immortalizing this bacteria-infecting virus as possessing the first fully sequenced genome. advertisement Over the next two decades, a small handful of additional genomes from other microorganisms followed. The first animal genome was completed in 1998. Just 5 years later, scientists identified all 3.2 billion DNA bases in the human genome, representing the work of more than 1,000 researchers from six countries over a period of 13 years. As more individuals' genomes have been sequenced, scientists have found that humans share 99.5% of their genome with each other. However, small differences can be quite important. As the cost of sequencing genomes has plummeted from an initial $3 billion to the current $1,000, scientists are sequencing the genomes of individuals as well as those of additional organisms used to investigate biological questions. And all the effort has started to pay off. Genomics is beginning to reveal many of the basic components of cells and their interactions. Already, researchers are linking the presence of certain genes in the genome to specific diseases. Furthering our understanding of the genome will have a profound impact on the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Also, comparing the genomes of related and disparate species can shed light on how species evolve over time. Lipidome The lipidome is the collection of all the lipids, or fat molecules, within a cell. Cells use lipids to form a continuous lipid membrane around themselves and to separate their inner organelles from each other. These cellular membranes aren't simply for protection. They're also highly organized and dynamic work zones, seeded with proteins that help regulate the way cells attach to other cells, talk to each other, collect nutrients and grow. advertisement The lipid membranes inside the cell can similarly act as points of contact between cellular compartments, and they're involved in nearly every aspect of cellular physiology and function. Recent experiments have revealed hundreds of distinct types of lipids produced by cells. The lipidome has also been found to be remarkably flexible. It's capable of rapid, large- and small-scale rearrangements in response to different situations, including early development and disease. In the case of development, lipids within the membrane reorganize as a cell grows. In the case of disease, viruses delivering their infectious payloads can slam into and rupture the lipid membrane of human cells, causing localized reshuffling. Disturbances to the lipid components of cellular membranes are associated with diverse diseases, including cardiovascular disease, autoimmunity, osteoporosis, neurological disorders and cancer. Experiments investigating the lipidome of specific cells with known roles in particular diseases could help researchers identify novel treatments. Glycome The glycome is the complete set of glycans, also known as carbohydrates or sugars, that cells produce. Many of these glycans are linked to proteins and lipids on cell surfaces, where they can interact with molecules on other cells. Single sugars can also act as signaling molecules inside cells, altering gene editing, protein folding and other cellular functions. A recent study of 650 different species suggests that about 5% of an organism's DNA codes for the proteins that synthesize, degrade and/or recognize and bind to carbohydrates. Mutations in these genes can result in the dysfunction of many organs, underscoring the importance of carbohydrates to human health. In addition, changes in the patterns of glycans in a person's cells can be an indication of a range of diseases, including cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and cardiovascular disease. One day, scientists may use imaging techniques to rapidly identify a cell's glycome to diagnose specific kinds of cancer, for example. Cells also use the glycans on their outer surface, commonly referred to as "carbohydrate coats," to recognize one another (watch "Laura Kiessling: Carbohydrate Scientist" to learn more about carbohydrate coats). Likewise, viruses can recognize and bind to carbohydrate coats. By analyzing the carbohydrate binding properties of the flu virus, researchers have been able to design antiviral drugs that interfere with the virus' ability to infect our cells. For those suffering depression or anxiety, using cannabis for relief may not be the long-term answer. That's according to new research from a team at Colorado State University seeking scientific clarity on how cannabis -- particularly chronic, heavy use -- affects neurological activity, including the processing of emotions. Researchers led by Lucy Troup, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, have published a study in PeerJ describing their findings from an in-depth, questionnaire-based analysis of 178 college-aged, legal users of cannabis. Recreational cannabis became legal in Colorado in 2014. Since then, seven other states have enacted legalization for recreational use, while many others allow medical use. "One thing we wanted to focus on was the significance of Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational cannabis, and its own unique population and use that occurs here," Troup said. Through the study, which was based solely upon self-reported use of the drug, the researchers sought to draw correlations between depressive or anxious symptoms and cannabis consumption. They found that those respondents categorized with subclinical depression, who reported using the drug to treat their depressive symptoms, scored lower on their anxiety symptoms than on their depressive symptoms - so, they were actually more depressed than they were anxious. The same was true for self-reported anxiety sufferers: they were found to be more anxious than they were depressed. advertisement In other words, "if they were using cannabis for self-medication, it wasn't doing what they thought it was doing," explained co-author Jacob Braunwalder, a recently graduated student researcher in Troup's lab. Study co-author Jeremy Andrzejewski led the development of the questionnaire, called R-CUE (Recreational Cannabis Use Evaluation), that took a deep dive into users' habits, including questions about whether users smoked the drug, or consumed stronger products like hash oils or edibles. The researchers are particularly motivated to study biochemical and neurological reactions from higher-tetrahydracannabinol (THC) products available in the legal market, which can be up to 80-90 percent THC. The researchers are quick to point out that their analysis does not say that cannabis causes depression or anxiety, nor that it cures it. But it underscores the need for further study around how the brain is affected by the drug, in light of legalization, and by some accounts, more widespread use in Colorado since legalization. For example, said Andrzejewski, "there is a common perception that cannabis relieves anxiety." Yet research has yet to support this claim fully, he said. Graduate student and co-author Robert Torrence pointed to past research that shows that chronic use reduces naturally occurring endocannabinoids in the brain, which are known to play a role physiological processes including mood and memory. advertisement "There is research to suggest that cannabis can help with anxiety and depression in the beginning, but it has the reverse effect later on," said Torrence, a U.S. Army veteran who is especially interested in studying cannabis' effectiveness in treating post-traumatic stress disorders. Due to the federal government's stringent regulations around researching cannabis, which is a schedule I drug, the general public's perception of how it affects the brain is often based in "mythos," Braunwalder said. "We want to add more information to the entire body of research." There are currently no CSU research labs that administer cannabis to study participants, as administration of the drug for research would require special licensing and security. Moving forward, the researchers want to refine their results and concentrate on respondents' level and length of exposure to legally available high-THC products like concentrates and hash oils, around which there has been little scientific inquiry. "It is important not to demonize cannabis, but also not to glorify it," Troup said. "What we want to do is study it, and understand what it does. That's what drives us." Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon. STRATFORD-ON-AVON MP Nadhim Zahawi is set to be paid damages by Press TV, an organisation affiliated to the Iranian state broadcaster, after he successfully sued them over claims he facilitated the sale of oil between ISIL and Israel. The story that appeared on Press TV's English language website in July last year was "deeply upsetting, worrying and unexpected", Mr Zahawi said today, Thursday. The Iranian broadcaster did not defend the libel action and the High Court in London will rule on damages and costs at a later hearing. Mr Zahawi moved to the UK from Iraq as a young boy. He told the Herald: "The ludicrous allegation that I, while a Member of Parliament, had firstly betrayed all of my deepest held moral principles, and, secondly, had somehow managed to avoid international security services, and the law, to personally trade oil with ISIL was seemingly unbelievable. "The accusation was clearly calculated to be as damaging as possible to someone from my background. Despite having no basis in anything close to reality, except for my having been born in Iraq, rumours spread like wildfire on social media and clearly some people believed them. "In my role as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I have often spoken out against the malign influence Iran has so often chosen to exercise in international affairs. But it was extremely upsetting, worrying and unexpected to have been targeted by a foreign government in this way. This has been a deeply upsetting experience for me. I hope that this libel judgment can draw a line under this episode, and deter outlets such as Press TV from attempting this sort of attack, on anyone, again." MP to bank 1.4m in company sale? The Guardian has reported today, Thursday, that Mr Zahawi stands to make 1.4million if the rumoured sale of the Kurdistan-based oil company he works goes through. It says that Gulf Keystone is in talks to be bought out by Chinas state-owned oil company Sinopec for around 350million. The report refers to public documents released following Gulf Keystone's AGM earlier week that show Mr Zahawi, who is paid 240,000 a year as chief strategy officer for the company, has been granted 'performance units'. And that, the newspaper claims, puts his stake and that of two other directors as being worth two per cent if the business is sold in the next year, putting the MPs share at 1.4m, a fifth of the directors pot. Mr Zahawi joined Gulf Keystone in July 2015 last year. As well as his salary he has also been receiving regular bonus payments of up to 26,000 for advising the company. Mr Zahawi has yet to comment on the Guardian story. The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. 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Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Superay Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technical And Services S.A.R.L., Ingersoll-Rand Technologies And Services Private Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Technology R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ingersoll-Rand Tool Holdings Limited, Ingersoll-Rand Trading Gmbh, Ingersoll-Rand Vietnam Company Limited, Instrum Rand JSC, Interflex Datensysteme, Ir Canada Holdings Ulc, Ir Canada Sales & Service Ulc, Ir France Sas, Kryptonite corp, Lawrence Factor Inc., LeROI, LeRoi International Inc, MILTON ROY (HONG KONG) LIMITED, MILTON ROY (UK) LIMITED, MILTON ROY EUROPA B.V., MILTON ROY EUROPE SAS, MILTON ROY INDUSTRIAL (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD., MILTON ROY LLC, MILTON ROY US PURCHASER INC., MP Pumps Inc., Maximum AG Technologies Inc., Maximus Solutions, Mb Air Systems Limited, Nash Elmo, Officina Meccaniche Industriali Srl, Oina VV, Oina VV Aktiebolag, Plurifilter D.O.O., Pt Ingersoll-Rand Indonesia, Robuschi, Runtech Systems, Runtech Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Runtech Systems Inc., Runtech Systems OY, SEEPEX, Seepex (M) SDN, Seepex Australia Pty Ltd, Seepex Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mit Beschrankter Haftung, Seepex France S.a.r.l., Seepex GmbH, Seepex Inc., Seepex India Private Ltd., Seepex Italia SRL, Seepex Japan Co. Ltd., Seepex Nordic A/S, Seepex OOO, Seepex Pumps (Shanghia) Co. Ltd., Seepex UK Ltd., Shanghai CompAir Compressors Co Ltd, Shanghai Compressors & Blowers Ltd., Shanghai Ingersoll-Rand Compressor Limited, Shenzhen Bocom System Engineering Co., Superay, Syltone, TIWR Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, Tamrotor Marine Comp AS Norway, Tecno Matic Europe s.r.o., Thomas Industries Inc., Trane Technologies, Tri-Continent Scientific Inc., Vacuum and Blower Systems division, Welch Vacuum Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zaxe Technologies Inc., Zeks Compressed Air Solutions Llc, Zinsser Analytic, Zinsser Analytik GmbH, Zinsser NA Inc., and crayon interface. Read More It just took a little time for Tristan to leave his history behind him. Rescued cats don't bear a grudge. Whatever they've been through, whatever scars they bear, they're hidden beneath a coat of soft fur. When he was rescued, along with 45 cats from a hoarding situation in Iowa last year , his fur, along with his heart, seemed to be in tatters. "I saw him in the filthy window when we pulled up," Amy Haas-Gray, founder of Hardin-Eldora Animal Rescue Team (HEART), tells The Dodo. "Just a tiny little guy, eyes all matted shut, he had his head back and his mouth open trying to breathe. He was the first one I grabbed when we finally got in there." With a little time and a lot of care, Tristan would open his eyes to a brand-new life. "I knew that he had been in a rough situation before I adopted him," Megan Riker tells The Dodo. In fact, Haas-Gray had warned Riker before she met him that "he looked a little rough." It wasn't until Riker met him that the depths of his old situation really hit home. One look at the forlorn feline, Riker says, "broke my heart." But not Tristan's. The little black cat seemed to be in a hurry to catch up on all the things in life he had missed. A highly controversial, experimental plan that is tantamount to a death sentence for bears and mountain lions was just approved by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. The commission appears to mean well: They are trying to understand why mule deer populations have plummeted. By trapping and euthanizing bears and cougars, the commission hopes to see if this will cause the mule deer population to rebound. Populations of mule deer in Colorado have plummeted largely due to human activity. | Shutterstock "We're trying to understand what contributes to it," commissioner Chris Castilian said. "Everybody is concerned about the mule deer population." The plan would allow hunters to use traps to catch cougars and bears who would then be shot. Dodo Shows Dodo Heroes Woman Devotes Her Life To The Stray Dogs Of Bali Many scientists and conservationists are outraged because they say the decision isn't properly based in science and that it would be a waste of animal life and money - $4.5 million in tax dollars, to be exact. It could even violate the law. "The commission's utter failure to heed the warnings of dozens of our nation's leading scientists about the many flaws in the proposed cougar and bear killing plans is appalling," Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians and one of the presenters at the commission meeting on Wednesday in Fort Collins, told The Dodo. Dozens of local residents joined her to express their opposition to the plan to kill bears and mountain lions. Not only did the commission fail to address major concerns about the plan, according to Cotton, such as how it will prevent non-target animals from getting caught in the traps, it also threatens to undermine an earlier trapping ban. In 1996, Colorado voters banned trapping by constitutional amendment out of concern for cruelty to animals and their young. "The Commission's approval ... demonstrates their total disregard for the public will, the humane treatment of wildlife and scientific integrity," Cotton said. Trapping is controversial because it threatens the lives of more than just the animals captured. The indiscriminate nature of traps means that mother animals with dependent young could get caught, depriving her babies of the help they need to survive. The plan would allow for 15 mountain lions and 25 black bears to be killed each year - not accounting for the young who might not survive without their moms. Shutterstock When staffers at New Jersey's Homeless Animal Adoption League (HAAL) heard about a mom and her kittens abandoned on the side of the road, they thought they knew exactly what to expect - and ended up with quite the surprise. "We received a call about abandoned kittens in a laundry basket left on the curb on a street in East Orange," Joann LoGreco of HAAL told The Dodo. "We don't usually do street rescues but the area was close to our shelter and it was starting to rain so we decided to go take a look." Homeless Animal Adoption League Wanting to help, volunteers from the shelter ventured out into the cold in search of the abandoned family. Finally, they came across the abandoned bin sitting on a curb, with a mother cat and her six babies inside. Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Guy And Wild Shark Have Been Best Friends For Decades Homeless Animal Adoption League "Mom was quiet and looked up as if to say thank God you found us," the shelter wrote on its Facebook page. Homeless Animal Adoption League The rescuers quickly scooped up the little family and took them back to their shelter. They fed them and made sure all of the kittens were OK, and were delighted that everyone was in good health. The next day, they went to examine the mom cat, and got the shock of their lives. Homeless Animal Adoption League "Mom was not a mom at all," the shelter wrote. "She was a he. That sweet cat taking care of those little babies was a male. He could have been the dad or a big brother from another litter, but to those little kittens he was their protector and surrogate mom." Homeless Animal Adoption League Pippa is one of the most expressive goats Leanne Lauricella has ever seen. Goats of Anarchy "She has a very animated face," Lauricella told The Dodo. "She often has this shocked look. But she's not scared. Actually, her personality is extremely laid-back." Lauricella runs Goats of Anarchy, a rescue group for goats with special needs, in New Jersey. Pippa is her latest baby, just 7 days old and only 2 pounds. Goats of Anarchy "A couple contacted me the day after she was born, so she was a day old," Lauricella said. "They were saying that two of her hooves were cracked and falling off." While it's not clear exactly what happened to Pippa, the couple, from Missouri, told Lauricella they found her lying outside with her front right leg and back left leg sticking out, both injured. "Goats normally curl all their legs under, and that's how they keep them warm" Lauricella explained. "The couple said that for some reason, Pippa was lying with both of those legs out." Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Rescued Wild Horse Loves To Play With A Little Donkey Goats of Anarchy So, Lauricella sent a volunteer to Missouri to pick up the injured goat. After a two-day car trip, Pippa arrived at her new home in New Jersey. From there, Lauricella took Pippa straight to a vet, and then another for a second opinion. Goats of Anarchy "They said, 'We have no idea,'" Lauricella said. "It could be frostbite. Or it could be a crush injury because the goat's foot was mangled a little bit. They thought maybe her mom had stepped on her feet, or [she] got stampeded somehow." Goats of Anarchy Upon the vet's advice, Lauricella kept Pippa's legs wrapped in bandages. But the next day, Lauricella got the shock of her life. When Lauricella changed Pippa's bandages, she discovered that Pippa's feet were shriveled up and had turned black. "I sent the pictures to both of the vets, and they said, 'Yup, that's frostbite,'" Lauricella said. Pippa is still too young to have her legs amputated, so the vets advised Lauricella to keep Pippa's legs bandaged, and to change the bandages every day. If all goes well, the injured sections of Pippa's legs will naturally fall off. To speed up the healing process, Pippa is on antibiotics, and Lauricella treats her wounds with medical-grade manuka honey. Goats of Anarchy Pippa can't walk at the moment, but as soon as Pippa's feeling a little better, Lauricella plans to create temporary prosthetics with foam pipe insulators, like she did for another rescue goat, Pocket, who was born without back legs. "Pocket's running around like a crazy man right now," Lauricella said. "He's just nuts. So as soon as [Pippa] heals, we're going to do the same thing with her, just so she can get used to walking and using the muscle." Eventually Pippa will get real prosthetics. Pippa currently lives inside Lauricella's house with Pocket and another rescue goat named Polly. Like Pippa, Pocket and Polly have special needs - Pocket doesn't have back legs, and Polly has neurological problems and anxiety - for comfort, Polly wears a special duck costume. Polly in her duck costume that helps relieve her anxiety | Goats of Anarchy Pippa adores them both. "She's very sweet, very lovable and loves to snuggle," Lauricella said. "She really loves Polly and Pocket." Pippa and Polly together | Goats of Anarchy But it's Polly who has taken a particular liking to Pippa. "Polly's being really nice and sweet to her," Lauricella said. "She's going to be like a big sister to her." Goats of Anarchy Pippa may have had a rough start to life, but Lauricella expects her to make a full recovery, and to live a long and happy life at the sanctuary. "Pippa's doing really well," Lauricella said. "It will take some healing and some rehab, but I think she'll be OK. She's just going to be another baby that we have on prosthetics." Goats of Anarchy The puppies were going to be put down, probably in the next 48 hours. Sandra McGlynn Nemo, Dory, Ariel and Moana had been living as strays on the streets in Miami, although it's not clear how long they'd been out there. Someone found them when they were 3 -months -old, and brought them to the shelter run by Miami-Dade County Animal Services. Sandra McGlynn The puppies were off the streets now, but they still had serious health issues. Walking was difficult for them. So was standing. The shelter staff didn't think the puppies had much of a chance, so they slotted them for euthanasia. Dodo Shows Adoption Day Hairless German Shepherd Puppies Find The Perfect Families Sandra McGlynn Before euthanizing the puppies, shelter staff sent an email to volunteers to see if anyone would be willing to adopt them, and to take on the responsibility of their health issues. As soon as Sandra McGlynn, founder of Rescue Paws 4 Furry Hearts, got the email, she stepped right in. Sandra McGlynn "To see them really struggling in the pictures that were taken at the shelter really broke my heart," McGlynn told The Dodo. Sandra McGlynn McGlynn had one obstacle - money. Her rescue group was struggling financially, and she wasn't sure she could pay for the puppies' medical needs. Even so, she set up an online fundraising campaign to see what she could do. Somehow McGlynn managed to make the funds and an important contact - a woman named Jannette Van Brakel. "Jannette was the first one to offer a pledge for their rescue," McGlynn said. "That night I had a talk with Jannette, and she told me that she'd be willing to foster them and help rehabilitate them if I pulled them through." Jannette Van Brakel McGlynn rescued the dogs from the shelter, and took them back to her home in Miramar, Florida. While all four puppies had trouble walking, Nemo and Dory were the ones who struggled the most. Jannette Van Brakel "Nemo would walk, but one of his front paws would always tilt in an inward position, making him lose his balance when he walked," McGlynn said. Jannette Van Brakel Dory was in worse shape. "I remember bringing them to my house ... and giving them all a bath," McGlynn said. "Dory just laid by my feet next to the bathtub and couldn't get herself to move." Sandra McGlynn "Poor Dory was such a fighter from the beginning because she literally would stretch out her back legs to lift up her body and do a soldier crawl to move herself forward," McGlynn added. The puppies have seen multiple vets - none of them can fully explain the puppies' conditions. One vet believes they have a developmental deformity called "swimmers syndrome;" another thinks they have a congenital condition. Jannette Van Brakel Whatever the diagnosis, the puppies now have the best care possible. Van Brakel feeds them, plays with them and does physical therapy with the puppies three times a day. The therapy's been so effective, Dory started walking within three days. Now she's even playing. Jannette Van Brakel "Dory specifically loves balls and will bring them to my lap to play," Van Brakel told The Dodo. "This is such a great toy for her because just her holding it between her paws and running after it is great therapy." "With the amazing progression they've shown, their future will be much better than what we might expect," Van Brakel said. "Even though they might have a disability, that hasn't stopped them from being the puppies we know them to be, loving and playful. It will take the right adopter with the right connection and love to help them live long, prosperous and happy lives." Jannette Van Brakel To help special needs dogs like Nemo, Dory, Ariel and Moana, you can make a donation to Rescue Paws 4 Furry Hearts Animal Rescue here. Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis are having another child together. We already knew that much, but we were privy to more Bombardier Inc. gained sales momentum for its flagship CSeries jetliner this year with major orders from Air Canada and Delta Air Lines. Now its looking to get away from the pricing discounts that fuelled the aircrafts rebound. The planemaker expects to book new sales in the coming months after racking up 360 firm orders and more than 400 commitments for the CSeries, its biggest-ever plane, chief executive officer Alain Bellemare said. The jets better-than-expected performance at Deutsche Lufthansas Swiss International unit is fuelling interest, as is the entry into service of a larger variant at Air Baltic Corp. this week. Ive got the right order book, Bellemare said in an interview late Thursday at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. What I need is a good solid order from another good customer, and with good commercial terms. Thats what we are doing. Bellemare is counting on the CSeries to help Bombardier boost sales by about 50 per cent to $25 billion by 2020. That would cement a comeback for the Montreal-based company after it spent about $6 billion developing its biggest-ever jet, fuelling an increase in debt to $9 billion and knocking down the stock price to the lowest in more than two decades in early 2016. Aggressive pricing was part of the strategy that allowed Bombardier to win the 75-aircraft deal with Delta, Fred Cromer, president of the Canadian companys commercial aircraft unit, said in April. He wouldnt give financial details of the accord, which also carries options for 50 more jets. Carriers placing large jet orders typically negotiate discounts with aircraft manufacturers. The CS100, the smallest of two variants of the CSeries, has a list price of $76.5 million, while the CS300 goes for $85.7 million. New orders that avoid significant discounts are a must if Bombardier wants to make the CSeries a financial success, said Benoit Poirier, an analyst at Desjardins Capital Markets in Montreal. Several orders in the backlog remain at risk and need to be monitored, Poirier said in a note to clients published Friday. Despite the encouraging order momentum in 2016, we believe the program requires more orders at decent prices to make the business case sustainable. Bombardier is targeting potential CSeries buyers in every major region of the globe, Bellemare said Thursday. Air Tanzania became the latest carrier to endorse the plane when it agreed on Dec. 2 to buy two CS300 jets. We see many opportunities right now, and they vary from big orders to very small, tiny orders, depending on which region of the world you look at, he said. Swiss began operating the CS100, which can be configured to seat 108 to 133 passengers, in July. The technical reliability of the CSeries has settled at very high levels, which are well above those seen for other recent new aircraft types, Karin Mueller, a spokeswoman for Swiss, said by e-mail. Bombardier has said the jet would cut fuel use, produce less noise and cost less to operate than competing models. The performance with Swiss has been so good, and thats why we are confident, Bellemare said in the interview. Time is helping us here. The more customers appreciate the value of the aircraft, the better it is for us. Read more about: SHARE: So far this month, the man who will become the next president of the United States has turned to Twitter to announce his pick for secretary of state, declare Saturday Night Live unwatchable and to defend a phone call with Taiwans president. His tweets have sent Lockheed Martins stock price plunging, dredged up conflicts with China and led to the harassment of labour leaders, reporters and others. Twitter, he has said, is a modern-day form of communication and he has 34,100 tweets of his own to prove it. There is no doubt that Donald Trump has become Twitters most powerful ambassador, said Youssef Squali, an analyst for Cantor Fitzgerald. Who needs a press secretary when youve got Twitter? And yet, even with loads of publicity from one of the worlds most powerful leaders, Twitters stock is stuck in a months-long slump. In the 18 months since Trump announced his run for president, the companys share price has tumbled 45 per cent. The company last quarter posted a $103 million (U.S.) loss. Even though Trump is all over Twitter, its not really attracting new users, said Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities. Its certainty attracting interest among existing users his follower count has gone from 7 million to 17 million in the last year but I doubt very many of those people are new users. Twitter hasnt done a very good job of exploiting that. Instead, financial analysts say Twitter continues to deal with myriad internal issues that have alienated advertisers and made it all but impossible for the 10-year-old company to turn a profit. Growth has stalled in recent quarters, both in terms of new users and revenue, and almost all of the companys senior management has left in the past two years. In October, the San Francisco-based company announced it would be laying off 9 per cent of its staff, or about 350 people, many of them in its sales department. Twitter is a mess, said Richard Kramer, an analyst at Arete, a London-based equity research firm. Its not growing users. Its not growing sales. The fact that they put themselves up for sale but werent bought says its value is expected to only decline. Twitter did not respond to requests for comment. Last quarter, the company said it had 317 million monthly active users, a 3 per cent increase from the year before. (Facebook, by comparison, reported 1.79 billion users, a 16 per cent increase, during the same period.) One of the biggest problems, Kramer said, is that Twitter has long had difficulty attracting advertisers because it knows so little about its users. Unlike Facebook and Google, which collect a plethora of data about users, Twitter doesnt require people to sign up using their real names and doesnt ask for information such as birth date, location or gender. On top of that, he says, tweets are often laden with personal attacks and incendiary rhetoric not exactly something advertisers want to be associated with. What company wants to put up an ad saying Colgate gets your teeth whiter next to a tweet thats full of inflammatory or abusive language? Kramer said. Its not brand-safe. And yet, some say, Twitters willingness to allow unfiltered, unedited content on its site is a large part of its appeal as Trump has demonstrated time and again. That lack of fact-checking is Twitters greatest liability, but also its greatest asset, Squali said. The fact that Trump is circumventing everybody the media, his staff and going straight to 20 million, 30 million users, thats very powerful. But, he added, how do you get from there to financial success? Thats the billion-dollar question. Read more about: SHARE: PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO-Although its known worldwide as a resort destination, Puerto Vallarta boasts a boatload of activities beyond the beach towel. Here are five local experiences that will get visitors to Mexicos Pacific coast up on their feet and enjoying all the city has to offer: Malecon boardwalk Plan for a sunset walk along the bustling, 12-block Malecon boardwalk that overlooks the picturesque Bay of Banderas. Catch talented street performers, take in gorgeous seawall sculptures and watch the waves crash to shore from the comfort of a palm-tree-shaded bench. Finish your stroll by settling into one of a collection of lively bars, clubs and restaurants along the waterfront. (Try Union Restaurant a new open-air brewery featuring a Mexican menu and fresh oyster bar). Puerto Vallarta ArtWalk From now until May 31, admire works of art by both local and international artists displayed by nine participating galleries within the citys Centro Historico at the Puerto Vallarta ArtWalk. A highlight within the eclectic set of collections is Galeria Colektica, a gallery curated by Toronto native Kevin Simpson, which focuses on both the ancestral and contemporary work of Mexican artists. Exquisite Huichol bead and yarn work are on display and Simpsons Day of the Dead Room is not to be missed. Cruise the Bay of Banderas If sipping a Margarita while spectacular views and pods of dolphins pass you by sounds like your style, then hop on one of many boat tours offered by the friendly and bilingual crew at Mikes Charters and Tours. Specializing in fishing excursions, the company also offers luxury yacht tours that cruise secluded beaches and coves of the Bay of Banderas. Passengers can leap off the side of the yacht to enjoy a wade in the water or do some crystal-clear snorkelling within the spectacular Los Arcos Nature Reserve. Sea turtle release A heart-warming and educational opportunity for any age group, the release of baby turtles into the ocean is an eco-tourism experience available at various hotels in Puerto Vallarta. During the turtles breeding season, which runs July to December, participating hotels, such as CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta, will give participants a brief lecture on the life of a sea turtle and will invite them to observe as hatchlings make a guided journey toward the water. Availability of the experience is dependent on hatching schedules, so check with your chosen hotel in advance. Historic Centre Market If your tummy is rumbling and youre looking for a lively spot to grab a quick bite, make your way to the Centro Historico to take in one of Puerto Vallartas most bustling markets, or mercados. A recommended start to your snacking spree is a greasy pile of delicious chicharron or fried pork belly, washed down with an icy tuba from a street vendor: a traditional favourite made with coconut, palm sap, apples and walnuts. Liz Beddall was hosted by the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, which did not review or approve this story. Read more about: SHARE: It started with a simple headline on a Kijiji ad Father looking for work. Steve Norman, 37, was at wits end last week after an almost year-long job search. The ad outlined his experience in hospitality and general labour, as well as forklift certification and paperwork as an asbestos abatement worker. There was one catch. Norman has a criminal record. Im going to be honest right off the hop (sic), he wrote, noting he served time for armed robbery because of a drug addiction that got the better of me. It didnt stop there. I almost lost my family once, and I feel like Im about to lose them again because I cant put food on the table, he wrote. Im hoping to find that there are still some good people out there that understand that some people make mistakes, but also learn from them. Posted Dec. 7, the ad had more than 47,000 visits by the end of the weekend. Someone unknown to Norman posted an image of the ad on Facebook. It had countless shares and comments. I had 100 responses in the first day, and it kept going off from there, said Norman. His email filled up, and the phone started to ring. Normans ad was a last-ditch effort, and his honesty about his family hes married and has four children under the age of 16 and including his record was an effort to be up front and avoid the background check question that seemed to become a deal breaker. If somebody calls me, (now) they know what I am about, and if they move on, thats fine, he said. In 2010, Norman said he was struggling with cocaine addiction and was arrested for robbery with a weapon in Peterborough. He spent 40 months at the Joyceville Institution in Kingston and 20 months in a federal halfway house. He completed his Grade 12 education and participated in drug rehabilitation and anger management programs, as well as skilled labour training. The training was valuable but Norman felt his work at Corcan a program with Correctional Service of Canada stuck out like a sore thumb on his resume. Clean and sober, Norman settled in Fenelon Falls, Ont., with his family and continued to look for jobs. He found temporary work but it was inconsistent, and the pay was not substantial. Doors to other work seemed closed. Was it his tattoos and piercings? Norman believes it was his record. It had come up before in otherwise positive interviews. While it may seem tempting to lie about having a conviction, Jon Hedderwick, an employment counsellor with Employment, Planning & Counselling in Peterborough advises against it and instead suggests that you know what you are going to say. It depends on what theyve done since the criminal record, what theyve done to prepare to return to work since coming back out from jail and where they see themselves fitting into the labour market, he said. Honesty worked in Normans case. Messages came in long after the ad was deleted. Some wished him luck, while others offered cash for him to shovel snow or cut wood. Within a week, had 40 to 50 interview offers in his mailbox and voicemail. I didnt think anything would come out of it like this, he said. Norman now has a full-time job at a granite company near Minden, and starts Monday. He called the offer a lesson in forgiveness. Employers have broad discretion when determining candidates they feel are best suited for a position. It is legitimate to see a criminal background as disqualifying. An employer can essentially rule an employee out on account of the fact that they have a criminal conviction, said Jonquille Pak, an employment lawyer with Whitten & Lublin in Toronto. I dont see that as being unlawful, unless a pardon has been granted. A pardon is key, but people with criminal convictions need to wait up to 10 years from the end of their sentence to even begin the process. Because youve been pardoned, from a societal perspective, youve been deemed rehabilitated, Pak continued. It would be unfair and unjust to disqualify individuals who have paid their debt to society. Proving discrimination when passed over for a job is hard to do. An employer is not obligated to explain why a candidate is not hired. Norman worked with employment centres in his job search. Some told him to stay home, but others said they do not see a criminal record as a permanent obstacle. Carol Timlin, an executive director with Victoria County Career Services in Lindsay, explained that counsellors can work with employers. We want to protect the job seeker, but we also want to protect the employer, she said. We try to look for where the fit is. SHARE: Montreals mayor vowed zero tolerance for illegal pot dispensaries on Thursday, just hours after several such establishments aimed at recreational users opened to the public. Denis Coderre tweeted the city would use any administrative tools at its disposal to enforce the law. The pot boutiques opened in the presence of two well-known marijuana activists from Vancouver behind the Cannabis Culture stores and brand. Storefront outlets are popping up as Ottawa forges ahead with plans to legalize marijuana, with legislation expected in the spring. Jodie Emery told a news conference at one of the stores that while they are illegal under current federal legislation, she hopes local authorities will leave them be. Under store policy, anyone 19 and older will be able to buy marijuana, without membership or medical requirements. The shops will pay taxes, employ locals and wont allow children inside. This is what legalization looks like, this is what marijuana legalization should be, Emery said. I beg the Montreal police, let us be in peace. Please do not cause harm to the harmless people that are choosing to work here and push forward this very important issue. She was accompanied by her husband, Marc Emery, the self-styled Prince of Pot who was extradited in 2010 to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to selling marijuana seeds and was sentenced to five years in prison. Marijuana prohibition has never been legitimate, there has never been a reason offered for why this law exists, why its existed for 50 years, he said. Anyone who enforces this despicable law is indeed a despicable person and I include politicians, elected officials, police authorities and anyone else who thinks we should be arrested. Coderre wrote that he spoke to mayors of several boroughs where the Cannabis Culture shops were opening and that they agreed current laws must be respected. Eight boutiques were slated to open, but only six did. Late Thursday, Jodie Emery said permits for two boutiques were held up and they might still open on Friday or Monday. Montreal police havent said what they plan to do about the shops but have stressed such operations are currently illegal and that they could intervene. The openings had been teased for weeks on social media and several dozen people piled into one of the boutiques Thursday looking to purchase marijuana. While the stores were only expected to begin selling later in the day or Friday, Marc Emery ensured eager customers didnt leave empty-handed as he paid for buds given to customers who packed into the shop. Some were keen to return, even if the shops are considered illegal. Its what people want if the prices are the same as on the street, you dont have to wait 45 minutes for a guy at the metro (subway), said Jonathan, who wouldnt give his family name. Its not sketchy. You buy it (in the shop) and go home, the same way you would your beer. Antoinette Cole came by after hearing from friends about the opening. I would definitely come back, it seems really nice, it seems clean, it seems safe, Cole said after getting her pot. And the prince of cannabis is here. Why wouldnt you come back? Jodie Emery says the Montreal locations are being backed by one principal investor who prefers to remain anonymous. She says franchisees are interested in opening in Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary in the coming months. Emery added that two additional Montreal locations are to open by the end of December, adding to the dozen shops operating currently in British Columbia and Ontario. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard was asked about the stores as he held a news conference in Montreal with his Ontario counterpart, Kathleen Wynne. If they are illegal, they must be punished, he said. Thats the first thing. But were on the eve of the legalization of the product in Canada...and it is crucial that we see very soon what the federal government is planning. Couillard said Quebecs Public Security Department is looking into the stores to determine whether they are legal. We dont want to send a message that is contrary to the ultimate goal, which is legalization, he said. But we dont want laws to be flouted, either. SHARE: Canada is calling the case of imprisoned Toronto pastor Hyeon Soo Lim absolutely a priority after Ottawa officials travelled to North Korea this week to visit him for the first time and to discuss his release. Lim, 62, has been detained for nearly two years for what North Koreans say was an attempt to overthrow the government. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Kristine Racicot confirmed Thursday that a ministry delegation recently visited Pyongyang and was able to undertake a consular visit to Mr. Lim. The Government of Canada is very concerned about the health, well-being and continued detention of Mr. Lim, Racicot said. We have been actively engaged on this difficult case. The visit was arranged with the aid of the Swedish embassy acting as a protecting power for Canada, which does not maintain a diplomatic presence in North Korea. Until now, Global Affairs Canada has shared little with the public about the fate of the imprisoned Christian minister. However, on Thursday, the Canadian government disclosed it has been working closely with Lims family. Minister (Stephane) Dion and Parliamentary Secretary Omar Alghabra have met with Pastor Lims son, and consular officials are working actively to secure the release of Mr. Lim. Lims wife, Geum Young Lim, and their son, Sung (James) Lim, have not spoken to the media since Lim was picked up by North Korean authorities in January 2015. Privacy considerations and the fact this is an active case prevent us from disclosing further details, Racicot said. However, this case is absolutely a priority for us. Lim, a South Korean-born Canadian citizen, is the senior pastor of the Light Presbyterian Church in Mississauga. The 2,000-seat chapel is the spiritual home to a devout congregation that prays for Lim every Sunday. Richard Ha is a church deacon. He is also a spokesperson for the congregation and the Lim family. In an emailed statement, Ha said we are hopeful that this (Global Affairs Canada visit) is a positive sign that we will see Reverend Lim released and home soon. Ha added that we are also grateful to the Canadian government and for the communitys support. Since 1997, Lim had made more than 100 trips to North Korea on humanitarian missions with the support of his Canadian congregation. In December 2015, Lim was convicted of plotting to overthrow the government through his Christian missionary work and sentenced to life in a hard labour camp. It is considered such a serious crime in North Korea that prosecutors had originally requested the death penalty. Lim publicly confessed to criticizing Kim Jong Uns regime before he was convicted. American Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who was also imprisoned in a North Korean labour camp but had his sentence cut short in 2014 when a U.S. envoy negotiated his release, has spoken publicly about Lim. Bae has raised doubts about the veracity of Lims confessions. In his own autobiography, Bae wrote that his own confessions were coerced. In February of this year, Bae reached out to Geum Young Lim, who has moved to Seoul. In an interview with the Star, Bae said Lims wife told him that the Canadian pastor had become ill and had to be hospitalized. Read more about: SHARE: Heres Justin Trudeau explaining his mission to the Guardian, the leading centre-left newspaper in Great Britain: What were facing right now in terms of the rise of populism and divisive and fearful narratives around the world its based around the fact that globalization doesnt seem to be working for the middle class, for ordinary people, Trudeau told the papers reporters. And this is something that we identified years ago and built an entire platform and agenda for governing on. One year after coming to office, the Guardian reporters write, Trudeaus government seems to go against the political tide around the world: open to trade, immigration and diversity and led by a social media star whose views on feminism, Syrian refugees and LGBT rights have provoked delight among progressives. Making this case to international audiences is not incidental to Trudeaus political goals. Trudeau is aware that, if there is to be a prominent western rebuttal to Brexit and Donald Trump, its got to come from governments like the one he leads. If we can show as we are working very hard to demonstrate that you can have engaged global perspectives and growth that works for everyone, he told the Guardian, then that diffuses a lot of the uncertainty, the anger, the populism that is surfacing in different pockets of the world. So hows it going? Depends how you measure it. In polls, the Liberals still lead all comers, less resoundingly than a few months ago, but still by comfortable margins. In the House of Commons, Trudeaus a bum, castigated by opposition MPs, mostly over the governments tone-deaf response to questions about Liberal fundraising. Around Ottawa, among people who watch politics but are not combatants, there is a sense that Trudeau has started more than he has delivered. He greatly enhanced the child benefit program he inherited from Stephen Harper. He is building an infrastructure bank to attract investments from foreign pension funds, and it will be a remarkable thing if it works. He hopes to buy fighter jets some day. He has carbon-reduction targets for 2030 and hopes to provide guarantees of health-care funding until the same year, which is three federal elections away. At lunch the other day someone told me they couldnt think of a thing Trudeau has done. Well, holy hell, hes done a lot, I said. Long-form census. Consultations toward plans toward a commission of inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women. Uh what was the other thing hes started looking for a science adviser. Hes other stuff. Something. Trudeau used to be fascinated by mechanisms for ensuring everyone could follow the governments progress on key files. And I mean everyone. That was during Trudeaus early flirtation with deliverology. As conceived and marketed by the former Tony Blair adviser Sir Michael Barber, deliverology is a doctrine for tracking measurable progress toward publicly stated goals on key government priorities. The key is that literally everyone in the country who cares to pay attention should know the goal, and that anyone with Internet access can follow public data on progress toward the goals. Barber has been paid $200,000 to run occasional meetings with Trudeaus cabinet. But his books are for sale on Amazon for a lot cheaper, and in them he repeats publish the data like a parrot. One former Barber client is Martin OMalley, the former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor. The website for the Maryland health department tracks 39 indicators across every county in the state. The 2017 goal for teen birth rate is 17.8 births per 1,000 teenage females. In 2010 the rate was 27.2. Lower in Howard County, sky-high in Dorchester County. Repeat across 39 indicators, then repeat for every department. I see the Agriculture Department was way off target for tons of manure transported in 2013. One of the first precepts in Marylands strain of deliverology, OMalley told an Ottawa conference in 2014, is Timely, accurate information shared by all. And its amazing how many people will want to recite those tenets and they always want to leave off the phrase shared by all. You mean, shared by managers? No, I mean shared by all. You mean shared by the leader or the council members and, like, the second-tier managers? No, I mean shared by all: People on the front line and citizens. OMalley was being interviewed onstage by the young leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, who nodded attentively. Can you name the Trudeau governments targets on engaged global perspectives and growth that works for everyone? Do you know where to find numbers on their progress toward those goals? Im told that somewhere inside the Langevin Block, people still take deliverology seriously. Out here in the rest of the country there is no evidence of it. Paul Wells is a national affairs writer. His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. SHARE: Mayor John Tory and TTC chair Josh Colle have issued a strongly worded open letter to Bombardier expressing their deep frustration that the rail manufacturer might miss the 2019 deadline for delivering the citys new streetcar fleet. The document, which accuses Bombardier of a complete failure to perform, also warns that the city could take additional legal action against the company. The delay of new streetcars has now reached a critical tipping point. We are no longer able to sustain our current service levels as a result, said the letter, which was addressed to Benoit Brossoit, president of Bombardier Transportations Americas division. Tory and Colle issued the correspondence a day after the TTC released a report that warned the Montreal-based company is at risk of missing the 2019 deadline for delivering all 204 new vehicles. Bombardier has fallen far behind on manufacturing the vehicles, but the TTC has always insisted that the company complete the $1.25-billion order by 2019 as stipulated in the original contract. The company has maintained it will meet that target, with a spokesperson telling the Star as recently as Wednesday that it would be able to ramp up production fast enough to manufacture the roughly 175 outstanding vehicles over the next three years. During the companys investor day Thursday, its president and CEO Alain Bellemare said the firm is very confident that we will get close to the deadline. As the transit agency waits for the new cars, it has pulled some older streetcars out of service in order to overhaul them and extend their lives. The TTC says that has knock-on effects, because buses have to be redeployed to cover streetcar shortages, causing more crowding on bus routes affected. The magnitude of the Bombardier delay has meant customers waiting unreasonable amounts of time to board a streetcar and crowding beyond any acceptable standard, the letter said. Bombardier delays have caused customers to wait increasingly long times in the cold and to arrive late to work or school. According to the document, the revelation that the 2019 target could slip has prompted the city to seek legal advice on further legal action to recover additional damages related to the delays. The TTC is already suing the company for $50 million in liquidated damages, the maximum it can claim under the terms of the contract. Not everyone agreed with Torys and Colles characterization of Bombardier as the source of delays and overcrowding on public transit. In a Twitter post, transit expert Steve Munro said the open letter was a smokescreen to mask the citys failure to budget for more service. The preliminary 2017 TTC budget released last weekcontains no funding to increase bus and streetcar service. The TTC expects to have 30 new streetcars by the end of 2016. It was supposed to have about 110. With files from The Canadian Press and Doug Cudmore Read more about: SHARE: Loralea Carruthers first act as chair of the York Region District School Board was to clear the air. At a board meeting this week, the newly elected trustee chair for East Gwillimbury and Whitchurch-Stouffville, who ousted long-time chair Anna DeBartolo last week, spoke openly about the controversy and turmoil plaguing the provinces third largest school board over the past year and vowed to turn things around. I want to be candid: as a board, we have a lot of work to do to regain the publics trust, she said in her remarks Tuesday. Tonights meeting needs to be a pivot point away from the problems of the past, so we start the new year resolved to live up to the publics expectations of us as a board of trustees. The Star has written extensively over the past year about controversies at the board, including the directors unprecedented 10-year contract, repeated and unexplained trustee travel to Europe and numerous complaints of racism and Islamophobia by parents, which led to intervention by Ontarios education minister who has asked for a response to some of these concerns by Jan. 13. Carruthers said all of these issues have to be addressed and dealt with directly. Hundreds of community leaders, parents and educators have called for change. The Minister of Education herself has expressed her serious concerns, she said. I want to be very clear: there is no place for racism or any other form of discrimination in this board, from anyone. We have policies around equity and inclusion, and these must be upheld to the highest standard, she continued. When we see racism, we must speak up immediately and strongly. Carruthers comments come just days after the board confirmed it was investigating allegations that a long-time trustee for Georgina, Nancy Elgie, had referred to a black parent with a racial epithet. The board has hired a lawyer to investigate the matter and a report is due back before the new year. On the issue of trustee expenses, Carruthers said it is imperative to be transparent and upfront about these costs and that trustees need to go through a process to review the rules governing such expenses, with an eye to ensuring we have the appropriate set of rules and controls in place to show our respect for tax dollars and that those rules are being followed consistently. She also discussed an ongoing culture of fear among staff and trustees. She referred to a letter written by superintendent of equity Cecil Roach, who said he hired a lawyer before voicing his concerns about how equity was being handled at the board, because he strongly feared reprisal for speaking out; for doing his job because I have felt the same. I want no one around this table to fear asking the tough questions. That is our job and we must never be afraid of reprisal for doing our job, she said. There is no place in this board for petty vendettas, reprisals for speaking up or attempts to create a culture where people are afraid to do the right thing. In an interview Wednesday morning, Carruthers said trustees have started working on their response to Education Minister Mitzie Hunter. My hope is that trustees discussing the ministers letter will give us a better understanding of our procedures and the questions that trustees can ask when it comes to personnel issues, she said. The response will be dealt with at a public board meeting on Jan. 10, and will eventually be made public. Carruthers comments were made at a board meeting where the director of education, J. Philip Parappally, announced organizational changes of senior staff. According to a news release sent out by the board Wednesday, the changes were a result of recent retirements and implement provincial funding for First Nation, Metis and Inuit education. These changes give us an opportunity to strengthen our work in our board priorities, particularly in the area of equity and inclusivity and ensure that YRDSB continues to be a leader in public education, said Parappally in the news release. Carruthers said the changes, which will require co-ordinating superintendents to report to the associate directors and not Parappally directly, came at an inopportune time. Myself and the vice-chair did ask in advance about the reorganization, and it was not shared with us, she said. We had no input in it. My concern, that I expressed to the director, is that we have a lot going on right now, and that this wasnt the time to be looking at a change like this, she said. It is a courtesy, but it is also about working together. Carruthers said despite the changes, she has her sights set on moving forward and that her efforts over the past week through meetings with concerned parents and community leaders, show her commitment to change. Until recently, our board was known to be the best in Ontario and I believe we can regain that title, she said, by working together as a team in a positive way and respecting the diversity of our board, which includes diversity of opinion. Charline Grant, a black parent who has filed a human rights complaint against the board for alleged racism directed at her children, says Carruthers views on racism are in line with her own. The chair will not tolerate racism and neither will we the parents, said Grant. We will not stop protecting our children from bigotry and we are still willing and ready to work with YRDSB in coming up with solutions, she said adding she has yet to hear from the director or senior staff on the matter. SHARE: In one corner are Metrolinx and Aplus General Contractors Corp. Their position: a controversial truss at a pedestrian bridge was installed correctly. In the other corner: Ontarios auditor general, standing by a recent report which said the truss was upside down, and had to be fixed at taxpayers expense. The truss was one of the recent highlights of this years auditor-generals report, which looked critically at how Metrolinx handled the building of the Pickering pedestrian bridge. I have to say that I stand by the report, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk told the Star this week. We do our due diligence, we do our work. We get (Metrolinx) to verify facts for us, we get them to sign off. We have a letter from them that stands behind the report. In a statement released Wednesday, Aplus General Contractors Corp. said it has been inaccurately disparaged by the report. The pedestrian bridge was supposed to be a modern, beautiful landmark, but over half a decade after the project was set to be completed, its still unfinished, though its been functional since 2012. Aplus, which was awarded two consecutive contracts to build the bridge, came under fire earlier this month when Lysyks report, which detailed a number of errors made by Aplus, was released. The report said Aplus had no experience in installing the bridge trusses . . . something that a contractor constructing a bridge would be expected to know how to do. In fact, it installed one truss upside down. But Aplus disputed this in its statement, saying there is absolutely no truth in that statement whatsoever. It denied that Metrolinx stepped in to manage the truss installation and alleged the architectural metal shroud that was to envelope the bridge, had not been designed at the outset so as to be constructible. It also alleged there were no issues with the performance of Aplus in constructing and cladding the bridge, but admitted one of its subcontractors damaged some of the glass when welding a skeletal frame to the bridge. Lysyk stood by the report, saying of her sources, we dont always just talk to vice-presidents and presidents. We talk to people working in the field. We get information from all different places and all different types and I cant comment on the specifics, but I can definitely say to you that this section of the report was vetted for factual accuracy by Metrolinx twice. Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said it was an oversight that no one from the organization noticed the report said a truss was installed incorrectly. We had a short amount of time to read the report and that may have gotten overlooked and for that we apologize. The truss wasnt installed upside down and thats unfortunate that that wasnt corrected. What was installed incorrectly, said Aikins, was a beam during the second phase. Ultimately, Metrolinx terminated its contract for the second phase of construction with Aplus, but still paid it almost the full value of the contract, about $8 million. The key message here, said Lysyk, is that were illustrating that there was continual lack of oversight at Metrolinx and they needed to improve their oversight so that when they had a contractor that didnt perform well initially that they would document that and use that documentation going forward in their selection or reselection process. Timeline: October 1995 Pickering identifies Hwy. 401 as a barrier impeding north-south foot and bike travel. 1996 Pickering city council first considers a link from one side of Hwy. 401 to the other. 2006 The opportunity to build a bridge using government money opens up. April 2007 Pickering receives approval of an environmental assessment to build the pedestrian bridge. 2009 Bridge project gets the green light from the province, and in October Metrolinx takes over the design contract. It is decided that the bridge will be a landmark, with sleek architectural features. November 2010 Phase one of the bridge construction begins next to Liverpool Rd. Fall 2011 Bridge was originally supposed to be completed by now, but is still not functional. February 2012 Bridge became functional, though still not completed. June 2012 Phase two of the construction begins, but is never completed. 2014 Installing the mesh that wraps around the bridge proves tricky for workers, stalling the construction further. Metrolinx says the bridge will take another year to finish. August 2016 Metrolinx terminates contract with Aplus and assumes the contracts of the subtrades. The bridge is still incomplete and finishing it is expected to cost an additional $1.4 million. 2017 Metrolinx expects work to begin again with the new contractor, but it doesnt know yet when the project will be completed. Read more about: SHARE: Whether it is the Palestinian grape leaves filled with rice, Venezuelan cheese sticks, Sudanese meat sauce or beef-stuffed vegetables from Syria, immigrants homemade dishes all come with a story. For many newcomers, the aroma and taste of the dishes they grew up with help them relive their childhood memories with their families and connect with the past they left behind for a new life in Canada. I miss my moms stuffed grape leaves a lot. I am so far away and cant see my family in the Saida-EinElHelwi (refugee) camp, said Mahmoud Kassem, 36, a Palestinian nurse who was born stateless in Lebanon and came to Canada as a refugee last year. My mom made this dish every Friday. The whole family, some 45 people, would get around the dining table to enjoy it. But we may never be altogether to eat it again. The dish is the only thing I have to remember my mom and everyone back there. To keep those memories alive and pass on the traditions to their offspring, Kassem and other newcomers taking English classes at the Catholic Crosscultural Services in Mississauga are sharing their beloved recipes and stories in an innovative project that enriches their language and cultural learning experience. Over four weeks, language instructors worked with students to write up the ingredients and instructions for their favourite recipes, as well as the stories behind them. In their own handwriting, the students put their recipes and stories onto a template before a fabric printer made them into placemats. The Recipe Project, a collaboration of the immigrant settlement agency and the Art Gallery of Mississauga, is the brainchild of Marianne Alas, a textile artist and food-lover. People always celebrate with food and have fun and happy memories about it, said Alas, who was born in Canada to Estonian parents and whose own favourite dish is her late grandmothers pirukad, a stuffed turnover. In a community context, food is a great way to share ones culture and background. Maria Pena, an event planner who came here from Venezuela with her husband and three kids in 2014, said she loved learning about other classmates dishes. I learned what halal food is. Its all very interesting to me. We all come from somewhere and all have a story about our family and our country, said Pena, 39, who picked her late grandmothers tequenos (cheese stick) recipe for the project. My family came to Canada for its multiculturalism. Asrar Badri, a hematologist from Sudan, is the first to admit that she didnt do as much cooking until she immigrated to Toronto with her husband and their four boys. My mother and grandmother made the tagalia moolah meat sauce all the time. We are far from Sudan and we all need something to get attached to it, said Badri, 41, whose family came here in 2014. My family loves our new home but I dont want my children to forget their roots. This reminds them of their culture. English instructor Laura Allen said the project incorporates practical language learning in students daily lives. She said the sharing of recipes and stories opens up the newcomers and fosters bonding in the class. They learn some basic words in cooking, like mix, stir and measure. They are expressive when they talk about something that is so important to them, said Allen. This has changed the classroom. We feel like we are sitting around the kitchen doing crafts and sharing memories together. Fayhaa Hanoura, 25, said she knows the recipe of mahchi well but only in Arabic and its nice that now she could share it in English with non-Syrians. To fill the zucchini, pepper and eggplant with rice and meat, you need to take out the inside of the vegetables. So you have to drill the vegetables, Hanoura said with a sheepish smile. Im so happy other people are interested in my recipe. I am proud to share it with them. SHARE: Many times over the past year, I have been tempted to apologize to tourists visiting Canadas capital. The downtown area around Parliament Hill is a mess of construction and closed streets. A giant sinkhole that opened at the corner of Rideau and Sussex just before Canada Day seemed a fitting symbol for 2016: the year of getting around dangerously in Ottawa. Within one block or so of that sinkhole (now fixed) several massive renovation projects were under way in the past year, and many of them promise to linger into Canadas 150th birthday year, 2017, or even beyond. They include: Excavation of streets and construction of transit stops to make way for light-rail transit, all along the routes just in front of Parliament Hill. Major transformation projects at the West Block and the Government Conference Centre, to create temporary new homes for the House of Commons and the Senate. A total redesign of the National Arts Centre, due to hold its grand unveiling in July. A large-scale makeover at the National War Memorial, which kept it shrouded in scaffolding for most of the year, though it reopened in time for Remembrance Day. Continuing expansion and reinforcements along the streets in front of the U.S. Embassy. Little wonder, then, that many citizens got up in arms earlier this year when the Chateau Laurier unveiled plans to put a big, new addition on the back of the historic old hotel. It wasnt just the odd design a modern, glass-walled box fitted incongruously to the castlelike current structure. It was also the prospect of even more construction in a city centre already creaking under the weight of scaffolding and construction cranes. Nonetheless, tourists keep coming to Ottawa, perhaps unaware that they had booked a trip to a destination that the real-estate folks might call a bit of a fixer-upper at least for now. When I did feel that temptation to apologize to out-of-town visitors over the past year, I wanted to tell them: Youre here a year early. While much of the renovation is necessary overdue maintenance on crumbling edifices, for instance theres no question that the city is also trying to put on its best face for the 150th anniversary. A building behind the Prime Ministers Office has been newly wrapped in material with a bold Canada150 logo on it, a reminder that the city is getting cleaned up for an expected party. In the same way that many homeowners will be in a mad, tidy-up frenzy this week before the holidays, Ottawa seems to have spent the past year getting ready for expected visitors. Theres even an Ottawa2017 program with a stated goal to make the city the epicentre of anniversary celebrations. Transformative legacy projects will change the Capitals urban landscape, the program declares on its website, complete with a countdown to the New Year. The end result: a special year of national pride for all and significant positive impacts for Ottawas tourism sector and the city as whole. This being Ottawa, theres a political way to view all this disruption. If its true that art can imitate life, maybe this is a case of architecture imitating politics. Many of the projects being unveiled next year got their start in the past decade, as buildings around Parliament Hill were closed and emptied for the renovations. The rows of hollowed-out structures fit with the temper of the time during the Conservative years and Stephen Harpers bid for smaller government in Ottawa. And even though it was Harpers government that gave the green light to these projects, they are coming to fruition with Liberals in power avowed fans of government and big institutions. The Liberals promised bid to liven up the Senate and Commons with generational change matches a literal, physical move by the chambers into shiny, new surroundings at the end of next year. Buildings shut down through much of the Harper years the conference centre or the West Block will be reopened under Trudeaus watch. And yes, Im not avoiding the obvious, perhaps too easy, political metaphor of the sinkhole. Theres something eerily appropriate about an Ottawa sinkhole becoming the big local-news story in a year when a federal government, promising massive infrastructure spending across the country, went into a higher-than-expected budget deficit. So by all means, do plan a trip to Ottawa this year, if only to see how all these dollars (some of them yours) have been spent in the capital. After a year of jackhammering, street closures and construction tie-ups, the residents may need to blow off some steam with a big party. Read more about: SHARE: Awesome Africa! Its the land where large matriarchal herds of elephants roam the savannah. Its the place where towering giraffe herds feed high on Acacia trees. Its where thundering herds of wildebeests and zebras shake the ground as they flee from a pride of lions patrolling in search of their next meal. Awesome Africa where thousands of tribes create the rich fabric of people, cultures, languages and traditions. Yes, Africa is the continent that all wanderlust travelers need to experience. I am so very excited that I will be heading back to Africa for my sixth safari to discover even more amazing wildlife, exotic places, culture, cuisine and history. In October 2017, I will be heading to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. In South Africa, the provincial capital, Cape Town, is a sophisticated city with plenty to see and do. Particularly around the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area, where delightful buildings of the Cape Dutch and Victorian-era architecture have been restored as shops, restaurants, museums and pubs, while the busy water traffic of the docks goes on unabated. The Cape Peninsula area features the Cape of Good Hope and wildlife such as whales, sea lions, penguins and even great white sharks. It also features an excellent growing climate for grapes home of some of the worlds top wineries. Leave the winelands region behind and fly to Skukuza Airport and to Kruger National Park. Spotting the Big Five (lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, buffaloes and elephants) is an easy task, as well as numerous other animals and birds, including a diversity of summer migrants. The characteristic species are impala, greater kudu, giraffe, buffalo, lion and leopard. Hippos favor open water channels, while buffaloes and elephants favor reed beds. Riverine forest along the river is green all year round, and is the haunt of leopards. Africa. The name inspires thoughts and dreams of adventure and endless animals. Just imagine, those dreams do come true! Join me on a safari to South Africa in October 2017. Contact me at 402-475-6741, extension 125, or jchapo@lincolnzoo.org, and Ill be delighted to share the itinerary. Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67. Lisa Colburn, speaking with The Associated Press on Thursday evening, said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday. It was very quick, she said by phone from her Canton, Georgia, home near Atlanta. He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world. She also called him a compassionate person who was a hero in many peoples eyes. Colburn was the last surviving member of a U.S. army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him. Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The companys soldiers had begun shooting that day even though they hadnt come under attack, authorities later said. They added that it quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed as many as 504 civilians most of whom were women, children and the elderly. In an initial Facebook post, Lisa Colburn confirmed the death and wrote: As most of you know, Larry has been very ill for a while but his suffering ended today, 12/13/16/. She added: Your friendship meant a lot to him. She added the she and their son, Connor, appreciate your love and support during this difficult time. Trent Angers, the biographer for Thompson, who wrote The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story, said Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai. He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did, Angers said. Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldiers Medal, the highest U.S. military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy. Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, Louisiana, died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in the Vietnam War three weeks after My Lai. A memorial service for Colburn is planned Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Darby Funeral Home in Canton, Georgia, the funeral home said on its website. It said that in addition to his wife and son, Colburn is survived by three sisters. SHARE: When she was 9 years old, Moaza Al Matrooshi found out she would need chemotherapy in order to receive a bone-marrow transplant and treat a potentially fatal blood disorder. Her family worried the chemotherapy would cause her to become infertile, so they made a decision that was considerably rare at the time: They removed her right ovary and froze the tissue. On Tuesday, about 15 years later, Al Matrooshi, of Dubai, gave birth to a healthy baby at Londons Portland Hospital for Women and Children. The 24-year-old woman is believed to be the first in the world to deliver a baby after having frozen an ovary tissue before puberty. The successful birth presents enormously valuable news for the parents of young girls requiring risky medical treatments such as chemotherapy that can damage ovaries, Helen Picton said. Picton leads the division of reproduction and early development at the University of Leeds in England and carried out Al Matrooshis ovary freezing. The case provides evidence that doctors could potentially restore fertility in these women by freezing their ovary tissue at a very young age, she said. She and her family really are courageous and pioneers to have done this, Picton said in a phone interview with The Washington Post. Its tremendously hopeful technology because youre investing in the future fertility life of your daughter. In an interview with the BBC, Al Matrooshi said the birth of her baby was like a miracle. Weve been waiting so long for this result, Al Matrooshi said. A healthy baby. When Picton preserved Al Matrooshis ovary tissue at the University of Leeds in 2001, there was not yet proof the process would work. The first human baby born from ovary tissue preservation would not be delivered until 2004, in Belgium. We had no evidence that we would be able to restore her fertility, Picton said. Then, two years ago after more than a decade of advancements in fertility preservation Al Matrooshis doctor reached out to Picton, letting her know the woman wanted to try transplanting the ovary tissue in the hopes of becoming pregnant. Her doctor, Sara Matthews, had previously worked with Picton as a medical fellow. Picton put the doctor and the womans family in contact with a team of surgeons in Denmark who last year transplanted the ovarian tissue back into Al Matrooshis body, stitching four to her left ovary and one onto the side of her uterus. Al Matrooshi had been going through menopause before the surgery, but after, her hormone levels began returning to normal, the BBC reported. She began ovulating and her fertility was restored. After Al Matrooshi and her husband Ahmed underwent IVF treatment in the hopes of maximizing chances of fertility three embryos were produced. Two of them were implanted earlier this year. Through this entire process, Picton has served as a sort of behind-the-scenes architect of Al Matrooshis fertility restoration. Over the course of about 15 years, Picton has never met Al Matrooshi but she would love to someday, she said. The professor was getting constant updates from Matthews as the pregnancy progressed. It gets more and more exciting as it goes along, Picton said. We had to contain our excitement, because the most important thing is Moaza and her family and the baby. Picton was fairly confident the restoration would work, but there was always a sliver of doubt, since it was a first, Picton said. On the one hand, doctors have known a girls egg bank is more plentiful the younger the age. But there were a lot of unknowns, she said. The difference is the tissue is much smaller, the girl is much smaller, Picton said. You really only have one chance to do this, and you have got to get it right. Al Matrooshi was born with beta thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder that can become fatal if left untreated. In addition to being the first case of prepubertal freezing, her delivery is the first from a patient who underwent treatment for beta thalassemia, Picton said. Last year, a woman in Belgium gave birth using ovarian tissue that was frozen at the age of 13, but unlike Al Matrooshi, she had begun going through puberty when her ovary was removed. Since 2004, more than 60 babies have been successfully born as a result of restoration of ovary tissue. Many more thousands of women have banked their ovarian tissue in the hopes of restoring fertility later on in life. Picton expects many more women will begin giving birth using ovary tissue that was frozen at a young age even at the age of a toddler. As for Al Matrooshi, the new mother still has one embryo in storage and two remaining pieces of ovarian tissue. She told the BBC she definitely plans to have another baby in the future. I always believed that I would be a mum and that I would have a baby, she told the BBC. I didnt stop hoping and now I have this baby it is a perfect feeling. SHARE: It seems superfluous to ask what racist killer Dylann Roof, who murdered nine African-Americans in a Charleston church, or the pizzagate shooter, Edgar Welch, were thinking. These are by common definition, senseless acts. But in recently released interviews, it turns out both thought a lot, and strenuously, about what they did. My question is: what kind of thinking was it, and can anything be done about it? In Roofs FBI interview, he says his racial awareness emerged from a Google search for black on white crime. He researched it, like finding a place to eat. Then he decided somebody had to do something since black people are killing white people every day and they rape 100 white women a day. He had stats and connected them to a moral imperative: What I did is minuscule to what theyre doing all the time. This isnt incisive thinking but its thinking: a mental process searching for an answer on an evidently moral issue. Hed never been personally victimized by blacks so it even amounts to selfless idealism, in a twisted way. He planned thoughtfully. He couldnt just go into a black neighbourhood and shoot up drug dealers . So he went to the church. Asked if he was seeking martyrdom, he says slowly, Ive done it so I had to do it. Hes rehearsing the psychic process he went through. He even examines his hesitation on the spot. I could have walked out but then I just finally decided I had to. He has a sense of the moment and that it couldve been otherwise. Theres a mind at work and a sense of moral reasoning. But its crappy reasoning. Most people dont purposely do bad things, they want to think theyre doing good. The trick is distinguishing bad from good, which takes a more developed sense of moral deliberation. Edgar Welch, who shot up a D.C. pizzeria because hed heard kids were enslaved in the basement, is also revealing. He regrets how he handled the situation. Hes not an idiot, nor deluded. He tried to think his way through it but just wasnt equipped. What hed read gave him the impression something nefarious was happening there. The word choice nefarious is peculiar, like Roofs minuscule. Theyre reaching for words they seem to realize are there but cant quite access. He too wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way. He felt his heart breaking over innocent people suffering. The problem wasnt his intentions, it was his inability to think through what would accomplish good versus its opposite. He even seems to sense his intellectual inadequacy: The intel on this wasnt 100 per cent. In a way hes the kind of citizen you want, not self-absorbed or full of hate. Theres nothing basically wrong except that inability to think things through clearly. But wheres he going to acquire it? Where are they supposed to learn to think? In a way Roof and Welch didnt stand a chance. Their public schools have been downgraded and the entire system converted to an emphasis on test taking and narrow skill acquisition. Trump has now appointed an education secretary committed to even further emasculation but Bush and Obama had already chosen teaching to the test over learning to think. How do you learn to think anyway? Not by taking logic or ethics courses. Its rather by seeing people who simply do it, in an impressive way that you admire and yearn to imitate. Its like learning to walk or talk. Often its teachers who model that behaviour and thereby teach you to think. But theres little room for teachers like that in the current U.S. system. They tend to go unrewarded, demoted or fired for not meeting benchmarks. Many simply leave; its not what they went into teaching for. At the same time theyre teaching you to think, theyre also insisting that real thinking must be made your own, rethought and reshaped. Otherwise its mechanical mimicry. One of my faves, Abraham Joshua Heschel, when I was in grad school, asked what my M.A. thesis topic; was. I told him. Its been done, the eminent author and theologian said. Not by me, I replied, feeling cocky. I like your answer, he answered inviting me to do it myself, as Id watched him do it in his unique, brilliant way, ever since I read his books in my teens. Correction December 20, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the location of the church where Dylann Roof murdered parishioners. Rick Salutins column appears every Friday. SHARE: Earlier this week, our government shared with the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) a proposal for a three-year plan with Ontarios doctors. This proposal would improve patients access to doctors, provides more support for family physicians, and builds stability in Ontarios health-care budget. It is a fair and reasonable proposal that recognizes the important work being done by our family doctors, and puts the needs of Ontario patients at the forefront of our decision making. An important aspect of this proposal is that it would provide more for family doctors and less for those relatively few physicians who already bill OHIP in excess of $1 million a year. This move is not only sensible, it also responds to the concerns of many experts, including the Auditor General. Overall, the physician services budget would increase by 2.5 per cent for each year of the three-year agreement. Nearly $2 billion dollars would be added to the budget for doctors compensation. It would mean better pay for our hard working family doctors, who would receive $185 million more in compensation. The proposal also calls for a fairness review of fees paid to physicians, to ensure fees paid for procedures and activities would be compensation fairly, taking into account improvements in technology. Doctors billing more than $1 million annually would have a 10 per cent discount applied to the portion of their billings between $1 million and $2 million. Nearly 1,500 new graduates and existing family doctors would also benefit from opportunities to practice in the team-based models, including Family Health Teams, they were trained in. This proposal also reflects our governments ongoing commitment to strengthen our health-care system not in the way it works for government or even physicians, but in the way it works for patients. Above all, these changes would boost patient access, meaning more people could get in quickly to see their physician when the need arises. It would add at least 700 new doctors each year, providing even more Ontarians with access to a family doctor. It would mean greater accountability, and would allow our health-care system to deliver more comprehensive care to patients. After presenting the proposal to the OMA, we took the added step of sharing our proposal with all Ontarians. We did this because, after three years of on-again, off-again talks with the OMA we wanted to avoid any confusion about what we are proposing and why. Ontarios health care system belongs to the people of Ontario. That concept is at the core of our governments commitment to put patients first. Unfortunately, the response from the OMA has been less than helpful. Instead of reviewing and commenting on our suggestions, they have instead dismissed it. This proposal which would see nearly $2 billion added to what doctors in Ontario can bill over the next three years was called disrespectful. Even more concerning, the OMA has suggested it might even consider some form of job action. I am asking them to do two things. First, lets lower the rhetoric and keep patients out of this disagreement. A good-faith proposal, aiming to bring parties back to the table, and paying family doctors more by lowering fees for physicians billing more than $1-million a year does not justify a withdrawal of services. The OMA should take job action off the table clearly and unequivocally. Second, we hope the OMA will share this proposal in full with all of Ontarios doctors. We believe it is fair and reasonable. Certainly, the 8,000 family doctors who stand to benefit directly should at least have the option of seeing what the OMA plans to reject out of hand on their behalf. As minister, and a physician, I believe very strongly the plan we have put forward will strengthen family medicine in Ontario, ensuring patients have better access to doctors are compensated fairly. At a minimum, I hope it will serve as a basis to renew discussions and allow us all to put patients first. Eric Hoskins is Ontarios minister of health and long-term care. SHARE: After breaking decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol by taking a call from President Tsai Ing-wen in Taiwan, Trump now claims his administration may not be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade. By using Taiwan to pressure China on a range of issues, Trump signals a rather dramatic foreign policy shift. As unnerving as it is, Trumps China policy orientation has its roots in the Obama administration. During much of his time in office, Obama pursued the Pivot to Asia, a strategic rebalancing of U.S. interests from Europe and the Middle East toward East Asia as advocated by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The U.S. strengthened its military alliance relationship with Japan and South Korea, announced deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in the Korean Peninsula, stepped up military co-operation with Australia and the Philippines, improved relations with Vietnam and India, and repeatedly sent its navy and air force to the South China Sea all seen by Beijing as measures to contain Chinas rise. On the economic front, Obama took the lead in negotiating the trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-country trading block without China, and in rivalry with the Beijing-led 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, so China doesnt set the rules in that region, we do. Yet at the same time, Obama actively engaged China, from regular summit meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping to the annual high level U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. Trumps latest public comments and moves on China have demonstrated he has been briefed and updated by the Obama transition team. While Trump selected Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who has kept a relationship President Xi for over 30 years, and claimed U.S.-China relations must improve, it is far from certain he will continue the current U.S.-China engagement framework. What is certain is that Trumps dealings with Beijing will begin with more confrontation, less accommodation, as China is now openly labelled as the most important adversary of the U.S., according to Carly Fiorina, the former Republication presidential candidate, now under consideration for Trumps director of national intelligence. Therefore, Trumps phone call with the Taiwanese leader and his flirting with the one-China policy must be understood in the broader context of his policy toward Beijing. But Taiwan means a lot more than just a call to the United States. The island is currently the 9th largest trading partner of the U.S. Since 2010, Taiwan has been the largest buyer of U.S. arms in Asia Pacific, totalling more than $14 billion, plus another $6.2 billion in U.S. licenses in arms sales and services. These sales include some of the most advanced weapons, such as AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters, Patriot Advance Capability-3 missiles, F-16 fighters and advanced munitions. David Helvey, a senior adviser at the U.S. Defense Department, performing the duties of the principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, recently appealed to the Taiwan government to increase its defence budget, purchase more U.S. arms and services and have more Taiwanese companies work with the U.S. defence sectors in order to keep pace with threat developments coming from China. The U.S. Congress, in the newly passed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2017 last week, authorized upgraded senior military exchanges with Taiwan. This means the U.S. will send assistant secretary of defense-level civilian officials and general-level military officers to meet with their Taiwan counterparts on an annual basis. Trump seems ready to go further. It is worth recalling that Trump tweeted on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan several years ago, accusing Obama of being too concerned about Beijings reactions. Clearly, more arms sales to Taiwan fit perfectly with Trumps campaign rhetoric that U.S. allies must shoulder more financial costs in exchange for continued U.S. protection. Selling more arms will create jobs and promote U.S. exports while reducing the burden for the U.S. presence in East Asia. Now that Trump has decided to bring Taiwan back into the U.S.-China relations in order to put China off balance even before he takes office, Beijing has taken a firm stand that the one China principle is non-negotiable. The world community, Taiwan included, should have reason to worry about consequences of a showdown between the existing and the emerging superpowers. Wenran Jiang is a political science professor at the University of Alberta and a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars. Read more about: SHARE: President-elect Donald Trump has added some additional titans of Corporate America to his list of key influential economic advisers. Trump's transition team announced Wednesday that PepsiCo (PEP) Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi will join the President's Strategic and Policy Forum. Other new appointees to the committee, headed by Blackstone (BX) Chairman and CEO Steve Schwarzman, include Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. PepsiCo is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sellsPEP? Learn more now. That Nooyi is joining the council may raise some eyebrows at first blush. It was last month that the well-regarded Nooyi created a rare firestorm on the Internet around PepsiCo for some frank post-election comments. "First of all, I want to congratulate President-elect Donald Trump, because the election is over," said Nooyi at the Dealbook conference, adding, "I think we should mourn, for those of us who supported the other side, but we have to come together and life has to go on." Nooyi supported Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, but didn't donate to her campaign. Despite Nooyi's somewhat controversial comments, which led to calls by Trump supporters on Twitter for a boycott of PepsiCo products, there is no question Trump has gained a winner to his star-studded forum that also includes Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon. Since Nooyi became CEO of Action Alerts PLUS holding PepsiCo in October 2006, shares have gained about 69% (compared to a 60% rise in the S&P 500) as she has repositioned the company toward healthier snacks and has cut costs. She also came out ahead in a battle with well-known activist investor Nelson Peltz. With Nooyi's vast global knowledge, Trump would be wise to place more than a few direct calls to PepsiCo's upstate New York headquarters. PepsiCo is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells PEP? Learn more now. DryShips (DRYS) shares rallied Thursday on news of a restructuring supported by Sifnos Shareholders, a vehicle controlled by founder and Chairman George Economou. The arrangement calls for Sifnos to provide a $200 million senior secured revolving loan to the Athens dry bulk shipper, according to the Thursday announcement. DryShips shares closed at $5.40 on Thursday, up 52.1%, although they were off 5% on Friday morning to $5.13. Nevertheless, the stock remains down 98% in what has been a roller-coaster 2016. The company has been whipsawed along with the shipping industry in general in recent years as a global economic slowdown and a glut of new ships gutted the economics of marine transport. Even good news turned into bad news -- cheaper fuel prices allowed ships to crank up their engines and steam along faster so that more craft crowded ports to bid more aggressively than ever on cargo. Likewise, the company's efforts to recapitalize via the private-investment-in-public-equity market backfired in November, when the company sought to capitalize on a run-up in its stock price -- shares jumped more than 1,300% in four days to $73 from $5.10 -- with a $20 million PIPE deal. The market reacted to the deeply discounted deal by sending the stock on a Nov. 16 anvil ride that left the shares down almost 85% from the previous close. The company's board obtained a fairness opinion for the new revolver from an unspecified party. DryShips did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The loan will provide the company with approximately $119 million to $129 million in liquidity, consisting of $79 million available under the revolver and $40 million to $50 million in cash. In contrast, the September quarter left DryShips with $5.6 million in cash, all of which was restricted. The company also was underwater on several loans. "As of September 30, 2016, we were in breach of certain financial covenants contained in our loan agreements, while five bank facilities have matured and we have not made the final balloon installments nor any other payments to date," the quarterly report said. "Accordingly the respective lenders have declared an event of default. For the remaining bank facilities, we have elected to suspend principal repayments and interest payments." As a result of the defaults, some $200 million in loans was reclassified as current liabilities, and lenders could have demanded accelerated payment. The company lost $121.17 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30. Revenue fell from $946.1 million in the same period last year to $42.3 million this year. With the new revolver lined up -- the deal still must be finalized -- the company now is looking to acquire additional vessels after selling two Panamax bulkers and its equity in two others in October to pay down loans. Economou, the son of an Athenian paper product seller, obtained a master's in naval architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and went on to become a billionaire ship builder, shipping magnate and art lover, with a collection of works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera and Andy Warhol. He also is chairman and CEO of offshore drilling contractor Ocean Rig UDW (ORIG) and sits on the boards of Danaos (DAC) , TMS Tankers and AllShips, according to BoardEx, the relationship mapping service of The Deal. The following companies are subsidiares of Cummins: Anvl, Apollo FC Holdings Ltd., Atlantis Acquisitionco Canada Corporation, Atlantis Holdco UK Limited, Brammo, CIFC Worldwide Partner C.V., CMI Africa Holdings BV, CMI CGT Holdings LLC, CMI Canada Financing Ltd., CMI Canada LP, CMI Foreign Holdings B.V., CMI Global Equity Holdings B.V., CMI Global Equity Holdings C.V., CMI Global Holdings B.V., CMI Global Partner 2 C.V., CMI Global Partners B.V., CMI Group Holdings B.V., CMI Group Holdings Cooperatief U.A., CMI International Finance Partner 1 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 2 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 3 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 4 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 5 LLC, CMI Mexico LLC, CMI Netherlands Holdings B.V., CMI PGI Holdings LLC, CMI PGI International Holdings LLC, CMI Turkish Holdings B.V., CMI UK Finance LP, CMI UK Financing LP, Cherry Island Renewable Energy LLC, Consolidated Diesel Company, Consolidated Diesel Inc., Consolidated Diesel of North Carolina Inc., Cummins (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Cummins (Xiangyang) Machining Co. Ltd., Cummins Africa Middle East (Pty) Ltd., Cummins Afrique de l'Ouest, Cummins Americas Inc., Cummins Angola Lda., Cummins Argentina-Servicios Mineros S.A., Cummins Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Cummins Aust Technologies Pty. Ltd., Cummins BLR LLC, Cummins Battery Systems North America LLC, Cummins Belgium N.V., Cummins Botswana (Pty.) Ltd., Cummins Brasil Ltda., Cummins Burkina Faso SARL, Cummins CDC Holding Inc., Cummins CV Member LLC, Cummins Canada ULC, Cummins Caribbean LLC, Cummins Center of Excellence Singapore Pte. Ltd., Cummins Centroamerica Holding S.de R.L., Cummins Child Development Center Inc., Cummins Colombia S.A.S., Cummins Comercializadora S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Corporation, Cummins Cote d'Ivoire SARL, Cummins Czech Republic s.r.o., Cummins Deutschland GmbH, Cummins Diesel International Ltd., Cummins Distribution Holdco Inc., Cummins EMEA Holdings Limited, Cummins East Asia Research & Development Co. Ltd., Cummins Eastern Marine Inc., Cummins Electrified Power Europe Ltd., Cummins Electrified Power NA Inc., Cummins Emission Solutions (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Emission Solutions Inc., Cummins Empresas Filantropicas, Cummins Energetica Ltda., Cummins Engine (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine (Shanghai) Trading & Services Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine Holding Company Inc., Cummins Engine IP Inc., Cummins Engine Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Cummins Engine Venture Corporation, Cummins Enterprise LLC, Cummins Filtration (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Filtration GmbH, Cummins Filtration IP Inc., Cummins Filtration Inc., Cummins Filtration International Corp., Cummins Filtration Ltd., Cummins Filtration SARL, Cummins Filtration Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Filtros Ltda., Cummins Franchise Holdco LLC, Cummins Fuel Systems (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies Americas Inc., Cummins Generator Technologies Germany GmbH, Cummins Generator Technologies India Private Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies Italy SRL, Cummins Generator Technologies Limited, Cummins Generator Technologies Romania S.A., Cummins Generator Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd., Cummins Ghana Limited, Cummins Ghana Mining Limited, Cummins Global Financing LP, Cummins Global Technologies LLP, Cummins Grupo Comercial Y. de Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Grupo Industrial S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Holland B.V., Cummins Hong Kong Ltd., Cummins India Ltd., Cummins Intellectual Property Inc., Cummins International Finance LLC, Cummins International Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Cummins International Holdings LLC, Cummins Italia S.P.A., Cummins Japan Ltd., Cummins Korea Co. Ltd., Cummins LLC Member Inc., Cummins Ltd., Cummins Maroc SARL, Cummins Middle East FZE, Cummins Mining Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Mobility Services Inc., Cummins Mongolia Investment LLC, Cummins Mozambique Ltda., Cummins NV, Cummins Namibia Engine Sales and Service PTY LTD, Cummins Natural Gas Engines Inc., Cummins New Zealand Limited, Cummins Nigeria Ltd., Cummins Norte de Colombia S.A.S., Cummins North Africa Regional Office SARL, Cummins Norway AS, Cummins PGI Holdings Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (S) Pte. Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (U.K.) Limited, Cummins Power Generation Deutschland GmbH, Cummins Power Generation Inc., Cummins Power Generation Limited, Cummins PowerGen IP Inc., Cummins Research and Technology India Private Ltd., Cummins Romania Srl, Cummins S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Sales and Service Korea Co. Ltd., Cummins Sales and Service Philippines Inc., Cummins Sales and Service Private Limited, Cummins Sales and Service Sdn. Bhd., Cummins Sales and Service Singapore Pte. Ltd., Cummins Sinai ve Otomotiv Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cummins South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Cummins South Pacific Pty. Limited, Cummins Southern Plains LLC, Cummins Spain S.L., Cummins Sweden AB, Cummins Technologies India, Cummins Trade Receivables LLC, Cummins Turbo Technologies Limited, Cummins Turkey Motor Guc Sistemleri Sats Servis Limited Sirketi, Cummins U.K. Holdings Ltd., Cummins U.K. Pension Plan Trustee Ltd., Cummins UK Global Holdings Ltd., Cummins UK Holdings LLC, Cummins Vendas e Servicos de Motores e Geradores Ltda., Cummins Venture Corporation, Cummins West Africa Limited, Cummins West Balkans d.o.o. Nova Pasova, Cummins XBorder Operations (Pty) Ltd, Cummins Zambia Ltd., Cummins Zimbabwe Pvt. Ltd., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Costa Rica S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica El Salvador S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Guatemala Ltda., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Honduras S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins S.A., Distribuidora Cummins Sucursal Paraguay SRL, Distribuidora Cummins de Panama S. de R.L., Dynamo Insurance Company Inc., Efficient Drivetrains, Efficient Drivetrains (Beijing) New Power Technology Co. Ltd., Efficient Drivetrains (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hilite International, Hydrogenics, Hydrogenics Corporation, Hydrogenics Europe N.V., Hydrogenics GmbH, Hydrogenics Holding GmbH, Hydrogenics USA Inc., Markon Engineering Company Ltd., Nelson Burgess Ltd., Nelson Industries, Newage Engineers GmbH, Newage Ltd. (U.K.), Newage Machine Tools Ltd., OOO Cummins, Petbow Limited, Power Group International (Overseas Holdings) B.V., Power Group International (Overseas Holdings) Ltd., Power Group International Ltd., Quickstart Energy Projects SpA, Shanghai Cummins Trade Co. Ltd., TOO Cummins, Taiwan Cummins Sales & Services Co. Ltd., Worldwide Partner CV Member LLC, Wuxi Cummins Turbo Technologies Co. Ltd., Wuxi New Energy Automotive Technologies Co. Ltd., and ZED Connect Inc.. Read More Archer Daniels Midland Company recently donated $5,000 to the Lincoln YMCA for the Y's annual Campaign-Strong Kids and the Elliott Community Learning Center (CLC). The YMCA manages the Elliott CLC for Lincoln Public Schools to improve students learning and development in one of the most low-income areas of Lincoln. The CLC offers safe, out-of-school academic enrichment and activities while parents are at work. We believe all children deserve the chance to discover who they are and what they can achieve. With this generous donation, we can continue serving our wonderful kids and families at Elliott, said Barbara Bettin, president and CEO of the Lincoln YMCA. One of the citys largest nonprofit youth-serving organizations, the Lincoln YMCA has served the community for 145 years, promoting positive values through programs that build spirit, mind and body. Today, the YMCA serves over 82,000 people each year through swim lessons, youth sports, afterschool programs and many other services. The association also offers financial assistance for programs to those in need. The donation was given through ADM Cares, a social investment program that directs funds to initiatives and organizations that drive meaningful social, economic and environmental progress worldwide. The program comprises three distinct focus areas: supporting the responsible development of agriculture, improving the quality of life in ADM communities and fostering employee giving and volunteer activities. Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; prepaid programs and management services; commercial credit and debit payment products and solutions; and payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts. It also provides value-added products and services comprising cyber and intelligence solutions for parties to transact, as well as proprietary insights, drawing on principled use of consumer, and merchant data services. In addition, the company offers analytics, test and learn, consulting, managed services, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants. Further, it provides open banking and digital identity platforms services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York. General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc., a non-clinical contract research organization, provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing). The RMS segment produces and sells rodent research model strains and purpose-bred rats and mice for use by researchers. This segment also provides a range of services to assist its clients in supporting the use of research models in research and screening non-clinical drug candidates, including research models, genetically engineered models and services, insourcing solutions, and research animal diagnostic services. The DSA segment offers early and in vivo discovery services for the identification and validation of novel targets, chemical compounds, and antibodies through delivery of non-clinical drug and therapeutic candidates ready for safety assessment; and safety assessment services, such as toxicology, pathology, safety pharmacology, bioanalysis, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics services. The Manufacturing segment provides in vitro methods for conventional and rapid quality control testing of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals and consumer products. This segment also offers specialized testing of biologics that are outsourced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; and avian vaccine services that provide specific-pathogen-free (SPF) fertile chicken eggs, SPF chickens, and diagnostic products used to manufacture vaccines. The company also provides contract vivarium operation services to biopharmaceutical clients. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Box, Inc. provides a cloud content management platform that enables organizations of various sizes to manage and share their content from anywhere on any device. The company's Software-as-a-Service platform enables users to collaborate on content internally and with external parties, automate content-driven business processes, develop custom applications, and implement data protection, security, and compliance features to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, internal policies, and industry standards and regulations. It offers web, mobile, and desktop applications for cloud content management on a platform for developing custom applications, as well as industry-specific capabilities. As of January 31, 2022, the company had approximately 100,000 paying organizations, and its solution was offered in 25 languages. It serves financial services, health care, government, and legal services industries in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Box.net, Inc. and changed its name to Box, Inc. in November 2011. Box, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Francisco Bay Area, California. USANA Health Sciences, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional and personal care products. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers comprising targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and foods that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products. It also provides Celavive, a skin care regimen for various skin care types and ethnicities; and other products for prenatal, infant, and young child age groups. In addition, the company offers materials and online tools to assist associates in building their businesses, as well as in marketing products. It offers its products directly in the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and Europe, as well as online. The company has a research collaboration agreement with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine for research in the field of traditional Chinese medicine; and National Sports Training Bureau. USANA Health Sciences, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Houlihan Lokey, Inc., an investment banking company, provides merger and acquisition (M&A), capital market, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory. The Corporate Finance segment offers general financial advisory services; and advises public and private institutions on buy-side and sell-side transactions, leveraged loans, private mezzanine debt, high-yield debt, initial public offerings, follow-ons, convertibles, equity private placements, private equity, and liability management transactions, as well as advise financial sponsors on various transactions. The Financial Restructuring segment advises debtors, creditors, and other parties-in-interest related to recapitalization/deleveraging transactions. It also provides a range of advisory services, including structuring, negotiation, and confirmation of plans of reorganization; structuring and analysis of exchange offers; corporate viability assessment; dispute resolution and expert testimony; and procuring debtor-in-possession financing. The Financial and Valuation Advisory segment offers valuations of various assets, such as companies, illiquid debt and equity securities, and intellectual property. It also provides fairness opinions in connection with M&A and other transactions, and solvency opinions in connection with corporate spin-offs and dividend recapitalizations; and other types of financial opinions. In addition, this segment offers dispute resolution services. It serves corporations, institutions, and governments. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. The following companies are subsidiares of Ecolab: AO Ecolab, Abednego Environmental Services, Abednego Environmental Services LLC, Abednego Mexico Holdings LLC, Abednego de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alcide Corp., Anios America S.A., Anios Diffusion SAS, Anios Manufacturing SAS, Aqua Environmental Limited, Bioquell, Bioquell Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Bioquell Global Logistics (Ireland) Ltd., Bioquell Holding SAS, Bioquell Inc., Bioquell Limited, Bioquell SAS, Bioquell Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd., Bioquell Technology Canada Ltd., Bioquell UK Limited, Bro-Tech Limited, CALGON LLC, CID LINES NV, CID Lines, CID Lines Beijing Animal Hygiene Co Ltd., CID Lines France Sarl, CID Lines Iberica SL, CID Lines LLC, CID Lines Mexico S.A. DE C.V., CID Lines R&D NV, CID Lines Sp. z o. o., CORPAK MedSystems, Cascade Water Services, Champion Technologies, Chamtech L.L.C., Chemlawn, Chemstar Corporation, Cirlam BVBA, Copal Holding NV, Copal Invest NV, Cymru Holdings Limited, DERYPOL SA, DMD, E&M Bio-Chemicals LLC, ECOLAB NL 10 B.V., ECOLAB PEST FRANCE SAS, EPN Water Col Ltd., Ecolab (Antigua) Ltd., Ecolab (Aruba) N.V., Ecolab (Barbados) Limited, Ecolab (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Ecolab (Fiji) Pty Limited, Ecolab (GZ) Chemicals Limited, Ecolab (Guam) LLC, Ecolab (Proprietary) Limited, Ecolab (Schweiz) GmbH, Ecolab (St. Lucia) Limited, Ecolab (Taicang) Technology Co. Ltd., Ecolab (Trinidad and Tobago) Unlimited, Ecolab (U.K.) Holdings Limited, Ecolab A.E.B.E., Ecolab AB, Ecolab AU2 Pty Ltd, Ecolab Acquisition LLC, Ecolab ApS, Ecolab Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Ecolab B.V., Ecolab Bahrain S.P.C., Ecolab CDN 2 Co., Ecolab CDN 4 ULC, Ecolab CH 1 GmbH, Ecolab CH 2 GmbH, Ecolab CH 3 GmbH in Liquidation, Ecolab CH 6 GmbH, Ecolab Chemicals Limited, Ecolab Co. Compagnie Ecolab, Ecolab Colombia S. A., Ecolab DE 1 GmbH, Ecolab Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Digital Center Private Limited, Ecolab EOOD, Ecolab East Africa (Kenya) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Tanzania) Limited, Ecolab East Africa (Uganda) Limited, Ecolab Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Ecolab Engineering GmbH, Ecolab Europe GmbH, Ecolab Export GmbH, Ecolab FR 1 SAS, Ecolab FR 4 SAS, Ecolab Finance Company Designated Activity Company, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Private Limited, Ecolab G.K., Ecolab Global Business Services LLC, Ecolab GmbH, Ecolab Gulf FZE, Ecolab HK 1 Limited, Ecolab HK 2 Limited, Ecolab Hispano-Portuguesa S.L., Ecolab Holding Italy S.r.l., Ecolab Holdings (Europe) LLC, Ecolab Holdings Inc., Ecolab Holdings Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Ecolab Hygiene Kft., Ecolab Hygiene d.o.o., Ecolab International SDN BHD, Ecolab Israel Holdings LLC, Ecolab JVZ Limited, Ecolab Korea Ltd., Ecolab LLC, Ecolab LUX & Co Holdings S.C.A., Ecolab LUX 1 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 2 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 4 Sarl, Ecolab LUX 7 Sarl, Ecolab LUX Sarl, Ecolab Limited, Ecolab Ltd., Ecolab Lux 10 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 12 SCA, Ecolab Lux 13 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 14 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 15 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 16 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 17 Sarl, Ecolab Lux 9 Sarl, Ecolab Lux Partner LLC, Ecolab MT Holdings LLC, Ecolab MT Limited, Ecolab Malta 1 Limited, Ecolab Malta 2 Limited, Ecolab Malta GPS, Ecolab Manufacturing IE Limited, Ecolab Manufacturing Inc., Ecolab Manufacturing UK Limited, Ecolab Maroc Societe a Responsabilite Limitee, Ecolab NL 11 B.V., Ecolab NL 15 BV, Ecolab NL 16 B.V., Ecolab NL 23 B.V., Ecolab NL 3 BV, Ecolab Name Holding Limited, Ecolab New Zealand, Ecolab Peru Holdings S.R.L., Ecolab Pest Deutschland GmbH, Ecolab Philippines Inc., Ecolab Production Belgium B.V., Ecolab Production France SAS, Ecolab Production Italy Srl, Ecolab Production LLC, Ecolab Production Netherlands B.V., Ecolab Production Poland sp. z o.o., Ecolab Pte. Ltd., Ecolab Pty Ltd., Ecolab Quimica Ltda., Ecolab S. de R.L. de C.V., Ecolab S.A., Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Ecolab SAS, Ecolab SIA, Ecolab SNC, Ecolab SRL, Ecolab Sdn Bhd, Ecolab Services Argentina S.R.L., Ecolab Services Malaysia SDN. BHD., Ecolab Services Poland Sp. z o, Ecolab Sociedad Anonima, Ecolab Sp. z o, Ecolab Spain Services S.L.U., Ecolab Temizleme Sistemleri Limited Sirketi, Ecolab U.S. 2 Inc., Ecolab U.S. 6 LLC, Ecolab U.S. 7 LLC, Ecolab US 1 GP, Ecolab USA Inc., Ecolab Viet Nam Company Limited, Ecolab Water Holding LImited, Ecolab a.s., Ecolab d.o.o., Ecolab s.r.l., Ecolab s.r.o., Ecolab y Compania Colectiva de Responsabilidad Limitada, Ecolab-Importacao E. Exportacao Limitada, Ecolabone B.V., Ecolabtwo B.V., Endoclear Equipamentos Medicos Hospitalares Ltda., Enviroflo Engineering Limited, Food Protection Services, GCS Service, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd, Gallay Medical & Scientific Pty Ltd., GallayTrac Pty. Ltd., Georgia-Pacific - Paper Chemicals Business, Gibson Chemical Industries, Green Harbour Mainland Holdings Ltd, Henkel-Ecolab, Hicopla SL, Holchem Laboratories, Huntington Laboratories, Hydenet SAS, INTERNATIONAL WATER CONSULTANT B.V., Immobiliare R.E.O.P.A. SRL, Instrunet Hospital SLU, Jianghai Environmental Protection Co., Jianghai Environmental Protection Co. Ltd., KATAYAMA NALCO INC., Kay BV, Kay Chemical Company, LHS (UK) Limited, Laboratoires Anios, Laboratoires Anios S.A.S., Laboratoires Anios-Distribution SAS, Les Produits Chimiques ERPAC Inc., Lobster Ink, Lobster Ink Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Lobster International S.A., MOBOTEC AB LLC, Master Chemicals OOO, Meratech Rus Group LLC, Microtek Dominicana S.A., Microtek Italy S.R.L., Microtek Medical B.V., Microtek Medical Holdings, Microtek Medical Holdings Inc., Microtek Medical Inc., Microtek Medical Malta Holding Limited, Microtek Medical Malta Limited, Midland Research Laboratories, NALCO (SHANGHAI) TRADING CO. LTD., NALCO AB, NALCO ACQUISITION ONE, NALCO ACQUISITION TWO LIMITED, NALCO AFRICA (PTY.) LTD., NALCO ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., NALCO BELGIUM B.V., NALCO CHINA HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO COMPANY OOO, NALCO DANMARK APS, NALCO DE MEXICO S. de R. L. de C.V., NALCO DELAWARE COMPANY, NALCO DEUTSCHLAND GMBH, NALCO DUTCH HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO EGYPT LTD., NALCO EGYPT TRADING, NALCO ESPANOLA MANUFACTURING S.L.U., NALCO ESPANOLA S.L., NALCO EUROPE B.V., NALCO FINLAND MANUFACTURING OY, NALCO FINLAND OY, NALCO FRANCE SAS, NALCO FRANCE SNC, NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO GLOBAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO HOLDING B.V., NALCO HOLDING COMPANY, NALCO HOLDINGS G.m.b.H., NALCO HOLDINGS UK LIMITED, NALCO HONG KONG LIMITED, NALCO INDUSTRIAL OUTSOURCING COMPANY, NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (NANJING) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (SUZHOU) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES (THAILAND) CO. LTD., NALCO INDUSTRIAL SERVICES CHILE LIMITADA, NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS B.V., NALCO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO INVESTMENTS U.K. LIMITED, NALCO ISRAEL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES LTD, NALCO ITALIANA HOLDINGS S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA MANUFACTURING S.R.L., NALCO ITALIANA SrL, NALCO KOREA LIMITED, NALCO LIMITED, NALCO MANUFACTURING BETEILIGUNGS GMBH, NALCO MANUFACTURING LTD., NALCO NETHERLANDS B.V., NALCO OSTERREICH Ges m.b.H., NALCO OVERSEAS HOLDING B.V., NALCO PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, NALCO PHILIPPINES INC., NALCO PORTUGUESA (QUIMICA INDUSTRIAL) UNIPESSOAL LDA, NALCO PWS INC., NALCO SAUDI CO. LTD., NALCO TAIWAN CO. LTD., NALCO TWO INC., NALCO U.S. HOLDINGS LLC, NALCO UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BV, NALCO WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, NALTECH INC., NANOSPECIALTIES LLC, NLC PROCESS AND WATER SERVICES SARL, Nalco (BN) SDN BHD, Nalco (China) Environmental Solution Co. Ltd., Nalco Anadolu Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Nalco Canada ULC, Nalco Company LLC (1), Nalco Contract Operations LLC, Nalco Deutschland Manufacturing GmbH, Nalco Japan G.K., Nalco Libya, Nalco Middle East FZE, Nalco Polska Sp. z o. o., Nalco Production LLC, Nalco Real Estate GmbH, Nalco Schweiz GmbH, Nalco US 1 LLC, Nalco Wastewater Contract Operations Inc., Nalco Water India Private Limited, Nalco Water Pretreatment Solutions LLC, Nalco Worldwide Holdings S.a.r.l./B.V., National Wiper Alliance Inc., Nigiko, Nuova Farmec S.r.l., Oksa Kimya Sanayi A.S., Oy Ecolab AB, PT Ecolab International Indonesia, PT Ecolab Technologies and Services, Purate business - AkzoNobel, Purolite, Purolite (China) Co. Ltd., Purolite (Int.) Ltd, Purolite (Pty) Ltd, Purolite AG, Purolite GmbH, Purolite Ileri Kimyasal Ticaret Ltd, Purolite KK, Purolite LLC, Purolite Ltd, Purolite NZ Limited, Purolite Private Limited, Purolite Pte. Ltd., Purolite Pty Ltd, Purolite S. de R.L. de C.V., Purolite SAS, Purolite SRL, Purolite do Brasil Ltda, Purolite s.r.o., Purolite sp. z o.o., Purolite C Corporation, QazSorbent LLP, Quantum Technical Services LLC, Quimicas Ecolab S.A. de C.V., Quimiproductos S.A. de C.V, RP Adam Ltd, Research Fumigation Co., Royal Pest Solutions, Shield Holdings Limited, Shield Medicare Limited, Soluscope International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Soluscope SAS, Swisher Hygiene, TechTex Holdings Limited, Technical Textile Services Limited, Terminix, Ultrafab, VanBaele Hygiene AG, Wabasha Leasing LLC, Zhe Jiang Purosoft Home Appliances Sale Co Ltd, and vanBaerle Hygiene AG. Read More Ukraine will get visa-free regime with the European Union in a few months. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli said this at a briefing in the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. "Visa-free regime will come into force in a few months... It has been already decided, and there is consent of all 28 countries," Mingarelli said. As noted, he can not disclose the exact date yet. There are still some legal formalities, Mingarelli said. ol Ceremonial Documents President Barack Obama congratulates the USITC on 100 Years of Service. + View Letter Kevin Brady, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, congratulates the USITC on its Centennial. + View Statement Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Minority Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Finance Committee, congratulate the USITC on its Centennial. + View Statement Sander M. Levin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, congratulates the USITC on its Centennial. + View Statement Centennial Book To mark its first 100 years, the Commission has published A Centennial History of the United States International Trade Commission. This book examines various aspects of the history of the Commission, including the agency's founding in 1916, its evolution as an institution, and how it has carried out its statutory responsibilities. + View the Book If you, like me, are concerned about the over familiarity of certain works in the classical music canon, you could do worse than attend the National Symphony Orchestras annual Messiah. You never know what youre going to hear. A couple of times in recent years, the orchestra has offered the inflated Eugene Goossens arrangement; other years have featured various approaches more reflective of historically informed performance (HIP). The result is a delightful push and pull of contrasts and a kind of ear training for the audience and a reaffirmation that yes, it really is great music. [The National Symphony Orchestras grand take on Handels Messiah. ] This seasons Messiah which will repeat on Friday and Saturday evenings, and Sunday afternoon is led from the keyboard by Laurence Cummings, who leads the Handel festival in Gottingen, Germany, the definitive Handel festival in the world. On Thursday, he certainly showed himself to be a major Handelian in this fluid, fleet, fine-feelinged reading. Rapid passagework in Baroque music can sound finicky, with a kind of sewing-machine needling; but time and again, Cummings encouraged playing and singing that were smooth, gentle, even tender from the chorus in He shall purify, with its rapidly ornamented, high-flying lines, or from the strings in the recitative There were shepherds. So often, the arrival of the angel is heralded with a kind of sawing exuberance: here, the strings were buoyant beneath the radiant voice of the soprano Joelle Harvey. You could feel the angel suspended overhead. A challenge the NSO has had in HIP-inspired readings is that its musicians play modern rather than historical instruments. It didnt, though, feel like a challenge on Thursday night. Cummingss ease of delivery flowed over into the scaled-down ensemble; and having many fewer players than the symphony-orchestra norm emphasized the tautness and precision of the performance. Nurit Bar-Josef, the concertmaster, had some especially lovely solo moments. [NSO offers warm seasonal cheer with McGegans lean and homely Messiah.] Cummings seemed to have devoted a lot of attention in his preparation to expression, both from the orchestra and from the University of Maryland Concert Choir, which covered itself with glory with some wonderful, character-full singing. The choir performed Messiah with the orchestra last year, as well, under Nathalie Stutzmann; I wonder if the repetition helped solidify their crack performance. The choir is led by Edward Maclary, husband of Rita Shapiro, who is departing at the end of the month after more than 15 years as the NSOs executive director; an insert in the program appears to have been the orchestras official recognition of her departure, but her family connection to the chorus made their fine work seem like a nice, if unofficial tribute. [National Symphony Orchestra executive director Rita Shapiro to step down.] It was also a fine crop of soloists. I heard Christopher Ainslie, the countertenor, in the Bach B minor Mass with the Baltimore Symphony earlier this year, but I found his work here especially fine in particular the way he threw in idiomatic ornaments at will, taking a liberty with the written music that would have been expected in Handels day but is generally performed in a more careful, obedient manner now. Harvey sang with simple, glowing beauty, and in He shall feed his flock, their two voices seemed like extensions of each other rather than contrasts consistent with Cummingss approach as a uniter, rather than a divider. James Kryshak, the tenor, and Douglas Williams, the bass-baritone, both offered light, firm voices and solid performances. Repetition is a key part of our musical experience, whether its the greatest hits of a classic band the Kennedy Center just feted the Eagles with yet another performance of Hotel California at the Honors this month or yet another Beethoven symphony. The key is not to make repetition feel like rote. Opera companies try this with interpretive productions. But orchestras, though they bring in different conductors, seldom manage to make the difference between one symphony and another quite as clear and distinct as the NSO has managed, in my experience, to make its holiday Messiah. Yes, its another Messiah, on a stage bedecked with Christmas trees and greenery; and the holidays thrive on repeated traditions. This one is a lot better than most. The performance repeats Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Jack Bishop, left, and Christopher Kimball, at Americas Test Kitchen in 2010. (Laurie Swope/For The Washington Post) It was one of the biggest food media shake-ups in recent memory when Christopher Kimball departed Americas Test Kitchen in November 2015, having spent many years as the most prominent public face of the television, cookbook and magazine powerhouse he helped found. The break made waves again in October, when Americas Test Kitchen (ATK) sued Kimball, alleging that his new venture, Milk Street, ripped off ATK properties, including its flagship Cooks Illustrated magazine. (His Milk Street magazine debuted in October.) It also accused Kimball of essentially stealing company resources to create Milk Street, claiming harm from the competing venture. [Six take-aways from Americas Test Kitchens lawsuit against Christopher Kimball] Now, Kimball has filed a response denying many of the allegations and a counterclaim asserting that he has been the one damaged by what he is calling ATKs defamatory and baseless campaign against him and Milk Street. Scott Lashway of the Boston office of Holland & Knight, the attorney representing Kimball and his co-defendants, declined to comment. ATK also declined to comment other than to provide The Washington Post with a counterpoint document. Here are highlights from Kimballs response, filed Dec. 1, and ATKs counterpoints: Kimballs response says he never signed a noncompete agreement that would prevent him from starting a similar business. When ATK filed its suit, chief creative officer Jack Bishop told The Post that we are not arguing that Chris couldnt go out and create something in the food and media business but instead take issue with how he has done so and how Milk Street appears to rest on literally the shoulders of our intellectual property. In his response, Kimball asserts that he never agreed in writing or otherwise not to compete with ATK. He says the documents governing his relationships with ATK as an employee and limited partner did not restrict him from creating a competing venture, either. In fact, according to Kimballs timeline, the issue came to a head only in the few months before he was terminated, when he had expressed his intent to start a new company and as negotiations with the board about his role at ATK stalled. Likewise, he claims, the ATK employees and freelancers whom Milk Street sought to hire were not subject to noncompete agreements. Christopher Kimball has filed a response and counterclaim to Americas Test Kitchens lawsuit against him. (Courtesy of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Kitchen) Kimball claims he tried to preserve his relationship with ATK and created his new company with ATKs knowledge and permission. As part of ATKs efforts to manage a growing company and seek new digital opportunities, the companys lawsuit alleges, it sought to hire a formal chief executive, and its suit alleged that Kimball secretly resented giving up any control of the business. Kimball denies that allegation but does acknowledge that he agreed with the idea of a more professional board. (Kimball told The Post in an October interview that I dont love running a company with 200 people and just going to meetings all the time.) Even before ATK named David Nussbaum as its new chief executive, the board and Kimball were discussing his continued role, according to Kimballs response. In spring 2015, Kimball claims, he asked for an employment contract with a fixed term and increases to his compensation, which he says he was denied in June of that year. In its counterpoint, ATK alleges that Kimball threatened to leave if ATK did not give him a lifetime contract and more money. ATK alleges Kimball later changed his demand to a 10-year contract. Kimball claims two board members asked him and Melissa Baldino, his wife and fellow ATK employee, to form a media production group to handle television, radio, and live events for ATK as ATKs subcontractor. ATK contends that while it expected Kimball to form a new company that would collaborate with ATK, it neither told nor authorized Kimball to form a company that replicated ATK and competed head-to-head with ATK. ATKs complaint alleged that Kimball spent the last year of his employment with Americas Test Kitchen creating a new venture which literally and conceptually ripped off Americas Test Kitchen. Kimball asserts that there is no supporting evidence to that charge, particularly as the allegations largely center on the last few months of his employment at ATK. On Nov. 16, 2015, Kimball received a letter of termination from Nussbaum with an effective date of Nov. 20. Baldino was also terminated that day. Still, he claims, the couple continued to do work for ATK into early 2016, including TV and other public appearances by Kimball made without compensation from ATK. Julia Collin Davison, left, and Bridget Lancaster have taken over as the hosts of public television's "America's Test Kitchen." (Steve Klise/America's Test Kitchen) Kimball denies that he and his co-defendants stole and appropriated ATK resources. The ATK suit alleged that Baldino misrepresented herself as doing business for ATK while searching for real estate for Milk Street, but Kimball claims the search was a result of ATKs request that he and Baldino move out of the company offices. ATK counters that the search was not merely for office space but rather space that could accommodate a test kitchen. Citing an email from Kimball to an IT consultant, the ATK suit accused Kimball of stealing hundreds of recipes. But he claims that none of the recipes scanned . . . belong to or came from ATK. Moreover . . . ATKs recipes are available to the public for a subscription fee. As for the ATK allegations that Kimball and Deborah Broide, a former public relations consultant for ATK who is a co-defendant in the suit, took lists of media contacts, Kimball counters that these lists belong to Ms. Broide, not ATK. He also denies taking the email addresses of ATK readers. ATKs suit cited an email from Christine Gordon his executive assistant at the time and another co-defendant in the suit to ATKs IT help desk asking whether company scanners would keep copies of documents she scanned. Kimballs response claims that those documents were regarding his employment with ATK and his partnership interest in ATK, all of which documents he is entitled to have. ATKs suit alleged that Kimball pulled a bait and switch by agreeing to produce ATKs radio show only as a means to advance his new show with ATK distributor PRX. Kimball denies that, asserting that he and Baldino offered to produce the ATK show after Bishop, when he called to fire Baldino, allegedly told her that ATK was dropping it. An agreement regarding the radio show allowed for its termination with six months notice, which Kimball claims he provided in April 2016 while offering to collaborate with ATK on his new program. Kimball claims that ATK decided in June to continue ATK Radio on its own after the New York Times published an article about Milk Street. The show went off the air in October. Kimball contests ATKs allegation that he usurped ATKs relationship with public television station WGBH, knowing that WGBH could not effectively present both competing shows. WGBH presents many competing shows, including cooking shows, he says. Kimball also asserts that he did not improperly attempt to recruit current ATK employees for his new venture but openly negotiated with ATK over how many and which ATK employees Kimballs anticipated new business could hire. ATK disputes that assertion. [Q&A: Christopher Kimball talks about Milk Street] Christopher Kimballs new Milk Street magazine and his former publication, Cooks Illustrated. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Kimball claims Milk Street is indeed distinguishable from ATKs properties and is only one player in a competitive food media field. ATKs lawsuit alleged that Milk Street was not as different from Cooks Illustrated as Kimball claimed, accusing Kimball of marketing Milk Street as a cosmopolitan reboot of Americas Test Kitchen. Kimball disputes that: Although both Americas Test Kitchen and Christopher Kimballs Milk Street are focused on cooking and producing media, Christopher Kimballs Milk Street is focused on identifying and promoting cooking techniques developed elsewhere in the world that may be used for better home cooking whereas ATK focuses on American home cooking. Kimball asserts that any financial decline ATK has suffered has been a result of current management, not him. According to Kimball, ATKs profits went from $22 million in 2014 under Kimballs leadership to $18 million in 2015 under Nussbaum, with further declines in 2016. The decline in ATKs profits has been caused by the current management of the Partnership, not any actions of Kimball, Baldino, or [Kimballs new company] CPK Media. . . . The decline in ATKs profits has been caused in part by ATKs decision to abruptly terminate Kimball and Baldino rather than collaborate with them to gradually phase Kimball out as the main public face and voice of ATK, Kimballs response states. Kimball accuses ATK of defamation as well as damage to his current business interests and finances. Kimball devotes a decent portion of his counterclaim to a website created by ATK, whywearesuingchristopherkimball.com, and ATKs defamatory media campaign against Kimball and CPK Media. Kimball claims that the site contains a variety of false statements, including the allegation that he stole confidential information. ATK has exploited this litigation, using it as an excuse for its nationwide media campaign to defame Kimball by improperly imputing criminal conduct to him and otherwise impugning his character and integrity, he alleges. Kimball and CPK Media have suffered damages as a result of these statements, including but not limited [to] loss of investment funds, lost profits, loss of goodwill, harm to their reputation, loss of business relationships, and loss of customers. The interference in Kimballs business relationships has cost him and his company at a minimum, millions of dollars in losses, his filling alleges. Kimball also alleges that ATK is attempting to terminate his 5 percent profits interest in ATK (should a major transaction occur, such as the sale or transfer of partnership interests), which it says he is entitled to under several agreements. (Kimball also holds an 8.59 percent partnership interest in ATK.) That profits interest as of Kimballs firing was worth millions of dollars, he claims. WATERFORD Waterford Police Chief Tom Ditscheit will step down from his role at the end of the year to make way for a new position and new leader for the department. Ditscheit, who has been chief for the last nine years, wanted to retire at the end of 2015, but stayed on for an additional year as the department transitioned from covering just the town to covering the Town of Waterford and Village of Waterford, the latter previously monitored for many years by the Racine County Sheriffs Office and a lone Village of Waterford police officer. Its just time, Ditscheit said. Ive been in law enforcement for 44 years. Its just time. After 44 years in law enforcement, including 30 serving in Milwaukee, Ditscheit is excited to retire. He said he will still work on federal investigations as he has done for 14 years, but he plans to spend time with his wife traveling on their motorcycles and using their camper more. Ill be traveling a lot, Ditscheit said. The federal job is just to fill my time when Im running out of other things to do. A year after beginning the transition to covering both the village and town, the department has doubled its full-time patrol staff to eight and added additional part-time officers. Ditscheit said the staff all have years of experience that allow them to best serve the community through patrolling and investigating crimes. The officers are doing a great job, Ditscheit said. I cant say it any better than that. The officers are the ones doing the work out there. The department most recently investigated and has made an arrest in connection to a string of burglaries in the Waterford area. All of the full-time staff worked together to find the suspects and have them charged, Ditscheit said. By having all of these different people we have with the experience that everybody has, we were able to put together a good case thats still building, Ditscheit said. Its just another example of how the two communities are interconnected and shows its working. Transition working When Ditscheit steps down Dec. 31, the current plan is to promote Sgt. Matt Johnson to captain effective Jan 1. According to Ditscheit, the contract to promote Johnson is expected to be signed next Tuesday. It looks likely that it will go through, Ditscheit said. (Johnson will) be in charge of the department for six months and if that all goes well, hell be promoted to chief. Johnson started with the Waterford department as a part-time officer in 1993 and moved to a full-time role in 1994. In 2006, Johnson was promoted to sergeant. The department currently has two sergeants on staff. Ditscheit said that Johnson will have work to do to keep the transition going strong, but Ditscheit is confident in the future of the department after his departure. I said I would stay until the department was comfortable working well in its new role, Ditscheit said. In my opinion it is working well. A group of Arlington high school students lambasted the county school board Thursday over a plan to shift the boundary lines for the districts three high schools, saying that it fails to address concerns about economic segregation in the wealthy D.C. suburb. The school board, tasked with redrawing boundaries to ease overcrowding at Washington-Lee High School, voted to shift about 350 students who would have attended the school in the next four years to the districts two other high schools Yorktown and Wakefield. The changes will shift more students living in poverty toward Wakefield in South Arlington, where nearly half of students there qualify for free and reduced-price meals. It also will shift students from poor families away from the districts wealthiest high school, Yorktown, where just 14 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals. Yorktown is also the least racially diverse of the three high schools. The boundary adjustments will shift the share of students living in poverty by about one percentage point at Wakefield and Yorktown, but students who criticized the plan saw it as a missed opportunity to balance the demographics at the three high schools. School board members said they were balancing a number of competing priorities, including trying to send students to high schools close to their homes. Matthew Herrity, a junior at Washington-Lee High, wrote an editorial in the student newspaper, Crossed Sabres, that was critical of the countys plan, and he turned it into a Change.org petition asking the school board to lay out a concrete proposal for increasing diversity. It garnered nearly 1,400 signatures by Friday afternoon. Herrity pointed out that some elementary schools in the small, wealthy county have disproportionately high numbers of students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals. One, Carlin Springs Elementary, is considered a racially and economically segregated school. [Virginias schools are growing more racially and economically segregated] Surely a school system that values diversity so much would be horrified by their levels of segregation, both racial and economic, and would take every opportunity they could to right this wrong, Herrity wrote in his petition. Board members, who voted unanimously to shift the boundaries, said in a written response that their mandate in redrawing the lines was simply to ease overcrowding at Washington-Lee. In doing so, board members sought to disturb the current feeder patterns as little as possible. At Thursday nights meeting, Herrity urged the school board to change its approach to drawing school boundaries. Arlington has the opportunity to reverse a trend . . . that is seen throughout the United States, Herrity said. It is imperative that we put diversity at the forefront of this boundary change. Grace Coldren, a 16-year-old junior at Wakefield, told the board that the county paid only lip service to diversity and failed to do enough to maintain affordable housing. Like many suburbs, housing prices in Arlington have soared, pushing poor families farther from urban centers. As much as we claim to value diversity, we have done little to curb the excessive demand to wipe out historically diverse communities in the interest of our pro-business climate, Coldren said. We are readily on our way to an apartheid system where we relocate diversity outside the county. During Thursdays meeting, student after student shared their disappointment in the plan and about how the diversity of their classmates has enhanced their education. Students said the imbalance of demographics has left black students feeling isolated at Yorktown, where they represent just 5 percent of the student population. A junior at Yorktown, her voice shaking, recounted a time when a classmate told her that slavery was justified and that she should go back to Africa. She said he then jokingly threatened to brand black people and make them his slaves if they didnt leave the country, a remark that elicited laughter from other classmates. Ignorance and entitlement runs rampant through those halls, and your plan to redraw the lines will only help these sentiments to grow, she said. You are doing nothing to right the ailments that make this school so toxic. Barbara Kanninen, vice chair of the school board, said she was horrified by the girls story and pledged to address it. Board members, too, urged the students to stay involved so their voices would be heard as the district prepared to redraw enrollment boundaries for elementary and middle schools. We heard the community speak loudly that the core value of diversity not be confined to a poster on our school walls, board member Reid Goldstein said. Its going to take work and dedication to this principle to make this happen. Board member James Lander, the sole black member on the school board, said students should also be sensitive to the fact that many parents want to send their children to the schools closest to their homes. I challenge you to go and speak with someone whose thinking is different from yours, he said. That is diversity. Go sit down and talk to people who get up every day and go to work, come home [and] want to be able to attend a school event nearby their home where their child goes to school. Washington Home resident Joseph Washington looks out in the courtyard where volunteers are at work. (Evy Mages/FTWP) A nursing home in Northwest Washington on Thursday finalized the sale of its building and land to Sidwell Friends School, capping a year-long controversy over the displacement of the homes poor and elderly residents. Residents of the Washington Home and their families said they were blindsided by the sale and could not find arrangements for comparable care elsewhere in the city. Several of them had sought to block the $32.5 million sale, arguing that it violated a D.C. law requiring landlords to offer tenants the right of first refusal before putting a property up for sale. A judge rejected that argument in October, ruling that nursing homes are fundamentally different than other housing accommodations. [Residents sue in effort to halt sale of Washington Home to Sidwell Friends] Residents have now been transferred to other nursing homes or to families in other parts of the country, according to a statement from the Washington Home. The home is turning its focus to providing hospice care in patients homes, but will continue to offer inpatient hospice care in a wing of the building that it plans to lease back from Sidwell Friends for up to one year. The Washington Home sits adjacent to Sidwells upper school. Sidwell has said it plans to relocate its lower school, currently in Bethesda, to the D.C. property. THE DISTRICT Officer with alleged ties to ISIS is indicted A federal grand jury indicted a former Metro Transit Police officer Thursday after investigators said he attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State. Nicholas Young, 37, of Fairfax, also faces an obstruction of justice charge, according to a U.S. attorneys office news release. Authorities said Young, who had been with the transit police since 2003, gave material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization in December 2015 and July 2016. The support and resources included protection of Islamic State personnel and the provision of gift cards for the Islamic State, the release said. If convicted, Young faces a maximum of 60 years in prison. Officer is disciplined in weapon incident A D.C. police sergeant has retired and an officer has been disciplined after the officer fired an unloaded weapon at a colleague in a police station in April, a department spokesman said Thursday. The spokesman, Dustin Sternbeck, was not immediately able to describe the discipline. The sergeant and the officer were not identified. The incident occurred during a roll call on April 16 at the First District at 101 M Street SW. Two police officials with knowledge of the incident said at the time that the sergeant instructed an officer to unload his weapon for an impromptu training exercise. The officer was told to enter roll call with the empty weapon and point it an officer, the officials said. A tense standoff resulted, but no one was injured. MARYLAND Man is found slain in Temple Hills A man was found dead early Thursday by a Prince Georges County police officer who was on routine patrol in the Temple Hills area. Detectives are investigating it as a homicide. The body of Jamil Smith, 25, was found around 2:10 a.m. in the 2700 block of Colebrooke Drive, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Dana Hedgpeth Man, woman shot in Aspen Hill area A man and a woman were shot early Thursday in the Aspen Hill area. Police said the pair told them they were in a car in the 3800 block of Palmira Lane after midnight when a man approached the vehicle and talked with them. He shot them and fled on foot, officials said. The victims, a 22-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman, were taken to a hospital. Police said their injuries are non-life-threatening. William H. Simons, who as the first president of the Washington Teachers Union led teachers strikes, negotiated contracts and played a pivotal role in the selection of the union as the teachers collective bargaining agent, died Dec. 7 in Atlanta. He was 92. His death was announced in a statement released by the union. Paul Simons, a nephew, said that at his uncles request, the family was not releasing details on the union leaders death or taking questions from the media. In recent years, Mr. Simons had lived in Atlanta with a daughter. Mr. Simons was president of the WTU for 25 years before being voted out of office in 1991. In a 1979 profile, The Washington Post said he has crusaded to change the image of teachers from one of nice old ladies and milquetoast men who arent good enough to do anything but teach. The image Simons has sought for teachers is one of tough, unionized workers who are not going to accept a retirement dinner or nice words from a former student in place of a good salary and strong influence in administrative decisions that govern what goes on in a classroom. As a union leader, Mr. Simonss modus operandi was often compared to that of the authoritarian, old-time schoolteacher who would tolerate no nonsense or foolery. He had a wide grin and a nervous giggling manner of speaking and was sometimes taken to be brusque and arrogant by members of the School Board, whom he sometimes called stupid, suffering from what he called the three-I syndrome: ignorance, insecurity and incompetence. William Henry Simons was born in Washington on June 1, 1924, and was one of eight children. His father was a U.S. government messenger. He graduated from Dunbar High School in 1940, served in the Army during World War II and received a Bronze Star Medal. In 1947, he graduated from what then was Miner Teachers College and began teaching social studies at Banneker Junior High School. He joined Local 27 of the American Federation of Teachers in 1952, at the time an all-black teachers union. It later merged with a white AFT local to form a racially integrated local of the AFT, which then became the Washington Teachers Union. In 1965 he left his teaching job at Banneker to become full-time union president. In 1967, Mr. Simons orchestrated a victory of the WTU over the D.C. Education Association as the collective-bargaining agent for the citys teachers. At the time, the WTU was perceived as more militant at the bargaining table. Mr. Simons called it an organization of working teachers. The Education Association, he said, was a professional group for administrators. Mr. Simons would lead teacher strikes in 1972 and 1979 as well as organize a march on Capitol Hill in 1968 to demand a pay raise from Congress, which set salaries. He battled school administrators over a plan to set teachers pay on the basis of their students performance on standardized tests. He accused some administrators of harming students by supporting social promotions, the practice of moving students up one grade each year when classroom teachers had given them failing grades. He fought proposals for longer work days and longer school years and denounced critics who claimed that union protections had safeguarded the jobs of incompetent teachers. He said he asked only for due process . . . what any employee deserves. Were not protecting anybody. We just want administrators to make their case against teachers instead of fulfilling vendettas. There are more bad administrators than bad teachers. Mr. Simons was defeated for reelection as union president in 1985 but regained the office two years later. He was defeated again in 1991 amid complaints that the union had become moribund and resistant to change under his leadership. He then retired. His wife of 61 years, Elaine Davis Simons, died in 2010. His daughter Sheryl P. Simons died the next year. Survivors include a daughter, Wilma L. Simons of Atlanta. A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for his involvement in an MS-13 gang murder in Northern Virginia in 2014. On March 29, 2014, Douglas Duran Cerritos, of Falls Church, and six other gang members murdered Gerson Adoni Martinez Aguilar, a gang recruit, for breaking gang rules, Dana J. Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. [MS-13 members convicted of three Northern Virginia murders] Cerritos was the leader of a group that lured Aguilar to Holmes Run Park in Fairfax County and stabbed him in the back and the neck, severed his head and buried him in a shallow grave in the park, the statement said. The case was part of a large-scale prosecution of MS-13 in Northern Virginia that involved 13 defendants, three murders and one attempted murder, prosecutors said. A 93-year-old woman injured after the car she was driving struck a tree in Bethesda earlier this month died Friday, police said. On Dec. 5 at about 9:05 a.m., officers responded to the 8000 block of Whittier Boulevard for a report of a serious collision, Montgomery County Police said in a statement. They found that Audrey Sloope Bell, who lived on the block, was making a left turn in a 2003 Buick Century from eastbound Whittier Court onto northbound Whittier Boulevard when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree, rolling onto its drivers side, according to the statement. Bell died of her injuries Friday, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to police. Police asked anyone with information about the collision to call them at 240-773-6620. YORKVILLE A 53-year-old woman died Thursday after she was reportedly struck by a vehicle near her home, according to a release from the Racine County Sheriffs Office. At 5:49 p.m. Thursday, the Racine County Communications Center took multiple 911 calls about a vehicle versus pedestrian accident on Highway 20 near 53rd Drive in the Town of Yorkville. The first sheriff squad on scene confirmed the crash involved a pedestrian and lifesaving measures were started. Union Grove-Yorkville Fire and Rescue arrived on scene and took over the lifesaving measures. Unfortunately, the pedestrian succumbed to her injuries at the scene, according to the Sheriffs Office. The pedestrian was found to be a woman who lived at a residence near the accident scene. The driver and occupants of the vehicle involved stayed at the scene and are cooperating with the accident investigation, according to the Sheriffs Office. The Wisconsin State Patrol Accident Reconstruction Team was called to the scene to assist in the accident investigation. Highway 20 was closed to traffic for approximately three hours while the accident was investigated. A North Carolina man accused of commandeering a Washington pizza restaurant with an assault-style rifle Dec. 4 pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday in a brief federal court appearance. Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, N.C., is charged with a federal count of interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition and indicted on two D.C. offenses: assault with a dangerous weapon and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. [Comet pizza gunman anticipated violent confrontation, police say] The federal firearms and D.C. assault charges each carry a statutory maximum of 10 years in prison. The D.C. firearms count carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Welch, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, stood with his hands clasped behind his back as his attorney entered his plea. Other than responding Yes, sir to a question asked by U.S. Magistrate G. Michael Harvey, he did not speak. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post) Through his attorney, Assistant Federal Defender Dani Jahn of the District, Welch did not contest prosecutors motion to continue to hold him in jail pending his next court appearance concerning the incident at Comet Ping Pong in Northwest Washington. Harvey set Welchs next appearance for Jan. 5. Jahn said Welch intended to invoke his right to remain silent, asking the media to contact the federal defenders office instead of the defendant. The New York Times published an account of a Dec. 7 jailhouse interview with Welch that he had without an attorney present, Jahn said. I believe protocols are in place to ensure that does not happen again at this point, Jahn said. [I am sure he is sorry for any heartaches he has caused, mother of alleged Pizzagate gunman says] In charging documents, an FBI agent wrote that it appeared Welch contemplated a violent confrontation at the restaurant, citing text messages and calling records. Raiding a pedo ring, possible [sic] sacrificing the lives of a few for the lives of many, Welch texted a friend two days before he drove to Washington in a Toyota Prius, according to an FBI affidavit. The text continued: Standing up against a corrupt system that kidnaps, tortures and rapes babies and children in our own backyard. Police said Welch was consumed with the viral fake-news story known as Pizzagate, which falsely linked Hillary Clinton to a child sex-trafficking ring. The conspiracy theory said the ring operated in the basement of Comet Ping Pong, where Clintons presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta, occasionally dined. Previous court documents state that Welch told police that he had gone to the restaurant to investigate rumors of a child-sex-ring operating there. In the end, Welch did not shoot anyone and surrendered after he found no evidence of hidden rooms or sex trafficking, police said. The documents filed earlier state that adults and children were in the restaurant that Sunday afternoon and fled when the gunman walked inside with a .38-caliber Colt revolver and a Colt AR-15 rifle loaded with 23 bullets strapped across his chest. Welch fired the assault-style weapon two or three times in the restaurant, police said. They said he also pointed the rifle toward an employee who had emerged from the back with pizza dough after everyone else had fled. Social video and photos show the aftermath of a train that derailed while traveling on the Orange Line near the East Falls Church stop. No injuries were reported. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Social video and photos show the aftermath of a train that derailed while traveling on the Orange Line near the East Falls Church stop. No injuries were reported. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) Metro fired six workers after determining that nearly half of the agencys 60-person track-inspection department created a pattern of fabrication and negligence that led to the derailment of a Silver Line train in July, the transit agency said Thursday. The fired employees falsified track-inspection records for as long as three years, officials said. A criminal investigation ended without charges, but the findings of Metros internal review have been sent to prosecutors to decide whether to pursue other legal action. Six more terminations or suspensions are pending and a total of 28 workers received disciplinary action, Metro said. This review revealed a disturbing level of indifference, lack of accountability and flagrant misconduct in a portion of Metros track department, which is completely intolerable, Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. It is reprehensible that any supervisor or midlevel manager would tolerate or encourage this behavior, or seek to retaliate against those who objected. [NTSB: Metro knew of potentially dangerous track conditions more than a year before July derailment] A Silver Line train derailed just outside the East Falls Church station in Virginia on July 29. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) The review showing negligence and falsification represents the most damning indictment of Metros lack of safety culture since nine people died in a 2009 crash on the Red Line. The National Transportation Safety Board and others have repeatedly faulted Metro for placing a lower priority on safety than on earning revenue by keeping the trains running. But evidence had not emerged that workers were involved in systematic efforts at deception that put riders lives at risk. Wiedefelds decision to fire the workers and announce the discipline publicly also represents his highest-profile attempt to change Metros safety culture since he took over about a year ago. The announcement came at the same meeting at which the Metro board of directors voted unanimously to cut late-night service hours for two years, starting in July. The vote came despite threats from D.C. board members to veto the proposal. [Metro general manager proposes permanent end to late-night service] Evening hours on Metro already are curtailed because of the SafeTrack maintenance program. Metros new schedule will end service at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, 11 p.m. on Sundays and 11:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday. The decision is part of Metros larger effort to provide more time for track maintenance and inspection. The late-night service decision and the internal negligence finding are emblematic of years of neglect at Metro and the battle the transit agency faces to get to the backlog of maintenance needs. Disciplinary action was not limited to rank-and-file workers. At least three supervisors were fired or are facing termination, and two more likely will be punished. Two rail superintendents were demoted. The review indicated that some workers may have feared retaliation from their bosses for reporting problems. The derailment, which came at the start of the morning rush, snarled service for much of the day and closed the East Falls Church station for days as safety personnel investigated why the train went off the tracks. The cause was determined to be wide gauge, a condition in which the rails spread too far apart because of deteriorating wooden rail ties. Repairs to the track and rail cars cost about $860,000, Metro said. [Metro derailment closes East Falls Church station through weekend] Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, said the union would conduct its own investigation into the circumstances that led to the firings. If the review determines the firings were unjustified, she said, the union will fight them. Jeter said that she believes Metro management may be placing the blame on workers who did not receive the training or instruction to properly perform their jobs. What theyve done is not necessarily falsification. . . . There are a lot of nuances here, Jeter said. If someone actually went out and falsified the work that they do, then thats one thing. If there is a culture of how they report, and what theyre told to do . . . thats something else. Jeter said she has spoken to two of the track workers who were terminated. They are confused, she said, because they dont know what theyve done wrong. Wiedefeld said those workers had several ways to report problems if they feared retaliation including the Office of Inspector General and a confidential program through the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics. What Im saying is, any job, if you see something wrong . . . no matter who your boss is, you should raise it, right? he said. Though Wiedefeld said that the disciplinary measures were necessary to instill a culture of accountability within Metros ranks, the agency may be facing another problem: depleted numbers. A Federal Transit Administration report in August said that Metro was working with a bare-bones track-inspection staff and needed to bring on more workers. Now the department has six fewer employees, and more may be terminated soon. In the short term, Wiedefeld said, consultants and workers from other departments are filling in the gaps in the track-inspection department. In the long term, he said, the agency is planning to recruit and train new inspectors and to increase the use of laser and video technology to allow for more inspections. Wiedefeld said Metro analyzed three years of inspection data from across the system. Investigators looked at the level of detail in the inspection reports, how the inspections were performed, how long the inspections took and what problems they turned up. The investigation took in the entire system, he said. He declined to say whether other parts of the system might have been compromised by fabricated reports. After the July derailment, the agency began inspections on more than 60 crossovers where trains switch tracks to ensure they were safe. Meanwhile, Metro safety officials began interviewing track workers responsible for the East Falls Church crossover. Among other findings, Metro determined that track inspectors reported identical measurements over three years, falsely indicating that there had been no movement or deterioration of the ties. Youre not going to tell me that the track didnt move a sixteenth of an inch or an eighth of an inch or a quarter of an inch over that time, one of the interviewers asked an inspector, according to a safety report. Metro did not release the identities of the fired employees. Metro board Chairman Jack Evans said the findings were a troubling sign of a systemic lack of safety culture at Metro. Im as outraged as anybody, Evans said, and [Wiedefeld] is taking all the necessary actions to discipline people, fire people and set up a new shop. Since the derailment, Metro has brought six outside inspectors, trained by the Federal Railroad Administration, to embed with inspection crews and provide on-the-job training and quality assurance. Metro also paid for refresher training courses for all inspectors and has hired outside companies to rewrite the track-inspection manual and conduct a systemwide assessment of track defects. Track walkers will also have more time to inspect the system under the curtailed late-night service schedule. Evans, also a D.C. councilman, said that, despite the sacrifice borne by riders and businesses in the District, he believed that approving the new hours was the right move to enhance safety. His support for the proposal came after a compromise was struck. Under an amendment approved Thursday, Metro will be required to provide a progress report on its preventive maintenance program in May 2018. The clause was meant to address the Districts concerns that two years of automatic late-night service cuts would provide a carte blanche to Metro management. Its important for me, for the District and for other members of the board to have an update on whats happened, how were doing and why we need to do this for another year, Evans said after the vote. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), a Metro supporter and vocal critic of its failings, backed Wiedefelds disciplinary measures. This should serve as a clarion call to the workforce, from top to bottom, that the status quo is no longer acceptable, Connolly said Pressed on whether terminations were sufficient to instill a safety culture in the troubled system, Wiedefeld acknowledged that there was more to be done. You cant fire your way out of the issues, he said. But you can demand individual accountability. I think thats what were talking about here. Fairfax Countys top prosecutor on Friday said he had concluded that a county sheriffs deputy acted in self defense when he fatally shot a man suffering from apparent mental illness last summer outside Inova Fairfax Hospital. The August death of Jovany Amaya Gomez previously identified as Giovanny Martinez brought renewed attention to use of force by authorities in Virginias largest jurisdiction. The county had come under scrutiny after the 2013 fatal shooting of John Geer outside his Springfield home and the death by stun gun last year of county jail inmate Natasha McKenna. Commonwealths Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh said Amaya was killed after charging at sheriffs deputy Patrick McPartlin with a metal pole, which the 18-year veteran believed to be a sword. Amayas agitation, language barriers and mistaken perceptions all contributed to the Aug. 15 incident, Morrogh found. As Mr. Gomez turned the corner ... he raised the sword and continued advancing towards McPartlin, Morrogh said in his report, which was based on interviews conducted by Fairfax police and hospital surveillance camera footage. Reasonably perceiving himself to be in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, MDS McPartlin, while retreating, discharged his weapon until the threat was abated, Morrogh wrote. He ruled the killing justified. Noe Sanchez Amaya, center to right, Adan Martinez and Orlando Lemus Garcia are relatives to Jovany Amaya Gomez previously identified as Giovanny Martinez. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) [A family wonders why he was killed by a deputy after seeking help] While the report means no criminal charges will be filed in the case, it reveals some challenges in how Fairfax County law enforcement officials deal with the mentally ill, particularly those among the countys growing immigrant population who dont speak English. On the sweltering day of the shooting, Amaya, a Honduran national, initially approached a county police officer sitting inside his cruiser off Little River Turnpike in Annandale, according to the report. Unable to understand the Spanish-speaking immigrant, the officer used his cell phone to call up Googles language translation application, which helped him determine that Amaya wanted to hurt himself. The officer had Amaya transported to the hospital with the intention of taking him to the countys Merrifield Center for mental health treatment if tests showed signs of mental illness. But a Spanish-speaking nurse said Amaya complained only of a stomach ache and did not appear to want to hurt himself. Amaya was discharged with a doctors instructions to return for a follow-up examination. After a security guard escorted Amaya to a nearby bus stop, he began acting erratically, waving around a pole from a No Smoking sign, the report said. A hospital security guard showed up and Amaya struck him with the pole in the back of the neck. Another security guard responding to the scene told others on his radio that Amaya was carrying a bladed weapon. McPartlin heard that report and, when seeing Amaya waving around the pole, thought that it was a sword. With his gun drawn, the deputy told Amaya in English to stop and to drop the weapon. Amaya charged at McPartlin, who fired his handgun, striking Amaya three times in the torso and once in the arm. Amaya was taken to the hospital emergency room, where he died. Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Friday proposed a cautious budget that relies on improved revenue and modest spending cuts to close a shortfall while funding some new initiatives. Unlike in previous years, the plan he submitted to the General Assemblys finance committees is not built around expanding Medicaid a fight he has picked, and lost, for three straight sessions with the Republican-controlled legislature. But McAuliffe couldnt resist one more swing at the pinata: Language in his budget would give the governor authority to use hundreds of millions in federal Medicaid expansion dollars if the Affordable Care Act still exists a year from now. That seems unlikely, since President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to dismantle the health-insurance program. But if President Trump and a Republican Congress do affirm the policy of Medicaid expansion in some form, the language that I am presenting will give the governor the authority to act quickly, McAuliffe said. The move would not affect the current budget. Republican legislators were surprised, and a little amused, but not amenable. He knows were not going to give him that, Del. S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said after the governors speech. The District of Columbia and 31 states have adopted the federal Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which provides health-insurance coverage to low-income adults. Because federal money covers the cost, McAuliffe said he could have included $231 million in savings in the budget if Virginia participated. Republican lawmakers opposed to expansion argue that even though the federal government is paying its full cost now, the burden will gradually shift to states and become a drag on state finances. The legislators also were cool toward McAuliffes proposal to fund a one-time bonus of 1.5 percent for state employees and teachers, saying theyd rather make a lasting fix on salaries. But otherwise, McAuliffes budget drew a muted response as it seeks to lessen the pain of closing a shortfall and add spending for mental-health care and substance-abuse treatment. The spending plan proposed Friday, which covers the second year of the 2016-2018 biennial budget, mostly uses targeted cuts and revenue adjustments to close a funding gap that has shrunk as the states economy has strengthened in recent weeks. The shortfall for fiscal 2016, which ended in June, and the projected shortfalls for 2017 and 2018 now total a combined $1.2 billion, McAuliffe said, down from $1.5 billion. The improvement is largely due to increases in payroll tax revenue as the states employment picture gets stronger. McAuliffe cautioned, though, that the specter of sequestration automatic federal budget cuts could still hurt the states economy. This is the last budget plan McAuliffe will work on with the General Assembly. Virginia governors are limited to a single four-year term, and McAuliffes runs out at the end of next year. He will submit a final budget a year from now, but as a lame duck. McAuliffe, who was seen as the ultimate partisan for his long history of raising money for Bill and Hillary Clinton when he came into office, was a bit more reflective than usual in his presentation. He ticked off his favorite economic achievements. We now have the second-lowest unemployment rate of any major state in the United States of America, he said. Over the course of three years, our commonwealth has created 182,100 net new jobs and we have attracted a record $14.22 billion in capital investment not that Im counting, but $5 billion more than any governor in the history of the commonwealth of Virginia, my fun fact for you to take home to your children. But he also made a point of praising the legislatures ability to work with him on budgetary matters and did little to provoke the other side of the aisle, other than his Medicaid gambit. Hes consistently enthusiastic in what he has to say, said Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr. (R-James City), but I think he was more deliberative than perhaps he historically [has been]. But I think thats a reflection of where we are. In order to generate more revenue, McAuliffe is proposing a tax-amnesty program and changes to the states accelerated sales tax policy, which requires businesses of a certain size to submit most of their June tax payments by the end of that month. Usually, businesses pay the tax in the following month. Because the fiscal year ends in June, the early payment basically shifts money from the following fiscal year into the prior one. Its a budget-balancing tactic that the General Assembly had decided to scale back, and small-business advocates were not pleased by McAuliffes recommendation. Thats going to be an issue, Jones said. A more popular step was McAuliffes call for online businesses with warehouses or fulfillment centers in Virginia to pay state sales tax. He has routinely chastised Congress for failing to enact a nationwide Internet sales tax, and he said his proposal could generate $21 million a year in state and local revenue beginning in fiscal 2018. Norment and Jones both praised McAuliffes approach. Those and other revenue measures including tapping the states rainy-day fund whittle the three-year budget shortfall to $785 million, McAuliffe said. The governor proposes closing that gap by enacting more than $800 million in spending cuts. No cuts are proposed for K-12 education, he said, and various public safety agencies were already exempted from cuts. In addition, state colleges and universities will face smaller cuts than expected for 2018 5 percent instead of 7.5 percent, McAuliffe said. He announced earlier this week that his proposal would also call for $31.7 million in new spending to improve state mental-health services and treat substance-abuse issues. Like many other states, Virginia is wrestling with a crisis in opioid addiction and overdoses, and $5.3 million is earmarked in the governors proposal for treatment and prevention. McAuliffe also is requesting $1 million to upgrade Virginias voter registration and election management system and $570,000 to continue a program for those serving in the military to get access to secure absentee ballots online. Members of the General Assembly will get more detailed briefings on the budget before convening Jan. 11. At first glance, though, the governors proposal made no huge waves. We have much more that we have in common than in opposition, Jones said. There are some things around the edges that well be tweaking. TEXAS Corpus Christi warns against using tap water The city of Corpus Christi told its nearly 320,000 residents Thursday to stop using tap water because of possible contamination from an industrial chemical leak, sparking a run on bottled water. The city said that it was investigating the possible leak of up to 24 gallons of an asphalt emulsifier called Indulin AA-86 and that it might seek emergency water deliveries. The chemical can cause eye and skin burns, respiratory tract irritation and damage to the digestive systems but is not known to be carcinogenic, according to safety data. Do not try to treat the water yourself. Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, or letting the water stand will not make the water safe, the city said in a statement. The chemical may have contaminated Corpus Christi drinking water due to a back-flow incident in the industrial district, the city said, without providing further details. Energy company Valero said it believed the possible backflow problem came from third-party operations in the area of its asphalt terminal. The Gulf of Mexico coastal city is home to oil and petrochemicals operations and a large port. Reuters NATIONAL SECURITY Singapore man pleads guilty in export scheme A Singapore man extradited to Washington pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge stemming from his role in an illegal export conspiracy in which U.S.-made radio frequency modules ended up in the detonation systems of 16 roadside bombs in Iraq. Lim Yong Nam, also known as Steven Lim, 42, is scheduled to be sentenced March 9 on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. His prosecution was the first in which the U.S. government alleged that it could trace by serial number specific components exported from the United States to Iran to devices used against U.S.-coalition forces in Iraq between 2008 and 2010. Lim was indicted in June 2010 on additional charges, including smuggling, illegal export of goods to Iran and making false statements. He was extradited this year to the United States after being detained in Indonesia since October 2014. Lim could face a statutory maximum of five years in prison, but both sides agreed in a plea deal to an advisory sentencing guidelines range of 46 to 57 months in prison. Spencer S. Hsu MICHIGAN Detroit suburb is sued over mosque rejection Federal prosecutors are suing a Detroit suburb after a religious organizations proposal for a mosque in a residential neighborhood was denied. The U.S. attorneys office filed the suit Thursday in federal court against Sterling Heights. Planning commissioners voted in 2015 against a special land agreement sought by the American Islamic Community Center. Some residents protested the plan, citing traffic congestion and other concerns. Mosque supporters said the issue was anti-Muslim bias. The lawsuit says the denial constitutes discrimination on the basis of religion and imposed a burden on the religious exercise of the center. Sterling Heights said Thursday that the centers application denial was not based on emotional feelings tied to religious beliefs either for or against the applicant. Associated Press Former N.Y. guard convicted in attack on inmate: A former guard at the Rikers Island jail complex was convicted Thursday of violating the civil rights of an ailing inmate who died after he was repeatedly kicked in the head while restrained on the floor outside a jail doctors office. Brian Coll of Smithtown, N.Y., was convicted in the December 2012 death of Ronald Spear, 52. Spear was pinned by other guards while Coll kicked him, causing brain bleeding, evidence showed. Associated Press RACINE In the wake of Donald Trumps historic election, undocumented immigrants and their families face uncertainty of what the future holds for them. The future of those populations in Racine was the focus of a Racine Interfaith Coalition meeting Wednesday night at Emaus Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 1925 Summit Ave. While community members and elected officials expressed their support, they also shared their ambiguity about the future once Trump takes office on Jan. 20. At this time, we simply do not know whats going to happen, Racine Mayor John Dickert said. The event, hosted by RIC organizer Pastor Michael Mueller, gave parishioners and residents a chance to discuss issues facing undocumented immigrants. They also discussed issues facing those protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a distinction that protects certain illegal immigrants who came to the country as children, but a provision that could be eliminated under the Trump administration. According to Pastor Mary Janz, who spent more than two decades at Emaus before retiring this summer, Emaus congregation is roughly 75 percent Hispanic. The unknown is difficult because there is a fear of what might happen, Janz said. There are a number of undocumented people in our congregation, primarily adults. Many of the children were born in the U.S. and so theyre citizens. So theres a concern about what would happen should there be mass deportation. Dickert said he has had conversations with other mayors throughout the country about how to deal with the uncertainty, and that will continue at a meeting in Washington in late January. He said the city leaders have decided on a strategy of information. Our job right now is to make sure that we get as much information from you as possible about any problems, Dickert said. If we dont know about the problems, theres absolutely nothing we can do about it. Dickert also encouraged any in attendance feeling targeted by Racine police officers to report the problems directly to him. Unified protecting information Racine Unified School Board President Mike Frontier attended the meeting and offered his support. Right now, information about our (school district) families can only be given if the police suspect a crime, Frontier said. We will protect the information that we have. However, if the laws change, then we will have to deal with that. The leader of Voces De La Frontera in Racine, Valeria Ruiz, distributed informational packets about legal rights and discussed a rally scheduled to take place in Milwaukee on Jan. 14. Mueller led the meeting and began it by reading a statement from RIC published in both English and Spanish in the Dec. 11 edition of The Journal Times. We stand together with one another and with those who are most vulnerable, recognizing that our lives and destinies are intertwined, Mueller said. Dickert stressed that he would stand up for and protect the people of Racine. My job as mayor is to protect my people, period, he said. There are a lot of theories about the anxieties that produced the 2016 presidential election outcome. On Monday, Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, published an essay in Time magazine headlined, The Election Was About Racism Against Barack Obama. The essay draws a straight line between European anti-Semitism, American racism and the 2016 election. Swiss-born Botstein, 70, has been president of Bard for 40 years. The Washington Post spoke with Botstein by phone this week about his ideas. The interview below has been edited for clarity and length. Q: What prompted you to write the essay comparing the integration of European Jews in the 1930s to the social advancement of people of color in the U.S. today? A: Well, Im an immigrant. I was a child immigrant of Eastern European Jews to the United States. My entire childhood was shaped by reflections on the character of what happened to European Jews. For us [Jewish immigrants], America was a paradise because we were white. So, suddenly we discovered that we were not the primary objects of discrimination in the society in which we lived. That doesnt mean that there wasnt, that there isnt, anti-Semitism. But what we encountered here, it was trivial compared to European anti-Semitism. I had two uncles killed in the Warsaw ghetto. My father was the only survivor in his family. I also had an aunt, you see, who was a righteous gentile, a Catholic who rescued Jews from the Holocaust. From her I learned that there is always the question what would you do if you are not a member of the victim class but the perpetrator class. And as a scholar Ive written and explored the widespread resentments and conditions that allowed so many to engage in or stand by in the face of monumental injustice. You see, throughout Europe there was antipathy toward the unintegrated Jew who looked strange and acted strange and had these strange traditions. They [non-Jews] complained about them, disliked them. But once there was [social] emancipation, once Jews were admitted in large numbers to European universities, became doctors and lawyers and writers and foreign ministers, once they began to integrate and ascend, then, they were a threat. In America the real dividing line is not religion, but race and [skin] color. It remains closely tied to socioeconomic standing. Schools and neighborhoods and places of worship are largely segregated along those lines to this day. But as whites with limited education have come to see or notice black doctors and lawyers around them, they have come to see this as evidence of their supposed oppression, that they do not have what they should. Something is off, or wrong. And Barack Obama, a black president, has become the ultimate symbol of that. Understanding that was, for me, easy. Q: Thats a big set of ideas that wont sit well with people who think privileges connected to whiteness dont exist. A: Well, in this country, of course, there have been moments of great optimism, reason to believe that the county was aligning its actions with its core ideals like equality. Almost a decade ago now, the election of Barack Obama as president was kind of a miraculous event. Or, that is how it was seen and described. But, it is one thing to elect someone and quite another to let them govern. I cant think of a president more obstructed and toward whom more incivility and recalcitrance has been directed in a way that can only be fully explained by race. Barack Obama and his entire family have truly been the most dignified, well-spoken, contemplative president [and first family] in my lifetime. And, in that comparison I include Kennedy, Truman and Roosevelt. Yet, the resentment toward him, the anger about economic trends [deindustrialization, the loss of factory jobs], which began when Obama was a child, have been incredibly intense. Reasonable people should see that it is possible, that uneducated whites in Rust Belt America whom Washington did not serve well for decades not during the [President Bill] Clinton era or the [President George W.] Bush era or the Obama era have reasons to be angry. However, if racism were not a part of whats happening, if bigotry was not at work here, unaddressed economic conditions and expectations related to race, the inability to earn a reasonable living or feel certain that their children will, should have created greater solidarity with poor blacks. Many of their needs and interests are the same. Q: What do you think is missing from their understanding of the state of the country? A: Well first, of course, are the causes of growing economic inequality, the policies which create it. Also high on this list has to be the often forgotten fact that economic inequality effects us all, it cuts across black and white. The problem, the thing that makes so many people so very susceptible to political manipulation, to fake news in the utter absence of evidence, no question, is that there has been an erosion of solidarity over economic matters, widely shared economic experiences. Instead, theres been this retreat to identity politics. Then, there is also a sense of history, or perhaps I should say accurate history. From the very start this was a county of professed equality, where there was slavery. Then Reconstruction then, segregation, which lasted well into the mid-20th century and without force of law largely continues today. An enormous amount of conflict followed each time anything like progress toward equality was made. So, this, what we are seeing now, the white rage and anger, is not new. This mythic narrative of a great America into which so many voters bought is, it would seem, a desire to return to the 1950s. That was a time, if you think of it, that was good for America for white America only. But this was also a world where competition for jobs and opportunity and housing was effectively limited. It was a world where blacks and others were much more subordinate and excluded than they are now. Among whites, the nostalgia at work here is that whites were far more dominant and America was great. What they fail to recognize is that this was also a time, that in that great America of the past, there was a progressive income tax, far greater investment in schools and infrastructure and public investment of all kind. That created much more white economic equality. In 2016, the symbolic and significant progress among citizens of color plus real and growing inequality among whites has proven an explosive combination. Because the blame is misdirected and the real causes of their economic struggles so misunderstood, a man like [President-elect Donald] Trump can come along and win. Scapegoating groups is one of his major skills. Q: How do you think we should address this problem of misdirected blame? A: I am suggesting that white identity politics are a problem. Others have no choice but to fight for inclusion and equality [as a group] because they are excluded and treated unjustly on the basis of their identity. But for white Americans, focusing on race is and historically has been a problem. Im asking white Americans to forget about race or their sense of a racial competition in which some feel they are falling behind because of special privileges and opportunities given to minorities. Im saying these people need to realize that [minorities] are not their problem, neither is Barack Obama. The idea that hate and subjugation are the answers, the keys to a great American future is a distraction, not a solution. What we have, in this country, are policies that allowed a small amount of mostly white people to grow very, very rich while everyone else saw their wages stagnate or fall. Your government has failed to serve you. It has abandoned you. Q: What can be done to address the problems you describe? A: In a word: investment. We need to invest, as a country, in economic rebuilding and education. We need both to make people less susceptible to fake news and completely fictional but appealing understandings of how the world and its economy works, to understand the role of economic inequality in their lives and its real causes. Well have to make more education a clear and desirable path for much more of the population. And civics education, fundamental American civics, need to be restored to a place of importance in all schools so that no one leaves high school without a sense of how government actually works. Stirring rage against other people and belief systems is a way of buying off and deflecting attention from the real issues of inequality and the absence of work [paying a living wage]. Trump is not going to bring back manufacturing jobs any more than any president before him. The worlds economy has fundamentally changed in ways that are beyond any one president or one nations control. We need for more white Americans to understand that the vast majority of other people are not your problem. The trivial amount of money we have invested in advancing the black American community, the presence of immigrants and religious minorities does not begin to compare to the tax breaks we have given to wealthy almost exclusively white Americans. A jury finds Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof guilty of federal hate crimes resulting in the death of nine black parishioners at a historic church in South Carolina last year. ( / Reuters) Dylann Storm Roof, a ninth-grade dropout who learned to hate black people on the Internet, was convicted Thursday of 33 counts of federal hate crimes for slaughtering nine black parishioners at a church Bible study meeting here last year. A federal jury took less than two hours to reach its decision, following a seven-day trial in which Roof, 22, a self-described white supremacist, chose to remain silent and motionless amid a barrage of testimony and evidence so thorough and devastating that his mother, watching from the third row, suffered a heart attack on the first day. He executed them because he believes they are nothing but animals, prosecutor Nathan Williams said in his closing argument, addressing a somber jury that had seen crime-scene photos of all the dead, including Susie Jackson, 87, the oldest victim, into whom Roof had emptied an entire 11-round magazine from his Glock .45-caliber pistol. [Evil, evil, evil as can be: Emotional testimony as Dylann Roof trial begins] As Williams spoke, a photograph of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney was shown on the screen. The pastor, who had offered Roof a seat next to him at Bible study, was wearing a crisp white shirt and new suit now stained by blood from the five bullet wounds in his neck, back and arm. Roofs grandmother, sitting in the courtroom while the image was displayed, wiped a tear from her eye. Judge Richard M. Gergel dismissed the jury for the holidays and told them to return on Jan. 3, when they will hear prosecution and defense arguments about whether Roof should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. Roof also faces a separate state murder trial in January, which also carries a potential death penalty. Many friends and relatives of the dead attended the trial, in the historic heart of the city where the Civil War began, and many sat with their eyes closed tight as they listened to the verdict. Theres no win in this. We still have grieving families, a grieving community. Theres some closure, but theres no win in this thing, said Kevin Singleton, 43, whose mother, Myra Thompson, was killed. We just want to move forward and put this behind us and try to get on with our lives. Nothing good came out of any of this. [Scene in Charleston: At the end of the day, we are just looking for justice.] But some allowed themselves a moment of gratitude. The Rev. Sharon Risher, whose mother, Ethel Lance, was among the dead, said she was overjoyed that this part is done. At the moment the verdict was read, she said, the family members looked at each other with smiles, like, Hallelujah, God is still in the miracle-working business. Roofs guilt in the killings was essentially uncontested; prosecutors showed the jury Roofs interview with FBI agents in which he calmly confessed to the killings and complained that he was worn out after pumping more than 60 bullets into his victims. Prosectors introduced and played Dylann Roofs two-hour video confession during the third day of Roofs federal death penalty trial. (U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina) Under federal law, he was charged with hate crimes resulting in death, obstruction of religion and firearms violations. He was also charged with attempting to commit those same offenses against two adults and a child who survived. [The white flight of Derek Black] His attorney, David Bruck, a death penalty specialist, told the jury he expected them to find Roof guilty, but he repeatedly tried to inject the notion that Roof was mentally or emotionally unstable. He was consistently cut off by Gergel, who said that was relevant only in the penalty phase of the trial. Roof has said he will represent himself during that phase, and Bruck was apparently trying to help his client in advance of that by giving the jury some justification to spare his life. Consider the mad energy, the rationale, the senselessness, Bruck said as the prosecution mounted objection after objection. The fact that one is a racist does not tell you what else is going on. And what else is going on is what you should be thinking about. The federal death penalty is rarely imposed; the last time was more than a decade ago. Roof had offered to plead guilty and accept life in prison, but the U.S. Justice Department determined that the circumstances were so egregious that they warranted seeking Roofs execution. The crime stood as a new and hideous chapter in the long history of racial killings in America. Prosecutors read lines from a journal found in Roofs car and the manifesto he posted online, and they told jurors that Roof wanted to incite a race war. Prosecutors presented evidence that Roof chose the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic monument known as Mother Emanuel, because of its spiritual and symbolic importance to the black community. [What happens next if Dylann Roof is sentenced to death] Roof told FBI interrogators that he had to kill blacks because they rape white women; computer records showed that he had researched black on white crime and spent time on white supremacist sites. He said he chose Mother Emanuel because it was the Souths oldest black church and he knew that would be a place to get a small amount of black people in one area. During the trial, prosecutors documented Roofs meticulous planning in the seven months leading up to the killings. Data collected from his GPS showed that he had made at least six trips to Charleston, visiting historic plantations and studying the church. He videotaped himself on several occasions taking target practice with his Glock in the back yard of his home. Photos showing Roof posing with the Confederate battle flag prompted South Carolina officials to remove the flag from the state capitol in Columbia. 1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad A deep hostility revealed online View Photos A Web site linked to accused Charleston shooter Dylann Roof includes chilling images, detailed racist rationale Caption A Web site linked to accused Charleston shooter Dylann Roof includes chilling images, detailed racist rationale The online manifesto attributed to Dylann Roof reveals a deep hatred of minorities, particularly black people. From Roof's Web site Wait 1 second to continue. A persons actions tell us what they are thinking and what is in their heart, Williams said, citing the vastness of his cold, calculated hatred, and his tremendous cowardice in shooting nine people who had closed their eyes to pray. There is no bravery in this defendant. There is no bravery in his actions. But there is bravery in this case, Williams told the jury before recounting the courage shown by the victims and the two adult survivors who testified. [Dylann Roof wants his attorneys back for part of the Charleston church shooting trial] As the prosecutor presented his closing, each victims body was shown on the floor of the churchs basement, along with smiling portraits of the victims in life. What does malice mean? Williams asked the jury. It means everything youve seen in this case. Huddled together under blankets in the chilly courtroom, the families of the victims began weeping. Some kept their heads bowed, rocking back and forth, while other held their heads high, refusing to look away. One relative groaned and rushed from the courtroom as an image of Tywanza Sanders, 26, the youngest victim, was shown, his arm outstretched toward Susie Jackson as they lay dead on the church floor. Singleton said he had initially planned to stay away from court on the day photos of his mothers body were shown. But in the end, he said, he felt he needed to be there. To see your mom face down on the ground, its a life-changing experience, he said. A part of me regrets seeing it, but Im glad I did because I needed to have that closure. Its like a dream. This doesnt seem real, so I needed something real. I wanted to have that connection with my mom. Sullivan reported from Washington. Correction: An earlier version of the article incorrectly identified Nancy Fees mother as Nancy. Her mother is Elizabeth Fee. This version has been updated. Laura Rees, left, and her sister Nancy Fee, along with their father, Joseph Fee, display a photo of their mother, Elizabeth Fee, who died after going to a nursing home from a hospital in San Francisco. (ROBERT DURELL FOR KAISER HEALTH NEWS) At age 88, Elizabeth Fee looked pregnant, her belly swollen after days of intestinal ailments and nausea. A nurse heard a scream from Fees room in a nursing home and found her retching like a faucet before she passed out. The facility where she died in 2012 was affiliated with a respected San Francisco hospital, California Pacific Medical Center, and shared its name. Fee had just undergone hip surgery at the hospital, and her family, pleased with her care, said they chose the nursing home with the hospitals encouragement. Laura Rees, Fees elder daughter, said she was never told that the nursing home had received Medicares worst rating for quality one star. Nor, she said, was she told that state inspectors had repeatedly cited the facility for substandard care, including delayed responses to calls for aid, disrespectful behavior toward patients and displaying insufficient interest in patients pain. They handed me a piece of paper with a list of the different facilities on it, and theirs were at top of the page, Rees said in an interview. They kept pointing to their facility, and I was relying on their expertise and, of course, the reputation of the hospital. Fee had an obstructed bowel, and state investigators faulted the home for several lapses in her care related to her death, including giving her inappropriate medications. In court papers responding to a lawsuit by Fees family, the medical center said the nursing homes care was diligent. The center declined to discuss the case for this story. The selection of a nursing home can be critical: 39 percent of facilities have been cited by health inspectors over the past three years for harming a patient or operating in such a way that injuries are likely, government records show. Yet many case managers at hospitals do not share objective information or their own knowledge about nursing home quality. Some even push their own facilities over comparable or better alternatives. Generally, hospitals dont tell patients or their families much about any kind of patterns of neglect or abuse, said Michael Connors, who works at California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a nonprofit in San Francisco. Even the worst nursing homes are nearly full because hospitals keep sending patients to them. Hospitals say their recalcitrance is due to fear about violating a government decree that hospitals may not specify or otherwise limit a patients choice of facilities. But that rule does not prohibit hospitals from sharing information about quality, and a handful of health systems, such as Partners Healthcare in Massachusetts, have created networks of preferred, higher-quality nursing homes while still giving patients all alternatives. Such efforts to help patients are rare, said Vincent Mor, a professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, R.I. He said that when his researchers visited 16 hospitals around the country last year, they found that only four gave any quality information to patients selecting a nursing home. Theyre giving them a laminated piece of paper with the names of nearby nursing facilities, Mor said. For quality information, he said, they will say, Well, maybe you can go to a website, such as Nursing Home Compare, where Medicare publishes its quality assessments. The federal government may change this hands-off approach by requiring hospitals to provide guidance and quality data to patients while still respecting a patients preferences. The rule would apply to information not only about nursing homes but also about home health agencies, rehabilitation hospitals and other facilities and services that patients may need after a hospital stay. It has a substantial opportunity to make a difference for patients, said Nancy Foster, a vice president at the American Hospital Association. But the rule does not spell out what information the hospitals must share, and it has yet to be finalized more than a year after Medicare proposed it. And it faces resistance in Congress: The chairman of House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), has included it on a list of regulations Republicans should block early next year. The government has created other incentives for hospitals to make sure their patient placements are good. For instance, Medicare cuts payments to hospitals when too many discharged patients return within a month. Hospitals didnt use to care that much, said David Grabowski, a professor of health-care policy at Harvard Medical School. They just wanted to get patients out. Now theres a whole set of payment systems that reward hospitals for good discharges. But sometimes hospitals go too far in pushing patients toward their own nursing homes. In 2013, for instance, regulators faulted a Wisconsin hospital for not disclosing its ties when it referred patients to its own nursing home, which Medicare rated below average. In 2014, a family member told inspectors that a Massachusetts hospital had steered and railroaded her into sending a relative to a nursing home owned by the same health system. Researchers have found that hospital-owned homes are often superior to independent ones. Still, a third of nursing homes owned by hospitals in cities with multiple facilities had lower federal quality ratings than at least one competitor, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. The lowest rating Medicares Nursing Home Compare gave the nursing home where Elizabeth Fee died one star out of five, meaning it was rated much below average. The hospitals case managers told Fees family that the nursing home was merely an extension of the hospital and that my mother would receive the same excellent quality of care and attention, said Rees, her daughter. But state inspectors found shortcomings in seven visits to the nursing home between August 2009 and October 2011, records show. Inspectors found expired medications during two visits and, at another, observed a nurse washing only her fingertips after putting an IV in a patient with a communicable infection. Just four months before Fee arrived, inspectors cited the nursing home for not treating patients with dignity and respect and for failing to provide the best care. One patient told inspectors that her pain was so excruciating that she couldnt sleep but that nurses and the doctor did not check to see whether her pain medications were working. Nobody listens to me, the patient said. I was born Catholic, and I know its not right to ask to die, but I want to die just to get rid of the pain. Fee ate little and had few bowel movements, according to the state health investigation. Fees family had hired a private nurse, Angela Cullen, to sit with her. Cullen became increasingly worried about Fees distended belly, according to Cullens affidavit taken as part of the lawsuit. She said her concerns were brushed off, with one nurse declining to check Fees abdomen by saying, I do not have a stethoscope. On the morning of her death, an X-ray indicated Fee might have a bowel obstruction or other problem expelling stool, the inspectors report said. That evening, after throwing up a large quantity of matter that smelled of feces, she lost consciousness. She died of too much fluid and inhaled fecal matter in her lungs, the report said. Bills of more than $150,000 Judge Ernest Goldsmith of the San Francisco Superior Court wrote in a ruling that Elizabeth Fees younger daughter, Nancy, observed her mother drown in what appeared to be her own excrement. Kathryn Meadows, the Fees attorney, said in a filing that the nursing homes bills exceeded $150,000 for the three-week stay. Sutter Health, the nonprofit that owns the medical center and the nursing home, emphasized in court papers that Elizabeth Fee arrived at the facility with a low count of platelets that clot blood. Sutters expert witness argued that the near-daily visits from a physician that Fee received far exceeds what is expected in nursing home care. The physician and his medical group have settled their part of the case and declined to comment or discuss the terms; the case against Sutter is pending. Californias public health department fined Sutter $2,000 for the violations, including for waiting 16 hours before telling the physician about Fees nausea, vomiting and swollen abdomen. Last year, Sutter closed the nursing home. A week or so after Fee died, a letter addressed to her from California Pacific Medical Center arrived at her house. It read: We would appreciate hearing about your level of satisfaction with the care you received on our Skilled Nursing Rehabilitation Unit, the unit from which you were just discharged. Kaiser Health News Kaiser Health News is a national health-policy news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. RACINE COUNTY The number of traffic-related fatalities in Racine County in 2016 is 18, as of Thursday, the county medical examiner said, and two of those occurred this week. The total is fewer than the 26 traffic-related fatalities in 2015, but more than the 14 traffic-related fatalities in 2014, Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne said. Payne on Friday released the name of the 53-year-old woman who died after being hit by a car late Thursday afternoon on Highway 20 in Yorkville. Elsie Weatherspoon, of the 800 block of 53rd Drive, was hit by a car at about 5:49 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Washington Avenue (Highway 20) and 53rd Drive, according to Payne and a Sheriffs Office release. According to the sheriffs release, the first deputy on scene confirmed the crash involved a pedestrian and lifesaving measures were started. Union Grove-Yorkville Fire and Rescue crews arrived on scene and took over the lifesaving measures. Weatherspoon was pronounced dead at the scene, Payne said. The driver and occupants of the vehicle involved stayed at the scene and were cooperating with the accident investigation, according to the Racine County Sheriffs Office. The Wisconsin State Patrol Accident Reconstruction Team was called to the scene to assist in the accident investigation. Highway 20 was closed to traffic for about 3 hours while the accident was being investigated. Sheriffs officials could not be reached for comment Friday for additional information about the incident. The other fatality occurred Wednesday morning when the Rev. Mark D. Gates, a Racine Department of Public Works employee and pastor of Christ Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, was killed Wednesday when a Ford Mustang allegedly crashed into a city recycling truck on Washington Avenue between Illinois and Oregon streets, pinning Gates in the process. Gates died from his injuries Wednesday afternoon at Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. Benjamin Bell, 20, of the 800 block of Valerie Court, Racine, was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with two felonies in connection with the incident: homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He remained in custody at the County Jail as of Friday night, online records showed. In this July 13, 2013 file photo, abortion rights advocates, left, protest in the State Capitol as anti-abortion rights supporters pass them in Austin. (Tamir Kalifa/AP) A federal judge on Thursday blocked until at least next month hotly debated Texas rules mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains that were set to go into effect within days. The ruling by Austin-based U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks begins the latest legal battle for a state whose tough antiabortion laws were largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court this summer. The Center for Reproductive Rights and other national advocacy groups sued to prevent Texas from requiring hospitals and clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages rather than disposing of them in a sanitary landfill, as they often do with such remains and other biological medical waste. The rules had been set to take effect Monday. The lawsuit argues that the rules serve no medical purpose and are meant to shame women who seek abortions and make it harder for doctors to provide them. Sparks granted a temporary restraining order blocking the rules, then scheduled two days of testimony for early next month. He expects to rule by Jan. 6 on whether they will be allowed to stand going forward. Earlier legal challenges blocked similar measures in Louisiana and in Indiana, where they were signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence, now Donald Trumps vice president-elect. The rules were proposed to the health commission at the behest of Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in July, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down antiabortion laws that would have left Texas with 10 abortion clinics, down from more than 40 in 2012. HEALTH Drug payment plan experiment dropped The Obama administration has suddenly decided to abandon proposed experiments aimed at changing how Medicare pays for prescription drugs administered in doctors offices or hospital outpatient departments an attempt to improve care and help slow spending on expensive medicines. The experiments focus on new drug payment methods in Medicares Part B for medicine to treat cancers or injectable antibiotics, for example was to be in sync with the administrations efforts to find ways to curb soaring drug costs. But rules that federal health officials proposed several months ago had drawn strenuous opposition from the pharmaceutical industry and Republicans on Capitol Hill. A few leading Democrats also came out against them. A spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed Friday that the agency will not finalize the demonstration model before the president leaves office. While there was a great deal of support from some, a number of stakeholders expressed strong concerns, he said. Though CMS was working to address them, the complexity of the issues and the limited time available led to the decision not to finalize the rule at this time. Amy Goldstein and Susan Levine MICHIGAN Order to supply bottled water to Flint upheld A federal appeals court wont block an order that requires delivery of free bottled water in Flint, Mich., if residents have lead filters that arent working. In a 2-to-1 decision Friday, the court said delivery might be unusual. But it noted theres no precedent for a system that has caused thousands of people to be exposed to poisonous water. On Nov. 10, a judge said the state of Michigan must deliver water to people who dont have a properly working filter and want the water. The state says water quality has improved in Flint since the city stopped using the Flint River in 2015, although people still are urged to use filters. The river water wasnt treated to reduce corrosion, causing lead to leach from old pipes. Associated Press Appeals court rules in favor of Ohio transgender child: An 11-year-old transgender Ohio child must be allowed to continue to use the girls restroom while her school district appeals a court ruling in her favor, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday. The child, a biological male who identifies as female, has been using the girls restroom at a school in the Highland Local School District northwest of Akron since a federal court ruled in late September that district administrators could not prevent her from doing so. The case began in June when the school district sued to stop an order by the Obama administration requiring schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms of their choice. Reuters Philippines We do not need you, Duterte tells U.S. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States on Saturday to prepare for the repeal of an agreement on the deployment of troops and equipment for military exercises, saying his country does not need U.S. money. But Duterte, speaking at a news conference after arriving home from visits to Cambodia and Singapore, suggested that relations could improve under President-elect Donald Trump. I like your mouth, its like mine. . . . people with the same feathers flock together, Duterte said. Returning his focus to the present U.S. administration, he said: We do not need you. Prepare to leave the Philippines. Prepare for the eventual repeal or abrogation of the VFA. The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, accorded legal status to thousands of U.S. troops who were rotated into the country for military exercises and humanitarian assistance operations. Reuters UNITED NATIONS Ban urges Israel to rethink settlement bill Outgoing United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon urged Israeli lawmakers Friday to reconsider a bill to legalize Israeli settlement homes on private Palestinian land as Arab states mull putting forward a U.N. Security Council resolution on settlements. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in the 1967 war. Most countries and the United Nations view Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal and an obstacle to peace. I strongly urge legislators to reconsider advancing this bill, which will have negative legal consequences for Israel and substantially diminish the chances for Arab-Israeli peace, Ban told a Security Council briefing on the Middle East. Israeli officials are concerned that the bill could provide grounds for prosecution by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Reuters GERMANY Parliament urges more efforts at integration Germanys lower house of Parliament, countering increasing anti-immigrant sentiment, declared that more should be done to integrate newly arrived migrants. More than 1 million refugees and migrants mainly Muslims have flocked to Germany from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere since the beginning of 2015, and many Germans see integrating the newcomers as the countrys biggest challenge. Parliaments declaration comes amid a rise in support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party, which is expected to gain seats in the Bundestag (lower house) in next years federal election. The proposal was brought by Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative bloc in Parliament and the Social Democrats, which have lost support to Alternative for Germany as hostility against migrants has risen. Reuters Pockets of protests, looting in Venezuela as cash dries up: Small protests and looting broke out in some Venezuelan provinces due to a lack of cash after the socialist government decreed this week that its largest bank note would be pulled from circulation in the midst of an economic crisis. President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday gave Venezuelans a few days to ditch 100-bolivar bills, despite warnings from some economists that the move risked sparking chaos. Venezuelas opposition says the measure is further evidence that Maduro must be removed. 2 retired soldiers face murder charges in 1972 Belfast killing: Two retired British soldiers who fatally shot an unarmed Irish Republican Army member outside his Belfast home in 1972 will be prosecuted for murder in a rare case, Northern Ireland authorities said. The Public Prosecution Service in Belfast said in a statement that all the available evidence merits murder charges against two former Parachute Regiment soldiers who opened fire on Joe McCann, 24, a commander of the outlawed Official IRA faction. British airport staff vote for pre-Christmas strike: A union says 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew at airports across Britain have voted to strike at the height of the Christmas season in a dispute over pay. The Unite union says workers will walk off the job for 48 hours on Dec. 23 and 24 at airports including Londons Heathrow and Gatwick. They are employed by air services company Swissport. From news services Leon Wieseltier is the Isaiah Berlin senior fellow in culture and policy at the Brookings Institution. Contemplating the extermination of Aleppo and its people, I was reminded of a sentence that I read this summer. It appeared in an encomium to Elie Wiesel shortly after his death. It was a sterling sentence. It declared: We must never be bystanders to injustice or indifferent to suffering. That was Wiesels teaching, exactly. The problem with the sentence is that it was issued by the White House and attributed to President Obama. And so the sentence was not at all sterling. It was outrageously hypocritical. How dare Obama, and members of his administration, speak this way? After five years and more in which the United States inaction in Syria has transformed our country into nothing other than a bystander to the greatest atrocity of our time, they have forfeited the right to this language. Their angry and anguished utterances are merely the manipulation of the rhetoric of conscience on behalf of a policy without a trace of conscience. You cannot be cold-hearted and high-minded at the same time. Historians will record they will not have to dig deeply or interpret wildly to conclude that all through the excruciations of Aleppo, and more generally of Syria, the United States watched. As we watched, we made excuses, and occasionally we ornamented our excuses with eloquence. The president is enamored of his eloquence. But eloquence is precisely what the wrenching circumstances do not require of him. In circumstances of moral (and strategic) emergency, his responsibility is not to move us. It is to pick up the phone. Elie did more than just bear witness, Obama said in his eulogy, he acted. And he added: Just imagine the peace and justice that would be possible in our world if more people lived a little more like Elie Wiesel. Just imagine. If Obama wants credit for not getting us into another war, the credit is his. If he wants credit for not being guilty of overreach, the credit is his. If he wants credit for conceiving of every obstacle and impediment to American action in every corner of the globe, the credit is his. But it is a shameful and incontrovertible fact of our history that during the past eight years the values of rescue, assistance, protection, humanitarianism and democracy have been demoted in our foreign policy and in many instances banished altogether. The ruins of the finest traditions of American internationalism, of American leadership in a darkening world, may be found in the ruins of Aleppo. Our ostentatious passivity is a primary cause of that darkening. When they go low, we go home. The Obama legacy in foreign policy is vacuum-creation, which his addled America-First successor will happily ratify. Aleppo was not destroyed by the Syrian army. It was destroyed by a savage coalition led and protected by Russia. While they massacred innocent men, women and children, we anxiously pondered scenarios of deconfliction. We need to be unforgivingly clear. The obligation to act against evil in Aleppo was no different from the obligation to act against the evil in Sarajevo and Srebrenica. (Has anyone ever heard Obama mention Bosnia?) It was no different from the obligation to act against the evil in Rwanda. It was no different from the obligation to act against the evil in Auschwitz. And we scorned the obligation. We learned nothing. We forgot everything. We failed. We did not even try. No, that is not quite right. It would be incorrect to analyze our delinquency in Syria in the dichotomously simple terms of action and inaction. The administration creatively pioneered a third option, which it pursued not only in Syria but also in Ukraine and elsewhere: Between action and inaction, it chose inconsequential action. There is the Obama doctrine! We backed moderate Syrian rebels, but not as seriously or as generously as the immoderate Syrian rebels were backed. We sent in small numbers of special operators. The CIA ran a few programs. We acted, in sum, only in ways certain not to affect the outcome. We were strategically feckless. I suspect that the president believes that the United States has no moral right to affect an outcome in another country. I suspect that he regards such decisive action as imperialism, or at least as Iraq-like. What this means in practice is that we will not help people who deserve our help. In the spirit of respecting other societies, we will idly gaze at their destruction. How would disrespecting them be worse? As a direct or indirect consequence of our refusal to respond forcefully to the Syrian crisis, we have beheld secular tyranny, religious tyranny, genocide, chemical warfare, barrel bombs and cluster bombs, the torture and murder of children, the displacement of 11 million people, the destabilization of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, the ascendancy of Iran in the region, the emergence of Russia as a global power, the diminishment of the American position in the world, the refugee crisis in Europe, the resurgence of fascism in Europe and a significant new threat to the security of the United States. It is amazing how much doing nothing can do, especially when it is we who do nothing. Not long after he mourned Wiesel, the president engaged in another one of his exercises in empathy without consequence. At the U.N. Summit for Refugees and Migrants, he spoke of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who washed up dead on a beach in Turkey. That little boy on the beach could be our son or our grandson, the president moistly said. We cannot avert our eyes or turn our backs. And then we proceeded to avert our eyes and turn our backs. The people who had the power to prevent, stop or even mitigate this catastrophe should now bow their heads and fall silent and reflect on how it is that they brought us so low. Aleppo is no more, and we are weakened and disgraced. Mitch Horowitz is the author of Occult America and One Simple Idea, a history of the positive-thinking movement. On a fall morning in 1960, the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale stood before his congregation on Manhattans East Side and apologized for having gotten tangled up with a committee of evangelical ministers who questioned John F. Kennedys fitness to serve as president on the grounds that Kennedy, as a Catholic, might be subservient to the Vatican. I never been too bright, anyhow, the famous minister told the pews to laughter. Peale adopted the same aw-shucks tone that his friend, Kennedys opponent Richard Nixon, had used several years earlier in his Checkers speech. In both cases, controversy was allayed. Although Peales quip went over well inside Marble Collegiate Church, his self-description unfortunately stuck. For decades, social critics have viewed the author of the 1950s mega-seller The Power of Positive Thinking as a sloganeer of happy thoughts, simplistic theology and covert bigotry. It hasnt helped that Donald Trump, not widely known for tones of positivity, has called himself an admirer. "Surge of Piety: Norman Vincent Peale and the Remaking of American Religious Life," by Christopher Lane (Yale Univ.) This is the Peale that historian Christopher Lane, a professor of English at Northwestern University, seeks to contextualize in Surge of Piety. Lane traces Peales connections to corporate and conservative elites, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, to show how the minister brought a mood of conservative piety to the nation. Peale, as Lane demonstrates, made churchgoing corporatists feel comfortable with themselves, affirming values of enterprise and anti-communism, sometimes denouncing liberal politicians and policies, and celebrating an agreeable, back-slapping personality as the key to success. Peales Religio-Psychiatric Clinic, founded in 1937, sought to combine pastoral and psychiatric care; it became a kind of therapeutic adjunct to the conservative culture that Peale sought to promote, Lane writes, suggesting to churchgoers that if you get right with God and stock gains, youll get right with yourself. (Lane does not mention that Peale also helped destigmatize visiting a psychiatrist.) The author delves deeply into the intellectual and spiritual search of Peales early collaborator in the clinic, psychiatrist Smiley Blanton, whose published diaries detail his psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud. The tensions between Blanton and Freud over religion make enthralling reading. When recounting such intellectual frictions, Lanes writing is graceful and well-paced. But Lane regards his main subject, Peale, in more simplistic terms. He overlooks, or is perhaps less interested in, the ministers unlikely journey, divided between the devout Methodism of his youth (his father was also a minister) and his encounter with various strains of American mysticism. In neglecting this area, Lane skips over not only the forces that shaped Peale as a minister of self-help but also what made him interesting as a man. Peales brand of practical Christianity grew from a spiritual-therapeutic tradition in American life that dates back to the Transcendentalist atmosphere of mid-19th- century New England, which gave rise to movements in mental healing, Christian Science and what William James called the religion of healthy mindedness. Peale was aware of, and well read in, these trends. They formed the seeds of his positive-thinking theology. Peale took careful measure of the postwar taste for self-help, signaled by the success of his younger contemporary, Boston-based Rabbi Joshua Loth Liebman, whose therapeutic Peace of Mind dominated bestseller lists in 1946, six years before Peales The Power of Positive Thinking. (Liebman, a deeply searching and intellectually rigorous man, died at age 41 in 1948. His name faded as Peales rose.) Lane barely notes this history. Rather, he groups together charismatic evangelizers in the peace-of-mind movement Rabbi Joshua Liebman, Bishop Fulton Sheen, and Billy Graham among them. Sheen had criticized Liebmans therapeutic approach in bellicose terms, and Graham, whose emphasis was on traditional sin and salvation, stood aloof from the therapeutic gospel. Neither Peale nor other popular religious voices of his era were easily grouped under a shared banner of salvific self-help and American nationalism. Lane is quick to suppose that Peale can be understood largely as a crusader for Christianity and capitalism. That is half the story. The author documents that half well in Surge of Piety. But as a nationalist conservative, Peale was also something of an outlier within Americas healthy-minded religious culture, and by legacy remains so. The Power of Positive Thinking continues to sell many thousands of copies each year. But far surpassing it are self-help books by figures such as Deepak Chopra, Rhonda Byrne and the recently deceased Wayne Dyer, who have nothing in common with Peales patriotic tones. On the other side of the fence, evangelical ministers such as Joyce Meyer and T.D. Jakes sell vast numbers of their own Christian-themed therapy books; yet few media ministers acknowledge Peale. Given Peales mystical influences, many contemporary evangelicals find him theologically suspect. Joel Osteen is one of the few mega-ministers who names Peale as an influence and poses for the cover of his ongoing monthly, Guideposts. In character and influence, Peale cannot be understood outside of his theological crosscurrents, any more than earlier American religious icons such as Mary Baker Eddy and Joseph Smith. Historical scholars sometimes take the attitude that exploring a modern figures religious development seems frivolous or requires fruitless hours searching down strange rabbit holes. This can result in oversight. Lane deserves credit for filling a gap by documenting Peale at all. Since the ministers death in December 1993, he has been the subject of few scholarly or historical studies. Lanes book will surely be requisite reading for historians who strive to give us a fuller perspective on the career and impact of this unusual American religionist. The fall of Aleppo is a human catastrophe. Its also a demonstration of the perils of choosing the middle course in a military conflict. Sometimes its possible to talk and fight at the same time. But in Syria, the U.S. decision to pursue a dual-track, halfway approach made the mayhem worse. A battered Secretary of State John F. Kerry made one more plea Thursday for a peaceful evacuation of whats left of Aleppo. At a State Department briefing, he used the strongest language to describe the situation: Another Srebrenica . . . nothing short of a massacre . . . indiscriminate slaughter . . . a cynical policy of terrorizing civilians. But for five years, the United States actions havent matched its rhetoric. Kerrys only real weapon now is the gruesome suffering of the Syrian people and the shame it engenders in everyone who watches. That shame hangs over this administration, too. Kerrys critics argue that his efforts to negotiate a settlement were always doomed to failure. Maybe so, but after the Russian military intervention in September 2015, the administration concluded that diplomacy was the only viable strategy in Aleppo. Having made that decision, officials needed to make it work. Instead, they continued to toy with an armed opposition they werent prepared to fully support. In the annals of covert warfare, the CIAs support for the Syrian opposition deserves a special, dark chapter. The effort began late nearly two years into the war after extremists had already begun to dominate the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. It was a hodgepodge of regional states and their pet fighters nominally coordinated from operations centers in Jordan and Turkey but in reality controlled by more than 80 local militias whose commanders were often corrupt and proto-jihadists themselves. The CIA and its partners were never willing to give the opposition the weapons especially the shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles that could have won the battle. The agency did provide anti-tank weapons that were potent enough that Assad was rocked in the summer of 2015, and analysts began to worry about catastrophic success, with the regime collapsing and jihadists filling a power vacuum in Damascus. Soon after that, Russia intervened. The CIAs biggest problem was that its allies couldnt stop the dominance of al-Qaedas Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. The vetted opposition groups might pretend otherwise, but they were fighting alongside Jabhat al-Nusra, which rebranded itself this year as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The extremists attracted the other opposition groups for a simple reason: Their fighters were the most willing to die for the cause. The United States tried to straddle this problem. In 2014, I visited the leaders of one of the vetted groups, known as Harakat al-Hazm, at a safe house along the Syrian-Turkish border. The fighters were despondent. The United States had just bombed a Jabhat al-Nusra camp nearby, seeking to kill militants from its so-called Khorasan Group. The CIA-backed fighters said this action had destroyed their credibility. They were right. Jabhat al-Nusra soon chased them from their headquarters. Kerry was an early advocate of using military force against Assad. But after the Russians intervened decisively last year, he began to regard the CIA program as a hindrance to the diplomatic deal that he saw as the only realistic option. Kerry didnt want to abandon the vetted fighters altogether, and he argued for giving some groups more weapons. But he thought the United States should make continued assistance conditional on their willingness to separate from Jabhat al-Nusra something that few of the groups were willing or able to do. So the straddle continued. Kerry met frantically through this year with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to implement the cessation of hostilities negotiated on paper last February. The CIA meanwhile continued to push a program that targeted Russia and its Syrian and Iranian allies and helped shield Jabhat al-Nusra. Kerry negotiated a near cease-fire in September, but it was conditioned on a pause in fighting demanded by skeptics at the Pentagon that neither he nor Lavrov could deliver. The Russians didnt restrain Assad or the Iranians. And Kerry couldnt deliver on his promise to separate the moderate opposition from Jabhat al-Nusra. The opposition forces, good and bad, were marbled together in the Aleppo region. The United States couldnt undo the anti-Assad alliance it had fostered. Kerry had the impossible job of trying to manage a policy that was going in two directions at once. Perhaps he should have quit, if he sensed it was undoable. But its Kerrys strength and weakness that he believes he can move mountains. Not this time. Instead, he got crushed in the rubble of a confused policy. Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. As we head toward the new year, its a good time to look back and to look forward. A couple of monuments to the citys history are getting a new lease on the future and thats a good omen for 2017. The stately old American Bank and Trust Co., building in Uptown is getting a makeover and a new purpose and thats the plan as well for the long-time Red Cross Drug Co. building in the 300 block of Sixth Street. Kristina Campbell, owner of Funkytree Event and Design, Pleasant Prairie, is planning on converting the American Bank to an event venue to host weddings, bridal showers, birthday parties and graduations along with a cafe during the week. Downtown, husband and wife Andy Meyer and Chris Hefel have purchased the Red Cross Drug building with plans to reinvigorate ground-level storefronts, including a possible restaurant. The picturesque Queen Anne-style building which originally hosted a YMCA was built in 1887 and constructed of Cream City brick with red sandstone and terra cotta trim. The upper floor ballroom in the building is also planned as an event site. We hope those plans work out and the historic structures can serve as new focal points for the Uptown and Downtown business areas. Damn. The Horlick Dam may well be headed for the ash heap if a proposal to raze it goes through. There are a myriad of reasons for that to happen from lessening the threat of failure during a flood to improving the environment and the rivers use as a fishery. Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said, This wont be an emotional decision for us. We will use facts and listen to what people have to say. That may be the case on paper, but there will still be some laments for the loss of a piece of Wisconsins history. The first mill at the top of the Root River rapids was built by William See in 1835. It became the Horlick Dam and the ad for Horlick Malted Milk emblazoned the side of the mill for many years. Racinians will remember or at least have heard of the amusement park on the east side of the dam pond that was the site of festive family gatherings. To this day, fishing fans line the banks below the dam to vie for a chance to catch steelheads and trout during the spawning runs. And we wont soon forget the sight or sound of the floodwaters thundering over the top of the dam in the great flood of June 2008. Removing it may be for the best, but its a dam shame to wash away the memories. Make sure you have a spare buck or two in your pocket when you go out grocery shopping or Christmas shopping tomorrow. The cash you drop in the kettle of those Salvation Army bell-ringers will pack twice the punch, thanks to SC Johnson which is matching all the kettle donations on Saturday. The Salvation Army has a way to go to meet its $290,000 fundraising goal. The kettle drive supports disadvantaged families with food, clothing and warm shelter needs. Dont forget to say Merry Christmas to the bellringers. Its nice and icy out there thanks to the polar vortex that has descended upon us this week. But, alas, there are precious few places in the Racine area to enjoy the ice on skates. Neighborhood rinks used to dot the area complete with warming houses that smelled like wet wool but many were the victims of budget cuts as municipalities trimmed more than trees. In a throw-back mood, the Village of Sturtevant is considering creating an ice rink in North Park, now that its budget situation is a little more stable. It will be interesting to see if Currier and Ives sentimentality can compete with computer games for the attention of todays youths and others and bring a little healthy outdoor exercise back into the winter scene. TO AMERICANS who assume that Egypt, as a recipient of $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid, is a friendly ally, the case of Aya Hijazi might seem puzzling. The 29-year-old American, who grew up in Falls Church and graduated from George Mason University, has been imprisoned in Cairo since May 1, 2014 960 days on what both Egyptian and international human rights groups say are flagrantly trumped-up charges. Her trial, postponed seven times, did not even begin until last month, making her continued imprisonment illegal under Egypts own laws. Yet the government of Abdel Fatah al-Sissi has brusquely rejected calls by the White House and State Department for Ms. Hijazis release. If this does not sound like the behavior of an ally, it is because it isnt. Ms. Hijazis case reveals a contradiction at the center of U.S.-Egyptian relations: Even while accepting U.S. subsidies, Mr. Sissi is waging what he calls fourth-generation warfare against what he considers to be Washington-sponsored subversion in his country. According to the regimes conspiracy theories, U.S.-backed nongovernment groups are bent on overthrowing the government, dividing Egypt into pieces, delivering it into the hands of Israel or the Muslim Brotherhood or maybe all of those things. In other words, Ms. Hijazi is imprisoned not in spite of her American citizenship, but because of it. After meeting and marrying an Egyptian in Cairo, Ms. Hijazi joined with him to create a charity organization that aimed to help Cairos numberless street children. That placed her in the crosshairs of state security operatives, who have been conducting a sweeping crackdown on all nongovernment organizations with Western connections. Ms. Hijazi, her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, and six other people connected to their Belady Foundation were charged with sexually abusing the children in their care and enlisting them in anti-government demonstrations. No evidence has been presented to back up these claims, other than purported statements by the children; a forensic examination found no sign of abuse. The trial was repeatedly delayed on the pretext that time was needed to study the contents of laptops seized from the foundations office. Yet when the study was presented, it contained nothing to back up the charges. When the trial finally got underway last month, police who arrested Ms. Hijazi testified that they could not remember why she was taken in. The children who allegedly were abused were said to be missing and unable to testify. The laptops contained no photos of the children, nor of demonstrations. Yet rather than dismiss the case, or grant the defenses motion to release Ms. Hijazi and her co-defendants on bail, the judge ordered more hearings, beginning this Saturday. In addition to the Obama administration, several members of Congress, including Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), have been pressing for Ms. Hijazis release. But the worry is that the court will contrive to extend the trial until January, when the Trump administration takes office. Donald Trump, who has been assiduously courted by the Sissi regime, has shown no hint of interest in its human rights violations. Ms. Hijazis case will test whether Mr. Trumps America First rhetoric reaches as far as to protect Americans who are singled out for persecution by supposed U.S. allies. Jonathan S. Abady and Ilann M. Maazel are partners in the New York law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady and are lead counsel for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Steins recount effort. As lead counsel in Green Party presidential nominee Jill Steins quest to have votes recounted in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, we have been in court for the past two weeks trying to verify the integrity of the election and make sure that no one hacked our democracy. Some have cast Stein as a spoiler, or alleged that the recounts were futile because they didnt change who won the election. But the recount would be futile only if we, as Americans, ignored the lessons of the past weeks and preserved the status quo that is our broken voting system. To start, we must recognize that what we saw in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania were recounts in name only. Though more than 161,000 people across the nation donated to the effort and millions more demanded it with their voices every imaginable financial, legal and political obstacle was thrown in the way of the recounts. In Michigan, a state court shut down the recount after only three days. In Wisconsin, instead of hand-counting all paper ballots the gold standard of election auditing many ballots were fed into the same electronic machines used on Election Day, producing the same potentially faulty results. In Pennsylvania, the states labyrinthine election system erected insurmountable barriers to even beginning a recount, requiring 27,474 voters in 9,158 districts to bring notarized petitions to county election boards, in time for shifting, divergent and secret deadlines. One court demanded that the 100-plus voters who petitioned for a recount post a $1 million bond to move forward with their case. In an election tarnished by unreliable, insecure and unverifiable voting machines, ordinary Americans should at least be able to make sure their votes are counted, especially in states with razor-thin margins. Beyond the obstacles to the recounts themselves were the irregularities and anomalies we uncovered while counting. The recounts did not confirm the integrity or security of our voting system; they revealed its vulnerability. In Wayne County alone, 128 out of 534 precincts checked during the recount had discrepancies between the number of names listed in the precincts poll book and the number of ballots in the ballot box, among other errors. Eighty-seven optical scanners broke in the Democratic stronghold on Election Day, causing erroneous vote counts. And in Milwaukee County, officials refused to hand-recount ballots. The location of these failures is no coincidence. Underserved communities and voters of color are much more likely to have their votes misread or tossed out by human error or badly maintained and poorly calibrated machines. Pennsylvania has the worst voting system of all. The vast majority of voters use machines with no paper ballot to verify the vote. According to leading computer scientists, these direct recording electronic machines, or DREs, are unreliable, antiquated and easy to hack. The machines claim, for example, that more than 4,000 voters in Montgomery County , Pa., took the trouble to go to the polls, then supposedly voted for no one in any election. In reality, when these voters in Montgomery selected candidates on the machine, a no vote box popped up, meaning thousands of votes were lost inside those machines. During the course of our representation, we consulted some of the worlds leading experts in computer science and cybersecurity. They all agreed on two fundamental points: First, much of our voting machinery is antiquated, faulty and highly vulnerable to breach; second, it would be irresponsible not to verify the accuracy of the vote to the greatest extent possible. Such verification would have required a full, high-quality recount of paper ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan and a forensic examination of DRE voting systems in Pennsylvania to determine whether the results are accurate. Ultimately, we must modernize our system of voting and reform our laws governing elections. That means automatic audits after Election Day in every county in the country to spot unusual results and to cross-check the tallies produced by the optical scanners that count the ballots. It means ending the use of touch-screen voting machines, replacing them with hand-marked paper ballots and having automatic recounts when races are very close. It means removing the many obstacles constructed to block recounts in the first place, updating decades-old voting machines and taking swift action to secure our electoral system against threats posed by hacking. The campaign to verify the vote should be nonpartisan. Stein has done the nation a real service in demanding these recounts. By refusing to surrender in the face of significant resistance and criticism, she has exposed problems in our voting system and shown a way forward for reforms that will protect our democracy in a new age of vulnerability. On Monday, Americans will know with certainty which candidate the electoral college has chosen for president. But we cannot know with equal certainty for whom the American people voted. If there is a lesson from the recounts, let it be that we never make that mistake again. John Podesta was chairman of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. The more we learn about the Russian plot to sabotage Hillary Clintons campaign and elect Donald Trump, and the failure of the FBI to adequately respond, the more shocking it gets. The former acting director of the CIA has called the Russian cyberattack the political equivalent of 9/11. Just as after the real 9/11, we need a robust, independent investigation into what went wrong inside the government and how to better protect our country in the future. As the former chair of the Clinton campaign and a direct target of Russian hacking, I understand just how serious this is. So I was surprised to read in the New York Times that when the FBI discovered the Russian attack in September 2015, it failed to send even a single agent to warn senior Democratic National Committee officials. Instead, messages were left with the DNC IT help desk. As a former head of the FBI cyber division told the Times, this is a baffling decision: We are not talking about an office that is in the middle of the woods of Montana. [Vladimir Putin wants a new world order. Why would Donald Trump help him?] (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) What takes this from baffling to downright infuriating is that at nearly the exact same time that no one at the FBI could be bothered to drive 10 minutes to raise the alarm at DNC headquarters, two agents accompanied by attorneys from the Justice Department were in Denver visiting a tech firm that had helped maintain Clintons email server. This trip was part of what FBI Director James B. Comey described as a painstaking investigation of Clintons emails, requiring thousands of hours of effort from dozens of agents who conducted at least 80 interviews and reviewed thousands of pages of documents. Of course, as Comey himself concluded, in the end, there was no case; it was not even a close call. Comparing the FBIs massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI. Comey justified his handling of the email case by citing intense public interest. He felt so strongly that he broke long-established precedent and disregarded strong guidance from the Justice Department with his infamous letter just 11 days before the election. Yet he refused to join the rest of the intelligence community in a statement about the Russian cyberattack because he reportedly didnt want to appear political. And both before and after the election, the FBI has refused to say whether it is investigating Trumps ties to Russia. There are now reports that Vladimir Putin personally directed the covert campaign to elect Trump. So are teams of FBI agents busy looking into the reported meeting in Moscow this summer between Carter Page, a Trump foreign policy adviser, and the Putin aide in charge of Russian intelligence on the U.S. election? What about evidence that Roger Stone was in contact with WikiLeaks and knew in advance that my hacked emails were about to be leaked? Are thousands of FBI person-hours being devoted to uncovering Trumps tangled web of debts and business deals with foreign entities in Russia and elsewhere? Meanwhile, House Republicans who had an insatiable appetite for investigating Clinton have been resistant to probing deeply into Russias efforts to swing the election to Trump. The media, by gleefully publishing the gossipy fruits of Russian hacks, became what the Times itself calls a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence. But the FBIs role is particularly troubling because of its power and responsibility and because this is part of a trend. The Justice Departments Inspector General issued a damning report this summer about the FBIs failure to prioritize cyberthreats more broadly. 1 of 62 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Trump continues his post-election thank you tour View Photos The president-elect has visited Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana, where he toured the Carrier factory. Caption The president-elect has visited Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana, where he toured the Carrier factory. Dec. 17, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump waves as he is greeted by Azalea Trail Maids on his way to a thank you tour event in Mobile, Ala. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. The election is over and the damage is done, but the threat from Russia and other potential aggressors remains urgent and demands a serious and sustained response. First, the Obama administration should quickly declassify as much as possible concerning what is known about the Russian hack, as requested by seven Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. [We need an independent, public investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal. Now.] Second, the administration should brief members of the electoral college on the extent and manner of Russias interference in our election before they vote on Dec. 19, as requested by a bipartisan group of electors. Third, Congress should authorize a far-reaching, bipartisan independent investigation modeled on the 9/11 Commission. The public deserves to know exactly what happened, why and what can be done to prevent future attacks. Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) have introduced legislation to authorize such an investigation. Finally, Congress should more vigorously exercise its oversight to determine why the FBI responded overzealously in the Clinton case and insufficiently in the Russian case. The FBI should also clarify whether there is an ongoing investigation into Trump, his associates and their ties to Russia. If ever there were a case of intense public interest, this is it. Whats broken in the FBI must be fixed and quickly. NORTH CAROLINA is the countrys 28th largest state, its ninth most-populous and 40th richest. But in one category it may yet place first, if legislators get their way: most anti-democratic. Republican lawmakers in Raleigh are holding a special session they frantically called after a Democrat was elected governor. Their logic appears to be that, if Republicans cannot win, they will change the rules. By now, this is familiar behavior from among the most irresponsible state governments in the nation. Once the state GOP took control of the legislature, lawmakers crammed through a breathtakingly partisan redistricting map to help both themselves and Republican congressional candidates. North Carolina is a purplish state, but the GOP controls 10 of its 13 congressional districts. The legislature also passed perhaps the most cynical anti-voting law in the country, which included not just unneeded voter ID requirements, but also an end to same-day registration and out-of-precinct voting and a sharp reduction in early voting. A federal court panel found that the law illegally targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision. The GOPs efforts may have resulted in a skewed legislative map, but they could not save Gov. Pat McCrory (R) from losing his reelection bid last month, in part due to voter backlash against another of the General Assemblys bad ideas, North Carolinas infamous bathroom bill. Now, with state Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) about to become governor, the legislature, which will stay securely in GOP hands, is rushing through consideration of a variety of measures that would hobble gubernatorial power. Lawmakers have proposed requiring various gubernatorial appointments to be confirmed by the Senate, a big break with current practice; reducing the governors control of election boards; and curbing the governors ability to select people for state education panels. Republicans also lost their majority on the state Supreme Court, so they are proposing a larger role for the GOP-controlled state appeals court. One of their most brazen proposals would reduce the number of executive-branch staffers that the governor can hire or fire at will from 1,500 to 300. During Mr. McCrorys tenure, the legislature expanded the number of such employees. Now that the outgoing Republican governors people are in place, the legislature is attempting to prevent Mr. Cooper from staffing his administration with people who share his policy priorities. The office of Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) provided this defense: Why does it make sense to enable the mass political firing of people who have been doing a wonderful job for the state? Indeed: Why have elections at all? North Carolina Republicans should accept that they lost and end this graceless power grab. Free speech is under attack at colleges across the country by people on the left and the right. (Matt Rourke/Associated Press) The good news: Both the left and the right have reached consensus that free speech is important. The bad news: Free speech has apparently been redefined to mean speech with which I agree. Over the past few years, there have been many high-profile cases of left-wing college students or their cowed administrators chilling the public discourse (by disinviting speakers, censoring artwork, disciplining transgressors of arbitrarily imposed cultural appropriation rules, threatening to defund school newspapers, etc.). Such actions have often been accompanied by dutiful statements about the campuss commitment to free and open dialogue. Silencing some peoples speech was supposedly necessary to make other speakers feel safe. Now, the right has (re)discovered that two can play at this game. In a disturbing series of events, conservative organizations have been claiming the mantle of free speech in service of suppressing campus speech they dislike, too. The most recent case involves professor Olga Perez Stable Cox at Orange Coast College in California. An anonymous student in her human sexuality class secretly recorded Cox discussing her political views. She referred to Donald Trump as a white supremacist, his running mate Mike Pence as one of the most anti-gay humans in this country and their election as an act of terrorism. Her words were clearly liberal and hyperbolic, although perhaps not as hyperbolic as they initially seemed: In the days since her act of terrorism talk ripped across the Internet, she has received terroristic death threats herself. Cox has since fled the state. Meanwhile, the Orange Coast College Republicans the group that disseminated the gotcha video is campaigning for her firing. The groups president said that expunging commentary such as hers from campus is necessary to ensure the colleges commitment to diversity, equity and inclusivity. If this language sounds familiar, its because its eerily similar to the pseudo-free-speech rhetoric often used by the left to stamp out words and ideas it dislikes, too. Unsurprisingly, conservative pundits convinced that U.S. colleges are leftist indoctrination camps have taken up the Republican students cause. Fox Newss Bill OReilly referred to the professors words as an assault on her students conflating words with physical violence in the same way liberals so often do. Now we have the totalitarian left in America, and if you dont see it their way, youre attacked and demonized, he said, after attacking and demonizing this professor. OReilly called on governors and legislators to monitor college classrooms more directly to prevent professors from harming students with insane ideology. This sounds an awful lot like an attempt to coerce educators into using only politician-approved dare I say politically correct? language. In a similar vein, the conservative group Turning Point USA recently published a Professor Watchlist, a catalogue of what it thinks are dangerous and anti-American professors who deserve public shaming for allegedly trying to advance a radical agenda in lecture halls. (Among those radical agenda items: advocating gun control, calling Ted Cruzs infamous New York values statement anti-Semitic.) The watchlist homepage of course includes a disclaimer that Turning Point will continue to fight for free speech and the right for professors to say whatever they wish. Its tempting to attribute this right-wing weaponization of free speech rhetoric to cynicism. More likely its cognitive dissonance. When I speak to conservative groups that claim a commitment to free speech, they often seem genuinely surprised by data showing that campus illiberalism is not exclusively espoused by liberals. Theyre apparently unaware that conservative students are also requesting trigger warnings (typically about nudity, sex and gay themes), according to a faculty survey released by the National Coalition Against Censorship. They also dont seem to know that Republican undergrads are about as likely as their Democratic classmates to say that colleges should be able to restrict campus speech that expresses political views that are upsetting or offensive to certain groups, according to a Knight Foundation survey. Beyond campus, Republicans more broadly are almost twice as likely as Democrats to support book bans. Fighting perceived ideological repression with ideological repression is nothing new, of course. Earlier rounds of the campus culture wars had their own most dangerous professors lists. In fact, purges of professors suspected of endangering or brainwashing students date not only to McCarthyism, but also at least to World War I. Likewise weve seen earlier right-wing attempts to use state power to punish colleges for (supposed) liberal indoctrination of students. Dont get me wrong. Campuses probably need more intellectual diversity (especially from conservative thinkers) and definitely more public debate. But the principled way to achieve those ends is to actually have the debate. Not to shut it down. The incoming Trump administration will face passionate and hostile resistance if it tries to deny the reality of human-induced climate change. We can already hear the drums of war. The Department of Energy flatly denied a demand from the Trump transition team to supply the names of employees or contractors who have participated in international climate change negotiations in the past five years. Also rejected was a request for names of staff who helped calculate the social cost of carbon emissions. The obvious concern is that these workers would be labeled as unreliable, and perhaps shoved aside, by political appointees determined to pretend that climate change does not exist. Scientists have begun a frantic effort to archive decades worth of climate data, copying it onto servers that are beyond the U.S. governments reach. The voluminous data sets, compiled by agencies including NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, help form the basis for the consensus view that the atmosphere and the oceans are rapidly warming due to heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions. There has been no threat from the Trump camp to do anything untoward regarding the data, but the researchers are taking no chances. California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) said Wednesday that if President-elect Donald Trump tries to impede his states vigorous efforts against climate change, Weve got the scientists, weve got the lawyers and were ready to fight. Speaking in San Francisco at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, Brown warned that rumored budget cuts might end a NASA program that uses satellites to take measurements of the Earth, including temperature. If Trump turns off the satellites, Brown declared, California will launch its own damn satellite. All of this is just the beginning. Trump, who has repeatedly described climate change as a hoax, will try to reverse the Obama administrations progress in limiting carbon emissions. Assuming he follows through, hell have a real fight on his hands. At one of his strongman-style victory rallies Tuesday night, Trump said that we will cancel the restrictions on the production of American energy, including shale, oil, natural gas, and clean, beautiful coal. Apparently, Trump never met a fossil fuel he didnt like. And he has announced his intention to appoint the most prominent oil man he could find Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil, the largest non-government oil company in the world as secretary of state. Trump may renounce the historic Paris agreement, in which the worlds biggest carbon emitters China, the United States and India all pledged curbs. He can also eliminate regulations limiting carbon emissions by power plants, encourage more drilling for oil and natural gas, and try his best to revive the moribund coal mining industry, though its decline is due more to market forces than to anything the government has done. These threatened actions come near the end of what will almost surely be the warmest year on record. Continuing what scientists see as an indisputable trend, 2016 was an absolute scorcher. And yes, I realize that right now its cold in much of the country; some scientists believe that rapid warming at the North Pole has destabilized air flow patterns and perhaps made these polar vortex cold snaps more common. In any event, the key measurement is the global temperature average, not the local wind chill. Trump is being advised by a number of vocal climate-change deniers. The data that scientists are rushing to preserve clearly refutes those who say there is no warming hence the urgency to protect the information. Some deniers acknowledge the fact of warming but say that it is due to some unfathomable natural cycle. But Occams razor argues persuasively for the simpler explanation: Since the Industrial Revolution, we have increased the atmospheres concentration of carbon dioxide known to trap heat by an incredible 40 percent. Much of the rest of the world understands the need to move toward clean energy. The technology isnt quite there yet, so some breakthroughs will be required. Smart government policy would be to invest in research to make it more likely that these advances are made in Berkeley rather than Bangalore or Beijing. Dumb policy would be to fire up the smokestacks, stop collecting all that annoying climate data and marginalize federal employees who best understand global warming. This is the direction Trump appears to be headed. The president-elect threatens to make the United States a second-rate player in the coming clean-energy economy. I guess thats his idea of greatness, but its not mine. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. Put his campaign rhetoric, tweets and appointments all together, and were getting a sense of U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump. The president-elect has consistently signaled that he wants to be accommodating toward Russia and get tough on China. But that sees the world almost backward. China is, for the most part, comfortable with the U.S.-led international system. Russia is trying to upend it. Its ironic that Mitt Romney has been passed over for secretary of state just as his key foreign policy judgment is being vindicated. Romney famously said in 2012 that Russia was the United States No. 1 geopolitical foe. President Obama mocked the claim, and others myself included thought it was an exaggeration. We were wrong; Romney was right. Obamas rationale for contradicting Romney was that Russia was a regional power, one in economic decline. That made it a nuisance but not a grave global threat. This is an accurate reading of Russias position, which has only gotten worse since 2012. The countrys economy has actually shrunk for two years now. The Economist points out that, over the past decade, state spending has risen from 35 percent of gross domestic product to a staggering 70 percent. The ruble has collapsed. The countrys sovereign debt is now rated as junk by Moodys. [John Podesta: Something is deeply broken at the FBI] But under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has found a way to assert itself geopolitically, despite its economic weakness. It has done so by using effectively what strength it has, such as its still-formidable military and intelligence services as well as its veto in the U.N. Security Council. Most ambitiously and devastatingly, it has found a way to leverage its strength dramatically using cyberwarfare. We are now gaining a fuller picture of Russias use of its power, which began years ago, with operations in Russia itself, then in Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany and other European countries and, finally, in the United States during the last presidential campaign. In each case, Moscow directed a full-spectrum strategy, including hacking, trolling, fake news and counterintelligence aimed at discrediting targeted politicians, interfering with campaigns and tilting elections. These efforts are sometimes used in conjunction with more traditional military force, as in Ukraine and Georgia. Observing Russias operations over the past three years, NATOs former supreme commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, noted this summer that Moscows growing offensive efforts are of a breadth and complexity that the [European] continent has not seen since the end of World War II. China, by contrast, is an economic superpower. While growth has slowed substantially, it is already, by some measures, the worlds largest economy. In 1990, China was less than 2 percent of global GDP; today it is about 15 percent (almost 10 times Russias share). It spends $215 billion on its military, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , about three times Russias defense budget. And its foreign reserves total more than $3 trillion, about eight times Russias. In a tweet this month, Donald Trump said that he accepted a call from Taiwans president because the country buys billions of dollars of goods from the United States. If thats the metric, note that last year China bought $162 billion of goods and services from the United States, about four times as much as Taiwan. [We need an independent, public investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal. Now.] Many people had assumed that, given this enormous arsenal of strength, China would begin to assert itself geopolitically. And it has done so, especially in Southeast Asia. But China has also become a status quo power, comfortable with the world in which it has grown rich, and wary of overturning the global system into which it is now integrating. So while Trump keeps accusing China of devaluing its currency, for the last year Beijing has been trying to do the opposite. It has been spending tens of billions of dollars to prop up the yuan so that it is seen as a stable and viable international reserve. Whether on climate change or peacekeeping, China has been willing to play a more constructive role in recent years than ever before. It also has far greater capacity to engage in asymmetrical attacks using cyber operations than does Russia. And it makes extensive use of these tactics in military and economic espionage. But it has not, so far, engaged in anything as destabilizing as Russias efforts to undermine the Western democratic order. Keep in mind that Chinas view of the world over the past two decades has been fundamentally benign, having grown to wealth and power in that period. Putin, by contrast, believes that the end of Soviet communism in 1989 was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century and that Russia has been humiliated ever since. His goal appears to be to overturn the U.S.-created international order, even if this means chaos. The question is, why would an American president-elect help Moscow achieve that goal? Read more from Fareed Zakarias archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. are in agreement with a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House, officials disclosed Friday, as President Obama issued a public warning to Moscow that it could face retaliation. New revelations about Comeys position could put to rest suggestions by some lawmakers that the CIA and the FBI werent on the same page on Russian President Vladimir Putins intentions. Russia has denied being behind the cyber-intrusions, which targeted the Democratic National Committee and the private emails of Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta. Trump, in turn, has repeatedly said he doubts the veracity of U.S. intelligence blaming Moscow for the hacks. I think its ridiculous, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Sunday, his first Sunday news-show appearance since the Nov. 8 election. I think its just another excuse. I dont believe it. . . . No, I dont believe it at all. At a thank you event Thursday night with some of her top campaign donors and fundraisers, Clinton said she believed Russian-backed hackers went after her campaign because of a personal grudge that Putin had against her. Putin had blamed Clinton for fomenting mass protests in Russia after disputed 2011 parliamentary elections that challenged his rule. Putin said Clinton, then secretary of state, had sent a signal to protesters by labeling the elections neither free nor fair. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) [Moscow has the worlds attention. For Putin, thats a win.] The positions of Comey and Clapper were revealed in a message that CIA Director John Brennan sent to the agencys workforce Friday. Earlier this week, I met separately with FBI [Director] James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election, Brennan said, according to U.S. officials who have seen the message. The CIA and the FBI declined to comment on Brennans message or on the classified intelligence assessment that CIA officials shared with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, setting off a political firestorm. In the closed-door Senate briefing, CIA officials said it was now quite clear that electing Trump was one of Russias goals, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. CIA and FBI officials do not think Russia had a single purpose by intervening during the presidential campaign, officials said. In addition to the goal of helping elect Trump, Putin aimed to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, intelligence officials have told lawmakers. A few days after the Senate briefing, a senior FBI counterintelligence official briefed the House Intelligence Committee but was not as categorical as the CIA briefer about Russias intention to help Trump, according to officials who were present. The FBI officials more cautious presentation of the intelligence to the House panel left some Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the room with the impression that the FBI disagreed with the CIA. (Reuters) Officials close to the FBI and the CIA now say that lawmakers had misunderstood Comeys position. The truth is they were never all that different in the first place, an official said. Similarly, officials said, Clapper and Brennan saw the intelligence the same way. Earlier this week, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a Trump supporter, wrote to spy chiefs to demand briefings on the Russian meddling. But Clapper responded that he wanted to first complete a review of all available U.S. intelligence, as directed by Obama. Brennan tried to talk to Nunes several times about the dispute. But officials said the congressman didnt take his calls until after he issued a statement Wednesday asking intelligence leaders to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us. Officials disputed the statement, saying Nunes had been fully briefed on the intelligence. In recent days, I have had several conversations with members of Congress, providing an update on the status of the review as well as the considerations that need to be taken into account as we proceed, Brennan wrote in his message to CIA staffers. Many but unfortunately not all members understand and appreciate the importance and the gravity of the issue, and they are very supportive of the process that is underway. Brennan wrote to the CIA workforce, officials said, to reassure them in the face of accusations from Trump supporters that intelligence was being politicized. In a statement, Nunes said: We have not received any information from Intelligence Community (IC) agencies indicating that they have developed new assessments on this issue. I am alarmed that supposedly new information continues to leak to the media but has not been provided to Congress. In one of the last news conferences of his presidency, Obama defended his administrations response to the Russian hacking and vowed to send a clear message to Russia that its meddling was unacceptable. I think we handled it the way it should have been handled, he said of the hacking investigation and the lack of a formal accusation of blame until a month before the election. We allowed law enforcement and the intelligence community to do its job without political influence. Obama was referring to an Oct. 7 statement by Clapper and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson publicly blaming Russia for hacking political organizations, a clear reference to the Democratic National Committee and other Democratic officials. U.S. officials said an earlier draft of the Clapper-Johnson statement singled out Putin by name for authorizing the influence operation. But before the final statement was made public, Putins name was removed so it wouldnt be provocative, one official said. Instead, the statement blamed Russias senior-most officials. At that time, Obama said, the U.S. intelligence community did not attribute motives to Russias decision to intervene in the election. Imagine if we had done the opposite, he said Friday. It would have become immediately just one more political scrum. And part of the goal here was to make sure that we did not do the work of the leakers for them by raising more and more questions about the integrity of the election right before the election was taking place at a time, by the way, when the president-elect himself was raising questions about the integrity of the election. At Fridays news conference, Obama did not directly point the finger at the Russian president. But he came close to doing so by saying: Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin. [Putin wants revenge and respect, and hacking the U.S. is his way of getting it] Some members of Clintons campaign, Democrats in Congress and others have taken the Obama administration to task for not calling out Russian efforts to influence the election sooner, as well as for not taking retaliatory action against those responsible for the cyber-intrusions and leaks to WikiLeaks, the anti- secrecy group. Obama said some possible retaliatory measures might not be seen by the public, although they would be seen or felt by Moscow. Obama, who has only a few weeks left in office, made clear any response to the hacks must be carefully thought through. The relationship between us and Russia has deteriorated, sadly, significantly over the last several years, Obama said. And so how we approach an appropriate response that increases costs for them for behavior like this in the future but does not create problems for us is something thats worth taking the time to think through and figure out. Abby Phillip and Greg Miller contributed to this report. At least 4 percent of patients under general anesthesia are conscious after doctors insert their breathing tube before surgery, according to a new study led by a UW-Madison researcher. The findings might seem alarming, but previous studies suggested 37 percent of patients were aware at some point under general anesthesia. The new study should reassure patients that being conscious under general anesthesia is relatively rare, and it could help doctors make the problem even less likely to occur, said Dr. Robert Sanders, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Patients expect to be unconscious during the operation, and the vast majority are, which is great news, said Sanders, who led the study. But clearly we want to improve things for those 4 percent. None of the patients recalled being aware during surgery, which is thought to happen 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent of the time. General anesthesia is different from conscious sedation, which doesnt involve a breathing tube and is often used for outpatient procedures such as colonoscopies. The study, in this weeks edition of the journal Anesthesiology, involved 260 patients from UW Hospital, the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor and medical centers in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It is the largest study to use a technique to detect consciousness that involves blood pressure cuffs on patients arms. After patients are put to sleep but before they are given drugs to suppress movement and a breathing tube, the cuffs are inflated. That prevents the drugs from paralyzing most of the arm. Once the breathing tube is inserted, doctors ask the patients to squeeze the doctors hands. Of the 260 patients, 12, or 4.6 percent, squeezed the doctors hands. The figure is a conservative estimate because some patients may have heard the command but not been able to squeeze. Sanders said the figure is more accurate than the 37 percent from previous studies because some of those studies used artificially low doses of anesthesia drugs. The new study involved a variety of anesthesia amounts and methods, including inhaled gasses and intravenous drugs, which resembles routine practice, Sanders said. Patients who received continuous anesthesia were less likely to respond to the doctors command, a finding that could lead doctors to use continuous anesthesia more, Sanders said. The study didnt test consciousness during surgery because the blood pressure cuff technique works for only about 20 minutes. Sanders said patients should not be concerned about the brief period of awareness detected in the study. I wouldnt let this stop a family member from having an important operation that would improve their quality of life, he said. Women and children civilians with their luggage crowd a street in the eastern part of Aleppo on Dec. 15. (Ghith Sy/European Pressphoto Agency) The dramatic evacuation of Syrian civilians and rebels from besieged eastern Aleppo was thrown into chaos Friday as Russia signaled that the convoys were ending even as thousands of people waited to be ferried to safer ground. Opposition fighters remaining in the embattled city, meanwhile, remanned positions in preparation for a possible renewal of battles amid reports that Syrian-allied militiamen seized and possibly killed some civilians trying to flee before the window to escape closed. The situation was further clouded when Turkey, which brokered the evacuation effort with Russia, insisted that the convoys from Aleppo have not ended despite Moscows announcement. There are a lot of people who want to leave, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara. In Washington, President Obama, citing international organizations, said tens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in Aleppo, despite Russian and Syrian claims to the contrary. At a White House news conference, he warned that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy. (Louisa Loveluck, Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) The signs of showdown and panic quickly replaced the brief respite that began Thursday when the first buses and ambulances finally rolled out of Aleppo under a deal that ended the siege and allowed passage for thousands of people from the devastated city. The arrangement effectively handed victory to Syrian government forces and delivered a huge blow to opposition groups in the nearly five-year conflict, leaving questions about whether they can regroup. It now appears that Syrian troops and their allies including Russia and Iranian-backed militias are looking to cement their control over strategic Aleppo with a push through the last enclaves still nominally in rebel hands. Yet thousands of civilians remain in the crosshairs, spurring urgent appeals from U.N. envoys and Turkey to allow the evacuations to continue. [Aleppos endgame, explained] Negotiations are ongoing to keep the convoys moving, said Elizabeth Hoff, the Syria representative for the World Health Organization, one of the groups helping coordinate the evacuation. There are a large number of women and children, and there are others, who are still inside and want to get out, she told the Associated Press from Aleppo. Lina Shamy, an activist holed up in eastern Aleppo, posted a Twitter message saying that thousands of civilians [and] a lot of injured were still in the districts. Aleppo is now a synonym for hell, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. He urged the parties to resume the evacuation of civilians. 1 of 41 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Scenes from Aleppo View Photos Images from inside the Syrian city. Caption Images from inside the Syrian city. Dec. 19, 2016 Syrians evacuated from Fuaa and Kafraya, two Shiite villages under rebel siege, are welcomed by pro-government forces as they arrive in Jibrin, on the eastern outskirts of Aleppo. George Ourfalian/AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue. But Russias Defense Ministry signaled that the pullout was over and suggested that military operations were resuming. All women and children in areas controlled by rebel fighters have been taken out, the Russian statement said. It quoted evacuees on the last convoy as saying that all those who wished to had left the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo. The statement said more than 9,500 people have been evacuated since Thursday, including 4,500 fighters and 337 wounded. Turkey placed the number of civilians at 7,500. Those figures could not be independently verified. [Modern tragedies play out in ancient Aleppo and Iraqs Mosul] In certain districts there remain groups of radical fighters and irreconcilable gangs, who are firing on Syrian forces, the Russian statement said. Units of the Syrian army have resumed operations in the areas. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the rebel faction Ahrar al-Sham claimed that Shiite militiamen allied with the Syrian government have detained civilians trying to flee Aleppo. The move could be an attempt to force rebels to allow safe passage for people in nearby Shiite villages who support Assad. Sectarian militias disrupted the evacuation of civilians in Aleppo, civilians mostly women & children were taken hostages by these militias, the spokesman, Ahmed Kara Ali, tweeted. Other rebels and opposition activists said government forces prevented buses from leaving eastern Aleppo and killed several people and detained many others. The claims could not be independently confirmed. Yaser Kor, a local council member in Aleppo, said he left in a private vehicle as part of a convoy Friday morning that included civilians and rebels. It was horrible. It took us more than eight hours to leave. We got to the gathering point at midnight last night, and we only made it out after eight hours after holdups by the regime. It was terrifying, he said from the rebel-controlled province of Idlib. For those who managed to leave Aleppo, it was the culmination of a nonstop blitz that reduced rebel-held districts to a stark tableau of collapsed buildings and roads cratered by shelling. Earlier Friday, the bus evacuations were halted when gunfire hit a convoy. There were completing claims about which side opened fire. [Aleppos orphans appeal to the world: Please help us] Violence also hit Syrias capital. Syrian state TV reported that a young girl detonated a suicide blast inside a police station in Damascus. The report did not mention casualties. In Aleppo, pro-Assad forces pushed rebel fighters into a sliver of territory during a relentless month-long offensive. Although the citys evacuation will not halt the fighting in Syria, it marks a huge blow tactically and symbolically to rebel groups staring down the barrel of defeat. With leverage now in Assads favor, his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed holding new talks in Kazakhstan between rebel groups and the Syrian and Turkish governments. Putin added that the Syrian military offensive in Aleppo was unconditionally successful and said the recapture of the city would overshadow the symbolic loss of the ancient city of Palmyra to the Islamic State last week. Fridays remarks were Putins first public reckoning with a surprise Islamic State offensive that retook Palmyra on Sunday. It was a gut punch for the Kremlin and Assad, who had presented the citys capture in March as an important victory for civilization. Roth reported from Moscow and Murphy from Washington. Zakaria Zakaria in Istanbul and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report. Read more Hundreds of men vanish as they flee Aleppo, U.N. official says In Aleppos misinformation war, a 7-year-old girl prompts a fact check We are alone: The voices of besieged rebel-held Aleppo Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news The entrance of the Christmas market in Ludwigshafen, in western Germany, on Dec. 16. German prosecutors said they are investigating a 12-year-old boys alleged attempt to detonate a nail bomb at a Christmas market. (Uwe Anspach/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images) German prosecutors are investigating an incident in which a 12-year-old boy allegedly plotted a nail bomb attack at a Christmas market in the southern city of Ludwigshafen, officials said Friday. According to German media, investigators said that they think the boy, who holds dual German and Iraqi citizenship, was guided by a member of the Islamic State terrorist organization. Focus news magazine reported Friday that the 12-year-old had planted a backpack containing a homemade bomb outside city hall in the center of Ludwigshafen on Dec. 5. A passer-by spotted it and called police, according to the magazine, and experts then partially detonated the device. [ISIS is making its own ammunition almost as fast as it can fire it, report finds] A previous attempt by the boy to set off a bomb at a local Christmas market Nov. 26 had failed, according to the Focus report. The device consisted of a preserving jar filled with powder from fireworks and fitted with nails. According to local broadcaster SWR, the boy had been in contact with an Islamic State member and received instructions via the Telegram messaging service. In a December news release, police had only confirmed that a jar filled with pyrotechnical material had been found and that it was believed to belong to a 12-year-old. There hadnt been any danger to surrounding buildings, the release said. In a brief statement to the media, Ludwigshafen Mayor Eva Lohse said the boy was staying at a secure place and therefore does not currently present a danger. Stefan Biehl, a spokesman for Germanys prosecutor general, told The Washington Post that an investigation into the case had been launched but refused to give more details because the probe is ongoing. It is not the first such incident in Germany. Last week, police arrested two youths, ages 15 and 17, on suspicion of plotting an attack on a public institution in the south-central city of Aschaffenburg. In February, a 15-year-old girl stabbed a police officer in the neck at Hanover central station, inflicting life-threatening wounds. In both cases, the teenagers were believed to have been in contact or at least to have sympathized with the Islamic State. But the age of the Ludwigshafen suspect has shocked the country and reinforced existing concerns about Islamist extremists targeting young people and inciting them to carry out violent acts. This news is startling everyone, of course, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a news conference in Berlin. Even though the suspect was born in Germany, the incident prompted Baden-Wurttemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl to call for stricter vetting of young immigrants, including fingerprinting and photographing children as young as 12. Experts have long warned of potential terrorist attacks targeting one of Germanys traditional Christmas markets. Read more: Suspect says Islamic State ordered 2015 high-speed train attack in France Qatari sisters in a Bentley tear-gassed and robbed in $5 million Paris jewelry heist Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news New York bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman leaves the Federal Building in Camden, N.J., with Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka in 2010. On Dec. 15, Trump chose Friedman as his ambassador to Israel. (Bradley C Bower/Bloomberg News) President-elect Donald Trumps pick for the new U.S. ambassador to Israel was warmly welcomed by many Israelis, who said they felt more comfortable with a vocal Jewish supporter of Israel in the top diplomatic spot. Trump announced late Thursday that he will nominate a close friend, New York bankruptcy lawyer David M. Friedman, as his ambassador to Israel. Israelis on the right, especially the Jewish settlers and their supporters, were almost giddy with news of the nomination, saying that they hoped the decades-long, bipartisan U.S. policy of condemning the Jewish settlements as obstacles to peace would soon end. The diminished Israeli left was nervous, not sure what Trumps pick would mean. Palestinians were disappointed but not surprised, they said. They have abandoned much hope that the United States will broker a deal for them. Israelis who want to preserve the two-state solution, meaning one state for Israel and one future state for Palestinians, have been puzzling out what Trump may want to do in the long-running conflict. Trump sent a clear signal with his choice of Friedman. [Trump picks a supporter of West Bank settlements for ambassador to Israel] Friedman has close ties to Israel, writing as a columnist for right-wing Israeli news media outlets such as Arutz Sheva, the Jerusalem Post and others. In a June column, Friedman compared the dovish pro-Israel lobbying group J Street in Washington to kapos, Jewish inmates of Nazi concentration camps who helped exterminate fellow Jews. As an adviser to Trump, Friedman vowed that the incoming administration would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israels contested capital. Friedman serves as president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, an organization that finances activities in the settlements. Friedman, who grew up in Woodmere, N.Y., is the son of a prominent rabbi and owns an apartment in an upscale neighborhood of Jerusalem. He often spends Jewish holidays in Israel. The Trump announcement said he speaks fluent Hebrew. Despite all of that, Friedman is not yet a well-known name to most Israelis. Among Trump supporters in Israel, especially those Americans who have immigrated to Israel and now live in Jewish communities in the West Bank, his nomination sends a clear message that Washington will stop calling the settlements an obstacle to peace and may even embrace them. Israeli commentators said that Friedman appeared to be the most overtly pro-Israel, pro-settler nominee in a generation. Friedman has not only supported the settlements in the West Bank but he has also donated money to their construction. Most of the world considers the settlements illegal under international law. Israel disputes this. There are now 400,000 settlers in 300 communities in the West Bank. The Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment on Friedmans nomination, saying the government should await his confirmation. But Israels deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, issued a statement of her own. This is good news for Israel. His position reflects the desire to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and he understands the settlements were never the real problem area, she wrote on Facebook. Israels education minister, Naftali Bennett, from the hard-line Jewish Home party, tweeted, Good luck to David Friedman, the nominated U.S. ambassador to Israel. A good friend of Israel. Israels consul general in New York, Dani Dayan, a former head of the Yesha Council, which represents the settlements, tweeted a photo with Friedman that welcomed him to the position. Batya Medad, a U.S.-born blogger and resident of the Jewish settlement of Shilo in the West Bank, wrote, Many of us can now breathe a sigh of relief, since Friedman is the sort of American we trust as a friend of the State of Israel and Jewish rights to live here. Martin Indyk, a former peace negotiator and now the executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, called Friedman a great ambassador for the deep settler state. He asked: But David Friedman needs to be U.S. envoy to all Israelis. Is he up for that? Friedman was closely tied to efforts in Israel to get out the vote among American expatriates who could vote for Trump. In an impassioned speech to the small crowd at the edge of Jerusalems Old City in November, Friedman called Trump Israels greatest hope. Under Trump, the United States will never pressure Israel into accepting a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the wishes of the Israeli people, he said, to cheers and few shouts of Crooked Hillary! according to a Reuters report. Alon Pinkas, a former diplomat and adviser to Israeli prime ministers, said that based on Friedmans previous comments, he wondered whether Friedman could put U.S. interests first. Based on what he has said in the past, it seems as though he is very opinionated on Israeli issues, even though his role is to advance U.S. policies and interests and not the other way around, Pinkas said. Oded Revivi, mayor of the Jewish settlement of Efrat and chief foreign envoy for the Yesha Council, said he met with Friedman two weeks ago in Washington. He is definitely a man with a great love for the State of Israel and the people of Israel, Revivi said. He said that during their meeting, Friedman took an ancient Israeli coin out of his pocket and told him: When anyone asks me about the right of the State of Israel to exist, I show them this coin and show them how long the Jews were living in this part of the world and why they have a claim to this land. Revivi said, It will definitely not be what we saw over the last eight years, that an outsider thought he knew better than us how to handle our affairs. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news People run away from a wildfire burning in Haifa, Israel, on Nov. 24. (Ariel Schalit/AP) This story has been updated. The wildfires that swept across Israel and the West Bank last month were the worst in a decade, a torch lit in a tinderbox. The scary conflagrations caused millions of dollars in damage, destroyed hundreds of homes and sent tens of thousands of people fleeing in panic through the black smoke. As fierce winds ripped across the rainless land, Israeli leaders took to social media and stood before television cameras to condemn what they called a new campaign of pyro-terrorism. Israeli settlers grieve over their burned houses in the Halamish settlement, also known as Neveh Tzuf, northwest of Ramallah, on Nov. 27. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) Palestinian terrorists, they said, were burning out the Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet members charged that Arab Israelis and Palestinians were setting the fires and then dancing in celebration. But in the weeks since then, only a handful of Palestinians have been arrested. Arab Israeli leaders say Netanyahu and others are guilty of incitement: Instead of bringing the nation together, they sought scapegoats. On Twitter, hashtags such as Israel is burning and Tel Aviv is burning appeared. From Kuwaits Grand Mosque, Sheikh Mishary al-Afasy Rashid posted, All the best to the fire. Israels domestic security service, Shin Bet, and the police asserted that half the 40 major fires, and hundreds of smaller burns, were started intentionally. But after the finger-pointing, only six Arab Israeli youths have been indicted, for setting what authorities describe as minor fires in northern Israel, according to national police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Those blazes caused little damage. No arson indictments have been brought against perpetrators of the major fires that caused widespread damage in Israels third-largest city, Haifa, and the forests around Jerusalem. On Sunday, Israels internal security agency said it had arrested three Palestinians from the West Bank who had admitted to starting fires for nationalistic reasons during that week, mainly near Jewish settlements. Arson charges will be brought against them in the coming days. [60,000 Israelis evacuated in Haifa as fires continue to rage] Israeli officials who condemned the fires as terrorism defend their statements. They say it is not hard to prove arson, though it is much more difficult to find the perpetrators. According to police figures, out of roughly 2,000 suspicious fires each year in Israel, authorities routinely prosecute only about 5 percent of cases. In Haifa, where three huge blazes roared through forested suburbs, destroying 100 homes and damaging 800 more, local authorities sought to dampen claims that their Muslim neighbors intentionally set the fires. No one dares to point a finger at the local Palestinians here, said the citys mayor, Yona Yahav. Yahav boasted that his is a city of peaceful relations. The mayor said Christians, Jews and Muslims all condemned the fires and all offered their homes to evacuees. That is the real story, he said. Yahav said it would not matter much if an arsonist or two were discovered. His point was that the people of Haifa collectively condemned the fires and fought the blazes together. He said the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank sent teams of firefighters to Israel to help battle the blazes. Thats the message, the mayor said. Not what the others are saying. But his own city engineer, Ariel Waterman, said the location of the fires pointed toward arson. During the fires, Netanyahu spokesman Ofir Gendelman tweeted: Arabs & Palestinians on social media rejoice over the wildfires that have erupted across Israel. Despicable fanatic hatred. Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev said, Anyone who has eyes and a brain can see that the fires in many places in Israel are not natural. Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, Only someone to whom the land doesnt belong could be able to burn it. In Haifa, a Muslim cleric, Rashad Abu Al Hija, said, When I heard that they were saying it was Muslims, it hurt me very much. The imam said: Even the mayor said it couldnt be Arabs. I said if even one of us is found to have done this, they should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. A large and deadly fire on the outskirts of Haifa in 2010 was later found to have been started by a group of Druze youths who did not extinguish a tobacco pipe properly. That blaze became a national tragedy when it claimed 44 lives, mostly prison guards sent to evacuate a nearby facility. [2010: Forest fire fuels review of Israels tree-planting tradition] Rosenfeld, the police spokesman, said 39 people had been detained for arson and incitement in the recent fires, most of them Arabs with Israeli citizenship. He said 23 people are still being held, including some under house arrest. In addition to the six youths indicted on a charge of arson, two Arab Israelis have been charged for incitement on the Internet, Rosenfeld said. In the turmoil, Israeli police clearly overreached. One Arab Israeli who was arrested for incitement after a Facebook post was released after proving that his comments were sarcastic condemnation. He had been denouncing those calling for Israel to burn. Arab Israeli leaders criticized Netanyahu and his ministers for incitement during a national emergency. Everyone knows that there wasnt a wave of terrorism, there was no fire intifada, said Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli member of the parliament. Odeh and his Arab Israeli allies in the parliament have threatened to sue Netanyahu for incitement. Some Palestinians lit fires and celebrated in the streets, Netanyahu said as the conflagration threatened Haifa. Others are helping extinguish the flames. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the best response to alleged Palestinian arson was to expand the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called for the demolition of the family homes of any Palestinians found guilty of arson and said the cases of alleged arson were a new kind of terror. In an interview with The Washington Post, Erdan said: It is ridiculous to judge these attacks by the number of people who we have proof that they did it. I cant share with you all the information I have, but experts from the Fire Authority and the police say 50 percent of the fires were arson. This is what they saw on the ground, they found molotov cocktails. Erdan said Israeli military drones captured images of Palestinians throwing firebombs over Israels security wall. He also said incitement stoked the flames. Maybe the first fire was not started deliberately, but some people realized that they had an opportunity. After we told the public to be careful because of climate and the speed of wind, some people realized they had an opportunity, Erdan said. Michael Horowitz, director of intelligence for Prime Source, an Israeli-based geopolitical consultancy, said the fires had been blown out of proportion. If you look at the map of fires across the region, it was not only in Israel. It was a trend linked to the weather, Horowitz said. This situation also affected Palestinian villages, and we saw the Palestinians sending firefighters. He said that if some of the fires were started intentionally, it was most likely a self-fulfilling prophecy inspired by the media and by politicians. There needs to be due process, and the politicians need to let the police do their work, Horowitz said, to find those who set the dry forests alight. Eglash reported from Jerusalem. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy In April 2015, bystanders trying to keep the peace stood in front of Baltimore riot police during demonstrations in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) The Justice Department is pushing in the waning days of the Obama administration to cement major police reform agreements in Baltimore and Chicago, mindful that President-elect Donald Trump and his chosen attorney general are far less likely to impose change on local law enforcement when they take over. Ending discriminatory and heavy-handed police practices has been a hallmark of the Justice Department under Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, and the pattern-or-practice investigations of the Baltimore and Chicago police departments are cornerstones of her legacy. But with less than two months before Lynch will leave office giving way to a president who has endorsed tougher policing and an attorney general nominee who is wary of consent decrees that bind departments to changes time is running out for her to secure legal agreements to guarantee reforms. [How Loretta Lynch has investigated the police and not made them all hate her] On Thursday, Lynch took the unusual step of announcing that she would travel to Baltimore next month in hopes of making an announcement even though negotiations with the city are ongoing. At this point, the balls in the citys court, but we are looking forward to getting a positive response from them on finalizing this consent decree, Lynch said at a Politico Playbook breakfast. She added later: Having that court enforceability is key, and its vital. The public statements are undeniably a bid to put pressure on Baltimore to sign a consent decree and to do it soon. The Justice Department released a report in August alleging that Baltimore police had engaged in years of racially discriminatory policing and used excessive force, and city leaders at the time said they would work with federal officials to make changes. But their self-imposed Nov. 1 deadline to hash out a court-enforceable agreement came and went, and the city now has a new mayor. Former Justice Department officials and civil rights activists say that for there to be true change in Chicago and Baltimore, it is essential that officials in those cities at least agree to a reform framework by Trumps inauguration on Jan. 20. In Baltimore, there exists an agreement in principle; in Chicago, there does not. In a tight time crunch, you try to get a city to agree to a statement of principles which says, Well have a consent decree with a monitor and the agreement will cover these topics, said Jonathan Smith, formerly the chief of special litigation for the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. So, in Chicago, that means the community has to insist on a speedy agreement, and theyve got to put pressure on Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel. If the agreements are not in place before the start of Trumps presidency, Smith said, it seems unlikely that wide-scale reform spurred by the Justice Department will be enacted. Anytime there is a transition of power, things slow down, Smith said. But its really going to slow down with someone like [Attorney General nominee] Jeff Sessions coming in. Even if they move forward on these things, which seems frighteningly unlikely, its going to be moving very slowly. Lynch was sworn in on the same day as the funeral for Freddie Gray, whose death from injuries suffered in police custody sparked riots in Baltimore in April 2015, and her first trip as attorney general was to visit the city to meet with police and residents. People familiar with the negotiations there said the Justice Department has been sending over the agreement part by part in hopes of speeding the process along. Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for the mayors office, said Thursday that everyone is moving ahead with the idea of completing a consent decree but he said he could not guarantee it would be completed by Jan. 20, nor did he know what would happen with a new presidential administration. He said Mayor Catherine Pugh was briefed Wednesday and wants to make sure that any consent decree is in the best interests of the people of Baltimore. Fast is not the optimum priority, he said. There are a lot of complex issues, and you know that we have been doing this for about 3 months, where other cities took years. In Chicago, the likelihood of reaching a consent decree before Jan. 20 is even less than it is in Baltimore, although the Justice Department could announce its findings before Trump is sworn in next month, according to an official familiar with the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation. While not definite, the official said that they were optimistic and that its possible it could be before Inauguration Day. Weve moved in toward the final phases, the official said. Adam Collins, a spokesman for Chicago Mayor Emanuel (D), said he couldnt speak for the Justice Department regarding the timing of the ongoing probe. Collins said in a statement Thursday that the city will continue to be fully committed to comprehensive public safety reform, just as we have been. In some cases, the negotiations over consent decrees have given way to acrimony. Such was the case in Ferguson, Mo., where the City Council voted to reject the agreement negotiated between the city and the federal government, prompting the Justice Department to file a lawsuit. The council then approved a set of reforms the next month, and the Justice Departments lawsuit was resolved not long after. Dean C. Angelo Sr., president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, said he thinks that officials involved in the probe are typing their backsides off . . . trying to get through the Chicago report before the inauguration. The police union official said he would be very surprised if the report is not finished before Trump takes office, but he hopes authorities are not rushing to get it done in that time frame, noting how long some other investigations have taken. This is the largest municipal police agency theyve ever been tasked to investigate, Angelo said in a telephone interview Thursday. If you look at six months for Ferguson, it should be a year and six months, or more, for Chicago. It is hard to predict what the Justice Department might do under Trump, who has positioned himself as a law-and-order candidate wary of restrictions on police. Trump said police in Chicago could stop a spate of deadly violence by being very much tougher than they are right now, and he wrote to the International Association of Chiefs of Police that he would generally keep the federal government out of local law enforcements business. Sessions, a Republican senator from Alabama, has also in public statements taken a somewhat circumspect view of consent decrees. The decrees can be good and healthy, he said at a 2005 Senate hearing on the subject. But as the Supreme Court is telling us, we ought to be respectful and understanding that it does impact in a significant way our separation of powers, the entire nature of our democracy, because it is removing the power from the people and putting it into the hands of an unelected judge who is not accountable. A transition official declined to comment. It is possible, too, that the Justice Department without Lynch at the helm would simply continue its work. On Thursday, the department announced that it had opened a new pattern-or-practice investigation into the district attorneys office and sheriffs department in Orange County, Calif. That investigation stems from allegations that they both systemically used jailhouse informers to get incriminating statements from inmates who had lawyers, violating the Sixth Amendment. And a separate Justice Department office working on police reform the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services announced it would conduct a comprehensive assessment of the St. Anthony police department in Minnesota. That office generally relies on the cooperation of local officials, rather than the court system, to implement the reforms it recommends. A St. Anthony police officer was recently charged in the shooting death of Philando Castile during a traffic stop in a Twin Cities suburb over the summer. The aftermath of that shooting was broadcast live by Castiles girlfriend on Facebook and quickly captured national attention. Read more: The U.S. government has more than doubled, to $25 million, its reward offered for information on the whereabouts of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, placing him in a category whose only other occupant is Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda. Since an initial $10 million was first offered in 2011 by the State Department-administered Rewards for Justice program, the Islamic State has seized control of large portions of Syria and Iraq and gained the allegiance of jihadist groups and radicalized individuals around the world, and has inspired attacks in the United States, according to a U.S. Wanted poster. The increased reward does not come with any indication that U.S. intelligence has a firm idea of where Baghdadi is located. The last confirmed sighting of him was in the Iraqi city of Mosul in the summer of 2014, shortly after Islamic State militants occupied the city. Since then, he has released several audiotapes exhorting his troops to fight on, and U.S. officials have variously indicated he is believed to be hiding in Mosul, or in the Islamic State-occupied city of Raqqa, Syria. [How will Aleppo and Mosul survive todays wars?] U.S.-aided Iraqi troops have gained back much of the territory lost to the militants and are in the midst of a massive offensive to retake Mosul. In Syria, the picture is mixed, with U.S. Special Operations forces guiding recruited Syrian fighters now encircling Raqqa, while the militants this week retook the city of Palmyra, where they were ousted by Syrian troops and Russian airstrikes last year. U.S. and coalition airstrikes have killed a number of senior Islamic State leaders this year, and eventually we will find and eliminate him as well, Brett McGurk, the administrations special envoy to the coalition, said this week. Issuing audiotapes deep in hiding is not really a sign of a confident leader, particularly in todays media age. The Islamic State is considered far more flexible than al-Qaeda, which found its leadership ranks hard to replenish. But because Baghdadi claims to be the caliph of his self-declared caliphate, I definitely think that when we do eliminate Baghdadi it will make a significant difference, McGurk said. He is somewhere in hiding, McGurk said, and we also know he hides with slaves and all sorts of terrible things. This guy is one of the most despicable weve ever seen. While the Obama administration would like to eliminate Baghdadi before leaving office, a State Department official said that the process to increase the reward is very deliberative and has been underway for some time. There are 29 people on the Rewards for Justice list. After Baghdadi and Zawahiri, the next highest offer, $10 million, covers three figures Afghan Sirajuddin Haqqani, tied to al-Qaeda and the Taliban; Hafiz Saeed, the founder of the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba; and Yasin al-Suria Pakistani, a Syrian-born senior al-Qaeda leader. Rewards for Justice was established in 1984 for terrorism suspects. Although decisions on who is included is ultimately authorized by the secretary of state, recommendations are made by a committee with representatives from various national security departments and agencies. Awards are normally kept secret, although the State Department has said that the largest ever paid, $30 million, went to an individual who provided information leading to Uday and Qusay Hussein, the sons of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. President-elect Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will nominate New York bankruptcy lawyer David M. Friedman as his ambassador to Israel, saying in a statement issued by his transition office that Friedmans strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission. Friedman said in the statement that he would work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries . . . and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Trump has indicated that he would overturn more than two decades of presidential waivers overriding the 1995 law mandating that the U.S. Embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move weighted with heavy religious and political significance. Jerusalems status is contested by Palestinians and most of the worlds nations, which recognize lines drawn after the 1967 war. [Did Obama just sign the last waiver before Trump moves the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem?] A senior Trump adviser on Israel during the campaign, Friedman has been outspoken in describing as legal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which every U.S. administration since 1967 has considered illegitimate. In an interview last summer with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, he said Trump would support Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank. He has called liberal Jews supporting a two-state solution with the Palestinians worse than kapos, a reference to Jews in World War II concentration camps who were assigned by Nazi guards to supervise forced labor and camp administration. Liberal Jews have returned his views in kind. J Street, the Washington-based organization that supports a two-state solution, said it was vehemently opposed to the nomination. As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials . . . Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. Calling the proposed nomination reckless, Ben-Ami said it puts Americas reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk. Senators should know that the majority of Jewish Americans oppose the views and the values this nominee represents. For decades, most U.S. Jewish leaders have urged Israel to seek a peace agreement with the Palestinians that would establish a separate Arab state alongside Israel. President Obamas failed 2013 peace effort contained an understanding that the border along the West Bank would not be the exact 1967 lines officially demanded by Arabs. Instead, it would be drawn with mutually agreed swaps between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to reflect the reality that some Israeli settlements are too established to be removed. Settlements have expanded under Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also says he wants a peace deal. (The Washington Post) Friedman represented Trump in bankruptcies surrounding his Atlantic City casinos and has said they have been friends for 15 years. Trump, in the statement, called him a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. Involved in a number of philanthropic activities in Israel, Friedman is president of an American group set up to support Beit El, a settlement located east of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. The settlement has also received charitable contributions from the foundation headed by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner. [Jared Kushners family foundation donated to West Bank settlements] In a column for the Jerusalem Post before the election, Friedman wrote that a Hillary Clinton presidency would ensure U.S. demands for an immediate suspension of settlement activity, giving new life . . . into all of the worst anti-Israel and anti-Semitic movements and flooding the United States with Syrian and other refugees, some of whom will turn to domestic terrorism. In contrast, he wrote, there is virtually zero risk that the foregoing parade of horribles will occur under a Trump administration. Quite the contrary, under president Trump, Israel will feel no pressure to make self-defeating concessions, America and Israel will enjoy unprecedented military and strategic cooperation, and there will be no daylight between the two countries. A founding partner of the New York law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres and Friedman, Friedman is a 1981 graduate of New York University School of Law. The transition office statement noted that his bar mitzvah was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 45 years ago, and described him as a fluent speaker of Hebrew and a lifelong student of Israels history. Anne Gearan contributed to this report. Read more: How Donald Trump could soon discard a long-standing precedent on Israel Israeli leaders congratulate Trump, then tell him to hurry up and move U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem Europes anti-immigrant leaders are taking Trumps show on the road West African men sit wrapped in survival blankets to keep warm on a search-and-rescue vessel as it makes its way to Italy on Nov. 23. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) More migrants have died or disappeared in 2016 than in any previous recorded year, more than half of them in the Mediterranean Sea. In a survey of migration routes across the world, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Thursday that 7,189 migrants and refugees have died so far this year. Of the total, 4,812 migrants were lost in the Mediterranean, in the midst of the greatest migration crisis in Europe since 1945. In the past two years, nearly 1.5 million migrants and refugees have poured into continental Europe, mostly from war-torn regions in Africa and the Middle East. For those who come by sea, the Mediterranean routes have proved particularly dangerous. To maximize profits, smugglers often pack as many migrants as possible into makeshift vessels. In the event of mechanical difficulties or the bad weather common in the winter months, few of these migrants can swim. Rescue agencies frequently discover capsized boats with scores of drowned migrants nearby. In what remains one of the worst disasters in the migrant crisis to date, an 88-foot boat crammed with nearly 700 people sank off the coast of Italy in April 2015. Only 28 of those aboard from Mali, Somalia, Ghana, Algeria and other places survived. This week, a judge in Sicily convicted the boats 28-year-old Tunisian captain of multiple counts of manslaughter, sentencing him to 18 years in prison and a fine of 9 million euros ($9.4 million). His 26-year-old Syrian crew mate was sentenced to five years for assisting illegal immigration and fined the same amount. Before the end of 2016, more deaths are expected, the IOM said Thursday. Analysts emphasized that the vast majority of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean came in the central Mediterranean route, from Libya to the outer Italian islands or mainland. Contrary to expectations, said Marc Pierini, a former European Union ambassador to Libya and Syria, political turmoil in Libya has done little to curb migration flows, which have somehow increased despite continually high risk. They continued traveling, and because apparently its such a lucrative business, even people fighting among themselves seem to make arrangements to let these people go through, Pierini said. Everybody is making a profit, and the migrants are taking a higher risk, he said. The E.U.s anti-smuggling operation known as Operation Sophia requires the navies of respective member states to rescue migrants on overcrowded boats. While saving lives, this also has exacerbated the problem, Pierini said: Smugglers know that migrants will be saved and pay even less attention to providing safe transfers or even enough fuel for boats to make a crossing. In the absence of an official, formal arrangement between the E.U. and Libya, he said, this is not going to stop. Read more: These photos show why migrants desperately want out of Costa Rica 7,000 miles to salvation Number of stranded refugees in Greece could rise under latest E.U. plan Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news Japan and Russia will create a $1 billion fund to invest in joint energy and infrastructure projects over the next five years, the leaders of the two countries said Friday in Tokyo. The announcement came at the end of meetings that looked cozy but fell well short of Japanese expectations. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been hoping for progress on a territorial dispute that prevented them from signing a peace treaty at the end of World War II, but instead had to settle for giving money to Russia for economic projects. It would be naive to think we can solve this problem in an hour, but there is no doubt that we need to look for a solution, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a news conference with Abe at the end of two relatively short meetings Thursday night and Friday. The Japanese prime minister said both sides needed to be flexible. We need to work toward a breakthrough so that we dont disappoint the next generation, said Abe, who addressed his counterpart by his first name, a surprisingly informal gesture in Japan. It was the two leaders 16th meeting since both returned to office in 2012, and there was a clear camaraderie between them. Putin praised the sake and hot springs in Abes home town of Nagato, where the two leaders met Thursday, while Abe said the meeting in Japan was worth the three-year wait. Relations between the two leaders had been somewhat constrained by the deterioration of ties between the United States Japans key ally and Russia in recent years. Putin arrived in Japan just as President Obama said the United States would retaliate against Russia over its cyber-activity during this years U.S. election. However, the election of Donald Trump, who has openly praised Putin and promised much warmer U.S.-Russian ties, has given Abe a green light to pursue closer links with Moscow. [Japan hopes to make progress on 70-year-old island dispute with Russia ] But for all the conciliatory words in Tokyo, the trip was a clear win for Putin, who was making his first visit to a Group of Seven country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. He is keen for investment to counteract low oil prices and international isolation over Moscows intervention in Ukraine and Syria. Russias Direct Investment Fund and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation will each put $500 million in a new fund that will make investments in sectors including energy, urban planning and medical services, the two sides said. The fund will back Japanese companies operating in Russia, local media reported. Putin has been particularly interested in Japanese investment in the relatively undeveloped Russian Far East, the part of the country closest to Japan. Abe said agreements on more than 60 other projects the two discussed in Sochi six months ago were near completion, but the details remained vague. Neither the Japanese prime ministers office nor the Foreign Ministry would provide details on any of the projects. Japan also relaxed visa requirements for Russian tourists and for business visitors. But the encounter was not so successful for Abe, who had been hoping to pave the way for the return of at least two of four disputed islands northeast of Hokkaido, known as the Northern Territories to Japan and the southern Kurils to Russia. [ Japan poised to impose sanctions on Russia over Ukraine ] During World War II, the Soviet Union seized the islands just days before Japan surrendered in 1945 causing almost 20,000 Japanese residents to hurriedly flee and the dispute over the islands ownership has hamstrung the countries relations ever since. Abe and Putin agreed to begin discussions on joint economic activities on the islands, which remain under Russian administration. Joint economic activities on the southern Kuril Islands will foster trust toward concluding a peace treaty, Putin said. But working out the details of any joint economic activities will likely prove challenging, analysts said, as Japanese companies would balk at the suggestion of operating under Russian law, while the government would see this as a recognition of Russian sovereignty. Abe said he wanted to allow elderly Japanese residents who lived on the disputed islands to make a final visit to their former home. During their meeting at a hot-spring hotel in Nagato on Thursday, the Japanese prime minister presented Putin with a 20-foot scroll depicting a warship that Japan made for Russia in the 19th century, while Putin gave Abe a samovar made in 1870. Still, not all protocol was observed: Putin was almost three hours late to their first meeting Thursday a dinner that included raw puffer fish and Japanese vodka and was nearly an hour late to their lunch Friday. Putin has something of a reputation for being late, but within Japans strict rules of etiquette, being late is a serious faux pas. Yuki Oda contributed to this report. Read more: Japans prime minister hopes to start building trusting relationship with Trump How to understand Putins jaw-droppingly high approval ratings Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news In nominating former Texas Governor Rick Perry as secretary of energy, President-elect Donald Trump is continuing the pattern of selecting enemies of consumer protection and regulation of business to run the federal agencies charged with these responsibilities. Perry is on record as a supporter of the complete elimination of the Department of Energy. It was the third of three federal departments he called for abolishing during a Republican presidential debate in 2011, the one whose name he forgot, leading to the widely ridiculed Oops moment that helped torpedo his campaign for the 2012 nomination. The Department of Energy has two major functions: regulatory oversight of energy industries, including fossil fuel, wind, solar and nuclear; and production, storage and replenishment of the US nuclear weapons stockpile. The latter function, including massive cleanup costs involved in disposing of nuclear waste, accounts for two-thirds of the departments budget. When Perry and other right-wing Republicans and think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation call for the abolition of the Department of Energy, they have in mind its regulatory functions and programs for promoting non-fossil-fuel energy sources such as wind and solar, not its nuclear weapons operations, which would be transferred to the Pentagon. The direction that Trump intends for the Department of Energy was indicated by a questionnaire sent by Trumps transition team to the agency, which sought, among other things, a list of all Department of Energy employees or contractors who have attended certain meetings related to climate change. Energy Department officials declined to provide such a list, but the request led to widespread complaints from workers in the agency that the incoming administration was preparing a witch-hunt against those who upheld the scientific case for the dangers of global warming. Perrys signing on with the government of Donald Trump is a remarkable act of political cynicism on both sides. During the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Perry made some of the most scathing comments as Trump began to emerge as the frontrunner. Perry described Trump as a cancer on conservatism whose campaign was a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition if pursued. Now this cancerous demagogue has offered Perry a position of considerable power, commanding a department with 100,000 employees and contractors and a $30 billion budget, with influence over policies critical to the business interests Perry has long represented politically, and Perry has leapt at the chance. As the governor for 14 years of the state with the highest oil and gas production, Perry has the closest ties to the industry, invariably taking its side on issues such as antipollution regulation, legally required cleanup efforts and workers safety. After the BP oil spill polluted much of the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the worst environmental disaster in US history, the Texas governor alibied for the giant corporation even as tar balls were washing up on Texas beaches. He called the explosion on the Deep Horizon oil platform an act of God. BP was also responsible for one of the worst industrial disasters on land, which occurred during Perrys governorship. This was the May 2005 Texas City refinery explosion, which killed 15 workers and injured 170 others. After leaving office, Perry immediately signed on as a shill for the oil and gas industry. He is currently on the board of directors of Energy Transfer Partners, the company that is building the Dakota Access Pipeline, the target of mass protests by Native Americans and environmentalists near the Standing Rock Reservation. Perry is an adamant opponent of climate science, going even beyond Trump. While the president-elect has alternately denounced climate change as a hoax perpetrated by China and declared that he has an open mind on the subject, the former Texas governor has claimed that climate change is a scam by a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects. As energy secretary, Perry will be in charge of major nuclear weapons facilities, including Hanford, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Savannah, Georgia. At all of these facilities there are pressing issues of worker safety and the safety of the populations living near the sites. One of the most important issues for the next energy secretary will be the ongoing preparations for a permanent storage site for nuclear waste generated by the military and the civilian nuclear power industry. The facility is to be built at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Its completion was long blocked by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. With the report late Wednesday that a deal to evacuate the last of the Western-backed Islamist rebels from eastern Aleppo was back on track, following an earlier renewal of clashes, the scale of the debacle suffered by Washington in its five-year war for regime-change in Syria is emerging ever more clearly. The increasingly hysterical denunciations of the Syrian government and its allies, principally Russia and Iran, for alleged atrocities in the retaking of Aleppo is a measure of the disillusionment and bitterness within the ruling circles of the major imperialist powers, particularly the US, over this strategic reversal in the drive to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The frenzied tenor of the public anti-Russian propaganda is matched by the intensity of the behind-the-scenes internal recriminations. With the fall of eastern Aleppo, the US-backed rebels, a collection of militias dominated by Al Qaeda-linked Islamists, have lost control of their last major urban center, effectively precluding the successful utilization of these proxy forces for the overthrow of the government in Damascus. Now, with this protracted and bloody operation having failed, US officials and the corporate media are issuing a flood of invectives against Syria and its backers. At a press conference Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby accused Syria and Russia of war crimes, atrocities, deprivations and depravities. Kirby called special attention to the speech delivered the day before to the United Nations Security Council by US Ambassador Samantha Power, Washingtons self-righteous standard-bearer of human rights imperialism and undisputed champion of moral hypocrisy. The Assad regime and Russia appear dead set on seizing every last square inch of Aleppo by force, no matter how many innocent bodies pile up in their wake, she declared. Aleppo will join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and, now, Aleppo. Directing herself to Syria, Russia and Iran, she demanded: Is there literally nothing that can shame you? ... Is there nothing you will not lie about or justify? When it comes to shamelessness, lies and justifications, Ms. Power has no equal. As she delivered her blistering denunciation of Damascus and Moscow for attempting to take every last square inch of Aleppo by force, the US military, in alliance with the Iraqi army and various militias, was preparing to do the exact same thing in the ISIS-held Iraqi city of Mosul, little more than three hundred miles to the east. US air strikes in Iraq and Syria have killed and maimed thousands, and the assault on Mosul, with a far larger population than eastern Aleppo, is expected to kill thousands more, while displacing up to one million civilians. Even as Power made her speech to the Security Council, Washington continued to provide the weapons and logistical and intelligence support enabling its key Arab ally, the Saudi monarchy, to wage a pitiless war against the people of Yemen, the poorest nation of the Middle East. She has issued no words of condemnation as US bombs and missiles killed well over 11,000 civilians in the space of just twenty months, and while, as the aid agency Oxfam put it recently, the entire country is being slowly starved to death by a US-backed blockade. Not surprisingly, in her list of events in world history that define modern evil, Power omitted Gaza, Fallujah and the countless towns and cities from Iraq and Libya to Vietnam and Cambodia where US wars of aggression have claimed the lives of millions. The World Socialist Web Site recognizes the immense suffering of the people of Aleppo, the brutality of the methods employed by the Assad government and its Russian ally, and the horror to which many thousands have been subjected. But what is the ultimate source of this catastrophe? Ms. Power may speak at the UN as if she inhabits some moral Mount Olympus from which she watches with outrage the violent events in Syria, but the truth is that Washingtons hands are dripping in blood. The drama that has unfolded in Aleppo is ultimately the product of a massive regime-change operation mounted by US imperialism, with the CIA alone spending some $1 billion a year to arm, supply, train and even pay the salaries of anti-government Islamist militias. This has been accompanied by crippling sanctions aimed at crashing what remains of Syrias economy, combined with US air strikes. Hypocritically, US officials, the corporate media and pseudo-left groups like the International Socialist Organization have portrayed this imperialist operation, mounted to further US hegemony over the entire Middle East, as some kind of Syrian democratic revolution. A typical response to the latest events in Aleppo was that of the Washington Post, which characterized the victory of Syrian government forces as the final death of a dream of a more democratic Syria... The reality underlying this dream was the rule over eastern Aleppo by a collection of Islamist militias that combined vicious sectarianism with gangsterism. Before it was pummeled into rubble by air strikes, the city was looted by these militias, which stripped factories of their machinery and supplies, transporting them across the border to Turkey to sell for a profit. Amnesty International, in its most recent report, describes this democratic dream in the following terms: civilians live in constant fear of being abducted if they criticize the conduct of armed groups in power or fail to abide by the strict rules that some have imposed. It adds, In Aleppo and Idlib today, armed groups have free rein to commit war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law with impunity. The report documents summary executions and torture, while the rebels themselves have recorded and boasted of their crimes, including the beheading of children. If the Syrian government has enjoyed military success in Aleppo and elsewhere in the country, it is due not just to Russian firepower. After over five years of the US waging war for regime-change using these Al Qaeda-linked militias as its proxies, many Syrians see the Assad government, despite its repression and corruption, as a lesser evil. The hysteria within the media and the US political establishment over the fall of eastern Aleppo is driven to no small degree by the bitter internecine struggles over US policy toward Russia in the run-up to the inauguration of Donald Trump. In the course of the election campaign, Trump suggested that the US could ally itself with Russia in combating terrorism in Syria and questioned Washingtons policy of arming Syrian rebels. Powerful sections of the US military and intelligence apparatus are deeply opposed to any letup in the military drive against Russia. Anyone believing that Trumps incoherent statements will translate into a new era of peace in the Middle East is in for a rude surprise. The Republican president-elect has advanced a policy of economic nationalism that leads inevitably to war, and has demanded a massive buildup of the US military to prepare for it. Moreover, Trump has surrounded himself with recently retired generals bent on confrontation. Two four-star Marine generals have been named as defense and homeland security secretaries. A third Marine four-star, Gen. John Allen, recently gave voice to the thinking among these layers. At the end of October, Allen co-authored an op ed for the Washington Post in which he wrote that the solution to Syria was to escalate the conflict. He called on the US to gather a coalition of the willing to credibly threaten military action against Assads military infrastructure. Recognizing that US attacks on the Syrian military could kill Russian troops, Allen counseled that this should not cause Washington to miss the opportunity to hit offending Syrian elements. Such raving militarism is a warning that a Trump presidency will entail a further escalation in capitalisms drive toward world war. Romanian elections held December 11 were won by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which gained 45.5 percent and will be able to form a government alone or with its neo-liberal ally Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), which won 5 percent. Voter turnout, at 39.49 percent, was one of the lowest in the countrys history. The vote represented broad rejection of the technocratic government headed by former EU Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. The government was imposed last November by conservative President Klaus Iohannis, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, after the ouster of the Social Democratic government headed by Victor Ponta. The vote for the conservative National Liberal Party, which supported a second Ciolos government, collapsed, standing at little over 20 percent, with the party facing a protracted internal crisis including the risk of breaking up. Another party that supported Ciolos was the Save Romania Union (USR), formed in February this year on an anti-corruption platform by various civil society organizations, ranging from free-market NGOs to pseudo-left activists. The party expected to play a major role in a new governing coalition, but only managed to pick up 8.83 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats, running in the election as an opposition party, had in fact supported the formation of the technocratic government and backed it in parliament for the past year. The PSD is preparing to take power at a time when the European Union (EU) is in rapid disintegration and the country finds itself at the forefront of the war drive led by Washington against Russia. The Social Democratic Party, formed from the remnants of the former ruling Stalinist Communist Party, has acted as the main pillar of capitalist rule in Romania. Backed to the hilt by the trade unions, it has presided over the privatization of state-owned enterprises in the early 1990s and the implementation of the savage attacks on workers rights demanded for entry into the EU. Its ruthless bureaucrats have admitted to complicity in crimes against humanity perpetrated by the CIA, and justified them with the success of accession to NATO. The right-wing, anti-working class character of the new administration is evident in its election program. While attempting to cultivate a basis among sections of the middle classes with nationalist rhetoric and measures to prop up small entrepreneurs, the Social Democrats aim to prop up big business by drastically slashing taxes and contributions to social funds. The Social Democrats were supported in the campaign by the trade unions, who tried to sell for good coin their election promises to increase pensions and salaries for state employees and increase the minimum wage from 277 to 321. The union bosses showed signs of nervousness when, after the elections, it became obvious the promises were not destined for the 2017 fiscal year. Dumitru Costin, leader of the National Union Bloc for the past 25 years, said, We are not talking here about questioning in the first day after the election a promise of President [Liviu] Dragnea [PSD leader], were becoming slightly ridiculous. Mr. Dragnea was more than exact in his words; we have the documents. After the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, the PSD was also the main political driving force of the militarization of the country. In January 2015, then prime minister Victor Ponta met President Iohannis and the leaders of the other parliamentary parties to sign a political agreement that whoever came to power would uphold an increase in military spending of at least 2 percent of GDP beginning next year. On December 1, RomanianNews.ro cited a report delivered by the British trust Janes Information Group, that showed that Romanias military spending has surpassed for the first time the sum of US$3 billion. This is, the report shows, the second highest spending in Eastern Europe, surpassed only by Poland. PSD leader Dragnea, likely to become the new prime minister, reiterated his unwavering commitment to the EU and NATO immediately after the first exit polls came out. Although the European press largely focussed on the corruption allegations associated with the PSD, more astute bourgeois commentators recognize in the Romanian PSD a valuable ally of the imperialists interests. Writing for the Euractiv web site, Nicolas Tenzer complained: Russia now encircles Romania with new puppet presidents and Russian troops stationed in Crimea are just 250 kilometres from Romanias Black Sea coast. Tenzer notes that Due to his former position, Ciolos is very popular among his fellow European leaders. The rest of the Union, however, should not overlook the strong pro-European stances of the rest of Romanias political sphere as well. Photo credit: Associated Press From Cosmopolitan A husband and wife who married in Mexico in 2007 have been arrested on suspicion of murdering another woman who the man married in California so the man could get legal permission to stay in the U.S., authorities said Wednesday. Photo credit: Associated Press Francisco Valdivia, 37, and Rosalina Lopez, 39, were arrested Tuesday in connection with the June 9 disappearance of Cecelia Bravo. The suspects lived in the small central California city of Visalia, the Tulare County Sheriff's Office said. The body of Bravo has not been found but sheriff's spokeswoman Teresa Douglass said authorities have evidence Valdivia and Lopez threatened Bravo and that detectives have "significant digital forensic evidence" she would not describe implicating the couple. Valdivia and Lopez are both from Mexico and they married there before coming to the United States, the sheriff said. Valdivia later married the California-born Bravo in an attempt to gain legal residence, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told the Sacramento Bee. "He used Cecilia in a business relationship to gain himself legal residence," Boudreaux said Bravo was last seen at the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California, about a half hour drive from Visalia in California's agricultural heartland. Boudreaux said the motive for the killing was linked to "the relationship of these three people," but declined provide more specifics. "We're comfortable and confident in our belief that (Bravo) was murdered," Boudreaux said. Bravo's car was set ablaze in an orchard and her four children have not heard from her since her disappearance. They are in protective custody, Douglass said. Boudreaux said they have been placed with close family members. Valdivia was already in custody when he was arrested in connection with Bravo's death. He had been arrested on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana and jailed for lack of $1 million bail. Lopez was arrested Tuesday in the small town of Goshen near Visalia. Both were booked on suspicion of murder charges with no bail, Douglass said. Story continues Boudreaux said they are not yet represented by attorneys. You Might Also Like Photo credit: Getty Images From Harper's BAZAAR Update: Early on the morning of Monday, April 9, it was confirmed that overnight air strikes were carried out against a Syrian military base, reportedly leaving 14 people dead. According to The New York Times, Israel is being blamed for the eight-missile airstrike, which targeted a Syrian air base known as T4, in the central province of Homs, used by both Syrian forces and the Iranian-backed militias. The NYT further reported that according to the Russian news agency Interfax, the Russian military released a statement confirming that the strikes were launched by two Israeli F-15 warplanes. The statement said the planes had fired from Lebanese airspace and that Syrias air defense systems shot down five of the missiles, while three struck the western side of the T4 military base. According to a war-monitoring group per the Associated Press, the most recent air strike hit mere hours after more than 40 Syrian citizens were suffocated to death as a result of a toxic chemical attack on the rebel-held suburb of Douma, east of Damascus, which was reportedly carried out by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. With thousands of civilians trapped in the center of these rebel-held areas, humanitarian organizations and rescue workers are desperate for more resources. Here are some of the ways you can help the people of Syria today. 1) The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) SAMS is a nonpolitical medical relief organization specializing in crisis relief in war-torn areas of Syria and its neighboring countries. With more than 100 medical facilities throughout Syria, SAMS strives to provide medical care and proper treatments for patients in need. Donate to SAMS here. 2) The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (OUSSM) Like, SAMs, OUSSM is dedicated to providing free medical aid to victims in Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria. The organization, which has chapters across the globe, is currently taking direct donations for the victims of the April 4 bombing. OUSSM is looking to raise $100,000 in donations to help the victims. Help them reach their goal here. Story continues 3) Doctors Without Borders Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, is a world-wide organization dedicated to providing medical assistance to war-torn countries. The organization played a major role in helping the citizens of Aleppo after one of their hospitals suffered an airstrike that killed more than 20 workers and patients last year. You can donate to the organization here. 4) The White Helmets The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, are a group of volunteers who search recently bombed locations and rescue surviving and or trapped civilians. By the end of 2016, the group had successfully saved more than 73,530 people from attacks in Syria. You can help by donating to the cause here. 5) Sunrise USA Sunrise is an American-based organization founded in 2011 by a group of Syrian-American professionals. Sunrise aims to help Syria through humanitarian aid as well as emphasizing child development and education. Apart from healthcare, Sunrise's main purpose is to create long-term solutions for the people of Syria. You can donate to Sunrise here. 6) Oxfam International Oxfam International provides showers, clean water, and toilets to those currently living in refugee camps. The organization also provides refugees with medical aid and legal advice. You can donate to Oxfam here. 7) The United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees The main focus of the UNHCR is to provide refugees in war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq with necessities such as hygiene kits, sleeping bags, and medicine. The organization played a huge role in distributing goods back in December after more than 80 civilians were killed by Syrian troops. You can donate to UNHCR right here. 8) Islamic Relief USA Islamic Relief USA is made up of volunteers who provide aid to those in need without discriminating against gender, race, or religion. Help the organization by donating here. 9) Planet Syria There are other ways to help the cause besides donating money. Planet Syria is a nonviolent activist organization with the mission of spreading the word about the Syrian crisis through peace talks. If you don't have money to give, but want to support the cause, you can help Planet Syria simply by signing the cause statement and sharing it online to help spread awareness. 10) International Committee of the Red Cross The ICRC and its partner, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), are committed "to act as a neutral and impartial humanitarian intermediary" during the Syrian conflict. You can make donations to both organizations to help provide food and medical deliveries to those in need. LONDON (AP) A 101-year-old man in Britain has been convicted of sexual offenses against children, becoming country's oldest prison inmate. A jury on Friday found Ralph Clarke guilty of 21 counts of indecency and indecent assault on two girls in the 1970s and '80s. The former truck driver had admitted nine other charges against a boy. Clarke was taken from Birmingham Crown Court in central England to prison to await sentencing on Monday. Judge Richard Bond said Clarke was facing a prison term and it would be "amazing" if he lived long enough to be released. Emma Fennon, a detective with West Midlands Police, said some might question prosecuting a 101-year-old. But she said "those he assaulted had to live with the suffering he inflicted on them for decades." Kinshasa (AFP) - Congo's volatile political crisis rumbled on Friday after church-led talks were forced into another day, edging closer to the legal limit for President Joseph Kabila to hold on to power. The country's Catholic episcopal conference, CENCO, had set Friday as the deadline to get the government and opposition to agree on a transition for the country after Kabila's second and last legal term expires on Tuesday. An election for a new Democratic Republic of Congo head of state was supposed to have been held this year, but the authorities failed to organise the polls. The 45-year-old president, who stepped into his assassinated father's shoes in 2001 and is now ruling for a second elected term, is barred from a third mandate under the constitution. Opponents accuse him of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend the Kabila family's hold over a nation hugely rich in minerals that is almost the size of western Europe. The international community has warned the current tension could lead to spiralling violence. Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead. The CENCO-sponsored talks launched early this month pit the ruling party and fringe opposition groups against a mainstream opposition coalition headed by veteran Kabila rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, who is 84. - Talks continue - Sources close to the talks had said early on Friday a deal was closing in on the date and organisation of a presidential vote. But later CENCO mediators returned from meeting members of Kabila's cabinet, declining to speak to the press and resuming talks with the rival groups behind closed doors. Discussions will resume at 0800 GMT on Saturday, they later said. But that round will be limited as Congo's bishops will leave Saturday for a long-planned visit to see Pope Francis. Story continues The main sticking point in any future deal is the political fate of Kabila, who true to his reputation as a man of few words, has not announced his plans. A democratic handover would break ground for Congo's 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box. And in the last few years hundreds of people have died in political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, and elsewhere. Tshisekedi and his allies had threatened nationwide protests from Monday to press Kabila to step down, but have opted to hold off pending the negotiations. "If we win guarantees (on an election date and a pledge that Kabila will not seek a new mandate) we will speak to the people because the challenge begins from December 19," Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary-general of Tshisekedi's party, told AFP. The government for its part has ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 GMT) on Sunday. Police said they were setting up checkpoints in large Congolese cities to "discourage criminal intentions that have started to take on worrying dimensions". Baghdad (AFP) - Multiple ground assaults and a deluge of air strikes shrank the Islamic State group's "caliphate" to a rump and decimated its fighters in 2016 but the organisation remains a potent threat. The jihadists have squandered close to half of the land they controlled in 2014 and many of their losses came this year, which saw major operations by myriad forces and countries. The loss of symbolic bastions such as Fallujah in Iraq or Dabiq in Syria dented IS's aura, revealing it could not defend places it once vowed were impregnable and central to its own mythology. The jihadists were driven out of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's vast western province of Anbar, as well as Manbij in Syria -- strategic areas crucial to the caliphate's territorial continuity. Earlier this month, they also lost Sirte, their last major bastion in Libya, a country the jihadists had hoped could drive the expansion of the caliphate. In October, tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition launched a massive operation to retake Mosul, the city where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his "state" in June 2014. The going has been tough for the security forces in the booby-trapped and sniper-infested streets of Iraq's second city but there is little doubt the vastly outnumbered jihadists will eventually lose their stronghold. Shaping operations for a similar assault on Raqa, the only other major urban centre in IS hands, were subsequently launched in Syria setting up a battle that could be the caliphate's last stand. "The loss of Raqa will mean the end of IS's state-building project and would leave the group with no territorial symbol justifying its name of Islamic State," said Mathieu Guidere, a Paris-based professor of Middle East geopolitics. Western powers, Turkey, Iran, Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces and militias and paramilitary outfits have played a part in the surge against IS in 2016. Story continues - Terror attacks - Despite the formidable arsenal IS seized from regular forces and the fear it instilled in the world with its campaign of well-publicised atrocities, the jihadist group stopped expanding and eventually buckled. According to the Pentagon, at least 50,000 IS fighters have been killed since 2014, twice the number of fighters the coalition estimated the group had when the caliphate was proclaimed. "Almost three million people and more than 44,000 square kilometres of territory have been liberated" from IS in 2016, coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said Wednesday. But coordination between the various, sometimes rival anti-IS forces is still lacking and the jihadists have shown in two months of Mosul fighting they would not be defeated easily. Their urban tactics are well-honed and their seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers is a threat even the best-trained and equipped forces on the ground fear like no other. IS has also launched a number of diversionary attacks in both Iraq and Syria in an effort to stretch their opponents' ranks and retain some level of initiative, at least in the media. Those came in the shape of a spectacular commando raid on Iraq's oil-rich and Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and earlier this month with the recapture of the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra from regime forces. Observers have long warned that territorial reconquest would not spell the end of the Islamic State group, which will find in both Iraq's and Syria's instability a fertile ground for future attacks. "2016 was the year of IS' decline but its influence is still great because there is no political solution in sight... especially for the Sunni population in both countries," Guidere said. The remnants of IS could in some ways be harder to fight once they have fully reverted to a clandestine insurgent group focused on terror attacks. The feared mass return of the caliphate's routed foreign fighters is also a huge source of concern at the end of a year that saw attacks claimed or inspired by IS in the United States, France and Belgium. "The group has been laying the groundwork to outlast its territorial defeats, framing such losses as temporary setbacks in Iraq and Syria and arguing that the Islamic State is a state of mind as much as it is a governing state," the Soufan Group consultancy said earlier this month. china xi jinping 2017 is a big year for the Communist Party of China. Next autumn, the party will host the 19th National Congress, which will likely determine the top leadership and set up the country's political future. At the same time, China could be looking at an increasingly uncertain international situation in light of Donald Trump's election in November. And this two-pronged political environment could have implications for the party's economic policy in the near term. "The Chinese leadership will likely face significant political uncertainty both internally and externally, and in response they will likely place social and economic stability as a top priority throughout 2017," a Credit Suisse research team led by Vincent Chan wrote in a note. "We believe the government will adopt pro-growth measures to boost economic growth ahead of the political transition." In other words, as both the domestic and international political situations grow more uncertain, the party might try to push forward some short-term growth initiatives. china xi jinping Politics, politics, politics On the domestic front, 11 seats of the 25-member Politburo will open up at the 19th National Congress. Five of those seats will be from the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, which is essentially the party's top leadership. The only two not retiring in that group are President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. The National Congress "goes a long way in deciding the top leadership around President Xi Jinping and how far he could consolidate his power, and potentially creates conditions for him to extend his rule in China beyond 2022 (his scheduled retirement date)," Chan wrote. "This meeting could decide China's political landscape during the next decade." Notably, Xi was named the "core" leader of the party in late October. Analysts at BMI Research argued at the time that this increases the chances that he would appoint "his own people" to the standing committee. They added that Xi's stronger political posture also suggests he will become more accountable for the economy's performance. Story continues Donald Trump As for Trump, the president-elect has increased the uncertainty about the US-China relationship since speaking with Taiwan's president by phone in early December. That was the first time in over 30 years that a US president directly spoke with Taiwan's leadership. The call "indicates to us that the new president may not follow the bipartisan consensus in last few decades in dealing with China," Chan and his team wrote. And that "means that apart from internal politics, the Chinese leadership will likely also need to deal with a highly uncertain external political environment in 2017." As for China's economic landscape... Against this backdrop, China is facing a plethora of structural obstacles as it aims to transition its economy into one that is based on consumers from one that depends on exports and investment. The team at BMI Research argued in a note on Tuesday that these reforms could "proceed at a smoother pace" because Xi's new position as the core of the party "will be positive for the centralization of power in Beijing as the president strengthens his grip over the party." "That said, reforms to reduce the dominance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are still likely to remain slow," the team added. "The central government will still need to take the social impact (notably unemployment) of these reforms into account, and it also is keen to maintain its control over these SOEs, and as such, their full scale privatization is unlikely." In any case, China's politics and economics will be something to watch going into the new year. NOW WATCH: China conducts a live-fire military exercise with its first aircraft carrier More From Business Insider Many investors like to look for value in stocks, but this can be very tough to define. There is great debate regarding which metrics are the best to focus on in this regard, and which are not really quality indicators of future performance. Fortunately, with our new style score system we have identified the key statistics to pay close attention to and thus which stocks might be the best for value investors in the near term. This method discovered several great candidates for value-oriented investors, but today lets focus on Embraer S.A. ERJ as this stock is looking especially impressive right now. And while there are numerous reasons why this is the case, we have highlighted three of the most vital reasons for ERJs status as a solid value stock below: Forward PE for Embraer Easily one of the most popular readings for value investors, the forward PE ratio shows us the current price of a stock divided by the full year earnings. Generally speaking, value investors like to see this ratio below 20, though it can vary by industry. Right now, ERJ has a forward PE of just 13.16, which means that investors are paying $13.16 for each dollar in expected Embraer earnings this year. Compared to the industry at large this is pretty favorable as the overall space has an average PE of 17.64 in comparison. EMBRAER AIR-ADR PE Ratio (TTM) EMBRAER AIR-ADR PE Ratio (TTM) | EMBRAER AIR-ADR Quote PEG Ratio for ERJ While earnings are definitely important, it is vital to know how much you are paying for the growth of earnings as well. One can easily do that with the PEG ratio as this metric looks to show investors how much they are paying for each unit of earnings growth. ERJ manages to impress on this front as well, as the companys PEG is just 0.94, suggesting that Embraer is trading as a relative bargain right now. This is particularly the case when you compare this PEG to the industry, as the broader segment has an average PEG of 1.68 in comparison. Story continues ERJ Earnings Estimate Revisions Moving in the Right Direction The solid value ratios outlined in the preceding paragraphs might be enough for some investors, but we should also note that the earnings estimate revisions have been trending in a positive direction as well. Analysts who follow ERJ stock have been raising their estimates for the company lately, meaning that the EPS picture is looking a bit more favorably for Embraer now. Over the past 60 days, one earnings estimates has gone higher compared to none lower for the full year, while we are also seeing that three estimates have move upwards with one downward revision for the next year time frame too. These revisions have helped to boost the consensus estimate as 60 days ago ERJ was expected to post earnings of $1.08 per share for the full year though today it looks to have EPS of $1.38 for the full year. Bottom Line For the reasons detailed above, investors shouldnt be surprised to read that we have ERJ as a stock with a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. So if you are a value investor, definitely keep ERJ on your short list as this looks to be a stock that is very well-positioned for gains in the near term. Zacks' Top Investment Ideas for Long-Term Profit How would you like to see our best recommendations to help you find todays most promising long-term stocks? Starting now, you can look inside our portfolios featuring stocks under $10, income stocks, value investments and more. These picks, which have double and triple-digit profit potential, are rarely available to the public. But you can see them now. Click here >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EMBRAER AIR-ADR (ERJ): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Amid news that evacuations have been suspended in Aleppo, Syria, after the declared conclusion of a devastating four-year battle between rebels and the government, many Americans are wondering what can be done to help the victims of the atrocity. According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian affairs, there are 13.5 million people in Syria who require humanitarian assistance. Said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, Aleppo is now a synonym for hell. In addition to United Nations organizations, there are numerous humanitarian groups working to provide relief to the millions of people affected by President Assads regime. Here are some of the top agencies on the ground. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Tax-deductible gifts to UNHCR provide emergency supplies, as well as support and assistance to refugee families. A donation of $30 a month can provide an emergency rescue kit, while $50 a month can supply bedding and blankets. AP This winter, UNHCR is working to deliver assistance to millions of displaced Syrians facing adverse weather conditions. The aid packages include clothing, blankets and heating fuel, among other things. According to a release, since September alone UNHCR has provided 838,092 people in Syria with the aforementioned winter protective items. Donate here. The White Helmets The White Helmets is a volunteer organization of Syrians who visit scenes of bombings to save those trapped in the rubble or injured by the blasts. According to the groups website, they have saved 73,530 lives since 2013. Donations go toward life-saving equipment. Five dollars can cover a pair of safety goggles for volunteers, while $89 will pay for a first-aid kit. Money also goes to larger equipment and to medical care for those putting their lives on the line to save others. Donate here. Doctors Without Borders Doctors Without Borders (or Medecins Sans Frontieres), a non-governmental humanitarian aid organization that started in the early 1970s, is currently coordinating support and assistance for those being evacuated from east Aleppo. Story continues On Friday, Doctors Without Borders sent medical supplies to a hospital treating wounded evacuees. The organization also said in a news release that they have 45 tons of medical supplies prepositioned to send where its needed. Donations to Doctors Without Borders are unrestricted, which according to the organization allow us to allocate our resources most efficiently and where the needs are greatest. Donate here. Thiqa News via AP Islamic Relief USA Islamic Relief USA provides aid similar to Doctors Without Borders and UNHCR, distributing food to displaced Syrians as well as providing shelters. Earlier this year, IRUSA provided meals for over 72,000 people in Aleppo. Our prayers are with the people of Aleppo at this time, Islamic Relief USA CEO Anwar Khan said in a statement on the organizations website. Islamic Relief USA has been assisting with humanitarian aid inside Aleppo for the past few years, and we are preparing to assist those who have evacuated from the city to other areas. We are very concerned that what happened in Aleppo may happen in other areas such as Idlib, where we are also working. We are concerned about the safety of our staff inside Syria, and we are deeply concerned for the people of Syria at this time. Donations have helped pay for over 220 food kits and almost 2 million medical treatments, according to the groups 2016 donor report. They also provided over 257 clinics and hospitals with medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. Those who wish to give can choose to supply humanitarian aid, support or sponsor orphans, provide emergency aid or donate to U.S. programs. Donate here. International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross a worldwide, neutral organization that helps those affected by conflict or war partners with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent an independent humanitarian organization based in Damascus to provide aid and relief in Syria. According to the Red Cross website, over 55 frontline operations led by the two organizations have provided food and aide to Syrians in 2016. On Thursday, teams from the Red Cross were allowed into east Aleppo to aide in the evacuation, marking the first time since April that they were successfully able to enter the area, a news release said. Over 100 workers from both organizations were involved in the effort to help the wounded receive medical care. Donate here. GHIRH SY/EPA International Rescue Committee The International Rescue Committee has teams in place in Idlib to help arriving evacuees of Aleppo, providing money for families to buy food and other essentials. The organization also supports eight health facilities in Idlib, according to their website. The supplies provided by the IRC will help the facilities give medical care to over 100,000 people. Further, the IRC helps operate livelihood centers, which provide job training and more for displaced Syrians. The IRC has been at work in Syria since 2012, and in 2015 alone helped over 1.4 million people. Donate here. Americans have been taking more vacations in recent years thanks to a combination of increased financial security and relatively low travel costs, and they appear poised to continue to do so despite the uncertainty following this years riotous presidential election. In a poll of travelers before the election, more than six in 10 said that they planned to travel just as much in 2017 as they did in 2016, and 16 percent said that theyd travel even more, according to TravelZoo. But travel is changing. Here are some of the biggest trends driving the industry in 2017: 1. Cuba is still the hottest place to go for now. The formerly forbidden Caribbean island (for Americans, at least) remains a top destination for travelers, thanks to a continued relaxing of restrictions from the Obama administration. Commercial flights to the Cuba began this month, at just a fraction of what it used to cost to take a charter flight to the island. Cuba was named both the hottest destination and the number one emerging destination for 2017 by the United States Tour Operators Association. Related: 8 Tips if You Want to Travel to Cuba (Before It's Too Late) Its unclear, however, how the election of Donald Trump and the death of Fidel Castro could impact American travel there. The president-elect has promised to cancel Obamas one-sided Cuban deal, without further concessions from Cuba, and he could do so fairly easily since the changes were made by executive order. 2. Its a great time to visit Britain. The economic uncertainty ushered in by the UKs Brexit vote last June means a travel bargain for American travelers interested in visiting the country. While the British pound has regained some of its value since tumbling more than 30 percent after the referendum, its still down about 20 percent since the vote. A luxury five-star hotel in central London now costs 24 percent less than it did two years ago, and flights are at their lowest price in recent memory, according to TravelZoo. People are worried about the long-term impact of Brexit, but its hard to see the short-term impact on a family thats traveling, says Patrick Surry, chief data scientist at Hopper.com. Story continues 3. Low-cost carriers continue to grow. Foreign airlines like Icelands Wow Airlines and a new budget carrier from Air France plan to join an increasingly crowded field of no-frills airlines serving the United States. To compete with the foreigners, as well as established U.S. budget airlines like Spirit Airlines and Frontier, legacy carriers are introducing their own no-frills tickets, and charging fees for everything from carry-on bags to the ability to choose your seat. Airlines are trying to create different fare categories, where you pay for what you care about, and then you pay a little more to get a traditional ticket, says Jeff Klee, CEO of CheapAir.com. The increased competition for entry-level passengers should put a damper on overall airline prices, and fuel the industrys growing reliance on ancillary revenue. Related: 8 Tips to Save on Spring Break Travel 4. Hotel rates are on the rise. Recent hotel mergers are pushing up prices for consumers. The cost of North Americans hotel rooms is projected to rise 4 percent in 2017, with even larger increases on the West Coast, according to the Global Business Travel Association. Hotels are following the lead of airlines and tacking on a growing number of ancillary fees to their room rates, charging for everything from Wi-Fi to gym access. 5. Airline loyalty programs are becoming less generous. This year, American Airlines became the last large carrier to shift its rewards program to award passengers based on the cost of their ticket rather than how many miles theyre flying. Airlines are also giving fewer upgrades to elite flyers at the gate, and theyre charging more for membership to their airport lounges. Those trends look set to continue through next year, so infrequent leisure travelers are now better off booking flights based on convenience, rather than rewards. 6. Active travel is huge. Sitting on the beach for a week is so 2012. Both bucket-list-busting Boomers and experience-seeking Millennials are looking for vacation destinations and itineraries that include an immersive cultural experience as well as physical activity like hiking or rafting. In response, tour operators continue to introduce new options at every price level. Active travel fits in with the experiential movement, which continues to be hot, says Terry Dale, chief executive officer of the United States Tour Operators Association. People want to be engaged with the locals that call a particular place their home and they want to make sure that they understand the people, the culture, the history and the cuisine. They want trips that are hands-on, where theyre interacting as part of the travel experience. Related: The 15 Best Cruise Ship Destinations in the World 7. Expansion of sharing-economy lodging. Perhaps due to those increasing hotel prices, online visits to sites like Airbnb and Homeaway.com, which allow travelers to rent homes rather than hotel rooms, surged 70 percent over the past three years, according to Hitwise, while searches at hotel aggregator sites fell 7.9 percent. If that trend continues, searches for sharing-economy lodging will overtake direct hotel searches next year. One trend fueling the shift is new technology that now makes it just as easy to book vacation rentals as it is to book hotels. Now when you see a property you like, you can take out your credit card and book it directly, says Jen ONeal, CEO and founder of Tripping.com. 8. Merger-mania may continue. Mergers between the big airlines leveled off a bit this year as the Obama administration increased its scrutiny of such deals. Last month American Airlines and Quantas abandoned their plans for a merger amid regulatory hurdles from the Department of Transportation, and a proposed Delta and Aeromexico joint venture has also hit some stumbling blocks. A more pro-business Trump administration, however, may be more lenient about such deals. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: When it comes to choosing the right payments platform for your business, you better do your research. Every business has different payment needs. Whether its cross-border payments or recurring billing, there is definitely a payment solution that best fits your business. If youre in search for a solution, here are eight tips for business owners looking for the right platform. 1. Be aware of fee structure Fee structures for payments platforms vary quite a bit across the industry. At the end of the day, you want to maximize your cash flow. That being said, picking the right fee structure is one of the most important aspects of choosing the right platform. First off, you should be aware of the various types of fees that are most common: Transactional fees: These are fees assessed every time you run a transaction. The industry standard is 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction. Interchange fees: These are fees charged by the issuing banks (Visa, MasterCard, etc.). These fees are often included in the transactional fees as the platforms Markup. Sometimes the platform will charge a separate interchange fee to the merchants. Annual/Monthly fees: These are fees charged on a monthly or annual basis typically on top of transactional fees. Batch fee: Your credit card transactions will be deposited into your bank account in batches. Platforms may charge a small fee for each batch. Chargeback fee: In the event of a chargeback, the platform may pass the fee onto the merchant. Hidden/Penalty fees: Hidden fees are any fees that are not advertised to the merchant. Be very careful of these, because they can be seriously detrimental to your cash flow. For example: Some platforms have transaction maximums per month. If you go over the maximum, you will be charged a fee. The platform may not advertise this penalty. With all these fees to choose from, platforms will often provide a mix in their offerings. Some platforms offer tiered pricing structures, where you can essentially pay for more features as you scale your business. Story continues Some financial institutions offer a flat rate regardless of feature set or volume. If you carefully assess what your business needs and take your time in identifying a fee structure that meets your requirements, youll surely find the right solution. 2. Ensure most major payment types are accepted Acceptance policies range quite a bit across platforms as well. Odds are you wont be able to accept every single payment type available. However, youll want to make sure you can accept the major ones. The card types that are arguably necessary are Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. To get an understanding on how often these cards are used, you can reference credit card statistics and reports on the Credit Card Forum. Here are the basic stats: Visa: Total purchase volume of $1.412 trillion in the 12 months ending June 30, 2016. MasterCard: Total purchase volume on U.S. credit cards was $653 billion in 2015. AMEX: Total purchase volume on U.S. credit cards was $721 billion in 2015. Discover: Discovers total U.S. credit card purchase volume was $135 billion in 2015. Just by looking at the sheer volume of each of these card types, youd be doing yourself a huge injustice by leaving one out. Some payment platforms may offer card packages where they may charge extra to accept different card types. For example, American Express interchange rates tend to be the most expensive. Because of this youll see businesses, often brick and mortar, decline to accept American Express. Since online transaction volumes tend to be exponentially higher than in-store, youll most likely want to accept American Express right off the bat. Enough platforms out there offer all four major card types, so avoid any that dont. 3. Make sure the software is efficient Each payment platform will most likely offer a different payment experience based on their technology. A huge part of this has to do with the user checkout experience. According to Business Insider, about 46 percent of payments are cancelled on the payments page. The only way to decrease that statistic is to optimize your payment experience. Again, its difficult to find a platform with every option available however its important to make a selection based on your specific needs. Heres what to look for when comparing technological capability between payment platforms: User Checkout Experience (UX): The less steps your customer needs to complete their payment the better. If youre choosing a payment platform to integrate into your online store, this is very important. Some platforms offer one-click checkouts which allows you to save customer information for future purchases. Integration: Ideally, you should be able to use a plug-in to integrate with your online store. For example: WooCommerce provides a plug-in that allows you to easily integrate various payment gateways into your online store. Aside from plug-ins, review any API documentation available with your dev team to scope out the logistics. Growth: As your business grows, youre going to need your payment platform to keep up. Make sure your platform can efficiently scale with your business, otherwise you may be in big trouble. Depending on the integration, your development team should be able to quickly tell you whether or not the platform is scalable or not. 4. Inquire about payment turnarounds As a business owner, youll typically want to see money deposited into your bank account as quickly as possible. Turnaround times vary between payment platforms. After a few successful transactions, your payment provider will settle the money in your bank account in a batch. The batches are usually broken up depending on what time each transaction was completed. A platform will provide a settlement batch cut off time as well as a deposit schedule. For example: Platform A has a settlement batch cut off time between 5AM-6PM (EST) and deposit schedule of 2-3 business days. Any batch settled in between the batch time will be deposited within 2-3 business days. Any transaction completed after the cut off time will be pushed back a day, this often times causes confusion and frustration among businesses who arent aware of these rules. In addition to settlement cut off times and deposit schedules, there may be other holds that can delay your deposits. Ideally, you should be able to find a service that provides next day funding with a limited amount of potential funding holds. Make sure to inquire about these various rules before making your choice. 5. Ask about contracts Not all payment platforms will require a signed contract, but for those that do youll definitely want to take a look. If you can, have your legal council review the contract for you. If you cant utilize a lawyer, here are some things to look for in the contract. Fees: Use what you learned from the fee section above. All hidden fees and penalties will be clearly stated in the contract. You probably wont find these advertised on the platforms website, so make sure you have a crystal clear understanding from reading the contract. Licenses: Make sure youre compliant with all rules regarding licenses and trademarks. For example, some platforms may require you to include logos in your checkout flow. If you want a white-labeled payment solution, youll have to find a platform that allows for it. Some platforms, like PayPal, will make you redirect to their website for payment. Data collection: If youre planning on collecting user data, make sure youre aligned with your platforms data collection regulations. If your payment platform asks to have a contract signed, it's definitely in your best interest to review it with your legal council. If you arent well versed in law, odds are youll miss a detail that may be a potential deal breaker. Its always better to be safe than sorry. 6. International payments Youll need to really think ahead on this one. Processing payments overseas is no easy task. Even if its not on your immediate roadmap youll probably want to go with a payment provider who can handle international payments. Here are some things to keep in mind when inquiring about accepting cross-border payments: Fees: Processing payments in new markets means new costs and fees. Often times payment platforms push these fees onto their customers, that means you. Make sure youre aware of all hidden costs and fees associated with each transaction. Exchange rates: A payment platform may claim to be commission free for bank settlements in different currencies, but in reality they are just loading the exchange rate. Make sure youre getting a fair rate when you are settling from different currencies. Exchange rates on transfers are calculated using the following: Amount transferred Time-frames youre working to Currencies involved Exchange rate levels at time of purchase Security: Regulations around credit card transactions in the United States differ from those in Europe. You need to make sure you are compliant in all markets. Double check with the platform to make sure they meet all compliance and security measures in each country. Whether youre looking to accept payments in different currencies or open up shop in Hong Kong, make sure you have a good understanding of the international payment capabilities of your prospective platform. Finding the customers overseas is just the first step. Finding a cheap and convenient way for them to pay you is the hard part. Unfortunately, there isnt a universal payment platform that operates in every country. However, there are plenty of platforms that can securely process payments overseas. 7. Support Depending on the size of your business youll need to assess the level of support you require to operate efficiently. Whether its a 24/7 chat service, email form or FAQ section, you should look for a platform that provides a thorough and responsive support channel. Whenever moneys involved, people lose patience very quickly. Yet, you will earn your customers respect and loyalty if you give them the support they need. If youre located in the U.S. and you have a customer halfway around the world complaining about a duplicate charge, youll want to assist them ASAP. The amount of time it takes you to correct the charge will make or break the customer experience. Chargeback support is a huge area to inquire about as well. A chargeback will occur when a customer disputes a purchase that has been made. Some payment platforms will serve as a mediator in the negotiation while others will automatically credit back the customer without any investigation, the latter can seriously hurt your cash flow. Make sure you fully inquire about chargeback support with any prospective platform. In addition to hindering cash flow, chargebacks are terrible for your reputation. Make sure theyre handled properly as they come in. 8. Security The security regulations and procedures involved with payments are no joke. That being said, make sure you youre fully aware of all responsibilities, liabilities and protections. First and foremost, youll want to choose a platform that is fully PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant. This basically means the platform has been vetted by a third party and is up to date with industry regulations and standards, learn more on the official PCI Security Standards Council website. Ironically, compliance is enforced by credit card issuing companies like Visa, MasterCard and Discover. These are the four levels of PCI compliance as mandated by Visa and MasterCard. The definitions are according to annual credit card volumes: PCI Compliance Level: Over 6 million Visa and or Mastercard transactions processed annually. PCI Compliance Level 2: 1 million to 6 million Visa and or Mastercard transactions processed annually. PCI Compliance Level 3: 20,000 to 1 million Visa and or Mastercard e-commerce transactions processed annually. PCI Compliance Level 4: Less than 20,000 Visa and or Mastercard e-commerce transactions processed annually all other companies that process up to 1 million Visa transactions annually. Make sure the payment platform is compliant up to your businesses transactional volumes. In addition to PCI compliance youll want to make sure your customers data is kept secure. Inquire about where customer data is stored. Make sure customer data is encrypted and secure, preferably on a third party server. You can use higher security measures to your advantage by advertising it during your checkout. By ensuring customer data is kept secure, theyll be more confident in finishing the transaction and eventually returning to your online store. Final Thoughts With so many options to choose from its not easy finding the right payment platform for your business. Make a list of whats necessary and whats nice to have, because odds are you wont be able to fulfill everything. Pick the platform that meets the majority of your needs and regardless of your choice, make sure you use these eight tips during your investigation. (By Renzo Costarella) By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up two days of talks on Thursday, with numerous economic deals but no big breakthrough on a territorial row that has overshadowed ties since World War Two. Putin was heading home with promises of economic cooperation after appearing to achieve what experts said was a key objective - easing international isolation when Russia faces Western condemnation over the destruction of eastern Aleppo in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar al-Assads forces. Abe and Putin agreed to launch talks on joint economic activities on disputed islands at the center of the territorial row as a step toward concluding a peace treaty formally ending World War Two, the two sides said in a joint statement. The islands in the Western Pacific, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, were seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War Two and 17,000 Japanese residents were forced to flee. The dispute over their sovereignty has prevented the two countries signing a peace treaty. Abe said he and Putin had taken "an important step" toward a peace treaty but concluding one would not be easy. "The issue wont be solved if each of us just make their own case," Abe said at a news conference with Putin. "We need to make efforts toward a breakthrough so that we dont disappoint the next generation. We need to set aside the past and create a win-win solution for both of us." Putin dismissed the notion that he was only interested in getting economic benefits from Japan. "If anyone thinks were interested only in developing economic links and a peace deal is of secondary importance, thats not the case," he told the same news conference. "For me, the most important thing is to sign a peace agreement because that would create the conditions for long-term co-operation." "PUTIN GO HOME" As the two leaders held their second round of talks on Friday, right-wing activists in trucks mounted with loudspeakers circled the streets not far from the prime ministers' office, blaring "Return the islands" and "Putin Go Home". Abe has pledged to resolve the territorial dispute in the hope of leaving a significant diplomatic legacy and building better ties with Russia to counter a rising China. He had hoped the lure of economic cooperation for Russia's economy, hit by low oil prices and Western sanctions, would pave the path for significant progress on the dispute. Putin, however, would risk tarnishing his domestic image as a staunch defender of Russian sovereignty by compromising. Japanese opposition politicians were quick to criticize the talks. "How is this economic cooperation and these joint economic activities going to lead to a settlement of the islands issue?" said Renho, head of the main opposition Democratic Party. "Concerns that economic cooperation will bilk Japan remain, and that no concrete way to make progress on the islands issue was found is really too bad," she added in a statement. Russian officials said the two sides had signed a total of 80 documents, including 68 on commercial matters, during Putin's visit, including private-sector deals. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund signed an agreement to set up a $1 billion investment fund to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. But there was less than met the eye in some of the deals. Despite strong pressure from the Abe administration, companies remain wary of the risk of doing business in Russia, said a Japanese official involved in summit preparations. "Hence many of the agreements being announced are vague memorandums of understanding," he said. The two leaders agreed on Thursday, in talks at a hot spring resort in southwest Japan, on the importance of resuming security dialogue, a Japanese official said. Ministerial level security talks were halted after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014, and Western countries imposed sanctions in response. Japan has long insisted its sovereignty over all four islands be confirmed before a peace treaty is signed. But there have been signs it has been rethinking its stance, perhaps by reviving a formula called "two-plus-alpha", based partly on a 1956 joint declaration in which the Soviet Union agreed it would hand over the two smaller islands after a peace treaty. Putin, a judo expert, wrapped up his visit with a stop at the Kodokan Institute, the global judo headquarters, where he and Abe watched a judo performance by two men dressed in what looked like samurai armor. (This version of the story corrects the typo in paragraph 18) (Writing by Linda Sieg; additional reporting by Elaine Lies, Ami Miyazaki, Nobuhiro Kubo, Minami Funakoshi, Leika Kihara and Aaron Sheldrick.; Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A North Carolina man pleaded not guilty on Friday to weapons and assault charges after he allegedly fired an assault rifle in a crowded Washington pizzeria that fake news stories on the internet claimed was a front for a child sex ring. Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of Salisbury, entered the plea during a brief preliminary hearing in U.S. District Court. He is suspected of firing an AR-15 assault rifle inside the Comet Ping Pong restaurant on Dec. 4. No one was injured. Welch had planned his raid for days and tried to recruit an accomplice to come along on his ad-hoc investigation of the nonexistent pedophilia ring, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bogus news stories had claimed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ran such an operation out of the restaurant. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey admonished Welch over reports that he was talking about the incident inside the jail. Welch, the father of two children, said he would heed Harvey's warning. He is charged with interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit an offense, assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Welch is being held without bond. The fake news stories were an example of a proliferation of false reports during the U.S. election campaign, often disseminated through websites purporting to be news outlets and quoting bogus sources. The firearm transportation and assault charges each carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. The maximum sentence for firearm possession is 15 years. (Reporting by Ian Simpson and Tom Ramstack; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrea Ricci) (Reuters) - Drug maker Actavis UK broke competition law by raising prices of hydrocortisone tablets by more than 12,000 percent, Britain's competition watchdog said in a provisional ruling on Friday. Higher prices meant the tablets cost Britain's National Health Service (NHS) about 70 million pounds last year, up from about 522,000 pounds previously, the CMA said. The company raised prices of 10 mg hydrocortisone tablets by more than 12,000 percent compared to the price they were sold at by another company before April 2008, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. It raised the price of 20 mg hydrocortisone tablets by nearly 9,500 percent, the CMA said. The 10 mg tablets which cost the NHS 70p each in April 2008 cost 88 pounds by March 2016, it found. The tablets are used for hormone replacement therapies in people whose adrenal glands do not produce sufficient amounts of natural steroid hormones. Pharmaceutical companies have faced regulatory scrutiny recently for buying smaller companies and then raising their prices many fold. The CMA fined Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) 84.2 million pounds for ramping up the cost of an epilepsy drug by as much as 2,600 percent. Actavis UK's former parent Allergan Plc was created by a $66 billion merger that saw Dublin-based Actavis acquire Botox maker Allergan Inc in November 2014 and change its name to the latter. (http://reut.rs/2hqLmCj) Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA.TA) bought the company in a $40.5 billion deal that closed in August. Teva confirmed that Actavis UK had received a statement of objection from the CMA and that it would defend itself against the allegations. "Although the pricing of the acquired Actavis product, Hydrocortisone, under investigation was never under Teva's effective control, Teva believes that intervention by the CMA in prices for generic medicines raises serious policy concerns regarding the roles of both the CMA and the Department of Health," the company said in an emailed statement. Story continues Teva is in the process of selling Actavis UK and Actavis Ireland to India's Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd (INTA.NS). The CMA said its findings were provisional and it would consider representations of the parties under investigation before determining whether the law had been infringed. ($1 = 0.8048 pounds) (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan and Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely) (Reuters) - Shares in Swiss biopharmaceuticals company Actelion (ATLN.S) surged more than 8 percent to a record high after Bloomberg reported that talks with French suitor Sanofi (SASY.PA) were nearing an agreement that could be worth about $275 (221.24 pounds) per share. The potential deal, which could come as soon as next week, would value Actelion at about $29.6 billion, Bloomberg said on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. http://bloom.bg/2hCMRLu Reuters reported on Wednesday that Actelion was in talks with Sanofi about a deal after U.S. healthcare group Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) abandoned efforts to buy the company. Actelion's share price was up 8.35 percent at 214 Swiss francs ($208) by 1328 GMT, when Sanofi's was down 2.42 percent at 74.17 euros, underperforming a 0.6 percent gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Health Care index . Sources familiar with the situation have said that Sanofi is likely to offer Actelion shareholders cash plus contingent value rights, a type of security that pays out only if experimental drugs reach certain commercial targets, keeping their owners exposed to some risk of failure. Several investors in Actelion told Reuters they would push for more information. Sanofi and Actelion declined to comment. A deal would mark Sanofi's largest transaction since 2011, when it bought rare disease specialist Genzyme for $20.1 billion. At the time Sanofi had also proposed cash plus payments tied to the success of the U.S. biotech group's drugs. In recent years Genzyme has delivered a double-digit percentage growth in sales thanks to robust demand for its multiple sclerosis treatments. Actelion makes drugs treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a life-threatening form of high blood pressure in arteries connecting the heart and lungs. It also plans to expand in drugs for multiple sclerosis and clostridium difficile - a condition which can lead to life-threatening inflammation of the colon - but regulatory approvals are still some years away. Story continues However, Actelion has repeatedly maintained that it is better off staying independent and five years ago successfully fended off an attempt by activist hedge fund Elliott Management to put it up for sale. Meanwhile Sanofi has been attempting to diversify as it faces pressure on prices for its insulin products for treating diabetes in the United States and has repeatedly expressed an interest in making more acquisitions. Earlier this year it lost out to Pfizer's (PFE.N) $14 billion bid for cancer drug company Medivation. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt, Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru, Matthias Blamont in Paris; Editing by Greg Mahlich) By Rina Chandran MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - When Hasit Ganatra was brainstorming modular housing ideas for Indian slums four years ago, he did not realize that what residents wanted most were good roofs: durable and leak proof that could also be used to store water and dry chillies. Ganatra, who studied engineering at the University of Southern California, had worked with start-ups in solar power and affordable housing. Back in his hometown of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, he looked for the perfect material for these roofs. At least 65 million people live in slums across India, according to official data. Most live in makeshift homes and shacks built with bricks, mud, plastic and tin, and roofs of cement or corrugated metal, usually covered with tarpaulin. "The homes may have brick walls, but by the time they reach the roof, they usually run out of money and make do with metal or cement roofs," said Ganatra, founder of ReMaterials. "These get very hot in the summer, noisy and leaky in the rain, corrode easily, contain toxic material and are expensive to maintain," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Ganatra's team experimented with more than 15 materials before making their own with a mix of cardboard waste and coconut fiber, adding sand and waste plastic for the waterproofing. The resultant ModRoof comprises bright turquoise-blue panels that are waterproof, durable, light and quick to install. A ModRoof for a 250 sq ft (23.2 sq mt) slum home costs about 50,000-60,000 rupees ($738-$885), and can be paid with a loan from a micro-finance institution, Ganatra said. The company has a prototype for roofs with solar panels, and is also considering modular walls for slum homes. It has installed about 60 roofs in Ahmedabad, where customers have added water tanks, used them to dry chillies and firewood and even sleep on them in the summer. Ganatra says none of these activities are possible on corrugated metal roofs. "I'm happy to do anything they want that makes the roof more useful to them," he said. "Homes for those in slums should be practical, affordable and aesthetic, rather like Lego bricks and Ikea furniture." HUMAN RIGHT About a third of India's 1.25 billion population lives in cities and their numbers grow every year as tens of thousands of migrants leave their villages to seek better prospects in urban areas. Many migrants end up in overcrowded slums, lacking even basic facilities, and in constant fear of being evicted as India modernizes its cities. The Indian government has unveiled a plan to provide housing for all by 2022, that will create 20 million new housing units and rehabilitate existing slums. Yet few details have been made public. "We have so much resource, so much talent, yet we focus all our energies on building malls and condominiums," said Prasoon Kumar, founder of billionBricks, a non-profit design studio in Singapore that focuses on housing for the vulnerable. "Housing is a basic human right, yet increasingly, it is unaffordable for so many," said Kumar, who quit his job at an architecture firm to set up billionBricks. TENTS TO THE RESCUE Kumar said he was moved to action after reading news reports on the deaths of several children who died in the winter cold after being made homeless in communal riots in the North Indian town of Muzaffarnagar in 2013. With about $105,000 raised on crowdfunding site Kickstarter - including donations from actor Ashton Kutcher and hip-hop star Lil Wayne - Kumar and his team developed WeatherHyde, a weatherproof tent that can even be set up on city pavements. The brightly colored tent uses mylar, a form of polyester resin, with a reflective layer that can trap body heat for warmth in the winter or reversed to reflect solar heat in the summer. It can handle temperatures as low as 0C. The tent can be assembled in less than 15 minutes by one person without tools, and is large enough for two adults and three children. A tent will cost about $200, with the option of renting for $1 per night. Kumar said he hopes to bring the cost down to $100. A pilot was conducted in New Delhi last winter with about 15 families, and the product was also tested in Mumbai's monsoon and in Washington D.C. and California, Kumar said. While those testing the tents were happy, there has been a backlash from city officials, he said. "Because they're so bright, officials said they highlight the problem of homelessness and show them in bad light," Kumar said. "But we have to admit that the lack of affordable housing is a huge problem. Our product could be a lifeline for the homeless in extreme weather, but they are only temporary homes; the city has to get these people to permanent homes," he said. $1 = 67.7983 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran, Editing by Paola Totaro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.) By Noori Zabihullah LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Afghan asylum seekers sent back home this week under a deal negotiated with the European Union fear their forced deportations will prompt other migrants to try to bypass the rules, fuelling chaos in the system. The process began this week of deporting failed Afghan asylum seekers following an agreement between the European Union and Afghanistan in October with Norway deporting about 13, Sweden about nine and Germany about 34 asylum seekers. Afghans made up a fifth of all migrants entering Europe last year, the second biggest group after Syrians. The deportation from Germany, where more than a million migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived this year, sparked a large demonstration at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday with hundreds of Afghans chanting "Stop Deportation". "The process is totally unfair and unjust. Some of the deportees went to social welfare department to extend their papers, but they were arrested there," said Rashed Husseini, an Afghan asylum seeker who participated in the demonstration. "We left Afghanistan because of insecurity and lack of rule of law. But the fact that people are detained by deception and are being deported against their will is also unlawful," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. Germany has seen protests against the planned deportations in recent weeks as critics say much of Afghanistan is not safe and returnees might face reprisals with much of the country still under threat from the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Islamic State. Afghanistan's Western-backed government is battling militants who have stepped up attacks since the withdrawal of most foreign troops in 2014. The group deportation has created worries among other Afghan asylum seekers in Germany who fear they will be arrested if they went to extend their papers. "I will not go to extend my papers again unless I have legal representative accompanying me," said Murtaza, a participant in the demonstration, who would only give his first name while speaking to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. "It is totally unfair on Afghan asylum seekers to be deported simply because the European Union paid some money to our government." FAMILIES DIVIDED German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said only people who can prove they are refugees fleeing persecution, war or violence are eligible for asylum. He added that one-third of those deported were criminals convicted of offences, from robbery and drugs crimes to rape and homicide. Of the 50 men due on the plane, 16 had disappeared. The Afghan Ministry of Refugees has said it will help returnees get back to their homes, with a spokesman adding that about 10,000 Afghans had returned from Europe this year. On Tuesday this week, Norway and Sweden deported groups of failed Afghani asylum seekers to Kabul. Mosavi, a returnee from Norway, told media at Kabul Airport that his family is in Norway but he was deported forcefully. "My wife and children should be there and I must be here with my hands tied? They gave me 2,000 Afghani ($30) and tell me welcome. Why?" he said in a phone interview. The decision to deport asylum seekers in groups has added to the tension and uncertainty of those whose asylum claims have been refused and those who have not yet had asylum interviews. Mohammad Dawood Niazi, an Afghan asylum seeker from northern Afghanistan living in Sweden, is worried this decision might prompt more asylum seekers not to cooperate with the system, creating more chaos in an already backlogged process. Arriving in Sweden more than one year ago, he was fingerprinted and sent to a camp in the north where he was given accommodation, food and 700 Swedish crown ($75) monthly. "Nothing has happened in regard to my immigration matter in this one year," Niazi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview, adding he had no idea when he would be interviewed. Sweden was once Europe's most welcoming state for refugees and migrants, but since late 2015 it has made a sharp U-turn. Figures in October showed that so far this year, Sweden had rejected four of five Afghans' applications for asylum. In 2014, 60 percent were approved. Niazi said the uncertainty about the future along with the worries of his wife and three children left behind in Afghanistan has caused him to suffer severe depression. "I am not a teenager and I have not come to Europe to enjoy the freedom, to drink alcohol or flirt with girls, or have a better life. I came here because my life was at risk," he said. ($1 = 9.4079 Swedish crowns, 66.3000 afghanis) (Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) 8-year-old boy murdered after abduction, three suspects held Police have arrested three suspects for their alleged involvement in an abduction and subsequent murder of eight-year-old Durgananda Sah of Haripur VDC-3 in Saptari. FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) A University of Alabama student died after being hospitalized for more than a year since he was shot in the head by a friend's uncle during a Florida vacation. Rivers Starkey, 23, died Thursday at a hospital in his hometown of Florence, his father, Trey Starkey, told al.com (http://bit.ly/2hW3RLZ ). "We appreciate all the prayers and support from so many people during this time," Trey Starkey said. "We are proud to know that Rivers has had such an impact on so many lives." Starkey had traveled to Navarre, Florida, during his holiday break in October 2015 when he and a friend ended up at the home of John Marshall Fitzgerald, the friend's uncle. "According to Rivers' friend, as the night progressed Mr. Fitzgerald became increasingly verbally abusive to Rivers," said Cheryl Starkey, the student's aunt. "At first he appeared to be joking and then became more personal and abusive in his remarks." An argument broke out and Fitzgerald demanded that his nephew and Starkey leave the home. When they refused, Fitzgerald left the room and returned with a handgun. Fitzgerald later testified in court that Starkey tried to grab the gun and they struggled. Fitzgerald shot Starkey several times, including twice in the head. Fitzgerald stood trial for second-degree attempted murder and other charges in Florida. A jury acquitted him last week, finding Fitzgerald had acted in self-defense under the state's stand your ground law. As he fought to live, Starkey was treated at a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and then at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation. Eventually he was moved to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, where he died. EXCLUSIVE: On a clear day, you can see Times Square: Tony-winning The Producers director-choreographer Susan Stroman and writer John Lahr (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty) are developing a new musical that weaves strands from the bigger-than-life times and shows of Broadway and Hollywood lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (My Fair Lady, Gigi, On A Clear Day You Can See Forever). Alan Jay Lerner wrote the book and lyrics to Frederick Loewe's score for 'My Fair Lady.' The Late Great Me: An Evening With Alan Jay Lerner will be workshopped in late March and early April, under the wing of longtime producers Julian Schlossberg and Roy Furman, and Liza Lerner, who tells Deadline that the show about her father will mark the 2018 centennial of his birth. (Lerner, the creative partner of composer Frederick Loewe and, later, Burton Lane, died in 1986.) A reading in September set the project in motion. Lahr, a New Yorker magazine critic and profile author (see his revelatory piece on Viola Davis in the magazines current issue), was approached by Schlossberg after Liza Lerner initiated the project because, she told Deadline, no one has ever done a show about him. Lerner was looking, she said, for something that would be neither a conventional book musical nor a revue but a sophisticated show that would be compelling and fun. Schlossberg got to know Lahr while producing the Woody Allen musical Bullets Over Broadway, which Stroman directed and which had occasioned Lahrs New Yorker profile of the director. Lahrs writing career had taken off with Notes On A Cowardly Lion, his intimate biography of his father, Bert Lahr; his most recent biography is Mad Pilgrimage Of The Flesh, about Tennessee Williams (which Deadline excerpted here). RelatedBroadway Box Office Jumps As More Shows Flirt With $2M Weekly Draw I called John in London, Schlossberg told Deadline, because hed spent a wonderful time with us on Bullets Over Broadway. With Lerner and Loewe serving as narrators, the show features 10 actors playing various roles in shows ranging from Brigadoon and Paint Your Wagon to such classics as My Fair Lady and Camelot. In addition to On A Clear Day, Lerner also collaborated with Lane on the unsung 1979 musical Carmelina, an adaptation of the Gina Lolliobrigida vehicle Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell that produced a lovely score, if not a hit show. Story continues You do come to understand the change that took place during that period we grew up in, the 50s and 60 from Broadway to rock n roll, Schlossberg said. We have a workshop from March 23 to April 7 in New York, and we will see what we have, he added. We have not pulled the trigger, but Liza and I have beyond great expectations for the show. Related stories NY Teamsters Seek Contract for Broadway Casting Directors Howard Davies Dies; Helen Mirren Lauds Acclaimed British Theater Director Julia Roberts, Angela Bassett & Helen Mirren Fire Up Hillary Clinton's Broadway Rally UPDATE 3:18 p.m. - President Barack Obama stated Friday that only Syrian President Bashar Assad and Russia were responsible for reports of violence against civilians in Aleppo, while claiming rebels were not ready to govern the country as they attempted to flee their former stronghold amidst a breakdown of talks with the Syrian government. In his last press conference of the year, Obama, who supported the rebels politically and militarily, told audiences that "the opposition on the ground was not cohesive enough" to replace Assad. He then accused the Syrian government and its Russian ally of committing "atrocities" during the five-year-long civil war that has ravaged Syria and involved a wide range of foreign actors. Both the Syrian government and rebels accuse each other of targeting civilians and sabatoging efforts to evacuate trapped residents and militants in Aleppo. Assad has called Obama's successor, Donald Trump, a "natural ally" in the fight against terrorism and the president-elect has suggested he may cut funding to the Syrian opposition altogether. UPDATE 2:20 p.m. - As the operation to evacuate around 50,000 citizens from the remaining rebel-held pockets of Aleppo stalled among a breakdown of talks and reports of violence, other residents rejoiced as they returned to their homes in the embattled eastern section of the city. The Syrian government and opposition forces blamed one other for sabotaging efforts to move civilians and militants out of rebel enclaves. Syrian state media claimed fighters were attempting to smuggle heavy weapons with them, while rebel sources accused pro-government forces and Iranian-backed militias of harassment and violence. Supporters of Assad's government celebrated their return to the besieged city, a focal point of the five-year civil war that has claimed the lives of 400,000 Syrians and displaced millions more. Story continues UPDATE 1:56 p.m. - Reports of violence and chaos plagued an already stunted operation Friday to evacuate about 50,000 residents of Aleppo as an unsteady ceasefire remained between the Syrian government and opposition forces as pro-government forces demanded rebels also evacuate 15,000 civilians in two rebel-held northwestern towns, mostly supportive of President Bashar Assad. Syrian state media reported that the evacuation was suspended after some fleeing Aleppo attempted to smuggle weapons out of the city and that Al Qaeda-linked rebels must allow government convoys to extract those trapped in the Shiite-majority towns of Foua and Kefraya in order for the operation to continue. Accounts also surfaced from rebel sources and residents in eastern Aleppo claiming militias close to the Syrian government and its Iranian ally blocked convoys from leaving through a previously established corridor. Abdulkafi Al Hamdo, a resident who International Business Times has spoken to before, and a fellow witness said that armed men demanded personal belongings from fleeing residents and instigated violence. UPDATE 12:45 p.m. EST Plans to evacuate about 50,000 residents of Aleppo were halted Friday as violence struck Damascus and conflicting reports came as to whether Al Qaeda-linked rebels in the country's northwestern Idlib province would permit government convoys to also relieve two opposition-sieged villages whose Shiite-majority residents were mostly supportive of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Syrian state media reported that a 7-year-old girl entered a police station in the Midan neighborhood of the Syrian capital before a suicide vest she was wearing detonated, killing her and injuring a member of the security forces. Moments after she entered the station, they blew up the device remotely, causing the death of the girl and the slight injury of one of the stations members, the newspaper quoted a source as saying. Syria's Al Watan newspaper reported three were injured in the station. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition human rights group based in the U.K., confirmed that one woman had died in an explosion but noted the circumstances remained unclear. UPDATE 11:52 a.m. EST The evacuation of about 50,000 of Aleppo's entrapped civilians was halted Friday, with the Syrian rebels disagreeing over whether to accept a Syrian government condition to also allow the extraction of about 15,000 in the rebel-held, Shiite-majority towns of Foua and Kefraya. Sources within Jabhat Fatah Al Sham, formerly Al Qaeda's Nusra Front, offered conflicting reports as to whether rebels would allow a government-sponsored convoy to extract wounded and those wishing to leave the besieged towns located in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. Reports initially surfaced suggesting the jihadist group had agreed to relieve the villages, while another denied that an agreement had been reached. UPDATE: 10:35 a.m. EST The evacuation of an estimated 50,000 civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo was stopped Friday, as the Syrian government called on rebels to first end their siege on two mostly pro-government towns in the country's northwestern Idlib province. A convoy of buses and ambulances headed to the rebel-sieged, Shiite-majority towns of Foua and Kefraya had intended to take part in an operation to evacuate civilians and wounded, but was turned back, according to pro-Syrian government Lebanese news outlet Al Mayadeen. "The buses designated for the evacuation of civilians from Kefraya and al-Foua left the area after fighters obstructed the operation," the station reported. Original story: The planned evacuation of an estimated 50,000 civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo was halted Friday, as the Syrian government called on rebels to first end their siege on two mostly pro-government towns in the country's northwest Idlib province. The Syrian government said Wednesday it would allow civilians to withdraw from the last rebel-held eastern parts of Syria's former largest city and commercial capital if opposition forces ensured the safe evacuation of around 15,000 people two Shiite-majority villages, Foua and Kefraya, including those reportedly wounded by recent rebel shelling. Rebels blamed the Syrian government and its allies, specifically the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, for trying to sabotage the deal. A year after anti-government protests swelled into armed opposition against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011, Aleppo became a stronghold for the rebel movement. Internal ideological fractures, a subsequent decline in international support and a pro-Assad Russian intervention last year, however, turned the tides of war against the Syrian rebels and their forces lost territory to a rapid advance by the Syrian army and its allies as they laid siege to the city, pounding it with frequent airstrikes. Pro-opposition sources blame the Syrian military and its allies, especially Russian air power, for about 30,000 civilian deaths, while pro-government forces claim rebels held 100,000 of the city's residents hostage. The Syrian government and Russia declared victory Tuesday and attempted to broker a ceasefire with remaining opposition fighters and Turkey to evacuate tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the last rebel-held pockets of the city's eastern side. A deal was reached, and it's believed about 6,000 people left before the agreement broke down, with both sides blaming one another for pursuing violence against civilians. RTX2VC1E Photo: Reuters This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Related Articles By Laila Bassam, Lisa Barrington and John Davison ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The evacuation of the last opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shi'ite villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The second day of the operation to take fighters and civilians out of Aleppo's rebel enclave ground to a halt amid recriminations from all sides after a morning that had seen the pace of the operation pick up. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters. "I very much regret that we had to stop this operation." Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November deprived the insurgents of most of their territory in a matter of weeks. Russia said the Syrian army had established control over all districts of eastern Aleppo, although government troops were suppressing isolated areas where rebel fighters continued to resist. Rebel sources said pro-government Shi'ite militias had opened fire on a convoy carrying evacuees from east Aleppo and robbing them. A Syrian military source denied the accusations but said the convoy was turned back. "We returned them to their places," he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitoring group, said a group of ambulances and cars containing hundreds of civilians and fighters were stopped by pro-government gunmen at a checkpoint south-west of Aleppo. They later returned to the enclave. Rebels in eastern Aleppo went on high alert after pro-government forces prevented civilians from leaving and deployed heavy weaponry on the road out of the area, a Syrian rebel commander in the city said. A Syrian official source said the evacuation was halted because rebels had sought to take out people they had abducted with them, and they had also tried to take weapons hidden in bags. This was denied by Aleppo-based rebel groups. But a media outlet run by the pro-government Hezbollah group said protesters had blocked the road from the city, demanding that wounded people from the Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya, which are besieged by rebel groups in nearby Idlib province, should also be evacuated. Iran, one of Syria's main allies, had demanded that the villages be included in a ceasefire deal under which people are leaving Aleppo, rebel and United Nations officials have said. A Syrian rebel source said Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the Nusra Front, was the last rebel group to agree to let injured people out of the villages. But a Nusra source denied this. The chaos surrounding the Aleppo evacuation reflects the complexity of the war, with an array of groups and foreign interests involved on each side. Though both Russia and Iran back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, rebels have blamed Tehran and the Shi'ite groups it backs in Syria for obstructing Moscow's efforts to broker the evacuation of eastern Aleppo. ALEPPO EVACUATION Aid agencies involved in the Aleppo evacuation had been told to leave the area without explanation after the operation was aborted, the World Health Organization said. The Syrian Observatory said a total of 8,000 people, including some 3,000 fighters and more than 300 wounded, had left the city in convoys of buses and ambulances since the evacuation began on Thursday morning. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said more than 2,700 children had been evacuated in the past 24 hours from east Aleppo but hundreds more remained trapped. Photos sent by an activist waiting to leave the rebel-held sector of east Aleppo showed crowds of people in thick coats in a street lined with flattened buildings in the cold winter air. Private cars and minibuses with bundles strapped to their roofs filled the street, as people sat on rubble or stood next to bags of their belongings. In a message sent to journalists, the activist said children were "hungry and crying" and people were "exhausted", not knowing if buses would arrive to take them out. By early Friday morning, nearly 200 evacuated patients had arrived in eight "overwhelmed" hospitals in opposition-held rural western Aleppo, Idlib and Turkey, according to the WHO. The United Nations says 50,000 people remain in rebel-held Aleppo, of whom about 10,000 would be taken to Idlib province and the rest would go to government-held city districts. Idlib province, mostly controlled by hardline Islamist groups, is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated. Idlib is already a target for Syrian and Russian air strikes but it is unclear if the government will push for a ground assault or simply seek to contain rebels there for now. Turkey has said Aleppo evacuees could also be housed in a camp to be constructed near the Turkish border to the north. Two potential sites just inside Syria have been identified to set up a camp, which could host up to 80,000 people, Turkish officials said, adding that they expected up to 35,000 people to come. Turkey would continue to accept sick and wounded coming from Aleppo. PUTIN SEEKS CEASEFIRE Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syria's most powerful ally, said he was working with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to try to start a new round of Syrian peace talks aimed at securing a nationwide ceasefire. Speaking in Japan, Putin said the new talks could be held in Kazakhstan and would complement U.N.-brokered negotiations that have been taking place intermittently in Geneva. "The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria," the Russian leader said. A senior Syrian opposition leader, Riyad Hijab, said he was willing to attend the talks if the aim was to set up a transition government. Assad has ruled out stepping down as part of a political solution to the war. Aleppo, a once-flourishing economic center with renowned ancient sites, has been pulverized during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. The United States was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, pinned down the rebels in an ever-diminishing pocket of territory, culminating in a ceasefire this week. "Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: with the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran. And this blood and these atrocities are on their hands," U.S. President Barack Obama told a news conference. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the U.N. Security Council would meet on Friday to discuss a quick deployment of U.N. observers to east Aleppo to ensure there were no atrocities and that humanitarian aid reached the city. The Syrian White Helmets civil defense group and other rights organizations accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo region had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. Even with victory for Assad in Aleppo, the war will still be far from over. Insurgents retain their rural stronghold of Idlib province, and the jihadist Islamic State group holds swathes of the east and recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra this week. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Tom Perry, John Davison and Lisa Barrington and Ellen Francis in Beirut, John Irish in Paris, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Giles Elgood, editing by Peter Millership, Anna Willard and Mark Trevelyan) Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. Appeals came in from around the world for the evacuations to resume, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell". The United Nations urges "the parties to take all necessary measures to allow safe resumption of this evacuation process", he said in New York. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for all sides to respect the Aleppo deal. Rebel backer Ankara, which helped broker the accord with regime ally Moscow, said thousands of people were still waiting to leave. Turkey and a Syrian military source said the evacuation had been suspended but was not yet over, while Moscow insisted the operation was now "complete", with all women and children moved from the city. Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to turn back, an AFP correspondent said. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and continued overnight, with thousands of people leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the accord. "The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," a security source told AFP. State television said rebels had tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostage out of Aleppo. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has supervised the evacuation, confirmed it was on hold. - Besieged villages - The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from Fuaa and Kafraya, two villages under rebel siege in northwest Syria. Story continues The government and its other main ally Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the Aleppo deal. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, also said the suspension appeared to be related to the two villages. It said pro-government fighters had blocked the road out of Aleppo that the evacuation convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of residents of Fuaa and Kafraya. The evacuation of the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but was delayed by a day because of government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya. Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and on Thursday afternoon buses and ambulances began transporting evacuees to rebel territory in the west of Aleppo province. The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended, including around 3,000 rebels. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. - 'History in the making' - Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring attention. From a gathering point near the town of Khan al-Aasal, people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo and secure the regime's biggest victory in more than five years of conflict. In a video message to Syrians on Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened in the city was "unconscionable", raising concerns for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". The UN Security Council will meet later Friday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries. It is unclear how many people remain in east Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days, but perhaps tens of thousands are still inside. - 'Heart-breaking scene' - The evacuations have been emotional for departing residents desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege, but also tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. In the dust of one bus window Thursday someone had traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said ICRC Syria head Marianne Gasser. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." More than 310,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. A blast that rocked a police station in Damascus on Friday was caused by a young girl carrying explosives, Syrian media reported. State news agency SANA said an eight-year-old girl was sent into a police station carrying "a bomb" which was detonated from a distance. A police source told the Al-Watan daily, which gave her age as seven, that she had appeared lost and asked to use the bathroom when the explosives went off. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict, which reached a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was "actively negotiating" with rebels via Turkish mediators. "The next step (after Aleppo) will be to reach agreement on a complete ceasefire across all of Syria," he said in Japan. He added that the parties were proposing fresh peace talks, possibly in Kazakhstan. ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Evacuations of rebel fighters and civilians including wounded from the last opposition-held areas of Syria's Aleppo gathered pace early on Friday under a ceasefire that would see the government retake the city, monitors and a rebel official said. There was no sign, however, of evacuations from two villages besieged by rebels in neighboring Idlib province, which were expected to be included in the deal. At least 6,000 people had left rebel-held Aleppo in several convoys of buses and ambulances since Thursday, when the evacuations began, Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. The number included some 900 wounded, both fighters and civilians, he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the total number was closer to 8,000, including some 3,000 fighters and more than 300 wounded. A statement from the pro-Damascus military alliance that includes Hezbollah said more than 8,000 had left in 10 convoys. The number of buses being used had doubled to about 50, Malahifji said, suggesting the speed of evacuations was increasing. "There are a lot of buses now," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas of control in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their territory in a matter of weeks. The ceasefire deal, brokered by Damascus ally Moscow and rebel backers Turkey earlier in the week, initially broke down on Wednesday as fighting resumed and Iran reportedly introduced a new demand for the evacuation of two Shi'ite-majority villages in Idlib. Thousands are expected to evacuate the villages, Foua and Kefraya, which have long been besieged by insurgents in the mostly rebel-held province. It was unclear why the evacuations had not yet begun, but a convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in ALEPPO and John Davison in BEIRUT; Editing by Robert Birsel and Hugh Lawson) The evacuation from rebel-held parts of Aleppo was put on hold on December 16, after only about 8,000 people were successfully transferred out of the city. The stoppage was announced by an ICRC spokesman. The stoppage came amid reports of gunfire or mortar fire along the route. There were conflicting reports as to the reason why, with anti-government sources blaming Iranian militias and pro-government sources blaming rebel fighters. According to local reports, a convoy was attempting to leave the city at the time the evacuations were halted, and was forced to turn back towards the rebel enclave. This video, uploaded on December 16, was described as showing the final convoy, with buses and ICRC vehicles from the convoy stopped en route. Other reports said that the World Health Organization (WHO), had been told to remove its ambulances and buses from the city, and that Russian spokespeople said the evacuation operation had concluded. A spokesman for the ICRC, Robert Mardini, said that the evacuation had been put on hold, despite ICRC estimates that the evacuation could take days. Some 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians, were reportedly in need of evacuation. Credit: YouTube/War Media via Storyful Khan al-Assal (Syria) (AFP) - "It was the final time I saw Aleppo." Among a sea of sobbing men and hungry children Friday, Mohammad mourned his evacuation from his home town and Syria's second city. "It was catastrophic... I was kicked out of my homeland," the university professor told AFP in English at a staging ground for evacuation operations five kilometres (three miles) west of Aleppo. Mohammad was one of more than 8,000 people evacuated from the last opposition-controlled districts of Aleppo on Thursday, and transferred to rebel-held territory west of the city. Buses and ambulances worked through the night to bring rebels and civilians out to Khan al-Assal, from where they would travel on to other parts of Aleppo and Idlib provinces. But evacuations were suspended on Friday morning, leaving thousands of people still trapped in the city. Mohammad said he was heartbroken at having left his home behind -- and terrified for family members still inside the city. "I prayed this morning, it was the final prayer (in Aleppo), and I cried," said the young man, who had wrapped a black scarf around his head as protection from the icy December wind. "The only thing that I am thinking about is to see some of my relatives... A lot of people are there inside Aleppo waiting," he added. All around, hundreds of families poured from pick-up trucks and buses, carrying duffel bags stuffed with their belongings. - Children on stretchers - The sobs of middle-aged men were drowned out by the sirens of Red Crescent ambulances that had transported at least 250 wounded out of Aleppo. One young boy, wearing an electric-blue jacket that reached down to his knees, carried a cage of several canaries as he wandered through the chaos. Another child lay motionless on a stretcher, his hand wrapped in a bandage and his thin face barely visible under the mountain of brightly coloured blankets keeping him warm. Many children looked like skeletons, and repeatedly asked aid workers for more food. Story continues Since July, government forces have besieged rebel-held eastern Aleppo, making access to food and medicine nearly impossible for tens of thousands of people. In mid-November, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad launched a blistering offensive to seize all of the city. Regime troops and allied militia had captured more than 90 percent of the former rebel bastion in Aleppo's east when the 11th-hour evacuation deal was announced. They survived the siege and the government offensive, but the thousands of evacuees now faced new challenges. Some went from the transit point near Khan al-Assal to stay with relatives in rebel-held territory in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. Others stayed in displacement centres or camps. Those who needed medical attention were transferred to nearby hospitals or north to Turkey by a fast-acting team of medical professionals. - 'Everyone let us down' - They used walkie-talkies and a patchy internet connection at Khan al-Assal to "immediately send the wounded to the hospital with a free bed or available operating room", said Ahmad Dbis. Dbis headed the coordination unit that organised Thursday's evacuation of wounded from Aleppo. Representatives from rebel factions also came to Khan al-Assal to arrange treatment for their fighters. "We left our land," said Abu Ahmad Salah, a rebel with a bushy white beard and a rifle slung over his shoulder. "Everyone let us down," he told AFP with a wan smile. "If we don't stand together, we'll find ourselves in a situation worse than the Palestinians. We'll wander from one house to another, one country to another," he said. Then his tone changed from one of resignation to determination: "But we will unite, and we will come back to Aleppo." According to UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, an estimated 40,000 civilians still live in the small pocket of rebel-held districts in Aleppo. He said between 1,500 and 5,000 rebels and their families were also there. "We hoped the siege would be broken," said Abu Ahmad, sporting a grey beard and navy blue hat. His leg was amputated after fighting in Aleppo, and he struggled to get out of the bus when he reached Khan al-Assal. "If God wills it, we will come back to Aleppo victorious," he said. Bab al-Hawa (Syria) (AFP) - Lying in a hospital bed in northern Syria, Aleppo evacuee Ali Tarab pleads to be quickly taken to neighbouring Turkey for proper treatment for his shattered leg. "It was one of Bashar's barrel bombs that did this to us," Tarab says, referring to President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The elderly man was badly injured in a recent barrel bomb attack in war-ravaged Aleppo, a city that has suffered horrific violence for more than four years, and whose opposition-held areas were being evacuated this week. Tarab and his two teenage sons -- one of whom is just 14 -- are among thousands of civilians who have been bussed out so far under a fragile deal negotiated by regime backer Russia and Turkey, which supports the rebels. Pointing to his sons in the beds next to him, Tarab says: "He had his leg ripped off... And look at what happened to me." When the attack occurred, Tarab and his boys were out trying to find a cobbler to fix 14-year-old Bilal's shoes. "I was standing next to my brother. The bomb fell and I was thrown to the ground, and I lost my hand and my leg," Bilal told AFP, weeping as he recalled the incdident. The other son described a road littered with the victims of the attack that day. "There were many bodies on the street, we were not the only ones to be injured," he said. Since 2012, Assad's regime has launched numerous bids to recapture opposition-held areas of Aleppo, resorting to near-daily air strikes and barrel bomb attacks despite UN criticism. Then last month, Russian-backed government forces stepped up the offensive in a bid to crush the rebellion there once and for all. - Ill-equipped hospital - Staff at the three-storey hospital in the Syrian border town of Bab al-Hawa, located some four kilometres (2.5 miles) from Turkey, were rushing on Friday to treat the wounded coming out of the deadly Aleppo siege. But one Syrian doctor at the hospital, which is guarded by armed men, said there was simply not enough medical equipment to treat the wounded. Story continues The Syrian doctor, who declined to give his name, said he hoped that the injured could be referred to better-equipped facilities across the border in Turkey. Ankara has said that the evacuees in need of treatment will be allowed in. "They came to my hospital yesterday (Thursday)," said the doctor, as he showed a team of AFP correspondents into a hospital room where a two-year-old girl and her brother were being treated. The girl had a hand injury, while her brother's leg was wounded. The doctor said he needed better equipment in order to be able to operate on the children. "My hospital doesn't have any money to treat them," he said. The hospital at Bab al-Hawa has received 100 patients -- 30 of them were children -- since the evacuation began on Thursday. "All of the injured are because of the strikes from aircraft," he said. The doctor explained that the flow of patients had stopped arriving Friday after evacuations were suspended, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. "Now they stopped coming because of problems in Aleppo," he said. - Screams of agony- Russia on Friday said the evacuation operation was now "complete" with all women and children moved from the city. Turkey however said it had been suspended but was not yet over. Appeals came in from around the world for the evacuations to resume, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell". Some of the civilians who managed to flee Aleppo have been taken to Turkey. "Since the beginning of the evacuation, over 50 heavily injured (people) have been taken to Turkey," Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent, told AFP. The injured are "all civilians... from besieged Aleppo," he added. Many others desperate for proper treatment remain, however. The UN peace envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said late Thursday he believed around 50,000 people, mostly civilians, were still trapped in the city's east. Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish Islamic charity IHH, said only a tiny fraction of people trapped in the siege have been evacuated so far, adding that there were not enough buses to ferry people out. "I believe the evacuation process will take 20 to 25 days," he said, pledging to keep working round the clock "until the evacuations are finalised." The team of AFP journalists visited the Bab al-Hawa hospital as part of a convoy organised by the IHH. The journalists spent two hours visiting the hospital, where they heard the injured screaming in agony, before being taken back across the Turkish border along the road where heavily injured civilians were being ferried in Syrian ambulances to Turkish territory. Monitoring the Future, an ongoing study of behavior, attitude, and values of youth at the University of Michigan, has recorded a continuous decline of underage alcohol, drug, and tobacco use in its most recent analysis. The study, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, showed that the consumption of alcohol in 8th, 10th, and 12th graders has reached historic lows in terms of monthly use and occasions of binge drinking (defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for two weeks), according to Brewbound. Within the 30-day period of the analysis, there was a 71 percent decline in drinking among 8th graders and 54 percent decline among 10th graders, in comparison to a 30-day period in 1991, and a 51 percent decline for 12th graders since 1975. The findings of this study are encouraging, especially for our industry, which is committed to the prevention of underage drinking, Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of the Beer Institute, said in a statement. However, we know that our work and the work of others must continue. We are committed to working with schools, parents, law enforcement, and local leaders to help ensure these rates continue to decline to further reduce underage drinking. Aleppo Syria battle: Evacuation continues as truce holds The evacuation of Syrian civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo is continuing round the clock, as a truce was reported to be holding overnight. Photo credit: undefined From Town & Country It's easy to talk about the "season of giving" this time of year, but one anonymous donor in Columbus, Ohio is taking the sentiment seriously. According to the Columbus Dispatch, a man bought an entire lot of Christmas trees priced at $40 and $50 each on Monday and left them behind for people in need. It's unclear how much he paid for all of the trees, but the gift of kindness came just at the right time St. Mary School, the church and school hosting the Christmas tree sale (proceeds are split between a local chapter of the Knights of Columbus and the Saint Mary Home and School Association, which provides the school with supplies, buses for field trips, and other support). In August, the church steeple was stuck by lightning, causing extensive damage, and last week, someone stole the wooden Nativity scene from out in front of the rectory. Fortunately, it was found a few blocks away just a few days later. "I think this has been a huge morale boost," said school principal Kayla Walton to the Columbus Dispatch. "It's a beautiful expression of the Christmas spirit, at a time when our world is looking for joy." While the first round of donated trees is now long-gone, the initial act continues to inspire generosity in the community. An additional truckload of trees from a farm in the area was also donated after the story began to go viral. You Might Also Like The Daily Beast GettyRussia announced Wednesday that it views Norways work with other countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as provocative, warning that Norways efforts to bolster its military in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine this year will likely be the death knell for Oslo-Moscow relations moving forward.Oslo is now among the most active supporters of NATO's involvement in the Arctic, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday, according to TASS. We cons * Refugees supporting the opposition say cannot return * Fears of mass arrests, crackdown by Assad government * Many Syrian refugees trapped in perpetual exile By John Davison BEIRUT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - They fled Aleppo from different districts and at different stages of Syria's civil war, seeking refuge abroad. Now, for refugees who supported the opposition, President Bashar al-Assad's victory has dashed hopes of ever going home. Even as the uprising in Aleppo and cities across Syria descended into conflict, several former residents interviewed by Reuters said they had hoped there could still be change, a negotiated settlement and a chance to return. But as Assad reasserts control after the army and its allies routed rebels in Aleppo, these Syrians living in exile fear that a new crackdown that will include arrests and executions, and be worse than anything witnessed pre-war. "If I go back, I'll be executed," said Abdulhamid Zughbi, a 30-year-old who fled besieged eastern rebel-held Aleppo earlier this year for Turkey, seeking medical treatment for his wife and infant son. "I can't even think about returning as long as the Assad regime is still in power. It's impossible for anyone from the opposition," he said. Nearly 5 million Syrians have fled the country in a conflict that has killed more than 300,000 people and pitted multiple warring sides against each other, including jihadists who have come to dominate the insurgency in many areas. The permanent displacement of millions of Syrians is one way in which its war and others in the region are causing irreversible changes. Most refugees are in neighbouring countries including Turkey and Lebanon, and hundreds of thousands have gone to Europe. Some will see Assad's win in Aleppo and other gains he has made with Russian and Iranian support as a chance to return and rebuild their lives - but not those involved in dissent when protests began in 2011. Zughbi took part, then worked for years in medical aid and rescue in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Story continues "My wife was lightly wounded in shelling and my son was ill. I thought I'd take them to Turkey and come back. "That day, they closed the road, and I couldn't return," he said, referring to when government forces sealed off the rebel-held part of the city in August. They besieged it for months and then made a lightning advance to drive insurgents out of most of their areas they held in a matter of weeks. 'ARRESTS HAVE JUST BEGUN' As residents have poured out of rebel districts, including into areas under government control, the army has begun making arrests, Zughbi said. "The arrests have just begun. They detain the more prominent people (activists) on the spot ... but for others - now they (the government) have the time, they'll investigate and then arrest them at a later stage. "A friend of mine went to a government-held area and three days later they detained him." The United Nations voiced deep concern about reports of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in east Aleppo districts this week - accusations denied by the army and the Iraqi militia in question. Assad's opponents accused the government of mass arrests and forced conscription. A Syrian military source denied arrests but said identities of people leaving rebel-held areas were being checked and anyone who was unknown was being put into "specific places" in areas where civilians were gathered. The army says Syrians eligible for military service must serve. For Abu Rakan, a 51-year-old refugee living in Lebanon, the death of his brother in law, a rebel fighter, and disappearance just days ago of his sister have underscored the danger for anyone linked to the opposition. "If we go back, it'll be more dangerous than before. Anyone with the opposition is in danger. "We've lived with this regime for 40 years. We know how it behaves, what it does," he said, referring also to Assad's father and former president Hafez al-Assad, who crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule. Abu Rakan said he would only return to Syria under a "full national reconciliation", and if there were a freely elected government in place and a new constitution - all of which look more than distant than ever. Hala, an activist who left government-controlled Aleppo in 2014, said she would not trust any settlement between the government and opposition - Assad had to go. "There's no way I can go back while the Assad regime is there," said the 37-year-old, who now lives in Beirut and works for a Syrian citizenship organisation. MISERABLE EXILE "Even if there was a kind of reconciliation, we wouldn't be able to live there. The oppression that existed before the revolution will multiply. "When the revolution began we were able to express our views and to live more freely. Even if we weren't arrested, we can't go back, knowing it will be just like it was," she said. Hala, Abu Rakan and Zughbi want to go home. Even for them, who are among the better off refugees, life in exile is beginning to become unbearable. "There's no future for me in Lebanon. I work illegally because it's difficult to get residency, and I can't get medical insurance because I'm not U.N.-registered," Hala said. She decided not to travel onto Europe before EU countries tightened their borders because she still hoped to make it back to Syria at that stage. Many Syrian refugees live illegally in Lebanon because they cannot afford the renew their residency. Seventy percent live below the poverty line, the U.N. says. In Turkey, Zughbi is preparing for a lifetime of exile, but says conditions are not much better, as he struggles to make a living still as a medical aid worker. "My ambition now is to get out of Turkey, maybe try to go to Europe, or America. "That's my only choice." (Reporting by John Davison; editing by Giles Elgood) By John Davison BEIRUT (Reuters) - They fled Aleppo from different districts and at different stages of Syria's civil war, seeking refuge abroad. Now, for refugees who supported the opposition, President Bashar al-Assad's victory has dashed hopes of ever going home. Even as the uprising in Aleppo and cities across Syria descended into conflict, several former residents interviewed by Reuters said they had hoped there could still be change, a negotiated settlement and a chance to return. But as Assad reasserts control after the army and its allies routed rebels in Aleppo, these Syrians living in exile fear that a new crackdown that will include arrests and executions, and be worse than anything witnessed pre-war. "If I go back, I'll be executed," said Abdulhamid Zughbi, a 30-year-old who fled besieged eastern rebel-held Aleppo earlier this year for Turkey, seeking medical treatment for his wife and infant son. "I can't even think about returning as long as the Assad regime is still in power. It's impossible for anyone from the opposition," he said. Nearly 5 million Syrians have fled the country in a conflict that has killed more than 300,000 people and pitted multiple warring sides against each other, including jihadists who have come to dominate the insurgency in many areas. The permanent displacement of millions of Syrians is one way in which its war and others in the region are causing irreversible changes. Most refugees are in neighbouring countries including Turkey and Lebanon, and hundreds of thousands have gone to Europe. Some will see Assad's win in Aleppo and other gains he has made with Russian and Iranian support as a chance to return and rebuild their lives - but not those involved in dissent when protests began in 2011. Zughbi took part, then worked for years in medical aid and rescue in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. "My wife was lightly wounded in shelling and my son was ill. I thought I'd take them to Turkey and come back. "That day, they closed the road, and I couldn't return," he said, referring to when government forces sealed off the rebel-held part of the city in August. They besieged it for months and then made a lightning advance to drive insurgents out of most of their areas they held in a matter of weeks. [nL5N1EA14F] 'ARRESTS HAVE JUST BEGUN' As residents have poured out of rebel districts, including into areas under government control, the army has begun making arrests, Zughbi said. "The arrests have just begun. They detain the more prominent people (activists) on the spot ... but for others - now they (the government) have the time, they'll investigate and then arrest them at a later stage. "A friend of mine went to a government-held area and three days later they detained him." The United Nations voiced deep concern about reports of Syrian soldiers and allied Iraqi fighters summarily shooting dead 82 people in east Aleppo districts this week - accusations denied by the army and the Iraqi militia in question. Assad's opponents accused the government of mass arrests and forced conscription. A Syrian military source denied arrests but said identities of people leaving rebel-held areas were being checked and anyone who was unknown was being put into "specific places" in areas where civilians were gathered. The army says Syrians eligible for military service must serve. For Abu Rakan, a 51-year-old refugee living in Lebanon, the death of his brother in law, a rebel fighter, and disappearance just days ago of his sister have underscored the danger for anyone linked to the opposition. "If we go back, it'll be more dangerous than before. Anyone with the opposition is in danger. "We've lived with this regime for 40 years. We know how it behaves, what it does," he said, referring also to Assad's father and former president Hafez al-Assad, who crushed leftist and Islamist challenges to his rule. Abu Rakan said he would only return to Syria under a "full national reconciliation", and if there were a freely elected government in place and a new constitution - all of which look more than distant than ever. Hala, an activist who left government-controlled Aleppo in 2014, said she would not trust any settlement between the government and opposition - Assad had to go. "There's no way I can go back while the Assad regime is there," said the 37-year-old, who now lives in Beirut and works for a Syrian citizenship organisation. MISERABLE EXILE "Even if there was a kind of reconciliation, we wouldn't be able to live there. The oppression that existed before the revolution will multiply. "When the revolution began we were able to express our views and to live more freely. Even if we weren't arrested, we can't go back, knowing it will be just like it was," she said. Hala, Abu Rakan and Zughbi want to go home. Even for them, who are among the better off refugees, life in exile is beginning to become unbearable. "There's no future for me in Lebanon. I work illegally because it's difficult to get residency, and I can't get medical insurance because I'm not U.N.-registered," Hala said. She decided not to travel onto Europe before EU countries tightened their borders because she still hoped to make it back to Syria at that stage. [nL3N17Z2FI] Many Syrian refugees live illegally in Lebanon because they cannot afford the renew their residency. Seventy percent live below the poverty line, the U.N. says. In Turkey, Zughbi is preparing for a lifetime of exile, but says conditions are not much better, as he struggles to make a living still as a medical aid worker. "My ambition now is to get out of Turkey, maybe try to go to Europe, or America. "That's my only choice." (Reporting by John Davison; editing by Giles Elgood) Today in 5 Lines President-elect Donald Trump chose Montana Representative Ryan Zinke to serve as interior secretary, and named retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg and Monica Crowley, a former Fox News analyst, for posts in the National Security Council. Trump will continue his post-election thank you tour tonight with a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said he will step down in January. A federal jury in Charleston, South Carolina, found Dylann Roof guilty on all counts for fatally shooting nine black parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2015. Labor Secretary Tom Perez announced he will run for chair of the Democratic National Committee. Today on The Atlantic Cuomo to the Rescue?: The Democrats are pressuring New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to put his considerable political weight behind securing the Democratic majority in the state senate. Cuomo has previously resisted these demands, but will the party manage to get him on board? (Russell Berman) The New Normal: Donald Trump transgresses core liberal norms, writes Conor Friedersdorf. So rather than warning against normalizing the president-elects behavior, Americans will be more effective if they accept reality and take definitive action. Environmental Divide: Carbon emissions can help explain Trumps win: He won in areas that produceor heavily usefossil fuels like coal; and he lost areas, like major metropolitan centers, that have lower-carbon economies. (Ronald Brownstein) Follow stories throughout the day with our Politics & Policy portal. Recommended: My President Was Black Snapshot Steam rises up on the surface of Lake Michigan at sunrise in Chicago. Dangerously cold temperatures gripped the Upper Midwest in advance of a storm that's expected to bring several inches of snow in coming days. Kiichiro Sato / AP What Were Reading All Signs Point to Putin: NBC News reports that U.S. intelligence officials believe with a high level of confidence that the Russian president was personally involved with interfering in the U.S. presidential election. (William M. Arkin, Ken Dilanian, and Cynthia McFadden) Story continues Recommended: This Is What the Resistance Sounds Like Whats Happening in North Carolina?: After losing a long and bitter fight over the governorship, the Republican-led state legislature met for a special session, where they moved to strip the new Democratic governor of his powersincluding control over the states election boards. (Trip Gabriel, The New York Times) Back in Business: Donald Trump has vowed to reverse the Obama administrations regulations on the energy sector and appointed industry allies to Cabinet positions, guaranteeing a strong comeback for the fossil fuel industry. (Juliet Eilperin, Steven Mufson, and Philip Rucker, The Washington Post) A Woman in Arms: While the rate of personal gun ownership among American men is declining, an increasing number of women around the country are buying guns. GQ profiles a few of these female gun owners and explores possible reasons behind the trend. (Ashley Fetters) Not Going to Happen: Many Americans are waiting to see whether faithless electors will overturn the election by voting against Donald Trump. But heres why Salena Zito argues the notion is provocative, titillatingand has no root in reality. (Washington Examiner) Visualized Trumps $6 Billion Cabinet: Donald Trumps appointees are a lot wealthier, a lot whiter, and a lot less experienced than those of his predecessors. Take a look. (Bloomberg) A Look at the Alt-Right: In this short documentary, Richard Spencer, the president of the National Policy Institute, shares his plans to bring white nationalism into the mainstream. (Daniel Lombroso) Recommended: Will Obama Retaliate Against Russia Before He Leaves Office? Question of the Week The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominees Monday for this years Golden Globe Awards, which has us thinking about our favorite characters from political films and television. Candice loves Parks and Recreations Leslie Knope, the lovable deputy director of an Indiana citys parks department, and Elaine is partial to Bob Roberts, the conservative Senate candidate in the 1992 mockumentary film Bob Roberts. Who are your favorite political characters in movies and TVand why? Send your answers to hello@theatlantic.com, and our favorites will be featured in Fridays Politics & Policy Daily. -Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey) and Candice Norwood (@cjnorwoodwrites) Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Augustine Ventures Inc. (CNSX:WAW) ("Augustine") and Red Pine Exploration Inc. (RPX.V) ("Red Pine") are pleased to announce that Augustine has obtained an interim order (the "Interim Order") of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (the "Court") in connection with its proposed plan of arrangement with Red Pine pursuant to the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "Arrangement") previously announced in the joint press release of Augustine and Red Pine dated November 14, 2016 (the "Previous Press Release"). The Interim Order provides for, among other things, the holding of a special meeting of the shareholders of Augustine to be held at 2:00 p.m. on January 20, 2017 in Toronto, Canada to seek shareholder approval for the Arrangement (the "Meeting"). Pursuant to the Interim Order, Augustine has prepared an information circular in connection with the Meeting (the "Information Circular"). Augustine is relying on the "notice-and-access" provisions of applicable laws in sending the Information Circular and related proxy materials to its shareholders. Accordingly, although shareholders still receive the proxy or voting instruction forms in paper copy, the Information Circular will not be physically delivered. Instead, shareholders may access or download the Information Circular from the website https://noticeinsite.tsxtrust.com/AugustineVenturesAGSM2017 and may also access it under Augustine's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Registered or beneficial shareholders of Augustine may request that paper copies of the Information Circular be sent to them by postal delivery at no cost to them. Requests may be made up to one year from the date the Information Circular is posted on the website noted above. In order to receive a paper copy of the Information Circular, please call toll free at 1-866-600-5869. If you have questions concerning "notice-and-access", please call Augustine's registrar and transfer agent, TSX Trust Company, at 1-866-600-5869. Story continues As disclosed in the Previous Press Release, Augustine and Red Pine have entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") dated November 14, 2016 pursuant to which Red Pine will acquire all of the outstanding securities of Augustine under the Arrangement, subject to the terms and conditions of the Arrangement Agreement. Upon completion of the Arrangement, Augustine will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Red Pine and Red Pine will carry on the business of the combined companies after changing its name to "Wawa Gold Inc." (or such other name as the Board of Directors of Red Pine may approve) and reorganizing its board of directors (referred to in this press release as the "Resulting Issuer"). Under the Arrangement Agreement, the parties have agreed that each Augustine common share will be exchanged for 0.76 Red Pine common shares (the "Exchange Ratio"). Pursuant to the Arrangement, the holders of common shares of Augustine outstanding at the time of completion of the Arrangement will receive Resulting Issuer common shares ("Resulting Issuer Shares") based on the Exchange Ratio and all of the currently outstanding warrants of Augustine will be exercisable pursuant to the terms of such warrants for common shares of the Resulting Issuer with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio. The parties have also agreed to amend the Arrangement Agreement to provide that the Augustine stock options will be treated in the same manner as the Augustine warrants and will be replaced with Red Pine stock options (rather than being cancelled or exercised as disclosed in the November 14, 2016 press release) exercisable for common shares of the Resulting Issuer with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). Red Pine currently has 108,371,818 common shares issued and outstanding, as well as 5,676,000 stock options and 34,506,801 common share purchase warrants (each of which is exercisable to acquire one common share of Red Pine). Prior to the closing of the Arrangement, Red Pine may conduct additional equity financings for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Since the date of the Previous Press Release, Augustine has issued 17,958,374 shares to Citabar LP, and as disclosed in its press release dated December 13, 2016 has closed a $5,000,000 private placement financing pursuant to which Augustine issued 5,000,000 units at a price of $0.10 per unit, with each such unit comprised of one common share of Augustine issued on a "flow-through" basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one common share purchase warrant. After these securities issuances, Augustine currently has 131,106,192 common shares issued and outstanding, as well as 62,340,883 common share purchase warrants (each of which is exercisable to acquire one common share of Augustine) and 10,900,000 stock options issued to officers, directors, employees and consultants of Augustine. It is expected that Red Pine will issue approximately 99,640,706 Resulting Issuer Shares to the holders of Augustine common shares under the Arrangement based on the Exchange Ratio and assuming that no other convertible securities of Augustine are exercised prior to the effectiveness of the Arrangement. The Augustine warrants and stock options outstanding after completion of the Arrangement will be exercisable for Resulting Issuer Shares in accordance with the terms of such warrants and stock options with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio. Pursuant to the amendments to the Arrangement Agreement, Augustine has agreed that the total number of outstanding securities immediately prior to the effectiveness of the Arrangement will not exceed 209,197,075 on a fully diluted basis. The completion of the Arrangement is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of the requisite approval from Augustine's shareholders, a final order of the Court, final acceptance by the TSX-V, and certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. If all necessary approvals are obtained and the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement are satisfied or waived, it is currently anticipated that the Arrangement will be completed on or about January 26, 2017. The Arrangement cannot close until the required conditions are satisfied or waived, and there can be no assurance that the Arrangement will be completed as proposed or at all. Augustine shareholders are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the Information Circular, any information released or received with respect to the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Shareholders are encouraged to read the Information Circular, as well as other relevant documents available under the profiles of Augustine and Red Pine on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Trading in the securities of the Augustine and Red Pine should be considered highly speculative. Cautionary Statements Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation relating to the proposal to complete the Arrangement, including statements regarding the terms and conditions of the Arrangement and the description of the Wawa Gold Project. The information about Augustine contained in the press release has not been independently verified by Red Pine and vice versa. We use words such as "might", "will", "should", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar terminology to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Although each of Red Pine and Augustine believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because neither Red Pine nor Augustine can give any assurances that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements and forward-looking information depending on, among other things, the risks that the parties will not complete the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions, that the ultimate terms of the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions will differ from those currently contemplated, and that the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions will not be successfully completed for any reason (including the failure to obtain the required approvals or clearances from regulatory authorities). The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Neither Red Pine nor Augustine undertakes any obligation to comment on analysis, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Red Pine, Augustine, their respective securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). The TSX-V and the CSE have in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Arrangement and have neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States. Further Information For further information, please contact: Augustine Ventures Inc. Robert (Bob) Dodds, President & CEO Tel: (416) 363-2528 bdodds@augustineventures.com Red Pine Exploration Inc. Quentin Yarie, President & CEO, Tel: (416) 364-7024 qyarie@redpineexp.com SOURCE: Augustine Ventures Inc. After a fire at a migrant worker shelter killed one resident and injured 14 others in a suburb just west of Paris Thursday night and early Friday morning, authorities discovered fuel and other fire accelerants at the site, Agence France-Presse reported. Investigators told AFP they assumed the blaze which left three people severely wounded and five hospitalized was of criminal origin. The single victim, a 40-year-old man from Mali who had been living at the shelter for about four years, had jumped from a fourth-floor window to avoid the toxic smoke that spread across the floor, investigators told AFP. Two others escaped the fumes through windows of the six-story, 78-room shelter in Boulogne-Billancourt. The fire, which only burned the lobby of the building and a nearby storage room, did not reach any of the migrants lodgings, and authorities sought to allow them to return to their rooms as soon as the scene had been fully investigated, according to AFP. A similar fire at a new, unoccupied center set to house up to 200 migrants occurred in September in Forges-les-Bains, just south of Boulogne-Billancourt, the newspaper Le Parisien reported. The suspected arson erupted just hours after about 150 locals met with the mayor of Forges-les-Bains to debate the suburbs acceptance of refugees. As in most of Europe, anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise in France over the past few years. It increased especially after the Nov. 13, 2015 attacks in the capital, as evidenced in part by the surge in popularity of the far-right, nativist Front National party led by Marine Le Pen. The Front National head and daughter of the partys founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, is neck-and-neck with Republican Francois Fillon for the April 2017 presidential election. Recent polls indicate that shes anywhere between tied with him or trailing him by 5 percentage points. Related Articles MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) A 61-year-old police officer was shot and critically wounded Thursday while responding to a call that a man had been shot in Mount Vernon, about 60 miles north of Seattle, authorities said. The suspect remained barricaded in a home firing at officers Thursday night. The wounded Mount Vernon police officer with some 30 years of experience on the job was initially taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. The male officer was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Thursday night with a gunshot wound to the head, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg. She said the officer, who has not been named, was in surgery at about 10:30 p.m. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Keith Leary told reporters the officer was responding to the call just after 5:30 p.m. when a suspect began shooting from a house, hitting the officer. Leary said the victim from the initial call was grazed by a bullet and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. It wasn't immediately known if the two shootings were connected, Leary said. The officer was conscious and alert when taken to the local hospital, Leary said. Officers don't why the suspect fired at the officer. It is believed there is at least one hostage inside the home with the suspect, who Leary said is well known to police. "He is a violent offender," Leary told reporters. He said the gunman was talking with some people but it wasn't clear if he was speaking with negotiators or others. The Mount Vernon neighborhood was closed by police while officers and a SWAT team were attempting to negotiate. Skagit Valley College said Thursday night that because of police activity the Mount Vernon campus was in lockdown and closed. The school tweeted "everyone get inside and stay inside." The shooting comes less than a month after a Tacoma police officer was killed responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Reginald "Jake" Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot Nov. 30. The suspected gunman was killed by a sheriff's marksman, ending an 11-hour standoff. A 7-year-old Syrian girl whos been tweeting from war-torn Aleppo with the help of her mother has reached out to first lady Michelle Obama requesting help. Bana Alabed and her mother, Fatemah, have been writing heartbreaking dispatches about their daily lives amid the protracted Syrian Civil War. Their Twitter feed has gained more than 300,000 followers since it was launched in September. On Friday morning, NBC News correspondent Richard Engel, who previously interviewed Fatemah via webcam, shared a video on social media that the mother and daughter recorded that they hope Michelle Obama will ultimately see. In the 44-second video, Fatemah tries to appeal to Obama on an emotional level, mother to mother. Hello, this is Fatemah. This message is for the first lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama. I would like to tell you that we are still here in East Aleppo, she says. I talk to you as a mother. I know that you have two beautiful daughters and I have three children one of them is Bana. I implore you to help us and make us in a safer place because we are so afraid, please. Then Bana adds, Hello Mrs. Obama. Please help us. Bana Alabed is asking for help from U.S. first lady Michelle Obama. (Photo: Bana Alabed/Twitter) There was widespread concern for Banas safety earlier this month when her Twitter account mysteriously disappeared. When it came back online, the Alabeds tweeted that they were once again in the midst of bombardments. Their social media activity juxtaposes typical childhood moments like losing teeth or reading Harry Potter books with the horrors of being a civilian caught in the crosshairs of war. Her dispatches have drawn frequent comparisons to Anne Franks diary during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. But its worth noting that there are key differences, perhaps the most salient being that Banas words are being read in real-time whereas Annes were read after her death and the Allied victory over the Axis powers. Though Bana has endeared herself to thousands of people throughout the world, she is just one of the many children in harms way amid the devastation of the Syrian civil war. Story continues On Wednesday, children at an orphanage in eastern Aleppo shot a video pleading for help fleeing the city. An evacuation of eastern Aleppo ground to a halt on Friday as another cease-fire between rebels and government loyalists fell apart, with accusations of duplicity coming from all sides. Fatemah and Bana Alabed both tweeted additional pleas for help escaping the danger on Friday morning. Share this message to whole world. #Aleppo ceasefire broke, civilians are in danger. I beg world u do something now to get us out. Fatemah Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 16, 2016 Please save us now. Bana #Aleppo Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 16, 2016 _____ Related slideshows: Slideshow: Evacuations underway for thousands in Aleppo >>> Slideshow: Syria regime troops celebrate Aleppo victory; executions reported >>> Slideshow: Worldwide protests call for an end to violence in Aleppo >>> Slideshow: What Aleppo, Syria looked like before the civil war >>> Slideshow: Death toll rises in Aleppo 50,000 flee in four days >>> Slideshow: Warplanes pound Aleppo Dozens dead >>> Slideshow: Syrias children caught in the crossfire of civil war >>> Slideshow: Syrians shave and lift veils to celebrate liberation from Islamic State in Manbij >>> Slideshow: Assad forces continue battle with Syrian rebels >>> Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years. When the plainclothes police came for Mir Ahmad bin Quasem, they didnt even give him time to put on his shoes. According to his wife, at around 11 p.m. on Aug. 9, the young lawyer was dragged down the steps of their first-floor apartment in Dhaka, Bangladeshs capital, and into an unmarked van. Their two young daughters ran behind, screaming. Five days earlier, Humam Quader Chowdhury, a politician in his early 30s, had been driving to a court hearing with his mother when a group of men reportedly stopped the car at a traffic light. They ordered him out and bundled him into another vehicle. By the time a gang of 30 men in civilian dress reached the home of Amaan Azmi, a former army brigadier general, he had heard about the other two abductions and was hiding. They combed through the building, questioning an employee of the family at gunpoint before finding Azmi in an empty apartment, according to his brother, Salman al-Azami. They said that they had come from the detective branch of the police, he said. The three men, all sons of senior opposition leaders, were abducted in the space of a few weeks in August. Despite numerous witnesses who say the security services picked them up, the authorities have denied involvement. None of them has been heard from since. But its not their own activities that resulted in them being sucked into the black hole of Bangladeshs growing security state. They were the sons of some of the most reviled men in the country, all politicians convicted in recent years of committing war crimes during Bangladeshs 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Two of those elder men Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and Mir Quasem Ali, the fathers of Chowdhury and bin Quasem, respectively were recently hanged for brutalities including rape and murder. Amaan Azmis father, Ghulam Azam, died of a heart attack in 2014 while serving a 90-year jail term for his part in establishing pro-Pakistan militias implicated in atrocities. Story continues Originally a geographically noncontiguous part of Pakistan, after its bloody partition from India in 1947, Bangladesh, then-East Pakistan, emerged as a nation despite violent resistance from the Pakistani military authorities. Hundreds of thousands of people as many as 3 million by Bangladeshi government figures were killed as a result of Pakistans Operation Searchlight, an attempt to crush the independence movement. The families of the victims had spent a long time waiting for justice. The current Bangladeshi prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, whose father was a popular hero of the independence movement, owes her election victory in 2009 in part to her promise to prosecute those accused of war crimes. But the tribunal set up that year was quickly mired in allegations of incompetence and blatant political bias. The defendants were all prominent opposition figures, including a sitting parliament member, and their lawyers complained of numerous constrictions. In one case, 35 witnesses were allowed to speak for the prosecution and just three for the defense. Leaked transcripts revealed that a judge was privately consulting with the Bangladeshi director of a genocide studies institute in Brussels. In one conversation, the judge described the administration as absolutely crazy for a judgment before the 2014 polls. In Salahuddin Quader Chowdhurys case, the judgment appeared online before it was announced, prompting allegations that it had been written by a government ministry. With opposition leaders in the dock or dead their family members were also kept under surveillance. In the days and weeks leading up to their disappearances, both Azmi and bin Quasem began to express fear for their own safety. Interviews with lawyers, rights groups, and relatives of the missing men suggest they have likely been held in detention centers, possibly subject to torture, their families unaware of their location or if they now are alive or dead. They have joined the growing ranks of Bangladeshs disappeared. Over the past five years, hundreds of Bangladeshis, many connected to the opposition, have gone missing under mysterious circumstances, their friends and families swearing they were picked up by law enforcement. Bangladesh is ruled by Hasinas avowedly secular Awami League government, while the political opposition is dominated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), headed by the prime ministers bitter rival, Khaleda Zia, and Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party. The latter two have traditionally partnered in coalitions, and the war crimes defendants and many of the missing people have hailed from both. Analysts place the abductions in the context of a wider crackdown on the opposition that the government has justified by a rising threat of militancy in the majority Muslim state. Although recent attacks, including a spate of killings of bloggers and activists, have been claimed by the Islamic State and al Qaeda, the Awami League has consistently sought to blame local militant groups they say are enabled by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami. Part of [the governments] campaign against the opposition has been to equate them with militancy, said Tejshree Thapa, the South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch. David Bergman, a Dhaka-based journalist who has been tracking the abductions, says at least 80 people have been taken so far in 2016. Some have eventually emerged and been formally arrested. The most high-profile case involved Hasnat Reza Karim, a 47-year-old engineer, and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a student at the University of Toronto, who were dining by chance at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 1 when Islamic State-linked militants stormed the restaurant, taking hostages and killing 24 people. They had no known political links. Despite a dearth of evidence implicating the pair, they were secretly detained without charge for a month before being presented as arrested as if they had been freshly picked up off the streets. Others have turned up dead, some killed by the notorious Rapid Action Battalion, an elite anti-terrorism unit, in what the authorities claim are crossfire shootouts. There are many still missing, including 19 BNP members taken in November and December 2013. Human Rights Watch told Foreign Policy that it has heard from credible sources that at least five of those men are dead. Michael Polak, the British barrister representing bin Quasem, believes his client is being held, with at least one of the other two missing men, in Dhakas Minto Road detective branch. His family [is] very worried about his health and how hes being treated, he said. Polak said a senior diplomatic source gave him a frightening insight into how the Minto Road prison works. They have a book of torture methods and make the inmates choose how theyre going to be tortured, he said. Reportedly, some of those released were freed on the condition that they not talk about their treatment or participate in politics. Last year, Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief spokesman for the BNP, surfaced in India more than two months after he was allegedly picked up by plainclothes detectives. News reports described how he was discovered disorientated, wandering near the border, and put on trial by India for illegally entering the country. Yes, I am Salahuddin Ahmed, a BNP leader, he told bdnews24.com in a stilted interview at the time. I was kidnapped by a group of unidentified people from Uttara [a suburb of Dhaka] in Bangladesh, and I do not know how I landed in this place. I cant remember anything after I was abducted. There are people whove died in custody, people whove miraculously jumped off fifth-floor balconies, said Thapa, the Human Rights Watch researcher. The government just maintains such a silence on it that no ones paying attention. Azami said his brother, Azmi, had been tracked for a long time. We were aware that there were people outside the building plainclothes policemen always there, he said over the phone from the U.K., where he works as a university lecturer. We thought that it could happen anytime for quite a long time. In 2009, the same year Hasina came to power, Azmi received a letter saying his position in the army had been terminated, his brother said. There was no explanation. He had spent 30 years in the service. Everyone knew he was one of the best army officers Bangladesh ever produced and, like this, he was dismissed, said Azami. Some suggest that the convicted war criminals sons, or at least bin Quasem, may have been taken in anticipation of the heavily politicized Sept. 3 execution of the latters father, Mir Quasem Ali. Previous executions after war crimes trials had brought waves of supporters for the condemned onto the streets, rustled up by Jamaat-e-Islami. In the case of Mir Quasem Alis son, the speculation is that the government was trying to preempt any kind of mobilization around the execution, said Shehryar Fazli, the Crisis Groups senior analyst for South Asia. But Fazli says these worries are largely groundless. In the more recent executions, Jamaat-e-Islami as well as the BNP were unable to get something really going on the streets, so the likelihood of them being able to mobilize around this last execution was probably limited, he said. But youre talking about a government that has responded extremely heavy-handedly with respect to all sorts of perceived threats against its legitimacy and political stability. Rights groups say the disappearances began in earnest after 2009, under the new president. But they spiked this year after the July attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery. Although the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the siege, the government has sought to pin it on local terrorist outfits it said were working hand in hand with the domestic political opposition. The terrorist threat has served to justify a widening crackdown on dissent, Fazli said. The backlash has extended to shooting and kneecapping members and supporters of opposition parties, as detailed in a recent Human Rights Watch report. A new law governing nongovernmental organizations, meanwhile, allows the closure of nonprofits that make derogatory comments about any constitutional bodies. In recent months, dozens of online news operations have been shut down and several journalists arrested. While stifling mainstream opposition, analysts say the heavy-handed response could serve as a recruitment tool for fringe elements. A lot of the motivation for joining a violent group is that the legitimate avenues of opposition and dissent are being closed off, said Fazli of the Crisis Group. These organizations whether theyre jihadists or student wings of parties like Jamaat-e-Islami theyre becoming more attractive avenues of opposition. Alienated by the crackdown, once staunch, secular support bases for the Awami League like the Dhaka Bar Association have swung toward parties like Jamaat, he said. In a recent phone interview, Obaidul Quader, the minister for communication, would not comment directly on allegations of disappearances and extrajudicial killings but blamed the opposition for violent policies. One of the successes of this government is combating terrorism, he added. You see some terrorist acts before, but now the situation is relatively stable. No problem. Militancy is now a global phenomenon. The West, which sees Hasina as a useful ally against Islamist extremism, has stayed largely silent on allegations of rights abuses. In the international community, people prefer Sheikh Hasina to the opposition, said Thapa, the Human Rights Watch researcher. Theres a lot of sympathy and leeway given to the government to conduct its anti-terror operation. Besides, the country is making progress. Poverty has fallen dramatically since the 1990s. The country is one of the few developing nations on track to reach most of their Millennium Development Goals. Were all comparing it in our heads to what it was 20, 30 years ago, said Thapa. The international community is willing to believe the governments solution that economic growth is the answer to all this. In the context of 156 million people, in the eighth-most populous country on the planet, what are a few score missing men? You always have that expectation that he might come back, said Azami. If someone is killed, you know that person is killed, you move on. Here, you cant move on. In an email, Tahmina Aktar, the wife of bin Quasem, said her daughters, aged 3 and 4, often ask why their father does not call or come home. Why do we have to suffer like this? she asked. Is being family of opposition [leaders] such a big crime? Photo Credit: SK HASAN ALI/Getty Images Over the last five trading days, positive speculation regarding the much awaited Federal Reserve rate hike brought optimism for the banking industry. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee increased the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.500.75%. In addition, signaling confidence in the U.S. economy, the Fed now projects three rate hikes in 2017. Following this announcement, nearly all banks raised their prime lending rates. Notably, the investors turned to profit booking as the banking stocks have been witnessing a bullish trend since the U.S. presidential election in November. Nonetheless, banks are now expected to record an increase in interest income, and the margin pressure is likely to ease to some extent. Further, domestic economic growth will support their financials. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo & Company WFC continued to be in headlines for its accounting scam related matters. While the company is undertaking measures to change its business practices, such matters are expected to remain concerns in the near-term. (Read: Bank Stock Roundup for the week ending Dec 9, 2016) Banks - Major Regional Industry 5YR % Return Banks - Major Regional Industry 5YR % Return Important Developments of the Week 1. Wells Fargo has been hit with restrictions by the U.S. regulators as the bank failed to adequately remedy deficiencies in its resolution plan. The plan, better known as living will, lays out the strategy for a companys fast resolution under bankruptcy in the event of failure of the company or severe financial stress. Notably, this turned out to be the second time this year that Wells Fargo flunked in the living will assessment. (Read more: Wells Fargo Faces Sanctions on 'Living Will' Deficiencies) 2. It looks like Well Fargos accounting scam will continue to trouble it for quite some time. Now, the bank is under the scrutiny of regulators in California and New Jersey for signing up customers for Prudential Financial, Inc. PRU life policies, without their consent. (Read more: Wells Fargo Under Scrutiny in California, New Jersey). In addition, the banking giant has been suspended for two years from conducting broker-dealer services in commercial banking and commercial paper, in its own birthplace, San Francisco. Further, the city has barred the bank from securities investments and counterparty/repurchasing agreements for two years. (Read more: Wells Fargo Barred from Hometown Business for Sales Scam). 3. Wells Fargo has scrapped bonuses for brokers for selling loans. Precisely, the brokers who used to convince clients to take out loans including mortgages, securities-backed loans or lines of credit will not be paid bonus. Wells Fargos brokerage arm will keep pay grid unchanged for 2017 accounting most of a brokers pay, but bonuses for persuading clients to take on loans will be scrapped. Notably, such bonus amount is paid in the form of deferred compensation increasing a brokers annual pay by thousands of dollars. A percentage of the fees and commissions generated from servicing customer accounts are paid by brokerage grids. The banks move is expected to bring the brokerage in line with the main bank where sales incentives have already been changed. Further, through elimination of bonuses, the bank intends to evade further problems and gain back brokers and clients belief on the bank. Further, Wells Fargo has increased the minimum amount of assets in an account for a broker to be paid full compensation. The amount of assets has been raised to $100,000 from $65,000, effective January 2017. The household having less than $100,000 in assets in his account will decrease the brokers pay by flat 20%. However, brokers will be safeguarded from pay cut from those small households if 75% of their clients account in $250,000 or more in assets. Further, brokers have been offered awards for transferring clients also. Precisely, transferring clients to local financial relationship advisers, brokers will be paid $2,000 per household and $100,000 in total. Further, more will be paid who have 65% or more of their households with more than $250,000 in assets. On the other side, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the brokerage industrys self-regulator, is investigating the scandals impact on the banks brokerage unit. Notably, the brokerage employees who have been laid off by Wells Fargo have been contacted by FINRA to discuss the reasons of their retrenchment. The regulators want to be sure whether these employees dismissals relate to scandal or mishandled by Wells Fargo. 4. Fifth Third Bancorp FITB is making an equity investment in San Francisco-based startup online lender, ApplePie Capital, to seek new opportunities in the lending space. This was reported by Wall Street Journal. (Read more: Fifth Third Invests in Fintech Startup to Grow Lending) Price Performance Here is how the seven major stocks performed: Story continues Company Last Week 6 months JPM 0.6% 38.8% BAC 0.3% 73.6% WFC -3.4% 18.0% C 0.3% 43.4% COF -0.1% 39.8% USB -0.1% 26.7% PNC 0.5% 37.3% In the last five trading sessions, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM and The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC were the top gainers, with their shares increasing 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. On the other hand, Wells Fargo shares fell 3.4%. Over the last six months, Bank of America Corp. BAC and Citigroup Inc. C were the best performers, with their shares surging 73.6% and 43.4%, respectively. Also, shares of Capital One Financial Corp. COF jumped 39.8%. What's Next in the Banking Space? 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Click to get this free report JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report PNC FINL SVC CP (PNC): Free Stock Analysis Report FIFTH THIRD BK (FITB): Free Stock Analysis Report WELLS FARGO-NEW (WFC): Free Stock Analysis Report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report BANK OF AMER CP (BAC): Free Stock Analysis Report CAPITAL ONE FIN (COF): Free Stock Analysis Report PRUDENTIAL FINL (PRU): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Adds history of companies, growth of gin market) By Martinne Geller LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Beam Suntory, the world's third-largest spirits company known for Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbons, is to buy a controlling stake in London gin distiller Sipsmith, aiming to cash in on rising demand for craft spirits and gin. Sipsmith is one of hundreds of artisan distillers set up in recent years amid a growing trend towards small-batch and unique brands. It claims to have pioneered a gin renaissance in the British capital by starting up the city's first copper distillery for nearly 200 years. The amount of gin drunk in UK bars rose 14 percent by volume and 19 percent by value in the year to Oct. 1, according to the wine and spirits trade association. By teaming up with an international spirits company, Sipsmith will be sold in markets around the world, alongside Beam's other brands which include Yamazaki whisky, Laphroaig Scotch and Courvoisier cognac. The terms of the deal were not disclosed though Sipsmith will continue to be run from London by its founders. Beam Suntory was formed in 2014 when the Japanese whisky maker Suntory bought its U.S. rival Beam for $14 billion. The group also owns the Gilbey's and Larios brands of gin, but Sipsmith would be its first high-end brand. The deal comes as Japanese companies look at overseas assets to diversify from their shrinking home market. Asahi Group Holdings this week struck a deal for a group of Central and Eastern European beer brands, and last month Ajinomoto agreed to take a stake in an African drinks company. Sipsmith was advised by Rothschild. (Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Elaine Hardcastle) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium advised against all travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday and urged citizens whose presence was not essential to leave its former colony due to fears of violence in planned anti-government protests. Condemning the expulsion of two Belgian television crews, Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said in a statement: "Belgian citizens who remain in the country are requested to exercise utmost caution, in particular during movements." An updated travel advice on his ministry's website cited as reasons for avoiding the DRC: "political tensions, recent measures taken by the authorities to suppress rights and freedoms, the expulsion of Belgian journalists, rumors of the closure of certain airports, the possible restriction of Internet communications and the risk of new demonstrations". (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald) This years best picture contenders offer a wide spectrum of settings and subject matter musical lovers in L.A., 1960s mathematicians at NASA, Google Earth searchers in Australia, and 17th-century missionaries in Japan. There arent a lot of connecting threads among La La Land, Hidden Figures, Lion, and Silence, other than the fact that all are very well done. But those films and many other best picture possibilities share some undercurrents. There is a thread of isolation and the need to connect in many of 2016s best works. In Arrival, Amy Adams cries out in frustration, We need to be talking to each other! That sums it up. The lead character in Fences has built up walls between himself and his family members; he might want to break them down, but cant. The protagonists of Captain Fantastic, Elle, Hell or High Water, and Manchester by the Sea are also having family issues and an inability to relate to those who are closest to them. The 21st century zeitgeist is perfectly captured by Adams character in Nocturnal Animals. She has found her soulmate (Jake Gyllenhaal) but shuts him out. So she spends years alternately wanting to keep him away and to reconnect. She surrounds herself with nice things, but knows that something is missing in her life. In the 21st century, we tweet, we text, we Skype, we take selfies, we get on the speaker phone. Thanks to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social-media platforms, were communicating more, but genuinely connecting a lot less. The hero of Moonlight is shown at three stages in his life. At each point, his vulnerability increases his need for meaningful relationships, but hes too self-protective to pursue those connections. In Loving and Jackie, both fact-based, the title characters are not only trying to relate to one another, theyre doing it in a very public arena. Both are set in the 1960s, when television was giving unprecedented access to the lives of very private people. Story continues Fifty years later, we are feeling similarly exposed. Identity theft is more than the stealing of a credit card: Its the scary realization that strangers are able to find out more about us than we want to admit. If we share a happy moment on Facebook, does that give out too much information to hackers and thieves? In Jackie, Jacqueline Kennedy contacts a journalist to help manage her late husbands legacy, but she wants to keep her feelings private. The reporter tells her, Youll have to share something personal, eventually. People wont stop asking until you do. Its not an easy balance. The internet is a breeding ground for non-communication. People shout at each other, and mock one another, based on one 140-character sentence, without asking questions or trying to discover details. They get worked up over fake news and spread it, rather than trying to discover whether its true. There is constant fear that the impersonal world will overwhelm us. As Captain Fantastics Viggo Mortensen told Variety, People are more polarized than they have been in decades. This has been building for years. There is polarization because theyre not communicating. There is a lack of positive discourse or even any discourse. In Captain Fantastic, written and directed by Matt Ross, Mortensens character is anti-establishment, but he wants to make sure his kids have positive values. And he learns how to make peace with people whose viewpoints are 180 degrees from his. In other words, its about the most fundamental issue possible: We need to talk to each other and to listen. Human, Im human! Adams tells the alien heptapods in Arrival. Its a statement of fact. But as many of the best 2016 films prove, its an increasingly difficult thing to be. Related stories Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield Argue Faith in Exclusive 'Silence' Clip Awards Season Films Awash in Edgy Roles for Young Actors Michelle Obama to Host 'Hidden Figures' Screening at White House London (AFP) - Britain on Friday announced the discovery of a highly contagious strain of bird flu at a turkey farm, and sought to allay fears the outbreak could affect the traditional Christmas meal. The H5N8 strain of avian flu was detected at a farm near Louth, a town in northeast England, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said. All of the more than 5,000 birds at the farm that have not died from the disease will be culled, Defra said. The government also announced it was restricting the movement of animals and animal products around the affected site. The H5N8 strain of the virus is highly infectious to poultry, but poses little danger to humans. Cases of H5N8 have been reported in France, the Netherlands and Sweden in recent weeks, in both migratory birds and at farms. A different strain, H5N1, has killed more than 420 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003. Nigel Gibbens, the UK's chief veterinary officer, said any risk to public health was "very low" and "does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers", chiefly among Britons preparing for Christmas festivities which often include the traditional meal of roast turkey. "There is not anticipated to be any impact on the supplies of turkeys or other birds over Christmas," Defra said. Blake Livelys Insta message to Ryan Reynolds is seriously making us tear up guys Not only are they one of the cutest Hollywood couples ever, but their genuine love and respect for each other is enough to make our eyes flood with tears of happiness. Thats right, were talking about Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. Specifically, weve zeroed in on the sweet message Lively posted about Reynolds on Instagram after he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. NBDjust the biggest moment of his career! Oh, and it led to a rare public appearance with their daughters, which made us even more excited! ANYWAY, Livelys post was full of admiration for Reynolds, who really has had such amazing success in movies. Proud is a pitiful word to describe how I felt today. @vancityreynolds The permanence of your impact is undeniable ...Always has been, but now we have a fancy to show for it. A photo posted by Blake Lively (@blakelively) on Dec 15, 2016 at 8:17pm PST Proud is a pitiful word to describe how I felt today. @vancityreynolds The permanence of your impact is undeniableAlways has been, but now we have a fancy to show for it. See those sneakers on the left? Thats their 2-year-old daughter James! Awwwww. And their second daughter is also there (in the arms of her parents) so it was a whole family affair. Ever the humble gentleman, Reynolds also posted an Instagram message, thanking those who gave him this honor. And being funny, because of course. Thank you to the @hollywoodchamberofcommerce and @20thcenturyfox. This is one of those "pinch me" moments. But not in the creepy way my Aunt used to do it. A photo posted by Ryan Reynolds (@vancityreynolds) on Dec 15, 2016 at 4:57pm PST Thank you to the @hollywoodchamberofcommerce and @20thcenturyfox. This is one of those pinch me moments. But not in the creepy way my Aunt used to do it. In his speech at the event, Reynolds thanked his wife for being everything to him, and for making him the father of his dreams. Awwwwwww! Story continues SWOOOOOOON. Oh yeah, and Hugh Jackman posted a pretend acceptance speech on Ryans behalf. And it was very special, because he donned a Ryan Reynolds mask and said, Gday! pretending to be Reynolds the method actor working on his Aussie accent. @VanCityReynolds asked me to post this 100% real video by him on being honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today. A video posted by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Dec 15, 2016 at 7:03am PST Thats a slam dunk if we ever saw one. But back to the real Ryan Reynoldsso many congrats to him, and endless love to this couple! H/T: People The post Blake Livelys Insta message to Ryan Reynolds is seriously making us tear up guys appeared first on HelloGiggles. (Updates with details of allegations, pastor targeted) By Pedro Fonseca and Guillermo Parra-Bernal RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police sought to question a prominent pastor and carried out arrest and search warrants across the country on Friday as part of an investigation into possible corruption involving 1.6 billion reais ($475 million) in excess mining royalties. Silas Malafaia, one of Brazil's most influential evangelical preachers, is accused of laundering money through church accounts. Police said the investigation, "Operation Timoteo," involved 16 searches and raids across 11 states, including 29 interrogations, four detention warrants, 12 arrests and the seizure of over 70 million reais ($21 million) in assets. The scheme, which the police said was run by an unnamed senior Mining and Energy Ministry official along with other public servants and law firms aimed to raise the value of royalties owed to municipal governments by mining companies. A person familiar with the probe said among those affected by the scheme was Vale SA , the world's top iron ore producer. Vale did not have an immediate comment. "Operation Timoteo" is the latest graft probe clouding the political climate in Brazil, where a larger corruption scandal involving state firms, contractors and hundreds of politicians. Former President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in August, tried for years to get Congress to raise royalties, a move that regional governments endorsed but mining firms opposed. Municipalities get about 65 percent of mining royalties through the so-called CFEM tax every year. The probe began last year when a government ombudsman asked the police to investigate whether the tax records of the mining ministry official were consistent with his income. According to the police, the official might have earned at least 7 million reais from the scheme. Malafaia, a Rio de Janeiro-based Pentecostal pastor with over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, has written books that have sold in the millions and his sermons are broadcast around the globe. Story continues Malafaia was an outspoken opponent of Rousseff during her successful 2014 re-election campaign, urging his legion of followers to vote against her. The pastor took to Twitter on Friday to blast the police operation against him, saying that he is currently in Sao Paulo but received a phone call from authorities informing him that they had raided his house in Rio. Malafaia said that he receives donations from "countless people" and that "if some criminal offers me a donation, and I don't know the origin of the money, that makes me a criminal?" ($1 = 3.369 reais) (Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Brad Brooks in Sao Paulo; Editing by Jane Merriman and Jeffrey Benkoe) Amendment bill wont be withdrawn: Deuba Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday ruled out the possibility of withdrawing the constitution amendment bill. Sao Paulo (AFP) - Hundreds of Brazilians packed the Sao Paulo cathedral Friday for the funeral of Evaristo Arns, a much-loved former archbishop who won fame for resisting Brazil's military dictatorship. The cathedral in the heart of the country's biggest city was full for the elaborate Catholic rites which were also carried live on national television ahead of the body of the Sao Paulo archbishop and cardinal being laid to rest in the cathedral's crypt. Arns, who died Wednesday at 95 after complications linked to pneumonia, was a priest for 71 years but is revered in Brazil above all as someone who stood up to the two decades-long right-wing dictatorship -- and supported the vulnerable of all stripes. Heavy media coverage emphasized his continuing weight in a society currently beset by political rancor, corruption scandals, high crime rates and recession. Among those attending Arns's funeral were leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Clarice Herzog, the widow of Vladimir Herzog, who was a journalist and communist when he was tortured to death under the military regime, G1 news site reported. Eder Oliveira, a 29-year-old legal assistant, said he had come several times to attend Arns's wake since Wednesday, before joining a group standing outside the cathedral to watch on television screens. "Don Evaristo was a very important person for Brazil. He was very religious, strengthening our faith and being an example for everyone," Oliveira said. "He was very important in the period of the dictatorship because he always sided with the poor. Brazil needs people like him," he said. - Saving lives - After being ordained in 1945, Arns studied at Sorbonne University in Paris and began a prolific writing career that included authoring 57 books. As he rose through the ecclesiastical ranks, he made his name promoting programs dedicated to helping the poor. However, it was for his stand against torture during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship that he became most famous. Story continues He denounced the torture of a priest in January 1971 shortly after becoming archbishop of Sao Paulo, and used church media outlets to pressure the government over its repressive policies. Argentine human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel said he "was saved twice" by Arns from the Brazilian regime. President Michel Temer paid homage to Arns on Wednesday, saying Brazil had "lost a defender of democracy." However Temer did not attend the funeral, amid Brazilian media reports that he feared being booed, as he has been at numerous other public events since becoming president this year. Monica Fideles, coordinator of the church activist group Pastoral Operaria, said the late cardinal "was always on the side of the workers and the poor." "He was attentive, caring, sensitive to the pain and suffering of the people." (Adds proposal details, background throughout) By Rodrigo Viga Gaier RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A group led by creditors and Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris unveiled on Friday an alternative restructuring proposal for debt-laden Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA that contemplates 37 billion reais ($11 billion) in investments over five years in exchange for a 95 percent stake. The group of bondholders represented by Moelis & Co and Sawiris told Oi on Friday they would also raise $1.25 billion in new capital and take immediate control of the carrier through a debt-for-equity swap. Oi filed in June for Brazil's largest ever bankruptcy protection. In a statement, the group said Sawiris and his company Orascom TMT Investments SARL have already committed to subscribe $250 million worth of new Oi shares in an offering, with bondholders committing $750 million. The proposal calls for a debt-for-equity swap in which 24.82 billion reais worth of bond debt would be exchanged for a 95 percent stake. The remainder of Oi's bond debt would be exchanged for new securities. The proposal has the potential of reigniting a rift between creditors and shareholders including largest stakeholder Pharol SGPS SA, because of the high degree of dilution that the debt-for-equity swap entails, analysts said. The government has threatened to intervene if the disputes continue. Under terms of the proposal, Oi's existing shareholders would be given the chance to subscribe up to 50 percent of the new stock on offer, with retail investors having the chance of taking up to 10 percent of the offering. Bloomberg News first reported terms of the Moelis-Sawiris proposal on Dec. 14. ($1 = 3.3891 reais) (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Lisa Shumaker) DAKAR (Reuters) - A British man aiming to become the first person to swim across the Atlantic said on Friday that he has called off his attempt after a support vessel suffered extensive damage. Former policeman Ben Hooper, 38, left Senegal on Nov. 13 in a bid to swim 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to Brazil. He said he was inspired by explorers like Ranulph Fiennes, who crossed the Antarctic on foot. Friends and former crew members said the bid was foolhardy and Hooper quickly fell far behind schedule as he encountered sharks in choppy waters and suffered from jellyfish stings and insufficient rations. Hooper said damage from a storm to his support vessel, a catamaran called Big Blue, had forced him to postpone the trip after swimming 87 miles in 33 days. At that pace, the crossing would have taken more than two years. "We have NOT failed; we have achieved and gained the knowledge to succeed in the future," Hooper said in a statement, adding that he and his team would sail to Natal in Brazil by the shortest route possible. Before setting out, Hooper vowed that if his mission failed, he would try again "as long as I have at least one leg and one arm". (Reporting By Sophia Shadid; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Ed Osmond) Maria Ines Candido da Silvas burn wounds were treated with the skin from tilapia fish. (Photo: Caters News) A woman in Brazil who suffered severe burns was treated with fish skin to help her own skin heal and shes part of a niche, but growing body of research. Maria Ines Candido da Silva, 36, suffered burns to her arms, neck, and some of her face, after a gas canister at the restaurant where she worked exploded. In October, doctors offered her the chance to be part of a study of a pioneering treatment that uses skin from tilapia, a freshwater fish, to dress her wounds. I was in absolute agony and desperate for anything to ease my suffering, da Silva told the Sun. Doctors in Brazil have completed tilapia skin trials on 50 burn victims this month, including da Silva, the Sun reports. Photo: Caters News For the treatment, doctors take skin from tilapia, which is a disease-resistant species, and put it through a process that removes the scales, muscle, toxins, and fishy smell. The fish skin is then stretched, laminated, and stored in refrigerators in strips for up to two years. The resulting strips are similar to human skin, making it flexible and easy to mold around a patients wound, the Sun says. Tilapia skin was left on da Silvas burns for 11 days before being removed with petroleum jelly. Photo: Caters News Edmar Maciel, one of the plastic surgeons who came up with the treatment, tells the Sun that tilapia skin contains optimum levels of collagen and high degrees of humidity, so it takes a long time to dry out both of which are important factors in healing burns. Maciel said that the tilapia skin performs significantly better in the healing process by soothing and curing severe wounds caused by burns. Da Silva says shes nearly back to normal after her treatment. I loved the treatment and would recommend it to anyone who has suffered like me, she said. But fish skin to heal burns? Some experts expressed caution. Photo: Caters News Dermatologist Cynthia Bailey, M.D., founder of Dr. Bailey Skin Care, tells Yahoo Beauty that the treatment is resourceful and interesting, but risky. Infection is my biggest concern, she says. However, she notes, researchers seem to put the skin through a rigorous cleansing process before it treats burn victims. The thoroughness of this preparation is really important, she says. Story continues Gary Goldenberg, M.D., medical director of the Dermatology Faculty Practice at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, tells Yahoo Beauty that hes also worried about infection. Infection is one of the most common complications from burns, he says. I would be very concerned about infection using any treatment thats not sanitary on an open wound. Photo: Caters News Joshua Zeichner, M.D., a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist and director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center, tells Yahoo Beauty that the approach is interesting. We perpetually look to nature in new ways to help prevent and treat disease, he says. Using fish skin effectively as a wound care dressing has shown early, exciting results and may open the door to more extensive use in skin care and skin disease treatment. Photo: Caters News The current treatment for burns varies depending on the type and level of burns, Goldenberg says. Superficial burns that arent extensive may not require any treatment or a simple prescription cream, such as Silvadene, he says. Deeper and more extensive burns may require bandages and antibiotics to prevent infections, and severe, deep, and extensive burns may require IV antibiotics and fluids, dressing changes, and special wound care, as well as admission to a specialized burn unit in the hospital. Photo: Caters News Tilapia skin seems to help because its collagen appears to stimulate production of the necessary components for healing, like the skin cells and collagen of the burned skin, Bailey says. It also helps form a protective barrier, to keep the outside world out and inside world in, Goldenberg says, and Zeichner notes that it provides skin-hydrating properties to help the skin heal and function optimally. While the research is interesting, experts point out that its in its infancy. I would need to see more medical literature to believe it, Goldenberg says. I would be concerned that fish skin itself can introduce infection. Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Nairobi (AFP) - It was one of the most momentous events in the battle against poaching: 11 giant pyres of elephant tusks going up in flames in Kenya as the world looked on. The largest-ever destruction of ivory, which took place in April, was the pinnacle of efforts to jolt mankind into stopping the slaughter of wildlife, while sending a powerful message to poachers. As 2016 draws to an end, awareness of the devastation of poaching is greater than ever and countries have turned to high-tech warfare -- drones, night-goggles and automatic weapons -- to stop increasingly armed poachers. "We obviously still have a very long way to go, but the level of political awareness we have reached is remarkable compared to 6 years ago," said John Scanlon, secretary-general of the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Poaching was somewhat of a niche concern until around 2010 when the massacre of elephant and rhino began reaching such levels that conservationists and wildlife activists realised more had to be done to give the problem wider attention. High-profile names including Britain's Prince William were recruited to the cause, while calls grew louder for a total global ban on the ivory trade. The move is slowly paying off, and 2016 saw hopeful signs that people may no longer be willing to watch as extinction goes unchecked. China is the main source of global demand for ivory and in March the government announced a ban on new ivory imports. Then, in early October, CITES strengthened protection of other threatened species, including sharks, pangolins and grey parrots. - 'Charismatic' species - Debates still rage over how best to fight elephant poaching, but conservationists unanimously welcomed CITES' refusal to grant Namibia and Zimbabwe special authorisation to sell their ivory stockpiles in order to fund elephant protection. They argued that any legal sale stimulates demand and therefore the illegal trade. Story continues Elephant and rhinoceros, known as the 'charismatic' species, are often the poster children for the anti-poaching movement, tending to draw the most attention. "The elephant is a flagship for the wider ecosystem," said Kelvin Alie of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). "When you protect the elephant and its habitat, all the species living in this habitat benefit from this action." According to a World Bank study, international donations to combat wildlife trafficking have increased tenfold over recent years, from about $25 million (24 million euros) in 2010 to as much as $250 million (240 million euros) in 2016. - Worth more than gold - However some argue the future still looks gloomy. "We should not think that the problem is solved because we have recorded a few successes here and there," said Mark Gately of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Studies reveal a varied picture. Elephant populations are stable, or even increasing, in South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, parts of Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi or the W-Arli-Pendjari complex extending over Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. But elsewhere they are declining rapidly, and sometimes catastrophically. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the African elephant population has recorded its biggest drop in a quarter century, with an estimated population of 415,000 elephants, 111,000 fewer than a decade ago. And the killing continues at the dizzying pace of about 30,000 elephants a year. The rhinoceros fares worse. Black market rhino horn sells for up to $60,000 (57,000 euros) per kilogram -- more than gold or cocaine -- and in the last eight years alone roughly a quarter of the world population has been killed in South Africa, home to 80 percent of the remaining animals. CITES estimates the illegal wildlife trade to be worth $20 billion (19 billion euros) a year, making it the fourth biggest illicit activity after guns, drugs and human trafficking. Some African countries have made the fight against poaching a priority, but others believe there are more important problems on which to spend scarce resources, such as ending conflict, poverty, unemployment or hunger. "I think it's unfair just to leave it to African countries to take care of that problem, it's an international issue and it applies to thousands of species across the planet," said Richard Vigne, director of the private Ol Pejeta conservancy in Kenya. As an example, with attention fixed on elephant and rhino and gorillas, there was widespread shock as it emerged this month that the humble giraffe had seen numbers plummet by 40 percent and was now also vulnerable to extinction. - Good news - "The good news is we now know what we have to do, but we have to multiply the scale of our actions," said Scanlon. Part of that is the increasing use of technology, intelligence and weaponry as well as coordination with customs and police services, the adoption of laws with heavy penalties for poachers and a growing number of cross-border agreements to halt trafficking. "We need a holistic approach. If we deploy armed rangers on the ground, we also need to reduce the demand for ivory and explain to local communities there is economic interest in protecting wildlife," primarily through tourism, said Andrew McVey of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Across Africa drones, night-vision equipment, helicopter-borne intervention teams, automatic weapons and special forces trainers are all being brought in to stop the poachers. "This is a war, this is an unfortunate part of conservation ... We can't walk around in the bush with a stick, gently asking the poachers to drop their AK-47," said Damien Mander, an Australian ex-soldier who heads the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF). "Humans are capable of reacting quickly and strongly if they have been pushed far enough in the corner. I don't think we are far enough in the corner to spark that reaction." By Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Perry ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of people were evacuated on Thursday from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo, the first to leave under a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A first convoy of ambulances and buses with nearly 1,000 people aboard drove out of the devastated rebel-held area of Aleppo, which was besieged and bombarded for months by Syrian government forces, a Reuters reporter on the scene said. Syrian state television reported later that two further convoys of 15 buses each had also left east Aleppo. The second had reached the rebel-held area of al-Rashideen, an insurgent said. The International Committee of the Red Cross said late on Thursday that some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded people, including children, had already been evacuated. ICRC official Robert Mardini told Reuters there were no clear plans yet for how to ship out rebel fighters, who will be allowed under the ceasefire to leave for other areas outside government control. Women cried out in celebration as the first buses passed through a government-held area, and some waved the Syrian flag. Assad said in a video statement the taking of Aleppo - his biggest prize in more than five years of civil war - was a historic moment. An elderly woman, who had gathered with others in a government area to watch the convoy removing the rebels, raised her hands to the sky, saying: "God save us from this crisis, and from the (militants). They brought us only destruction." Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher in the rebel zone, said most people were happy to be leaving safely. But he said: "Some of them are angry they are leaving their city. I saw some of them crying. This is almost my feeling in a way." Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said Jan Egeland, the U.N. humanitarian adviser for Syria. Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, said about 50,000 people remained in rebel-held Aleppo, of whom about 10,000 would be evacuated to nearby Idlib province and the rest would move to government-held city districts. Behind those fleeing was a wasteland of flattened buildings, concrete rubble and bullet-pocked walls, where tens of thousands had lived until recent days under intense bombardment even after medical and rescue services had collapsed. The once-flourishing economic center with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverized during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. 'PLACE THEM ALL IN IDLIB' The United States was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies, including Russia, mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in an ever-diminishing pocket of territory, culminating in this week's ceasefire. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the Syrian government was carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo. U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien will brief the Security Council on Friday on the Aleppo evacuation. The Syrian White Helmets civil defense group and other rights organizations accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo region had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. In a letter submitted to the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria and seen by Reuters on Thursday, the groups listed 304 alleged attacks carried out in the Aleppo area primarily between July and December and said there was a "high likelihood" of Russia responsibility. The Russian U.N. mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations. Russia has said it stopped air strikes in Aleppo in mid-October. In Aleppo's rebel-held area, columns of black smoke could be seen as residents hoping to depart burned personal belongings they do not want to leave for government forces to loot. A senior Russian general, Viktor Poznikhir, said the Syrian army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo. But the war will still be far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province southwest of Aleppo, and the jihadist Islamic State group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week. Rebels and their families would be taken toward Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria that is outside government control, the Russian Defence Ministry said. Idlib province, mostly controlled by hardline Islamist groups, is not a popular destination for fighters and civilians from east Aleppo, where nationalist rebel groups predominated. A senior European diplomat said last week the fighters had a choice between surviving for a few weeks in Idlib or dying in Aleppo. "For the Russians it's simple. Place them all in Idlib and then they have all their rotten eggs in one basket." Idlib is already a target for Syrian and Russian air strikes but it is unclear if the government will push for a ground assault or simply seek to contain rebels there for now. The International Rescue Committee said: "Escaping Aleppo doesn't mean escaping the war ... After witnessing the ferocity of attacks on civilians in Aleppo, we are very concerned that the sieges and barrel bombs will follow the thousands who arrive in Idlib." SHI'ITE VILLAGES The evacuation deal was expected to include the safe passage of wounded from the Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya near Idlib that are besieged by rebels. A convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. Efforts to evacuate eastern Aleppo began earlier in the week with a truce brokered by Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, and Turkey, which has backed the opposition. That agreement broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned. A rebel official said a new truce came into effect early on Thursday. Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo. Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari - one of a handful of districts still held by rebels - and brought half of the neighborhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. The Russian Defence Ministry said - before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari - that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km (1 square mile). The evacuation plan was the culmination of two weeks of rapid advances by the Syrian army and its allies that drove insurgents back into an ever-smaller pocket of the city under intense air strikes and artillery fire. By taking control of Aleppo, Assad has proved the power of his military coalition, aided by Russia's air force and an array of Shi'ite militias from across the region. Rebels have been backed by the United States, Turkey and Gulf monarchies, but that support has fallen far short of the direct military assistance given to Assad by Russia and Iran. Russia's decision to deploy its air force to Syria more than a year ago turned the war in Assad's favor after rebel advances across western Syria. In addition to Aleppo, he has won back insurgent strongholds near Damascus this year. (Reporting by Laila Bassam in Aleppo and Tom Perry, John Davison and Lisa Barrington in Beirut, Michelle Martin in Berlin, John Irish in Paris, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Angus McDowall in Beirut and Giles Elgood in London; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Peter Cooney) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a 'butcher' who should be thrown out of the country along with his Iranian allies. "In my personal opinion, Assad is a butcher who massacred and murdered people," Lieberman told a conference of Jews from the former Soviet Union, on Thursday night. "I think that in the end it is in our interest that he and the Iranians be thrown out of Syria," he said in an audio clip of the conference in the Red Sea resort of Eilat released by his office. Assad has the support of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement and, since last year, the Russian air force. Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006, has sent thousands of its fighters to support Syrian government troops. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. "From a moral point of view we cannot accept such a massacre in front of the eyes of the entire world, with chemical weapons," Lieberman said. The Jewish state has sought to limit its involvement in the conflict, but has carried out sporadic sorties against Hezbollah inside Syria. Several Israeli missiles struck near the Mazzeh airbase near Damascus last week without causing any casualties, Syrian state media reported. The target was symbolic. It houses the headquarters of the feared air force intelligence service, a bedrock of Assad's rule. It was the second time in eight days that Israel had targeted positions outside Damascus. Speaking to EU ambassadors on Wednesday, Lieberman spoke of his country's defence policy. "We are working first and foremost to ensure the security of our citizens and defend our sovereignty and we are trying to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah," he said, according to a statement from his office. Last week's missile strikes were carried out from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. By Ross Kerber and Stephen Nellis BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's board relaxed some rules for director nominations by outside investors but stopped short of broader changes sought by an activist shareholder. The new bylaws disclosed in a securities filing late on Thursday dealt with the mechanics of "proxy access," the sometimes controversial process allowing outside investors to nominate their own candidates to a company's board. Just how much influence to give such investors has been a hot topic with the rise of activist shareholders who some executives fear may not have long-term corporate interests at heart. At Apple, this debate played out several years ago when billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn successfully urged an increase in share buybacks. Apple, the world's highest-valued publicly traded company, moved last year to allow a group of up to 20 shareholders owning at least 3 percent of its stock to include their own director candidates, constituting up to 20 percent of the board, in its proxy materials. Thursday's filing said shareholders also could re-nominate a director candidate regardless of the level of support he or she had won in earlier elections. Previously, shareholders were prohibited from re-nominating candidates who had gotten less than 25 percent at either of the company's last two annual meetings. Apple also extended a procedural deadline for nominating shareholders and director candidates, and it limited its board's direction to unilaterally interpret certain provisions, according to the filing. An Apple representative said the company would not comment beyond the filing. Independent shareholder James McRitchie, who has pressed Apple to grant more proxy access rights, said the changes were welcome, especially on the re-nomination question. But he said Apple failed to address two of his other, larger concerns. McRitchie said in a telephone interview that he would prefer there be no limit to the number of investors needed to reach the 3 percent threshold for nominating a director and that the board should change its terms to allow investors to nominate up to two directors to its eight-member board, up from one currently. Story continues Both ideas, along with a request to do away with the limits on re-nominations, are in a shareholder proposal McRitchie submitted to the company for a vote at its next annual meeting, expected early next year. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in October rejected a request by Apple to exclude the proposal. An agency lawyer said officials were "unable to conclude" Apple's current policies compare favorably with the activists' submission, as the company had argued, according to correspondence on the SEC's website. McRitchie, who owns about 600 shares of Apple, said he might be amenable to a compromise, but Apple has not spoken to him about one. "I'm a bug that's too small to register on their thick hide," he said. (Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Cabin crew union UFO said on Friday that three-way talks with Lufthansa's (LHAG.DE) budget carrier Eurowings and fellow union Verdi over pay and working conditions had failed. Lufthansa cabin crew and pilots have gone on strike several strikes over the last few years as the airline battles to reduce costs in order to compete with low-cost rivals and long-haul carriers with leaner cost bases. UFO has been trying to agree new contracts for Eurowings staff in Germany for two years and staged industrial action last month that forced the carrier to cancel hundreds of flights. Eurowings had put forward an offer that included an average pay increase of around 7 percent. The carrier reached an agreement with Verdi earlier this month, but UFO said on Friday it had sought to strike a deal that both unions could live with. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) (In this Dec. 15 story, deletes reference in second paragraph to Lim being only Western citizen known to be held currently in North Korea.) OTTAWA (Reuters) - Diplomats from Canada this week paid a rare visit to North Korea and were able to see a Canadian pastor serving a life sentence for subversion, a foreign ministry official said on Thursday. Hyeon Soo Lim, who served at one of the largest churches in Canada, was sentenced to hard labor for life in December 2015 for what North Korea says was an attempt to overthrow the regime. Chantal Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, confirmed a report by North Korea's KCNA news agency that said the diplomats visited the country from Tuesday until Thursday and saw Lim. "We are still very concerned about his health, well-being and continued detention and are working actively to secure his release," she said. "This case is absolutely a priority for us," she added, declining to give details of Lim's health. In a statement, Lim's Toronto-area church said "we are hopeful that this is a positive sign that we will see Reverend Lim released and home soon." Canada established diplomatic relations with Pyongyang in 2001 but froze them in 2010. Ottawa now says it will only talk to North Korea about regional security, human rights and consular cases. The church has said Lim visited North Korea more than 100 times since 1997 and helped set up an orphanage and nursing home. In January, Lim told CNN he spends eight hours a day digging holes at a labor camp where he has not seen any other prisoners. (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Andrea Hopkins; Editing by James Dalgleish and Andrew Hay) Antarctic 'pole of ignorance' finally addressed The last major unknown region on Earth has just been surveyed: the South Pole. Casey Affleck stopped by The Tonight Show and recalled the special night in which his acting career began and he got to meet one of Americas greatest civil rights activists. Affleck was in kindergarten and went to a school in Massachusetts that was named after Rosa Parks, who, in 1955, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Ala. Parks was honored by the school being named after her and decided to visit, so the school put on a play in which Affleck played a lion. Afflecks only part in the play was to run up to the front of the stage, roar, and get off stage. But things didnt go as planned. The mane he was wearing fell off right as he was supposed to go on stage. Afraid people wouldnt know what he was without the mane (like a female lion possibly?), Affleck quickly grabbed the mane and ran out on stage. After that gripping performance, Affleck got to meet Parks. Afterwards, Rosa Parks patted me on the head and smiled at me, which was pretty amazing. So Ive been, since then, my whole career has been trying to recapture that feeling of approval, and thats what Im looking for, Affleck joked. Check out Natalie Portmans reaction to video of her childhood singing group: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter. MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's sugar consumption in 2016/17 is likely to remain steady while the government's move to scrap high-value currency notes has affected demand, a leading industry body said on Friday. The country's sugar consumption in the new season, which started on Oct. 1, is estimated to be between 24.5 million tonnes and 25 million tonnes, compared with 24.8 million tonnes a year ago. The industry body had earlier expected consumption to rise to 25.5 million tonnes during the year. India is the world's biggest sugar consumer and second-biggest producer. "Market sources suggest that sugar sales in the first fortnight of December 2016 have been badly affected and the depressed demand may continue till January 2017," the Indian Sugar Mills Association said. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes, or 86 percent of the value of cash in circulation, as part of a crackdown on corruption, tax evasion and financing militants. Indian sugar mills produced 5.33 million tonnes of the sweetener between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15, over 11 percent higher than a year ago, as mills in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh started crushing earlier, it said. The country is likely to produce 23.4 million tonnes of sugar in 2016/17, down about 7 percent from a year ago as back-to-back droughts ravaged the cane crop in top-producing state of Maharashtra. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Barcelona (AFP) - Hundreds of Catalan pro-independence supporters rallied Friday in support of regional parliament speaker Carme Forcadell as she appeared for questioning for allowing a debate on secession from Spain. The crowd, which included some 400 pro-independence mayors, waved red and yellow Catalan independence flags, sang the regional anthem, and chanted "You are not alone" as she arrived at the Barcelona court. Forcadell, a leading figure in Catalonia's independence movement, is under investigation for "serious disobedience" after letting the regional assembly in July debate and vote on a resolution on steps to achieve independence for the wealthy northeastern region. Spain's Constitutional Court had ordered that the debate and vote not go ahead, arguing it was a step towards secession. "I explained to the judge that I acted correctly," Forcadell said after her court appearance. "No court can prevent parliament from debating independence or any other topic." Spain's conservative central government, which fiercely opposed Catalonia's independence drive, defended the court's decision to probe Forcadell. "No one can have carte blanche to disobey laws or to act with impunity," government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. Pro-independence parties won an absolute majority in Catalonia's 135-seat regional assembly for the first time in local elections in September 2015. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont pledged in the autumn to hold an independence referendum in September 2017, whether or not the central government in Madrid agreed, and Catalonia's regional parliament subsequently approved his plan. But Spain's Constitutional court on Tuesday suspended the resolution calling for the referendum while it decides on its legality. Spain's central government has ruled out any possibility of Catalonia, which accounts for almost a fifth of Spanish economic output, becoming independent. Polls show Catalans overwhelmingly support the right for an independence referendum but are evenly divided on secession. By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Leonardo Goy SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Tensions between the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and the top management of Cia Energetica de Minas Gerais SA are escalating over Chief Executive Officer Mauro Borges' debt-reduction and asset sales strategy, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. According to the sources, Borges could leave the electricity holding company if the state of Minas Gerais, Cemig's controlling shareholder, refuses to back his plan of selling several non-essential assets to cut debt. Both sides are in talks to settle their differences, the sources added. Minas Gerais Governor Fernando Pimentel, who is under investigation for alleged illegal campaign funding, opposes asset sales to cut Cemig's 16.3 billion reais ($4.8 billion) of debt, said the sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Pimentel is also facing a deep budget crisis and fallout from the November 2015 burst of a tailings dam in the mineral-rich state. Investors say that under Borges and Chief Financial Officer Fabiano Maia Pereira, Cemig has reworked terms of some loans and sold a stake in Transmissao Alianca de Energia Eletrica SA . It has also hired banks to sell stakes in Renova Energia SA, several small dams and a power venture with Vale SA. Both executives would step down if the differences with the Minas Gerais state government are not resolved, the sources said. The media office of Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based Cemig did not have an immediate comment. Pimentel's office said in a statement that Cemig's board was solely responsible for decisions on asset sales, without elaborating on the executives. Preferred shares, the most widely traded class of Cemig's stock, are up 28 percent this year, partly on hopes that Borges will succeed in selling assets to reduce the company's obligations. The shares rose 0.3 percent to 7.25 reais on Friday. Reuters reported on Nov. 18 that Cemig was trying to sell its 45 percent stake in the Alianca Geracao de Energia SA venture. It also reported on Sept. 16 that the company was looking for new partners for Light Energia SA . ($1 = 3.3673 reais) (Additional reporting by Tatiana Bauzter in Sao Paulo; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) The 10 photographs seen here all bear the same basic place and date information: Verdun, 1916. But that information hardly does justice to the battle they depict. Fighting began at Verdun, named for the French town that was its focus point, on Feb. 21, 1916. It did not end until Dec. 18, 1916100 years ago this weekend, after what TIME later called the crudest ten months of World War I. By that point, it had become the Great Wars longest fight. With its strategic location, the German military determined that Verdun would not only be worthy of attack, but that French forces would go to great lengths to defend it. The idea was that France would spend too much effort on that goal, weakening its position and helping the German effort. The idea wasnt wrong: France was in fact willing to go to extreme lengths to repel the enemy at Verdun, successfully pushing back German advances at great cost. Though some historians have argued that what we call Verdun was in fact a series of battles with elements that not only filled 1916 but also stretched before and after that year, the importance of what Verdun means to 20th-century military history is hard to debate. By Britannicas estimation, about 300,000 were killed during the course of those brutal months, out of a total of 400,000 French casualties and 350,000 German. The region had also been physically devastated. And, despite its pivotal place in the history of World War I, it ended with the French and German armies in much the same positionat least on a mapthat they had held before the whole thing started. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter In the years that followed, the word Verdun came to represent carnage and heavy losses. In 1963, TIME reminded readers of what French president Raymond Poincare had said: If Verdun is taken, what a disaster! If it is saved, how can we ever forget the price? The CEOs of three major firms linked to the auto industry have been added to an advisory panel known as the Strategic and Policy Forum that will regularly meet with Donald Trump when President to offer advice on issues such as job creation, technological trends and the economy. They include General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] CEO Mary Barra, Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. The panel was originally announced on December 2 and is led by Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of private equity investment giant Blackstone. ALSO SEE: Lucid Motors unveils 1,000-hp Air electric sedan The panels first meeting with Trump will be held at the White House in the first week of February, 2017. However, Musk was also among a group of tech industry stalwarts that met with Trump on Wednesday. The picks are interesting, as they include both fans and critics of Trump. For example, prior to the election, Musk had said Trump was not the right guy for the role of President. Kalanick had also joked that he might have to move to China if Trump won. In a statement, Trump said the picks were all at the top of their fields. Dylann Roof, the 22-year-old white supremacist who opened fire on a group of black congregants at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, last year, was found guilty on all 33 federal counts by a jury Thursday. In a taped confession, Roof, who is likely to face the death penalty at his sentencing hearing on Jan. 3, said he conducted research on the ratio of black to white residents of a number of South Carolina communities before choosing to open fire on the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston on June 17, 2015. Roof faced charges including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of religious freedom. As a part of the trial, jurors were shown footage of the young man laughing as he told investigators that he had shot the church-goers who had welcomed him into their Bible study group. The self-proclaimed white-supremacist also said he thought he would be shot by the police immediately after he killed nine parishioners with a Glock .45-caliber pistol. An excerpt from the confession can be seen below: Watch the full video of the confession below: Read the full text of Roofs racist manifesto below: I was not raised in a racist home or environment. Living in the South, almost every White person has a small amount of racial awareness, simply beause [sic] of the numbers of negroes in this part of the country. But it is a superficial awareness. Growing up, in school, the White and black kids would make racial jokes toward each other, but all they were were jokes. Me and White friends would sometimes would watch things that would make us think that 'blacks were the real racists' and other elementary thoughts like this, but there was no real understanding behind it. The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. Story continues But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words 'black on White crime' into Google, and I have never been the same since that day. The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens. There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders. I was in disbelief. At this moment I realized that something was very wrong. How could the news be blowing up the Trayvon Martin case while hundreds of these black on White murders got ignored? From this point I researched deeper and found out what was happening in Europe. I saw that the same things were happening in England and France, and in all the other Western European countries. Again I found myself in disbelief. As an American we are taught to accept living in the melting pot, and black and other minorities have just as much right to be here as we do, since we are all immigrants. But Europe is the homeland of White people, and in many ways the situation is even worse there. From here I found out about the Jewish problem and other issues facing our race, and I can say today that I am completely racially aware. Blacks I think it is is fitting to start off with the group I have the most real life experience with, and the group that is the biggest problem for Americans. N****rs are stupid and violent. At the same time they have the capacity to be very slick. Black people view everything through a racial lense [sic]. Thats [sic] what racial awareness is, its viewing everything that happens through a racial lense [sic]. They are always thinking about the fact that they are black. This is part of the reason they get offended so easily, and think that some thing [sic] are intended to be racist towards them, even when a White person wouldnt [sic] be thinking about race. The other reason is the Jewish agitation of the black race. Black people are racially aware almost from birth, but White people on average dont [sic] think about race in their daily lives. And this is our problem. We need to and have to. Say you were to witness a dog being beat by a man. You are almost surely going to feel very sorry for that dog. But then say you were to witness a dog biting a man. You will most likely not feel the same pity you felt for the dog for the man. Why? Because dogs are lower than men. This same analogy applies to black and White relations. Even today, blacks are subconsciously viewed by White people are [sic] lower beings. They are held to a lower standard in general. This is why they are able to get away with things like obnoxious behavior in public. Because it is expected of them. Modern history classes instill a subconscious White superiority complex in Whites and an inferiority complex in blacks. This White superiority complex that comes from learning of how we dominated other peoples is also part of the problem I have just mentioned. But of course I dont [sic] deny that we are in fact superior. I wish with a passion that n****rs were treated terribly throughout history by Whites, that every White person had an ancestor who owned slaves, that segregation was an evil an [sic] oppressive institution, and so on. Because if it was all it true, it would make it so much easier for me to accept our current situation. But it isnt true. None of it is. We are told to accept what is happening to us because of ancestors wrong doing [sic], but it is all based on historical lies, exaggerations and myths. I have tried endlessly to think of reasons we deserve this, and I have only came back more irritated because there are no reasons. Only a fourth to a third of people in the South owned even one slave. Yet every White person is treated as if they had a slave owning ancestor. This applies to in the states where slavery never existed, as well as people whose families immigrated after slavery was abolished. I have read hundreds of slaves narratives from my state. And almost all of them were positive. One sticks out in my mind where an old ex-slave recounted how the day his mistress died was one of the saddest days of his life. And in many of these narratives the slaves told of how their masters didnt [sic] even allowing whipping on his plantation. Segregation was not a bad thing. It was a defensive measure. Segregation did not exist to hold back negroes. It existed to protect us from them. And I mean that in multiple ways. Not only did it protect us from having to interact with them, and from being physically harmed by them, but it protected us from being brought down to their level. Integration has done nothing but bring Whites down to level of brute animals. The best example of this is obviously our school system. Now White parents are forced to move to the suburbs to send their children to 'good schools'. But what constitutes a 'good school'? The fact is that how good a school is considered directly corresponds to how White it is. I hate with a passion the whole idea of the suburbs. To me it represents nothing but scared White people running. Running because they are too weak, scared, and brainwashed to fight. Why should we have to flee the cities we created for the security of the suburbs? Why are the suburbs secure in the first place? Because they are White. The pathetic part is that these White people dont [sic] even admit to themselves why they are moving. They tell themselves it is for better schools or simply to live in a nicer neighborhood. But it is honestly just a way to escape n****rs and other minorities. But what about the White people that are left behind? What about the White children who, because of school zoning laws, are forced to go to a school that is 90 per cent black? Do we really think that that White kid will be able to go one day without being picked on for being White, or called a 'white boy'? And who is fighting for him? Who is fighting for these White people forced by economic circumstances to live among negroes? No one, but someone has to. Here I would also like to touch on the idea of a Norhtwest [sic] Front. I think this idea is beyond stupid. Why should I for example, give up the beauty and history of my state to go to the Norhthwest [sic]? To me the whole idea just parralells [sic] the concept of White people running to the suburbs. The whole idea is pathetic and just another way to run from the problem without facing it. Some people feel as though the South is beyond saving, that we have too many blacks here. To this I say look at history. The South had a higher ratio of blacks when we were holding them as slaves. Look at South Africa, and how such a small minority held the black in apartheid for years and years. Speaking of South Africa, if anyone thinks that think will eventually just change for the better, consider how in South Africa they have affirmative action for the black population that makes up 80 per cent of the population. It is far from being too late for America or Europe. I believe that even if we made up only 30 percent of the population we could take it back completely. But by no means should we wait any longer to take drastic action. Anyone who thinks that White and black people look as different as we do on the outside, but are somehow magically the same on the inside, is delusional. How could our faces, skin, hair, and body structure all be different, but our brains be exactly the same? This is the nonsense we are led to believe. Negroes have lower Iqs [sic], lower impulse control, and higher testosterone levels in generals. These three things alone are a recipe for violent behavior. If a scientist publishes a paper on the differences between the races in Western Europe or Americans, he can expect to lose his job. There are personality traits within human families, and within different breeds of cats or dogs, so why not within the races? A horse and a donkey can breed and make a mule, but they are still two completely different animals. Just because we can breed with the other races doesnt make us the same. In a modern history class it is always emphasized that, when talking about 'bad' things Whites have done in history, they were White. But when we lern [sic] about the numerous, almost countless wonderful things Whites have done, it is never pointed out that these people were White. Yet when we learn about anything important done by a black person in history, it is always pointed out repeatedly that they were black. For example when we learn about how George Washington carver [sic] was the first n****r smart enough to open a peanut. On another subject I want to say this. Many White people feel as though they dont [sic] have a unique culture. The reason for this is that White culture is world culture. I dont [sic] mean that our culture is made up of other cultures, I mean that our culture has been adopted by everyone in the world. This makes us feel as though our culture isnt special or unique. Say for example that every business man in the world wore a kimono, that every skyscraper was in the shape of a pagoda, that every door was a sliding one, and that everyone ate every meal with chopsticks. This would probably make a Japanese man feel as though he had no unique traditional culture. I have noticed a great disdain for race mixing White women within the White nationalists community, bordering on insanity it. These women are victims, and they can be saved. Stop. Jews Unlike many White naitonalists [sic], I am of the opinion that the majority of American and European Jews are White. In my opinion the issues with Jews is not their blood, but their identity. I think that if we could somehow destroy the Jewish identity, then they wouldnt [sic] cause much of a problem. The problem is that Jews look White, and in many cases are White, yet they see themselves as minorities. Just like n****rs, most Jews [sic] are always thinking about the fact that they are Jewish. The other issue is that they network. If we could somehow turn every Jew blue for 24 hours, I think there would be a mass awakening, because people would be able to see plainly what is going on. I dont [sic] pretend to understand why Jews do what they do. They are enigma [sic]. Hispanics Hispanics are obviously a huge problem for Americans. But there are good Hispanics and bad Hispanics. I remember while watching Hispanic television stations, the shows and even the commercials were more White than our own. They have respect for White beauty, and a good portion of Hispanics are White. It is a well known fact that White Hispanics make up the elite of most Hispanics [sic] countries. There is good White blood worht [sic] saving in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and even Brasil [sic]. But they are still our enemies. East Asians I have great respent [sic] for the East Asian races. Even if we were to go extinct they could carry something on. They are by nature very racist and could be great allies of the White race. I am not opposed at all to allies with the Northeast Asian races. Patriotism I hate the sight of the American flag. Modern American patriotism is an absolute joke. People pretending like they have something to be proud [of] while White people are being murdered daily in the streets. Many veterans believe we owe them something for 'protecting our way of life' or 'protecting our freedom'. But im [sic] not sure what way of life they are talking about. How about we protect the White race and stop fighting for the Jews. I will say this though, I myself would have rather lived in 1940's American than Nazi Germany, and no this is not ignorance speaking, it is just my opinion. So I dont [sic] blame the veterans of any wars up until after Vietnam, because at least they had an American [sic] to be proud of and fight for. An Explanation To take a saying from a film: 'I see all this stuff going on, and I dont [sic] see anyone doing anything about it. And it pisses me off'. To take a saying from my favorite film: 'Even if my life is worth less than a speck of dirt, I want to use it for the good of society.' I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me. Unfortunately at the time of writing I am in a great hurry and some of my best thoughts, actually many of them have been to be left out and lost forever. But I believe enough great White minds are out there already. Please forgive any typos, I didnt [sic] have time to check it. Related Articles Photo credit: Twitter From Cosmopolitan Photo credit: Twitter An entire community is trying to figure out who wrote the above Christmas list after a local man found it in a Dunfermline, Scotland, field on Monday, the Dunfermline Press reports. Stuart McColl, the man who found the letter, told the Press he published it to social media because "This was just too sad to ignore. I've never done anything like this before but it's a really tragic story so it would be great to do something to help this person who is having such a tough time. The letter reads in full: Hi dad, just writing you a letter to tell you I'm missing you and tell you news! I'm sure you know I'm in foster care cause mom is sick and my ear is blocked from Monday. Tomorrow we're leaving. I really miss school and you. I know are up in heaven but are you safe? Oh ya before I go here's my dream and xmas list. My dream is for you my daddy to put under my pillow that you wrote. My xmas list: boots/studs, Astros, rebounder net, new Premier League ball, Real Madrid kit Bye daddy I love you. According to the Bournemouth Daily Echo, there has been no luck yet in identifying the child, though the community keeps sending tips via Facebook. Anyone who thinks they might know who the child is can email editorial@dunfermlinepress.co.uk. The goal is to be able to make his/her Christmas wishes come true. Follow Tess on Twitter. You Might Also Like JAKARTA (Reuters) - China's embassy in Indonesia has expressed alarm at media reports accusing China of using a "biological weapon" against Indonesia, after four Chinese nationals were arrested for planting imported chili seeds contaminated with a bacteria. The headlines splashed across Indonesian media have sparked a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment on social media in a country with a history of simmering resentment towards its giant neighbor and a minority ethnic Chinese community. Indonesian authorities said the imported chili seeds confiscated on a farm about 60 km (37 miles) south of the capital, Jakarta, contained the bacteria erwinia chrysanthemi, which is harmless to humans but can cause failure in crops. It was the first time the bacteria had been detected in Indonesia, the state-owned news agency Antara quoted the head of the country's quarantine body as saying. Indonesians are among the most avid users of social media in the world, and conspiracy theories about the intentions of the four Chinese nationals running the farm quickly spread. "Haven't people realized that Chinese attacks on thiscountry are real in many ways. From drugs, illegal workers, now chili bacteria", said a twitter user with the handle @BoengParno. Authorities burned the chili seeds and destroyed the crop sowed by the Chinese men and 30 Indonesian workers on a leased plot of land near the city of Bogor. The Chinese embassy in a statement said accusations of a plot to use "biological weapons to destroy the economy of Indonesia" carried no basis in facts and were "very worrying". "We hope that the bilateral relations and friendship between the people of China and Indonesia will not be affected by this matter". Indonesia's maritime affairs minister Luhut Panjaitan criticized some of the outbursts on social media. "Whether it's true or not, some people over react," he said. "'Oh, the Chinese invade Indonesia'. Come on. This is the problem with social media ... Without checking, they just spread the rumors." Indonesia has suffered bouts of anti-Chinese and anti-communist sentiment over its history, and recently. President Joko Widodo was falsely identified as having ethnic Chinese ancestry and being an agent of influence for Beijing during a 2014 election campaign he narrowly won. There has also been a recent spike on social media of hostility over China's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea as well during the re-election campaign of Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians attended rallies in the past six weeks denouncing Purnama, who is facing trial for blasphemy after criticizing people who had cited the Koran to argue that Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims. On average, ethnic Chinese are far wealthier than other groups in Indonesia and stereotypes persist that they are less patriotic than other Indonesians. During riots after the fall of President Suharto in May 1998, ethnic Chinese were targeted, making up a disproportionate number of the 1,000 people who were killed in the violence. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe and Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Editing by Robert Birsel) Businesses hit hard by districtwide shutdown A prolonged districtwide shutdown is costing local traders Rs2 billion in lost business and the government more than Rs300 million in lost revenue daily, traders said. LANZHOU, China Ma Xin couldnt find the Salafi mosque. We were walking through the northwestern citys Xiaoxihu neighborhood, a traditionally Muslim minority-dominated area. Ma, a 24-year-old Chinese Muslim whod recently graduated from university and was working for a halal fruit juice company, had promised to bring me to one of the mosques adhering to Salafi teaching. Behind a busy shopping street, we found a dirt lot piled high with debris, the red character chai (demolish) still sprayed on the half-destroyed walls of a recently scrapped building. But what looked like a sign of a crackdown turned out to be the opposite. A few minutes away from the lot, we met 38-year-old Hussein, an Arabic-language teacher at the mosques attached madrasa, or Islamic school, temporarily located in a set of portable trailers. It was the congregation that had decided to knock the mosque down, Hussein told us: That mosque has already been renovated three times. Everything is funded by private donations. Now they were going to rebuild and expand the building, making more space for the approximately 60 madrasa students and additional worshippers. Hussein had studied Arabic for two years at King Saud University in Riyadh and now taught language for scriptural interpretation to Hui teenagers, members of the ethno-religious minority that makes up approximately half of Chinas 23 million Muslims. When Ma asked Hussein if their school had trouble operating because of its Salafi association, Hussein frowned. Foreign media is messing things up by saying Salafis are extremists. The government doesnt interfere with us, he said. Husseins experience of a hands-off state approach was surprising in the context of Beijings convoluted history with Islam and recent rhetoric about countering extremism through ideological control. Chinese authorities have historically associated religion with ethnic separatism, unwanted foreign influence, and domestic turmoil. In the 19th century, sectarian Islamic clashes and an apocalyptic Christian revolt led to the deaths of millions of people in the countrys south and west. In recent days, the rise in violent extremism and radical jihad around the world has also left China grappling with its own terrorist incidents, including a knife attack at the Kunming train station in 2014, another attack on a coal mine in Aksu in 2015, and a car bombing at the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan this fall. In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated at a national conference on religion that religious institutions should resolutely guard against overseas infiltrations and stick to moderate theologies that merge religious doctrines with Chinese culture. At the China Islamic Associations 10th National Congress in Beijing this November, the head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, Wang Zuoan, warned that extremism was spilling into eastern and central China. Islamic clergy should stand in the front line in the fight to curb religious extremism, Wang said, emphasizing that converting the mindset of people was critical to countering potential violence and terrorism. Yet in many Muslim-majority parts of China, ideologies commonly associated with extremism are flourishing. Salafism, an ultraconservative school based on the belief in return to a purer Islam as practiced in the time of the Prophet Mohammed, has caused global worry as radical groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda draw on elements of its teaching. In China, however, the level of state control over religious activity depends on ethnic and geographical factors, not ideological ones. The core of Chinese counterterrorism remains domestic control over certain minorities and regions namely, the Uighurs, an Islamic ethnic minority in the western regions of China, especially the tumultuous and massive border province of Xinjiang. There, an ongoing and brutal state crackdown is exacerbating ethnic tensions and violent resistance. The authorities speak of terrorism as an ideological problem while treating it as an ethnic one, trying to contain it in Xinjiang without admitting to discriminatory treatment of Uighurs. Thus an actively proselytizing Hui Salafi in Lanzhou enjoys more freedom than a secular Uighur in Kashgar. One result of this discord between policy and practice is the alienation of Uighurs from Hui, who seek distance from Uighurs for their own survival. Another is the self-fulfilling prophecy of Uighur radicalization, as discrimination pushes the minority toward extremist narratives. This May, in Lanzhou, in Xinjiangs neighboring province of Gansu, I met a Hui Muslim named Abdelhalim, whose family had enough wealth from their successful halal lamb restaurant chain to open a private mosque and madrasa. He showed me stacks of booklets on the life and teaching of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the founder of Wahhabism, inside the mosque library. I got these for free when I went to Saudi Arabia for hajj, Abdelhalim told me proudly. The only other free books he had in the library were compilations of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engelss teachings. Those were gifts from the government, Abdelhalim said. We keep them on the bottom shelf. And in the southern border province of Yunnan, the 3.01 incident in 2014 when eight knife-wielding attackers killed 29 civilians at the Kunming train station led to an province-wide crackdown on religious institutions. State authorities identified all eight attackers as ethnic Uighurs, at least one of whom had spent six months studying at a Salafi madrasa in the small town of Shadian, which has its own history of Islamic struggle but is now held up as an example of religious harmony. Within several months of the attack, the Religious Affairs Administration had issued a policy forbidding nonlocal students and teachers to study or teach in Yunnan. After resistance from local mosque leaders, the bureau adjusted the policy to one of rectification, still allowing out-of-province students but stipulating that everyone first return home and obtain permissions from local and Yunnanese public security and religious affairs bureaus. The effect was what locals called liang qing (double sweeping), as nonlocal students and teachers left. Student numbers at the Shadian Grand Mosques madrasa dropped from 450 to 200. Two years later, some nonlocal students have returned but no Uighurs. Ruslan Yusupov, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who spent the last two years living in Shadian, said the policy response to 3.01 reflected the Chinese governments regionally calibrated approach to questions of extremism. In Shadian, Yusupov said, police from Xinjiang not local forces implemented the expulsion of nonlocal students. The whole question was not one of national policy but of geographic problems. Yunnans government didnt know how to deal with it. The idea was, This is a Xinjiang case, and we have to send it to them, Yusupov said. Today, there are virtually no Uighurs left in Yunnan. On my own visit to Shadian in April, a Han convert to Islam showed me an illicit religious magazine hed been publishing for years. The authorities stopped him once, he said, because it was getting popular in Xinjiang. Once he stopped circulation there, no one gave him any more problems. Likewise, a prominent imam whod studied in Saudi Arabia told me hed taught informal Islamic classes at Lanzhou University and the Northwest University for Nationalities for five years. There was no problem until 2015, when he was arrested and detained in Xinjiang for several months because authorities found that a few Uighur students had begun attending his weekend lectures. Gansu authorities negotiated to bring the imam back, but he no longer teaches, and no Uighurs attend his mosque. One reason Beijing prioritizes Uighur separatism as a bigger threat than Hui sectarianism is because Xinjiang independence is a real possibility and has been actualized for brief periods in the past, in the 1930s and 1940s. The Uighurs speak a Turkic language and are ethnically and linguistically distinct from Han Chinese. They possess a strong sense of identity as a separate nation from China that is being exacerbated by Beijings heavy-handed security practices across Xinjiang. The Hui, in contrast, have no separatist ambitions. Although Hui Muslims theoretically share Central Asian and Middle Eastern ethnic roots, most are heavily intermarried with and virtually undistinguishable from the Han Chinese majority. They look alike, speak the same language, and tend to espouse an apolitical form of faith. We are a minority, not trying to establish a law or a nation through our religion, Hussein, the Salafi Arabic teacher, told me. We dont even think of having religion in politics. Its not realistic. Some believe that Beijing actually welcomes the splintering of non-Uighur Muslim groups, even into sects with potentially violent proclivities, because it discourages the countrys Muslims from banding together. Mohammed al-Sudairi, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Hong Kong who researched the connection between Hui Muslims and Saudi Salafis in northwestern China, said he found many schools there using texts from abroad. Lots of schools in Guanghe and Linxia [Muslim-populated towns in Gansu] were using Saudi high school textbooks. Theyre the same books on fiqh [Islamic legal scholarship], tawhid [divine oneness], and so on that we used growing up in Saudi Arabia, probably brought back and copied by Chinese students whod been at Madinah University, Sudairi told me. But, he pointed out, the growth of Salafism in China has actually caused fragmentation among Chinese Muslims, which decreases the potential for religious challenge to state authority. It gives the state more room to opportunistically intervene and support one group over the other. Chinese Muslims are at the end of the day trying to accommodate to Chinese realities: sectarianism, the party-state, search for authenticity, materialism theyre picking and choosing what they want. You dont have any one cohesive movement, Sudairi said. Zhang Weixin, the former principal of an Arabic school in Linxia, told me that plenty of groups in northwestern China, Salafi or otherwise, practice takfir an extreme act of pronouncing other Islamic groups to be non-Muslim because of doctrinal differences, usually done to sanction violence against them. But unlike well-known takfiri groups like al Qaeda or the Islamic State, Chinas fundamentalist sects are more concerned with vying for local material power and arguing about ritualistic differences than with challenging Communist Party authority or establishing an Islamic law-based society. Many people here are just following a surface-level understanding of tradition, Zhang said, which leads to a form of conservatism that does not threaten the state. But conservatism is no longer an option for Uighurs, for whom any sign of serious interest in Islam is read by the authorities as a potential threat. The state continues to increase social control over Uighurs, banning them from having beards or wearing hijabs in public spaces, forbidding their minors from entering religious premises, obliging their children whove taken part in religious activities to receive rectification at special schools, and even confiscating the passports of all Xinjiang residents. Ironically, thats making violent extremism more attractive to young Uighurs, producing a radicalization of Uighur extremist movements, which have significant numbers fighting in Syria and draw directly on Chinese state oppression for their narratives of violent resistance and holy war. Hui locals told Yusupov that spending time in Shadian once had a de-radicalization effect on many Uighurs who came from southern Xinjiang to study religion. Many people were antagonistic to the government when they came to Shadian, Yusupov said. When exposed to a vibrant culture of different relationships between Islam and the government, they recognized that peaceful coexistence is possible. Uighurs from southern Xinjiang who once considered Mandarin an infidel language, for example, would often change their minds after praying and working alongside Hui Muslims, who primarily speak Chinese. But now that window is closed for Xinjiang people, because they cant go out. They live in a world where they only see that the government is against them, Yusupov said. They draw the connection that government is bad, Han is bad these things are against us, they say and they resist. Photo credit: JEFF ROTMAN/Getty Images BEIJING (Reuters) - The "one China" principle is the basis for developing ties with China and no country can be an exception to this rule, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his French counterpart. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has upset China by speaking with the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and casting doubt on Washington's nearly four-decade policy of recognizing that Taiwan is part of "one China". Speaking with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Wang said the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday. "The one-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for other countries to develop their relations with China and that when it comes to this vital issue of right or wrong, no country can be an exception," the statement cited Wang as saying. Wang said he appreciated Ayrault's clear stance on the "one China" issue. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. China considers Taiwan independence a red line issue. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry) (Adds Obama comment on one China policy, paragraphs 12-13) By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A Chinese warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by a U.S. oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return, U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday. The drone was taken on Thursday, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory, about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), officials said. "The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property," the official said. The Pentagon confirmed the incident at a news briefing and said the drone used commercially available technology and sold for about $150,000. Still, the Pentagon viewed China's seizure seriously since it had effectively taken U.S. military property. "It is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said. Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the seizure "a remarkably brazen violation of international law." U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus cited a "growing China" as one of the reasons that the Navy needed to expand its fleet to 355 ships, including 12 carriers, 104 large surface combatants, 38 amphibious ships and 66 submarines. The seizure will add to concerns about China's increased military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts. It coincided with saber-rattling from Chinese state media and some in its military establishment after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump cast doubt on whether Washington would stick to its nearly four-decades-old policy of recognizing that Taiwan is part of "one China." Story continues President Barack Obama said on Friday it was appropriate for Trump to take a fresh look at U.S. policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned the idea that Taiwan is part of one China is central to China's view of itself as a nation. "If you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through whatever the consequences are," Obama told a news conference, noting Beijing's reaction could be "very significant." A U.S. research group this week said new satellite imagery indicated China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea. Mira Rapp-Hooper, a senior fellow in the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said China would have a hard time explaining its actions. "This move, if accurately reported, is highly escalatory, and it is hard to see how Beijing will justify it legally," Rapp-Hooper said. SNATCHED AWAY The drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, the U.S. official added. The data can help inform U.S. military sonar data since such factors affect sound. The USNS Bowditch, a U.S. Navy ship crewed by civilians that carries out oceanographic work, had already retrieved one of two of its drones, known as ocean gliders, when a Chinese Navy Dalang 3 class vessel took the second one. Officials said the Bowditch was only 500 meters (yards) from the drone and, observing the Chinese intercede, used bridge-to-bridge communications to demand it be returned. The Chinese ship acknowledged the communication but did not respond to the Bowditch's demands, the Pentagon's Davis said. "The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: "we are returning to normal operations," Davis said. The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the drone. The Chinese acknowledged it but have not responded, officials said. The seizure happened a day after China's ambassador to the United States said Beijing would never bargain with Washington over issues involving its national sovereignty or territorial integrity. "Basic norms of international relations should be observed, not ignored, certainly not be seen as something you can trade off," Ambassador Cui Tiankai, speaking to executives of top U.S. companies, said on Wednesday. He did not specifically mention Taiwan, or Trump's decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president on Dec. 2. The call was the first such contact with Taiwan by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of "one China." (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lisa Shumaker) BEIJING (Reuters) - China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday after exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise. Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace laureates at a conference on children's rights at the presidential palace on Sunday. Those who attended, and spoke, included Princess Charlene of Monaco and the former president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta. The Indian government had ignored China's "strong opposition and insisted" on arranging for the Dalai Lama to share the stage with Mukherjee, and meet him, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital. "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to this," he said, adding that the Dalai Lama used the guise of religion to engage in separatist activities and China opposed any form of official contacts with him. China wanted India to recognise the "anti-China, separatist essence of the Dalai Lama clique and take steps to banish the negative impact of this incident" to avoid disrupting ties between the Asian giants, Geng said. While the Dalai Lama has had private meetings with Indian leaders, Sunday's conference was the first public event, said the political head of the Tibetan government in exile based in the hill town of Dharamsala. "There are many European governments shying away from hosting His Holiness," he told Reuters. "Here you have the president of India hosting His Holiness. I think is a powerful message to the world, and particularly to Beijing." China regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist, though he says he merely seeks genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland Tibet, which Communist Chinese troops "peacefully liberated" in 1950. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. China also expressed displeasure with India this month over the visit to a sensitive border region of another senior Tibetan religious figure, the Karmapa Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's third-most-senior monk, who fled into exile in India in 2000. India is home to a large exiled Tibetan community. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) BEIJING (Reuters) - Criminal prosecution of 26 people involved in China's biggest alleged online fraud - a nearly 60 billion yuan ($8.64 billion) case involving online peer-to-peer lender Ezubao - has started in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Ten individuals, along with Ezubao's parent companies Yucheng Holdings and Yucheng Global, are charged with fraudulent fund-raising, the news agency said. Sixteen other individuals face charges of illegally taking public deposits. Other charges include smuggling precious metals, illegal possession of weapons and undocumented border crossings, Xinhua said. Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, allegedly collected 59.8 billion yuan of funds from investors through fake investment projects it advertised on its website and failed to repay 38 billion yuan. It collapsed in February, with executives saying the firm was "a complete Ponzi scheme", which used investor funds to support lavish lifestyles for its executives. [nL3N15H1FY] The alleged scam has put the spotlight on risks in China's fast growing and loosely regulated wealth management product industry. The authorities have since August unveiled a slew of new regulations aimed at strengthening the online finance industry. [nL3N1B51OF] More than 1,700 problematic P2P lending platforms will "have to exit" the market, a regulatory official said at the time. [nB9N1AS01P] China's peer-to-peer industry has boomed in recent years. Outstanding P2P loans jumped 153.5 percent to 956 billion yuan by the end of September, a record high, according to a report by domestic industry portal P2P001. [nL3N1CA1UI] ($1 = 6.9465 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Matthew Miller; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) BEIJING (Reuters) - The family of prominent Chinese legal activist Jiang Tianyong is unable to locate him despite police saying that he had been released on Dec. 1 after spending nine days in detention, his family's lawyer said on Friday. Disbarred lawyer Jiang, 45, has spoken out about a government crackdown on legal defenders and has been involved in high-profile cases of dissidents who have angered authorities, including blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who left China after he fled to the U.S. embassy in 2012. Jiang's wife, Jin Bianling, told Reuters in November that she and his friends had been unable to contact him since Nov. 21 after he traveled to Changsha in Hunan province to visit relatives of an arrested human rights lawyer, Xie Yang. Philip Alston, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in a statement last week that he feared Jiang's disappearance was in part a reprisal for a meeting the two had during Alston's August visit to China. Jiang may be at risk of torture, the United Nations said. When asked about Jiang at a daily briefing on Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he "did not understand the situation". Officers at a police station in Changsha told Jiang's parents on Thursday they had released Jiang on Dec. 1 after nine days of detention, according to family lawyer Qin Chengshou. "The local station did not provide any form of written proof of his detention or his release, and as we still cannot contact him, we suspect that he has either not been released or has been transferred to another police station," Qin said. Qin said police told him that Jiang was detained for nine days after attempting to use an identification card that was not his to buy train tickets. "At this time, we have no way of confirming whether what they said is correct," Qin said. An officer at the police station who answered the telephone on Friday said the issue had "nothing to do with us". He did not elaborate. Since 2015, dozens of people linked to a Beijing law firm have been detained or prosecuted by the authorities in a crackdown on dissent. China consistently rejects criticism of its human rights record and says it is a country ruled by law. (Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Robert Birsel) Christian Federation demands restoration of Christmas national holiday Federation of National Christian Nepal has put forth a charter of three-point demand before the government which also includes the reversal of the erstwhile government decision to remove the Christmas Day from the calendar of national holidays. New York (AFP) - Hillary Clinton blames Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had a "personal beef" against her, and a late-hour FBI intervention over her email scandal for her loss to Donald Trump in the US election, a newspaper reported Friday. Clinton, 69, has kept a low profile in the weeks since her shock defeat to the Republican billionaire, but made the remarks to campaign donors in Manhattan on Thursday night, The New York Times reported. The Democratic former secretary of state won the popular vote by more than 2.7 million ballots but lost the crucial Electoral College by 232 to 306. Trump walked away with the election because he won a string of swing states. Crucially his wins in three of those states, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, amounted to a combined total of around 100,000 votes. The Times said Clinton told donors that a letter from FBI director James Comey revisiting her private server scandal dating back to her time as secretary of state, 10 days before the election, cost her close races in several states. "Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey," the Times quoted her as saying. She said the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and her campaign chairman John Podesta's emails stemmed from Putin's "personal beef" against her, the newspaper reported. Clinton said the reason was her accusation that Russia's 2011 parliamentary elections were rigged. "Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," the Times quoted her as saying. On Thursday, Podesta lashed out at the FBI in a scathing op-ed published in The Washington Post, slamming the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its "failure" to adequately respond to the Democratic Party email hacks. Story continues An investigation published by the Times earlier this week said that when the FBI discovered the hack in September 2015, it left phone messages with the DNC "help desk" but did not warn senior Democratic officials or visit in person. "Comparing the FBI's massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI," he wrote. In the immediate aftermath of the election, however, some Democrats including advisers close to her husband, former president Bill Clinton, directed blame at Clinton's own campaign. The campaign reportedly ignored calls from Bill Clinton to spend more time focusing on disaffected white, working class voters -- a key demographic that elected Bill Clinton twice and backed Trump. Clinton did not visit Wisconsin as the Democratic nominee and only pushed late into Michigan after polls showed the race tightening. Hillary Clinton addresses her staff and supporters about the results of the U.S. election at a hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Thursday made her first public statements about Russia's cyberattacks on Democrats during the US election, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to "undermine our democracy" because of his "personal beef" with her. "We're learning more every day about the Russians' unprecedented plot to swing the election," she told a group of campaign donors at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel on Thursday night, according to audio obtained by The New York Times. "Putin personally directed these attacks ... apparently because he has a personal beef against me," Clinton said. "He is determined not only to score a point against me, which he did, but also to undermine our democracy ... It's part of a long-term [Russian] strategy to cause us to doubt ourselves." Tension between Clinton and Putin goes back to at least 2011, when, as secretary of state, Clinton suggested that Russia's parliamentary elections were not free or fair. Putin perceived her comments as meddling and blamed her for the protests that broke out in Russia afterward. "Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," Clinton told donors on Thursday, reiterating her obligation to denounce elections that were "so flawed, so illegitimate, that it was embarrassing." "Make no mistake," she said, pivoting back to the Russian hacking campaign. "This is not just an attack against me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country. We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation." During an interview with NPR on Thursday, President Barack Obama promised retaliatory action against Russia. The CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the US election to try to tip the scales toward President-elect Donald Trump. Other agencies haven't gone as far in their assessments regarding the motive, but US intelligence agencies publicly accused Russia of interference in October. Story continues James Comey Clinton also attributed her loss to Trump to the bombshell letter released by FBI Director James Comey just over one week before Election Day. The letter informed members of Congress about new emails related to the investigation into her private email server. "There were some events, some unprecedented factors, that I don't think we can ignore because to do so is at our peril," she said. "Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey." Two days before the election, after agents examined the newly discovered emails, Comey announced that the agency would not change its initial recommendation not to indict Clinton for her use of the private server. "That letter most likely made the difference in the outcome," she said, echoing a letter sent out by the campaign's director of opinion research, Navin Nayak, days after the election. "We believe that we lost this election in the last week. Comey's letter in the last 11 days of the election both helped depress our turnout and also drove away some of our critical support among college-educated white voters particularly in the suburbs," Nayak wrote. "We also think Comey's 2nd letter, which was intended to absolve Sec. Clinton, actually helped to bolster Trump's turnout." Listen to Clinton's remarks here: NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him More From Business Insider WASHINGTON (AP) Coalition airstrikes destroyed an air defense system that Islamic State militants had captured last weekend when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from Russian and Syrian regime forces. The U.S.-led coalition says that strikes in 10 locations destroyed the artillery system, 14 tanks, buildings and vehicles. The top U.S. general leading the fight against IS had warned that the coalition would likely target the area if Russian and Syria forces didn't take action in Palmyra. He said the weapons posed a threat to the coalition. Islamic State militants retook Palmyra on Sunday, scoring a major advance by taking advantage of the Syrian and Russian focus on Aleppo. Palmyra was taken over by IS last year and the militants spent 10 months in control. More than 26 tons of seized cocaine worth more than $2 billion on the streets was brought ashore in Florida Thursday in what officials are calling "one of the largest drug offloads" in history. Read: Catch of the Day: Shark Fisherman Reels In a Kilo of Cocaine During Excursion The flight deck of 418-foot Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton was covered in more than three dozen pallets of seized cocaine, offloaded in Port Everglades with a crane, as a result of a joint effort between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy in the eastern Pacific over the last three months. "Today we'll be offloading 53,000 pounds. That's equivalent to about 24,000 kilograms of cocaine [...] with an estimated wholesale value of $715 million," Vice Admiral Karl Schultz, Coast Guard commander in the Atlantic area, said in a Thursday press conference. "That's probably equivalent to $2-plus billion on the streets of America." Many of the brightly colored packages, seized in 27 separate missions, were labeled "white sugar" or "pork." "[The offloading] showcases the threat posed by dangerous cartels, gangs and criminal groups that make up extensive transitional organized crime networks," Schultz said. He said the cocaine was intercepted from vessels originating from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. The loads were intended to reach land before they would be divided into smaller amounts, and smuggled into the U.S. and Canada. Read: This Drug Ring Stashed Cocaine in Toy Characters From Frozen, The Minions "When we interdict drugs at sea, they are large quantities. That's kind of the impact of doing this at sea," Schultz explained. The cocaine will later be transported to different agencies in order to prosecute the 100 suspects currently detained in relation to each smuggling incident. Watch: Coke and a Smile: Drug-Smuggling Duo Took $23 Million Worth of Cocaine on World Cruise: Cops Related Articles: VATICAN CITY/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and opposition leader Alvaro Uribe were unable to find common ground on a peace accord with Marxist FARC rebels, even with the mediation of Pope Francis when they met at the Vatican on Friday. On his third visit to the Vatican, Santos appealed to Francis for support in ending a 52-year war that has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions. "We need your help," said Santos, who signed a modified peace deal in November after a previous pact was rejected in a plebiscite. He gave the pope a gift of a pen made from a machine gun bullet. Francis, an Argentine who has helped broker diplomatic efforts in Cuba and Venezuela, then received Uribe, a right-wing senator and former president who has been one of the harshest critics of the new peace deal. The former allies also met Francis together for around 20 minutes. A photograph released by the Vatican showed them sitting side by side at a table in the pope's private study. It appears no consensus was reached. "I told ex-president Uribe that we are always ready, as we have said in previous occasions, to continue dialogue, to reach agreement about how the peace accord should be implemented," Santos said after the joint meeting. Uribe argues the new deal is not tough enough on Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels since it does not include opposition demands that they serve traditional jail sentences and be barred from forming political parties. "If the government allows room to examine certain issues, we could look for options," Uribe said, reiterating a previous demand. Santos won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to reach an accord, under which some 7,000 rebels are now heading to special demobilization areas to hand in their weapons. Francis has repeatedly expressed support for the deal over four years of negotiations. At Friday's meeting, he presented Santos with a medal and copies of the three encyclicals produced during his papacy. (Reporting by Isla Binnie, Helen Murphy, Julia Symmes Cobb and Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Jeffrey Benkoe) oil rig The US oil rig count rose by 12 to 510 this week, according to oilfield-services giant Baker Hughes. The count of rigs plunged with oil prices from late 2014, representing one of the best anecdotes of how the downturn was impacting US shale drillers. However, a recent rebound has lifted the tally nearly back to where it was at the start of this year. One gas rig was brought online this week, taking the total to 126. One miscellaneous rig remained, and so the combined tally increased by 13 to 637. "We expect activity levels to rise throughout 2017 as E&Ps [exploration and production companies] seek to grow production into an improving commodity price environment," said Kurt Hallead, co-head of global energy research at RBC Capital Markets, in a note on Friday. "Given our commodity price outlook (average of US$56/$63 WTI in 2017/18), we think oilfield services stocks are still in the early innings of a cyclical recovery, although the recovery is likely to remain choppy in the near term." A revival of robust US shale-oil production could undermine efforts by OPEC members to lower their output next year. Last weekend, the group of energy producers agreed with non-members, for the first time since 2001, to cut production levels by 558,000 barrels per day around 0.6% of global supply. Here's the latest chart of the oil rig count: 12 16 16 oil rigs NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates More From Business Insider The results of the 2016 presidential election had a forceful impact on most of the nation, with many celebrities standing up to express their disappointment in the choice of President-elect Donald Trump, whose track record includes a history of disparaging comments toward minorities and women. Rapper, actor, and film producer Common sat down with Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga recently to offer up some of his own ideas about what a Trump presidency means to him as a black American, as well. I was honesty really discouraged and disappointed and hurt for a while, Common said of Trumps election. But Im a believer in God and a believer in us, as people whether you voted for Donald Trump or didnt vote for him we still have to work together and empower ourselves to do the things we need to do as citizens of humanity. Spread love. Support each other. You can disagree and still keep moving forward. This sentiment includes Commons fellow artist and good friend Kanye West, who infamously pledged support for Trump at a San Jose show in November. We can definitely disagree on politics, because I didnt vote for Trump, Common noted calmly, adding that he doesnt necessarily condemn West for meeting with Trump earlier this month, especially if West was as he claimed talking to the President-elect in order to discuss concerns in his hometown of Chicago. Whenever we get to sit down, I would love to hear what his intentions were, Common, who is also from Chicago, said. We have a lot of issues going on in Chicago, so if Kanye went for that reason, hes my man. Commons rational message of coming together for the greater good isnt just reflected in his talk he chooses to be involved with projects that he feels progress understanding. He wrote a new track, A Letter to the Free, for director Ava DuVernays provocative documentary 13th, which tackles racial division in America. When she told the story, I just said I had to be a part of this, he said. The film is significant in moving society forward. Ava has a real knack for creating material that starts conversations she brings a humanity to everything she does. Story continues Common also discussed the power of universal appeal in regards to the smash Broadway hit Hamilton, to which he contributed a track to its equally successful mixtape. Its progressive and fresh, he raved, noting the importance of the production as a vehicle to introduce hip-hop to a brand-new audience that may never have considered listening to the genre before. Watch Commons full interview with Golodryga: As you deck the halls and plan for the New Year, you may be thinking of buying a new home when the weather warms up and the traditional spring selling season arrives. But if you're ready now, winter actually can be a great time to buy, even in areas where the beautiful outdoor patio is covered with snow. "Every winter is a buyer's market," says Alison Bernstein, president and founder of Suburban Jungle, a New York real estate company. Buyers looking for a new home in winter have less competition, since fewer people are looking. That means fewer multiple-offer situations. Plus, sellers who keep their homes on the market during the winter are often more motivated and willing to make a deal. The downside is that there are fewer homes for sale. [See: Is Your Home Alone for the Holidays? How to Keep Your House Bandit-Free.] "There are fewer buyers generally in the market. That can make your offer stronger to sellers," says Michelle Leader, a Redfin agent in Oklahoma City. "Sellers -- they're not testing the market like we see sometimes in the spring." Richard Harty, broker-owner at the Harty Realty Group in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, tells buyers that the Chicago winter is a great time for house hunting. Not only do most buyers find less competition and more motivated sellers, they can feel how well-insulated a home is and how well the heating system works -- both important factors in Chicago. "I like to show a house after a big snowfall," Harty says. "A house that's properly insulated will not have icicles hanging from the gutter." Plus, he says, you can find out whether all the rooms stay warm or whether the owners need space heaters in some rooms. "I think you get a good sense of the home and how it performs during the cold season," Harty says. There are some challenges involved with searching for a home in winter. One, of course, is walking around in the cold, snowy weather, dodging ice patches and puddles. A layer of snow makes it hard to see roofs, patios, driveways and outdoor areas. Even without snow, a lush green lawn full of beautiful plants and shade trees in summer can look bare in winter. Story continues Winter can also make it difficult to do a thorough inspection of some elements, including roofs, septic tanks and other exterior features. That makes the buyer's due diligence even more important. Most states require a certain level of seller disclosure to give the buyer an idea of the age and condition of elements such as the furnace and the roof. But you can also ask specific questions and request building permits or receipts to show, for example, when the roof was last replaced. "You certainly need to be very careful with your inspection of the house," Harty says. Sometimes the best option is for the seller to leave money in escrow for repairs that can't be made in winter, such as replacing a roof or repaving a driveway. [See: The Best Apps for House Hunting.] "If it's frozen and you can't do a septic inspection, ... there's always a workaround," Bernstein says. In some parts of the country winter doesn't usually present any additional challenges. You're unlikely to suffer any weather-related issues in California, Arizona or Texas, and winter is a minor inconvenience in much of the South. In parts of Florida, winter is a peak season for home buying because the snowbirds are down from the north. Here are six tips for buying a home in the winter: Have a flexible schedule. People are busy around the holidays, so even the most motivated sellers may not be able to show a home at the spur of the moment. Ask for photos of the home in other seasons. If the house has been on the market for a while, the photos and videos created as part of the marketing package could show the home in another season. If not, ask the sellers if they have photos showing the backyard, patio, pool, flower beds and other elements that don't look good in winter. Document the condition of things you can't see. Ask when the roof was last replaced, whether the septic tank has been serviced and when the deck was cleaned. Ask the sellers for receipts or copies of building permits to document their claims. Don't be afraid to offer below asking price. If the home has been on the market for a while, and it is still for sale in the winter, sellers could be ready to accept a lower offer, especially on an expensive home. Get your agent to do some research and find out how motivated the seller is. Keep looking until you find what you want. The number of homes for sale is fewer in winter, so you may not find your dream home at first. Savvy homeowners will start putting their homes on the market after the Super Bowl, so it makes sense to keep searching through the winter rather than taking time off until spring. [See: 8 Home-Selling Buzzwords That Annoy Consumers.] Allow more time for closing. Snow and ice may delay inspections, appraisals or other pieces of the closing process. Make sure your schedule is flexible enough to adapt. You might get lucky, however, and actually be able to close more quickly since mortgage professionals and real estate agents are not as busy in winter. Teresa Mears writes about personal finance, real estate and retirement for U.S. News and other publications. She was previously the real estate blogger for MSN Money and worked as the Home & Design editor for The Miami Herald. During her journalism career, she worked on coverage of immigration, religion, national and international news and local news, serving on the staffs of The Miami Herald, The Los Angeles Times and the St. Petersburg Times. She has also been a contributor for The New York Times and The Boston Globe, among other publications. She publishes Living on the Cheap and Miami on the Cheap. Follow her on Twitter @TeresaMears. The new-found spending power of Chinese clubs is a danger to teams all over the world, even the Premier League, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte warned on Friday. The Italian, whose side will try to make it 11 league wins on the bounce against Crystal Palace on Saturday, made the remarks when asked about reports Chelsea's Brazilian midfielder Oscar is to join Shanghai SIPG for an estimated 60 million ($76m, 71.5m euros). The league leaders' iconic but ageing captain John Terry, who is out injured and like Oscar not first choice, has also been linked with a move to China, where teams are snapping up foreign players on mammoth wages. Conte believes that means Chinese clubs could entice the best players. "I don't know exactly the amount or the situation," said Conte of Oscar. "But now we have to wait. I think when it will be the moment, you'll know Oscar's situation. "The Chinese market is a danger for all teams in the world. Not only for Chelsea, but all teams in the world." Conte, 47, who made his name as a manager with Juventus, for whom he also played with distinction as a combative midfielder, said China may have the money but the quality remained in the Premier League. "I think that this league is fantastic and to play in this league is a great opportunity, a great honour," said Conte, who will have Belgian star Eden Hazard back this weekend after he missed the midweek 1-0 victory over Sunderland because of a knee injury. "You must be very proud to play in this league because I think now it's the best league in the world." Oscar is one of three big South American names to be linked to a move to China this week. Veteran Argentine striker Carlos Tevez has been courted by Shanghai Shenhua while Manuel Pellegrini told The Sun he would welcome with open arms compatriot Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez is locked in protracted contract talks with present club Arsenal and could expect to be paid 500,000 a week by Pellegrini's Hebei China Fortune. Fire engulfs 32 houses in Terhathum Thirty-two houses were burnt down by a fire that broke out at Sankranti Bazaar, Terhathum on Friday. Rome (AFP) - Italy's highest court on Friday suspended a sentence for false accounting and corruption handed earlier this year to the former boss of aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, Italian media reported. The decision came after both the defence and the prosecution had requested a suspension, on grounds that the Milan appeals court's sentence in April differed too greatly from an earlier ruling. In April, Orsi was sentenced to four-a-half-years years in jail for false accounting and corruption. Also handed a four-year jail term on the same charges was Bruno Spagnolini, former head of AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica. The pair had been sentenced to two years in prison in October 2014 for false accounting. The court of cassation has referred the case back to the appeals tribunal. Italian media believe that the case will be closed when the statute of limitation expires in March 2017. The case against Orsi and Spagnolini resulted from an investigation launched in 2012 into the sale of 12 luxury helicopters to India's government. Orsi was arrested in 2014 and resigned as chief executive of the aerospace group a short while later. India cancelled the deal with AgustaWestland in January 2014 amid allegations that the company paid bribes to win the 556-million-euro ($753 million) contract. The aborted deal was a severe setback for Finmeccanica, having already been hammered by the global financial crisis. As in most recent years, the ranks of the contenders for the 89th Academy Awards are largely populated by festival darlings such as La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, and Nocturnal Animals. But the blockbusters of Hollywood also have horses in the race, including The Jungle Book, Doctor Strange, and Captain America: Civil War. While the films in the race look to achieve their Oscar dreams through stellar writing, directing, and performances, theyre also relying on below-the-line crafts to catapult themselves into the minds of voters. Leveraging a combination of technology and sheer talent, an array of artisans provided details and enhanced narratives that helped create memorable experiences for filmgoers. Cinematographers captured remote destinations to ground this years stories in reality. For Martin Scorseses passion project Silence, Rodrigo Prieto trekked through muddy locations in Taiwan, where the crew endured a 6.1 earthquake. For Lion, DP Greig Fraser labored in the congested city of Kolkata and the rugged Hooghly River region before moving to Tasmania to shoot gentler landscapes as he followed the story of lost boy Saroo on his travels across India and over to Australia. Lensers captured visuals on anamorphic as well as spherical lenses. For example, cinematographer Bradford Young established rules for two sets of spherical lenses to highlight parallel tales in the intimate sci-fi tale Arrival, and DP Linus Sandgren chose anamorphics to capture the fanciful dances of La La Land. And while digital continues to dominate, many movies were shot on 35mm or 16mm film. These include Jackie, which delves into the mind of first lady Jackie Kennedy in the days immediately following the assassination of her husband; Hidden Figures, in which three mathematically gifted African-American women defy racial segregation at NASA to help launch the United States into space; and La La Land, which charts the harmonies and disharmonies of love between an aspiring actress and a wishful jazz pianist. Story continues Other contenders shot on celluloid: Fences, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson; the thriller Nocturnal Animals, for which DP Seamus McGarvey created three different visual looks using earthy red tones to connect each story thematically; and Silence, in which Prieto captured the bleak grays, muted greens, and misty landscapes of Taiwan, which stood in for 17th-century Japan. Sound editors and mixers carried the aural weight to support the dazzling pictures. Randy Thom put archived audio of the London Blitz into the World War II spy thriller Allied. Shannon Mills cultivated new sounds to detail the astral planes and magic at the heart of the fantastical Doctor Strange. Production mixer Steven Morrow recorded up to 32 audio tracks for songs in La La Land. And Willie Burton managed dozens of script pages in a single scene of Fences. Editors, tasked with putting it all together into a single coherent story, wielded their own magic. Jennifer Lame and Joe Walker shifted time to advance the plots of Manchester by the Sea and Arrival, respectively. In Hacksaw Ridge, John Gilbert never shied away from the World War II sagas violence and gave scope and depth to the battlefield. Other crafts contribute to the nuances of storytelling and add to the emotional palette. Music explores both composure and sadness in Jackie, strategically expressing the first ladys thoughts. In Love & Friendship, the hair and makeup traces back to the 1790s. And the production design team of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them constructed 1920s Manhattan inside a studio. None of these films, nor those described in the pages that follow, would have had the emotional impact they so effectively wield had they not been boosted by those working behind the scenes to serve the story in unique ways. Related stories Global Entertainment a Vital Force in Uncertain, Divisive Times 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Trailer: Peter Parker Teams with Iron Man in Marvel Reboot Foreign Box Office: 'Fantastic Beasts' Soars With $132 Million Prague (AFP) - Cash-strapped Cuba has offered to pay its old debt to the Czech Republic with goods it can spare, including its coveted rum, the Czech finance ministry said Friday. "The Cuban party as a possible solution presented a list of commodities... (including) several brands of rum," the ministry said in a statement sent to AFP. Czech media put the Cuban debt at about seven billion koruna (260 million euros, $270 million), but the ministry said it had yet to tally the total sum as talks on the repayment had only started late last year. The debt is largely the legacy of business ties between Cuba and Czechoslovakia, which split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, four years after shedding four decades of totalitarian Communist rule. The largest Czech broadsheet daily Dnes quoted deputy finance minister Lenka Dupakova as saying debt repayment in Cuban rum was "an interesting option." "These are relatively unknown brands which might be good, but we would have to advertise them and generally launch them into the market," she added. The daily said the Czech Republic -- a country with the highest per capita beer consumption in the world -- had imported 892 tonnes of Cuban rum worth 53 million koruna (two million euros, dollars) in 2015. If the entire debt were repaid in rum, the Czechs would have enough rum for 130 years at this pace. But the ministry is against such a solution. "The Czech side believes that at least part of the debt should be dealt in cash," it said. Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed to send a "clear message" to Russia for trying to sway the US election, while calling on Donald Trump and Republicans to put national security before politics. Obama all-but accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of personally ordering an audacious cyber hack that many Democrats believe gravely wounded Hillary Clinton in a closely fought election. The US intelligence community has concluded that a hack-and-release of the Democratic Party emails was designed to put Trump -- a political neophyte who has praised Putin -- into the Oval Office. But with tensions rising between the world's two preeminent nuclear powers and US political anger near boiling point after Trump's shock election, Obama sought to exude calm while promising a measured response. Assuring Americans that the ballot itself was not rigged, he promised to "send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you." Noting that "not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said he had personally told the former KGB officer when they met in September to "cut it out." "In fact we did not see further tampering of the election process," he told journalists before heading for his Christmas vacation in Hawaii. Regarding specific acts of retaliation, Obama said some would be carried out publicly, but that in other cases, "the message will be directly received by the Russians and not publicized." Obama's comments come as Putin registered a major propaganda victory in Syria and became a focal point of American political debate. Despite those coups, Obama belittled Russia as a second rate power with little going for it, using language that is sure to infuriate the status-conscious Russian leader. "The Russians can't change us or significantly weaken us. They are a smaller country, they are a weaker country, their economy doesn't produce anything that anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. They don't innovate." Story continues - Ronnie's grave - But Obama's sternest message may have been for Trump and other Republicans who have played down the cyber attack. "Over a third of Republican voters approve of Vladimir Putin," Obama said citing a recent poll. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave. How did that happen?" Obama urged the president elect -- who has repeatedly questioned Russia's involvement -- to accept an independent nonpartisan investigation. "My hope is that the president-elect is going to similarly be concerned with making sure that we don't have potential foreign influence in our election process." While Obama has ordered his own inquiry, a political battle is already being waged in Washington between Republicans who want a Congressional process they can control and Democrats who want to see something like the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. "One way I do believe the president-elect can approach this that would be unifying is to say that we welcome a bipartisan, independent process," Obama said. The outgoing president rejected suggestions that he had been slow to respond to the claims of Russian interference. "My primary concern was making sure that the integrity of the election process was not in any way damaged, at a time when anything that was said by me or anybody in the White House would immediately be seen through a partisan lens," he said. Obama also issued his fiercest warning shot for President-elect Trump about embracing illiberal politics. "Mr Putin can weaken us just like he's trying to weaken Europe if we start buying into notions that it's okay to intimidate the press. Or lock up dissidents. Or discriminate against people because of their faith or what they look like," he said. Republicans were unimpressed by Obama's efforts to dial back tensions, with Senator Ben Sasse accusing Obama of a "mere scolding of dictators." "Instead of President Obama's vague 'we can do stuff,' Congress should debate upending Putin's calculus with a full menu of diplomatic, economic, military, and cyber responses," Sasse said. I just returned from the Syrian-Lebanese border, a mere 150 miles from Aleppo, where unspeakable savagery is underway. The Assad regime is committing horrific war crimes from mass murder and industrial-style torture to forced starvation and barrel bombs, even the systematic rape of women, children, and men in detention centers. Thus far, 500,000 Syrians have been slaughtered, 6 million people displaced internally, and another 5 million forced to flee as refugees across the border. This is the textbook definition of genocide. Aided by the Russian army and Iranian militias, the regime is slaughtering noncombatants on a scale rivaling the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides. This is a grand-scale humanitarian catastrophe. Russia and Iran have funneled weapons, training, and funding to Syrias regime. Their assistance has ensured Assads victory and the continuance of uncontested political power, at any price. While museums and libraries are still being built to remind us of the horrors of the Holocaust, right now, before our very eyes, tens of thousands are being burned alive by Assads bombs. Assad has surely earned the title of monster of the new century. He is a man who inherited the presidency from his father in 2000 along with his fathers penchant for violence. The senior Assad even bragged about slaughtering 20,000 civilians in the city of Hama, leaving bodies burning on the ground for days. This was to instill terror and assure that Syrians never again dared to challenge their ruler. But the pupil has outdone the master: Bashar has ruled with an iron fist, and his corrupt, sectarian, mafia-style regime has exceeded even his fathers savage brutality. Despite social media and real-time documentation of ongoing offenses, Assads regime has impudently committed gross war crimes against his people cavalierly burning civilians alive in the streets with incendiary bombs intended to inflict maximum terror. With these methods of state terrorism, Assad has bombed into oblivion a democratic experiment that began peacefully in 2011, and that might have become a civil-society ray of hope in the Arab world. Story continues It is paramount to remember that the Syrian uprising began as a peaceful movement, with hundreds of thousands of citizens taking to the streets seeking only social justice, political reform, and freedom and democratic representation much like their counterparts in Tunisia. The Assad regime responded by unleashing its state security apparatus on anyone who dared challenge him. This transformed a peaceful uprising into a crisis and, soon, a brutal civil war one where civilians and pro-democracy activists were arrested, tortured, and murdered en masse. Meanwhile, a veritable rogues gallery of jihadists were cynically released from state prisons onto the streets swelling the ranks of al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The notion was brutally simple: cast the regime as a partner in the war on terror and the only viable alternative against jihadists. Let us recall that, in the early days of the uprising, the first victim of the Syrian regime was a 13-year-old boy named Hamza al-Khateeb, from the city of Daraa. Hamza had been detained and tortured by the police, and then executed with three bullets. Images of this young boys mutilated body circulated on the Internet, leading to mass demonstrations from Daraa to Aleppo. But these expressions of basic human indignity at the brutal torture, mutilation, and murder of an innocent child were met by the vicious force of Assads military. He thereupon unleashed an orgy of violence against the citizens of his own country that has now lasted more than 5 years. Assad will not stop until every single person or group who challenged him is annihilated. Despite the regimes success in quashing the resistance, military operations continue. With the help of Russian forces, he is seeking to obliterate the entire population of Aleppo. Donald Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election has only compounded matters. Assad now has given Russia free rein to burn eastern Aleppo to the ground, in contravention of all international laws and norms. In response to crimes against humanity during the Bosnian and Rwandan Genocide, a U.N. resolution was passed titled the responsibility to protect. Despite this, the international community has abrogated that responsibility, and done so willfully. The complete failure to support or nurture Syrias democratic movement was tragic in and of itself. But the subsequent failure to take effective measures to end the civil war or even compel Assad to adhere to the rules of war represents moral collapse on a different order of magnitude. Assads victory will come back to haunt the international community. Our generation looks back today and asks how the world could have allowed the horrors of the Nazis. In Syria, we have found the answer, and history will judge us harshly for it. Photo credit: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images Lean Cuisine is Getting Sued for its Allegedly False No Preservatives Claim Lean Cuisines food philosophy is cuisine with a purpose providing freshly made, simply frozen meals with no preservatives, according to the company website. Consumers are saying otherwise, with the recent filing of a class action lawsuit against Nestle, the manufacturer of Lean Cuisine, TMZ reported. Courtney Ross, the individual who filed the claim, told TMZ that she purchased a Lean Cuisine Four Cheese Pizza, which is advertised as being free of preservatives. Upon reviewing the ingredients, Ross discovered the frozen meal contained citric acid, an ingredient commonly used as a preservative. "By deceptively marketing the products as having 'No Preservatives,' [Nestle] wrongfully capitalized on, and reaped enormous profits from, consumers' strong preference for food products made free of preservatives," the lawsuit alleges. In response, a Nestle representative told TMZ: The allegations are baseless and we will vigorously defend ourselves. All Nestle products and labels comply with FDA and USDA regulations." DD2 Wikimedia/Piet Sans Trump-Themed Seafood Restaurant Opens in Iraq There are many things in the world bearing Donald Trumps name, and now someone has opened a Trump-themed seafood restaurant in Iraq. According to Reuters, the restaurant, called Trump Fish, opened 10 days ago in Kurdistan, in northern Iraq. Its logo is a cartoon of Donald Trump, his hair looking like a bright yellow lightning bolt. The owner of Trump Fish says he registered the restaurants name months ago, with Kurdish authorities, and that he likes Trumps strong personality and thought naming the restaurant after him would attract business. He might be right about that one. The Washington Post reports that Trump is popular in Kurdistan after saying he was a big fan of Kurdish forces. DD3 Pinterest Fruit As a Meat Substitute and More Food Trends Predicted by Pinterest for 2017 If 2016 was the year of steel-cut oatmeal, avocado toast, and rainbow foods, then what does 2017 hold in store for home cooks and restaurant enthusiasts? Pinterest predicted the top 10 up-and-coming food trends, based on pinning user data. The number one trend, which has seen a 420 percent spike in popularity recently, is jackfruit as a meat substitute. Jackfruit, native to Southeast Asia, is a fleshy fruit related to the fig. Many vegans and vegetarians use it as a meat substitute in dishes like nachos, where the fruits meaty flesh can somewhat imitate the consistency of traditional protein sources. Other predicted trends include sous-vide style of cooking, Buddha bowls, sour beer, and healthy vegetable chips. Story continues DD4 hurricanehank / Shutterstock This Craft Brewery Used the Wu-Tang Clan to Enhance the Flavor of its Beer Derek Garman, the head brewer at Fortnight Brewing Company in Cary, North Carolina, and his team have taken to multi-platinum rap group Wu-Tang Clan and their 1993 Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) album to create Bring da Ruckus, the brewerys new hip-hops beer. In the companys own brew study, the same beer was brewed twice: one with the brewerys typical fermentation process, and again with the sounds of the Wu-Tang Clan playing through the duration of fermentation. The brewery then had results tested by Avazyme, a lab testing sector for food and beverage producers, according to the companys website. The vibrations of a sound wave stress out the yeast, which will cause it to ferment differently, which creates different aromatics, which then creates different flavor profiles, Colin Spark, co-owner of Fortnight Brewing, told MUNCHIES. [Using music] really changed the flavor profile of this beer. DD5 Albert h. Teich / Shutterstock A Really Expensive Coffee Date With Ivanka Trump is Raising Money for Charity An auction on Charity Buzz is accepting bids for a coffee date with Ivanka Trump through Dec. 20, and the highest bid has reached $60,000 to date. The winner and a guest will meet Ivanka, the executive vice president of The Trump Organization and president and CEO of the Ivanka Trump Brand, for 30-40 minutes at either the Trump Tower in New York City or the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., depending on Ivankas schedule, according to the Charity Buzz website. Although the bidding is accepting donations for the coffee date, fine details on the website state: The Trump Organization reserves the right to terminate this lunch at their discretion without refund, should winner violate any of the delineated terms. Donations raised will go to the Eric Trump Foundation for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Lucasfilm Dark Lord of the Sith, scourge of the galaxy, and the Galactic Empires most powerful enforcer. While Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) was a powerful warrior and master of the Dark Side of the Force, Vader relied on his words to get things done as much as his actions. Like his signature red lightsaber, Vader spoke with a candid, unapologetic manner that helped him become a ruthless, calculating leader whose words alone could instill terror throughout the Star Wars universe. With the release of Rogue One, we all finally got the chance to see Vader back on the big screen destroying his opponents with lightsaber in hand and dressing down his subordinates with his intimidating, mechanized baritone So, the next time you find yourself in a situation where you might have to puff out your chest and break out a little tough-guy talk, let these Darth Vader lines help you lay out your course for a well-articulated victory. I find your lack of faith disturbing. Lucasfilm Simple, direct, and thoroughly intimidating. During a meeting of the Empires top-tier officers, Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) lays out the galaxys new power-structure, Vader is quick to remind everyone there that while the Death Star may be impressive, its nothing compared to the power of The Force. As most officers roll their eyes, one specifically scoffs at what he calls Vaders sorcerers ways, mocking his religious devotion until suddenly he starts to suffocate. You might not have the ability to choke someone using the power of the Dark Side and if you do, please let us know where you learned it but a stone-cold delivery like this is not only intimidating, but it could definitely help out if anyones doubting what youre capable of. Your powers are weak, old man. Lucasfilm This is Vader doling out some straight-up smack-talk after finally confronting his old teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) inside the hangar of the Death Star. In the twenty-odd years that Obi Wan had spent in hiding, hed gone from a proud warrior to bearded hermit, and doesnt seem to have kept up on his lightsaber skills in the duration. Vader, on the other hand, had gone from petulant Padawan to ruthless hand of the Emperor, whod grown even stronger with the Dark Side of the Force. All considered, its pretty easy to see why Vader felt confident enough to throw some serious shade at his former master. Story continues While you should always err on the side of good sportsmanship, if you see what looks to be a clear advantage, just a little bit of arrogance will go a long way for your image as a tough guy. The force is with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet. Lucasfilm On the other hand, should your opponent deserve props without outright complimenting them, look no further than Vaders backhanded compliment of Luke after their first lightsaber duel inside Bespins carbon freezing chamber. Sure, Luke may have a pretty good handle on his force powers, and he proves to be a spirited enough adversary, but Vaders quick to remind him that he has a long way to go before the two of them are on the same league. Its a great move, too, psychologically speaking. Itll boost your opponents confidence just enough to cut them back down with a well-timed insult. I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it further. Lucasfilm Never will you need your words to function like a weapon more than when youre negotiating with someone. One can only imagine the intense pressure that Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) was under when Vader was making sure that hed betray his old friend, Han Solo, and turn him over to the Empire. And just when he thinks hes got a handle on things, Vader shows up to completely change the terms of conditions, seemingly on a whim. Much like a tech company would do. Even if your tough talk manages to put you in charge of any discussions like these, why not just push your luck and see if you can walk away with an even better arrangement than the one you first agreed to. No disintegrations. Lucasfilm This is not only the line that introduced a world of speculation about Boba Fetts once-mysterious backstory, but it was a stirring reminder that working for the Empire, even as a freelance bounty hunter, still meant that Darth Vader has the final say. Sometimes talking like a big shot works better with a less-is-more approach. After all, when properly delivered, those silences can often speak louder than your words. Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them. Lucasfilm One of the most impressive aspects of the Empire is how utterly massive it is. They have massive starships, Death Stars bigger than planets (small moons, anyway), and an overwhelming number of officers, gunners, pilots, and stormtroopers at their disposal. To keep an operation running that size is no easy task, and even Darth Vader isnt quite capable of force-choking every single person who gets out of line. So to stay on top of something as big an operation as the Galactic Empire, Vader has to rely on one thing that he knows will be 100% effective: tough talk. I mean, just the thought of what new ways Vader might do to properly motivate someone is a terrifying prospect in and of itself. While making outright threats probably wont work out in most everyday situations (and is also generally not recommended), the vague, looming idea that things wont go very well if expectations arent met has a way of producing results. All too easy. Lucasfilm Okay, so this is a little bit more chest-puffing swagger than straight-up tough guy talk, but after Vader boasts and bullies his way into knocking out Luke for the first round of their showdown on Bespin, Vader tries to wrap it all up with one simple quip to himself. While it proved to not be the case (the force was strong with him, after all), bragging about how easy it was to walk away from a situation a winner is sure to add to your growing reputation as someone who can definitely talk the talk after walking the walk. This is an updated version of an article that originally ran in December of 2016. On December 16, 1773, a group of Colonists destroyed a large British tea shipment in Boston harbor. So did this act of defiance light a fire that led to American independence within the next decade? Boston_Tea_Party_456 For years, Americans refused to buy British tea because it included a tax levied on drinkers, a thought that repulsed colonists who didnt believe they should be taxed without a representative sitting in the British parliament to voice their concerns. Instead, Americans bought tea smuggled into the colonies. But in May 1773, Parliament gave the East India Company a tea monopoly in America that also made British tea much cheaper than smuggled tea. The animosity had been brewing among the Americans for months. On October 16, 1773, a group of Philadelphia patriots decided to tell the British crown that it would mount a boycott of tea, months before a similar act in Boston. The publication of a document from the meeting called Philadelphia Resolutions triggered public protests in Boston and Philadelphia. The claim of parliament to tax America, is, in other words, a claim of right to levy contributions on us at pleasure, the Resolutions said. The duty, imposed by parliament upon tea landed in America, is a tax on the Americans, or levying contributions on them, without their consent. The Resolutions also made it clear that the group thought the money raised by the tea tax through the Townshend Acts would be used by the crown to eliminate local governments run by the colonies, and the group called on Americans to prevent a violent attack upon the liberties of America by stopping the unloading of tea shipments and any tea sales. Three weeks later, a similar group met at Faneuil Hall in Boston and it adopted the Philadelphia Resolutions. That the sense of this town cannot be better expressed than in the words of certain judicious resolves, lately entered into by our worthy brethren, the citizens of Philadelphia, the Boston group said. Story continues Two months later in Boston, a gathering after three ships arrived with 342 chests of tea. In what became known as the Boston Tea Party, a party of men dressed as Indians dumped the tea chests contents into Boston Harbor, after the governor, Thomas Hutchinson, refused colonists demands for the ships to depart peacefully with their cargo unloaded. In late December 1773, one ship with 698 cases of tea attempted to land in Philadelphia but it was turned back. A group of 6,000 Philadelphians met at the State House to discuss the situation, in what was the largest mass gathering in the colonies. Tea shipments were also blocked in New York and Charleston. The violent protests in Boston Harbor were met with a direct response from Great Britain. In April 1774, the British Parliament passed the Coercive (or Intolerable) Acts, which punished Massachusetts for the Tea Party incident. The Acts not only took away home rule from Massachusetts, it forced all Americans to board British troops in unoccupied buildings. At the same time, Franklin wrote a public letter in London, under an assumed name, that made it clear how he felt about Parliament, who appear to be no better acquainted with their History or Constitution than they are with the Inhabitants of the Moon. The Flame of Liberty in North America shall not be extinguished. Cruelty and Oppression and Revenge shall only serve as Oil to increase the Fire, Franklin added. The other colonies saw the acts as a punishment targeted at all of them, and by September 1774, the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to determine an appropriate response. The following April, fighting broke out at Lexington and Concord, and the American Revolution was under way. Recent Stories on Constitution Daily The seeds of Revolution: The Stamp Act protests in Boston Forgotten facts about George Washingtons private life Five myths about the start of the Revolutionary War Just look around Nepal has lots of fascinating stories waiting to be told It seems Deepika Padukone has moved over from her Prabhadevi apartment in Mumbai into a Westin hotel in Goregaon and Ranveer Singh is also expected to move to a house nearby. But, before you assume things, this shift is happening for their upcoming film Padmavati. This is not the first time that the duo have done this even during the shooting of Bajirao Mastani,Ranveer and Deepika had moved closer to the film city. The shift will also enable both of them to report to the set at any time of the day, without having to spend hours on the commute. Deepika stays in Prabhadevi while Ranveers house is in Bandra. Travelling to Goregaon can be a real pain, especially during peak hours. So Deepika will stay in the hotel as long as her schedule continues. She is shooting in the night. Ranveer will resuming filming in mid January and will be put up in a high-rise nearby, said a source close to the matter to mid-day. Ranveer has already been living in a hotel for two months now, since he has been busy promoting his movie. The period drama also has Shahid Kapoor playing Rana Rawal Ratan Singh, the ruler of Mewar. We wonder if he will be making the move too. Padmavati is the dramatized account of the 1303 siege that happened in Chittor fort, Rajasthan. Allauddin Khilji, the turkish ruler of Delhi led the invasion, motivated by his desire to capture the beautiful queen Rani Padmini. deer A white-tailed deer whose fate became entangled in a daylong feud between New York city and state offices died Friday from the stress of captivity, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation said. The one-antlered buck named Lefty died while awaiting potential transportation upstate, said Eric Phillips, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Its death came after an extraordinary political tussle between the city and state over whether to transfer the deer upstate or euthanize it. "Unfortunately, the deer has died due to stress," said Sam Biederman, a spokesman for the parks department. "This is why the city's preference in this circumstance was humane euthanasia rather than subjecting the animal to the stress of transportation and relocation." The city announced plans on Thursday to kill the deer, which was captured at the Polo Grounds Towers in Harlem that morning and taken to a nearby animal shelter. His presence at a nearby park had drawn crowds for weeks. That was when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in, hours after de Blasio had announced plans to euthanize the deer. A spokesman for Cuomo said the state's Department of Environmental Conservation had advised the city of alternatives to euthanasia. Cuomo's spokesman said he had directed the DEC to "offer assistance to the city to transport and find a new habitat for it immediately." The DEC suggested the blame lay at the feet of the city in its statement following the deer's death. "We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat," said Sean Mahar, a spokesman for the department. "The city did not accept our offer until just before noon today, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the citys possession." The city initially held its position, even as de Blasio came under increasing fire. On a radio show Friday, he was asked by a Twitter user whether it was "really necessary" to have the deer killed. De Blasio said that, based on information he received from city officials, relocating the deer could actually be more traumatizing in the long run for the deer. Story continues "You take, like any other creature that is used to a certain environment you put them in a new environment, even in nature, it's traumatizing," he said. "It creates all sorts of extended pain and usually leads to death. So I think this is a case where it's a really bad situation, unfortunately, if a deer ends up in the middle of an urban area and it's nothing any of us want. But I think it's a question of is it going to be a quick and merciful death versus a potentially very long, painful process." A few hours later, however, the city's parks department relented and said it would allow the state to transport the animal. "Due to the stress caused by travel and low survival rates of relocated deer, we believe euthanasia is the most humane option. But we defer to the state as the regulatory authority on wildlife," Biederman said. Sean Mahar, a spokesman for the DEC, suggested that the state department had moved in to transport the deer. "After repeated attempts to provide the city with alternative options to euthanasia, including relocation, the state is securing the safe transport of the deer to suitable habitat upstate in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Unit," he said. The feud between the city and state was yet another example of the at-times astonishing tussling between de Blasio and Cuomo, who often inserts himself into city affairs. Cuomo and de Blasio aides publicly sniped at each other as the city and state worked out what to do with the deer. "NYC isn't going to kill Harlem deer. State trying to transport it safely upstate. Inconsistent with experts/DEC policy, but we'll try and help," Phillips wrote on Twitter as the city gave in to the state's request. "Bureaucracy lost," Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, shot back. "Let's hope for the deer's sake you're right," Phillips replied. Bill Hyers, de Blasio's former campaign manager, wrote on Twitter, "Andrew Cuomo is an idiot." NOW WATCH: Here's how the White House master bedroom has changed from president to president More From Business Insider Defense stocks like Boeing Co (ticker: BA) and Lockheed Martin Corp. ( LMT) have come under fire in recent weeks after provocative tweets from President-elect Donald Trump vowing to slash costs on their respective programs. From a man who has talked tough on national defense -- he famously said he would go after terrorists and their families -- these recent tweets cast doubt on just how much the military industrial complex will benefit from a Trump presidency. When 140 characters erases billions. On Dec. 6, less than an hour before the opening bell on Wall Street, President-elect Trump took aim at Boeing, America's single largest manufacturing exporter. [See: 7 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2017.] "Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!" tweeted Trump, whose Twitter handle is @realdonaldtrump. Markets immediately responded, and BA stock fell 1.6 percent in pre-market trading. The market value of the loss was about $1.5 billion. Thankfully for shareholders, the slump was brief. Shares recovered throughout the day after Boeing responded with a fact-checking statement of its own, clarifying that it was only under a $170 million contract to "determine the capabilities" of the next Air Force One. But Trump's unpredictable and notoriously itchy Twitter fingers weren't done altering the outlook of major defense stocks, and a Dec. 12 tweet targeting a Lockheed Martin contract showed yet again his newfound power to move markets, swiftly and meaningfully. "The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after Jan. 20th," Trump tweeted. LMT stock plunged after the Tweet, briefly shedding more than 5 percent, or the equivalent of $4.1 billion in market value. The F-35 is a fighter jet made by Lockheed Martin, and it's also a veritable money machine. It's Lockheed's single largest program, accounting for 20 percent of its overall revenue. Story continues It's certainly true that the F-35 program could use some cost control: The 15-year development of the jet set the U.S. government back about $400 billion, more than double its original budget. It's already the most expensive weapons system in history, and maintenance and operation of the planes is expected to top $1.1 trillion over the course of the fleet's projected lifetime. LMT stock wasn't the only "loser" from the Dec. 12 tweet. Northrop Grumman Corp. ( NOC), which manufactures the F-35's center fuselages, saw shares drop as much as 7 percent in the hours after Trump's tweet. From peak to trough, the loss knocked $3.1 billion off the company's valuation. Trump's tweets have become such financial events that "there are some traders who have supposedly even made algorithms to trade based on his tweets," says Carol Roth, author of the New York Times bestselling book, "The Entrepreneur Equation." Trump, trading and uncertainty. Roth sums up the trouble with these Trump tweets: "If he follows through on these thoughts, that of course would have an impact on those industries and their corresponding valuations -- and potentially stock prices as a result." "If he doesn't, it will more likely be short-term trader action that doesn't impact long-term investors," Roth says. Most people don't have the time, resources, inclination or expertise to go plugging Trump's Twitter feed into a trading algorithm, so the question becomes: will he or won't he follow through? That's the exact sort of uncertainty that the market notoriously loathes. But it's worth looking at both potential outcomes. [See: 20 Awesome Dividend Stocks for Guaranteed Income.] On one hand, Trump tends to speak in hyperbole and could just be sweet-talking the American taxpayer. This is a man who has promised to "knock the hell out of ISIS" and advocated killing terrorists' families. That sounds militaristic and expensive. "Trump has taken a much more hawkish stance toward world events" than Hillary Clinton, says Robert Johnson, president and CEO of The American College of Financial Services. "I believe that we will see rising military budgets despite the recent tweets." On the other hand, a far more notable part of Trump's selling point as a candidate was his status as a successful businessman. Promising to negotiate better deals for America? That means cost-cutting. Between Trump's tweets affecting BA and LMT, more evidence Trump might be prioritizing cutting defense costs popped up on Twitter. The president-elect retweeted a story from The Washington Post entitled: "Pentagon buries evidence of $125 billion in bureaucratic waste." "A very interesting read. Unfortunately, so much is true," Trump rather ominously commented. Trump's increasingly combative rhetoric towards defense contractors has escalated to the point that a Reuters headline proclaimed: "Trump attack on Lockheed Martin foreshadows war on defense industry." Back to reality. The president-elect has publicly stated that "you want to be unpredictable" in regards to the use of nuclear weapons, and that appears to be his stance toward defense spending and policy more broadly as well. Still, in the case of many government defense or military deals, the U.S. is already several years into a long-term contract, or there is almost no legitimate alternative supplier. Is Trump going to cancel the next generation Air Force One, call the $170 million a sunk cost, and put it out to bid? Probably not. But going forward, defense contractors should brace for a new world: a world with lower margins. That means investors should brace themselves, too. Dave Louton, a finance professor at Bryant University, believes that the defense industry will still make a pretty penny under President Trump -- you don't need to worry about an absolute portfolio meltdown. With that said, market assumptions that caused defense stocks to rally after Trump's election aren't looking quite as rock-solid anymore. [Read: 5 Reasons Donald Trump's Presidency Will Include a Recession.] "Given the run-up that we have seen in their stock prices since the election it may be time for a reset," Louton says. More From US News & World Report LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / By day, the early morning and late evening sun illuminates Sedona's red sandstone formations into a bright orange glow that lends to Arizona's nickname of "red rock country." By night, its cloudless desert sky glows with the ethereal beauty of the Milky Way. Diamond Resorts reviews two of its destinations, where visitors can be lulled by the earth's natural beauty while enveloped by the scent of Juniper and Sage Brush. Vacationers in Sedona will experience the desert's sensory magic that is both calming and rejuvenating to the spirit, whether they stay close to the resort for fun and relaxation or venture out for hiking, shopping for turquoise treasures and savoring local cuisine. Diamond Resorts reviews Bell Rock Inn, which is situated within view of stunning panoramas of the famous Red Rocks and offers a cozy atmosphere for guests of this 85-room resort. The spacious accommodations are fully equipped for an effortless family getaway or romantic escape. Whether guests prefer to relax by the pool, host a fun-filled BBQ with friends and family or are drawn indoors for fireside reflections, they'll have access to everything needed for a comfortable, memorable stay. http://diamondresorts-reviews.com Sedona Summit is another Diamond Resorts International resort that gets its name from its location in the upper Sedona Plateau. The slight elevation from the rest of Sedona allows guests of this two-story, 417-room resort unrivaled mountain views. Guests can emerge for sunrises and sunsets and then retreat to a comfortably furnished room with all the accommodations needed for a relaxing stay. After a day of adventuring in the backcountry, guests may want to soak in one of the heated pools to cap off the evening. Sedona has much to offer in the way of spectacular geology and hikes with sweeping views of the plateau. Stargazers too will be able to see the Milky Way, as nighttime city lights are kept to a minimum. Some hikers may prefer to explore from the bottom of canyons, where the walls may reach upward about 2,000 feet and the geologic history dates back 300 million years. For those who can't resist a daytime adventure to the more famous Grand Canyon, it's an easy 110 miles to the north. Families may want to enjoy a visit to Slide Rock State Park, which takes its name from a natural water slide formed by the slippery bed of Oak Creek. Regardless of the type of getaway one seeks, Diamond Resorts reviews and offers Sedona stays that are welcoming to all. Story continues About Diamond Resorts International Diamond Resorts International, with its network of more than 420 vacation destinations located in 35 countries throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa, provides guests with choice and flexibility to let them create their dream vacation, whether they are traveling an hour away or around the world. Our relaxing vacations have the power to give guests an increased sense of happiness and satisfaction in their lives, while feeling healthier and more fulfilled in their relationships, by enjoying memorable and meaningful experiences that let them Stay Vacationed. Diamond Resorts International manages vacation ownership resorts and sells vacation ownership points that provide members and owners with Vacations for Life at over 420 managed and affiliated properties and cruise itineraries. Diamond Resorts Reviews - Diamond Resorts International: http://diamondresorts-reviews.com Diamond Resorts International Timeshare Reviews: http://diamondresortstimesharereviews.com Diamond Resorts (@diamondresorts) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/diamondresorts Diamond Resorts International Why Vacations for Life - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuBW2aWUO5s Contact Information: Angela Triano Ampology.com Tel: 551-574-8332 Angela.Triano@ampology.com SOURCE: Diamond Resorts International London (AFP) - With some trains at a standstill and threatened disruption to flights and postal services, a string of strikes and threatened walkouts are taking the cheer out of the British festive season. Hundreds of thousands of commuters were Friday left stranded for the third day this week after staff on Southern Rail, which runs trains from southern England into London, stopped work in a long-standing row over conditions. It rounds off a year of action that began with an unprecedented walkout by British doctors. The train strikes meanwhile heaped pressure on London's already overcrowded Tube and bus network and hit train services to one of the capital's main airports, Gatwick. Air travellers also face the prospect of disruption on Christmas Day and Boxing Day after British Airways cabin crew voted to strike over pay. The airline slammed the Unite trade union, saying the "calculated and heartless action is completely unnecessary and we are determined that it will fail". On Friday, Virgin Atlantic pilots hinted at their own possible strike action, while workers at the state-owned Post Office have announced five days of stoppages from Monday. The chaos caused by the rail strike has sparked strong criticism of Southern Rail's management and the government, as well as the unions. One MP from Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party has proposed tougher laws on taking industrial action on critical public infrastructure. The government earlier this year passed a law requiring unions to have a ballot turnout of at least 50 percent before striking. "We've already passed legislation to provide people with better protection from undemocratic industrial action, and we would keep under review how these measures are working in practice," the prime minister's spokeswoman said. - 'Taking on second jobs' - The rail dispute revolves around the company's plan to change the role of train guards, giving drivers sole responsibility for operating the doors. Story continues Southern Rail has promised the changes will not lead to job losses and guards will be freed up to help passengers, but the unions say the move puts passenger safety at risk. The stand-off may spread to other rail services after the RMT union issued a warning about similar plans to introduce "driver-only operation" onto other lines. Meanwhile at British Airways, almost 2,000 cabin crew, or more than one in seven, voted to strike in a long-running dispute over pay. The Unite union says so-called "mixed fleet" cabin crew who joined the firm after 2010 are struggling with wages which are so low that some sleep in their cars between flights. "Significant numbers of crew are taking on second jobs, many go to work unfit to fly because they can't afford to be sick," said Matt Smith, a Unite regional officer. - 'Attack' on jobs - Those able to bypass the transport strikes may yet face another challenge to their festive preparations next week as staff at the Post Office walk out for five days in the runup to Christmas. Andy Furey, assistant secretary at the CWU union, said the action was partly in protest at plans to privatise the service, which he called "an unprecedented attack" on pensions and job security. Another strike planned for next week by delivery drivers for retail giant Argos was called off after a deal was reached in their dispute over pay. Bookmakers are now seeking to profit from workers' discontent, on Thursday publishing odds about the next sector to go on strike. Top of the list are doctors, who staged a series of unprecedented strikes this year over working conditions and pay in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), followed by bus drivers, police and fire fighters. "Glorious post-Brexit Britain is doing its best to give those French strikers a run for their money, and with Brits up and down the country experiencing misery we may as well try and make a few quid off the next group to join to the picket line," said bookmakers Paddy Power. Kirati says will boycott polls under old setting Moist Centres Province 1 committee in-charge and former minister Gopal Kirati has warned of boycotting local polls if they are held under the existing structure. By Randi Belisomo Ohio researchers say todays seat belts werent designed to protect the smaller, frailer seniors who account for tens of millions of drivers in the U.S alone. When seat belts were first designed four decades ago, safety dummies tested in car crash simulations resembled the average-size male driver of 40 years old and weighing approximately 170 pounds, said John Bolte, an associate professor of health and rehabilitation sciences and director of Ohio State Universitys Injury Biomechanics Research Center. This standard seat belt design can be less effective for older drivers, Bolte said, and cause fatal harm due to injuries sustained along the path of the belt. If someone doesnt adjust the height of their shoulder belt, and if that belt is up around the neck, you will have severe neck injuries, Bolte explained. If its under your arm, it will lead to rib fractures. To reduce injury in drivers 65 and older, Bolte and colleagues at Ohio States Wexner Medical Center are collaborating with automakers to measure properties of the thorax and upper body in older drivers to better predict how crash-related impact affects them. The projects new simulations use smaller crash test dummies to better represent older, frailer drivers, in order to design better protection. Like most things, injuries can be more disabling in older drivers, said Richard Marottoli, a professor of medicine and medical director of the Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Pain from the injury can affect respiration, and if you have any underlying lung problems, it can make those worse as well. Marottoli, who is not associated with the research project, said seat belt-related injury is a significant issue among older drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, close to 600 older adults are injured each day in car crashes. Common injuries, including cracked ribs and broken pelvises, can be life-threatening. More than 36 million drivers in the U.S. are now ages 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control. By 2030, the AAA predicts that number will surpass 60 million. In a decade or two, the needs of the aging driving population are going to effect changes required in infrastructure, in vehicles, and in laws to manage driver licensing, said Jake Nelson, the AAAs director of traffic safety advocacy and research. The needs of this driving population will dictate automotive safety technology. Nelson says automakers are developing inflatable seat belts that will assist older adults by spreading the force of a crash over a larger surface area. The hope is that thoracic injuries will prove less severe and less likely. People need to wear their seat belts, Bolte said. There could be smarter belts, and they could reduce the injuries we are left with. In the next decade, he said, new technology may include a personalized car key fob to activate a customized safety system within each vehicle. The key fob could adjust a seat belt based on a drivers individual physiology. Until such technology exists, he advises drivers of all ages to continue to wear a seat belt. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration maintains that seat belts saved 14,000 lives in 2015. Seat belts work, Bolte said. But some people still get hurt, and we can stop that from happening. Cairo (AFP) - The death toll from last weekend's bombing of a Coptic church in Cairo has risen to 26 after an elderly woman died of her injuries, Egypt's health ministry said Friday. Odette Saleh Mikhail, 70, was left in critical condition following last Sunday's attack and underwent three operations, the ministry said in a statement. The suspected suicide bomb attack during mass at the Saint Peter and Saint Paul church was the deadliest in recent memory to target Egypt's minority Coptic Christians. Twenty three people remain in hospital, three of them also in critical condition, the ministry said, and most of those killed were women. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack. Egyptian authorities are battling an Islamist insurgency led by a local affiliate of IS, active mostly in North Sinai province in the east of the country. On Monday, 538 people meet in 51 locations to choose the next President of the United States as the Electoral College convenes. The National Constitution Center has compiled its recent coverage of the College and the election process as a guide to following this important event. How the Electoral College voting will unfold on Monday In its time-honored tradition, the Electoral College convenes on Monday to choose a new President. So what will happen during the day and what are the next steps? http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/12/how-the-electoral-college-voting-will-unfold-on-monday/ The Interactive Constitution: Article II and The Electoral College You can read the exact wording in the Constitution about the Electoral College in our Interactive Constitution, share that information with your friends and even embed the words on your own digital content. http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/articles/article-ii The Interactive Constitution: Understanding The Electoral College Sanford V. Levinson from the University of Texas Law School explains the story behind the Electoral College, which was set out in the 1787 Constitution as the mechanism by which Americans select their presidents. http://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xii What happened the last time we had a Faithless Elector? With another report of an Electoral College member ready to switch votes, its time to look back to the 2004 election, when Congress had to deal with two last-second challenges as the final presidential votes were counted in the Houses chambers. http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/12/what-happened-the-last-time-we-had-a-faithless-elector/ What happens to a vote-switching Elector on December 19? There is a distinct possibility that at least one Electoral College member will switch votes on December 19. So what happens to an elector when a person doesnt vote for their pledged candidate and to the election in general? Story continues http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/12/what-happens-to-a-vote-switching-elector-on-december-19/ Podcast: Should we abolish the Electoral College? Joining our We the People podcast to present the best arguments for and against the Electoral College are two leading historians and political scientists. Alex Keyssar from Harvards John F. Kennedy School of Government and James Ceaser from the University of Virginia and a member of the Constitution Centers Coalition of Freedom Advisory Board. Why certificates of ascertainment are critical in the 2016 presidential election December 13 marked a big deadline in the current presidential race, as 50 states and the District of Columbia file certificates confirming Donald Trump as the candidate with the most pledged electors heading into the December 19 Electoral College meetings. http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/12/why-today-is-a-critical-day-in-the-2016-presidential-election/ Who are the Electors in the Electoral College? Every four years, 538 people meet in 51 locations around the United States to pick the winner of the presidential election. So who are the members of the Electoral College? http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2016/10/who-are-the-electors-in-the-electoral-college/ In its time-honored tradition, the 538 members of the Electoral College meet in 51 locations on Monday to choose a new President. So what will happen during the day and what are the next steps? Ohio electors vote in 2012. Creative Commons: Ibagli On November 8, 2016, voters around the country to choose electors pledged to represent their party candidates in Electoral College voting. In the end, 306 electors were pledged to Donald Trump and 232 were pledged to Hillary Clinton. In the overall popular vote, which is not a factor in the Electoral College, Clinton led Trump by about 2.8 million votes. On December 13, 2016, the states and the District of Columbia filed certificates of ascertainment with a federal government agency. The Office of the Federal Register coordinates the Electoral College process, and on rare occasions, it also handles the administration of the constitutional amendment process. In May 1950, President Harry Truman signed Reorganization Plan No. 20, which transferred the administration of the Electoral College from the Secretary of State to the Office of the Federal Register. Since then, the office has overseen the Electoral College process. The Office and its Archivist receives two documents from each state. One is the Certificate of Ascertainment, which confirms that the states chief executive has validated the election results and the names of qualified electors chosen to represent each candidate. This year, the certificates were due on December 13 under the federal safe-harbor law. Once the certificates are verified, they are posted on the Offices website. On December 19, the Electoral College meetings are held. The Archivist sends general instructions to the state in advance about how the Electoral College meetings should be conducted. Federal law does not allow the states to choose an alternate date for the meeting of electorsit must be held on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. Story continues The state legislature designates where the meeting will take place; it is usually at the state capital. At this meeting, the electors for the candidate with the most certified votes cast their votes for President and Vice President. If any electors are unable to carry out their duties on the day of the Electoral College meeting, the laws of each state determine the method for filling vacancies. Any controversy concerning the appointment of electors must be decided under state law at least six days prior to the meeting of the electors. State laws also determine how the Electoral College deals with faithless electors who cast votes for candidates other than those whom they pledged to vote for. In some cases, their votes are registered. According to information about the Electoral College proceedings from the National Association of Secretaries of States, Electoral College voting is conducted between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. local at various state capitals and at the District of Columbia. The Associated Press called the Electoral College vote for Barack Obama shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern Time on December 17, 2012. Of the 51 Electoral College meetings, 23 states and the District of Columbia have provisions requiring that electors vote for the nominees of their pledged parties. In some cases, as in Michigan, faithless electors are disqualified and replaced by alternates. Refusal or failure to vote for the candidates for president and vice-president appearing on the Michigan ballot of the political party which nominated the elector constitutes a resignation from the office of elector, his vote shall not be recorded and the remaining electors shall forthwith fill the vacancy, the Michigan law reads. Its unclear what happens in states that bar faithless electors but dont provide for their disqualification. Most of these states have laws that say electors shall vote for their partys nominee. Colorado law, for example, says each presidential elector shall vote for the presidential candidate and, by separate ballot, vice-presidential candidate who received the highest number of votes at the preceding general election in this state. A Colorado state judge on Tuesday ruled that any faithless electors violating this provision in the state law would suffer the same fate as Michigans faithless electors. After the voting is concluded, the state-level secretaries of states transmit the results to the Office of the Federal Register on or after December 19, 2016 after the electors sign and seal a Certificate of Vote for each state. Other copies go to the Vice President (as president of the Senate) and other officials. As the results of the Certificates of Vote are confirmed by the Office of the Federal Register, they are posted on its website. The certificates must be received by December 28. Then, the Archivist meets with House and Senate clerks by January 3, to prepare paperwork for the January 6, 2017 reading of the votes at a joint session of Congress. During the joint session starting at 1 p.m., the votes are read out loud in alphabetical order by state. Member of Congress can object by voice and in writing to contest a set of votes from a state. But unless the House and Senate agree to disqualify the votes, they are counted in the final tally and a President and Vice President are elected. Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center. Recent Electoral College Stories on Constitution Daily The Interactive Constitution: Understanding The Electoral College What happened the last time we had a Faithless Elector? What happens to a vote-switching Elector on December 19? Faithless Elector Provisions By State State/District Time Faithless Electors Alabama 12:00 Allowed Alaska 11:00 No Arizona not stated in law Allowed Arkansas 10:00 Allowed California 2:00 No Colorado 12:00 No Connecticut 12:00 No Delaware 12:00 No DC not stated in law No Florida not stated in law Allowed Georgia 12:00 Allowed Hawaii 2:00 No Idaho 12:00 Allowed Illinois 10:00 Allowed Indiana 10:00 Allowed Iowa not stated in law Allowed Kansas 12:00 Allowed Kentucky 12:00 Allowed Louisiana 12:00 Allowed Maine 2:00 No Maryland not stated in law No Massachusetts not stated in law Allowed Michigan 2:00 No Minnesota 12:00 No Mississippi not stated in law Allowed Missouri 2:00 Allowed Montana 2:00 No Nebraska 2:00 No Nevada not stated in law No New Hampshire not stated in law Allowed New Jersey 3:00 Allowed New Mexico 12:00 No New York 12:00 Allowed North Carolina 12:00 No North Dakota 1:00 Allowed Ohio 12:00 No Oklahoma 10:00 No Oregon not stated in law Allowed Pennsylvania 12:00 Allowed Rhode Island 12:00 Allowed South Carolina 11:00 No South Dakota 11:00 Allowed Tennessee 9:00 No Texas 2:00 Allowed Utah 12:00 No Vermont not stated in law No Virginia 12:00 No Washington 12:00 Allowed West Virginia not stated Allowed Wisconsin 12:00 No Source: National Association of Secretaries of States Two of the electors tasked with voting for President on Monday took to Reddit on Friday to answer questions about why they won't be choosing Donald Trump. Chris Suprun is a Republican elector from Texas, who penned a New York Times op-ed about his choice to break ranks earlier this month, and Bret Chiafalo is the founder of Hamilton Electors, a group dedicated to putting a qualified Republican alternative in the White House. Right now, it seems, they believe that qualified Republican is Gov. John Kasich. "I take my orders from the U.S. Constitution, and my oath to preserve and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, trumps any other commitments," writes Suprun in the AMA. "I'll be voting with a clear conscience on December 19th, and I hope that many of my fellow electors will join me in finding a responsible Republican to replace both candidates, such as Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio." Chiafalo says the two have had conversations with "countless" Republican electors who are concerned about a Trump presidency. "Many Republican Electors have voiced support for Gov. Kasich as someone they would consider as an alternative to Donald Trump," writes Chiafalo. "This is why we are launching #DraftKasich. Gov. Kasich is a man with the integrity and experience that we believe Republican Electors will rally around." Twenty-nine states currently impose penalties on electors who don't vote, but Chiafalo says those state rules hold no legal water. "State laws penalizing 'Faithless' Electors are patently unconstitutional and we believe they will be found so soon by Federal Courts," writes Chiafalo. "Many of our country's greatest legal minds are coming together to fight these laws." Electors in California, Colorado and Washington have turned to the federal courts to override state laws that bind their votes - and The Electors Trust is offering free legal advice to any elector who wishes to vote his or her conscience. Story continues Many users asked the electors how they would feel if their actions resulted in "civil war" and "bloodshed." "The immediate existential threat that Donald Trump poses our nation is greater than the speculation of what some may or may not do," writes Chiafalo. "The Constitution compels us to act." Read more: How a Group of Lawyers Is Helping "Faithless Electors" Vote Their Conscience (Q&A) russian special forces The elite Russian special forces who took over Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 are now doing the same thing in Aleppo, Syria. The number of Russian special ops troops in Syria is likely in the "low hundreds," but they are the eyes and ears on the ground to carry out precision airstrikes, and have been used to directly target rebel leaders, according to experts who spoke with the Wall Street Journal. Aleppo, Syria's largest city, has been the site of a bitter battle for control between pro-government forces and rebels since the war broke out in 2011. Meanwhile, millions of innocent civilians have been caught in the middle, recently cut off from receiving aid such as food, water, and medicine, as Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies besieged the city. There are also anywhere from 100 to 300 US special operations forces operating in Syria and Iraq, though they are focused on advising Iraqi army forces in Mosul, and targeting ISIS leadership. According to the Journal, Russian military chief Gen. Nikolai Makarov visited the headquarters of US Special Operations Command in 2012 for a meeting, intent on learning how Russia could build a special operations force similar to the United States'. Makarov previously signed a framework of understanding with then-Navy Adm. Mike Mullen in 2009 that offered military-to-military exchanges and operational events, orientation at the West Point military academy for Russian cadets, and sharing of ideas among both countries' combined arms academies. Syria Army Soldiers Flag Aleppo Mosque At the time, US military officials were hopeful for the reestablishment of military-to-military bonds with Russia. Four years later, however, that framework and sharing of information may come back to haunt them. Story continues From the helmets to the kit," the Russian special forces "look almost identical" to their US counterparts, a US military official told the Journal. In early 2014, Russian special forces infiltrated Ukraine's Crimea region and seized control after the pro-Russian government was ousted from power in Kiev. The heavily-armed men which some nicknamed "little green men" wore no identifying insignia and denied that they were Russian. Russian President Vladimir Putin later acknowledged he had deployed the Russian soldiers, and Russia instituted a national holiday called "Special Forces Day" to commemorate the invasion the following year. Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal > NOW WATCH: The US Navy has an unstoppable hovercraft that can go from water to land in seconds More From Business Insider Nearly 10 years to the day that Eric Clapton held an all-star gig at San Diego's iPayOne Center a concert that was immortalized as a live album this year the guitarist will release the DVD/Blu-ray of the March 15th, 1997 performance this spring. Live In San Diego With Special Guest JJ Cale features Clapton performing alongside Cale on five tracks, including Clapton's Cale-penned hits "After Midnight" and "Cocaine," and Robert Cray on "Crossroads." Clapton's band at the time also featured guitarists Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II. Clapton and Cale's San Diego performance came less than a year after the two artists collaborated on 2006's Road to Escondido. "This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition, to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember," Clapton said of Cale at the time. Live In San Diego With Special Guest JJ Cale is available to preorder now through Clapton's site and will arrive March 10th. Fans can also watch Clapton's rendition of "Wonderful Tonight" from the San Diego show, which was unveiled when the live album arrived in September. In addition to the concert, the DVD and Blu-ray includes bonus footage of Clapton and Cale rehearsing "Anyway the Wind Blows" and "Who Am I Telling You?" Live In San Diego With Special Guest JJ Cale Track List 1. "Tell The Truth" 2. "Key to the Highway" 3. "Got to Get Better in a Little While" 4. "Anyday" 5. "Anyway the Wind Blows" 6. "After Midnight" 7. "Who Am I Telling You?" 8. "Dont Cry Sister" 9. "Cocaine" 10. "Motherless Children" 11. "Little Queen of Spades" 12. "Further On Up the Road" 13. "Wonderful Tonight" 14. "Layla" 15. "Crossroads" Extras: 1. "Anyway The Wind Blows" 2. "Who Am I Telling You?" Related Content: (Recasts after summit) By Elizabeth Piper and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed their plan for Brexit negotiations on Thursday, pledging to move swiftly and stick together to ensure Britain does not cherry pick a sweet deal that might inspire others to unstitch the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May left before the other 27 leaders met briefly to formalise their plan for how to run Brexit talks. Before heading home, diplomats said May had assured her European partners that she would launch the two-year process by the end of March despite how London judges rule in a constitutional court case that some say might jeopardise her timetable. "It's right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing," May told reporters. The 27 issued a statement saying they were "determined to see the Union succeed", and were ready to negotiate quickly to "tackle the uncertainties" raised by the prospect of Brexit. But "any agreement will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations", they insisted, and reject British attempts to remain in the EU's single market if it does not accept free immigration from the continent - one of four key freedoms of the Union which British voters rejected in a June referendum. After months in which exasperated continentals have mocked divisions within May's government over what kind of deal Britain should seek, her exhortations to the others to get on with their preparations sounded a shade ironic. But in fact Brussels did see a wobble in its facade of unity as the European Parliament grumbled that EU leaders were freezing it out of negotiations. After warnings from senior lawmakers that the legislature risked withholding its consent to any final divorce deal if it was not included throughout the talks, national leaders offered an olive branch, saying they could attend preparatory meetings. 'SMOOTH' EXIT May, who was filmed looking unsure of herself as leaders gathered, left the summit with no mention of Brexit, focusing instead on Syria and a pledge to provide a further 20 million pounds (23.8 million euros) of support for the most vulnerable fleeing Aleppo. Story continues She had sought to reinforce her message that, while still a member, Britain would play a full part in discussions on EU issues and keen to set a conciliatory tone for a "smooth" exit, welcoming the meeting of the other EU leaders without her. The EU negotiating plan confirmed that a special set of institutions would be set up, mirroring existing EU forums but excluding Britain. Ministerial councils and councils of envoys would meet to keep national governments in overall control of negotiations led by French former minister Michel Barnier, the point man for the European Commission, the EU executive. EU governments are pressing May to start talks. But they are also perplexed by what they see as unrealistic ideas in Britain about what can be achieved by a complex and unprecedented exit that even few of its supporters thought likely before the vote. Some British ministers say they can secure a free trade deal with the EU by the time the two-year withdrawal process is over. Few EU leaders share that view and nor do many British officials. Typically such deals can take up to a decade. The BBC quoted Britain's envoy to Brussels on Thursday as warning the government about such a timeframe. (1 euro = 0.8389 British pound) (Editing by Catherine Evans and G Crosse) Maoist Centre rejigs intl department The CPN (Maoist Centre) has restructured its international department after roping in 10 different Maoist forces and changing its name to Maoist Centre. By Elizabeth Piper and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed their plan for Brexit negotiations on Thursday, pledging to move swiftly and stick together to ensure Britain does not cherry pick a sweet deal that might inspire others to unstitch the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May left before the other 27 leaders met briefly to formalize their plan for how to run Brexit talks. Before heading home, diplomats said May had assured her European partners that she would launch the two-year process by the end of March despite how London judges rule in a constitutional court case that some say might jeopardize her timetable. "It's right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing," May told reporters. The 27 issued a statement saying they were "determined to see the Union succeed", and were ready to negotiate quickly to "tackle the uncertainties" raised by the prospect of Brexit. But "any agreement will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations", they insisted, and reject British attempts to remain in the EU's single market if it does not accept free immigration from the continent - one of four key freedoms of the Union which British voters rejected in a June referendum. After months in which exasperated continentals have mocked divisions within May's government over what kind of deal Britain should seek, her exhortations to the others to get on with their preparations sounded a shade ironic. But in fact Brussels did see a wobble in its facade of unity as the European Parliament grumbled that EU leaders were freezing it out of negotiations. After warnings from senior lawmakers that the legislature risked withholding its consent to any final divorce deal if it was not included throughout the talks, national leaders offered an olive branch, saying they could attend preparatory meetings. 'SMOOTH' EXIT May, who was filmed looking unsure of herself as leaders gathered, left the summit with no mention of Brexit, focusing instead on Syria and a pledge to provide a further 20 million pounds (23.8 million euros) of support for the most vulnerable fleeing Aleppo. She had sought to reinforce her message that, while still a member, Britain would play a full part in discussions on EU issues and keen to set a conciliatory tone for a "smooth" exit, welcoming the meeting of the other EU leaders without her. The EU negotiating plan confirmed that a special set of institutions would be set up, mirroring existing EU forums but excluding Britain. Ministerial councils and councils of envoys would meet to keep national governments in overall control of negotiations led by French former minister Michel Barnier, the point man for the European Commission, the EU executive. EU governments are pressing May to start talks. But they are also perplexed by what they see as unrealistic ideas in Britain about what can be achieved by a complex and unprecedented exit that even few of its supporters thought likely before the vote. Some British ministers say they can secure a free trade deal with the EU by the time the two-year withdrawal process is over. Few EU leaders share that view and nor do many British officials. Typically such deals can take up to a decade. The BBC quoted Britain's envoy to Brussels on Thursday as warning the government about such a timeframe. (Editing by Catherine Evans and G Crosse) (Updates with Tusk, Merkel) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to extend economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine until mid-2017, though some wanted a longer timespan over fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would ease pressure on Moscow. The decision was expected and the formal process to extend the sanctions on Russia's defence, energy and financial sectors will take place early next week. "Some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months but ... what is possible is maintaining our current format, it means six months," European Council President Donald Tusk said. The bloc slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and stepped them up as Moscow went on to support a separatist rebellion in Ukraine's industrial east. It has extended them by six months each time ever since as Moscow says it would never give back Crimea and the conflict in east Ukraine - which has killed 10,000 people to date - is not resolved despite peace mediation by Germany and France. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision: "I am sincerely grateful for unwavering unity and solidarity of the European leaders in restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea." THE TRUMP EFFECT Poland was among the EU states that wanted a longer extension of the sanctions, but Italy has been a leading voice in the bloc in calling for re-establishing business ties with Moscow. The decision was also meant as a signal to Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20 and has worried the EU with his promises to seek a rapprochement with Russia. "It would send a very bad signal vis-a-vis Trump if we shied away from this extension, or prolonged them by a shorter period of time," a senior EU official said. But in front of cameras, EU leaders were more cautious, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the extension was agreed "based on the current situation" rather than attempts to "anticipate what the new American president might do." Story continues "It's still too early to assess responsibly what is the possible policy of the new american administration on Russia," said Tusk. Despite threats in October by some EU leaders, the bloc has shied away from slapping new sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Syria. In a separate decision on Thursday, EU leaders agreed to spell out limits to a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine in order to address Dutch concerns and prevent the deal from falling through. (Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Andreas Rinke) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to extend economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine until mid-2017, though some wanted a longer timespan over fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would ease pressure on Moscow. The decision was expected and the formal process to extend the sanctions on Russia's defense, energy and financial sectors will take place early next week. "Some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months but ... what is possible is maintaining our current format, it means six months," European Council President Donald Tusk said. The bloc slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and stepped them up as Moscow went on to support a separatist rebellion in Ukraine's industrial east. It has extended them by six months each time ever since as Moscow says it would never give back Crimea and the conflict in east Ukraine - which has killed 10,000 people to date - is not resolved despite peace mediation by Germany and France. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision: "I am sincerely grateful for unwavering unity and solidarity of the European leaders in restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea." THE TRUMP EFFECT Poland was among the EU states that wanted a longer extension of the sanctions, but Italy has been a leading voice in the bloc in calling for re-establishing business ties with Moscow. The decision was also meant as a signal to Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20 and has worried the EU with his promises to seek a rapprochement with Russia. "It would send a very bad signal vis-a-vis Trump if we shied away from this extension, or prolonged them by a shorter period of time," a senior EU official said. But in front of cameras, EU leaders were more cautious, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the extension was agreed "based on the current situation" rather than attempts to "anticipate what the new American president might do." "It's still too early to assess responsibly what is the possible policy of the new american administration on Russia," said Tusk. Despite threats in October by some EU leaders, the bloc has shied away from slapping new sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Syria. In a separate decision on Thursday, EU leaders agreed to spell out limits to a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine in order to address Dutch concerns and prevent the deal from falling through. (Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Andreas Rinke) By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Theresa May has got nowhere with the EU in seeking an early guarantee of post-Brexit rights for British and European expatriates, officials said on Friday after the British prime minister pushed the issue again at an EU summit. "We cannot now do some deal quickly with her," said one person familiar with some of May's discussions in Brussels on Thursday. "This simply won't work. It has to be part of a whole process." May briefed the summit on her plan to trigger the two-year withdrawal process by the end of March, whatever the outcome of a British Supreme Court case, officials who were present said. She also repeated her wish to see uncertainties over the status of people living as foreigners on either side of the new UK-EU frontier settled early on. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said none of the other 27 responded to that. Summit chair Donald Tusk has said in recent weeks that May will get nowhere with such requests until she formally triggers talks under Article 50 of the EU treaty, and even then, promises will mean little until a comprehensive Brexit deal is agreed. "Nothing will be agreed until everything is agreed, so it is hard to see what legal clarity people can be given on issues like residency rights before a final deal," an EU official said. However, another official involved in preparations for Brexit talks said expatriate citizens were unlikely to become "bargaining chips" between London and Brussels: "Both sides have big interests in avoiding that." EU FRICTIONS May herself welcomed the fact that EU leaders had agreed on how they would organize themselves to negotiate, although in-fighting between Brussels institutions rumbled on Friday. National leaders and the executive European Commission, whose Michel Barnier will be chief EU negotiator, tweaked their plan in order to allow the European Parliament to be present in some planning sessions for the negotiators. But the lawmakers want a full negotiating role, and officials said the legislature, whose approval is needed for a Brexit accord, would keep pressing. Its president, Martin Schulz, warned on Thursday that the assembly could sink a deal. A parliamentary official said Schulz, who is stepping down, feared that a chamber where party discipline is always weak would be particularly unbiddable when the Brexit deal is due for ratification, just as lawmakers campaign for re-election in May 2019. But other officials said Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was concerned that a proliferation of EU voices would weaken Barnier's position. Some also fear that lawmakers might leak key elements of the EU's negotiating strategy. (Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kevin Liffey) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Friday cleared France's Danone (DANO.PA) to proceed with its $10.4 billion purchase of U.S. organic food producer WhiteWave, subject to it selling a business in Belgium. Danone will sell a large part of its "growing-up milk" business in Belgium, as the Commission said only Nestle (NESN.S) would have remained as a competitor in the country otherwise. "The Commission had concerns that the merged entity would not have faced sufficient competitive pressure from the remaining player in this market," the Commission, which enforces competition rules in the European Union, said in a statement. The purchase of WhiteWave, Danone's largest acquisition since 2007, will help it pursue affluent consumers by adding WhiteWave's popular health food offerings such as Silk almond milk and Earthbound Farm organic salad. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek; editing Julia Fioretti) By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Europe's top court will decide next week on Spanish tax breaks for foreign takeovers in a ruling that may give clues as to how judges will deal with more complex tax cases involving Starbucks and Apple . The European Commission, in two rulings in 2009 and 2011, said the scheme, which applied to Spanish companies holding a stake of at least 5 percent in a foreign company for at least a year, broke EU state aid rules, and ordered Spain to recover the money. Banco Santander, Autogrill Espana, which is now known as World Duty Free Group, and Santusa Holding challenged the decisions at the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, which ruled in the companies' favour. The EU competition enforcer then appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), arguing that the lower court was wrong to demand that it specify the type of companies that benefited unfairly from the tax breaks. The court's verdict in the Spanish case on Wednesday could give insight into the ECJ's stance on high-profile rulings by the European Commission against tax breaks for multinationals such as Starbucks and Apple, which have already been appealed to the General Court by the Dutch and Irish governments. The Commission ordered Apple in August to pay Ireland a record 13 billion euros ($13.6 billion) in unpaid taxes, ruling the firm had received illegal state aid The Commission has also ruled that Starbucks, Fiat Chrysler and 35 other companies benefited from illegal sweetheart deals with several EU countries. The Spanish corporate tax scheme allowed companies that were tax resident in Spain to write down goodwill resulting from the acquisition of stakes in companies that were tax resident abroad. While the Spanish case is different in substance and facts from those involving Starbucks and Apple, the verdict could show whether the ECJ is taking a conservative approach to state aid which could constrain the Commission's investigations. Story continues A Commission official made light of the implications of the court's ruling. "If it is the general mood that we have over-reached, then that is bad but you cannot really deduce it from the question at hand in this particular case because it is such a specific question," the Commission official said. "We would not see it as good news, that is obvious, but I think it is difficult to infer too much from it." The Commission did not respond to a request for comment. The cases are C-20/15 P Commission v World Duty Free Group, C-21/15 P Commission v Banco Santander and Santusa. ($1 = 0.9565 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Adrian Croft) By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top court will decide next week on Spanish tax breaks for foreign takeovers in a ruling that may give clues as to how judges will deal with more complex tax cases involving Starbucks and Apple . The European Commission, in two rulings in 2009 and 2011, said the scheme, which applied to Spanish companies holding a stake of at least 5 percent in a foreign company for at least a year, broke EU state aid rules, and ordered Spain to recover the money. Banco Santander , Autogrill Espana, which is now known as World Duty Free Group, and Santusa Holding challenged the decisions at the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, which ruled in the companies' favor. The EU competition enforcer then appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), arguing the lower court was wrong to demand that it specify the type of companies that benefited unfairly from the tax breaks. The court's verdict in the Spanish case on Wednesday could give insight into the ECJ's stance on high-profile rulings by the European Commission against tax breaks for multinationals such as Starbucks and Apple, which have already been appealed to the General Court by the Dutch and Irish governments. The Commission ordered Apple in August to pay Ireland a record 13 billion euros ($13.6 billion) in unpaid taxes, ruling the firm had received illegal state aid. The Commission has also ruled that Starbucks, Fiat Chrysler and 35 other companies benefited from illegal sweetheart deals with several EU countries. The Spanish corporate tax scheme allowed companies that were tax resident in Spain to write down goodwill resulting from the acquisition of stakes in companies that were tax resident abroad. While the Spanish case is different in substance and facts from those involving Starbucks and Apple - as the latter two involve individual rulings on specific companies rather than a scheme - the verdict could show whether the ECJ is taking a conservative approach to state aid which could constrain the Commission's investigations. Story continues A Commission official made light of the implications of the court's ruling. "If it is the general mood that we have over-reached, then that is bad but you cannot really deduce it from the question at hand in this particular case because it is such a specific question," the Commission official said. "We would not see it as good news, that is obvious, but I think it is difficult to infer too much from it." A Commission spokeswoman added: "We cannot comment on judgments that have not yet been issued." The cases are C-20/15 P Commission v World Duty Free Group, C-21/15 P Commission v Banco Santander and Santusa. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter) * France pledges new U.N. resolution * EU, as aid donor, seeks to put focus on civilians * Aleppo city official says action needed to save lives (Recasts with Tusk, Hollande) By Robin Emmott and Jean-Baptiste Vey BRUSSELS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European leaders promised to send food and medicine to people trapped in the devastated city of Aleppo, with France's president calling for a U.N. resolution to support the EU response that Russia could not refuse. EU aid trucks have been waiting to go into the rebel strongholds of eastern Aleppo since early October and are Europe's only tangible assistance in a conflict that has left it marginalised, unable to agree sanctions to pressure Moscow. At an EU summit where German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the conflict was "shameful" and regretted the failure of EU diplomacy, French President Francois Hollande said Paris was working on a United Nations Security Council resolution to secure humanitarian aid corridors. "Russia has used its veto many times on resolutions. But here, could Russia veto a resolution whose goal would be humanitarian? What responsibility would it take if it went so far?," Hollande said at a news conference. Hollande said he hoped the resolution, on which diplomats would start work on Friday, would serve as a basis for a lasting ceasefire and the start of broader peace talks. The summit chairman, Donald Tusk, said the bloc would use all diplomatic channels to press for humanitarian aid to reach Aleppo and the 50,000 people still trapped there. Tusk said EU demands were the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors to allow aid into Aleppo, and for civilians to be evacuated safely under what he called "neutral, international supervision." "There must be full and unrestricted access for all medical personnel and aid workers," Tusk said. With no military role in the Syrian conflict, where Russia and Iran have played a decisive role in support of President Bashar al-Assad, EU leaders were eager to show action after a local Aleppo official made a personal plea at the summit in Brussels, saying it was time to go beyond statements. Story continues "We are not waiting for press communiques and declarations, or meetings for the organisation of other meetings," said Brita Hagi Hassan, head of the city council for the part of Aleppo once under rebel control. "We want action," said Hassan, who has been outside of east Aleppo since the Russian-backed siege of rebel bastions this year. Leaders did agree a joint statement condemning the violence and calling for a ceasefire but said it was a sign of their resolve to do more. "We said that those that are responsible for breaches of international law must be brought to justice," Merkel said of the discussion among EU leaders. Hollande also vowed to make Russia contribute financially to humanitarian aid and to help the wounded, particularly he said, after Russian warplanes had destroyed so many hospitals. The EU - the world's largest aid donor - has said it will not pay for reconstruction Syria if Damascus and its allies wipe out any opposition and install a false peace there. However, there was no breakthrough on British and French efforts to impose EU sanctions on senior Russian officials despite support from Poland. They have been blocked by the Kremlin's allies in the bloc Hungary, Greece and Cyprus, and also complicated by Italy's strong business ties with Russia. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Noah Barkin; Editing by Noah Barkin) By Robin Emmott and Jean-Baptiste Vey BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders promised to send food and medicine to people trapped in the devastated city of Aleppo, with France's president calling for a U.N. resolution to support the EU response that Russia could not refuse. EU aid trucks have been waiting to go into the rebel strongholds of eastern Aleppo since early October and are Europe's only tangible assistance in a conflict that has left it marginalized, unable to agree sanctions to pressure Moscow. At an EU summit where German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the conflict was "shameful" and regretted the failure of EU diplomacy, French President Francois Hollande said Paris was working on a United Nations Security Council resolution to secure humanitarian aid corridors. "Russia has used its veto many times on resolutions. But here, could Russia veto a resolution whose goal would be humanitarian? What responsibility would it take if it went so far?," Hollande said at a news conference. Hollande said he hoped the resolution, on which diplomats would start work on Friday, would serve as a basis for a lasting ceasefire and the start of broader peace talks. The summit chairman, Donald Tusk, said the bloc would use all diplomatic channels to press for humanitarian aid to reach Aleppo and the 50,000 people still trapped there. Tusk said EU demands were the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors to allow aid into Aleppo, and for civilians to be evacuated safely under what he called "neutral, international supervision." "There must be full and unrestricted access for all medical personnel and aid workers," Tusk said. With no military role in the Syrian conflict, where Russia and Iran have played a decisive role in support of President Bashar al-Assad, EU leaders were eager to show action after a local Aleppo official made a personal plea at the summit in Brussels, saying it was time to go beyond statements. "We are not waiting for press communiques and declarations, or meetings for the organization of other meetings," said Brita Hagi Hassan, head of the city council for the part of Aleppo once under rebel control. "We want action," said Hassan, who has been outside of east Aleppo since the Russian-backed siege of rebel bastions this year. Leaders did agree a joint statement condemning the violence and calling for a ceasefire but said it was a sign of their resolve to do more. "We said that those that are responsible for breaches of international law must be brought to justice," Merkel said of the discussion among EU leaders. Hollande also vowed to make Russia contribute financially to humanitarian aid and to help the wounded, particularly he said, after Russian warplanes had destroyed so many hospitals. The EU - the world's largest aid donor - has said it will not pay for reconstruction Syria if Damascus and its allies wipe out any opposition and install a false peace there. However, there was no breakthrough on British and French efforts to impose EU sanctions on senior Russian officials despite support from Poland. They have been blocked by the Kremlin's allies in the bloc Hungary, Greece and Cyprus, and also complicated by Italy's strong business ties with Russia. (Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Noah Barkin; Editing by Noah Barkin) By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday how they will organise negotiations with Britain that they expect to start within four months. This is how the process looks: THE TIMELINE, AND HOW BRITS MAY BE OUT ON APRIL 1, 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notification of British withdrawal from the EU treaty under Article 50 is critical. She repeated at the summit her plan to notify by the end of March. Article 50 sets a two-year countdown to Brexit. With no deal, Britain would still be out but with loose ends. The deadline can be extended, but only if there is mutual consent - unlikely. The EU wants a deal before an EU election in May 2019. But London judges may upset May's timetable over legal bids to give lawmakers more say on Brexit. Political dynamics may also shift. On getting May's letter, European Council President Donald Tusk will call a summit of the other 27 leaders within weeks - France's April 23-May 7 presidential election may affect timing. The 27 will mandate the EU executive, the European Commission, to negotiate according to guidelines fixed by the Council. One issue in arguments in Britain over how withdrawal can be triggered following the non-binding referendum in June is whether London could change its mind later and stay in. The view in London is no, but in Brussels most think it can. Negotiations will have to wind up about October 2018, the EU reckons, to give time for parliamentary ratification processes. QUICK, QUICK, SLOW - THE BREXIT THREE-STEP Divorce, transition, future. Barring a "cliff edge" falling out, Britain and the EU would agree withdrawal terms by 2019 and an interim deal to avoid disruption during negotiation of a new trade accord that experts reckon could take five to seven years more. While there is a degree of consensus on what must be settled in the withdrawal treaty, which would need only majority backing among EU states, much beyond that is unclear - mainly because it is unclear what Britain will ask for. Any transition deal would depend on having some idea what it was a transition to - and it would probably have to be agreed by the 27 unanimously. Key parts of a future relationship will be terms of access to the EU single market for British-based firms and how far Britain will accept immigration from the continent, arbitration by EU judges and to pay into EU budgets in return for access. DIVORCE, AND WHO GETS THE HOUSE AND THE KIDS These are the EU's priorities for the withdrawal treaty: 1. The house, bank accounts and pensions. The British state, businesses and citizens contribute to and receive from the EU - an annual net 10 billion euro budget payment a year. On leaving, London may keep paying for some years, for example to cover pensions of EU staff or agreed but not yet disbursed spending. EU officials' rough estimates total about 50 billion to 65 billion euros. 2. The kids. More than 3 million non-British EU citizens live in Britain and more than a million Britons live elsewhere in the EU. Neither side thinks mass deportations are desirable or likely. But EU leaders' hard line against a quick deal on this shows reluctance to give up a politically powerful card. 3. The borders. They need to settle customs measures for goods and probably special arrangements for the only UK-EU land border, on the island of Ireland. 4. Court cases. Among a host of lower-profile issues to be settled will be agreeing how to handle outstanding cases involving Britain at the European Court of Justice. LOOK WHO'S TALKING - THE NEGOTIATORS This is what in EU-speak is called "Chefsache" - German for 'a matter for the bosses'. May and her 27 counterparts will take the final decisions. However, the details will first have to be worked on by legions of lesser officials. The Council president, Tusk, a conservative former prime minister of Poland, will hold the ring for the other 27 states. A Brexit Working Party headed by a Council staffer will liaise between the national leaders and the lead negotiator, Michel Barnier. President Jean-Claude Juncker's European Commission will do the heavy lifting of detailed negotiation and legal drafting. Barnier, a French former minister who irked London when financial services commissioner, runs the Commission's Brexit Task Force. His deputy is German trade expert Sabine Weyand. His team will also feature a representative of the country holding the Council presidency - Malta until June, then Estonia for six months, followed by Bulgaria, Austria and Romania. The European Parliament must approve any deal and will have representatives in meetings to prepare summits on Brexit. It will be kept updated on the progress of talks. Its point man is Guy Verhofstadt, a liberal former Belgian prime minister seen in London as an arch eurofederalist. Verhofstadt and fellow MEPs are angry not to have a bigger role in the actual negotiations. (Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Peter Cooney) Ministry seeks Rs 27.9 million to make journos comply with code The Ministry of Information and Communication has sought Rs 27 million to strengthen its efforts to make journalists comply with journalist code of conduct and control social media users from harming the society and the country By Laura Benitez LONDON, Dec 16 (IFR) - The European market could take a big chunk out of a bursting M&A pipeline in 2017 after it proved its mettle against the US dollar market in 2016, further cementing the region's role for corporate financing. Several M&A-related bonds are heading Europe's way in 2017, according to bankers, after borrowers such as AB InBev and Verizon demonstrated the depth of investor demand for their jumbo multi-tranche bonds. "European M&A related flow is expected to pick up next year and therefore financing needs could be exponentially higher," said Lorenzo Frontini, head of FSG in Europe, Middle East and Africa at Deutsche Bank. "With a constructive new issue environment, issuers will try and maximise the opportunity with focus on their respective domestic markets, targeting investors based in their home jurisdiction." Cheaper funding costs and increased demand have enticed companies into the European market since the ECB launched its Corporate Sector Purchase Programme on June 8. The central bank's decision to extend the programme until December 2017 will further bolster momentum, on the expectation that credit spreads will be well supported. "We will also see opportunities for M&A takeout across different investor bases structured to minimise price breaks," Frontini said. A LOOK AHEAD Those anticipated to issue M&A-related bonds include Bayer, which said it will sell a mix of senior and hybrid debt to help finance its US$66bn takeover of US seed company Monsanto. Bayer expects to close the transaction by the end of 2017. Europe offers a well-tested hybrid market, widely used by issuers to fund aggressive corporate strategies. Hybrids, which receive 50% equity credit at the major rating agencies, are seen as a way for companies to raise cheap equity while defending credit scores. "Although M&A activity has slowed recently, we see opportunities in select credits where management is committed to maintaining an investment-grade rating, which we believe will provide attractive spreads going forward," said Nathaniel Barker, co-head investment grade corporate credit at Barings. Story continues Others expected include AT&T, which has agreed to buy Time Warner for US$85.4bn. The company said it would finance the purchase with new debt and cash on its balance sheet, and has an 18-month commitment for an unsecured bridge facility for US$40bn. Investors are not expecting any action in the euro market in the first quarter of the year due to the bridge being in place, but are anticipating around US$30bn to be issued across US dollar and euro debt. British American Tobacco is also expected to add to the upcoming deluge of M&A-linked supply, after it made a US$47bn bid for the rest of US tobacco company Reynolds American it does not already own. The initial bid was rejected by Reynolds and BAT is reportedly in negotiations to raise its offer, according to Reuters. Investors expect most of the financing to be placed in the US dollar market, but say the low cost of euros could mean they issue a reasonable chunk in euros in early 2017. DEPTH OF DEMAND Europe has traditionally played second best to the US market, which is known for easily absorbing multi-tranche multi-billion trades. But M&A issuance in 2016 proved that borrowers could achieve the same size and demand they have been accustomed to in the US market, paving the way for more momentum-based supply in Europe. AB InBev printed the biggest ever corporate bond in the European market in March, with the 13.25bn debt splurge attracting 31bn of orders. The following month, Air Liquide raised 3bn to fund its US$13.4bn takeover of US peer Airgas, while later in the year Danone and Verizon sold respective 6.2bn and 3.75bn-equivalent deals. "The M&A wave is picking up in Europe, we've already seen a lot in the pharma sector so I would be surprised to see more there, but we expect to see a pickup in euro M&A overall," said Matthew Rees, senior credit analyst at LGIM. (Reporting By Laura Benitez, additional reporting by Helene Durand, editing by Julian Baker) Eva Longoria (Photo: Deruel Jessy/News Pictures/WENN.com) Eva Longoria knows how to pick a jumpsuit. The actress stepped out in Paris in a stunning one-piece. The black jumpsuit was a perfect blend of sexy, sophisticated and playful just like her. It featured a daring deep neckline that plunged to just above her navel and a sheer mesh panel over her bare chest. The 41-year-olds fit figure was on display thanks to a cinched waist, and the loose yet tapered pants skimmed the floor. And we havent even gotten to the best part yet. Pink, purple and green floral designs formed of shimmering sequins and beads decorated the bodice and hips, giving the otherwise sleek ensemble a playful and girly twist. Eva Longoria (Photo: Deruel Jessy/News Pictures/WENN.com) This is what all jumpsuits should look like: tight but not wedgie-inducing, simple but with a hint of something fun to keep things interesting and eyes from wandering to your possible camel toe, sexy but not too flashy. With a busy bodice, Longoria kept the accessories simple, opting for black strappy heels and a black coat draped over her shoulders. This outfit is the perfect example of a style Longoria has mastered sexy comfort, which shes recently demonstrated in jersey dresses and groutfits. If you needed a reminder that Longoria still has it, this gorgeous look that showed off her style and shape should do the trick. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. The third evacuation convoy transporting people from rebel-held areas in Aleppo arrived in the countryside west of the city overnight on December 15 and 16, according to activist reports from the area. Following the arrival of the first two convoys into ICRC-run medical camps, ICRC Syria head Marianne Gasser spoke to the media. Some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded, including children, were brought out, she said. Right up until the last minute, it wasnt clear wed get into east Aleppo. When we arrived, the scene was heart-breaking. People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness. Staffan de Mistura, the UN Special Envoy on Syria, said that as many as 50,000 people would be moved to the western Aleppo countryside, including at least 10,000 who represent Syrian rebels and their families. Many of those 10,000 affiliated with Syrian rebel groups are likely to be evacuated further towards rebel-held areas of the Idlib province. There were conflicting reports on the morning of December 16 that a convoy attempting to pass through al-Ramousah in south Aleppo was blocked with both sides in the conflict accusing the other of breaching the evacuation agreement. Credit: YouTube/ShaamNetwork S.N.N via Storyful krennic DISNEY Cloaks and capes arent the same thing, but theyre both having a moment. A cloak played a major role in Doctor Strange, helping the titular character fight Mads Mikkelsens Kaecilius, while a caped Imperial military officer in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story tangles with Mads Mikkelsen. Hes positively Mads about outer garments. The first of Disneys Star Wars standalone films was released late Thursday, and reviews have been mostly positive. Our own Mike Ryan wrote, I could make the case Rogue One shouldnt work from everything from the reshoots to just the fact Star Wars is breaking from centering its story around the Skywalkers but, yet, it does work. Mostly, while others have praised Rogue Ones ending and sassy new droid, K-2SO. But the obvious MVP is the cape worn by Ben Mendelsohns Orson Krennic. krennic-cape DISNEY Majestic. And dont think Mendelsohn doesnt know it. Listen, I have no doubt that cape is, and youll pardon my language, a motherf*cking movie star, the Bloodline star told Vulture. Its a movie star all on its own! (He also said that putting on the cape gives you a dignity and an uprightness that you might not have had otherwise. Its the sign of a great costume.) Rogue One is more serious and (sigh) gritty than any previous Star Wars movie, but the cape, along with Mendelsohn and Forest Whitakers over-the-top performances, add a welcome campiness to all the grim bloodshed. What Im saying is, everyone should own a billowing cape. Thank you. I'm seeing #RogueOne in about 10 minutes and I'm already having a meltdown over Ben Mendelsohn and his cape in 3D. #help Kim (@kimsdewi) December 16, 2016 But like how amazing is the opening sequence of #RogueOne though? Mendo's cape Anna (@go_anna40) December 16, 2016 Ben Mendelsohn: "Listen, I have no doubt that cape is, & you'll pardon my language, a motherfucking movie star." It is. So is he. #RogueOne Laurie Crosswell (@lauriecrosswell) December 16, 2016 I want Orson Krennic's uniform. That cape is so badass. #RogueOne 2002 Chris Jericho (@SlickVick_23) December 16, 2016 Gotta respect a villain who can rock a white cape. #RogueOne Jared Clark (@JC_Ice007) December 16, 2016 #RogueOne is story of a middle management drone named Orson Krennic who just wants to wear a white cape & get his bosses to respect him. Janelle Okwodu (@okjanelle) December 16, 2016 "I got to get me a white cape." My first thought after Rogue One. Nalinee Barrett (@Nalinee) December 16, 2016 Final note I want Director Krennic's cape Rowa (@RowanMcgennis) December 15, 2016 i'm too overwhelmed by the ending so let me just talk about krennic's glorious cape senya (@slenderdie) December 15, 2016 I wanna steal Orson Krennic's cape. Anthony Birklid (@AB_Actor) December 16, 2016 Krennic's shuttle should have had a cape just like his. son of a huxcracker (@hux_you_up) December 16, 2016 Just how dirty do you think Ben Mendelsohn's cape must be by the end of #RogueOne. I imagine it looks like the underside of a couch. pic.twitter.com/4SyImkJE3r Eric Fuchs (@BlueHighwind) December 16, 2016 (Via Vulture) MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - A former Guantanamo prisoner who was resettled in Uruguay but has asked to leave flew to South Africa on Thursday as a tourist, a Uruguayan official said on Friday. Once in South Africa, Jihad Diyab, a Syrian National, would have to return to Uruguay in 90 days or find another country to give him residency, the official said. "He left the country on his way to Johannesburg with a stopover in Buenos Aires, paying his own way," said Christian Mirza, the government's liaison with former detainees. Diyab was held for 12 years in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without being charged and was released along with five other prisoners to Uruguay in 2014 to reduce the number of detainees. Earlier this year, Diyab traveled through Brazil and Venezuela and was held briefly by Venezuela's intelligence agency after arriving in Caracas in July. While there a lawyer said he asked the Uruguayan consulate to help him travel to Turkey, where he wanted to be reunited with his family. He was deported back to Uruguay in late August and was on a hunger strike for 68 days in Montevideo, demanding to be resettled. Uruguay has agreed to extend financial assistance to the detainees remaining in the country for another year. (Reporting by Malena Castaldi; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Andrew Hay) Madrid (AFP) - A former anti-ETA militant arrested this week in Spain for allegedly disseminating jihadist propaganda had said he wanted to self-immolate in a bus, a court document revealed Friday. Daniel Fernandez Acena, who served time in jail for the murder of a French railway worker in 1984 as part of the GAL death squads set up to fight ETA Basque separatists, was detained on Tuesday in Segovia near Madrid. In a document ordering that he be remanded in custody, a Madrid court said police had "detected continuous allusions to... 'wanting to travel to Afghanistan' and even his 'intention to self-immolate in a bus in Segovia'." The court based this on phone taps on the suspect, whose social media activity was also closely followed by police before being arrested. The document said he had "clear intentions to commit a terrorist act," adding Fernandez Acena had converted to Islam after "abandoning his previous life of Western 'sin'." "He displayed to various people his intention to commit a suicide attack in the name of a jihadist terrorist organisation," it said. However there was no mention of other, more concrete elements that would suggest the suspect was ready to act, such as buying weapons, explosives, or inflammable substances. The interior ministry said Tuesday that Fernandez Acena had travelled "to war zones in Afghanistan, Syria and Palestine," but this was not mentioned in the court document. Questioned by a judge on Thursday, Fernandez Acena resorted to "his right to remain silent." The suspect was once part of the GAL -- secret armed squads set up to fight ETA, which long waged a violent campaign for independence for the Basque Country. The murder of Jean-Pierre Leiba, the French railway worker, was by mistake. He was killed in Hendaye in southwestern France while he was with three Basques. The GAL -- meaning Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups -- were accused of 28 killings between 1983 and 1987, most of them in the French Basque region. According to Spanish authorities, 173 alleged jihadists have been detained since 2015, when Spain increased its terror alert to four out of five. BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian rebel source said Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as Nusra Front, had agreed to let injured people out of the besieged Shi'ite villages of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province. As the last rebel group to agree to the evacuation, the source said the evacuation could start as early as today. Rebel sources previously said they had agreed to an evacuation of the wounded from Foua and Kefraya as part of the deal to evacuate insurgents and civilians from east Aleppo. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Hugh Lawson) By Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp expects its chips and devices division, its biggest profit driver, to beat its annual earnings forecast on favourable currency rates and strong demand for flash memory chips, the head of the division said. The sprawling conglomerate has been pinning its hopes on a strong performance in semiconductors, as it seeks to recover from a $1.3 billion accounting scandal last year. It is the world's second biggest maker of NAND flash memory chips after tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd . "It is highly likely that the division's profit will overshoot the current forecast," Yasuo Naruke, the senior executive vice president in charge of the business, told Reuters in an interview on Friday. Toshiba just last month forecast that the division will generate an operating profit of 130 billion yen (884.28 million pounds)for the financial year to end-March. That accounts for the bulk of the company's overall operating profit forecast of 180 billion yen. The yen has declined 11 percent against the dollar since Donald Trump was voted in to be the next U.S. President, boosting earnings for Japanese exporters. Orders for NAND flash memory chips from Chinese smartphone makers have also been brisk. "Strong demand from Chinese smartphone makers is likely to continue until at least next summer, as they are expected to keep shifting to chips with higher storage capacity," he added. Naruke also said that Toshiba expects to invest around 1 trillion yen in its flash memory chips business for the three years from April 2019, up from 860 billion yen for the three years prior. He added that Toshiba had done much to catch up to Samsung in advanced NAND flash memory chips that have a three-dimensional stacked cell structure, which were first mass-produced by its South Korean rival in 2013. "Toshiba was said to be two years behind Samsung, but I believe we've caught up technology-wise," Naruke said. "We may still be behind in mass production expertise, but will go head-to-head next year." Story continues Analysts have said that any bullish investment plans in NAND to compete with the likes of Samsung could be restrained by Toshiba's capital base which has been badly hit by the accounting scandal and subsequent business overhaul. Naruke played down such concerns. "We have various options, including a capital increase," he said. He said, however, that aggressive investment plans by government-backed Chinese chip players were a long-term threat. Their efforts to acquire U.S. chip and data storage firms have been so far blocked by U.S. regulators on security concerns but they could use their ample funds to attract engineers from all over the world, he said. ($1 = 118.17 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki and Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Pretoria (AFP) - After 52 years, Mncedisi Tyopo finally stood beside his father's grave, looking down at remains being exhumed as part of South Africa's attempts to come to terms with its painful past. Tyopo's father Bhonase Vulindlela was an anti-apartheid fighter who was hanged along with 11 comrades in 1964. Their bodies were crammed into four unmarked graves on rough ground in a bottom corner of cemetery beside a road in the capital Pretoria. The exhumation will allow Tyopo to give his father a proper ancestral burial -- one small attempt at healing the wounds of decades of state violence and repression that marked South Africa until the end of white-minority rule in 1994. "For so long we didn't know where the body was. We had no information. I feel happy," Tyopo, who was just four when his father was hanged, told AFP. His father Vulindlela was one of a group of 12 activists from the Pan-African Congress (PAC), an anti-apartheid party that was banned by the segregationist government. All were hanged -- including four other family members -- for the murder of five white people in an attack in Eastern Cape province. This week, forensic anthropologists equipped with trowels, spades and brushes excavated a hole two metres deep, gradually revealing skulls -- some very damaged -- femurs and tibias, as well as the handles and steel nails from disintegrated coffins. "The fingers, the ribs, the vertebrae have been reduced to dust," Kavita Lakha, one of the anthropologists, said. "But for the families, to be able to identify a head or a major bone, that is better than nothing." Anti-apartheid activists hanged under the regime were often buried in paupers' graves without headstones. Their relatives could not attend the burial and were never told where their loved ones lay. Only the cemeteries' neat registry books, now yellow and faded, recorded the name and location of each corpse. - 'Punishment beyond death' - Story continues The bodies even remained property of the state, inflicting a "final punishment beyond death," said Madeleine Fullard, head of the Missing Persons' Task Team. "This is one step in the family coming to some sense that their journey is ending," she added. "We are not necessarily looking to heal... but certainly many of the families feel that once they are able to bury the remains, they have done what they can to make right what was done wrong." At the Rebecca Street cemetery in Pretoria, the hanging victims were buried in the "Africans and paupers" section, far from the peaceful jacaranda-lined avenues reserved for white Afrikaners. The government-organised exhumation was the first of its kind in South Africa, which plans to unearth scores of bodies of political prisoners executed between 1960 and 1990. Justice Minister Michael Masutha, who attended the graveside scene, said the hangings and treatment of the bodies reflected the criminal justice system at the time. "It was common for black people convicted of murdering whites to be sentenced to death, but very rare for whites who murdered blacks," he said. The exhumation policy follows the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in 1996, which revealed the full horrors of crimes committed during apartheid. South Africa has been assisted in the task by Argentinian authorities, experienced in handling bodies of victims from the country's dictatorship. Now the families hope to re-bury the remains early next year in the Eastern Cape, in line with tradition that demands a correct burial to protect the surviving family. "Every movement has a responsibility to look after its own soldiers," said Phillip Dhlamini, national PAC chairman. "Where your fighters are captured by the enemy, there will be no peace until their remains are returned to you. So this is the first step towards a lasting peace in this country." Damascus (AFP) - A blast that rocked a police station in southeast Damascus on Friday was caused by a seven-year-old girl carrying a belt of explosives, Syrian media reported. The explosion in the bustling Midan neighbourhood of the Syrian capital wounded three police officers, said the Al-Watan daily, which is close to the government. "A seven-year-old girl entered the police station, carrying a belt that was detonated from afar," the paper posted on its Facebook page. A police source told Al-Watan that she had appeared lost and asked to use the bathroom when the explosives went off. Although rebel groups have fired rockets and mortar rounds into the capital, explosions inside the city itself are rare. Syrian state news agency SANA said earlier there were preliminary reports about a "terrorist explosion at the Midan police station in Damascus". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed there had been a blast in Midan but said it could not specify the cause. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that "one woman" was killed in the blast, but it remained unclear whether she was a suicide bomber or a bystander. In early 2012, a suicide bomber killed 26 people when he blew himself up in Midan. More than 310,000 people have died since Syria's conflict broke out in 2011. MPs urged to roll back amendment proposal Youths and students, who are opposed to the constitution amendment bill proposing Province 5 division, sent text messages to various lawmakers urging them to withdraw the bill on Thursday. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian state television said a young girl of about nine years of age blew herself up on Friday in a police station in the Midan neighbourhood of Damascus. State-run Ikhbariya news channel showed blurred images of what looked like a blackened girl's head in a blanket, and scenes of destruction inside what it said was the police station. State news agency SANA, quoting a Damascus police source, said there was an explosion in the police station. A witness in the area of the blast told Reuters a young girl entered the police station and, after asking to go to the toilet, blew herself up. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said there had been an explosion in the Midan area and there were reports of casualties. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Ralph Boulton) mark zuckerberg Facebook announced on Friday that it had made another measurement error, this time affecting publishers that use its Instant Articles content platform. It marks the fourth time in recent months Facebook has acknowledged overstating or understating the metrics that publishers or advertisers use to measure the effectiveness of their activity on the platform. In the latest disclosure, Facebook said comScore, a third-party measurement firm it partners with, found the social network was undercounting traffic from iPhone users to their Instant Articles content. Instant Articles is a platform Facebook launched last year in which publishers upload their content directly to Facebook to make it load faster than a standard web page. Publishers can sell their own ads and keep 100% of the proceeds or get Facebook to sell the ad slots for them and allow the social network to take a 30% cut of that revenue. Facebook said in an update to a previous blog post that a recent software update led to iPhone traffic being undercounted from September 30 to November 30. It has now fixed the error, the company added. The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Facebook's latest measurement miscalculation, spoke with a person familiar with the matter who suggested the issue affected some publishers' traffic numbers by 10% to 20%. For most publishers, however, the error affected less than 1% of their traffic, the source said. Facebook began being more up-front about metrics miscalculations in November, when it announced the launch of a new "Metrics FYI" blog series to provide updates on when it discovers errors and bugs. Two months earlier, Facebook's ad boss Carolyn Everson acknowledged that the company could have done better to communicate publicly about a previous video metrics error, which most people found out about through a Wall Street Journal article. Story continues The Metrics FYI blog has now published three separate announcements about measurement errors. First, a series of different metrics errors announced when the blog first launched; then an announcement on December 9 that it had miscalculated metrics on its Graph API for advertisers and the number of likes and reaction emojis page owners see for their videos; and now this Instant Articles error. In all of these cases, none of the errors had any effect on the amount advertisers were charged for Facebook advertising. Facebook will be hoping that its transparent communication about software bugs and measurement issues will reassure advertisers they can trust the data they are receiving from the social network. But the negative headlines could also raise concerns among advertisers and publishers that the Facebook measurement data they plan their social-media activity around has the potential to be inaccurate. NOW WATCH: A psychologist reveals a trick to stop being lazy More From Business Insider Photo credit: undefined From ELLE Facebook is the one place on the Internet where you can see your liberal college friends freaking out about Trump, your conservative friends telling them to calm down, and your crazy (but lovely) great-aunt ranting about how all politicians are lizard people. That mix is what makes the social network so popular, but because Facebook has become where most people get their news these days, that also makes it potentially dangerous. The site has become a central location for "fake news," hoax stories posted on shady news sites that are purposely meant to deceive people-and make lots of money from ad sales. One teenager in Macedonia told NBC News he has made at least $60,000 in the last six months from posting fake news specifically aimed at Trump supporters. (One of his most popular headlines: "BREAKING: Obama Confirms Refusal To Leave White House, He Will Stay In Power!") Another fake-news writer told the Washington Post that he thinks Trump was elected because of people like him, but still insists his work is satire. Now, Facebook has finally announced its plans to deal with the scourge of fake news. First of all, they're making it easier to report a story as fake news, and once you do so, you can submit the report to Facebook, message the friend (OK, great aunt) who posted it, or even block the poster from your feed. Photo credit: Facebook But it's the next part that is a massive change. Facebook announced it's working with a third-party group of fact checkers that have signed on to Poynter's International Fact Checking Code of Principles. Those fact-checkers will include outlets like Snopes, ABC News, and the Associated Press. If the fact-checkers say a story is fake, it will get flagged as "disputed" and there will be a link to a post that explains why. It might also appear lower on your news feed, too, and it can't be turned into a promoted ad post, either. And when you try to share a disputed story, you'll see a pop-up message to make sure you're really sure about this. Story continues Photo credit: Facebook Not everybody is happy about Facebook's big move. Business Insider reports that conservatives are skeptical that the fact-checkers will truly be balanced when they determine what news is "fake" and what is real. They also think that the organizations who are part of the fact-checking group are already partisan in the first place. Previously, Facebook came under fire after Gizmodo reported that editors for its Trending section were biased against conservative media sources. Facebook insists it's not going after right-wing media-instead, they're going after outright hoaxes, like, say, stories that say celebrities have died when they're actually alive and kicking. These policies will focus on the "bottom of the barrel" websites that only exist to mislead people. "We are not looking to flag legitimate organizations," Adam Mosseri, Facebook vice president of product development, told the Washington Post. "We're looking for pages posing as legitimate organizations." So out-there opinion pieces can stay, but posts about Obama secretly being a lizard are out. Fair enough. The below video shows exactly how the new process will work. You Might Also Like By Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders agreed on Thursday how they will organize negotiations with Britain which they expect to start within four months. This is how the process looks: THE TIMELINE, AND HOW BRITS MAY BE OUT ON APRIL 1, 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notification of British withdrawal from the EU treaty under Article 50 is critical. She repeated at the summit her plan to notify by the end of March. Article 50 sets a two-year countdown to Brexit. With no deal Britain would still be out but with loose ends. The deadline can be extended, but only if there is mutual consent - unlikely. The EU wants a deal before an EU election in May 2019. But London judges may upset May's timetable over legal bids to give lawmakers more say on Brexit. Political dynamics may also shift. On getting May's letter, European Council President Donald Tusk will call a summit of the other 27 leaders within weeks - France's April 23-May 7 presidential election may affect timing. The 27 will mandate the EU executive, the European Commission, to negotiate according to guidelines fixed by the Council. One issue in arguments in Britain over how withdrawal can be triggered following the non-binding referendum in June is whether London could change its mind later and stay in. The view in London is no but in Brussels most think it can. Negotiations will have to wind up about October 2018, the EU reckons, to give time for parliamentary ratification processes. QUICK, QUICK, SLOW - THE BREXIT THREE-STEP Divorce, transition, future. Barring a "cliff edge" falling out, Britain and the EU would agree withdrawal terms by 2019 and an interim deal to avoid disruption during negotiation of a new trade accord that experts reckon could take 5-seven years more. While there is a degree of consensus on what must be settled in the withdrawal treaty, which would need only majority backing among EU states, much beyond that is unclear - mainly because it is unclear what Britain will ask for. And any transition deal would depend on having some idea what it was a transition to - and it would probably have to be agreed by the 27 unanimously. Key parts of a future relationship will be terms of access to the EU single market for British-based firms and how far Britain will accept immigration from the continent, arbitration by EU judges and to pay into EU budgets in return for access. DIVORCE, AND WHO GETS THE HOUSE AND THE KIDS These are the EU's priorities for the withdrawal treaty: 1. The house, bank accounts and pensions. The British state, businesses and citizens contribute to and receive from the EU - an annual net 10 billion euro budget payment a year. On leaving, London may keep paying for some years, for example to cover pensions of EU staff or agreed but not yet disbursed spending. EU officials' rough estimates total about 50-65 billion euros. 2. The kids. More than 3 million non-British EU citizens live in Britain and more than a million Britons live elsewhere in the EU. Neither side thinks mass deportations are desirable or likely. However, EU leaders' hard line against a quick deal on this shows reluctance to give up a politically powerful card. 3. The borders. They need to settle customs measures for goods and probably special arrangements for the only UK-EU land border, on the island of Ireland. EU leaders fear upsetting the Irish peace settlement. But are wary lest favors for the Irish let the rest of the UK, or parts of it like similarly anti-Brexit Scotland, end up better off out of the EU than in it. 4. Court cases. Among a host of lower-profile issues to be settled will be agreeing how to handle outstanding cases involving Britain at the European Court of Justice. LOOK WHO'S TALKING - THE NEGOTIATORS This is what in EU-speak is called "Chefsache" -- German for 'a matter for the bosses'. May and her 27 counterparts will take the final decisions. However, the details will first have to be worked on by legions of lesser officials. Council President Tusk, a conservative former prime minister of Poland, will hold the ring for the other 27 states, assuming his mandate is renewed in May. He will have representatives in the Commission's negotiations with London and is setting up a Brexit Working Group to keep national leaders in the loop. President Jean-Claude Juncker's European Commission will do the heavy lifting of detailed negotiation and legal drafting. Michel Barnier, a French former minister who irked London when financial services commissioner, runs the Commission's Brexit Task Force. His deputy is German trade expert Sabine Weyand. The European Parliament must approve any deal and will be kept regularly updated on the progress of talks. Its point man is Guy Verhofstadt, a liberal former Belgian prime minister seen in London as an arch eurofederalist. Verhofstadt and fellow MEPs are angry not to have a bigger role in the actual negotiations. (editing by Elizabeth Piper) (Reuters) - The family of an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a District of Columbia police officer in September filed a lawsuit against the department on Thursday, alleging the victim posed no threat to the officer. Terrence Sterling, 31, of Fort Washington, Maryland, was shot early on Sept. 11 after he crashed his motorcycle into a police cruiser, police said. Authorities said Sterling rammed the car intentionally, but the lawsuit alleged Sterling's motorcycle sideswiped the vehicle as he veered away from the cruiser, which had stopped in an intersection to block his path. Sterling's death triggered demonstrations in the U.S. capital, where nearly half the population is African-American. The protests came amid anger over police killings of African-Americans across the United States that have sparked demonstrations for more than two years. The suit in a federal D.C. court alleges that Officer Brian Trainer shot Sterling in his back and neck from "the safety of a police vehicle despite the fact that Mr. Sterling was unarmed and posed no danger to Officer Trainer or any other person." The family is alleging wrongful death and negligence, and suing for $50 million. "The killing of unarmed black men by police officers must stop. Mr. Sterling's death was senseless and tragic - he did not need to die that night," Hassan Murphy, one of the family's attorneys, said in a statement. A representative for the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department said the department has a policy not to comment on pending litigation. The union representing police officers could not be immediately reached. Police said at the time they had seen Sterling riding his motorcycle erratically and pursued him for several blocks before he was shot. The lawsuit claims that Trainer and his partner, who was driving the cruiser but was not named, failed to properly activate their body-worn cameras, turning them on only after shooting and killing Sterling. Story continues An attorney for the family said in September they saw footage showing a police union representative arriving just minutes after the shooting, sparking anger among protesters over the perceived priorities of the officers. The complaint also alleged the officers violated department policy by using their police cruiser to block Sterling as he drove his motorcycle through an intersection. After the shooting, police revised their policy on use of cameras, requiring officers to confirm with dispatchers that their cameras are on when they respond to calls. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Sharon Bernstein and David Gregorio) Warsaw (AFP) - Maybe they should have said "Pardonu, li ne estas fama sufica" -- which is of course Esperanto for "Sorry, he's not famous enough". The city hall in Bialystok, Poland has refused to honour a UNESCO-sponsored "Zamenhof Year" in 2017 commemorating Ludwik Zamenhof, its native son who invented the international language, officials said Friday. Zamenhof, a Jewish physician, was born in the northeastern city in 1859 and died in Warsaw in 1917. He invented Esperanto as a universal communication tool in 1885. Councillors for the conservative ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) voted against the Zamenhof Year commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death, Przemyslaw Wierzbowski, head of the Bialystok Esperanto society, told AFP. Wierzbowski said the councillors -- who narrowly rejected the project by 12 votes against 11 -- saw Esperanto as a dead language that has no value for mankind. In fact, Esperanto became an unprecedented international success and linguists say up to a million people still use it. Konrad Zieleniecki, spokesman for PiS councillors in Bialystok, told AFP that Zamenhof was "an important Bialystok man and deserved the commemoration." But he added he had voted against because the city had already decided to celebrate next year's 150th anniversary of the birth of Josef Pilsudski, the father of Poland's independence. He said the decision was also due to a local political conflict between PiS and city president Tadeusz Truskolaski, who "is looking to use Zamenhof for political goals" and take control of the Zamenhof Centre, an autonomous institution. "It's a bad and sad decision," said Wierzbowski. "Over the years Zamenhof seemed to us to be an unquestionable icon of our city, a symbol that made Bialystok famous worldwide." Zbigniew Nikiforowicz from the opposition liberal Civic Platform told AFP the decision was due to "an unfavourable stance inside PiS towards anything that is not ethnically Polish". He also slammed the "growth in Catholic nationalism" which "would like to forget about the history of Bialystok, a city almost half-Jewish in the 19th century and until World War II." Washington (AFP) - The CIA and FBI have both concluded that Russia intervened in the US presidential election aiming to help Donald Trump win, The Washington Post reported Friday. Amid a partisan political debate that the two key US agencies were split over Russian intentions, the Post said the Federal Bureau of Investigation had reached the same conclusion as the Central Intelligence Agency -- that Moscow hoped to damage the White House prospects of Democrat Hillary Clinton. Also in accord was Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. The Post said that was made clear in a message CIA Director John Brennan had sent to the US spy agency's staff. "Earlier this week, I met separately with FBI (Director) James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election," Brennan said in a message to the agencys workforce, the Post reported, citing US officials who saw the message. "The three of us also agree that our organizations, along with others, need to focus on completing the thorough review of this issue that has been directed by President Obama and which is being led by the DNI." Under pressure from Congress and the political parties to show proof of the agencies' conclusions, last week Obama ordered a review of election-related cyberattacks to be completed before he leaves office on January 20. "We are committed to ensuring the integrity of our elections and this report will dig into this pattern of malicious cyberactivity timed to our elections, take stock of our defensive capabilities and capture lessons learned," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz. "We are going to make public as much as we can.... This is a major priority for the president." By Tim McLaughlin BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments unintentionally boosted BlackRock Inc's prospects as a robo adviser with a small investment in a start-up company that BlackRock bought last year for an estimated $150 million. BlackRock and Fidelity are only in the early stages of what is shaping up as a battle royale to become the go-to provider of cheap automated financial advice over the Internet. The stakes are huge. Morgan Stanley analysts describe how robo advising is an emerging force to provide affordable advice in a $22 trillion wealth pool that features $5,000 accounts and ones with as much as $5 million. "Advice is ultimately a vehicle to unify control over client wealth," says Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys. Although rivals currently dominate the robo advising space, investment behemoths Fidelity and BlackRock are expected to grow quickly. BlackRock's FutureAdvisor now has more than $1 billion in assets under management, while Boston-based Fidelity's digital wealth manager, Fidelity Go, is still getting off the ground, with only a nominal amount of assets. Fidelity has yet to launch a full marketing campaign. Boston-based Fidelity invested in FutureAdvisor during a $15.5-million funding round in May 2014. It made the investment through a private venture-capital arm run on behalf of the Johnsons, the billionaire family that controls the mutual fund giant, and other company insiders. A Reuters Special Report earlier this year showed how the Johnson familys venture capital arm, F-Prime Capital, competed directly with its Fidelity mutual funds for investments in promising start-ups. (http://reut.rs/2dwPY6u) In the case of FutureAdvisor, the Johnsons investment helped the San Francisco-based financial startup build out its technology and catch the eye of BlackRock. Fifteen months after Fidelity Chairman Abigail Johnson and her family made their initial investment, BlackRock agreed to buy FutureAdvisor and plug it into the world's largest asset management platform. Story continues FutureAdvisor's marketing catchphrase became "Invest like a millionaire for less than you think." F-Prime Capital held only a 6.7-percent stake in FutureAdvisor and was not in position to affect the sale to BlackRock, according to a person familiar with the ownership structure. F-Prime did not hold a board seat. The venture arm is controlled by FMR LLC, which also owns Fidelity Investments. Sequoia Capital and the founders of FutureAdvisor together controlled a majority of FutureAdvisor. Fidelity declined to comment on FutureAdvisors sale to BlackRock in August 2015. Fidelity Chairman Abigail Johnson was not available to comment. Analysts say Fidelity likely was not in the hunt for an acquisition such as FutureAdvisor after agreeing to buy eMoney Advisor several months before the BlackRock-FutureAdvisor deal. Fidelity paid about $250 million for eMoney, a wealth management software company based in suburban Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Advice is ultimately a vehicle to unify control over client wealth," says Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys. QUICKLY GETTING TO BILLIONS Earlier this month at a Goldman Sachs financial services conference, BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Gary Shedlin said FutureAdvisor will drive greater distribution of the companys iShares exchange-traded funds and eventually help the asset manager reach a broader group of clients that we were never able to touch on a mass scale. Still, Fidelity could overtake BlackRock next year because it has a built-in advantage that many rivals, including BlackRock, do not have: an online brokerage with 17.4 million retail accounts. Some 96 percent of those accounts dont currently have any sort of management and Fidelity is ideally placed to woo them over to Fidelity Go. "Even if they take only a small share of assets that go on the Fidelity Go platform, it's going to be billions of dollars pretty quickly," said Alois Pirker, research director at Aite Group. John Danahy, head of Fidelity's strategy for digital managed accounts, said the company is not hung up on any goal for accumulating assets. He said it is focused on creating a good customer experience that features a combination of digital automation and some hand-holding from real people. "We are not crazy about the term 'robo'", Danahy said. "It suggests there are no humans involved." That being said, a Fidelity online brokerage customer can open a Fidelity Go account in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the U.S. robo industry's early leader is Vanguard Group. Its robo business has 60-percent market share with $41 billion in assets. Charles Schwab Corp, which has 7 million fewer brokerage accounts than Fidelity, is No. 2 with $10.2 billion in assets after only 19 months since launching its robo product. Click here for a list of the top U.S. robo advisers: (http://tmsnrt.rs/2hy0z4S) Robo's allure is rock-bottom fees, which can be less than half what investors are charged in a traditional brokerage setting. A Fidelity Go account would charge total annual fees of 0.35 percent to 0.40 percent, which includes the management fee and underlying fund costs. A taxable account would feature some of BlackRock's iShares exchange-traded funds. The minimum account amount is $5,000. FutureAdvisor charges 0.50 percent and the minimum account balance is $10,000. So far, BlackRock has signed up some big banks as clients, but it remains to be seen how quickly FutureAdvisor can be integrated into their digital wealth management platforms. U.S. Bancorp said in August it signed a deal with FutureAdvisor, but the online financial advice would not be available to bank clients until the beginning of 2017. ROBO ROOTS Bo Lu was a financial hobbyist before co-founding FutureAdvisor in 2010 and doing his part to disrupt the financial advice industry. He spent his spare time trying to make sense of his 20-something friends' investment portfolios. They had small accounts, but real problems with asset allocation and tax liability issues. The former Microsoft program manager concluded that software, not a financial adviser, could be a cheap solution to balancing their portfolios and selling stocks and bonds in a tax-efficient manner. Fidelitys F-Prime Capital agreed and invested an undisclosed amount, giving it a minority stake. Lu, who is CEO of FutureAdvisor, said the basic premise for starting FutureAdvisor remains intact. "We didn't want to move assets to software," he said. "We're moving the software to the assets." As an example, BlackRock earlier this year struck a deal with BBVA Compass, which has nearly 700 bank branches in American Sunbelt states, to offer FutureAdvisor's digital investment management to that network. "Our approach is to serve our financial institutions," Lu said. "They already have the relations with the retail client." Fidelity, meanwhile, likes to highlight how it is a veteran of managed accounts with $220 billion in assets under management. "And we are not a start-up," Danahy said. (Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Nick Zieminski) By Tim McLaughlin BOSTON (Reuters) - Fidelity Investments unintentionally boosted BlackRock Inc's prospects as a robo adviser with a small investment in a start-up company that BlackRock bought last year for an estimated $150 million. BlackRock and Fidelity are only in the early stages of what is shaping up as a battle royale to become the go-to provider of cheap automated financial advice over the Internet. The stakes are huge. Morgan Stanley analysts describe how robo advising is an emerging force to provide affordable advice in a $22 trillion wealth pool that features $5,000 accounts and ones with as much as $5 million. "Advice is ultimately a vehicle to unify control over client wealth," says Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys. Although rivals currently dominate the robo advising space, investment behemoths Fidelity and BlackRock are expected to grow quickly. BlackRock's FutureAdvisor now has more than $1 billion in assets under management, while Boston-based Fidelity's digital wealth manager, Fidelity Go, is still getting off the ground, with only a nominal amount of assets. Fidelity has yet to launch a full marketing campaign. Boston-based Fidelity invested in FutureAdvisor during a $15.5-million funding round in May 2014. It made the investment through a private venture-capital arm run on behalf of the Johnsons, the billionaire family that controls the mutual fund giant, and other company insiders. A Reuters Special Report earlier this year showed how the Johnson familys venture capital arm, F-Prime Capital, competed directly with its Fidelity mutual funds for investments in promising start-ups. (http://reut.rs/2dwPY6u) In the case of FutureAdvisor, the Johnsons investment helped the San Francisco-based financial startup build out its technology and catch the eye of BlackRock. Fifteen months after Fidelity Chairman Abigail Johnson and her family made their initial investment, BlackRock agreed to buy FutureAdvisor and plug it into the world's largest asset management platform. Story continues FutureAdvisor's marketing catchphrase became "Invest like a millionaire for less than you think." F-Prime Capital held only a 6.7-percent stake in FutureAdvisor and was not in position to affect the sale to BlackRock, according to a person familiar with the ownership structure. F-Prime did not hold a board seat. The venture arm is controlled by FMR LLC, which also owns Fidelity Investments. Sequoia Capital and the founders of FutureAdvisor together controlled a majority of FutureAdvisor. Fidelity declined to comment on FutureAdvisors sale to BlackRock in August 2015. Fidelity Chairman Abigail Johnson was not available to comment. Analysts say Fidelity likely was not in the hunt for an acquisition such as FutureAdvisor after agreeing to buy eMoney Advisor several months before the BlackRock-FutureAdvisor deal. Fidelity paid about $250 million for eMoney, a wealth management software company based in suburban Philadelphia, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Advice is ultimately a vehicle to unify control over client wealth," says Morgan Stanley analyst Michael Cyprys. QUICKLY GETTING TO BILLIONS Earlier this month at a Goldman Sachs financial services conference, BlackRock Chief Financial Officer Gary Shedlin said FutureAdvisor will drive greater distribution of the companys iShares exchange-traded funds and eventually help the asset manager reach a broader group of clients that we were never able to touch on a mass scale. Still, Fidelity could overtake BlackRock next year because it has a built-in advantage that many rivals, including BlackRock, do not have: an online brokerage with 17.4 million retail accounts. Some 96 percent of those accounts dont currently have any sort of management and Fidelity is ideally placed to woo them over to Fidelity Go. "Even if they take only a small share of assets that go on the Fidelity Go platform, it's going to be billions of dollars pretty quickly," said Alois Pirker, research director at Aite Group. John Danahy, head of Fidelity's strategy for digital managed accounts, said the company is not hung up on any goal for accumulating assets. He said it is focused on creating a good customer experience that features a combination of digital automation and some hand-holding from real people. "We are not crazy about the term 'robo'", Danahy said. "It suggests there are no humans involved." That being said, a Fidelity online brokerage customer can open a Fidelity Go account in 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the U.S. robo industry's early leader is Vanguard Group. Its robo business has 60-percent market share with $41 billion in assets. Charles Schwab Corp, which has 7 million fewer brokerage accounts than Fidelity, is No. 2 with $10.2 billion in assets after only 19 months since launching its robo product. Click here for a list of the top U.S. robo advisers: (http://tmsnrt.rs/2hy0z4S) Robo's allure is rock-bottom fees, which can be less than half what investors are charged in a traditional brokerage setting. A Fidelity Go account would charge total annual fees of 0.35 percent to 0.40 percent, which includes the management fee and underlying fund costs. A taxable account would feature some of BlackRock's iShares exchange-traded funds. The minimum account amount is $5,000. FutureAdvisor charges 0.50 percent and the minimum account balance is $10,000. So far, BlackRock has signed up some big banks as clients, but it remains to be seen how quickly FutureAdvisor can be integrated into their digital wealth management platforms. U.S. Bancorp said in August it signed a deal with FutureAdvisor, but the online financial advice would not be available to bank clients until the beginning of 2017. ROBO ROOTS Bo Lu was a financial hobbyist before co-founding FutureAdvisor in 2010 and doing his part to disrupt the financial advice industry. He spent his spare time trying to make sense of his 20-something friends' investment portfolios. They had small accounts, but real problems with asset allocation and tax liability issues. The former Microsoft program manager concluded that software, not a financial adviser, could be a cheap solution to balancing their portfolios and selling stocks and bonds in a tax-efficient manner. Fidelitys F-Prime Capital agreed and invested an undisclosed amount, giving it a minority stake. Lu, who is CEO of FutureAdvisor, said the basic premise for starting FutureAdvisor remains intact. "We didn't want to move assets to software," he said. "We're moving the software to the assets." As an example, BlackRock earlier this year struck a deal with BBVA Compass, which has nearly 700 bank branches in American Sunbelt states, to offer FutureAdvisor's digital investment management to that network. "Our approach is to serve our financial institutions," Lu said. "They already have the relations with the retail client." Fidelity, meanwhile, likes to highlight how it is a veteran of managed accounts with $220 billion in assets under management. "And we are not a start-up," Danahy said. (Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Nick Zieminski) NCC, Chinese team sign MoU to boost trade Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) held a bilateral trade and business and investment promotion meeting with a visiting Chinese delegation here on Thursday. In the placid creeks of Boulder, Colorado, you may find alien-looking stacks of rocks, seemingly defying gravity in their precarious carriage. These cairns could be the work of Michael Grab, a Yoda-like master of the art of rock balancing. Grab isn't alone in his crafta growing global community of like-minded artists are mastering rock balancing with a zen-like discipline that will surely boggle the mind. Tune in to "That's Amazing" every Sunday at 9 pm on The Weather Channel. Donald Trump Ivanka Eric Jr. President-elect Donald Trump will not liquidate his massive business empire before he moves into the White House, a Wall Street Journal reporter said in a CNN interview on Thursday night. Monica Langley cited an unnamed senior official in the Trump Organization who said the Trump family saw conflict-of-interest issues surrounding the president-elect as a no-win situation. Citing sources who have knowledge of the Trump family's thinking, Langley described their concerns: "How can we put these hundreds of millions of dollars per property on the market? It'd be a fire sale, we'd lose tons of money." Langley added: "Now they're thinking these assets could bring lots of money. Foreign entities, sovereign wealth funds would want to buy and pay lots of money to try to curry favor with the Trump administration." Langley cited one senior official in the Trump Organization who said "we can't win at this point if we tried to liquidate." The president-elect abruptly postponed a news conference on these matters originally scheduled for Thursday, and he said a future announcement had not been scheduled but would happen before the January 20 inauguration. Calls for Trump to shed his multiple business interests which include assets in 20 countries, according to The New York Times have been consistent and loud. Many have suggested that if he does not divest, he would be in violation of the US Constitution's Emoluments Clause upon taking office. That clause prohibits government officials from receiving gifts from foreign nations. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts promised on Thursday that she, along with four other Democratic senators, would introduce legislation to force Trump to divest himself entirely of his business empire. Trump has previously insisted that he will not be involved in his companies' day-to-day operations while he is in the White House, but he is likely to leave two of his sons in charge, leaving the businesses in close proximity. Story continues Watch Monica Langley's comments on Trump's assets: Monica Langley, citing senior source on CNN, reports Trump will NOT divest from his businesses but adds decision could change pic.twitter.com/KLYZJ2TleM JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) December 16, 2016 NOW WATCH: Trump fires back at union leader who alleged he 'lied his a-- off' about Carrier deal More From Business Insider RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A former governor of Rio de Janeiro state will face trial on corruption and money laundering charges, a crusading anti-graft judge ruled on Friday. Sergio Cabral, his wife and five other defendants will be tried by Judge Sergio Moro in southern Brazil. Prosecutors last month accused Cabral of leading a criminal organization that took 224 million reais ($66 million) in bribes from construction firms in exchange for infrastructure contracts from 2007 to 2014, when he was serving as governor. The specific charges accepted for trial Friday involve 2.7 million reais ($797,000) allegedly paid by construction firm Andrade Gutierrez to Cabral in exchange for the company winning building contracts for a petrochemical complex in Rio. Cabral was the most powerful figure in Rio politics for the past decade, but he resigned in April 2014 in the face of anti-corruption protests targeting him, despite having nine months left in his second term. He is the latest high-profile politician who will have to stand trial in the nearly three-year corruption probe known as operation "Car Wash," which began by unraveling a massive political kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras. Cabral was a close ally of former presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, the latter of whom was removed permanently from office in August on charges of illegally using money from state banks to bankroll public spending. (Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) BRISTOL, Va. (AP) A Chinese firm plans to establish a four-year college in Bristol after acquiring the former Virginia Intermont College campus through a foreclosure auction. News outlets report that Flushing, New York-based U.S. Magis International Education Center purchased the property for $3.3 million on Thursday. Company spokesman George Xu says the firm plans to renovate campus buildings and apply for accreditation. The company has not decided on a name for the proposed school. Virginia Intermont College closed in May 2014 amid financial insolvency, plummeting enrollment and lost accreditation. The Bristol Herald Courier (http://bit.ly/2gU2nUX ) reports the property had a $15 million asking price when it was initially listed for sale in 2014. Xu says U.S. Magis International is owned by a Chinese businessman and was established to acquire and operate colleges in the U.S. 21st Century Fox missed an opportunity to build scale when its attempted 2014 takeover of Time Warner failed. But much has changed in the time since then, especially when it comes to acquisition strategies. Now Rupert Murdoch and sons James and Lachlan are betting Fox's $14.1 billion offer to buy full control of pay TV giant Sky will give them a leg up on becoming a content and distribution powerhouse in Europe. They also hope to leverage Sky's direct-to-consumer expertise for possible new offers in other international markets. Cord-cutting has taken off since 2014, and now the deal du jour is matching up media giants with companies that go direct to consumers with pay TV and mobile phone subscriptions. AT&T is hoping its DirecTV and mobile customers will benefit from such synergies if its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner goes through, and cable giant Comcast already counts NBCUniversal as part of its properties. In the case of Sky, Fox stands to benefit because Europe still is an immature pay TV market and also one when it comes to content providers and deliverers combining. And the Murdochs could have their eye on such other regions as Asia Pacific. Macquarie Capital analyst Tim Nollen even suggests Sky could use its over-the-top expertise to launch online video streaming in other parts of the world and "ultimately become the cornerstone for Fox to organize a global content and distribution strategy." Read more: James Murdoch Says Fox News Did a Good Job in Transitioning From Roger Ailes Either way, analysts are buzzing that the Murdochs' plan may force similar moves from such rivals as European telecom giants BT and Vodafone. U.K. television titan ITV, in which John Malone's Liberty Global owns a nearly 10 percent stake, is mentioned as a likely takeover target, possibly for Liberty Global itself. In that sense, as long as the Sky deal is approved by British and European regulators, the Murdochs could become the leaders whom others will follow - or risk being left behind. Says Mott Capital Management founder and portfolio manager Michael Kramer: "To remain competitive, you need to control content and its distribution, and that's what's happening: They're all consolidating." This story first appeared in the Jan. 6 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Read more: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Donald Glover, Issa Rae and Damien Chazelle in One Epic Conversation In 2010, as the Obama administration worked to put the finishing touches on a free trade agreement with South Korea, Donald Trump called into Fox News and slammed the deal. "Only an idiot" would sign the pact in its current form, Trump told the hosts of Fox and Friends. South Korea has treated us very badly, he said. Now, six years after Trump criticized the pact, a corporate lobbyist who worked on the deal may become the president-elects top trade negotiator. On Monday, Wayne Berman, a Republican mega-donor and a longtime trade lobbyist, met with Trump in New York City. Despite federal records showing Berman lobbied on the deal for Chevron, Trump transition team officials told Politico that Bermans name had been added to a list of potential appointees to become the next United States Trade Representative. That key cabinet post could play an outsized role in shaping economic policy for an administration thats expected to make renegotiating trade deals a core priority. Chevron was strongly supportive of the Korea pact, which makes for an awkward pairing of Berman and Trump. The crux of the president-elects message on trade an issue he hammered away at throughout the 2016 campaign is that the deals cut by previous administrations were crafted by narrow special interest groups and their lobbyists, without taking into account the priorities of American workers. Trump even went as far as to liken the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal which is modeled on the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement to rape. It's a harsh word it's a rape of our country, he said. This is done by wealthy people that want to take advantage of us. Bermans potential appointment appears to undercut Trumps promise to put workers interests front and center, says Robert E. Scott, the director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research, at the Economic Policy Institute. Trump said he was going to drain the swamp, Scott told International Business Times. But now hes considering the kind of guy who lobbies for multinational corporations, then comes to Washington and works for those same companies on the inside. Story continues Berman has been through the revolving Washington door several times. He was an assistant secretary of commerce in the first President George Bush administration, went on to found his own lobbying firm and then worked for the second Bush administration as a senior advisor. For the past 4 years, Berman has worked as the in-house lobbyist for the private equity firm Blackstone. Lobbying records reviewed by IBT show that before joining Blackstone, Berman was a prolific and well-paid lobbyist on trade issues. He has represented a range of corporations, including the American Petroleum Institute, the Carlyle Group, and Viacom, and lobbied to influence trade policies towards Russia, South America, and Korea. In fact, when Berman was chairman of Ogilvy Government Relations, the lobbying firm was hired by companies like Chevron and Motorola to sway the very trade representatives office he might be heading up in a Trump administration. Between 2006 and 2010, Ogilvy records detailing nearly $3 million of lobbying expenditures show Bermans firm was specifically aiming to influence the trade representative. In one instance, first reported by Politico in 2009, Chevron dispatched Berman as part of a team of lobbyists tasked with convincing Obamas U.S. Trade Representative to pressure the government of Ecuador into relieving the oil company of liability from allegations that it dumped toxic waste into the Amazon. Berman was also enlisted by Chevron to influence pending free trade negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. The deal, which was slammed by Trump on Fox, would open up Korean markets to U.S. companies, lower tariffs and provide corporations like Chevron avenues to resolve legal disputes with the Korean government. Neither Chevron nor Ogilvy responded to IBTs request for comment. It was not immediately clear what exactly Berman did behind the scenes for Chevron on the Korea trade pact. However, the oil giant has long been one of the largest U.S. based investors in South Korea. The company also helped found the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Coalition, an alliance of corporations that sought to influence the terms of the deal in their favor. While Berman was lobbying for Chevron, the company threatened to withdraw industry support for the deal unless certain investor protections a mechanism for U.S. companies to shield themselves from liabilities in foreign courts were inserted into the final copy. When the trade pact faltered in Congress in 2010, Chevron applauded the Obama administration for pushing it through and predicted the deal would advance the economic agendas of both countries, create jobs and spur economic growth. Since the free trade pact was finalized in 2012, Chevron has stepped up its investments in South Korea, inking a multibillion dollar natural gas agreement with the Korean company Hyundai. It also purchased $1.9 billion worth of floating oil equipment from Hyundai. Critics of the deal, including the AFL-CIO, thought it rewarded companies for investing overseas. We've seen U.S. multinational companies take advantage of the investment and other corporate protections in past trade deals to shift production offshore, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said back in 2010. So long as these agreements fall short of protecting the broad interests of American workers and their counterparts around the world in these uncertain economic times, we will oppose them. That criticism was echoed by Trump on the campaign trail, where he railed against free-trade deals in general and singled out the Korea deal as a job-killer. Hillary Clinton supported and lobbied for the South Korea trade agreement, you know that one, that's been another disaster, on the promise of 75,000 new jobs. Instead, her trade deal destroyed 100,000 jobs, mostly in the auto industry, Trump said during the rally in October. Experts were divided on the Korea deals impact, but the EPIs analysis supports Trumps campaign-trial assessment. While the Obama administration and pact supporters like Chevron promised it would lead to more U.S. exports and generate domestic job growth, it never did, according to Scott from the EPI. In the first four years after KORUS took effect, there was absolutely no growth in total U.S. exports to Korea, Scott wrote in a report assessing the deal 4 years after its implementation. Imports from Korea increased $15.2 billion, an increase of 26.8 percent. As a result, the U.S. trade deficit with Korea increased $15.1 billion between 2011 and 2015, an increase of 114.6 percent, more than doubling in just four years. That trade deficit was the equivalent of eliminating 100,000 American jobs, according to the Obama administrations own method for translating trade deficits into job losses. If Trump names Berman the next U.S. Trade Representative, one of Bermans prime responsibilities will be to assimilate the input of the more than 500 members of the various Trade Advisory Committees, which the government consults on trade deals. The committees are currently dominated by industry groups and some, like the American Petroleum Institute, are former Berman lobbying clients. Berman is not the only candidate for U.S. Trade Representative. Trump is also reportedly considering David McCormick, who heads up the private equity firm Bridgewater Associates, Dan DiMicco, a former steel industry CEO and Robert Lighthizer a former Reagan administration trade official. Related Articles PARIS (Reuters) - The French government waded into a row over Uber's cut-price taxi service on Friday, urging local representatives of the U.S. app-based business to give its drivers a proper hearing after two days of noisy protests over their working conditions. The California-based startup whose cab service has expanded exponentially worldwide stands accused in France and elsewhere of bypassing national labor protection standards and shunning collective negotiation with drivers who work on freelance terms. The French government appeal came as protesting Uber drivers jammed access roads to the two main airports outside Paris, in some cases provoking heated exchanges with motorists and people obliged to finish their journeys to the airport on foot. The drivers want Uber, the biggest of several app-based car services that have sprouted in competition with traditional licensed taxi firms, to heed their grievances over pricing and work conditions, saying it is increasingly hard to make a living. Transport Minister Alain Vidalies said he had learned during a meeting with drivers that Uber management had refused to deal with various unions that are seeking to present their demands, which include higher ride rates and floor-prices for trips. "The government is calling on Uber to engage in talks with the entire labor union spectrum, as French platforms do, in the interest of proper industrial relations," he said in a statement. Helmi Mamlouk, a representative of Uber drivers, said airport blockages would be suspended on Friday evening, when there is a surge in departures with the start of school holidays, but that the protests would resume if nothing moved on the talks front. It is not the first showdown Uber has caused. A court fined the company 1.2 million euros ($1.25 million) last January following a complaint from the traditional taxi industry that Uber was flouting rules limiting it to pre-booked business. It was fined again in June. Founded in 2009, Uber Technologies Inc. has taken the world by storm but come up against opposition too. Various services it proposed have been banned in some countries and it faces numerous battles in U.S. courts over labor standards, safety rules and pricing policies that trigger fare surges at peak times. (Reporting by Brian Love, editing by Ed Osmond) PM challenges CPN-UML to defeat amendment bill Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has challenged the main opposition party CPN-UML to defeat the constitution amendment bill registered at the Legislature-Parliament. UNITED NATIONS (AP) An emergency meeting of the Security Council has been called to consider the situation in war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo, France's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday. Francois Delattre told reporters outside Security Council chambers that his country and Germany asked for the Friday meeting. He said if an agreement can't be reached on safely evacuating civilians and enabling humanitarian aid into the besieged city under the eye of international observers, France and its partners could call for an emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly. Delattre said France had already begun drafting a resolution for consideration by the council. Evacuations from eastern Aleppo sealed the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold and marked a watershed moment in the country's civil war, now in its sixth year. An overnight evacuation effort stalled after an eruption of gunfire raised fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. Delattre said the council meeting would include a briefing by U.N. humanitarian affairs chief Stephen O'Brien. "We keep having conflicting reports about what exactly is happening on the ground," he said. Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his war with opposition rebel groups. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said the most urgent task in Syria now is to end all military activities and resume negotiations between the government and opposition. Churkin told the Security Council on Friday that "Damascus has more than once confirmed its readiness to take part in these negotiations." New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully told Security Council members prior to a closed meeting on Aleppo that the council has so far been unable to meet its responsibilities of removing civilians and providing humanitarian aid to the city. Story continues "Unless that is going to change, it is our view that an emergency special session of the General Assembly is an appropriate next step," he said. Outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. stands ready to help rescue as many people as possible even as the overnight rescue operation had to be suspended. Speaking to reporters during his final news conference at U.N. headquarters Friday, Ban called the war in Syria "heart-breaking for me." Still, he said thousands of people were evacuated from eastern Aleppo overnight with the help of U.N. agencies, the Red Cross and the Arab Red Crescent, including 194 patients who were moved into hospitals in other parts of Syria and Turkey. "I feel very much regret we had to stop this operation at this time," he said. Paris (AFP) - Tourists discovering Paris for the first time this week have had an unwelcome introduction to France's strike culture: a four-day stoppage at the Eiffel Tower has left thousands disappointed. At the foot of the 324-metre (1,063-foot) Iron Lady on Friday, crowds milled around complaining about the lack of information and watching hopefully for the lifts to spark into life. "Brilliant. It's the full French experience!" said 46-year-old computer programmer Paul Freeman sarcastically after reading the sign announcing a fourth day of protests by workers. Amy Lee, 50, was puzzled, even amused, at the sight of a few dozen workers gathered around signs denouncing the management in front of what is normally a busy ticket office. "We're from Singapore and for us this would be illegal," the homemaker said as she snapped a picture on her phone. "This is something that's interesting." At this time of year, 6,000 people per day ascend the famed iron tower, completed in 1889, but the Christmas rush starts this weekend when as many as 20,000 are expected daily. Some members of the radical left CGT and FO unions spearheading the action made their apologies to passing visitors, assuring them they had their best interests at heart. "We have the feeling that the new management doesn't want to provide the resources needed to maintain the Eiffel Tower," FO representative Hatim Ababoussayr told AFP. Three separate stoppages by the 300-member workforce have disrupted activities at the country's most visited monument this year. - Poor dialogue - This week's stoppage is not about pay rises, job cuts or working conditions -- common complaints by trade unions and the usual pretexts for strikes in other countries. It is rooted in French workplace culture, which has a rich history of protest and often sees workers also take issue with strategic management decisions. France has by far the most strike days among major European economies, according to data from the European Trade Union Institute, with 149 days not worked per 1,000 employees in 2009-2015. Story continues In Germany, the same figure was 19 days per 1,000 employees and in Britain it was 23. French labour law, which makes firing full-time workers extremely difficult, also places strict obligations on management to engage and communicate with union representatives. "For several months, communication has been going nowhere," CGT representative Denis Vavassori told AFP, saying staff were anxious to know the management's plan for next year. Among the projects under consideration are a major paint-stripping and re-painting job to repair flaking areas of the tower. "When you look at it from the Champ de Mars (the surrounding park), it's a catastrophe," says Vavassori, who says staff are worried about lead contamination from the old paint. Other complaints are the choice made for a new lift, which has since broken down, and fears for ticket office employees as more and more customers go online. Vavassori points to the positive impact of worker participation in the running of the public company SETE, which manages the tower under a franchise from Paris city council. Workers have pushed management to take the paint problem seriously and a strike in May against pickpockets -- "a real mafia", says Vavassori -- led police to finally take the scourge seriously. SETE management, under director general Anne Yannic since last year, has taken a tough line with the disruption. In a sign of the tensions, she has accused unions of handing over an "unreadable and incomprehensible" list of demands. "Talks are continuing. SETE offers once again its apologies to all of its visitors," the company said in a new statement Friday. General Electric Company GE recently renewed its forecast of strong earnings growth for the next two years, despite headwinds in the energy market. The company expects $2 per share in operating earnings for 2018 as it expects to overcome weakness in its oil and gas business. However, share price of the company remained relatively flat since the release of this news. Notwithstanding headwinds in the energy market, General Electric outperformed the Zacks categorized Diversified Operations industry with an average year-to-date return of 5.5% compared with 4.7% of the latter. Also, in the last one year, the companys revenues have risen considerably. The companys has predicted earnings of $1.60$1.70 per share for 2017, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $1.69. For 2016, the company expects earnings per share in the range $1.48 to $1.52 and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.49 lies well within the range. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said that the company has decided to divest its $3 billion industrial solutions businesses in addition to its water business by mid 2017. The expected net proceeds from this transaction are $4 billion. General Electric expects to produce over 500 production parts with 3-D printers by 2020, up from the earlier expected 15 parts in 2017. This will enable the company to cut manufacturing costs by at least $3 billion. The acquisition of Baker Hughes Inc BHI is expected to weigh on the companys earnings by cutting 2 cents per share in 2017, but it is expected to add 4 cents in 2018. For 2017, the company presently expects revenues of approximately $135 billion. It, however, expects to return between $19 billion and $21 billion to investors in 2017, compared with $30 billion in 2016. General Electric is poised for long-term growth. In order to focus more on its core business activities, the company has started exiting the financial business and has increased its investments in key industrial businesses through restructuring, state-of-the-art technology, and R&D initiatives. Since Apr 2015 till the end of Sep 2016, GE Capital inked sale agreements worth approximately $193 billion in ending net investment, of which it has already completed deals worth $173 billion. By the end of 2016, the company expects to sell $200 million of GE Capital assets across the world. The transactions will realign the corporate strategy of the company to a manufacturing-based entity with emphasis on big-ticket items such as aviation engines, drilling machines, generators, medical equipment and scanners. With these restructuring initiatives, General Electric expects operating earnings from the industrial business to aggregate over 90% of its total operating earnings by 2018, up from 58% in 2014. Story continues We remain impressed with the focused growth initiatives of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock to improve its revenues. A couple of better-ranked stocks in the industry include Leucadia National Corporation LUK and Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation MIC both sporting a Zacks Rank #1(Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Leucadia has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 18% and is currently trading at a forward P/E of 106.9x. Macquarie has a positive average earnings surprise of 29.6% for the last four quarters, beating estimates twice. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report LEUCADIA NATL (LUK): Free Stock Analysis Report GENL ELECTRIC (GE): Free Stock Analysis Report MACQUARIE INFRA (MIC): Free Stock Analysis Report BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research General Mills Inc. GIS is set to report second-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Dec 20, before the market opens. Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 2.63%. Despite soft sales figures, this branded consumer foods company has delivered positive earnings surprises in each of the last four quarters, with an average positive surprise of 4.37%. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement. GENL MILLS Price and EPS Surprise GENL MILLS Price and EPS Surprise | GENL MILLS Quote Factors at Play Sales and profits at General Mills U.S. Retail segment, which contributes 60% to its sales, have been soft due to weak demand amid changing consumer food preferences. Since its fiscal first quarter announcement on Sep 21, 2016, the companys share price has dropped 3.8%. The shares have suffered mostly due to the warning issued by the CDC (UC Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Meanwhile, even through the CDC has announced the end of the investigation on E.coli outbreak from the flour produced at General Mills, the illness will likely continue for some time as the companys products have long shelf lives. Nevertheless, the company is focused on various restructuring initiatives that are offsetting sluggish top-line growth at General Mills. As stated in its first-quarter earnings call, the company expects Q2 performance to be better than Q1 from an organic sales growth perspective. Again, it expects better price appreciation in the second quarter compared to the first. We believe the 2Q17 performance will be driven by product innovation, renovation and the implementation of SRM (strategic revenue management). SRM helps the company optimize its price structure, while generating higher profit growth. The expansion of distribution networks for various brands is also anticipated to contribute to General Mills fiscal second-quarter revenues. Though consumer-focused innovation and marketing as well as greater distribution of the natural and organic product portfolio drove revenues at segments like cereals and snacks in fiscal 2016, we believe a material improvement will need more time to materialize. General Mills continues to face challenges in its U.S. yogurt business, thanks to persistent decline at its Yoplait Light and Greek 100 product lines. For the fiscal second quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings stands at 88 cents a share, reflecting a 6.8% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, our estimate for revenues is pegged at $4.21 billion, implying a 4.81% drop. Earnings Whispers Our proven model does not conclusively show that General Mills is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. However, that is not the case here as you will see below. Zacks ESP: General Mills Earnings ESP is -1.14%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate of 87 cents is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 88 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Zacks Rank: General Mills has a Zacks Rank #3 which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the companys negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. Note that Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) should never be considered going into an earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. Stocks to Consider Here are some consumer staples stocks that you may consider, as they have both a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank: B&G Foods, Inc. BGS has an Earnings ESP of +2.5% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2016 results on Feb 23, 2017. Mondelez International, Inc. MDLZ has an Earnings ESP of +4.08%. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2016 results on Feb 1, 2017. It has a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ has an Earnings ESP of +2.96% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to report third-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Jan 5, 2017. "Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >>" Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GENL MILLS (GIS): Free Stock Analysis Report B&G FOODS CL-A (BGS): Free Stock Analysis Report CONSTELLATN BRD (STZ): Free Stock Analysis Report MONDELEZ INTL (MDLZ): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f320644%2f46feeef4-646e-405e-ba49-70522d6fc9b3 In a deviation from the norm, a wealthy businessman in India chose to celebrate his daughters wedding by spending all the money to build homes for poor. SEE ALSO: Indian diamond tycoon gives away hundreds of cars, apartments to employees as Diwali gift Maharashtra-resident Ajay Munot built 90 houses for the homeless worth Rs 7 million to 8 million (between $103,000 to $118,000) from the money he had saved for a lavish wedding for his daughter. Both bride the and groom supported the decision, reports the Indian Express. The bride saw it as "the biggest gift for her wedding." The 90 houses were built across an area of 8,093 square metres, which additionally costed him $221,000. All the houses will have access to filtered drinking water. Each home is 240 square feet, and has two windows and doors. Munot, who runs a wholesale business of cloth and wheat, said he wanted to help people who were poor, living in slum and were good natured. He himself selected the people in the region who will be living in these houses. "This is the new chapter in history and I hope that the same concept will be followed by the other rich communities, he said. We have some responsibilities towards our society and we tried to comply with it. Indian weddings typically see the two parties spend a lot of money in exchanging big gifts. But it is mostly unheard of for someone to put the money into better use. Berlin (AFP) - German prosecutors said Friday they were investigating a case in which a 12-year-old boy allegedly tried to detonate a home-made nail bomb at a Christmas market. News weekly Focus first reported the case, saying a German-Iraqi child had attempted the attack, possibly after being radicalised by Islamic State group jihadists. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said "a report like this is frightening" but declined further comment, saying the matter was in the hands of federal prosecutors. The home-made device -- a glass jar filled with a combustible powder and nails -- was discovered on December 5 in the western city of Ludwigshafen and destroyed by police. Stefan Biehl of the federal prosecution service, which handles terrorism cases, told AFP that "I can confirm that we have started an investigation based on the discovery of a nail bomb in Ludwigshafen". Focus magazine, citing unnamed judicial and security sources, said the boy was thought to have been "strongly religiously radicalised" and possibly received instructions from an unknown IS member. Public broadcaster Suedwestrundfunk, also citing unnamed security sources, said the boy was thought to have received instructions from the IS via the encrypted instant messaging service Telegram. - 'Flash radicalisation' - The boy allegedly first tried to detonate the device at the city's Christmas market on November 26. Then, on December 5, he allegedly hid the explosive in a backpack outside a shopping centre near the city's town hall where a passer-by spotted it and informed police. The child, who cannot face a German court because he is aged under 14, was detained and placed into a juvenile care facility, said Focus weekly. City mayor Eva Lohse said he "is currently staying at a secure place and therefore presents no public threat". Local prosecutor Hubert Stroeber told AFP that to call the device a bomb would be an exaggeration. He said that although the powder was combustible, it was unclear whether it would have exploded. Story continues Bild newspaper quoted local police as saying the substance was powder scraped from commercial pyrotechnics and sparklers. Lawmaker Stephan Mayer of the conservative CSU party said the case was another example of rapid or "flash radicalisation". "This phenomenon is on the rise, it's a dangerous situation," he said on news channel NTV. "It shows we need to keep a much closer eye on the topic of political Islam." Germany has been spared the kind of large-scale jihadist atrocities that hit Paris and Brussels. But it was shaken by several assaults claimed by IS and carried out by asylum-seekers this year -- an axe rampage on a train that injured five, and a suicide bombing that wounded 15 people. In another case, a 16-year-old German-Moroccan girl in February stabbed a police officer in the neck with a kitchen knife, wounding him badly, allegedly on IS orders. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's lower house of parliament, countering increasing anti-immigrant sentiment, declared on Friday that German culture is defined by freedom and humanity and said more should be done to integrate an influx of migrants. More than one million migrants - mainly Muslims - flocked to Germany from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere in 2015-16 and many Germans see integrating the newcomers as the country's biggest challenge. Parliament's "Culture Builds Bridges" declaration comes amid a rise in support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is expected to gain seats in the Bundestag (lower house) in next year's federal election. The declaration described Germany as a "European cultural nation" shaped by the values of the Enlightenment, freedom and humanity, and said the constitution, which states that human dignity is inviolable, defined modern German culture. The proposal was brought by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc in parliament and the Social Democrats (SPD), their junior partner in the ruling coalition, which have lost support to the AfD as hostility against migrants has risen. "We want to preserve our country's rich cultural heritage, which is characterized by the diversity of its citizens, states and regions as well as by its lively art and cultural scene," the declaration said. It said German culture encompassed seeing different lifestyles, values, religions and world views as enriching. "That's the opposite of a culture of isolation and intolerance like that being propagated by right-wing populist movements at the moment," it said. The Bundestag said that even migrants who only stay in Germany for a short time should be encouraged to learn the language and take part in German cultural life and media. It urged an expansion of cultural and integration programs for migrants, volunteer training and activities such as visiting museums, theaters or libraries. (Reporting by Michelle Martin; editing by Mark Heinrich) BERLIN (AP) German authorities have arrested a 31-year-old Turkish citizen suspected of spying on Kurds in Germany. Federal prosecutors say the man identified only as M.S. was arrested Thursday in Hamburg and his premises were searched. In a statement Friday, prosecutors said the man is suspected of providing Turkey's intelligence agency with locations, contacts and political activities of Kurds and Kurdish establishments in Germany. BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Top officials in Germany's ruling coalition said on Friday they planned legislation to crack down on "hate speech" and fake news on Facebook and other social media platforms, and impose stiff penalties if such messages were not quickly removed. Politicians are worried about how hate speech and fake news could sway public opinion ahead of elections next year in which Merkel will be running for a fourth term and facing an increasingly popular far right. "There has only been talk for too long. Now we in the coalition will take action at the beginning of next year," Volker Kauder, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), said in a statement. Facebook Inc FB.O said on Thursday it would take measures to prevent fake news spreading on its platform. Users would find it easier to flag fake articles as a hoax, and organizations would be deployed to check facts. The statement suggested the ruling coalition was not altogether convinced by the steps announced by Facebook. Kauder said the legislation would require social media companies to set up offices that would respond to complaints from people affected by hateful messages within 24 hours. "We plan to impose high penalties that would affect companies like Facebook if they do not meet their responsibilities," Kauder said. Thomas Oppermann, who heads the Social Democrats in parliament, told Der Spiegel magazine Facebook could face fines of up to 500,000 euros if they did not remove fake news and other inappropriate messages within 24 hours. "Facebook did not avail itself of the opportunity to regulate the issue of complaint management itself," Oppermann told Spiegel. "Now market dominating platforms like Facebook will be legally required to build a legal protection office in Germany that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." German Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper the government was carefully monitoring Facebook's approach to removing illegal content and would draw "urgent legal consequences" if removal rates did not increase. Story continues "We expect clear improvements in Facebook's removal practice. The standard must be German law," the paper quoted him as saying. Germany is seen as a front-runner when it comes to forcing Facebook to step up efforts to police online hate speech, which has risen here following an influx of almost one million migrants, mainly from the Middle East, last year. The issue of fake news has taken on new importance in recent weeks after warnings by German and U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia is seeking to influence elections and sway public opinion in both countries. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Thorsten Severin; editing by Ralph Boulton) Boundary dispute: Police, protesters clash in Rolpa The supporters of various political parties, who have been protesting against the constitution amendment bill proposing Province 5 division, clashed with security personnel in Rolpa on Thursday. Giant fossilized teeth from extinct megalodon sharks may have inspired portrayals of a primordial sea monster in Mesoamerican creation myths, according to a new study of the concepts of sharks in ancient Mayan society. The study looked at how the Maya combined a practical, prescientific knowledge of sharks with their traditional understanding of the world around them as the creation of gods and monsters. In the research paper, titled "Sharks in the Jungle: real and imagined sea monsters of the Maya," published online Nov. 21 in the journal Antiquity, Sarah Newman, an archaeologist at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, wrote that fossilized teeth from the extinct shark species Carcharodon megalodon were used in sacred offerings at several ancient Mayan sites, such as Palenque in southern Mexico, where archaeologists have found 13 megalodon teeth. [See Photos of Megalodon Sharks and How They Inspired Mayan Myths] Giant megalodon sharks were apex predators of the world's oceans from around 23 million years ago until 2.6 million years ago. Their teeth, jaws and vertebrae have been found at many sites in Central America. Newman said ancient Mayan depictions of a sea monster named "Sipak" also known as Cipactli(which translates to "Spiny One")to the Aztecs of central Mexico have a single giant tooth that bears a strong resemblance to the fossilized megalodon teeth from sacred offerings found at Mayan sites. "Mayan iconography is notoriously difficult to piece out, but you can see [the monster] is a fairly realistic representation of a shark with a bifurcated tail, and it has jagged jaws but it does have that one central tooth," Newman told Live Science. "And the tooth has the same mark on it that the Maya used to indicate materials like jade so it's telling you that it's hard and shiny, the way that a fossil would be also." Sea monster myths In some Mayan creation myths, the shark-like sea monster Sipak is killed by a god or mythical hero who forms the land from its carcass, Newman said. The motif of a single giant tooth also appears in portrayals of other Mayan gods, including a depiction of the sun god at El Zotz, in the Mayan heartlands of the Peten Basin, now in northern Guatemala. Story continues The Mayan word for sharks and other fearsome sea monsters, "xook," was also adopted by several Mayan kings and queens for example, Yax Ehb Xook ("First Step Shark"), the first-century founder of the city of Tikal in Peten, and Ix K'abal Xook ("Lady Shark Fin"), an eighth-century queen of Yaxchilan, now in Mexico's Chiapas state, Newman said. Newman started her study of the Mayan concepts of sharks after analyzing a cache of sacred objects, including 47 teeth from a requiem shark (a family that includes spinner and blacktip sharks) that were buried inside two "lip-to-lip" ceramic bowls used as an offering at a Mayan pyramid at El Zotz between A.D. 725 and 800. Marine items such as shark teeth, seashells, stingray spines and coral were often used to represent the oceans of the world in a ceremonial model of the Mayan cosmos within the offering bowls, Newman said. "There's an understanding that a kind of microcosm is recreated in those enclosed spaces, so they're often put in along the center lines of temples and houses, to imbue those spaces with vitality," she said. After noticing that the cache contained only the serrated upper teeth of what was probably a single requiem shark, Newman started to wonder how and why the shark remains had been transported or traded from the coast into inland Mayan cities such as El Zotz. "And then I started thinking about how those people in the interior would have made sense of these things that are coming in from the coast, which they might not have seen themselves," she said. [Image Gallery: Ancient Monsters of the Sea] Ancient shark science For the ancient Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula, with oceans on three sides, "the sea marked the limits of the land in all directions, a fabled home to supernatural deities and energies," Newman wrote in the study. "Sharks were associated with blood, pain and danger worthy of consideration and depiction, but from a safe distance." The Mayan concept of the "xook" sea monster was the result of prescientific efforts to explain their practical knowledge about sharks in terms of their established cultural understandings of the world around them, Newman said. "The argument in the paper is that the Maya are doing a version of our own ideas about natural history, where they are combining physical evidence that they find with myths that they also [regard as] true, and making sense of the world that way," she said. Newman's research also examines the extent to which shark remains and cultural concepts about sharks were shared over a large area of ancient Mesoamerica for many centuries. "One of the things that this study and other recent studies show is that they're trading things back and forth, and that there's a lot of interaction going on across long distances," she said. "So now we're getting a really good picture of just how connected people were much more mobile and connected than I think we tend to assume." Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations So many bad movies, so much wasted time. But how to find the actual junk in a cinematic trash heap? To paraphrase the title of the wooden Warren Beatty drama nobody saw, rules do apply. For starters, every movie released/buried in January gets a bye. And I cant exclusively single out five nobody-asked-for-them sequels. Just assume that, say, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows lacked the breathtaking nuances of Arrival. And though Kevin Hart may be a comedy superstar and all-around cool guy, his squad goals dont yet appear to be landing on a best actor short list. Finally, no Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. We all know it was a dud. Just do better next time, OK, guys? With that, presenting the five [insert profane adjective here] movies of 2016. See ya at the Razzies! 5. Collateral Beauty Somewhere in a forest, a maple tree wants all its sap back. In Will Smiths latest misfire, he plays a CEO who writes a letter to time, death and love to air his grievances about the loss of his 6-year-old daughter. His concerned coworkers (Kate Winslet, Edward Norton and Michael Pena) find the correspondences and hire three actors (Helen Mirren why, Helen Mirren, why?! Keira Knightley and Jacob Latimore) to play the abstractions and interact with him. But wait, theres more: The colleagues have their own emotional baggage as well. The oversimplified message is that were all connected, which translates to heavy-handed mumbo jumbo. For an authentic portrayal of grief, catch Manchester by the Sea and forget this glossy Hollywood-ized treatment ever happened. Thats the sad truth. 4. The Girl on the Train Read Gone Girl. Saw Gone Girl. Loved Gone Girl. You, The Girl on the Train, are no Gone Girl. What should have been a tantalizing thriller a sad-sack drunk (Emily Blunt) may or may not have been a witness to a pretty blondes murder is, disappointingly, a melodramatic and non-directional slog not even worthy of a Lifetime TV Saturday-night pick. Blunts character is reduced to glassy-eyed stares and word slurring. Justin Theroux, as her unsympathetic ex-husband, makes for a lousy, unconvincing villain. The only mystery worth piecing together: How did all the suspense of the bestselling novel disappear? After all, at this point, the average commute into midtown Manhattan is more terrifying. Story continues 3. Alice Through the Looking Glass Just in case the sight of Johnny Depp looking like a deranged clown didnt frighten small children in 2010s Alice in Wonderland, this dreadful sequel seals the deal. It emphasizes schlocky spectacle over storytelling, so heres the recap: Depps batty Mad Hatter is near death and only a now-grown Alice (Mia Wasikowska) can cure him. Using a horribly CGI gizmo, she goes back in time to fix things, then, ugh, gets sidetracked by the petty sibling rivalry between the red and white queens (Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway, cashing in). You know this plot is ridic when the fate of the world hinges on which bratty sister once ate a cookie. 2. Swiss Army Man So, um, this depressed dude is stranded on an island. And he finds a dead man. The corpse still passes gas so the dude uses the air of the farts to buoy himself in the ocean. And they become friends through the power of hallucination and our hero learns to appreciate life. Somehow this ludicrous pitch surely the result of one too many bong hits got the greenlight and was made into a real live full-length movie. More remarkable, respectable actors Paul Dano (the island loner) and Daniel Radcliffe (the talking, flatulent corpse) signed on. Its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival prompted a massive walkout. And yet, some too-cool-for-school critics praised it as an experimental tour de force. (Seriously. I googled it.) Lets settle this once and for all: Its not quirky, edgy fun. Its not daring indie cinema. Its just embarrassingly juvenile crapola. Cast it away. 1. The Divergent Series: Ascendant After robots take over Earth, this plodding, manufactured dreck better not be the remaining artifact. In the third installment of what was supposed to be the next Hunger Games (ha), Shailene Woodleys superspecial Tris goes from kick-ass heroine to gullible bore as she continues to fight for freedom and obliterate those pesky five factions in dystopian Chicago. OHare airport = the antiseptic Bureau of Genetic Welfare. Doesnt that sound exciting, yawn. Tris still hasnt committed to a hairstyle, but girlfriend does suddenly know how to pilot a state-of-the-art aircraft when it counts. The franchise has plummeted so far, so fast, that its conclusion wont even get a theatrical release. Better yet, let Katniss Everdeen unleash an arrow and put it out of its misery. Dishonorable mentions: Ghostbusters, The Legend of Tarzan, Keeping Up with the Joneses, Independence Day: Resurgence, X-Men: Apocalypse, Cafe Society, The BFG, Wiener-Dog, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Office Christmas Party, The Magnificent Seven Related Content: Paris (AFP) - When the world triumphantly celebrated the signing of the landmark Paris climate pact last December, it was hard to imagine that only a year later it might face an existential threat. Then again, who could have predicted at the time that a self-promoting reality TV impressario -- and avowed climate sceptic -- was months away from capturing the White House? "The Paris Agreement was bound to be tested sooner or later," said Myles Allen, head of the climate research programme at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute. "It has just come sooner than most expected." Campaign promises to "cancel" the 196-nation deal notwithstanding, there are reasons to think that US President-elect Donald Trump will not seek to derail it, or that he would fail if he tried. For one thing, the first universal action plan for curbing global warming -- in force since last month -- has already been ratified by the US and 116 other countries. That makes pulling out a highly visible and lengthy process, lasting at least four years. "Overtly withdrawing has a cost," both political and economic, said Princeton international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer. Countries deeply invested in the agreement -- including China, the European Union and almost all the world's developing nations -- would likely register displeasure in other arenas. The idea of a carbon tax on US goods, for example, has been mooted. - Lost opportunity - But should the US turn away from the global transition to clean energy, the highest cost would be lost opportunity. In 2015, renewables outstripped fossil fuels globally for the first time in attracting investment, and overtook carbon-rich coal as a source of electricity. Trump may find that his options within the US are also limited. Domestically, he has threatened to scrap Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, defang the Environmental Protection Agency, and shelve incoming regulations designed to push down US greenhouse gas emissions. Story continues Under the Paris Agreement, Washington has pledged to cut US carbon pollution 26-28 percent by 2025 compared to 2005 levels. US emissions have declined in recent years, albeit slowly. But the main drivers have come not from the federal government but the market and individuals states, and these forces are likely to dominate no matter what Trump does, analysts say. "Trump will have little effect on trends in the US power industry, where coal is being rapidly replaced by natural gas and renewables," said William Sweet, an energy expert at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Pouring money into new coal-fired power plants -- a sector Trump has vowed to revitalise -- no long makes economic sense, Sweet and others said. Market momentum, however, is not enough to win the race to cap global warming under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the "do-not-cross" red line set down in the Paris treaty. An increase so far of 1 C (1.8 F) compared to pre-industrial era levels has already caused on uptick in deadly storms, droughts, wildfires and flooding. - 'Leadership vacuum' - National carbon-cutting pledges annexed to the Paris pact would, at best, yield an unliveable 3 C world. On top of all this, virtually all of the climate-saving scenarios laid out by scientists depend on technologies for sucking carbon out of the air that don't even exist yet. This suggests that political will -- at a national and global level -- remains critical for continued progress. And that could be a problem. "There is a real risk of a leadership vacuum," said Thomas Spencer of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris. The G20 meeting next July in Hamburg, Germany will offer the first clear clue as to whether Germany, China -- if any nation -- can step up to fill the void if the US disengages, he said. A Trump administration hostile, or simply indifferent, to climate change action could dim the odds of preventing dangerous warming. In the US, the auto-industry has already indicated it will try to water-down impending fuel efficiency standards, while stringent rules on capping gas-industry methane leaks are likely a dead letter. Even if Trump doesn't do a complete about face on climate, "we are likely to see a slowing down of progress compared to what would have happened if Clinton had been elected," said Oppenheimer. Internationally, he said, this will have repercussions. "Countries could say, 'if the US is not going to take their (emissions reduction commitments) seriously, we're not going to either'." Scientists point to recent red flags. Shattered temperature records in the Arctic; evidence that Greenland's ice sheet, which could raise sea levels by six metres (20 feet), is far more sensitive to warming than thought; an unexplained surge in emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2 -- all of which suggest that the margin of error has largely disappeared, they say. "Nature will have surprises in store," Allen said. Photo credit: Drew Angererundefined From Esquire "Gentlemen, please excuse us now if you would," said my British boss. This was at NATO headquarters in Afghanistan, so it was very international. We had officers from a number of different nationalities on our team: British, French, Canadian, Dutch, Turkish, German, Italian, Polish, Greek, Australian, and me, the sole American. What the boss meant in that instance was that everyone had to leave the room except myself, the Canadian, and the Australian. That was because the "ABCA" countries (American, British, Canadian, Australian) were about to discuss issues that touched on intelligence that could not be shared across the broader coalition. Everyone understood, and, so far as I know, none were offended. There are just some things that cannot be widely shared, even among allies. Even the best of allies: There were times the American officers asked all others, even the Brits, to leave the room, too. Though there are no specific treaties that outline the "special relationship" we share within the ABCA, and there is no command structure that supports such an informal arrangement, the rules are pretty clear. Each nation, on its own, determines what they can and cannot share-even inside this extra-special quartet. Documents are clearly marked accordingly. Sharing those documents or slides beyond what you have specific permission for is quite literally a crime. Photo credit: Chip Somodevillaundefined This, apparently, is something that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn did not quite understand. Which is probably why, when I arrived in Afghanistan in January 2011, he had already been gone for two months. The depth of hubris this demonstrates from the man likely to be the next National Security Advisor is stunning. Intelligence officers and planning officers (as I once was) are unusually careful about what they say in a room filled with officers from other countries. Even if those countries are part of the ABCA relationship, one does not just toss out classified information-particularly that marked Top Secret or beyond. Story continues Well, unless you're Flynn, who was the J-2 (the senior intelligence officer at a "Joint" command) of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan, apparently. From The Washington Post: "It was a general intelligence briefing that included stuff that shouldn't have been on those slides," said a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the subject. The disclosures revealed "stuff the intelligence community was doing that had a much higher level of classification." The agency has had an extensive presence in the Afghanistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Beyond gathering intelligence on al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the CIA has also assembled its own paramilitary networks in the country, paying warlords for cooperation and funding armed groups known as Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams. A second former U.S. official said Flynn failed to secure permission to reveal those secrets. "This was a question of whether or not information was put through proper channels before it was shared," the second official said. The episode marked the second time in a year that Flynn had drawn official complaints for his handling of classified material. Former U.S. officials said that Flynn had disclosed sensitive information to Pakistan in late 2009 or early 2010 about secret U.S. intelligence capabilities being used to monitor the Haqqani network, an insurgent group accused of repeated attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan. But the real kicker in all of this, one that should make for an interesting time at the White House water cooler, is this tidbit: The investigation into Flynn's behavior was ordered in 2010 by the commander of the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. The exact date hasn't been released, but if it took place in the first half of the year, then the CENTCOM commander who ordered the investigation was General David Petraeus-another rumored Trump appointee. [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="We%20Haven't%20Seen%20the%20Worst%20of%20Manic%20Donald%20Trump" customimages="" content="article.51584"] If it occurred sometime between July 2010 and Flynn's departure from Afghanistan in October, Flynn's boss in Afghanistan was Petraeus, and the commander at CENTCOM was none other than General James "Mad Dog" Mattis, the nominee for Secretary of Defense. Awkward. As always, I can be reached at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com. Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page. You Might Also Like (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said its newly promoted co-chief operating officers and chief financial officer would each receive a $1.85 million (1.5 million) base salary as part of their broader compensation packages. The Wall Street bank's pay disclosures come days after the appointments, and as the race to succeed Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein who has been in his role for more than a decade heats up. It is the first time that two of the executives, incoming co-COO David Solomon and incoming CFO Martin Chavez, will have their compensation disclosed publicly. Harvey Schwartz, who will leave his current position as CFO to become co-COO in April, took home the same $1.85 million in salary last year as part of a broader $21 million package that several senior executives received, excluding perks. Gary Cohn, who is leaving the COO role to take a position advising U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on the economy, had long been considered a leading candidate to replace Blankfein. Cohn's departure has set the stage for other senior executives to compete for the position. Solomon has co-headed Goldman Sachs's investment banking division since 2006, while Schwartz has served as CFO since 2013. Chavez has been the company's chief information officer since 2013. (Reporting by Lauren LaCapra in New York and Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) BRUSSELS (AP) Boosted by French President Francois Hollande and other left-leaning European Union leaders, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Thursday he could win a dispute with European creditors who pulled a recently announced debt relief package for his country. Hollande said at the EU summit that "it is out of the question to ask for further additional efforts from Greece or prevent them from taking a number of sovereign measures that respect the commitments" previously undertaken by his country. Days after a Dec. 5 eurozone agreement to approve some debt relief, Tsipras announced a Christmas bonus for some 1.6 million low-income pensioners and committed to restore a lower sales tax rate for Aegean Sea islanders. The move surprised the eurozone creditors, who suspended the debt relief. Tsipras said at the summit that there is room for "a breakthrough, without blackmail." He will be making his case on his country's debt problems during a visit Friday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. He expressed confidence the dispute with European bailout lenders will be resolved soon. "I, as you can see, am extremely calm, and think it is something that will be overcome very soon. The (Christmas bonus) does not in any way threaten the bailout program and the targets for the 2016 budget surplus," Tsipras said, adding that bailout creditors are preparing a report on the issue. Tsipras said other more crucial issues will determine the successful conclusion of Greece's bailout talks with its European creditors and the International Monetary Fund. "I believe that in the near future all parties will take the necessary initiatives to bridge our differences," he told reporters. He said Germany was the only European country to question the bonus. "It is unacceptable for some to try to revive a negotiating game to the detriment of Greece and its people, which has made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," Tsipras said. "This is not reasonable." Story continues Tsipras also accused the IMF of pressing Greece to adopt new austerity measures for after the end of the program. "No democratic parliament ... could accept such a demand and decide on measures to be implemented, if needed, after three years," he said. EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, another socialist, came to Tsipras' defense, although he acknowledged that strictly speaking, the Greek government's decisions have not complied with what was agreed to. "I can understand very well what the Greek government has done, because it is trying to protect the most vulnerable a little bit in the time before Christmas," Schulz said. "So I think that the eurogroup, when it meets again in January, will perhaps find a way to reconcile the two things compliance with the agreements with the necessary flexibility that a government needs to preserve social stability in the country." In Greece, lawmakers approved the controversial Christmas bonus payment. The article on the bonus, which Athens wants to distribute next week, was approved by 196 votes, while 61 lawmakers from the main opposition conservative party abstained. Later this month, Greece's parliament is to vote on Tsipras' pledge to restore a lower sales tax rate for Aegean Sea islanders who are struggling to cope with mass arrivals of migrants from Turkey. As lawmakers prepared to vote Thursday, some 5,000 pensioners marched peacefully to Tsipras' office to protest years of cuts to their pensions under the country's bailout commitments. ___ Associated Press writer Nicholas Paphitis reported this story from Athens, Greece, and AP writer Raf Casert reported in Brussels. (Adds quotes and FinMin on institutions' report) BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday his country was set for strong economic growth and this would help to "heal the wounds of crisis" after years of austerity imposed under international bailouts. On a visit to Berlin, Tsipras was keen to emphasise Greek progress on reforms demanded by Germany as the European Union's most powerful economy and paymaster - a situation that has made Merkel a hate figure for some Greeks. The trip's timing was also significant, as Greece wrangles with its creditors over terms for its current bailout, the latest of three. On Thursday it snubbed its lenders by passing legislation to give pensioners a one-off Christmas bonus. Tsipras told reporters before meeting Merkel that he would inform the chancellor of the positive momentum of the Greek economy and his government's "spectacular overachievement" of revenue targets. "The projections for the Greek economy are extremely positive for next year," Tsipras said, adding authorities expected 2.7 percent growth in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018. But Greece's economic development should not simply be confined to statistics and numbers, he added. "We want it to heal the wounds of crisis and to alleviate all those who have over these difficult years made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," Tsipras said. Years of enforced austerity in debt-laden Greece, required under the terms of two initial bailouts worth 240 billion euros and a current one worth 86 million, have strained relations with Germany. Some Greek demonstrators protested by dressing up as Nazis when Merkel visited the country in 2012. Last year, Germany dismissed demands form Athens to pay it reparations for World War Two. Seeking to turn the page, Tsipras said Greece needed to send a strong signal to international investors that the crisis was a thing of the past. Merkel showed little willingness to take a position on the disputed question of whether the pre-Christmas payout to pensioners was compatible with bailout obligations. Story continues Standing next to Tsipras, she said decisions lay in the hands of the three institutions handling negotiations with Greece - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - but "the Greek prime minister's assessment of the situation will certainly play a role in our discussions." A German Finance Ministry spokesman said the institutions involved in Greece's aid programme were critical of Athens in a preliminary report assessing the unilaterally announced measure. "To make the aid programme a success, it's essential that measures are not decided unilaterally or are not taken back without advance notice," said spokesman Dennis Kolberg. The euro zone bailout fund ESM said on Wednesday that euro zone lenders had put a short-term debt relief deal on hold as a reaction to the actions by Greece. The deal, agreed on Dec. 5, would reduce its public debt by 20 percentage points of gross domestic product by 2060. (Reporting by Michele Kambas, Michael Nienaber and Paul Carrel; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) The most photographed woman inside Trump Tower has been revealed. Read: Trump Supporter Hugs Protester He Sucker-Punched During Rally, Gets 1 Year Probation The weeks-long mystery was solved as Madeleine Westerhout, 26, revealed herself on Twitter: Its me! Im the greeter girl. Social media had been speculating about the woman's identity since Donald Trump became the president-elect. In the weeks since Election Day, many high profile celebrities, politicians and business people have been photographed with her in the lobby of the Fifth Avenue building. Westerhout has been photographed with General David Petraeus, Laura Ingraham, and Rick Perry. She has taken to the real estate moguls favorite social media platform to tweet about her encounters with the high-profile guests. Great to see @GovernorPerry at Trump Tower today! https://t.co/QWysUK3fek Madeleine Westerhout (@madwestt) November 22, 2016 Senator Manchin has arrived for his meeting with the President-elect! https://t.co/0FJ0rFDEgf Madeleine Westerhout (@madwestt) December 12, 2016 Westerhout is from Irvine, California, and graduated from the College Of Charleston in 2013 with a degree in political science. She's a former fitness instructor and was an intern on the Romney campaign. Since January 2015, she has been the assistant to the chief of staff for the Republican National Committee. Story continues As Trump gets ready for his big move to the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama is getting ready to vacate. The first lady sat down for her final White House interview with Oprah Winfrey for a CBS special. Read: Could Ivanka Trump Move to D.C. Mansion Where Jackie Kennedy Once Lived? Michelle Obama, who campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton, took a parting swipe at Trump when the TV titan asked the question: Your husband's administration, everything, the election was all about hope. Do you think this administration achieved that?" Yes, I do," she responded. "Because we feel the difference now. See, now we're feeling what not having hope feels like, you know? Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept. And Barack didn't just talk about hope because he thought it was just a nice slogan to get votes. The Oprah Winfrey Special, First Lady Michelle Obama Says Farewell to the White House, airs Monday night on CBS. Watch: 16-Year-Old Former 'America's Got Talent' Contestant to Sing National Anthem at Trump's Inauguration Related Articles: Things got a bit awkward Friday during Gucci Manes radio interview on New York City station Power 105.1. After the rapper alleged that one of the hosts of the show, The Breakfast Club, tried to sleep with him, the accused woman Angela Yee responded both in person and on Twitter. Its funny to me too so I get it! I dont know if he was catfished or not in his right mind, she tweeted to a fan. Yee was adamant that she never tried to have a personal relationship with the rapper. When one fan believed that she did attempt to be intimate with the artist, the radio personality denied it. Never in life, she wrote to the twitter user. Yee told fans she was confused about what was going on. Although Gucci Mane has not commented about the interview via Twitter, during the actual conversation, he did seem fairly confident that Yee tried to contact him. During the interview, the radio host said that she was never afraid of the rapper because he has always been nice to her to which he replied that his kindness was due to their history. When the host asked what he was referring to, The Return of the East Atlanta Santa Claus artist said that Yee has texted him in the past inquiring about what hotel he was staying at. However, the radio host was quick to deny the rappers allegations and even swore on her life and that of her unborn child that she never contacted the rapper inquiring about his location. Her co-hosts DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God laughed during the segment as the men did not know who to believe. Charlamagne Tha God later posted the video on Instagram asking followers whose story they believe. Gucci Mane Photo: Getty Images Related Articles Power Summit puts spotlight on Nepals 10,000MW in 10 yrs goal Nepal is on track of energy sufficiencyfor both household and industrial consumptionand can produce as much as 10,000MW in the next 10 years, if the policy environment remains stable. BEIRUT (Reuters) - A military news outlet run by Damascus's ally Hezbollah said protesters had blocked a road being used to evacuate fighters and civilians from Aleppo on Friday, demanding the evacuation of people from two Shi'ite villages in Idlib province. Damascus ally Iran has demanded that the villages, Foua and Kefraya, which are besieged by rebels, be included in a ceasefire deal under which rebel fighters and civilians are leaving Aleppo, both rebels and United Nations officials said. A Reuters witness later confirmed the protests. (Reporting by John Davison and Tom Perry in Beirut and Kinda Makieh in Damascus; Editing by Gareth Jones) * Hakim is 2nd CEO in a row with military background * Freeport faces narrowing window for $18 bln expansion * Ore exports could stop in January under existing rules * January deadline could hit two-thirds of Grasberg output By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Chappy Hakim, a retired air force chief who says he knows next to nothing about mining, now heads Indonesia's biggest copper producer, entrusted to use his connections to guide it through regulatory uncertainty to a renewed contract for its mine. Picking another former military officer to lead the local unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan underlines how pivotal political ties can be in Indonesia, where the firm got its start nearly 50 years ago helped by close relations to late autocratic President Suharto. At stake for Freeport is an $18 billion investment to expand its Grasberg mine - one of the world's biggest deposits of gold and copper - in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. A government deadline in January to end ore exports from the country also threatens two-thirds of the mine's copper output. "Freeport is more politics than business," Hakim told a recent media briefing. "Right now we are working hard to negotiate with the government ... The political aspect has become very heavy here," said Hakim, who was appointed last month as Freeport Indonesia's new chief executive. Hakim, 69, a keen saxophonist who holds Indonesian skydiving records, first saw the area where Freeport's giant Papua mine is located from the pilot's seat of a C-130 Hercules in the 1970s. And while he may know little about mining and finance, Hakim said his experience leading the air force and later an air safety panel after a string of deadly plane crashes would help him with both human resource management and mine safety issues. Grasberg has had several fatal accidents that disrupted operations and strained union relations, and in 2013 a tunnel collapse killed 28 workers, raising worries about its underground expansion plans. (http://reut.rs/2hhmTiM) Story continues Hakim's appointment was made in consultation with the government, Freeport said, and comes as the company fights to win an extension on its mine beyond 2021. Freeport needs to sign off in late 2017 on the $18 billion plan to transition Grasberg from open pit to underground mining, and it wants the contract renewed before committing the money. "One of (Freeport's) priorities is clearly to have someone on board who supposedly has the ear of the government," said Bill Sullivan, a foreign legal counsel and expert on Indonesian mining issues. "DISPENSATIONS" NEEDED Freeport faces a narrowing window to make a new deal on taxes, royalties, divestment and a second smelter, before it develops what would be the world's biggest underground mine, Hakim said. Indonesia has given mixed signals on negotiations, however, and it's not clear if Freeport will be able to win a contract extension next year. Regulations stipulate contracts can be renewed only in the last two years before they expire, but Hakim said Freeport needed "several dispensations" to justify its investment. "We have no choice because we have spent so many billions of dollars on the contract ... and we'll be really devastated if we stop," he said. Hakim also noted that existing rules forbid Freeport from exporting copper concentrate after Jan. 12, 2017, part of an effort to transform Indonesia into a producer of finished goods from a supplier of raw materials. About a third of Freeport's daily 220,000 tonnes of copper ore from Grasberg goes to its domestic smelter in Gresik, East Java, with the rest exported as concentrate. Jakarta has said it may revise the deadline on metals processing, but nothing has been announced. Freeport, which employs 32,400 workers in Indonesia, has said it does not believe Jakarta will ban all exports from 2017 given the harm it could do to Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Hakim's predecessor, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, also a former air force and intelligence officer, stepped down in January after being caught up in a scandal. The company said he resigned for personal reasons. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Additional reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Editing by Tom Hogue) By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA (Reuters) - Chappy Hakim, a retired air force chief who says he knows next to nothing about mining, now heads Indonesia's biggest copper producer, entrusted to use his connections to guide it through regulatory uncertainty to a renewed contract for its mine. Picking another former military officer to lead the local unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N) underlines how pivotal political ties can be in Indonesia, where the firm got its start nearly 50 years ago helped by close relations to late autocratic President Suharto. At stake for Freeport is an $18 billion (14.51 billion pounds) investment to expand its Grasberg mine - one of the world's biggest deposits of gold and copper - in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. A government deadline in January to end ore exports from the country also threatens two-thirds of the mine's copper output. "Freeport is more politics than business," Hakim told a recent media briefing. "Right now we are working hard to negotiate with the government ... The political aspect has become very heavy here," said Hakim, who was appointed last month as Freeport Indonesia's new chief executive. Hakim, 69, a keen saxophonist who holds Indonesian skydiving records, first saw the area where Freeport's giant Papua mine is located from the pilot's seat of a C-130 Hercules in the 1970s. And while he may know little about mining and finance, Hakim said his experience leading the air force and later an air safety panel after a string of deadly plane crashes would help him with both human resource management and mine safety issues. Grasberg has had several fatal accidents that disrupted operations and strained union relations, and in 2013 a tunnel collapse killed 28 workers, raising worries about its underground expansion plans. (http://reut.rs/2hhmTiM) Hakim's appointment was made in consultation with the government, Freeport said, and comes as the company fights to win an extension on its mine beyond 2021. Story continues Freeport needs to sign off in late 2017 on the $18 billion plan to transition Grasberg from open pit to underground mining, and it wants the contract renewed before committing the money. "One of (Freeport's) priorities is clearly to have someone on board who supposedly has the ear of the government," said Bill Sullivan, a foreign legal counsel and expert on Indonesian mining issues. "DISPENSATIONS" NEEDED Freeport faces a narrowing window to make a new deal on taxes, royalties, divestment and a second smelter, before it develops what would be the world's biggest underground mine, Hakim said. Indonesia has given mixed signals on negotiations, however, and it's not clear if Freeport will be able to win a contract extension next year. Regulations stipulate contracts can be renewed only in the last two years before they expire, but Hakim said Freeport needed "several dispensations" to justify its investment. "We have no choice because we have spent so many billions of dollars on the contract ... and we'll be really devastated if we stop," he said. Hakim also noted that existing rules forbid Freeport from exporting copper concentrate after Jan. 12, 2017, part of an effort to transform Indonesia into a producer of finished goods from a supplier of raw materials. About a third of Freeport's daily 220,000 tonnes of copper ore from Grasberg goes to its domestic smelter in Gresik, East Java, with the rest exported as concentrate. Jakarta has said it may revise the deadline on metals processing, but nothing has been announced. Freeport, which employs 32,400 workers in Indonesia, has said it does not believe Jakarta will ban all exports from 2017 given the harm it could do to Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Hakim's predecessor, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, also a former air force and intelligence officer, stepped down in January after being caught up in a scandal. The company said he resigned for personal reasons. (Reporting by Fergus Jensen; Additional reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Editing by Tom Hogue) OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's approval rating has dropped 10 percentage points in the last three months amid rising dissatisfaction with the economy and concern about pipeline approvals, a public opinion poll released on Friday showed. Still, Trudeau remained far more popular than his two political opponents and more popular than any recent prime minister, with 55 percent of Canadians expressing confidence in his performance, the Angus Reid poll showed. That was down 10 points from the 65 percent approval rating Trudeau enjoyed in September, according to the survey, which carried the headline "Is the honeymoon ending?" "While this level of approval may well be the envy of prime ministers past and future, it also represents the lowest approval he has recorded at any point since his Liberal Party won a majority mandate in last Octobers election," Angus Reid said in the poll. Trudeau, dogged by accusations that rich donors to the Liberal Party have gained privileged access, will be questioned by Canada's ethics commissioner to see whether he broke conflict of interest rules, an official said on Thursday. [L1N1EA1AB] The poll showed Trudeau remained far more popular than either of his main political opponents, interim leaders of the Conservative and New Democratic parties, who will be replaced in 2017. Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose won 35 percent approval, while NDP leader Tom Mulcair notched a 43 percent approval rating, the poll showed. Trudeau's drop in popularity was matched by a drop in voter satisfaction on a broad range of issues, including the economy, foreign policy, healthcare and public security, according to the poll. The prime minister has also had to thread the needle on energy and the environment, recently announcing the approval of two pipelines and the quashing of a third just months after announcing a plan to require provinces to put a price on carbon emissions by 2018. [L1N1DU1AI] (Reporting by Andrea Hopkins; Editing by Tom Brown) Dec 16 (Reuters) - Shares of Trivago rose as much as 10.7 percent in their debut on Friday, valuing the hotel booking platform at about $2.89 billion. Dusseldorf, Germany-based Trivago's stock rose to a high of $12.18 in early trading. Trivago, which is mostly owned by U.S. online travel firm Expedia Inc, offered 26.1 million American depository shares (ADS) at $11 each on Thursday, raising $287 million for the company and selling shareholders. Like many of this year's technology IPOs, Trivago's offering was priced well below the expected range of $13-$15. IPOs have raised 42 percent less so far this year than they did in 2015, according to Thomson Reuters data, amid uncertainty among investors and poor post-IPO performances. Internet software and service companies such as Trivago raised $450 million so far in 2016, down 41 percent from $762 million this time last year. The IPOs of Dell Inc's SecureWorks Corp and Twitter Inc CEO Jack Dorsey's Square Inc earlier this year were also priced well below expectations. Trivago, whose platform allows customers to search through hotel deals aggregated across a variety of online travel sites, makes much of its money from online travel agencies that pay for each click a customer makes on their hotel offers. Expedia, which paid 477 million euros ($498.42 million) in 2012 for a 62 percent stake in Trivago, is also one of the platform's biggest customers. Trivago rival Tripadvisor Inc's stock has tumbled in recent months as growth has slowed in an industry challenged by the increasing number of hotels that encourage booking directly through their own websites. Trivago filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the name Travel BV, a Dutch limited liability company, formed to be the holding company for Trivago. Trivago said on Thursday that Travel BV will change its name to Trivago NV before the offering completes. JPMorgan Securities LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co and Morgan Stanley & Co LLC were among the underwriters for the offering. ($1 = 0.9570 euros) (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto) Felicity Jones and Diego Luna in Rogue One. (Photo: Lucasfilm) By now, even the most casual Star Wars fan knows that the latest entry in the franchise, Rogue One (in theaters now), recounts the efforts of the Rebel Alliance to acquire the plans for the Empires first Death Star. That premise is based on a single line found in the opening crawl of 1977s Episode IV: A New Hope, and while Rogue One is being positioned as a standalone adventure, its first and foremost a prequel. Unlike George Lucass Anakin Skywalker-centric prequel trilogy, however, director Gareth Edwardss saga functions as a direct lead-in to A New Hope. How direct? Well, reports from earlier this year revealed that Rogue Ones story would end a mere 10 minutes before the opening of the original Star Wars movie. How Rogue Ones plot ultimately connects to the greater Star Wars timeline is a fascinating bit of reverse engineering some 40 years later. And now that weve seen the movie, lets break down how it happens. Warning: Massive spoilers to follow, so stop reading now if you havent see Rogue One. Edwardss tale focuses on Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and her band of unlikely Rebels battle-hardened Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), blind staff-wielding Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), heavily armed warrior Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), former Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), and wisecracking reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) as they plan to steal the schematics for the Death Star. That planet-destroying weapon was designed, under duress, by Jyns father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), who buried a catastrophic weak point in the design a nifty bit of sabotage that Luke Skywalker will exploit at the end of A New Hope. (That addition to Star Wars lore also finally answers the age-old of question of why the mighty Empire was so careless as to build a supposedly impregnable superweapon with such a spectacular flaw.) Watch Gareth Edwards explain why Rogue One doesnt have an opening crawl: Jyn and company eventually infiltrate the tropical planet of Scarif, an Imperial outpost where the Death Stars plans are kept in a heavily fortified base. Disguised as Imperial guards and accompanied by K-2SO, Jyn and Cassian sneak into the compounds enormous file chamber, while the rest of the Rebel team engages in a deadly firefight with waves upon waves of Stormtroopers and Death Troopers. Imperial bigwig Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) is also on the hunt, trying to chase down Jyn and Cassian. At the same time, the Rebel fleet is caught in a fierce air battle with the Empire above Scarif, as they try to destroy the planets shields so Jyn can transmit the plans. Story continues After successfully obtaining what theyre after and surviving a shootout with Krennic, Jyn climbs to the top of the complexs communications tower. Once the shield is destroyed, she beams the Death Star plans to a Rebel starship. We quickly learn that the Rogue One teams sneak attack was actually a suicide mission: One by one the characters fall in heroic fashion until only Cassian and Jyn are left alive. Their survival is fleeting: The Death Star, commanded by the malevolent Grand Moff Tarkin (a creepy, CGI-reanimated version of the late Peter Cushing), fires its weapon on the base to destroy all remaining traces, and Jyn and Cassian embrace on the shoreline, waiting for the shock wave to consume them. Related: 5 Reasons Why Rogue One Isnt Your Typical Star Wars Movie Meanwhile aboard the Rebel fleet, the situation is devolving: No sooner has a soldier made a physical copy of the coveted plans onto a familiar-looking disc than the Rebel capital ship is crippled by Imperial forces and boarded by Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers. A Rebel guard sprints with the disc to a jammed escape hatch that they desperately try to open as Vader (wielding his signature red lightsaber the first time weve seen one in the movie) starts to cut his way through the helpless squad. Even in the face of Vaders rampage, a doomed Rebel guard manages to pass the disc through the opening in the hatch. The Rebels on the other side can now make their escape, and we see a familiar vessel the Tantine IV! pull away from the capital ship before Vader can reach it. In the films final scene set aboard the fleeing craft, we see yet more Rebel guards running the plans into a chamber where an instantly recognizable white-robed figure accepts them. What is it they sent us? a guard asks. Princess Leia, made youthful again with CGI, looks up and says, Hope. Watch the opening scene of Star Wars: With that final image, savvy fans will realize that Rogue One ends mere moments before the opening sequence of Episode IV, in which Vaders Star Destroyer pursues and boards the Tantive IV, capturing Leia just after she uploads the plans along with a Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, youre my only hope holographic message into the trusty R2-D2. (Interestingly, R2 and C-3PO do make a cameo in Rogue One, but back on the Yavin base and not aboard the blockade runner.) So Lucasfilm wasnt kidding when the company said there would be no sequel to Rogue One in terms of the franchises chronology, almost nothing exists between it and George Lucass original film. (Also, the Rogue One crew have all clearly met their makers.) If thats a disappointment to fans, theyll likely be satisfied by how all the interlocking puzzle pieces of the sagas timeline click together in the end, giving us a sturdy bridge to the trilogy we know so well. Watch the Rogue One cast demonstrate how to play with their action figures: It took awhile, but Hugh Jackman has clapped back at Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool dig. The Wolverine star took an opportunity to make some friendly jabs at his former X-Men Origins: Wolverine co-star, on the day Reynolds was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. WATCH: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's Kids Make Their Public Debut at Dad's Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony Holding up a Reynolds mask to his face, Jackman gave a facetious acknowledgement of the Walk of Fame achievement that was more than a little shady! "You may remember me from such things as People magazine's 2010 Sexiest Man Alive or the 12th best DC Comics movie Green Lantern. Who would have thought just three years after getting a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, I would be getting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame?" WATCH: Blake Lively Stuns in Flowy Blue Gown at Husband Ryan Reynolds' Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony "How could a guy who failed his high school drama class be this talented?" he continued. "I have no answer for that. But to quote my favorite actor in the world, the great Australian Hugh Jackman, who, by the way, was People's Sexiest Man Alive way before me, Americans are the most generous country on the planet." "So, thank you, America, and feel free to urinate on my section of the sidewalk," the 48-year-old actor concluded, before briefly pulling the mask away from his face, thus officially confirming his appearance in the video! WATCH: Ryan Reynolds on Having His Family Watch Him Receive Hollywood Walk of Fame Star: 'It's Everything' Watch the entire hilarious address below. @VanCityReynolds asked me to post this 100% real video by him on being honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today. A video posted by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Dec 15, 2016 at 7:03am PST The "beef" dates back to the two actors' characters fighting each other in Origins, followed by Ryan Reynolds' titular character making the following NSFW dig in 2016's Deadpool: Story continues "You're probably thinking, 'Whose balls did I have to fondle to get my very own movie?'" Reynolds' character quipped. "I can't tell you his name, but it rhymes with 'Polverine.' And let me tell you, he's got a nice pair of smooth criminals down under." WATCH: Ryan Reynolds Reveals Blake Lively Helped Develop 'Deadpool' Character After Golden Globe Nom Meanwhile, Reynolds and wife Blake Lively were joined by their kids at the Walk of Fame ceremony, who made their adorable public debut! Watch the video below for more from the ceremony. Related Articles Beirut (AFP) - Idlib in northwestern Syria was the second provincial capital to slip from the grasp of Bashar al-Assad's government in the country's more than five-year civil war. The city and its eponymous province has been taking in rebels and their families evacuated from Aleppo, which is now almost under the complete control of forces loyal to the government. - Idlib battleground - Near the road linking Aleppo and Damascus, Idlib was home to nearly 120,000 people before the war began in 2011. Part of the population fled after rebels took it in March 2015, but about 100,000 displaced people joined it, according to the UN. Today it has some 200,000 inhabitants. Before the war, the majority of its inhabitants worked in agriculture, mainly cotton and cereals, or commuted to Aleppo. Idlib province is strategically important, lying close to the border with Turkey, which backs the rebels, and also near the coastal province of Latakia, home to Assad's clan and a regime stronghold. On March 28, 2015, the Army of Conquest, a coalition of Islamist rebel groups such as Ahrar al-Sham and jihadists from the Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front, seized the Sunni-majority city. It was a serious setback for Assad because it was the second regional capital to fall after Raqa, which became an Islamic State group (IS) stronghold. On April 25, the coalition captured Jisr al-Shughur, one of the government's last outposts in the province. Syrian warplanes, and later Russian jets after Russia intervened in September 2015, have repeatedly targeted cities and towns in Idlib province. - Next regime target? - A neighbour of Aleppo, Idlib province is also home to a large pool of rebel fighters, notably those who have recently arrived from areas which have fallen under regime control. As early as December 2015, a security source in Damascus said Russian and Syrian forces have been holding joint training exercises in Latakia province to prepare for fighting in Idlib. Story continues "In the next stage, Idlib will become the major destination and most important target of joint Russian-Syrian military operations," the source said. On Thursday, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura warned that Idlib is now at risk of a similar escalation of violence as Aleppo. "If there is no political agreement and a ceasefire, Idlib will become the next Aleppo," De Mistura said. - Fuaa and Kafraya - These are two Shiite towns in Idlib province that have remained loyal to Assad and are besieged by mainly Sunni Islamist rebels. Rebels have tried to use the two towns as bargaining chips in talks on Zabadani and Madaya, two predominantly Sunni towns surrounded by regime forces in Damascus province. In December 2015, several hundred people were evacuated from pro-government towns and from Zabadani. The evacuation from Aleppo on Friday was halted amid reports that the government and its ally Iran sought to add an evacuation of civilians from Fuaa and Kafraya to the terms of the Aleppo deal. - Ancient Ebla - Idlib province's site of Ebla, seat of one of ancient Syria's earliest kingdoms, is home to a famous collection of clay tablets dating back to 2400-2300 BC and discovered in 1964, which bear witness to the invention of the first alphabet. But according to APSA, the association charged with protecting Syrian architecture, tunnels have been dug on the site, which has been looted, and it has been ravaged by fighting between army and rebels. Lawmaker Bishwokarma among 14 injured in Gulmi clash A clash occurred between protesters and police in Gulmi district on Friday during a demonstration against proposed split of province 5 in the constitution amendment bill registered at the Legislature-Parliament. By Chine Labbe PARIS (Reuters) - IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Friday told the Paris court trying her for negligence that she had always acted in good faith and that the suspicion that she had lived under for the past five years had been an "ordeal". Lagarde, 60, faces charges, which she denies, of being negligent when, as French finance minister, she approved in 2008 a payout to businessman Bernard Tapie in an out-of-court settlement which cost the French taxpayer 400 million euros ($425 million). If convicted when the decision is announced next Monday, Lagarde could face up to a year in jail and a fine of 15,000 euros though the special court she faces has never passed a jail sentence on anyone in 23 years of existence. Conviction or severe censure could raise questions about her ability to conduct her work at the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, one of the pillars of the global financial system. Prosecutors, who never wanted Lagarde to stand trial, on Thursday urged the court to acquit her. The special court hearing her case went ahead. "These five days of trial have brought to an end a five-year ordeal," Lagarde said, her voice cracking with emotion, as she delivered her final comments to the court. The charges allege that Lagarde showed negligence, leading to misuse of public funds, by accepting too easily the costly arbitration settlement with Tapie and not contesting it to the benefit of the state. "I acted in good faith and good conscience with the sole aim of defending the general interest," Lagarde said. "I should have taken account of all possible risks. I tried to do that but ... the risk of fraud never occurred to me at all," she said. Lagarde, who has withstood aggressive questioning during the hearing, earlier this week said she had accepted the Tapie settlement in the best interests of the state and to draw a line under an affair that had dragged on for 15 years. The 15 judges who make up the Republic's Court of Justice, a special court which judges ministers, withdrew to consider their verdict on Friday. Lagarde's decision in 2008 not to challenge the arbitration settlement with Tapie ran against the counsel of a government body that regulate state corporate holdings. But her defence has argued that she was not kept sufficiently informed of the case by her aides. (Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing by Richard Balmforth Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Incoming United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday appointed Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed as his deputy secretary-general amid a push by more than a third of the 193 U.N. member states for gender parity at the world body. Guterres, who will take over from current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, was sworn in on Monday as the ninth male U.N. chief and pledged to reach gender parity among senior leadership within his five-year term. He also appointed Brazilian diplomat Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti as chef de cabinet and Kyung-wha Kang of South Korea to a newly created position as special adviser on policy. "These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity," Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister, said in a statement. "I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action," he said. Guterres beat out 12 other candidates, seven of whom were women, as the next secretary-general amid a strong push by some U.N. states as well as civil society groups for a female to be elected. The 66-member U.N. Group of Friends for Woman Secretary-General - led by Colombia - has renamed itself the Group of Friends for Gender Parity and hopes to build on the momentum created during the election campaign. The group on Tuesday launched an exhibition at the United Nations celebrating leading women throughout the history of the 71-year-old organization. "The initial target for the equal representation of women and men among U.N. staff was the year 2000. Sixteen years later, we are far from that goal," Guterres told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday after taking the oath of office. As of June 30, 34.8 percent of the 40,131 members of the United Nations secretariat staff were women, while just 17 of the 79 under-secretaries-general, or 21.5 percent, were female, according to the latest report on staff demographics. Before her appointment as environment minister a year ago, Mohammed was Ban's special adviser on post-2015 development planning - a role that culminated last year with the adoption by the General Assembly of sustainable development goals for the next 15 years. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols, editing by G Crosse) NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government said on Friday that tax-dodgers have until the end of March 2017 to come clean under a scheme announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley last month. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters that those who fail to declare their untaxed income under the scheme will have to pay a minimum 77 percent and up to 100 percent in tax and fines. Another senior income tax department official later said the income of the political parties was exempted under the Income Tax Act, and they could deposit old currency notes in their bank accounts only if they had taken donations in cash up to 20,000 rupees from individuals with all details. All political parties would have to maintain records properly about their income and voluntary donations, he said adding they would have to submit their audited accounts. "They can't take any more old currency notes," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee banknotes on November 8 in a bid to flush out cash earned through illegal activities, or earned legally but never disclosed to the taxman. People can deposit old currency notes in banks until the end of December. (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Malini Menon and Angus MacSwan) A prisoner carrying out a drug trafficking sentence has made history by becoming the first inmate to refuse enrolling in a residential drug treatment program in exchange for early release under President Obamas clemency program. Arnold Ray Jones, who was granted a presidential commutationa pardon which would have allowed him to be absolved of his convictionby President Obama on Aug. 3, refused to accept one of the conditions that came with his clemency, USA Today reports. If Jones, 50, had accepted the condition of enrollment in a residential drug treatment program, he would have been released from the low-security Texas prison hes currently living in in two years time (August 2018) rather than in April 2019 at the earliest. Jones is the first inmate to have refused a presidential commutation because of the residential drug treatment program condition. The White House and the Justice Department have not revealed the specifics of the case but inmate records acquired by USA Today showed that Jones used crack cocaine weekly in the year before his arrest and that drug treatment programs hes completed in the past have been unsuccessful. [USA Today] The internet is having a meltdown over these leggings and theyre FREE This is not a drill, people. This is real life. You can get your hands on a pair of luxe, eco-friendly leggings for free. Meet Girlfriend Collective, a new brand created by Ellie and Quang Dinh. The Dinhs created this line of soft, comfortable, functional leggings that are just as perfect for a gym visit as they are for wearing about town. Each pair was made out of recycled polyester that came from 25 recycled water bottles. They were manufactured at a facility in Taiwan and at a fair-trade location in Vietnam. Magic Monday vibes Congrats to @thelindseybrown, pictured here looking fab in our recycled legging, for winning our peach pin and tote this week, along with @thelittlethingswedo & @raquelwallace_ A photo posted by Girlfriend Collective (@girlfriendcollective) on Nov 14, 2016 at 10:04am PST Theyre chic and oh-so-flattering and theyre probably the most environmentally friendly pair of pants youll ever own. Ellie Dinh talked to InStyle about the process of making the leggings, and she couldnt be happier with how they turned out. I had a lot of preconceived notions of what recycled fabric would be like, and my biggest concern was that it wouldnt feel high quality, but we were just flooredit was amazing, Ellie said. Now for the REALLY good part. The Dinhs decided to give away the leggings for free, to show that their product, which will be sold at $100 retail, is totally worth it. The only thing youve got to pay is the $20 shipping cost. Yep, thats it. Its kind of scary to purchase a $100 pair of leggings from a brand youve never heard of. We wanted people to trust us @annazgray #heygirlfriend art direction: @sarahinbrooklyn / photography: @eleanorpetry / production: @bianco_artists A photo posted by Girlfriend Collective (@girlfriendcollective) on Nov 17, 2016 at 1:01pm PST They launched their campaign in April, and when they offered the free leggings, they sold 10,000 pairs on the first day. Naturally, they also got a lot of inquiries about whether the whole thing was a scam. They assured their customers this was for real. The momentum doesnt seem to be slowing down anytime soon, but this deal only lasts until January 2017, so jump on it while you can. And keep your eyes on Girlfriend Collective. We have a feeling theyll keep releasing incredible pieces for a long time to come. The post The internet is having a meltdown over these leggings and theyre FREE appeared first on HelloGiggles. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British envoy in Tehran after the U.K. accused Iran of playing a role in the "suffering" of the people of Syria's Aleppo. The semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, says Iran's foreign ministry has told the U.K. charge d'affaires in Tehran that Iran's policy is to establish peace in Syria and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of that country. On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors to convey his profound concern over their countries' role in the suffering of Aleppo's residents. Ghasemi also said Iranian officials stressed the need for the British government to cut off any assistance or support to terrorist groups. By Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Iraq is selling more crude oil to its biggest customer, China's Unipec, people familiar with the matter say, digging a deeper foothold in the global supply market just before production cuts agreed with OPEC and other producers are scheduled to kick in. With new deals with Indian and U.S. refiners also coming on stream, the expanded contract with the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec means Baghdad will have to reduce supply to other clients to honor its commitment to cut output by 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 2017. Three people with knowledge of the matter said the Unipec contract was signed just before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Iraq is a member, agreed with other producers led by Russia to cut output by as much as 1.8 million bpd in an effort to reduce a global fuel supply overhang and prop up prices. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to media, the people said Iraq's Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has boosted Basra crude forward export sales to Unipec by 3 percent to a total of 40 million-60 million barrels each quarter - 435,000-652,000 bpd - for 2017. "If Iraq increases its sales to China while others have to cut back or just hold their volumes steady, Iraq will inevitably gain market share in what is arguably the most important oil market," said a trader who specializes in sending crude to China but is not allowed to speak publicly. Iraq is OPEC's second-biggest producer behind Saudi Arabia and now ranks third among crude suppliers to China - after Russia and Saudi Arabia - having recorded a 15 percent year-on-year jump to about 723,000 bpd between January and October. [O/CHINA1] As part of the expanded Chinese deal, one of the people said, Unipec is expected to load 2 million barrels of Basra Heavy crude every quarter. "Basra is now an established grade with stable quality and reliable supplies," said another trader, who buys Iraqi crude but isn't authorized to speak to the media. Story continues Unipec said it doesn't comment on specific deals. SOMO will also supply Basra Heavy crude under new term contracts to Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Indian refiner Essar Oil (ESRO.CL) for 2017, according to a person close to the matter and a preliminary January loading schedule for the oil. The contracts contribute to an expected jump in Basra exports to 3.53 million bpd in January 2017, the highest volume since June, the loading schedule showed. SOMO did not reply to an e-mail from Reuters seeking comment. Exxon and Chevron said they don't comment on operational matters, and Essar declined to comment. In India, crude imports from Iraq rose 24 percent in the first 10 months this year to 784,000 bpd, making Iraq the second-largest crude supplier after Saudi Arabia. Iraqi crude exports to the United States have more than doubled in the first nine months of 2016 from the same period a year ago to nearly 350,000 bpd as Venezuelan supplies declined, data from the Energy Information Administration showed. (Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE, Chen Aizhu in BEIJING and Rania El-Gamal in DUBAI; Additional reporting by Nidhi Verma and Sudarshan Varadhan in NEW DELHI; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Kenneth Maxwell) By Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Iraq is selling more crude oil to its biggest customer, China's Unipec, people familiar with the matter say, digging a deeper foothold in the global supply market just before production cuts agreed with OPEC and other producers are scheduled to kick in. With new deals with Indian and U.S. refiners also coming on stream, the expanded contract with the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec <600028.SS> means Baghdad will have to reduce supply to other clients to honor its commitment to cut output by 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 2017. Three people with knowledge of the matter said the Unipec contract was signed just before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Iraq is a member, agreed with other producers led by Russia to cut output by as much as 1.8 million bpd in an effort to reduce a global fuel supply overhang and prop up prices. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to media, the people said Iraq's Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has boosted Basra crude forward export sales to Unipec by 3 percent to a total of 40 million-60 million barrels each quarter - 435,000-652,000 bpd - for 2017. "If Iraq increases its sales to China while others have to cut back or just hold their volumes steady, Iraq will inevitably gain market share in what is arguably the most important oil market," said a trader who specializes in sending crude to China but is not allowed to speak publicly. Iraq is OPEC's second-biggest producer behind Saudi Arabia and now ranks third among crude suppliers to China - after Russia and Saudi Arabia - having recorded a 15 percent year-on-year jump to about 723,000 bpd between January and October. [O/CHINA1] As part of the expanded Chinese deal, one of the people said, Unipec is expected to load 2 million barrels of Basra Heavy crude every quarter. "Basra is now an established grade with stable quality and reliable supplies," said another trader, who buys Iraqi crude but isn't authorized to speak to the media. Unipec said it doesn't comment on specific deals. SOMO will also supply Basra Heavy crude under new term contracts to Exxon Mobil , Chevron Corp and Indian refiner Essar Oil for 2017, according to a person close to the matter and a preliminary January loading schedule for the oil. The contracts contribute to an expected jump in Basra exports to 3.53 million bpd in January 2017, the highest volume since June, the loading schedule showed. SOMO did not reply to an e-mail from Reuters seeking comment. Exxon and Chevron said they don't comment on operational matters, and Essar declined to comment. In India, crude imports from Iraq rose 24 percent in the first 10 months this year to 784,000 bpd, making Iraq the second-largest crude supplier after Saudi Arabia. Iraqi crude exports to the United States have more than doubled in the first nine months of 2016 from the same period a year ago to nearly 350,000 bpd as Venezuelan supplies declined, data from the Energy Information Administration showed. (Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE, Chen Aizhu in BEIJING and Rania El-Gamal in DUBAI; Additional reporting by Nidhi Verma and Sudarshan Varadhan in NEW DELHI; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Kenneth Maxwell) MOSUL, Iraq (AP) The bodies of two dead Islamic State fighters have been lying on the sidewalk in front of Muhammad Jassim's house in eastern Mosul for the past week. Both of the corpses were burned, abused and decapitated, one was partially covered by a pastel floral bed sheet. "This isn't something we want our children to see," Jassim said, coming out into the street to approach a group of Iraqi special forces officers touring the recent territorial gains. "I asked them to please take the bodies away, the smell is terrible." As Iraqi forces settle into a routine of slow, steadier progress inside Mosul, more civilians remain trapped living along front lines for longer. Jassim's Mishraq neighborhood was declared liberated from IS nearly a week ago, but remains too dangerous for most aid groups to visit as it lies just a few hundred meters from ongoing clashes. Thursday, a mortar landed across the street from Jassim's home and killed three of his neighbors. As the operation to retake Mosul enters its third month, Iraqi forces control two pockets of territory in Mosul: a cluster of neighborhoods on the city's southeast held by the Iraqi army's 9th division and neighborhoods on the city's east held by the special forces. "We've received nothing," Jassim said. Around the corner from his home a group of men filled plastic buckets with water from a burst pipe in a crater left by an airstrike. Another resident, Younis Ali, ran up to the officers asking for heating fuel or electricity. Families on Ali's street have begun collecting scraps of wood and cardboard to burn for heat as temperatures have repeatedly dropped below zero in Mosul over the past week. As Iraqi special forces Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi toured the area Friday, he kissed babies for a cluster of television cameras, posed for mobile phone selfies and promised the residents swift improvements. "We want people to know that this area is safe, that the military is here now," al-Saadi said, but he admitted that he expected progress to continue at a slow pace. Iraqi forces have repeatedly faced punishing IS counterattacks in Mosul's dense residential neighborhoods, after swift advances left the Iraqi forces vulnerable. "We are so thankful for these soldiers," Jassim said of the half dozen black armored Humvees dotting his neighborhood, "but what we really need now is a medical center." Pregnant Irina Shayk sparked engagement rumors with Bradley Cooper after the Victoria's Secret model sported an emerald ring. The new bling flashed on Shayk's ring finger when she stepped out Wednesday in Los Angeles. The 31-year-old Russian model was photographed while leaving a salon in Los Angeles. Shayk reportedly covered her baby bump in a printed dress, which she paired with tan and black over-the-knee boots. On Thursday, Shayk and Cooper were also spotted having a romantic dinner at Nobu in Malibu, according to Daily Mail. Last month, reports surfaced that Shayk is expecting her first child with Cooper. However, Shayk and the 41-year-old "American Sniper" actor have not publicly confirmed the pregnancy, but celebrity news outlets E! Online and People Magazine verified the news. The baby is reportedly due in May. Irina is feeling wonderful. She is so happy, an insider told E! Online on Wednesday. Bradley and her can't wait for their baby to arrive in the summer. They [also] know the sex of the baby. News about Shayks pregnancy made the rounds right before the Victorias Secret Fashion Show, which was filmed in Paris on Nov. 30. She debuted a hint of a baby bump while walking the ramp at the show, where she sported a red bra with a long beaded and fringed top that partially concealed her stomach. He (Cooper) has been spotted dropping her off at the airport with kisses as she is about to take off for another job, another source told People Magazine on Wednesday. They are just a very sweet couple. Shayk and Cooper first started dating in April 2015, but made their red carpet debut as a couple at the LOreal Red Obsession party during Paris Fashion Week in March this year. Irina is smart and mature. They have a great connection, a source told Us Weekly back in 2015 about why the couple is going strong. Bradley needs a girl who can keep up with him. Related Articles Purchasing power Indias new policy affects Nepals aspiration to boost growth through hydroelectricity A bound copy of Sir Isaac Newton's seminal book on mathematics and science was sold for $3.7 million, making it the most expensive printed scientific book ever sold at auction, according to Christie's, the auction house that handled the sale. The book has a Latin title "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica," which translates to "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy," but scholars often call it the Principia. After Newton (1642-1727) wrote the book, he gave it to the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742) for editing, and it was printed and sold in London more than 300 years ago, in 1687. The book is a pivotal piece of science and history, and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein called it "perhaps the greatest intellectual stride that it has ever been granted to any man to make." Even so, Christie's expected the goat-skin-covered book to bring in between $1 million and $1.5 million, but the unnamed bidder bought it for nearly four times that value at $3,719,500. [Creative Genius: The World's Greatest Minds] The Principia famously elucidates Newton's three laws of motion, explaining how objects move under the influences of external forces. Physics students today still use the laws, which include: -An object will remain in a state of inertia unless acted upon by force. -The relationship between acceleration and applied force is force equals mass times acceleration (F=MA). -For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This copy of Sir Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" sold at auction for $3.7 million. Christie's Images The crimson book measures about 9 inches by 7 inches (23.7 by 18.6 centimeters) and contains 252 leaves some with woodcut diagrams and a folding plate, according to Christie's. Only one other original leather-bound copy of Newton's Principia has been sold at auction in the past 47 years a copy that was presented to King James II (1633-1701) and bought at Christie's New York for about $2.5 million in December 2013. Story continues In the Principia's preface, Newton thanked Halley for encouraging him to write the book, saying, "Mr. Edmund Halley not only assisted me with his pains in correcting the press and taking care of the schemes, but it was his solicitations that its becoming public is owing; for when he had obtained of me my demonstrations of the figure of the celestial orbits, he continually pressed me to communicate the same to the Royal Society..." (translated by Andrew Motte).In a letter to the king in 1687, Halley wrote, "And I may be bold to say, that if ever Book was worthy the favourable acceptance of a Prince." Halley also paid for the printing of the book; the Royal Society didn't have enough money at the time to cover the costs because it had just published another book, "De Historia Piscium" or "The History of Fishes" by John Ray and Francis Willughby. Luckily, Halley's contribution paid off: Newton's work was not seriously challenged until Einstein's theories of relativity and German theoretical physicist Max Planck's quantum theory were published in the 1900s. In fact, Newton's principles and methods are still used by scientists today. Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Hebron (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israel handed Palestinian authorities the bodies of seven Palestinians killed carrying out attacks, or during clashes or arrests over a period spanning six months, the army said Friday. The move was "in accordance with government directives," a military spokeswoman told AFP, and came a week after the Israel government informed the High Court it would be willing to return seven out of 10 bodies of Palestinians from the West Bank that it had been holding. The remaining three were not to be returned at this point because they were affiliated with the militant Hamas movement. Four of the Palestinians whose bodies were returned Friday came from the Hebron area of the southern occupied West Bank, a focal point in the recent wave of attacks, with the other three hailing from the Tulkarem and Nablus areas to the north. One body belonged to a man suspected of criminal activity who was shot dead by police in September, and another assaulted Israeli soldiers during a riot in October, the spokeswoman said. The other five -- one of them a woman -- were Palestinians who had either attempted to or succeeded in carrying out stabbing or car-ramming attacks on Israeli security forces or civilians since June, according to the spokeswoman. A wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks erupted last year, but the violence has greatly subsided in recent months. Since October 2015, 243 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some died in Israeli air strikes on Gaza. Most of the attacks were by lone-wolf assailants, many of them young people including teenagers. Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with the Israeli occupation and settlement-building in the West Bank, comatose peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have helped feed the unrest. Story continues Israel says incitement by Palestinian leaders and media is a leading cause. Since the start of the wave of violence, Israeli forces have confiscated the bodies of killed Palestinians, often for several months, as a means of deterrence and to prevent clashes during funerals. Under former defence minister Moshe Yaalon, the army had started to return the bodies to try to reduce tension. His successor Avigdor Lieberman ordered a resumption of the policy in June, but apparently modified it to apply only to those affiliated to militant groups. JERUSALEM (AP) Israel's prime minister says his "heart is with" the residents of the Amona West Bank settlement outpost but he is bound by law to remove them. Benjamin Netanyahu's statement Friday appears aimed at preparing the settlers for their imminent evacuation. He pleaded with them to act responsibly and not harm soldiers carrying out orders. Residents have been bracing for days after rejecting a final compromise to leave voluntarily. Amona is the largest of about 100 unauthorized outposts erected without permission but generally tolerated by the Israeli government that dot the West Bank. In 2014, Israel's Supreme Court ordered that Amona be evacuated, after it determined the outpost was built on private Palestinian land, giving the government until this Dec. 25 to tear down the outpost's 50 trailer homes. Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday joined settlers in welcoming US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of a hardline lawyer to be ambassador to the Jewish state. David Friedman, a bankruptcy attorney, supports settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, characterised by succesive US administrations as an "obstacle to peace" with the Palestinians. A source in Netanyahu's office said the premier was "pleased" with the appointment. "He knows David Friedman has the full confidence of President-Elect Trump and looks forward to working closely with him," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called the appointment "good news for Israel". Friedman -- a Trump campaign adviser -- backs moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, contrary to Washington's longstanding policy of basing its ambassador in Tel Aviv. "His positions reflect the will to strengthen the status of Israel's capital, Jerusalem, at this time and an understanding that the settlements have never been the real problem in the region," Hotovely wrote. In a Trump transition team statement on Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to "doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". The United States and most UN member states do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel captured Arab east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The Palestinians claim it as the capital of a future state. The Yesha council, which represents the more than 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, praised the new ambassador-designate. Story continues "Friedman has a deep love for all of the land and people of Israel, including those in Judaea and Samaria," the group's foreign affairs envoy Oded Revivi said in a statement on Friday, using the biblical term by which the Israeli right describes the West Bank. "His knowledge and wisdom of the issues will strengthen the bridge between our great nations." The left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz was less welcoming. "By Israeli standards, Donald Trump's designated Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is an extreme right-winger," it commented. "He makes Benjamin Netanyahu seem like a left-wing defeatist." Netanyahu's coalition government is seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history. The Palestinian government has so far not formally responded, though Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, was due to address journalists later Friday. By Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday urged settlers set for eviction from an outpost in the occupied West Bank next week to leave quietly without resisting security forces. Netanyahu has backed a bill, condemned by Western powers and the United Nations, that would legalise Israeli settlement homes built on privately owned Palestinian land. But Amona is not included in the measure and Netanyahu and fellow right-wing political leaders have conceded that it must be evacuated. In the five decades since Israel captured the West Bank, it has built about 120 formal settlements in the territory. Most of the world deems them illegal and an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians, who aim to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital. The 330 settlers of Amona, the largest Israeli outpost in the territory that Palestinians seek as part of a future state, have rejected all government offers, and from fellow settlers, to re-house them elsewhere in the West Bank. They and their supporters have vowed to resist when police and troops come to evict them. "I call on everybody to act responsibly, under no circumstances harm soldiers and security forces. These are our sons...who are dear to us all. They protect us. There is no place for violence," Netanyahu said in a statement. He has sought to avoid confrontation with the Amona settlers over the Israeli Supreme Court's order to evacuate the outpost by Dec. 25. The court ruled that Amona was built on privately-owned Palestinian land which must be returned to its owners. The bill on settlement homes requires two more votes in parliament to become law and could ultimately be overturned by the Supreme Court, since rights groups are widely expected to challenge the effective expropriation of private property. "We have devoted days and nights, had many discussions, we have proposed innovative solutions, out-of-the-box solutions but to my regret, our proposals have not been accepted (by the legal authorities)," Netanyahu said. Critics in Israel and abroad fear that Netanyahu's manoeuvres aimed at appeasing rightist, pro-settler political partners could have grave consequences internationally. Preliminary approval of the bill granted by parliament last week has alarmed the United States, European Union and United Nations, raising the possibility of some sort of U.N. resolution before President Barack Obama leaves office in January. Israeli officials are also concerned that the bill could provide grounds for prosecution by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Palestinians condemned the measure as a land grab in territory they seek for a state. But U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has emboldened the Israeli far right as he has signalled a more accepting U.S. stance on settlements and called for the U.S. Embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which would break longstanding U.S. foreign policy and anger the Muslim world. As well as the main settlements that Israel fully supports, settlers have created over 100 outposts - many on hilltops across the West Bank, often with tacit government support. Under the new bill, 55 of the outposts will have official sanction, according to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now. Compensation would be offered to Palestinian landowners. (Writing by Ori Lewis; editing by Mark Heinrich) Rome (AFP) - Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi, the poster girl for Italy's populist Five Star Movement (M5S), suffered a potentially significant setback Friday when she was forced to apologise for trusting a senior official arrested for suspected corruption. The case is not linked to any council activity, but offices at the city hall were raided as part of an investigation into its head of personnel, Raffaele Marra. Seen as having been included in Raggi's inner circle, Marra is suspected of accepting an illegal payment in an shady real estate deal unconnected to the administration. "We probably made a mistake. Marra was already a senior official and we trusted him," Raggi told a press conference. "I'm sorry, to the citizens of Rome, to M5S and to (party leader) Beppe Grillo," she said, emphasising that Marra had not been a political appointee. Marra being given a senior post by Raggi was controversial because of his past employment by prominent right-wing figures in local politics, including former mayor Gianni Alemanno. M5S prides itself on being scrupulously ethical and having no links to what it sees as the sleazy ways of Italian politics. And its ability to make a success of running Rome, where Raggi won the mayor's seat in June, is seen as a key test in the run-up to nationwide elections due in the next 15 months. Polls suggest M5S, headed by comedian Beppe Grillo, will rival the ruling Democratic Party in the battle to emerge from the polls as the biggest party. Raggi faces a tough task in trying to turn around a city grappling with the legacy of years of corruption and mismanagement: pot-holed roads, failing refuse services and inadequate public transport. - Baffled Beppe - Supporters say she is starting to make a difference after six months. But rivals have pounced on a string of resignations and cancelled appointments as evidence that the lawyer is not up to the job. The Rome experience has also exposed what some see as Grillo's controlling role in the party he founded only five years ago. The leader has repeatedly clashed with Raggi and had publicly described himself as "baffled" by the appointment of Marra. Story continues The Democratic Party meanwhile suffered a setback of its own when its high-profile mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, stepped down temporarily after being informed he was under investigation in connection with his previous job as the organiser of the 2015 World Expo fair in the city. "Although I have no idea about what I am supposed to have done, I decided to suspend myself from my post," pending clarification, Sala said in a statement. According to Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Sala is suspected of a misdemeanor consisting of retrospectively dating a file in the tender process for the Expo's preparation work. The paper said the action had had no bearing on the outcome of the tender concerned. By Ange Aboa BONGOUANOU, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Standing on stage before a crowd of several thousand supporters last week, Pascal Affi NGuessan was on a mission to lead the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), Ivory Coast's main opposition party, out of its wilderness years. "The boycott is over," he said, imploring the crowd to use their votes in Sunday's parliamentary polls to end President Alassane Ouattara's allies' near-monopoly in the legislature. "There's no one there to oppose them. That's not normal." The FPI will field 186 candidates for the 255 parliament seats, signalling a return to the political mainstream it has largely shunned since a 2011 war ousted President Laurent Gbagbo, its founder. Ouattara's coalition is pledging to deliver more of the kind of rapid economic growth that has drawn a flood of foreign investment to French-speaking West Africa's largest economy since the war ended. N'Guessan's FPI argues, however, that growth is simply papering over old wounds left over from the crisis years, and that without a strong counterweight to Ouattara's power there can be no long-term stability. But if he is to capitalise on growing divisions within Ouattara's political juggernaut, which holds around 85 percent of seats in the outgoing National Assembly, N'Guessan will have to overcome the FPI's own internal split. Over 3,000 people were killed in the conflict sparked by Gbagbo's refusal to accept his defeat to Ouattara in a presidential run-off in late 2010. Since then, the world's top cocoa-growing country has experienced a strong economic revival under Ouattara, but rights groups complain that national reconciliation has stalled. N'Guessan, like most FPI leaders, was jailed after the war. He was released in 2013, but many opposition supporters remain in prison. An October referendum on a new constitution was criticised by many Ivorians, as well as some civil society groups and diplomats, as a unilateral initiative of Ouattara and his allies. "NOT MY PRESIDENT" "I will vote for Affi because I think an FPI with lots of MPs in parliament will balance the debate," said Joseph Kouyouan, 40, at N'Guessan's rally in the town of Bongouanou, his home constituency. Ouattara's coalition, the RHDP, decided to field a unified list of candidates for the elections, leading to horse-trading over which member parties will be allowed to contest which seats. Two smaller coalition members quit the RHDP over the manner in which constituencies were divided up. Their two ministers were fired. Disgruntled coalition members have caused the number of independents to balloon. Some 741 will appear on Sunday's ballots, constituting more than half of all candidates seeking seats. "I know that I have the support of the people, who are coming out to my rallies," said Yamina Ouegnin, an incumbent MP who was left off the ruling coalition's list and is running as an independent. It would seem an opportune time for the FPI to rejoin the political fray, but not all its supporters are on board with the idea. For two years, the FPI has been split, with N'Guessan calling for it to contest polls and hardliners urging continued boycotts until Gbagbo - on trial at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity - returns. Many of the FPI's traditional voters, particularly in Gbagbo's native western Ivory Coast, have sided with the latter faction. "Ouattara is not my president and Affi is not president of the FPI, so I'm not voting," said Honore Bida, 44, a taxi driver from the Yopougon district of the commercial capital Abidjan. "I'll stay home and drink my beer." (Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's exports are expected to have fallen for the 14th straight month in November, but at a slower rate of decline than before, a Reuters poll found. Exports were seen likely to fall 2.0 percent in November from a year earlier, the poll of 20 analysts found, a far cry from the 10.3 percent drop in October and 6.9 percent decline in September. Imports were seen likely to fall an annual 12.6 percent last month, a 23rd straight monthly decline, the poll showed. As a result, the poll forecast a trade surplus of 227.4 billion yen (1.56 billion pounds), a third straight surplus month. "The trend of moderate recovery in the global economy is gaining momentum, especially emerging economies," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "A weaker yen is expected to inflate the value of exports ahead and the global economic recovery will likely help the volume as well." The yen stood around 118.15 yen (JPY=EBS) per dollar on Friday, near its 10-1/2-month low of 118.66 yen hit on Thursday. The finance ministry will issue the trade data at 8:50 a.m. Dec. 19 (2350 GMT Dec. 18.) (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Eric Meijer) Silk Road bonanza The Belt and Road Initiative advanced by China presents huge prospects for Nepal By all accounts, Jauz has had a remarkable 2016. From remixing The Chainsmokers, Passion Pit, and Porter Robinson, to high profile originals on Monstercat and Spinnin' Records, he's delivered some of the biggest tracks of the year. On the touring front, he's taken his sound across the world, performing everywhere from Paris, to Bali and Brazil. In early 2017, however, Sam Vogel is officially returning home. Jauz has announced a brand new North American series run titled 'Off The Deep End.' As opposed to past headlining ventures -- like his sold-out Friendzy tour from early 2016 -- Off The Deep End is carefully crafted with fans in mind, focusing on fewer dates and bigger venues. "I have been all around the world this year, but starting in 2017, I really wanted to bring it home," Jauz tells Billboard. "Off The Deep End will be a series dedicated to my most die-hard fans." The first stop of the series will be in Seattle, followed by Jauz's hometown show at the legendary Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, featuring Slushii, Ghastly, and special guests E-40 and Too $hort. With the sheer star power behind the first date, one can expect a similarly heavy roster of support to be announced for Vogel's subsequent stops in Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, New York and more. More than just a show run, the series signals the maturation of Jauz's brand from a burgeoning bass act into a veritable tastemaker within the scene. With a slew of well-curated guests and performances that will push Jauz's sound deeper than ever before, Off The Deep End marks the next logical step in Sam Vogel's ongoing evolution. Check out the full Off The Deep End dates below. Tickets are available here. Jay Z's new gut-wrenching documentary has its first trailer. TIME: The Kalief Browder Story, executive produced by the rapper as well as the Weinstein Company, is an upcoming six-part docuseries to air on Spike TV that centers around the tragic story of a black man who was imprisoned for three years at age 16 in New York's Rikers Island without ever being convicted of a crime. WATCH: Jay Z Speaks on Police Brutality: 'It's Not a Political Issue, It's a Human Issue' Arrested on suspicion of stealing a backpack, Browder's case never went to trial, and he spent two years of his imprisonment in solitary confinement. After he was released, Browder took his own life. Watch the gripping trailer below. NEWS: Jay Z Releases Song About Police Brutality After Philando Castile and Alton Sterling Shootings Shortly before his death, Jay Z had a chance to meet Browder, a meeting that clearly stuck with the rapper during his continued speaking out against police brutality. "I look at Kalief Browder as a modern-day prophet," Jay Z said during a press event in October. "Our prophets come in many different shapes, forms, or mediums. This young man, just by the fact that he brought all of us here today, lets you know how powerful of a soul he was." TIME: The Kalief Browder Story premieres Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. WATCH: Beyonce's Mom Tina Knowles Praises 'Lemonade' for Bringing 'Healing and Hope to the Universe' Related Articles Washington (AFP) - The IS group may be on the defensive in Syria and Iraq, but it now has thousands of foreign volunteer fighters who, once home again, will pose a major threat, experts warn. Western authorities estimate some 25,000 to 30,000 fighters drawn by the call to jihad have thronged to the IS group's self-proclaimed "caliphate" in recent years. While some have died and others continue to wage war, a substantial number are returning to their home countries as IS loses ground under an onslaught by the US-led international coalition. "The flow of foreign fighters from western countries has fallen from 2,000 to about nothing a month," Albert Ford of the New America think tank told AFP. "But that's only half the issue: What do you do about the 25,000 or 30,000 people that are in Syria or have been there that now want to go back? It's an issue that's not going to go away," he said. In the 1980s, Arab volunteers flooded into Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in approximately equal numbers. After thwarting the Soviets, these so-called "Afghan Arabs" became the vanguard of several jihadist movements, while others carried out attacks across multiple countries. "Once mobilized, a wave of foreign fighters is often difficult to demobilize," said a report by 20 US experts entitled "The Jihadi Threat -- ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Beyond," which was published Monday. "And foreign fighters who do demobilize are likely to remain an important part of the fabric of modern jihads, becoming facilitators or supporters who push the agenda forward, even if they do not join the fight itself," the report said. In Europe, interviews carried out by special services and journalists after jihadists return from Syria and Iraq indicate that while the fighters may renounce violence, many still maintain the strong religious convictions that led them to join the movement. Story continues - 'Pass through the net' - "Total suppression of IS on the ground has nothing to do with what will happen in Western countries," Marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former CIA agent in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, told AFP, speaking in French. "In all countries, with the exception of perhaps the Netherlands and Denmark, it's time for rigor with the returning fighters. Politicians cannot afford to let even one person fall between the cracks and take action." The hundreds and soon thousands of veterans of the jihadist movement in Syria and Iraq who are beginning to return pose a difficult problem, Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute said. "Law enforcement is overwhelmed today, and it's going be even more so in a year in terms of the challenge that they face," she said. "There will be more people, and they're going to be better networked. And there is only so much that you can do to stop them," Zimmerman added. History has proven that it is necessary to closely monitor older jihadists who seem to have settled down, she said. "Look at Cherif Kouachi, one of the Charlie Hebdo shooters. He was in prison in the mid-2000s. It took him years to activate," Zimmerman said. For Nicholas Heras of the Center for a New American Security, the task at hand is not simple. "It's extremely difficult to differentiate those who come back because they don't believe in the cause any more from those who come back to wage jihad in another form," he said. "We need to engage with the families, with the communities. We need their help. We can't monitor these people 24/7," Heras said. 16 Dec - He may not have any movie screening for this year's Metro Manila Film Festival, but it doesn't mean that John Lloyd Cruz will not be involved in the festival. According to ABS-CBN News, the actor announced recently that he has been selected as part of the jury for this year's MMFF. "I am excited to be part of the jury this year. It's very exciting, so here I am. I am going to be here. I want to experience Christmas with the Philippine cinema," said the actor, who attended the Kapamilya Christmas Special on Tuesday. Although he will be watching all eight contending movies, Cruz admitted that he anticipates Star Cinema's entry, "Vince & Kath & James" the most. "I heard that it's very popular with the selection committee. I haven't seen it, so I cannot really say, but I am excited to see all the films. Besides, I am duty-bound. I am excited to see everything," he said. Last year, Cruz's movie "Honor Thy Father" made headlines after it was disqualified by the Metro Manila Film Festival Executive Committee from the Best Picture category. The reason given was that the film failed to disclose its participation as the opening film of the 2015 Cinema One Originals Film Festival. (Photo Source: John Lloyd Cruz TM Instagram) 16 Dec - Despite being spotted together for the umpteenth time recently, John Lloyd Cruz stressed that he and ex-girlfriend Angelica Panganiban are not getting back together. As reported on Coconuts Manila, the actor, who was seen backstage with the actress at the ABS-CBN Christmas Special recently, shared that they are still best friends with each other and that that fact will never change. "If anything, we don't want to lose the friendship. Nothing will ever change that," he reiterated. Cruz also refused to comment about whether or not there is a possibility for them to reconcile with Panganiban, saying that he wants to discover himself and his life. "You only live once, and I definitely want to make the most of it. Whatever it is that we're going through, it's going to be worth it," he said. (Photo Source: John Lloyd Cruz TM Instagram) (Reuters) - Johnston Press Plc (JPR.L), publisher of the Scotsman, the Yorkshire Post and a string of local newspapers, said it had agreed to sell its unit Johnston Publishing East Anglia Ltd to family-owned publisher Iliffe News and Media Ltd for 17 million pounds ($21.13 million) in cash. Shares in Johnston Press opened about 15 percent higher at 13.26 pence on the London Stock Exchange. Johnston Press has been battling a fall in advertising spending, much like other publishers, and has resorted to cutting jobs at an average rate of 12.2 percent in the last five years to reduce costs. The company, which has lost more than 90 percent of its market value since May 2014, has been selling off assets to reduce debt. The company said in July it would sell its Isle of Man titles to Tindle Newspapers for 4.25 million pounds. Johnston Press shareholder Crystal Amber Fund Ltd (CRS.L) can help management avoid a poor debt restructuring deal, the hedge fund's chief executive officer told Reuters in September. Johnston Press, which publishes the Suffolk Free Press, the Haverhill Echo, the Newmarket Journal, the Bury Free Press and the Diss Express in East Anglia, said proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce the company's net debt. The sale includes titles and related intellectual property rights of Johnston Publishing East Anglia and would help Johnston Press focus on its selected markets and digital growth, the company said in a statement. ($1 = 0.8044 pounds) (Reporting by Sanjeeban Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair) ( function() { var func = function() { var iframe_form = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-form-bad027747ea2c289320a7387ff8c374e-5854636a1d7b9'); var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-bad027747ea2c289320a7387ff8c374e-5854636a1d7b9'); if ( iframe_form && iframe ) { iframe_form.submit(); iframe.onload = function() { iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( { 'msg_type': 'poll_size', 'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-bad027747ea2c289320a7387ff8c374e-5854636a1d7b9' }, window.location.protocol + '//wpcomwidgets.com' ); } } // Autosize iframe var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) { var origin = document.createElement( 'a' ); origin.href = e.origin; // Verify message origin if ( 'wpcomwidgets.com' !== origin.host ) return; // Verify message is in a format we expect if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type ) return; switch ( e.data.msg_type ) { case 'poll_size:response': var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id ); if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width ) iframe.width = '100%'; if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height ) iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height ); return; default: return; } } if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) { window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false ); } else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) { window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse ); } } if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ } else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); } else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); } } )(); Its one of the still-burning question of the JonBenet Ramsey case, even after 20 years: Who wrote the ransom note found in the familys Boulder, Colorado, home shortly before the 6-year-old beauty queens body was found? Story continues In an upcoming episode of ABCs 20/20, veteran handwriting expert Cina Wong points the finger at Ramseys now-deceased mother, Patsy. It is highly probable she wrote the ransom note, Wong tells ABC News Amy Robach. Wong spent three weeks examining the handwriting on the three-page ransom note and comparing it to 100 samples of Patsys handwriting, finding more than 200 similarities between the two. You will see that just with the As, the ransom note writer has four different variations of the letter A, and then Patsy Ramsey uses the same variation of the four different types of As, Wong said. For more on the case of the JonBenet Ramsey case, watch JonBenet: The Untold Truth on our 10-part true crime show, People Magazine Investigates, airing Monday night at 10 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery. Wong also pointed out in the special that the ransom writer misplaced capital letters in a similar way to Patsy. WATCH: EXCLUSIVE clips of the People Magazine Investigates episode JonBenet: The Untold Truth on Investigation Discovery Patsy, who died of ovarian cancer in 2006, found the note on the bottom of the staircase of the family home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996. The note, purportedly from a small foreign faction, demanded $118,000 from the Ramsey family for the safe return of their daughter. Later that morning, JonBenet was found dead in the basement. She had been strangled. WATCH: Three Things To Know About JonBenet Ramsey & The Latest On The Hunt For Her Murderer The Ramseys have long denied any involvement in the murder of their daughter or that Patsy was the letter writer. In 2008, on the basis of DNA analysis from the crime scene, Boulder DA Mary Lacy issued a letter to John Ramsey stating we do not consider your immediate family including you, your wife, Patsy, and your son Burke to be under any suspicion in the commission of this crime. The current Boulder prosecutor tells PEOPLE that as the 20th anniversary of JonBenets death approaches, he has not wavered from his belief that his predecessor was wrong to publicly clear from suspicion parents John and Patsy Ramsey as well as brother Burke. I didnt feel the exoneration was warranted based on the state of the evidence and the complexity of the case. And I also thought it was a very unusual thing to do in a case where there had never been any charges filed, District Attorney Stan Garnett tells PEOPLE. 20/20 airs Friday, December 16 at 10:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Josh Groban is many things: a supremely talented vocal powerhouse, a charming comedic actor and, most recently, a leading man on the Great White Way. But thats not all. For all intents and purposes, hes Mr. Christmas of the 21st century. The release of his fourth album, 2007s Noel, not only cemented Grobans superstar status (it was the best-selling album in the United States that year), but it also launched him into the rarified yuletide strata occupied annually by festive legends like Nat King Cole, Perry Como and Mariah Carey. This year, Grobans starring role in the Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 will keep him in New York City through the holidays for the very first time. The Big Apple has plenty of merrimentthe Rockefeller Center tree, elaborate window displays, actual snow but door-to-door Christmas caroling can prove to be a challenge. So Groban decided to team with Grand Hyatt to spread a little cheer, the old-fashioned way. On Dec. 5 he offered a surprise serenade to fans and guests throughout the Manhattan hotel, decking the halls with a host of holiday classics, including his new single Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. If you werent lucky enough to catch the impromptu performance in person, the joy has been captured on film. It was seriously so much fun to shoot, Groban tells PEOPLE. We wanted it to have all the warmth of a great holiday video, but at the same time its very hard for me to do something that doesnt have a little humor and silliness infused into it. The clip starts off softly and simply, with just a solitary Groban at a piano, but it soon morphs into an over-the-top production on parade, brimming with costumes, dancers, ballerinas, lights and confetti. We wanted to have fun with it and have fun with the guests, he says. In case youre wondering, their shocked expressions are absolutely genuine. The fans were totally surprised, they had no idea, he admits. They knew they were there to be interviewed about something involving me, but they had no idea I was going to show up. So it was really a very spontaneous and fun day. Story continues The idea was for the fans to follow Groban throughout the hotel, Pied Piper-style, but the spontaneity of the shoot brought with it an element of risk. was saying, Just knock on the doors and hug then, then tell them to come into the hallway and follow you. And Im thinking, What if they dont follow me? What if they freak out and slam the door in my face? What if they call the police? Fortunately, no Grinches called the authorities, and Groban continued his way throughout the Grand Hyatt flanked by young dance students from Staten Islands P.S. 22. They were amazing! Those kids were so sweet. They had their moves down, they had the song learned. It was important to me that we had some great young students there who could be a part of this video and show their kids someday, he says. Students played a major role in the genesis of the production. Grand Hyatt recently donated $50,000 to Grobans Find Your Light Foundation, an organization dedicated to ensuring arts programs remain funded in public schools. I was a product of a great public arts education, says Groban. Ive seen it change lives, even when it doesnt involve turning into a professional. Sometimes its just needed to help a kid express themselves, to help a young person find out who they really are, or build confidence and leadership skills so that they raise their hand in class or feel like they want to do better on their tests. Its not just drum circlesit has a huge impact on a young persons life and on society. Groban credits an educator for helping him find his own light, spotting his vocal talent long before he realized it was there. There was a teacher in seventh grade that pulled me out from the back of the choir and gave me my first solo, he remembers. Ill never forget that. Its important that an educator is the person who gives you that pushbecause I was shy. So often, kids with talent or kids who have something to express the most sometimes are the ones who put themselves forward the least. I had a lot to say and I had a lot to sing, and I had a teacher that pushed me to the front and said, Hey, Im going to give you this song to sing. I heard you in the back and I think youre great. Though admittedly nervous (It was an assignment, so I couldnt say no, he laughs), the audiences reaction would have a profound effect on the rest of his life. It was like a made-for-TV movie. The kids gave me a standing ovation. My parents had never heard me sing before and they were crying. I was a shy kidI was weird, I was introverted and I was bullied. So having that experience to get out there and be good at something and express myself though this thing that I didnt even realize was there, it changed my whole life. Im not sure Id be here today if it wasnt for experiences like those. Grobans voice carried him all the way from the middle school stage in his native California to Broadway, where his proud parents will gather in the coming days. My familys flown in; its our first time spending the holidays here, he says of his Christmas plans. I got a tree. And Im going to the Imperial Theater eight times a week. So its a totally different kind of Christmas for me. And its magic. The holidays in New Yorktheres really nothing like it. 16 Dec - Actress Julia Montes has denied rumours of rift between her and fellow actress Yassi Pressman. As reported on ABS-CBN News, rumours of the conflict sparked recently, when Montes posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, "I just need some time to clear my head". Those who saw the photo speculated that Montes was unhappy that rumoured boyfriend, Coco Martin was working with Pressman in "Ang Probinsyano" in Dubai at the time. "You think there is an issue, but there is no issue. Actually, Yassi and I have been laughing at the reports," said the actress, when asked about it recently. Montes also denied that her Instagram post has any subliminal message, saying, "I was on vacation. They were working. There is no issue at all." As for rumours that her supposed relationship with Martin is on the rocks, she responded, "On the rocks? It's not even on the boat. There is nothing on the boat." (Photo Source: Julia Montes Instagram) Basyal is a former head of the economic research department, Nepal Rastra Bank, and former senior economic advisor to the Ministry of Finance. Julia Roberts is attached to star in a limited TV series based on Maria Semples bestselling novel Today Will Be Different, from Annapurna Pictures. Roberts also will produce, with Semple on board to write the adaptation. This is the first new series announced under Annapurnas new TV initiative, led by founder and CEO Megan Ellison and President of Television Sue Naegle. Today Will Be Different follows Eleanor Flood, admittedly a bit of a mess, as she decides that today is the day to tackle the little things that she has been neglecting. Of course, life gets in the way of success as a fake-sick son, errant husband, and a former colleague with bomb-dropping memoir derail her modest plan. Taking place over the course of one day, Today Will Be Different is about reinvention, sisterhood, and how sometimes it takes facing up to our former selves to truly begin living. Roberts will produce the series through her Red Om Films banner with Semple, Ellison and Naegle serving as executive producers. The series is a return to television for Roberts, who most recently starred in the HBO film The Normal Heart, and also marks a return to TV for Semple, who wrote for Arrested Development and Mad About You. UTA negotiated the deal on behalf of Semple, who is also repped by Anna Stein of ICM Partners for publishing. CAA negotiated the deal on behalf of Roberts. Related stories 'Big Short' Scribe Charles Randolph Sets Sex Harassment Pic; Roger Ailes Figures In The Plot 'Sausage Party's Seth Rogen On Meeting With Tom Rothman & Dodging Pitfalls Of Controversial Comedy Tonight's Hillary Clinton Fundraiser To Stream Globally Its been more than two weeks since Kanye West left the hospital after suffering a mental breakdown, and those close to the rapper say hes slowly working through his issues. Hes recovering, but not recovered, a West friend tells PEOPLE exclusively. Hes sick and every day he gets better. Earlier this week, another West source said the entertainer, 39 who caused controversy by meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday in New York City showed signs of trouble as early as Halloween. He wasnt making a lot of sense when he talked, and he was texting a lot of strange stuff to people, said the source. Two months before his breakdown, Kardashian West, 36, was robbed at gunpoint in Paris and had millions of dollars worth of jewelry stolen from her. This incident is what set off Wests breakdown, says the West friend. He was teetering on the edge and broke down. After seeking help for his issues, which another West confidant insisted were exacerbated by extreme sleep deprivation, those around the star are confident he will pull through. Says the friend: This is something he will deal with for life, but he can conquer it. GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) A Kentucky man has been convicted of reckless homicide in the death of his former girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter, whose body was disposed of in a well. The Glasgow Daily Times (http://bit.ly/2hM7jNi) reports that Barren County Circuit Court jurors also found Anthony Barbour guilty Thursday of tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Barbour had been charged with murder. Defense attorney Ken Garrett focused in his closing argument on shifting the blame from his client toward Kelsey Wallace, the mother of Laynee Mae Wallace, who died in May 2015. Barbour testified Wednesday, giving a different story than he initially told police because, he said, he had been covering for Wallace. He testified that when he returned home after being gone a few hours, Laynee was already dead and her mother said it was an accident. ___ Information from: Glasgow Daily Times, http://www.glasgowdailytimes.com Something tells us Kim Kardashian isnt exactly lacking in the Chanel bag department. (Photo: Getty Images) Kim K. has been keeping a low profile since her frightening and traumatic Paris robbery in October, in which she was bound and gagged in her hotel room while vandals stole $10 million worth of her jewels. In her first post to her app since that nightmare and in tribute to the September fashion issue of Harpers Bazaar, for which she and hub Kanye West grace the cover Kim keeps things light, telling a story about an emotional (but funny in retrospect) moment she had backstage at a CR Fashion Book shoot with Chanels Karl Lagerfeld when she was pregnant with daughter North West in early 2013. Well, she can laugh about it now. At the time, I was seven months pregnant with North and so nervous for my first big fashion shoot with these two icons (the other being Carine Roitfeld, global fashion director of Harpers Bazaar). Before the shoot, I was told that Karl supposedly gives you a Chanel purse the first time he works with you. The whole time, I was anxiously waiting to see if this legend was true, Kim writes in the newly published post. LOVE our September issue of @harpersbazaarus Styled by- @carineroitfeld ???? by- @karllagerfeld #Bazaaricons A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Jul 28, 2016 at 7:41am PDT Leave it to mama Kris Jenner, though, to upstage her famous daughter. During the shoot, my mom showed up to support me and she was all decked out in head-to-toe Chanel Im talking gloves, sunglasses, earrings, boots and a jacket, Kim remembers. I thought she was SO embarrassing, LOL, but Karl loved it so much that he pulled out a Chanel purse not just any purse but their beautiful crystal Lego clutch. I got so excited, thinking Karl was going to give me a surprise bag, but instead he goes straight to the Chanel queen herself: Kris Jenner. Feeling slighted but not wanting to let on to the gracious Lagerfeld she ducked into a room to have a hormonal outburst with her cousin on the phone. Girls gotta let it out to someone. I was very hormonal and emotional from my pregnancy, so I went to the bathroom to cry and then called my cousin Cici to calm me down. Kim writes. I was upset that my mom stole my moment! More importantly, I really wanted to one day give North that bag as a token from my only pregnancy shoot. Story continues A close-up of the infamous crystal-encrusted Lego Chanel purse, which Kris Jenner carried to the Chanel show in Paris. (Photo: Getty Images) Like a supportive and wise loved one would, Cici rose to the challenge and helped put things into perspective for Kim. Cici reminded me that I should be grateful for this opportunity and that I would laugh about it later on and she was right. Karl didnt even know I was upset; I totally played it off, like everything was fine. For this [September] Harpers Bazaar shoot, I finally told Karl and Carine this story, and they thought it was hilarious. Kim also reveals in her app post that she and Kanye flew to her more recent Harpers Bazaar shoot in Paris without their little ones, North and Saint, in tow, so they were able to get some great shuteye. We traveled alone, without the kids, so we slept on the plane the entire way there, she proclaims. Kim and Kanye for Harper's Bazaar September 2016 @bazaaruk A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@ultimatekimkwest) on Jul 28, 2016 at 7:13am PDT As anyone following celebrity news knows, Kanye has been having some pretty heavy issues of his own, after being briefly hospitalized for a breakdown and having his wife there as a support system every step of the way. Were delighted to see Kim reemerge, trying to move on from the dark times the couple has been experiencing. We can only hope they come out on the other side stronger from all of this. Oh, and dont feel too bad for Kimmy. According to People, she was gifted not one but two Chanel bags from Lagerfeld at the shoot for the September issue of Harpers Bazaar. That should more than make up for her mortifying moment! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Washington (AFP) - Russia's alleged cyber-meddling in the US presidential election demands immediate retaliation if the country is to deter future attacks of the kind, national security experts said Friday. Delivering a response could provide an important test of America's still-developing offensive cyber warfare capabilities, but any retaliation must be calibrated and proportional to keep from escalating the conflict, they said. President Barack Obama set the stage Friday for the riposte, pointing a finger directly at his Russian counterpart for a hacking and leaking operation the CIA believes aimed to damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said. While Moscow has denied the allegations as "ridiculous" -- as has President-elect Donald Trump -- the US leader said Russia needs to know there will be consequences to hacking. "Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you," Obama told a news conference. "Some of it we do publicly. Some of it we will do in a way that they know, but not everybody will." Retired Admiral James Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and now Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, said the need to retaliate was urgent. "We need to respond proportionally and immediately," he told AFP. "This should include presentation of evidence publicly followed by a similar intrusion into Russian cyber systems." - 'No choice but to respond' - Pressure on the White House to act has mounted since early October, when top US intelligence officials announced that "senior-most officials" in Russia were behind the break-ins to Democratic Party computers and email accounts that led to the publication of embarrassing documents by WikiLeaks. Vice President Joe Biden said at the time that the United States would retaliate to send a message to Putin. But there has been no evidence of any action since then, which analysts say risks sending adversaries a sign of weakness. Story continues "From a credibility perspective, we absolutely have no choice but to respond. Everyone is watching," said Frank Cilluffo, Director of George Washington University's Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. What Washington can do is another question. The eventual response could involve a combination of clandestine cyber retaliation and a more public intensification of sanctions against Russian companies and officials. Any cyber response would likely be led jointly by the CIA and the US military's Cyber Command. "It needs to be commensurate," Cilluffo said. But "you never want to limit your responses to one domain." One model is the tightening of US sanctions against North Korea after it leaked embarrassing communications from Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2014. The hermit nation suffered a still-unexplained 10-hour internet service outage a month later, which some suspect was US retaliation. Stavridis said a retaliatory US intrusion into Russia cyber systems could be accompanied by something public to damage the image of Putin and the Russian government among Russians. "Perhaps exposing financial malfeasance and corruption, or demonstrating how the Russian government illegally suppresses its people," he said. Washington could also extend sanctions already placed on Putin's top advisors, he added. Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell argued in October that the response to Russia must be open, not secret. "Physical attacks on networks is not something the US wants to do because we don't want to set a precedent for other countries to do it as well, including against us," he told NBC. "My own view is that our response shouldn't be covert -- it should be overt, for everybody to see." - No cyber-warfare playbook - Cilluffo says the US government has been slow to develop a "playbook" of a range of measured responses to cyber-attacks, as it has for the traditional battlefield. Doing so is crucial for managing any conflict, he adds. "We have some of the most advanced capabilities" in cyber warfare. "But we also have to realize that we are the most connected and have the most to lose," given that many smaller adversaries are still capable of what amounts to "cyber drive-by shootings." "Companies, the private sector are on the front line," he noted. Obama is also under the pressure of time. President-elect Trump takes office on January 20. His promise of a reset of relations with Russia, including possibly lifting sanctions, and his repeated dismissals of the Russian election hacking allegations, suggest he may not be willing to retaliate. That could be asking for more trouble, Stavridis says. "When nations have avoided retaliation," he said, "the level of attacks has increased." Heres what you need to know about the term gaslighting Once in a while, its normal to have a fleeting moment where you question your own sanity, like when youre severely sleep deprived or stressed out. But if a relationship leaves you constantly second-guessing your own instincts and feelings, you may be a victim of a sophisticated form of emotional abuse: gaslighting. Like other types of abuse, gaslighting can happen in all sorts of relationships, including personal, romantic, and professional. Ben Michaelis, PhD, a New York City-based clinical psychologist, has worked with victims of gaslighting. For one of his patientswell call her Mariethe gaslighting began when her husband shouted another womans name during sex. When she tried to discuss the incident with him, he flatly denied what hed said and told Marie she was hearing things. Marie figured she must have had too much to drink. But then the lying continued: Maries husband would change his alibi constantly, and when Marie questioned him, hed say she was acting delusional. It wasnt until almost a year later when Marie realized her husband had been hiding an affair the whole time. [Gaslighting] is like someone saying the sky is green over and over again, and at first youll be like no, no, says Gail Saltz, MD a psychiatrist and host of the podcast The Power of Different. Then over time the person starts to manipulate you into saying I guess I cant really see what color the sky is. Its just this sense of unreality. Acknowledging youre a victim of gaslighting like Marie did can be tricky at first, says Michaelis, who is the author of Your Next Big Thing: 10 Small Steps to Get Moving and Get Happy. Initially, if someone is insisting on a reality that is different from your own, youll think, Why was I off that day?Was I tired? As the gaslighting continues, victims begin to question themselves and their judgment more and more. Michaelis says this can go on for months or even years before they realize theyre being gaslighted. People who experience gaslighting may show obsessive-compulsive symptoms because they want to constantly check themselves and recheck themselves, says Dr. Michaelis. The confidence-depleting nature of gaslighting could contribute to increased anxiety in many or all aspects of a victims life, not only in the relationship. Many gaslighting victims berate themselves or feel the need to apologize all the time, explains Dr. Saltz. Story continues Gaslighting can manifest in a workplace environment as well. Your boss may use gaslighting to hide a mistake or cover up information they didnt mean to share, says Michaelis. It can also be a passive-aggressive gesture used among peers who are competing. If you realize youre being gaslighted, the first thing you need to recognize is that a gaslighter may not be conscious of the effects of their actions, especially if they have issues with being wrong or out of control. In this case, confronting the gaslighter could work. Michaelis suggests conducting all conversations you have with the gaslighter in a recorded format, like through email or text. Then, when gaslighting occurs, tell the person what they originally said. If they continue do deny what they said, you can supply the recorded evidence so they have a concrete understanding of what happened, says Michaelis. This method works best when confronting a friend or partner. In professional relationships, Michaelis suggests reaching out to a third party, like human resources, which can make the confrontation more objective. You can take this route in your personal relationships as well by enlisting a friend or family member to help. If you find it happening to you, be thoughtful of the persons motivations, Michaelis says. They dont usually do it out of pure ill-will. It usually correlates with trying to cover something up, so first try to repair the relationship if its worth it. If confrontation fails and ending the relationship is an option, Dr. Saltz recommends doing so. Michaelis agrees: All relationships are changeable. Maybe not immediately, but they are changeable or severable if need be, he says. If you have to stick it out with a gaslighter, though, try to boost your confidence with the support of good friends. If youre having a hard time changing the situation, they can bolster your reality otherwise, says Michaelis. In a work environment, you should also be wary of what information you share with a gaslighter. Michaelis suggests withholding personal life details with a gaslighting co-worker or boss to protect yourself from emotional abuse in the office. No matter which method you choose, its important to take control of reality again, says Dr. Saltz. This involves setting limits that stop gaslighting attempts in their tracks. For example, if your boss calls you overly sensitive when you ask, Why wont you let me work on big company projects? demand true feedback rather than accepting blame on your character. Its holding the line for what youre wanting to achieve, Dr. Saltz says, and not buying into accusations intended to knock down self-confidence. This article by Julia Naftulin originally appeared on Health.com Related Links Five women describe what its like to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer Amy Schumer responds to backlash about Barbie movie role This morning yoga sequence will give you more energy in just fifteen minutes The post Heres what you need to know about the term gaslighting appeared first on HelloGiggles. Jerusalem (AFP) - US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated hardliner David Friedman as the next ambassador to Israel, in a move welcomed by conservatives in the Jewish state but opposed by two-state campaigners. Here are some Friedman quotes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: - Jerusalem embassy - Israel seized Arab east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The city's status is one of the thorniest issue of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and foreign governments base their embassies in Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem. Friedman, who is Jewish, backs moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, saying in a Trump transition team statement Thursday that he wanted to work from "Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". - Settlements - Around 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the Jewish state also captured in 1967. The United Nations considers all settlements to be illegal, and settlement expansion has been a key source of friction between Israel's right-wing government and outgoing US President Barack Obama. Asked by AFP in October about Trump's view on the settlements, Friedman said: "I don't think he believes that the settlements are illegal." In a separate column for the Jerusalem Post, Friedman wrote that Trump would "not ask Israel to curtail its development" in the West Bank. - Palestinian state - The issue of an independent Palestinian state, the so-called two-state solution, is another question. Asked whether Trump would support Palestinian statehood, Friedman told Israeli newspaper Haaretz it was not an "American imperative". "The Israelis have to make the decision on whether or not to give up land to create a Palestinian state. If the Israelis don't want to do it, so he (Trump) doesn't think they should do it. It is their choice." Story continues Earlier this year, he wrote that leaders of J-Street, an American Jewish organisation that campaigns for Palestinian statehood, were "far worse than kapos". He was referring to inmates of Nazi concentration camps put in charge of other prisoners in return for special privileges. In the same article, he accused Obama of "blatant anti-Semitism" for not condemning incitement against Jews sufficiently. - Annexation - Right-wing Israeli politicians, including ministers, have repeatedly called for the country to annex parts of the West Bank -- claiming the territory as an integral part of Israel. The international community says large-scale annexation would make an independent Palestinian state near impossible. Asked whether Trump would support annexing parts of the West Bank, Friedman told Haaretz: "I would expect that he would." "I think there are parts of the West Bank that will stay part of Israel in any peace deal. I am sure he wouldn't have any problem with that at all." JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon speaks at a Remain in the EU campaign event attended by Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne (not shown) at JP Morgan's corporate centre in Bournemouth, southern Britain, June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. 2016 has been one for the history books. On Wall Street, the year started off with record low levels of activity in fact, the first quarter was the worst for equity, debt, loan, and advisory revenues since 2009 and took months to get back on track. Now the year is capping off with bank stocks on a tear since the November 8 election of Donald Trump as president. So where will we go from here? Business Insider spoke with a number of dealmakers about the biggest trends to expect in 2017 here's what they had to say. Here's how the Fed's decision to raise interest rates could impact your life. The US dollar has been on a tear, and that "will ultimately undermine economic prosperity globally." The market's reaction to Donald Trump's election is "pretty much the mirror image of what he might do." And the Trump rally will continue in 2017, according to Pimco. The official GOP biography of Trump's pick for Treasury secretary completely leaves out his 17 years at Goldman Sachs. There has been a board shake-up at Chipotle, and Bill Ackman is happy about it. The $300 generic EpiPen is here. Trivago's IPO fell below expectations. And a small hedge fund that says its reports have led to CEO outings has a new big short. Amazon is secretly building an "Uber for trucking" app, setting its sights on a massive $800 billion market. Drew Houston turned a lost USB drive into a $10 billion business and learned a lot about life along the way. And Facebook admitted, for the fourth time, that it messed up its measurement metrics. Audi has Business Insider's 2016 Infotainment System of the Year. Lastly, JPMorgan published a list of books you should read, albums you should listen to and places you should visit in 2017. Story continues Here are the top Wall Street headlines at midday DIMON: If you put "some of my liberal democratic friends" in charge of Singapore, "it would still be a backwater" JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is a fan of Singapore. Donald Trump has China's currency all wrong The Chinese yuan has been in a controlled decline since the beginning of 2014, falling 15% to 6.9610 per US dollar, as the People's Bank of China uses its not so invisible hand to navigate its economy through a bumpy period. Deutsche Bank to pay $37 million to settle charges it misled dark pool investors A unit of Deutsche Bank will pay $37 million to settle federal and state charges alleging the bank misled its dark pool clients about its order routing services, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Friday. Yield-starved investors should be looking at REITs The low-growth, low-yield global environment of the past few years made it increasingly difficult for investors to find attractive income opportunities. Wells Fargo says account openings fall in November Wells Fargo & Co reported another decline in monthly consumer account openings, indicating that the bank is having trouble rebuilding its reputation after a sales scandal. JPMORGAN: The biggest risk to stocks is from rising rates, but these 19 will be resilient The Federal Reserve did the expected this week and raised its benchmark interest rate. More From Business Insider Seoul (AFP) - The impeachment of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has no legal foundation, her lawyers argued Friday, as they submitted their defence against her ouster to the country's highest court. Parliament voted to impeach Park last week over a corruption scandal in which she allegedly colluded with a friend to strong-arm donations from large conglomerates to two dubious foundations. The case is now being considered by the Constitutional Court which has 180 days to rule on the validity of the impeachment that charged Park with multiple criminal and constitutional violations -- ranging from bribery to abuse of power. Submitting a 24-page rebuttal to the court, one of Park's lawyers, Lee Joong-Hwan, said the charges lacked any evidential grounds. "We can't accept that there was any violation of the constitution by the president... the impeachment motion should be rejected," Lee told reporters. Park has formally been identified as a suspect in what is an ongoing criminal investigation -- a first for a sitting South Korean president. She is accused of ordering aides to leak confidential state documents to her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, who has no official title or security clearance, and allowing her to meddle in some state affairs, including the appointment of top officials. Park faces the looming prospect of having her presidential palace raided by prosecutors, despite the objections of her aides. "We came to believe that it is necessary to raid certain parts of the (presidential) Blue House," Lee Kyu-Chul, a spokesman for the team of independent prosecutors on the case, said on Friday. The team -- appointed by lawmakers -- has recently taken over investigations by government prosecutors who had sought to raid Park's office in October but were turned away at the gate. Park's office has objected to any raid on the Blue House, citing a criminal code that bans any such action on state facilities deemed to be militarily important. Story continues Park also faces growing pressure to explain what she was doing on the day of the Sewol ferry disaster that killed 300 people in 2014. The impeachment motion accused her of failing to protect the lives of South Korean citizens. Testimony by several ex-presidential aides to a parliamentary investigative committee suggested Park had stayed in her residence after being informed of the unfolding crisis involving the sinking ferry. Following media reports that she spent the first critical hours having her hair styled, a group of Seoul lawmakers tried Friday to inspect venues inside the presidential palace as part of their committee's probe. But the Blue House turned them away, citing security reasons. The lawmakers had planned to meet with Park's stylists to find out how much time she spent on hair and makeup on the day of the ferry disaster. Tokyo (AFP) - The Kremlin on Friday slammed Washington for pointing the finger at President Vladimir Putin over cyber attacks targeting the US election, after Barack Obama pledged to retaliate against Russian hacking. "At this point they need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof. Otherwise this looks extremely scurrilous," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a visit to Japan. Obama on Thursday warned that the United States would take action against Moscow after the White House accused Putin of direct involvement in cyber attacks designed to influence the US election. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing." The outgoing US president's remarks dramatically upped the stakes in a dispute between the world's leading nuclear powers over interference that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican billionaire Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. Obama's threat came after the White House ratcheted up allegations over the Russian hacking by personally tying Kremlin strongman Putin to the attacks. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," one of his top advisers, Ben Rhodes, said earlier Thursday. Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election also puts the White House on a collision course with Trump, who has become increasingly isolated in questioning Russian involvement in hacks of Democratic Party emails that appeared to slow the momentum of Clinton's campaign. Obama is expected to be peppered with questions about the dispute and any subsequent action when he holds a news conference Friday at 2:15 pm (1915 GMT) before leaving for a vacation in Hawaii. KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Laguna Blends Inc. (CNSX:LAG) (OTC PINK: LAGBF) (LB6A.F) (the "Company" or "Laguna"), announces further to the news release dated December 12, 2016, Stuart Gray has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Company. Ray Grimm Jr. has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and will join the Board of Directors effective immediately. "The company thanks Stuart Gray for his initial services and assistance during the past 14.5 months. It's my intent to carry out his initial vision as the health and wellness benefits of Hemp and CBD products gain mass market awareness. There is a significant growth opportunity for Laguna Blends as we implement our new marketing strategies in early 2017," states Ray Grimm Jr. About Laguna Blends Inc. Laguna Blends is a market leader in the distribution of Hemp and CBD products. Lagunas growth strategy includes acquiring and incubating companies who formulate and or manufacture Hemp products. Laguna Blends markets Hemp products utilizing its B to B Network along with driving traffic to its online marketplace. It's Lagunas intent to provide the highest quality hemp product experience for the end user, utilizing a proprietary nanotechnology in many of its consumable and topical skin care products. Laguna is currently seeking joint ventures and acquisitions to expand its portfolio and will aggressively begin international expansion into Asia and Europe in 2017. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Ray Grimm Jr." President & CEO CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: Howe & Bay Suite 600 - 535 Howe St. Vancouver BC V6C 2Z4 1.604.449.5302 COMPANY: Laguna Blends ir@lagunablends.com www.lagunablends.com https://cbdskincream.com/ Join Us On Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/LagunaBlends/ Twitter: @LagunaBlends Forward-Looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to statements regarding the Company's business, products and future the Company's business, its product offerings and plans for sales and marketing. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, the risks that the Company's products and plan will vary from those stated in this news release and the Company may not be able to carry out its business plans as expected. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and makes no reference to profitability based on sales reported. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. SOURCE: Laguna Blends Inc. ROVANIEMI, Finland (Reuters) - At Santa Claus' Lapland home in Finland, his helpers sort out piles of letters from around the world, each detailing children's requests for this Christmas. In English, Italian or other languages, youngsters' handwriting adorn the envelopes addressed to Father Christmas, some decorated with colorful hearts and stars. As the holiday nears, every day is busy for Santa's team in Rovaniemi, which calls itself his official hometown, near the Arctic Circle. "Santa Claus is getting more and more popular, he receives about half a million letters every year from all around the world," Elina, who works as a postal elf, said. "We are busy here in Santa Claus' main post office at the Arctic Circle to help him open all the letters and get all the wishes ready for Christmas." A board in the post office says Santa can get some 32,000 letters a day at Christmas time. Last year, around 500,000 letters arrived. China, Poland, Italy, Britain, Finland, Japan and Russia top the list of senders. For a photo essay, click here: http://reut.rs/2hWcLJc Thousands of visitors come to see the Rovaniemi Santa attraction each year ahead of Christmas, meeting the man himself, his reindeer and enjoying the magical scenery. With just a few hours of light at this time of year, they make the most of sleigh rides among the snow-covered trees during the day. Lapland tourism is a rare bright spot in Finnish economy, which is struggling to recover from a long stagnation. Traveling to Lapland increased 10 percent from January to October to more than 2 million overnight stays, and the number is expected to hit a new record in the full year. "Another year is coming to its end and it has been a turbulent year with many big problems but also many very good things," Santa said in his Christmas message. "Now as Christmas is coming close, reach out for those who need a helping hand, do it with compassion - that's the real Christmas spirit." (Reporting by Reuters Television; Additional reporting by Pawel Kopczynski; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alison Williams) The last king of the isolated Himalayan region of Upper Mustang died Friday in Kathmandu, eight years after he lost his royal title when the centuries-old Buddhist monarchy was abolished. Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista, who was 86, reigned over the arid kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau for more than half a century before stepping down in 2008 when Nepal abolished its own monarchy. "He passed away at 1 am at the hospital this morning. He was admitted three days ago. He had not been well on and off since about a year. But was having more difficulty recently because of the cold," the former king's nephew Tsewang Bista told AFP. "We will have rituals until Sunday and the final rites will be performed on Monday in Kathmandu," he said. Nepal annexed the former kingdom of Lo in the 18th century, but allowed the king to retain his title. Bista succeeded his father Angun Tenzing Tandul in 1964, continuing a family line that could trace its lineage back to Ame Pal, the warrior who founded the kingdom in 1380. He supported a CIA-funded guerrilla campaign to oust Chinese forces from Tibet after a failed uprising in 1959, allowing Upper Mustang to be used as a base. Bista had lived most of his life in the medieval walled capital of Lo Manthang, but moved to Kathmandu over a year ago after he became ill, suffering from heart and kidney problems. He acted as a spiritual leader to the local Loba community, who speak a variant of Tibetan and are culturally and linguistically closer to Tibet than Nepal. Ringed by vast canyons and imposing red mountains, the remote kingdom has only recently begun to see glimmers of modernity after a new road connecting Upper Mustang to China and India was completed in 2014. The region was closed to visitors until 1992 and numbers are still strictly regulated. WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times local): 8:55 p.m. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney as his budget director, naming a tough-on-spending conservative and an advocate of balancing the federal budget to the important post. An official on Trump's transition team, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter before it is officially announced, confirmed Trump's pick Friday evening. Mulvaney, 49, was elected in the 2010 tea party wave and is a founder of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, whose members pushed former Speaker John Boehner from power and have caused heartburn for current Speaker Paul Ryan. As director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mulvaney would be responsible for crafting Trump's budget and overseeing the issuance of major regulations. Mulvaney's nomination would require Senate confirmation. By Andrew Taylor and Jonathan Lemire ___ 6:45 p.m. One of President-elect Donald Trump's top campaign advisers is moving forward with plans to form a nonprofit group that will support the Republican's agenda in the White House. The group is being formed with the backing of Trump and his family, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Brad Parscale, who steered the campaign's data and digital operations, is leading the effort. Parscale confirmed his involvement to The Associated Press, saying the group will be "about supporting the conservative agenda and what the Trump movement stands for." The approach follows a model used by President Barack Obama, whose political advisers ran the group Organizing for Action. By Julie Bykowicz and Julie Pace __ 1:35 p.m. An Indiana union leader says a manufacturer criticized by President-elect Donald Trump for its plans to move jobs at its Indianapolis plant to Mexico has reached a severance agreement with the plant's workers. United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones said Friday that Milwaukee-based Rexnord and the union local had reached an agreement that "provides some certainty and benefits" to 300 workers who will lose their jobs at the Indianapolis bearings plant. Story continues Rexnord's facility is near Carrier Corp., which Trump criticized during his election campaign for moving jobs to Mexico. Trump later touted a deal to save hundreds of those jobs in exchange for about $7 million in state tax breaks and grants. Trump later took to Twitter to rip Rexnord's plans to move to Mexico. Jones says he has no knowledge of any direct talks between Trump and Rexnord. Rexnord officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ___ 1: 10 p.m. Three protesters who sued Donald Trump claiming they were assaulted at one of his campaign rallies are asking the president-elect to sit for a deposition before he takes office next month. Trump's attorney says he intends to "oppose any efforts to dispose the president-elect." The protesters sued Trump this spring alleging they were assaulted at a March rally in Louisville, Kentucky, after Trump "incited a riot" by repeatedly shouting "get 'em out." Trump's attorney, R. Kent Westberry, filed a motion requesting the suit be dismissed. A federal judge must first rule on that issue before deciding whether Trump should be deposed. Greg Belzley, a lawyer representing the protesters, said they asked the judge to consider a deposition before Trump "assumes the burden of the presidency." ___ 12:55 p.m. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is defending the nation's intelligence officers amid dispute over the CIA's conclusion that Russian hacks were aimed at helping Donald Trump win the election. Trump himself has disputed the conclusion, calling it "ridiculous." He has also refused daily intelligence briefings. Without alluding specifically to those controversies, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina says in a statement Friday that the nation's intelligence professionals "check politics at the office door and focus on their mission. They are tasked with keeping our nation's leaders well-informed about events around the world." "We would all do well to remember the sacrifices they make on our behalf," Burr added. Burr also discussed plans for his committee to investigate Russian hacking efforts, as previously announced by Senate leaders. ___ 12:15 p.m. President Barack Obama's chief of staff Denis McDonough will have lunch Friday with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus. McDonough has invited Priebus to dine at the White House along with former White House chiefs of staff. The White House says the lunch is similar to a meeting that former President George W. Bush's chief of staff, Josh Bolten, held to welcome Rahm Emanuel, who was Obama's first chief of staff. Emanuel is among those invited on Friday, as are former Obama chiefs Bill Daley and Jacob Lew, who now serves as Treasury secretary. Others invited to attend include former Bush chiefs Bolten and Andy Card, as well as John Podesta, who chaired Hillary Clinton's campaign and was chief of staff to Bill Clinton. So are Samuel Skinner from George H.W. Bush's administration, Ken Duberstein from Ronald Reagan's administration and Jack Watson from Jimmy Carter's administration. ___ 3 a.m. Donald Trump's barnstorming tour across the states that won him the White House continues to feature far more taunts of triumph than notes of healing after a bruising election. Thursday's rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, found the president-elect calling for the mostly white crowd to cheer for African-Americans who were "smart" to heed his message and therefore "didn't come out to vote" for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump said: "That was the big thing, so thank you to the African-American community." Trump's victory lap continues Friday night with an event in Orlando, Florida, then wraps up Saturday in Mobile, Alabama. BOSTON (AP) A laundromat featured in the Ben Affleck movie "The Town" has been destroyed in a fire in Boston. The Monument Laundromat in the city's Charlestown section burned Friday in a blaze reported shortly before 7 a.m. Officials say several people were displaced from apartments in the two upper floors of the three-story building. No injuries were reported. The cause was still being investigated. The Boston Fire Department said temperatures in the single digits made for tough work for firefighters and caused some hydrants to freeze. Thick ice built up on firefighters' jackets, ladders and trucks. Affleck directed, co-wrote and starred in the 2010 movie. He introduces himself to his love interest in a scene set in the laundromat, which sits a few blocks from the Bunker Hill monument. BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) A judge has dismissed all eight complaints in a lawsuit filed against a Florida university by a fired professor known for his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children was staged. The Sun Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2gRo7Co ) reports Federal District Judge Robin Rosenberg wrote that James Tracy presented the court with a confusing lawsuit that mixed "multiple constitutional theories." Florida Atlantic University fired the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies professor earlier this year. He says he was fired in retaliation for private blog posts. Tracy has claimed the shooting in Connecticut four years ago this week was staged. Rosenberg dismissed several of Tracy's complaints with prejudice. Those portions included a complaint that his First Amendment rights were infringed. The judge ruled Tracy can refile other parts of the lawsuit. ___ Information from: Sun Sentinel , http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Leah Remini says Tom Cruise thinks shes literally the devil for leaving Scientology, the actress said in an interview on Larry King Now on Friday. During an appearance to promote her A&E docuseries Scientology and the Aftermath, Remini told King that given the chance, Tom Cruise, the most high-profile Scientologist, wouldnt speak to her, the controversial churchs most outspoken critic. He wouldnt say anything to me, because he thinks Im the devil, the King of Queens actress said. He honestly believes Tom and most Scientologists, all Scientologists are taught to believe that people like me are literally the devil, that we mean them harm. Also Read: Leah Remini's 'Scientology and the Aftermath:' 5 Shocking Accusations Against Controversial Church Remini also said that even though she believes Cruise is a true believer in the churchs teachings, he is well-aware of the negative impact it has on peoples lives. Tom is very well-aware of what is Scientology, truthfully, she said. He is very well-aware that its an organization that is defrauding people out of their lives. But in his heart, I believe he believes it. Tom is a fully dedicated and loyal Scientologist. Absolutely, she continued. I believe that he, like me, has been lied to. Also Read: 17 Hollywood Stars Who Dabbled in or Abandoned Scientology: From Leah Remini to Jerry Seinfeld (Photos) When asked if the Mission Impossible star could be described as delusional, Remini agreed, adding, I could say that about myself at the time. I didnt want to look, I didnt want to believe that what Ive been involved in my whole life was a lie, that it was damaging and hurting people, she said. Yeah, you can say I was delusional. Related stories from TheWrap: Leah Remini Tells 50 Cent That His Sexual History Is a 'Problem' (Video) 17 Hollywood Stars Who Dabbled in or Abandoned Scientology: From Leah Remini to Jerry Seinfeld (Photos) Leah Remini Scientology Series Draws Top A&E Premiere Ratings in Two Years Officials had said euthanizing the deer, which was being held at an East Harlem animal shelter, was the only humane and safe recourse. (WABC) The one-antlered male deer at the center of a dramatic dispute between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo died Friday afternoon, marking a tragic end to two days of local political bickering. The deer reportedly drew crowds after first appearing in Harlems Jackie Robinson Park earlier this month. But Lefty, as it was nicknamed, didnt come all the way to New York City to stay within the confines of a single park. So it began to wander, making it as far as a nearby housing project before getting captured early Thursday morning. That may have been the end of Leftys adventures in the big city, but it was just the beginning of what would become a heated debate over the beloved bucks future, pitting City Hall against the Governors Office. Not long after Lefty was captured, the deer was sentenced to death by the mayors office, which cited the advice of state Environmental Conservation Department officials, whod reportedly informed city park officials that the only other option would be to return the animal to Harlem. Were sort of backed into a corner here, de Blasio spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas said Thursday afternoon, according to the New York Times. Its not so much a decision as it is, This is the option. And so, at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday, the East Harlem animal shelter where Lefty had been booked earlier that day confirmed that it had been instructed by the mayors office to execute the animal. Its fate appeared to be sealed until just one hour later New York Gov. Cuomo stepped in and, according to a statement released by his office, directed DEC to offer assistance to the city to transport and find a new habitat for it immediately. Thats when things really started to heat up. According to the Times, state environmental officials claimed they had actually informed city officials that, rather than return the deer to the same densely populated part of East Harlem where it had been captured, they were welcome to release it somewhere within the 200 acres of woods that comprise Manhattans Inwood Hill Park. Story continues Not so, said de Blasios office, referring the Times to an email sent earlier that day to a city parks department official by state wildlife biologist Ken Scarlatelli that said, Bottom line is the options are release back into Harlem or euthanasia. The Times also noted that, according to state guidelines, not only is a permit is required in order to capture and relocate deer within New York state, but permits are not issued to relocate deer to the wild, because acceptable release sites are not available and because the poor chances for deer survival do not warrant the risks. Yet conservation department officials argued that there was technically no ban against relocation and that the city could have moved the deer anywhere it wanted. On the contrary, de Blasio spokeswoman Grybauskas insisted that the state had specifically instructed the city against transporting the animal across county lines. Releasing the deer in Manhattan is clearly not safe for New Yorkers or the animal, Grybauskas said in a statement late Thursday. and the states position was that euthanization was the preferred route. Later, the state reversed years of their own policy and offered to help relocate Lefty. The state itself has said it is not safe to relocate deer, and so the only humane and safe recourse is to euthanize the deer, and that will happen in the morning. The state conservation department replied with a statement of its own, reiterating that, while Leftys future was ultimately in the citys hands, we stand ready to assist the city with the safe transportation of the deer to an alternative location. The political tug of war continued well into the next day, with de Blasio defending the citys decision to kill the deer on his radio show Friday morning. This is a case where its a really bad situation, unfortunately, he said. Its nothing any of us want, but I think its a question of is it going to be a quick and merciful death versus potentially a very long, painful process. Relocating the deer, the mayor argued, would be inhumane in its own right. The governor disagreed. We want to do everything we can to save the Harlem deer, Cuomo tweeted shortly before 11:30 a.m. Friday. We have told the city that the feds or we can transport it upstate today. .@NYSDEC:We want to do everything we can to save the Harlem deer. We have told the city that the feds or we can transport it upstate today. Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 16, 2016 The fight to save Lefty had begun to gain steam on social media, while, according to the New York Daily News, veterinarians at the animal shelter in Harlem refused to euthanize the deer. Reluctantly, the city caved under pressure. Although survival rates for relocated deer are low and transport is a great stressor, DEC is the regulatory body here, read a statement issued by the NYC Parks Department around noon Friday, announcing that the deer would be transported upstate after all. Eric Phillips, De Blasios press secretary, tweeted the latest development while reiterating the citys disapproval, sparking a Twitter spat of his own with Cuomo communications director Rich Azzopardi. NYC isn't going to kill Harlem deer. State trying to transport it safely upstate. Inconsistent w/ experts/DEC policy, but we'll try & help. Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) December 16, 2016 .@RichAzzopardi let's hope for the deer's sake you're right. You guys heading to Staten Island w/ the transport van now? Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) December 16, 2016 Sadly, the Harlem deers new lease on life was cut short before it even started. Just a couple of hours after the city announced that it wouldnt kill the animal, Lefty died while awaiting relocation upstate. Sad news: while under the stress of captivity & while awaiting potential transport upstate by state DEC, the Harlem deer has died. Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) December 16, 2016 The finger-pointing carried on a little longer after Leftys life had ended. Unfortunately the deer has died due to stress, said Sam Biederman, a spokesman for the citys parks department. This is why the citys preference in this circumstance was humane euthanasia rather than subjecting the animal to the stress of transportation and relocation. Shortly after, the state offered its side of the story. We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat, DEC spokesman Sean Mahar said in a statement Friday afternoon. The City did not accept our offer until just before noon, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the Citys possession. LONDON (Reuters) - Residents in the southeast English village of Westfield have transformed their homes into a vast Christmas light show in order to raise money for charity. Around 30 homes in Westfield, Sussex, have taken up the annual challenge, with hundreds of bright lights decked out across exteriors and images of Father Christmas and snowmen dotted throughout the village. The light display, which runs until Jan 1 and attracts many curious visitors, has raised over 35,000 pounds ($43,500) for a Westfield hospice in the past. (Reporting by Toby Melville; Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by Tom Heneghan) By Jens Hack and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Praxair Inc and Linde AG, the industrial gas companies that agreed earlier this month to revive merger talks, are close to finalizing the terms of the potential deal, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The move comes after Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair provided new assurances to Munich, Germany-based Linde over corporate governance and jobs, the sources said. Its previous bid to create a $65 billion industrial gas giant failed in September amid disagreements over these issues. A final term sheet may be finalized by the two companies by next Wednesday or Thursday, the sources said, cautioning that it was always possible for last-minute disagreements to arise. The sources asked for anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Praxair and Linde offered no immediate comment. Linde and Praxair, alongside rivals Air Liquide SA and Air Products and Chemicals Inc, are struggling with slower economic growth that has weakened demand from the manufacturing, metals and energy industries and put pressure on smaller players, leading to further consolidation in the sector. Earlier on Friday, Juergen Wechsler, head of the IG Metall union in Bavaria, said "powerful forces" within the company are now at work to ensure that a consensus is reached about a combination. German unions IG BCE and IG Metall have struck a deal with Linde's management to avoid forced redundancies in Germany before 2021, Buechele said. "We will try to save as much as we can," Wechsler told Reuters. "It is about employees, locations, headquarters, and about co-determination," he said, adding that unions had already been given far-reaching assurances including a guarantee that a site in Dresden will not be closed. Wolfgang Buechele, the recently departed chief executive of Linde had sought up to 4,000 job cuts in Germany after the company broke off initial merger talks. On Dec. 7, Buechele paved the way to a revived deal by stepping down with immediate effect. "With the resumption of the talks, a successful merger is now drawing near," Buechele said in a statement at the time. Story continues Among other concessions Praxair has made to Linde to structure the deal as close to a merger of equals as possible, it has agreed for the combined company to have a second base in Munich, in addition to its headquarters in Connecticut, according to the sources. The combined company will also have two stock listings, one in New York and one in Frankfurt, according to the sources. (Reporting by Jens Hack in Munich and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Tina Bellon, Bernard Orr) London (AFP) - Lloyd's of London, the historic insurance market, has drawn up plans to move part of its operations to elsewhere within the European Union when Britain exits the bloc. The company had already warned before the June 23 referendum that it was examining contingency plans in the event of Brexit. "Following the referendum we committed to looking at the options that would allow the Lloyd's market to continue trading seamlessly with the EU," the group said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday. "This included establishing a subsidiary model amongst others. "We will continue to develop our plans on creating a subsidiary and will provide a detailed update to the market on the progress we have made early next year." Media reports suggested this week that Lloyd's has shortlisted five cities that could include Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris, but the group did not comment on this. Lloyd's added on Friday that it was in the interests of London's financial centre "to have ease of access to the EU's single market." Lloyd's currently enjoys "passporting" rights -- which allows EU member states to trade across national borders -- while it also benefits from trade agreements. It also provides a crucial gateway for international insurance companies to access the rest of the European Union. Britons voted in favour of quitting the EU despite repeated warnings from the business community over the impact of its departure. Premium computer and mobile accessories manufacturer, Logitech International SA LOGI has been enjoying a bull run. The company has returned a whopping 51.3% in the past six months, way ahead of the Zacks categorized Computer-Peripheral Equipment industry average of 21.6%. Analysts have been maintaining a neutral stance toward the stock as the Zacks Consensus Estimate remained unchanged at 88 cents for the past month. However, the stock has a whopping average positive surprise of 125.8%, beating estimates all through, in the trailing four quarters. Going forward, we believe that the stock has more room to run, based on the following drivers. Factors Driving Growth The Switzerland-based companys impressive growth drive is largely attributable to its sturdy business model, diligent restructuring and aggressive expansion into new business categories. Moreover, Logitechs quarterly results have been benefiting from its robust business model that focuses on maximizing profit in PC peripherals and expanding into new business categories. As part of its efforts to focus on its high-growth segments, Logitech spun off its struggling Lifesize video conferencing business, and also exited the market in which it supplied mice and keyboards to PC makers. Logitech plans to reduce its overall cost structure by slashing product, overhead and infrastructure costs. Going forward, the company expects to focus on making selective investments to ensure disciplined cost management in the coming quarters. The company is now focused on retail and online sales of accessories, which are turning out to be real profit churners. Encouragingly, the company is focused on venturing into new businesses and over the past three years, it has grown successful businesses, including Bluetooth Speakers and Video Collaboration via advanced offerings. Presently, most of the companys businesses including, Audio-PC & Wearables and Mobile Speakers, Video Collaboration, Retail and cloud-based video conferencing services, have been largely supplementing the top line. One of the companys most notable collaborations, with technology behemoth Apple Inc. AAPL is proving conducive to the growth of Tablet & Other Accessories segment. Also, gaming business is proving to be a major catalyst, backed by product launches, marketing initiatives and growing trend of PC gaming in the Asia Pacific. Story continues Moving ahead, the company has plans to tap the high potential market for accessories, by pursuing innovation and expanding its product lines. Most of its innovative offerings, like the fastest performing mouse and keyboard switches, have been enjoying an impressive traction, pumping revenues. The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is planning a range of product launches in the coming quarters, to reinforce its foothold in the market. Stocks to Consider Better-ranked stocks in the same space include Identiv Inc. INVE and Mercury Systems, Inc. MRCY, both holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Identiv recently broke its streak of missing earnings estimates, as it surpassed estimates by an impressive 64.3% in the last reported quarter. Mercury Systems has three beats over the trailing four quarters and boasts an average positive surprise of 79.1%. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report LOGITECH INTL (LOGI): Free Stock Analysis Report MERCURY SYSTEMS (MRCY): Free Stock Analysis Report IDENTIV INC (INVE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research * Etihad Abu Dhabi-Germany flights to carry LH code * Lufthansa flights to Rio and Bogota to carry EY code * Follows similar deals by Qantas/Emirates and BA/Qatar * Lufthansa also finalised Air Berlin lease deal (Recasts, adds details of lease, analyst comment, background) By Victoria Bryan and Peter Maushagen BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Lufthansa has struck its first cooperation deal with a Gulf rival, agreeing to sell tickets jointly with Etihad Airways on some routes and leaving the door open to further agreements in other areas. Germany's biggest airline has been a fierce critic of Gulf carriers on the grounds their state backing gives them an unfair competitive advantage and it has in the past objected to code-sharing by German rival Air Berlin and Etihad. Other airlines already work with fast-growing Middle Eastern carriers, however, and the code-sharing deal signed on Friday comes on top of Lufthansa's agreement to lease planes and crew from struggling Air Berlin, which is 29-percent owned by Etihad. Australia's Qantas Airways has a similar code-sharing agreement with Etihad rival Emirates while British Airways has a revenue-sharing deal with Qatar Airways, which owns 20 percent of BA's parent IAG. Independent industry consultant John Strickland said Lufthansa's deal with Etihad was a positive move. "Other major airline groups like IAG & Qantas have long seen the value of this," he said. Under the deal, Lufthansa will place its LH code on Etihad's flights between Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt and Munich. Lufthansa had previously scrapped its Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi flights saying they were not profitable due to overcapacity created by the code-share deal between Etihad and Air Berlin. Etihad will in turn put its EY code on Lufthansa's long-haul services between Frankfurt and Rio de Janeiro and Bogota. The two will also consider extending their cooperation in other areas, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement. Qatar and IAG, for example, have also cooperated on their cargo businesses. Story continues A source said Lufthansa and Etihad were planning code shares on more routes. A Lufthansa spokesman declined to comment further on possible areas of cooperation. Others analysts cautioned against reading too much into the deal, highlighting it was restricted in its scope for now. "The limited code share agreement announced today is in our view a marginal price component for the Air Berlin deal," Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Ruxandra Haradau-Doeser said, adding that she did not think a deeper partnership was likely. Strickland said the tie-up also showed pragmatism in light of the Air Berlin so-called wet lease deal, which will remove some excess capacity from the European market. Airlines have made a flood of seats available this year, taking advantage of lower oil prices to try to grab market share, but this led to lower ticket prices and put airline profits under pressure. Of the 38 Air Berlin planes in the wet lease deal, 33 A319 and A320 jets will go to Eurowings, which Lufthansa is expanding rapidly. Eurowings will use the Air Berlin planes to replace 20 older A320 jets, removing some of the extra seats from the market. Also, Eurowings said it will station four planes at a new base in Munich, traditionally a hub for Lufthansa-branded flights. (Additional reporting by Maria Sheahan,; editing by Greg Mahlich and David Clarke) FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit have agreed to mediated talks to resolve a row over contracts dating back to 2012, averting the threat of further strikes for a few more weeks, the two parties said on Friday. Lufthansa has been embroiled in a series of separate disputes with its pilots and cabin crew staff over pay and conditions as management seeks to reduce costs to compete with budget airlines and more efficient long-haul carriers. The mediation process is to start in early January and be completed within the month, during which time the pilots will not call for further strikes, Lufthansa and VC said in a statement on Friday. "The negotiating table is the only place where we can find solutions that offer prospects for employees and for the company," said Bettina Volkens, Lufthansa's head of personnel. Lufthansa's pilots have walked out 15 times since early 2014, costing the carrier hundreds of millions of euros in lost profits. Most recently, they were on strike for six days in November, costing the airline a further 100 million euros (83.58 million pound) in profits. The pilots have asked for an average annual pay increase of 3.7 percent over a five-year period back-dated to 2012, which is when their last collective bargaining contract with Lufthansa expired. The pilots say altogether these increases would amount to a rise of nearly 20 percent on current pay. Lufthansa has proposed an increase of 4.4 percent in two instalments in 2016 and 2017, plus a one-off payment worth 1.8 months' pay. CABIN CREW DISPUTE Separately, cabin crew union UFO said on Friday that three-way talks with Lufthansa's budget carrier Eurowings and fellow union Verdi had failed to reach an agreement. UFO has been trying to agree new contracts for staff at Eurowings for two years. But Verdi reached a separate agreement with the carrier earlier this month, which Eurowings wants to apply to all 450 cabin crew staff. Story continues Under the agreement with Verdi, flight attendants receive a retroactive pay increase of 2.5 percent from Oct. 1, followed by another 2.5 percent next year and 1.25 percent in 2018. "We have offered UFO the same agreement," Eurowings said on Friday. "We cannot have two different wage contracts with one group of workers," it added. Lufthansa wants Eurowings to become Europe's third largest point-to-point carrier. It announced on Friday it was leasing 38 planes and their crew from ailing rival Air Berlin (AB1.DE) from February and this week struck a deal for a full takeover of Brussels Airlines. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen; Editing by Greg Mahlich) By Kole Casule SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia's state election commission said on Friday it had annulled ballots cast at a single polling station and ordered a new vote there after accepting that one woman had been prevented from voting in Sunday's parliamentary election. The re-run ballot at the polling station with just 800 voters in the western town of Gostivar could potentially change the result of the election, which veteran leader Nikola Gruevski won with the slimmest of majorities. Ethnic Albanian party Besa had asked the election commission to overturn the result, saying the woman had not been allowed to vote because records erroneously showed she had already done so. Albanians, who make up about a third of the former Yugoslav republic's 2.1 million people, form a majority in Gostivar. State Election Commission chief Aleksandar Cicakovski said that appeal had been accepted and a fresh vote ordered. Preliminary results of the snap vote on Sunday showed Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE winning 51 seats in Macedonia's 120-seat parliament. The Social Democratic Union (SDSM) led by Zoran Zaev, Gruevski's main rival, won 49 seats, helped by the first significant shift toward the party by Albanian voters since a 2001 inter-ethnic conflict. Under Macedonia's multi-seat constituency system, that change means the result in Gostivar - just one of 2,973 polling stations in which 1.19 million people voted on Sunday - could affect the final result of the election. VMRO-DPMNE said it would appeal the electoral commission's decision. The administrative court should decide whether to allow the appeal within 48 hours. Up to a thousand VMRO-DPMNE supporters protested in front of the State Election Commission headquarters in Skopje on Thursday and Friday, claiming the party's victory was being stolen by the opposition and commission officials. The national election was called after Gruevski stepped down in January and handed over to a caretaker government following opposition allegations that he and his counterintelligence chief had tapped the phones of more than 20,000 people. In an EU-brokered deal, both main parties agreed to hold early elections and appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations which sparked a two-year-long national crisis. (Reporting by Kole Casule; Writing by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Catherine Evans) WARRI, Nigeria (AP) The Nigerian church that collapsed last weekend and killed scores of worshippers had many structural faults, and authorities ordered construction to stop multiple times, the head of the country's engineering regulatory body said Friday. The engineers involved should surrender to authorities, Kashim Ali, president of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, told The Associated Press. At least 160 people died in the collapse, though the state government puts the toll at 26 dead and three "unreconciled cases." Reigners Bible Church International was under construction in the southern city of Uyo when it hosted hundreds of people for the consecration of founder Akan Weeks as a bishop on Dec. 10. Metal girders and the corrugated iron roof crashed onto worshippers as the structure collapsed. Ali said a preliminary investigation has revealed that the church's construction, which began in 2013, was carried out without the required building permit, and that state authorities several times slapped "Stop Work" orders on the structure. The council's investigation also found that many columns and beams had inadequate stirrups, and base plates were too small for the trusses of the structure. Stirrups help prevent support beams from buckling. Uyo is the capital of Akwa Ibom State, whose governor has ordered the arrest of the church's chief engineer. Ali said he doubted any of the engineers were registered with the council, noting that many unqualified people are involved in construction in Nigeria. The engineers' investigation is independent of a panel of inquiry set up by the state government. Victims' bodies will not be released until security agencies finish investigating, said a statement on the state website. Buildings collapse often in this West African country because of endemic corruption, with contractors bribing inspectors to ignore shoddy work or a lack of permits. DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2106 / Despite the unknown of the evolving housing market, Texas continues to be one of the most attractive destinations for those who plan to relocate. The CEO of Western Rim Property Services, Marcus Hiles suggests that the growing popularity of the area is largely due to the high income and low costs of living ratio in Texas. With the vision to offer the best opportunities for elegant lifestyle, the premier property developer advises on the following tips to rely on when choosing from a variety of housing options. Whether you are looking to rent or buy a house, the constant dilemma is to understand if it is best to live a chic urban life or to settle in a luxurious suburban community. According to area's top real estate agents, in any given circumstance the cost per square foot in the city is twice as much as that of an outlying district. While it is crucial to think about financial aspects of the pursuit in order to stay on budget, the price is not the only thing that matters to buyers and renters. Employment factors are more important to take into account, as analysts suggest job creation rates to be several times higher in northern counties of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area than in the city itself. With the rise in labor market, the economy of the suburbs has soared significantly, with incomes increasing by approximately 30-50 percent compared with urban areas of Dallas and Fort Worth. As the average income goes up, the value of properties in the housing market moves upwards. Higher education, good health, and safety indicators are also associated with improved affluence and property value of the Fort Worth properties. https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles The internationally acclaimed real estate expert urges home seekers to search for communities that are sustainable and offer luxurious resort-like amenities. Before making the final decision, Marcus Hiles recommends to take into consideration features such as landscaping, private and public parks, and convenient parking. For those captivated by the dynamism and diversity of an urban life, Fort Worth is where artistic and cultural pursuits thrive most. Having a reputation for friendliness of the local population, the city was ranked as the "happiest" place among the United States' top ten markets, according to the Harris Poll Happiness Index. Fort Worth is famous with its stunning art shops, galleries, bars, and restaurants. Home to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and several world-class museums, this area of Texas has everything that "reflects the lifestyle you envision," says Hiles. Marcus Hiles, Texas visionary real estate developer, is the Founder of Western Rim Property Services and Newport Classic Homes. Coming from humble beginnings as the son of an inner-city minister, he manages over 15,000 upscale residential homes and apartments in Texas. Appealing to his community-centric vision, Hiles, a graduate of Rice and Pepperdine Universities, supports a number of charity initiatives, both in the United States and internationally, including public and private K-12 initiatives, after school programs, and university career services and placement programs. Marcus Hiles - Chairman & CEO of Western Rim Property Services: http://www.MarcusHiles-News.com Western Rim Property Services- Marcus Hiles - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Western-Rim-Property-Services-Marcus-Hiles-1013270532051763/ Marcus Hiles (@marcus_hiles) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles Marcus Hiles - New Luxury Apartments in Frisco, TX - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmsJNbfOh-g Contact Information: MarcusHiles-News.com marcus@marcushiles-news.com SOURCE: Marcus Hiles MILAN (Reuters) - The governments of Italy's two biggest cities came under judicial scrutiny on Friday, with Milan's mayor suspending himself from his duties and a top aide in Rome's administration put under arrest. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said late on Thursday he had learned from the media that he was under investigation in a case involving tender bids at last year's Expo world fair. "While I have not the slightest idea of the investigative allegations, I have decided to suspend myself from my position as mayor," Sala said, six months after taking over at Milan's city hall. In Rome, a judicial source said Raffaele Marra, an aide to Mayor Virginia Raggi of the 5-Star Movement, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of corruption linked to a 2013 real estate deal. The current administration is not implicated, the source said, but the arrest is the latest in a series of headaches for Raggi. Sala, who was backed by the Democratic Party headed by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to become mayor of Italy's financial capital, was in charge of Expo Milan 2015. Preparations for the event were blighted by a corruption scandal that led to the arrest of several top officials in 2014, laying bare the spread of mafia groups from their southern fiefdoms to the wealthier north. Raggi has been beset by resignations and infighting since winning the June election, when 5-Star, which was founded by comic Beppe Grillo, took on its biggest challenge yet as managers of the corruption-tainted capital. Raggi, whose party campaigns on promises to break with an establishment widely seen as corrupt, had originally named Marra as chief of staff before moving him to a human resources role. After 5-Star lawmaker Roberto Fico said the arrest was "a very serious thing" early on Friday, Raggi apologised to voters and the party, but rejected calls by opposition politicians that she should resign. "We trusted him (Marra); probably we made a mistake," Raggi said. "We apologise to Romans, to 5-Star supporters and to Beppe Grillo, who had expressed doubts" about Marra, she said. Carabinieri police searched Marra's office on Friday morning, the source said, a day after they seized documents at city hall relating to the hiring process in the city administration. (Reporting by Stephen Jewkes and Isla Binnie, additional reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio and Steve Scherer; Editing by Larry King) On Thursday, the 10,000th hand-finished McLaren sportscar rolled off the company's high-tech production line. The car in question, a 570S, will be heading straight to the company's heritage section, where it will be displayed alongside other historic road and track McLarens. Building 10,000 cars may not seem like a reason to celebrate in and of itself, but it is an incredible achievement for a boutique supercar company. McLaren Automotive has been in business for five years and every exclusive car it makes costs between $200,000 to $1.6 million. Yet in that short time, McLaren Automotive has been setting records. It is the first car company in modern times to turn a profit within two years of business and has seen sales almost double every year since 2011. "[This] is a significant milestone in the short history of the company. The fact that it took us 42 months to build our 5,000th car and just 22 months to build the next 5,000 speaks volumes about the pace of development of the company," said CEO, Mike Flewitt. Since launching, the company has built supercars, hybrid hypercars and is now moving into the more affordable super sportscar market -- where the Porsche 911 is king -- with the 570S and 570GT. These models have helped McLaren go from an annual production of 1654 cars in 2015 to a projected 3000+ in 2016. But that doesn't mean the company is moving away from exclusive dream car production. In November, it confirmed that it is to build a totally new type of car -- a hyper GT. It will have a three-seat layout, a hybrid powertrain and promises to be the company's fastest and most refined vehicle to date. "It's a car designed for longer journeys, but with the high levels of performance and driver engagement expected of any McLaren," explained Flewitt of the decision to call the car a Hyper-GT. "[It] will also deliver the highest levels of refinement, enabling significant journeys to be undertaken with up to three people aboard." The first customer deliveries for this car, codenamed BP23, will start in 2019 but there's a very good chance that a conceptual take on the project could make its debut at the 2017 Geneva motor show in March. BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she did not expect to take any decisions on Greece's bailout programme during talks in Berlin on Friday with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Greece snubbed its international lenders and legislated plans on Thursday to give pensioners a one-off Christmas bonus despite misgivings from creditors in a standoff over the country's third bailout. "We will definitely discuss the programme related to Greece's economic and financial situation," Merkel, standing next to Tsipras, told reporters before their talks. "However, I would say this is not the place for decisions to be taken. That is in good hands with the three institutions and the Eurogroup, but the Greek prime minister's assessment of the situation will certainly play a role in our discussions," she added. (Reporting by Paul Carrel and Michael Nienaber) BERLIN (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday his country was set for strong economic growth and this would help to "heal the wounds of crisis" after years of austerity imposed under international bailouts. On a visit to Berlin, Tsipras was keen to emphasize Greek progress on reforms demanded by Germany as the European Union's most powerful economy and paymaster - a situation that has made Merkel a hate figure for some Greeks. The trip's timing was also significant, as Greece wrangles with its creditors over terms for its current bailout, the latest of three. On Thursday it snubbed its lenders by passing legislation to give pensioners a one-off Christmas bonus. Tsipras told reporters before meeting Merkel that he would inform the chancellor of the positive momentum of the Greek economy and his government's "spectacular overachievement" of revenue targets. "The projections for the Greek economy are extremely positive for next year," Tsipras said, adding authorities expected 2.7 percent growth in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018. But Greece's economic development should not simply be confined to statistics and numbers, he added. "We want it to heal the wounds of crisis and to alleviate all those who have over these difficult years made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," Tsipras said. Years of enforced austerity in debt-laden Greece, required under the terms of two initial bailouts worth 240 billion euros and a current one worth 86 million, have strained relations with Germany. Some Greek demonstrators protested by dressing up as Nazis when Merkel visited the country in 2012. Last year, Germany dismissed demands form Athens to pay it reparations for World War Two. Seeking to turn the page, Tsipras said Greece needed to send a strong signal to international investors that the crisis was a thing of the past. Merkel showed little willingness to take a position on the disputed question of whether the pre-Christmas payout to pensioners was compatible with bailout obligations. Standing next to Tsipras, she said decisions lay in the hands of the three institutions handling negotiations with Greece - the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - but "the Greek prime minister's assessment of the situation will certainly play a role in our discussions." A German Finance Ministry spokesman said the institutions involved in Greece's aid programme were critical of Athens in a preliminary report assessing the unilaterally announced measure. "To make the aid programme a success, it's essential that measures are not decided unilaterally or are not taken back without advance notice," said spokesman Dennis Kolberg. The euro zone bailout fund ESM said on Wednesday that euro zone lenders had put a short-term debt relief deal on hold as a reaction to the actions by Greece. The deal, agreed on Dec. 5, would reduce its public debt by 20 percentage points of gross domestic product by 2060. (Reporting by Michele Kambas, Michael Nienaber and Paul Carrel; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) By the time Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is released Jan. 17 in the U.S., Milla Jovovich, the star of the franchise, will have been chiseling away at her masterful international action heroine role, Alice, for more than 15 years. I feel like Alice has grown so much, Jovovich says. Its so interesting to be able to go back and play the same character over and over. Youre definitely molding this person. But you have to let them breathe. It cant just be you trying to infuse yourself into them all the time. Milla, now a mother of two small children pauses thoughtfully, before adding, Youre raising them in a way just like a child. But if the idea of a strong female action star feels familiar or commonplace in 2016 it certainly wasnt that way when Jovovich was starting out. She had to look far and wide to find a role model. Now its so normal for women to be in action films but for me, Sigourney Weaver was pretty much the only female action hero of the 1980s. Jovovich, who moved to the U.S. from the Ukraine at age 5, started acting early, and would have probably been best remembered for her girl-next-door part in cult classic, Dazed and Confused, were it not for her casting in Luc Bessons sci-fi-actioner The Fifth Element, as the inimitable Leeloo. It was something that really opened up a whole new horizon for me in terms of what I was capable of, she says. When I got through with The Fifth Element I felt a bit like a superhero. Id just come off being Leeloo for more than half a year of my life. I definitely didnt want it to end. I think it very much pointed me in the direction my career would end up taking. Working on the Resident Evil franchise, Jovovich learned how to handle a gun and discovered shes a very sharp shot in addition to becoming adept at using the Filipino Kali sticks and Nepalese kukris. By the third film you could pretty much put any weapon in my hand, and with a little bit of practice, I was going to be pretty good at it, because I really loved it, she says. Story continues Even now, Jovovich says, shell be out taking the dogs for a walk, when shell pick up a stick and start twirling it, practicing her technique. After almost two decades, perhaps its hard to know where Jovovich ends and Alice begins. As for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter being the final chapter, Jovovich remains coy. I know that every movie weve made has been made as if it was the last, she says. Weve never rested on our laurels. I think thats why every film in the franchise has had its own unique feeling and can stand on its own. Related stories How 'Resident Evil' Producer Constantin Film Conquered the Globe How 'Resident Evil' Beat the Video-Game Movie Curse 'Resident Evil' Director Paul W.S. Anderson Muses on Zombie Zeitgeist The heartbroken mother of the high school student who was shot by a police officer as the teen brandished two knives on the campus has struggled to come to grips with what happened to her son. Read: Dad of Teen Shot at School Says Video Proves Son Was Bullied: 'He Wasn't Some Knife-Wielding Psychopath' My son's in a hospital bed right now," Cheryl Pitchford told Inside Edition. "And I know that he's only 14 years old. Her son, Logan Clark, remains in a coma after the incident, when the Nevada teen was shot by the cop at Hug High School in Reno earlier this month. I don't care what anybody says, he may never even have a chance to learn from his mistakes. Or mature out of this stage of life, into being a man. The man took that from him. A grown man took it from him. I just feel like it wasn't the answer to the situation, the distraught mother said. The drama at the high school was captured on shocking cell phone video and seen around the country. The emotional mother told Inside Edition: I won't even watch [the video]. I did scream when somebody showed me the end of it. It was really, really, really hard. I wont watch it, no. She is calling for officers to carry non-lethal weapons like Tasers and pepper spray. I know that I wouldn't shoot a 14-year-old kid if I worked at a school. I think they should be specially trained. I think they should carry Tasers, I think they should have an alternative way, she said. Read: Killer Son Who Took Selfie With Mom's Severed Head Gets 25 Years to Life On Thursday, Logans father told the Today show that his son had been bullied at the school and in the video he can be seen bleeding from the mouth, supposedly after an older student slugged him. Authorities insist the shooting was justified and that Logan ignored repeated commands to drop the two knives. Demick La Flamme, whose son is Logans close friend, told Inside Edition that the teen is "a good kid." Story continues Watch: 2 Women Rob Nun of Her Rosary Beads: Cops Related Articles: By Lisa Maria Garza DALLAS (Reuters) - Most of the nearly 320,000 residents of Corpus Christi, Texas, were relying on bottled water on Friday after possible contamination from an industrial chemical leak, while a tap water ban was lifted in some outlying areas. The ban on using tap water for drinking, food preparation and bathing has led to school cancellations, restaurant closures and social media reports by residents of price gouging on cases of water. "Right now, it looks like about 15 percent of the city has water thats flowing, Corpus Christi Mayor Dan McQueen told a news conference on Friday. "We still got a big issue out there. Weve got a lot of (bottled) water coming in and have stations for the public." The city said it had corrected problems in the outlying areas but the mayor did not know when the rest of the city's water supply would be accessible. The city has received assurances from the Texas governor that it would receive supplies of fresh water. The city was investigating the possible leak of up to 24 gallons (91 liters) of an asphalt emulsifier called Indulin AA-86. The chemical can cause eye and skin burns, respiratory tract irritation and damage to the digestive systems but is not known to be carcinogenic, according to safety data. The Gulf of Mexico coastal city, home to oil and petrochemicals operations and a large port, asked residents to use only bottled water until it could verify the water supply was safe. Michelle Horine, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House in Corpus Christi, said families of sick children receiving treatment have been relying heavily on hand sanitizers and taking sponge bathes with donated water. "All of our families have various conditions and they certainly don't need any additional health concerns," Horine told Reuters. "We can't wash our sheets, which is a major problem, so we can serve the next family. Energy company Valero said it believed the possible backflow problem came from third-party operations in the area of its asphalt terminal. (Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Dan Grebler) Bethlehem (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A senior Palestinian official warned US president-elect Donald Trump Friday that moving the American embassy to Jerusalem would destroy prospects of peace with Israel and push the region into turmoil. The remarks by the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat, came as Israeli officials praised Trump's decision to nominate hardliner David Friedman as envoy to the Jewish state. The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv before a final agreement on the conflict "will be the destruction of the peace process," Erekat told journalists. He also warned of the potential outcome of moving the embassy and a change in the "longstanding position" of the United States that considers "the settlements as illegal". "I look David Friedman and Trump in the eye and tell them -- if you were to take these steps of moving the embassy and annexing settlements in the West Bank, you are sending this region down the path of something that I call chaos, lawlessness and extremism," he said. Friedman, a bankruptcy attorney, supports settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, characterised by succesive US administrations as an "obstacle to peace" with the Palestinians. In a Trump transition team statement on Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to "doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". -'Great friend of Israel'- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing government welcomed on Friday Friedman's nomination. A source in Netanyahu's office said the premier was "pleased" with the appointment. "He knows David Friedman has the full confidence of President-Elect Trump and looks forward to working closely with him," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Story continues Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called the appointment "good news for Israel," while Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home said that Friedman was "a great friend of Israel." The United States and most UN member states do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel captured Arab east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The Palestinians claim it as the capital of a future state. The Yesha council, which represents the more than 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, praised the new ambassador-designate. "Friedman has a deep love for all of the land and people of Israel, including those in Judaea and Samaria," the group's foreign affairs envoy Oded Revivi said in a statement on Friday, using the biblical term by which the Israeli right describes the West Bank. "His knowledge and wisdom of the issues will strengthen the bridge between our great nations." The left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz was less welcoming. "By Israeli standards, Donald Trump's designated Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is an extreme right-winger," it commented. "He makes Benjamin Netanyahu seem like a left-wing defeatist." Trump may not formally abandon US support for an eventual "two-state solution" but Washington will likely not press its Israeli ally to make difficult concessions to revive the moribund peace process. Trump's spokesman Jason Miller made clear on Friday that Friedman has the president-elect's full support and that the plan to move the embassy will stand. The Palestinians, however, were not entirely convinced Trump's administration would indeed live up to its election promise of moving the embassy, and allow its ally Israel to move forward with settlement activity. Pushed on whether he thought Trump would indeed move the embassy and allow the annexation of West Bank settlements, Erekat said: "I don't think they will do it." "The United States at the end of the day is a country of institutions, and they are guided by their national interests," he said. Unusually for a series of genre films based on a video game, The Resident Evil franchise has retained a consistent look, tone, primary star, and central creative figurehead over the course of six films. Yet musically, the series has hit a number of surprising notes: even as the franchise stays true to its dark and moody aesthetic, its composers have found plenty of room to stretch. When Paul W.S. Anderson launched the Resident Evil film franchise back in 2002, the property already had a well-defined musical lineage with its namesake video games, thanks to the work of composer Masami Ueda in particular. But Anderson opted to go in an entirely different direction for his film. At the time, the director spoke of his love for early John Carpenter music, particularly the aggressive, electronically driven scores for Assault on Precinct 13 and The Fog. He described the ideal soundscape for his adaptation as resembling early Carpenter, but for the 21st Century. We needed something very different from the straight composer route. Appropriately, he turned to industrial rocker Marilyn Manson making his first, and, to date, only venture into film music and paired him with the more seasoned maestro Marco Beltrami, hot off his scores for Scream and Mimic. The two turned in a score that was heavier on atmospherics than melody, to be sure, there was a strong central theme, but the score was more concerned with conveying unease than harmony, with plenty of spooky soundscapes and jagged blasts of synthesized heavy metal guitar. But for 2004 sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the series took a different direction yet again. Composed by Jeff Danna, the second installment featured a classically arranged score with plenty of strings and themes, while still retaining the industrial abrasiveness of the first. Listen to the early action cue, Alice Battles the Nemesis, and you hear dissonant string arrangements married to a thunderous, high velocity-bpm electronic drumbeat; or Panic at the Gate, which balances booming brass riffs with all manner of squeaks, squeals, and other sounds of synthesized terror. Story continues The third entry, Resident Evil: Extinction, turned to another industrial rock veteran with a horror pedigree: Charlie Clouser, who put in years as a keyboardist with Nine Inch Nails before scoring for the Saw franchise. The fourth and fifth Evils saw some continuity in the scoring department, both handled by transmedia company tomandandy, which kept things firmly in the grim mold of previous entries. For its upcoming sixth installment, Anderson and Co. will welcome yet another new composer, and judging from his resume, he ought to find the film both perfectly in his wheelhouse, and an opportunity to stretch into some interesting directions. Composing duties for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter will be shouldered by Paul Haslinger, late of AMCs similarly zombie-themed Fear the Walking Dead. Prior to that gig, the Austrian-born scorer put in plenty of time with both video games and horror films, composing for several installments of the Underworld franchise, as well as serving as an arranger for Graeme Revells score to Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, back when Evil was first getting off the ground. Haslingers discography is an intriguing one: prior to working in film, he spent half a decade with electronic music pioneers Tangerine Dream, and also has strong bonafides in experimental composition. If any composer can send the franchise out on a high note, Haslinger ought to be more than up to the task. Related stories 'Resident Evil: Vendetta' set for 2017 Release in Japan TV News Roundup: Marilyn Manson Visits 'Salem,' 'Real Husbands of Hollywood' Renewed & More Watch Johnny Depp's Surprise Performance at Marilyn Manson's Halloween Show (Reuters) - Mylan NV, which has come under fire for its drug pricing, said on Friday it would start selling a generic version of its life-saving EpiPen allergy treatment for $300 per two-pack, a more than 50 percent discount. The company has been under investigation by the U.S. government, and its chief executive was called before Congress to testify on raising the price of a pair of EpiPens to more than $600 from $100 in 2008. Mylan, which first announced it would launch the generic version of its allergy auto-injector EpiPen for $300 in August, said the authorized generic would be available in pharmacies starting next week. Mylan's move comes a day after 20 U.S. states filed a lawsuit over pricing against generic drugmakers, including Mylan, Teva Pharmaceuticals and four other generic drugmakers. The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday filed criminal charges against two generic drug industry executives, alleging that they colluded to fix prices and split up market share. The cases are part of a broader generic drug pricing probe that is under way at the state and federal level, as well as in the U.S. Congress. In 2014, media reports of sharply rising drug prices led to Congressional hearings. Mylan has been criticized for classifying EpiPen as a generic product, which led to its paying significantly smaller rebates to state Medicaid programs for the poor than if the drug were classified as branded. The company said in October that it would pay $465 million to settle questions on the impact of the classification on U.S. government healthcare costs. Mylan said earlier this month it expected to cut less than 10 percent of its workforce to integrate its acquisitions. Mylan's shares were up about 1 percent in early trading on Friday. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto) Catch up on this weeks best celeb interviews before the weekend! MythBusters Tory Belleci revealed that he was once considered for the starring role in The Bachelor, Coco Austin got vajazzled with Us and stars spilled on who they want to meet under the mistletoe this holiday season. See it all in the video above! PHOTOS: Stars They're Just Like Us! Belleci, 46, told Us Weekly Video that The Bachelor producers approached him years ago to hand out roses on the hit ABC dating show. The Discovery Channel star said, They called me and they said this is a while ago but theyre like, Were looking for a Bachelor. Your names on the list,' and I was like, What would I do?' I could have been that guy. PHOTOS: Here Are the 9 Most-Pinned Drugstore Beauty Products Meanwhile, the Ice Loves Coco alum, 37, brought Us along as she got vajazzled as part of our brand-new exclusive digital series Out of This World With Coco Austin. The reality star headed to NYCs Brazil Bronze Soho to get a sexy surprise on her lady bits for her husband, Ice T. Can I have more vajazzle, please, darling? she asked. Maybe Ice is going to be turned on. PHOTOS: Celebrities Christmas Trees and Festive Holiday Decorations 2016 Plus, celebs helped get Us in the holiday spirit by dishing on who they hope to kiss under the mistletoe and the weirdest gifts theyve ever gotten. Olivia Culpo said the one present that left her unimpressed was from her brother. My brother gave me a macaroni necklace, and hes like 23, she said. The Bachelorettes Ashley Iaconetti added that she has a man in mind for a holiday kiss. Im obsessed with Ryan Phillippe. Hes the only guy that could walk into my apartment and be like, Im going to have my way with you,' and Id be like, 'OK.'" Watch the clip above to see the outcome of Austins vajazzling and more holiday answers! Related Content: Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f321191%2fb6849da3-a63c-4c76-b47a-1716e5789521 Think your only options are to be naughty or nice? Well, these carolers are downright nasty. The New York City chapter of reproductive rights nonprofit National Organization for Women (NOW-NYC) recently released the Nasty Women's Choir Songbook, an online collection of cheeky anti-Trump carols set to the tune of classics. SEE ALSO: Tumblr is the one social platform taking action ahead of Trump's America The scathing song lyrics champion reproductive rights and sex positivity, while also openly criticizing Trump's projected policies with hilarious takedowns. The songs are anything but your grandma's Christmas carols unless, of course, Grandma is a radical reproductive rights activist and self-proclaimed "nasty woman." Though the Nasty Women's Choir Songbook will leave you giggling, the tunes are inspired by Trump's sexist and hostile rhetoric and the real fear they have inspired in women across the country. "We were inspired by the surge in interest in IUDs following the election, and the reality that Trump and his incoming administration is openly hostile to real women's health needs," Jean Bucaria, deputy director of NOW-NYC and Nasty Women's Choir participant, told Mashable. "This is a way for us to raise our voice in protest and have some fun doing it." Image: Now-NYC On Dec. 17, NOW-NYC members and supporters of reproductive rights will come together to sing the tunes in three popular locations throughout the city: Washington Square Park, Bryant Park and Columbus Circle. "We are singing out as loud, proud nasty women," Bucaria says. "We're grabbing our birth control and our choices over our health and bodies, and we won't be letting anyone else do the grabbing for us not even the next commander-in-chief." Bucaria says reaction to the cheeky songs has been overwhelmingly positive so far, providing a sense of comic relief to those deeply concerned about Trump's impending presidency. Story continues "People are getting laughs in this disheartening time for women's rights, so they are cathartic," she says. "These are not your stock holiday songs. We are getting real here." But given the post-election climate and their anti-Trump messages, the group expects some hostility in reaction to their radical caroling. But, Bucaria says, NOW-NYC isn't going to back down. "If we are doing our job as an organization standing up and fighting to protect the rights of women and girls then we are always going to get some pushback," Bucaria says. "But it's in these moments when raising our voices and coming together is most important." The group encourages nasty women across the country to download the songbook and organize their own harmonized Trump takedown. Supporters can share their renditions of the delightfully savage songs using the hashtag #nastyornice. BONUS: Women donate to Planned Parenthood in Mike Pence's name Nearly 6,000 people have been killed in relation to President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs campaign in the Philippines since he came to power on June 30, reports said Tuesday, citing police records. The casualties reportedly include teenagers and even an anti-drug activist. Dutertes controversial war on drugs, criticized by several world leaders, including President Barack Obama and international organizations like the United Nations, was put in place to crack down rampant drug use in the country. While Duterte put the number of drug addicts in the Philippines at an estimated three to four million, there were an estimated 1.8 million current drug users and at least 4.8 million people who said they used an illegal drug at some point in their lives, Filipino newspaper the Rappler reported. The Rappler puts the number of people killed in relation to the anti-drug drive at 6,095 as of Dec. 14, 2016, including 3,993 extrajudicial killings. According to Al Jazeera, on an average, 36 people were killed every day during the first 168 days of Dutertes presidency. In the first four days of his presidency, 11 people were killed every day on an average. Drug killings Philippines Photo: REUTERS/EZRA ACAYAN Duterte was accused of violating human rights but the 71-year-old leader, referred to as the Trump of the East, dismissed the accusations calling them stupid.He recently admitted to personally killing criminals when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao, home to nearly 1.5 million people. In Davao I used to do it personally. Just to show to the guys [police officers] that if I can do it, why cant you, he reportedly said Wednesday. And Id go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around, and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also. I was really looking for a confrontation so I could kill. Story continues Two Philippine senators Sen. Leila de Lima, Dutertes most vocal critic, and Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the senate justice committee said this latest admission from Duterte served as grounds for impeachment. That is betrayal of public trust and that constitutes high crimes because mass murders certainly fall into the category of high crimes. And high crimes is a ground for impeachment under the constitution, de Lima reportedly said. However, the former Mayor of Davao retained his very good opinion-poll rating six months since he took office despite the frequent attacks on world leaders and his anti-drug drive. Duterte had a net satisfaction rating of 63 percent, just shy of the 64 percent he registered in September. Related Articles Nelufar Hedayats mother moved her from their native country of Afghanistan to London when she was 6. She went back when she was 21, experiencing her culture with a set of new eyes for the BBC documentary Women, Weddings, War and Me. The documentarys success allowed Hedayat to continue her broadcasting career, most recently with FUSION The Traffickers. PEOPLE spoke to Nel about her life and how her identities as refugee, woman and journalist collide in 2016. The first time that I heard real life artillery fire, when I was in Libya during the Arab Spring, I had flashbacks that I didnt know I was going to have, Hedayat explains to PEOPLE. I remembered the sounds of war. My mom was a civil engineer, my dad was a professor of mathematics. My mom was the first of her entire generation in her family to get a university degree. Then, in 1989, when she was a newborn, Hedayats life changed completely. My grandmother, my mothers mother, died during the worst time in my life, basically, when my dad was conscripted into the army in 1989. The Russians have basically fallen. The Berlin Wall had come down, the USSR was failing, but it took quite some time for the effects of what was happening in the West to reach the ex-Soviet nations, of which Afghanistan was a satellite. And we were living in this hellhole, my mothers hair was falling out from the stress, she had a newborn, and my father was missing, presumed dead I didnt see my dad until I was 7. My mom tells me sometimes shell talk and sometimes she wont When I heard about the raping and the mutilation of women, and when she heard about the absolute disregard for human life on the streets of Kabul, some kind of penny-drop moment happened and she thought, How am I going to take my daughter back into that? Hedayats mother moved her to North London, and her father eventually joined them there. When we came to London, he cleaned toilets in hotel rooms and my mother was a housewife. And Im not ashamed of that I say that with humongous pride and respect. I was born in one of the poorest, most corrupt nations on Earth and that hasnt changed in 20 years but the resilience of the people of Syria, of Afghanistan, of Iraq, means that we will want to better ourselves. Nobody wants this. Nobody wants to leave their home; but when youre thrown into it, you have to make some really difficult decisions, like, Do you want to go back to somewhere where your daughter might be raped? Story continues Fusion Thinking about her mother making that decision, Hedayat says, shes a hero of mine. I dont know how the hell she managed. Shes so ordinary in her extraordinariness nowadays, that its remarkable for me to imagine her having to do what she did 25 years ago. For the Hedayats, like for so many refugees: The plan was never to leave Afghanistan. The plan was always to go back. And this is how it is for the millions of refugees currently in Greece and Italy and the Mediterranean. But there comes a point as a mother or a refugee where you say, Theres no future here. Hedayat received a more or less traditional British upbringing, matriculating through the primary and secondary school systems. I loved school! Id never went to school properly before I went to the U.K. Trying to understand slang and gender politics I found knickers very confusing. But I was having a blast. And then 9/11 happened. And then it got really bad. I remember I was in food technology lessons and chairs would get thrown at me. And people would say all sorts of terrible things to me. Sept. 21 forced people to take a side. So, some of my friends, of the 10 or 15 that Id grown up with, maybe nine became very religious. They started wearing hijabs again. And my mom had brought me up to be a very tolerant, temperate Muslim, so I wasnt going to do that. So there was this polarization, but I wanted to be in both worlds. Hedayat got her chance to start broadcasting while at university, through the BBC. She returned to Afghanistan for the first time when she was 21, filming the experience for her first documentary for the channel. I put on a burqa for the first time making that documentary. I went and bought one for the first time. It was one of the saddest moments of my life. I felt like Id been punched in the gut. I felt like I was nothing. Trying to live in both worlds, as it were, hasnt been easy for Hedayat. Besides her own internal struggles When Im in the U.K., I never feel more Afghan, and when Im in Afghanistan, I never feel more British, she notes I get more messages and tweets and Facebook messages from Muslims who hate me than non-Muslims who hate me, she says. Because I embody everything that ISIS hates. Her commitment to her work, and the various routes that it takes her down, though, is crystal clear. And with life as a refugee becoming a sad norm for huge swaths of the worlds population, Hedayats work is more important than ever, even as she sees the challenges in it: You cant stand there and tell the truth with a capital T; its too multifaceted. Because thats the reality of the world today, nothing is as black and white as it seems. The Traffickers is on Sundays on FUSION, or buy a season pass to the show on iTunes here. Follow Hedayat on Twitter here. LONDON (Reuters) - A neo-Nazi organization that praised the murderer of lawmaker Jo Cox has become the first far-right group in Britain to be banned as a terrorist organization, the Home Office said on Friday. National Action was banned under the Terrorism Act 2000 meaning that to be a member or open supporter of the group is now a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. "National Action is a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organization which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology," said Home Secretary Amber Rudd in a statement. Rudd laid an order before parliament on Monday to ban the three-year-old group. The Home Office said Rudds decision to proscribe the organization was made before the trial this year of Thomas Mair who was sentenced to life last month for the murder of Cox who was shot and stabbed to death in the street before a meeting with constituents. National Action had posted several messages expressing support for the Nazi-obsessed Mair and the group's slogan "death to traitors, freedom for Britain", was the only statement given by Mair in court. It becomes the 71st organization to be proscribed in Britain, alongside 14 organizations connected to Northern Ireland. (Reporting by Camilla Hodgson; editing by Stephen Addison) Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Friday on residents of a wildcat Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank to refrain from violence against security forces during their imminent eviction. "My heart is with you," Netanyahu said in an address to 40 families facing a court order to leave the Amona outpost by December 25 because it was found to have been built on private Palestinian land. The Amona residents had rejected early Thursday a government proposal to leave voluntarily, raising fears of violence as the relocation deadline approached. "I call on everyone to act responsibly -- do not harm IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers or security forces in any way. These are our sons," Netanyahu said in a video posted on his Facebook page. "There is no room for violence," he said, calling on Amona parents to keep their children away from the outpost during the eviction, the date of which is not publicly known. Netanyahu also stressed the importance of upholding the law which also applies to illegal Arab construction in Israel. "The court ruling binds us all, it binds the government too. But the law must be equitable. The same law that necessitates Amona's evacuation necessitates the evacuation of illegal construction in other parts of our country," he said. "I have therefore ordered to expedite the demolition of illegal construction in the Negev, in Wadi Ara, the Galilee, the centre -- in all parts of the country," Netanyahu said of areas with significant Arab populations. "I won't tolerate double standards in enforcing construction (laws) between Israeli citizens, whether Jewish or Arab." The dispute over whether to demolish the Amona outpost northeast of Ramallah has taken on international importance because of concern over settlement expansion in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, are seen as illegal under international law, but Israel differentiates between those it has approved and those it has not. Story continues Settlements such as Amona -- those that Israel has not approved -- are called outposts. Amona residents responded to Netanyahu's video, saying they "were not seeking empathy." "We expect the person leading a state to be capable of finding a way to prevent the terrible injustice about to happen," a statement issued by a spokesman for the outpost said. Chinas sprawling and sophisticated system of censorship is well-known. But it would be a mistake to conclude that the system is static, suppressing news on a standard list of politically sensitive topics. An analysis of leaked party directives to media outlets shows that from one year to the next, there are notable shifts in the types of stories that Chinese government censors are most interested in squelching or amplifying. In 2016, protecting official reputations and influencing coverage of foreign affairs outranked economics, reversing their relative positions in 2015 and illustrating how Chinese Communist Party leaders deploy suppressive tools to meet the needs of their evolving political sensitivities. On an almost daily basis, Chinas ruling party and the state apparatus it controls relay detailed instructions to news outlets, websites, and social media administrators throughout the country on whether and how to cover breaking news stories and related commentary. A sampling of these are leaked each year and published by the non-profit California-based website China Digital Times. The collection is not exhaustive, but given the opacity of Chinese government decision-making, the orders offer unique insights into party leaders priorities and their favored methods of guiding public opinion in a changing technological landscape. For the past three years, researchers at the Washington, DC-based Freedom House, including this author, have analyzed hundreds of these leaked directives, including all of those from 2016 that were available in CDTs collection as of December 1. Among the directives from 2016 analyzed, 86 ordered negative actions such as deleting an article, declining to send reporters to cover a news event, or closing the relevant comment sections on websites while 23 mandated affirmative actions to promote the party line such as covering specific topics or using only copy from the official Xinhua news agency on a given story. (Some ordered both.) While it is difficult to verify the orders authenticity beyond the efforts of the CDT staff, the leaked documents often match visible shifts in overall coverage and are generally treated as credible by observers of Chinese media. Story continues The most commonly targeted categories of emerging news in 2016 were as follows: Party and official reputation: A total of 19 directives restricted circulation of content or news that would undermine the public image of individual officials or the partys activities, including four directives designed to curb disrespectful or humorous references to Chinese president Xi Jinping. An additional four directives ordered positive actions related to Xis image, including one from July instructing all websites to promote an article describing how Xis speech on the partys 95th anniversary evoked a strong response among listeners. Health and safety:A total of 18 directives restricted coverage of man-made accidents, environmental pollution, or food and drug safety. Even investigations by favored commercial news outlets were not spared. Do not reprint or hype [digital outlet] The Papers article, Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Unrefrigerated Vaccines Flow into 18 Provinces: Possibly Affect Human Life, reads one order from March. Other directives barred coverage on the anniversary of fatal chemical explosions in the northeastern city of Tianjin and stymied reporting on a medical advertising scandal that was widely blamed for the death of a young cancer patient. Foreign affairs: In a year that included presidential elections in the United States and Taiwan, nuclear provocations by North Korea, and rising tensions in the South China Sea, 15 directives sought to curtail Chinese audiences access to news about events occurring outside of mainland China. Elections and referendums which might draw attention to the partys lack of democratic credentials emerged as particularly touchy topics. Nine directives restricted coverage of developments such as the U.S. presidential debates, the election of opposition candidate Tsai Ing-wen as president of Taiwan, and Britains vote to leave the European Union. Official wrongdoing: A total of 13 directives restricted coverage of official wrongdoing, including news of Chinese elites control of overseas entities as revealed in the Panama Papers, incidents of embezzlement, and high-level corruption cases like the sentencing of former security czar Zhou Yongkang in June. This indicates that even as party leaders engage in a high-profile effort to curb graft, they remain aware that extensive reporting on the details of corruption cases could lead to more public awareness of the problem, undermining party credibility. Five directives restricted coverage of police misconduct, including one wrongful execution and one suspicious death in custody. Media and censorship:Eleven directives restricted circulation of content from less tightly controlled media sources (like the commercial outlet Caixin or a popular Korean drama) or to reporting on information controls themselves, such as the prosecution of a journalist or the dissolution of journal Yanhuang Chunqiu, run by party members who tackled sensitive political debates. Civil society: Six directives restricted coverage of civil society, including an ongoing crackdown on human rights lawyers that was part of a broader assault on Chinas rights defense movement during the year. The remaining directives sought to control reporting on seemingly benign government policies, the economy, and events in Hong Kong. Last January, Freedom House conducted a similar analysis of 75 censorship and propaganda directives published during 2015. A comparison of the most censored topics from that period and from 2016 suggests a number of possible changes in Communist Party priorities: Sort by topic Sort by direction Rank Topic Ranking change v. 2015 1 Party and official reputation (4 spots) 2 Health and safety (1 spot) 3 Foreign affairs (5 spots) 4 Official wrongdoing (1 spot) 5 Media and censorship No change 6 Civil society No change 7 Economics (6 spots) The changes in 2016 appear to reflect increased political attention to certain official narratives, such as Xis drive to increase what he called positive energy in the media sphere, as well as concerns over Xis personal reputation as he consolidates significant power in his own hands. Meanwhile, other factors that drove censorship in 2015 may have receded. Notably, there was no repetition of the previous years dramatic stock-market crashes, and a number of journalists who aggressively covered financial news have since left the profession. For these reasons, censors need to impose extraordinary restrictions on reporting of the economy appears to have eased. One particularly popular tactic in 2016 evident in 22 of the directives analyzed was instructing editors and web portals to downplay stories that might otherwise garner significant public attention, or whose popularity may have already exceeded party leaders tolerance levels. The actions ordered included generic dont hype instructions, bans on special features or homepage spotlights, and highly specific directions on the ranking of top stories. One leaked order from May 2016 declared that a certain story must be kept no higher than seventh on lists of top news items. Compared with other censorship methods, like the deletion of individual users social media posts, this kind of behind-the-scenes manipulation is less visible, generates less netizen resentment, and is therefore less politically costly to the party. Looking ahead to 2017, Chinese citizens need for timely, accurate information about the very topics targeted for censorship in these directives excessive police force, foreign affairs, and the actions of their own leaders is only set to grow. Yet with the Communist Party scheduled to hold its 19th Party Congress at the end of 2017, and with speculation rife about who if anyone will be named as Xis eventual successor, censorship is likely to tighten further. The countrys journalists, netizens, technologists, and the international community will have to find new, creative ways to produce and disseminate news in a political environment increasingly hostile to those efforts. PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images Getty Image While we certainly understand why Ronda Rousey has decided to put a big wall up between her and the world following the hate she got from her last loss, it still sucks. Theres simply no denying: Ronda has that elusive it factor, and it was a pleasure to watch her shine like a crazy diamond all over the world stage during her first reign of terror. Part of that reign involved a lot of time in Stockton hanging out with the Diaz Brothers. She even brought along a videographer from MMA website MiddleEasy to capture some of the fun so we could live vicariously through the lens. Martial arts were trained, good times were had, and apparently Ronda Rousey taught Nick Diaz how to loosen up. I was like, drinkings bad for you, it makes me feel like shit, I have to train tomorrow, Nick explained on podcast The Jasta Show (transcript via Bloody Elbow). And I have a fight coming up, always. So, I didnt drink, until I met Ronda. Ronda Rousey came to my house and she was like, Motherf*cker, you need to loosen up. She put a bottle of tequila in front of me, boom, slid it over on the table, and shes like, Time for you to have a shot. Im like, Ohhh, alright. Alright, Ill get drunk with you.' Thats a pretty epic story, one we feel deserves to make it into the biographical movie of Ronda Rousey starring Ronda Rousey that is apparently being developed by Hollywood. But loosening up hasnt exactly been all party time and excellence for Nick since then. The guy went from his clean living ways to earning two DUIs in 2013 and 2014 that resulted in a couple of days worth of jail time. And then theres this recent footage of a clearly smashed Nick Diaz almost refusing to let USADA drug test him because hes been up all night partying. So Nicks loose, now. Very, very loose. Were not the ones to tell him maybe hes too loose, but yeah. Sometimes Nick may be a little too loose. (via Bloody Elbow) Nicole Kidman opted for simple black at a London screening of her latest film, Lion. (Photo: Getty Images) Nicole Kidman usually sticks to her signature classic and elegant style, but the actress recently proved that shes not afraid to experiment with a bold minidress every once in a while. At a screening of her latest film, Lion, the 49-year-old Australian-American actress wore a chic black, long-sleeved dress with ankle boots. To dress up the LBD, Kidman accessorized with gold jewelry and styled her hair in loose waves and a middle part. She posed alongside her co-star Dev Patel, who plays her adopted son in the Garth Davis directed movie. Kidman and Dev Patel play mother and son. (Photo: Getty Images) Patel and Kidman have received rave reviews for their performances. In addition to scoring Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor, they were also nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards. Throughout the films promotional tour, Kidman stuck with refined, black looks. Kidman has been promoting Lion in the U.K. (Photo: Getty Images) For an appearance on Magic FM in London, she wore tapered black pants, a turtleneck, and lace-up heels. When Chris OConnor, the British Consul General in Los Angeles, hosted the cast and filmmakers of Lion, Kidman once again opted for all black, wearing the same ankle boots she rocked in London. Kidman opted for a black dress, ankle boots, and a wrap sweater for an appearance in Los Angeles. (Photo: Getty Images) With awards season in full swing, we cant wait to see Kidmans upcoming red carpet looks. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban continue to deliver all the relationship goals. The Lion actress gushed about the instant "chemistry" she felt with her now-husband of 10 years, and how he sweetly helped her through after the death of her father in a new interview for CBS Sunday Morning. "We just had chemistry," she said of meeting Urban in 2005. "I never underestimate the power of chemistry." WATCH: Keith Urban Rescues Nicole Kidman From Another Awkward 'Tonight Show' Interview With Jimmy Fallon And when Kidman suddenly lost her father, Dr. Tony Kidman, in 2014, she said Urban dropped everything to be by her side. "I knew at some point that was going to come," she admitted. "But boy, when it comes, it's -- it lays you out. It laid me out. I was like, 'I don't even know how to get up from this.'" Kidman said that she called her husband "screaming and crying" when she got the news. "He was about to go onstage, and he walked offstage and he got on a plane. He had just gotten there. He flew six hours, and he was right back there," she recalled. "And he literally picked me up and carried -- pretty much carried me through the next two weeks. And that, to me, that's a marriage, and that's love. And I'm so grateful to have that. And I also had, you know, my children going, 'It's going to be all right, Momma.'" In addition to her two adopted children with ex-husband Tom Cruise, 23-year-old Isabella and 21-year-old Connor, Kidman also shares two daughters with Urban. She revealed that Sunday Rose, 8, and Faith Margaret, who turns 6 later this month, are growing up to be true Southern girls in their Nashville, Tennessee, home. "They say, 'y'all,'" Kidman laughed. The full interview will air on CBS on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 9 a.m. ET/PT. WATCH: Nicole Kidman Explains Why She and Keith Urban Don't Give Each Other Christmas Gifts Story continues Related Articles ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) North Carolina prosecutors say a white police sergeant was legally justified to use deadly force against a black man who had an assault-style rifle. Multiple media organizations report that Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams's decision Thursday comes nearly six months after Jai "Jerry" Williams was shot nine times by Asheville police. Police said the 35-year-old Williams had an AR-15 rifle and had fired it in a public housing complex before speeding away from pursuing police. The prosecutor says Williams grabbed the gun moments before Sgt. Tyler Radford fired. The district attorney's decision was influenced by two women in Williams' vehicle during the chase. They told investigators they struggled to keep Williams from pointing the gun at officers. The officer was not wearing a body camera and did not have a camera on his patrol car dashboard. PHILADELPHIA (AP) A federal judge on Friday said he dismissed a holdout juror before the panel convicted a Pennsylvania congressman of racketeering because the juror screamed at others and pledged to cause a hung jury "no matter what." The unidentified juror told the news website PhillyVoice that he was the lone not-guilty vote in former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's case. The Philadelphia Democrat was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison in a five-person corruption case. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III approved a news media company's request Friday to unseal transcripts surrounding the dismissal of the juror, a Lancaster County salesman. The man had told Bartle's clerk just hours into the deliberations "that he was going to hang this jury no matter what," the judge wrote. "There's no way in the world he could have reviewed and considered all of the evidence ... and my instructions on the law," Bartle wrote. "He has preconceived notions about the case. He has violated his oath as a juror." Fattah's lawyers, in response, said Juror 12's disqualification would remain an issue in their appeal. They otherwise declined to comment. Fattah, 60, was convicted in June of using more than $600,000 in government grants and nonprofit funds on personal and campaign expenses. As he dismissed the juror, Bartle reminded the other panelists to remain open to discussing the evidence without feeling pressured to change their opinions. Days later, the jury convicted Fattah on all 22 counts and all four co-defendants on at least some counts. The tossed juror later told the freelance legal reporter that he was the lone holdout on more than eight votes on the charges before he refused to take part in subsequent votes, saying he was not going to change his mind. A juror's refusal to deliberate, bias toward one side or intent to nullify or ignore the law are all grounds for dismissal, courts have found. Story continues Another Philadelphia political corruption case led the U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia to outline the law on the issue. The court found a judge had acted reasonably in dismissing a juror in former city treasurer Corey Kemp's trial after jurors said she was uncooperative and biased against the prosecution. Shown some of their evidence, the woman said "the government lies" and "show it to someone who cares," the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court said in its 2007 opinion. "The judge has to (determine) ... when it morphs from being a person with a point of view to being an obstructionist," said Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer William J. Brennan, who is not involved in the Fattah case. Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com, had petitioned for the Fattah documents to be unsealed. Fattah served 11 terms in Congress and was on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. His finances unraveled amid a failed 2007 bid for Philadelphia mayor. The jury found he took an illegal $1 million loan from a friend and used federal grants and charity money to pay some of it back. Fattah resigned after the conviction and is due to report to prison next month. His son is serving a five-year term in a related bank fraud case. Facebook Aquila drone Facebook's internet-beaming Aquila was "substantially damaged" during its first test flight due to unexpected turbulence that damaged its right wing, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday. The social-networking company had previously mentioned "a structural failure we experienced just before landing" in a July blog post about the test flight but hadn't disclosed details of the mishap until now. "During the final approach, the aircraft encountered an increasing amount of turbulence and wind speeds," according to the NTSB, which barred Facebook from disclosing details of the accident until its investigation was finished. The report notes that "while on final approach at 20 feet above the ground, the right outboard wing experienced a structural failure with a downward deflection." No one was injured during the accident. Facebook's Aquila drone is bigger than a Boeing 737 and designed to stay aloft for months at a time at altitudes of 60,000 feet, powered by solar energy and beaming down wireless internet around the world. The project is part of Internet.org, a division of Facebook that's working to bring the internet to countries with limited or no access. In response to the accident during Aquila's first test flight, Facebook said in a Friday blog post that its future drones "will incorporate a drag device such as a spoiler or airbrake that the autopilot can use to steepen the descent without increasing airspeed." The company will also "command the autopilot to give priority to keeping the airspeed under the limit, sacrificing altitude tracking if required." "We are already designing and building second-generation aircraft with new features added as a result of our learnings, and are eager to fly again," Facebook said. NOW WATCH: 12 hidden Facebook tips only power users know about More From Business Insider In his final press conference of the year, President Obama accused reporters on Friday of being unfair to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Specifically, Obama suggested that the media paid too much attention to revelations from emails hacked from the Democratic National Committee and Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, that were released by WikiLeaks during the election. Obama, who also linked the hacking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, made his comments when he was asked if he felt Kremlin cyberattacks cost Clinton the race. Ive said before I couldnt be prouder of Secretary Clinton, her outstanding service. I think shes worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people, and I dont think she was treated fairly during the election, Obama said. I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling. Earlier in the press conference, Obama admonished reporters for having focused on the political gossip in the hacked emails. He described the hack as having dominated election coverage. Im finding it a little curious that everybodys suddenly acting surprised that this looked like it was disadvantaging Hillary Clinton, because you guys wrote about it every day, every single leak, about every little juicy tidbit of political gossip, including John Podestas risotto recipe, said Obama. This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage. U.S. intelligence agencies said recently that the Russian government was behind the hacks. During his press conference, Obama promised that the U.S. would retaliate against Russia for interfering with the election. Some of it we do publicly; some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will, Obama said. The message will be directly received by the Russians and not publicized. Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Responsibility for atrocities committed in Aleppo lies with Syria and its Russian and Iranian backers, US President Barack Obama said as Damascus suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the city's last rebel-held areas. Denouncing the "horror" in Aleppo, Obama called for impartial observers and warned President Bashar al-Assad that he would not be able to "slaughter his way to legitimacy". "The world as we speak is united in horror at the savage assault by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies on the city of Aleppo," he told an end-of-year news conference. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier warned that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell" and said the United Nations urged "all necessary measures" for a safe resumption of the evacuation. The Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow international observers in Aleppo and ensure urgent aid deliveries. US Ambassador Samantha Power said after a closed-door council meeting that UN officials were ready to be sent quickly to Aleppo. "The presence of independent observers can deter some of the worst horrors," she said. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said: "The immediate priority is to save lives, to stop the massacres and to avoid a new Srebrenica," referring to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the Balkan wars. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, however, argued that it would take weeks to send monitors to Aleppo. - Besieged villages - Turkey and a Syrian military source said the evacuation from the city had been suspended but was not yet over, while Moscow insisted the operation was "complete", with all women and children moved from the city. Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to turn back, an AFP correspondent said. Story continues The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), supervising the evacuations, said it was looking into reports of shooting before the convoy was turned back. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and continued overnight, with thousands leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the deal. State television said rebels had tried to smuggle out heavy weapons and hostages. The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from Fuaa and Kafraya, two villages under rebel siege in northwest Syria. The government and Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the Aleppo deal. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government fighters had blocked the road the convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of residents of Fuaa and Kafraya. Evacuating the last rebel pocket in Aleppo had been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but was delayed by a day because of government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya. Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and buses and ambulances began transporting evacuees to rebel territory in western Aleppo province. - Video message - The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended, including around 3,000 rebels. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring treatment. From a staging area near the town of Khan al-Aasal people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo and secure the regime's biggest victory in more than five years of conflict. In a video message Thursday, Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened there was "unconscionable", raising concerns for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". It is unclear how many people remain in east Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days, but perhaps tens of thousands are still inside. - 'Heart-breaking' - The evacuations have been emotional for departing residents desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege, but also tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. In the dust of one bus window, someone traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said Marianne Gasser from the ICRC Syria. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." A blast at a Damascus police station, meanwhile, was caused by a seven-year-old girl being sent in carrying "a bomb" that was detonated remotely, state news agency SANA said. It was believed to be the first time such a young child has been used to detonate an explosive device in the war. A police source told the Al-Watan daily that she asked to use the bathroom and the explosives detonated. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make progress in resolving the conflict, which reached a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama put Russia's Vladimir Putin on notice Friday that the U.S. could use offensive cyber muscle to retaliate for interference in the U.S. presidential election, his strongest suggestion to date that Putin had been well aware of campaign email hacking. "Whatever they do to us, we can potentially do to them," Obama declared. Caught in the middle of a post-election controversy over Russian hacking, Obama strongly defended his administration's response, including his refusal before the voting to ascribe motive to the meddling or to discuss now what effect it might have had. U.S. intelligence assessments say it was aimed at least in part on helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, and some Democrats say it may well have tipped the results in his favor. Though Obama avoided criticizing President-elect Trump by name, he called out Republicans who he said fail even now to acknowledge the seriousness of Russia's involvement in U.S. elections. Obama expressed bewilderment about GOP lawmakers and voters who now say they approve of Putin, and he said unless that changes the U.S. will be vulnerable to foreign influence. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said as he closed out the year at a White House news conference. Afterward he left for the family's annual vacation in Hawaii. Obama declined to state explicitly that Putin knew about the email hacking that roiled the presidential race, but he left no doubt who he felt was responsible. He said that "not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin" and repeated a U.S. intelligence assessment "that this happened at the highest levels of the Russian government." Obama said he confronted Putin in September, telling the former KGB chief to "cut it out." That was one month before the U.S. publicly pointed the finger at Russia. Suggesting his directive to Putin had been effective, Obama said the U.S. "did not see further tampering" after that date. Story continues The president has promised a "proportional" yet unspecified response to the hacking of the Democratic Party and Clinton's campaign chairman. Emails stolen during the campaign were released in the final weeks by WikiLeaks. On Friday, CIA Director John Brennan said in a message to employees that the FBI agrees with the CIA's conclusion that Russia's goal was to help Trump win. Trump has dismissed the CIA's assessment and talk about Russian hacking as "ridiculous," while arguing both Democrats and the CIA are trying to undermine the legitimacy of his victory. He made no mention of the hacking or of Obama during the latest stop on his "thank you" tour in Orlando, Florida, Friday night. Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference. She said Thursday night, "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." The Senate intelligence committee said Friday that it will conduct a bipartisan investigation and hold hearings about what led the intelligence agencies' finding. "The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads," said chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. At the same time, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House intelligence committee, complained that his committee's oversight into the hacking has been stymied because the intelligence agencies have not provided information to the committee. Obama said he'd leave it to political pundits to debate the question of whether the hacking swayed the election outcome. He did, however, chide the media for that he called an "obsession" with the emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. He said his reticence to detail publicly the U.S. response to Russia reflected a need to retaliate "in a thoughtful, methodical way." "The idea that somehow public shaming is gonna be effective, I think doesn't read the thought process in Russia very well," Obama said. Accusations of Russian election interference have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. Separately, Obama has blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in Aleppo. Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria, but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He said that while military options short of invasion were tempting, it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Still, he pinned the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said. Meanwhile, the president rejected any notion that the dispute over hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Trump. Despite fiercely criticizing each other during the election, Obama and Trump have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Obama said of Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." The president did weigh in on Trump's decision to speak with the leader of Taiwan, a recent phone call that broke decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol. Obama advised Trump to "think it through" before making changes in the One-China policy, in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. In a moment of self-reflection, Obama acknowledged he had not been able to transfer his own popularity and electoral success to other Democrats. His party is now reeling from the White House loss and failure to win back either the House or Senate. "It is not something that I've been able to transfer to candidates in midterms or build a sustaining organization around," Obama said. "That's something I would have liked to have done more of, but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." ___ Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Bradley Klapper contributed to this report. ___ Follow Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC President Barack Obama will hold his final news conference of the year Friday at the White House at 2:15 p.m. EST. Following the conference, Obama and his family will leave for their annual vacation in Hawaii, the White House said Thursday. According to reports, Obama is likely to address everything from Russian hacking to the crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo. He is also expected to speak about Donald Trump's presidency, which will start Jan. 20, and Trump's cabinet picks. The conference will be live streamed on the White House website here, below and on major news networks. On Thursday, Obama told NPR in an exclusive interview that the U.S. will definitely "take action" against Russia for reportedly launching cyberattacks and trying to influence the presidential election. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action," Obama told Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR's "Morning Edition" program. "And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be." The White House announced Thursday that the Obamas were slated to leave about three hours after the press conference. They will travel via Marine One, en route to Andrews Air Force Base, to board Air Force One for the overnight flight to Hawaii to begin their 15-day break. Once there, the family will participate in no public events except for Obama's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to an advisory. However, pool reporters will cover the trip. The Obamas also traveled to Hawaii last year in December, spending at least $4.8 million for the vacation trip, the Judicial Watch recently reported, citing records from the U.S. Secret Service. Related Articles President Barack Obama stopped his final press conference of the year Friday to call for a doctor after someone fell ill in the White House briefing room. The incident occurred as Obama discussed the situation in Syria. He stopped talking when there was murmuring among the journalists in the room. Im sorry, whats going on? Obama asked. Multiple people in the audience told the president someone had passed out. Footage from C-SPAN showed reporters in the briefing room standing over someone. From behind the podium, Obama asked for someone to go to his doctors office and get the presidential physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, to attend to the person. Obama then tried to return to the press conference, but someone in the crowd called out and said, We need to get a doctor in here, I think. Can somebody help out, please, and get Doc Jackson in here? Obama asked. As he waited for the doctor to arrive, someone in the crowd expressed gratitude. Thank you, Mr. President, for stopping, the person said. Of course, Obama replied, adding, Lets give her a little room the doctor will be here in a second. Obama eventually returned to his press conference after the doctor arrived. The doctors in the house, Obama said before reverting to the discussion of Syria. A White House spokesperson said they do not have any information about the identity of the person who became ill or their current condition. President Barack Obama defended his hands-off response to Russian hacking that appears to have influenced the U.S. election in Donald Trumps favor and reiterated a vague warning first issued Thursday night that Moscow will face U.S. reprisals of some sort for its unprecedented interference in the vote. Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you, Obama said. Some of it we do publicly, some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will. Obama, speaking in his final year-end press conference, just over a month before Trumps inauguration, catalogued a litany of administration achievements, from lowering unemployment to boosting the number of people with health insurance. But Fridays hour-plus news conference served as a painful summary of Obamas tumultuous final year in office, and was dominated by Russian hacking, the ongoing slaughter in Aleppo, Syria, and rising Chinese belligerence in Asia. Despite plenty of frustration among Democrats who feel that Russian interference abetted by a passive administration and an FBI busy investigating old Hillary Clinton emails cost the former secretary of state the election, Obama defended his actions. He said that his first concern was to ensure that the election went off without a hitch, and that no attacks materialized on voting machines or during the vote count itself. We allowed law enforcement and the intelligence community to do its job without political influence, Obama said. Before he leaves office in January, Obama said his administration will finish a review of the Russian hack, with an eye toward making it harder for other state actors to interfere with U.S. political institutions. But on Friday, Obama remained coy about releasing any of the intelligence that forms the basis of the intelligence communitys assessment, and said that a forthcoming review will try to make public as much information as possible without disclosing sources and methods. Story continues Saying this shouldnt be a partisan issue, Obama also backed the idea of a bipartisan study into Russian mischief during the campaign. Trump compared the CIAs assessment that the Kremlin intervened in the election on his behalf to misleading claims in the run up to the 2003 Iraq War. Obama on Friday reiterated the intelligence communitys high confidence in their conclusions of Russian involvement, and fingered the Russian president by name. This happened at the highest levels of the Russian government, Obama said. Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin. He lit into Republican lawmakers and Trump who have suddenly reversed decades of GOP orthodoxy on the threat posed by Moscow to now turn a blind eye to the U.S. intelligence communitys findings. More than one-third of Republican voters support Putin, Obama said. Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave, Obama said. The president sought to defend his legacy in Syria as well, where this week the countrys second-largest city, Aleppo, fell to a combined assault by Syrian government forces backed by Russian airpower. Anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 civilians are still trapped in the city as attempts to evacuate amid a fragile ceasefire stall, start, and stall again. Obama defended his hands-off approach during the almost six-year old civil war. Ive taken the best course I can, he said, adding that a full-scale intervention to stop the slaughter in Syria was impossible to do on the cheap. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates 312,000, including over 90,000 civilians, have died since the Syrian civil war began in March, 2011. Obama placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Bashar al-Assads regime, Russia, and Iran. The blood and these atrocities are on their hands,he said, adding that over the long term, the Assad regime cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy. An increasingly belligerent China also barged into Obamas year-end press conference, largely because of heightened tensions after Trumps unprecedented phone call to Taiwans president earlier this month. On Thursday, a Chinese naval vessel snatched a U.S. underwater drone and refused to return it to the Americans, prompting a diplomatic spat. Trump and his advisers have pushed for a more confrontational line with Beijing diplomatically, militarily, and economically. Obama, who came into office hoping to pivot the United States away from the Middle East and toward the growing economies of the Asia-Pacific, acknowledged that a fresh policy to deal with China could be welcome. But any new approach to Beijing, he said, should be well thought-out and part of a national strategy, rather than shoot-from-the-hip policymaking. That is especially true regarding the issue of Taiwan, Obama said. The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation, he said. And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through whatever the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they treat some other issues. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama weighed in on the race to head the Democratic National Committee on Friday, praising Labor Secretary Tom Perez as "tireless, wicked smart" and "extraordinary." Though he withheld a formal endorsement, Obama made his views fairly clear on which candidate he prefers to take over the helm of the Democratic Party's last bastion of power in Washington. Perez jumped into the contest this week, after weeks of urging by White House aides, who wanted a challenger to early front-runner Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison. "Tom Perez has been, I believe, one of the best secretaries of labor in our history," Obama said, lavishing praise on his Cabinet official at his annual year-end news conference. Obama added, "Others who declared are also my friends and are fine people as well." The race to run the DNC has become a battle for the future of the party, as Democrats agonize over a devastating electoral failure that few strategists and elected officials saw coming. Though Perez has never served in elected office beyond a Maryland county council, the Dominican-American lawyer was a strong backer of Hillary Clinton and has worked closely with Obama. Ellison has attracted support from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom he backed in the Democratic primary contest, as well as incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and a list of labor unions. But he's also attracted controversy. Past remarks about Israel and his defense of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan have drawn rebukes from some Jewish groups and donors. So far, the contest has remained relatively polite. "Keith agrees that Tom Perez is a great public servant and that the next DNC chair must be able to organize through the grassroots," Ellison spokesman Brent Morrow said in response to the president's remarks. South Carolina's party chairman, Jaime Harrison, and the party head in New Hampshire, Ray Buckley, have announced bids, though they haven't gotten much traction. All the candidates are expected to formally woo nearly 450 voting Democratic National Committee members at four regional forums before the official election at the end of February. Americas abandonment of its values and the medias obsession over the juicy bits of hacked DNC emails are far more dangerous to the country than Russia having actually been behind the hack, President Obama warned today in his last news conference of the year. Obama sought to rise above the whirling tweets-and-leaks storm over Russias hack of Democratic National Committee emails, and the Donald Trump transition, and make a moment for himself in the history books. Like Dwight Eisenhowers warning about the dangers of a U.S. military industrial complex on his way out the White House. How did a presidential election come to be dominated by a bunch of these leaks? What made us vulnerable to these types of interventions? Obama scolded media attending his the traditional POTUS year-end presser at the White House today. We did this to ourselves, Obama said, answering his own question, while strongly implying that the conservative TV/radio talk-o-sphere had a big hand in it all. The Russians cant change us or significantly weaken us. But they can impact us if we lose track of who we are. Losing track like, for instance, buying into notions that it is OK to intimidate the press or lock up immigrants or discriminate against people because of their faith or what they look like. RelatedBill OReilly On Media Meltdown 2016, Obamas Legacy & Fox News Changes For more evidence, he cited a recent poll that showed 37% of Republicans approve of Russian President Vladimir Putin the former head of the KGB, Obama marveled, adding, Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave. For Obama, thats the result of those on the right seeing everything for how does it help or hurt us relative to Democrats or relative to President Obama. Not that the hacks were all inside our heads: Obama said he told Putin in a face-to-face meeting in China to cut it out and there would be some serious consequences if he didnt. And in fact, we did not see further tampering with the election process. Story continues Obama said he delivered a similar message to Chinese President Xi regarding the hacking of American companies by China. The traditional year-end event was expected to be a barn burner, given the weeks developments, and did not disappoint. In anticipation, it was mobbed so much so that one reporter fainted and the event came to a temporary halt while medical help was sought. Go through the facts, Obama said to questions about what he knew and when, and what he did and why in re the hack of DNC and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podestas emails. RelatedBarack Obama On Daily Show Warns Against Flying Blind Without Intelligence Briefings When alerted that the DNC might have been hacked, Obama had ordered a thorough investigation. It was a deliberate decision, and the right one, not to ascribe motive to the Russian hack, Obama said, We simply let people know what the facts were because in our countrys hyper-partisan era, its important that POTUS not get involved in the politics. We were playing this thing straight, he said during what he annually calls The Most Wonderful Press Conference of the Year, before leaving later today with his family on their annual Christmas trip to Hawaii. Obama declined to conclude the hack caused Clintons election loss but blasted the media for making major headlines of every juicy tidbit of gossip to come out of the WikiLeaks dump, calling it an obsession that dominated the news coverage of the election. That media obsession with the juicy bits is part of what I meant when I said weve got to think about whats happening to our political culture here, Obama said. The Russians cant change us or significantly weaken us; theyre a smaller country, theyre a weaker country, their economy doesnt produce anything that anyone wants to buy, except oil and gas and arms. They dont innovate. But they can impact us if we lose track of who we are. They can impact us if we abandon our values. POTUS stopped short of saying the hacking cost Clinton the election, instead leaving that to the political pundits, he said. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people and I dont think she was treated fairly during the election, he said, calling the medias coverage of Clinton and her campaign troubling. RelatedSylvester Stallone Offered Top NEA Post By Donald Trump Warming up for todays humdinger of a news conference, Obama spoke to NPR about the U.S. taking retaliatory action against Russia in response to election interference. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, we need to take action and we will, at a time and place of our own choosing, he said in the radio interview that aired Thursday night. Some of it may be explicit and publicized, some of it may not be. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matt Rourke/AP/REX/Shutterstock (7429114g) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York, where she conceded her defeat to Republican Donald Trump after the hard-fought presidential election 2016 Election Clinton, New York, USA - 09 Nov 2016 This week the CIA announced it had determined there was direct Russian involvement in the DNC email hacks, with Putins thumbs-up, in an attempt to nuke Clintons campaign and help get Trump elected. Trump has called that finding ridiculous and questioned why the Obama administration did not express concern at the time. Various news outlets have answered that one. They didnt want to appear to be interfering in the election and they thought that Hillary Clinton was going to win, and a potential cyber war with Russia wasnt worth it, as NBC News put it. Not coincidentally, CBS News decided that the clip of its much longer primetime interview with First Lady Michelle Obama it would show to viewers just a few hours before POTUS White House presser should be the one in which she says, Now were feeling what not having hope feels like, you know? People will come to appreciate the value of having a grownup in the White House who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil, Hey, its going to be OK. Lets remember the good things that we have, FLOTUS told Oprah Winfrey in the interview to air in full next week on CBS primetime. Related stories Michael Moore Offers To Pay GOP Electors' Fines If They Vote Their "Conscience" Against Donald Trump Bill Maher: Donald Trump's Adventures In Oppositeland Sylvester Stallone Responds To Donald Trump's NEA Job Offer President Barack Obama President Barack Obama hit at Russia and President Vladimir Putin during his final end-of-the-year press conference. Obama stopped short of blaming Putin directly for hacks that interfered with the US presidential election, but he still pointed his finger in that direction. "The intelligence that I've seen gives me great confidence in their assessment that the Russians carried out this hack," he said. Questions surrounding Russian interference in the election have become a central focus in recent days amid reports that a CIA assessment concluded Russia interfered in the US election with the specific goal of aiding Trump's campaign. It was reported Friday that the FBI supported the CIA's findings. Internal emails from members of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, were leaked online throughout the campaign. The organization WikiLeaks released a steady stream of Podesta's emails in the final weeks of the campaign. Intelligence officials reportedly believe that Putin himself was directly involved in the hacks. And Obama seems to share that opinion, even if he neglected to fully endorse it. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said. "This is pretty hierarchical operation. Last I checked, there's not a lot of debate and democratic deliberation, particularly when it comes to policies directed at the United States." Obama also warned against allowing Russia to influence American political culture. "The Russians can't change us or significantly weaken us," he said. "They are a smaller country. They are a weaker country. Their economy doesn't produce anything that anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. They don't innovate. But they can impact us if we lose track of who we are." Story continues He also chided Republicans who support Putin. "There was a survey that some of you saw where now this is just one poll, but a pretty credible source that 37% of Republican voters approve of Putin," Obama said. "Over a third of Republican voters approve of Vladimir Putin, the former head of the KGB. Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." Trump was often criticized during the election for his apparent fondness for Putin. Trump has often said that he would like the US to have a closer and more cooperative relationship with Russia. But many in the foreign policy community see Russia as an adversary, especially considering the recent hacks. obama putin Obama detailed some of the US efforts to stop Russian hacking in the future. "What we can also do is to, on a bilateral basis, warn other countries against these kinds of attacks," Obama said. "And we've done that in the past. So just as I told Russia to stop it and indicated that there will be consequences when they do it, the Chinese have in the past engaged in cyberattacks directed at our companies to steal trade secrets and proprietary technology. ... What we've seen is some evidence that they have reduced, but not completely eliminated, these activities." He also emphasized that not all of these efforts to deter Russia's cyberattacks are public. "Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you," Obama said. "But it is also important for us to do that in a thoughtful, methodical way. Some of it we do publicly. Some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will." He continued: "And I know that there have been folks out there who suggest somehow that if we went out there and made big announcements and thumped our chests about a bunch of stuff, that somehow that would potentially spook the Russians, but keep in mind that we already have enormous numbers of sanctions against the Russians." Obama also said that the "idea that somehow public shaming is going to be effective" in preventing future hacking "doesn't read the thought process in Russia very well." Obama also reassured the public that while Russia might have attempted to interfere with the US election, the voting process was still sound. "I can assure the public that there was not the kind of tampering with the voting process that was a concern and will continue to be a concern going forward, that the votes that were cast were counted they were counted appropriately. We have not seen evidence of machines being tampered with," Obama said. "That doesn't mean that we find every single potential probe of every single voting machine all across the country, but we paid a lot of attention to it ... and we feel confident that that didn't occur." NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him More From Business Insider Barack Obama has warned President Assad "cannot slaughter his way to legitimacy" - amid Russian claims Aleppo has been "liberated". President Obama said the world was "united in horror" at the situation. "Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: with the Assad regime and its allies, Russia and Iran," he told a White House news conference. "And this blood and these atrocities are on their hands." He added there had been no appetite for a big US military intervention earlier in the war, that he believes would have been the only way to stop the bloodshed. "Unless we were all in and going to take over Syria we were going to have problems," he said. "It sounded like the right thing to do but it was going to be impossible to do this on the cheap." :: Sky Views: More to Aleppo battle than meets the eye He was speaking after Russia's defence ministry claimed that Syrian government forces had "liberated" Aleppo. In a statement, the ministry said troops were eliminating the "last pockets" of rebel resistance in the city. It said: "The operation of liberation of Eastern Aleppo, controlled by the militants, has been completed. "The Syrian pro-government forces are liquidating some points of radical resistance." The UN operation to evacuate the 50,000 people left in a tiny part of the east of the city has been suspended. Eight explosions were reported and "obstructions" were blamed for halting convoys leaving the city, said Syrian officials. Syrian state television claimed militants had tried to take prisoners with them during the evacuation, breaching a ceasefire deal. It also claimed they had opened fire on a convoy carrying evacuees at a crossing point, but Turkey's Anadolu news agency blamed it on pro-Assad militia. :: PM pledges another 20m for Syria "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters. "I very much regret that we had to stop this operation." Story continues The city had been divided between government and rebel areas in the near six-year civil war. But a rapid advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November deprived the insurgents of nearly all their territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a major new peace initiative for Syria on Friday. He said he was working with Turkey to set up talks between Damascus and the opposition to be held in Kazakhstan. He said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdorgan were working for an overall truce in Syria. The evacuation of civilians and fighters began on Thursday under a deal that would allow Syria's regime to take full control of Aleppo. The Russian Defence Ministry said nine convoys carrying 6,400 people had left in the first 24 hours, including 3,000 rebels and 301 wounded. Turkey, which helped broker the deal, put it at 8,000. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said about 50,000 people were still trapped, including 40,000 civilians. In a video message, President Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making" . Four Syrian organisations have sent a UN commission a list of 304 attacks in Aleppo, blaming Russia for violating humanitarian law. The UN Security Council was set to meet late on Friday to discuss the crisis after a request by France which wants international observers to monitor the situation and ensure aid deliveries. Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama declared Friday that Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, Iran and Russia are responsible for the carnage in Aleppo and argued there was nothing Washington could have done to stop the war, short of a military takeover of Syria. And he warned Assad, who has been engaged in a brutal civil war against opposition forces since 2011, that he will not be able to "slaughter his way to legitimacy." "The world as we speak is united in horror at the savage assault by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies on the city of Aleppo," he told an end-of-year news conference. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said. Obama also admitted to reporters that he had asked himself whether the United States did enough to halt the conflict. "There are places around the world where horrible things are happening and -- because of my office, because I'm president of the United States -- I feel responsible," he said. "Is there something I could do that would save lives and make a difference and spare some child who doesn't deserve to suffer?" But the president said there had been no public appetite for the kind of large-scale US military intervention earlier in the war that he believes would have been the only way to halt it. "Unless we were all in and going to take over Syria we were going to have problems," he said. "It sounded like the right thing to do but it was going to be impossible to do this on the cheap." The US leader, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for President-elect Donald Trump, called for impartial observers to deploy to monitor efforts to evacuate civilians from the city. - 'Synonym for hell' - Obama's White House has been engaged in a diplomatic effort to convince Russia to bring Assad to the table to negotiate a peace deal with the Syrian opposition. But all attempts to secure a ceasefire have rapidly broken down, and now Russia is working with Turkey to oversee an evacuation of the last rebel-held pocket of Aleppo. Story continues On Friday, the Syrian government suspended that operation, trapping thousands of civilians and rebel fighters in the city and increasing fears of a bloodbath to come. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell" and urged "the parties to take all necessary measures to allow safe resumption of this evacuation process." Senior US officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Washington's ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, have warned Assad against carrying out a Srebrenica-style massacre. They have also warned the defeat of Aleppo will not end the civil war but instead foment extremism among Assad's opponents and have called for war crimes investigations. - 'Right approach' - But Washington has not been able to mediate the start of a credible peace process, nor separate so-called "moderate rebels" from Al Qaeda-linked extremists. "I cannot claim that we've been successful and so that's something that, as is true with a lot of issues and problems around the world I have to go to bed with every night," Obama said. "But I continue to believe it was the right approach given what realistically we could get done." More than 310,000 people have been killed since early 2011, when Assad brutally repressed anti-government protests and provoked a civil war. More than half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees, placing a huge burden on neighboring countries and sparking a political crisis in Europe. Meanwhile, the Islamic State jihadist group has taken advantage of the chaos to seize part of eastern Syria and set up a "capital" in the city of Raqa. US troops and warplanes are helping locally recruited militias fight IS in the east, but have not intervened against Assad, who has Russian military backing. A few months ago, President Barack Obama probably never envisioned his last news conference of 2016 to be like Friday's. Nonetheless, he spent most of his final media briefing of the year Friday talking about his successor, President-elect Donald Trump, as well as hacks on the Democratic National Committee the intelligence community recently determined was carried out by Russia to influence the presidential election. Heading into Friday, Obama had affirmed that the U.S. would retaliate after what the CIA had determined were hacks carried out by Russia aimed at effecting the presidential election in Trump's favor. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action," Obama said Thursday in an interview with NPR. "And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be." Russia has denied involvement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov saying, "They need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof." Trump, whose administration does have a number of ties with Russia, has questioned the CIA's assessment that the country was attempting to influence the election. The New York Times reported Thursday, citing people who have been briefed on the conversations, that Trump believes "there are people in the C.I.A. who are out to get him and are working to delegitimize his presidency." Obama talked at length Friday about the hacks, Trump and the civil war in Syria, which has grown incredibly blood as the city of Aleppo has fallen to government forces (International Business Times has live updates here). Listed below are 9 quotes from Obama at the press conference. 1. On Aleppo and the Syrian civil war, blaming the violence on Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran "The Assad regime cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy." Story continues 2. On Trump and the hacks "My hope is the president elect is going to be similarly concerned that we dont have foreign influence in our election process." 3. On confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin about the hack of the DNC "So in early September when I saw president Putin in China, I felt that the most effective way to ensure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out and there were going to be serious consequences if he didn't. And in fact we did not see further tampering of the election process." 4. On the media's coverage of WikiLeaks, which Obama described as constant "You guys wrote about it every day. Every single leak... including John Podesta's risotto recipe." 5. On if the hacks on the DNC affected the election "I am going to let all the political pundits in this town talk about what happened in the election." 6. Obama addressed his conversations with the president-elect, noting he had tried to stress the importance of maintaining stability of the presidency and institutions of government "He has listened, I can't say that he will end up implementing but the conversations themselves have been cordial as opposed to defensive." 7. On the conflict in Syria and U.S. involvement "I cannot claim that we have been successful ... That's something ... I have to go to bed with every night." 8. On if the administration will declassify information proving Russia was behind the hacks on the DNC "We will provide evidence that we can safely provide that does not compromise sources and methods. But ill be honest with you when you're talking about cyber security a lot of it is classified... the way we catch folks is knowing certain things about them they may not want us to know." 9. Addressing Republicans who are praising, or not condemning, Putin "Reagan would roll over in his grave." Related Articles US President Barack Obama warned his successor Donald Trump on Friday against provoking a "very significant" response from China by reaching out to Taiwan. Trump has broken with four decades of US diplomacy by suggesting Washington's "One China" stance may be reviewed and by accepting a call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has already expressed anger at Trump's move. Tension between the world's two greatest powers is running high, as was underlined Thursday when Chinese sailors seized an unmanned US naval probe in the South China Sea. Obama, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for Trump, has taken a cautious stance with the Asian giant and urged the president-elect to proceed with care. "The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation," he told reporters at an end of year news conference at the White House. "And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they'll treat some other issues. "This goes to the core of how they see themselves, and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant." - 'Crush his own toes' - On Monday, China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned that Beijing would not allow "any force in the world" to play tough with Beijing over its territorial claims. In a shot across Trump's bows, Wang said anyone who "tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests... will lift a rock only to crush his own toes." A Chinese spokesman also warned the Taiwanese not to get any ideas, warning: "Facts will show those people that 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end." Since Trump's declaration, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first live fire exercises involving dozens of ships and aircraft. Story continues Taiwan's defense minister, meanwhile, has urged young people to join the armed forces. Trump took a congratulatory call from Tsai after he won the November 9 US presidential election, one of dozens he received from leaders around the world. At first it was not clear whether he had done so without realizing that China would see it as an affront or whether it was a deliberate change in practice by his incoming administration. But, challenged by critics over his apparently reckless move, Trump doubled down and insisted he would not accept China "dictating" to him over protocol. And, resuming the attacks on Chinese trade policy he made throughout his campaign, he implied that US support for "One China" would depend on Beijing making concessions. - Courtesy calls - "I don't know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump told Fox News on Sunday. Obama was careful not to condemn Trump's initiative out of hand, but warned that if ties between Beijing and Washington break down, both sides will be worse off. "So I think it's fine for him to take a look at it," Obama said. "What I have advised the president-elect is that across the board on foreign policy you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way." And he implicitly criticized Trump's decision to make diplomatic moves without seeking the advice of the State Department and US intelligence agencies. "My advice to him has been that before he starts having a lot of interactions with foreign governments other than the usual courtesy calls that he should want to have his full team in place," he said. "He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience." BOGOTA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht will keep its majority stake in a project to make Colombia's Magdalena River navigable after receiving $250 million in financing help from a Japanese bank, the Colombian government said on Friday. Odebrecht said earlier this year it would give up most of its 87 percent stake in the Navelena consortium, tasked with the $833 million effort to increase cargo capacity on the river, sending the government on a months-long search for a replacement. But the company will stay on the project now it has received $250 million in financing from Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui bank , Cormagdalena, the government agency supervising the project, said in a statement on Friday. Construction work, which will last an estimated 5 years, will begin in January, the statement added. Companies including Mexico's IDEAL and FCC Americas, part of billionaire Carlos Slim's Carso Group, had expressed interest in the project. A source at the national infrastructure agency said it was unclear whether Odebrecht would provide the remainder of the project's financing itself or look for other investors. The project, valued at 2.5 trillion Colombian pesos, is set to increase cargo transport on a 256 km (159 mile) section of the river to some 10 million tonnes by 2029, in an effort to reduce freight costs and aid exports by commodities producers and agricultural companies. The Navelena consortium, which also includes Colombia's Valorcon, aims to profit from its investment in the project through toll charges for seven years after its upgrade of the waterway is complete. Odebrecht's Colombia office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 3,000.47 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb and Luis Jaime Acosta; Editing by Andrew Hay) Oil and natural gas companies are likely to get a boost by President-elect Donald Trump's policies, but experts are bullish more from the sector's fundamentals than the new administration. After campaigning on promises of liberalizing oil and gas leasing on federal lands, Trump has been stacking his Cabinet with people friendly to the industry. His pick for Secretary of State is Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. (ticker: XOM), while he has tapped Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as energy secretary and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as secretary of the interior, according to media reports. [See: The Best Energy Stocks to Buy for 2017.] "This is probably the most energy-friendly administration since World War II," says Jay Hatfield, president of Infrastructure Capital Advisors and portfolio manager of the energy infrastructure InfraCap MLP exchange-traded fund ( AMZA). "It means the end of the war on fossil fuels that was under way under the Obama administration and that was likely to be continued under a Clinton administration." Of course, environmental groups have been wringing their hands during the Cabinet selection process. After Tillerson was nominated, the Sierra Club says that "Trump's Cabinet represents a who's who of climate-deniers and fossil fuel hacks." The Environmental Defense Fund asks, "Where are the voices in this administration to counter the influence of oil executives and allies?" And the League of Conservation Voters says: "It's clearer than ever that Donald Trump is hoping to install the most anti-environmental Cabinet in our nation's history." Those who want to see less regulation on oil and gas companies have found a friend in Trump. Tom McNulty, a director with Navigant Consulting, expects easing of restrictions and the potential for more production of oil and gas in the U.S., more natural gas used for power and more natural gas and oil exports. Story continues Hatfield expects the embattled Dakota Access Pipeline -- a project run by Energy Transfer Partners ( ETP), on whose board Perry sits, that has faced protests from environmental and Native American groups -- and potential progress on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, owned by TransCanada Corp. ( TRP). Trump's election comes as oil and gas stocks have already been getting support from a bounce in prices, so the new backing from Trump is like icing on the cake. "We were already in the very late innings of this bear market," says Brad Lamensdorf, founder of Active Alts. "This is going to throw fuel on the fire." Amid the help from a Trump administration friendly to fossil fuels, the fundamentals of the industry will be its main driver, Hatfield says. [See: 9 Ways to Invest in a Post-Election Market.] Next year, he expects oil prices will rise to $60 to $70 a barrel from around $50 now, spurring production. Over the next five years, Hatfield forecasts U.S. production will increase by more than 5 million barrels. But that's not likely to drive prices lower because higher-cost offshore and tar sands production will be reduced, he says. At the same time, global demand will slowly increase, helped by a growing middle class in emerging markets, he says. Additionally, the OPEC's recent decision to cut output will help, he says. McNulty notes that the overall downturn in prices since oil dropped from more than $100 a barrel in 2014 has helped spark more efficient production and weed out underperforming companies. As a result, companies that can operate profitably at the current price of oil are particularly poised to benefit when prices rise. Lamensdorf is bullish because companies haven't been spending as much on exploration and development, which he believes will crimp supply of oil and gas through 2018. Additionally, natural gas exports as well as Trump's push to ramp up manufacturing will boost demand for the commodity, he says. Exporting natural gas into the international market is "a glut solver," Lamensdorf says. He likes Chesapeake Energy Corp. ( CHK), Denbury Resources ( DNR) and Whiting Petroleum Corp. ( WLL), saying these companies have good assets, are regrouping after the bear market and now offer good bargain hunting opportunities. Hatfield likes companies that own pipelines, particularly Williams Partners ( WPZ), which owns the biggest natural gas pipeline system in the United States. He sees less of a threat from regulators to expansion of that pipeline under the new administration, and he thinks Williams is undervalued. [See: 8 Ways to Profit From Donald Trump's Infrastructure Plans.] Hatfield also points to Energy Transfer Partners. After its merger with Sunoco Logistics Partners ( SXL) closes, he thinks ETP's shares will rise. And he says ETP has also been overly penalized by the Dakota pipeline controversy. Matt Whittaker is a journalist specializing in natural resources coverage whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and other international publications. He has reported from the Americas, Europe and Asia. Follow him on Twitter @mattswhittaker. In addition to its 12 distinctive eco-regions, multiple state parks and forests, city skylines, and little-known high concentration of art deco architecture, the Sooner State happens to provide one of the nations most competitive incentive programs, which offers a hefty cash rebate of up to 37% on qualified spend. The basic rebate is 35%, with 2% extra when Oklahoma music and/or recording resources are used in a production. Oklahoma offers the rebates on all resident above-the-line and below-the-line labor, as well as above-the-line resident loan-outs. To qualify, projects must spend a minimum of $25,000 in the state, and the overall budget has to be $50,000 or higher. Admittedly, these are not very high bars, and there is no project or compensation cap. Additionally, no more than 25% of the total Oklahoma expenditures can be comprised of qualifying above-the-line payments. Many productions that travel to Oklahoma aim to capture the look and the spirit of the raw American frontier. A surprising number of films have been shot entirely or partially in the state over the past few years. Highlights include Wildlife (2017), I Can Only Imagine (2017), American Gods (2017 TV series), American Honey (2016), Rudderless (2014), August: Osage County (2013), So This Is Christmas (2013), To the Wonder (2012), and The Killer Inside Me (2010). Information courtesy of EP Financial Solutions, a production incentive consulting and financial services company. Related stories 'A Monster Calls' Comes to Life Thanks to International Collaboration on VFX 'Jackie': Global Crew Helped Bring Former American First Lady to Life Netherlands Lures International Productions With Unique Locations, 30% Cash Rebate Open letters have long been used by notable people to great effect. Theyve sparked public outcries that stopped age-old prejudices in their tracks and ignited powerful cultural movements. Emile Zolas 1898 JAccuse! to the President of France drew attention to antisemitism in the wrongful conviction of a Jewish Captain, Alfred Dreyfus, for the crime of treason. And Martin Luther King, Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail famously served to bolster the American Civil Rights Movement at a critical juncture. Thats all in the past. Today, open letters are used more and more by politicians, CEOs and special interests to lobby for causes that arent nearly as virtuous as those of their predecessors. Theyre usually intended to sway public opinion or influence consumer behavior, and not necessarily in a good way. The shift from noble to nefarious, or at least self-serving, didnt occur all at once, mind you. Looking back, one open letter written by a particularly innovative and opportunistic young programmer may very well have been the first to straddle the line between righteous and self-righteous. In 1976, the head of a little three-person company named Micro-Soft wrote an open letter in an effort to get computer hobbyists to quit illegally copying his programs and start paying for them, for a change. Bill Gatess plea to end the pirating of software didnt make him the richest man in the world, but it was a pretty good start. Decades later, the advent of blogs, social networks and user-generated content would open the floodgates for anyone and everyone to peddle their personal causes or expound on their pet peeves online. But every so often, someone or something of great import would break through the fracas and get everyones attention. A 2007 open letter with the innocuous title of Thoughts on Music rocked the music world, causing an avalanche of responses from a whos who of industry leaders, mostly in the form of, you guessed it, open letters. Ironically, that essay was written by Gatess favorite frenemy, Steve Jobs, and the subject, once again, was piracy. Story continues As chronicled in Chris Higginss The Open Letter-Off of 07, Jobs made a plea for music publishers to remove the shackles of DRM (Digital Rights Management) that effectively locked users into iTunes and made their life miserable. Since that would hardly benefit Apple, it looked as if Jobs was taking consumers side. But looks can be deceiving. According to The Many Facades of DRM (thankfully not an open letter) by former Apple engineer Rod Schultz, Jobs was actually trying to get out in front of a fait accompli. Schultz claimed the music labels had already decided to abandon DRM not to benefit consumers, but to diminish Apples dominance of the industry so when they did, it seemed like Apple made it happen. If that was the plan, it worked. Fast-forward to 2014. An open letter by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and another, by President Barack Obama, turned the tide on net neutrality. Countless open letters by consumer advocates and other special interest groups followed, giving FCC chairman Tom Wheeler the support he needed to sway public opinion and pass strict rules to regulate broadband internet. The thing is, Hastingss claims that Netflix traffic was intentionally throttled by Comcast and other ISPs turned out to be bunk. It was all just a scheme for Netflix to get out of paying for back-end network connections to effectively handle the extraordinary amount of traffic its streaming video service generates. And the public bought it. Donald Trump came out strongly against net neutrality, calling it a top-down power grab during the campaign. Indeed, I agree it was that, among other things. Since the election, the President-elect has been deluged by open letters lobbying on behalf of Obamacare, global climate change, softer immigration policies and all sorts of regulations. Are their motives genuine or deceitful? What you do think? Full disclosure: I have, in the distant past, written two open letters to newly appointed CEOs: Akio Toyoda of Toyota and Googles Larry Page. They were really just articles disguised as open letters. I intended no malice, have no regrets and reserve the right to write others in the future. Related Articles Investors in shares of Noble Corporation plc NE need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Put which expires on Dec 16, 2016 for the $4.5 strike price had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today. What is Implied Volatility? Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility could mean that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also mean there is an event coming up soon that could cause a big rally or a huge sell off. However, implied volatility is only one piece of the puzzle when putting together an options trading strategy. What do the Analysts Think? Clearly, options traders are pricing in a big move for Noble Corporation shares, but what is the fundamental picture for the company? Currently, Noble Corporation is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) in the Oil and Gas Drilling industry that ranks in the top 29% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 60 days, four analysts have increased their earnings estimates for the current quarter, while five have dropped their estimates. The net effect has taken our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter from a loss of 17 cents per share to a loss of 18 cents in that period. Given the way analysts feel about Noble Corporation right now, this huge implied volatility could mean theres a trade developing. Often times, options traders look for options with high levels of implied volatility to sell premium. This is a strategy many seasoned traders use because it captures decay. At expiration, the hope for these traders is that the underlying stock does not move as much as originally expected. Looking to Trade Options? Each week, our very own Dave Bartosiak gives his top options trades. Check out his recent live analysis and options trade for the LULU earnings report completely free. See it here: Bartosiak: Trading Lululemon (LULU) Earnings with Options or check out the embed video below for more details: Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NOBLE CORP PLC (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. The highway of American automotive progress is littered with the carcasses of failed brands. But its difficult to name notable ones that werent headquartered in or around the Midwest. There, a history of ship and carriage manufacturing, a bounty of natural resources (water, iron ore, timber, coal), and a propensity for industrial solutions allowed now-defunct brands as diverse as Checker, Kaiser, Nash, Studebaker, and Tucker to thrive, if only briefly. This didnt happen much in the agrarian South. There was the Hanson Motor Company from Georgia that operated in the 1910s and 20s, but it built fewer than 2000 cars over eight years, and despite being headquartered in Atlanta, its cars actually were assembled in Detroit. There was also the Piedmont Motor Car Company of Lynchburg, Virginia, during the same era, but it expended so much of its production capacity building badge-engineered vehicles for (mostly Northern) car companies that it could barely supply its own dealers. Which leaves one (sort of) shining star that built cars beneath the Mason-Dixon line in the years between the World Wars: the Anderson Motor Company of Rock Hill, South Carolina. John Gary Anderson, like many early automakers, got his start building horse-drawn buggies, viewing cars as a nefarious and fleeting fad. He eventually saw the writing on the wall for animal-powered transport and decided to make the leap forward. In the mid-1910s, he reorganized his Rock Hill Buggy Company into the Anderson Motor Company and began selling an upscale, six-cylinder touring car. Starting locally, he eventually set up dealerships in the northern U.S. as well as in Central America and the Caribbean. A little higher in price, but made in Dixie was the brands slogan. Weve got to wonder how well that played in Cuba. Anderson the man is credited with a number of automotive innovations. His company was an early adopter of electric windshield wipers, he equipped his cars with a transmission-mounted air compressor for filling flat tires, and he patented the foot-operated headlight-dimmer switch, now a relic that disappeared with the Malaise Era. John Gary Anderson is additionally credited with helping to bring a sense of style to the vehicular realm. Story continues He was a poet and a sculptor and did many other things, says Paul Ianuario, a 71-year-old retired automotive engineer and owner of a pristine 1920 Anderson Six convertible. And he thought cars should be fun. So while cars of that era were black and dark brown and dark grayvery conservativehe made cars that were yellow with a red undercarriage like mine, or cars that were green with yellow undercarriages, or blue cars. Following a nearly 25-year search, Ianuario found his car in 1989 as it was being deaccessioned from the collection of a nonagenarian. Hes since gone on to add several dozen other vehicles to his horde, including representatives from more widely known orphan brands such as Packard, Hudson, Chalmers, and Plymouth. Anderson the company suffered a downturn in the early 20s, falling victim to the post-WWI recession, industry consolidation, and engine-warping issues with a design contracted from Continental in Chicago. Add some filial mismanagement of the business by Andersons sons, and the factory closed in 1926 after winding down for two years. Car manufacturing wouldnt really return to South Carolina until BMW built its Spartanburg plant in 1994, taking advantage of relaxed local regulations and a non-unionized labor pool. Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and myriad suppliers have since followed suit and set up shop in the state. Roughly 6300 Anderson cars were made during the companys run, but because of the lack of service support, cannibalization of parts for other vehicles, and the inhospitality of the Souths damp, warm climate for cars made of wood and aluminum, very few have survived. Of the 12 or 13 that are said to exist, Ianuario says, one of them was cut off from behind the transmission, one is completely rusted to the point where you cant salvage anything off of it, one was in World War II and the body has been completely destroyed. If [youre asking how many are] operational and complete, there are only about seven cars. Ianuarios car joined another Anderson in a display featured at the 2016 Hilton Head Island Concours, a Palmetto State homecoming of sorts for this South Carolina marque. The 1920 Anderson Six then returned to the confines of his garage, a place that sounds like a collectors dream. I can best put it this way, Ianuario says. My home is 2400 square feet. My garage is 7000 square feet. Updated with more detail: Todays reveal of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar shortlist is particularly notable for the films it does not include. Shockingly omitted is Frances submission, Elle. Directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Isabelle Huppert, this has been one of the most talked- and raved-about movies since it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and was roundly considered a shoo-in for a slot. Huppert has been picking up awards and nominations including being named Best Actress by the NY and LA film critics groups and the Gotham Awards. She is nominated for an Indie Spirit and a Golden Globe, and the film also has a Globe nom. Its 89% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is an impressive feat given Verhoeven was working in French for the first time. France has the most nominations of any country with 37, and the second most wins at nine. Last year, Mustang ended a six-year nomination dry spell, but the Hexagon hasnt walked away with the gold since 1992s Indochine. Most of the victories date back to the 50s, 60s and 70s. Elle was a bold and inspired choice this year, but there have been and continue to be rumblings that the local selection committee needs an overhaul. Was it an omen that Elle, a twisty rape drama, left the recent European Film Awards empty-handed despite three nominations? That ceremony was swept by Germanys Toni Erdmann, which is on the Oscar shortlist. Both films are handled by Sony Pictures Classics. Another SPC title, Julieta, from Spanish master Pedro Almodovar, is also a no-show on the shortlist today. His 20th film, it too premiered in Cannes and continued to find favor at major festivals. The melodrama also scored three European Film Award nominations but no wins. It has been hailed as a return to form for the Oscar winner. But evidently not a return to the shortlist. Also excluded is Jackie helmer Pablo Larrains Neruda. Another favorite, and like Elle, coming off of a Golden Globe nomination, the spin on the biopic genre debuted in Directors Fortnight. It is Larrains fourth time representing Chile. He scored a nomination with 2012s No, and many had expected he would advance in this race again this year. His profile has certainly grown given all the attention surrounding Jackie, whose Natalie Portman has also been picking up laurels. It opens Friday in the U.S. Story continues RelatedPaul Verhoeven On Why Elle Would Not Have Been Made Without Isabelle Huppert The Contenders Video The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Phase One and Executive Committees whittled down the 85 submissions this year to todays shortlist of nine. The category has been known for some curious choices in the past. Although rules have been tweaked since, among the most notorious omissions in Oscar lore was Cristian Mungius Palme dOr winer Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days in 2008. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Maria Laura Antonelli/AGF/REX/Shutterstock (5689702e) Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, the director Xavier Dolan 'It's Only the End of the World' photocall, 69th Cannes Film Festival, France - 19 May 2016 The Academy has made a step toward doing right by Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan, whose roundly lauded 2014 pic, Mommy, was an Oscar no-show. It has advanced his Its Only the End of the World to the shortlist. The film drew a very mixed reception in Cannes, where it nevertheless won the Grand Prix du Jury. This is Dolans third time repping Canada. The films stars Gaspard Ulliel as a terminally ill writer who returns home to tell his family hes dying. Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, Nathalie Baye and Vincent Cassel also star. Its not surprising at all to see several other deserving films here. They include Toni Erdmann, Maren Ades bittersweet German comedy that has been picking up awards since it made a welcome debut in Cannes. It left that festival with no major prizes from the main competition but recently took five European Film Awards and the NY Film Critics Circles nod in Foreign Language. It also topped Sight & Sounds best of 2016 list, is the only movie of 2016 to have landed on BBC Cultures survey listing the Top Films of the 21st Century and has an Indie Spirit and a Golden Globe nomination. It revolves around an older man who begins to play pranks on his adult daughter after finding her too self-serious. RelatedToni Erdmann Sweeps European Film Awards; Makes History At Message-Heavy Ceremony Full List Martin Zandvliets Land of Mine from Denmark was expected here too. Also with Sony Pictures Classics, its set after World War II and sees German POWs forced to remove land mines from Danish beaches. This film recently took three EFAs including for Zandvliets wife, cinematographer Camilla Hjelm. Hit Swedish dramedy A Man Called Ove (Music Box) by Hannes Holm, Irans The Salesman from Oscar winner Asghar Farhardi (Amazon/Cohen Media Group), Norways The Kings Choice by Erik Poppe, Andrey Konchalovskys Paradise and Switzerlands My Life As A Zucchini by first-timer Claude Barras (GKids) also were widely predicted to make this list and all have done so. Zucchini is particularly interesting given its an animated film that is also vying in the main animation category. Another movie vying in two races, Italian documentary and Berlin Golden Bear winner, Fire at Sea, did not find the same FL favor. It is shortlisted in Documentary. One film I admit I did not see coming that made todays cut is Australias Tanna. Directed by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler, its set on the titular volcanic South Pacific island and is a story of star-crossed lovers thats been compared to Romeo and Juliet. It played Venice two years ago, picking up prizes in Critics Week. The shortlist will now be winnowed down to five nominees by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London. The full membership votes on the ultimate winner. Related stories Oscar Smackdown: Most Crowded Best Actress Race In Years Sparks Debate Between Gold Derby's Tom O'Neil & Deadline's Pete Hammond Oscars: 10 Films Shortlisted In Visual Effects Race Foreign Fix: How To Draw Attention To Foreign Language Contenders In A Subtitle-Averse Market? Cilvegozu (Turkey) (AFP) - More than 50 wounded civilians from Aleppo, many in serious condition, have been transferred to Turkey for treatment, the Turkish Red Crescent said on Friday. The transfers came as rebel areas of Syria's war-torn second city were being evacuated in a massive operation which began on Thursday but was suspended early on Friday, a Syrian security source said, citing violations of the deal. The move to bus out rebels and civilians began on Thursday, with thousands leaving the battered eastern sector exactly a month after forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad began a deadly offensive to seize control of the whole city. "Since the beginning of the evacuation, over 50 heavily injured (people) have been taken to Turkey," Kerem Kinik, president of the Turkish Red Crescent, told AFP at the Cilvegozu border crossing opposite Syria's Bab al-Hawa post. The injured are "all civilians... from the besieged Aleppo," he said speaking in English. UN officials said late Thursday they believed around 50,000 people, mostly civilians, were still trapped in the city's east. The evacuation of Aleppo is part of a ceasefire deal negotiated by Russia and Turkey. Although the transfers were to have started on Wednesday, the plan was halted as clashes erupted, although fresh talks allowed the effort to begin in earnest a day later. - Tent camps for evacuees - Kinik said Turkish NGOs were preparing to 10,000 tents to house the evacuees in Aleppo province near the Turkish border and were also helping out in Idlib some 60 kilometres (35 miles) south-west of the city. "It's not Turkish camps. We are just supporting Syrian NGOs inside Idlib, so they will manage their IDP camps," he told AFP, saying they expected up to 30,000 people would need sheltering there. Turkish groups would provide shelter, infrastructure, and sanitary and hygiene systems as well as regular humanitarian assistance, he said. Bulent Yildirim, head of the Turkish Islamic charity IHH, said only a tiny number of people had been evacuated so far, saying there were not enough buses to ferry people out of Aleppo. "I believe the evacuation process will take 20 to 25 days," he told reporters at the crossing. "We will stand vigil here until the evacuations are finalised." From Town & Country On January 17th, Sotheby's will hold an auction entirely dedicated to Alexander Hamilton, a founding father of the United States and country's first Secretary of the Treasury. The sale, entitled Alexander Hamilton: An Important Family Archive of Letters and Manuscripts, is the first of its kind and will feature hundreds of personal documents relating to one one America's most famous historical figures. You might be able to purchase an original letter written by the founding father's family for less than a front row seat at his namesake musical. Since the opening of Lin-Maunel Miranda's musical Hamilton, the story of the tumultuous life of the founding father has captivated audiences. Raised in the West Indies, he arrived in the Americas as a student but joined the New York militia when the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775. He rose the ranks and was appointed as aide-de-camp to General George Washington just two years later, and over the course of his life would serve as a Congressional delegate and the Secretary of the Treasury, and he also founded both the Bank of New York and the New York Post. He was famously killed by his rival Aaron Burr during a duel in 1804. Most of the items in the sale have descended through Hamilton's family over the past two centuries, and include both personal and professional documents. Included among the professional papers are the document (which had previously been unknown to scholars for over a century) that appointed Hamilton to Washington's staff and notes written by Hamilton for President George Washington's third annual address to Congress on October 25th, 1791. [contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="What%20Do%20Hamilton's%20Descendants%20Think%20of%20the%20Play?" customimages="" content="article.6339"] The personal documents include love letters exchanged between Hamilton and his wife Eliza, a letter written by Hamilton to Eliza's mother confirming the couple's engagement, a condolence note written to Eliza by her father Philip Schuyler after Hamilton's death in the duel, which still retains its black wax seal, and even a lock of Hamilton's hair with a letter of presentation from Eliza. Story continues While the more historically significant papers (including the letter appointing Hamilton as Washington's aide-de-camp) have estimates of upwards of $100,000, many documents are estimated to sell for just a few thousand dollars. You might just be able to purchase an original letter written by the founding father's family for less than a front row seat at his namesake musical. [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="How%20the%20Cast%20of%20Hamilton%20Gives%20Back" customimages="" content="article.6439"] You Might Also Like Karachi (AFP) - Pakistan's double-Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has hailed new legislation outlawing the crime of "honour killings" as a turning point in the long-battle on violence against women, as she sets her sights on conquering her country's silver screen. The filmmaker cast a spotlight on the issue with her documentary 'A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness' -- which bagged an Academy Award earlier this year. "It is very good in the case of honour killing we finally have a legislation that is stronger," she says In October, Pakistan's government passed legislation aimed at closing loopholes that allowed the perpetrators of such killings, often relatives of the victim, to walk free after they are pardoned by another member of their family. Now a pardon can only save a killer from the death penalty, but not from life imprisonment. Critics contend that loopholes in the new law remain. For instance, if a killer claims a motive other than 'honour' to justify their act, the blood money pardon law may still apply. There are around 1000 'honour' killings per year in Pakistan, but Chinoy remains hopeful the tide is shifting, especially in the wake of widespread revulsion over the murder of a social-media starlet by her brother. "It is not going to end tomorrow, but at least the process has started to send the men into jail who kill under the pretext of honour," she tells AFP ahead of the premiere of her her new animated film "3 Bahadur" part two (Three brave warriors), which follows three children superheroes. If her pride is evident, it is unsurprising -- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif originally announced the bill following a screening in the capital of Chinoy's Oscar-winning film. Many observers believe the weight of international pressure was a catalyst in the government's decision to move a bill that was initially tabled three years ago. Story continues Another turning point for Chinoy was the murder of social media starlet Qandeel Baloch -- who shot to fame for her provocative selfies and videos that were praised by fans for daring to challenge the country's strict social norms on how women should conduct themselves. In July, Baloch was strangled by her brother who later said he had found her "intolerable" -- but the police took the rare step of making themselves "complainants" in the case so the family could not invoke the law of pardon even if they were pressured into doing so. Chinoy explained: "That sent a very strong message to the people of the country." - Story teller - Primarily known for her award-winning documentaries, Chinoy is now branching out into fiction to help revive Pakistan's long-moribund film industry. Pakistan's cinemas are dominated by Bollywood imports, but her first foray into fiction -- which was also Pakistan's first animated feature film, earned $650,000 when it was released last year. "I believe first and foremost, I am a story teller so it doesn't matter whether I am telling a story through making a documentary film or through animation," she said. The upcoming sequel also highlights social evils in Pakistani society, from corruption to the so-called "water mafia" which siphon off Karachi's water to supply to sell to poor residents at exorbitant rates. Chinoy's work is not to everyone's liking -- much like teen activist Malala Yousafzai, she is routinely vilified in some quarters for daring to bare the country's "dirty laundry". "Anybody who works at holding a mirror to the society or talking about the difficult issues that pushes the envelop, there is always blowback," Chinoy said, adding with a smile: "I have stopped picking up my phone directly, and that's the wiser thing to avoid threatening calls." The parents of David Grunwald, the Alaska teenager allegedly kidnapped and killed by friends after smoking the weed belonging to one, came face to face with his alleged killers in court earlier this week. On Tuesday, four of the five suspects Devin Peterson, 18, Austin Barrett, 19, and two 16-year-old minors all pleaded not guilty to playing a role in Davids death, Superior Court officials tell PEOPLE. (It is unclear if the two minor suspects will be charged as adults.) During the arraignment, one of the minor teens appeared to address parents Edie and Ben Grunwald, who attended the hearing, eyewitnesses told the Alaska Dispatch News. He said, What are you gonna do?' Luke Smith, a private investigator who was seated behind the Grunwalds, told the outlet. And then he paused and looked at them again and said, Do something.' However, the suspects father told the outlet his son was actually addressing him: He said, What you gonna do, dad?' In an email addressing the hearing to PEOPLE, Edie Grundwald writes, Just when we think we are having the worst day ever, we have an even worse day. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. On Thursday, Davids family held a small, private funeral. He will be buried Friday at Ft. Richardson National Cemetery near Anchorage, while a friend will play taps on the bugle. David always wanted to go into the military, Edie writes. So it is good to be able to lay him there. The 16-year-old dreamed of being a pilot and following in his parents footsteps of joining the military. Edie tells PEOPLE she served in the military for 31 years while husband Ben served for 20 years. David was reported missing on Nov. 13 after he didnt come home after going to spend time with friends. On Dec. 2, Alaska authorities recovered Davids remains in Palmer, Alaska, after Erick Almandinger, also 16, allegedly confessed to playing a role in his friends murder, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. Erick allegedly revealed David was killed by a friend for smoking all of his weed. Story continues On Dec. 9, the remaining four teens were charged. Peterson is charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution in the first degree. Barrett is charged with murder in the first degree, kidnapping, and murder in the second degree. The two 16-year-old suspects are charged with murder in the first degree, kidnapping, murder in the second degree, and evidence tampering. David Grunwald with his girlfriend Victoria DanielleCourtesy the Grunwald family Almandinger, who appeared in court on Monday, pleaded not guilty to murder in the first degree, kidnapping, murder in the second degree and evidence tampering, KTVA11 reports. He has been charged as an adult. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. Petersons bail was set at $100,000, while no bail was given for the four teenagers charged with murder. Trials for all suspects were scheduled for late February, according to KTUU. PEOPLE could not reach the suspects attorneys for comment. As the case unfolds, Edie is trying to to focus on positive memories of her son. Every time I hear a story about him, see a video, and think about him, our hearts feel like bursting, she writes. David is and always will be the love of our lives. Paris (AFP) - Gazing upward to take in the majesty of the Eiffel Tower, visitors to Paris may be astonished to learn that a vicious war, pitting Man against Rat, is unfolding at their feet. The Champ de Mars park around the famous monument is a battleground in a city-wide anti-rodent campaign that has drawn both cheers and jeers. Several of the French capital's green spaces are off-limits for two weeks as rat catchers go about a grim task, baiting traps with powerful poison. "I haven't seen any rats, but I wouldn't want to, that's disgusting," said Brazilian tourist Marcos Oliveira, 35. Many Paris residents were keen to see the end of a new scourge in a city whose image has already suffered from a string of terror attacks. "It's about time," one Paris native said. "In all my 40 years I've never seen rats in the daytime," said the dancer, giving her stage name Fabiola H. "They used to hide, but now we see them in broad daylight... obviously well fed." Safely out of sight, they were blissfully out of mind, except in the imaginations that created the hit 2007 cartoon "Ratatouille", which depicted a Parisian rat cooking in a famous restaurant. But the city has come under fire for allegedly dragging its feet before launching what has been dubbed its "war on rats". The campaign is seen by some critics as rodent mass murder -- an online petition entitled "Stop the rat genocide" has gathered 19,000 signatures -- and others fault the city for failing to keep the streets clean. Georges Salines, head of Paris's environmental health services, is at the centre of the storm. "When it's an emergency... we have to carry out operations to destroy the rats, which satisfies no-one," Salines told AFP in his office adorned with pictures of flora and fauna. "Animal lovers don't like it, nor do I because I love animals too," he said. Story continues "Rats multiply very, very fast," the public health doctor said. "As long as they have food, water and places to burrow, they'll multiply." Biologists say a female rat will normally have three litters totalling around 20 offspring in her one-year lifespan. Mathematically, one pair of rats could have more than 46,000 offspring in 24 months. - 'Killer in chief' - Salines hit back at the animal rights activist behind the petition, Josette Benchetrit, who labelled him the "killer in chief". "I'm well aware of the issue of animals' suffering and respect for animals," Salines said, calling Benchetrit's attack "totally unacceptable". On another front, Socialist Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo came under fire in a scathing commentary in the conservative daily Le Figaro. "New in the Parisian cityscape: filthy streets because of the total and persistent disarray in the cleaning services," wrote author and politician Serge Federbusch. Describing the situation as "Hidalchaos", he accused the eco-friendly Hidalgo of dragging her feet before "closing several green spaces long enough to kill the beasts!" Federbusch, who heads a small libertarian party, then said sarcastically: "Great ecological record." Geppy Vitale, a 55-year-old Swiss tourist, agreed. "Where there are rats, there's rubbish, and therefore sloppy standards. Big cities like Paris should not have too many rats, they are supposed to have the means" to prevent such a thing. Salines said the problem was the sheer abundance of tasty morsels in Paris. "Rats have to be hungry" to go in the traps, he said. That is why parks are being closed for the extermination effort. "If we leave them open there are too many people who bring in food," Salines said. Perhaps the city's rats are too picky, suggested pest control expert Pierre Falgayrac. The bait in the city's traps is "less appetising than the food the rats find in the garbage", Falgayrac said, warning that rodents that do not eat the full dose will survive to develop a resistance to the poison. One relatively new source of food for the rodents is the city's open-ribbed rubbish bins lined with flimsy plastic bags, designed to avert terror attacks by making it harder to hide explosives in them. Salines said the city was working to "develop new models of trash bins that are see-through to respond to terrorism prevention concerns but that are also inaccessible to rats." - For the birds - But the worst offenders, Salines said, are "compulsive" pigeon feeders who feed the birds despite the risk of being fined. "There are people who give bread to homeless people and pay them to feed the pigeons," he said, adding that they crowdfund to pay off any fines. "There are groups that support this kind of thing." (Adds proposal by Catholic cardinal to mediate dialogue between Kuczynski and Fujimori) LIMA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A motion to force Peru's education minister from office sailed through the opposition-controlled Congress on Thursday in the latest blow to President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's five-month-old government. Tensions between the president and the right-wing populist party Popular Force, led by Kuczynski's defeated rival Keiko Fujimori, have escalated as opposition lawmakers pushed for the ouster of Education Minister Jaime Saavedra because of alleged corruption in public contracts on his watch. Saavedra's supporters said the opposition targeted him to defend powerful private universities facing tougher standards from education reforms that he ushered in. The drawn-out battle over Saavedra drew thousands of his supporters into the streets and revealed divisions in Kuczynski's centrist party, with some saying last week that Saavedra should step down so the government could focus on other things. Peru's 130-seat single-chamber Congress voted 78-0 to oust Saavedra, with nearly all of Popular Force's 72 lawmakers backing the motion. Most ruling party lawmakers and members of a leftist bloc walked out of the vote in protest. The government hopes the motion to remove Saavedra will mark an end to hostilities with Popular Force after Kuczynski backed off a threat to turn the motion to oust him into a vote of confidence on his prime minister, which could have brought Kuczynski closer to being able to constitutionally dissolve Congress. Presidents in Peru call for new congressional elections if lawmakers remove the prime minister twice. But critics of Popular Force warned the success of the ouster motion would embolden the opposition, allowing Congress to pick off other members of Kuczynski's cabinet to destabilize his government. Conservative Catholic Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani offered to mediate an end to the impasse between Kuczynski and Fujimori late on Thursday, inviting both to his home for talks. Story continues Fujimori, a self-described Catholic and a daughter of former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, has declined to meet with Kuczynski since narrowly losing her second presidential bid to him in June. In the heated debate over Saavedra in recent weeks, one lawmaker said Congress could impeach Kuczynski if he sought to dissolve Congress. At least two-thirds of Congress is required for impeachment, some 10 votes more than Popular Force's absolute majority. Kuczynski had stridently defended Saavedra, a former World Bank economist who was the only minister in the previous government he reappointed, and has vowed to keep in place his reforms that raised school standards and teacher salaries. (Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Bill Trott and Leslie Adler) Lima (AFP) - In Peru, Santa Claus doesn't come down the chimney. He breaks down the door. At least that's what happened when police staged an undercover sting operation against a house of suspected drug traffickers, filming the raid in a video that has gone viral online. It shows the lead officer, dressed in a padded Santa suit to confuse the suspects, swinging a sledgehammer to break down the door. Wearing a giant mask of jolly old Saint Nick, he proceeds to help his colleagues round up a group of men inside and leads them out in handcuffs. "The best gift we can give people is a little security," police colonel Jorge Angulo told America TV after the raid. The Santa cop is a member of a special undercover unit in Lima that patrols the capital's streets and carries out raids in disguise. Other costumes include street sweeper, homeless person and hawker. It turns out we have Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to thank for the Obama familys stunning final White House Christmas card. White House photographer Pete Souza took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal the story behind the Obamas holiday card, noting that it was the Canadian prime minister who urged him to take the headline-making photo. Souza recalled the White House honoring Trudeau at the State Dinner in March, and noted that the Trudeau family mingled with the Obamas on the Truman Balcony. At one point, the Prime Minister asked if we could do a photo of he and his wife with the Obama family. Click, click, click. Then, he said I should do a photo of just the Obamas (sic), Souza wrote I could have said, sir we already did one before you arrived. But instead, I clicked off a few quick frames. He continued: And lo and behold, it was this picture that Justin Trudeau asked me to take which everyone loved as the choice for the 2016 White House holiday card. RELATED VIDEO: President Obama Says He Has to Get Back in Michelles Good Graces in New Interview In the card, the First Family sported wide smiles on the balcony. The First Daughters were present, and posed alongside their parents with President Barack Obama embracing Sasha, 15, and First Lady Michelle Obama holding Malia, 18. The entire Obama family signed the card which included two paw prints from dogs Sunny and Bo! Thank you, Justin Trudeau. Thank you. * Duterte tells U.S. to prepare to leave the country * Duterte will reassess relations after Trump takes office (Adds State Department comment) MANILA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States on Saturday to prepare for repeal of an agreement on deployment of troops and equipment for exercises, declaring that America's money could be replaced. Duterte, however, suggested relations could improve under President-elect Donald Trump. "I like your mouth, it's like mine, yes Mr. President. We are similar and people with the same feathers flock together." But returning his focus to the present U.S. administration, which has criticised Duterte over reports of extra-judicial killings in his campaign against drugs, he delivered a different message. "We do not need you," Duterte said in a news conference after arriving from visits to Cambodia and Singapore. "Prepare to leave the Philippines. Prepare for the eventual repeal or abrogation of the VFA." The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, accorded legal status to thousands of U.S. troops who were rotated in the country for military exercises and humanitarian assistance operations. "Bye, bye America and work on the protocols that will eventually move you out of the Philippines," he said, adding that his decision would come "any day soon" after reviewing another military deal, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. A U.S. State Department spokesman, Justin Higgins, said officials had seen Duterte's statements, but the United States had "not received any official requests from Philippine officials to alter any of our many issues of bilateral cooperation." Duterte was visibly upset and vented his anger on Washington because of a decision by the board of the Millennium Challenge Corp, a U.S. poverty reduction agency, to defer a vote on the re-selection of Manila for compact development due to human rights issues. "We do not need the money. China said they will provide so many," he said. "The politics here in Southeast Asia is changing." (Reporting by Karen Lema, Manuel Mogato, Neil Jerome Morales and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alison Williams and Leslie Adler) MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States on Saturday to prepare for repeal of an agreement on deployment of troops and equipment for exercises, declaring that America's money could be replaced. Duterte, however, suggested relations could improve under President-elect Donald Trump. "I like your mouth, it's like mine, yes Mr. President. We are similar and people with the same feathers flock together." But returning his focus to the present U.S. administration, which has criticised Duterte over reports of extra-judicial killings in his campaign against drugs, he delivered a different message. "We do not need you," Duterte said in a news conference after arriving from visits to Cambodia and Singapore. "Prepare to leave the Philippines. Prepare for the eventual repeal or abrogation of the VFA." The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, accorded legal status to thousands of U.S. troops who were rotated in the country for military exercises and humanitarian assistance operations. "Bye, bye America and work on the protocols that will eventually move you out of the Philippines," he said, adding that his decision would come "any day soon" after reviewing another military deal, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. A U.S. State Department spokesman, Justin Higgins, said officials had seen Duterte's statements, but the United States had "not received any official requests from Philippine officials to alter any of our many issues of bilateral cooperation." Duterte was visibly upset and vented his anger on Washington because of a decision by the board of the Millennium Challenge Corp, a U.S. poverty reduction agency, to defer a vote on the re-selection of Manila for compact development due to human rights issues. "We do not need the money. China said they will provide so many," he said. "The politics here in Southeast Asia is changing." (Reporting by Karen Lema, Manuel Mogato, Neil Jerome Morales and Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alison Williams and Leslie Adler) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte boasted again Friday he had killed criminals, as he vowed no let up in his war on drugs that has already claimed thousands of lives. In an hour-long speech to Filipinos in Singapore, Duterte referred to international news coverage of his claims this week that in his previous role as mayor of a major southern city he killed suspects to set an example for police. "To spare you embarrassment about the crawlers on television that have been running on CNN and even the BBC since yesterday that says Duterte admits killing or shooting the criminals: they were not mistaken," he said. People in the 6,500-strong crowd cheered as Duterte used his trademark strong language to promise his drug war would continue. "Sons of whores I will really kill these idiots," he said. "My campaign on drugs will not end, until the end of my term six years from now when every drug pusher is (killed)," he said, making a throat-cutting gesture. Duterte easily won presidential elections in May largely on a promise to eradicate illegal drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people. More than 5,000 people have been killed since Duterte took office in late June, leading to fears of mass extrajudicial killings and a breakdown in the rule of law. Duterte's comments this week about personally killing people when he was mayor of Davao city triggered fresh outrage from rights groups. Long-running efforts by a United Nations rights rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, to probe the drug war hit another hurdle on Friday when she said she had rejected three conditions for her visit set by Duterte's government. Callamard said she had written to the government urging it to reconsider the conditions, which included a public debate with Duterte. Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, speaking to reporters in Singapore on Friday, said the government would not make any concessions. "If she cannot comply with it (the Philippine conditions), then that's the end of it," Yasay said. Story continues Duterte has repeatedly insisted neither he nor his security forces are breaking any laws in prosecuting the crime war. Duterte's aides and political supporters this week shrugged off his statements about personally killing people. But after flying home from Singapore to his southern hometown of Davao, Duterte outlined how, as city mayor in 1988, he and two policemen had shot dead three men who had collected a ransom payment for a kidnapped local woman. "Maybe my bullets killed them, maybe not, but after the broom broom (shooting) they were all dead," he told a news conference, adding the suspects had aimed a carbine rifle at him and the policemen. "I had an M-16 (assault rifle), carried one because Davao was then a wild country. I took the bull by the horns," Duterte added. -- Just 'hyperbole'? -- Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre has said Duterte did not violate any law, and either was making up the claims or had killed people only in self defence. "The president always uses hyperbole, is always exaggerated to put his message across," Aguirre said Wednesday. "If the suspect fought back, he must have been forced to kill him." Surveys show many Filipinos endorse Duterte's campaign, and some of those who turned up to listen to him in Singapore on Friday expressed sentiments felt by compatriots back home. "When the president promises that he will solve the drugs and crime problem, it's very hopeful for us," said Eloisa Lopez, 50, a domestic worker who had taken time off to volunteer at the event. Singapore's leaders also gave Duterte a warm welcome during his two-day state visit, that began early Thursday. Duterte enjoyed a state dinner and had an orchid named after him -- an honour often accorded to world leaders visiting Singapore. MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday killings he maintains he committed while mayor of a southern city, sometimes cruising the streets on a motor bike looking for "encounters to kill", were part of legitimate operations against drug pushers. Speaking to Filipino journalists traveling with him in Singapore, Duterte said he had killed three men during a hostage-taking incident in Davao City where he was mayor for more than 20 years. "It was not because I was walking around that I killed," he said. "It was actually an event that was covered by the TV...I said I killed about three of them. I didn't really know how many bullets from my gun went through inside their bodies." The firebrand leader told a gathering of business leaders at the presidential palace on Monday he had "personally" killed criminals and that he was prowling the city's streets on a big bike looking for "encounters to kill". Senators have warned Duterte risks impeachment because of his statements about personally killing criminals in Davao. Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said in Washington Duterte's statement about looking for chances to kill criminals while riding a bike were "deeply troubling". "The United States continues to be concerned by the widespread reports of extrajudicial killings by, or at the behest of, government authorities in the Philippines," he said. During the election campaign early this year, the 71-year-old former prosecutor referred to the hostage-taking incident in Davao City to demonstrate toughness in fighting drug dealers. "NOT GENOCIDE" Duterte said he was only after criminals and would not murder because of race, religion or political belief. "It's not genocide, it's about crime. It's not covered under the charter of the International Criminal Court," he said. "If you are fighting drug addicts and criminal, I can go as many as I want and for as long as there are drug pushers in the streets in my country... this campaign will go on until the last day of my term." He said of anyone who would destroy the country, "I would not have second thought about cutting your head off", ordering the police to go out and hunt the drug peddlers and kill those who resist. More than 2,000 people have died in anti-drug police operations since Duterte came to power on July 1, with another 3,000 killed by masked men on motor cycles or vigilantes. (Reporting By Manuel Mogato; additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in washington; Editing By xxxxx) MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines would not protest China's moves to militarize its man-made islands in the South China Sea, Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay said on Friday, amid Manila's efforts to improve ties with Beijing. China has deployed anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on the artificial islets it has built in the disputed Spratly Islands, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in findings reported by Reuters this week. Speaking to reporters in Singapore during an official visit by President Rodrigo Duterte, Yasay said the government will not issue any diplomatic protest to China via a "note verbale". "We will make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal," Yasay said, referring to another group of disputed islets. "Let them take whatever action is necessary in the pursuit of their national interest... and we will leave it at that, for the Philippines, we have our bilateral engagements with China," he said, adding that other countries could deal with any issues. Whereas the Scarborough Shoal was disputed solely by China and the Philippines, several countries, including China and the Philippines, have rival claims in the Spratly Islands. Since his election six months ago, President Duterte has sought to strengthen previously strained relations with Beijing, while cooling ties with long-time ally, the United States. Yasay's remarks contrast with those of Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana, who on Thursday described China's latest actions in the Spratly Islands as a "big concern" for the international community . Every year, about $5 trillion worth of maritime trade passes through the sea, which is believed to hold deposits of oil and gas. Aside from China and the Philippines other countries with maritime claims in the sea include Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. "We cannot stop China... there is nothing that we can do about that now," Yasay said, adding improving relations with Beijing had paid off because Filipino fishermen can now fish around Scarborough Shoal. In Manila, coast guard officials from the Philippines and China concluded two-day of talks to draw up an action plan to cooperate in fishing, environmental protection and humanitarian assistance in the South China Sea. Coast guard spokesman, Commander Armand Balilo, said the two sides also discussed joint law enforcement operations as well as adopting a set of protocols to avoid accidents. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines on Friday appealed to former colonial ruler the United States to reconsider a decision to withhold humanitarian aid, with Manila's foreign minister asking for the assistance to be provided without any conditions. President Rodrigo Duterte told U.S. President Barack Obama to "go to hell" in October, and has alluded to severing ties, after being infuriated by U.S. criticism of his war on drugs, which has claimed 2,000 lives since he took office on July 1. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. poverty reduction agency, said on its website its board had "deferred a vote on the re-selection of the Philippines for compact development, subject to further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties". "If they would really like to help us on the basis of our need, they should give it to us rather, without any conditions," Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told reporters in Singapore, while accompanying Duterte on a visit to the tiny city-state. "We would hope that America would try to reconsider this. This has always been our appeal to America. Treat us with mutual respect, and treat us as a sovereign equal." Yasay said Duterte's government was trying its best to tackle allegations of human rights violations, the main concern of the United States. "But we would like to make sure that if this is merely a ploy, this is merely to bow down to their demands, we will not do so," he said. "If they don't want to help us, we'll accept that." If Washington finally decided to withhold the aid because of human rights concerns, Yasay said it would not have a "great impact" on Manila's economic situation. He blamed the United Nations special rapporteur on arbitrary killings for the Philippines' bad image overseas, and demanded an apology from Agnes Callamard. "She must apologize for the arbitrary findings that she has made," he said. "She must withdraw the findings immediately and admit it in public because she has unfairly damaged the country." Yasay said Callamard's report could be among the reasons for the U.S.-based aid agency to consider dropping the country from its list of poor nations to be given anti-poverty assistance. The Philippines said Callamard could still come to Manila to conduct investigations on extrajudicial killings if she agreed to government guidelines for next year's visit. More than 2,000 people have died in anti-drug police operations, with another 3,000 deaths, caused by motorcycle-rising masked men and by vigilante groups, under investigation since Duterte took office on July 1. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) MANILA, Philippines (AP) The Philippine president said Saturday he would "set aside" a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal that invalidated Beijing's claims to most of the busy South China Sea, because he doesn't want to impose on China. President Rodrigo Duterte made the remarks when asked in a news conference if a U.S. think tank report that China apparently installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its new artificial islands in the disputed waters would affect his perception of Beijing. The Philippines claims the reefs that were turned by China into man-made islands. Duterte, who took office in June, has taken steps to mend relations with China that grew hostile during the time of his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, over the long-unresolved territorial disputes. The Aquino administration took the disputes to international arbitration in a move backed by Washington after China seized a disputed shoal in 2012. "In the play of politics, now, I will set aside the arbitral ruling. I will not impose anything on China," Duterte said. He explained his position partly by repeating his threat to remove American forces out of the Philippines after the Obama administration criticized his government's bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. "I will demand that they go out of my country. What's the use of keeping, hosting them when they think we are a bunch of criminals?" Duterte asked. "Go, go out. If you do not believe in us, why deal with us? Son of (bitches)." Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said Friday the Philippines won't take any steps against China in response to the report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies late Wednesday that China appears to have installed weapons to guard against missile attack on its seven newly created islands. Asked if his department plans to issue any statement or ask China to clarify, Yasay said, "We want to make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal." Story continues He was referring to a disputed fishing area off the Philippines' northwestern coast where tensions recently eased when Chinese coast guard ships allowed Filipinos to fish after blocking them from the area since 2012. China's change of tact came after Duterte met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing in October. Yasay told reporters in Singapore, where he and other officials accompanied Duterte on a visit, "there is nothing that we can do about that now, whether or not it is being done for purposes of further militarizing these facilities that they have put up." "We cannot stop China at this point in time and say 'Do not put that up.' We will continue to pursue peaceful means at which all of these can be prevented," he said. His remarks differed from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who expressed concerns over the CSIS report and said the government was attempting to verify it. "If true, it is a big concern for us and the international community who uses the South China Sea lanes for trade," Lorenzana said Thursday. "It would mean that the Chinese are militarizing the area, which is not good." Last week I joined a dozen activists who brought a few grams of marijuana to the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., President-elect Trumps nominee for US Attorney General. We wanted tangible insight as to the incoming administration's approach to pot. Video of the encounter has gone viral through NowThis, with more than 400,000 views. Adam Eidinger, who led the successful Washington DC ballot initiative to legalize cannabis in 2014, invited us. Eidinger and his local organization, DCMJ, keep pressure on Congress for national reform and they had paid one visit to Sessions. Philly activist NA Poe and I were on the follow-up trip to describe our federal possession convictions. The three of us decided on peaceful civil disobedience - a harmless show-and-tell with some actual cannabis. We agreed not to smoke at the office. The tactic was lighthearted, but it was a serious choice for those of us with direct experience of the potentially harsh consequences. I paid the price for possessing marijuana in a national park and it cost me two years of having a probation officer keenly observe nineteen urine tests over two years. So why would we take the risk? What was the impact of our visit? Donald Trump, a vociferous commentator on a wide variety of domestic and international matters, has been completely silent on marijuana policy after winning the election. Sessions dropped his infamous good people don't smoke marijuana line during a Senate hearing last April and has not commented on since his nomination. Because the incoming presidential administration has remained mute on marijuana, were left to speculation about the smoldering future relationship between Trump, Sessions and Mary Jane. Reform advocates, lawyers and cannabis industry operators have openly pondered how the Department of Justice - with some possibly renewed enforcement fire - could foul up retail marijuana regulations, businesses and tax revenue. But that's all just duck-and-cover rhetoric from folks that have already gone legal. Story continues There is little solace in the concept of protecting states' rights where continued prohibition is leading to increasing arrests. New Jersey has reached record levels with more than 24,500 possession collars per year and certain counties in Pennsylvania are also recording an uptick. It seems clear from the Trump administration's silence that there's bad news coming for marijuana, said Eidinger. Post-election far less attention has been paid to our nation's long-suffering marijuana consumers. They still live under the boot of criminal enforcement despite recent victories at the polls. So we went looking for answers. Our crew entered the Russell Senate Office Building on Dec. 8 without incident. We walked by the open doors of a Foreign Relations Committee luncheon where Tom Ridge was stoically delivering a speech. We quietly filed past in a surreal moment. Poe and USMC veteran Rico Valderrama carried the cannabis. I held 20 large photographs of local cannabis consumers - everyone from senior citizens to pediatric medical patients. We snapped a few selfies with the buds next to the nameplate in the hallway, then Senator Sessions' communications director Chris Jackson received us along with two other staffers. They were immensely polite and listened to each activist. Jackson stated that he could not comment on any policy position relating to Senator Sessions' nomination to be Attorney General. We pointed out that working class Americans are faced with civil asset forfeiture and custody issues when marijuana brings the system into their lives. Jackson asked if we planned on visiting any other offices that day and wondered aloud at our focus on his Senator. I showed a slideshow of good people who consume marijuana: Philly based USMC vet Mike Whiter; 10-year-old Tuffy Rivera who lives with severe epilepsy; me and Poe being detained with joints by Department of Homeland Security in front of Independence Hall. More polite listening. Poe and Valderrama then pulled the buds from their pockets and showed them to Jackson. Poe set his buds on a side table while Valderrama pinned one to his jacket lapel, like a carnation, then quickly hand-rolled his stash into a joint. A Capitol Police Sergeant entered the room and demanded to speak to the person in charge. Jackson explained that he was responsible for the office. He and the officer went into the hallway. It was tense but we were calm as we pondered a possible arrest. Valderamma kept rolling. Eidinger commented on federal possession policy. Poe looked me in the eye with sad determination and began to eat the small, pungent bud in his palm. I laughed. Jackson re-entered the room, calmly sat down and asked us to continue. US News&World Report's Steven Nelson was there to record Eidinger's open question to Senator Sessions: If youre not going to arrest people in your own office who bring marijuana why would you break down peoples doors as a federal policy? Eventually, Sessions, who was not in the room, may be compelled to offer an answer. Across the US, more than 600,000 people are likely to be arrested for marijuana possession next year alone, more than for all other drugs combined and for most violent crimes, combined. A huge chunk of our criminal justice system is devoted to taking cannabis consumers into custody, and it's all predicated on federal law. We spent a few more minutes chatting with Jackson, acknowledged his surprising and welcome tolerance, then shook hands and went on our way. The same Capitol Police Sergeant approached us in the hall not to search us but to thank us (another welcome show of tolerance) for behaving in an orderly manner during in our visit. We don't think Sessions was present in his larger, personal office on the other side of the door but, undoubtedly, word of the event quickly reached his ears. Along with a healthy amount of praise, we also heard some sharp criticism from our own community regarding the technique. Many were nervous at such an interaction. They prefer to direct their energy into emails and online petitions to force another nominee. Sessions confirmation hearings are set to take place on Jan. 10 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he also has a seat. A consummate beltway insider, Sessions has long relationships in both parties that may ease his appointment. That's why our visit was meaningful. Marijuana is likely to come up during the hearings. Sessions can no longer treat cannabis consumers as an abstract. Challenging states' marijuana reform laws directly is not likely on the table, even for President-elect Trump. Personal possession and even home cultivation provisions will not face any immediate problems. The federal government is far better positioned to attempt the first major regulation of commercial marijuana production and retail sales. President Obama took a hands-off approach here, but the Trump administration seems poised to start tinkering. The Controlled Substances Act, with its supporting laws and agencies, already gives the White House many of the tools necessary to take a stab at corralling all that cannabis cash. What could ensue is a major battle not over the concept of legalization but over the money. It all might end up like something less of a political fight and more of a corporate takeover. Consumers will get caught in the crossfire. In the future, Trump, Sessions and all of Congress have more to contend with than a few peaceful activists. More than 70 million Americans now live in a state where marijuana is legal. Cannabis is also a global issue, with the U.S. at the center. We consume more pot than any other country but have foisted the poor policy of prohibition onto the United Nations. Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is showing the world just how extreme a drug war can become by openly executing people without a trial. A Nigerian man, Chijoke Stephen Obioha, who did get a trial in Singapore was nonetheless executed at dawn recently by hanging - for trafficking about 5 pounds of marijuana. These are the far-reaching consequences happening every day because of how the US government treats a non-toxic plant. Still, not everyone is following our rules. Canada's government just announced plans for national legalization and Mexico is moving forward with medical marijuana. While the Trump administration is commanding all of the attention, the Democrats are taking some changes too. Keith Ellison, a nominee to become the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, spoke with Senator Bernie Sanders last night the the launch of Our Revolution. DCMJ's Eidinger was pleased to see both men mention cannabis reform, a prime issue for Sanders during his presidential bid. They spoke about the madness of marijuana incarceration and overhauling the criminal justice system. These views are held not just by Democrats but by Republicans, so there should be bi-partisan progress. The DNC adopted a Pathway to Legalization plank at their convention this year. Any overt attempt to rollback marijuana laws by the GOP could be instantly turned into donations and votes by the Democrats. But, that kind of standoff in politics sometimes has the odd effect of creating common ground. Eidinger plans to attend Sessions' confirmation hearings then focus on the White House, Organizing is going to grow by giant leaps from here. We are extremely concerned with just how the next White House will address cannabis but we are certainly not afraid of Jeff Sessions, he's just another politician who needs to interact with consumers and the plant. We'll be here to hold our politician's feet to the fire or, at least, to some lit joints. If Senator Session's never changes his mind about good people smoking marijuana then I hope he will take the words of President James Madison to heart, If men were angels, no government would be necessary. Most Popular on Philly.com By Jack Kim and Nataly Pak SEOUL (Reuters) - At the start of President Park Geun-hye's term, physician Kim Sang-man was a frequent guest at Seoul's Blue House, exempt from thorough security checks, giving injections derived from human placenta to South Korea's most important patient. Park's frequent medical and cosmetic treatments, including shots administered without the supervision of her official doctors, have been revealed in detail during investigations into a sweeping corruption scandal that is poised to cost her the presidency, raising questions over their safety and efficacy. It has also fueled criticism that doctors not appointed by the presidential office treated her over an extended period and continued to do so even after medical staff at her official Blue House residence became aware. "We're talking about the president, not just anybody, so the official doctor has to be consulted and then make the decision," said Shin Hyun-dai, who served as a Blue House doctor for former President Roh Moo-hyun from 2003 to 2008. "The official doctor needs to know even about pills given for indigestion. This is nonsense," said Shin, who practices Oriental medicine. Kim said Park, who is 64 and has never married, suffered from insomnia and often became fatigued. He said he had gone into the Blue House to see Park a few times before being named a "consulting Blue House doctor" in August 2013, and several times after that. He said he would visit Park's residential quarters after his shift at a clinic, when the president's medical staff were off duty. "I would get a call that she is not well, and I would go in," Kim told a parliamentary hearing this week. Kim would said he would give Park placenta extract injections, which are administered subcutaneously, or just under the outer layer of skin. "Usually doctors treat illnesses but my speciality is I try to manage the condition before an illness," he said. More common in East Asia than in the West, placental extract treatments have recently become popular in South Korea, but many doctors remain sceptical. Huh Kap-bum, an endocrinologist who was former President Kim Dae-jung's official doctor from 1998 to 2002, said it would have been less controversial if Park had chosen to consult her official doctors for the same treatment. But, he added: "I would have said to the president, no, because they are not proven safe." MYSTERY PATIENT Park's medical treatments had been shrouded in secrecy. Kim had been a staff physician at Chaum, a clinic known for its detox and beauty care services, where Park was treated under a pseudonym before she was elected in December 2012, according to the clinic's president. The Health Ministry has said prescriptions for an intravenous glucose and vitamin mix were issued for Park from 2012 to 2014, but that a Chaum doctor had fabricated records to show them as written for Park's friend Choi Soon-sil. Choi has been indicted and is at the center of the influence-peddling scandal that led to Park's impeachment last week in parliament, which must be confirmed or overturned by the Constitutional Court. Last year, the Blue House bought 200 units of placenta extract and other products normally used for aesthetic purposes, according to a government database obtained and released by an opposition lawmaker in November. The same record made headlines last month when it showed the purchase of 60 Viagra pills that the presidential office said were intended to ease altitude sickness for staff members during a trip to Africa earlier this year, but were never used. Doctors and lawmakers have also said they suspect Park underwent procedures to reduce facial wrinkles, but none of the doctors known to have treated her have confirmed performing them. Huh, the ex-Blue House doctor, said it was "abnormal" that there was not a better accounting of Park's treatments. "It appears that the Blue House medical system didn't function normally. It is something that should not happen." FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH? Human placental extract therapy has been around for half a century in Japan, where the government approves its use in liver treatments and to ease symptoms of the menopause. News reports about Park's enthusiasm for the injections has renewed public interest in the therapy, which can cost up to 100,000 won ($84.50) per visit, meaning the mark-up from a product supplied to clinics at about 5,500 won makes it a lucrative business. Scientific evidence of the benefits of placental extract is thin. A South Korean study in 2008 said women who received placenta extracts showed improvement in menopausal symptoms linked to reduced oestrogen levels. A few other studies, including a 1998 paper by a team of University of Tokyo scientists and another in 2013 by South Korean doctors, found evidence human placental extract may stimulate liver regeneration in rats, but there have been insufficient clinical trials to substantiate the benefits to humans. "Medically, the proven effect of placenta injections remains fairly weak, but doctors are free to prescribe them," said Shin Hyun-young, professor of family medicine at Myongji Hospital and former spokeswoman of the Korean Medical Association. Protein, amino acids and vitamins and other compounds found in the substance are purported to alleviate fatigue and fight inflammation. "I don't recommend it because there is some debate about it," Lee Byung-seok, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who was Park's official doctor while Kim provided placenta shots, told the parliamentary hearing. (Additional reporting by Christine Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Tony Munroe and Alex Richardson) Nintendos going to let you fiddle with its upcoming Nintendo Switch hybrid home and mobile video games platform as early as January, if you happen to live near a major U.S. or Canadian city. The companys doing a show tour of sorts in advance of the systems March 2017 release, and it kicks off immediately after the Nintendo Switch Presentation thatll livestream from Tokyo on Jan. 12. Heres the tour schedule: New York Jan. 13-15 Toronto Jan. 27-29 Washington, D.C. Feb. 10-12 Chicago Feb. 17-19 San Francisco Feb. 24-26 Los Angeles March 3-5 That may look generous at three days a piece, but Nintendo says the first two days of each stop will be invite-only. (TIME will attend the Jan. 13 date in New York.) But Nintendo says it wanted to change things up by opening the tour to the public on the third day of each stop, which in all six slots above happens to be a Sunday. Theyre also noting the settings in which some of the launch games can be played will be very original and surprising, and designed to highlight the different ways Nintendo Switch can be played. Its a first-come, first-serve affair, so Nintendos encouraging folks to show up early. And if you cant hit any of these, the companys demonstrating the system as PAX South in San Antonio (Jan. 27-29), PAX East in Boston (March 10-12) and SXSW in Austin, Texas (March 16-18). We dont know when in March Nintendo Switch will be available to buy, or for how muchthats supposed to be revealed during the Jan. 12 Tokyo livestream. But its a safe guess, given the SXSW timing, that itll be late March, not early. Warsaw (AFP) - More than twenty Polish media outlets including two major dailies refused to cover parliament Friday, to protest planned restriction of their work there. The planned new rules grant access to parliament's press gallery to only two journalists per outlet and ban them from shooting still pictures or video. The restrictions therefore prevent the media from recording images of lawmakers when they break the rules, for example by voting for an absent colleague. The only video images available will be provided by the parliament's official video service. The new system makes journalists work at a press centre situated in another building, limiting their access to lawmakers. The ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party said the measure sought to guarantee a comfortable work environment to both lawmakers and journalists. "It's definitely not meant to reduce transparency," said PiS lawmaker Arkadiusz Mularczyk. Those joining Friday's media boycott included big dailies Gazeta Wyborcza and Rzeczpospolita, as well as two large private radio channels. Several dozen journalists, including big names, rallied outside the parliament building on Thursday. In a letter, they asked the speakers of both parliamentary chambers to drop the planned measure. "It will only allow politicians to steer clear of journalists easily," the letter says. Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis turns 80 on Saturday with no sign of slowing down in his drive to reshape the Catholic church to reflect his own vision of compassion and humility. Three years and nine months after his election, the first pope from the Americas continues to set a relentless pace as he reaches a milestone at which cardinals are ushered into semi-retirement. Francis has not ruled out following the historic example of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who retired, exhausted, in 2013. But there is no suggestion that could happen soon. Like almost every other day of his papacy, Saturday will be a working day for the holiday-phobic Francis: morning mass with cardinals followed by meetings with the Maltese president and a top Vatican official. In the cerebral Benedict's place, Francis has brought an upbeat Latin tempo, a strong work ethic and the asceticism of a Jesuit missionary to the role of leading the world's largest church. This will be the fourth birthday the former bishop of Buenos Aires has celebrated in the modest St Martha's boarding house he has made his home inside the Vatican's walls. The world's 1.2 billion Catholics are, by now, used to the face Francis displays to the world. More often than not it is one lit up by a crinkly-eyed, double-chinned smile, at official audiences and meet-and-greets where he displays his ease with people from all walks of life. There are signs of fatigue, natural for a man of his age who lost part of a lung in his youth, and the occasional grimace bears witness to the sciatic pain that is a near constant companion. Sometimes his features darken, usually indicating he is addressing issues dear to his heart: Europe's indifference to migrants drowning in the Mediterranean, the humiliation of the poor or, most recently, the destructive power of agri-business. - Abortions absolved - Born into a family of Italian heritage on December 16, 1936, Jorge Bergoglio became the 266th pope when he was elected on March 13, 2013. Story continues From the off he seemed like a man in a hurry. Several times he has implied he does not think he will be around for long. He said he wanted "a poor church, for the poor". And more broadly his mission has been to recast the church as a compassionate institution, one that seeks to help believers with daily difficulties. His first Jubilee year was dedicated to the theme of mercy, a quality Francis believes should be at the core of the church's work, rather than reflexes of condemnation and judgement. Faced with opposition, in the hierarchy and on the ground in the developing world, Francis has arguably made little headway in reshaping Catholic teaching. On vexed issues such as cohabitation and attitudes to homosexual or divorced believers in the church, reviews have ended with ambiguous conclusions that infuriated conservatives and disappointed radicals. But the mood music has undeniably changed. "Who am I to judge?" Francis asked when asked for his views on homosexuality, long seen as a disorder by the church. Authorisation to priests to absolve women who confess to having had abortions, a Jubilee initiative, has been extended indefinitely. - 'Church is field hospital' - Bishops can now grant remarried divorcees communion on a case-by-case basis. And the church recognises that cohabiting couples might legitimately be prevented from marrying because of financial barriers. Francis has also recognised the "erotic dimension of love" as a gift from God, while simultaneously trying to move Catholicism away from its obsession with sex. And, by agreeing to examine the role of female deacons in early Christianity, some see Francis as having opened a door to the possibility of women clergy. Pragmatic reformer rather than revolutionary, is a common assessment of the soon-to-be octogenarian. "For him, the church is a field hospital, not a customs barrier," says Italian Vatican expert Marco Politi. "But he has not touched doctrine. He is not a progressive in that sense." Marco Tosatti, another Vatican watcher, says Francis has "sown a lot of confusion inside the church". "He's a journalists' pope. He's given the church a friendlier, lighter image. But summer sales do not attract new customers. The traditional Protestant churches tried adapting to the modern world and look at them: there's nobody left." Politi says conservatives are biding their time. "The goal is not a coup but to lay the groundwork for the eventual successor. Like the Tea Party that spent its time sabotaging Obama and found it was worthwhile when Trump was elected." Bogota (AFP) - Pope Francis has invited President Juan Manuel Santos and his predecessor Alvaro Uribe to the Vatican on Friday, Colombian officials said, in an apparent bid to strengthen the government's peace accord with FARC rebels. Uribe led opposition to the agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), ratified last month after an earlier version was voted down in a referendum in October. "The Vatican has organized an audience of the Pope, Santos and Uribe," a spokesman for the Colombian presidency said Thursday of the meeting apparently aimed at reconciling the two former allies. "The president is aware of this and agreed." Santos, on tour in Europe after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Saturday, was already set to meet the pope on Friday. Uribe, now a senator, told Congress on Thursday that he had been invited at the last minute and that he would try to arrive in time for the meeting. "If I don't arrive in time, it won't be intentional, but because of a lack of time," he told legislators. It was not clear whether he had boarded a flight to Rome. Uribe spearheaded opposition to the peace deal after nearly four years of negotiations to end more than a half-century of armed conflict. The former president and his allies argue the deal grants impunity to rebels guilty of war crimes, giving them seats in Congress rather than sending them to prison. After voters rejected the earlier deal by a narrow margin, the government and FARC renegotiated it, deciding to have it ratified in Congress rather than risk a second referendum. It passed unanimously in both houses, where Santos has a majority, on November 30, when Uribe led a walkout by his right-wing party. The Colombia conflict has killed more than 260,000 people and left 45,000 missing. MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bank Popolare di Vicenza said on Friday the European Central Bank had asked it to improve its liquidity position and assess all options to cut its stock of bad loans as it readies a new business plan. Like rival Veneto Banca, Popolare di Vicenza was taken over by Italy's bank rescue fund Atlante earlier this year when it failed to find buyers for an initial share issue needed to keep it afloat. The ECB has told the two banks to study a possible merger and present a new business plan. Popolare di Vicenza said the ECB had reiterated the request for an updated strategy as part of its annual supervisory process. The ECB also wants a funding plan outlining measures to stabilise the bank's liquidity coverage ratio - a key funding indicator - at no less than 10 percentage points above the minimum requirement. Popolare di Vicenza on Friday signed an accord with unions to cut up to 300 employees through early retirements. (Reporting by Valentina Za) Rini Cesillia was found dead in her hotel shower on Tuesday. (Photo: Instagram/SWNS) In a paradisiacal getaway turned stunningly tragic, Indonesian beauty blogger Rini Cesillia, 26, was found dead on Tuesday while on vacation in Bali, apparently electrocuted by a malfunctioning shower in her hotel. The young beauty, who lived in Jakarta, had a huge fanbase more than 13,500 followers on Instagram and thousands of views on YouTube, where she had recently posted tutorials on flat-iron usage and eye shadow application: We suspect Cesillia died from electric shock . We are waiting for the postmortem examination to ascertain whether the cause of death was electrocution or not, Bali police inspector Bangkit Dananjaya told the Sun. Friends reportedly found Cesillia naked on the bathroom floor, still holding the shower hose, with burn marks across her chest. And although it would be a rare way to die, its not unheard of in places around the world where electric water heaters are used, according to news reports and even a study of one similar incident. Rini Cesillia. (Photo: Instagram/SWNS) Along with electric power becoming an essential part of industry and social environment, death due to electrical injury emerged as a considerable public health problem. And yet, it is still an uncommon cause of death, noted the 2015 analysis, which was published in the Romanian Journal of Legal Medicine and focused on the shower electrocution death of a 34-year-old woman in China. The cause in that case appeared to be using electric equipment in high humidity environment, which was the steamy bathroom itself, which raises the risk level. Because of that a grounding wire is prerequisite. During bathing, large amounts of water vapor made the jacketing of the water heater electrically charged. In addition, the naked metal plumbing and shower head which the victim directly contacted served as excellent media for the conduction of electricity from the water heater. Death would have certainly been instantaneous, the study notes. Rini Cesillia. (Photo: Instagram/SWNS) Other similar shower-electrocution deaths all within the last couple of years have included that of a 15-year-old boy in Singapore, a woman in Abu Dhabi, a man in the United Arab Emirates, a woman in Malaysia, and a 34-year-old man in Hong Kong who, like Cesillia, was found still clutching the running showerhead. Story continues Even if the building is new, lack of proper maintenance can cause the electrical wires to be in touch with water or people directly, exposing them to the risk of electric shock, noted an official in the UAE case. If the building is old but the water heater is in good condition, shock hazards still exist from exposed wiring and lack of proper maintenance. Fans of Cesillia expressed their sorrow on social media, tweeting out messages including, Been reading your blog since long time ago and it always enlightening me. RIP one of my make up guru. May you safe in heaven, and Just found out, [a] beauty blogger in Indonesia has passed away. Time is short! No-one can predict it. Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. (Adds status of the negotiations) By Jens Hack and Greg Roumeliotis Dec 16 (Reuters) - Praxair Inc and Linde AG , the industrial gas companies that agreed earlier this month to revive merger talks, are close to finalizing the terms of the potential deal, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The move comes after Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair provided new assurances to Munich, Germany-based Linde over corporate governance and jobs, the sources said. Its previous bid to create a $65 billion industrial gas giant failed in September amid disagreements over these issues. A final term sheet may be finalized by the two companies by next Wednesday or Thursday, the sources said, cautioning that it was always possible for last-minute disagreements to arise. The sources asked for anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Praxair and Linde offered no immediate comment. Linde and Praxair, alongside rivals Air Liquide SA and Air Products and Chemicals Inc, are struggling with slower economic growth that has weakened demand from the manufacturing, metals and energy industries and put pressure on smaller players, leading to further consolidation in the sector. Earlier on Friday, Juergen Wechsler, head of the IG Metall union in Bavaria, said "powerful forces" within the company are now at work to ensure that a consensus is reached about a combination. German unions IG BCE and IG Metall have struck a deal with Linde's management to avoid forced redundancies in Germany before 2021, Buechele said. "We will try to save as much as we can," Wechsler told Reuters. "It is about employees, locations, headquarters, and about co-determination," he said, adding that unions had already been given far-reaching assurances including a guarantee that a site in Dresden will not be closed. Wolfgang Buechele, the recently departed chief executive of Linde had sought up to 4,000 job cuts in Germany after the company broke off initial merger talks. Story continues On Dec. 7, Buechele paved the way to a revived deal by stepping down with immediate effect. "With the resumption of the talks, a successful merger is now drawing near," Buechele said in a statement at the time. Among other concessions Praxair has made to Linde to structure the deal as close to a merger of equals as possible, it has agreed for the combined company to have a second base in Munich, in addition to its headquarters in Connecticut, according to the sources. The combined company will also have two stock listings, one in New York and one in Frankfurt, according to the sources. (Reporting by Jens Hack in Munich and Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Tina Bellon, Bernard Orr) Photo credit: USAF From Popular Mechanics The U.S. Air Force wants a new drone. It needs to do everything the current Predator can do but better, including staying airborne for seven days and using less ground support than its unmanned predecessor. To reach this high bar, the Air Force might consider a hybrid or solar-powered engine, an airship design, or other technology that might not yet exist. But the end product needs to cost only $1 million per aircraft. This new program is called the Ultra-Endurance Unmanned Air Vehicle, and program manager Marc Owens of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Center for Rapid Innovation tells Popular Mechanics that it will be ideally suited for gathering intelligence and will carry cameras and radar rather than bombs. At present, the Air Force can support only about 60 drone Combat Air Patrols (CAP) at one time, which is not many considering that a CAP may be focused on just one village or even devoted to following a single high-value individual. Cheap drones could boost numbers and be sent into situations too hazardous for a more costly aircraft. The new drone will need to be stealthier than the Predator and its lawnmower-like engine, and will have satellite communications with a payload at about half the Predator's. Although a smaller drone might make this new aircraft look like a pipsqueak in comparison, electronics have shrunk considerably since the Predator came into service back in 1994. It would be like comparing an iPhone 7 to an IBM Simon. "Technologically, a number of advancements could come into play to support the desired objective," says Owens, mentioning innovative aerodynamic designs, efficient propulsion systems, and solar power. "But we are 'agnostic' about technology." In other words, they're open to ideas. Although they'll consider several proposals from different companies, only one can join the Air Force's drone fleet. But this drone's cutting edge requirements could make it a huge challenge to build. Story continues Photo credit: Craig Howellundefined First is meeting that daunting seven-day flight quota. The Air Force's Predator can fly for a two-day stretch with the help of a frugal Rotax engine and glider-like wings. But that length can be easily passed using just 1980s technology. Boeing's prototype 1988 Condor drone, for example, had a 200-foot wingspan, slightly more than a 747 airliner. It was made of new lightweight composite materials, and tipped the scales at 20,300 pounds, less than one-thirteenth the weight of its 747. A pair of fuel-injected, 6-cylinder piston engines drove the Condor to speeds over 200 mph. It took off from a four-wheeled trolley and landed on skis to save weight and could last for 58 hours in the air - though designers say that number isn't even close to its limit as it could likely stay airborne for a week. Like the much smaller Predator, Condor was designed for surveillance but when Boeing finished the design in 1989, it was way too expensive. What if the winning design isn't a winged drone at all, but an airship? The Air Force doesn't have a great history with lighter-than-air dirigibles, as it's already canceled the $200 million Blue Devil drone blimp in 2012 (the Army also terminated their similar LEMV in 2013). Other airships, like DARPA's Walrus, have met similar fates. Any airship proposal for the Ultra-Endurance UAV would have to hold steady with high 50 mph winds. Airlander says its airships can survive up to 80 mph gales, but that claim has never been tested. The Air Force's best bet is likely a hybrid engine combining solar power with fuel cells, an idea derived from a NASA study into long-endurance air vehicles. Airbus is working on the Zephyr, an ungainly solar craft with a 70-foot wingspan, which holds the record for the amount of hours airborne at 336 (about two whole weeks). But its 11-pound payload is only a fraction of what the Air Force needs. Maybe more advanced solar drones might to the job. Google's planned Solara 60 meets the USAF's payload target, but even its little brother, the Solara 50, will cost a cool $10 million, far beyond the $1 million target. But hope remains. Back in 2008, a similarly ambitious Air Force program aimed to provide Predator-type capability at a fraction of the cost. The horribly named "Low Cost Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle" would carry a camera and a laser designator with day-long flight time at a bargain price of $50,000 compared to the Predator's $4 million. Photo credit: NASC Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation met the challenge with advanced aerodynamics, composite materials, and off-the-shelf (and hence cheap) electronics. Its design became the RQ-23 TigerShark, which has seen service in Afghanistan hunting buried IEDs. So cost-cutting when it comes to making next-generation drones is possible. Owens says the prototype should start flying two years after the first contract is awarded. Transition to service depends on how well it works and whether the Air Force still needs it when it's finished. So this highly advanced drone could just become another forgotten project rotting in a hangar like the Condor and the LEMV-or it might blossom into an important element of the U.S. Air Force's drone fleet, giving an eyes-on view anywhere and everywhere in the world. You Might Also Like Photo credit: undefined From Town & Country The near-mythical legacy of President Kennedy can be attributed to several things. His wife Jackie's quest to ensure that "Camelot" would not be forgotten and the gone-too-soon element of lost potential are just two reasons for his towering icon status, but his talent for soaring rhetoric is surely part of the mystique. Despite having been said over 50 years ago, "a man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on" still rings true; And "ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country" is practically an American idiom at this point. While it's hardly as well-known as the quotations above, President Kennedy's Christmas message to the troops in 1961 also feels surprisingly relevant today. "For uncounted millions, Christmas expresses the deepest hopes for a world of peace where love rather than mistrust will flourish between neighbors," he wrote. Christmas expresses the deepest hopes for a world of peace where love rather than mistrust will flourish between neighbors. "America's veterans know only too well the frightful cost of war. This Nation, and indeed the world, are fortunate in these troubled days to have such a body of citizens fully committed to seeking the path to a more peaceful world. I am confident that we will find that path." For many, 2016 was a difficult year. Politics in America became more polarized than ever before, and the election was so dirty that no one walked away clean. Atrocities shook cities to their core as far away as Aleppo and as nearby as Orlando, Florida. And artistic legends ranging from Bill Cunningham to David Bowie left this world a little less bright. In the midst of the Cold War, Kennedy spoke of seeking peace. It's a timeless reminder that during the holidays, we should, too. JFK's Christmas message to the men and women veterans of the Armed Forces: "Christmas expresses the deepest hopes for a world of peace." pic.twitter.com/eqxSnxkDMj - JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) December 15, 2016 [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Stories" customtitles="New%20Books%20About%20the%20Kennedys,%20Roosevelts,%20&%20Kroks%7C12%20Stunning%20New%20Photos%20from%20'Jackie'%7CWhat%20Really%20Happened%20at%20JFK's%20Funeral" customimages="||" content="article.8666|gallery.3072|article.8643"] You Might Also Like President Obama said Friday that he feels responsible for the ongoing crisis in Aleppo, where carnage has left the Syrian city in shambles. I always feel responsible, Obama said at his final press conference of the year. Because of my office, because Im president of the United States. I feel responsible. Theres not a moment during the course of this presidency where I havent felt some sort of responsibility. President Obama and White House officials have placed a great deal of blame on Russia and Iran as attacks have continued in Syria, which is in the midst of a multi-year civil war. The president on Friday also defended his administrations course of action in Syria, saying that the U.S. weighed all of the options on the table without having to send war-weary Americans off to battle. I understand the impulse to want to do something, but ultimately Ive had to think about what we can sustain, what is realistic, he said. The president said hes always thought about whats best for America when making decisions. I continue to believe it was the right approach, given what we realistically could get done. President Obama said going forward he will help President-elect Trump with any information he may need when it comes to Syria, but until the inauguration it will ultimately be up to him. President Obama sent a warning to Russia and any other countries looking to engage in cyberattacks against the U.S. during his final press conference from of 2016 on Friday. Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not do this to us because we can do stuff to you, he said from the podium in the White House Press Briefing room. The president also defended the White Houses response to the Russian hacking during the 2016 election, saying he did so to protect the integrity of the election. I wanted to make sure that every body understood that we were playing this thing straight, Obama said. Imagine if we had done the opposite. It would have immediately become one more political scrum. He added: When I look back in terms of how we handled it. I think we handled it the way it should have been handled, he said. In part, the president blamed the media for jumping on the news of the leaks, saying that soul-searching needed to be done all around. This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage, he said. In an interview with NPR on Thursday, President Obama said he had already spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the incidents of hacking, adding that the U.S. must take action if and when foreign governments interfere with the democratic process in America. Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it, he said. Shortly before the press conference, the Washington Post reported that there is strong consensus among the CIA, FBI and the Director of National Intelligence that Russians interfered in the U.S. presidential election in part effort to help President-elect Donald Trump. There had been suggestions that all three did not agree with that assessment. Trump has rejected the intelligence communitys assessment, saying that it could be any number of actors including hackers in New Jersey in repeated interviews. On Friday, Obama denied that there was any squabbling between the two camps as a consequence of Trumps stance.There hasnt been a lot of squabbling, he said. What weve said are the facts. Story continues They would be the first to acknowledge that we have done everything we can to make sure they are successful, Obama said of the Trump team, adding that cooperation will continue. President Obama said the issue of Russian hacking the election should not be partisan, adding that he hopes the president elect is going to similarly be concerned that we wont have potential foreign influence in our election process going forward. President Obama spoke during his last press conference at the White House in 2016. Later on Friday, he and the first family will travel to Hawaii for their annual Christmas vacation. President Obama noted that the end of the year press conference usually gives him an opportunity to review the progress the U.S. has made over the past year, but on Friday the president went through the progress hes said the country has made throughout his two terms in office, noting the unemployment rate, wage growth, and the fact that more than 20 million people have gained insurance under the Affordable Care Act. By so many measures our country is stronger and more prosperous than it was when I took office, Obama said, adding that hell continue to work on addressing the ongoing issues including poverty and gun violence when he leaves office. The president also noted that there are ongoing issues including the ongoing crisis in Aleppo. The president called the Syrian civil war one of the hardest issues that Ive faced as president, and said the world is united in horror about whats going on there. He called for a united, international humanitarian response and a cease-fire. The Assad regime cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy, Obama said. Dec 16 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The Ontario Superior Court has approved a deal that makes Bedrock Industries Group LLC the sole bidder for Stelco Inc, as the steel maker tries to exit more than two years of restructuring under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. https://tgam.ca/2hNVXbh ** Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invited five dozen Liberal Party donors to an official dinner in honour of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in September - giving them the opportunity to mingle with senior cabinet ministers and top officials of the Chinese government. Many of the Liberal donors have direct dealings with China either through their businesses, law firms, lobbying activities or close connections to the Chinese government, the Globe and Mail has learned. https://tgam.ca/2hBlfZP ** The federal government says it will focus on "backbone" internet connections to remote and rural communities with its five-year program to invest C$500 million in expanded broadband access. https://tgam.ca/2gIj0zC NATIONAL POST ** Ottawa's decision to scrap a controversial rule that limited how long foreign workers can stay in Canada is being welcomed by businesses, analysts and migrant worker advocates as the first step in a series of reforms they hope will ultimately transform the immigration system. http://bit.ly/2gOU3rb (Compiled by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru) BEIRUT (Reuters) - Private cars left Aleppo along with convoys of buses evacuating rebel fighters and civilians from the Syrian city on Friday, a rebel official, a monitoring group and an official on the government side said. "People with their own cars were allowed to leave along with the buses today," said Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said cars were leaving the city as efforts to complete the evacuation of thousands from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo appeared to accelerate. An official on the Syrian government side involved in overseeing the evacuations confirmed the reports. (Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Gareth Jones) By Paola Totaro LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Four high profile Honduran rights activists fighting to protect their ancestral lands in the southwest of the country have received death threats, including a home visit by a man wielding a machete, a monitoring group said on Friday. The four include Ana Mirian Romero who won a prestigious award this year for her work battling a proposed hydroelectric dam which she said would destroy the environment near her village in the La Paz region. Last year the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) raised concerns about the activists' safety with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and called on the government to offer security measures. Erin Kilbride spokeswoman for Front Line Defenders, which monitors rights activists at risk, said mother-of-five Romero and her family had been threatened because of their opposition to the dam. "She is one of many human rights defenders in La Paz who have refused to stay silent about the destruction of their ancestral land despite violent attacks and threats on their children's lives," she said. "The Honduran authorities need to take immediate action to protect them." The Honduran Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The reported threats come days after a public call by a group of U.S. lawmakers for a suspension of military assistance to Honduras, citing mounting human rights concerns including the murder of award-winning land rights activist Berta Caceres in March. The IACHR had also called for security measures to protect Caceres but this was not followed up by the authorities. More than 50 Democratic Party politicians signed a letter on Dec. 8 to the U.S. State Department urging authorities to withhold more than $18 million in security aid to Honduras. They said U.S. military assistance to Honduran security forces had fueled impunity and human rights abuses, including the targeted killing of land activists, in the Central American country of 8 million. Honduras has the highest murder rate for environmental activists in the world, according to advocacy group Global Witness. Romero and her group have formally reported several acts of violence against members of local indigenous councils in recent months. They say these have been made by both armed civilians and men they allege to be security agents working for state authorities. Romero, who won the 2016 Front Line Defenders award, says she and her family have endured armed raids on their home, physical assaults and death threats. In January the family home was burned down and the children forced to leave school because of harassment, Front Line Defenders said. "I live every day with the fear of raids on my home where my children sleep," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in July. Caceres, 43, was shot dead at her home in La Esperanza, 112 miles (180 km) west of the capital, Tegucigalpa, in March. She had been leading opposition to the $50 million Agua Zarca dam project on the Gualcarq ue river that threatened to displace hundreds of indigenous people. Six suspects, including an employee of the hydroelectric dam company and current and former Honduran military personnel have been arrested in connection with the killing. Worldwide, at least 185 people were killed defending their land and rivers against industries they fear would damage the environment, according to Global Witness. (Reporting by Paola Totaro, Editing by Emma Batha; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) TARENTUM, Pa. (AP) -- Some properties of a foreclosed Pittsburgh-area mall are scheduled to be sold Jan. 18. The parcels include the land on which the 1.1 million-square-foot Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills is located, as well as several vacant commercial parcels nearby. The mall is located along Route 28 in Frazer Township, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. It was developed by Johnstown-based Zamias Services Inc. and Mills Corp. a Virginia firm that has since gone bankrupt. Wells Fargo Bank foreclosed last year on the mall which opened in 2005. The mall was once worth $190 million but recently appraised at just $11 million. Pittsburgh Mills Limited Partnership, which owns the mall and is owned by Zamias, owes Wells Fargo about $143 million including deferred payments and interest on a $133 million loan taken out in 2006. In 1949, like the rest of America, Hollywood was reckoning with the devastation of World War II, and that years Oscar race was packed with tales of heroism from the conflicts far-flung ravaged battlefields. William Wellmans Battleground and Henry Kings Twelve OClock High competed for nine Oscars, including best picture honors. Paisan from Italy earned a nomination while The Hasty Heart and Sands of Iwo Jima garnered five nominations. But the best picture prize went to All the Kings Men, a grim and gripping tale of political ambition run amuck, populist ideals soured into something poisonous, and for its ruthless protagonist, Willie Stark, ultimately deadly. Best actor honors went to Broderick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge took home supporting actress gold. Varietys review described the gradual rise upward of Willie Stark, who ruthlessly crushes all who oppose him and lauded the films impact by noting, Audience is actually made to feel that nothing can come between Willie and his goal. With fascism conquered on foreign shores, Hollywood wasted no time in creating a powerful cautionary tale that told viewers in no uncertain terms, It can happen here. Related stories Oscar's Year of Extremes: From Early-Year Controversies to Year-End Glut of Films Lyft Picks Up Oscar-Winning Animated Short Director John Kahrs for 7-Minute Toon to Hail Its Drivers Oscars: 'Eagle Huntress' and Other Documentaries Merit Artisan Attention The North Carolina General Assembly approved two controversial bills that would limit the incoming Democratic governors powers on Friday, December 16, as protesters marched outside the chamber. The protesters were not allowed inside the gallery a day after officials cleared protesters and reporters from the gallery. At least 18 people were arrested on Friday, including a man dressed as Santa Claus. One bill lawmakers approved will reduce the Democrats power over election regulations, and outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law. The second bill would require any appointees by the governor to be approved by lawmakers while also removing the governors ability to appoint members of the UNC system schools boards of trustees. McCrory has not said if he would sign the bill into law. Lawmakers have been meeting after McCrory called for a special session to address relief following Hurricane Matthew. Protesters have been calling the move to limit the next administrations power the GOP coup. Credit: Twitter/North Carolina NAACP via Storyful WARSAW (Reuters) - Protesters blocked all exits from the Polish parliament after opposition parties accused the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party lawmakers of illegally passing the budget for next year. The exits were protected by over a hundred policemen, who in turn were surrounded by hundreds of protesters chanting that lawmakers will remain blocked and calling on the head of the ruling party to come out and face them. Three Polish opposition parties earlier on Friday accused the parliament speaker of violating the constitution after he moved a key vote on next year's budget outside of the main chamber of parliament and blocked the media from recording the vote. (Reporting by Karol Witenberg and Pawel Sobczak; Writing Marcin Goettig; Editing by Chris Reese) TOKYO (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin had given President Barack Obama "a really clear response" to U.S. allegations that Moscow had interfered in the U.S. presidential election by hacking Democratic Party organizations. Russia's TASS news agency cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as telling reporters in Tokyo that Putin had explained Russia's stance on the issue to Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September. "There was a tete-a-tete conversation and different themes were discussed," Ushakov was cited as saying. "This theme was touched upon. A really clear reply was given by our side which perhaps did not fit with what Obama was trying to explain to us." Three U.S. officials said on Thursday that Putin had supervised his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election and turned it from a general attempt to discredit American democracy to an effort to help Donald Trump. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Christian Lowe) Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Russia announced Friday it was negotiating with the Syrian opposition and seeking a nationwide ceasefire, as the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo entered a second day. President Vladimir Putin's intervention came as Russian drones and troops supervised the hard-won evacuation deal following a Western outcry over the Syrian army's operation to recapture the city. Thousands of traumatised civilians boarded buses and ambulances in freezing temperatures as the operation continued through the night. "The next step (after Aleppo) will be to reach agreement on a complete ceasefire across all of Syria," Putin said on the sidelines of a visit to Japan. "We are actively negotiating with members of the armed opposition, with the mediation of Turkey." Government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey jointly brokered the deal that has seen thousands of people cram into buses, ambulances and pick-up trucks to flee the last pocket of rebel-held Aleppo since Thursday. The evacuation deal, which will allow Syria's government to claim full control of the city after years of fighting, was expected to continue throughout Friday. "It will continue all through today and for so long as there are people who want to leave," said International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Ingy Sedky. Initially, evacuees were leaving via single convoy of ambulances and green government buses that travelled back and forth between Aleppo and rebel-held territory in the west of the province. But overnight, the vehicles began returning individually to collect more evacuees as soon as they had dropped off their passengers, Sedky said. "That means it is difficult for us to know exactly how many people have left so far, but there will be an assessment by the end of the operation," she said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, estimated some 8,500 people had left so far, including around 3,000 rebel fighters. Story continues Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring medical attention. He said some people were arriving in private vehicles, including pick-up trucks stacked with household items. From a gathering point near the town of Khan al-Aasal, people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. - Fears for remaining civilians - The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, and will hand the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. In a video message to Syrians on Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened in the city was "unconscionable", raising concern for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". "And the last thing anybody wants to see... is that that small area turns into another Srebrenica," he said, referring to a 1995 Bosnia war massacre. The UN Security Council will meet Friday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries. The UN estimated around 250,000 people were living in rebel east Aleppo when the government assault began in mid-November, although officials have since acknowledged that figure might have been incorrect. As the army advanced, tens of thousands of people crossed to parts of the city held by either the government or Kurdish forces. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday that perhaps 50,000 people remained in the last rebel-held districts, 40,000 of them civilians. The evacuation plan had been due to begin on Wednesday but was put on hold after objections from the government delayed the operation and clashes erupted. - 'We will return' - On Thursday, thousands gathered to leave, desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege but tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. An AFP correspondent in the city's southern Al-Amiriyah district saw people piling on to green buses, filling seats and even sitting on the floor, with some worried they would not get another chance to leave. Others were hesitant to board, afraid they would end up in the hands of regime forces, or anguished at the thought of departing. In the dust on the window of one of the buses someone had traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said ICRC head Marianne Gasser. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." The ICRC said it was unclear how many people were left in the east but the evacuations could continue for several days. Meanwhile, there was no movement on a reported deal to evacuate sick and wounded residents from two government-held villages under rebel siege in Idlib province. The Syrian government and its ally Iran had reportedly delayed the Aleppo evacuation to insist on a similar deal for the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya. On Thursday, state media said 29 buses were heading to the villages to evacuate residents, but the Observatory said on Friday that no one had yet left. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict, which saw a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. With Aleppo out of rebel hands, the largest remaining rebel bastion is Idlib province, which is controlled by an alliance dominated by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin supervised his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election and turned it from a general attempt to discredit American democracy to an effort to help Donald Trump, three U.S. officials said on Thursday. U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia tried to influence the election by hacking people and institutions, including Democratic Party bodies, has angered President-elect Trump, who says he won the Nov. 8 vote fairly. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the U.S. election. Separately, a senior White House official said on Thursday that Putin was likely to have been aware of the cyber attacks but he fell short of accusing the Russian president. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," Ben Rhodes, the White House's deputy national security adviser, told MSNBC. "When you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government." The U.S. officials - who have knowledge of intelligence information on the matter - said on the condition of anonymity that the hacking of U.S. political groups and figures had a more general focus at first. "This began merely as an effort to show that American democracy is no more credible than Putin's version is," one of the officials said. "It gradually evolved from that to publicizing (Hillary) Clinton's shortcomings and ignoring the products of hacking Republican institutions, which the Russians also did," the official said. By the fall, the official said, it became an effort to help Trump's campaign because "Putin believed he would be much friendlier to Russia, especially on the matter of economic sanctions" than Democratic rival Clinton. Democratic President Barack Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio that the United States will take action against Russia. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action and we will," he said according to excerpts of the Thursday interview released by NPR. "At a time and a place of our own choosing. Some of it may be ... explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. ... Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it," Obama said. NBC reported earlier that U.S. intelligence officials have "a high level of confidence" Putin was personally involved in the Russian cyber campaign against the United States. Hacked emails of Democratic operatives and Clinton aides were leaked during the presidential campaign, and at times dominated the news agenda. The U.S. officials said Russia also hacked Republicans but did little to nothing with the information they found. PUTIN ROLE? Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV channel Rossiya-24 that he was "dumbstruck" by the NBC report of Putin's alleged involvement. "I think this is just silly, and the futility of the attempt to convince somebody of this is absolutely obvious," he said. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has brushed off reports of Russian hacking of U.S. political institutions. "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump wrote in a post on Twitter on Thursday. In fact, the U.S. government did formally accuse Russia of a campaign of cyber attacks against U.S. political organizations in October - one month ahead of the election. Obama last week ordered a review by the U.S. intelligence agencies about foreign interference in the 2016 election. Asked on Thursday about the hacks, Secretary of State John Kerry described how Obama had been considering the evidence ahead of the October announcement. "The president made the decision based on the input that was carefully, carefully vetted by the intelligence community ... that he did have an obligation to go out to the country and give a warning. And he did so," Kerry said at a news briefing. The three U.S. officials who spoke to Reuters said the fact that Putin oversaw a hacking operation was not surprising and is standard operating procedure in Russia. "If anything, given his background as a KGB officer, Putin has a much tighter grip on all Russian intelligence operations, civilian and military, foreign and domestic, than any democratic leader does," one official said. The reports of Russian hacking have raised concerns among both political parties in Congress, with top Republicans breaking with Trump to call for closer scrutiny. Some Republican lawmakers have also questioned Trump's pick for Secretary of State, Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson, who has close business ties to the Russian government. (Reporting by Washington newsroom and Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Alistair Bell) Russia and Japan will move toward economic cooperation, but they will not move toward resolution as to who is the rightful owner of the disputed Kuril Islands. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded a visit to Toyko by standing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to announce about 80 business deals between their governments and Russian and Japanese companies. This will reportedly equal roughly 300 billion Japanese yen in Japanese investments, loans, and credit deals in Russia. Additionally, Moscow and Tokyo will begin discussion of joint economic projects on the four disputed isles, located northeast of Sapporo. But, at present, that dispute remains unresolved: Russia insists it has the right to the four islands Japan says it has occupied since World War II (which is technically still ongoing between the two nations). A 1956 declaration signed by what was then the Soviet Union, but still considered active, says that Russia will turn over two of the four islands once a peace treaty is signed. But that did not happen at this weeks summit, and the issue of the islands that Moscow claims but Tokyo insists are illegally occupied remains unresolved. At a joint press conference Friday, Putin noted that bilateral trade between Russia and Japan has decreased in the past year. He said thats in part because of the sanctions Japan has in place against Russia for its 2014 annexation of Crimea. First, Putin said, we need to improve the economic relationship. But improving the economic relationship also comes back to the islands. Japan would want joint business on the Kurils conducted under a special legal status. Russia, on the other hand, wants it done under Russian law, as it says that the islands are Russian territory, a point that the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom helpfully noted on Friday by way of a tweet. Photo credit: Toru Yamanaka Pool/Getty Images MOSCOW (AP) President Vladimir Putin's spokesman is expressing dismay at U.S. accusations of Russian meddling in America's presidential election. Dmitry Peskov said Friday in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that the U.S. should "either stop talking about it or finally produce some evidence, otherwise it all begins to look unseemly." Peskov made the statement in response to President Barack Obama's comment Thursday. Obama promised that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia "at a time and place of our own choosing." Obama said that he spoke directly to Putin about it. Russia has fiercely rejected the accusations of hacking. Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two leaders discussed the issue at a G-20 summit in China in September and Putin "gave a very clear answer." Munich (Germany) (AFP) - Defender Rafinha has extended his contract with Bayern Munich by a year until June 2018, the German giants said on Friday, as they tie down their stellar names. The 31-year-old Brazilian has played 186 matches for the Bundesliga champions and scored four goals since joining in 2011 from Genoa. His contract had been due to expire at the end of this season. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called the right-back "an important player for us on the pitch, but also a very popular man in the dressing room". "I have been here almost six years now. Bayern is like a second family to me and one of the best clubs in the world," said the full-back, who joins Franck Ribery and Robert Lewandowski in committing to Bayern. The priority now for the Bavarians is to get Dutch wing wizard Arjen Robben, 32, to extend his contract but no announcement is expected before the end of the calendar year. Defense behemoth Raytheon Company RTN recently secured a foreign military sales (FMS) contract for full-rate production of VINSON/Advanced Narrowband Digital Voice Terminal (ANDVT) Cryptographic Modernization (VACM) program. This deal has originated from a sole-source acquisition. Details of the Deal Valued at $459 million, this contract was awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, TX. Raytheon will utilize procurement funds of 2015, 2016 and 2017 for this contract. Per the terms of the deal, VACM End Cryptographic Unit (ECU) will maintain function and capability of the existing VINSON and ANDVT ECUs to the extent allowed by the National Security Agency. Work related to this contract will be carried out in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Largo, FL; and is scheduled to be over by Dec 15, 2021. What is ANDVT? ANDVT is a secure voice terminal that is used for low bandwidth secure voice communications throughout the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). On the other hand, VINSON is a family of voice encryption devices used by the U.S. and allied military and law enforcement, which offer tactical secure voice on UHF and VHF line of sight (LOS), UHF SATCOM communication and tactical phone systems. Otherwise known as VACM, the VINSON/ANDVT Crypto Modernization program is a highly competitive project that is user-friendly and has set new standards for encryption performance. Raytheon's cost-efficient cryptographic module, incorporated in the VACM program, facilitates safe transmission of voice and data traffic as well as maintains security parameters for smooth communication of encrypted information. Our View With the U.S. fiscal 2016 bill focusing on cyber programs, cyber-oriented work is expected to yield solid growth going forward. Raytheon is a technology leader in the U.S. defense, homeland security and markets of foreign allies to the U.S. It also holds a strong position in the cyber security solution space. Story continues In the third quarter of 2016, Forcepoint, Raytheons cybersecurity product business recorded sales growth of 31%. Given the rapid digitization in the world, the company is consistently updating its strategic plans to address key areas of the ever-expanding cybersecurity market, where it believes to have a strong leadership potential. Accordingly, we expect the aforementioned contract to substantially boost Raytheons cybersecurity business. Price Movement Raytheons dependence on the U.S. government for military contracts, tough competition and political uncertainty are exerting pressure on its stock price. That could be why Raytheons stock gained about 11.9% over the last one year, underperforming the Zacks categorized AerospaceDefense Equipment industrys gain of 15.5%. The company has also put up a weak show in comparison to other major players in the same space like Northrop Grumman Corp NOC, Ducommun Inc. DCO and Lockheed Martin Corp LMT, all of which outperformed the industry. The company has witnessed seven downward estimate revisions for the current quarter over the last 60 days. The estimates have moved down from $1.96 to $1.86 per share, reflecting a decline of 5.1%. Zacks Rank Raytheon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NORTHROP GRUMMN (NOC): Free Stock Analysis Report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report DUCOMMUN INC DE (DCO): Free Stock Analysis Report RAYTHEON CO (RTN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research More than 8 million Cuisinart food processors are being recalled because pieces of the metal blade can break off into processed food. Other recalled consumer products include defective bicycle lights and chain saws. Here's a more detailed look: FOOD PROCESSORS DETAILS: The riveted blades in Cuisinart food processors with model numbers that begin with the following: CFP-9, CFP-11, DFP-7, DFP-11, DFP-14, DLC-5, DLC-7, DLC-8, DLC-10, DLC-XP, DLC-2007, DLC-2009, DLC-2011, DLC-2014, DLC-3011, DLC-3014, EV-7, EV-10, EV-11, EV-14, KFP-7 and MP-14. The model number is located on the bottom of the food processor. Only food processors with four rivets in the blades are included in this recall. "Cuisinart" is printed on the front and on the bottom of the food processors. They were sold from July 1996 through December 2015. WHY: The food processor's riveted blade can crack over time and small metal pieces of the blade can break off into the processed food. This poses a laceration hazard to consumers. INCIDENTS: Sixty-nine reports of consumers finding broken pieces of the blade in processed food, including 30 reports of mouth lacerations or tooth injuries. HOW MANY: About 8 million in the U.S. and about 300,000 in Canada. FOR MORE: Call Cuisinart at 877-339-2534 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday or visit www.cuisinart.com and click on "Product Recalls" at the bottom of the page for more information on the voluntary recall. SELF-BALANCING SCOOTERS DETAILS: Orbit brand self-balancing scooters. The scooters have two wheels at either end of a platform and are powered by lithium-ion battery packs. "Orbit" is printed on a black sticker on the underside of the scooter. They were sold through Evine's televised shopping programs and at evine.com in December 2015. WHY: The lithium-ion battery packs in the self-balancing scooters/hoverboards can overheat, posing a risk of smoking, catching fire and/or exploding. Story continues INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 1,900. FOR MORE: Call World Trading at 877-498-8697 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or send email to support@worldtrading23.com for more information. TOYS DETAILS: Bump 'N Go Walking Egg Laying Chicken with light, sound and music. The battery-powered plastic toy is a yellow chicken with an orange head and orange wings. The chicken toy includes three white plastic eggs that are placed into the back of the chicken and then released from the bottom. "QQ Chicken" is printed on the wing. A small yellow chicken sits on the chicken's back. They were sold at Amazon.com and Bingo Deal's website www.prextex.com from July 2015 through June 2016. WHY: The toys contain small eggs and the chicken can break into small plastic pieces, both posing a choking hazard to children. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 2,700. FOR MORE: Call Bingo Deals at 888-429-1679 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on Friday, send email to Recall@prextex.com or visit Bingo Deal's website www.prextex.com and click on "Recall Safety Information" at the top of the page. BICYCLE LIGHTS DETAILS: Trek Bontrager Flare RT and Ion 700 RT bicycle lights. Both models of lights come in black. "Bontrager" and "Transmtr" are printed on the front of the Bontrager Flare RT lights and the date code is printed on the back. "Ion 700 RT," ''700 Lumen" and "Transmtr" are printed on the side of the Ion 700 RT lights and the date code is printed on the bottom under the charging port cover. The recall includes Bontrager Flare RT with date codes Af0400001 through Af0400407. Also, Bontrager Ion 700 RT with date code 1606. They were sold at bicycle stores nationwide and at www.trekbikes.com from July 2016 through October 2016. WHY: The bicycle light can operate intermittently when paired with a remote transmitter, reducing the visibility of and for the rider, posing an injury hazard. INCIDENTS: Seven reports of the lights functioning intermittently when paired with a remote transmitter. HOW MANY: About 600. FOR MORE: Call Trek at 800-373-4594 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit www.trekbikes.com and click on "Safety & Recalls" at the bottom of the page for more information. CHAIN SAWS DETAILS: Craftsman-branded chain saws powered by a two-cycle gasoline engine ranging in size from 42cc to 46cc and with either a 16-inch, 18-inch or 20-inch bar. The chain saw's housing is red and black and "Craftsman" is printed on the side of the unit and on the bar. Chain saws included in the recall have model numbers 41AY427S799 316.38070, 41AY429S799 316.38090, 41AY462S799 316.38098 and 41AY469S799 316.38188, and serial numbers 1K155XQ0198 through 1F076XQ0200. They were made between Nov. 15, 2015 and June 7, 2016. Model and serial numbers and the manufacture date are located on a white label above the rear handle. They were sold at Ace Hardware, Atwoods, Orchard Supply Hardware and Sears and online at OSH.com and Sears.com from February 2016 through July 2016. WHY: The chain saws can leak fuel, posing a fire hazard. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 19,500 FOR MORE: Call MTD Southwest's Craftsman recall line at 866-864-2949 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit www.craftsman.com and click on the Customer Care tab and then on "Product Recalls" under Warranty and Returns. CHRISTMAS TINS DETAILS: Figi's Companies Christmas Wishes Tins. The metal Christmas Wishes tins have a red lid and a white base painted with a Christmas tree and winter snow scene. The tin has a music sound chip that is found in an envelope on the underside of the lid. The sound chip contains three button batteries. The products inside the tin have Figi's labels. They were sold at www.figis.com and www.birchlandmarket.com and through Figi's companies and Birchland Market mail-order catalogs from October 2016 through December 2016. WHY: The tin's music sound chip mechanism can separate and expose button batteries, posing choking and button battery ingestion hazards to children. INCIDENTS: None reported. HOW MANY: About 5,000. FOR MORE: Call Figi's Companies at 800-437-3817 from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday or visit www.figis.com and click the recall banner in the middle of the home page for more information. PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONERS DETAILS: Three models of 7,000 and 8,000 BTU LG portable air conditioners including model numbers LP0711WNR, LP0813WNR, and LP0814WNR. The air conditioners are tan-white with the LG logo on the front. They measure about 30 inches tall, 12 inches wide, 14 inches deep, and weigh 50 pounds. The model number is located on the product's left side panel. The units were sold at Home Depot and other stores nationwide from February 2011 through August 2016. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled portable air conditioners and contact LG to schedule a free repair at an authorized service center. WHY: The portable air conditioners can overheat, posing a risk of fire. INCIDENTS: There are four reports of fires that have caused $380,000 in property damage. No injuries have been reported. HOW MANY: About 466,000 and another 36,000 sold in Canada. FOR MORE: Contact LG toll-free at 855-791-0808 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT on Saturday or online at www.lgportableacrecall.com President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for secretary of state holds a unique view of the soft-power side of American diplomacy and influence in the world. ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson said in his 2012 annual corporate letter that all the good for the world, its hopes and dreams, rests with energy. In the coming decades, Tillerson wrote, society will continue to face complex challenges related to a growing world population, economic growth, climate change, food security and public health. We must recognize that none of the challenges we face can be addressed without reliable and affordable access to energy. Energy powers our offices and schools. It runs life-saving medical equipment and operating rooms. It manufactures vaccines and transports medical personnel. At the close of 2015, ExxonMobil reported a total income of $16.2 billion, versus a debt of $38.7 billion a significant reversal of fortunes compared with the corporations 2013 income of $32.6 billion and debt of $22.7 billion. But it was a bad year for the oil business, with the price of petroleum plummeting. Despite the indebtedness, ExxonMobil maintained its $11 million a year support of anti-malaria programs, boasting, Over the past 10 years, we contributed about $2.4 billion to communities around the world, without detailing who exactly received this generosity and for what purpose. The most frustrating part of trying to parse Tillersons likely impact on Americas foreign assistance efforts is that his lifes work has been in the corporate world, where public relations often guides spending and lip service given by executives to social issues is challenged by little or no accountability. ExxonMobils 2015 annual report, for example, acknowledges that: Society continues to face the dual challenge of expanding energy supplies to support economic growth and improve living standards, while simultaneously addressing the societal and environmental risks posed by rising greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. There is a humanitarian element and moral imperative to our business. More than 1 billion people have no access to electricity and rely on coal and biomass such as wood and animal waste to cook their food. Improved supply of reliable and affordable energy will help lift these people out of poverty, improving their health and welfare. But these corporate sentiments, and Tillersons speeches as CEO, need not translate into action, so long as the stockholders are satisfied with the companys general direction and stock yields. And, of course, we now need to put this largesse in perspective: The combined $35 million donated in 2015 for women and health is trivial compared with the more than $50 billion annual U.S. foreign assistance program that Tillerson will now oversee. America is not a corporation, and its voting population is not a stockholders meeting. If confirmed as secretary of state, Tillerson will find his corporate rhetoric about health, welfare, poverty, and greenhouse gases put to the test. And that rhetoric suggests Tillerson and ExxonMobil believe in maintaining a fundamental respect for human rights and leading initiatives to combat malaria, improve education, and advance economic opportunities for women. If thats the case, hell have an arsenal of good works at his disposal. As secretary of state, Tillerson will command the worlds largest foreign assistance effort, featuring the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy (OGAC), the Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources, the Malaria Initiative, and the Global Health Security Agenda, to name a few. In addition, the independent U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) formally receives overall foreign policy guidance from the secretary of state, which is a very polite way of saying that it will take its budget directly from Congress but its marching orders from Secretary Tillerson, assuming he is confirmed by the Senate. The combined State Department and USAID foreign assistance budget for fiscal year 2017 of $50.1 billion is roughly three times what ExxonMobil earned last year, but its a pittance in the grand $4.15 trillion federal budget. Moreover, $1.4 billion of this money is committed to humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a subsidy that has strong bipartisan support. And $5.1 billion represents security assistance to key Middle East partners ($3.1 billion of that to Israel, alone) again, strongly supported by both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Because at least half of the top 10 list constitutes strategic partners or locations of active U.S. military engagement, it is highly unlikely that Congress would lower this funding support or that the Trump administration would immediately abandon this development or security backing. That leaves about $34 billion in foreign assistance that might be vulnerable to cuts or significant adjustments in the new administration, the largest portion of which is dedicated to health programs such as OGAC and the Malaria Initiative, womens reproductive health, child vaccination, safe water, and the like. Tillerson has never directly commented publicly on the U.S. foreign assistance landscape but has referred to ExxonMobils investments and fossil fuel development as superior to climate change efforts. At the annual shareholders meeting in 2013, Tillerson asked, What good is it to save the planet if humanity suffers? And the two best ways to relieve humanitys suffering, ExxonMobil believes, are by providing energy and tackling malaria. In 2016, about 1.3 billion people in the world have no access to electricity, which clearly impedes their ability to do homework in the nighttime darkness, sterilize medical equipment, conduct business of any kind after sunset or even have hope of building a business to begin with. Cell phones may have revolutionized African communication and banking, but production, transport of goods, advanced education, and farming development cannot be executed with battery-powered Android apps. The World Bank reckons that expanding power grids and energy development in poor countries using current local government and multinational methods of finance and development will never keep pace with population growth, especially in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. President Barack Obama would agree, at least partially, with Tillersons premise that without energy, societies cannot develop. That is why in 2013 the White House launched Power Africa, a five-year, $7 billion program aimed at bringing electricity to 60 million new households in African. Because Power Africa emphasizes renewable energy development, it has consistently been under attack from the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity and enjoys no support from the petroleum industry. Managed by USAID, Power Africa has more than 100 private sector partners, including such American giants as General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and Citi, but no oil companies have joined the effort. Under Tillersons leadership, ExxonMobil has an Africa policy dubbed Energy for Growth, which combines oil and gas exploration, extraction, and salesforce employment across the continent with a malaria-control effort that the oil company sponsors through its corporate social responsibility program. It seems unlikely that Power Africa will survive long under Tillerson, unless it abandons its emphasis on renewable energy sources. In addition to the disdain Power Africa gets from the coal industry, and snub from petroleum companies like ExxonMobil, none of the major power infrastructure companies, such as Halliburton, is on board. Of course, Halliburton was run by Dick Cheney during the 1990s, who went on to serve as vice president in the George W. Bush administration, during which time the privately held company garnered billions of dollars worth of military and construction projects, notably in Iraq and the Middle East. It is not unimaginable that Power Africa, should it survive at all, would under Tillersons leadership be transformed into an electrification project executed by Halliburton and key oil companies. Since 2005, the ExxonMobil Foundation, which executes the companys corporate social responsibility programs, has put malaria control at the top of its foreign-grant making list, under its Africa Health Initiative. We established our Africa Health Initiative in 2000 because we strongly believe that improvements in public health can be a basis for broader economic and social gains. Since then, we have dedicated more than $11.5 million to community activities related to the prevention, control, and treatment of malaria in Africa, said Tillerson in 2005. Since that time, the foundation has awarded grants to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and academic researchers, chiefly to tackle distribution of insecticide-soaked bed nets and other tools to prevent children from coming in contact with malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa. Most of the grants have been for less than $300,000. The major recipients have been American NGOs like Population Services International, Malaria No More, and Africare and academic teams at Harvard and Johns Hopkins. And ExxonMobil has supported Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; a variety of business coalitions against HIV and malaria; and basic research on malaria vaccines. In 2008, ExxonMobil ran an international TV ad campaign promoting its good deeds in the world, featuring Steven Phillips, medical director of the corporations global issues and projects division, talking about malaria. Its going to be solved by all of us working together, Phillips told viewers. As secretary of state, Tillerson will discover that working with Congress, and shaping the future of foreign assistance, is a lot tougher than making bold malaria promises in TV ads or energy vows at shareholders meetings. If he gives foreign assistance much of his attention at all, hes likely to learn that more than 12 million people are alive today thanks to the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and its provision of free anti-HIV medicines and that cutting off those supplies means letting 12 million people perish. He may similarly learn that hundreds of global health efforts worldwide are highly dependent upon U.S. taxpayer support, without serious alternative forms of financing. Its one thing to put happy, smiling childrens faces in corporate brochures that boast of achievements in malaria control. Its quite another to wade into a refugee camp or malaria-ravaged village, look at the needy youngsters faces, and contemplate cutting them off for the sake of U.S. federal budget balance or to shift their resources in more politically strategic directions. So, what will Tillerson actually do to foreign assistance, as secretary of state? Can his corporate goodwill translate into a platform for the future of American soft-power engagement in the world? In the end, Tillersons track record suggests that he will foster programs aimed at provision of energy, enhancing womens basic economic rights, and fighting malaria. Conversely, there is nothing in the public record to suggest that he is personally committed to gutting reproductive health, gay rights, democracy building, solar power, or any other effort promoted for the last eight years by the Obama administration. The pressure is more likely to come from the White House and Congress, pushing budget constrictions and social agendas. The Republican Partys 2016 platform stipulates ongoing support for PEPFAR but calls for resurrecting the Ronald Reagan-era ban on financial support of NGOs that provide or promote abortion. The GOP platform is also critical of the U.N. system and insists that [f]oreign aid must serve Americas interests first by promoting U.S. private sector interests and sales of American-made goods, opening markets to U.S. companies, and creating a competitive global economy. Entrepreneurial capitalism, the platform insists, is the only viable solution to poverty, facilitated by faith-based groups that promote strong values. The Brookings Institution recently released a report that echoes GOP sentiments, calling for enhanced roles in foreign assistance for private investors and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. And in June the House Republican leadership released its national security report, stating, There is no right to foreign aid. There might not be a right, but theres certainly a need. Take Tillersons top development priority heretofore: the provision of electricity to poor countries. In his 2016 annual letter, Bill Gates included a NASA photo of Africa, as seen at night from space. Amid the unelectrified blackness, only a few lights glow, but more than 700 million Africans are immersed in darkness. Im always a little stunned when I see photographs like this. Its been well over a century since Thomas Edison demonstrated how an incandescent light bulb could turn night into day, Gates wrote. And yet, there are parts of the world where people are still waiting to enjoy the benefits of his invention. If I could have just one wish to help the poorest people, it would be to find a cheap, clean source of energy to power our world. To that end, on Dec. 12, Gates announced the creation of a $1 billion green-energy investment fund, dubbed Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which will focus on basic research and scale-up of renewable energy models for the world. The following day, Gates met with President-elect Trump, pushing the notion of innovation for alternative energy. Afterward, he said in an interview with CNBC, In the same way President [John F.] Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that, I think whether its education or stopping epidemics [or] in this energy space, there can be a very upbeat message that [Trumps] administration [is] going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation. Pay attention, Rex. Youre now in the big leagues of global giving where its not about saving a village but a continent. You just might discover that foreign assistance, stopping climate change, preventing worldwide pandemics, and supporting womens reproductive rights can all add up to smart, profitable capitalism. And thats how to keep America great. Photo Credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images By Umberto Bacchi LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Less than three percent of Syrians who fled the civil war crossing into a neighbouring state have been resettled to a rich country, a charity said on Thursday, urging wealthy nations to take in a more equitable share of refugees. Nearly 5 million Syrians uprooted by fighting are hosted in just a handful of bordering countries, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, according to U.N. data. Their presence has strained public services in host nations, which in some cases already faced high unemployment and poverty rates, but developed countries have done little to ease the burden, British charity Oxfam said in a report. Oxfam said 130,701 Syrian refugees have been relocated since 2013, under resettlement programmes from Syria's neighbours to one of 28 rich nations analysed in the study. The figure did not take into account Syrians who reached Italy, Greece or other destinations on their own often embarking in perilous journeys by sea. "The UK and other rich countries need to do more to help people forced to flee the almost six year war in Syria," Oxfam Chief Executive Mark Goldring said in a statement. Only Australia, Canada, Germany and Norway had resettled more than their "fair share" of Syrian refugees when considering the size of their economy, the report said. Canada, for example, resettled about 35,000 Syrians in the last year compared to Britain which resettled 3,000, it said. Increasing resettlements could save hundreds of lives providing Syrian refugees with a safe route to Europe, Oxfam said. Almost 12,000 migrants and asylum seekers have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean via boat in the past three years, according to the International Organization for Migration. (Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Astrid Zweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) London (AFP) - British riot police on Friday regained control of a prison after more than 300 inmates took part in a "serious disturbance" that led to a partial lockdown. A specialist "Tornado Team", which handles prison riots, was sent in to deal with the incident at the privately run prison in Birmingham, central England. The team were sent in at 8.35 pm (2035 GMT), and the four wings affected were brought under control shortly after 10.00 pm, according to a Ministry of Justice statement. All prison staff were accounted for, with no reported injuries, while one prisoner required hospital treatment. "This was a serious situation and a thorough investigation will now be carried out," said Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss. Security firm G4S, which runs the facility, earlier said a "disturbance" had spread from two prison wings to four during the day. "Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices," said G4S managing director Jerry Petherick. A security source confirmed to AFP that riot teams had placed the affected areas in lockdown after inmates overran parts of the prison. Local media reported that trouble flared when a security guard was threatened with a syringe by one inmate while another took his keys. The prison can hold 1,450 inmates and is where suspected serial killer Fred West committed suicide while awaiting trial in 1995. The latest disturbance is the third in English prisons in less than two months. In November around 200 prisoners went on the rampage at a jail in Bedford, central England, while the previous month a jail in Lewes, southeastern England, was the scene of a six-hour standoff between inmates and riot officers. Britain's largest prisons union, the Prison Officers Association (POA), said the latest incident was a "stark warning to the Ministry of Justice that the prison service is in crisis". Prison staff took industrial action last month over what union leaders described as the "volatile and dangerous state of prisons", reporting an increase in violence, self harm and deaths in custody. javier soltero acompli microsoft When Microsoft bought the tiny startup Acompli in 2014, it didn't just get the app that would become Outlook for iPhone and Android it got Javier Soltero, the former Acompli CEO who's now one of Microsoft's biggest agents of internal cultural change. At Microsoft, Soltero has worked to bring a more Silicon Valley mentality of adding new features and iterating on apps quickly, making him a key player in CEO Satya Nadella's master plan to reform the company's culture to stay relevant in the post-iPhone world. Not everyone at Microsoft is so receptive to that message, though. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Jay Greene, Soltero says that sometimes his new colleagues at the company just wouldn't accept that Microsoft needs to stay strategically nimble or risk falling behind. About a year after joining Microsoft, Soltero told The Journal, he gave an internal presentation warning that Microsoft was resting on its laurels in the email space, and that an increasing number of customers were moving away from its Exchange and Outlook programs and into web equivalents like Google's G Suite. Soltero said that without drastic action to improve its own email products, Microsoft could slide into irrelevancy like Lotus Notes, once a major player in corporate email software but now a footnote to history. At least some employees were unreceptive. Soltero says he got emails accusing him of being "disrespectful of the legacy" of Microsoft and its email business. Satya Nadella "I think the suggestion that we weren't winning was a painful one for them to hear," Soltero told The Journal. Soltero is a rising star at Microsoft. While he was originally tasked with leading Outlook on mobile devices, it took less than a year before he was put in charge of Outlook on all platforms. In November, he was promoted to oversee strategy for Microsoft Office overall. Story continues In general, and as The Journal reports in a broader sense, Nadella and his executive team have turned to the talent that Microsoft has gotten from acquisitions to bring an outside voice to insider decision-making. An as part of that effort, Microsoft has been pushing talent like Soltero up through the ranks faster than usual. NOW WATCH: Heres how North Koreas weird internet works More From Business Insider More than thirty years before the Rogue One story hit the big screen, a very different type of Star Wars spinoff hit the small one. 1984's Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure came 18 months after Return of the Jedi concluded George Lucas' first Star Wars trilogy and became a rating juggernaut for ABC. The film takes place before the events of Jedi, and tells the story of two children - a young girl named Cindel Towani (played by 4-year-old Aubree Miller) and her teenage brother Mace (Eric Walker) - who are separated from their parents after being stranded on the moon of Endor. They must rescue their mother and father with the help from the Ewoks, the adorable, teddy bear-like heroes audiences knew from Jedi. True to Star Wars nature, the project was shrouded in secrecy, with Walker - then 15 - told he was auditioning for an after-school special, and that its producer would be viewing a videotape of the audition. Walker insisted on performing a gut-wrenching monologue he had prepared, a scene from "Acting Out," a stage play about a kid growing up in an abusive home. There must have been something in that monologue that caught Lucas' eye, because Walker was flown up to northern California for another audition. He still did not know it was for Lucas or for Star Wars, but he was about to land the role of a lifetime. He screen tested with Miller, to make sure they looked like brother and sister - and for another important reason. "They wanted to make sure she wasn't afraid of an Ewok," Walker tells Heat Vision. "So they brought an Ewok out on a stick and she immediately went up and hugged and grabbed it and wasn't afraid of an Ewok at all." Ten minutes after the test, he had landed the job, and a month later, the production was in full swing in Marin County, Calif. Lucas had written the story and then entrusted his friend John Korty to direct from a teleplay by Bob Carrau. Courtesy Eric Walker Story continues Lucas stopped by on occasion to oversee, which would send the production into high gear to please the boss. "You could feel the mood change. It wasn't that the atmosphere and the mood changed to something bad. It just started going 100 miles a minute the second he was around," says Walker. At the end of production, Lucas stepped in for a week of reshoots when director Korty was unavailable. While Walker describes Korty as an actor's actor, Lucas is famously known as a technical director - someone who is comfortable working with special effects and can set up shots quickly. "He was very organized, knows what he wants. He would give me the rewritten dialogue in handwriting. One scene might have only had four or five lines and suddenly it'd have 10 or 15 because, you know, he likes to talk," says Walker - who wishes he had held on to those handwritten notes. Walker spent time on set working on school work and palling around with beloved Star Wars actor Warwick Davis, who reprised his role from Jedi as the Ewok warrior Wicket. "Warwick Davis and I were like two peas and a pod. Our birthdays are only a few days apart," says the actor. When they weren't working, the pair roamed the set, making their own behind-the-scenes documentary for a school project. Lucasfilm encouraged the fledging filmmakers by renting a camera for them. (See a teaser below, which features some endearing unseen footage). "I'm sure we were getting into trouble at the time, because we were teenagers. We probably weren't the easiest people to deal with," say Walker. After the 1984 shoot, Lucas sent Walker a note thanking him for his hard work during the reshoots, and also sent him a Christmas present with all the latest Star Wars toys. The two-hour film was a smash on TV, drawing 65 million viewers when it aired on ABC on Nov. 25. It spawned a sequel, 1985's Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, which Walker briefly appeared in before his character was killed off. A trilogy had been planned, but a third film never materialized. Walker went on to pursue a career in music (even taking inspiration from his time in the Star Wars universe). His friend Davis has maintained close ties with Star Wars, and has a small role in Rogue One. Though the Ewok movies are no longer considered canon, Walker takes pride in breaking ground as the first Star Wars spinoff (unless of course, you count the ill-received Holiday Special). "Technically, Caravan of Courage: the Ewok Adventure, was the first Star Wars Story, not Rogue One," he says with a laugh. Courtesy Eric Walker Felicity Jones stars in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. (Disney / Lucasfilm Photo) Mild spoiler alert! This review doesnt reveal any major plot twists, but wait to read it if you dont want to know a single thing about Rogue One or other science-fiction films. Tonights the first chance most of us will have to see Rogue One, the latest addition to the big-screen Star Wars saga, but we already know its the best film of the batch. Or one of the worst. Thats based on the reviews from fans and critics that have come out since the previews started rolling out over the past few days. Unless youve been locked up in a slab of carbonite, Han Solo-style, you already know that Rogue One is a standalone story in the Star Wars oeuvre, The movie is about a band of rebels who take on the Galactic Empire in the stretch of time between Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) and Episode IV (A New Hope), when Darth Vader was digging the Dark Side. Thats as far as Ill get into Spoiler Country. (I learned my lesson after last year.) But in case youre wondering whether you should rush out to a midnight showing, here are some thumbs-up and thumbs-down reviews. Follow the links at your own risk: Thumbs up: Newsarama says its maybe the best-ever, and thats including The Empire Strikes Back. The Daily Beast says its the best since Empire. Vanity Fair says its a bracing and dizzying marvel. Rolling Stone says it has the same spirit that made us fall in love with the original trilogy. Thumbs down (or at least sideways): The New Yorker says its a lobotomized and depersonalized entry that makes one wonder whether its time to abandon the Star Wars franchise. The New York Times calls it a thoroughly mediocre movie. MTV says its a Star Wars story youve seen before. Time says its almost pedantic in its inoffensiveness. Story continues For what its worth, Rotten Tomatoes is giving Rogue One a respectable 85 percent rating on the Tomatometer (better than Fantastic Beasts, not as good as Doctor Strange). Ninety-nine percent of the users who clicked want to see it, so the reviews probably make zero difference. On this subject, Ill let uber-geek Wil Wheaton have the last word: I got to go to the Rogue One World Premiere last night! I have some (no spoilers) thoughts https://t.co/D81TyU4D3f pic.twitter.com/EhgDWq65dm Wil Wheaton (@wilw) December 11, 2016 Looking beyond Rogue One, here are eight more intriguing science-fiction films (plus one thats filled with science fact). The release dates are based on Internet Movie Database and may not reflect Seattle showings. Hidden Figures: The true story of the African-American women who served as calculators for NASAs Project Mercury back in the 1960s. Its the flip side of The Right Stuff, and particularly timely with this months passing of John Glenn. Dec. 23. Passengers: Two interstellar passengers (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) are roused out of suspended animation decades before they were supposed to. Why? This movie is already going splat on Rotten Tomatoes, but the concept sounds intriguing for space geeks. Dec. 23. The Space Between Us: A teen whos born on Mars gets into a long-distance relationship and decides to see what this Earth thing is all about. Is his heart up to it, literally and romantically? Feb. 7. God Particle: This movie is said to be about a shocking discovery that forces a team of space station astronauts to fight for their survival. The more shocking news is that its part of the Cloverfield alien-horror anthology. Stay tuned well surely know more before its release on Feb. 24. Ghost in the Shell: A reboot of the Japanese dystopian anime saga, starring Scarlett Johansson as the cyborg policewoman who aims to bring down a nefarious computer hacker. Sounds similar to Johanssons spooky roles in Lucy and Under the Skin. By some accounts, the film is plagued by problems. Well see. March 31. The Circle: The screen adaptation of Dave Eggers book about a cultish social-media network may cut too close to home for folks at Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and other tech companies, but Im definitely looking forward to it. Check out Emma Watson and Tom Hanks in the trailer. April 28. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: You knew there had to be a sequel to the Marvel film spin-off about intergalactic antiheroes, just as you knew there had to be an Awesome Mixtape #2. This sequel is already causing a stir over the appearance of Baby Groot. May 5. Alien: Covenant: Rogue One isnt the only movie thats knitting together chapters of a sprawling space sci-fi saga. Covenant fits into the gap between Prometheus and the original Alien. Expect a creepy android. And creepier monsters. May 19. Life: Astronauts working on the International Space Station study a sample brought back from Mars that may contain the first known form of extraterrestrial life. It does not go well. And yes, NASA really is talking about bringing back samples from Mars. The movie is set to open on Memorial Day weekend, May 26. More from GeekWire: Photo credit: Lucasfilm From Esquire For the last 40 years children have grown up picturing themselves in the Star Wars universe-learning to become Jedi, piloting X-Wings, firing lasers, and taking on the Galactic Empire. But for most of Star Wars' existence, the role of the hero was predominately reserved for the white male. After being dormant for a decade following its underwhelming prequel films, Star Wars returned last year with a cast that better reflects our actual world with The Force Awakens-where men, women, and people of color were heroes. While the action is dazzling and the nostalgia rampant and heartwarming, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's crowning achievement is in assembling the franchise's most diverse cast yet. Consider the team that makes up the titular squad that valiantly takes on the mission to steal the Death Star plans: It's led by English actress Felicity Jones and includes Mexican-born actor Diego Luna, Chinese martial artist Donnie Yen, British breakout star Riz Ahmed (best known for portraying the Pakistani-American student in The Night Of), and Chinese actor Jiang Wen. This is the Star Wars film we've always deserved, one that more closely resembles the mix of people found on our own little planet. This is the Star Wars film we've always deserved, one that more closely resembles the mix of people found on our own little planet. And though it's long overdue, it represents a changing Hollywood, and a more globalized film industry. Within the greater Star Wars canon, Rogue One fills in the gap between The Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. As a stand-alone film, it works to expand on the greater storyline, and in this case shows the rebel forces fighting in the trenches of this war against evil. For the first time, this titular war seems real, as are the rag-tag rebels who put aside their differences to take on the tyranny of the Galactic Empire. We finally meet the brave men and women who risked their lives to stop death and destruction, and it turns out they look just like all of us-not just one American market. Story continues Ahead of Rogue One's release on December 16, Esquire spoke with Diego Luna about diversity in Hollywood and in the Star Wars universe, and what really makes this stand-alone film so special. Photo credit: Lucasfilm ESQ: I chatted with Alan Tudyk the other day and he really spoke highly of you. It sounds like you guys got along really well on set. Diego Luna: It's difficult not to like that guy, that's a fact. He's one of the sweetest people I've ever worked with. Our characters have this connection. Obviously they're very good friends, and I think we truly lend a friendship to the characters. I think that energy and chemistry is there, even though he's playing a droid. The way we did it on set, I always was with him, you know? It was always him and I. I think that dynamic came across well. There was a lot of tension on this set. It was very demanding. And for me, also, working in English requires so much of my attention, no matter how small the scene is. Every day, at the end of the day, my brain is fried. And he would just come with the funniest comments. He would break the tension with humor and sarcasm like no one else. Yeah, he's fun, and also great to watch. He could improvise on set a lot because he was going to be CGI-ed later, so it didn't matter if something went wrong because they would change it. So he had this freedom we didn't in some sense. And it was painful because there were many times when I found myself about to crack, just trying to hold from laughing. And he just enjoyed it so much. Photo credit: Lucasfilm Yeah, I mean, it's just good casting. And I think what I love most about this upcoming film is that this is the most diverse cast in a Star Wars movie. I mean, for you, what do you think that says about the franchise and about Hollywood creating these roles? It gives me hope that these gigantic films that reach everywhere are finally representing the planet and not just one market. Today, the market is the world, and the diversity we experience every day is being portrayed [on film]. That is something to celebrate, you know? My feeling is that audiences are sending a message, and the message isn't heard. Audiences want to feel represented, want to be able to empathize with the characters and the stories they are seeing on the screen. And this is exactly that. I think the smartest part of this whole thing is that it's a modern approach to the universe of Star Wars. It's making a comment on the world we live in today. The first film, Episode IV, is a big comment on the '70s. And the Star Wars film that we were a part of is definitely making a comment on the world we live in, where the role of women is different, where we have this cultural and racial diversity that makes us stronger and richer. Here we are telling a story of how a bunch of rebels, who are very different from each other, put those differences aside and work together, and how much of their strength is based on that diversity. So I think it's really cool to be part of this. And, again, I think it's the audience sending a message, and those who are making films are reacting to that. That is exciting. It's the audiences who have to shake the cinema to get what they want to see. We are telling a story of how a bunch of rebels, who are very different from each other, put those differences aside and work together, and how much of their strength is based on that diversity Yeah, that's so true, and you had a great point. I was going to ask how this compares to the original Star Wars movies, or even the prequels. And I think you totally nailed it-that it's a reflection of what audiences want to see. Also, it's a great tool for a filmmaker to start a film saying, "This happens in a galaxy far, far away." Right? Because, by saying that, whenever you get too personal, you can say, "No, I'm not talking about you. This is a galaxy far, far away." But with this tool, you can actually make the most effective comments on the reality in which you're living. It is a great tool-it's a tool that George Lucas used in the '70s, and this film also uses it to send a beautiful message of unity and understanding. Yeah, it's so cool to see. Did you ever expect to be in a Star Wars movie? And what was your reaction to getting this role? I never, never even thought about it. I mean, I guess, as a kid, I probably sent enough messages to the universe that one day it became true. But now, as a professional actor, I never even thought about the idea. And when the news came to me that [director Gareth Edwards] was interested in me for a role, I was just, like, amused and couldn't believe it. I was so shocked. But when I finally got it, I was like, "I'm perfect for this! I've been getting ready my whole life for this job without even knowing it." You said you grew up watching the movies. What was the first time you remember seeing the Star Wars movies? I saw A New Hope on my Vidamax because I came a little late to the party. But I was the youngest of my cousins, so I remember my cousins were part of a universe I just wanted to belong in. I just wanted to be part of that fantasy. I saw it pretty young-at six or seven years old. And I've been a part of it since then. It felt like being a part of it made me feel like I was growing up faster. Sometimes as a boy, you really want to feel older and mature. And to me, these films represented that. It was like the step from watching the films your parents would play for you to making your own choices, you know? And this was one of my first choices. Photo credit: Lucasfilm That was when you were living in Mexico, correct? Yeah, Mexico City. So that was a big challenge in this journey because I grew up with all these characters' names and all the gadgets and everything in Spanish, you know? So every time I would hear it, it would be like, "Oh, and then this thing comes in!" And I would be like, "What is that?" I would have to see the visual to understand and then would go, "Oh, you mean that!" My connection to this is in Spanish. That's fascinating. Yeah, I have to do the voiceover for Latin America. It was a cool process, you know. I realized a big difference between the films we grew up with and the films American audiences grew up with. There's a step you don't see: the interpretation of these dubbing actors. It becomes an adaptation no matter what. They adapted it, and it's kind of interesting to be part of that process. [contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="Alan%20Tudyk%20Refuses%20to%20Be%20the%20Next%20Jar%20Jar%20Binks" customimages="" content="article.51501"] That's really interesting because you were talking about how this is a more global Star Wars film. How was the fandom and how was the experience different when you were growing up compared to in the United States? I mean, it has changed because of the gadgets we have, because of modernity and the way we communicate today. I remember, for example, what merchandising was back then. First, you would go to see the film without knowing anything about the film. Today, you know everything-you've seen videos, you read all the blogs, you read the reviews, you hear the music. You have everything, you have toys-toys come out three months before the film-so you own the universe before you even watch the film. Well, when I was a kid, it was the other way around. You would go and see a poster and probably one trailer that you would see in the cinema, and that was all the information you had. You would sit down and let the film surprise you and answer the questions you have. Today, people go to the cinema with an opinion of what they're going to see before they even see it, which I think is dangerous because it takes away the magic of the experience of sitting down and letting things happen internally. But, I mean, times have changed. I'm just getting old, I guess. And we have to see it in this other way. When I was a kid, if I liked something from merchandising, I'd have to go to the toy store. Or if it was a popular one, you'd have to wait and they would call you, and then you would get it. And today, my daughter already went through playing a lot with the toys to not playing with them anymore. She's like, "OK, what's next?" They go so fast. You get to see the actual movie now. So I mean, growing up with it and being a fan, what was it like for you to step on the set and be surrounded by these X-wings and the entire universe? It was just like a dream. I was visiting one of my earliest dreams. It was quite incredible, the amount of work and detail that they actually did. It's kind of like an homage to how they shot that first film in the '70s. So most of the stuff is physical. The creatures are a great example. Probably today, they would put you against a green screen. In the Star Wars world, you arrive to a place where there's an actor wearing a whole suit and has a mechanical mask that someone is operating from afar with a joystick so the face can make gestures and react and the eyes can follow you and the mouth moves. And then there's another actor making the voice. So you, when you're acting, you are seeing the creature, the creature is moving just as it will move in the film, and you hear the voice. You are interacting with a real thing, something you just have to react to instead of just imagining. And it's insane, it's beautiful, and it's so, so exciting. You Might Also Like In an interview with National Public Radio on Thursday, President Obama promised that the United States would retaliate for what intelligence officials describe as a Russia-backed computer hacking operation that caused turmoil during the presidential election. On Friday morning, the Kremlin fired back, telling Obama to show proof of Russian involvement or stop talking about it. Speaking in Tokyo, where Russian President Vladimir Putin was meeting with Japanese leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pushed back against what Russian state-run media was calling very indecent and groundless accusations. Related: Trump Train Headed for a Brick Wall in US-Russia Relations They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly, Peskov said. His comments came less than a day after U.S. intelligence officials told CNN that Russian attempts to hack into of American political and policy organizations has continued without a break since the election. Obamas NPR interview left no question about his intent to retaliate. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action. And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. Obama told interviewer Steve Inskeep that there are still multiple assessments of the attacks on the Democratic National Committee and prominent Democrats under way, and said that he would wait until he had the final report to decide on a course of action. However, he said that he believes it was clear that the Russian efforts, whether intended or not, harmed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and helped President-elect Donald Trump. Related: Why the Russia Hacking Scandal Could Cost Trump His Pick for Secretary of State [W]hen I receive a final report, you know, we'll be able to, I think, give us a comprehensive and best guess as to those motivations. But that does not in any way, I think, detract from the basic point that everyone during the election perceived accurately that in fact what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign. Story continues There's no doubt that it contributed to an atmosphere in which the only focus for weeks at a time, months at a time were Hillary's emails, the Clinton Foundation, political gossip surrounding the DNC. Obama also said that he was surprised by the evident change in heart many Republicans have had about Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin. Not long ago, many in the GOP were attacking him for not being tough enough on Russia, Obama said. Now, Republican complaints about domestic intelligence agencies makes it appear, at least, that their particular position on Russia on any given day depends on whats politically expedient. He said, This is somebody, the former head of the KGB, who is responsible for crushing democracy in Russia, muzzling the press, throwing political dissidents in jail, countering American efforts to expand freedom at every turn; is currently making decisions that [are] leading to a slaughter in Syria. And a big hunk of the Republican Party, which prided itself during the Reagan era and for decades that followed as being the bulwark against Russian influence, now suddenly is embracing him. Related: Putin Cranks Up Russias Cyber Defenses Trump and his surrogates have fought back against claims that Russia somehow helped Trump get elected -- and that Trump was aware that the leaks were helping him. They have characterized the claims as an attempt to delegitimize Trumps election, and Trump continues to say he doesnt believe Russia was involved. On Friday, former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway suggested that if top Democrats truly love the United States, they would shut down the discussion of Russias involvement. Her target, in particular, was White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, whose criticism of Trumps refusal to accept the intelligence communitys findings has been harsh. Conway said, If you want to shut this down and you actually love the country enough to have this peaceful transition in our great democracy between the Obama administration and the Trump administration, there are a couple people in pretty prominent positions, ones named Obama, ones named Hillary Clinton, since his people are trying to fight over her election still, they can shut this down. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian hackers seized control last year of the unclassified email system used by the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing an interview with then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey. Dempsey, who did not appear on camera, said he was alerted to the August 2015 attack by an early morning phone call from the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Mike Rogers, according to CBS. The email system is used by the Pentagon's Joint Staff, an organization of some 3,500 military officers and civilians who work for the chairman. The hackers seized the passwords and electronic signatures used by Dempsey, an Army general who retired in September 2015, and hundreds of other senior officers to sign on to the network, according to CBS. The only way to stop the attack was to take the network down, CBS said. The attack, which U.S. officials now blame on Russia, was not spying, but a full-on assault whose only apparent purpose was to cause damage and force the Pentagon to replace both hardware and software, which took about two weeks to accomplish, according to CBS. The motive for the attack was believed to be Russian anger at economic sanctions orchestrated by the Obama administration in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and interference in Ukraine, CBS said. The Pentagon declined to comment. U.S. officials have accused Putin of supervising his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Republican Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump. (Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Peter Cooney) Donald Trump Reince Priebus Mike Pence Republican Party The Republican Party is thought to have been targeted by Russian hackers in ways similar to the hacks that nearly upended the Democratic Party via malicious emails. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal published Thursday night, US intelligence experts said the Russian hackers who tried to break into the Republican National Committee targeted the email address of a former employee. The attempts apparently did not go very far, according to two cybersecurity officials briefed on the matter and cited by The Journal, who said a phishing campaign last spring that targeted the sole email address of that former employee essentially failed. Messages sent to that address were quarantined by email filters traditionally designed to stop spam and potentially malicious emails, the experts said. GOP officials apparently had no idea hackers tried to breach their systems until June, after Democratic Party leaders announced that they were hacked, according to another unnamed source cited by The Journal. The report said Republican leaders suspected they too may have been targeted and brought in a cybersecurity firm to investigate. The FBI later got involved, the newspaper said. "The apparently successful blocking of a Russian espionage operation offers one possible explanation why the GOP's main political organization didn't suffer the same fate as its Democratic counterpart," The Journal's Devlin Barrett and Julian E. Barnes wrote. Hillary Clinton Last week, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported findings from the CIA that suggested the Republican Party had also been hacked, in a report that framed the much-larger Democratic Party breach as evidence that Russia tried to help Donald Trump win the election. Story continues Some Republican leaders have painted the ordeal as partisan politics, but there is growing bipartisan support for a complete accounting of the matter. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a former Republican presidential candidate, said in a CNN interview on Wednesday that his campaign accounts were breached. Graham said he wanted "crippling sanctions" against Russia as punishment. President Barack Obama echoed those sentiments in excerpts from an interview with NPR released Thursday: "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action and we will." NOW WATCH: Congressional leaders want an investigation into Russia's alleged interference with the US election, but Trump is unconvinced More From Business Insider TOKYO (Reuters) - Novatek , Russia's second biggest gas producer, said on Friday it had signed agreements with Japan's Mitsui & Co <8031.T>, Mitsubishi Corp <8058.T> and Marubeni Corp <8002.T> to cooperate in liquefied natural gas and other energy sectors. Japan, lacking fuel resources, is the world's largest importer of the gas while Russia wants to boost its global LNG market share, currently less than 5 percent. Novatek's Chief Executive Leonid Mikhelson said the agreements focused on potential gas production, gas liquefaction and liquefied natural gas transport. Novatek is interested in LNG trading with the three Japanese trading companies, he said. Marubeni said in a statement that it would explore opportunities to develop upstream and midstream areas for the Arctic LNG-2 project which Novatek is newly implementing, while Mitsubishi said the agreement with Novatek implies consideration of alliances in "gas and other areas". "The Asia Pacific region will grow by the fastest rates... and the Japanese companies, with which we signed the agreement, are present on this market," Mikhelson said, adding that all the three Japanese partners could potentially become Arctic LNG-2 stakeholders. The Arctic LNG-2 plant would be a follow-up to the $27 billion Yamal LNG plant, scheduled to launch production at the end of 2017 with a capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per year, with output rising eventually to 16.5 million. The Arctic LNG-2 project is due to be commissioned by 2025, also with up to 16.5 million tonnes of LNG production. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; writing by Vladimri Soldatkin; Editing by Chris Gallagher/Ruth Pitchford) TOKYO (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had discussed the possibility of a peace treaty and that economic cooperation would help establish full ties. A territorial dispute between the two countries has prevented them from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War Two. The two leaders have been meeting in Japan to seek progress on ending the dispute over four remote islands. Abe has pledged to resolve it in the hope of leaving a diplomatic legacy that eluded his foreign minister father, and of building better ties with Russia to counter a rising China. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Wwriting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Robert Birsel) LOS ANGELES (AP) Ryan Reynolds is the latest celebrity to earn a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 40-year-old "Deadpool" actor was honored Thursday in a ceremony along Hollywood Boulevard. Reynolds recalled walking down the same street for the first time as a teenager. He said seeing his name added to the walk is beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Reynolds was accompanied by his wife, actress Blake Lively, and their two daughters. He was also joined by his older brothers and his mother at the event. Actress Anna Faris also spoke at the ceremony. Reynolds star near the Dolby Theatre, which is home to the Academy Awards, is the 2,596th along the Walk of Fame. Dec 15 (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi is in advanced talks to buy Actelion Ltd and is discussing a price of about $275 per share for the Swiss drugmaker, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The potential deal, which could come as soon as next week, would value Actelion at about $29.6 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. http://bloom.bg/2hCMRLu Actelion is in talks with Sanofi about a deal, Reuters reported on Wednesday, after U.S. healthcare group Johnson & Johnson abandoned efforts to buy the company. Sanofi and Actelion could not immediately be reached for comment. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) A Boston mother found herself in the holiday spirit after spotting a squirrel with a white beard in her backyard and named it "Santa Squirrel." But upon closer inspection, the "beard" was found to be a hollow bone stuck around the critter's neck. Read: Friendship Goals: Teen Records Hilarious 2-Week Bromance With Baby Squirrel on Snapchat The woman called the Animal Rescue League of Boston, which set up a peanut butter trap to take Santa Squirrel in and remove the huge bone. "The item around its neck was a round bone," Brian O'Connor, the manager of the rescue team, told InsideEdition.com. "We took it to a veterinarian in Dedham, who was able to remove the round bone from the squirrel's neck by cutting it." Read: Squirrel Causes Mayhem at Phillies-Cardinals Playoff Game It's not yet known how the bone got around its neck in the first place, according to the Animal Rescue League's Twitter page. The family was relieved the Animal Rescue League was able to help. Hanover MA: The squirrel was brought back to his stomping grounds and released back to the wild. pic.twitter.com/9hBzKVTVWs Animal Rescue League (@ARLBostonRescue) December 14, 2016 Santa Squirrel was safely released back in the wild the same week. The woman told ABCNews.com that she was really excited to hear 'Santa Squirrel' made it out OK and they hope he visits their yard again soon. Watch: The Silly Reason an 8-Year-Old Put a Dead Squirrel In His Backpack for Dinner Related Articles: (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco told Asian refiners it will suspend a supply flexibility clause - known as operational/lifting tolerance - from January until further notice - sources. Aramco tells customers the move is in line with the Saudi government's decision to reduce output as part of OPEC supply cuts. Operational/lifting tolerance usually allows customers to request 5-10 percent more crude than the volumes allocated by Aramco in case they need more oil. Last week, Saudi Aramco told its U.S. and European customers it will reduce supply from January. Reduction of supply to Asia is expected to be smaller than to the United States or Europe. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Susan Fenton) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f321226%2fcf835db0-db06-4882-8cad-348a7a0a48ce After decades of waiting, Americans everywhere can finally head to the Max after school. Earlier this summer, Saved By The Max, a pop-up diner inspired by Saved by the Bell, opened up in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, bringing much joy to '90s nostalgia nerds. Now, according to a newly released video announcement from Dennis Principal Belding Haskins, the pop-up diner appears to be going on a nationwide tour. SEE ALSO: The 10 most devastating TV moments of 2016 Yup, an overcooked thematic burger and soggy basket of retro fries is soon coming to you! In September, Mario Lopez himself headed to the pop-up and greeted everyone with a big: "Whats up, Preppy?" Sadly, Zack and Jesse weren't in the crowd to shut him down. Image: terry tang/AP The diner's customers can enjoy such fine delicacies, generously sprinkled with wordplay, as: A.C. Sliders The Tori Fried Chicken The Mac The Bayside Burger Snack attack Mr. Belding's fries But it's the atmosphere that really ties the restaurant together. Dine while surrounded by arcade machines, red locks, and red plastic chairs. Image: terry tang/AP What more do you want out of a story? How about this GIF: via GIPHY By Abhinav Ramnarayan LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Two-year German government bond yields dropped to fresh record lows on Friday as banks loaded up on bonds likely to become scarcer after recent tweaks to the European Central Bank's asset purchase programme. On a day when most high-rated euro zone government bond yields were down 3-5 basis points, the yield on the German two-year government bond, or "Schatz", hit the minus 0.80 percent level for the first time. Earlier this month, the ECB said it would reconfigure its bond-buying scheme at the start of 2017, introducing changes that suggested it would focus its purchases on short-dated government bonds. It expanded the eligibility of the scheme to include bonds with maturities of one year and above and bonds yielding less than the deposit rate. Investors had already faced a shortage of short-dated bonds - which are used as collateral to borrow in money markets - before the changes, but these are expected to intensify. "The ECB has come up with measures to reduce scarcity, but it's not going to make a sea change," said ING strategist Martin van Vliet, referring to the ECB's move to make a securities lending programme easier to access. On Thursday, banks rushed to make use of this programme to borrow German government bonds from the Bundesbank, market sources told Reuters. "The fee is still very punitive for securities lending. Going into next year I would expect the Schatz yield to go up a bit - but it will remain at very low levels," he added. Mizuho strategists said the struggle to find collateral for repo markets would also narrow the spread between various two-year euro zone government bonds. "This is most likely to be true for France, as its repo rate is the most likely to hit minus 0.70 percent in the coming months," the strategists said in a note. French two-year bonds yielded minus 0.66 percent, down 3 bps on the day. The 14 bps spread over German equivalents is narrower than the 10-year spread, which stood at 44 bps. Story continues While high-rated euro zone government bond yields, the bonds of the lower-rated southern European countries were up 1-2 bps on the day. Greece's 10-year yield fell 5 bps to 7.53 percent, having risen over 60 bps in the two previous sessions. The sell-off in Greek debt this week came as official creditors suspended a bailout deal after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras unexpectedly said he would grant low-income pensioners a pre-Christmas payoff. For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Tom Heneghan) Movies like the upcoming "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" often blend science with fiction. To separate the two, a panel of scientists convened in Atlanta in September during Dragon Con to discuss the potential science of the overall "Star Wars" universe. Led by journalist Rachel Pendergrass, the speakers included astrophysicists Erin Macdonald and Roy Kilgard, engineer Andy Dykes and biologist Eric Spana. Build a lightsaber One of the first questions the panelists dove into was the science of lightsabers, the high-energy beams wielded by Jedi knights and their enemies in the films. "That's why I got into physics to make a lightsaber," said MacDonald, a systems engineer with Stellar Solutions who previously worked with the LIGO collaboration on gravitational waves. ['Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' in Pictures] The panelists quickly agreed that the lightsabers were composed of high-energy lasers, which can vary significantly in how their radiation can penetrate material. The real problem with building your own lightsaber is creating a definite end point to the laser's travel. "Building a lightsaber that keeps going forever isn't hard," Macdonald said. "It's stopping it" that's difficult. Today, many physics labs host high-energy lasers with wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum. Signs on the labs' walls and doors caution that these rooms contain powerful equipment capable of causing serious injury. "There are some really scary lasers in physics labs that I would not come near because it's death," Macdonald said. "Effectively, that's a lightsaber." She pointed out that many undergraduate students expect those lasers to be more like the on-screen weapons, and come away disappointed. Instead, the beam is often invisible unless smoke or some other material drifts into its path. That's why the blaster bolt halted in midair in "Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens" probably wasn't a laser. If it had been, it wouldn't have been visible until it reached your eye. Instead, the panelists considered the possibility that it might be a clump of superheated plasma. Story continues So, if lightsabers are some form of contained high-energy beam, what could hold it in place? The panelists speculated that perhaps the solution related to the Force, the fictional energy that permeates the "Star Wars" universe. Perhaps the Force somehow contained the beam, truncating its length into something Jedi could use to destroy their enemies, the panelists surmised. [Strange Cinema: Space.com's Favorite Offbeat Space Movies] "Maybe that's why [Jedi] don't breed," speculated Dykes, an engineer at Intelsat and a former NASA mission analyst. The constant proximity of lightsabers could make reproduction far less likely, he said. "Lightsabers are emitting radiation to destroy you? Don't hold [yours] between your legs," joked Kilgard, who studies high-energy astrophysics at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. The power of the Force The Force is the driving energy in the "Star Wars" series, giving both Jedi and Sith the ability to manipulate objects with their minds. The panelists quickly decided to ignore the biological cause of the Force introduced in the prequels midi-chlorians, or microscopic life-forms that exist within all living cells and are essential to life in favor of energy manipulation. One of the first Force-related subjects they latched onto was the differences in ability exhibited by different characters in the "Star Wars" movies. Of all the Force-wielding characters, only people on the dark side seem to produce Force lightning. Perhaps the light side was equally capable of doing so but instead chose not to use such destructive measures, the panelists speculated. Dykes pointed out that Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi who went from the light side to the dark side, did exactly that, only creating lightning attacks after he became Darth Vader. The scientists also discussed how one person may be gifted with the Force while others are not. They quickly dismissed the idea that it was passed down through genes alone. Although the "Star Wars" series centers around Anakin, his son Luke and his grandson (through Luke's sister Leia) Kylo Ren, the family seems to be an anomaly. Anakin incurred the wrath of the Jedi Council when he married Padme Amidala, because Jedi were not allowed to marry. That strongly suggests that the Jedi ranks weren't replenished by the children of Jedi knights. "It seems more like a contagion that you can catch and pass on to your offspring rather than a simple mutation the Force as a disease," Pendergrass mused. Faster than a speeding Wookiee Faster-than-light travel is a key technology in the "Star Wars" universe, allowing Rebels and members of the Imperial fleet to travel across the galaxy at a rapid clip. As with most science fiction, the ability to race faster than the speed of light defies known laws of the universe. "You can bend and manipulate space-time if you have enough energy to do that," Macdonald said. She suggested that perhaps the hyperdrive envelops "Star Wars" ships in a bubble of space-time. [Warp Drive More Possible Than Thought, Scientists Say] However, Dykes pointed out that even moving at the speed of light, voyagers would be moving too slowly to travel as far as they do in the "Star Wars" universe. "You have to be traveling at several thousand or hundred thousand times the speed of light to traverse a large fraction of the galaxy in hours," he said. And it's not just people who appear to travel faster than the speed of light: Obi-Wan Kenobi feels the destruction of the planet Alderaan as soon as it happens, leading Kilgard to speculate that "the Force travels faster than the speed of light." Evolution on other worlds The planet Tatooine is a desert world, yet a major life-form on the planet is the large and hairy bantha, an elephant-size creature used to carry heavy loads. According to the "Star Wars" web resource Wookieepedia, the animals are native to Tatooine. As a biologist, Spana couldn't help but wonder how such a creature could evolve on an unlikely world. Spana said he looked for plants in the original film, "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope," before the computer-generated-imagery effects were added. He found none. This led him to speculate that perhaps the banthas feed differently than one might expect. He pointed out that the desert world clearly has enough moisture for farmers, such as Luke's uncle, to thrive. Perhaps the banthas could eat algae that might grow in the planet's sand, Spana speculated. "That's how you make whales," Spana said. "Banthas are sand whales." A similar line of thought could apply to the tauntauns found on Hoth, listed as native to that ice world by Wookieepedia. Spana said that lichens are also supposed to be native to the ice planet. "With a good food chain, you end up with tauntauns and enough wampas to eat them," Spana said. Follow Nola Taylor Redd on Twitter @NolaTRedd or Google+. Follow us at @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. Editor's Recommendations So, scientists may have discovered a way to reverse aging Good news, Cher! We may finally have a way to turn back time. Researchers at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California have developed a technique that can reverse the effects of aging in human and animal cells. By reprogramming certain genomes in mice, scientists were able to extend the lifespan of prematurely aging mice by 30%. When they applied the treatment to healthy mice, researchers observed that the animals appeared rejuvenated, and that some of their cells were able to heal more quickly than before. They key to the Salk teams discovery are the four Yamanaka genes. Ten years ago, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka discovered four genes that, when activated, can turn adult cells into undifferentiated cells similar to embryonic stem cells. This method turned out to be incredibly dangerous though. When the Yamanaka genes were activated in live animals, the undifferentiated cells often morphed in cancer. The scientists at the Salk Institute were able to alter the Yamanaka genes so that they are only activated by a certain compound for short periods of time. This compound was put into the mices drinking water twice a week. The limited exposure allowed cells to rejuvenate without becoming cancerous. Dr. Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute describes aging as a manuscript that is continually edited. At the end of life there are many marks and it is difficult for the cell to read them. The process of rejuvenation removes these extra marks from the cell. While researchers are still years away from developing a compound that could be given to humans, their findings could give the scientific community important insights on the process of aging. The post So, scientists may have discovered a way to reverse aging appeared first on HelloGiggles. Renee Baio, Scott Baio, and Nancy Mack. (Photos: Getty Images) Learning how to play well with others is one of the first lessons any child is taught in school but not everyone learns it. Scott Baio filed a police report earlier this week claiming that Nancy Mack, the wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, assaulted him during an event at their kids elementary school in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The drama has since found its way to social media. According to the Charles in Charge alum, Mack was displeased with his support of Donald Trump and began cursing at him in front of a group of children at a school Christmas play. When Baio asked her to cool it, she allegedly asked how he could support a man who said Grab em by the p***y and physically attacked him, grabbing him under his arms, shaking, and pushing him. (For what its worth, people close to Mack said she was just trying to show Baio how Trump hugs women or something along those lines.) Renee and Scott are both Team Trump and theyre not ashamed to show it or tweet about it. (Photo: Twitter) Enter Renee Baio, who wasnt about to sit by quietly without defending her man. The stars 43-year-old wife took to Twitter to express herself in what quickly devolved into a pretty epic meltdown. First, Renee took issue with the publicized version of the story. NO hugging, she began before switching to all caps. HIT & SHOVED HIM TWICE PUT HER FINGER IN BBS FACE YELLED @ HER VILE THINGS. BB most likely references their 9-year-old daughter, Bailey. , @TMZ NO"hugging"she grabbed @ScottBaio HIT & SHOVED HIM TWICE PUT HER FINGER IN BB'S FACE YELLED @ HER VILE THINGS https://t.co/OcKSPUpvY2 Renee Baio (@MrsScottBaio) December 15, 2016 She followed this up with a screenshot of a video of Mack, intended to show how out of control she was. Frankly, though, its not that damning. Hey @HarveyLevinTMZ @TMZ does this look like a sane mother/lady 2 you? I've blacked out minor children @ScottBaio pic.twitter.com/0IrLdJT3Nq Renee Baio (@MrsScottBaio) December 15, 2016 Renee then turned her attention to Chad Smith, speculating that perhaps Mack picked up habits of physical violence from her husband and linking to an article from 26 years ago about a fan filing charges against two members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers following a taping for MTV. Story continues Maybe Nancy Mack learned to grab, shove, hit, & assault people from her husband! https://t.co/1bRsGuSX1W Renee Baio (@MrsScottBaio) December 15, 2016 She also got into it with several random folks on Twitter who challenged her version of events. In the course of roughly 24 hours, Mrs. Scott Baio called various critics insane, suggested they learn how to read, and ordered them to delete their accounts. Sigh. By Thursday night, however, she seemed to be getting tired of the battle, lamenting, Im not sure why me, my husband or child is getting bashed. Scott & BB were the victims. I was a witness. Hard to stand back & do nothing. I'm not sure why me, my husband or child is getting bashed. Scott & BB were the victims.I was a witness. Hard to stand back & do nothing. Renee Baio (@MrsScottBaio) December 16, 2016 For his part, Scott didnt post any tweets of his own on the topic. However, he retweeted much of what his wife wrote in his defense. This is hardly the first time the Baios have gotten themselves in hot water for tweeting. Back in 2010, Baio tweeted a (very) unflattering pic of Michelle Obama with the caption, WOW He wakes up to this every morning. Baio insisted it was a joke and blamed his crass Brooklyn sense of humor for the poor judgment call. Baio has been an outspoken supporter of Trump and even spoke at the Republican National Convention. After lamenting that there was no stability left in the United States, he argued that Trump could fix this and wanted to do so out of the kindness of his heart. Scott Baio has been one of Donald Trump's most outspoken celebrity supporters -- a point that clearly doesn't vibe with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith's wife, Nancy Mack. TMZ reports that Mack confronted Baio about his politics at an elementary school event for their children in Thousand Oaks, California, on Saturday. There, she began berating Baio for supporting the president-elect, asking how he could support a man who bragged about grabbing women "by the pussy." When Baio allegedly asked Mack to stop because there were children present, she was reportedly undeterred and kept repeating the statement because she felt it was important people hear it, since Trump said it. Baio also told police that Mack attacked him, grabbing him under his arms and then shaking and pushing him. TMZ cites unnamed sources familiar with the situation who defended Mack's actions saying she was trying to show Baio how Trump aggressively hugs women, denying any intentional physical aggression. The Ventura County Sheriff's Dept. is reportedly investigating the incident and with Mack listed as a battery suspect. SAN FRANCISCO About one-quarter of the world's population lives in coastal areas that will be unlivable by the year 2100 because of rising sea levels, researchers say. In a special issue of the journal Earth's Future, coastal scientists and engineers detailed projections for sea-level rise for the year 2100, and described their model Monday (Dec. 12) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Sea-level rise is a global phenomenon, with more than 130 cities with populations of 1 million people or more along vulnerable coasts, said Robert Nicholls, a professor of coastal engineering at the University of Southampton in the U.K. [Images of Melt: Earth's Vanishing Ice] "To really understand how this might be impacted by sea-level rise, or other kinds of change, we need to understand all of the different scales and how they interact," Nicholls said. "That's what we've been doing in this big project." The Earth's Future research project focused on creating a new model for sea-level rise that takes a more holistic approach in considering factors that will impact coastal communities, the scientists said. The traditional "bathtub model" which simply raises water a certain height based on estimated ice melt takes into account only rising water levels. In their new study, researchers built a model that considers not only rising water levels, but also incorporates the impacts of tides, storm surges, coastal infrastructure and defense frameworks (such as dikes). What they found was a much more dynamic picture of how coastal communities will be affected by rising seas. Predictions typically look 50 to 100 years into the future, when the coastal systems will have changed dramatically, said Scott Hagen, director of the Louisiana State University Center for Coastal Resiliency. For instance, models show that if sea levels rose 6.6 feet (2 meters) the general estimation by scientists for sea-level rise if if carbon dioxide emissions continue for a salt marsh along the coast of Louisiana, much of the marsh area would become open water by 2100. Story continues "When that marsh is converted to open water, then what we can consider is that a hurricane storm surge can move more freely, farther into that coastal land," Hagen said. "Knowing what's happening at these salt marsh regions is really important for us to understand the ecosystem impacts of sea-level rise in general, and climate change as a whole." In a developed area, such as Bangladesh (one of the most vulnerable areas to sea-level rise, according to Nicholls), the new model included such systems as pollution and land use, and even poverty and health, to determine risk. Nicholls said such considerations as the deterioration of dikes will drastically change the sea-level rise prediction. A side-by-side comparison with the traditional model showed that the new systematic model determined there could be much wider, and more devastating flooding. "You can see that it's a rather different picture from the bathtub model, the area could easily be flooded so much more," Nicholls said. "This is just one realization of what might happen, there are a lot of different pathways. But the point is that you're getting a much richer, more detailed picture of what might happen." Original article on Live Science. Editor's Recommendations Two high-profile theatrical features from Universal Pictures debuted in the two top spots on the national home video sales charts the week ended Dec. 11, as the studio successfully sought to tap into the lucrative impulse holiday shopper. The Secret Life of Pets, the 3D computer-animated buddy adventure comedy that with a domestic gross of more than $368 million is the years No. 3 movie, debuted at No. 1 on both the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart, which tracks combined Blu-ray Disc and DVD sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart. Bowing at No. 2, also on both charts, was Jason Bourne, the fifth and latest installment in the action adventure franchise, which came to home video after earning $162.2 million in U.S. theaters. Walt Disney Studios Finding Dory, the years top-grossing film, slipped to No. 3 in its fourth week of availability, the first two of which were spent at No. 1. The No. 4 spot on both charts went to another Disney film, Petes Dragon, a remake of the 1977 musical that earned nearly $77 million in U.S. theaters and debuted at No. 1 the prior week. Rounding out the top five on the overall disc sales chart was Elf, the 12-year-old holiday standby from Warner Bros. starring Will Ferrell. On the Blu-ray Disc sales chart, the No. 5 spot went to a third Disney film, The BFG, a theatrical underperformer (with a domestic gross of less than $56 million) that was directed and coproduced by Steven Spielberg and is based on the 1982 childrens book of the same name by the late Roald Dahl. Seven of the 12 top-selling discs last week were holiday-themed. The Secret Life of Pets generated 59% of its total unit sales from Blu-ray Disc, NPD data shows, compared to 66% for Jason Bourne. On Home Media Magazines rental chart, the top three remain unchanged from the previous two weeks: Universal Pictures Bad Moms at No. 1, Lionsgates Mechanic: Resurrection at No. 2 and Finding Dory at No. 3. Story continues Rounding out the top five on Home Media Magazines rental chart were Petes Dragon at No. 4 and Sony Pictures Sausage Party at No. 5. Thomas K. Arnold is Editorial Director of Home Media Magazine. Top 20 NPD VideoScan First Alert, powered by Nielsen, chart for the week ended 12/11/16: 1. The Secret Life of Pets (new) 2. Jason Bourne (new) 3. Finding Dory 4. Petes Dragon 5. Elf 6. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation 7. The BFG 8. Polar Express 9. Home Alone 10. A Christmas Story 11. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (live action) 12. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon) 13. Star Trek Beyond 14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens 15. A Charlie Brown Christmas 16. Dont Breathe 17. Mechanic: Resurrection 18. Ghostbusters: Answer the Call 19. Captain America: Civil War 20. Deadpool Top 10 Home Media Magazine rental chart for the week ended 12/11/16: 1. Bad Moms 2. Mechanic: Resurrection 3. Finding Dory 4. Petes Dragon (new) 5. Sausage Party 6. Nine Lives 7. Independence Day: Resurgence 8. Hell or High Water 9. Central Intelligence 10. The Legend of Tarzan For complete sales and rental charts, visit HomeMediaMagazine.com. Related stories Global Entertainment a Vital Force in Uncertain, Divisive Times 'Pete's Dragon' Tops Disney Trio of Best-Selling Discs Digital Boom Lifts Home Entertainment Spending An Idaho man has spent nearly every day of 2016 cooped up inside his home due to a broken ramp in his family's van, that is, until he received a Christmas miracle. Read: Secret Santa Surprises Grieving Mother With Headstone for Daughter She Lost 3 Years Ago Jake Berry, 24, bedridden and wheelchair-bound due to a lifelong struggle with Cerebral Palsy, had been forced to stay home for a year. In a contest organized by EastIdahoNews.com, a Secret Santa asked the news outlet to give away $100,000 to deserving people in the area. When the site discovered the story of the Berry clan, they made a house call. Berry's single mother of three, Danette, may have been in on the surprise when a reporter from EastIdahoNews.com came to the door, but she was unaware of additional shocks the organization had. Read: Soccer Star Meets Afghan Boy Who Made His Jersey Out of Plastic Bag In addition to paying for a new ramp, which costs about $3,000, the family got $1,500 in Lowe's gift cards to do some home repairs. "Thank you so much," Jake said, beaming. "That means a lot to me." Watch: Yule Dog: Dog Dresses Up to Get Hospital Patients in the Christmas Spirit Related Articles: IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Adeptus Health Inc. ("Adeptus" or the "Company") (ADPT). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's secondary public offering (the "SPO") on or about July 31, 2015, or purchasers of common shares between June 25, 2014 and November 1, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 27, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. If you purchased shares of Adeptus during the SPO or Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Adeptus Health made material false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that the Company engaged in widespread predatory billing practices, particularly with respect to lower acuity level patients; that Adeptus Health's predatory billing practices subjected the Company to numerous known but undisclosed risks, such as financial risks, reputational risks, risks associated with improper financial reporting, civil or criminal sanctions, and even exclusion from federal and state healthcare programs; that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; that contrary to the Company's representations about its practice of referring lower acuity patients to urgent care facilities, Adeptus Health routinely treated lower acuity patients and excessively billed them for services; and that as a result of the above, Adeptus Health lacked a reasonable basis for its statements about its business and future financial prospects at all relevant times. On November 17, 2015, an NBC-affiliated television station located in Denver, Colorado aired an investigative report about the predatory billing practices at the Company's Colorado First Choice emergency rooms. When this information was released to the public, the value of Adeptus fell, causing investors harm. If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. Contact: Joon M. Khang, Esq. Telephone: 949-419-3834 Facsimile: 949-225-4474 joon@khanglaw.com SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a class action lawsuit against Xerox Corporation ("Xerox" or the "Company") (XRX). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between April 23, 2012 and October 23, 2015 inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the December 23, 2016 lead plaintiff motion deadline. If you purchased Xerox shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, Xerox repeatedly touted its new software product, Health Enterprise, as an important growth area for the Company, which would operate at low cost and high profit margin. The Company's statements pertaining to the profitability and growth prospects of the Health Enterprise business were materially false and misleading because Xerox failed to disclose: that the Company's existing Health Enterprise projects were experiencing major delays and cost overruns; that Xerox would be unable to deliver Health Enterprise implementations at sustainable profits; and that as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis. On October 26, 2015, Xerox released its third quarter 2015 financial results which were disappointing due to costs associated with the implementation of Health Enterprise and the termination of Health Enterprise contracts with the state agencies of California and Montana. When this information emerged to the public, the stock price of Xerox fell, causing investors serious harm. If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, at no charge to you, or if you have questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or via e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com. Story continues This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. Contact: Joon M. Khang, Esq. Telephone: 949-419-3834 Facsimile: 949-225-4474 joon@khanglaw.com SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces a class action lawsuit against InfuSystem Holdings, Inc. ("InfuSystem" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: INFU) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws between May 12, 2015 and November 7, 2016 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares during the Class Period should contact the firm prior to the January 9, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline. To participate in this class action lawsuit, click here. You can also call Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or e-mail him at brian@lundinlawpc.com. No class has been certified in the above action yet. Until a class is certified, you are not considered represented by an attorney. You may also choose to do nothing and be an absent class member. According to the Complaint, InfuSystem made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose: that InfuSystem lacked effective internal control over financial reporting; that the Company's financial statements from back to the beginning of 2015 overstated the estimated accounts receivable collections, which then overstated revenues and pre-tax income by a corresponding amount; that financial statements dating back to the beginning of 2015 could no longer be relied upon; and that as a result of the above, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When this news was announced, shares of InfuSystem fell in value, causing investors harm. Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding the rights of shareholders. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contact: Lundin Law PC Brian Lundin, Esq. Telephone: 888-713-1033 Facsimile: 888-713-1125 brian@lundinlawpc.com http://lundinlawpc.com/ SOURCE; Lundin Law PC LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 16, 2016 / Lundin Law PC (http://lundinlawpc.com/) announces that it is investigating claims against New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. ("New Oriental" or the "Company") (EDU) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. To get more information about this investigation, please contact Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or via email at brian@lundinlawpc.com. Reuters published an article December 2, 2016 revealing that New Oriental has been accused of engaging in college application fraud. The article states, "[e]ight former and current New Oriental employeestold Reuters the firms have engaged in college application fraud, including writing application essays and teacher recommendations, and falsifying high school transcripts." The same day, Reuters released an update claiming that, due to its earlier report detailing academic fraud allegations at New Oriental, the American International Recruitment Council ("AIRC") "will investigate the company in response to the report", and the AIRC's president-elect called the allegations "highly concerning." When this information was released to the public, the value of New Oriental fell sharply on December 2, 2016, causing investors serious harm. Lundin Law PC was created by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contact: Lundin Law PC Brian Lundin, Esq. Telephone: 888-713-1033 Facsimile: 888-713-1125 brian@lundinlawpc.com http://lundinlawpc.com/ SOURCE: Lundin Law PC Now that Sydney Holland is involved in the Sumner Redstone festival of litigation, it seems she intends to follow suit. Holland's latest legal maneuver is an echo of one made by fellow Redstone companion Manuela Herzer in May - just minutes after a judge tossed her petition to regain control of the mogul's healthcare directive. She claims Redstone's daughter Shari and several members of his staff spied on her in an effort to dig up enough dirt to convince the mogul to remove her from his life and his will. The short version of the backstory: Last year, Sumner kicked Holland out of his house after she admitted to having an affair. Shortly after, he gave Herzer the boot, too. Both women allege that Shari has it out for them and lied to her father in order to remove the companions from his life. Meanwhile, Sumner's camp has sued Holland and Herzer for financial elder abuse in an effort to reclaim $150 million worth of cash and gifts he'd given them. Holland's spying suit, like Herzer's, claims Shari recruited several members of Sumner's household staff to eavesdrop on her, both invading her privacy and breaching their non-disclosure agreements with the mogul. Holland also claims Shari hired a private investigator to surveil her. "Both Redstone and Sydney sensed increasing hostility and jealousy from Shari shortly after Sydney's daughter was born, whom she inevitably saw as an additional threat to her eventual multibillion-dollar empire," writes attorney Mark Holscher in the complaint. "She hoped to discover something damning about Sydney that would cause Redstone to exile Sydney from his life." (Read the complaint in full here.) Herzer has been involved in the legal fight from the start, but Holland entered with a bang this week - after being dragged into the fray as a defendant in the elder abuse suit. Holland claims she was in a loving and intimate relationship with Sumner, but his affections and millions of gifts were also given to a string of other women. Sumner's legal team issued a statement in response to the suit on Thursday: "Through her frivolous cross-complaint, Sydney Holland has adopted the same pathetic tactics as her cohort, Manuela Herzer. We expect the jury will see them for who they truly are." Read more: Manuela Herzer Fights Discovery in Sumner Redstone Elder Abuse Suit Former FDC presidential Candidate Dr. Kiiza Besigye is today expected to report to the High Court in Kampala over his alleged treason charges. This was one of the bail conditions set for him by High Court Judge Wilson Masalu Musene, after he was released in July 2016. Dr.Besigye was ordered to report before the Courts Registrar twice a month but on 16th November 2016 his bail terms were revised after Deputy Registrar in-charge of criminal matters Eleanor Khainza noted that he suffers great inconvenience and costs in reporting back to court that frequently. Besigye is accused of having sworn -in himself as president of Uganda and maintaining that he won the February presidential polls. According to the Director of Public Prosecutions, this is against the legally prescribed processes through which one can ascend himself into the office of the president. A Kremlin spokesperson denied any Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election Friday after President Barack Obama promised to take action against alleged hacking. Russia, which has been accused of tampering with the election in order to install Donald Trump in the White House, seized on the fact that no official evidence has been made public. They need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof, Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesperson said, according to BBC. The CIA issued an assessment recently concluding that Russia was responsible for the hack that leaked emails from the Democratic National Campaign and Hillary Clinton aide John Podesta ahead of Election Day, but the FBI hasn't fully agreed. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday that Putin had been personally involved. I think theres no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections, that we need to take action and we will, at a time and a place of our own choosing, said Obama, speaking shortly after Earnest's announcement. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spoke to Fox News Sean Hannity Thursday and said the source that provided the organization with the emails was not the Russian government. RTX2O55B Photo: Reuters So, in other words, let me be clear, Hannity asked Assange. Russia did not give you the Podesta documents or anything from the DNC? Thats correct, Assange said. Assange called the allegations of Russian involvement a distraction and urged people to pay attention to the content of the publication. He also said WikiLeaks had received information related to the Republican National Committee and Trump, but the information had already been made public. Story continues Democratic and Republican officials have repeatedly called for an investigation into the hack. Trump himself, however, has denied Russian involvement. Its just another excuse, he told Fox News Chris Wallace in an interview Sunday. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College. Related Articles For the first time in its 70-year history, Chicago-born brand Sidney Garber has created a collection for men. Brooke Garber Neidich, who inherited the brand from her late father Sidney in 2008, created a 10-piece collection that debuted in November at Barneys New York. The bracelets and rings exhibit the jewelry houses legendary attention to detail, and show a decidedly modern, minimalist aesthetic. Designs are made with durable 18-karat yellow and white gold, robust sterling silver, stretchable steel mesh, and shimmering black pave diamonds. Items range in price from $1,300 for a single-link ID bracelet to $16,000 for a black-diamond rope bracelet. Proceeds from every sale of Sidney Garbers jewelry are donated to non-profits that champion education, the arts, and mental health. (barneys.com) More From Robbreport.com Whiskey of the Week: Jameson Coopers Croze The 12 Whiskeys of Christmas: Day 8 The 12 Whiskeys of Christmas: Day 11 The 12 Whiskeys of Christmas: Day 12 The 12 Whiskeys of Christmas: Day 7 How to Identify Which of Todays Watches Will Be Tomorrows Classics Obama pushes back. President Barack Obama has vowed retaliation for the Russian cyber attacks on the Democratic National Committee earlier this year, telling NPR in a remarkable interview, I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections we need to take action. And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. The Republican National Committee also said this week it was able to thwart hacking attempts during the election, and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that Russian hackers targeted his campaign during the election, as well. Since the U.S. presidential election, the CIA and FBI have affirmed the view of Russian meddling, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin was involved in directing how the hacked information was used. The CIA has gone a step further, concluding that the hacks were meant to tip the election in the favor of Donald Trump. The DNI and FBI havent rallied behind that view, though both have doubled down on Russian culpability. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly denied the possibility of any Russian involvement in the hacks. Pencils down. Obama has ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full investigation into the hacks, with a report due before the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. And dont forget, on Oct. 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a remarkable joint statement expressing their confidence that Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. Moscow in the machine. In his NPR interview, Obama went further than anyone in his administration has publicly on the issue, saying, what the Russian hack had done was create more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign. Story continues I dont think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it, Ben Rhodes, the White Houses deputy national security adviser, told MSNBC on Thursday. When youre talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, were talking about the highest levels of government. Trump and safe zones. For the first time since being elected president, Donald Trump on Thursday night pledged to create safe zones in Syria for civilians. When I look at whats going on in Syria, its so sad, he told a crowd in Pennsylvania. Its so sad, and were going to help people. He said he would ask the Persian Gulf nations to put up money for the project, adding, well build and help build safe zones in Syria, so people will have a chance. It is not clear if the PEOTUS plans to establish a no-fly zone in northern Syria, and if American aircraft would defend the area from Syrian and Russian airstrikes. What about those Russia sanctions? The European Union decided in Brussels on Thursday to extend sanctions against Russia until July sanctions that were imposed after the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, FPs Emily Tamkin writes. The big question now is whether the United States in the next administration will continue to push Europe to hold Russia accountable something that is currently in doubt, given President-elect Donald Trumps open admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his selection of Russia-friendly Exxon Mobil boss Rex Tillerson for secretary of state. Russian boots on the ground. Russian special forces have been in Aleppo for a number of weeks, where theyve taken on a combat role, Ruslan Pukhov, the head of Moscow-based defense think tank CAST tells the Wall Street Journal. The presence of the Russian commandos shows just how important it is for Moscow to have Aleppo under the control of the Syrian government by time President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, when the U.S. government is expected to move to work more closely with Moscow on a range of issues. I dont see any reason for Russian or Syrian forces to get engaged in any negotiations before [Aleppo] falls and it wont be with an Obama administration, which is now in lame duck mode, said Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, which advises the Kremlin. Trumps NSC. The Trump transition team also announced Thursday that Lt. Gen. Joseph Keith Kellogg is being tapped for the National Security Councils chief of staff, while television analyst Monica Crowley will be the councils senior director of strategic communications. Kellogg, who would become the fourth retired general to join the Trump administration, retired from the U.S. Army in 2003. After retirement, he followed the usual path of entering the defense industry, working for Oracle Corp, and then heading to Iraq to be Chief Operating Officer of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the governing authority in Baghdad after the U.S. invasion, where he served for five months. Crowley, who has a Ph.D. in international relations from Columbia University, has been a Fox News host. Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley Cybersecurity The Wall Street Journal gets the scoop that Russian hackers tried and failed to break into the Republican National Committees (RNC) networks. Sources tell the Journal that the RNCs filters apparently blocked phishing emails sent to targets there. Republican officials only went looking for evidence of a break-in until after the revelation that their Democratic counterparts had been hacked. The revelation follows a statement by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Thursday saying that FBI informed him Russian hackers had broken into his campaigns emails. North Korea North Korea may have carried out an unannounced test of its submarine-launched ballistic missile sometime in early December according to NHK World. Citing an anonymous U.S. government official, the news outlet says North Korean engineers conducted a cold launch test of its KN-11 missile. The test is designed to gauge the missiles ability to leave a launch tube using compressed gas before its engines ignite. North Korea didnt advertise the test but it has trumpeted previous tests of the KN-11, but it has publicized at least three tests of the system so far this year, including another purported cold launch test in April. Whistleblowers California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter has warned the Army to stop efforts to retaliate against a whistleblower who charges a program that sent civilian academics to battlefields was filled with fraud and abuse. In 2015, the Army said it killed off the a program known as the Human Terrain System but admitted months later that it had merely renamed it the Global Cultural Knowledge Network and continued to fund it. Overall, the pricetag for the program has run about $725 million, but the program has been plagued by charges of fraud and sexual harassment. Hunter wrote to Army Secretary Eric Fanning and chief of staff, Gen. Mark Milley, that Steffany Trofino, a civilian employee had faced retribution for contacting his office. Europe For those looking for symbols of a renewed Cold War between the United States and Russia, look no further than the Pentagons reopening of an armored vehicle storage facility in Eygelshoven in the Netherlands. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Defense Department is now filling the facility back up with tanks decades after they left at the end of the Cold War. The Army is now storing tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and self-propelled artillery at Eygelshoven as part of a $3.4 billion effort to buttress the U.S. militarys footprint in Europe and deter Russia. Theres another curveball in the story about an attempted coup plot by Russian nationalists against Montenegros pro-NATO prime minister. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that Nemanja Ristic, one of the alleged plotters whos still at large, posted a picture to his Instagram account showing him standing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a World War II commemoration event in Serbia. Its unclear why Ristic was at the ceremony or what his intentions in posting the picture were, but it adds to questions about whether Russia had any knowledge or role in the alleged plot. South Sudan A new report by the Small Arms Survey claims that the U.N. mission in South Sudan handed over dozens of weapons to rebels in the country as a civil war was underway, the Washington Post reports. The mission allegedly handed over the weapons after acquiring them when rebels brought them into the compound after seeking shelter from the fighting. U.N. peacekeepers disarmed the sanctuary seekers and then reportedly handed the guns over to James Koang because of a warm working relationship the mission had had with him. Missiles Pacific Command wants it some ship killers and wants them yesterday. Fortunately for them, the Pentagon is about to deliver. National Defense magazine reports that the long range anti-ship missiles (LRASM) that Pacific Command asked for in 2009 will be ready for testing on Air Force B-1B bombers as early as next year. That seven year period from request to test firing is a quick one for weapons development, something that acquisition chief Frank Kendall says was helped by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys ability to leverage existing technology in order to cut the development time in half. Navy The Navy wants took its swarm of unmanned boats out for a spin on the Chesapeake, Defense Tech reports. The rigid-hull inflatable boats demonstrated their ability to carry out a lightly human guided but mostly autonomous patrol mission, including identifying vehicles as threats and divvying up responsibilities among each other accordingly. The Office of Naval Research says the bot boats could one day be used to defend key harbors on behalf of the military. Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Milan (AFP) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) said Friday it had received approval to allow small bondholders to participate in its last-ditch effort to raise fresh capital for Italy's third-largest bank. BMPS said it had received permission from Italy's market regulator Consob to give small savers who had invested in the bank's bonds and were excluded from a previous operation the opportunity to switch their bonds for shares from Friday through Wednesday. The oldest bank in the world, BMPS is at the heart of an Italian banking crisis which has cost it over 80 percent of its market capitalisation in the past year, and it posted the worst results in a stress test this July by the European Banking Authority. On Thursday it announced was relaunching a bid to meet its target of raising 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in new capital by the end of December. The move is a last-ditch attempt to find, through private investors, the funds the ailing lender needs to shore up its balance sheet and stave off a government intervention. The plan entails selling off 27.6 billion euros in bad loans. A first debt swap offer to exchange junior bonds for shares raised over 1 billion euros, and this has been reopened. The bank also received permission to open the offer to some 40,000 small savers, who could help the bank find between another 1 and 2 billion euros. - Institutional investors sought - The bank had been hoping Qatar's sovereign wealth fund will stump up 1 billion euros, but its latest statements make no mention of it. On Thursday it said only that 65 percent of the five-billion-euro share capital increase was "reserved for an institutional offer to qualified investors in Italy and foreign institutional investors". It also said that 35 percent was reserved for the Italian general public, of which at least 30 percent of existing shareholders had preemptory rights. Monte dei Paschi needs to complete the five-billion-euro funding drive by the end of December after the European Central Bank refused to grant its request to extend the deadline to mid-January. Story continues New Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed Tuesday that the government was prepared to come to its aid if the private rescue fails. If it came to that, it would use a move known as "precautionary recapitalisation" meaning shareholders and holders of junior bonds, a risky class of debt, must contribute to saving the bank. As many small Italian savers have said they were led to believe the junior bank bonds were safe investments, forcing them to participate in a rescue is a hot issue that risks huge protests and political fallout. Retail investors already had to chip in for the rescue of four smaller banks last year, prompting demonstrations and at least one suicide. The government has reportedly been considering buying back the savers' bonds first and then converting them into shares, with the Italian Treasury taking the hit. They could also ask savers to convert their bonds themselves, but then compensate them for their losses with taxpayers' money. Shares in BMPS jumped around 1.5 percent in early trading in Milan, while the main index was up some 0.5 percent. Founded in Siena in 1472, BMPS has been in trouble for years. Weakened by the disastrous purchase in 2007 of the Antonveneta bank at twice the estimated value, it quickly drifted into scandal when its management team was accused of fraud and misuse of funds. It subsequently ran up huge losses and has had to raise capital twice since 2014, but by last year it had returned to profit. However, its Achilles' heel are non-performing loans, estimated at 45 billion euros, which require it to hold lots of capital to absorb possible losses, but investors' lack of confidence has seen the value of its capital repeatedly eroded. Italy, which did not bail out its banks at the height of the eurozone debt crisis, has been labouring under 360 billion euros of risky loans on the books of its lenders, or nearly a third of all of the eurozone's total. evan spiegel Snapchat is on the hunt for a wide range of hardware acquisitions, as it seeks to further its new mission of creating cameras that can capture a wealth of pictures and videos and funnel them into its social networks. Over the past year or so, the company looked at a number of startups building drones, wearable cameras, and augmented reality/virtual reality applications, according to multiple sources familiar with its M&A strategy. For example, Snap Inc. has talked with Berkeley-based drone company, Lily Robotics, over the last few months. No deal is on the table, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, but that doesn't mean it's ruled out in the future either. Snapchat also talked with wearable camera company Narrative about an acquisition, according to other people familiar with the situation. The talks also fell through with the Sweden-based company, which briefly shut down its operations before recently starting up again. Both deal talks point to the newly-rebranded company's investment in its new mission statement: "Snap Inc. is a camera company." Snap released its first hardware product, sunglasses equipped with a video camera, in November. The $129 Spectacles allow the wearer to capture short video snippets which can be easily uploaded to the Snapchat service and shared with friends. That product was the result of a 2014 acquisition of Vergence Labs. Vergence had also been working on a gesture-controlled drone before it was acquired by Snapchat. Drones represent a particularly intriguing possibility for Snapchat. The selfie problem Lily Robotics could potentially solve Snap's obsession with the selfie problem. According to sources familiar with Snap's ambitions, it's trying to find different ways for consumers to take selfies that don't require someone holding a camera in hand. Lily's drone, for example, can be thrown into the air and automatically tracks and follows its owner, shooting video. That could be especially handy for sports, like snowboarding or surfing, where a drone can capture the footage while a person is in action. Lily Robotics and Narrative did not respond to request for comment from Business Insider. Snap declined comment. Story continues And the company isn't only interested in small cameras Snapchat has apparently met most of the major augmented reality or virtual reality startups, including ones focused on building cameras to enhance virtual realities. As one early stage investor put it: every VR or AR startup the investor met with had already talked to Snapchat six months earlier. Still, Snap's acquisitions happen in secret so if it has purchased a drone or wearable company the news hasn't been released. Only seven purchases have leaked in the press and some only because of the giant Sony hack in 2014 that exposed Snap board member Michael Lynton's email. Yet, the secretive company is clearly regularly engaged in talks with startups about acquisitions and acqui-hires throughout many industries. As the company prepares for a $25 billion IPO in 2017, its dealmaking will increasingly be in the spotlight. If you have information about Snap Inc's deal talks or acquisitions, message the reporter securely on Confide at bcarson@businessinsider.com. NOW WATCH: A regular guy tests out Snapchat's Spectacles - here's what he thought More From Business Insider On Thursday morning (Dec. 15), Soulja Boy was arrested at his Hollywood Hills home for violating parole by having a gun in his home. The Associated Press confirmed the report that the rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was arrested around 7 a.m. after a search of the home. According to TMZ, police found a firearm inside the 26-year-old's house after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip. In 2014, the rapper -- perhaps best known for his 2007 viral chart-topper "Crank That" and 2009's "Turn My Swag On" -- was arrested for suspicion of possessing a loaded gun in Granada Hills, Calif. After allegedly driving past a stop sign, cops stopped the vehicle, in which Soulja Boy was a passenger. The driver was booked for driving without a license while Soulja Boy was taken in for custody. He was later released on a $35,000 bail. Parole violation aside, Soulja Boy has also been embroiled in heated beefs with both Shia LeBeouf and Migos' Quavo. A representative for Soulja Boy did not immediately respond to Billboard's request for comment. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's energy minister Joo Hyung-hwan discussed cooperation on British nuclear energy projects in a meeting in London on Thursday with Britain's business minister Greg Clark, South Korea's energy ministry said in a statement. The statement from Seoul didn't disclose details of discussions on nuclear energy, but said the two countries will hold a follow-up meeting in the first half of next year. A British government statement issued said the two countries underlined a commitment at the meeting to keep working together on science, innovation and technology, without mentioning nuclear power. Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy and the world's fifth-biggest user of nuclear power, is keen to export its nuclear reactor technology, developed through state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO). Earlier this year, Britain gave the green light to the $24 billion Hinkley Point C project, its first new nuclear power plant in decades. Along with that project, NuGen, a joint venture between Toshiba and French utility company Engie, plans to build three reactors at the Moorside site on the coast of Cumbria, in northwest England. According to Seoul's statement on Friday, Korea's energy minister also had a meeting with NuGen chief Tom Samson during his British visit. The minister said Korean participation in Nugen projects would contribute to their success. Earlier this year a person familiar with the situation told Reuters KEPCO had engaged in talks with Toshiba and Engie about buying a stake NuGen. A NuGen spokesman declined to comment on whether talks were taking place with KEPCO, which also declined to comment. (Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell) Madrid (AFP) - A Spanish court on Friday acquitted on appeal a spokeswoman for Madrid's city council who was fined over 4,000 euros for taking her top off in a chapel in a 2011 protest. In March, a court found Rita Maestre, a 28-year-old Podemos councillor and former student of the far-left party's leader Pablo Iglesias, guilty of "infringing on freedom of conscience and religious convictions". When still a student, she burst into the chapel with some 50 others at Madrid's Complutense University, in protest against what they said was the Roman Catholic Church's "antidemocratic and chauvinistic" positions. She took off her t-shirt, showing her bra, and others went completely topless during the demonstration. The protest had sparked an outcry, leading to discontent from right-wing politicians and the Church, and it turned Maestre into a favourite target of Spanish conservatives. Public prosecutors had asked for Maestre to be sentenced to a year in jail, the maximum penalty allowed under Spanish law for the crime, but she was fined 4,320 euros ($4,500) instead. But an appeal court said Friday it had cancelled the sentence, considering that "inadequate clothing or certain inappropriate gestures" were not "an act of desecration". On Twitter, Maestre said she was "happy, satisfied and proud". "Good news for freedom of expression," she added. JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Standard Bank has asked a court to block the South African government from intervening in its decision to cut ties with the Gupta family which is at the centre of allegations of influence-peddling with the government. Standard Bank is one of four banks in South Africa to have closed bank accounts of companies controlled by the Gupta family, the subject of an anti-corruption investigation into allegations that they hold undue sway over President Jacob Zuma. Standard Bank's court filing is in support of October's application by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan asking a court to declare he could not interfere with the banks' decisions. In April, Zuma had set up a committee to patch up relations between Gupta company Oakbay and the four banks. Zuma denies granting undue influence to the Gupta brothers who run a business empire ranging from media to mining, or to anyone else. The Guptas have denied seeking influence. In an affidavit filed in a Pretoria court this week, Standard Bank lawyer Ian Sinton asked the court to prevent the government from further intervening in its decision to terminate its relations with Gupta-owned companies, or Oakbay Investments. "Standard Bank contends that the intervention that has already occurred and that which is being considered by the President were and would be unlawful," Sinton said in the filing. Zuma's spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Nedbank and FirstRand have also made court filings in support of Gordhan. Allegations of Gupta family meddling in politics burst into the open in February and opposition parties called for a probe by the country's Public Protector, an anti-corruption watchdog. The report on the investigation on whether the Gupta family had an influence over Zuma's appointment of ministers and the awarding of contracts was published last month. It called for a judicial inquiry into the allegations of corruption in Zuma's government. (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng. Editing by Jane Merriman) By Francis Mugerwa Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has offered to play a mediation role in the raging violent conflict in Rwenzoro sub region that has left over a hundred people dead. According to the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Prime Minister Norman Lukumu, the unrest was unfortunate and could have been avoided. The Omukama of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Solomon Gafabusa Iguru is the chairperson of the Uganda cultural leaders Forum, a platform that unites traditional leaders in the country. Lukumu says the King of Bunyoro and other Kings have potential to mediate in the conflict with a view of restoring peace and stability in the restive Rwenzori region. The Rwenzururu King Wesley Mumbere who is facing charges of murder, terrorism and attempted murder is on remand at Luzira maximum prison. By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) - A wave of start-ups is emerging in famously risk-averse Japan as cash-rich corporations increasingly delegate the task of keeping pace with technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics to smaller, nimbler businesses. Japan has been dry ground for start-ups, given the shame that entrepreneurs and investors associate with failure, but it is on track for a record funding year for unlisted start-ups, exceeding the dot-com bubble of 2000, according to a private research firm. "The fundraising environment has improved a lot compared with a few years ago," said Ken Tamagawa, 40-year-old CEO of Soracom Inc, which helps companies set up platforms allowing devices to communicate with each other via the "Internet of Things". It raised 3 billion yen ($25.6 million) from Mitsui & Co and an investment fund in which Toyota Motor Corp has a stake. Dozens of companies, including electronics maker Omron Corp and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan Co, have set up venture capital funds to seek returns or team up with smaller companies. "It's becoming harder to change with the times," says Kei Saika, investment director at Omron's investment arm, which was set up two years ago. "It's more efficient if the venture firms have the technologies that we don't." The trend comes with the support of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who sees start-ups as a way to breathe new life into Japan's long-stagnant economy, and has spoken of Japan learning the lessons of California's Silicon Valley. "The tide is changing, although the share of people willing to take the risk of launching a business is still relatively small," said Yasuhiko Yurimoto, President & CEO of Global Brain Corp, a venture capital firm that invests in financial technology, or "fintech", artificial intelligence and robotics start-ups. "More success stories are needed to create a virtuous cycle of growth." Start-ups raised 92.8 billion yen in the first half of the year, according to data from think-tank Japan Venture Research. At that pace, the amount will exceed last year's 165.8 billion yen and the previous high of about 170 billion yen set in 2000. Story continues The funding is mostly homegrown; foreign investors made up just 10 percent. Corporations and their affiliated venture capital firms accounted for more than a third of investment, while independent venture capital firms made up 19 percent. WAY TO GO Life Robotics CEO Yoon Woo-Keun managed to raise 1.5 billion yen this year for his company, Life Robotics, which developed a robotic arm called "CORO" designed for use at cosmetics companies, car factories and logistic warehouses. CORO is now being used at Toyota, Omron and the Yoshinoya restaurant chain, but for years he got the cold shoulder from investors in Japan and had considered decamping to the United States. Yoon still thinks Japan has a long way to go. "People talk about a robot boom and start-up boom in Japan, but personally I don't feel we have reached such a stage at all in terms of money," he said. Indeed fundraising in Japan remains a fraction of levels in the United States, where start-ups raised roughly $60 billion last year, and even China, where they garnered about $20 billion, according to the Venture Enterprise Center. Few innovators have made it big in Japan, and most of them got started soon after World War Two, when Soichiro Honda began making motorcycles and Akio Morita launched what became Sony Corp. Softbank's Masayoshi Son is a more recent example. But new names could soon be emerging among the younger generation. Classes on entrepreneurship at top universities are packed, as many students turn their back on both the seniority-based lifetime employment model that served their parents, and the cheap, insecure contract work that is slowly replacing it. Yousuke Okada, 28, is typical of this new breed. He started ABEJA, which uses "deep learning", a form of artificial intelligence that processes vast amounts of data, to analyze shoppers' behavior. "It tends to be time-consuming if you try to start something new like 'deep learning' at a big company, so I decided to do it by myself," said Okada. Half of the 20 employees at Astroscale Japan Inc, which develops technologies to solve space debris problems, are in their 20s, says company president Miki Ito. The rest are in their 60s, retirees from jobs at big firms, as it is hard to find mid-career experienced workers willing to jump ship. Success stories from Japan's last start-up boomlet include networking app company Line Corp, and Mixi Inc, a social network operator. But the new breed will, above all, have to learn how to handle failure. Of the current crop, only one in 10 will survive, Yurimoto predicts, and only one in 1,000 will make it to IPO, like Line and Mixi. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Malcolm Foster; editing by Will Waterman) Norwegian major Statoil ASA STO recently inked an agreement to sell its 100% stake in Kai Kos Dehseh (KKD) oil sands projects in the Canadian province of Alberta to Athabasca Oil Corporation. The impact of this news on the companys stock price is yet to be gauged. Statoils price chart reveals that it has underperformed the Zacks categorized Zacks sub industry Oil & Gas- International Integrated Market, year to date. While shares of Statoil have gained 29.1%, the broader Oil & Gas Integrated International has increased by 17.7%. Statoil does not find the oil sands project to be feasible and suitable for its portfolio. Concerns relating to profitability have forced the company to divest its KKD assets in the Alberta oil patch and incur a loss of about $500$550 million. The assets to be divested include the producing Leismer demonstration plant and the undeveloped Corner project, along with a number of midstream contracts related with Leismers production. On completion of this transaction, Statoil will no longer operate any oil sands assets and Athabasca will gain operatorship of Leismer and Corner. The deal with Athabasca Oil comprises two oil sands leases a 24,000 barrel a day test project and a greenfield facility that was projected to yield 40,000 barrels a day. The latter was abandoned by Statoil in 2014. In 2007, the Norwegian oil company entered KKD by purchasing North American Oil Sands Corporation. In 2011, PTTEP farmed in to an interest of 40%, and in 2014 Statoil and PTTEP agreed to divide their respective interests in KKD. Since then, Statoil has been the owner-operator of the Leismer and Corner projects. Statoil is expected to receive a total consideration of about CAD 832 million from this transaction. Of the total, a cash consideration of CAD 435 million and CAD 147 million are to be received in the form of 100 million common shares in Athabasca. Statoil will gain a 20% stake in Athabasca Oil that will be managed as a financial investment. Additionally, about CAD 250 million will be paid in a series of contingent payments. In total, about 80% of the consideration will be in cash elements. The effective date of the transaction is Jan 1, 2017. The transaction is in sync with Statoils strategy of portfolio optimization to improve financial flexibility and focus capital on main activities worldwide, including offshore Newfoundland, Canada. Since 2007, the company has continuously improved its operational performance, maintained a good safety record and delivered strong production from Leismer. Statoil is not the only company to have pulled out investments from Canadian oil sands. Other companies like Total SA TOT, Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A and ExxonMobil Corporation XOM have also done the same earlier. Statoil currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis Report ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report STATOIL ASA-ADR (STO): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Adam Gault/Getty Images; realtor.com Even in the hottest markets, selling a house is by no means a transaction that happens overnight. Every stepfrom listing your house to getting an offer to closingtakes time. But how much time? To help you pace yourself, here are the steps to sell a house, and how long each one typically takes so you can plan accordingly. Depending on where you live, you may need to settle in for a long ride! How long does it take to list a home? Answer: 3 to 5 days It will take your listing agent a few days or a bit longer to gather all the necessary info on your home (e.g., square footage, special features, and photos). But once your agent has it all, things generally happen fast. Your agent will then upload these details onto the multiple listing service, which will make the listing viewable to agents. A shorter, consumer-friendly version of the MLS listing will also appear on sites like realtor.comand since this site refreshes its data at least every 15 minutes, your home will be in front of plenty of eyeballs in no time at all. How long does it take to get an offer on a home? Answer: 65 days The current average age of properties on the market is 65 days. That said, this varies greatly by location and time of year, so theres no one right answer to how long youll wait for that blessed first offer. Is your market hot or chilly? San Francisco residents might sell their house in a hot second, but if your place is rural, expensive, or unique, youll probably wait longer. How long does it take to close after we receive an offer? Answer: 50 days Currently, theres an average of 50 days between when buyers apply for financing and when they get approved and can close on a home. Yes, thats a long time, especially if youre selling and eager to get on with it. But buyers and mortgage companies need to do their due diligenceand you certainly dont want any last-minute surprises before the buyer takes possession. Closings fail for a number of reasons, like contingencies (perhaps the buyers home didnt sell, or the bank rejected her loan). Whatever you do, dont be a pain and not fix issues that arise during inspection (assuming, of course, you agreed to fix them). Final walk-through surprises can delay closing even longer. Story continues How long before I get paid? Answer: 0 days! Heres good news: Your money should be available immediately after you sign on the dotted line. Cash is typically disbursed by the title or escrow company, which will wire the money to your bank account or cut a check on closing day with little to no lag time. Make sure to check with your attorney or real estate agent, thoughtheyll be able to provide specific details on the process for your sale. How long do I have to move out? Answer: 0 days, except by special agreement Typically, sellers are expected to move out by the day they close on the home so the new buyers can move in as soon as theyve signed on the dotted line. Most people move out in advance of the close, but if you need more time, you can negotiate a rent-back agreement, which allows the new buyers to essentially become your landlords for a few months while you find a new place to live. But considering how long the home-selling process takes, odds are youll be chomping at the bit to get out! The post Steps to Sell a House: How Long Does Each One Take? appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com. When you first glance at Natalie Portman dressed as Jacqueline Kennedy for the movie Jackie, you might do a double take thats how closely she resembles the late First Lady. And while a large part of that is due to their petite statures, fine bones and brunette bouffants, much of it also depends on the costume design, created by Madeline Fontaine, who recreated Kennedys iconic styles in the days after her husbands assassination faithfully but with many surprising elements in consideration as well. In this exclusive video, above, Portman discusses how important style was, not just to the film, but to Kennedy herself. We know Jackie as an icon; she had this very particular style, the actress says. Its one of the things shes really remembered for. The hair, the clothes, the grace. The attention to detail extended to fabric for the drapes that came straight from the same French factories Kennedy shopped at to buttons for the suit sent directly from Chanel. As Portman says, The clothes are obviously very much a part of the facade that we know about Jackie. Madeline, our costume designer, did an incredible job recreating the wardrobe she was wearing in particular scenes. FameFlynet Says Fontaine, For me, she was more than an icon of fashion. She was an ambassador of elegance. And though in some respects, it was easier to have such specific reference points, in other ways, it made it more challenging. Theres a lot of credit about this period there was so much to choose from. We just had to make an idea of it and to go make it from there. Thats not to say that certain things didnt require precision. The one where wed know if we were right or not to make Natalie Portman become Jackie was, of course, the pink one. We had to be convinced at the first minute and I think it worked you must accept from the first minute that she is a representation of Jackie. CBS Photo Archive/Getty; Pablo Larrain/Twentieth Century Fox Story continues Fontaine made many of the outfits herself with her team, but she did have some assistance from the designers Jackie herself loved. Chanel offered to help make the iconic pink suit from the assassination scenes (they ended up sending buttons, the label and the chains to stitch into the jacket for the proper weight), and Piaget loaned a watch that belonged to Jackie herself, as well as jewelry from their current collection that felt period-appropriate, including pearls and diamond earrings. RELATED PHOTOS: The Voice, the Clothes, the Eyebrows! 5 Ways Natalie Portman Transformed into Jackie Kennedy for Jackie AP; William Gray And as a costume designer, Fontaine could appreciate Jackies sense of occasion when dressing herself for much-photographed occasions. I think she was very very aware of dressing for the right moment. I think she was never in the wrong look at any occasion, as far as I can see, she said. Even if its a candid photo, or one more intimate, shes always pictured . She would never be pictured by surprise. I think thats fascinating. And perhaps thats why her outfits (as well as those of her children) from the time period the film incorporates are so lasting in the publics memory. We had the pink one, we had the black one and we had the red one from the interview. These were the ones that were already fixed and we just had to make them true and fit it for her, Fontaine says. But the other ones made or we used for some sequences that were more free. We just have to be sensible and right in the proportions and in the adaptation of Jackie and Natalie as Jackie. Have you seen the film? WWE Network As weve been documenting in the retro Best and Worst of 1997 WWF, Stone Cold Steve Austin was pretty much always destined to be a big old honking megastar. But to many, an indispensable part of his legendary schtick one of the most iconic things about the guy who is pretty much nothing but iconography was his penchant for self-toasting beers and pouring them all over himself and the ring after every victory and at the end of most Raws in the Attitude Era. His possible Wellness Policy-violating celebration has been imitated pretty much any time someone has ever held two beverages at the same time. And hell get mad at you if you try to claim he wasnt legitimately pounding brewskis. On this weeks The Steve Austin Show podcast, the Texas Rattlesnake was joined by the man who was responsible for chucking Austin all those in-ring Steveweisers for years and years: former WWE timekeeper Mark Yeaton. The man was with WWE for three decades, so you better believe they had a whole bunch to talk about, but you also better believe they talked about their incessant cavalcade of beer bashes. During their discussion, Austin offhandedly threw out an Andre the Giant-level boast about one post-match celebraish in particular. Were you in Japan the time we did the beer bash with the Dudleys and Stacy Keibler? We went through 115 beers that night [in Japan], and that was the most I ever went through. And a lot of people said hey man, was that real beer? And I say yes, it was always real beer except for the one time. We were in Montreal, I think it was Sunday, something like that. Whatever it was, or maybe it was against the rules of the building, but it was NA beer, non-alcohol. And so all of a sudden those pictures start making the rounds and people are thinking oh theyre throwing this guy non-alcohol beer. that was one time. I cant tell you how many times I left the ring and I had a little bit of a buzz because of all the beers I was drinking. When youre shotgunning anywhere from six to 12 beers, and maybe you get half of em in. On an empty stomach, after youve wrestled, it goes to your head pretty quick. Story continues 115 beers! Even split between Austin, two Dudleys, and one Keibler and assuming part of each beer went down the side of everybodys face or down somebodys shirt, thats a good 20-30 cold boys each. Thats truly unbelievable. They probably just wadded up the canvas and left it out in back of the arena after that show. And in case its been a while and youve forgotten, even in your pretty standard run-of-the-mill end-of-Raw celebration, they went through dozens of cans of beer. Seriously, just went through the stuff like ICP goes through Faygo. Check it out. (h/t to Fox Sports for the transcript) Washington (AFP) - US-led coalition aircraft have destroyed heavy weaponry seized by Islamic State jihadists when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from regime forces over the weekend, officials said Friday. The strikes on Thursday destroyed an air defense artillery system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two IS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles, the coalition said in a statement. Among the Russian weaponry the IS group captured around Palmyra were thought to be modern surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs, giving jihadists the potential capability to shoot down coalition jets, a coalition official told AFP. Earlier on Wednesday, the commander of the coalition forces conducting air strikes against the IS group in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, had said that "anything they (IS) seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will." Thursday's attack took place near the Tiyas military airfield near Palmyra, northeast of the fabled city along a highway. The IS group overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after its fighters were expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. The jihadists had initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics. Before the IS group retook the city, it had been the focus of Russian and Syrian counter-Islamic State operations and not an area were the US coalition was particularly active. The White House has been withering in its criticism of Russia for losing control of the desert town, accusing Moscow of focusing more on helping the Assad regime retake Aleppo than its claim of fighting the Islamic State group -- also known as ISIL. "(Russia) has only had one operational gain on the ground inside of Syria against ISIL. It has had that -- that gain rolled back," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "In fact, the threat that is posed by ISIL is now worse because of Russia's failed strategy inside of Syria, because ISIL didn't just retake Palmyra, they retook Palmyra and all of the military equipment that the Assad regime, backed by Russia, had moved in there." Despite the rhetorical clashes and arguments over Syria, the United States and Russia have established military back channels to ensure operations outside their usual zones of interest do not result in direct confrontation. By Ronnie Cohen Before scheduling a bikini wax, or shaving down there, consider the results of a new study. Men and women who trimmed or removed their pubic hair were nearly twice as likely to report having had a sexually transmitted infection, or STI, compared with non-groomers, researchers found after adjusting for age and number of sexual partners. The lesson, according to the studys senior author, Dr. Benjamin Breyer: I wouldnt groom aggressively right before a sexual encounter with a partner I didnt know well, and I would avoid having sex with an open cut or wound. Removing pubic hair might tear the skin, opening an entryway for bacteria or viruses, the authors write in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. But in a phone interview, Breyer, a urology professor at the University of California, San Francisco, cautioned that pubic hair grooming also might mask other contributing factors to STIs. Groomers, for example, could be more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors behaviors not considered in the study. It is the first large-scale investigation into the relationship between grooming practices and STIs. Researchers surveyed 7,470 randomly sampled adults who reported at least one lifetime sexual partner. Some 84 percent of the women and 66 percent of the men groomed their pubic hair. The 17 percent of groomers who removed all their hair were more than four times as likely to report a history of STIs compared to those who let their hair grow naturally, the study found. The 22 percent of groomers who trimmed their pubic hair at least weekly reported more than triple the rate of STIs compared to those who left it alone. U.S. cases of the three most common sexually transmitted infections chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis reached an all-time high last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Debby Herbenick, a sex researcher and professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health in Bloomington, isnt ready to advise people to discard their razors on the basis of the study. What was really missing from the paper was the aspect of sex, she said in a phone interview. Thats important because youre not getting an STI from shaving or trimming your pubic hair. The only question researchers asked about sex was how many partners participants had in their lifetimes. For me, the study isnt enough to urge anyone to change anything about what theyre doing about the body, said Herbenick, who was not involved with the research. A previous study found that women who removed all their pubic hair were more likely to engage in casual sexual hookups as opposed to long-term relationships possible evidence that something other than grooming itself caused the STIs, she said. Along those lines, in the romantic comedy, How to be Single, Rebel Wilson playing Robin laments her friends LTRP, or long-term relationship pubes. Regardless of whether and how people groom their pubic hair, Breyer stressed the importance of practicing safe sex, especially using a condom when engaging in casual sex. Pornography and Hollywood, particularly a painful-to-watch 2000 episode of HBOs hit Sex in the City, with Sarah Jessica Parker playing Carrie Bradshaw getting a Brazilian bikini wax, popularized women stripping their genitals bald, Herbenick said. The trend appeared to slow during the recession and may be reversing. Earlier this year, Vogue magazine ran a story headlined, The Full Bush Is the New Brazilian. But men and women still remove their pubic hair. Because they frequently do so in preparation for sex, Herbenick sees groomers as unlikely to heed Breyers advice about waiting to heal after grooming and before having sex. We know people are grooming in preparation for sex, she said. So I dont think waiting is the answer. In another recent study in JAMA Dermatology, more than 80 percent of American women said they groomed their pubic hair, and 56 percent reported doing so to get ready for sex. Women groomed regardless of how often they had sex, the gender of their sex partner and their sexual activities. Alber Elbaz Collaborates With Converse [WWD] He's back! More than a year after his exit from the helm of Lanvin, Alber Elbaz is embracing his first design project: a collaboration with Converse. (He hasn't been completely AWOL from the fashion scene, however. Elbaz collaborated with Frederic Malle on a perfume in October.) WWD reports that the designer crafted a sneaker style for the Nike-owned brand in Japan, which will drop at the beginning of next year. During his 14 years at Lanvin, Elbaz helped popularize the luxury sneaker, so he's no stranger to the world of footwear. Charlotte Rampling Photographed for Loewe [Instagram] Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson tapped actress Charlotte Rampling, 70, to star in the latest issue of the Spanish luxury label's limited-edition publication. Rampling looks fierce in the images, photographed by Jamie Hawkesworth (who also photographed Chloe Sevigny for Anderson's J.W. Anderson spring campaign), wearing ensembles from the spring 2017 collection. A photo posted by Jonathan Anderson (@jonathan.anderson) on Dec 15, 2016 at 9:34am PST Small Handbag and Accessory Market Growing at a Rapid Pace [NPD Group] As the runways at Paris Fashion Week foretold, the mini bag is the new "It" bag. Sales of small bags and accessories - including card holders, phone cases and coin purses - are on the rise, as consumers look for more streamlined (and inexpensive) carryall options in the age of Apple Pay and money-managing apps. Dollar sales of money accessories other than wallets increased 13 percent in the 12 months ending in October. And although sales of women's handbags as a whole declined, sales of miniature bags increased 2 percent. Christina Binkley Leaves The Wall Street Journal After 23 Years [Pret-a-Reporter Inbox] Style columnist Christina Binkley is leaving The Wall Street Journal after 23 years at the paper. She will continue to freelance for the Journal on occasion, but she will focus much of her time on writing two new fashion books. Details about the tomes were not disclosed, though at least one of them will require her to attend New York and European Fashion Weeks. L.A.'s Fashion Leaders Discuss How to Make It in the City of Angels [Pret-a-Reporter Inbox] On Tuesday, THR senior fashion editor Booth Moore led a panel that featured some of Los Angeles' most influential figures in the fashion industry, including former American Apparel creative director and Everybody founder Iris Alonzo; former WWD West Coast editor and A+R co-owner Rose Apodaca; A.L.C. founder and designer Andrea Lieberman; sustainable fashion designer Jesse Kamm; and Adrienne Lindgren, business development manager for the City of Los Angeles. During the discussion, hosted by Not Just A Label (a London-based virtual showroom that connects independent designers and consumers), the ladies discussed how La La Land has always had a strong fashion presence (despite it being considered the stepchild of New York); how it's possible to make it as a designer on the West Coast; why forming a community is important; and how L.A. will protect its immigrant workers during the Trump presidency. Barcelona (AFP) - Luis Suarez on Friday said he was delighted after signing his lucrative contract extension at Barcelona through to June 2021. "I am very happy. It's what I wanted and the club too and so I feel huge satisfaction," Suarez told Barca TV, saying the deal showed the "recognition of the club" to his contribution since signing from Liverpool in 2014. "Every game with Barcelona is special," added the 29-year-old. The Uruguay international striker's new deal features a 200 million-euro (167 million, $208 million) release clause. Suarez has scored 97 goals in just 116 appearances since arriving from Anfield. Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu was among several of the club's top brass as Suarez put pen to paper. The Catalan club were keen to tie down their centre forward who forms part of an explosive attacking triumvirate with Lionel Messi and Neymar. The club have already persuaded Neymar to sign a new deal also through to 2011 and are working on an extension for Messi. The European Union has promises to assist in addressing the root causes of the Kasese conflict by all concerned through dialogue. In a statement issued by the head of the Delegation of the European Union to Uganda, the EU condemned the violence in Kasese district that resulted into the reported loss of more than 100 lives of civilians and members of the security forces. It notes the follow-up by the authorities, and the investigations being carried out by the Parliamentary Defence and Internal Affairs Committee and the Uganda Human Rights Commission. It also encourages full investigations in a timely, inclusive and transparent manner, according to due process and the rule of law, and that the outcome of these investigations be made public. BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has signed a contract extension with the Catalan club until June 2021. Friday's signing came a day after the new deal which carries a buyout clause of 200 million euros (about $210 million) was announced by Barcelona. Suarez's previous contract with the Spanish club was due to expire in 2019. Since transferring from Liverpool in 2014, Suarez has scored 97 goals in 116 matches, helping Barcelona win eight titles, including the 2015 Champions League. The 29-year-old Uruguay striker has 13 goals in 20 games with Barcelona this season. The Spanish powerhouse recently also extended the contract of Brazilian forward Neymar until 2021, and now it will try to seal a deal with Lionel Messi to keep together its formidable attacking trio. PARIS (Reuters) - France's Suez sees potential for 10 percent revenue growth in India, where it already supplies water for 44 million people, a senior executive said on Friday. The Indian market is largely in public hands and Suez runs 23 drinking water and waste water plants owned by municipalities, mostly under a "Design, Build, Operate" (DBO) model in big cities. Suez had revenue of 100 million euros ($104 million) in India in 2015, of which 40 million came from building plants and about 30 million from services to industry. Our growth potential is about 10 percent per year in India for the next three to five years," Suez's chief for Africa, Middle East and India Pierre-Yves Pouliquen told Reuters. India is small compared to China, where Suez had revenue of 1.2 billion euros in 2015, but rapid urbanisation is creating opportunities and Pouliquen estimates its drinking water market at $3 billion and its waste water market at $750 million. Suez competes in India with local water specialists such as Vatech Vabag and Ion Exchange and construction giant Larsen & Toubro. ($1 = 0.9588 euros) (Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Additional reporting by Tommy Wilkes in New Delhi; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Alexander Smith) Sumner Redstone will step down from the Viacom board of directors in February after the company holds its annual meeting, Viacom said Friday. The move marks another milestone for the company that has been in turmoil for more than a year. Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, will continue to participate in board meetings in a non-voting role, Viacom said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Redstone will remain chairman emeritus, the role he segued to last February after shareholders raised concerns about his status as chairman amid reports of his failing health. Viacom set the 2017 meeting for Feb. 6 at its headquarters in New York. The company aims to get back on track after Sumner Redstone and daughter Shari Redstone earlier this week called off the proposed merger with CBS and named Viacom vet Bob Bakish as its permanent president and CEO. He also joined the board of directors on Dec. 12. The filing detailed a salary package for Bakish in his role as acting CEO that would have been worth up to $12 million if hed achieved the maximum cash bonus award. However, now that hes been made permanent CEO he is expected to receive a new compensation package that will be revealed in the coming days. Bakish was to have earned a annual salary of $2.5 million a year as president-CEO and another $2.75 million in his other role as CEO of Viacoms Global Entertainment Group division. He would have been eligible for a $3.5 million cash bonus in his Global Entertainment Group role. In November, as Bakish became Viacoms acting CEO, he received stock grants valued at $3.25 million. Bakishs compensation package is far slimmer than the largess afforded to former Viacom chairman-CEO Philippe Dauman in recent years. The filing confirms that Dauman earned $93 million in salary, stock and option awards in his final tumultuous year as CEO. That compares to $54.1 million in 2015 and $44.3 million in 2014. Thomas Dooley, the former chief operating officer who spent about six weeks as interim CEO, ended his nearly 40 years at Viacom with compensation of $27.9 million, a little less than the $29.4 million he banked in 2015. Story continues Viacom had already planned for a changing of the guard at the annual meeting with four incumbent board members stepping down. That process was hammered out in August as part of the settlement with Dauman. Amid conflict over the management and governance of the conglom that controls Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1 and other media assets, the Redstones selected five independent directors to help reinvigorate the company. Leaving the board after the meeting are George Abrams and Frederic Salerno, who were involved in litigation with Dauman against the Redstones; Blythe McGarvie and William Schwartz. Related stories Sumner Redstone Gave Millions to Numerous Mistresses, Ex-Girlfriend Alleges Sumner Redstone Sues Two Ex-Companions for $150 Million Sumner Redstone's Wild Year: A Timeline of Epic Battles That Have Reshaped His Empire New York (AFP) - Sumner Redstone, the 93-year-old media tycoon whose health has been questioned, is stepping down from the board of his conglomerate Viacom, the company announced Friday. Redstone will remain chairman emeritus and "will continue to participate in meetings of the board in a non-voting role," a regulatory filing said. The statement indicated Redstone would no longer play a role on the board after the February 6 annual meeting. It marks a further step back for Redstone, whose failing health has been the object of litigation as his daughter Shari assumes increasing control of his corporate empire. The Redstone family, through its National Amusements holding company, controls Viacom, which includes an array of television operations and the Paramount studios in Hollywood, as well as television giant CBS. Earlier this month, the family scrapped a plan to re-merge those two firms a decade after their breakup. Viacom has been in turmoil for months, having ousted chief executive Philippe Dauman, who clashed over control of the company with the Redstone family. Dauman had filed legal actions claiming the aging Redstone was unable to manage his affairs and had been manipulated by his daughter Shari. Dauman eventually dropped his lawsuit as part of an agreement to leave the company, which controls Paramount, a global television empire that includes MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other properties, with operations in 180 countries. Longtime company executive Robert Bakish was named interim CEO earlier this year, and confirmed in that role this month. Viacom said in a regulatory filing on Friday that chairman emeritus and controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone will leave the company's board as of the annual shareholder meeting in February. The filing showed 10 nominated board members that shareholders get to confirm in the Feb. 6 meeting at the company's New York headquarters. They are chairman Thomas May, vice chair Shari Redstone, CEO Bob Bakish, Nicole Seligman, Deborah Norville, Charles E. Phillips, Jr., Ronald Nelson, Judith McHale, Kenneth Lerer and Cristiana Falcone Sorrell. The board currently has 15 members. In addition to Redstone, the directors set to leave as of the annual meeting are George Abrams, Frederic Salerno, Blythe McGarvie and William Schwartz. "Sumner M. Redstone is chairman emeritus of the company and following our annual meeting, Mr. Redstone will continue to participate in meetings of the board in a non-voting role," the filing said. A source said Redstone requested that he not be re-nominated as a voting member of the board. "Viacom is indebted to Sumner Redstone for his decades of extraordinary leadership," said a rep. "Our directors are grateful for his continued dedication to the company and his contributions as chairman emeritus." Redstone, 93, has been scaling back his role, earlier this year leaving the chairman role to become chairman emeritus. The Redstones' National Amusements, through which they control about 80 percent of the voting shares of Viacom and CBS Corp., earlier this week asked the companies to stop looking at a recombination. Bakish later that day was elevated from acting CEO to permanent CEO. Bakish is working on a plan to reinvigorate Viacom and its performance with a focus on Paramount Pictures, MTV in the U.S. and relationships with TV distributors in the U.S. Friday's filing listed the compensation for Viacom's top-paid corporate officers of the latest fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Redstone's pay wasn't listed. The list was led by former CEO Philippe Dauman, who made $93.0 million, including his $58.4 million exit package, compared with $54.2 million for the previous year. Dauman's pay was pro-rated to Aug. 18 when he departed in a deal with the Redstones. His $9.7 million bonus was well below the $20 million target. Story continues Tom Dooley, who took over as interim CEO after Dauman's forced exit after serving as COO, earned $27.9 million in the fiscal year, down 5 percent from the previous year. But he also got a $58.2 million exit package after the end of the fiscal year for leaving in mid-November when Bakish took over. Friday's regulatory filing also mentioned that Bakish's compensation for his role as acting CEO would have been up to $12 million. His new pay package for his new position as permanent CEO is expected to be revealed later. This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter. Sumner Redstone, 93-year-old chairman emeritus of Viacom (VIAB), is stepping down from the media giant's board, the company said Friday. Redstone, the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, will transition out of the role in February following the company's annual meeting, but he will continue to participate in meetings in a nonvoting role, according to a Viacom filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last February, the CBS board announced his resignation as executive chairman and appointed CEO Les Moonves as his successor. A day later, Viacom named Redstone chairman emeritus and CEO Philippe Dauman as his successor as executive chairman. After a fallout with Redstone and his daughter, Shari, Dauman agreed in August to leave Viacom. Redstone assumed his role as executive chairman of CBS (CBS) and Viacom after the separation of the latter in 2006. Prior to that, Redstone served as chairman of the board of Viacom since June 1987. Redstone's privately owned National Amusements is the largest shareholder in Viacom and CBS. The news comes after the company the Redstone's put a stop to the Viacom-CBS merger. In a letter to both companies boards, Redstone and his daughter, Shari, said the companies should continue on independent paths. The filing also came two days after Redstone's 45-year-old ex-girlfriend, Sydney Holland, said in court papers that he had given out millions of dollars to multiple women who had given him sexual favors. Redstone's legal team called the allegations "a work of fiction punctuated by not-so-subtle threats of extortion and an overwhelming stench of greed." Viacom is set to have the meeting on Feb. 6 at its headquarters in New York. Capitol Records is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a case that could send shockwaves through the music and digital industries. It all started with the fad of posting "lip dub" videos on Vimeo and similar sites. Users recorded themselves dancing and lip-syncing popular tunes by artists including The Beatles and The Beach Boys and then shared those videos, including the copyrighted recordings, online. Capitol Records sued Vimeo in 2009, claiming the video sharing site and its users were infringing on its rights in the songs. Vimeo argued that it is protected by the safe harbor provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which shields internet service providers from some actions taken by their users. The heart of this issue now is whether safe harbor protection can used by ISPs to avoid liability for infringements of pre-1972 sound recordings. Those works are protected by state law, so record labels have argued that the immunity afforded under DMCA, which is federal law, doesn't apply. The 2nd Circuit handed ISPs a major win in July, finding that the safe harbor provision includes protection from "infringement of state laws of copyright." The appeals court denied a rehearing of the issue on Aug. 15. Capitol Records is asking the high court to determine if that ruling was an error in a 43-page petition for writ of certiorari filed Wednesday by attorney Carter Phillips. In a nutshell, Phillips argues that Section 301(c) of the Copyright Act explicitly protects state law remedies for infringement of pre-1972 sound recordings until February 2067. "The question presented is whether the Second Circuit erred in holding, contrary to the considered view of the United States Copyright Office and in conflict with New York state appellate courts, that when Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and added section 512 to the Copyright Act, it implicitly limited and preempted the very state-law rights and remedies that section 301(c) says 'shall not be annulled or limited,'" states the petition. Story continues Capitol argues that the 2nd Circuit decision creates diametrically opposed legal rules in New York state and federal courts, which could lead to "wasteful forum-shopping behavior." Perhaps more importantly, Capitol argues that the Supreme Court should take up the issue because it is critically important to the music industry. "[T]he Second Circuit's decision ... diminishes the legal protections enjoyed by owners of every sound recording made in the United States prior to February 15, 1972 - including among them works of immense cultural and commercial significance like those of The Temptations and The Supremes, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Pablo Casals, and Yehudi Menuhin, to name just a few," states the petition. Capitol estimates that theft of music costs the industry $2.7 billion each year and the 2nd Circuit's decision diminishes owners' rights "where they are most vulnerable to infringement - in relation to Internet copying, performance, and distribution." (Read the full petition below.) Pre-1972 sound recordings have seen a tidal wave of litigation over the years. Most recently, attorneys for Flo & Eddie of The Turtles argued a case before the 9th Circuit over Pandora's use of oldies tunes. A similar battle with SiriusXM recently settled, but left the door open for appellate courts to create clarity on the issues. It's worth noting: President Barack Obama's former solicitor general Don Verrilli told The Hollywood Reporter in October that there was a good chance the Supreme Court would take on Capitol Records' case. Vimeo is represented by a Quinn Emanuel team, which has not yet responded to a request for comment. Capitol Records is also represented by Russell Frackman and Marc Mayer of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, and Kwaku Akowuah, Rebecca Levenson and Constantine Trela of Sidley Austin. Read more: "Dancing Baby" Appeals Court Decision Stands Minus the "Fair Use" Algorithms Capitol Records is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a case that could send shockwaves through the music and digital industries. It all started with the fad of posting "lip dub" videos on Vimeo and similar sites. Users recorded themselves dancing and lip syncing popular tunes by artists including The Beatles and the Beach Boys and then shared those videos, including the copyrighted recordings, online. Capitol Records sued Vimeo in 2009, claiming the video sharing site and its users were infringing on its rights in the songs. Vimeo argued that it is protected by the safe harbor provisions in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which shields Internet Service Providers from some actions taken by their users. The heart of this issue now is whether safe harbor protection can used by ISPs to avoid liability for infringements of pre-1972 sound recordings. Those works are protected by state law, so record labels have argued that the immunity afforded under DMCA, which is federal law, doesn't apply. The 2nd Circuit handed ISPs a major win in July, finding that the safe harbor provision includes protection from "infringement of state laws of copyright." The appeals court denied a rehearing of the issue on Aug. 15. Capitol Records is asking the high court to determine if that ruling was an error, in a 43-page petition for writ of certiorari filed Wednesday by attorney Carter Phillips. In a nutshell, Phillips argues that Section 301(c) of the Copyright Act explicitly protects state law remedies for infringement of pre-72 sound recordings until Feb. 2067. "The question presented is whether the Second Circuit erred in holding, contrary to the considered view of the United States Copyright Office and in conflict with New York state appellate courts, that when Congress enacted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and added section 512 to the Copyright Act, it implicitly limited and preempted the very state-law rights and remedies that section 301(c) says 'shall not be annulled or limited,'" states the petition. Story continues Capitol argues that the 2nd Circuit decision creates diametrically opposed legal rules in New York state and federal courts, which could lead to "wasteful forum-shopping behavior." Perhaps more importantly, Capitol argues that the Supreme Court should take up the issue because it is critically important to the music industry. "[T]he Second Circuit's decision ... diminishes the legal protections enjoyed by owners of every sound recording made in the United States prior to February 15, 1972 - including among them works of immense cultural and commercial significance like those of The Temptations and The Supremes, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra,Pablo Casals, and Yehudi Menuhin, to name just a few," states the petition. Capitol estimates that theft of music costs the industry $2.7 billion each year and the 2nd Circuit's decision diminishes owners' rights "where they are most vulnerable to infringement - in relation to Internet copying, performance,and distribution." (Read the full petition below.) Pre-72 sound recordings have seen a tidal wave of litigation over the years. Most recently, attorneys for Flo & Eddie of The Turtles argued a case before the 9th Circuit over Pandora's use of oldies tunes. A similar battle with SiriusXM recently settled, but left the door open for appellate courts to create clarity on the issues. It's worth noting: President Obama's former solicitor general Don Verrilli told The Hollywood Reporter in October that there was a good chance the Supreme Court would take on Capitol Records' case. Vimeo is represented by a Quinn Emanuel team, which has not yet responded to a request for comment. Capitol Records is also represented by Russell Frackman and Marc Mayer of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, and Kwaku Akowuah, Rebecca Levenson and Constantine Trela of Sidley Austin. Capitol v Vimeo Petition and Appendix by ashley6cullins on Scribd This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter Geneva (AFP) - The Swiss parliament on Friday finally agreed on a plan to curb immigration from the EU, as called for in a 2014 referendum, without jeopardising its vital relationship with the bloc. The move was hailed by Brussels but condemned as a betrayal by the party behind the original initiative. Both the upper and lower chambers voted in favour of a heavily revised version of the initiative narrowly voted through nearly three years ago that demanded a restrictions on the immigration of EU citizens. "At first glance, the law really seems to go in the right direction," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters in Brussels. Ever since the February 2014 vote, Bern has been struggling to find a way to respect the will of the people within a three-year deadline without permanently alienating the neighbouring EU, its main trading partner. Brussels had reacted angrily to the vote, saying curbing immigration by EU citizens put in doubt a whole range of bilateral agreements Switzerland had signed with the bloc. - No quotas - The text agreed on Friday meanwhile stopped far short of an initial plan to impose quotas on resident permits issued to EU citizens, which Brussels had fiercely rejected. Instead it would merely require Swiss employers to jump through a few bureaucratic hoops before hiring from the bloc, and to prioritise Swiss job seekers, at least ostensibly. In cantons where the unemployment rate is higher than the national average -- currently 3.3 percent -- employers would need to post a vacant job at local unemployment agencies before hiring abroad, or risk a hefty fine. They would also need to bring in qualified local residents registered with the unemployment office for an interview, but after that they would not be required to justify a decision to go with an EU resident over someone living in Switzerland. The European Commission appeared satisfied with the text. "It's a good sign that this law no longer aims to introduce quotas on the free circulation of EU citizens and does not aim to restrict their access to the Swiss labour market," Schinas said. Story continues The parliamentary approval of the text, and its apparent blessing from the EU, appears set to unblock a number of issues that have been plaguing Swiss-EU relations. The Swiss government said Friday it could now finally expand its open border and labour market arrangements with the bloc to its newest member, Croatia, as it had been planning to do at the time of the 2014 vote. This in turn should allow long-suspended negotiations towards Swiss participation in lucrative EU research and education programmes to resume. The populist rightwing Swiss People's Party (SVP), which was behind the original initiative voted on in 2014, slammed Friday's text as a "betrayal", a violation of the Swiss constitution and a capitulation to the EU. The party warned that if the Swiss government does not put forward a new text that follows the will of the people, it will launch another initiative for the public to vote on. Switzerland's famous direct democratic system allows any initiative that gathers at least 100,000 signatures to be put to a popular vote. Next time, SVP cautioned, it would be calling for the full abolition of the agreement on freedom of movement that since the early 2000s has allowed tens of thousands of EU citizens to settle and work in the wealthy Alpine nation. According to the latest official figures, nearly 81,250 EU citizens moved to Switzerland to work between January and October this year -- up 7.1 percent from the same period in 2015. UPDATE: Sylvester Stallone is flattered by the consideration, but has suggested he will not be taking a top National Endowment for the Arts post in the administration of Donald Trump. Word emerged last week that the Oscar nominee was being eyed for a big role at the NEA. Late Sunday, he released a statement through his publicist saying, I believe I could be more effective by bringing national attention to returning military personnel in an effort to find gainful employment, suitable housing and financial assistance these heroes respectfully deserve. I am incredibly flattered to have been suggested to be involved with the NEA, he said. PREVIOUS, FRIDAY 10:11 AM PT: Is Sylvester Stallone getting political? Rumors surfaced yesterday that Stallone is being eyed to join Donald Trumps administration with a high post in the National Endowment for the Arts after a report surfaced in Londons Daily Mail. Sources said that Stallone has indeed been offered, and is mulling it. He is coming off an Oscar nomination for Creed, reprising his signature role of Rocky Balboa, 40 years after getting his first Oscar nom in the Best Picture-winning Rocky. It seems as much a long-shot as Rockys ring fortunes, but his former action rival Arnold Schwarzenegger did become California State governor. Were trying to get official word from Stallone so stay tuned on this one. Related Watch TV shows, movies and more on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. Related stories Michael Moore Offers To Pay GOP Electors' Fines If They Vote Their "Conscience" Against Donald Trump Bill Maher: Donald Trump's Adventures In Oppositeland 'SNL': Alec Baldwin's Trump Joined By John Goodman's Rex Tillerson Kampala Minister Betty Olive Kamya has hit back at city councilors who are calling for her resignation, saying they are looking for cheap popularity. During a council session attended by both political and technical teams yesterday, the councilors accused the minister of failure to implement resolutions passed by the authoritys council demanding that she resigns. The city lord mayor Erias Lukwago also accused the minster of not appearing or sending any delegate for six council meetings. However, Kamya says she needs an independent mind to review the council resolutions, denying that she has ever been invited for any council meeting. Kamya was this morning speaking at an event to commemoration to mark the World Aids Day organized by Kampala Capital City authority. Evacuation efforts to remove civilians trapped in Aleppo were suspended on Friday after rebel groups reportedly opened fire on a convoy. After five years the Syrian civil war is still ongoing, here is a quick update of the latest developments: A planned three-day evacuation of civilians in Aleppo, which began on Thursday, was suspended, the Red Cross told CNBC via email. Syrian State TV said on Friday rebel groups had opened fire on a convoy. It also claimed the rebels had violated the cease-fire by trying to take captives out of the rebel held area, the Associated Press reported. The United Nations (UN) reported 6,000 people had left Syria's second largest city since Thursday though around 50,000 civilians remain trapped and in need of assistance. There were no confirmed reports for how long the suspension to evacuation efforts would be in place. Officials on both sides of the conflict confirmed a ceasefire had begun on Thursday at 2.30 a.m local time (7.30 p.m ET Wednesday) but is no longer holding. Originally an evacuation had been scheduled for Wednesday though it stalled due to continued gunfire and shelling in the city. And Iran insisted on the simultaneous evacuation of two villages besieged by the rebels, Reuters reported, quoting rebel and UN sources. Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters in Japan on Friday peace talks would be renewed to encompass the whole of Syria imminently and he was working with Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, to achieve this aim. "The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria. We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey," Putin said. "If (peace talks) happens, it won't compete with the Geneva talks, but will compliment them. Wherever the conflicting sides meet, in my view it is the right thing to do to try to find a political solution." The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed to CNBC in an email that ten ambulances were able to access the frontlines a few hours after 7 a.m local time on Thursday. The operation was being conducted with support from Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). Story continues "At present, the ICRC and SARC evacuation of wounded and sick is ongoing, and our teams are still inside the key area of Eastern Aleppo," the ICRC spokesperson said in an email on Thursday morning. "We hope to evacuate 200 to 250 wounded and sick in this first phase, though exact numbers remain difficult to confirm. They will be evacuated to healthcare structures in western rural Aleppo," they added. The civil war has been complicated by many players becoming enveloped in the conflict which has now lasted for half a decade. President Bashar al-Assad 's government's state forces have been supported by Russian air strikes and Iranian-backed Shia militias from Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The opposition has been made up of predominantly Sunni rebel groups, which had received financial backing from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. Hardline Islamist groups have been involved in the conflict too such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sahm, previously known as Nusra Front. In April 2016, the UN special envoy for Syria approximated that 400,000 people had been killed as result of more than five years of conflict. However, Staffan de Mistura, UN secretary general, stressed that this was not an official UN statistic as the inability to access many areas of the country meant an accurate death toll could not be accurately calculated. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that 11 million Syrians have fled their homes since the outbreak of the civil war in March 2011 with the majority of people seeking refuge in neighboring countries or within Syria itself. To date, the UNHCR approximates that roughly one million people have sought asylum in Europe with Germany and Sweden receiving the most applications for refuge. The pre-war population of Syria was roughly 22 million meaning so far around half of the country has been displaced. The situation remains unclear as to how Syria's civil war would unfold from here with Assad determined to focus on retaining opposition strongholds throughout the country. Yet rebel groups have promised to continue fighting in the absence of any proposed political solution. George Sabra, chief negotiator for the rebel forces' High Negotiations Committee, told the BBC that the opposition to the government would not be prepared to give up despite the loss of Aleppo to state forces. "Aleppo is an important place for the revolution but it's not the last place," Sabra said. "Nobody can think about peaceful solutions in these circumstances," he added. RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi police arrested a Syrian resident in Riyadh after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook praising the recapture of his home city of Aleppo by government forces, according to a report in al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday. A photo published with the report showed a man with his hand raised and his fingers pointed in a victory sign. His facial features were blurred to conceal his identity. The newspaper said the resident, indentified as being in his 40s, was accused of publishing statements related to the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia is a major regional backer of the rebel brigades fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The rebels were dealt a crippling blow this week when Syrian government forces recaptured Aleppo. Public expressions of dissent are considered criminal offences in the conservative Islamic kingdom, which has jailed people both for physical protests and for online statements. (Reporting by Katie Paul; editing by Ralph Boulton) UNITED NATIONS (AP) Four Syrian organizations say Russia bears "a high likelihood" of responsibility for 304 attacks in Aleppo that violate international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes. In a letter to the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press, the groups said the attacks resulted in 1,207 civilian deaths, including 380 children. "Evidence clearly indicates that Russia has committed or been complicit in war crimes in Syria," it said. The letter is signed by the Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Independent Doctors Association and Violations Documentation Center. The organizations told the commission they would be "honored" to provide "evidence, testimonials, and any other relevant information to assist your investigations and help the identification of suspected perpetrators." The letter was addressed to Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who chairs the independent commission that said in a report in February that war crimes are "rampant" in Syria and that the conflict has become "a multisided proxy war steered from abroad by an intricate network of alliances." The four organizations said "it is vital that the commission investigate thoroughly all credible allegations of Russian violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law." The 304 incidents they cited include 28 attacks against civilians including children, 101 in which children were killed, 42 using banned cluster munitions, 20 using incendiary weapons in populated areas, 51 on hospitals and medical centers, 18 on schools and 21 on mosques. The Syrian groups urged the Geneva-based commission "to explore fully all credible accounts of Iran's complicity in war crimes in Aleppo." They noted that Iranian-backed militias "have played a central role enforcing Syria's sieges and overseeing local forced surrender negotiations." Iranian security and intelligence services have reportedly advised and assisted the Syrian military, they said. Story continues "It is estimated that Iran oversees some 70,000 paramilitary troops in Syria, many of whom have been involved in atrocities against civilians," the four organizations said. "Yet nowhere has Iranian intervention been more egregious than in eastern Aleppo, where Iran deliberately obstructed a Dec. 13, 2016, cease-fire, which would have permitted thousands of innocent civilians to be safely evacuated from the besieged city," they said. Eastern Aleppo, which had been in rebel hands since 2012, fell to the Syrian government after a relentless bombing campaign and thousands of civilians evacuated the city Thursday in a watershed moment in the 5-year-old civil war hailed by Syrian President Bashar Assad. An annex to the letter documents what the four groups said were 304 of "the most egregious" Russian violations that mainly took place between July and December in Aleppo. Since Russian airstrikes began in October 2015, the groups said attacks on medical facilities across Syria increased from one attack every four days to one every two days. "Over the past two weeks attacks on medical facilities have increased to a rate of one every nine hours," they said. The four organizations said they made a determination that there was a "high likelihood" of Russian responsibility for the 304 incidents based on witness testimony and corroborating evidence including video footage and identification of aircraft. But they stressed that these incidents "represent just a fraction of the many indiscriminate acts of violence perpetrated against Syrian civilians by either the Syrian regime or Russia, where Russia could not be identified as the perpetrator with a high degree of certainty." BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian rebel official said the evacuation of eastern Aleppo was far from finished on Friday in response to a Russian statement that the operation had been completed. "Only the wounded and some civilians left," Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official with the Aleppo Fastaqim rebel group. "No fighters came out. Nobody came out. All that came out was three convoys. (Reporting by Tom Perry) UNITED NATIONS, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Russian air strikes in the Aleppo, Syria, region have killed some 1,207 civilians, 380 of them children, the Syrian White Helmets civil defense group told United Nations war crimes investigators in a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday. The White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Independent Doctors Association and the Violations Documentation Center outlined their accusations against Russia in a 39-page document submitted to the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria. The document lists some 304 alleged attacks carried out primarily between July and December in the Aleppo region in which the groups say there is a "high likelihood" of Russia responsibility. The Russian U.N. mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations. Russia, which had been backing a military offensive by Syrian government troops in the city of Aleppo, has said it stopped air strikes there in mid-October. "Evidence clearly indicates that Russia has committed or been complicit in war crimes in Syria," the White Helmets letter to the U.N. inquiry said. The document said the accusations were based on witness testimony and corroborating evidence, which includes video footage identifying the aircraft responsible for attacks, audio intercepted from aircraft cockpits and the munitions used. Thousands of people were evacuated on Thursday from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo, the first to leave under a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In October, the U.N. Human Rights Council asked the U.N. commission of inquiry on Syria, led by Paulo Pinheiro, to identify the perpetrators of war crimes in the city of Aleppo. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, said in October that air strikes in the city of Aleppo's rebel-held east by government forces and allies were responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) As Taiwan becomes a contentious issue between China and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Taiwanese are hoping it will lead to closer ties with Washington but are wary of becoming a bargaining chip between the world's two largest economies. Trump's Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raised expectations that he will upgrade relations with the self-governing island with which Washington has only had unofficial ties since recognizing the Communist government on the Chinese mainland in 1979. Trump followed up the call with tweets and comments criticizing Chinese trade and foreign policy, stoking speculation about a major change in American policy toward the nearly 70-year-old regional rivalry. But the euphoria has been tempered by worry about what might happen to Taiwan if Trump uses it to press Beijing on trade, China's territorial expansion in the South China Sea or its ties with North Korea. "On the surface, it looks like this means America is getting closer to Taiwan," said Jonathan Wang, a civil engineering student at National Taiwan University in Taipei. "But Trump is a businessman, so he has own considerations," Wang said. "If Taiwan becomes a bargaining chip in negotiations with China ... (Trump) might give up the goodwill." The mix of excitement and fear poses a tricky challenge for Taiwan's government. Despite being shunned by Beijing for her pro-independence stance, Tsai has repeated over the past two weeks that she values ties with both China and the U.S. China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing continues to view the island as its territory, to be unified with by force if deemed necessary. China suspended dialogue with Tsai's government shortly after her inauguration over her refusal to endorse its principle that the two sides are part of a single Chinese nation. China already uses its diplomatic and economic heft to prevent Taiwan from making formal contacts with most other countries or joining international organizations such as the United Nations that require statehood as a prerequisite. Story continues Since Tsai's May inauguration, Beijing has sought to increase the pressure by discouraging Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan and blocking its participation in some international forums. As a further step, China could use its influence to win away Taiwan's remaining 22 diplomatic allies. An indication of Trump's approach to the issue may come as soon as next month when Tsai is due to transit in the U.S. on her way to visiting allies in Central America. A Taiwanese foreign ministry official declined to say whether Tsai might meet Trump transition team members during the transit stop, something that has been hinted at by both sides. Many Taiwanese expect a new relationship with Washington to bring economic advantages for their export-dependent half trillion-dollar economy, long-term access to senior U.S. officials and more sales of advanced U.S. weapons to defend against China. Washington has been Taipei's staunchest ally and chief arms supplier since the break in diplomatic ties, despite occasional protests from Beijing. The United States approved a $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan in 2010 and a $1.83 billion one in 2015. "Trump is a businessman, and he always thinks about making money so he's probably thinking of Taiwan as a good source of buying U.S. arms in the future," said Shane Lee, a political scientist at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan. Taiwan could also use stronger U.S. relations to build confidence in negotiating with China, said Lai I-chung, the former head of China policy for Tsai's political party. Regardless of the outcome, the Taiwanese public has warmed to Trump following his outreach to the island's government, said Lee Chun-yi, a legislator from a southern Taiwan city where distrust of China runs high. "Before the election people were kind of down on Trump, and now they're really keen on him," Lee said. "The public sees Taiwan as a sovereign country. We hope there can be more contact." A stronger relationship with the United States could help Taiwan make contacts in India and countries in Southeast Asia, part of Tsai's strategy of reducing economic reliance on mainland China, said Douglas Hsu, deputy director-general of North American affairs with the foreign ministry. Yet people on the island are also bracing themselves for a backlash from Beijing or some form of a grand bargain between China and the U.S., analysts say. Taiwanese have long been inured to Beijing's hostility and the international isolation it seeks to impose. "Most of my colleagues are really, really worried about that, because Taiwan would serve as a pawn between major powers," said Nathan Liu, an international affairs and diplomacy professor at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. The major risk, Liu says, is that Trump might trade support for Taiwan to gain economic concessions from the mainland. "Taiwan will be virtually abandoned by the United States because it's that bargaining chip," he said. China considers recognition of Taiwan to be non-negotiable and lodged a diplomatic protest after the Trump-Tsai phone call. Faced with Beijing's hard-line position, some Taiwanese question whether Trump has the diplomatic chops to negotiate the tricky trilateral relationship. "Trump is an economic success but on politics he lacks the foresight of (Hillary) Clinton," said retired Taiwanese high school teacher Chao Chiu-chin, referring to Trump's Democratic Party rival and former U.S. secretary of state. "We can't predict. But Trump is strong and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is strong. That won't be good for the experience of Taiwan." Ultimately, Trump's approach is seen as shaking up established U.S. policy toward Taiwan, for better or for worse. "This is a crisis as well as an opportunity," Taiwan legislator Lo Chih-cheng said. Comedy Central/TBS/NBC Though its relevancy is often questioned (in part because of a disproportionate amount of coverage vs. the size of its classically assessed viewing audience and in part because of its woeful record of diversity), late night comedy does matter. These hosts weigh in on the issues of our time and occupy our minds with silliness that somehow manages to hold our attention which is no easy task when there are distractions everywhere you look. To put it more succinctly, if were clicking on it and if were watching any part of it, then its relevant. But how much does it matter and where does it go from here? The 2016 election proved that when late night hosts speak, we listen, but the end result definitely opened these shows and their hosts up to criticism. Are they political talking heads in disguise? Is their ability to humanize a hazard? How much authority can they claim when their oft-shouted warnings are ignored? This list isnt going to answer those questions because were all still watching as late night starts to define itself in the age of Donald Trump. What we are trying to do here is look at where these hosts are in this moment when it comes to their ability to reach an audience and effect culture. This isnt about who is best or most popular, its a power ranking in the truest sense. 10. Real Time With Bill Maher HBO Bill Maher can come off as an abrasive and sometimes unpredictable voice when compared to the more polished, more optimism-tinged well-meaning liberal talk show hosts that fill out the rest of this list. And thats good. Different is good and beyond that, proper respect needs to be paid to someone whose issues-based approach to comedy predates the Jon Stewart-led Daily Show and the revolution it inspired. But while Mahers fire still burns blue (in every way) and while Real Time often finds a way to be thought-provoking, it doesnt dent the zeitgeist like Last Week Tonight or Full Frontal. Story continues Mahers show is a capital T talk show where discussion drives the bus. Its not a moving thinkpiece. Its not built to go viral, just to incite consideration and discussion. And for that old-timey approach, it lands in last place on a list that is, once again, focused on impact, not quality. 9. Jimmy Kimmel Live ABC Kimmel does a fine show that rarely strays from the time-honored late night formula and he certainly brings a little bit of an edge that a lot of other hosts are willing to sand down. Of the three late night interviews that Donald Trump endured during the campaign with Fallon, Colbert, and Kimmel, his was probably the least embarrassing. Kimmel, like Maher, is also a bit of an underrecognized pioneer, particularly in the field of viral content. Im F*cking Matt Damon, for instance, was one of the first true late night web success stories. Other splashy efforts have followed over the years but wins of that scale havent been as common and a lot of his staples like Liewitness News and Mean Tweets feel like theyre growing stale. Ultimately, Kimmels show has a lot of merit but not a lot of heat, at least not when compared to the others on this list. 8. Conan TBS Late nights most senior host (in terms of on-the-job-experience) is also one of its most adaptable. Conan OBrien has, at this point, fully transitioned from his wildly creative and sophomoric show on NBC in the 90s and 2000s to a more grounded but still loose show on TBS. Conan sometimes courts viral relevancy with segments like Clueless Gamer and an ever-increasing collection of remote segments (which are sometimes episode-length and set in exotic locales like Cuba) that arent afraid to mine laughter from the hosts awkward interactions with regular folks. While OBrien can get real when the time is right, though, most of his political material lacks bite and the show, itself, comes off as solid but not spectacular on most nights when OBrien doesnt leave the studio. 7. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert CBS It pains me to rank Stephen Colbert this low. This is the former host of The Colbert Report, one of the most muscular late night shows of the current era. With his selection as David Lettermans heir came expectations that he would bring a level of refined silliness and bold truthiness to network late night. He was, to sound cliched, the chosen one for people who maybe arent into Jimmy Fallons cotton candy vibe. And to a degree, Colbert has delivered, but it hasnt been a resounding success (his audience is about half that of Fallons), and it hasnt been as consistent (in tone and quality) as his old show. The comparisons are probably as unfair as they are inevitable, but they arent going away anytime soon. The much-celebrated character of Stephen Colbert is buried within the amiable and charming Stephen Colbert, a late night host who is often trying to project brightness and fun even though we know, from past experience, hes tormented and annoyed by the worlds darkness. I dont know how Colbert gets to a place where both sides shine equally on a consistent basis, but until he does, hes going to struggle to hold peoples attention night after night. The flashes will come and they will continue to be glorious, but for now, Colbert is a curiosity more than a force of nature. 6. The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Comedy Central Trevor Noah would have ranked lower had this been written a few weeks ago, but his interview with Tomi Lahren and his interview with President Obama gave us some fresh moments to ponder. As observed by Alison Herman over at The Ringer in her recent article on Noahs shift, we may be witnessing a conscious effort to try and establish his version of The Daily Show as a more hard news alternative. Thats a thrilling possibility to consider, not because the previous version of the show was bad, but because it had started to feel less special. 5. Late Night With Seth Meyers NBC Seth Meyers has garnered high praise for his unrelenting, fierce, and very funny criticism of Donald Trump. But he has also, in his brief-ish time on the air, earned accolades for his abilities as an interviewer on a diverse range of topics. Additionally, Late Night has featured an incredibly talented collection of writers and side players (including Conner OMalley and Amber Ruffin), and Meyers Weekend Update-esque monologue/desk bits like A Closer Look manage to feel weightier than the competitions, even when focusing on human ridiculousness instead of politics (an entirely different kind of human ridiculousness). With all that in mind, clearly, Meyers is in an interesting place in that he has the ability and track record to downshift away from a strong political focus if it stops working for him. And thats always possible because, at some point, you have to assume people just get exhausted and beg for a break. Others in Meyers weight class, like John Oliver and Samantha Bee, dont have that luxury. Theyre ride or die. Right now, Seth Meyers has peoples attention. Its just a matter of what he wants to do with it. 4. Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon NBC/YouTube Late nights traditional ratings leader needs to be placed in a somewhat high position on a list whose purpose is to assess relevancy, but its fair to wonder if Fallon is settling in for the long back nine of his time as Tonight Show host. The stunts and games still get a response, but do they feel as fresh as they once were? The enthusiasm is, impressively, still there every night, but its becoming a target for mockery, and the backlash that sprang from Fallons interview with Donald Trump demonstrated that he is starting to turn into a divisive figure in the way that Jay Leno was when he became the popular-unpopular guy that comedy nerds loathe and Nielsen families adore. 3. The Late Late Show With James Corden CBS I have a pretty clear preference for weightier late night comedy (as you may have noticed from reading this) so I cant pretend to be a big fan of Fallons or Cordens. But I have a lot of respect for what theyre able to do and, at present, Corden seems to be at the top of the pile when it comes to less issue-driven late night shows. He may be following Fallons example, but there is no late night segment as popular as Carpool Karaoke right now. It just takes over and its genius is in its relatability (to the act, not the actors, of course) and its simplicity. Corden is unlocking a side of the worlds biggest pop stars that no other show can and its transfixing. If that was all Corden offered, hed probably be somewhere in the top 3 or 4 on this list but the overall construction of his Late Late Show is pretty impressive as well. Forgiving a monologue that still feels forced (Corden isnt really a stand-up comedian), the interview segment is the most enjoyable in late night even though its all very light. Adopting a model where multiple guests come out at once in the way that Graham Norton does his show in the UK and in a way that has roots in the old days of late night keeps things loose and allows the show to stand out from the pack. Its just a conversation, not an interview. And if you just love to hear pretty people say mildly clever things while laughing, the appeal is endless. Corden has also, from time to time, embraced experimentation with his setting and the format of the show, though he doesnt do it nearly as much as he should. Cordens appeal comes from its freshness. If Carpool Karaoke starts to feel like a slog and the show starts to feel like its going through the motions then it will lose its luster in a way that I feel The Tonight Show has. True late night power is about establishing a brand and then staving off the rot that follows. Like a shark, Corden (and these other hosts) need to keep moving and keep challenging themselves lest people get bored and lose interest. 1. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver / Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (tie) TBS/HBO John Oliver is a Harry Potter-looking Brit who meticulously builds his case, layer by layer, like a country prosecutor taking aim at hot topics and underrepresented issues while fueled by righteous outrage and a need to shine a spotlight on hypocrisy. He does this with such wonkish delight, skill, and charm, that full episodes (or very nearly) wind up going viral, displacing the rule that says viral late night success stories only happen when something is frothy and brief. Samantha Bee possesses late nights most forceful voice and she uses it to get to the beating heart of every issue that she trains her focus on, calling bullsh*t at the top of her vocal range while hitting her audience in the gut. And she does this while simultaneously eliciting loud laughs with her sharp sarcasm. And then she uses the skill she developed in a decade doing field reports on The Daily Show as a longform comedic storyteller to round out her show. Both Oliver and Bee are going to be of comfort to people bewildered by the Trump administrations actions in the way that Jon Stewart was on The Daily Show during the Bush administration. The question is, is that enough? Last Week Tonight and Full Frontal were baptized in the fires of this election and they really have nowhere to go but straight at the new administration as an opposing megaphone. Thats a thrilling prospect for people who are engaged in the never-ending thrash of politics, but it may not be for everyone and both Bee and Oliver may see their reach recede a touch. For now, though, despite an election result that runs counter to their emphatically presented POV, when Bee and Oliver speak, people listen and they share. Itll be interesting to see how this next year changes that and late night, on the whole. What will this list look like in a year? Time will tell, but for now, the state of late night is goodish, but certainly not as strong, or influential, as these hosts may have thought prior to the election. By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania on Friday charged the co-founder of a website where people can post comments on officials they believe are corrupt with offences including obstructing a police investigation. Maxence Melo Mubyazi was arrested on Tuesday and has since been held by police, who have also searched his office and home. A charge sheet seen by Reuters showed that Mubyazi, 40, managing director and co-founder of jamiiforums website, has been charged with multiple counts of obstructing justice and running a website that is not registered in Tanzania. At his court appearance on Friday in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam, he denied the charges and was returned to custody after an unsuccessful bail application. According to the charge sheet, Mubyazi had been aware police were conducting a criminal investigation of the content on his website but, "with intent to obstruct investigation, did unlawfully fail to comply with an order of disclosure of data in his possession". The catchphrase of the jamiiforums website is "where we dare to talk openly". Most users post their comments under pseudonyms. The site's managers have denied accusations by officials that it allows users to post fabrications and seditious content. Last year the east African country enacted a tough cybercrimes law under which several people have been prosecuted for violations including insulting the president, which is punishable by up to three years in jail. Rights activists have criticized the law, and the United States has canceled nearly $500 million of funding for the country to express its disapproval. Tanzania's President John Magufuli has won some praise from western donors for an anti-corruption drive and cutting wasteful public spending. Opponents accuse him of undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech. Pressure group the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement this week Tanzania should investigate corruption allegations instead of "pressurising a website to violate its users' trust and privacy". (Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Andrew Roche) Police arrested an Alabama man in connection with the fatal shooting of a mother of two who was found dead by her teen son in her home on Wednesday, reports say. Constance Woolweaver was found dead in her Highland Lakes home at about 3:45 p.m. when her 13-year-old son arrived home from school to find his mother suffering from several gunshot wounds, including one to the head, AL.com reports. Adam Michael Burrus, 37, a reported friend and business associate of Woolweavers was arrested in connection with the death on Friday and is expected to be formally charged later in the afternoon, according to AL.com. Officials allege money may have played a role in the killing. He has not yet entered a plea and it was not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney. Adam BurrusShelby County Sheriff's Office Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego called Woolweavers murder a calculated act, in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, with investigators describing the crime scene as terrible, according to AL.com. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family, with donations going to Woolweavers children, identified on the page as, Chandler Woolweaver and Kate Ashton. Friends of the mother took to Facebook after news of the death broke, with one remembering Woolweaver as a sweet woman with a beautiful smile. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBenet Ramsey and more. She was an incredible woman, another Facebook user wrote. So full of life with such a wonderful family. Days before she was found, Woolweaver wrote a Facebook post about, what appeared to be, her daughters 7th birthday. Im very blessed to have her in my life, Woolweaver wrote of the little girl in the post on Sunday. My pregnancy was a nightmare and she came WAY early. Her entrance into this world had to be dramatic as she is! Our love for her is so great and Im so proud of her. This photo stumped me at first. It shows Russian soldiers marching in May 2016, but the suppressed weapons they are carrying were not familiar to me. After a little searching, I was pretty sure they were armed with suppressed SR 3 Vikhr sub-machine guns, chambered for the 9x39mm round. But then I changed my mind; I am almost sure they are carrying the AS VAL, an older, Soviet-designed 9x39mm weapon with an integrated suppressor I think. The front sight on the end of the suppressor seems to give it away. The AS VAL was the forerunner to the SR3 series of weapons. I am a bit surprised that troops marching in a high-profile Victory Day parade in Red Square would not be armed with the new AK12, a 5.45x39mm rifle Russia adopted in 2015. I have heard that the AK12 would only go to elite units, but I wonder if Russia has even started fielding the new modernized AK. That said the AS VAL still looks pretty slick, but Im not familiar with the optic mounted on the receiver. Thoughts? BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer warned on Friday that without the unpopular austerity measures he is pushing through to cut public spending and balance the budget, the government will become insolvent. "There is no more room for witchcraft, printing money, cosmetic accounting or price controls," Temer said in a speech to armed forces generals. "If we do not do the reforms, the state will go broke, and we sill be stuck in a quagmire of fiscal irresponsibility." (Reporting by Lisandra Parfaguassu; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Thai police on Friday unveiled a record half tonne seizure of crystal methamphetamine, as authorities target a key overland drug route through the kingdom and into Malaysia. The haul of high-grade meth, better known as ice, has a street value of around $40 million, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) said in a statement. Seven Thais have been charged with drug trafficking, it added. Wednesday night's bust unfolded after a car stopped suspiciously short of a police patrol in southern Chumphon province. A police search found nothing in the vehicle. "But the driver was acting suspiciously, refusing to answer mobile phone calls in presence of police... he began to shake and sweat," the NSB said. Officers scoured the road for other suspicious cars, aware that drug runners often operate in convoys, and found two suspects in another vehicle who confessed to acting as lookouts for a truck carrying the meth. The 18-wheel vehicle was found parked at a petrol station in Chumphon town with 500 bars of the drug wrapped in black plastic bags and hidden under sacks of corn husks, the NSB said. "It's a record seizure of these drugs (ice)," Major General Dusadee Choosangkij told AFP. "I believe they were to be stored in Malaysia and then destined for either Australia or Taiwan." Ice, which is highly addictive, sells for around three million baht (around $80,000) a kilogramme on Bangkok's streets. With long land borders, Thailand is a key route for ice, "yaba" -- the pill version of meth -- and heroin produced in factories in Myanmar and Laos. Much of the production is controlled by Myanmar's powerful and heavily armed Wa ethnic group, whose high quality pills and heroin are stamped with their own logos. The drugs are transported by car or foot across remote borders and sold to Thai gangsters. Last week six Wa tribesmen were killed in a late night shoot-out with a Thai army patrol near the rugged Golden Triangle border region. BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's parliament passed legislation amending a cyber crime law on Friday, which rights groups have criticized as likely to lead to more extensive online monitoring by the state. Thailand's military government has ramped up online censorship since it seized power in a 2014 coup, in particular to block perceived insults to the royal family. Thailand has some of the world's toughest laws against royal insult, which has curtailed public discussion about the monarchy's role following the Oct. 13 death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was seen as a unifying figure. Since the death of King Bhumibol, authorities have shut down hundreds of websites carrying what they consider contentious or critical material about the monarchy in a bid to ensure a smooth royal transition. The government is also sensitive about what it sees as criticism of the military's role in politics, and opposition to its seizure of power in 2014. The National Legislative Assembly voted unanimously to pass an amendment to the 2007 Computer Crime Act in a third reading. "Parliament agreed to enact the draft amendment," said Peerasak Porchit, the NLA's vice president, at the end of a televised parliamentary session. Critics say the amendment raises the likelihood of increased censorship and arbitrary invasion of privacy. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has defended the need for cyber controls, dismissing the suggestion it constituted a violation of rights. The amendments, seen by Reuters, would allow state officials to obtain user and traffic data from service providers without court approval. Any websites seen as a threat to national security or "offend people's good morals" can also be removed or suspended. Previously, the law said officials needed court approval to remove content. Yingcheep Atchanont of the legal monitoring group iLaw said the revised law would extend control over cyberspace and dissent. "Blocking websites and persecuting critics ... will make us unable to criticize the government at all," he told Reuters. An online petition led by the Thai Netizen Network, an internet freedom advocacy group, gained more than 360,000 signatures and was handed to the assembly on Thursday. The amendment will be submitted to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who succeeded his father on Dec. 1, for royal endorsement. Parliament is due to consider a cyber security bill and a data protection bill next year. Critics have said both raise more privacy concerns. The military government has promised to hold an election next year. (Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Robert Birsel) An exhibit at The Glass Room illustrating how much Googles parent company Alphabet knows about its users. (image: Rob Pegoraro) Shopping in the hip neighborhoods around lower Manhattan usual involves spending too much money on a designer shirt or handmade satchel, but a temporary location opened by the nonprofit behind the Firefox web browser, offers a different product: privacy shock. The Glass Room, open through Dec. 18 at 201 Mulberry Street in New Yorks Nolita neighborhood, is the product of Mozilla and the Berlin-based activist group Tactical Technology Collective. The two groups opened the shop with funding from from George Soross Open Society Foundations and eBay founder Pierre Omidyars Omidyar Network, to get holiday shoppers to think, not buy. After a visit in early December, I can attest that the Glass Room succeeds in that mission. Its also surprisingly amusing when not scaring you. Art in the service of anxiety The first thing you see when you walk into the Glass Room is a whimsical display by Surya Mattu and Tega Brain called Unfitbit. The exhibit encourages you to fake out a Fitbit by strapping it to a metronome to win health-insurance discounts. Aram Bartholls Forgot your password? consists of a series of large bound volumes that contain 4.7 million LinkedIn passwords leaked in a 2012 data breach, printed out in alphabetical order. On the page I opened, passwords containing crab spanned 21 lines. Things take a darker turn in Sam Lavines Online Shopping Center, an interactive setup that asks you to put on a brainwave-sensing headband as you are asked first to shop online from a selection dominated by industrial supplies and sex toys, then to contemplate your demise. The exterior of The Glass Room exhibit space. At that point the screen goes blank to display which of two possible thoughts the headband picks up each second: You are shopping online or You are thinking about your own death. A Normal is Boring series of works by Tactical Tech and an artists group called La Loma takes a whack at some of the companies that dominate the tech industry. For instance, a tabletop-sized infographic made up of pushpins linked by yarn called the Alphabet Empire portrays the vast scope of Alphabet, Incs. (GOOG) holdings and investments beyond the core Google search engine. Story continues Tracking tech A separate collection provides real-world examples of how technology lets us take a microscope to each other. What looks like a standard employee badge turns out to be a Humanyze Sociometric Badge. Employers can use these to track who goes where in the office to get a sense of how well everybody works together. Churchix facial-recognition software for churchesthat, apparently, is a thing nowlets congregations track their members attendance at services not just as raw numbers but by their names. A monitoring system called Silver Mother lets you check up on an older loved one with a variety of sensors placed around their residence. A tablet shows mugshots generated by Parabon Snapshots DNA phenotyping software; the sample images I saw generated from DNA samples were impressively close to actual photos of these suspects. Meanwhile, a large screen on a nearby wall shows metadata such as network addresses and device IDs collected from users smartphones and tablets as they pass by on the sidewalk outside. Teachable moments The Glass Room also offers tech support in the form of a Data Detox Bar at the back of the room. The expert who looked at my scruffy-looking MacBook Air approved of my use of Apples (AAPL) FileVault encryption and a password-manager service (in my case, LastPass). But he advised that I do all my browsing over a virtual private network and think about adding a screen filter to stop people near me from peeking at my work. I took a Data Detox Kit from the bar, a set of cards with privacy exercises to do over the next eight days. Not all of it was helpful. Its day-one assignment to clear your browsers history and cookies will screw up saved web site logins, and you can accomplish its intended goal of getting sites to treat you as a stranger by opening a private or incognito window. A monitor showing how easy it is to collect information about passersby outside of The Glass Room exhibit space. An adjacent room hosts talks and workshops. On the evening I visited, privacy activist Matt Mitchell took attendees on a tour of surveillance and policing technology used around New York, now and in history. Mitchell explained how much of todays surveillance involves the automated collection of data for instance, by license-plate readers attached to streetlights without clear rules governing how long the police can keep that data. It was an enlightening experience, one I havent shared with that many others. Mozilla chief marketing officer Jascha Kaykas-Wolff said in an email forwarded by a publicist that about 6,000 people had visited through Tuesday, and that the total might hit 10,000 by the time the Glass Room closes Sunday night. Thats not a lot. But if each of those 10,000 or so people uses the right clickbait headline to share their experience on one of those privacy-robbing social networks, well be getting somewhere. More from Rob: Email Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at @robpegoraro. With the 2016 presidential election now in the past, its time for the media to adjust, says Arianna Huffington, founder and former editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post. However, she sees some old media companies just as culpable as their new media counterparts when it comes to spreading fake news. The role of the media is not to be a cheerleader, she told Yahoo Finances Alexis Christoforous in a new interview. The role of the media is to point out what is happening, to give all the facts to the readers and the viewers. Donald Trump is going to be president and it is in the interest of everybody that hes a better president than we thought he would be when he was campaigning, Huffington added. At a time when new media outlets are being accused of toeingif not outright crossingthe line between factual reporting and fake news, Huffington has some choice words to say about one old media icon. In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, the fake news was on the front page of The New York Times (NYT) by Judith Miller, when we had this story after story that gave completely false information about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, said Huffington, referring to the New York Times reporter who later said her reporting contained mistakes based on information from the late Iraqi politician, Ahmad Chalabi. (For their part, editors at The Times acknowledged back in 2004 that the papers Iraq reporting was not as rigorous as it should have been.) Fake news was not invented by social media, Huffington continued. It has a pretty prestigious pedigree. And thats why we all need to be so incredibly careful in terms of what we cover and in terms of realizing that the truth is not only in the middle. You know, sometimes its on one side or another. And often journalists, in the interest of objectivity, they dont actually tell the full story. Photo: Netflix A very shaggy-dog story that wanders into unpredictable dimensions, The OA seems to arrive with Cult Item stamped all over it. This eight-part series has been plopped onto the Netflix site with little buildup, an elliptical trailer (see below), and some word-of-mouth that this may be a new obsession for those of you looking to escape from your Uncle Mortys boring anecdote at the family Christmas party about that time he bought Bob Dylan lunch in Hibbing, Minn. The OA and your Uncle Morty do have one thing in common, though: the Midwest. A big chunk of The OA is set in Michigan. In a chilly suburban town there, a young woman reappears after a seven-year absence. I cant begin to describe even the merest basics of its convoluted plot without giving some things away, so consider this your SPOILER ALERT: SOME PLOT POINTS IN THE OA FOLLOW. The girl is Prairie Johnson, played by the shows co-creator, Brit Marling, and when she vanished from her life with her adoptive parents (Scott Wilson and Alice Krige), she was blind, but now she can see. Soon enough, semi-famous and dubbed the Michigan Miracle, she attracts a ragtag assortment of high schoolers fascinated by her, including a dreadful bully, Steve (Patrick Bigson), and an unhappy teacher, Betty, played by Phyllis Smith from The Office. Prairie starts telling her new chums the tale of her years of disappearance. They are transfixed indeed, theyre transformed: Prairies story fills them with hope and purpose. The tale she tells them, and us, is a richly complicated one that includes Prairies long-lost Russian father and her kidnapper a scientist played by Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter; Brotherhood) who performs experiments on Prairie and (at first) three other prisoners in a laboratory underneath his home. In the course of her captivity, Prairie falls in love with one of her fellow prisoners, Homer (Emory Cohen), and she acquires a new name: The OA it sounds like Oh-ahh, although even the OA herself concedes, or make its like away, I dont know. Neither do I, OA. There are daring escape attempts and a lot of straight-faced mumbo-jumbo about alternate realities and how death is not the end. We jump back and forth between Prairies tale and her present, where she and her suburban friends take on new lives as secret adventurers. You are definitely supposed to wonder whether Prairie is a good influence on them, or a possibly deleterious one. Story continues The OA taps into conspiracy theories, abduction scenarios, the true-crime genre, sci-fi, speculative fiction, the cult of angels, and art films. People snatch birds out of the air and eat them. Riz Ahmed, star of HBOs The Night Of, pops up as the worlds most sincere but confused post-trauma therapist for Prairie/OA. The show was co-created by Marling and director Zal Batmanglij, the team that also did the mysterioso, woo-woo films Sound of My Voice and The East. The OA is determinedly eccentric in the premiere episode, you dont even get to the opening credits until youre 57 minutes into the story. Ive read a few comparisons to Stranger Things, the idea being that this is Netflixs next big binge item. Well, The OA is better than Stranger, but, mind you, thats coming from someone who thinks Stranger Things is overrated. I have to give Marling and Batmanglij credit: I dont usually have much patience for humorless, convoluted hooey like this, but their narrative pacing, and some of the performances including those of Marling, Gibson, and Smith are enthusiastically committed and effective. The ending, though oh, boy, the ending. It was deeply unsatisfying to me, even as I suspect there are going to be lots of viewers wholl contort themselves into rationales for why its actually brilliant. Let the debates about this wild, woolly, weird project begin. The OA is streaming now on Netflix. By Fathin Ungku SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Thousands of Filipinos gathered in Singapore on Friday to catch a glimpse of their president, Rodrigo Duterte, in a big show of support for a leader whose bloody war on drugs has horrified global rights groups but won support at home. About 135,000 people from the Philippines live in Singapore, according to a breakdown of Philippine statistics for 2015. About 70,000 of them are women working as domestic helpers, rights groups estimate, and many of them turned up on Friday - some without the permission of their bosses - to cheer their president on a visit to the city state. "Most people love Duterte," said 43-year-old maid Arnelya, who declined to give her full name because her employers did not know she went out. "I didn't ask them because they wouldn't have let me. I'm very lucky because my employers are on holiday," said Arnelya, who is supporting her four children back home on Mindanao island, Duterte's home region. Hours before Duterte was due to appear at an exhibition center near Singapore's Changi airport, cover bands, a church choir and a martial arts group took to the stage to entertain the crowd. Organizers issued 6,000 tickets for the event but expected a much larger turnout as supporters turned up hours early. Duterte's war on drugs, the key plank of his campaign for a May election, has claimed about 5,000 lives since July 1. While international rights groups, organizations including the Untied Nations and leaders such as U.S. President Barack Obama have raised concern about the extra-judicial killings, at home, the bloody toll has bolstered Duterte's standing. Duterte retained a "very good" opinion-poll rating after six months in office, with a net satisfaction rating of 63 percent, a Philippine polling agency reported this week. Arnelya shrugged off international criticism of Duterte, saying restoring order was "good for foreigners also". Other supporters held up clenched fists and banners reading "You are not alone on your war against drugs, Mr. President" and "Duterte - Making Philippines glorious again". "I admire the war on drugs," said 31-year-old architect Rene Tahun. "He's fighting for us, for peace, order and safety. He must be tough. If not, crime will still go on." Duterte has promised the country's millions of overseas workers to boost the economy and fight drugs and corruption, so they can come home to a better life. Across town, in central Singapore, Lilian Taguinod, 34, was disappointed she could not go to see her president. "I love Duterte," said Taguinod, holding her employer's nine-month-old daughter. "I want to see him, but I can't go because I cannot take the day off. It is impossible for anyone else to take care of her. She's like my fourth daughter." (Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Robert Birsel) Like an aviator from another century, Lita Oppegard, 68, climbs out of her biplane on a grass airstrip near Johannesburg -- one more stage safely completed in an epic journey down the length of Africa. Seven vintage planes -- from a total of 11 starters -- will on Friday finish the 13,000-kilometre (8,000-mile) adventure flying from the Greek island of Crete to Cape Town. The 36-day challenge has been packed with incident, including dangerous crashes, wrecked planes, lost pilots and the whole fleet being detained in Ethiopia in a dispute over paperwork. Along the way, they have landed beside the Egyptian pyramids, soared past Mount Kilimanjaro, gazed down on wildlife across the Kenyan plains and heard the roar of the mighty Victoria Falls below. "It has been a wonderful adventure and we had so much fun and the people we met made it really special," Oppegard, from Alaska, told AFP at Baragwanath airfield as the rally hopped across South Africa to its final destination. "I thought Alaska is huge, but flying through much of Africa like we've been through I cannot even begin to get into my head how vast this continent is. It is just sheer, utter wilderness... beautiful." The teams became the first group of aircraft to land at Egypt's Giza pyramids in 80 years and were detained for two days in rough conditions in Ethiopia after a mix-up with their flight permits. - Maverick pilot - An Irish father and daughter team escaped unhurt after suffering a total engine failure and crash-landing their 1930s biplane on the leg to Nairobi. The rally has also attracted international headlines after maverick 72-year-old British pilot Maurice Kirk went missing -- twice. After being released from Ethiopia, he landed in conflict-torn South Sudan instead of Kenya. He told how he was robbed, beaten up and briefly jailed as he fell seriously ill from malaria and sepsis. But Kirk has vowed to find and repair his wrecked single-engine 1943 Piper Club, which lost its propeller and one of its legs in the emergency landing. Story continues "One way or another, I am in a bit of a jam," he told the British press last weekend from a hotel in the capital city of Juba, where he was taken under military escort. Sam Rutherford, the rally organiser, said the event had been a huge success, but admitted "I'll breathe a massive sigh of relief when we get to Cape Town." The planes are mostly open to the elements and have only basic navigation and safety equipment -- demanding high skills from the often elderly pilots who have landed in tight spots including on the edge of the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. "With an open cockpit, you become one with the environment," said Ingo Presser, 72, from Germany, his eyes shining with excitement after landing his 1936 Bucker Bu-131 at Baragwanath. "You know immediatly when the plane is flying perfectly and when there is a problem, you feel it." - 'The smell of oil' - Presser spent 36 years flying modern planes equipped with modern technology, but said he loves the smell of oil splashing on his goggles and the challenge of navigating by map. "(In my career) I used to fly an Airbus in the morning and fly this one the afternoon, just for the pleasure of flying," he said. For American Keith Kossuth, the journey has been full of testing moments as he had little experience of his plane -- but he was determined to complete the rally. "I just got the plane, but I've been dreaming of having it for over 12 years," said Kossuth, who confessed that his specialism is actually old motorcycles rather than old planes. "I did four landings with the guy that owned the plane and then four landings by myself and then it was 'OK, there you go'. "I was too confident," he said, recalling how his plane had gone into a downwards spin near Zanzibar before he just got it back under control. Oppegard flew in the "Vintage Air Rally" with her husband Nicholas -- a former commercial pilot -- in an eight-cylinder Travel Air 4000 plane built in 1928. Nicholas Oppegard said the journey was the highlight of his life spent in the air, and that the experience that produced a strong bond among the intrepid participants. "We didn't know each other and there we were heading together to do the greatest odyssey of our lives... honouring the guys who opened up the skies of Africa to the world," he said. "This is a joy, this is a privilege (and) if along the way we could inspire one child to look up and say the sky is not the limit then it's been worth this trip." "It's very complex," writer/director Tom Ford told The Hollywood Reporter during the Writer Roundtable of his screenplay Nocturnal Animals. "It's a story within a story, and there are flashbacks, so there are three stories. "The two screenplays I have made were both derived from novels that I loved," Ford said, "but at a certain point you have to put them aside, and then try to think of what really spoke to you about that, and then create scenes. Because of course it's a visual medium, so it's completely different." Formerly the creative director of Gucci and YSL, Ford is now the lead designer of his own namesake brand. Ford turned to screenwriting and directing in 2008 for his debut film, A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, which earned Firth an Oscar nomination. Ford came out with his second film, Nocturnal Animals, starring Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson this year. More roundtables featuring actresses, actors, directors, songwriters, documentarians, composers and producers will continue throughout February in print and online. Tune in to new episodes of Close Up With 'The Hollywood Reporter' starting Jan. 15 on Sundance TV, and look for clips at THR.com/topic/roundtables with full episodes on THR.com after broadcast. Tony Safford, the onetime EVP Acquisitions at 20th Century Fox, is returning to the company as VP of FoxGives, Fox Networks Group and 2oth Century Fox Films Los Angeles employee engagement program. Safford will oversee the strategy for the groups philanthropy, nonprofit organization partners and employee volunteer projects. In his previous run at Fox he acquired film for all divisions, and in 2015 led Fox Searchlights pickup of He Named Me Malala. He later segued to a role as a consultant coordinating the social impact campaign with Searchlight, National Geographic, Participant Media and the Malala Fund. Im excited and honored to return to Fox in this new role, said Safford, who previously held exec posts at Miramax and New Line. There are many opportunities for Fox to impact the world around us, and I look forward to working with my colleagues across the company to create robust, purpose-driven programs that positively impact the groups we serve, facilitate deeper involvement in our communities and help us form our better selves. Related stories 'Snatched' Trailer: Amy Schumer & Goldie Hawn's Excellent Mother-Daughter Adventure 'Alien: Covenant', 'Logan' & More Shown Off: 20th Century Fox's 2017 Product Reel FuboTV Hopes To Tackle Sports Streaming Market Adding Fox And NBCU Networks - By Holly LaFon The CI Can-Am Small Cap fund focuses on long-term returns by investing in small-cap companies in Canada and internationally. For the year, the fund has returned 19.3% and since inception, it has returned 9.3% on average annually. It has $164.6 million in assets under management, distributed among different industries, with energy and financial services being the most prominent, at a combined 49.7% of the portfolio. During the third quarter, fund managers started six new equity positions and had 40 in all by the end of the quarter, according to its portfolio update released last week to the SEC. Its largest new positions of the third quarter were: Superior Plus Corp. (SPB.TO), Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. (WAB), Staples Inc. (SPLS), Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD.TO) and Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY). Superior Plus Corp. (SPB.TO) The CI Can-Am Small Cap fund purchased 548,830 shares of the company, worth 3.22% of the portfolio. The company's third-quarter share price per share averaged $11.5 Canadian dollars. Superior Plus Corp has a market cap of $1.78 billion; its shares were traded around $12.43 with a P/E ratio of 5.06 and P/S ratio of 0.48. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Superior Plus Corp stocks is 5.79%. The forward dividend yield of Superior Plus Corp stocks is 5.79%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp. (WAB) The fund purchased 43,600 shares of the company, worth 2.32% of the portfolio. The company's third-quarter share price averaged $73. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp has a market cap of $7.59 billion; its shares were traded around $79.54 with a P/E ratio of 19.82 and P/S ratio of 2.42. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp stocks is 0.45%. The forward dividend yield of Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp stocks is 0.50%. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp had an annual average earnings growth of 17.70% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp the business predictability rank of 4-star. Story continues Staples Inc. (SPLS) The fund purchased 373,490 shares of Staples Inc., worth 2.08% of the portfolio. The company's stock price averaged $9 per share in the third quarter. Staples Inc. has a market cap of $6.49 billion; its shares were traded around $9.97 with and P/S ratio of 0.31. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Staples Inc. stocks is 4.80%. The forward dividend yield of Staples Inc. stocks is 4.86%. Knight Therapeutics Inc. (GUD.TO) The fund purchased 371,000 shares of the company, worth 1.75% of the portfolio. The stock's third-quarter price averaged C$9 per share. Knight Therapeutics Inc. has a market cap of $1.35 billion; its shares were traded around $10.14 with a P/E ratio of 72.43 and P/S ratio of 266.84.Top of Form Casey's General Stores Inc. (CASY) The fund purchased 13,740 shares of the company, worth 1.08% of the portfolio. The stock's third quarter share price was $129 on average for the third quarter. Casey's General Stores Inc. has a market cap of $4.88 billion; its shares were traded around $124.57 with a P/E ratio of 23.36 and P/S ratio of 0.72. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Casey's General Stores Inc. stocks is 0.74%. The forward dividend yield of Casey's General Stores Inc. stocks is 0.77%. Casey's General Stores Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 16.30% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Casey's General Stores Inc. the business predictability rank of 4-star. See the CI Can Am Small Cap (Trades, Portfolio) fund's portfolio here. Start a free 7-day trial of Premium Membership to GuruFocus. Follow Holly on Twitter @guruhollyl. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. WASHINGTON (AP) A Chinese warship seized a U.S. Navy unmanned underwater glider that was collecting unclassified scientific data in the South China Sea, and the U.S. is demanding its return, the Pentagon said Friday. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the U.S. has issued a formal diplomatic complaint over Thursday's incident, but he was not aware of any response yet. He said this may be the first time in recent history that China has taken a U.S. naval vessel. There have been periodic incidents over the years between U.S. and Chinese military ships and aircraft. The Chinese Embassy said it had no immediate comment. MANILA, Philippines (AP) President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday threatened to terminate a pact that allows U.S. troops to visit the Philippines, saying "bye-bye America" as he reacted with rage to what he thought was a U.S. decision to scrap a major aid package over human rights concerns. A U.S. government aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said this week that its board deferred a vote on a renewal of the development assistance package for the Philippines "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties." The U.S. agency has clearly not voted to scrap or approve the aid package, but Duterte unleashed a barrage of expletives-laden tirade upon his arrival in his southern hometown in Davao after back-to-back visits to Cambodia and Singapore. MANILA, Philippines (AP) The Philippine president said Saturday he would "set aside" a ruling by an international arbitration tribunal that invalidated Beijing's claims to most of the busy South China Sea, because he doesn't want to impose on China. President Rodrigo Duterte made the remarks when asked in a news conference if a U.S. think tank report that China apparently installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its new artificial islands in the disputed waters would affect his perception of Beijing. The Philippines claims the reefs that were turned by China into man-made islands. Duterte, who took office in June, has taken steps to mend relations with China that grew hostile during the time of his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, over the long-unresolved territorial disputes. Story continues SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Large crowds were expected to gather in South Korea's capital again on Saturday to call for impeached President Park Geun-hye to immediately quit and press the Constitutional Court to formally remove her from office. The massive protests against Park in recent weeks have been peaceful, but there was concern on Saturday about the demonstrators clashing with thousands of Park's supporters who planned their own protest near the court. South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament last week voted to impeach Park over an explosive corruption scandal that saw millions protest over consecutive weekends. Prosecutors accuse Park of colluding with a longtime confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowing her friend to manipulate state affairs. WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) Vietnamese comedian Minh Beo has been sentenced to 18 months in state prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in California. Orange County prosecutors said Friday the 38-year-old must also register as a sex offender. The comedian, whose real name is Minh Quang Hong, pleaded guilty in August to oral copulation of a minor and attempting to commit a lewd act on a child under the age of 14. The second charge stemmed from a meeting he arranged with a police officer posing as a 13-year-old boy. He is known in Vietnam as Minh Beo, meaning "Fat Minh." He has been popular in stage, TV and movie comic roles and has his own theater in Ho Chi Minh City. UNITED NATIONS (AP) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed mounting speculation that he will run for president of South Korea on Friday, saying he will decide how to best help his country when he returns home in early January after 10 years as U.N. chief. Ban told his final U.N. press conference that after taking some rest he plans to meet "as many people as possible," including political leaders, members of civil society and his friends. "I will really consider seriously how best and what I should and I could do for my country," he said. Ban said South Korea is "in turmoil" following the explosive corruption scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, whose powers were suspended last week after lawmakers voted to impeach her. YAMBA, Australia (AP) The life was long drained from Lynette Daley by the time the cops rolled up to the lonely beach where her naked body lay. Her skin was cold, her lips were blue, and her blood was everywhere. It was between her legs and in a large clot by her feet. It was inside the four-wheel drive parked nearby and on the remains of the recently burned mattress partly hidden in the sand. And it was on the jeans worn by one of the two men who were with Lynette when she died. It had been, the pair said, a wild night. TOKYO (AP) Russia and Japan agreed Friday to hold talks on joint economic development of four islands at the center of a decades-old territorial dispute between the countries. It was a small step forward that fell far short of breaking the stalemate in a dispute that has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities. Joint development "would help foster trust toward a peace treaty," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after two days of meetings in Japan. Asked about developments in Syria, Putin said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are working to launch a new round of peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Japan and the former Soviet Union restored diplomatic relations a decade after World War II, but a dispute over a cluster of islands kept them from signing a peace treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Japan this week for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the issue. A timeline of the rocky relations between Japan and Russia, dating to the 19th century: 1855: Japan and Russia sign the Treaty of Shimoda, starting diplomatic relations. 1905: Japan defeats Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt mediates a negotiated end to the fighting. 1941: Japan and the Soviet Union sign a neutrality pact pledging to respect the sovereignty of Japan's puppet state in Manchuria. TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) As Taiwan becomes a contentious issue between China and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Taiwanese are hoping it will lead to closer ties with Washington but are wary of becoming a bargaining chip between the world's two largest economies. Trump's Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raised expectations that he will upgrade relations with the self-governing island with which Washington has only had unofficial ties since recognizing the Communist government on the Chinese mainland in 1979. Trump followed up the call with tweets and comments criticizing Chinese trade and foreign policy, stoking speculation about a major change in American policy toward the nearly 70-year-old regional rivalry. Categories Makeup If you dont do your research before investing in an expensive beauty staple, you might want to rethink your strategy. 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If youre in the market to try a new formula, this powder is a safe bet. @sweatcosmetics Toyota Motor Corporation TM expects global sales to increase by 1% to 10.202 million vehicles in 2017 from its annual expectation for 2016 triggered by higher sales in North America, China, Europe and Asia. Launch of new models, including the C-HR compact sport utility vehicle, will also drive sales for the automaker. These benefits will offset the sluggish demand in the Middle East due to low oil prices. Toyota will also ramp up the productivity of Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu minicar and Hino Motors Ltd truck brands in 2017. Sales from these brands are expected to increase to 10.2 million vehicles in 2017. The company also focuses on improving the productivity of its group by 1% to 10.36 million vehicles in 2017. Toyota has been the world's best-selling automaker in 2015. However, for 2016, annual global sales are expected to be 10.09 million vehicles, lower than prior estimate of 10.11 million. Sales are likely to be affected by the sluggishness in Southeast Asian markets. TOYOTA MOTOR CP Price TOYOTA MOTOR CP Price | TOYOTA MOTOR CP Quote Price Performance Toyotas share price has dipped 0.86% year-to-date reflecting the decline in its guidance for earnings, operating income and revenues for fiscal 2017. Settlement of a U.S. truck lawsuit, string of product recalls and declining sales outside Japan have been affecting the share price of Toyota. Nevertheless, Toyota has performed better than the Zacks categorized Auto-Manufacturers-Foreign industry, which has suffered a year-to-date decline of 4.03%. Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks Toyota currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Other favorably ranked companies in the auto space include Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. ALSN, America's Car-Mart Inc. CRMT and Rush Enterprises, Inc. RUSHA. All the stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.. Allison Transmission has a long-term expected growth rate of 11%. America's Car-Mart has a long-term expected growth rate of 45.5%. Rush Enterprises has a long-term expected growth rate of 15%. Zacks Best Private Investment Ideas In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time? Our experts cover all kinds of trades from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMERICAS CAR-MT (CRMT): Free Stock Analysis Report RUSH ENTRPRS-A (RUSHA): Free Stock Analysis Report TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report ALLISON TRANSMN (ALSN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) A federal terrorism response center in Alabama mistakenly used the lethal form of the toxin ricin as it trained thousands firefighters, paramedics and other emergency responders during the last five years. The mix-up happened at the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama, which trains first responders to deal with emergencies involving chemical, radiological, and biological hazards. No students, who wear protective gear in the exercises, were reported harmed, but FEMA has asked the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General to investigate how the toxin came to be used in the exercises. FEMA spokeswoman Alexa C. Lopez said a form of ricin that is safe for humans is supposed to be used in the training. She said staff last month discovered an "ongoing discrepancy in the documentation related to the type of ricin being provided." Staff ordered the safe version, but it appeared a supply vendor has been providing the lethal form of ricin to the center since 2011, she said in an email. The Anniston Star first reported the potential exposure to trainees. Approximately 9,600 first responders trained with chemical or biological agents at the center's Chemical, Ordinance, Biological, and Radiological facility during that time. "However, it's important to note that we have no indication that any students were exposed or harmed. During training, students work with several chemical and biological agents, and use protective measures appropriate for the most dangerous agents," Lopez said. Ricin, a toxin from the seeds of the castor oil plaint, is lethal to humans in even tiny doses, said Dr. William Rushton, an assistant professor and a medical toxicologist in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Alabama Birmingham. "It's a very dangerous substance. When you get it in your body, it causes all of your organs to shut down," Rushton said. Story continues The toxin has two protein chains an A chain that can cause cell damage and a B chain that allows the toxin to penetrate cell membranes. Both chains must be present for ricin to kill, Rushton said. Lopez said the center ordered the A-chain-only form of ricin. That form is safe for humans but will still respond to detection equipment as students learn to detect and respond to an emergency involving ricin. "CDP ordered A-chain, the less toxic strain. ... All CDP Intended Use Declarations clearly state that we were requesting Ricin Chain A," Lopez said. USA Today identified the vendor as Toxin Technology of Florida. Bill Rose, manager of Toxin Technology, told The Associated Press that he could not discuss clients but said all shipments were correctly labeled as the lethal form of ricin. He said the company only sells the more lethal form. "All shipments of products from our company from January 2012 thru present have been reviewed and were found to accurately reflect the contents listed on the shipping documents," Rose wrote in an email. FEMA has set up a web page with information about the situation. Students who trained at the center may also submit questions through a link on that page: cdp.dhs.gov/cdp-use-of-ricin A transgender girl just made history on the cover of this legendary magazine National Geographic is kicking off 2017 with a bang. On December 27th, the magazine will release its January 2017 issue, which features 9-year-old Avery Jackson on the cover the first transgender person ever to be on the cover of the magazine. The Gender Revolution issue will examine aspects of gender and gender identity around the world. We wanted to look at how traditional gender roles play out all over the world, but also look into gender as a spectrum, National Geographics Editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg told NBC Out, Theres lots of coverage on celebrities, but there wasnt an understanding on real people and the issues we face every day in classrooms or workplaces in regards to gender. A photo posted by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Dec 15, 2016 at 2:53pm PST Although shes only nine, Avery and her parents, Tom and Debi, have already been activists for a while. In 2015, Debi uploaded a moving video of Avery sharing the story of her transition. Debi also gave a speech about her daughters transition that gained a lot of attention on YouTube. In an essay for the New York Times, Tom wrote: I love my daughter for who she is without preconditions, and I promise to help nurture her into becoming a happy, healthy, and productive member of society. After all, isnt that our job as parents? Following the release of the magazine, National Geographic will broadcast a two-hour documentary called Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric. The documentary airs on February 6th. The post A transgender girl just made history on the cover of this legendary magazine appeared first on HelloGiggles. By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) - An 11-year-old transgender Ohio child must be allowed to continue to use the girls' restroom while her school district appeals a court ruling in her favor, a U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday. The child, a biological male who identifies as female, has been using the girl's restroom at a school in the Highland Local School District northwest of Akron since a federal court ruled in late September that district administrators could not prevent her from doing so. The case began in June, when the school district sued to stop an order by the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama requiring schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms of their choice. A U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of Ohio denied the school district's request to overturn the administration's rule, and issued a temporary restraining order requiring the school district to comply. The school district appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit refused to grant that appeal. In its ruling on Thursday, the court pointed out that the child had attempted suicide multiple times before being allowed to use the girls' restroom, and that her stress level had diminished since the ruling went into effect. Making her switch again to the boys' restroom or to return to using the nurses' restroom as she had before, would put the child, who was not named, at risk again, the court said. The district has argued that it has allowed the child to use private restroom facilities and to otherwise identify as a girl at school. An attorney for the Alliance for Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization that represents the school district in the case, said allowing a male child in the girls' restroom violated the privacy of the other students. "Allowing boys in girls restrooms completely disregards the privacy needs and rights of all the girls who are rightfully and understandably concerned," said Doug Wardlow, the organization's legal counsel. "Young boys should not be allowed in girls' locker rooms or restrooms." The U.S. Supreme Court has said that next year it will consider the question of whether the Obama Administration overreached in requiring public schools to allow transgender children to use restrooms in accordance with their gender identities. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Editing by David Gregorio) (Reuters) - British newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror (TNI.L) said it expected print advertising revenue to fall 17 percent in the final quarter, underscoring financial pressures on newspapers and digital media. The company said, however, its full-year performance would be marginally ahead of expectations, with net debt falling to about 35 million pounds, significantly better than expected. Trinity's shares rose 6 percent to 89 pence at 0806 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. The company joined other British newspapers including the Daily Mail (DMGOa.L) in highlighting a decline print and circulation revenue and volatility in the advertising market. Industry experts had said in July that uncertainty linked to Britain's decision to leave the European Union could further dent newspaper advertising revenues as companies defer spending. However, an industry forecast for advertising spending growth has since been revised up to 1.9 percent for 2016, compared with a previous forecast of a 0.2 percent decline, according to the IPA Bellwether report, published by IHS Markit on behalf of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. Trinity Mirror, which publishes the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror, said on Friday that like-for-like group revenue is expected to fall by less than 8 percent in the final quarter, compared to a 9 percent decline in the previous quarter. While publishing revenue is expected to fall by 8 percent, with print revenue being 10 percent lower, digital revenue would prove a bright spot by rising 8 percent. Trinity Mirror, which has to compensate people who had their phones hacked by staff working for the newspaper group, said damages for over 80 percent of the civil claims had been settled. The company, however, increased the provision set aside for the claims by 11.5 million pounds ($14.31 million). (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri) Montreal (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned citizens Friday not to light up just yet as the government is still at least one year away from legalizing recreational marijuana use. His comments follow the opening on Thursday of a handful of new storefronts selling pot in Montreal, adding to an estimated 200 that have set up across Canada. "We haven't changed the legislation yet," Trudeau told reporters in Montreal. "It is coming, but we're going to take the time to do it right." Until that happens, the current ban on the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use remains in effect, he stressed. In cities across Canada in the last year, entrepreneurs have opened storefronts seeking to grab market share ahead of the promised legalization. The dispensaries themselves claim to be operating in a "gray area" of the law. Many have been raided by police only to defiantly reopen days later. Trudeau campaigned last year on a promise to end nearly a century of pot prohibition and make Canada the first G7 nation to legalize the weed. He also admitted in 2013 to having smoked pot five or six times in his life, including at a dinner party with friends since being elected to parliament. On Tuesday, an expert panel unveiled a blueprint for creating a legal market for cannabis including plain packaging and labelling, restrictions on advertising, and retail distribution. Under the proposed rules, individuals would be allowed to grow up to four plants at home for personal use. Personal possession, however, would be limited to 30 grams (one ounce). In settling on a minimum age of 18, the experts discounted the warnings of health groups concerned about the potential impact of marijuana on developing brains under the age of 25. Trudeau called this proposal a "fair compromise" after recently pointing out that youths today can buy pot on the black market more easily than beer. If President-elect Donald Trump is serious about his proposals to limit imports or impose tariffs on companies leaving the U.S., it will have important ramifications for the American economy. For many ardent believers of free trade, it seems that inhibiting the ability of companies to seek lowest costs of production, be it in the U.S. or elsewhere, might limit choices for American consumers, produce hardships for U.S. manufacturers, and result in significantly higher prices. However, the real conundrum is that without a proportional, per capita, high value manufacturing base domiciled in the U.S., one that results in higher paying manufacturing jobs, companies may find that they don't have the customers they need to buy their production. Consumers may also find that their newly acquired paychecks have limited ability to provide them with the consumer goods they seek. Ironically, history also warns us that eventually our cumulative current account deficit combined with our rapidly declining net international investment position reflecting the deterioration of our international wealth, will come home to roost in the form of a plunging dollar. This may eventually push imports out of the reach of consumers regardless. Therefore, Trump should implement policies that are instrumental in reducing production costs within the U.S. while concurrently applying those costs savings to incentivize and subsidize the American consumer to buy goods that emanate from a new American production. The hard reality is that no one is going to buy a $100 American made microwave oven if a Chinese microwave costs $85. You can appeal to patriotism all day long and it simply is not going to happen. However, if the U.S. produces cost savings throughout the economy and apply those savings to offer consumers a $16 rebate on that microwave. it offers U.S. employers an incentive to create more jobs and therefore help boost the domestic economy. I recognize that many free trade supporters may find the use of the terms "subsidy" and "rebate" to be anathema to their convictions. However, the practical implementation of market assisting tax and incentive policies could result in more U.S. production, higher paying jobs, a smaller or nonexistent trade deficit and consumer goods with effective prices at or below the import prices of today. Story continues Lets start with finding those savings that will provide the money to fund those coupons and rebates. One way for Trump's administration to do this is to reduce wasteful government spending by instituting "employment at will" for all government jobs, similar to the way it works in the private sector where employers can dismiss employees for any, and without warning. That might sound harsh, but given the size of the government in America, no other single act would result in such large immediate improvements in aggregate cost savings. Such savings could be applied to equalizing product prices and costs with competitive imports. Imagine government departments held to private sector standards, or for that matter, even answering the telephone. Imagine the benefits of regaining the long lost ability to fire incompetent, lazy or even destructive government workers. While such policies would also need to be supplemented with reward systems for exemplary or self-starting government employees, having the ability to eliminate non-responsive federal and state workers would greatly enhance every level of government in America. For example, one must ask, how does anyone gain by offering lifetime tenure for California teachers after only 24 months on the job? Importantly, Draining the swamp should also mean an annual clearing of the bottom performing 5% of government employees during the first few years of the new administration. Former CEO Jack Welch implemented such a program while running the company in the early 1980s and 2000s and it revolutionized their work force. These cost savings could be applied to rebating a critical portion of the price of domestically manufactured products, and if structured correctly, could offset the advantages that now accrue from cheap foreign labor. These changes would also result in prodigious positive effects -- not only for public sector efficiencies, but also for private sector production and productivity by abating burdensome and time consuming government processes that are made only that much more difficult by the inertia of the Federal employee system. As an adjunct, the Trump administration should also employ zero-based budgeting at all levels of government, where all expenses must be justified for each new period and where every function of government is analyzed for its needs and costs starting from a base of zero. The reality is that this won't be easy to do, but the idea is worth a serious look. After all, during my years as a licensed pilot flying private and commercial seaplanes, I an FAA regional head in San Diego some years back once told me that because it was the end of his fiscal year, he had to go fly around in several FAA airplanes to burn fuel so that his budget would not be cut the following year. Another way to reduce costs for manufacturers and apply the savings to the American consumer and domestic manufacturing is by ensuring that radical labor unions are contained. Many Detroit residents would agree that excess union power has hurt Detroit's economy in unprecedented ways. In fact, the physical plant of the City of Detroit is testimony to the damaging effects of the unending financial claims of organized labor. So it goes for all of America. Union power needs reasonable restraints to insure the U.S. does not short circuit its manufacturing economy. One answer is for the new administration to work tirelessly to encourage Right to Work laws that limit agreements between employers and labor unions in all 50 states. Excess demands by union leaders have never been in the long-term interests of rank and file workers, even if, at times, those union members have not been able to see it themselves. Many employers currently complain that they cannot find competent workers to meet the demands of a more complex factory floor. However, costs savings can be attained by attracting selected foreign workers that already have many of the skills in short supply. Consequently, America's immigration process should be made significantly easier for well-screened individuals coming legally to America with education, capital, productive skills and for those foreigners graduating with expensive American educations. Nothing is more wasteful than providing exceedingly valuable educational slots to foreign students in our top STEM universities then watch them walk out the border door when they fail to get a visa. By contrast, there are significant cost savings to be found by restricting immigration for those simply looking for a free ride or a welfare handout. Let's look at our national interests in the same way as Australia. Specifically, U.S. immigration should be stridently biased in favor of engineers, scientists, mathematicians and other similar practical occupations. Australia has an excellent template on this matter where capital, education, likely assimilation and work skills are the key priorities that determine acceptance for immigration. Frank Berlage is CEO and Managing Director of Multilateral Partners Global Advisory Group L.L.C., a private equity firm headquartered in La Jolla, California. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com trump President-elect Donald Trump addressed the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria's largest city during a rally Thursday night, calling it "sad" and promising to set up "safe zones" so that "people will have a chance." When I look at whats going on in Syria, its so sad, he told a crowd in Pennsylvania. Its so sad, and were going to help people. Trump said the money for the safe zones complicated and expensive projects that require a substantial commitment of military resources, including ground troops would come from the Gulf states. "They have nothing but money," he said, likely referring to some combination of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, which have supported the Syrian revolution throughout the course of the five-plus-year civil war. "We don't have money," Trump said. "We owe $20 trillion. I will get the Gulf states to give us lots of money, and we'll build and help build safe zones in Syria, so people can have a chance. So they can have a chance." Thursday night was not the first time Trump has proposed setting up safe zones inside Syria that would be paid for by the Gulf states. Trump who has said that he opposes arming Syrian rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad because "we don't even know who they are" has presented the safe zones as an alternative to accepting Syrian refugees into the US. Aleppo Syria "What they should do is, the countries should all get together, including the Gulf states, who have nothing but money, they should all get together and they should take a big swath of land in Syria and they do a safe zone for people, where they could go to live, and then ultimately go back to their country, go back to where they came from," he told CBS' "Face the Nation" in October 2015. Story continues Trump repeated the idea one month later, during a rally in Knoxville, Tennessee. What I'd like is to build a safe zone in Syria," he said. "Build a big, beautiful safe zone, and you have whatever it is so people can live, and theyll be happier ... So you keep them in Syria." Putin Assad Building safe zones could complicate Trump's other policy position on Syria, however, which is to work with Assad and Russia to defeat the Islamic State. Assad and his allies, Russia and Iran, would likely see the construction of safe zones by the US and its partners as a violation of Syria's territorial sovereignty. During the second presidential debate in October, Trump would not answer ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz when she asked him what he would do, as president, about Syria and the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, saying only that "I think Aleppo is a disaster, humanitarian-wise. ... I think that it, basically, has fallen." Aleppo fell to pro-government forces earlier this week, after a month of intense bombing accompanied by a ferocious ground offensive killed nearly 1,000 rebel fighters and civilians in the eastern half of the city. The opposition reached a deal with Russia on Wednesday for a cease-fire and the evacuation of approximately 40,000 civilians and opposition forces from the city. The evacuations were suspended on Friday, however, amid demands by Iran-backed, pro-government militias to first evacuate wounded civilians from Shi'ite villages around Aleppo that are being besieged by rebel fighters. NOW WATCH: Fashion designer Nicole Miller reveals what Donald Trump is really like More From Business Insider New York (AFP) - Vanity Fair has had the last laugh after President-elect Donald Trump blasted the magazine over a snooty review of one of his restaurants: its subscription numbers have broken a company record. "Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine?" the incoming Republican commander-in-chief asked his 17.4 million followers on Twitter bright and early Thursday. "Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!" he added for good measure in reference to the magazine's editor, with whom he has a feud dating back decades. Only it seems that offending the 70-year-old billionaire real estate tycoon is good for business -- at least in the news industry. A magazine spokeswoman said Vanity Fair that day collected the highest number of subscriptions sold in a single day for any Conde Nast company publication, clocking up 13,000 new subscriptions in a single 24-hour period. The magazine has added a banner to its website, calling itself the "magazine Trump doesn't want you to read" and encouraging readers to subscribe. The offending restaurant review, written by reporter Tina Nguyen, summed up a recent lunch at a bistro in Trump Tower lobby as "rich-man slop" under the headline "Trump Grill Could Be The Worst Restaurant in America." Folio Magazine quoted Conde Nast as saying the article received one million unique views since Trump's tweet, which did not link to the review. Trump has been at loggerheads with Carter since the 1980s, when the former reality TV star projected himself as the definition of wealth. Carter infuriated the former reality star by calling him a "short-fingered vulgarian." Other print media have similarly seen an uptick in business since the vitriolic US presidential campaign and shock election of Trump, who inflamed the country by insulting myriad population groups. The New York Times has announced an exceptional surge in digital subscriptions, adding more than 200,000 net subscribers since late September. Story continues The newspaper was among several media outlets attacked by Trump during his presidential race. It launched a series of investigations that revealed his reported tax loss of more than $900 million. Vanity Fair followed up the restaurant review by writing a critical article examining the ambition and missteps of Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is reportedly considering a role in the White House. By James Oliphant and Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With more than 20 nominees now selected, Donald Trumps cabinet appears much like the president-elect himself: mostly older, white males, many of them wealthy, who see themselves as risk-takers and deal-makers and prize action over deliberation. Trump, who says Washington is "broken" and controlled by special interests, has largely eschewed technocrats with long government experience. Instead, he has built a team of bosses. Trump's roster of agency heads and advisers conspicuously lacks intellectuals, lawyers, and academics of the sort sought by some past presidents. In their place are titans of business and finance from the likes of Exxon Mobil and Goldman Sachs and no fewer than three retired generals in key positions. Many of them are people used to getting their way but will now have a boss to answer to - Trump - while navigating the sometimes frustrating and sprawling bureaucracy of the U.S. government. The incoming Trump administration is poised to undo as much of President Barack Obama's accomplishments as possible, while also attempting to advance a conservative policy agenda in areas such as taxes and healthcare. A former senior U.S. official who knows Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO who is Trump's nominee for secretary of state, and Marine General James Mattis, Trump's pick for defense secretary, predicted a massive clash of egos in the cabinet. Tillerson and Mattis are accustomed to dominating whatever space they find themselves in, and that probably will now include the Situation Room and even the Oval Office. Trump's transition team has said the cabinet is intended to be a mix of experienced Washington hands and newcomers. But former presidents who brought in outside blood have at times seen political neophytes make costly errors, experts said. Of the 21 cabinet members and White House advisers chosen to date by Trump, 16 are white men. There are four women, none of whom hold what might be considered a top-tier agency post. There is one African-American, one Asian-American and one Indian-American. There are no Hispanics. Like the real-estate magnate who chose them, several have no government experience. Others have been hostile toward the agencies they will lead if the U.S. Senate confirms them early next year. Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Trump is building a cabinet in his own image: blunt-talkers with real-world experience. "Surrounding yourself with military guys and money guys sends a certain message," Zelizer said. "A certain kind of cutthroat aggressive dealmaker is how [Trump] imagines himself to be." Obama, who leaves office in January, relied on experienced hands to form his cabinet in 2008. He named his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, as his secretary of state. Robert Gates, who served the previous administration, remained at the Pentagon, and Obama made longtime Justice Department official Eric Holder attorney general. Some of Trump's picks do have similar experience, and he has packed his on-the-ground transition teams at various agencies with government veterans and ex-lobbyists, a Reuters review found earlier this month. NEW CHALLENGES The newcomers to Washington will rise to the administrative challenge, said those who know them. Republican Representative Tom Price, Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is "decisive by nature," said fellow Republican lawmaker Tom Cole. He credited Price's career as a surgeon, which is also the former profession of Ben Carson, Trump's choice for secretary of housing and urban development. Carson, said Henry Brem, a neurosurgeon who worked with Carson at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, has a "cool head" and is unafraid to give strong opinions. "Hes a gentleman, he speaks his mind, he has great ideas and nobody in the world intimidates him. Rick Perry, Trump's choice for energy secretary, served three terms as governor of Texas and had to "balance a very conservative and increasingly ideological grassroots (support base) with a very influential business community," said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. "Whether he can do that do that in a bureaucratic setting, in an environment as competitive as a cabinet with a lot of obviously large egos, I think is another question," Henson said. Several of Trump's picks have never held any sort of government post and have little, if any, background in policy-making, including Tillerson, Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs alumnus, Commerce pick Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, and Gary Cohn, the Goldman Sachs executive who would chair Trumps economic council. In 2008, Mnuchin purchased IndyMac, a lender that failed during the financial crisis and helped transform it into OneWest, now a thriving retail bank in southern California. Kevin Kelly, a managing partner at Recon Capital Partners, an investment firm in Stamford, Connecticut, said that kind of real-world savvy could make government more effective. Those with high-level corporate experience are used to having to please shareholders, board members, employees, and the community, Kelly said. "It takes a very precise and dedicated person to deliver across those constituencies." TOO MUCH DISRUPTION? The outsider approach hasn't always worked. In 2001, President George W. Bushs treasury secretary, Paul ONeill, the former chief executive of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc, rattled markets with a series of careless remarks that seemed to herald economic policy shifts that differed with the White House's stance. He ultimately was fired. "Management of large, public agencies is really difficult and requires bringing in experienced and knowledgeable people and working in ways that doesn't alienate people," said Thomas Mann, an expert on governance at the Brookings Institution. Anthony Scaramucci, an adviser to the Trump transition, has acknowledged that too much inexperience could be harmful to Trump's young administration. "Washington is a very healthy immunological system," he said. "You'll see a full-blown organ rejection if you put too many status-quo disruptors in Washington." (Reporting by James Oliphant and Emily Stephenson; Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner, Roberta Rampton, Phillip Stewart, John Walcott, Susan Cornwell, Ernest Scheyder, editing by Ross Colvin) As a candidate, President-elect Donald Trump said he was eager to use crippling, crippling counterattacks to protect the United States from foreign cyberthreats. Once elected, he began surrounding himself with security advisors who have called for ramping up cyberwarfare. But Trumps tough talk about using digital weapons to strike back against Americas enemies appears to have its limits. He has resisted acknowledging to the point of rejecting Russias involvement in what the U.S. intelligence community calls an unprecedented campaign by Moscow to influence the very vote that elected Trump last month. With Russia looming as the top cyberthreat to the United States, Trump must now decide whether he will unleash the aggressive cybertactics he once admired from afar or continue building the warmer relationship he is seeking with Moscow. He may try to do both. Given the coterie of hawkish advisors that surrounds him and his saber-rattling rhetoric against Iran and China, Trump could easily execute cyberattacks against other foreign threats whether state actors or not with profound consequences for how war is waged in the future. Trump, by his own admission, is ready to deploy cyberweapons against American adversaries and in October declared it necessary for the United States to possess unquestioned capacity to launch crippling cyber-counterattacks. And I mean crippling, crippling. This is the warfare of the future, he said then. The Trump transition team has made a comprehensive cyberstrategy one of its top military priorities, according to a confidential memo obtained by Foreign Policy. But on the cusp of taking office, Trump refuses to acknowledge the voluminous evidence documenting the Kremlins campaign against the U.S. election. It could be Russia. And it could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey, Trump told Time in an interview published this month. I believe that it could have been Russia and it could have been any one of many other people. Story continues In a Dec. 12 tweet, Trump doubled down on his defense of winning the presidential election without any help from hackers. Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking, he wrote. The U.S. intelligence community, however, has no doubt about who was responsible. On Thursday, U.S. officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to be personally involved in directing a covert operation to influence the election, an effort that overwhelmingly favored Trump. At least one of Trumps top advisors, impatient with eight years of relative cyberpassivity, agrees Russia is to blame a striking break with the president-elect. K.T. McFarland, the incoming deputy national security advisor, even wants to escalate attacks against Russia. They can push, push, push, and theres no push back, McFarland told Fox News in October. In response, she suggested the United States muck around with elections in Russia. Other key advisors in the incoming administration hold similarly hawkish views on the use of American power in cyberspace, if not necessarily the desire to unleash those weapons against Russia. Michael Flynn, the incoming national security advisor, pushed for more aggressive cybersecurity policies while heading the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014. Trumps pick for defense secretary, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, oversaw U.S. Central Command war games with Iran that incorporated the use of cyberweapons, according to a former defense official who worked with Mattis there. The nominee for CIA director, Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), has suggested treating Chinese hacking as a conventional attack that could muster a military response. And Adm. Michael Rogers, currently the embattled head of the National Security Agency and one of the leading candidates to become Trumps director of national intelligence, reportedly urged a tough response this year to Russian hacks but was overruled by the White House. In a Thursday interview with NPR, President Barack Obama pledged the United States would retaliate but remained cagey on how he would do so. We need to take action, he said. And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. Obama has been roundly criticized for failing to strike back at Moscow for meddling in the American elections. Despite a growing body of evidence pointing toward Russian interference in the months leading up to the election, the White House stayed silent until Oct. 7, when American intelligence officials blamed Russia for breaking into the Democratic National Committee. The breach was uncovered more than a year earlier. Even as he continues to deny Russian involvement, Trump on Thursday railed against the lack of action. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/809403760099422208 Hours later, defeated Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton blamed Putin for an attack against our country that in part cost her the election, according to a Friday report by the New York Times. A chorus of national security experts has called for a response to Moscows campaign against the election. We have to retaliate against Russia in order to deter not only Russia from ever trying to do this again, but to deter other countries who undoubtedly are watching all of this, former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who advised Clintons campaign, said this week. In order for a U.S. response to actually result in deterrence, two things have to be true one, it has got to be overt, it has got to be seen, and two, it has got to be painful to Putin. Dmitri Alperovitch, the chief technology officer at CrowdStrike, which investigated the DNC hack and identified the Russian groups responsible, called the lack of a response to what is arguably the most consequential breach of our time as outrageous and inexcusable. Congressional Republicans and Democrats have vowed to investigate the hack, and intelligence suggesting that Putin appeared to be personally involved will put even more pressure on Trump to respond. If he chooses to do so which seems unlikely against a Russia he sees as a potential partner Trump will have a wealth of tools that he salivated over while on the campaign trail. Honestly, I wish I had that power, Trump said in July while discussing the DNC hack. Id love to have that power. When he takes office Jan. 20, Trump will control of the worlds biggest hacker army. The U.S. military and intelligence agencies now devote an increasing share of manpower and resources to cyberwarfare, which will soon have its own unified military command. Trump enters office after an eight-year period during which the Obama administration pioneered the use of digital weapons. By attacking Iranian nuclear enrichment sites beginning in 2009 with the Stuxnet computer virus, the Obama administration steered Tehran to the nuclear negotiating table. Many scholars considered Stuxnet the opening salvo for a completely new kind of warfare. More recently, Washington has stepped up offensive cyberattacks on the Islamic States networks in Iraq and Syria. But the Obama administration has not always responded to cyberattacks with reciprocal action on the internet. Early in 2015, the United States slapped North Korea with economic sanctions after hermit kingdom hackers attacked Sony Pictures. Obama has long refused to define exactly how it will respond to a cyberattack, saying it will do so in a place and time and manner that we choose talking points he repeated, almost word-for-word, in his NPR interview Thursday. Before he was forced out of the DIA in 2014, Flynn pushed a more muscular strategy and grew frustrated with what he saw as the Obama administrations lack of aggressiveness in cyberspace. A former intelligence official who worked with Flynn, and spoke on condition of anonymity to describe his thinking on the issue, said the retired three-star lieutenant general advocated a tit-for-tat approach in cyberspace. If you saw the adversary attacking you, then you should attack back, the official said of Flynns thinking. Flynn also publicly called for a buildup of U.S. cyberweapons. Asked at the 2014 Aspen Security Forum whether the United States should scale up our offensive capabilities in cyber, Flynn offered an unequivocal, one-word answer: Yes. But that brings risks, many of which remain unknown. The rashness with which he thinks doesnt take into account the second-order consequences, the former intelligence official said of Flynn. The United States does not enjoy overwhelming superiority in the cyberwarfare realm as it still does in many areas of conventional combat. Adversaries and rival nations including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are building and sometimes using powerful digital weapons. Offensive operations in cyberspace present particular challenges for leaders like Flynn and Mattis, who have been schooled mostly in aggressive conventional tactics based upon American technical superiority. In cyberspace, many typical rules of military engagement do not apply. A weapon can often be used only once and, once revealed, can boomerang on its user in dangerous and unpredictable ways. Identifying the enemy with certainty is still devilishly difficult. How escalation works in cyberspace and its relation to real-world violence is still highly unclear. Decades into the computer revolution, officials have fallen short of defining exactly when a cyberattack constitutes an act of war. It sounds good to use cyberweapons. But what does that really mean? said Amy Zegart, the co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Cyberattacks dwell in a legal no-mans land, and American hackers could open the United States up to punishing retaliation: There are good reasons the Obama administration has been reluctant to venture down this path with cyberguns ablazing, Zegart said. Stuxnet was a notable and aggressive exception in Obamas cyberwarfare policy, and Mattis was running Centcom when the virus escaped into the wild. Also on Mattiss watch, Iran carried out cyberattacks on oil company Saudi Aramco and American banks. Pushed into retirement for what the Obama administration considered his far too hawkish views on Iran, Mattis calls Tehran the single most enduring threat to Middle East stability. Flynn shares Mattiss intense antipathy toward Iran, and as a candidate, Trump casually entertained the possibility of a military conflict with Iran. But in the years since Mattis left the military, Iran has upped its ability to launch cyberstrikes, moving beyond low-sale disruptive activities that were not quite as worrisome as they are now, said the former defense official. In a speech this year, Mattis likened Irans hacker army to children juggling lightbulbs filled with nitroglycerin that will one day attack a high-profile target and require an international response, possibly with military force. He proposed setting up a cybersecurity monitoring center focused on Tehran to catch its hackers red-handed. Pompeo hasnt sketched out detailed plans to leverage U.S. hackers offensively. But after China hacked into the Office of Personnel Management and stole sensitive data last year, Pompeo blasted the Obama administration for its refusal to treat cyber-attacks in the same manner we would if our national sovereignty was violated through a conventional attack. His office declined to give details or otherwise elaborate for this story. Trump has flirted with appointing Rogers, the current NSA head, as director of intelligence; the two met at Trump Tower last month. Rogerss bosses have urged Obama to fire him, partly because of a series of embarrassing data breaches at the agency. He has also come under fire as head of U.S. Cyber Command, which is responsible for going on the offensive against cyberthreats, for not being aggressive enough against the Islamic State. Although his exact views on the use of offensive cybertools are difficult to pin down, Rogers has told Congress that the United States could exercise more aggressive cyberpower to deter states like Russia, China, or Iran from hacking into American computers. A purely reactive, defensive strategy is not ultimately, I think, going to change the dynamic where we are now, he told a House panel in 2015. And the dynamic we find ourselves in now, I dont think is acceptable to anyone. In response to Moscows campaign against the election, Rogers reportedly drew up a list of possible retaliations, including exposing Putins financial dealings and efforts to undermine internet restrictions on Russian dissidents. The White House rejected those suggestions, reportedly because it was fearful of starting a conflict it did not know how to end. Experts warn of the risks of being trigger-happy on cyberwar particularly given Trumps own lack of experience in the nuances and likely enduring aftershocks on the electronic battleground. And despite the experience Trumps advisors may bring to the fight, Republican leaders generally have not been on the front lines during cyberwarfares formative years. The Republicans have been out of power for eight years, which is the exact period of time when cyber-operations have matured, said Michael Sulmeyer, who advised Clinton and is the director of the Cyber Security Project at Harvard Universitys Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Its a lot harder than it looks and a lot less rewarding than it seems. Photo credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Washington (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump's plan to move the US embassy to Jerusalem signals an end to Washington's efforts to cajole its ally into giving up occupied land to a Palestinian state. Under President Barack Obama, the United States has insisted the only viable solution to the conflict is for two states to be recognized, based on the former 1967 border with mutually agreed land swaps. In David Friedman, Trump has nominated an ambassador who backs Israeli settlement building and intends to make good on the president-elect's plan to move the embassy to Jerusalem, Israel's "eternal capital." The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv before a final agreement on the conflict would cause outrage in the Arab world. The head of the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat said Friday that the status of the city is yet to be decided and that moving the embassy now would "be the destruction of the peace process." Trump may not formally abandon US support for an eventual "two-state solution" but Washington will likely not press its Israeli ally to make difficult concessions to revive the moribund peace process. - Land swaps - Obama signed the largest military aid pact in US history, ensuring close support for at least a decade, and Israel's first new generation F-35 stealth fighter jets were delivered this week. This despite Obama's often testy relationship with Israeli's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, de facto recognizing the divided city as Israel's capital, Trump would also give up another possible means of leverage -- should he ever wish to use one. In June, Trump's future ambassador Friedman told the Haaretz newspaper that the president-elect believes it should be Israel's choice whether or not to give up any land to Palestinian authorities. Story continues "He does not think it is an American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state," Friedman, who was the then candidate's adviser on Middle East relations, told the Israeli paper. In the interview, Friedman said it was not even clear how many Palestinians live on the West Bank and that there are parts of the territory that "will stay part of Israel in any peace deal." It has long been assumed that some of the major Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands even under a two-state solution. But, as outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry reminded a conference of American and Israeli policymakers last week, the new border between the states was to have been mutually agreed. In a strikingly frank interview that underlined his frustration with Netanyahu's government, Kerry noted that Republican and Democratic US administrations have both favored "1967 plus swaps" for decades. "I think you have to do that by negotiating, ultimately, by reaching an accommodation that meets the needs of the parties," he argued. - America's reputation - Friedman's appointment still needs confirmation by the US Senate, which it is likely to secure despite an appeal to lawmakers from the liberal American Jewish pressure group J Street. "This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the group, which supports the peace process. But Jonathan Schanzer, Middle East scholar and vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank in Washington, said the embassy switch could be carried out simply. There is already a US consulate in the city, where the new ambassador could put a new sign on the door, and in any case policy would continue to be set in Washington, not by the ambassador himself. "The symbol would be strong but it would not mean changing the landscape of Jerusalem as such," Schanzer told AFP. That said, he added: "For now it's safe to say that the entire resettlement policy of the Obama administration will likely soften under Trump." Trump's spokesman Jason Miller made clear on Friday that Friedman has the president-elect's full support and that the plan to move the embassy will stand. Washington (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated David Friedman -- an attorney and campaign adviser who backs moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem -- as ambassador to the Jewish state. During the campaign Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer, voiced support for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. In a Trump transition team statement Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to "doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." During the campaign, Trump met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and afterward pledged to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital" if elected. Trump has not repeated that promise since winning the presidency on November 8. But this week his adviser Kellyanne Conway called the move "a very big priority" for him. The move would break with Washington's policy of maintaining its diplomatic presence in Tel Aviv. The US and most UN member states do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital -- the city's status is one of the thorniest issue of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump did not specifically comment on the potential relocation in the statement Thursday. He said Friedman would "maintain the special relationship" between the US and Israel. Friedman has close ties to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which much of the international community consider illegal. The leftist pro-Israel, US-based organization J Street sharply criticized Trump's nomination of Friedman, calling the choice "reckless." "This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk," the group's president Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. "Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel." Story continues Asked during the campaign whether he believed in a two-state solution, the basis of more than two decades of peace negotiations, Friedman had said Trump was "tremendously skeptical." "A Trump administration will never pressure Israel into a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the wishes of the Israeli people," Friedman told a Trump rally in Jerusalem in October. The Israeli right has welcomed such statements and seized on Trump's victory to promote its cause -- including, for some, a call to bury the two-state solution once and for all. (Adds details, quotes, background and bylines; changes dateline, previous New York) By Matt Spetalnick and Ori Lewis WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Donald Trump remains firmly committed to his controversial campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the president-elect's transition team said on Friday, as Israeli officials welcomed his choice of a pro-Israel hard-liner as ambassador to the country. Trump spokesman Jason Miller said bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman, whose nomination was announced on Thursday , "shares the same viewpoint" that the embassy should be relocated, despite the risk of upending decades of U.S. policy and enraging the Muslim world. But Miller said it was "premature" to present a timetable for such a move. While several right-wing Israeli officials praised Friedman's selection, liberal Jewish-American groups have raised objections over his previously stated positions, including support for Jewish settlement building and advocacy of Israeli annexation of the West Bank. "If he is confirmed, it will be very hard for Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, Europeans and others not to conclude ... that the United States is no longer on board with a two-state solution," said Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to the Palestinian leadership who is now at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. Other U.S.-based analysts said that while Friedman's appointment could signal a break with President Barack Obama's sometimes tough approach to ally Israel, U.S. ambassadors typically do not drive Middle East policy and it was still unclear how far Trump would be prepared to go. Contacted by phone, Friedman, who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before taking up his post, declined to answer questions about his positions and experience or the debate his nomination has triggered. "I'll do that at some point, but I'm not providing any comments just yet," he told Reuters. While campaigning, Trump pledged to switch the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital regardless of international objections. Story continues Israel and the Palestinians, who are seeking a state of their own, both claim Jerusalem as their capital, and successive U.S. administrations have said the city's status must be negotiated. It is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinan dispute. Jerusalem contains sites sacred to Jews, Muslims and Christians, making its status even more of a hot-button issue. In Thursday's announcement, Friedman - a close Trump associate with no diplomatic experience - said he looked forward to doing the job "from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." "This is a commitment that the president-elect made numerous times on the campaign trail that he remains firmly committed to," Miller told reporters on a conference call. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was satisfied with Friedman's appointment, according to the Israeli website Ynet. The conservative premier has had fractious ties with Obama. "Appointing David Friedman ... is a positive declaration of intent," Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked tweeted. "David is a true friend of Israel, encouraging with all his strength construction in the settlements in the West Bank." Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely was quoted by pro-settler Arutz 7 website as saying Friedman's stance "reflects the will to strengthen Jerusalem as Israel's capital." Friedman, in writings and news interviews, has aligned himself with Israel's far right, backing settlement building on occupied land and questioning whether the Palestinians should get a state, a bedrock of U.S. policy. He has called liberal Jewish Americans supporting a two-state solution "worse than kapos," a reference to Jewish prisoners in World War Two concentration camps assigned by Nazi guards to supervise fellow inmates. J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group, told supporters Friedman's appointment was "unacceptable" and it would fight to persuade U.S. senators not to confirm his nomination. (Additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) On Dec. 16, President-elect Donald Trump again questioned the alleged Russian cyberattack during the 2016 election and seemed to praise the revelations from WikiLeaks. Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway also suggested if President Obama and Hillary Clinton "loved the country enough" they'd shut down talk of the hacking. A charity auction for lunch with Ivanka Trump was also canceled in the wake of criticism of paying for access to the future first family. Yahoo's Summer Delaney gives you the latest on the Trump transition in 60 seconds or less. Potentially fueling the worries of fearful Muslims around the country, U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-New York) reportedly encouraged President-elect Donald Trump to create a federal surveillance program to monitor Muslims similar to the one New York instituted following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Newsday reported. Saying political correctness should be avoided, the Republican Congressman who met with Trump Thursday told reporters he had ideas for the FBI and Justice Department to be more leaning forward when it comes to investigating Islamist terrorism. King cited the work of former New York City Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly, who had the program in place as early as 2002 and employed the NYPDs Intelligence Division and a number of other divisions to monitor Muslim communities and mosques within 100 miles of the city, the American Civil Liberties Union explains. While stating he didnt ask Trump about his feelings on a new national surveillance program, King did tell Newsday that Trump agreed the country needed to step up its battle against terrorism. During the roughly hour-long meeting, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and CIA Director-nominee and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas) were present along with two other officials. The revelation could incite real fears that have spread around Muslims communities both during Trumps campaign and following his victory last month. The billionaires path to the White House was built on his stance on a number of issues, but his anti-immigration platform and use of the term radical Islamic terrorism were seen as two of his most controversial talking points that prompted critics to label Trump as a racist. Many also believe it helped Trump sweep up a huge swath of the electorate in the south and Midwest. The FBI and other agencies have used the terrorist watch list and the no-fly list as well as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration system that was ended in 2011 due to concerns it was unfairly targeting Muslims - to monitor potential threats around the country. Those tactics were employed after the terror attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York and Washington D.C. However, Trump has repeatedly spoken of either outright banning Muslims from entering the country or making a registry. Story continues In order to pull off such a task, Trump would need at least some cooperation from the countrys leading technology experts. More than 1,200 employees from some of the top innovative companies like Google and Twitter have vowed in an open letter not to help the new administration build any sort of registry. "We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administrations proposed data collection policies," the letter posted at neveragain.tech reads. "We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable." Related Articles Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump's White House chief of staff designate Reince Priebus huddled with a dozen of his predecessors Friday, including John Podesta, the Hillary Clinton campaign chief now at the center of the Russian hacking controversy. Priebus sat in the White House office he is set to occupy from January 20, after a lunch invitation from its current occupant Denis McDonough. Around the long rectangular table sat a dozen White House gatekeepers going back to Jimmy Carter's administration. They included Podesta -- Bill Clinton's chief of staff -- who was on the receiving end of Russian hacking during the campaign for the White House. In the brief glimpse journalists were given of the meeting, Podesta, who was Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman, sat sternly as other participants laughed and joked. In the last weeks of the campaign, WikiLeaks dumped thousands of emails -- ranging from the politically explosive to the mundane -- hacked from Podesta's Gmail account. In an article in the Washington Post on Friday Podesta decried a "Russian plot to sabotage Hillary Clintons campaign and elect Donald Trump." The White House has pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin's direct involvement. Priebus was one of the few establishment Republicans to back Trump early on. He has never held senior government office, so may well have asked for tips from figures who ran the White House during the Cold War, after 9/11 and the Iran hostage crisis. A White House official said the meeting was "part of the president's directive for a smooth transition to the next administration." In 2008, then White House chief of staff Josh Bolten held a similar meeting for his successor, Obama's first top aide Rahm Emanuel. Tunis (AFP) - Tunisia's prime minister said Friday that his government would seek to amend a controversial law that allows men who rape underage girls to avoid punishment by marrying their victims. Youssef Chahed's comments come two weeks after a Tunisian court approved the marriage of a 13-year-old girl to a relative who made her pregnant, under the terms of Article 227. The ruling infuriated non-governmental organisations who said the girl was raped. Dozens of people staged a protest outside parliament on Wednesday, denouncing Article 227 as a "backward" piece of legislation that should be revoked. Discussion of a draft law to be submitted to parliament to amend the article should be a "priority" pending a review of "all articles concerning the fight against violence targeting women", Chahed told Mosaique FM radio. Article 227 states that a man who has sex with a girl under 15 years old without the use of force can be sentenced to a six-year jail term but proceedings against him would be halted if he marries his victim. A bill to counter violence against women was drafted in 2014 but is still waiting to be discussed in parliament. "Our country can no longer refer to laws that are old fashioned and which do not reflect the spirit of rights and liberties," said the 41-year-old prime minister. Chahed, whose country is viewed as being ahead of most Arab countries on women's rights, said Friday that 2017 "will be the year of the child" in Tunisia. He said he will strive to draw up a strategy to improve the lives of children in Tunisia, particularly in the field of education. A planned wedding party for the girl involved in the recent case has been scrapped after the government's child protection office called for the marriage to be annulled. "When it's a 13-year-old child, we can't talk of a sexual relation with consent. It's rape," the agency's representative Houda Abboudi said earlier this week. "The court's decision didn't take into account the interests of this child," she said. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey has formally arrested an executive of Dogan Holding, a conglomerate with major media interests, in a widening probe into a U.S.-based cleric Ankara accuses of masterminding July's attempted coup. State-run Anadolu agency said late on Thursday that a court had remanded the executive in custody on an accusation of "aiding a terror group" as part of an investigation into the exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers. Ankara refers to the group as the "Gulenist Terror Organisation". Dogan Holding, which includes the country's largest media group, said on Dec. 1 that executive Barbaros Muratoglu was being investigated, triggering concern that a post-coup crackdown may spread to the country's top companies. Dogan's Hurriyet newspaper also reported his formal arrest on its website. Officials from the group were not immediately available to comment. Since the failed putsch on July 15, authorities have detained or dismissed more than 100,000 people in the police, judiciary and civil service and formally arrested nearly 41,000. Nearly 600 companies have been also seized, many of them smaller provincial firms, over links to Gulen. The cleric, a former ally turned political foe of President Tayyip Erdogan, has denied involvement in the coup. Dogan has interests in media, finance, energy and tourism. (Reporting by Birsen Altayli; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Tom Heneghan) President-elect Donald Trump 's pledge to keep auto industry jobs in the United States may have some unintended consequences. Trump has said he intends to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement in a bid to keep factories and jobs from moving across the border. But data from the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research suggests a 35 percent tariff on imported vehicles would lead to the loss of 6,700 auto industry jobs in the United States due to higher costs. The tariff would also reduce the number of total vehicles sold annually in the United States by 450,000. "It would be a pretty huge impact on the auto industry, and also very geographically focused on certain parts of our auto industry," said Kristin Dzizcek, a Director with the Center for Automotive Research, which is funded by auto manufacturers. Mexico's auto industry is in the midst of a decade-long boom in production. By the end of 2017, Mexico will build 4.17 Million vehicles, making it the seventh largest country for auto manufacturing in the world. While vehicles built south of the border are increasingly shipped to countries worldwide, the biggest market for Mexico-made autos is the United States, including 1.8 million in 2015. "It would be a pretty huge impact on the auto industry, and also very geographically focused on certain parts of our auto industry," said Kristin Dziczek, a director with the Center for Automotive Research, which is funded by auto manufacturers. Mexico's auto industry is in the midst of a decade-long boom in production. By the end of 2017, Mexico will build 4.17 million vehicles, making it the seventh largest country for auto manufacturing in the world. While vehicles built south of the border are increasingly shipped to countries worldwide, the biggest market for Mexican-made autos is the United States, including 1.8 million in 2015. If President-elect Trump starts taxing cars and trucks coming from Mexico, the impact will ripple beyond companies General Motors (GM), Ford (F), Toyota (7203.T-JP) and virtually every major automaker. Auto parts companies, materials suppliers, and other firms that contribute to the content in vehicles made in Mexico could also take a hit. Story continues "Focusing purely on where the final assembly plant is, I think, displays a lack of knowledge on how the automobile industry actually works," said Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of General Motors. Instead of giving incentives to automakers to keep operations and jobs in the U.S., the unwinding of NAFTA would likely lead to automakers shift production from Mexico to other low-cost countries, including China, India and other parts of Asia. "If we close off Mexico it becomes a game of Whac-a-Mole," Dziczek said. "Where else do you close off next? Because they are going to move from other places." TORONTO (Reuters) - Two Canadian gold miners shuffled their executive ranks on Friday, as Goldcorp Inc promoted a senior vice president to replace Chief Operating Officer George Burns, hired by Eldorado Gold Corp as chief executive officer. The shake-up came as a number of global mining CEOs are at or nearing retirement age amid a shortage of top talent with the right skills and experience to steer the sector out of troubled times. Burns, the COO of Goldcorp since 2012, will take leadership of Eldorado in April from Paul Wright, who had been appointed president and CEO in 1999. Wright will become chairman of Eldorado's board of directors and current chairman Robert Gilmore will move to vice chairman. Burns will head a growth phase at Vancouver-based Eldorado, overseeing development projects in Greece on Olympias Phase 2 and the construction of Skouries, along with the likely development of Tocantinzinho in Brazil. Eldorado also has operations in Turkey, Serbia and Romania. Burns, who will also join Eldorado's board, has 30 years experience in the mining sector with gold, copper and coal miners and was COO at Toronto-headquartered Centerra Gold before joining Goldcorp. Goldcorp, the world's third-biggest gold producer by market value, appointed senior vice president Todd White as COO, starting Jan. 1. White, previously senior vice president South America at Newmont Mining, joined Vancouver-based Goldcorp in 2014 and has two decades of mining experience. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) By Daniel Wiessner Dec 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a nearly decade-old lawsuit by Edison International employees in California who say the utility favored higher-cost mutual funds over lower-cost ones in its retirement plan. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the U.S. Supreme Court in a May 2015 decision in the case ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), governing pensions and other employee benefits, created an ongoing duty for fiduciaries like Edison to monitor investments. The decision by an 11-judge panel of the court overturned an April ruling by a three-judge 9th Circuit panel that had sided with Edison after the Supreme Court revived the case. It showed how the Supreme Court decision could make it easier for 401(k) plan participants to sue employers for choosing investments that impose excessive fees. In the April decision, the 9th Circuit said Edison employees could not argue in their appeal that the company had an ongoing duty to monitor investments because it had not made that claim in earlier court proceedings. But the court on Friday said it was Edison that failed to previously raise the argument that the employees had waived the ongoing duty claim, and could not do so now. The employees filed suit in 2007 against Edison subsidiary Southern California Edison Co. The company in a statement on Friday said it was committed "to providing a wide array of high-quality investment options" for employees. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not respond to a request for comment. The employees said the company breached its fiduciary duty by, among other things, offering higher-cost mutual funds to plan participants despite the fact that identical lower-cost funds were available. The main legal issue was whether some of the lawsuit's claims were barred by a six-year statute of limitations under ERISA. The Supreme Court said liability is triggered by the fiduciary's ongoing role monitoring the plan's performance, so the six-year clock routinely resets. Story continues In 2010, a federal judge in California said the claims against Edison were time-barred. The 9th Circuit agreed in a 2013 decision that the 2015 Supreme Court decision overturned. The case is Tibble v. Edison International, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 10-56406. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and David Gregorio) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A U.S agency on Friday endorsed an expensive plan to expand and repair the busy U.S. Northeast Corridor rail lines over the next three decades, adding new tracks in most locations and cutting the time to travel from Washington to New York by 35 minutes. But it will be up to the incoming Donald Trump administration and Congress, states, cities and railroads to decide whether to move forward with expensive improvements. New projects and tracks will require more review and more environmental studies, as well as significant funding. Trump has promised to spend billions of dollars on improvements in U.S. infrastructure such as highways, bridges and mass transit The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Friday recommended adding new tracks to increase the Northeast Corridor to four tracks in most locations - an expansion it says it would result in 4 billion fewer miles a year traveled on U.S. roads. The FRA also proposes adding many regional trains and providing up to five times more intercity trains. It estimates the plan's total cost at $123 billion to $128 billion. In 2012, at the urging of Congress, Northeastern states and the federal agency began working together to develop a plan for the corridor. Under the proposal, the agency said, travel time from Boston to New York would be 45 minutes faster for a total time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, while travel from New York to Washington would be 35 minutes faster for a total time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. About 750,000 people a day ride along some section of the 457-mile (735-km) corridor, making them the busiest rail lines in the United States, while 70 freight trains use the corridor daily, moving over 350,000 carloads of freight annually. Amtrak's high-speed Acela passenger train plies the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, but currently cannot hit top speeds on many sections of the railroad because of the condition of the tracks. Story continues The FRA also proposes adding intercity access to Philadelphia Airport so that passengers do not have to change trains at 30th Street Station and adding direct service to Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The agency also proposes bringing the current corridor back to good condition before expanding it. The FRA estimates the project would create 47,000 jobs a year for 30 years. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S agency on Friday endorsed an expensive plan to expand and repair the busy U.S. Northeast Corridor rail lines over the next three decades, adding new tracks in most locations and cutting the time to travel from Washington to New York by 35 minutes. But it will be up to the incoming Donald Trump administration and Congress, states, cities and railroads to decide whether to move forward with expensive improvements. New projects and tracks will require more review and more environmental studies, as well as significant funding. Trump has promised to spend billions of dollars on improvements in U.S. infrastructure such as highways, bridges and mass transit The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Friday recommended adding new tracks to increase the Northeast Corridor to four tracks in most locations - an expansion it says it would result in 4 billion fewer miles a year traveled on U.S. roads. The FRA also proposes adding many regional trains and providing up to five times more intercity trains. It estimates the plan's total cost at $123 billion to $128 billion. In 2012, at the urging of Congress, Northeastern states and the federal agency began working together to develop a plan for the corridor. Under the proposal, the agency said, travel time from Boston to New York would be 45 minutes faster for a total time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, while travel from New York to Washington would be 35 minutes faster for a total time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. About 750,000 people a day ride along some section of the 457-mile (735-km) corridor, making them the busiest rail lines in the United States, while 70 freight trains use the corridor daily, moving over 350,000 carloads of freight annually. Amtrak's high-speed Acela passenger train plies the Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, but currently cannot hit top speeds on many sections of the railroad because of the condition of the tracks. Story continues The FRA also proposes adding intercity access to Philadelphia Airport so that passengers do not have to change trains at 30th Street Station and adding direct service to Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. The agency also proposes bringing the current corridor back to good condition before expanding it. The FRA estimates the project would create 47,000 jobs a year for 30 years. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Republican members of Congress are complaining that U.S. intelligence agencies are refusing to brief them widely on a classified CIA report that concluded Russia hacked Democratic Party data in an effort to help Donald Trump win the presidency. The Republicans said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has refused their requests for full briefings of Congress' two intelligence committees. U.S. government officials said the leaders of Congress and the chairmen of the two intelligence committees, known as the "Gang of Eight," have been briefed on the CIA's conclusion. Nevertheless, Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is a member of President-elect Trump's transition team, as well as the Gang of Eight, has called for a briefing for his entire committee on the CIA assessment, which the Washington Post reported on last week. "The committee is vigorously looking into reports of cyber-attacks during the election campaign, and in particular we want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us," Nunes said. Representative Ron Johnson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his panel also has asked for a briefing but the CIA refused. "It is disappointing that the CIA would provide information on this issue to the Washington Post and NBC but will not provide information to elected members of Congress," Johnson said in a statement on Friday. Three U.S. government sources, who all asked for anonymity to discuss classified information, told Reuters that the while the full congressional committees have not been briefed, the congressional leadership has, which is the standard procedure for briefing Congress on sensitive intelligence. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement that because President Barack Obama last week ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full-scale "review of foreign efforts to influence recent presidential elections - from 2008 to the present," the agencies would not comment further until the study is completed. Story continues BRIEFING TO FOLLOW ODNI, which oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, said that when the review is complete, the U.S. intelligence community "stands ready to brief Congress." The office said it also would make the study "available to the public consistent with protecting intelligence sources and methods." The CIA based its conclusion about Russia hacking to influence the election not on irrefutable evidence but largely on its analysis of the fact that the Russians hacked both political parties while only publicizing information damaging to Democrats and their presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, said a fourth U.S. official familiar with the agency's work. The FBI, which has responsibility for counterintelligence investigations inside the United States, did not endorse the CIA's finding because it does not meet the standards of evidence necessary to win a conviction in a U.S. court or identify individuals whose hacking violated American law, the fourth official said. "The CIA's case would never hold up in court but it is almost impossible to reach a different conclusion than the agency did based on the selective nature of what the Russians did and did not choose to publicize," the official said. ODNI has not endorsed the CIA's conclusion but does not dispute it. Two sources said there was "no daylight" between ODNI and CIA on the issue. An ODNI spokesman said the agency would not comment beyond its official statement. The debate over Russian hacking, which three officials said has continued after Election Day and extends beyond the election to multiple U.S. government agencies, as well as to private firms and individuals, also is opening a rift between Trump and some Republican members of Congress. The president-elect continues to dismiss the intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the hacking of this year's election but Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are calling for a full investigation. On Friday, Senator Richard Burr, Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced his committee will conduct a review in the new year of U.S. intelligence on Russian activities, including the classified information that led to the Obama administration's Oct. 7 statement that Moscow was behind the hacking of U.S. political institutions. The review also will cover Russian cyber activity more broadly, he said in a statement. Burr said the review will include interviews of both Obama and Trump officials, "including the issuance of subpoenas if necessary to compel testimony." (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by John Walcott and Bill Trott) By Mark Hosenball Republican members of Congress are complaining that U.S. intelligence agencies are refusing to brief them widely on a classified CIA report that concluded Russia hacked Democratic Party data in an effort to help Donald Trump win the presidency. The Republicans said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has refused their requests for full briefings of Congress' two intelligence committees. U.S. government officials said the leaders of Congress and the chairmen of the two intelligence committees, known as the "Gang of Eight," have been briefed on the Central Intelligence Agency's conclusion. Nevertheless, Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee and is a member of President-elect Trump's transition team as well as the Gang of Eight, has called for a briefing for his entire committee on the CIA assessment. "The committee is vigorously looking into reports of cyber-attacks during the election campaign, and in particular we want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us," Nunes said.Representative Ron Johnson, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his panel also has asked for a briefing but the CIA refused. "It is disappointing that the CIA would provide information on this issue to the Washington Post and NBC but will not provide information to elected members of Congress," Johnson said in a statement on Friday. Three U.S. government sources, who all asked for anonymity to discuss classified information, told Reuters that while the full congressional committees have not been briefed, the congressional leadership has, which is the standard procedure for briefing Congress on sensitive intelligence. The sources said that Nunes was personally briefed on the CIA finding. A congressional official denied Nunes was briefed, however. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement that because President Barack Obama last week ordered the intelligence community to conduct a full-scale "review of foreign efforts to influence recent presidential elections from 2008 to the present," the agencies would not comment further until the study is completed. BRIEFING TO FOLLOW ODNI, which oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, said that when the review is complete, the U.S. intelligence community "stands ready to brief Congress." The office said it also would make the study "available to the public consistent with protecting intelligence sources and methods." The CIA based its conclusion about Russia hacking to influence the election not on irrefutable evidence but largely on its analysis of the fact that the Russians hacked both political parties while only publicizing information damaging to Democrats and their presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, said a U.S. official familiar with the agency's work, who also requested anonymity. Two of the government sources said on Friday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation now backs the CIA assessment that the Russian hacks were aimed at helping Trump win. The ODNI also agrees with the assessment, all three government sources said. There was no immediate comment from the FBI. The FBI, which has responsibility for counterintelligence investigations inside the United States, initially did not endorse the CIA's finding because it did not meet the standards of evidence necessary to win a conviction in a U.S. court or identify individuals whose hacking violated American law, one source said.The debate over Russian hacking also is opening a rift between Trump and some Republican members of Congress. The president-elect continues to dismiss the intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the hacking. On Friday, Senator Richard Burr, Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced his committee will conduct a review in the new year of U.S. intelligence on Russian activities and its cyber activity more broadly. The review will include questioning of both Obama and Trump officials, including the issuance of subpoenas if necessary to compel testimony, Burr said in a statement. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Warren Strobel, John Walcott and Tom Brown) A British court has sentenced an Everton man who admitted to uploading and distributing pirated songs to 12 months in prison, a hefty sentence authorities and members of the music industry hope will send a message to other copyright infringers. It's at least the second time in recent years that a tough sentence has been handed down in the U.K. for similar offenses. In 2014, two men behind the copyright infringing forum Dancing Jesus were sentenced to a total of 53 months in prison. That same year, three co-founders of notorious torrent site The Pirate Bay were sentenced to various prison terms in various European courts. Wayne Evans, 39, pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 to two counts of distributing material infringing copyright and one count of possession of articles (i.e., computers and other equipment) for use in the fraud. The guilty plea arrived a month after police, who were accompanied by a TV crew filming a documentary about counterfeiting, found and seized several computers and hard drives during a raid of Evans' house. Evans' operation was two-pronged. An investigation helmed by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), with assistance from U.K. collecting society PRS for Music, found that the aspiring DJ uploaded bundles of top 40 chart songs to several torrent sites each week, then would use three "conduit" sites he ran to direct users to the tracks. Evans also specialized in directing people to vocal-less songs, which are popular among DJs. The court heard that Evans' batches of songs were downloaded roughly 524,000 times, and that the DJ songs were downloaded about 136,000 times. According to PRS for Music, Evans potentially cost the music industry millions of pounds during his operation; the Liverpool Echo reports that losses to PRS alone during a one-year period was calculated at 1,054,689 ($1.3 million). Evans' "conduit" sites were deejayportal.com, deejayportal.co.uk and oldskoolscouse.co.uk, all of which were hosted by GoDaddy. Story continues Speaking in court, Evans' defense attorney David Watson argued that his client was not motivated by profit, and that the industry's actual losses were "difficult to quantify in this case, because not every illegal download leads to the loss of a legitimate sale." The prosecution sought to make Evans an example to deter future piracy, as well as cast his actions as having a wide-ranging impact on jobs and the livelihoods of artists. "Today's sentencing will suggest to others that illegally distributing music is not without its consequences," lead detective Steven Kettle said in a statement. "Evans caused significant loss to the music industry and his actions will have effected jobs across the music industry." Added Simon Bourn, PRS' head of litigation, enforcement and anti-piracy: "Music piracy on a commercial scale is a serious criminal offence and this sentencing by the Crown Court acknowledges that. Copyright infringement has a severe impact on the livelihoods of creators and so it is important that PRS for Music, alongside PIPCU, continues to champion and protect our members' rights. We hope that today's sentencing sends a message to all those involved in this type of criminal activity, that consequences will follow." By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Two U.S. lawmakers are questioning whether Heritage Pharmaceuticals misled them in response to a 2014 congressional inquiry about the rising price a common antibiotic, after 20 U.S. states this week accused the company of price fixing. In a Dec. 16 letter to Heritage seen by Reuters, Maryland Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings and Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders said they feared the company was "disingenuous at best" in October 2014 when it told them it had not seen any significant price increases for its doxycycline hyclate product. "We are very concerned that you made these assertions to Congress on behalf of Heritage during the exact time period that its executives were engaged in a price fixing scheme to prevent competition from driving down prices of doxycycline hyclate," they wrote. A spokesman for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter. The letter to Heritage comes after criminal and civil charges were filed by the Justice Department and 20 states in connection with an alleged price fixing scheme involving doxycycline hyclate and glyburide, a diabetes drug. On Wednesday, the Justice Department criminally charged Heritage's former Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Glazer and former Heritage Vice President of Commercial Operations Jason Malek, accusing them of colluding with other generic manufacturers in schemes that entailed allocating market share and conspiring to raise prices. The next day, 20 states filed a parallel civil lawsuit against Heritage, along with Mylan NV, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Mayne Pharma Group, Citron Pharma and Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., saying they colluded to fix prices. The lawsuit characterized Heritage as the "ringleader," with Glazer and Malek overseeing and running the scheme. Mylan and Teva have previously denied the states' civil charges. Sanders and Cummings launched a congressional inquiry into rising generic drug prices on Oct. 2, 2014, including the price of doxycycline hyclate. Story continues As part of that, they sent a letter to Glazer while he was still CEO of Heritage to inquire about the prices. Gary Ruckelshaus, who was then Heritage's outside counsel and now serves as vice president and general counsel, responded later that month and said Heritage "has not seen any significant price increases" for the drug. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch) By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Outgoing United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Israeli lawmakers to reconsider a bill to legalize Israeli settlement homes on private Palestinian land as Arab states mull putting forward a Security Council resolution on settlements. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war. Most countries and the United Nations view Israeli West Bank settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace. "I strongly urge legislators to reconsider advancing this bill, which will have negative legal consequences for Israel and substantially diminish the chances for Arab-Israeli peace," Ban told a U.N. Security Council briefing on the Middle East. Israeli officials are concerned the bill could provide grounds for prosecution by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In the past 50 years Israel has built about 120 formal settlements on the territory. As well as those settlements, which Israel fully supports, settlers have established more than 100 outposts, many on hilltops across the West Bank, often with tacit government support. Under the proposed bill, 55 of the outposts will have official sanction, according to settlements watchdog Peace Now. Compensation would be offered to Palestinian land owners. Deputy U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison told the Security Council that Washington was "deeply disturbed" by the bill. "We believe the potential legalization of thousands of settlement housing units that are currently illegal under Israeli law would profoundly damage prospects for a two-state solution," she said. Ban also told the Security Council "the absence of Palestinian unity throughout the occupied territory presents an obstacle to the two-state solution." Diplomats said Arab ministers are due to meet next week to likely approve a draft resolution on the settlements issue that would then be circulated to the 15-member U.N. Security Council. U.S. President Barack Obama is not expected to make major moves on Israeli-Palestinian peace before leaving office, U.S. officials said earlier this month. But some U.N. diplomats hope Washington may allow Security Council action by abstaining. The United States has long protected Israel from U.N. action. New Zealand was also working on a draft U.N. resolution that would reaffirm the Security Council's commitment to a two-state solution, but Foreign Minister Murray McCully said if there was an Arab initiative then New Zealand would put its move on hold. The "Quartet" sponsoring the stalled Middle East peace process - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - said in July that Israel should stop building settlements. (Editing by Bill Trott and Jeffrey Benkoe) VIENNA (Reuters) - The head of the atomic energy watchdog agency of the United Nations will travel to Iran on Sunday for meetings about the country's implementation of its nuclear agreement with major powers, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano expressed "concerns" to Iran last month over its repeated testing of a limit under that agreement on its stock of heavy water, a substance used as a moderator in some nuclear reactors. Iran has since shipped its excess heavy water out of the country, but diplomats say it has yet to be delivered to a buyer. The United States and its allies say Tehran must do so to comply with the agreement. "The visit is part of regular high-level contacts between the agency and Iran," the IAEA, which is policing the restrictions the agreement places on Iran's nuclear activities, said in a statement. "In Tehran, the Director General will discuss Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," it said, using the official name of the deal, which also lifted international sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The row over heavy water raises questions about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will handle any such incidents after he takes office next month. He has said he would "police that contract so tough they (the Iranians) don't have a chance". The visit also comes as Iran is complaining increasingly loudly that the United States has not held up its side of the bargain, a charge Washington denies. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered his country's scientists on Tuesday to start developing systems for nuclear-powered marine vessels. He was responding to a decision by U.S. Congress to extend some sanctions against Tehran that would also make it easier to re-impose others. (Reporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Larry King) PARIS (Reuters) - U.N. envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned on Thursday that without a ceasefire or political agreement the rebel-stronghold of Idlib risked becoming a new Aleppo after the evacuation of thousands from the besieged city started. The operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from Aleppo began on Thursday, part of a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, de Mistura said some 50,000 people were still in eastern Aleppo and, to ensure a smooth process, the United Nations needed to be given permission to send more observers to the city to guarantee there were no reprisals and that aid was distributed. "There are about 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians that will go to West Aleppo. For those we need to be present to ensure they aren't 'disturbed'," de Mistura said, referring to possible atrocities already carried out in recent days. He said the remaining 10,000 were made up of between 1,500 to 5,000 fighters and their families, who would be evacuated to the northern city of Idlib. "I don't know what will happen in Idlib, but if there is no ceasefire or political accord then it will become the next Aleppo," he said. De Mistura said there were "not enough" U.N. observers on the ground at present. Ayrault, whose country on Thursday called for an urgent session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Aleppo, said he hoped the members could agree on Friday for a rapid deployment of observers. "We will look at the deployment of observers on the ground to ensure that there are no atrocities, no revenge attacks and that civilians are protected," Ayrault said. "It's possible to do this very quickly." (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Alison Williams) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday more than doubled its previous reward for information on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, offering $25 million for information that would help locate, arrest or convict the head of the jihadist group. The U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice program previously offered $10 million for information on Baghdadi, announced in October 2011. The increase was announced in a statement on Friday. Baghdadi, an Iraqi whose real name is Ibrahim al-Samarrai, declared himself the caliph of a huge swath of Iraq and Syria two years ago. His exact location is not clear. Reports have said he may be in the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, Iraq, or in Islamic State-held territory to the west of the city, close to the border with Syria. Kurdish officials believe that growing pressure resulting from a coalition military assault on Mosul is causing Baghdadi and his top lieutenants to move around and try to hide themselves. (Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati, editing by G Crosse) TAIPEI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc said it was disappointed Taiwan's legislature had passed a regulation that will raise fines sharply on unlicensed ride-sharing services to the highest level for such fines globally. The Legislative Yuan finalised an amendment bill on Friday targeting Uber by raising the maximum fine for illegal passenger transportation services to up to T$25 million ($780,000) from between NT$50,000 and NT$150,000. The move marks the latest clash in the stand-off between the Taiwan government and the global ride-sharing firm. Uber urged Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in November to let the island's people decide whether they want Uber services in Taiwan. According to Taiwan's Central News Agency, citing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Uber has been fined a total of NT$66.05 million for 465 violations and Uber drivers have been fined NT$20.028 million. Many Uber drivers in Taiwan are not licensed. Taiwan's cabinet has said policymakers had reached a consensus on raising potential fines that would affect Uber's operations in Taiwan from current levels of at most T$150,000 to as much as T$25 million. While similar fines have been imposed on ride-sharing services in other countries, the fines to be imposed by Taiwan's legislation would be the highest in the world. "This was a rushed decision, taken without consultation," the San Francisco-based company said in a statement issued late on Friday. "We are very disappointed to see the Legislative Yuan pass the amendment bill raising fines against driver-partners on the Uber app to the largest anywhere in the world." "We will continue to seek a constructive conversation with the Taiwanese government to ensure Taiwan gets the full benefits that ridesharing brings to riders, drivers and cities. We will also study the legislation before deciding on our next steps," it said. Provisions of the law, which is expected to be effective next year, could force operators in violation to shut down their business, and establish a reward system to provide incentive to report violations. Uber will seek to work with Taiwan's government towards a regulatory environment that will allow ride-sharing to flourish, David Plouffe, Uber's senior vice president of policy and strategy, said in an interview during a visit to Taipei. [ nL4N1D53I1] (Reporting by Faith Hung) While the UFC has been busy filling up the UFC 208 fight card for Brooklyn, two announced bouts on Thursday stood out amid the others. Amongst the bevy of bouts added, a heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Travis Browne promises bombs will be dropped. Another pivotal bout that stood out among Thursday's announcements was a lightweight battle between Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller. Though he was overly critical of himself in his most recent fight a victory over Shamil Abdurakhimov at UFC Albany Lewis (17-4, 1NC) has been red hot of late. After a couple of ups and downs to start his Octagon tenure, Lewis has now won five consecutive fights, four of them via knockout or TKO. It wasn't that long ago that Browne (18-5-1) was in Lewis' position as the next big thing in the heavyweight division. 2016 was tough for the Hawaiian, having won his first fight of the year, but then dropping back-to-back bouts to Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum, two former champions, to close it out. Poirier (20-5) had a successful run at featherweight, but after losing to Conor McGregor in 2014, he returned to lightweight. After winning the first four bouts of his current lightweight run, Poirier got knocked out by Michael Johnson in his last trip to the Octagon. TRENDING > Nate Diaz Says He Wants Out of MMA, Looking to Boxing Miller (28-8, 1NC) bounced back this year from a rough patch that saw him lose four out of five fights during a two-year span. He has won his three most recent fights, getting the better of the likes of Takanori Gomi, Joe Lauzon, and Thiago Alves. UFC 208 takes place on Feb. 11 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and features the promotion's inaugural women's featherweight championship between Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie. Check out the MMAWeekly.com UFC 208 event page for the full flurry of recent additions to the fight card. Follow MMAWeekly.com on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram By Natalia Zinets and Stephanie van den Berg KIEV/THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was confident parliament would approve a European Union compromise designed to rescue a cooperation accord between Ukraine and the bloc after Dutch voters rejected it in a referendum. Kiev and most EU capitals see the association agreement as crucial support for Ukraine against a Russia that is playing an assertive foreign policy role across Europe and the Middle East. EU leaders agreed on Thursday to spell out limits to the agreement to address concerns expressed by Dutch voters in an advisory referendum in April this year. The leaders agreed it did not make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, and did not entitle Kiev to financial aid or military assistance. Neither did it give Ukrainians the right to live and work in the 28-nation union. "The situation with Russia is getting ever more confrontational," Rutte told a news conference on Friday. "That is a direct threat to our stability." Highlighting Russia's occupation of parts of Ukraine, hacking attacks against Western governments and political parties and Russia's support for Syria's government in its civil war, he said it was important to assuage Dutch voter concerns without "conceding to Russia". Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the EU leaders' compromise, saying in a social media post that it was a "necessary step" towards securing the agreement. RUSSIAN SECURITY THREAT The Netherlands is the only EU country that has yet to ratify the deal, which would become void without its endorsement. Rutte said he was confident of winning a majority for the compromise in both houses of parliament, though he conceded it might take until after parliamentary elections due on March 15. Rutte's party faces competition from more anti-European parties that say the Ukraine deal must be dropped following the referendum vote. But Rutte said the Russian security threat outweighed the threat to his popularity in his calculations. Ukraine considers the agreement a symbol of its future direction, 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A pro-Russian president in Kiev was toppled by street protests in 2014 after he tried to ditch the EU accord in favor of a deal with Moscow. Russia responded by annexing Ukraine's peninsula of Crimea and went on to back a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has killed nearly 10,000 people to date. (Reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev and Stephanie van den Berg in The Hague, writing by Thomas Escritt, Editing by Angus MacSwan) Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Mostly cloudy early, then sunshine for the afternoon. High 69F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Low 53F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Nairobi (AFP) - The UN has stopped The Gambia's controversial army chief from visiting troops serving as peacekeepers in Darfur, as international pressure grows on the country's top brass to accept incoming president-elect Adama Barrow. Gambian security forces seized the country's Independent Electoral Commission on Tuesday, drawing international condemnation follosing a contested presidential election held on December 1. President Yahya Jammeh, who initially conceded defeat, has now lodged a Supreme Court case to challenge the result. A diplomatic source told AFP there were "serious concerns about this visit given the situation in Banjul, especially after the takeover of the election commission's office". "The UN has decided to cancel General Badjie's visit to Gambian peacekeepers in Sudan," the source added. Badjie has flip-flopped over his loyalty to Jammeh or Barrow. Barrow, who should be inaugurated in January, claimed Badjie had personally assured him of his support. But the general then appeared on Tuesday at high-level mediation talks in Banjul wearing a badge with Jammeh's face on it, and told journalists the incumbent was his boss. Human Rights Watch has said it is "crucial that (security forces) act in a politically neutral and professional manner". There are 213 Gambian military personnel deployed in Darfur, Sudan as part of the UN peacekeeping force stationed there. Elsewhere on Friday Senegalese President Macky Sall, whose nation almost entirely surrounds The Gambia, said a military intervention had to be the final course of action if Jammeh refuses to go. "The recourse to force must be the last step, only if diplomacy has completely failed," Sall told French television channel France 24. Sall also mooted the idea of potential protections for Jammeh if he agreed to leave. "Justice must be served but in the name of peace we must also be able to find compromises," Sall said. Los Angeles (AFP) - Unbeaten superlightweight world champion Terence Crawford, five days removed from his latest title defense, was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Thursday over a disturbance at a Nebraska car repair shop. Judge Marcena Hendrix, telling Crawford that he was not above the law, also ordered the 29-year-old champion to serve two years' probation and 120 hours of community service. He must undergo random drug and alcohol tests and pay the owner of the body shop $6,000 in restitution. Crawford is expected to serve about 53 days of his jail sentence, based on sentencing guidelines. "You've continued to act as if you are above the law, and you are not," Hendrix told Crawford, according to the newspaper Omaha World-Herald. Crawford was in court for the sentencing just five days after his technical knockout of John Molina in Omaha. The victory took Crawford's record to 30-0 with 21 wins inside the distance. Crawford had been convicted on two of three misdemeanor charges of property damage and disorderly conduct in an incident at the Omaha body shop in April, which had completed a $2,500 paint job and other work on a 1984 Chevrolet. Crawford complained that the work was poor and refused to pay the balance owed on the work. On April 14 he and some friends visited the shop and said they were taking the car, doing an estimated $3,300 worth of damage to a hydraulic lift. The Hague (AFP) - Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever said Friday it is to buy US-based haircare products maker Living Proof, as it seeks to expand its personal care portfolio. Rotterdam-based Unilever did not disclose the price paid for the brand, whose lotions and potions are billed as high-tech products based on scientific research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Living Proof, set up by entrepreneur Jon Flint together with MIT professor Robert Langer, will now form part of Unilever's Prestige portfolio, which includes brands such as Dermalogica, Kate Sommerville and REN, Unilever said in a statement. The brand makes more than 40 products including shampoos, mousses and sprays which are sold in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, Singapore and Thailand. The deal is set to be finalised early next year subject to regulatory approvals, Unilever said. The market for high-end hair products "is very attractive and offers significant for potential growth," Unilever's personal care president Alan Jope added. Unilever, which employs 169,000 people around the world, owns more than 400 brands including Dove, Lipton, Magnum and Marmite. GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States appealed on Friday against a ruling on tax breaks for Boeing, the World Trade Organization said on its website, the latest step in a more than a decade-old transatlantic spat over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus. A panel of WTO adjudicators ruled last month that a tax break from Washington state to help U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA.N) develop its new 777X jetliner was a prohibited subsidy. Details of the appeal were not immediately available, but Boeing said last month that it was confident that the United States would be able to reverse the ruling. (Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Stephanie Nebehay) The U.S. will definitely "take action" against Russia for launching cyber-attacks and trying to influence the presidential election, President Barack Obama told NPR in an exclusive interview released in part on Thursday. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action," Obama told Steve Inskeep, the host of NPR's Morning Edition program, which was set to air the full interview on Friday. "And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be." Obama didn't hint at any particular possibility, but at the same time he promised a retaliatory effort against the country that has increasingly exhibited aggressive posturing toward the U.S. in recent years. "There are still a whole range of assessments taking place among the agencies," the president continued in part. What exactly those "assessments" could lead to is anyone's guess, but considering the two countries' current, rivaling interests in Syria, the U.S. could react in a number of effective ways. One route the U.S. could consider is to launch a cyberattack of its own against Russia, which is expecting its own national elections in 2018. Polling there has already gotten underway, showing most Russian citizens are in favor of re-electing President Vladimir Putin. The Russian president had not yet formally declared his candidacy. The U.S. intelligence community has charged that Putin was not only aware of the hacking, but personally involved in it. While a cyberattack is against the law in most cases, there are ways the U.S. could escape committing an international crime for hacking, so long as national security was at stake, according to a Columbia Law School scholarly paper published in 2013. Another, more immediate possibility, is for the U.S. to move swiftly before Obama leaves office and President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Jan. 20. Trump has spoken positively of Putin and the future of Russian-American relations. Story continues The U.S. has resented Russia's military intervention in Syria, which was in the throes of civil war and served as ground zero for the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State. The terror group also known as ISIS was benefitting from Russia's military presence there, Obama said in October. Even further, Russia claimed victory Thursday for establishing Syrian government control over the violence stricken city of Aleppo, which was previously controlled by rebel forces. That assertion was likely not greeted warmly by the Obama administration, which urged a ceasefire between the warring sides long enough to evacuate civilians. But now that a Syrian human rights group has formally accused Russia of war crimes, the U.S. could try to make an extra push to punish Putin and any other officials or persons it blames for alleged hacks on the 2016 presidential election as well as the Democratic National Committee's emails. However, Russia removed itself from the International Criminal Court in November, making it unclear if the U.S. would even have a legal option to explore at all. Putin has a clear motive for authorizing the political cyberattacks, a former ambassador to Russia told NBC News. "He has had a vendetta against Hillary Clinton, that has been known for a long time because of what she said about his elections back in the parliamentary elections of 2011," said Michael McFaul, who was an American diplomat in Russia from 2012 to 2014. "He wants to discredit American democracy and make us weaker in terms of leading the liberal democratic order. And most certainly he likes President-elect Trump's views on Russia." Read the exclusive NPR report here. Related Articles Washington (AFP) - The United States and the three Baltic states neighboring Russia are trying to strike defense cooperation agreements before President Barack Obama leaves office, officials have told AFP. The three nations -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- are former Soviet states now on NATO's front line with a more assertive Russia and have watched President-elect Donald Trump's pro-Moscow rhetoric with mounting unease. Each is trying to reach a "Defense Cooperation Agreement" with Washington that will include provisions on the status of US forces deployed there. The deals will "complement the existing bilateral and NATO agreements we have in place with each Baltic state to support our rotational military presence in each country," a senior administration official told AFP. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told AFP that although there was no concern about Trump's stance -- despite his questioning of NATOs relevance -- "procedures may take longer when administrations change." "It is in our interests that it happens soon," he said. "We hope that it will happen at the beginning of next year." A similar recently signed agreement between the United States and Finland -- which also borders Russia, but is not a NATO member -- deepened cooperation on cyber security, sharing security information and expanding joint training and military exercises. The Russian military launched an incursion into Finnish airspace on the eve of the pact's signing in Helsinki. Researchers for the London-based European Leadership Network have documented six similar violations of Estonian airspace by Russian aircraft this year alone. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic admit the complex deals may not be concluded before Trump takes office on January 20. But having them in place quickly would provide extra reassurance to the three US allies, who have long expressed concerns about Russia's covert intelligence and overt military actions. Story continues "The desire to have these agreements illustrates our commitment to a robust, bilateral military relationship with these three NATO allies, and we hope to finalize them soon," Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Sarah Higgins said. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in March unveiled the Pentagon's proposed budget for next year, which includes $3.4 billion -- quadruple last year's amount -- for operations in Europe. The cash will fund the so-called European Reassurance Initiative, which aims to deter Russia from carrying out additional land grabs following its 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. At a summit in Warsaw earlier this year, NATO agreed to deploy multi-national battalions to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. "The Baltic States are all eager to find ways to continue to work with the US, even as the multi-national battalions begin to take shape. These additional (pacts) are a step in that direction," said Magnus Nordenman, an expert in trans-Atlantic security at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank. "I think they could conclude this before the end of the administration. It's a quick march, but similar agreements have recently been concluded with both Sweden and Finland on relatively short timelines." Washington (AFP) - The United States filed suit in court Thursday to recover an ancient serpentine ring and gold coins trafficked by the Islamic State group in a move aimed at preventing stolen Syrian and Iraqi antiquities from disappearing into collectors' hands. The US attorney filed a forfeiture claim in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the antiquities, thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Officials have not said where the treasures might be, but the action aims to warn would-be collectors that any purchase they might make could be contested. The antiquities, including a neo-Assyrian stele, were identified from cell-phone pictures and other electronic media seized from powerful IS commander Abu Sayyaf, who was killed in a US Special Operations raid in eastern Syria in May 2015. Abu Sayyaf was in charge of raising money for IS from the antiquities trade, selling or taxing looted artifacts from the ancient and culturally rich region. The group is believed to have raked in several million dollars from the lucrative trade, the US State Department said last year. US authorities recovered extensive records of the trade in the raid, including pictures, documentation of taxes collected and sales made. There was even a claim by traders who said an IS official cheated them out of some valuable items. Assistant US Attorney Arvind Lal said the four items named in the seizure filing, the first of its kind, were the first which could be clearly identified and described for the legal action. "When the raid was conducted on Abu Sayyaf, the United States collected a lot of electronic media," like cellphones, he told AFP. "There were many, many images on that electronic media" of ancient artifacts. The court action formally laid US claim to the items based on US sanctions against IS as a foreign terrorist group. The aim, Lal said, is to put the global antiquities trade on notice that anyone who buys them will not have legal title to them. Story continues Lal would not say if the US knows where the items are: a stunning gold ring with a serpentine cameo face of the Greek goddess Tyche from 330-400 AD; second-century Roman coins featuring Antoninus Pius and Emperor Hadrian Augustus Caesar; and a cuneiform stele possibly dating to the ninth century BC. Lal said the aim is not for the US to take permanent control of the items, but eventually to return them to the authorities who are the rightful owners. "Antiquities seized in the Abu Sayyaf raid were handed over to Iraq," he noted. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Weeks after Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, some of her loyal supporters have not given up hope. Clay Pell, a vocal supporter of the Democrat during her long campaign and one of the 538 members of the Electoral College, said the process has been tarnished by Russian interference. He is leading a push for electors to be given more information about it before casting their votes Monday. Tradition holds that electors meet in their respective states and formally cast their votes without attracting much attention, but this year is "so beyond the normal bounds," said Pell, one of Rhode Island's four Democratic electors. "We as electors have a narrow role, but nonetheless it's a role in protecting the integrity of the election," Pell said in an interview this week, noting his past work in the Obama administration as a strategic planning director for the White House National Security Council. On Thursday, the Obama administration suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Trump's campaign. The White House also assailed Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russia's interference. "Only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, repeating the words from an October U.S. intelligence assessment. Pell said he began talking with electors around the country several weeks ago to gauge their thoughts about the process. Some Democrats had proposed thwarting Trump by joining Republicans in choosing a more moderate Republican alternative, such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich, but Pell called those efforts "hypothetical." "There are really so many Trump electors. It really depends on some of the Trump electors wishing to do something different and I haven't heard or seen that," he said. "The voters of Rhode Island voted for Hillary, so that is the way I would expect to vote, and do plan to vote," he said. "If there were a real change, I'm sure people would look at that. That hasn't been the case." Story continues An Associated Press survey of the electors found little appetite for such an insurgency. Only one of the Republicans interviewed by the AP said he would vote against the president-elect. Trump won 306 electoral votes last month, well above the 270 he needs to make him president. Although Democrats in Pell's tiny state went for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primary, Pell's support for Clinton, the former secretary of state, has been unwavering. Pell's wife, the Olympic gold medalist figure skater Michelle Kwan, was a prominent Clinton campaign surrogate. His grandfather, the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell, is the namesake behind the federal government's college financial aid Pell Grants that Clinton promised to protect. Pell is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve with his own political aspirations. He was the third-place Democratic primary candidate for Rhode Island governor in 2014, and has held several jobs in the Obama administration. When news broke late last week of the CIA's conclusion that Russia likely sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of Trump, Pell and nine other electors all but one of them Democrats quickly crafted and published an unprecedented letter to U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper demanding a briefing. Their letter, now with dozens of signatures, described the Electoral College as a deliberative body whose members have more than an "empty or formalistic task" to summarily cast their votes. "There's been an attack on the integrity of the United States," Pell said this week. "As a person with a background in national security, I take that very seriously." ____________ Associated Press writer Cathy Bussewitz reported from Honolulu. UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Friday she favors a French-drafted U.N. resolution calling for independent international monitors to oversee the evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters from war-torn Aleppo. But Russia's ambassador was not as quick to embrace the plan, saying "it takes weeks to deploy observers." The comments by Samantha Power and Vitaly Churkin to reporters came after a closed-door Security Council meeting called by France on the Syrian government takeover of eastern Aleppo, which had been a rebel stronghold in the civil war since 2012. Power said the council could vote this weekend on the resolution, but an emergency special session of the General Assembly is possible if the council reaches a stalemate. "The least that Russia can do is ensure that monitors are there," Power said. "Surely that is not too much to ask." Churkin, whose country has been an ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad in his war against opposition fighters, opposed that idea of a General Assembly emergency session, saying he didn't see "what useful purpose" it would serve. He said the most urgent task in Syria now is to end all military activities and resume negotiations between the government and opposition. The Russian ambassador told the Security Council during an open meeting on Middle East affairs earlier Friday that "Damascus has more than once confirmed its readiness to take part in these negotiations." Evacuations from eastern Aleppo sealed the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold and marked a watershed moment in the country's civil war, now in its sixth year. An overnight evacuation effort stalled after an eruption of gunfire raised fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. Earlier, outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. stands ready to help rescue as many people as possible even as the overnight rescue operation had to be suspended. Story continues Speaking to reporters during his final news conference at U.N. headquarters, Ban called the war in Syria "heart-breaking for me." He said thousands of people had been evacuated from eastern Aleppo overnight with the help of U.N. agencies, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, including 194 patients who were moved into hospitals in other parts of Syria and Turkey. "I feel very much regret we had to stop this operation at this time," he said. Power said humanitarian affairs chief Stephen O'Brien addressed the Security Council during its closed meeting and he described a nightmarish situation on the ground in eastern Aleppo. "People are freezing, hungry and still being bombarded," she said. She said a cease-fire needed to be "up and running again." New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully told Security Council members that the council has so far been unable to meet its responsibilities of removing civilians and providing humanitarian aid to the city. "Unless that is going to change, it is our view that an emergency special session of the General Assembly is an appropriate next step," he said. Vail Resorts' recent acquisitions - a $1.06 billion purchase of Canada's Whistler Blackcomb and a $136 million buyout of Australia's Perisher - is bringing an increasing amount of international travelers to its U.S. destinations and, somewhat surprisingly, many of those guests are from Mexico. Not surprisingly, due to the company's EPIC season pass, which can be used at any resort under Vail's umbrella from California to Canada, international travelers at the Park City, Utah, destination are mostly from Australia - as Perisher season pass holders take advantage of the free range, said Park City CEO Bill Malone. However, Malone said Mexico is the second country that Park City experiences the largest wave of guests from. There are questions surrounding what effect the soon-to-be President Donald Trump will have on international travel - particularly from Mexico and the Middle East - as during his campaign, Trump proposed barring Muslims from entering the U.S. and building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. While Malone said he does not foresee a negative effect stemming from Trump's presidency - and even praised him for suggesting that the U.S. host the Olympics again, alluding to when the 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Salt Lake City - the Mexican people are not so confident. Mexican dance group Grupo Folklorico - made up of middle- and high-school children from Instituto Blaise Pascale in Oaxaca - cancelled a scheduled April trip to Palo Alto, Calif., last week due to "the socio-political situation in the U.S.A." Too many parents were fearful of sending their children to the U.S. under a Trump presidency, the dance group told the Huffington Post last Friday, Dec. 9. "I think our business would do well no matter which candidate was elected," Malone said. Meanwhile, season passes - largely bought by international travelers because they essentially pay for themselves in six ski days - have helped Park City hedge against the rise in global temperatures. Story continues Adults can purchase the EPIC season pass for $769 while children receive the pass for a $399 discounted price. An adult single-day ticket costs $124 and a child single-day ticket amounts to $79. Park City had to delay its slope opening by eight days this year due to warmer weather in November but because people primarily purchase season passes - and book their stay at Park City in May - ahead of the ski season, the company did not experience much of a profit loss. Park City delayed its slope opening from Nov. 18 to Nov. 26. The average person spends about $400 a day on other activities at the ski resort including concert events and "paddleboard yoga," where people can take yoga classes in 95-degree water in the nearby 10,000-year-old Homestead Crater, Malone said. "With global warming predicted to raise winter temperatures four to 10 degrees Fahrenheit this century, ski resorts must deploy new tactics to prevent economic loss," Malone said. Park City invests heavily in new technology related to snow making, to ensure even in warmer years its profits will not suffer. Malone added that November sales make up only an estimated 4.7% of Park City's total annual revenue. Shares of Vail slipped leading up to the company's first quarter earnings report on Dec. 9 due to some investor concerns that it would lower guidance because of November's warmer-than-expected weather. The company instead reiterated its full year EBITDA guidance range between $567 million and $597 million. November results "represent a relatively small portion of our revenues for the ski season," Vail CEO Rob Katz said on the company's earnings call. Malone said Park City's peak months are January, February and March. Shares of Vail rose just under $1 to $161.41 on Friday afternoon. EXCLUSIVE OFFER: See inside Jim Cramers multi-million dollar charitable trust portfolio to see the stocks he thinks could be potentially HUGE winners. Click here to see his holdings for FREE. Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's highest court struck down a motion by lawmakers that held President Nicolas Maduro liable for the country's political and economic crisis. Lawmakers in the opposition-controlled National Assembly voted to ask state attorneys on Tuesday to investigate Maduro with a view to prosecution. But the Supreme Court on Thursday pronounced the statement null, void and "manifestly unconstitutional." The lawmakers had wanted to relaunch efforts to drive Maduro from power after negotiations to ease the crisis stalled. The opposition MUD coalition has been divided over whether to pursue talks with Maduro's government. The president has consistently blocked the legislature's efforts to challenge his power since the opposition took over the assembly in January. He retains the support of the military and key state institutions including the Supreme Court, which has frequently overruled the legislative assembly. Maduro's allies in the assembly boycotted Tuesday's session, branding the motion a "coup d'etat." An economic crisis fueled by falling prices for Venezuela's crucial oil exports has led to food shortages and riots in recent months. The socialist president says the crisis is a US-backed conspiracy. The opposition blames his economic management. By Jessica Toonkel (Reuters) - Controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone will step down from the Viacom board of directors after the company's annual meeting in February, according to a company filing on Friday. The ailing, 93-year old Redstone, who has not attended an annual investor meeting since 2014, will continue to participate in meetings in a "non-voting" role, according to the filing. It was Redstone's decision to step down, according to a source familiar with the situation, who did not want to be named because discussions were private. Redstone's decision marks the end of an era for the elder media mogul, who once considered Viacom his crown jewel. He bought Viacom through a hostile takeover in 1987, and later added Paramount Pictures and CBS. He split Viacom from CBS in 2006. However, Redstone's health and mental capacity has been a point of inquiry as of late. The media mogul has trouble speaking and needs around-the-clock care, according to court documents filed in a suit by his former girlfriend questioning his mental capacity. Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone control Viacom, which owns cable networks including Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, and CBS Corp , home to HBO and shows like "The Big Bang Theory," through their privately held movie theater company National Amusements Inc. The announcement that Redstone is stepping down from the board came just days after he and Shari Redstone withdrew a proposal for CBS and Viacom to explore a merger. Redstone resigned as executive chair of the board last February to become chairman emeritus. He was replaced by then-Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman, who departed in August after losing a fight for control of the company to the Redstones. Redstone stepped down as executive chair of CBS when he became chairman emeritus at Viacom. A CBS spokesman declined to comment if Redstone would step down from the CBS board. CBS' proxy comes out in the spring because it operates on a different fiscal calendar than Viacom. Viacom is working to turn itself around as it has suffered from declining ratings and advertising revenue. Shares of Viacom rose 2.5 percent to $35.77 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. (Reporting By Jessica Toonkel; Editing by Anna Driver, Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli) Hanoi (AFP) - A court in communist Vietnam jailed two activists for over a decade on Friday after finding them guilty of attempting to launch a democratic revolution, their lawyers said. The authoritarian country leans on a raft of broadly-worded national security laws to detain dissidents and dole out lengthy jail terms, drawing frequent criticism from rights groups and Western governments. On Friday, a court in northern Thai Binh province convicted activists Tran Anh Kim, 67, and Le Thanh Tung, 48, of attempting to overthrow the government by "setting up a democratic force for revolution," said Tung's lawyer Vo An Don. Kim, a former soldier, was handed 13 years while Tung was sentenced to 12. Both were re-arrested last year only several months after they had finished jail terms for national security offences. Tung's lawyer told AFP after the trial that his client had been "wrongly charged". "It was just an intention. Vietnamese laws do not ban people from having the intention of setting up associations," he said. Kim's lawyer Tran Thu Nam also slammed Friday's trial as "not objective". Both will also be placed under probation for five years after they serve their sentences, the lawyers added. All newspapers and television channels are state-run in Vietnam, which ranks 175 out of 180 on Reporters Without Borders' latest press freedom index. Bloggers and activists have taken to social media in recent years to voice anti-government views but are routinely subject to arbitrary detention and jail time. According to Amnesty International, at least 45 people behind bars in Vietnam are "prisoners of conscience". SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Volkswagen, U.S. regulators and attorneys for vehicle owners have made "substantial progress" on a deal for the remaining 80,000 diesel cars caught in the company's emissions cheating scandal but need more time to negotiate, a federal judge said Friday. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco gave the parties until Monday to report back on whether they had reached a settlement. He said he was optimistic a resolution would be reached after twice postponing a hearing to give the parties more time to talk. At issue is what to do with about 80,000 3-liter diesel cars that spewed excess pollution after being programmed to cheat on emissions tests. Volkswagen attorney Robert Giuffra has said the company believes it can recall and fix the 3-liter vehicles without affecting their performance. The German automaker previously reached a deal for the other 475,000 polluting vehicles in the scandal. That settlement gives owners of those 2-liter diesel cars the option to have Volkswagen buy back their vehicles regardless of condition for the full trade-in price on Sept. 18, 2015, when the scandal broke, or pay for repairs. Regulators have not approved any fixes for the 2-liter cars. Either way, Volkswagen also will pay owners $5,100 to $10,000 each, depending on the age of the car and whether the owner had it prior to Sept. 18 of last year. Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $10 billion compensating consumers. The settlement also includes $2.7 billion for unspecified environmental mitigation and $2 billion to promote zero-emissions vehicles. The global scandal erupted last year when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests. Car owners and the U.S. Department of Justice sued. The software recognized when the cars were being tested on a treadmill and turned on pollution controls. The controls were turned off when the cars returned to the road. The EPA alleged the scheme let the cars spew up to 40 times the allowable limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans. The scandal has damaged Volkswagen's reputation and hurt its sales. The company has reached a separate $1.2 billion deal with its U.S. dealers and is still facing potentially billions more in fines and penalties and possible criminal charges. (Credit: Fox/HBO/Comedy Central/ABC/CBS/FX) Its time for the Yahooies, Yahoo TVs second annual reader-voted awards honoring the best and sometimes worst of 2016. Each day through Dec. 16, we will announce the nominees for one category, with an accompanying poll. The winners will be crowned Monday, Dec. 19. The nominees for Best Show That Got Canceled in 2016 are (Credit: Kelsey McNeal/ABC/Getty Images) Agent Carter (ABC) Think Peggy Carter was just Captain Americas almost-girlfriend? Think again. Over the course of its too short two-season run, Agent Carter established its heroine as one of the Marvel Universes bravest, boldest avengers. Captain America: Civil War confirmed her demise in the Marvel Cinematic Universes present day timeline, but were sure there are still plenty of one-shot adventures left to be told from her illustrious career. Ethan Alter (Credit: Jeff Neumann/CBS/Getty Images) BrainDead (CBS) Was this political drama from The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King unexpectedly offbeat? Yes, the story revolved around Washingtons elite getting alien bugs who really, really like the Cars tune You Might Think in their heads. But once you got used to the tone, you could sit back and enjoy the Kings commentary on the theatrics and extremism of politicians today (and the sexy chemistry between stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Tveit, whose characters found love across the aisle, despite him imagining her having sex with Michael Moore, who had a memorable cameo). What makes us miss the show most, though? Imagine what the Kings couldve done with Trump in the White House. Mandi Bierly (Credit: Fox/Getty Images) The Grinder (Fox) Rob Lowes starring stint as actor turned wannabe lawyer Dean Sanderson seemed like the television role he had been waiting for. Ditto for fellow 80s star Fred Savage, who played his brotherly other half in this clever comedy that riffed on melodramatic procedurals and sibling rivalry. We had high hopes for a long run, with its smart writing, familiar cast, and hilarious premise, but Fox threw the gavel down after 22 episodes. Victoria Leigh Miller (Credit: Comedy Central) The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore (Comedy Central) Its a crying shame that Comedy Central pulled Wilmores show out from under him just as the presidential campaign was really gearing up. His Nightly Show was increasingly sharp and timely in its comic takes on politics, and Wilmore himself was a valuable TV presence: one of the few black hosts of a talk show, and one of the few grownups working in a talk-show genre that has become increasingly obsessed with viral videos and party games for the millennial segment of the audience. Ken Tucker (Credit: HBO) Togetherness (HBO) Kudos to the Duplass boys for ensuring that their lovely slice-of-life series which was canceled midway through its second year concluded with a season finale that doubled as a satisfying series finale. Still, were sorry not to be spending any more time in the company of the Pierson clan and their family friends, Tina and Alex. They make bad choices so we dont have to. EA (Credit: Kata Vermes/FX) Tyrant (FX) The Middle East-set political drama was at its creative peak by the end of its third season, which, sadly, was also its last. Early controversies about the shows depiction of violence and different cultures may have kept some viewers at bay permanently, but Tyrants focus on the Shakespearean family turmoil and rivalries of the Al-Fayeeds of Abuddin most certainly earned it a small but loyal fan base. Producers had a heads-up that the end might be near, so at least the series ended in a satisfying, full circle way, but we would have happily continued to tune in to see what the future held for conflicted leader Bassam. Kimberly Potts Vote now! Related: Vote for 2016s Best TV Plot Twist Vote for 2016s Best TV Sex Scene Vote for 2016s Best New Villain Vote for 2016s Breakout TV Star Vote for 2016s Best New Ensemble Cast Vote for The Best SNL Sketch of 2016 Vote for 2016s Most Shocking Moment Vote for 2016s Most Painful Death Vote for 2016s Most Infuriating Plot Twist Vote for 2016s Best Scene-Stealer Vote for 2016s Best New Couple By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay more than $200 million into a fund created to cut diesel pollution, part of its agreement over about 80,000 3.0-liter diesel vehicles that emitted more than the U.S. legal limit, a person briefed on the settlement told Reuters. The agreement is expected to be announced as early as Monday, and is in addition to $2.7 billion that VW previously agreed to pay to offset emissions from about 475,000 2.0-liter diesel vehicles. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, at a hearing that had been delayed for several hours for additional negotiations, said the parties have made "substantial progress and I am optimistic that there will be a resolution." Breyer gave the sides until Monday to report whether they can reach a final agreement on resolving the fate of the 3.0-liter vehicles. A sticking point over a comprehensive deal has been how much VW will agree to offer owners in compensation for getting vehicles repaired or selling them back. Talks among Volkswagen, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and lawyers for the suing owners have gone on for weeks. Reuters reported on Nov. 15 that Volkswagen had reached agreement with U.S. regulators for a mix of buybacks and fixes for the 80,000 polluting Audi, Porsche and VW 3.0-liter vehicles. The agreement includes a buy-back offer for about 20,000 older Audi and VW SUVs and a software fix for 60,000 newer Porsche, Audi and VW cars and SUVs, the sources said. A separate, more complex fix is expected to be offered for the older vehicles. Volkswagen in June agreed to put $2.7 billion over three years into a trust fund created to cut diesel pollution. The additional $200 million will be added. States can use the money to replace and scrap or retrofit older vehicles with new models equipped with better exhaust cleaning technology. For example, school systems driving buses 10 years old or older could get Volkswagen money to buy new models. Other eligible vehicles include tugboats, ferries, freight switchers, transit buses, medium and heavy duty trucks, airport ground support vehicles and ocean going vessels, according to settlement documents. Story continues Older diesel engines emit air pollutants linked to a range of serious health problems including asthma, lung and heart disease, other respiratory ailments, and premature death, the Environmental Protection Agency said. With the $200 million to offset 3.0-liter emissions, Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $16.7 billion to resolve U.S. diesel emissions cheating allegations. Volkswagen is also expected to face billions in fines as part of a separate potential settlement with the Justice Department to resolve an ongoing criminal investigation and a civil suit alleging civil violations of the Clean Air Act. In June, VW agreed spend up to $10.03 billion and offered to buy back 475,000 2.0-liter vehicles and offer compensation of $5,100 to $10,000 per owner. VW began buying back vehicles last month. The 2.0-liter diesel vehicles have software that allowed them to evade emissions rules in testing and emit up to 40 times the legally allowable emissions in onroad driving. The 3.0-liter vehicles have an undeclared auxiliary emissions system that allowed them to emit up to nine times allowable limits. VW has been barred since late 2015 from selling any U.S. diesels and has not said if it will resume diesel sales. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler and Grant McCool) The latest data breach to hit Yahoo could prompt users to switch to a different email service. That is, if the company's previous security lapse didn't already send them toward the exits. Yahoo on Wednesday said that a billion user accounts had been hacked in 2013, a crime that wasn't discovered until law enforcement contacted the company this fall. The revelation came just three months after the company disclosed that 500 million accounts had been compromised in 2014. According to the company, both data breaches were linked to state-sponsored actors. The stolen information includes names, phone numbers, birthdates, passwords, and security questions that could be used to reset a password. If you're a Yahoo email user who has lost confidence in the service, leaving your email account behind can seem intimidating. The same goes if you're switching from Gmail, Outlook, or any other service. But it's fairly simple. Here's how to make the move. 1. Open the New Email Account Email service providers are more than happy to nab one anothers customers, so many offer a feature to import data from one service to another. If you're switching to Gmail from another service, click Import Mail and Contacts under the Accounts and Import tab and enter your account credentials; Google can pull from Yahoo, Outlook, and AOL. Outlook.com settings include a Connected Accounts feature, which can pull email from up to 13 separate accounts. Youll have to go to another menu to sync contacts: Select People in the main Outlook Mail menu, then go to Manage > Import contacts. Switching to Yahoo takes a little more work. You have to enable an export setting in your old account first. In Gmail settings, for instance, select Enable POP for all mail in the Forwarding and POP/IMAP Settings tab. Then in Yahoo, go to the Options tab, then Mail Accounts, then Add. Importing contacts is much simpler: Just click on the Contacts tab and click on import contacts. Story continues If you check email in a browser, that's all you need to do. But if you also make use of your computer's built-in email software, read on. 2. Sync Your Desktop Clients Both Windows and Mac OS X have native mail and contacts clients that can sync data with online accounts. If you use those built-in tools, you need to tell them about your new email account. In Mail for Windows 10, select Manage Accounts in Settings, then click Add Account. If you use Googles two-step authentication feature (and you should), you may have to log in and give Windows permission to access your account. Once youre logged in via Mail, the People and Calendar apps will have access to the account, as well. Similarly, in Mac OS X, you can add email, contacts, and calendars all at once; in System Preferences select Internet Accounts then click on the + in the lower-left corner and follow the on-screen prompts. 3. Use a Backup Service This step is optional. But in addition to switching to a new account, you may also want to save an archive to a hard drive. This will give you access to your old emails even if you're offline. If that's what youre after, consider downloading or signing up for third-party software specifically designed to capture and save emails. MailStore Home, for one, is a free piece of Windows software that can back up mail from any internet account, servers such as Microsoft Exchange, or email clients including Mozilla Thunderbird. The tool creates an archive that lets you search both messages and attachments, and it has a one-click export feature can restore emails in bulk or individually. For remote access to your email data, consider the Dropmyemail service, which for $1.67 a month will keep a secure, searchable archive of your emails in the cloud. Once it's synced with an email account (the service supports all the top email providers), you can download and restore messages or migrate them to a new server. 4. Bonus Advice: Dont Forget Flickr! If you use the popular photo-sharing site, remember that your Yahoo credentials are also your Flickr credentials, so deleting Yahoo will also wipe out your pics. To download your photos, go to Camera Roll view; click Select All and then Download. Youll be left with a .zip archive file, which you can extract on your desktop or upload to Google Photos. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. Photo credit: Twitter/@DollyParton From Country Living Late last month, after wildfires near the Great Smoky Mountains ruined hundreds of houses in Sevier County, Tennessee, and even threatened Dollywood, local hero Dolly Parton started the My People Fund, pledging $1,000 a month to families whose homes had been destroyed in the fire. On Tuesday, Parton hosted the "Smoky Mountains Rise" telethon to raise money for the fund. One of the highlights of the evening was Parton's duet with Kenny Rogers. In a rare on-stage reunion, the stars sang their 1983 hit, "Islands in the Stream." Photo credit: Getty Images At the beginning of the set, Parton asked, "Do you remember this song?" but it's safe to say that the chemistry between the two stars-which once fueled rumors of a behind-the-scenes romance, according to TODAY-is still there. (Scroll to 1:38:10 to see the performance.) The televised special, which aired on cable networks and streamed live on Parton's Facebook page, included a star-studded lineup of performances by Reba McEntire, Amy Grant, Cyndi Lauper, and Chris and Morgane Stapleton. At last count, the fundraiser had earned nearly $9 million in donations. If you would like to make a donation to the fund, you can do so at dollywoodfoundation.org. (h/t TODAY) Follow Country Living on Pinterest. You Might Also Like Star Wars Hits the Theaters The Rotten Tomatoes certified fresh, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, hits the big screen today, and is expected to rake in record-breaking sales opening night. Foxs own Michael Tammero sat down with director Gareth Edwards to discuss the movie as it opens around the country, today at 2pm on The Intelligence Report with Trish Regan! Obama Press Conference President Barack Obama is scheduled to take the podium today at 2:15pm ET before heading out on his annual family vacation in Hawaii, according to the White House. Make sure to tune in to Fox Business as we take you there live! Dow 20K Watch The markets have been rising at a record pace since the election, but the wait continues to make history as the Dow slowly creeps towards 20,000. Dont miss Countdown to the Closing Bell beginning today at 3pm ET for the latest updates on Wall Street. Fake News Facebook has been under scrutiny for its fake news epidemic that some claim helped influence the election. However, the social media platform has now called on outside organizations to help minimize the presence and prominence of fake news on peoples news feeds. It appears Facebook is now toying with the idea of fact-checking news that appears on the social-networking site, something co-founder Mark Zuckerberg recently was against. Dont miss Risk & Reward with Deirdre Bolton as she breaks down the impact and controversy that surrounds fake news, beginning today at 5pm ET. Trumps Thank You Tour President-elect Donald Trump is taking the stage once again tonight at 7pm ET in Orlando, Florida, as the thank you tour continues! Dobbs has you covered in a special Lou Dobbs Tonight, beginning tonight at 7pm ET. Obama Threatens Russia The United States has promised to retaliate against Russia at a time and place of our own choosing for their role in trying to influence the elections process, President Obama said during an interview with National Public Radio. Varney & Co. has expert insight and analysis today at 9am ET as Russian hacking concerns continue to grow. Related Articles Bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman has been announced as President-elect Donald Trumps choice for ambassador to Israel. The appointment of Friedman, who once compared a Jewish lobby group to concentration camp prisoner-guards, is a controversial one and some liberal Jewish groups in the U.S. as well as a senior Palestinian cleric have openly denounced the decision. One of Friedmans more contentious views is his determination to help Trump move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is not recognized by the United Nations as the countrys capital. Heres why: After the Second World War, the State of Israel was established and gradually recognized de jure or lawfully by most of the worlds countries. However, although the U.N. recognized the state of Israel in 1948, allowing it to become a member state, it placed the whole city of Jerusalem under international control (a corpus separatum) on Dec. 13 1949. Despite this, most governmental offices moved to the city. But in 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel captured the eastern section of Jerusalem, which Jordan presided over, and declared Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration would be applied to the whole city. Israels occupation of East Jerusalem has been considered illegal under international law and was condemned by the U.N., as well as other states. In 1980, the Knesset declared that Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel, but this law was declared null by the U.N., which called for the removal of the remaining embassies in the city. A statement from Israels Foreign Ministry called the resolution unjust and additional proof that the U.N. organization has been converted into an instrument in the hands of Israels enemies in their war against her existence and independence. Countries continued to locate their foreign embassies in Tel Aviv, Israels second largest city, situated on the Mediterranean coast, and the refusal to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory has become a near-universal policy among Western nations. To this day, no countries have an embassy in Jerusalem although Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump have all called for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Both Clinton and Bush backpedaled once they were in the Oval Officebut Trump seems to be signaling he is willing to do what they would not. The U.N. still maintains its position on Jerusalem. In October 2009, the U.N.s Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Jerusalem must be the capital of both Israel and Palestineliving side-by-side in peace and security, with arrangements for the holy sites acceptable to allfor peace in the Middle East to be achieved. This is the road to the fulfilment of both the vision of [U.N.] Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, and the yearning for peace of people from all over the world, he said. The status of Jerusalem remains a crucial issue in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel remains determined that Jerusalem be its undivided capital, while Palestinians are seeking to establish their capital in East Jerusalem. Friedmans declaration upon his appointment that he is looking forward to taking up his post in the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem will surely serve to enflame tensions once again. On Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for the countrys cash crisis even though she was assassinated in 1984. Indira Gandhi is not, perhaps, the name that first comes to mind when considering the current Indian cash crisis. That would be Modis. In early November, Modi decided to ban 500 and 1000 rupee notes that is, more than 85 percent of the currency in circulation. While this move was meant to tackle corruption, it ended up tackling the national economy, including small business owners and farmers, none of whom had warning that their cash was about to be rendered cheap. Some worry that the country wont be re-monetized that is, that the worth of the cash withdrawn from demonetization until July 2017. On Friday, the final day of this parliamentary session, Modi cited a 1971 report that strongly urged Indira Gandhi to demonetize to correct corruption and alleged that her response was, Are there no more elections to be fought by Congress? Its suggested this was Modis way of juxtaposing himself so as to seem like that rarest of things: A politician who does whats right, not whats popular, even if whats right causes a disruption in trade across sectors and impacts the poor and unbanked more than it does, say, those working in technology. Still, a politician in 1971 hardly seems like the most relevant scapegoat. Unless, of course, shes the late grandmother of an opposition figure. Rahul Gandhi is a leading figure in the Indian National Congress party. He met with Modi on Friday to waive farmers loans just days after he claimed having evidence showing the current prime minister is politically corrupt. Modis party denounced the corruption allegations and called on Rahul Gandhi to apologize. Modi himself wants to meet with his rival more often and said as much on the same day he blamed Gandhis grandmother for Indias pecuniary problems. Photo credit: PRAKASH SINGH/AFP/Getty Images Land OLakes, Inc. has introduced its 2016-2017 Emerging Leaders as part of the cooperatives efforts to find sustainable, practical and achievable solutions to world hunger. The 11 leaders, all of whom are college sophomores from six universities, were selected for the third year of the Global Food Challenge Emerging Leaders for Food Security Program and will be partnered with university professors and with mentors from Land OLakes, Inc. to develop plans to fight global hunger. Rachel Anderson, Ferryville, studying mechanical engineering, has been selected to participate. Since Land OLakes, Inc. created the Global Food Challenge Emerging Leaders for Food Security fellowship in 2014 to engage future leaders in the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in the coming decades, six students from the University of Minnesota have participated. Ag is the greatest growth industry of our generation and presents many dynamic career opportunities. We need people from different backgrounds to make a difference in feeding the growing global population, said Lydia Botham, vice president, Community Relations and the Land OLakes Foundation. With the worlds population expected to rise to more than 9.7 billion people by 2050, the agriculture industrys next generation of leaders must come from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to develop sustainable solutions to increase food production by 70 percent. With Land OLakes farm-to-fork reach, combined with the bright, innovative minds of my peers, I have no doubt that together, we will be able to spread awareness and create actions to solve the global food challenge, Anderson said. Throughout the academic year, Emerging Leaders work closely with their university professors and Land OLakes employees serving as mentors to develop a project that addresses solutions for food insecurity. Theyre also tasked with engaging with their campus peers on the topic through social media. The experience includes a summer internship spent at key Land OLakes, Inc. locations, including headquarters in Minnesota, a Land OLakes, Inc. dairy member farm and member agriculture cooperatives. The students will also visit with policymakers and agricultural experts in Washington, D.C., and with smallholder farmers in Africa. They will address issues such as sustainability, global supply chains, ensuring broader access to new markets in agriculture and empowering change in communities here, near and far. Learn more about the Global Food Challenge at http://foodchallenge.landolakesinc.com. By David Ingram NEW YORK (Reuters) - A historical group on Friday began preserving thousands of sticky notes placed on the walls of a busy New York subway station over the past month to lament the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president. Distraught and defiant residents and visitors to the United States' largest city - long a Democratic and liberal stronghold - have stuck anonymous messages on the walls of Manhattan's Union Square station since Trump's Nov. 8 victory. Many of the notes express grief or pledge to turn the country in a more liberal direction. The New-York Historical Society removed 5,000 of the messages on Friday, putting them between plastic sheets and archiving them in boxes for undetermined future uses. "We are ever-mindful of preserving the memory of today's events for future generations," the society's president, Louise Mirrer, said in a statement. "Ephemeral items in particular, created with spontaneity and emotion, can become vivid historical documents," she said. The society has preserved reactions to other major events, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The sticky-note installation, known as "Subway Therapy," was the idea of a local artist who brought blank notes and pens to the station under Union Square. In seeking to preserve a variety of notes, workers took all the ones from a 20-foot (6-meter) span of wall that had some of the earliest messages posted after the election, said Margaret Hofer, museum director at the New-York Historical Society. The society may display the sticky notes in the future, although not while the project is still active on subway station walls. "To recreate it in a museum setting now is perhaps a little premature," Hofer said. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) (Adds detail) BEIRUT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Syrian state television said a young girl of about nine years of age blew herself up on Friday in a police station in the Midan neighbourhood of Damascus. State-run Ikhbariya news channel showed blurred images of what looked like a blackened girl's head in a blanket, and scenes of destruction inside what it said was the police station. State news agency SANA, quoting a Damascus police source, said there was an explosion in the police station. A witness in the area of the blast told Reuters a young girl entered the police station and, after asking to go to the toilet, blew herself up. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said there had been an explosion in the Midan area and there were reports of casualties. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Ralph Boulton) For Immediate Release Chicago, IL December 16, 2016 Zacks Value Investor is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here: ( https://www.zacks.com/stock/ news/242432/the-value- investors-1-advantage ). The Value Investors 1 Advantage Welcome to Episode #21 of the Value Investor Podcast. Every week, Zacks value stock strategist and the Editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio service, Tracey Ryniec, talks about all things happening in the value stock universe, including her top stock picks. Recently, she read an interesting article by John Huber, a portfolio manager at Saber Capital Management, which focuses on value investing, called: What is Your Edge. It listed 3 ways investors can gain an advantage in stock investing. They are: 1. Informational Advantage 2. Analytical Advantage 3. Time-horizon Advantage He believes that most investors only focus on the first advantage, information advantage, to their detriment. In the Internet age, where nearly everyone has access to information and data on companies, its nearly impossible to actually come up with new information that other investors dont yet have. There are few unknowns. Because of that, getting an advantage based on information is almost impossible to do. But the #3 advantage, the time-horizon, is often overlooked by investors. Most investors have no patience. Are you willing to hold for several quarters, as long as the fundamentals remain solid, even if the stock isnt doing much? Not many are. This is where value investors who have patience get their advantage. 3 Stocks Where Patience Is a Virtue 1. Aetna (NYSE: AET -Free Report ) traded in a narrow range for 16 months before finally moving higher after the election. It has a forward P/E of 15.9. Story continues 2. AMN Healthcare (NYSE: AMN -Free Report ) , the medical staffing company, hasnt gone anywhere even though it has beat on earnings and is expected to grow EPS by 44% this year. It has a forward P/E of 16.5. 3. Disney (NYSE: DIS -Free Report ) was on a tear for several years but has traded between $90 and $105 for most of the last year. It has a forward P/E of 17.5. Do you have the guts to stick it out with a company when the fundamentals still look solid? Professional managers usually cant have patience. They have to produce a certain performance quarter after quarter, even if it involves window dressing where they buy certain positions just to make the portfolio look good. But you dont have these restrictions. You can have patience and hold for a longer time period. There are no end-of-the-quarter numbers to publish. The only person you have to impress is yourself. There are so many traders, and computers, which are trading stocks that it is nearly impossible to get an advantage over them. But you dont need to. Your advantage is if you actually dont trade. You gain the edge by having a different time-horizon. Time is your friend. Find out more of Traceys advice about the advantage of time on this weeks podcast. Want more insights from Tracey? Check out her weekly Value Investor service to receive more in-depth analysis on value companies and see which stocks she thinks are the best bargains now. Click here to learn more. About Zacks Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros. Get the full Report on AET - FREE Get the full Report on AMN - FREE Get the full Report on DIS - FREE Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com/performance Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. 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Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report AMN HLTHCR SVCS (AMN): Free Stock Analysis Report DISNEY WALT (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. When the United States Constitution was written, things like smartphones didnt exist. and adapting the aging document to modern technology is an inexact science to say the least. A new ruling by the Florida Court of Appeals that declares a suspect must reveal his iPhone passcode to police is yet another example of this, and its a potentially troubling precedent that could have far-reaching implications. Don't Miss: How I knew Yahoo had been hacked before Yahoo did The case centers around a man, Aaron Stahl, who is accused of taking creepy upskirt photos of a woman at a Florida shopping center. She says she saw the man extending an illuminated iPhone 5 under her skirt. When she confronted him, he dropped his phone and ran out of the store, but was easily tracked down after revealing his license plate number. Police subsequently took possession of the device and obtained a warrant, but were unable to access the device to search for evidence due to the passcode lock. Stahl refused to hand over the code, and a judge at his initial trial sided with the defendant, suggesting that forcing him to reveal the code to his phone would violate the Fifth Amendment. That point of view wasnt shared by the Court of Appeals, and the appeals judge ruled in favor of the police, who demand that Stahl provide the passcode. Its a complicated situation from every angle, and both sides have very good points: Stahl being forced to tell officers his code, and thereby potentially providing evidence against himself, does seem to run afoul of the Fifth Amendments duty to protect against self-incrimination. However, from the point of view of law enforcement, the police have the right to search a persons property, provided they have a warrant. That warrant was issued long ago, but the passcode is preventing a proper search from being conducted. If the iPhone was a room in Stahls home, even if the door to that room was locked, the police would still have cause to search it, and theyd get into it one way or another. The fact that the iPhones data is encrypted and cannot be accessed without the passcode is something the authors of the Constitution simply never could have accounted for, which is why the situation is such a catch-22. The language of the Fifth Amendment is messy, and like so much of the Constitution, its open to interpretation. Story continues In 1998, as the Daily Dot notes, the Supreme Court dealt with a similar matter, for the time, and in a dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that A defendant can be compelled to produce material evidence that is incriminating, But can he be compelled to use his mind to assist the prosecution in convicting him of a crime? I think not. He may in some cases be forced to surrender a key to a strongbox containing incriminating documents, but I do not believe he can be compelled to reveal the combination to his wall safeby word or deed. Looking at this case in a vacuum, I think most people would agree that police have a right to search the phone, which is central to the charges and may hold the only evidence that could either convict Stahl or clear his name. If hes running around taking photos up womens dresses, he deserves whatever punishment he gets, but the ruling isnt just about him. Our legal system relies heavily on decisions made in the past to guide use in the future, and demanding that an iPhone owner hand over his passcode is a new wrinkle that could affect other rulings down the road. Whos to say what now constitutes reasonable circumstances to demand a passcode, and where do we draw the line of personal privacy? Zooming out even further, theres the matter of whether or not your digital rights should be handed over preemptively or only after youre suspected of a crime. For example, should a police officer be able to check your phones accelerometer data to determine if you are speeding? The slippery slope argument is especially valid here, and with technology changing as rapidly as it does, it may not be long before we realize we cant trust our own gadgets to keep our secrets. Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com JAKARTA (Reuters) - An offer by Google to settle a tax dispute with the Indonesian government was too small and a deal will not be reached this year, the head of the tax office's special cases branch said. Indonesia has accused Alphabet Inc's Google of paying insufficient tax, saying that much of the revenue generated by Google in the country is booked at its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. Although hopes for an imminent settlement had been high last month, talks had become deadlocked over the amount to be paid, Muhammad Haniv, who is also the main investigator in the case, told Reuters. "Because we couldn't reach a settlement, the investigation continues. Now we want Google to open its books and the tax office will calculate the tax owed," he said, adding that Google had asked for more time to prepare its accounts. Google declined to respond to Haniv's comments. It repeated a previous statement that it has had a local company in Indonesia since 2011, has paid all applicable taxes and will cooperate fully with the government. Indonesia is eager to ramp up tax collection to reduce its budget deficit and fund infrastructure programs. It said in April it would check if taxes paid by the local offices of Google, Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook were sufficient. According to Indonesian law, if Google accepted the tax office's findings, it would not be taken to a court but would have to pay the taxes owed plus a fine equivalent to 150 percent the amount. If Google disputed the findings and was taken to court, it could be fined up to four times the amount it owed if it lost the case. ($1 = 13,427.0000 rupiah) (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Apple also announced that it will be releasing an iOS update next week that would allow the tech giant to better diagnose any battery issues. The Apple iPhone 6S has been recently in the news and not for good reasons. Apple recently admitted to iPhone 6S battery issues and started a battery replacement program for affected users. While the battery issues were related to battery drainage and the phone shutting down, Apple might have a more serious problem at hand iPhones are exploding all over the place. On Dec. 6, reports of exploding iPhones surfaced in China, causing the state-run Shanghai Consumer Council to call on Apple to address the complaints. Apple should be responsible for consumers. A lot of consumer complaints are not solved effectively, the council said in its official statement. It had allegedly received at least 8 separate reports of iPhones exploding and added that it had seen a big rise in the number of complaints against iPhones in the past two months. On Friday, a customer's iPhone 6s starting spewing smoke immediately after it was unplugged from charging. It then went up in flames, according to Phonearena. The customer did not give details about getting in touch with Apple or suing the company for the damages. Similar incidents have been reported globally such as the case of an iPhone exploding in a students pocket in New Jersey and another one of an iPhone exploding in Australia, burning down the persons car. Apple blames consumers woes on the exposure of batteries to ambient air during the manufacturing process. It has said that the problem is limited to a small number of iPhone 6S devices manufactured between September and October 2015 and the batteries will be replaced for those devices. Customers can check if their device is eligible for a battery replacement on Apples website. Related Articles This is the phishing email used to hack the DNCs network. (image: The Smoking Gun) On Tuesday The New York Times published an extensive report on this years cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committees computer systems by hackers working with the Russian government. The piece is well researched and worth the read. But the most jarring tidbit from the report is how the hackers gained access to the DNC: a common email spear-phishing scam. According to The Times, emails were sent to members of the DNC disguised as notifications from Googles (GOOG, GOOGL) Gmail telling them someone had attempted to sign into their account from Ukraine. The phony messages included instructions for recipients to click an embedded link in order to change their passwords. And, it worked. Employees clicked the links and essentially handed over the keys to their email accounts and the DNCs network. The saddest thing is that by following a few basic steps, employees might have realized the phishing email was fake and saved a lot of headaches. But phishing attempts are so scary because of how simple they are to pull off. Just a quick message, a dash of social engineering and youve got an international news story. Its pretty amazing, Kevin Haley, director of product management for Symantec Security Response, told Yahoo Finance. When you look at those attacks, those are basically the standard bread and butter phishing attack. Although all of the things around it are extremely well done. Criminals are a bigger threat than foreign governments Now before you work yourself into a frenzied panic for fear that a foreign government is lurking online hoping to crack into your email and steal your backlog of chain letters from your uncle Ted, its important to note that Google says fewer than 0.1% of users receive phishing emails from state actors. Whats more, the company says targeted individuals generally include activists, journalists and policy-makers. If, however, you receive a phishing email from a foreign government, Google will provide you with a special warning alerting you to the fact. Story continues Google will provide you with this warning if it believes your email is being attacked by a foreign government. Unfortunately, the sad truth about the internet is that there are still plenty of other criminals and malicious actors who would be more than happy to set up shop in your email account or break into your computer and hold it for ransom. Even more likely are attacks aimed at your work email to attack your companys systems. Computer security company Kaspersky Labs reports that its anti-phishing system was triggered more than 30 million times in Q2 2015. And thats just on computers that use Kaspersky software. So how can you protect yourself against similar attacks? With a little knowledge and some patience. Staying safe According to Haley, the biggest giveaway that the email youre reading is a phishing attempt is if it has typos or poor grammar. More sophisticated attackers, though, will ensure their emails are crisp and typo-free, so youll have to do a bit more investigating. Kaspersky recommends hovering your pointer over any links in emails to preview them for typos or inconsistencies. If its a phishing scheme, the link preview will point to the wrong site. So if you get an email from Amazon and the link points you to stealyourstuff.com, you know its a fraud. Better yet, dont even bother with the link in your email and go to the official website named in the message instead. In other words, if you get a email from FedEx or Google asking you to click the link in the message to check your account, just go to FedEx or Googles website instead. And dont fall for messages urging you to click on any links in your email immediately. When you see that kind of urgency of getting you to try to click on something thats a big warning sign, Haley said. Outside of links, youll also want to avoid downloading any files youre not expecting to receive, even if they come from family or friends. Theres no reason for major companies to ask you to download invoices or order forms via your email unless theyve already told you to look out for them. And while you might think you can trust your friends email, theres always the chance that it too has been hacked and is being used to attack others. Naturally, one of the best ways to prevent a phishing attack is to install a solid anti-virus security program on your computer. Many modern AV solutions offer protection against spam and phishing attempts. If, however, you think youve already been the victim of a phishing scam, the best thing to do is disconnect your computer from the internet. Haley says this can prevent any malicious software on your system from sending your data back to the criminals. Next, youll want to run your AV program to try to remove any malware that you may have. If none of that works, Haley suggests seeking professional help to clear out your system. More from Dan: Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. BLACK RIVER FALLS Elwin Johnson, 94, of Black River Falls died Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016 at his home. Funeral services will be 12 noon Monday, at Little Norway Lutheran Church, Black River Falls. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be 10 a.m. until the time of services Monday at the church. Torgerson Funeral Home, Black River Falls, is assisting the family. Thailand's rubber-stamp parliament on Friday passed a controversial cyber-crime law that critics say strengthens the junta's ability to police the web and squeeze out criticism. Free expression has been severely cramped since the generals seized power in 2014. The junta has banned protests, muzzled the press, blocked scores of websites and used already stringent cyber and defamation laws to prosecute critics over everything from Facebook comments to investigative reports on rights abuses. Despite strong public criticism, the junta-appointed parliament on Friday voted to unanimously pass an updated version of the Computer Crimes Act, with 167 yes votes and five abstentions. "I can reassure that this law is important and necessary but will absolutely not violate personal rights," said lawmaker Chatchawal Suksomjit, a former top cop who drove through the bill. Thailand's new king Maha Vajiralongkorn will have to sign it off before it becomes law. The government has said the law needed to be modernised. But rights groups warn that the revised version is even more vaguely-worded than its predecessor, broadening the scope of the government's surveillance and censorship powers. It allots up to five years in prison for entering "false information into a computer system that jeopardises national security, public safety, national economic stability or public infrastructure, or causes panic", according to a version of the law provided by Thai Netizen Network, an internet freedom advocacy group. One of the most controversial additions is the creation of a five-person committee that can seek court approval to remove online content considered a breach of "public morals". "The definition (of this term) is not written in any law, it is just up to the committee," said Arthit Suriyawongkul of the Thai Netizen Network, which helped collect more than 300,000 signatures opposing the bill. "It's going to be very difficult for people to know what they can and cannot say. It could also be very inconsistent from one government to another," he added. Story continues Another new clause empowers authorities to request user and traffic data from internet service providers without a court warrant, raising privacy concerns. Prosecutions under both the Computer Crime Act and Thailand's tough royal defamation law have skyrocketed since the junta's power grab, often netting social media users. According to watchdog Fortify Rights, there have been at least 399 prosecutions under the computer law in 2016 compared to 46 in 2013, the year before the junta grabbed power. E.R. Braithwaite, a Guyana-born novelist, writer, teacher and diplomat who wrote the international bestseller To Sir, With Love, has died. His companion, Ginette Ast, told the Associated Press that Braithwaite died Monday at a hospital in Maryland. He was 104. Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Braithwaite attended Queens College, Guyana and the City College of New York. During World War II he joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot and afterward attended the University of Cambridge, earning a bachelors degree and doctorate in physics. Frustrated he could not find work in the field despite his qualifications and experience because of racism, he reluctantly took a job as a schoolteacher in Londons East End. It was that experience that inspired his first book in 1959, the autobiographical To Sir, With Love. In 1967, the novel was made into a film starring Sidney Poitier as Braithwaite (renamed Thackeray) and Lulu, and the films title song became a No. 1 hit that year. The setting for the film was changed from postwar London to the swinging 60s. In 1996, Poitier reprised his role in the TV movie To Sir, With Love II. A stage production of the original story toured in 2013. His other books included the novel Paid Servant, based on his time as a social worker, and Honorary White, a report of his visit to South Africa in the 1970s, as well as the autobiographical Reluctant Neighbors. Related stories 'Hamilton' Adds 'SNL's Taran Killam & Four Other New Cast Members 'Riverdale': Molly Ringwald To Recur As Archie's Mom In The CW Series UTA TV Lit Agent Joel Begleiter Moves To CAA Ghana's celebrity fashionistas came out to play this week on Instagram and impressed a lot of fans and observers with their "on-point" fashion sense. Get all your Ghanaian entertainment news here Raking in thousands of likes on the social media platform, YEN.com.gh brings you 7 of the best dressed celebrities who killed on Instagram this week. 1. Sandra Ankobiah took an early start when she shared this all black outfit on Monday on her official Instagram page. Although the jacket looked too warm for Ghana's weather, it's beauty did not depreciate. READ ALSO: Yvonne Okoro is all sorts of beautiful in this new photo 2. TV personality and actress Nikki Samonas pulled it off with this African print shirt over a white distressed pair of jeans. 3. Nana Ama McBrown was a sight to behold in this mix match gown she sported earlier on in the week. The classy design was decorated with beads which complimented the star's outfit perfectly. PAY ATTENTION: YEN.com.gh has all the latest Ghanaian news 4. It would have been shocking if radio and TV personality Berla Mundi didn't make it onto the list since she has become one of the leading fashion icons in the country, showing off various designs frequently on her page. This royal blue dress was no exception to the star's premium taste in fashion. READ ALSO: 5 Ghanaian celebrity couples who are marriage goals 5. After winning the award for most fashionable celebrity in West Africa, Nana Akua Addo has continued to prove why she deserved that award. She was adorned in this flamboyant dress which got a lot of attention on her page. 6. We just had to bring back Nana Ama Mcbrown because she killed it twice this week. This red dress she wore was absolute perfection. 7. Yvonne Okoro received the news that she has been nominated 6 time for the African Magic Viewers Choice Awards and she shared this gorgeous photo of herself. Aside the beautiful black dress she was wearing, her makeup was on point! Pretty. Which celebrity do you think was on point with their outfits this week? Source: YEN.com.gh A common thread connects three people honored with the Iverson Freking Ecumenical Award. Maureen Freedland, Bill Hoel and the Rev. Curtis Millers uncommon dedication to working for the common good was apparent during a press conference Wednesday announcing they are the recipients of Bethany St. Joseph Corp.s 31st annual awards. Hoel and Freedlands inclination to serve stirred during 1965 disasters just a few months apart his during the Midwest flooding in April and May, hers as Hurricane Betsy ravaged Florida and the central Gulf Coast states in one of the deadliest and costliest storms in U.S. history when she was a child of 10 in New Orleans. Hoel, who was not able to attend the press conference, recalled in advance comments, All the kids got off school to save the town. We sandbagged to save the buildings. That experience started something in me to volunteer for the greater good, and I havent stopped since, said Hoel, a Lutheran and a La Crosse native who worked in radio and TV for many years, and now is a certified financial planner with Robert W. Baird and Co. Similarly, Freedland said that, as she was observing the damage inflicted on her native New Orleans, I knew that the parts of the city flooded were where poor people lived and were not protected. My passion for social justice goes back to Betsy, said Freedland, who is in her fifth term as a member of the La Crosse County Board. Social justice also links the trio, whose involvement in community causes not only runs almost parallel courses but also thrust them into the same or related groups and committees over the years. The daughter of Holocaust survivors whose parents came to the United States in 1947, Freedland said life as a Jew is much different today than it was then. They kept to themselves, and tried to make a living. They didnt tell everybody their problems, she said. As a child of immigrant parents, I learned not to forget but to go forward and make the community better and fairer for everybody. Asked during an interview about negative reactions toward Muslims that have ballooned in recent months particularly during the presidential campaign, Freedland said, As a Jew and as a member of a targeted group, I understand what it means to be targeted. I remember being told in the girls bathroom (in school) that I killed Jesus. Those sentiments began to shift after the Catholic Churchs Vatican II Council decreed, among other things, that such slurs of Jews were inaccurate, and Pope Paul VI condemned those and other anti-Semitic comments. I feel very fortunate to be welcomed, understood and able to learn about and understand other faiths, not only in formal causes but also casual relationships, said Freedland, a member of the Congregation Sons of Abraham Synagogue in La Crosse. It isnt the differences between people that are really important, Freedland said. We dont get on the case of each other for the part of religion we dont get. What is important is what God brings to the world. Freedland said she senses support from all denominations, adding with a wry smile, I was told that the nuns have my back, evoking laughter from 50 or so people gathered for the press conference at Bethany St. Joseph Care Center. Freedlands endeavors include being president of the county Jail Ministry Board, co-vice president of the Compassionate Community Faith Alliance (formerly AMOS), former president of the La Crosse Public Education Foundation, a founding member of Citizens Acting for Rail Safety, and a member of the Task Force to Eradicate Modern Slavery and League of Women Voters. She describes her interfaith efforts and working with Hmong people coping with immigration stresses as among her most fulfilling activities. The Hmong were unplanned immigrants, and I learned how hard it was for them ... Freedland said. Those experiences drive and propel my faith. She and her husband, Dr. Robert Freedland, established two local funds through the La Crosse Community Foundation to help public and private school students learn about the meaning of the Holocaust. She spent years as a pro bono attorney representing low-income people with consumer, public assistance and housing issues. She has been a legal aid attorney in Illinois and South Carolina and was assistant attorney general for the state of Louisiana. Miller, a United Church of Christ minister who lives in Sparta and is pastor of Hope United Church in La Crosse, is a founding member of Compassionate Community Faith Alliance. One of his mantras is, You are not defined by the job you are paid for. To be whole, a person needs to give of oneself. Miller defined faith and ecumenism as relationship-building work that has taught him that its all about us and not about me. It informs us how to act toward each other. Three key words justice, compassion and community are nouns that also become verbs when people apply the essential element of action, he said. In the early days of what then was AMOS, he and other organizers realized that the community becomes better when we listen to each other, he said. Its been a blessing to work with Maureen and so many other people who arent here. My hope is that we have contributed to the well-being of the people and the community, he said. Asked about his knack for juggling, listed on his resume, he explained, I have enjoyed it as a pastor. Juggling and clowns are interconnected. Working as a pastor with kids, it helps draw their interest. I can do balls and clubs, but I dont juggle chainsaws. I tried bowling balls, but that was too hard. The La Crosse County Boards monthly meeting Thursday night might not have merited much of a report, except for one thing: It was the last to be held in the 51-year-old La Crosse Administrative Center. County Administrator Steve OMalley gave board members a rundown of the countys considerable accomplishments this year, including maintaining its Aa1 bond rating and keeping the tax rate flat at $3.89 per $1,000 in equalized property value, even with $23 million worth of downtown campus remodeling and nearly $18 million for building a new Lakeview Health Care campus in West Salem. He touted the countys debt management strategy that made it relatively pain-free to accomplish the downtown campus projects, which included purchase and remodeling of the old Associated Bank building to serve as a new administrative center, a 20,000-square foot addition and remodeling at the Health and Human Services Building and completion of unfinished space at the Law Enforcement Center. A long list of other highlights for the year included national accreditation of the countys Health Department, the launching of a veterans expo, and a banner first year for the countys Neighborhood Revitalization Program, which saw a 10-to-1 return on investment in new housing development in La Crosses most impoverished areas. OMalley also touted the countys continuing ranking as one of the lowest taxed counties in the state, with La Crosse Countys $285 per capita tax levy ranking seventh lowest out of 72 counties. And, he added, La Crosse County is only one of two counties in the state that has women in the board chair and vice-chair roles. At some point in the distant future people will probably reflect on this county board in 2016 with amazement and wonder, said Board Chair Tara Johnson said. But none of this was really too surprising or groundbreaking news. The most unprecedented part of the agenda was Johnsons reminder to board members to make sure to clean out their lockers they wouldnt be coming back. One board member, Ralph Geary, had been coming to board meetings in the basement of the Administrative Center for 40 years. Thats as a board member, first elected in 1976. To him, the old place feels like home, and he wasnt sure how he was going to feel about the new building. The moving process began Tuesday and is expected to be completed by the end of next week. Before the board meeting, in the lobby of the building, current and former officials and staff members reflected on all that has gone on in the administrative center, which once was home to the entire county government courtrooms, jails, sheriffs department, health department everything. Of course, it didnt take as much to hold the health department back in May 1965, when the building was dedicated. Bob Taunt, the countys former personnel director, noted that the county only had one public health nurse and one social worker. Former Vernon County Judge Michael Rosborough was with the state public defenders office when the building opened and recalled that back then public defender had space in the early years in the basement across the hall from the employee lounge. We spent many an hour in that lounge discussing current events and cases with judges, prosecutors and others, Rosborough wrote in an email Assistant County Administrator Jane Klekamp read at the farewell ceremony. When the new courthouse was in the planning stages we were given the opportunity to request space therein; however, we had come to realize that all of the hobnobbing with judges and prosecutors created the appearance of a conflict of interest and therefore sought out separate quarters. County planner Charlie Handy reminded people that before the jail and courthouse were moved across the street in 1997 to the new Law Enforcement Center, inmates used to be escorted down the hallways from the jail to the courtrooms and back, sometimes causing unease among people there on other business. The opening of the new administrative center, built for a total cost of $1.2 million, was a very big deal, involving a ceremony that took at least 90 minutes, by OMalleys estimation. He dug up the program for the dedication, which took place on Sunday, May 23, 1965, and was kicked off by a half-hour concert by the Bangor High School band. Choirs from Logan and Central high schools sang hymns, local pastors prayed and Gov. Warren Knowles gave the dedication keynote speech. No such festivities are planned for the new administrative center, although there will be an open house on Jan. 12 so people can inspect the new seat of county government. The old administrative center has been sold to Stizo Development, which plans to spend $10 million to renovate the building to create a student housing complex that will be home to more than 200 people. The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Thursday, Dec. 15: Robert Gates served as defense secretary under George W. Bush, a Republican, and then Barack Obama, a Democrat, which qualifies him as an honest broker and independent thinker. How honest? He wrote in September that Donald Trump is beyond repair on national security, stubbornly uninformed about the world and unfit to be commander-in-chief. Makes you wonder if Gates would have any advice for Trump-the-unrepairable on how to duct tape together a worldview, and if Trump would even listen. Turns out Gates did have a suggestion, and Trump, surprisingly, listened: It was Gates who told the president-elect that Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson would make a great secretary of state. Gates, whose consulting firm does work for the oil company, along with others who know Tillerson describe him as a strategic thinker on a global scale who has deep experience negotiating with foreign governments and maintained his integrity while doing so. Its a mistake to pigeonhole him as another CEO with a very narrow background, Gates told The Wall Street Journal, a remark that intended or not sets Tillerson apart from his prospective new boss the real estate developer. Will Tillerson win Senate confirmation? Should he? Those are legitimate questions to be settled after hearings sure to generate pushback from Democrats and perhaps some Republicans. The biggest issue is Tillersons work in Russia and his relationship with Vladimir Putin. As Exxon CEO, Tillerson has done mammoth deals there and expressed skepticism about the use of sanctions as a diplomatic tool to confront Russian aggression. For his efforts Tillerson picked up an Order of Friendship award from Putin, whom Tillerson has known since 1999. Based on his resume, then, critics can choose their pejorative: Tillerson is naive, bought off, in cahoots, blindly biased in favor of Putin and therefore incapable of defending American interests as secretary of state. Theres another way, though, to describe Tillersons activities in places such as Russia, Yemen, Iraqi Kurdistan and Venezuela: He was doing his job. Its been Tillersons responsibility while running Exxon to make money for shareholders by investing in oil projects around the world, including in some countries run by despicable leaders. And thats what he did, very successfully. Its a mistake to confuse knowing Russia with being pro-Russia, Chicago billionaire Tom Pritzker told the Journal. He knows Russia, which means hes ahead of the learning curve. Pritzker alludes to a broader point about judging Tillerson: Many top government officials come from the business world. All are expected to pivot to doing the peoples work. For example, Steven Mnuchin, a Trump Cabinet pick, would be the third treasury secretary in recent years to come from Goldman Sachs. What counts is whether each candidate has suitable experience and talent for the job, and can take orders from the president. Tillerson, an engineer who has run Exxon since 2006, has the right background to be secretary of state. As CEO of an energy company with about 75,000 employees around the world, he manages a complex organization with about three times as many workers as the State Department has diplomats and civil servants. Some analysts say Exxon is almost a nation unto itself. Negotiations and risk management are at the core of what Tillerson does at Exxon, and are what he would do as secretary of state. At 64, he was scheduled to retire next March but now plans to step down at years end. Part of Tillersons pivot would be to separate himself from Exxon and his oil industry perspective, and that includes divesting his $240 million in Exxon Mobil stock and other holdings. First, however, Tillerson must showcase his skills as a diplomat under fire when he faces Senate questioning. Hell have a chance to articulate his views on Americas role in the world and speak as proxy for Trump, whose opinions about Putin seem both underinformed and troublingly carefree. So does Tillerson as diplomat support the use of sanctions to tame the Russian bear? Can he manage tricky relations with China? Not make things worse in the Middle East? Tillerson will either make a convincing argument for his candidacy or fail the job interview. Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier Those who habitually put items in their recycling bins that don't belong there are the target of the ordinance amendment, not those who make an occasional, accidental mistake, said Public Works Director Jeff Demers. A federal jury in the United States has Dylann Roof guilty of killing nine people at a South Carolina church in June 2015. The white supremacist was found guilty of 33 charges, including nine hate crimes resulting in death and three hate crimes in an attempt to kill. Government lawyers said the 22-year-old Roof targeted the black church members during a Bible study meeting. The prosecutors said Roof waited until the church members closed their eyes to pray before shooting them. They called the shooter hateful and cowardly. Three people survived the shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church. The trial lasted a week. Jurors announced their decision after discussing the case for just two hours. The same jurors will return to the court in early January to decide if Roof should be executed or sentenced to life in prison. Im Caty Weaver. Christopher Jones-Cruise wrote this story from reports by the Associated Press, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story supremacist - n. a person who believes that one group of people is better than all other groups and should have control over them prosecutor - n. a lawyer who represents the side in a court case that accuses a person of a crime and who tries to prove that the person is guilty cowardly - adv. afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected; lacking courage This is Whats Trending Today. The members of the Electoral College will cast their votes to uphold Novembers presidential election on December 19. They are known as electors. Their part in presidential elections is described in the U.S. Constitution and in the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. Many people on Twitter are using the hashtag #EsteemedElectors in a last attempt to ask electors to vote for someone other than Donald Trump. Actor Josh Gad wrote: Have courage. Protect our democracy. This is your right and your duty. Other actors, including Martin Sheen, who played the president on television, speak directly to Republican members of the Electoral College in a video. They say Donald Trump is not qualified to be president. They suggested that the electors choose a person who is qualified, and added that it does not have to be Hillary Clinton. Many Trump supporters are saying the Electoral College members should follow the wishes of the people in their state. One person asked: How do we know #EsteemedElectors isnt a Russian operation to influence our election? The recent news that Russian hackers may have influenced the U.S. presidential election has raised concerns among many people. Some are saying the electors need more information before casting their votes. One of those people is Virginia congressman Don Beyer. He said the Electoral College should delay its vote until its members can receive information from the Central Intelligence Agency about Russias effect on the election. Some electors sent an open letter to the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper asking for more details. They want to know if Russian interference is being investigated and whether the hackers were connected with the Trump campaign. In most election years, the Electoral College votes are a routine part of the process. The people who vote usually follow the popular vote in their state. This year, one elector has already said he will not follow his states vote. That is Christopher Suprun of Texas. He wrote an opinion article in the New York Times recently explaining that he would not vote for Trump. Supruns lone vote against Trump will not make a difference in the results. If the remaining electors follow the wishes of their state, Trump will receive more than the required 270 votes. And thats Whats Trending Today. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. What do you think of the last minute request of the electors? Let us know in the comments section. _____________________________________________________ Words in This Story uphold v. to judge (a legal decision) to be correct : to decide not to change (a verdict) esteem n. respect and affection courage n. the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous hacker n. a person who secretly gets access to a computer system in order to get information, cause damage, etc. : a person who hacks into a computer system routine adj. done or happening as a normal part of a job, situation, or process Twenty-five countries executed 1,634 people in 2015. That is the highest number of executions worldwide in 25 years. The information comes from the rights group Amnesty International. Three countries -- Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia -- carried out 89 percent of the executions last year, the group said. The numbers do not include executions in China. Amnesty International said it believes the Chinese government executes thousands of people every year. But the exact number cannot be learned because the government keeps that information secret, Amnesty said. Death Sentence Back in Pakistan In 2014, Pakistan resumed non-military executions after a terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar. The attack killed 144 people, mostly children. Last year, Pakistan executed 326 people for terrorist activities and other crimes, Amnesty International said. It said people tried and found guilty of murder and blasphemy were also put to death. Blasphemy is speaking or acting against the established religious beliefs. Death Sentence Bill Before Philippines Congress The Congress in the Philippines is considering President Rodrigo Dutertes proposal to re-establish the right to execute criminals. His plan would permit executions for crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping and drug offenses. When Duterte campaigned for the presidency, he promised to lead a war on crime, particularly drug crimes. He also said he would bring back the death penalty. Executions were banned in 2006 by then-President Gloria Arroyo. Even without the death penalty, the Philippines National Police said Monday that nearly 6,000 people were killed as part of the governments war on drugs. The National Police said that 2,086 people were killed in police operations and 3,841 in vigilante killings over the past six months. On Monday, President Duterte said that when he was mayor of the Philippines city of Davao he shot criminal suspects himself. Opposition to the killings and the proposed return of the death penalty is coming from the Roman Catholic Church. About 86 percent of the Philippines 100 million residents are Catholic, according to the Asia Societys Center for Global Education. Catholic Archbishop Socrates Villegas said that the killing of people by the government goes against the churchs teachings. The United Nations said that, as of 2014, 160 nations had banned the death penalty. In the past two years, Bangladesh, Fiji, Madagascar and Suriname stopped executions, the UN reported. Executions Down in United States In the United States, 20 people have been put to death for their crimes in 2016, the lowest number in 25 years. The number comes from the Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit organization. Death penalty supporters say that people found guilty of horrible crimes should be put to death. They believe the sentence will act as a deterrent. By deterrent, they mean it might cause someone to decide against killing someone else. But opponents argue that a moral society does not put people to death. They say sometimes innocent people are found guilty of crimes. Once a person is executed, such mistakes cannot be fixed, death penalty opponents say. Im Bruce Alpert. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story resume - v. to begin again after stopping offense - n. a criminal act particularly - adv. more than usual encourage - v. to make someone more determined, hopeful, or confident vigilante n. a person who is not a police officer but who tries to catch and punish criminals Back in 1966, a farmer named Nekkanti Subha Rao planted a new variety of rice in the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The rice plant is called IR8. It was the creation of scientists at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Scientists created the IR8 variety by combining a tall rice plant from Indonesia and a shorter version from China. IR8 was the worlds first highly productive rice. It is credited with having prevented famines and providing food for millions of people. Agricultural experts say IR8 rice is partly responsible for the Green Revolution, which began in the 1940s and continued through the 1960s. During this period, farmers increased their use of man-made fertilizers and pesticides, and irrigation systems to water crops. Food production sharply increased and helped prevent widespread hunger. India and the International Rice Research Institute have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of IR8 rice, which became known as miracle rice. Farmer Rao, now 80 years old, remembers his surprise when he harvested a shocking 7.5 tons of rice on every hectare. Never before, he said. Every farmer feeling very, very, very happy, happy. 100 percent success. Many Asian countries struggled with food shortages in the 1960s and 1970s. IR8 and other varieties that followed helped increase rice production in Asia by 200 percent. The increase helped prevent widespread hunger. It transformed agriculture, said Dr. Nafees Meah, the institutes representative for South Asia. He said the Green Revolution prevented the food crises that happened in those years. It saved millions of lives. After India, IR8 rice was planted in other Asian countries, such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, where rice is the main food for most people. Agriculture experts say that the plants shorter length made IR8 rice stronger and less likely to fail before harvest time. And, it took less time to grow compared to local rice. So, farmers could plant more than one crop on the same land. Recalling the Green Revolution Even with the rise in food production, the Green Revolution also led to some long-term troubles. As The New York Times reported, crops such as IR8 rice required heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This method of agriculture left behind chemical pollution, noted U.S. News & World Report magazine. It also used up a lot of soil nutrients, and eventually led to soil depletion. So, farmers needed more and more fertilizer, according to National Public Radio (NPR). Crops like IR8 also needed more water than natural rainfall offered, so farmers had to irrigate the soil and build wells, NPR noted. In India, this caused the groundwater to sink as much as one meter each year. This package of practices was costly, especially for poor farmers. Many of the farmers used credit to buy the products and services, but could not pay back their loans. So, they went into debt, lost their land, and were forced to move to crowded cities to find work. After they left, richer farmers bought their land. There was very little work on the larger farms because farmers began turning to tractors and other modern equipment. So, human labor decreased, creating high rural unemployment in some areas. Widespread planting of only one or two varieties of rice also reduced biodiversity. In the long-term, this can lead to the spread of disease among plants. Feeding a growing world The methods used during the Green Revolution saved nearly one billion people from starvation, according to the New York Times. However, experts are divided on whether the lasting results are more good than bad. Today food security is still an issue, and not just for Asia. At the same time, malnourishment continues to affect millions of poor people on the continent. And everywhere, farmers are dealing with issues resulting from climate change. Rod Wing is an American scientist at the International Rice Research Institute. He says developing new kinds of rice with more nutrients but less of a harmful effect on the environment can reduce our dependence on gases linked to climate change. The problem, he says, is that the rice must require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. In recent years, new kinds of rice that are more resistant to dry weather and floods are showing promising results in eastern India and Bangladesh, a country where floods used to cover or wash away crops. A genetically engineered variety of rice has been developed to improve Vitamin A levels. Lack of Vitamin A kills many children under the age of five. In addition, researchers are developing crops that keep blood sugar lower and release energy slowly. But the challenge of productivity that IR8 rice fueled remains, noted Wing. The big question ishow are we going to feed three more billion people on the planet by 2050? And while some farmers are experiencing larger harvests, they continue to battle other problems. The cost of growing the rice is very, very high now. Labor cost is high, said farmer Rao. I'm Bryan Lynn. And Im Alice Bryant. Anjana Pasricha reported this story for VOANews.com. Alice Bryant adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story variety - n. a particular kind of person or thing pesticide - n. a chemical that is used to kill animals or insects that damage plants or crops transform - v. to change something completely - and usually in a good way depletion - n. to use most or all of something important; to greatly reduce the amount of something irrigate - v. to supply something (such as land) with water by using artificial means (such as pipes) tractor - n. a large vehicle used to pull farm equipment biodiversity - n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment malnourishment - n. lack of proper nutrition climate change - n. a change in global climate patterns caused by an increase in carbon dioxide resulting from the use of fossil fuels (coal and natural gas) Fishermen on the Mekong River in Cambodia say they are being hurt by dams being built in Laos. They say they are catching fewer, and smaller, fish. The fishermen blame illegal fishing with electric nets, overfishing, climate change and drought. Man Mat is the son of a fisherman. He says, the fish are getting smaller and smaller. My father catches five to 15 kilograms a day when before it was 100 to 200 kilograms. In 10 years, therell be no more fish left. In 2012, officials in Laos announced plans to build the $3.8 billion Xayaburi dam although scientists and environmental activists opposed the project. The officials then announced they would build a $300 million dam. Last month, the government of Laos decided to build a third dam in the countrys north. The $1.88 billion project would be part of a plan to sell electricity to neighboring countries -- especially China. China also has built dams across the Mekong River in its territory. The fisheries research and development newsletter Catch and Culture reports on fishing in the Mekong area. It says the total fish harvest from the Mekong River and its lower delta was valued at $11 billion in 2015. About 70 million people depend on those fish. Their food security is a major cause of tension between Cambodia and Vietnam. Over the last 20 years, the number of people who depend upon the Mekong River and its delta area has increased by at least 10 million people. This has increased the demand for fish and has led to something scientists call fishing down. That is when large fish are no longer being caught. They are being replaced by smaller fish that fishermen used to reject and return to the river. VOA spoke to two fishermen who said they used to catch up to 300 kilograms of fish a day, but now they catch about 20 kilograms if they are lucky. Laos, however, says it will not change its plans. The country wants to build 11 dams across the Mekong River and 123 across the country. Im Christopher Jones-Cruise. Correspondent Luke Hunt reported this story from Chhaing Chomras, Cambodia. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted his report for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story nets n. a device made of string or rope that is designed to catch things drought n. an extreme lack of rain scholarship, news and new ideas in legal history Florida Senator Bill Nelson said alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election crosses the line "getting closer and closer to an act of war." Nelson called Russian hacking efforts "unprecedented" and "an outrage" At least 50 presidential electors calling for intelligence briefing prior to casting ballots Monday Nelson also expressed concern about President-elect Trump's Secretary of State nominee Speaking to reporters at his Tampa office, Senator Nelson called the Russia hack on Democratic National Committees email system unprecedented and an outrage. By attacking, by hacking information to influence an election in a democracy that the integrity of the election is absolutely paramount to that democracy being able to function, I think there is going to be serious ramifications of this, said Senator Nelson. There are now at least 50 of the Democratic presidential electors now calling for a national intelligence briefing before casting their ballots on Monday. Electors in all 50 states meet Monday to elect the next president. Senator Nelson, a former member of the Intelligence Committee, said that briefing is not going to happen. But he understands the concerns of electors over the hacking. "I think everybody has a right to be concerned," said Nelson, "because our democracy has been assaulted by a foreign country who happens to be a rival of ours that would love to do us in." Nelson also spoke about the upcoming confirmation hearing for Rex Tillerson, the President-elects pick for Secretary of State, saying he wanted to know more about the Exxon/Mobil CEO's business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Southeastern University and the Polk County Sheriffs Office are working together to offer the first Sentinel Program in the state of Florida. The program will involve select, trained faculty and staff being permitted to carry concealed firearms on campus. Program has support of many Southeastern students "Sentinels" would be sworn-in, special sheriff's deputies Sentinels would only be authorized to respond to on-campus shooter situations Many of the universitys students said they supported the program. I trust the sheriffs. I trust Dr. [Kent] Ingle and his discernment. I think that every decision that he makes is for the best interest of the students here, said Demi Derose, a student at the university. Is it needed as in a sense that were at a high risk? No, said Cameron Rogers, also a student at the university. But I think if the opportunity is there, then take advantage of it. Why not take advantage of something like that? During a news conference announcing the new program, Sheriff Grady Judd stressed that the sentinels would be sworn-in, special sheriffs deputies. Sentinels would only be able to respond to an active shooter on campus, and nothing else. This nation is the absolute best at fixing a problem after it occurs. But thats not acceptable to me and its not acceptable to the President of this university, Sheriff Grady Judd said. Because when you fix a problem after it occurs, when it deals with an active assailant or shooter, there are victims." The participants will undergo a background check, a psychological exam, 100 hours of firearms safety, and 32 hours of deadly force training, according to the Polk County Sheriffs Office. Incoming student Abigail Albino did have a concern that the training wouldnt be enough, since sentinels wouldnt be encountering shooter scenarios on a daily basis. Its something where just having a simple training, but not constantly being in that situation will make it harder to control your emotions when the time comes, said Albino. Judd said the special deputies would be retrained at least annually. He also pointed out that the initial training theyd receive is more than whats required to become a certified law enforcement officer. So far, 10 faculty and staff members have signed up, and are expected to begin training in January. The university expects these faculty and staff members to be armed and ready to respond by this summer, as long as they pass all of the training and exams in place. The university already has armed deputies who patrol the campus as well as security officers. However, Chris Owen, Vice President of Student Development, said there have been at least two armed robberies on campus since 2009, and students were notified through a text alert system. Owen said the campus is safe overall. He specified, however, that university administration wanted to implement this program as an extra precaution, because many past active shooter incidents around the country ended before law enforcement arrived on scene. Find out what's going on this weekend in Central Florida and the Tampa Bay areas. Tampa The St. Petersburg Holiday of the Arts returns to South Straub Park in St. Petersburg, across the street from the Museum of Fine Arts and sponsored by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and City of St. Petersburg. Explore breathtaking original creations by painters, jewelers, mixed-media artists and fiber artist. Select from stunning creations in glass, ceramics, metalwork, fiber art and woodworking. Over 325 tables representing dealers from all over the nation will have model items in all gauges and Railroad Antiques for sale. This is Floridas largest combination show, displaying items for both the modeler and rail buff alike all under one roof. This unique event will be held this year at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Highway 301 North, Tampa, Florida 33610 at the Special Events Center on Saturday, December 17, 2016 from 9:00am to 5:00pm and again on Sunday, December 18, 2016 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Enjoy Scrooge, Tiny Tim and a host of beloved characters as they come to life in this new, spectacular production of the most loved holiday story of all time. It's a delightful way to celebrate the Christmas season with the entire family. Tickets: Adults, $22; Students, $15. Through Dec. 18, St. Petersburg City Theatre Orlando You've heard the music, now experience a performance unlike any other with Trans-Siberian Orchestra tickets. Get lost in the story as the whimsical Christmas tale unfolds, leading way to an unforgettable show the whole family can enjoy! Saturday, Dec. 17, 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., Amway Center, 400 W. Church St., Tickets $42-$73 Handmade items like jewelry, wreaths and ornaments by local artisans are available for purchase. Saturday 11 a.m. 6 p.m. Sunday 12 p.m. 4 p.m.; 2411 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744, Free entry. Free parking. The classic fairytale merges with a touch of Cirque and pyrotechnics, creating an unforgettable experience. Dec. 1718, Linda Chapin Auditorium at the Orange County Convention Center. A warrant has been issued for a Tampa man wanted in the murder of William McGoff. Warrant issued for Tampa man wanted in the murder of a local nurse William McGoff was found dead on Dec. 12 Police say Keith Davis killed and robbed McGoff at his home Tampa police say that Keith Earl Davis, 43, killed McGoff at his home and robbed him -- taking several of McGoff's possessions and driving off in his car. Police discovered McGoff had been murdered on Monday after co-workers said he did not show up for work. Police went to check on him at his home on Chariton Avenue, where they found his body. Those who knew McGoff said he was loved by all. Hes lived his life helping people as employment and he does the same on his personal and private time," neighbor Shawna Smith said. I was very, very scared. Very scared. You dont think this is going to happen to you or in your neighborhood." Investigators believe the murderer was no stranger to McGoff. Police released a description of McGoff's car -- a black 2013 Hyundai Sonata with a Florida tag 113VFT -- and have asked the public for help in locating the car. Police believe Davis took McGoff's car out of state. They said it has been spotted in north Florida and Louisiana, with a person matching Davis's description. Police intend to charge Davis with first-degree murder, robbery with a weapon, and grand theft. Davis was released from prison is 2015 and has a local arrest record that includes grand theft, robbery, and aggravated battery with great bodily harm. A would-be-robber was shot dead at a Pasco County restaurant Thursday afternoon. Would-be-robber fatally shot at BBQ stand in Pasco Officials said it was in self-defense A 6-8 inch silver spike was found on the suspect Officials said the owner of Jordan's BBQ shot and killed a man attempting to rob the restaurant. They say it was in self-defense. "This is a case of self-defense," said Sheriff Chris Nocco. The father of the owner told officials he thought the man was asking for a job when he walked up to the BBQ stand, but instead he yelled at everyone to hand over their money. The owner then pulled out a gun and shot the man after his dad spotted the man hiding a weapon. Sheriff Nocco said detectives found a 6-8 inch silver spike on the suspect. "Put yourself in the shoes of this family who has a small business. They're working hard trying to keep their family going and everyday they come out here and they put a lot of sweat and equity into keeping the family business. And this individual is going to aggressively come at them? Sounds like it's an attempted robbery," Sheriff Nocco said. Investigators are still trying to identify the man. The YouTube channel Humaramovie has come up with an innovative mentorship program that saw acclaimed filmmakers train the aspiring ones to direct seven short films, based on the same theme noise. Titled Shor Se Shuruaat, the cocktail of seven films hit the theatres this week. While noise serves as the common theme in all these films, the reviews suggest that only a few manage to make the right noise. While the technical aspects of all the films were appreciated across all quarters, some of the films were blamed for overindulging in the method which took away from the content. Hell O Hello Can you hear me? Director: Pratik Rajen Kothari Mentor: Shyam Benegal Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror reviews it and says, "Painfully repetitive, it swiftly dwarfs your senses by ending up like a Tarak Mehta episode on LSD." IANS reviews the short film and says, "It is an intelligently scripted satire about consumerism. Strategically placed in the anthology, the film, brings with it nuggets of light moments that elevate the sagging viewing spirit." Azaad Director: Rahul Chittella Mentor: Mira Nair Mumbai Mirror reviews, "It extracts Atul Kulkarnis best and even while the story (about an idealist journalists tryst with societys prejudices) offers only as much, the actor manages to lift the film single-handedly. Just for that one scene where he effectively channels his characters contained resentment, he proves that he is the most proficient of the cast." IANS reviews, "It is a layered drama that is intensely narrated in a non-linear fashion." Yellow Tin Can Telephone Director: Arunima Sharma Mentor: Homi Adjania Mumbai Mirror reviews, "Sharma adopts an almost-Wes Anderson style of narration in delivering the seemingly mundane in a singularly prophetic manner. While her interpretation leads us to believe that, with a little help, each of us can snub out the shor (noise) in our lives, her distinct visual aesthetic elevates the film from the rest." IANS reviews, "Creatively mounted in a montage narrative, the film is layered with glossed up frames and a verbose and lyrical narrative. The story may seem strange and silly but nevertheless, you cannot dismiss this film." Reza Noorani of the Times of India reviews the film and says, "It tells its story in a refreshing manner. Though an overkill of style and colour, it leaves you happy." Aamer Director: Amira Bhargava Mentor: Zoya Akhtar Mumbai Mirror reviews, "While its obvious how her story culminates, Bhargava captures the sights and sounds of the city with much passion and skill." IANS reviews, "Though well executed in a formulaic graph, the film exhibits a sense of familiarity and thus loses out on the novelty factor. The little boy who plays Aamer is charming, but lacks charisma and thus fails to tug at your emotional chords." Dhvani Director: Supriya Sharma Mentor: Nagesh Kukunoor Mumbai Mirror reviews, "It leans heavily on performances. About a jail inmate (Sanjay Mishra) awaiting capital punishment, this one says more than it literally does. The pronounced creases on the convicts face as he rubs his hands over it, compel one to tune in to his innermost thoughts, even picture the nefarious crime that reduced him to his present state." IANS reviews, "With an undoubtedly intense performance from Sanjay Mishra, the film is astutely handled, and the prisoner's anxiety is palpable." Decibel Director: Annie Zaidi Mentor: Sriram Raghvan Mumbai Mirror reviews, "Much like a low-budget Black Mirror episode, this one paints a future where humankind is forced to seek assisted sleeping, with doctored sounds or lack of it." IANS reviews, "Treated as a science fiction in a synthetic atmosphere, the film seems a tad superficial with a pretentious and absurd tale. On the performance front, the actors essay their parts effortlessly." Mia I'm Director: Satish Raj Kasireddi Mentor: Imtiaz Ali Mumbai Mirror reviews, " While this revenge drama may have a substantial-enough plot to work with, the execution is somewhere between college project and home video." The Times of India reviews, "It has a lot of strong moments and talks about teenage angst and how one bounces back after life-altering events." Overall, the film has received mixed reviews from the critics. Mumbai Mirror gives it a rating of 3 stars and says, "This may be a noble idea getting established filmmakers to hand-hold young amateurs to pick up the nuances of the craft. But it isnt an entirely successful experiment as the learned fail to help their students navigate the pitfalls, as most seem consumed by technique and less by their original idea." IANS gives it a rating of 2.5 stars and says, "All films, made on moderate production values, excel in the technical aspects, especially the sound department. Overall, this film is worth a watch to encourage these budding directors and to know the type of films these directors will churn out in future." The Times of India gives it a rating of 3.5 stars and says, "The performances are strong, especially those by Sanjay Mishra, Vijay Maurya, Pawan Manda Kale and Baia Marbaniang, the last two who are untrained actors. Overall, Shor Se Shuruat is like a string of crackers where some burst beautifully while a few just make noise." The writers and director of Wajah Tum Ho are serious about their story. They are earnest about crime, vengeance, hacking. They are equally serious about remixed songs, itsy-bitsy clothing, item numbers, mid-riff baring lawyers and their costume, hair and make-up budgets. A news network is hacked and a murder is telecast live. The channels control centre heads one astute observation: I think we are hacked. No kidding Sherlock! Why doesnt the channel switch off the feed and go to white noise? Because the simple answer is not the one chosen by characters in Vishal Pandyas romantic thriller. Instead the head of this hacked media network, Rahul Oberoi (Rajniesh Duggal) is called into questioning by inspector Kabir Deshmukh (Sharman Joshi) as the prime suspect for the live murder of a Mumbai policeman. For all this posturing and wisdom, and seeming righteousness, Deshmukh and his team are always a step behind the killer. And thats no surprise because the screenwriters dont know when to stop adding twists to the whodunit. What starts off as a potentially interesting thriller contorts into senselessness. The arrogant and diabetic (this is relevant somehow as we later find out) Oberoi depends on his legal head Siya (Sana Khan) to get him out of this wrangle and prove his innocence. Siya (the mid-riff baring lawyer mentioned above) is pitted against the police appointed prosecutor Ranvir (Gurmeet Choudhary). Its curious that neither of these legal aides are ever shown investigating or analysing anything. In their off-duty moments they meet, go through multiple costumes changes, float around exotic locations and seduce each other. This is the love story. Then there are the baddies the corrupt cop, the millionaire scion Karan (Himmanshoo Malhotra), who is somehow embroiled in this web of lies and crime, the person shielded by a hoodie who is the mastermind behind the hacking and the deaths. And just when you think all has been revealed, another curveball comes flying out at you. Think again, says the director join the dots, says inspector Deshmukh. And when even those dots dont form a straight line, Deshmukhs wise words are: It's not a case, it's an onion. Every move, every thought, every clue or step in the investigation is spelt out, including a presentation on how hacking of a broadcast network might happen. A pounding background score is used to build suspense but the characterisations are so shallow that there is a basic disinterest in the plot which music cannot save, certainly not the two item numbers (Zareen Khan, Sherlyn Chopra). Sana Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary and Sharman Joshi obviously felt as serious about the film as the makers and sincerely present their characters, making up partly for Duggals limitations, restricted to grimacing and smirking. Pandya smartly constricts Malhotras screen time and dialogues yet notice his inability to emote and his gravity-defying hairstyle. Indeed there is a great deal of emphasis on styling. I break a nail trying to open a jam jar, but here Sana Khan comes up for air from hand-to-hand combat, scratched and bleeding, but without even one chipped nail. During a court hearing, Siya describes the case against Oberoi as baseless and logicless [sic]. She could well have been talking about the script. Watch the trailer for Wajah Tum Ho here: As income tax raids continue at bank branches, bankers have raised concern that the action is likely to negatively impact the morale of the banks staff in general at a time when they are already at the receiving end of the government's decision to demonetise the high denomination currencies. According to a report in The Economic Times, the bank managements are taking steps to keep up the morale of the already over-worked staff. They are reaching out to the employees warning them about the likely unscrupulous elements who may trick them into illegal practices. Over the last few days, income tax officials have been conducting raids at various bank branches to unearth fake accounts that tax evaders have opened in connivance with the bank officials to launder their ill-gotten wealth. At the centre of the storm is private sector Axis Bank. The bank, according to a PTI report, has suspended 24 employees and 50 accounts after the I-T raids unearthed such illegal activities. According to the bank, the investigating agencies have visited eight branches, including five in New Delhi. At its Noida branch alone on Thursday the tax officials detected a trail of Rs 600 crore worth of deposit by a jeweller. "It is not that Axis Bank is under the scanner, but the person doing the transaction with us is," the bank's retail banking head Rajiv Anand has been quoted as saying in the PTI report. True. The bank's MD and CEO Shikha Sharma too has said this in an interview to The Economic Times. "We are embarrassed that this has happened, but these are isolated incidents given that we have more than 3,000 branches and 50,000 employees.We have had many of our customers writing to us that the bank has done a great job and, therefore, it is disappointing that a handful of people have let us down," she told the newspaper. However, Anand has admitted that the adverse publicity was indeed affecting its brand and hoped that it will not affect in the long term. The concern is indeed serious. The development has the potential to negatively impact the customer confidence in the bank, especially at a time when there is scarcity of cash. However, the bank has swung into action. It has appointed consultancy firm KPMG to help it with due diligence of the transactions in question. Apart from this, according to Anand, the bank is taking a host of other measures, including tightening control by deploying technology, and communicating zero tolerance policy to the staff. It is also asking for proof of income from depositors in certain cases, he said. The bank is also in touch with the RBI on a regular basis, but has not received any communication from the government, Anand said. The report of the third-party audit will be submitted in 10 days. Mumbai: In the wake of disclosure of transgressions in its network, including a case in Noida which came to light today, private sector lender Axis Bank said it has so far suspended 50 accounts and 24 employees for suspicious activities. Asserting that investigating agencies acted on tip-offs provided by the bank itself, it admitted that the adverse publicity was affecting its brand, but hoped this was temporary. Axis's retail banking head Rajiv Anand said so far the investigating agencies had visited eight branches, including five in New Delhi, and the number of employees suspended has gone up to 24 from 19 last week. These suspensions exclude impact of the visit by Income Tax officials to its Noida branch this morning following a trail of Rs 600 crore deposit by a jeweller. The bank called it a "visit" by I-T officials who asked for details on 30 accounts. "It is not that Axis Bank is under the scanner, but the person doing the transaction with us is," he said, adding at no point it has been asked to shut any branch. The suspension of account is temporary and the bank carries out extra due diligence including a visit to account holder's address in some cases, he said. The bank refused to share details of amounts transacted in the suspicious accounts, but Anand conceded that a bulk of the affected accounts are in the bullion trade. Axis Bank is the largest domestic lender in the bullion import space. It said all the accounts are KYC-compliant, but the problem arises when account-holders do suspicious transactions or those involving shell companies. The bank has defined criteria for flagging such transactions and regularly files STRs (suspicious transaction reports) and cash transactions reports with the Financial Investigation Unit, he said, adding all suspicious deals reported/investigated till now were first reported by the bank as STRs. The bank, which files an average of up to 200-300 STRs a month, has filed 1,500 STRs since the demonetisation announcement. Apart from the already announced third-party audits at affected branches, Anand said the bank is taking a host of other measures, including tightening control by deploying technology, and communicating zero tolerance policy to the staff. It is also asking for proof of income from depositors in certain cases, he said. While employees of many banks have been caught for various transgressions since the note-ban announcement, transgressions at Axis Bank have been the most highlighted, especially following the Kashmere Gate branch episode in Delhi. Anand today said it is "unfair" that his bank is being singled out, without appreciating the hard work of its 55,000-strong staff since November 10. The bank is in touch with RBI on a regular basis, but has not received any communication from the government, Anand said. The bank said the first reports of the third-party audit will come in the next 10 days, followed by final ones in a fortnight. Since 10 November, the number of PoS transactions and mobile banking transactions have doubled, while there have been 15 lakh downloads of its UPI application, he claimed. MILAN Italy's highest court on Friday ordered a re-trial of former top executives at defence group Leonardo Finmeccanica (LDOF.MI) over allegations of bribery in a 2010 contract to provide a dozen helicopters to the Indian government.In April a Milan appeals court sentenced former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi to four and a half years in prison for corruption and falsifying invoices, overturning a previous lower court ruling.Bruno Spagnolini, former head of the group's helicopter unit AgustaWestland, was sentenced to four years in jail over the 560 million euro ($585 million) contract.The case went to the highest court after the two executives launched an appeal. Both executives will now have to be tried again in front of Milan's appeals court. Last week India's federal police arrested the former head of the air force S.P. Tyagi, 71, who was at the centre of allegations of impropriety in the order of 12 helicopters meant to fly senior Indian politicians.The deal was cancelled in 2014 after Orsi was arrested on suspicion of paying bribes to secure the deal. AgustaWestland opposed India's decision to cancel the order and the contract is currently suspended and the subject of international arbitration in Paris. The case against Finmeccanica itself was dropped by prosecutors back in 2014 while AgustaWestland agreed on a 7.5 million-euro settlement with the court the same year. (Reporting by Valentina Errante, writing by Valentina Za; Editing by Susan Fenton) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Raipur: As many as 8,582 villages have so far been declared 'open defecation free' in Chhattisgarh, which is targeting to becoming an ODF state by October 2018. The state government has also announced 4,869 gram (village) panchayats, 33 development blocks and two districts (out of 27) as open defecation free (ODF). "The Prime Minister's 'Clean India Mission' (rural) is yielding exciting results in the state. Within just about two years of launch of the drive, we have made two districts along with 33 development blocks open defecation free," a senior official from Chhattisgarh's Panchayat and Rural Development Department said on Friday. The state has 10,971 gram panchayats. While 8,582 villages under 4,869 gram panchayats have so far been declared as ODF, the aim is to cover remaining 11,127 villages of 6,102 gram panchayats by 2 October, 2018, he said. Bedsides, of the 90 Vidhayak (MLA) Adarsh Grams (adopted by legislators in their constituency to develop into model villages), 67 villages were declared as ODF. Similarly, 15 model villages under Saansad (MP) Adarsh Gram scheme have also been made open defecation free, he said. "Notably, the Centre has set the target under 'Swachh Bharat Mission' to declare the entire country as ODF by 2 October, 2019, but Chief Minister Raman Singh is expecting to achieve the target a year before in 2018 in the state, keeping in view the enthusiastic response from people towards the mission," the official said. As per official statistics, toilets have so far been constructed in at least 15,79,102 households (in rural areas) under both 'Clean India Mission' and the MNREGA scheme. Around Rs 497.53 crore have been spent in the current and previous financial years for the purpose, he said. All the concerned departments, including school education, health, women and child development and public health engineering, besides panchayat and rural development officials, have been asked to work in coordination to scale the target within the stipulated time, he said. Moreover, public awareness campaigns are being held continuously in villages to encourage the people to build toilets in their houses, the official added. Beijing: On Friday, China took strong exception to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan during a children's summit, saying India must respect China's "core interests" to avoid "any disturbance" to the bilateral ties. "Recently in disregard of China's solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing. "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that," he said, replying to a question on the Dalai Lama's presence in the opening session of the 'Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit', organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi's Children's Foundation on 10 December. "The Dalai Lama is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion," Geng said. The Chinese side firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him. "We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect China's core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship," Geng said. China routinely protests world leaders meetings with the Dalai Lama. This is the second time that China objected to the Dalai Lama's activities in India in recent months. Beijing objected in October this year to India's permission to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of southern Tibet. Early this month, China also objected to the visit of prominent Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Arunachal Pradesh, hoping that India would abide by consensus and refrain from taking any action that might complicate the boundary dispute. India also came under the criticism from Chinese official media over the Dalai Lama's visit to Mongolia following which Beijing was accused of imposing a blockade of the land-locked country. While China besides criticising Mongolia for permitting the Dalai Lama reportedly blocked movement along the Mongolia-China border, Beijing was also livid over the Mongolian Ambassador to India Gonchig Ganholds appeal to New Delhi to help Mongolia to deal with Chinas countermeasure against Ulaanbaatar. India has said Mongolia can avail the USD one billion aid, which one of the Chinese newspaper Global Times termed it as a bribe. An article in the daily also warned Mongolia that it is "politically harebrained" to ask for New Delhis support as it will further complicate bilateral ties. On the last day of the Winter Session of Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made some scathing remarks against the Opposition and specifically the Congress on Friday stating that the Narendra Modi government is doing what Congress failed to do since 1971. #Alert -- PM Narendra Modi arrives for BJP Parliamentary Party meet Image: ANI pic.twitter.com/eV9lOSe6fw News18 (@CNNnews18) December 16, 2016 Referring to the Wanchoo Committee report of 1971, which had suggested demonetisation of certain bank notes as a mean to curb black money in Indian economy and tax evasion, BJP said that demonetisation was a necessity to keep Indian economy on track in a closed-room parliamentary party meeting on Friday, reports said. Modi addressed Party MPs on a variety of issues including demonetisation at the meeting. The meeting was called on the last day of the Winter Session of the Parliament as the deadlock on demonetisatin continued to disrupt regular business in both houses. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that he had proof of corruption by Modi on Thursday. According to ANI, sources told the news agency that Modi specifically spoke about how former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi had snubbed a report of the Wanchoo Committee that had recommended demonetisation of certain bank notes in 1971 because she was afraid to lose election. Firstpost had written about the Wanchoo Committee report in November. Mentioning a conversation with YB Chavan, ANI quoted a source as saying: PM said in meet Indira ji told YB Chavan that don't you want to contest polls? This was Congress plank but they did not implement:Sources ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Speaking with the press live on television, BJP leader Ananth Kumar echoed similar words stating that BJP-led government is trying to do correct Congress' mistakes. Speaking on CNN-News18, Kumar said, "The prime minister said that digital economy should be a way of life" and that it would help make India a transparent and effective economy. The BJP leader also took a jibe on the opposition saying that "earlier the Opposition used to carry out scams, now they are working for black money". Interestingly, initial reports said that Modi will speak in a televised address about various issues around demonetisation and the Winter Session of the Parliament in a fashion similar to the announcement of the scheme in November. However, it didn't happen. Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who spoke with the press after the party meet, criticised the Opposition and Congress Party for creating a ruckus inside the Parliament and outside on demonetisation. Naidu also criticised parties like CPM, Trinamool Congress and the Congress of working for giving vested interests preference over national interest and accused them of trying to tarnish the prime minister's image with wild accusations. "While the ruling party is fighting corruption and black money some opposition parties are fighting for the corrupt and terrorists. Many people are shaken because vested interests are shaken. They are trying to create panic in the public. And therefore, they are trying to tarnish prime minster's image," Naidu said on television. Delhi: BJP Parliamentary Party meeting underway. (Inside visuals) pic.twitter.com/yoz4KXp8Tu ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Meanwhile, Kumar also attacked the Congress party and the Opposition for demanding proof for the strikes that the Indian Army carried out in September in retaliation to the Uri Attack. Poonch (J&K): After a lull of over three weeks, the ceasefire on the LoC was violated again with Pakistani army on Friday, resorting to heavy cross-border firing at Indian posts and civilians areas in Balakote sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. "Pakistani army violated ceasefire, targeting Indian positions along the Line of Control in Balakote sector. The firing started at 0900 hours continued till 1000 hours. Our soldiers gave a befitting reply," an army official said. The ceasefire breach comes after a lull of over three weeks. Two BSF jawans were injured in shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC on 23 November, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and the body of one of them was mutilated in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. A senior police officer said shells fired by the Pakistani troops landed in civilian areas in the sector. However, there was no report of loss of life or injury to anyone. The Pakistani army said one civilian was killed and four school children were injured on their side in the exchange of fire. New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to file a comprehensive chargesheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack next week, naming Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, along with his brother Rauf Asghar, as accused. The chargesheet is likely to highlight the role of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group in spreading mayhem in India and refer to the nefarious plans of the outfit, sources said. Immediately after the Pathankot incident, Rauf had hosted a video message claiming the responsibility for the terror strike and glorified the role of his brother Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. India will be using the chargesheet of NIA at various international fora to highlight the role of Masood Azhar in the case relating to the Pathankot terror strike carried out on 2 January this year. Launch of a diplomatic offensive against the Jaish and its chief Masood Azhar became an imperative after China continued to spurn efforts of India in getting UN sanctions against the terrorist and his group. The Home Ministry had given sanction to NIA to file the chargesheet against Azhar, his brother and two handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The four terrorists, after entering into India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur, had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base killing eight people including seven personnel of IAF and NSG. The chargesheet will name four terrorists involved in the attack as against six claimed by NSG. According to NIA, the terrorists, who were killed after two days of gunfight, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum and they were residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) of Pakistan respectively. The chargesheet will also include evidence of linking the footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal besides matching of DNA sample found from a soft- drink can in the hijacked car of Punjab Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The Pathankot terror strike had seen a joint investigation team from Pakistan also arriving in India for carrying out a thorough probe. However, the Pakistani team, upon their return, claimed that India neither shared much of evidence nor allowed it to interrogate the security personnel involved in dealing with the attack. Madhepura: Hailing the Supreme Court order to ban all liquor shops on national and state highways across the country, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday said it vindicated prohibition decision in Bihar. "The apex court order banning all liquor shops within 500 metre radius of national as well as state highways has vindicated our decision to implement total prohibition in Bihar," Kumar said addressing 'Chetna Sabha' in Madhepura as part of his 'Nishchay yatra'. "I had suggested Union Surface Transport minister Nitin Gadkari earlier that prohibition would help control accidents on national highways and now Supreme Court has given an order on this," the JD(U) chief said. He was addressing the meeting as part of the fourth phase of his 'Nishchay Yatra' to take feedback from people on the effectiveness of the prohibition as well as preparation for implementation of "Seven Resolves" of development. Kumar, who has taken to prohibition on a war footing, highlighted positive impacts of liquor ban in the state since April by way of hike in consumption of milk, sweets, garments and furniture among others. The chief minister said to check illegal transportation of alcohol from far-off Haryana and neighbouring states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal, police should prepare a dossier of those engaged in liquor trade before prohibition. "Garland persons who have shifted to other profession from liquor trade and catch those still involved in the business surreptitiously," he said. Kumar, accompanied by ministerial colleagues Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Chandresekhar, exhorted women to keep a tab on those who still manage to buy liquor illegally and inform concerned officials for action. He also asked them to be vigilant to see that habitual drinkers have not shifted to equally harmful dry intoxicants like opium. Kumar mentioned beneficial programmes under the "Seven Resolves" adopted as "sushasan" (good governance) which included beneficiary schemes for youths, providing electricity connection, sewage, drinking water and toilet to every household in the state. On 12 December 2016, Cyclone Vardah made landfall just north of Chennai at around 2 pm. The accompanying winds, with gusts up to 120 kilometres per hour, caused plenty of damage to property and ecosystems and resulted in at least two dozen deaths. For its residents, still fresh with the memory of the devastating floods last year and the tsunami 12 years ago, Cyclone Vardah was a grim reminder of how vulnerable the coastal city is to natural disasters. The Bay of Bengal is a well-known hotspot for tropical cyclones, also known as hurricanes or typhoons in other parts of the world. In 1999, the Supercyclone Paradip in coastal Odisha with winds of up to 260 kilometres per hour, left tens of thousands missing or dead and destroyed nearly 300,000 homes. The world record for human destruction by any disaster, sadly, is much higher and goes to Cyclone Bhola, which made landfall in Bangladesh (then, East Pakistan) in 1970 and killed over half a million people. In New Orleans, another coastal city that has had its own share of troubles, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 turned out to be its worst tropical cyclone. Over 1,800 lives were lost and some 400 square kilometres of islands, levees and coastal wetlands, constituting the first line of defence, were destroyed. Economic losses were to the order of $100 billion with residential property losses alone appearing as the destruction of 300,000 homes. Cyclones and the science of climate change After Katrina, in a well-known blog called realclimate.org, several notable atmospheric scientists asked the question filling the minds of the informed public: Was this a result of global warming? Their answer was perhaps disappointing to those who had hoped for something more clear-cut: "There is no way to prove if or not Katrina was affected by global warming. For a single event, regardless of how extreme, such attribution is fundamentally impossible," Stefan Rahmstorf and his colleagues argued. They said that higher levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere caused by anthropogenic emissions are responsible for increased radiative forcing, that is to say, more energy that is transmitted to the atmosphere and oceans. That ends up "loading the dice" in favour of more severe weather, but any single event is the outcome of both deterministic and stochastic or random factors. Climate models and weather prediction have improved significantly in the past decade, but attribution faces the same fundamental challenge when it comes to matching individual events with global climate change. The Earth's atmosphere and oceans may be subject to well-known laws of physics, but there are many non-linear processes that literally relate the flapping of butterflies (in this case, microphysical evaporation and condensation phenomena within individual clouds) to the unravelling of large-scale weather phenomena elsewhere. The best one can say is something that sounds like this: the conditions of possibility of severe weather are increased x-fold when radiative forcing levels in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities are increased by y percent. Notwithstanding this caveat, and basing their conclusions on new evidence in recent years, several scientists have been somewhat more intrepid about making the connection between clusters of weather phenomena and climate change. In 2016, the US National Academy of Sciences invited a group of experts to assess the state of the field of attribution studies associated with climate change. Their conclusion was that while it is still an ill-posed question to ask whether or not a single event is the consequence of climate change, one might find reasonable levels of confidence to attribute certain weather anomalies to climate change. Based on observational studies and models, they concluded that ascribing weather disasters with human-induced climate change seem to work best when trying to connect the former with extreme heat or cold conditions over large regions or unprecedented drought in an area. Well-suited to explain extreme hot and cold conditions The heat wave in Western Russia in 2010, for instance, could be reasonably well associated with increased greenhouse gas concentrations during the past century. Similarly, conditions generating ongoing droughts in California and Western Australia are considered to be more likely because of global warming than in its absence. Over much of the coast surrounding the Bay of Bengal, tropical cyclones remain an ongoing threat. To what extent do attribution studies tell us anything about how they might be linked to climate change? The NAS report is cautious about attributing the observed increased intensity of tropical cyclones to climate change, because of the relatively small scale of the events and the lack of "ensemble" data. Tropical cyclones are relatively short-lived phenomena of limited extent. They usually last no more than a few days and occupy an intense zone of around 100-200 square kilometres. It is difficult, therefore, to expect their detailed features to be predicted well by global atmosphere-land-ocean models that try to simulate broad measures of climate such as temperature, pressure and precipitation, over long periods and numerous large cubes of the earth's atmosphere about 200 kilometres on each side. Without having better ways to understand the details, only broad indications are available. Climate change appears a plausible cause One feature, which has been well known for some time is that tropical cyclone intensity implying its drop in pressure, wind speeds, and rainfall is fuelled by sea surface temperatures (SSTs). In the Bay of Bengal, following a global trend, these have increased by at least half a degree over the past half century [1]. The relationship between tropical cyclone activity and SST is complex and often operates non-linearly upon crossing thresholds. It is also fairly well established that the intensity of tropical cyclones goes up dramatically beyond certain temperature ranges. Altogether, these pieces of information indicate that climate change vastly improves the conditions for the creation and sustenance of intense tropical cyclones. In doing so, it significantly raises the probability for many of these severe systems to make landfall in populated areas along the coast. Thus, even if a court of law might not be able to admit a direct link between greenhouse emissions increases and the damage incurred by a farmer in the Kaveri delta because a destructive cyclone of very high winds and energy caused extensive ruin, it could still conclude that climate change made the damage more likely. Protecting coastal areas: a three-way approach Coastal areas vulnerable to tropical cyclones might face even further problems indirectly because of climate change. Sea level rise, expected to be at least a metre, probably more, this century, will raise storm surge heights, as will higher SST. This will result in more coastal erosion and flooding during intense storms and generate considerable damage to otherwise protective ecosystems, infrastructure and people along the coast. Perhaps the best way to think about responding to future disasters then would be to take a three-pronged approach. One, is to build a strong line of defence for immediate disaster relief and repair work to get people to safety, bring infrastructure back online and ensure that basic services are restored quickly. Two, adequate planning for long-term intensification of these disasters must be undertaken. This would involve a variety of engineering and participatory processes to ensure a just transition to a climate-proofed coastal existence. Three, a frank discussion must be had on the sheer foolishness of "creating value" along the shoreline from private businesses as well as via government actions. In the long run, it may just be a better idea to retreat from the most vulnerable coastal regions, even if they currently support vast population and to try to restore at least some of the ecosystems that have provided natural flood control and other protection. The question is no longer whether climate change is something we should worry about in the distant future, but how human aggravation of a vast economic enterprise is already moving the world towards metaphorical icebergs and whether we have the wherewithal to turn the Titanic around in time. [1] Jadhav, SK, and AA Munot. "Increase in SST of Bay of Bengal and its consequences on the formation of low pressure systems over the Indian region during summer monsoon season." Mausam 58, no. 3 (2007): 391. New Delhi: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the "biggest tragedy of Indian politics" is that the parties which fought against graft and scams in previous Congress governments have now joined hands with it and are scuttling the Prime Minister's efforts to root out black money and corruption. "It is really pitiful that the Opposition parties which fought Congress, at least some of them inside the house and outside it and in elections. They all have joined hands with Congress and are ready to work under its leadership," he said outside Parliament. Congress which, along with Opposition parties including TMC, CPM, DMK, is actively campaigning against the note ban to highlight the problems people are facing due to it. Its vice-president Rahul Gandhi recently addressed the media flanked by opposition leaders including TMC MPs. "This is the biggest tragedy of Indian politics. You see Trinamool and CPI(M) working under the leadership of Congress. And parties like DMK and others, which have taken 'talaq' from Congress, also joined hands with it," he said. "Some people are saying we are with Congress, but we do not know what it is doing. We are not a party to this. This is laughable. How can you join the leader holding the press conference if you do not know what he is speaking about?" he asked. The minister said the Congress rule was "full of corruption. Scams and scandals, 2G, 3G, Commonwealth Games or the coal scam, all happened during the tenure of Congress-led governments. Some of the parties, which are now making common cause with Congress, also fought against this (graft). "What happened now? Do they think that Congress has transformed? Congress has become pure? They must answer to people," he said. Naidu said the rival parties are against Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he is fighting against corruption. "The bitterness among Opposition parties against the prime minister is because he has struck at the very roots and foundation of corruption and black money. That is why many people are shaken. That is why different vested interests are reacting in different manners to scuttle this entire thing. They are trying to create panic among people by their disinformation campaign against the prime minister and the government," the BJP leader said. "This is ironic. Earlier, when opposition used to fight corruption, the ruling party would suppress their voice and never accept their demand for action or debate," Naidu said. "Today, the ruling party is fighting corruption and black money and some of the Opposition parties are blocking the government's action. It appears they are fighting for the corrupt, who have been affected by demonetisation... black money holders and terrorists, those indulging in women trafficking and drug trafficking. "The action of the prime minister, demonetisation or remonetisation whatever you call it, is aimed at attacking these forces," he said. He said the Opposition is welcome to give suggestions to improve the situation arising out of demonetisation, but "how do you find fault with the government's decision? This is a historic, radical bold decision taken by the PM. It is a fight against black money and corruption". "He started right from the day he took over as prime minister and then a series of steps followed. This is a major step toward fighting black money and corruption and it is ironic to see the government fighting corruption and the Opposition rallying behind those who are affected. "They all are worried because of the growing popularity of the prime minister, growing appeal of BJP in states. That I feel is the real reason these parties are supporting Congress. Otherwise, how can anyone justify this?" he asked. The minister lauded parties supporting demonetisation. "We appreciate the parties which have taken a principled stand like BJD and JDU," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi couldn't speak in Parliament in the washed out winter session. However, the Prime Minister found another smart way to be heard convene BJP parliamentary party meeting and get his speech there recorded by official government broadcaster DD News and have that telecast after both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die. By the time Modi's address to his own party MPs 282 from Lok Sabha and 55 from Rajya Sabha could be telecast in the afternoon, thanks to Congress party's strategy to go solo to give political mileage to Rahul Gandhi by personally petitioning the Prime Minister for farmer loan waiver, the brief opposition unity was tattered. Modi had used the opportunity to blast Congress, citing documented evidence since the time of Indira Gandhi and sending out the message that the main opposition party and its leaders were self-centred who gave more importance to the electoral survival of the party than the nation. This was, which Modi pointed out, was in contrast to BJP's "nation first" stance. Citing excerpts from former home secretary Madhav Godbole's book Unfinished Innings: Recollections and Reflections of a Civil Servant, the Prime Minister said that demonetisation was the need of the hour in 1971 but Indira Gandhi with an eye on coming elections chose to take the populist path: "When YB Chavan told her (Indira) about the proposal for demonetisation and his view that it should be accepted and implemented forthwith, she asked only one question, "Chavanji, are no more elections to be fought by Congress?"" Chavan got the message and the recommendation was dumped. Modi also referred to the Wanchoo committee report recommendations stressing on the need for demonetisation in 1971. Indira Gandhi's reference and her snub on demonetisation of high denomination currency notes were aimed to serve twin purposes that Congress or more particularly her daughter-in-law and grandson and their new found allies were patently wrong in acting rough against Modi. Second, his comparisons with Indira Gandhi was to drive home the point that while she always had Congress' electoral gains in mind before taking a decision Modi always have the guts to take bold and tough decisions for the country irrespective of electoral implications. While going out strongly against the Congress, Modi didn't spare other opposition parties either, which had lately aligned with Congress on the issue: "Disruption of parliamentary proceeds have been taking place earlier also but this time it was far too much. The difference between earlier occasions and winter session disruptions is that while earlier disruptions had taken place because some corruption cases had come up and some expose had happened. The opposition would unite to fight on the issue of integrity and honesty but this has happened for the first time that the treasury benches had taken steps to fight corruption and most in opposition had united to support the corrupt." "The political standards have fallen to such low level that some people dare to stand for the corrupt. This is a huge concern," he said. In the same breathe he had a word of praise for Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who despite ideological differences with the BJP supported the demonetisation move. "Jyoti Basu had once favoured demonetisation. But today, see what the communists are doing," Modi said, taking potshots at the CPM. He talked of denigration of political standards for the second time where he referred to some parties including Congress, AAP and some other parties asking for proof of Indian Army's surgical strike in Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir(PoK). "Today is 16 December, India had made Pakistan surrender and Bangladesh was liberated. There was a robust opposition then but no one had then asked for evidence and when today Indian soldiers show valour then they ask for evidence. Falling standards in public life is a matter of grave concern," Modi said. Besides targeting his political rivals, the Prime Minister sought to psychologically prepare people of the nation to be ready to face some hardships beyond 50-day-period that he had initially asked for. Demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 is an important milestone but not the end of it. If the exploitation of middle class has to end and rights of the poor have to be protected then corruption has to be eliminated. "I have said this before, 50 days would be pinching and thereafter the problems would slowly ease. Nobody could have imagined the kind of success and popular support we have achieved," he said. For him, this was a move to stop the exploitation of the middle class and protect rights of poor. Modi hinted that his strike on Benami property could come soon. Demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes was an important milestone in the fight against corruption but not the end destination of it. Mark his words, "After all why we passed Benami property law. Now they will shout Modi has passed that law in haste. The question is why did you not implement it since 1988. Modi government has passed the law and will now implement it." He anticipated that once that law is implemented, suggesting a possible crackdown of benami properties, then again opposition parties would cry hoarse. His idea was now that winter session of Parliament has come to a close the MPs should go to their respective constituencies and talk about virtues of demonetisation and push for a digital economy. From the ruling BJP perspective, the closing day of the washed out Winter Session had given them strong talking points Modi had spoken what he wanted to speak, if not on floor of the House then at the parliamentary party meet in the Parliament House premises, got the rights of persons with disability bill passed and put Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in an awkward position for two reasons. First, Rahul Gandhi's failure to give evidence of what he had claimed earlier at a press conference. "Read my lips. The Prime Minister is personally terrified with the information that I have. I have information on the personal corruption of (the) Prime Minister." Second, Rahul Gandhi's own act to take mileage by taking a Congress delegation to Modi seeking loan waivers for farmers almost instantaneously broke opposition unity ranks. NCP's Prafulla Patel and CPM's Sitaram Yechuri publicly expressed their displeasure over Rahul's move and disassociated with the Congress-led opposition march to the President House. Besides, NCP and Left, SP, BSP and DMK which had earlier sided with Congress inside both Houses of Parliament too chose to stay away from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi-led march to Rashtrapati Bhawan. Congress was left only with TMC and RJD. While Trinamool Congress is desperate to find support from any quarter for Mamta Banerjee's protest against demonetisation and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is eyeing longer run association with Congress should Nitish Kumar dump RJD and go for a fresh political realignment in times to come. The problem for Congress is that it can't take on Modi government for Prime Minister's speech broadcast by DD News. The Congress had set a new precedent in 2004 when Congress parliamentary party meeting at Central Hall of Parliament, emotional outpourings for Sonia Gandhi when she had nominated Manmohan Singh to be Prime Minister in May 2004 was broadcast live. Watch the full video of Modi's speech here: For a man always dapper and sprightly before the camera Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked unusually haggard on Friday. His face carried a weary look. His language was combative alright but his body language didn't quite match it. His speech carried the usual barbs at opponents but it betrayed a lack of self-assuredness. The sense of humour was nearly absent and whenever it came through it was forced and flat. The consummate speaker used having the audience in thrall appeared to have lost the plot. He looked a man overweighed by self-doubt. Addressing the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, Modi defended demonetisation and advocated strongly for digital transactions. He said demonetisation was only the initial step to weed out black money, and there is still a long way to go. He dug up the past to blame the Congress for putting the interest of the party above that of the nation. He blamed the Lefts for compromising with ideology. He asked BJP leaders to carry his less cash message to people and even announced cash incentive for going digital. For a change, through all this he did not appear convincing. Perhaps, it had to with the fact that earlier he could claim popular support for his moves, post-demonetisation he is not so sure. With the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections not too far away party workers have been expressing apprehension over the anger among voters. They can turn black money into some kind of an emotive issue but how can they make digital payments palatable to them? In a country where trust in the banking system is low, mobiles are still an object of curiosity for many and infrastructure for cashless transactions are woefully inadequate, there is no way they can convince the rural voters about the great merits of going digital. Worse, the matter is so alien to their everyday lives that it won't even register on their minds. A politician with deep grassroots connect and experience Modi would not be unaware of this. He would not be oblivious to the fact that demonetisation has resulted in widespread misery and it is not easy to defend it anymore. The opposition, for the first time, seems to be with an upper hand. While they can be managed in Parliament and elsewhere the unresolved cash issue would be big problem for party workers in the run-up to the assembly elections. They simply cannot face people for whom the problems from demonetisation are real. While this explains to some extent the lack-lustre speech from the prime minister, what is baffling is his obstinate insistence on digital transaction. Why cannot he go slow about it? Why not create the infrastructure and awareness first before expecting people to make a transition from cash to cashless? Such moves are indulgences governments with no other serious matter to take care of get involved in. When all sectors of the economy are in a bad shape and need imaginative intervention, it's surprising that the government would expend so much energy on people shunning cash. Some commentators have alleged that such moves are intended to distract people from serious everyday issues and the government's failure to address them. They could be right. It appears the prime minister has made demonetisation an issue of personal prestige. He would justify it come what may, even if it means aggravating the current situation with more impractical measures. Modi has a penchant for dramatic, spectacular moves. It adds to his aura. This time he appears to have lost control of the script. But he is too proud to accept it. His party may have to face the consequences. Madhepura (Bihar): Hailing the Supreme Court order to ban all liquor shops on national and state highways across the country, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Friday that it vindicated prohibition decision in the state. "The apex court order banning all liquor shops within 500 metre radius of national as well state highways has vindicated our decision to implement total prohibition in Bihar," Kumar said addressing 'Chetna Sabha' here as part of his 'Nishchay yatra'. "I had suggested Union Surface Transport minister Nitin Gadkari earlier that prohibition would help control accidents on national highways and now Supreme Court has given an order on this," the JD(U) chief said. He was addressing the meeting as part of the fourth phase of his 'Nishchay Yatra' to take feedback from people on the effectiveness of the prohibition as well as preparation for implementation of "Seven Resolves" of development. Kumar, who has taken the prohibition in a mission mode, highlighted positive impacts of liquor ban in the state since April by way of hike in consumption of milk, sweets, garments and furniture among others. The chief minister said to check illegal transportation of alcohol from far-off Haryana and neighbouring states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal, police should prepare a dossier of those engaged in liquor trade before prohibition. "Garland persons who have shifted to other profession from liquor trade and catch those still involved in the business surreptitiously," he said. Kumar, accompanied by ministerial colleagues Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Chandresekhar, exhorted women to keep a tab on those who still manage to buy liquor illegally and inform concerned officials for action. He also asked them to be vigilant to see that habitual drinkers have not shifted to equally harmful dry intoxicants like opium. Kumar mentioned beneficial programmes under the "Seven Resolves" adopted as "sushasan" (good governance) which included beneficiary schemes for youths, providing electricity connection, sewage, drinking water and toilet to every household in the state. New Delhi: On Firday, Prime Minister Narendera Modi ripped into the Opposition over Parliament logjam, saying unlike earlier when opposition parties stalled the House against scams, Congress-led parties are now doing so against government's steps to curb black money and corruption. Modi's remarks at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting came on the last day of the Winter Session, which has been a washout due to impasse over demonetisation. Targeting Congress, the Prime Minister alleged that it has always put its interest over that of the country while for BJP the nation's interests are supreme. He again pitched for digital economy as he appealed to the masses to adopt it as a "way of life" to rid the society of corruption and black money. Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been unsparing in his criticism of demonetisation, Modi said he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did "nothing" during his rule of 10 years. He also cited late Left stalwart Harkishan Singh Surjeet to support his government's action. "Earlier the ruling side, especially Congress, would commit scams like 2G, coal-gate, Bofors and the Opposition would then unite and fight against it on the principle of honesty. "But now the ruling side, the BJP-led NDA, has started a campaign again black money and corruption and opposition parties are standing against it," he said. Modi also noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, recalling that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting. "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress," he said. Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country's," the PM said. On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes. The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. Auto refresh feeds "Most of the people eat food in dhabas when they eat outside. Can the government inform us about a dhaba in which a person carries card-swiping machine in his dhoti?" he said. "Many labourers became unemployed today...there are very long lines and crores of people in those lines. But it is not just that," he said. "Does the farmer own black money when he engages in transactions for seeds, fertilisers?" he said. "It is a reality that the farmer is an important part of the economy. That is why India does not have to beg," said a dramatic Anand Sharma in the Rajya Sabha. "What authority do the prime minister and finance minister have so that we have to beg you for our very own money?" thundered Anand Sharma. "You have created a condition in which you told a person that he can exchange Rs 4000...I marvel at your generosity," Anand Sharma said sarcastically in the Rajya Sabha. "After the Uri attack and surgical strikes, we posed various questions about the army....You said we cannot ask questions about the army," said Anand Sharma. "If you are the government, that doesn't mean India belongs to you. You have created such an environment that we cannot ask questions," he said. "If we ask questions, you start asking questions about our nationality," he added. "Who got the benefits of your decisions?" he said. "Your government is only for those people who are your friends. You hurt those people who question you." "If you are trying to give this impression to the country that India started fighting money laundering now, then the prime minister is living on a different planet," said Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha. After this statement, the Congress MPs began shouting again. Note that Anand Sharma was not interrupted even once when he was talking in the Rajya Sabha. "But I think Anand Sharma does not know much about economics," he said. "If his claim of fight against black money is true, he would not have ignored the fact the entire country has welcomed this move by the Narendra Modi government," he added. "In the future, inflation will be controlled when more people pay taxes," he said. "The central government will also get more resources for the welfare of farmers, labourers, youth, women in the country." "Some people had suggested that this move should have been made public seven days before implementing it. But secrecy is most important in such issues," he said. "The government has taken many steps against corruption. Demonetisation was a historic step against corruption. This was also a warning to the corrupt that the black money they had was useless now," he said. "This move was aimed at only the corrupt," he said. "Finance Minister had informed the House only about the counterfeit money in the economy, not the money which some people have got through corruption," Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha. "Some people just seem to be unhappy that Prime Minister Modi has taken an important step against corruption and black money," he said. "When the government had just come to power in 2014, there was an atmosphere against corruption," Piyush Goyal said in Rajya Sabha. "We opened Jan Dhan accounts. An account was opened for every person," he said. "This is a step after which a person will think twice before engaging in corruption," he said. "The poor labourers will benefit the most," he added. "Please do not hold views which the corrupt can use to free themselves," Goyal added. "You (Congress) talked about surgical strike. We did not mention it. This is good. You have given us a certificate that we conducted precise strikes against corruption," he said. "RBI has authority over monetary policy. An RBI board gave approval for this move," he said. "The country is ready to tolerate a few days of inconvenience," he said. "The entire country is with us," he added. "And even the Election Commission won't be able to notice when someone is carrying the Rs 2000 note in one's pocket," he said. "Several crore vegetables were just thrown away per day from markets," he said. "Who gave you the advice to come up with the Rs 2000 note? Go outside Delhi to the villages of India. Nobody will accept that note," he said. "The farmer is unable to buy fertiliser and seeds," said SP's Ram Gopal Yadav in Rajya Sabha. "Farmers are not able to sell potatoes now. Were these potatoes made using black money?" he said. Who gave you the advice to come up with the Rs 2000 note? SP asks govt in Rajya Sabha "Our party will move adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha," she said, adding that demonetisation was a dictatorial and draconian step by the government. "Credit card will not buy you food...the President knows the country's situation very well," Banerjee said. "This move is like a move taken by Mohammad bin Tughlaq," she said. "We told the President that he is the custodian of the Constitution. We told him to talk to the government," Mamata Banerjee said. "Starvation deaths are rising," she said. "Our country does not have plastic economy," she added. "Today, people are not getting access to vegetables in the markets. Children are not getting milk. People are dying," she said. "Today, how did the non-performing assets increase in the last six months?" the Bengal chief minister said. "After cancelling notes, there were a lot of notes needed in banks for the huge demand," Mamata Banerjee said after meeting the President. "90 percent of blak money is in tax havens abroad," Yechury further said. "It's like the prime minister is killing the pond to kill the crocodiles, forgetting that the crocodiles can survive on land too." "But where is this black money? All estimates say 6 percent of this black money is in cash," he said. "Black money is in circulation, in real estate...gold imports have surged in the last few days." "We want black money controlled. We want it eliminated. The World Bank says that nearly 21 percent of the Indian economy is in the black economy," Yechury said. "If you stop these Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, you think corruption will stop? Now, corruption will double with the Rs 2000 notes," Yechury said. "After 26/11, we went on debating over a new law to combat terrorism. On many issues, we had agreed over how terror funding needed to stop," Yechury said. "We want to stop counterfeit money. Locate where this is happening. Punish them. We will all support this. But this is not the way to stop it," he said. "By this way, you are killing the poor," he said. "As Anand Sharma said, 0.02 percent of the cash is counterfeit. To take care of that, you needed to do this?" he added. "The point is that black money is not going to go away with this. Black money is not stock, it is a flow," Yechury said in the Rajya Sabha. "For the rest of India, it is Tarasta Bharat," he said. "People can't get their children treated at hospitals." "In our rural population, 80.8 percent of the rural population is not covered by the banks," he said. "What banking does the prime minister want us to go to? There is Shining India with e-wallets for them," he said. "Why are you agonising the Indian people?" Yechury said. "Agonising people is a way to tell people: I control your personal lives," he said, adding that this was a fascist move. "People will say this Tughlaqshahi," he said. "This does not meet the objectives of what the prime minister set out to do." "You have allowed banks to exchange notes. Bulk of Indians today are dealing with rural cooperative banks. You don't allow them to change notes...86 percent of the rural population is dependent on transactions from these banks," Yechury said. "What is the meaning of this move?" he said. "Don't give this exemption to political parties to spend whatever they want," Yechury said. "If you're serious about stopping corruption, stop the supply side of corruption," he added. Laughing at Das, Patel said, "Are you kidding me? How can you allow your EAS to issue such statements. You are making a fool of yourself." Slamming the Narendra Modi government's handling of the issue, Patel gave example of Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, who during a press conference on Wednesday said: "The new currency notes, just as the old ones, will lose colour if rubbed with a piece of cloth wet because that's the nature of the dye used. If your note does not lose colour, it's one of the signs that it may be fake." "Abolishing black money is a move we all support, and BJP government's intention is great but you are asking people to be hungry for 50 days for a feast on the 51st day. Vo aadmi toh mar ayega, bhoj kya khayega (The person will die on the 51st day, what will he do with the feast)," says Patel. Rajya Sabha erupted after the comment. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad interrupted Tiwari's speech and said that the statement, which was "atrocious", should not go in record. "No one speaks about the country's prime minister in such an atrocious way. It should not go in record,"Prasad urged the Chair. In a dramatised speech, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari from Uttar Pradesh compared prime minister to former dictators like Gaddafi, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini. "The seat that you (Narendra Modi) occupy, has been occupied by Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, Shastri ji, Charan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. But the way you are working, I am forced to say that it reminds me of dictators like Gaddafi, Hitler and Mussolini." "Modi government marched to victory in 2014 because the country was tired of scams and scandals. That was our poll promise. I request Congress to come out of the dilemma - are you in favour of the people who are hoarders and scamsters or you are in favour of a bold step that eradicates black money from the country. Narendra Modi is capable of taking very strong steps. Temporary pain for long term gain - is the buzz across India. One thing I want to assure - if your money is valid, nothing will happen to it." "You have got a chance to discuss important things on this platform so do not waste it by mud-slinging. When it comes to people and their hatred towards our PM (the way you claim), we saw their hatred in 2014 and we will see it in 2019," Naidu says to a thundering applause. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu addresses Rajya Sabha and says that people across the nation are watching this Session and they are not interested in a history lesson. As expected, the Opposition targetted the Narendra Modi governmemnt over its "ill-preparedness" and "lack of empathy" for the general public. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad at the end of day one requested the prime minister to appear in the House tomorrow and discuss the issue of demonetisation. While the Lok Sabha was adjourned earlier in the day, Rajya Sabha argued and debated on topics till 6 pm on Wednesday. Chairman of Upper House PJ Kurien announced that the House will resume the same discussion (on demonetisation) from 2 pm on Thursday. The first day of Winter Session went as expected, in fact it went better than expected. While the Union ministers and BJP MPs are demanding an apology from Leader of Opposition in the House Ghulam Nabi Azad for his Uri remark, Congress MPs are demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the demonetisation scheme. "The nation wants to know today," he added, reminding of a news anchor famous for shouting at the panellists on his show. "The Opposition has disappointed us and the country," he said. "I want the Congress to clarify on Azad's remark," he said. "Those who ruled over the country for 50 years and ruined the situation of the aam aadmi and those who did not let the Parliament function are now also on the same path," said Naidu. "The prime minister will respond if needed," he said. "They are not strong...they are not on the side of the truth, the people are not with them," Naidu further said. "The government is ready for a discussion. We don't know what has happened with the Congress. Suddenly, they took a U-turn," said Venkaiah Naidu. "There is a need to fix the railway infrastructure. Modiji talked about the bullet train. But there is no focus. How will the aam aadmi benefit and get safety?" said Rahul on the Patna-Indore Express tragedy. "This is one of the biggest economic decisions in India. But the prime minister had not thought about the impact," he said. "This is some other form of the prime minister," he added. "We are ready for a discussion. These days, why does the prime minister need to come to the Parliament? He is on a different level. He does not need to interact with his ministers," said Rahul sarcastically. "People are complaining of deals at the back of long lines to banks. So people are suffering huge losses," he said. "Only 15 or 20 friends of the prime minister will benefit from this move," he added. "People have told me that they are suffering a lot," said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi outside the Parliament on the issue of demonetisation. The Opposition members raised slogans, even as deputy chairman PJ Kurien threatened to adjourn the House. And... he did. The Rajya Sabha is adjourned till 12 pm. Rajya Sabh and Lok Sabha will resume in a while. Meanwhile, asking his countrymen to tell their views on demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted saying, "I want your first-hand view on the decision taken regarding currency notes. Take part in the survey on the NM App." Speaker of Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, quite hassled by the way the MPs were behaving, threatened to adjourn the House. "Kyun kar rahe ho?" asks Mahajan very politely as Opposition MPs raised slogans and asked for debate over demonetisation. The protesting MPs also demanded that Modi should come to the House and make a speech. The Lok Sabha is heading for another adjournment as the Opposition escalated their attack on the BJP government over the same issue of demonetisation. By the look of it, the Winter Session of Parliament till now has been a total washout with no constructive debate happening on the floor. After the ruckus got out of hand, a very calm Hamid Ansari stood up and adjourned the Upper House till 2 pm. Members could not keep it together even as the Rajya Sabha resumed proceedings at 12.32 pm. However, an unrelenting opposition continued to raise slogans. The Speaker again appealed to the opposition to participate in the debate saying that the disruption of proceedings would not resolve the problem. "I am really pained. If you are people's representatives, you should stand by them," she said. As pandemonium continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till noon after 20 minutes of proceedings. Ignoring the slogan shouting opposition members, Speaker allowed the Question Hour to continue amidst noise. When some opposition members tried to bring a placard, denouncing the demonetisation move, infront of Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who was replying a question related to his Ministry, the Speaker tried to intervene and asked the MPs not to disturb the Minister. "This is not good. Everyone will be shown on TV, but don't disturb the Minister. If you want to discuss something, raise it before the government. People are in pain, tell the government. But this is not the way to highlight people's grievances," Mahajan said asking them to return to their seats. Samjawadi Party, NCP and RJD stood in the aisles in solidarity with the other opposition members. While AIADMK members were also on the aisles raising the issue of Tamil fishermen injured allegedly in firing by Sri Lankan Navy, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was seen busy in his seat in an intimate discussion with AAP MP from Punjab Harinder Singh Khalsa. Opposition disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha for the fourth consecutive day demanding discussion on demonetisation on a rule which entails voting forcing Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House for about 50 minutes soon after it assembled. As soon as the House met, members of Congress, TMC, Left parties and AAP rushed to the Well of the House demanding discussions on the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 under Rule 56, that entails. As BJP members also created a ruckus, an angry Kurien snapped at them. "Why should treasury benches do this? Mr Minister, why should treasury benches to this," he asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He told Azad that he was ready to accept his notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business. "Mr Azad, I am ready to admit your notice under 267 if only there is order in the House." As they shouted slogans from the Well, Kurien said, "You cannot speak in the Well. Shouting in the Well is of no use. If you go back to your seats, I will give you time (to speak)." At this point, TMC members carrying placards of "Financial Emergency" trooped into the Well, with Congress members following suit. "He should come and listen to the pain people have faced because of his decision," Mayawati said. Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the opposition is ready for discussion on the issue but Prime Minister should come to the Rajya Sabha first. As he spoke, members of the BJP moved into the aisles raising slogans. No sooner were the listed papers laid on the table in Rajya Sabha, Sharad Yadav of JD(U) said the government should pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to kin of the 70 persons who lost their lives due to hardships caused by withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. Naresh Agarwal (SP) and Mayawati (BSP) said Modi should be called before starting discussion on the demonetisation. "Today they want PM Modi to address Parliament, tomorrow they will be demand a JPC on the demonetisation issue. Trust me, the opposition is just shifting the goalpost. Why are they running away from a debate? Why do they just want prime minister to speak, is the finance minister not competent enough to reply to their questions," asks Prasad. Speaking to CNN-News18, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad attacked the Opposition on their demand of asking Prime Minister Modi to address the House of Parliament and in turn asked, "Why is the Opposition running away from debate?" "Government wants that there should be a long and elaborate discussion so that we can explain to this country the enormous benefits of this move," Singh said. "Congress and other opposition parties are on a self-destructing course." On the other hand, Jitendra Singh said that the Opposition was on a self-destruct course. "Let's keep Opposition and government out of this. Let's think of the people," he further said. "Almost 70 people have died. He must be crying for them. And I respect that," Congress leader Kapil Sibal told Times Now, clearly taking a dig at the prime minister and implying that he could not come to the Parliament because he was crying. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Rahul alleged that the government and the prime minister are not allowing a debate in the House. "We have filed an adjournment motion in the House and we want Modi to discuss the issue with us," says Rahul Gandhi "Main poochna chahti hoon prime minister se ki agar unhone itna acha kaam kiya hai to vo ghabra kyu rahe hain? (I want to ask PM Modi that if he has taken a decision which is so good why is he scared?) I urge President to summon Modi and ask him to take measures to solve the problems faced by people post demonetisation move," Mayawati told the media after Lok Sabha got its first adjournment of the day. Alleging that it sends a wrong message if prime minister keeps shying away from a debate, BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday that a debate is a must because otherwise the BJP government looks like it has done something wrong. "Puri daal kali lag rahi hai." If PM has done this great thing, why is he scared to face Opposition: Mayawati Proceedings was continuously disrupted as Opposition leaders raised loud slogans against the BJP government. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu urges Speaker Sumitra Mahajan not to adjourn the Lower House. "The debate has begun, madam Speaker. Please let the debate happen. The world is watching what Congress and the Oppostion is doing inside the House," Naidu said. The protesting MPs, for the past half an hour, have continously made noise and tried to disrupt the Lok Sabha proceedings. Speaker Mahajan still holding solid ground. Opposition members are trying their best to disrupt the proceedings, but BJP MPs (MJ Akbar, Jitendra Singh) are holding their ground and not giving in to the awful noise that the protesting MPs are making. Samajwadi Party's Akshay Yadav tore paper and threw it at Speaker Sumitra Mahajan in the Lok Sabha. This is definitely a new low for Opposition parties in the Parliament. "I am very sorry that the RBI has been exposed to this kind of criticism which is fully justified," he added. "It is not good that every day, the banking system comes up with some modifications. That reflects very poorly on the prime minister's office," he said. "The national income can decline by about 2 percentage points...I feel that the prime minister must come up with some constructive proposal," said the former prime minister. "In my opinion, the way demonetisation has been implemented will hurt agriculture, small industries and the people in the informal sector," he said. "I want to know from the prime minister the names of countries where people have deposited their money in banks but are not allowed to withdraw it," he said. "What has been done can weaken and erode our people's confidence in the currency and banking system," said Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. "I say so with all responsibility that we do not know what will be the full outcome," he said. "50 days is a short period but for those who are poor, even 50 days can bring about disastrous effects. About 60-65 people have lost their lives," he said. "Today, there are no two opinions in the country. It is important to take note of the grievances of the common people who have suffered," said Manmohan Singh. "In the process of demonetisation, monumental mismanagement has taken place," he said. "I do not disagree with the objectives of taking steps against terroism and black money," said former prime minister Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House. "By the day, the damage to the economy is increasing. Today, reports have come which have said that in three sectors that are biggest in exports, 4 lakh people have lost their jobs in the last one week or so," Sitaram Yechury said. Served notice for moving motion of contempt against PM for not showing up in RS: Yechury Addressing the Upper House, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said how can the prime minister say something like this? "How can the prime minister allege that Opposition parties are in favour of black money? This is wrong." Within minutes after the Rajya Sabha began today, the opposition members were up in arms protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that those cirticising the government are not angry with the government's preparedness but the fact that they did not get time to prepare. Slamming the prime minister for his statements on black money hoarders and his veiled attack against the Opposition, the leaders of Congress and SP and BSP created ruckus in the Upper House and demanded that Modi should address the MPs and apologise for his remarks. "I'm sure many of us have read analysis of noted economist Lawrence Summers, former chief economist of the World Bank and advisor to Obama government who concludes that this exercise has "resulted in chaos and loss of trust" and "without new measures, is unlikely to have lasting benefits. Don't you think it is high time and right time to form a committee of our real experts and intellectuals like Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, Subramanian Swamy and other top economists and intellectuals of our party and veteran Murli Manohar Joshi to help the government in this hour?" In a series of tweets on Friday, BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, reiterating his faith in PM Modi's intention, said, "However, I have serious concerns about the outcome, fallout and responses of the people of India and the almost united opposition in particular." Seventh day of Winter Session and looks like this week business will take a massive hit due to ongoing protests by the Opposition As Opposition din did not die down even after many requests by the Speaker, Mahajan adjourned the Lok Sabha till Monday (28 November) 11 am. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that a man Rakesh Singh tried to jump in the Lok Sabha off the audience gallery on Friday after the House was adjourned. "Security officials overpowered him and took him under custody and he has been let off with warning," Mahajan added. Taking the nation by surprise, the Prime Minister had on November 8 announced demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes with effect from midnight. Latching on to media reports, Yechury sought to pick holes in the November 8 decision as he noted that 29 crore out of the 30 crore Rupay card holders have never used their cards in a swipe machine. Referring to a report on surfacing of two variants of Rs 500 currency notes, the Marxist leader also took a dig at Modi, saying it was the "Prime Minister's way" of stopping circulation of fake currency. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over demonetisation, dubbing him as 'Tughlaq' who had "gone missing" after issuing a farman (order). "Barely 20-25 percent of cash demand being met in Metros. Rural areas even worse. While Tughlaq goes missing after his firman," Yechury tweeted. Will government's wait-and-watch technique, as far as Opposition's protests are concerned, work out in their favour? Most political observers say no because the government does not have the luxury of time. Meanwhile, Opposition leaders are still not relenting with their demand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence in Parliament. Opposition leaders met before Parliament session commences for the tenth day. However, the worry again is will the Opposition let the Parliament function? Winter Session will go on for 22 sittings - 50 percent of the sittings are already over - the Upper House and the Lok Sabha have still not been able to table crucial bills. Zero Hour begins with ruling-opposition bickering. As Venkaiah Naidu argues against the Opposition, protesting MPs raised slogans against the prime minister. "Start the debate! You want the debate, start the debate, Prime Minister Narnendra Modi will come," says Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. "Why is the BJP government so stubborn? Why is the prime minister not coming to debate?" Mayawati asks. In Samba, security forces killed two militants early on Tuesday when a group of militants tried to sneak in from Pakistan through the International Border near a border outpost in this Jammu district. According to reports, the two militants were killed following a "heavy firing exchange" with the BSF. Even as terrorists infiltrated the International Border and attacked two - Nagrota and Samba - districts of Jammu and Kashmir, there was no talk of that in Parliament. The attack in Nagrota reportedly started around 5.30 am with militants firing at a field regiment camp located in the garrison town of Nagrota near the headquarter's of army's 16 corps in the state. Demonetisation has been the reason for Parliament washouts over ten days now since Winter Session began on 16 November. Interestingly, Parliament has not discussed anything else except note ban imposed by the Narendra Modi government since the Winter Session began. Sumitra Mahajan tells two warring factions in Lok Sabha to start the debate. "I am ready, please start the debate." Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am until 1 December as opposition storms the well of the House regarding Nagrota Attack. TMC leader slammed the BJP government for deploying Army in West Bengal. Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu told Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien that the deployment was a routine exercise and casting aspersions on the prime minister is not acceptable. Opposition members are protesting against the ruling government in the Lower House. Rajya Sabha has already been adjourned. Opposition: Modiji says he wants the poor to build their own homes, but what about those homes which are being broken? Opposition members raise slogans and stall Rajya Sabha again. Debates not allowed and Chairman of Upper House Hamid Ansari quietly and hopelessly looks around. If one had to compare, Rajya Sabha gets adjourned way faster and sooner than the Lower House. Unrelenting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan continues to let MPs speak on different issues while a group of MPs continue to try to disrupt Lok Sabha. But since Winter Session has begun (16 November) members who are against the demonetisation drive have tried, and sometimes successfully, to stall Parliament. "These photos on the walls of the Rajya Sabha, from where emanates the power of democracy, often haunt me. It has been particularly difficult these last few days to get past those photos.Till 1 December (15th day since the commencement of the Winter Session) no business has been allowed to occur in the House except on the first day when a good debate took place in the Rajya Sabha over demonetisation. Regular disruptions, chaos and high-pitched slogan shouting have resulted in complete pandemonium in the House. The continuous ruckus usually leads to the suspension of the House proceedings and, sadly, it has become a regular feature. I ask myself: is this the only alternative left to us to address the genuine grievances of the public, the states and the nation?" "He (the prime minister) must answer our questions. India's image has been damaged globally," he said. "Today, the situation is that the withdrawals of the foreigners who come to India are being rationed," he said. "This has globally affected India's image," he added. "Demonetisation created a situation that 86 percent of the currency was invalidated. Now, after one month, tens of millions of Indians are standing in queues...It is wrong to give an impression that the Opposition is opposing the prime minister's crusade against black money," Sharma said. "The government has collective responsibility but the prime minister is the first among the equals," said Congress leader Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha. "In the 2G debates, we have insisted that the prime minister participates in this discussions but there is no such practice in this House that the prime minister must be here to listen to each and every member," Jaitley said. "What is the stage we are in? Halfway through the debate, you interrupted the debate and are now raising concerns which have never been raised in the House," he told the Opposition. "In this case, we've repeatedly said that the prime minister is going to participate in the debate," Jaitley said. "It's obviously an important issue. The questions have to be answered," he said. "The government and the council of ministers fucntions on a collective responsibility. There is no such principle that a specific person has to answer." "We've gone through this exercise of having a major debate which is incomplete. We have spent seven hours on the debate under rule 167," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha. When asked what does the Opposition want, Rahul said, "He should come and debate in Parliament and explain his decision," he said. Targetting the Prime Minister over the issue of note ban, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP government saying that the decision to scrap high denomination currency was the biggest mistake ever. "It was a bold decision - that's what Modi ji says - but bold decisions are also foolish decisions. Demonetisation was a foolish decision. Our farmers, fishermen and the poor of the society are dying, our Prime Minister does not care for any of that. He (PM Modi) is laughing and having a nice time while the people of the country are suffering. The idea behind cashless economy is that a few people and corporates will get maximum benefits from these transactions. This has damaged the nation." Today, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched a full frontal attack on the prime minister and an united Opposition on Thursday observed Black Day to mark one month since the demonetisation scheme kicked in. 8 November was when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It's been a month since then and the Opposition protests have gone on unabated - both in and outside Parliament. "It is a matter of shame that the government refused to pay tributes to the martyrs," Azad thundered, provoking the ruling party ministers and MPs, who began shouting as if Azad had just thrown something at them. He also said that by protesting in front of the Gandhi statue, the Opposition was the one which paid tributes to the deceased. "We have been saying for a long time that over 100 people have died because of demonetisation," said Ghulam Nabi Azad in Rajya Sabha. "But the government refused to pay tribute to the deceased," he added. It is a matter of shame that govt refuses to pay tributes to people killed due to demonetisation: Congress in RS President Pranab Mukherjee has accused the Opposition of "gagging majority" in both Houses of Parliament. "Debate, dissension and decision are necessary," Times Now quoted the President as saying. "The Parliament must not be disrupted...this is unacceptable." Has the Winter Session turned out to be a complete waste of time? Read the full article here . The Winter Session of Parliament began on 16 November. On 8 December, both the Houses Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha met for the 14th day but within minutes of commencing, both the Houses were adjourned. The deadlock over demonetisation has led to wastage of the Winter Session so far and considering that just one more week is left for the session to wrap up, there is little hope that the Houses will be able to pass, introduce or even debate the Bills that have been listed for consideration. Information and Broadcasting Minister Venakaiah Naidu also termed the 'dharna' by opposition leaders near the Gandhi statue in Parliament premises as a big 'tamasha' and an insult to the Father of the Nation. "Our opponents particularly the Congress I am told are observing a Black Day. I say what they are observing is a 'Black Money Support Day'," Naidu said. Hitting out at the Congress-led Opposition for observing a 'Black Day' against demonetisation decision, government on Thursday said they are actually observing a "Black Money Support Day". According to Times Now, the parliamentary panel has found Mann guilty of security breach after he filmed a video entering Parliament by crossing several security layers and posted it on social media. As if the logjam in Parliament for which President Pranab Mukherjee admonished both Houses was not embarrassing enough for the country, there is now a delegation of parliamentarians from Vietnam who are going to witness what happens in an Indian Parliament. "Govt running from debate, if they allow me to speak then you will see what an earthquake will come," says Rahul Gandhi. Keep in mind that Vietnamese Parliamentarians are in both the Houses to witness this scene. It's hard to decide at this point who is trying to stall Parliament. During zero hour in Lok Sabha, MPs in Lok Sabha kept raising ruckus while Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tries her best to keep the House in session. Rajya Sabha adjourned till 14 December On Friday as the count of members in the Upper House remained 21 despite calls from the Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien, the house was adjourned till Monday. The benches remained empty while BJP and Congress leaders sparred with each other blaming each other for the non-functioning government. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with key ministers before Parliament convenes on Wednesday morning to decide their strategy," the report said. According to an NDTV report Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that Prime Minister Modi will be present in Parliament for the three remaining days of the Session and can participate in proceedings for either of the House depending on the need. Congress is going to raise the issue of corruption charges against Kiren Rijiju. Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader, Anand Sharma has given notice under Rule 267 in Rajya Sabha for discussion on corruption charges against Rijiju. Comparison of the Right of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 and new amendments "This is the first time that the government is scheming to make sure Parliament does not function. It usually is the job of Opposition to stand up and protest. However, this government is doing a pretty job of that and making sure that Parliament does not work and no one questions the ruling party's decision. Demonetisation has hurt a lot of people, but Modi government's arrogance is not allowing us to debate it in the House," a TMC member said. BJP was reacting to Congress vice-president's claim that he has information of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged involvement in "personal corruption." Rahul was speaking a joint press briefing of the Opposition after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid din created by Opposition. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said that if Rahul Gandhi had any information, he could have revealed them twenty days ago, ""but till today he wasn't ready to make any earth-shattering revelations." Soon after Rajya Sabha passed the amended The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill (2014) and Kurien congratulated the members over a productive day, Anand Sharma raised the issue of Rijiju and his alleged involvement in the Rs 450-crore scam. Kurien tried to maintain calm in the House by saying, "Allegation without informing the Chair cannot be allowed." As Opposition members raised slogans and ruckus, Kurien said, "What can I do except adjourning. Both sides are indisciplined. The House is adourned till tomorrow (15 December) 11 am." It seemed like the members in the Upper House were just waiting to pass one single Bill this Winter Session. Soon after Kurien praised the members of the Upper House for being disciplined, ruckus over alleged corruption allegations on Kiren Rijiju took the House by storm again. Kurien: "I have given the floor to Leader of Opposition. That's the tradition. Let's follow it. Please sit down." Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi object to leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad speaking in the Upper House. Kurien asks BJP members to sit down. Amid slogans of "Agusta Agusta" , BJP leaders demanded to know what is the topic of discussion? "I have to adjourn.. what should I do?" asks Kurien. "This is for the first time in history of India that it's the ruling party that's not letting the House to function," says Azad. Helpless deputy chairman PJ Kurien begs for MPs to sit down as Congress and BJP leaders spar over Ghulam Nabi Azad's speech on demonetisation. Sources said that it was also decided in the meeting to raise the plight of farmers and common people in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and demand a loan waiver for farmers. Representatives of Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, SP, JD-U, CPI, CPI-M, NCP, DMK and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) were present in today's meeting. Leaders of various parties said the entire opposition has decided to approach the President to "complain" against the ruling party for not allowing them to speak in Parliament. The leaders said they were elected representatives of the country and had every right to speak in Parliament and it was "unconstitutional" not to allow them to speak in both Houses. Sources said time is being sought from the President till Friday and all opposition parties were ready to raise the issue unitedly before him. Taking their protest on demonetisation to President Pranab Mukherjee's doorsteps, Opposition parties sought a meeting with the president to convey the problems caused by the measure to the common man and "over not being" allowed to speak in Parliament. At a meeting of the opposition held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, representatives of various parties decided to raise with the President the problems of the common people, including the poor and farmers arising out of demonetisation. Advani also added that "had Atal ji been in Parliament today, he would have been upset." Senior BJP leader LK Advani told Home Minister Rajnath Singh to intervene and stop disruptions in both Houses of Parliament. Expressing his unhappiness, Advani allegedly said that he "feels like resigning". Opposition leaders are scheduled to meet the President and PM Modi to push for a way to break the deadlock. The BJPs Parliamentary Party meeting to discuss the strategy to counter the Oppositions charges against the government is currently underway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the gathering. The last day of the Winter Session of Parliament is setup for a big tussle between the government and the Opposition as both try to break the deadlock. "Regular and continuous disruptions signify this session... The rules about displaying placards and shouting slogans were ignored by all sections of the house," Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari said in his closing statement before adjourning the house. The Rajya Sabha on Friday concluded its winter session after an emotional speech by the Chairman as the house was adjourned sine die. On the eve of Winter Session, two all-party meetings were convened, first by the ruling NDA and the other by Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan. At the all-party meeting Modi requested all parties for cooperation in order to make Parliament session a fruitful one. "I hope that Winter Session will be fruitful. I expect that Winter Session will proceed in a positive way. I hope that Winter Session debate will strengthen democracy. I believe that to take the country ahead this Winter Session debate will be useful, " said Modi as Winter Session sets to begin. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said govt should should respect Opposition and create an atmosphere for healthy debate during Parliament Winter Session. "If you will put their husbands in jail, who will provide for them, who will pay for their children," Azad asked as he reiterated that Congress leader Anad Sharma's suggestion to send it to Standing Committee should be taken into consideration. Ghulam Nabi Azad stood up as the bill was taken up for discussion and said that none of the parties are in opposition of the bill in essence. However, he said that the government's bill will "finish Muslim women" instead of saving them. He said that a committee should reflect the nature of the House, which the list of suggestions given by Sharma does not. Sharma's suggestion did not include names from the BJP. Jaitley said that the previous precedents show that any amendments or motions should be introduced with prior notice. He said that the Opposition's demand to send the bill to Select Committee was invalid. He also raised objection on the suggestion on members of Select Committee made by Anand Sharma. Kurien said that the Leader of the House is a very learned advocate himself and all points raised by him are of relevance. The rule he quotes that a prior notice should be given is also correct, he said. "However, the same rule adds that the Chairman has the power to admit such a motion and which is why I cannot overrule it. It is now admitted and hence is the property of the House, only members can amend it," Kurien said on Jaitley's objection over the Opposition motion seeking triple talaq bill be sent to Standing Committee. Roy, responding to Jaitley's objection that the Select Committee suggested by him did not reflect the nature of the House, Roy said that he had included members from all parties who were willing to send the bill to the Standing Committee. However, BJP members were not included because the government was not willing to send the bill to the committee. Roy added that if the BJP is interested in sending the Bill for further scrutiny, he has no objection to ammend the list to include its members too. Govt requests to take up GST bill first as Dy Chairman ruled Triple Talaq bill can't be taken for passage without first building consensus in House "If you will put their husbands in jail, who will provide for them, who will pay for their children," Azad asked as he reiterated that Congress leader Anad Sharma's suggestion to send it to Standing Committee should be taken into consideration. Ghulam Nabi Azad stood up as the bill was taken up for discussion and said that none of the parties are in opposition of the bill in essence. However, he said that the government's bill will "finish Muslim women" instead of saving them. He said that a committee should reflect the nature of the House, which the list of suggestions given by Sharma does not. Sharma's suggestion did not include names from the BJP. Jaitley said that the previous precedents show that any amendments or motions should be introduced with prior notice. He said that the Opposition's demand to send the bill to Select Committee was invalid. He also raised objection on the suggestion on members of Select Committee made by Anand Sharma. Uproar in Rajya Sabha after opposition's motion on #TripleTalaqBill , opposition has demanded the bill be sent to select committee Kurien said that the Leader of the House is a very learned advocate himself and all points raised by him are of relevance. The rule he quotes that a prior notice should be given is also correct, he said. "However, the same rule adds that the Chairman has the power to admit such a motion and which is why I cannot overrule it. It is now admitted and hence is the property of the House, only members can amend it," Kurien said on Jaitley's objection over the Opposition motion seeking triple talaq bill be sent to Standing Committee. Roy, responding to Jaitley's objection that the Select Committee suggested by him did not reflect the nature of the House, Roy said that he had included members from all parties who were willing to send the bill to the Standing Committee. However, BJP members were not included because the government was not willing to send the bill to the committee. Roy added that if the BJP is interested in sending the Bill for further scrutiny, he has no objection to ammend the list to include its members too. Govt requests to take up GST bill first as Dy Chairman ruled Triple Talaq bill can't be taken for passage without first building consensus in House As the Parliament Winter Session reconvenes after a four-day break, it looks like the Opposition may finally get the debate on demonetisation it has been asking for, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to attend all the remaining parliamentary proceedings, reports said on Wednesday. According to The Indian Express, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress has instructed their Member of Parliaments (MPs) to be present in both Houses for the rest of the session. The news story, however, indicated that the government seems to have managed to convince the Opposition to forego its demand of a discussion under Rule 193, a primary demand of the Opposition mostly Congress and Tirnamool Congress that had lead to a deadlock in both the houses of Parliament since the beginning of the session. It will now be a no-rule discussion, it said. As for the Opposition's second demand, which was that Prime Minister Modi should answer questions from the Opposition, CNN-News18 said that Modi is likely to attend the parliamentary proceedings. However, whether or not he will speak, remains unclear. However, according to an NDTV report Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu said that Prime Minister Modi will be present in Parliament for the three remaining days of the Session and can participate in proceedings for either of the House depending on the need. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with key ministers before Parliament convenes this morning to decide their strategy," the report said. The Opposition will discuss its strategy during the parliamentary proceedings on Wednesday in an Opposition party's meet at 9.30 am, CNN-News18 reported. The Parliament's Winter Session has been facing a deadlock on demonetisation ever since it began on 16 November. While the Lok Sabha has managed to conduct two legislative actions pass the Income Tax amendment bill and approve the Supplementary Demand for Grants the Rajya Sabha, on the other hand, functioned normally only on the first sitting of the session when a debate on demonetisation took place for five hours. While three bills related to Goods and Services Tax (GST), are unlikely to be cleared on Wednesday, The Indian Express said, "Rajya Sabha is likely to pass the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014 in a brief remission of hostilities." However, apart from the listed topics of business, the Parliamentary proceedings are likely to attract heated discussions on the arrest of former Air marshal, SP Tyagi, in relation to the AugustaWestland VIP chopper scam as well as BJP leader Kiren Rijiju's alleged corruption in the Arunachal Hydro Power project. New Delhi: Keeping aside the acrimony over demonetisation issue which paralysed the Winter Session, Parliament on Friday passed the Disabilities Bill which stipulates up to two year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs five lakh for discriminating against differently-abled people. The Lok Sabha passed the bill within two hours after a short debate on the last day of the Session with the treasury and Opposition benches, who have been at loggerheads over demonetisation and other issues, joining hands to clear the legislation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House during the passage of the bill. Earlier on Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha too had witnessed similar bonhomie for passage of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016. Replying to the debate, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot announced that a scheme of 'universal identity card for the disabled' is on the anvil and an agency has already been finalised for the purpose. The proposed card would also be linked to the Aadhar card to help the disabled all over the country in a seamless fashion, he said. Gehlot said the universal identity card is being acted upon to overcome the problem of disability certificate being faced by those affected. He said the government has joined hands with German and British firms for making available state-of-the-art limbs to the disabled wherever possible. The Lok Sabha witnessed a division on an amendment by Congress and TRS members seeking to raise the reservation in the bill from four to five percent. It was defeated by 121 to 43 votes. KC Venugopal of the Congress who had given the amendment pressed for the division. Members from both sides supported the bill but suggested certain changes to improve the measure. Interestingly, the bill had been originally moved in 2014 in Rajya Sabha by then Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge who is now Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha. The bill, which aims at securing and enhancing the rights and entitlements of disabled persons, also gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and related matters. It provides for imprisonment of at least six months up to two years, along with a fine ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs five lakh for discriminating against differently-abled persons. Moving the bill for consideration and passage on Friday, Gehlot said out of 82 recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, 59 were accepted by the Government. The bill, he said, has increased the number of categories of disabled persons to 21. The Union Cabinet had earlier approved these amendments to the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (RPWD) Bill, 2014, that had replaced the 1995 Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act. In the bill, disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept and the types of disabilities have been increased from existing seven to 21. The Centre will have the power to add more types of disabilities to it. The types of disabilities now include mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions. It also strengthens the office of chief commissioner and state commissioners for Persons with Disabilities which will act as regulatory bodies. The bill was examined by the Parliamentary Standing Committee last year. Then, a Group of Ministers, headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, examined its provisions and sent their recommendations to the Prime Minister's Office. New Delhi: The ongoing sowing of rabi crop has been affected due to demonetisation as farmers are unable to buy quality seeds and fertiliser amid cash crunch, NCP supremo and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Friday. Farmers initially supported the government's move, but later they became "unhappy" due to paucity of new notes. Addressing Ficci's annual general meeting, Pawar said the poor implementation of the move is taking away the intended benefits. The NCP chief pointed out that there is not enough cash in village co-operative banks on which farmers heavily depend. "There is very insufficient currency, money is not available to farmers. The approach of the Government of India, particularly after demonetisation, is something different towards cooperative banks," he said. "This will definitely impact the rabi sowing. If farmers are not able to purchase quality seeds and fertilizers, it will affect sowing," he noted. On 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. On farmers' demand, the government later allowed purchase of seeds using old Rs 500 currency from central and state-owned seed companies as well as ICAR and agriculture varsities. The government has asked fertiliser companies to sell soil nutrients to farmers on a credit basis. "When the decision was taken on 8 November, within three days, I visited villages and asked people cross section. Initially, their reaction was quite favourable...," Pawar said. However, he said, "When I visited last week, visited banks and group of farmers standing in queues, there was ultimate difference. A sizeable section of farmers were unhappy." Former Agriculture Minister said farmers are unhappy also because their realisation has come down due to lack of demand in the wake of currency crisis. In fact, onion prices, which were ruling at Rs 15-20 per kg at this point last year, have come down to Rs 5-7 per kg.. Farmers are not able to recover their transportation cost, he said. Pawar said a similar situation is prevailing in perishable commodities like fruits and vegetables. "I spoke to many farmers. Their reaction was - it was really bad," he added. Pawar also said that a district co-operative there requires Rs 5 crore a day for the rabi season but they are getting only Rs 1 crore a week. He said that bad implementation of demonetisation has overshadowed the benefits of the policy. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi started the party's Goa poll campaign on Friday evening with a scathing attack on the BJP government at the Centre, saying the decision to demonetise high-value Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes has impacted only the poor and the middle-class, while the rich get away. "If the BJP takes honest and genuine steps to eliminate corruption, the Congress party will 100 percent stand behind them. But they haven't done that. The demonetisation drive is waging war against India's people and its economy," Gandhi said. He said going cashless will not solve the black money problem. "All cash is not black money and all black money is not cash. Most of the black money is stashed away in Swiss bank accounts. It's actually the poor people who have no choice but to use cash. By telling them one fine day that the money they have earned through hard work is just a piece of paper, Modi has delivered a big blow to the poor," he said. It's only the country's 50 richest families who own a majority of India's total wealth, Gandhi declared. "You know who these people are. They are the super rich, the ones who travel with Modi and sign business deals with him. They have elected the BJP and brought Modi to power. These are also the people who have most of the black money. But do they have it in cash? They have it invested in gold, in property, in bank accounts abroad. Demonetisation hasn't impacted any of this. It's all just a charade that will neither eliminate black money nor corruption," he said. The Congress vice-president further added that Modi knows this all too well. "Before the last election, Modi's campaign focussed heavily on black money. But did he speak of cash economy even once? He only spoke of Swiss accounts. He had vowed to personally ensure the return of money stashed away in foreign accounts. But has even one person been arrested so far? Has there been any action taken? In fact, there are people like Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya who are living with perfect freedom in London," Gandhi said. Addressing a rally in the state's commercial capital Madgaon, Gandhi also alleged the BJP government in the state of siding with the notorious mining mafia. "They have sided with the mining mafia, and through notebandi, ensured the state's tourism industry has also been affected. And this is not restricted to Goa alone. This has also hit Punjab's bicycle industry, Pune's automobile sector and Kanpur's leather market," he said. BJP governments in all the states controlled by the saffron party are anti-poor, said Gandhi. "On three different occasions, the Modi government at the Centre has tried to snatch away land from the poor. Even today, one poor farmer commits suicide every day. In Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh, all states ruled by BJP, the State has tried to snatch land belonging to Adivasis. If anybody raises a voice, he is beaten down," Gandhi alleged. Coming soon to a theatre near you will be Shasikala. That is if filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma's planned cinematic venture on the life and times of VK Sasikala, the trusted confidante of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa does not get dragged to the courts. Given the AIADMK's penchant for intimidating opponents through legal battles, chances of Varma's venture landing up in court are quite high. Varma hopes to get around that rather simplistically. His central character is called Shasikala, not Sasikala. The extra 'H' is RGV's fig leaf to claim this is his own story and a fictional character. On Thursday, the day the AIADMK spokesperson announced that Sasikala will be the next general secretary of the party, Varma registered the title of the film. Explaining the rationale for making the film on Sasikala, Varma tweeted saying he respected Jayalalithaa but he respected Sasikala much more. "Jayalalithaa ji respected Sasikala ji much more than she respected anybody else proves why I should call my film Shasikala," he tweeted. "I find it fascinating that just a close confidante of a person in power can create so much turbulence in so many ways," says Varma. The filmmaker claims he is essentially interested in Sasikala, the person. Varma who has just started writing the script says the film will deal with the period from the time Sasikala first met Jayalalithaa, till the former CM's death. "It will be the biography of Sasikala's journey with Amma," explains Varma. "I think Amma seen from the point of view of someone so close to her will be much more interesting." He plans to speak to people who have known the 59-year-old Sasikala over the past four decades. "This will be an outside interpretation of happenings on a public domain mixed with personal information from sources close to her, who may not wish to be named," says Varma. As of now, RGV does not plan to seek permissions from anyone before shooting the film. The AIADMK taken by surprise by Varma's move has not formulated its stand on the filmmaker's decision, as it is preoccupied with more pressing matters of succession. Through his career, Varma has shown a fascination with making movies on real life characters. His Company in 2002 was a take on the underworld war between Dawood Ibrahim and Chotta Rajan. His Rakta Charitra in 2010 is one of the best movies to capture the politics of blood and gore in Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema region. More recently, Varma captured the life of forest brigand Veerappan. The movie received rave reviews for his lead character's uncanny resemblance to the bandit and the stylish manner in which it was shot in the forests of Karnataka. Varma's Telugu venture Vangaveeti which is based on the life of politician Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga and the violent gang warfare and politics of Vijayawada in the 70s and the 80s in Andhra Pradesh will release on 23 December. Varma who himself grew up in Vijayawada and has experienced the turbulence firsthand has said that making a film on the controversial politician was his dream project. Like Veerappan's wife who went to court against the movie, Ranga's family has also raised objections to Vangaveeti. "Real life stories are fascinating because they deal with real emotions and hence the connect is much more," says Varma, explaining his obsession with people rooted in present-day politics and conflicts. Interestingly, both Sasikala and Ram Gopal Varma have one thing in common. Both have been video library owners, back in the era when video cassettes were a rage. The last big budget movie made on the life and times of Dravidian politicians was Mani Ratnam's Iruvar in 1997, in which Mohanlal played MGR. Jayalalithaa's role was essayed by Aishwarya Rai while Prakash Raj played Karunanidhi. Varma is undecided if Shasikala will be only in Tamil or will have a Telugu and Hindi version as well. New Delhi: On Friday, Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die even as Chairman Hamid Ansari expressed strong displeasure over regular disruptions by all sections of the House during the session and asked the members to introspect. Soon after the laying of papers, Ansari adjourned the House sine die. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House. The 241st session of Rajya Sabha, which had commenced on 16 November, was a near washout as opposition members continously disrupted proceedings mainly over the demonetisation issue. They were countered vociferously by members of the ruling side on several occasions, including by shouting counter slogans. In his closing remarks, Ansari said he had "fervently hoped" that he would not have to repeat what he had said at the conclusion of the 221st session in December 2013, but "My hopes stand belied". "Regular and continuous disruptions characterised this Session. The symbolism of dignified protests, so essential for orderly conduct of Parliamentary proceedings, was abandoned," the Chairman said. This, he said, deprived members of the opportunity to seek accountability of the Executive through questions and discussions on matters of public interest. "The prohibition in the Rules about shouting slogans, displaying posters and obstructing proceedings by leaving their assigned places was consistently ignored by all sections of the House," Ansari said, adding that "peace prevailed only when obituaries were read". The Chairman said that "all sections" of the House need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. Earlier, the members observed silence as mark of respect to condole death of former Rajya Sabha member V Ramanathan. The House of Elders functioned on the first day of the Session and had a "useful discussion" on demonetisation on 16 November and 24 November, which remained inconclusive. Rajya Sabha also passed, on 14 December, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014. While Indians and Bangladeshis pay rich tributes to the martyrs of the war, the day is a grim reminder of the ultimate repudiation of the two-nation theory the very basis on which a Muslim homeland was formed. Victory or defeat in a war can effect considerable changes in the psyche of a nation. This is true when one understands the post-Second World War history of former Axis powers Germany and Japan. Likewise, one can say that 1971 war did an irreparable damage to the very idea of Pakistan that religion can be the distinguishing factor on the Indian subcontinent. Tariq Mahmud, a former bureaucrat, in his opinion piece in The Express Tribune, points out that the geographical distance between the two wings of the country, made the leaders from UP and Punjab to ignore the aspirations of the majority Bengalis. The subsequent military dictatorships under Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan further widened the economic disparity between the west and the densely-populated east, fuelling regional aspirations for more autonomy. The six-point programme by Awami Leagues Mujibur Rahman spelt a more federal structure, with the only defence and foreign affairs remaining with the Centre. However, as the writer says, no one in the western part of the country seemed to be ready for this. A complex political problem was subjected to an administrative and later on to a military solution which spelt disaster for the country. The '1971 debacle' has often been termed a conspiracy against Pakistan. As Tahir Mahdi writes in Dawn, Pakistanis feel uneasy coming to terms with the reality that is Bangladesh. Often narratives are shaped by revisiting history. Mahdi writes that the root cause of the ultimate debacle may lie in the early days of the nascent state. While democracy was to be the political foundation of Pakistan, the writer continues, the Bengalis were more in number than all the rest put together, and under a democracy, nothing could bar them from getting a majority share in the new state". However, colour of the skin and significant cultural differences came in the way of a fledgling democracy. The dark-skinned Bengalis, who shared their language and culture with their Hindu compatriots did not cut a figure to fit the coveted slot, Mahdi writes. Yusuf Rafiq, writing for The Daily Times, laments the lack of a proper national narrative to determine the significance of the debacle. According to the writer, almost every other average Joe blames the military for the disaster. However, the reasons for the ultimate separation had begun to precipitate in the 1960s, when the Bengalis had become second-grade citizen. The writer compares the complicity of Pakistani administrators to cancer and writes, As a nation we have long developed the bad habit of dealing with the symptom rather than the disease. We allow problems to linger till they assume large, very dangerous proportions. The East Pakistan problem was the perfect example. We ignored it and let it grow till it became a cancer. Rafiq also opines that despite losing Bangladesh, Islamabad seems to have not learnt any lessons from 45 years ago. Murtaza Shibli, while writing for The News International, gives the 1971 war narrative, a complete different colour. In his opinion piece, he questions the exaggerated accounts of the civil war and the consequent 13-day war, while blaming the R&AW for flaming up the trouble in East Pakistan. Painting India as an aggressor, the writer quoted a Bangladeshi journalist as saying, Thousands of army vehicles were used to carry looted goods to India. History has recorded few such cruel and heinous plunders. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, the victim country that went through a harrowing nine-month civil war, the 1971 war is a moment of remembering the fallen. It is time to remember the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman), and the four national leaders who, inspired by Bangabandhu, led the nation to victory, The Daily Star editorial noted while pointing out the days of oppression under Pakistani rule. Bangladesh while paying homage to the freedom fighters called the Mukti Bahini, also point out the fact that the country has a long way to go in their fight against rampant corruption and growing economic inequality, despite significant progress since 1971. The martyrs must be turning over in their graves. What they died for remains unattained, if not gotten worse than before. Exploitation persists. Disparity exists. Deprivation perpetuates. The farce continues long after the faces have changed, the publication notes. What about India? We take pride in winning one of the shortest wars 13 days in modern history, while also taking 93,000 Pakistanis as Prisoners of War. It also cemented India's position as a military power in the Indian subcontinent. Nevertheless, Sushant Singh notes in his op-ed in The Indian Express that it was the 1971 war that has shaped the Pakistani policy against India. Internally, Islamabad turned to Islamisation to secure the country, Pakistani society and polity doubled down on building up Islam in public life. As prime minister, ZA Bhutto first declared Ahmedis non-Muslims, announced prohibition and took steps which laid the foundation for General Zia ul-Haq to build the whole edifice of Islamisation of Pakistan. Islamabads involvement with Punjab and the Kashmir problem can also be linked to the humiliation in 1971, he opines. Notwithstanding the narrative, the 1971 War will remain etched in the collective memory of the Indian subcontinent for years to come. United Nations: UN Secretary-General designate Antonio Guterres has selected women representing Asia, Africa and Latin America for three top jobs as the foundation of his pledge to promote gender parity and geographic diversity at the world body. In his first personnel appointments, he nominated Nigeria's Environment Minister Amina Mohammed to be the deputy secretary-general. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil is to be his chef de cabinet and Kyung-wha Kang of South Korea his special advisor on policy, a new position. Gutterres told reporters after his swearing in on Monday that his priority would be to appoint more women to top jobs in order to achieve gender parity at the world body. "I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women from different regions of the world," he said on Thursday. "These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity." The three appointments of women comes after the failure of the UN to elect a woman as the secretary-general despite a strong campaign on their behalf and the emergence of several strong women candidates. Women are under-represented at all levels in the UN bureaucracy. Only 17 of the 79 under-secretaries-general are women. Mohammed was Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special advisor on post-2015 development planning before returning to Nigeria as environment minister. The daughter of a Nigerian father and a British mother, her entire career was spent on development and related issues. A career diplomat, Viotti is now Brazil's ambassador to Germany. Before that she was at the UN as her country's permanent representative. Kang, who was once a broadcast journalist, works for the US as an assistant secretary-general and deputy emergency relief coordinator. Earlier she was the deputy high commissioner for human rights. By Edward McAllister | BANJUL BANJUL Lawyers, trade unions, teachers and journalists have joined a growing chorus of demands for Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to accept his defeat in a Dec. 1 election, as people lose their fear of the man who has ruled them for the past 22 years.As lawyers prepared to attend a meeting of the Gambian Bar Association on Monday, the intelligence service rang them with threats and monitored the ritzy Coco Ocean Hotel where they gathered, said the association's Secretary General Aziz Bensouda.But since the shock opposition victory that brought Gambians out on the streets of the capital Banjul in boisterous celebration, the familiar menacing tactics have lost their usual effectiveness."The intimidation did not work," said Bensouda. "At the end, no one feared anything."After first conceding defeat to little-known challenger Adama Barrow, Jammeh last week rejected the voting results and his party is challenging them at Gambia's Supreme Court.Whether the small West African country can achieve its first peaceful transition of power in more than 50 years is an important question for a region long used to authoritarian rulers and sporadic coups. A top United Nations official said this week that Jammeh would face strong sanctions if he tried to cling to power beyond the end of his elected term next month.Following the five-hour bar association meeting, dozens of lawyers stood on the tiled steps of the resort's meeting room at dusk and accused Jammeh of "treason" for refusing to step down.Just a few onlookers were present, but the statement prompted an unprecedented cascade of similar denunciations.The next day, the Gambia Teachers Union called Jammeh's refusal to leave office a "recipe for chaos and disorder which undoubtedly endangers the lives of all Gambians." On Wednesday, the Gambian press union, one of the most harshly persecuted groups under Jammeh, said he must back down. "The defeat was conceded. There is, therefore, no turning back," it said. Transport and medical unions and the Chamber of Commerce echoed that call in statements on Thursday. "ILLUSION SHATTERED" The public demands have left Jammeh, who took power in a 1994 coup and once vowed to rule for "a billion years", looking isolated both internationally and domestically in the country of 1.8 million. Gambians are now openly speaking out against him in places they didn't dare before - in taxis, markets and on the phones and computers they used to worry were tapped."The illusion of Jammeh as Gambia's all-seeing and all-knowing overlord has been shattered for ever. The fear among Gambians is gone," said Jeffrey Smith from campaign group Vanguard Africa.The lawyers who first spoke out against Jammeh had pent-up frustrations to voice. Their jobs had long been a struggle. Gaining access to detained clients was often impossible in the face of recalcitrant security officials. Many received death threats for representing Jammeh's political opponents. With Gambians too fearful to serve on the Supreme Court and the High Court, lawyers and judges have had to be brought in from abroad to fill key positions.So when the association brought forward this week's meeting to discuss the president's defiance, its attendance ballooned from the usual couple of dozen members to nearly 100.As they scoured the constitution for legal arguments against Jammeh, the tense atmosphere was suddenly broken."A senior lawyer said, 'Let's just call it what it is. It is treason.' The room exploded in applause," said Bensouda, who was present.The lawyers voted to approve that wording, then celebrated with a meal of butter-fried shrimp and beef brochettes. Many hugged and laughed. "We have compromised ourselves for too long and have not stood up because of fear," said Bensouda. "When Jammeh lost the election, it solidified everyone." (Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Trevelyan) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Michael Shields and Philip Blenkinsop | ZURICH/BRUSSELS ZURICH/BRUSSELS The Swiss parliament passed a law on Friday aimed at curbing immigration by giving local people first crack at open jobs, skirting voters' demand for outright quotas, which it feared could disrupt close ties with the European Union.The European Commission offered a cautious welcome while it checks with members on how to handle non-member Switzerland, knowing that its treatment will be scrutinised for hints on what Britain might expect as it negotiates its EU divorce.A Commission spokesman said the Swiss law "appears to go in the right direction" by not setting quotas of EU citizens able to work there.Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was due to talk with Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann later on Friday, and a joint committee meeting planned for Dec. 22.Brussels has so far shown scant inclination to compromise on free movement of people - the principle underpinning Swiss access to the EU's single market of 500 million - so as not to encourage Britain after its Brexit vote.The bill's lack of upper limits on immigration to a country where a quarter of residents are foreign prompted the right-wing Swiss People's Party to say politicians had defied the people's will as expressed in a 2014 referendum.The SVP, the largest party in parliament, has accused other parties of caving in to Brussels and selling out sovereignty.Its members held up signs in the chamber reading "Breach of the constitution" and "Mass immigration continues".AVOIDING A ROW But a clear majority in parliament did not want a row with the EU, Switzerland's main trading partner, which could retaliate by abrogating bilateral accords governing trade worth about 7 percent of Swiss economic output.The Swiss debate mirrors that in Britain, where voters decided to quit the EU in part to control immigration, which critics said was straining social infrastructure.Asked if the Swiss approach might be a guide for Britain, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: "We have made it clear ... that part of leaving the EU is to regain control of our borders. What shape that takes will be decided in the future ..."The other issue is (single market) access ... We will negotiate a deal that allows us the best access ... to trade and operate within the single market."Rather than the quotas voters had demanded, the Swiss law says that, at times of economic upheaval, employers in sectors or regions with above-average jobless rates must inform local job centres of vacancies and get the names of job seekers. The presumption is that local residents will be more likely to register with the centres - although, to the annoyance of the SVP, cross-border commuters and any citizens from EU or EFTA countries will be allowed to do so, enabling the government to argue that it meets the EU's non-discrimination test.The right-wing isolationist group AUNS said it would try to force a referendum on abrogating the free movement accord with the EU because Switzerland was becoming "a colony of the EU".OPEN BORDER Nearly 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland and more than 300,000 commute in from neighbouring countries. Bern believes it can win over Germany, France and Italy to its plan because many of their voters - especially in border regions where populist parties are strong - benefit from high-earning Swiss jobs.Passage of the law cleared the way for Bern to extend free movement on Friday to the latest EU member, Croatia. That, in turn, will restore Swiss access to the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, which funds research projects.In any event, some form of second referendum on Switzerland's ties with the EU looks certain. Many analysts think voters will opt to uphold the accords that smooth business ties. But the wave of migrants that arrived in Europe last year, and a sense that the EU is divided and ineffective, could make it a close call."You have seen what became of (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel's good idea (to welcome refugees from Syria). I would say 'yes' to quotas," said Siegfried, a retiree from Winterthur who did not give his family name.Others interviewed at random in Zurich disagreed.Conrad Hottinger, a retired engineer from Herrliberg, said parliament had found an elegant way out of a policy dilemma triggered by "mean" far-right politics."The people have said many times that the bilateral accords have priority. This (the 2014 referendum) was a political chess move by the populist right," he said. (Additional reporting by Ruben Sprich in Bern and by David Milliken and Liz O'Leary in London; Editing by Kevin Liffey) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Beijing: China's first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its maiden live-fire exercises on a massive scale, in a show of strength amid increasing tensions with the US over the South China Sea and Taiwan. Aircraft carrier 'Liaoning' conducted the mammoth drills with live ammunition in the Bohai Sea involving dozens of ships and aircraft as well as several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles, the PLA Navy said in a statement. The exercise was aimed at testing combination of various types and numbers of ships to optimise the carrier's combat ability, the navy said. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft. The time and exact location of the exercises were not disclosed accept that they were held in the Bohai Sea which is located between Chinese coast off Dalian and North and South Korea. Earlier reports said the aircraft carrier would be deployed in the disputed South China Sea when it is ready. It was the first time that the weapons used on the carrier were displayed in public since it entered service in 2012. Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were broadcast on China Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi, commander of the Liaoning carrier battle group, said the exercise is a "milestone" for the unit. "It enabled us to explore how to organise a carrier battle group exercise and to test the training levels of our sailors and pilots. It can also boost the battle groups efforts to become combat ready as early as possible," he told CCTV. The exercises were conducted as China struck a more aggressive posture over the disputed South China Sea issue and braces to have a showdown with US President-elect Donald Trump, who questioned 'One-China' policy and held an unprecedented phone talk with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, which drew strong diplomatic protests from Beijing. China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an international tribunal struck down its claim over all most all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the disputed South China Sea. China yesterday confirmed that it is building military facilities in some of the reclaimed islands, saying the deployment of necessary defensive facilities on some islands in the South China Sea is legitimate and normal. Reacting to the reports showing satellite images of the military facilities in the islands revealed by US think tank, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the South China Sea islands are China's inherent territory and China is building necessary defensive facilities on its own territory which is completely normal and has nothing to do with militarisation. "If China's building normal facilities and deploying necessary territorial defensive facilities on its own islands is considered militarisation, then what is the sailing of fleets in the South China Sea?" he said questioning the movement of US naval fleet in the area. Besides Liaoning, China is currently building two more aircraft carriers one of which was expected to be ready by next year. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in earlier briefings that there will surely be more carriers in future. Commander Xu Ying, chief of a J-15 squadron that participated in the event, was quoted by the State broadcaster as saying that through the exercise, pilots improved their use of tactics and weapons and enhanced confidence in their equipment. Though the Navy did not disclose components of the carrier battle group, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China Daily that the battle group would have three Type 052C or Type 052D destroyers, both of which have advanced vertical-launch missile systems and cutting-edge air defence radar, three Type 054A frigates, one replenishment ship and one attack submarine. "The recent exercise is really a landmark for the carrier battle group because it means the group's ships and aircraft have achieved a high level of integration and cooperation and that the unit is closer to gaining combat readiness," Zhang said. "Next, the group would focus on honing its air defence and counter-submarine capabilities." Wu Peixin, an aviation industry observer in Beijing, said the news indicates that the J-15 fighter force has obtained initial operational capability. "The J-15 is as mighty as the United States' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. It is capable of carrying out multiple operations such as fleet air defense and anti-ship strikes," he said. "Given that dozens of ships were used in this drill, the aircraft carrier was likely to be accompanied by submarines, depot ships and fast combat support ships, in addition to guided missile destroyers as well as two guided missile frigates," Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told state run Global Times. Liaoning is a refitted vessel based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the Chinese Navy on 25 September, 2012. Its battle group took shape in December 2013, when the carrier and several escort vessels, including two guided missile destroyers, two guided missile frigates and an attack submarine took part in a long-range formation drill in the South China Sea. BOGOTA Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and right-wing opposition leader Alvaro Uribe will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday, in a bid to build consensus on a peace deal with the Andean country's Marxist FARC rebels, the government said.Uribe, a former president and current senator, has been the deal's harshest critic, arguing penalties for human rights violations by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels are not stiff enough."The Vatican proposed this meeting to President Santos and he accepted," Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo told journalists. "We hope it will bring positive results."Santos signed a modified peace deal in November, after the first version was rejected in a plebiscite. Though Santos and Uribe met after the vote, the new accord does not include opposition demands that FARC leaders serve traditional jail sentences and be banned from forming a political party. Some 7,000 rebel fighters are now making their way to special demobilization areas to hand over their weapons.Santos and hardliner Uribe were once allies - Santos served in his predecessor's cabinet and Uribe backed Santos' first presidential bid. But the two turned against each other over the peace deal, the centrepiece policy of the Santos administration. Pope Francis repeatedly expressed his support for the deal over four years of negotiations.Congress recently approved the deal and the constitutional court has ruled that laws relating to implementation can be sped through approval processes, key to safeguarding a ceasefire and reassuring nervous rebel commanders. The conflict in Colombia, which includes a smaller guerrilla movement as well as paramilitary groups and narcotrafficking gangs, has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; writing by Julia Symmes Cobb, editing by G Crosse) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Gabriela Baczynska | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to extend economic sanctions against Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine until mid-2017, though some wanted a longer timespan over fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump would ease pressure on Moscow.The decision was expected and the formal process to extend the sanctions on Russia's defence, energy and financial sectors will take place early next week."Some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months but ... what is possible is maintaining our current format, it means six months," European Council President Donald Tusk said. The bloc slapped sanctions on Russia after it annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and stepped them up as Moscow went on to support a separatist rebellion in Ukraine's industrial east. It has extended them by six months each time ever since as Moscow says it would never give back Crimea and the conflict in east Ukraine - which has killed 10,000 people to date - is not resolved despite peace mediation by Germany and France. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko welcomed the decision: "I am sincerely grateful for unwavering unity and solidarity of the European leaders in restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea." THE TRUMP EFFECT Poland was among the EU states that wanted a longer extension of the sanctions, but Italy has been a leading voice in the bloc in calling for re-establishing business ties with Moscow. The decision was also meant as a signal to Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20 and has worried the EU with his promises to seek a rapprochement with Russia. "It would send a very bad signal vis-a-vis Trump if we shied away from this extension, or prolonged them by a shorter period of time," a senior EU official said.But in front of cameras, EU leaders were more cautious, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the extension was agreed "based on the current situation" rather than attempts to "anticipate what the new American president might do." "It's still too early to assess responsibly what is the possible policy of the new american administration on Russia," said Tusk. Despite threats in October by some EU leaders, the bloc has shied away from slapping new sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Syria.In a separate decision on Thursday, EU leaders agreed to spell out limits to a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine in order to address Dutch concerns and prevent the deal from falling through. (Additional reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey and Andreas Rinke) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. BRUSSELS The heads of European Union institutions were given a mandate to plan a possible summit meeting with Turkish leaders in the coming months at an EU summit on Thursday, summit chair Donald Tusk told a news conference."We have a mandate to organise this kind of summit in the next months," Tusk said, adding that no date had been set.The EU would be represented by Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Tusk stressed that Brussels still had much to discuss with President Tayyip Erdogan and his government, notably an agreement that has helped curb flows of migrants to Europe and changes to the Turkey-EU customs union. Relations have become frosty since a failed military coup in July that has been followed by a crackdown on Erdogan's critics. But EU leaders have said they need to maintain dialogue with a key neighbour. Diplomats have said that either a conclusion to negotiations to grant Turks visa-free travel to Europe, or moves to expand the customs union could be a reason for a summit. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; @macdonaldrtr) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. With Bangladesh celebrating its Independence on Friday, Indias role in the 1971 liberation war is being emphasised both in Dhaka, Delhi and Kolkata. Ever since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2008, relations between the two neighbours are on a high. However, some blips have occurred in recent times which if not repaired in time, do not bode well for the future. Hasina is coming to India in February to renew India-Bangladesh ties. But with the Teesta Waters Agreement showing no signs of being signed in a hurry, there is disappointment in Bangladesh. Modis visit to Dhaka in 2015 generated much goodwill. The prime ministers speech where he said air and water did not belong to any nation, but was the property of all humanity. The Bangladeshis were bowled over by Modi and believed he would be in a position to deliver on the Teesta agreement. However, chances are now dim with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee unlikely to come on board. However, the Teesta is not the only issue that is bugging Dhaka. Bangladesh just cannot understand the noise in India over its recent purchase of two submarines from China at a reportedly very competitive price of $24 billion. The deal was inked in 2013, but New Delhis hackles were raised when the first submarine was delivered last month. This, coupled with the fact that President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Dhaka in October, extended a $24 billion loan to Bangladesh. All of this aligns with New Delhis concerns about Beijing spreading its wings across Indias neighbourhood and its fears of encirclement by its powerful Asian rival. For Bangladesh, Indias fears are completely unjustified "Yes, we have friendly relations with China, but our ties with India are at another level. We can never forget Indias contribution to the Liberation War. So the concern here is baffling," said a senior Bangladeshi official, contacted by phone from Delhi. He spoke on condition of anonymity. Like their counterparts in West Bengal, Bangladeshis are fiercely independent. They value their freedom and sovereignty earned with blood, sweat and tears and the loss of thousands of lives. They acknowledge and are grateful to Indira Gandhi and India. But it is a sensitive nation and savours its freedom of choice. So, if Dhaka wants to have good relations with Beijing, it should not make Delhi jittery. After all, nations choose what is best for their respective national interests, and a good deal is a good deal whether for individuals or nations. The current Awami League government is India-friendly, but that did not prevent Hasina from ordering the submarines from China. Bangladesh wants to shore up its defence capabilities to secure its maritime boundaries and its special economic zone. Dhaka is doing this for self-defence and not to threaten any other country. As Bangladeshi officials never tire of pointing out, these submarines will never be used against India, so wheres the threat? New Delhi is certainly not afraid of Bangladesh attacking India, but it is concerned about Beijings growing clout in Indias neghbourhood. China has always been an all-weather friend to Pakistan and is investing $46 billion for Xis pet 'One-Belt One-Road' project. Despite a change in government, Sri Lanka too has agreed to allow the Chinese to build a port city in Colombo. China is also active in the Maldives and Nepal. Considering that the proposal to build a deep sea port in Sonadia, near Coxs Bazar in Chittagong is not going through and Dhaka will have a global tender for a consortium to take on the project, India should be reassured. Somehow, suspicion and concern remain. New Delhi was looking at Chinese moves in buiding the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, Gwadar in Pakistan and Sonadia in Bangladesh. The feeling of encirclement was complete. But Dhaka has assured Delhi about Sonadia. It is also a true that Hambantota was first offered to India, but no one was willing to take up the port project. India needs an alternative vision for the region It is a fact that China is moving quickly in the neigbourhood. Chinas way of working, for a variety of reasons is certainly more efficient than Indias slow progress on projects. So all countries that seek to upgrade their infrastructure will welcome Chinese investments. As Srinath Raghvan, an independent analyst who follows Bangladesh closely, put it: "Chinas maritime and one road one belt policy is hard to resist. India does not have an alternative to offer on the table. Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) is a slow starter." China delivers, India scrambles and takes time for everything. In such a case, naturally, Indias neighbours go with China. "India has not been able to give an alternative vision that is as appealing. So, there is resentment in Delhi and attempts to browbeat the smaller neighbours, but this can boomerang, said Raghavan. He acknowledged that China is moving in fast in the periphery. It is time for India to rethink its strategy. Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner and strongly condemned the alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van", carrying children, by Indian forces. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and "strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van, on 16 December 2016" by the Indian forces on the LoC in Nikial sector, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement. It said that the alleged targeting of the school van resulted in the death of a civilian and injuries to four school children. "He (Faisal) stated that the deliberate targeting of civilians, villages and civilian transport and a school van is condemnable and contrary to human dignity as well as international human rights and humanitarian laws," the statement said. The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate this incident and other incidents of ceasefire violations. He also stated that the Indian forces must respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop "targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC", the statement said. Meanwhile, local Pakistani channels showed the students injured in the "targeting of the van" being treated at a medical facility. Also, the Pakistan Army, in a separate statement, confirmed that a school van had been targeted in which one civilian was killed and four school children were injured. The Pakistan Army said its troops "effectively responded and targeted" Indian posts from where they claimed the fire was coming. MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday killings he maintains he committed while mayor of a southern city, sometimes cruising the streets on a motor bike looking for "encounters to kill", were part of legitimate operations against drug pushers.Speaking to Filipino journalists traveling with him in Singapore, Duterte said he had killed three men during a hostage-taking incident in Davao City where he was mayor for more than 20 years."It was not because I was walking around that I killed," he said. "It was actually an event that was covered by the TV...I said I killed about three of them. I didn't really know how many bullets from my gun went through inside their bodies."The firebrand leader told a gathering of business leaders at the presidential palace on Monday he had "personally" killed criminals and that he was prowling the city's streets on a big bike looking for "encounters to kill".Senators have warned Duterte risks impeachment because of his statements about personally killing criminals in Davao.Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said in Washington Duterte's statement about looking for chances to kill criminals while riding a bike were "deeply troubling". "The United States continues to be concerned by the widespread reports of extrajudicial killings by, or at the behest of, government authorities in the Philippines," he said.During the election campaign early this year, the 71-year-old former prosecutor referred to the hostage-taking incident in Davao City to demonstrate toughness in fighting drug dealers. "NOT GENOCIDE" Duterte said he was only after criminals and would not murder because of race, religion or political belief. "It's not genocide, it's about crime. It's not covered under the charter of the International Criminal Court," he said."If you are fighting drug addicts and criminal, I can go as many as I want and for as long as there are drug pushers in the streets in my country... this campaign will go on until the last day of my term." He said of anyone who would destroy the country, "I would not have second thought about cutting your head off", ordering the police to go out and hunt the drug peddlers and kill those who resist.More than 2,000 people have died in anti-drug police operations since Duterte came to power on July 1, with another 3,000 killed by masked men on motor cycles or vigilantes. (Reporting By Manuel Mogato; additional reporting by Roberta Rampton in washington; Editing By xxxxx) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Rex Tillerson, named by Donald Trump as his pick for secretary of state, has spent his four-decade career with oil giant ExxonMobil, of which he has been chairman and CEO since 2006. Tyson Slocum director of the energy program at Washington's consumer-rights advocacy Public Citizen believes the Texan would find it virtually impossible to cut his longstanding ties to his employer in a governmental post and avoid conflicts of interest over the multinational company with operations in some fifty countries including Russia. What conflicts of interest could arise? Tyson Slocum: "It's not just about him owning stocks. It's unclear whether he can adequately divest all of that. Tillerson only has one employer on his resume, Exxon, he's worked there more than 40 years, it's the only real job he's ever known. "Extractive industries often have to obtain close personal financial and political ties with a number of questionable governments in order to get access to a nation's natural resources. So Tillerson has been very aggressive in establishing close ties with countries and situations that have often been directly at odds with US interests "Being the CEO should not automatically disqualify one from a cabinet position. But the oil and gas company is very unique... Exxon has essentially operated as a type of independent fiefdom, negotiating deals with foreign governments, and so that's a problem." What's the risk for US interests? Slocum: "When you look at his role in Russia... Tillerson had at least 20 White House visits to talk about sanctions. He's publicly said that he does not believe that sanctions are an effective tool because that's his view as a corporate CEO, that sanctions restrict the economic opportunities. "This isn't just about Russia, this is about Iran, this is about any sort of dictatorship in Africa or Asia. The question is what is Tillerson's role going to be?" If he sold his shares, would that help alleviate his conflicts of interest? Slocum: "He's a senior executive who owes his entire fortune to Exxon. How do you financially dissociate yourself from that? (...) You can't put (your stocks) into a blind trust, because you know where the money is. Blind trusts work when you have a diversified economic portfolio. "When he leaves, there's going to be a golden parachute waiting for him. I don't know all the details of his pension, but he's going to have a lifetime pension. You can't blind trust that. "Even assuming he can fully financially divest himself, he's conflicted, there are too many conflicts of interests. Because his responsibilities at Exxon inserted him into a number of different international relationships that often were at odds with US interests. "So when he is going around the world as US secretary of state, there are going to be questions as to what interests exactly he will be pursuing." Trump defends diplomat pick Tillerson against critics Donald Trump defended his nomination of Tillerson as America's next secretary of state, dismissing concerns about the oilman's ties to Russia and saying US foreign policy needed a new direction. The nomination, which capped weeks of debate about the right candidate, was the most keenly awaited in Trump's cabinet as the world waits to see how the incoming Republican president intends to alter US foreign policy. Trump has stoked alarm among Democrats and fellow Republicans ahead of his 20 January inauguration by calling for closer ties with Moscow, in contrast to received wisdom in Washington that Russia remains a global security threat. That sentiment coupled with the fact that Trump is at loggerheads with some Republican senators over a CIA assessment that Russian hackers helped him win the election may complicate Tillerson's confirmation hearings. Trump, who announced the nomination early Tuesday, hailed Tillerson as a "great diplomat" and "one of the greatest and most skilled global business leaders of our time" at a campaign-style rally Tuesday night in the traditionally Democratic-leaning state of Wisconsin that helped elect him. The 64-year-old Texan, who has no experience in government and spent his entire career at Exxon, "has the insights and talents necessary to help reverse years of foreign policy blunders and disasters," Trump told the crowd. But politicians on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns over Tillerson's ties to Russia. The businessman was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin in 2013 and has publicly opposed sanctions on Moscow that thwarted his attempt to pursue huge oil deals in the Russian Arctic. The Kremlin welcomed his nomination with an aide praising him as a "very solid figure" with whom Putin and Russians have "good, business-like relations." Putin's friend? "Rex is friendly with many of the leaders in the world that we don't get along with and some people don't like that," Trump told the crowd in West Allis, without mentioning Russia or Putin. "They don't want him to be friendly. That's why I'm doing the deal with Rex, because I like what this is all about," he added. "We need a new direction," said Trump. "Instead of jumping recklessly from one intervention to another, my administration will build a long term strategy for stability, prosperity, peace, and rebuilding our own country." A series of establishment Republicans, including former secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and James Baker, and former defense secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates have lined up to praise Tillerson. Tillerson joined ExxonMobil in 1975 as an engineer, before rising to become president and chief executive, overseeing business activities in more than 50 countries. Appointed CEO in 2006, he had been due to retire in March. But his lack of formal policy and government experience, and embedded relationship with a hugely powerful energy company is bound to result in sharp questions in the Senate confirmation hearings. Senior Republican Senator John McCain has called Tillerson's ties to Putin "a matter of concern." "Vladimir Putin is a thug, bully and a murderer, and anybody else who describes him as anything else is lying," McCain has said. Senator Marco Rubio, a former Trump rival for the Republican White House nomination, tweeted: "Being a 'friend of Vladimir' is not an attribute I am hoping for from a #SecretaryofState." McCain and other senators have backed a congressional probe into intelligence assessments on Russian election interference, putting top Republicans on a collision course with Trump, who dismissed the reports as "ridiculous". Business controversy If confirmed, Tillerson will face the hugely sensitive job of representing overseas a president apparently intent on trashing protocol and upending relationships built on decades of delicate diplomacy. Beyond thorny ties with Russia, Sino-US relations are strained after a series of moves by Trump that provoked China, the world's second-largest economy, and controversy is also rife over his global business empire. Trump postponed a press conference originally set for Thursday at which he was to unveil plans for separating himself from his global business dealings, instead writing on Twitter that his adult sons would manage the company. The 70-year-old billionaire is now putting the finishing touches to his cabinet with former Texas governor Rick Perry and Montana Representative Ryan Zinke his reported picks for energy and interior secretary respectively. On Tuesday he greeted a stream of guests in New York including rapper Kanye West and Bill Gates, the richest man on the planet who dedicates his life to philanthropy. Gates said Trump had an opportunity to inspire Americans to embrace innovation as John F. Kennedy once promoted space exploration. "We had a good conversation about innovation, how it can help in health, education, the impact of foreign aid and energy, and a wide-ranging conversation about power of innovation," Gates said afterward. Trump told the Wisconsin rally he also met Tuesday with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who was a vocal supporter of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. He praised Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, with whom he had a combative relationship during the campaign. "Honestly, he is like a fine wine," he said to laughter. "Everyday goes by I get to appreciate his genius more and more." With inputs from agencies By Umberto Bacchi LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Less than three percent of Syrians who fled the civil war crossing into a neighbouring state have been resettled to a rich country, a charity said on Thursday, urging wealthy nations to take in a more equitable share of refugees.Nearly 5 million Syrians uprooted by fighting are hosted in just a handful of bordering countries, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, according to U.N. data.Their presence has strained public services in host nations, which in some cases already faced high unemployment and poverty rates, but developed countries have done little to ease the burden, British charity Oxfam said in a report. Oxfam said 130,701 Syrian refugees have been relocated since 2013, under resettlement programmes from Syria's neighbours to one of 28 rich nations analysed in the study. The figure did not take into account Syrians who reached Italy, Greece or other destinations on their own often embarking in perilous journeys by sea."The UK and other rich countries need to do more to help people forced to flee the almost six year war in Syria," Oxfam Chief Executive Mark Goldring said in a statement. Only Australia, Canada, Germany and Norway had resettled more than their "fair share" of Syrian refugees when considering the size of their economy, the report said.Canada, for example, resettled about 35,000 Syrians in the last year compared to Britain which resettled 3,000, it said. Increasing resettlements could save hundreds of lives providing Syrian refugees with a safe route to Europe, Oxfam said. Almost 12,000 migrants and asylum seekers have died while attempting to cross the Mediterranean via boat in the past three years, according to the International Organization for Migration. (Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi, Editing by Astrid Zweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The US Congress will have to deal with "grave" consequences if it blows up the Iran nuclear deal as such a move would make it difficult for America to convince countries like India, China and Japan to enforce sanctions against Tehran, the White House has warned. "If Congress does blow up the deal that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, they're going to have to deal with the consequences, and the consequences are grave," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Thursday. He said the White House had seen irresponsible efforts on part of some Congress members to advocate for and to write up and submit pieces of legislation that would violate cause of the Iranian nuclear deal to break up and "in all likelihood" would prompt Iran to kick inspectors out of their country. These are inspectors who right now are keeping closer tabs on the Iranian Nuclear Programme than any other nuclear programme in the world, he said. "What they would also precipitate, by passing legislation that undermines the deal, it would cause the international coalition that we have built, to shatter. And it would be very difficult for the United States to make the case to countries like India and China and Japan that they should help us enforce those sanctions," Earnest said. "We would have a hard time convincing them to help us enforce those sanctions because the reason that the deal blew up is the fault of the United States Congress," he said. President Obama is only in the office in Washinton for another month. And after that, Congress will have to deal with the consequences, if they choose to pursue irresponsible legislation that would blow up the deal, he said. "The Iran Sanctions Act is consistent with our commitment under the international agreement, and the president did not veto this bill because it does not undermine the deal. But there's been plenty of rhetoric and plenty of legislative work done on legislation that would blow up the deal," Earnest said. "This is a message that if the United States Congress blows up the deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, they will have to deal with the grave consequences that ensue," he added. Earnest said the successful implementation of the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was not just a major national security priority of the United States, but also a major national security priority of some of its closest allies and partners in the region and around the world. "Israel was deeply concerned about the prospect of Iran getting their hands on nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf were also deeply concerned about this prospect. There were countries in Europe who are within range of some of Iran's ballistic missile capabilities were deeply concerned about the prospect that Iran could put one of those nuclear weapons on top of one of those ballistic missiles," he said. "So preventing Iran from obtaining that nuclear weapon wasn't just a priority of the president, it was a priority of the international community," he said. McLEAN, Va. -- Hilton (NYSE: HLT) today announced the signing of The Darcy, Curio Collection by Hilton, a global portfolio of distinctive upper upscale hotels that caters to travelers in search of local discovery and authentic experiences. The Darcy, Curio Collection by Hilton, is slated to open in mid-2017. The 226-room hotel is in the heart of Washington, D.C., just off Scott Circle. Only three blocks from Dupont Circle and Logan Circle, and six blocks from the White House, The Darcy's central location will allow guests to easily visit the city's many monuments, attractions and museums, including the Verizon Center and Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. "We're excited to sign with KHP Capital Partners for our first Curio Collection hotel in our Nation's Capital," said Matt Wehling, senior vice president, development North America, Hilton. "The Darcy's ideal location, within walking distance to Washington, D.C.'s major attractions, will be a huge draw for guests desiring an authentic, high-energy and high-quality experience that reflects and enhances Scott Circle, making it a perfect fit for the collection." The Darcy will feature a timeless yet edgy design, focusing on clean and classic architecture with accents of distressed metals and bright colors. Subtle cherry blossom patterns and abstract artwork of magnolias will connect the hotel to D.C. As with all Curio properties, The Darcy will reflect the local spirit of its community, embodying the sophistication and energy of Washington. "The Darcy will offer unparalleled, personalized service in the most convenient of locations in Washington, D.C.," said Tobias Arff, general manager of The Darcy. "Our location is ideal no matter your reason for visiting whether visiting the White House and the National Mall, heading to meetings on K Street or looking for inspiration from one of the new hot spots on 14th Street Corridor." Chefs Robert Wiedmaier and Brian McBride created the hotel's restaurant, Siren, which will feature locally sourced ingredients paired with the world's freshest seafood. Lil' B, an intimate coffee shop and eatery, will be led by celebrity Chef David Guas, who brings his New Orleans style to the cafe. Additional amenities will include a fitness center, business services, room service, valet parking, concierge services and programming with business and leisure travelers in mind. The approximately 5,500 square feet of meeting space, which will allow for flexible room sizes and include contemporary, state-of-the-art audio visual options, will make The Darcy a well-situated choice for meetings and events in the center of Washington, D.C. The hotel is a ten-minute walk from Metro stations at Dupont Circle and McPherson Square and three miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. "As home to so many important cultural institutions and a blossoming restaurant and nightlife scene, Washington, D.C. is a natural choice for expansion of the Curio Collection," said Mark Nogal, global head of Curio A Collection by Hilton. "The Darcy will provide a stylish alternative to the local area in addition to providing guests with a memorable hotel experience all with the reassurance of the Hilton name." As part of the Hilton portfolio, The Darcy, Curio Collection by Hilton participates in Hilton HHonors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 13 distinct hotel brands. Hilton HHonors Members always get the lowest price with the Best Price Guarantee, along with HHonors Points, free standard Wi-Fi, digital check-in and no booking fees only when they book directly through Hilton. For more information, visit curio.com. Media may access high resolution images and more information by visiting news.curio.com. About Hilton Hilton (NYSE: HLT) is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 18 world-class brands comprising more than 6,800 properties and more than 1 million rooms, in 122 countries and territories. Dedicated to fulfilling its founding vision to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality, Hilton has welcomed more than 3 billion guests in its more than 100-year history, earned a top spot on the 2021 World's Best Workplaces list and been recognized as a global leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for five consecutive years. In 2021, in addition to opening more than one hotel a day, Hilton introduced several industry-leading technology enhancements to improve the guest experience, including Digital Key Share, automated complimentary room upgrades and the ability to book confirmed connecting rooms. Through the award-winning guest loyalty program Hilton Honors, the nearly 128 million members who book directly with Hilton can earn Points for hotel stays and experiences money can't buy. With the free Hilton Honors app, guests can book their stay, select their room, check in, unlock their door with a Digital Key and check out, all from their smartphone. Visit newsroom.hilton.com for more information, and connect with Hilton on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Emily Montgomery Hilton +1 703 883 5257 Hilton GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. The leaders of Russia and Japan held talks at a hot springs resort in western Japan yesterday on a territorial dispute that has divided their countries for 70 years. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the summit meeting in Nagato city marks his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invited Putin even though the G-7 nations, including Japan, still have sanctions on Russia. The meetings will move to Tokyo today. Abe hopes to make progress on the territorial dispute and bolster ties through joint economic projects. A major breakthrough is seen as unlikely. In brief remarks before the meeting, Abe told Putin that the hot spring waters of Nagato are famous for relieving fatigue. I can guarantee you that the hot springs here would fully remove fatigue from our summit talks, he said. Putin replied, Better not to get too tired. He also credited Abes efforts for a certain movement in the development of Russian-Japanese ties. James Brown, a Japan-Russia expert at Temple Universitys Japan campus in Tokyo, said the meeting was an extraordinary development. I think Prime Minister Abe is being really quite bold in announcing this new approach to relations with Russia, especially coming at such a difficult time in relations between Russia and the West. The meeting started after 6 p.m, more than two hours behind schedule, because Putins plane landed late. Putin has a reputation for late arrivals. He kept Pope Francis waiting at the Vatican for one hour and 20 minutes in 2015. Earlier this month, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida waited for two hours when he visited the Kremlin. Abe, who flew from Tokyo to Nagato in the morning, used the time to visit the grave of his father, Shintaro Abe. As foreign minister, the elder Abe strove for a resolution of the territorial dispute in the 1980s. Disagreement over four southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, have kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities. Japan says the Soviet Union took the islands illegally at the end of World War II, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japans four main islands. Russia governs the islands and the Russians who now live there. I hope to negotiate thoroughly in a quiet atmosphere, in the silence of the night, Abe told reporters ahead of his departure for Nagato. I head into negotiations keeping close to my heart the long-cherished desire of the former islanders to resolve the dispute. Putin told Japanese journalists earlier this week that progress hinges on Japans flexibility to compromise, and that he doesnt mind the status quo. We think that we have no territorial problems. Its Japan that thinks that is has a territorial problem with Russia, he said. But Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, particularly to its far east. Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time. Emily Wang & Mari Yamaguchi, Nagato, AP The National Immigration Agency (NIA) has announced, it would ease visa regulations for Hong Kong and Macau residents starting from next year. Residents of the two SAR arriving in Taiwan on cruise ships would be able to apply for double visas, granting two entries in one online application. Reports from Taiwan stated that according to NIA deputy director-general Jeff Yang, 140,000 people arrived in Taiwan aboard cruise ships this year with 20,000 hailing from Hong Kong or Macau. Yang noted that cruise ship operators suggested the measure to boost incoming visitor numbers to Taiwan from the two regions, stating that, there is room for growth. According to Yang, Hong Kong and Macau residents have been using increasingly diverse forms of transport to enter Taiwan over the past few years, including package tours that incorporate travel by airplane and cruise ships. Visitors might arrive in Taiwan by boat or plane and then take a cruise to a third destination before returning to Taiwan and then traveling elsewhere, said Yang. Current visa regulations for the two SAR allow its residents to apply to enter Taiwan once within three months of the issuance of their visa. The Ministry of the Interior said the new measure for Hong Kong and Macau residents would help Taiwan become a key port of call for international cruise operators. TWIN FALLS Idaho Power Co. wont have to lock in the capacity rates it will pay to Jackpot Solar until 2024 when the utility becomes capacity deficient, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission determined this week. The commission ruled in favor of Idaho Power in a dispute between the two companies. Jackpot Solar, which proposes developing four 20-megawatt solar projects near the Nevada border, claimed that rates for payments itll receive starting in 2024 should be determined now, at the time of the initial contract. But the declaratory order by the commission states otherwise. Jackpot Solars first non-zero capacity rate is to be calculated at the start of the two-year contract term during which the capacity deficiency occurs, the commission said. In a release, the commission explained that projects falling under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, such as the proposed Jackpot Solar ones, are paid based on the utilitys avoided cost the money it saves by not generating the power itself or buying from another source. PURPA project developers receive energy payments, based on the energy generated, when its generated. But another type of payment, capacity payments, wont be paid until the utility is unable to produce enough of its own energy to meet peak demand and reserve requirements in Idaho Powers case, 2024. Idaho Power and the commission say the capacity payment rate will be determined at the start of each two-year contract term beginning in 2024. Jackpot Solar had sought to enter into 10 successive two-year contracts. TWIN FALLS An inmate charged with shooting at a sheriffs deputy last month and the younger brother of an inmate accused of breaking out of his cell and holding another man hostage last week was charged Thursday with having a shank in his jail cell. Skylar Wade Meade, 24, was arraigned in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on a felony count of major contraband in a correctional facility. Meade also faces nine felony counts stemming from an incident Nov. 4 when deputies said he fled from a sheriffs sergeant, firing three shots at the sergeant during the pursuit. Meades older brother, 26-year-old Cody William James Meade, is also charged with a slew of felonies, including robbery and aggravated battery. Hes accused of the armed robbery of an Oasis Stop N Go in May and also charged with escaping from his cell Dec. 5 and using a broken mirror frame to take another inmate hostage. According to deputies who detained Cody Meade, the accused hostage-taker had a message for his brother while being escorted away. Skylar, turn it up! Cody Meade allegedly yelled to his brother. Turn it up on these (expletives)! On Thursday, prosecutors revealed that on Nov. 28, a week prior to Cody Meades temporary escape, Skylar Meade was in possession of a shank prison slang for a sharp object or makeshift knife made from a toothbrush, and deputies believe he planned to use the shank to gain credibility in a white supremacist gang. (Skylar) Meade had been talking about attacking or stabbing deputies to gain notoriety in the Aryan Knights Gang, which Meade is a part of, a deputy wrote in a sworn affidavit. Meade was (also) overheard talking about how he was going to take a deputy hostage and how he had a plan to do it that was definitely going to work. Cody Meades chaotic arraignment Meanwhile, older brother Cody Meade was arraigned Wednesday morning on the charges stemming from the alleged hostage-taking situation in a hearing that turned profane and allegedly violent. Appearing in court via video from the jail, Meade began the hearing surrounded by deputies, restrained in a chair and with a mask over his face guarding lawyers and deputies from spit he faces three charges of spitting on detention deputies. About halfway through the hearing, Meade began loudly complaining of chest pain and saying he couldnt breathe, claims that lawyers and deputies clearly didnt believe. As medical personnel checked on Meade, Twin Falls Deputy Prosecutor Kiel Willmore asked Magistrate Judge Thomas Kershaw for $100,000 bond, calling Meade a hazard to everyone around him, including inmates incarcerated with him. After Kershaw made note on the record of what he was seeing over the video he was complaining of chest pain and writhing around someone at the jail un-muted the live video feed for about two seconds and Meade could be heard screaming a slew of expletives at deputies. His tirade was again cut off by the mute button. Then Willmore chimed back in. Your honor, for the record, just to be clear, notwithstanding the restraints and what appears to be a mask, it looks like he just spit at another officer on camera, Willmore said. Kershaw ended the hearing setting Meades bond at $100,000. Combined, both brothers now face more than a dozen felony charges in at least six cases with combined bonds of well over half a million dollars. JEROME A Jerome man was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court to 2 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Casey Delbert Gibson, 23, pleaded guilty to the crime in August. After his prison term ends, hell be subject to five years of supervised release, and he must register as a sex offender. In 2015, investigators found evidence on Gibsons cellphone that his email address was used to receive, send and view child pornography, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson said in a statement. During an interview with police, Gibson admitted to looking at child pornography, saying the images he viewed were of children between 10 and 15. When investigators fully reviewed his cellphone and email address, they determined he received and viewed at least 11 pictures and one video, including images of children younger than 12. The information that ultimately led to Gibsons arrest came from an international investigation opened in 2012 by the Department of Homeland Securitys Child Exploitation Investigation Unit. That investigation revolved around a photo-sharing website hosted in Russia where users where sharing images and videos of child pornography. After gaining access to the computer servers hosting the website, investigators began combing the data for the internet protocol addresses or IP addresses of the computers, phones and other devices that had accessed the website from the U.S. One of those IP addresses, which shows where a device was while it was being used, led investigators in 2015 to Gibsons residence in Twin Falls, though the investigation revealed he accessed the Russian-hosted child pornography site in Jerome County. A profile on the site registered to Gibsons email account posted on the site: Trade p4p (picture for picture) I like pics and vids 5-15 male or female of if you know a good CP (child pornography) sight (sic) u send first and ill (sic) return the favor. Gibsons case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security with assistance from the Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office and the Jerome County Sheriffs Office. TWIN FALLS Frank Knight had a lot of people to thank on Thursday. There was the staff at ProActive Advantage, which Knight runs and which has the contract to operate the Crisis Center of South Central Idaho. There were all the other vendors who helped to get the crisis center open. These people were unreal, he said. He told the crowd about a woman who had stayed at the crisis center. You saved my life, she said to Knight. Her husband then shook Knights hand and agreed, You did. This is what its all about, and Im grateful for the opportunity, Knight said, his voice quivering with emotion. The crisis center, located in a former medical office building on Shoup Avenue West, opened for business in late November and has so far helped 23 people who needed mental health help. Thursday was the grand opening, and the room where the ribbon-cutting was held was packed with people who had somehow been involved in the centers creation, including Gov. C.L. Butch Otter, ProActive and South Central Public Health District staff and many of the local legislators who played a role in creating and funding the center. The crisis center in Twin Falls is the third in the state, the others being in Idaho Falls and Coeur dAlene. They are funded by the state now, but the intent is for them to transition to other funding sources after a couple of years. They are designed to provide a place to stay and some help, for up to 24 hours, for people going through a mental health or addiction-related crisis. We appreciated the partnerships that have brought this behavioral health community crisis center to fruition, Twin Falls Mayor Shawn Barigar said. Barigar said many of the people who use the crisis center had previously been dealt with through incarceration and hospitalization ... because more appropriate levels of care just havent been available. John Hathaway, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare regional administrator for the eastern half of the state, said dealing with a mental-health issue is like trying to drive a car when youre looking at the rear-view mirror. He said one in five people will, during their lives, suffer from a mental-health issue that could benefit from treatment. That means that 20 percent of the people in here are spending a lot of time looking in the rear-view mirror, he said. Otter spoke last. The states crisis centers, he said, help people, and by extension, those peoples families, the communities where they live and the entire state. The crisis center says to us were a people that care, we have heart, Otter said. When they cross that threshold, they need to know ... theres a loving heart, theres a helping hand, just on the other side of it, he said. Otter briefly went over the history of crisis centers in the state, and took a swipe at lawmakers who have voted against funding them. I (remember) the occasion when I was in Coeur dAlene when all those No votes showed up, Otter said. The Coeur dAlene Press reported in 2014 that Coeur dAlene had originally been identified as the place in the state with the greatest need for a crisis center, but that the first one was put in Idaho Falls because Kootenai Countys legislative delegation was split, with some voting against the funding bill. Otter defending funding crisis centers as the most conservative vote you could ever make in the State of Idaho, since treating peoples mental health and addiction issues can help to keep families together. After the ribbon-cutting, Knight gave a tour to Otter and a few state and local officials, including Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, and Sen. Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls, both of whom were involved in the centers creation. Bell is co-chairwoman of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which approved the money, while Heider is chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and helped with the project. As the group walked through the halls and looked into the single-bed bedrooms where the people who come to the crisis center stay, Bell remarked it looked better than a jail cell. Weve done too many years of that kind of thing, she said. BURLEY Burleys Doug Manning has been awarded the Idaho Economic Development Association (IEDA) 2016 Bob Potter Economic Development Professional of the Year award. He does a good job promoting the city, Burley City Councilman Casey Andersen said. People like his personality and hes a good fit for the job. The annual award recognizes Idahos premier leaders who make a significant impact in their community and further the profession. Doug Manning was chosen for this award because of the impressive economic development efforts he has been a part of this year for Burley and Mini-Cassia, Dave Thornton, community and customer relations coordinator for Idaho Power and IEDA member, said. Thornton nominated Manning. Doug has been instrumental in several new business recruitments to Southern Idaho including Dow Chemical and Watco, and is a deeply committed leader and advocate for economic development, Thornton said. He is well deserving of this recognition. Andersen said Manning fields all inquiries when companies are interested in locating their business in Burley. Manning played a role in many companies choosing to locate in Burley along with the development of the citys industrial park, Andersen said. Im honored to have been selected for this significant award, having been selected by so many great economic development professionals from around the state, Manning said. This award is for the City of Burley. We have a tremendous development team that includes our administration offices, department heads, Burley Development Authority, the City Council and other community members. Everyone works very hard to make these projects become successful. Manning was also selected to serve as IEDAs president for 2017-2018. He has represented the region on IEDAs board since 2007. The Bob Potter award was established in 2015 in honor of the lifetime achievements of its namesake. Through exemplary service and professionalism in economic development for the communities of North Idaho and the Inland Empire numerous partnerships and thousands of jobs benefiting Idaho and Washington were established. During Potters 15-year career at Jobs Plus he recruited more than 70 companies creating 3,900 jobs. The companies contributed to the region and state economy with more than $325 million in capital investments and nearly $100 million in annual payroll. The tragedy no, the genocide in Aleppo is unfolding before our eyes. Less than a generation after the Srebrenica massacre and Rwanda, after never again. Here we are again. And yet there is also something different about this genocide. I dont recall another that had so many ardent supporters on the two sides. A Turkish friend wrote on my Facebook wall: May Allah destroy all who help this massacre happen Iran. I reminded him that the destruction of a whole country is tantamount to genocide, but there was no retraction. An Arab friend, a leading scholar of Islamic law, has gone on repeated anti-Shiite, anti-Iranian and anti-Family of the Prophet (ahl al-bayt) rants on his Facebook wall. Again, no retractions. Some Iranian Shiites have not fared any better, resorting to anti-Sunni, anti-Arab rants. No retractions. As a Muslim, I am particularly agonized by this. We are a people who have been raised to speak out for justice, even if our voices shake. We are a people who are to speak the truth and stand up for justice even if it is against ourselves, against our parents and against our community. What a lofty and beautiful moral stance, and how short we have fallen of that moral high ground. I see most of us supporting the side that lines up with our sectarian affiliation and geopolitical interests. The Muslims who view the crisis of Aleppo as primarily a Russian/Iranian/Bashar al-Assad genocide of a defenseless population have been sharing the Final Messages of people of Aleppo lposts. On the other side, Muslims who have celebrated Assads victories as liberating Aleppo from Islamic militant groups (Nusra/Jaysh/FSA) have resorted to quoting freelance journalist Eva Bartlett, who is featured on Russian-backed sites RT.com and Sputnik. They have taken to questioning the final messages from Aleppo. Something about all of this seems rotten. We are determining our moral stance on a genocide based on our geopolitical commitments. Somewhere we were told that every human life is sacred, that every life has the breath of God inside. Somewhere we were told that to take one human life is as if to take the life of the whole of humanity, and to save one human life is as if to save the whole of humanity. Somewhere we were told that the life of a human is more sacred than the Kaba itself. And all along, hundreds of thousands of Syrians die. If your stance on Syria is shaped by whether the killing is being done by Russia/Iran/Assads genocidal government, or by Nusra/Jaysh/FSA genocidal forces, you still havent gotten the part about the sanctity and dignity of each human life. If we cry out against the victims for one side, and have not a mumbling word to say about the other victims, our partial mourning is rooted in a flawed sectarianism. Its not the identity of the killers that makes it a crime. Its the humanity of the victims, the dignity that each of us is afforded by the virtue of having the breath of God inside us. Let us never succumb to lining up our moral commitments with geopolitics of a nation-state. Its the geopolitical politics that have to line up with dignity of human lives, not the other way around. May it be that we stand up not for Iran, not for Turkey, not for Saudi, not for Russia, not for the United States, but only for justice. This is not about Sunni and Shiite, Arab and Iranian. Its about right and wrong. Its about human dignity. As a Muslim, I find my community in selective outrage. The same desire for moral consistency applies to us as Americans. Today I watched with admiration the powerful words of Ambassador Samantha Powers speaking at the United Nations, addressing Russia and Iran: Are you truly incapable of shame? . . . Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child, that gets under your skin, that just creeps you out, just a little bit? Yes, these are powerful words. I found myself nodding in agreement. Yet I wonder where the same moral outrage was in our own countrys use of drones against Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Iraq and Syria. Where was the same outrage when we bombed wedding parties and blew grandmothers to smithereens? Where was this moral display in Abu Ghraib and the forced feeding of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? Where is the moral speaking to power when we destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan, enable the Israeli occupation of Palestine by providing both military and political cover for Israel, and expedited shipment of weapons to Saudi Arabia to wreak havoc upon Yemen? As an American, I find the United States in selective outrage. We are shocked that the Russians would interfere in U.S. elections, when Americans have a long history of regime change in Iran (1953), Chile (1973) and elsewhere. We are aghast that the Russians would bomb defenseless populations, when we have bombed civilian populations for so long in so many places that it is not an aberration: It is tradition. As the home to both the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, the United States has always been both a dream and a nightmare, particularly toward poor and marginalized people inside U.S. borders and in the global South. I want us as Muslims to be a moral people. I want us as Americans to live up to the meaning of our creeds. No, I dont know how to stop the bloodshed in Syria. Yes, we feel helpless, angered, sad, devastated. Let us do whatever we can to alleviate the suffering of Syrians. And let us become a moral people who put human dignity above geopolitical and sectarian interests. When lawmakers agreed to a dramatic and long-term funding boost for the states teachers two years ago, they insisted that the money be tied to performance that teachers be held accountable and rewarded for good work. That notion was at the heart of the Idaho career ladder, the new pay structure for public school teachers designed to stem the flow of good teachers who move to other states for better money. Teachers liked the deal because theyd get better pay; lawmakers liked it because it added some accountability and would keep good teachers in Idaho. But now, the system may be in jeopardy. Idaho Education News reported last week that 99 percent of evaluations were incomplete or inaccurate, according to an audit commissioned by the state Department of Education conducted before the career ladder went into place. The news shocked lawmakers, who have hinted the audit may figure into their projected schedule to add another $57 million to the program when the Legislature reconvenes next month. Theyre also peeved that state education officials sat on the report for months it came to light only because journalists at Idaho Education News filed public records requests to obtain the results. Now, both sides are pointing fingers. Educators say the audit doesnt show a full picture because it was conducted before the career ladder came into place and didnt take account new criteria that have since been adopted. And local superintendents say districts havent received clear instructions on what, exactly, theyre supposed to be measuring in the evaluations. Lawmakers say the dismal results point to a breakdown in the entire system, and that the results clearly show state education officials dont have a handle on their part of the bargain in the career ladder system. One thing, though, is clear. The report does not mean that 99 percent of the states teachers are doing a poor job. Step into just about any Magic Valley classroom, and youll know thats not the case. What it does show, however, is that state education officials need an immediate intervention. Clear policies for how to evaluate teachers must immediately be made clear to individual districts, and there must be more consistency across districts in how teachers are evaluated. Were disappointed state education leaders havent articulated that in the fallout. Our intent was to help. It was not an I gotcha, State Superintendent Sherri Ybarra said in response to the audit. What we found out from this data was that the superintendents and districts are working extremely hard to follow the law. Yes, superintendents may be, but state leaders clearly are not. Its the only decisive conclusion to draw from the report, and in the responses from local district leaders who seem to be scratching their heads. State officials knew there were problems in the summertime but failed to address them publicly. Thats caused an enormous amount of doubt heading into the legislative session. And their reactions particularly Ybarras seem on par with the dog ate my homework. If state education leaders want to retain the publics trust and support and lawmakers commitment to continue funding the career ladder they must get a handle on the evaluations. And quickly. Morocco has sent an emergency humanitarian assistance to hundreds of sub-Saharan African nationals deported by Algerian authorities to Niger in violation of international humanitarian laws and conventions. As soon as King Mohammed VI heard the news of the sufferings and hardships of the Africans expelled to Niger, he gave directives to airlift emergency aid to alleviate their anguish and distress. A Moroccan military plane loaded with humanitarian assistance touched down Friday at the airport of Agadez. The plane of the Moroccan royal air force, to be followed by other humanitarian flights, delivered to Nigerian authorities 15 tons of foodstuff and 20 other tons including tents and blankets. Morocco has pledged to send 116 tons of humanitarian assistance to Niger, a move that shows the North African Kingdoms solidarity with African countries and peoples in times of extreme urgency and needs. This humanitarian aid will help Nigerien authorities cope with unprecedented waves of Africans in desperate situation rebuffed by Algeria. Several international human rights NGOs have denounced the Algerian inhumane treatment of Sub-Saharans and urged Algiers to honor its international humanitarian commitment, particularly the 1951 Geneva Convention. Algerian authorities arrested more than 1400 sub-Saharan migrants in Algiers and bused them to the desert city of Tamanrasset, wherefrom they were deported to Niger. The deported migrants include children, pregnant women, sick people, asylum-seekers, refugees and even documented migrants. The Islamic State group vowed to trigger a volcano of jihad in Egypt following the execution Thursday of Abel Habara, leader of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, for his role in several deadly attacks. Egyptian authorities on Thursday executed the 40-year old jihadist, convicted of involvement in a 2013 gun attack on police in Rafah, in the Sinai Peninsula, that killed at least 25 soldiers, state media reported. Adel Habara, whose death warrant was ratified by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday night, was hanged in a Cairo prison days after a court upheld his death sentence. Even before the execution, ISIS had warned of the consequences if the death penalty was implemented. According to Reuters, an account of ISIS on the Telegram, a secure messaging platform, issued a threat to the tyrant Sisi to stop the execution because by God, you will have ignited a volcano of jihad if you dare. Security is already being boosted and authorities have placed all establishments under high-alert security status, especially after the deadly suicide bomb attack in a Coptic Cathedral last week claimed by ISIS. The role of the extremist group in the attack is believed to have quicken the authorization and implementation of the death penalty. Egypt has been rocked by several terror bomb attacks since the military-backed coup detat led by Sisi ended Mohammed Morsis rule. The situation has worsened economic and financial crises, which forced the government to adopt austerity measures. The latest threat by ISIS will further affect the once vibrant tourism sector that has been paralyzed due to security concerns and travel warnings. The Islamic State group has been able to trigger fear in the world with its notorious atrocities that has outclassed that of the al-Qaeda network. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will not idly wait for Iran to attack, in response to a statement made on Wednesday by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who claimed that Israel will not exist in the next 25 years. Whoever considers destroying us puts himself in existential danger. This is an essential condition for ensuring our future, Netanyahu warned during a press conference in Kazakhstan he jointly held with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Israel and Iran have been at odds and they consider each other to pose a national as well as regional security threat. Netanyahus two-day visit to Kazakhstan ended on Thursday ahead of President Rouhanis visit that is expected to take place next week. Asked by President Nazarbayev if there is a message that could be conveyed to Rouhani during his visit, the Israeli prime minister replied; Ask him why Iran continues to threaten Israel with annihilation. Iran refers to Israel as the Zionist state and does not recognize it. It has paraded missiles with anti-Israel remarks on it. Dont threaten us, we are not a rabbit, we are a tiger. If you threaten us, you endanger yourself, Netanyahu warned. He said Tel Aviv would change its policies and attitude towards Iran if the latter does so accordingly. Netanyahu said he is looking forward to building stronger ties with Muslim States, pointing out that he considered the cooperation and solid ties with Kazakhstan as an example between Jews and Muslims that reverberates throughout the world. He said, the relationship between us and our Arab and Muslim neighbors is changing dramatically away from the public eye. Iran is yet to react to his comments. Tensions between Austria and Turkey have reached new heights after Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz proposed suspending talks with Ankara for its accession to the European Union (EU) during the organizations summit in Brussels. Although the proposal was turned down by other EU member states, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator, Omer Celik, stated that there is no difference between the rhetoric of the Austrian foreign minister and the rhetoric of any racist party. Austria has been sabotaging the EU project, he claimed. Kurz defended Austrias proposal saying our standpoint was well-reasoned and clearly presented and stressed that it was wrong to continue accession negotiations as if nothing has happened in Turkey in the last few months. He cited the crackdown on alleged sympathizers of the failed July 15 coup detat and on the Kurdish separatists and armed groups as examples. Ties between the two countries are expected to be cold as Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he will no longer hold discussions with Austria, whose parliament makes decisions against us, whose media reports badly about us. In what seems to be a retaliatory move, he stated that Turkey will henceforth work against Austria at all levels. Meanwhile, Austria is still open for dialogue and cooperation and is not slamming the door shut according to Foreign Minister Kurz. Turkey is a strategic ally to the EU. The wars in Syria and Iraq have turned it into a gateway to Europe and it is using that as an alibi during talks. Ankara has threatened to sideline the migrant deal that was reached earlier this year with the EU but the European leaders at the summit have called for a full and non-discriminatory implementation of all aspects of the deal as talks on other issues continue. There have been concerns about the respect of human rights in Turkey since after the July failed coup detat. Nevertheless, Turkey has been lately applauded for its role in ensuring a ceasefire in Aleppo, Syria, to enable the evacuation of civilians and the injured from the rebel-held areas as well as providing medical attention to them on its territory. Florence Radzilani, the mayor of Vhembe district municipality in South Africa, has turned down an offer by the municipality to buy her a car worth over $100,000. According to Radzilani who declined the offer, the money of the car will be used to buy more crane trucks to deal with water shortage in the district. Since we got into office on August 26 we have received 310 cases of water issues, and out of that 310 we managed to resolve 133. Only 53 villages were getting water, but now 133 villages get water. We hope that soon all the villages will receive water, she said. Briefing journalists in the Vhembe mayoral boardroom on Tuesday, Radzilani who belongs to the ruling African National Congress (ANC) disclosed that her office had bought five trucks and was in the process of buying another two. I know its very risky because the vehicle Im using was bought by the previous mayor and has reached the mileage limit of 170 000 km. We are not allowed to use a car that has exceeded that, but Im willing to take that risk so that all the villages might receive water, said Radzilani. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forums report said the management of water is becoming increasingly complex and difficult as populations expand and demand for freshwater to supply cities and factories increases in South Africa. U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobils headquarters in Lagos has been shut down, after protesters besieged the companys offices, protesting the sacking of 150 Nigerian workers. The standoff is coming on the heels of a similar development on Wednesday in Upkenekang Community in Akwa Ibom, where angry youths disrupted the operations of the company over the sacking of contract workers from the area. Members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), numbering over 1,000 members, barricaded entry points to the company with boats, coffins, leaves and placards, having different inscriptions. The Chairman of the ExxonMobil Branch of PENGASAN, Paul Eboigbe, confirmed the closure of the companys Lagos office, adding that the management of the company issued sack letters to workers, while negotiations were still going on. He said the union had to resist the action of the management and went ahead to shut down the Exxonmobil headquarters. This is just the beginning of our strike against injustice inflicted on our members working with international oil companies, he said. Our members now wear red clothes and put leaves on their trucks to show the injustice by these people. We have resolved to commence strike next year if government does not find a solution to the exploitation by international oil companies, he added. Tanzanias president, John Magufuli vowed to continue his fight against corruption in his ruling party, threatening to have no mercy for anyone giving or taking bribes. Nicknamed the bulldozer for his style of leadership, Tanzanias President has earned himself credibility and acclaim, both in and outside Tanzania, for his fight against corruption. He has started to sweep away the countrys reputation for endemic corruption and poor public service. The East African country is ranked among the top 20 countries in Africa with the worst corruption and is also placed 117th out of 168 countries in Transparency Internationals 2015 Corruption Index. Since assuming office in November 2015, Magufuli has been rebuilding lost trust with Western donors by firing public officials deemed to be incompetent and corrupt. Magufuli, who placed ending corruption within his party as one of his priorities, pledged to reform the party; including helping it attain financial independence to avoid a reliance on campaign contributions from business executives. Magufuli took charge of Africas third-biggest gold producer in November 2015 with pledges to hasten development of the East African nations nascent natural-gas industry, increase revenue collection and diversify the mostly agrarian economy. He has already dismissed several senior government officials, including the head of the governments anti-graft body, the countrys top tax chief, a senior rail official and the head of the countrys port authority. Error 404 Not Found You may have mis-typed the URL. Or the page has been removed. Actually, there is nothing to see here... Click on the links below to do something, Thanks! Take Me our of here Over one million children are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year. When children with CHD receive timely treatment, 85 percent can survive into adulthood to live healthy, productive lives. Sadly, 90 percent of the children with CHD live in poor regions with little or no access to care. Increasing access to care saves children's lives. Credit: Children's HeartLink Over one million children are born with congenital heart disease (CHD) each year. When children with CHD receive timely treatment, 85% can survive into adulthood to live healthy, productive lives. Sadly, 90% of the children with CHD live in poor regions with little or no access to care. Congenital heart disease and other serious birth defects are among the top five causes of death of children worldwide. In its new report, A Voice for the Invisible Child, and echoed in this week's The Lancet, Children's HeartLink calls for the needs of children with heart disease to be included in efforts to strengthen health systems around the word. Specifically, priorities must be made to build a pediatric cardiac workforce, collect data on CHD in national health surveys and cause of child death statistics, and finance health coverage in a way that protects families from impoverishment when they seek care. Brian Atwood, former Administrator of USAID, urges leaders in global health and development: "Increasing access to pediatric cardiac care is a lofty but not insurmountable goal. It is an achievable goal, grounded in health system sustainability and equity. It will save children's lives." Since the turn of the millennium, child deaths have been cut in half thanks to improved public health and poverty reduction efforts. It is predicted that the number will halve again by 2030. That is the year that the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for the world to end preventable child deaths. This target will not be met without addressing congenital heart disease. As the overall rate of child deaths decreases, the burden of children born with heart disease will become more apparent. Since the turn of the millennium, child deaths have been cut in half thanks to improved public health and poverty reduction efforts. It is predicted that the number will halve again by 2030. That is the year that the UN Sustainable Development Goals call for the world to end preventable child deaths. This target will not be met without addressing congenital heart disease. As the overall rate of child deaths decreases, the burden of children born with heart disease will become more apparent. Credit: Children's HeartLink Provided by Children's HeartLink Six generic drug-makers artificially inflated and manipulated prices to reduce competition for an antibiotic and oral diabetes medication, 20 state attorneys general, led by Connecticut, said in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, whose office began its investigation more than two years ago into suspicious price increases of certain generic medications, said his staff "developed compelling evidence of collusion and anticompetitive conduct" among many companies that manufacture and market generic drugs. Jepsen called Heritage Pharmaceuticals "the principal architect of the conspiracies," but said he had evidence of "widespread participation in illegal conspiracies across the generic drug industry." Federal authorities on Wednesday charged two former executives from Heritage, an Eatontown, New Jersey-based company, with fixing prices of generic drugs on an antibiotic and a diabetes medication between April 2013 and December 2015. Heritage said in a statement that it terminated those executives in August, has filed its own civil complaint against the pair and is fully cooperating with the Department of Justice. A message was left seeking comment with Heritage concerning the 20-state lawsuit. Besides Heritage, the other drug companies targeted in the lawsuit include Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc.; Citron Pharma LLC; Mayne Pharma Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA. Both Mylan and Teva said they knew of no evidence that they had participated in price fixing. Teva said it "vigorously" denies any allegations of wrongdoing. Aurobindo declined to comment. The other companies didn't immediately return requests for comment. "Ultimately, it was consumersand, indeed, our health care system as a wholewho paid for these actions through artificially high prices for generic drugs," Jepsen said. According to the complaint, which was filed in federal court in Connecticut on Thursday, the defendants allegedly coordinated with their competitors at industry trade shows, customer conferences and other events, as well as through direct email, phone and text message communications. The 20 states also allege the drug companies knew their conduct was illegal and avoided communicating with one another in writing. Besides Connecticut, the other plaintiff states include Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Dendritic cells in lymphatic tissues are mainly influenced by their genetic identity, while in non-lymphatic tissues -- such as lungs and skin -- dendritic cells are predominantly affected by tissue-specific factors. Credit: Carla Schaffer / Science Immunology Dendritic cells represent an important component of the immune system: they recognize and engulf invaders, which subsequently triggers a pathogen-specific immune response. Scientists of the University Hospital Erlangen of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU) and the LIMES (Life and Medical Sciences) Institute of the University of Bonn gained substantial knowledge of human dendritic cells, which might contribute to the development of immune therapies in the future. The results were recently published in the journal Science Immunology. Dendritic cells - their name is derived from the large amount of dendrites on their cell surface - populate most parts of the human body. There they act as guards by recognizing, engulfing, and processing foreign pathogens. Finally, those dendritic cells migrate to nearby lymph nodes, where they interact with other immune cells to trigger a pathogen-specific immune response. Consequently, dendritic cells play an important role within the complex immune system. In recent years, it became evident that in the mouse dendritic cells are composed of different subtypes, which differ in function and distribution across the body. In contrast, less was known about the corresponding situation in humans. Recently, Dr. Gordon Heidkamp and Prof. Dr. Diana Dudziak from the University Hospital Erlangen performed a global study, which, for the first time, systematically characterized dendritic cells in different human organs such as blood, spleen, thymus, tonsils, bone marrow, cord blood. Using 16-color flow cytometry, they detected different dendritic cell subtypes, determined their distribution across the various organs and identified important cell surface proteins. As a result, the scientists revealed that the surface profiles of dendritic cells of the same subtype are constant throughout the different tissues. Additionally, the scientists from Erlangen isolated dendritic cells from human blood, spleen, and thymus and analyzed their genetic information in the form of ribonucleic acid (RNA). The complex data analysis was performed in close collaboration with Jil Sander and Prof. Dr. Joachim L. Schultze from the LIMES Institute of the University of Bonn. Using innovative methods, for example Cibersort analysis, they were able to imposingly demonstrate that the different subtypes share a constant profile, regardless of their initial location. Prof. Dr. Schultze: "In contrast, our data further demonstrate that within non-lymphatic organs such as lungs and skin, tissue-specific signals have a higher impact on the transcriptional output of dendritic cells." According to these recently published findings and due to the special characteristics of dendritic cells, the scientists expect substantial impacts on the therapy of immune diseases as well as on the development of new approaches to treat tumors. Prof. Dudziak summarizes: "There is evidence that dendritic cells might play a crucial role for the development of innovative therapies targeting the immune system. Our results help to understand the fundamental characteristics of dendritic cells." The study was conducted in a close collaboration between Dr. Gordon Heidkamp and Prof. Dr. Diana Dudziak from the University Hospital Erlangen and Jil Sander and Prof. Dr. Joachim L. Schultze from the LIMES Institute of the University of Bonn. The latter are members of the excellence cluster ImmunoSensation. In total, 31 scientists were involved in this project, located in Erlangen, Bonn, Kiel, Bamberg, Augsburg, Frankfurt, and Singapore. More information: "Human lymphoid organ dendritic cell identity is predominantly dictated by ontogeny, not tissue microenvironment," Science Immunology, immunology.sciencemag.org/look 6/sciimmunol.aai7677 "Human lymphoid organ dendritic cell identity is predominantly dictated by ontogeny, not tissue microenvironment," Antiretroviral drugs have been life-changing therapies for HIV patients, but they can have significant side effects. Mounting evidence has implicated these drugs in contributing to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, or HAND, which can be manifested as forgetfulness, confusion and behavioral and motor changes. Yet an explanation for how the drugs take a toll on the brain has been lacking. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have now pinpointed some of the key players in causing neuronal damage. Their work suggests that certain protease inhibitors, among the most effective HIV drugs, lead to the production of the peptide beta amyloid, often associated with Alzheimer's disease. The drugs prompt an increase in levels of the enzyme that cleaves the amyloid precursor protein, APP, to produce beta amyloid, which is responsible for the damage to neurons. Notably, inhibiting that enzyme, called BACE1, protected human and rodent brain cells from harm, suggesting that targeting this pathway with a new drug could minimize damage to neurons in patients on antiretroviral therapies. "Protease inhibitors are very effective antiviral therapies, but they do have inherent toxicities," said Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, chair and professor in the Penn School of Dental Medicine's Department of Pathology and senior author on the study. "Our findings may cause us to rethink how we're using these drugs and even consider developing an adjunctive therapy to reduce some of these negative effects." The study appears in the American Journal of Pathology. Protease inhibitors such as ritonavir and saquinavir are a key part of the drug cocktail that has reduced mortality in HIV-infected people by 50 percent. Though newer compounds form the frontline treatments for patients in the United States, these protease inhibitors remain widely used in Africa and other developing areas hit hard by HIV/AIDS. They work by blocking viral enzymes necessary for creating infectious particles that allow the virus to spread through the body. Previous investigations by Jordan-Sciutto's team have suggested, however, that protease inhibitors can have toxic effects on the central nervous system. One study, for example, demonstrated that they triggered the activation of stress-response pathways, including oxidative stress and a process called the unfolded-protein response, or UPR. UPR results when the cell senses misfolded or modified proteins, causing a halt in protein translation. It's meant to protect a cell from aberrant proteins, but, when chronically activated, it can lead to cellular damage or death. Even after these studies, it wasn't clear whether UPR seen in HIV patients was induced primarily as a result of the virus or of the treatment, and what molecules mediated it. In addition, the researchers were intrigued by the findings of colleague and coauthor Robert Vassar of Northwestern University, who showed that stress-induced UPR led to activation of beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1, or BACE1, an enzyme that snips apart APP to produce beta amyloid. "The study emerged from these three lines of converging evidence," Jordan-Sciutto said. "We knew UPR was activated in HIV patients both on and off antiretroviral therapy; we knew that, despite antiretroviral therapy, cognitive impairment persisted in these patients; and we knew that activation of UPR lead to an increase in BACE1." To determine whether and how neuronal damage arises from drug treatment and to ascertain BACE1's role, the team investigated the effects of protease inhibitors in two animal models, then probed the mechanism of action in cells in culture. First, to confirm that the drugs themselves, and not the underlying HIV infection, were responsible for neuronal damage, they examined a population of macaques, some of which had SIV, a retrovirus very similar to HIV that affects non-human primates. The researchers found that SIV-positive animals that had been treated had increased expression of APP in their neurons, a sign of damage, as well as increased BACE1 compared to the untreated animals. They further confirmed that the drugs were the culprit in causing these changes by administering ritonavir and saquinavir to healthy adult mice. Again, they observed singificant increases in BACE1. Turning to cells in culture, they found that administering ritonavir or saquinavir at doses equivalent to those seen in the blood of treated humans led to dramatic increases in molecular markers associated with UPR as well as increases in BACE1 expression. Furthermore, they demonstrated that the increase in BACE1 led directly to an increase in processing of APP. Applying an inhibitor of BACE1 to rat brain cells in culture prevented the damage that ritonavir treatment otherwise induced. "Putting this together with our earlier findings on oxidative stress, it appears that the drugs are triggering oxidative stress that is damaging proteins and inducing the unfolded protein response," said Cagla Akay Espinoza, a research scientist in Jordan-Sciutto's lab and a coauthor. "The virus itself provides a stress, but the drugs are causing additional stress and damage to neurons, in part by BACE1 leading to downstream processing of amyloid precursor protein." A final set of experiments showed that an enzyme called PERK, a major player in UPR, helped mediate the increase in BACE1 expression in neurons triggered by protease inhibitors. "We're very interested in the role of PERK in this process," said Jordan-Sciutto. "Targeting PERK and/or BACE1 could help contribute to a therapeutic approach to treat drug-associated cognitive disorders." The new findings open up a number of avenues for future research. The team would like to explore whether this pathway of neuronal damage applies to other HIV drugs and how the UPR differs depending on whether the virus or the drugs are inducing it. Also, given the connection between beta amyloid, APP and Alzheimer's disease, the team is curious to learn more about how these peptides contribute to the disorders seen both in that disease and in HAND. More information: Patrick J. Gannon et al, HIV Protease Inhibitors Alter Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing via -Site Amyloid Precursor Protein Cleaving Enzyme-1 Translational Up-Regulation, The American Journal of Pathology (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Pathology Patrick J. Gannon et al, HIV Protease Inhibitors Alter Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing via -Site Amyloid Precursor Protein Cleaving Enzyme-1 Translational Up-Regulation,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2016.09.006 Eight storefronts selling recreational marijuana opened in Montreal Thursday, flouting the law in a push to grab market share ahead of promised legalization in Canada that is still at least a year away. And two more are planned for later this month in the nation's second biggest metropolis, despite a vow by Mayor Denis Coderre to use "all of the city's administrative tools to stop the illegal activity." The new franchise stores supplied by activist Marc Emery, Canada's self-proclaimed "Prince of Pot," come after grand openings of stores in Vancouver, Toronto and a dozen other Canadian cities. With other chains and independent operators also setting up dispensaries, it is estimated there are now at least 200 operating in what has been termed a "gray area" of the law that has seen some prosecutors hesitant to lay charges for a criminal act that will soon be legal. Several licenced medical marijuana producers, meanwhile, have been laying the groundwork to add recreational sales, for example, partnering with established brands such as rapper Snoop Dogg's "Leafs by Snoop." They currently sell prescribed dried marijuana only by mail order, under rules established by Health Canada. 'Prince of Pot' The Cannabis Culture dispensary chain is Emery's latest commercial venture. Others have included selling pot seeds, which landed him in a US prison for five years. The 58-year-old publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine has spent two decades advocating for the legalization of cannabis. Canada's current ban on the possession and sale of recreational marijuanawhich won't be lifted until at least 2018 as the government must still draft and pass legislationis "absurd," Emery said at the launch of the Montreal stores. "It's unjust. Lock me up if you will," he said. The Cannabis Culture locations in Montreal, which will bring to 22 the number of its stores across Canada, will be open to adults over 19 years of age. "We are proud to be demonstrating what legalization should look like, serving the Canadian consumers who have suffered persecution for so many decades," Marc's wife and business partner Jodie Emery said. Several Cannabis Culture stores and competitors across Canada have been raided and shut down by police over the past year, only to defiantly reopen days later. Others have faced fines for simple bylaw breaches, notably in Vancouver where lax enforcement has led to the proliferation of an estimated 90 dispensariesmore than the combined number of Starbucks and McDonald's restaurants in the city. In Toronto, police arrested 90 sellers and laid 186 drug trafficking charges in raids of 43 dispensaries over the summer. The first cases to go to court in December failed to stick, however, leading one defense lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, to lash out at the raids as a "colossal waste" of resources. Busted in US Marc Emery has campaigned for pot legalization as an activist, an entrepreneur who pioneered bong and other pot paraphernalia sales, and founder of the Marijuana Party of Canada. His budding empire, however, came crashing down in 2010 when he pleaded guilty to a US charge of narcotics trafficking and was extradited to the United States, for selling marijuana seeds by mail order. After serving his sentence, he returned to Canada and started over. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year campaigned on a platform that included legalizing recreational use of marijuana. An expert panel this week provided him with a blueprint for legalizing the weed. It contained 80 recommendations, including maintaining a separate medical marijuana regime, as well as criminal penalties for trafficking and selling cannabis to youth. The 106-page report also outlined regulations for creating a legal market for cannabis including plain packaging and labelling, restrictions on advertising, and retail distribution. In settling on a minimum age of 18, the experts discounted warnings by health groups about the potential impact of marijuana on developing brains under the age of 25. Trudeau told reporters Thursday legislation would come by June next year. 2016 AFP Credit: CC0 Public Domain Have you ever wondered how to raise children who will become wise consumers once they are adults? It turns out that parents are the primary agents who will socialize their childrenmore than friends, other adults or organizations such as churches. To find out which parenting styles help children best learn skills and attitudes needed to be smart consumers, researchers analyzed data from 73 studies nationwide. The results of their meta-analysis are available online in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. The researchers created categories to define four basic parenting styles. Authoritative parents are more likely to tell children what they want them to do while also explaining why, which the researchers describe as "restrictive" and "warm" communication. These parents tend to relate quite effectively with their children and expect them to act maturely and follow family rules, while also allowing a certain degree of autonomy. Authoritarian parents are also restrictive, but not as likely to exhibit as much warmth in their communication, explains researcher Les Carlson, a professor of marketing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "They are more likely to tell a child what to do and not explain why," he says. Neglecting parents offer little guidance for their children's development and limited monitoring of activities. Indulgent parents are lenient, compliant, and give children adult rights without expecting them to take on responsibilities. The researchers found that many of the studies showed children of authoritative parents had the best outcomes when interacting with the world around them. These children consumed healthier foods like fruits and vegetables, and made safer choices such as wearing a bike helmet. They also provided valuable opinions on family consumption decisions. "I think that our culture has changed over time to be more permissive with children, but we found a lot of evidence that demonstrated that it is okay to be restrictive with kids," Carlson says. "It's also important to explain to kids why the restrictions are important." The analysis also showed that children of restrictive parents were less likely to engage in cyberbullying, theft, vandalism, drug use and feelings of having an unattractive body shape, what the study authors termed "negative consumer socialization outcomes." To apply these findings to daily life, parents could proactively train their children by doing activities like taking them shopping and guiding them in decisions, Carlson says. "For example, parents can talk about why they are skeptical of advertising they may see in a store to teach children how to filter information," he says. "Watching television with children is another opportunity to engage with them in conversation about what they are seeing to teach them how to be fully informed consumers." This study will appear in the April issue of the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Provided by Society for Consumer Psychology World Bank supports major reforms in Georgia The World Bank is praising Georgia for its major reform plan that aims to improve the countrys investment environment, boost economic growth and ensure macroeconomic stability.This week the World Bank reiterated its firm support for Georgias reforms.Our partnership with Georgia is very strong, and we stand ready to support programs in these areas, said the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Cyril Muller, who visited the country this week.Muller commended Georgia on its steady economic growth and development priorities.Strong implementation of Georgias four-point plan focused on education, governance, business environment and infrastructure has the potential to accelerate economic growth, create jobs, and bring opportunities to all Georgians, said Muller.The World Bank official met top Georgian authorities in capital Tbilisi, where he outlined the need to focus on addressing critical constraints to growth while creating opportunities aimed at improving the lives of all people in Georgia, especially the poorest and most vulnerable.Muller reaffirmed the Word Banks partnership with Georgia and acknowledged the progress that has been made to date.I am glad to see Georgia among the top 10 global reformers in improving the business environment. The country was ranked 16 out of 190 economies in the most recent Cost of Doing Business survey, Muller said.Muller also visited the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency and met with the World Bank-supported Georgia National Innovation Ecosystem (GENIE) project and its beneficiaries.The project's objective was to increase the innovative activities of firms and individuals across Georgia and their participation in the digital economy. The project will help to create jobs and new small and medium-sized enterprises.Currently, the World Bank portfolio included 12 active projects in Georgia with total commitments worth $744 million. Areas of support include transport, energy, innovation, regional development, and agriculture. The News in Brief European Council releases information about suspension mechanism On 7 December 2016, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) confirmed, on behalf of the Council, the compromise text agreed with the European Parliament on a regulation to revise the suspension mechanism which can be applied to all existing visa liberalisation agreements. The agreement was reached between the Council, Parliament and Commission on the same day. "This agreement is balanced, and is extremely important for both the effectiveness and credibility of the union's visa liberalisation policy. The current suspension mechanism is not adequate and will now be improved. At the same time, the fact that we have reached an agreement should open the door to further progress on visa liberalisation talks with other countries that meet all the necessary requirements", said Robert Kalinak, Minister for the Interior of Slovakia and President of the Council. "By striking a deal today, the Slovak Presidency is delivering on one of its top priorities." According to the official website of the Council, the main objective of the revised regulation is to strengthen the suspension mechanism. It does this by making it easier for member states to notify circumstances which might lead to a suspension, by enabling the Commission to trigger the mechanism on its own initiative, and by tasking the Commission to send annual reports to the European Parliament and Council on the extent to which visa-exempt third countries continue to meet the necessary criteria. The possible grounds for suspension have been extended, and include a decrease in cooperation on readmission, a substantial increase in the refusal rate of readmission applications, including for third-country nationals in transit, and a substantial increase in the risk to public policy or internal security of the member states. The use of the mechanism will also be facilitated by shortening reference periods and deadlines in order to allow for a faster procedure. In particular, the reference period for comparing the circumstances leading to the suspension with the situation for the previous year or before visa liberalisation is shortened from six to two months. The suspension can be triggered by a notification of a member state or by the Commission. If a simple majority of member states notifies, the Commission will have to adopt an implementing decision temporarily suspending the exemption from the visa requirement for certain categories of nationals of the third country concerned for a period of 9 months. If the circumstances persist, the Commission shall adopt (at the latest two months prior to the expiry of the 9 months) a delegated act temporarily suspending the visa waiver for a period of 18 months for all the nationals of the third country concerned. A monitoring mechanism has been introduced with the purpose of ensuring that third countries which have been granted visa exemption following a visa liberalisation dialogue continue to fulfil the criteria which were the basis for granting visa free status. Now that the agreement has been confirmed by the Permanent Representatives Committee, on behalf of the Council, the regulation will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote at first reading, and to the Council for adoption, states the press release of the European Council. (IPN) Under-staffing indicated as cause of miners death in Chiatura A 53-year-old man died in an accident in a manganese mine in Chiatura on Saturday. Paata Ghavtadze died from injuries while leaning out of the locomotive he was driving in the poorly-lit Itkhvisi mine in the mining town in the Imereti region in central Georgia. Preliminary reports indicate that he was driving a locomotive loaded with ore when he leaned out to check whether the track was clear and hit his head on empty wagons parked on the other side of the track. Drivers do not have assistants to help them drive in the dark tunnels of the Chiatura mines. This makes it difficult for the drivers to see whether there is something on the track. An investigation is underway, but likely it was the fault of the victim. He violated safety rules, Giga Khvichia, technical security manager at the U.S.-owned company Georgian Manganese, told Guria News. But he emphasized that there were no eyewitnesses to the incident. Representatives of the trade union claim the management of Georgian Manganese keep reducing staff in the mines, a policy which affects the drivers too. Guria News also reported an incident a few days ago in the Tsereteli mine in Chiatura, where one mine worker was injured. The accident also happened on the tracks and involved a locomotive. Paata Ghavtadze leaves behind a wife and two children. (DF watch) @ByKristenMClark Florida's top Democratic elected official says he's a fan of Stephen Bittel as a future leader in the Florida Democratic Party but his praise stops short of a formal endorsement. Talking with reporters in Tallahassee on Friday, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson was delicate in how he answered questions about the future of the state Democratic Party -- the fate of which rests on the outcome of a special Miami-Dade party election on Tuesday. "I'm trying to keep a low profile and let the party process work its will, because the minute that I stick my head out then people are going to say I'm trying to influence the election," Nelson told reporters. "I can tell you that Stephen Bittel is a personal friend and he would bring a lot to the Florida Democratic Party." Bittel, a Coconut Grove developer, and former Cutler Bay state Sen. Dwight Bullard are competing for the position of Miami-Dade County Democratic Party committeeman. The special election on Dec. 20 comes after Bret Berlin stepped down earlier this month four days after being re-elected, making way for Bittel. The winner of the Bittel-Bullard contest will likely become the next state party chairman. MORE: "With Florida Democratic Party in balance, lowly Miami-Dade race goes national" Nelson praised outgoing state party chairwoman Allison Tant for having done "a remarkable job" leading the party and raising money while facing a Republican governor and Republican-controlled Legislature. "It's very hard under those circumstances for the chair of the party to raise the money, and yet she has still done an exceptional job in the face of huge huge odds," Nelson said. "Going forward, I see that Stephen Bittel is someone that I know personally who could continue that excellent job." "And beyond that, I better not get into it," Nelson said, declining any comment on Bullard. Nelson also wouldn't touch on the political maneuvering that's made the way for Bittel to have a shot at Miami-Dade Democratic committeeman. "I can only repeat to you what I know is happening," he said. "There is now a race for the state committeeman position in Miami-Dade County, and in order to be eligible for running for state party chair under state party rules, you have to be either a party chair, a vice chair or state committeeman or woman to run. That's my comment on that. I just don't know how that election is going." @PatriciaMazzei @anitakumar01 President-elect Donald Trump will head to his Palm Beach estate Friday night, with plans to remain there through the Christmas holiday. According to Trump's transition team, Trump and his family could stay at Mar-a-Lago for two weeks -- for both Christmas and New Year's -- though the president-elect's schedule is known to change. Mar-a-lago is expected to serve as a "winter White House" of sorts for Trump during the administration. Most of the high-level transition has taken place at his Manhattan home base, Trump Tower. Trump's "thank you" tour will hit Orlando on Friday and Alabama on Saturday. @MichaelAuslen President-elect Donald Trump returns to Florida today for his first pubic event in the state since it helped him win the presidency last month. Trump is set to speak at a campaign-style rally at the Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando at 7 p.m. as part of his USA Thank You Tour. Vice president-elect Mike Pence will be on hand as well. Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi are scheduled to appear at the rally. State Rep. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who co-chaired Trump's Florida campaign, will be master of ceremonies. Bondi is considered a likely pick for a White House job. Friday morning, Scott said he hoped the attorney general would remain in Florida. "Pam Bondi's a friend. I hope she doesn't leave," Scott said. "If she does, I know she'll work hard and will do a good job but my goal is that she not leave." The USA Thank You Tour has brought the president-elect to battleground states key to his election night victory. And Florida's 29 electoral votes were critical to that win. Trump made dozens of appearances in Florida during the campaign, pushing hard to take a must-win state that voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. With polls showing him neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton in Florida in the final days of the campaign, Trump won by 112,911 votes. For the most part, the tour events have been similar to Trump campaign stops. However, he has made news at some of them. In Cincinnati on Dec. 1, Trump announced that he would appoint retired Gen. James Mattis as secretary of defense. --Herald/Times staff writer Mary Ellen Klas contributed reporting. Photo: Then-candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Sarasota on Nov. 7, the day before winning the presidential election. (Loren Elliott, Tampa Bay Times) "Binary Form: Ceramic Abstraction," a duo show at the Missoula Art Museum, draws attention to the similarities and contrasts between two ceramic sculptors. Trey Hill, a University of Montana associate professor, constructs tree-like forms inspired by the bases that support Greek and Roman figurative sculpture. Andrea Moon, formerly the residency director at the Red Lodge Clay Center, builds basket-like ceramics from small arch shapes, assembled row by row, that have the finished quality of ancient stone or metal artifacts that belies their fragile nature during their assembly. The show was curated by MAM associate curator John Calsbeek, who was familiar with both of their work, and sought the challenge of matching two seemingly disparate ceramic artists together in a natural fashion. Andrea Moon It's impossible to look at Moon's lattice-like vases and baskets without wondering how they're built. Moon's sculptures are assembled "the way a brick builder or a mason would lay a wall or a building," she said from Pensacola, Florida, where she's moved temporarily. She builds them row by row, line by line, on a kiln platter because they're too delicate to pick up before firing. One of the pieces in the show, shaped like an inverted basket with a rounded top, has a striking double-wall construction. She began building ceramics this way about five years ago as a challenge and a practical matter. She had been promoted to 9-to-5 job at the clay center and needed a method of working that could fit into her schedule. After experimenting with other shapes, she chose the arch as a basic unit because they don't specifically allude to anything else, a quality that may explain why they're so fascinating to look at. Some of her previous works had representational objects in them, but she found that stripping them away in favor of abstraction made them more universal. "I started understanding that my narrative was more about structure," she said, and the interaction of the negative and positive space. Calsbeek pointed out the eye-catching quality of one piece, titled simply "Basket," a dome made of stoneware with a white glaze with a flat bottom. Viewers will ask "How is the world does that stand up like that?" he said. "There's more negative space than positive." MAM curator Brandon Reintjes noted that the rows are often uneven, with gaps where Moon couldn't fit a complete arch shape, leaving a gap. "They deflate any sense of structure and solidity," he said. The fact that she assembles them without any mold or internal support is one of the technically notable qualities of the sculptures. Hill, who knows Moon from undergraduate years, said it's "a feat to get clay to do that." She tried molds, but prefers the challenge of creating curving "walls" without them. Maintaining the curves requires discipline to avoid a distorted shape, which would have a different effect. "It says different things if a form were to warp or deplete in an area," she said. The finishes are typically monochromatic: black or deep umber. One piece has an eye-popping green or teal wash. "I don't want to busy the eye too much," she said. "I try to marry a monochromatic look with the texture, or enhance the texture that's already there." Her "Almost Gold Platter" takes a different direction entirely. Thin layers of clay that almost resemble folds of fabric line the interior a bowl. "It's a freeing experience next to building a basket sculpture or a lattice piece," she said. The platters are more gestural and physical, she said. She pounds out slabs and fits into them into the space. *** Trey Hill Like Moon, Trey Hill has simplified some of his forms while maintaining tight control. The associate professor of ceramics at the University of Montana's School of Art contributed sculptures that mostly adhere to a tree-like form. He's traveled multiple times to China, most recently this summer. In Shaanxi province near Xi'an, the FuLe International Ceramic Art Museum pushes ceramics centers to an even larger scale. They provide artists assistants and translators, and access to a kiln that can accommodate 12-foot sculptures. The MAM pieces, meanwhile, stand between 2 and 3 feet tall, with trunks and branches built from slab coils of clay that rise up into the air at harmonious angles. "I want them to feel like they're interacting with space that creates a tension," he said. "I don't want them to feel overly stable." Like Moon, Hill came to these shapes through a process of simplification. He was initially inspired by Greek and Roman sculptures, and the way the figures were supported at their base by branches and trees. It wasn't until he'd covered his studio walls with pictures of the sculptures that he noticed them himself. "We're so interested in the beautiful form, that well-carved figure, that we miss what's holding it up. At least I did," he said. He began building works in which the tree trunks held up parts of the figure, such as legs, arms, or even animal decoys as a way of talking about the invisible support systems we all have. Then he pared them down more and more until only the tree forms were left, out of a desire to see if they could work on their own. He gradually began paring down the visual information. One work at the MAM is festooned with metal frame-work shapes of street-lamps and sextants and other references to sight and wayfinding. That piece has a cross-hatched surface, his preferred method for several years. After working with those textured surfaces for several years, he found the results were too predictable to him. "I had so much control over it, I knew exactly what I was going to get, which sounds ideal, but I wanted the material to take it out of my hands a little bit," he said. With these surfaces, Hill lets go of some of that tight control. He waters down underglazes and pours them onto the sculptures, creating naturally fluid streaks of color such as white, blue and black. The way the liquid flows around the stumps on its way to the floor accentuates the shapes, Calsbeek said. Hill set aside his tools and the resulting smooth surfaces for "When the Sky Fell," a tree form with raw textures of hand-sculpted clay, another direction he's pursuing. They have raw, uneven surfaces with the feeling of an abstract expressionist. Without an even plane to pour down, the glazes don't form precise lines and instead dribble and branch into streams. The trunks are sitting atop cone shapes that refer to vision, one of his recurring themes. "There's all these things that we see and all these things that we miss," he said. "How does the thing that you see change who you are?" CIRCLEVILLE, Utah Utah state officials are going to spend $138,000 to restore a decaying wood cabin in Piute County that has become a tourist spot because it's believed to be the boyhood home of outlaw Butch Cassidy. The Utah Legislature has authorized $138,000 to disassemble the decrepit cabin outside Circleville and put it back together piece by restored piece. "It's slowly degrading," said Piute County Commissioner Darin Bushman. "It's not on a real foundation and it's slowly tilting and leaning and listing. And we just, we really wanted to preserve the cabin." The state is also working to build a parking lot big enough for 20 cars and four buses. "We took some counts," Bushman said. "We were getting between 60 and 90 cars a day stopping here, out on the highway." The cabin is currently owned by Afton Morgan, but many believe it is where Cassidy grew up. Cassidy, whose real name was Robert Leroy Parker, was born in Beaver in 1866 and the Parker family did live in the Circleville cabin. It is unknown if Cassidy lived there with his family of if he had already left to live the life of an outlaw. "There's a lot of rumors of that," Morgan said. "But to the best of our knowledge, Butch came here when he was just a young boy. I've heard all the way from 8 to 12 years old." Fred Hayes, director of the Utah Division of State Parks, said his agency will develop information signs for the historic site. He said the division will do its best to get the history right, including the ongoing debate on whether or not the law ever caught Cassidy. In the popular 1969 movie about the outlaw, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," the gang of outlaws flees to South America and dies in a shootout in 1908. Morgan said he doesn't believe the Hollywood ending. "I don't buy that story, nope!" Morgan said. "We have people from Panguitch and people from Circleville, and they claim they saw him in the '30s." HELENA Montana Senate Republicans want to cut Gov. Steve Bullocks funding for early childhood education and divert the money to the Department of Transportation to help the department leverage federal dollars for road construction projects. Lee Newspapers reported last week that the department is looking at delaying $144.5 million in road projects across the state. About $130 million of the money that would have paid for those projects comes from federal sources that would have matched $14.5 million in state funding. Bullock's budget director on Friday pushed back, saying the fix wont work, and even if it did, its a temporary solution to a long-term problem. The shortage comes as the Highway Special Revenue fund was projected to run out of money by next July if cuts weren't made. The fund, which comes from the state's gas tax, has been struggling for years, department Director Mike Tooley said this week, but DOT employees worked to find ways to make things work with the money they had. Part of the revenue fund also goes to the Department of Justice, which said it will have to cut 27 Montana Highway Patrol officers. Bullocks budget director, Dan Villa, said Friday that increasingly fuel-efficient vehicles and a decrease in diesel sales as Bakken oilfield work slowed caused gas tax reciepts to come in lower than expected and appropriations exceeded revenue. The gas tax in Montana is 27 cents a gallon. Bullock's budget requests $6 million a year, or $12 million over the biennium, for early childhood education, which has long been one of Bullock's top initiatives; in 2015 he brought a $37 million proposal before the Legislature but it was killed by the Republican majority. Tooley said this week the construction projects are delayed, not canceled, and added that the last time the state left federal match money on the table was about 80 years ago. State Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, chair of the finance committee, said hes hard-pressed to support any new spending when revenues are down, especially early in the biennium. Early childhood education was targeted because it's the biggest item on the list of new expenditures. He also said some of the new programs, like emergency funding to address invasive aquatic species, can't be cut. I cant see giving up an 8-1 match, he said. And we have a real road, bridge, infrastructure safety problem. Were going to solve that on the short term, but in the long term were going to have to find a way to shore it up. Villa said the Republicans plan doesnt have enough money or present a long-term solution. Theyve literally fixed nothing with their proposal, he said. Its literally just a shift to paying for our roads with income and property taxes instead of road taxes. Villa said the money in the budget would be spent in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 and wouldnt be accessible to fix the shortfall now. What theyre really saying is raid the rainy day fund, because this money doesnt come in until people pay their taxes in fiscal 18 and fiscal 19. Jones didnt deny the solution is a short-term fix, but he believes its necessary to not lose any federal matching dollars. Villa argued its not fair to say the state is leaving federal money on the table because the state doesnt have the funds available to put up for a match. When people say you are leaving federal money on the table, we are matching every cent we possibly can. We cant get more federal money when we dont have the match. Its just politics. Theyve proposed a partial solution for six months of two and a half years. Whats the plan after that? Jones said he expects a discussion on the gas tax, which hasnt increased since 1993, and he wants to find savings in the transportation department. He said money from the gas tax program should be spent on roads and not bike or walking paths. Most folks recognize that they drive down the roads and its a user fee, he said. Villa said the governor's office is open to discussions. Jones believes the bill to move the early education money to the transportation department could make it through the Legislature and get to the governor in a few weeks. He said moving quickly sends a message to contractors to not leave the state for other projects. Everyones trying to make it about the fact that its Early Edge, he said. To me its $14 million. We can debate the limits of any new program, but if it spends money in year one and its a new program, I cant see how we can have it unless its invasive species and its an emergency. An arctic outbreak working its way down the Rocky Mountains should reach the Missoula area early Friday morning, bringing sub-zero temperatures and terrible driving conditions. On Friday, the kids at the bus stop should definitely be bundled up, said National Weather Service meteorologist Corby Dickerson. Well be having stiff winds out of the east, with a wind-chill between 10 and 15 below zero. Combine that with the powder snow that fell all Thursday, and the result is low visibility and drifting that makes driving especially dangerous. School districts in and around Missoula County were taking a wait-and-see stance regarding Friday-night events. And the West Central Montana Avalanche Center posted a Considerable warning for steep slopes in the backcountry as the recent snows still havent formed a firm base with the ground. This system extends all the way west to the Cascades (in Washington), Dickerson said. By Saturday it descends all the way south to the Great Basin. We have arctic air showing up in models through the Texas-Oklahoma Panhandle area. Even the Rocky Mountain Front cant hold it back. Thats where we get wind-chill issues tonight and tomorrow. The Butte-Blackfoot area was receiving heavy snow Thursday afternoon, and that was expected to get worse on Friday. The arctic cold front was moving south along the Rocky Mountains overnight, resulting in more snow, breezy winds, drifting conditions and frigid temperatures. Wind-chill estimates for the Butte-Blackfoot area are between -15 and -25 on Friday. Dickerson said if the wind stops, temperatures could fall even further to the -40 range. Travel warnings have been posted for roads around Butte, Georgetown Lake, Highway 12 between Garrison and Ellison, Homestake Pass and McDonald Pass. The Missoula and Bitterroot valleys wont get hit quite so hard, but they do have winter weather advisories in place through 11 a.m. Friday. Snow should continue to fall all Thursday night, followed by blowing conditions on Friday morning. That means low visibility, bad driving conditions and wind-chills between -15 and -25 degrees on Friday. The Flathead Lake and Mission valleys should see more snow on the southern side of the lake. North winds will create low visibility and wind chills of between -10 in the Mission Valley and -25 in the Flathead. History was made Wednesday on the banks of the Bitterroot River. Braving temperatures well below the freezing mark, workers for Missoulas Frontier West construction company carefully placed a 185-foot steel bridge designed to hold irrigation pipe across the river south of Hamilton. The new bridge-and-pipe structure replaces one that for more than a century carried countless millions of gallons of water to irrigate thousands of acres of land on the east side of the Bitterroot Valley. Its a very historic day for the valley, said Bitter Root Irrigation District manager John Crowley. This was a major piece of the puzzle that needed to be replaced. Downstream irrigators wont be the only ones to benefit from the new structure. Built 107 years ago, the old bridge could be a nightmare to navigate for the thousands of fishermen who float the river every year. The troublesome piers that caught debris and sometimes unwary rafters will all be gone by the time fishing season begins this spring. Molly Davidson, an engineer with Morrison-Maierle of Missoula, said the new, free-standing irrigation bridge has no piers in the waterway. The construction crew has also removed old pilings and other debris that sometimes snagged rafts and drift boats, as well as endangering the old structure and the irrigation district crews called out to remove debris. The bridge blew out in the 1950s and a pier collapsed in the 1970s. Both times, downstream irrigators were without the water they needed to grow their crops and water their livestock. There was no guarantee the old bridge would have survived another high water event. It wasnt cheap to build a new one. Crowley said the project to replace the bridge and the large pipe cost $2.4 million. The bulk of that cost was picked up by irrigators. Last year, the farmers and ranchers who depend on the Bitter Root Irrigation District to deliver water to their 16,665 acres of irrigated land voted overwhelming to approve a $1.7 million bond to replace the vital bridge and pipe. Users picked up 80 percent of the cost, Crowley said. The Army Corps of Engineers provided a $250,000 grant and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation chipped in another $125,000 for the project. The irrigation district kicked in another $300,000 to help pay for the new bridge and 1,100 feet of new pipe. That was money the board had been setting aside for several years for this project, Crowley said. All of the work on the project was done by Montana businesses. Morrison-Maierle of Missoula were the engineers. Propipe of Frenchtown did the work on the pipe. RTI of Plains built the bridge structure and Frontier West of Missoula was charged with the putting it all together. Everything was made in Montana, Crowley said. We like to see that local people got those bids. The construction is expected to wrap up sometime in January. If anyone is interested in the old trusses that were taken down, Crowley said they should give the irrigation district office a call. Crowley said theres certain to be some things that will need to be tweaked when the new infrastructure comes online next spring. Im sure that theres going to be a learning curve, he said. Well have to get re-educated, but this certainly looks really solid. The old bridge lasted 107 years. Theres no reason to think that this wont be here for at least that long. The woman who said she was raped by Jordan Scott Bahr in Missoula last October spent five hours on the stand during the second day of trial Thursday, and will likely return in the morning to continue answering questions. From the moment she sat down, and frequently throughout the day, she cried, but declined to take breaks, saying once she started, she wanted to get through her testimony. After meeting Bahr at a downtown Missoula bar with a group of mutual friends on Oct. 12, she said she biked home around closing time alongside him because he lived along the way and didnt have a light on his bike. When they reached his house, the woman said she felt drunk from the several alcoholic drinks she'd had, and decided it was safer to ask to sleep over at Bahrs house than bike the last mile or so home by herself in the dark. When she left Bahrs bathroom, the woman said he was standing uncomfortably close to her right outside the door. She said she began to suspect he was attracted to her, told him he was cute and seemed nice, but I dont want to do anything with you and declined offers to sleep in his bed, asking instead to stay on the couch. Bahr asked, and she told him it was OK for him to lie on the couch with her, something she said she frequently did with platonic friends. Almost immediately, the woman said Bahr began an escalating series of sexual assaults. She said she was in shock and couldnt move. I froze. I went somewhere else, she said. Like my brain and my body betrayed me, like they werent there for me. Dr. Sheri Vanino, a licensed clinical psychologist from Denver who specializes in trauma and conducts training and seminars across the country, flew in to testify for the prosecution. She said most of her clients were victims of sexual assault, and described how the freezing that the woman testified occurred when Bahr began to grope her happens. The brain, Vanino said, makes a decision about threat perception in a tenth of a millisecond, and dumps a series of chemicals in response. A smaller amount of those chemicals leads to a fight or flight response, while a massive dose causes the frontal lobe which controls logic and reason to shut down, and the survival aspect to engage. Its not a choice, its not something they do on purpose, Vanino said. Only 19 percent of victims of sexual assault tend to fight back, she added. That dump of chemicals can leave people in a state of trauma-induced shock for up to two weeks, Vanino said, going on to mention that many of the symptoms are shared between all trauma patients, whether its sexual assault or a car crash. *** When Bahr eventually stopped, the woman said she found her clothes and left, returning to the house briefly because she forgot her bike helmet then went home. She told her boyfriend what had happened, showered, and the next morning went to the First Step Resource Center. Over the coming days she told some of her friends her story, but didnt contact the police. Almost a week after the incident, a friend told her Bahr had been telling people the two of them hooked up and that he believed he had gotten a sexually transmitted infection. It was those lies, the woman said, that pushed her over the edge to talking to police and reporting what happened. Since the incident, the woman said her relationships with other people including her boyfriend and family members have changed. She doesnt like people being behind her, telling the jury that even on the ride to the courthouse that morning, she had to ask her father, who was seated in the car behind her, to move to the other side of the vehicle. I want to be done with this. I want to be done feeling this way, she said. Defense attorney Mat Stevenson started his cross-examination by playing a video of the first interview the woman gave to a police detective. In it, she was more calm than she was when recounting the same story in court, but just as at trial became more agitated and upset throughout the retelling. As the jury watched the video, the woman sobbed on the stand. Stevenson led the woman again through the same timeline of the encounter she'd already outlined in response to questions from prosecutor Jordan Kilby. She agreed that she never told Bahr no or to stop, reminding the attorney that she had frozen during the incident. She recounted her one physical act during the incident, pushing at his genitals with her fist when Bahr allegedly tried to pry open her fingers and move them onto his penis. Stevenson asked if she felt Bahr could have been confused that she pushed him away at that moment, but not at other times during the night. Bahrs defense attorney also asked her questions not directly related to the case, such as whether it was more or less okay to kiss someone without permission, or raping them? When the prosecution objected, District Court Judge Robert Dusty Deschamps told Stevenson he was continuing to hound" the woman when she didnt give a specific answer, and told him to move on. By the time the judge called an end to proceedings for the day, Stevenson had yet to finish his cross examination, and said they would pick the matter up in the morning. Are the best days of our beloved University of Montana behind us? Not if we choose otherwise. Four years ago the UM provost tipped the hand of Helena administrators in an email message. Their future vision for UM described a campus where the traditional liberal arts core of UM would be slashed, with the remnants taught at Missoula College. UM would have to be right-sized in that transition to a campus with only professional schools and some surviving undergraduate academic programs, while struggling to keep its flagship status along the way. The Missoula community and many UM faculty, through either inaction or indifference, tacitly accepted that agenda that is now rapidly moving toward completion. UM has lost hundreds of jobs while graduate programs and many courses in the humanities and social sciences are being administratively cancelled on a regular basis. The welfare and the future of the UM campus now lie in the hands of Montana University System Commissioner Clayton Christian. However, at this critical juncture, UM faculty and advocates have stepped up to propose the following: Postpone the commissioners plans for Academic Administrative Program Planning until the new president and provost are hired. AAPP can be perceived as a vehicle for further academic cuts and more right sizing. A new campus leadership, working together with faculty through shared governance, should have the opportunity to properly plan the revival and future of UM. A viable, transparent national search is needed to hire the new UM president. Six years ago Montana State University conducted a proper nationwide search that yielded an excellent president. Now, UM must do the same. The Board of Regents and commissioner seem committed to this approach. We must be certain that they follow through. Likewise, the search for a new provost/vice president for academic affairs should continue. Contrary to popular belief, the president does not single-handedly pick the provost and these job searches are not elections, but legal personnel procedures to fill senior management jobs at our public university. The public should demand nothing but the utmost propriety in fully open and documented proceedings to hire the most qualified person for each position. Plugging the budget holes would provide a great start for the new UM president. Tuition equalization between UM and MSU must be implemented immediately, commensurate with a Montana Tuition Assistance Program to offset the impact of any tuition increase on our low- and middle-income students. This device, or a viable financial alternative, is absolutely essential for bringing in the revenue necessary to prevent further layoffs and strengthen our new enrollment and recruiting efforts at UM. The University of Montana needs a viable FY 2017 budget. We are nearly halfway through the academic year and most departments still do not have a budget. An FY 2017 budget is essential for departments to operate properly and to participate in student recruitment, enrollment and retention activities. Let the UM faculty teach. Enrollment floors and budget cuts have led to a wasteful cancellation of classes, particularly in the College of Humanities and Sciences. These cancellations are harming students by delaying completion of their degree programs. The cancellations also leave some faculty teaching reduced loads, against their own wishes. The enrollment floors should be waived until the campus stabilizes under new leadership. Now more than ever we need a unified effort. Missoula community leaders and the public should weigh in by contacting Commissioner Christian (cchristian@montana.edu) and asking him to support this faculty plan in its entirety. The road to recovery for UM is long and difficult. It will require these common-sense steps and other innovations. Our UM faculty, staff and students met recently to take the lead in the effort. Now, we need our Helena administrators to accept an agenda that relies on something other than budget or program cuts and employee layoffs. Every crisis creates a new opportunity; that adage certainly applies to UM now, and we can all choose a bright future for public education by taking collective ownership of our University of Montana. It is my hope that President Obama will use his last few weeks in office to do as much good for environmental issues in the United States as he is able. Using his power of executive order, President Obama can act to safeguard American public lands from private exploitations that disturb natural ecosystems and threaten clean air and water for local communities. Here in Montana we know the legacies of unsafe mining practices and we must fight diligently for our fellow Americans to make sure that all people have access to clean air and water across our country. Recently, thousands of snow geese died after landing on a pond of contaminated water left over from mining in the Berkeley Pit, despite preventative efforts by maintenance workers. This is an example of environmental disaster caused by traditional mining practices and, unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence of wildlife die-off caused by the toxic wastewater associated with mining. Right now, uranium mining threatens the Grand Canyon despite local opposition to these developments because state politicians are holding corporate interests in a higher regard than Arizonas community health and special wildlife. The Obama administration can stand up for the enduring future of the Grand Canyon and those who live around it by declaring the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument. This monument would provide critical protections to the Colorado river which provides essential water to not only the wildlife in the area, but also 25 million people downstream. With the dirty track record of uranium extraction in that area, I do hope that he uses his power to protect the life source of our friends to the south. Emma Patrash, Missoula A school resource officer's patrol vehicle was shot at in Billings on Thursday morning, according to a press release from the Billings Police Department. Officer George Zorzakis was eastbound on Lewis Avenue at about 9 a.m. when he "heard a snapping sound from the rear of his vehicle and believed it to be ice build-up breaking away from underneath his vehicle," according to the press release. When Zorzakis arrived at Riverside Middle School on the South Side, he found a bullet hole located behind the rear driver's side passenger door of his vehicle. Later, a large-caliber bullet fragment that might have been from a .45 caliber gun was recovered from behind the backseat of his patrol vehicle, according to the press release. "It is believed the shooter shot a round at Officer Zorzakis from the north side of Lewis Avenue somewhere between the 900 block and Division Avenue," says the press release. Zorzakis is a school resource officer at Will James Middle School and also Lewis and Clark Middle School, according to the city of Billings website. Sometimes school resource officers will make trips to other schools in the city outside those they're assigned to, said BPD Lt. Neil Lawrence. There is no suspect at this time, according to the press release. Those with information can call BPD at 406-657-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 406-245-6660. DARBY When the night finally came to a close, Ryan Woirhaye said his head was whirling. I literally came home and sat down and just tried to soak it all in, Woirhaye said. I really couldnt believe what had just happened. I was just in awe of what this community had done. Woirhaye was one of a small band of original organizers for an event last weekend to benefit his neighbor, Pete Ehmann. Ehmann broke his neck in a freak accident in October while working cattle on the family ranch near Sula. He is currently in a rehabilitation center in Colorado. When the idea for a fundraiser first came up, Woirhaye said the hope was that maybe they could find a way to raise $30,000 to pay for the Life Flight emergency helicopter trip and some other bills. It was kind of backdoor conversation that we had about that goal, he said. My personal goal was to try to attain as much as possible to help them pay for the Life Flight costs. And so they put the word out that there would be a homebrew contest and chili feed to raise that money. But then something happened that Woirhaye still finds hard to believe. People heard about the need and they started calling. They offered their help and donated all sorts of items for auction as well as their time and talents. By the time they kicked off the event at the Quonset hut at the Darby Rodeo Grounds at 2 p.m. Saturday, there were already easily 100 people there ready to bid on items and offer their support. There were a lot of people in this community who really wanted to support the Ehmann family, Woirhaye said. We even had people who were just passing through stop by to see what was going on. We had people there from Frenchtown to Wisdom. Before it was over, nearly 500 people had come through the door. At the beginning of the week, the total had tipped past $55,000, including a $1,000 donation that had been called in just minutes before Woirhaye talked to the Ravalli Republic. And the thing about it is, were not done yet, he said. There are still things that have been donated that havent been sold. I think well go over $60,000. If anyone else would like to support Ehmanns long road to recover, Woirhaye said they can call the Bitterroot Community Federal Credit Union in Darby at 821-3171. Ask for Kathy. We have an account set up there, he said. Woirhaye doesnt know how hell ever thank everyone for what they had done. I really want to thank Darby major J.C. McDowell and the town council for letting us hold the fundraiser there, he said. And Cal Ruark and the Darby Rodeo Association was a huge player in this too. I cant name off everyone on the Pete Ehmann steering committee, but they all have my gratitude, Woirhaye said. This just started as a small idea. It shows you that, with the right people behind it, anything is possible. Woirhaye said people keep thanking him and Theresa Manzella for getting this thing rolling. But, it really wasnt us, he said. It was a community that made it happen. You know, its like if you put a ball out there on the playground and if no one kicks it, nothing happens. But if one kid goes out there and kicks the ball, everyone wants to play. All I did was kick the ball, he said. And, at the end of the day, Woirhaye said the most important part of what happened Saturday wasnt about the money. What was important that people came out and supported the Ehmann family, he said. The money was the driver for the fundraiser, but it doesnt even compare to the support and compassion this community showed for the Ehmanns by just being there. Thats the thing about this valley, he said. People here will always rally around someone in need. They showed that again Saturday. BILLINGS Next year Montana State Parks will take steps to increase staffing at its premier sites by transferring employee hours from less-visited parks. We said we needed 10 (full-time equivalent employees), but weve only redirected three plus, said Chas Van Genderen, parks administrator. So we still have a gap of seven. This is the next step in the agencys move to concentrate resources at its more prestigious and most-visited properties while stepping back from sites that see fewer tourists. It has not been an easy process and continues to vex the parks divisions staff, as well as the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board, which met in Helena on Wednesday. Part of that process is looking at what are now termed Class III parks for possible staff cuts without reducing amenities for visitors, whose fees generate income for the parks department. Balancing act Deeper cuts in staffing at such parks will need to be a top down exercise, Van Genderen told the board, because its too hard for staff to recommend changes. Another means to transfer employee allocation that Van Genderen has undertaken is talking to communities that contain state parks like Helena about Spring Meadow State Park to devise some type of partnership. Were extremely short on staff, and each of these communities have a park board, but were not having any dialogue about increasing efficiencies, Van Genderen said. So why dont we look at a new model? It makes so much sense, said Tom Towe, chairman of the parks board. I think thats the best thing we can do. Sideboards Chere Jiusto, executive director of the Montana Preservation Alliance, urged the board to develop a policy for such agreements before having discussions with communities. I believe you do need something to guide the conversation, she said, and to ensure any agreement achieves the goal of seeing these places better stewarded. Towe countered that the board would want to be flexible to adapt to different situations. Board member Mary Sexton agreed, saying any memorandum of understanding would lay out the particulars. To set things out now is a bit premature, Sexton said. Opposition So far Montana State Parks attempts to reallocate some resources have met with strong public opposition and outcry. Weve had a pretty tumultuous year as a division, Van Genderen said, starting with the announcement late last year that it planned to seek other partners to help out at Hell Creek State Park at Fort Peck Reservoir or it may walk away from the site in 2021. Since then the division has identified Ackley Lake State Park in Judith Basin County and Painted Rocks State Park in the Bitterroot as low-hanging fruit ripe for some other entity to take over and manage because they dont fit the agencys new definitions. Thats caused some hard feelings as well as prompted legislator scrutiny. But some board members, like Jeff Welch, said discussions about Montana State Parks allocation of its funding need to take place, even if folks are disappointed by the outcome. Comparisons with surrounding states showed Montana manages more parks with less money and staff. Its like were working a minimum wage job and have 50 kids, Welch said. At some point this is the issue. There is an imbalance here. There just is. Wording Welch and Towe disagreed over a proposal by Towe to emphasize to the public in a formal resolution that the state parks board does not plan to close parks or decrease public access to public lands, despite a proposal to leave Hell Creek if no financial solutions can be found. My concern is that we havent actually stated this, Towe said. Were not closing your park were talking about running it more efficiently. A Garfield County ballot conducted this fall to assess the residents interest in taking over management of Hell Creek failed, Van Genderen said, although he added there is still strong interest in the community being a partner in future management. Yet Sexton and other members of the board pointed to statements in the board policy and parks strategic plan that do spell out that its not the intent or desire to close public lands or access. Instead the documents say the agency is seeking partnerships under a new model to be more efficient. I feel like its a little redundant to what weve already passed, Welch said. And it boxes us in to places we may want to walk away from some day. The board voted 4-1, with Welch in opposition, to ask the parks staff to draft an amended policy statement to make the issue more clear. A federal judge in Billings has set a jury trial for Jan. 9 for a Wyoming teenager who is accused in the double murder of a couple on the Crow Reservation. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters set the trial date in an order filed on Thursday after ruling this week that Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 19, of Worland, is mentally competent to stand trial. Watters held a competency hearing on Wednesday and heard testimony from a forensic psychologist, who testified for the prosecution. The psychologist evaluated Mendoza and said he has several mental disorders. But Mendozas mental illness would not substantially impair his ability to understand the charges or to help in his defense, she said. Mendoza has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder and other crimes in the shooting deaths of Jason and Tana Shane near Pryor on July 29, 2015, near Pryor. Prosecutors say the couple had stopped along the roadside to help Mendoza when he shot them with a .22-caliber rifle, killing both, and wounding their 26-year-old daughter. In April, the U.S. attorney general decided against seeking the death penalty in the case if Mendoza were to be found guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces mandatory life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The Berkeley Pit's critical water level needs to be addressed now, members of the Butte Natural Resource Damage Council told a Montana Resources official Thursday. The plea followed an update from Mark Thompson of the mine who gave members an overview of what happened the night of Nov. 28 when "tens of thousands" of migrating snow geese landed on the pit's toxic water. Thousands died. Employees used rifle fire, other noise makers, and searchlights all night to haze the birds. But the daytime foreman noted the pit's lake was "white with birds" when he arrived at dawn, Thompson said. While workers were able to haze large numbers of geese by the evening of Nov. 29, many remained for at least a week. Thompson called the die-off "heartbreaking." "We tried everything," Thompson said. "I never want to put our community through this again." The discussion led council members to express frustration over the pit's critical water level. Sister Mary Jo McDonald called the pit "the elephant in the room." Chad Okrusch asked Thompson to "take a message back from us." The companies and agencies can't wait five years to look at the critical water level, said Okrusch. Atlantic Richfield Company and MR are responsible for cleanup of the pit Superfund site. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Environmental Quality have oversight. The critical water level expected to be reached in 2023 is when the companies must begin pumping and treating the pit's water, which is laden with heavy metals and sulfuric acid. "I don't disagree that discussion has to happen," said Thompson. Thompson pointed out the companies are not waiting to address the Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment plant. When the critical water level arrives, the plant must be prepared to handle the additional flow about 2.5 million gallons of pit water a day. Since it was built in 2003, the plant has been treating about 5 million gallons of contaminated water a day that flows into the mine property. The plant sits on the northeastern side of the Berkeley Pit's bank. Thompson said the companies began work on Horseshoe Bend Treatment plant last year to prepare it for the additional flow. Thompson said MR is pulling together wildlife biologists from Montana Tech; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the EPA; an avian school in Missoula; and the Audubon Society to help MR improve the hazing program that has been in place for the past 21 years. Federal and state agencies designed the bird hazing program in 1995 in response to 342 snow geese who died when they remained on the Berkeley Pit for days. Okrusch said he isn't angry at MR. A toddler undergoing treatment for cancer has a simple wish to receive 500 cheery greeting cards. But little 2-year-old Kaydence Weaver will get 1,152 cards more than twice the request all from Butte kids sent to her home in Indiana. Energetic sisters Zoee and Zaylee Thatcher of Butte Central Elementary have made it their mission to grant the little girls wish. Misty Deavers, Kaydences aunt and guardian, put out a call online to alert readers to the Christmas card drive. The toddlers big sister Salem, 4, joined in the project as a way to help distract Kaydence as she undergoes treatment. Its a novel way to help Kaydence deal with more chemotherapy treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer that affects muscles, connective tissue, or bone. She has been in and out of hospitals for treatments, writes Megan Wrappe at www.littlethings.com. Angie Thatcher, Zoee and Zaylees mother, happened upon the website, mentioned it to her active daughters, and the challenge was on. When my kids got ahold of the idea, they wanted to bring it to school, said Angie. We want to send 500 cards just from Butte. No worries about meeting that quota, as Butte Central Grade School religion/community service teacher Colleen Tutty said Zoees seventh-grade class and Zaylees fifth-grade class plus several Butte public elementary schools have churned out the cards for mailing the past few weeks. Public school students who crafted Christmas cards hail from Hillcrest, West, Margaret Leary, and Kennedy. It was a huge turnout from all the kids in Butte, Tutty added. I think its great that all the Butte elementary schools are working together. Like busy elves, the kid volunteers fashioned enough unique, homemade cards to deck the halls wherever little Kaydence and her sister are at the time. Inspired by the online posting, Zoee initiated the drive, and Tutty gave her the green light. I asked the rest of the classes here at Central Elementary to make cards, and then I made phone calls to the Butte public schools to see if they would want to join us, said Tutty, sporting a festive stocking cap. In the online article, Deavers said: We think she will be a survivor, she has been so strong. Of course, I couldnt say no to them, I just couldnt because I wanted to see them happy. Cards to Kaydence may be sent to: Misty Deavers, c/o Kaydence and Salem, Box 615, Noblesville, IN 46061. To help pay for the childs medical treatments, her family set up a GoFundMe page to accept online donations. The family has raised $8,774 of the $10,000 goal so far. A womens church group comprised of St. Patricks Catholic and Immaculate Conception churches also donated a homemade prayer shawl for the little girl, which Tutty plans to mail with all the cards on Friday. Tutty is also sending a blanket for Salem. Meanwhile, the Thatchers, their classmates, and public school peers can rest easy knowing they got one little girls Christmas off to a good start. I am excited to say that we did it, Tutty added. We fulfilled the wish of the 2-year-old in Indiana and her sister and made a wish for a wonderful seventh-grader here in Butte come to life. Last week I notified eight of my valued employees they would be laid off until further notice due to budget shortfalls at the Montana Department of Transportation and the departments recent announcement that $127 million in construction projects would be delayed and possibly cancelled in 2017. I have also spoken to other contractors across Montana who are laying off hundreds of employees who normally work throughout the winter maintaining equipment in preparation for the next season of work. These dedicated, hard-working construction professionals are the victims of the political posturing already infecting the Montana legislative process, weeks before the session even convenes. The MDT and Gov. Steve Bullock's budget office have known for several years the Highway Special Revenue Account cash balance was declining, and at some point, the state of Montana would be unable to match federal highway construction dollars, not to mention fully fund the Montana Highway Patrol. These are the two largest programs funded by the state's highway account, which derives most of its revenue from the tax on gasoline and diesel fuel. So, why didnt Dan Villa, Bullocks budget director, sound the alarm bells during the 2015 Legislature? Worse yet, why does the governor's proposed budget for 2017-2018 simply punt the ball on first down? If the governor's proposed budget passes as is, 27 highway patrol troopers would be eliminated and hundreds of construction workers will lose their jobs over the next couple years. Economists widely agree that every $1 million spent on highway construction creates 28 direct, indirect and induced jobs. The direct jobs are those in engineering, administration and construction companies like mine. Indirect jobs are those created when I buy equipment, parts, materials and professional services. Induced jobs are the ancillary jobs created with that money circulating through the economy. So, the governor's budget would translate into the loss of at least 3,556 jobs. Curiously, the announcement of delaying/cancelling millions in construction, with no proposed solutions, was made shortly after the election an election in which "jobs" were a central theme. Contractors and the thousands of Montanans we employ are asking, "Where's the leadership?" As it now stands, Montana, for the first time in our lifetime, will be sending federal highway money back to Washington, D.C., for other states to spend on their highways. To those of us impacted by the opening salvo to this upcoming legislative session, it is not a game. Real people's lives are already being affected and the situation will grow worse every day the problem goes unresolved. The travelling public is also being punished for this political gamesmanship. Nearly a third of the bridges on our state highway system are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, as evidenced by the bridge on Interstate 90 at Butte that is under emergency repairs after failing earlier this fall. People are dying after running off the narrow rural highways with no shoulders while the legislators and the governor point fingers at each other about who should propose a 10-cent-per-gallon increase in fuel taxes. This would cost most Montanans about $8/month, if they travel 20,000 miles per year. It's time to rise above the petty "gotcha" politics we've seen in Helena for far too long. Do the right thing for the right reasons and the voters will reward you. Fixing the highway funding crisis and fixing it fast is the right thing to do to put us back to work! -- Deb Poteet owns a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise construction firm in Missoula and employs 110-plus people on construction projects throughout Montana. EA Johnson's 12/11/16 letter to the editor deserves a fact check and some context. Johnson states, according to Voices of Montana .... Greg spent $1 million of his own money while Bullock spent $5 million. It seems EA Johnson or Voices of Montana are deliberately perverting truth and fact. The fact is, according to official reports submitted by the Gianforte campaign itself, Greg gave his campaign $5.8 million in personal money while Governor Bullock raised $3.2 million. Johnson further wrote, Greg was promoting smaller government and less regulation and we are stuck with four more years of dismal economic fog under Governor Bullock. Although the first of these quotes may be true, the last is a deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Dismal economic fog under Governor Bullock!? Compared to every state, Montana has been and is currently doing great, we should all be proud of that fact! Despite our Republican legislators efforts, Montana has kept a balanced budget and surplus, even through Bush's Great Recession, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression -- both of which were effects of smaller government and less regulation policies. The very simple-minded ideology smaller government and less regulation originates from the Corporatists themselves including the Koch brothers, AFP, Heritage Foundation, and ALEC. Historically, smaller government and less regulation exclusively serves Wall Street billionaires, bankers and the corporate elite (Oligarchs) who only want smaller government and less regulation for the same reason a crook wants fewer police. Republican-controlled states that embraced the smaller government and less regulation agenda have been decimated, turning surpluses into massive deficits. Look at Louisiana under Jindal (R), Michigan under Snyder (R), Wisconsin under Walker (R), Illinois under Rauner (R), Kansas under Brownback (R), New Jersey under Christie (R), all these states have become economic disasters: wages have been driven down, unemployment is up, investments are down, credit ratings tanked and all public services are being cut. Today in those Republican/corporate-run states the working taxpayer is paying higher taxes for fewer services and working harder and longer for less money. Knowing the above, its obvious Montana dodged a bullet by rejecting Gianforte's desire to put us in his smaller government and less regulation Republican race to the bottom. I pray EA Johnson and Voices of Montana will refrain from further deliberate perversions of truth and fact and discontinue their avocation of the corporate elite over the working class. -- Kevin D. Curtis is a working-class activist, professional cameraman, artist and avid outdoorsman who lives on the Butte Hill with his wife and dogs. HELENA The speed limits on several stretches of interstate around Montana including Elk Park north of Butte and Homestake Pass are about to change. The Montana Transportation Commission on Thursday approved speed limit changes to six segments of Interstates 15 and 90. Truck limits were not changed. The commission approved a 70 mph limit between Elk Park and Boulder, a curvy stretch of 21.5 miles that crosses the Boulder River nine times. The area was under an interim 75 mph during the study period, but data shows many drivers travelling closer to 60 mph just south of Basin, and the commission said the 70 mph limit creates more uniformity. Over Homestake Pass east of Butte, the speed limit on I-90 will now be 65 mph from north of the Continental Drive interchange going east for about 10 miles then 75 mph for the next four miles. This area had an interim limit of 75 mph, but the study found drivers were going slower than that in some segments. It also found an increase in speeding tickets and crashes in the area. In 2015, the Legislature approved an 80 mph limit for most of I-15, I-90, and I-94. The law kept the limit at 65 mph for urban areas with more than 50,000 people, and it also created seven zones that kept the old limit of 75 mph while the commission studied if the higher speed was appropriate. One of those areas was the stretch of I-90 between Bozeman and Bear Canyon. There the commission voted Thursday to make the limit on the entire stretch from west of Belgrade to the canyon, about 22 miles, a 75 mph zone. During the study, much of segment was already 75 mph with a 65 mph zone in urban Bozeman. "I quizzed our staff rather heavily about looking more toward a 65 (mph zone)," said Dwane Kailey, administrator of the Highways and Engineer Division of the Montana Transportation Department. "But with travel speeds and accident history, there just really isn't much justification for going lower than 75 at this time." MDT data shows most crashes in the area occur at mile marker 229, which is at Belgrade. The data is from before the new interchange east of town was built, however. The entire stretch from Laurel to Billings on I-90, about 25 miles, is now 65 mph. The study found many people traveled closer to the urban speed limit Billings was already under and the change supported uniformity along the whole stretch. The speed limit had been 80 mph to about Zoo Drive heading east. On I-90 through Missoula, the limit will be 75 mph from west of the east Desmet interchange to near Reserve Street then drop to the statutory urban limit of 65 mph for nine miles through town to Bonner. It will increase to 75 mph at milepost 110 to the east side of the Turah interchange then go back to 80 mph. A revision of the boundary of the Missoula urban area would have called for most of the segment to be 65 mph, but the study found that areas west and east of town weren't busy enough to need a lower speed. On I-15 in the urban Great Falls area, the commission moved the start of the 65 mph urban zone to just before the Cascade County Correctional Center. The study found that even though the urban zone stretched farther to the south, a portion had no reported crashes in the last three years and could be traveled safely at 80 mph. Two areas have not been studied yet because of construction projects: near Wolf Creek on I-15 and Lookout Pass on I-90. It normally takes from two weeks to a month to get new signs up, but Kailey said given snowy conditions around the state, it might take longer. The people who put up the signs are the same folks who drive snowplows. "I think our priority right now is to have them in the snowplow," he said. The commission sends a letter to city and county officials when it considers a speed limit change, though most didn't weigh in on these changes. Civil #: 16-002405 Special Execution Regions Bank DBA Regions Mortgage Successor In Interest To Union Planters Bank, N.A. VS. Community Bank And Trust Company As Trustee Of The Kathleen S. Beverlin Revocable Trust, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, State Of Iowa Department Of Revenue And Finance And All Of The Unknown Claimants, Including But Not Limited To All Of The Unknown Heirs, Spouses, Assignees, Grantees, Legatees, Devisees, And Beneficiaries Of Kathi Beverlin AKA Kathleen S. Beverlin, Deceased. As a result of the judgment rendered in the above referenced court case, an execution was issued by the court to the Sheriff of this county. The execution ordered the sale of defendant(s) Real Estate Described Below. To satisfy the judgment. The property to be sold is A part of the Northwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 34, Township 76 North, Range 4 West of the 5th Principal Meridian, in Muscatine County, Iowa, described as follows: Commencing at a concrete monument marking the Southwest Corner of said Section 34; thence North 00 degrees 00'00" West (assumed bearing) 1681.74 feet along the Section Line to a point in the Public Road, thence North 89 degrees 05'06: East 544.20 feet along said Public Road to the point of beginning; thence continuing North 89 degrees 05'06" East 406.58 feet along said Public Road; thence North 03 degrees 52'42" West 192.60 feet, thence North 89 degrees 17'36" West 213.2 feet; thence South 44 degrees 37'36" West 121.81 feet; thence South 89 degrees 49'42" West 94.90 feet; thence South 00 degrees 02'42" East 114.43 feet to the point of beginning, containing 1.538 acres, more or less. Property Address: 1321 276th St., Letts, IA 52754 The described property will be offered for sale at public auction for cash only as follows: Sale Date: 01/31/17 Sale Time: 9:30 am Place of Sale: Muscatine County Jail Lobby, 400 Walnut Street, Muscatine, IA 52761 Homestead: Defendant is advised that if the described real estate includes the homestead (which must not exceed 1/2 Acre if within a city or town plat, or, if rural, must not exceed 40 Acres), defendant must file a homestead plat with the Sheriff within ten (10) days after service of this notice, or the Sheriff will have it platted and charge the costs to this case. This sale not subject to redemption. Property exemption: Certain money or property may be exempt. Contact your attorney promptly to review specific provisions of the law and file appropriate notice, if applicable. Judgment Amount: $102,010.66 Costs: $12,183.70 Accruing Costs: Plus Interest: $2,939.79 Sheriffs Fees: Pending Date: 12/9/2016 Attorney: Benjamin W. Hopkins 1350 NW 138th St. Ste. 100 Clive, IA 50325 (515)222-9400 C.J. Ryan Muscatine County Sheriff Melissa Hurlbut Civil Deputy The Board of Education of the Muscatine Community School District, in the County of Muscatine, State of Iowa, met in regular session on Monday, December 12, 2016 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Vice President Mary Wildermuth called the meeting to order. Directors Tim Bower, John Dabeet, and Randy Naber were present. Directors Tammi Drawbaugh, Aaron Finn, and Nathan Mather were absent. Also present were Superintendent Jerry Riibe and Director of Finance Tom Anderson. The board recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Vice President Wildermuth welcomed visitors and media representatives. There was no student council report. Five employees were recognized as those who go above and beyond for students, staff, and parents as part of the district's Recognizing Excellence Employee Award Program. Employees are nominated by their peers, the community, and parents. The employees recognized for December were: Ashley Mohror, Heather Trego, Dave Hartman, Joy Schrock, and Dixie Luna. The district and board will be recognizing employees at each regular board meeting this school year. The board held a public hearing on the sale of Washington Elementary. A motion was made by Director Naber and seconded by Director Dabeet to open the public hearing. Roll call: Ayes: Directors Bower, Dabeet, Naber, and Wildermuth. There were no nays. Motion carried. Time: 7:05 p.m. There were no oral or written comments received. A motion was made by Director Dabeet and seconded by Director Bower to close the public hearing. Roll call: Ayes: Directors Bower, Dabeet, Naber, and Wildermuth. There were no nays. Motion carried. Time: 7:07 p.m. No one spoke during Citizens Speak. A motion was made by Director Bower and seconded by Director Dabeet to approve the consent agenda which includes: * The minutes of the November 14, 2016 Regular Meeting. * Employment Recommendations of: o New Hires - Certified: Crystal Pottebaum - Spanish Teacher at MHS. o Resignations - Certified: Heather Benninger - 3rd grade teacher at Mulberry (effective end of 2016-17 school year); Robert Rhum - MHS Spanish Teacher (effective 12/21/16). o New Hires - Schedule C: Mike Truitt - MHS Track. o Resignations - Schedule C: Colin Haggerty - MHS Wrestling. * Policy 503.2 Anti-bullying/Anti-Harassment. * Bills and Claims against the district dated December 12, 2016. All ayes; motion carried. A motion was made by Director Naber and seconded by Director Bower to approve the following policies: 501.5 Elementary and Middle School Transfers 501.6 Non-resident Tuition 501.9 Approval of Open Enrollment Transfers - DELETE 501.11 Private Instruction 501.12 Dual Enrollment 501.13 Student Transfers In 501.14 Student Transfers Out or Withdrawals - NEW 501.15 Resident Students - NEW 501.16 Pregnant Students - NEW 501.17 Students of Legal Age - NEW 502.6 Student Drug, Tobacco, Alcohol Offenses 502.7 Search and Seizure 503.1 Non-discrimination Students - DELETE 503.10 Care of School Property - NEW All ayes; motion carried. Superintendent Riibe provided information on the Promise of Iowa - a campaign supported by all of the major education associations in Iowa in support of public education and the important role that public education plays in society. He noted that public education welcomes everyone and takes in all students regardless of background or situation. The video: The Promise of Iowa was also viewed. A motion was made by Director Dabeet and seconded by Director Bower to approve the Resolution of Support: Promise of Iowa Public Education Campaign. Directors Naber, Dabeet, Bower, and Wildermuth provided their own words of support for public education. All ayes; motion carried. A motion was made by Director Naber and seconded by Director Bower to approve the Resolution for the Sale of Washington Elementary to Muscatine Downtown Investors LLC in the amount of $275,000. All ayes; motion carried. Superintendent Riibe provided an update on the School Improvement Advisory Committee. He noted that the committee is made up of parents, students, community members, and MCSD faculty. This committee recently met with the University of Iowa research team and provided feedback for the district's needs assessment. Dr. Riibe further noted that SIAC, the board, and the district's teacher advisory committee will meet to look at long- and short-term goals in the near future. Director of Finance Tom Anderson reviewed the district's November financials. Vice President Wildermuth provided the following announcements and upcoming meetings and events: December 21, 2016 2-hour early dismissal for students December 22, 2016 - January 2, 2017 Winter Break - NO SCHOOL January 3, 2017 School Resumes January 9, 2017 School Board Meeting; 7 p.m.; City Hall Director Bower announced that Galen Housair and Darlene Blair of the Iowa Association of School Boards will be retiring at the end of the year and will be greatly missed at the state convention as both have done a lot for our district over the years. A motion was made by Director Naber and seconded by Director Dabeet to adjourn the meeting. Time: 7:25 p.m. Mary Wildermuth, Vice President Lisa Mosier Bunn, Secretary MUSCATINE, Iowa Gary Carlson, the HNI Corporation vice president and community relations director, updated the Muscatine City Council on investments the company has made in the Muscatine community in recent years, and asked for direction to move forward in developing a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) agreement. The council agreed to move forward with the process, and City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said after receiving direction on the proposed TIF schedule, the next steps will involve the preparation of a TIF agreement and adding it to a renewal plan. My plan would be to proceed with both of those items and bring them back to council at a later date, Mandsager said. The strategy of HNI, Carlson said, has been to continue investments in Muscatine, even though funding to plants in other areas has been reduced. [Largely because of] the excellent work relationship with the city of Muscatine and the county of Muscatine and the people of Muscatine, he said. The corporation has been focusing on obtaining equipment to increase efficiency and enhance the work environment for the members, Carlson said. It has also allowed us to not only retain jobs, but we have had some job growth, he said. Carlson said HNI has tentatively planned to move into the new facility that has been under construction in downtown Muscatine on Jan. 6, 2017. The company, he said, has steadily continued to invest in its home city. Since 2012 weve invested approximately $117 million in our Muscatine operations, he said. Other companies have continued to invest in the city as well, Carlson said. Its one of the things that really is the strength of Muscatine is the industrial operations we have, he said. The council also discussed an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which Mandsager said will address the area of impact from when the railroad raised the tracks, taking the city out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The agreement, which will be sent to the railroad for approval and then come back to council, states the railroad will make three payments totaling $4 million to the city, and work to bring the city back into compliance with the ADA will be done as part of Mississippi Drive Project. In other business: The council approved the second and final reading of an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance for 922 Hancock St. The property owners submitted a request to rezone .46 acres located on two parcels at the location to allow the owners to occupy the existing building and construct a building to store their business vehicles. The council approved the second and final reading of an ordinance amending the zoning ordinance for the rezoning of the former Washington Elementary School at 610 Maiden Lane. The rezoning will allow Muscatine Downtown Investors to make the existing gymnasium facilities available for rental for sports practices and fitness use, to convert the rest of the building into 19 dwelling units, to construct 12 garages, and to construct a 26-car parking lot to serve the new units. All who see a train blocking a railroad crossing for an extended period of time, which has been reportedly occurring in the area of Sampson Street, are encouraged to contact the public works department or city hall, and to contact the railroad at 800-766-7912. Mandsager said the city has been attempting to contact the railroad about the issue. WAPELLO, Iowa - Chromebooks are coming to the Wapello Elementary School following a 3-2 vote by the school board Wednesday to purchase 125 of the devices and four computer carts. The new technology program will mean most of the upper elementary students will be able to use a computer throughout the day instead of during scheduled computer lab times or whenever their teacher can arrange to have an existing computer cart in the classroom. The decision followed a presentation by several elementary teachers to show board members how their students were already using technology in the classroom. We use what we have every day and usually (there are) not enough to share, elementary principal Brett Nagle wrote in a prepared statement to the board. According to Technology Director Nate Miller, the elementary currently has around 75 mostly older computers that are shared between 250 elementary students in grades 1-6. Fifth grade teacher Teresa Good said she was seeing good results from her students use of the current limited number of machines. Good and fourth grade teacher Becky Westfall said ST Math, a computer program that allows students to move through a series of problems at their own pace, had been especially beneficial. Im seeing kids you dont expect going home and answering 300 questions, Good said. My kids really like it, Westfall agreed. Board members did not dispute that students would benefit from the Chromebooks, although they were unsure at what grade level they needed to have their own machine. My concern is the numbers, board member Matt Stewart said, suggesting an initial proposal of 250 machines that would have provided nearly every elementary student with a computer was not realistic. Nagle agreed. Two hundred and fifty would be overkill at this point, he said. Several ideas were then offered, including purchasing 100 of the units or possibly just buying enough to cover the fifth and sixth grade classes, which number around 75. Board president Duane Boysen said supplying the older students appealed to him, especially if the elementary staff also received new computers. He said that would free up some machines to shift down to the lower grades. We cut our costs way more than half and if we really like it we come back (next year) and buy (enough) for two more grades, he said. Miller and most of the teachers however said the staff computers were fine and did not need to be replaced at this time. He said some of the computers that were currently on carts being moved between classes did need to be replaced. Eventually, 125 Chromebooks was suggested and the board agreed, with Boysen and Stewart opposed. The decision topped the cost at around $28,000. The board also approved spending $11,307 for additional wireless access points. Under the current plan, the elementary students will not take the computers home at night. That plan differs from a one-to-one program the school board approved earlier this year for the high school. Under that plan, the district purchased around 300 Chromebooks and distributed them to secondary level students at registration for school related work at the school or home. In other action, the board: Agreed to support the current whole-grade sharing contract the district has with the Morning Sun School District; Offered to renew Superintendent Mike Petersons contract for three years; Accepted the early retirement of Sue Fisher, who has taught 35 years in the district. COLUMBUS JUNCTION, Iowa - A housing rehabilitation program that could benefit a minimum of six owner-occupied residences in Columbus Junction cleared several steps during a city council meeting Wednesday. The council first held a public hearing on the citys plans to submit a $232,994 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) to provide the housing rehabilitation assistance in a targeted area of the community. There were no public comments on the proposal. Mayor Dan Wilson then identified four additional steps that needed to be approved by the city as part of the application process. These included a resolution of support from the council for the funding, approval of a Federal Assurances Signature Page, approval of an Application Disclosure Update, and approval of an Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Administrative Plan 2017. The resolution of support is really important, Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission Planner Dan Eberhardt told the council. The council approved all the necessary documents. Eberhardt said a survey was sent earlier to around 150 residences in the targeted area, which generally lies between State Highway 92 and Springer Street. Weve got back about 35 responses, Eberhardt told the council, explaining he felt that was a good initial return. He also said the responses had helped identify several potentially eligible residences for rehabilitation. There were 20 or so that seemed eligible, he said. Eberhardt said the citys application would be submitted in January and it would likely be May before any decision by the IEDA is announced. Meanwhile, Eberhardt also told the council that he had recently discussed the possibility of a housing construction project in the citys south end with a developer. He did not provide any additional information, but indicated he would provide more information if discussions continued. In other action, the council learned there had been a correction in a recently submitted urban renewal report. City clerk Julie Heindel said an error in the report had been caught by state officials, but no additional action by the city was needed. (The official) just said I needed to notify the council, Heindel said, explaining the error had corrected an outstanding debt amount in the report. In final action, city librarian Amanda Grimm provided her monthly update report to the council. Grimm said the library had recently completed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Annual Report and reminded the city officials they had received a summary of the report. According to the summary, the library had 16,178 physical items available to library patrons and 9,389 materials had been circulated during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016. The summary also showed the library had 30,011 downloadable materials available, with 786 of the materials circulated. The librarys 25 volunteers donated 237 hours to assist the facility. The library also offered 81 programs that attracted 1,119 people, while there were 17,096 visits to the library in FY 16. Grimm also reported she had recently completed her certification, which is good for three years. The library will also be open on Tuesday nights until 7 p.m. beginning in January, Grimm said. Well try it for three months, she said, explaining the library board hoped to draw residents who have been unable to visit the library because of work or other schedule conflicts. MUSCATINE, Iowa The Muscatine Community Y held an open house with assistance from the The Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and provided tours and refreshments Thursday evening to increase public awareness of the final fundraising efforts for its expansion project, which will hopefully begin in April. With a goal of $7.5 million, the Muscatine Y has approximately $1.4 million to go before the expansion project can begin. The project will include adding family locker rooms, a new gymnasium, and more privacy and office space for many of the staff members. Bret Olson, the executive director of the Y, said although several area businesses made large donations at the beginning of the fundraising efforts, he hopes some of the 9,000 members will be able to contribute in the "home stretch." An anonymous donor has agreed to provide an up to $500,000 match, and the Y hopes to raise enough donations to use the entire match amount. "We're really making that push because we want to maximize that before the end of the year, and we're really hoping we can get people to jump on board," Olson said. Nichole McCleary, the director of marketing and development, said she hopes the entire match will be utilized. "Then if we double that, then we're so close we can taste it," she said. Olson said hopefully the project will take 12-18 months to complete, but the Y will remain open during the project, although some programs will have to be moved to different areas of the building. "But we hope to minimize the inconvenience," he said. Staff members provided tours to those who asked, walking through the building and showing visitors where the project will be impacting the Y. The first change visitors to the Y will encounter when the project is complete will be the entrance, which will be located on the front of the building. Lindsey Phillips, with Big Brothers Big Sisters at the Y, said the entrance will be in one location instead of two. "Which makes it a lot more secure for us, and everybody that's using the facility," she said. The entrance will be located where many employees currently have office space. The office space will be moved and much of it will also be increased, which staff members said will add much needed privacy for them and Y members as well. "So we train and orient all of our volunteers and their families, and we would prefer to do that in a confidential setting because a lot of information is shared with us and at this point the places to do that are pretty slim," Phillips said. Jason Miller, the Special Olympics program director at the Y, said he also may need to have confidential conversations with athletes, and the new space will help that section of the Y as well. Jocelyn Paxton, the aquatics director, said the addition of family locker rooms will be important to many Y members. Parents will be able to bring their children of different genders with them to change before entering the pool, rather than sending them into another locker room alone. Miller said some Special Olympics athletes also require assistance, and the family locker rooms will make that possible. "I've got athletes that have direct one on one care, and in order to change to go into the pool they need that assistance," he said. "And right now, especially when you get a male/female staff of the opposite sex, it's hard for them to go into the locker room and do those things." Another gymnasium, complete with a larger track than the small, angled one currently available at the Y, will also be added. That extra space will also affect the large amount of children's programming at the Y, which currently can be cramped, the staff members said. Olson said when he first started at the Muscatine Y, he was challenged by the national YMCA, which he said asked "If your Y closed, would it be front page news." He said he feels if the Y were to close, a void would be left in the community. "So it's not just the healthy living component that we do, the weight room and the pool, but it's all those other pieces," Olson said. "It's all the kid pieces, we watch 100 kids a day before and after school, we do almost 100 hours of free programming for middle school kids every month, the Special Olympics program, [and] Big Brothers Big Sisters." To donate to the Y, or for more information, visit www.muscatiney.org, or call 563-263-9996. MUSCATINE, Iowa Volunteers finalized preparations Friday afternoon for a large Christmas dinner and party planned for Friday evening at Pearl City Outreach. Pearl City Outreach manager Naomi Kautz said the group was expecting to serve more than 500 people at the outreach, as well as meals taken directly to the homes of senior citizens or those who could not attend the free dinner. "It will be wall to wall people," Kautz said. The smell of ham hung in the kitchen as volunteers continued to prepare a meal of ham, potatoes, corn, baked beans, dinner rolls and pies. As J.R. Ennmant-Mejia, a volunteer, worked in the kitchen, he said many families are in need in Muscatine. "Why not spend some time here, which is significant, you know, to the children and to the society," he said. "Make it a little better and show people that there are people who care." Around 500 presents waited for children to collect them in the basement, where Santa Clause was also expected to visit. Kautz said community members donated the new toys, and live music was also planned. "And it's great," she said. Pastor Sharon Phillips has been organizing the event for more than 30 years, Kautz said, and Kautz has been working on the event for more than 16 years. She said the event grows every year. "Every year the need keeps getting bigger," she said. Now, Kautz said, the need at the outreach is canned goods, as well as milk and bread for the food pantry, which she said sees 15-20 people every day. "We can't keep ahead of it because the need is so high," she said. Although this time of year can be busy for the volunteers, they all enjoy the time spent helping others, Kautz said. "This is mine and my husband's favorite time of the year," she said. "It's stressful, but we love it." IMDb Votes: 18,232 IMDb Rating: 9.7 Episode: season 6, episode 9 Air date: 02/14/16 Now that walkers have shown up inside the gates of Alexandria, Rick and the other survivors are scared and outnumbered. Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] Oops... This is embarrassing... We're Sorry, the page you're looking for may have been moved. Let's help you find the page you were looking for... First, try using the search form below. Type what you're looking for and search; If the search forms above won't help you find exactly what you're looking for, perhaps one of the links from our sitemap below will help you; If you prefer to visit a particular school's information page on this website, please select the school from the form presented on the Myschool Homepage by clicking here. 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He pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud, acknowledging that he falsified purchase orders for wine he never contracted to buy, entered the phantom wine into Premier Cru's inventory and then sold it. Prosecutors say at the time the business went bankrupt, Fox's customers were owed about $45 million for wine that they had not received. An inter-county name dispute between two wineries came to a head Wednesday when Davis Family Vineyards in Healdsburg filed a trademark infringement suit against Calistoga-based Davis Estates in federal district court. The complaint filed in the Northern District of California accuses Davis Estates, a relative newcomer to the Napa Valley, of exploiting the name similarities between itself and the established Davis Family Vineyards in Sonoma County. Founded in 1999 by Guy and Judy Davis, the Sonoma winery has sold hundreds of thousands of bottles bearing the Davis Family Vineyards mark and in 2006 received a trademark for the winery name, the suit states. Davis Estates, co-owned by Mike and Sandy Davis since their 2011 purchase of the former Saviez Vineyards property in Calistoga, opened to the public in 2016. Bolstered marketing and promotional efforts from Davis Estates increased the likelihood of customer confusion between the two brands, according to the suit, which lists several such incidents that occurred throughout 2016. The two wineries had been aware of the name conflict since at least 2014, the suit said. In its press release announcing the lawsuit, Guy Davis said, We tried several times, in person and through written correspondence, to resolve the dispute. Boxes and boxes, full of materials demonstrating our brand usage for the last 20 years, were shown to Michael Davis and his attorney. Despite a letter from Davis Family Vineyards counsel in May demanding Davis Estates cease and desist in their use of the Davis Estates name, the suit says, the Napa Valley winery continued to sell their wine under the name. Characterizing Davis Estates continued use of the name as deliberate, willful, malicious, and intentional, the suit seeks triple the amount of actual damages incurred by Davis Family Vineyards an amount that will be determined during trial. In a phone interview Wednesday afternoon, Davis Estates owner Mike Davis read from a prepared statement. Back in 2014 we offered to meet with Guy Davis to discuss how both of us could use our common family surnames without conflict, he said. Guy Davis rejected that meeting and then waited nearly two years while we invested substantial resources to build and open Davis Estates. Among these expenses was the initial purchase of the Calistoga property for a reported $4.7 million in cash. The incidents of customer confusion cited in the suit include a tour companys mistaken deposit of its guests at the Davis Estates property instead of Davis Family Vineyards, where a tour and tasting had been scheduled. The two wineries are less than 25 miles apart. Another incident involved a May 9 article in the Napa Valley Register that erroneously dubbed the Calistoga winery Davis Family Estates, in a story detailing a controversial timber-clearing request made by Davis Estates. As a result of the error, Davis Family Vineyards received letters of concern from several organizations including Napa Vision 2050 and the Land Trust of Napa County, according to the lawsuit. In early December, an email from potential customers of Davis Family Vineyards seeking wine for a 25- to 30-person event was mistakenly sent to Davis Estates, according to the suit. The email was not forwarded to Davis Family Vineyards until the date of the event had passed, the suit maintains. Of course, Id like Michael Davis to enjoy and succeed in the wine industry, Guy Davis said in his news release. Id also like him to adopt a sense of camaraderie rather than bulldozing his way in and taking business that my family has worked hard to earn. Its unfortunate that Guy Davis has chosen to file a lawsuit over this matter, Mike Davis said as part of his statement. I am confident we could have worked this out as gentlemen. Since Guy Davis has chosen litigation, we have no choice but to aggressively defend Davis Estates in this lawsuit and the right to use our family name. Heavy rains on Thursday triggered an overnight rock slide that shut down the road from Napa to Lake Berryessa on Friday, with conflicting reports on whether the road would reopen Saturday or as late as Monday. The Highway 121/Monticello Road was closed due to a rock slide that left rocks and boulders covering the pavement. Two falling bouldersmaintenance workers on the scene said the largest was about 10 feet by 11 feetdented and cracked the pavement. As of Friday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol stopped traffic at Kenzo Estate winery, 3200 Monticello Road, near the top of the ridge. The slide was about a half-mile to the north, where workers using a backhoe cleared rocks from the narrow, two-lane road and adjacent hillside. When the road will reopen remained unclear on Friday. More must be done than clean up and repair the pavement. Caltrans spokesman Vince Jacala said the agency geologists must first make certain the rocks above the road are stable. We want to open it as soon as possible, Jacala said. We also want to make sure it is safe for everybody. CHP officials said they had heard varying closure estimates from maintenance workers, ranging from Saturday until Monday, but nothing certain. About 4,000 vehicles a day use this highway, Caltrans said. Southbound traffic on Highway 121 is being detoured onto Highway 128 to Silverado Trail. The northbound detour is Silverado Trail to Highway 128. For residents in the rural Circle Oaks subdivision, that detour turns a 10-mile trip to reach the city of Napa into a 33-mile trip. Last March, Highway 121 sustained a major washout that closed the roadway for days, then left the highway with only one lane pending a permanent repair. Jacala stressed that Fridays rock slide is about four miles away and has nothing to do with that incident. Repair for the March washout included building a trench with drainage under the road, Jacala said. That repair project is wrapping up, he said. For 24/7 traffic updates, go to 511.org: https://twitter.com/511SFBay Napa County and the North Bay were pummeled by Thursdays intense storm. The city of Napa recorded more than 3 inches of rain, while Mount Veeder on the western ridge line got more than 5 inches. Highway 121 runs up near Mount George to the site of the road-closing rock slide. Mount George on Thursday received 3.35 inches of rain and has received 11.58 inches since Oct. 1, the Napa Valley Regional Rainfall and Stream Monitoring System reported. The storm created pockets of flooding, with the National Weather Service placing a brief flood watch on the Napa River and its tributaries late Thursday afternoon. Both the city of Napa and Yountville opened up sandbag stations so people in low-lying areas could protect their property. Fortunately, the storm moved south in the early evening, with dry, colder air arriving behind it. Now comes the cold. The National Weather Service on Friday issued a freeze warning for parts of Napa County, with temperatures expected to fall to 33 degrees in the city of Napa on Friday night and 29 degrees on Saturday night. Daytime temperatures at Napa are expected to hover in the mid-50s next week and reach a high of 60 degrees on Wednesday, with both sun and clouds. No rain is in the forecast through Wednesday. A Napa doctor pleaded guilty to tax evasion in U.S. District Court on Thursday after overstating his business expenses for seven years, saving him millions in taxes, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Dr. John Compagno, 70, was charged with one count of tax evasion on Nov. 16 following an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. Although he pleaded guilty to knowingly and willfully filing false 2010 corporate tax return with the IRS, Compagno acknowledged in his plea agreement he owes more than $5.4 million in unpaid taxes, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Compagno didnt respond to messages left at his administrative office in Hercules on Thursday. Compagno is the owner and operator of three corporations located in Hercules in Contra Costa County John Compagno, M.D., Inc., West Coast Pathology Laboratory, Inc., and Histopathology Reference Laboratory, Inc. He has been practicing medicine since 1971 and pathology since 1974, according the West Coast Pathology Laboratories website. For tax years 2005 through 2011, Compagno had a corporate tax return preparer overstate the amount of expenses on the corporate tax return by including non-deductible expenses, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release. The overstatement of non-deductible expenses, which totaled $10,679,080 over seven tax years, caused the amount of income taxes to be understated. Taxes owed due to the overstatement totaled $3,859,060. Compagno approved and signed the corporate tax returns, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. He also omitted constructive dividends from his 2006 through 2011 individual income tax returns, totaling $10,505,091 over six years, according to prosecutors, resulting in $1,567,179 of owed taxes. Compagno is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28 before U.S. District Judge William Alsup. The maximum sentence for tax evasion is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Moore is prosecuting the case. Shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the Napa River and its tributaries, saying that water levels were rising rapidly. A watch was also called for surrounding areas in the North Bay as a storm with heavy rain moved through the area. The Napa River at St. Helena was at about 14 feet at 2 p.m. and was expected to rise above flood stage at 17.7 feet early Thursday evening, then fall later in the evening, the National Weather Service reported. Major flooding occurs at 19 feet. Localized flooding was reported Thursday afternoon, with Napa County closing Lodi Lane between Highway 29 and Silverado Trail to all but local traffic. In Yountville, a sandbagging station was opened at Yountville Community Park, with public works crews monitoring creek levels and removing debris from drains. Signs were put up to advise motorists to use caution when driving. As of 5 p.m., county rain gauges had recorded 3.07 inches in central Napa, 3.31 inches in Yountville and 5.08 inches on Mount Veeder over the past 24 hours. As a precaution, the Napa County Flood Control District planned to put no parking signs on McKinstry Street in the flood bypass channel after 5 p.m. If the river rose to predicted levels Thursday evening, no water would flow into the bypass, but the district wanted to be prepared in case the situation changed, said Phil Miller, Napa Countys deputy public works director. The joint Napa County/Town of Yountville self-serve sand bag station is open at the northwest corner of Washington Street and Grant Street for residents wanting sand bags. Residents should bring their own shovels. To ensure the safety of residents, Yountville closed public access to the following locations: Hinman Creek on Solano Avenue, Finnell Road, Oak Circle at Heather Street and Yount Mill Road at the cemetery. The town also closed the Yountville bike path, the path at Heather Street, paths behind mobile home parks and the path behind the Yountville Elementary School. Yountville Public Works crews and our deputies and fire personnel are on storm watch and monitoring. Heavy rains were predicted into the evening, with dry, colder weather forecast for Friday. Officers were on the scene of a mental health call for 12 hours attempting to talk a man down from a shed on Kansas Court in Napa on Thursday, according to Napa Police. Police responded to a report of a person standing outside a residence while dogs barked around 1:30 a.m., Lt. Chase Haag said. When officers arrived, the man ran behind a home on Kansas Court and climbed onto the roof of a shed in the backyard, Haag said. The man said he had a knife with him and it looked like he was bleeding, Haag said. Napa County Sheriffs deputies arrived and contained the area, making sure that residents knew they were safe and that no non-residents were in the area. Although officers and negotiators continued to try to talk to the man, he refused to come down or would come down from the shed just to go back up, Haag said. At one point officers hit the man with a less-lethal sponge round, but the man still refused to cooperate, he said. Following the 12-hour negotiation, during which the man cut himself with the knife, the man was transported to Queen of the Valley Medical Center to be treated for his self-inflicted wounds, Haag said. The man may be facing charges of trespassing and resisting arrest. On my way to run errands, I noticed someone had an American flag sticking out of their garbage can for pickup this morning. I promptly removed and folded it as it was torn and needed to be properly retired. For anyone who is not aware once the American flag is no longer servicable, it can be removed and taken to your nearest VFW Post. Ours is the American Legion Post 113 at 1240 Pearl St. If that does not work for you, you can give it to a local Boy Scout Troop. Either way, Old Glory will be properly and honorably retired. If you are going to fly her, you might as well know that once her duty is finished, she has to be retired properly. Mike Encinias Napa Now riddle me this. Why is it that our President-elect's choice for national security adviser, Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, was able to avoid stringent discipline by the U.S. Army in 2010 for sharing classified information with military officers in Afghanistan because he did so "unknowingly" and that "there was no actual or potential damage to national security as a result. (Washington Post). How is it that a man whose son appears to prefer to spread conspiracy theories as real news, instead of using the gray matter between his ears to check his information and avoid putting people's lives at risk, is being selected for the post of national security adviser? Where is the criminal investigation by the FBI for careless security and information protection of classified information? Oh wait, he's a man. Karen Stone Napa Master of Wine Tim Hanni is calling for a revolution in the way todays wine industry treats consumers, especially those who prefer sweet wines. In his newly published book, The Sweet Wine Lovers Manifesto, Hanni, who has been hailed as the anti-wine snob by The Wall Street Journal, sets out to debunk what he calls the collective delusions, the myths and misconceptions that pass for wine education today. And no one is more victimized by them than sweet wine lovers, he writes. Hanni, a certified wine educator and 40-year veteran of the wine world, says, Todays wine industry has been hijacked by dry wine fashionistas who dismiss sweet wines lovers as beginners who will learn to like drier, more stylish wines, and its time to put a stop to their arrogance and ignorance. They are passing judgment without bothering to understand why others genuinely like sweet wines. And they are ignoring the history of wine in which sweet wines in Europe traditionally held an honored place at the dinner table all through the meal, not just with dessert. Hanni became intrigued with the question of personal taste in the 1980s when he was conducting food and wine classes and tastings at Beringer Winery in Napa Valley. One of the first two Americans to earn the title of Master of Wine, Hanni said he was sure he knew all of the rules until he realized at that any tasting, different people were experiencing the same foods and wines in entirely different ways. Some would love them, some would hate them, and it nearly led to fistfights. To figure out why, Hanni embarked on decades-long search for answers, collaborating with sensory researchers like Dr. Virginia Utermolen, M.D., at Cornell University. It turns out that taste sensitivity is determined to a great extent by each persons genetics, Hanni said. People with ultra-sensitive palates often simply cannot tolerate the big, bold red wines that others love. For them, these wines are bitter, unpleasant and often burn. They crave sweet flavors to mask an intolerable bitterness. If pressured to drink unpalatable wines, however highly rated, hypersensitive types will simply avoid wine and the industry loses a customer. Hanni has created a system of Vinotypes to help people find their level of sensitivity and to discover wines they will enjoy. No one type is superior to another, just different, he notes. The wine industry needs to learn to respect these differences. Attempts to create rigid rules for pairing food and wines are a colossal fraud, Hanni says. If you dont like a wine, no food is going to change your mind, any more than a wine can make you love a food you dont like. Instead he advocates matching wines to the diner, not the dinner and using flavor balancing with salt and acid, like lemon, to bring food and wines into harmony. Hanni shares his own experiences in The Sweet Wine Lovers Manifesto including the time a server in a three-star Michelin restaurant admonished him for requesting a different wine for a guests at a wine-pairing dinner: If you knew anything about wine, you would know that these wines have been perfectly matched. Uh-oh, dissed! Hanni writes cheerfully; but he notes that while he can laugh off such experiences, millions of others are often confused, intimidated, and embarrassed by the condescending attitude of wine experts. Its contrary to the traditions of hospitality, which have always focused on the preferences of the guests, Hanni says. The original copy of Larousse Gastronomique, first published in 1938, suggests offering red wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux or the very sweet Sauternes with the finest dishes if the guests prefer. Its time we return to this time-honored approach to wine. The Sweet Wine Lovers Manifesto is available at Napa BookMine and on Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/dp/154049022X/. When selecting wines for holiday entertaining, many people play it safe, reaching out for the popular tried and true brands. Then there are the adventurous types, wine lovers seeking artisanal, underground wines, crafted in garages or backyards. Such oenophiles were out in strong numbers at the sixth annual Garagiste Festival in San Luis Obispo County this fall. The term garagiste originated in Bordeaux, France, in the mid-1990s, coined to denigrate renegade small-lot vignerons who, in reaction to opulent Bordeaux chateaux, often made wines in their garages. Some winemakers, however, embraced the term, which traveled across the Atlantic and took root in Paso Robles with the inaugural Garagiste Festival in 2011. We literally started in a garage, said Doug Minnick, who co-founded the California Garagiste movement with Australian actor-turned-winemaker Stewart McLennan. Minnicks Hoi Poloi label started with a mere 250-case annual production that has increased to 850 cases with the 2016 vintage. Based in Studio City, Minnicks wines are produced in Valencia with fruit sourced from Sonoma, Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles. The tasting room is scheduled for a December opening in Old Town, Newhall, California. This is what defines Californias Garagiste winemakers: they could be based in one city, produce wine in another and source fruit from all over the state, blending varieties from different appellations and sometimes mixing multiple vintages to produce non-vintage wines. We are free to do what we want, Minnick said. Take West of Temperance. Marin County-based winemakers John King and Brian Ojalvo produce their wines in Napa and source grapes from all over California. We get fruit from off-the-beaten track vineyards, said King. The aglianico and teroldego come from Yolo County, but pinot noir is sourced from the Santa Rita Hills appellation and sangiovese and zinfandel from Hopland. Only a maverick team like King and Ojalvo will produce a non-vintage wine like Colorfield, a blend of eight varieties from five counties mixed with three vintages. Its a niche that never existed before, said McLennan whose annual production of Golden Triangle cabernet sauvignon and syrah wine amounts to 200 cases produced in Paso Robles. At Garagiste festivals, its the owner and winemakers pouring the wines; there are no sales representatives behind the tasting tables. This is not a drunk fest, said McLennan. Sure festival-goers may get a buzz, he mused, but they want to be educated and interact with the winemaker. For a wine aficionado, what turns you on is the ability to meet the winemaker. The Garagiste movement has gathered momentum over its six-year history and now stages three annual festivals in Solvang, Paso Robles and Los Angeles. Funds raised at these events benefit the wine and viticulture program at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. At our first event we had 30-40 wine producers, said McLennan at the Friday Night Heaven kick-off tasting at the Carlton Hotel in Atascadero. Now we have a data base of 400. The list of these winemakers can be found on www.californiagaragistes.com. The group (with no membership fee) draws winemakers from all over the state, although the majority of them come from Central Coast with a couple of dozen wineries from Northern California. The only restriction is that the winerys annual production is less than 1,500 cases. Most of the 60-plus winemakers at the Saturday grand tasting held at the Paso Robles Fairgrounds have outgrown garages and many use custom crush facilities. But there remains a handful of true garagistes. Patrick Lynch, a firefighter by day, converted his three-car garage into a production facility and a temperature- controlled barrel room. Under the Lynch wines label, he produces 200 cases annually in the Sierra Foothills Placer County. Lynch attended a Garagiste festival a few years ago and was so impressed he thought, We can actually do this. With wife Chelsea, he launched the Lynch Wines label, sourcing fruit from local vineyards. Their first vintage of 2012 syrah garnered high points from wine critics. We network with each other and its easy to find fruit, said Lynch, who noted Placer County is now home to some 20 wineries. Lynch poured an earthy and spicy 2014 Lucky Cash Rhone blend and a lush 2013 Strummer syrah. Based in Healdsburg, veteran winemaker Katie Nowell-Smiths wines are truly artisanal, from label design to vinification. She tends her two-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley, selling the syrah and mourvedre fruit and keeping the grenache for her own bottling. Using one-ton bins and a basket press in her garage she notes her wines are very handmade. Nowell-Smith worked at Stuhlmuller Vineyards and Porter Creek, transitioning from a 25,000 annual case production to a minuscule 150 cases per year of her own label. Her goal is to reach 500 cases. The festival also allows an opportunity to taste wines from little-known regions. Winegrower Steve Aldens vineyards are perched atop Mendocino Ridge at 1800 feet elevation. Above the fog, said Alden. This is the only noncontiguous appellation in the U.S. and one that he helped establish in 1996. On his 2,000-acre ranch, he has planted 300 acres of pinot noir and zinfandel, producing 230 cases per year and selling the balance of his fruit to wineries such as Ed Meades and Arista. Stewart Johnson of Kendric Vineyard makes a substantial production of 1,200 cases of Marin pinot noir in San Franciscos Treasure Island. His vineyards are in Marin County, a region one doesnt associate with wine making. However, Kendric pinot noirs proved to be savory and earthy in the Oregon style. Long Beach-based Contractor Greg Martin and his school teacher wife Pamela launched their Seven Angel Cellars in 2009 in Templeton, with a production of 70 cases now grown to 1,500-case annual production. Wine is an incredible art form, said Martin, who specializes in marbling finishes. Theres an infinite possibility of blending new wine profiles. Seven Angels bottles several well-balanced blends, among them, the 2013 Confession, a complex blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, sangiovese and merlot. There were some exciting Central Coast white wines at the festival, an albarino from Diabo Paso; Alexandrine, a Rhone blend from Dubost Ranch; and grenache blanc from Kaleidos. But red wines ruled, primarily Bordeaux and Rhone varietals with some Italian and Spanish. Some brilliant Rhone blends came from wineries such as Alta Colina, Brian Benson Cellars, Caliza, Nicora, Paix Sur Terre, and an elegant 2014 mourvedre crafted by Bastien Leduc of Seven Oxen Vineyard in Paso Robles. The Saturday grand tasting was preceded by two seminars. At the Peek Behind the Curtain, veteran winemaker Adam Lazarre, who straddles the world of large- and small-scale winemaking, shared the ups and downs of both sides. Lazarre has served as director of winemaking for several large companies, among them Costco and Whole Foods brands. He also makes a small production of Lazarre wines in Paso Robles. In large-scale production, you lose control and are at the mercy of the cellar crew, Lazarre commented. And I have a CFO and controller looking over my shoulder. At the garagiste level though, you make the wine you like and connect with the consumers. Paso Robles esoteric blends were featured at the second seminar on Illegal Blends illegal because you couldnt do these in France with a white blend from Ascencion Cellars, a tannat and petite sirah blend from Pulchella, and Mad Crush from ONX, an over-the-top concoction of grenache, tempranillo, malbec, mourvedre and zinfandel. Such an audacious blend can only come from outlaw there are no rules garagistes. (Natural News) In case you didnt notice, the war against human freedom is now in full force across the entire establishment: Big Media, Big Pharma, Big Government, Big Banks and Big Agriculture are assaulting our bodies and minds by the hour, it seems. The latest salvo in that war happened just a day ago, as the DEA quietly added all cannabinoids (including CBD) to its Schedule I classification of controlled substances in a new ruling that goes into effect on January 13, 2017. (Be sure to also read the hemp industrys response below, which confirms The sky is not falling) ACTION ITEM: Sign our petition that asks the incoming Trump administration to legalize CBD supplements nationwide. Via the Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 240, published Wednesday, December 14, 2016, Rules and Regulations: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration 21 CFR Part 1308 [Docket No. DEA342] RIN 1117AB33 Establishment of a New Drug Code for Marihuana Extract AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice. ACTION: Final rule. PART 1308 SCHEDULES OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES The authority citation for part 1308 continues to read as follows: Authority: 21 U.S.C. 811, 812, 871(b), unless otherwise noted. Section 1308.11 is amended by adding paragraph (d)(58) to read as follows: 1308.11 Schedule I. (d) (58) Marihuana Extract(7350) Meaning an extract containing one or more cannabinoids that has been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis, other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant. In effect, the DEA has, completely outside any act of Congress, created an entirely new Schedule I controlled substance it calls Marihuana Extract (note the spelling with an h rather than a j). This Marihuana Extract is, according to the DEA, any extract containing one or more cannabinoids CBD is, of course, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. Its just one of over a hundred cannabinoids found in hemp extracts, which also include CBD-A, CBG, CBC, CBN and so on. Sign our petition at this link to ask the Trump administration to protect access to CBD products and keep the DEAs hands off natural medicine from Cannabis. The sky is not falling! Hemp Industry Association responds From the Hemp Industry Association, heres a thoughtful response on all this, which insists the DEAs new classification is not a show-stopper: Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Final Rule on the coding of marijuana extracts. Unfortunately some misleading media stories and social media postings lead quite a few people to panic at reports that CBD was being banned under this new rule. The Sky is NOT Falling. The Final Rule published by DEA did not change the legal status of CBD. This can only be done by a scheduling action which has NOT occurred. HIA has carefully reviewed this with our legal advisors and discussed it with industry experts. While there are some differing opinions on the effect of the rule, there is general agreement that yesterdays ruling did not change the status of CBD. Here are some important facts to know: Cannabidiol is not listed on the federal schedule of controlled substances Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill defines hemp as distinct from marijuana and does not treat it as a controlled substance when grown under a compliant state program Despite these facts, DEA has stated that CBD is a controlled substance previously HIA strongly disagrees with the DEA position and is ready to take action to defend should DEA take any action to block the production, processing or sale of hemp under Sec. 7606 The Final Rule published on December 14th was not a scheduling action but rather an administrative action related to record keeping The code assigned to marihuana extract in the rule is Administration Controlled Substances Code Number for the purposes of identification of substances on registration forms The rule was originally published as a proposed rule in 2011 BEFORE the Farm Bill and didnt mention CBD or hemp DEA confirmed to a reporter from the Denver Post that this was an administrative action and did not change the status of CBD in federal law So what does this all mean? We believe the DEA rule on marihuana extracts was not directed at hemp derived CBD products and has been in the works for 5 years. We also believe there is no imminent change in DEA policy regarding hemp derived CBD products. For now, we want to urge everyone to calm down and continue with your businesses. We also hope that in future, reporters will take the time to get the facts before posting misleading stories about hemp and CBD. DEA is obedient to United Nations globalists This was all done, says the DEA, to comply with Under international drug control treaties administered by the United Nations. According to the registry entry, the DEA needed to create a new Schedule I classification for CBD in order to better account for these materials in accordance with treaty obligations. In other words, the DEA is claiming they are beholden to globalist treaties as the reason they need to criminalize CBD as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. The move is described as an effort to bring the US into compliance with international drug-control treaties, reports Leafly.com. Such action is an admission that the federal government is really just an obedient lapdog of the United Nations. That same article confirms that the DEA considers CBD to be a Schedule I substance thats illegal to possess: In the DEA comment on the entry, Rosenberg directly addressed the question: What if its only cannabidiol (CBD) and no other cannabinoids? The agencys response: For practical purposes, all extracts that contain CBD will also contain at least small amounts of other cannabinoids. However, if it were possible to produce from the cannabis plant an extract that contained only CBD and no other cannabinoids, such an extract would fall within the new drug code and therefore remain federally illegal. In other words: The DEA is confident that it can find enough traces of other cannabinoids in your CBD oil to arrest and prosecute. And if they cant, they still have the option of arresting and prosecuting based on the CBD oil itself. By this same definition, grocery store-bought hemp seeds would also be illegal to possess, by the way, because even hemp seeds contain trace amounts of CBD. Big Pharma behind the scenes The DEAs new ruling openly admits it was strongly influenced by Big Pharma, which asked the DEA to classify all cannabinoids as Schedule I drugs, not just CBD or any other isolated compound. From the Federal Register: Another comment from a pharmaceutical firm currently involved in cannabinoid research and product development praised DEAs efforts to establish a new drug code for marihuana extracts as a means to more accurately reflect the activities of scientific research and provide more consistent adherence to the requirements of the Single Convention. However, the comment expressed concerns that the proposed definition for the new drug code (i.e. meaning extracts that have been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis and which contain cannabinols and cannabidiols) is too narrow. The comment suggested that the broader term cannabinoids be substituted for cannabinols and cannabidiols. The comment pointed out that other constituents of the marihuana plant may have therapeutic potential. The comment further clarified that the broader term cannabinoid includes both cannabinol-type compounds and annabidiol-type compounds, as well as cannabichromene-type compounds, cannabigerol-type compounds, and other categories of compounds. Rohrabacher-Farr amendment currently protects CBD consumers in 28 states but it could vanish in April, 2017 Even under the DEAs new Schedule I dictate, consumers of CBD products will enjoy state-level protections in at least 28 states thanks to the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, passed in 2014. That law essentially prohibits federal DEA agents from going after CBD consumers in states where medical marijuana is already legal. That amendment, however, must be renewed every year. It was just renewed a week ago, on December 9, 2016, as part of the continuing House resolution known as HR 2028, which funds the federal government through April 28, 2017, reports Leafly. When that resolution expires next April, so does the protections afforded by Rohrabacher-Farr. Unless its renewed once again. What this means is that CBD protections for consumers in 28 states will likely expire in April of 2017. Consumers in the other, non-medical-marijuana states have less than 30 days to acquire CBD products before interstate sales are shut down nationwide. The industry plans to fight the absurd DEA classification with lawsuits and petitions The CBD industry, naturally, is planning on waging a fierce battle to keep CBD products legal in all 50 states. Via Leafly: Robert Hoban, a Colorado cannabis attorney and adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver, raised the notion that the rule itself may not be lawful. This action is beyond the DEAs authority, Hoban told Leafly in an interview late this afternoon. The DEA can only carry out the law, they cannot create it. Here theyre purporting to create an entirely new category called marijuana extracts, and by doing so wrest control over all cannabinoids. They want to call all cannabinoids illegal. But they dont have the authority to do that. The CBD industry, in fact, has been looking for an opportunity to challenge the DEA in court, and it looks like that time has arrived. SIGN OUR PETITION at this link, asking the Trump administration to protect consumers access to CBD products. Consumers in many states may have just 30 days to acquire CBD products before sales are halted by many companies One large CBD extract producer told Natural News, Weve been advised by our attorney to halt CBD sales outside our home state in 30 days. That company plans to announce to its customers that they have 30 days to purchase their products, after which they plan to pull all sales except for inside their home state. Other CBD producers are poised to fight the DEA regulation with federal lawsuits. With the DEAs enforcement of its cannabis regulations up in the air and with lawsuits from private industry on the horizon 2017 looks to be a year of unexpected twists and turns for hemp extract producers and consumers. Natural News will continue to cover the news on all this, including publishing on HempScience.news My personal analysis, by the way, is that the DEAs ruling will not stand for long. It will be either narrowed through clarification or rescinded. But you never know for sure, especially when the DEA wants to wage a large power grab just in time for the new incoming administration which may be rather hostile to medical marijuana. 22:31 Egypt's state prosecutor has ordered that the remains of those killed in the crash of EgyptAir flight 804 be handed over to relatives, his office said in a statement. The Airbus A320 had been en route from Paris to Cairo in May when it crashed into the Mediterranean, killing all 66 on board, including 40 Egyptians and 15 French nationals. On Thursday, the aviation ministry in Cairo had announced that traces of explosives had been found on the victims' remains. But France's air safety agency said it was not possible to determine what caused the crash, saying it did not have information on how the samples were collected. To aid patrons, who are not able purchase their favorite Sabhyata apparel, owing to demonetization can now effortlessly make payments through their Paytm account. Sabhyata is known for its customer centric approach and such a profound association strengthens the customer-organization relations. Customers' can also avail Sabhyata's apparels from Paytm's e-commerce vertical, tapping into the digital base effectively. "We are thrilled to announce our tie up with Paytm. Sabhyata stands in solidarity with this momentous decision, providing a comprehensive solution to affected patrons. Through this endeavor, we intend to promote a cashless, digitalized India, decreasing the dependency on physical currency," said Director and co-Founder Sabhyata, Pankaj Anand. "We hope to delight our customers with this association and continue our efforts to add ethnicity to the Modern Indian's wardrobe," added Anand. Sabhyata has carved a niche position for itself in the apparel segment through its exclusive range of ethnic wears. With 42 stores established all over the country, the brand aims to redefine the ethnic world through its unique designs, vibrant colors and economical pricing. (ANI) The State Bank of Pakistan giving a disappointing picture of the economy has said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country has fallen by 45 percent year-on-year to USD 460 million in the first five months of the current fiscal. The bank said earlier on Thursday that the inflows were mainly dominated by two countries - China and Turkey, reports the Dawn. The government, which has been announcing massive changes in the economy, earlier claimed to have set everything on track but has failed miserably in attracting foreign investments. It was hoped that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would help attract more FDI, but the investment is still declining. Inflows from China plummeted 58 percent to USD 156 million in July-November. China became the biggest trading partner of Pakistan during the last three years, but Islamabad remained at the bottom of the list of countries in the region receiving FDIs. Turkey made an investment of USD 126 million which placed the country in the list of second-largest investor in Pakistan, but this was a one-time investment since FDI in the same period of last fiscal was USD 15.8 million. FDI inflows from the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States were USD 63 million, USD 39 million and USD 60 million respectively while the rest of the investments were much less than USD 30 million. (ANI) The 20-year-old songstress tweeted in Portuguese, promising to make it up to her beloved fans. "My dear Brazilian harmonizers, I'm sorry I couldn't see you all. I didn't get on the plane on time and because of this I had to go to Atlanta," the message reads in English. "I promise you I'm going to do everything for you because I love each of you with all my heart. I'm sorry," she wrote. Jauregui's absence comes shortly after she was stopped at Washington Dulles International Airport after a staffer discovered marijuana in her carry-on luggage. However, she was not arrested. "Lauren Jauregui was not arrested and detained as reported, but simply given a citation for possession of marijuana and released on her own recognizance," told Dina LaPolt, attorney for the girl band. "She will address the matter appropriately through the legal system. This will not interfere with any future scheduled performances or activities," the attorney quipped. (ANI) Medikoe, the first online medical platform to provide value-added offers on 360-degree Healthcare and Wellness products and services has tied up with a first-of-its-kind international chain of Integrative Medicine Clinics - Yogaksema Clinic for Stress-Pain-Lifestyle and Nutrition. This novel joint venture with Yogaksema Clinic would enable Medikoe users in availing the evidence based services to prevent and manage Metabolic Diseases, Degenerative Diseases, Cancers and Common Mental Diseases through Integrative Medicine i.e., combing the best of conventional medicine with that of evidence based Indian Medicine. Yogaksema Clinic is an international specialty chain of clinics offering medically prescribed solutions for Stress-Pain-Lifestyle-Nutrition. It uses StressMetrix, a reliable medical tool for quantifying the impact of mental stress on the nervous system and employs it as a predictor of stress and lifestyle diseases and also as a marker of progress made in managing and reversing lifestyle diseases. Doctors at Yogaksema examine the diseases and evaluate personality type; stress, lifestyle and nutrition and then provide a Lifestyle Intervention Prescription (LIP) that is personalized, disease-specific evidence based traditional medicine. Yogaksema Clinics is present in three locations of Bangalore, including Indiranagar, Brookfield and Marathahalli and has a wellness center in San Jose, California, USA. Commenting on this association, Sreevalsan Menon, Founder and CEO of Medikoe said, "Being a reliable platform for 360-degree healthcare and wellness services, our tie-up with a unique player in the market like Yogaksema will allow users to get accustomed to medically prescribed and appropriate therapeutic approaches to achieve optimal health and healing for any Stress-Pain-Lifestyle-Nutrition related issues. We will further be able to expand the ambit of our services by providing Lifestyle Intervention Prescription to the users of Medikoe, which includes Yoga Therapy, Biofeedback Training, Clinical Acupuncture, Therapeutic Massage and Panchakarma and Clinical Nutrition. This collaboration will enable health buffs all over India to stay healthy and will also help us in setting a new benchmark in the sphere of Indian wellness & healing services." Yogaksema CEO, Dr Naveen K Viseweswariah, BNYS, PhD, DSc says, "We want to capitalize on Medikoe's wide reach and by joining hands with it, we aim to educate more and more people about the importance of embracing Integrative Medicine powered by traditional medicine in dealing with Uncontrolled Stress; Untreated Pain; Unhealthy Lifestyle and Unmindful Nutrition. With Medikoe, we will be able to spread this message to a much larger consumer spectrum and enable them in preventing, managing and in some cases reversing any form of Stress & Lifestyle Diseases which needs chronic care." Modern medicine has gained the status of mainstream medicine and has replaced Traditional Medicine to a large extent in almost every part of the world because its' life-saving methods and devices successfully reducing the prevalence of infectious diseases and significantly improve the quality of life of patients suffering from chronic ailments. Despite all its' achievements among all other health systems in the world, modern medicine has its own restrictions. It fails to work on preventive and rehabilitative strategies, and thus is unable to provide lasting solutions for most of the chronic diseases. This makes patients dependent on medicines for life. However, people today have started realizing these limitations and are now turning towards traditional and Integrative medicine for their holistic healthcare. Medikoe aims to further this understanding through this latest strategic tie-up. (ANI) In an endeavour to raise awareness about female infertility problems and to highlight the importance of regular health check-ups in women, Fortis Bloom IVF Centre is organizing a free check-up camp on December 16 and 17, where women with infertility problems can avail consultation free of cost. Dr Hrishikesh Pai, Infertility Expert and Gynaecologist Fortis Bloom IVF Centre, Fortis LaFemme Hospital, New Delhi, informed, "Today infertility is not only constrained to women, it is now very common in men also. About 45 percent of women face infertility problems, men are also affected by problems like low sperm count and low sperm motility." Dr Nandita Palshetkar, Infertility Expert and Gynaecologist Fortis Bloom IVF Centre, Fortis LaFemme Hospital, New Delhi, informed, "That there can be several reasons a woman encounters infertility like; not ovulating (releasing eggs), blocked fallopian tubes because of which sperms can't the meet egg, eggs are of poor quality or due to shape of the uterus. In some cases there are no reasons for infertility, this is called unexplained infertility." Dr Pai further added, "With advent of advanced medical technology the chances of attaining motherhood have become promising. Couples planning parenthood, need to consult an expert if they have not been able to conceive even after trying for one year". (ANI) The much-awaited Aamir Khan-starrer 'Dangal' has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for universal exhibition without any cuts, trade sources said. "Two hours and 41 minutes that's the running time of #Dangal Certified by the CBFC for the universal exhibition, without a single cut,'' trade analyst Komal Nahta tweeted. 'Dangal', based on the story of wrestler, Mahavir Phoghat and his journey in training his daughters to become world class wrestlers and defy the notion that the sport is meant for men only, will release in the US on December 21, two days before its release in India (December 23) to cash in on the holiday season there. Trade sources said the advance bookings for the film have already started in the US. However, it is not the first time this year that a film is releasing in the US before its release in India. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan's 'Dear Zindagi' too released on Wednesday in the US, to benefit from the 'Thanksgiving' weekend there. 'Dangal', which features Aamir in the title role of 'Mahavir Phoghat' and Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra in the roles of his daughters, is all set to hit the theaters in India on December 23, on the Christmas weekend.UNI AR PY SV RAI1028 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0129-1067584.Xml Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M. Karunanidhi was re-admitted to a private hospital in the city late last night following breathing problems due to throat and lung infection. "Treatment has been initiated to clear his infection. He is stable and is being treated by a team of doctors," a bulletin issued by Kauvery hospital said. Mr. Karunanidhi, who was convalescing at his Gopalapuram since his discharge from thehospital on December 7, complained of breathing problems. He was immediately rushed to the hospital in an ambulance around midnight last night,police sources said. The nonagenarian leader was accompanied to the hospital by his son DMK Treasurer and leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin, his daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and senior party leaders accompanied him, according to a police source. Mr Karunanidhi was admitted to the hospital for the second time in the last two weeks. The DMK Patriarch, who took treatment for a drug-induced allergy at his residence, was earlier admitted to the Kauvery Hospital on December one for "optimisation of nutrition and hydration". He was discharged late night on December seven and was advised rest for a few days. Soon after his discharge, the DMK issued a statement appealing to the party workers and functionaries not to visit him to prevent infection. The DMK Chief has not made a public appearance since his drug-induced allergy on October 25 and was expected to chair the crucial General Council meeting of the party scheduled on December 20, in which his heir apparent was likely to be annointed as theWorking President of the party. In the meantime, leaders of various political parties, including Union Minister and BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan, CPI State leader R Mutharasan and Congress and IUMLleaders called on him at his residence and enquired about his health condition. They also wished him speedy recovery.UNI GV CS 1034 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-1067588.Xml The state government representatives paid tribute to the martyred of Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 at a historical war memorial at Post office Chowmuhani. Bangladesh Deputy High Commissioner Office of Agartala also celebrated 'the red letter day' with multiple organistaions in the city. They also organised a special lecture and round table conference on the day followed by screening of cinema on liberation war and cultural programme.UNI BB AD1143 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0108-1067647.Xml Chappy Hakim, a retired air force chief who says he knows next to nothing about mining, now heads Indonesia's biggest copper producer, entrusted to use his connections to guide it through regulatory uncertainty to a renewed contract for its mine.Picking another former military officer to lead the local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan underlines how pivotal political ties can be in Indonesia, where the firm got its start nearly 50 years ago helped by close relations to late autocratic President Suharto.At stake for Freeport is an $18 billion investment to expand its Grasberg mine - one of the world's biggest deposits of gold and copper - in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. A government deadline in January to end ore exports from the country also threatens two-thirds of the mine's copper output."Freeport is more politics than business," Hakim told a recent media briefing."Right now we are working hard to negotiate with the government ... The political aspect has become very heavy here," said Hakim, who was appointed last month as Freeport Indonesia's new chief executive.Hakim, 69, a keen saxophonist who holds Indonesian skydiving records, first saw the area where Freeport's giant Papua mine is located from the pilot's seat of a C-130 Hercules in the 1970s.And while he may know little about mining and finance, Hakim said his experience leading the air force and later an air safety panel after a string of deadly plane crashes would help him with both human resource management and mine safety issues.Grasberg has had several fatal accidents that disrupted operations and strained union relations, and in 2013 a tunnel collapse killed 28 workers, raising worries about its underground expansion plans. (http://reut.rs/2hhmTiM)Hakim's appointment was made in consultation with the government, Freeport said, and comes as the company fights to win an extension on its mine beyond 2021.Freeport needs to sign off in late 2017 on the $18 billion plan to transition Grasberg from open pit to underground mining, and it wants the contract renewed before committing the money."One of (Freeport's) priorities is clearly to have someone on board who supposedly has the ear of the government," said Bill Sullivan, a foreign legal counsel and expert on Indonesian mining issues."DISPENSATIONS" NEEDEDFreeport faces a narrowing window to make a new deal on taxes, royalties, divestment and a second smelter, before it develops what would be the world's biggest underground mine, Hakim said.Indonesia has given mixed signals on negotiations, however, and it's not clear if Freeport will be able to win a contract extension next year.Regulations stipulate contracts can be renewed only in the last two years before they expire, but Hakim said Freeport needed "several dispensations" to justify its investment."We have no choice because we have spent so many billions of dollars on the contract ... and we'll be really devastated if we stop," he said.Hakim also noted that existing rules forbid Freeport from exporting copper concentrate after Jan. 12, 2017, part of an effort to transform Indonesia into a producer of finished goods from a supplier of raw materials.About a third of Freeport's daily 220,000 tonnes of copper ore from Grasberg goes to its domestic smelter in Gresik, East Java, with the rest exported as concentrate.Jakarta has said it may revise the deadline on metals processing, but nothing has been announced.Freeport, which employs 32,400 workers in Indonesia, has said it does not believe Jakarta will ban all exports from 2017 given the harm it could do to Southeast Asia's biggest economy.Hakim's predecessor, Maroef Sjamsoeddin, also a former air force and intelligence officer, stepped down in January after being caught up in a scandal. The company said he resigned for personal reasons.REUTERS PY RAI1202 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1067644.Xml By I. Ramamohan Rao New Delhi [India] Dec.16, (ANI) The India-Pakistan War of 1971, the anniversary of its conclusion that India is observing today, would be remembered as the war of the century. The war, which commenced on December 3, and concluded on December 16, ended in a crushing defeat of the Pakistan armed forces. It saw the surrender of 92,000 Pakistani troops in East Pakistan and in the creation of Bangladesh out of what was then East Pakistan. As the Public Relations Officer for the Army, I had the opportunity to disseminate information about the operations regarding the India-Pakistan War of 1971. The 1971 war was the result of a crackdown by Pakistan on its eastern wing when there was an uprising there following the refusal of the military rulers to hand over power to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who won the parliamentary elections with 167 of the 169 seats in East Pakistan and secured a simple majority in the 313 lower house of the Pakistan Parliament. He should have been made the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Pakistan's then martial law administrator General Yahya Khan ordered the military to launch a crackdown in Dacca against the Awami League and Mujibur Rahman was arrested and taken to West Pakistan in the month of March. General Yahya Khan sent Lt. Gen. Tikka Khan to put down the disturbances in East Pakistan. In the crackdown that followed, hundreds of thousands of innocent people were massacred and over ten million fled to India to save themselves. People of East Pakistan raised the Mukti Bahini to liberate themselves from this oppressive rule. India's then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi expressed her full support to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his struggle for freedom. She launched a diplomatic offensive to make the world aware of the 'demographic aggression', against India and entered into a twenty -year treaty of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, on the advice of the Indian Chief of Army Staff, General S.H.F. J. Manekshaw, she deferred action on the East Pakistan border till the Himalayan hills were closed by snow. India a responded to this 'demographic aggression' by supporting the 'Mukti Bahini', and the war between India and Pakistan broke out when the Pakistan Air Force carried out attacks on India on December 3. The war, which lasted for 12 days, concluded quickly following the airdrop of surrender documents which assured Pakistani soldiers that they will safely evacuated out of East Pakistan and returned to their country. The Indian Army secured the surrender of the Pakistan Army. The surrender documents were signed in Dacca by Lt. Gen AAK Niazi and Lt. Gen J. Arora, India's eastern army commander. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, invited Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, her counterpart from Pakistan, for talks in Shimla in July 1972. It was agreed at Shimla that the prisoners of war would be returned to Pakistan; captured territories along the Western border, except in Jammu and Kashmir returned; the cease-fire line would be converted as the Line of Control and Pakistan would take steps to convert it into an international border, with the hope that peace would prevail in the subcontinent. The hope melted away with the army taking over power again. In the power struggle that followed in Pakistan Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested and sentenced to death. General Zia-ul-Haq, who assumed power in 1979, became an ally with western powers following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the years that followed he was instrumental in executing the 'proxy-war' techniques in Afghanistan. India has to accept that Pakistan will continue its 'proxy war' against it, carry out terrorist attacks, even though the terrorists have been destabilizing that country itself. Even after 45 years of the creation of Bangladesh, Pakistan is unable to accept that it lost the 1971 war because it refused to make Shiekh Mujibur Rehman the Prime Minister of Pakistan and killed millions of its own citizens in the eastern wing. It is determined to conduct a proxy war against India. The country today paid tribute to those brave soldiers who fought in what strategic experts refer to as the "war of the century". Paying his tributes to the bravehearts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Vijay Diwas is a fitting reminder of the valour & sacrifice of all those who fought courageously in the 1971 war. Tributes to them." On the occasion, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar along with Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Force Chief Marshal Arup Raha laid wreaths and offered respects to the Martyrs at Amar Jawan Jyoti today. The Defence Minister informed that announcement of the next army chief would be there very soon. Led by Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, a 72-member delegation of war veterans and Mukti Jodahas from the neighbouring country will participate in Vijay Diwas celebrations there. Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be reached on his e-mail raoramamohan@hotmail.com (ANI) Recalling the horrific December 16, 2012 gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman, women activist Annie Raja on Friday said the government lacks the political will to use available tools to prevent crimes against women due to which till now justice has not been delivered to Nirbhaya. "The Centre and the state government do not have the will to implement the available tools to prevent such crimes. It is important that the government use this tool to provide justice for Nirbhaya," said Raja. She further said that the country has such stringent acts and legislation to prevent such crimes against women, but due to a lack of political will and social commitment on the part of the government, justice is being delayed. Another women activist Abha Singh said that the frequency of such said that such incidents shows that the government is unable to protect women across the nation. "The country has not forgotten the Nirbhaya brutal gang rape, but what is ironic's that on the eve of Nirbhaya's gang rape, again a young girl was raped. This clearly shows that the law has been unable to protect women not only Delhi, but also in India," said Singh. Nirbhaya was brutally gang-raped on the intervening night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident took place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13 days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore. Of the six men arrested in the case, one of the accused Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March 2013, while another man, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform home. The other four -- Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh -- were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. The men have challenged the death sentence in the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing their appeal. (ANI) The government today squarely blamed the Opposition parties especially the Congress for virtual washout of the proceedings of the Winter session of Parliament and said the grand old party only indulged in a "blind folded and disjointed strategy" in both the Houses. "It is unfortunate that the Winter session of Parliament could not transact much business. It issolely because of the Opposition parties especially the Congress. The principal Opposition (Congress) adopted a blind folded strategy and their members in both Houses had indulged in total disjointed strategy," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told a press conference minutes after both the Houses were adjourned sine die. Mr Kumar also said, "the Congress party is confused over the demonetisation issue and on the fight launched by the government against black money". He lamented, "It is sad that this confusion got reflected in the parliamentary proceedings". In no holds barred attack against the Congress leadership, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister saidit was only "confusion" among the Congress members in both the Houses that while they initiatedthe debate on demonetisation in the Rajya Sabha, "they remained sanguine with the adjournment motion and debate with voting in the beginning of the session in Lok Sabha and by December 14 changed the stance thrice".More UNI DEVN AE 1533 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0445-1068013.Xml Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the State Assembly proposed to rename Elphinstone Railway Station, which has unanimously been passed by the House. While proposing, Mr Fadnavis mentioned that Shiv Sena demanded long back to change the name of Elphinstone Road Railway Station. Besides this, the Chief Minister has also proposed renaming of two other places, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The proposals will be sent to the Central Government for final nod for the name change. It must be mentioned here that the Elphinstone Road Railway Station is currently named after John Elphinstone, who was the Governor of Bombay during British Era from 1853 to 1860. And the Prabhadevi Temple, which is situated in the vicinity was built some 300 years ago and is significant for the city's history.UNI PK NV SW SNU 1554 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1068021.Xml With the political parties gearing up for the crucial Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Election Commission (EC) is considering to announce the poll dates near Christmas. Official sources said here today. The final round of review the preparedness would be made early next week in the state by a senior EC official at the ground level and thereafter, the dates would be announced in Delhi. The sources said that the Deputy Election Commissioner Vijay Kumar Deo would be visiting Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur and Lucknow for four days from December 19 to 22. "This could be the last review meeting by the EC before announcing the dates of polling," the sources added. Mr Deo would start his review programme from Varanasi on December 19. He will also visit Allahabad, Kanpur and Lucknow where he will conclude his visit on December 22. Sources said the authorities are of the view that the elections should be over by March 7.UNI MB RJ SNU 1534 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-1067848.Xml The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), in exercise of its powers conferred under Section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code), has notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016. These Regulations inter alia provide for the details of activities from issue of liquidation order under Section 33 of the Code to dissolution order under Section 54.These Regulations come into force with immediate effect. According to a Corporate Affairs Ministry statement issued here today, these Regulations prohibit an insolvency professional from acting as a liquidator for a corporate debtor if he is not independent of the corporate debtor. These prohibit partners or directors of an insolvency professional entity of which the insolvency professional is a partner or director from representing other stakeholders in the same liquidation process. These oblige the liquidator, and also registered valuer (s) and professional(s) assisting him in liquidation to make disclosures -- initial and continuing about pecuniary or personal relationship with any of the stakeholders entitled to distribution of assets. These Regulations specify the manner and contents of public announcement, receipt and verification of claims of stakeholders, reports and registers to be maintained, preserved and submitted by the liquidator, the manner of realisation of assets and security interest, and distribution of proceeds to stakeholders. These Regulations provide that a liquidator should ordinarily sell the assets through auctions. He may sell the assets through private sale only when the asset is perishable; the asset is likely to deteriorate in value significantly if not sold immediately or the asset is sold at a price higher than the reserve price of a failed auction. He may sell an asset on standalone basis or assets in a slump sale, assets in parcels or a set of assets collectively. These Regulations provide that the fee payable to a liquidator shall form a part of liquidation cost. These further provide that a liquidator shall be paid such fees and in such manner as has been decided by the committee of creditors during the resolution process. In all other cases, the liquidator will be entitled to a fee as a percentage of the amount realised net of other liquidation costs and of the amount distributed.UNI ADP RSA SNU 1604 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0429-1067921.Xml Delhiities have a thing for Chinese food and keeping in the mind the same, the London based restaurant Yauatcha has now flew to the national capital after setting their foot in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Yauatcha is an exclusive Chinese restaurant which is based on the concept of a traditional Hong Kong dim sum teahouse, embodying the atmosphere of a congenially vibrant 'chatter shop'. Located in a secluded corner on Level 2 of Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, the "classy" restaurant welcomes you with dim lights and warm smiles from the well-dressed and courteous staff. In order to celebrate their 5th anniversary, Head Chef Wang Yixuan curated a special menu that included dim sum, wok dishes and desserts. The refreshed menu was designed specifically to be enjoyed with family and friends amidst the beautiful interiors of the restaurant and includes an extensive selection of exciting new dishes that are featured alongside the signature specials at Yauatcha. New dim sum featured in the a la carte menu include Mandarin dumpling, Mushroom spring roll with black truffle, Radish puff, Spicy pork wanton in Szechuan sauce, Spicy hargau amongst many more. Some latest additions of wok dishes consist of Spicy aubergine, French bean and okra, Lotus leaf wrapped fried rice with shiitake mushrooms and edamame, Pork belly yellow bean sauce with mantou and Sichuan style lobster with vermicelli. To complete the meal, Yauatcha is introducing new desserts like the eggless Chocolate pebble and Blueberry pistachio bar amongst others. With more than 15 years of experience in crafting dim sum, Chef Wang Yixuan commemorated the occasion with dishes that showcase Chinese tradition with a modern twist. The food isn't spicy, nor is it bland, but simply the right shade of authentic and will feed your hungry soul. Yauatcha has also one of the finest bars in the city which offers the selection signature cocktails. The fine dining restaurant is one of the best options to explore a range of never-heard-before dishes and relish Chinese food at its best. Launched in 2004 in the heart of Soho in London, Yauatcha gained immediate critical acclaim and received its Michelin star within a year of opening which it continues to maintain. Yauatcha provides a unique dining experience, offering authentic dim sum with a contemporary influence as well as wok dishes and other small eats.(ANI) With the ruling dispensation failing to bring the opposition on board during the month-long Winter Session that ended in a washout, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar today lambasted the Congress for its "disjointed strategy" in Parliament. "The Winter Session couldn't function because of the opposition, especially the Congress Party's 'disjointed strategy. Their strategy with regards to demonetisation in Lok Sabha and in Rajya Sabha did not sync at all. They could have discussed under Rule 137 during the Supplementary Bill, they could have discussed during the Income Tax Amendment Bill which is one of the instruments of November 8 decision. They could have moved an amendment in Rajya Sabha where they have majority," he said. Kumar's outburst against the opposition came as the Winter Session, which commenced on November 16, was able to provide only 21 sittings out of a period of 31 days. During the Session, the productivity of work done in Lok Sabha was 17.39 percent and that of Rajya Sabha was 20.61 percent respectively. A total of 10 bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha out of which only four bills were passed while the Rajya Sabha managed to pass just one bill. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016, was passed by both the Houses of Parliament. One Bill namely the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, was deemed to have been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. Two more Bills namely the Appropriation Bill, 2016 and the Appropriation Bill, 2016 was passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted to Rajya Sabha for its recommendation, have not been returned to Lok Sabha within the period of fourteen days from the date of their receipt in Rajya Sabha. In Lok Sabha, one Short Duration Discussion under Rule 193 was initiated on 'Demonetization of currency notes to weed out black money' by A.P. Jithender Reddy, a Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP, on December 5 and the same could not be concluded. In the Rajya Sabha, discussion under Rule 267 was held on' Demonetization of currency' which remained inconclusive. Briefing the reports after the conclusion of the Session, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anantha Kumar criticised the Opposition parties, especially the Congress, for adopting a "disjoint strategy" because of which the Winter Session could not function properly. Both the Houses of Parliament have been adjourned sine die with the passage of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016. (ANI) The trouble in the downtown and other places erupted immediately after the Friday prayers were over in historic Jamia Masjid and other mosques. People, mostly youths with masked faces, took to the streets at Nowhatta and other areas immediately after chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq left for his house following after addressing Friday congregation at historic masjid. Raising anti-government and 'pro-freedom' slogans, the demonstrators marched towards the main chowk and also pelted stones on security forces and state police personnel who were deployed since morning to maintain law and order. Security forces resorted to lathicharge which had no impact as demonstrators were pelting stones from narrow lanes and bylanes. However, later security forces burst teargas shells leading to a ding-dong battle which continued till late this evening. Several people were injured in the incident. Massive protests erupted at Bibjbehara and Sangam in south Kashmir distirct of Anantnag, where a militant Basit Rasool was killed in an encounter with security forces yesterday. The forces resorted to lathicharge followed by bursting of teargas shells to disperse the stone-pelting demonstrators. A number of persons were injured in the clashes. Clashes also erupted in the apple township of Sopore in north Kashmir district of Baramulla after Friday prayers injuring several. A nine-year-old boy was injured after he was hit by a stone in the head during stone pelting, a police spokesman said.UNI BAS SB SNU 1908 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-1068542.Xml Miscreants today snatched a weapon from a police party in the central Kashmir district of Badgam, a police spokesman said. He said a scuffle took place between two groups over some issue at Makhama in the central Kashmir district of Badgam, immediately after Friday prayers this afternoon. According to him, police immediately reached the spot to restore normalcy and bring order among the unruly groups. However, some miscreants started pelting stones on the police party. During this incident some unknown people snatched an INSAS rifle and fled away from the spot. A case has been registered in the matter, he said.UNI BAS QAB AKC SB 1933 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-1068408.Xml Even as India continues to be the world's largest producer of milk, the Centre intends to more than double by 2022 the income of peasants, who are also into animal husbandry, through the medium of enhancing milk output to 24.2 crore tonnes per annum from the present 15.5 cr tonnes. "Every ryot has an average 1.2 animals from which the tiller earns Rs 11,200 per month. Endeavours are underway to raise the figures to two and Rs 23,800 respectively. The World Bank is assisting the Rs 2,242-cr project. Breeding, milk purchase, maintenance and availability of fodder are the chief areas of activity. The country boasts approximately 20 cr cows and 10 cr buffaloes," Secretary (Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries) Devendra Chaudhry told media here. Total 88 per cent farmers own cattle that produce an average 1.5 to 2 litres' milk each. The aim is to take that quantity to 3 litres. There are 39 breeds of which about six are good ones. In Madhya Pradesh, daily milk availability is 428 g per person as compared to the national average of 337 g. The country has one crore hectares of grazing land.UNI SN-AC SB 2116 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1068885.Xml The alleged accused, Sudhir Ravsaheb Kumble, a resident of Evergreen Park in Nagala Park area of city, hailing from Bhatwadi in Devgad, was printing counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000, Rs 100 and Rs 20 with use of a modern scanner in his dispensary alongside his medical practice and was circulating it to the unsuspecting people, police said. The doctor was caught while trying to give such a counterfeit note to a salesman, who became suspicious and refused to accept the note. The salesman immediately informed the Laxmipuri Police, who swung into action and arrested Dr Kumble and seized counterfeit currency notes worth Rs 17,000 in denomination of Rs 2,000, Rs 100 and Rs 20 as well as other materials including modern scanner, printer, cutter and excel bond papers used for making these notes. The Laxmipuri Police are carrying out further investigation into the incident, sources added. UNI SSS SS SB 2108 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1068796.Xml Ola, one of India's most popular mobile app for transportation, today announced a special fare on Ola Share in city, enabling easy and affordable last mile connectivity. The customers will be able to share a ride at Rs 35 from various metro and railway stations in Mumbai. The offer will be valid up to five kilometre after which normal Share rates will apply. The special fares are also applicable at other high footfall areas like business parks, IT hubs and malls, a company release here said. Karanveer Singh Shekhawat, vice president (Operations) at Ola, said, ''... Ola Share resonates with our vision of building smart and sustainable shared mobility for a billion Indians. Considering the current state of air pollution and traffic congestion in Mumbai, using a shared cab could put more people in fewer cars, reducing the burden on the environment and on our roads. Mumbai's metro and railway stations serve thousands ofcommuterseveryday who travel to similar locations in separate autos and other modes of transport. Introducing flat rates will effectively encourage them to share rides at affordable, convenient prices and help us create a greener future.'' ''Through these special fares, we are also aiming to solve the issues of last mile connectivity, which is often a pain point for a lot of daily commuters especially during extreme weather conditions and peak traffic timings,'' he added. Ola Share enables economical fares and reduced congestion, since a ride can be shared by up to four people at any point in time.UNI ST SS SB 2109 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1068804.Xml The court also slapped a penalty of Rs 1,000 on him. Balaji Seshrao Gitte, a resident of Limboti in Loha tehsil of the district, called his wife Balika on phone atAhmedpura in Latur district, where she was staying with her parents, on the pretext of registering a field on her name due to a dispute between them. When she came to Sonkhed, the accused killed her by assaulting with an iron rod and then threw her body in a nearby well in an attempt to destroy evidence. However, three days after the incident, her body was spotted by farmers who accordingly informed the Sonkhed police. The police filed a chargesheet in the District and Sessions Court at Kandhar. After examining 11 witnesses, Additional Sessions Judge Yeshwant Deshmukh yesterday convicted and sentenced Gitte to life imprisonment with also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on him.UNI XR SS SB 2114 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-1068863.Xml Park Street has been lit up for a fortnight-long Christmas celebration which was inaugurated today by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Ms Banerjee flaged off the festival, being organized by the State Tourism department with Apeejay Surendra, by lighting a Christmas tree at Allen Park Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said, "The 6th Kolkata Christmas Festival, organised by our government, has been inaugurated at Allen Park today." "Till the 2nd of January, it will be a celebration of carols, bands, live music, foods and fun. Park Street is now full of sparkling lights and colours to ring in the festivities," she said. The chief minister said, "I welcome all of you to come and take part. On this beautiful occasion, we extended assistance to 1100 entrepreneurs for self-employment for our young generation in the transport sector under our "Gatidhara" scheme." "My best wishes to everyone," Ms Banerjee added. "Christmas is a celebration of peace and joy, " Archbishop Thomas D'Souza said on the occasion. Christmas festival include a series of cultural programmes along with food stalls at the city's party street that will continue till January 2. Every evening, there would be performances by city's well known bands. The department is also organising a tour to the colonial churches of the city, Bandel and Chandernagore. The trips will include visits to churches for midnight mass. Those willing to visit the Danish, Portuguese and French churches at Hooghly will have the option of attending the midnight mass at Bandel Church.UNI BM -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0214-1068995.Xml 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' The words of then British Premier Winston Churchill who thus lavished praise on the Royal Air Force's officers and men for their unforgettable role in defending the nation during the Second World War have rung true for soldiers down the decades and seemed to comprise the overriding sentiment today at Shaurya Smarak here where 3,843 Indian bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty during the Indo-Pak War of 1971 were paid homage by veterans and other civilians at a Vijay Diwas ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of the war that resulted in creation of an independent nation. "It was a direct conflict fought with the objective of liberating the region that is now Bangladesh. On December 3 that year, Pakistan launched air raids on Indian Air Force bases in the western sector followed by ground assaults on forward area posts in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat," recalled Brigadier R Vinayak, VSM while addressing the programme. India rose to the challenge and provided a fitting reply to Pakistan on both western and eastern fronts in the course of the conflict that lasted less than 15 days. As many as 9,851 Indian personnel were wounded. Since the Armed Forces struck in blitzkrieg style, casualties were on the higher side. Pakistan was compelled to relinquish more than 1,48,000 sq km of its territory and 93,000 of its soldiers led by Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan 'Tiger' Niazi surrendered to the Indian forces under Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Arora. Pakistan lost half of its Navy, 33 per cent of its Army and 25 per cent of its Air Force. "It was the highest number of soldiers of any single country being taken prisoner since World War II. Later, Pakistan sought international cooperation for securing their release and issued a postal stamp further adding to their embarrassment," Brig Vinayak averred. Four personnel decorated with the Param Vir Chakra were Major Hoshiar Singh (3 Grenadiers), Second Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal (posthumous, 17 Horse), Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (posthumous) and Lance Naik Albert Ekka (posthumous, 14 Guards). Brigadier Kailash Prasad 'Tom' Pande, since deceased, was decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra. Post-retirement, he lived in the Madhya Pradesh capital. Former Vice-Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen Milan Naidu and Air Marshal VK Verma (Retd) were among those present. A film on the war was screened.UNI PS AC SB 2159 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-1068962.Xml The victim, a resident of Bhagur, became friendly with the accused after getting several calls from him. On one occasion, she agreed to meet him on December 12, police said. They later decided to drink and bought alcohol. They went to her house where the accused spiked her drink with a sedative while she was getting freshened up. The accused then allegedly called three others, including a woman, and then he along with two others allegedly raped her, though the survivor tried to save herself. Following the incident, the survivor today registered a case under sections 376(D), 328 and 34 of Indian Penal Code. The victim was taken to the Nashik Civil Hospital for medical examination, while police arrested the main accused in this connection. Meanwhile, a search was on to nab the two other accused and the woman, sources added.UNI RDS SS SB 2204 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-1068981.Xml Judge Luis Fux effectively nullified a vote in the lower house of Congress in favour of the bill, which began as a citizen initiative but underwent extensive modification at the hands of lawmakers, EFE news reported. The ruling is "unusual, to say the least", lower house speaker Rodrigo Maia said, calling the injunction "clear interference by one branch of government in the affairs of another". Congress will ask the full 11-member Supreme Court to review the decision, he said. The changes made by legislators to the original bill have spurred public protests. Among the provisions introduced by Congress is one mandating prison terms for judges and prosecutors convicted of vaguely defined offences such as acting on partisan political motivations. The text submitted to Congress with the support of two million citizens was "disfigured" by lawmakers, Fux said, ordering a new debate on the measure. "There remains barely a figment of popular participation when a text originated by a significant number of voters is ... crushed by amendments that cater only to the interests of the political class," the judge wrote. --IANS lok/ ( 220 Words) 2016-12-16-03:30:14 (IANS) India has called for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) to prevent terrorists getting weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Chastising nations for holding it up, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal emphasised the need for adopting the CCIT, which has been hung up in the UN for two decades. Lal said, "Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to world peace since 1945." He was speaking on Thursday at the Security Council debate on the threat of WMDs falling into the hands of terrorists. "As a victim of terrorism for over three decades, India is cognizant of the catastrophic dangers that the transfer of WMDs to non-state actors and terrorists could entail," he said. "The proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery to non-state actors continues to constitute one of the biggest and most serious threats to international peace and security today." He said that meeting the new proliferation challenges requires new approaches that differentiate between "responsible States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realisation of its objectives." Earlier, the Council unanimously called on all countries to strengthen national anti-proliferation laws to ensure that non-state actors don't get nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliason warned about WMDs becoming "increasingly available" to "vicious non-state groups with no regard for human life." He added, "We have seen this in the use of chemical weapons by Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq." About the possibility of nuclear threats, he said there were legitimate concerns about the security of large stockpiles of weapons grade nuclear material outside international regulation. "Scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons," he said. "And emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles, are adding to threats of an attack using a WMD." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS al/in ( 342 Words) 2016-12-16-10:04:11 (IANS) Kazakhstan is celebrating its 25th Anniversary of Independence today and in this quarter of a century, has succeeded in establishing itself as a sovereign national economy with solid global political and economic ties, to become a full-fledged member of the world community. Kazakhstan gained its independence in a time of crisis, and many of the things that it envisioned and undertook had to be started from the scratch. The country had to transit itself from a socialist system to an open market economy, and this economic "shock therapy" in the post-Soviet era had to be done and achieved in the shortest possible time frame. Strategic decisions and actions were adopted to ensure the nation's development along expected lines. Encouragement was given for large-scale privatisation, the formation of the new legislation, the establishment of the financial and banking systems, the implementation of economic and political reforms, which resulted in attracting foreign investments, helped in the construction of the new capital - Astana, the opening of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the adoption of the Strategy "Kazakhstan-2030 " and the implementation of the two anti-crisis plans. India has emerged as one of Kazakhstan's key partners in this journey, says the country's envoy Mr. Bulat Sarsenbayev. He says that since gaining independence on December 16, 1991, Kazakh-Indian relations have developed steadily and gained in sustainability. Kazakhstan's President, Nazarbayev Nazarbayev, has visited India four times i.e. 1992, 1996, 2002 and 2009, and through each of his state-level visits, witnessed the dynamic development of bilateral ties in a variety of spheres of mutual interest to the two nations. In the last 25 years, Kazakhstan has moved from using a proactive anti-crisis strategy to starting its second five-year plan of industrial-innovative development. The state program of infrastructure development "Nur Zhol" was adopted and the 100 steps to implement five institutional reforms are currently under realisation. The government is eliminating the administrative barriers faced by small and medium-sized businesses, improving public administration, education and health. In terms of the Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Kazakhstan was ranked 42 in the world. The accumulated potential investment rose from five percent of GDP in 1993 to 65 percent in 2015. According to the human development index, Kazakhstan is equal with Russia but ahead of Turkey and some of the Middle and Far East countries. Kazakhstan has adopted and followed a balanced foreign policy and acquired a reputation of being a responsible actor in international relations. Recognition of its global stature can be gleaned from the fact that Kazakhstan carried the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Summit in Astana and will also be a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the years 2017-2018. It has constructively contributed to the strengthening of global and regional stability and is regarded as a leader in the process of nuclear non-proliferation. President Nazarbayev has directly supervised the formation of independent Kazakhstan and played a significant and decisive role in the integration of former Soviet Union countries to create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Since acquiring independence, Kazakhstan has pursued the goal of multi-level and multi-speed integration under President Nazarbayev's leadership. The creation of associations such as the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Customs Union, the Common Economic Space, and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEC) is a credit to its achievements in the global sphere. (ANI) The ASEAN region, which is considered engine of the East Asian economy, is curiously following the developments in India in the wake of the Narendra Modi Government's ''bold move'' of recalling high value currency notes. A wide spectrum of people in the region feel that "the huge step" taken to curb black money, corruption, fake currency and terror finding is likely to yield desired results in the long run. A team of media persons, which is currently on a tour to the region, as part of the Indo-ASEAN Exchange programme, was repeatedly asked about the fallouts of the demonetisation and the way Indians were coping with situation arising out of "vacuuming" of the money from the market. Equally, they were concerned about the long queues in front of ATMs and banks, which were going viral in digital space. At London School of Public Relations, where the Indian media delegation was taken for a frank interaction with students of journalism, a lecturer expressed her surprise at the move of such a magnitude which is touching the lives of 125 crore people. "I am also seeing on YouTube the long queues. I don't know how you people are taking up this challenge," Veeta Busaria, who teaches public relations at the school, said. "Scary", said Endy Bayuni, Editor in Chief of Jakarta Post, the largest English daily in Indonesia. "It's not joke. This is a huge step your government took," he said, wondering if the move will meet its objectives. "Do you think it is going to benefit India?," he asked, talking to UNI with a feel of curiosity. The top journalist recalled that once the Indonesian government had initiated a debate over the issue to arrest the devaluation of currency as one dollar is equivalent to 13000 Rupiah. "Let's remove zeros from our notes to arrest the devaluation, our government had proposed," Mr Bayuni said. "People flatly said NO to the proposal, as they were not ready to squeeze their wealth," he said. A staffer at posh hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, jokingly indicated the Indian delegation towards the ATM in their lobby, as there was no queue at all. One of the travellers at Kuala Lumpur international airport wanted to know how people in India were perceiving the move and its likely political fallouts. "Do you think Mr Modi is sure to come back to power with increased based," he asked and replied himself, "I think he will."UNI MK PY SV 1107 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1067589.Xml Thailand's military-appointed attorney-general today charged 19 leaders of the opposition "red shirt" group with violating a junta ban on political gatherings.The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, known as the "red shirts", led street rallies in 2009 and 2010 in support of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, and staged rallies in 2014 when his sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was toppled in a coup.Since taking power in the May 2014 coup the junta has moved to root out Thaksin's influence and has cracked down on activists, journalists and dissidents.The junta has banned political gatherings of more than five people and summoned hundreds of people for questioning.Supporters of the red shirt movement say the junta has especially targeted pro-Shinawatra red shirts.The military denies it is targeting Shinawatra supporters.The 19 men were originally arrested and charged by police in August for violating a ban on political gatherings after setting up a monitoring center to oversee a constitutional referendum held by the military government."Today the attorney-general has ordered all 19 to be charged and the court has accepted the charges. We will ask for bail," Winyat Chatmoontree, a lawyer for the movement, told reporters.Voters approved a military-backed constitution in the referendum, a result analysts said was driven by a desire to see greater political stability after years of unrest.Two of the red shirt leaders, Nattawut Saikua and Jatuporn Prompan, have been taken into custody several times since the 2014 coup for protesting against military rule.Both men have criticised the military constitution saying it would enshrine military power for years to come.The constitution is a key component of the junta's roadmap to a general election it has promised to hold in late 2017.Once the constitution is endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the junta will need to draft laws which will guide the electoral process.Thailand has remained divided since Thaksin's ouster in 2006, with Thaksin's supporters and opponents vying for power at the ballot boxes and in the streets, sometimes violently. REUTERS PY RAI1112 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1067603.Xml The leaders of 20 counties will be gathering here for the RIM summit which is scheduled to be held from March 7-9, officials told UNI. The important meeting of the heads of government is taking place in the backdrop of raging controversy over the South China Sea. India is taking a balanced view on the issue with a clear line that freedom of navigation in the sea lanes must be respected. "We have been encouraging them (countries involved in the matter) to discuss and solve the problem in an amicable way and also urging China to follow the international laws," India's ambassador to ASEAN mission Suresh K Reddy told UNI. UNI MK PY SV 1352 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-1067800.Xml Switzerland approved a law today aimed at curbing immigration by giving local people first crack at open jobs, skirting voters' demand for outright quotas that it feared could disrupt close ties with the European Union.After parliament passed the new immigration law , the focus will now shift to how the EU responds.Brussels so far has shown scant flexibility on the free movement of people - the principle underpinning Swiss access to the single market -- so as not to encourage Britain as it negotiates its EU divorce.The lack of upper limits on immigration to a country of 8.3 million, whose population is already a quarter foreign, prompted the right-wing Swiss People's Party to assert that politicians had defied the people's will in a 2014 referendum.The SVP, the largest party in parliament, has accused other parties of kowtowing to Brussels and shirking their duty to stand up for Swiss sovereignty. Its members held up signs protesting the final vote reading "constitutional breach" and "mass immigration continues".But a clear majority in parliament did not want to risk a row with the EU, Switzerland's main trading partner, which could retaliate by abrogating other bilateral accords easing trade in sectors that account for 7 per cent of Swiss economic output.Nearly 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland and another 365,000 commute in from neighbouring countries.The Swiss think that gives them leverage with Germany, France and Italy, whose leaders may not want to have to explain to voters - especially those in border regions with strong populist party support - why they can no longer work in high-wage Swiss jobs.Passage of the law clears the way for Switzerland to extend free movement of people to the latest EU member Croatia. That in turn will restore Swiss access to the EU's Horizon 2020 programme, which funds research projects.In any event, Swiss voters look set to decide for a second time whether to impose curbs on immigration or reaffirm close economic ties with the bloc. REUTERS SHS BL1424 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1067868.Xml Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko today praised a European Union decision which paves the way for final agreement on a cooperation accord between Ukraine and the bloc.The accord still needs to overcome reservations on the part of the Netherlands. But Kiev believes that the so-called association agreement will help the former Soviet republic move closer to Europe and away from Moscow's orbit."It is a necessary step to achieve our common goal -- to secure the association agreement," Poroshenko said in a post on social media.EU leaders agreed yesterday to spell out limits to the agreement with Ukraine to address Dutch concerns and prevent the deal from unravelling.The leaders agreed it did not make Ukraine a candidate for EU membership, and did not entitle Kiev to financial aid or military assistance from the bloc. Neither did it give Ukrainians the right to live and work in the 28-nation union.The Netherlands is the only EU country that has yet to ratify the deal, which would become void without its endorsement.By imposing caveats on the deal, Prime Minister Mark Rutte aims to ease the concerns of Dutch voters, who rejected it in a referendum in April. Rutte will now take Thursday's agreement to the Dutch parliament in an attempt to win its approval and overwrite the referendum result."We call upon the Netherlands to fulfil the relevant procedures to ensure its swift entry into force," Poroshenko said.Ukraine considers the agreement a symbol of the country's future direction, 25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A pro-Russian president in Kiev was toppled by street protests in 2014 after he tried to ditch the EU accord in favour of a deal with Moscow.Russia responded by annexing Ukraine's peninsula of Crimea and went on to back a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine, a conflict that has killed nearly 10,000 people to date.REUTERS SHS AS1543 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068036.Xml A court in China today jailed for 12-and-a-half years the brother of a disgraced one-time aide to former President Hu Jintao after finding him guilty of receiving bribes, state news agency Xinhua said.Ling Zhengce, the former deputy head of the parliamentary advisory body in the coal-rich northern province of Shanxi, is the elder brother of Ling Jihua. The former aide to Hu was jailed for life in July, after a case which the ruling Communist Party has said caused major damage to its image.In a brief report, Xinhua said the court in Changzhou in Jiangsu province had found Ling Zhengce guilty of taking either directly or indirectly 16 million yuan (2.30 million dollars) in bribes from 2001 to 2014.State television cited the court as saying that Ling had admitted his crimes, expressed repentance and cooperated, meaning he got a lighter sentence.It was not possible to reach him or a legal representative for comment. Authorities announced an investigation into him in June 2014.Vice Premier Ma Kai last year described the corruption problem in Shanxi as "like a cancer". As one of China's top coal-producing provinces, its economy boomed on the back of soaring energy demand over the past decade, one of the reasons state media has given for its graft problem.In January, China acknowledged for the first time that it was communicating with the United States about Ling Wancheng, a third brother. The government has given no details of any crime in which Ling is suspected, and he has not appeared on any wanted lists.Since assuming power in late 2012, President Xi Jinping has pursued a relentless campaign against corruption, warning that the problem could threaten the Communist Party's ability to retain power, though some analysts say he is also eliminating rivals. REUTERS SHS AS1544 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068061.Xml Afghan asylum seekers sent back home this week under a deal negotiated with the European Union fear their forced deportations will prompt other migrants to try to bypass the rules, fuelling chaos in the system.The process began this week of deporting failed Afghan asylum seekers following an agreement between the European Union and Afghanistan in October with Norway deporting about 13, Sweden about nine and Germany about 34 asylum seekers.Afghans made up a fifth of all migrants entering Europe last year, the second biggest group after Syrians.The deportation from Germany, where more than a million migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have arrived this year, sparked a large demonstration at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday with hundreds of Afghans chanting "Stop Deportation"."The process is totally unfair and unjust. Some of the deportees went to social welfare department to extend their papers, but they were arrested there," said Rashed Husseini, an Afghan asylum seeker who participated in the demonstration."We left Afghanistan because of insecurity and lack of rule of law. But the fact that people are detained by deception and are being deported against their will is also unlawful," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.Germany has seen protests against the planned deportations in recent weeks as critics say much of Afghanistan is not safe and returnees might face reprisals with much of the country still under threat from the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Islamic State.Afghanistan's Western-backed government is battling militants who have stepped up attacks since the withdrawal of most foreign troops in 2014.The group deportation has created worries among other Afghan asylum seekers in Germany who fear they will be arrested if they went to extend their papers."I will not go to extend my papers again unless I have legal representative accompanying me," said Murtaza, a participant in the demonstration, who would only give his first name while speaking to the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone."It is totally unfair on Afghan asylum seekers to be deported simply because the European Union paid some money to our government."FAMILIES DIVIDEDGerman Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said only people who can prove they are refugees fleeing persecution, war or violence are eligible for asylum.He added that one-third of those deported were criminals convicted of offences, from robbery and drugs crimes to rape and homicide. Of the 50 men due on the plane, 16 had disappeared.The Afghan Ministry of Refugees has said it will help returnees get back to their homes, with a spokesman adding that about 10,000 Afghans had returned from Europe this year.On Tuesday this week, Norway and Sweden deported groups of failed Afghani asylum seekers to Kabul.Mosavi, a returnee from Norway, told media at Kabul Airport that his family is in Norway but he was deported forcefully."My wife and children should be there and I must be here with my hands tied? They gave me 30 dollar and tell me welcome. Why?" he said in a phone interview.The decision to deport asylum seekers in groups has added to the tension and uncertainty of those whose asylum claims have been refused and those who have not yet had asylum interviews.Mohammad Dawood Niazi, an Afghan asylum seeker from northern Afghanistan living in Sweden, is worried this decision might prompt more asylum seekers not to cooperate with the system, creating more chaos in an already backlogged process.Arriving in Sweden more than one year ago, he was fingerprinted and sent to a camp in the north where he was given accommodation, food and 75 dolllar monthly."Nothing has happened in regard to my immigration matter in this one year," Niazi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview, adding he had no idea when he would be interviewed.Sweden was once Europe's most welcoming state for refugees and migrants, but since late 2015 it has made a sharp U-turn.Figures in October showed that so far this year, Sweden had rejected four of five Afghans' applications for asylum. In 2014, 60 percent were approved.Niazi said the uncertainty about the future along with the worries of his wife and three children left behind in Afghanistan has caused him to suffer severe depression."I am not a teenager and I have not come to Europe to enjoy the freedom, to drink alcohol or flirt with girls, or have a better life. I came here because my life was at risk," he said.REUTERS VS AS1526 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0440-1067980.Xml Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa today confirmed the death sentences awarded by Military Courts to 13 'hardcore terrorists' involved in heinous offences related to terrorism. The 13 were involved in heinous offences related to terrorism, including killing and slaughtering of innocent civilians, officials of law enforcement agencies and the armed forces, daily Dawn reported quoting an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) release. The development comes as Pakistan marks the second anniversary of the horrific attack on Peshawar's Army Public School in 2014, in which at least 144 people most of them children were killed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan gunmen, the newspaper report said. The convicts were involved in the planning and execution of the Bacha Khan, Parade Lane Mosque, Marriott Hotel and World Vision NGO attacks, as well as an attack on an educational institution at Nawagai, Buner. "On the whole, they were involved in killing 325 persons and in causing injuries to 366 others. Firearms and explosives were also recovered from their possession. These convicts were tried by military courts, the report said.UNI XC SS SNU 1720 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0089-1068251.Xml Energy Minister Alexander Novak today said that Russian energy giant Rosneft has confirmed its consent to reduce oil production, in line with the agreement of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the countries, which are not members of the organisation. "All companies agree to reduce production," Russian news agencies reported, quoting Mr Novak. He said Russia's 12 largest oil companies have already confirmed their readiness to cut oil production. Mr Novak said earlier this week that Russian Energy Ministry would establish a working group to monitor the reduction of production by oil companies, adding that it would meet twice a month. He said Russian companies would cut oil output voluntarily, without any Energy Ministry quotas for them. On December 10, OPEC held talks with non-OPEC countries in Vienna, during which non-OPEC countries decided to cut oil output by 5,58,000 barrels per day, with Russia cutting the output by 3,00,000 barrels per day from January 2017. In November, OPEC agreed to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day to 32.5-million barrels per day for the whole cartel from next year. Russia plans to cut its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2017.UNI XC RJ SNU 1722 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068136.Xml Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed today that talks were being planned in conjunction with Russia to bring together the Syrian opposition and representatives of the Syrian government in Kazakhstan.Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier he was working closely with Turkey to try and start a new series of Syrian peace talks aimed at securing a nationwide ceasefire.At a news conference in Ankara, Cavusoglu also said the Syrian government and other forces had obstructed the evacuation of people from Aleppo. He said talks were on-going to resolve a deadlock concerning the last convoy from the city.REUTERS SHS BL1729 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068330.Xml President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan are working to organise a new series of Syrian peace talks without the involvement of the United States or the United Nations.In a snub to Washington, Putin made clear on Friday that the initiative was the sole preserve of Moscow and Turkey and that the peace talks, if they happened, would be in addition to intermittent UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva."The next step is to reach an agreement on a total ceasefire across the whole of Syria," Putin said in Tokyo. "We are conducting very active negotiations with representatives of the armed opposition, brokered by Turkey."Putin, who has leveraged Russia's role in Syria to boost his diplomatic muscle, said the talks proposal was being put to the Syrian government and the opposition. Kazakhstan, the proposed venue, is a Russian ally, and Putin said the talks could take place in Astana, the Kazakh capital.The surprise move underlines the growing strength of Moscow's rapprochement with Ankara, with which it fell out last year over the shooting down of a Russian plane, and reflects Russia's desire to cement its growing influence in the Middle East and more widely.It also shows how fed up Russia is with what it sees as long and pointless talks with the Obama administration over Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier this week dismissed those talks as "fruitless sitting around" and said Ankara might prove a more effective partner on Syria.Turkey, which wants to boost its global sway too, is also deeply frustrated by US policy in Syria, particularly Washington's support for Kurdish militia fighters it sees as a hostile force, and by what it views as Barack Obama's failure to give enough support to the rebels.Putin played down the idea that the talks would sideline or overshadow similar talks brokered by the United Nations that have been held intermittently in Geneva."It won't compete with the Geneva talks, but will complement them. Wherever the conflicting sides meet, in my view it is the right thing to do to try to find a political solution," he said.The initiative is unlikely to go down well with UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura however. He told reporters in Paris yesterday that it was time for all sides to return to the table, but the United Nations would have to broker any talks for them to have legitimacy.ODD COUPLERussia still hopes it can co-operate on Syria with the United States and join forces with Washington against Islamic State once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.But Trump will not be inaugurated until January 20, leaving a power vacuum, and is likely in any case to need some time to formulate foreign policy.The alliance between Moscow and Ankara is at first glance an odd one. Russia is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest allies, while Turkey, a NATO member, wants him removed.But Ankara may be ready to accept a transition in which Assad is involved, provided he ultimately relinquishes power.Turkey's main priority, on which it will want at least tacit Russian agreement, is to ensure that Kurdish militias are unable to gain further territory in Syria along its borders.Ankara launched an incursion into Syria, "Operation Euphrates Shield", in August to push Islamic State out of a 90-km stretch of frontier territory and prevent Kurdish groups from seizing ground in their wake.Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli acknowledged two weeks ago that Turkey "would not have moved so comfortably" without the rapprochement with Russia, which effectively controls parts of northern Syrian air space.Turkey now wants the rebels it supports to push further south into Syria and take the Islamic State-held city of al-Bab, around 40 km northeast of Aleppo.Erdogan is determined that the Turkish-backed rebels capture the city to prevent Kurdish militias from doing so. But that ambition could cause difficulties with Moscow, as al-Bab lies close to the front lines of Assad's allies.ALEPPO DEALPutin had only warm words for the prospect of deeper Russo-Turkish co-operation however and said the evacuation of rebels from Aleppo was something that he and Erdogan had agreed on.He hoped the Syrian army would be able to consolidate its position in Aleppo and civilians return to normal life.The RIA agency this week quoted Andrei Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, as saying it had been easier to deal with Turkey on Aleppo than the United States."It was much more straightforward to reach agreements with Turkey than with the Americans," he was cited as saying.Putin played down the Syrian government's recent loss of Palmyra to Islamic State, blaming the lack of coordination between the US led coalition, the Syrian authorities, and Russia for the setback."Everything that is happening in Palmyra is the result of uncoordinated action," said Putin."The question of Palmyra is purely symbolic. Aleppo is much more important from a military-political point of view." REUTERS SHS BL1914 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068662.Xml An Indian media delegation, currently on visit to Indonesia as part of the Indo-ASEAN Exchange programme, today embarked on India Navy Ship INS Saumitra, which is on friendly port call here. Captain of the ship commander KP Shreesan received the delegation on board. Pursuit of India's 'Act East' policy and outreach to friendly countries, the Indian Navy's Offshore Patrol Vessel Sumitra, has reached Darwin, Australia today ( December 6). The ship on a three-day visit from December 6-9, is on her return passage to India after participating in the Royal New Zealand Navy International Naval Review 2016. The ship had earlier visited Sydney from November 4-7. During the stay in harbour, various activities are planned towards enhancing cooperation and mutual understanding between the two navies such as professional interactions with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and discussions towards further enhancing inter-operability. In addition, calls on senior Government and military authorities, sporting and cultural interactions and sharing of best practices would also be undertaken. Sumitra, is the fourth of the Saryu class ships, based on an indigenous design and constructed by M/s Goa Shipyard Ltd, India. Since commissioning in 2014, the ship has been deployed for multiple operational tasks, the most notable being 'Operation Rahat', which entailed the evacuation of personnel of various nationalities from war-torn Yemen in 2015. The ship has a range of 6,500 nautical miles and is capable of embarking one Dhruv/ Chetak helicopter. UNI MK RSA 1942 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068631.Xml Tanzania today charged the co-founder of a website where people can post comments on officials they believe are corrupt with offences including obstructing a police investigation.Maxence Melo Mubyazi was arrested on Tuesday and has since been held by police, who have also searched his office and home.A charge sheet seen by Reuters showed that Mubyazi, 40, managing director and co-founder of jamiiforums website, has been charged with multiple counts of obstructing justice and running a website that is not registered in Tanzania.At his court appearance today in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam, he denied the charges and was returned to custody after an unsuccessful bail application.According to the charge sheet, Mubyazi had been aware police were conducting a criminal investigation of the content on his website but, "with intent to obstruct investigation, did unlawfully fail to comply with an order of disclosure of data in his possession".The catchphrase of the jamiiforums website is "where we dare to talk openly". Most users post their comments under pseudonyms.The site's managers have denied accusations by officials that it allows users to post fabrications and seditious content.Last year the east African country enacted a tough cybercrimes law under which several people have been prosecuted for violations including insulting the president, which is punishable by up to three years in jail.Rights activists have criticised the law, and the United States has cancelled nearly $500 million of funding for the country to express its disapproval.Tanzania's President John Magufuli has won some praise from western donors for an anti-corruption drive and cutting wasteful public spending. Opponents accuse him of undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech.Pressure group the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement this week Tanzania should investigate corruption allegations instead of "pressurising a website to violate its users' trust and privacy".REUTERS SHS AN1956 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-1068732.Xml Outgoing US President Barack Obama on Friday harshly accused the Syrian regime, along with Moscow and Tehran, of slaughtering civilians in Aleppo. "We have seen a deliberate strategy of surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," CNN quoted Obama as saying during a year-end news conference. "Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran," Obama said. "The blood for these atrocities are on their hands." He added, "The Assad regime cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy." Asked about the fact the US didn't get involved, Obama said, "Because I am President of the United States, I feel responsible." But Obama said that after every option was examined "in painful detail", factors including the involvement of Russia and Iran and the lack of cohesion among the Syrian opposition required a full-scale military intervention in order to aid the situation. "Unless we were all-in and willing to take over Syria, we were going to have problems," Obama said. "I understand the impulse to want to do something, but ultimately what I've had to do is to think about what we can sustain, what is realistic. And my first priority has to be what's the right thing to do for America," he said. "Based on hours of meetings ... where we went through every option in painful detail ... short of putting large numbers of US troops on the ground, uninvited, without any international law mandate, without sufficient support from Congress" it would have been impossible. "We couldn't do it on the cheap," he said. Obama's condemnation comes as an agreement allowing for the evacuation of the thousands of civilians left in the besieged city appeared to fall apart on Friday. Forces loyal to the Assad regime have shelled eastern Aleppo and after years of fighting, his troops have managed to break through rebel defensive lines, seizing some of the last few Syrian rebel holdouts in recent days. The operation to evacuate thousands of refugees was halted, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Various reports cited violations of the cessation of hostilities as reason for the interruption. --IANS lok/ ( 371 Words) 2016-12-17-02:48:12 (IANS) by Matt Walsh CANBERRA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's agricultural export earnings are forecast to increase by 6.1 percent in the first year of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (chAFTA) coming into force, but the nation's Department of Agriculture has said there is scope to grow as more tariffs between the two nations are eliminated. In an interview with Xinhua on Thursday, a spokesperson from Department of Agriculture said while this year's predicted increase in export earnings and overall farming production could be attributed to a bumper season and good winter weather, the future is bright for exporters wishing to take advantage of the benefits of ChAFTA. "Improved market access achieved through recent free trade agreements makes Australian products relatively more competitive in our partner markets and hence relatively more appealing to consumers," the spokesperson said on Thursday. "It is up to Australian exporters to make the most of the opportunities that the stronger demand for our products provides." The spokesperson said while the forecasts for the 2016-17 season were looking particularly good, there was no reason why producers could not maintain that level of growth as further tariff reductions are rolled out across the agricultural industry. "The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement delivers Australia significantly improved access for agriculture and foods by eliminating tariffs across a range of key products," the spokesperson told Xinhua. "Some key outcomes include (but are not limited to) the (immediate) elimination of tariffs on barley and sorghum... (while) seafood, wine, horticulture and livestock tariffs will be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2019. "Beef tariffs will be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2024, and sheep meat tariffs will be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2023. "Infant formula tariffs will be eliminated by Jan. 1, 2019, liquid milk, cheese, butter, and yogurt tariffs eliminated by Jan. 1, 2024, and milk powder tariffs eliminated by Jan. 1, 2026." Earlier this week the department released its forecasts for 2016-17 farm production, and the Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences' Acting Executive Director, Peter Gooday said it was going to be a "bumper" year. "Export earnings from farm commodities are forecast to increase by 6.7 percent to 35.15 billion U.S dollars in 201617, following a modest increase of 1.4 percent in 201516 to 33 billion U.S dollars," Gooday said in a statement on Tuesday. "The gross value of crop production is forecast to increase by 14.7 percent to 23.5 billion U.S dollars in 201617. "This is due in part to recent record high winter crop production of 52.4 million tonnes and forecast increases in the gross value of horticulture and cotton production." According to the Australian government, the agricultural commodities "for which export earnings are forecast to rise in 201617" include wheat (up 25 percent), wool (3 percent), sugar (23 percent), wine (3 percent), barley (15 percent), cotton (56 percent), chickpeas (74 percent), lamb (4 percent), canola (33 percent) and rock lobster (6 percent). The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement came into force in both nations on Dec. 20, 2015, following years of negotiations. Once the agreement is implemented in full, 95 percent of Australian exports heading to China will be tariff free. LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Donald J. Trump announced three additional members of his Strategic and Policy Forum here on Wednesday. The three new members are Elon Musk, chairman and CEO of rocket and spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX; Travis Kalanick, CEO and co-founder of Uber Technologies; and Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. "America has the most innovative and vibrant companies in the world, and the pioneering CEOs joining this forum today are at the top of their fields," Trump said. "My administration is going to work together with the private sector to improve the business climate and make it attractive for firms to create new jobs across the United States from Silicon Valley to the heartland," he added. Musk also joined fellow tech leaders in a meeting with Trump Wednesday at the Trump Tower here in New York. Topics included creating more jobs for American workers, eliminating barriers preventing American companies from doing business in other countries, market access with China, cutting taxes, improving America's cyber security and technology in schools. BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday that the one-China policy is a prerequisite for any countries to have ties with China and expressed appreciation to those countries that have recently reiterated their support of the policy. "Adhering to the one-China policy is the prerequisite and basis on which China develops relations of friendly cooperation with any countries in the world," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily press briefing. Geng made the remarks when asked to comment the remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean Marc Ayrault Wednesday, saying U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's remarks questioning the one-China policy principle "is not clever." U.S. president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that he does not feel "bound by a one-China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade". Geng said "we appreciated those countries which have recently reiterated their adherence to the one-China principle." "There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government that represents China," Geng said. LONDON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- British workers have experienced the longest decline in real wages since the era of social writer Charles Dickens more than 150 years ago, the umbrella organisation for trade unions, the TUC, said Thursday. In a new report, the TUC said workers in Britain had also seen the largest decline in pay of any developed economy except Greece. Highlighting what it described as the rise of job insecurity in modern Britain, the TUC said 10 years ago it established a Commission on Vulnerable Employment (CoVE). The aim was to examine the increase in the proportion of workers at risk of poverty and injustice due to an imbalance of power in the employer-worker relationship. A decade later, there has been a significant increase in the number of people in work, with 2.6 million more people now in the labor market in Britain. The TUC said: "While this increase in employment is welcome, it has been accompanied by two major changes in the experience of work." "Working people have experienced a significant downgrade in their pay. Pay is still around 20 pounds (25 U.S.dollars) a week below its pre-crisis levels, and not set to return to those levels until 2021." "British workers have experienced the longest decline in real wages since 1864, and have seen the largest decline of any developed economy except Greece and a growing number of people face insecurity at work." The TUC said its CoVE update is the first of a new series focusing on insecure employment. It puts forward a five-point action plan, calling on the government to address job insecurities in the workforce. It includes rights at work for employees, family-friendly rights, protection from being unfairly fired. This was the first in a series of TUC reports looking at the new insecure workforce. This report concentrated on describing the new insecurity. Future reports will set out in more detail how these issues should be addressed. However, the TUC believed that there are five areas where government should act to ensure that everyone has decent rights and protection at work. Make sure that everyone can access the same floor of rights at work, family-friendly rights, protection from being unfairly fired and the right to redundancy pay. It said that as an immediate first step, the government should create a legal presumption that everyone qualifies for the full set of employee rights. The report also urged the government to scrap fees of up to 1,500 U.S.dollars that prevent many workers from challenging unfair dismissal at employment tribunals. The TUC report concluded with a call to strengthen workers'ability to organize for better conditions at work through trade unions. MADRID, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The improvement experienced by the Spanish economy were unevenly distributed geographically and among people, said Antonio Argandona, emeritus professor of economics and business ethics at the IESE Business School in Barcelona. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Argandona said that despite 2016 being a "good year for the Spanish economy," there was an "uneven" situation. "The figures are positive but the impact of these figures among the population is not homogeneous," said Argandona. "There are areas of the country, such as Andalusia, Extremadura, or the Canary Islands where growth is still low and the unemployment rate very high", he said, explaining that unemployed people or those with transitory or precarious jobs" do not fully participate in that economic recovery." According to the last Inquest into the Active Population (EPA), in the third quarter of the year, there were a total of 4.3 million unemployed people in Spain, while the temporary rate (the proportion of temporary contracts over the total number of contracts in the country) was at its highest since the end of 2008. "The Spanish economy, from the point of view of the labor market, has three problems: first, the high unemployment rate, second, the large increase in temporarity and very short-term contracts and third, low wage growth and low wages", Argandona said. The professor is in favor of implementing more reforms within the labor market, since he considers that Spain has had "a rigid labor market, which was difficult to adapt to the circumstances." In his opinion, this caused a duality: separation between workers with indefinite contract and protected and workers with temporary and unprotected contracts. Argandona predicted a 2017 "positive for the economy" and pointed out several unknowns facts such as oil prices, the new government in the United States and the political scenario in other European countries. For Argandona, the growth experienced during 2016 has been high, and highlighted the creation of employment, growth in consumption and investment in equipment, as positive factors. He warned that Spain still faced "a loss of economic growth strength, insufficient job creation and a high level of bad loans in the banking system." "We have a good 2017, but worse than 2016 and we will have a good 2018, but worse than 2017," he said. KIGALI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on Thursday that the country no longer faces serious challenges of poverty as the poverty gap has been narrowed to manageable proportions. He made the remarks while delivering State of the Nation Address at the opening of the 14th edition of the National Dialogue, locally known as 'Umushyikirano', at the Kigali Convention Centre, in the capital Kigali. The forum that runs from December 14 to 15, brings together close to 2,000 Rwandan citizens and those from the Diaspora, including members of foreign diplomatic corps accredited to Rwanda, civil society organizations, private sector and the academia to assess Rwanda's achievements registered in the last few years and plan for the future. Umushyikirano is an annual event that gives all Rwandans, both in the country and abroad, the opportunity to ask their leaders questions directly and engage in the country's challenges, opportunities and growth agenda. "Yet we recognize that many Rwandans still feel that they are struggling to have the life they want. In 2001, four out of every ten Rwandans lived in extreme poverty. Today the figure is getting closer to one in 10," said Kagame. "We used to struggle just to survive. Now we struggle to thrive and prosper. This country sees every citizen as a full stakeholder, not as someone to be singled out, categorized and denied livelihood." He noted that Rwanda has invested heavily in the future Rwandans want despite the fact that it has cost a lot of money to the economy. "It is my duty and also my pleasure to report to you that State of our nation is strong and growing stronger. Everything we have been through and successfully addressed proves that we have both the right and the ability to aim high," the president stated. According to the fourth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV4), that was launched last year, Rwanda's poverty levels stand at 39 percent down from 44 percent during the previous survey in 2011. Economy analysts believe that with the current rate of poverty reduction, Rwanda is likely to eradicate extreme poverty by the year 2020. Rwanda's Economic Development and Poverty Reduction second phase (EDPRS2) which is now in its second phase targets to further drag down poverty levels through 13 social protection programs including Ubudehe-Social classification program and Girinka (One cow per poor family) that directly benefit the poor. The main goal of the EDPRS2 strategy is to speed up Rwanda's progress towards becoming a middle-income status country and creating a better quality of life for all Rwandans through sustained average GDP growth of 11.5 percent and accelerated poverty reduction to less than 30 percent of the population. Enditem KIGALI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda released more than 800 inmates on Thursday, including 62 girls and women who were convicted of abortion but benefited from presidential pardon. President Paul Kagame granted pardon to 62 girls and women who were convicted of abortion, at a cabinet meeting last week, under his presidential prerogative of mercy. Others who regained their freedom are 808 inmates who were convicted of various crimes but were released on parole. According to ministerial order, inmates released on parole are required to report to the prosecutor of their residences once every month on the day to be fixed by the prosecutor. Such released inmates are also required to seek authorization of the minister in charge of justice every time he/she wishes to move out of the country. Brig. Gen George Rwigamba, the Commissioner General for Rwanda Correctional Service, appealed to the released inmates, especially those on parole to avoid recommitting crimes which might take them back to jail. Ntakabanyura Mbagirente, who was imprisoned at Nyarugenge prison in Kigali, said he was happy to have regained his freedom. He had been sentenced to three years in jail after he was found guilty of assault for which he had served nearly half of the sentence. Enditem SMEDEREVO, Serbia, Dec.15 (Xinhua) -- A steel mill here will turn its first profit for Chinese company Hesteel, Yu Yong, chairman of Hesteel Group, said here on Thursday. During a visit to the mill on Thursday, Yu Yong told Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic the company would have a positive balance for the first time in December this year since Hesteel officially took over its management in July. "The steel mill in Smederevo plans to produce two million tons of steel next year which will increase Serbia's GDP by 1.0 percent, probably even more," Vucic explained. He said that before Hesteel purchased the Smederevo steel mill, the state-owned plant had been in a such disastrous state that no one had known what to do with it, but that the Chinese company had turned its fortune around. Yu insisted that Hesteel, a Chinese iron and steel manufacturing conglomerate, would turn the Smederevo mill into a profitable company, and that it had engaged its resources and experts to increase production. Yu said it would also invest 120 million U.S. dollars in 2017, as it did in 2016, into new equipment and technology. Expected total production of Hesteel Serbia would be worth 800 million U.S. dollars, Yu revealed, adding that the group expected a profit of 20 million U.S. dollars. "We brought back the vitality to the plant and overcame the hardest situations as the factory was facing closure. I hope that the steel mill will become the pride of your nation again," he said. Yu concluded that the first profits signified a historic moment for Hesteel Serbia and repeated his promise that the plant would be one of the most competitive in Europe and globally. Hesteel purchased the steel mill from the Serbian government for 46 million euros (47.87 million U.S. dollars) in April, when the Chinese steel giant announced investments worth 300 million euros. KHARTOUM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sudan and Egypt on Thursday reiterated importance of developing border and trade movement and implementing joint projects. The two countries concluded, in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, the 8th meeting of the joint technical border crossings committee and signed the minutes of the meeting. "Sudan is looking forward to further cooperation with Egypt to serve the interests of the two brotherly peoples," said Abdul-Ghani Al-Naeem, under-secretary of Sudan's Foreign Ministry. He noted that the meeting's fruitful results related to operating the border crossings between Sudan and Egypt and "represents a historical institutional work." He pointed out that the two sides agreed to develop the joint border and the trade movement and implement joint projects. Fathy Abdel Azim, under-secretary of Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation, said that Egypt is looking forward to an economic integration "that pushes the joint projects forward." He expressed hope that investment projects would be established between Sudan and Egypt, saying "these meetings receive follow up by the political leadership in the two countries." The two sides, via the meetings, tend to find solutions for the barriers which hamper the progress of work at Qastal-Ashkeet and Arqin border crossings which link Sudan and Egypt. Enditem WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 donor and borrower governments on Thursday agreed to commit a record of 75 billion U.S. dollars for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank' s fund for poorest countries, in order to fight against extreme poverty. The funding will enable the IDA to scale up development interventions as well as promote jobs and economic opportunities in the world' s poorest countries, said the World Bank in a statement on Thursday. "This is a pivotal step in the movement to end extreme poverty," World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in the statement. The IDA planned to replenish its funding during the period which runs from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020, in order to support an ambitious plan which includes providing health, financial, education, and basic water and energy for millions of children and adults. To finance the plan, the IDA for the first time is seeking to raise funds through debt markets alongside donor contributions with internal resources and donor contributions. "The innovative financing package offers exceptional value for money, with every 1 U.S. dollar in partner contributions generating about 3 U.S. dollars in spending authority," said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank vice president for development finance. "It is one of the most concrete and significant proposals to date on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda - critical to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals," said Trotsenburg. A total of 75 low-income countries are eligible to benefit from the IDA financing package. by Mohamed al-Azaki SANAA, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 4,000 Somali refugees are living in alarming conditions in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and their living situations have worsened since the civil war erupted early last year between dominant Shiite Houthi group and exiled government of internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The refugees face extreme poverty; no jobs, no food security, no rent-free shelters nor health facilities to receive them. Many have been struggling to pay their rent of insanitary rooms, while few families can afford payment and instead sleep on some backstreets or join others in small rooms. The refugees also have s shortage of water, electricity and integration into labor market. The refugees have no alternative as their living situations have worsen because of the ongoing economic crisis following the eruption of the civil war in March last year. "We (the refugees) have no rent-free accommodation or shelter in Sanaa as most of Yemenis have recently hesitate to rent us rooms or houses because we cannot afford payment," explained 55-year-old Abdel Rahman al-Zaylaiee, the chairman of the Somali refugees' community in Sanaa, who came to Yemen nearly 16 years ago. "How do you see a man with no job or any source of income crowded with his 11-member family in a small room or sleeping on the street?" he asked. "That is our months-long tragedy... and no one care about us." "About four thousand Somali refugees, mostly women and children, have been living here in Sanaa for years with no rent-free shelter or enough food, and our situations got poorer especially after the war," al-Zaylaiee said. Their sad faces and tattered clothes tell untold stories. The refugees live in a poor quarter, known as al-Safiyah in the southeast part of Sanaa. They enjoy a small clinic in the area supported by the UNHCR. The clinic lacks emergency section and almost empty from any kind of medicine or essential medical equipment due to the war and economic crisis. The patients have to go to private hospitals and buy medicine on their own. The refugees' chairman al-Zaylaiee complains of stopping aid from humanitarian agencies, particularly after war. "Since the war began in March 2015, we received financial aid only one time in the beginning of each year from the UNHCR," al-Zaylaiee said. "If you have a family, you received 150 USD, but if you are a single you got only 50 dollars... only one-time payment a year," al-Zaylaiee said. Abdel Malik Mohammed, a 23-year-old refugee said that before the eruption of war the young refugees had work in the popular markets and used to wash cars to earn money. "But now no one asks you to wash his car, except very few rich people," he said. "We have no clothes, blankets or enough food to warm my mother and sisters during this harsh winter weather... I have not paid the rent for four months and the owner has vowed to drop us out to the street if I do not pay it," he added. Somali refugees fled conflicts in their homeland and made very dangerous journeys through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to seek a better life in Yemen or neighboring oil-rich Gulf countries. An estimated 200,000 Somali refugees are living in several Yemeni cities, according to the latest 2015 statistics by the UNHCR. UNHCR says that more than 26,000 Somali refugees have fled violence in Yemen and returned to Somalia, mostly to Mogadishu. Many refugees have taken Yemen as a crossing road to Saudi Arabia, but after the war erupted in Yemen-Saudi joint borders between Houthi fighters and Saudi government army, which backed the Yemeni government, the borders were closed and most infiltrators lost their lives during shootings between Saudi border guards and Houthi fighters. "We have been trapped here," said 28-year-old Omar Abdel Kadir, who refused to be pictured. "Before the war, many of us, including me, went to Saudi border cities through Yemeni and Somali smugglers and found work there... and when there were no work we returned back to Sanaa to wait for other chances," said Abdel Kadir who came to Yemen nearly seven years ago. "Nowadays the situation has totally changed. If you risk traveling to Saudi border you will be shot dead either by Yemeni fighters or Saudi border guards ... dozens of my friends have been killed near the joint borders since the beginning of war," he said. ISTANBUL, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top diplomat in Istanbul stressed on Thursday evening that his country is not after deliberately a surplus with its trading partners, including Turkey. Consul general Qian Bo told a group of Turkish academicians and entrepreneurs that China has become the largest trading partner of more than 130 countries around the world, but it has never been seeking deliberately a surplus with them. As Turkey's huge imbalance in trade with China is the biggest problem in bilateral economic ties, Qian noted that Beijing has taken a series of measures to make more purchases from Turkey, as part of efforts to achieve a healthy and sustainable bilateral trade. China is currently Turkey's second largest trading partner, with a trade volume hitting 27.24 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 and 20.925 billion dollars in the first nine months in 2016, up 3.35 percent over the previous year, according to official figures released by Turkey. Qian attributed the imbalance in trade with Turkey mainly to the differences with China on industry and commodity structures. He also spoke of ongoing closer consultations between China and Turkey, launched under the Belt and Road initiative, on advancing cooperation on such key projects as a high-speed rail linking Kars in Turkey's east with the western Turkish city of Edirne, and the construction of a third nuclear power plant in Turkey. TRIPOLI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Major General Khalifa Haftar, who leads armed forces in eastern Libya, has issued orders to "free the capital Tripoli," a military spokesman said on Thursday. Ahmad Al-Mismari said that Tripoli is a strategic target of the armed forced to fight terrorism. He also said that the orders of Haftar were given after a video surfaces online a few days ago of a woman allegedly being raped by militias in Tripoli. "Revenge for the woman who was raped in Tripoli is something I consider personal, and all army officers and soldiers must be prepared to free Tripoli." General Khalifa Haftar leads a military operation called "Dignity" since 2013 against militant groups in the eastern city of Benghazi. BRUSSELS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) leaders on Thursday agreed at a summit that the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine does not confer candidate status for Ukraine. According to the conclusion of the summit, "the agreement does not confer on Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the Union, nor does it constitute a commitment to confer such status to Ukraine in the future." In June 2014, Ukraine and the EU signed the Association Agreement, which includes a free trade area, designed to deepen bilateral cooperation between the sides. In an advisory referendum on April 6, a vast majority of the Dutch voters rejected the Agreement, hindering the ratification of the agreement. European leaders' decision aimed at pushing the Netherlands, the only country in the 28-nation EU still blocking the process, to ratify the agreement. Dutch voters opposed the deal out of the worry that the agreement is possible a step towards or an entitlement to membership of the EU for Ukraine. The conclusion also said that, the agreement does not contain an obligation for the union or its member states to provide collective security guarantees or other military aid or assistance to Ukraine. Los Angeles, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Jerry Brown, nicknamed "Gov. Moonbeam", has said his state was "ready to fight" President-elect Donald Trump on climate change if the new administration tries to ditch policies that combat global warming. "If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We are going to collect that data," Brown said to loud applause during a heated speech at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, recalling the "Governor Moonbeam" nickname he earned in the 1970s thanks to his push for a state satellite. Brown seized on comments from a top Trump adviser, who said the incoming administration plans to eliminate NASA's earth science programs, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The Governor promised to continue climate research even if the Trump administration tries to interfere. "We've got the scientists, we've got the lawyers and we're ready to fight," Brown said. Global warming has caused sea levels to increase by 3.2 millimeters per year, threatening infrastructure and ecosystems, according to a new report published in Science, which called for more research into adaptations to sea-level increases, and for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, Trump, who called climate change a "hoax," has been a long-term skeptic of climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, which was inked in December, 2015 and came into force last week. The agreement, signed by more than 180 countries, aimed to hold increases in the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, by pledging to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The President-elect said Sunday that "nobody really knows" whether climate change is real and that he is "studying" whether the United States should withdraw from the global warming agreement struck in Paris a year ago. Trump recently has selected a number of cabinet officials who question the science of global warming, including former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Energy Secretary. And referring to Perry, Brown reminded everyone of California's advantages over Texas when it comes to renewable energy. "We've got more sun than you've got oil," he said. In the United States, scientific research on climate change is mainly funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Energy (DOE), Huang Xianglei, an associate professor from the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan, told Xinhua. The budgets of NASA, NSF, NOAA and DOE are set by Congress, while individual program officers within these agencies decide how funds are divided based on peer reviews from within the scientific community. This means that while the new president may take a personal stance against climate change, "it is too early to tell how the new administration would and could steer the direction of climate-change research," Huang said. Wu Haitao(C, front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses an United Nations Security Council open debate on the theme "Preventing catastrophe: a global agenda for stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by non-State actors", at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy Thursday called on the international community to strengthen cooperation and form synergy to prevent weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from falling into hands of terrorists. Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a UN Security Council debate on WMD non-proliferation. Wu said solutions need to be found to peacefully address regional hotspot proliferation problems by political and diplomatic means, and there is also a need to establish a complete international norm on non-proliferation. He also noted the international community needs to properly handle the relationship between non-proliferation and peaceful use, while ensuring the right of all countries, especially developing countries to use and share relevant science and technology peacefully. At the meeting, the Security Council adopted a resolution recalling that all states shall take effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. It also requests all states to implement fully and effectively the resolution 1540 which established legally binding obligations on all UN member states to act against WMD proliferation. Photo taken on Dec. 15, 2016, shows the United Nations Security Council holding an open debate on the theme "Preventing catastrophe: a global agenda for stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by non-State actors", at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi) UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson warned that non-state actors already have the capacity to abuse cyber technologies to create mass disruption. "The nightmare scenario of a hack on a nuclear power plant causing uncontrolled release of ionizing radiation is growing," he noted. Eliasson also noted that the Security Council has a role to play in holding those that use chemical or other inhumane weapons accountable. "We must take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen our collective defences," he added. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at Stanford University have used techniques adapted from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identify nearly two-dozen solid electrolytes that could someday replace the volatile liquids used in lithium-ion batteries. "Electrolytes shuttle lithium ions back and forth between the battery's positive and negative electrodes," said Austin Sendek, a doctoral candidate in applied physics and first author on a paper published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. "Liquid electrolytes are cheap and conduct ions really well, but they can catch fire if the battery overheats or is short-circuited by puncturing," Sendek said. Lithium-ion batteries are used in smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices. Battery fires led to the recent recall of nearly 2 million Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones, the latest in a series of highly publicized lithium-ion battery failures. "The main advantage of solid electrolytes is stability," Sendek was quoted as saying in a news release from Stanford on Thursday. "Solids are far less likely to blow up or vaporize than organic solvents. They're also much more rigid and would make the battery structurally stronger." To find an inexpensive solid material that performs as well as liquid electrolytes at room temperature and avoid randomly testing individual compounds in the process, the Stanford team turned to AI and machine learning to build predictive models from experimental data by training a computer algorithm to learn how to identify good and bad compounds, much like a facial-recognition algorithm learns to identify faces after seeing several examples. "The number of known lithium-containing compounds is in the tens of thousands, the vast majority of which are untested," explained Sendek, who spent more than two years gathering all known data about solid compounds containing lithium. "Some of them may be excellent conductors." The model used several criteria to screen promising materials, including stability, cost, abundance and their ability to conduct lithium ions and re-route electrons through the battery's circuit. The researchers eventually plan to test the 21 materials in the laboratory to determine which are best suited for real-world conditions. "Our approach has the potential to address many kinds of materials problems and increase the effectiveness of research investments in these areas," said Evan Reed, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering and a senior author on the paper. "As the amount of data in the world increases and as computers improve, our ability to innovate is going to increase exponentially. Whether it's batteries, fuel cells or anything else, it' s a really exciting time to be in this field," he said. California Governor Jerry Brown speaks before signing a bill hiking California's minimum wage to $15 by 2023 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. on April 4, 2016.(REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo) Los Angeles, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Jerry Brown, nicknamed "Gov. Moonbeam", has said his state was "ready to fight" President-elect Donald Trump on climate change if the new administration tries to ditch policies that combat global warming. "If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We are going to collect that data," Brown said to loud applause during a heated speech at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, recalling the "Governor Moonbeam" nickname he earned in the 1970s thanks to his push for a state satellite. Brown seized on comments from a top Trump adviser, who said the incoming administration plans to eliminate NASA's earth science programs, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The Governor promised to continue climate research even if the Trump administration tries to interfere. "We've got the scientists, we've got the lawyers and we're ready to fight," Brown said. Global warming has caused sea levels to increase by 3.2 millimeters per year, threatening infrastructure and ecosystems, according to a new report published in Science, which called for more research into adaptations to sea-level increases, and for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, Trump, who called climate change a "hoax," has been a long-term skeptic of climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, which was inked in December, 2015 and came into force last week. The agreement, signed by more than 180 countries, aimed to hold increases in the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, by pledging to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The President-elect said Sunday that "nobody really knows" whether climate change is real and that he is "studying" whether the United States should withdraw from the global warming agreement struck in Paris a year ago. Trump recently has selected a number of cabinet officials who question the science of global warming, including former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Energy Secretary. And referring to Perry, Brown reminded everyone of California's advantages over Texas when it comes to renewable energy. "We've got more sun than you've got oil," he said. In the United States, scientific research on climate change is mainly funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Energy (DOE), Huang Xianglei, an associate professor from the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan, told Xinhua. The budgets of NASA, NSF, NOAA and DOE are set by Congress, while individual program officers within these agencies decide how funds are divided based on peer reviews from within the scientific community. This means that while the new president may take a personal stance against climate change, "it is too early to tell how the new administration would and could steer the direction of climate-change research," Huang said. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting in Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Dec. 15, 2016. (Xinhua) NAGATO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here on Thursday focusing on a decades-old territorial dispute and a post-war peace treaty. Abe told reporters after a three-hour summit with Putin that he had a "candid and in-depth" discussion with Putin and they discussed free visits of Japanese ex-residents to and joint economic activities in four disputed islands in the Pacific. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Putin, told media that the two sides agreed to start consultations on conditions of joint economic activities over the four Pacific islands, though stressing that the activities should be conducted under Russian jurisdiction. Russia suggested joint economic activities to Japan on the disputed islands in November, but some analysts here have been concerned that if Japan accepts the suggestion, it would mean a big step towards Moscow by recognizing Russian control of the Islands. Japan has hoped to open a door for making breakthrough on dispute over the four Pacific islands held by Russia but claimed by Japanthrough the Abe-Putin summit. Earlier in the day, Abe told reporters before departing for Nagato that he hopes to "spend time to negotiate in a quiet atmosphere at night." Abe also showed his determination to resolve the issue by visiting and praying before his father's grave while waiting for Putin's arrival which was delayed for over two and a half hours, according to local media reports. Abe's father Shintaro Abe, former foreign minister, was known for pushing for resolution of the territorial dispute. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Dec. 15, 2016. (Xinhua) However, despite Japan's efforts to lure Russia to cave in with economic cooperation and Japanese investment, it is widely believed that prospects of solving the dispute are slim, as differences are hard to iron out. "I hope the meeting could be productive for the Russian-Japanrelations, but it will be very difficult to solve territorial issues," a Russian national here told Xinhua earlier, saying that it is an issue concerning national interests. Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War Two mainly due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific which are called the Northern Territories inJapan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. Japan maintains that the four Pacific islands are its inherent territory and that Russia illegally occupied them after Japan's surrender in WWII, while Russia, for its part, says the seizure was legitimate and urges Japan to recognize the outcome of the war. Putin told Japanese media on Tuesday that there is no territorial issue between Russia and Japan over the four islands. "We believe we have no territorial problems at all. It is only Japan that believes it has territorial problems with Russia. We are ready to talk about this," Putin said. Putin, whose visit was initially eyed in 2014 but postponed due to deterioration of bilateral ties following the Ukraine crisis, is the first Russian president to travel to Japan for a bilateral meeting in 11 years. By Edna Alcantara and Luis Brito MEXICO CITY, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Donald Trump's assumption of the U.S. presidency on Jan. 20 will bring social and economic impact to Mexico, some local international relations experts told Xinhua. The experts voiced this view as Trump vowed, during his presidential campaign, to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, revise or even tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and deport millions of Mexicans. For David Crow, a professor at Mexico's Center for Economic Research and Studies, U.S.-Mexican relations will face more tensions after Trump takes office as he is expected to adopt a hardened migration policy, which will cause severe consequences for Mexico. One impact, he said, might be that many Mexicans would willingly return to their home country when faced with the hostile environment created by Trump's rhetoric while many planning to migrate to the United States will likely not do so. Mexico will have to absorb the costs of labor, education and social services for all these returning migrants, which will affect the already weak economic growth and cause a drop in remittances from the United States, Crow said. "The impact on Mexico would be very severe, it is simply not possible for it to absorb 2-3 million people in the short-term," he added. Ana Covarrubias, director of the Center for International Studies at the College of Mexico, said young Mexicans who grew up and went to school in the United States may have to rebuild their lives in Mexico. Currently, 560,000 of the young Mexicans, known as Dreamers, are protected from deportation due to DACA, an immigration policy begun by an executive order from President Barack Obama in 2012. Trump could easily revoke DACA without the need to go through Congress, Covarrubias said. "Returning them to Mexico would be a tragedy as they have no family here and do not know the country," she said.@ Crow said, another challenge facing Mexico is that Trump may struggle to get his border wall built since it implies an investment of at least 26 billion U.S. dollars. He noted that Trump may also instead boost the already constructed barriers and increase the presence of border patrols along the border. "If the U.S. takes a hard line, we will have these people in Mexico," warned Covarrubias. "Mexico will doubly lose: absorb many returning migrants without the possibility of offering them work. I see a potentially very serious situation," said the director. She said that while the Trump administration will unveil its policies in the first 100 days after taking office, Mexico should act rapidly to boost its internal market and also build closer ties with countries like China and Canada. BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral relations between China and the Latin America region have never been better, a senior Chinese diplomat said here Thursday. "Ties between China and Latin America and the Caribbean are at a peak," said Yin Hengmin, the Chinese government's special envoy for Latin American affairs, in an interview with Xinhua after delivering a speech on the state of bilateral ties to the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), a leading independent think-tank. "China wants to develop them even more in the near future," added Yin, the diplomatic veteran who had been the former ambassador to Argentina, Peru and Mexico. CARI's Vice President and a career diplomat, Antonio Estrany y Gendre, agreed the biregional ties, marked by the "search for new projects", are at a "good moment." "The presence of ambassador Yin is extremely special. He knows Argentina, having been here for four years as ambassador. He is a very important official, as he represents the Chinese government in Latin America. It is a crucial moment, a very special moment, in which international relations are being renewed and readjusted," Estrany told Xinhua. The Argentine diplomat noted the Chinese envoy further reinforced his country's commitment to the region. "For Argentina, that is very important, given that it needs investment, and China's presence in investment matters can be very weighty," said Estrany. Beijing has also consolidated its ranking as Argentina's second biggest trade partner, with a 13 percent increase in imports from the South American country, driven by a more diversified range of goods and a more balanced trade structure. As a token of further commitment, China presented its second Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean in November, eight years after the initiation of the first one in 2008. The new policy paper explains new ideas, proposals and initiatives in China's policy in the region, and makes concrete pledges toward promoting a joint development. The cooperation between China and Latin America has reaped fruitful achievements. In 2015, the trade volume between the two reached 236.5 billion U.S. dollars, over 20 times greater than a decade ago, according to Chinese government figures. In 2016, biregional ties made further progress and explored new areas, thanks to the Year of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange and China-Latin American cooperation forums at national levels. China has also signed free-trade agreements with several regional countries, including Chile, Peru and Costa Rica. Currently, China is the region's second largest trade partner and third largest source of investment, while Latin America is the second largest destination for Chinese overseas investment. TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Japan and Russia announced on Friday that the two sides will start consultations on joint economic activities on four Pacific islands held by Russia while claimed by Japan. The joint activities would be conducted "under a special framework", the two sides agreed. It will be an important step towards reaching a postwar peace treaty between the two countries, said a press statement here after the two leaders' meeting. Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War Two mainly due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific which are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. Russia suggested joint economic activities to Japan on the disputed islands in November, but there have been some concerns in Japan that if Japan accepts the suggestion, it would mean a big step towards Moscow by recognizing Russia's control of the Islands. Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a two-day visit to Japan for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on territorial issues as well as economic cooperation. Analysts here have pointed out that chances of solving the territorial dispute between the two countries are slim as differences are hard to iron out. Related: Thorny territorial dispute overshadows upcoming Abe-Putin summit TOKYO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Japan on Thursday to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe though analysts have pointed out that prospect of the summit has been largely undermined by a decades-old territorial row. BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the European Union (EU) decided to mount diplomatic pressure rather than impose extra sanctions against Russia over its role in Syria, European Council President Donald Tusk said late Thursday after a one-day summit. "We are not indifferent to the suffering of the Syrian people. We will exert pressure on other global players who are present in Syria using all available diplomatic channels," Tusk told reporters. "The aim is clear: the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors to allow aid into Aleppo and for civilians to be evacuated safely under neutral, international supervision," he added. However, when asked about concrete measures against Russia, Tusk ruled out sanctions, saying: "It's impossible to stop the conflict by force. The EU has no intention or capacity to use this kind of measures or methods." "We didn't discuss new sanctions as measures," he said. Tusk invited a local official of Syrian northern city of Aleppo to the EU Summit so that "the voice of the people of Aleppo is heard, at least in this symbolic way." Echoing Tusk's remarks, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni also confirmed that the EU would not adopt extra sanctions on Russia over the Syrian conflict. "We had a discussion that luckily ended without considering the option - which would have been wrong, I think - to react to the situation in Syria and Aleppo with EU sanctions against Russia," Gentiloni said. "The card we are playing today is (calling for a) cease-fire and (the start of) negotiations, it is not the card of sanctions," Gentiloni added. He said a majority of countries agree with Italy that more sanctions on Russia, on top of those already in place in connection with Ukraine, would be "a mistake." On the same day of the EU summit, buses carrying rebels started to leave eastern Aleppo, as part of a deal to evacuate all the rebels from the city, state TV reported. Green-colored government buses started leaving the few remaining rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo, as part of a deal concluded recently between Turkey and Russia for the evacuation of rebels and their families out of the last remaining strongholds in eastern Aleppo, according to the report. About 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, were expected to be evacuated on Thursday, as part of the Russian-Turkish deal. According to the deal, the rebels will have to surrender their weapons, except personal ones. The deal also stipulates that both parties should observe a truce during the evacuation. With the evacuation, the Syrian army will take over the whole Aleppo city, as it has already controlled 99 percent of the rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city. BEIJING/DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- While the rebels and civilians besieged in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo were evacuating in accordance with a truce deal, the United Nations would join other international organizations in monitoring the situation. It's estimated that 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, were set to be evacuated from the city, where the Syrian army has already recaptured 99 percent of the rebel-held eastern part through intensive offensive, the official SANA news agency reported. The first batch of rebels and their families reached Rashidien in the western countryside of Aleppo. The second round of evacuees also withdrew aboard buses and ambulances. According to earlier state TV reports, the evacuation from Aleppo was supervised solely by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), without the presence of UN staff. However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday that the world body has been invited to monitor and assist in the evacuation. "It is a three-pronged evacuation: a medical evacuation of wounded and sick, as well as an evacuation of vulnerable civilians and of fighters," the spokesman said. Jan Egeland, the UN special adviser on Syria, clarified that this is not an agreement mediated by the United Nations; rather, it is an agreement that has been made in direct talks between the parties to this war, which the United Nations was only invited this morning to monitor. UN monitors will accompany those who are being evacuated, not only from east Aleppo but all the way to the northwestern province of Idlib, and they also stand ready to care for them all the way into Turkey, if they chose that to be their final destination, Dujarric said. The ICRC, the World Health Organization and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were on the ground to provide assistance to those fleeing Aleppo. With the anticipated rebel retreat from Aleppo, the Syrian government would take complete control of the strategically located city. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday hailed the recapture of Aleppo as epoch-making. "Not only the Syrian, not only the regional, but also the international situation will not be the same after the liberation of Aleppo," Assad was quoted as saying by SANA. Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with the western parts under government control and eastern districts held by rebels. The situation in Aleppo has worsened rapidly after a truce accord collapsed in September, and months of heavy fighting has driven the city dwellers to the brink of humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of people have fled eastern Aleppo over the past couple of weeks, with local media reports placing the number of evacuees at 85,000. A Nepalese girl holds a red ribbon during a program to mark the World AIDS Day in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dec. 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma) DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) said Thursday it has started trials on a potential vaccine against HIV, raising hope to scientists struggling to find a cure for the virus that causes AIDS. Mwele Malecela, the NIMR Director General, said the same trial was also in progress in Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. "At the moment at least 17 volunteers have been registered out of 28 who are expected to be in the trial," Malecela told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam. Last month, South Africa also started a ground-breaking trial that will test the effectiveness of an HIV vaccine, HVTN 702. More than 5,000 South African volunteers have taken part in the trial. Malecela said participants aged between 15 and 50 years, who are free from HIV and chronic diseases will participate in the vaccine trial. "Despite the vaccine trials NIMR is set to invest in doing more HIV research that will include finding the resistance of Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) amongst the users," she said. She said the research on ARVs will be conducted for 15 years in a joint partnership between NIMR and Mbeya Referral Hospital and it will involve at least 500 ARVs users at the hospital. Statistics from the Tanzania Commission for AIDS indicate that more than 2 million people in Tanzania are living with HIV, equating to an estimated HIV prevalence of around 5 percent. One of the bronze lion statues with Christmas decorations is seen outside the entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago, the United States, Nov. 30, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) NAIROBI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) has announced funding to support the collaring of lions to boost their conservation against a backdrop of multiple threats. KWS Director General, Kitili Mbathi, said Thursday an initial investment of 30,000 U.S. dollars will support the collaring of lions in parks to help track their movement and identify threats facing the carnivores on a real time basis. Mbathi revealed that young male lions would be the first to be collared because they have a higher propensity of straying from parks as they explore new territories. Kenya has fast-tracked the adoption of technology in boosting lions' conservation. Mbathi said the use of satellite technology to track movement of lions will deter them from straying from sanctuaries. "The collaring of lions is in response to a spike in cases of the carnivores straying from the national parks this year. It will be possible to locate the strayed lions and return them to the park once we collar them," Mbathi said. Conservationists say threats facing the carnivores include conflict with human, shrinking habitat and climatic stresses. According to government statistics, the lion population in Kenya stood at 1,970 in 2016 while a spike in poaching and human intrusion to their habitat threatens their survival. Earlier this year, several lions strayed from the Nairobi National Park in the Kenyan capital city. SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean frontrunner in recent presidential polls pledged dialogue with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the resetting of relations with unrepentant Japan and robust alliance with the United States. Moon Jae-in, former chairman of the main opposition Minjoo Party, held a press conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul on Thursday, explaining about his potential campaign pledges in an upcoming presidential election as early as mid-2017. As President Park Geun-hye was impeached last week with an overwhelming support in the National Assembly, South Koreans started to look for their next leader in early presidential election that is forecast here to be held in mid-2017. The permanent removal of Park from office requires approval from the two-thirds of the nine-judge constitutional court that has up to 180 days to deliberate it. The court is estimated to reach a final conclusion on the impeachment between February and March next year. A presidential election must be held within 60 days, forecast between April and May, if President Park is permanently removed. MEET ONE ON ONE WITH DPRK LEADER "I'm willing to have summit talks with North Korean (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un," said Moon who set preconditions that the DPRK's complete dismantlement of nuclear programs and the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization, the goals which he said can never be given up, are put on the summit talks table. Moon said that DPRK policies in the past 10 years or so under the administrations of President Park Geun-hye and her predecessor Lee Myung-bak "completely failed" and resulted in the worst-ever "breakdown" in inter-Korean relations. The two governments, he said, "did nothing" in preventing the DPRK's advancement in nuclear capability by adhering to sanctions and pressure alone that he claimed have proven unsuccessful. He added that sanctions and pressure are aimed at persuading Pyongyang to return to a dialogue table, proposing a two-track approach of both dialogue and sanctions to solve the DPRK's nuclear issue. Lee also offered a gradual two-step approach: freezing the DPRK's nuclear program first by declaring and verifying no more nuclear test and advancement in nuclear capability, and then completely denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Moon is a long friend and former chief of staff to late President Roh Moo-hyun who had inherited a "sunshine policy" of his predecessor Kim Dae-jung. Roh and Kim pursued rapprochement policies with their northern neighbor by expanding economic and cultural exchanges between the rival Koreas. Inter-Korean ties got frozen since conservative governments emerged in the South Korean side, entailing the so-called "strategic patience" which many said has allowed the DPRK time to develop nuclear and missile programs. RESETTING TIES WITH JAPAN, INHERITING ALLIANCE WITH US Moon, the runner-up to President Park in the 2012 presidential election, said he would reset his country's relations with Japan unrepentant for his past brutalities before and during the World War II. The Korean Peninsula was colonized by the Imperial Japan between 1910 and 1945. He denounced the signing in November of the pact to share military intelligence between South Korea and Japan for the absence of open discussion in the parliament and with people. The military accord, Moon said, was signed with Japan, which has ambition to be militarized and continues territorial disputes with South Korea over Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan. Moon also condemned the "final and irreversible" agreement last December with Japan on the victims of "comfort women," a euphemism for Korean women forced into sexual slavery for the Imperial Japan's army-run brothels before and during the devastating war. "We don't need money," Moon said, referring to 1 billion yen (8.5 million U.S. dollars) Japan promised to provide for the South Korean victims in return for the agreement. He said it is difficult to acknowledge the legitimacy of the agreement, which lacks legal responsibility and sincere apology. South Korea and Japan have shown different explanations about the agreement, in which Seoul claimed Japan's legal responsibility and formal apology are included. Japan has maintained an ambiguous stance, still denying the forceful recruitment of "comfort women" by the Japanese government. Asked about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Moon forecast that there would be no big change in the U.S. policy toward South Korea, saying there had been no great change in it though the Republic and Democratic parties rotated presidencies. Moon said he would inherit the South Korea-U.S. alliance from previous governments and solidify it further. Tibetan women celebrate the Fairy Festival. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) The Fairy Festival, known as the "Women's Festival" in modern Tibet, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 10th month in the Tibetan calendar. Like most festivals in Tibet, it is a religious event. Tibetan women celebrate the Fairy Festival. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) On this day, women are dressed in their most beautiful clothes and go to temples to present the traditional ceremonial scarf "Hada" to their honorable goddess and make wishes. Believers walk around the Jokhang Temple and pray. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) In Lhasa, people flood the Barkhor Street around the ancient Jokhang Temple. Girls and women decorate themselves elaborately. In addition to religious activities, they also enjoy the festival by going shopping and having magnificent food. Believers outside the Jokhang Temple. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) Men, one the other hand, should not be surprised when girls and women ask for gifts or money from them, as permitted by the ancient custom. Believers worship the statue of the goddess in the Jokhang Temple. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) Celebrations could begin at as early as 5 o'clock in the morning. Thousands of believers from all over Tibet would gather at the Jokhang Temple, where they burn aromatic plants and pray. Believers worship the statue of the goddess in the Jokhang Temple. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) As for the origin of the Fairy Festival, it is widely believed that the story began with Palden Lhamo from Indian mythology. She was made protector of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa by King Songtsen Gampo. As a result of influence from local Tibetan belief and folk culture, the deity in Indian mythology was then turned into an old Tibetan woman with odd temper and three daughters. Believers worship the statue of the goddess in the Jokhang Temple on Dec. 14 in Tibet. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) Actually, the Fairy Festival is for the oldest daughter, Palbar Dongtse. She was not good looking, but full of tenderness and affection and fell in love with a general. Their love met with the mother's rage. She drove the mortal to the other bank of the Lhasa River, and ruled that the two should only see each other across the river once a year. Believers worship the statue of the goddess in the Jokhang Temple. (Xinhua/Purbu Tashi) Unlucky as Palbar Dongtse was, she was kind to women and children and eager to protect them. The folks, filled with sympathy for her, created the Fairy Festival. Today, her statue is worshiped at the Jokhang Temple, together with Songtsen Gampo. MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday donated 10 tons of rice seeds to Philippine farmers to rebuild their lives in the wake of the most recent typhoons in the northern Philippines. This is the fourth time China donates rice seeds to help Philippines' typhoon victims. The Chinese Embassy in Manila, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, donated 10 metric tons of Longping LP 205 hybrid rice seeds to Aurora Province which was ravaged by the typhoons of Karen and Haima. "As a country prone to typhoon-related disasters each year, China feels for our Filipino friends in Aurora and our thoughts are always with those families most affected by the tropical storms," Zhao Jianhua, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, said at the donation ceremony. "Please stay assured, in such difficult times, a helping hand is all that the Chinese government and people have to render," he added. Gerardo Noveras, governor of Aurora, lauded China's prompt response after he submitted a plea for help to the Chinese Embassy. "I thought I would have to wait for a year for the help to arrive. I never imagined it has arrived so quickly," Noveras said at the ceremony. He pointed out that the seeds arrived just in time for plantation, adding that the timely help will meet the urgent needs of the farmers. After the donation ceremony, agricultural experts also provided a training session for the farmers on how to cultivate the donated rice seeds. Typhoons Haima and Karen hit the northern part of the Philippines in October, destroying houses, tearing roofs off schools and ripping giant trees out of the ground. The cost of damage to agriculture in areas affected by Typhoon Haima has been 10.2 billion pesos (200 million U.S. dollars) with the rice sub-sector sustaining the most damage, the country's Department of Agriculture has reported. HANOI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Continuous heavy rain over the past five days has striken central Vietnamese localities, claiming four deaths. From Monday to Friday, four people were killed in heavy rain-triggered flood. Three were reported in central Binh Dinh province, also the hardest hit during the floods while the other one was in central Quang Ngai province, reported Vietnam's state-run news agency VNA on Friday. In Binh Dinh, downpour left another injured and flooded over 2,800 hectares of newly-planted rice. Local citizens in over 90 communes in the province who were isolated by floods are waiting to be provided with food, drinking water and evacuated out of dangerous areas. In Quang Ngai, in addition to one death, torrential caused injury to one person. Nearly 9,000 houses were submerged with the depth of 1-1.5 meters, or even 2 meters in some areas. Meanwhile, initial statistics showed that in central Quang Nam province, as of Friday, over 1,000 houses and some 4,000 hectares of crop were flooded. In south-central coastal Khanh Hoa province, over 250,000 students have missed school due to floods. Large-scale heavy rain and flooding were also reported in central Ninh Thuan, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, said VNA. HANOI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) released a report titled Facts and Figures on Women and Men in 2010-2015 in Vietnam's capital Hanoi on Friday. The report was released on the occasion of closing five-year project on strengthening capacity for the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the national strategy and national program on gender equality. According to UN Women, the report includes gender statistics from surveys carried out during 2010-2015 period in six topics of population, family, education, healthcare, labor and jobs as well as leadership and management. Specifically, the report said Vietnamese population reached nearly 91.5 million people in 2015, over 45 million are men, accounting for 49.2 percent while over 46.4 million are women, making up 50.8 percent. As of the end of 2015, the number of the over-65-year-old people accounted for 7.6 percent of Vietnamese population, most of whom live in the rural areas. The average life expentancy of Vietnamese people has been rising over the past decades, reaching 73.3 years old in 2015, surpassing the world's average of 69 years old. Meanwhile, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese women was 76.1 years old, higher than 70.7 of men. According to the report, more women initiated divorce, with main reasons being infidelity, dissent and domestic violence. In 2015, nearly 95 percent of Vietnamese people aged over 15 years old were literate. The rate of illiteracy among women almost double that of men, at 6.8 percent compared to 3.4 percent. The average marriage age for the first time of Vietnamese women and men has been in upward trend. By 2015, the average age for Vietnamese men to get married was 26.9 while that of women was 22.8. At the same time, the average age to give the first birth to a baby of Vietnamese women stood at 23 years old while the average number of kids a woman may have has been on downward trend, at around 2.1 kids per woman, said the report. KHOST, Afghanistan, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Two Afgan militants were killed and three others wounded after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) they were planting along a main road detonated accidently in eastern Khost province, a provincial security source said Friday. "The incident occurred in Sabari district late Thursday and the sly militants become the victims of their own home-made IED," the source told Xinhua, adding that the victims belonged to Taliban militant group. The Taliban has been using IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians, according to military officials. The incident came as the Afghan security forces had beefed up security operations recently as militants were attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions ahead of winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban has yet to make comments. MINSK, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has appointed Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Yaroshenko as head of a Chinese-Belarusian industrial park, Lukashenko's press service said Thursday. "I really want you to intensify the work of the park. ... This company is more important for me than your job as a deputy minister," Lukashenko reportedly told Yaroshenko. The president stressed that the park represents the highest technology. "We do not need warehouses there, we need enterprises of high level from any country there," Lukashenko said. The Great Stone park outside the capital city of Minsk will house industrial and residential areas, offices and shopping malls, financial, scientific and research centers. DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 8,079 rebels and their families have been evacuated from their last strongholds in Syria's northern city of Aleppo over the past 24 hours, state news agency SANA reported Friday. The evacuation process of rebels and families from the last rebel positions in the eastern part of Aleppo city is ongoing, said SANA. Nearly 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, were set to evacuate eastern Aleppo as part of a Russian-Turkish deal to end the presence of rebels in the city. Buses carrying rebels started to leave eastern Aleppo on Thursday. The move was supervised solely by the International Committee of the Red Cross, without the presence of United Nations staff. The buses were leaving through the Ramouseh road, the main government way into Aleppo, since the international road had long been closed due to rebel control on some parts of it. Ambulances carrying the ill and wounded were also seen leaving alongside the buses. The Russians and Syrians claimed to take the responsibility for securing the rebel convoys out of Aleppo. According to the deal, the rebels will have to surrender their weapons, except personal ones. The deal also stipulates that both parties should observe a truce during the evacuation. In exchange for the evacuation in eastern Aleppo, rebels in the northwestern province of Idlib will allow civilians to leave the besieged Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foa. With the evacuation, the Syrian army will take over the whole Aleppo city, as it has already controlled 99 percent of the rebel-held areas in the eastern part of the city. Enditem DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The rebels breached a ceasefire in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Friday, firing mortar shells and sniper shots at a crossing designed for their evacuation, state TV reported. ISLAMABAD, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised to continue war against terrorism on Friday in his message on the second anniversary of the attack on an army-run school, which killed 150 people, mostly students. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed the brutal and bloody attack on the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014. Commemorating events were held across Pakistan, including the capital city of Islamabad, in schools to pay homage to those killed and show solidarity with the families. Parents and relatives of the slain students gathered in the APS to pay homage to the students and their teachers. Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra joined the families at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," Sharif said. "Sixteenth December reminds us of the most painful tragedy of our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies. It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenseless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," said the prime minister. He said the Pakistani nation and leadership took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," said Sharif. Sharif assured the nation that his government will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for the future generations. Bajwa said the blood of the victims has kept his patriotism alive. "The blood of APS victims is an obligation on the nation and the armed forces," said the army chief. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang (Source:fmprc.gov.cn) BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) to stop deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), after the ROK's frontrunner in presidential polls argued to delay the deployment. Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Minjoo Party, said in Seoul on Thursday the THAAD installation issue should be postponed to let the next administration reconsider it. "I have noticed the report. China has repeatedly expressed serious concerns and firm opposition to THAAD deployment," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a routine press briefing. He said THAAD deployment in the ROK would gravely undermine regional strategic balance and the strategic security interests of countries in the region, including China, and also harm the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. Geng urged relevant countries to face up to China's reasonable concerns and stop THAAD deployment. Related: China again calls for stop of THAAD deployment in ROK BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday again urged the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to stop deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in the ROK. COLOMBO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has invited Malaysian investors to invest in the island nation and assured his government would provide all the required facilities, the president's media division said in a statement here on Friday. The statement said that President Sirisena headed a business meeting of leading businessmen and investors of Malaysia and Sri Lanka which was held in Kuala lumpur, with the objective of enhancing the trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. The president, noting that the coming three years have been named as development years of Sri Lanka, invited Malaysian investors to invest in Sri Lanka. He said the government is ready to provide all required facilities for the investors, the statement said. ISLAMABAD, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- One Pakistani school bus driver was killed and four school children were injured in Indian shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), said the Pakistani army on Friday. The latest incident happened after a lull of weeks along the LoC, the de facto border separated the two bitter neighbors in the disputed Kashmir region. "One civilian embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and four school children were injured when Indian troops violating ceasefire sanctity targeted a school van at LoC in Nakial sector," the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The firing hit a school van, killing the driver and injuring four school children. "Pakistani troops effectively responded and targeted Indian posts from where fire was coming," the statement said. The two countries declared ceasefire along the LoC and working boundary in 2003. However, tensions have escalated since militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir in September, which left 19 Indian soldiers dead. The Indian side blamed a Pakistan-based militant group for the attack, but Islamabad rejected the accusation as groundless. Both countries accused each other of ceasefire violation. DAMASCUS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The rebels breached a ceasefire in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Friday, firing mortar shells and sniper shots at a crossing designed for their evacuation, state TV reported. According to the report, the rebels leaving through Ramouseh area south of Aleppo wanted to take along the kidnapped people, in what was seen as a breach to the evacuation deal brokered by Russia and Turkey to end the presence of rebels in Aleppo. The buses supposed to transfer the rebels out of Aleppo, along with ambulances of the Red Cross, have withdrawn. Further details about the rebel attack and the suspension of the evacuation are unknown as yet. The evacuation of rebels and their families started on Thursday, and over 8,000 have already left toward the western countryside of Aleppo. ATHENS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Fingerprints and other details of the Afghan suspect held in custody for the October rape and killing of a Greek student in Germany were available to German authorities about a year ago, the Greek Justice and Public Order ministries said in a joint statement on Thursday night. The announcement came in response to criticism by German officials that the Greek side failed to issue an international arrest warrant when the asylum seeker violated the terms of his release from a Greek prison. Hussein K. has been identified as the same person who attacked and attempted to murder a 20-year-old Greek student by pushing her off an 8 meter cliff on Corfu island in 2013. The then 17-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in prison as a minor and was released on probation in 2015 on condition he regularly reports to a local police station. However, Hussein K. fled and managed to arrive in Germany. German authorities said if Greece had issued an international arrest warrant, he would have been traced when he applied asylum in Germany in November 2015. The Greek ministries noted that information about the Afghan suspect, including his identity, fingerprints and the Greek rejection to his asylum request, had been uploaded on Europe's EURODAC database and was available to all European countries. ABUJA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the appointment of Amina Mohammed, a member of his cabinet, as the new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Incoming UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday announced the appointment of Mohammed as his deputy secretary-general and two other women for senior management positions. The announcement was made by UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric at a daily briefing on behalf of Guterres, who will succeed Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1. In a statement reaching Xinhua on Friday, Buhari said he looked forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria, adding he had no doubt Mohammed would make Nigeria proud at the global level. Mohammed is currently Nigeria's Minister of Environment. Prior to this role, she served as Special Adviser to the outgoing UN chief on Post-2015 Development Planning. BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has congratulated Paolo Gentiloni on his new role as Italian prime minister. China and Italy enjoy traditional friendship and the two countries have built strong political mutual trust, Li said in a message dated Thursday. Pragmatic cooperation in various fields have seen rapid development, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples, said Li. He said that Italy is an important member of the European Union and that China has consistently backed European integration and hoped for a stable and prosperous Europe. The Chinese government attaches great importance to relations with Italy and is willing to work with the Italian side toward even more fruits from the China-Italy and China-EU comprehensive strategic partnerships, said Li. NAIROBI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan has termed claims that the country is approaching genocide a lie and a concoction of the UN to legitimize its existence in the war-torn nation. President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Xinhua on Friday that tribal skirmishes that have taken place in the past three years in the country had not deteriorated to the level of ethnic cleansing as alleged by UN human rights officials. "First of all this statement is fabricated lie," Ateny said. UN human rights officials warned recently that South Sudan was fast approaching a genocide situation reminiscent of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. South Sudan has witnessed a rise in hate speech and targeted killings along ethnic lines mainly in Yei, some 150 km southwest of the capital Juba. Thousands of civilians have fled Yei to neighboring Uganda and DR Congo in the past weeks. Ateny however said: "Whatever skirmishes happen among tribes in South Sudan are just like elsewhere in Africa but it has not reached the level of genocide." South Sudan fell into civil war in December 2013. There have been killings targeting both Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups to whom the two rivals in the war -- President Kiir and sacked First Vice President Riek Machar belong respectively. A peace deal signed last August under UN pressure led to short-lived reconciliation between the rival leaders, but failed to hold as fresh fighting erupted in July. Some of those fleeing violence in Yei and seeking refuge in Uganda have accused the mainly-Dinka government troops of orchestrating terror killings, rape and looting on the pretext that those targeted support Machar-led opposition party. "Yei is a state that has been shaken by the insurgency and the forces there are dealing with insurgency. And the army is not made up of only one tribe (Dinka) but even the sons of Yei," Ateny said. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in South Sudan conflicts since late 2013. TIRANA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government decided to bar the criminals convicted for serious crimes from voting, local media reported Friday. The serious crimes were those such as murder, pedophilia, kidnapping, prostitution, terror, genocide crimes, drug or weapons trafficking, power abuse and corruption,the report said. The decision came as part of the decriminalization procedure. General Director of the Civil Registration Bledar Doracaj told local media on Friday that a special group will be established in cooperation with the Prisons Directory to exchange information with people affected by the law. According to him, this law also requests courts to send the special group a copy of the verdicts so that it can rearrange electoral records and remove the convicts who have committed serious crimes from the voters list. The law will affect around 2,000 people who are still serving sentences for these crimes, Doracaj said. Although such measure is seen as a way to eradicate the influence of these criminals on voting results, many electoral experts here have objected to this decision, calling it an unprecedented decision made in the history of Albania. EU Ambassador to Albania Romana Vlahutin said Friday that banning prisoners from voting is a bad interpretation of the decriminalization law. The Albanian parliament adopted in late December 2015 the decriminalization law and the constitutional amendments necessary for its enforcement which aimed at removing persons implicated in a crime from public office. Under this law, an official found guilty of corruption is banned from holding public office for 20 years, while those convicted of offences resulting in jail terms of two years or under, will be barred for 10 years. According to the government sources, the main goal of the decriminalization law was to bolster the fight against corruption and enhance integrity among public officials. OUAGADOUGOU, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- More than 10 Burkinabe soldiers were killed in an attack on Friday morning against a Burkinabe military camp near the border with Mali by unidentified individuals, local media reported. In a statement, the Burkinabe army said that "land and air reinforcements were immediately sent and sweeps are under way" and that "the casualties will be established later." In mid-October, five people were killed, including three Burkinabe military and two civilians, in an attack on a military detachment in the area. Burkina Faso, like other countries in the subregion, is faced with the terrorist threat, particularly in its northern part. On January 15, a terrorist attack claimed by the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) killed some 30 people in the capital Ouagadougou. PHNOM PENH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's national flag carrier Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) on Friday commenced direct flights between northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province and China's Beijing, CAA officials said. "The first flight took off the Siem Reap International Airport for Beijing at 7:35 pm (local time) today (Friday)," CAA's marketing manager Eng Molina told Xinhua. According to a CAA's press statement, the airline will operate thrice-weekly flight service by using a brand new Airbus A320 aircraft, which is capable to seat 180 passengers. "The new Beijing service represents CAA's fifth regular schedule flight to China, following routes between Phnom Penh /Siem Reap to Guangzhou and Shanghai," the statement said. The new flight is to respond to the rapid growth of Chinese tourists to Cambodia and will offer convenience to tourists in Beijing to travel to Siem Reap province, the home of famed Angkor Wat Temple. Also, it will be easy for Cambodians to fly to Beijing for leisure or business purposes, it said. "The five-hour flight will provide Chinese tourist from north part of the People's Republic of China more convenient to visit Cambodia," said CAA's chairman Tekreth Samrach. "We expect that the tourists will enjoy with our new service." China ranked the second largest source of foreign tourists to Cambodia. According to a tourism data, some 653,144 Chinese holidaymakers visited Cambodia in the first ten months of 2016, up 14 percent over the same period last year. Established in 2009, CAA is using seven aircrafts--three ATR72-turboprop planes and four Airbuses-to operate two domestic routes and ten regular international routes. Tourists walk in the area of Al-Hussein in the capital Cairo, on October 24, 2016. A year after jihadists bombed a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers in Egypt, tourism shows little sign of recovery in the Arab country grappling with an economic crisis. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) HURGHADA, Egypt, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 expatriate scientists gathered at a two-day conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada to contribute to the country's future development plans. The National Conference for Egyptian Scientists and Experts Abroad, which was held under the slogan of "Egypt Can," tackled means of achieving higher rates of economic growth, accelerating development, luring investments as well as discussing the economic challenges. "The Suez Canal project is vital for the economic development and a lifeblood for the world trade," said Abdel Halem Omar, professor of transportation engineering in Canada-based Carleton University. The professor highlighted the importance of the transportation sector, especially the shipping, pointing out that the Suez Canal is a main source for luring investments. Stressing the importance of securing this vital maritime navigation passage, Omar noted that transportation is the favorable target of the terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, after the inauguration of the conference, said Egypt seeks to make the Suez Canal corridor one of the most attractive areas for different investments and industries. The development projects of the Suez Canal axis could meet the demands of the Arab, Middle East and African countries needs, and provide millions of job opportunities to eliminate the unemployment phenomenon, Ismail said. Meanwhile, Ahmed Darwish, a senior economic official at the Suez Canal Authority, expected "the Suez Canal region to be one of the most seven investment-attractive zones in the world." He pointed out that the Suez Canal corridor includes four industrial cities and six vital large ports, hailing the development work of Chinese corporation TEDA that operates in Ain Sokhna in the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (SETC Zone). Darwish added that the eastern Port Said region will see the establishment of about five-kilometer wharfs to be among the longest in the world, besides the establishment of industrial and logistic zones. Meanwhile, Ahmad Riyad, head of "Sustainability Academy" agreed with many other scientists that luring foreign investors should depend on well-planned vision to manage crisis and deterioration, considering the transportation sector is a main target for terrorism. Riyad called for establishing a national institution to evaluate and administer the crises in the Suez Canal region in collaboration of the government, private sector and local residents. The Suez Canal Corridor Area Project is a mega project in Egypt that was launched in August 2014 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to increase the role of the Suez Canal region in international trade and to develop the three canal cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said. The project involves building a new Ismailia city, and industrial zone, fish farms, completing the technology valley, building new tunnels between Sinai and Ismailia and Port Said, improving five existing ports, and digging a new canal parallel to the Suez Canal. The conference also focused on expanding the scope of urbanism far from the Delta, establishing new capitals, reclaiming the deserts to alleviate the burdens on Cairo and solving the problem of unemployment. The General Union of Egyptians abroad revealed that there are 9,750,000 Egyptian expats, adding that Egypt's real crisis is the immigration of enlightened minds, as the scientists escape from the routine of bureaucracy and administrative corruption. Egypt is keen to learn from the expatriate scientists to achieve the objectives of sustainable development strategy and to form researching groups to aid in planning for luring foreign investments for the national mega projects with international criteria and under supervision of Egyptian experts inside and abroad, the Prime Minister asserted. by Jon Day TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite Japan's resolution to make headway on island dispute and take steps toward signing a peace treaty with Russia, a breakthrough in the feud still remains some way off. It was no great surprise for most political watchers here as both sides had prior to Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to Japan unequivocally stated that their fundamental stances on island dispute had not shifted. At issue are four islands off Hokkaido, called Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and Habomai in Japan and known as the Southern Kurils in Russia. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has frequently said that he is eager to resolve the dispute with Russia, although Moscow also equally insists on its sovereignty over the four islands. In an interview prior to his trip to Japan with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and Nippon TV, Putin said that "the absence of a peace treaty is an anachronism," but went on to mention the complexities of the issue. According to the interview, Putin said he considers the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration, which stipulates the transfer of two islands -- the Habomai islets and Shikotan -- to Japan to be "rules that should be put into the foundation of a peace treaty." As for the other two islands' transfer, he said there remain "too many questions about this issue," and that returning all four islands to Japan would be going outside the bounds of the 1956 declaration. For Japan's part, it has long insisted that its sovereignty over all four of the disputed islands be confirmed before a peace treaty is signed. "Abe needs to make some dramatic concessions to Putin to reach an agreement on the islands," Takashi Kawakami, president of the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University, said of the issue. Yet both sides agreed that large scale joint economic activities on the islands could be conducted without undercutting either side's claim to sovereignty. During the visit, Abe and Putin oversaw the signing of a flurry of deals in economic-related sectors by their governments and businesses. Such joint economic cooperation, the leaders believe, could lay the foundation for enhanced economic and diplomatic ties and thereafter theoretically could create a future "atmosphere" in which the territorial dispute and peace treaty could be tackled. But, analysts also pointed out that the road ahead in this regard remains tricky as the isles have strategic value for Russia, guaranteeing its navy access to the western Pacific, while top of Japan's security agenda is always the United States. The latter is a point of contention Putin has recently raised with Abe, regarding the growing U.S. presence in Asia. Russia believes that certain moves on Tokyo's part, such as its missile defense system, is disproportionate to perceived regional threats. Moscow's takeover of Crimea in March 2014 and subsequent sanctions imposed by Western countries and Japan, have also clouded relations between Tokyo and Moscow and caused a planned trip by Putin in 2014 to be postponed. In his interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon TV, Putin was highly critical of Japan's sanctions against Russia and said these would be "a clear hindrance for peace treaty negotiations." In addition, the future of diplomatic ties between Japan and the United States remain unclear under the incoming administration, which has already shown amiable signs toward Putin. "In this transition period, nothing solid will come out of the Abe-Putin meeting," said Takashi Inoguchi, professor emeritus at University of Tokyo and an international affairs specialist. The pairs' meeting concluded with the island row still up in the air, but two sides reached an array of economic agreements which center on cooperation in the energy sector and the development of the Russian Far East. Plans include Japan being allowed to join in the development of natural gas fields in Russia's Gydan Peninsula, cooperation between the two countries' health ministries in the fields of medicine and healthcare, cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear power, and enhanced cooperation in agriculture and fisheries, among others. Analysts said it remains to be seen how the actual territorial spat will pan out henceforth and whether boosting joint economic mechanisms can really pave the way to creating a diplomatically conducive environment for both countries to sign a peace treaty amid future geopolitical uncertainties. NAIROBI, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan industrialists have accused multiple taxation policies, especially those on imports and exports, of impeding efforts to grow the economy. CEO of the Kenya Manufactures Association, Phyllis Wakiaga, on Friday called on the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to review the policies in order to enhance competitiveness of the economy. "Taxation is increasingly becoming a challenge to manufacturers and thus the need to address it," Wakiaga said in the capital Nairobi during a meeting on the enhancement and collaboration on exports and imports facilitation. "Better taxation policies will allow both sides to meet their objectives including increasing manufacturing competitiveness, government revenue and job creation," she said. During the meeting, industrialists raised concerns about VAT refunds, "unfair treatment" of Kenyan exporters and VAT levies on raw materials and non-finished products. The manufacturers are also concerned about misclassification of products to avoid duties, intelligence collaboration, as well as dumping, counterfeits and illicit trade. KRA officials expressed their willingness to make trading easier for manufacturers and to consider the suggested changes, including to create Import Export (EXIM) rapid results program, enhanced border controls to curb counterfeit and illicit trade and regular surveys to eliminate contraband, substandard and illicit products. MOMBASA, Kenya, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourists arriving in Kenya between January and October reached 729,682, a 16.1-percent increase on the previous year, an official announced Friday. Tourism Minister Najib Balala said the growth was boosted by international arrivals by both air and sea, noting that the American market has surpassed the traditional British market for Kenya. "American market has grown by 16.4 percent, whereas the UK has declined by 4 percent," said Balala during the launch of the construction of a 3.5-million-U.S.-dollar cruise ship terminal at the port of Mombasa. According to the minister, the number of Indian tourists stood at position three with 55,000 during the period, while Ugandans came in position four with 45,000. Chinese arrivals ranked 5th and were followed by tourists from Germany. Balala said by February next year, tourism stakeholders in Kenya will be meeting with over 3,000 U.S. travel agents in the capital Nairobi to continue marketing and selling Kenya as a tourism destination of choice. ISLAMABAD, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed death sentences to 13 hardcore terrorists after they were found guilty of carrying out terrorist acts, the military said. All the convicts were tried by military courts, an army statement said. "Chief of Army Staff confirmed death sentences awarded to another 13 hardcore terrorists, who were involved in heinous offenses related to terrorism, including killing and slaughtering of innocent civilians, officials of law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Pakistan," the statement said. These terrorists also include those who planned and executed attacks on Bacha Khan University in the northwestern Charsada district in January, on a mosque in army area in Rawalpindi city in December 2009 and the truck bomb attack on Marriot Hotel Islamabad in 2008, it said. They were also behind the attack on the office of an international NGO in the northern city of Mansehra and educational institution in Buner, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. "On the whole, they were involved in killing 325 persons and in causing injuries to 366 others," it said. The statement said fire-arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession. by Maria Spiliopoulou ATHENS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua)-- A 32-year-old Syrian asylum seeker who was arrested on Wednesday for the abuse of his three-year-old son at a refugee camp on Chios island was sentenced on Friday to five years imprisonment. The unprecedented cased shocked Greek society when a video of the man beating the toddler inside the camp's showers circulated on social media. According to the police investigation, the man had filmed the abuse of his son and sent the footage to his wife who is in Turkey with their other child to blackmail her to reach Greece. The flow of refugees and migrants crossing the Aegean Sea has dramatically shrunk since March when the EU-Turkey deal aimed to curb the influx was launched. However, hundreds keep risking their lives on boats provided by smugglers on Turkey's shores, seeking refuge to Europe. With orders of the Chios Prosecutor, the boy has been handed over to a non-government organization taking care of unescorted refugee children. CAPE TOWN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Reconciliation is not an easy matter, South African President Jacob Zuma said Friday, while urging all South Africans to recommit themselves to the cause. Addressing a rally in Zeerust, North West Province, to mark the National Day of Reconciliation, Zuma said that as South Africans celebrated achievements in reconciliation, "we should also remember that reconciliation is a two-way process". "While black people are implored to come to bury the pain of the past and move on, white compatriots should also be ready to accept and support the imperative of transformation and redress," Zuma noted. He urged South Africans to bury racism, tribalism, xenophobia and all other intolerance, saying these tendencies rear their ugly heads from time to time. South Africa has seen an increase in racist speech and crimes this year, including one high-profile incident in which two white men forced a black man into a coffin and threatened to light him on fire. Earlier this year, a former estate agent also made headlines when she vented displeasure at the number of black people swarming public beaches during the New Year holiday, likening them to "monkeys." Implementation of measures to deracialize the economy, such as black economic empowerment, affirmative action and land reform remain critical for South Africans to achieve true and meaningful reconciliation, he said. In 1995, the first democratically elected government declared December 16 as the National Day of Reconciliation with the aim of healing a painful division between black and white people. "We come from a painful past as South Africans. We have been able to come this far in 22 years because we took that conscious decision to move on, and build a new nation," Zuma said, outlining measures to redress the painful past. Among the measures, the government is currently engaged in a program of finding missing persons and handing over remains of former political prisoners executed by the apartheid government to their families, according to Zuma. At least 130 political prisoners were hanged for politically-related offences in the period between 1960 and 1990. The state retained custody of the remains of the deceased, thereby denying their families the opportunity to receive or bury them, Zuma said. The government is also working to ensure that the socio-economic needs of former anti-apartheid combatants are met as many of them are unable to look after themselves and can not provide for their children, according to the president. The National Day of Reconciliation is also about coming to terms with the painful tragedy that occurred in August 2012 in Marikana, North West Province, where about 44 people were killed, the majority of whom by police, during a strike at Lonmin Mine, Zuma said. The issue of compensation, particularly for loss of support for the deceased families, for unlawful arrest and detentions, is being attended to, according to Zuma. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A woman army officer posted in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir has allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself, police said Friday. The officer in Indian army was found dead at her official residence in Bari-Brahmana cantonment in outskirts of Jammu city, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Prima-facie it appears to be a suicide as the room was bolted from inside," a police official said. "A gunshot wound was found on her right temple and we recovered a pistol from the crime scene." Reports said a case has been registered in this regard and a court of inquiry has been ordered by army into the incident. Indian troops stationed in Indian-controlled Kashmir battling armed insurgency are reported to be under a lot of stress and strain. During the past more than two decades several incidents of suicide and fratricide among the stationed troops were reported. Health experts say continued separation from family, long duty hours, lack of recreational facilities, poor command and control structure were reasons usually found to be behind such incidents. A guerrilla war is also going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the restive region since 1989. The gun fighting between militants and Indian troops in Indian-controlled Kashmir takes place intermittently. Indian-controlled Kashmir is considered as the highest militarized region. Officially India does not reveal the actual number of its troops deployed in the troubled region. However, rights activists say there are over 700,000 Indian troops and paramilitary troops in the region fighting an anti-India insurgency. Enditem Photo taken on April 15, 2016 shows a Syrian boy washing himself on a beach full of rubbish at the Port of Piraeus behind the Passenger Terminal E1, in Piraeus, Greece.(Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis) VIENNA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said here on Thursday that Syrian refugees could be taken back to safe areas in Syria, Austria Press Agency reported. Kammenos made the comments to the media following talks with his Austrian counterpart, Hans Peter Doskozil. "We are in agreement that a solution would be to take the refugees back to safe regions within Syria, for example the south of Syria, under the supervision of international organizations," Kammenos said. Doskozil said that while the conditions for this in the war-stricken country were not yet present, he had in the past also expressed himself open to the idea of such safe zones under international observation. He added that more discussion about the idea was needed in the near future. Should the establishment of such safe zones work in Syria, he said it could also work in other crisis regions, where humanitarian aid could then be provided locally. Both ministers also renewed calls for the establishment of refugee registration centers outside of Europe. In addition, they said they wanted to work together with the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) to develop their official position vis-a-vis both safe zones and registration centers. Doskozil said this would serve as preparation should the EU refugee deal currently in place with Turkey collapse. BEIJING, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The just-concluded Central Economic Work Conference on Friday confirmed that the supply-side structural reform will continue unabated into 2017, and that "seeking progress while maintaining stability" will be the guiding principle in governance and economic work next year. Overseas pundits, including those who have expressed concerns about China's economy, have voiced optimism that the Chinese economy will overcome the headwinds as long as the supply-side structural reform continues. Over the past 30 years, China's economy has maintained sustained rapid growth and created a miracle. This year, China has achieved steady growth with its gross domestic product (GDP) expanding 6.7 percent year on year in the first three quarters. The government set a growth target range of 6.5 percent to 7 percent for this year. Paul Sheard, executive vice president and chief economist of S&P Global, noted the fact that China, one of the largest economies in the world, has a 35-year track record of near double-digit growth, which demonstrates the country's potential, provided the reforms continue. Meanwhile, the famous economist Jim O'Neill, who has created the BRIC nations acronym, said China is transforming from an investment-driven economy to one driven by consumption. "Transition is underway," he said. "Chinese consumption is not as strong as it was, but it is still growing by about 10 percent." "Chinese consumers' share of GDP is slowly rising. That is what the world wants, and that is what China wants," the economist said. O'Neill forecast that for the rest of this decade, China's economy will probably grow at between 6 percent and 7 percent, and for an economy that was about 11 trillion U.S. dollars in size, that is "pretty good." Nicholas Lardy, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in the United States, said the Chinese economy is transforming from an investment- and industry-driven model to a consumption- and service-oriented one. The service sector has made great contributions to economic growth, and consumption has become an important source of the growth, he said, adding that these factors laid a solid foundation for a sustained and stable high rate of growth. Despite these achievements, there are problems ahead. Looking forward, against the backdrop of a weak global economy and trade, excessive productivity and contradiction between supply and demand remain serious problems in China, and some financial sectors face risks. O'Neill said China needs to carry out more reforms, especially in its credit system, and let the market play a bigger role. Margit Molnar, head of the China Desk of the Economics Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), said China's fiscal reform "has been very successful," adding that China has changed its budget law in 2014, which came into effect in 2015, to allow local Chinese governments to issue bonds. Moreover, China has decided to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, improve its investment environment and open up many more fields to become more globally integrated. On the Belt and Road Initiative, Molnar said "it was not just a trade and investment type of integration that people have thought in the beginning, but it really goes into areas like intellectual property rights or environment or climate change, or collaboration in areas that people never thought such an initiative could cover." For example, Dragana Mitrovic, professor of political science at the University of Belgrade, said the Serbian public and business communities, and especially local communities, are now expecting to see more direct Chinese investments in the real economy of Serbia. BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A total of 450 inmates in Belgian prisons have possibly adopted extremist ideas, local media reported on Friday. According to a report published by the Flemish newspaper De Tijd, the figures were released by Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens, who did not elaborate on how many radicalisation cases had been confirmed. "The radicalisation process is simply not an exact science," said Geens, adding that prison guards had been receiving special trainings for detecting signs of possible radicalisation. He stressed that psychosocial workers and religion consultants had also been involved to make reliable estimates. About 10,400 people are currently held in prisons in Belgium, which means one in 23 prisoners has a profile of possible extremist links. Moreover, 115 people were imprisoned due to offences linked to terrorism, the report said. According to the minister, the problem in Belgian prisons really escalated in late 2014 and early 2015. A special unit was set up in 2015 to keep an close eye on prisoners in regard to this issue. BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Trade results between Indonesia and Brunei are far from expectation but several efforts have been undertaken to optimize bilateral trade, Nurul Qomar, Indonesian Ambassador to Brunei said. Bilateral economic and trade ties fluctuate from year to year, the envoy was quoted as saying Wednesday. At a gathering to discuss the progress and challenges in bilateral economic and trade relations, the ambassador admitted that results achieved so far are far from expectation. Compared with 262.2 million Brunei dollars (181.3 million US dollars) in bilateral trade last year, in the first nine months of this year, total trade between the two countries stood at 160.5 million Brunei dollars, with a trade surplus of 11.36 million Brunei dollars in favour of Indonesia. Eko Himawan, minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs at the Indonesian Embassy, highlighted activities that have taken place to boost trade ties between Brunei and Indonesia including the Consumer Fair, Brunei International Trade and Consumer Exhibition and Trade Expo in Jakarta, which saw participation of entrepreneurs from both countries. GAZA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- An Islamic Hamas militant was killed on Friday in an accident at one of the training facilities of the movement's armed wing in southern Gaza Strip, medics said. Ashrad al-Qedra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry told reporters that Hafez Abu Sa'alik, 18, was brought dead to hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. Hamas and other Palestinian factions and militant groups established training posts and facilities in various areas in the Gaza Strip aimed at foiling future Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip similar to that in 2014. However, during this year, 26 militants, most in Hamas armed wing, were killed in accidents during military missions into underground tunnels or in training facilities all over the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader told a rally in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah to mark the 29-year-anniversary for his movement that al-Qassam Brigades is able to make victory. "The rifles of al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas armed wing) will be only directed to the occupation but not to the chest of an Egyptian or an Arab," said al-Zahar, who called on Egypt to release four Hamas militants arrested early this year. He also asserted that the group is able to reach another prisoner swap deal with Israel, referring to the Israeli soldiers missing during the Israeli military offensive waged on the Gaza Strip for 50 days in 2014. HARBIN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Farmers in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, China's top grain producer, will be prohibited from growing Genetically Modified(GM) crops, according to a provincial regulation passed on Friday. The regulation will become effective on May 1, 2017. Growing of GM corn, rice and soybean will be banned, while illegal production and sales of GM crops and supply of their seeds will also be prohibited. The new regulation also bans illegal production, processing, sale and imports of edible GM farm produce or edible farm products that contain GM ingredients. It requires all GM food be sold in a special zone, clearly indicated in stores. The decision comes after 91.5 percent of responses in a survey in the province in October raised objections to GM crops. "We support the research and development of transgenetic technology, but we should be cautious in applying the techniques in crop production," said Yao Dawei, director of the provincial legislature. VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia's development strategy for its Far East in recent years has yielded opportunities for local cooperation with China and for investment from Chinese enterprises. The deepened China-Russia political ties and mutually complementary markets, among other factors, have also contributed to a broad prospect for win-win cooperation between the border regions of the two neighbors. This is believed to be the consideration that has led to a recent visit here by a Chinese business delegation, along with massive investment and cooperation projects. PRAGMATIC TRIP The delegation included representatives from more than 10 big Chinese corporations, including the state-owned food giant COFCO. Notably, entrepreneurs from both northeast China and the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen took part in the trip to Russia's Primorsky Territory. They aimed to expand local cooperation with China's northeastern provinces, and to introduce the new concept in administrative regulation of the Shenzhen special economic zone, said He Zhenwei, secretary-general of the China Overseas Development Association, which co-sponsored the trip. Primorsky officials discussed investment projects with and briefed the delegation on local preferential policies for foreign investors in Russia's Advanced Development Territories, among others. Yuri Trutnev, Russia's deputy prime minister and presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, said the massive arrival of major Chinese businessmen with specific projects is a good sign for local economic development. "We have already come to the point where discussions have been completed and projects found to satisfy both sides. In the future we expect to start the practical implementation of these projects," Primorsky Vice Governor Evgeny Polyansky told Xinhua. PROMISING OUTLOOK According to COFCO Vice President Chi Jingtao, the company is ready to open a branch in the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok. Its investment will be focused on a farm produce and food processing plant, which is expected to supply products for the Russian, Chinese and international markets. Developing high-end tourism and commercial real estate at the cultural and tourist attractions of Russia's Far East is the other major part of the company's investment plan. The development of the Slavyanka port is expected to be a major project for Lukang Fazhan, a construction company of ports and roads based in Changchun, capital of China's northeastern province of Jilin. The company's long-term goal is to build a China-Russia intermodal logistics center in the port area, on the shipment route of goods from South China to Central Europe. Guo Wei, a Chinese finance corporation, plans to build an exhibition center in Vladivostok to host the annual Eastern Economic Forum, while contributing to the development of a local tourist complex. For the seafood company Venlian from Dalian, in China's Liaoning Province, it is part of a business plan to invest in a seafood processing plant and a refrigeration and logistics center in Primorsky, providing high-quality seafood products to Chinese markets. NEW COOPERATION MODEL With the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between China and Russia, bilateral political exchanges and cooperation have reached a high level. In the field of trade and economic cooperation, the two countries have planned to increase trade turnover to 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2020. According to He, the first investment of a China-Russia fund for regional development in the amount of 10 billion yuan (1.43 billion dollars) will be sent to Russia's Far East to attract Chinese enterprises and stimulate the construction of a free trade zone in the region. In the meantime, for the realization of large joint cooperation projects, assistance will be provided during the companies' registration process, as well as for finding partners and legal advice. "The main aim of the visit of the Chinese delegation to Russia is to explore a new model of economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia," He said. RABAT, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) strongly condemned on Friday what it deemed as "ongoing mass executions" of Aleppo residents. ISESCO said in a statement that these acts are being conducted by the multinational sectarian militias fighting alongside the regime of Bashar Al-Assad after a choking siege and brutal air bombardment that lasted several months. The Rabat-based organization expressed astonishment at the international community's "slack attitude as to the presence of a multinational foreign force on the Syrian soil, killing people and destroying cities in clear defiance of international law." ISESCO called on its Member States to intervene immediately to save civilians in Aleppo and other Syrian cities being subjected to such a cruel onslaught by those sectarian militias and their accomplices, the statement said. SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Troops of India and Pakistan on Friday exchanged heavy fire and targeted each other's positions on Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials said. The two sides exchanged fire on LoC in Poonch district, about 180 km southwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. Defense officials said the exchange started at around 9:00 (local time) in the morning and continued for one hour. "Pakistani forces again resorted to shelling and firing in Poonch district along the LoC this morning, targeting Indian positions," an Indian army official told media. The Indian side also retaliated to the firing. "The exchange of fire lasted for one hour," the official said. There were no reports of any casualty or injury to the Indian side due to Pakistani firing. However, the firing has killed a civilian on Pakistani side. According to Pakistan military's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a civilian was killed and four children wounded in Indian firing. "One civilian was killed and four school children were wounded when Indian troops violating cease-fire sanctity targeted a school van at LoC in Nakial sector today," a statement issued by ISPR said. "Pakistani troops effectively responded and targeted Indian posts from where fire was coming." Friday's exchange has come after lull of couple of weeks. The past two months have seen a surge in skirmishes on International Border (IB) and LoC between the two countries. Apart from troop casualties, the firing has claimed civilian lives on both sides, besides prompting migrations of residents from frontier areas. Both New Delhi and Islamabad accuse each other of resorting to unprovoked firings and violating cease-fire agreements. And both sides maintain that their troops gave befitting reply. The troops of India and Pakistan intermittently exchange fire on 720 km-long LoC and 198 km IB in Kashmir, despite an agreement in 2003 to observe a cease-fire. Though some violations have been reported on both sides, the cease-fire however remains in effect. LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attends a joint press conference at the end of the EU-Ukraine summit in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 24, 2016.(Xinhua/Gong Bing) BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) leaders on Thursday agreed at a summit that the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine does not confer candidate status for Ukraine. According to the conclusion of the summit, "the agreement does not confer on Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the Union, nor does it constitute a commitment to confer such status to Ukraine in the future." In June 2014, Ukraine and the EU signed the Association Agreement, which includes a free trade area, designed to deepen bilateral cooperation between the sides. In an advisory referendum on April 6, a vast majority of the Dutch voters rejected the Agreement, hindering the ratification of the agreement. European leaders' decision aimed at pushing the Netherlands, the only country in the 28-nation EU still blocking the process, to ratify the agreement. Dutch voters opposed the deal out of the worry that the agreement is possible a step towards or an entitlement to membership of the EU for Ukraine. The conclusion also said that, the agreement does not contain an obligation for the union or its member states to provide collective security guarantees or other military aid or assistance to Ukraine. BRUSSELS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended a loan of 175 million euros(182 million U.S. dollars) to Poland for the modernization of a railway line, the bank said in a press release Friday. The financing will benefit the construction of over 100 km of railway line within the Rail Baltica project, the only railway connection linking the Baltic states with Poland and other European Union countries. The modernization will shorten the travel time between Warsaw to Bialystok, a city in northeastern Poland, from the current 2 hours 26 minutes to less than 2 hours. EIB Vice President Vazil Hudak said this is a project with a European dimension and a strong climate action focus. "Because it will result in better quality and higher use of passenger rail services and freight transport in Poland, generating significant energy savings and reductions in harmful emissions," Hudak added. OSLO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A Norwegian court has convicted a taxi driver of illegal driving as Uber driver, newspaper Aftenposten reported on Friday. The unidentified 43-year-old man thus lost his driving licence for three months and his job as a taxi driver. He was charged after police found in a crackdown on the car-sharing service that he had completed 1,100 Uber tasks in 10 weeks. The driver finally chose to confess his illegal driving in court, and paid the fine of 8,000 kroner (922 U.S. dollars) as well as accepted the confiscation of the 34,350 kroner (3,957 U.S. dollars), which he earned as a Uber driver. "Yes, I am guilty according to the law, but I still feel wrongly convicted. That is why I think that the punishment is unreasonable," the driver said after the ruling. The big problem for the convicted driver is the revoked driving license, as he worked as a taxi driver while the Uber assignments were only for extra income. The police wanted to take away driving licence from him for six months, but the court reduced the period to three months. "However, it doesn't matter whether it is six or three months. The point is that I have lost my job. Now I'm unemployed," the driver said. According to the report, there are many Uber drivers that can expect the same, while the car-sharing service provider is still waiting for suggestions from the Norwegian government that would "clarify the law regulations." But the police, on the other hand, see no reason to wait for clarifications and continuously start new penalty cases against Uber drivers. Before November there have been already 70 established cases and many of them ended up in the court room. RABAT, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will contribute 101 million U.S. dollars of financing to support the high-speed train program in Morocco, local media reported Friday. Following the signing Thursday of an agreement between the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Railway Authority (ONCF) and the IDB, the bank will provide a three-year loan to support the building of three high-speed train stations in the cities of Casablanca, Kenitra and Tangiers, said financial daily l'Economiste. The loan represents around 88.5 percent of the overall project budget. Sidi Mohamed Taleb, the IDB Regional Director in Rabat, said this will complete the high-speed program at the remaining stations "that will be operational by summer 2018." The project, launched by King Mohammed VI and the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in September 2011, was scheduled for December of 2015. It was later postponed to 2018 because of delays caused by infrastructure projects. The first high-speed rail line in Africa is being financed by numerous partners, including the Moroccan government, France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Around 1.5 billion dollars was secured through loans. LONDON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Inconvenience continued Friday for tens of thousands of commuters working in London when the second strike in a week by rail workers brought one of the country's busiest lines to a standstill. A 24-hour stoppage by train drivers on Southern Railway started at midnight, following a crippling 48-hour strike earlier this week. The rail operator said it had cancelled more than 2,200 train journeys Friday on routes, affecting around 300,000 passengers. On its website, the company advised passengers not to travel, with disruption to services likely to continue into Saturday. With more strikes planned for next week by train conductors on Southern trains, pre-Christmas travel obstructions are likely to continue. Passengers have staged a protest at London's busy Victoria station and the Association of British Commuters handed a letter to the Department for Transport (DfT) demanding government action. Angry commuters also took to social media Friday to vent their frustration at the mayhem caused by the stoppage. The London Standard reported that one commuter said on social media he would need a magic carpet to get to work. Another called for driverless trains after being stuck in traffic since the very early morning en route to the airport. Talks between trade union leaders and the rail company through the government's official conciliation and arbitration service ACAS, has so far failed to make a breakthrough in what has become a bitter dispute. At the heart of the dispute is a plan by Southern to introduce trains on the network which will have doors controlled by train drivers rather than conductors, better known as train guards. The two main unions representing rail workers, Aslef and RMT, are in dispute with the rail operator over changes to guards' roles on driver-only operated trains. Under the changes, Southern want train drivers to take responsibility for opening and closing the doors, with train guards becoming on-board supervisors. They claim driver-operated doors will pose a safety problem. A spokesman for the Association of British Commuters told media in London: "We have suffered a year-long nightmare because of the collapse of Southern rail. We have desperately called for government action and have been repeatedly ignored, even while many of us have lost our jobs, or had to move house." Nick Brown, chief operating officer of Southern's parent company Govia Thameslink Railway, said: "The unions must stop the pain and suffering blighting passengers and commerce. The public will be simply perplexed that the union is maintaining such an entrenched position, given drivers being fully in charge of the train is so commonplace today." Southern Railway operates trains around London, particularly the south coast towns such as Brighton, home to thousands of commuters who travel daily to Britain's capital. DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania health authorities on Friday allayed fears of the reported Zika virus detection saying the World Health Organisation (WHO) was yet to confirm the reports. Ummy Mwalimu, the Minister for Health, said any outbreak of a disease with international concern had to be verified and announced by the global health agency. The Zika virus, which was isolated from monkeys in Uganda about 70 years ago, has prompted worldwide concern after it began spreading very fast in the Americas early this year. Zika viruses are believed to cause serious damage to a foetus such that babies are born with brain damage and head deformity. "No Zika virus has been verified in the country so far. The Zika virus is an international reportable disease of which any discerned condition must be verified by the WHO in collaboration with the office of the Chief Government Medical Officer in the respective country," she said. The minister was responding to media reports quoting the National Institute of Medical Research Director General, Mwele Malecela, who had announced that the Zika virus had been detected in Morogoro and Geita regions, sending shockwaves among Tanzanians. Malecela was quoted as saying that the government was working out strategies to make sure that all pregnant mothers were protected from the Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes. Enditem OUAGADOUGOU, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso President addressed the nation after 12 soldiers were killed, buildings burned and weapons carried away in a gunmen attack on a military camp on Friday close to the border with Mali. At least 40 heavily armed unidentified men, early on Friday, attacked the military position of Nassoumbou, 45 km north to Djibo and about 30 km to the border with Mali. "Faced with this new proof imposed to us by forces of evil, the Nation salutes the memory of the brave soldiers mown down by the murderous gunfire of the enemies of democracy", president Roch Marc Christian Kabore said. He underscored that it will be a tireless fight against terrorism in the country and promised strong decisions to give confidence and vitality to Burkina Faso armed forces. President Kabore called on every Burkinabe citizen for unity and solidarity with soldiers to assist their efforts so as to ensure peace and security that are essential for the economic and social progress of the country. "Never has the valiant people of Burkina Faso bent backwards before his enemies", the President said. As consequence of the attack, Burkina Faso president has canceled his official visit to Abuja, in Nigeria, to attend the 50th summit of heads of States and governments of the Ecowas. The West African country has been experiencing jihadist attacks over the past few years. Mid-October this year, an attack on a military position killed three Burkinabe soldiers and two civilians in the northern part of the country. In January, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed an attack that killed some 30 people in the capital Ouagadougou. Enditem CAPE TOWN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- President Jacob Zuma was unhurt when a tent he was in collapsed at an event marking the National Day of Reconciliation on Friday, the Presidency said. The tent was uplifted by strong winds as Zuma was delivering a speech to hundreds of people at a rally in Zeerust, North West Province to mark the Reconciliation Day. Zuma was about to finish the speech when the tent suddenly collapsed due to strong winds. The president was pulled away by his body guards to a safe place, the Presidency said, adding that Zuma was unhurt. The strong winds brought the celebration to an abrupt end. In 1995, the first democratically elected government declared December 16 as the National Day of Reconciliation with the aim of healing a painful division between black and white people. In his address, Zuma said reconciliation is not an easy matter and requires all South Africans to recommit themselves to walking this important journey together. As South Africans celebrated achievements in reconciliation, "we should also remember that reconciliation is a two-way process", Zuma said. "While black people are implored to come to bury the pain of the past and move on, white compatriots should also be ready to accept and support the imperative of transformation and redress," Zuma noted. The implementation of measures to deracialize the economy, such as black economic empowerment, affirmative action and land reform remain critical for South Africans to achieve true and meaningful reconciliation, he said. Among the measures taken by the government to redress the painful past is a programme to find missing persons and also handing over of the remains of former political prisoners who were executed by the apartheid government to their families, according to Zuma. At least 130 political prisoners were hanged for politically-related offences in the period between 1960 and 1990. The state retained custody of the remains of the deceased, thereby denying their families the opportunity to receive or bury them, Zuma said. The government is also working hard to ensure that the socio-economic needs of former anti-apartheid combatants are met as many of them are unable to look after themselves and cannot provide for their children, said Zuma. "Government will not rest until the services reach all our veterans who served in the liberation movement, as we continue the journey towards reconciliation," said Zuma. Zuma urged South Africans to bury racism, tribalism, xenophobia and all other intolerances. These tendencies rear their ugly heads from time to time, he said. "Let us support one another and build a South Africa that is united, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous," Zuma added. ROME, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A high-level meeting on gender held on Friday at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations headquarters here emphasized that reducing gender inequality was key to achieving sustainable development goals. The meeting was launched by the FAO, the EU Commission and the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and UN Women. The meeting aimed to address the structural causes and consequences of gender inequality in rural areas and identify the main challenges, gaps, opportunities and collaborative actions for unleashing the potential of rural women and girls to end hunger and poverty. FAO Director General Jose Graziano da Silva said women were the backbone of work in agriculture, they comprised 45 percent of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, with that figure rising to 60 percent in parts of Africa and Asia. These numbers underscore the importance of ensuring that rural women enjoy a level playing field, according to the FAO director-general. "It's all about opportunity. Evidence shows that when women have opportunities, the yields on their farms increase, also their incomes. Natural resources are better managed, nutrition is improved, and livelihoods are more secured," Da Silva said. According to FAO's studies, across all regions, women are less likely than men to own or control land, and their plots are often of poorer quality. Less than 20 percent of the world's landholders are women. If women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million due to productivity gains. "Therefore, rural women are key players in the effort to achieve all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) -- but especially SDG2, freeing the world from hunger and malnutrition," Da Silva added. "It is only through empowering women farmers that we can unlock the power of global food systems," Denise Brown, director of emergencies at WFP said, adding that supporting women farmers was essential in creating resilience, building stronger businesses, and advancing food security in the long term. Maria Noel Vaeza, director of programs at UN Women, told participants that closing the gender gaps in agriculture could provide multiple development dividends, including gender equality for rural women, food security and poverty reduction, improved climate management, and peaceful societies. Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for international cooperation and development, emphasized that to get serious about putting an end to poverty and hunger once and for all, stepping up support for rural women as an investment in families, communities, wider society, and the planet was needed. ZAGREB, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Croatia applauded the Swiss decision that made Croatians equal to other European Union (EU) nationals regarding freedom of movement in Switzerland, Croatian foreign and European affairs minister Davor Ivo Stier said Friday. "This is a positive decision and we welcome it," he said. On Friday, Switzerland and the EU signed an accord extending the free movement of workers principle to Croatia. It took a long time to find a solution to this issue, Stier said, adding the Swiss government had given the green light for free movement of Croatian citizens, bringing the country to the same status as other citizens of the EU. The accord is to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017, according to local media reports. The issue of status of Croatian citizens in Switzerland had been unresolved since July 1, 2013 when Croatia became a member of the EU. Enditem TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will make an official visit to Russia in January 2017, Tasnim news agency reported on Friday. The Iranian foreign minister will travel to the Russian capital Moscow in December for preparations for Rouhani's visit to Russia, the report said. The Middle East conflicts, particularly that of Syria, have recently brought the two neighbors together for further cooperation. Russia has also sought to advance its nuclear cooperation and defense ties, as well as agricultural and telecommunication cooperation with Iran over the past years. MOSUL, Iraq, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces on Friday repelled four counter attacks by the Islamic State (IS) group militants in the battle ground city of Mosul, killing a total of 174 IS militants and destroying 13 suicide car bombs, the Iraqi army said. The commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) repelled suicide car bomb attacks and dozens of IS militants on the recently-freed neighborhoods of al-Ta'mim, al-Nour and al-Bakr in eastern Mosul after heavy clashes, killing some 100 militants and destroying five suicide car bombs, a statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said. So far, the elite CTS retook control of 40 districts in eastern Mosul, after nearly seven weeks of street-to-street battles inside the city, according to the statement. The army's 9th armored division repelled another attack and IS militants on the neighborhoods of al-Intisar and al-Salam in southeastern Mosul, killing some 27 militants and destroying three suicide car bombs, the statement said. The troops are facing grueling fighting inside Mosul from the extremist militants, who are carrying out brutal counter attacks in small groups moving quickly throughout the districts, and using suicide car bombs, as well as mortars and snipers, in addition to using the population of the city as human shields. Dozens more of IS militants attacked the positions of the army's 16th infantry division in Ba'wieza village at the northern edge of Mosul, but the troops fought them back and foiled their attack after killing 25 extremist militants and destroying two suicide car bombs, it said. The federal police forces repelled a fourth attack by IS militants and suicide car bombs on the troops' positions at the two villages of al-Ereij and al-Adhbah, just southwest of Mosul, leaving 22 militants killed and destroying two suicide car bombs and a suicide bulldozer bomb, the statement added. Earlier on Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued a report saying that 96,864 men, women, and children have fled their homes in Mosul and its adjacent districts since the beginning of military offensive in October to reclaim the IS largest stronghold in Iraq. The number of displaced people in and near Mosul is rising everyday. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 17 announced a major offensive to retake Mosul, the country's second largest city. Since then, the Iraqi security forces, backed by international coalition forces, have inched to the eastern fringes of Mosul and made progress on other routes around the city. Mosul, some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, has been under the IS control since June 2014, when Iraqi government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions. TEHRAN, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Britain's charge d'affaires in Tehran on Friday to protest against what it called the British officials' recent anti-Iran remarks over Syria, Press TV reported. "Following the British officials' injudicious remarks and stances on the role of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the Syria crisis," the British envoy was called in for a protest note, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said. Iran's strong protests over the British officials' "unrealistic" comments were conveyed to the country's charge d'affaires, Qasemi said, adding that the diplomat was warned about "the destructive effects of such assertions and stances on Syria's humanitarian situation as well as international peace and security." Reportedly, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors to convey his "profound concern" over the situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Thursday. Also, Iran's ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad told Johnson that Iran's policy toward the situation in Syria has always been based on ensuring the safety of civilians and a halt to the flow of arms and money to militants. Baeidinejad further expressed hope that the developments in Syria would have proven that the crisis cannot be solved through military measures and that everyone should step in to help work out a political solution to the conflict. Iran and Russia have played a decisive role in retaking the Syrian city of Aleppo from the rebels in the recent regional developments. The evacuation of rebels and their families started on Thursday, and over 8,000 have already left toward the western countryside of Aleppo. Image provided by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows medical workers distrubuting relief supplies and blankets in an area where cases ofcholera were reported after the attack of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti, on Oct. 11, 2016. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Tuesday that 1.4 million Haitians were in need of humanitarian aid, including cholera vaccines, following the passage of Hurricane Matthew last week. (Xinhua/UNICEF) UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution to welcome the new UN approach to tackling cholera in Haiti, which was formally launched earlier this month by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and called on all 193 UN member states to provide the two-track plan their full support. Recognizing the moral responsibility of the United Nations to the victims of the cholera epidemic in Haiti, the General Assembly resolution called upon "all member states, relevant UN bodies and other international governmental and non-governmental partners, to provide their full support to (the new UN approach), in particular to intensify their efforts to respond to and eliminate cholera and to address the suffering of its victims, including by providing material assistance and support to communities and those Haitians most directly affected by cholera," Briefing the General Assembly on the new approach in early December, the secretary-general apologized to the people of Haiti, expressing his deep regret for the loss of life and suffering caused by the country's cholera epidemic. "The United Nations and its member states have the power to recognize and respond to that suffering ... let us step up in solidarity to our moral duty and do the right thing for the Haitian people and our United Nations," Ban said. In 2010, a devastating cholera outbreak infected hundreds of thousands in Haiti just months after a severe earthquake left more than 100,000 dead. Prior to the outbreak, there were no reported cases of cholera in Haiti. This summer, the United Nations finally acknowledged that it was involved in the initial outbreak and the profound suffering that has followed. Cholera is a bacterial infection that can lead to potentially serious symptoms of watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and muscle cramps. Often spread through contaminated water or food, the incubation period of the disease can be as short as two hours, meaning it can move quickly through a densely populated area. As the mucus membrane of the intestinal wall is affected, it can lead to diarrhea that can cause severe dehydration. The disease appeared in Haiti in October 2010 and spread quickly, causing an estimated 770,000 infections in the years since and approximately 9,200 related deaths. Concerted national and international efforts, backed by the United Nations, have resulted in a 90 percent reduction in the number of suspected cases. Costing an estimated 400 million U.S. dollars over the next two years, the approach, detailed in a report of the secretary-general entitled A new approach to cholera in Haiti, will centre on two different elements, known as "Track One" and "Track Two." "Track One" consists of a greatly intensified and better-resourced effort to respond to and reduce the incidence of cholera, through addressing Haiti's short- and longer-term issues of water, sanitation and health systems and improved access to care and treatment. "Track Two" of the approach is the development of a package of material assistance and support to those Haitians most directly affected by cholera, centred on the victims and their families and communities. It is expected that it will also involve affected individuals and communities in the development of the package. RAMALLAH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister of Sweden Margot Wallstrom said Friday her country backs France peace initiative that aims at holding an international conference for peace in the Middle East. Wallstrom told a news briefing after meeting with Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Reyad al-Malki that holding a peace conference "would have positive reflections on all parties, mainly Israel and the Palestinians." "The conference will debate ensuring an international umbrella to resume the talks between the two sides to end the conflict and achieve peace and security for all parties in order to make progress for the rest of the world," she said. On Thursday, Wallstrom met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and stressed on her country's role of backing peace in the Middle East based on the principle of two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "My country supports the international efforts which are aiming at easing tension and building up bridges of confidence and peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians," said Wallstrom. She vowed that her country will do all its best to reach this goal, adding "we will keep working on empowering our ties with Palestine in a way that serves the two friendly countries." HAVANA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua)-- The Cuban government has authorized small farmers to directly hire full-time or part-time staff, as a new measure to increase national food production, a sector considered "strategic" by President Raul Castro. A group of resolutions were published Friday by the government, allowing all agricultural producers to do this, whether linked to state or private agricultural cooperatives. Previously, the official hiring of farm workers was reserved to cooperatives, making the process more complicated. "The new resolutions aim at stimulating the hiring of workers for agricultural labour, in a fast, ordered and legal way, with the goal of making this activity more dynamic, due to the need to increase Cuban farm production," said the Gazette. Such farm work is also usually paid better than most jobs in Cuba. "During harvest, the regular salary is 2 Convertible Pesos (CUC) a day if is an "easy crop" such as tomatoes. But for more difficult crops, such as garlic, the daily salary rises to 4 CUC," Alberto Mendez, a farm worker in the town of Guira, southwest of Havana, told Xinhua. In a country where the average state monthly salary reaches only 20 CUC (20 U.S. dollars) a month, earning that amount in a few days sounds appealing for many workers. Mendez stressed that written contracts are unusual. "The owner of a farm says he needs people and we all just go." However, the new decrees on Friday determine that these new hires must be registered as "self-employed" workers and pay a monthly tax of 50 Cuban pesos (2 CUC), besides healthcare and social security contributions. The Cuban government spends about 2 billion U.S. dollars a year on food imports for its more than 11 million people, which has been difficult to maintain for a country suffering from the U.S. economic embargo. President Castro has called to elevate national food production and reduce imports as a "matter of national security." In that sense, the Cuban leader has ordered the delivery of over a million of hectares of state-owned land to people interested in farming. Castro's administration has also opened dedicated bank credits with good terms for farmers interested in expanding their crops. U.S. President Barack Obama attends his final news conference of the year in White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Dec. 16, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday no other bilateral relationship carries more significance than U.S.-China relationship, and if the U.S.-China relation breaks down, everyone becomes worse off. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday no other bilateral relationship carries more significance than U.S.-China relationship, and if the U.S.-China relation breaks down, everyone becomes worse off. "Given the importance of the relation between the United States and China, given how much is at stake, in terms of the world economy, national security... China's increasing role in international affairs, there's probably no bilateral relationship that carries more significance," said Obama here in his final news conference of the year. "There's also the potential if that relationship breaks down or goes into a full conflict mode that everybody's worse off," he added. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump early this month received a telephone call from Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen. After the phone call, the White House reaffirmed it's firm commitment to one-China policy on several occasions. It is universally recognized by the international community that there is only one China in the world, and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made clear that adherence to one-China policy is the prerequisite for Taiwan to conduct contacts with foreign countries or participate in international activities. Related: Commentary: One China is non-negotiable BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- As a veteran businessman who prides himself on his ability to make deals, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump should be well familiar with the phrase "deal-breaker." Full story Commentary: Respecting each other's core interests key to healthy China-U.S. relations BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- If history offers any guide, respecting each other's core interests is a fundamental principle for the healthy development of China-U.S. relations. In a world that considers secessionism as a common enemy, the Taiwan issue is one of China's core interests, making the one-China policy a bedrock for Sino-U.S. relations, the most important bilateral ties of the international community. Full story China urges U.S. president-elect to adhere to one-China policy BEIJING, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- China said on Monday that it is "gravely concerned" about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's latest remarks suggesting he is reconsidering the one-China policy, urging the new administration to adhere to the policy. WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday issued a final rule banning most powdered medical gloves in the United States, saying these products present "unreasonable and substantial risk" to both doctors and patients. The ban applied to powdered surgeon's gloves, powdered patient examination gloves and absorbable powder for lubricating a surgeon's glove. One exception was powdered radiographic protection gloves, which the FDA said are not available on the market. Powder is sometimes added to gloves to help make them easier to put on and take off. However, powdered gloves are associated with an extensive list of potentially serious adverse events, including severe airway inflammation, asthma and other allergic reactions, lung inflammation and damage or post-surgical adhesions, which are bands of fibrous scar tissue that form between internal organs and tissues, said FDA in a statement. In addition, aerosolized glove powder can carry proteins that may cause respiratory allergic reactions, it added. UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, for anather year until Dec. 15, 2017. In a resolution adopted here, the 15-nation council decided to increase the overall force levels of UNMISS by maintaining a ceiling of 17,000 troops, including 4,000 for a new regional protection force, and increasing the police ceiling to 2,101 personnel. The council also demanded all parties in South Sudan immediately end fighting across the county and implement the ceasefire agreement. Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, noted after the adoption of the resolution that the South Sudanese transitional government has announced its unconditional acceptance of deployment of the regional protection force. "The international community should take this opportunity to call on all parties in South Sudan to implement the peace agreement and return to the track of political solution in order to achieve peace, stability and development as early as possible," he said. Wu said the Security Council should send out "more positive messages and signals" in order to encourage the parties in South Sudan to meet each other halfway, to make joint commitment for national peace, stability and sustainable development. "When it comes to sanctions, the Security Council should exercise prudence in order to avoid reversing the current positive momentum," he added. "The Chinese government is consistent in its support of the peace process in South Sudan and has provided its assistance to South Sudan within its capacity," said Wu. "China stands ready along with the international community to continue with its constructive role in assisting South Sudan to achieve peace and stability," he said. South Sudan has faced ongoing challenges since a political face-off between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar erupted into full-blown conflict in December 2013. The crisis has produced one of the world's worst displacement situations with immense suffering for civilians. Despite the August 2015 peace agreement that formally ended the war, conflict and instability have also spread to previously unaffected areas in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal regions of South Sudan. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced in South Sudan since late 2013, according to the UN. Cops reappear in Chinese robbery case On November 15, Joseph appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in San Fernando and was granted $250,000 bail. Upon his arrest, SRP Williams also appeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates court and his cases were transferred to San Fernando. Charges against the two arose from an incident on November 11, in which casino owner Jinhu Zhu and one of his female relatives were robbed of $406,000, two cellphones and an air rifle. The alleged incident took place at Zhus home at Soledad Road. Yesterday, both Joseph and Williams appeared before Magistrate Forde-John in San Fernando. Both men have not been called upon to plead to the charges which were laid indictably by Sgt Dindial Chulhan of the Professional Standards Bureau. Yesterday, attorney Sadee Lee Duprey, representing Joseph, asked Magistrate Forde-John to consider a cash alternative to the $250,000 bail granted previously. The magistrate obliged and granted SRP Joseph cash alternative bail in the sum of $75,000. Magistrate Forde-John then asked SRP Williams if he had an attorney and he replied, No. Williams was on suspension when he was arrested and charged with the robbery, while Joseph was working at San Juan Police Station when he was arrested. The magistrate adjourned the cases to January 17. Williams was taken from the dock into the Holding Bay cell downstairs while Joseph was escorted out of the court in handcuffs and into the bay area. Days after altercation, Paramin man killed A friend of his got into an altercation on Tuesday and he simply put in his two cents, said a relative who wished not to be named. The gunmen could not get who they were looking for so they made and example of him, to send a message. According to reports, Sylvester was in a Nissan Almera near a house in Paramin, when, at about 2.30 am loud explosions were heard. When residents checked they saw Sylvester slumped over in the vehicle, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his wounds while en route. Relatives told Newsday yesterday that Sylvester was liming with friends and playing music from his vehicle when the battery died. Not wanting to leave the car unattended, Sylvester stayed in the car and fell asleep. Gunmen later snuck up to his vehicle and shot him several times about the body. Relatives described Sylvester as a respectable person, and added that he had never been involved in any illegal activities. Relatives were shocked and dismayed when they heard of his death and the manner in which he died. Newsday understands it was only after his death did family members hear about the altercation which they believe led to his death. He (Sylvester) was just a young black man who was now trying to make it in this world. He didnt drink and he was always respectful to people around him. If his car didnt die, he would have gone home where he was safe. This was just a matter of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time... relatives said. Police investigating the matter have not yet ascertained a motive behind the shooting. However, Newsday understands that the investigation is now in its initial stages. The murder toll for the year now stands at 445, according to a Newsday count. Woman ordered to pay $7,500 fine by April Mohammed assured Justice Carla Brown-Antoine that she will not see her again after the judge told her she was indeed very lucky. In sentencing Mohammed, Brown-Antoine made it clear she was sentencing the offender but not the offence and based on the reports she has received, there was no indication that Mohammed was likely to commit the offence again. Mohammed was on trial before Brown-Antoine in the Port-of- Spain Second Criminal Court, along with mother and son -Gloria Benn and Jason Benn, who were also convicted. Gloria Benn, 59, and Jason, 32, were sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison for trafficking a quantity of cocaine which was discovered at Benns Orisha Shrine at Achong Trace, Tunapuna, on January 21, 2006 by police who executed a search warrant. Mohammed was only convicted of simple possession of four packets of marijuana which were wrapped in heavy-duty plastic and found in the downstairs room of a two-storey house. All together police discovered 175 packets of marijuana, which weighed a total of 340.46 kilogrammes. Mohammed was not found in actual physical custody of the marijuana and the jury was given the option of finding her guilty of simple possession, rejecting that she was the occupier of the shrine but that being Benns girlfriend, she only occupied the bedroom where the marijuana was concealed in a barrel. The judge said Mohammeds culpability was relatively low. Justice Brown-Antoine told Mohammed she hoped the crowd of people who supported her at the trial and spoke of her good character in testimonials to the court, would still continue to support her tangibly. I dont see the crowd. I hope they support you tangibly and not all about talk but show you that they really support you, Justice Brown-Antoine said. The State was represented by prosecutor Nigel Pilgrim and Giselle Ferguson- Heller while attorney Ian Brooks represented the Benns and Mohammed. Fireman loses promotion challenge Justice Frank Seepersad made the call as he ruled against a fireman who challenged the Public Service Commissions decision to bypass him for promotion. Ian Green, a Fire Sub-Station Officer (FSSO), sought promotion to the post of Fire Station Officer. He contended he was the most senior officer on the list of FSSOs who were considered for promotion and as a holder of a Masters degree and post-graduate diploma in Human Resources Management as well as an associates degree in Management, he had the requisite qualifications for promotion as outlined in the Public Service Regulations. While the Chief Fire Officer was willing to accept Greens qualifications, Seepersad pointed out that the Chief Personnel Officer was not as his qualifications did not accept the technical aspects of the job. The claimants dilemma brings into sharp focus the need for considered and calculated decision making in terms of tertiary education. Far too often persons have pursued courses which are not relevant to the specific areas of expertise within which they operate. While the pursuit of high education must always be applauded the benefit derived therefrom would only be realised when courses pursued have a practical impact within the scope of work engaged by or contemplated by the individuals who pursue same, the judge said. There has been a trust to pursue traditional professions and management qualifications but the market appears to be saturated in those fields and a clear and decisive national policy agenda should be established to properly guide those interested in higher education towards areas where there is a demand, such as pursuit of courses in the field of science and technology, the judge added. In dismissing Greens judicial review claim, the judge said the commission did not act unreasonably and had considered the Public Service Regulations and that Green did not demonstrate that he had the qualifications to be considered for promotion. THUGGERY At a press conference, after the walkout, the UNC accused the PNM of engaging in thuggery to wrest control of the corporation which is deadlocked with equal numbers of PNM and UNC councillors and aldermen. (See story below) The walkout led to fresh uncertainty over the who has control of the corporation as the UNC hinted at the possibility of legal action against the PNM. As UNC members voiced objection to Rondon chairing of the process, he angrily waved a document entitled Answers to possible Questions, saying he had every right to take charge of proceedings and to use a casting vote to break a tie and so ensure his own continuation in office as chairman. The UNC teams walk-out was spurred by UNC Senator Gerald Ramdeen who was sitting in the audience and who rose and loudly declared, Guys, we are not taking part in this. Lets go! He was joined in the walkout of UNC councillors and aldermen by Cumuto/ Manzanilla MP Christine Newallo-Hosein. The PNM was lawyered up as the partys attorney Michael Quamina sat in the audience. Nearby, Government heavyweight ministers Finance Minister Colm Imbert, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan, Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein and others sat and took in the proceedings. The ceremony began with Rondons honeyed words of peace and love, but ended with him loudly berating the UNC members of council as they walked out, borrowing from Minister Imberts utterances of come inside, in the House of Representatives to UNC MPs during a similar walkout earlier in the week. Earlier, on the agenda was for the eighth elected councillor, the PNMs Elizabeth Wharton, to be sworn in, followed by two appointed aldermen for the PNM (Cuthbert Pierre and Daneille Marshall-Piper) and two UNC aldermen (Sookdeo Bidaisee and Videsh Ramsingh). With all council members sworn in, it was then time to elect a chairman and then a vice-chairman. However, UNC Councillor Nirmal Singh rose on a point of order to object to Rondons continued chairmanship of proceedings. Rondon lost his cool, shouting, I am the chairman here! I beg of all of you. Lets do it right! UNC Councillor Kennrick Suepaul rose on a point of order to also object to Rondons chairmanship, saying, Ill not sit in this council! Show me which part of the Act you are entitled to proceed. Rondon replied by waving the Answers to possible Questions document and citing Section 15(2) of the Municipal Corporation Act, adding, Lets do it right! UNC Councillor Kenwin Phillip asked for an adjournment of the sitting, to let him seek legal counsel, but PNM members laughed loudly at this. Rondon chided, Well spin while the people suffer. Lets not play. This is serious business. Rondon invited nominations for a presiding officer of the proceedings to elect a corporation chairman. The PNM nominated Alderman Cuthbert Pierre while the UNC nominated Councillor Nirmal Singh. When votes were tallied for each nominee the result was a tie. Rondon then declared that he was going to use a purported second vote or casting vote to break the tie, in the PNMs favour. Ramdeen in the audience shot up: It has no second vote! He then led a mass walkout of UNC members of the council saying, Guys, we are not taking part in this. Lets go! An angry Rondon slammed the UNC and Ramdeen. You are not to disrespect my meeting! You be careful! You could imagine putting these people into power? They cant stand up to the truth! In the absence of UNC members of council, proceedings continued, at which those present agreed to the election of Rondon as chairman and councillor Simone Gill as vice chairman. Opposition slams Govt act of thuggery The UNC said it was designed to steal the corporation away from the people of Sangre Grande. This was the position advanced by UNC chairman David Lee and UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen at a hastily convened news conference at the Opposition Leaders Office in Port-of-Spain, hours after the ceremony took place. Hinting that the Opposition had not ruled out taking legal action in this matter, Ramdeen told reporters, We will take advice on this matter and we will not let it rest here. He said this was something which the UNC would deliberate upon, once Opposition Leader and UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar returns home from London, where she is attending a conference. Agreeing with Lee that what happened at the ceremony was, a high handed approach, by the PNM. Ramdeen claimed there was, a total breach of settled practice, when incumbent chairman Terry Rondon took charge of the meeting when it came to the election of a chairman, instead of letting the chief executive officer (CEO) chair the process. Ramdeen said while this was the process which took place in all of the other 13 local government corporations, this did not happen in Sangre Grande where the CEO, took a backseat to Rondon. Reminding reporters there is a deadlock in the corporation with the PNM and UNC each having four councillors and two aldermen, Ramdeen charged that several attempts were made by the PNM to get one of the UNCs councillors to cross the floor and those attempts included monetary offers. He further alleged that when those efforts failed, the PNM executed a premeditated and well-orchestrated plan to take control of the corporation. Ramdeen argued the PNMs actions went against the grain of the provisions of the Representation of the Peoples Act and the Municipal Corporations Act. He said it was at this stage, the UNCs councillors and aldermen decided they would take no further part in, an unlawful exercise of power, and walked out of the ceremony. Ramdeen declared that the UNC objected to the procedure used by Rondon at the meeting and his use of a casting vote to allow the PNM to steal control of the corporation. He argued that Section 67 (2) of the Municipal Corporations Act made it clear that the person presiding at a meeting of council will, in the event of an equality of votes, have a second or casting vote. Ramdeen claimed this was why the CEO did not chair the meeting. While Lee and Ramdeen were non-committal as to whether the UNC would take any legal action against the Government with respect to control of the corporation, they both said the UNC remained open to speak with the PNM to resolve the situation amicably. It is not too late, Ramdeen said. Lee recalled that the approach of the UNC is borne out in Persad- Bissessars recent letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, asking for a meeting between the Government and Opposition to resolve the impasse in Sangre Grande. Comparing what transpired as similar to the impasse between the Government and Opposition regarding the passage of FATCA legislation in Parliament, Lee said Sangre Grande provides the perfect opportunity for the PNM and UNC to work together in the national interest. Lee and Ramdeen indicated that power- sharing arrangements could be a solution to who controls the corporation. Stop playing politics Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for the Corporations chairman and vice chairman on Wednesday, Paray reminded the audience, which included Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat, that he was the duly elected parliamentary representative and would work towards the regions development. Rambharat, who had represented the PNM, unsuccessfully contested the 2015 General Election for the constituency of Mayaro which was won by Paray. Like every other of the 41 constituencies in Trinidad and Tobago, there is only one elected MP per constituency and one official MP office and two sub offices that are recognised by the symbol of the Coats of Arms. I urge you and those in the practice of playing politics with the lives of people of my constituency to kindly desist from doing so, he said. Paray continued: We must not take advantage of the poor and vulnerable by using political offices to destroy their very existence, dreams and aspirations. It is our role and responsibility to empower not to trade on their vulnerability. His statement created a stir with the audience which had spilled out from the Corporations administration offices to the courtyard where large screens were set up to accommodate members of the public. Paray also addressed the elected councillors telling them they were no longer candidates representing any political party. Be reminded of your oath of office to accept the responsibility as an elected member of council to serve all the people regardless of political persuasion, he said. Meanwhile, Biche/Charuma councillor, Glen Ram, was elected chairman while Alderman Vedaish Maharaj was voted vice chairman. Ram had previously served as Vice Chairman for six years and took over from Hazarie Ramdeen who served for two terms as chairman. Senate to debate Finance Bill On November 15, there was confusion in the Senate when Leader of Government Business Franklin Khan indicated that Government was not proceeding with debate on this bill because of legal advice it received from the Treasury Solicitor. Quoting part of the Treasury Solicitors opinion, Khan said, In the interim, I am of the view that the Provisional Collection of Taxes Order 2016, continues in operation and will continue in operation until Finance Bill Number Three and the relevant orders 2016, completes its full passage in the Parliament and the Act is assented to by the President. This process must be completed within a four-month timeframe, beginning October 20, 2016 and ending on February 19, 2017. Quoting further from the opinion, Khan said, I (Treasury Solicitor) am of the view, that it is permissible for the State to collect and continue to collect online purchase taxes and the rest (of taxes). At the time, Opposition Senator Wade Mark charged that Government was imposing taxes illegally on the population and hinted the Opposition may challenge the matter legally. At a news conference on November 16, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the taxes outlined in the 2016/2017 Budget are all perfectly legal Garcia: Denominational boards have important role As such, Education Minister Anthony Garcia says the planned reform of The Education Concordat of 1960 (The Concordat) would ideally include measures to strengthen the role of the Church. We have looked at The Concordat to see how best we can make (it) more effective, so that the Church can recognise its responsibilities. Ive been saying publicly that if the Church, through the (school) boards, owned the schools, they would have a corresponding responsibility to the schools. Garcia added that giving religious bodies more say would put an end to some groups, sitting back and saying, We dont own the schools and doing nothing. Therefore we are hoping, in the reform of The Concordat, (to) put measures in place to ensure that the Church plays its role more effectively and in many areas. For example, repairs and maintenance, (and) construction of schools __ The Church must not leave that only up to the Government. They must play their part. The Education Minister made it clear that there is absolutely no intention of diminishing the role of the Church. Theres absolutely no intention of separating religion or the influence of the Church in education. We are very pleased and satisfied with our system of education, except to say that we recognise that the Church can play a more effective role. Garcia reiterated his stance on denominational schools during a press conference about the recommendations contained in a report on the Education Ministrys February 2016 National Consultation on Education. The press conference was held on Thursday afternoon at the ministrys head office, St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. One of the major recommendations (in the report) that was accepted by Cabinet, was that the role of the Church should be strengthened...Cabinet has agreed that the Church should continue in its role in education and we will put things in place to strengthen its role, Garcia told reporters ABC NewsJohn Legend has called Kanye West's meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in New York City Tuesday morning a "publicity stunt." "I don't think it's impossible to talk to him about issues," Legend said about the possibility of meeting with the President-elect in a video interview with French outlet Clique, "But I won't be used as a publicity stunt and I think Kanye was a publicity stunt." "I'm pretty disappointed with Kanye that he says he would have voted for Trump. I think Trump has been corrosive. His message has been corrosive to the country. And I think the things he's promised to do have been very concerning for a lot of people. And for Kanye to support that message is very disappointing," he continued. In other Kanye news, regarding West's recent hospitalization, a source close to the rapper told People magazine that the rapper had not seemed well since Halloween. "He wasn't making a lot of sense when he talked, and he was texting a lot of strange stuff to people. Not dangerous, but he just didn't make a lot of sense," the source told the publication. "Part of loving Kanye is that he sometimes is talking on a different level from you, and you just listen. But this was a lot more alarming." Previous reports from other sources close to West have claimed that he suffered severe paranoia, lack of sleep, stress and hallucinations that may have caused his recent hospital stay. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. EXCLUSIVE : John Legend reacts to Kanye West's... by cliquetv High-tech marijuana: Israels greenhouses are computer-controlled and password protected Taking advantage of progressive government policies regarding marijuana cultivation for medicinal and research purposes, Israeli entrepreneurs are aiming to make the country a global hub for medical cannabis research. Applying advanced agricultural technology to provide medical-grade cannabis for research (and eventually for export, if expected changes in the current laws are made), several Israeli startups are already reporting a brisk trade particularly from clients in countries like the United States, where marijuana research is either illegal or strictly controlled. Licensed growers and research facilities in Israel are expecting even more business from the U.S. after the November elections, which increased to 29 the number of states permitting the use of medical marijuana. Since marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the federal level in the U.S., research continues to be strictly regulated, but as more states pass medical marijuana measures, Israel is hoping that more American companies turn to their facilities for the research work that needs to be done. The cannabis industry is receiving strong support from the Israeli government. From Bloomberg: The Israeli government has identified medical cannabis as an economic opportunity. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel says his ministry will research ways to best grow cannabis, and would back export of locally grown medical marijuana, currently banned under national law. The Health Ministry, which has its own medical cannabis department, is extending the number of licenses granted to growers, doctors and patients to expand the local market and also plans to support industry requests for exports. Cannabis industry likely to bring significant economic boom to Israel If cannabis exports are legalized, Israels economy could benefit enormously. The worldwide legal marijuana market is expected to reach $140.5 billion by 2020, and some are predicting that the marijuana industry in Israel could grow to rival that of the tech industry, which now accounts for around 40 percent of the countrys industrial exports and roughly one-third of its GDP. Aside from the favorable legal climate, Israel is in many respects uniquely suited to becoming a global cannabis hub; the countrys agricultural technologies are highly advanced, and its medical research facilities are respected worldwide. Israel has traditionally embraced a making the desert bloom philosophy according to one cannabis company CEO and marijuana has always played a role in the countrys history. The collective Israeli mindset regarding cannabis appears to be far less puritanical than that of the United States. An Israeli scientist, Raphael Mechoulam, was the first to isolate THC, the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant. Marijuana use considered kosher even by conservative Israeli Orthodox Jewish community And although there are Israelis who still oppose legalization, the medicinal use of cannabis is reportedly considered kosher by even the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Indeed, the countrys ultra-Orthodox health minister has called for increased marijuana cultivation in an effort towards eliminating long waiting periods for patients to obtain their medical cannabis. In response, Israeli startups are investing heavily in expanding their operations. One such firm, Breath of Life Pharma, has plans to increase its greenhouse facilities and production tenfold over the next year: The privately held 10-year-old company says it has tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue, mostly from supplying pure active ingredients to American and European companies already coming to Israel to do clinical trials. Breath of Lifes computer-controlled, camera-patrolled, password-secured greenhouses are state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation areas designed to meet the national and international demand for high quality medicinal marijuana. The company, like many others in Israel, is looking forward to a prosperous future in the legal cannabis market. As more countries throughout the world recognize the benefits of cannabis as therapy, theres no doubt the industry will continue to expand for some years to come in Israel and elsewhere. Sources: Bloomberg.com FreedomLeaf.com Attn.com QZ.com Submit a correction >> Wikileaks emails reveal Saudi and US government funding the creation of ISIL There are some new WikiLeaks emails revealing that Mujahideen fighters helped develop ISIS with funding from Saudi Arabia and the United States. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that definitive proof exists that the United States CIA is essentially responsible for creating ISIS. Assange pinpoints year 1979, where a series of events began that are ultimately responsible for the evolution of the terrorist organization. The CIA and Saudi Arabian government funneled billions of dollars into creating the Mujahideen militant group, which went on to fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. It was a continuation of the constant proxy wars of the US and Soviet Union. The Mujahideen militant group later became known as ISIS. In the Middle East, the Iranian revolution, the Saudi Islamic uprising and the Egypt-Israel Camp David Accords led not only to the present regional power dynamic, but decisively changed the relationship between oil, militant Islam, and the world. The uprising at Mecca permanently shifted Saudi Arabia towards Wahhabism, leading to the transnational spread of Islamic fundamentalism and the US-Saudi destabilization of Afghanistan, said Assange. Saudi Arabia and the CIA funneled billions of dollars to the organization for the USSRs invasion of Afghanistan. The funding was part of Operation Cyclone, which fomented the rise of Al-Qaeda and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Islamification spread to Pakistan as a result of the 1979 events. This led to the US Embassy located in Pakistan being burnt to the ground, and the execution of Pakistans Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Iranian hostage crisis ended up fatally undermining the presidency of Jimmy Carter which lead to Ronald Reagans election. The rise of Al-Qaeda eventually bore the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, enabling the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq and over a decade of war, leaving, at its end, the ideological, financial and geographic basis for ISIS, said Assange. Did Saudi Arabia help fund Hillary Clintons campaign? Assange has mentioned Hillarys involvement during interviews with Dartmouth Films and RT. It has been noted that Saudi Arabian and Qatari funds are coming from everywhere. This includes media institutions and even the US government has mentioned or agreed with that some Saudi figures have been supporting ISIS said Assange. He believes that the WikiLeaks show the same governments that funded Hillary Clintons campaign are simultaneously propping up radical groups in the area including ISIS. Leaked emails between Clinton and her campaign manager John Podesta show that Clintons military strategy to defeat ISIS was to utilize local allies. Podesta confirmed that Saudi Arabia and Qatar provide clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL according to the email. Sources: TrueActivist.com AnonHq.com Submit a correction >> Opposition petitions President over Parliament washout Delhi,National,Politics,Education, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Blaming the government for not allowing Parliament to work over demonetisation, some opposition parties led by the Congress on Friday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene. A host of opposition leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress lawmaker Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal-United met Mukherjee and submitted a memorandum. "Because of the government's attitude, no debate on crucial issue of demonetisation was possible during the winter session of Parliament," the memorandum said. "We made best efforts to ensure that the demonetisation issue is discussed but the government did not allow our adjournment motion," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told the media later. "This government has endeavoured to break every principle of democracy and the entire responsibility of not allowing Parliament to function lies with the government," he said. --IANS and/ahm/mr Facebook steps up efforts against fake news Costa Rica,Media,Technology, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS San Francisco, Dec 16 (IANS) Facebook, Inc. said on Thursday it was stepping up efforts against fake news and hoaxes by testing several ways to make it easier to report a hoax if users see one on the social media network. Xinhua news agency quoted Adam Mosseri, Vice President of Facebook in charge of news feed, as saying that the online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, Northern California, would "learn from these tests, and iterate and extend them over time". "We've started a program to work with third-party fact checking organisations that are signatories of Poynter's International Fact Checking Code of Principles," Mosseri wrote on the company's blog. "We'll use the reports from our community, along with other signals, to send stories to these organisations." Posting a number of screen shots on a mobile device to illustrate how the new efforts would work, he noted: "If the fact checking organisations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why. Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed." However, it will still be possible to share these flagged stories, but a "warning that the story has been disputed" will pop up on the screen and a flagged story "can't be made into an ad and promoted". Facebook has been under pressure for a while that fake news stories have been abundant on its network during this US election year, misleading voters in a way that somehow has had impacted the result of the presidential election. Deflecting the political implication of criticism, Mosseri wrote: "We've found that a lot of fake news is financially motivated. Spammers make money by masquerading as well-known news organisations, and posting hoaxes that get people to visit their sites, which are often mostly ads. So we're doing several things to reduce the financial incentives." "(Meanwhile) on the buying side we've eliminated the ability to spoof domains, which will reduce the prevalence of sites that pretend to be real publications. On the publisher side, we are analysing publisher sites to detect where policy enforcement actions might be necessary," he said. "It's important to us that the stories you see on Facebook are authentic and meaningful," said the senior executive, adding that "we know there's more to be done. We're going to keep working on this problem for as long as it takes to get it right". Last week, Facebook said it was working with Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube to help curb the spread of terrorist contents online. --IANS lok/ Pakistan blames India for killing Civilians in firing New Delhi, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 NI Wire After surgical strike, which was performed by the security forces of India, both the countries India and Pakistan have tension on their borders. India blamed Pakistan earlier that some militants continuously holing up in Indian border from Pakistan, after surgical strike and now Pakistan blamed India that the civilians got killed in firing by Indian troops. Pakistan summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh after alleging that a civilian was killed and four children were injured by Indian troops. The Foreign Office expressed its indignation to the diplomat. According to an official statement, Pakistan strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van by the Indian forces on the LoC (Line of Control). It added, The deliberate targeting of civilians, villages and civilian transport and a school van is condemnable and contrary to human dignity as well as international human rights and humanitarian laws. According to the army, the Indian firing reportedly hit Nakial sector in Pakistani Kashmir. The latest firing shattered over two weeks of calm along the LoC, which divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The terrorist attacks, which were held some days ago, militants were came from Pakistan in which Indian army men martyred but after that Pakistan currently blaming India. --with agency inputs Demonetisation casts shadow over Christmas festivities in Kerala Kerala,National,Religion,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 16 (IANS) Christmas is a week or so away but the cash crunch in the wake of the November 8 demonetisation has cast a long shadow over the Yuletide spirit in Kerala. The winter chill has set in, cakes and other goodies begun to be displayed in shops while Christmas decorations like stars, garlands, baubles, tinsel and other knick-knacks have made an appearance in shops. However, Christians in Kerala seem unenthusiastic in the face of shortage of hard cash after the spiking of old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes. As per census figures, Christians account for 61.41 lakh of the 3.34 crore population of Kerala. "The winter chill has come, but severe shortage of low-denomination currency and long queues in front of ATMs and banks is definitely a dampener. My wife and I have just one joint bank account. Since November 9, we have been standing in bank queues every week to withdraw money. Things do not look very bright," said farmer Punnoose Thomas, 75, in Kottayam. He said he is expecting his son and his family to arrive from Dubai for the festivities. Thampi John, dependent on his small rubber plantation in central Kerala, is not pleased with the way things are shaping up in the run-up to Christmas. He said demonetisation had taken a heavy toll on him and his family since he is finding it difficult to sell rubber sheets he had kept aside for taking care of expenses on Christmas celebrations. "Till a few years back, rubber price hovered around Rs 100 per kg. Today, the price is around Rs 130, but dealers are paying us in cheques and not in cash. This means we will have to spend a fair amount of time standing in bank queues, which is going to ruin our Christmas festivities," rued John. Youth organisations attached to most churches are also in a quandary over the effect of the cash crunch when they go out to sing Christmas carols for parishioners. "After the currency spike and short supply of new Rs 500 notes, it's indeed going to be tough for us. We are yet to decide on what needs to be done. Some have suggested we collect cheques when we go out to sing carols at our people's homes. One suggestion is to borrow a swiping machine from some businessmen attached to our church and ask people to swipe to make donations," said Anish Mathew. However, not everything seems to be going downhill ahead of Christmas. Prices of fish and meat have gone down post-demonetisation, which means some consolation for people who enjoy non-vegetarian delicacies during the festivities. --IANS sg/tsb/bg Rajpal Yadav to endorse celebration management company Maharashtra,Cinema/Showbiz,Bollywood, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Mumbai, Dec 16 (IANS) Bollywood actor Rajpal Yadav has been named the brand ambassador of Wishbells, a celebration management company which will be launched in December 2016. "Wishbells creates memories and makes special moments memorable. They believe in spreading happiness and so do I. It's a company and a brand that resonates well with me and I look forward to working with them," Rajpal said in a statement. The brand's customer engagement tagline is: "Time nahi hua to kya hua Wishbells to hai na". "The date of launch is still not finalised and we are working on it. Certainly, it will be launched in end of December 2016," said Akshay KR Singh, CEO, Wishbells. --IANS dc/rb/vt Prayers held in Tripura for Rohingyas India,National,Religion,Defence/Security, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Agartala, Dec 16 (IANS) Thousands of Muslims in Tripura on Friday held special prayers for Myanmar's ethnic Rohingya community. "Thousands of Muslims held special prayers for the welfare of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar," Tripura State Jamiat Ulama (Hind) (TSJU-H) president Mufti Tayebur Rahman told IANS. Rahman said the prayers were held in over 700 mosques. He said the Myanmar Army was torturing the community by portraying Rohingya Muslims as militants, especially in the western state of Rakhine. The TSJU-H also urged the Indian government, the US, China, Thailand and other neighbouring countries to take up the matter with Myanmar. --IANS sc/gsh/mr IRDAI expects foreign reinsurers to be operational in 6-9 months West Bengal,National,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is hopeful that global reinsurance companies, which will get final clearance from the regulator to open their branch in India, will be operational in the next six to nine months, an IRDAI official said on Friday. "We have received seven applications from foreign reinsurance companies, which have shown interest to open their branch offices in India. Applications from seven companies are in the different stages of consideration of the insurance regulator. We are hopeful they should be operational within the next six to nine months," said IRDA Member (Finance and Investment) V.R. Iyer. She said a foreign reinsurer should get three levels of licences from the insurance regulator to start operations. Presently, public sector General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the only reinsurer operational in the country and foreign reinsurers have liaison office in India. In order to mitigate risks, insurance companies can go for reinsurance, Iyer said. With the clearance of opening branches of foreign reinsurance companies, domestic insurers will be able to undertake more risk. They can do more business and manage their capital more efficiently, she added. "In India, we encounter with more risks such catastrophic and disaster risks. As of now, there are no insurances available for covering that. With reinsurance companies coming to the country, insurance companies can create more products," Iyer said. She said low insurance penetration in the country provides a huge opportunity for insurance players. Citing a study, she said, "By 2025, the life insurance business is expected to touch $185 billion and non-life to touch around $ 75 billion." In relation to listings of insurance companies in the stock exchange, Iyer said the regulator issued an exposure draft and leaves it to the industry to decide when they want to list. "We are not giving any time frame to them," she added. --IANS bdc/vgu/vt Democrats preparing bill to force Trump to divest himself of assets United States,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Washington, Dec 16 (IANS) A group of Democratic senators will present a bill that would obligate US President-elect Donald Trump to divest himself of any financial interests that may pose conflicts of interest and to place his assets in a blind trust, a specialised daily The Hill reported on Thursday. The bill would also consider any violation of ethics laws or conflicts of interest by Trump "a high crime or misdemeanour under the impeachment clause of the US Constitution", EFE news quoted the five sponsors as saying in a summary of the legislation. "The American people deserve to know that the President of the United States is working to do what's best for the country -- not using his office to do what's best for himself and his businesses," said Senator Elizabeth Warren -- one of the bill's sponsors -- in a statement on the measure. Also sponsoring the bill are Sens. Ben Cardin, Chris Coons, Dick Durbin and Jeff Merkley, and they will formally present the legislation in Congress in January. The bill would require incoming First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, his wife Karen Pence, and Trump's youngest son Barron to abandon any financial assets that would pose a conflicts of interest and place them in blind trusts. The bill would also prevent them from participating in matters that are directly related to the financial interests of the Trump family, or in businesses controlled by the President-elect or his wife. The bill has a complicated future in a congress controlled by the Republicans, where the leading members of both chambers have expressed their interest in working with Trump despite the difference they had with him during the campaign. Trump had said that he would hold a press conference this week to lay out in detail how he will divest himself of his assets and businesses, but a couple of days ago he postponed that public appearance until January. The magnate also has not released his tax returns, something that presidential candidates have done as a matter of course for decades. --IANS lok/ 'Hacksaw Ridge': Best anti-war film ever (Review) Delhi,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Film: "Hacksaw Ridge"; Director: Mel Gibson; Cast: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn; Rating: ***** Once in a while, there comes a film that transcends its cinematic obligations to become a comment on the quality of human existence. "Hacksaw Ridge" is one such rarity. It communicates the power to change human perceptions on living, to change the way we look at human lives. This is the true life story of an incredibly brave and inspiring young American soldier Desmond Doss, who refused to pick up a gun during World War 2. No matter how much he was cajoled, bullied, threatened, heckled and taunted for what was initially seen as cowardice, Desmond wouldn't shoot an enemy during battle. It was against his creed and religion to shoot another human being. No violence. No gun. As simple as that. Director Mel Gibson shoots this amazing inspirational tale with minimalist flourish and drama. Desmond Doss could easily have ended up looking like a sanctimonious fool. In the capable, strong yet sensitive hands of Gibson and the film's writers, Doss becomes a sublime symbol of Ahimsa, a modern day Gandhi who can stand up for what he feels to be right without the fear of being shamed. Early scenes showing Doss's ragging in the army camp are done with a mix of wistful malice and regretful humour regarding the false sense of machismo associated with guns. The soldierly life is visualized with a keen sense of heroic pride. This soon dissolves into prolonged unbearably graphic sequences of men at war. It is here that we see the sheer futility, horror and barbarism on the battleground, played out at an octave of shrill protest without for a minute precluding our guilt or distancing us from the violence. Gibson's cinematographer Simon Duggan, a magician of mayhem, shoots the war scenes with agonising intimacy, as though the audiences' rapidly receding sense of decency is fastened to the bayonets. Every bullet fired hits us where it hurts the most. As the bullets fly and Rupert Gregson-Williams's mystifying apocalyptic music surges forward in waves of protest, the film acquires all the greatness of a David Lean war epic without the mood of heroism that is attached to Lean's cinema, or for that matter, in Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". The soldiers' suffering is intense and relentless while the battle scenes last. They effectively create a stark contrast with the life of peace and non-violence that Doss embraces. I hear Mel Gibson was reluctant to direct this true life saga of a young man who battled societal definitions of heroism to conquer the acrimony on the battleground. In hindsight, Gibson seems the only director who could denude soldierly valour of all romance and glory so effortlessly. Of course, casting Andrew Garfield (better known as Spiderman) is a stroke of providence and genius. Garfield brings to Doss's part both righteousness and heart. He is angelic without being sugary, stubborn without seeming self-righteous. It's a miraculously innocent but intense performance shorn of vanity and flamboyance. The supporting cast, specially Vince Vaugn as Doss's superior in the army, is first-rate. Come to think of it every player, bit or big, seems to instinctively know he or she is partaking of a project far larger than the immediate on-camera moment. "Hacksaw Ridge" is a film whose statement on non-violence will be quoted in textbooks and on talk shows years from now when nukes have probably destroyed half of mankind. To every warmonger in India and Pakistan who wants to battle it out, a sincere request -- go watch this film. And stay till the end credits when we meet the real Desmond Doss who tells us show he washed the muck and blood off a wounded fellow soldier's blinded eyes. "The smile on his face when he could see was all the gratitude I needed," says Doss. Thank you for reminding us of that smile of appreciation when something miraculous is given. Something like this film. --IANS skj/rb/bg Telangana CM urges Modi to go for 'total cleanup' Andhra Pradesh,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Hyderabad, Dec 16 (IANS) Reiterating his support for demonetisation, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to go for 'total a cleanup'. Rao said the Centre should initiate many more steps towards elimination of all forms of black money like diamonds, gold, shares and foreign currency and black money generation through crony capitalism. The Chief Minister was replying to a debate on demonetisation in the state assembly. "The flow of black money into the country through money laundering from British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and Singapore should be regulated effectively," he said KCR, as Rao is popularly known, hoped that the central government would go for political cleanup and introduce state funding of election campaign. Stating that the state has no option but to follow the decision taken by the central government, KCR said the scrapping of high value notes has had some impact on the state's revenues. Admitting that people were also facing difficulties, he hoped this would be temporary as the Prime Minister had sought 50 days to ease the hardship. The Chief Minister, who met Modi last month, told the assembly that the state government was in touch with the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and seeking supply of currency notes in small denominations to minimise people's the hardships. According to RBI, so far Rs 19,109 crore cash has been supplied to the state while Rs 57,479 crore was deposited by people in the banks. KCR said the government had taken initiatives to encourage people for cashless transactions. "The assessments made by the central government institutions indicate that Telangana stands first in the country in terms of number of cashless transactions," he said. Earlier, barring the BJP, all opposition parties in the house criticised the manner in which the Centre had scrapped the high-value notes. Leader of Opposition K. Jana Reddy spoke about the hardships faced by people. At one point, the Chief Minister intervened in the debate to advise the Congress leader to avoid using harsh words in criticising the Centre or the Prime Minister. --IANS ms/nir/mr Oliver Stone to be honoured by writers guild United States,Cinema/Showbiz,Hollywood, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Los Angeles, Dec 16 (IANS) Screenwriter-filmmaker Oliver Stone, whose credits include "Platoon", "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Wall Street", has been selected for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Wests 2017 Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement. Stone will be honoured at an awards show on February 19 at The Beverly Hilton here, reports variety.com. "Oliver Stone may be our most committed screenwriter, using an unparalleled sense of conflict and drama to define the past half century," WGA West President Howard A. Rodman said. "Stone's Vietnam trilogy -- 'Platoon', 'Born on the Fourth of July' and 'Heaven & Earth' -- not only illuminated the war, but made us face its consequences. "His unofficial and extraordinary history of the 1960s and 1970s -- from 'JFK' and 'The Doors' through 'Nixon' and 'Wall Street' -- wove a coherent narrative from incoherent facts," Rodman added. Speaking about the honour, Stone said: "As a young screenwriter, I remember seeing so many I admired graced with the Laurel Award, and I never expected I'd be considered their peer. I am most honoured to accept this great award." Stone served in the US Army Infantry in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. He was wounded twice in combat and ultimately received the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and other medals of honour during his military career. Stone has received eight Academy award nominations -- writing nominations for "Platoon", "Salvador" and "Nixon"; Best Picture, directing and writing for "JFK"; and Best Picture and writing for "Born on the Fourth of July". --IANS sas/rb/bg Investigators want to search South Korean presidential residence South Korea,Politics,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) Officials of the independent team investigating the 'Korean Rasputin' corruption scandal on Friday sought permission to search the South Korean president's official residence. After examining the evidence provided by the public prosecutors on the corruption scandal that implicates President Park Geun-hye, the investigators concluded it was necessary to search the Presidential Blue House, Efe news agency quoted an official as saying at a press conference here. A local daily reported that Blue House officials rejected the possibility of searching the Presidential office due to reasons of national security, but have provided the documents demanded by the public prosecutors. The South Korean Parliament approved a motion last week to impeach Park and it is now up to the Constitutional Court to accept or reject the decision, a process that could take up to six months. The public prosecutor's office had named Park as an accomplice of Choi Soon-sil, dubbed the "Korean Rasputin" in a corruption scandal. Choi, Park's close friend, now in custody, allegedly meddled in state affairs despite not holding any public office and received substantial sums of money from large South Korean companies, which she appropriated for her personal use. --IANS vgu/dg Parliamentary democracy under 'severe threat', Opposition tells President Delhi,National,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Accusing the government of stifling the opposition's voice and subjecting parliamentary democracy to a 'severe threat', opposition parties led by the Congress on Friday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene. A host of opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, submitted a memorandum to Mukherjee expressing shock over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to make a statement on the 'draconian' demonetisation decision. "It is unfortunate and unprecedented that the government itself has been deliberately disrupting and forcing adjournments of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This is being done at the behest of senior ministers. "Moreover, the Prime Minister has misled the nation by blaming the opposition," the parties said in the memorandum to Mukherjee. "We are deeply concerned that the parliamentary democratic system itself is under severe threat," they said, claiming that their repeated efforts to debate and discuss the adverse fallout of demonetisation in parliament was stonewalled by the government. While a host of opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal-United, participated in the meet, the Left Parties gave it a miss saying that the President has "no role to play in the matter". The parties said the government's November 8 demonetisation move has created a "deep crisis" in the country, with millions affected by it. "More than 97 people have lost their lives across the states while queuing up outside banks and ATMs," they said. The parties also expressed shock over Modi's failure to make a statement on the demonetisation issue, informing all the lawmakers about the rationale behind the announcement, process of rollout and the way in which the pain of the masses can be alleviated. "We were shocked when no such statement was forthcoming from the Prime Minister, as is the convention in parliamentary procedure," they said. Talking to the media after the meeting, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of violating all democratic norms. "This government has endeavoured to break every principle of democracy and the entire responsibility of not allowing parliament to function lies with the government," he said. He asserted that the opposition's repeated efforts to discuss in parliament the plight of the common people due to demonetisation was not paid heed to by the government. "While the poorest of the poor continue to suffer, this government has avoided a discussion in parliament. They have not even categorically explained why the discussion could not take place," said Trinamool lawmaker Sudip Bandyopadhyay. Among the leaders to participate in the meet were Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien. Giving the reason for the Left parties skipping the meet, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said: "We have already said that the President can't do much in this mater. We should rather reach out to the masses." Earlier this month, 16 opposition parties had petitioned Mukherjee over the passage of the Income Tax Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha without any discussion. --IANS and/nir/bg A 20 year old girl raped by cab driver on exactly four years after Nirbhaya case Delhi, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 NI Wire null The nation capital is remembering the girl Nirbhaya, who fought with the pain of horrid gang rape by which the whole country is taking pledge to deter rape and to punish the accused ones, on the other hand a rape case was filed in which a women was allegedly raped by a cab driver today. According to police, a 20-year-old woman was raped in the national capital Delhi by a cab driver on the pretext of giving her a ride. The Police have arrested the driver. The 30-year-old cab driver was identified as Aman, is a resident of the Moti Bagh slums in South Delhi. Police nabbed him from his residence. According to the Police, the woman is a resident of Noida and was raped on Wednesday-Thursday night in the car, which bore a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sticker on its windscreen. The Deputy Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said, the woman had come to Delhi on Wednesday in search of a job. Police have been seized the car. According to him, the woman was waiting at the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) bus stop around 9 p.m. on Wednesday to go back to her home when Aman offered her a lift. He further explained, "after she got into the vehicle, he molested her on the way. When she resisted, the driver stopped the vehicle somewhere in Moti Bagh and raped her. "But the woman somehow managed to escape from the car and approached a policeman around 1.30 a.m.," the officer said. "The policeman instantly informed the nearby Emergency Response Vehicle which took the girl to a police station and sent her for medical examination." Police said the car belonged to a CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Head Constable who resides in Kotla Mubarkpur in south Delhi. The car was rented to the accused driver by the owner's son a week ago." Asked how the car got a MHA sticker, the police said a relative of the CISF Head Constable worked in the ministry. Exactly four years ago, on the same day when Nirbhaya case was filed, the whole nation came to deter rape and punish the accused but after four years we are on the same place where we were four years ago. The whole nation is again in tears due to this act. --with agency inputs null China conducts first aircraft carrier live-fire drill China,Defence/Security, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Beijing, Dec 16 (IANS) China has conducted the first-live fire exercise for its aircraft carrier in the Bohai Sea, a move which may ratchet up tensions in the disputed South China Sea. Dozens of ships and aircraft from the CNS Liaoning carrier battle group and the North Sea Fleet took part in the massive exercise. They fired more than 10 air-to-air, anti-ship and air defence missiles, Chinese media said on Friday quoting a PLA Navy statement. The time of the drill was not disclosed. The Liaoning performed various drills with several destroyers and frigates, involving scenarios such as reconnaissance, aircraft interception, sea strikes as well as missile defence. Multiple groups of J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets used air-to-air and anti-ship missiles to hit targets during the exercise, according to the navy. The statement also quoted chiefs of the navy's training bureau as saying that the event was planned as part of the aircraft carrier's training schedule and aimed at verifying capabilities of personnel and weapons. Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were telecast on China Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. CNS Liaoning was commissioned in the PLA Navy in September 2012 in Dalian, Liaoning province. Its battle group took shape in December 2013, when the carrier and several escort vessels, including two guided missile destroyers, two guided missile frigates and an attack submarine took part in a long-range formation drill in the South China Sea. The move is likely to rile the US which among other countries has contested China's claim over the so-called Nine Dash Line -- almost 80 per cent of the South China Sea. Besides China, Brunei, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia also lay claims to the waters through which trade worth five million passes through every year. In July, an international court invalidated China's claims over waters, ruling in favour of the Philippines, which sought its arbitration in 2013. Beijing has rejected the ruling as "illegal". --IANS gsh/vt China urges S. Korea to stop Thaad deployment China,Defence/Security,Diplomacy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Beijing, Dec 16 (IANS) China on Friday urged South Korea to stop deployment of an advanced US missile defence system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad), after the South Korean frontrunner in presidential polls argued to delay the deployment. Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Minjoo Party, said in Seoul on Thursday the Thaad installation issue should be postponed to let the next administration reconsider it, Xinhua news agency reported. "I have noticed the report. China has repeatedly expressed serious concerns and firm opposition to Thaad deployment," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said. He said Thaad deployment in South Korea would gravely undermine regional strategic balance and the strategic security interests of countries in the region, including China, and also harm the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. --IANS soni/ahm/vt Industrialist Onkar Kanwar's biography launched Delhi,National,Art/Culture/Books, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) From falling-out with his father to setting up the Apollo Tyres company, industrialist Onkar S Kanwar shares it all in his biograpy, "The Man Behind The Wheel", which was launched here on Friday. The book, written by author Tim Bouquet, is a dynamic narration of Kanwar and describes how he turned Apollo a global brand -- starting from scratch in 1974. The book was launched by diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor, who said of it: "The story is told with tremendous amount of interesting facts and anecdotes. People know Kanwar as a business tycoon but the book gives a chance to know more about him." "I had heard about Onkar Kanwar and the story of Apollo Tyres during my various visits to India and in Britain, which led me to writing this book. Speaking with various individuals about Onkar and to the man himself, has been an enriching journey itself. Hope the readers would enjoy my version of Onkar Kanwar's journey," Bouquet said at the event. The book is the insightful and exciting story of the company and its creator which takes on a journey of Kanwar's early days in the US to building factories in Vadodara and Chennai and further expanding to the Netherlands and Hungary. --IANS som/vm 6,915 Indian defence personnel involved in UN peacekeeping India,National,Politics,Defence/Security, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) A total of 6,915 Indian military personnel are involved in UN peacekeeping missions, Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said on Friday. They include 6,909 personnel from the Army, four from the Indian Air Force and two from the Navy, the minister told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. "The composition and criteria for selection of personnel as part of the contingents for UN Missions is guided by the UN guidelines on the subject and mission-specific requirements," he said. "The criteria for selection of Staff Officers and Military Observers are based on specific requirement of the assignment and demonstrated performance as reflected in the Confidential Reports of the individual officers." In 2016, India was the second largest troop contributor, with more than 7,700 personnel deployed in 13 active missions. This included more than 800 police personnel. India has been the largest troop contributor to UN missions. So far, India has taken part in 49 peacekeeping missions with a total contribution exceeding 180,000 troops and a significant number of police personnel. --IANS rs/tsb/mr Adopt UN convention, stop terrorists getting WMD: India United States,Defence/Security,Terrorism,Diplomacy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS United Nations, Dec 16 (IANS) India has called for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) to prevent terrorists getting weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Chastising nations for holding it up, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal emphasised the need for adopting the CCIT, which has been hung up in the UN for two decades. Lal said, "Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to world peace since 1945." He was speaking on Thursday at the Security Council debate on the threat of WMDs falling into the hands of terrorists. "As a victim of terrorism for over three decades, India is cognizant of the catastrophic dangers that the transfer of WMDs to non-state actors and terrorists could entail," he said. "The proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery to non-state actors continues to constitute one of the biggest and most serious threats to international peace and security today." He said that meeting the new proliferation challenges requires new approaches that differentiate between "responsible States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realisation of its objectives." Earlier, the Council unanimously called on all countries to strengthen national anti-proliferation laws to ensure that non-state actors don't get nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliason warned about WMDs becoming "increasingly available" to "vicious non-state groups with no regard for human life." He added, "We have seen this in the use of chemical weapons by Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq." About the possibility of nuclear threats, he said there were legitimate concerns about the security of large stockpiles of weapons grade nuclear material outside international regulation. "Scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons," he said. "And emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles, are adding to threats of an attack using a WMD." (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) --IANS al/in Dalai Lama's meet with President was non-political, says India India,National,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) India on Friday downplayed China's protest over the Dalai Lama meeting President Pranab Mukherjee, saying the event attended by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was "non-political." "You are aware of India's consistent position. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a respected and revered spiritual leader. It was a non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said here. Earlier Friday, China reacted angrily to the meeting between the two at an event organised for children's welfare in the President's house here. The event was attended by other Nobel peace laureates. Earlier this month, China had expressed its displeasure over a prominent Tibetan religious leader visiting Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls South Tibet. The Dalai Lama's recent visit to Mongolia had also angered China which hiked tariffs on Mongolian trucks moving through Chinese territory. Beijing accuses the 14th Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959, of secessionist activities in Tibet. However, the spiritual leader claims that he only wants more autonomy for Tibet. --IANS gsh/bg Rahul meets Modi, opposition parties irked (Roundup) Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) A Congress delegation led by its Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi espousing the cause of farmers but the move led to cracks within the opposition. In a memorandum submitted to Modi, Gandhi demanded a waiver of loans given to farmers and urged the government to halve their electricity bills and provide higher MSP for crops. But the other opposition parties, which backed the Congress over demonetisation and other issues in Parliament, were miffed over Gandhi's decision to meet Modi after threatening to expose his corruption. "People are upset the Congress went to meet the PM alone. They (Congress leadership) think Congress is an ocean and we should all submerge. This is natural arrogance. That will not do good to them," Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh said. NCP leader D.P. Tripathi said instead of meeting the Prime Minister, the Congress should have strengthened opposition unity. "Congress is not helping its cause... That is why we are not joining them in meeting the President," he said. The Gandhi-led Congress delegation raised the issue of farmer suicides and asked Modi to write off loans given to farmers like it had been done in the case of corporates. "Thousands of farmers are committing suicide across the country. Every single day a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab. We apprised him about the plight of farmers," Gandhi told the media. The Congress submitted two crore 'maangpatras' from Uttar Pradesh and 30 lakh 'maangpatras' from Punjab, collected during door-to-door outreach in both the states. "This government has waived off loans of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to corporates. We urge the government to waive off the loans of farmers as well," Gandhi said. The delegation comprised Punjab state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh, Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajya Sabha leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. Gandhi said the government decision to remove import duty on wheat was a "terrible blow" to the farmers. "The Prime Minister too admitted the condition of the farmers to be grave. But he did not say anything about waiving off the loans to farmers." The memorandum said Indian agriculture had been severely affected due to two consecutive droughts, unseasonal rains and floods. It said lakhs of hectares of crops were destroyed and millions of farmers dependent on agriculture had lost their livelihood. "The distress has been further aggravated by their high indebtedness aggregating to approximately 4.2 lakh crore. Crop failures and inability to repay their debts and accumulated interest led a large number of farmers to commit suicides." Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "personal complicity in corruption". Party leader Azad explained why the Congress went on its own to meet Modi. "It was the Congress initiative and our agenda, not of a combined opposition. Where do other parties come in the picture in this?" he said. "I don't know why they are unhappy." --IANS bns-ao-mak/mr Modi blasts opposition, says demonetisation was due since 1971 Delhi,National,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly defended demonetisation, saying this should have been done in 1971 itself and blamed then PM Indira Gandhi for not acting on the suggestion to demonetise currency notes to curb black money. Targeting the opposition parties for their anti-demonetisation stance, Modi charged the Congress with putting party interest above the country and accused the Left parties of compromising their ideology. "We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971," Modi said while addressing the BJP MPs in Parliament annexe, lashing out at the Congress for not taking effective measures to curb black money in the country. The Prime Minister referred to former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole's book, in which he has recorded how then Home Minister Y.B. Chavan had recommended demonetisation to curb ill-gotten and hidden wealth. "Godbole says in the book that Gandhi replied saying, 'Are no more elections to be fought by the Congress?' Chavan got the message and the recommendation was dropped," Modi said. "This was in 1971 when everybody recommended this. Had it (demonetisation) been done in 1971, the nation wouldn't have been in this situation today." Modi spoke to the BJP MPs on the last day of the winter session that was washed away by bedlam over the spiking of high-value currency notes, which has caused an unprecedented cash shortage in the country. Hitting out at the Left parties, which joined the Congress in opposing the government's November 8 decision to scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, Modi recalled remarks by Communist veterans Jyotirmoy Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet supporting the demonetisation recommendation in 1971. Modi quoted Communist Party of India-Marxist MP Basu's speech in Parliament where he had flayed Indira Gandhi for rejecting demonetisation recommended by the Wanchoo Committee. "Indira Gandhi survives on black money, her politics survives on black money, therefore the report was not only not implemented but was suppressed for a year-and-half. "The government (of the Congress) is of the black money, by the black money and for the black money," Modi said quoting Basu's 1971 remarks in Parliament. He also recalled Surjeet's 1972 speech in the Rajya Sabha where he had attacked the then Congress government for not taking any steps including demonetisation to curb black money. "The CPI-M, which is now opposing demonetisation, then had even fought for demonetisation of Rs 100 note," said Modi, adding: "The Communists have compromised their ideology by aligning with the Congress." Continuing the attack, Modi accused the Congress of putting party interest above the country. Quoting former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks in 1991, Modi said: "Then they used the language of threat against tax evaders. But now that language has changed because for them, concerns of the party are above the country." "Disruptions in Parliament have happened earlier also, but this time it is different. Unlike earlier, when opposition unitedly fought against scams and corruption, most of the opposition parties are coming together to stand beside the corrupt," said Modi. The Prime Minister, however, thanked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for supporting demonetisation despite their ideological differences with the BJP. During his address, Modi also asked party MPs to promote and publicise the government's newly launched schemes to promote digital payments. --IANS and/nir/bg Rajnath inaugurates detective training institute in UP town Uttar Pradesh,National,Defence/Security, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Ghaziabad, Dec 16 (IANS) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) in Ghaziabad town of Uttar Pradesh. It is the fifth training institute of its kind in the country after those in Kolkata in West Bengal, Hyderabad in Telangana, the union territory of Chandigarh and Jaipur in Rajasthan. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed the need for extensive quality training to police personnel for excellence in the performance of their duties. The Home Minister asked the police brass to introduce more online courses to keep officers abreast of latest technology. He assured of speedy clearance of any proposal for higher remuneration for guest faculty at the institute. Rajnath Singh agreed to rename the Central Detective Training School as CDTI after a request from Director General of Police Meera Chaddha Borbankar in this regard. --IANS sps/tsb/dg Take matter to the masses instead of President, CPI-M tells opposition Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) The Left parties on Friday refrained from joining the opposition delegation that met President Pranab Mukherjee to seeking his intervention in the demonetisation issue, advising their countrparts to take the matter to the people instead. The delegation comprised the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal-United among others, but the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Communist Party of India as well as the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Paty and the Nationalist Congress Party stayed away. Defending the decision to skip the meet, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said instead of approaching the President, the matter should be taken to the masses. "What would the President do in this matter. We have already said that the President can't do much in this matter," he told the media. "Meeting the President is not a good idea. Rather the matter should be taken to the common people whose sufferings have been never ending because of demonetisation," he said. Noting that the common people and farmers are facing lots of trouble on demonetisation, Yechury said: "Till the same amount of old currency demonetised from the economy does not get replaced with the new one, the government should allow it to be used in legal transactions." Later on Twitter, Yechury flayed the Modi government for not accepting the "mistake of demonetisation". "Instead of accepting the mistake on demonetisation, the government is hell bent on making a bad situation worse by announcing more rules on the fly. "No amount of spin can cover for the reality of an economy brought to a halt by government, the social and economic turmoil caused to the people," he said in a series on tweets. --IANS and/vd Jindal University hosts 18th World Congress of Criminology India,Immigration/Law/Rights,Education, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) In a bid to deliberate on critical criminology issues, prevention of crime and deviance in the 21st century, criminology experts from 50 countries have joined together for the 18th World Congress of Criminology, held for the first time in India, here. Organised jointly by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and the International Society of Criminology, the three-day event will focus on the Criminological Opportunities and Challenges of the 21st Century in light of the current trends in Urbanisation, Globalisation, Development and Crime. "This conference has a very resonant theme today because we are talking of criminology in the context of globalisation. We are one people, we are one world, we are all networked, but the dangers of a networked age are that the impacts of crime are multiplied manifold," Supreme Court Judge Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, said in a statement. He highlighted urbanisation as the leading challenge to governance and rule of law. "The growth of urbanisation has posed very grave challenges to the enforcement of law and justice in our country. The law is but one important facet of societal governance under the regime of law, however there is a great deal to be achieved in terms of the involvement of civil society in the enforcement of law and the realisation of rights," Chandrachud added. The global congress, which will be held from Dec 16-18, will witness the participation of 700 leading criminology experts, lawyers, scholars, academics and professionals from from 68 international universities and over 70 Indian universities and institutions. --IANS rt/vgu/dg Parliament adjourned sine die, chairs express displeasure at session washout (Roundup) Delhi,National,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Parliament was adjourned sine die on Friday as the winter session that began on November 16 ended in a washout. The Chairs of both houses made it a point to express their displeasure at this as no significant business could be transacted during the 21 sittings. The Lok Sabha could transact just 17.39 per cent of its scheduled business in the 19 hours that it worked, while the Rajya Sabha transacted 20.61 per cent of the listed business in its 22 working hours. The Lok Sabha lost 92 working hours while the upper House lost more than 86 hours to disruptions and repeated adjournments, mainly over demonetisation, but also to other issues such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and farmers' distress. Both Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan voiced anguish over repeated disruptions and unruly behaviour of the members. "Regular and continuous disruptions characterised the session... All sections of the house need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation," Ansari observed in his valedictory remarks. Mahajan said: "In this session, we lost 91 hours and 59 minutes to adjournments forced by disruptions. This is not good for all of us as it mars our image in the public." The government blamed the opposition for the Session's failure. "It is because of their blindfolded strategy to obstruct the proceedings in both houses that we could not make winter session more fruitful. The session failed mainly because of the Congress and their disjointed leadership in the two houses," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told the media. He said that the government "did everything they could" to "persuade" the opposition. "As the ruling party, we did everything we could to run the houses smoothly. Be it inside Parliament or outside or in the Speaker's chamber, we kept persuading them," he added. The opposition, on its part, has blamed the government for the impasse in both houses. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition demanded Prime Minster Narendra Modi's presence during the entire discussion on demonetisation, which was initiated by Anand Sharma of the Congress under Rule 267 (short duration discussion by suspending other business) on the opening day, and refused to let the house function till their demand for the Prime Minister's presence in the house was met. The government said the Prime Minister would come in the house for parts of the debate and would intervene, but would not sit through the entire debate. The opposition refused to accept it. In the Lok Sabha, the opposition led by Congress demanded a discussion on demonetisation under a rule that entailed voting. The government declined. Towards the end, the Congress demanded a discussion without a governing rule and asked the Speaker to let Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi initiate the debate. However, since the debate under Rule 193 (short discussion) had already been initiated by Telangana Rashtra Samithi member A.P. Jithender Reddy, the Speaker did not allow to suspend that and initiate the discussion afresh. The last couple of days witnessed angry exchanges between opposition and treasury benches as the ruling bloc, including Ananth Kumar, sought a debate on AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. The government benches also slammed opposition parties for allegedly running money laundering racket by changing demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. The Lok Sabha passed four bills during the session, of which two were finance bills related to Supplementary Demand for Grants, the other two being Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, 2014. The Rajya Sabha passed only one bill, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, which stipulates punishment for those discriminating against the differently-abled. In the upper house, 116 reports/statements of various Parliamentary Committees including those of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees were presented or laid on the table of the house. Only three matters of public importance could be raised. A total of 330 Starred Questions and 3,517 Unstarred Questions were admitted and answered. Of these, only two Starred Questions could be orally answered. In the lower house, 10 bills were introduced. And 50 of the 440 starred questions were answered orally. --IANS mak/vd/vt US grant suspension will not have 'great impact': Philippines Philippines,Politics,Diplomacy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Manila, Dec 16 (IANS) The Philippine does not see any "great impact" on its economy if the United States continues to defer its grant due to concerns over rule of law and civil liberties, a senior government official said on Friday. The US State Department has said that the second compact from the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will involve a bigger amount, Xinhua news agency reported. "But then again, this is what our economic experts say, we're not really bothered by it, we will not be sleepless over this decision," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said in Singapore, where he is on a visit with President Rodrigo Duterte. Yasay said if MCC's deferment of the second grant was merely a ploy for the Philippines to bow down to the US demands, "we will not do so." "If they don't want to help us, then we'll accept that. But we feel very strongly that as friends, this is not the tack that should be adopted," he stressed. Yasay said if the US would want to help the Philippines, it would not set conditions. The MCC has said that its board deferred a vote on the re-selection of the Philippines for compact development, "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties". The US has raised concerns on the alleged killings of thousands of drug suspects in the war on drugs that Duterte has declared. --IANS vgu/vt BJP MPs voice concern over note ban to leadership Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) With no end to the queues in sight at banks and ATMs, BJP MPs and office bearers have warned the party leadership that the unending cash crunch may prove politically disastrous. The leaders conveyed their apprehensions to Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah over dinner meetings over the last two days, insiders told IANS. The MPs and others from election-bound Uttar Pradesh in particular told Shah that if the situation does not improve soon, the party may face electoral setbacks, informed sources said. The meetings were attended by several MPs from Uttar Pradesh, which will elect a new assembly early next year. "The 50-day deadline given by the Prime Minister is about to end soon but the situation outside banks and ATMs is not improving. What will we say to voters after 50 days? It is a matter of worry," an Uttar Pradesh MP told IANS on the condition of anonymity. Another MP, who too attended the dinner, said Uttar Pradesh workers were returning home from Gujarat, Punjab and Delhi after losing their jobs due to the November 8 demonetisation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi banned on November 8 Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, calling it a campaign against corruption, black money and terrorist funding. Despite repeated appeals from Modi and Shah to go to the people and publicise the good the decision has done, many MPs and local leaders are reluctant to face a people angry over unending cash shortages. "I don't want to be beaten up," one party MP admitted candidly. "Even when we go back to our constituencies, we avoid going out... In fact I know a few MPs who never left Delhi during weekends during the Parliament session (that ended on Friday)." Shah was told by the BJP farmers' front that the farming community had suffered huge losses due to the currency spike and the lack of ready cash had seriously affected sowing and essential purchases. The youth wing felt that while the situation in towns was manageable, the rural areas were in distress. One BJP leader said: "Yes, people are not openly opposing demonetisation even now. But we don't know when this sullen atmosphere will turn into an outburst." Party MPs who attended the dinner with Shah told IANS that they were not happy that their views were being sought only after the damage had been done. "This happened earlier too when the government brought a land acquisition bill. When there was an avalanche of criticism, our views were sought... Finally, the government had to take it back," one MP said. Another area of concern for the MPs and party leaders who face the electorate are the numerous changes in rules which followed the note ban, leading to confusion and anger among the people. On Friday, Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu referred to possible shortcomings in the implementation of the note ban -- which the government and the BJP were reluctant to admit earlier. BJP President Shah was, however, clear that there will be no going back on the November 8 move and that MPs, MLAs and others must aggressively propagate it among the public. Shah also refused to accept any criticism of Modi. "After the government carried out surgical strike in Pakistan, the public mood was in BJP's favour," another MP told IANS. "Even a week after demonetisation, the public mood was in our favour. But now people are losing their patience as they are not able to withdraw their own money from banks," he added. --IANS bns/mr/vd Bengal government defers tabling of universities bill West Bengal,National,Politics,Education, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) The West Bengal government on Friday deferred the tabling of the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Bill in the state legislature amid demands for further scrutiny. The decision was welcomed by the Opposition. The bill seeks to improve the functioning of universities and colleges but a section of activists and teachers allege the resolution would enable control by the state government in the institution's internal administration and erode the universities' autonomy. State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the decision was taken due to opposition's request for more time to go through the contents. "There was a lot of debate surrounding the bill. The Opposition needs more time. But we will table it as early as possible," he said. Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan, of the Congress, welcomed the deferment saying the state government acknowledged public's concerns. "This is a victory of people. We express gratitude to the state government because they accepted our demand which reflected the people's views. We welcome this," he said. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sujan Chakraborti dubbed the bill as "a black bill" and "dangerous." "The state government had to go back on this. This is dangerous - state control in education," he said. --IANS sgh/bdc/vd Disability bill passed by Lok Sabha on session's last day Delhi,National,Politics,Immigration/Law/Rights, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Parliament on Friday passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, with the Lok Sabha giving its nod to the legislation. It was the first bill in the winter session to be passed amid comparative bonhomie between the government and the opposition in both houses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the Lok Sabha as the bill was passed on the last day of the session. The bill, which replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, has been brought in to comply with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which India signed in 2007. The legislation was pending in the Rajya Sabha since February 2014 as the term of the erstwhile UPA government ended soon after the bill was introduced. It was passed by the upper house earlier this week. Piloting the bill in the lower house, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said the bill will increase reservations for the disabled persons to 4 per cent. "There will be 21 categories instead of seven earlier to cover all disabilities. Medical and education facilities are also given. No Divyangs (disabled) will be left out," he said. Most Congress members, including the party leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, were missing from the house as the bill was tabled as they went for a meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee on the demonetisation issue. Congress member K.C. Venugopal, who was present in the house and participated in the debate, also used it as an opportunity to speak on demonetisation. "Since 16th (November) we are trying to discuss the issue of demonetisation, but government is not interested," he said. He then welcomed the bill but highlighted the the draft legislation did not compel private firms to give reservation to disabled persons, and it only said this should be done if it is economically viable. As the bill was taken up for passage, amendments brought by opposition members were defeated one after the other. However, in one of the amendments, Congress members insisted for a division. When the electronic voting was done, 121 members voted against the amendment in comparison to 43 members who favoured it. However, the giant screens in the Lok Sabha which were supposed to display the members' votes according to the seating plan faced a malfunction, and could not display the result. This was used by the opposition as an opportunity to take a dig at the ruling party. As the Prime Minister was sitting in the house, members from the Congress said that "Digital India has failed", and "it failed in front of Mr. Digital". Another member from the opposition benches said: "It's condition has become like an ATM." The bill was finally passed by voice vote, soon after which the house was adjourned sine die. --IANS ao/vd/vt 4 years after gang-rape, Nirbhaya's parents remember her Delhi,National,Crime/Disaster/Accident, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS null New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) A horrific gang-rape that shocked and angered the nation happened four years ago on this day. On Friday, Nirbhaya's parents called for a meeting here to express anguish and solidarity with the victims of sexual assault. Four years after the terrifying 'Nirbhaya' rape, the parents of the 23-year old para-medical student, yet to get over their pain, organised a meeting to commemorate the brutal attack and to discuss how much has changed or stayed the same since 2012. At the meeting were present the parents of Nirbhaya, who were joined by many political leaders like Sobhja Ojha, President, All India Mahila Congress, Udit Raj, Member of Parliament, and Mamata Sharma, former Chairperson of National Commission for Women. "Four years have passed but the violators of my daughter have still not seen the flame of justice. I want to see them hanged as soon as possible. They deserve such punishment, nothing less," Nirbhaya's mother said. "BJP had made so many promises after coming to power about the women's safety. Those promises are still to be realised. Are women any safer in Delhi than 2012? Are they free to move about as per their wish? I don't think so," Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal, who was also present at the gathering, said. That the anger of the people who had taken to the streets post December 16, in solidarity with the victim, is not yet extinguished was evident from the reaction from one of the agitators present at the gathering. "We want hanging of those beasts. Until that happens we won't stay quiet or be placated. The crime that they committed is nothing less than barbarity, and they have no place in the civil society," a close friend of the victim's family, Akashdeep, told IANS. The rape which had occurred on the December 16, 2012, had seen massive protests across India, especially in the national capital, where a countless youths had spilled out on the streets and at prominent places, asking for the heads of the culprits. The brutal rape by six persons, including a juvenile, was committed inside a moving bus when the victim along with her male-friend were returning home from watching a movie and had boarded the bus at Munirka bus-stop. The case was sensational for the grade of brutality which was committed during it, with disgorged bowels and a battered body completing the details. The doctors were reported as shocked when they first saw the state of the victim and so was everyone who heard of it on TV or elsewhere. The incident, which engulfed the media space like a wildfire for months, also resulted in a committee for reappraisal of the laws on rape, known as Justice J.S. Committee, which submitted its recommendations on January 23, 2013. The committee went through the laws related to immoral trafficking, crimes against women at workplaces, child sex abuse, among other crimes, and bore its weight against the mob sentiment prevailing then, when it ruled out death penalty and chemical-castration as one of punishments for rape, and recommended life -imprisonment instead. The six accused were awarded death sentence in September 2013, the sentence being upheld by the Delhi High Court as well in 2014. While others waited for their fate, Ram Singh, one of the six accused, hanged himself in his cell inside the Tihar Jail in March 2013. The remaining five still await the Supreme Court decision, where they have appealed for commutation to life sentence. A fund of Rs 200 crore known as 'Nirbhaya Fund' has also been allocated since by the central government, to help rehabilitate victims of sexual abuse. --IANS vn/pgh/vt null West Bengal rights panel gets full time chairperson West Bengal,National,Immigration/Law/Rights,Politics, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Kolkata, Dec 16 (IANS) Almost three years after Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly resigned as the chairperson of West Bengal Human Rights Commission, the panel will get a full time chairperson. Justice Girish Chandra Gupta, who retired as the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court recently, will be the new chairperson, State Parliamentary Affairs Partha Chatterjee said on Friday. Since January 6, 2014, former state police chief Naparajit Mukherjee was acting chairperson. The decision to appoint Justice Gupta was taken at a meeting of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Speaker Biman Banerjee, and Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan. --IANS bdc/vd Rahul meets Modi seeking loan waiver for farmers Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday met Prime minister Narendra Modi seeking a waiver of loans given to farmers. A Gandhi-led Congress delegation also raised the issue of farmer suicides with Modi and urged him to write off the loans given to farmers like it has been done in the case of corporates. "Thousands of farmers are committing suicide across the country. Every single day a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab. We met the Prime Minister and apprised him about the plight of farmers across the country," Gandhi told the media. "This government has waived off loans of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to corporates. So we urged the government to waive off the loans of the farmers as well," he said. The delegation comprised senior Congress leaders including Punjab state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh and Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Gandhi also said that the government decision to remove import duty on wheat was a "terrible blow" to the farmers. "The Prime Minister too admitted the condition of the farmers to be grave. But he did not say anything about waiving off the loans to farmers," he said. Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "personal complicity in corruption". --IANS and/mr PM has to waive off farmers loan like he waived off loans to corporates: Rahul Delhi, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 NI Wire After the governments decision of demonetisation, the opposition members were hitting out the Prime Minister from the very beginning of the winter session of the Parliament or after the announcement of Novemeber 8. Earlier, Rahul said he has information, which will expose the Prime Minister involvement in corruption, and today he seeks a loan waiver for farmers. The Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a waiver of loans given to farmers. A congress delegation, which led by Rahul Gandhi, also raised the issue of farmer suicides with Modi and urged him to write off the loans given to farmers like it has been done in the case of corporates. While interacting with media Gandhi said, thousands of farmers are committing suicide across the country. Every single day a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab. We met the Prime Minister and apprised him about the plight of farmers across the country. He said, this government has waived off loans of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to corporates. So we urged the government to waive off the loans of the farmers as well. The delegation comprised senior Congress leaders including Punjab state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh and Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also said that the government decision to remove import duty on wheat was a "terrible blow" to the farmers. "The Prime Minister too admitted the condition of the farmers to be grave. But he did not say anything about waiving off the loans to farmers," he said. Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "personal complicity in corruption." The protests of opposition, which was led by Rahul Gandhi, he has chosen a warpath against the Prime Minister. --with agency inputs Opposition supporting corrupt, terrorists: Naidu Delhi,National,Politics,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the opposition appeared to be "fighting for the corrupt and terrorists". "Earlier, when the opposition used to raise its voice against corruption, the ruling party used to suppress the voice," Naidu told the media. "But today some of the opposition parties are blocking the government's action and it appears they are fighting for the corrupt, black money holders and terrorists," he said. Defining demonetisation as a historic and bold step, Naidu said: "This decision of the Prime Minister is aimed at attacking those forces. "One can find faults in the implementation, they can give suggestions, but how can you find faults in the decision of the government? "It is a historic, radical and bold decision taken by the Prime Minister. It is a fight against black money and corruption. "The irony is to see the government fighting corruption and black money, and the opposition rallying behind the corrupt forces," he said. "It is all because he has attacked the roots of corruption and black money," Naidu said. The government on November 8 scrapped Rs 500 and 1,000 notes, saying the decision was meant to fight black money, corruption and terror funding. "The roots and the foundation stone of black money and corruption have been shaken. That's why they are ... trying to create panic among the people." Naidu's remarks came after the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned again on the last day of the winter session. Naidu also targeted the opposition for supporting the Congress over demonetisation. "It is tragic that the opposition parties which fought against the Congress earlier ... are ready to accept the leadership of the Congress," Naidu said. "It is laughable and most unfortunate for democracy." --IANS aks/py/in/mr Despite the confusions created by the terrorist attacks on France and the widespread turmoil in the wider North African region, a survey conducted by Kayak, a travel search engine, showed that Morocco maintains its place as the most popular overseas travel destination for French tourists. Morocco maintains its popularity among French tourists coming ahead of Canada, Guadeloupe, la Reunion and the Martinique says the survey, which interviewed a sample of 1400 people. The survey shows that 43% of interviewees prefer traveling to French speaking countries as English proficiency is not widespread in France. Last June, Gerlan travel website Trivago showed that Marrakech is the most popular city among French tourists followed by Agadir. According to data issued by Moroccos tourism ministry, French tourists make up the majority of arrivals in Morocco. The terrorist attacks on France created amalgams that deterred many tourists from visiting Morocco. French tourists bookings dropped significantly in the aftermath of the Nice terrorist attack which left 84 dead on July 14. According to the national statistics office, the contribution of the tourism sector in Moroccos GDP stood at 63.7 billion dirhams in 2015 compared to 61.9 billion dirhams in 2014, that is a 2.8% rise that brought the share of the sector in the overall GDP to 6.5%. Head of Tunisian national security, Abderrahmane Belhaj Ali, has resigned, only one year after he was named to the position, the interior ministry said in a statement. Belhaj Ali was picked by former Prime Minister Habid Essid for his experience and was tasked with reorganizing the countrys internal security services following November 24 attack in Tunis which massacred 12 members of the presidential guard. Tunisia has been rocked by terrorist activities following 2011 Arab Spring. Three terrorist attacks hit the country last year. Aside from the November attack, the Islamic State group (IS) claimed two other attacks in 2015 respectively in March in Tunis and June in Sousse. Known for his competence, Belhaj Ali worked under ousted Ben Ali. He headed for 14 years the presidential security of the autocratic leader until 2009. It is unclear why he resigned but reports say he gave in the towel because of interference into the countrys defense affairs by corporations and political parties. Belhaj Ali reportedly indicated that he could not work in such conditions. According to press reports, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed is trying to convince him to reconsider his decision. A young Tunisian has been arrested for alleged membership with the Islamic State group and for having terror intention, reports say. Identified as Charfeddine T, the 24-year old man had joined the Islamic State before he arrived in Germany in 2015, according to German judicial authorities. German federal prosecutors argued that the man had been in contact with an IS member in charge of the groups foreign operations. The Tunisian, the prosecutors noted, had received permission from the IS official to carry out a mission. Investigations so far have not confirmed whether it was to carry out an attack, the prosecutors said in a statement. He was arrested Thursday after prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant against him the day before. The Tunisian is among the string of foreigners arrested in Germany over terrorist charges. Even though the European powerhouse has been spared by Paris and Brussels-style attacks, the country has been living in permanent terror threats following a series of small scale attacks carried out by some Syrian refugees who reportedly pledged allegiance to IS. Police said in October they had foiled a plot by a Syrian refugee to bomb one of Berlins airports. Last month, German police carried out sweeping raids across 10 states in the country, in a probe against an Islamist group suspected of propagating hate and inciting 140 youths to fight alongside militants in Syria and Iraq, the New Arab reports. Evacuated wounded civilians arrive at a checkpoint in a rural area west of Aleppo, Syria, on December 15, 2016. Photo: Ibrahim Erikan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A cease-fire in eastern Aleppo now appears to be holding. About 3,000 people have been evacuated Thursday from what was the last foothold of rebel-held territory in the major Syrian city. Buses and ambulances will continue to cart civilians away, either to government-held areas, or to the Syrian rebels territory outside the city in the province of Idlib, where rebel fighters are also supposed to take refuge, reports the New York Times. The United Nations estimates about 30,000 civilians must be evacuated in the coming days. Evacuated Syrians arrive in the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the city, on December 15, 2016, the first stop on their trip, where humanitarian groups will transport the civilians to temporary camps on the outskirts of Idlib and the wounded to field hospitals. Photo: BARAA AL-HALABI/AFP/Getty Images This was the second attempt to evacuate civilians after a first cease-fire deal, brokered by Russia and Turkey on Tuesday, derailed after fighting began anew in eastern Aleppo. Civilians had remained trapped in that shred of rebel territory less than two square miles as buses idled and then departed without passengers as bombs rained down once more. The Iranians allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were reportedly the primary culprits behind the first deals unraveling, whose militias physically blocked civilians and rebel fighters from evacuating on the buses Wednesday. The Iranians were allegedly insulted that Russia and Turkey didnt consult them in hashing out the agreement. A line of buses during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families. Photo: Karam Al-Masri/AFP/Getty Images But the second deal appeared to be a go because concessions were made to the Iranians. Per the Guardian, the revised agreement included the evacuation of wounded people in two Shia villages and in the Idlib province, which are surrounded by rebels. Syrian pro-government forces stand on a tank near the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo on December 13, 2016, after they captured the area. Photo: Youssef Karwashan/AFP/Getty Images Still, reports of intermittent fighting trickled out during Thursdays evacuation, including one that suggested pro-government forces fired on a rescue convoy helping injured civilians, and at least one person was killed. Syrians leave a rebel-held area of Aleppo and move toward the government-held side on December 13, 2016, during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. Photo: Karam Al-Masri/AFP/Getty Images The operation, overall, marks a huge victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and he extolled the evacuation agreement. The city has been at odds and divided since the civil war broke out more than five years ago, but now Assad with a lot of help from Russia and Iran-backed militias has claimed that the city is back under his full control after an intense, weeks-long bombardment of eastern Aleppo. Assad celebrated in a video message, appearing to equate the retaking of Aleppo with birth of Jesus and the fall of the USSR, reports the Guardian. What is happening today, he said, is the writing of history. Syrian pro-government forces in the ancient Umayyad mosque in the old city of Aleppo. Photo: George Ourfalian/AFP/Getty Images This is also a tremendous blow to the Syrian opposition. While the rebels retain some territory outside Aleppo, including in Idlib, holding on to control in part of the key city was of symbolic and strategic importance. And now that Assad feels like hes achieved his goals in Aleppo, its likely hell start moving in on the rebels in Idlib, where thousands are evacuating. (Though Assad, Russia, and company still have their hands full with ISIS, which recently recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra.) This cease-fire, after all, is narrow it covers evacuations in eastern Aleppo and while it may alter the course of the war, it does nothing to put a definitive end to it. Syrian pro-regime fighters gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood, in Aleppos Fardos region, on December 13, 2016. Photo: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images And the humanitarian crisis in eastern Aleppo is not yet over. Thousands of sick and wounded must still be evacuated. Concern also persists about egregious human-rights violations at the hands of pro-government forces. In the hours and days before the first cease-fire was announced, humanitarian agencies had sounded the alarm over the bloodshed of innocents in the last slice of rebel-held territory. Syrian pro-government forces reportedly went door to door, murdering people in cold blood. According to the United Nations, at least 82 civilians have been executed on the spot in their homes; others were gunned down as they ran away. Women and children are among the dead. Its hell, says Jens Laerke, a spokesman with the United Nations. Smoke billows from the former rebel-held district of Bustan al-Qasr in Aleppo, on December 12, 2016, during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake the embattled city. Photo: Karam Al-Masri /AFP/Getty Images A United Nations human-rights spokesman said there were reports of bodies littering the streets, which were under a constant barrage of gunfire and shelling. Thousands of civilians had remained trapped in those areas, with reports of at least 100 children huddled in a building under heavy fire, per CNN. They are killing everyone, said 39-year-old Abdulla Saleem, a doctor in Aleppo, told USA Today via WhatsApp. My friends are doctors, who were providing the only possible medical care to the injured. Now they are butchered. Everyone is dying. I will soon die, too. This post has been updated throughout. USNS Bowditch. Photo: US Navy A Chinese warship captured an underwater drone deployed by a U.S. Navy ship on Thursday. On Friday, the U.S. demanded its return. Its ours, it was clearly marked, we want it back, and we dont want this to happen again, Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Wall Street Journal. The incident took place in the South China Sea, about 100 miles off the Subic Bay port. It began when the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, stopped to retrieve two underwater drones, which were measuring ocean conditions. Before both drones could be retrieved, a small boat launched from a Chinese warship brazenly stole one of them. The U.S. established communication with the Chinese ship, but couldnt convince those on board to leave the drone behind. The Pentagon said Friday that the drone was not on a classified mission. Rather, the underwater glider was collecting bathymetric data from the sea, along with data on the waters salinity, temperature and current flow, WSJ reports. Chinas seizure of the drone marks the first time since 2001 that the country has taken a piece of U.S. military property. Then, the country seized a U.S. Navy surveillance plane after a midair collision with a Chinese fighter jet. Jeff Roe thought Trump might be a loser. Since he won, alls forgiven. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images The cynical truth is that a lot of politics is playacting, and a lot of the players view attacks by other players as just part of the script. That is particularly true of intra-party politics, where todays hated enemies are tomorrows allies against the even more hated opponents across the vast wasteland that separates donkeys from elephants. So this news is only surprising if you thought Donald Trumps attacks on Lying Ted Cruz were unforgivable: Jeff Roe, a prominent Republican Party strategist who managed Ted Cruzs presidential campaign, has been seeking a job in the Trump administration possibly as political director, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Roe, a hard-charging, Missouri-based operative who has also worked for a number of congressional Republicans, was spotted in Trump Tower on Wednesday. Several of his friends said that in recent weeks he had expressed serious interest in joining Trumps team, and two sources close to the transition said that Roe had embarked on an aggressive push for the political director job. Now Cruz himself, of course, came around to endorsing Trump in September after conspicuously refusing to do so at the Republican National Convention. And before that happened Roe was thought to be someone urging his boss in the party unity direction. Even before the convention, in an interview Roe seemed less upset at Trump than at the other candidates who denied Cruz a one-on-one shot at the mogul until it was too late. He did, however, allow as to how he was concerned Clinton might win a blowout (though he judged a smaller Clinton win as more likely). Its all a reminder that the main beef a lot of Republicans even #NeverTrump Republicans had with the man is that they thought he couldnt win, and might lose catastrophically. Well, he did win, and for a lot of them thats all that matters. So sure, Lying Teds campaign manager would be happy to take over the White House political operation and defend him to the death. Trumps not a loser after all! And isnt winning what politics is all about? For a brief moment today, it looked like the life of a lovelorn, one-antlered Harlem deer who had become an internet celebrity would be spared after a last-minute intervention from the Cuomo administration in plans by New York City to euthanize it. The single white-tailed buck that sort of resembled a unicorn took up residence earlier this month in Jackie Robinson Park in West Harlem. His fan base grew quickly, and neighborhood residents worried about the little guy in the city. But the Parks Department had assured folks that as long as he was physically healthy and wasnt a threat to humans or motorists, there was little they could do: Theres a ban on capturing and relocating deer in New York State, unless its for scientific purposes. So the legend of the one-antlered deer grew, until he wandered onto the grounds of a nearby public-housing complex early Thursday morning, and was captured. This left the city with two options: Release the deer back into Harlem, or euthanize him. The de Blasio administration opted for the latter. The city, however, didnt make the decision lightly, said Sarah Aucoin, the chief of wildlife and education at the Parks Department, in a statement. It didnt make sense to release the deer back into the middle of Harlem. And, besides the ban, tranquilizing and trapping the animal and delivering him elsewhere is risky, especially given the very low temperatures. Considering all of these factors, Aucoin said, and with our top priorities being human safety and the most humane treatment of this deer, we think this is the best, safest, and most humane course of action. But then word traveled all the way to Albany about the deers fate. An apparent savior materialized: New York governor and de Blasio frenemy Andrew Cuomo. .@NYSDEC offered assistance to the City to transport and find a new habitat for the white-tailed deer captured today https://t.co/yNTcLUkA2M Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 16, 2016 The Times has a very detailed breakdown of the snippy bureaucratic back-and-forth that commenced between New York City and New York State over the protocol and plan for dealing with the one-antlered deer. Even as this was playing out, sources told the Daily News that veterinarians in Harlem were refusing to euthanize the deer, and the city was going to have to bring in an undercover cop to finish the job. But then, apparent resolution: BREAKING: #HarlemDeer will not be killed. State coming to relocate it. City will not oppose. Details soon. Andy Newman (@andylocal) December 16, 2016 Officials with the states Department of Environmental Conversation said they would retrieve the deer Friday from the city and bring him to upstate New York. The city responded with passive-aggressive acquiescence: "The state DEC has seen fit in this instance to transport the deer. Although survival rates for relocated deer are low..." 1/2 Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) December 16, 2016 .. and transport is a great stressor, DEC is the regulatory body here." -@NYCParks Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) December 16, 2016 And de Blasios spokesman: NYC isn't going to kill Harlem deer. State trying to transport it safely upstate. Inconsistent w/ experts/DEC policy, but we'll try & help. Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) December 16, 2016 The state insisted that all was well DEC says the deer is safe and headed upstate. "The state is securing the safe transport of the deer to suitable habitat upstate." Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) December 16, 2016 And even selected a vehicle for the now-famous ungulate This truck will transport the deer upstate. pic.twitter.com/gqRuejVKM4 Michael Scotto (@mikescotto) December 16, 2016 But it was not to be. BREAKING #HarlemDeer has died while transport to upstate habitat was being arranged. Tony Aiello (@AielloTV) December 16, 2016 Photo: Adam Berry/Getty Images Last weeks report that the CIA concluded Russia meddled in the U.S. election to help Donald Trump, and not just to disrupt the democratic process in general, sparked a furor on the left, intensifying calls for congressional investigations, an intelligence briefing for Electoral College voters, and retaliation against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some on the right share concerns about Russians passing to Wikileaks hacked emails from the accounts of Democratic officials the call for a Senate investigation is bipartisan but conservative media has taken a far different view of the issue. While opinions vary, the general consensus is that liberals are overstating the significance of Russias alleged meddling in an effort to shift the blame for their loss from Hillary Clinton, and undermine Trumps presidency. Some on the right questioned the validity of the Washington Posts report on the CIAs conclusions, noting that it relies on anonymous sources, and other intelligence agencies have not said they reached the same finding. The Trump campaign said of the CIA, These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and Erick Erickson echoed that response. He said its ironic that Democrats embraced the CIAs reported findings so quickly, when for years theyve been declaring that Bush Lied but ignoring CIA director George Tenets assessment that the case for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was a slam dunk. He said: The Central Intelligence Agency does a great deal of good, but for the last several decades the political left, including President Obama before he became president, routinely noted how much the CIA got wrong. They were wrong about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They missed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union. They missed the rise of Fidel Castro. They missed the fall of the Shah of Iran. There is more than a bit of irony that the Democrats, who have spent decades telling everyone not to believe the CIA, suddenly want us to believe the CIA after their side lost an election they expected to win. Meanwhile, the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence are thus far refusing to back up the CIAs claims. The Democrats told us that Hillary Clinton lost the election because of James Comey and the FBI. Then they told us that she lost because the media was unfair to her. Now they are telling us she did not actually lose, but the Russians stole the election. American Thinkers Jonathan F. Keiler doubted how U.S. intelligence analysts could be so confident in their conclusions about Russias motives: As an adjective, Byzantine means complex or convoluted, and the Russians are the direct heirs to the actual Byzantine empire. Trying to divine Russian intentions and motivations is notoriously difficult, and the analysts I worked with, though among the best in the business, were frequently wrong and quite conscious of their limitations. Not only that, but the Russians are masters of espionage and disinformation, making the job of figuring out real, as opposed to manufactured, intentions all the more difficult. In National Review, Jonah Goldberg argued that Russia might have been helping Trump in an effort to erode confidence in the U.S. democratic process, though they didnt actually think he would win: The hacking could have started with mere mischief in mind and evolved into a pro-Trump effort by the end. Most experts, including those on Trumps team, didnt expect to win (contrary to a lot of post-election spin), and its doubtful that Russias psephologists are that much better than ours. So the most likely goal for the Russians was to set up a defeated Trump to denounce the validity of the election and the integrity of the political process. But then Trump won on the merits. The great irony is that the Democrats and the media which not long ago were denouncing any suggestion that the system is rigged are now echoing the very talking points Putin wants. Also writing in National Review, Andrew McCarthy said the report of pro-Trump Russian meddling belongs in the Chutzpah Hall of Fame. He argues that the Democrat-media complex complained when Trump, unable to produce evidence of election rigging, claimed he was merely referring to biased new coverage. He says Democrats are now doing the same thing: The Democrats and their media note takers started out telling us that the Russians had hacked the election. But when hard proof is demanded, they must admit that there is not a scintilla of suggestion that Putins intelligence operatives tampered with votes in fact, since most of the polling is not online, theres not even evidence that an election could be hacked. So now, Democrats have moved the goal post: What they meant by hacked, were told, is not really vote fraud but blatantly biased leaking the Democrats embarrassing communications were exposed while the GOPs remained concealed. So where is the ridicule? Youre not hearing it because the media is hoping you wont notice the Democrats climb down. They made an absurd hacking the election allegation that they cant back up. At most, what happened here is: The Russians did to Democrats exactly what the media does to Republicans they subjected one side to intense scrutiny while giving the other side a pass. The fact that they think one side or the other would be better for them does not make it so. More to the point, unless there is evidence that the meddlers have fiddled with the vote count, who cares? Under our law, it is permissible to sway the outcome of an election based on false information just ask Harry Reid. Whats the Democrat-media complaint? That there was too much true information? Others shrugged off the allegations, saying Russias alleged behavior is nothing out of the ordinary. Writing in The Daily Caller, John Linder said the Russians and Israelis have been trying to influence our elections for decades, and its likely our allies do the same. He continued: Our government tries to affect the elections of other nations too. President Obamas last campaign manager Jim Messina advised the British Conservative Party in 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron in 2015 and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzis failing referendum this year. He was paid 400,000 Euros in that losing cause. Do you think for a moment that Jim Messina would be involved in a foreign election that worked against the interests of President Obama? Me neither. The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reports that within weeks after the Israeli Knesset voted to schedule new national parliamentary elections for March 2015 an international organization known as the OneVoice Movement launched a multimillion-dollar grassroots campaign in Israel to defeat Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.OneVoice received more than $300,000 in grants from the U.S. State Department. To lead its grass roots efforts OneVoice turned to none other than Obamas 2012 field director Jeremy Bird. Netanyahu defeated his opponent and the efforts of the Obama administration without a whine. D.W. Wilber said that he takes allegations of foreign meddling in U.S. elections seriously, but as a former intelligence officer, he considers the CIAs Russia findings a non-story. In a column on Townhall, he suggested the Washington establishment is playing up reports of election meddling to hurt Trump: Intelligence agencies of countries unfriendly or adversarial towards the United States trying to interfere and influence in our elections has been a fact for nearly as long as weve been holding our national elections. The former Soviet Union regularly supported the candidate for the Communist Party of the USA in elections, and also attempted to introduce news stories that were more favorable towards the mainstream candidate who they were least opposed to. Is it a surprise that news items that were uncomplimentary towards then candidate Ronald Reagan found their way into Americas so-called mainstream media during the 1980 and 1984 elections? Reagan scared the Soviets and they pulled out all the stops to try to influence the election between Reagan and Jimmy Carter the Soviets preferred candidate and later between Reagan and Walter Mondale. The current attempts to discredit Trumps presidency and make no mistake thats whats going on here - are nothing more than a despicable attempt to cast a shadow over Trumps election. And quite possible to provide cover for the Washington Cartel to once again do anything but the bidding of the American people. Some columnists said Russias possible role in leaking emails was irrelevant because everything put out was true, and if Democrats had nothing to hide they wouldnt be complaining. Noting that the Huffington Post (actually the former CIA acting director Mike Morell) called Russias interference the political equivalent of 9/11, Bruce Thornton said in FrontPage Magazine: To believe that, youd have to believe the leaked chit-chat of the DNC and Hillarys staffers convinced about 100,000 voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan to vote for Trump instead of Hillary. Youd have to believe those voters ignored Hillarys 25 years of lying and money-grubbing, her pay-for-play State Department, her utter lack of any vision or policy prescriptions other than decrepit progressive bromides, her lousy campaign, her questionable health, her lack of trustworthiness, and her intentionally putting national security at risk with her private server, but then balked at her flunkeys trading snarky gossip and pulling dirty tricks on the Sanders and Trump campaigns. And lets not forget that harping on who hacked the emails or why is not as important as their contentnot because they changed the election, but because they revealed the sleazy tactics and sordid chicanery of the holier-than-thou DNC. Derek Hunter said at Town Hall that the email hackers should be prosecuted for their crimes, but their identities and motives dont matter: People saw the Democrats for who they were. No foreign entity or random hacker made them be themselves; they did that all on their own. Democrats didnt lose because some random Democratic National Committee staffer made a gay joke or interim DNC Chair Donna Brazile unethically slid Clinton a couple of forum questions in advance. Democrats lost because Hillary Clinton was a horrible candidate who ran as if she were guaranteed victory. She didnt run her campaign as if it were hers to lose, she ran it as if it were simply hers. No hacker, Russian or otherwise, convinced Clinton to ignore Michigan and completely skip Wisconsin. No outside entity forced Hillary to set up a secret email server while Secretary of State. And no outfit, foreign or domestic, caused any of those emails to be written, any of those discussions to occur or any of those lies to be told. Democrats and members of the Clinton campaign did that all by themselves. Bloomberg Views Ramesh Ponnuru said all sides should want to see investigations into the hacks, but since voters knew of Russias suspected involvement, Democrats cant claim that the election was unfair: Voters were free to consider this information, or not, and to take account of its illicit origins. At the time, they had good reason to know that Russia had a hand in its dissemination. Russian hacking came up in two of the presidential debates (even though Trump now bizarrely insists it didnt). Clinton said the hacking was being done for Trumps benefit. The main thing we have learned since the election, assuming the reporting holds up, is that U.S. intelligence officials agreed with her about the motive. Again, Russias interference ought to be investigated as should U.S. cybersecurity practices, and President Barack Obamas dithering in response to the interference. Americans should be able to agree on the need for further investigation regardless of their sympathies in this election. Clintons supporters, meanwhile, cant be faulted for regretting the choices that an electoral majority of their fellow citizens made. But the voters had access to the information they needed to put the leaks about the Democrats in context, their choice was made freely, their choices were tabulated accurately, and the result is being decided in the standard way. Like it or not, Trump was elected legitimately. According to the Daily Callers David Landau, the far bigger injustice was President Obama using his influence to help his preferred successor: In law, nothing forbids a sitting president from campaigning for a successor. But custom has run strongly against it. And the oddity of Clintons legal positionto say it nicelywould have counseled many a president against playing that role. But not this president; he betook himself into the fray as if nothing were amiss. The First Lady came right along with him. And when Donald Trump raised a question about something the First Lady had said, many of the media opened fire on Trump. Blaming the Russians for our election result while giving a pass to the president is nonsensical. We are a sovereign nation with plenty of skill in Realpolitik; we should be ready for foreign threats and able to dispel them. By the same token, we should never countenance the partisan abuses of a sitting president. Its always risky to talk about what history will show. But at the end of all the investigations, we are likely to see that President Obamas interventions in this election carried far more weight than that of the Russians. Andrew Malcom faulted Obama for how the U.S. responded to Russias reported cybercrimes, saying it fits with the overall legacy of his administration: No consequences. He wrote in McClatchy: Besides complaining publicly, has the Obama administration done something, anything, besides whine about being victimized by hackers? Maybe take responsibility and tighten security? And why did alleged hacking only bother Obama after a Republican victory, not his own two? In 2012, Obama mocked Mitt Romney for suggesting Russia was our top geopolitical foe. Now its expedient for the Democrat and minions to ensure the focus is on Moscow as foe. After all this time and those breaches, and only in his final meaningless month, does Obama order a report (which will be largely secret) allegedly to explore the allegedly Russian threats. Because, see, that way the public discussion wont be where it belongs: On how, after eight long years under Barack Obama, the cybersecurity of Americas government and even the presidents own political party remain so pathetically vulnerable? Ben Shapiro said Republicans have noted that Democrats hysterics over Russian manipulation seems hypocritical, arguing that the left was soft on Russia throughout the Obama administration. He argues theyre right, but theres a catch: Republicans are hypocrites on Russia too: Trump questioned whether the Russians were behind the hacks at all. Thats no surprise he spent most of the election cycle lathering up Putins bare chest, congratulating him for his strength and equating his murder of journalists with some unspecified American sins. Trump then nominated Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, a man who received the Order of Friendship from Putin in 2011. So, what are Republicans doing during all of this? Capitulating. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich calls the Tillerson pick wonderful the same Newt Gingrich who said in 2012 that Putin represents a dictatorial approach thats very violent. (Of course, Gingrich now gives a lecture to the Heritage Foundation on the principles of Trumpism, so thats not much of a surprise.) Sean Hannity has accused anyone with questions about Russian hacking of simply wanting to undermine Trump. He said, If all of these people care so much about these Russian allegations, then why didnt they feel the same way about Hillary Clintons private server scandal? We did! In fact, we spent years ripping Clinton apart. And now wed like to know why Putins hacking is all right. By the way, Hannity used to care about Russian interference and aggression. In March 2012, he called Putin a huge problem, and in June 2013, he lamented that Putin was laughing at the Obama admins request to extradite Snowden back to the U.S. Now he wants Julian Assange, who is allegedly working with Putin, freed (in 2010 he wanted him jailed). Heres the problem with the hypocrisy argument: You have to be nonhypocritical in order to make that charge. So long as Republicans are so intent on backing Trumps play that they act like hypocrites, its going to be difficult to point out just how hypocritical Democrats are. Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images Yesterday on Twitter, Donald Trump responded to reports that the CIA believes Russia leaked Democratic officials emails in an attempt to help Trump win the election by lying on Twitter about the fact that complaints about Russian hacking came up before the election: If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 There have been legitimate questions raised about why Obama waited so long to act, and in an NPR interview set to air on Friday morning, Obama said hes not letting Russia slide. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing, Obama said on Morning Edition. Some of it may be explicit and publicized. Some of it may not be. While intelligence agencies said before the election that they believed Russia was behind the hacks of Democrats emails, at the time, the Obama administration only said there would be a proportional response if those allegations proved to be true. A week before the election, the U.S. warned Russia not to target U.S. state election-related systems via a hotline between the two nations. Obama also raised the issue privately with Putin on the sidelines of the G20 in September. Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this because I spoke to him directly about it, Obama told NPR. According to NBC News, the Obama administration chose not to make a more forceful stand against Russia because they wanted to avoid an escalated conflict with Russia and the appearance of election meddling themselves plus, they thought Hillary Clinton would win. In 2015, Obama issued an executive order giving the administration the power to impose sanctions on individuals or entities carrying out cyberattacks and cyberespionage. As the New York Times notes, if Obama imposed new sanctions on Russia, Trump could just reverse them, but it may be politically difficult for him to do so. Members of Congress are urging Trump to acknowledge the intelligence agencies conclusion that Russia is behind the leaks, not some 400 pound guy working on his own, as Trump put it. But according to the Times, Trump has said privately in recent days that he thinks there are people in the CIA who are out to get him. The revelation that the CIA thinks Russia was trying to aid Trump added fuel to efforts to deny Trump a majority in the Electoral College, which votes on Monday. Obama said he doesnt think that the hacked emails were the sole reason for Clintons defeat, but he believes they were a contributing factor. Theres no doubt that it contributed to an atmosphere in which the only focus for weeks at a time, months at a time were Hillarys emails, the Clinton Foundation, political gossip surrounding the DNC, he said. I have no doubt that it had some impact, just based on the coverage. In an apparent response to Obamas remarks, Trump suggested in a 6:09 a.m. tweet that focus should be on the content of the hack specifically, that Donna Brazile shared a CNN town hall question and informed Clinton that the water crisis would come up during a debate in Flint, Michigan rather than the possibility that a foreign nation successfully intervened in our election. RNC headquarters: No hackers allowed. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Russian hackers tried and failed to infiltrate the Republican National Committee earlier this year by sending a series of phishing emails to a single employee, The Wall Street Journal reports. The hacking attempt failed, in part, because the employee was no longer with the RNC and the emails were caught by a spam filter. The RNC wasnt even aware of the attempted hacking until after Democratic National Committee leaders announced in June that their information had been compromised. Nervous, the RNC hired a private computer-security company that worked with the FBI and found that the phishing attempt had been blocked. The revelation that Russian hackers attempted to get their paws on Republican emails has some in the intelligence community believing that Russias espionage started as an information-gathering campaign aimed at both parties. It only turned into an assault on Hillary Clinton, they believe, when the leaked DNC emails provided more ammunition. (R-L) National security adviser Michael Flynn, and his staffers K.T. McFarland and Michael Flynn Jr. Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP/Getty Images The most frightening aspect of the looming Donald Trump presidency is not so much the likely outcomes, many of which are horrifying, as the unlikely ones. Running the federal government of the worlds most powerful country is hard, and many things can go wrong. Full control of government is about to pass into the hands of a party that, when it last had it, left the economy and the world in a shambles. These disasters occurred because the partys ideological extremism made it unequipped to make pragmatic choices, and because its chief executive was a mental lightweight. Sixteen years after it last came to power, the party has grown far more ideologically extreme, and its head of state is much less competent. Many of the tail risks of an extremist party led by an unqualified president are difficult to foresee in advance. But one is especially glaring: the appointment of Michael Flynn to be national security adviser. National security adviser is a crucial position for any president. It is especially so for a uniquely inexperienced one. (Donald Trump being the only president in American history lacking any public experience in either a civilian or military role.) And it is all the more crucial given Trumps flamboyant lack of interest in getting up to speed (he confounded his aides by eschewing briefing books throughout the campaign, and has turned down most of his intelligence briefings since the election.) Flynns appointment is the one that contains the sum of all fears of Trumpian government. Flynns portrait seems to reflect the worst qualities of Dick Cheney, but in exaggerated form. Flynn avidly subscribes to conspiracy theories. He believes Islamists have infiltrated the Mexican border en masse, guided along the way by Arabic-language signs Flynn claims to have seen himself. He also believes that Democrats have imposed Sharia law in parts of Florida, and shared a now-deleted tweet that suggested Hillary Clinton could have been involved in child sex trafficking. These claims were frequent enough that his subordinates at the Defense Intelligence Agency gave them a name, Flynn facts, which means a Flynn belief that is the opposite of a fact. Compounding Flynns susceptibility to conspiracy theories is his professed hostility to any information that undercuts his preconceived notions. According to a former subordinate speaking to the New York Times, in a meeting with his staff Mr. Flynn said that the first thing everyone needed to know was that he was always right. His staff would know they were right, he said, when their views melded to his. What makes this so chilling is that it is the pathology that destroyed the Bush administrations foreign policy, except that what for Cheney was a tragic flaw is, to Flynn, an aspirational credo. Flynn has reinforced this method by surrounding himself with subordinates unlikely to challenge his fever-swamp convictions. His deputy, K.T. McFarland, last worked in government in the 1980s, as a public-affairs officer, and her main experience since then has been as a Fox News talking head. Foreign affairs experts in both parties described her to Politico reporter Michael Crowley as a policy lightweight with no real personnel or crisis management experience. One Republican told Crowley, She is not a thinker but, more importantly in that job, not a doer Anyone whos watched her show knows shes sort of a follower, someone who gets all her talking points off the [Republican National Committees] Web page. Flynns other high-level appointee, Monica Crowley (no relation to Michael), is more credentialed having gained academic training before going on to a career, like McFarland, as a Fox News ranter but also much more crazy. Like Flynn, who has tweeted Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL, Crowley frames the fight against Islamist terrorists in the broadest possible terms, as a struggle between civilizations. We are in a holy war, she has said, repeatedly. Islamist radicals have always sought to frame the conflict in precisely these Islam-versus-the-West terms, which they see as their best tool to recruit the highest number of Muslims to their side. For the same reason, American foreign-policy experts in both parties, who want to isolate terrorists from the Muslim majority, have resisted cooperating with this notion. Crowley, like Flynn, is driven by fervent anti-Islamic terror more than any coherent calculation. She has depicted Muslim refugees as infiltrators plotting to take over Europe, and falsely claimed the Paris attacks were carried out by Syrian refugees. She has propounded frequently about Huma Abedins alleged ties to Islamic supremacists, which even conservative columnist Jamie Weinstein, writing in the Daily Caller, called crazy Huma Abedin conspiracy theories. More alarmingly, she has claimed the holy war against Islamists requires violating the Constitution. This is essentially the Constitution versus the Quran on every level. The Constitution is not built to fight this war. Crowley is also a devotee of birtherism and other anti-Obama fever-swamp conspiracy theories. Obama, she told radio listeners in 2008, is not black African, he is Arab African And yet, this guy is campaigning as black and painting anybody who dares to criticize him as a racist. I mean that is it is the biggest con I think Ive ever seen. She continued defending birtherism for years. (The birth-certificate stuff, how did he get into Columbia and Harvard, who paid for his education, all very legitimate questions.) There are hardly any Obama conspiracy theories Crowley does not believe. The president, according to her, has gotten w/ with bloody murder (literally. See: Fast & Furious, Benghazi). Perhaps the most powerful member of Flynns team of nutters is his son and chief of staff, Michael Flynn Jr. The younger Flynn is active on white-supremacist social media, and has tweeted out bizarre claims like the only reason minorities voted for BO is the color of his skin and NOT for the issues, or soooo African-Americans can have B.E.T. but whites cant have their own dating site? Hmmm. Flynn also promoted the conspiracy theory that a Washington pizzeria had a secret back room with child sex slaves that was somehow connected to Hillary Clinton. When a gunman showed up there trying to liberate the imagined slaves, the ensuing publicity forced Trumps transition team to remove Flynn Jr. from his official role on the transition team. But theres no evidence his deep influence on his father has abated. It is almost impossible to overstate the danger to American national security posed by the combination of Flynn and his staff. Because his appointment is not subject to Senate confirmation, and also because it has been overshadowed by the Rex Tillerson nomination and its connection to the fast-moving Russia story, Flynn has receded from the front pages. His appointment is unprecedented, like so many other other things Trump has done indeed, the endless violations of precedent are what make Trumps election so surreal, and its dangers difficult to order. But it is the specific, mutually reinforcing characteristics of Flynn and his staff that invite the most alarm. He is a conspiracy theorist averse to any challenge to his suspicions, surrounding himself with a staff of fellow conspiracy theorists seemingly designed to shut out any challenge to his biases, providing advice to a novice president who is himself a conspiracy theorist. Its under-informed, overconfident crackpots all the way down. As a comedic script, it would defy plausibility. Except theres a terrifying chance that a lot of innocent people will die as a result. *A version of this article appears in the December 26, 2016, issue of New York Magazine. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Permanent Minority Leader. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images There are good, sound reasons why Democrats in Congress might want to cut some deals with Donald Trump. Maybe they can persuade him to stay in the Paris climate accords, or to preserve Obamacare with some tolerable revisions, in which case giving him bipartisan cover might be worthwhile. But Charles Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, seems to have a completely misguided understanding of how the calculation works. Obviously Schumer is not providing candid accounts of his political strategy to the public. But a series of reports from Democrats who have spoken with him paints a consistent account of a leader who thinks his partys best chance of survival lies in working with Trump. The latest such dispatch comes from Politicos Annie Karni, who writes, Schumer, by nature, is a dealmaker, not an ideologue and insiders said hes more interested in keeping open a line of conversation with Trump Tower in the hopes of holding the seats of the 10 Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2018 in states where Trump won, a move designed to protect his caucus. Schumers idea is a faithful reflection of the way Congress thought about politics years ago, when Schumer was coming up through the system. Its a totally plausible model, which assumes that vulnerable members of Congress can shore up their standing by proving to their constituents that they can win concrete achievements. That is how Schumer has built a career, and he wants to help Democrats in red states do the same, by finding some bills where they can shake hands with Trump and cut ribbons on some bridges, and so on. Schumers idea can be boiled down to: Senate Democrats work with Trump Voters conclude Senate Democrats are doing a good job Senate Democrats win reelection. Yet both empirical research and recent experience show that this dynamic, which seems to make sense, does not actually work at all. The truth is that voters pay little attention to legislative details, or even to Congress at all. They make decisions on the basis of how they feel about the president, not how they feel about Congress. And a major factor in their evaluation of the president is the presence or absence of partisan conflict. If a president has support from the opposition party, it tells voters hes doing well, and they then choose to reward the presidents party down-ballot. This dynamic played out during George W. Bushs first term. After 9/11 an extraordinary event, to be sure both parties rallied around Bush. This caused his approval ratings to skyrocket, and as a result, Democrats in Congress suffered an unusual beating in the 2002 midterm, which ordinarily would have been an opportunity for the opposing party to record gains. Indeed, the bipartisan halo around Bush persisted long enough to let him win reelection in 2004. Only in Bushs second term, when partisan cooperation collapsed, did Democrats make major gains. Under Obama, Schumer logic would have dictated that vulnerable Republicans demonstrate a willingness to work together with the extremely popular new president. Instead, the Republican Party denied any bipartisan support for almost any bill, despite the popularity of both Obama and the proposals at issue. This created a sense of partisan dysfunction that allowed Republicans to make major gains in midterm elections, despite the fact that their party and its agenda remained deeply unpopular. The actual dynamic, then, is: Senate Democrats work with Trump Voters conclude Trump is doing a good job Senate Republicans and Trump win reelection or: Senate Democrats dont work with Trump Voters conclude Trump is doing a bad job Senate Democrats win reelection If Schumer wants to prevent bad outcomes, he might cut some deals with Trump. But those deals are going to put his members at risk. If he wants to protect his red-state seats, he needs to drive down Trumps approval ratings, which means fighting Trump on everything. Its unfortunate for the Democratic Party that its most powerful elected official does not seem to understand the basic political dynamic. David Friedman. Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images David Friedman is a bankruptcy lawyer who believes the two-state solution is an illusion, Barack Obama is anti-Semitic, and that Israel has a legal right to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank or else to annex the territory in its entirety. He believes that Americas embassy in Israel should be immediately relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem even though decades of Republican and Democratic administrations have opposed making such a move before a peace deal is secured, as both the Israelis and Palestinians see the city as their rightful capital. Friedman has nothing but contempt for Jews that disagree with him. Last June, he wrote the following about members of J Street an advocacy group for pro-Israel Americans who oppose the occupation of the West Bank and support a two-state solution: Finally, are J Street supporters really as bad as kapos? The answer, actually, is no. They are far worse than kapos Jews who turned in their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps. The kapos faced extraordinary cruelty and who knows what any of us would have done under those circumstances to save a loved one? But J Street? They are just smug advocates of Israels destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas its hard to imagine anyone worse. None of this should be newsworthy. There are plenty of smug advocates of indefinite Palestinian subjugation lounging on sofas in New York City or in one of Sheldon Adelsons well-appointed sitting rooms. Friedman is just some bankruptcy lawyer, who happens to have views that make Bibi Netanyahu look like Peter Beinart. But Friedman isnt just any bankruptcy lawyer hes Donald Trumps personal bankruptcy lawyer. And so, he is now the president-elects pick for ambassador to Israel. With Mr. Friedmans nomination, President-elect Trump expressed his commitment to further enhancing the U.S.-Israel relationship and ensuring there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries, Trumps transition team said in a statement. In that statement, Friedman expressed his eagerness to perform his duties from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. In an interview with Haaretz last summer, Friedman suggested that Trump shared his support for Israeli settlement expansion in and partial annexation of the West Bank. If the Trump administration adopted such a policy, they would be breaking with a half-century of precedent since 1967, every American administration has viewed Israels settlements as illegitimate. Former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy told the New York Times that Friedmans appointment would not only further the disenfranchisement and dispossession of the Palestinians, but also undermine American and Israeli security. If an American ambassador stakes out positions that further embolden an already triumphalist settler elite, then that is likely to cause headaches for American national security interests across the region and even for Israels own security establishment, Levy told the paper. Especially an ambassador committed to the ill-advised relocation of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Friedman will need to be confirmed by the Senate and, for whatever reason, J Street plans to oppose his confirmation. As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement, Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel. Notably, Friedmans views are hardly consensus ones within Trumps proposed cabinet. Would-be secretary of Defense James Mattis has suggested that he does not share Friedmans delusion that Israel could remain a Jewish and democratic state even while annexing the West Bank. I paid a military-security price every day as the commander of CentCom because the Americans were seen as biased in support of Israel, Mattis said at a a 2013 appearance at the Aspen Security Forum, before arguing that a two-state solution is the only acceptable outcome to the IsraelPalestine conflict. Either it ceases to be a Jewish state or you say the Arabs dont get to vote apartheid, Mattis said. That didnt work too well the last time I saw that practiced in a country. Whether Mattiss simple statement of fact or Friedmans likening of liberal Jews to Nazi collaborators receives more criticism during next years confirmation hearings will tell us a lot about the state of pro-Israel politics in our country. Photo: AzmanL/iStockphoto/Getty Images The Nigerian Prince email scam may be more of a punch line at this point, but while you may know to report similar messages as spam, others have not been so lucky. Take the victims of the seven scammers six of whom were from Nigeria, one from South Africa who were conned out of millions of dollars after meeting those individuals on dating sites. The Department of Justice announced on Friday that all seven pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and six of them additionally pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit identity theft, access device fraud, and theft of government funds. These scams, which theyd been running since 2001, often started on online dating sites, where theyd start a relationship with someone; once their victim fell for them, theyd get them to send money. (In a ReplyAll episode from February 2015, the hosts interview both perpetrators and victims in said scams.) Other times, they accessed their bank accounts and credit card information directly to take money themselves, or theyd have their victims reship stolen merchandise. Per the DOJ, the conspiracy involved tens of millions of dollars in intended losses. Hugh Grant, David Foster, Kelsey Grammer, and Mel Gibson. Photo: Getty Images When the dark, late afternoon hits and youre losing the will to go on, a fun thing to do is read up on the personal life of a middle-aged male celebrity. Conveniently enough, you will find all the information you need in the personal life section of his Wikipedia page. It may not be one hundred percent accurate, but it will be entertaining, and in many cases, it will lead to new online discoveries. When I was perusing celebrity composer David Fosters personal life section yesterday afternoon, I stumbled upon this old, important photo of his stepdaughter Bella Hadid. But Im getting ahead of myself. Heres whats great about the personal life sections of middle-aged male celebrities: They typically reference more than one ex-wife. Actors and entertainers in their 60s have often had multiple marriages, and their complex family trees engender rich and dramatic personal life sections. Foster, for example, has been married four times and has five biological daughters and six grandchildren. He also has five stepchildren including Brody Jenner and the Hadids. His lengthy personal life section contains detailed accounts of his many relationships as well as references to Mitt Romney, Clay Aiken, and a mysterious car accident. Theres also this: His first child, Allison Jones Foster (b. 1970) is from a previous relationship when David was 20. He gave her up for adoption and reconnected with her when she was 30. David Foster has led a full life, and I recommend you read all about it on Wikipedia. Kelsey Grammer with his current wife and younger children. Photo: MPI99/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Once you work your way through Fosters, there are plenty of other personal life sections to study, while you try desperately to avoid the oncoming depression that sets in every day now around 3:45 p.m. Kelsey Grammers is one I find myself returning to again and again. Each time, I feel like I find something new, possibly because Wikipedia is a dynamic, often inaccurate resource, and possibly because Grammer keeps having children. As of 2016, Wikipedia states, Grammer has been married four times and has six children and one baby (Auden James Ellis, born November 14, 2016). Grammers personal life section is 1,464 words long and contains five different subsections, one of which is titled Sex tape lawsuit. Its an embarrassment of riches, a text that could keep you busy until its time to go home. If you only have a few minutes to distract yourself, however, there are several shorter personal life sections that will do fine. Larry Davids is only a paragraph long, but it contains these two sentences, right in a row: David and his wife became contributing bloggers at The Huffington Post in May 2005. On June 5, 2007, the couple announced their intention to separate amicably. Lorne Michaelss gets straight to the point: He has been married three times, first to SNL writer Rosie Shuster (1967; div. 1980), then to model Susan Forristal (1984; div. 1987), and currently to his former assistant Alice Barry (1991 to present). Some personal life sections offer more than just gossip. Harrison Fords is great, if you want to learn all there is to know about hobby aviation. Mel Gibsons, meanwhile, illustrates how easy it is for flawed male entertainers to redeem themselves in Hollywood. Gibsons personal life section has a full eight subsections, one of which is titled Prankster. Did you know that he is a prankster? Gibson has a reputation for practical jokes, puns, Stooge-inspired physical comedy, and doing outrageous things to shock people.[citation needed] As a director he sometimes breaks the tension on set by having his actors perform serious scenes wearing a red clown nose.[141] During the filming of Hamlet, Gibson would relieve pressure on the set by mooning the cast and crew, directly following a serious scene.[143] Mel Gibson allegedly moons people, on top of everything else. And he was just nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director! I bet wed let Mel Gibson be president. Hugh Grant and Anna Eberstein. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images As is obvious by now, pretty much any middle-aged male celebritys personal life section is entertaining and illuminating. Its hard to pick a favorite, especially since the personal lives of these talented auteurs so often change. There is one personal life section that is a must-read, however. It belongs to Hugh Grant. Here is part of it: In September 2011, Grant had a daughter, Tabitha, with Tinglan Hong, a receptionist at a Chinese restaurant in London.[137][138][139] His daughters Chinese name is Xiao Xi, meaning happy surprise.[140] Grant and Hong had a fleeting affair, according to his publicist.[138] In September, 2012 Grant had a second child, John Mungo Grant, with Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein. He subsequently reunited with Hong, with whom he had his third child, Felix Grant, in 2013.[141][142] Grant and Eberstein then had a second child, Grants fourth, in December 2015.[143] Have a great afternoon. Boo that Toni Erdmann is the only film by a woman to make the shortlist. Congrats to Ade, although I'm afraid she'll get screwed out of the category even though she's the front runner. I've heard nothing but raves for My Life as a Zucchini. Really want to see that one. Reply Thread Link OT: But I know ONTD loves Oscar movies on Atomtickets, you can use the code LALALEGEND to get a free ticket to La La Land. Reply Thread Link omw bless Reply Parent Thread Link whoa! it actually works. I didn't have plans to see it but damn I'll take a free movie. thank you Reply Parent Thread Link You're welcome! I'll be seeing it Saturday. :D Reply Parent Thread Link where do you put the code in?? is it only on the app? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I just got back from seeing this. Ugh, it's so good. I said in a previous post the other day that i wasn't sure if i'd like it, I was wrong. Gonna see it again tbh. Thanks for the code! Reply Parent Thread Link omg. thank you so much! just got a ticket for tonight! if you don't mind me asking, how did you hear about this? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link sad Tonio didn't make the list. great movie Reply Thread Link Did you watch it at the cinema? I still gotta see it, Im an extra in there but so many good films at the cinema now. Reply Parent Thread Link I did! And ha, that's great! Definitely go see it then Reply Parent Thread Link man the academy just loves ignoring asian cinema. Singapore's submission this year was thought provoking and excellent film-making. Reply Thread Link yeah i'm aware of that too. i don't know why i am still so obsessed with oscars/ampas - but they've totally got a stranglehold on me despite being so... consistently messy. it is just crazy to me that South Korea and Singapore have both never had any actual nominations despite churning out quality cinema for the past decade. Reply Parent Thread Link mte I was like this list is so western-centric Reply Parent Thread Link ifkr Reply Parent Thread Link man i thought apprentice had a VERY good chance for a nomination at least. tsk tsk. Edited at 2016-12-16 11:05 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link YES! I was about to comment that Apprentice was robbed. Amazing movie! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i'm very surprised elle didn't make it. i get the impression its critical reception in europe vs america was completely different... Reply Parent Thread Link mte about mommy and elle. SMH. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm so sad bc Mommy was like, my fav movie of that year and I thought for sure he'd get on the shortlist or something. ;____; Reply Parent Thread Link Edited at 2016-12-16 01:33 am (UTC) all i can think of when i read about dolan's juste la fin du monde is mads Reply Thread Link lmao god this gif Reply Parent Thread Link woo, switzerland representing with 'my life as a zucchini' <3 it's sooo lovely, y'all need to watch it stil have to watch toni erdmann & the king's choice. also, unpopular opinion but 'it's only the end of the world' is overrated af (and dolan in general tbh). Reply Thread Link oh? good! i know the initial reviews were mixed, but since it won the grand prix at cannes i thought it ended up being considered a ~good film~. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link it's not unpopular, i'm so sick of dolan, especially re.: diversity. i'm so over people praising mommy, he only used a black person just so he could have racist insults hurled at him. Reply Parent Thread Link lol that's a popular opinion. I don't think I've read a single positive thing about Dolan's new film. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Same. The one-man show >>> Reply Parent Thread Link none for the handmaiden? Haven't seen it yet but I expect it to slay 2017 tho Reply Thread Link handmaiden wasn't submitted by korea. they submitted "the age of shadows" instead. park chanwook keeps getting snubbed. dude should have an oscar already. Reply Parent Thread Link there are news floating around that Park Chan Wook have been blacklisted by the South Korea president. that's why his film wasn't submitted. there's a post about this on here a few days ago actually. Reply Parent Thread Link anyone see paradise?? Reply Thread Link No Elle? Reply Thread Link Congratulations to Canada. I am glad we are giving them a chance to shine. It has been 14 minutes since they filmed something for an American audience. Reply Thread Link lol Reply Parent Thread Link canada had me flabbergasted like wtf i'm assuming the movie's in french-canadian, otherwise...??? Reply Parent Thread Link LOL Reply Parent Thread Link those are a lot of white countries that are nominated. not even one from latin america? shame Reply Thread Link mte Reply Parent Thread Link I mean they should just rename it the European film award: Out of the 68 Awards handed out by the Academy since 1947 to foreign language films, fifty-six have gone to European films, five to Asian films, three to African films and three to films from the Americas. Reply Parent Thread Link FWIW, Tanna was set/shot in Vanuatu with an entirely Vanuatuan cast, from memory. Reply Parent Thread Link it is bullshit Reply Parent Thread Link my parent's homeland is up there. But i have yet to even see a separation so it will be a while before I see the salesman. Reply Thread Link I really loved A Separation, and The Salesman sounds really good. We Persians make some damn good art, I must say. Even in the face of extreme oppression. Reply Parent Thread Link wtf I thought Elle would definitely get in. I'm kind of surprised that The Handmaiden and Neruda were left out too. I thought The Handmaiden would be big enough that it'd get in. Reply Thread Link korea didn't submit that movie. they submitted age of shadows instead Reply Parent Thread Link Morena Baccarin : Atriz ganha briga na Justica e podera trazer filho ao Brasil https://t.co/cJbK6rxZeb UOL Noticias (@UOLNoticias) 16 de dezembro de 2016 According to TMZ, the Deadpool/Gotham actress has been cleared by a judge to take her son back to her home country of Brazil after a legal battle with ex Austin ChickAustin tried to prevent her from taking their son to visit his dying great grandmother because he feared the kid could be exposed to Zika virus. Morena confirmed that his own pediatrician has said Zika is 'not a concern.'Austin also tried to get a custody agreement in Brazil 'in case anything happened to her.' Morena's team tried to resolve that issue, but then his team went silent.The judge ruled there was no reason to block the trip. Their son will spend Christmas eve and day with Austin, before the trip. good for her lean the fuck in girl Reply Thread Link please quote me. this is my intellectual property Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Diego Luna was such a dick in this movie but by the end I loved him. Reply Thread Link I haven't seen the movie yet. Tell me, is there even one other significant woman ... there? Reply Thread Link Mon Mothma runs this shit Reply Parent Thread Link mon mothma, lyra erso, and senator pamlo! there were a few female x-wing pilots as well. Still not great representation, but better than just jyn erso I guess. Reply Parent Thread Link Mon Mathma is the female character with the most screentime after Jyn Erso, and Mon is probably in the movie for a total of like.... 2-3 minutes and only has a few lines. If she wasn't a woman, one would probably barely notice her character. She stands out just because she's one of very women in a very male-dominated movie. I loved the movie, I think I like it more than TFA, but there are almost no women in it. Reply Parent Thread Link nope, its a sausage fest. Edited at 2016-12-16 04:55 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Sigh. I feel like feminists are expected to be content with these small acts of representation. "Look, she's the biggest on the poster! Now stop complaining." I don't get it anymore. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I was super irritated. Maybe 5 or 6 speaking roles for women. Unacceptable Disney and Star Wars! Having said that, I loved the movie. Reply Parent Thread Link There are some other women...but it's totally male dominated, even only one or two of the pilots are women and I can only think of one prominent WOC? I was disappointed. Reply Parent Thread Link NO. Every female character is a literal token female that they've put in to be like LOOK INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY. It is the bare minimum and it is so insulting because they're pretending to be gender forward by having like one kick ass female in each group but there are literally two women who speak. Reply Parent Thread Link She was worth every dollar. They all were, but she sold every emotional scene and Diego was as great partner for her as Cassian was for Jyn. Reply Thread Link YESSSS Felicity really sold this. I was so worried because I'm not a fan, but I think the cast dynamics were solid pretty much everywhere. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeeees!!! I have so.many.feels! Reply Parent Thread Link might see it this sunday, i hope it's good Reply Thread Link IMO it's the best Star Wars film. Reply Parent Thread Link This is a prequel and haven't even been born yet Reply Parent Thread Link Their character weren't born yet. The plot occurs before a New Hope/ Ep IV (the first SW movie). Reply Parent Thread Link Let me help you bb. Reply Parent Thread Link So am I in this one or not? pic.twitter.com/AvLxhLnG5Q Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) 8. joulukuuta 2016 I love the fact that Mark tweeted this. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link in the time setting of rogue one, daisy and john's characters won't be born for a couple of decades . Reply Parent Thread Link lol I was so confused by this movie as well. Reply Parent Thread Link i'm seeing a lot of these confused comments around they should've cleared up the timeline a lot more in the promo for this Reply Parent Thread Link I'm confused too lol. I know very little about Star Wars, but I remember the big deal of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher's characters being in the last film, so I just assumed that this new film would be a sequel to that film and set around the same time. They already released prequels to the original trilogy ages ago, so I'm not sure why they're skipping back to that timeline again Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This movie is like if there was a Harry Potter movie about when the order of the Phoenix existed for the first time fighting Lord Voldemort before his downfall (before harry was born basically) It actually worked really well because I always found episodes 4-6 boring (blasphemy, whatever) but it gave them so much added significance because now you see how hard the rebellion fought, and what people were willing to die for. Reply Parent Thread Link She was, by far, the worst actor of the movie. I honestly can't believe she was cast on talent. Sorry, she was that awful. She almost ruined the movie. Reply Thread Link Agreed. I wanted to be totally here for her and her family made me like her but she was a fucking cardboard cutout. She had some moments but woof. I do think some of it was shitty writing though, because Diego's character suffered as well. He was able to handle it better than she was though. Reply Parent Thread Link Yeah she wasn't very good at all. Reply Parent Thread Link Her acting really did not work for me. It was just her teeth and smuged eyeliner. Reply Parent Thread Link I got spoiled and now I don't want to see it as much but I'll probably give in for Diego Reply Thread Link what info made you not want to see it Reply Parent Thread Link Probably the character deaths that occur. Reply Parent Thread Link I cried way too much seeing this last night. Even more than when I saw Moonlight. But I didn't feel bad because when it ended because literally everyone at the end was crying MAJOR sniffles. Reply Thread Link Same!! I cried through the last 20 minutes and I still was emotional leaving the theater. Reply Parent Thread Link omg the girl sitting next to me was a major poker face and here I was openly weeping and wiping my eyes every minute and the lights came on and I was hiding on my blazer lmao Reply Parent Thread Link [ spoilers ] Chirrut and Baze. Lol same, I cried too. Especially about Reply Parent Thread Link C & B were totally a couple, right? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link That's the only moment when I cried. Well I got sad when Bail said he had to go back to Alderaan. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I went to see it with a bunch of grown/straight/slightly obnoxious men and in the end they were all crying. It was nice to see lol Reply Parent Thread Link :( I feel bad 'cause I DIDN'T cry. I was definitely shocked by certain things but I also expected them. Not even because of any spoilers or anything that I saw (I actually don't think I read any spoilers this time), but just 'cause...I was already expecting it in general. Edited at 2016-12-17 03:26 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Loved it!!!!!! Can't wait to go see it again this weekend! Reply Thread Link she's the lead and was cast during her Oscar campaign, so it's logical. good for her Reply Thread Link i think i'm going to go see this at lunch. i've had a super productive week so i'm going to treat myself. and it's my birthweek! Reply Thread Link happy birthweek bb! Reply Parent Thread Link thanks boo! it should be a good one! Reply Parent Thread Link I never thought Ethel Hallow #1 would become so successful Reply Thread Link By far her best role imo Reply Parent Thread Link I loved the shit out of that show as a kid tbh Reply Parent Thread Link aren't $25 headphones a bit expensive tho? i think $5 budget earphones are ontd's thing Edited at 2014-11-05 05:36 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link lmao she gave a 7.88 option! i have cheap 20$ skull candy headphones that i ended up getting for free thru staples rewards money lmao the real way to ball as a broke bitch! Reply Parent Thread Link oop i didn't see that! after YEARS of bad cheap earphones i bought a semi-expensive pair (idk how it converts to USD) and they have lasted me a while (watch them break right now though) and are actually good quality oprah would never have given me the pair i have Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I have those headphones and they're worth it if you do a lot of stuff that needs them. They have a 2 year warranty too. Reply Parent Thread Link sometimes walgreens has earphones on clearance and they're ~2.99 Reply Parent Thread Link headphones with a bottle of gold spray paint! Reply Parent Thread Link This post is genius. Reply Thread Link COCO! Best part of this list! Reply Thread Link "student loans edition" SCREAMING Reply Thread Link torrents are very affordable... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Make up Wet and wild lipsticks and palettes ($2.50 - $7) BH Cosmetics palettes (between $8 and $25 but Black Friday is coming up) NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream ($7.50) Skincare Stridex in the redbox, fabulous for acne Clothes Dresslink.com and CNdirect.com, cheap as fuck but trendy Reply Parent Thread Expand Link that would be super fun! lemme think tho Reply Parent Thread Link Makeup: Nyx anything Maybelline Full n Soft (awesome basic mascara) Maybelline Color Tattoo pots for eyes Skincare Olay 7 in 1 Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser Desitin (good for rashes from allergic reactions/eczema and bug bites/pimples.) Paula's Choice products (more $$$ than drugstore but not as expensive as a lot of department store brands--I swear by her Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment). You can get good deals on her products when they're on sale or you can get samples. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link My $28 king size Egyptian Cotton Herringbone Blanket I got from JCPennies about 5 years ago. I am completely in love with it. It's soft, heavy, warm, and perfect for summer or winter. I've also developed a love for Annie's Shells and White Cheddar organic mac & cheese. It's $1,59 at kroger, and delicious. Sally Girl Nail Polish minis.They come in a lot of colors and different types of glitter, and they're only 99 apiece. They are small and cheap, but the quality is still nice, and they make the perfect little treat to get for yourself. Similarly, I love Sinful colors nail polish. It's $1.99 most places, and their polishes have so much variety when it comes to colors, glitter types, shimmers, creams, holos, etc. On top of that, the quality is sometimes even better than more expensive brands like Essie or OPI. Edited at 2014-11-05 06:25 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link this is a really good idea! Reply Parent Thread Link DYING Reply Thread Link yassss @ this being accepted. good work, bb. Reply Thread Link ty! so glad people actually like it lol Reply Parent Thread Link You are a terrific writer. Better than a lot of stuff being published. I hope you do this as a living. Reply Parent Thread Link lmaoo i love this post!! i also saw some asshole actually walking down wall st with that selfie stick Reply Thread Link i don't understand the point of taking a selfie in the tourists attractions. like why? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I work for a university and I've seen lots of Asian visitors with those things standing in front of our major landmarks trying to get the whole fucking building in the shot with them. Awks. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link this post speaks to me on a spiritual level Reply Thread Link are they the things she gives out for free? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link yikes did you even try Reply Parent Thread Link Did you expect '15 best finds from Walmart' from a millionaire? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I like getting the Neiman Marcus holiday catalog because every year they always put extravagant things like a jet pack or an island lol Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Bless you for this glorious post, OP. I needed the laugh today. Reply Thread Link yay glad this post was approved. cute idea op! Reply Thread Link Love it. Great post. Also, I feel like having some of my Pomegranate Raspberry green tea with mention of the tea now. Reply Thread Link anyone ever tried anything from the brand rodial? I lost it when I came across this product on amazon. great name. my interest is definitely piqued...all their products sound epic as fuck. I'm def interested in the bee venom eye cream. Reply Thread Link I have the dragon's blood mask. I really like it! My skin is super fussy when it comes to moisturisers/masks, I always need light lotions or gels and it's just perfect. Buuuut it's 40 a tube so I also bought the Nip+Fab dragon's blood serum. N+F is their drugstore line so it has the same active ingredient and only costs 10 soooo. Reply Parent Thread Link oooh I didn't know they had a cheaper drugstore line, I will definitely be checking that out. thanks!! Reply Parent Thread Link Earlier this week, Yahoo reported that more than one billion user accounts were compromised and data stolen in a hack by an unauthorized third party in August 2013, in an incident likely distinct from the data breach the company disclosed this past September in which personal information of half a billion of its users was stolen. This data breach is evidence of the fact that hackers are growing bolder and getting increasingly creative. And while news of Yahoo or LinkedIn security breaches immediately makes the headlines, media is by no means the only industry under threat from hackers. Some of the most dangerous forms of cyber-attacks are those that target critical infrastructure such as oil and gas facilities, or nuclear plants. If one of these attacks were to succeed, it would not only be catastrophic for the environment, it would severely compromise governments and national security. The oil and gas industry is well aware of potential threats, and is rising up to tackle cyber security issues by creating joint programs and initiatives. But it is the critical importance of oil and gas infrastructure that makes some governments unwilling to share information and join a global fight against cyber crime. In addition, experts say that technology alone is not the easy fix that cyber security needs: boosting security can come only by raising awareness among personnel, especially in countries in the Middle East. It was in the Middle East that the worst hack ever seen was perpetrated back in 2012. And the attack was against one of the biggest oil companies in the world, Saudi Aramco. It wiped 35,000 computers in hours, and Aramco was forced to use fax machines and typewriters. In a matter of hours, Saudi Aramcos ability to supply 10 percent of the worlds oil was put at risk. Related: U.S. Solar Boom Continues: 1MW Installed Every 32 Minutes Thankfully, oil production did not sufferthat timebut the entire computer-assisted corporate business was belly up. A couple of weeks ago, Saudi Arabian institutions were targeted in a cyber-attack once again, with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) serving as one of the targets. Before the latest cyber-attack on Saudi institutions, PwC said in a report from March this year: Technology isnt the answer on its own: Middle Eastern companies can have a greater tendency to believe they can fix cyber issues by buying a technological fix. But that needs to be supported by a parallel investment in awareness and training - less than 20 percent have a strong awareness program, for example. Its not only the Middle East that has been the target of cybercrimes. In August 2014, the Norwegian oil industry a vital part of the countrys economy and state revenues came under attack. National Security Authority Norway said that 50 companies in the oil sector were hacked and 250 more were warned to check their systems, in one of the biggest hacks in Norways history. Oil major Statoil was reportedly a target of that attack. More recently, advisory and risk management company DNV GL has set up a Joint Industry Project (JIP) together with A/S Norske Shell, Statoil, Lundin, Siemens, Honeywell, ABB, Emerson, and Kongsberg Maritime, to develop the best practices in addressing cyber threats. Related: After Agreeing To Cut, Is OPECs No.2 Going Rogue? Governments as well are acting to prevent cyber threats as much as possible. For example, the UKs National Cyber Security Strategy for the next five years includes strengthening the defense of critical national infrastructure sectors such as energy and transport, underpinned by US$2.374 billion (1.9 billion British pounds) of transformational investment, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said upon launching the strategy in October this year. As for the entire global oil and gas security market, Wise Guy Reports said in a report on Wednesday that the market was valued at US$25.68 billion in 2015 and was estimated to grow annually by 5.01 percent to reach US$32.79 billion by 2020. The report said that oil and gas are essential global commodities, and oil is the worlds foremost commercial energy source. Even if oil is currently trading at half the price it did in 2014, industry experts warn that low prices should not make companies lower their guard. Lower oil price does not mean lower risk, William Rothe, vice president of enterprise systems for Hess Corp, told E&P Magazines Velda Addison last month. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: For evidence that the world is changing, one need look no further than Saudi Arabia. Its been a good century for the Saudis in general. Having come from the lowest echelons of the third world to a point where wealthy Saudis can drive Bentleys and fly private jets, oil has clearly been good for the Saudis. But what will the Saudis do if it becomes irrelevant in the future? That question is at the heart of a recently released plan from the Saudi government called Vision 2030. Vision 2030 aims to broaden the Saudi Arabian economy beyond oil. And to do that, Saudi Arabias first step is an IPO of Aramco. The plan does not end there though. Vision 2030 is a grand design intended to move beyond a business culture tranquilized by oil wealth and stifled by bureaucracy and replace it with a competitive economy driven by private enterprise. The only problem with this plan it is without precedent. No other nation has ever pulled off anything like it. The Saudi plan is comparable in some respects to the post-Communist changes in Eastern Europe, but the reality is that Saudi Arabia with its vast wealth and sprawling royalty is unlike any other society in the world. Vision 2030 is a broad plan with some specific goals, but not nearly enough. The plan aims to lower the unemployment rate in The Kingdom from 12.1 percent at present to 7 percent. It also aims to broaden the participation of women in the workforce, reduce reliance on foreign workers, and move from a state-driven economy to one powered by the private sector. Those changes might not seem that significant, but they are the equivalent of a revolution in the Saudi world. Take the goal of reducing reliance on foreign workers for instance; foreign workers are often hired by Saudi companies because they are empirically more productive and they have training and skills that the Saudis often lack. As a result, roughly one-third of the population of Saudi Arabia is made up of foreign born nationals. There are 10.2 million Saudi men, 9.9 million Saudi women, and 11.7 million foreign nationals. Most of these foreign nationals are in Saudi Arabia to work. In other words, the Saudi government is proposing to change perhaps half or more of its current workforce. Related: Canadas Oil Exports Are Dead Without U.S. Shale Production Other aspects of the proposal are complicated as well; how can women enter the workforce if they are banned from driving? But perhaps an even bigger problem is the mentality of the Saudis as a group. Oil wealth and government largess has fundamentally changed the way many see the working world. Saudi employers cite the complexity of hiring their fellow citizens. Companies say that if they have job interviews lined up with 10 Saudi candidates, only two of them will show up. Changing the work ethic at that level needs to begin with a complete change in world view at the earliest levels of education, according to some Saudis. Whatever the future holds for Vision 2030, it is clear that the Saudi world is changing. For investors, this is significant for two reasons. First, to the extent that Vision 2030 contributes to any type of destabilization of Saudi Arabia, it could upend the oil markets over night. The Saudis produce 3 times what the Iranians do if social, political, or economic changes engulf Saudi Arabia in turmoil any time in the next few years, oil prices could spike overnight. That is a possibility which is always worth paying attention to. Second, Saudi royalty are doing all of this for a reason they clearly see the current state of the world as untenable. The Saudis appear to see the era of high oil prices as being over. Fundamentally they are saying that The Kingdom cannot continue to support all of its citizens on the back of government production. It is not clear at this point what that means or the impact it will have on oil, but investors should be paying attention. The Saudi world is changing, and that change will bleed out to the rest of us over time. Michael McDonald for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Kuwait has confirmed it would cut crude oil output starting January as part of the deal agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers earlier this month. The news sent Brent and WTI higher, with the former reaching US$54.26 at 1:30 AM EST, and the latter changing hands at US$51.16, both up by about half a percentage point. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said it had notified its clients that January deliveries will be lower, with reports suggesting that the company would cut a larger portion of its output than initially expected. According to sources from the client side who spoke to Reuters, Kuwait was cutting supplies above the so-called operational tolerance. The operational tolerance is a stipulation in most oil export contracts that allows the seller to increase or cut the size of a delivery with no advance notice, but within certain limits. The OPEC deal initially aimed for cuts of 1.2 million bpd, targeting overall output of 32.5 million bpd. However, in the last months, all OPEC members have been expanding their production. Now the amount to be cut to stay under that cap has swelled to 1.7 million bpd. The Kuwait news is quite timely, coming soon after doubts emerged that Iraq may already be going back on its commitment to partake in the cut. According to oil-loading data seen by the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, OPECs second-largest producer was planning to increase shipments of its Basra grade crude in January. This grade accounts for 85 percent of Iraqs oil exports. Related: The Oil Mystery Behind Saudi Arabias Production Cut Iraq had pledged to cut production by 210,000 bpd starting in January, from an estimated 4.56 million bpd on average for October. Kuwaits share was to be 130,000 bpd less than its 3-million-bpd production level. So far, the OPEC deal and the one with 11 non-OPEC producers that followed it have failed to push crude up to US$60 as some analysts expected. Rather, doubts about compliance among the groups members and that of non-OPEC producers have limited the upward potential of prices, restraining them comfortably below the US$55 mark. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: At least one oil worker is dead, with another nine missing early on Thursday, after an offshore oil rig operated by Azerbaijans state-run oil firm SOCAR, company officials have said. The accident was caused by 90mph winds, causing a 500-foot walkway and a cabin where workers go to rest to break off from the rest of the rig, collapsing into the Caspian Sea. Ten workers were swept away in the incident. Winds often reach that speed in the cold season in that area, which is December through February. Rescuers, were dispatched to search for the missing men. One body was found and a search-and-rescue operation for nine missing workers is under way," Balamirza Agarakhimov, a deputy head of SOCAR subsidiary Azneft, told Reuters. The ramp, according to the expert, was built in 1978, and had undergone repairs this summer. The offshore oil rig has been home to three other accidents in the last two years, in which five oil workers lost their lives, according to Mirvari Qahramanli, director of the Committee to Protect Oil Workers Rights, as reported by RFE/RL. More than 30 SOCAR workers lost their life last December after another offshore oil platformPlatform 10 at Gunashli fieldcaught fire during a storm. A more recent fire broke out at SOCARs Gunashli at the end of September 2016, although no one was reported injured from that incident. Oil output, according to Reuters, has not been affected. Azerbaijan is major player in Caspian Sea projects that deliver oil and gas to Georgia and Turkey via pipelines that circumvent Russia. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: From Brian. As most of you already know my wife Lorine has passed away. It was a great shock to myself, her family and many of you in the... Even today, Milwaukee is a reflection of its founders. We all know about Juneau, Kilbourn and Walker, and their names are embedded all over town. But, perhaps surprisingly, one of them spent nearly 130 years away. Byron Kilbourn, founder of the settlement on the west side of the Milwaukee River that became known as Kilbourntown and is now called Westown died in Florida in 1870 and was buried on a cemetery in Jacksonville, a city to which he also lured other well-known Milwaukeeans, including Alexander Mitchell. These days, however, Kilbourn rests in peace at Forest Home Cemetery on Milwaukees South Side, thanks largely to the efforts of one man, Frank Matusinec. Frank Matusinec in 2016. PHOTO: Bobby Tanzilo. In the 1990s, Matusinec a volunteer at Historic Milwaukee Inc. got the idea to bring Kilbourns remains back to Milwaukee, and in 1998, he put his money where his mouth was and flew to Florida, rented a van and, on a journey worthy of an indie film screenplay, drove a coffin with a 128-year-old corpse back to Milwaukee. Heres Matusinecs story in his own words: The idea Ive always been a history buff. I still am a volunteer at Historic Milwaukee. There was a new book came out by Gordon Bergquist. There had been a lot on Kilbourn, who was not a favorite person in many ways. He certainly was aggressive, but that got the city going. He didnt have (a very good reputation). Yeah, (a) whatever it takes, "lets get it done," (kind of guy). When Gordon talked at the Historical Society about his new book, I went to the lecture, while I was still working. I said to my wife, "By God, you know, he should really be brought back," because Walker is here and Juneau is here. His daughter is here. I still dont know why the family never brought (him back) I guess one of the relatives said that they had talked about it but never did anything about it. Certainly it wasnt because they didnt have the money because they were fairly well off. His son was a practicing doctor. He stayed here. His son had, he and his wife, had twin daughters. They had twin daughters. None of them had any children. Theres no direct descendant. Then I mentioned it to Sandy Ackerman, who was head of the Historic Milwaukee. I said, "Sandy, we should be class project." And she said, "Yes, Frank, why dont you do that?" Its the old thing, dont bring it up, dont volunteer because (youll have to do it). (Laughs) I was still working, and I couldnt really schedule it in. I thought, "Well," I thought, "Its not going to happen but Ill go through the motions (and see)." She thought after I retired I was to be retired in a couple years Id do it. I said to myself, "You really dont have the time now to fool around with something like that." Then I retired and, it was in the back of my mind, and so I contacted the (Old City) cemetery in Jacksonville. I called the Historical Society there because I guess they were in control of this; its an old cemetery, 1832. Part of it is set aside for Confederate vets. They said, "Well, just come in, well see if we need him. If hes historically important." Later, she said, "No, you can have him." LEFT: A map of Milwaukee in 1836. According to wisconsinhistory.org, this map presents the city as far more developed than it actually was. RIGHT: Byron Kilbourn, Bernard Isaac Durward, Oil on canvas, 1847. Gift of Charles Evans Kilbourne, III Museum of Wisconsin Art Collection. In a sense, he was (historically important to Jacksonville). He went down there and built you know, in those days they built right on the downtown river. Mitchell builds himself a big deal right beside him. The Villa Alexandria he called it. A flood came along and took the whole thing away. I think it was before the 1900s. I thought, "You know Im going to go here and get this stamp, Ill go across the hall and get this, its going to take me a day just to get all the permit for the release of the body to somebody nobody knows?" There were no direct descendants. After 100 years, I guess its a public body. Bringing him home We needed a funeral home to be involved. You cant just go in there and dig them up. I called Brett Funeral Home, and I asked them if they would transport remains. They said, "Sure, as long as its wrapped properly and all this and that. No problem and well get him out and then pick him up at Mitchell Field." We were expecting something that would fit in a bag. When I finally started making the arrangements, what had happened Im kind of jumping here. Brett offered to do it. He was reluctant at first to get involved. Then he said, "Ill handle the arrangements." He had somebody down there (in Florida that could help on that end). He knew this guy for him, and he said, "He owes me one," They did it for nothing. No charge. (Now) weve got to start making arrangements to move him. They were getting anxious about in Florida, I was down there I think early November. Sandy said, "Why dont we wait until after the New Years?" I called Northwest (Airlines) in the meantime, because I said, "Well, okay, but Ive got time now, who knows what Ill be doing (later). Lets do it and get it over with." Brett calls us. Hes got a service at the cathedral and his phone went off and its those guys in Florida saying, "Were at the cemetery and we started to dig but were hitting something. We dont know what it is, it sounds metal-y. It cant be a rock." "We dont know what it is, it sounds metal-y. It cant be a rock." ILLUSTRATION: Jason McDowell. He said, "Well, dig it up. See what it is." It turns out its a cast iron coffin, in good shape for 128 years. Well, now Ive got a problem; it weighs half a ton. I called Northwest back, and I knew they couldnt handle putting a thousand pounds (on a plane). He said, "No, Im sorry, we cant handle something like that." I said, "I know I understand." Then I realized, I thought, "Well, Schneider (Transportation) goes to all over the country." I call Schneider, "Sure, sure, we go down there every day. Yep, yep. What is it?" I said, "Its a container about six feet long and maybe two feet wide, three feet wide, I dont really know how to describe it." "Oh yeah, thats no problem. Whats it made out of? What are you doing? Whats in it?" I said, "Its made out of cast iron." "Oh," he said, "Whats in it?" I said, "Well, the remains of somebody whos 128 years gone." "Oh, just a minute, I need to check with somebody." He came back, "No, Im sorry; we dont handle anything like that." I thought well, I could see where its going, so I called United Parcel. "This is your order number. This is By the way whats in it?" I said, "What it is, its a cast iron coffin with the remains in it." "Hold just a minute." Comes back on the phone, he says, "Im sorry we cant handle anything like that because we dont handle anything we cant replace." No arguing with that one. So, Ive got to do it. Brett had a young assistant, who said, "Ill go down there, Frank." (But) I said, "Well Ill pay for the whole thing anyway." No ones going to come up with the funds for it. Okay, but I thought, "No, bouncing that thing around, Im the one whos responsible for it and if somethings going to happen I want to be there with it. I dont want to go with anybody." My wife certainly wasnt going to go with me. I fly to Florida, rent the U-Haul. (Not the big box truck), which is what they wanted me to take, because thats the kind everybody takes. I said, "No, I wont drive anything like that." Theres road construction, and I can see myself going down the road knocking down all these orange cones" I said, "Ill just rent panel." Yeah, it had a box (on the back). I guess you didnt need a truck drivers license to operate it. They dug (up the coffin), and I didnt see them do it at the cemetery, but they had to be very careful because they realized as they were starting to lift it up that the lower right corner had started to rust out. They were afraid that it would give way. They got it up, and they moved it to their location (the funeral home). It was a week long scenario, 10 days or something, and we didnt move fast enough for it, but it was going to get hot down there and it started to cook now that it was out of the ground. Got down there, I hadnt eaten anything since breakfast at 6 a.m. but I wanted to get there. The timing was better to fly to Orlando and drive to Jacksonville. I got off the plane, and they said, "Oh we dont have a panel, a truck. The only one we got has a cracked windshield." I said, "They knew I was coming 10 days ago." "Yeah but, yeah but, yeah but, yeah but " You know. I said, "Ill drive it with the cracked windshield." I said, "Im not taking one of those trucks. Im not going to do that." The advantage would have been that this coffin is off by itself in the back. But you know a van. Youre right there with it. I took it over, went to the funeral home, hes finishing up a service. They got the crew together. "Whos that?" "Its the guy!" "Oh Jesus, finally we can get rid of this stinking thing!" They brought it out, and they said, "Weve got to wrap it up in a big blue plastic tarp." "Close quarters on the way home." ILLUSTRATION: Jason McDowell. Got this tarp on and this one guys got a can and hes going around, putting it all over the place on this thing. He threw the can on the ground and I kicked it and I looked at it and it had poison on it. Its a preservative they use it all the time, and its an odor killer. Six guys actually could lift this thing. The director, he got on it, too. I didnt do it because I pulled my muscle in my back a couple weeks before this. This one guy said, "Too bad you couldnt get a different kind of truck because youre going to drive this thing how many miles?" They said, "Theres a tombstone there, a four- or five-foot obelisk. Do you want that, too?" I said, "Well I might as well take a look." Its part of the deal. Eight-plot lot, and he was the only one on it. We drove to the cemetery, and all the guys got out again, moved it in and I took off. It went really very fast. I landed at Orlando I think at 11, got there at 1, and I was out of there by I think 2:30. Milwaukee or bust I stopped for lunch. Then I start to drive, getting up to speed this tarp starts to flap, I had the windows open. All this powder is puffing around the cabin and Im inhaling this. Its burning my nose and my lungs, and I thought "Jesus, is this the way Im going to go? Hauling a body from Florida?" I was up at 4:30 in the morning, so I was getting tired and I was still hungry. I was in Smyrna, just northwest of Atlanta and it got cold, and I only had a windbreaker on. Its 40 degrees. I saw a sign, Knights Inn or whatever; there was one of those Waffle Houses. I thought I could eat there. First, I went to the motel to be sure I would have a room. I walked in, and this kids looking at me. I said, "You got a room for the night? I just want it for one night." Hes looking at me. "Just a minute." He goes in the office. Some guy sticks his head out of the door, and the kid comes back out. He says, "We dont have any room." I said, "Okay." Then there was something else across the street. I was just so damn hungry I went to the Waffle House, and walking up to the Waffle House, and I get my reflection in the door, and from driving with the windows open, my hair was just kind of standing up. Im looking like a first-class idiot. Everybodys looking, turning around looking at me. Nothings happening and people, all kinds of people at 9 at night, standing waiting there, what? The waitress said, "Yeah, just sit down at that counter." I sat at the counter, theres the grill. The short order cook, hes pissed off at the world. He was supposed to be relieved at 8:30, his relief wasnt there and hes got to clean the grill, and hes cussing, nobodys getting fed. "Feeling hungry and looking like a first-class idiot." ILLUSTRATION: Jason McDowell. I said, "Well what could I have?" She goes, "Well, we got pie. Chocolate pie." Well, you know what commercial chocolate pie tastes like. But it was food. Then I went to this other motel that was across the street, then I saw the reason why after I saw my reflection, so I combed my hair and there was no problem. The next morning, Im getting ready to leave, theres a woman with two young kids parked next to me, and I had left the window cracked open because I thought, "God, in the morning, and if the sun is out, this is going to be bad." You could smell it. Shes looking at me. I said, "Morning." The kids are "Hi!" She couldnt get out of there fast enough. Because she could smell it. You could see the expression on her face. I walk around the van and the right rear tire needs air. Well, thats not too bad. I filled it up. We got it up to (Tennessee) and I thought, it was only 10 oclock, "Im going to get home today." In Tennessee, I heard a noise, and I thought, "Oh no, its something." It blew. Its Saturday morning. Of course they dont give you a spare with any of their vehicles. I didnt know that. I called up. "Well send somebody right out. Okay, where are you?" He says, "Well, its going to be a couple hours." I walked back from the filling station to the van, three people stopped to see if they could give me a lift. Then, on the way back on the walk back on the other side of the road, a couple more. I couldnt get over it. I went back to the station a little later, and I had one of those little hot dogs that they make. I happened to look up, it happened to be the guy, and he was driving up, and hes not getting out of, hes in a pickup. It has tire repair on it. Hes not stopping. Hes looking, just kind of coasting through. I went out and yelled for him. "I happened to look up, it happened to be the guy, and he was driving up, and hes not getting out of, hes in a pickup. Hes not stopping. Hes looking, just kind of coasting through. I went out and yelled for him." ILLUSTRATION: Jason McDowell. We get there He didnt even get into that. Hes just looking at me. Got there, put the tire on. "Oh thanks, goodbye." I think he might have been afraid to (ask why it was so hard to jack up the van). I get going, start, get up to 30 miles per hour, and the thing is shimmying all over the place. I go to the next town, which is Clarksville. By this time, well, it was the same thing. I had to wait. Finally around 6 p.m., somebody in a white shirt and black trousers, looks like hes going out to eat, came in and said, "Are you so and so? Yeah. Okay. Tell you what," he says, "I cant do anything here, so just follow me." He was in his mid-50s. "I got to take it back to the shop." The tire the needed to be balanced. It was out of alignment. It was just some old beat up thing. The tire was nuts. We switched tires. He put a good tire on. He didnt question (the smell or the weight) either. Byron Kilbourn, Bernard Isaac Durward, Oil on canvas, 1847 Gift of Charles Evans Kilbourne, III Museum of Wisconsin Art Collection You could see the guys going out to eat or hes going to a party. He said, "Ill tell you what " The highway was maybe five minutes away. He says, "Im going to wait here for 20 minutes. You call me within 20 minutes if youve got a problem, otherwise I know its going to go over 30 miles per hour." It did. I wind up in Paducah, Kentucky, found this nice restaurant that specialized in big spaghetti and all this and that, oh it looks good and I said, "Ill have a glass of wine." He said, "Youre two blocks away from a glass of wine, this is a dry town." Okay. Got a good start the next morning. Was up at 6. Bright, sunny morning. Crossed the Ohio, beautiful scene. Ive always wanted to go to Vandalia, Illinois. Vandalia is right almost on the way. I thought, "If I hit there right, I might be able to go to church." I did, I caught in, I caught mass. Theyre redoing the church, and its all in the auditorium. (The priest) starts hes talking about "Do you ever think if anybodys going to remember you after youve been dead?" Ive got this big grin on my face. He keeps on talking on this, "Whos going to remember you? Did you do enough good deeds?" Im still sitting there laughing, not laughing, but with a big grin. You can tell he can see it. Grinning in church. ILLUSTRATION: Jason McDowell. After mass is over, they stand out there. I said "Oh, I have to apologize to you for sitting there with a big smile on my face. I wasnt laughing at you but " Then I told him, "This interesting because I have a 128-year-old body in the van, and he was a mayor." I told him a little bit of the story. What I didnt tell you was that Vandalia is about 40 miles from Anna, Illinois, and Anna is where the state mental institution is. I said, "Would you like to come and see it?" He says, "A cast iron coffin, yeah I never saw that. No, no, thatll be all right. No, no, I dont have time, too busy." (Laughs) Okay, so that was that. I thought "Id better call Brett and let them know when Im going to get there." I call him, I was in Bloomington, Illinois, about 11 a.m. and I call him and I said this and that and I said, "I dont have any change, call my wife and let her know because I havent talked with her that day, shes going to be wondering." Home at last Take your time, right. So I did. When came back into town I went by Bluemound Road, where (Solomon) Juneau is buried. On the way back, the cemetery I went through there. I said, "Hey, heres where Juneaus buried. You see that?" Kilbourns gravestone in Milwaukee. I get in at 3 oclock and hes got a guy there from the vault company and (Jim) Stingl. Tom Wiseman (from Brett Funeral Home) was there. They have an addition to the funeral parlor, like a big garage. We unloaded it there. That was before Thanksgiving. Then it was getting colder here, but We didnt do anything right that day but talk about it. The next weekend was Thanksgiving. This was the weekend before. A final homecoming Now, we got to get him buried, so we went to City Hall to see what arrangements we could make and what the city would like to do. (Mayor John) Norquist at the time said, "You do whatever you want to do. Just be sure that any relative knows about this so that they can sign off, so we dont get sued." The fire chief came, the police chief was there, we had mounted horses. They rang the bell. The Masons, he was a Mason, he founded the third Mason or brotherhood in Wisconsin in the Iron Block. We had a couple school classes came. Then the firemen, we had a catafalque so firemen carried this wooden catafalque up the stairs, it probably didnt weigh 100 pounds, but it was all very impressive. It was really well done and I was really impressed. We had an escort all the way to the cemetery, to Forest Home, a police escort. Out at (Forest Home) cemetery, soon as it was ready, it was like a regular burial. A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," that kind of stuff. What Kilbourn looked like That familiar portrait? No, thats not him. That picture was done by somebody who thought this is what he looked like, remembered him what he looked like. Thats not what he looked like. He didnt have a big round head and lots of hair. (In Florida) they did not open the whole thing. There were three I call them flanges that you could open up. One over the head, one over the midriff and one over his feet. They opened the top, the first one over the head and I didnt have them open it for me down there, I just took their word for it that there was something in there. We we got back here, then we opened the top one. Matusinec (left) viewing the remains of Kilbourn through an opening in the coffin. My nephews wifes dad was an undertaker. He had to come and see this body (back in Milwaukee). We opened up this flange and when we were kids we were told or imagined that after you die your nails still keep growing and your hair keeps growing. Nothing. He had some kind of gabardine suit on, it looked like he had it on maybe the same day. The only thing that happened was his upper lip had kind of curled up and you could see the whiteness of the bridge mark that he had. The city sent its official photographer, and he has good pictures of it I think he does, I never saw them for their archives. His complexion got a little smoky, a little cognac-y, but it was complete. (John) Gurda said, "It was so interesting, it was kind of macabre, and it was to see somebody who had been dead for so long looking as good as he did and who the guy was." by Sen. Doug Whitsett The latest round of legislative committee days was just completed at the state capitol in Salem. It also happened to be my final set of official meetings in office, as I am set to retire at the end of my current term in early January. On Monday, December 12, the Senate Interim Committee on Environment and Natural Resources convened for a series of informational hearings. We heard two presentations from representatives of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), including a Woodstove Workgroup Report and Water Quality Permitting Program Review. The senior policy coordinator for the Oregon Water Resources Department presented us with a report on the Task Force on Drought Emergency Response. The associate director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute provided an Oregon Climate Assessment Report, the chairman of the Global Warming Commission gave a preview of that bodys 2016-17 Biennial Report and a representative of the Oregon Farm Bureau spoke about the Importance of Agriculture to Oregons Economy. Legislative concepts (LCs) that will be introduced by the committee for the upcoming 2017 session were also discussed. LC 1845 modifies trap check requirements and requires the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission (OFWC) to adopt rules for a wildlife control operator permit program for trappers. If this concept is passed into law, it would require trappers to meet certain requirements and require the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to compile a statewide annual trapping report and make it available to the public. According to written testimony from Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), the concept was brought forth by the Humane Society of the United States. Courtney wrote that it seeks to continue to allow trapping but to make it a more humane practice. However, in responses to questions, he conceded the bill would likely result in significant reductions in trapping opportunities. LC 1845 would require that animal traps be checked every 24 hours to protect unintended victims and reduce animal suffering, but it does make exceptions for mice, rats, gophers, mountain beavers and moles. It calls for mandatory reporting of all animals trapped and signage when traps are placed on public lands for the sake of protecting humans and their pets who are recreating in the area. LC 2216 would establish the Oregon Independent Scientific Review Board and a create a secretariat as its administrative section within the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University (OSU). It would also establish an Independent Scientific Review Fund and appropriates money in the fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to distribute to OSU to fund the Board and secretariat. LC 2363 would establish product stewardship for household hazardous waste. Unless it is amended, I think this concept would be nothing short of disastrous if it is ever passed into law. It would require manufacturers of household products with hazardous substances to develop, finance and implement a statewide system to collect and manage the waste. They would have to track and document those products from collection to final inspection, both within and beyond Oregon. They would also have to conduct performance audits and inspections, maintain environmental liability insurance and provide consumers with information, at the time of the products sale, about the waste collection. Those companies would have to register with DEQ a list of their brands, pay an administrative fee to the agency and provide a plan to it describing how they intend to finance, manage and conduct the program. They would also have to provide public education on reducing the use of such products and advertise and promote collection events, as well as establish permanent physical collection sites in every county and holding collection events every year. To view footage of the Senate Interim Committee on Environment and Natural Resources meeting, click here. The Joint Interim Committee on Department of Energy Oversight met on Tuesday, December 13. This committee was formed in response to various troubles at the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) involving the controversial Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program, as well as the high default rate in its Small Energy Loan Program (SELP) and significant controversy regarding alleged bias in the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC). It presented a tremendous opportunity to examine the agency and the ways in which it could better serve its stakeholders and everyone else in the state. Unfortunately, it does not appear that majority Democrats will be taking action to recommend significant changes within the department. I feel that the chance to truly reform the troubled agency may have been squandered. The committee met regularly for most of the past year. It spent way too much time listening to long agency presentations rather than proactively working to find bipartisan solutions to improve the agencys performance. The co-chairs of the committee developed their preliminary report of recommendations. They issued a second draft following our next-to-last committee meeting that addressed some of the concerns expressed by other members of the committee. However, the second draft fell short of addressing all of our concerns. Sen. Alan Olsen (R-Canby) and I worked together with other Republican members of the committee and industry representatives to compile a set of alternative recommendations for the oversight committee to consider. Our alternative recommendations were much more specific than the co-chairs plan. It called for different membership on the to-be-formed Energy Board that better represents those involved in energy production and distribution. Rather that creating new positions at ODOE, it transferred positions within the agency to better align positions with new projected workloads. We suggested specific changes within EFSC to address perceived bias in energy facility siting. We recommended third-party audits of the BETC and SELP programs, as well as a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of how BETC capital gains were taxed. We proposed the energy supplier assessment be changed to a fixed rate tax and applied equally to all energy providers. And we advised the residential energy tax credit should be discontinued, along with all other tax credits supervised by ODOE. Finally, we urged letters be sent to the DOJ recommending investigations regarding any unethical or other wrongdoing by ODOE employees regarding the BETC and SELP programs. To view footage of the meeting, click here. The Joint Emergency Board met on the morning of Wednesday, December 14. That body is similar to the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee. It considers federal grant funding requests, accepts reports required by the legislative assembly and responds to funding requests from state agencies made during the interim period between legislative sessions. The E-Board considered 37 requests from 20 different state agencies. The work included accepting rebalances of the combined nearly $30 billion budgets for the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Human Services. The Board also took action on the Department of Education request for funding for lead testing in schools, the Oregon Department of Forestry for fire season cost reimbursement, funding for Umpqua Community College in Roseburg for expenses related to the shooting that took place on its campus last year and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for the Portland Community College Nursing Program Teach-Out. The latter was appropriated to help about 300 former students of the ITT Technical Institute in Portland, who were unable to complete their educations after the Obama administration took action that caused the college shut its doors. My office has received numerous e-mails from former ITT students and their families asking for assistance in this area. At least 40 of the affected student were in the chamber to hear the results of the E-Board deliberations. Im pleased to report the Legislature rose to the occasion and was able to provide the critical funding. To view footage of the meeting, click here. A Senate floor session was held immediately after the E-Board adjourned for the Senate confirmation of the Governors appointments to various boards, commissions and agencies. The confirmation process was marred by disagreement regarding appointments to the OFWC and the Board of Forestry. At the heart of the controversy was the Governors refusal to appoint balanced memberships, including landowners, to the OFWC and foresters to the Board of Forestry. That debate and vote was followed by a special ceremony for five outgoing Senators. As you may know, I am among those who did not seek reelection. To view my farewell speech on the Senate floor, click here. My remarks begin at 1:46:50. Its been an honor serving the citizens of Senate District 28 for the last 12 years. Throughout my legislative career, I always made every effort to stay true to the conservative values I was sent to Salem to represent. I will look back fondly on all the connections and friendships that I and Rep. Gail Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls) have been able to make both inside and outside of the capitol. Thank you for allowing me to stand up for rural Oregon for all these years. Senator Doug Whitsett is the Republican state senator representing Senate District 28 Klamath Falls NA again witnessed disorderly conduct 16 December, 2016 Related News Imran Khan distributed loan cheques under Kamyab Jawan Programme PTI govt to face all challenges coming its way: Imran khan More on this View All Tips for Taking Incredible iPhone Travel Photos Top 2021 Accessories We Know You Will Love Types of Casino Payment Methods Best Poker Hands ever played on a Casino Are Slot Developers Important for players? Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry Woke Bingo Disorderly conduct continued on the second day of the parliament session on Thursday, with chaos erupting soon after PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi stood up to address the speaker. The PTI leader requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to attend the next session and clarify his position. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq tried to maintain order in the house but PML-N lawmakers began yelling when Qureshi started to address the speaker in a hostile manner. "I would have presented my point of view on the privilege motion submitted by my party if you had given me 10 minutes after Leader of Opposition Khursheed Shah spoke yesterday," said Qureshi. "If this was done yesterday then what happened yesterday would not have happened." "I expect the speaker to protect the rights of minorities and the opposition. I might be alone and my voice might be weak, but I am speaking on behalf of eight million people," said the veteran PTI leader. The PTI leader said he has seen the speaker coming under pressure from the government. He added that he will respect Sadiq if he is neutral, but will not refer to him as the 'speaker' if he sides with the government. "I never disrespected you as the speaker. I never wanted to address you like I did yesterday. I was dragged and forced in that corner to address you as Mr Ayaz Sadiq," said Qureshi, explaining his earlier outburst. Referring to Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique earlier comments, in which he called lawmakers from the PTI as 'hooligans', he said, "Ministry of Railways referred to our protest yesterday as noise by 'PTI's hooligans'. This is all on record and it's all over the news." The speaker countered and said he will get the word 'hooligans' expunged from the house's records. "You're used to terrible accident on the railways. If this misbehaviour continues, a parliamentary accident will also occur, one that hasn't been witnessed before," said Qureshi to Rafique. PTI's Qureshi also said Saad Rafique will have to apologise for his earlier comments, or he will not be allowed to address the floor of the house. "Saad Rafique needs to apologise to us or else he shouldn't be allowed to speak." The PTI leader, referring to the privileged motion, claimed he was not aware that the PPP would be submitting one too. "I did not know PPP had also submitted a similar privilege motion to the one PTI had drafted." However, on Wednesday the Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah and Qureshi did hold a meeting before the start of the parliamentary session. Talking in the assembly about PTI's privilege motion, which was to be submitted on Wednesday, the PTI leader claimed that their privilege motion was trashed before it was even heard. "How can you give a ruling without listening to us?" questioned the PTI leader. "Senator Aitezaz Ahsan, on television said what we've put forth is not subjudice." "We never spoke on Panamagate. We spoke about Nawaz Sharif lying on the floor of the parliament." He added that PTI's privileged motion had simply asked whether what Nawaz Sharif was saying on the floor of the house was the truth or the one he presented in the court was the truth. "This was the privilege motion that you rejected without giving us a chance to explain." Qureshi added that if the premier can come to the parliament and explain what his lawyer said, the rift would settle down. Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said he is an elected official and it is his duty to remain unbiased in his role as the speaker of the house. "When I was deseated, I went to the public instead of the court," he said, adding that he was restored to his position and it was only possible to the courts and democracy. "I always try to be as fair as possible. I will never present a rebuttal here because I do not want a back and forth. It's undignified," said Sadiq. "I do everything in accordance with the law and the Constitution," the speaker added. Saad Rafique said he had read the transcript from yesterday's session and reacted when PTI MNAs used abusive language against the prime minister and the speaker. "I admit I used the word hooliganism." "I unintentionally disrespected you and I take my words back," Rafique added.addressing Qureshi."Criticise us as much as you want. But please do not use expletives, threatening words against us," Rafique added the PML-N stalwart. The railways minister further asked PTI to take back indecent words you have used against our prime minister and our political workers. Rafique, referring to the Panama Papers, said the parliament can not be made in to the Supreme Court neither can the court be made in to the parliament. "We can sit together and discuss how we can discuss Panama Papers in the parliament. There are ways that we can find to discuss it further in the parliament," said the PML-N minister. "We knew you (PTI) will go to the court, which is why we issued a statement in the Parliament to explain our position to our fellow parliamentarians," Rafique added. "We did not go to the court, you did. You promised us you will take back your allegation that the elections were rigged, but once it was proven in your, you still did not withdraw your allegations," Rafique said. "Everyone named in Panama Papers was set aside but the PM was singled out," the railways minister added further. The PML-N minister clarified that the ruling party will not settle the matter of Panama Papers till a verdict is announced by the Supreme Court, as they do not want to approach the 2018 general elections under the shadow of the controversy. "We do not want to enter the 2018 elections with a case hanging on our head. We want a decision ourselves." "You raise allegations but never provide evidence to prove them," he added. After launching a lengthy tirade against the PTI, Rafique requested the parliament members to cooperate in the future and solve all discussions in a civilised manner. The daughter of former Mozambique president Armando Guebuza, Valentina Guebuza, is reported to have been shot dead in the capital Maputo. Her husband, Zofino Muiuane has been arrested by police, the Diario de Noticias newspaper reported. The shooting is said to have taken place on Wednesday. Ms Guebuza, who was 36, is said to have been shot several times and died of her wounds on the way to hospital. Mr Muiuane was arrested in one of Maputos city squares, the newspaper said. Ms Guebuza was listed as the seventh most powerful young woman in Africa by Forbesmagazine in 2013 and held a strong of positions in telecommunications companies and family businesses, Sapo24 reported. Mr Muiuane is a businessman who once worked with British American Tobacco. The couple married in 2014 at a ceremony with 1,700 guests including South Africa leader Jacob Zuma, the King of Swaziland Mswati III and Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the Angolan president. They had a daughter last year. Armando Guebuza stepped down as president in 2014 after serving two terms. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video It's never been easier to launch a wildly profitable online media empire. Whether you're an aspiring mommy blogger or political pundit, $10 gets you a URL and online storage. Fill out a short form and copy-paste some code to get ads on your website. Lure in some readers and you'll have no trouble making money. Every 1,000 visitors earns you at least a dollar or two with traditional banner ads sold through Google - boxes typically pitching products that readers have browsed online. But the same readership generates three times the income through recommended content ads. Usually displayed in a familiar grid, they couple crazy headlines with scintillating pictures - a must-click combination dubbed chum. "Site Reveals an Alarming Amount About Your Past (Photos & More)." "Atrial Fibrillation Foods You Must Avoid!" "19 Bikinis That Aren't Covering Anything." It's that mix of ads that significantly funds much of the internet, including major media websites LATimes.com, Bloomberg.com and Newsweek.com. But the advertising technology companies that offer these easy-to-use services impose few regulations, inspiring sites that publish fake news to maximize revenue. They take advantage of a general rule in online publishing: the crazier the story, the greater the interest. Capitalizing off this year's presidential election, they post exaggerated political news articles - some with made-up quotes and details - that millions of consumers can't resist opening. Al Sharpton ditching the U.S. because of Donald Trump? President Obama banning the national anthem at sporting events? Anything to get more attention on Facebook - and more income through recommended content ads. Thwarting fake news is now a major focus of the tech industry. Facebook, where the stories spread, has pledged to combat misleading publishers. But it's the ad networks that can do more to stop fake news. They hold the power to remove the financial incentive for trafficking in deception. - Years ago, the only way for a publisher to sell an ad was to work directly with an advertiser. Google, AOL and others realized that this was expensive and cumbersome for both sides and built huge businesses simplifying the process through software. With just a few clicks, advertisers now automatically place messages across many publications at once. Hundreds more tech firms including Content.ad in and AdSupply followed suit. Israel-founded companies Taboola and Outbrain brought the lucrative recommended content ads to the forefront about a decade ago, hoping to assist publishers in two ways. Publishers can buy chum on other sites, luring readers to help fulfill viewership promises made to their own top advertisers. And publishers can get a revenue boost by housing a grid of chum links on their own stories. It has been an effective combination for reputable sites and misleading ones. Businesses will spend more than $30 billion on non-video online ads in the U.S. alone this year. Advertisers pay dimes or pennies each time their message gets clicked. The tech companies in the middle split the proceeds with websites that run the ads. Publishers tend to get a bigger portion the larger and more prominent they are, sometimes higher than 50 percent. Entrepreneurs in the misleading news business have said the pennies add up to tens of thousands of dollars in monthly income. To advance their businesses and promote an open market, most ad technology providers set a low bar for joining, meaning that even the crummiest content can be a pathway to income. And by taking advantage of Facebook and Google, where users may click on links without considering their validity or source, millions of readers can be wrangled by a small operation creating a few stories a day. Many ad tech firms vet sites for child porn, hate speech, violent content or illegal drugs. But checking for accuracy of information hasn't been a consideration, which is why a Conservative101.com article with a headline claiming that Sharpton was leaving the U.S. continues to absorb ad money. - In the weeks before last month's presidential election, more than 100,000 Facebook users promoted articles that claimed or implied that Hollywood star Tom Hanks had endorsed Trump for president. Misleading articles stated that Hanks - who supported Hillary Clinton - had pledged to vote for Trump, a man the actor described to the BBC in October as a "self-involved gas bag." Hanks' publicist declined to comment for this story. Conservative101.com, ReaganCoalition.com, WorldPoliticus.com and a several other websites that published Hanks-Trump stories produce mostly legitimate stories. But they generate inconsistent viewership, relying on the viral posts for the bulk of their traffic, according to an analysis by research firm SimilarWeb. As much as 90 percent of their hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors publication arrive by clicking on a Facebook link, SimilarWeb data show. The six websites with Hanks-Trump stories use more than a dozen advertising software providers including Revcontent, Google and Teads, according to tech analysis firm BuiltWith. Others suppliers are Adblade, Amazon.com Associates, Criteo and Spoutable. Some ad companies didn't respond to requests for comment. Nearly all the rest said they're wary of judging fact and fiction. AdSupply Chief Executive Justin Bunnell questioned whether stating that Hanks endorsed Trump represents an accidental inaccuracy or intentional deceit. Being the arbiter in that case is not a position he finds comfortable or financially sound. "It's not practical to have an elaborate vetting process," Bunnell said. "I'm not giving out security clearances here." He's also unsure about the trade-offs. Does monetizing fake news harm America's free market and democratic values more than banning such a business? "I like to do things for the net good of society, but the deeper I look into this, it's a more thorny situation," Bunnell said. Content.ad Chief Revenue Officer Michael Rosenberg said the 45-employee company isn't an industry leader so it's monitoring what bigger players do before setting policy. - Advertisers and more highly trafficked publishers are increasingly urging ad networks to clean up their acts. Media critics and politicians want action too. They fear that misinformation leaves readers ill-equipped to make decisions. Violent consequences were highlighted earlier this month when a man allegedly brought a rifle to a Washington, D.C., pizzeria that fake news websites had pegged as haven for pedophiles. How deceiving a website must be to rise to the level of offensive remains a matter of debate. "There may be little consensus on which sites and pages are fake news, but frankly those same concerns were raised about hate and even pornography," said Benjamin Edelman, a Harvard University associate business professor who studies internet operations. Sanctioning them "is doable and probably not that hard given the concentration of fake news on a modest number of sites." Some are making adjustments. The top two online advertising companies, Google and Facebook, have banned fake news sites from using their ad services. DoubleVerify, which provides a tool for advertisers to restrict where ads run, released a new filter for fake news websites. ShareThrough is keeping tabs on its customer list for websites that cross a line. Revcontent is expanding beyond a ban. As early as next year, it wants to provide ratings of advertised links describing a website's quality and political slant. Data analysis and reader feedback would fuel the measurements. "Providing more information is how you empower people," said Revcontent CEO John Lemp, who vowed to donate any profit tied to fabricated news. It's unlikely that any action by ad technology suppliers or social media services would fully thwart purveyors of deliberately fake news. Advertising industry executives say there will always be bottom-feeders who will supply websites trafficking in pirated content, illicit drugs and worse. There's also the element of human nature. Advertisers want eyeballs and people are more likely to click on racier content. Though established news organizations may filter out the tawdriest ads, other sites will run them and profit from them. "Lots of junk is there because that's what people call on," said Mike Rosenberg, chief revenue officer at Content.ad. By running the same types of ads as large media companies, misleading online publishers have given themselves a familiar look that readers may struggle to differentiate from traditional news sources. Until major publishers drop such ads in favor of new business models or focus more heavily on direct sales, the fake news ecosystem and the confusion between fact and fiction is left to endure. Inside the ad tech industry, the ongoing focus on changing the shape, fonts and sizes of ads to garner more clicks suggests that chum is still evolving, not vanishing. Its continued existence also shows that it works. Ad tech firms have little reason to change a product that customers are buying. Chum brings in the viewers that advertisers covet, sometimes without revealing where they came from. In many cases the transactions run through an opaque system that leaves advertisers unaware of the sites on which their ads appeared. Soylent, Lowermybills.com, Wisebread, Nucific and other Southern California companies whose ads came up alongside Hanks-Trump stories didn't comment on their involvement. Others said they plan to seek increased transparency and more assurances about where their ads get placed. "Fake news sites probably perform as well as a real news website, so I don't think it makes an impact on my bottom line," said lifestyle blogger Andrew Wise, who paid for a link to his LifeTailored.com website on AmericanReviewer.com's Hanks-backs-Trump story. "That being said, from an ethical perspective, I would prefer to work with a business that prohibits fake news." 2016 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A new technique devised by MIT researchers can take data sets with huge numbers of variables and find approximations of them with far fewer variables. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology One way to handle big data is to shrink it. If you can identify a small subset of your data set that preserves its salient mathematical relationships, you may be able to perform useful analyses on it that would be prohibitively time consuming on the full set. The methods for creating such "coresets" vary according to application, however. Last week, at the Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the University of Haifa in Israel presented a new coreset-generation technique that's tailored to a whole family of data analysis tools with applications in natural-language processing, computer vision, signal processing, recommendation systems, weather prediction, finance, and neuroscience, among many others. "These are all very general algorithms that are used in so many applications," says Daniela Rus, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and senior author on the new paper. "They're fundamental to so many problems. By figuring out the coreset for a huge matrix for one of these tools, you can enable computations that at the moment are simply not possible." As an example, in their paper the researchers apply their technique to a matrixthat is, a tablethat maps every article on the English version of Wikipedia against every word that appears on the site. That's 1.4 million articles, or matrix rows, and 4.4 million words, or matrix columns. That matrix would be much too large to analyze using low-rank approximation, an algorithm that can deduce the topics of free-form texts. But with their coreset, the researchers were able to use low-rank approximation to extract clusters of words that denote the 100 most common topics on Wikipedia. The cluster that contains "dress," "brides," "bridesmaids," and "wedding," for instance, appears to denote the topic of weddings; the cluster that contains "gun," "fired," "jammed," "pistol," and "shootings" appears to designate the topic of shootings. Joining Rus on the paper are Mikhail Volkov, an MIT postdoc in electrical engineering and computer science, and Dan Feldman, a lecturer at the University of Haifa and a former postdoc in Rus's group. The researchers' new coreset technique is useful for a range of tools with names like singular-value decomposition, principal-component analysis, and nonnegative matrix factorization. But what they all have in common is dimension reduction: They take data sets with large numbers of variables and find approximations of them with far fewer variables. In this, these tools are similar to coresets. But coresets simply reduce the size of a data set, while the dimension-reduction tools change its description in a way that's guaranteed to preserve as much information as possible. That guarantee, however, makes the tools much more computationally intensive than coreset generationtoo computationally intensive for practical application to large data sets. The researchers believe that their technique could be used to winnow a data set with, say, millions of variablessuch as descriptions of Wikipedia pages in terms of the words they useto merely thousands. At that point, a widely used technique like principal-component analysis could reduce the number of variables to mere hundreds, or even lower. The researchers' technique works with what is called sparse data. Consider, for instance, the Wikipedia matrix, with its 4.4 million columns, each representing a different word. Any given article on Wikipedia will use only a few thousand distinct words. So in any given rowrepresenting one articleonly a few thousand matrix slots out of 4.4 million will have any values in them. In a sparse matrix, most of the values are zero. Crucially, the new technique preserves that sparsity, which makes its coresets much easier to deal with computationally. Calculations become lot easier if they involve a lot of multiplication by and addition of zero. The new coreset technique uses what's called a merge-and-reduce procedure. It starts by taking, say, 20 data points in the data set and selecting 10 of them as most representative of the full 20. Then it performs the same procedure with another 20 data points, giving it two reduced sets of 10, which it merges to form a new set of 20. Then it does another reduction, from 20 down to 10. Even though the procedure examines every data point in a huge data set, because it deals with only small collections of points at a time, it remains computationally efficient. And in their paper, the researchers prove that, for applications involving an array of common dimension-reduction tools, their reduction method provides a very good approximation of the full data set. That method depends on a geometric interpretation of the data, involving something called a hypercircle, which is the multidimensional analogue of a circle. Any piece of multivariable data can be thought of as a point in a multidimensional space. In the same way that the pair of numbers (1, 1) defines a point in a two-dimensional spacethe point one step over on the X-axis and one step up on the Y-axisa column of the Wikipedia table, with its 4.4 million numbers, defines a point in a 4.4-million-dimensional space. The researchers' reduction algorithm begins by finding the average value of the subset of data pointslet's say 20 of themthat it's going to reduce. This, too, defines a point in a high-dimensional space; call it the origin. Each of the 20 data points is then "projected" onto a hypercircle centered at the origin. That is, the algorithm finds the unique point on the hypercircle that's in the direction of the data point. The algorithm selects one of the 20 data projections on the hypercircle. It then selects the projection on the hypercircle farthest away from the first. It finds the point midway between the two and then selects the data projection farthest away from the midpoint; then it finds the point midway between those two points and selects the data projection farthest away from it; and so on. The researchers were able to prove that the midpoints selected through this method will converge very quickly on the center of the hypercircle. The method will quickly select a subset of points whose average value closely approximates that of the 20 initial points. That makes them particularly good candidates for inclusion in the coreset. More information: Dimensionality Reduction of Massive Sparse Datasets Using Coresets: arxiv.org/pdf/1503.01663v1.pdf View of the North Pole: The colours show the varying height of Ceres' landscape. The numbers refer to ten craters where the Framing Cameras built in Gottingen at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research have discovered water ice. Credit: Nature Astronomy The American Dawn space probe has been orbiting the asteroid Ceres between Mars and Jupiter since March 2015. Thanks to the two identical onboard cameras from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), the Framing Cameras, the dwarf planet has been almost completely mapped. In a current study, a team headed by scientists from the MPS reports on Ceres' most northerly regions, where the Gottingen cameras have performed a very special feat: they have succeeded in taking photos of water ice deposits in places ruled by almost eternal darkness. Thomas Platz is the lead author of the study now published in Nature Astronomy, a new specialist journal. "Using our cameras, we looked at the craters in the region near the north pole between 65 and 90 degrees north. Some of these craters are at least partially in eternal darkness which means they are never reached by sunlight. The reason for this is that Ceres' rotational axis has an angle of inclination of only 4.028 degrees," explains the member of the Framing Camera team at the MPS. The small axial inclination means the Sun never rises far above the horizon in the sky above Ceres' polar regions. This in turn means that obstacles such as crater walls cast long shadows; considerable areas of the polar region are even shrouded in eternal night. Although sunlight never falls directly onto these locations, tiny amounts of scattered light do reach them, reflected from directly illuminated crater walls in the vicinity, for example. The camera can use this weak light and explore the darkness. This is how it came across several bright deposits water ice. Hunting for ice deposits is hard work: of the 634 identified craters with permanent dark areas, ten craters with conspicuously bright spots in their interior were found in the images of the Framing Cameras. A comparatively young crater, still unnamed but provisionally called Number 2, plays a special role here; it lies 69.9 degrees north and has a diameter of 3.8 kilometres. The bright deposits there extend beyond the permanent darkness right into the area which is sometimes illuminated by direct sunlight. "This offers the opportunity to analyse the light reflected from there with Dawn's VIR (Visible and IR Spectrometer) onboard instrument, which was supplied by the Italian space agency," explains Andreas Nathues, who heads the Framing Camera experiment at the MPS. "We can clearly see the spectral signature of water ice, but were unable to find other frozen gases." The scientists assume that the other bright deposits are also made mainly of water ice. The computer simulation shows a conceivable scenario: An impact such as the one that created the Oxo crater, which measures approx. 10 kilometres across (42 degrees north), would have been able to hurl icy rock as far as the north pole, where it could have survived in the cold traps of the permanently dark crater. Credit: Nature Astronomy Scientists have long thought that Ceres' interior contains large amounts of ice because its density is so low - 2.1621 grammes per cubic centimetre. This is now the second time that water has been found directly on the surface. The current results join measurements from the Herschel telescope operated by the European Space Agency ESA, which measured water vapour close to Ceres in 2014. In December 2015, moreover, Max Planck researchers in Gottingen used the Framing Cameras to record patches of mist over two craters close to the equator, likewise an indication of water in vapour form. Deposits of ice on parts of Ceres' surface which experience direct sunlight are found to be unstable over long, geological periods of time. The dwarf plant has no atmosphere and thus the ice sublimates in a relatively short period of time once it reaches the surface. This means it passes directly from ice to the gaseous state. At places which are permanently in darkness, and thus extremely cold, where the temperatures fall below minus 163 degrees Celsius, ice can survive for a very long time. "We know ice deposits exist in the polar regions of our Moon and the planet Mercury, both of which have no atmosphere either. These ice deposits can be explained as the result of external events such as the impacts of comets," says Nathues. "The craters near Ceres' poles, however, contain ice which is probably indigenous to Ceres, i.e. it originates mainly from Ceres itself," explains Platz. As the co-authors of the study of the Free University of Berlin have been able to show in a simulation, the impact which originally created the Oxo crater, for example, could have blasted away icy rock which exists below the surface and hurled it as far as the polar regions. Crater No. 1, whose interior has a large region in permanent darkness (a). In the weak scattered light, the framing cameras can make out bright deposits of ice (b). Crater No. 2 with its dark region is shown in Figures (c) to (e). The ice shown in (d) extends into the region with direct illumination (e). Credit: Nature Astronomy More information: T. Platz et al. Surface water-ice deposits in the northern shadowed regions of Ceres, Nature Astronomy (2016). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-016-0007 Designers of futuristic cityscapes envision delivery drones dropping off your packages from the sky and driverless cars taking you to work. But the robotic delivery invasion already has arrived in the form of machines that look like beer coolers on wheels scooting along the sidewalks. The ground-bound robots, developed by the science fiction-sounding company Starship Technologies, will be showing up any day in the nation's capital and in Redwood City, Calif. They could soon be in up to 10 cities, ferrying groceries and other packages over what the company calls the "last mile," from a neighborhood delivery "hub" to your front door, all for as little as $1 a trip. A second company, TeleRetail, plans to test its sidewalk robots in Washington and other cities, including Mountain View, Calif., next year. Like driverless cars, the delivery robots use cameras, GPS and radar to "see" their urban environment and navigate through it. The robots are the first of what the companies foresee as a wave of inexpensive, high-tech, electricity-driven alternatives to gasoline car-driven shopping trips and delivery trucks that contribute to traffic gridlock and pollution. Urban futurists see the little robots as an integral part of a digitally based "smart city" landscape - although it will take time for humans to adjust to them, and they come with privacy concerns. "We think there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of robots on the ground eventually around the world," said Allan Martinson, chief operating officer of Starship Technologies, based in London and started by the co-founders of internet telephone company Skype. Torsten Scholl, founder of TeleRetail, which is based in Switzerland, said, "Why have a vehicle as big as an autonomous car to deliver goods? We think of it as a self-driving trunk." And tech gadget website Tech Crunch has called autonomous vehicles - like drones, driverless cars and delivery robots - among the "Top Five Technologies" that will define cities in the next decade. Starship's delivery robots work this way: Customers use a smartphone mobile application to order their delivery. A text alerts customers - "You have a robot waiting for you outside" - when the robot is near their home or business. A person must be present to receive the delivery because only the customer has a unique code to unlock the robot's box. Cities that have laid out the welcome mat for the robots see practical promise in what can first appear to be a passing fancy gizmo. "We're excited," said Catherine Ralston, economic development manager of Redwood City. "They did a video in our downtown of the robot going into the bakery, picking up baked goods, and at the moment it rolled into City Hall, it popped open and presented the cookies to City Council." They're thinking of using the robots for city services, such as delivering library books. The Washington, D.C., Council opened the door to the machines by passing legislation last month that allows up to five different robot companies to operate in the area, though not in the downtown business district. "To be candid, I'm not at all futuristic. I'm a here-and-now kind of person," said Leif Dormsjo, head of the District's Department of Transportation. "But our approach to transportation innovation is that we want to be a catalyst for new and interesting technologies. We have a permissive attitude about cooperating with new technologies." - Whether city dwellers will be as enthusiastic and accepting of the little robots as their city leaders are is open to question. A year ago, a robot called HitchBOT traveled across Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands before it was brought to the United States. The robot was a social experiment started by two Canadian professors. It looked like a cartoon human and was designed to be picked up on the side of the road voluntarily by drivers, like a hitchhiker. It posted photos of its adventures to its popular Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles, and its trek appeared to be well-received. But after just two weeks in the United States, the HitchBOT's world trip ended when it was found dismembered in Philadelphia's historic Old City neighborhood. "Humans don't always act in rational ways," said professor Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy Lab at Duke University. "Look, I'm from the Deep South, and as soon as a robot delivers a six-pack of beer down there, they'll get out the guns and shoot it up." Starship Technologies already has robots operating in 58 cities in 16 countries around the world, Martinson said. More than 1.7 million people have encountered the robots on sidewalks, or used their services - without incident, he said. "We took a video in London showing that 3,000 people passed by our robots without even noticing them." Ralston of Redwood City said test robots rolling around the city haven't caused any issues so far. "People enjoy seeing the little robots. Or they completely ignore them, they don't even take a glance," she said. "They realize, OK, there's something rolling along the sidewalk. It looks all right." In a northwest neighborhood of Washington recently, one Starship robot drew some attention as it scooted around pedestrians and bicyclists on a busy sidewalk. Resident Timothy Sanders stopped his bike to watch it weave in and out of human traffic, avoiding pedestrians and bikers. "It's amazing, it's very futuristic," he said. Reginald Isaac stopped to watch it too. "Technology be real fly," he said, laughing. But Duke's Cummings worries that new technologies - like drones and sidewalk robots - are being developed without enough attention paid to how they will interact with people, or how people will react. "It's a huge problem in robotics, which are developed by engineers" who know little about human interaction, she said. "Look at Google Glass," she said. The eyeglasses had tiny screens that allowed internet access and wearers could take photos and videos using voice commands. "It wasn't weird to geeky engineers," she said. But real people didn't want to use or wear the glasses - or have their photos taken by people wearing them, she said. - The presence of video cameras in the robots is a potential privacy issue, too, said Jeramie Scott, director of the Domestic Surveillance Project of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C. Autonomous devices use high-definition cameras that can take video of people and places from a sidewalk or from the air, as in the case of a drone. Scott questions: Who controls those images? How can they be used? "You can imagine when we get to the place where we have these autonomous drones, on the ground or in the skies flying around, with a lot of surveillance equipment," he said. "We need to understand what is collected and be transparent. We need some kind of oversight in place before the line gets pushed too far." In August, the first federal regulations went into effect for flying drones, not sidewalk robots. The Federal Aviation Administration established rules for unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds and being flown for "routine nonhobbyist use." Those uses include surveying, real estate photography and site inspections. An operator must keep the drone within sight. The rules aren't aimed at commercial delivery, to places where humans are not close, by autonomous drones - like those being developed by tech giants Amazon and Google. And they don't include any restrictions concerning the privacy of people who may be within the drones' camera range. As a result, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has sued the FAA. Starship Technologies uses high-definition video cameras as part of its location triangulation, which allows the robots to navigate sidewalks and curbs, to track the robots. But spokesman David Catania said the company generally does not keep high-resolution images, except if there is a safety or security issue, such as vandalism. When the devices are being operated by humans, a lower resolution feed is used and the images are blurred. And the robots can't identify the MAC numbers of nearby cellphones, he said. (MAC numbers, or addresses, are unique to individual devices and can be used to identify a person and track their movements.) Starship co-founder and CEO Ahti Heinla said in a company promotional video that each robot is equipped with speakers in addition to video cameras, "so if somebody bothers the robot the operator (watching from a headquarters far away) can actually shout, 'Hey! What are you doing? ... The police are coming in five minutes! We know your location, and you are being filmed as well!'" TeleRetail's founder Scholl said the company could phase out cameras because new, more powerful radar is becoming available that is so precise in identifying objects that cameras might no longer be needed. He said his devices, which are used in small villages in Switzerland for now, don't store videos or photos. "We just look," he said. Scholl said his technology "isn't perfect," but it's just the start of a new disruption from technology that will replace human-controlled vehicles worldwide. For tech-friendly cities like Austin, Texas, city planners say, "Bring it on." "We're always open to new ideas in Austin," said Jason Stanford, communications director for the mayor's office. Starship has made a presentation about introducing the robots to Texas' capital city, he said. And the city is open to the idea. "We've got [driverless] Google cars operating all over the place here, and we don't get a single complaint about them," he said. "Now, we do have complaints about wild peacocks, but that's animals." 2016 Stateline.org Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Paintings on rocks in a gorge in the Swiss Alps help monitor erosion rates. Credit: Alexander R. Beer/ETH Zurich In a new feasibility study, a Swiss-German team of scientists with the participation of Jens Turowski, Helmholtz Centre PotsdamGFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, shows how erosive processes can be visualized by simple painting on rocks in a mountain gorge in the Swiss Alps. The determination of the spatial distribution of erosive processes is difficult. Especially in rough terrain the installation of measuring devices for a continuous measurement is complicated. This is why to date there are only few data available, especially on millimeter scale. In a new feasibility study, a Swiss-German team of scientists with the participation of Jens Turowski, Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, shows how erosive processes can be visualized by simple painting. In a gorge in the Swiss Alps close to Zermatt, the scientists applied horizontal and vertical patterns of paint on an area of thirty times five meters of rock and monitored them for three years via photographs taken from defined positions. Based on these photographs they were able to show the erosive processes in time that become visible by the removal of the paint. They call the new method "erosion painting". Erosion painting allows for an analysis of the spatial distribution and intensity of erosive processes in a riverbed. Knowledge on this helps to better understand the physics behind erosion. The study aims at implementing the new method within process research. Until now, sophisticated techniques like photogrammetry, fixed monitoring stations, laser scanning, or erosion sensors had to be applied to measure and map topographic changes on rock surfaces. But "why so complicated?" the scientists asked themselves. Erosion painting needs no expensive installation, can be applied fast and on high-resolution even in rough terrain, and only requires visual inspection via photography. Jens Turowski: "Using paint is a cheap and easy method to analyze the spatial distribution of erosive processes. With this study we would like to show that this method can be applied for science". By repeated laser scans the scientists did validate their method. This also revealed that laser scanning cannot assess erosion rates on smallest millimeter scale that is, however, made visible by erosion painting. The scientists only used environmental friendly, water-insoluble latex paint. To minimize the effect on nature the scientists advise to only use the paint sparsely and to avoid sensitive areas. Painting the rocks was a difficult task but the paint helps to determine erosion rates. Credit: Jens Turowski/GFZ More information: Alexander R. Beer et al, Graffiti for science erosion painting reveals spatially variable erosivity of sediment-laden flows, Earth Surface Dynamics (2016). DOI: 10.5194/esurf-4-885-2016 Credit: monkeybusinessimages/istock.com Special education programs are designed to meet the needs of all students with cognitive, behavioral or physical disabilities, regardless of their race or ethnicity. However, a best-evidence synthesis lead by Paul Morgan, professor in the department of education policy studies at Penn State, recently found evidence that black children may not be receiving special education services they are entitled to, even when displaying the same clinical needs as white children. The synthesis was published recently in the Sage journal Exceptional Children. Morgan also recently presented the findings to the White House's Office of Management and Budget, the President's Domestic Policy Council, and the U.S. Department of Education. The team's findings run counter to federal legislation as well as policies currently being considered to address minority over-representation in special education. "We found very little evidence in prior studies that minority children are over-represented in special education as a result of their race or ethnicity," Morgan said. "On the contrary, our synthesis of the best-available studies indicates that white children are more likely to be identified as having disabilities and to receive special education services than black children. These disparities are evident even when black children were displaying the same disability-related symptoms as well as being otherwise similar on other background characteristics." The research team identified 22 studies meeting the review's inclusion criteria that reported on black children's disproportionate representation in special education. The team found that studies with weaker designs were more likely to report that black children were over-represented in special education. According to Morgan, these studies have been used to direct federal legislation and policymaking, even though they often didn't adequately control for potential confounding factors including greater exposure to poverty. "We discovered that more rigorous studies, including those that controlled for poverty exposure as well as individual-level academic achievement, consistently showed that black children were less likely to receive special education services than otherwise similar white children," said Morgan. Morgan says that federal policies currently being considered by the U.S. Department of Education do not seem to be taking into account the best-available empirical evidence. "The policies are being designed to address minority over-representation in special education, but our findings show a clear pattern in which minority children are not being appropriately identified and helped. These disparities in care and treatment may be contributing to racial achievement gaps." The team's findings are similar to reports in public health of racial and ethnic disparities in disability identification, including for conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities and other conditions. The results also have important implications for special education practice, research, and policy. "The review indicates that methodological limitations in existing studies help explain conflicting findings as to whether minority children are over- or under-represented in special education," Morgan explained. "Methodologically stronger studies find that black children are under-represented in special education. This suggests the need for federal legislation and policies that result in more equitable service delivery, possibly through universal screening efforts. "Black children, because of many societal inequities, often experience lower quality health care and are at greater risk for disabilities. Not providing care and treatment to children with disabilities on the basis of their race or ethnicity is discriminatory, and may be exacerbating educational inequalities, including achievement gaps and school dropout." More information: P. L. Morgan et al. Are Black Children Disproportionately Overrepresented in Special Education? A Best-Evidence Synthesis, Exceptional Children (2016). DOI: 10.1177/0014402916664042 Erika Goldring/FilmMagicSilversun Pickups will perform an acoustic concert at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles on January 25. The show is a part of the Grammy Museum's "Homegrown" series, which spotlights prominent California-based artists. For ticket info, visit GrammyMuseum.org. In addition to performing, Silversun Pickups will take part in a moderated discussion during the Grammy Museum show about their latest album, Better Nature. The Grammy museum show is Silversun Pickups' only scheduled U.S. show of 2017 so far. The band also will make their first trip to South America next year, which will include performances at Lollapalooza Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Novartis bolsters innovative dermatology portfolio through acquisition of Ziarco Group Limited Details Category: More News Published on Friday, 16 December 2016 07:57 Hits: 1832 Acquisition to add a once-daily oral H4 receptor antagonist, ZPL389, to treat atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema, to the Novartis industry-leading pipeline Investigational ZPL389 showed a clinically and statistically significant improvement of eczema lesions, leading to a 50% reduction in EASI score compared to placebo after eight weeks of treatment with a favorable safety profile Eczema is a chronic, inflammatory skin condition affecting millions of children and adults worldwide[1] with an unmet need for effective and safe oral treatments BASEL, Switzerland I December 16, 2016 I Novartis announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Ziarco Group Limited, a privately held company focused on the development of novel treatments in dermatology. This acquisition would add a once-daily oral H4 receptor antagonist in development for atopic dermatitis (AD), commonly known as eczema, to complement the growing Novartis dermatology portfolio and pipeline. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. The financial details of this transaction are not disclosed. Ziarco's lead investigational product, ZPL389, is a potential first-in-class oral treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. Eczema is a chronic, itchy, inflammatory skin condition found in millions of children and adults worldwide[1]. In addition, it is associated with sleep loss and a significant reduction in quality of life[2]. Currently, no safe, effective, and well-tolerated oral treatments are available for the moderate-to-severe form of this condition. "There is an unmet need for innovative, effective and safe oral treatment options for people living with eczema," said Vasant Narasimhan, Global Head, Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "We are proud of our dermatology capabilities shown by the recent successful launches of Cosentyx and Xolair. Now we're excited about a potential new medicine for people with eczema through the acquisition of Ziarco and the addition of a first-in-class oral H4 receptor antagonist to our growing pipeline." In a proof of concept study, ZPL389 showed a clinically and statistically significant reduction of eczema. After eight weeks of treatment, the compound reduced the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score by 50% (placebo: 27%, (p=0.01)) in a study of 98 patients. In addition, there was a statistically significant improvement in SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) and body surface area (BSA) scores affected by eczema for ZPL389. The study also showed a decrease in itching, which was numerically greater in the active treatment arm. Both the EASI and SCORAD sub-scores related to itching showed positive results and there was a statistically significant decrease in sleep loss for the active comparator. Itch is a major cause for sleep loss in eczema patients[2]. In clinical studies conducted to date, ZPL389 has a favorable safety profile. Eczema poses a significant burden on health-care resources and patients' quality of life with recent data showing that its prevalence is still increasing[3]. Eczema affects up to 10% of the population in the US alone[4],[5], with approximately 15% of children and 70% of adults having the moderate-to-severe form of the disease[6]. Treatment does not cure eczema but can control symptoms and potentially improve quality of life[7]. About the Novartis dermatology portfolio Novartis is committed to addressing the unmet medical needs of patients living with dermatological conditions and improving their overall quality of life by providing innovative medicines. The Novartis Dermatology portfolio includes Cosentyx (secukinumab) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis and Xolair (omalizumab) for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. About Novartis Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2015, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.4 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 8.9 billion (USD 8.7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are available in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com. References [1] Bieber T. Atopic Dermatitis. N Engl J Med. 2008;358:1483-1494 [2] Patel T. et al. Nocturnal Itch: Why do we itch at night? Acta Derm Venereol. 2007;87:295-298 [3] Nutten S. Atopic Dermatitis: Global Epidemiology and Risk Factors. Ann Nutr Metab. 2015;66(suppl 1):8-16 [4] Silverberg et al. Adult eczema prevalence and associations with asthma and other health and demographic factors: A US population-based study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013; 132 (5): 1132-1138. [5] Shaw TE, Currie GP, Koudelka CW, Simpson EL. Eczema Prevalence in the United States: Data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. J. Invest. Dermatol. 2001; 131:67-73. [6] Hanifin JM, Reed ML. A population-based survey of eczema in the United States. Dermatitis. 2007;18(2):82-91. [7] American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) website. Atopic Dermatitis. Available at: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/eczema/atopic-dermatitis#treatment. Last accessed December 2016 SOURCE: Novartis Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the American Authors Association Douglas V. Gibbs is a proud member of the Military Writers Society of America. BALLSTON SPA A Corinth man who was arrested in May for manufacturing crystal methamphetamine at his home and business has been sentenced to 5 years in state prison. Richard N. Bowman, 47, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, in connection with a State Police investigation that led to his arrest. Police said they seized materials and equipment used to make meth from his Liberty Street home and 4 River St., a logging supply company he operated. Court records show he had a variety of chemicals and equipment used to make the drug as well as quantities of the over-the-counter decongestant pseudoephedrine that is one of the main ingredients. Bowman was also wanted on a probation violation charge in Smyth County, Virginia, court records show. He was charged as a fugitive from justice on that charge. Saratoga County Judge James Murphy sentenced him to 5 years in state prison to be followed by 2 years on parole. JOHNSBURG Voters gave the green light to a proposal by Johnsburg Central School to spend $1.9 million to replace aging roofs and the boiler and improve the security of the front entrance. The vote was 92 in favor to 12 in opposition. Turnout was lighter than the May budget vote, when 177 people came out to the polls. Superintendent of Schools Michael Markwica sent an email with the results. However, he could not be reached for further comment on Thursday night. This project would replace some portions of the roof, which date back to 1995 and has sprung leaks in and around the gymnasium. The nearly 50-year-old inefficient boiler also would be replaced. Also, the main entrance would be reconfigured to improve security. A secure entrance vestibule would be created, where people would have to sign in at a window and then be buzzed in the main building. The sidewalks coming up from the hill from the town would be replaced to make it safer for students who walk to school and the community at large. The next step is for completion of the final plans to be submitted to the New York State Education Department. How quickly they are approved will affect when construction will take place. It may not happen until the summer of 2018. FORT EDWARD The Salem man who shot a pickup truck in his driveway, nearly hitting the driver, pleaded guilty Thursday to a three-count indictment to avoid a trial in the coming weeks. Brian Tschorn, 36, pleaded guilty to felony counts of reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon and misdemeanor criminal mischief for the June 19 gunfire at his Route 153 home, according to the Washington County District Attorneys Office. Police said a New Hampshire man who was lost wound up in Tschorns driveway that night, and Tschorn emerged from the home and fired at least six shots from a small-caliber rifle at the pickup truck and trailer, hitting the cab of the truck once and trailer twice. The victim was looking for a relatives new home. The shot to the trucks roof narrowly missed the drivers head, as the slug embedded in the vehicles instrument panel, police said. A number of .223-caliber rounds were recovered from Tschorns remote property, and he surrendered a .22-caliber Ruger semiautomatic rifle to police, claiming that was the one he fired. Police said there were a number of other guns in the home when they searched it, but a .223-caliber rifle which could be subject to the states Safe Act regulations was not located. Tschorn had balked at a plea deal offer from the Washington County District Attorneys Office that included a plea to a single felony count and sentence recommendation of 1-1/3 to 4 years in prison. District Attorney Tony Jordan said his office plans to ask that Judge Kelly McKeighan impose a state prison term, but because there is no plea agreement, the judge is not bound by any particular sentence parameters. The weightiest charge, first-degree reckless endangerment, is punishable by up to 7 years in state prison. Tschorn could also avoid a prison term and be sentenced to local jail time, a sentence of jail and probation or 5 years probation. Tschorns lawyer, James Knox, did not return a phone call for comment Friday. Tschorn is free, pending sentencing Jan. 13. He was scheduled to stand trial starting Jan. 9. QUEENSBURY SUNY Adirondacks three-year graduation rate has increased by 50 percent, which college officials attribute to some programs they have put in place to target struggling students. The three-year graduation rate, which is a common measuring stick for community colleges, increased from 16 percent in 2014 to 24 percent in 2015 the most recent data available. This means that nearly one-quarter of full-time students who began their coursework in the fall of 2012 had graduated by the spring of 2015. SUNY Adirondack President Kristine Duffy said 2015 was part of a record-breaking class of nearly 800 graduates. Part of the reason for the increase was the college made a conscious effort to reach out to people who were just short of completing their degree or who had met all the requirements but just hadnt filled out the graduation paperwork. SUNY Adirondack has implemented a variety of initiatives to improve student success. It has a new advisement system that assigns every student an adviser. College officials also created an early alert system to monitor students early in the semester who are in danger of failing courses. SUNY Adirondack has worked with local high schools to give math placement tests to students to see if they are ready for college-level math. If not, they can take the appropriate classes before getting to college and having to take noncredit remedial classes. The college also has implemented a new math program. The college in February learned it will receive a $1.8 million SUNY grant to renovate a section of Warren Hall for a new academic advisement center. In October, it was awarded a $500,000 state grant to support students emotional needs in an effort to improve college completion. Duffy said spring enrollment is down about 6 percent, according to the preliminary numbers. However, that is smaller than the initial 9 percent drop. Were making good progress, she said. She said a higher graduation rate would also cause enrollment to drop because those students have completed their coursework. Duffy presented some other highlights of the colleges 2016 preliminary Fact Book, which contains a variety of statistics about the college, to the board of trustees. Another positive development is that the retention rate has increased. In the fall of 2015, 60 percent of first-time students returned for a second year, compared with 56 percent in 2014. The book also contains a breakdown of fall 2016 enrollment. About 36 percent of students came from Saratoga County, 30 percent from Warren County and nearly 22 percent from Washington County. Other counties inside New York state make up 11.4 percent, with 0.7 percent from outside the state and 0.3 percent from a foreign country. Other trends are the campus is becoming younger and more diverse, according to Duffy. The percentage of African-American students attending SUNY Adirondack has increased from 1.3 percent in the fall of 2012 to 3.2 percent in fall 2016. Hispanic enrollment has gone up from 2 percent to 3.6 percent during that time. White enrollment has decreased from 92.8 percent to 84.9 percent during that time. I think its impressive and good to see that we continue to diversify our student body over the last five years, Duffy said. In addition, the average age of the student has moved from 24.5 to 23. Were dealing with a younger population than we have had in the past, Duffy said. I would think housing does play a role, in typically that attracts the most recent graduates. QUEENSBURY SUNY Adirondack is planning to add a program in health education for people interested in different health careers. The colleges board of trustees has approved creating a health education concentration within its liberal arts: math and science program. This will provide a new pathway for students interested in health-related fields including but not limited to nursing, said Trustee Robert Judge. College officials also developed the program for students who may be interested in health careers, but who are not admitted into the program. The college only admits one out of every three applicants into its nursing associates degree program, according to the memo announcing the proposed new concentration. No new courses would be added; this would simply be a restructuring of existing courses, according to the college. The benefit of creating a concentration is it will allow all students interested in the nursing track to be placed into one degree program. The new concentration must be approved by the SUNY board of trustees and the New York State Education Department. In other business, President Kristine Duffy said state colleges, including SUNY Adirondack, are sending letters to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seeking more funding. In late November, the SUNY board of trustees requested a total of $85.8 million in funding. They also are seeking to be held harmless against funding cuts because of enrollment declines. SUNY would like the aid to remain at least flat. Duffy said that, as enrollment has fluctuated, community colleges still need the resources to support programs. The proposal seeks $30 million for community colleges, according to Duffy. Considering that a little more than 220,000 students attend community colleges, Duffy said, that works out to be about $134 in aid per student. When you put that in perspective, I think its certainly a very reasonable investment to ask to educate our citizens, she said. Duffy said college officials want to lobby early to get included in Cuomos budget request. Third annual Onramp event combines the technical challenges of data analysis, machine learning and simulation with the fun of competing at a major racetrack Palo Alto, Calif., Dec. 16, 2016 Toyota Research Institute (TRI) announced today that Toyota is bringing the Prius Challenge to the Sonoma Raceway for the third iteration of its ongoing Onramp series, an innovation event designed to engage the startup and tech community. This years event, to be held on March 3, 2017, will be hosted by Toyota Research Institute (TRI) and will feature a team competition where participants optimize their driving based on data and simulation from a connected Toyota Prius. The Prius Challenge is a unique competition that originated at Toyotas headquarters in Japan, where participants battle it out to see who can achieve the best fuel economy and efficiency rating on a Prius within a target time range. While Toyota employees and dealers have been able to participate in the challenge, this is the first time that members of the public will have the chance to compete. TRI is furthering the concept of Onramp to incorporate a technical challenge for participants that includes data crunching and simulation. TRI is excited to host the Prius Challenge and introduce a competition that will allow participants to use machine learning and sophisticated data analysis tools to test out their theories in the real world, said Dr. Gill Pratt, CEO at Toyota Research Institute, Inc. Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are a hotbed for automotive talent and innovation, and this event is the perfect opportunity for TRI to engage with the tech community and have some fun in the process. This is the third Onramp event sponsored by Toyota. Jason Wiener, winner of the Onramp 2015 Smart Mobility Challenge, will return for Onramp 2017 with his connected car startup, Hyperdrive, by developing an application that enables Prius Challenge contestants to track telemetry data and optimize their performance during the race. Additionally, Open Source Robotics Corporation (OSRC), as part of a partnership with TRI, will provide a driving simulator that allows participants to strategize and practice driving through a virtual program. The Toyota Onramp series is a fantastic set of events aimed at driving collaboration between Toyota and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, said Wiener. I hope we will see a great field of competitors out there on the racetrack on March 3 competing to bring home the Prius Cup. Toyota Onramp is an invitation-only event. For more information, including details on how to request an invitation or participate in the Prius Challenge, please visit the website here. For updated information on Toyota Onramp, please follow @ToyotaResearch on Twitter. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: According to Eli Hini, MTNs general manager for mobile financial services, the latest addition, which is expected to be rolled out in 2017, is especially targeted at Ghanas small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). READ ALSO: Telcos to begin interest payments to mobile money subscribers We have micro-lending which is one of our undertakings for 2017. A lot of micro credits that people can access for short to medium term, he said. Dont forget our economy is largely made up of SMEs so these SMEs will be able to have such avenues to do short term borrowing and pay back because they will be able to manage their KYC [know your customer] information much better that way and the banks can have access to these data which they can use for validation to these funds that they give out. Competitors, Airtel had earlier started a similar scheme but had to halted it in order to meet demands by regulators. In July 2015, the Bank of Ghana published two new regulatory guidelines for mobile money operators and the mobile networks began to pay interests on deposit is earlier this year. According to Akwittis, who was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Apo, Abuja, a chief priest in his village revealed this to him. He was charged to court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on a four-count charge bordering on marriage scam and theft, Daily Post reports. Regarding the marriage scam, it was alleged that the accused entered into a fake marriage with a Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) official. He reportedly duped the woman of the sum of N6.7million. According to the Daily Post, "the accused breached Section 1 (1) (a) and punishable under Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006, whereas, by this act of theft, the accused breached Section 286 (1) and punishable under Section 287 of the Penal Code." Following the defendant's not guilty plea, Justice Sylvanus C. Oriji, the presiding judge in the case granted him bail in the sum of N3.5million with two sureties paying equal sum. According to Sarkodie, many Ghanaian artistes fund themselves as a result of the less interest stakeholders have in the creative arts sector. "Peeps don't believe in the creative arts where am from ... 90% of our acts fund themselves... All we doing is flipping...," he tweeted. He added "Ain't no one pumping money into no one ... We gotto do all the back end Job ... Not easy but we ain't got a choice." He also said he proud of Ghanaian artistes because 'they work hard to keep the name Ghana on the international music market.' "I will always be proud of my Gh acts ...they work too damn hard to keep the name GH in the Race ... Applaud #Raw," he tweeted. The former Member of Parliament for Asokwa on his personal Facebook account said he decided to apologise after receiving advice and direction. My friends, thanks for your advice and direction. It was never my intention to attack teachers as a whole. Indeed I am very much aware of the overwhelming support that the NPP got from teachers. "I went overboard and I sincerely apologize for that. I was caught off guard. And it was very unfortunate. I sincerely believe Nana will deliver on his promise to our teachers and to Ghanaians. Once again accept my apologies," he said. Mr Jumah was censured by supporters of his own party who say his comments may be misconstrued by Ghanaians and attributed to the president-elect. Maxwell Kofi Jumah together with the sharp-tongued Kennedy Agyepong (Member of Parliament for Assin Central) are no stranger to gaffes and political incorrectness. This past year, these Men of God have gained so much power and influence, not only from their spiritual food and words of encouragement but also the prominence they achieved in the run-up to the 2016 elections. The president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo could not even end his victory speech without mentioning the names of some of them. Here is the list of 2016's most influential men of God compiled by Pulse.com.gh. Reverend Owusu Bempah The founder and leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministry International, Rev. Isaac Owusu-Bempah, was in the news at the latter part of the year for making some scary prophecies ahead of the December 7 polls. READ ALSO: He, for instance, alleged that President John Mahama could be behind the many deaths in the country, particularly the death of Atta Mills. Rev Bempah further accused TB Joshua, the leader of the Synagogue Church of all Nations (SCOAN), of conspiring to rig the December 7 polls, a claim T.B Joshua denied. But what perhaps made him achieve so much influence was his prediction that Nana Addo will win the main elections. With his prophecy coming to fruition, many Ghanaians and some political leaders trooped to his church after Nana Addo's electoral victory to give him the praise for prophesying correctly. Pastor Mensah Otabil The influential leader of the International Central Gospel Church made headlines this year, particularly, with his auto-pilot comments which became a subject of controversy in the run-up to this years election. Pastor Otabil had in a sermon with his congregation expressed disappointment at what he said was the propensity of Ghanaians to put their votes on auto-pilot. He believed that it is an insult to ones intelligence to put their vote on autopilot without looking at the proposal by the various political parties. The Ghanaian theologian and philanthropist's rendition of the scripture endeared him to so many people such that he was still the highly sought-after speaker at major conferences and many mega-churches around the country. In 2015, Ghanaians voted him as the Most Influential Person in Ghana, in a list published by ETV Ghana. Bishop Daniel Obinim The leader of the International God's Way Church has always made headlines just by his actions and words, and this year was no different. His arrest by the police for allegedly defrauding a man of GHC11.6 million saw hundreds of his church members who thronged the Police headquarters demanding his release. To show how powerful he is, Obinim who calls himself the Angel of God indicated that the NPP will have 100% votes in Ghana and the NDC with 60% votes after the elections. The fact is, mathematically, this is not even possible when dealing with percentage votes. Nevertheless, the controversial man of God claimed that if the election is not rigged, the NPP will win. Prophet Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom The Founder of the Ebenezer Miracle Worship Centre located at Ahenema Kokoben in the Ashanti Region was one of the most controversial but powerful man of God this year. Scores of Ghanaians trooped to his inland city worship centre to seek spiritual healing and offer intercessory prayers. The vice president, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, and other NDC officials visited the popular prophet in the run-up to the elections for prayers. Prophet Yiadom also prophesied victory for the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) when a delegation led by the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the party paid him a visit at his church. Other Heads of States in the sub-region are expected to be present as well. This follows a number of failed attempts by four leaders from Anglophone countries to persuade him to hand over. Jammeh's ruling party challenged his defeat in a December 1 election at the Supreme Court on Tuesday as West African leaders failed to reach a deal that would see him accept the result and end a deepening political crisis. READ ALSO: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is new ECOWAS chair Soldiers also seized the headquarters of the national elections commission and sealed it off just hours before the mediation delegation representing regional bloc ECOWAS touched down in the tiny riverside nation. This was contained in a letter which was dated December 13, 2016 and signed by the Prime Minister. She recognised that the hard-fought campaign and that the margin of victory was impressive. She also mentioned that she looks forward to even better ties between the United Kingdom and Ghana. I look forward to continuing our excellent co-operation on defence, drugs, crime and national security, and to working together on challenges such as tackling corruption. Alongside our ongoing support to Ghana in areas such as governance, poverty reduction, education and health, I hope that we can look to deepen our economic co-operation, Prime Minister May added. President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo won the December presidential election by 53.85% of the total valid votes cast, against the President Mahamas 44.40%. Congratulatory messages have poured in since the declaration. These messages are both from people of Ghana and others from the international community as well. However, the person who would eventually replace the outgoing Nana Oye Lithur certainly has huge boots to fill. The Affirmative Action Bill (which has been tabled in Parliament), the National Gender Policy and the expansion of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program albeit for election purposes- are some of the success of the outgoing minister. So, who are those in line to become the next Minister of Gender? 1. Adwoa Safo Adwoa Safo was a sensation early in her life when she became the youngest qualified lawyer in Ghana. She then went on to become the Member of Parliament for the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency in 2012, taking over from veteran politician Mike Ocquaye. The 35-year-old lawyer has served on the Foreign Affairs and Public Affairs committees in Parliament. She was also the first legal officer of the Public Procurement Authority and worked with the Legal Aid board. 2. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful Ursulas outspokenness as a feminist has won her a lot of admiration and condemnation in some quarters. She was a leading advocate for the NPPs botched affirmative action policy that sought to insulate female MPs from competition within the party itself. There were suggestions that she supported the policy because it was personally beneficial. She also led the barrage of criticism targeted towards fellow MP, Nelson Abudu Baani, after he suggested the stoning of adulterous women. The lawyer has previously worked at the Attorney-Generals office. 3. Hajia Alima Mahama This ministry is not uncharted territory for Hajia Mahama as she served previously as minister for four years under the erstwhile Kufuor-administration. Mahama was a Hubert Humphrey fellow between 1999 and 2000 at the Center for Women and Politics (Rutgers University) where she says her interest in politics grew. Alima Mahama is a member of president-elect Nana Akufo-Addos transition team responsible for local government affairs. She was highly tipped to become the vice-presidential nominee when Nana Akufo-Addo first run for president (unsuccessfully) in 2008. 4. Abena Osei-Asare Osei-Asare is one of Ghanas rising female politicians. The 37-year-old became the first member of parliament for the newly created Atiwa East Constituency in 2012. In previous interviews, she has spoken about her willingness to work towards the eradication of stereotypes and other factors that discourage women from holding themselves up for public office. If she does not get the position, she would be a strong candidate to become deputy minister. READ ALSO:Mahama to present final State of the Nation address next week 5. Akosua Frema Osei Opare Below is the full statement from the governments transition teamRE: INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE HANDING OVER NOTESIt has come to the attention of the Government's transition team that some allegations have been made by the Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to the effect that the handing over notes that have been made available to them so far have been "doctored". The statement is regrettable and ill-informed and indeed conveys the impression that the NPP is looking for any opportunity it can obtain to demonize the out-going NDC administration instead of concentrating on understanding the state of affairs of the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies over which they will soon have political oversight. The handing over notes for the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies were ready within the time frame required by the Presidential Transition Act, 2012 (Act 845), however the Ministers responsible for each sector Ministry were required to sign the handing over notes before sending them to the office of the Administrator General. The last two months of the year have been a period of intense campaigning and not all Ministers had the opportunity to review the notes and sign them within the period defined in the law. That notwithstanding, the handing over notes are now all complete and are available to be handed over to the Transition team of the President elect. Indeed at yesterday's meeting of the Transition team the reports from eight of the Ministries were handed over. Further at the meeting of the Transition team held yesterday (14/12/16) it was agreed that the rest of the handing over notes would be made available at the next meeting of the Transition team on Monday the 19th of December.Other allegations have been made in the public domain to the effect that the Government is recruiting new employees and signing contracts, creating the impression that the outgoing administration is engaging in acts of illegality.It is important to point out that the current administration is the lawfully elected government of the Republic of Ghana and has the authority to exercise all the functions of government until the hand-over takes place to a new administration. The transition process should not be seen as a shut down of the administration of the outgoing government. Members of the Government's transition team are available for consultation and discussion with our counterparts on the other side in respect of any concerns they may have at any time. The Committees that have been established under the provisions of the Act are required to work to ensure a smooth transition and are appropriate venues for discussions of any issues. Requests for discussions/information/clarification can be made to the leadership of the transition team on the government side or directly to individual members of the team. We wish to assure the people of Ghana that on the side of the out-going administration we are ready to do everything necessary to ensure a smooth transition. While there has been a mandate for the change of political leadership as a result of the outcome of the elections held on the 7th of December 2016, the Government machinery and the institutions of government remain and continue their operations under the laws of our Republic. Both sides of the Transition team owe it to the people of Ghana to make our best efforts to work together to facilitate a peaceful transition and the more we engage each other as opposed to engaging ourselves through the media, the better it would be for the success of the process that we are undertaking. We do not believe that the transition exercise should be used as a platform to facilitate a witch-hunt, after the new administration of the next President takes over the reigns of Government. The members of the transition team of the current administration want to affirm our commitment to ensuring a smooth handing over process to further enhance Ghana's reputation as a beacon of democracy on the continent of Africa. Hanna TettehMinister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Spokesperson for the Government Transition TeamDated at Accra this 15th day of December 2016. The 28-year-old star also revealed she was forced to hide her pregnancy with King Cairo. Blac Chyna in a preview for an upcoming episode of Rob & Chyna: Baby Special said, "With my first pregnancy, I didnt do a maternity shoot, I didnt have a baby shower. Having to hide your pregnancy is just not a good feeling. So now, with this baby, its really important everybody that supported me share this moment." Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian welcomed their bundle of joy, Dream Kardashian, on Thursday, November 10, at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Meanwhile, Blac Chyna is getting that post baby body back! The reality star is currently on the mend and was spotted on Sunday, November 27, 2016, flaunting a trimmer figure, as she prepped to take son King Cairo Stevenson to a photo shoot. ALSO READ: Kardashian Sisters file lawsuit blocking Blac Chyna from trademarking surname Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! The deceased who was a graduate of Petroleum Engineering from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was committed to mother earth at Ikot Udo Oto village in Etinan Local Government Area of the state. Before his death due to complications from diarrhoea at the orientation camp National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara. The funeral service for the deceased was attended by engineering students of the University of Uyo, the Transition Committee of Etinan LGA, Cletus Ekpo, the member Representing Etinan State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Hon. Barr. Aniefiok Dennis, the Chairman, NYSC members in Etinan and state representatives, family members and relations of the late corps member could not hold back tears as they eulogised his virtues. There is something remarkably exciting about returning to Nigeria in 2016: the country has been the subject of global attention almost all-year-round, with stories ranging from exasperating politics to wonderful achievements of Nigerias entrepreneurs. We've had reasons to laugh, cry, and grit our teeth at times. It really has been an interesting year. As you come to join in the Naija fun this holiday, wed like to give you a gift: order delicious, IJGB-worthy food for prompt delivery in both Lagos and Abuja and/or stay at one of our amazing hotels and beach resorts across the country... both at an 20% discount! And before you ask, yes o - we have pancakes, BBQ wings and burgers galore, as well as asun, jollof and swallow if that's your kinda thing. Jumia Food is the one-stop-shop to have the food you love, delivered fast - simply visit food.jumia.com.ng or download the Jumia Food app from your iOS or Android store! Jumia Travel also gives you quick access to thousands of hotels and beach resorts around Nigeria which you can book at the click of a button! Just use the discount code IJGB20 to get 20% off your meals on Jumia Food and off your hotel bookings on Jumia Travel starting today. Our gift is valid until January 17, 2017. On his Facebook account, Ugorji wrote an open letter addressed to his fellow 'Mavrodians' and stated that MMM Nigeria is not his creation. He stated that he is one of the admins of the Ponzi scheme in Nigeria and not one of the creators. He also allayed the fears of the investors and wrote "Frozen of Mavros does not mean MMM has stopped operations or crashed rather the system has adopted this measure to avoid any mishaps. The support system are working on issues to enhance the effectiveness of the community." He also stated that he has not been to the Philippines before which was in response to claims that he created the Ponzi scheme in partnership with foreign businessmen. You can read the entire letter below; "Goodday great mavrodians This week has not been easy for all of us due to the news update on our POs. As we all know, the media has been a tool used by anti-MMMites and pessimists to fight against the growth of MMM Nigeria. Unfortunately, some ignorant Nigerians who don't understand what MMM is all about have been brainwashed by the information broadcasted by the media and social networks Regarding the frozen mavro. It is clearly stated on the news section on the website Confirmed Mavro will be frozen for A MONTH . ALSO READ: Man beats wife to coma for investing in MMM The reason for this measure is evident. The system needs to prevent any problems that might arise during this festive season and this measure will be cancelled once the festive season comes to an end Frozen of mavros does not mean MMM has stopped operations or crashed rather the system has adopted this measure to avoid any mishaps. The support system are working on issues to enhance the effectiveness of the community. Also let's note that contrary to what has been published by cheap bloggers, Am not the Admin of MMM but one of the top guiders of this great community. And non of us has access to the site, I woke up on Tuesday and saw the News on my PO like every other person, The MMM website is been managed in Russia by their control and supervisory team .They are responsible for every decision made,like pairing of participants to provide help and get help,resolving issues on the platform etc. I have always been passionate about tutoring members and guiders about the ideology of MMM , the rules and the risk; I have encouraged members to provide help only with their SPARE MONEY and also get help at the end of 30 days. The reason members have to continue in this pattern of provide help and get help process is to ensure the sustainability of the system, because the platform is a peer to peer system ,members knows that they own the system and pay only to themselves, There is no CENTRAL ACCOUNT. Regarding getting help,every guider in the MMM community has a limit to withdrawal and I have never made withdrawals above my limit ,rather have always helped to ensure the growth of MMM Nigeria community. Instead I have given more to the community through charity works and teaching of the ideology of MMM. Bloggers who get paid for promoting rumour, when ignorant Nigerians click on their blogs , Google Ad sense pays them per click. Hence they seized this opportunity to enrich themselves even when most of them are participants and have taken more from the community ,many of them are involved in uploading Fake Pop's and multiple accounts all in the bid to frustrate the programme of the community and that is part of what is been looked into and it would be stop so that we have a healthy and stronger MMM NIGERIA in 2017 MMM founder is a Russian Sergey Mavrodi not a Philippines .i have never been to Philippines ,the stories about going to the Philippines are untrue. i stand for the true ideology of MMM which is anchored on providing and getting help willingly. Let's hope the best and STOP the PANIC! We shall overcome by God's grace ." A few days ago Chuddy Ugorji's wife Chiamaka Chuddy Ugorji wrote an open letter to investors in the Ponzi scheme too. The Ibadan, Oyo State-based man who identified himself as Dayo, is not finding it funny with the recent freezing of the account of the scheme and has pleaded with the administrator to refund his invested fund without the promised 30% interest. Dayo explained how he who borrowed the money from someone in his area to invest shortly before the announcement of the restriction on the accounts of participants on the December 13, 2016, an action that has caused untold panic in the over three million Nigerians who put their money in the scheme. Read the funny message Dayo sent to the MMM operators: Pls help me beg Shege Mafroday to let me collect help. Dat money I borrow from Iya Sodiq in d 3 house away from me. My enemies will rejoice on me, if I am not collect the money dis December. I don't want percentage again. Just give me oju owo. Ejo...Pls. Av mercy. On the MMM Reclaim website, it is stated that it will help MMM Nigerian investors reclaim their Mavros. "Nobody deserves to be made to suffer for helping others. We will help you reclaim your Mavros" promises the website. To reclaim your Mavros, the site requires you to fill in the name and email you used to register your MMM account. There is no proof that this site is authentic and the promoters of MMM are behind it. The method of how the investors can reclaim their money is also not specified on the website. While MMM Nigeria has been frozen throughout this month, the Ponzi scheme has opened up shop in Kenya. The website www.kenya-mmm.net has gone live and the domain name was created on Friday, August 12, 2016. MMM Kenya promises better returns for investors in the Ponzi scheme. In Nigeria and South Africa, MMM promised a 30% return for people who participated in the pyramid scheme. MMM Kenya promises 40% returns. "40%" was written boldly and clearly on the website. MMM Kenya domain's name was registered in 133, Sakura House in Tokyo, Japan. The registrant's name is Anonymous Speech. MMM Kenya already has a Facebook account and YouTube account. Kenyans are already trooping to sign up for the Ponzi scheme. There are already hundreds of testimonies and presentations on the YouTube channel. Dr Muideen Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant to Gov Abdulfatah Ahmed on Media and Communications stated this at a Media Parliament organised by the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). Speaking on Kwara Project; Collective Responsibility for Shared Burden, Akorede said that the government had released N1 billion to local governments in the state out of the n5 billion it received as the states share of Paris Club loan deduction. The senior media aide asserted that the government had secured funding window for all ongoing projects in the state to ensure their completion by Dec 2018. According to him, under the Infrastructure Fund Kwara (IF-K), the government would pool funds to finance critical infrastructure. Akorede disclosed that the state had infrastructure deficit of N8 billion as at the time the governor took over. He however said that the government had devised means to bridge the deficit by May 2019. The most enduring legacy of this administration is Kwara Internal Revenue Service, and the state has carried out reforms in various sectors that Federal Government had not even started thinking of. He identified other projects to be embarked upon by the state government as light-up-Kwara, construction of diamond split underpass, equiping of the International Vocational Centre, and construction of strategic roads among others. The party gave the description in a statement signed by Mr Olawale Sadare, its Director of Publicity and Strategy, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ajimobi will be 67 on Friday, Dec. 16. The party called for support and prayers for the governor in his quest to take the state to an enviable height. It said that Ajimobi ranked among the best in terms of managerial acumen, leadership skill, and passion for excellence, which distinguished him as an ideal leader. For a governor who assumed office at a critical period in the life of a state like Oyo and turned things round with his popular restoration, transformation and repositioning mantra, coming into office could not have been accidental. This apparently accounts for the unprecedented realisation of second term in office and subsequent continuation of his good work across the state. Having recorded many feats in less than six years in office, Ajimobi has not left anyone in doubt of his passion to rewrite the history and position the state in its Pacessetter status, it stated. The party said that Ajimobi occupied an enviable position in the Nigerian Governors Forum, being the leader of the South West Governors Forum. We can only pray that Almighty God grant our dear leader many more years of sound health and mind to enable him fulfill all his tasks to humanity as he constantly demonstrates the zeal to serve us better, it said. The party stated that it was of the strong belief that the current economic crisis, which had badly affected regular payment of workers salaries and pensions, would soon become a thing of the past. It said that the country and Oyo State in particular would be restored to the era of abundance and productivity. Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezegwu, the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the army, denied the report in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri. I want to assure that nothing like mutiny happened in Bama. Nothing happen. I just came back from Bama and nothing like that happened, Ezegwu said. ALSO READ:Soldiers fighting Boko Haram threaten to kill their commanders In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari expressed happiness that Mrs Mohammed would join the next United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Deputy. The statement said the president spoke with the in-coming Secretary- General, Guterres, who called earlier this evening to inform him (President Buhari) of his decision to pick Mrs Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General. President Buhari used the opportunity to reiterate his support and congratulations to Mr. Antonio Guterres on his upcoming tenure in the service. According to the statement, the president endorses the excellent selection of Amina J. Mohammed as the next Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured, the President was quoted as saying. President Buhari thanked Mrs. Mohammed for her untiring contribution to transform Nigeria and said he looked forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria. He said he had no doubt that she would continue to make Nigeria proud at the global level. The statement added that: It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017. In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the governments success in the Environment sector. These include, but not limited to, implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall. Mohammed, the current Nigerias Minister of Environment, served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals. She provided advice on issues, including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, as well as coordinating poverty reduction interventions. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda. Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is also a member of the UN Secretary-Generals Global Sustainability Panel, the African Womens Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project. Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Mohammed is married and has six children. Guterres had hinted on Monday after he took the oath of office that gender parity would be top of his agenda as the UN scribe. He said I think that one very important element of the agenda would be to give a clear signal that gender parity is a must and so in the appointments I will be making. And the first ones would be announced soon. Youll see that gender parity will become a clear priority from top to bottom in the UN and it will have to be respected by all. This is a very ambitious agenda, an agenda that must be for both woman and man, and that is why parity is so important in our reform perspectives. That is also why the empowerment of women is so important in everything the UN will be doing around the world, the incoming UN scribe said. The Chairman of Northern states Executive Committee, Dr Basheer Omipidan, gave the advice while at a news conference in llorin. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the news conference was to herald the associations 2016 conference, which will hold at Omuaran, lrepodun Local Government Area of the state. Omipidan urged the Buhari-led administration to listen to the yearnings of the people. He said the injection of the looted funds into the economy will help address some of the challenges before the country. Let the money recovered thus far be pumped into the economy so that families can once again eat what they desire. We as Nigerians kept faith with his administration. ADYAN is, therefore, confident that the administration will reciprocate the gesture by ensuring we all smile again. he said. Omipidan advised Nigerians to imbibe the "change begins with me" culture, avoid wastage, be fair to all irrespective of their religion, culture or ethnic backgrounds. He added that Nigerians should avoid sacrificing merit for mediocrity. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari who expressed happiness at the appointment said Nigeria has been honoured. By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured, the President was quoted as saying. It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017. In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the governments success in the Environment sector. These include, but not limited to, implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall. the statement said. Mohammed, served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals. She provided advice on issues, including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, as well as coordinating poverty reduction interventions. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda. Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Programme of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is also a member of the UN Secretary-Generals Global Sustainability Panel, the African Womens Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project. Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, on Tuesday, December 13, 2016, ordered the anti-graft agency to lift the restriction which it placed on Fayoses Zenith bank account. The EFCC had earlier blocked the Governors bank account, alleging that it was used to divert funds linked to the arms purchase scandal involving the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. According to Daily Post, the spokesman of the Ahmed Makarfi faction, Dayo Adeyeye also thanked the judiciary for curbing the excesses of the EFCC. Adeyeye said We in the PDPs family are particularly happy with the judgement , because it will help in curbing the reign of impunity under President Buharis government. EFCC acted against Governor Fayose as if it was not a creation of the constitution. It acted lawlessly and as if individuals rights to own an account as guaranteed by the 1999 constitution no longer exists. We really applaud the role of judiciary in the way it has been adjudicating on some political issues. But for their roles, the nation will by now be witnessing a full blown dictatorship. The PDP spokesman also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of destroying the countrys legacies. He added that The PDP is well prepared for the task ahead, particularly for 2019. We are not ruling out the possibility of merging with other political parties, because there could be merger which our party can be part of. As we speak now, the PDP remains the strongest party in Nigeria and Africa. We are now more united than ever. All the serving and former governors, members of the National Assembly, all the State chairmen of the party are now on one side. They are all supporting Alhaji Makarfi caretaker committee. The factional case pending in the court of Appeal will soon be settled and the PDP will thereafter become a real united party that can withstand any election. Only few ones are rebellious who allowed themselves to be used by the ruling government. According to Premium Times, the soldiers, who belong to the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, were sent to fight terrorists in Boko Haram stronghold, Sambisa Forest. However, instead of embarking on the mission, they turned against their officers and started shooting in all directions. The soldiers also accused their commanders of maltreating them and threatened to kill any officer who stands in their way. The brigade is based in Bama but is currently deployed at Bula Bello in Sambisa for Operation Rescue Final, an insider told Premium Times. But suddenly soldiers started mutinying at 6AM today, firing in all directions and threatening to pull out of the operation. As some of them fire gunshots, some started preparing vehicles to move out of location. They also warned officers to steer clear or they would be shot dead. They are saying their commanders have been treating them badly and telling them lies. As I speak to you, the firing is still going on, and there is confusion everywhere, he added. Nigerian soldiers have frequently complained of being maltreated by the government. Mr Stanley Ezenga, the National Publicity Secretary of the association, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. NAN reports that the Federal Government had indicated its readiness to lift the forex ban it placed on some 41 items in 2015. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, had in the 2017 Fiscal Policy Roadmap, said Federal Government will replace administrative measures on list of 41 items with fiscal measures to reduce demand pressure in the parallel market. Ezenga said that the plan would boost importation activities at the nations ports. He said that lifting of ban on the items would not solve the declining value of the naira, urging government to come up with a more result-oriented forex policy. The plan by the government to lift foreign exchange restriction on some 41 imported items is good news for import. We can now have more import activities at the ports and the various jobs lost to the restriction can now come back. However, the unbanning alone will not solve the problem of the naira. Government should come with a more workable policy to boost value of the naira, Ezenga said. If you believe the Senate, Magu is just too corrupt to fight corruption. This is some mess only President Muhammadu Buhari can clean up. Here are five things the President can do with a Chairman rejected by parliament: 1. Buhari could actually stick with his disgraced EFCC boss and ask the National Assembly members to go f... themselves. Especially because the National Assembly is the last place you go to when looking for non-corrupt persons, anyway. So, Buhari can carry on like yesterday never happened. He was given those executive powers for a reason. ALSO READ: The security report that sank EFCC Chairman Or... 2. The President can return to the Senate with some kind of peace offering and on bended knees; in a bid to persuade the lawmakers to reconsider its earlier rejection of Magu and confirm this guy. It's called subtle diplomacy. This option could really work, you know. It will mean asking President Muhammadu Buhari to swallow his pride and return to parliament, bearing a broad smile and ready to deal. You and I know that Buhari hates swallowing his pride. Which takes us to... 3. Buhari can wait this out for as long as he wants. EFCC bosses are appointed to see out a four-year renewable term. Magu got this job in 2015. If Buhari wants to play hardball with the national assembly guys, he can ask them to keep their confirmation and continue with asking Magu to go after the likes of Dasuki, Diezani, Babachir Lawal, Ekweremadu and Saraki, with renewed vigour. But if you are sincere with the anti-corruption battle, the last thing you want is to have a tainted character leading the line. That leaves Buhari with... 4. Flogging Magu in his office before firing him. There are times when Buhari has cut the picture of a school headmaster. Now is the time to show Magu who is boss, then. Fire this guy, baba. Fire him so bad no one will want to hire him to fight corruption again in the whole wide world. But see enh, Buhari hasn't fired Tukur Buratai, Abba Kyari, Babachir Lawal or Rotimi Amaechi...so firing Magu is a long, long shot. The odds of Magu getting fired are really that massive. Fat chance. That leaves Baba with... 5. Sticking to the law. The constitution doesn't expressly state that all nominations from the President have to be approved by parliament. In other words, heavens won't fall if Buhari ignores the Senators this one time. He actually could, you know, and take Magu to Ibiza for a decent time out of the firing line. If the President presents Magu's name three times and the Senators reject Magu three times, the law says Buhari can then go on to make Magu his substantive EFCC chairman. The President possesses prerogative powers. Lawmakers can only bark, but can't bite in this instance. And we are here to tell them that. Confirmation of a President's nominee is simply procedural in nature. There are parameters to be met by Senators before turning down a President's nomination. Did the Senators meet those parameters? We'll let some hard-nosed, angry Lawyers help us figure that out. So, there you have it, Buhari--the court, the ball and the trigger are really all yours. The Senate doesnt appoint a chairman of the EFCC; what it does is to confirm an appointment. If it doesnt confirm, then, he will remain acting, he doesnt become substantive but the powers of acting or substantive chairman are the same; it is just a difference in nomenclature, Sagay told Punch. So, any act of bad faith to slow down the corruption war is misplaced and it wont work. It is sad that people will go to that extent of rejecting what is good for the country for their selfish reasons because they think it is not convenient for them. So this is preference for self-preservation at the expense of the nation and the people of the country," he added. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Nyako was on July 15, 2014, impeached as governor of the state after spending three of the four years in office. Delivering the judgment, Justice Tanko Muhammad led the seven-man panel to hold that the appeal was lacking in merit. This court agrees with the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal that declared Nyakos removal from office as illegal. We also hold onto the decision of the lower court that fails to reinstate the appellant because of the special facts of the case, he said. Muhammad said the appeal had to fail because Nyakos counsel compromised the case at the lower court when he withdrew the prayer seeking the ex-governors reinstatement. There could be no ground of appeal when a litigants case was compromised by his or her counsel and on that score alone the appeal has to fail. However, the remedy by the appeal of court ordering the payment of salaries and other entitlements accruable to the appellant for the period he was illegally removed from office, was in order, he said. There will never be a forum again where that issue of reinstatement would be raised again, and to that extent, that informs my dismissal of the appeal in its entirety, Muhammad held. Nyako had through his counsel, Mr Olukoya Ogungbeje, filed a fundamental human rights enforcement suit before the Federal High Court, Yola, challenging his removal from office by the states House of Assembly. Delivering judgment on suit on May 21, 2015, Justice Balkisu Aliyu went ahead to strike out the case. The judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it. Dissatisfied with the outcome of the proceeding at the trial court, Nyako approached the Court of Appeal in Yola to challenge the decision of the court. Nyako, after the filing of the appeal went on to brief another lawyer, Mr Ibrahim Isiaku (SAN), to lead his legal team. The confusion ensued at the point of adoption of written addresses when it was held that Isiaku had withdrawn the prayer seeking the ex-governors reinstatement. Justice Jummai Sankey delivering the decision of the Court of Appeal, Yola, on Feb. 11 held that the court set aside the decision of the trial court to hear the suit on its merit. The appeal court had gone ahead to declare Nyakos removal as unconstitutional as the impeachment proceedings were conducted in breach of his rights to fair hearing. The governor said this at the end of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. When people say that this administration has impoverished them; I think they are not being charitable. Because I have said that we inherited a governmental structure at state and federal levels built around the assumption that price of oil will remain at $100 per barrel. By the time we took over, prices dipped to as low as $26 per barrel. Now when 80 per cent of government revenues depend on the price of oil and the quantity of oil you sell (reduces) you must expect a cut in your consumption if the price collapses. If in your own household your salary is slashed by 80 per cent, what do you do? There is painful adjustment in the funding. You have to seek your family and explain to them that this is what is happening, your salary has been slashed by 80 per cent so rice is off the table and it is now `garri and so on. This is what Nigeria is going through. Essentially, our revenues have collapsed by about 40 per cent to 60 per cent if you compare it with , say, 2014. This collapse happened because the price of oil has moved from a high of $140 a barrel around 2013 to a low of $26 per barrel in February 2016. Secondly, we were producing over two million barrels of oil per day because of vandalism in the Delta, production went to as low as 1.1 million barrels per day. The governor noted that the production was back a bit to 1.8 million barrels per day but noted that when the production was little very little money was coming in to the government. He said it was inevitable that there would be cuts and pain adding that to blame the government for the economic problem was unfair. The governor said that when he left office as FCT minister, in 2007, the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo handed over $40 billion in reserve and $27 billion in Excess Crude Account. That is what we handed over to Yaradua (late Umaru). Coming back as Gov. of Kaduna there is only $2.1 bn in excess crude account and when we left office the price of oil was $75 per barrel. The governor said that those who came into office blew the savings, earned $300 billion and spent it, borrowed over $60 billion in the period and spent all. It is up to President Buhari to clear that mess, he added. He said it was unfair that the critics were not referring to the causes of the present predicaments and urged informed people to continue to address the question. He said the country was paying the price of mismanagement of the past, adding that without diversification the problem would be more. The governor also defended the governments economic team adding that the economic team of the administration was well constituted. According to him the economic team has both policy level meeting and a technical level teams. He said that the difference between Obasanjos economic team and Buharis team was that the former was headed by the president while the latter was headed by the Vice President. What you need at the policy level is basic understanding, management skills and leadership. The VP is exposed, educated and enlightened enough to say yes or no if given many policy options. The technical people are there to give you the technical input and the VP was the one selected and he has to make that policy decision. You cannot have an unelected economist deciding policy for the country because there has to be accountability. But there is nowhere in the world where heading the economic team is economist because the technical people are there to give you the technical input, he added. The Minister of National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, also explained that the economic team consisted of persons with political responsibility for the ultimate policy decisions, adding that the technical work was done by other people in various organs of government. According to Udoma, the administration has consulted with economists from Nigeria while the political decision is taken by the elected officials who are politically accountable. On the poor economy, he said the administration was not to blame. The former Governor also said Kanu has given him the mandate to speak on his behalf, adding he is ready to help. According to AIT, Kalu also called on the IPOB leader to sheath his sword and give peace a chance. The former Governor, in a post on his Facebook page, said Today, I visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Kuje Prison and we engaged in a very long discussion. Kanu is my brother and a son of the soil. He shouldnt be where he is because Kuje Prison is not his home. It is therefore my utmost concern to see him regain his freedom like every other Nigerian. The Rivers Commissioner of Information, Austin Tam-George also said the media house has been known for its misleading reportage. Tam-George described the reports as false, adding that the recording is a technological contraption. He Said We categorically deny these latest allegations as a sick fabrication, an outright lie. Governor Wike never made any contact with INEC officials, in person or by telephone. Saharareporters.com is the online propaganda bullhorn of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Their publications are typically false, and the writers are professional hawkers of fiction. No one would have thought that the APC and its cowardly media allies would resort to an audio impersonation of Governor Nyesom Wike, using a voice changer technology. The voice changer technology is often used by teenagers mainly in South Korea and Japan to launch innocent technological pranks at each other, mainly for laughs. The use of such a technology to blackmail a governor is a new criminal low for the APC, a party already widely discredited for its addiction to falsehood. ALSO READ: Wike caught threatening to kill INEC officials over Rerun Election The APC and Saharareporters are inmates in the prison of their own lies. We reject the latest blackmail by the APC. On Wednesday, December 14, 2016, the nominees for the fifth edition of the prestigious Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCAs) were revealed. Announcing the nominees was the duo of popular Nigerian actress and TV presenter, Michelle Dede, and renowned Kenyan actor, radio presenter and TV host Fareed Khimani during a special live broadcast which aired on all Africa Magic channels on DStv and GOtv. ALSO READ: undefined Celebrities spotted at the event include Somkele Idhalama who was nominated in the best supporting actress category, Ramsey Nouah who landed a nomination for his role in "76." Others include Beverly Naya, Abimbola Craig, Ireti Doyle among others. The governor made the comments on Thursday, December 15, after a meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) in Abuja. When people say that this administration has impoverished them, I think they are not being charitable, because I have said that we inherited a governmental structure at state and federal levels built around the assumption that price of oil will remain at $100 per barrel, he said according to The Cable. By the time we took over, prices dipped to as low as $26 per barrel. Now, when 80 per cent of government revenues depend on the price of oil and the quantity of oil you sell reduces, you must expect a cut in your consumption if the price collapses. If your own household your salary is slashed by 80 per cent, what do you do? There is painful adjustment in the funding. You have to seek your family and explain to them that this is what is happening; your salary has been slashed by 80 per cent, so rice is off the table and it is now garri and so on. This is what Nigeria is going through. Essentially, our revenues have collapsed by about 40 per cent to 60 per cent if you compare it with, say, 2014. This collapse happened because the price of oil has moved from a high of $140 a barrel around 2013 to a low of $26 per barrel in February 2016. ALSO READ: 3 unbelievably disgusting things A statement by Petersides media office in Abuja said that the audio recording showed top officials of Rivers government allegedly offering bribe to INEC officials during the re-run legislative elections in the state. It said that the allegation contained in the audio record was weighty and needed to be unraveled to serve as deterrent to others and safeguard democratic tenets in the country. The office noted that the audio tape which had gone viral on the internet, if not checked, would amount to abuse of the honour and trust reposed on such officials. The statement added that the allegations remained portrayed misuse of power bestowed by the people on elected and appointed officials. Addressing the contingent on Friday at Enugu, Ugwuanyi said that their prayers were most needed as the country strives to get out of the current economic recession. The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Gabriel Ajah, said that government had given the pilgrims the needed support. We urge you to be of good behaviour while in the Holy Land and we will not want any of you to abscond. Go in peace and come back happily, he said. Responding, the Chairman, Enugu State Christian Pilgrims Board, Rev. Fr. John Nwafor, thanked the government for making the pilgrimage possible in spite of the current economic uncertainties. Nwafor said that without the facilitation by the state government the exercise would not have been possible and assured that no pilgrim will abscond. For the past years, we have not had the history of our pilgrims absconding and it will not start now. We will be responsible while in the Holy Land. The state and Nigeria at large will experience the effect of our prayers in 2017, he said. Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Executive Secretary of the Board, Pastor Christian Onah, said that the 77 were selected after thorough scrutiny of the 160 applications received by the board. "In my personal opinion, Assad is a butcher who massacred and murdered people," Lieberman told a conference of Jews from the former Soviet Union, on Thursday night. "I think that in the end it is in our interest that he and the Iranians be thrown out of Syria," he said in an audio clip of the conference in the Red Sea resort of Eilat released by his office. Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006, has sent thousands of its fighters to support Syrian government troops. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. "From a moral point of view we cannot accept such a massacre in front of the eyes of the entire world, with chemical weapons," Lieberman said. The Jewish state has sought to limit its involvement in the conflict, but has carried out sporadic sorties against Hezbollah inside Syria. Several Israeli missiles struck near the Mazzeh airbase near Damascus last week without causing any casualties, Syrian state media reported. The target was symbolic. It houses the headquarters of the feared air force intelligence service, a bedrock of Assad's rule. It was the second time in eight days that Israel had targeted positions outside Damascus. Speaking to EU ambassadors on Wednesday, Lieberman spoke of his country's defence policy. "We are working first and foremost to ensure the security of our citizens and defend our sovereignty and we are trying to prevent the smuggling of advanced weapons, military equipment and weapons of mass destruction from Syria to Hezbollah," he said, according to a statement from his office. Last week's missile strikes were carried out from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The mea culpa, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered before the General Assembly, avoided any mention of who brought cholera to Haiti, even though the disease was not present in the country until U.N. peacekeepers arrived from Nepal, where an outbreak was underway. The peacekeepers lived on a base that often leaked waste into a river, and the first cholera cases in the country appeared in Haitians who lived nearby. Numerous scientists have long argued that the base was the source of the outbreak, but for years U.N. officials refused to accept responsibility. Even though Bans office has acknowledged that the U.N. had played a role in the outbreak, his apology on Thursday was limited to how the world body responded to the outbreak, not how it started. We simply did not do enough with regard to the cholera outbreak and its spread in Haiti, Ban said on Thursday. We are profoundly sorry about our role. Apologies are rare for the U.N. In 1999, Bans predecessor, Kofi Annan, expressed deep remorse for the organizations failure to protect civilians from the genocide in Rwanda five years earlier. Bans apology belated in the view of his critics is part of his push for redress in Haiti before the end of his 10-year tenure on Dec. 31. Yet the people of Haiti have seen few tangible benefits so far. The U.N. has not yet met its promise to eradicate cholera once and for all from Haiti, though Bans aides said Thursday that they were close to raising the $200 million they say they need to fix Haitis water and sanitation system and treat Haitians for cholera. Nor has the U.N. yet raised an additional $200 million it wants for material assistance to families and communities that have suffered; donor nations have not yet come forward with the funds. It is aimed at providing a meaningful but necessarily imperfect response to the impact of cholera on individuals, families and communities, Ban said in a report made public Thursday. Ban goaded countries to make voluntary contributions, or else other means would have to be pursued, which can be interpreted only to be compulsory dues. Eliminating cholera from Haiti, and living up to our moral responsibility to those who have been most directly affected, will require the full commitment of the international community and, crucially, the resources necessary, he said. The Haitian ambassador to the U.N., Denis Regis, welcomed Bans acknowledgment of the organizations role in the cholera outbreak, calling its previous position morally unjustifiable. Few things have damaged the standing of the U.N. and Bans record as its secretary-general as the cholera outbreak and particularly, his response to it. In a country where few people have access to clean water and proper sanitation, the disease quickly spread in 2010 when U.N. peacekeepers failed to adequately follow protocols for disposing wastewater while deployed in Haiti. Cholera surged again in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, which hit the nation in October. One of the reasons the disease spread so widely, public health experts have said, is because it was allowed to. Had there been a vigorous response in the first couple of years, it would have been far easier to contain, and fewer people would have died. The death toll stands at an estimated 10,000; some say it could be higher. In the report issued Thursday, Ban blamed perennial underfunding for cholera eradication. Efforts were beset from the start by the challenge of insufficient funding, which has had a dramatic negative impact on the capacity to respond effectively to the disease, he said. Perhaps most damaging to the United Nations, which regularly presses governments around the world to pursue accountability, Ban and his aides have all along claimed immunity from prosecution under a long-standing diplomatic treaty. That view was upheld in August by a federal court in Manhattan, in response to a class-action lawsuit by cholera victims. In recent months, Ban has expressed moral responsibility for the outbreak and deep regret. Senior U.N. officials said they had been constrained from saying any more by their lawyers, who were concerned that it would make them vulnerable to further legal claims elsewhere over misconduct or mistakes of its peacekeepers. Ban made the apology in English, French and Haitian Creole. It was delicately worded to avoid the impression that the U.N. was taking full responsibility for cholera in Haiti. That could imply legal culpability. The group that represents the victims, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, has said it has not yet decided on whether to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court to seek compensation. Brian Concannon, the executive director of the group, called Bans proposals a step in the right direction. But words alone wont save lives or remove the stain on the U.N.'s reputation, he said in an email. The U.N. and its member states will have to rise to the challenge and actually fund and effectively execute the projects. Bans aides have said they would prefer to use the material assistance funds to aid communities most affected by the cholera outbreak by giving children of survivors a free education, for instance rather than open up a fund for individual claims for compensation. But her future is uncertain as her refugee parents fight for a new life abroad after they sheltered fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong. The story of how impoverished refugees helped Snowden evade authorities in 2013 only emerged in September, propelling them into the media spotlight. Former National Security Agency contractor Snowden hid out in Hong Kong where he initiated one of the largest data leaks in US history, fuelling a firestorm over mass surveillance. After leaving his initial hotel bolthole, he went underground, fed and looked after by some of the city's 11,000 marginalised refugees. Snowden now lives in exile in Russia where he has sought asylum. The refugees remain in Hong Kong, desperately hoping for resettlement elsewhere. 'Treated like animals' Sethumdi is Sri Lankan and lives in a flat measuring just 14 square metres (150 square feet) with her father Supun Thilina Kellapatha, mother Nadeeka and baby brother Danath. They hope the awareness raised by the Snowden story might lead to a better life. The family wants to go to Canada, which has a track record of taking in refugees. Supun, 32, says he is proud to have helped Snowden and happy their case has gone public. "Before, we just tried to survive day by day. Now I have hope," he says. Hong Kong is not a signatory to the UN's refugee convention and does not grant asylum. However, it is bound by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and considers claims for protection based on those grounds. It also considers claims based on risk of persecution. After government screening, claimants found to be at risk of persecution are referred to UNHCR, which can try to resettle them to a safe third country. But with fewer than one percent of cases successfully substantiated by Hong Kong authorities, most refugees live in fear of deportation. Supun and Nadeeka, 33, are awaiting a decision on their claim and say their lives would be in danger if they returned to Sri Lanka. Nadeeka fled after she was repeatedly raped, Supun after he was a target of politically motivated violence, according to their protection claim. They are banned from working because they have no official status and receive government handouts they say do not meet their basic needs. Nadeeka says she has been quizzed about Snowden by the Hong Kong branch of NGO International Social Service (ISS) -- contracted by the government to take care of refugees. She also says her case worker recommended she have an abortion when she was three months' pregnant with Danath. ISSHK told AFP it "completely denies" that allegation, and has rejected assertions by the refugees and their lawyer Robert Tibbo that it has breached its obligation to provide them sufficient humanitarian assistance. But Supun feels refugees in Hong Kong are treated "like animals". "Give them more food, give them more money. We want to work, let us work," he says. Fighting for rights The refugees initially had little idea of who Snowden was and Tibbo has been criticised for involving them. He played a key role in protecting Snowden in Hong Kong and asked his refugee clients to take him in. Tibbo defends the move. "They just saw a man who was distressed and in need. They wanted to help," he says. Tibbo feels he owes them a "moral debt" and is determined to get them resettled abroad. "But for these heroic families, I'm not sure Mr Snowden would have made it out," says Tibbo. Vanessa Rodel from the Philippines says she has no regrets about taking Snowden in. She is also battling ISSHK over what she and Tibbo say has been inadequate support for her family: four-year-old daughter Keana, and elderly mother Rosalina. Rodel, 46, says she hopes her case will lead to wider improvements for refugees in Hong Kong. She too dreams of a new home in Canada -- as does Ajith Pushpakumara, a former Sri Lankan soldier, who also sheltered Snowden. In the meantime, Vanessa says her family will enjoy Christmas as best they can. She has decorated a tree at home. Keana says she is hoping for a toy pony. "Next year my dream is to go to another country, for my safety, for my freedom," says Rodel. "Six people, most of them soldiers, were killed (by the bomb) which was planted under a tree close to a security checkpoint," said Mogadishu administration spokesman Abdifatah Omar Halane. "Several others are also wounded." Witnesses said the area was bustling with soldiers and civilians when the explosion occurred. "The situation was okay and everybody was busy minding their business when the blast went off near the checkpoint. I saw several dead people including soldiers but most of the wounded were civilians," said witness Mohamed Nure. The blast came just hours after a car loaded with explosives was driven into a government building which houses a popular restaurant. "The driver died and several other people were wounded," said Somali police commander Mohamed Dahir. Two employees of a local radio station inside the building were among the injured. "The car rolled over after striking the building but luckily (the explosives) did not go off for a few minutes. People managed to run away and casualties were very minimal," said Abdirahman Ali, who witnessed the blast. There has been an uptick in attacks in Mogadishu as the country is in the process of electing a new government with the much-delayed presidential vote due on December 28. On Sunday 20 people were killed in a suicide truck bombing claimed by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group. The scandal, which has focused on Park's relationship with an old friend now arrested for fraud, sparked nationwide protests and saw parliament vote to impeach the president last week. Park stands accused of colluding with her friend, Choi Soon-Sil, to coerce local firms to "donate" tens of millions of dollars to non-profit foundations that Choi then used as personal ATMs. "We came to believe that it is necessary to raid certain parts of the (presidential) Blue House," said Lee Kyu-Chul, a spokesman for the team of independent prosecutors on the case. The team -- appointed by lawmakers -- has recently taken over investigations by government prosecutors who had sought to raid Park's office in October but were turned away at the gate. Park's office has objected to any raid on the Blue House, citing a criminal code that bans any such action on state facilities deemed to be militarily important. "We are making in-depth legal reviews to counter the argument by the Blue House over the rejection of the raid," Lee said, adding the officials were also planning to interrogate Park. Park has formally been identified as a suspect in the criminal investigation -- a first for a sitting South Korean president. Park is also accused of ordering aides to leak confidential state documents to Choi, who has no official title or security clearance, and allowing her to meddle is some state affairs, including the appointment of top officials. The Constitutional Court is reviewing the validity of the parliamentary motion to impeach her -- a process that could take up to six months. Police spokesman Suwed Manshur said that the king's number two, Johnson Thembo Kitsumbire "was arrested this afternoon (Thursday) but I am not in position to give further details". The arrest comes a day after King Charles Wesley Mumbere and 151 others were charged with treason. The king is also facing charges of terrorism, aggravated robbery, attempted murder and murder. Mumbere was arrested in late November during a violent police crackdown on his palace which left at least 87 dead. "The state claims my clients overtly or covertly uttered statements with political intentions to overthrow the government or promote their own political agenda," said lawyer Evans Ochieng. He said his clients denied the "trumped up" charges. There were no further details of the charge, however the government has accused Mumbere of organising a militia from his palace with the aim of creating an independent state straddling Uganda and the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The traditional kingdom in western Uganda has a history of separatist leanings dating back to independence. The region where it is based is an opposition stronghold that has long complained of marginalisation from Kampala. As there is no evidence for legal offences cited in the impeachment motion, we believe that they cannot be the grounds for impeachment, one of the lawyers said. The document was handed over to the court looking into the case. Report says South Koreas parliament voted by a large majority recently to impeach Park in relation to a corruption scandal involving a longtime confidante of hers. Park is accused of giving her friend Choi Soon Sil too much access to the business of government, in spite of the fact that Choi held no official office. Choi is also accused of gaining financially from her friendship with Park, who has repeatedly apologised for the scandal that has arisen. However, she has rejected accusations that there was anything illegal or criminal about the relationship. The constitutional court has six months to decide whether to implement parliaments impeachment vote and remove Park from office. Until a decision has been reached, the duties of the president have been suspended. Russias TASS news agency cited Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov as telling newsmen in Tokyo that Putin had explained Russias stance on the issue to Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit in September. There was a tete-a-tete conversation and different themes were discussed. This theme was touched upon, a really clear reply was given by our side which perhaps did not fit with what Obama was trying to explain to us, Ushakov was cited as saying. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg Dr. Louis Katz stopped counting the HIV patients he treated in the 1980s and '90s when they began numbering in the hundreds. Antiretroviral drugs now allow people with the human immunodeficiency virus to live longer, perhaps indefinitely. But, Katz said, that may be contributing to a new misunderstanding. If you can just pop a pill, you can do anything. Right? There is clear evidence of a relapse of high-risk behavior, said Katz, an infectious disease specialist who directed a Quad-City clinic for years. Its the same kind of behavior, like promiscuity and needle sharing, that was associated with the initial explosion of AIDS. Some are a little too cavalier with the understanding they take a pill a day and everything will be OK, Katz said. Uptick noted in Q-C Quad-City area agencies are seeing an uptick in new HIV infections. Rock Island County is consistently ranking 6 or 7 in the state in new diagnoses, which is a statistic that Thea Battis of The Project of the Quad-Cities finds startling. To put that in perspective, you have Cook County (Chicago) and collar counties, and you have East St. Louis those are some huge population areas, said Battis, director of grants and services for the non-profit organization, which started 31 years ago as the Quad-Cities AIDS Project. You would think Rock Island would be nowhere on the radar, and were consistently in the top 10. Thats in a state that ranks high nationwide in new infections Illinois is number 8. There are an estimated 43,500 people living with HIV in Illinois. Iowa saw a 27 percent increase in new HIV diagnoses in 2015, even as the state ranks among the lower tier in infection rates nationwide. More than 2,100 Iowans are HIV positive. Scott County ranks as the third highest in Iowa for residents living with HIV, at 192. Meanwhile, Rock Island has 211 residents living with HIV. The Rock Island County Health Department has kept track of the number of residents diagnosed with AIDS since 1981, when the CDC first reported the outbreak. That number is 172. The human immunodeficiency virus attacks the immune system and weakens it to the extent that the infection can progress into AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Thats why advocates like Battis urge getting tested. One in eight people living with HIV in the United States are unaware of their infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Battis praised her agencys aggressive street outreach and prevention program. The Project of the Quad-Cities recently expanded its offices at 1202 4th Ave., Moline, to add testing. We are out there getting that word out, getting that message out, about getting tested, she said. She is concerned HIV is on the rise in the Quad-Cities. While the CDC reports the number of new HIV diagnoses nationwide fell 19 percent from 2005 to 2014, Battis said awareness is not sinking in with today's youth. Theres a mindset, especially among the younger generation, of well, you got all these new meds, so it doesnt really matter, she said. Why do I need to have protected sex? I could just go take a pill. It's more than taking a pill. Side effects to antiretroviral medication include diarrhea, nausea, sleeplessness and weight gain. Part of the reason the message is not sinking in is because it may not even be getting to young people. Battis said she has a hard time bringing her campaign into Quad-City schools. In larger urban areas on buses, billboards and TV you see HIV prevention messages everywhere, she said. You dont see that down here. We still encounter some difficulty getting into the public school system, even high school. People dont want to talk about STDs or HIV. Pregnancy theyre all about. But HIV its very difficult. They think they dont have that problem in their school system. Even after 35 years, Quad-Citians are still in denial about a disease mostly associated with sexual behavior that originated in the gay male community, Battis said. Gay and bisexual men are still the most severely affected by HIV, but heterosexual contact accounted for nearly a quarter of new HIV diagnoses in 2015, the CDC reports. Women accounted for 19 percent of HIV diagnoses in 2015. Battis points to another alarming trend. While using dirty needles has long been associated with AIDS, the latest heroin epidemic has stoked renewed fear among HIV care providers. How many of them (patients) are sharing dirty needles? Battis asked. Turned away The stigma of living with HIV goes back to the 1980s. "People look at you like you're dirty," said Tiffany Norwood, executive director of Delacerda House of Rock Island. Norwood came across people with HIV in her prior homeless outreach experience. She said poverty and HIV/AIDS go hand-in-hand as many living with the disease have been turned away from family and are living on the streets. Delacerda House, which started in 1996, takes in people with HIV who are at risk of becoming homeless. It offers housing, case management, advocacy and support. "When you're homeless," she said, "it's hard to focus on your health because you just want to make it through the day, make sure your basic needs are met." HIV further alienates already stigmatized minority groups. "I had practitioners I couldn't call on because they were afraid," said Katz, who is retired from clinical medicine and now serves as chief medical officer of the American Blood Centers in Washington, D.C. "Minority populations and stigmatized populations like the poor, people of color and gay men don't get a lot of sympathy from the power structure," Katz said. "They don't get attention, and that's a recipe for bad outcomes." Actor Rock Hudson put the AIDS epidemic "on the front burner for the mainstream" when he announced his diagnosis in the 1980s, Katz said. "We've moved on. And we have short attention spans." He thinks government that so easily moves money around to the "problem du jour" should not gut funding for infection surveillance, much like the surveillance that kept West Nile virus from becoming worse. "The globe is tiny," Katz said. "We're one day on an airplane away from any place in the world. What's brewing where, who knows?" A Davenport man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in federal prison for possessing a Molotov cocktail in November 2015. Theodore Cooke, 48, must serve three years of supervised release once he completes his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of an unregistered firearm in August in U.S. District Court, Davenport. Prosecutors say Cooke was in possession of a Molotov cocktail on Nov. 2, 2015. Cooke went to a Davenport residence to look for his girlfriend. After several attempts to get her outside, Cooke lit the Molotov cocktail on fire and threw it at a parked vehicle, causing the vehicle to catch fire. -- Times staff A Davenport man was sentenced this week to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Davenport. Chad Allen Moens, 43, pleaded guilty April in U.S. District Court, Davenport, to a conspiracy charge. According to the plea agreement, Moens conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine from June 2014 to September 2015. Law enforcement used a confidential informant to purchase or attempt to purchase methamphetamine from Moens on four occasions. Moens provided or attempted to provide the confidential informant with approximately 190 grams of methamphetamine. Law enforcement also located approximately 55 grams of methamphetamine during a search at Moens residence in Silvis. According to statements made at Moens sentencing hearing Wednesday, Moens traveled to Chicago and Omaha, Nebraska, to obtain methamphetamine and then returned to the Davenport area to sell the drug. Moens is responsible for conspiring to distribute nearly 900 grams of methamphetamine in the Davenport area. Once he completes his prison term, he must serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. -- Times staff WEST LIBERTY, Iowa A 32-year-old Iowa City man will face a sexual abuse charge after allegedly having sexual relations with a 15-year-old. Denis Lopez-Hernandez has been charged with third-degree sexual abuse, a class C felony, after allegedly admitting to having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old in September 2016 in West Liberty, according to the criminal complaint. Lopez-Hernandez was arrested by the West Liberty Police Department on Wednesday, Dec. 14, according to the criminal complaint. A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27, in Muscatine County District Court. His bond has been set at $10,000 cash or surety, according to court documents, and a bond reduction hearing is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30. Emily Wenger of the Muscatine Journal In the run-up to the presidential election, Rabbi Henry Karp of Temple Emanuel, Davenport, sensed a growing boldness nationwide for people to make derogatory comments about, and to, others unlike themselves. Specifically, Karp was concerned about minorities people whose color, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation is different from the traditional majority. Using his considerable email list, he contacted others he thought might share his concerns and invited them to a meeting to discuss whether there could or should be a collective response in the Quad-Cities. Earlier this week, a group of about 30 people calling themselves One Human Family QCA, gathered for the third time at the temple to discuss concerns, as well as specific goals and how to begin working on them. The group's stated mission is "to welcome and to protect the life, dignity and human rights of all people in all places in our community." Karp cited two reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center that fuel his concern for what he calls a "darkness of hatred which has enveloped our nation." One is that in the first 10 days following the presidential election, the center received 867 reports of "hate incidents" from across the nation. The second is an online survey of 10,000 educators reporting a dramatic increase in bullying, creating an environment of fear. The center is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation, based in Montgomery, Alabama. "This is a dramatically changing environment," Karp said. "Bullying is becoming far more toxic, and it's becoming socially acceptable. "We as a group need to stand up and say 'No!' We've got to protect people. We can't just sit back and be bystanders." He fears a further emboldening after president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Bill Tubbs, publisher of the North Scott Press in Eldridge, made a plea for group members to "reach out across ideological lines." Just because someone voted for Trump does not meant that they "don't share some of these same concerns," he said. He also urged those gathered in the room to speak up if they hear something offensive or hurtful in private settings. The first of five goals the group decided upon is to compile a "resource list" of already existing groups that deal with the various issues/constituencies the group is concerned about. These might include a the Quad-Cities Alliance for Immigrants & Refugees, for example, or the anti-bullying program of the Davenport Community School District. Compiling this list and talking to the various organizations also would address the intent of finding holes or gaps in existing services rather than duplicating efforts already under way. A second goal is to collect and document incidents of bigotry. Brenda Drew-Peeples, a Davenport lawyer, reported on an African-American woman who, while never encountering any problems while attending Bettendorf schools, was called an "n-----" on the day after the election while visiting a doughnut shop. "We have to know what's happening in the community," Karp said. School safety, support for immigrants/refugees and community education are other goals. While 30 people attended Tuesday's meeting, another 20 attended previous meetings, and the list is growing, Karp said. Members include faith and civic leaders, social activists, educators and concerned private residents. Thursday, St. Ambrose University opened the paths for the lives of thousands of people to be enhanced with better health with the graduation of the inaugural class of the universitys master of physician assistant studies program. Many of the students will be practicing throughout Iowa, including several who will be providing previously unavailable medical care to rural areas. In addition, several of the students have received multiple job offers, and one has received a residency at the DeBakey Heart Institute, one of only four such residencies offered to physician assistant graduates across the country. Were extremely proud of all of them, said Sandy Cassady, vice president for strategic initiatives and dean of the College of Health and Human Services. And were extremely proud of the program and look forward to it getting bigger and better moving forward. The program was born in 2010 in part to provide more medical care to rural areas in the Midwest and other parts of the country where medical care is scarce. According to labor statistics and other demographic figures, there has been a national shortage of physician assistants and doctors, Cassady said. There were more than 300 applicants for the St. Ambrose program; only 30 students were accepted. The 29-month program was evenly divided between classroom studies and on-the-job training under experienced physicians, with each of the students spending no more than a month in a location to give them a feel for different environments. Several of these students are going back to small towns, some where they were from, to help serve those communities. Thats very rewarding and exciting to see, Cassady said. One of those students, Courtney Schroeder, will be headed to Carroll, Iowa, where she was born and raised. I like the small-town feel, of knowing your patients and being able to help them, Schroeder said. It feels good going back to my hometown and being able to make a difference. Other students, whether moving on to small, mid-size or larger cities, echoed Schroeders feelings. Its overwhelming to finally be at the end of this. Its been a long 29 months, and its exciting that Ill finally get to practice medicine, said Jena Benik, an Orion, Illinois, native, wife and mother who left her home in Dallas and lived with her parents to pursue her degree. Ive been wanting to do this for 10 years, and this is so rewarding. I grew up in a remote area I volunteered for an organization out of the Appalachians in Pennsylvania ... I know about the need for quality medical care out in rural areas, and Im happy Ill get the chance to help provide that. I worked for about six years in corporate wellness, and I was always interested in medicine, said Cassie Schill of Traer, Iowa, who will work at a rural critical access hospital in Valentine, Nebraska. I know the demands and responsibilities, and now Ill get to do what I love to do, and thats help people improve their lives. The most exciting thing about it is that we have careers where you can really impact someones life, said Trevor Portiner of Norfolk, Nebraska. Portiner will work in internal medicine in New York City. Its really important to learn to have a good bedside manner and learn to communicate with different people and in different kinds of situations, said Jennifer Hermanson of Beecher, Illinois, who will begin working as a neurosurgical associate in Alaska in February. You can be the smartest doctor in the world, but if you dont have good bedside manner, patients arent going to respond to you. Amanda Proczak of Storm Lake, Iowa, who will work as a physician assistant in general surgery in Burlington, Iowa, added that working with her classmates helped in developing that skill as well as many others. Its been really special to be a part of this, weve been like a family, Proczak said. Its been an honor to be a part of the first graduating class. We kind of set the bar, and now its up to the students coming up behind us to exceed those expectations. CEDAR RAPIDS Women pushing for gender equity in political office are disappointed but not discouraged that Hillary Clinton was unable to shatter the glass ceiling between them and the highest office in the nation. I'm fond of saying out of everything bad comes something good, Mary Ellen Miller, executive director of 50-50 in 2020, said about the presidential election results. We didnt get our first woman president as many thought we might. However, Clintons loss or the example of her winning the Democratic Partys nomination and campaigning for the presidency is stimulating women to step up and say, 'Maybe I should get engaged,' Miller said during taping of Iowa Public Televisions "Iowa Press" Friday. Where she might get one query a month from a woman interested in running for office, Miller has been getting several a week since the election. Also, she said, as a result of the presidential election outcome, were finding a generation of younger women saying, 'This cant go on' and want to be part of changing womens representation in politics. 50-50 in 2020 has set a goal of helping bring about gender balance in the Iowa Legislature in three years in time for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. In 2017, women will hold less than a quarter of the 150 seats in the Iowa Legislature. While Clintons loss is a disappointment to those who want to gain gender equity, Mary Rae Bragg, a former political reporter and current president of the Iowa League of Women Voters, thinks this is an opportune time to get more women involved because people were traumatized by the tone and tenor of the presidential election. I have to say that both political parties have left a lot of people behind, Bragg said, and that presents an opportunity to invite people who want to deal with issues in a bipartisan way to get involved, whether that means running for office or educating voters about issues. Melissa Gesing, who stepped down as president of the Iowa Federation of Republican Women because she couldnt support Donald Trump, is encouraged that in the wake of the election, she is hearing from young women who are starting to pay more attention to politics and elections and are starting to think they want to be involved. I dont know that they necessarily want to run right now, but theyre taking that first step of paying attention and wanting to volunteer or do something more than watching the news at home, Gesing said. She called Clintons defeat a temporary setback for women in politics but a catalyst for getting more women involved, so I think overall its optimistic. The trio also think that Lt. Gov. Kim Reynoldss anticipated move into the governors office when Gov. Terry Branstad become ambassador to China also is a positive development for involving more women in politics. Reynolds, a former state senator and county treasurer, was a presenter at 50-50s most recent workshops. Bragg called her very inspiring to young women, and Im talking fifth-graders on up, looking and seeing a woman in a place and that makes it possible. That's what Kim does. SPRINGFIELD State Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill is among a growing list of Democrats being mentioned as possible candidates to take on first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018. While he hasnt ruled out running himself, Manar said hes focused right now on making sure Democrats can mount a strong challenge to Rauner. Like many others, my goal is to be part of a productive conversation about how we can bring forward a campaign in 2018 that is successful, Manar said. The party needs to build off the 2016 successes of its statewide candidates, Susana Mendoza in the race for state comptroller and U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth in the U.S. Senate race, while also figuring out ways to appeal to more voters in places in Illinois where Democrats should be winning where were not, Manar said. According to the website Illinois Election Data, Republican President-elect Donald Trump won 55 percent of the vote in Manars district, which stretches from Decatur to Madison County near St. Louis and includes part of Springfield. Manar noted that his district, like the state as a whole, is a mixture of urban and rural areas. Despite their differences, he said, there are two issues that matter to voters in both: wages and jobs. Going into 2018, Democrats need to do a better job promoting economic policies that benefit working- and middle-class families and making the case for how the budget turmoil under Rauner has hurt them, Manar said. Hes not alone in advancing that message. Another potential Democratic candidate from outside the Chicago area, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline, is sounding a similar note. Cheri thinks Bruce Rauner has been an absolute disaster for working families in her district and across our state, so shes committed to making sure Democrats have a candidate who can defeat him in 2018, spokeswoman Stacy Raker wrote in an emailed statement. Bustos won re-election to Congress by a 20-point margin last month even though Trump won a majority in her district. Many Illinoisans have urged Cheri to consider running and shes giving it serious consideration, Raker wrote. Manar, who was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2012 after serving as chief of staff to Senate President John Cullerton, said he approaches his job as a legislator much as he did his previous positions as a small-town mayor in Bunker Hill and chairman of the Macoupin County Board: with an eye on balancing budgets, lowering property taxes and forging compromises to solve problems. Chris Mooney, director of the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, said whoever attempts to take on Rauner will have to be a prodigious fundraiser. The wealthy former venture capitalist spent $65.3 million, including $27.6 million of his own money, to win the governors office in 2014. He kicked in more than $32 million of his fortune to bankroll the Illinois Republican Partys 2016 campaign efforts. Anybodys going to have a problem with the incredibly deep pockets of this governor, Mooney said. That has prompted some suggestions that the Democrats need to find their own independently wealthy candidate. Among those considering bids are Hyatt hotel scion J.B. Pritzker and Christopher Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy and former chairman of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. While Rauners GOP so far hasnt pounced on potential opponents such as Manar and Bustos, it has attacked both Pritzker and Kennedy. Both have been listed on the Republican Partys bossmadigan.com website, which seeks to tie lawmakers and candidates to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also leads the state Democratic Party. Pritzker also has been the target of robocalls and statements linking him to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The robocall includes portions of the infamous audio recordings on which Blagojevich discusses exchanging an appointment to President Barack Obamas former U.S. Senate seat for money or a job. Although Blagojevich discusses him on the tapes, Pritzker was never accused of any wrongdoing. You would think a governor who has failed to pass a budget for two years and has allowed human services to be gutted would have better things to do with his time than to dredge up the delusional rantings of Rod Blagojevich, Pritzker spokesman Dave Lundy said. For his part, Manar acknowledges that fundraising ability will be one factor in determining who is best equipped to take on Rauner. But he doesnt think Democrats should rely as heavily on one persons wealth as the GOP has come to rely on Rauners. If the Democratic Party becomes what the Republican Party is in Illinois today, we will have failed as this organization, Manar said. Suz Latham, a nurse in Chicago in 1981, watched many people die of AIDS, even before doctors knew what to call it. But when a letter arrived in the mail one day, the crisis hit home in a way she never imagined. Latham, now of Rock Island, remembers panic among medical professionals as an increasing number of patients came to emergency rooms with mysterious skin rashes, lesions, a fever and other symptoms in the early days of the disease. It was a terrible time because we didnt know what it was, the 63-year-old said. We had people coming in for some reason, and their T-cell count was non-existent. I can remember the fear in people and the frustration, because we didnt know what was going on. Initially she saw it only in gay men. Then heterosexual men and women as well as heroin users were showing symptoms. We were in total shock, Latham said. Eventually, the crisis hit home, when Lathams husband, Jared Boyd, was diagnosed with HIV in 1997, He died nine years later. He got the virus from a blood transfusion while serving in the U.S. Navy. Latham was never infected, which she considers a miracle. The diagnosis devastated the couple who met while attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. What alerted them was the letter stating that the man who had donated the blood to Boyd had died of AIDS. Boyd and Latham both got tested. Boyds diagnosis came after a two-week wait. As Latham remembers, Boyd had his bags packed and sitting by the front door when she arrived home from work one day. Im going to go, he told her. You dont need to be part of this. I dont want you to have to suffer through this. This was the God-fearing, small town Southerner she fell in love with, the self-taught pianist who composed a piece of music just for her, the cool-tempered veteran with a smile that lit up his face. Were in this together, she told him. Were going to fight this as long as we can. It was around the time that HIV antiretroviral drugs were first coming out. Latham leaned on her nursing experience to assist her husband. I would have gotten a hammer and hit Jared on the head if he was going to quit taking meds, she said. Her husband suffered serious side effects on the medication, such as waking up from nightmares and being so scared he tried to hide in the closet. He would also be drenched with sweat and nauseous. Like other people with AIDS in the 1990s, Boyd was shunned by friends and afraid to open up to his family. He was from the Greensboro, North Carolina, area. It was the Bible belt, Latham said. Of course, he would be considered bad, because only gays get that disease and he was going to burn in hell. So it was a hard time. In March 2006, they moved from Macomb, Illinois, where Boyd was in graduate school, to the Quad-Cities to get closer to doctors and affordable services. I think we had $312 left in the bank, Latham said. We had exhausted all of my retirement and his retirement. You couldnt get financial help until you were so depleted. We were facing a very difficult financial problem and, yes, we had to go on Section 8 housing. That bothered him, and he would always say well get divorced and you wont have to deal with it. No, Im here for the run. Boyd clung to his faith. Even the day I took him into the hospital, he was saying, OK, well, were just going to go in there, give blood and Ill feel better, Latham said. Twelve hours later Im turning off the machines. He kept it through to the end. He really did. Stigma has kept many infected with HIV silent. I still see people staying in the shadows and not disclosing their status, said Tami Haught, a Nashua, Iowa, woman who was diagnosed with HIV in 1993 but waited six years to talk about it. She opened up for the sake of her son. I decided to disclose my status, because I thought that when my son was in junior high or high school, Id either be very sick or dead, she said. I wanted to make things easier for him at that point in his life. The self-described small town Midwestern girl once assumed these things dont happen to people like her. Both she and her fiance, Roger Haught, tested positive for HIV while living in Texas. We were engaged to be married, she said. The doctor told us to cancel our wedding plans. Roger was that sick. Roger lived long enough for them to return to Nashua and get married in the Little Brown Church. He died Oct. 12, 1996. Their son, Adrian, was born two months and nine days later. Adrian, whos turning 20 next week, is going to have a child of his own. I never imagined ever being a grandmother and to see my son walk across the stage, Haught said. Life is good; its incredible. Im very lucky. The stigma remains for so many living with HIV. Haught started Positive Iowans Taking Charge, or PITCH, in 2006 as an educational and emotional support organization for Iowans living with HIV. PITCH sets up support groups around the state and hosts a wellness summit every May in Indianola. There are still so many Iowans who live in silence, Haught said. Its not safe for them to disclose their status. They are afraid family will disown them or theyll lose their jobs or theyll be reported to authorities if they try to seek assistance from a government agency or care provider. It seems the only time HIV is ever reported on anymore is when someone is charged with a crime. Headlines are as sensational as they can get, Haught said. Weve been called predators, monsters, dangerous to society. Plus theres no education anymore. We are putting another generation at risk because we are not talking to our kids about HIV. Haught recalls a group of students from Simpson College attending one of the PITCH summits. They wanted to learn more about HIV because they werent getting the education in high school. Thats alarming to me, that after 35 years weve gone full circle backwards, she said. Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, knows a thing or two about navigating politics while in the legislative minority. He's a pragmatist who, for years, understands the nuts-and-bolts of government, best shown on the Iowa House Transportation Committee. The eight-term Democrat will make a solid replacement for the late state Sen. Joe Seng in Iowa's 45th District. Lykam is no radical tax-and-spend lefty. Nor is he flashy. He simply understands the limits of government and the consequences of over-regulation on business. Yet, he also realizes the flip side of that equation: That a complete lack of oversight leaves his constituents open to fraud and abuse. His will be an important role in Iowa's new GOP-run Statehouse. Only a coalition of center-right Republicans and vocal, consensus-building can protect the state against budget busting tax cuts and water-polluting deregulation. Lykam faces Republican Mike Gonzales and Libertarian Severin Gilbert in the Dec. 27 special election. The LeClaire police officer Gonzales is earnest and likable. He's clearly passionate about politics and his faith. But he's also a first-time candidate, running in a special election on a truncated timetable. Gonzales isn't capable of getting specific about Iowa's budget and it's sudden $100 million shortfall. His answers fell short on the water quality issues that plague the state. Gonzales was less than stalwart in his support for Davenport Community School District and its Superintendent Art Tate, who only wants funding equity. His finest moments were while addressing what he knows, particularly the finer points of police work. We saw the very same potential in Gonzalez that Scott County Republicans did when they chose him to run for this solidly Democratic seat. And even then -- while addressing the need to update state Freedom of Information Act to clarify police body cameras -- Gonzales' answer that government shouldn't be involved showed a brash disrespect for civilian oversight. Gonzales just isn't ready. If nothing else, the mad-dash campaign will better prepare him for a future run, maybe even for Lykam's vacated House seat. Of course, voters must first show up two days after Christmas. Gilbert declined to meet with the editorial board. Perhaps of greatest import, Lykam is prepared to defend Iowans against a coming culture war now that the GOP holds total control of the Capitol. It's an exceedingly important role as some wings of the GOP continue rightward. Democracy only works with strong opposition. The rumbles are already growing in Des Moines about a slew of bills that, for one reason or another, would rob Iowans of rights and access to power. Davenport residents should expect a voter ID law to see the floor in the new session. Research shows that voter fraud is almost non-existent. Courts continually conclude that these laws exist solely to disenfranchise minority voters, which disproportionately attacks urban centers such as Quad-Cities. But the facts won't matter for the GOP's right-flank. Ideology trumps truth. Same goes for probable attacks on the reproductive rights of half the state's population. Don't be surprised if draconian restrictions on abortion -- almost exclusively targeting poor women -- see the light of day. Here, too, the courts have ruled similar laws in other states violate the U.S. Constitution. That won't matter as some on the fringe try to force a narrow religious view down everyone's throat. "It's your god, your family, your conscience," Lykam rightly said. "I don't want to regulate people's bedrooms." That's precisely the type of measured, inclusive voice the residents of Iowa's 45th District should send to the state Senate on Dec. 27. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. | A California-based television network dedicated to Native Americans has arrived in the Albuquerque area, New Mexico PBS announced Wednesday New Mexico PBS said First Nations Experience now is live on KNME-TV, HD Channel 5.3, in the Albuquerque market, and features programs focusing on Native American and indigenous people around the world. "Educators, students and viewers will find a variety of American Indian, Pacific Islander and other indigenous people's stories and voices via this service," Mexico PBS General Manager and CEO Franz Joachim said. "Those viewers familiar with certain tribal stories may find something new in other nations' achievements, creativity and experiences." New Mexico PBS officials say the station will be pushing for Albuquerque-area cable and satellite providers to carry the American Indian network. Launched in September 2011, the public TV network known as FNX is a partnership of the San Manuel band of Mission Indians and KVCR-PBS in San Bernardino, California. FNX can already be seen by 11 million people in several states, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, Minnesota and Illinois. The network is scheduled to air Disney-Pixar's "Finding Nemo" in Navajo with English subtitles on Christmas Day. Among the other shows on FNX are "Forging Bonds: Pow Wow Stories from California" and "Back in the Day" a television series about six First Nations people from downtown Vancouver discovering the wilds of British Columbia. FNX expands as more networks focusing on minorities try to come on air or through streaming services. Red Nation Television Network, for example, streams movies, original series, documentaries and children programs that focus on Native Americans. And kweliTV is a streaming service that showcases movies and documentaries about African Americans. SIOUX FALLS | Schools around South Dakota are calling off extracurricular activities and some are even closing as a winter storm hits the state. Winter storm warnings are in effect for much of the state. The National Weather Service says the storm will bring up to 8 inches of snow, wind gusts up to 25 mph and dangerous arctic air. Temperatures will remain below zero through the weekend, and wind chills will drop as low as minus 40 degrees. Forecasters say the storm also will pass through southern North Dakota, dropping up to 5 inches of snow. Wind chills could hit 50 degrees below zero. An auction of wild horses from a north-central South Dakota sanctuary has been postponed indefinitely, authorities have announced. The auction was scheduled to take place Tuesday at Faith Livestock. An estimated 550 to 650 horses were to be sold from the ranch of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros near Lantry after the societys had failed to collect enough funding or feed to earn the horses back from a court-ordered impounding. The horses were impounded at the ranch and put under the care of county authorities in October. A state-employed veterinarian determined the horses were being neglected, and a former society employee said some horses had died of starvation-related causes. Steven Aberle, Dewey County states attorney, has been handling legal matters related to the impounding. He declined to comment on the reasons for the postponement of the auction but said he may have more to say soon. Numerous individuals and organizations have been trying to find new homes for the horses and avert an auction, where they fear the horses could be sold to buyers for foreign slaughter plants. One of the organizations is Fleet of Angels, which Aberle said would continue assisting with the adoption of horses and may be contacted at HoldYourHorses@aol.com. The first pipeline protesters will go on trial Monday in Mandan, N.D., and the prosecutor is asking that they keep issues of tribal sovereignty, the concerns about the Dakota Access pipeline and "any other social or political cause" out of the courtroom. "This trial is not being held so there can be a forum to extend the months of conflict and context over these extraneous issues," Ladd Erickson, who is prosecuting the case for Morton County, wrote in a motion filed this week. But Tom Dickson, a local criminal defense attorney involved in the cases, said the 10 people set to be tried on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct have "a right to explain why they were there" that the protesters fear that the pipeline disturbed sacred sites and that a leak could contaminate the Missouri River. "They just didnt parachute in from Mars," Dickson said. "They certainly have a right to say why they were there, why they were doing what they were doing." South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland, who is overseeing the trial, has not ruled on the motion. The 10 defendants were arrested on Aug. 11, one of the first days of the protests, when protesters gathered near a construction site on N.D. Highway 1806. The maximum penalty would be 30 days in jail and $1,500 in fines. Dickson contends the main issue is free speech, but the judge has suggested in her responses to other court motions that she believes the alleged conduct, if proven, is criminal. "The court recognizes that the First Amendment gives the public a right to voice their concerns, to protest lawfully, to criticize the police and even to yell profanities at police officers," Feland wrote in one order. "Under the facts alleged, rather than obeying the orders of law enforcement and conducting the protest in a peaceful and lawful manner, the defendant directly disobeyed law enforcement and deliberately crossed into undesignated areas, creating a hazardous and alarming condition for both law enforcement officers and Dakota Access construction workers." The trial is scheduled for one day, but Dickson suggested it could take more than a day just to pick the jury, which is ideally ignorant of the case. "Its more than just been in the news," he said. "This has been high-profile and high-involvement by the community." The defendants are from nine states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon and Hawaii. They range in age from 23 to 57 years old. In Bismarck, attorneys are asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to allow out-of-state lawyers to represent some of the Dakota Access pipeline protesters. The petition, filed by 10 North Dakota and Minnesota attorneys and organizations, comes in response to the large number of arrests in the past four months. The petitioners claim the resulting strain on public defenders and private defense attorneys in North Dakota puts hundreds of protesters constitutional rights at risk. It is clear that there will be more requests for counsel than can be accommodated by present resources. Similarly, the demand for private counsel also exceeds the capacity of the local bar, the lawyers wrote in the petition, filed Wednesday afternoon. Absent the court granting the relief requested, indigent defendants Fifth Amendment right to representation by counsel and Sixth Amendment right to counsel of their choice may be put in jeopardy. Since Aug. 1, 571 people have been arrested in connection with the protests, according to the Morton County Sheriffs Department. According to the petition, 79 North Dakota attorneys have been assigned as public defenders for 265 cases. An additional 264 people are listed without counsel. The petition also asserts that, even if defense attorneys step up, there will not be enough in North Dakota to adequately represent the protesters. The state criminal defense bar has just 70 members. Apparently allowing out-of-state lawyers to practice in North Dakota temporarily, if they become licensed in the federal court, is apparently a simpler process than obtaining a state license. A hearing on the issue has been requested. A Rapid City man, who city police said brandished an ax in one hand and a machete in the other, was arrested Wednesday at the Shopko store, 1845 N. Haines Ave., on drug-related charges. Lamoine McCloskey, 30, entered the store around 9 p.m., police said. No one was hurt in the incident. By the time police arrived, McCloskey was in a restroom, and staff members had persuaded him to hand over his weapons, an official statement said. When McCloskey came out of the restroom, he was displaying erratic behavior consistent with illegal drug abuse, police said. Snow is bringing visions of a green spring to the Cottonwood area of West River South Dakota, where the distribution of money from a relief fund is making Christmas merrier for ranchers and farmers affected by a devastating October wildfire. The Cottonwood fire scorched 65 square miles of land between Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 14 east of Wall. Losses included huge swaths of grazing land, more than 300 head of cattle, 6,000 bales of hay, 200 miles of fence, and some barns, corrals and water tanks. But help poured in as soon as the flames gave out. This week, Philip Charities announced it would begin distributing $125,000 from money raised from hundreds of donations to benefit victims of the fire. Disbursements will be made according to criteria established by Philip Charities and based on losses of fences and grazing land. The fund hit the $125,000 mark recently with a joint $15,000 donation from First Interstate Bank and The First Interstate Bank Foundation. Brett Blasius, president of the banks branches in Wall and New Underwood, said in a news release that the bank followed the communitys lead. Im so grateful to live in a community where neighbors band together to help each other out, Blasius said. Philip-area rancher John Neumann shares that sentiment. He has not inquired about money from the relief fund so far, but he has benefited from the generosity of neighbors people within a 50-mile radius in the sparsely populated area who quickly came to his aid. Neumann said about 90 percent of his land was burned, but his buildings and livestock were saved, and he counts himself luckier than others who saw flames come within 20 feet of their homes. Neumann had more distance between his home and the fire, but he said it was close enough. There were a lot of emotions going on, Neumann said. He lost about 600 bales and 11 miles of fence. So far, hes received about 300 donated bales and some donated fencing material that helped him rebuild three miles of fence. He expects to complete the rest in the spring. Philip Charities, besides collecting money donations, has helped connect donations of hay and fencing materials with ranchers and farmers in need. More than 2,000 bales have been donated and delivered so far, the organization reported. Donations to the relief fund are being accepted through today by Philip Charities, which can be reached at 859-2525, and donations of hay are being routed through the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, 342-0429. Neumann said he expects to pull through the crisis if the charred earth is replenished with moisture during the next several months and grass sprouts in the spring. It should come back really well if it rains and we get some snow this winter, Neumann said. It should be really good, actually. SPEARFISH | The Spearfish Police Department is seeking a female suspect in the Dec. 4 burglary of a local business in which antique jewelry and coins valued at more than $8,000 were stolen. Police say the woman, whose image was captured on surveillance video, entered Spearfish Coins and Antiques, 414 N. Main St., by breaking a window in the early-morning hours, then made off with the loot. The business is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the womans arrest. Anyone with information that might help the investigation is encouraged to call Spearfish Police at 642-1300. When students experience trauma, they need help to work through it, whether at home, on the streets or in the hallways between classes. Since the 38th annual Lakota Nations Education Conference began Wednesday, several speakers have dedicated their time to educating educators on how to help their students work through that trauma. Its come to the forefront right now, the knowledge of what trauma does to our youth, said Terrie Jo Gibbons, one of the conference organizers. This years conference which goes until Saturday has attracted 400 teachers, counselors and other school staff from South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming and Minnesota, Gibbons said. More than 120 different sessions and workshops are being conducted in several conference rooms at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, where the conference is held every year. Nearly 20 of those sessions are focused on recognizing the trauma experienced by students, be it in the form of violence, sexual abuse, or exposure to drugs and alcohol. That trauma is very real for Native American populations in the United States, particularly in South Dakota. According to federal statistics, Native American women are 2-1/2 times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault than any other group. In 2015, Time magazine listed Oglala County on the Pine Ridge Reservation and Todd County on the Rosebud Reservation as the deadliest counties in the country. The same year, the Oglala Sioux tribal government placed Pine Ridge in a state of emergency because of the alarmingly high rate at which youth were taking their own lives. For Native American youth growing up in these violence-saturated environments, much of the trauma they experience is historical in nature, said Sunrise Black Bull with the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, a service provider for survivors of domestic and sexual violence on the Rosebud Reservation. You have to understand why we are here today, Black Bull said. Because it will give you tools to change your own thought process, your own family dynamics, give you tools to get back in touch with your own spirituality. Black Bull highlighted the boarding school era as an example of the historical trauma that continues to cause painful reverberations in Native American families today. Many of the young men and women at the boarding schools were sexually abused, Black Bull said, and they brought that trauma with them when they returned to the reservations. These children were having children and being parents the only way they knew how, Black Bull said. And that was through that violence. Black Bull recently accompanied a group of youths from the Rosebud Reservation on a trip to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, where they left offerings of candy and sage at the graves of some of the 1,200 Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota children who died while enrolled at the infamous boarding school. It took me until I was 30 years old to learn about this, Black Bull said. How come I wasnt taught about this in school? I was taught something totally different. This is our history. All too often, Black Bull and other trauma experts at the conference said, the perpetrators of violence are themselves the victims of a violent past. Indeed, students growing up in these families will sometimes act out their pain and frustration in the classroom in the form of disruptive, even violent, behavior. We need to start asking not whats wrong with this person, but whats happened to them, said Morgan Shaw, a clinical and forensic psychologist with the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma in San Diego. Learning how to address trauma is a matter of life and death, Shaw argued, pointing to data that trauma affects physical as well as mental health. I dont think any of us would be surprised to hear that trauma leads to depression, Shaw said. But what about how that trauma can lead to heart disease, obesity, strokes and early death? There is no shame in facing the ugliness and attempting to deal openly with the pain of trauma in Native American communities head on, Shaw and Black Bull said. Quite the opposite: It is necessary if any progress is to be made. The only way to make an impact, Shaw said, is to make all of this well known. Black Bull agreed, saying: We need to talk about this. Imagine being kidnapped outside a convenience store, forced into the trunk of your own car while the abductors go on a joy ride, and then, when the car ends up in a ditch, being freed from the trunk but told to push the car out of the ditch. Yeah, right. You wouldn't do it, and the victims of the alleged kidnapping didn't, either. But that's what Rapid City police say happened on Dec. 3. Police are seeking the public's help finding the kidnappers. The alleged victims' names weren't released because of department policy. The alleged victims took the opportunity of being released from the trunk to escape, find a nearby home and call police. The story began with two men who had been getting their morning coffee from the Loaf 'N Jug convenience store at 1601 Haines Ave. for the past half-year. When they came out of the store and got into their car around 4:50 a.m., two men with guns threatened them and got into the backseat of their vehicle, the police statement released Thursday said. The kidnapping suspects then ordered the driver to head north on Haines Avenue. After the car left the city limits, the suspects ordered the driver to stop and forced him and his companion to get into the trunk of their car, police said. The suspects began driving, but sometime after they had crossed into Meade County, they got stuck in the ditch. The suspects opened the trunk and told the alleged victims to help push the car out of the ditch. Instead, they ran from their captors and contacted police from a nearby residence, said Rapid City police spokesperson Brendyn Medina. The victims, he said, did not try to attack the suspects, and neither did the suspects fire at their escapees. Police later located the abandoned car in Meade County. Detectives are still investigating the motive for the crime, Medina said, and do not know what the suspects planned to do with the men they abducted. Back at the convenience store, a police detective on Dec. 5 asked manager Jane Chance to see the security video from two days earlier. It was the first time Chance said she knew any kind of incident had happened. Chance, who watched the security video as well, said the footage showed the two suspects walking across the parking lot and getting into the victims car about three to four seconds after the victims had gotten in. You didnt even know anything was different, Chance said behind the store counter Thursday morning. No firearms were visible in the video, she said, and the suspects faces could not be clearly seen. Police described one of the suspects as a Native American man, 20 to 30 years old, about 5-feet-11, medium build and wearing a black zip-up jacket. The other, they said, was the same age, also Native American, about 5-feet-8 with a slight build and wearing a blue bandana over his face. When asked why the police waited almost two weeks to release any information about the incident, Medina said the police first wanted to verify that the kidnapping claim was true. They then wanted the chance to follow leads without telling the public. We always have discretion over the types of incidents and information that we release, Medina said, and sometimes when it comes to criminal investigations, putting things out to the public can drastically change that investigation. If we thought that this was going to happen again, we would have put something out. But there was no indication that that was going to happen again. The Rapid City Police Department is asking anyone with information about the suspects to contact Detective Steve Neavill at 394-4134, or to submit an anonymous tip by texting "RCPD" and the information to 847411. WASHINGTON | As of Jan. 20, Chuck Schumer will be the most important Democrat in the land. But spend a few minutes with the incoming Senate minority leader and it's clear where the real power lies. I was interviewing the New York Democrat last week when he paused to take a call. It was about an event scheduled for the next day to highlight a new initiative tallying jobs "outsourced" overseas during the Trump presidency. Schumer had one question: "Is Bernie coming?" "He told me he'd come," Schumer continued. "Hold on, I'll call him right now." The party leader had his aides track down Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the populist insurgent who nearly beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. "Hey, Bernie, so can you come?" Schumer asked. "We'll do it at a time that's good for you, OK? ... Try to clear it. It's a good event. ... It's right up your alley and you can help us by coming. ... It complements what you're doing. ... We need you." Schumer hung up. "OK, he'll come." Sanders didn't come. But the interruption said much about how Schumer will lead Democrats in the age of Donald Trump. Schumer, though close to Wall Street for much of his career, is wholeheartedly embracing the party's Sanders-Elizabeth Warren populism. This means Schumer, and the Democrats, are ready to fight. Conventional wisdom says Schumer will be pulled in a moderate and conciliatory posture by the 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 in states that Trump won (two of them, West Virginia's Joe Manchin and North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp, have been wooed by Trump as possible Cabinet secretaries). He'll be pulled the other way by Warren and Sanders, who represent the party's energy. But Schumer correctly views this as a false choice: The best way to protect endangered incumbents is to let the Warren wing lead. Schumer's predecessor, outgoing Democratic leader Harry Reid, did his best both in the majority and the minority to protect vulnerable incumbents such as Mary Landrieu and Mark Begich, using parliamentary tactics to avoid tough votes. But a byproduct of this was that Democrats didn't articulate a clear agenda and Landrieu and Begich lost anyway. If Democrats are to have any hope in 2018, they'll need to reclaim the populism Trump stole in 2016. Schumer embraces this. "If you want to appeal to the manufacturing worker in Scranton, the college student in Los Angeles and the single mom making minimum wage in Harlem, one economic message will work," he said. "We just didn't have it" this year. Schumer pledges to keep his focus almost entirely on the economy. When Republicans hold votes on energy and social issues that divide Democrats, he figures he'll have enough votes to filibuster even if endangered incumbents split off. "We're going to have five, six sharp-edged (policies) that can be described in five words," Schumer said. "That economic message" college affordability, infrastructure spending, taxing the rich "unites our caucus." This reflects a broader post-election debate among Democrats. Clinton ally David Brock last week blamed the loss on the party, saying it "faces a crisis of competence at all levels" and calling for a commission to investigate. Nonsense, reply those in the Warren wing. They say Clinton's economic agenda was a muddled, build-on-success theme when people wanted change. They say Trump got to Democrats' left with working people, and the answer now is to unite behind specific legislation such as expanding Social Security, protecting Medicare from privatization, and raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for infrastructure spending. If the new president comes Democrats' way, things will get done. If he takes a traditional Republican approach to the economy, Democrats will fight, and Trump's working-class backers will know they were had. This doesn't mean a Mitch McConnell-style effort to oppose Trump reflexively something Schumer told Trump when the president-elect called him recently to discuss infrastructure. "I said to him it's got to be robust, it can't be just tax credits because nothing much will get built ... and it can't cut traditional programs" such as education and Medicare. "He didn't argue with me," Schumer recounted. Conversely, when Trump contradicts his campaign themes a Wall Street banker as treasury secretary, a billionaire private-school devotee as education secretary and a health and human services secretary who wants to privatize Medicare he can expect a populist pushback from Democrats. This, and not incumbent protection, is what will work for Democrats in 2018 and beyond. MOSCOW, December 16 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) Moscow's Basmanny District Court has seized ten land plots and a house belonging to former Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev, who stands charged with extorting a $2 million bribe, a court official told RAPSI on Friday. Ulyukayevs property was seized in the Smolensk Region. The former minister was arrested while receiving a bribe. He allegedly demanded Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosnefts representative to pay him $2 million for lawfully providing a positive review and evaluation of a deal that allowed Rosneft to acquire governments share in mid-sized producer Bashneft. According to acting spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko, Ulyukayev threatened to create obtrusions for Rosneft with use of his position. Ulyukayev has pleaded not guilty. On November 15, Moscow's Basmanny District Court has put him under house arrest until January 15. Later in the evening, President Vladimir Putin relieved Ulyukayev of his post because of loss of trust. MOSCOW, December 16 (RAPSI) Moscow's Zamoskvoretsky District Court dismissed an application filed by human rights organization Memorial to be removed from foreign agents list, RIA Novosti reported on Friday. Organization plans to appeal this ruling, Memorials executive director Yelena Zhemkova told RIA Novosti. During the hearings representatives of Memorial said that the Justice Ministry incorrectly interpreted some of articles, published on the NGOs website, as organizing political activity. They noted that Memorial is an international organization and cant be listed as foreign agent, according to the Constitutional Courts ruling. Representative of the Justice Ministry, in turn, claimed that Memorial is registered in Russia and is to follow Russian legislation. Memorial was declared foreign agent by the Justice Ministry on July 21, 2014. A federal law adopted in November 2012 requires that all NGOs engaged in political activity and receiving foreign funding register as foreign agents or face fines. In June 2013, the Justice Ministry was granted authority to classify NGOs as foreign agents at its own discretion and included a number of organizations in its register. Last week, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow fined Memorial with 300,000 rubles (nearly $5,000), the NGO plans to appeal that ruling as well. The international historical, educational, human rights and charitable society Memorial was created to help rehabilitate the victims of Stalinist persecution campaigns. Memorial currently comprises 62 organizations from Russia, Belarus, Germany, Italy, France, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Ukraine. It also includes the Memorial Center, which monitors the human rights situation in the North Caucasus and is on the foreign agents register. Investigators seek to extend detention of ex-Russian governor Belykh MOSCOW, December 16 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov) Investigators have applied to the Moscow's Basmanny District Court to extend until March 24 the detention period of Nikita Belykh, former governor of the Kirov region, who is accused of taking a large-scale bribe, a court official told RAPSI on Friday. Belykh stands charged with taking 400,000 euros in bribes. Investigators in cooperation with the Federal Security Services (FSB) officers arrested him on June 24 in a Moscow restaurant while he was allegedly accepting 150,000 euros, the third part of the bribe, according to Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin. Moscows Basmanny District Court ordered detention of Belykh. On October 12, the Moscow City Court overturned seizure of assets owned by Belykh. Attorney Vadim Prokhorov told RAPSI that a lower court had ordered seizure of a land plot, one third of Belykh familys apartment and other property acquired long before the defendants assignment to position of governor. Therefore, items of property could not be considered as assets gained through crime. The defendant has pleaded not guilty. On July 28, President Vladimir Putin removed Belykh from his post of governor because of loss of trust. HELENA An attorney for four patients at Montana State Hospital who in a lawsuit claim they are subjected to long-term isolation nearly 24 hours a day made a final argument in court Tuesday for why the patients should be removed from seclusion rooms while they await a 2018 trial. Helena District Court Judge Kathy Seeley did not make ruling on the request for an injunction, but said she would issue one soon. Two of the patients who filed the suit, Faith Swanson and Tyler Sapp, say they are held in locked seclusion rooms most of the day. Swanson and Sapp are civilly committed to the state hospital. The other patients suing are Ryan Bragg and Charles White, who are criminally committed. Patricia Klanke, an attorney with Drake Law Firm, who is representing the hospital, the Department of Public Health and Human Services and several employees being sued, said testimony during the hearing didnt show that the patients should be moved from where they currently live at the hospital. Seeley heard two days of testimony in September, including from Dr. Liviu Goia and Dr. Virginia Hill, psychiatrists at the hospital who are named in the suit, in addition to yesterdays hearing. State law requires patients be held in the least-restrictive conditions in which they can be safely monitored and treated, and thats where Swanson and Sapp are now, Klanke said. She added that Goia and Hill said Swanson and Sapp are two of the most severe, difficult patients theyve encountered in long careers. Things get dangerous and this in fact is the least-restrictive conditions, she said. White, who wanted to be moved back to the hospital from the Forensic Mental Heath Facility at Galen, was relocated after the suit was filed. Bridgitt Erickson, an attorney for Disability Rights Montana, said while White was moved after the complaint and its no longer an issue, she is concerned about Bragg, Swanson and Sapp. Part of the injunction sought to keep registered nurse Eleanor Combs away from Bragg. Erickson says Combs put Bragg into physical restraints as punishment after he broke a fire suppression sprinkler. Seeley removed Combs from the injunction, however, saying the allegations were based on past action, not future concerns, and that her court was not the place to determine Combs professional competency. Though Combs now works in a different part of the hospital, Erickson asked Seeley to reconsider. In court today she said she would do it again, Erickson said. Erickson said holding Swanson and Sapp in seclusion is not therapeutic and that alone ought to be the basis for allowing these people out of seclusion and into a regular room. She also said Combs testified Tuesday that hospital employees have little mental health training before working with people in severe mental distress. Employees go through a two-week orientation when hired and must complete 12 hours of training each year after. Training includes everything from fire safety procedures to first aid and is not solely focused on mental health, Combs testified. Staff are trained how to put a patient in restraints, but not how to not restrain. Thats the very point of care, Erickson said. In court Tuesday, Erickson sought to introduce summaries of nearly 57,000 pages of documents she said show Swanson and Sapp spend most of the time locked in their rooms and not receiving treatment. Michael Kauffman, who works for Drake Law Firm, succeeded in stopping the summaries from being filed as exhibits, however, after pointing out several errors in the compiled data. His staff found errors on nine days in a sample month for one patient. The summary only counted eight treatment sessions for Sapp, but Kauffman said his staff found 10 sessions that were not reported. We didnt find any that were overstatements of treatment, Kauffman said. They were all omission errors or under-reporting treatment. Erickson said the summaries showed Swanson and Sapp spent less than 1 percent of their time in treatment, and even if the numbers were doubled it would still be a small amount. She added that summarizing the data is still a work in progress and it would be accurate by trial. A video documenting Combs placing Bragg in restraints was not shown in court Tuesday, but it and a transcript were provided to the judge. MISSOULA Plans to manage Yellowstone-area grizzly bears when they lose federal Endangered Species Act protection got approved on Wednesday, but removing the bears from the list remains months away. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee unanimously passed its Yellowstone Ecosystem conservation strategy at the end of its two-day meeting in Missoula. The strategy commits state and federal land managers to keeping a stable population of the keystone predators, sets rules for possible hunting seasons, and establishes standards for protecting key bear habitat. But the conservation strategy stands separate from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services process for delisting the bears, according to FWS office supervisor Jodi Bush. That agency has the sole responsibility of analyzing about 650,000 public comments on its draft final rule, which should be released next March. That rule would explain how the Yellowstone grizzlies have reached recovery status and why they no longer need federal protection. Its also the part of the process most likely to be challenged in court. Grizzly bears have been under Endangered Species Act protection in the continental United States since 1975. The conservation strategy explains how future grizzlies would be managed, assuming the delisting takes place. In the Greater Yellowstone area, it commits 12 land managers to bear protection. That includes the National Park Service, three Forest Service regional foresters, three Bureau of Land Management state directors, two regional FWS directors and three state fish-and-wildlife departments. It was the National Park Service, through Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk, that cast the lone No vote on the subcommittees strategy in November. Representatives of the Shoshone-Bannock tribal government abstained from the vote, and a representative from the Northern Arapaho-Eastern Arapaho tribal government was absent. Subcommittee Chairwoman and Custer-Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson said shed received a letter from that tribal group saying it would have voted no if present. NPS Associate Regional Director Patrick Walsh said the Park Service wasnt comfortable with the draft strategys proposed method of estimating grizzly populations. The current statistical method, known as Chao 2, tends to underestimate as the population numbers get bigger. The new method, known as mark-recapture tends to increase the estimate by as much as 40 percent. Last-minute cellphone consultations in the atrium outside the Holiday Inn Parkside conference room on Wednesday morning finally allowed Walsh to join the unanimous vote in favor of the conservation strategy. He said the Chao 2 method remained the strategys preferred system for counting Yellowstone bears. Sierra Club senior representative Bonnie Rice said her organization believed the delisting rule needed further analysis. Were deeply concerned with todays developments, Rice said in an email. This conservation strategy jeopardizes the future for bears in our region. It has no commitments to a long-term management plan, no measures to help Yellowstones bears connect to other populations, and mortality limits that will accelerate the population decline weve already seen over the past three years. Overall, it will result in fewer grizzly bears limited to an even smaller portion of the Yellowstone region. IGBC members also voted unanimously to ask FWS to accelerate work on delisting grizzlies in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Nothings happened up here in the last couple years, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Manager Ken McDonald said. Weve got them recovered. Lets take the next step and delist. POLSON Tim Finkbeiner cant take too many steps down the halls of Linderman Elementary School here without getting a hug or high-five from students. Some are delivered with breaking school news. Three people lost a tooth in choir today! he was told more than once as school let out one day earlier this week. Its Finkbeiners fourth year as principal at Linderman, which every second, third and fourth grader in the Polson School District attends. This year, there are 410 of them. Three and a half months into the school year, Finkbeiner has yet to suspend a student for any reason. He has, on 25 occasions, had students sent to his office because of behavioral issues. But consider this: During the same time frame in 2012, the year before Finkbeiner arrived, students were ordered to the principals office 331 times. In that 2012-13 school year, students spent a total of 119 days on in-school or out-of-school suspensions. Last year it was 20, and Finkbeiner says most of them were served by a fourth-grader with extreme behavioral issues. If youre going to have a culture that values student learning and puts children first, you cant achieve it if the kids are not in the building, Finkbeiner says. The majority who get in trouble are struggling in the classroom already, so youre only adding to the problem if you suspend them. But the dramatic drop in suspensions is not because of the principals reluctance to do so. Its because, he says, behavioral problems now rarely advance to the point that he has to. *** My teachers are becoming experts in managing behavior, Finkbeiner says. Theyre being pro-active. Its an amazing staff. For this (an 84 percent drop in suspensions in his first year) to happen, it has to be teacher-driven. Its not me. Gone are the days where a students unacceptable behavior was the only factor considered. What kids are coming from was not on the table, Finkbeiner says. Some go home to white picket fences, but not all of them do. If Johnnys home life is horrible, will it impact his education? Of course it will. Theres an antecedent to every problem. Teachers now watch for signs that something is bothering a student. Theyre your babies while theyre in your classroom and you can pick up the cues, says second-grade teacher Sheri Delaney. A lot of times all they have to do is walk in your classroom and you know somethings wrong. A pat on the back, a hug, a Whats going on? can make a difference, and ward off a need for the child to act out later in an effort to gain someones attention, she says. But it goes beyond the classroom, and the 20 students she teaches. Its in the hallways, its on the playground, Finkbeiner says. Teachers are building relationships with more than their own students. Theyre paying attention, and talking to each other. *** Before Finkbeiner arrived, students were sent to the principals office 799 times during the 2012-13 school year. The number of referrals have dropped every year since to 301, then 151, and during the most recent full school year, 86 times. Thats almost a 90 percent drop from 2012-13 to 2015-16. The principal cant imagine what it was like for the predecessor who handled almost 800 behavioral incidents. My first year it was Grand Central Station in my office, he says of the 301 referrals he initially faced. It was just all day long. The number of days students were suspended plummeted immediately upon Finkbeiners arrival, from 119 to 18 in his first year and 16 his second. Last years 20 days were the most during his time at Linderman. There are times you have to suspend, Finkbeiner says. You just do. But its not punishment, and it doesnt correct behavior, he adds. Suspension doesnt make a difference, the principal maintains. Kids go home and play Nintendo. When suspensions do occur, Finkbeiner says, it is so he, counselor Chris McElwee and the teaching staff can figure out whats causing the problem and how to address it. If a kid slugs another kid, lets ask why, he says. I investigate everything. We need to work as a team. There may be a two-day suspension, but its so we can get our stuff together and put together a plan before the student returns. *** Finkbeiner came to Polson with experience in dealing with discipline problems. Before I was a teacher I was the primary counselor at a boys home, and before that I worked with runaways, he says. His most recent job was as a principal at a school that included 160 emotionally disturbed students in Wichita, Kansas. Those people taught me a lot, Finkbeiner says. All he did, he says, was take that training, and bring it here. You cant have academic goals without addressing the behavioral side as well. You have to teach kids how to behave sometimes. Its just one more thing the classroom teacher has to do. Gail Burghardt, another second-grade teacher at Linderman, says its the most important thing she does. Behavior comes before academics, she says, because without it, all students learning can be adversely affected. At Linderman, teachers sometimes switch classrooms for an hour, just so they can get to know and observe other students at the school. Every Wednesday, students are dismissed at 2:45 p.m. so that teachers can meet and go over not just curriculum goals, but talk about behavioral issues and identify students they think may be exhibiting signs that bear watching. McElwee, the counselor, began a Watch DOGS program DOGS stands for Dads of Great Students that brings fathers who volunteer into the school for a day. The dads dont stay in their childs classroom all day, but move from one class to another, through all three grade levels. Its all part of building on the idea that addressing behavioral issues is a school-wide priority and team effort, according to Finkbeiner. Every time we make a connection with a kid, we have better results, he says. The numbers seem to back him up. It adds up to kids who are in school, which is where they're supposed to be in the first place. Ill stick my neck out any time, Finkbeiner says, and say suspensions just dont work. After reading the Valley Viewpoint article written by the Corvallis School District Board of Trustees and published in the Republic, the Corvallis Faculty Group (teachers) was shocked to learn that over the past seven years compensation for teachers has been increased by more than $1 million . . . In response, we asked the district office for payroll and insurance documents and the Office of Public Instruction (OPI) for budget summaries. We determined that teacher payroll increases from the school year 2009-10 to 2015-16 rose $198,475 in total - certainly NOT the million dollars the School Board implied. This does not add up to the annual 3.75% increase for teachers that the Board published on November 11th. The Board also stated that during the same period increases to the school districts general fund budget totaled only $224,994. OPI budget summaries for Corvallis School District show the general fund budget increasing by $352,146. The Corvallis Faculty Group (CFG) started discussions with the superintendent in November 2015. Our approach was not to do business as usual, but was rather an attempt at interest-based bargaining, working together with the Board negotiators as a group of stakeholders finding win-win solutions. However, when the topic of budgetary issues was raised, the mood shifted to the same, uncompromising business as usual approach by the Board. The current Board and superintendent seem unwilling to look outside the box for creative solutions. The bottom line is teachers are taking home less money every year, even though the expectations and responsibilities increase. Some teachers in Corvallis School District with a masters degree and 15 or more years of experience in their field qualify for public assistance because of their salaries. While they publicly claim to be willing to continue negotiations, the Boards negotiators show little, if any, willingness to change the way monies could be budgeted differently in favor of compensating the same dedicated teachers they claim to value. The CFG negotiators have made many suggestions about new approaches to the budget. These changes do not affect programs, they do not cut services, they do not reduce our ability to be effective educators, and they do not negatively impact students. Our suggestions have been focused on budgetary areas we believe are allocated ineffectively. We believe some of the Boards budgetary practices exist only because they always have. The Board says they value teachers. It is time to back up those words. A show of commitment would be to reexamine current budget expenditures and work with the CFG. We are looking to the Board for honest leadership. We are looking to the Board for forward thinking and innovation. We have and will continue to work in good faith towards the process. We have and will continue to dedicate ourselves to maintaining the standard of scholastic excellence for which Corvallis School District is known throughout western Montana. We sincerely believe education is critical for every student, regardless of his or her social or economic situation. We know we have support, and there are those who care enough to honk daily and wave in support as teachers stand together each morning before school. Thank you. We ask for your presence at our next negotiation meeting. Please tell your Board of Trustees to consider alternatives regarding spending. The next scheduled negotiation meeting is December 20th at 4 p.m., upstairs in Corvallis High School. Written by Kristina Berger, Aaron Holmberg, Alyce Leonardi, Gary Milner, Kristy Schlimgen, and Teachers of the Corvallis Faculty Group Back in 1969, by a whopping vote of 339 70, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives united to pass legislation to do away with the electoral college . A companion bill, co-sponsored by Montana Senator Mike Mansfield and supported by President Nixon carried the Senate by a strong vote of 53 34. That, though, was short of the 2/3 majority necessary to pass the proposal on to the states for ratification as is required for amendments to the Constitution. What drew the two parties together was the election of 1968 in which independent candidate George Wallace carried enough states to nearly keep either Democrat Hubert Humphrey or Republican Richard Nixon from receiving a majority of the electoral votes. The minority of Senators who killed the bill was made up significantly of southerners whose states had been won by Wallace. Except for President Obama, Hillary Clinton just won more popular votes than any presidential candidate in history, but her opponent Donald Trump, will be the next President do to a solid win in the electoral college. It is the fifth time that the electoral college has overruled the vote of the people. Our Constitution is acclaimed for its brevity and clarity, but perhaps its most arcane and troublesome contrivance is the electoral college. When our nations founders came to an impasse over how our Congress should be structured, a compromise was reached which resulted in the House of Representatives to represent the people, and the Senate in which the states are represented equally. The electoral college resulted from that congressional compromise being used in electing the President. Each state is allotted as many electors as it has members of the House of Representatives and Senate combined. It is consistent in theory with the compromise that created our Congress. Influenced by tradition, and also by the argument that the electoral college benefits small states like Montana by not being based solely on population, Ive supported it. Im beginning to have serious doubts. Within our constitutional framework, elections are how people give their consent to government. A government established without the consent of the governed inherently lacks the mandate of the people to govern. Through no fault of Trump or Clinton, but because of the electoral college, that is where we find ourselves now. Various ideas have surfaced for how we can reform our electoral system to make it more representative of the people. Most would do away with the winner-take-all approach in which the candidate who wins the popular vote of a state, even by a narrow margin, wins all the states electoral votes. This can be accomplished by awarding delegates on the basis of congressional districts, as Main and Nebraska do now, or by the percentage of the vote won by candidates within each state. Neither of these reforms would require a Constitutional amendment, but they would require broad cooperation among the states. By these approaches the electoral vote of the states would probably more accurately reflect the popular vote of the country. The small state advantage of including senators as well as representatives in determining states electors would be preserved. Presidential candidates would have an incentive to appeal to the people everywhere and not just in the big battleground states. Maybe, though, the electoral college is simply a complicated and irrelevant relic of the horse and buggy days as Montana Senator Mansfield referred to it back in the 60s. Maybe we should simply get rid of it as he believed, and let the people decide by their equal votes who our Presidents should be. Bob Brown, former MT Secretary of State and State Senate President Rob Chaneys Timber Wars articles are well researched and give readers a glimpse at the bigger picture of the history and current condition of the timber industry in Montana. But readers deserve a chance to consider whats left out since those omissions skew views of what is at stake in the real-world timber wars, including our life support system, our precious water supplies, native wildlife, and our own critical human habitat. The Timber Wars series makes it clear that forests, not timber corporations, are losing the war. Sustainable logging is good in theory, but in practice, as the series points out, it is mostly wishful thinking and not the actual history of the logging industry in Montana. The articles look at forest economics simply in terms of board feet and dollars, which reinforces a commodity view of complex living forests. It is a vital mistake to see a living forest primarily as a pile of lumber instead of an enormously complex ecosystem. Actual environmental costs of logging are left vague and largely unmentioned. The articles do not suggest any appropriate measurements to gauge those real costs, which are accruing in our forests. One measurement would be the number of streams Montana has listed as impaired due to sediment from logging roads. Another, among many, would be the rate of extirpation of forest species. These and other costs accumulate out in the forests even when not acknowledged. And there is no attempt to measure the monetary costs to the public to eventually remediate the damage done. These costs are externalized in the articles as well as in timber sale accounting systems, but not on the landscape. A good case study would be Plum Creeks cut-and-run disaster at Gold Creek that was discussed in the articles. Plum Creek completely clearcut most of the drainage and then left the damage behind, including knapweed that perpetually sends seeds downstream to the Blackfoot River. Missoulians who frequent the Blackfoot can see that item of the unpaid bill continually accruing. What will the monetary costs of restoring those impaired rivers eventually be, or the monetary costs to remediate extirpation of species like bull trout, lynx and grizzly bears? The history of private corporations logging private forests resulted in wholesale liquidation of what they termed their timber assets. That was followed by conversion of land to real estate speculation as former timber companies became real estate investment trusts. Then the private corporations turned to logging public forests and took the biggest, most profitable, cream-trees first. With most of the old growth gone, government forest managers began to give taxpayer subsidized sweeteners with cheap public trees to private industry. Now, taxpayer money funds fear-of-fire timber sales that are offered to purportedly restore public forests damaged by historic management mistakes, but instead of paying money for the publicly owned trees, the timber industry cleans up some of the historical damage caused by logging in trade for even more logging on public forests. In essence, private industry finds a perpetual money machine built with public trees at the expense of public forests and taxpayers. With public forests nearly down to the real estate phase of exploitation for private profit, hand-in-glove collaboration with corporate hands in protective government gloves, is poised to finish the job. Rather than disparage forest activists who are helping prevent more forest casualties in the timber wars, we should be supporting them for acting as guard rails obstructing industry, collaborator groups and government agencies blind leaps into the continuing bankruptcy of our natural economy Larry Campbell Darby HAMILTON A former Ravalli County commissioner pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor negligent endangerment Wednesday. Jim Rokosch, 61, was charged last June with misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, unlawful transactions with minors and criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Wednesday had been set aside for a justice court trial before Justice Jim Bailey. Instead, Rokosch accepted an agreement that required him to plead no contest to the single charge in return for a sentence of six months in jail with all but one day suspended. He was given credit for the one day he had already served. Rokosch will also be required to pay a $385 fine and serve six months of informal probation. As part of the plea agreement, the sentence was deferred. If Rokosch meets all the conditions of the agreement and doesnt have any other troubles with the law, the charge will be dropped at the end of six months. Rokosch was charged in June after Ravalli County sheriffs deputies responded to a disturbance call at his Stevensville home where they found five underage people drinking alcohol. When the deputies arrived at about midnight, they found the driveway blocked by a vehicle and loud music coming from the home. The first person they met was an 18-year-old with a can of beer in his hand, Ravalli County Undersheriff Steve Holton said at the time. Rokosch made contact with the officers and told them that it was his home. He also told them there was a teenage party happening there, but he didnt know that it involved alcohol. The deputies wrote five minor-in-possession tickets to people ages 17 to 19. During the investigation, a small amount of marijuana was found at the home. Rokosch was elected to the county commission in 2007. He served one term before being defeated by Republican Ron Stoltz. CLEVELAND, Ohio - A New York investor quietly purchased a half-empty downtown Cleveland office building this week, but the firm's redevelopment plan hinges on jobs - not another residential conversion. Somera Road, Inc., acquired 45 Erieview Plaza on Monday, in a transaction that didn't generate any public filings. The seller was an affiliate of Chicago-based Highlands REIT, Inc., which did not respond to requests for comment. The structure of the sale - Somera took over a limited liability company that owns the building - means the price is likely to remain a mystery. Ian Ross, founder and principal at Somera, confirmed that the sale took place but would not disclose what his private investment firm paid for the 16-story building and its nearby garage. The property last changed hands in early 2007 for nearly $52 million, public records show. The Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office now values the complex at just shy of $40 million, though. And the office building is half-empty. Longtime tenant AT&T is the sole occupant. "We really like investing in urban markets," said Ross, who plans to fix up the building and aggressively pitch space there to companies trying to court employees in their 20s and 30s. "The millennial generation is what a lot of large American corporations are focused on, managing the attrition of that very fickle employment base," Ross said, explaining his view of the market. "The suburban office concept, which you see a lot of in the Midwest and you see a lot of in Cleveland, specifically ... that's going by the wayside. That's not going to be the pull or the attraction for that highly sought-after employee." A rendering shows potential exterior changes to 45 Erieview Plaza, a 16-story downtown Cleveland office building that changed hands this week. New York investment firm Somera Road, Inc., plans to renovate the half-empty building and aggressively market it to new tenants. Built in the early 1980s for Ohio Bell, 45 Erieview has been a bit of a sleeper building for more than 30 years, despite its prominent location at East Ninth Street and Lakeside Avenue. In 2007, Ohio Bell successor AT&T sold the property to Inland American Real Estate Trust, Inc. and signed a 12.5-year lease with several extension options, according to public records. Since then, AT&T has pared its presence in the building, leaving the lower eight floors vacant and parts of the upper floors largely under-used. Inland, based in Chicago, has changed its name and narrowed its focus. In April, the company - now called InvenTrust Properties Corp. and concentrating on retail - spun off its office buildings, including 45 Erieview; industrial properties; and other real estate into Highlands. Regulatory filings indicate that 45 Erieview wasn't necessarily a lucrative investment for Highlands to hang onto. An accelerated payoff schedule on the building's mortgage required the company to put any income from the building, after operating expenses, toward paying off debt, according to a recent quarterly financial report. During the first nine months of this year, that meant Highlands didn't get to pocket $800,000 from 45 Erieview. A landlord in that position doesn't have much incentive to make big investments. "I think Ian and Somera Road probably bring a different approach to the property," said Rico Pietro of Cushman & Wakefield/Cresco Real Estate, the local brokerage firm handling leasing at the complex. "I think they're committed to making necessary upgrades to improve the marketability of the property." Pietro and Jim Krivanek will stay on as Somera's leasing team. Neither Pietro nor Ross would identify tenants they're chasing for a large, contiguous block of space - up to 250,000 square feet now, perhaps more if AT&T decides to downsize more - in a relatively modern downtown building. Over the past few years, 45 Erieview has lost contests for large public leases, such as Cuyahoga County's headquarters deal, and routinely has been mentioned as a prospect for private-sector tenants on the hunt for new space. The sale to Somera comes as big employers including Medical Mutual of Ohio, a few blocks south on East Ninth Street, are considering a move. "Our focus right now is being the best landlord we can be for AT&T," Ross said. "They're a dream tenant. ... We want to continue making them happy." To liven up the property, Somera could overhaul the lobby, add a fitness center, create collaborative work areas, explore retail opportunities along East Ninth and add outdoor space. The complex already includes 400 dedicated parking spaces, between the building's basement and the garage at Lakeside and East 12th Street. Ross is working on renovation plans with Vocon, an architecture firm with offices in Cleveland and New York. He wouldn't put a timeline on the improvements, saying that Somera has been putting together a team of seasoned local partners and is taking a slow approach. One change he's not considering, though, is turning office space into apartments. "That's not really our forte," said Ross, who familiarized himself with Cleveland while working for Triangle Capital Group, a privately held real estate fund that has invested here. "There's a fair amount of planned conversions in the market. That's not what we think of this building and its highest and best use." Other residential makeovers have trimmed the supply of empty office space downtown. Meanwhile, a few developers are talking about constructing new office buildings, if tenants and lenders sign on. Ross is trying to position 45 Erieview somewhere in between - as long-term office space that's a lower-cost, lower-risk alternative to new construction. And though most office leasing here involves existing Northeast Ohio tenants hopping around, he's not ruling out the prospect of attracting new players. "I think a lot of national companies, in Los Angeles, New York, D.C., Chicago, are saying the cost of living in those cities has gotten astronomical. ... Attrition problems continue to be an issue," he said. "Companies are looking toward the Midwest. I do think there will be growth in the Greater Cleveland area in terms of new tenancy." Rachel MacLynn is a chartered psychologist and founder of the Vida Consultancy - an exclusive matchmaking agency based in London with clients all over the world. Rachel is very aware that Christmas is a wonderful time of year for many of us but can be an emotional, challenging and lonely time for others. Here she offers her best advice to singles on how best to get through the holiday period. Relationships on Female First Organise a Christmas soiree. There's no better time of year to reach out to friends. Invite a selection of people to your home and ask each of them to bring a friend. Whilst the official aim of the evening is for everyone to make new 'friends', luck may be on your side and your perfect partner may walk through the door. Say 'yes' to as many party invites as possible. But remember, you want your new partner to be for life, not just for Christmas, so avoid getting sloshed and instead sip on no more than a couple of mulled wines so you can really focus on flirting. Borrow a doggy! This app is the perfect subtle partner magnet. Borrow a doggy, get yourself all wrapped up and head to Hyde Park. Smile and politely make eye contact. Within seconds you'll have members of the opposite sex flocking to you and you also get the added bonus of burning off those excess calories. Reach out to old friends on Facebook. Christmas is the perfect time of year to re-establish friendships. Send some messages to people, and ask how their year has gone. You can respond and let them know what an incredible time you have had being single, but you're now feeling ready to meet someone special. Ask your friends to play Cupid. It's amazing how many people love being asked to matchmake - but you have to actually ask! Join a matchmaking agency. If all of the above sound too laborious or time-consuming etc, why not enlist the help of a professional. Matchmakers have a ready-made rolodex of single people just waiting to meet someone as incredible as you! MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RACHEL MACLYNN AND THE VIDA CONSULTANCY The Vida Consultancy offers a high end personalised services to successful men and women aged between 30 and 65. Vida helps its clients build their social and love life through personal introductions and a full calendar of events organised by its sister company, Vida8. In 2014, Rachel MacLynn was shortlisted for 'Best Matchmaker' in the UK Dating Awards. This year she was a finalist in the UK Dating Awards 'Dating Entrepreneur of the Year' and "Matchmaking Agency of the Year" category. She came third in the international iDate Awards, also for 'Best Matchmaker' earlier this year, and is hoping to achieve further accolades in January 2016 at the iDate Awards. 2016 - Finalist: International iDate Awards for 'Best Matchmaker' 2015 - Finalist: UK Dating Awards for 'Matchmaking Agency of the Year' and 'Dating Entrepreneur of the Year' 2015 - Second Runner Up: International iDate Awards for 'Best Matchmaker' 2014 - Finalist: UK Dating Awards for 'Best Matchmaker' America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance! 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The incident took place at Noney on Thursday evening. It is the third consecutive militants attack on security personnel in past 24 hours in the North East Indian state. On Thursday morning, four policemen were killed and four others injured in two attacks laid by suspected NSCN(IM) militants in Chandel and Tengnoupal district. According to the reports, militants attacked the policemen while they guarding the playground, where Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh likely to inaugurate the Manipur's newly created district Noney. A sub-inspector and three constables were injured in the attack and they were rushed to nearest Assam Rifles camp. Meanwhile, the panic stricken villagers are terrified to attend the inaugural function of new district after consecutive militant attacks. Top police and army officials had rushed to the area to maintain the law and order situation and launched operation against the militants. In last year, at least 15 Indian army were killed in an ambush laid by militants in Manipur's Chandel district along the Myanmar border. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) "I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein "Talk to me about the truth of religion, and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively. But don't come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don't understand."--C.S. Lewis Contact: Mostly, the Rude Pundit doesn't give a shit what you have to say, but, if you have to say it, you can write to Lee Papa here: rudepundit(at)yahoo(dot)com The Telegraph - November 30 , 2016 Which witch? - West Bengal lags in efforts to wipe out witch-hunting. But with enabling guidelines from the courts, the noose can gather tighter around the evil, says Kavitha Shanmugham IN THE ACT: A street play against witch-hunting in a village in West Midnapore September 12, 2015, was a black night for Moyna Murmu, a woman in her mid-forties. The residents of Salboni village, West Midnapore, dragged her to the ojha (witch doctor), holding her responsible for her sister-in-lawas cancer. They believed she had used jaadu-tona to make her sister-in-law sick. To remove the evil spirit inside her, Moyna was severely beaten, her clothes torn off and she was nearly raped by the witch doctor. Moyna managed to escape and went to the police who failed to take any action. On a lawyeras advice, she and her husband gathered their tattered pride to file a writ petition in the Calcutta High Court (CHC) against police inaction in the area and the need for a law to prevent horrific crimes such as witch-hunting. In a way, Moyna created history in the state. It was because of her writ petition, and a second writ by Nandu Murmu a an old farmer from Jagannathpur village of the same district, who was mercilessly beaten up along with his wife, and thrown out of the village for practising awitchcrafta a that acertain directivesa have been issued by the CHC to the state government to eradicate the aevil practicea of witch-hunting. The high court, however, stopped short of asking the government to frame a law against witch-hunting, as Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Bihar and Rajasthan have done. On August 2, 2016, Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Bengal government to form an expert committee to study the problem, the areas, especially the tribal belts, in which it is widely prevalent and submit the report within six months. And, to form special cells manned by intelligence officers in areas prone to witch-hunting and ensure prompt action against people who hunted down the awitchesa . aThe petitionersa plea was two-fold: they wanted the court to direct the police to take action and the state government to frame a law against witch-hunting,a says Nilanjan Bhattacharjee, advocate, CHC, on behalf of the petitioners. The petition pointed out that witch-hunting in Bengal occurs in economically backward areas with little access to basic education and healthcare. aIt is here (that) people develop very strong superstitions and anything bad that might befall the villagers like bad crop, diseases, sudden and unexplained death of a family member, or drying of a well tends to be considered the work of some evil awitcha. Thus begins a witch hunt,a the writ petition held. Womenas organisations and NGOs in the state admit to battling this social evil with awareness campaigns like street theatres, video screenings and providing legal help. aThere is, however, no collective action for a law,a admits Srichandra, assistant secretary of Swadhina, an NGO that works in Midnapore, which is notorious for witch hunts. Srichandra welcomes the CHCas intervention and believes a law would help to create afeara in people indulging in witch hunts. Witch-hunting has been defined in the Odisha Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2013, as identifying, accusing or defaming a woman as a witch or harassing, harming or injuring a woman whether mentally or physically, or damaging her property. The laws in some states also spell out extensively what constitutes witch-craft practised under different local names like guni, natak darpana, etc., who is a witch doctor, and what constitutes witch-hunting to leave no stone unturned in nailing all the people who turn on vulnerable people (mostly widows, single women or old women) to label them a witch and harm them. The National Crime Records Bureau reveals that in 2013-14, nearly 316 persons were killed on the suspicion of being witches. It seems to be thriving especially in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhatisgarh, Assam and, most recently, Rajasthan have framed acts to curb this malaise, Bengal is taking fledgling steps in that direction with the recent court order. aA public outcry is required to make the government enact a law,a observes Sashiprava Bindhani, an activist-lawyer whose writ in 2012 got the Orissa High Court to direct the state government to frame a law. aIt is not enough to frame a law. How do you make it work for people who lack access to the judicial system,a asks Bindhani. The lawyer-activist advocates awareness campaigns to put an end to prejudices. aIt is common to see a tribal boy or girl walk into the police station with a bloodied head and surrender for having killed a relative whom they blamed for the misfortunes in their family,a says Ajay Kumar Jaiswal, secretary, ASHA, an NGO in Jharkhand. The Jharkhand Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 2001, has clearly been ineffective, he adds. aThe maximum imprisonment of one year and a fine of Rs 2,000 is hardly a deterrent. Twenty-three women have already been killed in Jharkhand this year. The law needs to be amended and made tougher,a Jaiswal says. aThe situation is bad in Bengal, especially in Purulia on the Jharkhand border, and in tribal areas where doctors are scarce and people turn to witch doctors. When vested interests are at play, the adoctora gets a cut for identifying a woman as a witch. Mostly, it has to do with the ulterior motive of grabbing property or a refusal of sexual favour,a he adds. Sunanda Mukherjee, chairperson, West Bengal State Womenas Commission, claims helplessness. The problem is rampant among the poor and marginalised in areas like Bankura, Midnapore and Burdwan. aUnfortunately, we donat have a special law as yet because of a lack of support from social activists and the media,a says Mukherjee. So, the police today turn to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) 1989 a which was recently amended a to book people accused of witch-hunting, she says. Bengal could take into account the tough provisions in the Odisha, Rajasthan and Assam laws. For example, in Odisha, anyone who makes a woman adrink or eat any inedible substance or any other obnoxious substance or parade her with painted face or body or commits any similar acts which are derogatory to human dignity or displaced from her house, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but may extend to five years and fine.a aThese are cognizable, non-bailable crimes and on a second conviction, the punishment escalates to seven yearsa imprisonment,a says Sujata Jena, advocate in the Orissa High Court. The most recent legislation, the Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2015, which came into force in January 2016, provides for punishment up to seven years, which can become life imprisonment if a woman dies because of witch-hunting. A PIL in 2010 by Ajay Kumar Jain, a Rajasthan High Court lawyer, lead to the law. Important facets include a acollective finea imposed by the state government on inhabitants of an area guilty of witch-hunting, a victim compensation scheme, rehabilitation of victims, awareness programmes against blind belief, and educating people about the aabsurd concept of evil spirit and witchcrafta . aA law provides a handle to tackle the situation,a says Jena. But Justice Bagchi refused to direct the Bengal government to frame a law, citing Gaurav Jain vs State of Bihar & Ors, in which the apex court had declined to issue an mandamus upon Bihar to pass special legislation on the issue and stuck to just laying down broad guidelines to control the practice. However, to help the victims, Justice Bagchi directed the government to provide the victims with legal assistance through the District Legal Services Authority; medical and psychological help; and explore the possibility of formulating a comprehensive victim compensation scheme under Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Sociologists believe criminalising witch-hunting through special laws is an ainadequatea response. But, for stakeholders on the ground, it is a leverage to stub out the fires around a so-called dayan! Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Final goodbye: Roll call of the most notable people who died in 2016 If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE). Last night, with today's torrential downpours on the horizon, 1,009 people languished on a waitlist for 90-day shelter beds, a statistic that comes to us via a press release from the Coalition on Homelessness. What does it take to temporarily get off that list and into shelter on, say, a rainy night such as this? If someone misses curfew, or if one of the shelter beds is set aside for a special population such as Care not Cash, the bed is offered for one night only, usually released late at night, Jennifer Friedenbach, the Executive Director of the Coalition, said. "Those on the wait list may try their luck for a one night bed, or find a friend or family member to let them stay, or find a place on the cold streets or wet parks. It's a moment when the modicum of shelter provided by tents on streets seems most valuable, but of course, Prop Q passed in November to formally ban such tent encampments in San Francisco. Friedenbach, for her part, was staunchly opposed to the measure: Prop Q and R do not create additional housing or bed," she said while campaigning against the twin props. "They simply continue the status quo, by shuffling people from block to block after the meager offer of one night in shelter. At that time, in mid-October, there were roughly 800 people on the shelter waitlist. Previously: Mayor Doubles Down On Enforcing Quality-Of-Life Citations Major accident in Chinatown where a car crashed into a bus stop, multiple injuries pic.twitter.com/msj4mnNvba Jessica Christian (@jachristian) December 16, 2016 Ten people are injured, with five suffering "major injuries," after a driver crashed a car into a Chinatown bus stop on the 800 block of Stockton Street at Sacramento. The Chronicle reports that the incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. today, and SFFD declared a "red alert." The number of reported injuries continued to increase after the incident was first reported going from five, to eight, to now 10. It looks like they hit some people, causing further injuries, SFPD spokesperson Giselle Talkoff told the paper. SFFD tweeted that 10 people have been transported to the hospital. Two of them are in critical condition. There were a lot of individuals on the ground, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who was nearby when the crash occurred, told the Chron. Many were bleeding. Pretty horrific scene. Three separate vehicle were involved in the crash, and the driver of the sedan (the car that hit the bus stop) remained on the scene after the incident. SFPD is leading the response, and the surrounding area will be closed for several hours as police investigate. Five major injuries after crash into @sfmta bus shelter on Stockton Street in Chinatown. pic.twitter.com/PGTWvLh5zA Jenna Lane (@jennalane) December 16, 2016 Many hurt after car plows into San Francisco Muni bus stop on Stockton St. in Chinatown. At least 5 with major injuries says Fire Dept. pic.twitter.com/sKoDx6tZeV Tim Jue (@timjue) December 16, 2016 #121616RA1 MAJOR COLLISION VEH INTO BUS STOP RED ALERT FOR 10 reported victims 5 major injuries AVOID THE AREA SFPD LEAD PIO 1300 Hrs pic.twitter.com/ySAFsR9yrj San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) December 16, 2016 This post has been updated throughout. Rescue crews rushed to San Francsico's tony Sea Cliff neighborhood early Friday, all on a mission to save a man trapped on an area cliff by the rising tide. According to a tweet from the San Francisco Fire Department, crews were called to the 200 block of Sea Cliff Avenue at 1:54 Friday morning on reports that a solo victim was trapped on an area cliff. CLIFF RESCUE 200 BLK SEA CLIFF 1 victim SFFD and USCG on scene 01:54 Hrs. pic.twitter.com/eOsZYRDS77 San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) December 16, 2016 CBS 5 reports that the man was discovered "dangling about 100 feet down the cliff." The rescue effort, that took over an hour, was complicated by the wet and windy weather. It was a difficult rescue, said SFFD Battalion Chief Denise Newman told CBS 5. There were 50 mph gusts (of wind), it was wet and it was dark. In addition, the man was clad only in "dark pants and a sweatshirt," NBC reports. In the end, "rescue teams from three different companies combined" to pull the man up to safety. UPDATE 30yo Male has been Rescued by the SFFD & @USCG He has minor injuries. It is UNK how or why he became stuck on the cliff. 0200 Hrs. https://t.co/LFoxhCOPQy San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) December 16, 2016 "I'm grateful," the man told NBC Bay Area following his rescue, saying that "I got caught in the high tide." "He was hanging on and screaming for help," Newman told NBC. "He's cold, he's exhausted, but he's alive." NBC speculates that the man, who they report had been at Baker Beach before he got trapped, was trying to reach a private beach between Baker and China Beaches, and got trapped in the process. Ive been told he might have been down there for a couple hours, Newman told CBS 5. Hes cold Hes happy to be alive. Related: Downed Trees, Power Outages, Minor Floods Came With Pre-Winter Storm A SoMa pedestrian was left fighting for his life Thursday, the victim of a driver who struck him then sped away. According to the San Francisco Police Department, the 56-year-old male victim was crossing the street at the intersection of Fifth and Bluxome Streets at 11:17 Thursday night when the incident occurred. Police say that the driver, who police describe only as male, struck the man as he crossed the street, then "fled northbound on Fifth Street." The victim was left with life-threatening injuries, police say, and was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital. An update on his condition was not available as of publication time. The driver remains at large, police say, and no arrests have been made in this collision. Related: Errant SoMa Parker Turns Pedestrian Collision Into Hit-And-Run CANBERRA, Australia Actress Amber Heard appears set to return to Australia's Gold Coast to star in the DC Comics blockbuster movie "Aquaman" a year after she was convicted in the same tourist town of smuggling her pet Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo into the country. The movie which will also feature "Game of Thrones" television star Jason Momoa in the lead role will be shot next year at Village Roadshow Studios near Gold Coast city in a deal that will cost the Australian government 22 million Australian dollars ($16 million), Treasurer Scott Morrison said. Heard, 30, pleaded guilty in a Gold Coast court in April to falsifying an immigration document to conceal the dogs when she and her then husband Johnny Depp flew into Australia in 2014 for the filming of the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie in which Depp played pirate Jack Sparrow. She avoided jail under a deal that included Heard and Depp videoing an awkward public warning against others breaking Australia's strict quarantine laws. Morrison said that a "miniature motor home" would be provided for Pistol and Boo if Heard decided to bring them back through the proper quarantine channels. "We will have a home for them if Amber would like to bring them on to the film set," Morrison told reporters. The scandal over the dogs was lampooned as Australia's "war on terriers" and unleashed personal hostility between Depp and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce. Joyce, who is now Australia's deputy prime minister, prompted countless parodies by stating: "It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States." He then warned that the dogs would be euthanized if they didn't flee the country within 72 hours, which they did with only a few hours to spare. Depp quipped that ruddy-faced Joyce appeared to be "inbred with a tomato" and voiced fears that "he might explode." Morrison said on Thursday that he was not concerned by how Joyce might react to Pistol and Boo returning. "No, everyone knows the rules. Those rules apply to everybody as they did last time," Morrison said. If you dont know how Office Christmas Party is going to end, you havent been to enough comedies, my friend. Formulaic right down to the Christmas crisis, it shocks when it doesnt amuse, screams when it could shout. This is Horrible Bosses meets Office Space by way of The Real Cancun. Bits of other films slip in, too, until youre so tired of trying to spot the references you just give up. Jason Bateman, in nice-guy mode, plays a recently divorced chief technical officer at a branch of Zenotek, creators of data storage systems. His boss (T.J. Miller) is a hard-partying slacker who is under the thumb of his sister (Jennifer Aniston), who runs the company now that dad is dead. Naturally, she wants him to grow up, so she bans the annual Christmas party. Incensed, he decides to throw it anyway, hoping to land a big account that could improve his bottom line. The party, as if you couldnt guess, is over the top. It features everything from a living Nativity scene to an egg nog luge. Folks unrelated to the company crash the event; the guy with the big account (Courtney B. Vance) unexpectedly gets a hit of cocaine. Before a stern Aniston marches back in to shut it all down, theres plenty of random nudity, bathroom humor and corporate shaming. Saturday Night Live regulars Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer get the best moments largely because they realize this requires role play. McKinnon plays the uptight human resources director who drives a Kia van (Its what God would drive) and tries to keep everything P.C.; Bayer is Millers assistant who steers him back on track, even when the rails have been lifted. Olivia Munn figures in, too, as a tech genius who has an idea that just might work. It comes out at the appropriate time and helps Aniston wrest her brother from a hooker and her pimp. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, Office Christmas Party is unlike any event youve attended, even in your college days. It doesnt graze reality in the least (Office Space was much better at approximating corporate culture), but it also doesnt care what it has to do to get a laugh. As a result, there are some great moments (thanks, Kate McKinnon) that justify some -- just some -- of the time spent. The film, though, could have started small and built. By attacking a tradition in such a unabashed way, Office Christmas Party has nowhere to go. Its not a fun after-hours event. It's one potluck that lacks a good main dish. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A California-based television network dedicated to Native Americans has arrived in the Albuquerque area, New Mexico PBS announced this week. New Mexico PBS said First Nations Experience now is live on KNME-TV, HD Channel 5.3, in the Albuquerque market, and features programs focusing on Native American and indigenous people around the world. "Educators, students and viewers will find a variety of American Indian, Pacific Islander and other indigenous people's stories and voices via this service," Mexico PBS General Manager and CEO Franz Joachim said. "Those viewers familiar with certain tribal stories may find something new in other nations' achievements, creativity and experiences." New Mexico PBS officials say the station will be pushing for Albuquerque-area cable and satellite providers to carry the American Indian network. Launched in September 2011, the public TV network known as FNX is a partnership of the San Manuel band of Mission Indians and KVCR-PBS in San Bernardino, California. FNX can already be seen by 11 million people in several states, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, Minnesota and Illinois. ABOUT THE DONOR: Greenberg's Jewelers operates eight locations in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. Founded in Sioux City in 1900, co-president Elise Greenberg said the company has built its business by sharing in its customers' special moments from generation to generation. The company features such specialty brands as Hearts on Fire, Gabriel, Le Vian, and Love Story. DONOR COMMENT: "We are delighted to be a continuous contributor to Mr. Goodfellow. Knowing that through our gift Sioux City parents who struggle to put presents under the Christmas tree will again be able to delight their children is a wonderful feeling. Our support of Mr. Goodfellow spans more than three decades. Supporting Sioux City community charities and Mr. Goodfellow are a longstanding tradition at Greenberg's." Parker named 2016 Lucia at 62nd festival SIOUX CITY | Abbie Parker was named the 2016 Lucia at the 62nd Lucia Festival at Augustana Lutheran Church. The Lucia Festival originated in Sweden. According to legend, Lucia was a medieval saint who carried food and drink to the hungry during a period of famine in the Swedish province of Varmland. Lucia stands today as a symbol of light and hope to all of humankind. Parker wore the traditional wreath of lighted candles on her head as she, her attendants and Star Boys served cookies following the smorgasbord meal. Attendants were Nicole McGlothlen, Abby Whitsel, Lexy Baier and Emily Hall. Starboys were Alex Hexom, Hunter Liberto and Tyler Welp. Shelly Hexom, accompanied by Shannon Peterson, sang the Lucia Song, Emily Hall read the Lucia Story and Jeanne Emmons served as mistress of ceremonies. Christmas concert features strings SIOUX CITY | Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport St., invites the public to a Christmas concert featuring The Johnson Strings of New Hartford, Iowa, at 7 p.m. Saturday. A pie and ice cream social will follow. A free-will donation will be collected for the Johnson family. Final Advent services at Redeemer will be at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday. Living Nativity play is Sunday SIOUX CITY | Six scenes depicting the Christmas story will be presented from 5:30-7 p.m. Sunday at Faith United Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave. This production is presented by members of Faith United Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian. Donations will be given to CSADC. Family Christmas service set Sunday SIOUX CITY | A family Christmas service will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday at Bethany Lutheran Church, 1201 Dubuque St. The service will feature the Christmas story depicted by the children of the church, the Bethany Choir, carols, scripture readings and a Christmas message from the Rev. Gerald Bruhn. All are welcome. Sunday service at First Unitarian SIOUX CITY -- The congregation of First Unitarian Church will hear the topic, "Is the Story of Santa Claus True?" presented by Alan Jones at 11 a.m. Sunday at First Unitarian Church, 2508 Jackson St. Fourth Sunday of Advent service SIOUX CITY | Faith United Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave., will celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent with a service of joy at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. A service of the Longest Night will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the sanctuary. All are welcome. Christmas worship service in Merrill MERRILL, Iowa | Christmas worship at St. John Lutheran Church, 735 Fifth St., will include a traditional candlelight service and a celebration of the Eucharist at 7 p.m. Dec. 24. Christmas pageant set for Sunday SIOUX CITY | A Christmas pageant titled "The Giving Tree: When the Past Meets the Present" will be performed during the 10:30 a.m. worship service at Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, 1407 W. 18th St, on Sunday. Children, youth and adults will tell the Christmas story in a new way. Guests are welcome, and refreshments will be served after the program. Blood drives Tyson-Dakota City Blood Drive, 11:30-3:30 p.m. Dec. 23 at Tyson Foods, Highway 35. Emerson Community Blood Drive, 2-6 p.m. Dec. 26 at Emerson Fire Hall, 205 Main St. Screenings Free blood pressure screenings, 9:30-11 a.m. Wednesdays at Countryside Senior Living, front lobby. No appointment necessary. Programs/Self-Help Groups Al-Anon Information Center, call 712-255-6724. Al-Anon and Alateen, meetings locally. For times, dates and locations of area meetings, call 712-255-6724. Alcoholics Anonymous, beginners information, call 712-252-1333. Arc of Woodbury County, serving the mentally challenged, 5:15 p.m. meeting, second Monday of the month at Mid-Step Services, 4303 Stone Ave. For families and interested persons. Child Care Resource and Referral, provides resources, education and advocacy for children, parents, and child care providers. Assists in child care needs. For more information, call 712-277-1180. Co-Dependence Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at First Lutheran Church, Fireside Room. Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA), 10 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. Compassionate Friends, 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of each month (third Thursday in November and second Sunday December) in Mercy Medical Center's Leiter Room. For families who have lost children. Contact Nancy Webb 712-212-4032 or Don Mulder 712-541-5512. Eating disorder coalition awareness event, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 29 at Boy's and Girl's home and family services, 2101 Court St. Contact Lisa 712-251-0570 or Michele 712-898-2351. Clinics Siouxland District Health immunization clinics, call for appointment, 712-279-6119 or 1-800-587-3005. Information Family and Addictive Illness series, for more information, call 234-2300. Iowa Fathers, 6 to 8 p.m. fourth Tuesday of each month at Hope Lutheran Church, Education Building, 218 W. 18th St., South Sioux City, Neb. Support group to help single, divorcing and divorced parents residing in the state of Iowa. Mercy Pathways Outpatient Program, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on the third floor, Mercy's Central Medical Building, 801 Fifth St., Suite 360. Provides hope, help, opportunity to connect through group therapy for individuals experiencing personal, relationship, psychiatric issues. For more information, call 712-279-5991. Narcotics Anonymous, meetings daily, various times, dates and locations. For more information, call 712-279-0733. Overeaters Anonymous, 1 p.m. Tuesdays at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive; 6 p.m. Tuesdays at St. John's Lutheran Church, 402 Lane Ave., Storm Lake; 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Church of the Nazarene, 226 N. Main St., Viborg, S.D.; 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays at Newman Center, 320 E. Cherry St., Vermillion, S.D.; 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. A 12-step recovery program for people who have problems with food and weight. No fees. St. Lukes Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on fifth floor of St. Luke's, located at 2720 Stone Park Blvd. Offers several levels of outpatient care including partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and group therapy. This program provides support and integrated treatment to individuals experiencing personal or relationship issues as a result of their mental illness. For more information and admission criteria, call 712-279-3906. Sobriety By Faith, 8:30 a.m. Saturdays at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For more information, call James Mothershead at 712-577-9715. The Link-Recovery and Freedom, 1603 Glen Ellen Road; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday workshop, and Christian 12-step meeting 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. For all ages. Call Dee at 389-7432. Women in Recovery, meets monthly at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For details, call 712-255-4623. Tarahouse Meditation Center, 8 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6:30 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, all at 3112 Rebecca St. Three easy 10-minute sessions in small group; beginners welcome. For more information, call 490-6410. Blood pressure and blood sugar screening, 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays in the lobby at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Free to public. Support Groups Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Hawkeye Club basement, 420 Jones St. For more information, call 277-5935. Celebrate Recovery, Bible-based 12-step recovery group. Thursdays at 6 p.m. at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive. Childcare provided. 712-490-3343. All welcome. PFLAG of Siouxland, (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), 7 p.m., fourth Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November. St. Mark ELCA Church, 5200 Glenn Ave., in the upstairs meeting area. 712-258-3116. Singles widowed and divorced, all ages, 4 p.m., Sundays. McDonald's at Sixth Street and Lewis Boulevard. 712-252-2675. GriefShare, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814. HIV/AIDS Support Group, meets weekly. For more information, call Darla or Teri at Siouxland Community Health Center, 712-252-2477 or 888-371-1965. Hospice of Siouxland, seeking volunteers. For more information, call 712-233-4144 and ask for a volunteer coordinator. La Leche League of Siouxland, breastfeeding support group meets every third Thursday at 11 a.m. at Morningside Lutheran Church. Children are welcome. For more information, call Mary at 712-546-7280 or Jacquie at 712-255-2998. Living Each Day Cancer Support Group, 7-8 p.m. second Thursday of the month, Floyd Valley Hospital, Conference Center Room 2, Le Mars, Iowa. Open to all cancer patients, cancer survivors and family members. No charge. Pre-register by calling 712-546-3441 or 800-642-6074, ext. 441. Mom and Baby Support Group, 10-11 a.m. last Monday of the month at the Orange City (Iowa) Hospital, lower level. For new moms and babies. 712-737-5260. Tri-State Sober Project, 12-step meeting, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Friendship Community Church, 305 Sergeant Square Drive, Sergeant Bluff. 6-7 p.m., Thursdays, Transitional Services of Iowa, 1221 Pierce St., Sioux City. Doug's Donors Support Group, information for organ donors and recipients, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Fridays, 5:15-6:30 p.m. second Thursdays of the month at Mercy Cafeteria Woodbury Room. 712-277-1050. Divorce Care, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814. NAMI Siouxland, (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Support Group meets 6:30 p.m., second Tuesday of the month at Friendship House, 1101 Court St. For individuals and family members dealing with mental illness. 712-255-4209. New Life Life Support Group, 3:30 p.m. every Saturday at 2929 W. Fourth St. Spiritual 12-step program. For more information, call Donald at 712-574-1744 or James at 712-255-7624. Orphan Sunday, 3:30-5 p.m. Sunday at Sunnybrook Community Church loft, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive. Post Polio Support Group, 11 a.m. first Thursday of the month at Perkins Restaurant by Menards. 712-490-8213. Relationship Support Group, 7 p.m. Fridays at Marketplace Mall. For more information, call 239-3129. Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Individual and Support Groups. For more information, call CSADV in Sioux City at 712-258-7233; Plymouth County at 712-546-6764; Monona County at 712-423-3443. Advocacy and support available 24 hours a day at 1-800-982-7233. All services free of charge and confidential. Sickle Cell Disease Support Group, 11 a.m. third Saturday of each month at St. Luke's Hospital, meeting room 1. For patients, their family and any concerned member. Call La'Keshia Rainey at 712-203-2019 for more information. Single and Parenting, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. every Tuesday until Dec. 6 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814. Sioux City Association of the Deaf, 7 p.m. third Saturday of the month at Morningside Church of Christ, 5015 Garretson Ave. Regular meeting, September-May; no meeting, June, July, August and December. Siouxland Autism Support Group, second Thursday of the month at Northwest Area Education Agency, 1520 Morningside Ave. For more information, call Julie Case at 712-490-8939. Siouxland Epilepsy Support Group, 5 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at Prestwick Apartment Clubhouse, 4230 Hickory Lane. For anyone diagnosed with seizures or epilepsy and family or friends. For more information, call Steve at 274-6927. Siouxland IC support group, meets quarterly in Sioux City. For patients struggling with interstital cystitis. For more information, call Jacque Dundas 316-641-9766. Siouxland Informational Group for the Blind, 2-5 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Northern Hills Retirement Community, 4002 Teton Trace. For more information, call 712-266-8926 or 258-8151. Grief support group, 5:30-7:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 5 for 13 weeks (may join at any time), Crescent Park United Methodist Church, 2826 Myrtle St., Sioux City. Scott, 712-899-6315. Siouxland Ostomy Association, 2 p.m. first Sunday of each month (except September, which will be second Sunday; and no meetings June, July, August), in Room 300 at Mercy Medical Center, 801 Fifth St. For more information, call Dick Lindblom at 251-2453. Siouxland Parkinson Disease Support Group, 1 p.m. fourth Monday of the month at Siouxland Center for Active Generations, 313 Cook St. For more information, call Sally Reinert at 402-987-3516. Sojourners, support group for families of persons with life-threatening illness, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Room 416. For more information, call Marjorie Jarvill at 402-241-8637. South Sioux City Weight Support Group, 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at St. Paul United Methodist Church, South Sioux City. For more information, call 494-1401 or 494-2133. Disabilities Resource Center of Siouxland, 520 Nebraska St., Suite 101: Women's Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Wednesday of the month; LGBT Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Friday of the month; Adult ADHD, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; Advocacy Group, 1:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month. For more information, call 712-255-1065. Take Off Pounds Sensibly, group meetings various times, days and locations in Siouxland. For information on the chapter in your area, call 1-800-932-TOPS. Voice Disorder Support Group, meets as needed at Mercy Medical Center, Buena Vista Room. 712-279-2686. Women's Peer Support Group, in Wayne and South Sioux City, Neb., for those who have experienced domestic abuse. For more information, call the Wayne office at 402-375-4633 or 1-800-440-4633; in South Sioux City, call 402-494-7592. Help and support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Services free and confidential. Woodbury County D.M.D.A., noon-2 p.m. first Saturday of the month at Country Friendship Acres, 4501 West St.; 7-8 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at 515 Court St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at 441 W. Third St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at 409 W. Third St. in the Community Room. Support group for people with disabilities and mental disorders. Natural Mamas in Siouxland, 1 p.m., third Tuesday of each month in the Garretson room of the Morningside Public Library. All ages of children are welcome to come with moms. For sharing natural living tips, recipes, natural remedies and health, homemaking, mothering, etc. For more information, call 402-913-0038 or visit their Facebook page. A Step Beyond support group, 3:30 p.m. second Tuesday of the month, except for August, November and December when it meets at 5:30 p.m. (no meeting in January) at the Christy-Smith Resource Center, 1819 Morningside Ave. For more information, call 712-276-7319. Divorce care, 5 p.m., Sundays. Fireside room, Morningside Lutheran Church, 700 South Martha St. Gamblers Anonymous meetings, 4 p.m. Thursdays at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd.; 7 p.m. Wednesdays, Morningside Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesdays, St. John Lutheran Church; 7 p.m. Sundays, Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St.. 712-277-2901. Art therapy support group, 5:30 p.m. second Thursday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Registration required, call 252-9387. After Breast Cancer Support Group, 5:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call Brenda, 252-9370. After Prostate Cancer Support Group, 5:15 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call 252-9426. Alzheimer's Association, Big Sioux Chapter Support Group, 2 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; 4 p.m. third Tuesday of the month (under age 65) at 201 Pierce St., Suite 110 (Famous Dave's building); and 6 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the Barnes and Noble Cafe. For more information, call Emily Lord at 712-279-5802. Christy-Smith Funeral Homes of Sioux City, extensive grief library at the Morningside location. Open to the public during weekday hours. For more information, call 276-7319. Chronic Pain/Chronic Illness Support Group, 7:30 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month in the lower level of the Orange City Hospital. For more information, call 712-737-5260. Connections Area Agency on Aging, and Mercy Medical Centers Older Adult Services Welcome to Medicare, 1:30-4 p.m., the first Friday of every month at Connections Area Agency on Aging, 2301 Pierce St. To pre-register, or for more information, contact Connections Area Agency on Aging at 712-279-6900. ST. LOUIS Shannon Hagerty was in labor for nearly nine hours when she asked for nitrous oxide. Her labor had stalled. For three hours, her cervix hadnt dilated any further. She was exhausted and anxious. What it did was, it relaxed my body in between contractions, and that made the contractions more bearable, said Hagerty, 32, of OFallon, Missouri. It allowed the tension to go out of my body, so when I had a contraction I could stay on top of it and manage the pain. Within a few hours, she gave birth to a baby girl at the Mercy Birthing Center without any medical interventions. I wanted to go the natural birth route, said Hagerty, who was a first-time mom. I didnt want to be hooked up to machines and IVs. Nitrous oxide what many know as laughing gas from the dentist office is growing in popularity as a way to provide pain relief during childbirth. Just five years ago, only two centers in the U.S. offered nitrous routinely. Now hundreds of hospitals and birthing centers are using the colorless, odorless and nonflammable gas. Midwives, whose model of care supports natural birth, have led the charge. In 2010, the American College of Nurse-Midwives published a position statement that encouraged the inclusion of nitrous oxide as an option for women in labor. There have always been women who have a desire to have a more natural childbirth, and that trend is growing, said Dr. Patricia Bolster, an anesthesiologist at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. I think people are looking for less invasive ways of managing their labor pain, and nitrous oxide is being pulled back off the shelf. Nitrous oxide was first used for pain relief in labor in 1881 and became more routine in the 1930s and 40s. While it is still used frequently in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it fell out of use in the U.S. as more powerful anesthetics such as the epidural became more favorable. While epidurals can completely block pain, they require an IV, frequent blood pressure monitoring, continuous fetal monitoring and staying in bed. The loss of sensation often prolongs the pushing stage of labor, increasing the chances of vacuum extraction and forceps delivery. By using a gas for pain relief, the woman can put the mask to her face and breathe the mixture of 50 percent nitrous oxide and 50 percent oxygen whenever she feels she needs it. The effect goes away within minutes. The mom holds the mask herself and has complete control, Bolster said. She can use it for a couple of contractions and then set it aside for as long as she wants. An anesthesiologist does not have to be present. Nitrous was nicknamed laughing gas because its euphoric effect has caused patients undergoing dental procedures to act funny. Thats because it is used in higher concentrations in the dentist chair, and the patients mouth is also numb to pain. The pain of labor, however, is no laughing matter. Theres too much stimulation. Labor is too uncomfortable for you to get silly with this amount of medication, Bolster said. You still are going to be very focused on your labor. You still are going to be very focused on managing your contractions. Women feel mildly sedated, she said, like a light buzz. SIOUX CITY As Iowa leaders scramble for ways to solve the states water quality problems, proponents of a voter-approved sales tax increase think the solution has been right under their noses. Members of the Iowa Water & Land Legacy organization, or IWILL, have been traveling across the Hawkeye State to gather support in an effort to raise the state sales tax as part of its "Unmet Needs" tour. If state lawmakers raise the tax by 1 percent, three-eighths of that increase would go to improve water quality and outdoor recreation in the state. IWILL representatives hosted an informational meeting Thursday at the Wilbur Aalfs Library in downtown Sioux City as part of a two-day whirlwind visit to the region that also included stops in Cherokee, Denison, Le Mars, Sheldon and Spencer. According to a study commissioned by IWILL, that three-eighths tax increment could generate $200 million annually in protected funds that would support conservation efforts without taking funding away from other programs or agencies. Since 62.57 percent of Iowa voters approved the Iowa Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund Amendment in November 2010, Iowa has not raised its sales tax and those dollars have been left on the table. We have missed a billion dollars worth of opportunities over the last six years, said Storm Lake Mayor Jon Kruse, a representative of IWILL. We cant wait, we need to fund this trust, thats why we are here today; those unmet needs have grown. IWILL estimates there are $673.3 million shovel-ready projects statewide, which includes everything from walking trails to watershed protection, that have been delayed due to funding issues that stem from the trust amendment not being implemented. I know locally in talking with Mayor (Bob) Scott, one area of major interest here in Sioux City is getting a trail to connect Sioux City and Le Mars, Kruse said. The trails fund, theres not anywhere near enough funds its hard to get trails money. The proposed Plywood Trail named so because it would connect Plymouth and Woodbury counties is estimated to cost about $10 million, only a million of which has been raised as of August. The proposed route is near the Floyd River and adjacent to U.S. Highway 75 through the towns of Merrill and Hinton. IWILL is backed by about 20 statewide and national organizations, including the American Heart Association, the Iowa Soybean Association, Pheasants Forever, the Sierra Club and at least a dozen Iowa mayors, which includes Kruse and Scott. Other local supporters include CF Industries and members of the Palmer family. Kruse, a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative who likes to get the best bang for his buck when spending tax dollars, understands why its difficult for members of the legislature to approve increasing the sales tax, but thinks the need is for the amendment is too great to ignore. This is something that benefits all of us one way or another, he said. It isnt just about ducks, it isnt just about fish, it isnt just about farmers its about all of us. This week on the podcast, reporters discuss the real presidential election, who's running for governor in 2018, and ask if Rod Blum -- Iowa's Mr. Outside -- is becoming Mr. Inside with the Trump administration. On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast which re-creates the conversations that happen when Iowa's political reporters get together after deadlines have been met. This week's show features James Q. Lynch, Christinia Crippes, Bret Hayworth and Erin Murphy. This week's show was produced by Richard Pratt and the music heard in the podcast is courtesy of Kelly Pardekooper. Chat with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @OnIowaPolitics, and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. Know an Iowa musician who should be on our show? Send their band sound files to oniowapolitics@gmail.com SIOUX CITY | State legislators from the Sioux City area on Thursday vowed to begin the groundwork to extend a state tax incentive program that helps border cities like Sioux City attract and retain new or expanding businesses. The Targeted Jobs program allows qualifying employers to divert a portion of the state taxes they owe to infrastructure that supports job retention or expansion projects. The program will expire in 2018, which is the second year of the Iowa Legislative General Assembly session that begins in January. Sioux City leaders emphasized the importance of the Targeted Jobs program during the 17th annual City Hall Legislative Day, where lawmakers hear the city's top legislative priorities. "It is a very effective program," Sioux City economic development director Marty Dougherty said. Sens. Bill Anderson, R-Pierson, and Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, and Rep.-elect Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City, and Rep.-elect Tim Kacena, D-Sioux City, attended the session at City Hall. Anderson, Kacena and Bertrand said they will support the extension of Targeted Jobs as an economic development tool. Carlin said he needs more information but is leaning toward support too. Bertrand said there might be a possibility "to strike a year early" and get the extension in 2017 rather than in the crunch year of 2018 when the program is set to expire. He said when tax credits of varying stripes go away in the state, business expansion dries up locally. "If you've got a pro-business agenda, let's get it on the table," said Bertrand, who is also a local businessman and developer. The tax credit equals 3 percent of the gross wages of each employee filling the new jobs. The businesses claim the tax credits, but the same amount is diverted to local cities that use the money for urban renewal projects benefiting the business. Gov. Terry Branstad in May 2013 signed a five-year extension of the Targeted Job program, which otherwise would have expired in June that year after serving as a pilot program. The program was created in 2006 to help Sioux City and four other border cities -- Council Bluffs, Burlington, Fort Madison and Keokuk -- compete with neighboring states for economic development projects. According to Iowa Economic Development Authority, the program played a key role in retaining 1,258 jobs and creating 1,946 jobs, and fueled $389 million in private investment in Sioux City. Carlin noted South Dakota and Nebraska have good business climates and state economic packages, so it is good for a border spot like Sioux City to have the tools to compete for business developments. SIOUX CITY | Sioux City leaders said Thursday they are resigned to Iowa lawmakers ending the use of automated traffic enforcement cameras on state-controlled highways, like the five such cameras the city is fighting in court to keep. If the devices are banned, the state should give municipalities protection from future class-action lawsuits related to past use of the cameras, Mayor Bob Scott told Sioux City area legislators. The mayor said such legal protection would be "imperative," so the next decade wouldn't be spent by Iowa cities fending off lawsuits by disgruntled people who got speeding tickets for driving actions caught on cameras. "It is a very heavily litigated area...I think we would be successful in a class-action lawsuit, but we really don't want to find out," City Attorney Nicole Dubois said. The cameras have been controversial since the city partnered with a private out-of-state contractor, Redflex Traffic Systems, to install them starting in 2010. The Iowa Department of Transportation last year ordered the city to remove two mobile speed cameras on Interstate 29 and three red light cameras at two intersections on state-operated roads. The state found that not all cameras led to a reduction in crashes, the citys main justification for installing them. The DOT agreed to allow them to remain operating while legal challenges by Sioux City and Iowa cities worked their way through the court systems. The city's other six red-light cameras are on city streets and not subject to the state agency's rules. Critics contend the automated system, which takes a photo of the license plates of motorists who speed or run red lights and then send a citation to the registered owner of the vehicle, are an affront to civil liberties and a revenue grab by the city. Proponents defend them as a legitimate way to police highways and make them safer through enforcement of posted speed limits. State Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, the incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he intends to push legislation aggressively to ban the cameras, and predicted the legislation would become law early in next year's legislative session. The issue surfaced Thursday during Sioux City's annual Legislative Day, which brought four local lawmakers to City Hall to hear the city's 2017 legislative priorities. Scott and Dubois framed their speed-camera comments in the context of local control, contending city should have jurisdiction over its roadways. "For you new legislators, I am a home rule guy," Scott told the legislators. "...We are not naive, (the cameras) are probably going to go away." None of the lawmakers present -- state Sens. Bill Anderson, R-Pierson, and Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, and Rep.-elect Jim Carlin, R-Sioux City, and Rep.-elect Tim Kacena, D-Sioux City -- addressed the speed cameras issue during the forum. But they later fleshed out their positions in interviews with the Journal. Anderson said constituents who have spoken with him about the cameras overwhelmingly dislike them. "A vast majority would like them gone," Anderson said. Bertrand added, "I think the speed limit cameras are going to go away." Kacena, a retired Sioux City firefighter, said he supports keeping the cameras, because they are a good tool for the police department to safely enforce speed limits. Scott said it is dangerous to travel I-29, particularly amid the long years of reconstruction that have made the lanes tight to navigate. He said he doesn't like the existing situation where police are "risking lives" to try to enforce speed limits when many drivers are going 11 to 15 miles per hour above the posted limits, typically 55 mph and 65 mph. Police Chief Doug Young concurred: "Logistics are terrible out there for traditional law enforcement out there on I-29." The cameras have generated millions of dollars in revenues for the city. In fiscal year 2015, the city took in $446,000 from the red-light cameras and $510,000 from the I-29 speed cameras. Scott and City Councilman Pete Groetken, a retired Sioux City police officer, spoke against the perception that the ticket revenue from speed cameras is a money grab for the city. Groetken said people dislike the cameras, to the point they are "an offensive thing." "It has always been a traffic safety issue...This provides a safer community for people to drive," Groetken said. Scott noted the city has stopped using camera tickets revenue for operating expenses and recently kept them for police department needs, such as with repairs to the downtown station. He added that the ticket fee has almost been cut in half from the initial amount of about $200. "If it were about money, we'd have kept it up there," Scott said. The city began installing red-light cameras in 2009, then speed cameras followed. Dubois said nothing the Legislature does about cameras on state highways will impact the city's plans to continuing using red-light cameras on city streets. In years past, bills to outlaw cameras on state highways have come out of the Iowa House and sent to the Senate only to be stopped by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs. Gronstal, however, was defeated in the Nov. 8 election by Republican Dan Dawson, one of several Democratic losses that also means Republicans will have the majority in the Senate. "We've had the votes before; the only reason it didn't go through was because the Senate majority leader wouldn't let it come up for a vote," Zaun said. With a clearer path, Zaun foresees the bill finding its way onto the governor's desk after clearing the Senate and House next month. Zaun said Gov. Terry Branstad likely will still be in office by the time a bill comes around because of the lengthy confirmation process for Branstad's appointment to become the ambassador to China. Ben Hammes, communications director for Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, confirmed that should a bill come before Branstad is confirmed as ambassador, he would sign it. Quad-City Times reporter Devan Patel contributed to this story. SIOUX CITY | The timing is nigh, as snow is expected to begin falling in Siouxland by Friday afternoon, according to the forecast of the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Weather service officials estimate the snow to begin at 2 p.m. in Northwest Iowa. The weather could present challenges over the weekend, first with snow, then with a blast of frigid cold on Saturday and Sunday, when temperatures could bottom out at 20 degrees below zero. Therefore, the area will pivot from a Winter Weather Advisory to a Wind Chill Warning. The advisory runs from 3 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday, then the Wind Chill Warning runs from noon Saturday to noon Sunday. Wind chill values could reach 32 degrees below zero. The Wind Chill Advisory covers all Siouxland counties in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska. The predicted snowfall amounts vary over the counties, with up to four inches by Saturday morning in a south tier of counties running east from Sioux City in Woodbury County. Higher amounts could be seen in the north in counties toward the Minnesota state line, where five inches of snow may land through midday Saturday. The most snow from the system is expected north of a line running from Sioux Falls, S.D. east to the Minnesota/Iowa state line. The South Sioux City Fire Department in a Facebook post urged people to be cautious with activities with the arrival of the storm: "Winter storms moving into the area on Friday. Adjust your travel plans accordingly!!" Some postponements of Friday evening activities in South Dakota were trickling in in the morning. The gymnastics meet involving Vermillion High School has been postponed. STORM LAKE, Iowa | A Storm Lake man has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young girl during a six-year period. Miguel Saldana-Ortiz, 34, pleaded guilty in Buena Vista County District Court to two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of lascivious acts with a child. According to terms of a plea agreement, Saldana-Ortiz will receive a 30-year prison sentence. Sentencing was set for Jan. 30. Single counts of second-degree sexual abuse and child endangerment will be dismissed. According to court documents, Saldana-Ortiz had sexual contact with the girl from Dec. 20, 2008, through Dec. 19, 2014. The girl was under the age of 12 when the sexual abuse began, court documents said. If you were old enough to tie your shoes Feb. 20, 1962, then you almost surely remember Marine Col. John H. Glenn Jr. entering the history books by becoming the first American to orbit the Earth. During that flight, Americans, watching on their black-and-white television sets, held their collective breath after reports that there was trouble in the fiberglass heat shield of Glenn's tiny capsule. If that heat shield had not been in its exact position during re-entry, Glenn quite simply would have been incinerated. Upon Glenn's safe return, President John F. Kennedy flew to Cape Canaveral to welcome him back. Pablo Picasso, no major fan of America or Americans, exclaimed, "I am as proud of him as if he were my brother." The biggest ticker tape parade in New York history followed. Glenn was invited to address a joint session of Congress. Schools, babies, highways and airports were named after Glenn, who continues, after his death at 95, as an enduring American hero. Let me testify as someone who was fortunate enough to know him for almost a half-century. John Glenn was absolutely the genuine article. He loved his country, the Marine Corps and one woman, the thoroughly admirable Annie Glenn, to whom he was married and devoted for more than 73 years. Glenn was one of Ohio's U.S. senators for 24 years. The difference between the grown-ups and the adolescents in public life is simple: The adolescents want to be something, whereas the grown-ups want to do something. What made this American hero exceptional was that he, unlike so many who seek high office, never needed a daily ego fix from media affirmation. He already knew what it was to be a living legend. Glenn only wanted to make a difference. Nobody on Capitol Hill worked harder than Glenn on the critical but unglamorous issue of nuclear nonproliferation. Committed to strengthening government research and higher education, he steadfastly opposed the export of U.S. nuclear technology. That independent inspectors general are now appointed in all federal agencies is a tribute to Glenn's efforts. A personal reminiscence: On May 4, 1974, I was almost certain that Glenn would someday be elected president. That was just three days before the end of an acrimonious Democratic primary battle, when Glenn debated his opponent, the appointed U.S. senator Howard Metzenbaum, who, in that anti-Vietnam War environment, had faulted "Col. Glenn" for never having "met a payroll." The Glenn camp accused Metzenbaum of charging that Glenn had never held a job. At the Cleveland debate, Glenn said: "I spent 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I was through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different occasions. I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook; it was my life that was on the line. ... "I ask you to go with me, as I went the other day, out to a veterans hospital. Look those men out there, with their mangled bodies, in the eye and tell them they didn't hold a job. You go with me to any gold star mother and you look her in the eye and you tell her that her son did not hold a job. ... "You go with me on Memorial Day coming up and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery -- where I have more friends than I like to remember -- and you watch those waving flags. You stand there and you think about this nation and you tell me that those people didn't have a job. "I tell you, Howard Metzenbaum, you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men -- some men -- who held a job. And they required a dedication to purpose and a love of country and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what has made this nation possible. I've held a job, Howard." What followed was an uninterrupted 22-second standing ovation and a thumping Glenn victory, which led to his four honorable terms in the Senate. This good man from New Concord, Ohio, never made it to the White House. But boy, did John Glenn serve his country! Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Offices and Retail around the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at 13.7bn (British Land share: 10.3bn) as at 30 September 2020 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies. Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles - Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long term performance. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 65% of our portfolio. Our Retail portfolio is focused on retail parks and shopping centres, and accounts for 31% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 53 acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London. Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our places, which are designed to meet high sustainability standards, become part of local communities, provide opportunities for skills development and employment and promote wellbeing. In April 2016 British Land received the Queen's Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development, the UK's highest accolade for business success for economic, social and environmental achievements over a period of five years. Carnival Corporation & plc is a leisure travel company operating a fleet of cruise ships, hotels, and resorts with international destinations. Brands under the Carnival Corporation umbrella include Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America, P&O Cruises, Seaborn, Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, and Cunard. The companys goal is to provide extraordinary vacations at an exceptional value. As of 2022, the company laid claim to nearly half of the global cruising market share with several new ships in the works. Carnival Cruise Line was launched in 1972 with one second-hand ship and a tank of fuel. The first port of call was San Juan, Puerto Rico, but soon more were added. The original growth strategy included a festive atmosphere, features and amenities unlike any other cruise line at the time. Slow to start, the growth strategy shifted into overdrive in 1980 when Carnival shocked the world by building its own ship. The Tropicale became an iconic name in the cruising industry and sparked a wave of shipbuilding that is still underway. The companys growth hit a new stride in 1987 following the IPO which floated 20% of the company on the open market. The proceeds from the IPO allowed the company to embark on a voyage of acquisition and now Carnival is the worlds largest travel and leisure business. Today, Carnival Corporations 87 ships visit approximately 700 ports worldwide and employ more than 120,000 people while serving more than 13 million guests annually for a total of 85 million passenger cruise days per year. Net revenue, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, peaked out at over $6.5 billion annually. Carnival Cruise Line is the companys largest brand serving guests on all coasts of North America. The brand's 22 ships make 1500 voyages per year with trips ranging from 2 days to 3 weeks and ports of call from the Caribbean to Alaska. The company's largest ship is named Panorama and can accommodate more than 4,000 passengers. Carnivals 9 brands provide access to a wide range of cruising styles and destinations including the Caribbean, Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, England, and ports in Asia. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has offices around the world. The company also has the distinction of being the only company included in both the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 indices. The following companies are subsidiares of Laboratory Co. of America: 1957285 Ontario Inc. dba Quality Underwriting Services, 2089729 Ontario Inc., 2248848 Ontario Inc., 3065619 Nova Scotia Company, 3257959 Nova Scotia Company, 8165335 Canada Inc., 8348596 Canada Inc., 896988 Ontario Limited, 9279-3280 Quebec Inc., Accupath Diagnostic Laboratories Inc., Assets of Pathology Inc, Beacon LBS IPA Inc., Beacon Laboratory Benefit Solutions Inc., CannAmm GP Inc., CannAmm Limited Partnership, Center for Disease Detection International, Center for Disease Detection LLC, Centrex Clinical Laboratories Inc., Chiltern, Clearstone Central Laboratories (U.S.) Inc., Clearstone Holdings (International) Ltd., Clinical Outreach Laboratory Services, Clipper Holdings Inc., Colorado Coagulation Consultants Inc., Colorado Laboratory Services LLC, Correlagen Diagnostics Inc., Covance Inc., Curalab Inc., Cytometry Associates Inc., Czura Thornton (Hong Kong) Limited, DCL Acquisition Inc., DCL Medical Laboratories LLC, DCL Sub LLC, DIANON Systems Inc., DL Holdings Limited Partnership, Decision Diagnostics L.L.C. (aka DaVinici/Medicorp LLC), Diagnostic Services Inc., DynaLifeDX, Dynacare - Gamma Laboratory Partnership, Dynacare Company, Dynacare G.P. Inc., Dynacare Holdco LLC, Dynacare Laboratories Inc., Dynacare Laboratories Limited Partnership, Dynacare Northwest Inc., Dynacare Realty Inc., DynalifeDX Infrastructure Inc., Envigo's nonclinical contract research services business, Esoterix Genetic Counseling LLC, Esoterix Genetic Laboratories LLC, Esoterix Inc., Execmed Health Services Inc., FirstSource Laboratory Solutions Inc., GDML Medical Laboratories Inc, Gamma Dynacare Central Medical Laboratories GP Inc., Gamma Dynacare Central Medical Laboratory Limited Partnership, HHLA Lab-In-An-Envelope LLC, Health Testing Centers Inc., Health Trans Services Inc., Home Healthcare Laboratory of America LLC, IDX Pathology Inc., Impact Genetics Corporation, Impact Genetics Inc., Kaleida LabCorp LLC, Lab Delivery Service of New York City Inc., LabCorp BVBA, LabCorp Belgium Holdings Inc., LabCorp Central Laboratories (Canada) Inc., LabCorp Central Laboratories (China) Inc., LabCorp Colorado Inc., LabCorp Development Company, LabCorp Employer Services Inc., LabCorp Health System Diagnostics LLC, LabCorp Indiana Inc., LabCorp Japan G.K., LabCorp Limited, LabCorp Michigan Inc., LabCorp Nebraska Inc., LabCorp Neon Ltd., LabCorp Neon Switzerland S.a.r.l., LabCorp Specialty Testing Billing Service Inc., LabCorp Specialty Testing Group Inc., LabCorp Staffing Solutions Inc., LabCorp Tennessee LLC, LabCorp UK Holdings Ltd., LabWest Inc., Laboratoire Bio-Medic Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America, Lifecodes Corporation, LipoScience Inc., Litholink Corporation, MEDTOX Scientific Inc., MNG Laboratories, MedAxio Insurance Medical Services GP Inc., MedAxio Insurance Medical Services LP, Medical Neurogenitics LLC, Medtox Diagnostics Inc., Medtox Laboratories Inc., Monogram Biosciences Inc., Monogram Biosciences UK Limited, Myriad Autoimmunes Vectra Testing Business, NWT Inc., National Genetics Institute, New Brighton Business Center LLC, New Imaging Diagnostics LLC, New Molecular Diagnostics Ventures LLC, Orchid Cellmark ULC, Ovia Health, PA Labs Inc., Paclab LLC, Path Lab Incorporated, Pathology Associates Medical Lab LLC, Pee Dee Pathology Associates Inc., Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc., Persys Technology Inc., Pixel by LabCorp, Princeton Diagnostic Laboratories of America Inc., Protedyne Corporation, SW/DL LLC, Saint Josephs-PAML LLC, Sequenom Biosciences (India) Pvt. Ltd., Sequenom Inc, Sequenom Inc., Tandem Labs Inc., Toxikon Corporation, Tri-Cities Laboratory LLC, Viro-Med Laboratories Inc., Visiun, and Yakima Medical Arts Inc.. Read More Labour December 16, 2016 Irvin Jim South Africas biggest trade union, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, held its 10th National Congress from 12-15 December 2016 in Cape Town. This statement was written on 7 December. 1. This Workers Parliament could not be meeting at a more critical time for the world working class in general and the South African working class in particular. All over the world, the workers are under attack from employers who, as always, are making us, the working class, pay for their global crisis of monopoly capitalism. They are destroying jobs, cutting wages, attacking trade unions and reducing spending on essential social services. 2. The foundation of South African racist capitalism is the super-exploitation, impoverishment and unemployment of, and extreme racial inequalities against, the majority black and African working class. The ongoing global crisis of the capitalist system simply worsens these already pre-existing horrible conditions of the black and African working class. Congress will be sending a clear warning that unless these are urgently attended to, the country is headed for a violent class and racial confrontation, as so many voices have warned already. 3. Jobs, especially in manufacturing, are becoming ever more precarious. Whole industries like steel are in danger of disappearing, throwing thousands more on to the streets. The shocking employment statistics released on 22 November 2016 confirm beyond any doubt that South Africas economy is in deep crisis. Unemployment rose to a record 27.1% in the third quarter of 2016 up from 26.6% in the second quarter and the highest since 2003! High Unemployment 4. The expanded rate, which includes those who did not look for work, dropped, but only by a tiny 0.1 percentage point to 36.3%. South Africa now has the highest unemployment rate among more than 60 emerging and developed countries. 5. Of particular concern to Numsas members is that the manufacturing sector suffered the most job losses 91,000. Quite apart from the human misery this level of unemployment causes, it adds up to a colossal waste of potential for the 5.8-million unemployed people to create wealth and to supply essential goods and deliver services to the poor. 6. An inevitable consequence of these levels of unemployment is that employed workers will have more unemployed family members to support from their meagre wages. The pathetic proposed R3500 minimum wage will do virtually nothing to improve this lack of income for millions of South Africans, especially in those households where nobody has a job. It also encourages employers to bully their workers into even worse levels of exploitation, using the threat of the sack to quell any resistance. 7. What makes all this even worse is the countrys white racist capitalisms grotesque level of inequality. An international survey of CEOs pay by Bloomberg revealed that South African CEOs (who are still predominantly white and male) are the seventh-highest paid in the world receiving more than those in Norway, Spain, Australia, France and Japan. These, like the six with higher-paid CEOs, are all rich countries in which the working class is far better off than in SA. 8. This shows that South Africa is now by far the most unequal society in the world. CEOs pay exceeded that of the average person by a greater ratio than in any of the 25 countries Bloomberg measured. The income of the average CEO is 541 times more the income of an average South African, as measured by the gross domestic product per person. Only second-placed India, with a differential of 483 times comes anywhere close to SAs. 9. The most important conclusion from these horrifying statistics on unemployment and inequality, which will be drawn by delegates to next weeks Numsa Congress, is that both are an inherent feature of the racist monopoly capitalist system, based on the super-exploitation of the African working class. 10. This crisis also makes building strong unions more vital than ever and the National Congress will be a platform for Numsa members to plot a fight-back strategy, to build a powerful, united army of workers to resist the horrendous levels of unemployment, poverty and unemployment and to fight for a living wage. COSATU Moves to the Right 11. Delegates however will not forget that they will be meeting just two years since Numsa was expelled from the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), because of our opposition to the federation leaderships move to the right, which saw it become a mouthpiece for an ANC/SACP government which had abandoned the Freedom Charter in favour of an unbridled neoliberal, free-market white monopoly capitalist system. 12. The COSATU leadership has colluded with the ANC neoliberal government around the national minimum wage. Numsa regards Cyril Ramaphosas proposal for R3500 a month as a legitimization of slavery wages, which would leave millions in poverty but safeguard the interests of the exploiting capitalist class. 13. All this has left workers even more impatient to replace the now totally discredited and ideologically bankrupt COSATU with a new anti-imperialist, socialist, democratic, independent, militant workers federation. Numerous new breakaway unions have been formed and we are working with them in the Steering Committee for a New Federation. We have warmly welcomed Fawus historic decision to leave COSATU. The latest Numsa Central Committee agreed that we must continue to discuss with larger unions like Amcu, some other Nactu affiliates, and some COSATU affiliates who were part of The Nine which have still to commit to the new federation. 14. The ANC is in a massive crisis, over the split around whether President Jacob Zuma should resign. Numsa delegates next week will remember that three years ago Numsa became the first to make the same demand, at its Special National Congress (SNC) in 2013. It called for President Jacob Zuma to resign with immediate effect because of his administrations pursuit of neoliberal policies such as the NDP, e-tolls, labour brokers, youth wage subsidy and the track record of his administration which is steeped in corruption, patronage and nepotism. 15. The evidence for this corruption and looting of state resources was clear then and has grown over the past three years. We have been uncompromising in condemning the bribers and looters, but have always said that Zumas resignation will not in itself change anything fundamental. Zuma and the Gupta family are no worse than hundreds of other capitalists and state functionaries who get rich through corruption, embezzlement and crime, but they are just the most blatant, crude and, to the ruling class, most embarrassing examples. 16. It is the whole capitalist system which is immoral and corrupt said Numsa in its 13 September 2016 statement: Reports appear regularly of systematic tax evasion, money-laundering and price-fixing by big business. Millions of rands are leaving the country as investors put their cash where they will make the quickest and biggest profits, with no regard for the welfare of the people, the environment and least of all the conditions of their workers who produce the wealth in the first place. Big business is immorally sitting on more than R1.5-trillion in the banks and refusing to invest it in the economy Capitalism is immorality and corruption, period. 17. We shall campaign for the transformation of this trillion rand retirement industry, so that we use that money, which comes from the workers, in the interests of workers and the working class. 18. Numsa will not be joining the chorus demanding that Zuma must be replaced by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is portrayed as a representative of clean, constitutional and honest capitalism. Numsa can never support a capitalist exploiter who is seeking to protect his own huge investments and the interests of white monopoly capital by trying to send a message to the monopoly capitalist rating agencies that the South African economy will continue to be based on the free market, and the super-exploitation of black and African labour and that this should provide solid reasons why the country should be not be down-graded. 19. We are convinced nothing can reverse the decline of the ANC/SACP/COSATU alliance. 20. The South African working class, especially the black and African working class, is crying out for revolutionary change, but sees that currently no party is capable of bringing this about. The African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and most of the other parties are basically the same, because of their continued insistence of operating within the confines of white monopoly capitalism. Mass-Based Workers Vanguard Party 21. This gives us the opportunity to build the genuine revolutionary socialist political party, rooted in the working class, which was agreed to at the unions 2013 SNC, whose view of the degeneration of the ANC, SACP and COSATU has been vindicated by subsequent events. 22. Congress is sure to insist that we move swiftly, and more visibly, to build a democratically controlled, mass-based workers vanguard party, with a programme based on Marxism-Leninism, the dictatorship of the proletariat and the abolition of capitalism, so that workers have an alternative party to represent their interests. 23. Congress will call for the full implementation of the Freedom Charters call for the national wealth of our country, the heritage of all South Africans, to be restored to the people, for the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the banks and monopoly industry to be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole and for all other industry and trade to be controlled to assist the well-being of the people. Although not a specifically socialist document, it contains many calls which the new party must incorporate as transitional demands into its socialist programme, alongside our central demand for the democratic nationalization of monopoly industries, mineral wealth and the banks. 24. The Congress will also want to revisit the post 1994 South African constitution which ensured that South Africas white racist capitalist colonial ownership of the economy continued, with a few black faces being co-opted, to guarantee imperialist and white control of the economy and society of South Africa. The post 1994 South African constitution guarantees that white monopoly capital and the white population still own and control the land and the economy and keep the African majority at the bottom of the food chain economically marginalized and dispossessed. 25. Next weeks National Congress will be an historic opportunity for Numsa members to launch a counter-offensive, to fight for a living minimum wage, oppose any limitation on the right of workers to strike, take forward the campaign for a new workers federation and proclaim the birth of the new revolutionary workers party. 26. Congress will debate and decide on organizational campaigns to fight head-on attempts by employer organizations such as NEASA to liquidate centralized bargaining and destroy bargaining councils. 27. As a Marxist-Leninist inspired trade union, we expect our Congress in Cape Town to emerge with active international solidarity campaigns to confront the logic of transnational companies and the imperialist agenda. 28. We remain convinced that the working class will always be victims of the ruling class unless they learn to link the fight to end white racist monopoly control of land, the economy and society and therefore end racism, and their fight for a living wage to the struggle for freedom from colonial and white monopoly capitalism and for the socialist transformation of society, nothing much will come out of their struggles! 29. We wish all Congress delegates a safe trip to and from Congress! Secretariat International Report pdf slides. The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless. The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well. By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism. Eric White, age 40, is wanted for intentionally setting fire to his home after an argument with his wife. The home was occupied by his wife and children at the time. (MVA file photo) CHARLES COUNTY, Md. ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. (Dec. 15, 2016)Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office and the Charles County Sheriff's Office are investigating a house fire at 6706 Coati Court in Waldorf of Charles County. At the time of the fire, the house was occupied by Ms. Leandrea White and her children. Ms. White was alerted to the fire after hearing loud noises coming from the first floor. The investigation has revealed the fire was intentionally set by Eric White, age 40, her husband, after a domestic dispute occurred. Waldorf and local volunteer fire departments were alerted to the fire around 6:57 this morning. The fire occurred in a two story, single family dwelling and caused approximately $35,000 in damages. Ms. White and children have been displaced due to the fire and are being assisted by family and friends.As a result of the investigation, Eric White has been charged with First Degree Arson, Attempted Second Degree Murder, First Degree Malicious Burning and Reckless Endangerment. At this time, investigators are attempting to locate Eric White. Anyone with any information in reference to this fire and/or the whereabouts of Eric White are asked to call the State Fire Marshal's Office at 443-550-6820 or the Maryland State Police at 301-392-1200.(Dec. 15, 2016)The State Fire Marshal's Office was requested to respond for a fire investigation at Queen Anne Park Apartment Complex located at 46759 Marshal Blvd in Lexington Park of St. Mary's County. The Bay District and local volunteer fire departments were alerted to the fire earlier today around 9:32 am. The two alarm fire was extinguished within 30 minutes. An occupant, identified as Ineisha Young, was awakened by noise coming from the rear deck of her apartment. Ms. Young was confronted with a loud explosion and fire on the deck of her second floor apartment. Ms. Young, her four year old daughter and other occupants of the apartment building were able to escape without injury. Several occupants have been displaced and are being assisted by the American Red Cross. Damages due to the fire are estimated to be around $350,000. The investigation has revealed two individuals were witnessed fleeing from the rear of the apartment building towards the wooded area.Anyone with information in reference to this fire and the identification of the individuals is urged to call the State Fire Marshal's Office, Southern Region at 443-550-6820 or the Anonymous Arson Hotline at 1-800-492-7529. (AP) Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from his duties after a judicial panel found he urged defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark same-sex marriage decision, is appealing his lengthy suspension. In a 95-page brief filed Tuesday, his attorney argued Moore shouldn't have been removed because he never instructed probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples. The attorney also argued that the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, the state panel that hears complaints against judges, exceeded its authority by suspending Moore for the remainder of his term. It requires a unanimous vote to remove a judge from office. Moore argued the lengthy suspension is a "de facto removal" without the required unanimous vote. "There is no difference between removal and a permanent suspension. Removal requires a 9-0 vote, which the COJ admittedly lacked,'' the document said. It noted that the longest suspension previously handed down by the court was for six months. Moore is trying to win his position back after the ruling that he violated standards of judicial ethics with his actions regarding gay marriage. In January -- six months after the nation's high court ruled gays and lesbians have a fundamental right to marry -- Moore told 68 state probate judges that a 2015 Alabama Supreme Court order to refuse marriage licenses to gay couples remained in ``full force and effect.'' A federal judge, meanwhile, ordered probate judges to stop enforcing the state's gay-marriage ban in the wake of that landmark ruling. The Court of the Judiciary, in ruling against Moore, said he was urging judges to defy clearly established law. Moore disputed the allegation, saying his order to probate judges was merely a "status update" to let them know that the Alabama Supreme Court order had not officially been lifted. Moore also said he specifically told probate judges that he could not give them guidance in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision. "Chief Justice Moore did not direct or order probate judges to violate any federal court order or precedent,'' Moore's attorneys wrote. The president of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which filed one of the initial complaints against Moore, said the court did the right thing by removing Moore from his duties. "The facts of this case are crystal clear. As Alabama chief justice, Roy Moore made a decision to advocate for his personal religious beliefs rather than fulfill his oath to uphold the United States Constitution. He told the state's 68 probate judges to violate a federal court order,'' SPLC President Richard Cohen said. Moore's appeal is being heard by a special panel because his former colleagues on the Alabama Supreme Court recused themselves from the case. Moore was removed as chief justice in 2003 after he refused to obey a federal court order to remove a 5,200-pound Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. He was re-elected to the bench in 2012, a victory he described as a vindication. He will be beyond the state age limit for judicial candidates when his term ends. President-Elect Donald J. Trumps pick to head the Department of Interior has not exactly endeared himself to the LGBT community. Ryan Zinke, a U.S. Congressman from Montana, was nominated by Trump on Thursday to lead the department responsible for preserving and protecting Americas natural resources and land. In his re-election campaign for the U.S. House, Zinke made a controversial comment during an October debate against challenger Denise Juneau, a lesbian. Responding to a question concerning how he would protect LGBT rights, Zinke said he didnt mind if you want to be a lesbian. The answer produced boos from the audience but it was not clear if those boos were in response to Zinke accepting homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle or the implication that homosexuality is a choice. A former U.S. Navy Seal, Zinke, 55, grew up in Montana, and is an avid outdoorsman. In the race for Montanas lone seat in Congress, Zinke, a Republican, received 280,472 votes (56 percent) to 201,758 votes (41 percent) for Juneau, a Democrat. Zinke cited the Constitutions freedom of expression and religion in answering the question on LGBT rights. And so I do support you if you want to be lesbian, you want to be Muslim, you want to be whatever, he said. On the Human Rights Campaigns most recent legislative scorecard Zinke received a 0 score. Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza. Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres. Wed, 26.10.22 - 12:09 Another blast of heat at the end of the month is likely to break the record in Spain With only a few days left in... Bir Lehlu (Liberated Territories), December 14, 2016 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Gali, has called, in a message, the United Nations to take its responsibility on the decolonization of the Sahara Western, the last colony in Africa. In the same regard, the President of the Republic stressed that the decolonization of Western Sahara requires a rapid intervention by the UN to guarantee the protection of human rights in the Occupied Territories, noting that MINURSO still without the mechanisms to report and monitor human rights. Besides, POLISARIO SG indicated that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights did not carry out any mission in the SO during the year 2016. The Saharawi president said that the responsibility of the UN includes the release of the Saharawi political prisoners of Gdeim Izik, Saharawi political prisoner Embarek Edaudi, Yahia Mohamed Hafed and all Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons, as well as reveal the fate of more than 651 Saharawi disappeared victims of the Moroccan repression policy. The President of the Republic demanded to stop the systematic looting of the Saharawi natural resources and the annulment of any agreement affecting land and territorial waters of Western Sahara. SPS 125/090/TRA Rosecroft's fall meet, highlighted by the inaugural Potomac Pace, came to a conclusion Thursday evening with drivers Russell Foster and Roger Plante Jr. sharing in the driving title and Brian Burton taking the training crown. For Plante Jr., the driver's title was his first at Rosecroft. "It's great," Plante Jr., said. "It's a lot of hard work and just the right horses. You appreciate the good horses you drive. It's a big plus. Diamondkeeper is just a great horse, week after week. The sire stakes were a lot of fun, too. We were lucky to win a few of them." For Foster, it was his second consecutive title at Rosecroft. He shared leading driving honours in the spring with Jonathan Roberts. "It means the world," said Foster, who heads to Dover before returning to Rosecroft in March. Burton's first training title at Rosecroft was special for the Maryland native. We worked hard all week to make it happen," Burton said. "Winning the first race [with Real Passing Lady] was like hitting a home run. It's all a collective effort." Burton said he's optimistic about the future of Maryland's Standardbred industry. The Stronach Group, parent company of the Maryland Jockey Club which purchased Rosecroft over the summer, plans on extending Rosecroft's race days from two to three days a week next year. "I think you will see better horses going three days a week," he said. "I think you will see horsemen invest in better horses as well." Rosecroft's fall meet featured the inaugural running of the $100,000 Potomac Pace, a race won by All Bets Off that also featured Shamballa, Mach It So, Wakizashi Hanover and Keystone Victory. It was the first race of significance at Rosecroft in nearly 10 years. "Our first meet at Rosecroft was extremely gratifying," said Sal Sinatra, president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club. "We were pleased with the response to the Potomac Pace and we're extremely happy with the support from horseman to the Potomac Pace and also our program. Our fans have provided us some wonderful feedback on how to improve our product and our facility. We're looking forward to expanding our schedule and continue improving the customer experience at Rosecroft." (Rosecroft Raceway) Timeline of events Contact: Liberty Counsel, 800-671-1776, Media@LC.org, Press Kit CARMEL, Ind., Dec. 16, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- "As we celebrate the anniversary of the Bill of Rights, the Carmel Teens for Life Club learned that free speech cannot be taken for granted," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents the high school students who lead the club. On Monday, December 5, 2016, Liberty Counsel sent an initial demand letter with photo attachments, outlining the unconstitutional censorship of Carmel Teens for Life by Carmel High School administrators, which removed their pre-approved poster after a student complained. The letter requested a response by December 12, 2016. District counsel responded via phone on Tuesday, December 6, and assured Liberty Counsel that the District was taking the letter's concerns seriously. In addition, District counsel sent a request to the superintendent to obtain the District's side of the story, and stated that a response before December 12 was unlikely. Liberty Counsel agreed to extend the timeline for a response to at least December 23, before further action would be taken. However, the District summoned the club's leaders three days later on Friday, December 9, 2016, demanding that they sign an agreement that they would not seek outside legal counsel or parental input, that they would have to receive prior approval for "all communications," and that they not use the word "abortion" in any communications, including Facebook. There was also a threat to withdraw teacher sponsorship if the teens did not sign the "Agreement." Liberty Counsel sent an email Monday, December 12, at 2:16 p.m., demanding a response and an explanation. However, Liberty Counsel received no response for over 24 hours. Liberty Counsel placed a phone call to District counsel on Tuesday, December 13, at 3:36 p.m., seeking an explanation. However, District counsel was unavailable. With counsel unresponsive, Liberty Counsel informed the media regarding Carmel High School's actions at 4:55 p.m. The Friday, December 9 attempt to strong arm the club behind-the-scenes was a game changer that should have received an immediate response from District. "It is highly improper for school officials to demand students forgo their rights and not seek legal counsel or parental input," said Staver. "The District has until Monday to correct course. The District's actions are shocking. Instead of supporting the Bill of Rights, the District has trampled them. Students do not shed their rights to free speech when they enter the schoolhouse gate," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. ACLJ Launches Global Effort to Free Christian Pastor - A U.S. Citizen - Imprisoned in Turkey Because of His Christian Faith Pastor Andrew Brunson, a U.S. citizen, is imprisoned in Turkey because of his Christian faith Contact: For Print: Gene Kapp, 757-575-9520; For Broadcast: Alison Geist or Anna Hutsell, 770-813-0000; www.aclj.org WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /Standard Newswire/ -- The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is active in defending persecuted Christians around the globe, has announced it is representing the family of American Pastor Andrew Brunson a U.S. citizen from Black Mountain, North Carolina who is imprisoned in Turkey because of his Christian faith. Pastor Andrew has been in a detention center for the last two months and just days ago was transferred to a prison. The ACLJ is launching a global campaign to free Pastor Andrew. "We are representing the family of an American Pastor who is facing grave danger in a Turkish prison where he is being held simply because of his Christian beliefs," said Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ. "The government of Turkey led by an Islamic party has begun increased crackdowns on Christians, and Pastor Andrew, if convicted, may face years in prison based on extremely serious and false charges. We are launching a global campaign to call attention to his plight demanding that Turkey a NATO member release Pastor Andrew without delay." The family of Pastor Andrew Brunson released this statement: "Andrew's strong faith has always been at the center of his life and that has never been more evident than his pastorship in Turkey. His love and concern for the people of Turkey is unmistakable, as he has dedicated 23 years of his life serving them. That is what makes his imprisonment and the unfounded charges so unbelievable and shocking. This development is not only troubling but places him in grave danger. We are working to secure his freedom and will not rest until Andrew is free. We're grateful for the support of the ACLJ and others who are working to demand that Turkey release Andrew without delay." Pastor Andrew's daughter, Jacqueline Brunson, an 18-year-old college student in North Carolina, released this statement about her father's plight. "It is both troubling and disturbing that my father, who has called Turkey home for the last 23 years, is imprisoned without cause. I grew up in Turkey and saw firsthand how much he loves Turkey and the Turkish people. He has exhibited nothing but love, mercy and grace during his time there. Our family is shocked by this latest development and we urge the government to release him immediately. The best Christmas present our family could receive this year is the release of my father." On the morning of October 7, 2016, Pastor Andrew was summoned to the local police station in Izmir, Turkey. He believed he would be receiving a long-awaited permanent residence card. Pastor Andrew, who is a U.S. citizen, has been living in Turkey for 23 years, running a Christian church with the full knowledge of local authorities. When he arrived at the police station, he was informed he was being deported based on being a "threat to national security" a common excuse for deportation in Turkey. It then became clear that he was being arrested and would be detained until deportation. Pastor Andrew was fingerprinted, searched, and officials confiscated personal affects including his phone. He was also denied a Bible. Instead of being deported, as he was originally told, he was held with no charges for 63 days, during which time he was denied access to an attorney. He spent part of this time in isolation. Then on December 8th, after being incarcerated for more than two months, the situation became worse. In the middle of the night, Pastor Andrew was taken to a counter-terrorism center in Izmir and then taken to court. He was questioned and now has been charged with "membership in an armed terrorist organization." The charging documents, however, do not present any evidence against him. A Turkish judge had the option to deport Pastor Andrew, release him with the condition that he sign-in with local authorities weekly, or imprison him. The judge decided to remand Pastor Andrew to prison. Family members say that Pastor Andrew has quietly and faithfully pastored churches in Turkey for nearly a quarter century. He has raised his family in Turkey, and has never been a member of an armed terrorist organization. Pastor Andrew remains in prison where he is awaiting trial and, if convicted of these false charges, could face years of imprisonment. The ACLJ represents the family of Pastor Andrew and is mobilizing its international resources including ACLJ-affiliated offices in the region seeking Pastor Andrew's freedom. The ACLJ is launching a global campaign to generate awareness of Pastor Andrew's plight and is calling on the U.S. State Department, as well as international organizations including the United Nations as well as NATO member countries to demand Turkey a NATO member release Pastor Andrew without delay. "As we approach Christmas a season of hope and promise we know that people around the world will stand with Pastor Andrew will be Pastor Andrew's voice supporting his fight for freedom and will join us in urging Turkey to release him immediately," said Sekulow. The ACLJ has been advocating for the protection of Christians and other religious minorities for years. The ACLJ also has been very active in working to bring an end to the persecution of Christians taking place in many parts of the world. Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, is based in Washington, D.C. and is online at www.aclj.org. The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie... Snowflake college students demanding sanctuary from student loans and final exams Students nationwide are asking their colleges to become sanctuary campuses for undocumented students. This means university administrators would have to ignore federal immigration laws by refusing to share information about undocumented students with immigration officials. Several schools have already declared themselves as being sanctuary campuses, including Portland State University, Reed College, and Colombia University. Students were interviewed at George Washington University by Campus Reform after a pro-sanctuary walk-out several weeks prior. The students questioned said that they were overwhelmingly in favor of their school becoming a sanctuary campus. Students said that its a great thing because undocumented students have a right to be attending school. Students also said that its very important for students to feel safe in their learning space. Since the students are suggesting that their administration should ignore federal law, Campus Reform also asked them if they wanted their campus to be a sanctuary from other laws too. What about a sanctuary campus where student loan laws dont affect you here? Campus Reform asked. Oh, absolutely, responded one student, while another agreed, saying, Yes, thatd be cool. Students were also alright with the school becoming a sanctuary from underage drinking laws. Students would feel safer if they could drink and party without fear of legal consequences. Some students went far enough to say the school shouldnt require final exams due to recent stress from the 2016 election. Schools been really stressful especially after the Trump election, one student vented. Like, its really hard to focus on your studies when theres so much else going on. Campus Reform only found one student who refused to support the idea of ignoring federal laws on campus. I dont believe in harboring criminals, said the student who voted for Donald Trump, I think, its against the law, we have to enforce federal law where it stands. Since the questions were posed to the students, its not a real indicator of something they are actively pursuing. Undocumented individuals who wish to learn have all the resources in the world available for them to do so. This includes libraries, the internet, and the ability to purchase the exact same textbooks used in college courses. Its crazy to suggest exemption from a final exam while also requesting the ability to and drink and party freely. The elections were stressful for everyone as are many things in life. Some people prefer to work hard and persevere rather than make excuses. Sources: CampusReform.org ZeroHedge.com The greatest examples of fake news are Obamas Iran deal lies and the fraudulent Obamacare promises German leader Angela Merkel met with President Obama during a November press conference in Berlin, where Obama lamented that the age of fake news stories is upon us. Obama observed that, In an age where there is so much active misinformation and its packaged very well If we are not serious about facts and whats true and whats not we cant discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems. If everything seems to be the same, no distinctions are made, then we wont know what to protect. We wont know what to fight for. We can lose so much of what weve gained . In the observation, Obama seems to ignore some of the heaviest abuses of media manipulation conducted by his own administration abuses which he has brazenly boasted about. Ben Rhodes, who is part of Obamas inner circle, is described by White House staffers as the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy aside from [Obama] himself. Rhodes can mind-meld with the president, which is why when Obama decided to negotiate the Iran nuclear deal, Rhodes sought to influence the media into supporting the effort, with little concern about how it got done. Rhodes launched a twitter account dedicated to delivering the facts and answering your questions about the deal and how it enhances American national security. Under the final negotiated deal, there is a path for Tehran to eventually acquire nuclear weapons. In May 2016, Rhodes boasted, The Obama administration cooked up a phony story to sell Americans on the Iranian nuke deal, lying that US officials were dealing with moderates in the Islamic theocracy who could be trusted to keep their word. Rhodes took credit for helping to push the belief that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was a moderate. He then tried to justify this by saying, The public would not have accepted the deal had it known that Iranian hard-liners were still calling the shots. There were also fraudulent Obamacare promises exposed by Jonathan Gruber. Obama sought to take advantage of the stupidity of the average American voter. Members of the Obama team knew all along that it was a tax. Sleight of hand focused on the Americans peoples concerns over rising healthcare costs was used to fool the American people into paying to cover the uninsured. Barack Obamas not a stupid man, okay? Gruber boasted. He knew when he was running for president that quite frankly the American public doesnt actually care that much about the uninsured. What the American public cares about is costs. And thats why even though the bill that they made is 90 percent health insurance coverage and 10 percent about cost control, all you ever hear people talk about is cost control. Sources: Breitbart.com WashingtonPost.com Community leaders breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as news spread that 800 union millworkers have ratified a new contract with KapStone Paper and Packaging, ending a two-year period of strife and uncertainty at the Longview mill. The seven-and-a-half-year agreement expires on May 31, 2024, and grants annual raises ranging between 2 percent and 3 percent per year. A signing bonus will be paid out at a later date. A high-deductible Kaiser Permanente health insurance plan and other benefits remained largely unchanged from previous offers the union had rejected, according to the union. Union leaders agreed to a membership vote on the offer after KapStone said it would rehire four workers the company fired for alleged misconduct during last years 12-day strike. Its been a long, emotional battle. Im sure there are a lot of people that are happy to have it over, and Im sure the happiest people out there are those guys who have been out of work for 16 months, said Kurt Gallow, president of Local 153 Association of Western Pulp and Paperworkers. The union declined to disclose the exact results of this weeks contract ratification vote. Local 153s bargaining board had unanimously recommended approving the offer. We are pleased with the outcome of the vote. The contract is a competitive agreement, both for the company and our union employees at Longview, Randy Nebel, President of KapStone Kraft Paper Corporation, said in a prepared statement. It provides us with greater stability at Longview to focus on building an even stronger business for our customers, employees and shareholders. Many observers were optimistic the settlement will bode well for the local economy, too. I think this allows everyone to take a deep breath and feel better that the economic situation of Longview and the county is still improving, said Bill Marcum, CEO of the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce. Im just thankful that it wrapped up before Christmas just to give the employees some stability and certainty of what to expect, said Ted Sprague, president of Cowlitz Economic Development Council. Over the two years of labor talks, some customers have delayed purchasing large items as they awaited the outcome of the labor dispute, said Mike Manchester, owner of Manchester Brothers, a Longview store that sells appliance, sporting goods and electronics. Ive had people say. Well I just dont know whats going to happen with the contract and I want to do this, but I want to make sure (to know) what our agreement with the company is, Manchester said Thursday. Longview Mayor Don Jensen said the agreement enables KapStone workers to plan ahead. They can buy cars or houses because they know the money is going to be there and the company (has more stability). It just works out well for everybody when you can settle a contract, Jensen said. But some observers said the talks had been ongoing for long that it was hard to tell if it still played a role in consumer purchases. KapStone contract talks have been ongoing for so long, but I havent heard any customers comment about it specifically, said Alec Chisholm, manager at the Longview Fred Meyer. Nevertheless, Chisholm hoped that it would reassure any worried customers. Now we know its resolved, I think the whole community can take a breath, Chisholm added. However, the company still has work to do to boost morale and restore positive labor relations at the mill, some union supporters said. Its good to have the contract resolved and the four workers back on the job, said Shawn Nyman, president of Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Central Labor Council. However, Nyman added, I think the time that it took to resolve this caused a lot of damage and harm in the community and to the folks that worked there. There were a lot of incidences, safety issues and concerns or grievances that couldnt be handled. So it couldnt have been a good environment for anybody to work in. While the contract will add stability to the mill, there are many other struggles ahead in the labor movement. Next year, the labor council will work to oppose right-to-work legislation and support Kelso and Longview teachers unions during contract talks next spring, Nyman noted. And AWPPW will still work to appeal a decision by administrative law judge who sided with the company that KapStone legally fired the four employees after the strike. Although the fired KapStone workers are getting their jobs back, the union hopes an appeal will allow the employees to win back pay the time they were off the job, Gallow said. tech2 News Staff In what would have to be one of the most controversial stories in smartphone industry this year, Ringing Bells' MD Mohit Goel has put out a statement claiming that the company has delivered 70,000 units of its Freedom 251 smartphone. Failure to deliver being the secondary reason for coming into the spotlight, the first reason was the ultra-low price tag of the smartphone that was set at Rs 251. Goel in his statement claims that units have so far been delivered to customers in a number of states, also shunning accusations about the company shutting down and opening up a new venture with similar management at the top. The MD of Ringing Bells said in a statement that it has delivered 70,000 units of its first smartphone to customers in West Bengal, Haryana, Himachal, Bihar, Uttarakhand, New Delhi, Punjab, J&K, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The new company which recently came into the spotlight was MDM Electronics which according to a report from the Economic Times, was recently incorporated on 7 December. What caught everyone's attention was that the same company, with the same executives on top, now opened up a business with an objective to manufacture and sell the same products. This would include smartphones, features phones, TVs etc. Upon the recent resignation of Dharna Goel, CEO, Ringing Bells, the statement clarifies that Anmol Goel will be looking into the affairs of the company. The last we heard from Ringing Bells was when a cheque issued by the company bounced due to insufficient funds. The company was summoned by the court and the next hearing of the case will take place on 28 April in the coming year. While Ringing Bells has yet to complete the deliver of its Freedom 251 smartphone, the company not too long ago unveiled a new range of feature smartphones. Soon after that Ringing Bells ventured into TV's with its first Freedom 9900 LED TV priced at just Rs 9,900. The company had almost vanished from the radar after announcing that it had sold 5,000 Freedom 251 units back in July. Now the MD claims the remaining 65,000 have been delivered, but where are these customers? hidden Lenovo today said its PC sales have fallen by over 20 per cent in the past few weeks due to the twin impact of demonetisation and seasonal slowdown post Diwali. However, the company has adopted measures like partnering with mobile wallet company Paytm and rolling out EMI schemes to help make purchases smoother for customers facing cash crunch. "The first couple of weeks were quite hard hit. We are already seeing almost a full recovery in our top towns and channels like LFR (large format retail) and exclusive stores to an extent. "Smaller towns, the recovery is slower. They have still not come back to pre-levels," Lenovo India Director Marketing Bhaskar Choudhuri told PTI. Lenovo has gone on a "war path" to see what can be done to help customers. "We have partnered Paytm. We have also rolled out EMIs to take care of people's cash crunch," he said. Asked about the magnitude of the impact, Choudhuri said, "It was upwards of 20 per cent (hit). Its vis-a-vis what we see post Diwali, where there is already a slump." Sales in categories like mobile phones and tablets have been impacted after the government announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Lenovo today launched its new Yoga Book -- which is the world's thinnest 2-in-1 laptop -- priced at Rs 49,990. The Windows 10-powered device will be sold exclusively through Flipkart and comes with Real Pen stylus, Book Pad and Real Pen Ink Refills. It also features the 'halo keyboard' which is touch-based and lights up whenever the user needs it. When the user uses the Real Pen stylus instead, the keyboard disappears and it turns into a giant writing slab. PTI tech2 News Staff Facebook has announced the rollout of new tools that will help the company fight the menace of 'Fake News.' This comes right after the company came under fire from US President Barak Obama and governments across the world to accountability for the inaccurate or fake news that is shared on the platform. Facebook has pointed out that the tools will allow users to quickly report any fake news story using the 'Report' feature already present for the posts on Facebook. The company has added a new "It's a fake news story" in the options and allows the users to mark the story as Fake and message the person who posted the story to notify about the story. Apart from relying on crowdsourcing to report the potential 'Fake news stories,' the company has also announced a partnership with third-party fact-checking companies. Facebook detailed that it is working with five companies about the fact-checking organisations which include ABC News, AP, FactCheck.org, Snopes and Politifact as reported by The Guardian. All the third-party fact-checking websites are signatories of Poynters International Fact Checking Code of Principles . If a news story is pointed out as inaccurate, the post will include "Disputed by 3rd Party Fact-Checkers" providing a link to the article refuting the original news article. One interesting thing to note is that both the features, Third-Party Fact Checkers and Crowd-sourcing to report articles do not work in isolation. The news articles are sent to the face checking websites after the original article has been reported as 'Fake Story' by sufficient amount of users. People sharing the disputed articles will get a warning sign informing them about the disputed status of the article. According to the company, the 'Disputed' articles will figure lower on the newsfeed and the publisher or the person who posted the article can not promote the article. The company announced that it had removed the ability to spoof domain names to stop confusion caused by such domains. tech2 News Staff Google releases its Year in Search report annually giving us a lowdown on what were the most search terms across different categories. It does throw up surprises time and again though. Among the most search mobile phones, there was a new name this year. Freedom 251, the Rs 251 phone, that was announced earlier this year clearly dominated the search results. It even beat the likes of Apple's iPhone 7 which came in at second spot and Samsung which was at no.5 spot. Here is the complete list of the top trending mobile devices in 2016. 1. Freedom 251 2. iPhone 7 3. Redmi Note 3 4. Lenovo K4 Note 5. Samsung J7 6. Moto G4 7. OnePlus 3 8. iPhone SE 9. Google Pixel 10. Lenovo K5 Note Freedom 251 had clearly captured the attention of everyone after it was announced at that price. The phone has yet to be seen in the hands of regular people, although Ringing Bells, the company behind Freedom 251, claims that it has already shipped 70000 phones. Some months back that number was 5000. It has been close to five months since the phone was announced, but is yet to go mainstream. In our first impressions, we came across some misleading specifications on its packaging as well. In the second spot was the iPhone 7, Apple's flagship for 2016. We reviewed the iPhone 7 Plus and here is what we had observed: "All things considered, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus is a great device. It excels in departments such as battery life, performance, display among other things. iOS 10 also brings a lot of new features to the table. The implementation of the dual rear camera is quite intelligent. Also portrait mode will be quite loved by those who love that kind of photography it will just require patience though. While the camera image quality is good, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus still leaves scope for improvement in the low light photography department as we observed in out Pixel XL vs iPhone 7 Plus shootout." Xiaomi's Redmi Note 3 came in at the third spot. It went on to break records for Xiaomi, becoming the fastest selling smartphone in a quarter, managing to sell around 1.75 million units of the Redmi Note 3 in just five months. Even today, the phone has little competition in the sub Rs 15,000 price category. There are newer devices which have been released by Xiaomi since, but none of which got as much love as the Redmi Note 3. It was surprising to see nothing on Samsung flagship phones, but rather the budget J7 making it to the top 10 mobile devices search listing. Lenovo managed to have two of its devices in this list, which is no mean feat and if you also add in Moto G4, then a grand total of three devices for the company. Google Pixel was launched in India in mid-October and has managed to break into the top 10 most selling phones in a short span of time. In our review we found the Pixel XL to be an excellent phone, with a wonderful camera and great overall user experience. It was just the price point we found difficult to justify. "Google Pixel XL offers an excellent camera, great raw performance, good battery life. Theres nothing to not like about the device. Only downer is its price point. If you have that kind of money, there is every reason to go for it, IF you are willing to pay the price for pure Android experience and priority updates. There is a market for that kind of audience, but its a niche market. For those that dont have that kind of budget, the S7 edge in the premium segment and OnePlus 3 in the mid-range segment are the Android phones to look out for." OnePlus 3 was the seventh most search mobile device. It is clearly the favourite as it offers excellent value for money in the sub Rs 30,000 price bracket. We were quite impressed with the phone when we reviewed it. There were some battery life issues, but subsequent software updates have fixed that. More recently, OnePlus also announced the OnePlus 3T, which offers a slight performance boost to the OnePlus 3. hidden Russian hackers seized control last year of the unclassified email system used by the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing an interview with then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey. Dempsey, who did not appear on camera, said he was alerted to the August 2015 attack by an early morning phone call from the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Mike Rogers, according to CBS. The email system is used by the Pentagon's Joint Staff, an organization of some 3,500 military officers and civilians who work for the chairman. The hackers seized the passwords and electronic signatures used by Dempsey, an Army general who retired in September 2015, and hundreds of other senior officers to sign on to the network, according to CBS. The only way to stop the attack was to take the network down, CBS said. The attack, which U.S. officials now blame on Russia, was not spying, but a full-on assault whose only apparent purpose was to cause damage and force the Pentagon to replace both hardware and software, which took about two weeks to accomplish, according to CBS. The motive for the attack was believed to be Russian anger at economic sanctions orchestrated by the Obama administration in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea and interference in Ukraine, CBS said. The Pentagon declined to comment. U.S. officials have accused Putin of supervising his intelligence agencies' hacking of the U.S. presidential election in an effort to help Republican Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the Nov. 8 election won by Trump. Reuters Lemurs are the most endangered mammal group in the world, with an estimated ninety plus species that face extinction within the next 20 years. The decline is primarily attributable to habitat loss in Madagascar but contributing factors also include illegal logging, slash and burn agriculture and even hunting for meat. Since 2001, more than fifty lemurs have been born at the reserve, creating a substantial safety net for the wild population of lemurs. In the past 15 years, the lemur reserve has tripled in size, growing from 40 acres to 130. As a conservation breeding facility, the lemur population has quadrupled to 56 animals on the reserve with additional animals transferred to other Association of Zoos and Aquariums facilities to preserve the genetic diversity of these endangered primates. The number of on-site facilities has also tripled and the "campus" is being re-configured to enable the lemurs to "free-range" more readily. Commenting on her overarching conservation concerns, Ms. Moore said, "Florida's population is projected as growing by another 10 million people in the next 20 years. Already, we are worried about overdevelopment and the growing need to protect our natural resources. The lemurs range freely in two enclosed, forest habitats which helps stimulate natural behavioral and feeding patterns. The reserve is also a scientific research facility and regularly hosts visiting university scientists and field schools. Over the years, it has been host to professors and students from New College of Florida, the University of Miami, Eckerd College, Yale, Rutgers, Columbia, New York University, Portland State University, Penn State and the University of Arkansas. Donations to the Lemur Conservation Foundation can be made here Her Majesty's Government, whose concern for international law and humanitarian obligations blazes forth from Yemen to Calais to the British prison system, has summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors for a dressing down by the Imperial Haystack. Whether he carpeted them in limericks or iambic pentameter, both lackeys of foreign imperialism were no doubt thoroughly cowed by the diplomatic acuity of the man who insulted the Saudi head-choppers days before he was due for an official visit. Among other many un-American and un-Bahraini derelictions, Assad's backers have failed to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid; which is to say help in bombing civilians or presents for profiteering corporations, depending on whether one happens to agree with the Imperial Haystack or with Priti Patel. The Haystack expressed disturbance at reports which, since they support his case regardless of fripperies like truth or falsehood, cannot possibly be mistaken. The Haystack also declined to praise Iran and Russia for allowing some people to escape Aleppo, doubtless because one or two of them may now end up trying to come over here and steal NHS beds from the white working classes. Nation celebrates 46th Victory Day UNB, Dhaka: The nation celebrated the 46th Victory Day on Friday commemorating its glorious victory in the nine-month bloody war against the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971 with a pledge to forge a unity to make the country prosperous and developed one. The celebrations marked with tens of thousands of people visiting and placing flowers at the National Memorial at suburban Savar and other war monuments across the country to pay their glowing tributes to the heroic sons and daughters of the soil who laid down their lives to attain the independence of their beloved mother land Streets swarmed with the enthusiastic people carrying the national flag, banners, wreaths, head bands and banners of different political, social, cultural and professional organisations inscribed with the slogans of the Victory Day and with many draped in green and red. The day was heralded with a 31-gun salute at dawn. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying homage to the 30 lakh martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country, by placing wraths on the altar, as army bugles played the last post. First the President and then the Prime Minister placed wreaths in the morning around 6:34am and paid their homage to the Liberation war heroes. They stood there in solemn silence for some time as a mark of respect to the great sons of the soil. Later, flanked by central leaders of the party, Sheikh Hasina as the President of Bangladesh Awami League also laid another wreath at the National Monument. Besides, Sheikh Hasina paid homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his portrait in front of Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi here in the morning on the occasion. Leader of the Opposition in parliament Raushan Ershad and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also placed wreaths at the National Mausoleum paying their tributes to the martyred freedom fighters. The national flag was hoisted atop all government and private buildings, while the government and semi-government buildings and other public places were illuminated and roads and islands were decorated with flags and festoons in all cities of the country on the occasion. The day was a public holiday. Different political parties, socio-cultural organisations and educational institutions observed the day with various programmes. The national flag was hoisted atop all government and private buildings, while the government and semi-government buildings and other public places were illuminated and roads and islands decorated with flags and festoons in all cities of the country on the occasion. On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani occupation forces, Gen AAK Niazi, along with his 93,000 Pakistani tro-ops, surrendered at the then Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka following a miserable defeat to the joint forces of Mukti Bahini and Mitra Bahini after the nine-month Liberation War. The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe A federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing and enforcing its revised white collar overtime regulations. The regulatory revisions, which would more than double the minimum salary requirements for the major white collar exemptions to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, were set to become effective Dec. 1. Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of the Eastern District of Texas issued the ruling in a consolidated set of cases brought by 21 states, including Louisiana, and several business organizations. Both cases challenge the changes to 29 C.F.R. Part 541, which defines and delimits the standards for evaluating whether employees are exempt executive, administrative and/or professional employees. Under the current regulations, the minimum salary requirement for these exemptions generally is $455 per week, or $23,660 per year. Under the revised regulations, the minimum salary would more than double to $913 per week, or $47,476 per year. In his decision, Mazzant found that the plaintiffs challenge to the final regulations has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits and that the plaintiffs would be irreparably harmed if the rule was not enjoined. The suit against DOL challenging the overtime regulations was filed Sept. 20. A few weeks later, the states filed an emergency motion seeking an injunction to halt or delay the implementation of the new overtime regulations. Meanwhile, on Oct. 19 another lawsuit this one brought by numerous chambers of commerce and business groups also aimed at preventing the implementation of the new regulations was consolidated with the states case. Before the consolidation, the plaintiffs in the second suit had asked the court to consider a motion for summary judgment to halt the new regulations on an expedited basis. After the cases were consolidated, these plaintiffs also joined in the states request for a preliminary injunction. In mid-November, Mazzant held a hearing on the preliminary injunction motion, vigorously questioning both sides and taking the matter under advisement. On Nov. 22 he granted the preliminary injunction. The DOL is appealing the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Fifth Circuit granted DOL an expedited appeal. For the many employers who have been struggling to meet the Dec. 1 effective date, Mazzants ruling offers some welcome relief. It does not, however, provide any certainty for the future. Although the injunction halts the revised regulations from becoming effective Dec. 1, it is a preliminary injunction, not a permanent one, and it does not necessarily mean that the new rule will be gone forever, either in its current form or in some revised form under a Trump administration. It is also possible that if the courts decision is eventually overturned, that event could lead to claims arguing that the rule should be applied retroactively to Dec. 1. Employers who have not yet made changes should therefore continue their planning process so they can be in compliance with the revised regulations if and when they do become effective. Those who already have made changes will need to decide whether it makes business sense to suspend, alter or reverse those changes pending any subsequent legal developments. Employers should assess cost issues as well as the impact on employee morale. Greg Guidry heads the Lafayette office of Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest employment law firms in the country. New Orleans As activists march across the criminal justice landscape nationwide seeking to alter the system to its core, Louisiana has had its share of scrutiny. Over several years, the Justice Department has intervened in both the New Orleans police department and jail. Foundations have poured cash into the city to study conditions here. Lawsuits have been filed. And still, the disparities of wealth and race persist, leaving the jail in New Orleans filled disproportionately with poor black people. Injustice Watch, an investigative news outlet based in Chicago, has spent the last six months focused on one aspect of this disparity: money bail. ** Only the United States and the Philippines allow cash bail.** Injustice Watchs conclusion: Hundreds of thousands of poor, nonviolent men and women here and across the country are jailed before any proof of guilt has been offered, solely because they cannot afford to pay the bail. Yet ending the bail-to-jail pipeline has proven devilishly difficult. In Louisiana, New Mexico, Maryland and anywhere legislative efforts are attempted to end cash bail, the bail industry fights back. Their lobbying machine spins up, letters are written, donations are made, swanky dinners and luxurious events are rolled out, arms are twisted. And predictably, their efforts work. Consider: In Louisiana, years-ago legislative action inserted bail into the very heart of the criminal justice system. Now bail bondsmen and the states elected judges work hand-in-hand to protect the system, raise campaign cash and even work for one another. Following the intervention of the bail industry in New Mexico, the actual language of a proposed constitutional amendment approved by voters last month was changed to essentially protect money bail. After lobbyists for the bail industry in Maryland spent thousands to wine and dine key legislators at a local yacht club and a steakhouse not far from the state capitol building in Annapolis, proposals to end bail stopped in their tracks. On Oct. 25, Marylands attorney general tried again, and is finding tough opposition. The pro-bail pressure comes as the nation shaken by the consequences of mass incarceration and a fault-filled criminal justice system is evaluating the basic fairness of a bail system that jails the poor before any proof of guilt for no other reason than the accused is indigent. Pending lawsuits on behalf of inmates around the country contend that it violates the Constitution to hold people in custody simply because they are too poor to post the bail that other suspects are able to pay. ** In late November, two-thirds of those in Cook County jail, where Chicago is located, were being held because they had failed to post the cash bail set for them.** The U.S. Justice Department even told prosecutors across the country that it opposes bail for the poor on constitutional grounds, and a bill was filed in Congress this year to end the system of cash bail. The argument for bail reform is spurred, too, by jail overcrowding and the costs of incarcerating people awaiting trial on nonviolent charges. In late November, two-thirds of those in Cook County jail, where Chicago is located, were being held because they had failed to post the cash bail set for them. Some jurisdictions, like New Orleans, would save millions of dollars each year by releasing the accused to await trial outside of jail. But those efforts face significant obstacles, as Injustice Watch reported recently, and one major roadblock is the bail bond industry. * * * The industrys influence is mighty for two obvious reasons: jobs and fear. Cash bail is common in America. Nationally, a thriving bail industry employs upwards of 30,000 men and women who provide the grease that lubricates the criminal justice system. Many defendants must put up a bail bond in which they pay a certain amount of money to be released from jail as they await trial. If they show up for trial, they get the money back. Many jurists and prosecutors say they believe bail is the most effective way to keep those accused of crimes from terrorizing the populace while they await processing, or to prevent them from simply fleeing. Because many people cant tie up thousands of dollars, they go to a bail bond company. It posts the bail bond for them in exchange for a premium, which in New Orleans is 10 percent. Steeped in traditions of a centuries-old system, many jurists and prosecutors say they believe bail is the most effective way to keep those accused of crimes from terrorizing the populace while they await processing, or to prevent them from simply fleeing. Add to that mix the bail industrys regular use of the fear-of-crime card. The result: bail remains entrenched. Only the United States and the Philippines allow cash bail. And in most of the world, if one were to pay money to win the release of a prisoner, the act would be seen as bribery. In New Mexico, bail is so commonly used, and the accused are so poor, that upwards of 40 percent of those who sit in pretrial custody would be free if they could come up with $500 or less. In contrast, Washington, D.C., which all but ended money bail in the early 1990s in exchange for a robust pretrial monitoring system, releases 91 percent of defendants arrested in the District of Columbia on their promise to appear in court. And the city is not the worse for it. * * * Nowhere is bond industry as intertwined with the criminal justice system as it is in New Orleans, where more than 2,600 licensed agents and firms thrive in this high-crime city in a high-incarceration state. Despite much study that shows significant racial and wealth disparities in the arrest and release of those accused in New Orleans, ending money bail to protect the poor hasnt happened. One third of the people in jail are there solely because they cannot pay bail set in an amount intended to allow their release. Vera Institute The court system benefits from high bail by imposing a 1.8-percent fee on each bail set. The money goes to a Judicial Expense Fund that pays for travel, attendance at conferences, coffee and bottled water for judges, and other perks. According to an ongoing federal lawsuit, one judge said imposing those fees on indigent criminal defendants was reasonable because the Courts gotta eat. There may be another reason: The federal lawsuit, which was filed in September 2015, contended 13 judges and three criminal justice officials set high bails simply to maximize revenues. Eight of the defendants have hired Blair L. Bouttes political consulting firm, B-3 Consulting, to help them win their elections. (Judges, the district attorney, and the sheriff are elected positions in Louisiana.) Boutte, who is a power in New Orleans, also has been the owner and president of Blairs Bail Bonds for the last 20 years. His advocacy for the use of bail is well known. Just how much money Boutte earns from his consulting business with the political and judicial elite of New Orleans is not easy to come by. Campaign filings by Louisiana candidates with the state puts the figure at more than a $1 million in recent years. Several payments were made in 2007, with most coming since 2011. But the accounting doesnt include many of the clients that Boutte lists on his companys website, which range from other politicians in Louisiana to political customers in Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina, among others. In September, the New Orleans City Council held a hearing on a bill that would have effectively ended cash bail for petty charges. A vote to move the bill out of committee for a full vote of the council failed, 2 to 2. One of those voting against the measure was Councilwoman Nadine Ramsey, a Boutte client. Boutte, who attended the hearing, opposes the ordinance and has said he would mount a challenge if it gets to the full council. Susan G. Guidry The bills sponsor, Susan G. Guidry, said she was disappointed by the vote. I am getting input from various parties affected by the ordinance, and my intention to bring it back up with some slight amendments, she said. Guidry declined to discuss the involvement of Boutte in the matter. Beyond Ramsey, Bouttes website lists as clients 22 New Orleans judges in addition to the DA and sheriff. One of them is Magistrate Judge Harry E. Cantrell Jr., whose main job is to set bail in New Orleans. Cantrell hasnt taken a public position on cash bail. He has expressed ambivalence about an independent pretrial assessment, saying it is only one of several factors that he would consider when setting bail. He also wants to hear the recommendations of the prosecutor and defense counsel, he said in 2013 when he was first running for the magistrates position. I have never heard even a murmur of a formal proposal to eliminate money bail or even commercial surety bonding. Jon Wool, Vera Institute Cantrell was known as the stiffest bond-setter at Magistrate Court when he was an appointed commissioner, The Advocate reported in 2013. Ramsey, Cantrell and Boutte did not respond to emailed questions about their positions on bail or their business relationships. What then is the impact of Louisianas staunch support for bail as a way to assure appearances in court? One assessment by the Vera Institute, which has been studying the New Orleans jail and court system since 2010, looked at everyone detained before trial whose bail was less than $100,000. How many couldnt afford the bail? Vera says: One third of the people in jail are there solely because they cannot pay bail set in an amount intended to allow their release. Vera then studied the danger those detainees posed if they had been released awaiting trial. Using the risk assessments done by pretrial services to guide the setting of bail, Vera found that 44 percent of those detained on felony charges other than murder, rape or armed robbery on May 10, 2016, were evaluated as low or low-moderate risk. Yet, New Orleans jailed them: Accused but not proven guilty. So will any of this change? I have never heard even a murmur of a formal proposal to eliminate money bail or even commercial surety bonding. Thats not surprising, really, said Jon Wool, director of the Institutes New Orleans office. I think Louisiana, and everywhere else, will fundamentally change its bail system, but I am not sure in what ways and what comes first and whether it happens via litigation or legislation. * * * NM Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels It was a unanimous decision written by New Mexico Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels that kicked off the two-year path to a new constitutional amendment. Daniels wrote the state Supreme Courts remarkable 2014 opinion that forced a lower court to void the $250,000 money bail that kept Walter Ernest Brown, who was accused of murder, jailed for 28 months awaiting trial. Not once during that time were the accusations against Brown, who was 19 at his arrest in 2011, tested by the evidence. He sat jailed, presumed innocent. Daniels and three fellow justices concluded that Brown, whose IQ is a scant 70, was not a threat to the community, had no interest in running, had petitioned twice to live at home with his parents, and would go back to his job. Even his stay behind bars was marked by model behavior: He took well to counseling and even got his high school diploma. Those facts about Brown, though, were ignored by the prosecutors and by the lower court judges. He was jailed simply because he couldnt afford to pay his bail, which was set so high due to the seriousness of the charge. And that, Daniels and his court colleagues said, violated New Mexicos constitution. In an ironic turn that reflects the vagaries of the all-too-often errant criminal justice system, not long after Brown was freed, prosecutors dropped the case altogether. In an interview, Daniels put it this way: The fundamental flaw in our system is using money to distinguish who we let out and who we dont. Its totally irrational. Matthew Coyte, an Albuquerque lawyer and president of the board of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, noted that many judges seemed to ignore the 2014 state Supreme Courts admonition that judges avoid using bail to lock up the poor. The fundamental flaw in our system is using money to distinguish who we let out and who we dont. Its totally irrational. New Mexico Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels Coyte, whose outspoken advocacy for the accused earned him a Trial Lawyer of the Year award in 2013 from the Public Justice Foundation, laments how the notion of bail has become so culturally embedded in the judiciary. The defense lawyers, along with the ACLU, pushed for a constitutional amendment as the path to reform. When the amendment was first introduced in December 2015, it said simply: A person who is not a danger and is otherwise eligible for bail shall not be detained solely because of financial inability to post a money or property bond. But that language brought fear to the bail industry, which relies on judges setting cash bail. Suddenly Clayton, the American Bail Coalition policy director, was negotiating revisions to the proposed amendment. Chief Justice Daniels described what happened as the bail lobbyists bottled up the original bill. New Mexico has a part-time Legislature so its two-month session that ended in mid-February was busy. There were spending bills and a number of crime measures, including the bail amendment. The speaker sent the proposed amendment to committee, where the chairwoman warned there would be no committee vote without compromise. After two days of intense negotiations by Clayton and three state lobbyists for the industry and Daniels, new language was agreed to. Gone was the original wording. The changes made things more complex, and more favorable to the New Mexican bail industry. ** In New Mexico, bail is so commonly used, and the accused are so poor, that upwards of 40 percent of those who sit in pretrial custody would be free if they could come up with $500 or less.** What emerged was an amendment that added a new process for evaluating affluence a motion must be filed with the court seeking exemption from bail and set a requirement that prosecutors must show that a defendant doesnt require bail. The amendment also clearly stated that judges have the power to keep violent persons off the streets a power judges always have had. Suddenly, the bills key supporters backed away, and the bail industry lined up behind the amendment. Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU of New Mexico, said his group was locked out of the negotiations over the amendment. For our money, it corrupted the language to a degree that we dont feel confident that it overcomes the problems of the past, Simonson told Injustice Watch. So Simonsons group dropped its backing. Coyte and the criminal defense lawyers turned against the compromise. Not surprisingly, the bail industry went from opposing the original amendment to supporting the one its lobbyists helped craft. Clayton said he believes Daniels wanted the amendment so he could move New Mexico away from money bail, except in the rarest instances. And that, he believed, would be a death knell to the bail industry. Meanwhile, Coyte said several judges have told him the amendment will not change their behavior. They said they would use money bonds as preventative detention in cases they believed merited it, regardless of whether the prosecutor was seeking a dangerous hearing, he said. As long as judges believe they are tasked with public safety they will continue to ignore the law in this area. * * * Maryland is a study in contrasts. The suburbs of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., are among the richest in the nation, teeming with the privileges of the upper class. At the same time, two pockets of east and west Baltimore are among the nations poorest. And with that poverty comes all the expected dysfunctions, crime among them. Jailing people who should otherwise be released because they are unable to pay bail is out of step with state and federal law and with the basic concepts of liberty and justice. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh In a stunning report on the Baltimore Police Department, the Justice Department recounted the thousands upon thousands of men and women who were processed through the citys courthouse and into the main lockup with some 200 each month being arrested without probable cause. The Justice Department, which found widespread lapses in record-keeping by police, also estimated that cops may have stopped 412,000 individuals for questioning in 2014 alone. The riots that swept the city after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 were evidence of residents deep anger over their treatment by local police and criminal justice system. For decades, the relations between police and the community might charitably be described as strained. With some regularity over the last 15 years, the advocates of ending money bail in Maryland have tried to do away with the states bail system. These advocates see bail as unfair and unconstitutional, one more way the criminal justice system treats groups inequitably. So far, efforts to eliminate money bail have fallen flat. Brian E. Froch Enter Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. On Oct. 25, Frosh asked the states administrative court rules committee to make changes that ensure money bail is not used to detain the poor. His request essentially sidestepped the Legislature, which has been influenced by the considerable lobbying power of the bail industry. Jailing people who should otherwise be released because they are unable to pay bail is out of step with state and federal law and with the basic concepts of liberty and justice, Frosh wrote. State Delegate Kathleen M. Dumais, who is a co-sponsor on a measure that would do what Frosh hopes to accomplish, said the reaction from bail advocates has been immediate and decidedly negative. She and her colleagues have gotten hundreds of calls since Froshs letter was made public in late October. I received 20 calls today, Dumais said on Nov. 17. Its little wonder. Once a year for several years, the Maryland Bail Bond Association has spent thousands of dollars to take the entire judiciary committee of the House of Delegates to swanky meals at Ruths Chris Steakhouse or the Annapolis Yacht Club. This year the event cost the association $3,256, the cheapest outlay for the annual event since 2012. The organizing lobbyist Michael Canning did not respond to emailed questions about the events. Clayton of the American Bail Coalition, fresh from his work in New Mexico, is now ready to do combat in Maryland. We are fighting the Maryland Attorney Generals effort, which is based in part on a letter he received from Eric Holder, Clayton said. In March, before he left the Department of Justice, Holder wrote to officials in 50 states urging them to protect the indigent. Courts must not employ bail or bond practices that cause indigent defendants to remain incarcerated solely because they cannot afford to pay for their release, Holder wrote. Delegate Dumais doesnt think change will be quick. Dumais promised to introduce legislation in 2017 to strengthen, not outlaw bail. Just how different any measure might be, however, is at the heart of any debate in Marylands future. And its likely to be intense. * * * As the struggle over fixing bail confronts local officials across the nation, federal action too is possible. Already, U.S. Rep Ted Lieu, a Democrat whose district encompasses Los Angeles, has introduced what he calls the No Money Bail Act of 2016. The measure was referred to committee and no action has been taken. But just introducing the bill was enough to produce hysterics from the bail industry. The bail industry is under attack! the Professional Bail Agents of the United States said in a statement. The introduction of [the bill] should serve as a wake-up call for the commercial bail industry, the group continued. Our opponents are boldly and unapologetically calling for the elimination of our industry. Jim Asher is the Washington Editor for Injustice Watch, an investigative nonprofit news organization based in Chicago. Read more of Injustice Watchs coverage about bail here. Local school officials are monitoring mumps outbreaks in neighboring Arkansas and Texas after being notified of the situation by the state Office of Public Health, according to a story in todays Daily Advertiser. The daily reports that although no outbreaks have been reported in Louisiana, up to 1,800 people most of them children whose parents chose not to have them vaccinated have been infected in Arkansas. A pair of smaller outbreaks are reported in Texas. These outbreaks of mumps in neighboring states should serve as a reminder for families of unimmunized children to consider vaccinating their children, LPSS said in a statement. In the case of a local outbreak of mumps, the OPH and the Lafayette Parish School System may exclude non-vaccinated, exposed individuals from attending school. Herd immunity. Read more here. The potential candidate should be questioned about her role on Jindals Commission on Streamlining Government and its greatest gaff: the taking of severance tax audit authority away from the DOR and handing it to DNR. The Kelley family with the Jindals, photographed socializing in 2010 John Neely Kennedys election as U.S. Senator means Louisiana will hold a special election for treasurer. The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com reported earlier this week that Bobby Jindals first commissioner of administration, Angele Davis, is one of many Republicans considering the October 2017 race. Davis, who is married to 19th Judicial District Judge Tim Kelley and uses Davis Kelley on her Facebook page, served as commissioner of administration from January 2008 until August 2010, according to her LinkedIn profile. Those would be what some consider the glory years of the Jindal administration the years before the full scope of the fiscal calamity his policies would produce became clear. Angele Davis That profile describes Davis as Former Chief Financial Advisor and Chief Administrative Officer to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. She also served as deputy commissioner of administration during the Mike Foster administration and secretary for Culture, Recreation & Tourism under then-Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu. The Reason Foundation named Davis one of its 2009 Innovators In Action for her role in helping create and guide Jindals Commission on Streamlining Government. The free market think tank also consulted with Davis on privatizing the Office of Risk Management, one of Jindals first privatization efforts. Davis was a member of the commission that created a grab box of ideas (some subsequently proven to be bad) that were implemented during the Jindal years. Potential candidate Davis should be questioned about the commissions greatest gaff: the taking of severance tax audit authority away from the Department of Revenue and handing it to the Department of Natural Resources. Coupled with the ordered shutdown of DORs non-payer tax software (which happened a month after Davis left government), the transfer effectively terminated state severance tax audits for three years (2010 through 2013), according to the Louisiana legislative auditor. The state lost millions if not billions in severance tax revenue during that time. Ironically, a task force headed by Kennedy had recommended concentrating severance tax audit authority at DOR. Confronted with a choice, the Streamlining Commission deferred to the administration and Davis on the decision in November 2009. A week later, then-DNR Secretary Scott Angelle began negotiating the transfer of power from DOR to his agency with DOR Secretary Cynthia Bridges a week later. The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. to none to be honest with you, Martin. Ardoyne Road, Belfast Post-Ceasefire Cultural Mural Listed by Arts & Humanities Research Council, UK Alright. Now one of the things that has made the newspapers and made publicity: There are what are called Mass rocks. Now what happened is that during the period of time under the Penal Laws it was illegal for a priest to be in Ireland or to celebrate Mass to give a religious service. It was part of the way that the British wanted to impose their rule in Ireland, all over Ireland. And there are actually places, rocks, where people would gather to say Mass illegally under threat of the person saying it or other people attending being imprisoned or killed and this company had apparently cut off there were protests about the Mass rocks in that area. Could you tell us about what happened?Well in relation to that, Martin, theres a local area here where there was numerous community members were told down the generations of the placement of a Mass rock. As you can understand, in Penal Times, the placement of Mass rocks has to be kept very, very secretive. It was actually punishable by death for a priest to hold a Mass in Penal Times and this company has more or less, whenever the local priest had actually asked to hold a Mass in relation to the Mass rock and its placement and their new proposed site they actually more or less told the clergy and the local community it was lies because it wasnt written down that it wasnt factual. And its disappointing to see that a company from Canada has actually more information in relation to the history of this community than the locals. And as you said, the way that theyre coming into the whole thing its more or less like Penal Times again. You know, theyre dictating where we can hold Mass where we cant hold Mass . And in relation to that I just have to say weve recently actually opened a new division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in the local community because it stands strong for the ideology of this in relation to people actually able to show their beliefs celebrate Mass and actually have the support of the community which this company seems to be, I dont know, this company seems to think its null and void as long as they get their go-aheads for their plans.And we had actually, while we were waiting to get you on the line, played part of the song, The Ghosts of the Molly Maguires. What is the division of the AOH or the new organisation that you formed?Well we actually formed it last week in relation and in conjunction with Tyrone AOH and it is the Molly Maguire Division based in Greencastle. And as I said, we cant speak highly enough of Tyrone AOH and the support that theyve given the people in this community. Theyve been with us from the start. Weve been talking to them now for a number of months in relation to whats happened here and there was a local Rosary walk here facilitated by a local lady and her husband and it was absolutely unbelievable to see the support that Tyrone AOH gave. And as I said, the ideology of the AOH is something that really, really stands strong in relation to this because its a celebration of your culture your Irish history, your Irish language and your right to celebrate Mass, your right to be who you are. In Penal Times we were put into the mountains as you probably well know, you know? And for many generations people went from there to the lowlands and spread out to America and Australia and all over the world but their hearts and their souls and the whole embodiment of what they are and who they are it stands tall here in relation to the fight that is currently going on and this is what were saying we dont want it to go back to the way it was. People should be proud of who they are where theyre from and no matter what pressures is put on you people should say: We are who we are and take us as we are and as I said in relation to that the Tyrone AOH has been very supportive along with a number of groups but in recent times thats why we actually opened the branch of the Molly Maguires in Greencastle actually last week, Martin, you know?Alright. Now one of the things that the foreign company which owns this development they had originally not told you about a processing plant but they now want to use a processing plant and theyre going to introduce cyanide, which is a poison. What effect would that have on your drinking water, on the area in terms of the children growing up there what effect do you believe or fear that this would have?Well all we can say, Martin, is in relation to that: This area is pristine. This area is unbelievably beautiful and the people here respect like personally Im a farmer and I believe here, all I am, is a caretaker for future generations. This companys coming in in relation to cyanide like we can give numerous, numerous, numerous different places around the world where there have been environmental disasters where cyanide has been used. You know, they intend to use this withing eight hundred metres of our local primary school. Within eight hundred metres! A kilometre from the centre of the main population area which is Greencastle Village. And we did not know about this. They came in January and all along theyd been talking about the Curraghinalt project Gortin and gold.You know, Greencastle was never mentioned. Then all of a sudden we get this big, bright light who said: Oh, look! How lucky youse are! Weve decided to place this just besides youse. This is the first weve heard of it. You know, and this is the only plant of its type in western Europe so its not as if we can go down the road and talk to the people who are currently living beside one to allay the fears of the community to see how exactly theyre dealing with it. You know, most of these plants theres one, I think, in Finland, and its up in the tundra where youre probably hundreds of kilometres from centres of population. The main belt, settlements and towns around the plant to facilitate workers and that, but you know this is something that theyre bring and the sad thing is they kept telling us how lucky we are to have it.Well one of the things our audience should know: People in the United States, they think: Oh! If they find gold or they find something precious you know its like, it was explained like the show, The Beverly Hillbillies you know the person finds oil on his land and hes rich, they have to pay him. What exactly you do you or the general community in that area, in Sperrins, get from any gold thats found there or any precious metals thats found in the area?Well, the unfortunate thing about Northern Ireland, the way that it currently is, is that if theres a mineral reserve, should it be oil, gold, whatever its actually the Crown Estate , the Queen, that gets four percent because she owns whats under our feet, you know. The last company that owned the actual mine, that was an exploratory mine at that stage, gets two percent. And currently in this area theres no tax on gold or silver bearing ore. So realistically the people of this land are getting nothing. The people of Ireland are getting nothing. They keep telling us about the jobs, the jobs. This area is not economically deprived. You know, we dont have large unemployment. A lot of guys get up in the morning and they travel they go to work. They do the real Irish thing you go where the work is. You do whatever has to be done to provide for your family and all the rest. And the disappointing thing is, as I said, this will be going back whatever does not go to England, to the Queen and the Crown Estate and all the rest this will be going to Canada and in a round about way sort of way its going back to the Queen in the end because its all part of The Commonwealth. This is what the people are seeing.You know its funny to say, in The Proclamation you know the message is: We declare the right of the people of Ireland to own the land of Ireland. And this is what it is: Not only are they trying to poison us where were living, not only are they trying to tell us how good it is for us but then theyre taken whatever away from this country, from its people and just giving it away. Its so disheartening in relations to the whole thing that this is the way big business works and as you said the people are more or less secondary to whatever is good for the Crown Estate and for the previous owners of this mine.Martin, what are you doing, you and the other groups that youre involved with, what are you doing to fight against this area being poisoned and exploited by this Canadian company. What are you doing to stop this?Well two things I guess, Martin, in relation to this and I have to appreciate you giving me airtime: Were trying to educate the people that this isnt what this community wants. This is not something that this community or these people are crying out for theres nobody here in the bread line. Like theres a number of groups, theres SOS , theres GRG (Greencastle Area Residents Group) and like to be honest with you, Im just a local farmer, a local community member, but we feel that strongly like our roots are very deep in this land, you know? Its not money that matters to us. This is one of the last Irish-speaking areas of Tyrone. You know, all through The Troubles like this place you know it stood strong, it stood really, really strong and thats what we find so hard to deal with. Theyre telling how beneficial this is. We dont want it . We dont need it. And I know gold and everybodys eyes lights up whenever they hear tell of gold but take into consideration, Martin, sometimes the things that you just cant hold in your hands your history, your past, your culture, your language is a lot more valuable than the wee things that you slip over your finger or the wee thing that you put into your pocket. It sounds maybe strange to people listening in that we feel that way but you know were on this land for generations. Moneys not worth anything to us well, money, in relation to that, is not worth anything to us because its not deeply embedded in us. Its never going to come out of us and thats why we believe that this is not for the benefit of us The Sperrins, Tyrone or Ireland.Particularly when youre not the ones getting the money when it goes to the British Crown, when it goes to a foreign company, when it goes elsewhere. Its like during the I think, sorry to interrupt, Martin, you know the monetary value has been over-exaggerated by this company. You have to realise that some of the last Irish speakers in Tyrone were from this area. You know, whenever Hugh ONeill was traveling between Inishowen and Tullyhogue and Cookstown he went through this area. You know, money? It sounds silly but the generations of people that have emigrated and all the rest of it it sounds strange. I had a cousin come home from Australia last year and she had her daughter and her husband with her. And she wanted to walk where her father walked to school. And he always promised her that this thing was going to be someday and she was supposed to do that because she knew that shes seeing the same views, shes hearing the same sounds and youre never going to money will never money will never change that, you know. And the amount of people, even second, third, fourth generations in The States you know, thats why they come to this area to see what their what their grandparents, or their great-grandparents, their great-great-great-grandparents youre looking through their eyes and theres not many places in the world where you can go that you can actually say that youre doing that.Alright, Martin, we want to thank you. Were going to follow this issue with you. WBAI, Radio Free Eireann has been one outlet that has followed campaigns like this and we want to follow Save Our Sperrins campaign, what youre doing with the Molly Maguire Division all of that to save your area of Sperrins. And I promise next time Im driving down from Doire towards Monaghan Im going to take the scenic route through your area.Do, Martin, and well get you a pint of Guinness.There you go. Listen, I want to thank you for being on and I especially want to thank Gerry McGeough for putting me in touch with you so we could air this important story for the first time on WBAI at Radio Free Eireann well have it on in future and well follow events and try to help your fight.Right. And Tyrone AOH, we have to appreciate them for all the hard and sterling work theyve done.Okay. Alright, thank you, Martin Tracey. (ends time stamp ~55:52) When we began to plan out the next leg of our round the world adventure we decided on China as our first stopping point. Flying into the north of Eastern Asia before making our way down through the South East and to Australia and New Zealand. We had always wanted to visit China, for many years it was near the top of the list, we after booking our flight we were pretty damn excited! But hold us, whats this, a visa you say! Why yes, and not just any old visa on entry or simple pre travel form. Oh no, it was Russia all over again and in many ways even worse! But fear not, its actually not as hard as your panicked state initially believes heres how to get one (and also how to do it if you are backpacking and not planning on flying home!) Chinese visa application advice: how to apply for a Chinese visa in uk Chinese visa application advice: how to apply for a Chinese visa in uk What do you need: (in simple terms) A completed application form Your passport with 6 months validity and at least 2 clean pages Two passport photos Scans of your passports photo page Details of your flights in and out Details of your itinerary whilst in China Declaration Here is some more info if you need it/ to check if there are any changes: www.travelchinacheaper.com/china-travel-visa-requirements-guide What you need: Explained! Chinese visa application advice: how to apply for a Chinese visa in uk A completed application form At first the application form can seem a little daunting thats for sure. There are a few questions on there that we were a little unsure how to answer. But what we found is that sticking to your instinct and not over thinking each one worked out best. Sticking points we were unsure on: If there are sections that are not applicable then make sure to not leave them blank and instead write N/A Name in Chinese: Put N/A Local I.D: N/A Employment: We are technically unemployed but also run this blog, not what the Chinese want to hear! We instead just gave the details of our previous employer/ jobs. Also, just try to tick Member of staff if you can and keep it as simple as possible! They clearly dont check this stuff! Major Family members: I included my mum, dad, brother and husband (Shorty, lol) Purpose of visit: Tourism Intended number of entries: We just put one to keep it simple even though we intended to visit HK which is technically leaving and then reentering China. They now give you a multi entry visa as standard so it is easier to just keep it as simple as you can and say single entry! Expected date of arrival: The date on your legit flight into China. If you dont know because you are travelling overland then just estimate but you might have to get a fake document to prove this. You should be given a 90 day visa that is valid for 2 years from the date it is issued so you can just enter on any day in this time. Longest stay in China: If you plan on leaving on a set date and have a flight to leave this is easy, if you are backpacking like us its hard. We just put 30days, which is our estimate, and then made sure all our other documents we included such as our fake itinerary matches those dates. Bear in mind the visa you will get issued with allows max 90 days at a time. Itinerary in China: We decided to keep this really simple. We chose 4 cities: Beijing, Xian, Chengdu and Shanghai and booked refundable accomodation for each for about a week at a time, to match up with the time we said we would be in China. I will go into detail about the bookings later, but here you just state the days in each place and the addresses. Just keep your plans as simple as you can on here! Again, we also didnt mention Hong Kong as it would just complicate matters! Who will pay for my stay: Me (That is all we put) Information of inviter in China: N/A for this section. Mostly for those on an organised tour or visiting family and freinds. But it is best to just put N/A either way as this adds yet another bunch of documents to the application! You need scans of their passports and all sorts! Other countries visited: For us we visited like 20 this year, so it was quite a list. We just literally listed them and didnt use full official titles for each country either. Just like: Italy, Slovenia etc. The rest should be pretty self explanatory, but shoot us any questions if you have them! You can download the form here: www.visaforchina.org/LON_EN/upload/Attach/mrbj/265048.pdf Two passport photos Pretty self explanatory, it says no older than 6 months for the photos but ours were probably taken a couple of years agobut we look the same. As long as your photos arent from 1978 and stick to the general rules needed for any official document (no smiling, plain background, no hats/ hair in fact etc) then you should be fine! Scans of your passports photo page Again, nothing complicated here. We made sure it was in colour just to be on the safe side. Details of your flights in and out Flight into China: Simple as we already had a legit booking, so we just printed off all the confirmations. If you are travelling overland this might also be an issue. Either get confirmations of train tickets if you can, or do what we did for our flights out. flights out: Problem! We are backpacking and want to continue on to South East Asia from China. We are unsure when we want to head down and whether it will be via a land border or flight. So we used FlyOnwards, you can basically rent a flight confirmation for a day for around $10. Some people photoshop their tickets but with the high price of the visa we decided to use this company for more legit looking tickets. We also made our tickets from China back to England as sometimes that is a requirement and also made sure they were with a different airline than the one we were flying out with. This means they cannot check it on their system when you board. China visa application advice: Details of your itinerary whilst in China This is the bit that stresses everyone out but it is actually not that hard when you look at it properly. All we did was to use Booking.com to make bookings with hostels and hotels that we made sure were refundable without charge. We made sure these dates matched up with the ones we had on our application form, probably better to book these first before you fill in the section on the form! All you do then is print out the confirmations and make sure you name is on there, the dates and address. Just be sure to book one that clearly says it is freely refundable, usually until a few days before you were supposed to stay. This is the the best way to avoid unnecessary spending and our best China visa application advice. Declaration This you just need to print off and sign, we just needed one each and actually signed it when we got to the visa centre. you can download it here: www.visaforchina.org/LON_EN/upload/Attach/mrbj/277453.pdf Extra bits/ other: We highlighted the dates on all of our supporting documents and also our names to make it easier. We also make sure all the names were in full too. We also organised everything so it was easy for the clerk to see we had everything. Chinese visa application advice: how to apply for a Chinese visa in uk: We were lucky that there is an official visa centre in Manchester. We made an appointment online but all that does is skip you ahead of the queue if there is one. You can just turn up though but you might be in for a wait. The guy on the desk has a quick look to see if you have everything and then the person you see the booth checks everything in more detail. We felt quite confident that we had everything as other people were being turned away at this point and asked to come back. I felt that they do actually check rather than just taking it and making you pay if you are turned down. We then had to wait a week, would have been 7 days but we had a bank holiday and weekend in between. We arrived on the day we were told and got a number from the machine to wait and collect. Everything went smoothly and we just paid for the visa. There are centres in London too but if you are too far away from either you can apply via post, this will take a little longer and incur more costs. You will need to send you passport recorded and also send a prepaid for recorded envelope for them to post it back. You will also have to add a postal order for the cost of the visa. hopefully our China visa application advice makes the difference for you! Cost Our visa cost 151 each for a multi entry visa valid for 2 years and 90 days per entry. For all legal travel paperwork and documentation help you might need head over to Apostille Service China visa application advice: Your visa and entering the country When you do enter China the fuss is not over. You must fill in a form stating where you will be staying and when you will be leaving. We made sure to print copies of our bookings and return fight but we wasnt asked for proof. You are then left with a slip inside your passport with the date you should be leaving on this. They dont however stamp this so collecting another slip for when you leave is a good idea if you plan on staying longer. Upon leaving the country we had no issues leaving on a different day and method of transport than what we wrote on our departure form. We took some extra forms when we arrived just in case but at the border there were cards anyway that you could fill in as we literally only knew which train we would be on an hour before we got on it! They just stamped us out and that was that! Book your accommodation here Hey, youve got your Travel Insurance sorted havent you? Travelling and especially backpacking is a wild adventure, but make sure you are covered just incase something goes wrong, which if youre living it up to the fullest its always a possibility! Check travel insurance prices with World Nomads here! Book your transport across China and Asia here: Powered by 12Go Asia system Good luck! 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In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness. Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful. If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it. You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly. Summary What did you think? In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India. The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future. As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values. However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health. If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. MURPHYSBORO A Carbondale man convicted of first-degree murder has been sentenced to 85 years in prison. Quentin Bailey, 23, was found guilty in July of first-degree murder and armed robbery for a May 10, 2015 shooting in a hotel parking lot that led to the death of Broderick Miller, 27, of Marion. At a sentencing hearing Friday inside Jackson County Courthouse, Bailey received 60 years for the first-degree murder charge the maximum sentence for first-degree murder in Illinois. He received an additional 25 years because he used a gun. The jury found that Bailey fired a .38-caliber handgun at Miller, causing his death. The robbery charge alleges that Bailey stole marijuana from Miller by use of or threatened use of force at the time of the incident. During the jury trial, Jackson County States Attorney Mike Carr argued that Bailey had lured Miller to the Comfort Inn on the east side of Carbondale by promising an exchange of marijuana for cash. The prosecution presented the theory that the offense was murder for hire, based on a plot that Bailey hatched in prison while serving time for armed robbery. Another inmate ordered the hit as Millers payback for cooperating with police in an undercover drug sting, Carr argued. Bailey was on supervised release from the Department of Corrections at the time of the shooting. Law enforcement found him the next day in a house on South Emerald Street in Carbondale, which had been broken into without the owners authorization. Lynesha Bowen, the mother of Millers 1-year-old son, gave an impassioned statement in the courtroom Friday, saying that her life with Miller was just starting out when he was killed. My child is the person that you robbed that night, she said, addressing Bailey directly. I just pray that my child does not grow up to be like you fatherless, hopeless. As you sit here with that smirk on your face. ... The hardest part is thinking about how to tell my son that a man a boy, a punk took his fathers life. I pray that she can keep moving forward with her life and her family," Bailey said in a brief statement of allocution. "I aint got no kids myself but I know its gonna be hard being a single mother." Carr recommended the maximum sentence of 60 years, along with an additional 40 years for the use of the gun. He said that Baileys history of trouble with the law demonstrated that he was not amenable to corrective action. The sad thing about this is that a life was taken and that you, Mr. Bailey, have squandered yours, Judge Kimberley L. Dahlen said. The 85-year sentence comes with three years of mandatory supervised release. Bailey is not eligible for sentence credit and will serve 100 percent of the sentence, Dahlen noted. Gal Pissetzky, Baileys attorney, said he planned to file a motion to reconsider the sentence. SESSER Sesser Police, assisted by the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force, arrested three individuals Tuesday in connection with the production of methamphetamine. Keith A. Martin, of Sesser, Michael A. Depler, of Sesser, and Joseph D. Gouge, of Buckner, were arrested after authorities served a search warrant in Sesser, resulting in the discovery of materials consistent with the production of meth. The men are being held in the Franklin County Jail awaiting formal charges. In a news release, Sesser mayor Jason Ashmore thanked the SIDTF and added that while their work does not always make the news because of confidentiality, the team works constantly to help curb the sale and consumption of illegal drugs in the area. Ashmore also said his administration takes these issues very seriously. "I see it as a serious safety and health issue for our community and we will continue to aggressively pursue those committing these crimes," Ashmore said. Isaac Smith The Illinois Sheriffs Association is advising all Illinois residents to be aware of a phone campaign fraudulently using the name Disabled Police and Sheriffs Foundation in its solicitation. Although the number appears to resonate with an Illinois company, that is not the case, the ISA warns in a news release. The name of this particular group is also listed as one of the top 50 worst charities by the Tampa Bay Times. CharityWatch is aware of this charity soliciting donors using the following names: American Police & Sheriffs Association DPSF Police Officers Safety Association This group is not registered with the Illinois Attorney Generals Office, according to the charitable database maintained by General Madigans Office. They are also not associated with any sheriff's office or legitimate police organization in Illinois, the release says. Telemarketing fraud costs billions of dollars each year. Phone solicitors who want you to "act immediately" or are offering a "too-good-to-be-true" opportunity are most likely fraudulent. If you have any doubts, or are highly pressured, just hang up. You have the right to ask for the following information: The name, address and phone number of the organization for which they are soliciting. The name, address and phone number of the telemarketing firm. The percentage of every dollar paid to the telemarketing firm. Insist on something in writing prior to making a pledge or commitment. If you cannot get the answers to these questions, do not hesitate to hang up the phone, the release says. Although there are some legitimate organizations that use telemarketers for their fundraising efforts, the Illinois Sheriffs' Association is adamantly opposed to police groups and associations using telemarketers in their fundraising efforts. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association never solicits by phone, the organization says in its news release. Should you receive a call from someone saying they represent your local sheriff or the Illinois Sheriffs' Association and are asking for donations, contact the sheriffs office immediately or gather as much information as you can from the caller and report it to the Illinois Sheriffs' Association at ISA@ilsheriff.org. The Illinois Sheriffs' Association legitimately conducts a direct-mail campaign throughout the state of Illinois. Remember these telemarketing tips: Offers "too good to be true" usually are. Ask to receive the unbelievable deal or the amazing prize offer in writing so you can read it carefully before making a commitment. Never give out your personal information over the phone or internet unless you have initiated the contact. Legitimate business callers will never ask you for this information over the phone. If a caller asks you to pay for an offer in advance or asks for your credit card number or Social Security number, tell the person you dont give out personal information over the telephone and hang up. Remember that legitimate telemarketers wont be turned off if you use these techniques. They will appreciate dealing with an educated consumer. Its not rude its shrewd. MOUNDS Wreaths Across America has a mission. First, it is to remember our fallen U.S. veterans. Second, to honor those who serve. Third, and finally, to teach children the value of freedom. Saturday is National Wreaths Across America Day. The organization will coordinate wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and more than 1,100 locations in the United States, at sea and abroad, including Mound City National Cemetery. Were not here to decorate graves. Were hear so you can take the opportunity to reintroduce yourselves and introduce your children to the men and women here, and remember not their deaths, but their lives, Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America, said in a video on the groups website. Mound City National Cemetery will honor veterans as part of the annual Wreaths Across America Day at 11 a.m. Saturday. Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission Inc. will conduct the Wreaths Across America ceremony by placing seven ceremonial wreaths to remember all who served for their sacrifices and to teach our younger generation about the cost of freedom. Specially designed wreaths for the Army, Marines, Navy Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and POW/MIA will be placed on memorials during a ceremony coordinated simultaneously with participating locations across the country. Becky Mueller of Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission said the group has a little more than 1,100 wreaths to place on veterans graves. Most of those almost 900 will be placed on graves at the national cemetery. The others will be in other cemeteries. We had a good year, one of our biggest, Mueller said. People have purchased wreaths through Wreaths Across America. The event also raises funds for the preservation commission. Wreaths are purchased for $15, with $5 going to the preservation commission. Those funds help maintain the lodge on the cemetery grounds. We are hoping to build a small museum or interpretive center, Mueller said. The caretaker lodge is leased from the Veterans Administration. Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission is responsible for the utilities and other costs. Jim Koonce got involved in Wreaths Across America at the urging of his friend, Van Rendleman, a Vietnam veteran. Rendleman drives a semi to New Hampshire to pick up wreaths and delivers them to Arlington National Cemetery. Koonce started Honor Wreaths for Veterans, a new nonprofit organization based in Marion. The organization was created to allow more than just Rotary clubs to participate in the local fundraising efforts to honor veterans. This year, they collected donations from as far north as Chicago, from the St. Louis Metro East area, central and Southern Illinois, including the Carterville Area and Jackson-Williamson Rotary clubs. "This year we are taking most of our wreaths to Mound City National Cemtery. Eventually, I would like to expand our efforts to Jefferson Barracks, Alton and Danville, maybe even Camp Butler in Springfield," Koonce said. All of the wreaths were purchased through Wreaths Across America. Three Women's Life Clubs, two in Carterville and one in Marion, have raised funds, and Women's Life has matched their donations. Koonce has had a lot of support from Carterville, especially the Methodist Church in Carterville. "I'm honored to be able to do this for the veterans," Koonce said. "We are going to take at least 30 to 40 people to Mounds this year." We can always use some help [laying wreaths], Mueller said. Shawnee Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol also is participating in Wreaths Across America, collecting donations for wreaths for veterans buried in Arlington National Cemetery. To volunteer or for more information about events planned for Mound City National Cemetery, call 618-521-5228 or 573-334-3275. Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 received a clean audit for its last budget year, according to Elizabeth Inabinet of McGregor & Company. She also reported the district ended the year with a fund balance of about $9 million, an increase of $2.8 million over the previous year. In addition, the food services fund balance finished the year with about $1 million, Inabinet said. OCSD5 spokesman Bill Clark reported after the meeting that the excess in funds stems from an aggressive monitoring of expenditures across the district. For the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2016, total expenditures were limited to 95 percent of the budget amount, he said. This is the second consecutive year that the district has finished the year taking in more money than it spent. In 2014-15, there was a general fund surplus of $2 million. This reversed the trend of 2012-13 and 2013-14 when the district showed deficits of $2 million and $4.2 million, respectively. In other business, Chief Instructional Services Officer Dr. Cynthia Cash-Greene reported that the district is receiving a four-year, $625,000 grant for after-school programs. Shawn Williams, head of human resources, reported that seven graduates from Claflin University and one from Columbia College have accepted offers to teach in the district beginning on Jan. 3, 2016. In addition, 23 college students have been recruited for student teaching assignments. Williams reported in mid-November that the district needed 19 teachers in areas including special education, foreign languages, English as a second language and elementary and early childhood education. Trustees approved Washingtons recommendation to use Jan. 9 and 10 to make up for days missed due to severe weather including those caused by Hurricane Matthew. He reported that students missed nine days and one day has been made up. State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, gave trustees a legislative report. She said the General Assembly will convene on Jan. 11 and will resume its discussion on changing the states educational system because of the Abbeville lawsuit. The 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 was rightly observed for the attacks continuing significance. But there are so many significant dates from World War II. Today is another. On Dec. 16, 1944, 72 years ago, the Nazi Germans launched their final major offensive on the western front in Europe. The Battle of the Bulge was a ferocious and devastating attack on primarily American troops across Belgium, Luxembourg and France. The battle was a desperate attempt by the Germans to rapidly and decisively turn the Allied advance into a retreat to the Atlantic so they could turn their forces east against the advancing Soviets. It ultimately failed. But author Chad Storlie says the German offensive and the uncoordinated initial Allied response offer lessons for today particularly for businesses during a time of unprecedented political change and tepid economic growth. Storlie is the author of two books: Combat Leader to Corporate Leader and Battlefield to Business Success." His brand message is that organizations and individuals can translate and apply military skills to business because they immediately produce results and are cost-effective. Storlie is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces lieutenant colonel with 20-plus years of active and reserve service in infantry, special forces and joint headquarters units. He served in Iraq, Bosnia, Korea and throughout the United States. He is an adjunct lecturer of marketing at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. He has a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from Georgetown University. Battle of the Bulge business lesson #1 The best intelligence comes from the front. The predominant intelligence message from the U.S. higher headquarters in early December 1944 was that the Nazi Germans were in static defensive positions and were expected to be that way for months. But frontline combat units heard from local people that German units were preparing for an attack. American units also captured several junior ranking German soldiers who told of preparations for a major attack. No one in the higher American headquarters would listen. The business lesson is executive teams must constantly be open to listening and hearing things that may go against their own beliefs and experiences. Listening to the front lines and then assembling those messages into a consistent story often times leads to the best competitive insight. Battle of the Bulge business lesson #2 Assume the competition will take the most dangerous course. American commanders dismissed the combat skills, tactics, strategy and morale of the German forces. The business lesson is that you must never underestimate the skills, passion and commitment of your competition. Indeed, the safe approach to the competition is to expect them to do what will become the most damaging to your position. Battle of the Bulge business lesson #3 Logistics, not tactics, is the key to success. For both the Nazi Germans and the Allies, the logistics of fuel, ammunition, spare parts, food, water and medical supplies ultimately proved crucial. The German attackers quickly lost their military advantage when the weather cleared to allow for Allied attacks on the vulnerable German logistical supplies. Ultimately, the Allies were able to overpower the Germans with logistics and unequaled combat power from both the ground and the air. The business lesson is that you can have great products and great strategy, but those need to be fully supported with quality manufacturing, great customer service, and the ability to fix and repair critical customer issues. Battle of the Bulge Business Lesson #4 Leadership humor and humility in the face of adversity wins morale. Throughout the battle, American leaders from sergeants to generals used combinations of humor, humility, initiative, bravery and leadership by example to calm, inspire and direct their forces from determined defense to a determined counter-attack and eventual victory. The business lesson is that humor and humility are incredible tools of leadership to inspire teams when morale is low and the situation dire. Indeed, the worse the business situation, the greater importance of leadership humor and humility. Battle of the Bulge business lesson #5 Superior technology with inferior strategy will not carry the day. When the Nazi Germans attacked, they revealed some of their latest weapons. They possessed new tanks, new infantry weapons and new tactics to make tanks and infantry attack faster. Even with these great new weapons, they were unable to create a victory. The business lesson is that even if you have one great product, but your company strategy does not reflect the needs of customers, then it is unlikely to succeed in the marketplace. Remembering the sacrifice of the soldiers who turned around a desperate battlefield situation and won during a cold and snowy period in late 1944 is a great way to remember the military veterans of World War II. And as Storlie says, an equally appropriate way to remember is to learn the lessons of the Battle of the Bulge and apply those lessons in todays world. Isaiah Owens staged his first funeral at age 5, burying a matchstick in a casket made from an empty beer can lined with toilet paper. As he grew older, his passion blossomed and he began to hold real funerals, including one for a neighbors beloved dog. While others found Owens curiosity with death and its traditions unnerving, the Branchville native said he had simply found his calling in life. It is that calling that has made Owens the subject of a documentary honoring African-American funeral traditions. I am excited and really humbled that this has come to pass at this particular point in my career, while Im still alive, and after all of these years of sacrifice and hard work, the master embalmer and restorative artist said. Homegoings, the debut feature documentary from New York independent filmmaker Christine Turner, explores the culture and history of death and mourning by blacks, as told through the eyes of Owens, owner of Owens Funeral Home in Branchville and Harlem, N.Y. The film will have its world premiere during a screening Thursday, Feb. 28, at New Yorks Museum of Modern Art. Homegoings will be featured in the International Selections section of Documentary Fortnight 2013, the MoMAs annual showcase of recent nonfiction film and media. The documentary is also part of MoMA Selects: POV, an homage to the Public Broadcasting Systems longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction film. Homegoings will make its broadcast premiere on PBSs POV this summer. This represents death coming out of the closet, because in the documentary, youre faced with the fact that youre going to die, Owens said. And for those people who have lost loved ones and look at the documentary, theyll be able to sit and cry for those people that theyve probably needed to cry for a long time ago. Owens said he hopes viewers also gain a sense of their own mortality, and that the realization leads them to express their wishes while they still can rather than leaving their grieving loved ones to make those final decisions. African-American people died with the belief in the resurrection, so the excitement over the resurrected body is one of the things that really kinds of helps, he said. As a Christian person, I believe that Jesus Christ died and was buried and resurrected. I think he took the sting out of death at that particular time for me and other people. Although death is not something I want to run into this second, Im aware of Christs presence with me as I even go through death. The filmmaker said she contacted Owens after reading an article about him in The New York Times. Turner said she was intrigued by the man who has spent more than four decades not only caring for the dead, but for those left behind, as well. As he began to tell me more of his story, I became further intrigued and realized that there was a making of a film here, Turner said. Death is something thats so taboo in our culture, and I thought that this could be a really interesting way of bringing it to the forefront. The film harkens back to a time when blacks were refused service at white funeral homes and subsequently had to find ways to honor their dead. In the film, Owens demonstrates the historical traditions among African-American undertakers, who took pride in caring for their own. What I love about what I do is having the ability to watch the people speak about my service for them, Owens said. Its their joy and excitement at a time when it should be just the opposite. When your grandmother or your mother has been stricken with cancer and winds up being 60 pounds and unrecognizable, how nice it is to walk in the funeral home and see her back at 250 pounds and looking glamorous and fabulous? While restoring complimentary features to emaciated cases is among the handiwork Owens performs for the dead, he is also described in the film as a superb caretaker for the living. For the 10,000 funerals that I have conducted, I have 10,000 families that pretty much love me and ... will always cherish in their hearts the feelings that I gave to them at the time that was most difficult for them, Owens said. When you come to me, Im gonna take care of you and fix your broken heart. I dont know how it happens, but I just kind of know the things to do. Turner said Owens sees his job as serving the living and the dead. I think thats what makes him so exceptional, she said. Hes a really warm person whos great with people. Its a family business, where Owens is joined by his wife, Lillie, and two of their six children, Isaiah Christopher and Shaniqua. Lillie has allowed me to become who I am. She never second guesses me, Owens said. I spend an awful lot of time working in the business, and she never hounds me and actually works right with me. Shes probably my greatest asset. Another daughter, Lauren, has just applied to mortuary school. Shell do good, and, hopefully, theyll be able to keep this business around, Isaiah Owens said of his children and the funeral home he began in 1970, after moving to New York in 1968 to train as a mortician when he was 17. Turner finished filming the hour-long documentary in 2012 after almost four years. Part of the film was shot in Branchville, where Owens 96-year-old mother, Willie Mae, still works two days a week at the funeral home. Its so special for me to still have her. I feel extremely blessed, Owens said. Ive seen so many people in my career who lost their mother at a young age. To see her still getting to work and transferring the calls back to New York is just a blessing from the Lord. Turner said Homegoings helped her develop her own voice while giving one to family members who lost loved ones in the film. The funeral services that I covered in the film tended to be more celebratory in nature. Theyre really about celebrating the life of a particular person. I always saw them as a combination of both sad and happy, but also cathartic, she said. Death is a universal thing. Theres a way that people can connect with it. Even if they come from completely different backgrounds, theres a familiarity. The best films often reflect back on the audience. It was important to really give voice to the people in the film, because ... the experience of talking was very therapeutic. Turner said she is honored to have her passion project featured at the MoMAs Documentary Fortnight. I felt a strong sense of responsibility in protecting the subject matter, so I wanted to do the film with as much respect and dignity as I could. That was always my goal, Turner said. I also wanted to show that this has been a tradition in the community for a very long time. Making the film constantly reminded me of the preciousness of life. Were so involved in our work and everything else thats going on that we dont often stop and just remember how lucky we are to be here. Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Online is the states official free resource for information on the Affordable Care Act. A statewide effort by the New Hampshire Health Plan , Covering New Hampshire is the official, free resource for Granite Staters to learn about the Health Insurance Marketplace and the new, affordable health insurance plans that are now available http://coveringnewhampshire.org/ Antonio Guterres took the oath of office on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, as the United Nations new Secretary-General, during a formal ceremony at the General Assembly. The former prime minister of Portugal pledged to "exercise in all loyalty, discretion and conscience his duties as UN chief when he takes charge on January 1. The 67-year-old was elected by acclamation in the General Assembly in October, to become the ninth UN chief in the world bodys 71-year history. Guterres will replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea. Ban steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms. Guterres was Portugals prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. He performed well in answering questions before the General Assembly while campaigning for the job, while his executive experience propelled him to first place among the 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council. Left:Jasmond Crab Charles-Huskinson, became this countrys 35th homicide victim for 2016. Below: The open stairway down which Crab fell. Right: Atelbert Bert Nanton described Crab as his soldier. AteLbert Bert Nanton, who described the late Jasmond Crab Charles-Huskinson as his "soldier, believes that his close friend would have still been alive, had he complied with his (Bert) request, shortly before he died. Bert told THE VINCENTIAN on Wednesday, that moments before the incident which resulted in Crabs death, he had asked him to buy a cigarette and a wrapping paper so that they could smoke a marijuana cigarette, but Crab refused to go. The 62-year-old labourer died around 7 p.m. on Monday, after reportedly receiving what appeared to be a stab wound to the chest and other abrasions to the body, following an altercation on the upper floor of a wooden two-storey building located in an area known as The Hole, at Rose Place. The area is home to a number of small, dilapidated houses. Crab was pronounced dead at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital. But Bert feels that if Crab had bought the cigarette and wrapping paper and they had smoked the spliff, he (Crab) would have been in a different frame of mind. "He was my brethren, he was my soldier. We used to smoke a little herb (marijuana) together, nothing else. "If he did go and buy the wrapping paper and the cigarette, we would have smoked a spliff, and we would have been speaking positive vibes. The incident would not have occurred, said Bert, a well-known character on the streets of Kingstown. Bert recalled that he was in his room on the lower floor of the building when he heard a commotion upstairs. When he looked out, he saw Crab falling down the uncovered stairway. Bert and Richard Richie Deshong who also lives in the same yard, took up the wounded man and carried him to the hospital, located a stones throw away. "I thought he was just badly wounded, but he died shortly after, Bert sighed. He admitted that Crab had his weaknesses, but stressed that he was a very intelligent and loving person. "He loved to listen to the news and read the newspapers, and me and he used to discuss the issues together, Bert related, adding that Crab had a special love for THE VINCENTIAN. "He was my soldier. I just respect his company. It is so sad that he had to go that way. Crab, former teacher at the Kingstown Anglican School and former student of the St. Martins Secondary School, had turned to a life of drug abuse for several years and had numerous run-ins with the law. He had made efforts to redeem himself, but had several relapses along the way. Some years ago, Crab was commended by then Chief Magistrate Sonya Young, after he had testified in a murder trial at the Serious Offences Court. "You sound so intelligent, she said to him then. In an interview with THE VINCENTIAN, Crab had declared, with indications of a deep-seated consciousness, that one of his greatest disappointments in life was to see the collapse of the Grenada Revolution. On Thursday morning, Ms. Ava Charles of Rose Place appeared at the Kingstown magistrates Court, and was formally charged with causing the death of Jasmond Crab Charles-Huskinson. Luzette King, one of the pillars of the ongoing protest action against the 2015 general election results, described the first year anniversary since the last general election as a bitter-sweet moment for her. "Bitter in the sense that I wish Vincentians can be a bit more proactive to defend their rights. For some reason, I dont know when we became a people who others could tread on as they wish, said King. Supporters of the Opposition the New Democratic Party (NDP) on Monday, December 14th, 2015, began protest action outside the Electoral Office Kingstown, ahead of the swearing in of the new Unity Labour Party Administration. Last Wednesday, December 14, 2016, marked a year since the protest action began, and King assured that the protest will continue until justice is dispensed. The protest, in time, took on the sobriquet Frontline. The NDP is challenging the results in at least two constituencies, Central Leeward and North Windward. Police were called in on Friday to escort the Supervisor of Election Sylvia Findlay- Scrubb from her office. As she exited the Electoral office, protestors could be heard mocking her, with chants of "Election thief. King highlighted the fact that Findlay-Scrubb could call for a police escort, but no police officers were called upon to arrest David Ames, a Principal partner of Harlequin Hotel and Resorts, developers and operators of the Buccament Bay Resort, who is facing charges of tax evasion and theft here. "Here on the Frontline, we have been protesting an election that was fraudulent, the evidence is there ... so thats the bitter part of it, said King, adding" The part that is a little bit more satisfying is that I doubt anybody believed that the Frontline would have survived. She said the problems that Vincentians were facing in 2001 , when public servants and people in general took to the streets along with the then opposition ULP, to protest against the NDP who was in government, were nothing compared to what they are facing now. "So the Frontline right now is a platform where people can come and protest discuss political issues, find out what is the state of play on the petition and all kinds of things, said King. Many persons visited the Frontline last Friday to show their support, King told THE VINCENTIAN. But she expressed disappointment with the media, noting that she is not satisfied with the amount of investigative journalism that is taking place, and even questioned how is it Minister of Labour Camillo Gonsalves could have contacted David Ames and the Press cannot speak to Ames. (KH) St. Clair Leacock, MP for Central Kingstown was perhaps more measured in his presentation to Parliament, than most people would have anticipated. Left: Dr. Godwin Friday, newly installed leader of the Opposition feels assured that his colleague St. Clair Leacock would continue to serve under the NDP. The future of the relationship between Parliamentary Representative for Central Kingstown, St Clair Leacock and the New Democratic Party (NDP) is uncertain. He expressed his dissatisfaction in the manner in which he was seemingly overlooked for the positions of President of the NDP and Leader of the Opposition in favour of eventual choice Dr Godwin Friday. "I dont think it is unfair to say that the door is open, and that it is left to me to see how I spend the rest of my years; whether I want them to be in the wilderness or to make them available to the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines in a principled manner, Leacock said in Parliament on Thursday, in a highly anticipated presentation. "At this time, I am conscious of the fact that I am the embodiment of not just St Clair Leacock, but the hundreds of poor, suffering people who have held faith with me for many years, he continued. "Today, I have great suffering and humiliation when I witness and experience the onslaught that I face. Some call it friendly fire. . . I have given my best years - in fact, some 35 years to the NDP. lost my job, lost my business; but that is how the cookie crumbles. Even against that summation, the Parliamentary Representative said that he was not bitter, because that was the nature of politics. And in reference to his years spent contributing his service and time (given) to the political organization, he said he looked back with pride at his stint as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the NDP during the Grand Beach Accord. He took credit for starting the now popular NDP talk show programme, New Times. "I listen to people call in about my absence from the programme, and I am still trying to [find] space on that programme that I conceptualized because its full out. And he talked about the NDP document, the Social Redemption Charter, which he said was drafted by him, yet he was not often credited. His popularity in his constituency is evident by the numbers that he has won by, and he assessed his performance at the polls as having been above the average of the NDP. According to Leacock, he took issue on the principle that the party members mismanaged themselves, and that they did not follow proper process. He said that he received two important telephone calls during the time that Dr Friday was being elevated to the position of Party Leader and Opposition Leader only one came from his NDP colleagues, Senator Julian Ferdinand. The calls came from former leader of the NDP Sir James Mitchell, and Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves. Dr. Gonsalves, in his contribution to Leacocks presentation, described it as unusual. "In his words, he is enduring great suffering and humiliation and pain, occasioned by an organization that he gave 35 years of service. I am touched by this, the Prime Minister said. Dr. Friday, in his remarks, thanked all his colleagues, saying that Leacock called him the day after his appointment, to pledge his continued support in the House. He pointed out, though, that the position was an appointment by the Governor General, and that it was a responsibility and not a platform. "It is something that I take seriously because I think that it is time the business of the people be given priority over personal and private concerns that is why I accepted the position; it was up to me to say no to my colleagues, Dr. Friday said. He concluded, saying that he too was experiencing some anguish that was causing a lot of anxiety and sleeplessness. "Because it is a person for whom I have great respect, and whom I have worked with for many years, and he appealed to those who would sow the seeds of division to do something better with your time. He added that Leacock expressed his continued service to the nation, and that he expected that he would continue to serve under the NDP. It was a time for interacting and reminiscing for the senior citizens. Senior citizens who attend the NIS Golden Years Centre at Buccament, and others from the wider community, received some early Christmas cheer, compliments the United Returnees Association (URA). The URA, which has offered ongoing support to the Centre, held its Annual Three-course Christmas Luncheon for the Senior Citizens, October 8. Chairman of the URA - Kenneth Abraham said that the organization was happy to support the senior citizens, and referred to scenic drives/tours the Association organized for senior citizens in June. ". They are elderly, and if nobody else does this, they wouldnt be able to see much of what St. Vincent has, said Abraham, adding that his Association was encouraged by the appreciation the seniors show in return. Abraham underscored that the senior citizens have contributed significantly to the country, and therefore, must be treated well and made to feel comfortable in their golden years. The Luncheon activity also included time for the senior citizens to sing and dance to the sound of steel pan. They mingled with each other and reveled in reminiscing about their past. Area representative - Sir Louis Straker was also in attendance. He was there , because he wanted to share "a little Christmas cheer with the senior citizens. He described the URA initiative as a very good gesture. "Actually, this is one of the reasons why we have this Golden Years Centre, so that we could bring all the senior citizens together, and now that it is Christmas time, it gives me very great pleasure to be here with them, said the area MP. He echoed Abrahams sentiment that it was important that the senior citizens be made to feel comfortable and share camaraderie. The URA has been able to assist the senior citizens because of a number of fundraising events along with members personal finance, but "Anyone who have been overseas and want to join the crowd is welcome, said the Deputy Chairman. Meetings are being held at the Golden Years Center at Buccament every last Monday of the month. The URA was established 11 years ago, and is comprised of 30 members drawn from persons who have resided in the USA and the UK. The original objective was to foster a bond among the returnees themselves, but in recent times, the objective has expanded to include serving communities around St. Vincent. The community outreach programmes are funded from the returns of fund-raising events and the pockets of members. In addition to supporting the Centre, the URA also assists a number of secondary school students. On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ambassador Baushuan Ger handed over to Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves a cheque of US$150,000 (EC$403,230), as a contribution to disaster-relief efforts following the severe damage caused by a trough systems here. In addition to the grant provided by the ROC government, the SimplyHelp Foundation, a non-profit humanitarian organization founded by Taiwanese diaspora in Los Angeles, USA, has decided to donate a 20-foot container of disaster-relief goods to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, upon the request of the embassy. The contents of the container, in total value of about US$100,000, will include clothes, shoes and household items. The container is scheduled to arrive in January 2017. Ambassador Ger expressed his countrys solidarity with St. Vincent and the Grenadines at this challenging time. He conveyed heartfelt sympathies of President Tsai Ing-wen to those who suffered in the floods, and prayed for a swift process of rehabilitation and recovery in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Prime Minister Gonsalves acknowledged the continuing goodwill of the government and people of Taiwan, and expressed his appreciation for the assistance provided both in kind and cash. The grant will be used to support immediate humanitarian efforts, while the relief goods expected in January will be distributed through a coordinated social network. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Republic of China (Taiwan) celebrated this year, the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By Azernews By Amina Nazarli Along with the economy of Azerbaijan, Free Trade Zone (FTZ) to be created in Baku's Alat settlement (ATZ) will be beneficial also for Turkey's economy. Spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Huseyin Muftuoglu stressed that, currently, Turkey is closely involved in the project, Azertac reported. As in Dubai, Baku International Sea Trade Port will become a giant FTZ of the region, in the coming years. Huseyin Muftuoglu further said that modern and global infrastructure projects are being implemented in Azerbaijan, in recent years. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway soon to be put into operation is a joint work of Azerbaijan and Turkey brotherhood. The new Baku International Trade port will also further enhance trade relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. On the other hand, this international project creates profitable opportunities for Turkey to enter the Central Asian and Russian markets. Of course, Turkey will always support such projects, Muftuoglu said. Measures on creation of a FTZ type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Bakus Garadagh district was singed by president on March 17, 2016. The Baku FTZ will include several components, such as Truck Parking, International and Domestic Logistics Centers, operating within a special economic regime, which expects to bring huge benefits to the state budget of the country once established. In September 2016, the Azerbaijani government and Dubai Port World (DP World), one of the worlds major port operators, signed an agreement on provision of consulting services for the creation of the free trade zone in the Alat township. Earlier, the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a memorandum of understanding targeting on studying potential capacity of the port and the FTZ, as well as the opportunities to attract private sector to the process of creating the free trade zone. ICD will be the second international organization, after DP World engaged for consultations within the framework of a FTZ. FTZ targets to create economic revival in the port and attract business operations to Azerbaijan. The project will also give a stimulus for the popularization and development of 'Made in Azerbaijan' brand, with which the country is keen to penetrate widely in the international commodity markets. By Azernews Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on December 16 with the aim of speeding up search and rescue efforts in the Caspian Sea where 10 oilfield workers went missing yesterday after part of an oil platform collapsed caused by high winds. Under the Order, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, State Oil Company and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company are instructed to speed up search and rescue efforts. The Cabinet of Ministers is instructed to provide financial and other necessary assistance for the families of those, who died in the incident. SOCAR is instructed to determine serviceability of the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of SOCARs AzNeft Production Union and estimate damage caused to the facility. The President also instructed the SOCAR to review security at all its facilities and installations. Under the Order, the Prosecutor General`s Office must launch an immediate investigation into the cause of the incident. A 150-meter high part of the pier on the right and left sides of the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of Azneft PU collapsed caused by the wind at a speed of 41m/s in the Caspian sea at about 5.00 in the morning on December 15. The ground as well as the lodge attached to the pier also collapsed. Ten workers of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan have gone missing. The body of one worker, Ilham Gafarov was found at about 14:00 (UTC/GMT+4) on December 15. Three helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as VIXR-5, VIXR-8 and Svetlomor-2 vessels are involved in the search. Moreover, personnel of the State Directorate for Small Capacity Vessels and Caspian Basin Accident-Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are involved in the search in coastal areas. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov Armenia has long been criticized for its human-rights record, but this time the Sargsyan regime has cracked down on human rights more severely. The arrest of a young writer and civic activist Lusine Nersisyan, from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakhs Khankendi city, received wide publicity. Nersisyan was recently detained by Armenian security forces for joining the Platform for Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace. The platform was initiated by Baku to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Moreover, she gave an interview to the Azerbaijani media, where talked about the true situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Soon after that, Nersisyan was arrested by Armenian Special Service Bodies in Karabakh. Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard, commenting on Nersisyans arrest, said that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace Platform created by political experts and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan is very important for strengthening ties between different groups for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mard also expressed concern over Nersisyans destiny: I am worried about her. This also indicates that media must follow the issues. The actions of the Armenian side violate fundamental human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, Chairman of the Moldavian Public Chamber, politician Aurelia Grigoriu told Trend on December 15. In particular, Grigoriu noted that Armenia violated the article #19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as article #10 on Freedom of expression and opinion, article #5 on Right to liberty and security of person, as well as article #6 about the Right to a fair trial. Armenia and the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh formation allow themselves all these violations exactly because of impunity. The international community should finally take sanctions against a country violating human rights and being the aggressor, Grigoriu stressed. Head of the Baku Network's expert council Elkhan Alasgarov, in turn, noted that Armenia perceives with hostility the situation with the Baku Declaration, which was signed by a group of Armenians and Azerbaijanis within the Peace Platform. Nersisyan spoke about the troubles that the conflict, provoked by a group of radical Armenian nationalists, brought to Karabakh residents, Alasgarov said. However, the Armenian media keep silence about it they are stick to the policy aimed at impeding the idea of reconciliation between the two peoples, the expert noted. Alasgarov called on international human rights organizations to protect the Armenians who signed the Baku Declaration: Turning a blind eye to these processes, they actually contribute to the continuation of this conflict, which can progress into a more active form. Thus, Armenia once again showed that it is not ready to come to negotiations with Azerbaijan over the Karabakh issue. The only policy the Armenian government follows is to raise hatred towards Azerbaijan in the Armenian society and to prohibit any way of contact aimed at the conflict resolution. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov Issues related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be discussed at the winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) that is to be held in February 2017. This was announced by Bahar Muradova, vice-speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, to Trend on December 16. The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is definitely becoming the subject of discussion regardless of whether it is included in the agenda or not, said Muradova. The vice-speaker added that during the session, this issue is raised, first of all, by representatives of Azerbaijan, as well as other parliamentarians. "Thus, this issue will again be on the agenda of the session," Muradova said. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue was recently discussed at the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council on December 8-9 in Hamburg. At the meeting, foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk group co-chair countries made a joint statement on the problem where expressed full commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. By Azernews By Amina Nazarli The Defense Ministries of Azerbaijan and Georgia have inked a cooperation plan for 2017. The document was undersigned during the meeting between Azerbaijans Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and Defense Minister of Georgia Lev?n Izoria, who is paying a visit to Baku, on December 16. First, the ministers held their tete-a-tete meeting, which was continued in an expanded format. Hasanov, recalling that the military cooperation between the two countries is being carried out within the framework of programs and trainings conducted both bilaterally and through NATO, as well as in the format of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia's military structures, said that bilateral and trilateral exercises are planned for next year as well. Speaking about the high level of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, the Azerbaijani minister stressed that this plays an important role not only in the development of our countries, but also in ensuring security in the whole region. Hasanov expressed confidence that the cooperation plan for 2017 between the military structures of the two countries will strengthen the fruitful cooperation. The minister further thanked the Georgian people for support to Azerbaijan within the international organizations, the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of the country, stressing that Azerbaijan also recognizes and supports the territorial integrity of Georgia. The minister informed the guest that Armenia, as the occupying country creates a major threat to regional security and provides ongoing support for separatism on the state level. Izoria, expressing satisfaction with his first official visit to Azerbaijan, emphasized that this is a clear example of the high level of cooperation between the two countries. Noting the important role of friendly relations of heads of states in the development of relations between the two countries, the Georgian minister stressed the importance of such meetings in terms of enhanced cooperation. Izoria also said that Georgia is ready to take part in joint military exercises that will be held between Azerbaijan and Turkey next year. The sides further exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation in the military sphere and in the field of military education, the possibility of conducting joint military exercises, the organization of working meetings and other issues of mutual interest. The Georgian minister was earlier received by President Ilham Aliyev, who praised the successful development of strategic friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia in a variety of fields, including security. The Georgian minister, in turn, hailed the importance of a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Izoria also expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries will further develop. The Azerbaijan-Georgia military cooperation was also key topic of talks between Minister Izoria and Azerbaijans Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. During his Baku visit, the Georgian delegation also visited the Alley of Honor, paid tribute and laid a wreath at the grave of national leader Heydar Aliyev. The delegation also paid tribute and laid flowers at the grave of prominent ophthalmologist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva. Then the guests visited the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate Azerbaijani heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence and territorial integrity, laid wreaths and flowers to their graves and to the "Eternal Flame" monument. By Azernews By Rashid Shirinov The Government of Azerbaijan seeks to toughen the control over quality of medicines imported to the country. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov voiced the necessity of increasing the quality controls by the relevant state structures. Ahmadov, addressing a Cabinet meeting on issues of import of medicines and strengthening control over their quality, noted that the medicine quality is a vital issue for ensuring the public health as the population itself is unable to check it. Today, the local market of medicines is heavily dependent on imports, while 57 percent of medicines registered in the country are produced in Europe, 26 percent in the CIS countries, including 12 percent made in Russia. The small proportion is produced in Asian countries. All medicines imported to Azerbaijan are examined before reaching pharmacies and hospitals. The country bans the import of drugs into the country without a license, permission, or other relevant documents. The official further informed about the conditions created by the government for activities of enterprises engaged in the manufacture and sale of medicines, and emphasized that they will always be supported. Ahmadov recalled that the medicine prices are state regulated in the country, which meets the interests of citizens. The official clarified that prior to the adoption of the relevant decision; the medicines were sold much more expensive than their cost, which had a negative impact on family budgets. The decision also took into account the interests of businessmen. However, Ahmadov said, there is information that the pharmaceutical market is supplied by low-quality products. Such abuses should not overshadow the government's decision, he noted. To date prices for over 10,000 medicines were approved, which make up 99 percent of the registered medicines in the country. Medicinal products, whose prices have been approved by the Council and entered into force, should be sold at these prices in all pharmacies across the country. Deputy Health Minister Elsevar Agayev and other speakers also mentioned that medicines of poor quality and those that did not pass the registration are sold at pharmacies of the country. They emphasized the importance of a serious fight with such negative cases. Previously, it was announced that a national system for pharmaceutical control would soon appear in Azerbaijan to ensure a quality of medicines. The Health Ministry said information databases and relevant program on pharmaceutical control will be created in this regard. Henceforth, citizens of Azerbaijan will be able to contact the Center for Analytical Examination of the Ministry in case of side effects of drugs revealed. In late 2015, the government announced that Azerbaijan will create own enterprises that will manufacture medicines to cease dependence on imports. The Russian R-Pharm, Azerbaijan Investment Company and Vita-A LLC (Azerbaijan) signed a deal on the creation of Hayat Pharm Joint Venture on November 2 in Baku, thus founding the countrys first pharmacy plant. The joint pharmaceutical plant with Iran will also be built in Pirallahi. Moreover, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and some European countries seek to take advantage and enter the pharmaceutical sector of Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz This post is prompted by a number of things that have left me pondering how as Christians we are to bring about change in our churches. When we strongly b... 7 years ago AccorHotels, one of the worlds leading hotel operators, has signed a management agreement with AlBaker Investments to develop a new Sofitel hotel in West Bay, Doha, Qatar. The 420-room luxury hotel is expected to open in 2019. Olivier Granet, managing director and chief operating officer of AccorHotels Middle East, said: We are excited to partner with AlBaker Investments to bring the Sofitel brand, one of our most successful international brands, to Qatar. Sofitel has become a key player in the luxury and upscale segment of the hospitality industry and the new Sofitel Doha West Bay will broaden the scope of our offering in one of the regions key markets. A representative of AlBaker Investments, said: AlBaker Investments is delighted to have signed an agreement with AccorHotels to introduce the luxury Sofitel brand to Doha. We intend on creating a hotel that will produce unique and extraordinary experiences to set a new standard for luxury destinations in Doha. We look forward to a long and fruitful association with AccorHotels. We believe that with our experience in the development of properties in Qatar, combined with AccorHotels expertise in the hospitality industry, the Sofitel Doha West Bay will stand out as an iconic luxury property within the country. The Sofitel Doha West Bay will be strategically located in front of City Center Doha Mall, offering easy access to the capitals main commercial and shopping districts. The hotel will be uniquely designed to reflect a modern and contemporary aesthetic. Sofitel Hotels & Resorts offers luxury hotels with a difference, that combine its French origin - a unique combination of elegance, savoir-faire and the art of hospitality with the best of local culture in each country. With this in mind, guests staying at the Sofitel Doha West Bay will be able to enjoy a wide range of restaurants with unique and unconventional restaurant and lounge concepts in addition to a rooftop bar and a lounge with panoramic views over the city. The property will also offer tailor-made meeting facilities, swimming pools, a SO Fit and a SO Spa. Granet added: The Doha West Bay shoreline has grown into one of the most prominent business sites in the capital. AccorHotels footprint in this central area is expanding in tandem with the local demand for quality and more refined properties. AccorHotels has two existing properties in Qatar, in addition to six others under development. In the Middle East, AccorHotels currently operates 87 hotels encompassing over 26,000 rooms across the luxury to economy segments. The Groups regional network also includes 80 hotels under development, bringing close to 24,000 additional rooms to the Middle East. - TradeArabia News Service More than 300 exhibitors will be showcasing thousands of dramatic and beautiful jewellery pieces, home decor items and glamorous watches at the Dubai International Jewellery Week. The event, which opened today (December 7) will run at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) for the next three days. Among the international boutiques and retailers present at this years show will be prominent names such as Yoko London, Australian South Sea Pearls Fzco, Very Important Jewels Paris, MOISEIKIN International Limited from Hong Kong, Ferrari Firenze SRL from Italy, Yessayan Jewelry from Lebanon, or Hazooriral Legacy from India. Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Events Management, DWTC, said: More than 70 per cent of our exhibitors comprise high-profile international jewellers who return to the show every year. This is a clear testimony underlining the exhibitions status as the leading platform for brands to mark and maintain their presence at the Middle East market. LohMirmand added: Since 1995 we have been the host of leading international brands, designers, manufacturers and retailers from across the world to provide buyers with the best quality shopping experience and we are ready to host another successful show this year. The appreciation of pearls and fine jewellery among the Middle Eastern audiences is the key factor making Yoko London, a British brand popular with A-list celebrities like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Eva Longoria, return to the show with new collections year after year. Yoko Londons Isabella Daniels said: Dubai International Jewellery Week is a crucial opportunity for us to reconnect with existing customers in the region, as well as meeting and networking with new potential clients. She added: The show is an essential platform for us to introduce our new deigns to an audience of discerning jewellery lovers in the Middle East and the one-of-a-kind sets we will unveil tomorrow are the most opulent and luxurious of all the Yoko London pieces. Among international brands returning to the show this year, Bellagioia Argento Italiano will be presenting its brand new collection of high quality silver jewellery featuring ruby replica stones and fancy yellow diamond simulants. Gianni Piazza, owner of Bellagioia Argento Italiano said: Dubai International Jewellery Week gives us a unique opportunity to gauge the upcoming trends and plan our future collections that will correspond with the needs of the local and regional markets. Participating in the show allows us understand the taste of the glitzy and sophisticated collectors and potential buyers from the Middle East and respond to their demands. To help visitors make confident purchase decisions ahead of the festive season, the show features numerous daily workshops led by three Middle Easts top fashion influencers. Taim Al Falasi, Mariam Yasin, and Rana Saab will offer the participants unique insights into the intricate world of jewellery and fashion pairing. Organised for the 8th consecutive year, the Emerging Jewellery Design Awards will be presented at a splendid gala ceremony tomorrow. The winning pieces, designed by three international emerging artists and manufactured by Maha Al Sibai, will be available for purchase directly at the show. TradeArabia News Service Cruise Arabia - an alliance of six GCC tourism authorities with the aim of promoting the region as a preferred cruise travel destination - is looking to expand its reach to the Indian Subcontinent. Discussions with relevant tourism bodies have already started, delegates were told on the last day of the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Spearheaded by Dubais Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) in 2013, the Cruise Arabia membership currently includes Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi); Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority; Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA); Oman Ministry of Tourism (Oman Tourism) and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA). Sharing Cruise Arabias growth plans, Hamad M Bin Mejren, senior vice president, Stakeholders Department, Dubai Tourism, said: Cruise Arabia has initiated discussions with the relevant ministry departments in India and we are looking to develop co-operation moving forward. The proximity of the Indian Subcontinent is perfect for cruise tourism and we will work with cruise lines to identify itineraries originating from the Middle East for the 12-14 day duration trips in particular. Agreeing with Bin Mejren, Clare Ward, director, Product and Customer Services, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said: India is hugely important to the UK market with strong historic links both from the UK and from this region. We know there will be infrastructural challenges but the cruise growth potential is huge. Also part of the discussion, Christopher Allen, vice president, Global Deployment & Itinerary Planning, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises & Azamara Club Cruises, confirmed Celebrity, making its debut this winter, will be returning to homeport in the Gulf in 2017/18 and 2018/19 making it three consecutive seasons. The three Royal brands will collectively chalk up 50 Arabian calls this season, rising from five calls in 2014/15 and will make a record 29 calls in India this winter, some originating from the Gulf. Also proving a topic of interesting discussion was Abu Dhabis intention to become the regional hub for Halal Cruising. The message was delivered by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) during an open panel session to senior cruise line executives, tourism authorities, industry stakeholders and global tour operators at the event. According to Mubarak Al Shamisi, director of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau: We have identified the Halal Cruising segment as a new source market to support our ambitions to grow Abu Dhabis cruise passenger numbers to over 800,000 by 2025. We believe our culture, heritage and product base has great appeal with the Muslim traveller and the expansion of this product mix into the cruise segment is a natural progression to attract Muslim passengers from our key cruise markets, and stimulate regional and home-grown demand for Abu Dhabi cruises. Abu Dhabis international cruise tourism passengers are predominately sourced from Germany, UK and France, which have a combined Muslim population of over nine million people. When you factor in the $55 billion value of the Muslim travel market from the UAE and our closest GCC neighbours, the potential is clear to see. Our challenge is to work with all concerned to ensure that cruise lines develop the product, that this product is available to purchase through the right channels, and that it appeals to the particular travel needs of the Muslim traveller, added Al Shamisi. The value of the global Muslim tourism market is estimated to be worth $151 billion, rising to $243 billion by 2021, according to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Outlining four elements of a strategic approach to develop demand for the sector, Al Shamisi added: In partnership with international cruise lines and the travel community, we intend to deliver against priority areas to ensure our cruise products are well placed to meet specific Muslim demands on a number of fronts including food and beverage, segmented family and gender-specific products and provision of prayer facilities. The final day of the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum drew more than 200 delegates from across the region with interesting discussion around Expanding source markets for Arabian Cruise Products; Protecting Passenger and Crew Health and Port and Terminal Infrastructure and the Operating Environment. - TradeArabia News Service A thin line of pipe cuts across Wyoming, beginning in gas fields in the southwest corner and stretching to the western edge of Montana. Along the way it feeds other smaller pipes, offering compressed carbon dioxide as an end-of-life service to aging oil fields. The greenhouse gas has been a saving grace for some oil producers looking to tap into reserves otherwise out of reach. But its price is also tied to oil. As Wyomings crude industry has plummeted in the last two years from highs of over $100 a barrel to the $30 range, producers have focused on their most productive assets and scaled back the more expensive process of using carbon dioxide to stimulate older wells. But lately, with firmer prices at the end of 2016, carbon dioxide producers could begin to see a turnaround. It could eventually bring this lesser-known sector, known as enhanced oil recovery, back to the fore. A key to billions Enhanced oil recovery is the third stage of pumping oil. When a well is first drilled, oil and gas essentially pump themselves, pushed upward by a buildup of pressure in the reservoir. As the oil and gas are removed, that pressure dissipates, and secondary tactics are employed using water pumps. Those first phases still leave up to 60 percent of the resource in the ground. Thats where carbon dioxide comes in, said Rob Hurless, deputy director of the University of Wyomings Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute. Wyoming has a number of historic fields that have passed the first and in some cases the second state of oil recovery, he said. To access the rest of that oil, producers can pump carbon dioxide into the reservoir to catch the rest of the available oil. Proponents say the use of carbon dioxide is key to unlocking billions of dollars, but its trajectory is dependent on a higher oil price. In a 2014 report on enhanced oil recovery, University of Wyoming economist Ben Cook estimated the process could contribute between $6.1 billion and $17.5 billion in additional royalty payments. It could also support between 2,968 and 8,278 jobs a year over 40 years and add up to $100 billion to the states GDP. But that report was written when oil was selling at $140 per barrel. Its a push that ebbs and flows with the price of oil, said Brian Jeffries, director of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority, the agency has been working on establishing carbon dioxide pipeline corridors to accelerate federal permitting for future construction. When oil prices are higher, all things being equal, enhanced oil recovery with CO2 is more profitable, and then you get more interest, he said. Supply and demand Most of the carbon dioxide used for enhanced oil recovery in Wyoming is coming out of Shute Creek, a natural gas processing facility near Kemmerer owned by ExxonMobil. Though the surrounding field produces a number of gases, including valuable amounts of helium, the majority of it is carbon dioxide, said Jeffries. About a decade ago, Exxon was under pressure from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it was venting, about 180 million cubic feet per day, according to Star-Tribune reporting from 2008. That year ExxonMobil was ordered by the commission to redirect more of its carbon dioxide emissions into pipelines, so it could be used in enhanced oil recovery. The project expanded, as did the pipelines feeding the greenhouse gas to the rest of the state. [Shute Creek] sort of inspired the building of the first carbon dioxide projects in Wyoming, because, heck, it was zero-cost CO2 for all practical purposes at that point, because you were stuck doing it anyway, said Jeffries, of the Pipeline Authority. Shute Creeks success has inspired similar operations, but it remains the biggest player. Denbury Resources has invested heavily in the carbon dioxide sector but has run up against some challenges, both in the facilities it bought and in the declining price of oil. The Plano-based company has a one-third interest in the Exxon carbon dioxide reserves in the LaBarge field that feeds Shute Creek. For years, the company has had plans to build a carbon dioxide capture facility and extend its pipelines. Right now, that expansion is dependent on oil prices, according to a company statement. There are far fewer players in carbon dioxide supply than some would like in the state. From the Wyoming Legislature to the University of Wyoming, support for enhanced oil recovery remains strong, said Hurless. This is one of the great ironies of the last decade or so. Were a state that is really carbon dioxide short in terms of the demand of carbon dioxide relative to the supply, he said. The chemistry works, but the economics are pretty hard right now. Oil and gas drilling will not be allowed in almost 40,000 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service announced Friday, ending more than a decade of limbo for conservation groups and energy companies. The Forest Service said the outcome was based on more than 62,000 comments on four possible options. What really came through was sense of place and what the Wyoming Range embodied in terms of the landscape and how people derive their economic welfare from it, said Mary Cernicek, spokeswoman for the Bridger-Teton forest, citing varying uses in the area from ranching to outfitting, hunting and tourism. The 30 leases were a holdover from when Congress passed the Wyoming Range Legacy Act in 2009, which protected 1.2 million acres from development. Stretching across the eastern side of the Wyoming Range, the oil and gas leases were never allowed to be developed, nor were they conserved as part of the broader tract of land. Outdoor groups like the National Outdoor Leadership School, the Wyoming Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited worked for years to remove the acres from leasing. They hailed the final decision as a victory for outdoor recreation and the environment. After 10 years of standing up for the Wyoming Range and after two incredible success stories, this is the happy ending wed hoped for, said Mike Burd, spokesman for Citizens for the Wyoming Range and Green River trona miner. Responsible energy development means some places, like the Wyoming Range, should be managed for wildlife, hunting, fishing and recreation, not oil and gas. The decision was disappointing, however, for oil companies who planned to drill in the leases. Peter Wold is president of Wold Oil Properties one of six companies with leases in the area and has been waiting since 2006 for the opportunity to develop them. He said his company could have drilled underground from existing leases resulting in no surface occupancy. The whole thing has been a frustrating experience, Wold said. They took our money and have not issued the leases. Its hard for me to understand particularly because weve said we would have no surface impact on forest lands. Wolds leases were on the very edge of the area that could have been drilled, said Aaron Bannon, environmental stewardship and sustainability director for the National Outdoor Leadership School. Some of the other leases were in the heart of the forest in the middle of where NOLS runs two-week outdoor courses for 14- and 15-year-olds. There was a decent potential if the decision wasnt what it is, we could see some pretty significant oil and gas development right on our operating area, he said. Trout Unlimited, which fought against the leases citing areas of native cutthroat trout habitat, applauded the Forest Services decision. There is a time and a place in Wyoming for oil and gas development, but the Wyoming Range isnt one of those places, said Tasha Sorensen, Wyoming field representative for Trout Unlimited. Maintaining access to intact natural landscapes in Wyoming is essential to maintaining our sporting heritage and outdoor recreation businesses. The decision by the Forest Service is final and will be signed by USDA Undersecretary Robert Bonnie in 30 days. Ten student teams will pitch their startup business plans next year for a $15,000 grand prize through the University of Wyoming. The contest, officially called the John P. Ellbogen $30k Entrepreneurship Competition, originally had a record-setting 76 teams competing, according to a UW news release. The top-placing teams of the 10 finalists will successfully pitch business plans that show significant business potential. The judges, which typically are venture capitalists but will also include educators and entrepreneurs, will examine the proposals financials, their need or lack of need in the market and students passion for the ideas. The teams will also be judged on their likelihood of keeping their businesses in Wyoming, said Steve Russell, the business colleges marketing and external relations director. Keeping these new business startups in Wyoming is a primary part of the competition, he said. The final teams have been paired with a mentor to counsel them on their proposals, Russell said. Those mentors vary from alumni to community leaders who work in areas that are helpful to the teams. Russell said the advisers are just as helpful to winning teams as the prize money. The mentors can help teams jump over potholes that others have stepped in over the years, he said. The 10 finalists will pitch their startups at a conference on April 20 at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. The event is open to the public. The competition, which has been held for about 15 years, has grown in the past three years from 14 applicants in 2014 and 47 last year to 76 this year. The winning team will receive $7,500 after the competition and an another $7,500 after a satisfactory progress report is submitted later. Russell said the progress reports should show that the teams have used the first half of their prize money to improve their winning ideas. That can mean attending conferences or buying needed equipment. The second place team will win $7,500, and the third place winner will take home $5,000. Both teams will also receive half upfront and half after showing their progress after the competition. The teams pitches are: A peer-to-peer cleaning service that allows a client to post a short description of an area that needs cleaning to an app or website. Cleaners can view the request and submit bids. A hardware and software platform that transforms speech to digital text. A new method for microgravity, or space-like, testing that prepares objects for space travel. A program where users post photos and challenge others to find and replicate the photos. Successful participants will be rewarded with prizes like discount codes. A plan to improve mobility of people in manual wheelchairs via a new wheel assembly, with the goal of reducing common shoulder and wrist injuries. A plan to create an e-marketplace to improve efficiency in the oil and gas supply chain. The idea would have operators submit request for proposals online, for which energy companies would submit bids. An app to enhance connectability through location data and syncing the calendar app on IOS devices for networking and connections between contacts. A company to provide digital marketing and websites that fit any budget for businesses large and small. A device to revolutionize water purification via a portable purification system. A company that builds high-quality, custom longboards at an affordable price. The University of Wyomings No. 1 priority is growing its enrollment in the midst of a two-year downturn thats seen the university lose $42 million in state funding in this budget cycle, President Laurie Nichols told lawmakers Friday. At a listening session in Casper earlier this month, Nichols said she thinks the university has done all it can to cut costs. Were going to have to go much deeper than weve had to up to this point should more reductions become necessary, she said then. The JAC, which drafts the first version of the budget bill, is in the process of reviewing state agency budgets as it prepares for the upcoming legislative session. On Thursday, its members met with officials from the state Department of Education. Nichols told lawmakers Friday that the university is increasing its tuition by 4 percent, which should raise around $2 million for the university. A plan to increase program fees is also in the works. Nichols said enrollment had been flat for several years before this freshman class, which is down more than 200 students compared with the 2015 class. Thats concerning, Nichols said, and turning that around is the No. 1 strategic priority. To that end, UW and Gov. Matt Mead requested $475,000 in additional university funds to help increase enrollment. Nichols said the money is a one-time request and that the university would find the funding for it in the future. When we land on what we want to do, we assume well have the resources to fund it, she said. Lawmakers pointed to a graph in UWs supplemental budget that showed applications for fall 2016 were the highest since at least 2012. Thats because the university waived the application fee, so they had more applications, Nichols said. UW also accepted more applicants, but still, fewer students selected the states only four-year school. About 56 percent of Wyoming high school graduates go on to some form of higher education, with about half of those students going to a Wyoming community college. Thats actually down from previous years, Nichols said, when it was over 60 percent. Thats not good enough, she told lawmakers. We need to change the culture, she said. Outreach changes The university announced last week it was restructuring its Outreach School in an attempt to streamline the schools work with transfer and community college students. Of the high school graduates who continue their education and dont go to a Wyoming community college, 50 percent leave the state. Rep. Donald Burkhart, R-Rawlins, asked why that was. Nichols responded that it was expected that some students would leave the state, but she said shes heard stories that prospective students feel like an education at UW might not be as good as an education elsewhere. Im convinced we have that quality of education, we just havent been marketing it, she said. The number of students who leave is particularly concerning because research shows that the chances are slim of them coming back after they graduate college. Its an upward battle to get them back, Nichols said. However, as Appropriations Committee Chairman Steve Harshman indicated, the reverse is also true: Should UW pick up out-of-state students, the research shows theyre likely to say here. But, Harshman pointed out, there isnt a scholarship program currently in place to start pulling in non-Wyoming students. On top of the $475,000 UW is requesting for direct enrollment and outreach efforts, the governor in his budget recommendations asked for $500,000 for the universitys Science Initiative. While the effort helps fund undergraduate research efforts, it also can boost retention efforts, officials told lawmakers. Greg Brown, associate dean at UWs college of arts and science, said the initiative will, among other things, help introduce students to research and pair them with faculty advisers. That relationship can boost retention as well as increase speed of graduation. Brown said the one-time $500,000 could affect as many as 250 students. In response to a question from Rep. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, about cuts to the universitys student health center, Nichols said three full-time positions had been eliminated, saving a few hundred thousand dollars. But she stressed that the cuts were to support staff, not health care providers. This should not have any impact on our ability to provide student health to students, she said. Nichols also warned that a fund that pays for 17 faculty to the tune of about $4 million a year is running dry. The university likely could get together the money needed to fund it for the remainder of this year, but she warned that without more money, the fund will start running in the red next year. It really will put us in dire straits if we dont find a way to fund those positions, she said. Buyouts The school is also offering another round of separation incentives, this time for faculty only, Nichols told lawmakers. The voluntary separation offers nine months pay for eligible faculty who decide to leave, with the hope of saving UW at least $2 million. University officials have said that the goal is $4 million, with $2 million going back to the school and the rest serving as savings. Nichols told legislators hitting that higher mark will be a challenge. Its the second buyout offered by the university recently. The first, announced last summer, drew around 75 employees, said UW Vice President for Administration Bill Mai. But of those 75, the majority were staff, not faculty. Nichols said thats because faculty werent given enough of a heads-up about the offer. This latest separation incentive should give faculty a few months to decide. Nichols told lawmakers that more than 300 mostly vacant positions at UW have been eliminated in her time at the university. Sen. Drew Perkins, R-Casper, remarked that it was smart to offer the buyouts in the middle of winter. Were hoping it helps, Nichols replied. RAWLINS The manager of the Sinclair refinery in Carbon County says the fire that broke out at the facility earlier this week took place in the hydrocracker unit. The fire early Monday caused no injuries and manager Steve Sondergard said the damage was minimal. Sondergard said a tube in a heater had ruptured inside the "high pressure" unit, but an internal investigation into what caused the blaze remains ongoing. Operations are expected to resume in the hydrocracker unit by next week. JACKSON An avalanche suspected of being caused by a skier swept across a mountain pass in northwest Wyoming and came close to pushing one vehicle over a steep slope. No one was hurt when the avalanche occurred about 4:50 p.m. Thursday along Wyoming 22 between Jackson and the Idaho state line. Sgt. Matt Carr of the Teton County Sheriff's Office says that about 100 yards of the highway at Teton Pass was buried in up to 20 feet of snow. Authorities didn't release the name of the man whose vehicle was knocked on its side by the avalanche and came to rest on the edge of a precipice. The pass was closed most of the night but reopened Friday morning. CHEYENNE The Wyoming Highway Patrol considered sending two officers to observe how North Dakota handled a large protest against an oil pipeline construction project in that state. Patrol administrator Col. Kebin Haller no Wyoming officers were sent because the North Dakota authorities already had their hands full. Haller says Wyoming will instead wait for a more formal debriefing situation when the protests have calmed down. He said his agency always looks to prepare its troopers for circumstances and events that may occur by learning from situations that happen elsewhere. Six Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers went to North Dakota from Oct. 22 to Nov. 8 to help local law enforcement there as part of multi-state emergency assistance pact. Eminent statesmen Al Simpson and Mike Sullivan recently engaged in a forum about civility. They lamented that politics has become so toxic. Both advocated for a return to respect and civility in the political arena. Candidates workshops back in the 1980s advised the participants: Talk about issues and what you have to offer to public service. Do not bad-mouth your opponent. Voters dont like that. Now, it seems they do like that. Vicious slander is the norm. Politics has become a blood-letting sport. How have we reached this heart-wrenching state of affairs? Various factors come to mind. One of the most disturbing is how organizations backed by rich and powerful individuals with self-serving agendas are insidiously manipulating candidates, parties and the public discussion. Wyoming prides itself on individuality and states rights, but increasingly allows outsiders and their groups to set the agenda. These rigid, contentious agendas have polarized us, us against them. While some agendas are pro-business, anti-government, anti-health care and taxes, others are human rights or religious, like pro-life versus pro-choice. A friend recently told me judgmentally that Republicans were Christians because pro-life was in their platform. She implied that those who were pro-choice were not. For folks like her it is black or white. Then there is a racist fear that others are taking over this country, which, ironically, our ancestors took from the native people. This campaign rhetoric marginalized many citizens in this country, but it resonated for the millions who voted for ethnic cleansing. Another devisive agenda, the alt-right movement, is gaining traction. It advocates white men in charge, ethnic cleansing and women doing as they are told. This movement is championed by its own media, Breitbart News. Lest you trivialize these misogynistic white males, one of its leaders has been appointed to a prominent position in the new administration. And in Wyoming, when Gov. Matt Mead spoke out in dismay about improper sexual treatment of women by a candidate, he was chastised as being disloyal to the economic concerns in our state. Even though the oil and gas industry has supplied such a glut of cheap energy that it is making coal superfluous, the dwindling coal industry was deemed way more important than how women should be treated. Because Wyoming is so wedded to the minerals extraction economy, this relationship trumps all decisions and civil discourse. With tunnel vision, Wyoming has minimized diversified economic development. Educators were told over 40 years ago that students should be taught how to adapt to a world where rapidly changing technology would likely mean the average person would change jobs at least eight times. Back then companies had started moving blue-collar jobs to countries where cheap labor could be exploited. Wyoming thought it was immune because it had coal, oil and gas jobs. Reality now has Wyoming scrambling to catch up. In this desperate atmosphere, human values of civility are being ignored. Simpson may be right that the parties need to be reorganized. Moderate Republicans like Simpson and Dwight Eisenhower would not succeed in the present Republican Party that has been hijacked by extremists. With their far right litmus tests, these extremists seek to get rid of the Republicans in name only, RINOS. Cannibalization within the Republican Party is the norm now. It is hard to be civil at the table when that is going on. Sen. Mike Enzi once said that in committee he began work on the 75 percent of issues where resolution reasonably could be found. Those experienced in public discourse have discovered that works well. But we cant allow extreme agendas like ethnic cleansing or witch hunt committees. When hate, intolerance and rigid dogma sit at the table, civil discourse is impossible. For, those players legitimize hate and bigotry. The respect for others that has helped us govern our country and live in peace with our fellow man falters. Our constitutional values of liberty and civil rights for all have been a shining beacon throughout the world. They have defined us. They are the pathway to civility. When Mike Pence becomes the 48th vice president of the United States next month, he will take on the role of a political lobbyist for Donald Trumps activist agenda. In an interview I conducted with Pence in his transitional office next to a sandwich shop in Washington, D.C., he said he believed voters gave Donald Trump a mandate. How can that be when Hillary Clinton won the popular vote? Trump won 30 out of 50 states. He won more counties than any Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan, and he undeniably reached Americans that Republican candidates havent been reaching on the national level, Pence told me. To help Trump accomplish his legislative goals, Pence plans to attend the weekly luncheon with senators and meet on occasion with members of the House where he spent more than a decade as a representative from Indiana. My years on Capitol Hill have convinced me that it is often the informal settings where you can learn where the opportunities are, what challenges need to be met. The agenda we are laying out is as energetic as the man who was elected president. We have a 100-day agenda, a 200-day agenda. I asked about Trumps pledges to spend on infrastructure, rebuild the military, the option of private care for veterans, paid for by the government. All of these will cost money and add to the debt. Pence responds: The president-elect, I think, believes everything begins with growth. Trump, he says, is counting on economic growth from repealing and replacing Obamacare and liberating corporations from unnecessary regulations. He foresees a wave of prosperity that will not add to the debt but produce more tax revenue, even as taxes are cut for individuals and businesses. He adds that in the case of infrastructure, encouraging public and private partnerships will reduce the cost to government. The president-elect is absolutely committed to scrubbing the federal budget with the eye of a businessman, Pence said, looking for efficiencies in every industry and looking for ways to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse and really meaning it. Like the issue of Boeing and the new Air Force One planes, which Trump has said he would cancel, unless the costs come down? Trump and Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman and CEO, spoke by phone and Muilenburg reportedly said he is committed to controlling costs. Pence laughed, Of course you can (control costs), if someone asks you to. Washington, D.C., is not accustomed to having someone in the Oval Office who actually asks people to sharpen their pencils. According to Pence, Trump is passionate about health savings accounts and the notion of giving people more ownership over their health care. He believes consumer-directed health care is the wave of the future. It bends the cost curve, in some cases, very dramatically. He added, Indiana is the first state to scale consumer-driven health care into Medicaid (which a Trump administration will propose block granting to the states). We now have over 400,000 Hoosiers who are at, or near, the poverty level making a monthly contribution to a health savings account. They have an incentive to engage in preventive medicine. Theyre out of emergency room care and into primary care. ... The long-term prospect for lowering the cost of health care in America is a healthier America. What about the never-Trumpers and their refusal to accept him as president? I think the president-elect has the leadership qualities and the strength to meet this moment in our national life, Pence said. Pence promised a repeal of the Lyndon Johnson IRS regulation that has been interpreted to mean pastors cannot talk about political issues, or risk losing their tax exemptions. He acknowledges the rule is unevenly applied and needs to be eliminated. Most of the public speeches at Americas founding were sermons, he said, allowing that many of those who led civil rights movement were preachers whose churches never had their tax status challenged. Is Mike Pence ready to be president should circumstances dictate? I pray that Im ready to be vice president, he responds. Well soon know how that prayer is answered. Editor: In November 2016, Constitutional Amendment "A" barely passed. It gave the Legislature the option to invest specified state funds in equities through outside investment managers, as is now done with state permanent funds. Wyoming's state examiner could examine any state agency. Was the state examiner's authority extended to audit investment managers? No, the state examiner position was eliminated before the state invested in equities. Do statutes on investment managers require audits after they get Wyoming's money? No, the statutes require the managers to make quarterly reports. It is asked that the Legislature votes the "no" option on Amendment "A." A statutory requirement for more than drive-by-audits, or a state examiner with oversight of the state treasurer and the investment managers is needed. Commercial buses traveling to Mexico will no longer be able to cross at the DeConcini Port of Entry in downtown Nogales during the day. The U.S. General Services Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will redirect buses to the Mariposa Port of Entry west of the city effective Monday, Dec. 19. Buses will enter Mexico at Mariposa between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. One lane will be open at DeConcini for southbound buses between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. A recent study of the storm water tunnel under the port showed strain from heavy loads, which prompted the change, said Traci Madison, a spokeswoman for the GSA. She said the DeConcini port was designed as a noncommercial port. Passengers should not notice the change and may even find the southbound trip quicker due to avoiding the congestion in downtown Nogales, Arizona, said Keith Rosenblum, a spokesman for Tap Royal bus lines, which has its U.S. headquarters in Tucson. What CBP has accomplished at the ports of entry in Nogales has demonstrated an agility rarely seen in government, he said. The dedicated northbound lane, for example, has significantly reduced wait times at the border. Its actually fun to see private vehicles waiting an hour or two while bus passengers cruise on through in minutes, Rosenblum said. There are between 20 and 30 buses daily, each with 30 to 40 passengers thats a lot of people to process but its efficient and its 20 or 30 less vehicles that are sitting in line and spewing exhaust. With barbers required to complete more training hours than police in Arizona, an expert from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York says law enforcement officers here are missing out on critical training involving stress management and dealing with high-risk situations. Arizona requires 585 hours of training for a person to become a certified law enforcement officer, according to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. Law enforcement candidates in Southern Arizona receive about 100 more hours of training to be certified and those hours typically deal with officer safety issues. But both amounts fall short of many other states, and even what it takes to be certified as a barber, which requires an applicant to complete 1,500 hours of training before he or she can take the exam with the Arizona State Board of Barbers. The Star contacted law enforcement agencies, training academies and oversight boards in all 50 states to see where Arizona stacked up as far as required hours needed to be a certified law officer. Required training hours elsewhere ranged from 340 to 1,112, with one state requiring a college degree to become a police officer. Arizona is near the middle range in the number of hours required, coming in as the 29th lowest number of training hours required to become an officer. With 340 required hours, Indiana was at the bottom of the list of hours required. Minnesota was the most stringent, requiring that applicants earn an associates or bachelors degree from a regionally accredited college and complete the professional peace officer education, which is usually included in the degree, said Peggy Strand, education director for the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. No national training standards With no federal agency to regulate training and more than a 700-hour variation in required hours, officers in many states arent being fully educated in critical areas, said Maria Haberfeld, chairwoman of John Jay College of Criminal Justices department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration . In the 48 states that have peace officer standards and training boards, its up to the board to decide the minimum hours of training for the states basic curriculum, she said. From there, its up to the training academies if they choose to add hours and in what areas they add them. We have over 700 police academies and 18,000 police departments, Haberfeld said. So basically its up to the police chief or commissioner or superintendent to decide whats good for the agency. Another problem is that because academies operate within different training modules, such as legal matters, patrol procedures and proficiency skills, the advancement from one module to another doesnt always allow officers to progress as efficiently, because theres no repetition in basic knowledge thats used along the way. Use of force is not separate from ethics training, for example, because its all interrelated, she said. In Arizonas curriculum, ethics is part of the first module and use of force isnt discussed until the eighth. But the most pressing issue in Haberfelds eyes is the increasing frequency in high stress situations that officers find themselves in and the immediate and lasting effects. Primarily, I think something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible is lack of stress training, Haberfeld said. Its the tools that the officers are not getting, how to deal with the stress that accumulates on the job and how to deal with yourself in certain stressful situation. Its sort of completely disregarded. Local academy requires more hours But the Tucson areas training academy has taken action to increase the hours in many of the critical areas discussed. The Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center requires nearly 100 hours more training than AZPOST requires, said Tucson police Lt. Tim Reese of the departments training division. The academy trains officers from agencies all over Southern Arizona, including Pima County and surrounding areas. The academy also increased training by 40 hours in what Reese calls high-liability areas. The current program lasts a total of 17 weeks and provides 680 hours of training in 10 separate areas. We do additional hours in things like first aid, firearms and physical fitness because a lot of those are high-liability situations, Reese said. Most of the feedback that weve gotten is that they would like to see additional training in areas about how to properly defend other people or yourself. The local training facilitys focus is de-escalation techniques and giving police the proper tools and techniques to keep that situation from becoming a use-of-force situation, Reese said. Required training hours at Southern Arizona academy are increased as needed, but the local center does periodic reviews, either two of four times each year, and has an open-door policy with the hiring agencies in Southern Arizona, Reese said. To maintain their state certification, Arizona police officers are required to complete eight hours of continuing training each year, and most states have the same requirements, although the hours vary. In addition, the state has committees that address statewide issues, such as defensive tactics and high-risk traffic stops, to make sure that Arizona is on the forefront of any changes in policing. Reality-based training has proven to be an effective way to address high-liability issues, because recruits learn how to work through the adrenaline that builds up, Reese said. They get out on the street and have kind of a memory bank of data on to to handle these situation, he said. Theyre able to continually think about things like the escalation and use of force, or thinking through problem solving. Haberfeld says its unlikely that the federal government will take action to regulate police training, as its already been a topic of discussion for years. Ive always felt that we need federal standards for law enforcement agencies, she said. This should be mandated with set standards, because were dealing with peoples lives. The Presidents Task Force on 21st Century Policing was established in 2015, and according to a one-year update from the Task Force, nine states have taken significant steps to implement its suggestions on helping to keep police officers and neighborhoods safe. For the most part, the task force isnt moving past reviewing documents and issuing reports, Haberfeld said. Its unfortunate because people die and not just in terms of making the wrong decisions, but from the standpoint that police arent given all the tools that they need, she said. America is now a nation where acts of political violence are so predictable that for months before an assailant broke into the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, last week, experts have warned such an incident was likely. Help India! By Moin Qazi for TwoCircles.net Haq Se Agar Gharz Hai To Zaiba Hai Kya Ye Baat Islam Ka Muhasiba, Yourap Se Darguzar! (And if your goal be truth, Is this the right road Europes faults all glossed, and all Islams held to so strict an audit?) Support TwoCircles -Sir Muhammad Iqbal There is widespread agreement among Muslims that media reports involving them are selective, biased, stereotypical and inaccurate. If you want to know how many times Muslims condemned violence and extremism just Google Muslims against terrorism or Muslims Condemning ISIS or any similar words and you will be surprised by the thousands of Muslim institutions, scholars, and governments that are condemning and fighting terrorism while assuring everyone that this does not have anything to do with the peaceful message of Islam. The majority of Muslims are moderate, peaceful people who have been affected by terrorism and violence more than non-Muslims. But the media is not interested in this positive news. It has constructed its own stereotype of a Muslim and uses selective stories to reinforce this stereotype. Stories in the media often treat Muslims as if they were all the same. They also often treat understandings of Islam as if they have never changed and are the same around the world. Muslims continue to be portrayed as uniformly fundamentalist, violent, and anti-secular. The terms Islamic or Muslim are linked to extremism, militant, jihads, as if they belonged together inextricably and naturally (Muslim extremist, Islamic terror, Islamic war, Muslim time bomb). In addition to the media, scholarship often pays limited attention to the debates that Muslims have amongst themselves about Islam, what it means to be Muslim, how Muslims deal with differences amongst themselves and their differing understandings of Islam, and their diverse relationships with non-Muslims. There is a strong voice of moderates form within the Muslim ranks that can be properly channelized by the media to give a rounded assessment of Islamic issues .It is equally true that media has tried to hype acts of Islamic impropriety by indulging in hyperbole . Sadly, journalism continues to fail in performing its fundamental role by simply rehashing tired old narratives of radical Islam or a fight within Islam. The truth is much more convoluted than that; the entire world has a direct role in creating the dangerous reality that so many Muslims have to live with every single day. The media shows remarkable consistency in employing an arsenal of semantic games, key phrases, convenient omissions, and moral relativism to portray such violence as a product of Islam. As Jim Morrison observes, Whoever controls the media, controls the mind. Headlines are sensationalised or distorted and reporting is often deeply racist. This directly impacts the lives of Muslims. Some of the stories that are emerging are painful and disturbing. The truth is much more complicated than that and the entire world has a direct role in creating the dangerous reality that so many Muslims have to live with every single day. It is much easier for the media to reduce the complex debate on various issues confronting modern Muslims to a series of cliches, slogans and sound bites, rather than examining root causes; easier still to champion the most extreme and bigoted critics of Islam while ignoring the voices of mainstream Muslim scholars, academics and activists. All of us from the mediafrom the most powerful columnists to the tiniest bloggersneed to be careful about what we put out into the cloud. Our keyboards have become so powerful now, that our slightest action of irresponsibility can blow us up into a crisis. Can we, members of the media, also not cooperate to stave off negativity from ruling the psychology of our people? Can we not underscore every negative report with a story of heroism and leadership, such that we focus not on the dark side, but rather, make that extra effort to draw out what continues to burn as the eternal flame of the indomitable. Because instant and credible information has to be given, it becomes necessary to resort to guesswork, rumors and suppositions to fill in the voids, and none of them will ever be rectified, they will stay on in the readers memory. How many hasty, immature, superficial and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing the common reader? Doesnt the media know that there are thousands of heroic Muslims whose contribution to society is just extraordinary? News value also depends on the social weight of the message, i.e. the extent to which the media user thinks that the message concerns him or her personally. In order to increase the social weight of messages, the reporter is inclined to present deviant behaviour of Muslims in such a way that it appears to have many consequences for every single person in society. This could explain why the media make eager and uncritical use of negative statements about the groups concerned when these are expressed by politicians and other important persons in society. The negative news presentation about Muslims in the media is also indubitably caused by the fact that reporters generally lack the specific knowledge which is needed in order to cover the groups concerned. The maximum effect of this lack of information is discerned when background articles are produced. Because of this deficiency, the reporter will quite often omit consulting the most suitable expert on the topic and consequently makes a mess of his critical analysis of the negative and inaccurate information gathered. The time-pressure under which reporters constantly have to operate quite often forces them to turn to the most accessible, mostly secondary, sources which are already replete with prejudices about the groups concerned. Religion is often portrayed simply as a social or political construct, although for millions of people, religion is a daily practice, and the very real framework of understanding that connects human lives to a spiritual reality. Their faith is the prism through which they view the world, and their religious communities are their central environments. It is difficult to overstate the importance of faith in the lives of so many. It is evident that most people around the world would prefer to live in peace than in conflict. Yet, often the only religious voices on the front page are those speaking messages of hatred or violence, especially in stories about conflict or social tensions. M. Scanlons now classic essay, The Difficulty of Tolerance, offers materials for an attractive affirmative answer: Tolerance is valuable for its own sake because of the attitude it allows us to bear towards our fellow citizens, an attitude of fraternity and solidarity that is deeper than the intractable disagreements that divide us. Tolerance makes it possible to view all our fellow citizens as equally entitled to participate in defining and determining the shape of society. Intolerant individuals, Scanlon argues, dont view their fellow citizens as so equally entitled. Intolerant individuals think that they have a special status as compared to others, and do not view the others as full members of society. For example, many rightwing Hindus do not view Muslims as full members of society, but as interlopers who ought to live in a subordinate position to the Hindu majority. Their intolerance, Scanlon argues, alienates them from their fellow citizens. It is worth quoting Dr S Radhakrishnan, the philosopher President of India: What counts is not creed but conduct. By their fruits ye shall know them and not by their beliefs. Religion is not correct belief but righteous living. The Hindu view that every method of spiritual growth, every path to the Truth is worthy of reverence has much to commend itself. (The Hindu View of Life, 1962) The solution is not difficult. It requires a more meaningful engagement t between the media and authentic Muslim spokesmen. The media has to seek out the saner voices and not just pick up opinions that suit their news and views. The distorted images of Islam stem partly from a lack of understanding of Islam among non-Muslims and partly from the failure by Muslims to explain themselves. The results are predictable: the hatred feeds on hatred. Ignorance of Islam exists both among Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims, ignorant and misunderstanding Islam, fear it. They believe it threatens their most basic values. Fantasy, conjecture and stereotypes replace fact and reality. Similarly, Muslims have their own misconceptions. They, reacting to the hate and fear of non Muslims, create a kind of defensive posture within their societies and a combative environment built on militant rhetoric. In this heat and misunderstanding, the voices of peace and tolerance are drowned. We need sanity in all quarters to let the truth prevail. For this to happen the media will have to walk that extra mile. As John Pilger advises in his book Hidden Agendas, It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and the myths that surround it. Moin Qazi is the author of the bestselling book, Village Diary of a Heretic Banker. He has worked in the development finance sector for almost four decades Help India! By Amit Kumar, TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles On January 17, Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student at the University of Hyderabad, committed suicide. For the whole year, his mother, brother and thousands of others have been asking for justice, and hold the Universitys VC accountable for the institutional murder of Vemula. But far from acting in this regard, the government continues to ask: was he even a Dalit? Was he not an anti-national? The debate is on. In November 2012, junior civil judge S Rama Krishna was allegedly assaulted by CV Nagarjuna Reddy and his brother, Pawan Kumar Reddy after he refused to remove the name of Reddys brother from a dying declaration. The said declaration was of a servant employed with Pawan Reddy, who had accused him of setting the servant on fire for not agreeing to sign on a blank paper. The Dalit judge was subsequently suspended, and for the past three years, he has been running from pillar to post with the hope of getting justice. A week ago, 61 members of the Rajya Sabha submitted a petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari for initiating the impeachment process of Justice C V Nagarjuna Reddy of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High court for alleged victimisation of the Dalit judge, along with amassing assets disproportionate to his income. But while the senior judge remains scot free, the Dalit judge has had to go into hiding, and fears for his life. But both these issues have already been written about. So why do we bring it up here? Read on. On Monday, the Namapally Criminal Court, Hyderabad, found five Dalit students guilty of defaming English Foreign Language University (EFLU) professor Meenakshi Reddy, Dean of the School of Germanic Studies. The court ordered six months imprisonment against the five, but all the accused are out on bail and have been given time till January 10 to appeal against the judgement. Reddy is the daughter of Obul Reddy, who served as the chief justice of of Andhra and Gujarat High Courts and the former governor of Andhra Pradesh, and in fact, the judge takes notes of this, remarking, she hails from a good family. It is also not a mere coincidence that the same lawyer, Prabhakar Sripada, who is representing CV Nagarjuna Reddy, was also here to defend Meenakshi Reddy. What lead to the professor being defamed? According to Praveen (name changed) one of the defendants who spoke with Twocircles.net, the verdict is another case of Dalits being targeted for raising their voice. Also, it is important to point out cases of caste discrimination are not new to the campus, and neither is it a case of Hindu right vs the liberals. The professor, and other officials who have colluded with her are the members of the left liberal spaces but are happy to ignore cases that can potentially damage their reputation, said Praveen. As early as 2009, a girl from the department tried to commit suicide; in 2011, the Osmania University (OU) police questioned two university professors including Meenakshi Reddy after the NHRC took notice of R Jayamurugan, a Dalit student pursuing German, who claimed that he was being failed consistently in his semester examinations, which forced him to discontinue the course. In 2012, one more Dalit student, Kush Kumar, from the same department tried to commit suicide by consuming pills after he failed his exams. According to the defendant, these are not mere unfortunate incidents of students failing to cope up with the pressure. In all these cases, the departments attitude has come under scrutiny, but let alone take action, the University has not even bothered to investigate the matter. What does this show, if not an absolute disregard to the problems that we are facing, Praveen added. It is important to point out that of the five defendants-R Bathran, M Sriramulu, Upendra, Satish and Mohanonly Sriramulu was a student of the German department, and had alleged discrimination at the hands of Reddy since 2011. She was very casteist, and would tell Dalit students to quit studies and go back to the villages they came from, Praveen added. Apart from Sriramulu, the other students, who were also members of various Dalit and Ambedkarite organisations in the university, took note of the harassment that Sriramulu was facing. One of them interviewed Sriramulu in a series of interviews that were then uploaded on YouTube, which can be watched here, here and here. These videos were all uploaded in 2012 and 2013. According to Praveen, for the judiciary, the use of the term Reddy harasses, Feudal Reddy is defaming. We never knew these words are defaming. The case did not have much to prove defamation, but all through this we students were defamed and at the end the Judge says we are convicted because we defamed! It is the rarest of the rare case, where students have been convicted where defamation case conviction was given for students, he added. What was said in the interviews? In one of the interviews which Sriramulu gave while hospitalised he said, For the past 8 months (nearly a whole year), I was struggling to get permission to sit in the class. But they made two committees (to enquire into the matter), one is the SC/ST committee and the other is Meenakshi Reddy committee (to enquire into the complaints of the discriminatory behaviour of Meenakshi Reddy prevailing towards the students). But even after 8 months, no results have surfaced. They have been delaying the whole process and spoiled my whole academic year (2012-2013). The struggle for justice had taken its toll on Sriramulu and he had been hospitalised for a lengthy period during the year. Praveen added that this case picked up heat in 2013, when Mudasir Kamran, a PhD student in the ELE (English Language Education) Department, committed suicide after insensitive and high-handedness of administration on the night of March 2, 2013. A member of the administration, Proctor Harish Vijra, responded to a scuffle between Mudasir and his friend by handing him over to the police. An internal matter which could have been dealt with in a sensitive manner within the university was instead dragged to a police station. Following Mudassirs death, the students increased their protests and against the Proctor, and at the same time the protests against Reddy also increased. What was even more surprising was the fact that when faced with accusations, Reddy decided to approach the court directly and filed a private complaint, including against one of the defendants for merely recording the interview which was uploaded on YouTube. The fact that the University did not object to this action of Reddy also shows that it seemed only too happy to side with one of its faculties than to look into the issues faced by the Dalit students. What happened to the case filed by the students? The students had not limited themselves to merely shouting slogans against Reddy; instead, as early as 2012 itself they had filed a case against her under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. But of course, there has been no action taken by the authorities in this regard. In fact, even the judge in the defamation case took cognizance of this point, and remarked, Admittedly, the A1 (Sriramulu) has lodged a report against Pw1 (Reddy) which was recognised as C.R. no 359/2012 of P.S.O.U., u/Sec 3 1(x), of SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989. Admittedly, no charge sheet is appeared to have been filed in that case as its copy is not placed by any of the parties herein. As per the Pw1, the said case was closed after finding its content as false. However, the Pw1 could not file the copy of the final report said to have filed by the Police in the said case. As per the A1, he has not received any notice from the police in that case referring his report as false, and thus the said crime has not attained finality. So, while the case filed by the student has not even reached the stage of a charge sheet, the complaint filed by Reddy was deemed good enough for defamation. Still wondering why Dalits have such hardships in getting justice? Help India! By Imran Inamdar, TwoCircles.net Support TwoCircles Udgir, Latur: The All India Majlis Itihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is continuing its good performance in Maharashtra, and on Thursday emerged victorious on six seats of the Udgir (District Latur) Taluka local body elections. The winning candidates-Sayed Taher Husain, Dargar Shamsuddin, Hashmi Sayed Reshma, Sambhaji Sangve and Noorjahan Patel-expressed happiness while talking to local press members and credited their victory to voters and the party high command. Imtiyaz Jaleel, legislature of the party informed Twocircles.net that they had fielded only 22 candidates in the entire Latur dist, of which 18 were muslims and remainig 4 were Dalit. The win in Udgir is a really satisfying and encouraging result for us. Party will have elections in Aurangabad district in the next two days and we are hoping for a much better performance, he added. It is notable that the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state is considered as the strongest zone of AIMIM in the state. The party already has about 40 municipality members in Aurangabad and one MLA from Aurangabad central constituency. Thane Dist AIMIM Gen secretary Professor Hasan Mulani commented, Our party is gaining power rapidly in the state and the number of councillors is touching the three-figure mark. These results will surely go for help to perform better in the upcoming high profile Thane dist. And BMC municipal polls. Help India! By Soroor Ahmed for Twocirlces.net Support TwoCircles As a son of a poor chai-wallah, Narendra Modi knows well how comfortablyaaram se, to use his own expressionthe gareeb aadmi sleeps. Later, as the prime minister of the country he claims to have forced the rich to resort to sleeping pills as demonetisation and campaign against black money have turned them into insomniacs. But I had a different experience in my early reporting days. Pretending to be poorat least temporarilywe went to a Dalit hamlet to spend a night, but could not sleep even for a moment. In the 1980s, veteran CPI (M) leader of Bihar Shri Bhagwan Bhaskar launched a struggle in Gaya to liberate ghair marzua zameen (government land) grabbed by the influential farmers long back. With the help of landless labourers he raised several hamlets on those plots. They were Lenin Nagar, Stalin Nagar, Pramod Dasgupta Nagar, Muzaffar Ahmed Nagar etcall named after prominent Communist personalities. The media carried stories on them. But unlike other journalists, who went there for a few hours Bhaskar invited me, then a Times of India staff correspondent, Hari Verma, then with Navbharat Times and Shiv Shankar Prasad, then Gaya-based stringer with Jansatta, to spend a night in one of these villages. As someone who was new to the profession, I had hardly any first-hand experience of the life of Dalits and other poor. Late on August 7, 1989 eveningif my memory serves me rightwe travelled to Pramod Dasgupta Nagar, which is not far from Gaya town. Bhaskar had made the arrangement for us and was assisted by another party worker, Comrade Quddus, a cycle-mechanic in Gaya. We were made to sit on a couple of cots outside in the open air as there was no drawing room in these huts. Along with our hosts, Bhaskar and Quddus made preparations for our food. It was served to us on those very cots. Though it was the monsoon season, the sky was clear. After the meal, we were supposed to sleep on these cots. I had the experience of sleeping in open place in my home, but never in the field outside a Dalit hut with mosquitoes and insects all aroundthere was no net, no repellant, no Good (K)night. After making the best possible arrangements for us the villagers retired in their huts. Whether they slept aaram se or not it can not be said with surety; we at least, could not. We tried to cover our bodies with chaddar but to no avail. We did not want to let our discomfort be known to anyone as it would have left a bad impression. After all, we were bowled over by the magnanimity shown by our poor hosts and hostesses. We journalists were certainly not rich enough to take the help of sleeping pills. In fact, that time I was not even aware of the existence of any such medicine. So we decided to spent the whole night talkingrather whispering. The silence would be broken by the occasional passing of a vehicle or two-wheeler on the Gaya-Sherghatty road a furlong away from this place. Since village-folks rise early ,we started feeling some activities by 4:30 AM. As there was no concept of toilet or washroom, I was handed over a tin-pot full of water and told to go anywhere in the agriculture field. This was an unusual experience for a city-bred like me. The long march for lonely place, even in that early hours, proved futile. After much difficulty I though I got a place near a rivulet. But the moment I sat down to ease myself out I saw a man emerging from a distance. I hurriedly dropped the idea and returned after urinating. I threw the water in the field and walked back to the hutments. As taking bath was even more difficult task we abandoned the idea and decided to return to Gaya. But we were told that we can not leave without breakfast, which was soon ready. It was a special arrangement for us as normally the labour-class do not have such a luxury as they leave for workplace early. More than a quarter century later, one question still haunts me: do the poor really sleep aaram se in the dark, dingy and dilapidated huts as we are made to believe or is it just that their contentment level is too high? Or is it that they have become so used to hardships that they never complain? Sometimes we become so insensitive that we interpret sufferings as comforts and even go on to claim that now even beggars prefer to adopt cashless transaction. Earlier this year the cries of millions of Star Wars fans the world over were heard when news came in that the gareth edwards directed 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' was undergoing several weeks of reshoots post production. Could it be that the film was in trouble? The words "I've got a bad feeling about this" have never been so relevant to any Star Wars fan. It is my pleasure to report that any fears can be allayed. The prequel you have been waiting for It is universally agreed that George Lucas' original trilogy are sci-fi adventure classics. It was all the more disappointing when the prequel trilogy failed to live up to fans expectations. People blamed it on the extensive use of CGI, the demystifying of the Force with those dreaded midichloriants and one of the most annoying characters to ever enter the Star Wars universe, Jar Jar Binks. So it was with some relief when Lucas sold the Star Wars rights to Disney, and despite fears of a Mickey Mouse cameo and singing intergalactic princesses, the move was a good one. The first official sequel 'The Force Awakens' was a critical and commercial success and 'Rogue One' is set to be the same. Feel the force Set just before the original film, Rogue One captures the look and feel of the original trilogy. This universe feels lived in, unlike the shiny CGI prequels that came before. Centered around just one line in the opening crawl of the 1977 film, "Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star," the film is light on force and heavy on a gritty war movie vibe, less lightsabers more blasters. Whilst the film has many throwbacks to the original movie including classic Stormtroopers, familiar characters (no spoilers but prepare to be very surprised at the appearance of two in particular) and the use of practical effects and real location filming, the film is more than the sum of its nostalgic parts. It feels like Star Wars but as a stand alone film the stakes seem higher. You won't be seeing these characters in any sequel so you don't know which, if any, of the likeable cast of characters will survive. These include Felicity Jones' Jyn, a girl with a personal vendetta against the Empire, Rebel Captain Cassian Andor played by Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk's K-2SO, a snarky, sarcastic reprogrammed Imperial droid who would easily win C-3PO in a fist fight if it came down to it. On the side of the Empire is Ben Mendehlson's Director Krennic, as oily and vile as another recurring character (again, no spoilers here) and Darth Vader makes a much heralded return. Whilst not on screen for long Vader certainly makes an entrance, thus confirming his status as one of cinema's greatest villains. Do or do not. There is no try Director Gareth Edwards successfully and effortlessly recreates classic Star Wars landscapes and design. It is respectful of the original film and possibly deepens our understanding of the events within that iconic movie. There are the occasional pacing issues and the story occasionally drags but come the third act this will be forgiven as the Rebel forces take to land and air in a bid to retrieve those Death Star plans. The space battles are incredibly exciting as X-Wings and Tie Fighters go into battle whilst down below the gigantic At-At vehicles destroy everything in sight during blaster battles between the Rebel forces and stormtroopers. This is classic good against evil and fans and newbies to the universe alike will thrill at the events unfolding on screen. This is the Star Wars you grew up with and is reason enough to make you excited at the other standalone movies on their way. You need to see this film and enjoy it in much the same way as you saw the original Star Wars when the internet didn't exist to spoil things for you. Rogue One is not perfect but then neither was the original. What it is, however, is one of the best films of the year and one of the best Star Wars films ever made. The force really is strong with this one. As long-awaited new line nears completion, training is underway for the employees who will run and maintain it It is rare to see Chinese teachers in Kenya, says 27-year-old Martin Kabue. When he read an advertisement in the newspaper that Chinese teachers will come to Nairobi to offer training programs for aspiring railway technicians, he was exhilarated. "I was very excited upon reading the advertisement, especially when I learned that we would study under Chinese teachers. It's unusual in Kenya. I have never studied under foreigners," Kabue says after attending classes for a little over a month. "China is one of the largest economies. I knew I would get the best from them." Kabue is among 23 students in a course on railway communications at the Railway Training Institute in Nairobi. He already had a diploma in information communication technology from a local college. "Applicants have to meet a list of requirements and get through rounds of interviews to get a position in the program. I used to be the best in my class. When I got involved in the training, I realized there is so much to learn," he says. The short-term training started in October. It's the second stage of a training program sponsored by China Road and Bridge Corp, in collaboration with the Kenya Railway Training Institute and Southwest Jiaotong University. In addition to the communications course, there are three courses on locomotives, signaling and track maintenance, each lasting between three and six months. Each has an enrollment of around 30 students. The university has pooled 14 teachers from resources in railway vocational training in China, teaching either in English or through translators. Dai Ruoyu, leader of the training team, says the program's second phase will last until the end of 2017 and expects to offer 14 courses and train 743 students. "By February 2017, the peak time of the training, we'll have 44 Chinese teachers," Dai says. I Agree This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Privacy Policy San Antonio, Texas USA (UroToday.com) Data for defining optimal lymph node yield following inguinal lymphadenectomy for penile cancer are lacking. In this oral abstract session, the authors sought to determine whether lymph node yields in these patients are associated with overall survival and to define a minimum number of lymph nodes to retrieve.The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to identify patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma who underwent regional lymphadenectomy from 2004-2013. A multivariable regression model was created to assess predictors of overall survival. Age, comorbidity, race, stage, grade, node status, and lymph node yield were included in the model. A total of 453 men met inclusion criteria. Median follow-up was 29.9 months and median number of lymph nodes retrieved was 16. Men with 15 or fewer lymph nodes removed demonstrated decreased 5-year overall survival compared to those with greater than 15 lymph nodes removed (73% vs. 50%, p < 0.05). Further, having had 15 or fewer lymph nodes removed was an independent predictor of worse overall survival (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.44-0.85, p < 0.01). The authors concluded that lymph node yield is associated with overall survival in patients with penile cancer and proposed a quantitative threshold of greater than 15 lymph nodes to determine the adequacy of lymph node dissection in this setting.Presented By: Chad Ritch, MD, MBAWritten By: Benjamin T. Ristau, MD, Society of Urologic Oncology Fellow, Fox Chase Cancer Center 17th Annual Meeting of the Society of Urologic Oncology - November 30 -December 2, 2016 San Antonio, Texas USA The word catheter comes from Greek, meaning to let or send down. Catheters were used as early as 3,000 B.C. to relieve painful urinary retention. In those times, many materials were used to form a hollow catheter shape, including straw, rolled up palm leaves, hollow tops of onions, as well as, gold, silver, copper, brass, and lead. Malleable catheters were developed in the 11th century. In time, silver was used as the basis of catheters as it could be bent to any desired shape and was felt to have an antiseptic function. Benjamin Franklin, the inventor and colonial statesman, fashioned silver catheters for use by his older brother John. John suffered from kidney stones and needed to undergo a daily ritual of placing a bulky metal catheter into his bladder. To make these daily requirements on his brother less painful, Franklin worked with his local silversmith on his design for a flexible catheter. "It is as flexible as would be expected in a thing of the kind, and I imagine will readily comply with the turns of the passage," he wrote to John. Holes were bored into the sides of the catheter to allow for drainage. Coude tip catheters were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries to facilitate male catheterization and continue to be used for this purpose in current medical practice. Catheters made from rubber were developed in the 18th century but were weak at body temperature, leaving debris in the bladder. The advent of rubber vulcanization, by Goodyear in 1844, improved the firmness and durability of the catheter, and allowed for mass production. Latex rubber became available in the 1930s. Dr. Frederic E.B. Foley (a St. Paul urologist) introduced the latex balloon catheter at a urologic meeting in 1935. Though he lost a legal battle with Davol for the patent, this catheter has since been known as the Foley. The earliest self-retaining catheters had wing tips (called Malecot) or flexible shoulders (called Pezzer), and were tied to the male penis or sutured to the female labia. Charrieres French scale was used to describe the external diameter of a catheter. Thus the term French (Fr) size was coined. Joseph-Frederic-Benoit Charriere was a 19th century Parisian maker of surgical instruments. A 12 French catheter is approximately 4 mm in external diameter (0.33 mm = 1 French [Fr]). In French-speaking countries, these catheters may be referred to as the Charriere or abbreviated Ch. Catheterization of the bladder was felt to be fairly safe because of the antiseptic principles of Lister (1867). But many physicians continued to be concerned about catheter-related infections as patients were still developing catheter fever (systemic infection) despite antiseptic principles. After World War II, Sir Ludwig Guttman introduced the concept of sterile intermittent catheterization in patients with spinal cord injury after World War II. For many years, sterile technique was used for catheterization. In 1971, Dr. Jack Lapides of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor introduced the clean intermittent catheterization technique. Dr. Lapides theory was that bacteria werent the only cause of infection. He believed that chronic stagnant urine residuals and overstretching of the bladder were also responsible. But the fact that CIC was not performed in totally sterile conditions, Dr. Lapides still felt it was superior to indwelling catheters. Initially, Lapides was scorned in the urology world. Three decades after this debate, clean intermittent catheterization remains the preferred method to treat chronic urine retention and neurogenic bladder. Recent regulatory changes have recommended against the reuse of catheters for IC in an attempt to further reduce the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infections. References: Carr, H. A. (2000). "A short history of the Foley catheter: from handmade instrument to infection-prevention device." J Endourol 14(1): 5-8. Ellis, H. (1988). "Therapeutic milestones. The Foley catheter." Br J Clin Pract 42(6): 248-249. Lapides, J., A. C. Diokno, A.C., et al. (1972). "Clean, intermittent self-catheterization in the treatment of urinary tract disease." J Urology 107(3): 458-461. Marino, R. A., U. M. Mooppan, et al. (1993). "History of urethral catheters and their balloons: drainage, anchorage, dilation, and hemostasis." J Endourol 7(2): 89-92. Mattelaer, J. J. and I. Billiet. (1995). "Catheters and sounds: the history of bladder catheterisation." Paraplegia 33(8): 429-433. Nacey, J. and B. Delahunt. (1993). "The evolution and development of the urinary catheter." Aust N Z J Surg 63(10): 815-819. One government agency has a developed a new technology to fight crime, but they cant use it. Meanwhile, security tools to protect mobile devices are being largely ignored as new research shows that users are either unaware or just dont care. Yet there are ambitious technologies in the pipeline that could bring order to the chaos of the Internet of Things (IoT) and give us the power to control drones with merely our brains. As a two-day conference in San Francisco demonstrated last week, the process of developing future technologies can be both deeply frustrating and wildly encouraging all at the same time. FBI blocked from using DNA testing in the field At the Future Technologies conference (organized by the Science and Information Organization), one of the keynote speakers was James Loudermilk, a senior-level technologist with the FBI. He spoke about the agencys interest partnering with tech companies to build new tools that will fight crime. One of those tools is a portable device that can analyze a suspects DNA and provide results, including whether theres a match in the FBIs global DNA database, within two hours. Known as Rapid DNA, these miniature labs have been pilot-tested by police departments in cities such as Tucson, Arizona. However, current federal law requires that DNA samples be processed only in an accredited lab and legislation to fix it has been mired in Congressional gridlock. This is an example where technology moves fast and policy doesnt, said the FBIs Loudermilk. The roadblocks facing technology advancement arent just in the policy end either. Several speakers at the San Francisco conference presented research papers which supported concerns that device security is more rumor than reality. Wojciech Wodo, an academic researcher from Poland, presented survey results which showed that a significant majority of respondents had either turned-off device security controls, used absurdly simple passwords, or downloaded suspect apps and granted them full control of their device. Another researcher found in a survey of Indiana State students that most were either unaware of or didnt care about their smart watchs security. Technology to control robots with our brains Despite the current pitfalls of using tech devices, advanced research is providing a glimpse of the future where technology will be better organized and seamless to use. Conference attendees last week were given a hint of what this might look like in a presentation by Professor Bin He of the University of Minnesota. He has been working in the area of non-invasive brain-computer interfaces (BCI), and showed a video at the event where several of his headset-wearing students mentally guided the movements of a robotic arm as it picked up a cup and placed it on a shelf. Professor He first demonstrated a mind-controlled drone three years ago and has continued to focus his research on the BCI field. His presentation at the conference last week made it clear that broader application of mind-controlled technologies may not be far away. Another problem in the tech industry has been the rapid rise of Internet-controlled (IoT) devices and an inability to properly manage the avalanche of data that streams from these products every second. Even my grandmothers bird feeder has a webcam now, said Tammy Fuller, chief architect for Echo Messaging Systems, during a presentation at the conference. Fullers company, through a technology branded as EchoWare, is seeking to give users more control over where and how all of that data is sent, using both artificial intelligence and geofencing to better handle IoT devices. Fuller is also the co-developer of the Find Me Safety app that sends out an emergency alert just by shaking the smartphone. Despite the obstacles faced by groups such as the FBI, there are new technologies on the way that will change much of what we have done in the past. And the challenge continues to make this technology both simple and secure. US President Barack Obama said on Friday that it was fine for President-elect Donald Trump to take another look at the United States' one-China policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a change in US diplomatic policy would lead to consequences from China. He said overall it is good that all of our foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes but warned that the US relationship with China is one that should be approached carefully and methodically. "For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket," Obama told the final news conference of his presidency. "The idea of one China is at the heart of their conception as a nation and so if youre going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are because the Chinese wont treat that like they treat some issues, Obama said. He also noted that the current status quo has kept the peace and enabled Taiwan to develop as an entity that has its own way of doing things and has helped it to become a successful economy. Obama said Trumps protocol-breaking phone call with Taiwans leader could elicit a significant response from the Chinese mainland, given the issues importance to Beijing. Wu Haitao (C, front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a UN Security Council debate on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec 15, 2016. Wu Thursday called on the international community to strengthen cooperation and form synergy to prevent weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from falling into hands of terrorists. [Photo/Xinhua] UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy Thursday called on the international community to strengthen cooperation and form synergy to prevent weapons of mass destruction (WMD) from falling into hands of terrorists. Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the appeal at a UN Security Council debate on WMD non-proliferation. Wu said solutions need to be found to peacefully address regional hotspot proliferation problems by political and diplomatic means, and there is also a need to establish a complete international norm on non-proliferation. He also noted the international community needs to properly handle the relationship between non-proliferation and peaceful use, while ensuring the right of all countries, especially developing countries to use and share relevant science and technology peacefully. At the meeting, the Security Council adopted a resolution recalling that all states shall take effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. It also requests all states to implement fully and effectively the resolution 1540 which established legally binding obligations on all UN member states to act against WMD proliferation. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson warned that non-state actors already have the capacity to abuse cyber technologies to create mass disruption. "The nightmare scenario of a hack on a nuclear power plant causing uncontrolled release of ionizing radiation is growing," he ntoed. Eliasson also noted that the Security Council has a role to play in holding those that use chemical or other inhumane weapons accountable. "We must take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen our collective defences," he added. Chicago has become one of the US' most popular destinations for foreign investment. The city on Lake Michigan has one of the world's largest and most diversified economies, with more than 4 million employees who generate an annual gross regional product (GRP) above $561 billion. The $561 billion GRP is more than countries like Norway, Austria and the United Arab Emirates. The Windy City is home to more than 400 major corporate headquarters, including 31 in the Fortune 500. "We have dozens of Chinese mainland companies here; we also have more than 1,800 foreign-based companies in the Chicago area by estimate," said Tom Bartkoski, director of international business development for nonprofit World Business Chicago. Chaired by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, World Business Chicago (WBC) collaborates with the city to create jobs, cultivate talent and drive regional economic growth. As a liaison between the public and private sectors, WBC works closely with the mayor's office, the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and many other partners throughout the region. WBC helps navigate the site-selection process for both domestic and overseas companies by providing economic and industry data, state and local incentive information, and bringing together key parties to spur economic growth. According to the 2015 IBM Global Location Trends report release this year, the Chicago metropolitan area led the US in foreign direct investment (FDI) for the third year in a row. Tom Bartkoski is responsible for attracting FDI and general business development; he assists foreign-based companies and works closely with the large foreign-based business, consular and foreign economic development communities in Chicago. He said the reason that the Illinois city is so attractive and becoming more so among foreign companies to invest or build branches in is access. Located at the nexus of the European and Asian markets and the North American Free Trade zone, Chicago has long been considered the continent's global business center. "Access to the US and Canada is very strong here, very easy to reach the market," he said. Bartkoski said the US, like China a large country land-wise, can be difficult to cover for business. That's why Chicago's location is pivotal, he said. The convenient transportation supports the city as an FDI destination. There are more than 1,400 daily departures out of Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, to more than 230 cities worldwide. O'Hare International was rated as the Best Connected Airport in the US by MIT's Airport Connectivity Quality Index. In July, the mayor announced that major airlines have agreed to build up to nine new gates at O'Hare and continue negotiations on a plan that could yield far more spots for passengers to board and deplane. Earlier this year, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) awarded a major contract to China's CRRC Corp to supply cars for the metro transit system. In terms of investment, CRRC is planning to open a railcar-assembly factory on the South Side of Chicago that will employ more than 150 people. Bartkoski said another advantage of the city is its large and diversified talent pool. Some 158,000 students graduate annually from the more than 130 Chicago-area colleges and universities. There are more than 508,000 residents with bachelor's degrees or higher in the city, he said. The area boasts two top business schools: the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in nearby Evanston. Bartkoski said Chicago is experiencing strong growth in sectors of the economy that require young, talented people, "so when we are talking about all of our business services, information technology, medical technology, advanced manufacturing and financial technology, all of those kind of areas, which are growing economic areas, they require talented people, educated people, especially educated young people; we are very strong in that," he said. Chicago's mix of industries most closely matches the nation's, with no single industry employing more than 14 percent of the workforce. "We are the most diverse big-city economy in the United States," he said. Chicago is a key player in every sector from risk management innovation to manufacturing, to information technology to health services. In an interview with China Daily, Bartkoski mentioned another factor: the strong commitment of Chicago's government to foreign investment In 2013, Emanuel signed the Gateway Cities Agreement with the Chinese Minister of Commerce and eight Chinese cities, which Bartkoski said was the first of its kind. The memorandum of understanding fortifies Chicago's place as a gateway for Chinese investment in partnership with Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu. The two sides have decided to establish the US Chicago and China Gateway Cities Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment Cooperation through friendly consultation. WBC has always made efforts in strengthening Chicago's business relationship with China, Bartkoski said. In 2015, WBC coordinated visits to four Chinese cities with Deputy Mayor Steve Koch (including celebrating the 30th anniversary of sister-city partnerships with Shanghai and Shenyang). WBC also organized the mayor's visit for the 26th US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. While there, the Chicago delegation met with more than 100 companies. The 2016 IBM report noted that significant FDI projects in Chicago created 4,400 direct jobs, the most of any US metropolitan area, and that Chicago had more significant FDI projects than any metropolitan area in North America. "We have a broad range of industries, and what we have seen is the number of projects from China has continued to increase every year. That is considered partly (due to) the good work that has been done by both sides," he said. In 2015, direct investment by China in the US reached $15.3 billion, with almost 13,000 jobs created. xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com 3 Reasons to Invest in Bitcoin Right Now While its impossible to give financial direction to every person in one article and this article should not be considered financial advice there are some pretty clear signs that Bitcoin is a wise investment for people who want to participate in the upside that cryptocurrency offers. You might even say theres never been a better time to invest. The Case for Investing in Bitcoin Today Theres so much confusion surrounding Bitcoin. In many cases, its this sense of confusion that prevents people from giving it a fair shake. But if you really want to know, Bitcoin is a lot simpler to understand than most people think. The short of it is that Bitcoin is a digital currency that exists within a decentralized system (meaning it isnt attached to any national currency). Transactions are recorded in a distributed ledger known as the blockchain and are safe, secure, and transparent for all to see. Bitcoins can be mined by computer algorithms that have to solve very complex puzzles in order to earn blocks. These blocks are added to the blockchain record, and miners are then given small numbers of bitcoins in return. However, the vast majority of people buy and sell Bitcoin as tokens through a cryptocurrency exchange (the equivalent of a stock brokerage). To get started with Bitcoin investing, you can buy as little as one penny all the way up to millions of dollars. But regardless of how much youre able to invest, here are several compelling reasons to act swiftly: 1. Were Still in the Infancy Stage Bitcoin has been around for over a decade. And by this point, many people assume that its too late to make an investment. After all, it was trading for just a few thousand dollars per coin two or three years ago. Currently, its hovering in the mid $40k range (and has topped $65k per coin recently). Is there any growth left, or is this a declining asset where the original investors are the only ones who get rich? The answer is that were still very much in the infancy stage. Experts believe theres still 20x to 30x growth potential left. Thats because only a small fraction of people have invested in the asset at this point, and there are still several major developments yet to come. This includes Bitcoin halving, which always precedes a major price increase. 2. Accelerating Adoption Bitcoin is no longer for fringe investors. Adoption rates are accelerating among individuals, businesses, and massive financial corporations (including the likes of Visa, PayPal, etc.). Rewind to February 2021, and there were roughly 45 million individual blockchain wallets on Blockchain.com. Today, there are more than 81 million blockchain wallets. Thats an increase of 36 million wallets on one platform in just the past year. 3. Inflation-Proof Assets The biggest benefit of Bitcoin is that it has a finite supply. Unlike fiat currency or even gold and precious metals (which are finite, but the total amount is unknown), we know precisely how many Bitcoins there are. This makes it a finite asset thats inflation-proof. What Does the Future Hold? Wouldnt it be nice if we could sit here and tell you that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by the end of the year, or that it will surpass $1 million within a decade? As nice as it would be to confidently say we know precisely where crypto is going, theres simply no way of knowing. However, if you listen to the experts, crunch the numbers, and study some of the trends that are happening right now (both within the crypto world and the larger economy), there are plenty of indicators that things are moving in a positive direction. It would be unwise to put 100 percent of your net worth in Bitcoin. However, the same could be said for the stock market, bonds, precious metals, or an individual stock. Diversification is the name of the game. But if you want to be properly positioned for the future, youll probably want to make sure Bitcoin is part of your portfolio diversification strategy. If nothing else, a small amount of exposure will prevent you from experiencing regret if crypto does take off in the near future. On Wednesday, India confirmed that a pilot of a MiG fighter had been taken prisoner by Pakistan amid attempts of foiling an attack by the neighbouring country. In light of his capture, Rediff.com republishes this piece written by Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year he spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War. During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com December 5, 1971. Six Gorkha soldiers and I were on a reconnaissance patrol on the western border in Punjab, along the Ravi river, when the Pakistani army launched a sudden attack through that area. We were literally caught between a rock and a hard place as we were initially shelled by Pakistani guns, and later, as they overran the small border pocket, by Indian artillery. Thankfully, neither side hit us, and less than 48 hours later, the active war ended for me and my six men. My ordeal, however, had just begun. They say memories of stress and extreme danger remain with us forever. The memories of that time are as fresh in my mind as if it all took place yesterday. IMAGE: Standing from left: Lieutenant A G J Sweetens, late Major S S Chaudhuri (with an eye patch), Captain M F Dastoor, Captain Anil A Athale. Sitting: Lieutenant G R Chaudhari, a Red Cross official, Captain Mehrotra and Lieutenant Gurung at the Lyallpur Jail in Pakistan. This photograph was sent by the Red Cross official seen here to Captain Athale's family. My interrogators soon realised that I was useless as a source of information. With just three years of military service, I was far too junior to be privy to strategic secrets. Besides, an infantryman's view of the war is at best a worm's eye view, limited to a radius of four to five kilometres from his position. In your own area of operation, small trees, a few mud huts, a few feet high mound of earth are all of vital importance. But this tactical information, specially in the plains, is of no earthly use to the enemy. In addition, I had just come to the battalion after finishing a training course in Mhow, and was thus even more clueless about the larger picture. All this went in my favour, and that is possibly why I had a relatively easy time during the interrogation and survived to tell the tale. But the fear factor was very much present in the shape of the gallant Indian Air Force. For every sunrise, sunset and midnight, Rawalpindi was subjected to IAF air raids. The cell in which I was lodged had an anti-aircraft gun located right on top, and the entire complex would vibrate from its recoil as it fired at the attacking aircraft. The first time this happened at midnight, I immediately woke up and put on my boots, ready to escape in case a bomb fell on the cell. After a while it became a routine affair, and I stopped reacting that way. Luckily for me, there were no direct hits on the interrogation centre. In fact, the constant bombing raids did wonders for my morale, even as it decimated that of the Pakistanis'. Every time an air raid took place, I could hear the sentries hurling choicest Punjabi abuses at the aircraft, shaking their fists in frustration. Within a fortnight I was shifted to Rawalpindi jail and lodged in the maximum security cells meant for condemned prisoners. To prevent prisoners from committing suicide, these cells had high ceilings and nothing inside. By now the air raids had stopped, and I could guess that the war was over. While I was in solitary confinement in my cell, I would often hear noises from other prison barracks. Every now and then the prisoners there would shout slogans like 'Pakistan Murdabad', 'Indira Gandhi Zindabad' and 'General Aurora Zindabad.' Who were these people? Finally, after repeated queries, a sentry told me they were 'those **** Baluchis'. Apparently, during the war, there were processions and protests in Baluchistan against Pakistani rule, and many Baluch leaders were jailed. Is the situation much different today? One day, a major (as I deduced from his shoulder patches) from the Pakistani army's General Headquarters paid me an unexpected visit. His week-old stubble and bleary eyes spoke of immense stress and sleepless nights. He looked at me grimly and asked if I had seen Rawalpindi. I had been blindfolded during my journey and later confined to my cell, I replied. All of a sudden, he blurted out: 'Don't worry, one day you will come here as a conqueror and you can see it to your heart's content!' I was flabbergasted. This was the first indication that we had indeed won the war. For non-military folk, a major from the GHQ operations branch was a big shot. Even in our own army, an officer of a major's rank used to head the entire internal security section till the 1980s. Close to December 31, I heard a massive procession passing by outside, shouting slogans like 'Quaid-e-Azam Bhutto Zindabad.' An hour later, I heard the same procession again, but the slogans this time were different. 'Hamara Naya Sardar Bhutto Zindabad' (Victory to our new President Bhutto). I told my sentry that there had been a coup in his country, and they had a new president. It was much later that I learnt that the old Rawalpindi jail where I was housed was adjacent to the president's palace. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was kept in those very cells for condemned prisoners before being hanged by Zia-ul Haq in 1979. Benazir Bhutto during her premiership ordered the demolition of the old jail, and there is a public park in its place now. By now the atmosphere in the jail had become a lot less tense. A Pakistani army officer told me the story of the coup. How when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto confronted General Yahya Khan with a resignation letter, he refused. How Yahya's aide-de-camp took out his pistol and threatened Yahya, who then signed the resignation, literally at gunpoint. In February, I was shifted to a proper prisoner of war camp in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), where I joined five other Indian army officers. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Latif Malik was the commandant of the PoW camp at Lyallpur. Right at the outset, he took us on a tour of the 'camp' (which was actually Lyallpur jail) to show us the security arrangements. It was indeed a formidable jail, with three rings of 10 feet high walls, and watchtowers with machine guns and searchlights. He then told us that as Prisoners of War it was our right to attempt to escape, and his right to shoot us if caught. Frankly, the formidable security made most of give up any notions of escape. By now we were permitted to get Pakistani newspapers, which gave us an idea of the extent of our victory. The situation of Indian PoWs in Pakistan after the Bangladesh victory was unique in many ways, and very different from that of Pakistani PoWs in India. The fact that we had won the war was reflected in the Pakistani behaviour towards us. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I received more smart salutes from Pakistani soldiers than our own. There were seven of us officers and around 600 jawans held in Lyallpur. The highest ranking Indian officer was a major. I was then a captain and the third senior-most, with just three years service. Against that, Pakistan had close to 93,000 prisoners in India, including many generals. The Pakistani behaviour towards the Indians was correct, gentlemanly and courteous to a fault. Many Pakistanis shared their happiness that their soldiers were in Indian Army custody and not in Bangladeshi captivity. They also expressed their happiness that they were rid of Bangladesh, which they described as a burden, and warned us that soon we would regret having created it. In some ways, it was a prophetic remark. All armies have their peculiar internal dynamics. While in the Indian Army the 'working class' is essentially the junior officers, lieutenants, captains and majors, in Pakistan it is their NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) like naiks and havaldars (like the US army, that is run by their sergeants). Image: Then Captain Anil A Athale on his return to India. The Pakistani NCOs then were well educated, motivated and had lots of initiative. In our army, close to a third of NCOs end up as officers through the in-service route. I once asked a particularly bright Pakistani NCO why he did not try for commission as officer. His reply was revealing. 'In Pakistan,' he said, 'to become an officer you have to have an 'uncle'!' In a sense that situation seems to prevail even today. There is a oft repeated story about how Pakistani prisoners in India told our officers that they would prefer to fight under them. This is the same story we heard in Pakistan under very different circumstances. The same NCO told us that 'Sir, our jawans and your officers, together we can conquer the world.' We, of course, told them that we prefer our own jawans. I cannot conclude this narrative without recalling an interesting incident. In 1972, possibly as a part of psychological war, the Indians started a programme of daily broadcasts by Pakistani PoWs to tell their family about their well-being. Not to be left behind, Radio Pakistan began a similar exercise, and their team came to Lyallpur to record our messages. We were given a piece of paper with lines to read out. 'We surrendered to Pakistan and are being treated well here,' it said. When my turn came I refused, saying I had never surrendered to the Pakistani army, I was captured. There is indeed a world of difference between a ceremonial laying down of arms (as the Pakistanis did in Bangladesh) and being captured in battle. The latter does not involve the trauma or the humiliation of the former. When the Radio Pakistan man insisted, I told him I would rather do without the message, since in any case information about my being alive had already been sent to my family through the Red Cross. The infuriated Pakistani official then warned me that there was no guarantee Aaj hai to kal nahin (You are alive today, but who can be sure of tomorrow?).' Enraged by this comment, I replied: 'Do not worry, I have an insurance of 93,000 !' This provoked the man to lunge at me, before he was restrained by Pakistani soldiers. Finally the camp commandant arrived and told me that if I had objections, then my message would not be broadcast. The matter did not end there. Seeing my example, all the Indian jawans who had come for the recording also refused to do so. As the days passed, a sense of desperation crept in on us. Our spirits were buoyed when Indira Gandhi's principal advisor D P Dhar visited Pakistan in early 1972. Then came the historic Simla Agreement of July 2, 1972. But the repatriation of Prisoners of War remained mired in controversies. Bangladesh demanded the handing over of 'War Criminals' from among the Pakistanis held in India, and our fate got linked to the 'high politics' of the subcontinent being played out at the time. The situation in Pakistan was desperate. With 93,000 prisoners in India, a very large segment of the Pakistani population, specially in Punjab, was directly affected. Every time news of riots in the PoW camps in India and the killing of Pakistanis reached Lyallpur, huge crowds would throng the Lyallpur jail gates, thirsting for revenge. At times like these we thanked our stars that the jail walls were solid enough not to let anyone in. Towards the end of November 1972, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto decided to pay us a visit. In an obvious attempt to pressure the Indian government to release Pakistani POWs, he addressed us in the full glare of the international media and announced that Pakistan had decided to 'unilaterally' release Indian prisoners. Our hearts sank when we heard that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had responded by agreeing to release only Pakistani prisoners caught on the Western Front. But to our great relief, Pakistan accepted this offer and we began our journey home on the night of November 30, 1972. There were tears in every eye as we reached the Wagah border late in the evening. The reception at Wagah was truly spectacular. Giani Zail Singh, then the chief minister of Punjab, warmly embraced each and every one of the 600 officers and men. There were bands playing, bhangra dancers and welcome arches all the way from Wagah to Amritsar. Crowds lined the route, eager to shake hands, thrusting babies at us to be kissed, throwing flowers. By the evening all of us had sore shoulders and bruised hands, but no one was complaining. This was followed a civic reception at Amritsar, where we were showered with gifts and the typical Patiala Peg of Punjabi hospitality. As the special train carrying us steamed into the Delhi cantonment railway station, Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw was there to receive us, breaching protocol. He promised us that we would all reach home within two weeks. This was a welcome pledge, since many of us had heard horror stories about how prisoners released by China after the 1962 border war were detained and grilled for months. But then that was a war we lost. This time a victorious army was welcoming its comrades. This feature was first published on Rediff.com on December 6, 2006. Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is likely to divest from FPT Telecom early next year, a Ministry of Finance official said. Photo FPT Telecom HA NOI The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is likely to divest from FPT Telecom early next year, a Ministry of Finance official said. ang Quyet Tien, deputy director of the ministrys Corporate Finance Department, told dantri.com.vn recently that the move is part of the SCICs efforts to withdraw capital from several major enterprises in early 2017. The SCIC will sell its entire 50.16 per cent stake in the telecommunications firm, which registered charter capital of more than VN1.37 trillion (US$61.99 million) with the Viet Nam Securities Depository. The depository certified FPT Telecom as listing about 1.37 million shares, coded FOX with a face value of VN10,000 each, on the Unlisted Public Company Market earlier this month. FPT Telecoms third-quarter financial report said the company earned VN4.92 trillion in net revenue from sale of goods and services in the first nine months of this year, up 20 per cent over the same period last year. The firm earned VN848.46 billion in pre-tax profit in the nine months, a year-on-year increase of 5 per cent. According to Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times), FPT Telecom has paid dividends in cash at a rate of 40 per cent every year a golden level in the local market. FPT Telecom also contributed about 40 per cent to the annual profit of its parent firm technology giant FPT, which holds a 45.64 per cent stake in the subsidiary. Earlier this year, the Government urged the SCIC to withdraw capital from 10 major businesses, including FPT Telecom, Bao Minh Insurance Corporation, Viet Nam Infrastructure Investment & Development JSC, Ha Giang Mineral Mechanics JSC, and Viet Nam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk). The remaining five are Viet Nam National Reinsurance Corporation, Tien Phong Plastic JSC, Binh Minh Plastic JSC, Sa Giang Import Export Corporation and FPT. The SCIC auctioned a 9 per cent stake of Vinamilk on the HCM City Stock Exchange on Monday. It sold a stake of 5.4 per cent to foreign investors, gaining more than VN11.28 trillion. VNS HCM CITY On January 1, Viet Nams leading mobile phone service provider, Viettel Corporation, will become one of the first carriers in the world to no longer collect roaming fees from subscribers in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. Viettel subscribers in Viet Nam, MetFone in Cambodia and Unitel in Laos (both of which are Viettel subsidiaries) will pay domestic fees only for their phone calls and other services in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. There is no region in the world without a roaming fee, despite the fact that the EU has discussed this issue for a long time. But they havent been able to carry it out yet, Nguyen Manh Hung, a member of the Party Central Committee and general director of Viettel Corporation, said. EU planned to vote for a no-roaming fee policy on June 17, but there was no agreed price for a telecommunication fee. In 2013, Information and Telecommunications ministers of South East Asian nations discussed a no-roaming policy within ASEAN. International roaming fees are fairly high, about US$2 per minute. Thus, under the new plan, Viettels three companies will lose 2 per cent of turnover. At first, Viettel will suffer a loss of $1 million each day. However, we hope our customers will increase their calling time and internet access, Hung said. Regardless, the policy will definitely promote trade and business among the three nations. The free roaming service was recently mentioned by Vietnamese government leaders in a meeting with their Laos and Cambodia counterparts. The aim of the policy is to promote friendly relations as well as cultural, trade and economic exchange. VNS HA TINH Around VN7 trillion (US$311 million) has to be mobilised to restart work on the iron ore project in central Ha Tinh Province, a Ministry of Industry and Trade official said. The project to exploit the Thach Khe ore mine, which has the largest reserves in Southeast Asia, has been suspended since 2011 because of capital shortage. Truong Thanh Hoai, director of the ministrys Department of Heavy Industry, was responding to the request by Viet Nam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) for the capital to be mobilised from local steel consumers such as Hoa Phat and Hoa Sen, local newspapers reported. The total reserve of ore in the mine is estimated at 544 million tonnes and its value at $35 billion. The mine would become a sound supply source for the country in the next five years, producing an estimated 20 tonnes a year, according to the Viet Nam Steel Association. The project, which kicked off in 2009 and required a total investment of VN10 trillion ($444 million), was managed by Thach Khe Iron Joint Stock Company. However, two years later, the project was stopped after 13 million cubic metres of top soil were excavated. The reason given was the use of outdated technology. The company was also short of capital at the time as only its biggest shareholder, Vinacomin, had fulfilled its commitments. To date, site clearance and the relocation of 4,000 households whose land has to be acquired, which will cost VN3.5 trillion ($157 million), has not been completed. In its request, Vinacomin said it has proposed the restructuring of shareholders in Thach Khe and the use of new technology to extract ore. It has also asked the Government to allow the payment of mineral exploitation tax to be delayed until 2019 so that the company has funds for site clearance. Officials said the ministry was considering approving Vinacomins request. Vinacomin expects the project to restart at the end of the year. VNS ONG NAI Multiple issues are plaguing dredging projects on the ong Nai River. Slack licensing, negligent supervision, lack of co-ordination among exploiters and sand mining pirates freely roaming without much hinder were leading to environmental damage and increasing residents aggravation. The provincial Peoples Committee recently held a meeting with local departments and agencies to regulate dredging and minerals exploitation on the ong Nai River. According to competent authorities, the previously chaotic and disorderly situation was brought under control. However, only the river section that passes through Bien Hoa City had actually got some relief. Abuse in other areas, such as in the districts of Nhon Trach, Long Thanh, Tan Phu and inh Quan, on the other hand, showed little signs of a let-up, with many mining and dredging projects adversely affecting even small tributaries, streams and ditches. The dredging reportedly caused widespread erosion, many land areas were flooded with water, threatening locals safety and agricultural production. Alarmingly, many illegal dredging operations involved "underworld" criminals, who suppressed anyone who "intruded" in the area or aired their complaint to the authorities, Dan Tri newspaper reported. ong Nai Provinces Department of Environment and Natural Resources admitted that for many years now, sand mining was destroying the ong Nai River. Nguyen Ngoc Thuong, deputy director of the department, said the fight against illegal sand mining was not satisfactorily effective due to lack of tight co-ordination among relevant agencies. Fourteen companies were licensed to dredge on the rivers basin, both upstream and downstream. Of which, six were approved in principle by the provincial authorities, while the other eight got their licences from the Ministry of Transport these companies activities were also considered excessive by the department. Every day, nearly 70 licensed vehicles and machines operated on the river, dredging some 10,000cu.m of sand everyday thats a very large amount, Vo Van Chanh, deputy chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, stated. Even though they had legal licences, but management of this exploitation must not be neglected. If violations were to occur, heavy sanctions, including licence revocation, must be administered without fail. In the future, its recommended that granting licences to new sand mining projects should stop. Regarding illegal mining activities, the police must get involved. This messy situation is no longer acceptable, people are outraged, and harsh criticism is being expressed everywhere, he said. And justifiably so. Supervision agencies repeatedly confirmed that most dredging projects reportedly caused erosion of the riverbanks, impacting local aquaculture. Some opportunists sneaked in the night and illegal exploited the rivers sand, upsetting the people and seriously affected public security and order. Supervision agencies also claimed that the effectiveness of the dredging did not meet the commitment stated in the contracts. Most projects were being implemented tardily and were deliberately prolonged. According to ong Nai Provinces Department of Transport, the machines used in dredging were basic lightweights and could only operate in areas of mixed sand and mud, which means, even intensive dredging could not make the river wide enough for ships to navigate; and the sand ended up being overexploited, even outside of permitted zones. In addition, authorities were not notified of many incidents where sand mining companies caused erosion. The companies had prepared their environmental assessment reports carefully to get their projects approved and got licences, but once the project commenced, the companies behaved irresponsibly, contrary to the stated commitment. Rampant illegal sand mining had led to the loss of natural resources, loss of revenue, causing environmental impact and disturbing public order and waterway safety. The provincial Department of Transport has proposed that the provincial authorities stop dredging operations of Long Thanh Gold Investment and Trade Company, ong Nai Agricultural Services Co-operative and Tuan Hai ang Co Ltd. Vo Van Chanh ordered the Department of Transport and Department of Environment and Natural Resources to examine and report to the provincial authorities on the 14 companies operations (sand mining, dredging, mineral overexploitation). Supervision agencies have also been ordered to boost their monitoring efforts. Leaders of these agencies will be held accountable, should violations, especially if criminal elements are involved, occur under lax watch. VNS BA RIA-VUNG TAU The famous Con ao Islands ecosystem and its biodiversity is seriously threatened by overexploitation and low environmental awareness of visitors and locals. Concerned officials as well as residents are calling for strong protective measures that can prevent the slide into irrecoverable loss. "The commercial hunting of marine resources and pollution of their natural habitat have resulted in a loss of natural regeneration of marine fauna," Tran inh Hue, deputy head of Con ao National Parks Management Board, told the Lao ong (Labour) newspaper. Out of ignorance, many people have been hunting for endangered species using different methods," said Nguyen Van Son, owner of a restaurant in Con ao District. He said some visitors to the island still wanted to buy products from rare species like the eggs of vich (Cheloniidae), a kind of sea turtle. This demand would impact efforts to save and preserve the turtle, he said. While the depletion of natural resources is increasingly evident, inadequate penalties posed a challenge for forest rangers trying to prevent and discourage violations, Hue said. A large number of fishing vessels can be seen in waters near the island every day. Instead of using traditional methods, fishermen can be seen using cyanide fishing where the poisonous substance is sprayed to stun the fish, or using light to attract fish to specific areas to harvest them. Both methods are prohibited, Hue said. In addition, fishermen are also illegally fishing in the wetlands of Con ao National Park, posing risks to all marine organisms. Natural disasters have also damaged the islands ecosystem rendering it more fragile, so the harm caused by human actions is compounded. The Linda storm, which hit the island in 1997, destroyed one third of its forest area and damaged about 1,000 coral reefs and sea grass. The El Nino phenomenon exacted a heavy toll on local coral reefs in 1998, 2010 and in April and May this year. Nguyen Khac Pho, deputy head of the national park, said rising sea levels had narrowed the number of nesting locations for sea turtles and affected their reproduction. Tourism impacts The parks biodiversity is also threatened by tourism activities, Pho said. The fact that many tourists choose Con ao Island for its beautiful, pristine natural beauty is a challenge to conservation efforts, he said. He said turtles will not crawl ashore to dig their nests, or they will stop preparing their nests and return to the sea if they detect noises and light at night. Pho also blamed tourists for purchasing products of endangered species for the increase of violations in the field. A number of people have tried to catch and trade meat and eggs of vich, a rare and endangered animal, for high profits, he said. Besides sea turtles, yen hang (Collocalia), another endangered birds, need to be protected. The numbers of this special bird have been dwindling rapidly over the past few years, Pho said. Patrol team Faced with these challenges, the Con ao National Park Management Board has set up new rules to conserve marine resources and implement forest protection commitments. It plans to expand its patrol team to 70 people, assigning some to guard the nesting areas of endangered species. The board will also co-ordinate with relevant agencies in dealing with violations. Located on the Con ao archipelago, the national park covers nearly 20,000ha with 6,000 ha of forest and the rest belonging to the marine protected area. It is home to many plant and animals species endemic to Viet Nam and South Asia. According to the park management, 29 species of mammals, 85 species of birds, 46 species of reptiles and amphibians and about 1,080 vascular plant species have been recorded at the park. Surveys conducted by Nha Trang Institute of Occanography have shown 1,323 species of marine fauna and flora, including 44 listed in the Red Data of Viet Nam. The coral reef at Con ao used to be the most pristine in Viet Nam, covering around 1,000ha. The Park was recognised as the countrys six marine Ramsar site in 2014. Ramsar, or the Convention of Wetlands, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. VNS Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen HA NOI Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from December 20-21 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. Hun Sen will be accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Cambodian royal government. Viet Nam and Cambodia are set to develop bilateral relations in line with the principle of good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive partnership and durable sustainability. They have been striving to reach an annual bilateral trade target of US$5 billion. VNS HA NOI Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday praised scientists for making valuable recommendations to spur national development. Addressing the scientists at a reception in Ha Noi, he exhorted them to continue popularising their knowledge of Viet Nam and sharing development experiences. The scientists were in the capital to attend the fifth International Symposium on Vietnamese Studies. Trong asked overseas Vietnamese scientists to serve as a bridge connecting Viet Nam and international friends, thus contributing to developing Vietnamese Studies. He also hailed several proposals made to facilitate Vietnamese studies, including the establishment a Vietnamese Studies research centre. Themed Sustainable development in the context of global change, the symposium focused on knowledge transfer, scientific and technological development, climate change adaptation, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The organising board chose more than 800 reports out of nearly 1,000, including over 150 by foreign scholars from 30 countries and territories. The suggestions made by participants on Viet Nams development strategy, the fourth industrial revolution, climate change response and other topics will be collected and submitted to relevant agencies for consideration, Trong said. VNS President Tran ai Quang (R) receives World Bank (WB) Country Director Ousmane Dione in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Nhan Sang HA NOI President Tran ai Quang has asked World Bank (WB) Country Director Ousmane Dione to work closely with the Government in establishing the two sides Partnership Strategy for the coming years. Speaking at a reception in Ha Noi yesterday, the host welcomed Dione to his new position and expressed his hope that the WB Country Director will build on his predecessors achievements to elevate bilateral ties. He spoke highly of the WBs support of Viet Nam , including the building of the Vietnam Report 2035 that suits orientations and goals set by the 12th National Party Congress. The President spoke of Viet Nam s key priorities, including strengthening macro-economic stability; economic restructuring in the fields of public investment, banking, State-owned enterprises and fiscal reform; public debt management; infrastructure upgrade; and climate change response. He also assured his guest that he has directed agencies concerned to accelerate negotiations, signing and approval of loan agreements with the WB, but added that project quality must be put first. Viet Nam has worked to ensure the effective use of loans provided by the international community and the WB in particular, he affirmed, adding that the country always works hard to monitor the process. Dione, for his part, said Viet Nam s success is significant to the WB as the country national development is recognised as a success story. The guest pledged that the WB would liaison closely with Vietnamese agencies to align the partnership framework with Viet Nam s development orientations for 2017-2020. He said the lender needs further consultations on the four pillars of the strategic partnership, including the development of the private economic sector, human development, environmental sustainability and State governance. VNS HCM CITY The Police Investigation Agency, under the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), has served prosecution papers and a detention warrant to the suspected child abuser Nguyen Thanh Dung. Dung, 34, was charged on the grounds of acts of torture- an offence under Article 110 of existing Penal Code. Dung was identified as the person seen in a series of around 50 video clips using electric rods, clamping tools and tree branches, among other things, to brutally beat up Cambodian children. In one such clip, he was seen torturing and strangling a naked two-year-old toddler with a stun gun. The video, uploaded on social media sites, has sparked public outrage, and prompted the Cambodian police to investigate and arrest three suspects - two locals and a Dutchman - for their alleged involvement. The fourth suspect was later identified as Dung by the Vietnamese police. Major General Ho Sy Tien, head of the ministrys criminal police department, said Dung, who hails from the southern province of An Giang, was caught while fleeing to HCM City on December 12 after the video went viral. Dung allegedly claimed he was under the influence of crystal methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth or ice) when he committed the abuse. The 53-year-old Dutch national arrested has been identified as Stefan Struik, CEO of Kamkav, a company with cocoa plantations in Cambodias Mondulkiri province. Mondulkiris deputy police chief So Sovann, who had come to Viet Nam to assist with investigations, said the videos were leaked by Dungs female cousin following her unsuccessful attempt to blackmail Struik and Dung for some VN10 million ($440), the Cambodia Daily newspaper had reported yesterday. Viet Nam and Cambodia have signed mutual legal assistance and due to the fact that Dung committed the offence in Cambodia, the two countries police will collaborate to pursue the case, but extradition of the suspect to Cambodia is out of the question, police said. VNS HCM CITY The Government has approved HCM Citys plans to build two bridges over the Soai Rap River. The Cat Lai Bridge will link the citys District 2 with Nhon Trach District in ong Nai Province. The Binh Khanh Bridge will link Nha Be and Can Gio districts. The Government also green lighted construction of a new road parallel to the existing National Highway No 50 in the city. Part of the citys traffic development master plan, they will all be finished before 2020. The Government has instructed related agencies to complete the formalities for the projects and submit additional plans if there are any before December 31 this year. The city wants to build the 4.5km Cat Lai Bridge including its approach roads to facilitate transport of goods from industrial parks on National Highway No 51 and in the Nhon Trach urban area to ports in districts 2 and 7. The Binh Khanh Bridge will replace the Binh Khanh ferry, currently the only way to reach Can Gio from the city and badly overloaded. The 8.6km road along National Highway No 50 from Nha Be District to the border of Long An Province would ease the load on the highway. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries, provincial and city peoples committees and relevant offices to strengthen traffic safety works during New Year, Tet (Lunar New Year) and the Spring Festival. The PM urged the Transport Ministry to set up detailed plans and measures for organising transport vehicle systems, selling tickets through the internet to serve the best travelling of people. The transport ministry is responsible for checking publicized ticket prices and penalising illegal ticket price increases and passenger transfers. The ministry will regulate traffic lanes comfortably and suitably on key and high-vehicle traffic routes, strengthen safety measures at black spots (places with high rates of road accidents) and manage the domestic waterway. The ministry must ensure security and safety at airports, railway stations, ship and bus stations at tourism sites and festival grounds. The Ministry of Public Security was asked to strengthen patrolling and penalties for traffic and order violations during the new year holidays. Policemen will focus on fining violations related to speeding, drunk driving, vehicles driving over capacity, riding motorbikes without wearing helmets and racing motorbikes illegally. The police force is also asked to take strict measures for preventing illegal transport of flammable and explosive substances and materials. The ministry will co-ordinate closely with transport inspectors to arrange police force on shifts at key routes and black places on traffic jams. In addition, the ministrys hotline has been publicised on mass media in order to field traffic punishment complaints from local people. The Ministry of Information and Communications has been asked to re-enforce dissemination of traffic safety information during holidays.y.. In particular, the peoples committees of Ha Noi and HCM City are responsible for setting up plans to organise festivals, regulate traffic lanes and arrange workerforce on shifts at main gates. HCM City bus services More public buses will operate in HCM City during Tet to meet the surge in demand during the holidays, officials from the Department of Transport told a conference on Wednesday. According to the Public Transport Management and Operation Centre, 1,048 trips will be added on 17 routes, while 844 trips will be reduced on other routes where holiday demand is traditionally low. To prevent congestion at bus terminals, bus will be allowed to depart as soon as they are 50 per cent full. The number of passengers at Mien ong Bus Station is expected to increase by 3 per cent year-on-year, with January 22 likely to be the busiest day with 56,000 passengers, Thuong Thanh Hai, deputy director of the station, said. Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the Department of Transport, urged all bus stations to ensure buses park and pick up and drop off passengers in an organised manner. His department would co-ordinate with the police to tackle the problem of unlicensed buses operating outside or near bus stations, he said. VNS HOI AN Water in the Hoai River rose up to flood two streets Bach ang and Nguyen Thai Hoc in the ancient city of Hoi An and villages on the Hoai River banks yesterday. Water 1.5m-2m deep also stopped traffic, stranding thousands of residents and tourists traveling on the other sides of the Hoai River bank. Most tourists and local residents had to use boats to travel from the flood-affected villages and hotels to Hoi Ans market. Restaurants and houses on the pedestrian Nguyen Phuc Chu Street, night market, Sculpture Park, An Hoi Bridge, Bach ang and Nguyen Thai Hoc streets were submerged in water. A return boat trip cost VN200,000 (US$8.8) was the only way for residents to cross the Hoai River. Water rose up very fast from midnight. The An Hoi bridge is under water and can only be recognised by its handrail, said Tran Van Sung, 73. I closed my restaurant on Bach ang Street on the Hoai River and moved all the furniture upstairs as water came in and rose up to cover half the door, Sung said but conceded that the flooding this time has yet to reach its record roof-top levels. He lamented the cost of having to clean and redecorate the restaurant after floods, as well as painting doors and windows. But not everyone is despondent over the recurring flooding. Local residents travel by boat from Hoi An to villages on the Hoai River bank. VNS Photo Cong Thanh Nguyen Thu Hoai, a resident of Triem Tay Village, said she earns a lot of money from rowing boats for tourists and local residents from the ancient town along flooded streets and markets. I cand earn VN200,000 for each boat trip. Many residents in flooded areas on the Hoai River bank ring me to carry them to the market for food. Its not my main job, but its helpful for everybody during flood days, Hoai said. The citys traffic police has warned all residents and tourists to wear life jackets for safety and only travel by boat when its very necessary. Deputy chairman of the citys Peoples Committee said floods created difficulties for residents on the other side of the Hoai River (opposite Hoi An city). But had not affected tourism services in the citys old quarter. Usuda Reiko, a Japanese resident of Hoi An, said water had submerged the river road in Cam Nam Ward from last night. I cannot go out today. I just sit on the second floor. I closed my cafe, and I still have sufficient supplies for me and my staff for several days. For me it is the worst flood. In the 2009 one I wasnt living on the river side, Reiko said, adding that flood already occurred twice this year. An Hoi bridge, spanning the Hoai River in Hoi An, is only recognized by its handrail. According to the latest report from the Centre of Flood and Storm Prevention in the Central and Central Highlands regions, rising rivers from Thua Thien-Hue to Quang Ngai provinces reached its peak on Wednesday night and has been receding since. The centre warned, however, that the Quang Tri, Binh inh and lower Thu Bon River in Quang Nam Province will rise within 12 hours. Flooding also was recorded in 27 districts in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh inh and Phu Yen provinces, and serious flooding is expected from Quang Nam to Phu Yen within several days. Three people were killed in Thua Thien-Hue and six injured in Phu Yen Province between December 11 and 15. Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces suffered a total loss of VN83.8 billion ($3.7 million) in flood damages. VNS LAO CAI A project aiming to promote biodiversity in Viet Nam was launched yesterday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in the northern province of Lao Cai. The project aims to assist access to genetic resources in Viet Nam, as well as to the implementation of pilot projects on medicinal plant genetics and traditional herbal healthcare by people of the Dao ethnic minority in the province. It will be implemented over four years at a cost of $12.5 million, 16 per cent of which is supported in cash by the UN Development Program. The rest is supported by the Governments matching funds and technical assistance from other international organisations. The project was developed as a capacity building step for the actualisation of the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing, which was ratified at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan in 2010 and went into effect in 2014. Speaking at the launch ceremony, Dr Nguyen Van Tai, director general of the Viet Nam Environmental Administration, said the sharing of benefits of Viet Nams genetic resources with other countries has not been developed due to a lack of legal framework to manage such relationships. This is our opportunity to sustainably manage the use of genetic resources in the country and focus on the shared benefits of using them, he said. Despite having a high biodiversity with more than 95 types of ecosystems, hundreds of animal species and genetic resources in Viet Nam are facing threats from population growth and human overexploitation, according to MoNRE. Akiko Fujii, deputy country director of UNDP Viet Nam, expressed appreciation of Viet Nams pioneering step in actualising the Nagoya Protocol. The project will build an important foundation for the long-term implementation of the protocol, she said. VNS Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am yesterday hailed the nations impressive achievements, saying it was considered the second fastest growing economy in the world and a leading implementer of the UN Millennium Development Goals. VNA/VNS Photo HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister Vu uc am yesterday hailed the nations impressive achievements, saying it was considered the second fastest growing economy in the world and a leading implementer of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Viet Nams efforts to meet the UNs Sustainable Development Goals have also been acclaimed, he said at the fifth symposium on Vietnamese Studies held in Ha Noi. He said these achievements were made possible by the tireless efforts of Vietnamese people and support from the international community, including foreign scientists. am called for more scientific findings and recommendations to serve the cause of national development. He expressed his gratitude to scientists for providing the Party and State with objective foundations for issuing policies serving national development. Concerted efforts While peace and co-operation is still a key global trend today, latent risks remained, like sovereignty and religious conflicts, climate change and epidemics. These require nations to join hands on the basis of respect for international law, national sovereignty and national interests, the Deputy PM said. He said Viet Nam currently faces several challenges including the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution, unequal access to basic services, and moral degradation. Creativity, technological advances and cultural strengths have to be brought into play to achieve sustainable development, am said. During the two-day event, participants will discuss six areas of global diplomacy: co-operation and integration; cultural resources; education and human resources; knowledge and technological transfer; economy and livelihoods; and climate change. Recommendations made by the participants will be submitted to relevant ministries and agencies for reference as they make plans and formulate policies to spur national growth. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired a working session between the Government and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Ha Noi yesterday to review implementation of the co-ordinating mechanism between the two sides and discuss their future tasks. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat HA NOI The Government and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union should work together to create the most favorable environment for young people to take the lead in renovation and start-up activities and in tackling pressing social issues, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said. He chaired a working session between the Government and the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Ha Noi yesterday to review implementation of the co-ordinating mechanism between the two sides and discuss their future tasks. He hailed young peoples contributions to the countrys socio-economic development, giving special emphasis to their part in maintaining social order and stability during the major April pollution fish deaths caused by steel maker Formosa. He noted the results of the implementation of the co-ordinating regulation between the Government and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, especially in generating jobs for young people. However, he pointed out that the youth union was slow carrying out a number of projects assigned by the Government, such as supporting working young people and developing islands managed by young people. The Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union needs to pay attention to educating and encouraging young people to take a more active role in promoting socio-economic development and safeguarding security, defence, and social order. Young people should lead in making renovations and launching start-ups to address employment issues, he said. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee was assigned to work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to map out a project on young peoples involvement in protecting the environment and responding to climate change. VNS HA TINH Authorities in Ha Tinh Province have destroyed 275 tonnes of fish contaminated with chemicals from Formosas toxic spill into the ocean near the province and its neighbours Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. The fish were collected from local freezer warehouses, following tests by local authorities. The destroyed fish contained toxins cadmium and phenol, test results revealed. The contaminated fish were landfilled at a garbage zone in the provinces Hong Loc Commune and sprayed with lime powder and fumigation substance Chloramine B. Local authorities said transportation of the fish from the warehouses to the landfill site was closely monitored to ensure no contaminated fish was taken to be sold in the market. Earlier this week, Quang Binh dumped 606 tonnes of fish contaminated by Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Company. Quang Tri did the same in November, with 70 tonnes of poisonous fish landfilled. There were 5,369 tonnes of frozen fish that remained unsold in Quang Binh following the Formosa incident which began in April. Tests by local authorities showed that 2,658 tonnes were safe for consumption. During a working visit to Quang Binh yesterday, Minister and Head of Government Office Mai Tien Dung urged the provinces authorities to boost the sale of fish stored in local warehouses. Nguyen uc Thang, director of a local fish trading enterprise, asked authorities to assist in finding a market to sell the remaining fish as well as in the imbursement of subsidy according to the cost of the destroyed fish. Provincial Peoples Committee deputy chairman Le Minh Ngan said the imbursement is underway. A 100 per cent subsidy will be provided for the fish found to have been contaminated, while a 30 per cent subsidy rate will be applied for uncontaminated fish which has been stored for a long time in freezers following the Formosa incident, according to government guidelines. VNS HCM CITY A road-safety programme called Lifting Safety was launched on Thursday to identify safety risks in the community living near the Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The programme includes targeted education and community engagement activities to enhance road safety awareness among students and their parents, as well as truck drivers who use the terminal. Both national- and provincial-level traffic safety committees have worked closely with the nonprofit Asia Injury Prevention Foundation and Viet Nam-based APM Terminals, a global port operator, to carry out the programme. Around 1,000 students from Tran Quoc Toan and Toc Tien primary schools near the Cai Mep International Terminal are provided free helmets and given road-safety education classes. A study commissioned by APM Terminals and conducted by AIP Foundation in October 2016 found that even though most students in the region commuted to school by motorcycle, only 35 per cent of students at the Tran Quoc Toan Primary School and 19 per cent of students at Toc Tien Primary School wore helmets, despite road dangers such as mixed-vehicle use roads and lack of separate motorcycle lanes. In 2017, the Lifting Safety programme will provide training on road safety skills to truck drivers; a mass media awareness campaign; and community-based activities in and around the CMIT port. Every year, more than 19,000 children die due to traffic accidents, accounting for 24-26 per cent of total fatalities, according to Vu Qui Phi, deputy chief secretariat of the National Traffic Safety Committee. Education on traffic order and safety contributes to building a traffic culture for students, thus helping to reduce the number of traffic accidents, he said. VNS HA NOI The Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) on Wednesday arrested Nguyen Xuan Long for allegedly spreading rumours on social networks that Viet Nam would replace its current banknotes with new ones, the Vietnamplus reported. Long, 34, living at ong Nai Provinces Bien Hoa City, has used the nickname Mr Duck on his Facebook fanpage Vit Bau to post false information involved in replacing the current banknotes, images of new banknotes and claimed that the new banknotes would be printed in China then moved to Viet Nam. At the police office, Long allegedly admited that his actions violated law and had a bad influence on society. The MoPS investigators said the spread of false information had the wrong intention to cause a negative impact on Viet Nams economy and investment environment, strongly affected the nations macro stability. According to the ministry, the false information on replacing banknote started appearing on some social network websites since late October, but fanpage Vit Bau repeatedly fabricated information regarding Viet Nams banknote change, and urged people to withdraw money from banks to buy gold and foreign currency, together with defamatory and government-against comments. After an investigation process, police have identified Facebook fanpage Vit Bau with three administrators, including Nguyen Xuan Long. Long alledgedly confessed that Facebook fanpage was set up and firstly administrated by Nguyen Hang, a Vietnamese woman living in the US since 2015. Last September, Long began joining administration to write, edit from other websites and upload stories and image on the Vit Bau fanpage. He used Facebook account Phong Tuan and nickname Mr Duck to upload average 10 stories a day on the fanpage. Immediately, the Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam ao Minh Tu rejected the news, saying rumours of an upcoming demonetisation process by the Vietnamese central bank are false and groundless. He called on people to be alert against false information as it could affect national monetary security, at a time when the country is enjoying stable economic conditions. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the MoPS to trace the person who spread the false information of banknote change. Further investigation is underway to find out other participants in the spread of false information on banknote change. VNS HA NOI More than 400,000 readers in rural areas can access books and a system of over 9,000 civil libraries has been built in 26 provinces in Viet Nam since 2007. This is thanks to the Books for rural areas of Viet Nam programme, heard a ceremony held in Ha Noi this morning. Organised by the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO and Ministry of Education and Training, the event honours individuals and organisations that brought the programme Book for Rural Areas of Viet Nam to localities across the country. The programme, implemented by the Center for Knowledge Assistance and Community Development (CKACD), was awarded the 2016 UNESCO Literacy Prize in September, along with four other winners from Thailand, India, Senegal and South Africa. CKACD founder Nguyen Quang Thach initiate the library revolution after witnessing a great shortage of books and an undeveloped library system in rural and mountainous areas in Viet Nam. Based on the specific needs of different groups of learners, Thach designed five main models: clan libraries, parish libraries, classrooms libraries, military officer libraries and community libraries. The programme aims to offer equal education opportunities to all, particularly those in rural areas. It has engaged more than 100,000 people to finance the programme through crowd-funding. At the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Manh Hung said the programme was in line with Viet Nams policies in promoting a reading culture, a long-lasting learning society and eliminating illiteracy. Pham Sanh Chau, secretary general of the Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO, said the programme highlighted the effective co-operation between State and non-State organisations and the strength of the community. CKACD founder Thach said for a long time, children in Viet Nams rural areas had very few chances to access books. They usually only had access to textbooks and their parents had little awareness on the importance of reading books since they themselves had never read books. To encourage farmers/workers to create libraries for their children, I usually tell them that books can help them get better jobs and increase income, Thach said. Books which impart knowledge can help people predict and respond to changes around them, he said. He said with the UNESCO International Literacy prize, this programme, which brought books to rural areas, could be expanded across the country, and further, could be a good model to be applied in other countries. VNS The resort towns of a Lat (in the Central Highlands province of Lam ong) and Sa Pa (in the northern province of Lao Cai) have been included in a new list of the top 10 rising destinations in Asia by travel site TripAdvisor. a Lat is ranked fourth and Sa Pa, sixth. Called the City of Eternal Spring, City of Flowers, and City of Love, a Lat is full of beautiful French-era buildings and surrounded by pine trees, flowers and vegetable farms. Tourists are recommended to visit Linh Phuoc Pagoda, Truc Lam Zen Buddhist temple and Elephant Falls, where they can try their hand at rafting, mountain biking and canyoning. Sa Pa, located some 2,000km further north, is known for its trekking trails. The colourful town is recognised as the perfect oasis for travellers on strenuous mountain treks and rice paddy tours. Tourists can visit the Saturday night love market, the Gothic stone church in the town centre and Vietnamese and European restaurants. The Travelers Choice Awards for Destinations on the Rise, released on Wednesday, recognised 43 destinations around the world selected based on travellers reviews of accommodation, restaurants and attractions and increase in booking interest. VNS ATHENS Greek lawmakers on Thursday approved a pension handout that has set the country on a collision course with hardline European creditors who accuse the struggling eurozone member of defiance. A total of 196 lawmakers out of 257 present from across the party divide approved the bill deepening a row that has also brought simmering EU disputes over austerity to the fore. The handout measure, announced by leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week, earmarks 617 million euros (US$656 million) for a one-off payment to poor pensioners. Athens says the pension handout will come out of a one-billion-euro tax surplus, but European creditors on Thursday said the Greek move raised "significant concerns on both process and substance" regarding the countrys bailout obligations. No blackmail In the joint statement, representatives from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European rescue fund said they would now decide whether to uphold a Eurogroup decision granting Greece short-term debt relief earlier this month. Tsipras on Thursday said as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels that the situation had to be resolved "without blackmail" on the part of Greeces creditors. "I believe that we can have a breakthrough without blackmail and with respect of the sovereignty of each country," said the leftist leader, who fought with his European peers to within an inch of taking Greece out of the euro last year. Germany "is the only country, the only eurozone finance ministry, that raises an issue," he told reporters, adding that halting the debt relief "is outside the borders of reason". The issue will inevitably come on the agenda later today when Tsipras meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Berlin. After the EU summit Merkel said "a critical discussion has already begun" on the matter, but insisted "it is not my intention to negotiate with Greece about the Greek package" leaving that to the finance ministers. France weighed into the debate with uncharacteristic force, led by President Francois Hollande who insisted that Greece be "treated with dignity" in the ongoing dispute. A spokesman for Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Wednesday said the eurozone was suspending the recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens in retaliation at not being fully briefed on Tsiprass handout plans -- which also include a lower sales tax for Greek islands sheltering migrants. The actions "of the Greek government appear to not be in line with our agreements," said the spokesman for Dijsselbloem, who heads the 19-nation eurozone, which oversees Greeces massive 86-billion euro bailout. The dispute escalated within hours, with both French Finance Minister Michel Sapin and European economic affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici --himself a former French finance minister -- publicly distancing themselves from the Eurogroup decision. Under the bailout agreed with eurozone countries, Greece has committed to making a host of economic reforms and must submit to oversight of its budgets and spending plans. Tsipras has also announced a sales tax benefit for islands sheltering thousands of migrants. This measure is to be discussed by parliament next week. AFP MOSCOW Russias federal security service said Thursday it had thwarted a series of attacks by Islamic State militants in Moscow and the southern city of Samara, detaining six people. "Four members of the terrorist group were detained" during raids on Thursday, the FSB security service said in a statement. "The militants were preparing the terrorist attacks on direct orders of a Turkey-based emissary of the Islamic State international terrorist organisation, who has been put on an international wanted list by Tajikistan," the statement said. The FSB did not identify the suspect in question but said the four people detained were citizens of Tajikistan and Moldova. The group was "planning to carry out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in Moscow using powerful homemade explosive devices." An AFP employee at the scene of the FSB operation in southern Moscow saw a block of apartments cordoned off for several hours as special forces stood by. During the raid, police seized firearms and ammunition as well as "homemade explosive devices and a large amount of explosive blend material for making a high-energy explosive device." In a separate statement, the FSB said it had arrested two further suspects in Samara. TNT was allegedly found at the homes of the men who are from Central Asia and born in 1992 and 1995. The FSB did not say if the arrests were linked to those in Moscow. Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria last year in what it claimed was an attempt to prevent terror attacks in Russia. The Russian defence ministry told local media on Thursday that more than 2,000 jihadists from Russia and other former Soviet republics were killed in Syria last year. AFP X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology at Virginia Tech, has received the 2017 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Outstanding Faculty Award. The award, sponsored by the Dominion Foundation, is the commonwealths highest honor for faculty in Virginias public and private colleges and universities, recognizing their commitment to excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration, and public service. Meng, who is a virologist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, is one of 12 faculty members given the 2017 award, selected from 97 nominees. He will be recognized at an award ceremony on Feb. 16 at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Since the award began three decades ago in 1987, 31 faculty members from Virginia Tech have received the recognition. See a complete listing. Meng studies emerging and re-emerging viral diseases that impact veterinary and human public health. He is widely considered one of the worlds leading scientists on hepatitis E virus, porcine circovirus type 2, and porcine reproductive and respiration syndrome virus. His laboratory developed the first U.S. Department of Agriculture fully licensed vaccine to protect against porcine circovirus type 2 infection and its associated diseases in pigs, a major threat to the global swine industry. Meng also discovered swine hepatitis E virus in pigs, which led to a paradigm shift and the recognition of hepatitis E as a zoonotic disease that can infect across the species barrier. Dr. Meng is a world-class faculty member, said Cyril Clarke, dean of the veterinary college. In addition to the international reputation he has achieved in the area of molecular virology research, he is an accomplished mentor of students and faculty colleagues, and makes important contributions to the college and university through his service on committees and engagement in strategic planning. Throughout his career, Meng has earned numerous awards and honors for his accomplishments. Earlier this year, he was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States. In 2014, Meng was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and in 2013, he became the first faculty member at the veterinary college to be named a University Distinguished Professor. He received the Virginia Tech Alumni Award for Research Excellence in 2008 and the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence in 2001 and 2008. Meng was also elected to American Academy of Microbiology in 2012. Meng has authored or co-authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. According to Google Scholar, these have been cited more than 20,554 times by other researchers. Meng has been awarded more than 46 research grants as a principal investigator totaling more than $17 million, and he is also a co-investigator or collaborator on more than 57 other awarded grants of more than $28 million. Meng is a named inventor on 21 awarded and 17 pending U.S. patents, as well as 40 awarded foreign patents on various virus vaccines and diagnostics. In addition to his research and scholarly accomplishments, Meng is passionate about teaching and finds time to be the course leader for three graduate and veterinary courses and an instructor for another course. He has served as the major professor for 20 graduate students and on the graduate advisory committee for 58 other students. After working in Mengs laboratory, students often continue their postdoctoral training at prestigious institution, such as Stanford Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Meng is also actively involved in university and professional service. He has served on more than 65 different committees at Virginia Tech, in leadership positions for 23 national and international committees and organizations, and as a member of more than 30 other national and international committees. He is currently editor-in-chief or editor for four prestigious international journals. Meng also serves on the board of directors and as president of the Chin-Min Hsiang Education Foundation and on the board of directors of the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Mengs record in knowledge integration includes the development of new courses and a new graduate training program. He has served as founding director of the National Institutes of Health-funded T32 Ph.D. graduate training program at Virginia Tech since 2004. He has also written chapters for several popular textbooks and more than 25 invited review articles. In addition to delivering more than 68 keynote speeches and invited seminars across the globe, Meng has appeared on numerous local and national media outlets discussing West Nile virus, swine flu outbreaks, food safety, and other topics. A native of Gaomi in Shandong province, China, Meng earned a medical degree from Binzhou Medical University and masters degree in microbiology and immunology at Wuhan University College of Medicine. He then completed a Ph.D. in immunobiology from Iowa State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine. Prior to his arrival at Virginia Tech, he worked as the John E. Fogarty Visiting Scientist and a senior staff fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health. Demoralized Syrians evacuate Aleppo BEIRUT (AP) Weeping, hobbling on crutches or dragging suitcases, hundreds of survivors of a devastating government siege left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo on Thursday, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellions most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syrias 5-year-old civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat. A smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Quran. Traumatized residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppos streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. California, Uber meet on self-driving cars SAN FRANCISCO (AP) California regulators met privately Thursday with officials from Uber to hammer home their demand that the ride-hailing company immediately stop picking up San Francisco passengers in self-driving cars or face legal action. Safety was sure to be front and center: Dash cam video posted online showed a self-driving Uber run a red light Wednesday, the same day the company launched the pilot program with several Volvo SUVs. The state insists Uber must shut down the new self-driving service until it obtains a special permit for testing on public roads, while Uber says the cars are exempt from the permit requirement because they have a backup driver behind the wheel. Tracked by GPS, guilty of 4 murders SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) A California sex offender was found guilty Thursday of killing four women while he was being tracked by GPS. He now may face the death penalty. Steven Dean Gordon was found guilty of four counts of murder for the attacks in 2013 and 2014. Orange County jurors only deliberated for about an hour before issuing the verdict. Authorities said the 47-year-old Gordon and 30-year-old sex offender Franc Cano abducted and killed four women. Ice in craters on dwarf planet Ceres LOS ANGELES (AP) A NASA spacecraft has spotted ice in several shadowy craters on the dwarf planet Ceres. Deposits of ice have previously been spied in craters on Mercury and our moon, also in regions that are permanently in the dark. Of the 600 craters on Ceres that never receive sunlight, researchers identified 10 places with ice. Ice appears to be spotty on the surface of Ceres, but a different team found ice is widespread just below the surface. Climate change tied to weird weather WASHINGTON (AP) A new scientific report finds man-made climate change played some role in two dozen extreme weather events last year but not in a few other weird weather instances around the world. An annual report released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found climate change was a factor, however small or large, in 24 of 30 strange weather events. They include 11 cases of high heat, as well as unusual winter sunshine in the United Kingdom, Alaskan wildfires and odd sunny day flooding in Miami. The Miami flooding happened in September 2015. Because of rising sea levels, extremely high tides flooded the streets with 22 inches of water. Second in a series of stories on this years 20 Under 40 winners. CEDAR FALLS Heidi Fuchtman learned firsthand how art can help someone find their voice. The 37-year-old freelance graphic designer volunteers her time helping others do the same as a founding member and coordinator of the Cedar Valleys Youth Art Team. I didnt identify myself as an artist until fairly recently, said Fuchtman, whose efforts earned a Courier 20 Under 40 Award. Theres something really empowering when you can finally say Im an artist, she said. When I see young people come to that realization themselves, thats really rewarding. An Ankeny native, Fuchtman attended the University of Northern Iowa where she studied art with an emphasis on graphic design. She got married while in college and remained in the Cedar Valley, raising four children and being active in her church. After learning about a similar project in California, Fuchtman helped form the Youth Art Team in 2010 as a partnership between Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls and Harvest Vineyard Church in Waterloo. Now a project of Link Christian Community Development, the Youth Art Team is a group of 25 students ages 5 to 18 who meet to learn about and create large-scale community art projects. Endya Johnson, whose family participates in the program, said Fuchtman was the driving force behind the Youth Art Team. Her vision and passion to allow young people to express their ideas through paint, photography, playwriting, window displays and even a huge peacock mural is phenomenal, Johnson said. The Youth Art Teams most recent project involved partnering with several elementary school classes to build and paint 53 wooden butterflies, which have been displayed since March throughout the Cedar Valley and Des Moines. Previous projects included an Urban Gallery installation at the former national Bank Building on East Fourth and Sycamore streets; a peacock mural on the side of the Kistner Building in downtown Waterloo, visible from U.S. Highway 218; a photography exhibition called The Viewfinder Project at the Waterloo Center for the Arts; and a series of temporary street murals in chalk paint. Our community has been given a gift of creative young people, Fuchtman said. At Youth Art Team we try to listen to their ideas and help them realize those things through large-scale art projects. Fuchtman was impressed by a young student who came up with the theme Love is Power as part of a public mural, which has become a common thread among other projects. The more we can give young people with ideas like that space to practice leadership now the more theyre going to be able to influence their communities in positive ways when they grow up, she said. Whether or not they become artists when they are grown, I hope theyve learned creative problem solving, that they see themselves as contributing members of our community and that they have power, too, that their voice is important. Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls doesnt give its Service Council much of a budget. Thats because the group carries out several large outreach projects each year by raising funds and in-kind donations. Its biggest undertaking is the annual adopt-a-family Christmas project. This year, it will help 20 families. Becky Anderson isnt sure when the project started. Weve been doing this since Moses, she notes longer than her 23 years coordinating it. The number of families the church helps has increased over the years, Anderson says, both because of the churchs ability to serve more people and increased need. Heidi Guse, counselor at North Cedar Elementary School, helps pick recipients. She and Anderson say families often express how surprised and blessed they are by the generosity. Each child receives gifts and smaller items. Families also receive groceries and household items. The final touch is at least one quilt made by Keepsake Quilters. The girls thought (the quilts) were such a perfect, special gift, and they love them, said Bridget, whose family was a past recipient. We were so touched that someone took the time to make them for us. Keepsake Quilters is a community group of nearly 100, with less than five members from Bethlehem. (Keepsake Quilters is open to anyone of any quilting ability. You can learn more by attending a meeting at 7 p.m. the third Monday, January through November.) The group originally formed to make quilts for World War II veterans. It expanded to include Korean war veterans, hospice patients and Bremwood residents and others. Prior to the tenure of the Rev. Gary Hedding, Keepsake Quilters paid to use Bethlehems Fellowship Hall. Pastor Gary said that given the mission of the quilting group and the amount of community outreach we do, it wasnt really fair for us to pay rent, recalls Donna Hansen, who belongs to both Bethlehem and Keepsake Quilters. Service Council gladly moved its meetings to the narthex during the quilters meetings. Eventually, the quilters noticed the council of 10 made enough joyful noise for dozens. They asked us why we were having so much fun, so we explained our Christmas project, recalls Theresa Elverum, a long-time council member. Soon after, the council received a large donation for the families from Keepsake Quilters, Anderson says. They said they wanted to do something for using the space, and they thought this was fitting, she explains. This year, the quilters donated more than $800. The council uses the funds and other donations to purchase the fixings for a Christmas meal and other items. Hansen believes its a natural extension of the Keepsake Quilters mission. Its pretty selfish if you just quilt and keep it for yourself, she says. A lot of us like to think about the person whos going to receive the quilt while were making it. Its special; it makes it that much more meaningful. WAVERLY In an increasingly digital world, Dan Hatala prefers pencil to paper for his artwork and it has served him well. A native Iowan, Hatala has made a career out of painting. Im not a digital person. Im old school all the way, he said. I still enjoy just painting. Maybe that cycle will come back around and it might become fashionable again someday. After studying commercial art and working as an art director at a Midwest agency, Hatala became a senior illustrator and later a technical illustrator at Hellman Associates in Waterloo from 1985-96. There he produced product illustrations for clients all over the country and world. It was a fantastic stepping stone for me, he said. The detail-oriented nature of retail design really helped me to develop that eye for detail. His niche as a technical illustrator has led him to such clients as the Danbury Mint, Budweiser, Coors, Pizza Hut, AMC Theaters, Ducks Unlimited, Sears and many others. In 1996, Dan decided to try out being his own boss as a freelance artist and work from home. Having my own schedule is just the greatest thing in the world. I absolutely love that, he said. Im very content to do whatever it takes just to pay the bills and continue working out here. Now in an eccentric home studio, Hatala fosters his talent a different way by getting as many miles as possible out of each painting. Really a tough market, all a guy like me can do is dabble a little bit and see if its going to stick, he said. Hatala garnered a contract with Masterpiece Puzzles to create at least three images for puzzles each year. He is able to then sell reproductions of his work as he wishes. I do what I want, they kind of direct me into what kind of image they want, which is almost always nostalgic automotive, 50s, 60s, cars and tractors, he said. His freehand methods allow him to add subtle personalization to his work. Homecoming, a painting depicting a soldier coming home from war, includes an address where Hatala grew up and the number to his studio on the taxi. Things that matter to no one but me. I try to develop scenes that are not covered well by other artists, he said, including a police car scene where a young boy riding a toy police car stops to admire the real life police cars staged in the 50s or 60s. It is likely many people have gazed upon his work without knowing the creator was a local artist. His work is adorned as murals in Reinbeck and Fort Dodge, in the Waverly Area Veterans Post, on a boulder in front of Retrieving Freedom in Waverly and hung in homes all over the world. (Murals) started as kind of a dare to myself to paint something big, Ive done a number of them around the area, he said. In the late 1990s Hatala became an illustrator for the United States Air Force and has had the privilege of traveling to many military bases around the world, including Italy, Germany and Bosnia. Ill do it as long as its not a war zone, he said. Hes also traveled stateside, including a trip to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., in the late 90s, where, to his surprise, he became a spectator of his own work. At that time, I was able to go through the Pentagon before 9/11. I was really tickled to see they had one of my paintings hanging in the halls, he said. I didnt even know it was there. That was kind of a bright spot, I guess, in my career. Check http://hatalaillustration.com to view more of his work. C.F. yard waste collection set CEDAR FALLS -- City offices will be closed Dec. 26 and Jan. 2. Therefore, there will be no yard waste collection on these days. Yard waste pickup is on a call-in basis on Mondays beginning in December through the end of March 2017. Call 273-8629 to make arrangements for pickup. Waterloo schools set holiday break WATERLOO All Waterloo Schools are closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2. Students and staff will return to a normal schedule Jan. 3. The Waterloo Schools Education Service Center will be closed during Winter Break on Dec. 22-23, Dec. 26-28 and Jan. 2. The building will reopen Dec. 29-30 and Jan. 3. RSVP offering Medicare seminar WATERLOO -- RSVP and Covenant Medical Center will offer Welcome to Medicare seminars on the first Wednesday of every month from 5 to 6 p.m. at Covenant Medical Center, 3421 W. Ninth St. The next seminar is Jan. 4 in Room 2. This free one-hour seminar and will cover parts A and B, part C Medicare advantage plans and part D drug benefit as well as supplemental insurance. Park in the visitors lot and use that entrance. This seminar is open to anyone approaching Medicare age, anyone on Medicare who would like to understand it better, family members as well as any interested community members. To register, call 272-2250 by Wednesday. Coats for kids to be distributed WATERLOO -- A gift of new winter coats to the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office has allowed sheriffs deputies to re-gift them to needy children in the county prior to Christmas. The local Knights of Columbus chapters purchased new children's coats and gave them to Sheriff Tony Thompson during his town hall meeting in Waterloo on Tuesday in hopes his deputies would spread their impact throughout the county. Food bank hosts wrapping event WATERLOO -- The Northeast Iowa Food Bank is working with Cedar Falls Main Street this holiday season to offer gift wrapping service to shoppers to collect donations. The nine-day event will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today through Dec. 24 at 319 Main St. with the exception of Sunday when the hours are noon to 4 p.m. and Dec. 24 when the hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The gift wrapping service is offered in exchange for a donation with 100 percent of the donations going to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Go to www.northeastiowafoodbank.org for more information. CEDAR FALLS For the first time in more than a decade, Cedar Falls may soon have a fire chief promoted from within. Public Safety Director Jeff Olson recommends the City Council name acting chief John Bostwick, with the department since 1980, as fire chief. The recommendation has been approved by Mayor Jim Brown and City Administrator Ron Gaines and will be submitted to the council for approval Monday night. Bostwick was selected from a field of 25 candidates. After a career in Cedar Falls, its pretty exciting to get the opportunity. Its an honor to walk in the footsteps of the chiefs that Ive known, Bostwick said of his pending appointment. Bostwick and another finalist, Manuel Hoskins, former fire chief of Monroe, Mich., interviewed this week with city officials and met with public safety employees. Bostwick just did very well, Olson said. Hes a very high-energy, positive person who certainly understands our citys goals. Hes demonstrate great leadership skills and certainly understands what a fire chief needs to do. Bostwick was promoted to fire captain in 1993 and battalion chief in 1999. Beginning in August 2015, he handled support services, including inspections, alternative staffing, training and other administrative duties. Bostwick would be the first chief promoted from within the department since Art Lupkes, who served from 1993 to 2003. He was succeeded by Steve Mitchell, hired from Tolono, Ill., and John Schilling, who previously worked in Ankeny. In June, Olson named Bostwick acting chief after Schilling resigned after seven years to become fire chief in Carpentersville, Ill., near Chicago. At that time, Cedar Falls Firefighters Association President Jim Cook said Bostwick would not have been the choice of our association, and noted the union was not consulted. However, Olson said there was some great dialog between Bostwick and firefighters during the meeting following his interview. Gaines said some firefighters expressed a preference for Hoskins. Thats not uncommon any time you fill a position, diverse opinions, Olson added. The city and firefighters have been at odds in recent years over staffing and other issues. The firefighters union voted no confidence in the mayor and council in August 2014 but withdrew that in January, expressing a desire to start with a clean slate with the new city administration after Browns election as mayor and Gaines becoming city administrator. Olson and Bostwick will hold a number of meetings with firefighters. Were going to work on communication and start looking at raising up our own people, giving them the tools and things that they need to move this thing forward and continue on some of the things weve already established, Bostwick said. Bostwicks base annual salary will be $96,951. He earns and additional $7,000 a year as an on-call police reserve member. AMVETS to host steak supper EVANSDALE The Evansdale AMVETS Riders, 706 Colleen Ave., will host a steak supper from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. The public is welcome to attend. Karaoke will follow. Kiwanis Club to meet Tuesday WATERLOO The Waterloo Noon Kiwanis Club will meet at noon Tuesday at the Waterloo Elks Club. Lunch starts at 12:10 p.m. The featured program will be the Union High School Carolers of La Porte City. Guests are welcome. For more information, call President Bruce Jacobs, 287-5733. Woodstock Road lights event set WATERLOO Woodstock Road in Waterloo is having a holiday event from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 22 and 23. All are welcome to drive by and enjoy the festive holiday lights, along with Santa and his sleigh. Blood drive will be held Dec. 23 WATERLOO Sacred Heart Catholic Church blood drive will take place from from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Dec. 23 at Sacred Heart Parish, 627 W. Fourth St. To schedule an appointment, go to lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903. WATERLOO A Waterloo pastor said a building that used to house her church is beyond repair. Id need a miracle to do anything, the Rev. Helen Seenster told the court Thursday during a brief hearing in which the city of Waterloo sought to seize the dilapidated structure at 800 W. Second St. Seenster, who runs Koinonia Ministries Full Gospel Baptist Church, which relocated years ago but still owns the 125-year-old building, said she had wanted to turn the Second Street property into a community center. But the structure has since fallen into disrepair and has been a frequent target for vandals and thieves. Its probably too far gone now, Seenster said. She said she didnt have any estimates on how much it would cost to bring the former church up to code. In September, city officials took court action to claim the former church under Section 657A of the Iowa Code, which allows municipalities to claim blighted properties and tear them down. During Thursdays hearing, Seenster didnt object to the citys plans, and Judge George Stigler found in favor of the city. City Attorney David Zellhoefer told Seenster she would be allowed to remove fixtures, wooden trim, pews, other contents and the surviving stained glass windows from the building. He estimated it will cost $20,000 to $30,000 to demolish the building, and it will take the city about six months to get the funds to undertake the removal. Seenster said the ruling was a relief, but she was disappointed with what became of the church. It just saddens me that people dont value what is valuable, she said. Before issuing the ruling, Stigler flipped through 18 photos taken by city staff showing broken windows, exposed lath and collapsing walls. It looks like if you leaned on it hard enough, they will fall out of place, Stigler said, referencing a picture showing walls starting to separate. He said another showed light fixtures handing from the ceiling like the sword of Damocles. Formerly the Apostolic Pentecostal Church, the building was bought by Koinonia Ministries in 1998. When Seensters church later moved to Falls Avenue, a minister who lived in the Second Street neighborhood started to buy it on contract. But the arrangement fell through, and no services have been held at the building in years, she said. Seenster said burglars stole some of the stained glass windows and stripped out the copper wiring. We tried to maintain the building. We tried to secure it, and they keep breaking in, Seenster said. CEDAR FALLS A federal judge is trying to determine if she can consider evidence of environmental contamination in sentencing a former Cedar Falls business owner who improperly stored toxic waste. Richard Delp, 62, pleaded guilty to storing hazardous waste without a permit, and the first part of his sentencing hearing began Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids. Chief Judge Linda Reade continued the remainder of the hearing until a later date so she can review evidence and the law in the matter. The government said Delp owned and operated the former Cedar Valley Electroplating on Westminster Drive, and after the business closed, tanks and barrels lingered on the site and eventually triggered a publicly funded cleanup with a $789,138 price tag. During Thursdays hearing, Reade said she disagreed with how prosecutors and the defense calculated the proposed sentencing range in the plea agreement, and she was concerned the issue of possible waste discharge wasnt included. The government cant hide the gun, Reade told prosecutors. She also questioned if Delp should be given leniency for accepting responsibility when he appeared to be placing blame on others involved in the defunct company. Defense attorney Alan Stoler said the criminal prosecution was unusual because environmental matters are often resolved through civil actions. There arent a lot of individuals who are prosecuted under these acts, he said. Likewise, Reade admitted she wasnt familiar with much of the environmental law behind the allegations. In addition to jail time, Delp faces restitution for the cleanup plus $160.95 million in fines based on $50,000 per day of violation. Delp and three other investors bought the business in 2004. One of the owners later left the company, another lives in New York and another was the companys bookkeeper, said Adrienne Ciolli, a special agent with the Environmental Protection Agencys Criminal Investigations Division. She said Delp made the day-to-day decisions at the facility. Cedar Valley Electroplating twice received written warnings about waste stored at the site following inspections in 2005 and 2010, Ciolli said. After the business closed in 2011, city fire officials had company officials move outdoor tanks in the parking lot to inside because of concerns freezing temperatures could lead to leaks. Tests would later show four of the seven tanks held corrosive substances, Ciolli said. A 2012 search of the property found signs of the corrosion on the buildings metal exterior walls, which Ciolli said was evidence of poor housekeeping. Acid will do that to metal, she said. Ciolli said there also was discoloration in grass downhill from the facility. It potentially could have been a release of the containers that were stored outside, she said. She said tests during the Superfund cleanup showed high levels of arsenic, and soil was excavated and removed from the area. Photos introduced as exhibits showed cracks in an indoor tank and stains on the concrete floor. She said pools of corrosive liquids were found on the inside floor, and there also were containers of acids stored next to containers of bases, which could be dangerous if the containers began to leak. Acids and bases generally dont work well together, she said. Stoler said the company didnt have the funds to dispose of the waste, so Delp decided to store the chemicals with the hope someday the business would have money to address the problem. DECORAH -- The Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office announced late Thursday it has executed two search warrants in Fort Atkinson and Calmar, resulting in 10 arrests and four juvenile referrals. The 10 adults were all charged and transported to the Winneshiek County Jail. The charges are a result of a lengthy investigation, which continues. As a result of a search warrant executed at a rural residence near Fort Atkinson, Steven Anderson, 39, of Fort Atkinson, was charged with keeping a premises or vehicle for controlled substance, felony possession of marijuana, third or subsequent offense; and felony possession of methamphetamine, third or subsequent offense. Also, Astyn Rouse, 26, of Fort Atkinson, was charged with a keeping premises or vehicle for controlled substance, possession of marijuana, second offense and felony possession of methamphetamine, third or subsequent offense. The following people, all of Fort Atkinson, also were charged with keeping a premises of vehicle for controlled substance: Michael Koch, 33; Peggy Schneider, 58; Stephanie Six, 35; Steven Ashford, 62; William Anderson, 38, and David Alve-Frana, 33. Also, Zackary Hoste, 23, of Ellsworth, Wis., was charged with no valid drivers license. Following the execution of a search warrant at a rural residence near Calmar, Robert Coonradt, 46, of Calmar, was charged and jailed for possession of methamphetamine, third or subsequent offense. WATERLOO Bond has been set at $252,000 for a Waterloo man charged in a Thursday night shooting that injured a child. Maryo Doyuan Lindsey Jr., 21, of 2100 Weis Court, is charged with willful injury causing bodily injury, going armed, carrying weapons, intimidation with a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm. Also charged in the shooting is Aundrey Frequal Roberts Jr., 23, of 833 Logan Ave. He was arrested for willful injury causing bodily injury and intimidation with a weapon, and his bond was set at $150,000. During their initial court appearances Friday morning, Assistant Black Hawk County Attorney Michael Hudson asked for high bonds because of the nature of the offense. According to police, around 7:49 p.m. Thursday a number of gunshots were fired at 1241 W. Mullan Ave. A bullet struck 9-year-old Anton Kincaid, who was lying on a couch inside the home. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to survive, police said. Neighbors reported seeing a number of people in dark clothing running from the area after the gunshots, and police found 9 mm and .40-caliber shell casings on the porch. During the investigation, officers obtained a surveillance video that showed a Chevrolet Trailblazer pull into an alley behind the home and two people exit the vehicle and walk toward the scene of the shooting. Authorities also obtained the vehicles license plate and discovered the vehicle was registered to one of the suspects. Officers went to a home in rural Dunkerton where Lindsey once lived, and early Friday the departments tactical team entered a Waterloo apartment building where Lindsey and Roberts were arrested without incident. Both men have prior arrests for firearms charges. Lindsey was released in from prison in March, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. He had been serving time for felon in possession of a firearm and carrying weapons on school grounds in a 2013 incident where Dunkerton school officials found a revolver in his gym bag following a football game. Before that, Lindsey was adjudicated in juvenile court for possession of an offensive weapon after police found stolen rifles and sawed-off shotguns in a home in 2012. Roberts is on parole. He was convicted of shooting Rashad Alik Scott in the arm in March 2011 on Dane Street. He also suffered a gunshot wound to the foot in a July 2016 shooting the 800 block of Logan Avenue that claimed the life of 21-year-old Otavious Brown. WATERLOO Members of Waterloo Community Schools support staff union spent Thursday spreading a little holiday warmth. Hats and gloves were distributed by the Waterloo Educational Support Personnel to all 13 elementary and preschool buildings in the district. We got a community service grant through ISEA that I wrote, said Theresa Steiber-Moncada, president of the WESP. The Iowa State Education Association is the parent organization for the union. WESP represents secretaries, home school workers, clerk typists, para-educators, study hall monitors and behavior intervention specialists. After receiving the $500 grant, members chose the project it would go to. We thought that it was a need, Steiber-Moncada said of the hats and gloves. The group was able to order 565 hats and more than 800 pairs of gloves in various styles and brands with the money. Every school got at least 35 of each item. At the schools, some of the items were given to children with an immediate need. Others will be kept available for when a need arises. Steiber-Moncada and Tamara Cowell visited the schools and gave the items to family support workers and counselors at each one. WATERLOO A church expansion could help the city recover part of its investment in the historic renovation of the KWWL-TV Building. First Presbyterian Church has offered to buy a parking lot on the corner of East Fourth and Franklin streets for $58,500, the same amount the city paid in October to buy the lot from KWWL. Jim Christensen, building and grounds chair at First Presbyterian, said the church is investing more than $600,000 to renovate its building at 505 Franklin St. and wants to incorporate the adjacent city-owned lot into the project. Itll make it easier for people to use, Christensen said. The Waterloo City Council is expected to vote on the offer in mid-January. It was endorsed Monday by the councils building and grounds committee. Council members approved a development agreement with KWWLs owners in June 2013 that provided incentives to leverage a $5.2 million renovation of the historic building at 500 E. Fourth St. and ensure the broadcaster continued to call Waterloo home. The agreement called for the city to acquire and demolish the adjacent Becker-Chapman American Legion Post 138 building and give it to KWWL. It also gave KWWL the option to have the city buy three of its existing parking lots for the appraised value, including the one the church now wants to buy. Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson said the citys initial intent was to market the lot, which is at a highly visible intersection, for infill housing or retail development. But Anderson said the staff now supports the sale to First Presbyterian even though the church doesnt pay property taxes. We do believe the positive influence of the church and their reinvestment in the building and into their parking lot area is also a positive, Anderson said. Christensen did ask if the city would be willing to remove dead ash trees on the property as part of the sale, noting the city still gets use of the lot. We still want to allow the city to use our parking lot for downtown events, which they have, other than when the church is using them, he said. DES MOINES A group of Iowa casinos, including the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, wants to make the facilities annual audits confidential and stop releasing them to the public. The action is intended to block their proprietary information from being released to competitors, the executive director of the Iowa Gaming Association said. Sixteen of the 19 state-regulated casinos in Iowa have joined a lawsuit challenging the release of those financial records. The lawsuit was filed after a development executive, who has three Native American casinos in Michigan, requested the documents. Tribal casinos are federally regulated and have gaming agreements or compacts with the states in which they operate, but are not regulated in Iowa to the extent non-tribal gaming establishments are. Iowa Gaming Association President Wes Ehrecke said the audits include trade secrets that shouldnt be publicly released. The reports have been public in Iowa for almost 30 years, and they are relied upon to gauge the health of the industry. Last year, Iowas casinos paid more than $312 million in gambling taxes and contributed nearly $40 million to charities. We have no problem giving that information to our regulators, but it shouldnt be given to our competitors, Ehrecke said. Nor, he said, do casinos have a problem with sharing information with their local nonprofit partners which hold their state gaming licenses. In the Waterloo casinos case that is the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, which distributes 5.75 percent of the casinos adjusted gross revenues for community projects. BHCGA executive Beth Knipp said the casinos court action should not impede her organization from receiving the information it needs, since the Waterloo casino is a publicly traded company. She said the association receives no proprietary information. We have received any financial information necessary for our operations from the Isle, Knipp said. Casino company Wild Rose, which owns three casinos in the state, abstained from joining the lawsuit. The company said not only is some information from reports already public through U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, but public transparency has long served Iowa without harming casinos. At this point, we didnt see the benefit of the injunction, Wild Rose spokeswoman Jamie Buelt said. Since the first gaming licenses were awarded, the financial statements have been public information. Were not sure what changed. Attorneys for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller declined to take a position in a response to the lawsuit on whether the records should be confidential or not. WATERLOO The Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church will host its annual Christmas Dinner on Sunday. The menu includes turkey and dressing, ham, chicken, cabbage greens, corn bread and dessert. Cost is $12 a plate, or $6 for children 10 and younger. The meal begins immediately following morning worship service. Carry-out service is available beginning at noon. For more information, call the church at 233-9382. WATERLOO Grace Reformed Church, 520 Maxwell St., will host Animals at the Christmas Scene, an imaginative interpretation of the Christmas story where the animals do the talking, at 7 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Saturday. The program is based on a drama written by Tanis Harms. Everyone is welcome, and a nursery will be available. There is no cost, but donations will be received. For more information, go to gracereformedchurch.com, or call the Rev. Dave Van Netten at 233-4341. WATERLOO The annual Live Nativity will be held Dec. 23 at Faith Temple Baptist Church, 325 E. Park Ave., with doors opening at 6 p.m. and show time at 7 p.m. Proceeds go toward the Jesse Cosby Neighborhood Center for those in need. Donald Trump has a problem that comes not from the cast of Hamilton but from Hamilton himself. In Federalist 68, Alexander Hamilton deals with that odd, anti-democratic feature of our constitutional order, the Electoral College, which has dictated a different outcome from the popular vote in two of the last five presidential elections. The ultimate goal, he says, is to provide a check on cabal, intrigue and corruption a threat he specifies as coming chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union? All of a sudden, this fear does not seem quite so paranoid. A cumulative case for concern has been building for months. Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a soft spot for an oppressive dictator, Vladimir Putin, who is challenging American interests at every turn. As a candidate, Trump publicly invited Russia to hack his opponents emails. Trumps campaign manager Paul Manafort resigned amid reports he had represented pro-Russian interests as a lobbyist. Trumps choice for national security adviser, Michael Flynn, seems to be a Russophile and has appeared on Russias propaganda network. In 2008, Donald Trump Jr. admitted Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. President-elect Trump has consistently refused to be fully transparent about his finances. Before the presidential vote the American intelligence community determined the Russian government directed the illegal hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other political figures. Now the CIA, according to reporting in The Washington Post, has shared with Congress its finding Russia intervened with the intent of swinging the election toward Trump. And Trump instead of expressing concern about an act of cyberwar has essentially come to Russias defense and launched an ad hominem attack on the U.S. intelligence community. A few points: First, the debate whether Russia engaged in cyber espionage to help Trump or just to generally mess with American democracy is utter nonsense. Russian espionage resulted in the phased leak of material damaging to the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton at key moments during a presidential campaign. Anyone who finds Russias motivation mysterious is being intentionally obtuse. Second, if the CIA interpretation is correct, this is not just one provocation among many. If Putin actually helped elect an American president more favorable to Russian interests, it is surely the largest intelligence coup since the cracking of the Enigma code during World War II. And it is arguably a bigger deal more on par, say with German intelligence helping elect Charles Lindbergh as president. Third, we will never know for sure if Russian espionage caused Trump to win. With Hillary Clinton losing by an 80,000-vote margin in three key states, everything her poor messaging, her consistently bungled response to the email controversy, FBI Director James Comeys untimely letter can be posited as the reason she lost. A hypothetical outcome minus Russian involvement is not just unknown, it is unknowable. Fourth, Trumps blanket attack on the intelligence community for incompetence as though he was still going after Little Marco or Lying Ted is an insanely dangerous antic that materially undermines American security. Given the extraordinary range of threats faced by America Chinese provocations in the South China Sea, Russian attempts to dominate neighboring countries, North Koreas progress toward nuclear-tipped missiles that could reach California a mutual trust between the president and American intelligence services is essential. That relationship has already been seriously damaged. Will congressional Republicans pass the first big test of their integrity by convening a joint committee to investigate Russias involvement in the 2016 election? The ease with which Republicans folded under pressure from Trump on trade and refugees does not bode well. But few Republicans share Trumps sympathy for Putin, and this could be an exception to their general passivity. Congressional Democrats might take a page from the Federalist Papers and demand the 538 electors of the Electoral College be briefed on what is known about Russian meddling before they cast their ballots Monday. This would be very unlikely to change the elections outcome since the House of Representatives holds ultimate sway. But at least it would demonstrate the type of scrutiny the founders intended. Has a foreign power gained improper ascendance in our county? Unless that possibility is confronted in forthright fashion, suspicion will linger and fester. That civil asset forfeiture, allowing law enforcement to seize money or property without criminal charges or convictions, has run amok is something that has produced bipartisan agreement but little action. The American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP, the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Americans for Tax Reform have sought federal reform to no avail. Among the states, Iowa is a prime offender, earning a D-minus from the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit, libertarian public interest law firm. State legislators have failed to thwart this affront to civil liberties, but bureaucrats reined in one aspect recently. The Iowa State Patrol disbanded its so-called interdiction unit stopping motorists suspected of involvement in drugs or other crimes. Meanwhile, in a supposedly unrelated action, the Iowa Appeal Board State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald, State Auditor Mary Mosiman and Iowa Department of Management Director Dave Roederer announced a $60,000 settlement with two California gamblers in their lawsuit after two state troopers seized $102,000 during a warrantless search in 2013. After a stop supposedly for not using a lane-turn signal, the troopers found a small amount of marijuana, although the gamblers had a California license for its medical use. The state previously returned $90,000. Civil asset forfeiture was a creation of the anti-drug frenzy of the 1980s that birthed such draconian laws as the mandatory sentencing guidelines that have made the U.S. the world leader in incarcerations. A 1984 amendment to the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act gave law enforcement additional tools to pursue drug kingpins by letting agencies keep 80 percent of the booty seized. The intent was to pursue money-laundering activities by drug kingpins. States, including Iowa, followed suit, but the law soon was adapted to confiscate valuables in a variety of cases, including seizing cars from co-titled owners when the other was convicted of drunken driving in Minnesota. The Iowa Code stipulates law enforcement agencies must show the property was likely obtained as a result of criminal conduct or intended to facilitate criminal conduct. Criminal charges, indictments or convictions arent required before property can be confiscated. Consequently, youre guilty until proven innocent without the right to an attorney. The Des Moines Register found state law enforcement agencies annually confiscate cash, cars and real estate from at least 1,000 people as part of the program compared to the 1980s when there were fewer than two dozen cases annually. Among the more notorious cases: Michael Sanchez-Ratliff left Chicago to attend a California community college with $14,000 from his grandmother and $5,000 from his savings. A Pottawattamie County sheriffs deputy stopped him for driving 5 mph over the speed limit. He had no drugs, but it took him two years and $7,000 in attorneys fees to get his money back. California businessman Phillip Flora is suing Pottawattamie County law enforcement officials after a 2015 traffic stop for supposedly going 4 mph over the speed limit, seizing $120,000 after allegedly finding drugs and destroying the purported evidence without filing criminal charges. Iowa divides 90 percent of the assets seized among agencies involved. The state Attorney Generals office and public safety departments get the remainder. Four of Iowas 99 counties Polk, Pottawattamie, Scott and Black Hawk have accounted for nearly 60 percent of the more than $55 million confiscated under Iowas forfeiture law since 1985. According to the Register, Iowa civil asset forfeiture has resulted in: More than $55 million in cash from 34 cents to nearly $2.6 million being seized from 19,000 people since 1985. More than 4,200 automobiles, trucks and motorcycles confiscated since the state began tracking such vehicles in 1991. 37 real estate forfeitures, rare because properties are often in disrepair and entangled in liens and ownership questions. The properties sold for nearly $1.2 million, or an average of $32,000. Other valuables such as guns, jewelry, furniture and artwork being seized but without a value cited. Twelve states have reformed their civil asset forfeiture laws, and Iowa legislators need to add it to their priority list with at least four requirements: Prosecutors must obtain a criminal conviction before property is forfeited. It must be proven the property owner had actual knowledge of the crime that gave rise to forfeiture so innocent owners whose property was used arent unjustly penalized. The right to an attorney is guaranteed. Attorneys fees can be recovered if successful. The initial aim of civil asset forfeiture to seize the property of drug kingpins was laudable. However, as currently practiced its often government at its absolute worst, trampling on the Fourth Amendments prohibitions against illegal search and seizure. CEDAR RAPIDS A 20-year-old who took and concealed the handgun used in the unintentional shooting death of a 15-year-old last March pleaded guilty to two aggravated misdemeanors Wednesday in Linn County District Court. Queshandis R. Seals, of Waterloo, pleaded guilty to carrying weapons and obstructing prosecution, both aggravated misdemeanors. He faces up to four years in prison but the defense plans to ask for a suspended sentence and the prosecution has agreed, court documents show. The criminal complaint shows Seals took the gun and concealed it from police overnight after Dennis Warren, 13, unintentionally discharged the .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol inside a home at 1423 Bever Ave. S.E. on March 18. The clip was removed from the weapon but a round was left in the chamber and the gun was discharged, fatally shooting 15-year-old Senquez Jackson. Warren is charged in Juvenile Court with involuntary manslaughter, carrying weapons, preventing apprehension and obstructing prosecution, a criminal complaint shows. No further information is available because juvenile records arent made public. Seals admitted to taking the gun that killed Jackson, according to the complaint. A complaint shows Warren gave Seals the gun at the McDonalds on First Avenue to keep police from finding it. Then, Seals gave it to another person March 19, the day Jackson died. Seals was on probation for drugs and carrying weapons in Black Hawk County in a 2015 offense when he was arrested for taking the gun from Warren, court documents show. Seals also faces a first-degree robbery charge in Black Hawk County he picked up while on pretrial release in this case. Seals and another man, Dewon Campbell, are accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint July 21 in her Cedar Falls apartment, a complaint shows. The woman told police Campbell held a gun to her head and demanded money and marijuana, while Seals went through items in her home, the complaint shows. The woman said the two stole gaming equipment, a cellphone, marijuana and $700. Police stopped a vehicle later with Seals and Campbell and the stolen items were recovered, along with a 9 mm Ruger pistol and .38 special revolver, both fully loaded, the complaint shows. His trial in the robbery case is set for Jan. 17. Woman arrested following chase OELWEIN -- Early Thursday, a Fayette County sheriff's deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Eighth Avenue in Oelwein. The driver of the vehicle refused to yield for the deputy and led them on a pursuit through the streets of Oelwein. The pursuit reached speeds exceeding the posted limits through town before the driver of the vehicle, Kashell E. Allison, 23, of Arlington, wrecked near the intersection of Seventh Street S.E. and First Avenue S.E. The Fayette County Sheriffs Office was assisted by the Oelwein Police Department, Iowa Department of motor vehicle enforcement and the Mercy Ambulance service. Man sentenced for possession CHARLES CITY -- A Charles City man police say had methamphetamine, two digital scales and $700 cash in his truck was sentenced this week to up to 10 years in prison for felony possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Jeremy John Round, 33, must serve at least one-third of his sentence before being eligible for parole under Iowa's mandatory minimum sentence law, according to Floyd County District Court records. He also was fined $1,000. Round was arrested after a Floyd County sheriff's deputy pulled him over Sept. 13 at Corporate Drive and 11th Street because he believed Round's driving license was suspended, according to the Sheriff's Office. Round had a meth pipe and $700 in cash on him. A bag of meth, small plastic baggies, scale and a locked box were found in the truck. A search warrant revealed more baggies and another digital scale. Federal charges filed in robbery HOPKINTON A grand jury has returned federal indictments against two New York men accused of robbing a Hopkinton bank in October. Daniel Louis Jackson, 27, and Jason Centeno, 20, both of Younkers, had been arrested on state first-degree robbery charges eight days after the heist at Citizens State Bank, and they have been in jail since then. On Wednesday, a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids handed up an indictment charging the two with federal charges of bank robbery, armed bank robbery and use of a firearm during a violent crime in connection with the Hopkinton robbery. The two took $8,225 in cash from the bank after assaulting and threatening employees, according to court records. Centeno and Jackson entered Citizens State Bank about 8:43 a.m. Oct. 21. Centeno was armed with a .38-caliber Charter Arms Off Duty revolver, and Jackson had a knife, according to court records. Centeno pointed the handgun at one of the tellers and demanded $50 and $100 bills. Jackson tied one of the tellers hands behind the back and said I dont want to hurt you, records state. He did the same for the bank manager and then threatened to shoot the manager and knocked the manager to the ground, records state. They placed the cash in a backpack and fled. The two remained at large until Oct. 29 when they were driving on the beach in Daytona Beach, Fla. Their vehicle became stuck in the sand, and Volusia County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue Officers came to assist. The officers first ran their license plate and determined they were wanted in Iowa. They were later returned to Iowa. While China's railway system has gone a long way in breaking records for length and speed, experts are now warning of new challenges, given that two factors crucial to the original success have shifted. Addressing a seminar on Dec 13, Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), said that China holds many advantages, such as its huge population and mobile-friendly user base. High-speed rails will become a key factor as China globalizes, especially through the Belt and Road Initiative, Wang believes. "There may be fierce competition when telecom companies eye the overseas market, but I think China's high-speed rail will become, just like Airbus and Boeing, the most successful and professional product of its kind. This also makes it most appealing to the market," said Wang. Unique development mode "The high-speed rail is indeed a unique phenomenon in terms of industrial upgrades and transformation in China," said Professor Gao Bai of Duke University, who is also director of the National Research Center on Strategic Development of High-Speed Railway affiliated with Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU). Gao explained that the success of China's high-speed rail lies in the integration of international experience and independent innovation, allowing all aspects of society to study and learn from overseas institutions. Gao pointed out that China's limited market access policy leaves only two companies - China CNR Corporation Limited and CSR Corporation Limited - open for foreign cooperation with four companies, which puts China at an advantage. "Through such competition, China is not training one national champion, but encouraging the two sides to stay competitive in the market," he said. Echoing Gao, Professor Li Guowu with the Central University of Finance and Economics pointed out that, unlike other projects, China has spent a great deal of time and labor on high-speed rails. In fact, a problematic foreign product purchased at the beginning of development helped with China's technological improvement. "However, it is too early to say whether such a miracle can be copied in other industries. Those who have achieved great innovation are largely in industries dominated but just a few powerful players," Li noted. Waning forces In addition, Gao warned that the restructuring of government bodies has transformed the former leader of the high-speed rail project the then-Ministry of Railways into China Railway (CR), a state-owned enterprise. This change weakened the cooperation with research universities that yielded the miracle of China's high-speed rails in the first place, according to Gao. Meanwhile, the two former rivals, CSR and CNR, formed China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) in 2015. Though Gao pointed out that the merger would not change their competition in the domestic market, he also expressed concern that such bedrock factors in building the high-speed rail miracle have changed. Still, Lv Tie, a researcher with the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, predicted that China will keep its place among the best high-speed rail manufacturers in the world, since engineering science relies on problem detection and solution, and China possesses the deepest data pool. By West Kentucky Star Staff Dec. 15, 2016 | 03:17 PM | GRAVES COUNTY, KY Two Graves County women face endangerment charges after two small children were found unattended. Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon said deputies responded to Lowes Elementary School Thursday shortly after 10 am to a report of two children, ages two and four, that were found in the roadway on KY 339 North. Deputies said the children were dressed in night gowns and one had no shoes on. Deputies said the children were hungry, had head lice and the younger of the two had a diaper that had not been changed in quite some time. The mother of the children, Hannah Taber, and another woman, Amber Jackson, were found inside a home across the street from the school. The two women, who told police they were domestic partners, were in bed asleep when deputies arrived and both were reportedly under the influence of alcohol. Deputies said the living conditions of the home were not suitable for children to live in. The Cabinet for Families and Children was notified and responded to the scene. One of Taber's aunts was granted temporary custody of the children. Both Taber and Jackson were arrested on charges of wanton endangerment and child abuse. 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disposal 16 December 2016 Share Fennovoima's environmental impact assessment (EIA) program for its own used nuclear fuel disposal facility is "comprehensive" and meets legal requirements, Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy has said. However, the ministry expects Fennovoima to continue cooperation with the licensees of the Onkalo repository project at Olkiluoto. An EIA program is a plan for the necessary studies and arrangements for the assessment procedure, the ministry said. The program is prepared by the organization responsible for the project and includes a description of the present state of the environment in the area likely to be affected. Fennovoima submitted its EIA program for its own facility for the disposal of used nuclear fuel from its planned Hanhikivi nuclear power plant in western Finland to the ministry on 22 June this year. The ministry organized a consultation on the assessment program between 12 September and 9 November. The ministry received 63 statements and comments before the deadline. The Ministry of Environment also organized an international consultation as the project is subject to the transboundary environmental impact assessment specified under the Espoo Convention. In a statement today, the ministry said the input received from the consultations considers Fennovoima's EIA program to be "comprehensive and fulfilling the requirements of the EAI Act". It added, "Many commentators drew attention to the exceptionally long EIA process and stressed the importance of providing information about the project and the need to update the assessment program information during the procedure of the project. In addition, many respondents consider it important that Fennovoima and the existing licensees cooperate on disposal." The ministry said it "believes Fennovoima should strive to resolve the issue of encapsulation and disposal of used nuclear fuel in cooperation with the existing licensees based on jointly negotiated commercial contracts". It noted that it considers the most desirable solution is for Fennovoima's used fuel to be placed in Posiva's repository in Olkiluoto, construction of which is expected to start soon. Fennovoima is expected to present a plan that contains a more detailed timetable for the project by the end of January 2018. This plan must show, among other things, how and when survey areas are defined in the municipalities of Eurajoki and Pyhajoki, the two alternative sites for the disposal facility presented in Fennovoima's EIA program. In accordance with the decision-in-principle granted by the Finnish government to Fennovoima in 2010, the company was to submit to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy either a final disposal cooperation agreement with Posiva to participate in the Onkalo repository project, or an EIA program for its own final disposal facility by the end of June. However, Fennovoima failed to secure an agreement for Posiva to manage its used fuel in addition to that of Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) and Fortum, Posiva's joint owners. Fennovoima aims to complete infrastructure work at the Hanhikivi site in Pyhajoki in northern Finland by the end of 2017. Construction of the plant - based on a Russian-designed AES-2006 VVER that would produce 1200 MWe - can only start once the construction licence has been issued. Fennovoima said it aims to start building the plant in 2018, with operation beginning in 2024. The final disposal of used fuel from the plant is scheduled to start in the 2090s. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Last week many birders were shocked and saddened by the deaths of thousands of Snow Geese who, trapped by adverse weather conditions, landed at the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana. While Snow Geese are not exactly endangered indeed far from it the existence of a large open body of death-water is a pretty alarming condition to contemplate! You may be curious about what exactly is the deal with that. As an Explainer of Montana, I am here to help. The history of Butte is a history of resource extraction. The notorious Copper Kings were headquartered there a collection of robber barons whose battles to control and profit from Montanas minerals left marks not only on the stones of the state, but on its psyche. Through a series of legal and financial battles their holdings eventually merged into a monopoly, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, that dominated the employment landscape of the city and owned newspapers and politicians as well as tunnels and smelters. In 1917 I.W.W. union organizer Frank Little was lynched from a railway trestle outside Butte, and no one was ever arrested or charged for the crime. Dashell Hammett, then employed as a Pinkerton agent, later alleged that hed been offered five thousand dollars to murder Little in the course of his work. Whether this tale is true or false, theres no doubt that during Hammetts second career as a writer he penned one of the most vivid fictionalized accounts of Buttes labor troubles. You may know it under the title Red Harvest, but when it was first serialized in the magazine Black Mask it was called The Cleansing of Poisonville. Poisonville was an apt nickname for Butte at that time mining scattered sulfur, mercury, arsenic, and a wide variety of other entertaining substances about the landscape. The air, thin at the best of times, became smokey and oppressive and the trout waters of the Clark Fork (famous as the river from A River Runs Through It) were slowly stifled. Then, in 1955, the Anaconda Company began excavating an open-pit mine, a technique that was less costly and dangerous but even more destructive than traditional mining. This was the origin of the Berkeley pit, the operation of which devoured the communities of East Butte, Meaderville, and McQueen. Copper, silver, and gold were all extracted from the pit for almost thirty years, resulting in a hole 7,000 feet long, 5,600 feet wide and 1,600 feet deep. When it closed in 1982 the hole began to fill with groundwater. When water met oxygen and ore the result was an acidic (2.5 pH level) stew laden with copper, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc. The conditions in this water are so extreme that new species of bacteria and fungus have evolved just to deal with them. Today the Berkeley Pit is a Superfund site and also, perversely, a tourist attraction with a gift shop. It does not only pose a risk to waterfowl although this years incident is not the first time flocks of Snow Geese have met their end there. As water continues to rise in the pit, there is a risk that it could backflow into the local groundwater and contaminate the headwaters of the Clark Fork, which has been the subject of intensive remediation efforts over the years, once again. Feature photo: The Berkeley Pit in operation, 1980. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Much higher sensitivity and specificity ratios (90% and 98%, respectively) than any already existing, including the ones based on liquid biopsy only valid for the 4% of patients with known mutations. BARCELONA, SPAIN, December 16, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- BIOPROGNOS, the first Spanish biotechnology company to develop diagnostic support solutions for the detection of different types of cancer through a simple blood test, has been able to achieve the European regulatory requirements necessary to start commercializing its test "MBDAA for Lung Neoplasia Dx" to support the diagnosis of lung cancer as well as confirmatory diagnostic used as a complement to Computed Tomography (CT), to decrease the number of unnecessary tissue biopsies otherwise performed in cases of uncertainty, in the European Economic Community. This first test has a much higher efficacy ratios with a sensitivity and specificity of 90% and 98%, respectively, than any already existing test in the market (including the ones based on liquid biopsy, only valid for patients with known genomic mutations DNA or RNA, that affect only about 4% of lung cancer patients). Upcoming versions still in development, show increased ratios according to preliminary results. In order to achieve the CE Marking and the implementation of a quality management system (QMS), BIOPROGNOS has had the invaluable professional support of AZIERTA, a consulting firm specialized in regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, quality assurance in the field of manufacturing and distribution, as well as management in health and market access. Besides, both companies signed a framework contract that considers additional lines of collaboration, such as the process of achieving the CE Marking for the algorithms to support the diagnosis of ovarian and prostate cancers two of the company's products that are in their last stages of validation, as well as the US and the China Food and Drug Administration (FDA and CFDA) compliance in order to market in the US and China too. The test "MBDAA for Lung Neoplasia Dx" is the first algorithm developed by the company. It calculates the risk of lung cancer and provides histological determination in the case of a positive testcombining the values of 6 tumour markers obtained with a simple blood test, also considering other clinical data from the patient. BIOPROGNOS has developed this algorithm based on a study carried out at the Hospital Clinic de Barcelona (HCB) during the last 8 years, exploited by means of an exclusive licensing through a technology transfer agreement signed with that institution and the Fundacio Clinic per a la Recerca Biomedica (FCRB). Because of it is a low-cost and non-invasive test, healthcare professionals will have access to a tool that will enable reducing the level of uncertainty as well as obtaining a more accurate diagnosis, with a greater sensitivity and specificity than diagnostic tests currently available in the market. Enabling early diagnosis will decrease the health system's costs, by lowering the number of consultations and tests, reserving those more expensive and invasive ones for the patients who really need them. About Bioprognos BIOPROGNOS (www.bioprognos.com]) is a biotech company located in Barcelona, created in January 2016 as a spin-off of the HCB. BIOPROGNOS is dedicated to the development of diagnostic solutions for the early detection of different types of cancer through a simple blood test. As per our production roadmap, the tests for lung, ovarian and prostate cancer, will be followed by others for head and neck, colorectal, kidney and breast cancers, developed in collaboration with different national and international hospitals and research centres. About Azierta AZIERTA (www.azierta.eu) is a consultancy firm that offers, since 2011, specialized services in Science and Healthcare through a multidisciplinary team of professionals. From its offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Bogota (Colombia), AZIERTA provides comprehensive scientific support to more than 200 clients in the field of Medicines and Health Products, as well as Cosmetics, Hygiene Products and Food Supplements, supporting companies from the R & D up to the market, as well as in post-marketing activities. AZIERTA is results-oriented, always taking into account the clients' needs, and guided in its day to day by the following values: integrity, excellence, commitment, trust and innovation. # # # RICHMOND, VA, December 16, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Practice Management Institute (PMI) has just announced a new partnership with the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) to provide a specialized training curriculum for medical office professionals across the state. The partnership was announced today to the MSV's 11,000 professional association members. "We are extremely excited by the opportunity to reestablish our partnership with PMI," said Cort Kirkley, Chief Operating Officer for the MSV. "The quality of the curriculum is an important element in our decision to offer their courses to our members and we are confident PMI meets the needs of our very diverse membership. " The Virginia faculty team will be led by Lesley Wagner, Practice Advocacy Manager for the MSV. Lesley is a seasoned professional who devotes her efforts and skills toward changing practice paradigms, shaping new market approaches and driving meaningful training for the next generation of medical practice staff in today's ever-evolving landscape. "I am excited to have the opportunity to bring these classes to the medical practices of Virginia," said Wagner. "I know the value of these programs first-hand as well as the long-term benefits recognized by students who have successfully completed training. Enhanced knowledge makes these professionals more valuable contributors to the long-term success of the practice." The January training calendar will include two classes on the new quality-based measurements known as MACRA. This training will provide up-to-date information on practice participation in 2017 and beyond. The Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM) certification course will also debut in January. This course is designed for anyone currently running a practice or wanting to become a practice leader. Key areas of learning include: financial management, practice administration, and personnel and time management. "This is an exciting time for us. Our partnership with the Medical Society of Virginia, featuring industry powerhouse Lesley Wagner, will bring the PMI presence in Virginia to a level we haven't seen in years," said Michael Moore, Vice President of Business Development for PMI. "We are very much looking forward to this state-wide initiative to bring PMI educational and credentialing courses to cities throughout the state." Practice Management Institute works with hundreds of health care systems, hospitals, medical societies, physician organizations, and learning institutions across the country to provide training and certification for administrative staff in outpatient facilities. Classes address the latest updates relevant to medical office coding, billing, operations and compliance. Since 1983, thousands of medical office professionals have attended PMI training; 20,000 have earned one or more certifications in their area(s) of expertise. The Medical Society of Virginia is a professional association with 11,000 members. The MSV serves as the liaison between local, national and specialty medical organizations. It is the only association representing all medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, regardless of specialty or type of practice setting in Virginia. The MSV leads the way in advocating for patient protection in the current managed care environment and for access to health care for all Virginians and for the highest standards of quality for health care. # # # Dec 16, 2016 | By Julia PostProcess Technologies, an American startup affiliated with the University at Buffalo (UB), has cashed in on a previously untapped market in additive manufacturing: cleaning and polishing 3D printed products. Daniel J. Hutchinson (left) and Jeff Mize (right) with the PostProcess line of service products Whereas most 3D printing businesses focus on scanning, modelling, and printing, PostProcess founder Daniel J. Hutchinson noticed little was being done for all the debris that builds up during the 3D printing process. Hutchinson, a veteran, realized the demand for cleaning 3D printed parts after visiting a defense contractor. With support from UB via the START-UP NY economic development program, Hutchinson went on to found PostProcess Technologies. The Buffalo-based startup has developed an automated system for cleaning 3D printed metal and plastic items, including interior spaces. Among the first in its field, PostProcess Technologies uses software, chemicals, and patent-pending hardware to remove support structures, finish surfaces, and treat wastewater. There is a misconception about additive manufacturing that the printed parts come out and they are ready to go, said CEO Jeff Mize, a former Silicon Valley executive. You have to remove the supports and in most cases finish the surface to deliver a customer-ready part. Consequently most companies have to cope by hand-cleaning 3D printed items, typically using high-pressure sprayers. The process is meticulous, and takes time. The PostProcess machines, on the other hand, provide an automated cleaning service that is much faster and more consistent. The machine contains detergents specifically formulated for 3D printed materials, which are controlled by an algorithm. Sensor data adjusts in real time which ensures that the waves are not sinusoidal, and prevents congestion in the corners of the tank. Detergents can be tuned according to the density of the material without impacting the final printed object. Surface finishing technology then polishes objects by gentle circulation. Energy is tightly controlled to prevent part damage. a 3D printed part cleaned by the PostProcess system (credit: Douglas Levere) Currently, the company outsources assembly of the machines. Dimensions vary from the size of a toaster to two household refrigerators, and the machines can clean parts up to 3 feet long. Prices range from $1,500 to $150,000 USD. But for the moment, you may just have to wait on your new cleaning machine. The PostProcess system has proven so successful that the company can barely keep up with the staggering demand. We currently have a backlog, said Hutchinson. Its a great problem to have in any seasoned company, and as a startup it is a blessing. In the future, Hutchinson hopes to expand into potential markets such as dentistry, automotive, aerospace, and medical. Posted in 3D Printer Accessories Maybe you also like: Spaceman wrote at 12/19/2016 2:45:16 AM:Over priced Laurie Sheck in The Atlantic: Worldlessness, Hannah Arendt calls itthis state of radical isolation and loneliness that is so often a condition of the ill, the feared, the shunned, the stateless, the despised, the misunderstood, the powerless, the afflicted. What is taken away is a shared language, a sense of trust in being seen, the stability of genuine connection. As far back as childhood, long before I ever came across this word, I sought from books a way of drawing close to this realm of feeling. I wasnt looking for consolation, much less explanation, but for the complex, textured presence of the uncomforted, the rawly vulnerable, the disruptedhurt bodies and minds that in their radiance and affliction might lead me, as the jolt of illness sometimes does, toward a less protected, more open questioning. To love these hurt minds and bodies is a way of touching, however lightly, the unknowable, hurt world and of struggling, as much as possible, to feel its ungovernable reality. This world of feeling is brought searingly to life in Dostoyevskys great novel The Idiot, a book that manages like no other to plunge fearlessly into suffering while at the same time illuminating the enduring, almost unspeakable beauty of the human. It opens with a young, epileptic man, Prince Myshkin, returning to St. Petersburg after years away for treatment in a sanitarium in Switzerland. The train windows are covered with fogalready there is an indication of the limits of human seeing. This initial scene, with the frail, displaced stranger returning home to a city in many ways now unfamiliar, haunts and informs the entire book. Every aspect of the novel, even its structure, conveys a sense of precariousness and instability much like the epilepsy that alternately tightens and loosens its grip on Prince Myshkin but never lets go. It is his bodys truth, this thrashing and upheaval he experiences in his deepest being and can never fully decode. His illness instills in him an intuitive awareness of others suffering, and a certain apartness anchored in shame and a built-in mistrust of stability. Let's catch up... Pick Up Global WiFi On The Fly With Skyroam's New Airport Vending Machines, Yahoo Skyroam, the global WiFi provider making it easy for travelers to stay connected around the world via its personal hotspot, just launched its airport vending machines in collaboration with leading automated retailer, ZoomSystems. Travelers can now rent Skyroam's pocket-sized global hotspot with unlimited internet service in 100+ countries at "grab-and-go global WiFi" vending kiosks throughout the United States. Skyroam's patented virtual SIM (vSIM) technology seamlessly connects to local carriers in more than 100 countries for unlimited daily usage, offering the convenience of a WiFi connection that is shareable on up to five devices simultaneously. Homegrown: Oakland Actor Joins Denzel Washington, Viola Davis in 'Fences', East Bay Times When Denzel Washington calls, you answer. And so Russell Hornsby was all in when the Oscar winner wanted to get the band back together this summer to shoot a big-screen adaptation of "Fences" in Pittsburgh. Hornsby and Washington, along with Viola Davis and Mykelti Williamson, had all starred in the 2010 Broadway revival of August Wilson's acclaimed play. Now, Washington was ready to direct and star in the movie, which opens in theaters on Christmas. Read more. Facebook Is Now Letting You Flag Fake News, NBC Bay Area Facebook is letting its users flag news stories as fake or a hoax and working with fact checkers to vet them, the social media giant announced Thursday, in its first efforts to address fake news since the United States election. Read more. Christmas Classics New and Old Playing at Bay Area Theaters, SF Gate Just 10 more shopping days until Christmas and on any number of those days you can take a break in a movie theater to enjoy a holiday classic (or a new one Office Christmas Party). Although this season's movie offerings aren't as diverse or as prolific as in previous years, there are still some interesting events on the calendar (see: Tokyo Godfathers on Christmas Day at the Roxie Theater). And, as always, there are several options for seeing the official American Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life. Read more. Google Parent Company Spins Off Self-Driving Car Business, New York Times Google's self-driving car is ready to take the wheel. Google's parent company, Alphabet, said on Tuesday that its autonomous vehicle project was spinning off from its research lab X and would operate as a stand-alone company under the name Waymo. Alphabet's decision to spin out Waymo is a signal that the company thinks its self-driving technology has advanced beyond research project status and is ready for commercialization. Read more. SAG Nominations Packed with Bay Area Names, Mercury News The Screen Actors Guild released its nominations Wednesday and, while some names were expected, there were also plenty of surprises. In what has to be considered a surprise, "Captain Fantastic" written and directed by Berkeley resident Matt Ross was nominated for best ensemble and best actor (Viggo Mortensen). Mahershala Ali, who grew up in Hayward and graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga in 1996, was nominated for supporting actor for "Moonlight." Another local connection was Stanford graduate Sterling K. Brown, who grabbed two nominations; one for drama actor for his work on "This is Us," the other for male actor in a TV movie or miniseries, for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." Read more. Natalie Portman embodies Jackie Kennedy in an unconventional fashion. She doesn't really resemble her subject, and her breathy attempts at approximating Jackie's voice can be more distracting than authentic. But she captures something more visceral in the role: As Jackie begins to dictate the pomp and pageantry of JFK's funeral, we also come to sense her self-doubt. She puts the question to her family priest (John Hurt): Is she doing all this to honor Jack or herself? Should she let history decide the legacy of JFK's presidency, or should she personally set the agenda from the day of his funeral? In the film's most poignant sequence, Jackie wanders the White House alone late at night, a drink in her hand, playing a record of Richard Burton's upbeat version of "Camelot," the adopted theme song of the administration. It's clearly a fantasy sequence it seems unlikely the White House staff would have abandoned the building as the president lay dead but the scene plunges us straight into the chasm that an unexpected calamity can open between our hopes and our actual futures. Jackie undoubtedly felt that gap yawning at her feet that night. So did her nation. There is much more to Jackie than the inevitable human drama. For those of us who lived through the JFK assassination, it seems as if director Pablo Larrain has excavated our collective consciousness. There's an eerie rightness everywhere: the bright Dallas sun; the long Washington shadows; the delicate boucle of that pink Chanel suit; the seamless incorporation of newsreel footage; the clarion clip-clop of the horse-drawn caisson and riderless horse along Pennsylvania Avenue. Being there again is no fun, but it is positively transfixing. Grand View Research, Inc. Market Research And Consulting. According to the report published by Grand View Research, global legal process outsourcing (LPO) market will reach $27.19 billion by 2024, the need for the effective utilization of resources is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the LPO industry. The global Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) market is expected to reach USD 27.19 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Outsourcing legal activities allows organizations to manage workforce and time efficiently and helps them to focus completely on core business operations, which are responsible for revenue generation. Countries such as India, South Africa, and the Philippines, which are popular destinations for LPO, have a significant time difference between Europe and the U.S. This time difference helps in providing a continuous workforce, whenever required.The cost of legal services in markets such as India is far lesser than that in North America. The per hour outsourcing costs in India is estimated to be as low as USD 10, which is expected to considerably boost the savings. Additionally, outsourcing work to offshore locations ensures continuous operations since they follow 24-hour work cycles, thus ensuring the completion of a time-consuming work with high efficiency. In November 2008, Wall Street Journal quoted that around 79,000 legal jobs based in the U.S. are expected to be moved offshore by 2015. As the allocated tasks are usually repetitive, LPO providers work with set protocols and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in place. LPO firms utilize low-cost workers and automated software as well asupdate repetitive tasks that involve significant documentation and paperwork. Browse full research report on global legal process outsourcing (LPO) market: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/legal-process-outsourcing-lpo-market Further key findings from the report suggest: Offshore outsourcing is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 30% from 2016 to 2024, owing to the increased demand for these services in India and the Philippines Litigation support is anticipated to gain prominence, accounting for over 20% of the revenue share by 2024, as most of the firms hire outside consultants for expert investigative litigation support in order to win high profile cases Some of the key players in the legal process outsourcing market include Axiom Law, Elevate Services Inc., Pangea3 LLC, UnitedLex Corporation, and IntegreonInc. In order to strengthen the foothold in the market, a majority of LPO providers are maintaining their physical presence in the U.S. along with back offices in the Asia Pacific region Browse more reports of this category by Grand View Research: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry/communication-services Grand View Research has segmented the Legal Process Outsourcing market based on location, service, and region: Legal Process Outsourcing Location Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 2024) Offshore outsourcing On-shore outsourcing Legal Process Outsourcing Services Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 2024) Contract drafting Review and management Compliance assistance E-discovery Litigation support Patent support Others Legal Process Outsourcing Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK Asia Pacific China India Philippines Latin America MEA Access research insight: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/research-insights/legal-process-outsourcing-market-insights-size-share About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. For more information: www.grandviewresearch.com Media Contact Company Name: Grand View Research, Inc. Contact Person: Sherry James, Corporate Sales Specialist U.S.A. Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com Phone: 1-415-349-0058, Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Address:28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 City: San Francisco State: California Country: United States Website: http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/legal-process-outsourcing-lpo-market Atrum Announces Placement and Block Trade Sydney, Dec 16, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Atrum Coal NL ACN 153 876 861 ("Atrum" or the "Company") ( ASX:ATU ) ( ATRCF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to announce that it has received irrevocable commitments for the placement to institutional and sophisticated investors which will result in the issuing of 27,000,000 new fully paid ordinary shares in Atrum at an issue price of $0.50 raising a total of $13,500,000 ("Placement"). HIGHLIGHTS - Irrevocable commitments received for the placement of $13,500,000 at $0.50 per share from institutional and sophisticated investors - Confirmation that the 24,000,000 shares previously owned by Russell Moran and referred to in the ASX Release of 12 December 2016 will be subject to a Block Trade The Company had proposed to raise up to $10,000,000 but due to strong demand, Atrum agreed to increase the Placement to $13,500,000. The funds raised by the Placement will supplement the Company's existing facilities and allow Atrum to complete significant milestones in 2017 at the Groundhog North Project. Planned activities to be funded by the Placement include delivering bulk samples to customers and further development of mining studies and permitting at Groundhog North. Working capital will also be provided to allow the commencement of anthracite exports from Atlantic Carbon Group PLC. The issue price under the Placement represents an 8% discount to the last traded price of the Company's shares on ASX on 9 December 2016 and an 11% discount to the volume-weighted average price of the Company's shares traded on ASX over the 5 trading days up to, and including 9 December 2016. Block Trade On 12 December 2016, Atrum announced that it had been advised by Argonaut Equity Partners Pty Ltd ("AEP") acting in its capacity as Facility Agent and Security Trustee that it had acquired 24,000,000 shares in Atrum in accordance with the terms of a loan agreement between Russell Moran and a syndicate of lenders. AEP has today advised Atrum that these shares will be sold to institutional and sophisticated investors at $0.50 per share in a block trade executed as a Special Crossing on the ASX. Press Article The Company notes an article which appeared in The Australian on 13 December 2016 titled "Atrum co-founders lose control of shares" ("Article"). As Atrum is not a party to the settlements and other actions between AEP and Messrs D'Anna and Moran it cannot confirm the accuracy of the details of the Article beyond what was disclosed by the Company on 12 December 2016 and what is disclosed in this announcement. Executive Chairman Comments Commenting on the Placement, Executive Chairman, Mr Robert Bell stated, "We are pleased to announce that we have successfully obtained commitments to raise $13,500,000. We welcome the new investors that will join the register and thank those existing shareholders that have once again supported the Company. We are also pleased that the major overhang associated with former directors D'Anna and Moran has now been resolved. In 2017 we will progress development of Groundhog North, delivering samples to be tested by some of the world's largest steel mills and progress the permitting process at Groundhog North. We are also planning to begin export sales of ultra-high grade anthracite from Pennsylvanian producer Atlantic Carbon Group PLC. We are entering the seaborne market in an exciting time of rising coal and anthracite prices." Conversion of Lenark Loan Mr James Chisholm, Non-Executive Director of Atrum, has advised to Atrum that Lenark Pty Ltd (of which his spouse is a director) as trustee for Lenark Investment Trust, and its nominees will, subject to Atrum shareholder approval, convert $1,000,000 of the amounts owing by Atrum to Lenark Pty Ltd (and its nominees) under the Offset Loan Agreement entered into by the Company in June 2013 (and as modified in September 2013) (the Lenark Loan) into fully paid ordinary shares of the Company at the same price as the Placement, being $0.50. The conversion of part of the Lenark Loan is to be considered by Atrum shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting which the Company expects to convene in the first quarter of 2017. Other Matters The Placement does not require shareholder approval and settlement is expected to take place on 21 December 2016. The shares to be issued in Atrum under the Placement are expected to commence trading on ASX on 23 December 2016. An Appendix 3B will be lodged with ASX in relation to the issue of the shares in respect of the Placement. Further, Atrum will lodge a Cleansing Prospectus with ASIC and ASX under section 708A(11) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to remove any trading restrictions on the sale of the shares issued under the Placement. The Company will provide updated details of its top 20 shareholders in the coming days. Blackwood Capital acted as Lead Manager to the Placement and the Block Trade. Argonaut Capital Limited acted as underwriter to the Block Trade and Co-Manager to the Placement. This announcement effectively lifts the suspension that the Company requested on 14 December 2016. Atrum is not aware of any reason why the ASX would not allow trading to recommence immediately. To view the corporate presentation, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/R53S1JM7 About Atrum Coal Limited Atrum Coal Limited (ASX:ATU) is a metallurgical coal developer. The Company flagship asset is the 100%-owned Elan Hard Coking Coal Project in southern Alberta, Canada. Elan hosts large-scale, shallow, thick, hard coking coal (HCC) deposits with a current JORC Resource Estimate of 298 Mt (70 Mt Indicated and 228 Mt Inferred). Comprehensive quality testing of Elan South coal on samples from the 2018 exploration program, combined with review of substantial historical testwork data for the broader Elan Project, has confirmed Tier 1 HCC quality. The initial focus for development is the Elan South area, which is located approximately 13 km from an existing rail line with significant excess capacity, providing direct rail access to export terminals in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Elan South shares its southern boundary with Riversdale Resources Grassy Mountain Project, which is in the final permitting stage for a 4.5 Mtpa open-cut HCC operation. Around 30km to the west, Teck Resources operates five mines (the Elk Valley complex) producing approximately 25 Mtpa of premium HCC for the seaborne market. Research Coverage on BIG by Red Leaf Securities - Speculative Buy Sydney, Dec 16, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Big Un Limited ( ASX:BIG ) (BIG or the Company) is pleased to announce that Red Leaf Securities an Australian brokerage and research house has issued a Research Report on the Company. The research report contains the commentary and views of the researcher based on information available in the public domain on the Company. The Company is not aware of any other recent research notes. To view a copy of the report please click on "Red Leaf Research Report" at: http://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/XWIZ07H6 Big Un Limited (BIG) offers a compelling product offering at a fraction of the cost of traditional media advertising. BIG's core asset of Big Review TV, is an affordable products and services mobile marketing platform that allows SMEs to produce and edit digital videos and individual users to generate video content. It is essentially a video review platform providing online video reviews. For SMEs, Big Review TV assist with B2B marketing as a low cost video producer and online marketing service. For consumers, Big Review TV provides an ecosystem whereby individuals can search places and events and see video reviews made by other individuals who contribute video reviews via the "Big Review TV" video app. BIG estimates that via this method of advertising, its offering is at a compelling 25% of the expense incurred with traditional media (inclusive of advertising advisory). We like BIG for the following reasons: 1) Significant growth in mobile advertising. The global advertising industry is currently a US$480.9 billion industry with internet advertising comprising ~US$170.1 billion of 35.5% of the industry. Whilst other advertising segments such as print (magazines and newspapers) are in structural decline, advertising via the internet is expected to grow to ~US$261.7 billion or 54.4% of the industry total by 2020. 2) First mover advantage and highly scalable product offering. With the business model proven in Australia, BIG is well positioned to scale its offering by replicating its model across other regions via leveraging its technology platform. 3) Significant demand for BIG's subscription based products. BIG's sales pipeline continues to grow strongly, with potential orders currently at ~20,000 and paying subscribers currently at ~2,200. Of the ~20,000 in the pipeline, BIG is currently experiencing ~30% conversion rate from customers in the pipeline to paying subscribers. 4) At the cusp of profitability... During FY 2016, BIG reported sales revenue of $2.36 million, or +257% over FY 2015 of $0.66 million driven by video content sales in Australian. BIG's membership grew by +125% to 18,000 members as of June 2016. In FY16, BIG showed a strong funding position and operational cash flow performance, with $3.8 million in cash as at 30 June 2016 and $4.07 million in cash receipts from customers, a 466% increase on FY 2015. The Company is well positioned to continue to progress growth initiatives, in Australia and overseas, such as customer acquisition. With BIG's core platform technology underpinning Big Review TV now operational and its associated mobile application has been developed, BIG is well placed and at the cusp of profitability. We have assumed that the business will be cash generative from FY17 onwards (as guided by management) subject to further acquisitions and heightened efforts to increase subscribers. - Valuation. BIG generates revenue by providing a video production and edition services to SMEs (vendors). Vendors subscribe to a 12-month membership. BIG's core platform technology underpinning Big Review TV is operational and its associated mobile application has been developed. We value BIG using a blended - DCF and sales comparable approach, which gives us an equity value of A$0.45 per share. We recommend BIG as a speculative BUY. About Red Leaf Securities Red Leaf Securities research identifies opportunities in the small to medium-cap companies whilst providing access to independent ETF and Listed Investment Company research. To view the Research Report, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/H9INUE0P About Big Un Ltd Big Un Ltd (ASX:BIG) is the parent company of Big Review TV Ltd. Big Review TV are innovative disruptors in the online video space delivering subscription based video technology products and services. The Company has operations across Australia and in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vancouver and was listed on the ASX in December 2014. Lithium Supply Cooperation Agreement with Qinghai Hengxinrong Lithium Technology Brisbane, Dec 16, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - China Magnesium Corporation Limited ( ASX:CMC ) ("CMC" or "the Company") is pleased to advise that its wholly owned subsidiary, CMC Commodities Pte Ltd, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Qinghai Hengxinrong Lithium Technology Co., Ltd ("Qinghai"), which is proposing to grant CMC priority offtake rights to batterygrade lithium carbonate. Highlights: - Cooperation agreement with Qinghai Hengxinrong Lithium Technology Co., Ltd. - Qinghai owns a plant extracting lithium brine from Qinghai Salt Lake in western China, and is 51% owned by Shenzhen-listed Steyr Motors Co Ltd ( SHE:000760 ). - CMC to be granted priority offtake rights to battery-grade lithium carbonate. - Qinghai proposing to supply CMC with ~1,000 tonnes from mid-2017 at a commercially favourable price. - Agreement is a result of CMC's strengthening networks in China with both lithium processors and end users. Qinghai, which is 51% owned by Shenzhen-listed Steyr Motors Co Ltd, owns a plant extracting lithium brines from Qinghai Salt Lake in western China. The plant has a capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per annum. Qinghai has advanced technologies to produce lithium carbonate from both brine and hard rock sources. The cooperation agreement is a framework agreement for establishing formal supply and sales contracts under which Qinghai is proposing to supply CMC Commodities with an initial 1,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate for delivery mid-2017 on a priority basis and at a commercially favourable price. CMC managing director, Mr Tom Blackhurst, said that the cooperation agreement is a result of CMC's growing strategic relationships in China, including organisations involved in lithium mining, processing, and end users such as manufacturers of lithiumion batteries. "CMC is one of only two companies to have secured such an agreement with Qinghai. "With the government of China strongly supporting the new energy industry, demand for raw lithium carbonate in China - which is already in tight supply - is expected to increase significantly. "This is a vote of confidence by Qinghai in CMC's growing networks within China's lithium industry, particularly end users," said Mr Blackhurst. About China Magnesium Corporation Ltd China Magnesium Corporation Limited (ASX:CMC) owns a 91.25% interest in CMC China which owns a 100% interest in a magnesium ingot production operation. The operations are licensed to expand output to 105,000tpa, which would make it one of the world''s largest magnesium producers. Studies have been completed which indicate a positive environment for CMC to conduct a major expansion of its magnesium operations. CMC has converted its existing coal to gas plants to 5 semi-coke crackers (total semi-coke capacity 200,000 tpa) at the site of its existing 20,000 tpa capacity magnesium plant. Waste gas from semi-coke production is now used to provide the energy source required to produce magnesium. Consequently the combined semi-coke and magnesium plants are expected to significantly lower production costs than for magnesium-only production using the coal-to-gas facilities as originally envisaged when the magnesium plant was built. XPED Customer Presentation Melbourne, Dec 16, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Xped Limited ( ASX:XPE ) ("Xped" or "the Company") is pleased to release the attached Xped Customer presentation for business development and key meetings in Asia and North America. WHO IS XPED? Xped is a technology and solutions provider that is focused on IoT infrastructure. By enabling the Internet of Things, Xped's Infrastructure Platform (XIP) will bring benefits to manufacturers, retailers, service providers and consumers. Tap: Device discovery, provisioning and interoperability Xped App: Device browser that delivers command and control to the end user RML: Device description language based on XML Gateway software: Business logic, rules engine, notifications and device management solutions To view the presentation, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2ZBM61Q6 About XPED Ltd XPED Ltd (ASX:XPE) is an Australian Internet of Things (IoT) technology business. Xped has developed revolutionary and patent-protected technology that allows any consumer, regardless of their technical capability, to connect, monitor and control devices and appliances found in our everyday environment. Xped provides technology solutions for Smart Home, Smart Building, and Healthcare. At Xped, were Making Technology Easy Again(TM) When Lance Willoughbys daughter asked him to help with a school assignment, he was more than willing to provide the information she needed through text messages. Little did he know, she would post his comments on Twitter for the world to see. And see, they did. Her post has 19,452 likes and 9,879 retweets, and national media outlets have contacted the family to request information and interviews. Even though having his feelings posted for the world to see was not what he had in mind, Willoughby is glad he let his daughter know how he feels about her mom. I am so thankful for the positive feedback, Willoughby said. To be honest, I probably teared up writing it. I know how special our story is to us. I wanted her to know how much I truly love her mom and that my daughter's birth was the last piece to our puzzle of a perfect life/family, in my eyes. On Dec. 4, overwhelmed by her dads responses to her request, Sydney, the youngest of the Willoughby children, posted to Twitter, Im writing an essay about my parents and hearing this from my dad about my mom made me cry. She included pictures of his texts in the post. Willoughby seems reluctant to believe his story is out of the ordinary. Mine is just one of millions, the father of three Tweeted after seeing the many responses to his daughters post. If youve felt it, u know. If u havent. u will. My advice, dont be afraid to luv. I hope everyone understands how hard youve got to fight for long lasting luv & when to walk away. Having a long-term relationship means more than just feeling in love, Willoughby said. She doesnt just complete me, she came into my life when I was young and immature, completed me, and then made me so much better of a person. I dated and married an angel, he said. The couple met in Germany, where Willoughby was stationed for his first Air Force assignment. We were both military brats. The Air Force has been a part of my entire life, as well as hers, he said. My dad is a retired chief, hers a master sergeant. The military was and still is a big part of our family. It is what made us whole as a family. Although it took me away from them at times, it just made my return that much more special. The Air Force, from a kid going to squadron picnics to my career from Airman basic to major, the Air Force took care of us. Willoughby said the story of how he met his wife seems funny now. I had an on- and off-again girlfriend, and my wife was her friend visiting from college. They came to my dorm and asked me to come to the club that night. I met them there, and my girlfriend had already been dancing for a while. When Willoughby asked her to dance, she was tired and told him to dance with her friend, Kimberly. Willoughby said he and Kimberly went to the dance floor and didn't leave it until the club closed. Needless to say, his girlfriend was no longer speaking to him. He felt a little guilty about it, but he was 19 and immature, he said. A few days later he asked his wife out, and a few weeks later they were engaged. They initially thought it would be funny just to tell people we were engaged, he said. But... two weeks later I was madly in love. Still am, Willoughby said. We married one year to the day after we met. Willoughby spent 22 years in the Air Force, 11 years enlisted and 11 years as an officer. Currently, he is assigned as a civilian to Air Combat Command in operating location Joint Base San Antonio. Being in the military can be difficult for families, but it is all about how you handle things, Willoughby said. When I was going to school so that I could become an officer, she was working full time like me. We never saw each other. I just felt like we were drifting apart, and said so, Willoughby said. What held us together was love and openness about feelings. Willoughby offers advice to new couples, beginning their journey together. Falling in love is easy, he said. Getting past infatuation, and it turning to love is very easy to do. Sustaining that love over years requires constant communication, time with just the two of you, and hard work at making each other happy. You have to find a way to meet the needs of that person while meeting enough of your own needs. While Willoughby said his wife loved the post by their daughter, and the attention it has brought about, in the beginning he was not thrilled with the idea of his private messages being made public, he said. But then, when he looked at the responses people wrote, he was happy that the story put smiles on people's faces. The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapters Young Turks Forum hosted Rajeev Raja, Founder & Soundsmith, BrandMusiq at the fourth session of the Advertising and The 5 Senses series, presented by MTV India. The Advertising and The 5 Senses series highlights the importance of using all our five senses in advertising, as opposed to only visual (sight "print advertising") or audio (sound "Radio"). The series presents sessions by industry experts with a background in each of the 5 senses - Taste, Sound, Sight, Smell and Touch so the audience could learn about the nuances of these senses as they relate to communication and together add immense value. As part of session on Sound Rajeev Raja delivered an insightful lecture to demonstrate the power of sound in advertising. Creator of the concept of MOGO or musical logo, Mr. Rajeev Raja shared examples of how sound has the ability to evoke images, emotions and even trigger memories and therefore stressed on the need to create a sonic identity which reflects the emotion of the brand. Speaking about the event, Rajeev Raja commented The session was really fantastic and I had a great time interacting with youngsters and showing them something new and exciting in the world of marketing, branding and design. I enjoyed demonstrating the whole design of sound. Designing sound for a brand is something that is going to be absolutely evoked by the time they graduate and come out. Thanks to International Advertising Association I got this opportunity to spend some time with young kids and it was truly fantastic. The previous events under the series included a session consisting of a conversation between Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Roshni Bajaj. Sanjeev Kapoor spoke about the importance of all five senses coming together to make the food experience wholesome. Amit Sarda, MD, Soulflower hosted the second session describing the role played by olfactory senses in aromatizing and augmenting experiences. Gaelle Carbonneil, Brand Manager, Clinique highlighted the role of sight and brand aesthetics in advertising. Sakal Media Group has today announced the appointment of Krishna Menon as Chief Marketing Officer for the groups media business. He will be based at Mumbai and report to Pradeep Dwivedi, CEO, Sakal Media Group. At Sakal, Menon will be responsible for all brand marketing activities for trade and readers, marketing communications, Sakal Labs solutions and activations for media business, including Print, TV, Digital and Events. Menon, a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune, has over 17 years of experience across Television, Print, FM Radio, Brand Activations & Management, Digital VAS and Telecom with good brands. In his most recent role, he was Vice President - Sales and Brand Solutions at Asianet News Network. He has also worked with Dainik Bhaskar Group as National Business Head - Divya Marathi, OnMobile Global, E18-Network 18 Media, Radio Mirchi and BPL Mobile Cellular in previous assignments. Confirming the appointment, Pradeep Dwivedi, CEO, Sakal Media Group, said, We are delighted to have Krishna Menon on board as CMO. His extensive experience across multiple media businesses in sales & marketing shall provide us a definite edge in serving our advertisers and readers alike. His understanding of the Maharashtra market shall also be an advantage in sustainably growing our leadership position. On his new role, Krishna Menon said, The Sakal Media Group today stands at the threshold of a historic leap forward as it expands its footprint to access audiences across various demographics, geographies and distribution technologies in its heartland. I am excited to be part of this momentous journey. BAE Systems rolled out the first prototype Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) yesterday to the US Army during a ceremony at the company's York, Pennsylvania facility. The AMPV provides the Army with enhanced mobility, survivability, force protection and combat superiority. The AMPV prototype vehicles are the result of a highly collaborative relationship between the Army and our industry team, said Beach Day, programme director for AMPV at BAE Systems Combat Vehicles. Through this relationship, we have been able to design a vehicle that provides a modern, robust solution that meets the needs of todays soldier and of the future force. The AMPV is a fully modern, highly flexible vehicle that includes five variants and is designed to replace the Vietnam War-era M113 family of vehicles. It is a mature, cost-effective solution that leverages proven Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle and M109A7 Self-Propelled Howitzer designs. It meets the Armys force protection and all-terrain mobility requirements that enable the AMPV to maneuver with the rest of the Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). Maximising commonality within the ABCT reduces developmental risk and provides significant cost savings to the Army. In December 2014, BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $1.2 billion from the Army for the Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) phases of the AMPV programme. The initial award of $383 million, under the EMD phase, is for development and production of 29 vehicles across all of the variants: general purpose, mission command, mortar carrier, medical evacuation and medical treatment. Yesterday s ceremony commemorated the rollout of the first of the general purpose variant. Deliveries of the prototype vehicles will continue into 2017 and developmental testing will run through 2018. Sir David Higgins will become Chairman of Gatwick Airport from 1 January 2017 replacing Sir Roy McNulty, who will remain on the Board as Deputy Chairman. Sir David is Chairman of HS2 and a Board Member of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. He was Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority from 2005 - 2011 and Chief Executive of Network Rail from 2011 - 2014. Sir Roy McNulty said: I am delighted Sir David has accepted the appointment as the new Chairman of Gatwick. We worked closely together for over five years at the Olympic Delivery Authority. He combines a first class intellect with the ability to give clear strategic direction and make things happen. He is exactly the right person to lead Gatwick through the next chapter in its development. Gatwick has made significant progress under new ownership over the last seven years since the break-up of BAA. We have shown beyond doubt that competition works. We have invested over 1.5 billion in new facilities and passenger numbers have grown year on year from 31.3 million in 2010 to over 42 million in 2016. This has meant more choice, lower fares and improved service for passengers. We have also taken significant steps to ensure we listen more to our local communities and do everything we can for the local and national economy. The Arrivals Review and establishment of the Gatwick Growth Board are both evidence of this approach. Gatwick operates the worlds busiest single runway. We now fly to over 50 long haul destinations and I am proud that Gatwick can now rightly claim to have entered the global airport premier league. Sir David Higgins said: The progress Gatwick has made over recent years under Sir Roy McNultys Chairmanship has been remarkable. It is now firmly established as the UKs second airport and is a vital part of the London Airports System. Whilst the case for Gatwick expansion in the future remains very strong, the challenge for Gatwick now is to continue to invest so it can maximise the use of its existing facilities and so can do even more for Britain in the coming years. I look forward to working closely with Stewart Wingate and the Senior Executive Team. Their impressive track record to date provides a strong foundation for the future. Uniquely, Gatwick caters for all airline types and I am keen to meet as many of the airlines as possible early in the New Year to hear how best we can continue to work together for the benefit of passengers. I also recognise the important role that Gatwick plays in the local community. It provides jobs and opportunities for thousands but also, like all airports, it does adversely impact some of its local communities with aircraft noise. This is one of the biggest issues facing aviation around the world and I am keen that the airport builds on the good work it has done over recent years in mitigating these impacts. In the 12 months to this November, the airport served 2.7 million more passengers than it did in the 12 months running up to November 2015. Gatwick has also announce further new connections to Asia responding to the demand for the airports existing connections to Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific has announced that its current four-times-weekly service from Gatwick will become daily from June 2017. Meanwhile, tomorrow Thomas Cooks new service to Cape Town commences adding to British Airways service making six flights weekly to the city from Gatwick. In November, 2.8 million passengers travelled through the airport, +7.3% on the same month last year, while long-haul growth soared +20%. Contributing to this long-haul growth was Thomsons new connection to Sri Lanka which started last month. In line with Gatwicks long-haul growth, cargo volumes increased +12% in November. Gatwick Chief Executive Officer, Stewart Wingate said: Almost three million more passengers are travelling through the airport this year versus the same time last year, with 42.7 million passengers passing through the airport annually this figure that puts us 14 years ahead of industry predictions. Passengers are responding to our growing line-up of long-haul connections with routes to China, Peru, Canada, Costa Rica, Nigeria, as well as the US added this last year. The very latest of these new long-haul connections Thomas Cooks new route to Cape Town starts tomorrow further cementing Gatwicks position at the UK airport that serves more destinations than any other. Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Clinical Laboratories Market in Vietnam: Forecast to 2020" report to their offering. This research service focuses on the clinical laboratories market in Vietnam, with forecasts until 2020. The report reviews recent industry transformation, changes in business models, growth opportunities, and key predictions for the clinical lab diagnostics testing market. Growing pressure from the government for clinical labs accreditation will be the main trend with regard to lab regulations. Vietnam's Universal Healthcare Coverage aims to provide health insurance for 80% of its population by 2020. It has covered more than 70% of the population by the end of 2015. The plan targets minority groups and the poor and near-poor population, providing the highest possible coverage. Besides basic hospital fees, the plan covers medicine, testing, and a large portion of hospital fees for cancer patients. There are approximately 1,090 public hospital labs and 170 private hospital labs, with a majority concentrated in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This indicates an imbalance in the spread of hospitals in Vietnam, as these 2 cities account for only 16% of the population. There are opportunities for private independent labs to grow, as the government is keen on public-private partnerships to ease the burden on its healthcare infrastructure by providing healthcare coverage that can make private healthcare more accessible. Despite these efforts, patients are skeptical of private healthcare quality, as many labs are not accredited. Opportunities also exist to meet healthcare demands outside Vietnam's major cities, where hospitals and lab services are not saturated. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Market Overview 3. Competitive Playbook 4. External Challenges-Drivers and Restraints: Total Clinical Laboratories Market 5. Forecasts and Trends-Total Clinical Laboratories Market 6. Key Company Profiles 7. Regulatory Review and Outlook 8. The Last Word 9. Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/zf68xw/clinical View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005375/en/ Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T. Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Topics: Diagnostics Top 5 Japan ADAS Supplier Company Profiles - ADAS Market is Likely to Grow Rapidly with More Complements in the Short to Medi... Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Top 5 Japan ADAS Supplier Company Profiles" report to their offering. The research provides an overview of the top five Advance Driving Assistance System (ADAS) supplier company profiles in Japan, which include Aisin Seiki, Fujitsu Ten, Denso, Hitachi Automotive Systems, and Nidec Elesys. It covers the government policy of mandatory ADAS installation in vehicles, as well as the benefits that it brings to the market and users. The base year for the study is 2015, and the focus is on the company overviews, history and evolution, corporate strategies, and product and technology portfolios of the key ADAS suppliers in Japan. Based on their analysis, the study arrives at certain conclusions and provides insights into the future. Companies Mentioned: Aisin Seiki Denso Fujitsu Ten Hitachi Automotive Systems Nidec Elesys Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary - Key Findings - Comparative Analysis of ADAS Suppliers - SWOT Analysis of the Japanese ADAS Industry 2. Research Scope, Objective, Background, and Methodology - Research Scope - Research Aim and Objectives - Key Questions this Study will Answer - Research Background - Research Methodology 3. Definitions and Segmentation - System Segmentation - System Definition - Vehicle Segmentation 4. Market Overview - The Safety Legislation of ADAS in Japan - Value Chain Analysis of the Japanese ADAS Market - ADAS Technology Road Map 5. Supplier Profiles-Aisin Seiki - Aisin Seiki-Company Overview - Aisin Seiki-History and Evolution - Aisin Seiki-Corporate Strategy - Aisin Seiki-Product and Technology Portfolio 6. Supplier Profiles-Fujitsu Ten - Fujitsu Ten-Company Overview - Fujitsu Ten-History and Evolution - Fujitsu Ten-Corporate Strategy - Fujitsu Ten-Product and Technology Portfolio 7. Supplier Profiles-Denso - Denso-Company Overview - Denso-History and Evolution - Denso-Corporate Strategy - Denso-Product and Technology Portfolio 8. Supplier Profiles-Hitachi Automotive Systems - Hitachi Automotive Systems-Company Overview - Hitachi Automotive Systems-History and Evolution - Hitachi Automotive Systems-Corporate Strategy - Hitachi Automotive Systems-Product and Technology Portfolio 9. Supplier Profiles-Nidec Elesys Corporation - Nidec Elesys-Company Overview - Nidec Elesys-History and Evolution - Nidec Elesys-Corporate Strategy - Nidec Elesys-Product and Technology Portfolio 10. Conclusions and Future Outlook - Key Conclusions and Future Outlook - The Last Word-3 Big Predictions 11. Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mlxbxk/top_5_japan_adas View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005264/en/ Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Topics: Telematics and Vehicle Electronics Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James held a Facebook town hall to address concerns from Airmen and their family members Dec. 12.The town hall meeting provided an update to concerns and issues brought to her attention during the Air Force Spouse and Family Forum in October.I told you we would make best efforts to identify some areas where we can make immediate impact and others where we would get the ball rolling for long-term impact, James said.The first area addressed was Exceptional Family members.I am pleased to announce that we will hire 44 additional family support coordinators so that every base with more than 200 exceptional family members will have a dedicated coordinator, James said. We are also increasing the number of respite care hours that our EFMP families can receive; currently its 12 but will be going up to 40 hours per month.James said that in order to ensure EFMP families are aware of all the support available to them, quarterly webcast events will be held to address these issues and answer questions. The first of these events will take place Jan. 12, 2017.Another area of concern expressed by families during the October forum was employment, licensure and credentialing portability for spouses.We heard you loud and clear that moving from state-to-state presents some major issues for family members, James said. Some spouses, like nurses, teachers, and lawyers, have a lot of difficulty transferring their licenses from state-to-state.These issues were raise by the Air Force with the Office of the Secretary of Defense so that all the services and other Federal Government agencies can coordinate and align in the same direction on these issues.Additionally, these issues were presented to the Council of Governors meeting in November. The Governors agreed to place these concerns on their agenda for February and provide state-level support.Currently the Air Force has a policy that authorizes 12 months of leave without pay for spouses of military members who leave a Defense Department position. James announced that because of the feedback from the Spouse and Family Forum in October, spouses are now authorized 24 months of leave without pay to help spouse transition during a move.Another topic addressed was child care options for families and the requirements for child care providers.James said, We are going to conduct a study on the requirements that stand today which is that family child care providers sleep on the same floor as all children under 8 years of age in the home. Were going to do this study and see if we need to change this going forward.Furthermore, James discussed expanding parental leave. Under the National Defense Authorization Act for 2017 which passed congress last week and is now awaiting the Presidents signature - 12 weeks of parental leave is granted to the primary caregiver in the family and three weeks to the secondary caregiver when they become biological parents. Additionally, it gives six weeks of leave to a primary adoptive parent and three weeks of leave to the secondary parent.These are increases in parental leave and these categories are now gender-neutral, meaning more flexibility for our families, James said.All of this is good news, said James, as is the fact that there will be no changes to Basic Allowance for Housing for our dual-military families.To see all of the topics discussed go topage. -- On this look around the Air Force, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James held a Facebook town hall to address concerns from Airmen and their family members, and President Barack Obama spoke with Airmen at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Jasmine Vanderheyden.For previous episodes, click here Related links: Parents of children killed when Taliban gunmen overran a Pakistan school gathered Friday to mark the second anniversary of the attack the countrys worst ever extremist outrage. More than 150 people mostly students perished when heavily-armed men raced through the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, firing indiscriminately. We cant forget those children, Pakistans newly appointed military chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa told the gathering. The aim of todays function is to recall how much blood was spilled. The wound is very deep and its complete healing is impossible. At a memorial in the school, smartly dressed military officers presented a salute in tribute to the students and staff who died. In the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of which Peshawar is capital, speaker Asad Qaiser lit candles in the presence of cabinet members and lawmakers. The Taliban have said they carried out the attack, in which all nine gunmen died, in retaliation for an army offensive on extremists in the tribal areas. Authorities have released very few details about their investigation, despite hanging at least four people said to be involved in the attack. The attack hardened public opinion against extremism and prompted a military-led crackdown that led to a drop in the number of deaths linked to extremist violence. There are many people who love to know about what the future holds for them in personal as well as professional life. When we are undergoing stress or many a times just for fun we do visit or have often been advised to meet an astrologer. I have seen people going to meet Jyotishi, Tarot reader, Palm reader or simple look at the horoscope in the newspaper they subscribe for. Sun sign astrology is the form of astrology most commonly found in many newspapers and magazine columns. It is a simplified system of astrology which considers only the position of the Sun at birth, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs. This sign is then called the sun sign or star sign of the person born in that twelfth-part of the year. Sun sign astrologers take this basic twelve-fold division and relate all the current movements of all the planets to each other, using traditional rules to divine meanings for each sign separately. Because the Moon has the fastest apparent movement of all the heavenly bodies, it is often used as the main indicator of daily trends for sun sign astrology forecasts. This science attracted me a lot so I took up the task of understanding the nature of the person belonging to each of the particular star sign and then relating their traits, manners and behaviours that reflects in the best possible manner to a Latin and ballroom dance. After carrying out a survey for almost six months with the help of many of my Astrologer friends the following results were achieved. I feel privileged to share this with all of you. Aries Dance Merengue This dance comes from Dominican Republic and its neighbouring island Haiti this quick tempo dance is great for people who are very aggressive, self-confident and full of life. This dance has bouncy, vigorous and brisk moves. Which are typical traits of an Arian (being assertive and Energetic). Taurus Dance Viennese Waltz This dance comes from Austria and South of Germany While performing this fast dance one has to be very watchful and alert all the time as that others do not bang into you while on the move. It is a very compassionate, Poised, Royal and very loving dance, its movements are all in fast circular motion. Viennese Waltz is especially for Taurian as they are known to be very careful and caring people. Gemini Dance Undoubtedly the Cha Cha Cha This dance is an off- shoot of a famous Latin folk dance called the Mambo. Cha Cha Cha has very inviting music. Its flirty, naughty and a very spicy dance, filled with lots of hip actions This mischievous, dynamic and bubbly dance is best for Gemini, as they are known to be very lively and flirtatious by nature. Cancer Dance English Waltz Like its name suggests this dance comes from Great Britain. It is considered to be the most tender, mild, graceful and elegant dances of the worldIts dance direction, movements and few times even the speed keeps changing making it a very unpredictable and unstable dance just like the sign cancer. They are known to be very Moody yet gentle as people. Leo Dance Paso Doble This dance is associated with Spain, as it is a story of a Bull Fight on to the dance floor. This dance is extremely flashy, flamboyant and extravagant dance, The mood of this Glitzy dance is a Fight. In this dance the man represents the matador and the women his cape in the drama of the Spanish bullfight. This hot and flaming dance truly represents the ever so flamboyant and fiery Leo. Virgo Dance Jive This dance form comes from the United States of America. Jive is similar to Boogie, Jitterbug, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop and most of all Rock n Roll. It is a fun filled, carefree, practical and a relaxed dance. While performing this dance one needs to be extremely watchful and careful, as its a high-speed dance. This crazy dance is best for Virgos as they are known to be very practical, cautious yet fun loving people. Libra Dance Rumba and Bolero Rumba is the national dance of Cuba and Bolero comes from Bahamas. They both have fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions. Extended long legs and Hem lines enhance the romantic mood of these dances. Rumba and Bolero are said to be the spirit and soul of all the dance forms. When we think of these Dances of Love we think of passion, obsession, infatuation, togetherness and lust. And thats what Libras are said to be, romantic at heart, always in love with Love and extremely charming as individuals. Scorpio Dance Tango This dance comes from the back-street bars of Argentina. It is the dance of Mixed feeling. Tango means many things to many people, just like the Mysterious Scorpio. Its sexy and passionate attitude resemble the characteristic of the adoring yet inexplicable and enigmatic scorpion. Sagittarius Dance Samba This dance is from Brazil. The feel of Samba is just like a Sagittarian. Its rhythmic, animalistic, exotic and adventurous. Samba is said to be an out of the ordinary dance, as it is very musical, striking, unusual and has loads of bold and daring moves just like a Sagittarius person who is said to be very courageous and gutsy by nature. Capricorn Dance Bossa Nova This dance form comes from Bahai. It is meant for the typical Capricorns as they are cool, go-getter individuals who are always determined to do the best, similarly this dance style too is like a live wire, very splendid, impressive and grand, firm danced with an attitude that is fresh, calm and breezy very similar to a Capricorn. Aquarius Dance Salsa This dance style is the most erratic and unpredictable of all the dances yet it is orderly in its form, having a structured movement, only a whimsical and wise Aquarian will understand the method in the madness. This saucy dance is the craze of this decade. Salsa moods can change at any time from being sexy to spicy or loving to gloomy or from being passionate to heartbreaking. Pisces Dance Quickstep This is a very imaginative and an artistic dance, danced in a very pensive and wistful mood, just like the dreamy & very creative Piscean. Fast tempo yet in complete harmony, quickstep with its syncopated hops and swings is filled with loads of creative yet original impressive moves which are the typical traits of a Piscean. At my dance classes, I have often met disappointed students who tell me, Sir, I tried but I cant Dance, Oh it was not meant for me or many such excuses. All I can tell them today is that, may be it is possible that you had taken up a dance that was not suiting your star sign or your character . So, dont ever think what you could not do, instead go ahead and try what is for you and fits your star sign. (Sandip Soparrkar is a well known Ballroom dancer and a Bollywood choreographer who has been honoured with National Achievement Award and National Excellence Award by the Govt of India. He can be contacted on sandipsoparrkar06@gmail.com.) Sandip Soparrkar Artscape The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo just hours after they resumed on Friday, saying that rebels had opened fire on a convoy of evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave, state TV reported. It wasnt immediately clear how long the suspension would last or whether it would delay the cease-fire deal under which tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. Earlier on Friday, as the evacuations resumed for a second day, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a major new Syria peace initiative, saying he and his Turkish counterpart are working to set up peace talks between Damascus and the opposition in Kazakhstan. The evacuations seal the end of the Syrian rebels most important stronghold, the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, and mark a watershed moment in the countrys civil war, now in its sixth year. In announcing the suspensions, the Syrian TV also claimed that the rebels had tried to take with them captives they had seized and were holding in the rebel enclave during bitter battles to defend their territory from a ferocious, weeks-long onslaught by Syrian President Bashar Assads troops. Lebanons Al-Manar Hezbollah TV said the Syrian army stopped the evacuation process because the rebels had violated the cease-fire deal. Hezbollah militiamen are fighting in the Syrian conflict alongside Assads forces. The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV said buses that were parked at the Ramouseh crossing point had left the area after it was targeted by gunmen. Speaking on a visit to Japan, Putin said that the negotiations would take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also working for an overall truce in Syria. Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district. The project, conceived in 2000, became controversial because of allegations of corruption. Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MLC (then with NCP) Sandip Bajoria are named in a petition before Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court which alleges misappropriation of funds in the project. In a recent election, Bajoria was elected as an Independent member of the state Legislative Council. The dam will have total water storage capacity of around 25 TMC and is estimated to cost about Rs. 500 crore. A government resolution yesterday said that for the construction of the dam and water storage, 1,055.64 hectares of forest land would be handed over to the Water Resources Department. Since the project is site specific, it was necessary to hand over the forest land, the GR said. The total area that will be submerged is 12,000 hectares. There are 32 villages which will be rehabilitated completely while another 15 villages will be rehabilitated partially. The dam is expected to irrigate around one lakh hectares in Buldhana and Akola districts, the dams executive engineer, Hemant Solge, said. The actual cost would be around Rs. 500-600 crore but major expenditure would be on land acquisition and rehabilitation. There are some lift irrigation schemes proposed as well, so we need to create infrastructure for the same, he said. When asked about the litigation such projects usually attract, Solge said, First we will ensure rehabilitation and complete the work of crest construction. Then we will start filling the dam up to the crest so that 40,000 hectares of agricultural land will benefit from it. Once the farmers start getting water, others will also support the dam work. North Koreas fifth and most powerful nuclear test, packing a force of 10 kilotonnes, in September this year sent ripples across the world capitals. The blast was equivalent to 10,000 tonnes of TNT so powerful that it caused a 5.3-magnitude earthquake in the region. It was Pyongyangs second test after the January 6 explosion. The US Geological Survey had initially thought it was a seismic activity but later said it was a huge explosion at Punggye-ri underground test site, where four other tests were earlier conducted. The US bombs that wiped out one million people in Japans Nagasaki and Hiroshima cities during the World War II had packed a force of 21 and 15 kilotonnes respectively. Pyongyang hoped the tests would enable it to create nuclear warheads with higher strike power. And as Kim Jong Un chuckled over the growing prowess of his military, the neighbouring South Korea and Japan never looked so venerable before. The blast of such a high intensity was bound to draw attention, particularly when it originated in North Korea, a pariah state whom the West religiously keeps a close watch. And the world reacted At a hurriedly called emergency session, the UN Security Council warned North Korea of appropriate action and said Pyongyang posed a clear danger to the international community. It noted the test was a grave provocation and a violation of its past resolutions that prohibit North Korea from conducting nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles. American President Barack Obama threatened Pyongyang with fresh sanctions and stressed, To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state. South Korean President Park Geun-hye hoped, Such a provocation will eventually hasten its path to self-destruction. Park described the test as fanatically reckless while Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said it was absolutely unacceptable. Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the economic capital. The Syrian regime army and rebels are fighting for control of the city, while civilians suffer and seek refugee. Before Aleppo was a city under siege and the front line of the civil war in Syria, it was a bustling city. Aleppo was a commercial hub, home to a souk and a citadel, to a grand mosque and to more than 2 million people. As Taiwan becomes a contentious issue between China and US President-elect Donald Trump, Taiwanese are hoping it will lead to closer ties with Washington but are wary of becoming a bargaining chip between the worlds two largest economies. Trumps Dec. 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raised expectations that he will upgrade relations with the self-governing island with which Washington has only had unofficial ties since recognizing the Communist government on the Chinese mainland in 1979. Trump followed up the call with tweets and comments criticizing Chinese trade and foreign policy, stoking speculation about a major change in American policy toward the nearly 70-year-old regional rivalry. But the euphoria has been tempered by worry about what might happen to Taiwan if Trump uses it to press Beijing on trade, Chinas territorial expansion in the South China Sea or its ties with North Korea. On the surface, it looks like this means America is getting closer to Taiwan, said Jonathan Wang, a civil engineering student at National Taiwan University in Taipei. But Trump is a businessman, so he has own considerations, Wang said. If Taiwan becomes a bargaining chip in negotiations with China (Trump) might give up the goodwill. The mix of excitement and fear poses a tricky challenge for Taiwans government. Despite being shunned by Beijing for her pro-independence stance, Tsai has repeated over the past two weeks that she values ties with both China and the US. [dropcap]M[/dropcap]aharashtra Municipal Council elections gave a mixed verdict, whereas BJP performed well in traditional Congress, NCP strongholds in second phase of polls, and in the first phase of it the saffron party was much ahead of all. Still, we cannot say these results were in favour of demonetization. One cannot gauge the peoples feeling through local bodies election. Most of its results depend on local issues and individual. These elections are totally based on one to one relation and pay perks and understanding of locals. The polling to elect 324 councillors and 14 municipal council presidents in Latur and Pune districts was held on Wednesday, with 72.18 per cent voters exercising their franchise. The phase II of Maharashtra Municipal Council elections was scheduled on Thursday. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came out with flying colours in the first phase of the local polls, the party aimed to further consolidate their dominance in the state but NCP and Congress independently stood strong against them. The fourteen municipal councils are constituted by a total of 324 seats. The polling was held on December 14. The total number of candidates in the fray is reported to be 1,184 and about 8 per cent of the total candidates in the fray were crorepatis. Based upon the analysis of Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Maharashtra Election Watch, 96 of the total candidates have declared their assets above Rs. 1 crore. The richest candidate was Raju Tukaram Bhosale, contesting from Shirur Municipal Council. He has declared total assets of Rs. 16 crores, out of which Rs. 15.8 crores is constituted by fixed assets. Interestingly, the rich-poor gap was evidently on display after analysing the value of assets declared by candidates in the fray. 294 candidates have declared their total assets below Rs. 2 lakhs. Fifty one candidates were also found with zero assets. The average assets of candidates across both Latur and Pune district is Rs. 39 lakh. In terms of demography, 390 candidates were found to be in the age bracket of 31- 40, as per the analysis of ADR and Maharashtra Election Watch. In the 41-50 age brackets, 298 candidates were found. From the young age group of 21 to 24, sixty three candidates were contesting. On the other hand, eight candidates had contested from the old age group of 71-80. These elections were fought by BJP- SS in alliance while Congress and NCP fought separately. Even then seats of NCP-Congress combined are equal to BJP-SS if you take both phases together. This is total reverse verdict if compared with 2014 assembly polls results when BJP-SS had won 70 per cent seats despite fighting separately, thus we can say that BJP is losing grip in Maharashtra due to demonetization. However, media failed to present the correct analysis. In the second phase of elections BJP bagged 5 council president seats out of 14 seats in Latur and Pune districts. The saffron party won 89 seats out of 335 that is less than 30%. In the last election BJPs percentage was 15. Baramati was a clean swipe for NCP as all 35 seats were won by them. AIMIM gave a tough fight to BJP. BJP won municipal council president posts in Lonavala, Talegaon-Dabhade and Alandi (in Pune district) and Udgir and Nilanga (in Latur district). Congress bagged two municipal council president seats in Indapur and Jejuri (both in Pune district), NCP won Baramati (Pune district) and Ausa (Latur district). Shiv Sena won Junnar municipal council president seat in Pune district. While Daund municipal council president seat in Pune district went to an Independent, three seats in Saswad, Shirur (both in Pune district) and Udgir (in Latur district) were won by Janmat Vikas Agadi, Shahar Vikas Aghadi, and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, respectively. The BJP, which had emerged as the top grosser in first round of local bodies polls, was pushed to second position with 81 seats, followed by Congress (45), Shiv Sena (23), Independents (26), AIMIM (6), while others, including unrecognised parties (36) and local aghadis or fronts (14). Sharad Pawar-led NCP scored an edge over the BJP in the second phase of municipal council polls held in two districts of Maharashtra Pune and Latur. NCP bagged 93 seats out of 324. Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena drew a blank in all seats. While the BJP put up an impressive performance in Pune district, the NCP demonstrated its supremacy in Pawars home turf Baramati, retaining the municipal council as well as the post of its president. This 2nd phase of local body election was heavily weighted in favour of NCP. Majority of seats were from Pune district which at local level is fiefdom of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. So, it is not surprising that Pune district pushed NCP to number one in this relatively small 2nd phase. However, BJP has significantly gained in both 1st and 2nd phase combined. In municipal corporations and councils, Congress/NCP was having undisputed supremacy with SS and BJP relegated to 3rd and 4th positions. Things are changing now in Maharashtra, in the same way as it was changed in Gujarat about a decade ago. Congress mukt Bharat can never be materializing; its just a political propaganda. During Congress reign, same slogan was coined by Jan Sangh but later could manage to win only two parliamentarian seats after renaming the party as BJP and was wiped out in almost all states and municipalities. Congress mukt Bharat is not achievable. Anyways, two more phases of elections will give clear picture and correct analysis about demonetisation. WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 Several activist groups failed this week in a legal action to ban the USDA from inspecting and allowing foie gras to be sold on the commercial market. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, Compassion Over Killing, and Animal Protection and Rescue League sued USDA and the Food Safety Inspection Service, claiming that when farmers make foie gras by force-feeding ducks, the process sickens the birds and produces diseased livers for human consumption. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II for the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, on Wednesday issued a summary decision, dismissing the case and ordering the plaintiffs to pay court costs. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is disappointed in this outcome, and we are exploring our options going forward, said Stephen Wells, the groups executive director. We see no principled basis for the USDA to treat this diseased organ any differently than it treats other such dangerous products. The ALDF and other groups, according to an analysis of court documents by Legal 360, had argued that force-feeding the ducks caused the birds to develop hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease. The court is required to credit the agencys scientific conclusions over plaintiffs where, like here, the agencys reasoning is not totally implausible, Judge Wright wrote. Here, there is nothing in the (Poultry Products Inspection Act) or the implementing regulations that renders FSISs distinction between causes of hepatic lipidosis unreasonable. #30 Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to mark the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 12. UNESCO Sends Mission to Assess Extent of Damage At Nimrud Archaeological Site in Iraq The United Nations cultural agency is conducting an inspection of the Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq to assess the overall state of conservation of the site, in particular the extent of damage resulting from the deliberate destruction by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh) terrorists over the past 2 years. "In Nimrud, large-scale, systematic and deliberate destruction of the site's archaeological remains have occurred over the past years,' said Irina Bokova, Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a news release. "UNESCO reiterates its full determination to work with the Iraqi authorities to ensure the safeguarding of what remains and lay the foundation for a progressive recovery of the site," she added, stressing that this is important for the people of Iraq, for the security and stability of the region, and for the history of humanity. The assessment mission, which started yesterday, led by the UNESCO office in Iraq, also aims to identify emergency safeguarding measures that could be taken in order to prevent any further loss at the site in Nineveh Governorate. Layla Salih from the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq, and Seedo Takani from the Provincial Council of Nineveh also participated in the assessment. According to the news release, at the ziggurat, built structures and carved reliefs have sustained considerable damage as a result of explosions and bulldozing, emergency measures will entail the immediate physical protection of the site in order to allow for detailed documentation and preventing potential looting of remaining fragments. Actions for the safeguarding and longer-term recovery of the site will be presented by UNESCO and discussed with key national and international stakeholders at an International Coordination Meeting on the Cultural Heritage in the Liberated Areas of Iraq to be held at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, on 23-24 February 2017. Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, is one of the main archaeological sites of the Assyrian period in Iraq. Established during the 13th century BC, the city was built by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser I (1274 - 1245 BC), and later became the second capital of the Assyrian Empire under King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC). Archaeological excavations started in 1845 and have revealed the remains of palaces, fortifications, a ziggurat, the temples of Nabu and Ishtar, as well as several royal tombs. Distinctive Assyrian artistic and architectural remains include large statues, panels and reliefs that adorned the Palace of Ashurnasirpal, recounting his military campaigns and his achievements, and providing further understanding about ancient Mesopotamia. Iraq's Assyrians Just Want to Be Safe Iraq is ground zero for the war on Christians in the Middle East. The war-torn Muslim-majority country has been a killing ground, where Assyrians and other Christians have been targeted for extermination by jihadists. The jihadist army -- often referred to as the Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL or Daesh -- has systematically perpetrated atrocities against Christians in the service of genocide. Now that Islamic State forces are on the edge of defeat in Iraq, the time has come to investigate and document their crimes against humanity. Ewelina Ochab is dedicated to bearing witness to the crimes of the Islamic State. She serves as legal counsel for ADF (Alliance Defending Freedom) International, a Vienna-based legal organization that advocates "for the right of individuals to freely live out their faith." In an email interview, Ochab stated that ADF International "has been at the forefront of the legal battle to recognize the ongoing ISIS/Daesh atrocities against Christians in the Middle East such as genocide, having successfully engaged with the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the U.K. Parliament, and many more." Ethnic cleansing Assyrians are a distinct ethnic group within the Middle East. They have a rich and ancient culture that is being systematically destroyed. Assyrians are the original indigenous people of Iraq, Syria and parts of Turkey. They are not Arabs. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are of Assyrian ethnicity. Within the Assyrian nation, there are many religious denominations, including the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean (Roman Catholic), Syriac (Catholic and Orthodox), Presbyterian, as well as Evangelical. In 2003, there were approximately 1.4 million Assyrians and other Christians in Iraq. Today there are perhaps only 120,000 left. There can be no doubt that ethnic cleansing and genocide have taken place in Iraq. Ochab recently travelled to Iraq to meet with Christian survivors of the Islamic State's genocidal campaign and to document the stories of the persecuted. "In November, I visited Iraq where I met Iraqi Christian internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in Erbil," Ochab said. And she met with "a number of families" from Mosul and other communities. She also visited a number of liberated towns and villages, including Quaragosh, Karamless and Bartallah. In addition, the genocide researcher "also met with several NGOs helping Christians in the Middle East, including SOS Chretiens, a number of NGOs collecting the evidence of the Daesh atrocities, including Shlomo and Hammurabi Human Rights Organisations, and a number of religious leaders." The ancestral home of Assyrian Christians is located on the Nineveh Plain in northern Iraq. "After Daesh took over Nineveh Plain in August 2014, the Iraqi Christians fled to Erbil and other parts of Kurdistan," Ochab said. "Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have left the region for Jordan, Lebanon and other countries. However, there are still many internally displaced Iraqi Christians living in Kurdistan." According to Ochab, "there are four camps for Iraqi Christians in Erbil." And she found that the Christian IDPs are living in "small metal containers." She said that they receive "some humanitarian assistance" and are "reasonably safe." Return to Nineveh? "Those who stayed [in Iraq] the last two years and three months still hope that they would be able to go back to their homes," Ochab said. "However, I have seen their homes on the Nineveh Plain and it seems that they will not be able to return any time soon." Ochab visited several northern towns, and she reports that they have been "destroyed" by Islamic State forces. "Daesh looted one house after another without leaving any stone unturned. The houses, churches, schools, and shops are looted, burnt down, and damaged." The jihadists paid special attention to Christian houses of worship. "In every church that I have visited, crosses are broken, the statutes of Jesus and Holy Mary are destroyed, Holy Bibles and books burnt," Ochab said. "The destruction sent a very clear message: Daesh specifically intended to destroy Christianity in the area and everything that Christianity is associated with. This is genocide." As Iraqi security forces, Kurdish units and Assyrian militias liberate northern Iraq from the death grip of the Islamic State, the full extent of the destruction is slowly being revealed. "It's been over four weeks since some of the towns on the Nineveh Plain have been liberated, however there is still a lot of work before people will be able to go back and start rebuilding their lives," Ochab said. "The Nineveh Plain Units [Assyrian militias] are checking houses for explosives and Daesh tunnels, and making the safe houses," continued the genocide expert. "Some of the houses destroyed by Daesh would need to be checked whether their construction is safe and sound for people to live in. The Daesh tunnels would have to be sealed off. The list of necessary works goes on." Justice After meeting with Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan, Ochab concluded that they "require urgent assistance to be able to move on with their lives. What struck me the most was that no one is interested in what these people have been through. They were unbelievably grateful to talk about their stories with me," she said. "They said that the rest of the world has forgotten about them," continued Ochab. "However, another issue that resurfaced during my time in Jordan was the lack of organizations or bodies that would document the stories of the victims." According to the human rights defender, ISIS/Daesh reportedly carried out crucifixions, torture, sexual abuse, murder and kidnappings. "The fact that there is no fact-finding commission that is documenting the atrocities committed by ISIS/Daesh is of concern." Without a thorough investigation, asserted Ochab, the extent of the atrocities perpetrated by ISIS will never be known. "Many of the victims do not know where to go, or where to report the atrocities. Many of them also feel let down and discouraged to talk about the atrocities as the world stands by and watches," she said. Canada responds to genocide "Canada is appalled by the atrocities and widespread abuses committed by Daesh, including those committed against religious and ethnic communities," Chantal Gagnon, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, stated in an email. Although Gagnon noted that "Yezidis have suffered terrible and particular losses that require special attention," she did not specifically mention Assyrians or other Christian communities in Iraq. "In the immediate term, it is important that the survivors of these grave abuses are provided with the assistance they need," continued Gagnon. "In particular, women and children who have suffered sexual violence and slavery require urgent psychosocial and medical assistance." To that end, Canada has been working with humanitarian partners, including the UN and non-governmental organizations, to assist survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Iraq since 2014. "With Canadian support, our partners have established centres in camps and host communities across Iraq, where women and girls are able to access psychosocial support, specialized medical care and legal and other services," Gagnon said. "Support to women and girls affected by violence will remain at the centre of our humanitarian assistance to Iraq in the years to come." Canada supports criminal investigation "Through the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs), Canada is currently supporting the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) and its efforts to prepare for the criminal prosecution of breaches of international criminal and humanitarian law committed by Daesh," stated Gagnon. "The Commission for International Justice and Accountability has developed legal case files focusing on Daesh criminality in Syria and Iraq, including sexual slavery." In addition, the CIJA in Iraq has attempted to bolster the investigative capabilities of the Kurdistan Regional Government's War Crimes Investigative and Prosecutorial Unit. "Some courts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have already begun hearing cases relating to these crimes under Iraqi terrorism law," Gagnon said. "Canada shares the view of the U.S., UN, U.K. and EU, that the situation must be the subject of an independent investigation and determinations of criminal responsibility must be made by a competent court or tribunal," Gagnon said of the crimes perpetrated by Islamic State forces. In addition, said Gagnon, Dion has written to the president of the UN Security Council on two separate occasions "to request that the UN Security Council establish a mechanism to investigate violations of international law by Daesh in Iraq and Syria, to determine whether these violations constitute acts of genocide or other serious international crimes, to identify the perpetrators of such crimes and measures to ensure accountability, including a referral to the International Criminal Court as appropriate." The Foreign Affairs minister's representative stated that Canada has "acknowledged international findings from the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on human rights violations and crimes perpetrated in Syria (COI) that indicate Daesh continues to perpetrate genocide against the Yazidis." However, the Trudeau government has yet to acknowledge that Assyrians and other Christians in Iraq are victims of genocide. There can be no justice for the survivors of genocide unless the world fully acknowledges the extent of the crimes perpetrated against them by the Islamic State. "Without a special fact-finding commission, specifically focused on the ISIS/Daesh atrocities, the victims of ISIS/Daesh genocide will not get justice they deserve," Ochab said. Stanislaus State Library Unveils Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection The University Library at Stanislaus State unveiled the Francis Sarguis Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection, which includes 129 in-print books, 23 e-books and six journals, on Wednesday. Surrounded by a region that has one of the largest concentrations of Assyrians in the United States, it was only fitting that Stanislaus State's University Library welcomed its very own Francis Sarguis Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection Wednesday among faculty, staff and the greater community. "It's a very important and significant moment for the university and for the library," said Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn. "It is certainly one of the few universities in California that have assembled a collection of modern Assyrian works and we are very pleased and honored to have it here." With a $50,000 gift in August of last year, Francis Sarguis established the Francis Sarguis Modern Assyrian Heritage Fund at Stanislaus State in memory of his mother to allow the university to acquire books and materials about modern Assyrian culture. On Wednesday, the university unveiled its collection of 129 in-print books, 23 e-books, six journals, and 85 books in cue to be ordered. "I can't tell you how pleased I am by the positive reaction I've had from not only the university, but also from people from my own Assyrian community whom I have a great deal of respect," said Sarguis. "It's been a long time since I've wanted to make a contribution to the advancement of Assyrian modern studies." University Library Dean Ron Rodriguez said that the Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection at Stanislaus State covers Assyrian history about individuals, events, religion, migration, societal issues and cultural practices and customs from 300 AD to present day. "The Modern Heritage Collection is highly significant because we foresee that the library will become the west coast research destination for the history and culture of the Assyrian people," said Gonzalez. "In short, it includes all manifestations of Assyrian experience in any geographical area since 300 AD." The Modern American Heritage Collection is not the only new addition to Stanislaus State as James Tuedio, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, announced that the university will also be granting the Sarguis Student Award on an annual basis with the first recipient Katie Jaycox announced Wednesday. "The award was a complete surprise," said Jaycox, who is currently a master's student in history. "This is the perfect university to do this study at, so I just feel immensely happy and honored." Jaycox said that through her research, she hopes to help more people understand who Assyrians are -- including their culture and the role they play in the community -- by collecting oral histories of local Assyrians. "The idea at this point would be to do a social and cultural history of Assyrian communities in the area starting with getting an understanding of how the Assyrian communities became established in this area, as well as classic issues all immigrants face about retaining a distinct cultural identity and connection to a cultural heritage while at the same time assimilating to a different environment and different community," said Jaycox's thesis supervisor and history professor Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt. "We will be using a methodology that is largely going to be reconstructing this history on the basis of oral histories, interviews, sort of ethnographic approaches by getting some life stories and trying to construct a grand narrative through the lens of particular individuals," continued Wolfe-Hunnicutt. In addition to announcing the first recipient of the Sarguis Student Award, Tuedio spoke about Stanislaus State's intent to hire a faculty member whose scholarly focus will be on the modern Assyrian period. "As an academic program develops, the best person to have is a trained faculty member who is in the position to establish not only their teaching excellence, but also their scholarly excellence and their service to the campus and community," said Tuedio. "We look forward next fall to bring a faculty member before you whose expertise is in this very area." For more information on the library's newest addition -- including a digital guide -- visit libguides.csustan.edu and search for "Modern Assyrian Heritage Collection." December 14, 2016 BAGHDAD Every now and then Iraqis are surprised to find out that some of the new buildings in the city of Hillah, south of Baghdad, are still being built with antique bricks stolen over the past century from the ancient city of Babylon. Mohammed al-Hilli, a 75-year-old stonemason from Hillah, told Al-Monitor, We often find authentic Babylonian brick while demolishing dilapidated houses. He explained, During the 1950s, it was very common to transport bricks from the city of Babil to be used in housing construction. But this has stopped following the tightened security measures and increasing interest by the authorities in the city. Hilli went on, In old neighborhoods, mainly Mahallat al-Jamiin, al-Kaoud neighborhood and Tais, one can still find Babylonian bricks that were brought here by our ancestors on animals to use in construction. Other elderly locals said that the city of Hillah used to have a wall built with bricks from Babylon that were transported to the city via primitive river barges. Hillis accounts are also in line with the findings of Adnan Bahia, a researcher at Akkad Cultural College. His research dates Hillah's construction with ancient Babylon bricks to 1101. Al-Monitor visited the ancient city of Babylon Dec. 2. The city's ancient edifices are built with porous bricks very similar to those used in the contemporary buildings, making it difficult to identify the stolen bricks. According to historical accounts, King Nebuchadnezzar II built the city of Babylon using 15 million baked bricks in the construction of his palace and other official buildings. The bricks were cut into squares and embossed with Sumerian characters and special seals. Many treasures of the ancient city of Babylon have been stolen. Research published in Baqer Yasin's 1991 book, "The history of bloody violence in Iraq," indicates that the Hindiya Barrage was built in 1890 with bricks from Babylon, including other large bricks taken from Nebuchadnezzar's palace in historic Babylon when it was blown up with dynamite. The harm to Iraqs cultural heritage has continued in the form of vandalism, sometimes at the hands of the authorities. In a 1988 bid to immortalize his name, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered maintenance work in the city that was not compliant with the standards of UNESCO, using different materials from the original ones. Saddam had his name inscribed on the sand-colored bricks used to rebuild the walls of the ancient city. One frequently used inscription read, From Nebuchadnezzar to Saddam Hussein. As a result, UNESCO recommended against the inclusion of the ancient city of Babylon on its World Heritage List. Following the fall of Hussein in 2003, the historic city became a camp for US troops, and tanks blemished its ancient streets. Sarwa Abdel Wahed, a member of the parliamentary Culture and Media Committee, told Al-Monitor that she calls upon all government archaeological and antiquity bodies to swiftly intervene to oversee the old houses and other heritage sites in the city, especially in Hillah, where some buildings have been constructed using the ruins of Babylon. She went on, The authorities ought to act immediately, as many bricks with Sumerian inscriptions are found in the ruins of the houses. These historic pieces ought to be recovered and stored in museums. Some, however, dispute that brick theft is still a problem today. Hussein Falih, director of the governmental Babel Antiques Organization, told Al-Monitor, Today, Babylon is under considerable security measures. The theft of bricks that used to take place in the 1920s and 1940s is over. Falih noted a need to monitor the demolitions of old houses in Hillah so the ancient bricks can be recovered. The rehabilitation process of Babylons historic buildings has come a long way in removing the modern bricks laid by the former regime during the restoration process, and renovation is now underway according to UNESCO's specifications, he said. Falih seemed optimistic that the city would be included on the World Heritage List at the end of 2017. On June 21, a group of journalists and activists created a social media campaign called We Are Babylon to urge UNESCO to include the archaeological site of Babylon in the World Heritage List. Abbas al-Gaim, an activist with an interest in the history of Babylon, told Al-Monitor, The people of Hillah realize the importance of preserving the archaeological sites of Babylon. Most of them rush to hand over archaeological pieces to the authorities when they find them. The head of the Federation of Authors and Writers in Babylon, Jabbar al-Kawaz, told Al-Monitor, There are cultural events that raise awareness on the importance of heritage. Hillahs old houses have a [special] heritage and historical significance and value because some of them contain Babylonian bricks with Sumerian inscriptions. This is why the restoration process of these houses should take place under the control of the General Authority for Iraqi Antiquities, he said. December 13, 2016 On Oct. 12, Youm 7 daily launched a campaign in Egypt to delay performing the umrah for one year for pilgrims who have already performed the religious visit. This would allegedly secure more than $6 billion for Egypt at a time when crucial economic measures need to be taken. The campaign has caused much controversy in the Egyptian street. Some believe that the Egyptian state is trying to use the campaign as leverage against Saudi Arabia in light of the tension between the two countries over the Syrian crisis. Tourism companies believe that the campaign came in response to Saudi Arabias Aug. 8 decision to increase the price of the pilgrimage single entry visa to 2,000 Saudi riyals ($533), even for pilgrims who are traveling for the second time to perform the umrah, which would cause the tourism companies major losses. On Oct. 14, Egypts Federation of Tourism Chambers stressed that postponing the umrah for one year would secure $6 billion a year for the country and has nothing to do with the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Federation warned that any tourism company that did not abide by the decision would be suspended. Although Saudi Arabia decided Dec. 1 to delay the implementation of the price increase, the tourism companies have not spoken of the initiatives fate. According to an Oct. 16 study by the National Center for Political and Strategic Studies on the proposal to postpone umrah for one year, 1.8 million pilgrims perform umrah each year; 476,000 of them perform umrah during the month of Ramadan and nearly 100,000 go on hajj on a yearly basis. Egyptian spending ranges between $3 billion to $5 billion a year on pilgrimage trips. These amounts are taken out of the Egyptian economy and wired to international tourist companies, which puts considerable pressure on the Egyptian economy. The study said that the reinvestment of these funds would provide Egyptians with 3 million to 5 million job opportunities. The study added that according to official Saudi figures, the total Egyptian spending during the hajj and umrah visits is estimated at around 10.24 billion riyals ($2.7 billion). Per official Egyptian figures, according to a Federation report, total Egyptian spending during the umrah and hajj season amounts to $3 billion a year. This amount is wired every year to Saudi Arabia, further exacerbating the economic crisis and the lack of hard currency in Egypt. Although Egypts Federation denied any association between postponing the umrah with the tension between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and stressed that it is for mere economic reasons, a number of politicians believe otherwise. Human rights activist and lawyer Negad al-Borai said Oct. 12, Nothing dramatic will happen to the Egyptian-Saudi relations or the US-Egyptian ties. What is happening is that every party is trying to leverage the other to the largest extent. Borai expressed his disagreement with postponing the umrah as a means of leverage against Saudi Arabia and warned against going too far in antagonizing Saudi Arabia. He stressed that the kingdom could ban its tourists from visiting Egypt. Egypts clergymen were divided into two camps with regard to the issue. The camp opposing the campaign argues that it would lead to mixing religious rituals with political differences. Saif Rajab Qazamil, the dean of the Sharia Law Faculty at Al-Azhar University in Tanta, said Oct. 13, It is not right to boycott or postpone umrah. Gods rituals are holy and sacred and should not be used for political maneuvers. Nevertheless, Khaled Omran, the head of the Fatwa Department at Dar al-Ifta, said Oct 12, Once repeated, umrah becomes detrimental to the community but beneficial only to those performing them, as is happening now. People ought to reconsider their decisions. Those who seek Gods mercy and blessing ought to seek the greater good of the people and the country as a whole. Ehab al-Desouki, the dean of the Faculty of Economics at Sadat Academy, told the press Oct. 12, Postponing hajj and umrah for one year for Egyptian pilgrims is unacceptable as it is a flagrant interference in the citizen's personal affairs. This initiative will not help boost or advance Egypts economy. He also noted that if implemented, this decision will not affect the Saudi economy, as Egypt is not the only country whose citizens perform umrah. Gamal Bayoumi, the former assistant minister for Foreign Affairs and the secretary-general of the Union of Arab Investors, told Al-Monitor, This initiative is impractical and far-fetched, as it interferes in the freedom of individuals, which is religiously and morally unacceptable." Commenting on how the initiative would impact Egyptian-Saudi relations, Bayoumi said, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have common interests and it is unlikely for such an initiative to affect ties between the two countries despite the attempts of some to use it to create tension between the two parties. Saudi Arabia will not be affected by postponing umrah for one year. December 16, 2016 BAGHDAD The Iraqi parliament's first reading of the law on the Council of Tribes and Clans was met with rejection, especially on the part of political activists and blocs as well as jurists, writers and journalists. On Dec. 3, two days after the first reading in parliament to pass the law in subsequent parliamentary sessions, just under 800 Iraqis signed a petition on AVAAZ.org demanding Iraqi President Fuad Masum to withdraw the draft law. The petition was widely shared on social media, urging Iraqis to sign it. Signatories argued that Article 45 of the Iraqi Constitution [the legal base of the law on tribes] does not provide for passing a law on tribes. Therefore, there is no need to enact the law on the Council of Tribes and Clans. Passing said draft law would lead to problems and conflicts between Iraqi tribes and clans and exacerbate competition among tribal leaders over chiefdom. The petition focused on the main point which was also discussed in several media outlets that the establishment of such a council would prevent Iraqs transition to a civil state, where all citizens enjoy equal citizenship, and would harm the rule of law. Despite all of those efforts, the parliamentary Committee of Tribes announced Dec. 12 that the parliament is continuing the discussion on the law on tribes and it will be voted on in the upcoming session after the parliamentary recess at the beginning of the new year. Of note, this draft law was discussed in parliament in 2013 and was then met with immediate rejection. Back then, a group of sociologists and political science researchers had investigated the harmful repercussions on the civil state and Iraqi society. As per said draft law, a council of tribes and clans would be formed as a legal entity, with financial and administrative independence, and represented by a president or a delegate. The tribal council would be linked to the presidency, with its headquarters in Baghdad and a local council made up of five representatives in all provincial centers. The council would offer advice to the state institutions in relation to issues concerning the affairs of tribes and spread the culture of state-building in accordance with the constitution and respect for the law, and it would also facilitate the implementation of the judiciary decisions. This is in addition to opining on the proposed laws in the provincial councils and parliament according to the text of the law, published by the parliament. The draft law, which is supported by parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri, grants a great deal of influence and authority to tribal groups, who have a lot of weapons and are fighting among themselves, especially in the provinces in southern Iraq. Abboud al-Issawi, the chairman of the Committee of Tribes, told Al-Monitor that he believes this law aims at limiting the weapons in the hands of the state and puts an end to the current chaos and encroachments on the state institutions and the security forces. He added, Such a council would aim at preventing terrorism through the cooperation between tribes, as tribal leaders would inform the government if any of their tribesmen belong to terrorist organizations." Issawi did not reveal the mechanism of this procedure. Tariq Harb, a legal expert, said in this regard, This council would strengthen tribal rebellion against the government and the state institutions." In a statement to Al-Maalomah website, Harb said, According to the constitution, tribes and clans remain primitive. Hence the state ought to take care of tribal affairs in such a way that is commensurate with the law. Iraqs tribes and clans do not refer to the judiciary to settle disputes, as they follow a set of norms and customs to resolve differences among them, some of which could lead to fighting. This happened during the first three months of 2016, when conflicts between clans caused the death of about 200 people in the Basra province, despite the presence of a tribal elders committee charged with resolving disputes there. The committee, however, has been toothless with little influence on the ground. According to Ammar Toma, the head of the Shiite Islamic Virtue Party, forming an institution that would gather these different tribal groupings would lead to further division among them. In a statement to the partys website, Toma said, The draft law could lead to conflict arising about the legal positions within the council, which would further deepen division and disagreement, widen the gap between communities instead of cementing relations and promote union and integration. The draft law would not only hinder the work of the already run-down state institutions but would also revive institutions that existed before the building of a state, which ought to be placed under the force of law. The tribal norms are in direct conflict with Iraq's laws. Blood money is at the basis of tribal rules, not to mention that women are used as commodities and offered in the settlement of disputes, with the first male cousin from the fathers side having authority over the women and the right to prevent them from getting married. The Civil Democratic Alliance parliamentary bloc also rejected the draft law and stressed in a statement that the government had abolished during the 1950s a law on tribes that was enacted by the British occupation authority in 1916, and that now the government was trying to revive it. Commenting on the criticism of those rejecting the draft law, Issawi said, Civil society and intellectuals still have longstanding misconceptions regarding tribes. Today, tribes represent communities that oppose crime and assaults on others. The anticipated council would stop people from committing wrongdoing in the name of tribes and tribal chiefdom. However, Issawis statements seem to be far from what is happening on a daily basis in Iraq's tribal communities, where fighting over trivial matters takes place on a daily basis. The enactment of the law would only prove that the government stands helpless in setting a mechanism to disarm these tribal communities. Instead of placing tribes under the law, the government is putting them at the level of state institutions. BEIJING - China has funded projects worth 12.7 trillion yuan ($1.83 trillion) through public-private partnerships (PPPs) as of October this year, a finance official said. A total of 10,685 projects were introduced by the end of October, Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin said in a speech published on the finance ministry website Thursday. PPPs are collaborative projects between government and private companies. Chinese authorities have explored funding infrastructure and public works through PPP models since late 2013, amid growing concerns over rising local government debt incurred through local financing vehicles. PPPs aim to leverage private sector investment to meet the funding shortfalls of local governments. Many PPPs involve public services such as energy, transport, water conservation, agriculture and education. In September 2015, the Ministry of Finance started a fund with 180 billion yuan to support PPPs.. The ministry has announced 745 PPPs in the past three years, with a total investment value of 1.95 trillion yuan, covering almost every public service sector, Shi said. Shi said a basic framework for PPPs has been established, but authorities should strengthen legal protection and improve supporting policies for PPPs. He also urged local governments to encourage more private investment in PPPs, and remove market barriers in the public service sector. The central government will send supervision teams to 10 provincial regions to inspect and help solve problems in the implementation of PPPs, Shi said. December 16, 2016 According to women's rights activists in Egypt, a new child custody proposal being considered by the Egyptian parliament is a step backward and an affront to Egyptian women, particularly divorced mothers. Female parliament member Soheir El-Hadi along with 60 parliamentarians have submitted a bill amending Egypt's Personal Status Law 25 of 1929, which regulates all issues related to family, including marriage, divorce and child custody. Hadi's amendments have targeted certain articles on child custody, stirring a hornet's nest of controversy among parliamentarians and citizens. The potential law proposes that divorced fathers should have the right to host their children for two days every week if the mother has custody. Fathers will also have the right to spend a month of the school summer vacation with their children. According to the current law, divorced fathers can only see their children for three hours every week. Another hotly debated article stipulates that if a divorced mother who has custody remarries, child custody will be shifted to the wife of the father if he has remarried. Under the current law, if a divorced mother remarries, child custody is appointed to her mother, her mother-in-law or a sister. However, after several days of public outrage, Hadi released a press statement stressing that the draft law does not include this article. "This illogical draft law must be withdrawn and canceled out in order not to be resubmitted," Dina Hussein, a senior member of the National Council for Women (NCW), told Al-Monitor, emphasizing that the draft law does include the article that Hadi has denied. Hussein argued that the draft law "suffocates" mothers and deprives them of their right to remarry, as if they have committed a crime. She also wondered how the father's wife can care about children more than their own mother. "I know the current family laws need to be amended, but not that way." In a quick response to this issue, the legislative committee of the NCW, the state-run entity that defends women's rights, is currently preparing a comprehensive draft law tackling all issues related to family. "Our draft law will put into consideration all previous proposals in this regard. It will be submitted to parliament soon," Hussein said. The draft law has sparked outrage on social media. Multiple posts sharply criticize the draft law, claiming it underestimates female divorcees. Furious Egyptian women have trended the hashtags #Against New Child Custody Law and #Over Our Dead Bodies. Egypt's divorce rates are on the rise. In 2015, Egypt witnessed nearly 200,000 divorce cases, marking a 10.8% increase in divorces in comparison to the previous year, according to a report issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). According to CAPMAS, the highest divorce rates are among men who are 30-35 years old and women who are 25-30 years old. In light of these official figures, Egypt's Personal Status Law has always been a subject of considerable debate. Protecting women's rights after divorce has been and remains the bellwether of this debate. That is why parliament member Suzy Nashed and some of her colleagues call for a total amendment of the Personal Status Law, not only the clauses related to child custody. "I urge parliament members to postpone the discussion of the bill until the whole law is amended," Nashed, a member of parliament's Legislative Committee that is currently reviewing the draft law, said. "The current law is filled with loopholes that need to be reconsidered." Regarding Hadi's controversial bill, Nashed said the bill should put clear restrictions and guarantees that ensure the divorced fathers will bring the children back to their mothers. "What will happen if the father abducts the child and travels abroad?" she asked. Women's rights movements in Egypt are shocked by the child custody bill that, instead of empowering women, adds to their suffering. Much to their surprise, the bill was submitted by a female parliamentarian who should have supported women rather than turning against them. Women's rights movements have voiced their anger because of the proposed articles and the legislative process, in general. Eman Bibars, a leading feminist and the chairwoman of the Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW), told Al-Monitor, "I cannot believe that bills are being submitted and reviewed without conducting a community dialogue or even resorting to expert opinions. The lack of transparency is hazardous." Bibars also raised questions about the qualifications of those who submit draft laws, citing the new law of nongovernmental organizations as an example. The law regulating the work of NGOs has been reviewed and approved without involving either legal experts or civil society representatives. Commenting on the proposed bill, Bibars said its articles are loose and unclear. For instance, it gives fathers the right to spend two days with children on a weekly basis without mentioning the criteria for the place where they are to stay and without ensuring safeguards for the children's safety. Bibars added that claiming the father will be imprisoned in case of abducting the child is not realistic. "There are several cases of abduction, and no one has been held accountable," she said. Bibars referred to the ADEW study that monitored the situation of around 10,000 divorced mothers in 2014. According to the study, 88% of divorced fathers do not pay alimony and 9% abduct their children. "How can those fathers be trusted to have the right to child custody?" Nashed, for her part, said the draft law has not been approved yet, adding that the parliament will not approve any bill that may harm Egyptian mothers. "It is just a proposal. It can be approved or rejected. There is no reason for all this hustle." December 14, 2016 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Fatah's Central Committee will meet later this month to select a vice president from among numerous contenders. As Fatah's seventh general congress concluded Dec. 4, none of the top vote-getters from the internal elections had been selected for the position. Imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti received the most votes in the Dec. 3 elections. Having scored 936 votes, Barghouti is qualified to serve as vice president, while Jibril Rajoub, a member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, came in second with 838 votes. Jordanian Al-Ghad newspaper cited Barghouti's lawyer Elias Sabbagh, speaking on his behalf, as saying, "This trust confided in me by my brothers in Fatah, allowing me to score the largest number of votes for the Central Committee elections, makes me hold on to the political path I have taken even more. I will continue working toward national unity and will restore respect for national liberation and democratic choice." A source close to Barghouti told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Barghouti believes those who participated at the conference granted him the position. Barghouti thinks he should bear the responsibility that comes with such a position, even from behind bars, the source said. Central Committee members are discussing the feasibility of that idea and should announce a decision by the end of the month, the source added. Al-Monitor contacted Rajoub to comment on this issue, but he only said, "Let us wait and see how things develop in the coming days. This issue is not about the position of vice president alone; Fatah's statute will change to adapt to the current developments, to ensure membership and equality between all members." Article 64 of Fatah's statute stipulates that the Central Committee shall elect a secretary and two vice presidents from among its members. However, the movement only appoints one vice president and the position is currently occupied by Abu Maher Ghneim, who was also appointed secretary during Fatah's sixth general congress in 2009. "The vice president does not necessarily need to secure the highest number of votes in the internal elections during the congress; he is chosen by the 18 members of the Central Committee following discussions," Azzam al-Ahmad, a Central Committee member, told Al-Monitor. Ahmad said the committee meeting held Dec. 5 was only for protocol; no tasks were distributed to members and no issue was addressed. Meanwhile, Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi said he prefers Barghouti over Rajoub as vice president, which is not surprising as Tirawi and Rajoub competed for the highest number of votes during the congress. Tirawi told the media Dec. 6, "The person who deserves such a position is the one who had his share in the struggle [for the Palestinian cause] and the Central Committee should choose him." Barghouti's vote tally stirred the ire of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told the press Dec. 6, "Barghouti's election [results are] proof of the growing culture of terrorism and extremism and a clear show of support to a convicted terrorist. Not only is Fatah inciting against Israel in schools and naming streets after perpetrators of operations [against Israel], it is flaunting them as its leaders and drifting away from establishing peace." Barghouti was arrested by the Israeli army in 2002. He was given five life sentences plus 40 years in prison. Israel accused him of leading Fatah in the West Bank and held him responsible for armed operations carried out by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's military wing, that had killed and wounded dozens of Israelis. Naji Sharab, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Monitor that Barghouti's high number of votes proves he is the person the movement most agrees on, after President Mahmoud Abbas, and thus all those who voted for Barghouti want him to serve as vice president. Sharab explained that choosing Barghouti to be the vice president would be the first real test facing the elected Central Committee, as it would challenge Israel's political discourse and its stance against Barghouti. However, since Barghouti is in jail, Sharab expects the Central Committee to choose Rajoub, who would then be Fatah's candidate in any future Palestinian presidential election. Palestinian political analyst Alaa Rimawi told Al-Monitor that Barghouti's issue has become symbolic and Fatah is not seriously considering giving him a real role from behind bars. "Those who want Barghouti to have a true role within the movement should work on releasing him first," Rimawi noted. Rimawi pointed out that Rajoub is one of the most influential people in Fatah and stands a good chance of becoming vice president, although some figures within the movement, such as Nasser al-Qudwa, believe they deserve the position. He stressed that the conflict within Fatah and the Central Committee in particular, in terms of choosing a vice president, cannot be easily resolved in light of the intense competition. He also said it is more important for the movement to focus on relieving the stagnation of its political program, which has led Fatah downhill on all fronts. Most observers believe Rajoub will become vice president, given his good relationship with Abbas, who would not want Barghouti as his vice president because it would incite Israel against the Palestinian Authority. December 15, 2016 Amid developments in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Irans President Hassan Rouhani has moved to reassure Sunni Muslims that the Islamic Republic is not seeking to form a so-called Shiite crescent in the Middle East. In a speech Dec. 15 before the 30th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Rouhani said, Both Shiite crescent and Sunni axis are wrong. Shiites and Sunnis are brothers and followers of Islam and the manner of the great Prophet [Muhammad]. Fallujah, Aleppo, and all of Iraq and Syria will be liberated from the hands of terrorists in the near future, Rouhani said. If the world powers and some dictator and dependent states in the region assume that they can secure their interests and domination in the region via terrorist groups, then they are making a big mistake. The Iranian president continued, Shiites and Sunnis, different sects and ethnicities have lived alongside each other for centuries. We all lived alongside each other, we respected one another, we didnt insult the sanctities of sects, and all Muslims respected the companions and household of the prophet. Rouhani said, It is not Shiites and Sunnis who have stood up against one another. The late imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] said that it is American Islam that has stood up to the pure Muhammadan Islam. Mentioning the Islamic State and the massacres the group has committed, the Iranian president stated, We are proud of the holy war [jihad], which is in accordance with the Quran, and we dont recognize any holy war except [that which is] resisting oppression and defending the honor of Islam and Muslims. Since when has holy war become equivalent to murder and Muslim confrontation with [other] Muslims by the order of the major powers? Indirectly referring to some regional states, Rouhani said, Is there any catastrophe bigger than that some Muslims are holding a grudge against each other instead of the colonizers, looters of Islamic countries resources and also the [Israeli] regime, which is the biggest danger of the region and has made Muslims engage in dispute, war, conflict and aggression [with each other] for 70 years? Rouhani then pointed the finger at some Western powers who taught the terrorists the way of terror and bought their smuggled oil, further charging that some Islamic countries have given money and weapons to the terrorist groups. In response to a question about the invitation of some groups, such as the Taliban, to the 30th International Islamic Unity Conference, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Thought Ayatollah Mohsen Araki said in a press conference Dec. 13, The Taliban itself has various currents [within it] that we can have contact with, and this year some of them will take part in the conference. We are attempting to have contact with anyone with whom dialogue is possible. Of note, Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan Mohammad Reza Bahrami said as recently as Dec. 10, We have contacts with the Taliban, but we dont have a relationship. Our contact is aimed at controlling [them] and having intelligence domination. He added, We are interested in and are trying to provide the grounds for holding negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Meanwhile, in response to a question about the followers of Ayatollah Sadeq Shirazi, also known as Shirazis, Araki said, This current is not a new phenomenon, and it rose against the marja'iyya [Shiite religious establishment] in Iraq 50 years ago. They are the first people who stood up against Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim and started breaking the unity established by the marja'iyya following the order of England and the financial support of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. The Shirazi current is an organized group with the purpose of spying and destroying the Shiite marja'iyya. December 15, 2016 TEHRAN, Iran In her appearance before the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Dec. 7, UK Prime Minister Theresa May called for deeper military cooperation with members of the Arab bloc and said the United Kingdom and its allies must work together to counter Irans aggressive regional actions. In this vein, she told leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, As part of the renewed relationship that I want to forge with you, the United Kingdom will make a more permanent and more enduring commitment to the long-term security of the Gulf. Her posturing immediately raised eyebrows in Tehran, leading Iran to issue a warning against London about the consequences of a possible greater future role in the region. The day after Mays comments at the GCC summit, the chairman of the parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, told Iranian state TV, If Britain seeks to persist with such a policy vis-a-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran, the parliament will once again move to downgrade relations. The furor comes as bilateral ties have just fully resumed after years of tension. In late November 2011, the UK severed relations following an attack on its diplomatic facilities in Tehran. After an almost two-year freeze, the two countries agreed in October 2013 to appoint nonresident charges daffaires as a first step toward re-establishing diplomatic ties. Iran and the United Kingdom upgraded their mutual diplomatic representation back to the ambassador level in September, in another sign of warming relations between the two countries. On Dec. 10, Iran's Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned the UK ambassador. Following British Prime Minister Theresa Mays meddlesome remarks, Nicholas Hopton, the countrys ambassador to Tehran, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry today, said spokesman Bahram Qassemi. On Dec. 11, parliament member Jabbar Kouchaki-Nejad announced that a bill had been introduced in parliament to downgrade ties with the United Kingdom. However, two days later, the Iranian government showed reluctance to do so. In response to a question about whether ties will be downgraded, government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht refrained from offering a clear response, saying only, Certainly, her remarks are meddlesome and will cause insecurity in the region. It is not right for a person who comes from Europe to talk about the Persian Gulf region. However, Nobakhts diplomatic statement does not mean that Iranian officials are ready to forget what transpired at the GCC summit. Irans moderate Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif adopted a harsh stance at the Tehran Security Conference on Dec. 11, saying, Some in the region brought a lady to the region to tell them that we will keep you safe. Since when have this lady and her country been able to secure the safety of those countries?" How do Iranians view Mays presence among Arab leaders? In rare agreement, the usually divided Reformists and conservatives of Iran are aligned in the row over the UK prime ministers remarks. They have both condemned Mays statements and have expressed suspicion about the United Kingdom's new stated position, which is different from European Union policies. On Dec. 8, the Reformist Shargh newspaper slammed the UK prime minister, opining, The remarks of Theresa May at the closing of the summit of leaders of the GCC showed that the conservative administration of the United Kingdom wants to separate its way from the European Union and seeks to pursue a policy of confronting Iran. The Shargh editorial stated that now that US President-elect Donald Trump says he prefers to concentrate on domestic issues and spend less money on Americas partners in the region, the United Kingdom wants to fill the void. In keeping with this analysis, Gen. Rahim Safavi, the military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Dec. 14, Britain left the region in 1971, but wants to return right now, and this is their new strategy. Echoing references to Britains past withdrawal from east of the Suez, parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said, The view Britain has adopted about the Persian Gulf goes back to before 1971, when they announced their withdrawal from the region. They have not updated their information in accordance with the developments in the region since then. An article on moderate news website Asr-e-Iran claimed that Mays statements are the first sign of a more independent UK foreign policy after the countrys vote to exit the EU: The vote for Brexit could mean abandoning the principles of European policy that London pursued and considered itself committed to in the past decades. Following its exit, it wont have to be committed to observing these principles anymore. Another opinion that has been asserted in Tehran in the aftermath of Brexit is that the United Kingdom will face more economic problems than in the past and is thus considering various plans to solve its fiscal troubles. In this vein, Hesam al-din Ashna, President Hassan Rouhanis cultural adviser opined Dec. 11, The remarks of that lady were made with the aim of marketing weapons. In a Dec. 10 post to Facebook, Former senior Iranian official Seyed Hossein Mousavian quoted a Scandinavian diplomat as having told him, Britain couldnt stay in the region during the era in which it was an empire, let alone right now, when it is a second-rate European power. The West has realized that [Iran] will survive while [the GCC states] will be gone sooner or later. [The GCC states] have hundreds of billions in foreign exchange reserves and are not in the right minds. The fastest way to get their foreign exchange is to sell them weapons. Britain and Europe have economic problems and want to get [the GCC states] petrodollars to firstly get them to export less Wahhabist and Salafist ideology, and secondly, so they wont be able to launch new wars, like that in Yemen. December 15, 2016 While paying a condolence call in the West Bank settlement of Ofra following a terror attack in 2001, Benjamin Netanyahu bragged about his intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of US politics. I know what America is, he told the bereaved family. America is something you can easily move. Move in the right direction, Netanyahu added, unaware of the open Channel 10 television mike. Lets say they say something, so what. I wasnt afraid to clash with [President Bill] Clinton. In any case Im paying the price, so I prefer at least to get something out of it. Bang for the buck. Netanyahu learned the hard way, however, that it is not so easy to move America. Despite the goodwill of Netanyahu's Republican friends in Congress and the fortune of his good friend and casino owner Sheldon Adelson, US President Barack Obama was not budged from his position on the Iran nuclear issue. Obama hasn't even handed the baton to Donald Trump, but Netanyahu has already announced that at his first meeting with the new president, he will present him with a variety of options for revoking the nuclear deal with Iran. That, the prime minister may find easier than he thought. Trump promised more than once that if he made it to the Oval Office, he would rip the agreement to shreds. In addition, Israel now has its own Queen Esther the biblical bride of a powerful Persian king who saved the Jewish people from an evil adviser among the presidential family in the person of Ivanka Trump-Kushner, a Jewish convert and she's no lightweight convert of the Conservative or Reform variety, either. Ivankas Orthodox Jewish conversion, the only type accepted by Israels chief rabbinate, was even authorized by none other than Israels chief rabbi. When Netanyahu says that he knows how to move America in the right direction, however, he is mostly referring to Congress. This is how it works: First he gets major Jewish political contributors and community leaders moving so that they, in turn, can light a fire under the pro-Israel lobby of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and send it to storm Capitol Hill to mobilize lawmakers for Israels mission of the day. The catch is that unlike in Israels mostly Orthodox synagogues, in the progressive Reform and Conservative synagogues attended by most American Jews, there is no separation between men and women, and women are allowed to don a prayer shawl and read from the Torah. According to a comprehensive 2013 Pew Research Center survey, 35% of American Jews are affiliated with the Reform community, 18% with the Conservative movement and only 1 in 10 worships in a synagogue of the Orthodox stream. Trying to win the hearts and minds of big Jewish American donors usually includes inviting them on a pampered visit to Israel that invariably includes a stop at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. There, the guests are in for an unpleasant surprise: The ushers of the Western Wall rabbinate move women aside, to an area designated for them by Israels ruling rabbinate, and prayer shawls are reserved for men. That's only the beginning. The next time they visit the wall, women who bring a prayer shawl from home could risk ending up in police custody. According to proposed legislation tabled in the Knesset by four of the ruling coalition parties the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Yahadut HaTorah, the nationalist-Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi and Netanyahus Likud a woman who wraps herself in a prayer shawl, reads from the Torah or wears a phylactery at the Western Wall plaza could be subjected to six months in jail or a fine of 10,000 Israeli shekels ($2,630). Of note, none of these practices are forbidden by Jewish Orthodox rules, or Halacha. Mixed praying by men and women would also be considered a violation of the penal code. The proposed bill is designed to circumvent a government decision made in January to set aside part of the prayer area at the Western Wall for Reform and Conservative Jews and for Women of the Wall, who want equal prayer rights at Judaisms holiest site. Netanyahu himself promised a delegation of liberal American rabbis in June that he would work to implement the decision as soon as possible. Three months ago, Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor sternly berated the state for its continued refusal to rectify the unjust situation at the prayer site. To protest the foot-dragging in implementing the government decision, a group from Women of the Wall held a prayer and read Torah scrolls in the womens section of the plaza Nov. 2 and then went on to pray together with men on the upper plaza of the wall. While ultra-Orthodox protesters attacked the activists, police stood and watched. The prime minister was quick to blame the Reform and Conservative rabbis for the unfortunate events and for a unilateral violation of the status quo at the Western Wall. He did not take time to express regret or concern over the new law being proposed or to rebuke the members of his coalition who had co-sponsored it. In fact, Netanyahu failed to respond to a proposal that overturns the decision adopted by his own government and then spits in the face of the majority of American Jews and erects a high wall between them and the State of Israel. Under the heading Creating a Common Jewish Future, the Diaspora Affairs Ministry states on its website that Jewish communities around the world face assimilation and the loss of their Jewish identity. Therefore, the ministry, headed by HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, partnered with Project Momentum to bring delegations of Jewish women from around the world for eight-day visits to Israel. During their stay, according to the site, They enrich their knowledge of all the different hues of Judaism. Does that mean Bennett will introduce them to the three Knesset members of his party who signed the proposed Western Wall prohibition on equal prayer rights that perpetuates the Orthodox monopoly on Judaism? By the way, before visiting the Knesset, the women would do well to carefully measure the length of their skirts and dresses. Some parliamentary aides whose thighs were not sufficiently covered were recently sent home. At a Nov. 8 session of the Knessets Interior Affairs Committee devoted to the dispute over praying at the Western Wall, Knesset member Mickey Levy from the centrist, anti-clerical Yesh Atid reported that during a round of recent meetings in the United States, he sensed tremendous anger against Israel and a feeling among Jewish communities that Israel had betrayed them. He should tell Netanyahu. It looks like the prime minister doesnt understand that the America he knows how to move so well is no longer there. December 15, 2016 BAGHDAD A restaurant owner in Dahuk province in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq named his restaurant, which opened one week after Donald Trump won the US presidential elections, after the president-elect. Many Iraqis reveled in Trumps victory, which went viral on social media in Iraq. Some Iraqis have gone so far as naming their newborns after the incoming US president. The father of a baby boy, who was born into a Kurdish family in Dahuk, named his child Trump. He said he supports Trump for his supportive positions vis-a-vis the Kurdistan Region. This unprecedented jubilation in Iraq with Trumps Nov. 8 victory is in response to Trump's support for the Kurdish people, as seen in June statements by Trump Middle East policy adviser Walid Phares. Phares said Trump is a close friend of the Kurdish people and has always endeavored to strengthen relations between Washington and the Kurds. He added that Trump, as president, will not object to any US decision that is in the interest of the Kurds, including secession and independence. The seemingly spontaneous pro-Trump celebrations in Dahuk and other provinces in Iraqi Kurdistan are a means also to draw media attention and to attract foreigners to restaurants and other places of leisure bearing the name of Trump. Nidiar Zawiyati, the owner of the restaurant in Dahuk, told Al-Monitor, I named my restaurant [Trump] out of enthusiasm, without any political objectives. He believes the restaurant's name has helped attract customers because of the extensive controversy stirred by Trumps victory. He said foreigners who reside in the area have been frequenting his restaurant as well as locals. It appears that the Kurdish people are not aspiring only for military and economic support from the Trump administration, but are pinning their hopes on the new US president to help them in their quest of secession and independence. Kurdish political analyst Mahamad Zangana told Al-Monitor, Some Republicans are hoping the situation in [Iraqi] Kurdistan will change based on Trump's statements, reflecting his support of Kurdish independence as well as the Kurdish [peshmerga] forces fighting against the Islamic State. He said that the Kurdish people are confident that the United States under Trump will treat them more favorably than during Barack Obama's presidency. Some citizens are naming their shops or newborns after Trump in order to tease the haters of the Kurdish people and the naysayers to independence, he added. Zangana stressed that the US administration has priorities and that it may provide Kurdistan with indirect support. Washington has maintained contact with Kurdish leaders and parties under all circumstances, and has always been present on the ground. I think the perspective will change this time and the Kurdish dream will come true under the new [US] administration, which will deal more favorably with the issue of Kurdish sovereignty, without directly supporting Kurdish independence. The new US administration will force the region to recognize Kurdistans independence. In turn, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) seems optimistic about Trump's presidency, and is betting on more US support for Kurdistan and more pressure on Baghdad regarding the pending issues between the KRG and the federal government. Masrour Barzani, the chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, said during a visit to Washington on Dec. 8 that the new US administration under Trump is likely to increase aid to the KRG and take another position if Baghdad continues to marginalize the peshmerga forces. Rudaw media network quoted Barzani saying, We came here to thank the current administration for its support and assistance to the Kurdish people, and to get to know the new administration, from which we expect more support for the peshmerga forces. Barzani added, We talked to a large number of advisers in the new US administration. All of them confirmed their support for the Kurds and promised to provide more aid. These US and Kurdish statements reflect the understanding and harmony between Washington and the KRG, as well as obvious US support for the independence of the KRG. Kurdish citizens seem to take these statements very seriously, as they see Trump as the man who will make their independence dream come true. Hozan Nagda, a student at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimaniyah, told Al-Monitor, We welcome any external support for the Kurdish independence cause. The [jubilant] reaction was an expression of gratitude to President Trump, because he put the Kurdish issue among his priorities. The Kurdish community has acted upon Trump's comments, and we hope that he will fulfill the promises he made during his election campaign. He said that Trump's statements fueled the Kurdish support for his policies and created a sense of joy about his victory, since Kurdistan has been dreaming of independence for decades, and especially at this time, as the financial crisis has destroyed the KRG infrastructure and weakened its regional and international position. The fact that the Kurds are naming their children and shops after Trump is an expression of gratitude for the positions of the US president-elect, who has rekindled their hopes for secession and independence. But despite the desire of the new US administration to provide more support to Iraqi Kurdistan to realize its dream, this will remain far-fetched if it is not coupled with reforms allowing the Kurdish parliament, suspended for more than a year, to resume its activities, and if the KRG does not abide by the constitution and and the rules of democracy. December 15, 2016 Mohammad Biqai was 9 years old when he joined the Ashbal youth program of the Fatah movement in Lebanon in 1979. Born in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon to a Palestinian family from the village of Damoun near Acre one of the 418 villages destroyed during the founding of Israel around 1948 Biqai grew up dreaming of the day he and others would return to a liberated Palestine. His temporary return to Palestine in November, however, did not occur the way he had dreamed it might. Biqai, also known as Abu Adel, was part of a 50-member Lebanese delegation that attended Fatahs seventh congress Nov. 29. Biqai, who runs the Fatah media program in south Lebanon, had to enter the West Bank on a special permit issued by the Palestinian government in coordination with the Israelis. Some of the Lebanese delegates were invited at the last minute, after the Jordanian Fatah delegates decided not to come for fear of losing their Jordanian citizenship, as Jordan made it clear that Palestinian Jordanians cant have dual citizenship. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Biqai described his feelings when crossing the bridge from Jordan, saying, I cant describe my first moment at the border; it was a mixture of happiness and anger. I was happy to see Palestine for the first time after struggling for it all my life. But I was angry and sad when I saw the Israeli flag at the bridge. After going through passport control, Biqai and several other delegates visited Jericho and Hizma village in Jerusalem governorate on their way to Ramallah, where the congress was held. Passing through checkpoints and seeing signs of the occupation on the way to Ramallah also made him angry. I was angry to see the wall, the Israeli checkpoints and the settlements, but I was happy to be finally in Ramallah, he added. Along with other delegates, Biqai visited the grave of Fatah founder Yasser Arafat. When we entered Ramallah, we went to the grave of Arafat. I had hoped to see him when he was still alive and kiss his hands the way he kissed the hands of the injured and the children of martyrs, Biqai said. During the Fatah congress, four delegates from Lebanon Rifat Shanaa, Ashraf Daour, Amineh Jibril and Fathi Abu Ardat were elected to the movements Revolutionary Council. Fatah in Lebanon is one of the strongest [branches] in the world, but we also have many challenges, which Palestinians who live in Lebanon face, he said. Biqai noted that while he was happy that the number of Revolutionary Council members from Lebanon had increased by one, he and the others had hoped to have someone from Lebanon be on the Central Committee. Two important areas are not represented in the Central Committee: Lebanon and Jerusalem. I hope President [Mahmoud] Abbas will use his allotted seats to appoint individuals from these two locations in the top Fatah body." Biqai added that the Lebanese delegation visited Abbas after the congress to congratulate him and to talk about the many problems facing the Palestinians in Lebanon, including that they are not allowed to work legally in 83 professions and that the student scholarship fund in Lebanon needs additional financial support. Perhaps the most important part of the visit of the Lebanese delegation especially for those who had not been to the occupied territories before was their visits to Nablus, Jenin, Hebron, Jerusalem and Nabi Saleh. In all honesty, what we saw in Ramallah, we dont see in Beirut. Some of the Palestinian ministries and government offices are better than what I have seen anywhere, the services are organized, you can see the building of the infrastructure of the state in Palestine, the Lebanese Fatah delegate said. While praising the infrastructure and services, Biqai complained about the prices. Palestine is more expensive than Jounieh, he said, referring to a wealthy coastal city north of Beirut. Biqai and other Lebanese Fatah members, however, were not allowed to stay in Palestine. President Abbas had been trying to get us Palestinian passports, but the Israeli government refused to issue national identity numbers to us, he said. Without these ID numbers, which passport control offices around the world can verify electronically, a Palestinian passport is worthless. The holding of the seventh Fatah congress in Ramallah has given Palestinian delegates from Lebanon and other parts of the world a rare opportunity to visit and see Palestine under occupation. No doubt, the visit has left a powerful impression on those who came, and it will encourage them to continue in the struggle for the liberation and the independence of Palestine. As the Fatah movement, which was launched on Jan. 1, 1965, turns 52 and the anniversaries of the decades-old Nakba and the occupation are remembered, Palestinians are still unable to feel complete until they are fully free and independent. December 15, 2016 RAMALLAH, West Bank Fatahs seventh congress came to a close Dec. 4, after its election of a new Central Committee and Revolutionary Council. During the five-day conference, Fatah further entrenched itself as a ruling party that is committed to agreements with Israel as opposed to a national liberation movement with a variety of political views. This was solidified when the movement adopted the Palestinian Authority (PA) political program, which is based on negotiations and coexistence with Israel, even though this program has proven to be a total fiasco since the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993. Most of the 1,400 congress members are employees of PA agencies and ministries and receive their salaries from the PA, not Fatah. On top of that, the conference was held at the headquarters of the Palestinian presidency, or the Muqata, in Ramallah, which is supposed to be a state institution, not an institution that serves a party or a movement under the protection of security services. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was elected as head of the movement on the first day of the conference. On the second day, he delivered a three-hour speech that more closely resembled a speech by a head of state, not a speech delivered by the head of a revolutionary liberation movement, as Fatah calls itself. In a speech that now serves as the political movement's program, Abbas focused on the PAs political approach since its inception. Mohammed Hourani, a Fatah leader and member of the Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, There should not be any separation at all between the PA and the Fatah movement. There should be a balanced relationship between Fatah as an organization with humanitarian and combative liberation missions and Fatahs involvement in the PA, to implement these visions in partnership with other forces. Hourani said, The unfair and final separation of the Fatah movement from the PA is not on the table and is far from being realistic. There is considerable overlap between the PLO and Fatahs political programs, as there is no essential difference between the two. He added, The PA program should be a little different from Fatahs because the latter is an extension of a national liberation movement that is concerned with the right to self-determination under international law and the right of the Palestinian people to struggle, whereas the PA has [other] missions and services to achieve." Asked about the implications and financial cost of holding the congress in a state institution, Hourani said, There was a room available in the presidential residence, so the congress was held there. Yes, it is indeed a state institution, but sometimes there is some overlap. And the financial costs of the congress were covered by the movement. Najat Abu Bakr, a dismissed Fatah leader and current member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, told Al-Monitor that Fatah, being a national liberation movement, included all shades of the Palestinian people. But since the PA rose to power, the movement dissolved into the PA institutions and started defending its agendas. The Fatah movements only program is to protect the PAs achievements, if any, given that these are incomplete amid the presence of the occupation [Israel] and the absence of a state, Abu Bakr said. She added, Fatah paid the price for all the mistakes of the PA and turned from a patriotic liberation movement to a ruling political party. Hani al-Masri, the director general of the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies - Masarat, told Al-Monitor, The Fatah movement started to get dissolved in the PA since the signing of the Oslo Accord, but this has been confirmed and entrenched during the seventh congress. He added, "Fatah is losing the multiple currents and political views that once distinguished it, and this indicates that it is becoming a mere PA party. The overlap between Fatah and the PA, as well as the calls to separate them, have long formed points of discussion that have yet to be settled. Several Fatah leaders support the separation of the two, including imprisoned Fatah Leader Marwan Barghouti, who received the most votes in the Central Committee election. Fadwa Barghouti, Marwans wife, who was also elected to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, Marwan adopts the point of view calling for the need to separate Fatah from the PA because Fatah is a national liberation movement, not a ruling party. She said, Before his arrest, Marwan refused several times to be a minister, as he wanted to be fully dedicated to his organizational work in the movement. Writer and political analyst Jihad Harb told Al-Monitor that since the signing of the Oslo Accord, Fatah members took over most of the PA's administrative and political positions, just as other ruling political parties do in other countries. This means that Fatah controls the regime institutions. The criticism directed to Fatahs general congress for being held in the seat of the presidency indicates that the Fatah movement was dissolved into the PA and that the PA is part of Fatahs membership, Harb said. Asked about Abbas' speech and his blurring of the lines between his positions in Fatah and the PA, Harb said, The president's speech was a mixture [of his positions] as he is president of the PA and the Fatah movement, and it is natural for such mixture to take place because the political program of the ruling and biggest party will be adopted by the PLO and the PA. Asked about Fatah's identity as a movement of national liberation, Harb said, The nature of the Palestinian stage we are going through is a stage of liberation and state institution-building, and this fact is fully reflected by the Fatah movement. While Fatahs seventh congress managed to enshrine the movement as a PA party, the next stage in the era of President Abbas will not witness any changes on the political agenda. It will be a continuation of the previous phase, with all its broad outlines. December 16, 2016 In Russia, joy over the progress of Syrian forces in eastern Aleppo eclipsed bitterness over the loss of Palmyra but only for a few days. [The loss] came as a blow to prestige, including our own prestige, Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, the former head of Russia's general staff, said in a Dec. 11 interview with Interfax. He said he regards the Islamic State's (IS) recent takeover of Palmyra as a mistake in military planning and a failure to track the accumulation of power in the area. The Russian Defense Ministry said Syrian government forces had to leave Palmyra because they were outnumbered by enemy troops and the supposed numbers kept growing. On Dec. 11, the military department mentioned 4,000 IS militants, and the next day that figure reached 5,000. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the IS offensive on Palmyra and IS fighters fleeing to Syria from the Iraqi assault on Mosul might be part of a strategic plan to relieve the pressure on rebel groups in eastern Aleppo. In the Russian expert community, the loss of historic Palmyra to IS fighters gave rise to all kinds of conspiracy theories two prominent ones in particular. According to the first, Americans released militants from Mosul to instigate IS to recapture Palmyra. The second one suggests that the Gulf monarchies financed the attack to distract Syrian government forces from Aleppo. Many Russians believe the situation is politically motivated, which keeps them from fully understanding it, but it fits with Russia's overall relationship with the West. The theory that ties the IS offensive on Palmyra with the events in eastern Aleppo does not stand up to scrutiny. If that were the case, the attack on Palmyra should have started two weeks earlier. Moreover, the opposition had not recently launched any serious attacks either southwest of Aleppo or in Hama, which enabled the Syrian army and the Shiite militia to concentrate on eastern Aleppo. As for the Russian Defense Ministry's statement about the number of militants reclaiming Palmyra, even Russian and Syrian pro-governmental reporters doubt the estimates. Their own estimates do not exceed 2,000, and they suggest that even if reinforcements were sent to the province of Homs, they could not have been considerable. Several factors confirm that there was no large-scale redeployment of terrorist troops to Palmyra. First, in Mosul, the number of IS fighters, excluding tribal militias, still stands at about 5,000, and the hostilities there still continue. Second, IS is defending al-Bab and is continuing to fight with the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance in the provinces of Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah. Third, IS forces are known to be quite independent in their decision-making and usually carry out operations using dozens of mobile forces in relatively small groups of 15-30 militants. That strategy renders enemy airstrikes ineffective. The same tactic was used to recapture Palmyra. IS fighters started the offensive Dec. 8 and gradually advanced to the city outskirts, taking control of oil fields, checkpoints and critical sectors on their way. The interesting point is that according to Al-Monitor sources, the militants' initial plan was not to retake the city, but to raid the military supply depots. However, despite massive support from the air and the approach of reinforcements, the local forces failed to counteract the highly motivated, well-trained militant troops, who have a good knowledge of the situation on the ground. IS used suicide bombers and struck from several directions at a time. Eventually, on Dec. 11, IS took control of the city. It then moved on to seize the Tiyas air base (T-4) and advanced toward Homs and Qaryatayn, which is 93 kilometers (58 miles) southeast of Homs and 125 kilometers (78 miles) southwest of Palmyra. Whats more, it is evident that the IS grouping has not increased, otherwise the T-4 air base would have been seized immediately and troops would have advanced more quickly to block major roads connecting Damascus and the southern provinces. The situation with Palmyra has demonstrated that Damascus is becoming more and more dependent on foreign military support, while the pro-Syrian coalition lacks the forces to carry out operations in the west and to maintain control over territories in the center let alone the east of the country. After taking over Aleppo, the regime will have thousands of troops available, but will they move to free Palmyra? Although the city is militarily significant and could be used as a logistics center to advance on Deir ez-Zor, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has neither the opportunity nor the political will to seriously fight IS in the east. The prospect of recapturing Palmyra has complicated the movement of government forces from Itria to the southern borders of Raqqa to claim part of those territories. Thus, if this movement starts, the rebels could make things difficult. Also, the Kremlin could try to use the renewed threat in Homs as a reason to expand cooperation with the new US administration. Currently, a new offensive on Palmyra would weaken the front south of Aleppo, which the opposition could use to their advantage. The situation could be improved by the soft division of the country, for example, by agreeing on zones with specific lines of fire and a strict demarcation of cease-fire and logistics lines, as it concerns the province of Idlib in northwest Syria and the neighboring areas in Latakia, Hama and Aleppo. As for the southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa, a cease-fire agreement is already in effect there between the regime and the south front coalition of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups. In this context, Damascus, under pressure from Moscow, could form a grouping to advance on IS and continue clearing the opposition enclaves in eastern Ghouta and Ar-Rastan. However, the regime is not demonstrating political flexibility, and some in the Syrian military say Idlib should come after Aleppo. The Provincial Council is currently estimating the local Idlib population at 2.2-2.6 million. The province is self-governed and operates through 144 administrative councils. It is controlled by Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and Ahrar al-Sham. As a rule, the FSA factions are protected by Ahrar al-Sham. The distinction is not so easily implemented, however, as most moderate and radical groups consist of Syrian Sunnis, whom Damascus is trying to distance itself. According to Assad and Syrias Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr al-Din, all rebels are terrorists and Wahhabis, while true Sunnis are those who have surrendered and support the regime. Nonetheless, the tendency to differentiate the opposition is already there. The FSA groups form new coalitions even in southern Syria, and the withdrawal of rebels from different enclaves to Idlib increases the percentage of the moderate opposition. If Ahrar al-Sham forms a new coalition that unites FSA groups and distances it from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, international players are likely to acknowledge it as the new law-enforcement power all the more so as the troops of Ahrar al-Sham and other moderate groupings together with the Turkish army are actively fighting against IS in the area of al-Bab. The realization of such scenarios could help get a political settlement of the Syrian situation underway. However, random bombings of Idlib and clashes with the opposition are, on the one hand, likely to weaken Assad forces and further drag Russia into the conflict. On the other hand, those actions may contribute to moderate opposition forces merging with terrorists and the radicalization of the Sunni population. What is more, bombing will hardly recruit new forces for the fight against IS, which has not only been successful in holding the line in Iraq and Syria, but has also proved capable of mounting counterattacks elsewhere. December 15, 2016 Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsis statements on the return of Tunisian jihadis from areas of conflict sparked wide controversy in Tunisia. During a visit to France, Essebsi told Euronews Dec. 2, Jihadis are no longer a threat, and many of them want to return home. We cannot forbid a Tunisian national from returning to his country. We will not put them all in jail because we do not have enough space. We will take all necessary measures to keep them at bay. We will be watching them. Some thought the president was defending jihadis. Others were concerned about the ambiguity of the states stance toward Tunisians returning to Tunisia from battlefields in Syria and Iraq. Either way, the controversial statements revealed Tunisian authorities' lack of a clear plan to solve the issue of returning fighters, raising concerns about the security challenges that it might entail. Meanwhile, the Tunisian presidency issued a statement Dec. 7 to clarify the presidents stance: The president ensures the respect of the Tunisian Constitution, which stipulates in Article 25 that no citizen shall be stripped of their Tunisian nationality, exiled, extradited or prevented from returning to the country. Returning to ones country is a constitutional right, and no citizen can be refused this right, regardless of the reasons. The president also asserted that all necessary security and political measures have been taken to keep the threat of the return of Tunisians from areas of tension at bay. Article 33 of Anti-Terrorism Law No. 26 of 2015, dated Aug. 7, 2015, related to fighting terrorism and banning money laundering, considers any person who traveled abroad to commit a terrorist crime a terrorist punishable with prison. Ahmed Mannai, the head of the Tunisian Institute for International Relations, told Al-Monitor, The stances regarding terrorists returning from areas of tension varied between complete resentment, demands to strip them of their citizenship and calls to pardon them. The talk about pardons pushed the head of the Ennahda movement, Rachid Ghannouchi, in August 2015 to call for keeping the repentance door open to those returning. Apparently, Ghannouchi is trying to convince his ally, Essebsi, to adopt a similar stance. A step toward pardoning these people without prosecuting them undermines the right of their victims in Syria, Libya and Iraq to a fair punishment guaranteed by international law. Mannai added, The president said in his statements to Euronews that the returning fighters wont be jailed. The presidency later clarified that any returning terrorist must be jailed. The conflicting stances reflect a lack of vision from the state in this regard and show the officials irresponsibility toward perpetrators of heinous war crimes. The defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, Libya and Iraq rekindled security concerns about the return of thousands of fighters to Tunisia from the battlefields. A May 2016 UN report revealed that after IS suffered field losses, it encouraged its foreign fighters to return to their homelands to carry out terror attacks. The Tunisian Ministry of Interior announced in early 2016 the return of 600 young people who had fought in different areas. The ministry had stated in November 2015 that it had put 92 returning fighters under house arrest and arrested 40 others during raids that took place following a suicide bombing of a presidential guard vehicle in Tunis. Hadi Yahmed, an independent Tunisian researcher on Islamic groups, believes that the security solution alone is not enough to resolve this thorny issue. We must all think about reasonable and radical solutions to this phenomenon," he told Al-Monitor. "Prisons are a temporary solution. So are expulsion and exile. But none of these solutions will eradicate terrorism because they are just security measures. Eradicating terrorist thought might require bolder future generations. At this stage, we do not have many solutions at hand. Perhaps the most reasonable one is to convince some youths in jail to re-examine their ideas and realize that they can practice their religious convictions, provided that they draw the line at violence. Otherwise, we will keep running in circles until kingdom come. A July 2015 UN report on the use of mercenaries revealed that more than 5,000 Tunisians are fighting in different hotbeds across the Arab world. Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub announced in June 2015 that the security apparatus devised a special plan to deal with returning youths from battlefields," saying, "Those implicated in criminal activities are behind bars. Nevertheless, many fear that jails could turn into recruitment hubs for jihadis. Tunisian authorities do not have many options to deal with those returning from Syria, Libya and Iraq. So far, they only have security solutions, but these will not be effective in the long run in the absence of a plan to limit extremism and rehabilitate jihadis. Any attempt to propose a pardon law or a civil harmony act, like the one in Algeria, will face public rejection, especially from influential social forces and syndicates in the country, notably the Tunisian General Labor Union. December 16, 2016 ANKARA, Turkey We keep ourselves hidden, said 22-year-old Ceren,* a recent university graduate. Right now were speaking English, so its OK, but normally when were speaking to each other, we try to keep our voices low in case someone hears and causes trouble. Shes sitting in an outdoor terrace in a mall in central Ankara with four of her friends. They dont want the people around to understand them because theyre the sons and daughters of some of the most hated people in the country. Their fathers are generals who have been arrested and accused of involvement in the July 15 failed military coup. They all insist their dads had nothing to do with the coup attempt that left 272 dead. Recep, a 20-year-old university student discharged from the Naval War Academy, said he was with his dad at the movies when the coup started. They called my father, they said the government was [fallen] and they declared martial law, so he should go back to his office for further information and orders, he said. My father went to his units to secure them, not to join the coup. Orders came, and he knew they werent coming from the chief of staff, so he never executed them. Ceren was at home watching TV with her dad when news came on about the putsch attempt. They said that some soldiers closed the bridge. Everyone at first thought it was a bomb threat. My father was like, If its a bomb threat, then why are soldiers there? Then he started calling about whats going on, she said. My father always told me that coups are a bad thing, and now were accused of doing one, said Ece, 22. The five of them have had their lives turned upside down since July 15, as their fathers have been proclaimed public enemies and their entire families scapegoated. They gave 30, 40 years to this country and theyre [being] called terrorists, so its really hard, Ece said. We are 22 years old and can understand things, but I have a younger brother and hes 15. Imagine that. Theyre calling our fathers traitors, Recep said, as he showed a news story calling his dad a bastard. Even our fathers friends keep calling us and saying, Were ashamed, we wouldnt expect this from you, Ceren said. Ece said that because of constant uncritical media reports from the largely pro-government media, even family members arent sure what to believe. When [my uncle] sees news about my father, hes like, Is it true, did you hear about that? They said their dads were beaten and denied food and water for three days when they were taken into custody. Media reports showed images of arrested officers with obvious injuries, and Amnesty International documented several cases of serious torture. A father has the role of being the protector and provider for a family, and you see [him] there being slapped, Ceren said. They were stripped, they were tied up, they were waiting in a room with lights on all the time. With their fathers in jail and their mothers often devastated, many children of those in custody have been forced to hold their families together. All of the older children in this situation have the job of being the [head] of the family because mothers can sometimes have meltdowns. But if we melt down with them, it wont make anything better, so we have to be the ones to be strong and obviously [earn] money, said Ceren. Their fathers and mothers bank accounts have been frozen, their fathers salaries cut, their health insurance canceled and theyve been kicked out of their military housing. The government blames the coup on Fethullah Gulen, the leader of a global Islamic movement that reportedly had tens of thousands of followers in the Turkish bureaucracy and military. Since July 15, the government has fired or suspended upward of 125,000 people in a colossal purge, but many thousands of them have no clear links to Gulen or the coup. The generals children said their families are followers of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, an ardent secularist suspicious of Islamic groups. We were raised Ataturkcu [Ataturkist], Ece said. They believe the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has Islamist roots, is targeting secularists. Theyre trying to erase what Ataturk has said, what he has done, what he has taught us, Ceren said. The era of secular people has ended. Now its the era of this government. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has traditionally been a bastion of Kemalism, the intensely secular ideology of Ataturks followers. Lars Haugom, a visiting scholar at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies in Oslo and an expert on the TSK, believes the coup was planned by a mix of factions within the military, not just Gulenists. Its probably correct that the Gulenist officers were kind of the driving force, but I believe there were a lot of officers who were discontented, both with their government and with their own military leadership, he said. Of 358 generals and admirals in the TSK, 178 were detained after the coup and 149 were dishonorably discharged. Haugom believes many of them may have been targeted for their perceived lack of loyalty to the AKP. I think that those [who were] dishonorably discharged after the coup, they were probably all the top leaders who were not trusted for one reason or another, he said. I think theyve discharged a lot more people than were actually involved with the coup. Haugom said some of the purged officers havent been proven guilty for their alleged crimes. Youre normally innocent until proven guilty. In this case, I think its the other way around, he said. He also said the purges and restructuring of the TSK seem more about politicization than civilian oversight. Even if you get more civilian control, its not more democratic, he said. "It seems to be about party control, with [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and the AKP seeking to strengthen their control of the military. Ceren fears theres little left to stop the authoritarian Erdogan now. No one can say no to him, she said. This is his kingdom now. *The arrested officers childrens real names are not used in this story. December 15, 2016 On the evening of Dec. 6, journalist Nergis Demirkaya sat in the Ankara office of the Human Rights Association (IHD) with a microphone in her hand, asking questions to her guests in a discussion on the latest developments in Turkey. It was a rendition of the program Demirkaya used to host on IMC TV, one of the many channels forcibly shut down since the July 15 coup attempt. This time, however, she had to do without a production-control room and there were no cameras shooting the program. Still, thousands of people watched the discussion, broadcast live on social media by no one else but the 15-strong audience in the hall, whose only equipment was their mobile phone. The program was part of an alternative media initiative, HaberSIZsiniz (You are the news), launched jointly by journalists left jobless after the putsch and citizens bent on defending their right to information. Demirkayas mic and portable audio equipment were borrowed from a trade union. The wall behind her featured a poster depicting a TV screen in shackles the symbol of the HaberSIZsiniz platform. And because the poster was attached to the wall with a simple sticky tape, it dropped several times during the broadcast. Demirkayas guests were victims of the post-putsch crackdown like her: an academic expelled from university and two managers of a closed-down childrens rights association. Their topic was the Nov. 29 fire that claimed 12 lives at a girls' dorm run by a religious group close to the government. Both in terms of participants and topic, the program was a forum for critical speech, which has become a rarity in the Turkish mainstream media today. And keeping critical reporting alive is exactly why HaberSIZsiniz was created, Demirkaya told Al-Monitor. Describing how the platform was born, she said, Jobless journalists, people rejecting the monophonic media and citizens defending their right to information we all came together, asking what we could do. We wanted to both stand up to the closure of media outlets and cover the real agenda. HaberSIZsiniz was the answer of how to relay uncensored news to the people. Since cellphones are the only thing we have left, we decided to use them for broadcasting, and as a first step we launched a social media account called HaberSIZsiniz. The first program was broadcast Oct. 30 from a cafe, Demirkaya said, adding the poster symbolizing the platform was designed by a volunteer. We borrowed a portable audio equipment from a trade union, and the only thing we still needed were tripods for proper broadcasting from cellphones. We collected money between ourselves and bought four tripods for 20 Turkish lira [$5.7] each, and then the broadcasts started. As soon as Demirkayas program at the IHD office ended, everybody in the room scrambled to check the viewer numbers on their phones. They turned out to be in the thousands. A family had watched the program on their TV screen, connecting a computer to the TV set, and sent a picture of themselves, further cheering up the activists. Demirkaya is happy with the level of viewer support. Our first broadcast on Oct. 30 resulted in something we had never expected: We became a trending topic on Twitter, she said. And a program attended by two lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party [HDP] attracted 700,000 viewers. Demirkaya was referring to the pro-Kurdish party whose two co-chairs and several other lawmakers have landed behind bars, with remaining members barred from the TV screens. Zeyno Bayramoglu, one of the volunteer broadcasters in Demirkayas audience, said, Im neither a journalist nor a camerawoman. I believe the mainstream media conceal the truth under government pressure, and, as a citizen, Im trying to get at the truth by myself. By broadcasting from here, Im trying to help others who are looking for the truth like me. All I had to do was take my cellphone and come here to transmit the discussion via social media. It was that simple, but I know it means a lot. How long will the broadcasts continue? The slogan of HaberSIZsiniz is: We stay on air until our cellphones are sealed, Demirkaya replied. She added, however, that the principal objective is the re-opening of all closed media outlets and the revival of polyphonic media. HaberSIZsiniz has no goal of permanent broadcasting and institutionalizing. We want all channels of news reporting and news reception to be fully free. Close to 200 TV channels, radio stations, new agencies, websites and newspapers have been shut down in Turkey since the coup attempt, with hundreds of journalists left jobless. The TV channels that remain open are under fire for having become monophonic. The more the TV programs become identical, the more the alternative media gains strength. The term alternative media may bring to mind news coverage addressed to specific groups such as LGBT individuals or environmentalists, but in Turkey, its scope is much wider. With the established media largely subdued under government pressure, diverse and critical coverage on issues of direct concern to every citizen like the economy, unemployment, banned civic groups, the victims of the emergency rule and imprisoned journalists is now left to the alternative media. HaberSIZsiniz, which is backed by a large number of journalists and ordinary citizens, is not alone. Two similar platforms 1 Haber Var Platform and Webiz TV have recently begun broadcasting from Diyarbakir, the largest city of the Kurdish-majority southeast, where about 100 journalists have been left jobless. Veteran journalist Rusen Cakir broadcasts discussion programs from his own social media channel, Medyascope TV, which is one of the most popular in this realm, while another well-known reporter, Unsal Unlu, has a daily morning program, called suggestively What the papers write and cannot write. They all have one purpose: an independent, diverse and free media. December 15, 2016 Turkey recently hosted the fifth NATO anti-mining and anti-submarine exercise Blue Whale 2016 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, with the participation of NATO members and 11 other countries, including Pakistan. At the end of the exercise, Pakistans Alamgir frigate, instead of returning home, sailed to the Black Sea to visit Russias major naval base at Novorossiysk on Dec. 8. After the port visit, the Black Sea will witness the first joint Russia-Pakistan naval exercise, with the participation of Alamgir and the Russia navy. With Turkey's role as observer in the December exercises, it is time to ask: Is Turkey risking a deep crisis with the United States and NATO by moving toward military cooperation with Russia in the Black Sea? Can the Russian-Turkish rapprochement in Syria be carried over to the Black Sea? Actually, the situation in the Black Sea has been considerably hot since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014. The United States deployed some warships in the Black Sea after the Russian move. NATO refused to recognize the annexation. The United States has been trying to counterbalance Russias growing military and logistics activities in the Black Sea by using NATO. In June 2016, NATO decided to boost its deterrence role in the Black Sea. That was followed by a Romanian proposal to form a NATO Black Sea fleet with the participation of Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Turkey and the United States. Russia interpreted this as an unacceptable attempt to form a permanent NATO fleet. Alexander Grushko, Russias permanent NATO representative, reacted at the time, saying, I dont really know what is going on. Of those countries, only Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey have Black Sea coasts and fleets. Russian officials warned that the Montreux Convention allows ships from other countries to stay in the Black Sea for only 21 days. The question appears simple: Will Ankara want to exploit US-Russian competition over the Black Sea? Turkeys answer came from Prime Minister Binali Yildirim during his Dec. 7 visit to Moscow: Russia and Turkey, the strongest countries on the Black Sea coast, are going to develop all aspects of their relationship." His reference to all aspects could well cover relations in defense and security fields. Moreover, both Russia and Turkey are very keen to develop a coastal highway that will link the eight countries on the Black Sea. According to Ilker Guler, an expert on maritime navigation safety, Ankara has begun discussing the need to update its maritime navigation policy. Turkey wants to use the Black Sea not only for military objectives but also for economic openings," he said. "European rivers like the Dnieper, Dniester, Don and Volga [that flow] to the Black Sea mean a connection to Turkeys Black Sea coast. This has significant economic value, for it will link the Black Sea basin to the Indian Ocean. One cannot forget that Turkish straits connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea." He noted that Russian-Turkish cooperation in the Black Sea halted and economic relations slowed significantly after Turkey shot down a Russian jet in November 2015. "Nevertheless, it is inevitable that Turkey, which has the longest coast on the Black Sea, and Russia, which needs Turkeys cooperation to reach warm seas, will resort to diplomacy, he told Al-Monitor. Guler pointed out that Russia shares sovereignty over the Black Sea with Turkey and two other NATO members Romania and Bulgaria and also with Ukraine and Georgia, which both seek NATO membership. Russia-Turkey military rapprochement in the Black Sea will not be easy to achieve as long as it doesnt include other coastal countries, Guler added. Turkeys biggest trump card against Russia and the United States, Guler has noted, is the Montreux Convention, which regulates passage of civilian and military ships through Turkish straits. According to the 1936 treaty, Turkey can deny passage to any ship whose passengers or cargo might carry diseases such as cholera or plague. Turkey also has the right during wartime to stop any ship it suspects of carrying supplies to its enemies. For example, because Syria has fired missiles that have reached Turkey, Ankara can block Russian logistics ships from carrying their cargo to Syria via the straits, by citing Syrian hostility. Also according to the convention, in times of war or when Turkey feels threatened by the likelihood of war, even civilian ships have to follow courses determined by Turkish officials. Today, if Turkey declares it feels threatened by the crisis in Syria, it can deny the United States and other NATO countries access to Black Sea coasts. The Montreux Convention thus recognizes Turkey as the gatekeeper of the Black Sea. Will Ankara move toward recognizing Russias annexation of Crimea? Will Ankara change its Black Sea policy? No doubt the United States and NATO are also wondering. December 15, 2016 On Dec. 8, veteran Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin published a piece in the Hurriyet Daily News titled A Scary Scenario in the Ankara Political Backstage. The article, which elicited a multitude of comments and gossip, exposed a group of people with close access to Erdogan with an elaborate plan to reshape Turkeys future. The plan involves a total detachment from European institutions to build a poorer, but more manageable Turkey. The steps would be, in Yetkins words, to bring back the death penalty, to get rid of the restraints of European Union legislation when the EU cuts all relations, to let the stock exchange collapse (i.e., get rid of the pressure from big companies and foreign capital, which are not from us anyway), to meet the military needs of NATO in a bargain with our own needs to get rid of the excessive political pressure from the West. In a second piece, Yetkin identifies the group promoting this radical plan as the Eurasianists: people who believe Turkey must seek its future not in the West, but in Eurasia, in particular alongside Russia and China. They view the reinstitution of the death penalty, an idea with which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lately been playing, as the pivotal move for cutting all ties with the European Union and setting sail for the Shanghai Pact. Eurasianism is not, of course, a new concept in Turkish politics. It was popularized in the early 2000s when a group of secular nationalists with ties to hawkish elements in the military launched its opposition to the EU accession process, envisioning a rapprochement with Russia and China instead. A key figure in the movement was Dogu Perincek, known in Turkey as a beacon of Maoism who was arrested in 2008 for being a member of the Ergenekon, a quasi-imaginary cabal that allegedly planned a military coup against Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP). Today, however, with the tables in Turkey having been completely overturned, the anti-Western forces that were once sworn Erdogan enemies are now among his best friends. That is why Perincek, who spent six years in jail during the notorious Ergenekon trial, and his small Homeland Party, now constitute a key element in the current Eurasianist movement, or the Russian lobby, as some call it. Al-Monitor sources in Ankara confirmed that Perincek and his team were influential in restoring Turkish-Russian ties after the crisis triggered by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last year, even establishing an indirect dialogue with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Perincek also introduced his friend Alexandar Dugin, a Russian intellectual nicknamed Putins Rasputin, to government circles. The Perincek group now gives briefings to the Turkish Foreign Ministry on various issues, a source told Al-Monitor, while pro-Perincek elements in the judiciary take active part in the purge of Gulenists. The failed coup in July further empowered the Eurasianists. The reserved reactions to the coup in the West were widely perceived in Turkey as evidence that although the plot had been executed by Gulenists, it had been planned by the alleged Mastermind, a shadowy Western cabal relentlessly conspiring against Turkey. Of note, Russian propaganda helped strengthen this perception, with fake news about CIA involvement in the coup that the pro-Erdogan media eagerly spread. The all-secular Perincek group is a small ring, however, and does not fully fit into the religious worldview of the ruling AKP. That is why the Eurasianists within the AKP matter more. According to Al-Monitors sources in Ankara, there are two main components in the AKP faction: one of businessmen with significant investments in Russia and whose concerns are therefore only pragmatic, and the other a more ideological clique of certain advisers to President Erdogan, some key figures in the bureaucracy, and some staunchly pro-Erdogan pundits. They all genuinely believe that there is a huge Western conspiracy against Turkey and that Ankara should ally itself with Putin and other anti-Western dictators. For these Eurasianists, however, there is now a big silver lining in the West: Donald Trump. They have great expectations of the next president of the United States, among them the extradition of the cleric and alleged head coup plotter Fethullah Gulen and a halt to US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria. Whether they will be disappointed of course remains to be seen. Where does Erdogan, the ultimate decider, stand on this issue? Is he seriously considering the Eurasianists' ambitions and leading Turkey toward a major fallout with the West? It seems more likely that the ever-pragmatic Erdogan just wants to keep all his options on the table. He certainly feels betrayed by the United States and the EU and in solidarity with the leaders that the West calls dictators. Yet, what this indicates is that he wants the West to change its behavior toward him, which is what he is hoping for in Trump. He is implicitly telling the West, We have other options, a senior member in the pro-government media told Al-Monitor, and he will see what he gets out of this. According to another political observer with access to Erdogans inner circle, His ultimate goal is to maximize and prolong [his stay in] power, and he can ally himself with either the West or Russia according to the circumstances. In other words, Turkeys almost two-centuries-old Western orientation seems more uncertain today than ever, and there is nothing certain about the future. It depends on how Turkeys domestic scene unfolds and also on how Western powers respond. In any case, those who hope to see Turkish democracy survive should try to secure Ankaras links to the West, in particular Europe. Otherwise, if the Russian lobby in Ankara gets its way, Turkeys transformation into another Russia might be accomplished. Turkey Syria Aleppo Syrian children, evacuated from Aleppo, smile to photographers in a refugee camp near Idlib, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track.(AP Photo) (AP) The news of death and destruction from Aleppo, Syria has prompted people in Birmingham to stand in solidarity. "We Stand With Aleppo: An Interfaith Prayer Vigil" will be held tonight, Friday, Dec. 16, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Railroad Park in Birmingham. "It's a grassroots effort by the young people in the community," said Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society. "Everybody's hurting over what's happening in Aleppo, in Syria. Everybody wants to do something to combat what is going on in this world. Aleppo is a reflection of what's going on in the world today." Syria is in the midst of civil war. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, according to the Associated Press. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell." Taufique encouraged people to support organizations helping Syrian refugees, or at least pray. "Seek divine intervention and seek God's help," Taufique said. "People want to do something," he said. "The images we see make you cry." Birmingham City Schools interim Superintendent Larry Contri today said English as a Second Language students don't have to change schools in the middle of the school year with written permission from parents. Contri made the announcement after speaking again today with officials with the Alabama State Department of Education. Birmingham City Schools last week said as many as 300 ESL students will have to change schools in January. According to a letter sent to parents, the Alabama State Department of Education mandated that the school system couldn't limit the ESL program to 12 schools. Students must be allowed to attend their neighborhood school, and the school system must provide the ESL program in all 43 schools. Contri said these students will have to go to their neighborhood schools in the 2017-18 school year. By Friday, Dec. 16, parents of ESL students need to complete a form indicating if their child is staying in their current school or transferring. Parents who can't make it to school by the end of the week can go to Birmingham Board of Education building at 2015 Park Place on Monday or Tuesday. In a statement to AL.com on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Alabama State Department of Education said the state hasn't approved any action being taken by the Birmingham City Schools related to the ESL program. Birmingham City Schools were previously requiring parents or guardians of ESL students to complete a transfer form by Friday, Dec. 16. Parents or guardians were then asked to complete an enrollment form for the new, zoned school the child will attend on Jan. 4. Parents should present that form on their child's first day at their new school. Prior to this change, students identified as ESL attended one of 12 schools in the district where they would receive additional help with English and understanding what is going on in the classroom. To comply with the mandated changes, 330 teachers at the school system's 43 schools received training to assist ESL students between Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, according to Birmingham City Schools. Additional training will be provided on a monthly basis. A 49-year-old man is under arrest for the stabbing death of another at a vacant Ensley apartment. Birmingham police on Thursday announced a murder charge against Nathaniel Sharp III. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $100,000. He is charged in the Dec. 7 slaying of 29-year-old Brandon Edward Debrow. Birmingham's West Precinct officers responded about 1 a.m. that Wednesday morning to Westbury Apartments at 3203 Avenue S after residents found the wounded man in the complex parking lot. Debrow was pronounced dead on the scene. Police said Debrow and Sharp were inside an abandoned apartment on the second story when the stabbing happened during an argument between the two. Sharp fled the scene, and Debrow ran outside before collapsing. Several residents in the complex heard the commotion and saw the suspect fleeing. They then found Debrow, who had been stabbed once in the upper body. Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards said the victim was seen by a witness hanging outside of an abandoned apartment and was observed walking away from that apartment prior to collapsing in the parking lot. A witness told police an unknown black male came to his apartment door with a possible cut to one of his hands and was asking for a towel. When the witness refused to give him a towel, the unknown male left the location. Residents living in the apartment complex told police that people hang out in this vacant apartment to consume alcohol and use drugs. Edwards on Thursday said Debrow and Sharp knew each other and would do drugs together. It appears they got into an argument about money that was supposed to be used to purchase some drugs. Eight Alabama judges, four active and four retired, have filed a brief in support of suspended Chief Justice Roy Moore with the special Supreme Court that will hear Moore's appeal. The judges contend that the Court of the Judiciary circumvented a rule requiring a unanimous vote to remove a judge from office by instead suspending Moore for the rest of his term. The punishment "is tantamount to the removal from office requiring the concurrence of all members of the Court of the Judiciary," the judges' brief states. The judges also claim that the punishment of Moore for what he wrote in an administrative order to probate judges sets a troubling precedent. "The severity of the punishment for the Chief Justice's administrative speech in this particular case calls for modification by this appellate court lest judges misperceive that their judgment and the expression of that legal judgment must comport with a particular political and religious viewpoint, even when they state a valid, though arguable, point of law," the judges state in the brief, filed Wednesday. The eight judges who filed the brief supporting Moore are Circuit Judge John Bentley, Circuit Judge T. Lee Carter and District Judge Mark Hammitte of the 25th Circuit (Marion and Winston counties); retired Circuit Judge Ashley McKathan, retired Circuit Judge Jerry Stokes and retired District Judge Frank L. McGuire III of Covington County; Circuit Judge Tim Riley of Marshall County and retired Circuit Judge Rusty Johnston of Mobile County. In September, the Court of the Judiciary suspended Moore for the rest of his term without pay. His term ends in January 2019. The key complaint against Moore concerned an administrative order he wrote to probate judges in January, about six months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states had to allow and recognize gay marriage. In his administrative order, Moore told probate judges that an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that required probate judges to enforce the state's gay marriage ban remained in effect. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which later charged Moore with violating judicial ethics by encouraging probate judges to defy federal court orders, sending the case to the Court of the Judiciary. Moore said he was not telling the probate judges to defy federal courts but was advising them on the status of the Alabama Supreme Court order. The Court of the Judiciary held a hearing and found Moore guilty of six charges of violating the canons of judicial ethics. It voted unanimously to suspend him for the rest of his term. The court noted it did not have the unanimous vote required to officially remove Moore from office but did not release a vote count. At the time, Moore issued a statement which read, in part: "This was a politically motivated effort by radical homosexual and transgender groups to remove me as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because of outspoken opposition to their immoral agenda." Moore has appealed the ruling to a special state Supreme Court made up of seven retired judges who were appointed to hear the appeal after the Supreme Court recused. The eight judges who filed the brief supporting Moore are represented by attorney Win Johnson, former legal director at the Administrative Office of Courts. Johnson said Acting Chief Justice Lyn Stuart fired him on Nov. 3. Stuart also fired Administrative Office of Courts Director Rich Hobson. Both men said Stuart said she could not work with them. A clerk in Stuart's office said there would be no comment on the firings. Hobson said Justice Jim Main was also at the meeting where he was fired and concurred in the decision. A message left for Main's office was not returned. Both Hobson and Johnson had worked under Moore during Moore's first term as chief justice. Johnson was Moore's senior staff attorney, while Hobson served as AOC director. Moore's first term ended in 2003 when Moore was removed from office by the Court of the Judiciary for refusing to follow a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building. After Moore was elected chief justice again in 2012, he hired Hobson as AOC director and Hobson hired Johnson as legal director. Hobson said he expected Moore to win his appeal. Last year, Johnson wrote about his opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in a letter to Gov. Robert Bentley's legal adviser. Johnson wrote that public officials, as "ministers of God," should take a stand against the ruling. Johnson later apologized to Bentley and said Moore reprimanded him for sending the letter. Johnson said he hopes the special Supreme Court will reverse the decision against Moore or at least modify the punishment. He said if the decision stands it could have a chilling effect on the independence of judges on issues other than gay marriage. "I hope they see this as something much broader than one judge's discipline," Johnson said. This story was updated at 9:37 a.m. to say that Rich Hobson said Justice Jim Main concurred in the decision to fire him. Judges' Motion Supporting Chief Justice Moore by Mike Cason on Scribd Are robots the cost-saving innovation that will help Australias farmers stay in business? For a change, Kevin Sanders has decided to let someone, or more accurately, something else count the apples in his orchard. This isnt the first time his idyllic farm down in Australias Yarra Valley has played host to robots and their handlers, so Sanders knows what to expect. Moving soundlessly down the corridors between trees, an electric robot will scan each plant, identifying individual fruit and flowers. An algorithm is then used to classify and count the apples in each image and provide a yield estimation, a critical figure for farmers that will inform Sanders plans to manage his orchards and the harvest. A fourth generation farmer, Sanders and his brothers have an interest in innovation that has created an unconventional operation. The winner of a Hugh McKay Future Farming Award in 2010, the Sanders farm is a particularly good fit for robotic field trials because of their unusual orchard design. The trees here grow flat on a V-shaped trellis making them 2D rather than 3D, where the branches are not allowed to grow in all directions. They are short and typically only a metre wide. These arent the dimensions people grew up with, says Sanders, adding however that it can still take hours and hours to count blossoms and fruit and carry out essential activities such as thinning out the branches. WATCH: The farmers growing vegetables with LED lights (23:54) Cost savings All this time adds up. Its not uncommon to end up paying anything between A$1,000 to A$7,000 (US$737-$5,168) a hectare in labour bills, Sanders tells Al Jazeera, explaining that in Australia hired labour typically accounts for the largest percentage of cash costs, making robotic solutions appealing, particularly as local farmers scramble to remain competitive in international markets. And there are other concerns. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australias farmers tend to work well beyond their retirement age. In 2011, almost a quarter were over 65 years old, compared with only 3 percent in other occupations. The figures also reveal that the growth of large-scale farming operations and increasing urbanisation, with more young people moving to cities to live and work, has had a detrimental impact on farmer numbers. An analysis of the 30 years leading up to 2011 revealed that the number of farmers declined by 106,200 (40 percent) thats an average of 294 fewer farmers each month. Salah Sukkarieh, director of research and innovation at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at the University of Sidney, thinks that the answer might lie in increasingly sophisticated agricultural robots. The past decade has seen widespread adoption of digital technologies such as sensors on Australian farms. But the real game-changer has been the leaps forward in computing power that have enabled farmers to receive and act upon this data in real time. Its an easy extension from there for robotics to kick in, because if you can sense in real time, then you can make decisions in real time and you can act in real time, says Sukkarieh. OPINION: Pasture cropping A regenerative solution from Down Under Sustainability ACFRs first forays in agricultural robotics began with the tree crop industries, where farmers wanted to switch from making decisions on a macro scale to a micro scale. They were interested in knowing how individual trees were performing, which they had never been able to do before, he says. The robotic system Sukkarieh and his team built for its Shrimp robot could collect LiDAR light detecting and ranging visual, thermal and hyperspectral data as well as track soil conductivity and natural gamma, demonstrating that there are many ways to view the humble tree. In 2016, the ACFRs SwagBot had its first field trial. Whirring madly, the robot was able to pull itself out of ditches, roll over branches and traverse stretches of water. Set to work herding cattle, SwagBot got them all moving in the right direction. Sukkarieh imagines that SwagBot, which can also be used to autonomously tow heavy loads such as feed into the field, could help people manage sprawling cattle farms even in very remote locations. Sukkarieh says the most natural next step will be to teach the robots to identify sick or injured animals based on variables such as their body temperature. Because pasture quality is key for high-quality milk, farmers would welcome soil samples and other measurements from grazing areas. WATCH: Pesticide Free Farming (9:02) ACFR also has drones, and it is possible to coordinate between ground and airborne robots. Currently, ACFR has been deploying its aerial technology to detect weed infestations on both large and small farms. Sustainability has been an important focus for the ACFR team. Their RIPPA robot has been put to work on several commercial vegetable farms across Australia, where it trundles along rows of vegetables, conducting autonomous, real-time soil sampling, weed identification and de-weeding, as well as dispensing water, pesticides and fertilisers according to the needs of individual plants. With RIPPA able to use satellite-based corrections to operate within 4cm precision, this has radical implications for irrigation management and agro-chemical use on the farm. Earlier in the year, the robot had its first endurance trial during which it completed nearly 22 hours of continuous operation, roving autonomously up and down spinach crop rows, using only battery and solar power. Its batteries finally died in the early of the morning, but when the sun rose, the machine recharged and was back in operation. Wider use in agriculture Anthony Kachenko, the R&D lead at Horticulture Innovation Australia, saw what RIPPA could do first hand. He believes Australian farmers who are forewarned can be forearmed. Being able to detect disease at the onset or even predict conditions where there is more risk of disease will help with disease management and potential savings in chemical use, says Kachenko. He adds that data from agricultural robots have already helped farmers identify hot spots where further attention is needed. This is just the beginning, as the next step is providing the remedial action to help the farmer farm smarter. However, there is still some way to go before such robots become common on farms. We havent reached the dexterity of what a human hand can achieve, Sukkarieh tells Al Jazeera, explaining that one of the big concerns remains cost. In agriculture a farmer typically doesnt have a lot of money, the margins are very, very small. WATCH: Japans Future Farms Running robots from smartphones Rohan Rainbow, managing director at Crop Protection Australia, says the new technologies might actually inspire a new generation of young farmers, who are enthusiastic about technological innovation, to return to the field. But the effect on labour and how the technology is implemented is still to be seen. As you become more automated, the way people interact in the field and with equipment changes, he says, and there seems to be a need to develop social license, if you will, for commercialisation of those technologies. In fact, the industrys big challenge might not be the technology itself but satisfying regulatory requirements of government safety and giving confidence to the insurance industry that the machines can be operated safely, says Rainbow. There is also the matter of enabling real-time communication and exchange of huge data packets through communication channels between farmers and the robots and between the machines themselves many farms are so isolated that access to bandwidth is an everyday challenge. Speaking at the Falling Walls Conference in Berlin, Sukkarieh told his audience that his teams goal was to have farmers be able to run all these systems directly from their smartphones. As the technology is widely used it will also become increasingly affordable, putting it within the reach of farmer cooperatives and government bodies even in developing countries. Think about 3D printing and how that is going to make these components much cheaper to manufacture, he said. Sukkarieh has also started to think about what 2050 will look like from a robotics perspective. The requirement for sustainable operations, labour shortages, 24/7 precision agriculture, minimising costs and minimising chemical use and energy will all shape this burgeoning field. Not too far in the future, Sukkarieh imagines the possibility of semi-automated or even fully autonomous farms. Grains, vegetables and fruits could arrive in supermarkets without a single human ever having touched them. The question is how do you feel about that? asks Sukkarieh. Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist. He has been researching and writing about Guantanamo since 2006, and has worked with the United Nations, WikiLeaks, Reprieve and Cageprisoners. He is the cofounder of the Close Guantanamo campaign, and authored the book The Guantanamo Files. When the United States President Barack Obama inherited the Guantanamo prison from George W Bush in January 2009, he promised to close it within a year. However, as he prepares to leave office nearly eight years later, the prison remains open, a failure that is not only a black mark on his legacy, but may also facilitate a return under Donald Trump to some of the excesses of the Bush years. Trump has spoken about keeping Guantanamo open, and adding to the prisons population, something that Obama repeatedly refused to do. In April, Trump said he was gonna load it up with some bad dudes, and in August, when asked if he might push for Americans accused of terrorism to be tried at Guantanamo, he said that would be fine. On the campaign trail, Trump also supported the use of torture. In November 2015, he defended waterboarding an ancient torture technique used by the CIA on high-value detainees but he will have an uphill struggle to reinstate the use of torture. On taking office in 2009, President Obama issued an executive order requiring all government employees, including the CIA, to conduct interrogations according to the Army Field Manual, which prohibits torture, although critics note that Appendix M of the manual allows isolation to be used, at the discretion of commanders, which could easily lead to the abuse of prisoners. In June 2015 the US Senate codified Obamas ban, passing an amendment to the annual defence policy bill that prevents any US government employee from using torture during the interrogation of prisoners. On torture, then, although Obama must primarily be criticised for preventing anyone responsible for torture under Bush from being held accountable in any way, his efforts to prevent torture generally constitute progress. On Guantanamo, however, Obamas record is much more worrying, from the point of view of what Trump might want to do. Why wasnt Guantanamo closed? To begin with, Congress never endorsed Obamas executive order calling for the prisons closure, and politicians have persistently passed legislation designed to thwart his efforts to release prisoners, and to prevent him from bringing any prisoners to the US mainland, thereby preventing the closure of the prison camp. Obama first met resistance in May 2009, when, in the absence of an actual plan for closing Guantanamo, Democrats joined with Republicans to vote 90 against 6 to strip $80m earmarked for the closure of Guantanamo from a bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. With a month to go before the end of the Obama presidency, it is troubling that Guantanamo remains open - but although we must worry what Trump has planned, it must also be acknowledged that Obama should have closed the prison as he promised by That November, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks would be tried in federal court in New York, but when faced with criticism, in particular from the right-wing organisation Keep America Safe, the administration gave up and opted for a military commission trial instead the much-criticised system set up under Bush, which is so full of holes that it is almost incapable of delivering anything resembling justice. By the autumn of 2010, further Congressional restrictions regarding the release of prisoners, which involved the defence secretary having to notify Congress of any proposed prisoner release, and to certify to politicians that it was safe to do so, led to a period of nearly three years in which only five men were released from Guantanamo, even though more than half of the 174 men held at the start of this period had been approved for release most by an inter-agency task force that Obama had set up in 2009 to review all the prisoners cases. OPINION: Guantanamo torture victims should be allowed UN visit Because of the restrictions, the only releases in this period were of men approved for release by the courts, or as a result of plea deals in the military commissions. Where did it all fail? Obama has persistently portrayed Congress as the sole obstacle to the fulfilment of his promise, even though allies, including Senator Carl Levin, the chair of the influential Senate Armed Services Committee, inserted a waiver into the legislation regarding Guantanamo to allow him to bypass Congress if he regarded it as being in the USs national security interests. This, however, was something he never did, because, to be blunt, he was unwilling to spend political capital doing so. For reasons that have never been adequately explained, Obama also failed to prevent the Justice Department challenging every habeas corpus petition submitted by prisoners as a result of their 2008 Supreme Court victory, even in the cases of men whose release had been approved by Obamas own task force. And even, in 2011, the appeals court in Washington DC disgracefully shut down habeas corpus for the prisoners for nakedly ideological reasons, absurdly requiring judges to treat any alleged evidence presented by the government as reliable. It was only after a prison-wide hunger strike in 2013 that Obama renewed his interest in releasing prisoners and working towards the closure of Guantanamo. REPORTERS NOTEBOOK: Fifteen years on, 9/11 trials still years away from starting Although Obama did release 178 prisoners and only 59 men are still held at Guantanamo, his failure to robustly tackle Congress on the issue throughout his presidency must be regarded as the main reason the prison will, almost certainly, remain open when he leaves office, allowing Trump to scrap Obamas executive order promising to close it, if he wishes, and possibly to add to its population. That, again, will be easier said than done, because the law currently prevents US citizens from being sent to Guantanamo, and if Trump wants to send new foreign prisoners to Guantanamo, from the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, for example, he will almost certainly find that the justification for holding prisoners at Guantanamo the Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed in the days after the 9/11 attacks will not be acceptable, as it only applies to al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces. With a month to go before the end of the Obama presidency, it is troubling that Guantanamo remains open. And although we must worry about what Trump has planned, it must also be acknowledged that Obama should have closed the prison as he promised he would and could have done had he shown more conviction. Andy Worthington is a freelance investigative journalist. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Civilians injured in air strikes are being treated free of charge in the neutral neighbouring country. Muscat, Oman Zainul Abideen was nearly killed by an air strike in Yemens Saada province earlier this year. Now, he is recovering in a hospital in neighbouring Oman, which has offered treatment to Yemenis injured in the war, now raging since March 2015, between the Houthi rebel group and an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia. The coalitions aim is to restore Yemens internationally recognised government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is currently in exile. The rebels control much of the north of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Im not angry, 23-year-old Abideen said of his injuries in a soft voice. I just want to go back to Yemen; study further; marry and raise children. READ MORE: Yemens children struggle to study amid war Abideen recalled the strike last May, which brought down homes and sent clouds of dust everywhere. When I opened my eyes, I saw villagers around me. I fainted. He injured his neck, back and hands in the strike, which was aimed at Houthi rebel positions in Saada province, a stronghold of the group. The business student will not be able to walk again. The sustained efforts of physiotherapists in Oman have guaranteed continued use of his hands, although he cannot feel his fingers. Oman has been lauded by the United Nations and the European Union for its assistance to those affected by the conflict. The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe and claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, according to UN estimates . Although spokespeople for the Saudi-led coalition often deny targeting civilians, they recently acknowledged wrongly attacking a funeral in Yemen, in an attack that killed more than 140 people. Sleeping opposite to Abideens bed is Hussain, a young man in his twenties from the small city of Amran in west-central Yemen who was injured when shrapnel pierced his jaw. His cheeks are stitched up, and a cotton ball soaked in medicine remains stuffed in his mouth. Abideens brother Moammar Ali said there was no one to take care of Hussain, but that local Omanis regularly come to give fruit and juice to the patients. We didnt get this kind of treatment in Sanaa, Ali said. READ MORE: Yemens children struggle to study amid war Another Yemeni patient, Abdul Khaliq Sufaan, 29, lay on a bed switching between WhatsApp and Facebook on his phone. The last thing I remember was seeing a jet above the ground. The next day, I saw myself in a local hospital, he said. Sufaan, who was treated for a leg injury, said the coalition forces usually drop sound bombs to disperse civilians before launching attacks against the rebels. But that day, there was no warning. The Yemen war divided the Arab world, but Oman succeeded in remaining neutral. by Hasan Zaid, the president of Yemen's Al-Haq party He said he was overwhelmed by the magnanimity of the Omanis. Sometimes, I feel its embarrassing, he said. Volunteers and locals have been very helpful. They buy us fruits, tea, juices and even recharge our mobile phones so that we remain connected with our families back home. Who does that? Only your own. In the next ward, Abdullah, father of 11-year-old named Zahir, said he wondered why civilians are being forced to pay such a huge price in the conflict. I thought he died, said Abdullah, describing the bomb attack in his village that almost sliced off Zahirs right hand. I saw his guts coming out of the perforated abdomen on his injured thigh. After a month of treatment at a local hospital in Saada province, Abdullah was able to transport his son to Oman. My son did not speak or move for 12 days after the explosion, but I did not lose hope. Thank God doctors in Oman offered the best treatment, said Abdullah. As the fighting in Yemen continues, observers say the growing humanitarian crisis in the country could become increasingly challenging for Oman. Omans significant humanitarian role has not gone unnoticed among Yemenis from all sides, and will stand the Sultanate in good stead in terms of its future relations with Yemen, political analyst Leon T Goldsmith told Al Jazeera. However, Goldsmith who taught political science at Muscats Sultan Qaboos University until recently said the financial burden of providing medical assistance could become much more onerous if the conflict escalates. The UN may be asked to assist Oman in this regard, as part of negotiations, he said. The office of Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, declined to comment on Omans role in the conflict, or to offer figures on the number of patients being treated in Omani hospitals. Unofficially, however, thousands of Yemenis have been treated in Oman and then returned. Health ministry sources said that two weeks ago, some 113 patients injured by Saudi-led coalition air strikes were given medical care in Oman. On October 20, 130 more patients reached Oman for medical help, the sources added. One Yemeni politician, who was recently in Oman for peace talks, told Al Jazeera that Oman keeps its role silent, and thats the reason why they are accepted by all Yemeni factions. Hasan Zaid, the president of Yemens al-Haq party, said: The Yemen war divided the Arab world, but Oman succeeded in remaining neutral. Other observers say Oman is the only Arab country that the Houthi rebels trust. This trust [that] Yemen factions, including Houthis, have for Oman did not come instantly, but rather with experience and by time. Yemeni factions are convinced that Oman seeks to help end the war in neighbouring Yemen and they let their actions speak for their intentions, Hakim Almasmari, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Yemen Post newspaper, told Al Jazeera. If not for Oman, there would be no hope to end the current Yemen war. Although Oman is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, it also maintains cordial relations with Iran and the Houthis. Oman, the only GCC country not participating in the Saudi-led coalition, sees itself as a regional mediator bound to neutrality. We couldnt have participated in this coalition. Its in our constitution. We dont send troops or artillery anywhere, unless requested by the United Nations, said a senior member of the Shura council, the lower house of the Council of Oman, who wished to remain anonymous. Meanwhile, back in the hospital, Abdullah shared news from home, announcing that his wife had given birth to their fourth child. Its a girl, he said. Isnt it time to rejoice? But look where I am. Away from home, children and wife. Tens of thousands of Syrians still waiting to leave from east Aleppo as part of rebels deal with government. Thousands of civilians and rebels are still waiting to leave the last remaining rebel-held pockets of eastern Aleppo under an evacuation deal that will allow Syrias government to take full control of the city after years of fighting. The operation launched on Thursday and is expected to take several days. Zouhir Al Shimale, a journalist in eastern Aleppo, said the evacuation was moving at a snails pace. Its supposed to finish today or tomorrow, but its moving very slow, he told Al Jazeera on Friday morning. People were outside in the street overnight, he said, adding that the temperature had dipped below zero degrees celsius in the city. Thousands are still waiting out here. US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that action is needed to prevent a potential massacre. The first convoys left Aleppo carrying wounded civilians, fighters and their families, with civilians mostly leaving on buses and ambulances. The Russian defence ministry said on Friday morning that more than 6,000 people, including 3,000 rebels, had left east Aleppo in the last 24 hours. OPINION: Five years on, we must seize sliver of hope for Syria The withdrawal began a month to the day after Syrian government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, and will hand the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad his biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. The city, Syrias second largest city and once a key cultural and economic hub, has been divided between government forces and rebels since 2012. In a video message to Syrians, Assad said the liberation of Aleppo was history in the making. Still trapped Kerry said what had already happened in the city was unconscionable but warned over the fate of tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo. And the last thing anybody wants to see is that that small area turns into another Srebrenica, he said, referring to the 1995 Bosnian war massacre. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday that around 50,000 people were still trapped, including 40,000 civilians. The evacuations were announced on Thursday, after an initial plan for civilians and fighters to leave rebel-held parts of the city collapsed the previous day amid renewed clashes. READ MORE: After Aleppo, what happens to Syrias besieged towns? They began with a convoy of ambulances and buses crossing into a government-held district in southern Aleppo in the afternoon. A first evacuation attempt on Wednesday fell apart, with artillery exchanges and resumed air strikes rocking the city until the early hours of Thursday. But the agreement, brokered by Assads ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey, was revived following fresh talks. Mass depopulation The defence ministry in Moscow said Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of the rebels leaving the city. The head of the UN-backed humanitarian task force for Syria, Jan Egeland, said in Geneva that most of those evacuated from Aleppo would head to opposition stronghold Idlib, in Syrias northwest. READ MORE: Syrias civil war explained De Mistura however warned that Idlib will become the next Aleppo if a ceasefire and political agreement for Syria is not found. AlHakam Shaar, a research fellow at the Budapest-based Aleppo Project, an initiative that tracks the destruction in the historic city, described the deal as the final phase of a mass depopulation. Any sustainable peace agreement in Syria will have to guarantee free return for the displaced, females and males, along with their civil society formations, he told Al Jazeera. A return to centralised, authoritarian governance under the Syrian government is likely to again sideline the population that was very marginalised before 2011. Evacuation suspended after group leaving east Aleppo was stopped and attacked before being sent back, witnesses say. Four people who were part of a convoy evacuating the besieged districts of east Aleppo were killed by Syrian government forces, witnesses told Al Jazeera, before the agreement to evacuate tens of thousands of fighters and civilians was suspended. Two men, who were part of the group, also said the entire convoy was briefly detained and told Al Jazeeras Amro Halabi, reporting from east Aleppo, that security forces opened fire on evacuees before forcing them to return to the war-torn city. They forced us out of the vehicles, forced us to lay flat on the ground, stripped us of our clothes and then we heard gunfire, one of the men said. When we looked up, we noticed three or four people were killed. We're around 1000 they took us after we reached regime's areas,handcuffs us,killed 4 & told us that it's pay back then we came back#Aleppo Zouhir Al-Shimale (@ZouhirAlShimale) December 16, 2016 Following the incident, the Syrian government suspended the evacuation that began on Thursday as part of a ceasefire deal to move civilians to rebel-held Idlib province. The government also accused rebels of trying to smuggle out prisoners and heavy weapons. More than 40 buses and ambulances had evacuated almost 3,000 people from east Aleppo to neighbouring Idlib province on Thursday. At the time of the deals suspension, the government-run SANA news agency reported that more than 8,000 residents of eastern Aleppo, among them fighters, had been evacuated. Tens of thousands of people were still trapped inside east Aleppo and were too scared to leave their besieged districts, Al Jazeeras Halabi said. Now the people are afraid and they are running away from the meeting point where they were supposed to gather in order to take the buses out of the besieged east Aleppo districts, they are in a state of horror and shock, he said. READ MORE: Syrias Civil War Explained Zouhir al Shimale, an independent journalist in east Aleppo, was part of the convoy that was held up. He told Al Jazeera that in addition to being beaten, the civilians were also robbed of cash before being sent back. They took us after we reached regime areas, handcuffed us, killed four, and told us its payback. Then we came back, he said on Twitter. In another tweet, he said militias robbed evacuees of all their money before blocking them. Al Jazeeras Charles Stratford, reporting from the city of Antakya in neighbouring Turkey, said that he received reports that Iranian militiamen were the ones who blocked the convoy. They blocked this convoy of around 20 vehicles from leaving east Aleppo. Another witness said those militias opened fire, took some men off the buses and stripped search them. He also described the situation in east Aleppo as desperate, before adding a lot of the residents were scared to come out of their houses, they are very scared about moving independently into government-controlled areas. Russia, which backs the Syrian government, denied the convoy was stopped. The evacuation began a month to the day after Syrian government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, and will hand the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad his biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. On Friday, US President Barack Obama warned Assad that he would not be able to slaughter his way to legitimacy and also put responsibility on the Syrian regimes Iranian and Russian backers for the civilian deaths in Aleppo. The world, as we speak, is united in horror at the savage assault by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian regime on the city of Aleppo, said Obama. This blood and these atrocities are on their hands. Outgoing UN chief Ban Ki-moon called Aleppo a synonym for hell, before adding that he told the Security Council we have collectively failed the people of Syria. Aleppo, Syrias second largest city and once a key cultural and economic hub, has been divided between government forces and rebels since 2012. In a video message to Syrians, Assad said the liberation of Aleppo was history in the making. But Pawel Krzysiek, communications chief of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said there was fear, desperation and anxiety on the streets. People are waiting with children and elders, said Krzysiek from Aleppo. Its really cold here. They are on the streets burning plastic to keep warm. I can see hundreds, if not thousands, waiting to be evacuated. Pakistan says firing on school van across the Line of Control left the driver dead and at least eight children wounded. A Pakistani school bus driver was killed and several children were wounded in Indian firing along the de facto Kashmir border, Pakistan said. The incident occurred at Mohra village in the Nakyal sector of Pakistani-administered Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC) where officials said shelling by Indian troops was continuing. A shell fired by Indian troops hit a school van at LoC in Nakyal sector. The driver has been martyred and eight children wounded, Zeeshan Haider, a senior government official told AFP news agency. There was no immediate reaction from India. Haider said the van was carrying pupils from a private school and the children, aged between 10 and 15 years, were taken to hospital amid heavy shelling. Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, a doctor in Nakyal hospital, told AFP that the children had shrapnel injuries but their condition was not life threatening. Sardar Iftekhar, a police station house officer in Nakyal, confirmed the incident and casualties and told AFP that the wounded children included five girls and three boys. The firing was a violation of a 2003 ceasefire, the Pakistani armys media wing said in a statement. Pakistani troops effectively responded and targeted Indian posts from where fire was coming, said the statement. The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India and claimed in entirety by both. The two countries have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 over Kashmir. Tension has risen in the region since a September 18 attack on an Indian army basein Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 18 soldiers, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based separatists. IN PICTURES: Blind in Kashmir with 100 pellets lodged in his head Firing across the LoC by both sides has increased since then, with dozens killed and wounded and each side blaming the other. Months of tension between India and Pakistan have erupted into shelling and gunfire across the disputed Kashmir frontier, claiming the lives of dozens of people, including civilians. In November, at least nine people were killed and seven others wounded in cross-border fire that hit a passenger bus in the village of Nagdar in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. An Indian crackdown on protests in its part of Kashmir has killed at least 80 civilians since the July killing of a popular separatist leader in a operation by Indian security forces. Hundreds of the injured in Kashmir have been blinded and maimed, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotgun pellets at rock-throwing protesters. Curfews, communication blackouts, crackdowns and strikes have largely paralysed daily life. About 40 gunmen in pick-up trucks and motorbikes storm military position near Mali border, killing a dozen troops. A dozen soldiers were killed in northern Burkina Faso when unidentified gunmen attacked a military post near the border with Mali, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said while calling the assailants forces of evil. He said those killed were members of the armys special anti-terrorist group. This attack demonstrates that the fight against terrorism will be without respite and also underscores the necessary decisions that must be taken to give confidence and vitality to our army, Kabore said. Two more men were missing after about 40 armed men, riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes, attacked the Nassoumbou base on Friday morning, Mohamed Dah, commissioner of Soum province, told AFP news agency. They [the attackers] were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers, Dah said. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. READ MORE: Burkina Faso Ghost of Africas Che Guevara The army said in a statement it had sent reinforcements. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong counterterrorism battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops during the unrest in northern Mali. Attacks in Burkina Faso were rare before a major strike by al-Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital Ouagadougou killed 29 people in January. In September, a newly formed armed group, led by a fighter formerly loyal to Algerias Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claimed to have attacked a military position in Burkina Faso. And unidentified gunmen also killed three soldiers and two civilians in October. President-elect says David Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, would benefit the US-Israel special relationship. US President-elect Donald Trump will nominate David Friedman, a right-wing lawyer known for his staunch support for Israel, as US ambassador to Israel. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, is a supporter of Israels Jewish-only settlements which are considered illegal under international law in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. More than 530,000 Israelis live in settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory, according to the Israeli rights group BTselem. Thursdays announcement raised alarm when Friedman said he looked forward to working from the US embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem, the eastern part of which has been occupied by Israeli forces in contravention of international law since 1967. The US embassy is at present located in Tel Aviv. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority hopes the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank will include East Jerusalem as its capital, while most European and Arab countries reject Israels claim to sovereignty in the city. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Trump said Friedman would maintain the special relationship between the US and Israel. OPINION: How impunity defines Israel and victimises Palestinians The statement does not detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trumps advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. He has made that promise, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters on Thursday. I can guarantee you, just generally, hes a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly. One option Trumps allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing US consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trumps advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. It is unclear how far those discussions have advanced, or whether Trump himself has been briefed on the proposal. Trumps transition team did not respond to questions about the matter. Bill Clinton and George W Bush, both former US presidents, promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but backed away from the idea once in office. Nir Barkat, the mayor of the Israeli-administered Jerusalem municipality, told the Associated Press news agency he has been in touch with Trumps staff about the embassy issue. Between 2009 and 2014, settlements were expanded by at least 23 percent. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels prime minister, has vowed to continue settlement expansion. In March 2015, the day before Israelis re-elected him, Netanyahu promised to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state under his watch. Campaign launched to treat patients with disease that affects poor communities where sanitation levels are low. Transmitted through mosquitoes, more than three million people in Kenya are at risk of a disease that some believe is the result of witchcraft. Elephantiasis affects mostly poor communities where sanitation levels are low and mosquito breeding is rampant. After an initial inadequate response, the government has now launched a huge campaign to tackle neglected tropical diseases in coastal areas. I used to be a fisherman but I can no longer do that. To earn a living I have to do menial labour and its very difficult, Katoi Kaviha told Al Jazeera in Marikibuni village. The disease has enlarged Kavihas feet to such an extent that he is now unable to walk. Sultani Matendechero, a doctor with the Neglected Tropical Diseases Unit, said: Some of them associate their condition with witchcraft, they associate their conditions with lifestyle. Mostly, these are the wrong associations. He added that many victims were also unaware that there are remedies for the disease. Medicine is being properly distributed for the first time this year under a multimillion-dollar campaign. Putin and Abe agree to start economic cooperation but do not find common ground on dispute over four islands. Russian President Vladimir Putin headed home from Tokyo with promises of economic cooperation, but did not indicate that there was a possibility of handing back the four islands which were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945. Putin and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wrapped up two days of talks on Thursday with numerous economic deals but no big breakthrough on a territorial row. Rather, the two leaders agreed to launch talks on joint economic activities on the disputed islands, the two sides said in a joint statement. Putin said that the islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, should be seen not as a point of contention but a place that brings Japan and Russia together. The Soviet Union seized four islands off Japans northern coast in 1945 in the closing days of the war, expelling 17,000 residents to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japans four main islands. There must be an end to this historic ping-pong, said Putin. The fundamental interests of Russia and Japan require a long-term deal. The Japanese prime minister said the effort for getting the islands back would continue despite the difficult path ahead. Concluding a peace treaty that has not been concluded in more than 70 years is not easy, Abe said. But we cannot resolve this issue only by asserting the correctness of each others claims. Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, and Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time. Few believe Putin is likely to hand the islands back, not least because of their strategic value sitting astride the entrance to the Sea of Okhotsk. There are security issues, Putin said. We have two naval bases in Vladivostok, from where our ships go out to the Pacific. Wed like the Japanese side to take all these concerns into account. Russian officials said the two sides had signed a total of 80 documents, including 68 on commercial matters, during Putins visit, including private-sector deals. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund signed an agreement to set up a $1bn investment fund to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. READ MORE: The Kurils A difficult life on the disputed islands Despite strong pressure from the Abe administration, companies remain wary of the risk of doing business in Russia, said a Japanese official involved in summit preparations. Hence many of the agreements being announced are vague memorandums of understanding, he said. As the two leaders held their second round of talks, right-wing activists in trucks mounted with loudspeakers circled the streets not far from the prime ministers office, blaring return the islands and Putin go home. Japanese opposition politicians were quick to criticise the talks. How is this economic cooperation and these joint economic activities going to lead to a settlement of the islands issue? said Ren Ho, head of the main opposition Democratic Party. There are still concerns that economic cooperation will not help Japan. Also, no concrete way to make any progress on the islands was found and that is really bad, she added in a statement. Michel Temer became president by tearing up the Brazilian constitution, says former President Dilma Rousseff. After a lengthy process that took nine months, Brazil impeached its first female president, Dilma Rousseff. The impeachment proceedings, launched owing to accusations of fiscal peddling, followed revelations of a massive corruption scheme at state-owned energy giant Petrobras. Before assuming the presidency, Rousseff was chairman of Petrobras, Brazils biggest company, between 2003 and 2010. When asked by UpFront host Mehdi Hasan on how the sprawling kickback scandal happened on her watch, Rousseff maintains she had no way of knowing. Not all members of the board of directors were aware that those Petrobras directors had mechanisms of corruption and were illicitly lining their pockets, says Rousseff. None of the three external independent audits detected anything. Nor did the internal audit. Nor did any governmental inspection body detect anything. Rousseff, who was removed from power in August after Brazils senate found her guilty of fiscal pedalling by breaking budgetary laws to disguise a deficit in public accounts, dismisses the grounds for her impeachment and insists she was the victim of a parliamentary coup. The parliament allied itself with segments of the judiciary system and launched a coup detat, removing a president from office, with completely unsubstantiated allegations, says Rousseff. She goes on to call Brazils current president, Michel Temer formerly her vice president an illegitimate president and a traitor who came to power by tearing up the Brazilian constitution. He didnt betray me as the person Dilma Rousseff, he rather betrayed the President of the Republic, he betrayed an institution, Rousseff says of Temer. Furthermore, he betrayed a campaign because we were elected with a programme, and this programme did not anticipate that he would freeze spending on education and healthcare for the next 20 years, she says, referring to the extreme austerity measures passed by Temers government. In a special sit-down interview with UpFront, Brazils former president, Dilma Rousseff, talks to Mehdi Hasan about her presidency, impeachment and legacy. Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook. Recruiting from competitors can be hard to pull off, and it wont create more equity in the industry. Some of the Best Banks to Work For are finding ways to develop, support and promote women who are already on the payroll. Post-Donald Trump's landslide electoral victory, the media are in overdrive talking about "fake news." What they mean by fake news is anything favorable to Donald Trump not blatantly false news stories like the Benghazi video, "Hands up don't shoot," "I can't breathe," rape at the University of Virginia, Duke lacrosse team, and so on. The latest story is that Russia hacked the U.S. presidential election, handing the win to Mr. Trump. The N.Y. Times is all over the story with a headline, "How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the US." The only thing that has been hacked is honest journalism and reporting. Is anyone else getting hacked off over this continued nonsensical narrative? What exactly is hacking? The definition is "[t]he practice of modifying or altering computer software and hardware to accomplish a goal that is considered to be outside of the creator's original objective." So how was the election hacked? What specifically did the Russians do, and where is the proof? And where is any evidence that such hacking changed the election outcome? Foreign governments hacking each other is nothing new. Several years ago, the Russians hacked the White House, but it wasn't news, fake or otherwise, as it didn't serve the media's agenda. Even election interference is has precedence. Just ask President Obama, who spent U.S. taxpayer dollars trying to influence the Israeli election. Any media outrage? Hardly even mentioned. An election can be hacked only by subverting the voting process or the tallying of the votes. A paper ballot would be tough to hack, short of putting a gun to the voter's head or manually changing his written vote. Machines tallying and reporting the votes could theoretically be hacked, but where is the evidence? Accusations of electoral fraud are nothing new. They surfaced after Mitt Romney's loss in 2012, but, not surprisingly, the media showed no curiosity or interest in pursuing the story. If anything, the 2016 results are more likely to have been hacked by the Democrats than the Republicans. Voting machines linked to George Soros were used in 16 states. But that's not the narrative, and the story will therefore be ignored. The Obama administration put the issue to rest a few weeks ago by reassuring America that the election results "accurately reflect the will of the American people." Yet the onslaught of fake news persists. Hillary Clinton lost the election simply because voters preferred Donald Trump over her Trump's vision, his optimism, his likeability, all of which worked against Mrs. Clinton. Nearly 70 percent of Americans believed that the country was heading in the wrong direction. Mrs. Clinton was more of the same, while Trump was the opposite direction. That's not hacking, unless you believe that the election is a response to the past eight years of Obama's epic hack of American greatness and exceptional nature. The real rigging of this election was by the Democratic Party establishment against Bernie Sanders in favor of Hillary Clinton via superdelegates and leaked debate questions. Was that the Russians, too? These revelations came via WikiLeaks and included a true hack not of the election, but of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email account. He fell for a phishing scam, which snagged his email password. It's the same type of scam most of us receive daily in our email inboxes. And then there was Anthony Weiner with a laptop full of damaging emails. Is Anthony part of Putin's scheming? All of these leaked emails didn't change the election results. Instead, they only embarrassed Podesta, his candidate, and his political party. Podesta's emails simply confirmed what most everyone already knew or suspected about Crooked Hillary. Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks denied that the Russian government was behind the leaked emails. Rather, it was an insider perhaps a disaffected Democrat campaign operative. Meanwhile, we are treated to a daily barrage from big media claiming that the election was hacked, based on anonymous sources and thirdhand accounts. Even the myriad U.S. intelligence agencies disagree over who did what. Most of the country is moving forward after a long and contentious 18-month election cycle exactly what President Obama and Mrs. Clinton told the nation to do the day after the election. Trump is plowing ahead like a bulldozer, filling his cabinet, announcing his agenda, holding court with former political foes. The Democrats and their media outlets instead want to move backward, blaming Clinton's predictable election loss on phantom Russian spies and chicanery rather than voters' rejection of their candidate. The Democrats remain in denial over the election and the fact that this year, American voters handed Mrs. Clinton's famous "reset button" to Donald Trump. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. Liberals are all a twitter because the Russians supposedly interfered in the last election. Even if we ignore the fact that the intelligence community is hardly of one opinion on this, and the fact that the voices the liberals are citing admit that there is no evidence that the Russian government, as opposed to hackers in Russia, are at fault, the whole liberal argument is both absurd and hypocritical. What is the interference that the liberals are lamenting? Its nothing more than the fact that unethical actions and/or embarrassing facts that Democrats were trying to hide were revealed. The supposed interference didnt contain any lies nor did it involve actually changing vote tallies -- unlike the impact of illegals voting. Instead the interference that liberals are so heatedly attacking consisted of informing voters of facts, such as the coordination between the media and the Democrat party, that were concealed by the media. Essentially the interference that the liberals are so distraught about consisted of giving the American voter more facts on which to decide how to vote. Liberals are saying it was interference for whoever did the hacking to reduce the ignorance of voters. Its not surprising that liberals want an ignorant electorate; thats why the liberal media constantly lies and hides the truth. Like cockroaches, Democrats flee the light of truth. Liberals know that their agenda can never survive a close inspection by the voters because the voters dont want to have their lives run by the bicoastal elites. Liberals never bother to explain why American voters having more facts is a bad thing. They certainly thought that the last-minute reveal of a tape of Trump talking in a misogynistic way was a good thing. But if seeing Trumps dirty laundry is good why is seeing Hillarys bad? Is it interference when the media digs up dirt on Republicans? Or are the liberals going to argue that so long as the people involved are U.S. citizens -- or possibly illegals -- its okay to dig up dirt? That would seem to contradict their open borders policy. Its time to point out that if the media had done their jobs there would have been no value to the WikiLeaks information. It was only because the media censored anything that was not supportive to the Democrat narrative that the WikiLeaks documents had such an impact on the campaign. The simple reality is that liberals have no problem with hacking that hurts Republicans. Back in 1996 Democratic operatives illegally recorded a cell phone conversation involving key Republican leaders. Democrats were supportive of that illegally obtained conversation being made public. Similarly, liberals have been enthusiastically supportive of the New York Times revealing, on multiple occasions, highly classified government programs. Liberals were also big fans of Snowdens revealing secrets that put American lives at risk. Essentially, the liberals rule has been that anything secret that is revealed is good as long as it doesnt hurt the Democratic party. This shows that the liberals first loyalty is to their party, not to their country. Hurting American security is fine, but hurting Democrats chances of being elected is anathema. Only a liberal could argue that the Russians revealing secrets that hurt Hillary is interference but Obama encouraging illegals -- i.e. foreigners -- to vote is not. A sane person would think that non-citizens voting is a real example of foreign interference, yet liberals not only support that type of voter fraud -- by issuing drivers licenses to illegals, for example -- but they condemn anyone who is bothered by it. Sadly, some conservatives are buying into the big liberal lie. Thats because those conservatives are familiar with the Russians' disinformation campaigns where lies are spread -- such as that the CIA developed AIDS to kill off blacks. Clearly, if the Russians had released lies, bribed politicians, provided campaign funds, or hacked vote counts then there would be a basis to be concerned about interference, but none of those things happened. We know that the supposedly interfering leaks are accurate and not lies. There is no evidence that the Russians bribed Trump -- unlike the massive evidence that Clinton was bribed via her husbands speaking fees or contributions to the Clinton Foundation. There is no indication that the Russians illegally funded Trump -- in contrast to illegal foreign donations to the Clinton campaign and the recent recount showed that there is no evidence that the Russians hacked the vote counts. Hence there is no indication that whoever leaked the data did anything that a reasonable person would consider to be interference. We need to avoid letting the Democrats self-serving desire to censor any news that is bad for their party to define the narrative about interference. Whoever was behind the leaks was simply doing the job the media refused to do, which cant be considered interference. When someone brings up the shibboleth of Russian interference, ask them how helping the American people know the truth is interference, but illegals voting and illegal foreign contributions to Hillary are not. You can read more of toms rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious and feel free to follow him on Twitter On November 8, billionaire music collectives received a wake-up call: Donald Trump is headed to Washington. A decisive White House victory music collectives and lobbyists had not anticipated now promises to shake up the industry. By all media accounts, Hillary Clinton was the favored presidential nominee and was projected to win by a large margin, if not a landslide. The music lobby, naturally fearing Trump's free-market instincts, backed Clinton not only vocally, but monetarily. There was no confusion over whom music collectives wanted as president, and they were willing to pay dividends to ensure that the election swung in their direction to meet their regulatory goals. Remember the free concerts at rallies in the closing days of the campaign? The two main performing rights organizations (PROs) in the industry are the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI). These special interest groups collectively represent over one million songwriters, composers, and music publishers and control the rights to approximately 90 percent of all musical compositions. Originally formed to protect music artists and producers by facilitating licensing deals between them and entities that play their music for the public, such as radio stations and restaurants, ASCAP and BMI have swiftly mutated into a government-recognized (and government-created) monopoly. In an effort to curb the stifling intellectual property laws in the anti-free-market music industry, the federal government in 1941 imposed antitrust consent decrees on ASCAP and BMI, which allow the companies to continue operating as monopolists while also protecting consumers from fixed monopoly pricing. Essentially, the antitrust consent decrees established a system that allowed the PROs to sell the songs in bulk at a fixed rate to businesses as opposed to businesses working directly with the millions of individual copyright holders to any given song while also ensuring that each individual owner of the song gets paid a fair and equitable amount. It is important to note that there can be many copyright owners to each song, and most businesses need to clear the rights to millions of works to ensure that they do not get sued for copyright infringement. Reversing this system of "full work" licensing would unleash havoc on both the music industry and millions of businesses across America that legally purchase music rights through ASCAP and BMI. For example, before the consent decrees were put into place, ASCAP and its largest publishers began leveraging its market share, holding back music licenses to raise costs. One major publisher doubled its licensing fees, not because it improved its product, but because it threatened to sue. The courts stepped in and shut down this anti-competitive behavior, and DoJ even fined ASCAP for doing so earlier this year. Of course, fractional licensing also creates litigation nightmares as well. Many songs have multiple copyright owners and some don't sprout up until after the fact. This will cause restaurants and bars to be on the losing end of legal disputes for issues that are out of their control. And, the lack of transparency in the system opens the door to copyright trolls, who can shake businesses down for big paydays under the threat of litigation. Despite booming revenues in excess of a billion dollars each for ASCAP and BMI, the PROs are not content and have waged a full-blown lobbying campaign to scale back the restrictions in the consent decrees. ASCAP and BMI want to change the consent decrees and move to "fractional licensing," which would allow BMI and ASCAP to increase the prices they charge to those who license music, while effectively forcing businesses to negotiate licenses for millions of works many times over. This process would be not only inefficient, but impossible. Quite simply stated, if the PROs were to succeed, this would affect everyone from radio stations to restaurants to online music streaming services. Music costs would dramatically increase, limiting many businesses from purchasing a wide array of songs and limiting consumer choice. The shift to fractional licensing would intensify market power and threaten millions of businesses with heightened exposure to infringement lawsuits. This is precisely the reason the Department of Justice imposed the antitrust consent decrees over 75 years ago: to protect the American consumer. "Fractional licensing" is anti-competitive and monopolistic in the truest form of the words. Over the past summer, and after a two-year review of the consent decrees governing the PROs, the Justice Department struck down the idea of "fractional licensing" and preserved the status quo for millions of businesses across the country. Not willing to back down from the fight, in September, the music lobby achieved one small and fleeting victory. They successfully convinced a federal judge in the state of New York to overturn the Justice Department's ruling on "fractional licensing" during a preliminary conference that entertained little testimony. Since it runs counter to consumers' interests and all legal precedent all the way up to the Supreme Court the Justice Department appealed the judge's decision less than two months later. The music industry's lobby has many reasons to fear President-Elect Trump. While Trump has not yet made a public stance on this antitrust matter, he is a staunch supporter of markets that benefit the American consumer. He is ready to curb the monopolistic practices and advances from lobbyists and special interest groups. Trump wants to "drain the swamp," not retain it. Our country needs a president again who will fight to represent the best interests of small businesses and the American people. This president-elect will trump the monopolistic predators to ensure that fair prices are maintained in the music industry. Revised The Democrats, specifically Harry Reid, have lost all sense of decency and proportion regarding the release of John Podesta's and the DNC's emails by WikiLeaks. They are trying to transform the hacking and release of these emails, which occurred because of the stupidity of Podesta, to an invasion by the Russians that caused the loss of Hillary Clinton's expected coronation to the Presidency. Worse, Reid assumes that the Russians hacked Podesta's emails and says this is the same as the attack on September 11, 2001. Harry Reid said, "I think this is as big a deal as Watergate, 9/11" We all know that Harry is a rabid partisan hack who will say and do anything to win. But this is inexcusable and an insult to the 3,000 Americans killed by Muslim terrorists on September 11 and their families. Will any Democrats disavow and condemn Reid's remarks? No, because Harry, as the retiring minority leader, is speaking for the Democratic Party, which includes the MSM. He is the designated hitter because he is retiring and has nothing to lose. The MSM, Obama, Hillary, Chuckie Schumer, and the rest of the Democrats have failed to condemn Reid. Reid was the attack dog in 2012 when he lied that Mitt Romney had not paid his income taxes for ten years. Recently he bragged that he lied because it helped Obama win, saying, "They can call it whatever they want. Romney didn't win, did he?" The Democrats and their cheerleaders in the MSM cannot accept that the voters rejected Hillary and elected Trump. So they are campaigning to discredit the election of Trump and weaken his presidency. It started with Jill Stein's recounts, supported by Hillary, which failed. Now the Democrat narrative is that Hillary won the popular vote and the Russians interfered with the election to help Trump, which are two contradictory positions. The Democrats and MSM do not explain how Hillary won the popular vote if the Russians interfered with the election to help Trump. Maybe those crafty Russians affected only the vote in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin? The Democrat argument that the Russians acted to help Trump is pure speculation without any credible evidence. FBI director Comey and National Intelligence director James Clapper disagree with the opinion of CIA head John Brennan, who, according to Comey, takes his orders from Obama. The Democrats and MSM do not deny the accuracy of the comments in the leaked emails. They are upset that the voters were informed about Hillary's lies and corruption and Obama's lies. Thus, the Democrats are putting out the story that the Russians hacked and released the emails to discredit the emails by attacking the messenger, the Russians. Harry Reid now compares the hacking to 9/11 as part of this campaign. Harry Reid has sunk to a new low that even his critics did not foresee. Have you no shame, Harry? Ah, it puts a smile on my face and a bounce in my step to see Hillarys entourage bring out the long knives and cut up Huma. Then I read about Anthonys newest woes, and my smile turns into a grin. Compounding Weiners financial woes, in early December, the New York City Campaign Finance Board fined him more than $65,000 for a variety of infractions related to his mayoral campaign. Weiner apparently spent $600 of his campaign funds on televisions, another $1,539 on his personal dry-cleaning and cell-phone service, and more than $115,000 for a group of expenditures after the campaign was over. Weiner was also ordered to repay some $195,000 in matching campaign funds. Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, is reportedly investigating Weiners latest round of sexting, along with the F.B.I. and the New York City police. On top of all that, he had to cut short his $1,000/day rehab for sex addiction. Now, if the prosecutors can flip him on Emailgate Id hoist an eggnog to that. Finally, we learn that [o]n December 15, Clinton [had] a big party in Manhattan at the Plaza Hotel, once owned by Trump, for her campaign donors, as a sort of thank-you and keep-in-touch farewell. That will cost $100,000, paid for with excess campaign funds. What a kind, thoughtful, sensitive gesture to keep in touch. But William D. Cohan, the Vanity Fair journalist who wrote the piece, left out a word: the party is being held for her large campaign donors. Surely the Plaza Hotel does not have enough room for all those small donors we were lectured about you know, the evidence of Hillarys vast grassroots appeal. For the first time in July, more than half of her fundraising haul came in checks under $200. Those little people should feel delighted and proud to learn that their contribution made the night at the Plaza possible. Henry Percy is the nom de guerre of a writer in Arizona. He may be reached at saler.50d[at]gmail.com. Much has been said, and rightly so, about the drinking water in Flint, Michigan. But will someone please check to see whats been put in the water at One Franklin Square in Washington, D.C.? In case you havent guessed, thats the headquarters of the illustrious Washington Post. Whatever it is, it must be having a peculiar effect on those who work there. Columnist E.J. Dionne is a classic example of someone who seems to be exhibiting abnormal behavior. Here are just a few excerpts from his article titled The electoral college should think hard before handing Trump the presidency: Memo to the electoral college that votes next Monday: Our tradition -- for good reason -- tells you that your job is to ratify the state-by-state outcome of the election. The question is whether Trump, Vladimir Putin and, perhaps, Clintons popular-vote advantage give you sufficient reason to blow up the system. And then theres this: It will be entirely understandable if 270 or more of the electors pledged to Trump decide they are agents of their states voters, not independent actors. They can argue, fairly, that rejecting Trump would threaten the stability of our institutions. But the threat Trump himself presents to those institutions is why electors need to think hard before they make this decision. Oh my. Lets begin with the phrase sufficient reason to blow up the system. And that would be exactly what? The paranoid, and as yet unproven, theory that the Russians did it? Or could it be a myriad of reasons, like: James Comey? 62,955,363 million racists who voted for Donald Trump? (And those are CNN figures.) Talk radio? (See The Daily Beast for that theory/conspiracy.) Sexism? (You can thank The Beast again.) The list never seems to end. And if one scheme doesnt seem to be working, the left simply moves on to another. It would be hard to imagine the pressure these electors are undergoing and its likely to get worse before Monday. As noted just yesterday by Heritage Foundations Hans A. von Spakovsky: Before Donald Trumps stunning victory on November 8, liberals called for acceptance of election results. But since the election didnt go as theyd planned, some have taken to harassing and intimidating electors in an attempt to change the election results. Some of these threats may violate federal law, yet the Justice Department acts strangely uninterested in investigating. Following the election, a coalition of liberal activist groups launched #NotMyPresident Alliance, an organization dedicated to fighting the inauguration of President-elect Trump. As part of that effort, #NotMyPresident distributed personal contact information -- including telephone numbers and addresses -- of electors in states that voted Republican. Of course, when they call the electors, Im sure they are saying nice things. Even if all goes as planned on Monday, this lunacy is unlikely to stop as there is always December 28 to look forward to, as the National Archives outlines: Electoral votes (the Certificates of Vote) must be received by the President of the Senate and the Archivist no later than nine days after the meeting of the electors. States face no legal penalty for failure to comply. If votes are lost or delayed, the Archivist may take extraordinary measures to retrieve duplicate originals. Between December 19 and the 28th, the Russians can always hack the U.S. Postal Service, or perhaps they dont even need to be hacked if you consider how reliable the mail is these days. Okay, maybe they dont get to Washington by mail. It could be FedEx or UPS heaven forbid it isnt done electronically, or were back to the Russians again. What if they are delivered by Brinks trucks? Perhaps KGB men will be driving. Any way you cut it, the crazies cant seem to help themselves. This inability to accept reality has become a sickness. Must be something in the water. One of the biggest objections that sane people have to Muslim immigration is that an unknown number of immigrants are, in the words of Donald Trump, Jr., poisoned Skittles who will commit acts of terrorism. This "poison Skittle" problem is a very valid concern, but not the only one. The fact is that a much greater percentage of Muslims, who may not commit terrorist acts, nonetheless are in favor of imposing sharia law in the area where they live. One poll said 40% of Muslims in Britain want sharia enforced. Knowing that, it should come as little surprise that over 1,000 Muslims marched in London, demanding the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Great Britain. Over a thousand British Muslims took to the streets of London on Tuesday in a show of force, blocking off a central London square to call for a caliphate while the crowd chanted Allahu Akbar We need a Caliph who will clean up these streets / Who will smack up armies and who will back beef [fighting]. / Backhand your missiles back to your land, thats the plan. / World domination at hand. We can expand and take out these fools. Those were the words of a poet invited to address the raucous crowd outside the Syrian Embassy in central London who cheered and yelled Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest) in support of his calls for war. The crowd, mostly drawn from mosques across London, was largely self-segregated with many of the women wearing Islamic clothing. It soon grew to block off the entire road, with many in the crowd waving what looked to be the Taliban flag, while others were handed placards made by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, which calls for the reestablishment of a caliphate. When 40% of a population group supports something, like sharia, there is no vetting out such a group. You can't separate the religious Muslims who want to practice their religion only for themselves from religious Muslims who want to impose it on others. There simply is no test for that. That's why, as I've said before, immigration from Muslim countries must stop until the aggressive attitude of Islam changes. If there are refugees from countries in conflict, why can't they go any of the other dozens of Muslim countries not in conflict? Because at the heart of it, most of them are economic refugees, and they want to colonize the West and make it their own. This demonstration, and the polling behind it, challenges the media's narrative that the vast majority of Muslims are "moderates" who simply want to practice their religion in private and leave everyone else alone. What will be the end result of such immigration? You'll find calls to prayer blaring out over loudspeakers at 4 AM, as you can in some neighborhoods near Detroit, and radicalized Muslims patrolling the "no go" zones where the police are afraid to go, harassing anyone who isn't sufficiently devout. That's why we need to stop Muslim immigration now. Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Hanukkah is one of the holiest holidays in the Jewish religion. That's why self-hating Jews find it an especially appropriate time to show their hatred for Donald Trump. As President Obama hosted his final Hanukkah celebration at the White House on Wednesday, an umbrella organization of major Jewish groups was co-hosting another Hanukkah party less than a mile away at the Trump International Hotel. Several centrist and liberal organizations refused to attend the Trump hotel event, co-hosted by the umbrella group, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan, and over 250 people protested in the streets outside the hotel. The Union for Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Jewish Women International, HIAS, the Anti-Defamation League and the Workmen's Circle were among the groups that declined to attend the event at the Trump hotel. "To say I was surprised would be an understatement," Ann Toback of the Workmen's Circle, a progressive Jewish organization, said of her reaction upon learning the location and the co-host of the party. "I was horrified. It made no sense to me, and it set off a lot of alarm bells." The Workmen's Circle wrote a letter to Malcolm I. Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents. "As a Jewish organization, we cannot and will not condone by agreement or silence the conference's appalling choices in its partner and the location, both of which contradict the stated themes of religious freedom and diversity," the statement read. None of the protesters has been troubled by Obama's awful, terribly biased position against Israel or his longstanding hostility to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, nor Obama's consorting with CAIR and other very clear enemies of the Jewish people. The Workman's Circle is not troubled by the lack of "religious freedom and diversity" in nearly every Muslim country on the planet. No, for them, Trump is the problem. More from the WaPo: The protest was organized by If Not Now, a left-leaning Jewish activist group usually focused on opposing Israel's policies toward Palestinians but which has devoted its energies since Trump's election to the American political scene as well. So these protesters were angry not because Donald Trump was perceived to be anti-Jewish, but because he is thought to be insufficiently pro-Palestinian. These protesters cared nothing about Donald Trump's views toward Jewish people. If they had, they would be delighted that Trump seems to be making plans to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem, which has been long sought in Israel for decades. The leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis are doing a disservice to their members. As for the so-called "Anti-Defamation League," they sank to a new low when they installed an Obama crony as their president who has talked excitedly about the idea of showing his solidarity with Muslims by registering as one himself. They should change their name from the "Anti-Defamation League" to the "Anti-Definition League," because they no longer have a raison d'etre. And as for those Jews who had the gall to protest the president-elect, these are the actual self-hating Jews. They only care about the enemies of the Jewish people, those who want to destroy them, like the Palestinians. If they are protesting Trump, that is a early indication that they think he is going to be more pro-Israel than Obama. So Happy Hanukkah, my self-hating friends! Or Happy Earth Day or Happy Obamacare Enrollment Day or Happy Social Justice Violence Day, or whatever day is most holy to you! Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com. Why do cities host Olympic games? The official answer is always "pride" or to project "modernity," as was the case of Mexico in 1968. Back then, Mexico used the Olympics to project a modern image with skyscrapers, expressways, and a growing middle class. The unofficial, or the other answer, is that they are hoping to create an economic boom. In Brazil's case, there is a great rivalry between Rio and Sao Paulo. We understand that kind of rivalry in Texas thanks to Dallas vs. Houston. So far, the boom did not happen in Rio after the 2016 Olympics. Let's check with Dom Phillips: Three months after its successful staging of the Summer Olympics, Brazils cultural hub should be riding high. Instead it is a financial, political, crime-ridden mess. The Rio de Janeiro state government is broke, struggling to pay salaries. On Tuesday, riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and percussion grenades at public-sector workers protesting a proposed austerity package. Among the protesters: police, firefighters and teachers. Some of the protesters hurled rocks and fireworks back at the riot police. Two former governors have been arrested, one accused of vote-buying, the other of running a vast corruption ring. Prosecutors are investigating billions of dollars in state tax exemptions that benefited luxury jewelers, construction companies and even brothels. And violent crime continues to surge, along with allegations of execution-style mass killings by overtaxed police. Rather than the bright, post-Olympic future they were promised, many Cariocas as Rios citizens are known fear the city is doubling down on the chaos and corruption of its past. All of this is happening at a time when Brazil is undergoing political corruption scandals and its economy is lousy. This is from CNN Money: About 12 million Brazilians are now out of work, up from 8.8 million a year ago, recent government figures show. On Tuesday officials announced that Brazil's industrial production declined so much in August, it wiped out the gains from the past five months. We remind you that Brazil is one of the Top GDPs in the world. In other words, a lousy economy in Brazil drags down a lot of South Amerca. As always, there are a few lessons for all from the mess in Rio. The first lesson is that crony capitalism will always make the connected rich and the disconnected angry. The stories of politicians and business leaders toasting champagne and adding to their fortunes are now filling the front pages. Let's give a cheer for crony capitalism! The second lesson is that these Olympics games are just too much for most countries to digest. They force countries to build stadia and housing units that lie empty after the event. It leaves you wondering if the whole darn thing was worth it. So far, most people in Brazil will scream "no" and add a Portuguese expletive! P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. The Trump campaign against radical Islam doesn't pull any punches. And why should it? We're talking about a religion that has tens of millions (or more) adherents who'd love to blow the United States off the map. (That's after Israel, of course.) However, according to Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post, it's Trump and his advisers who believe in civilizational conflict. (Presumably after the analysis offered in Samuel Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilisations.) Diehl says Trump's appointee, Stephen K. Bannon, speaks in terms of a long history of the Judeo-Christian West's struggle against Islam. Michael T. Flynn, the incoming national security adviser, is also in favor of a world war against a messianic mass movement of evil people. Indeed, Flynn has got the measure of things. He once wrote: I dont believe that all cultures are morally equivalent, and I think the West, and especially America, is far more civilized, far more ethical and moral. Jackson Diehl thinks such Islamophobic words are counterproductive. That such words cause rather than solve problems. But is systematically lying about Islam a successful policy? Are there fewer Islamic terrorists today than there were twenty or even ten years ago? Are Muslims, as a whole, becoming more moderate? Is there a Muslim reform movement spreading across the world or even in Europe and the U.S.? So let's start telling the truth about Islam, as Flynn and millions of others are attempting to do. Jackson Diehl lays his own cards on the table when he says Francois Fillons book, Conquering Islamic Totalitarianism, is an example of what he calls anti-Muslim rhetoric. Diehl even has a problem with the suicidal Islamophile Angela Merkel. He said she felt obliged to strike an anti-Islamic pose last week, proposing a crackdown on the minuscule number of German women who wear a burqa. Jackson Diehl also has a big problem with Egypts Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, whom Trump supports. Did Diehl prefer the Muslim Brotherhood regime? You know, the movement that has traditionally persecuted and bombed the Christian Copts of Egypt? So Jackson Diehl endorses the leftist theory that if only Muslims were freed from Western-backed dictatorships, then they'd embrace democracy. That's a barefaced lie! There are a small number of Muslim democrats dotted around the world. However, most Muslims have a problem with, for example, al-Sissi's regime (in Egypt) not because it's a dictatorship, as Diehl argues. They have a problem with it because it's not Islamic enough! Yes, there is a massive movement in the Muslim world fighting pro-Western autocracies. But it's not fighting for Western democracy or secularism. It's fighting for sharia law and Islamic totalitarianism, hence the title of Francois Fillon's book (which Diehl castigates). We can never win this civilizational conflict if we keep on insisting that Islam itself is blameless and that only some of its adherents are to blame. How many white swans do we need to see before we can say, All swans are white? Jackson Diehl finishes his story of blameless Islam by turning a positive into a negative. He writes: Trumps aim will be to quarantine and repress the region and its religion. The worst foreseeable outcome is that he will succeed. So Diehl wants yet more Islamophilia and thus more suicidal diplomacy (or sanctimonious interfaith). That is, he wants more of the same. And more of the same simply means more Islamic terror in Europe and the United States. It has been weakness, Mr Diehl, that hasn't worked so far, not strength. The just concluded election does not bode well for Big Labor, and a recent unanimous Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision may be even worse. With the election of Republican governors and legislators, the odds are good that three additional states will join the right-to-work ranks in the coming year. They are Kentucky, Missouri, and New Hampshire. Then there's the election of Donald Trump. From this seismic event, the composition of the National Labor Relations Board will change from its current lopsided pro-labor tilt to one that is significantly more fair and balanced. And of course, those whom Trump will likely nominate to the bench will not be lapdogs for the unions as Hillary Clinton's appointees surely would have been. In addition to 2016 election, there is even more bad news for Big Labor. On November 18, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in the United Auto Workers v. Hardin County that local governments can decide whether or not to implements right-to-work laws. In coming to this unanimous decision, the Sixth Circuit Court used precedents from the U.S. Supreme Court that hold the term "state" in federal law includes a state's political subdivisions unless Congress expressly specifies otherwise. Since the National Labor Relation Act does not exclude localities, the irrefutable logic is that local government units can pass RTW legislation if the state law has granted or not restricted sufficient home-rule power. The Sixth Circuit Court covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Providing that they do not conflict with their respective state laws, local government entities like cities, towns, counties, and even school districts in these states can outlaw compulsory unionization in both the private and public sectors. This is important. In spite of having a Republican governor (John Kasich) and overwhelming Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature, Ohio is one of the Rust Belt states dragging its feet on passing right-to-work legislation. Now, thanks to the United Auto Workers v. Hardin County ruling, cities and counties there can pass this form of worker protection on their own. If this starts to happen, it could well spur Ohio to pass statewide RTW. This type of local initiative is taking root even in deep blue Illinois, home of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, high unemployment, and huge unfunded public pension plans. The town of Lincolnshire, Ill., passed a local RTW ordinance in 2016, which the unions are currently challenging in court. If the Seventh District Court, which covers Illinois, rules against the unions, then local Illinois governmental entities can pass RTW. If the Seventh Court disagrees, the matter will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which could have the Trump stamp on it by the time the case reaches it. The benefits of right-to-work are real. As the news of the legality of local RTW initiatives filters through the country, they can become contagious. Local right-to-work ordinances are an idea whose time has come, at least until such legislation can be enacted nationally. Search far and wide, everywhere you look, from the federal level to the states, Big Labor, the piggy bank of the Democratic Party, is on the defensive. This is good for workers, it's good for the economy, and it is good for America. In the 1950s, the British Museum came into possession an ancient glass chalice called the Lycurgus Cup, so named for its depiction of Dionysuss triumph over King Lycurgus of Thrace, who is shown entangled in grape vines, on the cups outer surface. The craftsmanship is excellent the inside is smooth while the outside has been painstakingly cut and etched to create a decorative cage-like structure around the inner cup. This class of Roman vessels are known as cage cups, and they were mostly made during the 4th century CE. About fifty cups or so, mostly in fragments, have survived, with only a few in near-complete condition. The Lycurgus Cup is one of the best preserved Roman cage cups. Cage cups were clearly very difficult to make, and no doubt very expensive, but this particular specimen stands apart because it exhibits a strange optical phenomenon that had stumped experts for decades. Under normal lighting, the glass appears jade green, but when lit from behind, it turns ruby red. Initially, experts werent sure whether the cup was made of glass, or was a gemstone. It wasnt until 1990, that researchers figured out how the color changers were brought about. It appears that the glass contains trace amount of gold and silver particles that have been ground up so finely that they are only about 50 manometers in diameter, or less than one thousandth the size of a grain of salt. The quantities involved are so tiny (330 parts per million of silver and 40 parts per million of gold), that researchers speculate that the glass might have been accidentally contaminated by gold and silver dust, and that glass-makers may not even have known that these particles were involved. Yet, the discovery of other glass pieces with the exact same composition shows that the mixture was deliberately fabricated. Somehow, the ancient Roman glassmakers had figured out that when light hits glass embedded with the tiniest particles of gold and silver, it alters the color of the glass. Modern science has a name for this effect dichroism, and the glass that exhibits this phenomenon are known as dichroic glass. But thats not the end of the story. Simply adding ground-up gold and silver to glass would not produce these unique optical properties. For that the gold and silver particles need to form minute submicroscopic crystals or colloids. It is these colloids that give rise to the light scattering phenomena that result in dichroic effects. Photo credit: The History Blog The addition of metals or metal oxides to color glass was not unfamiliar to Roman glassmakers. For example, opaque red and brown glasses were produced by the addition of copper. However, coloring glasses using gold and silver was far from routine and something of a hit and miss affair. There were a large number of factors to control including the concentration of the metals and the particle size, oxidation states of certain elements, the time and temperature of heating and probably the atmosphere during heating. It is unlikely that the Romans were able to figure this all out precisely 1,600 years ago when technology was very restricted. The inability to control the coloring process explains why the technology never developed beyond the fourth century AD. Among the few piece of glasses they were able to produce, Lycurgus Cup is one outstanding example and is among the most technically sophisticated glass objects produced before the modern era. There are a few other examples of nanotechnology in ancient history. The Maya people produced a corrosion resistant azure pigment known as Maya Blue in 800 AD, that was discovered to contain clay with nanopores into which indigo dye was combined chemically to create an environmentally-stable pigment. Damascus steel swords, known for their impressive strength, shatter resistance and exceptionally sharp cutting edge, contain nanoscale wire-and-tube-like structures. These swords were produced in the Middle East between the 3rd and 17th century. The presence of nanoparticles in these materials, however, doesnt mean that the ancient people knew about nanotechnology. Ian Freestone at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, who studied the Lycurgus cup, thinks that these ancient craftsmen were highly skilled but they were not nanotechnologists.. They did not know that they were working on the nanoscale," he says. Photo credit: The History Blog Photo credit: The History Blog Photo credit: Lucas/Flickr Photo credit: The History Blog A glass blank made at the Corning Glassworks as a replica of the blank for the Lycurgus Cup. Sources: Phys.org / Wikipedia / Smithsonian / Ian Freestone, Nigel Meeks, et al / Guardian The village of Nagoro on the south-western island of Shikoku, in Japan, was once home to hundreds of residents. But over the years, Nagoros population had fallen dramatically as the village's young inhabitants left to find work and better lives in cities, leaving the very old the pensioners as Nagoros only residents today. In the early 2000s, when Ayano Tsukimi returned to her home in Nagoro after decades living in the sprawling metropolis of Osaka, she was saddened to find her village resembling a ghost town. So she started making life-sized dolls, one for each resident that had left the village or died, and placed them around the village. Brightly dressed figures crowd outside a shop; another bunch wrapped in winter clothes wait at the bus stop; old ladies sit by the roadside and gaze at the fields beyond. The dolls are everywhere, and they outnumber Nagoros actual residents by a factor of ten. Scarecrow passengers wait for a bus at a bus stop in Nagoro. Photo credit: Elaine Kurtenbach Tsukimi discovered her craft by accident when she was making scarecrows for a vegetable field that she was trying to get started after she moved back to Nagoro. One of the scarecrows, she thought, looked like her father, and an idea sparked. In the last twelve years or so, Tsukimi has crafted more than 350 scarecrows built on a wooden base, and wrapped with newspapers, straw and cloth to give the figures volume. She then dressed them in old clothes. Tsukimi needs to attend to them frequently as they get worn out in the sun and rain. Now that the dolls have started attracting tourists to Nagoro, Tsukimi takes care to keep them immaculately dressed. Nagoros depopulation is a condition thats been affecting tens of thousands of villages all around Japan. Compounding the problem is the countrys low birth rate which means that there are fewer young people to populate the deserted villages. Additionally, the number of elderly population in Japan is increasing with as many as 20 per cent of the country's 127 million people aged over 65. Forty thousand Japanese are above hundred. Along with declining birth rate, it is expected that 40 per cent of Japanese will be above retirement age by the middle of the century. In the same period, Japans population will have fallen under the 100 million mark. At 65, Ayano Tsukimi is the youngest resident of Nagoro. The villages school closed in 2012 after its two remaining pupils graduated. Today, the building is occupied by Ayano's dolls students behind desks, open books in front of them, while a teacher stands by the blackboard and a suit-wearing school principal looks on. Related reading: Mexico's Island Of The Dolls The Terrifying Scarecrows of Britain Hiljainen Kansa: The Silent People of Suomussalmi Photo credit: Elaine Kurtenbach Tsukimi Ayano stitches a scarecrow girl by her outdoor hearth at her home in Nagoro. Photo credit: Elaine Kurtenbach Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Photo credit: Fritz Schumann Sources: Reuters / the Verge / The Guardian In case youre living in the U.S. and looking to get your hands on a super-affordable smartphone, youre in luck. The BLU R1 HD, which is an entry-level device available exclusively on Amazon, is once again up for sale in the country. The online retailer had stopped selling the device in October because a pre-installed app was apparently sending potentially-sensitive data to a server in China without consent from users. However, the phone has now once again been listed on Amazon, and by all accounts, is currently available for purchase at the same old prices, now that BLU has released updates to remove the offending piece of software from its phone. The smartphone, although originally available exclusively to Amazon Prime members, has since been made available to one and all. Prime members, however, still get some added discounts on what is already an ultra-affordable smartphone thats more than capable enough for general everyday usage. The smartphone comes in two different models, with the base version sporting just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. While that particular option costs $99.99, the better-equipped model with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage costs just $10 extra. However, what really made the little gadget into an overnight sensation is a $50 model thats available exclusively to Amazon Prime members. This particular model, however, comes with a caveat. It ships with a number of pre-loaded Amazon apps, and also shows ads on the lock-screen unlike the full-priced variants. Taking a quick look at the tech specs of the BLU R1 HD, the device features a 5-inch 720p display panel and is powered by the MediaTek 6735 SoC, which comes with a 64-bit quad-core CPU and the Mali-T720 GPU. The device comes with 4G LTE connectivity on a number of different bands, making it compatible with a number of different carriers in the country. Imaging options on the handset include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash, while a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter with wide-angle lens takes care of the selfies and video chats. The device carries a 2,500 mAh battery and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. While this isnt the most spec heavy and feature packed device, its hard to argue with the cost especially if youre an Amazon Prime member. Did you miss Verizons incredible Black Friday deals on the Google Pixel? Well its back. And its better than ever. Customers, both current and new, will be able to pick up the Google Pixel, iPhone 7 and the Moto Z Droid for just $10/month. That brings the total cost for the user down to just $240 over 24 months. Verizon will give customers a bill credit for the difference each month, for two years. This means that you will need to stick with Big Red for the full 24 months to get the full discount. Seeing as if you leave Verizon for another carrier, youll owe the remaining balance. Now the Google Pixel is perhaps the best deal of these three smartphones. Its typically $649, and Verizon is offering it for just $240 right now. Thats a pretty great price, especially if youve had your eye on the Google Pixel. This is Googles first smartphone that they actually made, instead of partnering with other smartphone makers like with the Nexus program. The Moto Z Droid is another great smartphone, which has some pretty sweet Moto Mods available as well, allowing you to extend the functionality of your smartphone. This sale on the Google Pixel, Moto Z Droid and the Apple iPhone 7 is good now through Christmas, so its going to be around for quite some time. The Moto M is one of Lenovos mid-range offerings. This handset was originally announced last month in China, and it arrived in India a couple of days ago. Lenovo had confirmed recently that the Moto M will be getting Android 7.0 Nougat soon, and join the likes of the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus. That being said, we were wondering when will the company launch this smartphone in Europe, and whether they plan to do it at all. Well, youll be glad to know that the company has just introduced this smartphone in Europe as well. The first European country that the company decided to launch Moto M in is Slovakia, and the official name of the device in the country is the Lenovo Moto M. Lenovo has ditched the Motorola brand when it comes to Moto devices, so this was to be expected. The Moto M starts at 279 ($290) in the country (we still dont know how much the 4GB RAM variant costs), and is actually expected to hit other markets in Europe really soon, though we do not have any specific details when it comes to that, so we dont know what countries exactly will Moto M launch in. As far as specs are concerned, the Lenovo Moto M comes with the same spec sheet as the model that launched in China, which means it is fueled by the Helio P10 64-bit octa-core SoC, while the Indian model of the phone comes with the Helio P15 64-bit octa-core processor. The rest of the specs are completely identical, and so is the design of this smartphone. The Lenovo Moto M features a 5.5-inch fullHD (1920 x 1080) display, along with 3GB / 4GB of RAM and 32GB / 64GB of native storage. As already mentioned, the phone is fueled by the Helio P10 SoC, and the 3,050mAh battery is included in this package as well. The 16-megapixel shooter is placed on the back of the Moto M, and an 8-megapixel snapper can be found on the phones front side. This smartphone is made out of metal, and its fingerprint scanner is located on the back. Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow comes pre-installed on the Moto M, and on top of it, youll find some of the companys applications, even though this is an almost stock build of Android. The launch of the Galaxy Note 7 ended up being one of the biggest fiascos in the smartphone industry to date as Samsung was forced to issue not one, but two recalls of its latest flagship. Following the discontinuation of this phablet, the Seoul-based tech giant launched a thorough investigation into the matter, adamant to not repeat its initial missteps and jump to conclusions too quickly, which is what led to the company pushing out the second Galaxy Note 7 batch which proved to be just as dangerous as the first one. Its been a few months since that entire ordeal, and weve recently heard reports that Samsung is ready to put this whole thing to bed by the end of the year. That rumor has now apparently been confirmed as The Investor reports that Samsung concluded its internal investigation into the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and had already shared its findings with independent laboratories, including the Korea Testing Laboratory. Furthermore, the largest phone maker in the world will reportedly go public with that information by the end of the month. So, we should finally find out what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7 in the coming weeks. Of course, Samsung is already looking towards the future and the incoming launch of its Galaxy S8 flagship. The South Korean tech giant is hoping that its next flagship will be a massive success and help mitigate the losses incurred by the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. With that in mind, Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsungs mobile division, recently called all of the companys employees to improve internal security as theyre preparing to unveil the Galaxy S8 in a couple of months. In an email sent to Samsungs employees on Thursday, Koh said that hes regretful to hear about a recently attempted prototype leak which the company apparently managed to stop. The Seoul-based conglomerate faced issues with product leaks in the past, but as stakes are now higher than ever, Koh is adamant to do everything he can to keep the Galaxy S8 a secret until the time is right. Of course, weve already heard a plethora of rumors about Samsungs upcoming flagship, but none of them were accompanied by any credible materials. Following Kohs latest internal memo, it seems likely that we wont see the Galaxy S8 before Samsung unveils it in early 2017, presumably during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which is scheduled to start on February 27th. Honor had introduced a rather interesting smartphone earlier today, the Honor Magic. The company has been teasing this smartphone for quite some time now, and today we finally get to see the device. The Honor Magic is a smartphone which ships with a curved display, which makes it look really attractive, it comes with a really compelling set of specs, and also some intriguing features. Weve already talked about those features in our original announcement of this handset, and are here to take a closer look at the device itself, read on. If you take a look at the gallery down below, youll get to see the Honor Magic in a number of images. As you can see, the phones display is curved all around, and the bezels on the side are basically non-existent. The phone does resemble some already available devices, though, none of those devices have as many curves as the Honor Magic. The Galaxy S7 Edge, Xiaomi Mi Note 2, Huawei Mate 9, Elephone S7 and a couple more devices definitely resemble Honors newly-released smartphone. This smartphone is made out of metal and glass, as you can see in the provided images, and a physical home button which is placed below its display actually has quite a few uses. The Honor Magic doesnt have a separate back or overview (multitasking) buttons, the home button actually acts as both the back and overview button. This button responds to a physical press, non-physical press (capacitive key) and a swipe, all of which will trigger certain actions within the phones software, the so-called Honor Magic Live. Now, as far as specs are concerned, the Honor Magic features a 5.09-inch QHD curved AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of native storage. Huaweis HiSilicon Kirin 950 64-bit octa-core processor fuels this smartphone, while youll find a 2,900mAh battery inside of this phone. This is actually Huaweis all-new graphene-assisted Li-ion battery which can charge up from 0% to 40% in only 10 minutes. There are two 12-megapixel cameras placed on the back of the Honor Magic, and a single 8-megapixel snapper is placed on the phones front side. The device comes in Golden Black and Porcelain White colors, and we still dont know whether Honor plans to launch this phone outside of China. Advertisement Buy the Honor 8 Google today officially announced the availability of Gboard on Android following what has been an iOS exclusivity up until now. Of course, it did become clear earlier in the week that Gboard was about to land for Android, as the APK became available to download on Monday. However, today has seen Google release a blog post detailing the arrival of Gboard and further explaining what makes it so useful. For those who missed the earlier coverage, Gboard is essentially replacing the Google Keyboard on Android devices. While the general look, feel and presentation of Gboard is largely the same as it was with the Google Keyboard, the big selling point is the additional functionality that is on offer. Most notably, the fact that you can now use Google Search right from the actual keyboard. As Google notes in todays announcement, It shouldnt be that hard to search and share on your phone and with Gboard, it isnt. So as well as being able to search directly from the keyboard (by simply tapping the G icon) and in a similar way to how a keyboard app looks to offer predictive text, the new search feature will also offer predictive searches. An added feature which looks to ensure using Google Search is as quick and easy as possible. The improved search functionality is not just reserved for text either. If you are looking for a specific emoji to send to someone, then instead of having to scroll through the ever-increasing emoji list, you can simply search by keyword for the emoji in question. That is in addition to the numerous other smaller tweaks and performance improvements that are included with Gboard. Google notes a few of these improvements as better Glide Typing, better predictions and better autocorrections. A result of the machine learning approach which underlies Gboard functionality. If you have yet to see the update to the Google Keyboard app arrive on your device, or would just to find out more, you can by heading over to the Google Play Store listing for Gboard/Google Keyboard through the link below. Alternatively, you can also check out the images and video below for a visual demonstration of what is in store with Googles Gboard for Android. With the 2017 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) just around the corner, many tech companies from far and wide have lined up a number of gadgets for launch during the high-profile tech show to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Japanese tech giant Sony is one of the firms that will likely unveil quite a few of its upcoming gadgets at the event, having scheduled a press conference for the 4th of January. The company is rumored to announce at least two smartphones on that day as part of its second-generation Xperia X lineup, with rumors suggesting that they will come with screen sizes ranging from 5.2-inches to 5.5-inches. Another rumor floating around on the internet now seems to suggest that the Japanese consumer electronics giant may have a third smartphone in the pipeline. While the model number still eludes us, the device is said to come in a comparatively compact form-factor, measuring 145mm in length, 66.8mm in breadth and 7.99mm in thickness. According to the report, the device will sport a 5-inch display, although nothing more is known about it at this point in time. The leak comes from tipster @OnLeaks, so there might be some degree of truth to the story, although we would still suggest you take it with a pinch of salt, seeing as it is yet to be corroborated by a second source. Now whether this particular smartphone will be unveiled at CES is anybodys guess, but theres no apparent reason to believe that right now. The company could, however, introduce some new wearables during the show, and although theres no way to say anything for certain at this point in time, some tech bloggers have claimed that the Sony Smartwatch 4 could well be unveiled during next months big event in Las Vegas. Thats especially true because the companys smartwatch lineup is well and truly due for an upgrade, with the third-generation Sony smartwatch originally announced in late 2014 at the IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany. Either way, as for the rumored 5-inch smartphone, and only time will tell if Sony is indeed planning to launch any such device in the market going forward. At IFA in September of this year, Lenovo unveiled a new tablet. That in itself wasnt a huge surprise. Seeing as Lenovo is one of the few manufacturers that is still pushing out new tablets. But this tablet was a bit different. It was a tablet with a connected keyboard. Kind of like a laptop, except the keyboard was essentially a touchscreen. It was a pretty cool device, and it was made available with Windows 10 as well as Android. However, many people wondered why Lenovo opted to go with Android over Chrome OS, an operating system that is a bit better suited for a laptop. Well, it appears that Lenovo will be releasing a Chrome OS model of the Yoga Book come next year. Laptop Mag is citing that Lenovos VP Jeff Meredith confirmed that the company has Had a lot of interest in Chrome OS and that this product could be a good product for schools and education. Meredith also told the publication that the Chrome OS model will have support for their Real Pen stylus. This is the stylus that works with the Windows version, and allows you to write on the keyboard, like it was an actual notebook. Its probably the most impressive feature of the Lenovo Yoga Book. Lenovo didnt give a specific time frame for when Chrome OS version of the Yoga Book would be available, but Meredith did note that they plan to release three models next year. So its likely that the Chrome OS model will be part of the second-generation lineup of the Yoga Book. We could see these as soon as CES in January, or even as late as IFA in September, where the original Yoga Book was unveiled. Which is a rather large time frame, and thats typically how these products go. As companies do run into issues from time to time which delay the release date of the said product. A Lenovo Yoga Book running Chrome OS would be pretty interesting, and likely a popular Chromebook, especially since it will have Android Apps and the Google Play Store, a feature that Google announced this past Summer, for Chrome OS. Sony may be one of the most reputable electronics manufacturers in the world, but the companys smartphone business hasnt really taken off in all these years in spite of a lot of effort on the part of the Japanese electronics giant. Even though its latest Xperia X-series smartphones didnt exactly set the global sales charts on fire, Sony is believed to be working on a few new devices that are scheduled to be released in the New Year. At least a couple of those devices had leaked online a few weeks earlier when they were listed on the website of a Russian regulatory agency. Now they are back in the news again, with latest rumors coming out of China suggesting that they will both come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC under their hood. The devices sport model numbers G3121 and G3112, and will reportedly be unveiled at the CES 2017 trade show to be held next month in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sony has already scheduled a press conference at the event, so it will be interesting to see if the two rumored devices will be eventually announced on that day. The handsets, meanwhile, are expected to feature display panels sized 5.2-inches and 5.5-inches respectively, although the choice of the older Snapdragon 820 chipset isnt going down well with too many observers. Either way, Sony is yet to officially confirm any of the rumors regarding its upcoming gadgets, so it will be prudent to wait a little longer for things to clear up in the coming days. Even though Sony continues to bring new smartphones to the market, the company has traditionally been a little tardy in updating its devices to newer builds of Android over the years. This year, however, the company has admittedly done a better job of it, rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat to at least two of its current handsets. While the Xperia X Performance was the very first Sony device to have gotten a taste of the latest flavor of Android late last month, the Xperia XZ reportedly started receiving the update just a few days back. While the two rumored upcoming devices will very likely launch with Android Nougat out of the box, it will be interesting to see if Sony makes a more conscious effort from now on to roll out timely updates, now that the company is concentrating on only a few devices each year. Google officially released Android 7.0 Nougat back in August this year. While some OEMs have already updated some of their flagship devices to Android 7.0 Nougat, Sony and LG for example, Samsung has been beta testing its upcoming software update for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge in the UK, US, China and South Korea for a while now. And now it looks like the company is all set to release this new software update to its flagship devices, the company has already stopped accepting new registrations for the beta program, and just last week we learned that the company will skip the Android 7.0 version and will rollout the latest version of Android OS, Android 7.1.1. Now, were getting some more confirmation about this upcoming software update as Vodafone Australia has now updated its webpage which says that the update based on Android Nougat for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge is now under testing. As you can see in the image listed below, both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are now added to the Vodafone Australias Software Update Weekly Wrap, and are showing the Testing in progress status, indicating that the new update could roll out very soon. This is in line with the companys promise that the Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 Edge will be updated to Android Nougat by the end of this year. Its not clear whether this update will be first rolled out to the Australian market and then it will be expanded to other regions later on, but anyway, its good to see that the update is now finally getting ready for an actual rollout. Usually, when a new software is due to rollout, its first sent to wireless carriers for testing purposes, to avoid any possible issues during actual rollout later on. If everything works out well, you can expect Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge users to start seeing Android 7.1.1 update being rolled out to them before the end of 2016. Android Nougat brings many new features over Android Marshmallow version. It has a new multi-window mode, which basically lets you work on two different apps at the same time; new Doze mode, which now works even when youre carrying your device in your hand or its just sitting in your pocket; Vulkan API (on supported hardware,) to enhance graphic performance while still consuming less power, redesigned notification panel and direct reply feature, App Shortcuts (Android 7.1.1 feature) and many under-the-hood changes to improve overall performance and stability of the system. On top of all the aforementioned features, Samsung has also implemented some extra features as well on top of the base version to optimize the software to work better on its Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones. When youre going to create a product and sell it to somebody, you typically dont enlist the help of your future client in designing and creating the product. As anybody in the tech world will tell you, however, there are exceptions to this rule; tech products like smartphones and computers have a long and proud history of mavericks who listen to fans when making products, and many a video game studio takes fan input on board during development. Further up the ladder, we find LG Display, who is looking to make fold-out OLED panels to sell to Google, Microsoft, and Apple, among others. In a bid to beat Samsung to market with such a product and secure rapport, they have gone to those three tech firms to ask for help in making the panels, and it seems that they have obliged. Reportedly, LG already has prototypes of foldable displays up and running for buyers to check out. Google is up to a myriad of things in the tech world, as are Apple and Microsoft, so its only natural that they would be among the first partners for LGs adventures in foldable display mass production and marketing. They are also listed among the first ones who will have the rights to buy early stocks of these displays from LG once they start producing them in market-worthy capacities. LG has revealed foldable displays in the past, and even rollable ones, but so has their rival, Samsung; the race is on for both firms to get their displays fully integrated with actual products and into the market before the other. Samsung has massive pockets and synergy between their display division and smart device arms, while LG has help from Google, Microsoft, and Apple, who will be among the first to get a shot at buying the products. With those three on board, LGs displays promise to hit the ground running, with availability across products and ecosystems, though Samsung should not be counted out that easily. At this point, its anybodys race, and industry insiders and consumers have a front row seat to watch the emerging technology find its feet and hit the market with compelling use cases from big names right out of the gate. Given everything thats been happening with Yahoo in recent months, the Sunnyvale-based company would probably prefer to forget 2016 as soon as possible. On Thursday, Yahoo revealed that it suffered a massive security breach as malicious hackers stole approximately one billion user accounts in 2013. This incident marked Yahoos third privacy-related scandal in the span of just a few months, and by the looks of it, its the worst one so far. As it turns out, hackers stole not just email addresses and passwords, but also users names, birth dates, security questions, backup email addresses, and phone numbers, all of which were encrypted with an outdated MD5 message-digest algorithm. In other words, while none of the information stolen by attackers was stored in plaintext, its unlikely hackers had any issues with decrypting the unsalted MD5 hash. The latest report from The New York Times confirms as much, as the said outlet is now claiming that an unencrypted version of this database was sold three times since August of this year. This report originates from Andrew Komarov, a Chief Intelligence Officer at the Scottsdale, Arizona-based cyber security agency InfoArmor. More specifically, Komarov claims the said database of stolen Yahoo accounts was sold to two notorious spammers and another party who was looking to use it for espionage purposes. All of the sales were allegedly concluded on the Dark Web, and each buyer paid about $300,000 for the entire database. Seeing how the 2013 breach of Yahoos email service was the largest known hacking attack in history, that figure certainly doesnt seem too high. However, no one knows what happened to the stolen data between 2013 and this August when the hacked database became available for purchase on the Dark Web. Whats even more worrying is that Yahoo allegedly wasnt even aware of the breach until some US intelligence agencies notified it of the incident earlier this month, after obtaining evidence of the attack from an unknown source. This certainly doesnt spell good news for the companys efforts to sell its core business to Verizon. The largest wireless carrier in the country already put the said transaction on hold following Yahoos disclosure of another major security breach from 2014, and as things stand right now, it will be a while before this entire matter is put to bed. A little over a month ago, Samsung announced its intentions to acquire Harman International Industries, a Stamford-based manufacturer of connected car systems. Now, while Harmans board of directors unanimously approved this deal and both companies announced how theyre hoping to officially complete the transaction by mid-2017, Samsungs acquisition may not go as smoothly as planned. Namely, as The Wall Street Journal reports, some of Harmans shareholders arent satisfied with the $8 billion Samsung reportedly offered to Harman and will vote against the deal unless the Seoul-based conglomerate is willing to offer more. Alexander Roepers, the founder of Atlantic Investment Management, reportedly said how Harman is worth a lot more than what Samsung is offering. Now, this investment firm from New York only holds a 2.3% stake in the Stamford-based car parts maker which obviously isnt enough to stop the transaction from going through, but Roepers statement may be the start of a larger movement among Harmans shareholders looking to force Samsung into sweetening the deal. Industry sources are claiming that Harman was already on the verge of being acquired by an unnamed party back in late 2015. That rumored all-stock deal was worth approximately $115 per share, which is a bit more than what Samsung is currently offering, but its certainly enough to convince Harmans shareholders that their assets are worth more than what the Seoul-based tech giant is looking to pay for the company. Of course, the two situations arent directly comparable seeing as how Samsung is currently offering $112 per share in cash, but that might not be relevant seeing how stock values are based on investors expectations which dont always coincide with reality. Finally, despite the fact that Samsung and Harman agreed to a no-shop provision when negotiating the sale, The Wall Street Journal speculates how its possible that Harmans investors are looking to hold out for a bid from another tech giant. Of course, Harmans other potential suitors would have to be immensely rich seeing how theyd have to pay $240 million in penalties to Samsung in case they acquire the Stamford-based company. In other words, even if Harmans shareholders reject Samsungs initial bid next year, the Seoul-based conglomerate still has the best chance of acquiring this manufacturer of connected car systems. The Virtual Reality Summit took place yesterday in San Diego, where Samsung Electronics Vice President Dr. Sung-Hoon Hong went up on the stage to discuss the companys plans regarding virtual and augmented reality technologies. On short, Samsung intends to release two new virtual reality headsets in the foreseeable future, with the Samsung Gear VR 2 being pegged for an official presentation in a short time. Although Samsung has been experimenting with virtual reality technology for the past couple of years, it appears that the company is also equally (or even more so) interested in augmented reality technologies. According to Dr. Sung-Hoon Hong AR has much better business development for Samsung. Thats what we are aiming for. The VP revealed that Samsung is currently working on two VR engines, and that the Samsung Gear VR 2 might be ready for prime time in the near future. Samsung further discussed the concept of Augmented Reality and explained how there are four levels of VR and AR technology (image below), and further added that Samsung intends to push its products to level three. This technology permits users to interact with VT objects in real world environments, akin to how Pokemon can spawn in the players environment in Pokemon GO through the AR option. Its also very interesting to note that, in order to push augmented reality technology further, Samsung Electronics also looked closely at Microsofts HoloLens and Magic Leaps prototypes. In fact, the Vice President even added that there is a possibility to partner with Magic Leap. Interestingly enough, Samsungs vision for augmented reality products also encapsulates a powerful AI (artificial intelligence), and sure enough, the company is working on its own personal assistant for smartphones, similar to Googles own AI and Apples Siri. As for why Samsung wouldnt use Googles existing AI, the reason for this is because the latest advancements in AI for Google Now are available exclusively on the companys Pixel smartphones. This means that any Android OEM wanting to have a personal voice-activated assistant on their phone has to develop its own. Needless to say, Samsung is already on top of this and seems to want and integrate the technology with future AR and VR headsets. Until Google created Alphabet, the company was known for splashing out cash on new projects that were developed under a company that was then known as Google X. Since Alphabets takeover, the company, which has dropped the Google from its name and is now simply called X, is having to focus on ideas that have a much higher chance of success due to Alphabets much more money-conscious strategy. Historically, X, often know as the moonshot factory, has had a number of high-profile projects, namely Google Glass. The famous project that amazed people around the world while also garnered its fair share of controversy, was ultimately a waste of money, at least thats what Xs CEO Astro Teller appears to be insinuating. The company spent millions on marketing and even more on development but, ultimately, the product was only on sale for one year before it was scrapped. Aside from the extravagant spending on these projects, the company has also spent a considerable amount on their self-driving car as well as Project Loon, which, although they have huge potential, played a big part in Xs $3.6 billion loss in 2015. Due to this spending, it appears Alphabet has told X to keep spending under control, meaning resources should be spent on projects with huge potential, while other ones should be scrapped. Now, what led to these budget-conscious orders by Alphabet has a long history behind it and saw months of planning. Initially, Sergey Brin set up a small team within Google the owner of X and many other companies at the time in order to work out a viable way of controlling budgets, spending and essentially anything related to what were then Googles accounts. Eventually, the team opted to hire Ruth Porat, the person who envisioned the creation of Alphabet, a new holding company that would allow Google to concentrate on what its best at, while its subsidiaries could be spun off into separate companies, which would then allow Alphabet to better control their budgets and expenditures. Advertisement With the creation of Alphabet, Ruth Porat brought in strict budgeting for all companies, especially X, and also set a requirement that all projects with a roadmap of 10 or more years reach profitability in half the time. In addition to this, all projects must also have a working prototype and a credible business case in order to warrant further investment. X isnt the only company facing tough budget restrictions, though, with both Nest Labs and Google Fiber seeing their expansion halted due to their stricter budgets, not to mention a number of other Alphabet subsidiaries that have also faced cuts. Its fair to say the new budget constraints have garnered their fair amount of criticism, with many saying that the execs have gone against their promise of not becoming a conventional company. But, as Alphabet grows, the fact is that measures like this are necessary, especially since 89% of the companies revenue comes solely from Google. With budgets becoming increasingly stricter, many are wondering if Alphabet will reach the point where innovation will be sacrificed in favor of tighter budgets and higher profits, without taking into consideration the long term aspect. In contrast to this, though, both Sergey Brin and Larry Page have confirmed that they have no plans to stop investments in areas that have little to do with its core Google business, the only change will be that they will spend their money more wisely. After all, their previous investments in YouTube and Android have allowed them to be the owners of the most popular video platform alongside the most popular mobile operating system. Aside from tighter budgets, Alphabets creation also led to a job title shuffle, with many execs who previously handled a number of projects now being in charge of only one department in order to better execute each product, without overlapping, something that was quite frequent when everything was run by Google. The separation of each previous Google subsidiary into their own company has also allowed investors to learn exactly how profitable Google on its own is, whilst the finances of X and others have also been laid bare to investors. Advertisement Now, although the budget constraints may seem pretty strict to many and the huge reshuffle in the way companies are run may seem a bit confusing to some, the plan is working. Since Porat joined, shares are up 35% and efforts are fully focused on projects that, not only have huge potential but ones that the team, including Alphabets execs, are passionate about. In addition to this, the stricter budget at X also appears to have forced them to regain focus of their own goals, meaning development on the likes of Project Loon and their self-driving car are doing better than ever. So good, in fact, that it has been rumored that the self-driving car project may graduate soon from X and become a separate Alphabet-owned company. Development on Project Loon is also said to be going from strength to strength. Essentially, while budgets have been cut, the effect it has had on the company has been positive and, if anything, the future for X is looking brighter than ever thanks to their new structure and focus. China will replicate its success in seven new free trade zones (FTZ), which are expected to be opened in January 2017. "The third batch of FTZs is now waiting for final approval from the government. Though some provinces still need to further develop their plans, some FTZs are expected to be opened as early as January next year," an anonymous insider told Economic Information Daily on Dec 15. The remark came after Chinese authorities approved the construction of seven new FTZs, in Liaoning, Zhejiang, Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, as well as in Chongqing municipality. The approvals came in August, as an effort to boost the development of inland areas. Unlike the former four FTZs, the third batch are located in inland areas of China, with the primary aim of better implementing national strategies, including the Belt and Road Initiative. The new zones also look to copy China's existing FTZs. "Once the third batch of FTZs is opened, there will be 11 FTZs across the nation. They will serve as platforms to try out new [economic] plans, and will widen the range of FTZ experiences," Bai Ming, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce of the International Market Research Institute, told Economic Information Daily. According to Bai, China will also focus on tasks including innovation in service trade and an integrated clearance system, in an effort to take advantage of the country's open policies. "It has been 37 years since China launched its reform and opening policy. The benefits created by former policies have already been enjoyed, while new benefits are waiting to be released for China's future economy," Bai said. After a lifetime in Caribbean and international politics, I thought the time had long since passed when I could be outraged by any event. But I was outraged last week and I continue to seethe over the fact that Pamela Ramsey Taylor, the director of a Clay County, West Virginia, non-profit who was removed from her post after she called Michelle Obama an ape in heels in a November Facebook post, will be re-instated in her job on December 23. What signal does this re-instatement send to Americans, black and white? Indeed, what statement does it make to the rest of the world? This is not only blatant racism getting a pass; it is a most disturbing endorsement of it. Worse yet, it is a savage attack on black womanhood something to which every right-minded person anywhere in the world should respond with robust indignation. I would not have been comfortable with myself if, through this commentary, I did not record my anger that Taylors crass and vulgar remark has been rewarded. That reward opens wide the door to similar if not worse assaults on the dignity of black women. Arguably, back women have been denigrated and degraded more than any other race of women in history and the world. In the Americas, including the Caribbean, they have been owned, abused, violated and discounted by white men and white women alike. For centuries, in slavery, they did not own their own bodies nor could they claim their own children. Their maltreatment did not end with slavery. In the post-emancipation period, they were denied education, training and the vote even as these rights were reluctantly granted to black men. In modern times, they struggle for equal pay with men; and for access to jobs for which they are as qualified as any man, black and white. Michelle Obama epitomises the finest qualities of womanhood. She overcame all the prejudices and bigotry endemic in the society into which she was born to attend premier US institutions, graduating from Princeton University (graduating cum laude in 1985) and Harvard Law School in 1988. She worked for a leading law firm in Chicago. And, if her academic and professional accomplishments are not more than sufficient to earn her respect and admiration, she is physically an extremely attractive woman who carries herself with immense grace and charm. Perhaps it is that attractiveness acknowledged worldwide by Kings and Queens and celebrated fashion houses as much as ordinary folk that caused Taylor to describe this fine representative of all women (not just black women) as an ape in heels. For those in whom racial superiority is ingrained, the very notion that a black woman could be regarded as bright, beautiful and regal, challenges their atavistic and visceral sense of superiority and, with it, their power. The ape in heels remark was as much an expression of a desire to repress black people as contestants for a place equal to white people, as it was a spewing of vexation that this particular woman is a shining example to others who might be emboldened to follow in her footsteps. Much has been written about the Presidency of Barack Obama. Not so much has been written of Michelle. But, the dignity, decency and respect for the Obama White House was not his doing alone. The Obama family is among the very best of American Presidential families (all of whom hitherto have been white) and that is due as much to Michelle Obama as to Barack Obama. Their performance is summed-up in the phrase that will be associated with her eternally: When they go low, we go high. What she clearly meant by that is that, despite the racial slurs and the unprecedented public abuse thrown at her husband the twice-elected President, they operated in the White House consistent with their roles as the representatives of all the people of the United States. The racist elements in the United States (and in other parts of the world) were never content with a black President or a black First Lady, both of whom captured the imagination and respect of people the world over. That acceptance and acclaim does not play well with their characterization of the black race as inferior, or their own sense of ownership of the levers of power. When Taylor said that she would be pleased to see a white woman again in the White House, she was asserting relief that whites could be seen again to be fully in charge. The flip-side of that contention is that blacks would be returned to their place and that place does not include the highest office in the land, or occupancy of the White House. Michelle Obama never responded to Taylors remarks. She did not dignify it. She did the right thing. But the government of West Virginia did the wrong thing by re-instating Taylor to her job. She now has a license to continue to be vicious and others will feel they have a free pass to denigrate black people. In all this, the words of the late Maya Angelou, articulating the resolve of a black women in particular to overcome, dances through my mind: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, Ill rise. The Obamas triumphed in the White House, and showed to the world that the depiction of black people and particularly black women is distorted. The Obamas in the White House ripped that depiction to shreds. In no small way, that is due to a most attractive woman who walked as gracefully in her heels, as she sparkled in her running shoes, and even barefooted. Every woman should be pleased that Michelle Obama represented and empowered them. Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com (The writer is Antigua and Barbudas Ambassador to the United States and the OAS. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are his own) (ANSA) - Milan, December 15 - Carabinieri police in Milan and Monza on Friday seized 2.5 million euros worth of assets from Maria Paola Canegrati, a leading dentistry entrepreneur in the Lombardy region who has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison for corrupting public officials to win major public contracts for the local hospital of Desio and Vimercate. Monza prosecutors ordered the seizure of the assets from Canegrati, her accountant in Bergamo as well as two companies operating in the dentistry sector of which she was sole administrator after further investigations carried out since the entrepreneur's arrest in February. The probe revealed, according to investigators, that Canegrati had fraudulently declared nonexistent operations, stating she had performed more medical services to get money from the regional healthcare service and had used the companies' credit cards for personal use. The probe that has led to the arrest, among others, of Canegrati and a Northern League Lombardy regional councilor who chaired the regional health commission, Fabio Rizzi, concerns a series of public contacts for the outsourcing of hospital dentistry services estimated to be worth over 400 million euros. The contracts were won illegally by a group of entrepreneurs headed by the businesswoman with the complicity of public officials, according to investigators. (ANSA) - Rome, December 16 - Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso on Friday blasted the way both the No and Yes camps conducted their campaigns for this month's Constitutional referendum, which saw ex-premier Matteo Renzi's overhaul of Italy's political machinery rejected. "It's necessary to have a severe judgement of the political culture that emerged in recent months," he said as he wished the parliamentary press a merry Christmas. He said the campaign featured "excessive tones, alarmism disproved by events and empty, misleading slogans on both sides". He urged politicians to get rid of the "toxins that have polluted the political and public debate" before the next elections. Grasso went on to say that issues that have nothing to do with the country's best interest but concern the "individual desires of leaders, parties and movements" should not affect the duration of the new government of Premier Paolo Gentiloni. "It would be irresponsible and counterproductive", Grasso told reporters. The Senate speaker also warned that "nobody can easily claim as their own" the 19.5 million No votes, nor the 13.5 million Yes votes at the December 4 referendum. The referendum, on the other hand, highlighted the "strong call from citizens to take part in the country's important choices". "The country needs a coherent electoral law for the election of the two chambers", he went on to say. The current Italicum law being reviewed by the Constitutional Court only covers the Lower House, as part of constitutional changes rejected in the referendum included the fact that Senate members would not be elected directly. Grasso also said that while leaders and parlamentarians are continuing to talk about a date for the vote and the electoral law "there is deep suffering" in the country and "blowing on this fire is dangerous". "Nobody should be left behind", he warned, citing those affected by devastating earthquakes in central Italy in August and October and young people. The situation for the young "has not improved much" since 2013, Grasso noted, citing for example the "indiscriminate use" of vouchers for the young. France: one dead after migrants residence set on fire Near Paris, at least 13 others injured (ANSAmed) - PARIS, DECEMBER 16 - A huge fire that seems to have been a case of arson began over the night in a residence for migrant workers in Boulogne-Billancourt near Paris. One person was killed in the fire and at least 13 others were injured, some seriously, reported BFM-TV. The fire broke out just before 4 AM on the ground floor of the six-storey building and spread through the stairwell. Some of the residents jumped out of the windows when the firemen arrived, while others remained inside and suffered severe smoke inhalation. (ANSAmed). ISTANBUL - A mega-project connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides with one railway and two ground vehicle routes will open Tuesday. The project, which Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for, aims to reduce chronic traffic congestion in Turkey's most populous city. The tunnel will measure 14.6 km, 5.4 of which underwater at a depth of about 25 meters. Designers say that it will reduce time required to cross the Bosphorus significantly, from 100 to 15 minutes. The 1.245 billion-dollar project was contracted in 2009 through a joint Turkish-South Korean venture later named Eurasian Tunnel Operation Construction and Investment (ATAS) and was completed 8 months ahead of schedule. Italferr, an engineering company from the Gruppo FS, was awarded a 5.3-million-dollar contract to supervise the works and Guzzini was tasked with the design for the ceiling lights. BRUSSELS - Paolo Gentiloni has debuted in Brussels as prime minister. ''All colleagues asked me to say hi'' to ex-premier Matteo Renzi and ''welcomed me warmly'', said Gentiloni, adding that his counterparts were curious and impressed by the speed with which the crisis had been solved after Renzi's resignation. But then the new premier attacked, denouncing the ''huge delay'' with which Europe is reacting to the migration crises. The delays become more significant because ''problems are quicker than solutions'', he observed at the end of the summit. The premier arrived six hours after he was supposed to hold a press conference, presenting his excuses to reporters with irony: ''The meeting only lasted 12 hours''. But if the tone was soft, his message was sharp, also towards Germany, which ''set the example'' on migration policies, he said, but shouldn't relax now because the Aegean route is ''apparently under control''. The emergency is not over just because the problem has moved along the Mediterranean route and towards Italy, he said. And action on the 'migration compact' for Africa is too slow, as the plan was launched in January and is only now moving its first concrete steps. He also spoke against not passing a good reform of the Dublin agreements. ''One and a half hour'' of the 12 were spent deftly working on the conclusions, where at the end Germany's haste was halted to close everything by next June. The objective has been outlined but it is not an obligatory mandate anymore. And Italy is on the frontline in foiling the Polish attempt to extend by a year instead of six months the sanctions against Russia for Ukraine. He also said it was wrong to threaten more over actions in Syria because Europe should not have ''automatic reactions'' especially at a time of ''political transition'' like the one started with Donald Trump taking office as US president. Less than 3% Syrian refugees resettled in rich nations,Oxfam Most in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Appeal ahead of G7 (ANSAmed) - ROME, DECEMBER 16 - Out of five million Syrian refugees, only 130,000 have been welcomed by the world's wealthiest nations, according to a report released on Friday by Oxfam. ''Around 130,000 Syrians spread across the rich countries of the world is a tiny number, particularly when contrasted with Lebanon, where one in five people is a refugee,'' Andy Baker, Oxfam's lead for the Syria crisis said. The report added that ''a lack of political will and a rise in xenophobia have driven a backlash against refugees in many countries''. Baker said that ''after media coverage of drowned children provoked an outpouring of support in several countries, some rich governments heeded the calls of their citizens and their consciences and pledged to resettle vulnerable refugees. But too often in the last year, we've seen some leaders listen to a growing anti-refugee xenophobic backlash.'' ''Canada has resettled about 35,000 Syrians in the last year, while the UK has resettled a little over 3,000,'' he said. ''While the US was also able to send more personnel and resources to the region, it has met only 10 per cent of its fair share.'' ''Spain has rejected a request from UNHCR to provide 500 visas for Syrian students from Jordan and Lebanon, despite overwhelming public support for resettlement. In Russia, only two Syrians have received refugee status, despite the country being party to the 1951 refugee convention,'' the report added. ''Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey host the vast majority of the nearly five million Syrians registered as refugees and along with Iraq and Egypt have faced the refugee crisis with limited financial support from others states. As of December 2016, the humanitarian response to the Syria refugee crisis was just half funded,'' it said. Italy has pledged to resettle 1,989 refugees from conflict zones. Elisa Bacciotti, head of Oxfam Italia campaigns, said that it has thus far resettled ''a third, if you don't take into account the invaluable contribution of civil society involved in voluntary initiatives.'' Ahead of the G7 scheduled to be held in late May in Taormina, Oxfam has called on the Italian government and the international community to ''do more''. (ANSAmed). (by Francesco Tedesco) NAPLES - The western Mediterranean Sea has one of the highest concentrations of plastic in the world, a real ''plastic soup'', according to a study on the presence in 2013 of floating fragments of plastic in the open sea. The research was published by the Institute of marine sciences of the National council of research in Lerici (Ismar-Cnr), in cooperation with the universities of Ancona, Salento and the Algalita Foundation in California. The report was recently published by Nature/scientific Reports. ''For the first time - said Stefano Aliani from Ismar-Cnr -polymers that constitute floating microplastic at sea and its distribution were detected. It is mostly polyethylene and polypropylene as well as heavier fragments like polyamides and varnishes, as well as polycaprolactone, a polymer that is considered to be biodegradable. This information is important to have a precise estimate of the dimension of the problem generated by microplastic waste at sea and to activate the right programs to reduce the presence of these polluting agents''. Polymers are not distributed equally in the Mediterranean: ''This depends on the different source of pollution'', which can be high in densely inhabited areas along the coast and on rivers, the CNR researcher also said. As far as Italian coasts are concerned, he explained, ''along the sea between Tuscany and Corsica the presence of some 10 kilos of microplastic per square meter has been detected, against the two kilos present on the western coast of Sardinia and Sicily and along the norther part of the coast of Puglia''. Each year, some 300 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide and it is thought that up to 12 million tons end up in the sea. Microplastic is made up of plastic fragments that are smaller than two millimeters which are not visible to the eye and were found floating everywhere in the Mediterranean with one of the highest concentrations worldwide. For example, in the North Pacific subtropical gyre in 1999 there were an estimated 335,000 fragments of plastic per Km2 while the Mediterranean has an average of some 1.25 million. ROME - Out of five million Syrian refugees, only 130,000 have been welcomed by the world's wealthiest nations, according to a report released on Friday by Oxfam. ''Around 130,000 Syrians spread across the rich countries of the world is a tiny number, particularly when contrasted with Lebanon, where one in five people is a refugee,'' Andy Baker, Oxfam's lead for the Syria crisis said. The report added that ''a lack of political will and a rise in xenophobia have driven a backlash against refugees in many countries''. Baker said that ''after media coverage of drowned children provoked an outpouring of support in several countries, some rich governments heeded the calls of their citizens and their consciences and pledged to resettle vulnerable refugees. But too often in the last year, we've seen some leaders listen to a growing anti-refugee xenophobic backlash.'' ''Canada has resettled about 35,000 Syrians in the last year, while the UK has resettled a little over 3,000,'' he said. ''While the US was also able to send more personnel and resources to the region, it has met only 10 per cent of its fair share.'' ''Spain has rejected a request from UNHCR to provide 500 visas for Syrian students from Jordan and Lebanon, despite overwhelming public support for resettlement. In Russia, only two Syrians have received refugee status, despite the country being party to the 1951 refugee convention,'' the report added. ''Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey host the vast majority of the nearly five million Syrians registered as refugees and along with Iraq and Egypt have faced the refugee crisis with limited financial support from others states. As of December 2016, the humanitarian response to the Syria refugee crisis was just half funded,'' it said. Italy has pledged to resettle 1,989 refugees from conflict zones. Elisa Bacciotti, head of Oxfam Italia campaigns, said that it has thus far resettled ''a third, if you don't take into account the invaluable contribution of civil society involved in voluntary initiatives.'' Ahead of the G7 scheduled to be held in late May in Taormina, Oxfam has called on the Italian government and the international community to ''do more''. Migrants: 110,000 crossed into Serbia since start of year Deputy-interior minister, 600,000 registered in 2015 (ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, DECEMBER 16 - Since the start of the year, over 100,000 migrants and refugees have crossed into Serbia, deputy interior minister, Jana Ljubicic, said Friday. Addressing an international conference in Turkey, Ljubicic added that over 600,000 migrants were registered in Serbia last year. Belgrade, the deputy minister was quoted as saying by the media, is working together with other countries to effectively counter illegal immigration and human trafficking, offering at the same time international protection to those who have the right to do so. Security challenges, in particular terrorism and organized crime, require a boosted cooperation between police services and the judiciary of different countries. (ANSAmed) (ANSAmed) - MOSCOW, DECEMBER 16 - ''The Syrian army operation to liberate the militant-controlled eastern districts of Aleppo is complete,'' the Russian defense ministry said on Friday. ''Syrian government forces are liquidating isolated pockets of resistance by radicals.'' The Russian defense ministry said that over 9,500 people including 4,500 fighters and 337 injured people had been evacuated. It added that all women and children had been evacuated from the areas controlled by the fighters. Other sources including the International Red Cross and Syrian state television said that the evacuation had only been suspended and that it would take several more days. (ANSAmed). ANSAmed - Weekly diary from December 19 to December 25 (ANSAmed) - ROME, DECEMBER 16 - The following are the main events of interest in the Euro-Mediterranean area from December 19 to December 25. MONDAY, DECEMBER 19. BRUSSELS - European Commission vice president Frans Timmersmans will be receiving the directors of the ''Green 10'', ten of the largest environmental organisations and networks active on the European level. FLORENCE - conference on ''Can Economic Development Discourage Religious Radicalism?'', organized by Prospettive Mediterranee. PARIS - 'Eternal Sites - From Bamiyan to Palmyra, journey to the heart of World Heritage sites' exhibition, at the Grand Palais; organized with the support of UNESCO to showcase historical sites endangered or damaged by wars in the Middle East (until 9/1/2017). TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20 BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Christos Stylianides will be receiving Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, head of Google's strategic relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. CAIRO - 4th EU-Arab League ministerial-level dialogue with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. TURIN - Training seminar on ''Migration, Sustainable Development and Inclusion: how to build good cooperation projects', organized by the TECLA association (also 21/12). WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21 TURIN - Training seminar on ''Migration, Sustainable Development and Inclusion: how to build good cooperation projects', organized by the TECLA association SOUSSE (TUNISIA) - Networking event organized by The NextWomenTunisie, a professional network of female executives in Tunisia. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22 LISBON - visit by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23 BARCELONA - summit of Catalan parties that is expected to decide the date for an independence referendum set to take place in the second half of 2017. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24 VATICAN CITY - the pope will be officiating over Christmas Mass. JERUSALEM - the Jewish holiday Hanukkah begins. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25 VARIOUS CITIES - Christmas celebrations. VATICAN CITY - the pope will be reading his Christmas message and giving the "Urbi et Orbi" blessing. CAIRO - hearing in the appeals trial against journalists union chairman Yahya Qalash and two other members of the association on charges of having protected two journalists that were seeking to evade arrest by hiding in the union headquarters. (ANSAmed). WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump has chosen David Friedman, a lawyer, as US ambassador to Israel. The first statement made by the future diplomat is that he can't wait to work at the US embassy ''in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem'', confirming Trump's intention of moving the embassy from Tel Aviv. The move risks hampering the peace process and flaring a conflict in the region given that Palestinians claim Jerusalem as capital of their future state. Friedman, Trump said in a statement, has long been a friend and is a trusted adviser. The statement also said that his strong relations with Israel will be at the core of his diplomatic mission and a great asset for the country while ties with allies will be strengthened and efforts will be carried out for peace in the Middle East. Friedman, who worked as an advisor to Trump during the electoral campaign on US-Israel affairs, promised to work to boost the bond between the two countries and promote peace in the region - a difficult task if he intends to move the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing it as capital. At the start of December, Barack Obama signed a new six-month delay for the US embassy in Tel Aviv, as customary since the Clinton administration. Based on the Jerusalem Embassy Act approved by Congress in 1995, the US embassy should move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the 'indivisible capital' of Israel. But all president so far have de facto blocked the implementation of the law. The suspension of the measure - from Clinton to Obama, including the Bush administration - is considered necessary for national security reasons and so as not to compromise the peace process. If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both The documents were respectively signed by EASAs Certification Director Trevor Woods and by Jeffrey Duven, FAA Manager of the Transport Airplane Directorate - Aircraft Certification Service. Both certificates were handed over to Airbus Executive Vice President Programmes, Didier Evrard, and Airbus Senior Vice President A320 Family Programme, Klaus Roewe. The A321neo allows airlines to upsize their fleets while offering a winning combination of unbeatable economics and comfort. This aircraft contributes already some 40 per cent to our single aisle deliveries, and further growing, said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO. Todays certification is a rewarding tribute to all the teams who have been instrumental in making this essential milestone happen. The A321neo the largest member of the A320neo Family - successfully completed a certification programme accumulating over 350 flight hours in more than 130 flights; validating its airframe and systems well beyond their design limits to ensure the aircraft successfully meets all airworthiness criteria. The campaign also confirmed the aircraft is meeting its performance targets in terms of fuel burn and range. Offering significant environmental benefits, including a smaller noise footprint, the aircraft also demonstrated excellent low speed performance capabilities for its operators. The Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft is the first variant of the A321neo to have received EASA and FAA Type Certification. The A321neo with CFM International LEAP-1A engines will be certified in the coming months. Iran's Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Ali Rabiei, said that the aircraft will be delivered from next May onwards. Farret replaces Eloi Dufour, who was named, director Aircraft Delivery & Pre-Owned Management. In his new position, Farret will lead the entire front line customer support organisation for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India region (EMEAI). Farret started out at Dassault Aviation in 2002 as a design engineer for flight control systems for the fighter jets. He joined Falcon Customer Service in 2005, filling a variety of coordination roles in the Falcon 900EX EASy and the Falcon 7X programs. Most recently, he served as Director of Technical Engineering for Dassault in Teterboro, New Jersey, providing engineering support to customers in Asia and the Americas. During his experience at Dassault Aviation, Damien has demonstrated strong leadership qualities and a consistent ability to raise the level of expectations for our customers, developing a close relationship with Falcon operators worldwide, said Jacques Chauvet, vice president of Worldwide Falcon Customer Service. His deep experience with the Falcon product line, and product support team, will be valuable assets in confronting the new challenges he will face in his new job. In a statement the company said: Static tests started on November 24 on a specially-built E2 that has the wings of an E190-E2 and the fuselage of an E195-E2. Since then, another full-scale prototype has been positioned at the Eugenio de Melo facility alongside the E2 that is used for static tests. This second aircraft, an E190-E2, is for fatigue testing that will begin in the first half of 2017. The test will simulate three times the number of flights in an aircrafts typical life. In the air, the three E190-E2s that are flying have accumulated more than 300 flight hours. Fort Lauderdale is Emirates second destination in Florida, after launching Orlando more than a year ago. The new service, operated by a GE-powered Boeing 777, marks the first scheduled commercial service from the Middle East to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport serving the South Florida area of Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Our new daily service to Fort Lauderdale will significantly enhance South Floridas commercial and cultural connections. Emirates is proud to connect people across the globe and todays inaugural flight illustrates the reach of our global network and the potential tourism and trade opportunities of our daily service, said Hubert Frach, Emirates divisional senior vice president, commercial operations, West. The launch of this historic route will allow us to offer Emirates unique product and award-winning service to passengers flying to and from South Florida to our home in Dubai and onwards to more than 150 global destinations. Mark Gale, CEO/Director of Aviation added: FLL is proud to welcome Emirates, one of the worlds premiere airlines to Broward County. This new service to Dubai, and ultimately to the rest of the world, will provide our community with tremendous business and travel opportunities. With an estimated annual economic impact to our region of more than $100 million and approximately one thousand new jobs as a direct and indirect result of Emirates arrival, we are confident this new service will mark the beginning of many more great things to come. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Based on tax inspection analyses of large taxpayers, as of December 1, 296 taxpaying organizations were assessed as risky in terms of transaction documentation. Head of the Large Taxpayer Inspection Mr. Rafik Mashadyan told reporters on December 16 that the recent actions of the state revenue committee are aimed at preventing tax fraud and not initiating sanctions against taxpayers without any warning. With this purpose, tax inspection agencies are carrying out daily monitoring of financial and tax accounts of organizations, during which the risks are being assessed. According to Mashadyan, the companies are being briefed on the risks during meetings. Which resulted in several organizations in changing their tax policy, however there are still some organizations with insufficient working style, which is needed to rule out their shadow activity. 296 of 521 registered large taxpayers have been assessed as risky as of December 1. During the 11 months of 2016, these organizations paid 12,6% more tax profit than in last years same period. All companies are being monitored, and those, whose actions arent in line with the legislation are being assessed as risky, he said. According to Mashadyan, several fields have been found to be especially risky, which are: production of pastry ( 5 companies with risk), dairy products (7 companies with risk) and meat (6 companies with risk). We also find the medical service field to be risky, where 5 of the 6 registered are risky. We see risks in import companies. 111 of 155 companies are in the list, he added. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received Minister of Interior of Georgia Giorgi Mghebrishvili on December 16. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, Serzh Sargsyan greeted the guest and highlighted his visit to Armenia from the perspective of deepening the close cooperation between the police of both countries, and counter measuring the contemporary challenges by joint efforts. President Sargsyan hoped that the declaration about the strengthening of the cooperation between the Police of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Interior of Georgia signed between the respective bodies of Armenia and Georgia will be marked by its effectiveness. Stating that Armenia and Georgia are not merely friendly states but are bound by centuries-old relations, President Sargsyan noted that it is necessary to work continuously in order to strengthen the existing friendship. The interlocutors shared the opinion that particularly in the recent years Armenian-Georgian political dialogue develops actively and dynamically, which is significantly fostered by different-level mutual visits and interactions allowing to discuss issues of bilateral interest in a constructive and warm atmosphere. Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Mghebrishvili conveyed the warm greetings of Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili to Serzh Sargsyan and emphasized with satisfaction the mutually beneficial and productive cooperation with his Armenian colleagues. Best Technology Products and Services Would you like to submit an article in the Technology category or any of the sub-category below? Click here to submit your article. Would you like to have your product or service listed on this page? Contact us. By Harry Handley In recent years, the Malaysian government has worked tirelessly to achieve their goal of becoming a high-income nation by 2020. Through the governments Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), a number of key service industries have been heavily promoted and subsidized in order to make this goal become a reality one of which is e-commerce. Despite almost 70 percent internet penetration in 2015, only five percent of Malaysian businesses had an online presence. Many leading experts believe that the Malaysian e-commerce market is at an inflection point and may be about to experience a serious boom period. Along with rising incomes, growing smartphone and internet penetration is expected to increase the proportion of online retail spend in Malaysia from 0.5 percent of total retail spending (2014) to five percent by 2020. This makes it an interesting time to assess the state of the market, in terms of government initiatives, consumer trends, incumbent players, and opportunities for foreign firms. Government Initiatives One of the key Entry Point Projects (EPPs) of the ETP is the Virtual Mall project, which according to the governments Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) aims to grow the internet-based retail market, taking advantage of higher disposable income of the Malaysian population, better broadband services, and the proliferation of mobile devices in the country. This initiative is supported by the National e-Commerce Strategic Roadmap, which has six prime goals: Increase seller adoption of e-commerce; Accelerate adoption of e-procurement by businesses; Remove non-tariff barriers (domestic e-fulfillment, cross-border e-commerce, e-payment, consumer protection); Realign existing economic incentives; Make strategic investments in key e-commerce firms; and Promote Malaysian businesses to increase cross-border e-commerce. The e-commerce market in Malaysia is expected to grow by 10.8 percent in 2016. With the help of Alibabas Jack Ma, recently appointed Malaysias Digital Economy Advisor, the government hopes to double this growth to 20.8 percent by 2020. A number of innovative policies have been pushed by the government to make this happen, including the worlds first digital free trade zone, set to open in March 2017. RELATED: Pre-Investment and Market Entry Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates Malaysian Consumer Preferences According to a 2016 Bain Brief and Googles Consumer Barometer, 14 million people almost half of Malaysias population are considered digital consumers, meaning that they research products or services online. However, a challenge faced by e-commerce firms is that only 29 percent of consumers convert this research into an online purchase. A lack of trust is cited as the main reason for this hesitance, which is also highlighted by the desire to pay cash on delivery when purchasing goods online. The Bain research also found that Malaysian consumers primary reason for purchasing online is to take advantage of products not available in the local market; interestingly, price was not listed as a significant influencer. Another challenging aspect of the Malaysian e-commerce market is the preference towards social commerce the use of social media sites, such as Instagram or Facebook, to facilitate online transactions. Bain research suggests that up to 30 percent of all e-commerce transactions in Southeast Asia are social sales. The personal nature of a social sale, in which a consumer connects directly with a seller on social media, helps to eliminate the lack of trust that is still present for a large number of Malaysian shoppers. The key challenge for firms, particularly coming from overseas, is how to develop a personal e-commerce strategy. Statista reports that e-travel is the largest segment of the online business-to-consumer (B2C) market in Malaysia. This segment includes mobility services (e.g. ride hailing apps, such as GrabTaxi) and online travel bookings, and is set to generate over US$3.5 billion in revenue in 2016. The online purchase of goods will yield a further US$894 million, with Electronics and Media being the most popular category among Malaysian consumers. Finally, e-services, including food delivery services and online dating, among others, will add another US$260 million. The graph below shows the current and expected size of the segments in 2021. Major e-Commerce Players in Malaysia In terms of online marketplaces for goods, the market is highly fragmented; 10 platforms serve around 90 percent of the market (see graph below). The largest market shares are dominated by local and regional players, with global players such as Amazon and Groupon struggling to gain market share. This can be linked to the Malaysian consumers desire for a personal service. According to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the countrys e-commerce ecosystem is still in a relatively early stage of development. A number of factors identified by MDEC as holding back the e-commerce market in Malaysia include a lack of a supporting ecosystem, poor fulfillment experience, and low adoption rates. Despite this, a number of key players are emerging in supporting services (e.g. e-payment and e-fulfillment). IPay88, an online payment gateway, claims to have secured 60 percent market share of e-payments. They face competition from MOLPay, GHL e-payment, and PayPal. The two leaders in e-fulfillment are POS Laju, a subsidiary of POS Malaysia postal services, and GDex. Smaller couriers, such as Aramex and Easy Parcel, are also competing for market share. The lucrative e-travel market has high barriers to entry, mainly due to the presence of large regional and global incumbents. Ride hailing apps such as GrabTaxi, BlaBlaCar, and Uber have recently been legalized by the government and, as such, have strengthened their grip and saturated their market. Similarly, global travel booking sites, including Expedia, dominate the online booking market, making it difficult for new smaller players to enter the e-travel battleground. RELATED: IP Protection in Malaysias Food & Beverage Industry Identifying Opportunities for Foreign Firms Although Malaysia has a relatively small population, its position at the heart of ASEAN (a market of 625 million people) and its developed infrastructure make it an attractive target for foreign firms. The appeal of the e-commerce industry is boosted by high speed internet that reaches almost three quarters of the population, as well as fast-improving support services and a willing government. Malaysia is also one of the most open economies in the world, scoring highly on both trade and investment freedom on the Economic Freedom Index. Malaysian consumers desire to purchase foreign goods online presents a potentially lucrative opportunity to foreign retailers and wholesalers. Existing e-marketplaces offer a solid platform from which to penetrate the market. When entering the Malaysian market, it is extremely important to do extensive research before choosing a local partner; diversification of partners may help to alleviate risk in the evolving e-commerce ecosystem. Further government incentives and increased adoption are expected to draw investments from global players who do not want to miss out on Malaysias impending e-commerce boom. The extra investment will facilitate the development of the industry and its supporting services, further increasing its attractiveness to new entrants. With 2017 touted to be the year of the Internet Economy, it will be interesting to see whether the Malaysian e-commerce industry can live up to the hype. About Us Asia Briefing Ltd. is a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. Dezan Shira is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of ASEAN. For further information, please email asean@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in ASEAN For the first issue of our ASEAN Briefing Magazine, we look at the different audit and compliance regulations of five of the main economies in ASEAN. We firstly focus on the accounting standards, filing processes, and requirements for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. We then provide similar information on Singapore, and offer a closer examination of the city-states generous audit exemptions for small-and-medium sized enterprises. The Trans-Pacific Partnership and its Impact on Asian Markets The United States backed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) includes six Asian economies Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, while Indonesia has expressed a keen willingness to join. However, the agreements potential impact will affect many others, not least of all China. In this issue of Asia Briefing magazine, we examine where the TPP agreement stands right now, look at the potential impact of the participating nations, as well as examine how it will affect Asian economies that have not been included. An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we take a look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties, double tax treaties and free trade agreements all of which directly affect businesses operating in Asia. It alleged that customers illegally appropriated money refunded in their bank accounts and wallets. It is rare for the CBI to take up such cases unless they have been referred by the Central government or there are directions by the Supreme Court or a high court. New Delhi: In a rare case, the CBI has registered a case against 15 customers of mobile wallet company Paytm after the company alleged that it has allegedly been cheated to the tune of Rs 6.15 lakh by Delhi-based customers. According to sources, the CBI has registered FIR against 15 customers who are residents of Kalkaji, Govindpuri and Saket besides unknown officials of One97 Communications parent company of Paytm. It is rare for the CBI to take up such cases unless they have been referred by the Central government or there are directions by the Supreme Court or a high court. Responding to media queries seeking to know why the agency, which is already facing staff crunch, decided to take up the case, a CBI spokesperson said, It can register cases under Information Technology Act in the territory of Delhi even against private individuals. The complaint from the manager legal of the digital wallet company claimed that the company makes payment for defective products received by a customer and also arranges a reverse pickup of the damaged product which is sent to the merchant. The process is done by a team of customer care executives who have been assigned specific IDs and passwords to handle such complaints from the customers and arrange refund and pickup. It is alleged that the company between 2014-16 found that in 48 cases customers had received refunds even though the delivery of orders was made successfully to them. As a matter of facts wherein delivery of orders were successful and satisfactory to the customer, refund should not happen. However, in all these 48 cases refund of order amount happened to the respective customers to the tune of Rs 6.15 lakh, the complaint, which is now part of the FIR, alleged. It alleged that customers illegally appropriated money refunded in their bank accounts and wallets. It claimed that the acts reflects serious fraudulent act and foul play with common intention to wrongfully gain along with such involved customers. Riyadh realised it required huge capital spending to extract more oil. Riyadh, the world's top oil exporter, felt the burn of cheap oil this year when crude was trading below $50 a barrel. Dubai/London: Saudi Arabia has long said it could produce as much as 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil if needed, but that pump-at-will claim which would require huge capital spending to access spare capacity has never been tested. Sources say the kingdom may have stretched its current limits by extracting a record of around 10.7 million bpd this year, which could be one reason why Riyadh pushed so hard for a global deal to cut productions. Riyadh, the world's top oil exporter, felt the burn of cheap oil this year when crude was trading below $50 a barrel, as the reality of its costly war in Yemen and the task of shaking up its economy to create thousands of jobs began to sink in. With tight resources, Saudi Arabia found itself weighing the prospect of investing billions of dollars to raise oil output further if it wanted to gain more market share under a strategy adopted in 2014. Instead, cutting production amid a global glut and low prices to take the pressure off its oilfields, secure better reservoir management and save itself unnecessary expenses, seemed the perfect deal. You invest in raising your production when prices are high, not when they are low, a Saudi-based industry source said. Choices are tougher now. The question is, would the Saudi government with its tight budget put huge investment in raising production or put it somewhere else where it's needed more? Oil rose as much as 6.5 percent on Monday to an 18-month high after OPEC and some of its rivals reached their first deal since 2001 to reduce output jointly. On Thursday, oil LCOc1 was trading above $54 a barrel. Under the deal, Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the Opec, will from January cut output to around 10 million bpd - well below the 12 million bpd that the state has affirmed it can produce. Saudi-based industry sources and market insiders say the kingdom cannot sustain historically high output for long. State oil giant Saudi Aramco has never tested 12 million bpd and would find it hard to keep the needed investments flowing with current low oil prices, they said. Aramco, responding to a Reuters request for comment, said only that the company does not comment on current production levels. JINAN - Shandong Shanshui Cement, one of China's largest cement producers, has defaulted on its debt, been witness to a vicious boardroom battle and finally turned its losses into profit. The company, with more than 20,000 employees across various provinces, defaulted on multiple bonds after a fierce battle for control of the company last year, but solutions to the 4.6 billion yuan ($664 million) of defaulted debt are now in place, deputy chairman Mi Jingtian said Wednesday. Mi, who is responsible for daily operations, said the company had "paid in full" all outstanding interest and regained a "normal working relationship" with commercial banks. Shandong Shanshui Cement is the operating subsidiary of China Shanshui Cement, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. A Dec 5 disclosure said Shandong Shanshui had settled with China Merchants Bank in a dispute over 564 million yuan of loans. Apart from being sued by commercial banks, Shandong Shanshui's defaults included a 2 billion yuan bond in November 2015 and a 1.8 billion yuan bond in January 2016. Boardroom brawl The defaults were the direct results of a protracted battle for control of Shandong Shanshui and China Shanshui. Banks and financial institutions that the company had dealings with were alarmed by the uncertainty and the impact on business prospects. The fight led to chaos and sometimes violence, with neither side willing to surrender control. It got so bad that the local government sent in a team of officials to the company, which is not state-owned, to ensure order. The new board is now in "total control" of all subsidiaries and putting them back to work, said Mi. Big turnaround China Shanshui Cement used to make profits of hundreds of millions yuan, but collapsed to a stunning 6.7 billion yuan loss in 2015, when boardroom troubles reached their climax and the cement market plunged. Mi claimed that since then a lot has been done to lower business costs, including more effective sourcing of raw materials. Cement prices have since risen in China, but at the same time, production has been slashed. In October, Shandong Shanshui hosted the meeting that saw northern China's biggest cement players sitting together to coordinate the cuts. This year, Mi said, Shandong Shanshui has significantly outperformed last year and the company is operating "at a profit" again. Sinha said, there is a dispute between government and telecom service providers on AGR. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conducted the audit of six private telecom service providers and submitted its audit report. New Delhi: The Department of Telecom has issued notices to six telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications, for recovery of Rs 12,488.93 crore for underpayment of licence and spectrum usage charges, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha today said. "Based on a CAG report, licence agreement and extant orders of DoT, demand-cum-show cause notices for Licence Fee (LF) for four financial years have been issued to the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)," he said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conducted the audit of six private telecom service providers and submitted its audit report, the minister said. "As per this report, total under-reporting of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is Rs 46,045.75 crore for the period from 2006-07 to 2009-10. As per the report...of Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the under-reporting of AGR lead to underpayment of LF/SUC, interest and penalty of Rs 12,488.93 crore," Sinha said. The financial impact due to understatement of AGR stood at Rs 3,728.54 crore for Reliance Communications, Rs 3215.39 crore for Tata Teleservices, Airtel (Rs 2,651.89 crore), Vodafone (Rs 1,665.39 crore), Idea (Rs 964.89 crore) and Aircel (Rs 262.83 crore), according to the CAG report. Sinha further said, there is a dispute between government and telecom service providers (TSPs) on AGR and TSPs are interpreting the definition differently in their own interest. "The TSPs are contending that only revenue under the licence must be taken for computation of AGR. The Licence Agreement has an all-inclusive definition of AGR. "The contention of the TSPs is not in consonance with that contained in the Licence Agreement and the stand of the government has been duly upheld by Hon'ble Apex Court in their considered judgement October 11, 2011," the minister said. This had to be fine, even obvious since he is rich, friends with the power corridor and a dare-me attitude, hed better be a Casanova too. Rating: Cast: Sharman Joshi, Sana Khan, Rajniesh Duggal, Gurmeet Choudhary, Sherlyn Chopra, Zarine Khan Director: Vishal Pandya If its the fag end of the year, you would be, sure enough, lazy to watch a film this week that has been strategically pushed to accommodate a mega stars much-awaited film release next week. But then, this weeks release Wajah Tum Ho has been promoted as a drama and thriller to pique our interest a wee bit. Producer Bhushan Kumar of T-Series is in a hurry to wrap up as many films as he could conceive of without bothering to focus his energies on their content, execution etc. Or, maybe, having music rights of umpteen music albums and some Bollywood film hits of the past, he could jolly well rehash them in fresh voices, and incorporate them in any and every story he sets out to produce. Director Vishal Pandya, who earlier directed Hate Story, crafts an extremely slow burning thriller that revolves around a live murder committed on television. The biggest fault of this tepid drama is that whatever suspense it manages to generate in its climactic scenes is achieved artificially, through a forced and manipulative twist. The mystery of the murder instead of generating the suspense is so transparent that I wasnt anywhere near the edge of my seat. Wajah Tum Ho, in theory, is also a movie about a man who has all the makings of a business tycoon with great entrepreneurial skills, could be involved in seemingly consequence-free crime and sex. But in practice, its about crazy bitches too, who could ruin such a guys life. Mumbai police team headed by Kabir Deshmukh (Sharman Joshi) enters a swank multi-storeyed building with a posse of policemen to arrest the CEO of a television network Global News Network Rahul Oberoi (Rajneesh Duggal) who is accused of telecasting a live murder on his channel. Obviously, its not so simple, and the Oberoi denies it refusing to comply with the officer. Just when Deshmukh delves deeper into the case, another murder takes place in the same fashion leaving the entire nation perplexed. Since the law enforcers and Oberois legal team comprising Siya (Sana Khan) at the helm, cannot find any guilt in Oberois conduct, he goes scot-free. Now, here is a sexy lawyer whose curves has her romancing defence counsel Ranvir Raj (Gurmeet Choudhary) in her swish apartment at night while Raj also turns up to oppose her in court in the day. Oberoi, who keeps snarling Jante nahin main kaun hoon to the police, cannot resist the charms of his legal adviser Siya, and tries to proposition her at any given opportunity. This had to be fine, even obvious since he is rich, friends with the power corridor and a dare-me attitude, hed better be a Casanova too. No offence to other television honchos, who would squirm at the thought of wooing a pair of bikini-clad girls instead of being worried sick about their TRPs or other avenues of earning revenues day and night, but our hero has some bosom heaving girls gushing about him. Meanwhile, Deshmukh who serves the best police team in the country as per his claim needs to prove his competence and crack the case. The odds are mounted against him as soon as he arrives at any crime scene, but he being law-abiding and understandably honest, must be a stickler for perfection, and struggles with the plots contrivances to achieve a hint of un-self-conscious wisdom. Does he succeed? To be fair to him he may be the best thing about the film but his cluelessness about which way the film is headed starts showing soon enough for you to invest your 136 minutes of viewing. The plot is structured to focus on Sana Khan as Siya, and to make us see everything through her eyes. The script gives her all kinds of personal conflicts, love and professionalism to justify her position as the central character. Her name doesnt ring a bell, neither to film goers or to television watchers, and she ensures she makes her mark by showing off her body in ample measure while trying hard to display a gamut of emotions from love to hatred; nobility to helplessness and all that she believes would help her get noticed. Many of hate crimes have revenge-seeking protagonists as males. Whenever its the female species coming to the fore, filmmakers often feel the need to incorporate formula and ample skin show over substance. WTH isnt anything different. In fact, it gets sillier and more ludicrous as it goes along, which is typical for many suspense genre stories. But it would have fared better if Pandya spent as much effort on his characters as he does on his camerawork. It feels weightless and inconsequential despite the increasingly horrific things that transpire, because terror and indifference dont go well together. You end youre laughing at it and the humor is not intentional. The only way it may help you glide over are the remix versions of classic songs like Pal pal dil ke paas, Aise na mujhe tum dekho, and Mahi ve that the youth of today may find hummable. Theres also the sexily clad Sherlyn Chopra and a desperately seeking Zarine Khan doing the routine romp. Barring the music, this film adds up to zilch. The writer is a film critic and has been reviewing films for over 15 years. He also writes on music, art and culture, and other human interest stories. For the Congress, party is bigger than nation; but for us, the nation is above the party, Modi claimed. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Indira Gandhi rejected suggestions for demonetisation in 1971, saying she wanted to win elections, but that resulted in poor economic condition in the country. Alleging that Indira Gandhi sold out India by ignoring advice to demonetise, Prime Minister Modi said, "She told her finance minister Y.B. Chavan: are no more elections to be fought by Congress?" Stressing that the implementation of demonetisation policy was required in 1971, but it was implemented now, the Prime Minister, hitting out at the opposition at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, said, "For the Congress, party is bigger than nation; but for us, the nation is above the party." As the nation observed Vijay Diwas on Friday, offering respect to the soldiers, who laid down their lives during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that resulted in the birth of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said "The opposition in 1971 did not ask for a proof of the army's valour, but today's opposition does." Meanwhile, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari urged all leaders in the Rajya Sabha to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. Prime Minister Modi earlier on Friday urged the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure that corruption and black money is rooted out of the country. A delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. The Winter Session of Parliament has been a washout with both sides not permitting the other to speak. While the opposition accused the government of being insensitive to the common man, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dug up AgustaWestland matter to charge the Congress. Modi further criticised the opposition for demanding the proof of a Surgical Strike carried out by the Indian armed forces that dismantled seven terror launch pads across the border on September 28-29 as retaliation to the Uri terror attack. Stating that demonetisation is the first step to curb black money and corruption, but not the last, the Prime Minister said, "Corruption is our main target and it will not be long before normalcy returns after the 50-day period." He also thanked Chief Ministers of Odisha and Bihar for supporting demonetisation. Rahul said demonetisation was akin to 200-300 aircraft 'firebombing' cities during the World War II, destroying them completely. Panaji: Mounting a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the demonetisation drive launched by him was "firebombing of 99 per cent honest people" and not a "surgical strike". The Congress vice president, however, did not speak about "personal corruption of the PM" he had threatened to reveal recently. The attack came within hours of Modi accusing the Congress of putting self-interest above the country and sought to paint it as a votary of corruption at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Delhi. "Narendra Modi got up on November 8 and announced that the money which is in your pocket has now turned into mere paper. This not a surgical strike on black money but it is firebombing of the 99 per cent of honest people of India," Rahul said addressing a rally at Fatorda near Panaji. Read: 'We should keep meeting', PM tells Rahul; Oppn upset Rahul said demonetisation was akin to 200-300 aircraft "firebombing" cities during the World War II, destroying them completely within 25 minutes. "The impact of firebombing was far worse than the atom bomb. Narendra Modi has done similar firebombing through demonetisation and burnt entire India," he said. He said, "As Modi did not allow me to speak in Parliament, I am speaking at this public meeting." The Congress leader claimed the Prime Minister did not take into confidence even the Finance Minister while going for demonetisation of high-value currency notes. "Demonetisation is not an action against black money, but against 99 per cent of the honest people of India. This is an attack against poor people of India," he said. Accusing Modi of "dividing" India into two parts, Rahul said, "One per cent (is of) super rich and the other 99 per cent honest Indians including common people, workers, farmers, small-time businessmen and the middle class. In the last two-and-a-half years, one per cent super rich have amassed 60 per cent of the wealth." He said total 50 Indian families have the maximum wealth of the country. "These are the people who travel with PM to Australia, America and China to strike big business deals," he said, adding people know who he was referring to. Rahul said as the Congress wanted to eradicate corruption from the country, the party will give "complete support to BJP if it takes even a small step to curb it." Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also announced the launch of a tax disclosure scheme which would open on Saturday and close on March 31. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra said on Friday that Rs 2,600 crore in concealed income has been disclosed so far following demonetisation. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: Offering one last chance to black money holders, the government today said they have time until March-end to come clean by paying 50 per cent tax on bank deposits of junk currencies made post demonetisation. Offering tax dodgers confidentially and immunity from prosecution under the new tax evasion amnesty scheme PMGKY, which kicks-in from Saturday, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said non disclosure of deposits made in banks after the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were junked will attract stiffer penalties as well as prosecution. Not declaring the black money under the scheme now but showing it as income in the tax return form would lead to a total levy of 77.25 per cent in taxes and penalty. In case the disclosure is not made either using the scheme or in return, a further 10 per cent penalty on tax will be levied followed by prosecution, he said. The disclosure scheme is part of The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016, which was approved by the Lok Sabha earlier this month and has been assented by the President. To get information on money launderers, the tax department has created a special email address where anyone can provide information about them. "People who have knowledge of money launderers can give direct information to us. We have created a email id: blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in (for the purpose)," he said. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) will commence on December 17 and shall remain open for declarations up to March 31, Adhia told reporters in Delhi. "Beginning tomorrow most of the banks will have challans to be filled for depositing tax for availing the PMGKY scheme. Only after payment of 50 per cent tax and setting aside the 25 per cent of the remaining undisclosed amount for 4 year, a person can avail the PMGKY scheme," he said. Adhia emphasised that mere depositing of cash in banks will not convert black money into white. Taxes have to be paid. As per the scheme, taxes will have to be paid first and then the scheme can be availed on production of tax receipt, unlike the recent Income Disclosure Scheme and other such plans wherein disclosures were made first and taxes were recovered later. Also, as the disclosures will be kept confidential, the holder of unaccounted cash need not disclose it in Income Tax Returns forms. After the shock November 8 demonetisation announcement, the government allowed the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to be deposited in bank accounts. For those holding unaccounted cash, it offered new tax evasion amnesty scheme wherein 50 per cent tax will be charged on declarations and quarter of the total sum be parked in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years. Adhia said: "Non declaration of undisclosed cash or deposit in accounts under the Scheme will render such undisclosed income liable to tax, surcharge and cess totaling to 77.25 per cent of such income if it is declared in the income tax returns. "In case the same is not shown in the return of income a further penalty of 10 per cent of tax shall also be levied followed by prosecution." The government, he said, through the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is getting data about every single deposit in bank account. Also, Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate and other investigative agencies are keeping a close watch on the information. "We have information from FIU regarding how much deposits have been made in dormant account, (zero-balance) Jan Dhan, urban cooperative bank, how much repayment of loans have been made in cash, RTGS transfers, withdrawal and hence I-T department has been successful on raids," Adhia said. With the help of professional agencies, a thorough analysis of all deposits that come till December 30 will be done to try and join all the dots, he said, adding that raids conducted so far are based on information analysis. "Mere depositing of money in bank account does not make it white. People should not make the mistake of thinking cash deposited in bank is white," he said. Till taxes are paid and full investigation is completed on the deposits that have been made in bank accounts, black cannot become white. "We want people to come forward and declare on their own unaccounted cash/deposit. The moment all the deposits come by December 30 we will analyse the voluminous data that we get. We would scrutinise all the data in a non-intrusive manner so that the fear of 'Inspector Raj' is not there in the minds of people," he added. Adhia said President Pranab Mukherjee last night gave his assent to the Taxation Laws (Second) Amendment Bill and the Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 scheme will open tomorrow and end on March 31. CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra said tax department is keeping an eye on all suspicious activities. "So the assessees should know that their deposits in bank accounts are being watched. We are examining whether it is explained money or not. Therefore, they should come very very clean under this scheme which is the last window available for anyone," he said. Giving details of the PMGKY scheme, Adhia said declaration of undisclosed income under it can be made by any person in the form of cash or deposits in an account with bank or post office or a specified entity. "Tax at the rate of 30 per cent of the undisclosed income, surcharge of 33 per cent of tax and penalty of 10 per cent of such income is payable besides mandatory deposit of 25 per cent of the undisclosed income in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme 2016. The deposits are interest free and have a lock-in period of four years," he said. The income declared under the Scheme will not be included in the total income of the declarant under the Income Tax Act for any assessment year. Also, declarations made under the Scheme shall not be admissible as evidence under any Act like Central Excise, Wealth Tax or Companies Act. However, no immunity will be available under criminal acts. Adhia said the provisions for levy of penalty for misreporting of income at the rate of 200 per cent of tax payable under section 270A of the Income Tax Act have not been amended and shall continue to apply in respect of cases falling under the said section. The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act 2016 has also amended the penalty provisions in respect of search and seizure cases. The existing slab of penalty of 10, 20 and 60 per cent of income has been rationalised to 30 per cent of income, if the income is admitted and taxes are paid. Otherwise a penalty of 60 per cent of income shall be levied. Taxmann Director Rakesh Bhargava said that PMGKY is the only option left with tax-evaders as any detection of unaccounted income thereafter would attract tax ranging from 83.25 per cent to 137.25 per cent. "Taxpayers are advised not to make declaration of third party money under PMGKY," he said. Meanwhile, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Sushil Chandra said on Friday that Rs 2,600 crore in concealed income has been disclosed so far following demonetisation. The government has seized over Rs 316 crore including Rs 80 crore in new notes in raids so far. Besides this, jewellery of Rs 76 crore had also been seized. Thus, the total amount unearthed so far amounted to Rs 393 crore, he added. There is no official estimation of black money either before or after November 8 -- the day government announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said earlier on Friday. "There is no official estimation of the amount of black money either before or after the government's decision of November 8, 2016 declaring that bank notes of denominations of the existing series of the value of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 shall cease to be legal tender with effect from November 9," he said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The searches conducted by Income Tax Department between April 2014 and November 2016 on 1,356 groups of assess led to admission of undisclosed income of Rs 31,277 crore apart from seizure of undisclosed assets worth Rs 2,164 crore, he added. Besides, 14,044 surveys conducted during the period, resulted in detection of undisclosed income of Rs 30,492 crore. Replying to another question on whether the government has received any proposal from the employees of LIC to provide another opportunity to those who have not chosen pension option earlier, Jaitley replied in affirmative. "The proposal was examined and a view has been taken that no more options for pension may be extended to employees of public sector insurance companies," he said. The SP, BSP and NCP dropped out of a delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee after Rahul Gandhi met Modi. New Delhi: Meeting Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and some other Congress leaders on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the hope that they would meet more often. According to a report in NDTV, Modi said, We should always meet like this. Gandhi and Modi sat facing each other in the latters office just two days after the Congress VP accused Modi of corruption. As the meeting ended, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress's leader in the Lok Sabha, responded to the Prime Minister's comment saying, "Even if our hearts don't meet, we can at least cooperate and shake hands." Everyone laughed and chit-chatted for a while after that, said the report. The delegation included Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, deputy leaders in both Houses Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of farm loan waivers with the PM, citing inputs he had gathered during his tour of Uttar Pradesh, which is due for elections soon. "Farmers are committing suicide all over the country. Government removed import duty on wheat, this is a devastating blow," Rahul said after the meeting. He said the Prime Minister accepted that the situation of farmers is serious but did not say anything on loan waiver. But the Congress VPs one-to-one meeting with Modi has not gone down with some Opposition parties. The Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Nationalist Congress Party dropped out of a delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to record their protest against demonetisation, as a result of Rahuls meeting with the PM. This strikes a blow to Opposition unity, just a few days after 15 Opposition parties had picked Gandhi as their spokesperson. The report said that Opposition parties are upset that the Congress Vice-President sought a meeting with the Prime Minister without involving the other parties. "Are we not concerned about the plight of farmers?" asked a leader of the BSP, which is a major player in the Uttar Pradesh elections. Consequently, Congress President Sonia Gandhi led a much smaller delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee, said the report. Among those who were part of the delegation include Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC), Janata Dal (United) and the RJD. Rahuls meeting with Modi comes just two days after he had levelled graft charges against the Prime Minister and claimed that he had "personal information" against him. The Prime Minister is personally terrified with the information that I have. It is personal corruption of the Prime Minister that we have detailed information on, but I am not being allowed to speak in Parliament Rahul had said on Wednesday. Rahul however had refused to reveal details and said he would only speak on the matter in Parliament. "I have been elected by the people of India, by the people of Amethi, and the right place for me to speak on such issues is in the House," he explained. The Congress leader had accused the government of running away from the debate on demonetisation as both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha remained virtually paralysed throughout the Winter Session. Authorities did not disclose the location fearing a threat to his life. New Delhi: A year after he walked free, the juvenile from the December 16, 2012 gang rape in Delhi is now working as a cook at a dhaba in south India. According to a report in Hindustan Times, while the juvenile was trained in painting, tailoring and cooking during his three-year stay at north Delhis Majnu Ka Tila shelter home, cooking was the profession the 22-year-old chose to pursue. After his release on December 20, 2015, he was kept with a NGO for a few days. Later, the NGO rehabilitated him to the southern part of the country. He is currently working at a roadside eatery, an officer, who was part of his rehabilitation programme was quoted as saying. However, authorities did not disclose his location, fearing a threat to his life. Even though the then-juvenile became notorious after he was found guilty of raping and killing the 23-year-old physiotherapist, the officer said that not many are aware of his background. He was 11 when he fled home, 240 km from Delhi. His elder sister fends for the family of six ailing mother, younger siblings and bedridden father -- by herself. The family still lives in the same village. After leaving home, the convict came to Delhi to earn money and got in touch with Ram Singh and the other accused. He used to clean the bus in which the rape occurred. His friends would give him food in return. They had asked him to accompany them on that eventful night too. A number of welfare officers and a counsellor, who spoke to him at the correction home, said he was the most disciplined inmate and used to call his mother often during his time at the shelter. The report also stated that he turned religious soon after coming to the shelter. He grew a beard and started offering namaz five times a day. Initially, he was kept away from the other inmates. But during the last year of his stay, he shared the dormitory with a high court blast accused. The PM also attacked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who called demonetisation organised plunder and legalised loot. New Delhi: Asserting that it was always nation first for the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress and other Opposition parties of safeguarding the interests of dishonest and corrupt people by stalling Parliament proceedings over the demonetisation. Citing a book that mentioned then Union finance minister Y.B. Chavan going to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with the recommendation of a committee on demonetisation, where she was quoted asking whether there were no more elections to be fought by the Congress Party, Mr Modi said if the Congress had taken the right decision at the right time, the country would have been in a better position now. He also claimed that late Communist leaders Jyotirmoy Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet were also in favour of demonetisation to hit out at the Left parties for backing the Congress on the issue. Addressing the BJP parliamentary party on the last day of the Winter Session of Parliament, Mr Modi said that unlike in the past when the Opposition parties stalled the House over scams and in order to expose corruption, the Congress-led Opposition was doing it as the government had taken steps to curb black money and corruption. He told party leaders they had to fight to rid the country of corruption and black money with confidence and urged them to popularise the governments thrust on digital transactions as a way of life. The PM also attacked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who called demonetisation organised plunder and legalised loot. Mr Modi quoted his comments made in 1991 to say he had once used the language of threat against tax evaders, but his tone had completely changed now. Why? Because he is worried about his party, not the country, Mr Modi said of Dr Singh. The PM also cited the Supreme Courts observations against the UPA government over lack of action against black money to make his point. In our country, ruckus in Parliament or not letting it function had happened earlier too. It was a little longer this time. But there is an essential difference. Earlier, the ruckus and disruptions happened because of massive scams and graft and the Opposition would unite and fight on the principle of honesty... This is the first time when the treasury benches have taken a step against corruption and many in the Opposition have come together to support the dishonest, the PM said. He added political values had fallen so much that the Opposition parties were now brazenly speaking in favour of the dishonest, something that used to be done secretively earlier. Attacking the Congress, Mr Modi said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring the legislation never came into force. Lamenting the lack of debate in Parliament, the PM said it would be good had the governments critics shown strength to start a discussion on merit. He also expressed his gratitude to Odisha and Bihar chief ministers Navin Patnaik and Nitish Kumar for their open support for the demonetisation decision despite their ideological differences with the BJP. We do not think in parts. There is a full-scale design. It is only that we show our cards gradually, he said, and reiterated that the peoples woes would gradually begin to ease after 50 days of demonetisation being announced. Facing criticism that a slew of measures taken by his government would give unbridled power to the bureaucracy, he said he would not allow afsarshahi (rule of bureaucrats) and had asked the authorities to do no post-mortem of peoples transactions prior to November 8, when the demonetisation decision was taken, as they shift to digital modes of payment. Referring to reward schemes offered by his government as a Christmas gift to customers and traders shifting to online platforms, he asked party leaders to promote these. Quoting Chanakya Niti, he said light-heartedly that money collected through unfair means goes waste in the 11th year, a reference to the UPAs 10-year rule before he took office. On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladeshs liberation in 1971, Mr Modi also targeted the Opposition for its remarks on the Armys surgical strikes across the Line of Control. The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek any evidence of the Armys valour unlike that of today, Mr Modi said. The latest report is based on 25 peer-reviewed research papers that examine episodes of extreme weather of 2015 over five continents. Miami: Last years heat waves across Europe and Asia, fires in Alaska, unusually sunny winters in Britain and high-tide floods in Florida were influenced by climate change, a US report showed today. But other extreme weather events could not be blamed on the burning of fossil fuels which traps gas in the atmosphere and warms the planet, said the report called Explaining Extreme Events from a Climate Perspective. Those for which scientists found no climate signal included the extreme cold in the eastern US and Canada, the late arrival of Nigerias spring rains and heavy daily precipitation in December over Chennai, India. The report, regularly published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, does not cover all extreme weather events, but allows scientists to select and study certain ones of interest. Scientists then use historical records and climate models to attempt to explain the extent of the impact of climate change in shaping them. The latest report is based on 25 peer-reviewed research papers that examine episodes of extreme weather of 2015 over five continents and two oceans. Some 116 scientists from 18 countries contributed to the analysis. The strongest evidence for a human influence was found for temperature-related events the increased intensity of numerous heat waves, diminished snowpack in the Cascades, record-low Arctic sea ice extent in March and the extraordinary extent and duration of Alaska wildfires, said the report. Monthly temperature records show that 2016 is likely to be the hottest on record, marking the third such year in a row as the planet warms. Scientists say some storms and other kinds of extreme weather are likely to get worse as the Earth heats up, glaciers and ice sheets melt and sea levels rise. After five years of the BAMS Explaining Extreme Events report, were seeing mounting evidence that climate change is making heat waves more extreme in many regions around the world, said lead editor Stephanie Herring, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Information. As we get better at distinguishing the influence of climate change from natural variability, the local significance and impacts of this global phenomenon are becoming clearer. Singapore records the highest growth with a whopping 202 percent average increase in searches since 2013 With the year coming to an end Indians are now planning for their travel next year and Singapore, Bali and Malaysia continue to remain on top of the travel list in 2017, according to a report. "Singapore, Bali and Malaysia is likely to remain top of travel lists in 2017," according to global travel search engine Skyscanner's Travel Trends report. Skyscanner's Travel Trends Report is an analysis of three years' data from Indian travellers, dating back to 2013. The report revealed that among the countries listed, Singapore records the highest growth with a whopping 202 percent average increase in searches since 2013. The Lion city-state draws the attention of travellers from across India due to relaxed visa regulations, diverse culture and its multitude of tourist attractions. Skyscanner expects continued growth in 2017, with its easy flight connections and multiple-airlines flying to Singapore.The report revealed that Australia, South Africa and select European cities are aspirational destinations. Australia has emerged as an ambitious contender for the top spot with 67 per cent increase in searches since 2013,it added. Other countries that made top five are Malaysia (46 per cent), Maldives (22 per cent) and South Africa (11 percent), respectively. While Malaysia and Maldives have been popular holiday choices in the past, South Africa coming in the top five underlines the Indian travellers adventurous streak to seek uncharted destinations, it opined. Similarly, Skyscanner's data has placed Bali as a favoured destination in 2017, with 35 per cent recorded average growth in searches in the past three years. Whether a solo trip or a family holiday, the travel search engine anticipates Bali to remain on top due to relaxed visa-regulations introduced in 2016, it said. DCW chairman writes to PM saying just 20 per cent of the Rs 4,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund has been used. New Delhi: The Nirbhaya Fund set up to help women victims for their safety and security in 2012 seemed to have no takers. The fund, which was set up with Rs 1,000 crore has swelled up to Rs 4,000 crore, but reports indicate only 20 per cent of it has so far been utilised. Raising the issue of the unutilised Nirbhaya Fund, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday in a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained that women and children have been caught in the raging turf war between the Centre and the Delhi government. The DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal, in her letter to the Prime Minister stated: Women and children are suffering because of the ongoing turf-war between the Centre and the Delhi government as nothing was being done for their safety and security. The Nirbhaya fund was set up after the gruesome gangrape of a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern in a moving bus. Claiming that Delhi was still being referred to as the rape capital of India, the DCW chairperson pointed out that even after four years of the Nirbhaya incident, women and children in Delhi are not safe. There were incidents of three-year-old girls getting raped. She further said that in Delhi everyday at least six girls become Nirbhaya. Ms Maliwal, who recently met the gangrape victims mother said that she was still awating justice. Achcha huan meri beti mar gayi, nahi toh nyay na milne ke karan woh ghut ghut ke mar jaati, her mother reportedly told the DCW chairperson. Talking about the Nirbhaya Fund, she pointed out that a Special Task Force, which was set up in 2013 to oversee and allocate the fund is virtually defunct. The Special Task Force comprised a representative from the Centre, Delhi government and the Delhi Police. The letter reminded that the fund was supposed to have been used for digitisation of police records on crime against women, initiate a compensation scheme for the women victims, take measures to prevent human trafficking, install CCTV cameras, set up forensic labora-tories among others. The letter said that till date nothing much has been done. In her letter to the Prime Minister, she claimed that the Delhi governments assurance to install CCTV cameras in DTC buses have also not been fulfilled. The DCW chairperson urged the Prime Minister to use the fund to set up rehabilitation centres for acid attack victims and one stop centres. He was driving a car that had a Home Ministry sticker but police said that he is not a government employee, police said. The woman from Noida had come to Delhi looking for a job and while she was waiting for a bus near AIIMS, the accused offered her a lift last evening, police said. (Photo: Representational Image) New Delhi: A 20-year-old-woman was allegedly raped in south Delhi's Moti Bagh area after the attacker offered her a lift to Noida, police said on Friday. The woman from Noida had come to Delhi looking for a job and while she was waiting for a bus near AIIMS, the accused offered her a lift last evening, police said. The accused stopped the car in Moti Bagh and allegedly sexually assaulted her. She managed to escape from there and informed the police. The accused was arrested last night. He was driving a car that had a Home Ministry sticker but police said that he is not a government employee. A 20-year-old-woman was allegedly raped in south Delhi's Moti Bagh area after the attacker offered her a lift to Noida, police said on Friday. The woman from Noida had come to Delhi looking for a job and while she was waiting for a bus near AIIMS, the accused offered her a lift last evening, police said. The accused stopped the car in Moti Bagh and allegedly sexually assaulted her. She managed to escape from there and informed the police. The accused was arrested last night. "We have recorded her statement. She has told us that the driver raped her in his car," Rekha, the police officer handling the case, said. "We have arrested the driver," said the officer, who goes by only one name, adding that police have launched an investigation into the case and seized the car. Rekha said the suspect was a driver for a member of India's elite paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force. The driver reportedly later abandoned the vehicle and fled to a friend's house where the police arrested him Thursday morning. The deceased was identified as Rinku Meena, an engineering graduate from Karauli in Rajasthan. During investigation, it was found that they met on Facebook and became friends but had to separate as their families were opposing their relation. New Delhi: A 22-year-old man committed suicide by allegedly jumping off a mall in the city three months after his girlfriend killed herself in a similar manner. The deceased was identified as Rinku Meena, an engineering graduate from Karauli in Rajasthan. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ghaziabad on Thursday. The police said that on Wednesday late evening, Meena jumped off the third floor of Shoptrix mall located in Vaishali area. We have recovered a two-page suicide note from him. In his suicide note, he has mentioned about a girl, who had committed suicide two months ago in an East Delhi mall, said a police official. His girlfriend, a 17-year-old minor based in Ghaziabad, had also allegedly jumped off a mall in East Delhi on September 21, leaving behind a suicide note in which she had mentioned her relationship with the deceased. During investigation, it was found that they met on Facebook and became friends but had to separate as their families were opposing their relation. The girl committed suicide and her family members alleged that the youth was stalking their daughter. An FIR was registered and he was sent to jail. After few weeks, he got out on bail. I had promised the girl that we will live together and die together. Now that she is gone, I have to end my life as well. I request my elder brothers to take care of our parents, the deceased student stated in his suicide note. The AAP chief on Friday also lashed out at the CBI for registering a case on a complaint made by e-wallet company Paytm. New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi did not have the guts to expose Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he fears that action could be taken against his brother-in-law Robert Vadra. Rahul does not have the guts to expose anything against Modi ji. The day he does it, Modi ji will arrest Robert Vadra, he said on Twitter. Mr Kejriwal was reacting to Mr Gandhis remarks that he wants to present detailed information about personal corruption by Mr Modi in the Lok Sabha. Mr Gandhi had said that he was not being allowed to do so by the PM. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Kejriwal had accused the Congress vice-president of being involved in a friendly match with the BJP and dared him to expose Mr Modi if he had documents at his disposal. The AAP chief on Friday also lashed out at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for registering a case on a complaint made by e-wallet company Paytm. Modi ji has come into Paytm advertisements. He is in Paytms wallet now. CBI does not have the guts to refuse Paytms order, Mr Kejriwal tweeted. CBI has registered an FIR against some customers of Paytm on a complaint by the company that it was allegedly cheated of Rs 6.15 lakh by them. It is rare for the agency to take up such cases unless there is a referral from the Union government or direction by the Supreme Court or one of the high courts. The Delhi CM, whose party will be making its debut in the next years Assembly elections in Goa, Gujarat and Punjab, has emerged as one of the vociferous critics of the PMs demonetisation of large denomination notes. He has been demanding a rollback of the demonetisation scheme. Investigators had even started questioning history sheeters in the area. Mumbai: Ten days after a 25-year-old physiotherapist was discovered raped and murdered in her house in Vile Parle, the police still have no definite suspects. Officials at the Vile Parle police station officials who are probing the case revealed that they had scanned through nearly 38 CCTV cameras in the area, including those leading up to the street where the victim stayed, but to no avail as of yet. We have scanned through all CCTV cameras in the area but have found no solid evidence. All the people recorded in the cameras have been accounted for, said an official. He added that the investigators had even started questioning history sheeters in the area. While we think that the crime was committed by someone known to the victim since there were no marks of forced entry into the house, we are questioning everybody. The area where the victim stayed is close to a slum and our officials are questioning the people who live there as well, the official said. The victim, a resident of a chawl in Vile Parle, was found in a naked state on December 6, with her body being discovered when smoke started emanating from the room and neighbours alerted her parents. The family, which stayed in an adjacent house, allowed the victim and her younger sister to use the extra room on the first floor as a study room and, for some years now, the victim would sleep there. The police in its probe was interrogating the victims sister, a female friend, a male friend and her boyfriend. The police had also questioned a male friend of the victims mother who stayed in the same area. The police had earlier revealed that the victims boyfriend was in a studio located in Navi Mumbai, where he works as a sound engineer, when the incident took place. He was not with her the whole day and had not even met her the day prior to the incident. We even checked her call records and found that she had not spoken to anybody after 11 pm that night, the official said. The police is now questioning a former boyfriend of the victim. We got information about him through the girls friends and are probing his location on the day of the incident, he said. Bregret, Bremorse not durable enough to enter the dictionary. London: It has been the word on everyones lips in Britain since the country voted to leave the European Union, and now Brexit has entered the dictionary, it was announced Thursday. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines the portmanteau word as the (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it. The word was first used when then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013 announced he would hold a referendum on Britains EU membership if re-elected, but entered common parlance as campaigning intensified before the shock June 23 vote. Brexits inclusion in the OED December update within five years of being coined is highly unusual, said the dictionary, widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. The speed with which it became widely used and recognized was impressive, fuelled by the fact it filled an empty space in our language, and the growing importance of the phenomenon it described. By late 2016 it was a global word. Brexit has become a linguistic wellspring, it added, spawning derivative words such as Brexiteer, although Bregret, Bremorse and Brexodus have not yet shown sufficient durability to enter the OED. The word developed from Grexit, describing a similar process in which Greece might leave the eurozone. Grexit has also entered the dictionary for the first time, with the OED, calling politics a fruitful area for new words. We can be sure that political words and phrases like these will keep coming, it added. Prime Minister Theresa May has frequently batted off questions about how Britain will leave the EU by saying Brexit means Brexit, but the OED explained it had not been so easy for them. Spare a thought for us lexicographers, having to decide what Brexit means before anybody else, it said. The word that caused an uproar: Fans of the superhero actor posted photos on social media that went viral If you are a Marvel fan, you would be on top of the world when you saw Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. in Chennai, wouldnt you? After the recent success of the movies, Indians would obviously happy to spot him in the country and that is exactly what happened. On Tuesday when Facebook user Sumit Sanghvi posted a picture of him and the actor, everybody got excited. Feeling quite privileged about the visit, the social page for Phoenix Market City Chennai too posted the photo. It was later found that it wasnt really Robert Downey Jr. but another actor by the name of Alberto Serrato who was visiting the city. The striking resemblance between the two actors is the reason why many fans were fooled the signature beard helped the situation and were sure any fan would have got fooled to not take notice. Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election also puts the White House on a collision course with Trump. Obama is expected to be peppered with questions about the dispute and any subsequent action when he holds a news conference Friday at 2:15 pm (1915 GMT) before leaving for a vacation in Hawaii. (Photo: AP) Washington: Barack Obama on Thursday said the United States would retaliate against Russian hacking after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the US election. The outgoing US president's remarks dramatically upped the stakes in a dispute between the world's leading nuclear powers over interference that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican billionaire Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing." Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election also puts the White House on a collision course with Trump, who has become increasingly isolated in questioning Russian involvement in hacks of Democratic Party emails that appeared to have slowed the momentum of Clinton's campaign. Obama is expected to be peppered with questions about the dispute and any subsequent action when he holds a news conference Friday at 2:15 pm (1915 GMT) before leaving for a vacation in Hawaii. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," one of his top advisers, Ben Rhodes, said earlier Thursday. "Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government," he told MSNBC television. "And ultimately, Vladimir Putin is the official responsible for the actions of the Russian government." 'Not a joke' White House spokesman Josh Earnest echoed his comments, saying the decision by US intelligence agencies in October to blame "Russia's senior-most officials" was not meant to be "particularly subtle." Trump caused outrage in July by suggesting that Russia find 30,000 missing emails related to Clinton's use of a private server when she was secretary of state. Surrogates dismissed it as a joke, but he repeated his call on Twitter. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy. That's not a joke," Earnest said on Thursday. "Mr Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him and hurting Secretary Clinton's campaign," he added. Asked if the White House believes Russia successfully rigged the election, however, he told reporters that there were a "variety of potential explanations, and that's more of a question for analysts of politics than it is for analysts of intelligence." Trump, who blasted as "ridiculous" a reported CIA assessment that Russia was trying to help him win, has continued to question Russian involvement in hacks of damaging Democratic Party emails. He used a campaign-style victory rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday to hit out against Earnest, calling him "this foolish guy" and questioning whether he was talking to Obama to boos from the crowd. "Having the right press secretary is so important because he is so bad the way he delivers the message," said the president-elect, who has yet to appoint one for his own incoming administration. 'Ridiculous nonsense' "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump tweeted earlier on Thursday. The 70-year-old billionaire now appears increasingly isolated. The assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that Russia was involved has been accepted throughout government and by top Republican Senators. On Wednesday, senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he was informed by the FBI in August that his own campaign had been hacked. "My goal is to put on President Trump's desk crippling sanctions against Russia," he said. "They need to pay a price." Former CIA director Michael Hayden called Trump "the only prominent American that has not yet conceded that the Russians conducted a massive covert influence campaign against the United States." A Kremlin spokesman on Thursday rejected the allegations of Putin's involvement as "ridiculous nonsense." As for Trump's assertion that no one addressed the issue before the election, Obama has repeatedly said both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee were apprised of the hacking and the Russian threat well before November 8. In Congress, senior legislators are demanding a broad investigation and declassification of at least some of the secret CIA and FBI reports. The test which involved live ammunition was to determine weapon performance in various areas. Beijing: China's first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its first live-fire exercise, announced the Defense Ministry. Dozens of ships and aircrafts took part in the exercise recently at the Bohai Sea in eastern China to test weapon performance and training levels, according to a statement posted on Thursday on the ministry's website. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. China-developed J-15 fighters carried live ammunition and performed strike exercises, the ministry said. Last month, the country said that its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was ready to engage in combat, marking a milestone for its navy that has invested heavily in its ability to project power far from China's shores. The Liaoning was commissioned in 2013 after being purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago. While China hasn't described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, it is seen to help China reinforce its increasingly assertive claims over almost all of the South China Sea, which is home to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of mineral resources. Five other governments claim the South Chinese maritime space either in part or in whole. Philippines and Vietnam in particular have sought assistance from the U.S. and others in beefing up their ability to resist China. Ban has won praise from LGBT activists for his appeals to countries to decriminalise homosexuality. United Nations: The UN Security Council on Wednesday dropped advancing gay rights from a tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after Russia raised objections, diplomats said. A draft statement that mentioned Mr Bans support for the LGBT community was changed to note instead that the most vulnerable or marginalized have been increasingly heard and assisted under his leadership. Mr Ban, the 72-year-old former South Korean foreign minister, steps down on December 31 after serving two terms as secretary-general of the United Nations. He will be succeeded by Antonio Guterres, the former prime minister of Portugal who served as UN refugee chief for a decade. Mr Ban has won praise from LGBT activists for his appeals to countries to decriminalise homosexuality. The outgoing UN chief came under fire from many UN member-states including Russia when he decided in 2015 to extend benefits to the same-sex partners of UN employees. In September, he hosted the first high-level meeting at the United Nations on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to push for an end to discrimination. More than 70 countries still have laws on their books making homosexuality a crime. The statement read by Spanish ambassador Roman Oyarzun, who holds the council presidency this month, listed the Paris climate deal and the UNs sustainable development goals as Mr Bans achievements. Addressing the council, Mr Ban said his deepest regret on leaving office is the continuing nightmare in Syria. UK rejects report which claims trade deal with EU after Brexit may take 10 years. British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for the European Union leaders summit at the European Council in Brussels. (Photo: AFP) Brussels: European Union leaders grappled with Russia and Brexit at a minefield summit in Brussels on Thursday at the end of one of the most turbulent years in the blocs history. The 28 leaders are dealing with the migration crisis, sanctions against Moscow over the wars in Ukraine and Syria, and a troublesome pact with Kiev that the Netherlands threatens to veto. British Prime Minister Theresa May will later be left out in the cold while the other 27 have dinner without her in a bid to present a united front over how they handle Britains departure. Ms May however dismissed any suggestion that it amounted to a snub and called for as smooth and orderly a process as possible. It is right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing, said Ms May, who has promised to trigger the two-year divorce process by the end of March. Lithuanias iron lady President Dalia Grybauskaite meanwhile played down a report that Britains ambassador to the EU had warned the government that a full post-Brexit trade deal could take 10 years. 10 years? I hope it will be a lot less, she told reporters. The one-day summit, cut back from the usual two days. We are treading on a minefield, there are so many issues on the agenda that still can go wrong, warned a senior EU official. The British government also rejected a report Thursday that it could take up to 10 years to agree a new trade deal with the EU after Brexit, a move that could leave businesses in limbo. Ms Mays spokesman insisted that Britain could negotiate its departure from the European Union and a new trading arrangement within the current two-year timeframe. Britains ambassador to the EU, Ivan Rogers, has advised ministers that the other 27 member states believe a trade deal might not be done until the early to mid-2020s, the BBC reported. In a meeting in October, Mr Rogers also warned that even once it was agreed, the new deal might be rejected as each EU countrys parliament would have to ratify it. It is not the view of Sir Ivan Rogers, it is not the view of the government, Ms Mays spokesman said. This is the ambassador reflecting the views of others which have been put to him, which is a role that all ambassadors carry out. Ms May has said she will trigger Article 50 of the EUs Lisbon treaty, giving formal notification of Britains intention to leave the bloc, by the end of March. This begins a two-year countdown after which Britain will leave all the institutions and the single market, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed. The intention is that we will have a deal within the timeframe weve set out which sees us exit the European Union and allows us to trade with and operate in the single European market, Ms Mays spokesman said. But two senior ministers this week indicated they might be open to agreeing some kind of transitional deal, to bridge the gap between Brexit and the completion of new trade arrangements. Chancellor Philip Hammond, the finance minister, said on Monday that there was an emerging view that such an arrangement would be helpful to smooth the transition. Brexit minister David Davis on Wednesday said a bridging deal could be struck if necessary although he said he still believed negotiations could be wrapped up in two years. The debate touched on sensitive religious issues in increasingly conservative Jerusalem. Israeli lawmakers and their assistants protest outside Parliament against the skirt ban on Thursday. Jerusalem: Israels parliament speaker went on national radio on Thursday to try to quell anger over a ban on female staff wearing skirts deemed too short, a move that has caused a scandal in a legislature where informal dress has long been the fashion. The furore began about 10 days ago when Knesset security guards began turning away women they accused of being dressed immodestly, even though the rules do not specify a skirt length. On Wednesday, about 30 women protested at the Knessets security entrance, posing for news cameras wearing above-the-knee skirts or dresses in defiance of the ban. They were supported by a man wearing a skirt over his trousers and a member of parliament who stripped down to his undershirt. The lawmaker, Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, complained that soon women would have to wear burkas. Parliamentary Speaker Yuli Edelstein said on national radio the Knesset had not gone, in his words, Iran-Taliban. The issue has been referred to a special committee, where lawmakers and aides, male and female, will take a look at the dress code and decide to what extent it should be implemented. Mr Edelstein defended the need for decorum in the legislature and said parliaments administrative director had only been doing his job when he sent around a letter in October reminding everyone of the dress code. The official, he said, had been acting on numerous complaints from legislators and staffers about people clad inappropriately. The debate touched on sensitive religious issues in increasingly conservative Jerusalem and in a country where the secular majority and ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority are traditionally at odds over the role of women in society and their attire. At the Knesset, some women staffers said male guards had embarrassed them publicly by ordering them to unbutton their coats so they could see the length of their skirts. The controversy seemed almost out of place in a legislature where business suits are as much the exception as polite debate and where shouting matches are de rigueur. For an institution charged with enacting laws, its own dress code is not written in stone. While banning tank tops, ripped trousers, flip flops and shorts, it does not set a precise hemline, merely forbidding short skirts and dresses. A ban on open-toed sandals and jeans has only been enforced inconsistently in the last decade. Manila (AsiaNews) - We cannot "prevent the killings because we do not know when it will happen, we do not know how they are carried out nor who the culprits are. What we can do is to help addicts with rehabilitation and awaken the consciousness of the people, ays Msgr. Broderick S. Pabillo, auxiliary bishop of Manila, alarmed by the continuous increase in extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers in the country. The Church, says the bishop, can take action in many ways: "We must make people understand that there is something wrong in this situation. We should appeal to the government to stop all this. We have a duty to speak for the public, so that governments are aware that there are people opposed to the killings and their conscience is touched. We hope that those responsible decide to change this policy, because there are other ways to deal with the drug problem. " In the last six months, since Rodrigo Duterte became president, at least 6 thousand people have been murdered without trial on charges of drug dealing and drug use. The massacre, promised by the president during his election campaign, has been criticized by of the international community and Duterte himself is accused of committing a murder when he was mayor of Davao. Today the United States has declared that it will not renew a substantial aid package to the Philippines because of "serious concerns" aroused by the Duterte. Msgr. Pabillo says that in addition to condemning the killings, the Church is active in helping the real addicts: "We have organized many groups, in parishes and churches, which are creating various types of rehabilitation programs for the sick. Our operators gather the needy, along with the village leaders and members of the police, provide them with education, do seminars and lectures on religious values, health and exercises they can do to improve their condition. " Programs vary from parish to parish. "Through exercises and games - continues the bishop - we teach addicts to take care of their families. Some parishes also have reintegration projects, so that drug addicts are not lost to addiction. " Initiatives such as these are present in Manila, the Visayas and other regions of the Philippines. In the capital psychologists are involved working together with the Church. This type of activity, says Msgr. Pabillo, existed before Duterte: "For example, on the island of Masbate, thanks to Brazilian missionaries, and in the province of Batangas. The programs have increased over the past six months because of the worsening situation. We have still not been able to collect complete data on how many programs are in place and how many addicts have been cured. " by Sumon Corraya The Bishops' Conference organize a seminar dedicated to politicians. At a parliamentary level, there is only one Christian representative; at a local level, less than 100 Christians out of a total of 4554 administrative units. Card. D'Rozario: "Do not vote laws that go against religion and morality." Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Spreading the Gospel values in politics and work for the good of the citizens. With these objectives, the Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB) organized a seminar addressed to local Christians administrators. Addressing the participants, Cardinal. Patrick D'Rozario said: "The presence of Christians in social life can be a symbol of love. They must promote policies for welfare. They must act in the name of peace and justice ". The seminar was organized by the Episcopal Commission for the Laity and took place in recent days in Dhaka. It was attended by 58 political Christians, mostly Catholics, members of the Union Parishad, the smallest administrative unit of the country. Of a total of 4554 unions, the Christian members are less than 100. At a parliamentary level however, there is only one Christian representative. The need for greater involvement of Christians in local politics has increased with the years. This is why the church hierarchy began to encourage the laity to work in politicsto ensure equal rights to all citizens and take care of the faithful of other religions testifying to Christ. Chayon H. Rebeiro, secretary of the Commission, told AsiaNews: "The seminar aims to educate politicians to Christian values and inspire them to spread the guidelines of the Catholic Church". In this regard, Card. D'Rozario said that "Christian legislators should not support laws that go against religion and morality". "Many politicians - he added - believe that the majority vote would establish what is true, even if a law is wrong. The Christian rulers should know the true values and truth when they vote a law ". Shipra Haru Mohanta, Catholic member of the union of Gopalgonj, comments: "With this training at a national level, the Church has wanted to recognize our importance, although we represent a tiny part of the government. For me the seminar was very inspiring. " The Syrian government has suspended the evacuation accusing the rebels of firing on fleeing civilians. Caritas Director stresses the urgent need for aid, adding "the alert is at its highest". Psychological care for children and the disabled is needed. The goal is "to enter the eastern sector and help directly." Aleppo (AsiaNews) Families displaced from east Aleppo "are in dire need of help," many of them should be considered "refugees" and requiring "food, medicines, and basic necessities". Others "are trying to return to their homes", but they lack the means to survive, and they too should be provided immediate assistance," said George Antoine Kahal, director of Caritas Aleppo, which has played a leading role in helping civilians fleeing the violence. "The government has taken control of the city, the Christian activist told AsiaNews, and many of the rebels fled east from Aleppo, taking refuge in the surrounding countryside and across the border in Turkey. The members of the al Nusra Front, however, have turned toward Idlib." Now Caritas plans to enter the eastern sector and help directly the families and elderly still left. Thousands of fighters and civilians, many of them traumatised, left in the last few hours taking advantage of the fragile truce that held overnight. The evacuation plan that started yesterday was supposed to continue unhindered, until completion. However, the government suspended the operation, accusing the rebels of violating the terms of the agreement. Militias hampered the departure of civilians and opened fire on the vehicles set to take them out. Local sources said that buses and ambulances have travelled back and forth all night, taking many of those trapped in the last section of the city still in rebel hands. Some residents left the area by their own means. Most of the displaced and combatants are being directed to the neighbouring province of Idlib, which is held by a rebel alliance that includes the Jihadi group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. The UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura warned that evacuees could face more violence in Idlib. "If there is no political agreement and a ceasefire, Idlib will become the next Aleppo," he said. Before the war, Aleppo was Syrias second most important city of Syria, as well as its economic and commercial hub. Since 2012 it has been divided into two sectors. The western, home to 1.2 million people, has remained under government control; the eastern, with about 250,000 people, was held until recently by rebel and jihadist groups. In less than a month, an offensive by government forces, supported by Russian air strikes and Iranian and Hezbollah ground troops, crushed rebel resistance and placed the city under government control. Yesterday, Syrian President Bashar al Assad welcomed the news of the citys total "liberation", after years of fighting. State media reported that the rebels, before leaving the area, blew up ammunition depots and destroyed documents. Whilst military operations can now be considered over, the humanitarian situation is of the utmost emergency'. "We are working on plans to help the most vulnerable and affected families, Aleppo Caritas director said. We are facing a cold winter and the alert is at its highest." "We want to do something for these families, he added, which is why we are in contact with other NGOs and organisations, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees." The goal is to "take on first hand an area in east Aleppo" to provide residents with "food, medicines, and basic necessities. This means doing what others dont do, like offering psychological support to war victims, above all children, and taking charge of disabled children that no one is caring for." Families fleeing the eastern sector are Muslim, but "are happy about our help and appreciate our work." In the last four years, "Caritas has helped several refugee families, fleeing east Aleppo. Now our goal is to enter the eastern sector and directly help in their homes and in their neighbourhoods the families who stayed behind and those who have already gone back." Asked about the violence reported by Western media and NGOs close to the opposition and the rebels, Kahal says he does not believe "the rumours of massacres of civilians", although there were episodes of violence against the population. "In general, families are happier to come under the government. In the last six months of fighting and siege they had no food or medicines, which rebel militias and Jihadi groups often seized." From the recent stories I heard from fleeing families we helped, the worst group is the al Nusra Front, the Caritas director said. It was hated by everyone, even if hostility towards all rebel groups was widespread." Organised crime syndicates and gaming companies see economic opportunities in the new law adopted after 15 years of arguing. Tokyo (AsiaNews) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to a law legalising casinos. This has aroused the interest of many gaming companies, not to mention the Yakuza, Japan's organised crime syndicate. The first casinos will not be in operation until 2022-23 at the earliest, but many Japanese and foreign gambling companies are already considering investing in Japan. So are criminal organisations. Indeed, although No one gains big benefits through gambling, [. . .] customers who lose all reason borrow unlimited amounts of money, says a gang boss quoted by Kenji Ogata in Asahi Shimbun. As few as three casinos could generate nearly US$ 10 billion in net profit annually, the Daiwa Research Institute estimated, equivalent to 0.2% of Japans gross domestic product. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had included authorising casinos in his economic recovery programme when he took office in 2012. Still, as much as Abes ruling Liberal Democratic Party is in favour of casinos, a majority of Japanese is not. In fact, a recent poll by public broadcaster NHK showed 44 per cent of the Japanese public opposed casinos with only 12 per cent in favour. by Michele Brambilla Dinajpur (AsiaNews) - 2016 "has been an intense year, where evil seems to have dominated all over the world, says Fr. Michele Brambilla, regional superior of PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) in Bangladesh. Speaking to AsiaNews, he retraces the past year, marked by episodes of Islamist violence, but also emotion for his new assignment. Appointed superior in November 2015, he left the Kodbir parish where he was the first pastor. Now, torn between nostalgia and the knowledge that it was "time to leave the responsibility of the parish to others," he asks us to pray for Bangladesh, so that 2016 is a Christmas of peace. Below his letter to our readers. Dearest friends, Greetings from Bangladesh. For the past few days it is as if I were in Italy. The frost bites and the sun appears for only two to three hours a day. People try to take advantage of these few hours to dry the rice they have just cut to sell at the market. I am writing from the hospital St. Vincent of Dinajpur which belongs to the diocese where I work. Since the bishop asked me to be Director, I spend most of my time in this facility attempting to manage it as best I can. It's a nice, clean place, where the staff tries to help the sick, with all of the necessary care and attention. There is so much more that we would like to do to help our patients, but our economic resources are limited and cannot cover all of the needs that arise. Our busiest department is the maternity ward. There is no timetable, and most or our staff are concentrated there. I am gradually taking my leave of the parish. From next January one of the two fathers of PIME in the parish will be named pastor in my place. I will continue to go to Kodbir for a year to follow the credit union and progress on the kitchen and the refectory of the training center. Even if reluctantly, I feel it is time to hand over the responsibility of the parish to others. Both prospective candidates are very good and are working well together. I believe that the appointment of one of the two as parish priest will spoil the harmony that has been created between them. I ask you to continue to support this young parish with your help and your prayers. Over the year I have had to leave aside this pastoral work to devote myself to my new role as hospital director and superior of the PIME community in Bangladesh. I must say that I miss the work among the people a lot and when I can I try to go to the parish for some priestly ministry. During Advent, I am also going into the St. Joseph parish in Mohespur where a young PIME priest has been appointed parish priest. I try to help him and this community as much as I can to prepare to celebrate Christmas. It's been a busy year where evil seems to have dominated all over the world. Even Bangladesh has been hard hit and the tragedy of last July 1, where several foreigners including many Italians were killed, was the most obvious sign of this evil. Since then the situation appears to be improving. We are always escorted by police during our movements, but there are no other reports of individual or collective attacks. We hope that peace will return soon, which is the wish that I make for each of you for this Christmas. May it be a Christmas of peace. To all of you ... my warmest embrace. by Mathias Hariyadi Showing accessories or clothes that reflect a non-Islamic tradition is against the law. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued fatwa 56/2016 against the increasingly Christmassy atmosphere that is pervading public spaces. The group The MUI called on Muslims not to "mix" with a foreign culture. Jakarta (AsiaNews) The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) yesterday issued a fatwa banning non-Muslim attire and accessories at Christmas time. Ruling no 56/2016 states that it is haram (forbidden) to use non-Islamic items. Dressing up as Santa Claus or sporting Christmas-themed gadgets are absolutely prohibited. "Religious images and accessories are used intentionally to show the identity of a certain religion, and represent that tradition and rites, said Hasanuddin, head of the committee that drafted the fatwa. For this reason, using non-Islamic accessories is against the law, as is asking Muslims to sport them." The Islamic leader added that the fatwa was issued in response to the increasingly Christmassy atmosphere that is spreading all over Indonesia. Advertising and employees in bars and supermarkets dressed up as Santa show accessories deemed as Christian. For Hasanuddin, This tradition harms people's faith. The MUI went further, calling on Muslims not to "mix" Islam with the traditions that are not part of it. Hence, Muslims cannot sell or buy Christmas items, whilst employers cannot force Muslims to sport Christmas attire. Yesterday, several members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) stormed a car dealership in Bekasi (West Java) and threatened the owner who wanted his employees to wear a Christmas outfit. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - " Let us ask from John the grace of apostolic courage to always say things with truth, from pastoral love, to receive the people with the little that they can give, the first step. God will do the rest. " The figure of John the Baptist was the focus of the homily this morning given by Pope Francis at Mass in Santa Marta. Many people went out into the desert to find John the Baptist, including the Pharisees and the doctors of the law. The latter, though, went out with a certain detachment, intending not to be baptized by John, but to judge him. In the Gospel of the Day, Jesus asks the crowds what they went out to see in the desert: a reed swayed by the wind? Someone dressed in fine garments? They werent looking for men dressed in fine vestments, because people like that are found in the palaces of kings or sometimes of Bishops, the Pope added. Rather, they went out to see a prophet, one who was more than a prophet. Jesus said among those born of women, no one is greater than John. He was the last of the prophets, the Pope said, because after him came the Messiah. Dwelling on the reason of Johns greatness, Pope Francis explained, He was a man who was faithful to what the Lord had asked of him; he was great because he was faithful. This greatness is seen even in his preaching: He preached forcefully, he said some ugly things to the Pharisees, to the doctors of the law, to the priests, he didnt say to them: But dear friends, behave yourselves! No. He said to them simply: You race of vipers! He didnt use nuance. Because they approached in order to inspect him and to see him, but never with open hearts: Race of vipers! He risked his live, yes, but he was faithful. Then to Herod, to his face, he said, Adulterer! It is not licit for you to live this way, adulterer! To his face! But it is certain that if a pastor today said in the Sunday homily, Among you there are some who are a race of vipers, and there are many adulterers, certainly the Bishop would receive disconcerting letters: But send away this pastor who insults us. And he insulted them. Why? Because he was faithful to his vocation and to the truth. The Pope noted, though, that with the people he was understanding: of the publicans who were known as public sinners because they exploited the people he said, Do not ask for more than what is just. He began with small things. Then well see. And he baptized them, Francis continued. First this step. Then we see. He asked the soldiers, the police, not to threaten or denounce anyone and to be content with their pay. This means not entering into the world of tangents, Pope Francis explained. When a policeman stops you, he tests you for alcohol, there is a little more: Eh, no, but how much? Come on! No. This no. John baptized all these sinners, but with this minimal step forward, because he knew that with this step, the Lord would do the rest. And they converted. It is a pastor, the Pope continued, who understood the situation of the people and helped them to go forward with the Lord. John was then the only prophet to whom the grace of pointing out Jesus was given. Although John was great, strong, secure in his vocation, he still had dark moments, he had his doubts, said Francis. In fact, John began to doubt in prison, even though he had baptized Jesus, because he was a Saviour that was not as he had imagined him. And so he sent two of his disciples to ask Him if He was the Messiah. And Jesus corrects the vision of John with a clear response. In fact, He tells them to report to John that the blind see, the deaf hear, the dead rise. The great can afford to doubt, because they are great, the Pope said. The great can afford to doubt, and this is beautiful. They are certain of their vocation but each time the Lord makes them see a new street of the journey, they enter into doubt. But this is not orthodox, this is heretical, this is not the Messiah I expected. The devil does this work, and some friend also helps, no? This is the greatness of John, a great one, the last of that band of believers that began with Abraham, that one that preaches conversion, that one that does not use half-words to condemn the proud, that one that at the end of his life is allowed to doubt. And this is a good program of Christian life. Pope Francis than summarized the main points of his homily: saying the truth and accepting from the people what they are able to give, a first step: Let us ask from John the grace of apostolic courage to always say things with truth, from pastoral love, to receive the people with the little that they can give, the first step. God will do the rest. And also the grace of doubting. Often times, maybe at the end of life, one can ask, But is all that I believed true or are they fantasies? the temptation against the faith, against the Lord. May the great John, who is the least in the kingdom of Heaven, and for this reason is great, help us along this path in the footsteps of the Lord. The issue of Japans Northern Islands has dragged on for 70 years. They are of economic and strategic value. Promises of economic cooperation, free movement of former Japanese residents, a special status of the islands. Concerns over US missile defense systems in Japan and Chinese expansion in Asia. Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive in Tokyo today to continue talks that began yesterday in Nagato, a tourist town in the west of Japan famous for its hot springs. The issue under scrutiny is an attempt to reach an agreement on the sovereignty of the Kurile Islands, north of Japan, which has divided the two countries for 70 years. But the two leaders are also concerned about the growing power of China in the China Sea and the US influence in Asia. The Kuril Islands are a chain of 60 islands between Hokkaido and the peninsula of Kamchatka, in the far east of Siberia. The conflict concerns the sovereignty of four of them, called "Northern Territories" in Japan and "Southern Kurils" in Russia. These were occupied by Moscow at the end of the Second World War, who expelled about 17 thousand Japanese who lived there. They are of great economic value - for the amount of fish that their waters offer - and even strategic, since they are Russias port of entry to the Pacific. Shinzo Abe seems to also have personal reasons for seeking a solution: his father, the late Shintaro Abe, as foreign minister tried in vain to find a solution in the 1980s. After yesterday's meeting in Nagato, Abe told reporters that the dialogue between the two was very "frank" and "deep". They have proposed a possible economic cooperation in the islands, the freedom to visit them by former residents, a special legal status of the Kurils, which does not question the issue of sovereignty. The agreement has not yet been reached. Other themes emerged in the dialogue, however, and they are: Putin's concern over possible US missile systems in Japan to contain North Korea, but that could threaten Siberian territory; Abes concern over the growth of China's influence in the China Sea and Asia and strengthening economic and strategic cooperation between Tokyo and Moscow. Putin's visit is also in some ways a re-emergence of Russia still hit by international sanctions for its invasion of the Crimea. Japan is the first country in the G7 to have him invited. Concerns that not all of the unions will agree to ratify their labor agreements have caused rail shippers and other transportation industry stakeholders to push President Joe Biden to act. The Holy See intervenes at the Conference on Combating Intolerance and Discriminations of Christians. For Vatican representative, freedom of religion or belief is the litmus test for respect of all other human rights and fundamental freedoms, since it is their synthesis and keystone. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, spoke at the Conference on Combating Intolerance and Discriminations of Christians taking place at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. In his address, the Vatican diplomat said that freedom of religion or belief is the litmus test for respect of all other human rights and fundamental freedoms, since it is their synthesis and keystone. However, such freedom is violated today, especially in the case of Christians. Noting that for Pope John Paul II religious freedom constituted the very heart of human rights, Mgr Camilleri said that Religious freedom, thus, is essential to defending the human rights of all people, whether they are believers or non-believers, since within the realm of conscience, that constitutes the dignity of the human person, there are interrelated and indivisible human rights, such as freedom of religion or belief, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression. In fact, combatting Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians can be an effective tool in defending the human rights of other religious believers, and, indeed, the human rights of those who profess no religion. Therefore, With regard to our Conference theme, the Vatican representative stressed three issues: 1) religious intolerance and freedom of religion or belief; 2) various forms, including more recent forms, of intolerance and discrimination against Christians; and 3) the potential for good that lies in engaging with religion or belief. Discrimination and intolerance against Christians, he noted, because of their faith, represent a violation and a direct challenge to the freedom of religion or belief, one of the human rights explicitly mentioned in the Helsinki Final Act, and safeguarded in subsequent OSCE commitments, as a priority of this Organization and its 57 participating States. Anti-Christian intolerance and discrimination take many forms. Although the obvious focus of this Conference is on the OSCE region, and without doubt, there are many examples and incidences of concern within our region, I would be remiss if I did not at least recall the barbaric persecution of Christians that takes place in other parts of the world, sadly also at the very doorstep of the OSCE. The atrocities committed against Christians in Syria and Iraq are so horrific that words cannot adequately respond, and their plight must not be forgotten. Indeed, in these last few days, the deathly shadow of violent extremism and terrorism has fallen once again upon the Coptic community in Egypt. Considering the reality of the OSCE area, we must recognize that discrimination and intolerance, including hate crimes, impact many Christians and Christian communities, despite a frequently encountered notion that in this part of the world such discrimination or intolerance does not occur. Seemingly, belonging to the majority religion precludes Christians from being considered as victims of intolerance. Such a view, however, is not based on reality. The continuous attacks against Christian churches and religious buildings, time, and time again, affirmed by ODIHR data, easily disprove the notion that Christians do not suffer intolerance. The premeditated destruction of churches, chapels and halls, the deliberate vandalism of religious spaces and symbols, including crosses, statues and other Christian artefacts, as well as theft and sacrilegious misuse of that which Christians consider to be holy, are all examples of not only disrespectful, but intolerant, and in most cases criminal acts committed with a bias motive. However, intolerance and discrimination of Christians is not simply about violent attacks or wanton destruction of religious artefacts and comes in many new forms. Pope Benedict XVI slammed the the increasing marginalization of religion by those who advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere, [. . .] confining it merely to the freedom of worship. These new forms of anti-Christian sentiment are subtler and sometimes paradoxical because they set freedom of worship against some general notion of tolerance and non-discrimination. In sad irony, Pope Francis has referred to this as the polite persecution of Christians in many countries. There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none. And there are those who argue paradoxically with the intention of eliminating discrimination that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience. These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of religion in the public square. In short, In the guise of political correctness, Christian faith and morals are considered to be hostile and offensive, and therefore, something to be removed from public discourse. Despite the many challenges we face in combating intolerance against Christians, we should not forget that religion or belief and therefore Christianity has an unlimited capacity for good, not only for individuals or communities (one need only consider the Herculean charitable works that are carried out by Christians), but also for society as a whole. While acknowledging the positive role that religion can play in the public sphere and in society, Pope Francis, in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si, reaffirmed that the Church does not pretend to substitute for politics (188). Nor does the Church claim to offer technical solutions to the worlds problems since the responsibility of doing that belongs elsewhere. Religion, however, has a special task to offer its guiding principles to the community of believers and society in general. By its nature, it is open to a larger reality and thus it can lead people and institutions towards a more universal vision, to a horizon of universal fraternity that ennobles and enriches the character of humanitarian assistance. A person truly formed by a religious vision cannot be indifferent to the sufferings of men and women. The Holy See is convinced that for both individuals and communities the dimension of belief can foster respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, support democracy and rule of law and contribute to the quest for truth and justice. Furthermore, dialogue and partnerships between religions, and with religions, are an important means to promote confidence, trust, reconciliation, mutual respect and understanding as well as to foster peace. A Guy Let Someone Steal His Phone Just So He Could Spy On The Thief Trending News: A Filmmaker Got His Phone Stolen On Purpose To Spy On The Thief Long Story Short A Dutch film student let someone steal his phone with spyware installed on it so he could spy on the thief. He then made a movie of his weeks-long invasion of the thief's privacy. Long Story Have you ever had your phone stolen and wondered what happened to it? What if you could see where the thief goes and what they are doing with it? The prospect sounds in some ways deliciously vengeful; you jerk want to steal my phone and look at all my photos and videos? Then I'll look at you. But spying on someone else, regardless of whether they stole your property or not, is also extremely creepy, not to mention illegal. A film student from the Netherlands found himself deep in this ethical dilemma after he let a thief steal his phone, but loaded it with spyware with the intention of following the thief's every move. He then made a movie about it. At first, Anthony van der Meer's motivations were just like anyone else's who've had a phone stolen. He was upset that someone could just snag his phone and gain access to his photos, videos, email, contacts etc. and get away with it. So, as an experiment, van der Meer bought a new phone and loaded it with spyware that lets him monitor the phone and control it from his own computer. The app he installed let him take photos, record audio and see everywhere the phone has been. But first, he had to have someone take the phone. After a few unsuccessful attempts in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, the hacked phone is finally grabbed in the Amsterdam metro. Van der Meer files the theft to police, but the robber couldn't be tracked down. So, the student does the vigilante work himself. What ensues is an obsessive monitoring of the thief. Van der Meer finds out that the thief called a sex line, where he goes for a cup of coffee and where he stays either at friends places or homeless shelters. After a couple of weeks, the filmmaker admits to feeling bad about the guy, but realizes the sentiment is one-sided because the thief has no idea he's being watched. I thought for sure at this point van der Meer would end his experiment, realizing that what he's doing is worse than stealing a phone, but no, he ends with "the story continues," which indicates he could still be monitoring the poor guy. Watching this video gave me chills especially since it shows how easy it is for someone to spy on everything that we do. Excuse me while I put tape over my front-facing phone and computer cameras. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Was what he did unethical or fair and square because he was spying on a thief? Drop This Fact One of the most common ways your information can get hacked is by clicking a link an email, so make sure you recognize the sender before you click anything. Cuba Wants To Pay Their $276 Million Debt In Rum Trending News: Cuba Wants To Pay Their $276 Million Debt To The Czechs In Rum Long Story Short In a bid to settle the $276-million it owes to the Czech Republic, cash-strapped Cuba has offered to settle the entire debt with an equivalent value of rum. Long Story The debt dates back decades, when both the Czech Republic (then part of Czechoslovakia) and Cuba were Soviet bloc partners. The two countries have been negotiating a way to settle the debt, and the Cubans have come up with an interesting, perhaps even intoxicating, proposal. Citing sources in the Czech finance ministry, the Associated Press reports that Cuba has offered to pay off the debt with rum enough rum to last the country for a century (says who?). Cuba being short on cash but long on rum, the proposal is a logical one. Cuba also has a lot of pharmaceutical drugs on hand, and there was some talk of using medication as a form of settlement as well. But sine Cuban drugs lack European Union certification, that proposal was nixed. While rum is very popular in the Czech Republic (or is it Czechia?)it imported about $2-million worth of the stuff last yearthe finance ministry said it would like at least some of the payment made in cash. Cigars, another trademark Cuban retail product, were not mentioned as a part of any deal. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question Would you accept a centurys worth of booze to settle a debt? Theres no right answer, but yes. Drop This Fact Havana Club rum is the fifth-biggest rum brand in the world (after McDowells #1, Bacardi, Tanduay and Captain Morgan), with nine different variants. It is still illegal in the US, although Bacardi sells its own branded Havana Club in Florida and a few other states. Gabina VOA is designed to be an infotainment youth radio show broadcasting to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the Amharic language. The show brings varied perspectives on issues concerning young people in the Horn of Africa region. Gabina in the Amharic language is a front row taxi ridesymbolic of the shows content as a fun ride that takes audiences from point A to point B. Gabina VOAs main goal is Enlightening young people, introducing them to cutting-edge technological innovations, exposing them to new processes and ideas so they can be productive, informed and self-governing citizens. Hi all, Does anyone know if it makes a difference whether I apply for the 820 just before Christmas or in January 2017? What could most likely be the new small displacement adventure tourer from KTM, the 390 Adventure has been spotted testing in Southern Europe. Small-displacement adventure bikes seem to be the upcoming favourites in the two-wheeler space. India has just gotten a taste of this segment through the Royal Enfield Himalayan, but thats just a start. We recently brought you news of BMWs G 310 GS that should arrive here after its naked sibling, the G 310 R, which hits Indian shores sometime in 2017. While there have been umpteen reports of KTM making a 390 adventure in the past few years, there was no evidence that suggested that just a lot of wishful thinking. Cycle World reported a sighting in December 2016, of what could possibly be the new 390 Adventure. Now, KTM is finally prepping a rival to the upcoming G 310 GS. This could possibly be the bike thats long rumoured to be the 390 Adventure, and is likely to use the 373cc, single-cylinder engine thats found on the RC and Duke 390s. It appears to make use of KTMs signature lightweight and durable trellis frame setup, which is rather concealed in the images. However, it could possibly make use of some bits of the KTM Duke 390s frame, with the swingarm and suspension better suited for adventure touring duties. Our sister publication, Autocar Professional had broken the story about It appears to make use of KTMs signature lightweight and durable trellis frame setup, which is rather concealed in the images. However, it could possibly make use of some bits of the KTM Duke 390s frame, with the swingarm and suspension better suited for adventure touring duties. Our sister publication, Autocar Professional had broken the story about KTM developing a small capacity adventure touring platform in collaboration with Bajaj Auto. But, as of now, this bike is likely being developed solely by KTM Austria. Besides the 390, theres news that this platform could also spawn a more affordable 200 Adventure. The 390 Adventure was spotted near KTMs testing facility in Southern Europe, and, from the looks of it, the bike shares some of its styling with the bigger KTM Adventure R. The large spoked wheels and long-travel suspension certainly point toward its off-road capabilities. Given that KTM has a reputation for making some of the most hard-core off-roading bikes, we expect the 390 Adventure to be one of the more competent machines at dealing with the rough stuff in its segment. The images of the test-mule reveal a different crankcase than in the Duke 390s. The report from Motorcyclist on these spy shots suggests that this could be a larger displacement engine than the 373cc one, possibly the engine from the Duke 690. While everything about this prototype is an assumption at this stage, we can all agree that the existing 373cc engine has more than enough punch to keep weight low and adventure riding interesting. A public unveiling of the production-ready bike is likely at the 2018 EICMA show, with the bike slated for launch internationally sometime in 2019. Abroad, it will take on the upcoming BMW G 310 GS, the Kawasaki Versys-X 300, and the Suzuki V-Strom 250 (a prototype itself at this stage). At this point, there is no confirmation on if it will be manufactured at Bajajs plant and shipped to foreign markets, like the Duke and RC models. However, Bajaj is likely to keep the launch of the motorcycle on hold until the segment really heats up in the country. If it does make its way to the Indian market, it will be sometime after the launch of the BMW G 310 GS. Besides the Beamer, the 390 Adventure will also take on the RE Himalayan. Additionally, the aforementioned 200 Adventure could also be on the cards. If it does arrive with a sub-Rs 1.5 lakh price tag, it could spawn a whole new segment of more affordable, entry-level adventure tourers. The Ignis will share plant with Vitara Brezza; company looking at exporting to South East Asia as well. India launch January 13, 2017. Maruti's upcoming premium urban hatchback, the Ignis, will be launched on January 13. E-bookings start in the first week of January. Targeting the youth here, which is a market of around 450 million millennials or trendsetters, the Ignis in line with its target audience -- will roll out at an EDM music concert. The Ignis concept car was first shown by Maruti Suzuki India at the Auto Expo 2016, along with the new turbo 1.0L Boosterjet direct injection engine that will power the Baleno RS, the sportier version of the Baleno hatchback. Similar to the Baleno, the Ignis will be the third car to be marketed through the premium Nexa outlets. The first was the S-Cross. The Ignis comes with auto gear shift (AGS) technology that was a runaway success in the Celerio hatchback. The second-generation AGS will be on offer in both diesel and petrol variants of the urban car. The capacity of the AGS has recently been ramped up and has been localised, said CV Raman, executive director - engineering, Maruti Suzuki India. The Ignis gets 180mm ground clearance and will be fitted with projector headlamps with LED DRLs, fog lamps with chrome inserts, daylight opening and black alloy wheels. The interiors are spacious with the dashboard available in dual tone (black and ivory) and is equipped with both Android and iOS compatible smartphone linkage display audio system (SLDA). This is new to a premium compact car. The SLDA looks like a tablet plugged to the car. To meet the safety regulations that kick-in in 2017-18, the Ignis will come with dual airbags and ABS with EBD and also meet regulations for pedestrian safety, side and rear and offset norms. The car also gets ISOFIX anchorage, and a child restraint system. In addition, Maruti Suzuki will offer personalisation options in roof wraps and in the interiors like seats and trims. The Ignis will be made at the Gurgaon plant where the Vitara Brezza is currently manufactured. Raman said that Maruti will look at exporting the Ignis to South Asia and the South East Asian countries, though the focus is on the domestic market for now. He added that the company was evaluating the option of harnessing the 1.0L turbo Boosterjet engine in other models as well. With the carmakers Gujarat facility going onstream in January, the Baleno will start production there easing the pressure on the plants at Manesar and Gurgaon. The entire production of the Baleno will slowly be shifted to Gujarat to make space for the new models, with rejigging of model production at both the plants. The Baleno RS will also be made in Gujarat, said RS Kalsi, executive director (sales and marketing), Maruti Suzuki India. At present, the Baleno is touching 10,000 units sales per month as is the Vitara Brezza. At the time of its presentation at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show , the Acura Precision Concept was described as a creation of the companys design studio din California, which shows how the brand will express its DNA in the future Those of you that are not familiar with Acura might not know that this brand builds its cars under the mantra of Precision Crafted Performance. The name of the concept vehicle suddenly makes more sense after learning that, right?Another thing that makes sense about the link between the Precision Concept and the successor of the RLX is the size. The sleek concept vehicle is 204 inches long (5.18 meters), and it has a wheelbase of 122 inches (3.08 meters), while its width is 84 inches (2.13 m).It is wise to note that the resulting production model is expected to be shorter than the concept, but not by a great deal. After all, the 2017 Acura RLX is 196 inches (4.9 m) long, 74 inches (1.89 m) wide, and has a wheelbase of 112 inches (2.85 m).Since the RLX is the brands current flagship sedan, it is clear that Acura has no plan of introducing a slightly longer car in its offer while still providing the RLX. Thus, the Precision Concept will inspire the direct replacement for this sedan, which should reach the market by 2020.As you can observe, it comes with an aggressive beak, along with other bold styling elements. Evidently, while the beak will reach the production line in a tamed form, that will not happen for the massive wheel arches, and that can also be said for the thin A-pillars.However, the shape of the headlights, along with a few lines from the rear of this concept vehicle will reach production. We expect Acura to keep the hybrid configuration for the next RLX, which will come to market as a competitor for cars like the Volvo S90 Both of these models are attractive alternatives to the German and American models that dominate the market, so it is evident that the role of the rival to the traditional leader of that segment will be disputed between the two. AMG Let's take the 991.1-generation 911 in the images to your right, for instance. This seems to be a base Carrera model, but you wouldn't say that judging by its wheels, which replicate the design found on the 918 Spyder rims.However, zooming in on the wheels shows the Neunelfer's five-nut profile, while the gas-electric hypercar's shoes use a center-lock setup.The Porsche 911 Carrera trying to impersonate its hybrid big brother was spotted in Suzhou, China, with these images coming from ajutojunk Using such wheels doesn't just challenge common sense and infuriate purists, but also poses a safety threat. Since the replica wheels come from questionable producers, it's difficult to keep track of whether such rims follow the legal requirements. And with the kind of G-forces delivered by a 911, the faux shoeing job raises even more concerns.Keep in mind that even the smallest errors can lead to a disaster when it comes to the wheel and tire side of a fast car. One of the best examples of this comes from the Mercedes-A45 track day moment we showed you earlier this year, which saw the hot hatch losing a wheel due to the nuts having been improperly tightened.The only thought that could bring us a bit of comfort has to with the easily reversible nature of this aftermarket move.Speaking of the wheel and tire connection between the 918 Spyder and the 911 , we'll remind you Zuffenhausen engineers decided to gift the GT3 RS PDK with the same rear tire size as that used by the halo car.Both the Rennsport Neunelfer and the 918 Spyder wear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, with the German automaker explaining the hypercar features bespoke rubber. 4MATIC AMG The German manufacturer describes the S-Class Coupe as combining "the classic proportions of a Gran Turismo with modern luxury and state-of-the-art technology." Looking at the largest two-door vehicle in the Mercedes-Benz range both inside and out, it's hard to argue with any of these two statements.For those after true exclusivity, there's always the option of a Mercedes-AMG S65 Coupe , but that will strip you of around a quarter million dollars. For those looking for something less sporty and a little more down-to-earth, Mercedes-Benz is now offering the special "Night Edition" version.By "now," we mean April 2017 for Europe and August 2017 for the North American market, with the order book opening on January 9, 2017. Those interested will have a choice between three different powertrains ranging from 367 to 455 hp with rear- or four-wheel-drive.The "Night Edition" is available as an S 400Coupe in Europe, an S 500(550) Coupe, and an S 500(550) 4MATIC Coupe. A lot of high-gloss black elements will adorn the exterior of these vehicles, with the shiny dark surface covering the mirror housings and the inserts in the side sills, as well as the single louver crossing the distinctive radiator grille.Rounding off the aggressive look are the-styled front and rear aprons together with the 20-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels. The paintwork you see in the pictures is called selenite gray and, even at this level, is an option.The same discreet approach was used inside the cabin where the choice between black/black or optionally crystal gray/black, saddle brown/black or Bengal red/black nappa leather will give the car's wealthy clients the mother of all first-world problems.Prices have not been disclosed yet, but with so many elements coming from the designo manufaktur range, expect them to be pretty steep. However, the "Night Edition" sounds like it has the kind of understated opulence you would expect from a very expensive Mercedes-Benz. AWD NEDC Hence, the 2017 Mazda CX-3 is now manufactured by three assembly complexes in two countries as a response to the strengthening demand for crossovers and SUVs. By introducing the CX-3 to Hofu in Japan, Mazda also released the strain on Ujina, a plant which now operates at full capacity to bring the seven-seater CX-9 and the all-new CX-5 to dealership lots.While we wait for the CX-5 to roll out into Japanese dealers this coming February, the CX-9 is a hit in the United States of America. Priced from $31,520 and available exclusively with the newly-introduced SkyActiv-G 2.5T, the CX-9 is the biggest Mazda sport utility vehicle in production today.The CX-3, meanwhile, is the gateway to Mazdas jacked-up range, with pricing kicking off at $19,960 in the U.S. Only one engine is available in the North American market, namely a SkyActiv-G 2.0-liter four-banger with 146 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque. The drivetrain, meanwhile, comes in front- and i-Activflavors, and with a 6-speed automatic tranny.Over the pond in Europe, the CX-3 is available with either a 2.0-liter or the SkyActiv-D 1.5 turbo diesel . The latter drinks as little as 4.0 liters of fuel over the course of 100 kilometers on thecombined cycle, a figure the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine could only dream of. Better still, its the torquiest engine of the whole lot, packing 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of oomph.The all-new Mazda CX-5 , meanwhile, slots between the CX-3 and CX-9. Slated to arrive in the U.S. and Europe by summer 2017, the second-generation model in Japan-spec form can be had with any of the following three engines: SkyActiv-G 2.0, SkyActiv-G 2.5, and the SkyActiv-D 2.2. In Japan, the SkyActiv-Drive 6-speed automatic is the sole cog swapper available. GAC Motor released its GS4 in Bahrain during an event at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre in early December. The company exhibited eight GS4, eight GA6, two GS8 and one GA8 models. Released worldwide at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in 2015, the GS4 has the 200T engine which puts fuel consumption at 6.3L/100km and peak torque of 202N.m/1500rpm. It is mated to a 7-speed G-DCT transmission. GAC Motor said it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Bahraini dealer National Motor Company (NMC) in April 2015 and officially debuted in the market in October 2015. Now there is one main showroom and 13 secondary distributors in Bahrain. The Middle East market is a key region in GAC Motor's international strategy, according to Yu Jun, general manager of GAC Motor. The company has tripled sales in the one year since entering the market, and became the best-selling Chinese auto brand in Bahrain with 1% of the market share, according to the automaker Bahrain has no automobile manufacturing industry, hence the intense competition among international brands. The overall auto market in Bahrain saw a decline this year due to the removal of fuel subsidies. GAC Motor said it was able to achieve the sales breakthrough in Bahrain and the Middle East, surpassing other companies who have entered the Bahrain market much earlier. This year GAC Motor said it developed two distributors in Nigeria and won government vehicle orders over other Japanese and South Korean brands. With strong product quality and positive brand image, GAC Motor has launched the SKD project in Nigeria and assembled the first batch of GS4 successfully, laying a solid foundation for GS4's release in the Middle East. Amazon made its first drone delivery to an actual customer on Dec. 7. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos released video of the flight via a tweet yesterday. The fully autonomous, GPS-guided delivery of a 5-lb. package of popcorn and an Amazon Fire Stick took place near Cambridge, England. The promise of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial deliveries is great: they purport to reduce carbon output, alleviate vehicle congestion, and cut delivery costs to pennies. But will U.S. delivery fleets be able to take advantage soon? While Amazon just demonstrated proof of concept in England, new rules from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) challenge the ability of fleets to realize the cost benefits, at least for now. In its rulemaking issued this summer, the FAA eased some restrictions such as the requirement that drone pilots need commercial aviation licenses. This change will drive acceleration of other commercial applications in engineering, agriculture, insurance, emergency response, and real estate. However, drones are still required to stay within unaided sight of the pilot, who must be in control of the drone. Amazons autonomous system falls out of those parameters. However, Cincinnati-based Workhorse Group is addressing the FAAs regulations with its HorseFly drone system, designed to operate manually and within line of sight of the truck operator. The company has applied for a waiver with the FAA. We built (our system) thinking the FAA ruling was going to happen, says Stephen Burns, CEO of Workhorse Group. Instead of Amazons warehouse-to-customer system, the HorseFly drone method works off the last mile concept by launching off the roof of a delivery truck. After the drone reaches its coordinates for the delivery, instead of landing it hovers at 25 feet and lowers a winch containing the package. If the HorseFly drone detects an issue say, a bird in its path it knows to autonomously freeze and send an alert to the driver, who can maneuver the drone via a camera feed or visually as needed. To fully realize the cost benefits of autonomy, however, the driver would launch the drone unmonitored and then make other deliveries in the area, while the drone would autonomously land on the truck before it left the area. Under FAAs present rules, this isnt yet allowed. As in England, initial deliveries in the U.S. would take place in rural areas, which benefit fleets because rural deliveries are more expensive. Perhaps the next steps would be to allow line of site with binoculars or let the on-board camera perform this function, Burns says. Drones that can handle larger loads are also in development, though the safety stakes are higher if a large package falls from a drone. As well, a drone designed to carry a 10-lb. package a reasonable distance would need a heavier battery that could surpass the FAAs required 55-lb. total weight limit. Another issue, Burns says, is making sure the drone can return to base with its load if something goes wrong. Right now, the U.S. seems content to let other countries do the heavy lifting when it comes to testing. But implementing drone deliveries may be more critical than we think, at least for Amazon its shipping costs are up a whopping 43% in the third quarter of this year compared to 2015. This alone will accelerate the need to figure out acceptable drone regulations. At 3 cents a mile, no pollution, no maintenance, and no driver time, there are too many benefits for it not to happen, says Burns. Its going to happen; its just a question of when. The industry will ultimately solve these challenges and drones will become an extension of transportation and delivery fleet services. But the present issues surrounding autonomous drone use foreshadows an even larger one for fleets how to assimilate into the world of driverless vehicles. At the very least, Drones can navigate much easier than self-driving cars, Burns says. Originally posted on Business Fleet President Serzh Sarkisian on Friday defended Armenias membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), while acknowledging that it has not yet lived up to his expectations. By joining the union we expected to substantially improve the economic situation in Armenia, he told Tigran Sarkisian (no relation), a former Armenian prime minister who now heads the EEUs executive body, the Eurasian Economic Commission. Unfortunately, our membership coincided with global economic processes that had a negative impact on the countrys economy, and our citizens attitude towards the Eurasian Economic Union are still expectant, to put it mildly. I am sure, though, that negative attitudes would have been much stronger had we not joined [the EEU,] said the president. The trade bloc officially came into existence in January 2015 amid an unfolding recession in Russia that resulted from the collapse of international oil prices and Western economic sanctions against Moscow. The Russian economy, which accounts for the bulk of the EEUs combined GDP, is now on course to contract for a second consecutive year. Trade among the EEU member states plummeted by 26 percent last year and 14 percent in the first nine months of 2016. Armenias trade with Russia also shrunk significantly in 2015. But it rose by over 13 percent in January-October 2016, with Russia replacing the European Union as Armenias number one trading partner, according to Armenian government data. The increase was driven by a 53 percent surge in Armenian exports to Russia. The government also recorded sharp rises in Armenias exports to two other EEU countries, Belarus and Kazakhstan, in the same period. Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian, who oversees Armenias day-to-day dealings with the EEU, refused to comment on Sarkisians remarks when he was approached by an RFE/RL correspondent. The Armenian president unexpectedly decided to make Armenia part of the Russian-led bloc in September 2013 just as his government, then headed by Tigran Sarkisian, was close to signing an Association Agreement with the EU. The U-turn was widely attributed to Russian pressure. Vahagn Khachatrian, an economist affiliated with the Armenian National Congress (HAK), said Sarkisians remarks on the EEU membership show that he chose between the bad and the worst at the time. Looking at the results of the last two years, we can see what we were saying in 2013, Khachatrian told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). There are practically or absolutely no economic achievements. And this is true for not only Armenia but also the other [EEU] countries. Parliament deputies representing the HAK voted for the ratification of Armenias accession treaty with the EEU in late 2014. 16 December 2016 11:53 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Armenia has long been criticized for its human-rights record, but this time the Sargsyan regime has cracked down on human rights more severely. The arrest of a young writer and civic activist Lusine Nersisyan, from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakhs Khankendi city, received wide publicity. Nersisyan was recently detained by Armenian security forces for joining the Platform for Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace. The platform was initiated by Baku to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Moreover, she gave an interview to the Azerbaijani media, where talked about the true situation in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Soon after that, Nersisyan was arrested by Armenian Special Service Bodies in Karabakh. Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard, commenting on Nersisyans arrest, said that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace Platform created by political experts and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan is very important for strengthening ties between different groups for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mard also expressed concern over Nersisyans destiny: I am worried about her. This also indicates that media must follow the issues. The actions of the Armenian side violate fundamental human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, Chairman of the Moldavian Public Chamber, politician Aurelia Grigoriu told Trend on December 15. In particular, Grigoriu noted that Armenia violated the article #19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and also several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as article #10 on Freedom of expression and opinion, article #5 on Right to liberty and security of person, as well as article #6 about the Right to a fair trial. Armenia and the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh formation allow themselves all these violations exactly because of impunity. The international community should finally take sanctions against a country violating human rights and being the aggressor, Grigoriu stressed. Head of the Baku Network's expert council Elkhan Alasgarov, in turn, noted that Armenia perceives with hostility the situation with the Baku Declaration, which was signed by a group of Armenians and Azerbaijanis within the Peace Platform. Nersisyan spoke about the troubles that the conflict, provoked by a group of radical Armenian nationalists, brought to Karabakh residents, Alasgarov said. However, the Armenian media keep silence about it they are stick to the policy aimed at impeding the idea of reconciliation between the two peoples, the expert noted. Alasgarov called on international human rights organizations to protect the Armenians who signed the Baku Declaration: Turning a blind eye to these processes, they actually contribute to the continuation of this conflict, which can progress into a more active form. Thus, Armenia once again showed that it is not ready to come to negotiations with Azerbaijan over the Karabakh issue. The only policy the Armenian government follows is to raise hatred towards Azerbaijan in the Armenian society and to prohibit any way of contact aimed at the conflict resolution. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 12:43 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Along with the economy of Azerbaijan, Free Trade Zone (FTZ) to be created in Baku's Alat settlement (ATZ) will be beneficial also for Turkey's economy. Spokesperson for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Huseyin Muftuoglu stressed that, currently, Turkey is closely involved in the project, Azertac reported. As in Dubai, Baku International Sea Trade Port will become a giant FTZ of the region, in the coming years. Huseyin Muftuoglu further said that modern and global infrastructure projects are being implemented in Azerbaijan, in recent years. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway soon to be put into operation is a joint work of Azerbaijan and Turkey brotherhood. The new Baku International Trade port will also further enhance trade relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. On the other hand, this international project creates profitable opportunities for Turkey to enter the Central Asian and Russian markets. Of course, Turkey will always support such projects, Muftuoglu said. Measures on creation of a FTZ type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Bakus Garadagh district was singed by president on March 17, 2016. The Baku FTZ will include several components, such as Truck Parking, International and Domestic Logistics Centers, operating within a special economic regime, which expects to bring huge benefits to the state budget of the country once established. In September 2016, the Azerbaijani government and Dubai Port World (DP World), one of the worlds major port operators, signed an agreement on provision of consulting services for the creation of the free trade zone in the Alat township. Earlier, the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a memorandum of understanding targeting on studying potential capacity of the port and the FTZ, as well as the opportunities to attract private sector to the process of creating the free trade zone. ICD will be the second international organization, after DP World engaged for consultations within the framework of a FTZ. FTZ targets to create economic revival in the port and attract business operations to Azerbaijan. The project will also give a stimulus for the popularization and development of 'Made in Azerbaijan' brand, with which the country is keen to penetrate widely in the international commodity markets. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 10:00 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Jewelry has always been a very integral part of the human culture. It's an item of everyday life that has a larger significance than many people realize. We use jewelry to add an extra dazzle to an outfit, whether it be in the form of a bracelet, earrings, cufflinks, or even a watch. Resm, the first Azerbaijani national jewelry brand has showcased its stunning collection Wheels of history at the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum on December 14. The unique collection showcased the beauty and cultural diversity of the country's regions, Azertac reported. Founder and designer of the Resm brand Resmina Gurbatova said the collection presents a modernist interpretation of ancient Azerbaijani ornamental patterns and symbols. More than a fashion accessory, Resm pieces are a link to the culture, traditions and, above all, spirit of Azerbaijan, she stressed. With its timeless character and superb craftsmanship, Resm jewelry allows the wearer to transcend mere fashion trends and enter a realm of relived ancestry. All Resm pieces come with individual descriptions explaining the designs historical context, the origin of ornaments and traditional patterns. These unique and exclusive artifacts make an ideal gift for anyone with a natural penchant and affinity toward beauty and heritage. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 13:25 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Azerbaijani Prosecutor Generals Office takes necessary measures for extradition of Russian blogger Alexander Lapshin to the country. The blogger, who has multiple citizenships, illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani territories and entered into criminal conspiracy with Armenians living in the occupied territories. Lapshin is accused of violating the international laws and the laws of Azerbaijan on the state border and passports in April 2011 and October 2012, the Prosecutor Generals Office said. To promote the illegal regime created in the Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories, Lapshin presented Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state on his page in the social network. Moreover, he expressed support to the independence of the unrecognized regime on April 6 and June 29, 2016, by calls aimed at violating the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Because of his calls against the Azerbaijani state and violation of the state border, the Prosecutor-General's office opened a criminal case under the relevant articles and issued an international arrest warrant for Lapshin. The law enforcement bodies of Belarus have detained Lapshin. Currently, talks on his extradition to Azerbaijan are held. Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions. Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 15:22 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Issues related to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be discussed at the winter session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) that is to be held in February 2017. This was announced by Bahar Muradova, vice-speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, to Trend on December 16. The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is definitely becoming the subject of discussion regardless of whether it is included in the agenda or not, said Muradova. The vice-speaker added that during the session, this issue is raised, first of all, by representatives of Azerbaijan, as well as other parliamentarians. "Thus, this issue will again be on the agenda of the session," Muradova said. The Nagorno-Karabakh issue was recently discussed at the 23rd OSCE Ministerial Council on December 8-9 in Hamburg. At the meeting, foreign ministers of the OSCE Minsk group co-chair countries made a joint statement on the problem where expressed full commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. We have always focused on creating the highest quality informational contents right from the beginning. 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Izoria described the fact that he is paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan as the manifestation of close relations between the two countries. He added that he paid tribute to national leader Heydar Aliyev, who played an important role in the development of Azerbaijan-Georgia bilateral cooperation. Saying Georgia will continue supporting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Izoria thanked the Azerbaijani government for backing Georgia's territorial integrity. The Georgian Defense Minister further hailed the importance of a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Izoria expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries will further develop. President Aliyev said the Georgian Defense Minister's paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan is a good sign of bilateral relations between the two countries, and praised the successful development of strategic friendly ties in a variety of fields, including security. President Aliyev highlighted Azerbaijan's constant support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pointing to Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the head of state noted that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have repeatedly declared the unacceptability of the status quo and the need for changing it. He said that this should form the basis for the conflict settlement. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his hope that cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries will successfully continue. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 18:01 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli Moscow and Baku have solved a number of issues that previously caused complex debates. Russias Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said about this during the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the two countries on December 16, Azertac reported. Rogozin praised the strategic partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan, saying that Russia remains one of the main trade partners of Azerbaijan and takes the third place in the foreign trade with the index of 10.5 percent, after Turkey and Italy. He also invited the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yagub Eyyubov to participate at the energy forum in St. Petersburg. "We spent a lot of time on negotiation and discussed a number of issues, which caused complex debates. On this occasion, I invite you to the 21st Energy Forum in St. Petersburg, on June 1-3, 2017," he said, referring to Eyyubov. Eyyubov also confirmed that Azerbaijan and Russia have the closest relationship, adding that Azerbaijan cherishes this relationship that reached the level of strategic partnership. He praised the role played by Russia in the region, not only on economic relations, but in matters of security. Speaking about the economic cooperation between the two countries, the First Deputy Prime Minister said that there is a great potential to increase the trade turnover between the two states, in sectors such as engineering, shipbuilding, aircraft construction, power engineering, medicine, and humanitarian spheres. "We have a lot of joint projects, and in the future it is necessary to increase their number," said Yagubov, adding that Azerbaijan has invested in Russia $1 billion, and Russia invested in Azerbaijan $ 3 billion. As part of the Baku visit, Rogozin was also received by President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan and Russia are tied by firmly based ties, which were officially established in 1992. The Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation is completely based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 17:04 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The Defense Ministries of Azerbaijan and Georgia have inked a cooperation plan for 2017. The document was undersigned during the meeting between Azerbaijans Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and Defense Minister of Georgia Levn Izoria, who is paying a visit to Baku, on December 16. First, the ministers held their tete-a-tete meeting, which was continued in an expanded format. Hasanov, recalling that the military cooperation between the two countries is being carried out within the framework of programs and trainings conducted both bilaterally and through NATO, as well as in the format of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia's military structures, said that bilateral and trilateral exercises are planned for next year as well. Speaking about the high level of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, the Azerbaijani minister stressed that this plays an important role not only in the development of our countries, but also in ensuring security in the whole region. Hasanov expressed confidence that the cooperation plan for 2017 between the military structures of the two countries will strengthen the fruitful cooperation. The minister further thanked the Georgian people for support to Azerbaijan within the international organizations, the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of the country, stressing that Azerbaijan also recognizes and supports the territorial integrity of Georgia. The minister informed the guest that Armenia, as the occupying country creates a major threat to regional security and provides ongoing support for separatism on the state level. Izoria, expressing satisfaction with his first official visit to Azerbaijan, emphasized that this is a clear example of the high level of cooperation between the two countries. Noting the important role of friendly relations of heads of states in the development of relations between the two countries, the Georgian minister stressed the importance of such meetings in terms of enhanced cooperation. Izoria also said that Georgia is ready to take part in joint military exercises that will be held between Azerbaijan and Turkey next year. The sides further exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation in the military sphere and in the field of military education, the possibility of conducting joint military exercises, the organization of working meetings and other issues of mutual interest. The Georgian minister was earlier received by President Ilham Aliyev, who praised the successful development of strategic friendly ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia in a variety of fields, including security. The Georgian minister, in turn, hailed the importance of a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the conflict must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Izoria also expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries will further develop. The Azerbaijan-Georgia military cooperation was also key topic of talks between Minister Izoria and Azerbaijans Prime Minister Artur Rasizade. During his Baku visit, the Georgian delegation also visited the Alley of Honor, paid tribute and laid a wreath at the grave of national leader Heydar Aliyev. The delegation also paid tribute and laid flowers at the grave of prominent ophthalmologist, academician Zarifa Aliyeva. Then the guests visited the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate Azerbaijani heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country's independence and territorial integrity, laid wreaths and flowers to their graves and to the "Eternal Flame" monument. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 18:12 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Government of Azerbaijan seeks to toughen the control over quality of medicines imported to the country. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov voiced the necessity of increasing the quality controls by the relevant state structures. Ahmadov, addressing a Cabinet meeting on issues of import of medicines and strengthening control over their quality, noted that the medicine quality is a vital issue for ensuring the public health as the population itself is unable to check it. Today, the local market of medicines is heavily dependent on imports, while 57 percent of medicines registered in the country are produced in Europe, 26 percent in the CIS countries, including 12 percent made in Russia. The small proportion is produced in Asian countries. All medicines imported to Azerbaijan are examined before reaching pharmacies and hospitals. The country bans the import of drugs into the country without a license, permission, or other relevant documents. The official further informed about the conditions created by the government for activities of enterprises engaged in the manufacture and sale of medicines, and emphasized that they will always be supported. Ahmadov recalled that the medicine prices are state regulated in the country, which meets the interests of citizens. The official clarified that prior to the adoption of the relevant decision; the medicines were sold much more expensive than their cost, which had a negative impact on family budgets. The decision also took into account the interests of businessmen. However, Ahmadov said, there is information that the pharmaceutical market is supplied by low-quality products. Such abuses should not overshadow the government's decision, he noted. To date prices for over 10,000 medicines were approved, which make up 99 percent of the registered medicines in the country. Medicinal products, whose prices have been approved by the Council and entered into force, should be sold at these prices in all pharmacies across the country. Deputy Health Minister Elsevar Agayev and other speakers also mentioned that medicines of poor quality and those that did not pass the registration are sold at pharmacies of the country. They emphasized the importance of a serious fight with such negative cases. Previously, it was announced that a national system for pharmaceutical control would soon appear in Azerbaijan to ensure a quality of medicines. The Health Ministry said information databases and relevant program on pharmaceutical control will be created in this regard. Henceforth, citizens of Azerbaijan will be able to contact the Center for Analytical Examination of the Ministry in case of side effects of drugs revealed. In late 2015, the government announced that Azerbaijan will create own enterprises that will manufacture medicines to cease dependence on imports. The Russian R-Pharm, Azerbaijan Investment Company and Vita-A LLC (Azerbaijan) signed a deal on the creation of Hayat Pharm Joint Venture on November 2 in Baku, thus founding the countrys first pharmacy plant. The joint pharmaceutical plant with Iran will also be built in Pirallahi. Moreover, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and some European countries seek to take advantage and enter the pharmaceutical sector of Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 17:54 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on December 16 with the aim of speeding up search and rescue efforts in the Caspian Sea where 10 oilfield workers went missing yesterday after part of an oil platform collapsed caused by high winds. Under the Order, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, State Oil Company and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company are instructed to speed up search and rescue efforts. The Cabinet of Ministers is instructed to provide financial and other necessary assistance for the families of those, who died in the incident. SOCAR is instructed to determine serviceability of the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of SOCARs AzNeft Production Union and estimate damage caused to the facility. The President also instructed the SOCAR to review security at all its facilities and installations. Under the Order, the Prosecutor General`s Office must launch an immediate investigation into the cause of the incident. A 150-meter high part of the pier on the right and left sides of the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of Azneft PU collapsed caused by the wind at a speed of 41m/s in the Caspian sea at about 5.00 in the morning on December 15. The ground as well as the lodge attached to the pier also collapsed. Ten workers of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan have gone missing. The body of one worker, Ilham Gafarov was found at about 14:00 (UTC/GMT+4) on December 15. Three helicopters of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as VIXR-5, VIXR-8 and Svetlomor-2 vessels are involved in the search. Moreover, personnel of the State Directorate for Small Capacity Vessels and Caspian Basin Accident-Rescue Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are involved in the search in coastal areas. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 23:51 (UTC+04:00) The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has launched a criminal case to investigate the causes of the incident at the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of SOCARs AzNeft Production Union. The criminal case was launched under the Criminal Codes Article 162.2 (Violation of Safety Rules, Negligently Causing Human Death) to execute Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs order to investigate the Caspian oil platform collapse, the Prosecutor General's Office said in a message December 16. A group consisting of employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Prosecutor General's Office was established to investigate the causes of the incident. The necessary investigative measures are being taken. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 12:13 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The United States announced that it will further support the Southern Gas Corridor project, which will provide Europe with a new source and route of natural gas supply. The importance of the project was high on agenda during the meeting between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev and Amos Hochstein, Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Baku on December 15. Aliyev, addressing the meeting said that the project is a priority for Azerbaijan and the government is committed to its implementation. The quality and timely implementation of the project is the main goal of Azerbaijan and is the governments priority, he said. Underlining the importance of the international support, Aliyev said that the role and support of the U.S. is commendable. Moreover, Azerbaijan considers it necessary for the U.S. to get involved in resolving the situation around the implementation of the SGC project in Greece and Italy. Amos Hochstein, in turn, said the SGC is important not only for Azerbaijan, but also even more for Europe, and the project is of strategic importance for the United States. He said that the U.S. will continue to support oil and gas production in Azerbaijan, as well as transportation of oil and gas to the world markets, underlining that the new U.S. government will continue a similar policy towards the SGC project. The strong support of the U.S. was reiterated by the official during a press conference in Baku. Hochstein said that Washington will continue providing support for the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project despite the political changes in Europe and the U.S.. Hochstein said Washington will go on supporting the SGC projects implementation in the same way as once it supported and realized the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The Unites States is closely working with Azerbaijan and its allies to ensure that the Southern Gas Corridor project is completed and is successful, he said. Emphasizing the important role of Azerbaijan in ensuring Europe's energy security, he hailed the role of the SGC project under the conditions when Europe is facing the threat of energy monopolies, threatening its economic and political security. As for the TAP Project, Hochstein said that during the implementation of multilateral projects, in various stages, some difficulties can be created by local community and politicians, adding that the problems can be solved with the participation of project partners. The SGC envisages transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas to European countries through Georgia and Turkey. TAP project envisages transportation of gas from the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas and condensate field to the EU countries. The 870-kilometer pipeline will be connected to the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy's south. TAPs route through Albania will be approximately 215 km onshore and 37 km offshore in the Albanian section of the Adriatic Sea. It starts at Bilisht Qender in the Korca region at the Albanian border with Greece, and arrives at the Adriatic coast 17 km north-west of Fier, 400 meters inland from the shoreline. --- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 13:34 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli European Union leaders agreed on extension of anti-Russian sanctions over the turmoil in Ukraine for another half-a-year at the Belgium summit on December 15. The EU decided to prolong the economic sanctions until mid-2017, to take effect early next week, though some wanted a longer time span. Meanwhile, the current term of sanctions slapped on Russia expires on January 31, 2017. The decision to prolong anti-Russian sanctions did not come as a surprise, as earlier German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande stressed they are for extending sanctions in light of Russia's failure to abide by the Minsk agreements on Ukraine. The EU linked the economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of Russia in July 2014 in response to Russia's seizure of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula and support for the separatists. The EU, along with the U.S. and Canada, imposed sanctions against Moscow the day after the Crimea referendum. The sanctions include restrictions on access to international financing, and curbs on defense and energy cooperation with Russia. Some of the Russian officials were also barred from entering EU countries and the U.S., while their assets were frozen. President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that the EU decision to extend restrictive measures against Russia for an additional six months was not an issue of intense debate at the Thursday EU leaders summit, Sputnik reported. "It was clear that we would prolong the sanctions for six months and some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months, but in fact it wasnt a discussion," Tusk said at a press conference after the summit. He added that the possibility of a change in U.S. policy with regard to anti-Russia sanctions under Donald Trump is still not clear. "Its still too early to assess responsibly what is the possible policy of the new American administration to Russia, we have too many signals we have to wait for a formal declaration of the new president [Trump]," Tusk told journalists. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel explained that the slow implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine is the main reason for EU refusing to ease the anti-Russia sanctions. Russia has been targeted by several rounds of sanctions inflicted by Brussels, Washington and their allies in light of Crimeas reunification with Russia in 2014 and due to Moscow's alleged involvement in the internal Ukrainian conflict, a claim that Russia has repeatedly denied. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 15:03 (UTC+04:00) Turkey is providing assistance in the evacuation of militants from Syrias Aleppo to save the lives of civilians, Sputnik quoted Russias President Vladimir Putin as saying December 16. Putin was addressing a news conference December 16 during his visit to Japan. Judging by the situation in Aleppo at the moment, what is happening is exactly what we agreed on, including [the deal] with the president of Turkey during his visit to St. Petersburg, the president said. When we agreed that Turkey would provide every assistance in the evacuation of militants who are ready to lay down their weapons in Aleppo, first of all, [we agreed] to save the lives of civilians, Putin added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 18:23 (UTC+04:00) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting its support for renewable energy in Kazakhstan, which will increasingly power its future. The EBRD has approved a financing framework of up to 200 million. This will be used to finance primarily private renewable energy projects with a total generating capacity of 300 MW within the next five years. Such projects can be in wind or solar power, small hydro plants or biogas. The construction of generating capacity will be allocated 160 million, while 40 million will be allotted to electricity grid modernisation, which is necessary in order to integrate these renewable projects into the national transmission system. Significant co-financing for the same projects will be considered by the Clean Technology Fund, the Green Climate Fund and other international financial institutions and commercial financiers. Once all the projects come on-stream, annual CO2 emissions are expected to reduce by about 600,000 tonnes, which would help the country to achieve its commitments to cut emissions under the Paris climate agreement. New renewable energy generators can also substitute some of the carbon-intensive power generation in the north of the country and reduce the power deficit in the southern regions of Kazakhstan. The EBRD has already financed renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan, including Burnoye Solar and the Yereymentau wind farm. The Bank also participated in the Shardara hydropower plant rehabilitation. The Bank will work with foreign and domestic developers of renewables in Kazakhstan. Aida Sitdikova, EBRD Director for Energy and Natural Resources in Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia, said: The Bank is highly committed to its Green Economy Transition approach in general, and to supporting Kazakhstans national strategy of green economy in particular. The new framework will be a big step towards meeting Kazakhstans commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate agreement. With this financing we are hoping to help establish the market of private developers of renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan. Janet Heckman, EBRD Director for Kazakhstan, added: The work of the EBRD in this critical sector was recognised by the Ministry of Energy with a Certificate of Appreciation awarded to the Bank as part of national celebrations of 25 years of independence. The EBRD is proud to be the leading international promoter of clean energy in Kazakhstan. The EBRD is the largest renewable energy financier in its region. To date, the Bank has invested close to 5 billion in renewable energy more than it has invested in conventional energy generation and has produced over 4 GW of generating capacity. The Bank provides not only financing but also policy engagement, working with governments to introduce legislative and regulatory frameworks to enable the development of renewables. In Kazakhstan the EBRD has also worked extensively with the government to help develop renewable energy legislation and feed-in tariffs. Under the new framework the EBRD will continue policy engagement with the authorities and the industry to help the Kazakh economy lessen its dependence on coal-generated electricity by attracting private developers to build renewable energy generators. Individual projects will also aim to provide more skills training and career opportunities for women who are currently under-represented in the sector. To date, the EBRD has invested over 7.2 billion in Kazakhstans economy, beating investment records in the last three years. The EBRD is the largest international investor in the countrys economy outside of the oil and gas sectors. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 16 December 2016 15:56 (UTC+04:00) Qatar Airways is inviting travelers to plan the perfect trip on board Qatar Airways economy and award winning Business Class cabins to newly added destinations around the globe. Now customers can visit destinations like Krabi, Seychelles, Windhoek, Auckland from Baku and enjoying fabulous fares to Asia, Australia, America, Arabian Peninsula, Africa and beyond with Qatar Airways. Unparalleled travel experience as customers enjoy the trip of a lifetime on their next vacation abroad, that is the promise of world best Airline. Fares to newly added amazing destinations start as low as 1616 AZN. Qatar Airways Country Manager, Mr. Nazir Abduvakhidov said: "This is a special occasion for Qatar Airways passengers to travel on board the World's Best Airline and to experience our signature economy & premium service. We would like to extend our gratitude to our customers for their continued support and loyalty in choosing Qatar Airways as their preferred airline. Qatar Airways serves key business and leisure destinations around the world with 184 modern aircraft, including destinations such as Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Colombo, and Dubai via the airline's state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International Airport. At the annual Skytrax 2016 World Airline Awards, Qatar Airways was awarded as Worlds Best Business Class Cabin . Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 19 years of operation and today flies a modern fleet of 184 aircraft to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. A regular Cabinet meeting was held on December 15, chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia, the Premier and the Cabinet members observed a minute of silence in memory of late Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Yeritsyan. Before proceeding to the agenda, the Prime Minister gave a number of instructions to the heads of all government agencies: Specific issues raised by society for the Governments or the Prime Ministers attention are often forwarded to the relevant authorities, but sometimes government agencies reply with vague or impersonal statements without specifying any targeted or effective steps to deal with the matter, especially as it is question of new projects or increased budget spending in the spheres under the jurisdiction of the agencies concerned. We will not accept any such statement as may be short of proper analysis, elaboration, without prior discussion with other interested institutions and containing general theoretical descriptions of the problem at hand. Any such written statements will be returned without taking them out of control. Solution needs practical measures, Karen Karapetyan underscored and urged the Minister-Chief of Government Staff to monitor the quality of assignments in view of the above-stated considerations. The next directive had to do with the priorities and the provisions of the governments annual action plan as proposed by ministries. Taking note of the programs, I noticed that not all of them were properly formulated: the proposals are not always justified by clear-cut and measurable sequence of deadlines. As such, these programs will not be accepted. I am hereby instructing you to complete the work within the next couple of days. We will discuss the priorities and the details of the annual action plan during the meetings to be held with the ministers next week, the Head of Government said. With a view to attracting investments, facilitate the settlement of production-related issues in order to create jobs and significantly improve the quality of services, the Governors and the ministers of Healthcare, Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources, Agriculture, Transport, Communications and Information Technologies, Territorial Administration and Development were instructed as follows: I am giving you three weeks to discuss with the State Property Management Department and finalize the list of those State-run companies, which should be included in the program of State property privatization. Please note that the privatization of individual companies shall henceforth be based on clearly specified targets. The Head of State Property Management Department was told to summarize the proposals and develop a draft law on amendments to the privatization program and submit it to the Government Staff within a weeks time. In this context, Head of State Property Management Department Arman Sahakyan was asked to report back progress in the implementation of the Prime Ministers assignment concerning the performance of State-owned companies. In response, Arman Sahakyan informed that the financial monitoring has already been carried out: The performance for the year 2015 is complete, though as stated in the relevant government decision, the financial indicators for 2016 will be finalized in May, 2017, which is set as the deadline for summarizing the annual performance. This process can clearly be launched, considering that we have the 2015 indicators. Based on them, we can proceed with the discussions, the head of State Property Management Department said. Karen Karapetyan next instruction referred to the educational system: The State Inspectorate for Education has recently carried out surveys with educational institutions nationwide, which revealed numerous violations. The Inspectorate issued a number of proposals and recommendations in this connection. I instruct the Governors and suggest that the Mayor of Yerevan to enforce the recommendations aimed at eliminating the irregularities and shortcomings identified by the State Inspectorate for Education and report back progress within two weeks, addressing each recommendation separately, the Prime Minister said. The Minister of Education and Science was told to conduct discussions with the regional administrations and the Yerevan City Hall and sum up the findings of the audit performed by the State Education Inspectorate. Based on the findings, you must submit recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of educational services. Prime Minister Karapetyan instructed the Minister of Education and Science and the Minister of Defense to analyze within two days the findings of the probe carried out at Little Mher Educational Compound SNCO by the joint committee of the two Ministries and submit recommendations within three days. In this connection, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said that the specified deadline is sufficient for them to deal with the matter. We have been working on in this direction for a while now. The idea is that the Little Mher high school be placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense and merged with the Monte Melkonian College. It is meant as a follow-up on our drive to drastically enhance the quality of military education, Vigen Sargsyan said. The Minister of Nature Protection was given ten days to submit proposals on the planned switchover to a unified system of environmental permits and licenses and the one-stop-shop principle. The Minister of Nature Protection was also told to conduct a relevant survey within a months time and submit information on those water users operating without a permit, as well as on ways of ruling out instances of illegal water use. The Premier highlighted the importance of his water use-related instruction in terms of environmental and other considerations. Prime Minister Karapetyan asked Minister of Justice Arpine Hovhannisyan to brief him on the status of the assignment given at the November 3 Anticorruption Council meeting concerning the Council reshuffle. To remind, the Minister of Justice was instructed to organize meetings with all stakeholders and submit proposals on the reshuffle. Arpine Hovhannisyan informed that work is complete. The proposal will be out in a week in line with your instruction. With reference to the Upper Lars-related issue, Karen Karapetyan told Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies Vahan Martirosyan to keep the matter in the spotlight. Mr. Martirosyan, the Upper Lars problems must be kept under control because we have a problem there. The Government approved the proposal to sign an agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the government of the Australian Union on encouragement and mutual protection of investments. The draft agreement sets out general principles for investment activities between Armenia and Australia. The draft includes articles on investment promotion and protection, compensation for losses, expropriation or alienation, compensation or the settlement of disputes between contracting parties and a number of other provisions. The meeting next endorsed the 8th amendment to the assistance agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of the United States On improved efficiency of healthcare and welfare services. The USAID has already communicated the draft amendment, which provides for additional financial allocation of USD 1,100,000. The Government adopted a relevant decision to put the house (bungalow) of prominent national figure, philanthropist Mikayel Aramyants in Lori Province of Armenia on the list of State-protected historical and give it the status of cultural monument. The Executive passed a decision to ensure that Ararat Baccalaureate examinations are included in the system of university entrance exam. According to the reference note, as early as in 2014, the Ministry of Education and Science and AYB Education Foundation launched the National Plan for Education Excellence (NPEE) in line with a presidential directive. The project aims to create an internationally competitive educational program in Armenian (Ararat Bachelors AB), which in turn will be the basis for high schools institutional development. In accordance with another decision, money will be allocated to the Ministry of Education and Science in order to comply with Armenias commitments assumed under the PRC Government-supported Chinese School Project. Mindful of the need to carry out coordinated actions aimed at creating a favorable investment climate in Syunik Province of Armenia, the Government adopted a decision on establishing the Syunik Marz Development and Investment Foundation and approving its charter. The reference note says that the promotion of economic activity in the provinces is considered to be a priority for the Government and, therefore, the most appropriate way to achieve this is to set up an appropriate institution with the necessary professional and financial capacity. The Foundation will focus exclusively on the social and economic problems of Syunik Province. Commenting on the decision, the Prime Minister praised the initiative and urged those responsible to be possibility consistent in this matter considering that the successful experience of Syunik Province could be implemented in other regions as well. China's first satellite station overseas was put into trial operation on Thursday. The China Remote Sensing Satellite North Polar Ground Station is above the Arctic circle, half an hour's drive from Kiruna, a major mining town in Sweden. An inauguration was held in the Esrange Space Center, where the station is located, on Thursday. Chen Yuming, Chinese ambassador to Sweden, sent a letter of congratulations stating that the ground station has laid a solid foundation for long-term relations between China and Sweden in science, technology and economic cooperation. "Since China and Sweden established diplomatic ties 66 years ago, the two sides have achieved fruitful outcomes in bilateral cooperation. I am sure that expanding cooperation in space projects will play a positive role in bilateral relations and social economic development of the two countries, making contributions to the peaceful use of outer space and benefiting all humanity," Chen said in the letter. "Kiruna is an ideal place for remote sensing satellite data reception. With this ideal location, and with this high-performance antenna, Chinese Earth observation satellites will acquire global data more efficiently, and hence respond to user application requirements, such as disaster monitoring, better and quicker," said Liu Jianbo, deputy director of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China has ground stations in Miyun in Beijing; Sanya in Hainan province; Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region; and Kunming in Yunnan province. The four ground stations receive satellite signals covering 70 percent of the Asian continent. Domestic stations can receive a signal from each satellite five times a day when it passes overhead, while the new station can receive signals up to 12 times a day. In addition, the new station can acquire satellite data in any part of the world within two hours. "It is capable of receiving all-weather, all-time and multi-resolution satellite data, and it is an important complement to the four domestic stations," Liu said. The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth has been in charge of building and operating the five ground stations. Construction started in the 1980s, and the ground station network now receives and processes data sent from more than 30 satellites. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The preliminary investigation of the criminal case on Sergeant Hakob Gevorgyans murder has been completed in the 9th Garrison Investigative department of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, the Investigative Committee told ARMENPRESS. On May 25, 2016 at 15:30, Sergeant Hakob Gevorgyan a conscription serviceman was admitted to the clinic of a military unit with penetrating wounds to the chest. The Sergeant died while being transported to the Meghri Medical Center. A criminal case was initiated in the 9th Garrison Investigative department, followed by immediate investigative operations to determine the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrator/perpetrators. The investigation suggested the Sergeant sustained deadly wounds as result of an altercation which occurred after a remark in the cafeteria of the military unit. The altercation transformed into a fight with the participation of several other servicemen, during which Hakob Gevorgyan was repeatedly beaten, and afterwards stabbed in the chest. The investigation revealed that several other servicemen were also injured during the incident. 5 people have been charged. The criminal case has been passed on to the Prosecutor. Notice Suspect is innocent until proven guilty by the Court of Law. Florida's electoral college will head to Tallahassee Monday to cast the state's 29 electoral votes for Donald Trump. But for the last few weeks, electors have been under pressure to change their votes. Kat Gates-Skipper has received 15,000 requests She heads to Tallahassee Monday to cast electoral vote Gates-Skipper said she's following Florida law, supports Trump At elector Kat Gates-Skipper's Lake Wales home, the letters have been stacking up by the thousands. "My mail lady said, 'I think I need your autograph, you seem to be pretty popular all of a sudden,'" Skipper said with a laugh. Skipper said Trump will do a wonderful job as president, but the people who wrote the letters think differently. They've called and texted, and sent letters and emails to try to get Skipper to change her vote. Skipper said she's received more than 15,000 requests. "I even got postcards that said be a hero and vote for Ms. Clinton and I'm like, 'I'm already a hero, I'm a Marine,'" Skipper said. It's part of a national effort to change the outcome of the election. But for Skipper, it's just a waste of postage. "I signed the oath for State of Florida and I'm going to do what I'm supposed to do," Skipper said. Florida law requires Skipper to vote for the winning candidate. She said she has no problem doing it. On Monday she said she's going to vote for Trump. Her hardest decision now is deciding which dress she'll wear to his inauguration. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson leads the list of YEREVAN BESTSELLER project of ARMENPRESS. Published on September 8, 1998, it is a motivational business fable. The text describes change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to those changes by two mice and two "little people," during their hunt for cheese. A New York Times business bestseller upon release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. It has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books. Narenk Galstyans Akhparner (meaning brothers in Western Armenian) is ranked 2nd. This is the authors first novel, which presents a history of a family who survived the Armenian Genocide. The book was published by Antares publishing house. Georgian writer Nodar Dumbadzes The Law of Eternity and Granny, Iliko, Illarion, and I comes next. Mark Arens Where wild roses bloom is ranked 4th in the list. This is the second novel of the author which describes the inner world of an Armenophobic Turkish former serviceman, when he, already an old man, suddenly hears a lullaby song that reminds him of his mother and later finds out that the song is in Armenian: realizing his parents were Armenians. The same former serviceman spends his remaining life searching the graves of his parents, without knowing that it was a misunderstanding. The famous late Armenian politician Vahan Hovhannisyan wrote his work Mandylion in the genre of historical intellectual detective. The book is in the 5th place this week. Vahan Hovhannisyan received a special prize for this book in the Bestseller of the Year ceremony. New book enters the list and is ranked 6th. Levon Shahnurs Journey: Before Love describes the signs of life and death. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde takes the 7th position in the list. Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by Basil Hallward, an artist who is impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty; he believes that Dorians beauty is responsible for the new mode in his art as a painter. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Art of Devotion or Ode to Rose by photographer and writer Edgar Harutyunyan is ranked 8th in the list. Veronika Decides to Die is a novel by Paulo Coelho. It tells the story of 24-year-old Slovenian Veronika, who appears to have everything in life going for her, but who decides to kill herself. This book is partly based on Coelho's experience in various mental institutions, and deals with the subject of madness. The gist of the message is that "collective madness is called sanity". Veronika Decides to Die has been adapted for theatre a number of times, and was also used in other artistic references. The novel is ranked 9th in this weeks list. Dandelion Wine, 1957 novel by Ray Bradbury, concludes this weeks list. The novel is taking place in the summer of 1928 in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois, based upon Bradbury's childhood home of Waukegan, Illinois. It was translated from English by Zaven Boyadjyan. To complete the bestseller list, the following bookshops have participated in the survey: Narek (51-91-36), Bookinist (53-74-13), Antares (091-90-01-23) and Zangak (23-26-49). YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh told Armenpress the Azerbaijani forces made over 30 ceasefire violations across the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. The Ministry issued an announcement which says: Overnight December 15-16 the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime over 30 times by firing nearly 450 shots from machine guns and heavy machine guns at the Armenian positions in the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact. In the north-eastern direction (Martakert) of the line of contact the Azerbaijani forces fired also 60 mm mortar (2 shells). The Defense Army forces continued maintaining vigilance along the entire length of the frontline and confidently fulfilled their military tasks. At this moment the situation is calm in the line of contact. By Marilyn Sewell Photo credit: Jlhopgood This essay appeared originally on The Huffington Post. Nobody I know, not a single one of my friends, voted for Trump. No one of us could imagine that he would become the next president. We are staggered, shaken, as we watch his Cabinet fill with those who would dismantle programs that serve our most disadvantaged, in favor of the wealthy. Surrealistic, we say. How did this happen? The answer is multifaceted, of course, but the overriding reason is that we liberals (and Clinton and the Democratic party) were caught unaware of the pain and frustration of the forty-seven percent of the voters who chose Trump, voters who overwhelmingly reside in the middle of our country. They are the white working class, the ones who dont go to college, the ones who still believe in God, the ones who send their sons and daughters to fight our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not poor, but middle-class. They struggle to find meaningful work in an economy that has shifted from domestic to global, that has displaced workers with robots, that has favored finance and communication over production. The mill is shutting down? Well, get a job in retail. We liberals passionately address the suffering of those on the marginsundocumented immigrants, LGBT folks, people of color. The watchwords of the left are diversity and equity, and no one can deny the gravity of these goals. But at the same time we have disregarded the pain that has driven many working class white men to opioid addiction and increasingly, to suicide. They turned to Trump, not because he is an honorable man and a capable leader, but because he is a symbol of hope. Their women, unsurprisingly, mostly voted with themsixty-two percent, to be exact. So I dont know anyone who voted for Trump? I should know better. My father, who dropped out of high school after his junior year, was an oil field worker in N. Louisiana. It was dangerous work, but paid well. He sent three of us children to college by squirreling money away in a deer skin bag in the bottom of his chest of drawers. Now Im out there on the barricades, chanting Keep it in the ground. And yes, we must. But what is happening to men like my father? Nobody paid attention, nobody noticed, so these voters were ready to throw the rascals (of both parties) out. They became easy prey for the demagogue they elected, a deeply flawed and dangerous man. Now progressives have to address that reality. A crisis is upon us, as we see our vaunted democracythe envy of aspiring people around the worldbeing ripped to shreds. The day after the election, sixty-five spiritual leaders, all progressives from various faith traditions, met in a circle in the basement of a local church in Portland, Oregon. Some were weeping, some were angry, all incredulous. A microphone was passed around the circle. During two hours of shared heartbreak, two clear questions emerged: What can we do? Participants were particularly concerned about those on the marginsundocumented immigrants, LGBT folks, people of color, disabled individuals. They are the most vulnerable people we serve. In the best of times, they are fearful, wary. Now many of them are terrified. Then the second question began to surface: How did it happen? We faith leaders had to acknowledge our ignorance about the lives of millions of people in the white working class. We had to confront our self-righteousness, our arrogance. It appears that our compassion needs a bigger umbrella. Like many of us just now, I need to broaden my understanding of the people Ive forgotten. They live in rural areas, towns where unemployment runs high and young people go off to the city. The women take a casserole to a family who has lost a loved one. They carefully clip coupons, lest their food budget suffer. Their men see no future for themselves. We have blamed them for their failure instead of seeing them as casualties of a changing culture. I write about climate. I march. I testify against Big Oil. Ill continue to do so. At the same time I need to remember the father who stabbed pipe in the oil fields of Louisiana, who came home bone-tired and black with oil, but who was proud of his work, and proud that he could send his three children to college. So go ahead and cry, grieve, sigh, and wonder. But then get up from your couch and move. Participate. The fabric of society has been rent, and its going to take all of us to do the reweaving. We have to tell a new tale, write a different story with an expanded cast of characters. Together. About the Author Marilyn Sewell is the editor of Claiming the Spirit Within, Cries of the Spirit, Resurrecting Grace and Breaking Free. She is minister emerita at the First Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter at @marilynsewell. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rhyden Bolton was attending nursing school at Lamar University, something that he aspired to do because of his stepfather, who was an ICU nurse. When his stepfather died of cancer in 2012, Bolton was even more driven. Bolton, 20, never saw his dream fulfilled. The third-year LU student was gunned down on Jan. 19, 2015, as he sat in a parked car outside a convenience store near campus. Bolton was a victim of mistaken identity. Kristofer Garcia, 22, one of three men charged in Bolton's death, was convicted of murder on Thursday. A Jefferson County jury sentenced the Beaumont man to 60 years in prison. He faced a life sentence. Bolton's mom, Kenetria Fauria, said Bolton's little sister still asks when her brother is coming home. "His 6-year-old sister stands at the window waiting for her brother to pull up in the driveway," Fauria said on the witness stand Thursday during the punishment phase of the trial. Garcia and his cousin Orlando Escuadra-Garcia were looking for a person who used counterfeit money to buy marijuana from Garcia on the night Bolton was killed, according to witnesses' testimony. Bolton was not their intended target. Garcia found out after media coverage of the shooting that he had shot the wrong person, according to testimony on Tuesday. Fauria said she couldn't believe her son was dead after she received the news. She called his phone several times, but all she got was his voicemail. She said she immediately drove to her son's Beaumont apartment from her Houston home. In Beaumont, she found Kerrick J. Madison, Bolton's friend who was with him when he was shot. Madison testified on Tuesday about the shooting, saying his car was sprayed with almost a dozen bullets. He recounted looking over at Bolton and seeing that he wasn't breathing. Three indicted in murder According to a probable cause affidavit in the case, Javon Spikes, 21, of Jasper was driving the Chevy Avalanche truck carrying Garcia and Escuadra-Garcia. All three were indicted in April 2015 on murder and aggravated kidnapping charges. The trio of suspects are accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old boy and another man in order to get information about a man they believed cheated them during a drug deal. Marylou Garcia, 23, was indicted on an aggravated kidnapping charge in connection with the case, but was not charged in Bolton's death. One of the men kidnapped agreed to set up an appointment between the cousins and the man they were seeking, according to the affidavit. The men were looking for a man named "Anthony," who they confused Bolton for at the Florida Avenue convenience store around 1 a.m. Jan. 19, 2015. Garcia's attorney, Wendell Radford, said his client did not kill Bolton and was not at the crime scene, adding that no weapon was recovered and there is no DNA evidence linking Garcia to the shooting. Garcia's ex-girlfriend testified Tuesday that Garcia said he'd shot at someone at a gas station on the night Bolton was killed. He told her "We got him," she said. Past charges During the punishment phase of the trial, Assistant District Attorney Rachel Grove presented the jury with two previous federal charges brought against Garcia in 2009 - one for possession of a prohibited weapon and another for aggravated assault. "Everything is different, starting from the moment I wake up," Fauria testified Thursday. "My heart is forever broken." Bolton's aunt, Rongel Johnson, and his grandmother, Rhonda Johnson, attended the four-day trial with Fauria. Rongel said that it was difficult to prepare for the trial, but all the family can do is, "pray for the best outcome and for justice to be served." Grove said Garcia will be eligible for parole in 30 years. Escuadra-Garcia is scheduled for trial on Feb. 22, 2017, Grove said. SFlores@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/_saraeflore YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of transportation, communication and information technologies reports as of 09:30 the Vardenyats Pass and Berd-Tchambarak highway are shut down due to low visibility and blizzard conditions. The ministry told ARMENPRESS the highways of Akhuryan, Maralik, Ashotsk, Abovyan, Martuni, Dilijan, Tchambarak, Sisian and Goris are partly covered in clear ice. Highway supervision agencies are carrying out clearing operations. Drivers are urged to travel in the abovementioned highways only in case of strict necessity and using winter tires with snow chains. Georgian authorities said as of 09:30 the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for light passenger vehicles using snow chains. Here are four gastroenterologists in the news this past week. The U.S. Department of Defense honored Pensacola (Fla.) Naval Hospital's Brent Lacey, MD, for his innovative hepatitis C screening program. New York-based Tyme Technologies partnered with Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic to launch a pancreatic research program, to be led by Martin Fernandez-Zapico, MD. The International Association of HealthCare Professionals included Reena J. Salgia, MD, and Jonathan Warman, MD, in The Leading Physicians of the World publication. The following hospital and health system rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, starting with the most recent. 1. S&P revises Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County's outlook to negative S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the "BBB-" long-term rating on Rock Springs, Wyo.-based Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County's $26.8 million of series 2013A bonds. 2. Moody's affirms CoxHealth's 'A2' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A2" rating on Springfield, Mo.-based CoxHealth's $501 million of outstanding debt. 3. Moody's affirms Shenandoah Medical Center's 'MIG 2' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "MIG 2" rating on Shenandoah (Iowa) Medical Center's series 2015 bonds. 4. Moody's revises Hazelden Betty Ford's outlook to negative Moody's Investors Service revised Center City, Minn.-based Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation's outlook to negative from stable. 5. Fitch affirms Seattle Cancer Care Alliance's 'A+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "A+" rating on the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance's $91.3 million of series 2014 bonds. 6. S&P lowers ProMedica Healthcare Obligated Group's rating to 'AA-' S&P Global Ratings lowered the rating to "AA-" from "AA" on Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica Healthcare Obligated Group's series 2015A, 2015B, 2011A, 2011D, 2008D, 2011B and 2011E bonds. 7. S&P lowers San Antonio Regional Hospital's rating to 'BBB+' S&P Global Ratings lowered the rating on Upland, Calif.-based San Antonio Regional Hospital to "BBB+" from "A-." 8. Fitch affirms Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group's 'A+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "A+" rating on Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center Obligated Group's $474 million of bonds. 9. Fitch affirms PeaceHealth's 'A+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "A+" rating on Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth's outstanding debt. 10. Fitch affirms Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan's 'A+' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "A+" rating on Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan (Kan.)'s $20.79 million of series 2013 bonds. 11. Moody's affirms Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County's 'A2' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A2" rating on Hospital Authority of Valdosta (Ga.) and Lowndes County's $49 million of series 2007 revenue bonds. 12. Moody's affirms Aspirus Wausau Hospital's 'A1' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A1" rating on Aspirus Wausau (Wis.) Hospital's $170 million of rated revenue bonds. 13. Moody's affirms Greenville Health System's 'A1' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A1" rating on Greenville (S.C.) Health System's $500 million of rated debt. 14. S&P raises Covenant HealthCare System's rating to 'A+' S&P Global Ratings raised the rating to "A+" from "A" on Saginaw, Mich.-based Covenant HealthCare System's series 2010H bonds. 15. S&P raises Bon Secours Health System's rating to 'A' S&P Global Ratings raised the rating to "A" from "A-" on Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health System's debt. 16. Fitch affirms Allina Health's 'AA-' rating Fitch Ratings affirmed the "AA-" rating on Minneapolis-based Allina Health's $820 million of bonds. 17. Moody's affirms The Health Care Authority for Baptist Health's 'A3' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A3" rating on Montgomery, Ala.-based The Health Care Authority for Baptist Health's $300 million of outstanding rated bonds. 18. Moody's affirms Bryan Health's 'A1' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A1" rating on Lincoln, Neb.-based Bryan Health's $86 million of debt. 19. Moody's revises Vidant Health's outlook to stable Moody's Investors Service revised Greenville, N.C.-based Vidant Health's outlook to stable from negative. 20. Moody's affirms Alexian Brothers Health System's 'A2' rating Moody's Investors Service affirmed the "A2" rating on Arlington Heights, Ill.-based Alexian Brothers Health System's $62 million of debt. More articles on healthcare finance: CMS adds advanced APM opportunities under MACRA 11 latest hospital credit rating downgrades UHS loses 20% of its market cap after BuzzFeed investigative report CMS is officially reopening applications for physicians to join two value-based care models in 2018 both of which qualify as advanced alternative payment models under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. The advanced APM is the potentially more lucrative of two tracks under MACRA's Quality Payment Program, which will determine Medicare physician fees beginning in 2019. Physicians participating in advanced APMs can earn a lump sum bonus of up to 5 percent on Medicare payments. The new offerings announced Thursday include opportunities to join CMS' Comprehensive Primary Care Plus model or its Next Generation ACO model for the 2018 performance year. With the opportunities added Thursday, CMS believes one-quarter of physicians will be part of advanced APMs by 2018. American Medical Association President Andrew Gurman, MD, commended CMS' announcement. "By being part of these models, physicians will have more time with patients and more flexible payments to support care coordination and improvements in access and quality," Dr. Gurman said in a statement. "This will result in healthier patients and more satisfied physicians, a win-win that is a good holiday present for everyone." This is the second time since announcing the final rule CMS has added opportunities to join advanced APMs. In October, the agency added the Oncology Care Model with two-sided risk as a qualifying model for the 2017 performance year and hinted it would reopen applications for the Next Generation ACO and CPC+ models. CMS plans to continue to add opportunities for participation in existing programs, as well as develop new models that qualify. The following models are considered advanced APMs for the 2017 performance year. Comprehensive End Stage Renal Disease Care Model, Large Dialysis Organization and non-LDO two-sided risk arrangements CPC+ Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO, Tracks 2 and 3 Next Generation ACO Oncology Care Model, two-sided risk arrangement CMS will add the following models as advanced APMs in 2018. Medicare ACO Track 1+ New voluntary bundled payment model Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Payment Model, Certified EHR Technology track Advancing Care Coordination through Episode Payment Models Track 1, CEHRT track More articles on finance: Oregon legislature approves $34M budget for health services spending Infor launches next iteration of RCM platform County ends hold on $8.5M grant for Broward Health Michael Young has served as president and CEO of PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg, Pa., since June 2011. Mr. Young, who has more than 30 years of healthcare leadership experience, most recently served as CEO of Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where he led a financial turnaround. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y. Mr. Young recently answered questions from Becker's Hospital Review about the biggest challenge he's facing as CEO, his goals for PinnacleHealth and more. Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. Question: What's the biggest challenge you're facing as CEO? MY: We have many pressing challenges, so it's difficult to narrow down to one. But the lack of providers in the country and state is extremely problematic. The U.S. is facing the largest physician shortage in its history while the population is both growing and aging. Many believe it will be difficult to close the gap between the number of physicians and healthcare providers who will provide care to the population. As the physician shortages continue to grow, more physicians will retire and fewer will enter practice. To focus on prevention and effective chronic disease management which lower costs for everyone we must have an adequate number of primary care providers. If we can't provide wellness services and make it easy for patients to prevent illness, we'll never be able to drive down costs and improve population health. Q: How do you approach the CEO role? MY: A leader is only as good as the people he leads. I'm proud of our management team, their development and their willingness as leaders to grow and learn what is needed to move things to the next level. If you help your team stay focused on clear goals, they will meet them. I believe positive results can be achieved by the team when managers and supervisors adopt a mindset of personal accountability and ownership. Of course, being personally accountable for the success of the team doesn't just rest with the team leader. We believe our associates must also have personal ownership and accountability. The best outcome any leader produces is to create an environment that encourages employees to choose to take ownership and be accountable themselves. Q: What was the last memorable thing you read? MY: I like to read about other leaders' strengths and weaknesses. One of the last things I read was Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General. It has interesting biographical vignettes of the major players from the end of the war, and it's a good general overview of the greater-than-life [George S.] Patton. Q: How do you begin your daily routine? MY: I'm up at 5:30 a.m. to begin my morning routine. I like to stay on top of current events, so I read The Wall Street Journal, the local daily paper, and the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia papers while I eat fruit usually red raspberries and check email. Q: What are your goals for PinnacleHealth? MY: We'll continue to focus on the overall health of the community and illness prevention. And we'll continue looking for collaborations that facilitate access, high-quality care, prevention and cost reduction. To improve population health, for example, PinnacleHealth has made significant investments to integrate care delivery and develop the infrastructure to enable accountability for population health outcomes. For instance, PinnacleHealth has invested $200 million to optimize existing inpatient space (e.g., private rooms), create more geographically distributed inpatient capacity with our new West Shore Hospital, and develop outpatient facilities including our East and West Shore cancer centers and the Annville multispecialty center. We also implemented Epic's EHR across the enterprise. We believe that securing the appropriate number of covered lives and "share of care" provided in local markets requires a sophisticated value-based contracting and accountable care strategy. PinnacleHealth has made the difficult shift in perspective from episodic fee-for-service volume to value-based population coverage, and has focused substantial efforts and resources to further our position as a preferred and recognized manager of population health. We currently collaborate with several insurers through accountable-care arrangements, demonstrating our desire to deliver true patient-centered, integrated and quality care at a lower cost. We're very proud of our track record with lowering costs for employers and patients through our narrow-network arrangements. Q: What phrases do you think we should use more in healthcare? MY: "Ownership" and "yes I can." Providers and staff within the healthcare delivery system need to be responsible and accountable for improving quality and lowering costs. We need to develop the mindset that patients are family members and that we are obligated to provide them with a positive experience and the best care. Patients also need to take ownership. Solving our healthcare problems requires a multi-prong solution, and patient accountability for their own health is a big part of that. A healthcare provider can only do so much to improve someone's health. We need to do a better job helping people make better choices and take care of their own health. As a society, we need to implement ways to encourage people to take ownership of their health and prevent chronic illness. If we don't start tackling root causes and solving preventable chronic illness, we'll never break the cycle. More articles on leadership and management: Illinois Health and Hospital Association names 2017 board members Carolinas HealthCare System revamps vision, mission statements 6 ways to gauge job candidates' ability to think strategically Republican lawmakers are looking for ways to repeal the ACA without causing 20 million Americans to lose the health insurance they gained under the law, which may involve preserving parts of the ACA for up to four years, according to Politico. "We need to talk with all the other parties in this and make sure that we have a smooth and stable transition," a senior GOP congressional aide told Politico. "That's what is going to drive what we do not necessarily what works best politically." Conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus want the transition period to be as short as six months, while insurance companies contend they need at least 18 months to price insurance plans and adjust to new market rules, according to the report. Prior conversations limited the transition period to three years, but senior GOP congressional aides indicated Thursday the transition period could last up to four years, according to the report. However, after Politico published an initial report on the matter, one aide said a four-year transition had not been discussed internally. Congressional Republicans are considering implementing a replacement plan in a piecemeal fashion, with small bills that address one part of the ACA at a time, according to the report. Their goal will be to expand access to healthcare by lowering insurance costs and lessening federal regulations. At the forefront of regenerative medicine, Kenneth Pettine, MD, has participated in three FDA biologic studies. He works with Jeffery Donner, MD, at the Colorado Spine Institute . Dr. Pettine is the founder of the Orthopedic Stem Cell Institute, and is a pioneer in the field, with the only Stem Cell methods patent procedure in the nation. "I'm convinced your body wants to heal itself," says Dr. Pettine. "The problem in orthopedics and spine is there's a paucity of blood supply to the joints or the disc in your back. If you injure your cartilage or disc, it has very little capacity to heal itself." The key to regenerative medicine in orthopedics and spine lies in the mesenchymal stem cell, because it has the ability to differentiate into osteoblasts, chondroblasts or fibroblasts. "This may be the most important stem cell in your body," Dr. Pettine explains. "The MSC is the cell that modulates your immune system through its paracrine ability to release numerous growth factors, cytokines, chemokines and inhibitorsIt's the conductor and your body is the orchestra." The use of the MSC to treat orthopedic injuries is standard of care in veterinary medicine, with a good amount of Class 1 data proving safety and efficacy. Dr. Pettine believes humans could also potentially benefit from the use of the MSC to treat orthopedic and spine pathology. Throughout his career, Dr. Pettine has served as principle investigator for 15 FDA IDE studies focused on non-fusion technology. He helped with the ISTO Technologies FDA phase one study, which was the first biologic study ever conducted in the human spine in the United States. Using juvenile cartilage cells, the study saw significant reduction in patients' back pain and one-year results have been published. Dr. Pettine also conducted an IRB study similar to the ISTO trial, utilizing autologous bone marrow concentrated cells to treat discogenic low back pain in 26 patients. This treatment has no FDA issues, as autologous bone marrow concentrated (BMC) cell therapy falls under "the practice of medicine" by the FDA under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act's provisions. The 30-minute procedure can be performed in an office or ambulatory surgery center with IV sedation or local anesthetic. Dr. Pettine has published one- and two-year results, and plans to publish three-year follow-up results soon. The one-year results revealed the cell therapy "significantly reduces lumbar discogenic pain," according to Pettine et.al., Stem Cells 2015; 33:146-156. Out of the 26 patients, only six received surgery 36 months post-injection. Dr. Pettine reported a 72 percent average reduction in Oswestry Disability Index scores and 75 percent average decrease in Visual Analog Scales scores at 36 months. "It seems to be long lasting," says Dr. Pettine. "We only re-injected two of the 26 patients at three-year follow up." Of 210 patients with cervical degeneration Dr. Pettine has injected with BMC, about 70 percent reported a 65 percent improvement in pain at one year follow up. Any arthritic joint can be injected with BMC. Although seeing positive results, Dr. Pettine notes this BMC cell therapy is not intended to replace surgery, but rather serve as a treatment for chronic conditions in patients who want an option prior to surgery. He believes this therapy will become more prevalent in the industry within three years to five years. "I think it's important for surgeons to be more proactive with [stem cell therapy], because I promise this will not go away," cautions Dr. Pettine. "And if surgeons don't get involved in this, it will be taken over by non-surgeons." To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below Easyjet has pledged to increase the number of female pilots, setting a new target after receiving an increasing number of applications from women. It said it wanted 20% of new cadets by 2020 to be female, which it described as a "stretching" target. Women make up 6% of easyJet's new pilot intake, and the airline has 164 female pilots, of whom 62 are captains, around 14% of the world's total. The company named an aircraft after renowned aviator Amy Johnson, revealing it had received over 600 applications from women since launching a campaign a year ago. EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall said: "I am delighted to be unveiling this specially-named aircraft after one of the most accomplished female aviators in history." The chief executive said that she wants to help redress the balance of women becoming pilots through the airline's scheme. The German supermarket is to spend 70 million in the UK Lidl is to create 5,000 jobs in London and invest 70 million in a new UK headquarters in the capital as the German supermarket reaffirms its commitment to Britain following Brexit. The budget retailer said the jobs are part of plans to open nearly 250 new stores in London as it pushes ahead with a three-year 1.5 billion UK investment plan. Lidl has also received planning permission for a new 240,000 square feet head office in Tolworth, Kingston, where it will move 450 staff from Wimbledon. Ingo Fischer, Lidl UK board director, said: "Our new headquarters not only signify an investment in our own infrastructure and workforce, but also highlight our wider investment ambitions within London as Lidl UK continues to experience incredible growth." The group currently employs 19,000 in the UK and has been stepping up the expansion of its UK operations of late. It plans to more than double the number of British stores to 1,500, recently opened a distribution centre in Southampton and has committed to open warehouses in Wednesbury, Exeter and Doncaster. In September, Ronny Gottschlich was replaced as Lidl's UK boss by Christian Hartnagel after overseeing the supermarket's rapid rise across the country. Lidl and its fellow German discount chain Aldi have shaken up the UK grocery sector and sparked a bitter supermarket price war by stealing market share from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. ATMs have been blasted in downtown Yerevan. ARMENPRESS acquired photos from the scene where one of the ATMs has been blasted open on Saryan Street. Reports about the second ATM are being clarified. The Yerevan Police Department told ARMENPRESS they received a call on December 16, at 06:15 stating that loud noises are heard in Saryan Street and unknown individuals are seen fleeing. Law enforcement agencies are currently working at the scene. Additional information will be provided soon. UPDATED 10:57 ARMENPRESS was notified the perpetrators failed to blast the second ATM. The assailants were unable to finish the robbery and fled. One of Northern Ireland's best known businessmen, Sir Roy McNulty, is stepping down from his role as chairman of Gatwick Airport. Sir Roy, who has spent most of his working life in Northern Ireland, is also a former chief executive of Bombardier. The Donegal man - who is also chairman of the late Lord Ballyedmond's Norbrook - will be replaced by Sir David Higgins in January. Sir Roy will continue on the airport's board. "I am delighted Sir David has accepted the appointment as the new chairman of Gatwick," he said. "We worked closely together for over five years at the Olympic Delivery Authority. "He combines a first-class intellect with the ability to give clear strategic direction and make things happen. He is exactly the right person to lead Gatwick through the next chapter in its development. "Gatwick has made significant progress under new ownership over the last seven years, since the break-up of BAA. We have shown beyond doubt that competition works. We have invested over 1.5bn in new facilities and passenger numbers have grown year on year - from 31.3 million in 2010 to over 42 million in 2016." Following the vote from Brexit, Sir Roy told the Belfast Telegraph, that leaving the EU could hit the travel and airline industries, but that they would soon recover. Felicity Jones may be fast-becoming hot property in Hollywood, but when it comes to mapping out her next move, the English actress insists there's no set plan. Refusing to take herself too seriously, the 33-year-old is in great spirits and reveals in no uncertain terms that she prefers to simply "fly by the seat of your pants". And her breezy attitude - coupled with formidable talent - seems to be working wonders. Since landing an Oscar nomination for her role in the 2014 Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, Oxford-educated Jones has justly shot to the top of nearly every film-maker's most-wanted list. This year alone, she's already teamed up with Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard for Inferno, the third adaptation of Dan Brown's novels, and will play Sigourney Weaver's terminally ill daughter in JA Bayona's heart-wrenching A Monster Calls, out in the new year. Now, as 2016 draws to a close, she's also starring in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - the first in a new series of Star Wars standalone films that, despite sitting in a universe fans know and love, features new characters and storylines. Reportedly set somewhere between the aftermath of 2005's Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith and events in the original Star Wars film, Jones plays Jyn Erso, the impetuous leader of a group of unlikely heroes who go on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. "I feel like Star Wars crosses continents," notes the Birmingham-born actress, who jokes she'll be pleased to finally remove the "invisible gag" once the epic is released. "It's something people love, whether they're particularly into science-fiction or not, and I really feel the heart of these films are always rooted in relationships," she adds. "That's why we keep coming back to them. You're so fond of the characters and you want them to succeed against the forces of evil." While her hands might be tied as far as plot spoilers are concerned, she's happy to tease hardened fans by likening it to the 1980 classic The Empire Strikes Back - in that there's a quest at the centre of it. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars cast members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning. They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Rian Johnson (director ) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Rian Johnson (director ) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Rian Johnson (director ) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Rian Johnson (director ) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 13/5/2016 Daisy Ridley (Rey) pictured as Star Wars Cast Members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning , They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. The entire shoot is very much top secret, with locals and landowners sworn to keep it that way, and access to the beauty spot is closed for the next three days. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) pictured as Star Wars cast members arrive at Belfast International Airport on Friday Morning. They are due to film Star Wars Episode VIII at Malin Head in Co Donegal. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker "It's very much rooted in a parent-child relationship and father-daughter relationship, which is the thrust of he story," stresses Jones, whose father worked as a journalist and her mother in advertising. "But it also has moments of lightness and fun and humour. "K-2, who is played by Alan Tudyk, was constantly improvising when we were on set and is very funny in the film," she continues, "so it has a bit of everything." In the case of depicting newbie Erso, English rose Jones, dressed when we meet in a fun tropical print matched with natural make-up, says she wanted her to be as human as possible. "She's strong when she needs to be, she's incredibly determined and she has to be tough when she doesn't feel it," she adds. "But at the same time, there is enormous vulnerability." The actress, who started her professional career at age 11 in children's TV series The Worst Witch, was also sold on the "rare opportunity" to play a female who is not thinking about romantic relationships. Embracing the desexualisation, the self-confessed feminist recently told Glamour magazine: "We don't even see Jyn's arms. That's not her priority. She's a survivor, and she has a mission to complete. "Gareth (Edwards, director) said very early on, 'I want guys to watch it and be like, 'I want to be Jyn.' A female friend of mine said, 'I love that Jyn looks how we look, with trousers and a long-sleeved top'. We aren't in hot pants. When do women walk around wearing hot pants?" Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The model of the Millennium Falcon being built on the Star Wars set at Malin Head in Co Donegal A Millennium, Falcom in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA A set is created in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey The view of the Star Wars film set from Ardmalin Caravan Park. Pic: Ardmalin Caravan Park A fleet brought the Star Wars set to Malin Head. Pic: Ardmalin Caravan Park The view from Ardmalin Caravan Camp. Pic: Ardmalin Caravan Park The view from Ardmalin Caravan Park. Pic: Ardmalin Caravan Park Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Farrens Bar in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA A Millennium, Falcom in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA JJ McGettigan from the Emerald Garrison, a star Wars costuming club, in Farrens Bar in Malin Head, Co Donegal Ireland, as filming for the next Star Wars movie will take place there. PA PA Hazy Zoom - wires and cabling snake through the terrain from base to the Millennium Falcon. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. Construction on the millennium falcon which is perched on rocks on the rugged landscape at Ireland's most northerly point - Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey. The stunning landscape surrounding the Star Wars set in Malin Head. Pic James Whorriskey Remote - Malin Head, Ireland's most Northerly point and location for the latest Star Wars movie. Picture James Whorriskey A mixture of tourists and inquisitive Star Wars fans mingle - Pic at Bamba's Crown, which overlooks the cast and crew tents. Picture James Whorriskey Cast and crew areas being readied ahead of weekend filming - roads in the area will be closed for several days. Picture James Whorriskey Cast and crew areas being readied ahead of weekend filming - roads in the area will be closed for several days.Picture James Whorriskey Cliff path to the Millennium Falcon - private security staff prevent people from getting too close. Picture James Whorriskey Millennium Falcon Base - scaffolding, fencing and crew buildings surrounding the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Gardai on standby and ready to politely ward of anybody who security deem to have gotten too close for comfort. Picture James Whorriskey Concealed - A drone hovers to the left of picture, over the Millennium Falcon location - and what's that partially visible on the right? Picture James Whorriskey Tight security guards the boundaries of the Star Wars set. Picture James Whorriskey Millennium Falcon base at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Crews at the Millennium Falcon site. Picture James Whorriskey Security try to prevent photography at the location. Picture James Whorriskey Narrow single track roads are the only way around Malin Head - In the distance the Millennium falcon site. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Private Security posted at public vantage points in Malin Head attempt to prevent photography. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey New signs erected in many of the surrounding fields - Millennium Falcon in the distance. Picture James Whorriskey Construction underway on the Millennium Falcon at Malin Head. Picture James Whorriskey Basecamp at the Millennium Falcon site. Pic James Whorriskey The landscape overlooking the Millennium Falcon base. Picture James Whorriskey. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The model of the Millennium Falcon being built on the Star Wars set at Malin Head in Co Donegal Wise beyond her years, Jones, who has in the past spoken out on the Hollywood gender pay gap, is also keen to play down comparisons to Star Wars' Daisy Ridley. Talking of Erso in contrast to Ridley's defiant Rey, who debuted in last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she says: "Jyn's had a bit of a struggle in life, she's more of a hardened character. She knows who she is and where she's come from - she's quite streetwise. "She's very sure she doesn't like the Empire. She's going to bring them down." But that's not to say she wasn't happy to share a defining moment with her fellow UK actors. "It was quite nice, actually... Throughout filming, we met John (Boyega, who plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, alongside Ridley) and then I met Daisy," she recalls, smiling sweetly. "It was more about looking at each other and going, 'Wow, this is pretty cool, we're all in Star Wars', you know, celebrating it together." Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The film set for ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. A Irish flag flies close to the almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. A team of security men with binoculars and walkie talkies closely guard the film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. The private road leading to the fim set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. A local business sign close to the almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. A local business sign close to the almost completed film set of an ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. Dermot Sears Owner of Tig an tSaorsaigh's Pub and B&B in Ballyferriter close to Ceann Sibeal in Kerry who had looked after some of the crew during the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. Dermot Sears Owner of Tig an tSaorsaigh's Pub and B&B in Ballyferriter close to Ceann Sibeal in Kerry who had looked after some of the crew during the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The film set for ancient Jedi Temple under construction at Ceann Sibeal in Kerry for the making of Star Wars Episode VIII. And is she prepared for the marked prospect of the intensified stardom that being in Star Wars brings with it? "There's so much hard work that goes into making these films that you can't suddenly go, 'Oh, it's so awful, people want to see the films'," Jones reasons with sincerity. "It's a privilege, and it's pleasure to share with people." Philip Hammond: Its fairly binary for them: they either have access to their markets or they dont have access. Japanese banks have told Philip Hammond they will begin moving operations to the EU within six months unless the Government can provide clarity on the UKs access to the single market. Banks including Nomura and Daiwa Capital Markets, which employ thousands of people in Britain, reportedly held a frank meeting with the Chancellor on 1 December. According to the Financial Times, one senior Japanese finance executive said it would be better for our EU-based customers to have an alternative hub. The Chancellor met with top bank bosses in Tokyo again on Thursday, when they reiterated fears about the potential negative impact of Brexit on their UK businesses and urged clarity from the Government about its plans. Mr Hammond said: Its fairly binary for them: they either have access to their markets or they dont have access. "If they have full access to the markets from London they can continue operating as now. If they dont, they will have to restructure the way their operations address the European market. I've been seeking to cement the UK-Japanese bilateral relationship, Hammond told reporters. Japan is Britain's second-most-important foreign direct investor after the United States. Japanese banks employ 5,000 people, mostly in London, with insurers and other financial groups employing many thousands more. Brexit has already prompted Japans largest banking group, Mitsubishi, to begin the move. It has beefed up its Amsterdam operation and begun moving staff from London since the June vote. Japanese firms, like their US counterparts, have demanded confirmation that passporting would be maintained after the split, an assurance that Mr Hammond simply cannot give at present. Passporting allows EU firms to sell their services across the EUs 31 nations while only being subject to one set of regulations. Without confirmation, the exodus will reportedly begin in mid-2017. Philip Hammond is hoping to secure a transitional deal which will ensure a smooth and orderly Brexit rather than a cliff edge in 2019, when the two-year negotiation period will end. Without such a deal, firms face a mountain of rule changes and regulatory uncertainty. In September the Japanese government issued an unprecedented warning that the countrys firms would move their headquarters out of Britain if EU laws cease to be applicable. Japanese firms employ around 140,000 people in the UK, with Nomura bank, Hitachi and carmakers Honda, Nissan and Toyota all having major bases in the country. On Wednesday, it was revealed that 40 per cent of US firms with UK bases said they are considering moving to the EU because of uncertainty over Brexit. The family and friends of a missing east Belfast woman face another agonising day waiting for news of the mother-of-one's whereabouts. Catherine Johnson (39), a science teacher at Hazelwood Integrated College in north Belfast, disappeared from her home on Tuesday. Her white Seat Leon car was discovered at Ballintoy Harbour, sparking a major air and sea search on the north coast involving police and Coastguard personnel. But as darkness fell last night it was clear that the second day of the search for the missing woman had proved fruitless. The operation is concentrated around the Dunseverick Castle and Carrick-a-Rede areas. Yesterday police moved to scotch rumours circulating in north Antrim that the missing woman had been found. "This is not the case at this time. The missing person appeal still stands and the search is ongoing," the PSNI said. Later, Inspector David Burns said: "Extensive searches of Ballintoy Harbour and the surrounding area were carried out on Thursday by police officers, the police helicopter, Community Rescue Service and the Coastguard. These searches will resume again this morning." Asking for help from the public, Inspector Burns added: "I would appeal to anyone who was in the Ballintoy Harbour area anytime between Tuesday, December 13 and Wednesday, December 14, and who may have seen Catherine, or taken any photographs in this area, to contact police on the non-emergency number 101." Ms Johnston, who is head of Year 10 at Hazelwood, has been described by principal Kathleen O'Hare as "a shining star". Expand Close Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston with her husband Tim and James / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston with her husband Tim and James Yesterday pupils prayed for the safe return of their teacher, and the school's Facebook page prominently displayed a poster from counselling service Lifeline, offering help to anyone in distress or despair. Wellwishers posted many heartfelt messages of concern on social media. There were more than 80 messages posted on the Belfast Telegraph's Facebook page alone. Michelle Munn Radcliffe said: "She probably doesn't know how precious she is to so many people. I really hope they find her safe and well." A former Hazelwood pupil added: "Praying Catherine is found quickly. Remember her fondly from school." Poppy the dachshund with her Xmas jumper, hat and scarf - submitted by Karen Davis. December 2016 Jacqui Smyth and friends get into the festive spirit Owen James from Gilford won the Christmas Jumper competition in the Castle Bar. Proceeds from competition will go to Southern Area Hospice. Myself and the light of my life who arrived just before Xmas two years ago. This is us in our Christmas. Submitted by Victoria Stewart Ulster Unionist Party councillors Lindsay Millar and Maureen Morrow get into the festive spirit at a meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in the Braid, Ballymena. My two-year-old twin boys Oscar and Callan in their Christmas Jumpers - Submitted by Tom McIlvenny - December 2016 Four little elves - all on the nice list after a year of exemplary behaviour - submitted by Emma Hughes -December 2016 People out at Limelight for Sketchy Christmas. Thursday 22 December 2016. Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX People out at Limelight for Sketchy Christmas. Thursday 22 December 2016. Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Mark McIlvenny submitted this pic of his 'two wee super heroes' - December 2016 People out at Limelight for Sketchy Christmas. Thursday 22 December 2016. Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX The grandchildren - Zoe, Sadie and Julian: Submitted by Ruth & Tom McAuley People out at Limelight for Sketchy Christmas. Thursday 22 December 2016. Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX The Little Folk - Submitted by Pauline Greenaway. Dec 2016 People out at Limelight for Sketchy Christmas. Thursday 22 December 2016. Picture by Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Christmas jumpers, love them or loathe them it's a tradition that is here to stay. - and here's who has been loving it in Northern Ireland To send us your pictures just click here And there's sure to be plenty of competition across offices, schools and homes, to have the best knitted bauble. But what do you prefer? Is it Santa, a snowman or good old Rudolph who you sits proud on your pullover, or do you prefer something more sedate? And is it shop bought or have you made your own? Whatever your style, we want to see it. Simply take a selfie, or gather the whole family around the tree and take a grand pic of you'll in your best holiday attire. Send your pictures to digital.editorial@belfasttelegraph.co.uk, tweet us, or send them to us on our Facebook page. The very best will feature in our gallery. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria has evacuated nine convoys with 6462 people, including more than 3000 militants and 301 wounded from the eastern districts of Aleppo, reports TASS. "All passenger buses and ambulance cars are accompanied by officers of the Russian Reconciliation Center and staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)," the center said in a statement as quoted by TASS. It is reported special posts have been deployed in the route of convoys for security reasons. In order to avoid provocations, the Russian Center controls the situation round-the-clock by using drones and web cameras. The evacuation of militants and their family members from Aleppos east is being carried out with mutual cooperation of the countrys leadership. Photo by Reuters Harrowing life: Jayne Olorunda whose father Max Olorunda was killed in an IRA train bomb during the Troubles News that the daughter of the IRA man who killed her father is to take a seat for Sinn Fein in Stormont has left Belfast author and community worker Jayne Olorunda and her family determined to leave Northern Ireland. The distraught 38-year-old says she couldn't bear to see new MLA Orlaithi Flynn in the news now that she had been appointed by Sinn Fein to replace Jennifer McCann in the Colin area of west Belfast. Jayne was only two when her Nigerian-born father Max Olorunda was killed by an IRA incendiary bomb which detonated prematurely in Dunmurry on a train travelling from Ballymena to Belfast in January 1980. She says her mother Gabrielle (66) has never got over it and to this day suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome. Orlaithi Flynn's father Patrick Flynn was convicted of double manslaughter and possession of explosives for the attack. In a heartbreaking interview, Jayne revealed how her family has also suffered years of racial hatred and had planned to leave Northern Ireland last month to try and escape the abuse. When the move fell through they thought they might stay but now after learning of Flynn's appointment this week they are more determined than ever to start a new life in England. Jayne says: "It was so strange because only two weeks ago we were discussing our failed move and saying if we didn't secure something else by the end of the year we would stay. We weren't happy but we needed to have some direction. "On hearing the news about Sinn Fein's decision the rug was pulled from under my feet. I couldn't believe it. I then had to break the news to my mother and my sister. I knew they would be hurt and it really is the final nail in the coffin for us. "We are all devastated. The daughter of the man who killed my dad would now be the MLA for west Belfast. Read more Read More "This news would be difficult at the best of times and as a family who have tried to be forgiving we would have gotten over it, or at least adapted to it, but unfortunately this blow came before Christmas. "Christmas has never been a good time for my family, it's so close to my father's anniversary, but I was hoping, just hoping, that this year we could make something of it. "The fact that Sinn Fein decided to announce its decision when it did was to me disgusting. They know that this particular candidate had a profile associated with her father and also that her father's victims were still alive. "As a party that claims to care about 'victims', it's clear that they care little, never have, and never will. Frankly they were insensitive and that hurts." Jayne has two sisters, Alison (40), who lives in Belfast and Maxine (39), who lives in England. She has spent most of her life working in the community and has also written a powerful book called Legacy which tells the story of how her family were plagued by racism, poverty and grief after the death of her father. Her father Max (35), an accountant, had been visiting a client in Ballymena and was on the train when the IRA prematurely detonated a device on January 17, 1980. The blast engulfed a carriage of the train killing her father, as well as 17-year-old Protestant student Mark Cochrane and one of the bombers, Kevin Delaney (26). Five others were injured including the other bomber - 24-year-old Patrick Flynn - who was among the most seriously injured survivors. After the blast, the IRA issued a statement acknowledging responsibility and apologising to those who were harmed claiming it was an 'accident' caused by the 'war situation'. Patrick Flynn was tried at Belfast Crown Court for double manslaughter and possession of explosives after his recovery from his injuries. Mr Justice Kelly sentenced Flynn to 10 years in prison for each count of manslaughter as well as seven years for the explosives offences, to be served concurrently. Last night, Jayne said that she wished Orlaithi Flynn no ill will, but said she found it hard to accept that she was a member of Sinn Fein. "No one can be held responsible for what their father did and I can't reiterate that enough, but my anger comes from the fact that she is a member of Sinn Fein," she says. "Sinn Fein is the political wing of the IRA and the IRA killed my father. The fact that she joined Sinn Fein doesn't suggest to me that there is any remorse felt. "I always thought Mr Flynn was sorry for what he had done, that's what kept us going. "I don't have a dad, but I know dads influence your life and steer you on your choice of career and the fact that his daughter is now a Sinn Fein MLA is very hard to take. "If one had been brought up with someone truly apologetic, racked with guilt, then I believe they wouldn't follow the political party that is so closely associated with their father's actions. "To have to hear her on the radio or see her on TV is something I couldn't cope with. I would be thinking all the time 'your father killed my father' and that would be too hard. "My mum can't cope with it either. She said that she hadn't finished with her family, she always wanted a big family and that was taken away from her and yet Patrick Flynn came out of prison and had children and was able to get on with his life while my mum has never recovered." As well as suffering from sectarianism, Jayne says she and her two sisters have also suffered racist abuse throughout their lives. It was after a particularly frightening racist attack earlier this year in south Belfast that Jayne and her family decided to leave Northern Ireland. Jayne was on her way home from work when she was surrounded by a mob brandishing a Nazi banner. She was left so traumatised by the attack that she was too frightened to leave home and had to give up her job. The family took the decision to move to England to try and escape the racist abuse but when a planned move last month fell through they had considered staying. After this week's announcement by Sinn Fein, Jayne says that is no longer an option and she, her mum and sister hope to leave their home here by the end of January. "We've had the worst of the hatred that Northern Ireland has to give - sectarian and racist - levelled at us and we just can't take any more," she says. "We are a mixed race family and don't always blend in. Growing up we became used to stares and taunts, but that was all we had. Naively I thought that Northern Ireland seemed to be changing, more and more people of colour were coming in and we no longer stood out as much. "Last year I learnt just how much of an issue people like me are to some. I unwittingly walked into a group of right wing thugs, who surrounded me, blocked me in with an SS banner and proceeded to terrify me. "I was 'lucky' in that one of them recognised me and called the others off. I dread to think what the outcome would have been otherwise. "That day changed my life; I will never be the same. I literally became a hermit. From being a social person I found I was too afraid to leave the house. It was as if all the racial abuse, comments and stares from all the years hit me at once and I believed everybody hated me. "I was ashamed to walk down the street, I went nowhere alone. No matter what I knew to be true, my reaction was to tarnish everyone with the same brush. "I am mum's carer and I knew I couldn't provide mum with the care she deserved if I fell to pieces. We then decided that we should leave Northern Ireland because I just felt I couldn't take even one more blow." The family have been looking for a new home since March of last year in London, Birmingham, Nottingham or Manchester. They were due to move on November 25 and were packed up and ready to go, but it fell through at the last minute. Jayne says it is not easy leaving her home and friends in Northern Ireland and they had reconsidered, but after Wednesday's announcement of Ms Flynn's appointment they are now going. "I've always been impartial but this time that news has really done it for me and made me question the very nature of forgiveness," she says. "Good luck to Ms Flynn I hope she has a long and successful career but my family and I don't want to watch it. This last year has been difficult. Sinn Fein's decision has not made us decide to leave, but it has reinforced the fact that we cannot stay. "All my family want is peace. Racism and our status as victims has sadly meant we won't get it here. It is not easy for anyone to feel they have to get up and leave their home and all they are used to, but circumstances have dictated that we can't stay. "I wish Ms Flynn the best and she is not to blame, I wish Northern Ireland the best too, but it just hasn't been kind to us and we are not prepared to stay and see what it delivers next." In a week which has seen members of the DUP turn on each other, Stephen Nolan says he will be having a drink tonight at his work Christmas party. The BBC man exposed the failings in the Renewable Heating Incentive scandal. A delay in closing the scheme after it was found to be seriously flawed could cost the public over 400m. The Renewable Heat Incentive encouraged the installation of costly eco-friendly heating systems by paying a tariff per kilowatt of heat burned over a 20-year period. However, unlike in the other schemes in the UK, in Northern Ireland no cap or payment tier system was placed on the money that could be claimed in proportion to the size of boiler and the hours it was operated. That effectively enabled a business to burn unnecessary heat 24/7 just to make money. It has also been revealed that empty barns were heated just to generate more cash for business owners and also that business owners wood pellets, used to fuel biomass boilers, were paid to dry the materials and then paid to burn them. Over the week Stephen Nolan revealed that a Ferrari showroom in Belfast was heated through the scheme and that "political pressure" was applied to keep it open. The week culminated in an extraordinary interview with DUP MLA and former Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell - who closed the scheme - telling Nolan Arlene Foster ordered the scheme remain open. Something she had denied. Signing off on his Friday morning Radio Ulster show, Nolan said he would be having a drink at his work Christmas do. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Jonathan Bell congratulates Arlene Foster on her appointment as DUP leader last year Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye The Nolan Show: Jonathan Bell speaks to Stephen Nolan about the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. Image courtesy of BBC Northern Ireland Jonathan Bell speaks last night / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jonathan Bell congratulates Arlene Foster on her appointment as DUP leader last year Timeline: How Renewable Heat Incentive unfolded November 2012 - Arlene Foster, then Enterprise Minister, announces the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme for businesses. October 2013 - A whistleblower emails Mrs Foster to express concerns over the scheme. Autumn 2013 - The woman is referred by Mrs Foster to officials from her Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and she urges them to address the problems. May 2014 - The whistleblower emails again, after the civil servants appear to do nothing. She explicitly outlines how the scheme was being abused, was paying out exorbitant sums of money, and could not be ignored any longer. December 2014 - The scheme is extended to domestic customers by Mrs Foster. November 2015 - With the realisation the funding available for applicants is uncapped, Stormont tightens the rules. But a massive late surge of 900 applications is received before changes can be made. January 2016 - Another whistleblower civil servant tells the Executive the scheme is being abused. February 6 - New Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell (above) makes a shock announcement that the RHI scheme to be scrapped. February 9 - Michael Doran of Action Renewables warns it will force renewables from "boom to bust." June - Auditors begin investigating concerns. July 5 - A damning Audit Office report states a farmer will make 1m of government money just for heating an empty shed. It reveals that more than 1 billion of public money will be paid to Northern Ireland-based businesses by 2036 after they installed new appliances under the RHI scheme. October - Stormont's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) call the mishandling of the RHI scheme "one of the biggest scandals" since devolution. SDLP Assembly member Daniel McCrossan tells officials from government utility regulator OFGEM, which administered the scheme: "It was very clear the department was asleep at the wheel but I am horrified that you too were asleep at the wheel in relation to this." November - The Public Accounts Committee is told that a 405m hole will have to be plugged over the 20-year lifetime of the RHI. Dr Andrew McCormick (above), permanent secretary for the Economy Department, says he can't think of any government scheme being worse value for money. December 2016 12 December: First Minister Arlene Foster says she won't quit over the fiasco following allegations that she did not act appropriately when concerns were first raised about the scheme. It also emerges the brother of a DUP special advisor and a Ferrari showroom have benefited from the error-ridden scheme. 13 December: UUP leader Mike Nesbitt claims to have uncovered the "smoking gun" of Arlene Foster's involvement in the decision-making process in connection with the flawed RHI scheme. 14 December: The SDLP says it will table a motion of no confidence to exclude Arlene Foster as First Minister. Sinn Fein says it won't back the motion. Meanwhile the UUP says the UK Government can no longer ignore the "national scandal". The DUP's Nigel Dodds hits out at a "scurrilous attempt" to blame Arlene Foster for the botched energy scheme. The party releases what it says is a copy of the 2013 email sent from the whistleblower to Mrs Foster, saying that it raised no specific concerns about RHI. 15 December: Arlene Foster says she has nothing to hide from a BBC interview with former DUP minister Jonathan Bell, who vowed to tell the truth about the scandal, adding the revelations will end his political career. Jonathan Bell claims DUP advisers attempted to delay the closure of the scheme in its original and generous format. He also said attempts were made to remove references to the Finance Department and Arlene Foster in records. The claims were denied. 19 December: Arlene Foster is to make a "full statement" to MLAs as the devolved assembly is recalled for a special setting to discuss the growing political crisis in the run-up to Christmas. Carmel Francis at home in south Belfast before her last shift in the Royal Victoria Hospital An intensive care nurse who treated many victims of the Troubles is finally hanging up her uniform - after 40 years in the job. Senior staff nurse Carmel Francis (57) worked her last shift on Wednesday night at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Her colleagues marked her retirement by presenting her with a trolley-load of fine foods and other treats. "It was an extremely busy shift," she told the Belfast Telegraph. "I was working right up to the end." Carmel, who was brought up in Moy, Co Tyrone, had wanted to be a nurse for as long as she could remember. "One of the happiest days of my life was the day Santa brought me a nurse's uniform when I was about five," she said. "I come from a big family with 15 siblings and used to practise on them all the time." In 1976, at the age of 17, Carmel completed her nursing training and started work at the Royal Victoria Hospital's intensive care unit the very next day. During her career she would go on to treat many victims of the Troubles, including the Omagh bombing. "It was all pretty horrible, because you didn't really know what was going to come through the door," Carmel said. "It could have been anybody, perhaps your neighbour who had been injured in a bomb or gun attack. And on many occasions, it was people that I knew. "It was dreadful. But you just had to put your professional hat on and get on with the job." Tragically, a fellow nurse at the Royal - Marie Wilson - was killed in the Enniskillen bombing in 1987. In the early 1980s, Carmel moved to London, where she worked at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for 18 months. Six months after her arrival in the city, an IRA car bomb exploded outside Harrods department store, killing six and wounding 90. Carmel, who was on holiday in Northern Ireland on the day of the bombing, returned a few days later to help take care of the victims. Throughout her career, she's treated plenty of famous - and infamous - people, although for confidentiality reasons she can't go into detail. "But you don't judge. You're just there to treat and look after people," she said. Over the course of 40 years, she's seen the profession change beyond recognition. "Many of the patients we treat today simply wouldn't have survived back then," she said. "Today, for example, we do dialysis and we have different ways of ventilating patients who are critically ill. "And we used to write everything down, whereas now we use a computer." Carmel says that she was never tempted to go into management, preferring instead to work directly with patients and their families. Despite being witness to the aftermath of some of the most harrowing incidents in modern times, she insists that she doesn't regret a single day. "It's been a fantastic career and I would encourage any young person to do it," she said. For her, though, it feels like the right time to move on. "I was fed up with working Christmases and wanted more choice over my life - over what I do and when I do it," Carmel added. To mark the first day of her retirement, her husband David took her out for a celebratory breakfast at her favourite restaurant, Cafe Conor in Belfast. DUP MLA Jonathan Bell vowed to tell the truth over the Renewable Heating Incentive scandal, saying it will ruin his political career. The Strangford MLA appeared in a BBC One Nolan Investigation interview on Thursday night. Read More In a preview, the former Enterprise Minister said he was doing his duty in a tearful interview: "I did not seek office to close hospitals while hundreds of millions of pounds are abused. I'll tell the truth and my political career will be ruined." We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference "I have had to do one of most difficult things in my life; tell the Northern Ireland public the truth and shine a light and deal with a major problem. "Dr Paisley was right 'tell the truth should the heavens fall, so do with me as they will'. "The facts are documents, emails, times and dates. You will not find one single thing that is not the truth. I have done my duty. "So I have told the truth and I believe God does not punish people for telling the truth. "I'm a very poor Christian, but I've a great God." He added: "Let's see how it plays out." The interview centres around the Renewable Heating Incentive, which will cost the public hundreds of millions of pounds in overspent funds auditors warned after it was exploited. Read More It has been described as the biggest scandal in the history of devolved government. Pressure has been mounting on First Minister Arlene Foster.She was the minister that introduced the policy and has faced down calls to resign. Her successor in the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment Jonathan Bell eventually closed the scheme. On Wednesday Stephen Nolan Show revealed that Mrs Foster had a "heated conversation" with her DUP colleague Jonathan Bell, over his plans to end the scheme. Speaking on his Radio Ulster Show, Stephen Nolan explained why the interview was held off for television on Thursday night. "I want the public to see the whites of his eyes," he said. The full interview will be broadcast on BBC One at 10.40pm. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference More: Read More The Renewable Heating Incentive was supposed to help businesses mitigate the costs of running eco-friendly boilers actually ended up paying out more than the cost of the fuel - so the more people burned, the more public money they earned. Some applicants were found to heat buildings on an industrial scale just to make money. Unlike a similar scheme in Britain, no cap was initially put on the payments. It has been revealed that after civil servants urged for the closure of the scheme in June 2015 until a tiered system was introduced in November, there was a spike in applications. Timeline: How Renewable Heat Incentive unfolded November 2012 - Arlene Foster, then Enterprise Minister, announces the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme for businesses. October 2013 - A whistleblower emails Mrs Foster to express concerns over the scheme. Autumn 2013 - The woman is referred by Mrs Foster to officials from her Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and she urges them to address the problems. May 2014 - The whistleblower emails again, after the civil servants appear to do nothing. She explicitly outlines how the scheme was being abused, was paying out exorbitant sums of money, and could not be ignored any longer. December 2014 - The scheme is extended to domestic customers by Mrs Foster. November 2015 - With the realisation the funding available for applicants is uncapped, Stormont tightens the rules. But a massive late surge of 900 applications is received before changes can be made. January 2016 - Another whistleblower civil servant tells the Executive the scheme is being abused. February 6 - New Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell (above) makes a shock announcement that the RHI scheme to be scrapped. February 9 - Michael Doran of Action Renewables warns it will force renewables from "boom to bust." June - Auditors begin investigating concerns. July 5 - A damning Audit Office report states a farmer will make 1m of government money just for heating an empty shed. It reveals that more than 1 billion of public money will be paid to Northern Ireland-based businesses by 2036 after they installed new appliances under the RHI scheme. October - Stormont's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) call the mishandling of the RHI scheme "one of the biggest scandals" since devolution. SDLP Assembly member Daniel McCrossan tells officials from government utility regulator OFGEM, which administered the scheme: "It was very clear the department was asleep at the wheel but I am horrified that you too were asleep at the wheel in relation to this." November - The Public Accounts Committee is told that a 405m hole will have to be plugged over the 20-year lifetime of the RHI. Dr Andrew McCormick (above), permanent secretary for the Economy Department, says he can't think of any government scheme being worse value for money. December 2016 12 December: First Minister Arlene Foster says she won't quit over the fiasco following allegations that she did not act appropriately when concerns were first raised about the scheme. It also emerges the brother of a DUP special advisor and a Ferrari showroom have benefited from the error-ridden scheme. 13 December: UUP leader Mike Nesbitt claims to have uncovered the "smoking gun" of Arlene Foster's involvement in the decision-making process in connection with the flawed RHI scheme. 14 December: The SDLP says it will table a motion of no confidence to exclude Arlene Foster as First Minister. Sinn Fein says it won't back the motion. Meanwhile the UUP says the UK Government can no longer ignore the "national scandal". The DUP's Nigel Dodds hits out at a "scurrilous attempt" to blame Arlene Foster for the botched energy scheme. The party releases what it says is a copy of the 2013 email sent from the whistleblower to Mrs Foster, saying that it raised no specific concerns about RHI. 15 December: Arlene Foster says she has nothing to hide from a BBC interview with former DUP minister Jonathan Bell, who vowed to tell the truth about the scandal, adding the revelations will end his political career. Jonathan Bell claims DUP advisers attempted to delay the closure of the scheme in its original and generous format. He also said attempts were made to remove references to the Finance Department and Arlene Foster in records. The claims were denied. 19 December: Arlene Foster is to make a "full statement" to MLAs as the devolved assembly is recalled for a special setting to discuss the growing political crisis in the run-up to Christmas. Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir has called for the overturning of a centuries-old ban on the use of the Irish language in the courts. A British penal law enacted in 1737 that requires court proceedings to be in English remains in force in Northern Ireland. Similar Acts in England, Scotland and Wales were repealed in 1863. On Wednesday Mr O Muilleoir met with legal professionals to discuss their views on the matter. However, TUV leader Jim Allister, who is a barrister, said such a move would waste money and create confusion in legal proceedings. Speaking on Wednesday, Mr O Muilleoir said: "As the minister with policy responsibility for the regulation of members of the legal profession, I would like to see the rights of Irish speaking lawyers and those who wish to use Irish in the courts protected, and today I am hearing first-hand from some legal practitioners on the use of Irish in court. "This type of legislation is not in use anywhere else in these islands. I have raised this issue with the Justice Minister and will continue to consult with Irish language and legal groups to consider the best way forward on the issue." Mr Allister said he was not convinced lawyers here should address judges with "Go raibh maith agat (thank you in Irish), your honour". "One would have thought that the Finance Minister in an Executive, which is literally sending millions in taxpayers' money up in smoke, would have more pressing concerns," he said. "But let's look at the practical ramifications of removing the 1737 Act. Obviously everyone will ask what expenditure the Northern Ireland Courts Service would have to undertake to accommodate the provision of Irish translation services. "However, an even more profound issue is the fact that the administration of justice will actually be hindered by court hearings being multilingual. Often evidence is judged not just by what is said but how it is said. How much of that will be lost when a translator comes between a witness and those hearing their evidence? "There are sound reasons for insisting that only English is used in our courts, and removing that requirement will be a retrograde step, in terms of the delivery of justice as well as the obvious cost implications." Sinn Fein MLA Barry McElduff added his support for Irish to be used in court. He said: "More and more people are living their lives every day through the medium of Irish and they should be supported in doing so. That includes accessing all aspects of the legal service in Irish." People Before Profit hold rally to demand the resignation of First Minister Arlene Foster over her handling of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (RHI), at Belfast City Hall on Friday evening. Pic Pacemaker Press Protests have taken place in Belfast and Londonderry urging First Minister Arlene Foster to step down. The rallies - organised by socialist party People Before Profit - came after a stormy week for Ms Foster which culminated in her former ministerial colleague Jonathan Bell making a series of shocking allegations in an interview with BBC broadcaster Stephen Nolan on Thursday evening. West Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll addressed the protesters at Belfast City Hall this evening as activists waved "Ulster Says Go" placards. In Londonderry, People Before Profit's other MLA, Eamonn McCann addressed a crowd at the Guild Hall. "We believe there has to be a confrontation not just with Arlene Foster, but with the entire political system, he said. "Really, politics are based on class. They are based upon the fact that the better off you are, the warmer you are going to be. I would love to get rid of Arlene Foster but then I would love to get rid of the whole lot of them as well. "Why should anyone accept austerity when money is literally burned away by people who are living in warm conditions already." The rally came shortly before deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness released a statement calling for Ms Foster to step aside while an investigation is carried out. Read More On Friday afternoon the SDLP has attained the 30 signatures needed to bring forward its motion to the Assembly to suspend First Minister Arlene Foster for six months. Read More The DUP has released a statement rejecting these calls for Mrs Foster to stand aside. "The First Minister will not be stepping aside, but instead is focused on ensuring the full facts about this issue emerge and proposals are brought forward which can make a significant reduction in the future financial burden the Executive would face," a statement read. "The First Minister does not take her instructions from Sinn Fein, but from the electorate. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the German Bundestag Johannes Singhammer urged the European Union to suspend the financial assistance provided for the democratization of Turkey, reports Anadolu. Singhammer said recently the democratization process in Turkey doesnt achieve progress, therefore, at this moment to provide money is not appropriate. During 2007-2014 the EU provided 5 billion 400 million Euro aid to Turkey, from which 1 billion Euro was provided by Germany. It is expected to provide additional 4 billion 45 million Euro to Turkey until 2020. Five charges of theft span a period between September 2009 and July 2014 A policewoman is to stand trial accused of stealing nearly 4,000 being held by the PSNI, a judge ordered on Friday. Constable Yvonne Forte allegedly took the cash from evidential exhibits over a five-year period. The 41-year-old faces seven charges involving theft and misconduct in a pubic office. Forte, whose address was give as c/o Knocknagoney PSNI station, appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court to decide if she has a case to answer. The five charges of theft span a period between September 2009 and July 2014. It is alleged that the officer stole cash amounts of 760, 450, 985, 1,290 and 300 from PSNI exhibits. She is further accused of two counts of wilful misconduct amounting to an abuse of the public's trust in her as a police constable by removing a total of 3,785 belonging to the PSNI without reasonable excuse or justification. Preliminary enquiry proceedings centred on prosecution claims that a prima facie case has been established. Following submissions District Judge Peter King granted an application to have Forte returned for trial at Belfast Crown Court. She was released on continuing bail until her arraignment on a date to be fixed. Martin McGuinness has called on Arlene Foster to "step aside" Northern Ireland's power-sharing government has been plunged into crisis as First Minister Arlene Foster flatly rejected Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness's call for her to "stand aside" to allow a probe into corruption allegations. The row threatening the region's peace-building institutions has erupted over a controversial green energy scheme - set up by Mrs Foster - which paid out subsidies well in excess of the costs of buying renewable fuel. It is expected to cost taxpayers in Northern Ireland 400 million amid claims of widespread abuse of the scheme including a farmer apparently set to pocket around 1 million in the next 20 years for heating an empty shed. The "cash for ash" scandal reached fever pitch on Thursday when former Democratic Unionist Party economy minister Jonathan Bell broke ranks to level a series of explosive claims against his leader Mrs Foster and party advisers. In an extraordinary TV interview, a tearful Mr Bell said God told him to come clean as he claimed a "highly agitated and angry" Mrs Foster demanded he keep the Renewable Heat Initiative open for an extra fortnight despite its huge losses. Against the backdrop of street protests in Belfast and Londonderry calling for Mrs Foster to go, Mr McGuinness telephoned Mrs Foster and asked her to temporarily "stand aside" in the public interest to allow an independent investigation into the affair. The Sinn Fein chief said he told her he was seriously concerned the credibility of Northern Ireland's political institutions is being "undermined" by the allegations. "This includes allegations from a former DUP Minster that there was corruption," he said. But the DUP quickly let it be known that Mrs Foster had no intention of going anywhere - adding she didn't take instructions from her power-sharing partners Sinn Fein. "The First Minister will not be stepping aside, but instead is focused on ensuring the full facts about this issue emerge and proposals are brought forward which can make a significant reduction in the future financial burden the Executive would face," a party spokesman said. "The First Minister does not take her instructions from Sinn Fein, but from the electorate." Mr Bell has demanded a judge-led public inquiry. He also accused DUP special advisers of blocking his efforts to clamp down on the excessively lucrative green heating subsidy late last year. Also interviewed on BBC Northern Ireland's Nolan Show Investigation, Mrs Foster robustly rejected his assertions. It made a remarkable televised bout of acrimonious claim and counter claim involving the leader of the region's largest party and one of her erstwhile ministerial colleagues. The First Minister alleged Mr Bell was the one who acted aggressively and used his "physical bulk" to confront her. Mrs Foster portrayed Mr Bell's interview as a "distraction" to mask his own failings in regard to the scheme, insisting that it was him who wanted to delay the shutdown of the massively overspent endeavour. The scheme was developed during her time as economy minister. On Thursday night she apologised for not implementing more controls at its inception, but claimed the Executive could take action that would potentially halve the overspend. "Of course I'm sorry I didn't put in cost controls," she said. Mrs Foster will face a motion of no confidence in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday when she makes a statement on the furore in a specially recalled sitting. Mr McGuinness's call for her to stand aside has fuelled speculation about how his party will vote. All eyes will also be on Mr Bell to see how he votes if he attends. The DUP's electoral strength means the motion tabled by the SDLP will have no practical effect but it nevertheless will signify the strength of feeling from Sinn Fein and the Opposition. The error-ridden RHI was designed to incentivise businesses to replace old heat sources with new eco-friendly alternatives, such as wood pellet boilers. But it ended up paying applicants more than the purchase price of the fuel. There was no cap on the subsidy payments, so essentially the more heat you generated, the more public money you were paid. For every 1 of fuel bought by businesses, they got paid around 1.60 through the scheme. The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is probing the affair but opposition parties have claimed its inquiry does not have the necessary degree of independence given a number of its members are DUP MLAs. Mr Bell, who succeeded Mrs Foster as economy minister, claimed there had also been an attempt to remove references to her in documents related to the doomed scheme. The DUP has rejected that allegation as a "hamfisted diversionary tactic" to mask his own "crucial and catastrophic" failure to take earlier action to clamp down on the overspend. A senior US police officer originally from Northern Ireland is to appear in court next month accused of lying about his citizenship. Major Terry McBurney, from Newcastle, Co Down, is a strong supporter of Donald Trump's immigration policies and shows strong backing for the President-elect on social media. He has been indicted in Tennessee on nine charges of unlawful procurement of US residency, making false statements under oath, and wire fraud. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He pleaded not guilty in court last month and was released on bail. He is due back in court again next month, when he will likely answer the charges. McBurney, whose rank matches that of a British deputy inspector, was a vocal supporter of Trump's presidential campaign and his strong stand on Muslim immigration. He used Twitter and Facebook to republish Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and other conservative commentators' criticism of Hillary Clinton, and he retweeted Trump's claim that more British Muslims were joining Isis than the British Army. His arrest coincided with a Tennessee treasury comptroller report into alleged corruption in the Rutherford Sheriff's Department in the state. Rutherford, which includes the city of Murfreesboro, lies in the centre of Tennessee, adjacent to Nashville. The report alleges that Major McBurney (47) claimed several times that he was a US citizen to receive promotions and bonuses. The report found that Major McBurney had emigrated with his family from Co Down when he was 14. It lists his initial employment in the police department as December 1999 to January 2008, when the Democrat sheriff fired him for allegedly stealing a TV from an apartment where he assisted with an eviction. Robert Arnold, a Republican, was elected sheriff in August 2010 and rehired Mr McBurney, and later promoted him several times. He allegedly signed police promotion and training documents in September 2010 and May 2012 asserting that he was a US citizen, the report alleges. The comptroller's report noted McBurney didn't become a US citizen until February 24, 2016, after being interviewed by the comptroller's inspectors. "The deputy made false statements on his Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) application when he claimed he was a United States citizen," the comptroller's report said. "On the application dated December 16, 2010, the deputy stated he was a citizen of the United States, which is a requirement of qualifying to receive training. "When questioned on February 17, 2016, by investigative auditors, the deputy, who has received multiple promotions and now holds the rank of major, stated he was a US citizen. "However, he was not a US citizen, and did not become a US citizen until February 24, 2016, after investigators questioned him," it said. It also says that he lied about being fired on police documents, and the comptroller's report reprints a form in which McBurney said he was never fired or faced serious disciplinary action. Sheriff Arnold is currently in jail awaiting trial after the comptroller's report accused him of profiting from a company that supplies e-cigarette to jailhouse inmates. Local media published an audio recording of Sheriff Arnold calling Major McBurney from prison. Both he and Major McBurney deny any wrongdoing, according to their lawyers. Luke Evans, Major McBurney's attorney, told reporters that the arrest was "gut-wrenching" for his client. "He's entered pleas of not guilty as to all the counts of the indictment. He's persisting in that plea, and we're going to continue to work through this case to ensure that his rights are protected," Evans explained to reporters. A NAMA owned property has been taken over by citizens who do not want another homeless death this winter. There are currently five homeless people resident in Apollo House on Poolbeg Street in Dublin backed by the Irish Housing Network and the Home Sweet Home coalition. There is expected to be a capacity of 30 people in the building. The Home Sweet Home group is made up poets, artists, trade unionists and activists while Mattress Mick has supplied beds for the residents. Rosie Leonard of the Irish Housing Network said; As you know two people died on the 24 and the 25 of November, one in Dundalk and one in Dongeal. So this action is about saving lives, there are about 30 people a year who die as a result of homelessness. Ms Leonard also said each room has its own bed, theres shared facilities on each floor, so thats the situation there, each to their own private rooms. She also said they are currently working on setting up the building with electricity and running water now in operation having had plumbers in the building. Dean Scurry of Home Sweet Home said a lot of people watching this are a week or a pay cheque away from being homeless, so they connect with this. Mr Scurry said five weeks ago we had an idea and no we are standing here. The initial idea came from a homeless man I spoke to and then I spoke to people like Glen Hansard and it just went from there. Max Spiers' mother said he had recently moved on to investigating politicians, business people, and celebrities Conspiracy theorist Max Spiers vomited two litres of black liquid before he died, an inquest has heard. His death caused widespread suspicion among his friends and family, who said he had been investigating some dark things. The 39-year-old, from Canterbury, was complaining of illness before he was found dead in Warsaw, Poland on 16 July. He had been due to speak at a conference. Despite not performing a post mortem, an investigation by the Polish authorities found Mr Spiers died of natural causes a verdict met with dismay by his family and colleagues in the conspiracy community. In October, The Independent revealed that the Foreign Office would not be investigating the death. They said the procedure was the responsibility of the Polish authorities. However, an inquest was opened in Canterbury after a British post mortem was unable to establish a cause of death. Mr Spiers became ill with a high temperature and was weak, said coroners investigations officer Caroline ODonnell, according to the Kentish Gazette. The following day, Mr Spiers vomited two litres of black fluid. Ms ODonnell added that the friend he was staying with called a doctor who tried to revive him but later pronounced him dead. The coroner, Alan Blunsdon, said he was awaiting a report from the Polish authorities and was hoping for funding to run forensic tests on Mr Spiers phone and computer. His mother, Vanessa Bates, has been pushing for a thorough investigation into her son's death, and has reached out to another prominent conspiracy theorist, David Icke, for help. Two days before he died, Max Spiers allegedly told her: "Your boy's in trouble. If anything happens to me, investigate." Ms Bates, 63, told the Daily Mail that when she was given her dead son's laptop computer, it had been wiped, adding to her suspicions. Mr Spiers had made a career out of investigating UFOs and alleged cover-ups. Ms Bates said he had recently moved on to investigating politicians, business people, and celebrities. The inquest was adjourned and will be continued in February 2017. The former prime minister announced that he will submit a plan to the UN secretary-general for raising funds for guaranteed safe schools Gordon Brown has proposed what he calls a "new deal" for children in conflict zones around the globe. The former prime minister announced at the United Nations headquarters that he will submit a plan to the UN secretary-general for raising funds for guaranteed safe schools. He has also called for the creation of a new international criminal court specifically for atrocities against children. Mr Brown has been the UN's special envoy for global education under outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He told reporters on Thursday that he also wants the European Court of Human Rights to prosecute the perpetrators of school bombings. He said: "From Mosul to Aleppo, it is often more dangerous to be a child on the streets than a soldier on the front line." AP YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Unknown assailants have carried out attacks on ATMs in Yerevan. ARMENPRESS acquired photos from the scene in Saryan Street. The second ATM is located in Baghramyan Street, next to the VTB bank. The assailants attempted to blast it open but failed to finish in time. Explosives were left next to the ATM. Law enforcement agencies are currently at the scene. Police are using K-9s in Saryan Street. The Investigative Committee reported that details will be issued a little later. Authorities arent giving any info in terms of the amount taken by the robbers. The Yerevan Police Department told ARMENPRESS they received a call on December 16, at 06:15 stating that loud noises are heard in Saryan Street and unknown individuals are seen fleeing. Law enforcement agencies are currently working at the scene. Additional information will be provided soon. Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British envoy in Tehran after the UK accused Iran of playing a role in the "suffering" of the people of Aleppo. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that foreign ministry has told the UK charge d'affaires in Tehran that Iran's policy is to establish peace in Syria and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of that country. On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors to convey his profound concern over their countries' role in the suffering of Aleppo's residents. Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also said Iranian officials stressed the need for the British government to cut off any assistance or support to terrorist groups. AP Pope Francis talks to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and former President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting at the Vatican. (Vincenzo Pinto /AP) Pope Francis has brought Colombia's president and his main political opponent together to discuss the country's rebel peace deal. The Vatican distributed a photo of the three men sitting at Pope Francis's desk on Friday. Pope Francis invited President Juan Manuel Santos and Mr Santos's right-wing predecessor in the presidency, Alvaro Uribe, to discuss the country's peace accord with rebels. Mr Uribe, the country's most popular politician, led the campaign against Mr Santos's deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that resulted in the accord's shock rejection in an October referendum. Mr Santos then introduced several changes to appease his critics and even sat down for a meeting with Mr Uribe for the first time in six years. But he still failed to win suppoprt from his former boss. There have been attempts in the past to bring the two men together, including one last year by the Obama administration, and there is no indication the Vatican can succeed where others have failed. But Pope Francis, history's first Latin American pope, has insisted that dialogue is the only way forward. Under his papacy, the Vatican also helped facilitate talks between the US and Cuba that ended a half-century of conflict. Mr Uribe said he was attending the meeting out of respect for Pope Francis. He gave no indication that he was ready to make amends with Mr Santos or drop his argument that the accord promotes impunity by sparing rebel commanders time in jail and instead awarding them seats in congress. Still, the Vatican has considerable leverage in the staunchly Roman Catholic country, especially among Mr Uribe's conservative base, and the pope has been careful not to appear to be taking sides in the peace process. The pope has held off travelling to Colombia until the peace process is complete, although Mr Santos has said he expects Pope Francis to visit in early 2017. AP A UN chief warned of the risks of a hacking attack The UN's deputy leader has warned of "the nightmare scenario" of a hacking attack on a nuclear power plant's computer system that causes the uncontrolled release of radiation. Deputy secretary-general Jan Eliasson told a Security Council meeting on Thursday that extremists and "vicious non-state groups" are actively seeking weapons of mass destruction "and these weapons are increasingly accessible". He said "non-state actors" can already create mass disruption using cyber technologies. Mr Eliasson said there are legitimate concerns about the security of stockpiles of radioactive material suitable for making nuclear weapons that are outside international regulation. He also said "scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons. " He warned that preventing extremists from carrying out attacks using weapons of mass destruction "will be a long-term challenge." AP A Chinese warship seized a US Navy unmanned underwater vehicle that was collecting unclassified scientific data in the South China Sea, the Pentagon has said. Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says the US has issued a formal diplomatic complaint and is asking for the drone's return. Captain Davis says a civilian US Navy ship operated by the military's Sealift Command was recovering two of the unmanned gliders about 50 miles north west of Subic Bay near the Philippines when the Chinese ship approached and took one of the small vessels. He said the Chinese ship acknowledged radio messages from the US ship, but did not respond to demands the glider be returned. Expand Close An illuminated globe shows the South China Sea (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An illuminated globe shows the South China Sea (AP) He said the Dalang Class Chinese ship, which does rescue and recovery missions, sent out a small boat that then took one of the Navy gliders. The Navy drone is a glider, about 10 feet long and less than two feet wide, that can be programmed and moves automatically through the water collecting data on temperature, salinity, and other scientific facts used for sonar operations. "It is ours. It's clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again," Captain Davis told reporters. He said the USNS Bowditch was stopped in the water when the Chinese ship approached. The two vessels were within about 500 yards of each other. He said the USNS Bowditch carries some small arms, but no shots were fired. As the Chinese ship left with the drone, the Pentagon said, its only radio response to the US vessel was: "We are returning to normal operations". AP Hundreds of survivors have left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellion's most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syria's civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat, while a smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Koran. A UN official described it as "a black chapter in the history of international relations". Traumatised residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppo's streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. "We struggled for six years. We were supposed to be the ones to get them out, not them us," said one tearful woman who held a baby, speaking in a video posted online by an opposition activist. She explained that it was not the bombardment that forced them out. "We left because we feared for our honour from the regime," the unidentified woman said. Under a surrender deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being taken to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. They said it was too dangerous to go to government-held areas, where they faced potential retribution from security services alleged to carry out arrests and torture of opposition sympathisers. Many are of fighting age and do not want to be drafted into the military. "We slept in the streets. It's shameful," a unidentified man said in an opposition video. "Where is the world?" Leaning on crutches and sobbing uncontrollably, he described fleeing the bombardment. "You don't know if it's an airplane or shelling or rockets. You never know," he added. Eastern Aleppo rose in revolt against Mr Assad in 2012 and battled since then with the western, government-held part of the city in one of the most horrific and destructive fronts of the civil war. The rebels' hold in Syria's former commercial powerhouse was a major point of pride, and at times it seemed an invulnerable part of what was once a growing opposition-held patch of territory in the north. But government forces finally surrounded eastern Aleppo and then battered it to pieces. The air and ground campaign by Syrian troops - backed by Russian warplanes and forces from Mr Assad's regional allies - relentlessly wore away at the enclave. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands fled to government-held areas. The pocket was reduced to a few blocks packed with the bloodied, exhausted and demoralised but also die-hard opposition forces. For Mr Assad, the victory puts most major cities under his control and raises hopes for the beginning of the end of the revolt. "History is being made," an upbeat Mr Assad proclaimed in a video on social media. "What is happening is bigger than congratulations," he said, calling it comparable to Christ's birth and the revelation of Islam's holy Koran to Muhammad. Twenty buses with Mr Assad's picture displayed in the windshields and 26 ambulances carried the civilians, including more than 50 sick or wounded, from the devastated Ameriyeh neighbourhood. They drove through government-held districts to Rashideen, a rebel-held area outside Aleppo, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian state media said. Hundreds of government supporters cheered the convoy on as it crossed through government territory. Referring to the rebels, the state's SANA news agency said 951 "terrorists and their families" were evacuated. An estimated 70,000 civilians are waiting to be evacuated, said Mohammed Abu Jaafar, the head of the forensics department in the enclave. He added that a "tremendous crowd" showed up at the buses on Thursday. Some of the evacuees burned belongings that they could not take with them, said Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher and an opposition activist still in eastern Aleppo. "Maybe most of them are happy that they are going to safety. Some of them are angry that they are leaving their city. Some people want to leave ASAP," he said. "As for me, I will try to leave Aleppo as late as possible." Online video showed hundreds crowding around the buses at the departure site. Many lugged suitcases or dragged bags behind them. Fires were kindled in barrels for warmth as the wounded sat in wheelchairs and others hobbled on crutches. Photos circulated online showed the graffiti on destroyed buildings: "Love will bring us back. 15/12/2016," and "Under each building destroyed, a family is buried with its dreams. Bashar and his allies buried them." Once the evacuees arrived in rural areas, opposition gunmen and locals gathered and chanted, "God is great" - less in defiance than in gratitude for their survival. A Syrian opposition figure said local councils in Idlib and Aleppo provinces have been trying to find housing for them, but he said many will have to stay in camps. Turkey, which supports the opposition, promised to treat the wounded, according to Brita Haj Hassan, a member of Aleppo's local council, speaking from exile in Brussels. Syrian state TV said a separate convoy of 29 buses and ambulances moved to Foua and Kefraya, two nearby villages loyal to the government, to evacuate the sick and others who were subjected to a siege by rebels. Iran had demanded to tie the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya with Aleppo's. Syrian rebels say any evacuation of those villages is supposed to be accompanied by one from Zabadani and Madaya, two besieged opposition-held towns west of Damascus, according to an agreement between the government and rebels. The UN denounced that deal. In Geneva, UN humanitarian aid co-ordinator for Syria Jan Egeland said the international body had been locked out of the evacuation plans and pro-government forces have blocked some aid vehicles from entering rebel-held districts. An estimated 50,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo, he said. "It took 4,000 years to build Aleppo - hundreds of generations. One generation managed to tear it down in four years," Mr Egeland said. "We feel all strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a black chapter in the history of international relations," he said, adding that the city "gave to world civilisation, and world civilisation was not there to assist the people of Aleppo when they needed us the most". AP First Minister Arlene Foster is interviewed by Stephen Nolan on BBC NI last night A year ago tomorrow, Jonathan Bell warmly embraced Arlene Foster as she was crowned DUP leader at a rousing gathering in east Belfast. "There are great days ahead for all of us in Northern Ireland," he proclaimed as he proudly posted the photographs on Facebook. Little could anyone have guessed that as the first anniversary of Arlene's ascendancy occurs, the then smiling Strangford MLA would be posing a mammoth threat to her political life. Mrs Foster is as tough as they come and she will employ every ounce of that resourcefulness and ruthlessness to tackle Jonathan's Bell's challenge. There is currently no threat to her remaining DUP leader and First Minister. She has the widespread support of her party - there isn't one credible alternative to take over. And, at Stormont, Sinn Fein has shown no appetite for seriously and substantially criticising the DUP since the 'cash for ash' scandal broke. But while Mrs Foster's survival seems guaranteed, what hangs in the balance is her credibility. The DUP leader's account of her role and that of her special advisers (Spads) is in direct conflict with her MLA's assertions. The public will have to decide who to believe. The outcome will also centre on whose version of events is corroborated by the paper trail. The statements of senior civil servants will be crucial. The DUP is very fortunate that another Assembly election is five years away. In May's poll, the party traded strongly on Mrs Foster's huge personal popularity within the unionist community. And now its hitherto greatest asset is under the spotlight like never before. Her honeymoon period is well and truly over. The image of 'Arlene from Fermanagh' who rang Q Radio to give a weather update has been overtaken by a minister whom her critics say must take personal responsibility for a scheme which wasted 400m of public money. With every hospital closed and every school budget cut, over coming months and years, they will point to her and allege, 'You squandered the funds which would have stopped this'. There is also much at stake for Mr Bell. His allegations against Mrs Foster and several Spads are of seismic proportions. If the documents contradict him, he will be blown out of the water. Last night, he was the tearful assassin. But despite the drama of that moment, his evidence was delivered largely in a calm and confident fashion. Mrs Foster fought back with her own accusations that her opponent was aggressive. In parts, it was the typical bullish performance that we have come to expect from her but yet, in the latter half of the interview, it was clear that she is a woman whose career is under immense pressure. Jonathan Bell has undoubtedly only hours left in the DUP. When former Belfast councillor Ruth Patterson gave an interview to this newspaper last year criticising Emma Pengelly's selection as an MLA, the party officers met swiftly and the letter in the post expelling her arrived within days. Mr Bell, whose 'crimes against the party' will be considered far weightier than Ms Patterson's, will be dealt with just as mercilessly. He will pay a high personal price for what he did last night. Despite their current claims against each other, he and Mrs Foster go back almost 30 years to their student days at Queen's University. And even in relatively recent times, they have been friends. They are pictured smiling side-by-side together at the sham fight at Scarva, and countless other events. The Strangford MLA is in the same Orange lodge as many of his Stormont colleagues. He will likely now face isolation and ostracisation in the very circles he was once most warmly welcomed. He dropped this bombshell from the Assembly's backbenches. He was left out of the DUP's top team after the Assembly election. It is difficult to imagine that had the ministerial car not been removed, he would be whistle-blowing. Yet he insists that there are civil service witnesses and documents to back up his allegations. Only time will tell. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The regular session of the extraordinary sitting convened by the Government kicked off in the Parliament of Armenia, reports Armenpress. 100 MPs are registered. Issues discussed during the previous session were put up to voting in the beginning of the session. On December 15 session the lawmakers discussed the draft law on The Parliaments Rules of Procedure at the second reading. The draft has been amended, and certain changes were made. By the proposals of the MPs, the time provided for their speeches has not been limited and it will last 10 minutes. The factions were provided with two powers: those relate to organizing parliamentary hearings and putting into circulation draft laws to hold extraordinary discussion. The MPs who departed for a business trip must submit a report. Thereafter, the Parliament discussed at the second reading the drafts laws on Guarantees for the activity of the MP, Purchases, Defining privileges on revenues controlled by tax authority, as well as the related draft bill packages. Deputy Justice Minister Artak Asatryan submitted the bill on making changes and amendments in the Civil Code to the Parliaments discussion at the first reading. The bill on making changes and amendments in the law on State pensions, the bill on the Protection of rights and social inclusion of people with disabilities and a number of bills were discussed at the first reading. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on December 16 held a meeting with Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan, press service of the Presidential administration told Armenpress. During the meeting the sides discussed the current trends of the EAEU development in the conditions of difficult global economic situation, the impact of Armenias membership to the EAEU on the countrys economy, the current level of cooperation between the member states and the development prospects, as well as issues related to the Unions Supreme Councils upcoming session. We together were in the origins of the process on Armenias joining to the Eurasian Economic Union, and by becoming a member of that Union we expected to significantly improve Armenias economic situation. Unfortunately, the membership was coincided with international economic processes which negatively affected the countrys economy, and the attitude of our citizens towards the Eurasian Economic Union is still, to put it mildly, expectant, although in case of non-membership, I am confident there would be more negative approaches. During this period, I am sure, significant works were carried out, and only 10 days later we will have a chance to summarize certain results, the President said. Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to the conceptual documents and decisions included in the upcoming session agenda of the Eurasian Supreme Economic Council on December 26, St. Petersburg, as well as the EAEU Customs Code, the adoption of which will bring the best international experience of customs administration to the Unions customs practice by creating an opportunity for the businessmen and people to work with simplified and contemporary measures with the customs structures. President Sargsyan emphasized also the work on strengthening the trade-economic ties towards third countries, stating that the Armenian side utilizes its experience and potential in relations with separate states in this regard. We are actively supporting the negotiation process between the Eurasian Commission and our traditional partner Iran aimed at quickly and effectively reaching to the signing of the agreement on free trade zone, the President said. EEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the President for the meeting and his constant attention and support to the Eurasian integration agenda. Mr. President, in connection with the EAEU agenda issues, I would like to inform about the problems at this stage, over which our Commission is working with all countries. We will discuss with You the priorities which You think we must pay attention, thus aiming to deepen our integration union in order all member states receive economic benefits over which the public, as well as the political figures have serious expectations, Tigran Sargsyan said. Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday sentenced a 28-year-old Malaysian man to seven years in jail after he pleaded guilty to attempting to join the militant group Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Azmi Mohd Asari traveled to Turkey from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 19, 2015. Turkish officials captured him as he attempted to enter Syria near Gaziantep, Turkey, and returned him to Malaysia. After conducting their own investigation, Malaysian authorities arrested Azmi at a car repair shop in Tanjung Karang, Selangor, in May 2016. Azmi, who could have faced 15 years in prison, admitted to family and friends that he was trying to go to Syria to join IS, according to court documents. After he pleaded guilty Friday, Judge Azman Abdullah ordered the term of his jail sentence to begin May 18, the day he was taken into Malaysian custody. Azman said Malaysians should value the peacefulness of the country because it is not something everyone enjoys. Those who live in conflict and turbulent countries would be rushing to come to Malaysia if they were given the opportunity to stay here, they would jump at the opportunity, he said while rendering his judgment. Azman reminded Azmi to be grateful that his plan to go to Syria failed because he has a family, including a wife whom he married two months before he was arrested. This sentence is not only to punish, but also as a reminder and to instill fear in the public so they will not arbitrarily sympathize with or support terrorist groups, the judge said. Azmi bowed his head while family members sobbed in the public gallery as his prison sentence was announced. Azmis lawyer Farida Mohammad had urged the judge to impose a light sentence on the accused because it was his first offense and, according to her, he had repented. Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Izhanudin Alias asked the judge for a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to those who contemplate supporting terrorist activities. As of November, police reported they had arrested more than 260 individuals involved in militant activities including more than 70 who have been charged in court. Recent statistics show that 56 Malaysians were in Syria, including 12 women and 17 boys and girls. Many of those arrested by Malaysian authorities have been linked to Muhammad Wanndy Mohamad Jedi, a Malaysian who left for Syria with his wife in January 2015 and has been an active as an IS recruiter since then. Thailands Narcotics Suppression Bureau displays bags of crystal methamphetamine that had been hidden in an 18-wheeler, Dec. 16, 2016. Thailands Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) on Friday announced a record seizure of nearly one-half metric tonne of crystal methamphetamine and the arrest of seven citizens for drug trafficking. The haul had a street value of about 1.4 billion baht (U.S. $40 million), according to a statement released by the NSB. Officers carried out the bust in an operation that started late Wednesday and continued into Thursday. It began after a car stopped short of a police check-point in southern Chumphon province, according to the statement. Police searched the vehicle but found nothing. But the driver was acting suspiciously, refusing to answer mobile phone calls in presence of police ... he began to shake and sweat, the NSB statement said, according to a translation by Agence France-Presse. Investigators found two suspects in another vehicle who confessed to acting as lookouts for a convoy transporting drugs, according to the statement. Officers then found an 18-wheel truck parked at a petrol station in Chumphon town with 500 bars of methamphetamine, also known as ice, wrapped in black plastic bags and hidden under sacks of corn husks, the NSB statement said. Five alleged traffickers were arrested. The NSB said the group was hired by a man named Kai for 2 million baht ($55,788) to carry drugs from Payao province in northern Thailand to Sadao district in southern Songkhla province, which lies on the border with Malaysia. Early Thursday, the NSB arrested two more men who were waiting to pick up the shipment in Sadao district and resume transporting it to its next destination, according to the statement. Its a record seizure of these drugs, Maj. Gen. Dusadee Choosangkij told AFP. I believe they were to be stored in Malaysia and then destined for either Australia or Taiwan. In March, Thai police arrested two Malaysians who were allegedly carrying 282 kilograms (621 pounds) of crystal methamphetamine at the Sadao checkpoint in Songkhla province, while trying to enter Malaysia. Thai authorities said neighboring Malaysian authorities had tipped them off. About a week earlier, Thai police announced the arrests of 15 Malaysians suspected of trying to smuggle crystal methamphetamine and heroin by train into Malaysia. Updated at 10:55 p.m. ET on 2016-12-17 Representatives of the Thai government and of separatist groups in the countrys Deep South region return to the negotiating table next week to discuss a limited ceasefire proposal that one rebel source says will not be respected by militants on the ground. The technical-level meeting the latest round of exploratory talks aimed at ending a bloody, decades-old conflict in Thailands southernmost provinces is to take place in Malacca, Malaysia, from Dec. 19 to 21, according to a Thai government official. Thai government sources said the talks are expected to continue discussions of safety zones, under which a number of districts in conflict-affected areas would come under ceasefire and development projects aimed at enhancing the locals livelihood would be carried out. A member of the notoriously secretive Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), the largest and most lethal rebel force in the region, dismissed the development initiatives as pacification efforts aimed at pitting the local population against the 56-year-old insurgent group. The [Thai government] wants to drive a wedge between us and the local Malay Muslims with this project, a BRN source told BenarNews, speaking on condition of anonymity. Moreover, said the source, BRN operatives would continue to discredit the talks with MARA Patani by carrying out armed operations in districts designated as safety zones. The real BRN Thai government representatives have met at least five times with MARA Patani, an umbrella organization of separatist groups formed last year to take part in unofficial talks to explore ways to resolve the conflict that has claimed at least 6,700 lives since 2004. Bangkok has yet to recognize the panel as an official negotiating partner. MARA Patani does not have any influence on combatants on the ground but, nevertheless, the Thai government will continue to engage them in the current arrangement of unofficial dialogue with the hope that the process will lure the real BRN to the table, a senior policy official in Bangkok told BenarNews. We believe the local Malay Muslims will eventually turn against the BRN if and when they become tired of the violence and see the separatist organization as one that is against peace, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. As far as the world is concerned, the Thai government is the one who wants to talk peace and the BRN doesnt, he added. Links In a statement sent to BenarNews earlier this week, MARA Patani reiterated its commitment to resolving [the] Patani conflict through [a] peace dialogue process with Thailand. The statement was issued during a two-day conference attended by more than 60 people from Thailand and overseas to review MARA Patanis activities and to determine its future political direction, it said. No further information was released. MARA Patani lists its component members as BRN, the Patani Islamic Liberation Front (BIPP) two factions of Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO), and the Islamic Mujahideen Movement of Patani (GMIP). In an interview last month, MARA Patani spokesman Abu Hafiz al Hakim told BenarNews that BRN was dominant on the panel and had six seats on its steering committee. In MARA there is BRN ... but there are also BRN [members] who are not willing to talk to the military. To us, this is actually BRNs internal issue and they have to sort it out, he said. There are certain people within MARA that have certain links with the mainstream BRN outside. Through these links, they are in touch with each other. This has happened so many times. For example, in 1991, BRN was talking with the 4th regional army, in a direct negotiation, but the negotiation was not [with] the main BRN ... only a faction of BRN militia. Heinous crimes For his part, a BRN combatant told BenarNews that his unit had not been instructed to cease operations. The only instruction we have received of late is to be extremely careful with collateral damage, he said, in reference to the innocent civilian bystanders getting caught up in violence. Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch blasted that comment. How can BRN leadership be taken seriously when they do not honor their own words? Over the past 12 years, BRN insurgents have blatantly violated the law of war by deliberately attacking civilians and using tactics that do not differentiate between military and civilian targets. Such heinous crimes must be stopped immediately, Sunai said. Useng Doloh, a villager in Pattani province, told BenarNews that he wants more than a limited ceasefire in the Deep South. I do not want just safety zones in certain areas, but an all-out safety zone in Deep South, Useng said. I dont believe that MARA Patani has real power. MARA Patani is a group of old men who use the umbrella group as a bargaining chip to gain a chance to come home, he said, referring to the fact that many in the group live in exile. The [main stream] BRN does not accept MARA Patani, he said. Razlan Rashid in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this report. An earlier version of this report incorrectly gave Johor Bahru as the venue for the Dec. 19-21 talks. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Yerevan City Hall has spent 39 million drams for New Year and Christmas events. This year, the budget has been decreased by 20 million drams. 23 thousand families will receive New Year goods packages in form of assistance. This year this assistance is significantly larger compared to previous years. After the April events the City Hall boosted the social programs and the planned budget for cultural projects was cut in some parts. We tried to provide the festive mood, but a little bit discreet, Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Aram Sukiasyan said. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held on December 19 in Republic Square. All Christmas Trees in Yerevans districts and all festive city lights will be lit on December 19 at 19:00, he said. The City Hall will provide complete information about all events via social media, its website, and flyers. ein Google-Unternehmen Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern. neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke. Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). 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If they cannot assist the process, they must not hinder it. I had many chances to tell our international partners that when they are discussing certain resolutions, maybe unconsciously, they are encouraging Azerbaijans steps, become responsible for the bloodshed, human losses at the border, Bekaryan stated. The MP said the international community, the mediators must eventually call the things accordingly. He said on the one hand it is understandable that the mediators must try to maintain balance in order to be able to work. It is understandable in terms of conflict studies, diplomacy, but there is the second part of the issue, everything has its limits. If you see that it is being exploited by the one who is in front of you, the things must be named accordingly in order to prevent what happened in April, the MP said. For Immediate Release, Friday, December 16, 2016 Contact: Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians, (303) 437-7663, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org | Matt Reed, High Country Conservation Advocates, (303) 505-9917, matt@hccacb.org Nathaniel Shoaff, Sierra Club, (415) 977-5610, Nathaniel.Shoaff@sierraclub.org Ted Zukoski, Earthjustice, (303) 996-9622, tzukoski@earthjustice.org Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Marissa Knodel, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0729, mknodel@foe.org Obama Administration Signs Death Warrant for Colorado Roadless Forest, Jump-starts Trump's Attack on Climate In Move That Will Undercut Americas Clean-energy Industries, U.S. Forest Service Opens 20,000 Acres of National Forest in Colorado to Bulldozing Roads for Coal Mining DENVER, Colo. The U.S. Forest Service announced today that it would on Monday reimpose a controversial coal mine loophole, issuing a final rule that opens 20,000 acres of wild Colorado forest to bulldozing for coal mining, something the agency admits will undermine clean-energy development, result in millions of tons of climate pollution, and cause up to $3.4 billion in global damage due to worsened climate change. "The Obama administration just gave Arch Coal an early Christmas present, said Nathaniel Shoaff, an attorney with the Sierra Clubs Environmental Law Program. The rest of us will be saddled with nearly half a billion tons of climate pollution and a $3.4 billion price tag. This is a sad and damaging bookend for President Obama's climate legacy." In 2012 the Forest Service adopted the Colorado Roadless Rule to protect 4 million acres of wild national forest in the state, but the rule included a loophole to permit bulldozing roads for coal mining on 20,000 acres of roadless national forest. In 2014 a federal court vacated the coal mine loophole because the Forest Service failed to disclose the climate change impacts of unlocking hundreds of millions of tons of coal for burning. The Forest Service will reimpose the loophole on Monday, Dec. 19. The loophole opens the door to mining 170 million tons of coal, and bulldozing up to 450 drilling pads and 67 miles of road in wild aspen and spruce forest in the Sunset and Flat Irons Roadless areas immediately adjacent to Mount Gunnison in the West Elk Wilderness, 45 miles southwest of Aspen, Colo. These roadless lands provide habitat for elk, goshawks, black bears and imperiled lynx, and are frequented by hikers and hunters. According to a Forest Service analysis released last month, coal mined from these roadless lands will displace nearly 10,000 gigawatt hours of clean, renewable power including solar and wind. Here in Colorado, climate change is already causing a longer fire season, more intense wildfires, drought, and more damaging insect infestations, said Matt Reed, public lands director at High Country Conservation Advocates in Crested Butte. The Forest Service should be battling climate change to save our forests, not sacrificing forests to make climate change worse. Only one mine Arch Coals West Elk mine is poised to benefit from the loophole. It has a pending application to mine under 1,700 acres of roadless forest, and to build six miles of road and 48 drilling pads directly adjacent to the West Elk wilderness, which will give the company access to 19 million tons of coal. The Forest Service could move to approve the leases within weeks. The Obama administration received more than 250,000 comments on the loophole rule, the vast majority in opposition. Opening pristine backcountry for coal mining in the face of a global climate crisis is dangerously backward public policy, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. Instead of setting the table for Trumps dirty energy agenda, Obama should nix this plan on his way out the door. Our public lands belong in our hands, not the hands of Arch Coal, said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians climate and energy program director. This shameful giveaway should be a wake-up call for all Americans that we need to stand up more strongly than ever to defend our lands, our climate, and our future from the greed of the fossil fuel industry and their collusion with our federal government. Ted Zukoski, an attorney at the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, said conservation groups are considering action against the rule and attempts to implement it. Well be taking a hard look at challenging this damaging decision in court, he said. See photos of the roadless areas the Forest Service opened to bulldozing, and damage from Arch Coals ongoing mining operations to nearby forests. Recipharm, the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), has appointed Anders Hogdin and Aaron Small to lead the growth of its pharmaceutical development services business in the US and Europe. Since forming in Sweden in 1995, Recipharm has experienced strong year-on-year growth and is now operating from 20+ sites across 10 countries. In addition to its manufacturing services offering, Recipharm delivers pharmaceutical development services from the early discovery phase to supply of clinical trial materials from facilities in Sweden, Italy, France, Israel and the US. Parallel to these new appointments, Recipharm has strengthened the respective sales team in order to create focus on customer management and new business opportunities. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Anders Hogdin will head the business development and sales team within development services in Europe. Anders has a MSc in chemistry and a PhD in organic chemistry from Uppsala University. Before joining Recipharm in 2015, he was employed at Syntagon, APL and OnTarget Chemistry in various roles. Focused on driving the growth of the Recipharms North American business, Aaron Small will work in close contact with the Recipharm facility in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Aaron has a BSc in marketing and a Master of Business Administration and has been part of Recipharms business management function since 2012. Commenting on the appointments, Carl-Johan Spak, Executive Vice President, Global Technologies said: Over the past year, Recipharms development business has continued to expand, with the integration of new facilities, technologies and capabilities. The new North American sales organisation will be extremely important for Recipharm as it will enable the company to attract US customers to its extensive network of development and manufacturing facilities outside of the US. We are very pleased to have such skilled, ambitious and enthusiastic professionals like Anders and Aaron to lead these two sales teams. Their contributions will be extremely valuable in the development of our business in offering new and existing customers access to our world class contract development and manufacturing services. It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Got a question or tip? Contact us at bizmojoidaho@gmail.com. According to the findings of a recent survey by ProFinda, which surveyed 4,000 employees across six B2B sectors in the UK, the average employee is wasting 20 working days a year seeking out internal skills and resources to support them on projects. On average, employees spent around two hours looking for help per search, with 27% of employees eventually giving up leaving projects improperly resourced or incomplete. Of those who continue with their search for assistance, only 40% of respondents found the response adequate enough to progress the project. When asked their preferred techniques for searching skilled assistance, phoning people they knew (71%), walking around the office to ask colleagues (60%), and internet / intranet searches (50%) were the top responses. ProFindas survey reflects findings of a recent Government that found the UK is falling behind its other G7 counterparts in terms of GDP output per hour worked. According to Roger Gorman, founder and CEO at ProFinda, by implementing solutions to better map out and connect internal skills, and making this data easily accessible, an organisation can, at last, see significant cost savings returns. By simply reconnecting lost knowledge, we will see a significant increase in effectiveness of team and workforce planning, and utilization. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The evacuation of militants from Aleppo is suspended due to their actions, Reuters reports citing the Syrian government representative who takes part in the evacuation process. He said the militants tried to take hostages in order to use them as a human shield during evacuation. The militants hinder the evacuation of civilians. Earlier TASS reported within a day 6462 people, including more than 3000 militants were evacuated from Aleppos eastern districts. Photo by Reuters YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case on the ATM robbery in Yerevan, the Investigative Committee told ARMENPRESS. According to initial information, the unidentified assailant/assailants blasted an ACBA bank ATM at 05:20 on December 16 and took large amounts of cash. A criminal case has been initiated in the Investigative Committee of Yerevan. 2 gas and oxygen cylinders were discovered at the scene, and samples were taken by experts to analyze the explosives. Expertises are set to determine certain circumstances. Large-scale investigative actions are underway. A manhunt is underway to apprehend the perpetrator/perpetrators of the incident. Czech Republic: We will ban hijab and arm our citizens 16. 12. 2016 cas cteni < 1 minuta The new constitution of the Czech Republic will curtail the right of women to cover their faces, says the Czech daily newspaper IDnes on its front page on Friday: Individial Czech citizens will be given the right to arm themselves against "danger from abroad", says the Czech social democratic (sic!) Home Secretary Milan Chovanec: 0 The decision to review was made at Mon States fourth regular session of Hluttaw [Parliament] conference on Wednesday after Hluttaw representatives analyzed the report and discovered the wrong information. The six month fiscal report was presented by U Min Tin Aung Han, the Minister of Electric Power, Energy and Industry on December 7 at the Hluttaw conference. The report covers the months April to September. Regarding the Mon State Governments first 6-month report submission, 12 Hluttaw representatives discussed the report. Resulting from the representatives discussions, was the decision that the state government must check the report again and revise it; then present the report to the Hluttaw. That was decided at the Hluttaw, said Daw Tin Ei, Mon State Hluttaw Speaker. The major errors in the governments report included the number of buffalo and oxen, which rounded up to 650,000 from 341 village tracts in Mon State. The report also failed to mention the completion of certain road projects under the border affairs budget. Looking at the governments report, to speak for the economic sector, it is likely right that there are over 70,000 acres of farmland that are used for cultivation. Regarding the buffalo and oxen, the number of buffalo may have been around 100,000 and the number of oxen may have been 550,000 and the report totals it at 650,000. Ultimately, however, the number is not fitting with reality, said Dr. Aye San, State Hluttaw representative of Kyaikhto Constituency No 2. Dr. Aye San added that its impossible that each village has 2,000 buffalo or oxen. The report should not be based on the previous governments directions but must be reported with transparency and responsibility. How much of the report is incorrect is uncertain, since the governmental team has not checked and revised it yet. However, during this governments term, it will revise in order to keep numbers on the right track, according to U Htun Htay, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Transportation. It seems that this six month report is also based on the facts from previous reports. It is best to present it again after checking errors in the report and revising it, said U Htun Htay. The discussion over the governments first 6-month report was conducted by ten Hluttaw representatives, including Daw Khine Khine Lae, Dr. Aye San and U Chit Tin, while Col. Win Naing Oo, of Security and Border Affair Ministry and U Htun Htay, of Agriculture and Transportation Ministry. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. An online petition demanding that The State of Israel should officially change its position on Armenia has kicked off on www.change.org website. Armenpress reports the statement reads as follows, Recently Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to Azerbaijani capital, Baku. This act can be viewed as a support to a state engaged in a bloody conflict. In this conflict Azerbaijan is an aggressor against the Armenians, while Israel has not recognized the Genocide committed against this nation due to its geopolitical relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The State of Israel, considering its own past, has no moral right to deny any other genocide. According to the village-tract headman, who asked to remain anonymous, the fatality happened after a meeting at the local administration office between representatives of the Aung Myint Mo Company and 16 villagers whose lands had allegedly been used and damaged by the firm when they installed electricity transmission poles in the area. The farmers had previously insisted that no utility poles be built on their farmland, he said. In the past, some of the farmers lands were used for road construction, and they did not want their property used like this again. The headman said that the representatives of Aung Myint Mo Co disregarded the farmers request, and also refused to negotiate over any claims for compensation. They [the company executives] told the famers that they would not pay compensation, he said. Then they got up and left the meeting. Immediately afterwards, a 74-old year-old farmer named Loong Thin Ngwe collapsed. He died on the way to hospital, said the village-tract headman. Erection of transmission poles in Mongpan began some three months ago as part of a project to connect the area to Mongton Township where a 7,000-megawatt hydropower project is slated to be built on the Salween River. We do not know how many acres of our farmland will be destroyed, said Sai Lum, a Mongpan resident. But they really do not care about our losses. They just do whatever they want. Their construction equipment is scattered all over our farmlands. More than 50 farmers have filed complaints about this. Representatives of Aung Myint Mo Company have so far made no comment about the death of Loong Thin Ngwe, nor the compensation claims. According to Sai Wei Lin, the Mongpan administration officer, the problems came about because the construction firm neglected to inform the public about their operations. Land confiscation has long been a major grievance among farmers and landowners in rural parts of Burma, with Shan State particularly affected. Many lands were seized during the era of the military junta; however some villagers have complained that little has changed under the elected government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. According to Nang Kaysi of the Ethnic Peace and Resources Project (EPRP), an organization that works to support the peace process in Burma, a total of about 11,000 acres of farmland have been seized within 18 townships across Shan State. By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Jerusalem Municipality has taken a decision in favor of the Armenian Patriarchate excluding St. Philip monastery from the project of constructing a touristic village by the National Park, reads the comment of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem provided to Armenpress. Back in 2012 the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem had filed a complaint at the Jerusalem Municipality against the project of the construction of touristic village in that area proposed by the National Park, assessing it as incompatible with to St. Philip monastery. By the initiative of the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem a complaint-application will be elaborated on behalf of the Patriarchate, which will be sent to the government of Israel, signed by religious leaders of Jerusalem, which will call on the government to revise the decision of declaring the sanctuary a green zone and the Patriarchate will be given permission to build a chapel, reads the clarification. St. Philip monastery has been owned by the Armenian Patriarchate since 1600s. In 1960 the property was declared a green zone by the government of Israel, which means that neither the owner (Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem) can construct anything there without the approval of the government, neither the government can build something there without the permission of the Armenian Patriarchate. Weeks ago the Jewish Jerusalem newspaper published an article mentioning that the government of Israel has taken a decision to give the property to the National Park, which can later transform it into a place for religious Jews to implement their religious traditions. The article also mentioned that the Armenian community blames the Patriarch who allegedly had failed to protect the sanctuary. Days ago a clarification-letter by the Patriarch Archbishop Manougian was published in the same newspaper. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia informs that on December 16, the USD exchange rate was 484.17 AMD which is a decrease of 0.83 drams compared to the previous day. Armenpress reports that the euro declined by 2.61 drams forming 506.59 drams. Russian ruble has decreased slightly, by 0.02 drams, forming 7.86 drams. The exchange rate of the British Pound against AMD is 601.29, which is a decline by 6.27 drams. The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for gold per gram is 17 thousand 542.58 AMD, silver- 251.24 AMD, and platinum 14 thousand 227.71 AMD. YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Trade turnover between Armenia and Russia amounted to 1 billion and 76.81 million USD during the period of January-October, 2016. As Armenpress was informed from the National Statistical Service of Armenia, this is a growth of nearly 13% against the same period of the previous year. According to the statistics, Armenian exports to Russia amounted to 295.09 million USD, while import to Armenia from Russia amounted to 781.72 million USD. Russias share in Armenias foreign trade amounted to 26.5%, making Russia Armenias largest trade partner. In 2015 trade turnover between Armenia and Russia amounted to 1 billion and 173.97 million USD, which was a decrease of 18% against 2014. Azerbaijani authorities decided to criminalize visits of foreigners to Nagrono-Karabakh. December 16, 2016, 12:29 Azerbaijan starts new game: Trips to Karabakh will be criminalized STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: The prosecutors office of Azerbaijan said they are taking the necessary steps to have Alexander Lapshin extradited from Belarus. According to Azerbaijani media, Lapshin is detained by the authorities of Belarus. The reason for extradition is his visits to Karabakh in 2011 and 2012 and his notes in a blog, NEWS.am reports. The story began several years ago when Lapshin explained how he appeared in the black list of Azerbaijan. A person who did not name himself wrote to Lapshin that his travelers notes are very interesting, but asked to immediately delete those about his trip to Karabakh, otherwise he would be included in the black list. NEW DELHI (PTI): The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take the final decision on creating the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Indian Defence Ministry has told a parliamentary panel. The ministry told the Committee on Government Assurances that no major political party has responded to the consultation process initiated by it to obtain their views on creation of the post of CDS. In its response to the Assurances Committee, a report of which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Defence Ministry said a Group of Ministers was set up in April 2000 to review the national security system in entirety and in particular, to consider the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee and to formulate specific proposals for its implementations. The GoM in its report, submitted to the government in February 2001, recommended the creation of the institution of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The government approved the recommendations related to CDS after consultation with political parties as it required a "detailed examination of pros and cons of the proposal". The process of consultation was initiated by then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. "It is an extremely important and sensitive decision. It was decided that there should be consultations with all political parties. We had initiated the process in March 2006," Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar told the panel. So far, the opinion of 24 major political parties have been sought. "We got response from only 10 political parties. Major political parties have not responded. Considering the fact that this being a national issue, it is necessary that major political parties also give their opinion. But we do not have the fortune or good luck of getting their opinion," he said. The ministry also told the panel that the government had set up the Naresh Chandra Task Force on National Security in May 2011 to review the national security management system. The Task Force recommended the creation of Permanent Post of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC). "Considering that there (are) two proposals for the establishment of the post of CDS and Permanent Chairman, CoSC, it is expected that at the time of a final decision the CCS on the recommendations of the NCTF, both proposals will be taken note of and the final decision, as and when, would be taken to settle both the proposals," the Ministry said in its response to the Committee. October 31, 2022 17:51 World wheat prices up At the opening of trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, world wheat prices jumped by almost 5 percent, trading data show. The trigger for the rise in prices was the fact that Russia announced it was suspending the grain deal, news.am informs. Already have an account? Log in here Former Brandonite William Lyburn is into the semifinals of the Qinghai International bonspiel in Xining, China. We need your support! Local journalism needs your support! As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $4.99/month you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Inmates smashed lights and threw a table out a window during a disturbance at the Brandon jail last year. Crown attorney Kaley Tschetter described the fracas during a bail hearing for one of the inmates accused of taking part. It was essentially a riot situation, Tschetter said. Julian John Henderson, 19, is charged with mischief and applied for bail on Thursday, after serving his time on a previous charge. Hes accused of playing a minor role in the disturbance by smashing lights, but the hearing in Brandon provincial court provided a few more details of the Dec. 17, 2015, incident. Henderson was at the Brandon jail while pending on a robbery charge when several inmates in one of the ranges revolted. They threw a table through a window, damaged a bed and smashed lights. One inmate was reportedly seen smashing lights with some kind of hard object placed in a pillowcase. The incident was caught on video, but some inmates masked themselves to prevent jail staff from figuring out who was doing what. They also covered windows and security cameras. One inmate not Henderson held a knife to anothers throat as a ruse to get guards to comply with their demands, which included drugs and chips. It was the hostage taker who had started the disturbance. He was upset that the television had been broken by accident earlier that day. The situation was defused and there were no injuries reported. Henderson has since been sentenced for the robbery and served his time, hence his bail application on the mischief charge on Thursday. His lawyer said he has been held in segregation since the fracas at the jail. Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta agreed to release Henderson to live in Winnipeg while on bail. The allegations made against him from the riot havent been proven and hes presumed innocent. Hell next appear in court in February. The inmate who tried to fool guards into believing he had a hostage by holding a homemade shank to his neck was sentenced in July to 30 months in prison. During that court hearing, the riot was described as an attempted breakout by more than a dozen inmates. ihitchen@brandonsun.com Twitter: @IanHitchen Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. One of two men who burst into a Sioux Valley Dakota Nation home and beat a man has pleaded guilty and received jail time for the attack. People have a right to feel safe in their own home, Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta told the offender as she sentenced him on Thursday. Crown attorney Deidre Badcock said that on Feb. 26, 2016, 20-year-old Bradley Kenneth Ernest Tomms, 20, and another man went knocking at the door of a Sioux Valley home where two other men were drinking. When the two visitors received no answer to the knock, they broke through the door. The man with Tomms knocked one of the men inside the home off his chair, and the two intruders then kicked and punched the victim as he lay on the floor and struggled to get up. The attack ended and the assailants left when the homeowner threatened to call police. Officers noted that the victim had a swollen face and bloody nose. Tomms was on probation with a curfew at the time, and was also not allowed to go to places where there was drinking. The beating at the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation home put him in breach of both conditions. On later dates, he repeatedly breached his bail order and probation by drinking and breaking curfew. Having been held in custody, Tomms received time served for his charges except for the break-in for which he received 540 days less 114 time served to leave 426 days to serve. ihitchen@brandonsun.com Twitter: @IanHitchen Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/12/2016 (2149 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Police offered a warning after two snowmobilers got lost in Spruce Woods Provincial Park on Dec. 10. At approximately 8:30 p.m., Treherne RCMP received a call from two Winnipeg men who were lost after snowmobiling on the trails at Spruce Woods. RCMP, in conjunction with Manitoba Sustainable Development, deployed search teams on snowmobiles and trucks to the area. After being lost for more than six hours, RCMP found the men, aged 29 and 42, who were both dressed for the weather and were able to start a fire to stay warm. The temperature dipped to -36 C at 11 p.m. that night, according to Environment Canadas data for Carberry. RCMP said the men were found safely because they were prepared and issued some basic safety tips to keep in mind when heading out. Dont ride alone. Be prepared: carry spare fuel, survival gear and ensure you are dressed for the weather conditions. When travelling in areas you are unfamiliar with, always make sure to carry a charged cellphone and GPS when you can. Travel on marked trails when in areas you have never travelled before. Always advise someone of what route you plan to take and when you plan to return. The law requires that you always wear an approved helmet. Snowmobiles are not to be operated on roadways, shoulders or sidewalks unless circumstances fall under other provisions laid out in the Off Road Vehicles Act. To cross a roadway on a snowmobile, a driver must have a valid drivers licence. Like any other mode of transportation, only operate a snowmobile when sober and alert. Anyone under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is a minimum of 18 years old. Young persons over the age of 14 can ride without parental accompaniment, but cannot cross a roadway until they obtain a valid drivers licence. The Brandon Sun Los Angeles - California Governor Jerry Brown, nicknamed "Gov. Moonbeam", has said his state was "ready to fight" President-elect Donald Trump on climate change if the new administration tries to ditch policies that combat global warming. "If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We are going to collect that data," Brown said to loud applause during a heated speech at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, recalling the "Governor Moonbeam" nickname he earned in the 1970s thanks to his push for a state satellite. Brown seized on comments from a top Trump adviser, who said the incoming administration plans to eliminate NASA's earth science programs, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The Governor promised to continue climate research even if the Trump administration tries to interfere. "We've got the scientists, we've got the lawyers and we're ready to fight," Brown said. Global warming has caused sea levels to increase by 3.2 millimeters per year, threatening infrastructure and ecosystems, according to a new report published in Science, which called for more research into adaptations to sea-level increases, and for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, Trump, who called climate change a "hoax," has been a long-term skeptic of climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, which was inked in December, 2015 and came into force last week. The agreement, signed by more than 180 countries, aimed to hold increases in the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, by pledging to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The President-elect said Sunday that "nobody really knows" whether climate change is real and that he is "studying" whether the United States should withdraw from the global warming agreement struck in Paris a year ago. Trump recently has selected a number of cabinet officials who question the science of global warming, including former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Energy Secretary. And referring to Perry, Brown reminded everyone of California's advantages over Texas when it comes to renewable energy. "We've got more sun than you've got oil," he said. In the United States, scientific research on climate change is mainly funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Energy (DOE), Huang Xianglei, an associate professor from the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan, told Xinhua. The budgets of NASA, NSF, NOAA and DOE are set by Congress, while individual program officers within these agencies decide how funds are divided based on peer reviews from within the scientific community. This means that while the new president may take a personal stance against climate change, "it is too early to tell how the new administration would and could steer the direction of climate-change research," Huang said. Azerbaijan is attempting to go to a new level in the case of Alexander Lapshin, and launch a criminal persecution against people that have visited Nagorno-Karabakh. December 16, 2016, 12:54 If Lapshin is extradited to Azerbaijan, this will reflect on Belarus image STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: Davit Babayan, Spokesperson of the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh), stated the aforesaid, as he commented, at the request of NEWS.am, on the Azerbaijani authorities attempts to have Lapshin extradited from Belarus. The attempts are also considered interference in the internal affairs of another state, stressed Babayan. In fact, Azerbaijan wishes to achieve the extradition of a citizen of a foreign state, to try [him] on a fictitious crime; this is a gross violation of international law and international humanitarian law. If Azerbaijan behaves this way toward the citizens of third countries, then there is no doubt that it will launch genocide, [if] getting the slightest chance to oversee Nagorno-Karabakh. The Artsakh presidential spokesperson added that such attempts should be stopped, forthwith. If the citizen is extradited, nonetheless, this will reflect on the image of Belarus, he noted. As per Davit Babayan, at any rate, such demeanor of the Azerbaijani authorities attests to their steady degradation. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When its consistently -20 C or lower like it is right now, I usually get into the mood of drinking heavier ales, porters and stouts but with Torque now available at Liquor Marts in Brandon and a wide variety of amazing IPAs to choose from, Ive been lacking in the stout and porter this December. Theres been a decent selection of darker beers available as part of gift sets or as Christmas-themed beers. Unibroue has brought out its delicious Unibroue 17 Grande Reserve in two forms a 2016 edition of a single 750 ml bottle as well as a three-pack of 750 ml bottles aged from 2013 to 2015. Muskoka released its annual edition of its Winter Beard, a double-chocolate cranberry stout thats a great Christmas Eve dessert treat. Lastly, Dead Frog Brewing has brought back its peanut-buttery Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout as well as its Winter Beeracle Winter Ale. This week Im checking out Dead Frogs Winter Beeracle Winter Ale. Winter Beeracle is described as a celebration of all good things winter brings complex beers, warm fires, close family and good friends. The ale is brewed with centennial and willamette hops as well as two row and chocolate malts, honey, melanoidin, cara Munich, cara aroma and chateau monastique. It tops out at 24 IBU and 7.5 per cent. Winter Beeracle pours a very heavy, dark brown (near black) with a light amount of burnt caramel head on top that gradually diminishes into no head at all. The aroma is, for the most part, sweet and roasted with notes of roasted coffee, burnt caramel, a hint of dark chocolate and Im also noticing a bit of a maple syrup. Even though the beer description never made any mention of maple. The taste of the ale starts out as a sweet caramel maltiness with a good deal of cocoa, molasses, an earthy hop presence that leaves a bit of a metallic aftertaste behind and a bit of a booziness to it. A bit lighter than a porter or stout, but certainly not as heavy. Dead Frogs Winter Beeracle is a decent wintertime ale that has a decent alcohol warmth to it seeing as its 7.5 per cent, stronger than your typical ale, porter or stout. Its also sweeter than your typical porter and stout, as theres a good deal of caramel and molasses in here and even somehow a maple aroma but that is non existent in the beers taste profile. Its mildly spiced as it warms up, a bit of nuttiness pops up here and there so its worth checking out if youre a porter or stout fan in the wintertime like I am. Ive stated in the past that I had written off Dead Frog as a brewery. I simply never enjoyed its beers, but its has improved the quality of its products a great deal in the past two years, enough for me to go out and want to try its beers. $7.35 per 650 ml bottle and available at Liquor Marts in the gift pack section in Brandon and Dauphin. Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. I like good wine. Well, considering I write this column, that seems sort of a ridiculous statement, doesnt it! I think most people like good wine nobody sets out to drink something that sucks. But even folks who arent as picky as I am know what they like. And generally speaking, what I hear most frequently from other wine-drinkers is that they like smooth and soft, not edgy or harsh beverages. However, not everybody wants to pay a premium price, and by that I mean around $20 or higher, for wine. And the lower the price, generally the lower the quality and the greater likelihood that theyre going to get something thats neither smooth nor soft and is quite likely to be a little raw and edgy. But the solution to that dilemma is simple. And if you have someone on your gift-list who insists on drinking wine thats around the $10 mark or so, help them out. Buy them an aerator. Just how much aeration helps lesser wines, if I may use that term, was driven home to me on a recent jaunt where my husband and I could only afford lesser wines (because the price for what we might pay $20 a bottle at home was at least double and sometimes triple that) and I had to find a way to make them palatable. I always carry two corkscrews and a bottle stopper with me, and when I pulled out Dianes Little Kit of Necessities, I whooped with joy. In a smarter moment, one Id forgotten about, Id added an aerator to the collection. And did it EVER save the day. In fact, it saved several days and salvaged several bottles of wine. Ive written about aerators before they come in all shapes and sizes and costs. Theres the Vinturi, which can be purchased with a fancy stand that makes the aeration process an elegant affair, or for a lower price tag, just the unit on its own. The Vinturi is highly effective, especially if you pour the wine through the device into a wide decanter where it will continue to aerate further. If the cost of the Vinturi (or Zazzol, Rabbit or Vintorio there are several brands out there and they can be found locally at several local establishments such as The Green Spot, Wine Sense, The Little Shoppe, and Stokes, and of course online at amazon.ca) seems a bit steep to you, you can pick up a simple aerator at local Liquor Marts thats what I had with me on my trip for $9.99! This is a plastic aerator about four inches long and half-an-inch wide. It fits into the neck of the bottle, aerating the wine you pour through it into your glass. To further extend the benefits of this little texture and flavour assistant, I poured a glass through it, then poured that glass back and forth between another glass about eight times. The difference was amazing! The Hardys Stamp of Australia Chardonnay went from almost-bitter and biting to pleasant and palatable. Liquor Marts doesnt carry the Chardonnay here, but does stock the Hardys Stamp Shiraz Cabernet and the Riesling Gewurztraminer, both $11.99. Id suggest the Shiraz Cab could benefit from aeration, while the sweet white will likely be just fine without it. As well, the 2016 version of the Alamos Chardonnay (an Argentinian product that sells for $14.99 here and, when on sale, was about the same price where we were) was a little rough around the edges due to its relative youth, and the aerator solved that problem quite nicely. The Alamos Malbec, which we drank in profusion with fabulous lamb shanks, also sells for $14.99 at Liquor Marts, and the 2014 incarnation was lush and lovely especially when paired with saucy lamb shanks, which we enjoyed several times during our journey. So if youve a thrifty wine-drinker on your gift-giving list, get him or her an aerator. Theyll thank you for it, because its one of those gifts that keeps on giving and saving them money! Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The world view president-elect talks about at his rallies is most interesting. Goes against the worldview of many of the people Trump has selected, particularly secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency and labour. Why dont his supports and even the media see this point? The person selected for the EPA believes the department should not be doing what they are doing on President Obama instruction to attempt to control the factual and problematic nature of climate change. Meanwhile the person selected to be secretary of labour who is a CEO, believes the minimum wage should not be higher but rather lowered. The point here is what the working class workers voted for to stop globalization and to go back to the way the world was 50 years ago will not occur and the people appointed will act what is best for the owners/employers in America. But research shows that this economic model has failed in the U.S. under Reagan and in every other country around the world, like Greece. We are heading into difficult times! The American democracy is about to be tested has never before. As Abraham Lincoln stated: Nearly all men/women can stand adversity, but if you want to test a persons character, give him/her power. This applies to Mr. Trump but every other person selected for his cabinet. ALAN LEVY Brandon Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Good memories of Rockys Christmas supper In regards to Rocky Addisons Christmas meals. Yes, it started at the church on Eighth Street and Victoria Avenue. I do not recall it being moved to Prairie Oasis. One thing I do know, the traditional meals moved to the Keystone as my husband and myself went to one on Christmas Day to see how it was. As you entered the door, there was a big round glass ball to give donations to the meals and kids toys and we had great music for the day. I helped and volunteered when Rocky started in the church first, years ago. He was a very generous person. To start, there was only Rocky, his wife and family. What do former Cuban citizens have to say In response to Jaime Chinchillas guest column. I visited Cuba for my one and only visit in 2004. I enjoyed the week there, especially the visit to old Havana. I really enjoyed the tributes to Earnest Hemingway, who wrote several novels with the backdrop in Cuba. However, I was disturbed to find people trained to, for example, be a pharmacist, working in the tourism trade because to be a pharmacist would only make $15 a week. No wonder Florida has a very large Cuban community. I cannot say one bad word against the Cuban people as I was treated with the highest respect during my vacation. The bottom line is Fulgencio Batista was not the regime for Cuba, nor was the Castro regime, i.e. Fidel. I would like to hear from any former Cubans in our community how they feel about their country and the response by Justin Trudeau and his praise for Fidels regime. After all, as Canadians do we really know how the citizens of Cuba feel? There are reasons Cubans are celebrating Anyone who vacations in Cuba should leave their resort and experience the real Cuba. Cubans are among the most oppressed people in the world. They have always been oppressed under the Castro regime. There is excellent health care in Cuba; just not for ordinary Cubans. Cuba thrives on medical tourism. The health care system also benefits Cuban elites. For ordinary Cubans, the health care is a disaster. People who want to truly understand should read Dengue: La Epidemia Secreta de Fidel Castro by exiled Cuban doctor Dessy Mendoza Rivero. There is a reason why Cubans in Miami were celebrating the death of Castro. First World Canadians would do themselves a lot of good by understanding the facts of Cuba instead of parroting deceiving sound bites by those with an agenda. Che Guevara and Fidel were murderous thugs. Corporate Canada has gone survey mad Corporate Canada seem convinced that surveys are the way to go. It is unfortunate that others, like the telecom companies and Canada Post dont follow this trend. Im sure we would be delighted to say what we think of them as service providers. Ladies, keep an eye on your purses To the lady who was so greatful to get her purse back well, she was very lucky. I see women leaving their purses in shopping carts all the time, walk around the corner, look at stuff. Do you realize it takes a thief about half a second to run off with your purse? Opinion Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/12/2016 (2148 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. On Wednesday, Brandon economic development director Sandy Trudel tried to paint a silver lining on some highly gloomy unemployment numbers for the city of Brandon some of the worst statistics in more than a decade. Between the months of January and October of this year, unemployment rates in Brandon had been hovering between 6.7 and 8.7 per cent. Though this past November, the city logged an unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent falling between Manitobas total unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent and Canadas rate of 6.8 per cent. According to statistics available at economicdevelopmentbrandon.com, the highest annual unemployment rate the Wheat City has seen over the last 17 years was logged back in 1999 at 5.9 per cent. And unless we see a rather drastic change in the rate for December, there is little doubt that we will surpass that 17-year high. Brandons annual unemployment rate between 2005 and 2015 has stayed between 3.1 and 5.4 per cent, according to statistics from economicdevelopmentbrandon.com. The downturn in the oil industry has taken much of the blame, and fairly so. Not so long ago, communities around Westman such as Waskada and Virden had been prospering on the back of Canadas surging oil industry. Oil prices were high, and companies like Tundra Oil and Gas were drilling hundreds of new wells every year. Oil companies across Western Canada were always short of labour to meet the demand and high demand for workers to run the oil and service rigs translated into high paying jobs. And then between 2014 and 2015 the bottom fell out of the Canadian industry as OPEC ramped up its oil production, a move that devastated the price of crude oil and left oil companies trying to cut costs at every turn. Here in Brandon, the closure of the Trican office last June smacked a local exclamation point on what amounted to substantial economic damage for the country especially in Western Canada. The damage to our local economy is clearly visible in the unemployment numbers even as early as 2015. Though we started out in January 2015 with a rate of 3.8 per cent and reached a low of 3.0 per cent in June by the end of the year Brandon had an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent and climbing. Last August, we reported that the crowds of people looking for food hampers at Samaritan House food bank had jumped since the year previous. In August alone, Samaritan House well surpassed the month-end total of 1,235 set in August 2015, handing out more than 1,624 hampers. About 30 per cent of the people coming to them for food had been affected by the downtown in the oil and gas industry or related industries. Several oilfield workers who had been laid off were returning to their hometowns to stay with relatives while they decided how to regroup. At the same time, the organization was witnessing an increase in senior citizens coming through the door those who could not make their rent based on their pension cheques. Yet for all the doom and gloom, we think Trudel and Brandon Chamber of Commerce president Terry Burgess are right to be optimistic for 2017. Oil prices have rallied somewhat in the United States, hitting above US$50 per barrel earlier this week though still a far cry from the historic highs of only a few years ago. Also the federal Liberal government approved two oil pipeline construction projects earlier this month, one of which will run directly through Westman, creating jobs and providing increased revenues to local businesses should Enbridge meet the governments conditions. City administrators continue to try to find ways to help local Brandon businesses expand their operations which is a large part of the citys economic development office. More power to them. Meanwhile, though a high unemployment rate is not all that welcome, Trudel told The Sun that the oil industrys downturn has brought some people back home to Brandon from the Alberta oilsands, filling in gaps at local area businesses that have maintained chronic skilled labour shortages. Although, according to the numbers that hasnt really translated into much of a dip in the unemployment rate. We can only surmise that we continue to see more laid-off workers coming back to the region. And as Burgess noted, we have yet to see the effects of Manitobas recent inclusion into the New West Partnership trading block with B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. Having the oil industry working out of our backyard has always been a double-edged sword for the local economy. We suggest that, considering the volatile nature of the oil industry boom and bust we should continue to concentrate on attracting more stable economic drivers to our community that will provide potential skilled workers with the employment that will not only drive down our unemployment numbers, but keep more of these people here in our community rather than working the oil fields of Alberta and Saskatchewan. STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: During the meeting the sides discussed the current trends of the EAEU development in the conditions of difficult global economic situation, the impact of Armenias membership to the EAEU on the countrys economy, the current level of cooperation between the member states and the development prospects, as well as issues related to the Unions Supreme Councils upcoming session. We together were in the origins of the process on Armenias joining to the Eurasian Economic Union, and by becoming a member of that Union we expected to significantly improve Armenias economic situation. Unfortunately, the membership was coincided with international economic processes which negatively affected the countrys economy, and the attitude of our citizens towards the Eurasian Economic Union is still, to put it mildly, expectant, although in case of non-membership, I am confident there would be more negative approaches. During this period, I am sure, significant works were carried out, and only 10 days later we will have a chance to summarize certain results, the President said. Serzh Sargsyan attached importance to the conceptual documents and decisions included in the upcoming session agenda of the Eurasian Supreme Economic Council on December 26, St. Petersburg, as well as the EAEU Customs Code, the adoption of which will bring the best international experience of customs administration to the Unions customs practice by creating an opportunity for the businessmen and people to work with simplified and contemporary measures with the customs structures. President Sargsyan emphasized also the work on strengthening the trade-economic ties towards third countries, stating that the Armenian side utilizes its experience and potential in relations with separate states in this regard. We are actively supporting the negotiation process between the Eurasian Commission and our traditional partner Iran aimed at quickly and effectively reaching to the signing of the agreement on free trade zone, the President said. EEC Board Chairman Tigran Sargsyan expressed gratitude to the President for the meeting and his constant attention and support to the Eurasian integration agenda. Mr. President, in connection with the EAEU agenda issues, I would like to inform about the problems at this stage, over which our Commission is working with all countries. We will discuss with You the priorities which You think we must pay attention, thus aiming to deepen our integration union in order all member states receive economic benefits over which the public, as well as the political figures have serious expectations, Tigran Sargsyan said. Enda Kenny has ruled out looking for a side deal with the UK before the Brexit talks begin. The Taoiseach says Ireland has to act hand-in-hand with the other 26 countries who'll be staying within the Union. Update: Friday Dec 16, 1am: Enda Kenny has ruled out looking for a side deal with the UK before the Brexit talks begin. The Taoiseach says Ireland has to act hand-in-hand with the other 26 countries who will be staying within the Union. The UK's House of Lords has suggested a bilateral deal with Ireland would be the best way to guarantee the future of Northern Ireland and the border. But leaving a summit of EU leaders in Brussels last night, Enda Kenny ruled out the idea. "Well I think that the European Council are very clear that there won't be any negociations until Article 50 is triggered," he said. "Her request today was that it would be early in the discussions and obviously at official level and at the [EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel] Barnier level, I'm sure that's a matter that will come into focus when shoe moves Article 50." Earlier: EU leaders have broken up for the night, concluding discussions about migration, Aleppo and Brexit. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed that Britain will trigger formal processes to withdraw from the EU by the end of March. Taoiseach Enda Kenny told reporters that any discussions about Brexit would be pure speculation until the UK trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and begin negotiations. "Until it becomes clear as to what sort of relationship the United Kingdom actually wants to have with the future European Union, it's then that you can make the decisions and negotiate on those decisions, after Article 50 is triggered," he said. "Between this and then, it's all speculation." An emotional Taoiseach Enda Kenny voiced his distress at the discovery of the bodies of a Mayo mother and her seven-year-old son whom he personally knew last night, saying news of the incident "went through me", writes Fiachra O Cionnaith, Political Correspondent in Brussels. Speaking at the end of the European Council meeting in Brussels, the Fine Gael leader said he learned of what happened earlier in the day and was distraught by the deaths. There is no possibility of the Republic and Britain striking a bilateral deal with each other outside of the imminent Brexit negotiations between the EU and the UK, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has stressed, writes Fiachra O Cionnaith. The Fine Gael leader definitively rejected the potential step after a high level EU meeting in Brussels, as he admitted it may take longer than the two years initially outlined to untangle Britain and the EU from each other. Speaking to reporters at the end of a European Council leaders meeting, part of which was attended by British prime minister Theresa May, Mr Kenny said he was aware of a report this week by the House of Lords calling for a separate deal between Dublin and London. The House of Lords plan has been officially put forward due to fears the unique issues surrounding the border with Northern Ireland and the need to continue the common travel area between the Republic and Britain may not receive the attention required during wider EU-UK talks. However, it has also been seen as an attempt to give Britain a stronger hand in further negotiations with the EU over the possibility of a 'soft' Brexit option which will allow Britain to continue to benefit from some aspects of the common market. Asked about the possibility of a bilateral deal, Mr Kenny said the reality is the Republic remains one of 27 EU member states which will act together on the issue. Echoing similar remarks by Finance Minister Michael Noonan and European Affairs Minister Dara Murphy, who on Thursday described the House of Lords plan as "nonsensical", the Taoiseach said a bilateral deal is off the table. "I think the European Council have been very clear, there won't be any negotiations until Article 50 [the legislation needed to begin Brexit] is triggered [in March]. "A bilateral deal is not being examined," he said. Mr Kenny made the comments as he admitted it may take longer than two years to untangle Britain from the EU post-Brexit. Under a previously announced schedule, Article 50 is likely to be triggered in March before Britain formally leaves the EU 18 months later. Speaking in Westminster earlier this week, Britain's secretary of state for leaving the EU David Davis said while this plan remains in place it could take up to a decade before all legal links between the regions are cut. In addition, reports in Britain yesterday claimed the UK could be told to pay up to stg50bn into the EU until 2020 due to outstanding pension liabilities, loan guarantees and spending on UK-based projects. And, while rejecting suggestions the situation could take up to a decade to resolve, Mr Kenny added his weight to the issue by saying a two year Brexit plan may be overly ambitious. "I did make the point myself that 50 years of legislation and so on would probably be very difficult to deal with in a two year period. It remains to be seen," he said. The Irish Navy ship, LE Samuel Beckett, has arrived back in Ireland just in time for Christmas. The Naval Service vessel has spent almost three months in the Mediterranean to help in the search and rescue of migrants trying to reach Europe from Africa. Offaly doctor, Bernadette Scully, has been cleared of the manslaughter of her profoundly disabled daughter by giving her too much sedative. The GP was charged with unlawfully killing 11-year-old Emily Barut at their home at Emvale, Bachelors Walk, Tullamore. Its alleged that she killed her by an act of gross negligence involving the administration of an excessive quantity of chloral hydrate on Saturday September 15, 2012. The 58-year-old had pleaded not guilty and went on trial at the Central Criminal Court two weeks ago. Emily had microcephaly, severe epilepsy and couldnt speak or move. Shed been in pain for the last eight days of her life, having had a medical procedure to replace the tube into her stomach, through which she received fluids and medication. Ms Scully said she had administered chloral hydrate when her daughter became upset at 2am and 6am that day. She said her daughter then had a massive fit after 11am and she administered more. She said she had given more than double in those nine hours that she had ever previously given in 24 hours. She told gardai she knew she had given too much. Emily died and Ms Scully tried to take her own life twice, the second time by overdosing on medication for which she had written a prescription in her elderly mothers name. She had sent her partner to fill the prescription, its purpose unkown to him. He found Emily dead and Ms Scully unconscious that evening. Laboratory tests showed that Emilys blood contained 10 times the therapeutic levels of the chloral hydrates metabolite and a post-mortem exam found she had died from chloral hydrate intoxication. The State Pathologist said that, potentially, those levels were fatal. However, Professor Marie Cassidy said she had suffered a seizure six to eight hours before her death and that any of her illnesses could have contributed. She also said that she had been at risk of a potentially fatal seizure at any time. The State argued that the chloral hydrate was a substantial cause of death. It did not have to prove it to be the only cause. Tara Burns SC, prosecuting, said it wasnt in doubt that Ms Scully loved her daughter very much and cared for her to the highest level. What this case is about is the events of a specific day when chloral hydrate was administered, she said, noting the levels Ms Scully had said she had given. Any reasonable person in the situation Ms Scully was in, a doctor, would have realised that administering that level of chloral hydrate carried a high degree of risk of causing a substantial risk of injury to her daughter, she said, outlining the prosecution case. Ms Scullys legal team argued that there was a clear indication in the post-mortem results of the possibility of a terminal seizure and Kenneth Fogarty SC said that the traumatic event that had led to the maladministration alleged was indeed a massive seizure after 11am. He said it was clear that the only reason a person would administer more chloral hydrate was if the initial dose was not achieving the desired result. He pointed out that other anticonvulsant medications had life-threatening effects on Emily. He also noted that nobody had a formula to equate the amount of chloral hydrate taken into a body with the amount of its metabolite that would be found in the blood. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy told the jury that it had to be satisfied that the accused had failed to observe the ordinary and necessary care expected of her to the point that she was negligent in a very high degree. That negligence must have brought a very high degree of risk of substantial personal injury to others. He said it did not matter what the accused womans state of mind was. He said that, in the case of a doctor, she could follow general and approved medical practice, unless obviously defective. She could depart from that practice unless it involved something no similarly qualified expert exercising care would do. He reminded the jury of the evidence of a retired consultant paediatrician, who was also a member of the Advisory Committee for Human Medicines, the national body that decides if drugs are safe and effective. Dr Kevin Connolly had been asked about the high doses of chloral hydrate Ms Scully said she had given her daughter in a short timeframe. He referred to people, who metabolise drugs at different rates to most people in clinical trials. If Emily was one of those outliers, and it had been found she required more frequent or higher doses, then this was appropriate, he said. He explained that Emilys body might have been able to handle an increasing dose up to a certain point but then became overwhelmed. That can happen, that the body can only take so much and then its too much, he said. The packed courtroom fell silent. Her family held hands in the public gallery. Moments later she was a free woman, the jury having unanimously decided she was not guilty of her daughters manslaughter. She smiled while her family cried. Her partner Andrius raced to the dock and was the first to embrace her with tears in his eyes. Before they began their deliberations, the jurors were asked to leave all emotion to one side. The seven women and five men began considering their verdict on Thursday morning. They returned to court with their unanimous verdict of not guilty following four hours and two minutes of deliberations. Gasps were heard in court following the announcement by the registrar of the verdict. Bernadette Scully acknowledged her family members, some of whom began weeping. The judge thanked the jury and discharged the members before moving onto other cases. Ms Scully and her family embraced each other before leaving the court. Outside the court, Ms Scully was swamped by family and friends. The prosecutor Tara Burns shook her hand and wished her well. The Tanaiste has said she cannot meet two Garda whistleblowers who say they have been mistreated within the force. Frances Fitzgerald has said it would be inappropriate for her to meet with anyone whose cases are still being examined. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended Government plans to cap rent rises in Cork and Dublin for the next three years, The Irish Examiner's Fiachra O Cionnaith in Brussels. The Taoiseach is insisting the move is a "carefully thought-out process" which will protect "many thousands of tenants". The Fine Gael leader made the comment as he rejected claims a deal struck with Fianna Fail to potentially extend the plan to other cities early next year is a "watering down" of the initial strictly limited move. Under plans passed by the Dail yesterday, rent "pressure zones" are set to be introduced in Ireland's two largest cities from next month, capping price rises for existing renters to a maximum of 4% a year for the next three years. The move was put before Cabinet by Housing Minister Simon Coveney this week, before facing severe criticism from Fianna Fail and other parties over claims the 4% annual cap was too high and that people in other parts of the country were being left without help. As part of a deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail which has been seen as a victory for Mr Coveney, the 4% rate will remain in place with the possibility of extending the move to other cities and commuter belts to be reviewed early next year. However, while the decision has led to some concern that landlords in areas outside of Cork and Dublin may now increase rents before any future potential changes are introduced - and ongoing concerns the cap will still allow a 12% rise over the next three years - Mr Kenny insisted the policy has been carefully thought-out. Speaking in Brussels after the European Council leaders summit, the Taoiseach said "many thousands of tenants" will be protected by the new rules who would otherwise "be fearful of the next rent increase coming". "No, not at all," he said when asked if the deal with Fianna Fail to potentially expand the plan to other parts of the country early next year shows it is being watered down. "What was put in place, and what was decided on during the week, was a very carefully thought out process. "One [aspect] was taxation to be reflected on by a commission to be set up by Finance Minister Michael Noonan in January. "One was the process and conditions when a rent zone would be authorised. And the third was a very carefully thought out level of a 4% cap which would apply. "That's designed to protect many thousands of tenants who would be fearful of the next rent increase coming," he said. The blacklist of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will be included in the new simplified visa issuance system. December 16, 2016, 15:58 Azerbaijan MFA blacklist of Karabakh visitors to be included in new simplified visa system STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: Inam Karimov, chairman of the state agency for the provision of services to citizens and social innovations under the president of Azerbaijan, informed about the aforementioned, according to Haqqin.az news agency of the country. This list will be included in the ASAN Viza system, which automatically will identify the persons that are prohibited from entering the country, said Karimov. In his words, the country itself is competent to resolve the matter of issuing visas. The Azerbaijan MFA blacklists foreign nationals that visit Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from eastern Aleppo have been suspended after rebels opened fire on a convoy at one of the crossing points of the rebel-held enclave, according to Syrian state TV. It was not immediately clear how long the suspension, which was announced within a couple of hours after the evacuations resumed on Friday, would last. Ikhbariya TV also claimed that the rebels tried to take with them captives they had seized and were holding in the rebel enclave. Lebanons Al-Manar Hezbollah TV said the Syrian army stopped the process because the rebels had violated the ceasefire deal. Hezbollah militiamen are fighting in the Syrian civil war alongside President Bashar Assads forces. Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV said buses which were parked at the Ramouseh crossing point in southern Aleppo had left the area after it was targeted by gunmen. Earlier, Syrian state TV reported that four convoys of fighters and civilians had departed from the rebel enclave on Friday. In the central province of Hama, buses and ambulances were waiting to evacuate thousands of people from two Shiite villages besieged by rebels, a last-minute condition which became part of the ceasefire deal for Aleppo. Iran had demanded that the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya be tied in with the mass movement out of eastern Aleppo. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart are working to launch a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition - negotiations which would take place in Kazakhstans capital, Astana. Mr Putin, speaking during on a visit to Japan on Friday, said Ankara had helped to broker the rebel exit from Aleppo that is currently under way. He said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also working for an overall truce in Syria. The Russian leader said that once the Syrian army secures control of all of Aleppo, civilians will be able to return to their homes. It was not immediately clear if western-backed Syrian opposition would accept such a location for peace talks with President Bashar Assads government. A Turkish official said his countrys aid organisations are helping Syrians who have been evacuated from Aleppo to a border area held by the opposition in Syrias Idlib province. Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Friday that "20 buses from Aleppo have reached the safe zone under control of the Free Syrian Army in Idlib". He said 30-35 injured people were being treated at the Sahra hospital just over the border. Mr Kaynak said there had been a discussion with Syrian opposition forces over the possibility of establishing a centre "within a security zone in Syria". He told the private Dogan news agency that "Idlib has no physical capacity to accommodate so many people". He estimated there are 80,000 to 100,000 individuals who would like to leave Aleppo under the ceasefire deal which Turkey helped broker. He added that Turkey is willing to provide assistance to "legitimate" Syrian opposition groups to help meet their needs. The minister spoke after visiting the Cilvegozu border crossing with Syria in southern Turkey. A DJ has been jailed for 12 months for a 1m music piracy operation in England. Wayne Evans, 39, illegally downloaded and distributed online the official UK Top 40 hits each week for more than a year. Evans, who ran two music websites, DJPortal and oldskoolscouse, pleaded guilty to illegally uploading the music to various torrent sites as they were announced each week by the Official Charts Company. He also distributed tracks through his own website, including a cappella music to be used for DJ-ing and remixing, City of London Police said. Investigators say his operation meant the creators of the music were deprived of payment and put the cost of lost revenue at 1,054,000 between June 2014 and July 2015. Around 700,000 music tracks were downloaded from Evans' websites in all. Evans, from Everton, Liverpool, was first arrested last September following a joint investigation between PRS for Music, which represents the rights of over 118,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in the UK, and the City of London's Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). It is the first custodial sentence to arise from the two organisations working together after Evans was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday. Detective Constable Steven Kettle, from City of London Police, said: "Evans caused significant loss to the music industry and his actions will have effected jobs across the music industry. "By working with partners such as PRS for Music we are better able to work collaboratively to ensure the best investigation of people like Evans and ensure that they are brought to justice." Music piracy is estimated to cost the entertainment industry hundreds of millions of pounds each year in the UK alone. PRS for Music Head of Litigation, Enforcement and Anti-Piracy, Simon Bourn said: "Music piracy on a commercial scale is a serious criminal offence and this sentencing by the crown court acknowledges that. "Copyright infringement has a severe impact on the livelihoods of creators and so it is important that PRS for Music, alongside PIPCU, continues to champion and protect our members' rights. "We hope that today's sentencing sends a message to all those involved in this type of criminal activity, that consequences will follow." Barack Obama has said the US must and will take action against Russia over hacking during the presidential election. Mr Obama told NPR News that America would respond at a "time and place of our choosing", some of which might be publicised and some not. The president said he had spoken directly to Vladimir Putin about his feelings over the hacking. Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action - "and we will", Mr Obama stated. "Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be. But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it." On Thursday the Obama administration suggested President Putin personally authorised the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the election and said it was "fact" that such actions helped Donald Trump's campaign. And the White House also attacked president-elect Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russia's interference. No proof was offered for any of the accusations, the latest to unsettle America's uneasy transition from eight years under Democrat Mr Obama to a new Republican administration led by billionaire property mogul Mr Trump. The claims of Russian meddling in the election also have heightened already debilitating tensions between Washington and Moscow over Syria, Ukraine and a host of other disagreements. "Only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorised these activities," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, repeating the words from an October US intelligence assessment. Mr Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes joined the dots further, saying it was Mr Putin who was responsible for the Russian government's actions. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," he said. The explosive accusation paints Mr Putin, the leader of perhaps the nation's greatest geopolitical foe, as having directly undermined US democracy. US officials have not argued, however, that Mr Trump would have been defeated by Hillary Clinton on November 8 if not for Russia's assistance, nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote-counting. The Kremlin flatly rejected the claim of Mr Putin's involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it as "laughable nonsense". The dispute over Russia's role is fuelling an increasingly public spat between Mr Obama's White House and Mr Trump's team that is threatening to spoil the delicate truce that the pair have forged since election day. Although the president and president-elect have avoided criticising each other publicly since Mr Trump's win, their aides have been more openly antagonistic. Kellyanne Conway, Mr Trump's senior transition adviser, said it was "breathtaking" and irresponsible that the White House had suggested Mr Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. That Mr Earnest to argue that Mr Trump, who has dismissed the CIA's assessment of Russian interference, should spend less time attacking the intelligence community and more time supporting the investigation that Mr Obama has ordered. Mr Earnest said it was "obvious" Mr Trump knew what Russia was doing during the campaign, pointing out that Mr Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find Mrs Clinton's missing emails. Mr Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilise our democracy," Mr Earnest said. "That's not a joke." US intelligence officials have linked the hacking to Russia's intelligence agency and its military intelligence division. Moscow has denied all accusations that it orchestrated the hacking of email accounts of Democratic Party officials and Mrs Clinton's campaign chief John Podesta, then leaked them to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Mr Trump and his supporters insist the Democrats' outrage about Russia is really an attempt to undermine the validity of his election victory. Congressman Peter King, a Trump ally and New York Republican, called it "disgraceful" as he spoke to reporters amassed in Trump Tower after meeting the president-elect. "Right now, certain elements of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain politicians are really doing the work of the Russians," he said. But Democrats pounced on the latest suggestions of Mr Putin being connected to the daily drip of emails during the presidential race from some of Mrs Clinton's closest advisers. Mr Putin was "clearly involved," said outgoing Senate minority leader Harry Reid. "Having been the former head of the KGB, does that surprise you?" he said. "And does it surprise anybody today when he denied it?" Secretary of state John Kerry defended Mr Obama's handling of the issue during the heat of the presidential campaign - a stance now criticised by some Democrats as too weak - but said he would not comment on whether Mr Putin was involved. "People need to remember that the president issued a warning," he said. "But he had to be obviously sensitive to not being viewed as interfering on behalf of a candidate or against a candidate or in a way that promoted unrealistic assessments about what was happening." NEW YORK: Taylor Swift on Tuesday announced she was returning to touring, getting back on the road for the first... ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates energy minister said on Monday that OPEC+ is keen on providing the world with... In snow flurries and 15-degree weather, craft beer fans still lined up outside Prison City Pub & Brewery in Auburn Thursday and Friday for a can of its coveted Mass Riot India pale ale. The downtown Auburn brewpub released 60 Crowlers (32-ounce cans) of the beer each day, and will release another 60 Saturday and Sunday. Both days so far, lines started forming in the unfriendly elements as early as 10 a.m. an hour and a half before Prison City opens. Owners Dawn and Marc Schulz let customers inside to wait in their business's newly acquired basement area. Thursday's 60 Crowlers were claimed well before 11:30 a.m. and Friday's just a little while afterward, Marc said. "We were surprised both days because of the weather," he said. "Today, it was virtually subzero and there were still 40 people out there." Mass Riot a juicy, cloudy IPA in the burgeoning New England style was named No. 1 in a blind tasting of 247 American IPAs by Paste Magazine in August. Prison City's first release of the beer subsequent to that honor, on Sept. 11, saw all 120 Crowlers made available that day sold before the brewpub officially opened. The hype around Prison City will only continue to surge, if Paste has anything to say about it: Thursday, the magazine named the Auburn brewery one of its best of 2016. "And to think, this is a brewery in upstate New York, not in a city like Portland or San Diego that is regarded specifically as a major craft beer destination," writer Jim Vorel said. "Their future is very, very bright, and we cant wait to taste it." Vorel also alluded to Prison City's plans to expand, first with additional fermenters in its new basement space and then, eventually, with a new production facility. As the business grows, Schulz said, one high priority will be making Mass Riot more available both by the can and by the glass. Two serving tanks will be installed in the basement area, he said: one dedicated to IPAs like Mass Riot and Riot in Vermont, the other to brewer Ben Maeso's 4-Piece Pale Ale series. The Schulzes are also looking into contracting with a mobile canning company, which would mean Mass Riot in four-packs of 12- or 16-ounce cans instead of single Crowlers. Whether Prison City continues releases like this weekend's or makes Mass Riot regularly available to take home, however, depends on the demand for it. So far, Marc said, it's exceeded even his and Dawn's expectations. "Even though it's been a long year and a lot of success," he said, "It's still very surreal." Just under one percent weight in national CPI, with a contribution of over one-fourth in inflation, such is the ... Investors are better off sticking with firms which avoid inflated pay packets for their chief executives, according to a new study. Excluding outliers like Apple, an investor who put money in the lowest fifth of companies ranked by CEO pay would have beat those invested in the top quintile by 39 per cent in total return terms between 2006 and 2015, according to data from index and analysis firm MSCI. This puts into sharper relief one of the chief mysteries of shareholder capitalism: why long-term investors like pension funds fail to hold the companies they own accountable for the massive expansion of executive pay. "Even after adjusting for company size and sector, companies with lower total summary CEO pay levels more consistently displayed higher long-term investment returns," Ric Marshall and Linda-Eling Lee of MSCI wrote in the October report. With questions raised at a meeting this week in Syracuse, U.S. Rep. John Katko is seeking answers from the state Department of Transportation on the Interstate 81 viaduct project. In a letter sent to state Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll, Katko asked the agency several questions, including whether it has considered the impact of truck traffic on local roads if the current configuration of I-81 in Syracuse is changed. Katko, R-Camillus, also requested clarification from transportation officials about tunnel options that have been eliminated from consideration. The tunnel alternatives, he said, were eliminated due to cost some estimates suggest that constructing a tunnel would cost more than $3 billion. But the state DOT hasn't provided a budget range for the project, at least publicly. Regarding other alternatives, Katko asked Driscoll why a tunnel or a hybrid of the boulevard and tunnel options weren't given the same consideration as the boulevard now known as the "community grid" and rebuilding the viaduct. These and other concerns were mentioned at Wednesday's meeting, which was organized by several central New York state legislators, including state Sen. John DeFrancisco. "I applaud the central New York delegation of the New York state Legislature for coming together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that our community's concerns are heard on the Interstate 81 rebuild," Katko said in a statement. He added, "This meeting was an important opportunity for NYSDOT to clarify for our community a number of concerns regarding the scoping process. However, as I listened to community members, business owners and town supervisors from across central New York, I am troubled that many of my constituents did not feel their concerns had been addressed by NYSDOT in this, or other forums." Tiffany Portzer, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation, said the agency hasn't received Katko's letter and "cannot comment on something we have not received." One of the major issues related to the I-81 project is how it will affect communities outside of Syracuse. Officials in Owasco, Skaneateles and other towns are concerned that a boulevard will lead to increased truck traffic on local roads. Katko shared that concern when he urged state transportation officials to hold public meetings outside of Syracuse. The state DOT held an informational session in Skaneateles in October. The state DOT is in the process of developing a draft environmental impact statement for the I-81 project. The document is expected to be released in 2017. The agency has narrowed its options down to two: The community grid alternative, which would transform Almond Street into a boulevard and require improvements to other city streets. Interstate 481 would be re-designated as I-81 for through traffic. The other alternative under consideration is rebuilding the viaduct. Some changes would be made to the configuration, but it would ensure that I-81 remains an elevated highway through Syracuse. "I have not advocated for one particular option to rebuild or upgrade Interstate 81," Katko said. "However, I believe that it is important that members of the community have access to all of the necessary information regarding the scoping process and potential rebuild options." Illustration: Cathy Wilcox "Oh gawd," he said. "Well mate, it's some left-wing teachers who make a decision on the rest of the community. "It's insulting, it's demeaning and it's a farce." And then, in what must surely be one of modern psychology's best examples of projection, Hadley accused these teachers of "caus[ing] division in the community". As Jim was speaking, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton was waiting on the line, like a patient elf. This act of Christmas denialism had occurred in Dutton's own electorate of Dickson and Hadley wanted his views. Dutton, a proud enemy of political correctness, was horrified by what he heard. "I was in a good mood. I was happy, keen to come and have a good chat to you," he told Hadley. "You make my blood boil with these stories. It is political correctness gone mad and I think people have just had enough of it." Political Correctness Gone Mad (PCGM) is the hard right's version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and every year it is invoked, with horrifying examples given to prove our Judeo-Christian traditions are being sidelined in favour of a pantheistic mish-mash where Buddha is as good as Santa, and all the Christmas hams are halal. Every year PCGM is decried based on one or two examples, usually Christmas decorations that fail to mention Christ, or institutions like the blameless public school that Hadley shamed on radio, despite Jim from Queensland stating that the school "did specifically say it wasn't a Christmas end-of-year break-up". Would it be churlish to point out that Hadley's Christmas spirit seems to desert him at other times during the year? That he shows little Christian charity January through November, when delivering diatribes against Muslims, refugees and welfare malingerers? That Dutton sounded a little Grinch-like himself, when he told broadcaster Paul Murray in May, that refugees "would be taking Australian jobs", and at the same time "languish in unemployment queues and on Medicare and the rest of it so there would be huge cost"? Would it be churlish to also point out that the diversion of Christmas away from the story of Jesus probably began about the 4th century after his death, with a Greek bishop called Saint Nicholas who liked to give gifts to kiddies? And that since that time, the festival of Christmas has been a constantly evolving thing that people in free, secular societies such as ours are free to celebrate in any way they like? It has been a long time since I studied my Bible but, like many people, I learnt my Christmas stories mostly from singing carols. And working from a carols-based knowledge of the nativity story, we know that Jesus' parents were poor people living in the Middle East, looking for a place of refuge in a time of upheaval. They were turned away by many people until a kind stranger took them in. Soon after Jesus' birth, his parents had to flee a murderous dictator (King Herod) who ordered the killing of all infants in the area. Bethlehem, in the modern-day Palestinian territory of the West Bank, is about 700 kilometres from Aleppo, where tens of thousands of civilians are, at the time of writing, fleeing after a sustained siege from the government forces of another pitiless dictator, President Assad. Assad has shown he is happy to inflict unspeakable amounts of suffering on his own people in pursuit of the Islamic State terrorists who threaten his power. One of Tony Abbott's last acts as prime minister was to announce Australia would take in an extra 12,000 Syrian refugees on top of our usual humanitarian intake. So far only a quarter of that number has been brought to Australia, prompting a coalition of humanitarian groups to issue a statement urging the government to hurry, because lives are at stake. It is within Minister Dutton's power to hurry this process, and to argue to his Prime Minister that Australia should accept more refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict. Canada has taken 25,000 people. Ray Hadley could help the cause by building public support for it. As you set out on your journey, though, spare a thought for the parents and children still navigating the school system. But uni is not for everyone. There are myriad pathways towards a meaningful life. You just have to be brave enough to choose a path you are passionate about now be it work-then-study, getting a trade, starting a business then back yourself. If that path ends in disappointment, try another and another. If your ATAR permits and you'll find out on January 18 university awaits. The benefits of more education from a career, financial and health perspective are clear. The difficult decision about what school is best is being complicated by the changing expectations of employers and governments, as well as increasing parental aspirations, particularly in some newer Australian families where education is priorities one, two and three. Many Australians, of course, cannot afford to be obsessed with school marks. For them school choice is dictated by location, socio-economic circumstance or personal traits. The question becomes, How do I access support if my child is struggling with literacy or numeracy, or has a disability? For other families, the question is often whether a preference to support public education is strong enough, and whether the neighbourhood comprehensive high school can meet their needs. Many great teachers have moved on from local schools. Class disruption is a problem in some, while academic marks tend to lag other options. Selective public schools are still all the rage, but becoming harder to access. Even then, is the pressure worth it, especially given that extra tutoring is virtually a prerequisite to get in and stay in? NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli has a point about Australia not wanting to replicate the tutoring focus and related pressure students face in some nations that outperform us in international testing. So how about the networking, prestige and discipline benefits highlighted in private school marketing campaigns: are they really worth the money, especially when the academic value of most independent schools pales compared with the selectives? Beijing: The federal government is set to ratify an extradition treaty with China after a joint parliamentary committee recommended formalising the pact despite opposition from Labor and widespread concerns in the legal community. Australia will become one of the few Western countries, alongside France and Spain, to have an extradition treaty with China enter into force. Minister for Justice Michael Keenan visited China in November and trumpeted an information sharing scheme. Credit:Kate Geraghty In its report tabled on Friday, the Parliament's joint standing committee on treaties recommended ratification of the treaty while putting forward four additional recommendations designed to "strengthen the protection of individual human rights". These include a recommendation to take into consideration the degree to which China's criminal justice system complies with human rights and the rule of law, and for undertakings to provide a "fair and open" trial before agreeing to surrender an individual to China. Labor frontbencher Terri Butler has settled a defamation lawsuit with Queensland law student Calum Thwaites over what some described as her "racist smear" on national television. Ms Butler was accused of traducing Mr Thwaites for repeating allegations he used the phrase "ITT niggers" in a Facebook post, after a race-hate case brought against him and two other students was thrown out of court. Mr Thwaites, 25, a law student at the Queensland University of Technology, sued the Labor frontbencher for defamation, alleging he had been "greatly harmed and injured in his personal reputation" by her remarks, which were made on the ABC's prime-time Q&A program. The QUT students were embroiled in a three-year case levelled against them under section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act after they posted about being ejected from an Indigenous-only computer lab at the university. In a country town at the edge of the Warrumbungles in NSW's northwest, a tiny high school is punching well above its weight in the HSC. Judged against similar schools by socioeconomic background, Coonabarabran High's HSC results put it in the state's top five performers, along with Canley Vale, Inverell, Bonnyrigg and Fairvale. These schools, which are among the most disadvantaged 25 per cent in the state, outperformed schools in the most advantaged 25 per cent. Coonabarabran's 2016 dux Gina Elton is the sixth of eight children. Living on a farm outside town, she had an 1-hour bus ride each way to school. Sydney multimillionaires Isaac and Susan Wakil. "I have always felt that education and trades are essential tools for young people to give them a good start in life, and that there is need to help the underprivileged youth of hardworking families and those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds," Mr Wakil said. "We are fortunate the Public Education Foundation is managing the scholarships, and I am pleased that their selection is directed, in preference to merit, to those most disadvantaged. " Ms Corr's $9000 scholarship over three years might be tiny compared to the Wakils' university bequest, but she said it had made the difference between her starting her degree next year and having to take a year off to work. "I found out [on Monday]," she said. "I cried! Throughout high school I normally had two or three jobs at the one time, and I'd just spoken to one of my Aboriginal co-ordinators at school about deferring for a year and working because I didn't have the funds to go to uni. So it means that I can actually go to uni now. It was a massive relief." The finances of the embattled Obeid family have been given a $10 million boost with a property sale that could help pay for their numerous legal battles. As family patriarch Eddie Obeid swapped his stately Hunters Hill mansion for a jail cell, questions have been raised over the sale to a company whose director is a 25-year-old Chinese woman living in a modest apartment in Mascot. The clan have legal bills believed to be in excess of $5 million following Obeid's trial for misconduct in public office, for which he was jailed on Thursday for at least three years, and their failed battle against the Independent Commission Against Corruption and staff. Since leaving jail a little more than a decade ago, Savas Guven has emerged as a very wealthy man. After a disturbed childhood in Turkey and Australia, a gambling problem, a violent armed robbery and two years in jail, the high-flying businessman formerly known as Savas Yucel has built a property portfolio worth more than $16 million almost none of it in his name. AllRound Access boss Savas Guven on one of his properties. Fairfax Media revealed this month that Guven, who threatened to stab staff during an electronics store robbery in 2000, faces charges of intimidation and assault over a confrontation this year. Now Fairfax Media can detail the extent of Guven's wealth, the financial structure that keeps his property ownership at arm's length, his battles in court and his controversial plans for an $11 million development. The Queensland school blamed for "political correctness gone mad" and eschewing Christmas carols has instead been revelling in festive spirit. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton this week called for Australians to "rise up" to defend Christmas against what he labelled "political correctness gone mad". Transfers to the US to begin soon, says Peter Dutton. Mr Dutton was angered by a talkback radio caller to 2GB radio's Ray Hadley, who said his grandchild's school Kedron State School had "not one Christmas carol" at a ceremony. The caller, from Mr Dutton's Dickson electorate, said the final song replaced the lyrics of We Wish You a Merry Christmas with "we wish you a happy holiday". Every Friday, The Citizen features a pet available for adoption from the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York. This week, we spotlight Finn. Q: Who is your best friend? A: That would be one of the nice people who works here! I really love her a lot, I talk to her every time I see her and we have a wonderful relationship. But it has taken a while to get to this point. I allow her to pick me up, she hugs and loves on me but I am always on alert and if I am startled I like to get back to safety in my condo. I think if I were to be in a home it wouldn't take long and I would love being loved. Q: What has been your worst experience? A: Simply put, today marks exactly 365 days since I have been here. I guess it could be even worse, but I don't know how. But I am safe, I am well-fed and my room is cleaned twice a day, but it's not like having a place of my own. If someone would just give me a chance and a home, I know I could be successful. My BFF told me she is working very hard on that, but I am beginning to lose hope. Q: If you could have a job, what would that be? A: Job? Are you serious? I am working like crazy to get out of here! That's the only job I have at the moment. Q: If you could visit any place in the world, where would that be? A: Just for giggles, I would like to visit "Kat"hmandu! Do you know where that is? It is in the kingdom of Nepal, and it is a very mystical place. I don't know if there are any "kats" there, but I would like to find out. Q: If you could meet someone famous, who would that be? A: I'm sure you have heard of this very famous cat named Grumpy Cat! No, really, that's her name, and she is all over the internet, in YouTube videos, in magazines everywhere you look. If you don't believe me, Google it! Anyway, I would love to meet Ms. Grumpy Cat, and give her a few pointers on basic pleasantries! Q: Do you have an interesting fact to share? A: I do! The very first Siamese cat to come to the United States was Siam, a female cat given as a gift to President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife, Lucy, in 1879, by the American consul in Bangkok, Thailand. Siam had a long journey and probably used up quite a few of her nine lives on the way from Thailand. She was first shipped to Hong Kong, then to San Francisco, and from there, she traveled by land to Washington. She was a well-traveled cat, and these are facts! Q: Do you have any advice for our good Citizen readers? A: I do! My shelter people are still having this incredible feline adoption special! All of my cat friends are available for $25 through the end of December. That adoption fee would include spay or neuter, all vaccinations, testing for FIV/FeLV, treatment for parasites and all the love and care you could possibly want. BTW, my adoption fee will be waived for the very lucky person who adopts me. And yes, he or she will be lucky indeed. I promise I will become your BFF if you give me a chance. Thank you and love, Finn and friends. The recreational use of cannabis should be legalised in Queensland and such a move could reap millions for the state's coffers, a Brisbane-based economics firm has argued in a new report. The report, released this month by Bluegreen Economics, argues for the legalisation of recreational cannabis use, which it says would add tens of millions of dollars to the Queensland economy. While Parliament passed legislation in October that allowed for the medicinal, prescribed use of cannabis products, Bluegreen economists say the state government should go a step further. Credit:Getty Images The Queensland Parliament unanimously passed legislation in October, which Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has hailed as Australia's "most progressive", that allowed for the medicinal, prescribed use of cannabis products. Citing the Colorado experience in the United States, the Bluegreen economists said the state government should go a step further. Brisbane-based truck company DGL has been fined $200,000 over the death of a cyclist. The company pleaded guilty in the Holland Park Magistrates Court to failing to meet their work health and safety duties. Logistics company DGL has been fined $200,000 over the 2013 death of a cyclist. The cyclist was killed when an unsecured stabiliser arm extended when the truck made a right turn and struck the cyclist in Carindale in 2013. The court heard the securing mechanism for the stabiliser arm did not meet Australian standards, and the truck driver had not been trained in how to use it. Head of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland Simon Blackwood said people needed to be trained to use all equipment they are put in charge of. "[Lack of] on-the-job training is simply unacceptable and in this case, this negligence has ended up with terrible consequences," he said. "If employers aren't prepared to play by the rules, then they are going to feel the full force of the law and face hefty fines, convictions or even both." In sentencing DGL, which has a national fleet of 130 vehicles, Magistrate Sheryl Cornack said the safety breach was avoidable, and lead to tragedy. However the magistrate also took into consideration the company's guilty plea, and the fact they put measures into place including audible alarms to try to avoid future tragedies. Veteran journalist Gary Adshead has quit Radio 6PR. The 50-year-old, who has been the Mornings host for the past three years, is heading back to The West Australian to become its state political reporter, replacing Gareth Parker, who will ironically take the reins of Adshead's show. The musical chairs at 6PR comes on the back of Drive host Adam Shand quitting last month and Peter Bell leaving earlier in the year to host the Morning program on ABC. An award-winning journalist, journeyman Adshead said the allure of tackling what should be a fascinating state election in March was too much to resist. Berlin: German prosecutors are investigating a 12-year-old boy who allegedly plotted a nail bomb attack at a Christmas market in the southern city of Ludwigshafen. According to German media, investigators think that the boy, who holds dual German and Iraqi citizenship, was guided by members of the Islamic State terrorist organisation. Focus news magazine reported on Friday that the 12-year-old had planted a backpack containing a homemade bomb outside city hall in the centre of Ludwigshafen on December 5. A passerby spotted it and called police. Experts then partially detonated the device, according to the magazine. A previous attempt by the boy to set off a bomb at a local Christmas market on November 26 had failed, authorities said. The device in that attempt consisted of a preserving jar filled with powder from fireworks and fitted with nails, authorities said. According to local broadcaster SWR, the boy had been in contact with Islamic State members and received instructions via the Telegram messaging service. MORAVIA Heather Prince said she went from nearly quitting hairdressing to owning her own salon business in a bit more than a year's time. The Moravia resident said she was once disillusioned by the cosmetology business while working in other salons. Prince said it was "draining" so much so that she considered finishing her college degree and sheathing the scissors for good. It was another twist in the road for Prince, who said she comes from a separated family. But citing inspiration, in part, from another local hairdresser, the 32-year-old eventually rebounded to open Hairapy, a salon located on Main Street in Moravia. Opened in March, Hairapy offers hair styling, manicures, pedicures, body waxing and massage therapy. She said she decided on Hairapy's name as a play on words between two of her passions: hair and helping people. "In this industry, you're either a hairdresser by heart or a hairdresser out to make your money," she said. "I know my heart my whole heart is in it." Prince, born in Callicoon Center in Sullivan County, said she liked doing hair so much that she would practice on her brothers and sisters when she was 12. She and her siblings then lived with their father, she said, while their mother lives in Moravia. Prince said her grandparents were also active in their lives particularly her grandmother, who would take the children to get their hair done every now and then. "We didn't have any money, so for us to go get that treat when our grandmother could afford it, it was the biggest thing in the world for me," Prince said. Her pursuits continued through her teens, when she would style hair for proms, cheerleading and wedding parties. Prince said she attempted to complete her cosmetology certification in high school, but found it difficult to find time as she worked two jobs. By the time her grandmother died 11 years ago, Prince had moved to Moravia, where she met her husband. The birth of her daughter pushed Prince, she said, to finish her cosmetology certification. "I was determined that, after I had my daughter, I was going to have a career," she said. "I was going to raise my children in one place their entire lives." Working in other salons, Prince said she embraced aspects of the work that she still enjoys today. Prince loves fostering relationships with clients and working with children's hair, saying that she enjoys growing with people over time. But Prince said she also found working with others tense due to interpersonal relations with other stylists. She said she also noticed others had a perception of hairdressing that it's just a hobby, not a job, she described that made her jaded toward the industry itself. She might have ended up in a human services career had it not been for Gail Spaulding, the owner of New Creations Style Salon. New Creations is located just a few doors down Main Street from Hairapy. But before Prince had even thought Hairapy was possible, she said she worked with Spaulding for around a year in 2014. Prince said she was able to watch Spaulding work on a daily basis, seeing "the pride she takes in this job and the pride she takes in the community." It was reinvigorating. "She was the most powerful female role model I've ever met in my life," Prince said. Prince carried that momentum into Hairapy, renting out a space at 124 Main St. and moving in after renovations were made to the flooring and walls. She said she opened March 2 her grandmother's birthday. With Hairapy, Prince said she works to keep prices manageable for those in need, citing her own roots with financial struggles. In moving forward, Prince said she hopes to continue to grow with more staff in Moravia. "I never thought I'd be here. I mean, I'm not making a million dollars never wanted to. But I love what I do and I wind up attracting clientele that has the same type of heart as I do," she said. "It's rewarding every day. I feel like my clients give me as much as, I think, I give them." Recognizing that we are more effective working together than we would be working alone, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association has forged numerous alliances with local and regional lake and watershed management and protection groups to help find solutions for the water quality crisis facing our lake. OWLAs relationships with these groups not only increase our potential impact, but also allow us to stretch the limited dollars available for water quality improvement efforts. Locally, OWLA is a voting member of the Cayuga Water Quality Management Agency, whose mission is to protect and improve the quality of water in Cayuga County. OWLA is also represented on the Owasco Lake Watershed Management Council, which oversees the Owasco Lake Watershed Inspection Program. This past summer, numerous volunteers recruited by OWLA member Linda Vitale and supervised by Watershed Inspector Timothy Schneider sampled the lake for harmful algal blooms. The data acquired from these samples is being utilized by the state DEC to understand the impacts on water quality of nutrients entering the lake. In addition, OWLA and Cayuga County share the cost of additional sampling supervised and conducted by OWLA volunteers to test for E. coli bacteria, total phosphorous and soluble reactive phosphorous. In an effort to support local agriculture in promoting best practices and innovative nutrient management strategies that can reduce nutrient runoff and improve water quality, OWLA members are part of the advisory committee to the Cayuga County Manure Management Working Group, and OWLA has joined the Whole Farms Best Practices Partnership, an international consortium promoting significant advances in farming. Dana Hall, an agricultural technical consultant, is a member of OWLAs board of directors. OWLA is a voting member of two regional lake and watershed advocacy groups. The Finger Lakes Regional Watershed Alliance, representing nine lake associations, brings together members, expertise and desires of the Finger Lakes watershed associations to preserve and protect their watersheds. The state Federation of Lake Associations represents seven lakes in the region, as well as 200 lake associations from around the state. FOLAS mission is to protect the water resources of New York state by assisting local organizations and individuals through public dialogue, education, information exchange and collaborative efforts. OWLA endorses the conservation efforts of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, whose purpose is to conserve forever the lands and waters of the Finger Lakes region. The FLLT's 10 conservation strategies for the Finger Lakes include protection of our lakes, streams and drinking water. Plans to develop buffers between ditches and streams and adjacent crop lands and pastures and create wetlands that will serve as filter traps in areas of significant runoff align with OWLAs mission. The FLLT recently purchased 40 acres of bald eagle habitat in the Owasco Flats, and OWLA provided financial assistance to the FLLT in collaboration with the Owasco Flats Nature Reserve to survey property on the east side of the Owasco Inlet for the creation of a conservation easement. OWLA also hopes to assist the FLLT in identifying places where FLLT conservation practices will be most effective. OWLA also works with state and local government and with philanthropic groups to acquire financial resources required to implement change. Recently, the Owasco Watershed Lake Association received a $20,000 grant from Fox Toyota and the Toyota Corporation. In collaboration with the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District and with matching funds from the Owasco Lake Watershed Inspection Program, numerous watershed improvement projects are underway or awaiting spring. The first, a streambank stabilization project, has been completed at Fire Lane 25 E. Project planning for the $600,000 state grant is currently underway. Additionally, OWLA continues to recognize and support the efforts of other local groups like Save Owasco Now, who are focused on driving changes to state and local regulations impacting water quality. With 1,232 members, OWLA is a catalyst for change in the Owasco watershed. Working with our many partners, we hope to make significant and timely progress in improving the waters of Owasco Lake. Yardley Friends Meeting at 65 N. Main Street in Yardley will host the documentary Organic Roots on Friday, November 18 at 7 p.m. Join director Al Johnson for a showing of this film followed by a discussion of the last 50 years of this movement. Organic foods are part of our life today and a tool in our concern for... AUBURN The Cayuga County Legislature passed the 2017 budget 11-3 at its final meeting of the year on Thursday night. Before voting, legislators gave $31,500 toward county libraries and $5,000 for cost of living increases to staff of the county's Cornell Cooperative Extension. About $21,000 of those increases to the budget came from newly made budget reductions in a couple of departments. The remaining approximately $15,500 was pulled from the fund balance, which is like the county's savings account. The total draw on the fund balance at the end of the night was $480,382. That is down from last year, which drew close to $1.7 million from the fund balance. Legislators also stayed under the state's tax cap, which was a 0.975 percent increase in the levy. Legislators Tucker Whitman, Joseph Bennett and Michael Didio voted against passing the budget, and Legislator Andy Dennison was absent. "That's a balanced budget," said Chairman Keith Batman after the meeting. "We're not pretending with it." Batman highlighted that legislators reduced projected sales tax revenue by about $1 million next year, as that revenue was relied on to help balance the 2016 budget. The real property tax levy will stay the same as in the county's preliminary budget at about $39 million. The grand total of all funds including the county Highway Department is about $143 million. The amendments made Thursday night were less than what were requested, and they did not pass unanimously. Public library supporters requested $60,000 from the county at a public hearing earlier this month. Bennett proposed allocating $31,500 to the county's nine public libraries, giving them $3,500 each. Whitman said the body had cut funding to the libraries in the past, and by bringing that line item back into the budget, the county would be going backwards. "To be dipping into county taxes, town taxes, school taxes, village taxes, seems deceptive to me," he said of libraries. "We're cutting other agencies that have no other way to generate (revenue)." Legislator Patrick Mahunik said he agreed, elaborating that next year the funding may need to be cut. Legislators Aileen McNabb-Coleman, Timothy Lattimore and Grant Kyle expressed their support for the funding, echoing supporters' arguments that they are important for communities. The amendment passed 10-4 with Whitman, Mahunik, Didio and Legislator Paul Pinckney opposed. Executive Director of the county's Cornell Cooperative Extension Doug Ververs had asked legislators for $10,653 toward a cost of living increase for staff, who had not received one in three years. Kyle offered an amendment to the budget to give half of that using monies from the fund balance. Whitman said he had no problem with the idea around the amendment, but he could not support that kind of an adjustment coming from the fund balance. Batman offered for Whitman to make a motion that the payment would be a one-time occurrence, but Whitman said he would not make that kind of motion. The amendment passed 11-3 with Whitman, Mahunik and Didio opposed. An amendment that did not make the cut was Bennett's proposal to put $10,000 toward a park improvement line item for Sterling Nature Center. Mahunik and Legislator Ben Vitale said they could not support the amendment because there was not a specific reason for designating the funds. They did not discuss the center's Functional Management Plan with its proposal for a new building, its request to make the director a full-time position, its plans for invasive species management and adding signage throughout the trails or adding a conservation easement area. Legislator Terry Baxter said putting the funds into park maintenance sounded like a plan to him. The amendment failed 7-7 with Vitale, McNabb-Coleman, Mahunik, Didio and Legislators Ryan Foley and Joseph DeForest opposed. In other news: H&J Hospitality, Inc. will cater at the Emerson Park Pavilion at least until 2021. Legislators passed a resolution 8-6 that designates a new three-year contract with the company. Pinckney, Bennett, Mahunik, Lattimore, Didio and Foley were opposed. New leadership in UB dental school to focus on teamwork, faculty development The announcement of new leadership in the UB School of Dental Medicine comes as the school begins preparation for a $22 million renovation of the UB Dental Clinic. Richard Scott Conley, chair of the Department of Orthodontics in the School of Dental Medicine I want to create a balanced department that has people with strengths in research, clinical care and teaching who learn from each other and build one another up. Richard Scott Conley, DMD, chair of the Department of Orthodontics in the School of Dental Medicine. BUFFALO, N.Y. The University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine has named Frank Scannapieco, DMD, PhD, as associate dean for faculty and professional development, and appointed Richard Scott Conley, DMD, as the new chair of the Department of Orthodontics. In his new role, Scannapieco, who also serves as the chair of the Department of Oral Biology, will organize faculty development programs, manage nominations and awards, and coordinate faculty mentoring. He will oversee Continuing Dental Education as well, and aims to expand the curriculum to include new distance learning and online courses. Faculty face many challenges as they move through their careers. It is important for the school to provide a framework by which they can receive guidance to allow them to achieve their personal and professional goals, says Scannapieco. I look forward to working with Dean Zambon and the department chairs to encourage and challenge our faculty. We also hope to take advantage of all of the great activities going on within the dental school and UB to develop continuing education programs that synergize professional, faculty and student learning. Joseph Zambon, DDS, PhD, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, remarked, Im pleased that Dr. Scannapieco has accepted this important position. It serves to emphasize the importance we place both on our facultys continuing professional development and on the significant role the School of Dental Medicine serves as a resource for dental professionals in acquiring new skills. In addition to his teaching and mentoring activities, Scannapieco has conducted NIH-funded research for years on the mechanisms of dental plaque formation and their implications on health and disease. His other research interests include the interactions between saliva and bacteria, and the relationships between oral and systematic disease. He has received more than $12 million in grant funding, published more than 125 articles in academic journals and has received numerous awards, including the William J. Gies Award for Achievement from the American Dental Education Association. Scannapieco received his DMD degree from the University of Connecticut in 1985 and his doctorate in oral biology from UB in 1991. He has been on the dental school faculty since 1987. He resides in Clarence. Conley, who began his tenure with UB this fall, joined the university from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, where he served as Robert W. Browne Endowed Professor of Dentistry and acting chair of the Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry. Bringing more than 17 years of experience in orthodontia, Conley aims to institute a renewed focus on teamwork and collaboration in the department. I want to create a balanced department that has people with strengths in research, clinical care and teaching who learn from each other and build one another up. It is a vision I have had ever since I started my academic career, says Conley, who was also named the L.B. Badgero Endowed Associate Professor in the UB Department of Orthodontics. The emphasis on development will also provide opportunities for new and younger faculty to expand their skills, says Conley. This approach will extend to UB dental staff as well. One group that is often overlooked is the administrative and clinical staff. They do a lot of the work and often dont get the respect and recognition that they should, says Conley. One of my goals is to highlight the strengths that they can bring to the program. A lot of the things that they do go unseen, but make the rest of us look good and enable us to perform at our best. Conley joins the university just as the School of Dental Medicine begins preparation for a $22 million renovation of the UB Dental Clinic and the construction of a pre-clinical simulation laboratory. Since his arrival in the fall, Conley has quickly established himself as an outstanding department chair, says Zambon. In addition to training dozens of future dentists, Conley has presented his research at more than 60 national and international events; published in orthodontic-, surgical- and sleep-related journals; and has received more than $380,000 in grant funding. He is the recipient of past institutional and clinical research awards, including multiple American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Foundation grant awards. Conley holds a doctorate of dental medicine from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelors degree in chemistry from Hamilton College. He lives in Orchard Park. Jewson will be raising funds for Barnardos in 2017 after the childrens charity was selected as its charity partner for the next 12 months, part of charity efforts throughout the Saint-Gobain Group. Under the Together initiative that sees Jewson and other companies in the Saint-Gobain group take part in volunteering and fundraising activities for a staff-nominated charity, the builders merchant will support Barnardos in transforming the lives of vulnerable children. Barnardos helps to give children a voice, defending, safeguarding and supporting the most vulnerable in society. The key focus of the new partnership will be to help vulnerable young people across the UK; particularly those who have spent their childhood in Local Authority care, and need support to enter the world of work as an independent adult. Throughout the partnership, Jewson and Saint-Gobain will extend its network of Employment, Training and Skills services to ensure that vulnerable young people, including care leavers, dont miss out on the support, advice and work opportunities available to those from different backgrounds. As part of its charity efforts, Jewson has already set a new Guinness World Records title for the most people wrapping presents simultaneously. 800 employees from Jewson branches and offices across the UK gathered at the NEC Birmingham to break the record of wrapping 496 presents, which was achieved in China earlier this year. All of the presents will be donated to Barnardos. As well as the presents from the record attempt, Jewson employees from around the UK are also donating gifts to Barnardos in their local areas. Mark Rayfield, chief executive of Jewson, said: Christmas isnt the happiest time of year for every child, so we hope getting unexpected gifts will help brighten up their day. Barnardos is our charity partner for 2017, so what better way to kick off the campaign than donating presents to children that the charity supports. Travis Perkins director Andrew Harrison and award-winning broadcaster, Steph McGovern complete the line up for an inspiring Industry Forum that sets the tone for the second day at the BMF All-Industry Conference in Budapest next June. The Industry Forum is a unique feature of the BMF All-Industry Conference that encourages delegates from every sector of our industry to debate key issues. Mr Harrison and Ms McGovern will join Glen Sabin of Polyipe and Shanker Patel of the Lords Group to lead the proceedings. They will each offer their own perspective to help set the agenda for the Q&A that follows. Mr Harrison, a member of Travis Perkins group executive committee, started his merchant career in 1980 as a management trainee with Graham Reeves in Cornwall. Following branch and area management roles, he moved Sharpe & Fisher as operations director helping to grow the business to 38 branches prior to its acquisition by Travis Perkins in 1999. He was managing director at CCF, Benchmarx Kitchens and Joinery, and Keyline before becoming divisional chief operating officer, general merchanting in 2013, with responsibility for Travis Perkins, Benchmarx and Toolhire. From January 2017 he will take the role of group commercial and business development director. Ms McGovern not only hosts the Forum and its lively Q&A session, she will also help set the agenda by speaking about her own career, the importance of recruiting more women to work in industry, and the significance of the construction industry to the UK economy. Working in financial journalism for over 13 years, Ms McGoverns first taste of broadcasting came aged 19, when she made a guest appearance on a programme about women in science. She had just won the title of Young Engineer for Britain after saving Black & Decker money on a design she created for the companys Leaf Hog product. Today, she travels all over the UK to cover economic and business news. She has broadcast live from over 500 businesses for BBC Breakfast, and makes it her mission to find out whats going on in the real economy. John Newcomb, managing director of the BMF, said: With Andrew and Steph confirmed to speak at the Industry Forum alongside Glenn and Shanker, this session will kick-start a Super Saturday programme at the BMF All-Industry Conference. The BMF All-Industry Conference takes place in Budapest from 15-18 June, 2017 at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel. Broadcaster and TV personality, Gethin Jones, will host the event, which has already sold out. Further details are available on the Conference website, which can be found at: www.bmfconference2017.co.uk. Picture caption: Steph McGovern (pictured above), along with Andrew Harrison, Glen Sabin and Shanker Patel, completes the line up for the Industry Forum at the BMF All-Industry Conference in Budapest next June. Bank employee admits role in scheme that targeted South Jersey cash Feds say call-center workers took customers' ID and account information, then used that to take their cash. City Richard J. David, 39, 97 Washington St., Auburn, was charged Dec. 12 with petit larceny. Shawntisha M. Gray, 25, 9467 Chalkstone Course, Brewerton, was picked up on a warrant Dec. 13 and charged with three counts of second-degree aggravated harassment. Cynthia L. Jedra, 49, 35 Quill Ave. Apt. X137, Auburn, was charged Dec. 13 with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Alexander R. Temple, 25, 35 Quill Ave. Apt. X137, Auburn, was charged Dec. 13 with first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. Majel D. Sheffield, 20, 9 Barber St., Auburn, was charged Dec. 13 with second-degree robbery. Collena M. Johnson, 33, 65 Wall St., Auburn, was charged Dec. 14 with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child. State Eric D. Braun, 21, Syracuse, was charged Dec. 12 with first-degree operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs. David M. Lee, 50, Skaneateles, was charged Dec. 13 with driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated. Thomas M. Sepulveda, 42, Montezuma, was charged Dec. 14 with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and fourth-degree criminal mischief. Jacob P. Gerros, 39, Syracuse, was charged Dec. 14 with second-degree attempted rape, second-degree attempted criminal sexual act and first-degree attempted disseminating indecent material to minors. Ellen R. Colelli, 56, Solvay, was charged Dec. 14 with felony eavesdropping. Jacob D. Pratt, 24, Weedsport, was charged Dec. 15 with third-degree burglary and writing a false statement. Last evening I met Charu, Lata, Charulata, Hemen, Ajay, Soni, Apu, Vijay, Digvijay, Ranvijay, all in the space of one party and in just a couple of minutes. Youre going to Goa, said my wife, I know youll be alone, but never mind, youll get some peace. I met Sanju, Raju, Hema, Anita, Gita, Sita, Vinita and their gangs, I told her later at night, because everyone from Delhi meets everyone else from Delhi when in Goa. And they were doing what every true-blue Dilliwallah does regardless of where they are, soaking up whisky by the gallon loads before downing respectable sizes of food without knowing what it tasted like. Goa could be Greater Kailash and no one would know any better. In another big domestic pharma deal, yet another Ahmedabad-based company has entered into a definitive agreement with US-based Baxter International Inc. to sell its wholly owned subsidiary Claris Injectables for approximately $625 million ( Rs 4,237 crore). With the acquisition, around 100 professionals from Adaptra will join . Adpatra is currently working with five of the top 10 insurers in Australia and New Zealand, helping them define their target business and operating models and providing platform advisory and implementation services. The acquisition would strengthen Cognizant's insurance, business transformation and platform capabilities to offer its clients better services in a technology and data-intensive world. The company did not divulge the terms of the transaction. Insurers are looking at simplifying critical processes relating to policies, claims and billing, expects the company. "Adaptra's high-end business transformation and Guidewire expertise will complement our deep digital business, operations and systems capabilities, and further enhance our integrated solutions spanning the insurance life cycle," said Jayajyoti Sengupta, Head of Asia Pacific, . This is the fourth acquisition for Cognizant this year, especially focusing on adding capabilities in the digital business segments. In January, the company said that is acquiring KBACE Technologies, a global consulting and technology services company specialising in cloud strategy, implementation and integration and a leading Oracle Cloud partner. In July, it announced the acquisition of Idea Couture, a Toronto-based digital innovation, strategy, design and technology services company. In November, it announced the acquisition of Netherlands-based digital marketing and consumer experience agency Mirabeau BV to expand its digital business capabilities in the country and across Europe. However, the value of any of these acquisitions was not revealed. While it has also acquired a 49 per cent stake in ReD Associates, a leading strategic consulting firm specialising in the use of human sciences to help business leaders better understand customer behaviour, in April, the company said that it does not consider it as an acquisition and called it an exclusive strategic partnership. Cognizant currently has over 100 development and delivery centres worldwide and approximately 255,800 employees as of September 30, 2016. Founded in 1998, Adaptra specialises in consulting, programme management, and implementation of core platforms such as Guidewire to enable insurance to drive improvements across key functional areas such as underwriting, policy administration, claims management and billing. This helps insurers to increase speed-to-market, transform core processing to improve customer experience, drive competitiveness and product differentiation, and empower agents to digitally engage with customers. With recent announcement of Demonetization, digital payment wallets have gained immense traction and among the likes of FreeCharge and MobiKwik, seems to be leading the market with a majority. Anil Ambani-promoted looks to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore through its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), for which the company filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on Friday. Proceeds from the InvIT, among other liabilities, would be used to pay premiums due to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the company said in its DRHP filed with the stock market regulator. Japanese multinational SoftBank, with more than $3 billion investments in Indian businesses, is expected to scale up its pace of funding through the coming months. While the Masayoshi Son-led company, focused on funding internet-based businesses and in the for its proposed $100-billion vision fund, has been slow to invest in Indian firms this year, Deep Nishar, managing director, Group International, told Business Standard in an interview on Thursday that, 2016 is not over yet, in an indication that an announcement may be in the offing. Opening up about his sale of stake to Didi in China, Uber founder CEO on Friday said that it sold its stake to its rival as the battle in China became global, which made the US-based company decide to focus on other areas like Ubereats, driverless cars and markets like India. The company has in India and other markets rolled out a host of different features and services on the app. Mobile Services Ltd. approached the Delhi High Court on Friday against an October 21 recommendation made by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for imposition of a fine of Rs 1,050 crore for violating terms and conditions regarding points of inter-connection among mobile service providers. Exactly four years after the brutal December 16 gangrape case, a girl was allegedly raped in a moving car in South Delhi's Moti Bagh area on Thursday night. The 20-year-old girl was from Noida and came to Delhi in search of a job. The accused driver who was driving a rental car bearing a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sticker has been arrested by the police. After searching for a job the whole day, the girl was waiting for the bus around 9 pm on Thursday night near All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). A Maruti car stopped by and the driver offered her to drop to Noida. It is alleged that around 11 pm to 12 am near Moti Bagh area, the driver molested the 20-year-old and raped her. The girl managed to run away somehow and reached the police, who were patrolling near the South campus area. The PCR van took the victim to the police station and a medical check up was conducted. The accused driver had fled from the spot after leaving the car. The police has registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 357 and 376 and arrested the accused from his friend's house. Mount Coffee Hydro project steers Liberia into energy sustainability and economic growth The turning on of Mount Coffee Hydro project for the first time in 26 years has been billed as the biggest milestone accelerating Liberias economic gains and bringing life back to the streets of Monrovia. Mount Coffee Hydro Project was of several projects including the White Plains Water Treatment Plant, the Monrovia Consolidated School System and JFK Memorial Medical Center, U.S. President Kennedy promised to President William V. S. Tubman in the 1960s. Construction of the facility began in 1964 by the Monrovia Power Authority using Raymond Concrete Pile Company as the contractor and Stanley Consultants as the project managers. In 1966, the power company completed the initial phase of the dam and began generating electricity. The project was finished in 1967 and named the T. J. R. Faulkner W.F. Walker Hydroelectric Power Station. Initial generating capacity was 30 MW produced by two turbines, which was increased to 64 MW when two more turbines were added in 1973. The Monrovia Power Authority became the Liberia Electricity Corporation on July 12, 1973. In June 1990, the government announced plans to more than double the electricity generating capacity of the project and adding a reservoir to allow more generation during the dry season. The plans called for a new 4,000 feet dam to be built upriver on the Via River to provide storage capacity, while two 52 MW turbines would be added at the existing power generating plant. The US$300 million expansion was never begun due to the Civil War. Then came the civil war in 1990. The dam was ransacked, and left in ruins. And the future hope of Liberia's economy was dashed. Rebel forces under the command of Charles Taylor seized the Mt. Coffee plant in July 1990, halting production and causing the dam to breach. Approximately 180 meters of the 12.2 m high dam, which was founded on overburden, was eroded down to bedrock. Until construction, including lifting of the spillway gates, began in January 2014, uncontrolled discharge continued through the partially open spillway and, in the wet season, through the breach. With the shut-down of generation, the powerhouse was vandalized and virtually stripped of power generation equipment, and much of the gate equipment. The powerhouse cladding was also removed. The remainder of Liberia's electricity infrastructure was almost entirely destroyed during the conflict. Many residents of Monrovia either have to run their own generator for either businesses or homes. Only a privilege few - 3 per cent of the population of Monrovia have access to electricity generated from diesel and heavy fuel oil generators being regulated by the Liberia Electricity Corporation. The cost of electricity in Liberia is currently the highest in the sub-region (46kwh). This situation impedes economic development, and therefore the Government of Liberia has fully committed itself to the Mt. Coffee Rehabilitation Project. Rehabilitation of the Mt. Coffee hydro plant was identified as the best option for low-cost and sustainable energy generation in the near term. Following the restoration of peace, rehabilitation of Mt. Coffee was proposed as an important part of the reconstruction efforts led by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In 2011 the Government of Liberia requested financing for the project from the Government of Norway, KFW Development Bank of Germany, and the European Investment Bank. The Financing Agreement between EIB and the GOL was signed on December 28, 2012, for a concessionary loan in the amount of 50 million. Two Cooperation Agreements were signed between GOL and GoN on June 13 and July 4, 2013 in support of the Mt. Coffee Project Implementation Unit and the Hydropower Rehabilitation Project, respectively, for a total grant amount of NOK450 million. A Financing and Project Agreement was signed between KfW and the GoL on September 30, 2013, for a grant in the amount of 25 million. The Government of Liberia committed to providing $45 million and covering any cost overruns. Over the first two years of project implementation it became evident that the project budget was significantly under-estimated, as evidenced by the market response to tenders; cost increases also occurred due to the Ebola crisis of 2014 - 2015, and design optimization decisions agreed by the stakeholders. The Ebola crisis hindered the Government of Liberia's ability to provide the originally committed amount of US$45 million. Therefore, additional financing was sought in 2015. As a result, the Millennium Challenge Compact was signed between the U.S. Government and the GOL on October 2, 2015 for a grant towards the Mt. Coffee Project of $146.8 million including contingency, plus additional support for environmental/social activities. The Government of Liberia also requested additional financing of the Government of Norway and KfW. In response, an Addendum to the original Cooperation Agreement between the GoN and GoL was signed on December 1, 2015, for a grant of NOK 92 million, and a Supplemental Financing Agreement was signed between KfW and GOL for 30 million on November 26, 2015. In order to ensure full availability of financing, the GOL also requested EIB to provide up to an additional 20 million loan. The joint financing covered rehabilitation of the hydropower plant and reservoir, the construction of a 132/66 kilovolt (kV) substation at Mount Coffee, two 132/66 kV transmission lines between Mount Coffee and Monrovia, and the expansion of the two receiving substations in Monrovia. The project does not include distribution of the hydropower-based electricity all the way to households; this remains the responsibility of LEC. Development of the 225 kV transmission line from the Mount Coffee substation to neighboring countries continues to be arranged through the West African Power Pool (WAPP), in a parallel process. mtcoffeeliberia.com AUBURN An Auburn woman has been arrested and charged with a felony after police said a child found her stun gun and brought it to school. Collena M. Johnson, of 65 Wall St., was charged Dec. 14 with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child. According to the Auburn Police Department, Johnson knowingly possessed a stun gun an illegal weapon in New York state and on Dec. 5, a child was able to access the gun, which was not secure. The child then brought the stun gun to school where a school resource officer found and took the weapon without incident. "(The stun gun) was not secured in a way that children could be prevented from accessing it," Chief Shawn Butler said Friday of Johnson. "Fortunately, no one was hurt." Additional information was not immediately available. Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent Jeffrey Pirozzolo could not be reached for comment Friday. From showing black flags to RBI Governor Urjit Patel, to holding noisy demonstrations outside its office in the city, West Bengal's major non-BJP political parties intensified their protest against demonetisation targeting the apex bank, whose board met in the city on Thursday. Activists of the Congress threw security personnel into a tizzy, as they staged a noisy black flag demonstration at the NSCBI Airport when Patel was on his way back to Mumbai. At least 20 Congress workers surrounded his car shouting "Urjit Patel hai hai" and waved black flags. As Patel got out of the car, the demonstrators went near the official and tried to heckle him, blaming the RBI Governor for the "crisis in the country". The Central Industrial Security Force and West Bengal Police personnel somehow managed to escort Patel to safety inside the airport. The Trinamool Congress ministers and state legislators held a sit-in for the second consecutive day in front of the RBI regional office, protesting against insufficient supply of new currency notes in the state, while Patel was attending the apex bank's board meeting inside the building. Several Trinamool supporters along with the party heavyweights shouted slogans and waved black flags at the gate of the Reserve Bank, demanding a roll back of the central government's demonetisation of high-value currency notes. "It's strange what the (RBI) Governor should decide, is being decided by the Prime Minister. Total seven countries tried the demonetisation drive in history and all have failed miserably. What made them think it would be successful in a vast country like India," said state Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee. "The RBI Governor owes an explanation to the masses for snatching away their democratic rights. We demand an immediate roll-back of this decision," said Trinamool spokesperson Nirmal Ghosh. Accusing Patel of toeing the central government's political line, the CPI-M led Left Front also held a sit in protest in the morning near RBI's regional office. "It seems the RBI governor has been instructed to work according to the views of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government. This should not be the state of affairs of an institution like Reserve Bank of India," said Left Front chairman Biman Bose. --IANS mgr/ssp/vd China today took strong exception to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan during a children's summit, saying India must respect China's "core interests" to avoid "any disturbance" to the bilateral ties. "Recently in disregard of China's solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang told a media briefing here. "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that," he said, replying to a question on the Dalai Lama's presence in the opening session of the 'Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit', organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi's Children's Foundation on December 10. "The is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion," Geng said. The Chinese side firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him. "We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the clique, fully respect China's core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship," Geng said. China routinely protests world leaders meetings with the . This is the second time that China objected to the Dalai Lama's activities in India in recent months. Beijing objected in October this year to India's permission to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of southern Tibet. Early this month, China also objected to the visit of prominent Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Arunachal Pradesh, hoping that India would abide by consensus and refrain from taking any action that might complicate the boundary dispute. India also came under the criticism from Chinese official media over the Dalai Lama's visit to Mongolia following which Beijing was accused of imposing a blockade of the land-locked country. While China besides criticising Mongolia for permitting the Dalai Lama reportedly blocked movement along the Mongolia-China border, Beijing was also livid over the Mongolian Ambassador to India Gonchig Ganhold's appeal to New Delhi to help Mongolia to deal with China's countermeasure against Ulaanbaatar. India has said Mongolia can avail the USD one billion aid, which one of the Chinese newspaper Global Times termed it as a bribe. An article in the daily also warned Mongolia that it is "politically harebrained" to ask for New Delhi's support as it will further complicate bilateral ties. Exactly four years have passed since the night of December 12, 2012, when a young girl was brutalised and murdered by a bunch of rapists, in an incident that shook the nation out of its complacency and forced it to look at much more seriously than it had, ever before. The High Court on Thursday directed authorities concerned to map areas in the capital that are the leading polluters of environment. The court directive came after the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told it that stubble burning in Punjab had put about 9,000 tonnes of PM 2.5 particulate matter in air in October and November, leading to severe pollution in the city. The CPCB said burning of one tonne of dry paddy straw produces about 0.672 kg of PM 2.5 and 0.747 kg of PM 10, which do not dissipate easily from the environment. Every year, between October and November, Punjab farmers burn approximately 14 million tonnes of paddy straw, the report added. A division bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar termed the figures "alarming" and said an effective way to reduce air pollutants was to have more green cover. Stubble burning in Punjab has been blamed for air pollution in several parts of north India, particularly . The court said it wanted the figure for the average ambient air quality for by excluding the figures from Anand Vihar, which recorded the highest air pollution level in Delhi. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said Anand Vihar's high pollution level was due to the presence of a railway station, an inter-state bus terminal and chaotic traffic. The court directed Delhi Traffic Police to rectify and rationalise the movement of traffic in the area. The court posted the matter for further hearing on January 12, 2017. The court is hearing public interest litigation against increasing air pollution in Delhi. The ongoing sowing of rabi crop has been affected due to demonetisation as farmers are unable to buy quality seeds and fertiliser amid cash crunch, NCP supremo and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar on Friday said. Farmers initially supported the government's move, but later they became "unhappy" due to the paucity of new currency notes. Addressing Ficci's annual general meeting here, Pawar said the poor implementation of the move is taking away the intended benefits. The NCP chief pointed out that there is not enough cash in village co-operative banks on which farmers heavily depend. "There is very insufficient currency, money is not available to farmers. The approach of the Indian government, particularly after demonetisation, is something different towards cooperative banks," he said. "This will definitely impact the rabi sowing. If farmers are not able to purchase quality seeds and fertilizers, it will affect sowing," he noted. On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. On farmers' demand, the government later allowed purchase of seeds using old Rs 500 currency from central and state-owned seed companies as well as ICAR and agriculture varsities. The government has asked fertiliser companies to sell soil nutrients to farmers on a credit basis. India is one of the most generous countries for refugees, ensuring safety and employment to the displaced people in the best of her capacity, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. Yasuko Shimizu, the chief of mission for in India and the Maldives, who was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2015, said that the country has helped refugees by providing work permits and issuing long term visas. "India is one of the most generous countries for refugees. The country has given opportunities for such people to go for jobs by providing work permits. Although we give refugee cards to displaced people but the government here issues long term visas for them which is very helpful," Shimizu said. She said that the has taken several initiatives in collaboration with governments and local bodies on ground, to address issues concerning proper education for children belonging to such communities. "Education is one of the most important issues for refugee families. We should have assistance for refugee children so that they can easily access education at local schools," she said. Shimizu, who has served in various capacities at the headquarters in Geneva and for many field operations in Afghanistan, Russia and Uganda, took up her current post in June 2016. According to UNHCR Global Trends report, 65.3 million people (1 out of 113), were displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution in 2015. "Refugees are a result of political consequences in any country. We have been raising issues at the UN that humanitarian assistance cannot replace political concerns. "India has been tolerant with people of different backgrounds, ethnicity and cultures which is not the case with many other countries," she said. When asked about recent incidents of atrocities against African nationals in the capital city and the role of UNHCR during such incidents, Shimizu said, the lack of knowledge about culture in a different country sometimes creates problems. "The body keeps advocating with NGOs, police, university students on ground to sensitise people about the backgrounds and cultures refugees come from. It is important to see how individuals react to them in society. There needs to be an atmosphere where one can understand about the exchange of cultures. "It is not only the legal status that one should look at for refugees in other countries. Support to protect their life is also very important," she said. Over 100 (AAP) workers were on Thursday detained outside the Gujarat High Court for staging a demonstration ahead of a hearing on a petition on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's academic degrees. Nearly 200 workers protested outside the Gujarat High Court compound, shouted slogans and displayed placards, demanding the details of Modi's degrees be made public. "Police dispersed the party workers and detained nearly 100 of them, including senior party leader Kanu Kalsaria," the AAP Gujarat unit said in a statement. The police said the detained AAP workers were released later. The AAP workers assembled at the High Court before the hearing of a case related to Modi's degree obtained from the Gujarat University (GU). A petition was filed by the Gujarat University against a Central Information Commission (CIC) order to reveal the details on the degree. On April 29, the CIC directed the Delhi University and the Gujarat University to provide information to chief Arvind Kejriwal on the degrees earned by Modi in 1978 (graduation from DU) and 1983 (postgraduation from GU). In July, the Gujarat High Court put on hold the CIC's order that directed the GU to provide information on Modi's degree. The Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo had written a letter to the Information Commissioner asking for reason for alleged concealment of details related to Modi's educational qualifications. The letter was treated as an RTI application and subsequently the GU and DU authorities were asked to provide the details. In response to the CIC's directive, GU Vice Chancellor M.N. Patel divulged that Modi got a Master of Arts degree in Political Science. He was enrolled as an external student of the GU and obtained the degree in 1983, Patel said while expressing the inability to share the marksheet as the varsity cannot provide details of records beyond two decades. Pakistan has accused India of "sabotaging" efforts to normalise relations and using "flimsiest of reasons" to avoid talks, as it called on New Delhi to show "seriousness" in resolving the Kashmir issue. "The trajectory (of ties) has been down the slope. India has tried to do everything to sabotage every goodwill gesture that we made towards normalising relations," Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria told PTI. Asked about why the two countries could not resume talks in 2016, Zakaria alleged that India was using "flimsiest of reasons to avoid talks". "Every time there is a prospect for talks, they come up with a new excuse. They want to suppress Kashmiris and use the Pakistan card and border tension to hide their crimes against humanity" in Kashmir and also for "playing domestic politics", he claimed. Asked if 2017 will be better for bilateral ties, the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman said it depends on the "Indian attitude, Indian intransigence and Indian behaviour to improve the security situation in the region". "Most importantly, they should also immediately stop the bloodshed in Kashmir," he said. "India should show that it is ready for talks. It should show seriousness to resolve Kashmir," Zakaria said. Noting that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had said on the sidelines of Heart of Asia summit in Pakistan last year that peace process would continue and no incident would be able to derail the talks, Zakaria said since the Pathankot attack, India has been using it as a pretext to "run away from talks". "Though, they have no proof against Pakistan," he added. Zakaria said Pakistan is not using issues like the arrest of "RAW operative" Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has allegedly confessed involvement of India in "perpetrating and financing" terrorism, to avoid dialogue with India because it believes that all contentious issues can be resolved through dialogue. Responding to a question about the calm prevailing along the line of control (LoC) following Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's India visit this month, Zakaria said, "the LoC calm was temporary. It was due to the international pressure after the United Nations, the United States of America and several other countries urged for lowering tension." Zakaria claimed that Pakistan has done everything to create a conducive atmosphere for revival of talks. "On the contrary, India remained busy in vitiating the atmosphere and always scuttled Pakistan's efforts. It did so in November by sabotaging the SAARC summit. The summit was not about politics but about improving the socio-economic condition of the entire region. Then it showed same attitude during the Heart of Asia conference," he alleged. NIA is likely to file a comprehensive charge sheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack next week, naming Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, along with his brother Rauf Asghar, as accused. The charge sheet is likely to highlight the role of Jaish terror group in spreading mayhem in India and refer to the nefarious plans of the outfit, sources said. Immediately after the Pathankot incident, Rauf had hosted a video message claiming the responsibility for the terror strike and glorified the role of his brother Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. India will be using the charge sheet of NIA at various international fora to highlight the role of Masood Azhar in the case relating to the Pathankot terror strike carried out on January 2 this year. Launch of a diplomatic offensive against the Jaish and its chief Masood Azhar became an imperative after China continued to spurn efforts of India in getting UN sanctions against the terrorist and his group. The Home Ministry had given sanction to NIA to file the charge sheet against Azhar, his brother and two handlers of four terrorists Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The four terrorists, after entering into India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur, had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base killing eight people including seven personnel of IAF and NSG. The charge sheet will name four terrorists involved in the attack as against six claimed by NSG. According to NIA, the terrorists, who were killed after two days of gunfight, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum and they were residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) of Pakistan respectively. The charge sheet will also include evidence of linking the footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal besides matching of DNA sample found from a soft drink can in the hijacked car of Punjab Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The Pathankot terror strike had seen a joint investigation team from Pakistan also arriving in India for carrying out a thorough probe. However, the Pakistani team, upon their return, claimed that India neither shared much of evidence nor allowed it to interrogate the security personnel involved in dealing with the attack. Punjab's 20-Day 'crop stubble burning' is getting perilous. Delhi High Court was informed on Thursday that the crop scorching is yielding about 10,000 tonnes of particulate matter, including 9,000 tonnes of PM 2.5. PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated. According to a report in Indian Express , Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was directed by a bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice Ashutosh Kumar to conduct a study on emission amount released by the burning. Around 14 million tonnes of paddy remnant had been burnt by farmers in Punjab between October and November 2016. This report reveals that each tonne of crop residue emits 0.74 kg of PM 10, which included 0.67 kg of PM 2.5. This is only Punjab, what about emissions from UP, Haryana, Rajasthan? Is there anything that can undo this accumulation of PM in the air? asked the bench after the report was revealed. Seeing the precarious impact, Delhi High Court has now asked the Punjab government to file a report on the steps being taken to halt . CPCB has been asked to create an action plan to diminish the pollutants. The bench has also asked the NCR Planning Board (NCRPB) to take the data collection as a representation. The NCRPB is expected to look into the issue of in NCR to mitigate pollution levels. Meanwhile, Punjab government has already initiated sporadic measures to mitigate the growing pollution problem. Recently, it has tried banning agricultural waste burning and threatened to close down steel mill factories which have not installed air pollution control devices. An inmate who was found hanging by his bed sheets at the Cayuga County Jail last week has died. According to Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould, on Friday, Dec. 9, custody officers were conducting bed checks at around 10 p.m. when they discovered a 34-year-old inmate had hung himself in his cell. The "out-of-state inmate" who was transferred to the jail two days prior was immediately transported by ambulance to Auburn Community Hospital where he was treated for several hours. However, the man died from his injuries Saturday morning. While the United States Marshals Service confirmed the deceased was a federal inmate being held at the jail, officials could not immediately comment on the case. In a phone interview with The Citizen Friday, Gould said an investigation deemed the inmate's death a suicide the first suicide at the jail since Gould became sheriff nearly a decade ago. "I commend our staff of corrections officers and our facility nurse for doing everything possible to save this person's life," he said. Gould said the inmate had been placed in a private cell when he arrived at the jail. The inmate had also been evaluated by a mental health representative, who "raised no red flags." "Every time someone enters the facility, there is a suicide check list that we go through," Gould said, noting that custody officers also conduct bed checks every half hour. "Everything was done according to our rules and regulations." The Supreme Court on Friday will continue the hearing in the Adarsh Housing Society case after the Bombay High Court expressed its dissatisfaction over a Central Bureau of Investigation report on benami flats in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society. The CBI had moved the special CBI court for permission to investigate alleged benami transactions by some of the accused and for certain irregularities pointed out by the Justice (Retired) JA Patil Commission. In July, the apex court had directed the Defence Ministry to 'secure' the Adarsh building until any call was taken on its demolition, after residents of the apartments at the posh Colaba area of South Mumbai for Kargil heroes and war widows filed a batch of petitions. Earlier, the Bombay High Court had ordered demolition of the apartments and sought initiation of criminal proceedings against politicians and bureaucrats for "misuse" of powers, holding that the tower was illegally constructed. The on Friday will hear the plea filed by Delhi University Professor Nandini Sundar, who has been named as an accused in the alleged murder of a tribal person in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government had earlier assured the that it will not arrest Sundar. The state government told this to the apex court division bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur and also comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel while replying to the plea filed by Sundar. While telling the court that no coercive action would be taken against Sundar, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the state would submit to the court its report in a sealed cover before the next date of hearing on November 15. Earlier, refuting charges of murder Nandini Sundar said it was part of the state police's vendetta against all researchers, journalists, lawyers and activists who have been critical of their fake encounters and mass gangrapes, adding that she would take up the matter legally. "It's part of the Chhattisgarh Police's vendetta against all researchers, journalists, lawyers, activists who have been critical of their fake encounters, their mass gangrapes of women and the complete lawlessness of the police. This FIR against us is absurd. We haven't even been to the area for five months. We will be taking it up legally," Sundar said. Sundar and 10 others have been booked for the murder of a tribal in Sukma. Sundar has been named in a complaint by the wife of Shamnath Baghel, who was killed by Maoists last Friday in his village in Maoist-hit Bastar. Baghel had been leading a campaign against Maoist activities since April and had recently formed the "Tangiya (axe) group". Baghel and other villagers had in May lodged a complaint against Sundar and others for allegedly inciting tribals against the police. With the year coming to an end, Indians are now planning for their next year and Singapore, Bali and Malaysia continue to remain on top of the list in 2017, according to a report. "Singapore, Bali and Malaysia is likely to remain top of lists in 2017," according to global travel search engine Skyscanner's Travel Trends report. Skyscanner's Travel Trends Report is an analysis of three years' data from Indian travellers, dating back to 2013. The report revealed that among the countries listed, Singapore records the highest growth with a whopping 202 per cent average increase in searches since 2013. The Lion city-state draws the attention of travellers from across India due to relaxed visa regulations, diverse culture and its multitude of tourist attractions. Skyscanner expects continued growth in 2017, with its easy flight connections and multiple airlines flying to Singapore. The report revealed that Australia, South Africa and select European cities are aspirational destinations. Australia has emerged as an ambitious contender for the top spot with 67 per cent increase in searches since 2013, it added. Other countries that made top five are Malaysia (46 per cent), Maldives (22 per cent) and South Africa (11 per cent), respectively. While Malaysia and Maldives have been popular holiday choices in the past, South Africa coming in the top five underlines the Indian travellers' adventurous streak to seek uncharted destinations, it opined. Similarly, Skyscanner's data has placed Bali as a favoured destination in 2017, with 35 per cent recorded average growth in searches in the past three years. Whether a solo trip or a family holiday, the travel search engine anticipates Bali to remain on top due to relaxed visa regulations introduced in 2016, it said. Bihar became 'spirits-less' in 2016 but was not less on news as incidents like the toppers scam, a road rage incident involving a politician's son and murder of journalists made headlines, albeit for wrong reasons. On the political front, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar managed to keep his 'grand alliance' flock together though there appeared to be some fissures in the latter part of the year. Nitish's support to the Centre's demonetisation move upset Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress. The two supported a nationwide bandh on November 28 even as the Janata Dal (United) kept itself away. Trinamool Congress President and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's dharna in Patna on November 30 invited further criticism for Nitish. Supported by RJD, whose vice president Raghubansh Prasad Singh and state president Ram Chandra Purbe shared dais with Banerjee, the TMC chief in an oblique attack on Nitish called him "gaddar" (traitor) for supporting demonetisation. Bihar, which had drawn widespread criticism over mass cheating in 2015 matriculation examination, had a worse time this year with the surfacing of the toppers scam. A media expose brought to light a racket in the Bihar School Examination Board under which a student was made topper in different streams in exchange of handsome cash. During a media interview, Arts topper Ruby Rai pronounced her subject political science as "prodikal science" which she said was related to cooking. She was not the only black sheep, Science topper Saurabh Kumar too expressed ignorance about electrons and protons and could not figure out the link between water and H2O. Chairman of the state exam board Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh; his wife Usha Sinha, a former JD(U) MLA; mastermind of the racket Bacha Rai and others were arrested. After re-test of first 10 rank holders in varied streams, results of Rai, Kumar and third ranker in science, all from Bishundeo Rai college of Hajipur, were cancelled. RJD MLA from Nawada Raj Ballabh Yadav was arrested in a case of alleged rape of a minor girl in Nalanda. The party suspended him. Bihar also witnessed the worst kind of road rage incident in Gaya. Trigger happy Rocky Yadav, son of JD(U) MLC Manorma Devi and RJD baddy Bindi Yadav, shot dead 19-year-old student Aditya Sachdeva for daring to overtake his SUV on May 7. With the incident drawing shame, JD(U) suspended Devi and all the three were arrested. The Patna High Court granted Rocky bail but the state government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and he returned behind the bars. Fulfilling his pre-poll promise, Nitish declared Bihar to be a dry state on April 5 replacing the British-period Excise Act of 1915 with harsh penal provisions. The new excise law banned spiced and domestic alcohol as well Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Some amendments in the legislation were expected to come up in state Legislative Assembly during the winter session but it did not happen as the government said it was still seeking legal opinion. The April liquor law which promised to strictly enforce the 1991 regulations on toddy (palm drink) that prohibited the opening of liquor outlets within 50 metres of schools, colleges and hospitals in urban areas and 100 metres in rural areas invited sharp criticism from the Democratic Alliance (NDA) and also some other allies. RJD chief Lalu Prasad, whose party is the largest constituent in the coalition with 80 MLAs, also sought concessions on toddy after which it was clarified there was no ban on the palm drink. The government said on the pattern of Tamil Nadu it would promote "Neera" (palm drink before fermentation) in place of alcoholic toddy from next year. There was also a tragic part to the liquor ban. Nineteen people died after consuming hooch in Motihari on July 19 raising question marks over the efficacy of the liquor law as there were several incidents of alcohol smuggling. Apart from imposing prohibition, Nitish also launched "seven resolves", promising electricity, drinking water, toilet and road to every household and areas in the very first year of his government in the office. There were also several attacks on journalists. In July, the murder of a vernacular newspaper journalist Rajdeo Ranjan rocked the state. Some close associates of controversial RJD leader Mohammad Shahabuddin were arrested in connection with the case. Another journalist of a vernacular daily Dharmendra Singh, who had reported on illegal stone chips units, was also shot dead. BJP and its NDA allies used these incidents to claim the return of "jungle raj" (a euphemism used for bad law and order situation during 15 years of RJD rule). But Nitish dismissed the charge and pointed to Crime Record Bureau's latest report, which ranked Bihar 22nd on nationwide crime chart to assert that rule of law prevailed in the state. The state government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the bail to Shahabuddin, who after coming out of Bhagalpur jail on September 10 made caustic comments on Nitish calling him "circumstantial Chief Minister." He was back to Siwan jail on September 30 after the apex court cancelled his bail. The Shahabuddin issue led to a war of words between the RJD and JD-U. Lalu Prasad defended him saying he did not make any derogatory remarks. Raghubansh added fuel to the fire through his vitriolic comments on Nitish. The attacks drew sharp protest from JD(U) whose two senior ministers Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan asked Lalu to rein in rogue elements. Congress sided with Nitish and asked RJD to follow coalition dharma or quit. Bihar also witnessed some incidents of extortion demand from doctors and some kidnapping cases for ransom. Rescue of two trader brothers of Delhi who were lured to a jungle in a Naxal-hit area, from Lakhisarai on October 26 came as a welcome news. Nitish went on "Nishchay Yatra" in November, crisscrossing the state to take feedback on prohibition and seven resolves. President Pranab Mukherjee gave degrees to the first batch of students of Nalanda University at a convocation on August 26. has crippled sales and earnings of fast-moving consumer goods, durables and automobile companies. Companies like Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Asian Paints have told tax officials their sales took a beating due to the high-denomination note recall on November 8. Consumer major Hindustan Unilever on Thursday reported a decline of nearly 10 per cent in its advance tax outgo for the third quarter to Rs 560 crore from Rs 620 crore in the same period a year ago. Asian Paints saw a mere 2.7 per cent year-on-year increase in advance tax for Q3FY17. Advance tax collections from top consumer goods companies are disappointing, as their sales seem to have been affected by . They have communicated this with us, an income-tax official said. Advance tax is a system of staggered payment of income tax in four quarterly instalments and is considered an indicator of a companys performance in a given quarter. Auto companies have shown subdued numbers. Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Autos advance tax outgo was down 17 per cent to Rs 575 crore, against Rs 700 crore in Q3FY16, while Mahindra & Mahindras payment remained unchanged at Rs 300 crore. Similarly, commodity players tax payments, too, are down, thanks to . Cement major UltraTech paid Rs 220 crore as advance tax, down 12 per cent from the year-ago period, while Tata Steels advance tax payment was down over 11 per cent, year-on-year, at Rs 400 crore. Top corporates have paid less advance tax in this quarter, except Reliance Industries (RIL). A pick-up in global crude oil prices allowed RIL to increase its tax outgo by over 10 per cent to Rs 2,600 crore, against Rs 2,355 crore same period last year. Had it not been for RIL and the three oil marketing companies Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil the picture would have looked grim. For instance, if these four companies are excluded from the combined figure of 43 companies, the rest 39 companies combined tax payment is up just 3.7 per cent. Together, the 43 companies advance tax figure is up 10.1 per cent at Rs 27,322 crore. These companies figure among the top 100 corporate in terms of advance tax payments. Software services major Tata Consultancy Services paid Rs 1,540 crore, against Rs 1,600 crore in the same quarter last year. India is developing a brand new short-range, ballistic missile called the Agni-1P, equipped with cutting-edge technologies. This will replace the old Prithvi and Agni-1 missiles that are still the workhorses of our land-based nuclear deterrent. The Opposition unity over demonetisation, which developed at the start of parliament's month long winter session, showed signs of cracks as the SP, BSP, NCP and the Left parties skipped a joint march to President Pranab Mukherjee on the last day of the House. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh were part of the Opposition delegation including TMC, RJD, JD-U which petitioned the President against note ban and told him how the government did not allow them to speak on the issue in the Lok Sabha. People queue up at an ATM to withdraw cash at Connaught Place in New Delhi (Photo: PTI) Even after over a month of demonetisation, cash starved people continued to queue up outside banks and ATM kiosks on Thursday while the Union government said it was focusing on printing new Rs 500 notes to ease the liquidity situation over the next 2-3 weeks. Continuing the crackdown on black money, the Income Tax Department raided two branches of a private bank in the national capital region unearthing 20 fake accounts while officials recovered Rs 10 crore from several lockers of a bank in Pune. Serpentine queues at banks and ATM kiosks have become a daily affair since the Narendra Modi government's November 8 decision to spike high-value currency notes. There was no change in the routine across the national capital as people from all walks of life endeavoured to lay hands on much needed cash. There were also altercations among the customers and officials after some of the bank branches ran out of money. Many customers complained that they were never informed if there was any cash left or not. In what may be a respite for the masses, the Finance Ministry on the day said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was now focusing on printing of Rs 500 notes which would ease the liquidity situation. "In 2-3 weeks, the situation will ease out because of the focus on printing of Rs 500 notes," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told media persons here. Das also clarified that the government has no intention of printing new notes worth the entire Rs 15.44 lakh crore, that were in circulation in high denomination notes before . "The remonetisation will be as per requirement. There is no target that we have to reach (print) Rs 15 lakh crore," he said, adding that by December-end, the government would have put about 50 percent of Rs 15.44 lakh crore in circulation. Das said that initially the focus was to supply enough Rs 2,000 notes so as to replenish the demonetised notes as soon as possible. He also said that large amount of seized notes will also be put back in circulation as soon as possible. He said the process of distribution has been further streamlined with printing presses being linked to distribution areas nearer to them. For making adequate cash available in the rural areas, cooperative banks have been given enough money to provide for crop loans, he said. Das said that out of 2.20 lakh ATMs, over two lakh have already been recalibrated. Raiding the Axis Bank branch in Noida's Sector 51, IT official seized 20 fake accounts with deposits amounting Rs 60 crore. The Connaught Place branch of the bank was also raided by the department. The twin raids came days after another branch of the bank in Delhi's Chandni Chowk area was raided and 44 fake accounts with Rs 100 crore unearthed. Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said managing was a short-term challenge for the next few weeks and months and asserted the Indian economy is "very stable" at the macro level. "One of the challenges for the Indian economy in the short-term is to manage the fall-out. How do we manage demonetisation in the next few weeks and months," he said. The day also saw the government launch two incentive schemes for both consumers and merchants to boost digital payments. Announcing the twin schemes, Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the objective was to make digital payments a "mass movement". The Lucky Grahak Yojana would reward consumers through a daily as well as a weekly draw on transactions worth Rs 50 to Rs 3,000, with a maximum reward up to Rs 1 lakh. The Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana, meant for merchants, would have a maximum reward of Rs 50,000, Kant said. The schemes would commence from December 25, Christmas Day, and would conclude on April 14 -- the birth anniversary of Bhimrao Ambedkar -- next year with mega awards, Kant said. The government has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to re-examine the figures for the demonetised amount that has come back into the system. Double counting is possible, said Shaktikanta Das, economic affairs secretary. Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has asked the government to put in place a more transparent process in selecting auditors in banks, saying its demand is particularly relevant in the context of high probability of frauds in the lending institutions in the aftermath of demonetisation. The Rs 6,000-crore package announced by the government for the textile industry in July, and notified in September, would boost production and employment much later than it was estimated, textile manufacturers said. The Department of Telecom has issued notices to six telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications, for recovery of Rs 12,488.93 crore for underpayment of licence and spectrum usage charges, Telecom Minister today said. "Based on a CAG report, licence agreement and extant orders of DoT, demand-cum-show cause notices for Licence Fee (LF) for four financial years have been issued to the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)," he said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) conducted the audit of six private telecom service providers and submitted its audit report, the minister said. "As per this report, total under-reporting of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is Rs 46,045.75 crore for the period from 2006-07 to 2009-10. As per the report...Of Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the under-reporting of AGR lead to underpayment of LF/SUC, interest and penalty of Rs 12,488.93 crore," Sinha said. The financial impact due to understatement of AGR stood at Rs 3,728.54 crore for Reliance Communications, Rs 3215.39 crore for Tata Teleservices, Airtel (Rs 2,651.89 crore), Vodafone (Rs 1,665.39 crore), Idea (Rs 964.89 crore) and Aircel (Rs 262.83 crore), according to the CAG report. further said, there is a dispute between government and telecom service providers (TSPs) on AGR and TSPs are interpreting the definition differently in their own interest. "The TSPs are contending that only revenue under the licence must be taken for computation of AGR. The Licence Agreement has an all-inclusive definition of AGR. "The contention of the TSPs is not in consonance with that contained in the Licence Agreement and the stand of the government has been duly upheld by Hon'ble Apex Court in their considered judgement October 11, 2011," the minister said. Per capita debt calculated on the basis of Union Government Debt increased by more than 9% year-on-year to Rs 53,796 at March 2016 mainly on account of development expenditure to achieve higher growth. The per capita debt was Rs 49,270 at the end of March 2015, up from Rs 30,171 at March 2010. "As per Finance Accounts and data on population, per capita debt calculated on the basis of Union Government Debt as on March 31, 2016, was Rs 53,796 as against Rs 49,270 as on March 2015," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The interest paid on the debt was Rs 4,41,659 crore in 2015-16. The per capital debt, he added, "has increased primarily on account of developmental expenditure to achieve higher growth". The per capita burden of Union Government inter-alia includes external debt, internal debt and other liabilities. Jaitley further said the government has been following a comprehensive strategy to moderate growth in public debt through a policy of fiscal rectitude including, recourse to lower cost borrowings, phased introduction of active consolidation of debt, and encouraging non-debt creating capital flow. He said the reduction in to 3.5% of GDP in BE 2016-17 is designed with a mix of reduction in total expenditure as percentage of GDP and improvement in gross tax revenue as percentage of GDP. "With reprioritisation of expenditure towards developmental side and curtailing the growth in non-developmental expenditure, total expenditure is estimated to decline as percentage of GDP," Jaitley said. In another reply, he said in the 7th meeting of Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) held last month, the 'operation work plan' and 'funding plan' of the NDB for 2017 were approved, which, inter alia, target a lending of $2.5 billion during 2017. The NDB Board also approved a loan of $350 million to the India for the Madhya Pradesh Major District Roads Project to be implemented by MP Road Development Corporation. The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday decided to examine all aspects of . The apex court drafted nine questions and referred them to a five-judge Constitution bench. It also stayed the hearing of all petitions related to filed in various high courts, saying the SC alone will hear the petitions to avoid multiplicity of decisions. US president-elect on Thursday questioned the White House's motive over ordering an investigation into alleged Russian hacking of the Democratic Party's servers and emails of campaign officials of his defeated presidential rival Hillary Clinton. "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump tweeted. Trump's tweet comes days after the White House said President Barack Obama has issued orders for an investigation into alleged hacking by Russia or other countries into the servers of the Democratic National Committee and of emails of Clinton's presidential campaign aides. A day earlier the White House said Trump knew before the elections that Russia was behind the hacking. "There's ample evidence that was known long before the election and, in most cases, long before October about the Trump campaign and Russia -- everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. "It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved, and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign. That's why he was encouraging them to keep doing it," Earnest said. A secret assessment by CIA has concluded that Russia intervened in the election to help Trump, the Washington Post had reported, citing officials briefed on the matter. "You had the Republican nominee refer to the President of Russia as a strong leader. The Republican nominee chose a campaign chair that had extensive, lucrative, personal financial ties to the Kremlin," Earnest said. In an interview last week, Trump had accused the Democratic Party of using hacking as an excuse for its defeat. "I think, the Democrats and putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in the country," Trump said adding no one knows who was behind the hacking. will support "greater friendship" between India and Pakistan, a prominent Indian-American industrialist said on Friday as he met the President-elect and discussed issues ranging from growing India-US trade to relations with China and Pakistan. Shalabh Kumar, founder and president of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), met Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Trump's daughter Ivanka and sons Don and Eric and other senior officials from the incoming Trump administration at the Trump Towers on Thursday. "It was a great meeting," Kumar told PTI after the nearly 25-minute meeting with Trump at his luxurious headquarters in Manhattan. Kumar, who played a leading role in mobilising Hindus for US Trump and has been appointed to the Transition Finance and Inauguration committee, said the Trump administration is "looking forward to having a great relationship with India". Kumar said during the meeting, they discussed about mechanisms for increasing trade between US and India. "We also talked about policies with respect to China and with respect to Pakistan and how India views them," Kumar said. Kumar added that Trump is "very well aware" that terrorism is a big concern for India and "he is also confident in a way that he could persuade Pakistan to do the right things and actually create a friendship between India and Pakistan. Kumar further added that Trump will be "very straight" with Pakistan and if Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif focusses on development and education in his country, then even the RHC and the Trump administration is with Pakistan and will support it. Kumar said in the meeting they discussed that Pakistan needs to control terrorism and "the fact that if there was an opportunity to have greater friendship between India and Pakistan, he (Trump) will be for it." The Indian-American industrialist said both sides also discussed plans for creating a million to two million new jobs in the United States of America by increasing the trade between US and India. He noted that there is potential to increase bilateral trade from the 130 billion dollars a year currently to 300 billion dollars a year. Kumar said the issue of demonetisation also came up during the meeting that was also attended by Steven Mnuchin, Trump's pick for treasury secretary. "We also had Treasury Secretary-elect present throughout and he offered his views that they love the fact that (demonetisation) could take out corruption from India and India's economy could grow much higher at more than 10 per cent and double-digit rates," Kumar said. On China, he said they talked about how "Pakistan is dependent on China and Chinese money gets in there and that supports Pakistan." On the readout issued by Pakistan about Sharif's conversation with Trump, in which Islamabad said the US leader has talked in flattering terms about it, Kumar said it was "against protocol" for Pakistan to release what an American leader has said. "The Trump administration has not acknowledged that that is what he said (during his conversation with Sharif). (The readout) could be totally exaggerated," he said adding that there was displeasure over Pakistan revealing the contents of the conversation. On a possible meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kumar said no time frame is set yet for such a meeting but added that he is confident that the two will share a "strong friendship" and "will make great partners". He said issues of immigration and the H1B visa did not come up during the meeting. When asked by reporters if he is interested in joining the Trump administration as an ambassador or in any other position, Kumar said "we will see about that". He said his goal and mission was to help elect a businessman as president of the country and not a traditional politician "because that is what is needed in the country today. The focus is to "grow the US economy, grow the trade between US and India. In that respect anything that I can do, if I'm asked by Trump to be of any aid to him in any way I will look at it. Kumar said Trump and his team were "most appreciative" of the work the RHC has done in mobilising the Hindu-Americans in his favour. Trump and his officials "thanked for the support the Hindu Americans have provided for them." Trump will also express gratitude to the Hindu American community at one of his "thank you rallies" in Orlando on Friday, Kumar said. He expressed optimism that trade will "dramatically improve" between India and US under the Trump administration and there will be increased cooperation in areas of defence, energy and liquid natural gas. "US is not allowed to sell LNG to India but under a Trump administration that will be possible," he said. Kumar added that Mnuchin arranged for the meeting. Mnuchin had also played a key role in organising the 'Aab Ki baar Trump Sarkar' ad campaign close to the election. The is supporting the CIA's conclusion that Russia interfered in the presidential election with the goal of supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump. In a message sent to employees, CIA Director John Brennan said he had spoken with Director James Comey and James Clapper, the director of national intelligence. Brennan said in the message that "there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election." A US official who had seen the unclassified message from Brennan confirmed it to The Associated Press today. President Barack Obama is promising that the US will retaliate against Russia for its suspected meddling in America's election process, an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied. Outgoing US President asserted on Friday that a September confrontation with his Russian counterpart prompted Moscow to cease its hacking of the US election. During a meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China, CNN quoted Obama as saying that he insisted President Vladimir Putin to "cut it out" and told him "there were going to be serious consequences if he didn't". "In fact we did not see further tampering of the election process," Obama said at a year-end news conference. "But the leaks through WikiLeaks had already occurred." He unleashed a string of putdowns, describing America's Cold War adversary as "a smaller country, they are a weaker country. Their economy doesn't produce anything anyone wants to buy except oil and gas and arms. They don't innovate". Obama attacked Republicans for siding with an arch-enemy of the US because of their dislike of Democrats. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said of recent GOP praise of Russia. He warned, "Mr. Putin can weaken us just like he is trying to weaken Europe if we start buying into notions that it is okay to intimidate the press or lock up dissidents." Asked if Putin was personally implicated in approving in the election hacks, Obama described an apparatus tightly controlled by the man at the top. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," he said. "This happened at the highest levels of the Russian government." In terms of the relationship between his White House and the incoming Trump administration, Obama said there was no "squabbling" between them even amid a roiling debate over Russia's intrusion into the US election, CNN reported. The President noted he had made "some pretty specific suggestions" to successor Donald Trump about "maintaining the effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office". He has listened," CNN quoted Obama as saying. "I can't say that he will end up implementing, but the conversations themselves have been cordial as opposed to defensive in any way." He said the issue of Russia hacks should be confronted on a bipartisan basis. "What we have simply said are the facts," Obama said. "Based on uniform intelligence assessments, the Russians were responsible for hacking the DNC, and as a consequence, it is important for us to review all elements of that and make sure we are preventing that kind of interference through cyberattacks in the future." "That shouldn't be a partisan issue," Obama went on. "My hope is the President-elect is similarly going to be concerned that we don't have foreign influence in our election process." Despite his assurances, his White House has increasingly been engaged in an escalating rift with Trump's transition team over Moscow's intrusion into the US vote. In an interview with NPR that aired on Friday, Obama attempted a balance, saying it was clear Trump and his team knew what Russia's intentions were, but arguing the issue shouldn't become mired in partisan . "It requires us not to re-litigate the election, it requires us not to point fingers, it requires us to just say, here's what happened, let's be honest about it, and let's not use it as a political football but let's figure out how to prevent it from happening in the future," CNN quoted Obama as saying. He said that Russia's cyber meddling "was not some elaborate complicated espionage scheme", arguing instead that a hyperpartisan political environment led to an obsession with leaked e-mails. "I'm finding it curious that everybody is suddenly acting surprised that this looked like disadvantaging Hillary Clinton because you guys wrote about it everyday," Obama said. "This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage." Overall, Obama contended, Clinton was "treated unfairly" in the presidential contest. "I think the coverage of her and the issues was troubling," Obama said. On China, where Trump has called for a different course, Obama said it was "fine" to re-examine the longstanding "One China" policy, which spells US recognition of Taiwan as a part of China, CNN reported. But Obama said it was essential Trump familiarise himself with the consequences of his moves, saying his team should be briefed by current officials. "What I have advised the President-elect is that across the board on foreign policy, you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way," Obama said. "He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience." All Alicia Mattie and her loved ones want for Christmas is a bone marrow match for her. And they hope her Santa is somewhere in the Auburn community. A marrow donor registry drive will be held Monday at Holy Family Church to find a match for Mattie, 45, who has myelodysplastic syndrome. Anyone in the area age 18 to 44 and in good health is encouraged to come, have their cheek swabbed and see if they're a match for the Auburn woman. Mattie, nee Mucedola, grew up on State Street in Throop, said her husband, Matt Mattie. She worked as an auditor for KPMG until she and Matt had their daughter, Celia, about 15 years ago. Wanting a more flexible schedule, Alicia then became an independent contractor, auditing for local school districts. She was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome when she was 15, Matt said. The condition, which the American Cancer Society says affects 4.8 in every 100,000 Americans, is commonly preleukemic and also known as "bone marrow failure disorder." At first it took the form of infections, which Alicia could fight by taking antibiotics. Two and a half years ago, Matt said, Alicia was diagnosed with cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation stopped it, but the treatment damaged Alicia's bone marrow to the point that she now depends on blood transfusions twice a week. A resulting bout of sepsis in early October required Alicia to be airlifted to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, where she was induced into a coma for two weeks. According to her doctors, Matt said, Alicia needs a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. "She's in a state where she just needs to get a new immune system," he said. "And you get a new immune system through a bone marrow transplant." Matt and Alicia are traveling to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan to get a second opinion this weekend, he said, and trying to schedule an appointment at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, as well. They'll be back in Auburn by the time of Monday's registry drive. Matt will attend, but Alicia won't be able to because her immune system is too weak, he said. Awareness of the drive has spread thanks to social media, Matt said. Suggested by neighbor Vicki Casper, its word has been shared by her husband, Auburn Police Department Capt. Paul Casper, as well as Auburn Fire Department Capt. Brian Scanlan, a college friend who works with the Boy Scouts and several Auburn businesses. Matt said prospective donors need to be either a 50- or, more ideally, 100-percent match with Alicia. Donors also can't have heart or autoimmune diseases, or a history of cancer. As Alicia is fully Italian, those with the same heritage, such as family, are at a higher probability of being a 100-percent match. However, Matt continued, she has yet to find one not her brother, not Celia, and not one of the 30 million people in the National Marrow Donor Program's worldwide registry, Be the Match. For that reason, Matt hopes Auburnians take the time this holiday season to get their cheek swabbed and see if they're Alicia's match. "If you can save a life," he said, "that's got to be a pretty fantastic thing to be able to give someone." US President Barack Obama on Friday said that Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran were responsible for "deeply frustrating" Syrian crisis that "haunts him daily". He condemned the situation, harshly accusing the Syrian regime, along with Moscow and Tehran, of slaughtering civilians in during his last scheduled news conference of 2016 on Friday before heading off on a two-week family vacation in Hawaii, CNN reported. "We have seen a deliberate strategy of surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," Obama said. "Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone: the Assad regime and its allies Russia and Iran," Obama declared. "The blood for these atrocities are on their hands." The President led off the traditional Q-and-A session by touting his achievements from his time in office, starting off by noting that Thursday saw the biggest number of Obamacare sign-ups -- 670,000 people -- in a single day, CNN added. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that it was due to this "extraordinary demand" that the deadline to sign up for coverage beginning on January 1, 2017, has been extended until December 19. The news comes just weeks ahead of lawmakers reconvening for the new session of Congress on January 3. Republicans intend to move swiftly to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act through a budget reconciliation bill. The end-of-year meeting with reporters in the White House briefing room has become an annual tradition -- a chance for the President to reflect on the successes and failures of the past year and begin to set the agenda for the next. The Maxforce is the European Union (EU) team that ordered Ireland to collect billions of euros in back taxes from Apple, rattled the Irish government, and spurred changes to international tax law. Youd think it might have earned the name by applying maximum force while investigating alleged financial shenanigans. It didnt. Its just led by a guy named Max. A European Commission official gave the nickname to the Task Force on Tax Planning Practices in honour of its chief, Max Lienemeyer, a lanky, laid-back German attorney who rose to prominence ... When a suspected Russian cybercriminal named Dmitry Ukrainsky was arrested in a Thai resort town last summer, the American authorities hoped they could whisk him back to New York for trial and put at least a temporary dent in Russias arsenal of computer hackers. was up 6% to Rs 670 on the BSE in intra-day trade after the Neotel said it has received unconditional approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) for acquisition of Neotel by Liquid Telecom. Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the announcement of the next army chief would be very soon. Parrikar along with three service chiefs paid tributes to the bravehearts who laid down their lives during 1971 India-Pakistan war on the occasion of Vijay Diwas. "I don't have to stress the importance of the day. It's a day when we achieved a decisive victory and created a new country," Parrikar said. On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani forces General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops had surrendered unconditionally to the allied forces consisting of Indian Army and Mukti Bahini, led by General Jagjit Singh Aurora in Dhaka after their defeat in the war. The end of the war also resulted in subsequent secession of East Pakistan into Bangladesh. Special programmes are also being organised at the headquarters of the Eastern Command at the Fort William in Kolkata to celebrate the day. Led by Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, a 72-member delegation of war veterans and Mukti Jodahas from the neighbouring country will take part in Vijay Diwas celebrations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday paid tributes to those killed in the 1971 Liberation War by placing a wreath at the National Memorial, marking the 46th Victory Day. A contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force also presented arms on the occasion when bugles played the Last Post. Ministers, leader of the opposition in Parliament, state ministers, chiefs of the three services, members of parliament, freedom fighters, diplomats, representatives of different development partners and high civil and military officials, among others, were present at the ceremony. Victory Day marks the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent, sovereign country in 1971 and its secession as East Pakistan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, when Pakistani occupation forces were defeated after a nine-month war. The Eastern Commander of Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, and his 93,000 soldiers surrendered to the allied forces of freedom fighters and Indian Army at Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka. One of the most violent wars of the 20th century, it witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the killing of three million people. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Congress highlighting the plight of the farming community and submitting a memorandum in this regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that the grand old party that has ruled the nation for almost 60 years must introspect its action before putting the onus on others. BJP's Siddharth Nath Singh said that the Congress has every right to raise the issue of farmers with Prime Minister Modi, but only if they introspect and realise that they themselves could not deliver on their promises made to the farming community. "There is nothing wrong in democracy, if the opposition wishes to meet the PM and raise the issue. But when you are going to raise an issue, you have been in the government for last 60 years and in those 60 years, what have you delivered to the farmers and particularly when you talk about irrigation facilities," Singh told ANI. "You must introspect that why after ruling India for 60 years you could not deliver. And if they have realised that they have done a mistake and they could not deliver, they have all the right to raise the issue with the Prime Minister," he added. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi along with other senior party leaders met Prime Minister Modi earlier in the dayand gave him a memorandum while highlighting the farmers' woes. According to reports, the memorandum included farmers' demand like loan waiver schemes and other issues. The memorandum also listed the problems faced by the farming community due to the government's decision to demonetise high-value currency notes. The opposition leaders are also scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee this afternoon to put forth their concerns in this regard. They are also expected to highlight the government's attitude in the month-long Winter Session of Parliament which is headed for a washout. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Sanjay Gandhi Animal Park here is concerned about the condition of animals because of the cold weather. "To cope up with chill, the zoo administration has arranged for heaters to be installed near the lion's cage, bulbs to keep snakes warm, blankets to cover chimpanzees and many other arrangements. The animals are also being fed Chyawanprash and eggs, etc," said the park staff. Patna is currently in the grip of a cold wave, which has hampered the lives people and animals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi Police on Friday said it would try to file a chargesheet as soon as possible in the Moti Bagh rape case in which a 20-year old girl was allegedly raped in a moving car in South Delhi's Moti Bagh area. Deputy Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said the police would also request for a trial in a fast track court. "We will try to file the chargesheet as soon as possible and request for a trial in a fast track court.The victim had come here in search of job. The accused who drives a shared car offered to drop her. She doesn't know much of the roads of Delhi. The driver took her to a secluded place and raped her. When the driver went to ease himself, the girl came out of the car," Singh told the media. Singh said the police provided assistance to the victim, who later on identified the area where the incident took place. "Our road patrol car spotted her and she narrated the entire incident. The police in the car informed the police station and our emergency response vehicle. The victim identified the spot where the incident took place. We immediately sent her to hospital for medical examination," he added. The 20-year-old girl was from Noida and came to Delhi in search of a job. The accused driver who was driving a rental car bearing a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sticker has been arrested by the police. After searching for a job the whole day, the girl was waiting for the bus at around 9 p.m. last night near All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). A Maruti car stopped by and the driver offered her to drop to Noida. It is alleged that around 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. near Moti Bagh area, the driver molested the 20-year-old and raped her. The girl managed to run away somehow and reached the police, who were patrolling near the South campus area. The PCR van took the victim to the police station and a medical check up was conducted. The accused driver had fled from the spot after leaving the car. The police has registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 357 and 376 and arrested the accused from his friend's house. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MISS: To an alleged robbery in downtown Auburn. Police: Auburn pair jumped 72-year-old man in parking garage, stole wallet Two Auburn men are facing robbery charges after they allegedly attacked an elderly man and s Police said that two young men jumped a 72-year-old in the city parking garage and stole his wallet. Both of the suspects have been charged with crimes in the past, but neither appears to have learned his lesson. HIT: To cutting edge programming at Auburn High School. Auburn tech students show off robots, projects to school board AUBURN Justin Herrling, a technology teacher at Auburn High School, said the country is se Students and technology teachers this week demonstrated some of the things they've been working on for members of the school board. Some have been working on building robots while others have been learning the ins and outs of operating a sawmill. The idea is to give students practical hands-on experiences that translate directly to the job market. MISS: To a repeat offender for sending sexually explicit messages to a teenager. Man sentenced for sending sexual messages to Cayuga County teen A Liverpool man has been sentenced to prison for sending sexually explicit text and Facebook The Liverpool man was convicted of third-degree rape two decades ago for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old. More recently, he admitted having sexually charged electronic correspondences with a girl he knew to be 14 years old. He was sentenced to three to six years in prison. The mother of his victim said the event has left the girl traumatized. In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said "demonetisation drama" is not a fight against corruption and black money rather "it is an attack on honest and poor people" who have worked hard to earn their money. Taking a barb at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been claiming that the demonetisation drive as a surgical strike on black money and corruption, the Congress vice-president said the government's decision to scrap Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes turned out to be a "firebomb" thereby affecting the poor people. "Narendra Modi launched a new marketing scheme, saying that it was a surgical strike on corruption and black money. But this was not a surgical strike, it was a firebombing on poor people," he said while addressing a rally in Goa's Margao district. He said in the last two and a half years of the Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, 1 percent of the rich have acquired 60 percent of the country's wealth and the poor have been left in lurch. "All cash is not black money and all black money is not cash. Demonetisation has only targeted the poor and the cash economy of our country," he said. "In Modiji's cashless economy, 5-6 percent of cash will magically disappear from every transaction and the 1 percent super-rich will get it," he added. He said in the last two and half years, Prime Minister Modi's waived off Rs 1,10,000 crore loans of the rich people and post demonetisation the Prime Minster waived off liquor baron Vijay Mallya's loan worth Rs 1200 crore. He said the Congress Party is ready to support if the government is serious in eradicating corruption in the country. "The Congress wants to eradicate corruption from country. If the NDA government wants to take a step against it, the party will give its 100 percent support," he said. Rahul Gandhi's statements came on a day when he met Prime Minster Modi, earlier today, to ask him to waive off farmer's loan, who have been severely affected by demonetisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vector Retail has announced the launch of a unique digital platform built for the trading of luxury products and services called PlushDoor (www.plushdoor.com). Established by three INSEAD Alums Suresh Singh, Saurabh Srivastava and Arun Kumar Pathak under the guidance and advisory of Mr. V. "Paddy" Padmanabhan (Unilever Professor of Marketing, INSEAD), Mr. Arun Bhatia (renowned industrialist), Mr. Rajiv Vij (Founder, Carzonrent), Mr. Daljit S. Sethi (Chairman, Aura Art), PlushDoor will be an online aggregator platform which will evolve into a luxury ecosystem offering the best luxury brands across the ecosystem. PlushDoor is starting operations with six Verticals - Luxury Automobiles, Jet Services, Luxury Yachts, Art and Paintings, Luxury Housing, and Lifestyle products. Based on the market feedback, the plan is to expand the list of articles, brands, verticals, and geographies. According to various research reports, the luxury segment in India has been growing at a brisk pace of 25% CAGR and has reached 18+ billion USD in 2016, showing a lot of promise. The enabling factors are Awareness, Global Convergence, Rising Income, Aspirations, and Accessibility. But there are still big gaps in the luxury market like quality of retail space, very high rentals, trained manpower, limited geographical reach, and poor ROI. PlushDoor aims to plug these gap by playing a key role in addressing these issues on their digital platform, which is specifically built for trading luxury products and services only. "Luxury is actually a mindset and an aspiration. We want to be in the minds of people, be a partner and reason for their happiness. PlushDoor has the potential to make a paradigm shift in the way Customers buy and sell luxury Products and Services" says Saurabh Srivastava, Founder of PlushDoor. Given that the platform will be targeting a niche' segment, "PlushDoor is extremely selective and stringent about the brands they bring on board. PlushDoor will only partner with Authorized Sellers or Manufacturers. All the Products listed on the platform are either directly from the Authorized Manufacturer / Distributor or in case it is pre-owned then certified by the Authorised Agency / Distributors. Needless to say, unlike the ordinary marketplaces, PlushDoor will not follow the discounting model" emphasized Suresh Singh, Founder PlushDoor. PlushDoor will adopt a multichannel strategy to engage with its clientele'. Based on the 'Click & Mortar' model, PlushDoor is merging the online and offline channels to offer Customers the benefits of exploring numerous possibilities by showcasing multiple brands at one place enabling fast online transactions clubbed with traditional face-to-face service adds Founder, Arun Pathak. Customers will have an option to purchase Products online or select the Products online and collect them at the store. The objective is to provide Customers with an enhanced shopping experience providing more choices, greater flexibility, convenience and better service. PlushDoor has already collaborated with the some of the top International and Indian brands in the Automobile, Aviation, Luxury Yacht and Boats, Real estate, Art and Paintings, Designer wear and Lifestyle segments. An individual Customer can also sell on PlushDoor. In some categories like Automobiles, Vintage cars, Art and Housing, an Individual can approach PlushDoor for selling his/ her item which is routed through their authorized Partners and can be listed on PlushDoor for sale. The advantages of PlushDoor .Less cost intensive .Buyers and sellers can access it from anywhere .Scalable .Available 24x7 .More measurable (ROI) .Less time intensive for sellers . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. Karunanidhi has been admitted to Kauvery hospital in Chennai last night on complaints of difficulty in breathing. The hospital issued a statement saying that Karunanidhi was readmitted with breathing difficulty due to throat and lung infection, adding that he is stable and being treated. Karunanidhi's daughter and Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu Kanimozhi told ANI that Karunanidhi had some lung infection and breathing difficulty, adding that he is much better now. This is for the second time that the 93-year old DMK chief has been admitted in a gap of one week. He was first admitted to the same hospital on December 1 for optimisation of nutrition and hydration and was discharged after he improved substantially. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The State Bank of Pakistan giving a disappointing picture of the economy has said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country has fallen by 45 percent year-on-year to USD 460 million in the first five months of the current fiscal. The bank said earlier on Thursday that the inflows were mainly dominated by two countries - China and Turkey, reports the Dawn. The government, which has been announcing massive changes in the economy, earlier claimed to have set everything on track but has failed miserably in attracting foreign investments. It was hoped that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would help attract more FDI, but the investment is still declining. Inflows from China plummeted 58 percent to USD 156 million in July-November. China became the biggest trading partner of Pakistan during the last three years, but Islamabad remained at the bottom of the list of countries in the region receiving FDIs. Turkey made an investment of USD 126 million which placed the country in the list of second-largest investor in Pakistan, but this was a one-time investment since FDI in the same period of last fiscal was USD 15.8 million. FDI inflows from the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States were USD 63 million, USD 39 million and USD 60 million respectively while the rest of the investments were much less than USD 30 million. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lauren Jauregui recently turned to social media to apologise for missing Fifth Harmony's concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 20-year-old songstress tweeted in Portuguese, promising to make it up to her beloved fans. "My dear Brazilian harmonizers, I'm sorry I couldn't see you all. I didn't get on the plane on time and because of this I had to go to Atlanta," the message reads in English. "I promise you I'm going to do everything for you because I love each of you with all my heart. I'm sorry," she wrote. Jauregui's absence comes shortly after she was stopped at Washington Dulles International Airport after a staffer discovered marijuana in her carry-on luggage. However, she was not arrested. "Lauren Jauregui was not arrested and detained as reported, but simply given a citation for possession of marijuana and released on her own recognizance," told Dina LaPolt, attorney for the girl band. "She will address the matter appropriately through the legal system. This will not interfere with any future scheduled performances or activities," the attorney quipped. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan batters on Thursday came out with yet dismal performance as the Misbah-ul-Haq led side once again find themselves on backfoot in the ongoing first Test of the three-match series against Australia here at the Gabba. After staging a spirited comeback in the first session on Day Two and reducing the hosts to first-innings total of 429, Pakistani batsmen didn't live up to expectations as the Men in Green were reduced to 97-8 at stumps on second day. Such was the sorry state of affairs for the Pakistani batsmen that only three could reach the double figures. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmad, who is still unbeaten at 31 along with left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir (8*), is the top scorer so far for Pakistan. For Australia, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood took three-three wickets each while Jackson Bird scalped the other two. Earlier, resuming the day at 288-3, the Steve Smith-led side faced some impressive bowling from Pakistan, especially from the pacers and were reduced to 380-9. However, the final-wicket stand of 49 runs between Nathan Lyon and Bird helped the hosts reach 429. Amir and Wahab Riaz both bowled quality spells to the Australian middle order, finding pace, bounce and just enough movement to find a series of outside edges. Amir's figures were his best since returning to the Pakistan side. During the course of the Australian innings, overnight batsman Peter Handscomb played a fine knock of 105. Smith, who yesterday scored his 16th ton, went on to 130 before throwing his bat at a Wahab delivery going across him. Pakistan, still trail by 332 runs and need another 112 runs to avoid the follow-on. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after facing embarrassment due to BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani's outburst against the government's attitude in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attempted to divert the attention of his critics while accusing his predecessor and Congress leader late Indira Gandhi of snubbing the demonetisation recommendation suggested by the Niranjan Nath Wanchoo-led committee. Sources quoted the Prime Minister as saying, "Indira Gandhi told Y.B. Chavan that don't you want to contest polls? This was Congress plank but they did not implement." Meanwhile, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari urged all leaders in the Rajya Sabha to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. Prime Minister Modi earlier today urged the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure that corruption and black money is rooted out of the country. A delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. The Winter Session of Parliament has been a washout with both sides not permitting the other to speak. While the opposition accused the government of being insensitive to the common man, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dug up Agusta Westland matter to charge the Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India has launched an ambitious program of installing 100 GW of solar power under National Solar Mission by 2022 making solar energy as one of the fastest growing industry. However, there is an acute shortage of skilled and unskilled manpower at different levels to meet the demands of the growing industry. Hence, there is an urgent need for specialized training programs to develop skilled human resources in the field of Solar Photovoltaic design; installation and maintenance. Skill Council for Green Jobs, Government of India, New Delhi is making all efforts to ensure for the proper development of training programs for the development of skilled manpower meeting specific requirements of booming solar industry under Suryamitra program. Solar Radiation Resource Assessment, National Institute of Wind Energy under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in association with Iacharya Silicon Limited (ISL), Chennai has developed an online training program in Hindi & English under Public - Private partnership at an affordable training fee of Rs.599. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) an autonomous R&D institution under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to serve as a technical focal point for orderly development of Wind Power deployment in India. It is a unique research organization in the whole of South Asia. With the focus to promote and accelerate the pace of utilization of Wind Energy and to provide the entire gamut of services to enable Wind Energy penetration in the electricity generation mix, NIWE continuously strives to improve the infrastructure, hardware, software and highly trained expert manpower. All the stakeholders would get a great deal of information in this NIWE's cyber presentation about the whole range of Research, Technical, Consultancy and Training activities of this Institute. Most of the services are ISO 9001:2008 compliant. Skill Council for Green Jobs is one of the most recently launched initiatives of the Government of India aligned to the National Skill Development Mission. It is promoted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The creation of the SCGJ was approved in the-10th meeting of National Skill Qualifications Committee held on 28th September 2015. Established as a not-for-profit, autonomous, industry-led society, the SCGJ was incorporated under the Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860 on 1st October, 2015. Iacharya Silicon Limited (ISL) is MNRE channel partner and TEDA approved solar PV installer and has been aggressively installing roof top PV systems under Net Metering policy of the state. So far they have successfully installed over two Megawatts of rooftop SPV systems in Tamil Nadu and other states and another one Megawatt is under execution. Iacharya has a 20 percent market share on the residential on-grid solar market in TN and is a leading installer of Government rooftop segment. ISL is a renewable energy engineering, training and consultancy company specializing in photovoltaic solar design, online and face-to-face solar training and PV system audits. ISL's expertise includes both grid-connected and stand-alone renewable energy resources. Overview of the course The training is designed as a two-week course and covers various aspects of solar PV feasibility studies, basics of design, installation, operation and maintenance of solar power plants. The course will be delivered online in a combination of lecture / PPT / multimedia / video formats, including design exercises, case studies and virtual onsite installation videos. Successful candidates shall have vast opportunities for employment in the growing solar industry. The course will enable participants to effectively work on design, integration and management of solar power projects. It also prepares candidates to become new entrepreneurs in the Solar Energy sector. This certificate will be a valuable addition for people already working in the solar industry looking to update themselves with current best practices. It is suitable for installers, engineers, ITI / diploma holders, project managers and electricians. The course is currently being offered in Hindi and English and is priced at Rs. 599. Successful candidates will receive a joint certificate from MNRE and Iacharya. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra Police on Friday seized unaccounted cash worth Rs. 41 lakh in new currency of Rs. 2000 and Rs. 100 from Karanja here. Till now, the police have arrested 11 people in the matter. "During checking we intercepted three cars. 11 people were travelling from Nagpur to Karanja. Rs. 41 lakh were seized from them, we have arrested the accussed," said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Ratnakar Nawale. The case is being investigated by the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suggesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "read history and also the history of his party whose leaders sided with the British", Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday said for them (the Congress) the nation is always first, the trouble is Modi ji doesn't know history nor is he interested in knowing it, but he should remember what his ideological masters did in 1947. "For us the nation is always first. Modi ji should read history and the history of his party, whose leaders sided with the British. He said BJP is the only party which is nationalist and all others are anti- . Trouble is Modi ji doesn't know history nor is he interested in knowing it. Modi ji should remember what his ideological masters did in 1947. They were on the same side as the British. They opposed Congress's freedom struggle. For them, organisation is first, and the nation is second," said Sibal, while addressing a press conference here. Sibal said today, Modi ji has forsaken both nation and his party; he is busy trying to show his own image on TV. "Modi ji mentioned the Wanchoo Report of 1971 and said, YB Chavan told Indira ji that there should be demonetisation." "I don't know how far and to what extent the new policy will be able to affect the person for whom it is intended. One thing is clear a large number of people belonging to the middle and lower middle classes will be hit hard on account of the demonetisation of the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. While we Congressmen have no sympathy for profiteers and dealer in the black market, it is not right to penalise honest Indians, who in good faith have their savings in notes of demonetised value. These are the words of Dr Rajendra Prasad. Does Modi ji want to call Dr Rajendra Prasad a scamster? That he was anti- " Sibal asked. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi said Indira Gandhi rejected suggestions for demonetisation in 1971, saying she wanted to win elections, but that resulted in poor economic condition in the country. Alleging that Indira Gandhi sold out India by ignoring advice to demonetise, Prime Minister Modi said, "She told her finance minister Y.B. Chavan: are no more elections to be fought by Congress?" Stressing that the implementation of demonetisation policy was required in 1971, but it was implemented now, the Prime Minister, hitting out at the opposition at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, said, "For the Congress, party is bigger than nation; but for us, the nation is above the party." "The Congress listens to the people as crores of honest people have been rendered helpless by the Modi Government due to demonetisation. Today, people are in lines to withdraw money; ATMs are empty and there are no notes in banks. At the wholesale vegetable and fruit markets, business has more or less stopped. In the Prime Minister's own constituency, people are being rendered jobless. Who is benefitting?" asked Sibal. "Modi ji knows that if one uses Paytm to make payments, from that two percent goes to Paytm. Whose earnings get hit? the small trader. So, exactly whom Modi ji is helping? Who is benefiting from this decision? Whose nation are you defending," asked Sibal. "Did Chanakya say that a ruler should lie? We want to ask which party has the most black money? Modi ji should ask himself that. If Modi ji wants to fight black money, he should start from his own party," he said. "When Modi ji was giving speeches before 2014, were people paying him in cheques? We want to ask who was paying him in cheques and which cheques are used to pay 'Shakhas'? In Jhandewalan, are all payments made in cheques? Are all these meetings with helicopters and big marquees, which Modi ji is attending, are paid for in cheques? From which books are these payments being made? When talking about black money, Modi ji should look at his own house," said Sibal, adding that those rich people, with black money, quickly bought dollars and gold paying a small commission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Matthew Wolford initially wanted to visit Uganda because he has always liked to travel and saw an opportunity to visit someplace unlike anywhere he had visited before to learn about new cultures, meet new people, try new foods and perhaps make a difference in the community in which he was placed. Now, more than halfway through his time in the landlocked eastern African country, the 2012 Skaneateles High School and 2016 Union College graduate said he has learned much about himself, the country and how much of an impact innovative ideas can make. "My next goal with this lesson in mind is try and identify problems present here in Uganda, or even in my community back home, then try to figure out an innovative way of solving them," Wolford said through email. For now, his immediate goal is spending money donated to Engeye Scholars the organization with which Wolford and a Union College classmate work by State Street Intermediate School where Wolford's mother, Ellen, is a fifth-grade teacher toward furthering Engeye's educational initiatives at its center in the country. With his mother's fifth-graders leading the way, State Street raised $1,200 through a school-wide coin drive that collected pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters over a four-day collection and counting lesson that included some paper money but a vast majority of change. "I was absolutely shocked when I heard that the student raised so much money," Wolford said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a small elementary school would be able to raise so much money." He said Engeye operates a medical clinic that sponsors some of the brightest children in the community to attend some of the best schools in the area. Almost all of the other children attend a primary public school in community, but there is no public secondary school that he knows of. With that in mind, Wolford said he and his classmate hope to use some of the money to upgrade Engeye's center and library with items such as a chalkboard and white board, pencil sharpener, more pens and pencils for students and notebooks for the literacy project. Engeye will also use the funding, he said, to purchase school materials and textbooks for the students the clinic sponsors. "I think it's fantastic that kids at such a young age are getting involved and inspired to help out others," Wolford said, noting people in the United States are often oblivious to the plight of people around the world. "I think it's so incredible that these kids have taken the initiative and helped to increase access to education for kids in the community where I live." Wolford is living and working in Uganda on a post-graduate Minerva fellowship through Union College that the college offers to graduating seniors. The fellowship is based on the principle of social entrepreneurship, he said, meaning businesses that provide social benefit for their communities. Though applicants do not get to choose where they are placed, Wolford said Uganda happened to be his first choice anyway. Other fellows are placed in Cambodia, Ecuador, South Africa and Ghana. In Uganda, his works falls into three main categories: clinical work, the library and literacy initiative, and other projects. Wolford said his typical day starts at 8 a.m. when he and his classmate tally the health statistics for the patients seen at the clinic the day before. Those figures are reported to the Ugandan health ministry on a weekly and monthly basis but also tracked to anticipate demand for certain drugs at certain times of the year, such as stocking up on malaria medication around the rainy season. Wolford finishes off his morning by helping out around the clinic as needed getting malaria smears or performing dipstick and HIV tests on patients at the laboratory or pulling and filling prescriptions at the pharmacy. Then, he and his classmate open the library a remodeled bunkhouse that was turned into a library and artisan's center and begin their work there. That includes planning lessons for their reading groups, communicating with and sending reports to Engeye and other parties, and checking in with the artisans who are starting businesses at the center. Wolford said the library is used by clinic-sponsored students to work, read and interact. There is also a literacy program for any child in the community willing to participate. Half of the space is used by artisans that make crafts and clothing and then sell them to groups that visit Engeye's center. Wolford said he is currently training two local men to repair their water boreholes, and he and his classmate are working with two local women on starting businesses in the community by creating business plans and getting the materials needed to get started. The idea for turning the bunkhouse into a library, he said, started with Engeye after the organization wanted to do something with the space now that it has separate housing for each staff member. Most of his first month in Uganda involved converting the building: dismantling bunk beds, cleaning the entire building and then moving all of the books and materials into the new space. A biomedical engineering major in college, Wolford said he hopes to one day work in the medical equipment field. Though his fellowship isn't directly related to that career goal, it has helped prepare him to work in that field. "It has given me great insight into the flow and day-to-day functioning of a clinic and some of the problems faced by healthcare providers," he said. Of his impressions of Uganda, Wolford said he is "continually shocked" at how a third-world country can be advanced on one hand yet lack certain basic infrastructure on the other. He has reliable 3G wireless internet available on his phone where he lives, but almost everyone in the community obtains their water from an unfiltered borehole. But, another of his impressions may prove to be the most long-lasting and drive him the most in his future work at home and abroad. "The beautiful people in Uganda are incredibly optimistic and cheerful," he said. The Congress, which today took the demonetisation war to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, accused the government of breaking all morals of democracy while holding the ruling dispensation responsible for disrupting the proceedings in Winter Session of Parliament. "They broke all the morals of democracy. The government is entirely responsible for this. We presented a memorandum to the President of India. We told the President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament on the problems faced by farmers, small traders etc., but the government did not allow. We tried our best so that the demonetisation issue is discussed in the adjournment motion," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told the media. Kharge said the opposition wanted discussion in any form so as to tell the government about the nation's plight due to the demonetisation move. "Earlier it used to say that the opposition is obstructing the proceedings of Parliament, but after a week we agreed to whatever they said. But the government objected to everything," he added. Congress president Sonia Gandhi led a considerably whittled down opposition delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee over the government's decision to ban 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and its impact on the people. The Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal (United) and RJD also joined the grand old party in lodging a formal protest over the government's demonetisation drive to President Mukherjee. This came hours after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submitted a memorandum to him while highlighting the plight of the farming community. Gandhi said Prime Minister Modi has accepted that the situation of farmers is critical in the country, but did not commit anything on waiving off their loans. This come as the month-long Winter Session has been a virtual washout as opposition parties and the government clashed primarily over the move to ban high-value currency notes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition-dominated Pakistan Senate has passed the 'Panamagate bill' with slight amendments and it will now go to the National Assembly, where the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz enjoys majority, for approval. Amid barbs traded between members of both the treasury and opposition benches, the bill was passed with 37 votes in favour and 15 against on Thursday, reports the Dawn. Jehanzaib Jamaldani of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal sided with the government while sitting on the opposition benches and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) abstained. The bill moved by the opposition will become law only after it's passed by National Assembly where PML-N has the numbers to reject it. Ayesha Raza Farooq's amendment to add Bahamas leaks and other sources in the purview of the bill was rejected by the house thorough voice vote. The bill titled 'Panama Papers Inquiries Act 2016', introduced by the opposition in the Senate on September 26, has been pending before the standing committee on law and justice, headed by PML-N's Javed Abbasi, because of a deadlock between the government and the opposition. It proposes a judicial commission to investigate the setting up of offshore companies by hundreds of Pakistanis, including the children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as revealed by the Panama Papers leaks. Terming the bill as useless, the government is opposing it and has pointed out that the Supreme Court has already taken up petitions of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and others on the issue. The bill suggests a forensic audit of all the money sent abroad through secret channels. The proposed law makes it binding upon all those whose names have appeared in the Panama Papers to provide the commission access to their bank accounts. It contains all the terms of reference proposed by the opposition for the commission, which the government has already rejected. The bill binds the commission to first investigate Prime Minister Sharif and his family before proceeding against the other Pakistanis involved. However, the text avoids naming PM Sharif or his office, instead referring to: "the inquiry against a respondent, who publicly volunteers himself and his family for accountability or who publicly admits holding of offshore assets, along with his family, shall be completed and submitted in the first instance". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals, is once again recognised as one of the world's best employers by the Top Employers Institute, attaining the 'Top Employers Asia Pacific 2017' certification for the fourth consecutive year. It has also achieved 'Top Employers 2017' certifications in five of the company's key Asian markets, namely China, India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice President, South Asia and ANZ and Lee Min Yin, Senior Director, Human Resources, Asia Pacific along with employee representatives from SABIC collected the accolade at an official certification dinner hosted by the Institute in Singapore. "SABIC firmly believes that our employees are one of our most vital assets and this certification is an affirmation of our efforts to be in the forefront of employee engagement, development and career progression. Relying on innovation, with ingenuity and collaboration at its core, we are a preferred employer in the Chemical industry," said Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice President, South Asia and ANZ, SABIC. "We can innovate for the future because we invest in our people. They are the ones who drive solutions forward, support our growth and help us remain competitive. To ensure the development of SABIC's human capital, we focus on recruiting the right talent and building a strong workforce with diverse backgrounds, opinions and ideas. To retain talent, we work on creating a culture of empowered, engaged teams working in an inspiring environment," said Lee Min Yin, Senior Director, Human Resources, Asia Pacific, SABIC. This is the seventh consecutive year that SABIC has earned the 'Top Employers' certification in China and the fourth consecutive year of receiving the certification in India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore - a sound validation of the company's dedicated efforts towards its employees. The Top Employers Institute globally certifies excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people. Participating companies must meet the required high standard in the stringent process in order to achieve the certification, which includes an independent audit. Areas of assessment includes talent strategy, workforce planning, on-boarding, learning and development, performance management, leadership development, career and succession management, compensation and benefits and culture. Within SABIC, periodic organizational health checks conducted at the global level provide performance assessments of its human resource practices and processes, indicating the areas for improvement to support the company's drive to be the employer of choice. A successful initiative SABIC administers during the past five years, as part of talent development and building a strong pipeline for leadership roles, is a platform for its Generation Y employees to work on cross-functional cross-region projects that are beyond their usual scope of responsibility. Such projects allow early-career employees to have opportunities to engage with peers and leaders globally, hence broadening their understanding of the company, heightening their confidence level and widening their personal network. In turn, SABIC's leaders gain an increased visibility and understanding of young talents who are being cultivated within the organization. As one of the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturer and material solutions provider, SABIC's employees are encouraged to make a difference through their work. Its employee value proposition themed 'People Who Can', is designed to inspire current and potential employees to create a more innovative, more sustainable and more exciting future for customers and for the world. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the plea filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a proper policy on consumption of liquor in the country. The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur asked Upadhyay to go to the government and seek relief as the BJP is ruling at the Centre. "You came up with petitions after petition, who was financing you? Is the government financing you? Why did not you go to the government with your prayer for relief?" the bench admonished. Upadhyay had earlier knocked the doors of the apex court seeking a liquor policy, on the amount of liquor that can be consumed by a person. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday will hear the plea filed regarding the appointment of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) interim Director R. Asthana. The plea, filed by NGO Common Cause, has alleged that the Centre took a series of steps in a "completely malafide, arbitrary and illegal manner to ensure that Asthana was given the charge of CBI director". The PIL contends that after Anil Sharma's term as the CBI director came to end on December 2, and it was incumbent upon the government to convene a meeting comprising of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and Chief of Justice of India for the appointment of a new director. "However, the government took a series of steps in a completely mala fide, arbitrary and illegal manner to ensure that Rakesh Asthana was given the charge as CBI Director," the petition stated. Listing these steps, it said that just two days before incumbent Director Anil Sinha was to step down on December 2, 2016, Special Director R.K. Dutta was transferred to the Home Ministry by creating a post of Special Secretary, upgrading by two layers, the post of the joint secretary. The PIL says that this was done to hamper the chances of Dutta stepping into the shoes of Sinha as he was number two in the hierarchy of the investigating agency. The petition stated that the Central Government did not convene meeting of the selection committee even though it was fully aware that Sharma was going to demit the office of CBI. "This deliberate dereliction was in complete violation of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, as amended by the Lokpal Act, 2013," it stated. Asthana had earlier held several important positions in Gujarat Police. He was also part of a Special Investigative Team (SIT) set up by the Gujarat Government to probe the Godhra train burning case. The petition alleges that the government wanted to appoint its own choice as interim CBI Director "even if it meant bypassing the statutory law, the norms of propriety, and the directions contained in the Vineet Narain's judgement". "The judgment in Vineet Narain's case had clearly held that the tenure of CBI Director would be two years. This was to ensure that there is no ad-hocism in the appointment and functioning of the CBI Director," the petition states. "Therefore, the petitioner submits that the government must be directed to comply with the mandate of the law and call for the meeting of the selection committee as per the DSPE Act, 1946 as amended by Lokpal Act, 2013," the petition added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday will hear the plea filed by Delhi University Professor Nandini Sundar, who has been named as an accused in the alleged murder of a tribal person in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government had earlier assured the Supreme Court that it will not arrest Sundar. The state government told this to the apex court division bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur and also comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel while replying to the plea filed by Sundar. While telling the court that no coercive action would be taken against Sundar, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the state would submit to the court its report in a sealed cover before the next date of hearing on November 15. Earlier, refuting charges of murder Nandini Sundar said it was part of the state police's vendetta against all researchers, journalists, lawyers and activists who have been critical of their fake encounters and mass gang rapes, adding that she would take up the matter legally. "It's part of the Chhattisgarh Police's vendetta against all researchers, journalists, lawyers, activists who have been critical of their fake encounters, their mass gang rapes of women and the complete lawlessness of the police. This FIR against us is absurd. We haven't even been to the area for five months. We will be taking it up legally," Sundar told ANI. Sundar and 10 others have been booked for the murder of a tribal in Sukma. Sundar has been named in a complaint by the wife of Shamnath Baghel, who was killed by Maoists last Friday in his village in Maoist-hit Bastar. Baghel had been leading a campaign against Maoist activities since April and had recently formed the "Tangiya (axe) group". Baghel and other villagers had in May lodged a complaint against Sundar and others for allegedly inciting tribals against the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Friday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not letting party vice-president Rahul Gandhi present the proof he has against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament. "If Rahul Gandhi has nothing to say, why is the BJP not allowing him to speak in parliament? This simply means they are afraid of him, afraid of what he will say and present in front of the world. It is undemocratic," said Congress leader Rizwan Arshad. Arshad said the government should not be involved in such disruptions. The Congress vice-president on Wednesday said he had "detailed" information about Prime Minister Modi's "personal corruption". "That information is personal information about Narendra Modi which I want to place in the Lok Sabha. It is personal corruption of the prime minister... the PM is not allowing us to speak," Gandhi said at a press conference along with NCP, Trinamool, RSP and DMK leaders after the Lok Sabha was adjourned. "The PM is personally terrified of me being allowed to open my mouth inside Lok Sabha because I have information...that is going to explode his balloon," he added. However, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir rubbished the claim saying, "Nobody takes Rahul Gandhi seriously, because he himself is not serious. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Winter session of Telangana state legislature is all set to commence today in Hyderabad. The demonetisation of high denomination notes and the measures that are being taken for online banking transactions will be discussed in the assembly today on the first day of the session. Chief Minister Chandrasekhara Rao has informed the TRS MLAs that the ruling party will be supporting the Centre's decision on demonetisation, while taking part in the debate. However, he said the treasury benches will also explain the hardships that people are facing due to the decision. The Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the Legislative Assembly has decided at a meeting held yesterday to extend the duration of the Question Hour from the present one hour to one half hours. The opposition Congress, TDP, MIM, BJP and others also proposed to discuss issues like farmers' problems and students' tuition fee reimbursement programme during the session. The government is expected to introduce seven bills including a new legislation on land procurement for irrigation projects and the Private Universities Bill. The session will initially have 12 sittings till December 30 and if necessary, it will be extended further. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At meeting held on 16 December 2016 Suzlon Energy announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its Meeting held on 16 December 2016 (which commenced at 12.00 p.m. and concluded at 1.30 p.m.), has approved the appointment of Sanjay Baweja as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, with effect from 19 December 2016. Kirti Vagadia will continue in his position and will focus on strategy, shareholder and board related matters at the Group level. Sanjay Baweja is not related to any of the Directors of the Company. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Claris Lifesciences jumped 8.31% to Rs 388.25 at 10:30 IST on BSE after the company announced the sale of its global generic injectables business to Baxter for $625 million. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 24.13 points or 0.09% at 26,509.35. Huge volumes were witnessed on the counter. On the BSE, 17.12 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with an average daily volume of 2.45 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 430.10 and low of Rs 386.20 so far during the trading session. The small cap company has equity capital of Rs 54.57 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10. Claris Lifesciences announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with Baxter International Inc. for the sale of its global generic injectables business for a total gross consideration of $625 million. Claris Lifesciences announced that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held yesterday, 15 December 2016 approved the sale and transfer of the injectable business of the company by way of sale of the subsidiary companies, namely, Claris Injectables Limited, Claris Pharmaservices, Elda International DMCC, Claris Lifesciences Inc., Claris Lifesciences (UK) Limited, Claris Lifesciences (Aust) Pty. Limited, and Claris Lifesciences Philippines, INC. Claris Lifesciences said that injectible business has been growing rapidly over the last few years and has attracted significant interest. The injectable business had contributed revenue of Rs 623 crore in Claris' consolidated revenue for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY 2016), which is 78% of the company's total revenue. The expected date of the completion of sale is within 12 months. Claris intends to repatriate a significant majority of the net cash proceeds to the shareholders. Baxter International is a US based company which provides a broad portfolio of essential renal and hospital products. Claris Lifesciences' consolidated net profit jumped 169.9% to Rs 32.39 crore on 0.7% decline in net sales to Rs 192.13 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Claris Lifesciences is the holding company of Claris Injectables. Claris Injectables is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Claris Injectables dealing in specialty injectables business. Claris Lifesciences also has minority stake in Claris Otsuka Private Limited, a joint venture with Japan's Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Inc. and Mitsui & Co. for Infusion business in India and emerging markets. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Under ESOS CRISIL announced that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board of Directors has approved grant of 324,100 stock options to the employees of CRISIL and its subsidiaries at an exercise price of Rs. 2,180.65 (Rupees Two Thousand One Hundred Eighty and Sixty Five Paise) under Employees Stock Option Schemes. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scheme become effective from 01 April 2015 Nitin Alloys Global announced that the Honorable High Court of Judicature at Bombay had on 13 October 2016 approved the Scheme of Arrangement for demerger of the Castings Business of Nitin Castings Private Limited ('the Demerged Company') into Nitin Alloys Global Limited ('the Resulting Company') and their respective shareholders ("Scheme"). The Company has received the certified copy of the order of the Hon'ble High Court sanctioning the Scheme on 13 December 2016. This Scheme was approved by the Shareholders of the Company at the Court Convened Meeting held on 20 June 2016. The relevant Form INC-28 for making the Scheme effective has been filed with the Registrar of Companies on 15 December 2016. Accordingly, the Scheme shall be effective from the Appointed Date i.e. 01 April 2015. The Company will also upload the said order on its website. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tata Communications rose 4.94% to Rs 662 at 9:45 IST on BSE after the company's subsidiary, Neotel received unconditional approval from ICASA for its acquisition by Liquid Telecom. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Senses was up 3.87 points or 0.01% at 26,522.94. On the BSE, 65,013 shares were traded on the counter as against the average daily volumes of 1.25 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 669.65 and a low of Rs 635 so far during the day. Tata Communications said that this is another step towards closing of the transaction. Tata Communications had announced on 28 June 2016, that Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecoms group, majority owned by Econet Wireless Global, had entered into an agreement to acquire South African communications network operator Neotel, which is a subsidiary of Tata Communications. Thereafter, on 8 November 2016, Tata Communications had informed that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held on 8 November 2016 recommended to the shareholders of Neotel, the sale of the entire shareholding in Neotel, subject to approval of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Tata Communications' consolidated net profit tanked 64.4% to Rs 39.96 crore on 0.2% decline in net sales to Rs 4509.09 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. Tata Communications owns and operates the world's largest and most advanced subsea fibre cable network. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Yes Bank announced that it has necessary approvals from the board of directors and shareholders to borrow/ raise funds in Indian/foreign currency by issue of debt securities including but not limited to non-convertible debentures, MTN (Medium Term Notes), bonds upto Rs 10000 crore by the bank, in one or more tranches on private placement basis from time to time. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Accordingly, the Capital Raising Committee (CRC) of the board would consider the proposal to raise funds by issuing debt securities on private placement basis, including the terms of the issue. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) said that all the necessary formalities for closure of acquisition of 100% equity stake of Ocular Technologies, Sarl have been concluded and it has successfully completed the acquisition of Ocular Technologies, Sarl. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Tata Communications announced that the company vide letter dated 28 June 2016, had informed to stock exchange that Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecoms group, majority owned by Econet Wireless Global, had entered into an agreement to acquire South African communications network operator Neotel, which is a subsidiary of the company. Thereafter, vide letter dated 8 November 2016, the company informed that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held on 8 November 2016 recommended to the shareholders of Neotel, the sale of the entire shareholding in Neotel, subject to approval of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Neotel has now informed that they have received unconditional approval from ICASA for acquisition of Neotel by Liquid Telecom which is another step towards closing of the transaction. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Rei Agro reported net loss of Rs 66.30 in Q2 September 2016 compared with net loss of Rs 286.59 crore in Q2 September 2015. Net sales fell 54.86% to Rs 17.61 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. IL&FS Transportation Networks announced that as part of internal restructuring exercise, the company decided to acquire all the equity investments held by Elsamex SA & its Group companies in their Indian subsidiaries. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Confidence Petroleum India announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 19 December 2016, to consider the proposal of buy-back of equity shares of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Saksoft announced the acquisition of majority stake in DreamOrbit to strengthen its IoT offering. Saksoft acquired a 60% of stake in Dreamorbit Softech, a company based out of Bengaluru providing Technology Solutions to Logistics Industry. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Claris Lifesciences announced that the board of directors of the company at a meeting held on 15 December 2016 approved the sale and transfer of the 'Injectable Business' of the company by way of sale of the subsidiary companies; Claris Injectables Limited, Claris Pharmaservices, Elda International DMCC, Claris Lifesciences Inc., Claris Lifesciences (UK) Limited, Claris Lifesciences (Aust) Pty. Limited, and Claris Lifesciences Philippines, INC. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. The company will sell Global Generic Injectables Business to Baxter for $625 million. Great Eastern Shipping Company announced that the company took delivery of secondhand supramax dry bulk carrier. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Welspun India announced that it expanded its product portfolio and forayed into flooring solutions with Rs 600 crore carpet plant. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Dilip Buildcon announced that a new project is awarded to the company in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 December 2016. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 20-year-old woman was raped in the national capital by a cab driver on the pretext of giving her a ride, police said on Friday. The driver has been arrested. The 30-year-old driver, identified as Aman, is a resident of the Moti Bagh slums in south Delhi. He was nabbed on Thursday noon from his residence. According to police, the woman, a resident of Noida, was raped on Wednesday-Thursday night in the car which bore a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) sticker on its windscreen. The woman had come to Delhi on Wednesday in search of a job. The car has been seized. "The woman was waiting at the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) bus stop around 9 p.m. on Wednesday to go back to her home when Aman offered her a lift," Deputy Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh told reporters here. "After she got into the vehicle, he molested her on the way. When she resisted, the driver stopped the vehicle somewhere in Moti Bagh and raped her. "But the woman somehow managed to escape from the car and approached a policeman around 1.30 a.m.," the officer said. "The policeman instantly informed the nearby Emergency Response Vehicle which took the girl to a police station and sent her for medical examination." Police said the car belonged to a CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) Head Constable who resides in Kotla Mubarkpur in south Delhi. The car was rented to the accused driver by the owner's son a week ago." Asked how the car got a MHA sticker, the police said a relative of the CISF Head Constable worked in the ministry. --IANS sp-aks/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The rape of a 20-year-old woman in a car here, coincidentally a day before the fourth anniversary of the heinous gangrape of a para-medic here that shook the entire country's conscience, has angered the people. The 20-year-old woman was raped in the national capital by a cab driver on the pretext of giving her a lift, the city police said on Friday. The driver has been arrested. It brought alive the memories of the grisly gangrape and brutal assault of a young para-medical student by six men in a moving bus in 2012. The 23-year-old woman, who later came to be known as Nirbhaya, died 13 days later in Singapore while undergoing treatment. The attack on the 20-year-old drew reactions from political circle as well. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung of doing politics over women's safety in Delhi. "LG and PMO doing politics with women safety in Delhi. LG stopped salaries of all employees in DCW (Delhi Commission for Women). Police becomes corrupt and ineffective under them," Kejriwal tweeted. The AAP national convener's remarks came after the woman, a resident of Noida who came to Delhi in search of a job on Wednesday, was raped by 30-year-old taxi driver Aman in a car he had rented, on the pretext of giving her a lift. The car has the Ministry of Home Affairs sticker on its windscreen. The 30-year-old attacker is a resident of the Moti Bagh slums in south Delhi. He was nabbed on Thursday noon from his residence and the car has been seized. The Congress criticised the state and the central governments for playing the blame game instead of taking proper measures for women's safety in the national capital. Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken told IANS: "This is a very unfortunate incident on the fourth anniversary of Nirbhaya. It clearly indicates that the situation has gone from bad to worse in the city." "And the reason is that both the state and central governments are putting blame on each other rather than doing on their own," he alleged. Hitting out at the AAP-led Delhi government, Maken said: "Delhi government has shelved the programmes of the previous government which was started after the Nirbhaya incident, like 'awaz Uthao Programme', helpline for woman and also the gender resource centre." Slamming Kejriwal for not fulfilling his poll promises of installing CCTV cameras in the buses and providing marshals in the Delhi Transport Corporation buses, Maken said: "Besides the promises made by the government to install CCTV cameras and provide marshals in the buses, these plans are yet to take off." Swaraj India President Yogendra Yadav also condemned the incident and accused the other political parties of not having any political will on women's security in the city. "Lack of political will is the principal reason for virtually no action on women's security in the last four years in Delhi," Yadav told IANS. "Popular protest resulted in Justice J.S. Verma report, fast track court and Nirbhaya Fund. But all this did not result in an iota of additional security for the Indian woman," Yadav said. --IANS sp-aks/pgh/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Flick through a funny and naughty story about bad guys, know the interesting experiences of a teenager in the voice of one, understand the doctrine of Karma in relation to your life, and read about the struggles and exploits of the art society. The IANS bookshelf offers some very interesting fictional and non-fictional reads this weekend. 1. Book: The Bad Guys Episodes 1 and 2; Author: Aaron Blabey; Publisher: Scholastic; Pages: 274; Price: Rs 590 Mr. Wolf, Mr. Shark, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha are bad guys. Everybody knows that. They're scary and dangerous as well. But these guys want to be heroes. And they are going to prove it by doing good deeds. Whether you want them to or not. Buckle up for the funniest, naughtiest and the coolest book you will ever read. It's time to meet the bad guys. 2. Book: Seventeen Takes; Author: Naima Kalra Gupta; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 134; Price: Rs 195 "Seventeen Takes" is a mix of fiction and non-fiction about everything a teenager experiences. These experiences range from growing up to formulating a self-identity to realising who you are. Written by a 17-year-old, this is a coming-of-age book but not in a traditional sense. It's not about heartbreak or enduring friendships or alcohol and partying. It's about the self, the war that wages within all of us. Figuring out what to do with one's life, lamenting the loss of innocent childhood, coming to terms with changing beliefs and ideals, and developing new ideas are themes that feature prominently in this collection. Simple yet poignant, fiercely individualistic yet easily relatable, "Seventeen Takes" is a book that will resonate with everyone on the cusp of adulthood. 3. Book: Karma Sutra; Author: Hingori; Publisher: Hingori Sutras; Pages: 153; Price: Rs 295 The meaning of the word "Karma" is known only superficially, and yet it is an embedded code which shapes the trends of our destiny and accounts for the happening of most of the events of our lives. The book defines the Karmic Code in an easy-to-understand fashion. It helps you understand the doctrine of Karma in relation to your life. It spells out a set of recommended dos and don'ts that you should practise in order to improve your Karmic wealth. This book talks about the types of Karma, Karmic laws, and the resulting profits and losses, Karmic assets and liabilities, generation of Karmic wealth, carving out a better future, serving ancestors and finally willing your wealth to yourself. The pages are limited, the content unlimited. 4. Book: Kalyug; Author: Anurag Tripathi; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: ; Price: Rs 295 When Jay Malhotra, a banker, sets out on an adventure to manipulate the unregulated art market of the Navaratnas, he unknowingly sets into motion a chain of events that have the potential to destroy the very foundation of the art industry in India. Set against the backdrop of the transformation of the art society in India into an industry, "Kalyug" follows the struggles and exploits of Jay as he navigates through the mercurial world of art, dominated by its nexus of powerful dealers, experts and gallery owners. With a 360 degree overview of this now booming industry, "Kalyug" is a fast-paced thriller that will leave you wanting for more. --IANS mg/vm/ky/sac/ky/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government on Friday deferred the tabling of the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Bill in the state legislature amid demands for further scrutiny. The decision was welcomed by the Opposition. The bill seeks to improve the functioning of universities and colleges but a section of activists and teachers allege the resolution would enable control by the state government in the institution's internal administration and erode the universities' autonomy. State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the decision was taken due to opposition's request for more time to go through the contents. "There was a lot of debate surrounding the bill. The Opposition needs more time. But we will table it as early as possible," he said. Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan, of the Congress, welcomed the deferment saying the state government acknowledged public's concerns. "This is a victory of people. We express gratitude to the state government because they accepted our demand which reflected the people's views. We welcome this," he said. Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sujan Chakraborti dubbed the bill as "a black bill" and "dangerous." "The state government had to go back on this. This is dangerous - state control in education," he said. --IANS sgh/bdc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It was the year of the big bang in telecom. Reliance Jio's disruptive entry into the sector threw an unorthodox gauntlet at its rivals, triggering a bruising war of words -- and tariffs -- among players. But it was also the year which ended in a whimper for the telecom spectrum auction. The much-touted "biggest spectrum auction" proved to be a stupendous failure, marring the spirit of the industry. Reliance Jio launched its fourth generation (4G) services in September -- offering free voice, forever. To sweeten the deal, it threw in free data till the end of the year, later extending it to March of 2017. Voice is what telecom operators make their money on. Without that, how does one survive in a market as price sensitive as India? "I assure you, we will not lose money," Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani told his shareholders while announcing the Jio offer. This was taking competition to a whole new level. "The free voice call offer by Reliance for the 4G roll-out was a major event -- it was disruptive," Rishi Tejpal, Principal Research Analyst for Telecom Business Strategy at Gartner, told IANS. Jio's disruptive offer led to long queues at its outlets across the country. But then in mobile telephony, each network is dependent on the others for succesful completion of pan-Indian calls. Reliance Jio found a new turf war in the making. It accused incumbent players of not providing enough number of Points of Interconnection (PoIs). As expected, the matter was dragged to the ministry level and the watchdog -- the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The regulator proposed a heavy penalty of Rs 3,050 crore, in all, on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular for "violating licence norms" by denying enough PoIs to Reliance Jio. "The issue of limited interconnection points, as highlighted by Reliance Jio, impacted the customer experience it wanted to give its customers," Tejpal said. The gauntlet thrown by Reliance Jio was, of course, picked up -- there was no way out. The three big telecom players in the country -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular -- brought in their own offers on free calls for pre-paid customers. "The incumbents seem not to have lost comparable market share or seen a large movement of their customers to Jio," Mahesh Uppal, Director of consultancy firm Com First, told IANS Losing market share is one thing; losing revenue is another and a more serious matter. "There is sufficient evidence that attempts by incumbent mobile operators to match Jio's aggressive pricing has dented their revenues significantly," Uppal adds. The situation, therefore, would be a matter of concern for both sides, he suggests. The new year would decide who gets a bloody nose and who remains unscathed in this bruising fight. By the end of September, the number of wireless telephone subscribers in India had already crossed the one billion mark, standing at 1,049 million, according to TRAI data. Amidst the unhappiness over call drops and poor service -- often attributed to lack of enough telecom towers or adequate spectrum, the government was very hopeful that its "biggest spectrum auction" would bring in substantial revenue and ease the problems. The big hope was to raise Rs 566,000 crore. It got commitments of only Rs 65,789 crore or 11.6 per cent of the desired figure, with the auction ending within five days. The government was warned by experts and the industry that the high reserve price the regulator chose -- and approved by the Central government -- would not excite telecom operators. But the government's sight was set on garnering revenue. A total 2,354 MHz of spectrum was put on the block for e-auctioning, but only 965 MHz was sold -- or just 41 per cent of what was on offer. The auction went through 31 rounds for seven bands -- 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz and 2,500 MHz. There were no takers for 700 MHz and 900 MHz -- as cautioned. "The spectrum auctions have successfully removed the long-felt shortage for spectrum but failed to deliver the revenues that the exchequer had hoped to receive. They reflect that companies do not find the powerful 700 MHz sufficiently attractive at the price the government expected. The government will now need to review its plans for future auctions," said Uppal. Industry experts, though, say the service quality would improve with whatever was sold, replenishing or adding to the kitty of the telecom players. The operators also moved to tackle the call-drop issue by planning to set up 60,000 telecom towers at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore. "The industry has made consistent and significant efforts to optimise networks which have largely been completed, with more than 200,000 sites being installed in the last 15 months for 2G and 3G services across the country since Jan 1, 2015," Rajan S. Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), told IANS. Highlights of telecom industry in 2016: * Launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm in September * Spectrum auction: Ended within five days with a total commitment of only Rs 65,789 crore * Reliance Communications and Aircel merger that resulted in asset base of Rs 65,000 crore * Reliance Jio, Reliance Communications got government's nod for spectrum sharing (This is a part of a series of articles from IANS that look back at the year that was. Aparajita Gupta can be contacted at aparajita.g@ians.in) --IANS ag/hs/ky/sac/ky/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British Prime Minister Theresa May wants an early deal on Britons living in the European Union countries, the media reported on Friday. She said as much while updating her fellow leaders while attending the European Council summit meeting in Brussels on Thursday, BBC reported. May left the meeting without answering any questions on Britain's break with the EU. However, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny revealed what May told them. Kenny said: "She would like to have the question of British citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that takes place." Kenny said Ireland would not sign a bilateral deal with Britain unless it agreed on its future relationship with the EU first. There was concern in other countries about the status of their nationals in Britain after Brexit. Meanwhile, EU leaders said negotiations over Britain's exit would be approached in "a spirit of trust and unity". After May's departure, the 27 other EU leaders met informally for 20 minutes to discuss their approach to Brexit negotiations. They agreed that European Commission official Michel Barnier would lead talks for the EU -- although MEPs want a greater say. European Council President Donald Tusk said: "Short, informal meeting had reconfirmed our principles, meaning the indivisibility of the four freedoms, the balance of rights and obligations and the rule 'no negotiations without notification'." European Parliament President Martin Schulz warned the negotiations could be vetoed if MEPs are not fully involved. Downing Street had played down suggestions that a Brexit trade deal could take 10 years to complete, after Britain's ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, suggested that others in the Europe believed this could be the case. --IANS in/py/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chapecoense defender Helio Zampier Neto, one of the six survivors of the air accident in which 71 people died, has left the hospital near Medellin where he had been recovering and returned to Brazil in "good shape" and expressing gratitude to Colombia. The specialised air-medical transport plane on which Neto traveled with his wife, Simone, a doctor, a nurse and two pilots, along with a medical team to attend to any emergency, took off from Jose Maria Cordova airport here on Thursday, reports Efe news agency. Francisco Souto, the head of the medical mission, supervised Neto's boarding the plane and said that "he is conscious, oriented and he's a little afraid, as is natural." Before being loaded into the aircraft on a gurney, Neto bade farewell to the medical director at the San Vicente Fundacion Rionegro Hospital, Dr. Ferney Rodriguez, and the personnel who transported him and his father, Helan Zampier, who said goodbye to his son wearing a Chapecoense jersey with No.29 on the back. The plane transporting Neto, the last survivor to be rescued from the crash site of the plane operated by Bolivia's Lamia Airline, is scheduled to make a stop in Manaus and later to complete the five-hour flight to Chapeco. "We're hoping for a very calm flight. Neto is OK. The CAT scan didn't show any hemothorax (blood in the space surrounding the lungs) and he's finishing the antibiotics phase," Edson Stakonski, Chapeco's cardiologist, told reporters. Stakonski, the head of the Unimed Chapeco Hospital, where Neto will continue to recover after the November 28 crash, said he felt "calmer" before boarding the plane. "I'm calmer. The four (Brazilian survivors) have returned, the mission is completed. Since I arrived (in Rionegro), I've focused a lot on the clinical and we had enormous support from the doctors here," he said. Rodriguez said that Neto had been in "very critical" condition after the crash, but "thanks to his physical strength, he improved and ... we could transfer him much sooner (than expected). This wasn't in the plans; we were thinking that his recovery was going to take many days." Before leaving Colombia, Neto sent a videotaped message released by the Jose Maria Cordova airport, saying: "I want to thank everyone for their help and congratulate them for their marvelous work." Neto will continue recovering from a lung infection in Chapeco, where his physical and psychological progress will be carefully monitored. --IANS ajb/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leader of opposition in the Kerala assembly Ramesh Chennithala on Friday questioned the alleged inaction by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau regarding a probe into certain appointments in state PSUs by the then minister. The bureau had ordered a probe after the then Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan was accused of making certain controversial appointments of relatives to key posts in Kerala public sector undertakings. "Bureau chief Jacob Thomas has been claiming that the corrupt will be taken to task. Vijayan cabinet's number two Jayarajan quit on nepotism charge. As per the rule, a (vigilance) report has to be filed within 42 days. It's more than 62 days now and nothing is coming out," the Congress leader told the media here. "During the earlier United Democratic Front rule in Kerala, Vijayan and others used to say the Vigilance Bureau is like a caged parrot. But ever since Jayarajan has quit, the bureau is lying in the intensive care unit. Thomas now has to act," Chennithala said. The Leader of Opposition said that governance had come to a standstill in Kerala since Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has gone into a slumber. "Governance in Kerala has come to nought. Two IAS officers of Additional Chief Secretary rank -- Finance Secretary K.M. Abraham and Labour Secretary Tom Jose -- are engaged in a bitter standoff with bureau chief Thomas, who holds the rank of Director General of Police, and writing against each other to Vijayan," Chennithala said. He said such a situation had never arisen in the coastal state before. Thomas had initiated vigilance probes against the two IAS officers while the Finance Secretary is going ahead with a financial probe by his officials against Thomas during his posting in state departments prior to the Vigilance Bureau tenure. "Thomas sought Jose's suspension in two cases but Chief Secretary S.M. Vijayanand gave a clean chit to him. These officials are using government machinery... while all this is happening, Vijayan is in deep slumber. Governance has come to a standstill," said Chennithala. Last week, Abraham got a reprieve when a local court gave him a clean chit in a case filed by the Vigilance Bureau. --IANS sg/tsb/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Friday hit back hard at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to go through history first to know who puts the party before the nation. The hard-hitting Congress response came after Modi said the Congress put the party before the nation but the Bharatiya Janata Party follows "nation-first" ideology. "Modi ji said the BJP is the only party which is nationalist; all others are anti-national. The trouble is, Modi ji doesn't know history, nor is he interested in knowing it. Modi ji should remember what his ideological masters did in 1947," senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said. "They were on the same side as the British. They opposed the freedom struggle led by the Indian National Congress. For them, organistation is first, the nation second. For us, the nation is always first. Today, Modi ji has forsaken both the nation and the party. He is busy trying to show his own image on television." Sibal said: "Modi ji should read the (Indian) history and the history of his own party; then he'll get to know whose leaders sided with the British." The Congress leader said if Modi wanted to fight black money, he should start from his own BJP. "We want to ask which party has the most black money? Modi ji should ask himself that. If Modi ji wants to fight black money, he should start from his own party. When talking about black money, Modi ji should look at his own house." The former Union minister said: "When Modi ji was giving speeches before 2014 (general elections), were people paying him in cheques? We want to ask, who was paying him in cheques? Which cheques are used to pay shakhas? In Jhandewalan (RSS office in Delhi), are all payments made through cheques?" The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office is located near the Jhandewalan temple in Delhi. In reference to the N.N. Wanchoo Committee Report of 1971, Sibal quoted the first President of Independent India, Rajendra Prasad as saying: "I don't know how far, and to what extent, the new policy will be able to affect the person for whom it is intended. One thing is clear: A large number of people belonging to the middle and lower-middle classes will be hit hard on account of demonetisation of currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000." "While we Congressmen have no sympathy for profiteers and dealers in the black market, it is not right to penalise honest Indians who, in good faith, have their savings in notes of demonetised value." "These are the words of Dr Rajendra Prasad. Does Modi ji want to call Dr Rajendra Prasad a scamster? That he was anti-national." On Friday, Modi defended the November 8 demonetisation and said it should have been undertaken in 1971 when Indira Gandhi was heading the government at the Centre. Modi also mentioned the Wanchoo Report and that Y.B. Chavan told Indira Gandhi that there should be demonetisation. Sibal said: "The Congress listens to the people. Because of demonetisation, crores of honest people have been rendered helpless by the Modi government. In Modi's own constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, people are being rendered jobless. Who is benefiting? PayTM." "Modi ji knows that if one uses PayTM to make payments, from that at least two per cent goes to PayTM. Whose earnings get hit? The small traders'," said the Congress leader. --IANS sid/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AAP on Friday said the demonetisation of high value currency had weakened the country's economy. Aam Aadmi Party leader Adarsh Shastri said the note ban had adversely hit businesses across the nation. "Demonetisation has pushed the economy to a downward spiral. Indian markets witnessed a fall of 70-80 per cent post demonetisation," he said. "It has adversely affected trade. Jobs of around four crore employees in the organised sector and 36 crore in the unorganised sector have been affected." Shashtri, the AAP MLA from Dwarka, also said that the country was being "looted" in the name of cashless economy. "By demonetising 86 per cent currency, they (central government) not only troubled the citizens but benefited the big companies in the business of digital payment." The government on November 8 banned Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes to curb black money, corruption and counterfeit currency. The move triggered cash chaos across the country. --IANS am/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parliament on Friday passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, with the Lok Sabha giving its nod to the legislation. It was the first bill in the winter session to be passed amid comparative bonhomie between the government and the opposition in both houses. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the Lok Sabha as the bill was passed on the last day of the session. The bill, which replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, has been brought in to comply with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which India signed in 2007. The legislation was pending in the Rajya Sabha since February 2014 as the term of the erstwhile UPA government ended soon after the bill was introduced. It was passed by the upper house earlier this week. Piloting the bill in the lower house, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said the bill will increase reservations for the disabled persons to 4 per cent. "There will be 21 categories instead of seven earlier to cover all disabilities. Medical and education facilities are also given. No Divyangs (disabled) will be left out," he said. Most Congress members, including the party leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, were missing from the house as the bill was tabled as they went for a meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee on the demonetisation issue. Congress member K.C. Venugopal, who was present in the house and participated in the debate, also used it as an opportunity to speak on demonetisation. "Since 16th (November) we are trying to discuss the issue of demonetisation, but government is not interested," he said. He then welcomed the bill but highlighted the the draft legislation did not compel private firms to give reservation to disabled persons, and it only said this should be done if it is economically viable. As the bill was taken up for passage, amendments brought by opposition members were defeated one after the other. However, in one of the amendments, Congress members insisted for a division. When the electronic voting was done, 121 members voted against the amendment in comparison to 43 members who favoured it. However, the giant screens in the Lok Sabha which were supposed to display the members' votes according to the seating plan faced a malfunction, and could not display the result. This was used by the opposition as an opportunity to take a dig at the ruling party. As the Prime Minister was sitting in the house, members from the Congress said that "Digital India has failed", and "it failed in front of Mr. Digital". Another member from the opposition benches said: "It's condition has become like an ATM." The bill was finally passed by voice vote, soon after which the house was adjourned sine die. --IANS ao/vd/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Workers laid off by have filed a case against alleging that replacing them with Indians was discrimination against them because they were Americans. The discrimination suit filed in a federal court in Florida on Monday said dismissed the workers "based solely on their origin and race, replacing them with Indian nationals". The 29 former information technology workers said in court papers seen by IANS that they were made to train their replacements starting October 2014 and the management treated them and the other 250 laid off workers rudely while the Indians were given "special treatment". They claimed that they were treated differently based "solely on race or colour and ancestry". They were laid off in January 2015. The suit was filed three days after President-elect Donald Trump had said at two rallies that he would not allow US workers to be replaced by foreigners and was especially miffed that Americans being laid off were made to train their replacements. It is "demeaning", he said. "We are not going to let it happen to our people any more." A person of Indian origin, Lavanya Jagadean, is one of the 29 workers suing Disney and, therefore, lawyers said in court papers that Jagadean is not suing on the basis " origin and race" discrimination. However, the case also invokes laws against age discrimination and Jagadean could be covered under that. This case was filed after a federal judge dismissed another case brought by laid off Disney employees in October against Disney and the two companies that provided it the Indian workers, HCL and Cognizant Technologies. Judge Gregory Presnell ruled that the three companies had not made false statements on certifications for the Visa programme that current workers would not be adversely affected, which was the basis of the case, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The newspaper said that the case filed in January, "alleged that the Disney employees were the victim of a racketeering scheme to terminate them and replace them with immigrant, outsourced workers through the federal H-1B Visa programme". The case filed this week is only against Disney and takes a new approach by claiming discrimination against Americans by replacing them with younger Indians. The European Union has reaffirmed its commitment to an EU-Turkey deal to stem the influx of illegal migrants to the bloc. Leaders of the 28-nation bloc gathered here on Thursday for the last summit of this year, which focused on issues such as migration, security, economy and external relations, Xinhua news agency reported. The European Council issued conclusions on migration, underlining the importance of a "full and non-discriminatory implementation of all aspects" of the deal. The council also endorsed the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan and the implementation of the EU-Turkey statement elaborated between Greece and the European Commission. As Greece had already taken the first step towards implementing the plan, the council called upon all EU member states to follow suit. The EU-Turkey deal to curb the refugee influx into Europe came into force in March. Under the agreement, Turkey agreed to take back all undocumented migrants who had arrived in Europe in exchange for Europe resettling Syrian refugees in Turkey on a one-for-one basis. The EU also promised to accelerate EU membership talks with Turkey. Turkey has moved to significantly reduce the illegal flow of migrants under the deal. According to the European Commission, the influx of illegal migrants to the EU has dropped to 100 per day on average from 10,000 per day at the height of the migration crisis in October last year. However, the deal came into question after the European Parliament in view of Turkey's "disproportionate repressive measures" in response to July's failed military coup. In the wake of the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened he could tear up the migration deal and open the border gates "if the EU goes too far". Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started accession talks in 2005, but the talks have faltered in recent years due to disagreements over issues such as refugees, freedom of the press and human rights. --IANS py/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia said on Friday that the decision of the European Union (EU) to extend sanctions against Russia demonstrates the weakness of the alliance. "The European Union has once again demonstrated its weakness and inability to admit the obvious fact -- linking the restrictions to the implementation of the Minsk agreement by Moscow is absurd," Xinhua news agency cited a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Minsk Agreement, aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, was reached by leaders of the Normandy format group comprising Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015. However, the peace treaty has not been fully implemented. European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday that EU leaders have agreed to extend the economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its takeover of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis till July 31, 2017. Russia has retorted with a ban on imports of a range of European commodities, mainly foodstuffs, which will remain in effect until Dec 31, 2017. The ministry slammed Tusk for saying that the EU was still awaiting a clarification of the new US administration's policy in relation to Russia. "In fact, the President of the European Council thus acknowledged complete dependence on the United States on this issue, which is contrary to the interests of its member states," the ministry added. --IANS vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Facebook, Inc. said on Thursday it was stepping up efforts against fake news and hoaxes by testing several ways to make it easier to report a hoax if users see one on the social media network. Xinhua news agency quoted Adam Mosseri, Vice President of in charge of news feed, as saying that the online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, Northern California, would "learn from these tests, and iterate and extend them over time". "We've started a program to work with third-party fact checking organisations that are signatories of Poynter's International Fact Checking Code of Principles," Mosseri wrote on the company's blog. "We'll use the reports from our community, along with other signals, to send stories to these organisations." Posting a number of screen shots on a mobile device to illustrate how the new efforts would work, he noted: "If the fact checking organisations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why. Stories that have been disputed may also appear lower in News Feed." However, it will still be possible to share these flagged stories, but a "warning that the story has been disputed" will pop up on the screen and a flagged story "can't be made into an ad and promoted". has been under pressure for a while that fake news stories have been abundant on its network during this US election year, misleading voters in a way that somehow has had impacted the result of the presidential election. Deflecting the political implication of criticism, Mosseri wrote: "We've found that a lot of fake news is financially motivated. Spammers make money by masquerading as well-known news organisations, and posting hoaxes that get people to visit their sites, which are often mostly ads. So we're doing several things to reduce the financial incentives." "(Meanwhile) on the buying side we've eliminated the ability to spoof domains, which will reduce the prevalence of sites that pretend to be real publications. On the publisher side, we are analysing publisher sites to detect where policy enforcement actions might be necessary," he said. "It's important to us that the stories you see on are authentic and meaningful," said the senior executive, adding that "we know there's more to be done. We're going to keep working on this problem for as long as it takes to get it right". Last week, Facebook said it was working with Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube to help curb the spread of terrorist contents online. Automobile manufacturer Honda Cars India (HCIL) on Friday proposed a price hike of up to three per cent across all its models. The company said the revised prices will be effective from January next year. "Due to the increasing pressure on input costs and fluctuating exchange rates, we are forced to consider increasing the car prices across our line-up," said Yoichiro Ueno, President and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Cars India. "The increased price will be effective from first week of January 2017." The company's product range includes Honda Brio, Honda Jazz, Honda Amaze, Honda Mobilio, Honda City, Honda BR-V, Honda CR-V and the recently launched Honda Accord Hybrid. --IANS ppg-rv/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The International Biathlon Union (IBU) is going to take a decision on the Russian athletes suspected of doping before the end of 2016, IBU Vice President Olle Dahlin has said. IBU President Anders Besseberg said that on Thursday the union received the list with the names of 31 Russian athletes suspected of doping by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), reports Sputnik. "If someone deserves to be punished, we want this to happen as soon as possible. But everything should be done in accordance with the rules. Our decisions may then be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), so it is important that we have a legal basis. The aim is to decide before the New Year," Dahlin said on Thursday, as quoted by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. He added that WADA's revelations were "saddening," but the situation could have been even more sad if they did not come to light. On December 9, WADA's independent commission headed by Richard McLaren released the second part of the report on alleged Russian doping abuse, revealing manipulations by athletes in 30 sporting disciplines. On Sunday, IBU announced that it had formed an expert working group to deal with the fresh doping allegations. --IANS sam/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government on Friday informed the Lok Sabha that India and Russia are jointly developing a longer-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. "Subsequent to India's joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), Russia and India have agreed to extend the range of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile beyond 300 km," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply. "The proposal for undertaking joint technical development work for extending the range beyond 300 km has been executed between India and Russia," he added. BrahMos, jointly developed by India and Russia, is considered the only supersonic cruise missile in the world. The missile was first inducted in the India Navy in 2005. Due to the missile technology restriction regime, both countries had to keep the range of the missile within 300 km. India, on June 27, the became 35th full member of the MTCR -- an informal and voluntary partnership among 35 countries to prevent proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying over 500-kg payload over more than 300 km. After becoming a full member of MTCR, India can import or co-develop missiles with ranges beyond 300 km. --IANS rs/tsb/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) From falling-out with his father to setting up the Apollo Tyres company, industrialist Onkar S Kanwar shares it all in his biograpy, "The Man Behind The Wheel", which was launched here on Friday. The book, written by author Tim Bouquet, is a dynamic narration of Kanwar and describes how he turned Apollo a global brand -- starting from scratch in 1974. The book was launched by diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor, who said of it: "The story is told with tremendous amount of interesting facts and anecdotes. People know Kanwar as a business tycoon but the book gives a chance to know more about him." "I had heard about Onkar Kanwar and the story of Apollo Tyres during my various visits to India and in Britain, which led me to writing this book. Speaking with various individuals about Onkar and to the man himself, has been an enriching journey itself. Hope the readers would enjoy my version of Onkar Kanwar's journey," Bouquet said at the event. The book is the insightful and exciting story of the company and its creator which takes on a journey of Kanwar's early days in the US to building factories in Vadodara and Chennai and further expanding to the Netherlands and Hungary. --IANS som/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 58 per cent of Indian households have become open defecation-free till December this year, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Friday. This year's percentage is higher as compared to around 38 per cent in December 2013. Tomar said around three crore toilets have been built across the nation since October 2, 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship programme Swachh Bharat Mission was announced. "In terms of villages, 1.3 lakh of them have become open defecation-free... around 70 districts across the nation," he said. Tomar's remarks came after he launched Zila Swachh Bharat Prerak (ZSBP) initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin here. The Minister said ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the issue of sanitation on priority basis, the Swachh Bharat Mission has taken the form of a movement. "Today, there is a healthy competition among villages, districts and states to become open defecation free. However, to sustain this movement, we need behavioural changes as well," he said. Under the ZSBP initiative, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in partnership with the Tata Trusts has decided to offer a cadre of skilled young professionals to work as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks in each district across the country. The role of these young 'preraks' will be to support the district officials to implement Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin by coordinating various activities. Chairman of Tata Trusts Ratan Tata said he was keen to work on child nutrition after his retirement and took a leap of faith to work with the government on this initiative. "Usually, the corporates look at the government with suspicion and vice versa. But we wanted to prove that perception wrong," he said. He added the new initiative would have a huge impact on "the India of tomorrow". Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant said while the government is good at certain things like policy making, it can be "disastrous" at others like on-ground implementation. "I feel this collaboration will be a gamechanger at the grassroots level," he said. Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Parameswaran Iyer said it would not only engage smart minds in the Swachh Bharat Mission, but also ensure a structured integration of youth in the programme and bring fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm. He added there were still 450 million people left who still defecate in open areas and to change that, this new "developmental" collaboration between Tata Trusts and the government will play an instrumental role. Women and Child Development Secretary Leena Nair added that just building toilets was not enough. "We need to create a demand for those toilets as well. Just building them will not ensure people will stop open defecation," she said. --IANS vv/pgh/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Pakistan Army resorted to indiscriminate firing at Indian positions on the Line of control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, a military spokesperson said here. Lt. Col. Manish Mehta said the Pakistan Army initiated fire with "small arms, automatics and mortars on the Indian Army posts along the Line of control (LoC) in Poonch district". "The Indian Army retaliated strongly and effectively," he said. The exchange of fire continued for about an hour. --IANS sq/sar/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parliament was adjourned sine die on Friday as the winter session that began on November 16 ended in a washout. The Chairs of both houses made it a point to express their displeasure at this as no significant business could be transacted during the 21 sittings. The Lok Sabha could transact just 17.39 per cent of its scheduled business in the 19 hours that it worked, while the Rajya Sabha transacted 20.61 per cent of the listed business in its 22 working hours. The Lok Sabha lost 92 working hours while the upper House lost more than 86 hours to disruptions and repeated adjournments, mainly over demonetisation, but also to other issues such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and farmers' distress. Both Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan voiced anguish over repeated disruptions and unruly behaviour of the members. "Regular and continuous disruptions characterised the session... All sections of the house need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation," Ansari observed in his valedictory remarks. Mahajan said: "In this session, we lost 91 hours and 59 minutes to adjournments forced by disruptions. This is not good for all of us as it mars our image in the public." The government blamed the opposition for the Session's failure. "It is because of their blindfolded strategy to obstruct the proceedings in both houses that we could not make winter session more fruitful. The session failed mainly because of the Congress and their disjointed leadership in the two houses," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told the media. He said that the government "did everything they could" to "persuade" the opposition. "As the ruling party, we did everything we could to run the houses smoothly. Be it inside Parliament or outside or in the Speaker's chamber, we kept persuading them," he added. The opposition, on its part, has blamed the government for the impasse in both houses. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition demanded Prime Minster Narendra Modi's presence during the entire discussion on demonetisation, which was initiated by Anand Sharma of the Congress under Rule 267 (short duration discussion by suspending other business) on the opening day, and refused to let the house function till their demand for the Prime Minister's presence in the house was met. The government said the Prime Minister would come in the house for parts of the debate and would intervene, but would not sit through the entire debate. The opposition refused to accept it. In the Lok Sabha, the opposition led by Congress demanded a discussion on demonetisation under a rule that entailed voting. The government declined. Towards the end, the Congress demanded a discussion without a governing rule and asked the Speaker to let Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi initiate the debate. However, since the debate under Rule 193 (short discussion) had already been initiated by Telangana Rashtra Samithi member A.P. Jithender Reddy, the Speaker did not allow to suspend that and initiate the discussion afresh. The last couple of days witnessed angry exchanges between opposition and treasury benches as the ruling bloc, including Ananth Kumar, sought a debate on AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. The government benches also slammed opposition parties for allegedly running money laundering racket by changing demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. The Lok Sabha passed four bills during the session, of which two were finance bills related to Supplementary Demand for Grants, the other two being Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, 2014. The Rajya Sabha passed only one bill, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, which stipulates punishment for those discriminating against the differently-abled. In the upper house, 116 reports/statements of various Parliamentary Committees including those of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees were presented or laid on the table of the house. Only three matters of public importance could be raised. A total of 330 Starred Questions and 3,517 Unstarred Questions were admitted and answered. Of these, only two Starred Questions could be orally answered. In the lower house, 10 bills were introduced. And 50 of the 440 starred questions were answered orally. --IANS mak/vd/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung of doing over women's safety in Delhi. Kejriwal's remarks followed media reports about the rape of a young woman in a car here. "LG and PMO doing with women safety in Delhi. LG stopped salaries of all employees in DCW (Delhi Commission for Women). Police becomes corrupt and ineffective under them," Kejriwal tweeted. Kejriwal and Jung have been squabbling over the appointment of a Member Secretary at the DCW. Jung later appointed IAS officer Dilraj Kaur, whose appointment was also rejected by Kejriwal. --IANS vv/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday greeted Bhutan on its National Day and said Indo-Bhutan ties were a shining example of "good neighbourly relations". In a message to King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Mukherjee said: "It gives me immense pleasure to extend to Your Majesty and the friendly people of Bhutan my heartiest greetings on the occasion of your National Day. "The special relationship between our two countries is a shining example of good neighbourly relations," he said. "Over the years, our close bonds of friendship have strengthened and our wide ranging cooperation has diversified in all areas of our shared interest." Bhutan celebrates its National Day on December 17. "Our enduring friendship owes a great deal to the wisdom and commitment of successive Druk Gyalpos, including Your Majesty." --IANS rup/in/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian President Vladimir Putin who is on a two-day visit to Japan will be here on Friday to continue the bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Putin met Abe in Nagato for a 90-minute one-on-one at the start of his first official visit to the country in 11 years, CNN reports said. Economic and security issues were at the forefront of talks between the two leaders on Thursday night as Japan looked to shore up a weak economy and Russia turned to the east to avoid US and European sanctions. Speaking after the initial meeting at the Otani Sanso hot spring resort, Abe said both leaders discussed their countries' 71-year dispute over the Kuril Islands, to Japan's north. Abe said he presented letters to his counterpart from former islanders, in both Japanese and Russian. "We also talked about the possibility of joint economic activities on the islands under a special system and issues related to the peace treaty," Abe added. Abe expressed his strong concerns over humanitarian issues in Syria and asked Russia to play a constructive role, a high-ranking government official told journalists after the meeting. Putin reiterated his support for Bashar al-Assad's administration, the official said. The Russian leader touched down in Abe's home province Yamaguchi on Thursday afternoon more than an hour late after his flight was delayed. Speaking ahead of his first meeting with Abe, Putin had said the summit talks would help improve bilateral ties between Russia and Japan, the reports added. He thanked the Japanese leader for hosting at the hot spring resort, saying there would be "a chance to relax." --IANS in/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Congress delegation led by its Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi espousing the cause of farmers but the move led to cracks within the opposition. In a memorandum submitted to Modi, Gandhi demanded a waiver of loans given to farmers and urged the government to halve their electricity bills and provide higher MSP for crops. But the other opposition parties, which backed the Congress over demonetisation and other issues in Parliament, were miffed over Gandhi's decision to meet Modi after threatening to expose his corruption. "People are upset the Congress went to meet the PM alone. They (Congress leadership) think Congress is an ocean and we should all submerge. This is natural arrogance. That will not do good to them," Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh said. NCP leader D.P. Tripathi said instead of meeting the Prime Minister, the Congress should have strengthened opposition unity. "Congress is not helping its cause... That is why we are not joining them in meeting the President," he said. The Gandhi-led Congress delegation raised the issue of farmer suicides and asked Modi to write off loans given to farmers like it had been done in the case of corporates. "Thousands of farmers are committing suicide across the country. Every single day a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab. We apprised him about the plight of farmers," Gandhi told the media. The Congress submitted two crore 'maangpatras' from Uttar Pradesh and 30 lakh 'maangpatras' from Punjab, collected during door-to-door outreach in both the states. "This government has waived off loans of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to corporates. We urge the government to waive off the loans of farmers as well," Gandhi said. The delegation comprised Punjab state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh, Lok Sabha leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajya Sabha leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. Gandhi said the government decision to remove import duty on wheat was a "terrible blow" to the farmers. "The Prime Minister too admitted the condition of the farmers to be grave. But he did not say anything about waiving off the loans to farmers." The memorandum said Indian agriculture had been severely affected due to two consecutive droughts, unseasonal rains and floods. It said lakhs of hectares of crops were destroyed and millions of farmers dependent on agriculture had lost their livelihood. "The distress has been further aggravated by their high indebtedness aggregating to approximately 4.2 lakh crore. Crop failures and inability to repay their debts and accumulated interest led a large number of farmers to commit suicides." Gandhi's meeting with Modi comes days after he vowed to expose the Prime Minister's "personal complicity in corruption". Party leader Azad explained why the Congress went on its own to meet Modi. "It was the Congress initiative and our agenda, not of a combined opposition. Where do other parties come in the picture in this?" he said. "I don't know why they are unhappy." --IANS bns-ao-mak/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Its unclear how the lawsuit filed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry or the announcement by the Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System will affect the Flagstaff minimum wage proposition and local businesses. The Hozhoni Foundation in Flagstaff is among the service providers for the developmentally disabled that the boost in Medicaid funding is meant to help. CEO Monica Attridge had said that the combination of the state and Flagstaff minimum wage increases would force the nonprofit to close unless some additional funding came along. Attridge said its unclear to what extent the new state money will help her organization, however, because the state has not released information about how it will distribute those dollars. A group known as Elevate Flagstaff is working on a petition get the local wage law back on the ballot in May to either amend or repeal it. Rand Jenkins told members of the Flagstaff Independent Business Alliance earlier this week that the group was collecting stories from businesses, employees and residents. We trying to share the story with the public, he said. The organization has reached out to Friends of Flagstaff Future, the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, FIBA and neighborhood associations. Elevate hopes to come up a compromise solution to the rapid increase in wages that will happen if both the state and the local law go into effect. If both laws go into effect, the minimum wage in Flagstaff will increase to $10 in January and then increase to $12 in July, when the local law starts. A number of business owners and nonprofits in town have said they could probably handle an increase to $10 but not both increases in the same year. In order to put the law back on the ballot, Elevate will have to collect around 4,000 signatures before the end of January. Joe Bader from Flagstaff Needs a Raise, the organization that put the local minimum wage proposition on the November ballot, said the organization doesnt have a comment on the activities of Elevate Flagstaff. We are working on insuring that there is a smooth implementation of the wage and enforcement provisions of Proposition 414 which was just approved by the voters on November 8 and will raise labor standards in Flagstaff as it has in all the other cities that have raised the minimum wage, he said. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) in Ghaziabad town of Uttar Pradesh. It is the fifth training institute of its kind in the country after those in Kolkata in West Bengal, Hyderabad in Telangana, the union territory of Chandigarh and Jaipur in Rajasthan. Speaking on the occasion, he stressed the need for extensive quality training to police personnel for excellence in the performance of their duties. The Home Minister asked the police brass to introduce more online courses to keep officers abreast of latest technology. He assured of speedy clearance of any proposal for higher remuneration for guest faculty at the institute. Rajnath Singh agreed to rename the Central Detective Training School as CDTI after a request from Director General of Police Meera Chaddha Borbankar in this regard. --IANS sps/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While the rebels and civilians besieged in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo were being evacuated in accordance with a truce deal, the UN would join other international organisations in monitoring the situation, an official of the world body said on Friday. It is estimated that 15,000 people, including 4,000 rebels, were set to be evacuated from the city, where the Syrian army has already recaptured 99 per cent of the rebel-held eastern part after an intensive offensive, the official SANA news agency reported. The first batch of rebels and their families reached Rashidien in the western countryside of Aleppo. The second round of evacuees also withdrew aboard buses and ambulances. According to earlier state TV reports, the evacuation from Aleppo was supervised solely by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), without the presence of UN staff. However, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Friday said the world body has been invited to monitor and assist in the evacuation. "It is a three-pronged evacuation: a medical evacuation of wounded and sick, as well as an evacuation of vulnerable civilians and of fighters," the spokesman said. Jan Egeland, the UN special adviser on Syria, clarified that this was not an agreement mediated by the US, rather, it is an agreement that has been made in direct talks between the parties to this war, which the bloc was only invited on Friday to monitor. UN monitors will accompany those who were being evacuated, not only from east Aleppo but all the way to the northwestern province of Idlib, and they also stand ready to care for them all the way into Turkey, if they chose that to be their final destination, Dujarric said. The ICRC, the World Health Organisation and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were on the ground to provide assistance to those fleeing Aleppo. With the anticipated rebel retreat from Aleppo, the Syrian government would take complete control of the strategically-located city. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday hailed the recapture of Aleppo as epoch-making. "Not only the Syrian and the regional, but also the international situation will not be the same after the liberation of Aleppo," Assad was quoted as saying by SANA. Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with the western parts under government control and eastern districts held by rebels. The situation in Aleppo has worsened rapidly after a truce accord collapsed in September, and months of heavy fighting has driven the city dwellers to the brink of humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of people have fled eastern Aleppo over the past couple of weeks, with local media reports placing the number of evacuees at 85,000. --IANS ahm/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of protesters snatched a service rifle from a policeman in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district on Friday, police said. "During the post Friday prayer protests in Makhama village of Badgam district, a group of protesters snatched an INSAS rifle with a magazine and 20 rounds from local policeman," a senior police officer said here. Meanwhile, protests between stone-pelting mobs and the security forces also erupted in old city's Nowhatta area here, south Kashmir's Bijbehara and north Kashmir's Sopore towns after Friday prayers. --IANS sq/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) North Korea's government banned sarcastic comments against it (they actually did, this is not a joke); so I sent them an email: "Great idea, you bunch of geniuses." They're sure to thank me. The world's gone mad. A reader sent me a news story about police checking so-called "sacks of rice" which drivers were delivering across a border and discovering that the bundles were really -- (creepy music) -- dead bodies. No, wait. I just read the item again. What it actually says is that the driver told police he was moving dead bodies but shocked officers discovered that the bundles were really bags of rice. This took place recently in Nigeria, where tax is payable on imported foods but not on corpses. "Nothing to see here, officer, just dead people." "You sure it's not grocery items?" It reminded me of a time a few years ago when a friend was at the security gate at Phnom Penh airport. He put his bag through the x-ray machine, and the guy next to him put his AK-47 machine gun through the machine. "What were the guards looking for inside the machine gun?" he pondered. "Men's cosmetics?" Humanity is now officially insane. More proof: a top drug watchdog in the United States recently revealed that after Wall Street took over pharmaceutical firms, ordinary prescription pain pills cost six times as much as illegal drugs from your local pusher. Both make you feel better, but the cheaper one comes with a trip around Jupiter on a pink space elephant. A colleague who covers fashion said that her world had always been mad, but the insanity level had risen alarmingly. Her evidence: Top fashion company Golden Goose just launched cheap fabric shoes that look old, shabby, broken and held together by duct tape. "Distressed Superstar Sneakers" look exactly like the ancient things you find in the bottom of your teenagers' cupboard -- but are hot fashion items costing $585 a pair. Why can't buyers just look in the bottoms of their own teenagers' cupboards and get the exact same thing with the added realism of that stinky feet smell? More backwards logic came from a drought-ridden part of the US. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power banned people from using sprinklers on their lawns -- and then were exposed using sprinklers to water their own grass. Officials pointed out that their lawn was not grass, but plastic turf, which benefited from regular cleaning. I did find one example of modern reverse-logic that was actually positive. On a visit to Kampala, I saw posters advertising "ladies' shape" pills: "Bottom not big enough? Now you can increase its size easily and quickly," they said. My host assured me the product was completely serious, despite the fact that I did not see anyone who needed it, as bottoms in my field of view (not that I am an expert on this subject) ranged from "immense" to "Rock of Gibraltar" to "Himalayan". Okay, I just noticed that my shoes are ancient, falling apart, and have a hole in the left sole. If you'll excuse me, I need to nip over to New York to score a big sale. Fashionistas gonna love them. (Nury Vittachi is an Asia-based frequent traveller. Send ideas and comments on his Facebook page) --IANS nury/vm/ky/sac/ky/tb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TV host and comedian Steve Harvey has been officially roped in to host the 2016 Miss Universe show, a year after he made an embarrassing mistake by announcing the wrong winner at the pageant's 2015 edition. In 2015, the 59-year-old comedian wrongly announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner, while she was the first runner-up. She had received the crown, sash and flowers before Harvey returned to the stage to tell the crowd that he read his cue card wrong, reports aceshowbiz.com. "I have to apologize, the first runner-up is Colombia. Let me just take control of this. This is exactly what's on the card. I will take responsibility for this. It was my mistake... horrible mistake," he had said. Then, Miss Universe Paulina Vega later took the crown off Gutierrez's head and put it on Miss Philippines Pia Wurtzbach's. Following the major slip-up, Harvey was publicly ridiculed and he even received death threats. Speaking about how he felt when he went back on the stage, he said in an interview: "It was four minutes of pure hell... It was the most gut-wrenching walk I've ever had in my life." The 2016 Miss Universe pageant will take place in the Philippines on January 29, 2017. Model Ashley Graham will serve as the backstage host. --IANS dc/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said here on Thursday that Syrian refugees could be taken back to safe areas in Syria, Austria Press Agency reported. Kammenos made the comments to the media following talks with his Austrian counterpart, Hans Peter Doskozil, Xinhua news agency reported. "We are in agreement that a solution would be to take the refugees back to safe regions within Syria, for example the south of Syria, under the supervision of international organisations," Kammenos said. Doskozil said that while the conditions for this in the war-stricken country were not yet present, he had in the past also expressed that he is open to the idea of such safe zones under international observation. He added that more discussion about the idea was needed in the near future. Should the establishment of such safe zones work in Syria, he said it could also work in other crisis regions, where humanitarian aid could then be provided locally. Both ministers also renewed calls for the establishment of refugee registration centres outside of Europe. In addition, they said they wanted to work together with the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) to develop their official position vis-a-vis both safe zones and registration centres. Doskozil said this would serve as preparation should the EU refugee deal currently in place with Turkey collapse. --IANS lok/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he selected attorney David Friedman to be ambassador to Israel. Friedman was one of Trump's key advisers during the election campaign regarding US-Israeli relations, EFE news quoted a statement as saying. "The future ambassador has been a long-time friend and trusted adviser to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said in the statement. All US ambassadors nominated by the President must be confirmed by the Senate. Friedman, 57, is currently a founding partner of a law firm having about 300 attorneys and which for the last 35 years has specialised in litigation and bankruptcies, according to the official communique. The statement says that, with this nomination, Trump is reaffirming his commitment to improve relations between the two countries and guarantee that there will be "extraordinary" strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between Washington and Tel Aviv. In Trump's administration, after his Janaury 20 inauguration, the US-Israeli relationship will be a model of cooperation and respect, the statement adds. Friedman said in the statement announcing his nomination that he is looking forward to working "from the US Embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". The President-elect has said he will move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, although Washington -- along with many other countries around the world -- does not currently recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. The Israeli daily Haaretz, in reporting on the nomination, said that Friedman, an Orthodox Jew, is a columnist for two Israeli right-leaning media outlets: Arutz Sheva and The Jerusalem Post. According to Haaretz, his positions are farther to the right than those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. --IANS lok/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Philippine does not see any "great impact" on its economy if the United States continues to defer its grant due to concerns over rule of law and civil liberties, a senior government official said on Friday. The US State Department has said that the second compact from the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will involve a bigger amount, Xinhua news agency reported. "But then again, this is what our economic experts say, we're not really bothered by it, we will not be sleepless over this decision," Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said in Singapore, where he is on a visit with President Rodrigo Duterte. Yasay said if MCC's deferment of the second grant was merely a ploy for the Philippines to bow down to the US demands, "we will not do so." "If they don't want to help us, then we'll accept that. But we feel very strongly that as friends, this is not the tack that should be adopted," he stressed. Yasay said if the US would want to help the Philippines, it would not set conditions. The MCC has said that its board deferred a vote on the re-selection of the Philippines for compact development, "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties". The US has raised concerns on the alleged killings of thousands of drug suspects in the war on drugs that Duterte has declared. --IANS vgu/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former director of Moscow Anti-Doping Centre and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) informant Grigory Rodchenkov gave prohibited drugs to Russian athletes under the veil of vitamins, an investigator of Moscow City Court said on Friday. Earlier, the Russian Investigative Committee announced that Rodchenkov, who fled to the United States, was illegally selling pharmaceuticals and destroyed doping-probes of Russian athletes on purpose. Russia initiated a case against Rodchenkov based on the signs of abuse of authority, reports Sputnik. "Rodchenkov was giving illegal substances under the guise of vitamins to athletes, which led to their disqualification," the investigator said. Rodchenkov claimed that at least 15 Russian athletes who won medals at the Winter Olympics in Russia's Sochi were part of the so-called state-run "doping programme". These accusation became the basis of an article published by the New York Times in May 2016. After the publication, the WADA started investigation and upon its results recommended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend all Russian athletes from the 2016 Summer Olympics. --IANS sam/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Now that J Jayalalithaa is dead and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government still has four and a half years to go, what will change in the administration and politics in Tamil Nadu? Assyrians in Iraq Prepare for Christmas After Liberation From ISIS Assyrian Christians who have decided to remain in northern Iraq after their towns were liberated from the Islamic State (ISIS) are now preparing for their third Christmas as refugees. According to Juliana Taimoorazy of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, the only people left in Nineveh are the soldiers and ministers, and they want to return and rebuild their homes come spring. Right now, most Assyrians are living as refugees either in Jordan or in the Kurdish region but they are wary of this arrangement because of the long-standing conflict between Kurds and Muslims, The Jerusalem Post details. "We live on our knees," said Taimoorazy. For Taimoorazy, Assyrians need a revival of patriotism. She also emphasized the necessity of establishing a separate province for the minorities so that they could have better protection from those seeking to attack them. "We can make 'aliyah' to Nineveh; we need friends in high places, we need the pride of the language; like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda who revived spoken Hebrew," Taimoorazy suggested. Meanwhile, in Qaraqosh, the Religious Freedom Coalition is planning to invite up to 6,000 refugee children to its Christmas for Refugees program 2016. The organization has been constantly supporting Christians who have been displaced from Iraq for more than 10 years now. RFC's Christmas for Refugees program, which was first done in 2013, aims to provide food, medicine and spiritual assistance to Christian refugees who have not received help from Islamic charities. William J. Murry, the chairman of the organization, is reportedly doing his best to ensure that 100 percent of the aid goes to the displaced Iraqi believers. During Christmas, RFC serves hot meals to displaced Christian children seeking refuge in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. The program also includes plays and puppet shows featuring Christmas songs and stories from the Bible. Plus, each child is given a gift box containing soap, hygiene kits and other essential items. For RFC, Christmas for Refugees is a way to provide refugee children temporary relief from the difficulties they face every day. Designers of futuristic cityscapes envision delivery drones dropping off your packages from the sky and driverless cars taking you to work. But the robotic delivery invasion already has arrived in the form of machines that look like beer coolers on wheels scooting along the sidewalks. The ground-bound robots, developed by the science fiction-sounding company Starship Technologies, will be showing up any day in the nations capital and in Redwood City, Calif. They could soon be in up to 10 cities, ferrying groceries and other packages over what the company calls the last mile, from a neighborhood delivery hub to your front door, all for as little as $1 a trip. A second company, TeleRetail, plans to test its sidewalk robots in Washington and other cities, including Mountain View, Calif., next year. Like driverless cars, the delivery robots use cameras, GPS and radar to see their urban environment and navigate through it. The robots are the first of what the companies foresee as a wave of inexpensive, high-tech, electricity-driven alternatives to gasoline car-driven shopping trips and delivery trucks that contribute to traffic gridlock and pollution. Urban futurists see the little robots as an integral part of a digitally based smart city landscape although it will take time for humans to adjust to them, and they come with privacy concerns. We think there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of robots on the ground eventually around the world, said Allan Martinson, chief operating officer of Starship Technologies, based in London and started by the co-founders of internet telephone company Skype. Torsten Scholl, founder of TeleRetail, which is based in Switzerland, said, Why have a vehicle as big as an autonomous car to deliver goods? We think of it as a self-driving trunk. And tech gadget website Tech Crunch has called autonomous vehicles like drones, driverless cars and delivery robots among the Top Five Technologies that will define cities in the next decade. Starships delivery robots work this way: Customers use a smartphone mobile application to order their delivery. A text alerts customers You have a robot waiting for you outside when the robot is near their home or business. A person must be present to receive the delivery because only the customer has a unique code to unlock the robots box. Cities that have laid out the welcome mat for the robots see practical promise in what can first appear to be a passing fancy gizmo. Were excited, said Catherine Ralston, economic development manager of Redwood City. They did a video in our downtown of the robot going into the bakery, picking up baked goods, and at the moment it rolled into City Hall, it popped open and presented the cookies to City Council. Theyre thinking of using the robots for city services, such as delivering library books. The Washington, D.C., Council opened the door to the machines by passing legislation last month that allows up to five different robot companies to operate in the area, though not in the downtown business district. To be candid, Im not at all futuristic. Im a here-and-now kind of person, said Leif Dormsjo, head of the Districts Department of Transportation. But our approach to transportation innovation is that we want to be a catalyst for new and interesting technologies. We have a permissive attitude about cooperating with new technologies. Whether city dwellers will be as enthusiastic and accepting of the little robots as their city leaders are is open to question. A year ago, a robot called HitchBOT traveled across Canada, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands before it was brought to the United States. The robot was a social experiment started by two Canadian professors. It looked like a cartoon human and was designed to be picked up on the side of the road voluntarily by drivers, like a hitchhiker. It posted photos of its adventures to its popular Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles, and its trek appeared to be well-received. But after just two weeks in the United States, the HitchBOTs world trip ended when it was found dismembered in Philadelphias historic Old City neighborhood. Humans dont always act in rational ways, said professor Missy Cummings, director of the Humans and Autonomy Lab at Duke University. Look, Im from the Deep South, and as soon as a robot delivers a six-pack of beer down there, theyll get out the guns and shoot it up. Starship Technologies already has robots operating in 58 cities in 16 countries around the world, Martinson said. More than 1.7 million people have encountered the robots on sidewalks, or used their services without incident, he said. We took a video in London showing that 3,000 people passed by our robots without even noticing them. Ralston of Redwood City said test robots rolling around the city havent caused any issues so far. People enjoy seeing the little robots. Or they completely ignore them, they dont even take a glance, she said. They realize, OK, theres something rolling along the sidewalk. It looks all right. In a northwest neighborhood of Washington recently, one Starship robot drew some attention as it scooted around pedestrians and bicyclists on a busy sidewalk. Resident Timothy Sanders stopped his bike to watch it weave in and out of human traffic, avoiding pedestrians and bikers. Its amazing, its very futuristic, he said. Reginald Isaac stopped to watch it too. Technology be real fly, he said, laughing. The Congress vice president, however, did not speak about "personal corruption of the PM" he had threatened to reveal recently.. The attack came within hours of Modi accusing the Congress of putting self-interest above the country and sought to paint it as a votary of corruption at a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in Delhi. "Narendra Modi got up on November 8 and announced that the money which is in your pocket has now turned into mere paper. This not a surgical strike on black money but it is firebombing of the 99% of honest people of India," Rahul said addressing a rally at Fatorda near here. Rahul said demonetisation was akin to 200-300 aircraft "firebombing" cities during the world war II, destroying them completely within 25 minutes. "The impact of firebombing was far worse than the atom bomb. Narendra Modi has done similar firebombing through demonetisation and burnt entire India," he said. He said, "As Modi did not allow me to speak in Parliament, I am speaking at this public meeting." The Congress leader claimed the Prime Minister did not take into confidence even the Finance Minister while going for demonetisation of high-value currency notes. "Demonetisation is not an action against black money, but against 99% of the honest people of India. This is an attack against poor people of India," he said. Accusing Modi of "dividing" India into two parts, Rahul said, "One% (is of) super rich and the other 99% honest Indians including common people, workers, farmers, small-time businessmen and the middle class. In the last two-and-a-half years, one% super rich have amassed 60% of the wealth." He said total 50 Indian families have the maximum wealth of the country. "These are the people who travel with PM to Australia, America and China to strike big business deals," he said, adding people know who he was referring to. The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to announce the schedule for assembly polls in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, by the first week of January. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) good showing in local polls, mammoth Maratha community marches after rape and murder of a girl and exit of senior minister Eknath Khadse from the state cabinet after a series of corruption charges were some of the developments that dominated Maharashtra's political landscape in 2016. The year also saw the Devendra Fadnavis-led government grappling with issues like acute water scarcity, prompting operation of a 'water train' to Latur in Marathwada region. Khadse resigned in June, after a series of charges, including alleged links with mob boss Dawood Ibrahim and involvement in a multi-crore land scam in Pune. Khadse, 64, was the the first high profile 'casualty' since the BJP wrested power at the Centre and the state in 2014. A panel headed by a retired Bombay High Court judge was set up to look into the Pune MIDC land deal in which Khadse's kin appeared to have a conflict of interest. It was given three months to investigate and was granted an extension later. It is yet to submit a report. Fadnavis publicly gave a 'clean chit' to Khadse and asserted that he would be soon back in the Cabinet if the panel finds him innocent. Demonetisation did not affect BJP's performance in last month's municipal council polls in Maharashtra. In what was touted as a referendum of sorts on the Modi government's ambitious move, BJP came out on top, notching up the highest number of seats (893 as against 396 in the 2011 polls). BJP won 51 of the 147 municipal councils that went to the polls on November 27. This was the first time after 2001 that direct elections were held for council presidents. It was followed by Shiv Sena with 25, Congress 23 and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 18 posts. Eleven Independents and 19 other candidates were also elected as municipal council presidents. BJP and Sena made the inroads at the cost of Congress and NCP, which have traditionally dominated local body polls. The year also saw 'mook' (silent) morchas by the Maratha community, which comprises around a third of the state's population. After holding almost 30 silent morchas across Maharashtra, the Maratha Kranti silent morcha entered Mumbai, the country's commercial capital in November in the form of a bike rally. The Maratha reservation issue figured in the winter session of Maharashtra Legislature, with Fadnavis assuring the legislators that the state government was committed to providing reservation to the agitating Maratha community. Maratha leaders are also demanding amendments to the controversial Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging that it is being blatantly misused by Dalits to settle personal scores. The State Cabinet expansion in July saw 11 ministers taking oath as the Fadnavis government gave a greater representation to Marathas and Dhangar community. Besides BJP, allies Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana also got representation in the expansion. Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale was inducted in the Union Cabinet in July, boosting the morale of his party workers in Maharashtra. In June, noted ophthalmologist and social worker Vikas Mahatme and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, were nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The move was seen as a political strategy of social engineering to convey the BJP's commitment to the welfare of Dhangar and Maratha communities. Former chief minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane was among the 10 candidates who got elected unopposed to Maharashtra Legislative Council in June. The rape and murder of a minor at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district prompted some legislators picking on critically-acclaimed Marathi movie Sairat, which lays bare the social reality of caste and the honour killings resulting from such inter-caste elopements. Sairat, which was released this year, received a massive response in Maharashtra and was the story of love between a Dalit boy and a girl belonging to the dominant, upper caste Maratha community. NCP MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said it was creating fissures between various sections in the society. Despite BJP and NCP being locked in a bitter fight in the state, there were occasions when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar lauded each other. "Pawar has completed 50 years of either being an MLA or MP, which is a legacy in itself in Indian . I have no hesitation in accepting that Pawar held my hand and taught me to walk in my early days in Gujarat," Modi said. In February 2015, Modi had visited Baramati, Pawar's hometown, to inaugurate a Krishi Vigyan Kendra building and also had lunch at the NCP chief's home. The 'Jaldoot' train supplying water from Miraj town to Latur in Marathwada made its 111th and last trip in August. Since its first run in April to then parched Latur, the train delivered 2.79 crore litre water to the drought-affected town. The train, run jointly by Indian Railways and state government, comprised 50 wagons of water, and was operated from Miraj junction to Latur, 340 km away. The Latur civic body had stopped water supply through taps in February, after its reservoirs ran dry due to acute water scarcity in Marathwada. In April, the water shortage prompted the Bombay High Court, ordering the shifting of 13 Indian Premier League (IPL) matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra. Senior Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Mahadev Jankar courted controversy over their remarks. Pankaja, Women and Child Development minister, found herself mired in a controversy with the emergence of an audio clip in which the BJP leader is reportedly heard 'threatening' a priest of Bhagwangad hill shrine to allow her to make a speech on Dussehra. About 100 Chinese firms took part in a 'Make in India' business forum organised today by the Indian Consulate of Shanghai at Gaoyou town to attract investments. The 'Make in India' Business Forum focusing on the investment opportunities available in India for Chinese entrepreneurs was organised at Gaoyou, a county-level industrial hub. Nearly 100 local companies from Gaoyou from sectors like photovoltaic cells, textile, garments and textile machinery, electrical appliances, renewable energy and real estate and construction participated at the seminar, a press release by the consulate said. During the investment forum, Consul General Prakash Gupta made presentations about the policy incentives available to foreign investors in each of the above sectors and assured Gaoyou companies of necessary facilitation in their investment plans for India. Ruling Communist Party of China's Gou Feng Cheng, who is Secretary of Gaoyou, also interacted with the Consul General and it was decided that Gaoyou leaders would be heading a high level investors' delegation on a visit to India next year, the release said. Yangzhou city, under which Gaoyou is located, had hosted a large scale business forum and an India Week in September. The India Week celebrations included an Indian film festival, food festival, art exhibition and a cultural performance. The 'Make in India' seminar was a follow-up to deepening engagement with Yangzhou city, which continues to be a key focus partner for the Indian Consulate in Shanghai for 2016, the release said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 101-year-old man, thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history, was today found guilty of historical child sex offences. Jurors found Ralph Clarke from Erdington, Birmingham, guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls in the 1970s and 80s. He admitted nine charges relating to a young boy part-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Clarke told police he was "immune to feelings", the court heard. The former Royal Air Force serviceman, of Holly Lane, who was born in March 1915, sat impassively as the unanimous verdicts were delivered, the BBC reported. Judge Richard Bond said he needed to "ponder with care" the sentence and added: "The reality is that he's so old it's unlikely he'll be released back into the community." He said the public would be "horrified" if Clarke was not sent to prison. At the start of Clarke's trial, prosecutor Miranda Moore said the defendant was arrested after two of his victims walked into a police station in August last year. Detective Con Emma Fennon from West Midlands Police's historical sexual offences team described the crimes as "horrific offences" and said Clarke showed no remorse. When questioned on the merits of taking a 101-year-old man to court, she said: "The day that not prosecuting someone who hurts a child is not in the public interest, we may as well all pack up and go home." Con Fennon added that his age was "no defence to what he has done". She said: "The nature of what he did to his victims has robbed them of their childhood." Claire Nicholls from the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said for more than 40 years "Clarke thought he'd got away with his crimes". "However, due to the courage of the victims we were able to bring this defendant to justice," she said. His victims reported the offences to West Midlands Police in August last year after seeing Facebook posts celebrating Clarke's 100th birthday. Investigations revealed a catalogue of abuse spanning many years, the report said. Clarke admitted two counts of attempting to commit a serious sexual offence, two of indecency with a child and five indecent assaults on the boy. The retired lorry driver was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers were killed in what local authorities said was the biggest ever jihadist attack on the army, at a base near the restive border with Mali. "A detachment of our army's anti-terrorist force suffered a murderous attack which claimed the lives of 12 of our valiant soldiers and left some wounded," said President Rock Marc Christian Kabore yesterday, in an address to the nation. "I strongly condemn this horrible attack which shows the cruelty of these perpetrators," added Kabore, who did not specify the number of injured. Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the army's Nassoumbou base some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Burkina-Mali border, the high commissioner of Soum province, Mohamed Dah, earlier told AFP by phone. "They were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles," he said, adding that it was "the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated" against the army. Dah added that at least five attackers were killed although their bodies were removed from the scene by other assailants on motorcycles. A security source who asked not to be named said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black jihadist flags. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. This was the second direct attack against the Burkina army since jihadist assailants surfaced in the country in early 2015, mostly staging attacks in the north near the borders of Mali and Niger. But in January this year, three jihadists left dozens of people dead and 71 injured in an attack in the heart of the capital. Thirty people were killed when gunmen stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel and a nearby cafe in Ouagadougou. The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group behind a string of attacks in west Africa in recent years claimed responsibility for the strikes on the venues which were popular with Westerners. The army has, since 2012, had an anti-terrorist battalion deployed along the country's long border with Mali, an area which is frequently subjected to attacks and kidnappings. In October, Kabore had called on his countrymen to help fight back against the mounting jihadist threat. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Normal life was paralysed in the Barak Valley today following a 12-hour bandh called separately by the Congress and SUCI to protest against Union Minister of State (Independent charge) Rajen Gohain's demand to withdraw Bengali as the official language of the Valley. All shops and business establishments remained closed while vehicular traffic were off roads in the Valley's three districts - Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi, officials said here. Train services in the Valley was also affected with most trains being stopped by the protestors. There was, however, no report of any incident of violence from any part of the Valley and a strict vigil was being maintained by the security forces. The district units of Congress have called the bandh, which began at 6 AM, to protest against the demand of Gohain to withdraw Bengali as the official language of Barak Valley. The SUCI gave a separate bandh call on the same issue. The Union minister had recently said in a press conference that Bengali should be scrapped as the official language in Barak Valley and Assamese should be the official language as it was in the Brahmaputra Valley of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court in Kerala today found 13 RSS activists guilty in the murder of a local CPI(M) worker here on April 1, 2008. Additional Sessions Court judge T K Unnimol will pronounce the quantum of sentence tomorrow. The case relates to the murder of Vishnu at Kaithamukku. According to the prosecution, the accused armed with swords, iron rods and other weapons attacked Vishnu and killed him. There were totally 16 accused in the case. While one accused died in 2008, another was acquitted by the court today and one is absconding. Charges against the accused include that of murder, conspiracy and unlawful assembly. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PHOENIX Attorney General Mark Brnovich is trying to quash Tucson's challenge to the law he is using to try to take away the city's state aid. Legal pleadings filed in Pima County Superior Court by Brnovich's deputies do not contend that Tucson has no right to contest the legality of the statute approved earlier this year. That law allows Brnovich to order the treasurer to withhold state aid simply on his own finding that the city ordinance requiring that certain seized and found weapons be destroyed runs afoul of state statutes. But Brnovich says he's sure that attorneys for Tucson will make the same arguments in the lawsuit he already filed at the Supreme Court in his bid to deny state aid. So he is urging Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods to throw out the case the city filed against him. If Woods is unwilling to do that, Brnovich at least wants her to delay the case in her court until the Supreme Court rules. And Brnovich also has a separate motion to move the whole case out of her court and have it transferred to Maricopa County. City Attorney Mike Rankin said his office anticipated that Brnovich would make such moves. He said the city is preparing a response. The fight over who gets to hear the case could be significant. If Woods were to void the law on which Brnovich is relying, that could undermine his whole effort at the Supreme Court to take away more than $150 million a year Tucson gets in state aid. If nothing else, it puts Brnovich in the position of having to defend the law rather than simply telling the justices that the law requires them to order the city to rescind its ordinance or lose the cash. Brnovich contends the 2005 Tucson ordinance on gun destruction is illegal because a 2013 state law says that any operable weapons acquired by police cannot be destroyed but instead must be sold. Tucson is not challenging that 2013 law. Instead it is focusing on a measure approved earlier this year that says if the attorney general concludes a city ordinance runs afoul of state law he can order the treasurer to halt state aid until the local law is repealed. Brnovich in this case is taking a slightly different approach. While he concluded the Tucson ordinance is illegal, he is asking the Supreme Court to halt Tucson's state aid versus doing it himself. Whatever the method, attorneys for Tucson contend that what Brnovich is doing is illegal. They cite provisions in the Arizona Constitution which allow the state's 18 charter cities to make their own laws on matters of local concern. And attorney Richard Rollman who is representing Tucson in court told Woods that how a city disposes of property fits that category. Brnovich is arguing the contrary, saying the issue of guns is of statewide concern because the legislature has an interest in preventing weapons from being destroyed. He said it keeps the prices of guns inexpensive and helps fight crime by allowing more people to be armed. Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces and Mukti Jodhas (freedom fighters) of Bangladesh, who fought shoulder to shoulder in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan, came together to celebrate Vijay Diwas here. 38 freedom fighters along with the officials of Bangladeshi Army, Navy and Air Force attended the function at Fort William. They also participated in a memorial service for martyrs at Vijay Smarak. Mukti Joddhas have been attending the annual celebration for the past 10 years. Wreaths were laid by the veterans, members of the Bangladeshi delegation and Commander-in-Chiefs of the Eastern Army, Naval and Air commands. The celebration kicked off on December 13 with a band performance at Princep Ghat following which there was an interactive session among the war veterans, who recounted their war experiences. Vijay Diwas (Victory Day) is celebrated every year on December 16 in India to mark the anniversary of victory of Indian forces over Pakistan in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Indian Army fought in an alliance with Bangladesh's military Mukti Bahini. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A second man was arrested for allegedly stabbing a worshipper near a California mosque in an apparent hate crime. Marco De La Cruz, 26, of Simi Valley was arrested yesterday at his home on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and violations of civil rights and his parole. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer. De La Cruz is a gang member with an extensive criminal record and a neighbor of John Matteson, who was arrested shortly after the attack late Saturday night. Matteson, 29, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to making criminal threats, disturbing the peace and other charges with hate-crime enhancements that make them felonies. He is free on bail. Police said earlier this week that the men may have earlier asked to use a bathroom at the Jamia Razi Islamic Center and became angry when told it was closed, the Ventura County Star has reported. The men allegedly began yelling anti-Muslim slurs at people leaving the mosque, which led to a fight in a nearby shopping center parking lot where the stabbing occurred, police said. A 36-year-old man was stabbed in the abdomen and taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said. The suspects didn't target the mosque, Detective Cmdr. John Parks told the newspaper yesterday. "I can say unequivocally there was no pattern," Parks said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) About 3,000 people have been booked by police in connection with the attack on the place of worship of the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan's Punjab province that resulted in the killing of two persons. The incident took place at Dulmiyal village of Chakwal district, some 275 km from Lahore, a few days ago. According to the FIR, police booked about 3,000 people under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and blasphemy laws. Some 70 suspects have been named in it, including members of Ahmadi community. Police claim to havearrested 31 suspects -- 29 Muslims and two Ahmadis. The government has alsoimposed section 144 in Chakwal under which no gathering of four or more persons is allowed. The army and Rangers personnel have been deployed in the Dulmiyal village and other parts of the district to control the law and order situation. On December 12, clerics made an announcement from the village mosques asking the people not to allow Ahmadis to worship at their worship place -- Baitulzikar -- as it was the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. According to the FIR, the mob which swelled to 3,000, surrounded the Ahmadi worship place and pelted stones on it. The guards present at the worship place opened fire on those trying to force their entry into the complex that resulted in the killing of a man. The Ahmadis claimed one of their persons was also got killed. Police later reached the spot and managed to disperse the crowd. Ahmadi community members in Dulmiyal have left the village because of security concerns, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan Punjab spokesman Amer Mahmood said. He said some 500 Ahmadi families were living in the village before the attack. "Most of them left the village for their relatives residences in the province," he said. Three clerics leading some 3,000 people in a procession had incited anti-Ahmadi sentiment and urging them to take over the Ahmadi place of worship, a police official said. Pakistan's parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, and they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists, who view them as heretics. They have also been taken to court on blasphemy charges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has organised a four-day meeting of its pracharaks here from tomorrow, where Mohan Bhagwat, head of the organisation, would remain present. Bhagwat is scheduled to arrive in the city late tonight for the meeting, an RSS office-bearer said. "RSS has organised a meeting of regional pracharaks between December 17 and 20. The meetings will take place on the Swaminarayan temple premises located on the outskirts of the city," Bhaskar Bhatt, media in-charge of central Gujarat of RSS, said, RSS chief Bhagawat and other office-bearers will attend the meeting, he said. "Tomorrow, a meeting of pracharaks from western region, comprising Goa, Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Gujarat, will be held. On Sunday, regional pracharaks from across the country will meet," he said. According to Bhatt, on Monday, full-time RSS pracharaks from India, will hold discussions. "On the last day, Bhagwat will hold a meeting with industrialists before addressing a general meeting in the city. Thereafter, he will leave for Ahmedabad," Bhatt said. Chief Minister of Goa (Laxmikant Parsekar), Maharashtra (Devendra Fadnavis) and Gujarat (Vijay Rupani) are likely to pay a visit to the meeting, Bhatt said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government is all set to launch a nationwide campaign to document the "known and unknown" freedom fighters and upload the information on a designated website. Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai said a four-member committee has been formed to source information about freedom fighters from across the country under the campaign to be launched from January 20. He said the website 'shaheedkosh.Delhi.Gov.In' was being developed as a "one-stop platform for people looking for information about freedom fighters". "As of now, information about freedom fighters is scattered and in many cases not even known. Though we hear about several heroic feats of freedom fighters at local level, they have not been documented. This is an effort to collate data from across and after due verification, compile them and put them out for public consumption," the minister said. Rai said the AAP government will write to the Union Home Ministry and district magistrates across the country, seeking such information. People can also send their inputs in this regard to the website. The inputs will be verified by the four-member team before being uploaded on the website. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actress Dhanya Mary Varghese was today arrested along with her husband and brother-in-law in connection with a Rs 130 crore cheating case by a company promoted by her husband's family, police said. The actress along with her husband John Jacob, Managing Director of the Samson and Sons Builders and Developers Private Ltd, and his brother Samuel Jacob, were taken into custody from Nagercoil on complaints from various persons who had invested in apartments and villas promised by the developers, police said. Dhanya was serving as Director, sales, in the company. According to police, Dhanya's father-in-law, Jacob Samson, Chairman of the company, had been arrested earlier. Their real estate company had taken up various projects in Thiruvananthapuram city in 2011, promising to deliver 500 flats and 20 villas within two years.They had collected Rs 100 crore as advance during booking from various people, including non-resident Keralites and another Rs 30 crore promising high interest, police said. However, when they failed to deliver the promised flats, several people filed complaints with police. The three had been hiding at Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kerala before they were arrested by a special investigation team constituted by City Police Commissioner from Nagercoil, police said. Dhanya debuted with Tamil film'Thirudi'. She has acted in several Malayalam films including 'Thalappavu', 'Kerala Cafe', 'Nayakan', 'Red Chillies' and 'Pranayam', before getting married in January 2012. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a bid to encourage youths from across the country to set up startups in Northeastern states, the government has announced additional incentive apart from that given under "Startup India, Standup India" programme, Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said. This would encourage avenues of employability and livelihood not only for youth from the region, but also from all over the country, he said at a programme organised by the Northeast MPs' Forum here. Terming "Startup India, Standup India" programme as "most unique programme" in the world, the Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said it offers unprecedented incentives like three years of tax holiday and three months of exit period. "In addition to the incentives already announced in the programme, the Ministry of DoNER has decided to provide an additional incentive of venture capital fund for any youngster from any part of India who wishes to set up a 'Start-Up' entrepreneurship in Northeast," he said. Besides, the North East Development Finance Corporation (NIDFi) also has provision to provide easy loans to set up entrepreneurship. "With enormous unexplored avenues including organic farming and manufacturing, Northeast has the capacity to emerge as the favourite destination for young startups from all over India, he said, adding that "Northeast Industrial Policy" has also been revived. Singh also said there has not only been an increase in the number of projects completed every year but also the pendency of utilisation certificates (UC) for various projects in the region has decreased and after measures to ease the procedures for submission of detailed project reports (DPR) and UC were made. The DoNER Ministry, he said, has gone beyond the mandate of only development and engaged itself in inter-ministerial interaction with other Ministries to push forward the process of setting up new airports and expansion of rail network. Extension of the air-strip at the Shillong Airport and the construction of the Agartala to Bangladesh rail track on the Indian side would be funded by the DoNER Ministry, he said. Minister of State (MoS) for Home Kiren Rijiju, MoS Railways Rajen Gohain, MPs from Northeast R Kalita, Vincent H Pala and P D Rai were also present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today said his ministry will soon seek Cabinet nod for a Rs 500-crore revival package for debt-ridden cooperative Nafed to make it financially viable. Nafed had incurred bad debt of around Rs 1,600 crore in its "tie-up" businesses during 2003-06. The cooperative had provided financial support of Rs 3,945 crore to 62 private parties for trading in non-agri items and out of that, many turned defaulters. Nafed has been incurring losses because of mounting interest liability on outstanding loans due to its failed tie-up business. It has been seeking a revival package from the government to run its operations. "Nafed has a debt of about Rs 1,600 crore and has free-hold properties worth Rs 400 crore. It is difficult to run such an organisation with this kind of debt," Singh said during the launch of a mobile app by Nafed and five new tea varieties. Nafed management has worked hard and total turnover is expected to be Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal, he said. "Since it has started performing well, we have decided to revive the organisation and make it financially healthy," he said. The minister said that the government has discussed with bankers to settle the debts. Deliberations are going on with Finance and Law Ministries on the revival package. The Ministry will soon move a Cabinet proposal in this regard, he added. Meanwhile, Nafed Managing Director Sanjeev Kumar Chadha said that banks have agreed for one time settlement of nearly Rs 500 crore and they will have the right to auction a mall in Mumbai, which is estimated to be valued at Rs 150 crore. Chadha said Nafed has achieved a turnover of Rs 1,300 crore till December of 2016-17 fiscal and is expected to cross Rs 1,500 crore on the back of pulses and oilseeds procurement from farmers. In last fiscal, its turnover stood at Rs 544 crore. The Nafed chief further said that the government's proposed revival package will be against 17 free-hold properties of the cooperative. The proposed interest-free loans from the government will be repaid in 10 instalments of Rs 50 crore each. "We are earning more than Rs 100 crore per annum. It will not be difficult to repay Rs 50 crore," Chadha said. Nafed is one of the central nodal agencies for procurement of 16 notified agri-commodities under the government's price support scheme. It also procures copra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo today, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. Russia, which helped to broker the deal with Turkey, said its operation was now "complete" with all women and children moved from the city. Ankara and a Syrian military source said the evacuation had been suspended but was not yet over. "The evacuations are not over and many people still want to leave the area," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to return to rebel territory, an AFP correspondent said. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and had continued overnight, with thousands of people leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the accord. "The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," a security source told AFP. State television said: "The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo." The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has supervised the evacuation, confirmed it was on hold. The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from two villages under rebel siege. "The regime and its militias... Stopped the evacuation operation in another attempt to involve Fuaa and Kafraya," said Yasser al-Youssef of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group. The Shiite-majority villages in Idlib province have been besieged since 2015. The government and its other main ally Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the Aleppo deal. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, also said the suspension appeared to be related to the two villages. It said pro-government fighters were blocking the road out of Aleppo that the evacuation convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of residents of Fuaa and Kafraya. The evacuation of the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo began on Thursday under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today raised the issue of economic plight of debt-ridden Punjab farmers before Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Amarinder, who was part of the Congress delegation led by party's national vice president Rahul Gandhi, said farmers burdened with loans were committing suicide in Punjab and other parts of the country. Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, he said the problems of the farmers were being compounded by the manner in which agricultural issues, including MSP (minimum support price), were being handled by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). He said the Congress had sought the Prime Minister's support to alleviate the debt and other woes of the farmers. Modi, he said, assured to look into the matter. Amarinder said he had spoken about the Punjab farmers' plight in the meeting while leaders from Uttar Pradesh had highlighted the situation in their state. Responding to media persons questions, he said the demonetisation had aggravated the problems of the farmers. "In Punjab, where farmers were totally dependant on cooperative banks for their cash requirements, 7,000 of the 12,700 villages had no bank branches or ATMs," he said, asking the Modi government as to how the farmers could be expected to survive in such a situation. Reacting to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's claim that post-demonetisation situation in the country would stabilise in another 2-3 weeks, the PCC chief claimed he did not see the situation improving even in the "next one year". In a statement, Amarinder said the gravity of the situation in Punjab could be gauged by the fact that 33 lakh farmers have signed the debt waiver forms under Congress' campaign 'Karza Kudki Khatam, Fasal Di Poori Rakam,' which evoked good response from farming community, including farm labourers. The Punjab Congress chief said given the "huge savings" earned by the central government in oil subsidy, waiver of loans of the farmers should not be a problem. Claiming that the BJP government at the Centre had waived off loans of industrialists to the tune of Rs 110,000 crores, Amarinder said the same could be done for the poor farmers, for whom it was a matter of life and death. The former Punjab chief minister said he was committed to waiving off the farmers' loans in the state. "Neither the farmers nor the arhtiyas (commission agents) would would have to pay a single penny out of their pockets to settle the outstanding loans," he promised. The plight of the farmers in Punjab, he claimed, had been worsened by the Badal government's "anti-farmer policies and actions, including massive bungling in procurement, non-payment of dues to farmers, procurement at lower than MSP and delayed harvesting in border areas due to evacuation triggered by BJP-led war hysteria". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Suspected rental scam Flagstaff police are investigating a suspected rental scam on Craigslist. According to the police report, a woman informed officers Sunday, Dec. 11 that she had responded to a post on Craigslist.com that advertised a home for rent in Flagstaff in late November. The person who had posted the ad told her he was living in California and that he originally intended to sell the house but was now looking for a renter. They corresponded via phone, email and text. On Dec. 1, she learned her rental application had been approved and was instructed to send a deposit. When she told the person advertising the rental that she would not send money without a lease agreement, he sent her a lease that said she would be moving in Jan. 1, 2017. He then had her send nearly $5,000 via Money Gram to multiple people. On Monday, Dec. 12, one of those other people contacted the woman saying she had not received the money. That person told the woman she would mail the keys and contract to her only if she sent more deposits. The investigation is ongoing. Charged with DUI Flagstaff police arrested Rick L. Friday, 32, of South Kofa Drive on a DUI charge at 11:35 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. City and county residents who want to report a crime but wish to remain anonymous may call Silent Witness at 774-6111 or (877) 29-CRIME, submit a tip online at www.coconinosilentwitness.org, or text the word Flagtip along with your information to 274637 (CRIMES). Rewards of up to $2,000 are given for information that leads to an arrest. Some employees of Microsoft and Amazon.Com have joined their peers in Silicon Valley in pledging to never help US President-elect Donald Trump in his reported plan to register and create a database of all Muslim immigrants. A group of Silicon Valley technologists, engineers, designers and executives have co-signed an online pledge stating that they will refuse to participate in data collection that can be used to discriminate against Muslims in America. The "never again" pledge, which has drawn more than 1,300 signatures as of Thursday, invokes a history of genocides carried out, at times, with the cooperation of businesses in identifying victims, the Seattle Times reported. The signatories said they would "refuse to participate in the creation of databases of identifying information for the United States government to target individuals based on race, religion, or national origin." The open letter is a response to the election of Donald Trump, and particularly his campaign-season call for a mandatory registry of Muslims living in the US In addition to dozens of people who identify themselves as employees of Microsoft or Amazon, signatories include employees of Google, Apple, IBM, Oracle, and a slate of other technology firms. Silicon Valley workers who signed the pledge promised to fight back or resign from their positions if their employers force them to conduct surveillance on minority communities or invade their constitutional rights to privacy. They also vow to ask their companies to minimise data collection and retention that could potentially be used to target minority communities. "We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration's proposed data collection policies," the pledge states. The pledge was released on Tuesday, one day before technology industry executive meeting of the high-ranking Silicon Valley executives like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Larry Page. The leadership of most of those companies has been silent on the petition and the issues around it. Facebook, which gathers a trove of personal information about its users in the service of selling targeted advertising, on Wednesday said in a statement that no one had asked the company to build a Muslim registry, "and of course we would not do so." In a statement, Microsoft yesterday said the company has "been clear about our values. We oppose discrimination and we wouldn't do any work to build of a registry of Muslim Americans." During his campaign, President-elect Trump proposed building a database of Muslims in the US. He later emphasised plans to look into deporting millions of illegal immigrants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paying homage to valiant martyrs on the occassion of Vijay Diwas, Chief of Army's Northern Command, Lt Gen D Anbu today said the Army changed the course of history with its undeterred courage, dedication and professionalism, bringing honour to the country. "The Indian Army changed the course of history with its undeterred courage, dedication and professionalism, bringing glory and honour to the nation," he said. The Northern Command commemorated the occasion with a wreath laying ceremony at Dhruva Shahid Smarak by Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen D Anbu. Lt Gen Anbu and all ranks of Northern Command and a large number of veterans and serving soldiers laid wreaths in honour of the valiant martyrs and to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives for the country. In this message, he said, "This glorious day in the annals of history of India was made possible due to the supreme sacrifices of valiant soldiers during the War." Thereafter Lt Gen Anbu interacted with the veterans and service personnel present on the occasion. Each year, December 16 is celebrated as Vijay Diwas to commemorate India's historic victory over Pakistan, a defence spokesman said. Swift and professionally planned operations executed by the armed forces led to one of the greatest military victories for the liberation of the people of erstwhile East Pakistan and the creation of a sovereign independent Bangladesh, he said. It was on this day, that the largest military surrender took place at Dhaka when Indian Army, accepted the surrender of over 90,000 Pakistani troops from Lt Gen A A K Niazi of the Pakistan Army. The Western Command of the Army, located in Panchkula district of Haryana, also celebrated the 45th anniversary of Vijay Diwas with full military grandeur and dignity at its Headquarters today. A large number of ex-servicemen and service personnel participated in the celebrations and paid homage to the martyrs who laid down their lives in Indo-Pak War of 1971. Lt General I S Ghuman, Chief of Staff, Western Command, and a large number of veterans and serving soldiers laid wreaths in honour of our valiant martyrs, a spokesman said. To mark the 45th year of victory of Indian Army in 1971 Indo-Pak war over Pakistan Army Vijay Diwas was celebrated at Nagrota Military station. General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen A K Sharma, laid wreath at Ashwamedh Shaurya Sthal War Memorial at Nagrota this morning to honour the valiant martyrs of Indian Army. Vijay Diwas celebrations were today also held at all stations of Jaipur-based South Western Command where the officers paid tributes to the martyrs. General Officer Commanding -in Chief (GOC-in C) of the South Western Command Lt Gen Sarath Chand along with other senior officers and jawans paid rich tributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath at Prena Sthal at Jaipur Military Station in a solemn ceremony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Around 450 million people, which is half the world's population defecating in the open are in India, a top government official said today, but exuded confidence that the country will be free from this problem as Swachh Bharat Mission is becoming a "people's movement". "About 450 million people practice open defection in India, this is half of the world's population which are defecating in open. "We have long way to go and behavioural change is the way forward. With progress of the mission (SBM) so far, I am optimistic that the country will become open defection free," Centre's Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Parameswaran Iyer said. Speaking at the launch of Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks, an initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission with the help of Tata Trusts, he said this cadre of skilled young professionals will support district officials in achieving the objective of overall sanitation in their respective districts. Asserting that sanitation is of utmost importance for this country where 13 per cent children die due to diarrhoea, Iyer said SBM is high on the agenda of the Prime Minister and it is "taking shape of people's movement". Addressing the event, Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata said he is privileged to be part of this movement and added, "I am excited that these young professionals who are recruited as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks will get a chance to express themselves and to be part of this programme to making India cleaner." Complementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission, he said Tata Trust is committed in working with the government on this "visionary programme". Tata Trust will recruit and pay salaries of the 600 young professionals, who will work with the administration of respective district to spread awareness about sanitation and achieving the objectives of SBM. Thanking Tata for helping in the SBM, Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said more corporates should come forward and become part of this movement for clean India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A withering spell of fast bowling backed up by exceptional catching had Pakistan on their knees as Australia took charge of the day-night first Test in Brisbane on Friday. Australia's three-man pace attack -- Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird -- decimated the tourists' first innings under the Gabba lights. Starc and Hazlewood took three wickets each and Bird chimed in with two for seven to leave skipper Steve Smith pondering whether to enforce the follow-on after a seven-wicket final session. At the close, Pakistan were hanging on at 97 for eight and trailing by 332 runs with Sarfraz Ahmed on 31 and Mohammad Amir not out eight. Rookie Peter Hanscomb hit a maiden century in Australia's first innings 429, but it was the bowlers coupled with inept Pakistan batting which had the pink ball hurtling to an early resolution. Hazlewood put the tourists on the skids with two wickets in two balls in his fifth over. Babar Azam got a thick edge which flew to Steve Smith at second slip for 19 and next ball veteran Younis Khan feathered to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade for a duck. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was never comfortable under the lights and played well away from his body, nicking to Matthew Renshaw at first slip off Bird for four. Asad Shafiq soon followed prodding at Starc to give Khawaja another slips catch for two. Sami Aslam, who was twice clocked on the helmet as he turned his head away from rising Hazlewood deliveries, was caught behind off Bird for 22 off 100 balls. Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah followed within minutes of each other but Sarfraz and Amir saw out play to stumps. Handscomb made the most of his opportunity and followed up a half-century on debut against South Africa in Adelaide last month with a polished 105 in Australia's first innings of 429. Handscomb was out shortly after tea when he chopped a Wahab delivery on to his stumps, one ball after Josh Hazlewood was caught at first slip in Mohammad Amir's previous over. Tailenders Nathan Lyon (29) and Bird (19) hit out in a crowd-pleasing last-wicket stand of 49, while Wahab Riaz and Amir both finished with four wickets each. The Australians, who resumed at 288 for three, lost skipper Steve Smith for 130, Nic Maddinson for one, Matthew Wade for seven and Mitchell Starc for 10 in the first session. Smith was finally out to a wild shot in the 100th over when he slashed at Wahab and was taken by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, ending a 172-run stand with Handscomb. Smith had some luck along the way with his 16th Test century, offering three chances during his 222-ball knock. The Australian captain was dropped on 53 by Ahmed off spinner Azhar Ali, and on 97 he survived in bizarre circumstances when a faint outside edge off Amir was taken by Ahmed, but there was no appeal. According to the infra-red imaging system Hot Spot, the pink ball registered a faint contact on the bat and Smith later admitted he had nicked it. On 129, he jumped down the wicket to luckless leg-spinner Yasir Shah and skied to long-off, where Amir made a hash of the catch. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh today celebrated the 44th anniversary of its victory against Pakistan in the liberation war with India's support. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post while thousands followed them as the nation also bowed in gratitude to the 1971 martyrs and heroes. Hamid later joined as the chief guest a parade of armed forces and other state-owned organisations at a ceremony, also attended by the premier at the National Parade Square in the capital. Streets and buildings at the capital and other major cities were illuminated overnight of buildings in Dhaka and other major cities marked the anniversary. The premier last night hosted a reception in honour of 29 Indian and Russian war veterans, who fought for Bangladesh's 1971 independence from Pakistan. Retired lieutenant general G S Sihota led the Indian delegation at the function while Kozhurin Victor led the Russian veterans, who took part in sweeping mines at Chittagong Port after the country's independence. "Bangladesh will always remember your contributions," Hasina told the reception. The war in 1971 broke after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Officially three million people were killed during the nine-month long war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, that seeks to ensure time-bound settlement of insolvency and enable faster turnaround of businesses, is likely to unlock Rs 25,000 crore of money over the next five years, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) said on Friday. "Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is likely to unlock Rs 25,000 crore of money over the next five years, ICSI President Mamta Binani told reporters here. She was talking on the sidelines of an event which was jointly held by ICSI, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and NSE. "IBBI became operational since December 1. As of now there are 84 professionals which have registered themselves with IBBI and out of them, 41 are the members of ICSI," she said. All the 94,000 cases currently pending with Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) will be transferred to the IBB, Binani said, adding National Company Law tribunal (NCLT) will be addressing insolvency-related cases only in future. According to Binani, the number of insolvency professionals was likely to increase from less than 100 now to 1,000 shortly and the first exam for such professionals will be held on December 31. Exiting business currently takes 4.3 years in the country as against the world average of 2.3 years, she said, and hoped the IBBI will help reduce this time significantly. IBBI has granted registration to ICSI Insolvency Professional Agency to act as insolvency professional agency under the Board. Months after selling its stake in China, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick today said it sold its stake to rival Didi since the "battle in China became global", prompting the US-based company to focus on other areas such as Ubereats, driverless cars and markets like India. "The battle in China had become global. We had sovereign wealth of China being invested in our competition globally. We had American tech companies that were being compelled to invest in our competitor in China. And so China battle had become a global battle," Kalanick said at the TiE Global Summit here. In August, the Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing announced acquisition of Uber's operations in China in a USD 35 billion deal. While Didi acquired Uber China's brand, business operations and data, Uber received 5.89 per cent share of the combined entity, totalling 17.7 per cent economic interest in Didi Chuxing. Interestingly, Didi is an investor in Uber's rival Ola in India as well as Lyft, a competitor to Uber in the US. "At some point we realised that we can't do everything ourselves. So we partnered in China so that we can focus on other interesting things we are doing worldwide like Ubereats, what is going on in India, driverless cars. There are whole bunch of things that we needed to focus on. We could not do everything ourselves. We did put our heart and soul in that effort (China operations)," he said. Kalanick, who is on a five-day trip to India, yesterday said the company was losing USD 200 million a month in China and that merging was a "great strategy". The billionaire entrepreneur started Scour (a file sharing service) with four other co-founders and then went on to set up another file sharing platform, Red Swoosh before starting Uber with Garrett Camp in 2009. Asked about his views on the ideal number of co-founders for a successful startup venture, Kalanick said: "The thing is when you have too many co-founders...It takes too long to arrive at a decision. Solo, likewise, is a tough road too." In India, many of the Unicorn Club members (private companies with valuation of over USD one billion) like Flipkart (Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal), Snapdeal (Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal), Ola (Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati) and Zomato (Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah) have two co-founders. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP today said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has committed "treason" by not releasing the "evidence" of corruption against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after raising allegations. "Rahul Gandhi by not releasing the evidence against the PM after making the allegations had committed treason," BJP All-India general secretary P Muralidhar Rao told reporters on the sidelines of the party's four-day state meeting here, which will conclude tomorrow. Gandhi had two days ago claimed that he has detailed information about "personal corruption" by the PM which he wants to present in Lok Sabha but was not being allowed to do so. Taking a dig at the Congress leader, Rao said his attempt was only to find space in media headlines, according to a BJP release. "Rahul, who had wept saying that he was not allowed to speak in Parliament, can easily hand over the evidence he had to the Speaker. He should show the courage for that," Rao said. Blaming the Opposition for the washout of the winter session, Rao said they (opposition) come to the House with new conditions every day, which led to disruptions and discussions not taking place. "If the financial reforms were not acceptable to the people, it would not have lasted even for a day," he said. It was during the tenure of the previous UPA government that there was a huge growth in black money in the country, he alleged. Rao also wanted BJP workers to take the achievements of the Modi government to people across the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading private equity (PE) firm Group has bought 50% stake in Westend Mall in Pune for an undisclosed amount. "This is the fourth acquisition by after it bought stakes in retail malls in Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Navi Mumbai last year," property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle, which facilitated the deal, said in a statement here today. is the largest real estate private equity firm in the world today with $102 billion of assets under management, it said. Westend is the largest integrated mixed-use development in the micro-market of Aundh and Baner, which houses some of the top IT companies and an abundant residential catchment in the vicinity. The shopping complex is the largest operational retail mall in west Pune. "Against the backdrop of several question marks being raised on the impact of various potential disruptive changes in the real estate sector, this deal underscores the fact that institutional investors are still wired into relevant big- ticket opportunities," JLL India Managing Director-Pune Sanjay Bajaj said. By harnessing the demand for Grade A real estate developments in the city, Blackstone has once again shown it has a firm finger on the pulse of the Indian growth story, he added. In this, the centennial year of the National Park Service, we all have a chance to celebrate and honor the national parks, monuments, historic sites and recreation areas. For me, the best way to do this is by cracking open the map, finding the great national park spots and making a return trip with eyes open and gratitude intact. My visits to national park-operated locations total in the dozens (maybe low hundreds if I consider all the places Ive visited in Washington, D.C.) So I count myself among the parkie fans who carry a banner for the protected nature and cultural and historic heritage. With the NPS birthday year still on the calendar, I wanted to put a highlight on five national monuments that all a day trip away from Flagstaff. While we have three national monuments down the road and still other monuments mixed among the biggies like Grand Canyon, I expect some of these smaller units are overlooked or underappreciated. So, while on travel during break or with a few extra days off, consider a trek to (or make time for) one or more of these wonders. Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. Located about two-and-a-half hours east of Flagstaff Interstate 40 to 191 North, Hubbell Trading Post is a must-visit for multiple reasons. One is that it presents a significantly important context to the history on the reservation and the rise of commerce, as the trading post in Ganado become one of the important commercial hubs from its founding in 1878. Another is that it features interesting stories of the artists who crossed paths with the trading post, including Maynard Dixon and Elbridge Ayer Burbank. The former is one of the best known Southwest artists and the latter is an artist who gained notoriety for his conte-crayon portraiture of Navajo residents thats on display in the home. Both artists and several more often gave art to John Lorenzo Hubbell and family in exchange for stays there. Free, but tours of the home are $2. Learn more at www.nps.gov/hutr. Montezuma Well National Monument. One hour down Interstate 17 and a quick jaunt onto McGuireville Road and locals can enjoy the wonders of Montezuma Well. A part of the Montezuma Castle but a separate (and usually quieter and less visited) unit of the Verde Valley monuments features a natural sink fed by gushing springs and ringed by ancient ruins. The Well includes a small hike down the edges of the pond and along and near some dwellings. A swallet, or exit passage, leads water out of the well and to a small stream on the other side that can be visited. The water flows down into Wet Beaver Creek. Another notable aspect to Montezuma Well is a beautiful, grassy and treed picnic area thats irrigated by the spring water and part of the ancient agriculture present there. A series of paths moves through nearby fields. Free. Learn more at www.nps.gov/mowe. Pipe Spring National Monument. Although located in northern Arizona, Pipe Spring National Monument is a haul from Flagstaff, about three-and-half hours one way or seven hours of driving round trip. So, its a long day trip on its own, but paired with a weekend jaunt to Zion National Park or while exploring around the Kanab, Utah area along U.S. 89, its a dozen-mile side trip down Route 389. Pipe Spring came to be from its rare water source that first attracted ancestral Puebloans and later Pauites before being found by Antonio Armijo, who was laying the Armijo Route of the Old Spanish Trail in 1829. Members of the LDS church established it as an outpost in the late 1850s, and it thrived as a fort until around 1887. Visiting today is a great chance to learn about both the ancient and pioneer history that shaped the Colorado Plateau. Its $7 per person with children free. www.nps.gov/pisp. Navajo National Monument. Two hours and 15 minutes to the north, up U.S. 89 and eastbound on 160, Navajo National Monument sits on the precipice and dives into the Tsegi Canyon complex. One of a handful of beautiful Navajo sandstone landscapes on the reservation, its home to two massive ancient ruins: Betatakin and Keet Seel. While the ruins require special permitting and planning, a day trip or stop along the way to another destination offers a chance to explore one of a handful of shorter trails. The monument also has two free campgrounds for the warmer days and months and interesting interpretive displays and features. A highlight is the Aspen Trail, which drops off the rim of the canyon affords views of the aspen grove below a unique feature as it grows at 5,000 feet, a much lower altitude than usual with the support of the cooler, shaded canyon. Free. www.nps.gov/nava. Tuzigoot National Monument. About an hour and 15 minutes from Flagstaff down Interstate 17 and across Route 260 east, Tuzigoot National Monument is a stunning ancient ruin that was once a thriving Sinaguan community from the 1100s into the 1400s. The three stories of the structure include 110 rooms and it sits on a rise above the Verde River floodplain. A walk through the ruins winds through the rooms and includes a chance to climb to the roof of the upper-most dwelling. The monument is part of the trio of ancient cultural sites in the Verde Valley, with the lesser visited Montezuma Well and the more-visited Montezuma Castle making up the other two. A visit to Tuzigoot can also be paired with a trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park, a nearby gem of that park system, and a relaxing dining and shopping experience in Old Town Cottonwood. $10 a person but good for Montezuma Castle the same day. www.nps.gov/tuzi. Global investment firm Blackstone has acquired 50 per cent stake in Westend Mall in Pune, a deal estimated at nearly Rs 300 crore. Global property consultant JLL India said in a statement that it has "facilitated the sale of 50 per cent stake in Westend Mall in Aundh, Pune to US-based private equity player Blackstone Group" but it did not disclose the deal value. Post-acquisition of retail malls in Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Navi Mumbai last year, this is the fourth acquisition by the PE giant. According to sources, the deal value has been struck at an enterprise value of Rs 575 crore. Globally, Blackstone is the largest real estate private equity firm with USD 102 billion of assets under management. It has been acquiring commercial assets across India and has over 30 million sq ft of space. It plans to list these assets through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Blackstone is also in race to acquire DLF's promoters 40 per cent stake in the realty major rental arm DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), a deal estimated at about Rs 12,000 -14,000 crore. DLF hold the rest 60 per cent in DCCDL. "Westend is the largest integrated mixed-use development in the micro-market of Aundh and Baner, which houses some of the top IT companies and an abundant residential catchment in the vicinity. "The Westend Mall, a part of the development, is the largest operational retail mall in west Pune, with marquee brands such as H&M, Shoppers Stop, Cinepolis with IMAX, Max, Starbucks, etc. In addition to the mall, the development also houses top-notch IT companies like Convergys, Sungard, OneNetwork, etc," said Sanjay Bajaj, Managing Director - Pune, JLL India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Campaigning for election to the civic body here, to be held on Sunday, ended today. Elections to 26 civic wards of Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh will be held on December 18 for which 122 candidates, including 67 Independents, are in the fray. Polling will be conducted at 460 booths from 8 AM to 5 PM and the results will be declared on December 20. Of those eligible to vote, 2,70,358 are male and 2,36,819 female. Both Congress and BJP are contesting from all 26 wards, while BSP has fielded candidates in 17 wards. The municipal corporation has 36 members, of which 26 are elected councillors, nine are nominated councillors and one is an MP (ex-officio member). At present, BJP has 15 councillors, Congress nine, BSP one and another one is Independent. During campaign, the incumbent BJP tried to cash in on the Centre's demonetisation move, while Congress' city unit leaders alleged it was implemented without any "application of mind". Last week, BJP had released its "vision document" that gave an account of work undertaken in the past 10 months by Mayor Arun Sood. Two weeks ago, BJP chief Amit Shah had addressed a gathering of the booth workers here. Fadnavis and Thackeray have led from the front in the no-holds-barred attack against each other. It has also put a question mark on the stability of the state government with the Sena chief asserting that he has put the ministry on "notice period." A section in Shiv Sena feels if the party does well in the civic polls, there is a possibility that it could pull out of the government. But, in interviews to media, Uddhav later appeared to mellow down and said if the government waives loans of farmers, his party would continue to support the government. Congress and NCP, which are also going solo, have taken a dig at the Sena chief, saying he is raising farm sector distress as an excuse to remain in power. The BJP has been harping on transparency in the civic administration while the Sena has mocked it, asking where is transparency in the state and central governments. The CM retorted by alleging that many scams in the civic body have been unearthed. Seeking to turn the tables on Fadnavis, the Sena leaders have alleged that his stint as Mayor of his hometown Nagpur years back was not corruption-free, a charge the BJP rejected as far from truth. While Sena posters in Mumbai highlight its "achievements" as "karun dakhavla" (we have done what we promised), BJP's campaign revolves around Fadnavis, who asks voters to trust his "word" in developing Mumbai ('swachh, sunder Mumbai, ha majha shabd aahe'). The Congress, Sena and MNS have also been affected by internal rebellion and defections with some of the former legislators and office-bearers joining BJP. CBI has arrested the Sub-Post master and the Treasurer of Sub-post office, Andhra University for alleged fraudulent exchange of Rs 21 lakh of currency in violation of rules laid down after demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes on November 8. Sub-postmaster K Lalitha and treasurer of sub-post office, Andhra University, S Samuel John, were arrested for allegedly converting the notes in criminal conspiracy with friends and acquaintances, CBI sources said. They said searches were conducted at the residences. An FIR for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery has been registered against them, the sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Haryana government today said it has handed over the matter pertaining to reallotment of a plot to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in Panchkula in 2005 to the CBI for probe. "This case (AJL) has been given to CBI for probe a few days back and soon the CBI will start investigation," Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told reporters here. Notably, Haryana State Vigilance Bureau had registered a case of cheating and corruption against former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and four HUDA officials for allegedly realloting a plot to AJL in 2005. The case under various IPC sections, including criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating, criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against Hooda, the then Haryana Urban Development Authority chairman, a post held by him ex-officio as the CM, and four of its top officials then, on May 5 this year. The plot had been initially allotted to AJL, the owner of National Herald newspaper, in 1982. After the expiry of the lease period in 1996, the then Haryana Vikas Party goverment led by Bansi Lal resumed its possession. It was reallotted to AJL after the Congress leader came to power in 2005. The vigilance bureau had alleged that the act by the then HUDA chairman and the officials had caused a huge financial loss to the public sector undertaking as the plot should have been sold through open auction instead of being allotted again to AJL. Hooda had then alleged it was political vendetta. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain's Prince Charles has hosted a high-level meeting to discuss the outcomes of a new report commissioned by the British Asian Trust charity which will put farmers at the forefront of improving India's rural livelihoods and guarantee its future food security. The British Asian Trust led by founder and president Charles launched its new Rural Livelihoods Fund to address the issues faced by smallholder farmers in India, following the findings of its recent study. Nearly 200 million people in rural India live in poverty and most of them are smallholder farmers. In fact, India has 25 per cent of the world's small farms - 118 million in all - and more than 50 per cent of Indians rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. A majority of Indian smallholders' farmers are trapped in poverty, earning less than USD 1.25 per day, with a significant proportion of them being women. The trust's initiative will put farmers at the forefront of improving rural livelihoods in India. Each farmer supported by the trust will be a powerful and valuable partner in the efforts to guarantee India's future food security and reduce poverty across the country. Through a combination of funding, expertise, partnerships and thought leadership from the private and not-for-profit sectors, the fund aims to, improve farmer incomes by enabling better access and links to market, train farmers and agriculture workers in processing and packaging skills, to boost product value looking at innovative solutions to scale up rural livelihoods across India. The roundtable discussion at Clarence House brought together government, private sector, NGOs, agricultural thought-leaders as well as representatives from the Anthony Pratt Foundation, which has supported the launch of the fund with a USD 1 million donation. Richard Hawkes, CEO, British Asian Trust said, "In a country rich with creative and dynamic solutions to its own challenges, we have the opportunity to support locally led solutions to drive the most meaningful change for India's smallholder farmers. "By scaling proven solutions, testing innovative approaches and creating powerful partnerships, we are well poised to reduce poverty and make a truly transformative difference to the challenges facing India's smallholder farmers," he said. The event also highlighted the 'Loop' initiative which was launched in 2015 by the trust's partner Digital Green. The initiative was launched in Bihar and aims to directly raise farmers' incomes by enabling better links to markets. 'Loop' uses innovative technology to help farmers aggregate their produce to reduce costs and realise higher prices. The Loop project works to create greater market access and improve transaction efficiency for farmers at a few targeted, key points in the value chain in order to create higher net earnings for their households. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has launched its first fully- owned overseas satellite ground station near the North Pole which could enable Beijing to collect satellite data anywhere on the Earth at a speed it said was the fastest in the world. The facility, located in Sweden about 200 kms north of the Arctic Circle, would allow China to collect satellite data anywhere on Earth at speeds that were more than twice as fast as before, said the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the academic governing body that built and runs the station. The new facility would play an important role in China's Gaofen project - a network of observation satellites orbiting the Earth to provide global surveillance capabilities - which was due to be completed in 2020, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted the academy as saying. Domestic ground stations have needed up to seven hours to download the data from satellites orbiting the Earth in the past, but with the facility in Sweden the maximum delay for downloading data would be less than 3.5 hours, it said. The shorter time is because the mapping, weather, reconnaissance and military satellites orbiting the North Pole are able to pass around the Earth about 12 times each day, while those flying over China can orbit the Earth only about five times each day, it said. The academy said the Arctic station would be using the best and most sensitive signal receiving devices China had ever built, including one with higher bandwidth, covering frequencies from 26.5 to 40 GHz, which had a download speed of 6 Gigabits (billions of bits) per second, which was "the fastest in the world". China has previously built ground satellite facilities in numerous foreign countries, mostly in Africa and South America, which are all joint ventures, the report said. However, the fully-owned overseas ground station in Sweden would give China much greater freedom and security to operate its space projects, some of which had military purposes, an unnamed Beijing space scientist told the Post. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its maiden live-fire exercises on a massive scale, in a show of strength amid increasing tensions with the US over the South Sea and Taiwan. Aircraft carrier 'Liaoning' conducted the mammoth drills with live ammunition in the Bohai Sea involving dozens of ships and aircraft as well as several air-to-air, air-to-ship and ship-to-air missiles, the PLA Navy said in a statement. The exercise was aimed at testing combination of various types and numbers of ships to optimise the carrier's combat ability, the navy said. The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft. The time and exact location of the exercises were not disclosed accept that they were held in the Bohai Sea which is located between Chinese coast off Dalian and North and South Korea. Earlier reports said the aircraft carrier would be deployed in the disputed South Sea when it is ready. It was the first time that the weapons used on the carrier were displayed in public since it entered service in 2012. Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were broadcast on Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi, commander of the Liaoning carrier battle group, said the exercise is a "milestone" for the unit. "It enabled us to explore how to organise a carrier battle group exercise and to test the training levels of our sailors and pilots. It can also boost the battle group's efforts to become combat ready as early as possible," he told CCTV. The exercises were conducted as China struck a more aggressive posture over the disputed South China Sea issue and braces to have a showdown with US President-elect Donald Trump, who questioned 'One-China' policy and held an unprecedented phone talk with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, which drew strong diplomatic protests from Beijing. China has become more assertive over the South China Sea after an tribunal struck down its claim over all most all of the area. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have counter claims over the disputed SCS. China yesterday confirmed that it is building military facilities in some of the reclaimed islands, saying the deployment of necessary defensive facilities on some islands in the South China Sea is legitimate and normal. Reacting to the reports showing satellite images of the military facilities in the islands revealed by US think tank, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the South China Sea islands are China's inherent territory and China is building necessary defensive facilities on its own territory which is completely normal and has nothing to do with militarisation. "If China's building normal facilities and deploying necessary territorial defensive facilities on its own islands is considered militarisation, then what is the sailing of fleets in the South China Sea?" he said questioning the movement of US naval fleet in the area. Besides Liaoning, China is currently building two more aircraft carriers one of which was expected to be ready by next year. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in earlier briefings that there will surely be more carriers in future. Commander Xu Ying, chief of a J-15 squadron that participated in the event, was quoted by the State broadcaster as saying that through the exercise, pilots improved their use of tactics and weapons and enhanced confidence in their equipment. Though the Navy did not disclose components of the carrier battle group, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China Daily that the battle group would have three Type 052C or Type 052D destroyers, both of which have advanced vertical-launch missile systems and cutting-edge air defence radar, three Type 054A frigates, one replenishment ship and one attack submarine. "The recent exercise is really a landmark for the carrier battle group because it means the group's ships and aircraft have achieved a high level of integration and cooperation and that the unit is closer to gaining combat readiness," Zhang said. "Next, the group would focus on honing its air defence and counter-submarine capabilities." Wu Peixin, an aviation industry observer in Beijing, said the news indicates that the J-15 fighter force has obtained initial operational capability. "The J-15 is as mighty as the United States' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. It is capable of carrying out multiple operations such as fleet air defense and anti-ship strikes," he said. "Given that dozens of ships were used in this drill, the aircraft carrier was likely to be accompanied by submarines, depot ships and fast combat support ships, in addition to guided missile destroyers as well as two guided missile frigates," Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told state run Global Times. Liaoning is a refitted vessel based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the Chinese Navy on September 25, 2012. Its battle group took shape in December 2013, when the carrier and several escort vessels, including two guided missile destroyers, two guided missile frigates and an attack submarine took part in a long-range formation drill in the South China Sea. : The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation has been selected for Digital India Award instituted by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The corporation will receive the Digital India Silver Award in the category of "Most Innovative Citizen Engagement" and also installing and implementing free WiFi Scheme in its various offices. The award,to be presented by Union I& T minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, will be received by Corporation Commissioner and Special Officer, Dr Vijay Karthikeyan at a function at Delhi on December 19, official sources said. The award was instituted for leveraging use of Information and Communication Technology to solicit active engagement of public in the process of governance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former coal secretary H C Gupta has been summoned as accused by a special court in a case of alleged irregularities in allocation of a Chattisgarh-based coal block to SKS Ispat and Power Ltd (SIPL). Gupta, already facing prosecution in seven cases related to the coal scam, was summoned for the alleged offences of forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct. Besides Gupta, special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge Bharat Parashar also summoned senior government official K S Kropha, the firm, its two directors Anil Gupta and Deepak Gupta, and three others -- Amit Singh, Rakesh Singh and Jagan Nath Panda -- as accused in the case. The court passed the order after taking cognisance of the CBI charge sheet which has claimed that the accused misrepresented facts before the screening committee in relation to the land and net worth of the company. The final report alleged that the accused hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat the screening committee to bag mining contract for Fatehpur coal block in Chattisgarh. According to the charge sheet, SIPL, which had got Fatehpur coal block in Chhattisgarh in 2008, misrepresented on aspects of preparedness and was ineligible on the issue of net worth. CBI had registered an FIR in the matter in 2014. The former coal secretary had on August 16 told the court that he intended to "face trial from inside the jail" and withdraw his personal bond to secure bail due to financial difficulties. However, he later withdrew his plea. Seven charge sheets have already been filed against Gupta in separate coal cases and proceedings are going on individually. The Supreme Court had recently dismissed his plea seeking joint trial in all these cases. Some of the cases in which Gupta was summoned as accused by the court include those relating to alleged irregularities in allocation of Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block to Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal's Raniganj area to Vikash Metal and Power Ltd. He is also accused in a case of alleged irregularities in the allotment of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two companies of Jindal Group and allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt Ltd. To check preparedness of Coast Guard against any sea-borne terror strike similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, a two-day combined coastal security exercise 'SagarKavach' was held along West Bengal and Odisha coast. Coast Guard officials said the main objective of this exercise, which ended today, was to assess the present security arrangement, to re-validate the standard operating procedures and to strengthen the security mechanism to face the threats from anti-national elements. Inspector General K R Nautiyal, Commander Coast Guard Region (North East), emphasised on continued and seamless co-ordination between stakeholders during the exercise. Apart from Coast Guard, other agencies such as the Navy, BSF, CISF, coastal police, state administrations, police and fisheries departments participated in the exercise. The participating units were divided into two groups, one group (Red Force) simulating an attack and the other one (Blue Force) defending the coasts. A host of coastal security assets comprising four naval ships, one naval aircraft, 13 Coast Guard ships and hovercrafts, two aircraft, boats of the coastal police, customs, BSF and CISF were deployed to carry out comprehensive surveillance of the coastal waters of West Bengal and Odisha, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fivenaxals, including a commander carrying reward of Rs 3 lakh, todaysurrenderedin Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said. The cadres, one of them a woman, turned themselves in at the district headquarter before Kanker Superintendent of Police M L Kotwani citing disappointment with "hollow" Maoist ideology and violence. Thosesurrenderedwere identified as Bislal alias Sukhdev Hidko (28), Shamlal alias Kara Komra, Dhaniram Dugga, Budhram Kowasi (24), Mahesh Kumar (35) and the woman cadre - Pushpa Anchla (24), Kotwani told PTI. Of them, Sukhdev, commander of section B under military platoon no 33, is a key Maoist member in the region carrying a reward of Rs 3 lakh, he said. While Pushpa was active as member of Chetna Natya Manch (CNM) - the cultural wing of Maoist, three others were jan-militia members, the SP added. The rebels expressed their willingness to join the mainstream claiming that they were fed up with hollow ideology, violence and wrong policies of the banned outfit and at the same time impressed by the state's surrender policy, he said. They will be provided assistance according to the rehabilitation policy of the government, the SP said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ruling Congress and Opposition BJP MLAs will meet separately at Dharamshala on December 18 to finalise the strategy for the five-day winter session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. The session, which will begin on December 19 and conclude on December 23, will be held at the TapovanAssembly Complex in Dharamshala, an official release here said, adding the session will also have a private member's day. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh will preside over the meetingof the Congress legislature party while Leader of the Opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal will chair the BJP's meeting. A BJP release today said the party before submitting its "charge-sheet" against the state government to Governor Acharya Devvrat on December 24 will meet at Dharamshala on December 18. "The charge-sheet committee in the meeting will give final touches to it before submission," committee convener Suresh Bharadwaj said, claiming it will expose the alleged acts of "omission and commission" of the ruling government. Meanwhile, the government has invited Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for a rally at Dharamshala on December 25 to mark Singh's four years in office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The ruling Congress suffered a blow in the bypolls to two tribal autonomous district councils in Meghalaya, winning just two of the six seats they contested levelling score with each of the two regional parties, United Democratic Party and the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party. The BJP which fielded candidates in all the seven seats also failed to impress tribal voters in the state with six of them forfeiting their security deposits. The Congress won one seat each in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council respectively while the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) clinched two seats each in the KHADC only. Ricky Shullai, nephew of state NCP chief and former deputy speaker Sanbor Shullai, won from the Laban-Mawprem constituency in the city. The HSPDP won from Nongspung-Sohiong in East Khasi Hills district and Pariong-Mawthadraishan in West Khasi Hills district. The Opposition UDP which also fielded candidates in all seven seats won only two seats - from Nongkrem and Mairang-Nongkhlaw constituency respectively. The by-elections also saw two former chief executive Members -- Lamdihok Sumer of the Congress and H S Shylla of the UDP - getting re-elected to the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council respectively. The bye-election was necessitated after seven out of the eight legislators resigned from the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, following the passing of a legislation preventing them from holding two elected posts. The Prevention of Disqualification (Members of Legislative Assembly of Meghalaya) (Amendment) Act, 2015 seeks to end holding of dual posts by the MLAs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There is an inter-connection between the lives of African Americans in the US and the Dalits in India, prominent US thinker and political activist Angela Davis said here today. She gave the 8th Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Lecture on 'Black lives, Dalit lives: Histories and Solidarities' here this evening. "I would like to link the collective predicament of black people in the US and the Dalits in India," she said. "We in the US can learn from the long struggles of Dalit people in India," Davis said. She recalled that Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, the pioneering social reformer from 19th century Maharashtra, dedicated his book 'Gulamgiri' to the anti-slavery activists in the US. She also referred to Dr B R Ambedkar's statement that he had been a student of the Negro problem. Many black people in the US encountered the black struggle through Dr Martin Luther King. King wrote about his trip to the land of Gandhi, she added. The Dalit Panthers was formed in India in 1972, six years after Black Panthers party was formed in the US, she noted, adding that it was not surprising that Dalits would identify with the Black Panthers. Referring to victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election, she said, "We will remind the world that we are not ready to accept the future that Trump has described. "We were quite shocked at the US elections last month. We have a President-elect who causes us to regard George W Bush in a better manner," she quipped. Davis emerged as a prominent counter-culture activist and a radical in the 1960s as a leader of the Communist Party USA, and had close relations with the Black Panther Party through her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Non-operationalisation of stay homes for mental patients has irked a court which pulled up the Centre and the Delhi government for not prioritising and taking serious initiatives on the issue saying the state of affairs is "really worrying". The court said when the situation is "so warranting and perilous", why the Delhi and the central governments have not taken steps to expedite the construction and functioning of 'half-way' homes, long-stay homes and day-care centres in a time-bound manner as directed by the Delhi High Court. Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra's remarks came while hearing an application by short-stay home 'Nirmal Chhaya' seeking transfer of a mentally-ill woman to some other home meant for such patients. Half-way homes serve as a stop-gap place for people who have undergone treatment for mental illness before they venture into the real world. The high court had in 2009 passed directions for making half-way homes after a public interest litigation was filed on the issue. The court said state of affairs regarding establishment and operationalisation of mental health institutions is really worrying and due to non-operationalisation of the stay homes, the mental health patients are constrained to live in places where there are no special facilities to cater to their needs. "Apart from that, NGOs are also unwilling to accomodate these patients. The Delhi and the central governments have already shown their helplessness on this issue... "If the situation is so alarming in the capital, the issue needs to be explored and investigated for the rest of the country also," the court said. To cater the mental health needs as well as to safeguard human rights of the patients, it said it is necessary to take assistance of the State Authority for Mental Health Services constituted under Section 4 of Mental Health Act, 1987 as well as the National Human Rights Commission and issued notice to both the authorities for December 26, the next date of hearing. The court asked the two authorities to assist in finding a suitable home for the woman patient so that her mental health and medical needs can be addressed and her human rights can be safeguarded. Meanwhile, on being informed by the Delhi government's Department of Social Welfare that possession of half-way home in Rohini has been handed over to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Applied Sciences (IHBAS), the court issued notice to IHBAS to apprise it about its status. The court, which had earlier asked the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Child Development to look into the matter and find a suitable home for the patient, said the two authorities have failed to come out with any solution. It had earlier also rapped the authorities for their "apathetic" attitude and lack of sensitivity on the issue, saying this had caused files to move at a snail's pace in the bureaucratic corridors. It had said the issue of half-way homes, long-stay homes, day-care institutions and pay-and-stay institutions was of utmost importance as there was an "urgent need" to provide best treatment and facilities to mentally ill patients. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has directed the Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh to carry out an inquiry into the death of a white tigress at the Zoological Park and Rescue Centre at Mukundpur in Satna district. The CZA issued the direction based on a complaint, which alleged that the white tigress named Radha died due to the alleged negligence of zoo management. Radha, who had suffered severe injuries after she was attacked by a tiger inside the zoo last month, succumbed to her injuries on December 6. Following her death, Ajay Dubey, a tiger conservationist and board member of Transparency International (India), had written a letter to the CZA alleging negligence of zoo authorities. "The CZA has asked the state's Wild Life Warden to conduct an inquiry into the death of the tigress," Ajay Dubey told PTI after getting a copy of the letter. "Safari at this Zoological Park and Rescue Centre is being used for commercial purposes, which has caused harm to the tigress and other animals," he added. The CZA has sought an inquiry by a team comprising a former zoo manager and the veterinarian and also directed the state forest authorities to treat this matter as urgent. It has sought the reply of zoo management on the nine various points raised by Dubey in his complaint. "The tigress was brought to Mukundpur from Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and she was housed with a Royal Bengal tiger (named Nakul) for mating purpose, which resulted in a fight," Dubey said in the complaint. "This was an attempt of forcible mating in the absence of expertise and proper facilities at Mukundpur's Zoological Park and Rescue Centre," he said adding that the tigress died due to the negligence of zoo management. The tigress had stopped eating three days prior to her death, he added. The management of Mukundpur Park had not taken necessary permission from the CZA before shifting of the tiger from one enclosure to another, he alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today hit out at the Prime Minister's Office and the L-G for "playing politics with women's safety in Delhi", after a 20-year-old was allegedly raped in a car in South Delhi. "LG/PMO doing politics with women safety in Delhi. LG stopped salaries of all employees in DCW. Police become corrupt and ineffective under them," he tweeted. The rape survivor, a resident of Noida, was waiting for a bus near AIIMS on Wednesday evening when the accused Avneesh (28), driving a car with a Home Ministry sticker, offered to drop her and then sexually assaulted her. The accused has been arrested and the chargesheet will be filed soon. "We will quickly file the chargesheet in the case. We will request that the trial take place in a fast-track court," DCP(South) Ishwar Singh said. Chairperson, National Commission for Women, Lalitha Kumaramangalam said it is time to stop finding faults and to hold authorities who make promises accountable. "What is really necessary is to hold accountable those people who have given commitments. We can go on making promises but we have to start working on prevention. We need to stop finding fault with each other." She also said that different government agencies need to work together, adding that NCW will work along with DCW to develop a joint approach. "NCW has taken cognisance of the case and has decided that it will intervene and try to get all the different players together including the MP, the MLA, LG's office, police and DCW to see if a joint approach can be worked out." Delhi Commission for Women too appealed for the Centre to co-operate with Delhi government. "The Delhi govt has been screaming for the past one and a half years. Delhi is suffering from bad politics and we want that the Center and the state work together in Delhi on the issue of women's safety." Maliwal had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing to him to listen to the "mann ki baat" of the women of Delhi and ensure that a high-level committee on women's safety is set up. She also stated that the women and girls of Delhi are paying the price of the tussle of governance between the Centre and the Delhi government. The LG had not yet convened a single meeting on women safety in the past year despite express instructions from the MHA, she claimed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP today said its workers will visit all households in Delhi and distribute sweets as a token of appreciation for "supporting" the demonetisation drive, and also take feedback on the state government's performance. The visit by BJP workers beginning January 1 will be part of a 10-day programme, newly-appointed Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said. He said party workers will "thank" people of the national capital region for their "patience" during the demonetisation exercise launched by the Union government on November 8. "Our party cadres will go to every household to express gratitude to the people and offer 'laddoos' for supporting the demonetisation move," Tiwari said. "Also, they will encourage residents to use Mobile App Banking. They will also take their feedback on the AAP led Delhi government's performance from the people and according prepare a list of promises which were not being fulfilled," he said. Accusing Delhi's Aam Aadmi Party government of sitting over a file relating to the delimitation of MCD wards, Tiwari said a delegation of BJP leaders will meet Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, urging him to complete the process of delimitation of wards. BJP leader Vijender Gupta alleged that the AAP government has maligned the image of the leaders of Municipal Corporations by making them financially weak and by accusing them of incompetency and corruption. "The next elections to the Municipal Corporations are to be held after the delimitation of the wards and the government is sitting on the file relating to this. This neglectful attitude creates doubt about the intentions of the government about corporation elections and we demand that the formalities of delimitation work should be completed as soon as possible," Gupta said. Tiwari also welcomed a scheme of the Central government to award prizes to encourage people transact online and support the idea of a cashless economy, saying under the scheme a 'lucky draw' will be held every day from from December 25 for people purchasing articles worth between Rs 50 to Rs 3,000 through mobile app banking. "Under this scheme 1,5000 persons will get prize of Rs 1,000 each and on April 14, on the birth anniversary of Baba Sahab Bhim Rao Ambedkar, a mega draw of Rs 1 crore will be held," Tiwari said. Tiwari and other BJP leaders paid homage to the soldiers on Vijay Diwas and the December 16 gangrape deceased. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today likened demonetisation woes to "labour pain", saying its end result would be as "joyful" as the birth of a baby. Prasad made the remarks at an event organised by the Delhi BJP's IT cell that lay emphasis on how demonetisation was an opportunity for the country's transition towards a cashless economy. However, Prasad said the government's motive behind demonetisation was "less cash", not cashless. He criticised the Opposition parties for "not allowing" the Parliament to function. "People will face a little problem. But the pain is like the one that a woman in labour undergoes. Eventually one will experience the joy like one does hearing the first cry of a baby," Prasad said. He asserted that the defunct notes deposited in the banks will be scrutinised and not all of it will be considered "white". At the gathering, largely consisting of lawyers, Prasad also took jibes at former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying, he was "happy" when Singh spoke. "I eagerly wait for the speeches of two people. Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi," he said, and went on to hail Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having "raised" India's stature in the global community through his foreign trips. He said the amount deposited in the banks will help in investing in strengthening the Indian Army, assisting farmers, small traders, building roads, adding that "naxals and terrorists" are a troubled lot due to the decision. Speaking at the event, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said politicians like Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav, who are opposing the measure, are actually "aware of its benefits". Tiwari also referred to Modi's statement that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had "rejected" Wanchoo Committee's recommendations in 1971 to bring demonetisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indicating that all are not happy in the party in Kerala over appointment of new party District Congress Committee Presidents, former KPCC President Ramesh Chennithala today said he too has differences over it. "Myself, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy have differences over the reorganisation of DCC and KPCC President V M Sudheeran also might have disagreement," Chennithala told a press conference here. "It would be taken up in the appropriate forums in accordance with democratic structure of the party," said Chennithala, who is also the Congress-led UDF Opposition leader in the state assembly. Chennithala denied reports that Chandy kept away from the protest, organised by UDF leaders at Delhi on December 14 against Centre over problems faced by Cooperative sector post demonetisation, as he was sore over lack of representation to his loyalists in the party. Chandy himself had suggested for the protest to be staged in Delhi at the previous UDF meeting held in Kochi. However, he had to attend a function in Waynad on that day and that is why he did not participate in the protest, he said. "Chandy keeping away from Delhi protest has nothing to do with appointment of new president for all the 14 DCCs," Chennithala added. On reorganisation of KPCC, Chennithala said it was for the AICC to take a decision on the matter. AICC after a long process had announced new DCC presidents in the state last week. KPCC President V M Sudheeran had welcomed AICC decision and had said merit was the main criteria for the appointment and loyalty to any groups in the party was not taken into consideration. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The government is working to remove all anomalies which are restricting foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, a top official today said. Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said that there are certain "sectoral regulations which are not in conformity" with the FDI policy. "So, we are working on that," he said here at FICCI function. He also said that the department is working with ministries of health and pharmaceuticals on amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Talking about the FDI figures, he said that in the last two and a half years, India has attracted about USD 130 billion, which is a "record". "We are seeking huge amount of interest in FDI," he added. When asked about proposals in FDI in food processing, he said that companies are making plans, "so, we are seeing a lot of interest". On improving India's ranking next year in the ease of doing business report of the World Bank, Abhishek said the DIPP is working on several steps. "For next year, we are focusing on public feedback because that is important," he said, adding in 2017 improving India's rank is a challenge. Speaking at the event, Health Secretary C K Mishra said that the "roadmap is ready" for the amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Talking about the road sector, Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjay Mitra said that meeting the "stiff target" of 25,000 km is a challenge in the new year. Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has set a target of 25,000 km of National Highways to be awarded in 2016-17 as against the 10,000 km awarded in 2015-16. "We intend to continue our simplification of our model concession agreement for PPP. We have already taken a large number of steps...But the Finance Ministry is working on a overall umbrella programme for the PPP renegotiation framework. The work is at fairly advance (stage). It will enable us to unlock a larger number of stalled projects," Mitra added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egyptian film 'Clash' bagged the 'Suvarna Chakoram' (Golden Crow Pheasant) and the audience prize 'Rajatha Chakoram' at the 21th International Film Festival of Kerala which concluded here today. 'Clash', directed by Mohammed Diab, is a film set against the background of Egyptian revolution. The Suvarna Chakoram consists of Rs 15 lakh cash award, a certificate and a memento. The 'Rajatha Chakoram' for Best Director was awarded to Yesim Ustaoglu for the Turkey film 'Clair Obscur'. The 'Rajatha Chakoram' for Best Debut Director went to Malayalam director Vidhu Vincent for "Manhole', a film based on the life of a manual scavenger. The film also won the award instituted by International Federation of Film Critics. Best film award of Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) for Malayalam film went to 'Kammatipaadam', directed by Rajeev Ravi and best Asian film was bagged by 'Cold of Kalandar' directed by Mustafa Kara. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave away the awards at the valedictory function held here this evening. As many as 185 films from 62 countries were screened under various categories in the week long festival. State Cultural Minister A K Balan, Kerala Chalachithra Academy Chairman Kamal and Festival Jury Chairperson Michel Khleifi were among those present. 'Clash' was screened after the award ceremony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called today for all sides to respect the ceasefire deal in Syria's Aleppo so that the evacuation of people from the city's devastated east could resume. "I urge all parties and the international community to abide by the ceasefire agreement and support the implementation of the evacuation process," the Turkish leader said on Twitter. "The ceasefire negotiated by Turkey in Aleppo and the continuation of evacuations is the last hope that remains for the innocent," he added. "The people of Aleppo are not Alone," Erdogan said. "We will do everything in our power to save innocent lives." The evacuation of east Aleppo is part of a ceasefire deal negotiated by Moscow and Ankara that entered into force yesterday after an initial attempt to halt the fighting failed the day before. But the Syrian regime suspended the vast evacuation operation today, accusing the opposition of breaching the terms of the ceasefire deal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) European Union leaders have piled pressure on Russia, urging the Kremlin to protect civilians in Syria while taking steps to save a historic cooperation pact with Ukraine and extending sanctions against Moscow. At the final summit of one of the most turbulent years in the EU's six-decade history, the bloc's 28 leaders also discussed preparations for Britain to become the first nation to leave the bloc. EU President Donald Tusk said they had agreed to push Syria, Russia and Iran using "all diplomatic means necessary" to open humanitarian corridors under international supervision for civilians in Aleppo. But after a meeting in which the leaders heard an emotional plea from the mayor of besieged eastern Aleppo, Tusk acknowledged that the bloc was largely powerless to intervene. "We know we are not effective enough. Unfortunately I know who is effective enough, not in humanitarian assistance but in bombing," Tusk said yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the discussion on Syria was "very depressing" and that it showed the EU could not act politically in the way it wanted. Brita Hagi Hassan, the local official in charge of eastern Aleppo, had earlier warned the leaders that "the 50,000 citizens of eastern Aleppo are only waiting for their deaths after the failure of the international community". The summit also discussed the migration crisis triggered largely by the Syrian conflict, with Tusk saying the EU planned a summit with Turkey in January to discuss a troubled deal with Ankara aimed at reducing the flow of refugees. The EU's impotence on Syria comes against a wider backdrop of how to deal with a resurgent Russia, particularly amid doubts about whether incoming US President Donald Trump may decide to cosy up to Russia's Vladimir Putin. But it flexed the only muscle it does have, renewing for six months damaging economic sanctions imposed against Russia in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Tusk admitted that some EU countries had wanted a 12-month rollover but that it was never really an option. Meanwhile, the EU leaders reached a deal with the Netherlands to stop the country torpedoing the bloc's crucial association agreement with Ukraine, which Dutch voters rejected in a referendum in April. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had warned that it would be the "biggest ever present" for Putin if it collapsed completely. The EU agreed the cooperation pact and an associated free trade agreement with Ukraine in 2014 after pro-EU protestors ousted Russian-leaning president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Moscow. But the EU leaders gave the Dutch guarantees that the pact was not a precursor to Ukraine's membership of the union or to military aid for Kiev. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A former anti-ETA militant arrested this week in Spain for allegedly disseminating jihadist propaganda had said he wanted to self-immolate in a bus, a court document revealed today. Daniel Fernandez Acena, who served time in jail for the murder of a French railway worker in 1984 as part of the GAL death squads set up to fight ETA Basque separatists, was detained on Tuesday in Segovia near Madrid. In a document ordering that he be remanded in custody, a Madrid court said police had "detected continuous allusions to... 'wanting to travel to Afghanistan' and even his 'intention to self-immolate in a bus in Segovia'." The court based this on phone taps on the suspect, whose social media activity was also closely followed by police before being arrested. The document said he had "clear intentions to commit a terrorist act," adding Fernandez Acena had converted to Islam after "abandoning his previous life of Western 'sin'." "He displayed to various people his intention to commit a suicide attack in the name of a jihadist terrorist organisation," it said. However there was no mention of other, more concrete elements that would suggest the suspect was ready to act, such as buying weapons, explosives, or inflammable substances. The interior ministry said Tuesday that Fernandez Acena had travelled "to war zones in Afghanistan, Syria and Palestine," but this was not mentioned in the court document. Questioned by a judge yesterday, Fernandez Acena resorted to "his right to remain silent." The suspect was once part of the GAL -- secret armed squads set up to fight ETA, which long waged a violent campaign for independence for the Basque Country. The murder of Jean-Pierre Leiba, the French railway worker, was by mistake. He was killed in Hendaye in southwestern France while he was with three Basques. The GAL -- meaning Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups -- were accused of 28 killings between 1983 and 1987, most of them in the French Basque region. According to Spanish authorities, 173 alleged jihadists have been detained since 2015, when Spain increased its terror alert to four out of five. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jamaat-Ul Mujahideen Bangladesh activist Mohammed Masiuddin alias Abu Musa has been questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Kolkata to probe a possible conspiracy being hatched by his Syria-based handler Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar to target American assets and nationals. This is the second international probe agency which has questioned Musa. Earlier, he was quizzed by Bangladesh police in connection with its probe in the July 1 Holey Artisan Bakery attack. 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in the attack in July this year. Official sources said a team of FBI questioned Masiuddin for over five hours during which they focussed their questions around Armar, alias Yosuf Al-Hindi, who is believed to be planning attacks on American assets and nationals world wide. Armar, 40, a native of Bhatkal in North Karanatka, is suspected to be in touch with radicalised American youth either looking to join or already recruited by the banned ISIS terror group. The US officials later shared their inputs with the NIA about their questioning of Masiuddin. The questioning of Masiuddin was allowed on reciprocal basis as the US agency has been extending help to the Indian security agencies in various terror-related cases. Masiuddin was arrested in July this year during a joint raid by the NIA and West Bengal CID from Viswabharati fast passenger train at Burdwan station in connection with Burdwan bomb blast of October, 2013. His handler Armar, a fugitive based in Pakistan since 2008, was also part of a group of Indian Mujahideen operatives which had broken away from the organisation to form the IS- affiliated Ansar al-Tauhid in 2014. Ansar al-Tauhid functions from Tehreek-e-Taliban's training camps in Pakistan's North Waziristan. Masiuddin spoke about his connections with top leaders of at least two terror groups and admitted that he had been assigned the task of spreading their tentacles in West Bengal and other places in the eastern part of the country. A resident of Labhpur in Birbhum district, Masiuddin, who was staying in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur with his family including two children, had visited West Bengal this July after almost six years. His phone records showed that he had communicated several times with people from Syria, Iraq and Bangladesh. Masiuddin was using a mobile application to keep in touch with top leaders of terror groups in the three countries, NIA sources said. Masiuddin had allegedly been tasked with beheading his neighbour in Labhpur and raping his daughter to "prove his mettle" over the mobile phone application. The chat application was similar to one of the main accused of Burdhwan terror case, Suleiman, of the Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangaldesh and Moulana Yusuf of Ansar-ul-Tauhid, the sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A jury has found a Fijian man guilty of coming to the US to buy devices used in aircraft, satellites and missiles so he could sell them to China, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. After a three-day trial in US District Court in Seattle and three hours of deliberations, the jury rejected claims by William Ali that the case was entrapment by agents with the US Department of Homeland Security. Ali, who lives in New Zealand, had claimed that an undercover agent induced him to come to Seattle to purchase the devices. Federal prosecutors argued successfully that Ali sought the accelerometers and gyroscopes for a customer in China. Anyone exporting the devices must first acquire a license from the US Department of State. Ali, 37, opted against getting a license, despite warnings that he would be violating the law. His sentencing was set for March 16. The felony charge of conspiracy to violate the Export Control Act carries a maximum sentence of five years and a USD 250,000 fine. Attempting to violate the act is punishable by up to 20 years and a USD 1 million fine. Messages sent to Ali's lawyer seeking comment were not immediately returned. Ali is an engineer who has worked for Air Fiji and Air New Zealand, court records said. He also ran a small company called Aircraft Mechanics and Logistics that sells aircraft parts. Last year, a customer in China contacted Ali about acquiring accelerometers, which used to measure how fast something is accelerating or slowing down, and gyroscopes, said Assistant US Attorney Thomas Woods. Ali sent emails to the company that makes the device seeking information about exporting them, and the company alerted the Counter-Proliferation Investigations agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, Special Agent Christy Clerf testified. The agency tries "to prevent foreign adversaries from acquiring sensitive weapons technology" and sent an undercover agent to determine if Ali knew that exporting the devices was illegal, and to find out where he planned to sell them, Clerf said. The agent, who pretended to be a broker, warned Ali in emails that his plans violated U.S. Law, but Ali "laughed and joked" that he hoped his emails were not intercepted, Clerk testified. Ali flew to the US in April to meet the agent and was arrested in a Seattle hotel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) today said it expects foreign re-insurers which will get final clearance from the regulator to be operational in the country over the next six to nine months. "We are hopeful that global reinsurance companies which will get final clearance from the regulator to open their branches in India and will be operational in the next six to nine months, IRDA whole time member(finance & investments) V R Iyer said here today on the sidelines of CII organised InsureInd. "We have received seven applications from major foreign reinsurance companies including Llyods which have shown interest to open their branch offices in India. Applications from seven companies are in the different stages of consideration of the insurance regulator," she said. A foreign reinsurer has to clear three stages of licences from the insurance regulator to begin operations, Iyer added. Presently, state owned GIC Re is the only reinsurer operational in the country and foreign reinsurers have liaison office in India. Liberalising the sector to foreign re-insurers will break the monopoly of GIC Re. But government has now allowed minimum 10 per cent of the reinsurance business that an insurance company will buy has to go to the public sector. IRDA believes with the clearance to opening of branches of foreign reinsurance companies, domestic insurers will be able to undertake more risks and manage their capital more efficiently, she said. "In India, catastrophic and disaster risks products are not available. With foreign reinsurance companies coming to the country, insurers can become creators," Iyer added. Citing a consultant report, she said by 2025 the life insurance business is expected to touch USD 185 billion and non-life insurance to touch around USD 75 billion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The state government today finalised the appointment of former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Girish Chandra Gupta as the next chairman of the State Human Rights Commission. The choice of Gupta for the post was unanimous as Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan too supported the decision during the meeting at Speaker Biman Banerjee's office. The meeting was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also heads the state Home department. "Today at the meeting it has been decided that Girish Gupta will be appointed as the next chairman of the state Human Rights Commission," state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said. Presently, the commission is headed by former DG of West Bengal police Naparajit Mukherjee. He was appointed as the chairman following the resignation of Ashok Ganguly. Opposition parties had expressed reservation over a former DG heading the important body. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The parking facility at all the civil hospitals in Haryana will be made free for patients, the sate Health Minister Anil Vij said today. Talking to media persons here today, he said parking has already been made free at PGI Rohtak. He said he had received some complaints that the parking contractors were harassing the patients. The directions in this regard would be sent to surgeons across all civil hospitals in the state soon, he added. Referring to new recruitment in health department, he said the process for the new recruitment has been initiated and a large number of para-medical staff and doctors would be engaged soon. He said that written tests and interviews are being conducted to fill up all the vacant posts. The shortage of doctors would also also come to an end, he added. On Centre's note ban, he said the people have been supporting the demonetisation move through out the country. The opposition parties are making it a political issue for their personal interest, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Government will soon launch a mobile application to facilitate Aadhaar-linked digital payments and roll out a nation-wide programme to train over 1 crore people on e-payments. "We are going to promote Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS) in coordination with Finance Ministry. About 40 crore bank accounts have been linked to Aadhaar," IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters on Friday. He said that the government is working on a plan to connect rest of the accounts with numbers. He said that there are biometric devices which can be connected to smartphones and convert a smartphone into a Point of Sale (PoS) machine. "We are developing a UPI enabled mobile application. It will be available in 2-4 days. Customer feed number, scan finger on the biometric, approve the amount to be paid on the application and the payment will be transferred from his account to merchant's account," CSC SPV CEO Dinesh Tyagi said. The customer will not need to share bank account details as the application will detect the bank account linked to the number with help of Unified Payment Interface (UPI). He said that Common Service Centres across country are already carrying out AEPS transactions and the government is converting same process in to a mobile app. Prasad said that government will conduct workshops to train 14 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE) across 500 districts and 6,500 blocks about carrying out digital transactions which will be attended by Members of Parliament as well. As per the programme, each VLE will train 40 individuals covering 80 lakh individuals and at least 10 shopkeepers with target to cover total of 25 merchants across country. He said that Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will organise a two-day event at Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in Delhi to create awareness about digital payments and also help people open bank accounts and enrol for Aadhaar. Prasad said that even migrant labours having Aadhaar will be provided help to open their bank accounts. "27 banks will have their stalls at the venue. Private mobile wallet companies will also be there to help people in making digital payments," Prasad said. Greek lawmakers have approved a pension handout that has set the country on a collision course with hardline European creditors who accuse the struggling eurozone member of defiance. A total of 196 lawmakers out of 257 present from across the party divide approved the bill deepening a row that has also brought simmering EU disputes over austerity to the fore. The handout measure, announced by under-pressure leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week, earmarks 617 million euros (USD 656 million) for a one-off payment to poor pensioners. Athens says the pension handout will come out of a one-billion-euro tax surplus, but European creditors yesterday said the Greek move raised "significant concerns on both process and substance" regarding the country's bailout obligations. In the joint statement, representatives from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European rescue fund said they would now decide whether to uphold a Eurogroup decision granting Greece short-term debt relief earlier this month. Tsipras yesterday said as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels that the situation had to be resolved "without blackmail" on the part of Greece's creditors. "I believe that we can have a breakthrough without blackmail and with respect of the sovereignty of each country," said the leftist leader, who fought with his European peers to within an inch of taking Greece out of the euro last year. Germany "is the only country, the only eurozone finance ministry, that raises an issue," he told reporters, adding that halting the debt relief "is outside the borders of reason." The issue will inevitably come on the agenda later today when Tsipras meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Berlin. After the EU summit Merkel said "a critical discussion has already begun" on the matter, but insisted "it is not my intention to negotiate with Greece about the Greek package" leaving that to the finance ministers. France weighed into the debate with uncharacteristic force, led by President Francois Hollande who insisted that Greece be "treated with dignity" in the ongoing dispute. A spokesman for Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Wednesday said the eurozone was suspending the recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens in retaliation at not being fully briefed on Tsipras's handout plans - which also include a lower sales tax for Greek islands sheltering migrants. The actions "of the Greek government appear to not be in line with our agreements," said the spokesman for Dijsselbloem, who heads the 19-nation eurozone, which oversees Greece's massive 86-billion euro bailout. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre has relaxed green norms for building projects by doing away with the need to get clearances from the state level environmental impact assessment authorities. Under the revised norms, projects covering less than 20,000 sq metre area will be deemed as having fulfilled relevant conditions simply based on "self-declaration" while those covering 20,000 to 1,50,000 sq metre area will be issued clearances by the local bodies. Addressing a press conference here, Union Environment Minister Anil Dave said, the local bodies will have environmental cells to examine these projects and monitor their compliance. It was being done through integrating environmental conditions in building bye-laws of local bodies, he said. Asked whether the changes amounted to dilution of stringent norms, Dave said the process was only being decentralised to do away with the need for people to "rush to Delhi for these things". "Environmental clearance will now be issued in an integrated manner along with the building permission under building bye-laws for all building constructions covering 20,000 to 1,50,000 sq metre of built up area," Dave said. It will take months for the changes to kick in as the states will now forward the proposed changes in their building bye-laws and rules to the Centre, who in turn will examine them and before notifying. Currently, these projects are subject to environmental clearance given by the state level environmental impact assessment authorities. "For the first time it is envisaged that Qualified Building Environment auditors as empanelled by the Ministry of Environment would assess and certify the building projects," an official said. The rules also say that no consent to establish and operate under the Water Act, 1974 and Air Act, 1981 will be required from the State Pollution Control Boards for residential buildings of built up area up to 1,50,000 sq metre. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Hanuvantiya island in Khandwa district of the state is similar to the water tourism spot at Sentosa in Singapore. "I have seen similar water tourism spot at Sentosa in Singapore. Since then I have been dreaming of having a similar thing here and now it has materialised in the form of Hanuvantiya. Beauty is more sprawling here than Sentosa," Chouhan said while inaugurating the second Jal Mahotsava yesterday. Hanuvantiya is spread in 950 sq km area. The CM lauded efforts of the State Tourism Department for materialising this dream that will catapult Madhya Pradesh to a new height in the tourism sector. Chouhan also informed that a wider master plan will be chalked out for water tourism in Hanuvantiya area in which Dharaji, Sailani areas including Omkareshwar will be included. He said, it will be developed as 'Madhyadweep' (Mid- Island)."It will become an international centre for adventure tourism once development work will be completed for the proposed aqua city and water reservoir at Hanuvantiya," he added. Referring to the recently introduced houseboats at Hanuvantiya, he said it has fulfilled the dream to introduce them in the state. Tourists will enjoy boating in night and stay here. The peaceful environment here makes one feel happy, he added. The Chief Minister informed that a prominent tourism promotion company is becoming our partner and the entire area of Hanuvantiya including forests will be developed as per the master plan. It will also generate employment for people. Minister of State for Tourism and Culture (independent charge) Surendra Patwa said, water tourism will be developed at Gandhi Sagar, Ban Sagar, Tawa and other places along with Hanuvantiya. "Separate tourism cabinet has been constituted as per wishes of the Chief Minister and new investor-friendly tourism policy has been rolled out. Around 300 way side amenities would be developed. Fifty seven of them have already been constructed," he said. Patwa informed that over eight crore tourists visited the state last year and considering this, facilities for tourists are being increased. Chairman State Tourism Development Corporation Tapan Bhowmik said the day will be registered in the history as the houseboats will be available for accommodation to tourists from today in the state. Tourists from more than 40 countries are expected to take part in Jal Mahotsav. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan said it has declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and has been forthcoming in offering to translate this into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with India. "It is in the interest of all states to prevent proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) to states as well as non-state actors," Pakistan's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Nabeel Munir said at the Security Council debate on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-State actors here yesterday. Listing the steps taken by Pakistan to fulfill its non-proliferation obligations, he said Pakistan has elaborated and implemented a comprehensive export control regime, harmonised with those of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). "We have declared a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and have been forthcoming in offering to translate this into a bilateral arrangement on non-testing with India," he said. He claimed that Pakistan's credentials clearly establish its eligibility to become a member of the NSG. "The grant of waivers to long held non-proliferation norms and rules carries obvious proliferation risks and also undermine regional strategic stability. It is critical that an equitable, nondiscriminatory and criteria-based approach to promote civil nuclear cooperation and membership of export controls regimes, in particular that of the NSG, is adopted," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Coming down heavily on CBI, the Bombay High Court today said it was "bungling up" probe in the murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar by causing inordinate delay in obtaining forensic reports from the Scotland Yard. A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and B P Colabawalla, which was hearing petitions filed by the family of Dabholkar and murdered activist Govind Pansare seeking HC supervision in the probe, was today irked when CBI sought further adjournment in the case as it was still awaiting report from the forensic lab in UK. "The more you postpone and delay the more benefit the accused will get. It also gives an impression in the society that you (CBI) are not serious about the case and are not pursuing the probe sincerely. "You are just bungling it up. It is your credibility at stake. You should remember that this delay is impacting two trials which are ready to commence," the court said. The agency had earlier claimed before the HC that it had sent bullets and empty shells recovered from Pansare's body and the crime scene to the Scotland Yard to ascertain if there was any link between the Dabholkar and Pansare murders. The agency wanted to seek a third opinion as the forensic labs in Mumbai and Bangalore had submitted conflicting reports. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for CBI, today told the court that the agency is still awaiting reports from UK and that several letters have been sent pursuing the case. "Alternately we could seek opinion from the forensic lab in Delhi," Singh said. Irked by this, the court said if there was alternative of seeking opinion locally then why did the agency not do it before. "You (CBI) were aware of the difficulties and obstacles when you sought report from UK. What prevented you from seeking opinion from a local third party expert before? The point is efforts taken should be sincere. Especially in cases like this where the offence is of a serious nature and impacts the society," Justice Dharmadhikari said. The court noted that the delay caused by the probe agency would not only benefit the accused but would also give a bad impression to the society at large. On Pansare murder case which is being probed by the state CID, the court called for better coordination between CBI and CID. "When the accused are common in both the cases then the agencies should coordinate and take joint efforts to nab the accused," the court said. Special public prosecutor Ashok Mundargi, appearing for state CID, told the court today that a supplementary charge sheet has been filed in the case against two accused - Sameer Gaikwad and Virendra Tawde and two absconding accused. Mundargi said all efforts are being taken to nab the absconding accused. The court while posting the petitions for hearing after six weeks said this was the last chance it was giving to CBI to procure reports from UK and also sought a progress report from CID on its probe against the absconding accused. While Dabholkar was murdered in Pune on August 20, 2013, Pansare was shot on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur. He died on February 20. The Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) today surrendered arms to state government authorities during the third round of peace talks here. The six-member HPC (D) delegation led by the outfit's working chairman L T Hmar and its leaders from Manipur and Mizoram held talks with the government delegation headed by Additional Secretary for Home Lalbiakzama. The HPC(D) surrendered three AK-47 rifles, one INSAS rifle, four 9mm pistols, 17 magazines and 74 rounds of ammunition. Among the surrendered items was a rifle of a police constable, who had deserted the state armed police with the weapon, and later joined the militant outfit. Arms taken after an ambush on a team of legislators, in which three policemen were killed, at Zokhawthiang village near the Manipur border on March 28, 2015, were also surrendered by the outfit. Lalbiakzama told PTI that the talks were held cordially and on mutual trust. "We agreed to resume talks by mid-February next year," he said, adding a conditional ceasefire agreement was signed so that the people of Mizoram can celebrate Christmas and New Year peacefully. The first round of peace talks was held on August 10 and the second on October 5 and 6. The talks revolved around giving more autonomy and power to the Sinlung Hill Development Council (SHDC), formed after an agreement was signed in 1994 between the erstwhile underground HPC and the Mizoram government. The HPC (D) was formed immediately after the surrender of the HPC. The former continued to demand creation of a separate autonomous district council in the area adjoining Manipur. The outfit now no longer demands a separate autonomous district council. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) While social networking has brought people closer, the danger of networked age is that the impact of crime is multiplied manifold, Supreme Court judge, Justice D Y Chandrachud today said. "We are one people, we are one world, we are all networked, but the dangers of a networked age are that the impacts of crime are multiplied manifold," the judge said while speaking at the 18th edition of World Congress of Criminology. He said that growth of urbanisation has posed grave challenge on governance and rule of law. "The growth of urbanisation has posed very grave challenges to the enforcement of law and justice in our country. The law is but one important facet of societal governance under the regime of law, however, there is a great deal to be achieved in terms of the involvement of civil society in the enforcement of law and the realisation of rights," Justice Chandrachud was quoted as saying in a statement issued by O P Jindal Global University (JGU), which has organised the three-day summit, at Sonipat in Haryana. The World Congress, which is being organised since 1938, has brought together 700 leading criminology experts, lawyers, scholars, academics and professionals from across the world. The central theme of the Congress, which was held for the first time in India, focuses on Criminological Opportunities and Challenges of the XXI Century in light of the current trends in urbanisation, globalisation, development and crime. C Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of JGU, said, "We are excited to host this prestigious event. As an educational institution committed to creating meaningful platforms for intellectual debates on important issues, we see this as an opportunity to bring together prominent voices from all over the world on the challenges faced by the criminal justice system in developing economies." Sanjeev P Sahni, Principal Director of Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, which is hosting the meet, said, "We hope that scholars from India and the neighbouring countries will benefit from the deliberations and the Congress will come up with policy reforms that can hopefully be carried forward by the government, community and non-government organisations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Bhutan share a special relationship and it is a shining example of good neighbourly relations, President Pranab Mukherjee today said. Greeting King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the people of Bhutan on the eve of their National Day, he said, "Over the years, our close bonds of friendship have strengthened and our wide ranging cooperation has diversified in all areas of our shared interest." "Our enduring friendship owes a great deal to the wisdom and commitment of successive Druk Gyalpos, including Your Majesty," he said in a message to the King. Bhutan celebrates its National Day on December 17. "On behalf of the government, the people of India and on my own behalf, it gives me immense pleasure to extend to Your Majesty and the friendly people of Bhutan my heartiest greetings on the occasion of your National Day," Mukherjee said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Friday said the revised tax treaty with Cyprus will come into force from April 1 next year under which capital gains tax shall be levied at the source of investments. "Both sides have now exchanged notifications intimating the completion of their respective internal procedures for the entry into force of the DTAA, with which the revised shall come into effect in India in the fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2017, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. Experts, however, said that Mauritius would continue to score over Cyprus as a better investment route at least in the initial two years of the treaty as investments will have to pay short-term capital gains tax at half the rate prevailing during the two-year transition period. The revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with both the island nations would enable source-based taxation of capital gains on shares, however, investments made prior to April 1, 2017, have been grandfathered. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP Senior Director S P Singh said, "Mauritius has remained the favoured route for foreign investments and for the initial two years beginning April 2017, it will definitely score over Cyprus." The amendment to the two decade old Cyprus comes after India in May signed a revised tax treaty with Mauritius under which capital gains will be levied on investments made after April 1, 2017. Following amendment of the 33-year old tax treaty, companies routing funds into India through Mauritius after March 31, 2017 will have to pay short-term capital gains tax at half the rate prevailing during the two-year transition period. The levy is currently at 15 per cent. The full rate will kick in from April 1, 2019. "It is interesting to note that while the protocol to the India-Mauritius provides for a scenario wherein the taxes in India will apply at 50 per cent of the domestic tax rate on capital gains during the transition period of two years. No such relief is granted in the new India-Cyprus DTAA and therefore, capital gains arising from sale of shares of an Indian company will be taxable at the applicable domestic tax rate," Nangia & Co Partner Rahul Jain said. India has been in the process of revising tax treaties with foreign nations, including Singapore and Netherlands, to provide for source based taxation of capital gains. Between April and September 2016, India has received $5.8 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) from Mauritius, $4.6 billion from Singapore, $1.6 billion from the Netherlands and $381 million from Cyprus. Besides FDI, a large number of institutional investors or FIIs investing in stocks are also based out of low tax jurisdictions like Mauritius and Cyprus. India has also rescinded the notification which named Cyprus as a 'notified jurisdictional area' for lack of effective exchange of information. India blacklisted Cyprus in 2013 for not sharing tax information. It had classified the island nation as a notified jurisdictional area on grounds that Cyprus was not providing information requested by tax authorities under the taxation treaty. Following the notification, all payments made to Cyprus attracted a 30% withholding tax and Indian entities receiving money from there were required to disclose the source of funds. India and Cyprus had on November 18 signed the revised bilateral tax treaty under which capital gains tax will be levied on sale of shares on investments made after April 1, 2017, bringing the island nation at par with Mauritius in terms of tax treatment. The new agreement also provides for exchange of banking information and allows the use of such information for purposes other than taxation with prior approval of competent authorities of the country. A 32-year-old Indian IT professional in the US has pleaded guilty for committing a H-1B visa fraud. Hari Karne, from Hyderabad, faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine. According to federal prosecutors, Karne's conspirators recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the US. The conspirators then sponsored the foreign workers' H-1B visas with the stated purpose of working for SCM Data, a US based company, and MMC Systems' clients throughout the US. When submitting the visa paperwork to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the conspirators represented that the foreign workers had full-time positions and were paid an annual salary, as required to secure the H-1B visas. "Contrary to these representations and in violation of the H-1B programme, the conspirators paid the foreign workers only when they were placed at a third-party client who entered into a contract with SCM Data or MMC Systems," the Department of Justice said in a press release. "The conspirators told the foreign workers who were not currently working that if they wanted to maintain their H-1B visa status, they would need to come up with what their gross wages would be in cash and give it to SCM Data and MMC Systems so the companies could issue payroll checks to the foreign workers," prosecutors alleged. "Karne - who was a US immigration manager with SCM Private Limited in India, which had service agreements with SCM Data and MMC Systems - admitted that he advised foreign workers to pay SCM Data and MMC Systems in cash the approximate amount they were supposed to be paid by the companies in order to generate false payroll records," federal prosecutors alleged. Karne further admitted that in February 2015 and March 2015, in response to a US Department of Labour audit, he assisted SCM Data and MMC Systems in the preparation of false leave slips for foreign workers that were submitted to the US Department of Labour's (USDOL) to conceal the fact that the foreign workers were not paid during those time periods as required by federal law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Irish terrorist has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years for a hoax bomb plot against Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Dublin, Ireland, in 2011. Donal Billings was convicted this week ofpossessing explosives and making falsebombthreats. The 66-year-old planted a bomb on a bus and made a number of hoax bomb calls during the Queen's visit. Dublin's Special Criminal Court heard that Billings called police with his warning in May, 2011 as the Queen prepared for the banquet with husband Prince Philip, Irish President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin. He said: "I'm a member of the Republican Brotherhood, Squad A. Two mortars are set for Dublin Castle at 8 pm. This is for the Queen of blood and war of Iraq." Days earlier, Billings had planted a pipe bomb on to a bus as it stopped at a train station on its way to Dublin. Hidden in the luggage compartment, the bomb comprised a firework timer switch, a copper pipe stuffed with gun powder and a two-litre plastic bottle of petrol, the 'Daily Express' reported. Billings then called the police, who managed to intercept the bus five miles from the city. The court heard if the bomb had gone off, it would have resulted in the "complete destruction of the vehicle in question". Billings was caught after police traced phone records and SIM cards. "It recklessly exposed passengers, staff and members of the emergency services to very significant risk of serious injury or death," said Justice Tony Hunt. Billings, an anti-royalist, has previous convictions for possessing explosives in Northern Ireland in 1973. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is moving towards GST regime, State Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu today announced a training programme on GST in the state and asked Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Jammu to attend it. "As we are moving towards the GST regime, it's necessary to be well versed with the GST law," Drabu said while speaking during a series of pre-budget consultations with the representatives of various business and trade organisations and other stakeholders here today. The Finance Minister said, "CCI should attend training programme on GST being provided by the government to have deep understanding of it." Drabu made these remarks in response to CCIJ's demand of continuation of all incentives available to the units during existing regime after implementation of GST Act. The Ministerclearly hintedthat J&K is moving towards GST regime, which had become a controversy in view of special status of J&K, which had its own tax laws. The Finance Minister asked for the recommendations on Price Band to further help them during implementation of GST regime. He also asked them to register for training programmes on GST Law to get familiar with the things related to it. Drabu also assured them that he will look into the issue of negative list of units. CCIJ had also demanded a review of the Negative List of industrial units for VAT remission and amnesty in labour laws. Drabu said the government would focus on consolidating the fiscal management initiatives outlined in the previous budget and setting off new reformative measures to ensure effective utilisation of the resources. Drabu said the pre-budget interactions are vital for receiving inputs, suggestions and to know the expectations of the stakeholders from the budget. He further said he expects that the inputs provided by the stakeholders would help in Budget formulation and improving the policy management of financial system. During the meeting, various suggestions and inputs were received from representatives of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Jammu, Transporters Association Jammu, Federation of Industries Jammu, Hoteliers Association Jammu, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Institute of Public Opinion, Intellectuals, Academicians, Tax Bar Association, Traders Federation, Agriculturalists, Fruit Growers Association Jammu, Poultry Farmers and Tourism Federation Jammu. The representatives of Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI), suggested for amnesty on account of faults in classification in VAT Act. They also asked for exemption of Service Tax on games zone. They asked for bringing power tariff for the hotels and service industry at par with industrial tariff and amnesty on old recoveries wherein interest and penalty be waived off as one time settlement. CCI asked for the extending the amnesty on commercial power as was done for the domestic consumers. They also requested for no further enhancement in Toll taxes. Another issue raised by CCI was granting freehold rights for industrial units with certain conditions. CCI president also asked for having purchase preference rather than price preference in order to help local manufacturers. The Transporters Association also presented various demands before the Minister and demanded that the there should be a smooth movement of goods carrier at Lakhanpur and there should be the distinction between dealers and transporters in case of penalty on goods. They also demanded upgradation of Transport Nagar Narwal. Drabu said the department would work on the mechanism to provide ease to the transporters in paying the penalty at Lakhanpur. Federation of Industries Jammu while presenting their demands said that some incentives should be provided to the industries to recover their losses due to the turmoil in valley which adversely have affected their production. They asked for fiscal incentives to industrial sector and extension of other incentives under GST regime. Federation also requested for removal of items from the negative lists for industrial sector for VAT remission and exemption of additional toll tax, amnesty on closed units power bills, one time amnesty to exempt Industrial sector from penal interest for the non submission of C Forms for inter-state sale. The Federation thanked the government for implementing the decision for 24X7 clearance of goods at Lakhanpur with Green Channel resulting in great relief to the Industrial units. The Federation of Industries demanded for imposition of toll tax on import of Wheat Bran from outside the state in order to save local Small Scale Industrial Units engaged in manufacture of wheat bran from incurring huge losses. The Hotelier Association Jammu while presenting their demands said the hotels and restaurants under tourism have been declared as an industry and should be allowed to avail various benefits at par with Industrial sector. They also asked for soft loans to tourism industry for renovation and upgradation of hotels. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) highlighted the concerns of the Industry. They requested for a separate single window clearance agency for MSME, functioning of Lakhanpur toll post round the clock with introduction of POS machines to avoid payment in cash, opening of hospitals and schools in industrial belts of the state, cluster approach with specific master plan for MSMEs. CII also proposed launch of Chief Minister Start-Up Scheme to provide single window support to potential entrepreneurs, relaxation in various State-specific taxes for the start-ups. The Minister urged them to initiate a research cum database development project with the involvement of financial and social institutions and the Universities to help the government for extending the scope and ambit of the economic survey. The ACB today placed under arrest the chief fire officer (CFO) of Jaipur Municipal Corporation and two middlemen in an alleged graft case. "CFO Dinesh Verma was caught yesterday by an ACB team when he was taking a bribe Rs 1.5 lakh from one of the middlemen, Pushpendra Agrawal, to issue a no-objection certificate to a private hospital," Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau IG Sachin Mittal said. The ACB from Verma's house recovered Rs 69 lakh that included Rs 40 lakh in denomination of Rs 2,000 notes, Rs 22 lakh in Rs 100 notes and Rs 2 lakh in Rs 1,000 notes he said, adding the accused officer has 12 bank accounts. Following Agrawal's arrest the other middleman Ramesh was also nabbed, Mittal said. All the three were arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan and Russia today wrap up a summit aimed at making progress on a peace treaty to formally end World War II, focusing on economic projects in small Russian-occupied islands claimed by Tokyo. The second day of discussions in Tokyo comes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Vladimir Putin met on Thursday in Abe's ancestral hometown in western Japan in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough. Abe said they had a "frank" exchange of views and although they announced no major progress, the two discussed ways to cooperate economically in the disputed area. The Soviet Union seized four islands off Japan's northern coast in 1945 in the closing days of the war. Known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, the islands have prevented the two sides from fully putting the conflict behind them. The summit is the latest attempt to reach an agreement since Japan and the former Soviet Union began discussions in 1956. Putin, who is accomplished in the Japanese martial art of judo, has said he sees the lack of a peace treaty as an "anachronism" and wants to resolve the issue, while acknowledging that progress has been "difficult". Abe has looked to win concessions by dangling the prospect of major Japanese investment in front of Moscow, which is mired in economic crisis amid falling oil prices and Western sanctions over Crimea and Ukraine. He said that the two discussed joint economic development of the islands and making it easier for Japanese former residents, whose average age is 81, to visit. Public broadcaster NHK, citing a government source, reported the leaders are expected to agree an economic cooperation package worth some 300 billion yen ($2.5 billion), including private-sector projects such as joint mine development and loans for natural gas exploration. Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin adviser, told reporters that the two leaders called for experts to find ways to achieve joint exploitation of the territory, citing "fishing, tourism, culture and medicine". Business leaders from the two countries will also meet Friday. But few believe Putin is likely to hand the islands back, not least because of their strategic value sitting astride the entrance to the Sea of Okhotsk as well as Russian pride at having taken them as spoils of war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala Governor P Sathasivam today lamented that the continuing stand-off between media and lawyers in courts in Kerala was not good for democracy. The former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appealed to both the media and lawyers to arrive at a peaceful agreement considering the fact that the two sections have significant duties in a democracy. "I had appealed for a peaceful agreement but sadly the issue still continues. The result is the people are not being informed about what happens in various courts.Even verdicts with wider implications remain unknown.This is not good for democracy," he said. He was addressing a gathering of journalists after inaugurating the Golden Jubilee Annual Day celebrations of the foundation stone laying ceremony of Ernakulam Press Club here. Batting for free access for journalists in courts, he urged media persons to "maintain dignity and decorum" in courts while carrying out their professional duty. "Whether in a high court or subordinate courts journalists must have a free access.They must have freedom to note down what is happening in Court hall," the governor said. Describing media persons and lawyers as "two eyes" of the democratic system, Sathasivam said media is the way to take the decisions of the courts to the public. "How many persons will read our law journals? Only lawyers and judges--not others.Or maybe one or two litigants." "...You are free to visit court hall.When a judge passes an order, you are free to enter his chamber and note down.You have to maintain dignity and decorum in the courts.You should not have any quarrel with anyone including our lawyer friends," he said. Recalling the steps he had taken to provide basic facilities for media persons, both accredited and non-accredited, covering Supreme Court proceedings, the governor said media persons should be provided a restroom and minimum facilities like washroom to address nature's call. He said pendency of a case in apex court on the stand-off was not a bar for solving the issue in High Court tself. The governor said he would try his best to solve the issue by talking to lawyers, judges and media persons. Earlier, Ernakulam MP K V Thomas sought the governor's intervention to "protect the Freedom of the Press" in judicial houses. Some High Court lawyers had clashed with journalists in Kochi on July 14 on reports about the arrest of a government pleader who allegedly tried to molest a woman. This incident resulted in a stand-off between the media and lawyers in courts in Kerala. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police in neighbouring Navi Mumbai today arrested the owner of a play school-cum-daycare centre at Kharghar where a child was allegedly beaten up brutally by a caretaker. The Bombay High Court had yesterday rejected the application of Priyanka Nikam, owner of Purva Play School, for pre-arrest bail. Following which the police arrested her today. The caretaker/maid Afsana Sheikh, who allegedly beat up a 10-month-old baby girl, is already arrested. CCVT video clip showing Sheikh beating the girl had gone viral on social media last month. Police have registered a case of attempt to murder as well as relevant offences under the Juvenile Justice Act against Nikam and Sheikh. Police had earlier arrested Nikam under section 324 of IPC (voluntarily causing hurt), but she got bail. Later police pressed the charge of attempt to murder, so she moved the courts for pre-arrest bail. Navi Mumbai police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said the police would produce Nikam in a local court and seek her police remand. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In view to further strengthen bilateral economic ties, Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), in association with FICCI, is organising Korean Expo 2016 between December 19-20 in the city. Hosted by Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korean Expo 2016 is a consumer and trade focussed exhibition featuring 1,000 plus premium products from 100 plus exhibitors showcasing household goods, beauty and fashion products; electronic items; wellness and medical products; industry material and machine equipment amongst others. More than 10,000 visitors from India including hundreds of overseas buyers from Middle East, Russia, Egypt, Kazakhasthan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South-west Asia are expected to attend the show. "The expo is bigger than ever before after Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched Korea Plus, a platform for promoting and facilitating South Korean investments in India following the review of free trade agreement called Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and South Korea in mid 2016," KOTRA Director General Dongwon Lee said in a statement here. "Korea ranks amongst the top 6 import sources for India and the intent is to graduate to the top 5; and amongst the top 20 export destinations where we wish to move to the top 15. India and Korea relations have made great strides in recent years and this expo will act as a catalyst in making these relations even more robust," said Lee. He added, "Venturing beyond existing strongholds in India - electronics and machinery, the expo will also showcase popular Korean brands in beauty, cosmetics, wellness, health and household categories. In the future, we hope to further strengthen the trade relations with import of raw materials from India including chemicals and natural products. India's merchandise import stood at USD 258 billion as compared to USD 299 billion in 2015 (January to September). India's top import sources are China followed by the USA, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Imports from Korea were USD 12.453 billion in 2013; USD 13.523 billion in 2014 and USD 13.114 billion in 2015. In terms of exports, Korea ranked amongst Top 20 export destinations for India during January-September 2016 with exports totalling USD 2.7 billion as compared to USD 2.8 billion in 2015 (January-September). This has resulted in de-growth of 4 per cent of exports from India to Korea in January-September 2016 but accounted for an overall 1.37 per cent share in January-September 2016 period. Korea accounted for exports of USD 4.099 billion in 2013; USD 4.830 billion in 2014 and USD 3.673 billion in 2015. The total foreign direct investment equity inflows from South Korea in India during 2000-2016 was USD 1.79 billion while Indian FDI is also inching close to USD 3 billion. The Kremlin today slammed Washington for pointing the finger at President Vladimir Putin over cyber attacks targeting the US election, after Barack Obama pledged to retaliate against Russian hacking. "At this point they need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof. Otherwise this looks extremely scurrilous," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a visit to Japan. Obama yesterday warned that the US would take action against Moscow after the White House accused Putin of direct involvement in cyber attacks designed to influence the US election. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing." The outgoing US president's remarks dramatically upped the stakes in a dispute between the world's leading nuclear powers over interference that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican billionaire Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. Obama's threat came after the White House ratcheted up allegations over the Russian hacking by personally tying Kremlin strongman Putin to the attacks. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," one of his top advisers, Ben Rhodes, said earlier yesterday. Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election also puts the White House on a collision course with Trump, who has become increasingly isolated in questioning Russian involvement in hacks of Democratic Party emails that appeared to slow the momentum of Clinton's campaign. Obama is expected to be peppered with questions about the dispute and any subsequent action when he holds a conference today at 2:15 PM before leaving for a vacation in Hawaii. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Domestic mutual fund houses seem to have made best of the correction in the Tata Group stocks following the dismissal of Cyrus Mistry by accumulating shares across the group companies in November, according to data from the fund houses. Mutual funds' holdings in crown jewel TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Steel has risen during the month, according to a report industry research house Morningstar. However, details for other listed companies like Indian Hotels, Titan, Tata Global Beverages and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra are not available. Tata Motors, the maker of JLR cars, anticipating a spurt in demand for its latest hatchback Tiago, saw the most buying with over 13.81 million shares bought, which is a rise of 11.33 per cent over the previous month, it said. This is followed by Tata Power, where investors added 8.36 per cent to their existing holdings and Tata Steel where 8.17 per cent new buying was done. Barring Tata Power, all the scrips saw an increase in the number of fund houses holding the stock at the end of November, with Tata Motors emerging as the most favourite with 310 fund houses followed by TCS' 226. In a surprise move, Mistry was ousted as the chairman of Tata Sons on October 24, without giving detailed reasons. This led to unease among investors, and a sell-off in group company stocks, which led to erosion of value. The Tatas have begun the lengthy process of dismissing Mistry as the chairman and director on board of publicly-held companies and have already succeeded in TCS, Tata Teleservices and Tata Industries, where they had absolute majority. The institutional investors are expected to play an important role in similar votes at group companies like Tata Power, IHCL and Tata Motors, where Tatas' holdings are as low as 28 per cent. Among the 100-odd group companies, the Tatas have called for EGMs in the largest six-TCS, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels and the unlisted Tata Tele between December 13 and 26 to sack Mistry from the directorship of these companies. Out of these, the group has already sacked Mistry from TCS and Tata Tele through EGMs earlier this week. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today asked the Delhi government to work out the modalities of reducing DTC bus fares, a move aimed at discouraging people from using personal vehicles and promote travel on public transport to bring down pollution level. Jung, who held a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Transport Minister Satyendar Jain and officials, directed the transport department to reduce bus fares across different slabs for the next two months keeping the winter season in mind. Normally, winter months witness a spurt in pollution. After spike in pollution, the authorities in Paris had recently made public transport free of cost to encourage people to shun private cars, a senior official said, adding that the Delhi government drew some inspiration from it. In the meeting, the transport minister assured the LG that the department would work out the modalities of reducing the bus fares across different slabs. Apart from this, Jung was assured by the PWD that by February end, all U-turns at Delhi borders, meant to turn away non-destined vehicles, will become operational. The Lt Governor also said that special attention needs to be paid to reducing pollution at Anand Vihar after the Secretary (Environment) apprised him that pollution readings were high by 20 per cent there. The measures, suggested to bring down pollution at Anand Vihar, include paving of ISBT (Anand Vihar) to reduce dust, Ghazipur landfill fire to be brought under control and dust control steps to be adopted at the Integrated Freight Complex at Anand Vihar. The Secretary (Environment) also flagged the issue of idling of vehicles on city roads. An official said that 200 traffic bottlenecks have been identified in Delhi and data has been shared with the agencies concerned so that traffic can be eased at these bottlenecks, which will reduce idling of vehicles and bring down vehicular pollution. This can be done through road engineering, relocation of bus stops and through traffic cycle management. The Secretary (Environment) also flagged the issue of loose soil which can be addressed by greening areas. Jain assured that by February end, greening of PWD roads would be completed. "The Secretary (PWD) informed the LG that two vacuum cleaners are operational, out of which one is dedicated to Anand Vihar. They will add six more vacuum cleaning machines by the end of December," a statement issued by the LG's office said. The Commissioner of East Delhi Municipal Corporation said that apart from issuing challans for violation of construction /demolition norms, polluting factories and burning of leaves, two waste-to-energy plants are coming up at Shastri Park and East Vinod Nagar. The North civic body commissioner informed Jung that Bhalsawa fire is completely under control. The Special CP (Traffic) informed that 58,209 vehicles have been checked at the Delhi borders, out of which 11,585 non-destined vehicles have been turned back. As many as 6,962 vehicles have been challaned for not carrying 'Pollution Under Control' certificates. Ninety-three vehicles carrying uncovered construction material have been challaned. Seventy-one diesel vehicles, which are more than 15 years old, have been impounded. Twenty-five bookings have been done for those violating ban on DG sets/firecrackers. The transport department has issued 1,220 challans for overloading. 3,118 vehicles have been challaned for not carrying Pollution Under Control Certificates and 9,696 vehicles have been challaned for being visibly polluting. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee said it has closed 42 units of polluting factories in industrial areas and 81 in redevelopment areas. "Keeping in mind the onset of winter, our efforts must not abate and we must do all we can to check pollution through the winter months," the LG said, adding that he would review the status of air pollution in Delhi after 15 days. Northern Army command chief Lt Gen Devraj Anbu today met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti here and apprised her of the security situation in the state. The Chief Minister advised Lt Gen Anbu to ensure maximum relief to people by the Army in the state. This was Anbu's first meeting with the Chief Minister after taking charge of the Udhampur-based Northern command on December 02 succeeding Lt Gen D S Hooda. Yesterday, the officer had also met Governor N N Vohra to discuss internal security management in the wake of the rising militancy-related incidents in the state, especially the terrorist attack on an Army camp at Nagrota. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Maharashtra Assembly today unanimously adopted a resolution to rename the international airport and railway terminus in Mumbai by adding the word Maharaj in the original name. The resolution to rename Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, while the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station will be renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus was passed by the Assembly. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis moved the resolution in the Lower House saying the Assembly recommends to the Central Government to rename these two places. Fadnavis also moved a resolution to recommend to the Central Government to change the name of Elphinstone Road Railway station to Prabhadevi. Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil seconded the resolution. The entire house welcomed the resolution and initiative of the government by thumping of desks. Some members from treasury benches also raised slogan Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki jai in the House. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district. The project, conceived in 2000, became controversial because of allegations of corruption. Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MLC (then with NCP) Sandip Bajoria are named in a petition before Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court which alleges misappropriation of funds in the project. In a recent election, Bajoria was elected as an Independent member of the state Legislative Council. The dam will have total water storage capacity of around 25 TMC and is estimated to cost about Rs 500 crore. A government resolution yesterday said that for the construction of the dam and water storage, 1,055.64 hectares of forest land would be handed over to the Water Resources Department. Since the project is "site specific", it was necessary to hand over the forest land, the GR said. "The total area that will be submerged is 12,000 hectares. There are 32 villages which will be rehabilitated completely while another 15 villages will be rehabilitated partially. The dam is expected to irrigate around one lakh hectares in Buldhana and Akola districts," the dam's executive engineer, Hemant Solge, said. "The actual cost would be around Rs 500-600 crore but major expenditure would be on land acquisition and rehabilitation. There are some lift irrigation schemes proposed as well, so we need to create infrastructure for the same," he said. When asked about the litigation such projects usually attract, Solge said, "First we will ensure rehabilitation and complete the work of crest construction. Then we will start filling the dam up to the crest so that 40,000 hectares of agricultural land will benefit from it. Once the farmers start getting water, others will also support the dam work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India, Japan and the US are set to focus on "anti-submarine warfare" by deploying "different machines" during the next round of their marine wargames named the Malabar Exercise, amidst increasing presence of Chinese underwater vessels in the strategic Indian Ocean region. The three countries will come together in the Indian Ocean for the 21st edition of the Malabar exercise - Malabar 2017, aiming for a "bigger" and "more complex" exercise than before. "We want to (use) different machines especially now that India flies the P8I (Poseidon). We fly the P8A," Commander of the US Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph P Aucoin said. "I would like those two aircraft working together and to hunt submarines. So anti-submarine warfare is one area which I think would be very beneficial. So I am looking forward to that in Malabar," he told reporters here. Vice Admiral Aucoin met Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lamba and other senior officers to chalk out the dates and strategy of the exercise, likely to be held after the monsoon. The exercise has assumed significance as it is being held at a time when China has become more assertive, and their submarines' forays in the Indian Ocean region have increased. The Chinese are set to monitor the exercise like they did last year when India, US and Japan participated in the exercise together in the Japanese waters off the Pacific. Vice Admiral Aucoin, who spoke on a number of issues, said he was looking forward to the implementation of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between India and the US. He said the implementation of LEMOA may take some more time, but hoped that within a couple of years, it would be clear what possibilities are there. The US has shared its "points of contact" - the details of designated officials to whom the US military would have to send its request for logistics support under LEMOA - but India is yet to share the list. Another problem is that common accounting system for the three services also needed to be worked out. The US commander also spoke out against militarisation of the strategic South China Sea region, through which an annual trade of USD 5 billion flows. He termed the situation in the region "dynamic" and asked countries to desist from aggressive land reclamation. He said India's settling of maritime disputes with Bangladesh should be a "terrific path forward" for other countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh today presented 'Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2015' to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at a function here. Singh, who is trustee of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT), gave the prize to UNHCR India Chief of Mission, Yasuko Shimizu, in the presence of the trust's Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The prize, which was announced last year by a jury headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari, consists of a trophy with a portrait of the late prime minister in the tradition of Jaipur miniature paintings, a cash award of Rs one crore and a citation. The award is presented to "Office of UNHCR in recognition of its immense contributions in assisting millions of refugees who have fled thier homes, for working under difficult circumstances with governments and other agencies to bring about changes to reduce the flow of refugees, for looking to their welfare in a particular manner on a globe scale, and for working tirelessly in several places simultaneously to give refugees hope for the future and relief from their suffering," reads the citation. Established by the UN General Assembly in December 1950, UNHCR works in 128 countries and its mission is to safegaurd the rights and well-being of refugees and seek lasting solutions to their plight. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Expressing its "astonishment" on MEA purchasing a property in France without heeding to the advice of architects and consultants, a parliamentary panel has said making such a deal without proper consultation tantamount to "criminal negligence". The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which tabled its report today in Parliament, also "strongly deprecated" the External Affairs Ministry's "casual approach" in furnishing detailed action taken replies to the Committee. The panel noted that MEA decided to purchase a property belonging to French government for establishing India Cultural Centre at Paris and both the architects/consultants engaged by the Mission to assess "suitability of the building" reported that the building was not suitable to be used as a cultural centre since it neither had two exist nor enough provisions for assembly of people as required under French regulations. "The Committee further note that the Ministry ignored the reports of the architects and purchased the property for Rs 30.03 crore in March 2011 which has been laying unutilised since then," the PAC report said. Referring to the ministry's reply that it has taken up the matter of additional alterations in the building with the French government, the panel said, however, no information relating to it has been provided. "The Committee is astonished to find that the Ministry did not heed to the advice of the Architects/Consultants and went on with the acquisition of the property which eventually resulted in idling of assets and wasteful expenditure on maintaining the property. "The Committee is of the view that making such a deal without proper planning and consultation tantamount to criminal negligence. The Committee also take serious note of non-furnishing of important information to Audit by the Mission and desire that all the relevant records be produced to the Audit urgently within two months," the report said. The panel further desired that an inquiry may be instituted against the officers responsible for criminal negligence in making a deal without proper consultation, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a senior manager of a web intermediary for allegedly permitting sale of an MMS clip showing two school students from national capital indulging in a sexual act. The apex court set aside the order of the Delhi High Court, saying it has erred that though charge has not been made out under section 67 (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, the appellant could be proceeded against under Section 292 (sale etc of obscene books) of IPC. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C Pant held that when the special provisions having the overriding effect cover a criminal act, the offender gets out of the net of IPC. "It is apt to note here that electronic forms of transmission are covered by the IT Act, which is a special law. It is a settled position in law that a special law shall prevail over the general and prior laws. When the Act in various provisions deals with obscenity in electronic form, it covers the offence under Section 292 IPC," the bench said. "We are of the considered opinion that the high court has fallen into error that though charge has not been made out under Section 67 of the IT Act, yet the appellant could be proceeded under Section 292 IPC. "Consequently, the appeal is allowed, the orders passed by the high court and the trial court are set aside and the criminal prosecution lodged against the appellant stands quashed," it added. The criminal proceedings against another co-accused, who was then the managing director of the web intermediary, were earlier quashed by the apex court. The man was discharged from section 67 of the IT Act and Section 294 of the IPC by the trial court, but the charge under Section 292 of the IPC still remained against him. The high court had refused to quash the charge, saying he could have stopped the clip from being uploaded but did not do so promptly. His counsel argued in the apex court that the trial court erred by framing the charge against him for the offence of possessing the alleged obscene video clip even though it was independently uploaded by the registered user over whom the site had no control. In December 2004, the Delhi police had registered an FIR against against the website and its officials for illegally displaying the video clip. The website's officials were accused of allowing the MMS clip, recorded on a mobile phone camera, to be uploaded on the company's auction site in 2004. Congress today hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his party-first remark against it and said he should read history to know who puts the party before the nation. Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal told the Prime Minister that his party fought the freedom struggle which Modi's party had "opposed" and instead "sided" with the British. "Modiji said the BJP is the only nationalist party and all others are anti-national. The trouble is, Modiji doesn't know history and neither is he interested in knowing it. Modiji should remember what his ideological masters did in 1947. "When the Indian National Congress was fighting the freedom struggle, they were on the British side and opposed us. For them, the organisation is first, the nation second. For us, the nation is always first. Today, Modiji has forsaken both the nation and the party. He only wants to see his own image on television," he said. Sibal suggested that Modi reads history and also that of his party leaders who "supported" the British. He also dubbed the demonetisation decision taken by him unilaterally as "anti-national and anti-people" and said he quotes Chanakya, who never said that the King should speak a lie. "Did Chanakya say that a ruler should lie? We want to ask which party has the most black money? Modi ji should ask himself that," he asked. Sibal also lamented that it is the first time when the Prime Minister did not speak in Parliament and neither allowed the opposition to speak. Taking a dig at him, the Congress leader said, he also may have been a little worried fearing an expose from the Congress when Parliament is in session. "I don't know how far the new policy will be able to affect the person for whom it is intended. One thing is clear a large number of people belonging to the middle and lower middle classes will be hit hard on account of the demonetisation. "While we Congressmen have no sympathy for profiteers and dealers in the black market, it is not right to penalise honest Indians, who in good faith have their savings in notes of demonetised value," he said quoting Dr Rajendra Prasad. "Does Modi ji want to call Dr Rajendra Prasad a scamster? That he was anti-national?" Sibal asked. The Congress leader said if Modi wanted to fight black money, he should start from his own party. "We want to ask which party has the most black money? Modiji should ask himself that. If Modiji wants to fight black money, he should start from his own party. When talking about black money, Modiji should look at his own house." Sibal asked "When Modi ji was giving speeches before 2014 (general elections), were people paying him in cheques? We want to ask, who was paying him in cheques? Which cheques are used to pay shakhas? In Jhandewalan (RSS' Delhi headquarters), are all payments made through cheques?. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today asked Director General of Police (DGP) to keep a close watch on operations at casinos to ensure that they are not misused to distribute cash during upcoming assembly polls. "I have spoken to the DGP in this regard and have asked him to keep a close watch on the activities in casinos so as to ensure that they are not being misused to distribute money during the election," Parsekar told reporters here today. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim Zaidi during his recent trip to Goa had expressed concern about casinos being used to distribute money. The CEC had asked chief secretary R K Srivastava to keep a watch on the activities at casinos. The Chief Minister said that chief secretary had apprised him about the concerns raised by CEC Zaidi. "I have taken up the matter with DGP," he said. Responding to a question whether casinos can be misused for distribution of cash, Parsekar said, "I don't have much knowledge. I am not supposed to be expert in all the fields. But since the Election Commission has suggested it means there should be a substance." On recent Supreme Court decision to ban sale of liquor on the highways, Parsekar said the state government is studying the judgment. He said the impact will be more on Goa due to number of liquor shops. "We need to explore the possibility of relocating such liquor shops," the chief minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Top Myanmar leaders today paid tributes to the exiled Burma king Thibaw, on his 100th death anniversary today. Myint Swe, First Vice President of the Republic of Union of Myanmar and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, were among those present at the commemorative event, in Maharashtra's coastal Ratnagiri district. Union minister Ramdas Athawale was also present. King Thibaw, who was crowned in 1878, ruled Burma (now Myanmar) for seven years with his Queen Supayalat in the Golden Palace in Mandalay. When the British attacked the reigning Konbaung dynasty of Burma in 1885, King Thibaw surrendered within two weeks. The royal family was exiled to Madras (now Chennai), briefly, and then to Ratnagiri, a sleepy coastal town in Maharashtra. The king, the queen and their four daughters lived in exile for nearly 31 years. From a life of riches and resplendence, they had to live in complete social isolation. The first princess had settled in Ratnagiri. Her descendants, the Pawar family of Ratnagiri was present at the event, a senior government official told PTI over phone. King Thibaw died in Ratnagiri on December 16, 1916. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) : The Board of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce has elected the Managing Director of Mel Systems and Services Ltd Managing Director N Ramachandran as its Chairman, Tamil Nadu unit, for the year 2016-17. Poppys Vista Hotel Pvt Ltd Chairman, A Sakthivel and Lincoln Electric Company Managing Director, S Sundarram were elected as First and Second Vice-Chairman, respectively, a press release said. The office bearers were elected at the trade body's meeting held in Chennai recently, it said. The Chamber, set up in 1968, is the apex bi-lateral Chamber synergising the economic engagement between India and United States, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Officials of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) today conducted an inspection at the Rajkot District Co-operative Bank (RDCB) here. Vitthal Radadiya, the BJP MP from Porbandar who is also Chairman of RDCB, termed the inspection as "a routine process" undertaken by NABARD every year. After his meeting with NABARD officials, Radadiya clarified their visit to the bank had nothing to do with the Centre's demonetisation move. "It was nothing more than a routine inspection from NABARD. They conduct such audit every year to know about the performance of the bank as well as problems faced by us," said Radadiya. "Today, they completed their audit and held a meeting with the bank management. This visit had nothing to do with the Central Government's demonetisation decision," the Lok Sabha MP said. Post the currency replacement scheme, RBI banned District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) in Gujarat and other States from accepting or exchanging scrapped notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Nana Patekar will soon travel to some of the most difficult and remote border posts of the ITBP as part of his initiative to boost the morale of the troops serving in hostile conditions. The actor today visited the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) headquarters here and met the force's chief Krishna Chaudhary. 'During the meeting, Patekar expressed his interest to work for the welfare of ITBP personnel and said he desires to take some important initiatives for the same. He also expressed his willingness to visit to the border out posts to meet the jawans of the force and to boost their morale," ITBP spokesperson Deputy Commandant Vivek K Pandey said. Officials said Patekar could soon travel to some forward locations of the force in Arunachal Pradesh. The force guards the 3,488-km long Sino-India frontier and some of its posts are located above the height of 14,000 feet, braving sub-zero temperatures and snow blizzards. Meanwhile, the paramilitary force also got 17 school children from the remote town of Lachung in North Sikkim to meet President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan here today as part of a study tour conducted by it for them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maoists hacked to death the husband of a village sarpanch in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on the suspicion of he being an informer, police said today. Dharmendra Kudami (33) waskilledlast evening in Kurrempara area of Metapal village under Katekalyan police station area, a senior police official told PTI. Kudumi's wife Ratna Kudumi is the sarpanchof Metapal. "A group of Maoists, armed with bow and arrow, axes and knives stormed into victim's house and murdered Dharmendra in front of his family," the official said. "Though the exact reason for the attack is yet to be ascertained, preliminary investigation suggests the ultras accused him of being a police informer," he said. Security forces had launched a combing operation to nab the assailants, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine people died of fentanyl opioid abuse in the Canadian city of Vancouver in just the past 24 hours, Mayor Gregor Robertson has said. Flanked by the city's police chief and other emergency officials, he lauded existing harm reduction services such as drug consumption rooms in the city, but said more treatment options are urgently needed. "It's desperate times in Vancouver and it's hard to see any silver lining right now when we haven't hit rock bottom," Robertson warned yesterday. "Can you imagine nine people dying from another cause in one day in our city?" Police Chief Adam Palmer said, calling for more help for addicts. Canada has been struggling to contain an overdose crisis that claimed 2,000 lives last year, with even more expected in 2016. Vancouver has seen an average of 15 overdoses a month and police are currently investigating 160 fatalities, according to Palmer. As the crisis snowballed, the city council approved a 0.5 percent property tax hike this week to help fight the fentanyl overdose crisis. The funds are to go to support frontline emergency workers, shelters and outreach centers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, who had sought an apology from the opposition for "paralysing" Parliament over note ban issue, today said there is no bad blood between the government and the opposition. He also said he was constantly in touch with various opposition leaders and they all agreed to pass the People with Disabilities Bill in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the Winter session today unanimously. "There is no bad blood between us. During this session there were arguments but I was in touch with all opposition parties including Congress, TMC and others," he told reporters. Even as as he attacked the opposition for disruptions in his end-of-session press conference, Kumar said there is "bonhomie between us. I was speaking with Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders on daily basis." "On the eve of the session's last day, I had called up all party leaders and asked them whether they would like to conclude the session on positive note to which all agreed. "They said they have an appointment with the President. So I asked them to ensure that there will be at least one member from all parties to participate in the debate on the bill," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government today told the Calcutta High Court no coercive action would be taken against Narada editor Mathew Samuel during pendency of a petition seeking probe into the portal's sting operation purportedly showing Trinamool Congress leaders accepting money. Advocate General Jayanta Mitra told a division bench presided over by acting Chief Justice Nishita Mhatre that the state government would not take any coercive action against Samuel till the petition was heard by the court. Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Bikash Bhattacharya submitted that as the sting tapes, except for a few which could not be opened owing to technical glitches, had been found to be untampered by Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Chandigarh, an investigation be ordered into the issue of alleged acceptance of gratification by the persons seen in the tapes. The high court had sent the tapes to CFSL Chandigarh for testing the genuinness of the recordings, following which a report had been submitted by it to the court. Bhattacharya prayed for an investigation by an independent agency as public interest was involved in the matter. The bench adjourned the matter for the day and directed that the matter be taken up for hearing again on January five. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ease of doing business is a top priority of the Indian government and there is no doubt about the potential of investment opportunities in the country, a senior business executive from the country said here today. "Ease of doing business is a big effort by the government," said Gopal Jiwarajka, President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the India-Singapore Investment Summit. "The potential of our country is not in doubt in term of investments in Infrastructure and consumer demand because of large population," he said, but noted the international business community's biggest concern is regulations and stability. "Indications are very clear. Taxation will be stable and moderate. We are moving to much more moderate tax regime," said Jiwarajka of the new tax regime and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax from next April. He highlighted "the will of the political leadership to really make changes and let India find its position in global economy is being realised." The summit is to share knowledge, project proposals and take back feedback from international private sector investors. "PHD will strive to address business related regulatory issues being faced by the private sector investors relating to their projects in India," assured Jiwarajka. "Going forward, PHD would also like to play a role in match-making businesses between India, Singapore and the South East Asian region," he said. "We will be identifying partners for Singapore and regional companies in India and Indian businesses in Singapore," he said. The summit was inaugurated by India's High Commissioner to Singapore, Jawed Ashraf, who called on Indian business community to present specific projects, concrete ideas and proposals in meetings with international investors. "We must be here with specific projects, concrete ideas and proposals, so when you leave, you have actually begun a dialogue with some partners on potential, specific investments," said Ashraf in a call to woo investors. Speaking at the summit, Singapore's Ambassador at large, Gopinath Pillai noted the increasing investment opportunities in India. "We feel that there are still opportunities," said Pillai, elaborating on Singapore being among the biggest investors in India. Most of Singapore investments were made by Temasek and Government Investors Corporation (GIC), both state-investment agencies, noted Pillai, also chairman of the Institute of South Asian Studies, a think-tank at the National University of Singapore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Centre today rubbished before the Supreme Court the claim that services of senior IPS officer R K Dutta, who was overseeing probes in 2G and coal scams, was curtailed at CBI in a "malafide" manner and asserted that provisions governing the probe agency were complied with. The high-power committee, comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition (LoP), would meet by December end to select the CBI director, the Centre told a bench headed by Justice Kurian Joseph when it questioned the government as to why the panel has not met so far. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, was critical of the arguments of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO 'Common Cause', that there was malafide in shunting out Dutta from CBI. "This is not a service matter. Dutta is not before the court. Moreover, he has been transferred to a very sensitive post in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)," he said, adding that the power of transfer and posting cannot be decided by a petitioner in a PIL. Responding to a query from the bench, also comprising Justice R F Nariman, Rohatgi said that while curtailing the services of Dutta, the section 4 (c) of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, which deals with procedure of appointment, extension and curtailment of services of senior officers in CBI, has been complied with. He also said that Dutta, who was the senior-most officer after the CBI director, did not have requisite number of years of service left to be considered for the top post in the agency. On the issue of appointing Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the interim CBI Director, the Attorney General said that the high-powered committee could not meet due to various pre-occupations of the dignitaries, including the Prime Minister. Responding to a query that as to why a junior officer was considered for the post of interim Director, Rohatgi said that it is wrong to say that Asthana does not deserve and moreover, the process to select the director has already commenced as the names have been short-listed which would be considered by the committee. Bhushan said, "I am alleging malafide. Dutta, who was the senior-most officer after the CBI director and had 15 years of experience in the probe agency in dealing anti-corruption cases, has been shifted to MHA by creating a special department, related to anti-terror operations." This transfer was done two days before the retirement of CBI director, he alleged. Dutta has been sent to a unit which is very sensitive and there he has been tasked to coordinate with all agencies to effectively deal with terror threats and cases, Rohatgi said adding, "We have upgraded his salary. His juniors at CBI were getting more than him. It is for the government to decide which officer will serve where. It is not the business of the petitioner." Rohatgi opposed the submission of Bhushan that the Centre be directed to ensure meeting of the high-powered committee. "How can a court ask the committee of the PM, CJI and LoP to meet on a particular date," he said. The court then fixed the matter filed by the NGO for further hearing on January 17 next year and asked Bhushan to file response to the reply of the Centre in the case. The apex court had on December 9 sought the Centre's response on the plea challenging the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as the interim director of CBI after shifting of Dutta by curtailing his tenure in the agency. The petition has alleged that the Centre took a series of steps in a "completely mala fide, arbitrary and illegal manner to ensure that Asthana was given the charge of CBI director". Asthana, an IPS officer of 1984-batch, was elevated as CBI's Additional Director on December 2 when its Special Director R K Dutta, who was reportedly among the frontrunners for the top post, was shifted to the Ministry of Home Affairs as a Special Secretary. The plea has claimed that the government did not convene a meeting of the selection committee, even though it was fully aware that Anil Sinha was going to demit the office of CBI director on December 2. It alleged that the government had "prematurely curtailed" Dutta's tenure and transferred him to MHA on November 30 just two days before Sinha was slated to demit office. Kerala Governor P Sathasivam today said there is no need to have a "different chair for a governor", pointing out that when he assumed charge, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the head of the state as 'His Excellency'. "No need to have a different chair for a Governor. It is not required. We are in a democratic country," he told mediapersons after inaugurating the golden jubilee annual day celebrations of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ernakulam Press Club. A different chair was arranged for the governor on the stage in which dignitaries including Lok Sabha MP and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee Chairman K V Thomas, Hybi Eden MLA and NSG Commando P V Manesh were present. In his address, Sathasivam reminded journalists that when he took the charge in 2014, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the governor as 'His Excellency'. "For information, the day I assumed the office as the governor of the state, I, through my officials in the Raj Bhavan, had clarified that there was no need to call His Excellency...Either Mr or Honourable is sufficient," Sathasivam, former Chief Justice of India, said. He said this in response to Kerala Union of Working Journalist (KUWJ) chief Abdul Gafoor addressing him as "His Excellency" in his welcome speech. The function was organised by the Ernakulam Press Club. In 2012, when he assumed charge as President of India, Pranab Mukherjee had put in place a new protocol for greeting the President, replacing the salutation 'His Excellency' with 'Honourable President'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Barack Obama declared today that Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime and its Iranian and Russian backers are solely responsible for the slaughter of civilians in Aleppo. "The world as we speak is united in horror at the savage assault by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian regime on the city of Aleppo," he told an end-of-year conference. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today claimed to have cracked the murder of a senior citizen in suburban Kandivali by arresting one person while the main accused is still at large. According to police, robbery was the motive behind the brutal murder of stock broker Devendra Doshi (65) who was found dead with his throat slit in his flat in Pratik Apartment on Mathuradas Road on December 11. The accused, identified as Nikunj Pulara (24), was arrested in wee hours today from Borivli. According to the police, the main accused was known to Doshi. Initially, police did not suspect robbery as the motive, but during investigation it came to fore that cash and gold ornaments were looted from Doshi's flat. Pulara hailed from Rajkot district in Gujrat, where Doshi also belonged to. During interrogation, he confessed to killing Doshi with the motive of robbery, police said. According to police, Doshi must have let the accused enter the flat on the day of murder as he was known to him. Pulara was remanded in police custody for 10 days. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AAP today claimed that over 40 crore workers in organised and unorganised sector of the country have been affected by demonetisation. AAP's Dwarka MLA Adarsh Shastri said business in markets like Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh etc have witnessed a decline of 70-80 per cent. He claimed that even big companies have started laying off people. AAP's Delhi unit Convenor Dilip Pandey said the Centre's demonetisation decision has driven the nation to an "economic slowdown." "Developed nations have stayed away from the decision of demonetisation, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has driven the world's largest economy into a mess," he said. In a surprise move, the Modi government had on November 8 decided to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Many political parties, including Congress, AAP, Left, TMC, SP, BSP etc have come out against the move. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has sought action against Secretaries who delayed finalising contract for the Ratna and R-Series oilfields for nearly two decades, leading to colossal loss of Rs 26,200 crore to the exchequer. The fields, in western offshore, were awarded to a consortium of Essar Oil and Premier Oil of UK in 1996 but the contract could not be signed as the Negotiating Team of Secretaries (NTS) held unfruitful deliberations, resulting in eventual cancellation of award in March this year. "The process of reaching a decision to finalise the PSC (Production Sharing Contract) was not completed even after 25 years of policy decision, 20 years of award and 17 years of approval of CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs)," the PAC said in a report tabled in Parliament today. Headed by senior Congress leader KV Thomas, PAC "strongly deprecated" the rationale of NTS comprising of Secretaries to the ministries of Petroleum, Finance, Expenditure and Law, to keep "such a calculated silence and inaction, if not indifference". The delay by these officials resulted in a huge loss of Rs 26,200 crore to the exchequer and deprived the country of scarce resources for more than two decades "tantamount to criminal negligence", PAC said. It directed that "the responsibility for causing inordinate delays in decision making may be fixed and action be taken against the officials concerned under intimation to the Committee". The field was awarded alongside 11 other small sized fields but only contract for this could not be finalised. PSC in respect of the 11 small sized fields were signed between February 2001 and February 2004. "NTS...Did not adhere to its own targets of completion of negotiations within six months and kept setting targets for completion of negotiations and signing of PSC and held 20 meetings between November 1999 and June 2013. "Further, during the period from May, 2010 to July 2015, only two meetings were held and, on both the occasions, it was decided to hold another meeting to take a final decision in the matter," said the PAC report. The contract was held up over the issue of the rate on which the Essar Oil-Premier Oil should pay royalty. PAC "seriously deprecated the (Petroleum) Ministry's indecision on all the related issues till March 10, 2016 which has directly compromised the national interest on energy security". It said "stringent action" be taken in this matter. "The Committee also desire that responsibility of all the officials of the Ministry for indecision and their role in this regard be fixed and action taken against them under intimation of the Committee," the report added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistani security forces today claimed to have thwarted a possible attack on an Imambargah of minority Shias after killing a suspected suicide bomber during Friday prayers in Hyderabad city of Sindh province. One suspected suicide bomber was gunned down while another managed to escape from the spot, a spokesman for the Pakistan Rangers said. He said the two suspected suicide bombers tried to enter the Imambargah, worship place of Shias, during Friday prayers in Latifabad area of the city. "One of the bomber's hurled a hand grenade at a Rangers vehicle parked near the Imambargah while another tried to enter the premises but was shot dead," the spokesman said. A suicide vest with explosives was recovered from the killed militant. Bomb disposal squad defused the explosives. He said the Rangers were carrying out a house-to-house search for the other suspected bomber who managed to flee in the crowded and congested neighbourhood. Sectarian attacks on Imambargahs and the minority Shia Muslims are common in Pakistan with radical and outlawed militant groups claiming responsibility for such deadly attacks which have killed hundreds in the last a few years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eight-month-old Pakistani infant Rayan has become the youngest bone marrow donor in India by donating healthy bone marrow stem cells to his elder sister, who underwent successful transplant at a city hospital here. The two-and-a-half-year-old Zeenia, hailing from Sahiwal inPakistan, was suffering from Hemaphagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease in which bone marrow produces some abnormal cells which eat away the normalcells, resulting in high fever, low blood counts,liver and spleen enlargement, doctors said. Calling it a potentially life threatening disorder, doctors said the only cure for this condition was bone marrow transplant. Zeenia was also diagnosed to have partial albinism since birth as well, they added. "After we diagnosed the girl was suffering from HLH, we discovered that her brother was Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match for her," said Dr Sunil Bhat, Senior Consultant and Head of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Narayana Health City hospital. "As the donor is just eight months old to collect the adequate dosage, he was required to undergo the donation process twice at a gap of only few weeks," Dr Bhat said. "By using small marrow extraction needles and with the assistance of a team of anesthetists and other members, we have successfully extracted enough marrow which helped cure Zeenia. Rayan has not only saved his sister, he also has the unique distinction of being the youngest marrow donor in India," he added. Doctors said the procedure was conducted in October and today Zeenia is cured of her "deadly disease" and readyto leave for Pakistan to lead a normal life. They have advised her parents about certain follow-ups that Zeenia needs to undergo after going back home. The doctors also said Rayan was doing "exceptionally" well and fine. Zeenia had earlier undergone treatment at an armed forces hospital in Rawalpindi. Stating that there was "general fear factor" when they landed in India, Zeenia's father Zia Ulla said his daughter wasnow fine and recovering. "From the time we landed following immigrationI would say it was a very pleasant surprise ... Everyone was very fine and friendly," he said. Expressing similar sentiments, Zeenia's mother Farzeen said it was very difficult for themto decide on bone marrow donation from her eight-month old son. "Obviously both children are important for us. When we got to know that they are match siblings and it was apromising option, we decided to take risk," she said. (Reopens MDS4) Dr Sharat Damodar, Senior Consultant Hematologist and Clinical Director, Narayana Health City, said there was lot ofmisconception about bone marrow transplant like donor infecting diseases and others, "which is not true." He said "if we compare India with United States which does about 10,000 transplants a year, our numbers are not even touching 2,000. For the size of India's population which is four or five times the population of the US, the country should be doing five times that number." Dr Bhat said Narayana Health sees about 40-oddpatients from abroad getting transplants every year whichamounts to 30 to 40 per cent.They come here because of non-availability of treatment in their respective countries, and cost worthiness compared to US and Europe, he said. Narayana Health's bone marrow transplant division has completed 650 transplants till now. The division, which was doing on an average 60-70 transplants per year when started, is now doing about 150 per year. Marking the second anniversary of the Peshawar army school carnage today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to take the war against militancy to its "logical conclusion" to ensure a peaceful and stable Pakistan for future generations. About 150 people, mostly school children, were killed when Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed the Army Public School (APS) here in 2014. Sharif said in his message that Pakistan took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," he said. "I assure the nation that we will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for our future generations," he said. Sharif extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the martyred students and all those who became victims of the tragic incident. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," said the Prime Minister. He said December 16 reminds of the most painful tragedy of "our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies". "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," he said. A solemn memorial service was held here to mark the tragedy which was attended by families of the victims, politicians, military leadership and others. Moving scenes were also witnessed as several parents were seen crying on the occasion. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa laid a wreath and offered prayers as he attended the memorial service. "We can never forget these children, I have photos of them in my office and keep looking at them periodically to remind me of our losses," he said later in a brief address. He said the armed forces were working hard to make the country safer. APS Principal Tahira Kazi recalled it was a difficult day for the country as everyone felt as though "we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's new army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa today confirmed the death sentences of 13 "hardcore" terrorists involved in the killing of 325 people in "heinous" attacks on civilians and security forces, his second such endorsement since taking command of the army last month. These 13 convicts were tried by special military courts set up after the horrific terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014. The terrorists were involved in "heinous offences related to terrorism, including the killing and slaughtering of innocent civilians, officials of law enforcement agencies and the armed forces," the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a press release on a day when Pakistan marked the second anniversary of the terror attack on the Army Public School in which nearly 150 people - most of them children - were killed by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan gunmen. The ISPR statement said the suspected terrorists were involved in the planning and execution of terror attacks on Bacha Khan University, Parade Lane mosque, Marriott Hotel and World Vision NGO Office as well as an attack on an educational institution at Nawagai, Buner. "On the whole, they were involved in killing 325 persons and in causing injuries to 366 others. Firearms and explosives were also recovered from their possession. These convicts were tried by military courts," the statement said. On December 5, General Bajwa had confirmed the death sentences of four "hardcore" terrorists involved in scores of "heinous" attacks on civilians and security forces, his first such endorsement since taking command of the army last month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan today summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner and strongly condemned the alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van", carrying children, by Indian forces. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh and "strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van, on December 16, 2016" by the Indian forces on the LoC in Nikial sector, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement. It said that the alleged targeting of the school van resulted in the death of a civilian and injuries to four school children. "He (Faisal) stated that the deliberate targeting of civilians, villages and civilian transport and a school van is condemnable and contrary to human dignity as well as international human rights and humanitarian laws," the statement said. The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate this incident and other incidents of ceasefire violations. He also stated that the Indian forces must respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop "targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC", the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan today announced that its national population census would be carried out from March 15 next year to determine the exact population and number of households in the country. The decision to hold the census was taken at the meeting of Council of Common Interest (CCI) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and attended by all chief ministers and senior officials. "CCI agreed to start (national) census from 15th of March 2017. It was agreed that house listing and census operation may be carried out in one go," according to a Prime Minister's Office statement. It said the census will be held in two phases, each phase to be carried out in all the provinces simultaneously. The CCI also agreed that census will be carried out in close coordination of provincial governments. A committee comprising Secretary Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and four Chief Secretaries will address all the issues pertaining to implementation. The CCI approved National Forest Policy in principle and directed the Federal Minister of Climate Change to sit with the provincial governments to ensure no encroachment on provincial powers is made. The National Forest Policy will enable the federal government to provide technical and financial assistance to the provincial governments, in line with their own provincial policy framework and to ensure compliance of international conventions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After a lull of over three weeks, the ceasefire on the LoC was violated again with Pakistani army today resorting to heavy cross-border firing at Indian posts and civilians areas along the LOC in Balakote sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. "Pakistani army violated ceasefire, targeting Indian positions along the Line of Control in Balakote sector. The firing started at 0900 hours continued till 1000 hours. Our soldiers gave a befitting reply," an army official said. The ceasefire breach comes after a lull of over three weeks. Two BSF jawans were injured in shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC on November 23, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and the body of one of them was mutilated in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. A senior police officer said shells fired by the Pakistani troops landed in civilian areas in the sector. However, there was no report of loss of life or injury to anyone. The Pakistani army said one civilian was killed and four school children were injured on their side in the exchange of fire. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Keeping aside the acrimony over demonetisation issue which paralysed the Winter session, Parliament today passed the Disabilities Bill which stipulates up to two year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh for discriminating against differently-abled persons. The Lok Sabha passed the bill within two hours after a short debate on the last day of the session with the treasury and opposition benches, who have been at loggerheads over demonetisation and other issues, joining hands to clear the legislation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House during the passage of the bill. Earlier on Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha too had witnessed similar bonhomie for passage of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016. Replying to the debate, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot announced that a scheme of 'universal identity card for the disabled' is on the anvil and an agency has already been finalised for the purpose. The proposed card would also be linked to the Aadhar card to help the disabled all over the country in a seamless fashion, he said. Gehlot said the universal identity card is being acted upon to overcome the problem of disability certificate being faced by those affected. He said the government has joined hands with German and British firms for making available state-of-the-art limbs to the disabled wherever possible. The Lok Sabha witnessed a division on an amendment by Congress and TRS members seeking to raise the reservation in the bill from 4 to 5 per cent. It was defeated by 121 to 43 votes. K C Venugopal of the Congress who had given the amendment pressed for the division. Members from both sides supported the bill but suggested certain changes to improve the measure. Interestingly, the bill had been originally moved in 2014 in Rajya Sabha by then Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge who is now Leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha. The bill, which aims at securing and enhancing the rights and entitlements of disabled persons, also gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and related matters. It provides for imprisonment of at least six months up to two years, along with a fine ranging between Rs 10,000 and Rs 5 lakh for discriminating against differently-abled persons. Moving the bill for consideration and passage today, Gehlot said out of 82 recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, 59 were accepted by the Government. The bill, he said, has increased the number of categories of disabled persons to 21. The Union Cabinet had earlier approved these amendments to the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (RPWD) Bill, 2014, that had replaced the 1995 Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act. In the bill, disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept and the types of disabilities have been increased from existing seven to 21. The Centre will have the power to add more types of disabilities to it. The types of disabilities now include mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, chronic neurological conditions. It also strengthens the office of chief commissioner and state commissioners for Persons with Disabilities which will act as regulatory bodies. The bill was examined by the Parliamentary Standing Committee last year. Then, a Group of Ministers, headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, examined its provisions and sent their recommendations to the Prime Minister's Office. Accusing the government of "bringing back licence and control raj", NCP chief and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today said that various steps taken by the Centre are proving to be "detrimental" for the farm sector. Besides, he suggested the BJP-led government to develop a better coordination between the Centre and states and not to have hostility towards use of improved systems and modern agriculture technologies. He also said the government should also "defer from finding faults of the past." "Recently, I find that Indian agriculture is being brought back to licence and control raj which is detrimental for the growth of this sector," Pawar said addressing 89th annual general meeting of the industry chamber Ficci. Experience in this field suggests that farmers need to be freed from the restrictive acts and laws of APMC, essential commodities, export-import policy and frequent changes in them in the interest of consumers who are more vocal than producers, he said. The Centre's control on cotton export in 2014, restriction on export of onion below USD 700 per tonne in 2015, order to control cotton seed price in 2015 and fixing the sale price of cotton seed are considered "retrograde steps", he said. "Ironically, the cotton seed price control goes beyond the government's mandate to fix maximum sale price under the Essential Commodity Act, 1955 and interferes in the fundamental rights in signing confidential agreements between private parties," he said. Observing that the government appears to be "overly cautions on technology front," Pawar said it lacks the required central-state coordination for promotion of new technologies. "The government of the day should not have hostility to improved systems and technologies. ...Rural prosperity through agriculture development rests on the technology platform and hence I feel that the choice of using any technology must be left with farmers," he added. To bring prosperity to rural folks, Pawar said economists have often suggested use of modern technologies, shift to high value commodities, getting remunerative prices to farmers via stitching torn value chain among others. Stating that these suggestions have been adopted in his constituency Baramati in Pune district, Maharashtra, he said that 'Baramati model' had focused on secondary and tertiary agriculture which auto-boosted the primary farming and encouraged farmers to produce more as there was ready market and processing facilities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Cabinet today decided to convene a one-day session of the state assembly on December 19 to carry out important legislative business. A decision to this effect was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here. During the meeting, the Cabinet also cleared the proposal of Higher Education department for taking over Sant Baba Sewa Singh Memorial Khalsa Girls College, Munne (Nurpur Bedi) in district Roopnagar by the state government, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said. The decision is believed to go a long way in providing quality and affordable education to girl students in the Kandi area. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 200 businessmen from different trade bodies today staged a sit-in against the Centre's demonetisation move here, saying the industry has been hit hard after high-value currency notes were scrapped. The protest was also joined by senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar and Lok Insaf Party leader Simarjeet Singh Bains. The protesters also blocked traffic for about an hour and raised slogans against the Narendra Modi-led government. Local industry representatives claimed demonetisation had adversely impacted businesses and also rendered a large number of labourers jobless. "Demonetisation has badly hit Punjab's consumption economy. The withdrawal of liquidity has triggered the collapse of every entrepreneur in the state while industries have already laid off thousands of workers in recent months, firstly because of exploitative polices of the local leadership and then due to demonetisation," Jakhar claimed. Questioning the Badals' silence on demonetisation related woes of people, he alleged, "The Modi-led government is clearly targeting the middle class by strangulating the consumption economy." He said Sukhbir's plea to the Centre to solve the cash problem was "too little and too late". The industry and agriculture sectors, and small traders in Punjab have been badly hit by cash crunch, the Congress leader said. Jakhar said state Congress chief Amarinder Singh could not join the protest as he has a meeting with the Prime Minister in New Delhi on loan waiver for farmers. He assured that Amarinder would meet them and take their views and suggestions on battling "long term ill-effects" of demonetisation. Earlier, in a rally local BJP leader Rajinder Bhandari was not allowed to complete his speech by a section of the audience. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US on Friday asked China to "immediately" return its unmanned naval probe in waters in the which it alleged has been "unlawfully" seized by them. "Using appropriate government-to-government channels, the Department of Defense has called upon China to immediately return an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that China unlawfully seized on December 15 in the while it was being recovered by a US Navy oceanographic survey ship," Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. The USNS Bowditch (T-AGS 62) and the UUV -- an unclassified "ocean glider" system used around the world to gather military oceanographic data such as salinity, water temperature, and sound speed - were conducting routine operations in accordance with law about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, Philippines, when a Chinese Navy PRC DALANG III-Class ship (ASR-510) launched a small boat and retrieved the UUV, he said. "Bowditch made contact with the PRC Navy ship via bridge-to-bridge radio to request the return of the UUV. The radio contact was acknowledged by the PRC Navy ship, but the request was ignored," he said. "The UUV is a sovereign immune vessel of the US. We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under law," Cook demanded. Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that China's seizure of an US Navy unmanned scientific research submersible in international waters off the is a remarkably brazen violation of international law. "No matter its motivation, China needs to explain its actions and immediately return the undersea drone, untampered with, to the United States," he said. "China's increasingly aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea - including the militarisation of the artificial features that it has built in the region, in direct contradiction of a pledge made by President Xi Jinping not to do so - is deeply disturbing, and not consistent with the actions of a nation seeking to build a constructive and cooperative relationship with the United States," Cardin said. "The United States has a deep and abiding interest in freedom of navigation and the free-flow of commerce in the Asia-Pacific region, and a stead-fast commitment to our regional allies and partners in maintaining stability, security and the rule of law, including a safe passage in international waters," Cardin said. The incident comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea due to Beijing's military presence in the disputed area. On the occasion of Bangladesh Liberation Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to the armed forces for their valour and sacrifice in the 1971 war with Pakistan. "Vijay Diwas is a fitting reminder of the valour & sacrifice of all those who fought courageously in the 1971 war. Tributes to them," he said. On this day in 1971, Pakistan's army had surrendered before the joint forces of 'Mukti Bahini' of Bangladesh and Indian soldiers who fought side by side for the liberation of 750 million people of Bangladesh at that time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police have seized Rs 1.48 crore in demonetised notes in Kolkata and Rs 8 lakhs in Rs 2,000 notes in West Midnapore district, and arrested five persons in the two cases. Kolkata Police sleuths seized Rs 1,48,50,000, entirely in old Rs 500 notes, from an organisation in central Kolkata and arrested three persons in this connection, a senior officer of the city police said. Acting on a tip-off, Kolkata Police Anti-Rowdy Section arrested three persons -- Pradip Roy, Arun Singh and Sanjiv Ghosh -- in a raid from their office late last night. During questioning, the trio allegedly said that the amount was meant to be delivered to one Govinda Agarwal as part of a business deal. "We are probing whether this was part of a hawala deal or not," the officer said. Meanwhile in West Midnapore district, the police today seized Rs 8 lakhs in Rs 2,000 notes near Debra and arrested a man who runs an NGO, and his driver. Police said the force intercepted Purna Sankar Ganguly's car and seized Rs 8 lakhs in Rs 2,000 notes, which he allegedly exchanged for Rs 10 lakhs in demonetised notes. Ganguly was returning from Debra and heading to Midnapore after exchanging the notes from someone who took Rs 2 lakh as commission. Police said they were investigating how Ganguly obtained so much cash in Rs 2,000 notes and if any bank official was involved in the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Pranab Mukherjee today hailed the relations between India and Bangladesh on the day of Pakistan's surrender before the Indian military during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and said both the countries share common histories, heritage and tradition. Mukherjee lauded the "able and mature leadership of Sheikh Bangabandhu (Mujibur) Rahman" and described him as the father of Bangladesh and praised the helping hand provided by India under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to uphold the dignity of human lives and also the basic fundamental lives of individuals to have its "freedom from the atrocities of military Junta of Pakistan". "It was the conspiracy of the military Junta and the ruling Pakistan to deny the legitimate rights of the people of East Pakistan to have their own elected government," he said. December 16, 1971, Pakistan's occupation army had surrendered before the joint forces of Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh and Indian soldiers who fought side by side for the liberation of 750 million people of Bangladesh at that time, the President said in a video message during a seminar on 1971 India-Pakistan War and the Liberation of Bangladesh organised by India Foundation at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Mujibur Rahman received a massive mandate from the people of Bangladesh, winning majority seats in the National Assembly and as per the normal democratic practice, he should have been invited by the President to form his government, he said. Instead of that, denying the basic democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh, military junta started cracking down on the civilians from the midnight of March 25, 1971, Mukherjee said. He said the historic linkage created by the heroic struggle will "no doubt further enhance the cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Particularly the context when we share common histories, heritage and tradition". "We are fortunate to have the poet to compose national anthems for both the countries, Rabindranath Tagore," he said. The seminar was also attended by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, Bangladesh Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and India Foundation Director Shakti Sinha. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slamming Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy today said he always preferred to speak outside Parliament and accused the Opposition of not letting Lok Sabha to function. "The Congress vice-president always speaks outside the Parliament in front of the media and the country is waiting to hear him speak in Parliament", Rudy said on the sidelines of two programmes here. "There is a seat alloted to him in Parliament and I also believe that there is also a functional microphone in front of him. If he is not availing of this opportunity to speak in Parliament, then God help him," he said when asked to comment on Gandhi's statement that he (Rahul) has not been given the chance to speak in Parliament. On the washout of the Lok Sabha winter session, the BJP leader said, "It's bizarre to say that it's the ruling party which is shying away. It's the opposition which does not want to come along and debate on it (demonetisation). And today was the last day of the Parliament (session)," he said. "Their (opposition) only success was that they disrupted the Parliament session," he said. He alleged that Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee instructed her MPs to obstruct the House. "We are always prepared to be in the Parliament. We have always been sitting there and the Prime Minister has been sitting there too. It's a blatant lie because the world has watched how the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs have been coming down to the well of the Lower House," the union minster said. "Actually, I have no idea, why people in the government holding important positions, are so restless about the issue. "There are political leaders who are losing out space as far as the common man is concerned, possibly this is creating lot of restlessness," he remarked. He asserted that people have shifted their allegiance from Delhi Chief Minister and West Bengal Chief Minister to the Prime Minister "who has made the country proud". "When the PM was elected or prior to parliamentary elections, there was a commitment against black money and corruption. Earlier, the black money and corruption were tagged with the ruling party. "We are committed to and proud of the PM who has taken up this crusade and the common man has welcomed the step," he added. The country is heading to a cashless society, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh today asked scholars to spread awareness about the importance and potential of the Sanskrit language among the masses. "Biasness for the language among the local populace should be eliminated by the scholars," he said at the second convocation of the Sanskrit University here. Citing the use of the language in foreign countries in research, Singh said that Sanskrit is now widely used in Western countries. "Vedic mathematics is a part of curriculum in England and America. Sanskrit is also being used in Japan as it has scientific importance in computing," he said, adding NASA is using the language and teaching Sanskrit. Referring to Karnataka's Mattur village, Singh said locals use Sanskrit for everyday communication and a study group from the university should visit the village. State Higher Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari highlighted efforts being made the department to popularise Sanskrit. Sanskrit University Vice Chancellor Vinod Kumar Sharma and Principal Secretary Sanskrit Education department Sanjay Dixit among others were present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Reading Campaign, an ambitious initiative of Delhi government, has shown "encouraging results" with about one lakh students of classes 6th, 7th and 8th now being able to read their textbooks easily. The department today made public results of the campaign according to which reading data of students of Class VI, VI and VIII has increased up to - 46 per cent, 64 per cent and 68 per cent - from the earlier 25 per cent, 52 per cent and 55 per cent respectively. Under the campaign, out of the total 6,32,370 children enrolled in classes 6 to 8 of government schools, the Reading Campaign focused on 3,59,152 i.E. 57 per cent of the total enrolled children. These children were between beginners to story level and needed some kind of support and focus to read an advanced story. The classes were held on every Sunday under 'Reading Campaign' run from September 4 to November 14. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the campaign has shown encouraging results, adding that in 30 working days, a number of children were able to read their textbooks, an increase by 20 per cent. "When we started 32% children of Class 6, could not read even a simple paragraph of Std 1 level, it is now reduced to only 14 per cent. In September, 8% children could not identify even letters in Hindi; this is now reduced to only 2%. "If so much change can take place in 30 teaching days, I'm sure we can transform quality of education in govt schools within one year (sic)," Sisodia, who also holds education portfolio, said in a series of tweets. Sisodia said the Delhi government has initiated talks with MCDs to take this reading campaign to primary classes in MCD schools. He has written to all three MCD commissioners in this regard. A senior government official said that the campaign focused on all children of classes 6 to 8 of the Directorate of Education, who could not read their textbooks. The target group for the Campaign was determined on the basis of Reading Assessment conducted of all enrolled children of class 6 and those children of classes 7 and 8 who have scored less than 33 per cent marks in the combined Summative Assessment of previous classes. Among the children who were targeted in the campaign, 30 per cent of class 6, 28 per cent of class 7 and 32 per cent of class 8 have learnt to read advance stories. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Umpire Paul Reiffel, who suffered a concussion after being hit by a Bhuvneshwar Kumar throw during the fourth Test between India and England, has been replaced by fellow Australian Simon Fry in the fifth and final match of the series here. "Paul Reiffel was scheduled to stand in the Chennai Test. However, on medical advise, he was replaced by Simon Fry during the Mumbai Test following the conclusion of which he returned to Perth. Paul is fine and will resume duties after Christmas in the ODI series between New Zealand and Bangladesh," an ICC official told PTI. The unusual incident took place in the post lunch session on the first day of the penultimate Test of the series when Reiffel, standing at the square leg, was struck on the back of his head by a throw from fielder Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the deep. The former Australia fast bowler was hit flush on the back of his head when the ball was thrown by Bhuvneshwar from deep square leg, resulting in his fall on the turf. Play was halted for a while as on-field medical attention was administered before the dazed official left the ground to go into the pavilion for further rest and recuperation. Later he underwent MRI scan in a nearby hospital. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading integrated travel and travel-related financial services company Thomas Cook (India) today said there has been a swift revival of tourist travel to Andamans after cyclone Vardah. This observation follows a circular released by the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) declaring the islands safe for tourist travel from December 12 onwards, Thomas Cook (India) said in a release issued here. The company said it has noticed an increase in the demand for packages to the Andamans once the danger of the cyclone passed. Further, the company reported that the recent natural disaster has had no effect on the bookings for the first quarter of 2017 either. According to Thomas Cook India's data of December 13, almost 45 passengers landed at Port Blair and on the following day, December 14, this number went up to 48. "Over the last two years, we have witnessed significant growth of over 27 per cent in 2016 from 2015. We have also seen a growth of 35 per cent in the Fully Independent Traveler (FIT) segment in the last quarter, which by far has been the highest for Andamans. The recent calamity has not dampened this growth trajectory. Andamans continues to be one of our best-selling products," Thomas Cook (India) President and Country Head, Leisure Travel and MICE, Rajeev Kale said. In addition to Andamans, there has been a strong growth in 2016, for Kerala and South India's hill stations, and this time North East and Bhutan too are seeing brisk demand from Indian domestic travellers, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A British prison was in partial lockdown today with riot teams sent in to deal with a "disturbance" involving more than 300 inmates, officials and security sources said. A specialist "Tornado Team" which handles prison riots was sent in to deal with the incident at the privately-run prison in Birmingham, central England. Security firm G4S, which runs the facility, said it was responding to a "disturbance" that had spread from two prison wings to four during the day. "Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices," said G4S managing director Jerry Petherick. A security source confirmed to AFP that riot teams had placed the affected areas in lockdown after inmates overran parts of the prison, with most inmates now shut in their cells. Local media reported that trouble flared when a security guard was threatened with a syringe by one inmate while another took his keys. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the incident was ongoing but "the situation is contained, the perimeter is secure and there is no risk to public." The prison can hold 1,450 inmates and is where alleged mass murderer Fred West hanged himself in 1995. The latest disturbance is the third in English prisons in less than two months. In November around 200 prisoners went on the rampage at a jail in Bedford, central England, while the previous month a jail in Lewes, southeastern England, was the scene of a six-hour standoff between inmates and riot officers. Britain's largest prisons union, the Prison Officers Association (POA), said the latest incident was a "stark warning to the Ministry of Justice that the prison service is in crisis". Prison staff took industrial action last month over what union leaders described as the "volatile and dangerous state of prisons", reporting an increase in violence, self harm and deaths in custody. G4S was embroiled in a security fiasco in 2012 when it failed to provide thousands of guards it had pledged for the London Olympics. The security firm has also faced criticism over the 2010 case of an Angolan man who died while he was being deported, which saw three G4S guards tried and cleared of manslaughter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A lawyer for impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye says the Constitutional Court should restore her powers because there's not enough evidence to justify her unseating. Lee Joong-hwan and other members of Park's legal team today submitted a written statement to the court explaining why the case should be decided in her favour. The statement is needed for the court to determine the schedule for its review of the impeachment, which could take up to six months. Lawmakers last week voted to impeach Park, suspending her powers until the court rules whether to formally remove her from office or reinstate her. She has been accused of colluding with a longtime confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowing her friend to manipulate state affairs. Park denies it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senior Congress leader Jagmeet Singh Sahota today raised the banner of revolt after his party alloted sitting MLA Randeep Singh Nabha the ticket to contest the Punjab Assembly polls from Amloh constituency. Sahota, along with his supporters, assembled near his office at Mandi Gobindgarh here this evening and announced that he would contest elections as an Independent candidate if the Congress high command did not reconsider its decision. His supporters claimed that he was a deserving candidate from the seat. Even in the last Assembly elections Nabha was chosen over Sahota by the Congress for the seat. After he was expelled from Congress, Sahota had contested Assembly elections as People Party of Punjab (PPP) candidate from Amloh. He was reinstated in the party after after PPP merged with Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court on Friday asked CBI and ED to respond on an application which has sought a direction to stop Aircel-Maxis from allegedly selling allotted spectrum to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications claiming it would allow Maxis to "escape law and abscond" with crores of rupees. A bench of Justices J S Khehar and Arun Mishra asked both the probe agencies to file their reply within two weeks and posted the matter for hearing on January 6 next year. The application has been filed by NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, which has also sought directions to attach the properties and spectrum of Aircel. Both CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have already filed separate charge sheets in Aircel-Maxis deal case and have named former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi and others as accused. It has been alleged that Marans had coerced C Sivasankaran, then owner of Aircel, to sell his shares to T Ananda Krishnan, who was the promotor of Malaysian company, Maxis. A special CBI court has reserved its order on framing of charges against all the accused. The case against them had arisen during the probe into the 2G spectrum allocation scam which was monitored by the apex court. The application, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has claimed that promoters of Aircel started the process of selling the spectrum allotted to them and the equity in December and they are "desperate to complete all the deals as soon as possible". The NGO has also submitted that their main asset is spectrum. "Spectrum, which is a precious natural resource belonging to the people of India, has been allotted to Aircel/Maxis by the government. Today, the company is attempting to quickly sell off its allotted spectrum to Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications for thousands of crores (of rupees), and exit the market with huge sums of money," the plea has alleged. "If the deal between Aircel and Bharti Airtel and the deal between Aircel and Reliance Communications is allowed to go through, then that would allow Maxis to escape the arm of law and abscond with thousands of crores of money," it has claimed. The petition also said that ED had attached assets worth Rs 742 crore of the Marans in the court-monitored investigation in the 2G spectrum scam and filed charge sheets. "On April 2, 2015, ED issued an order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attachment of assets held by Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi," the plea has said. It has sought a direction to the repondents Union of India, CBI and ED to not allow M/s Maxis to sell stake/equity or spectrum allotted to M/s Aircel, and also asked them to attach the property and spectrum allotted to M/s Aircel. In a relief to Keith Vaz, Scotland Yard today dropped its investigation against Britain's longest-serving Indian-origin MP over alleged drug offences. 59-year-old Vaz, a Labour MP, had resigned as chair of parliament's influential Home Affairs Select Committee in September amid a sex scandal over allegations involving male prostitutes. The Metropolitan Police had opened an investigation under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 last month. "Following that assessment, which included obtaining early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) started an investigation in November," a Met Police statement said. "During the investigation, new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS, following which the MPS has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged," it said. An article in Sunday Mirror on September 4 claimed Vaz had been secretly recorded offering to pay for cocaine, a banned drug, if it was brought to a future meeting, though he stressed that he did not want any himself. He was also accused of encouraging others to use poppers, an illegal party drug. The Met had received a letter soon after the media allegations, calling for a police investigation. The correspondence was passed on to a specialist team, which "started an assessment process to identify what criminal offences, if any, may have been committed". A spokesperson for Vaz said, "The Metropolitan Police Service has informed us that they have decided 'not to proceed any further' with their investigation arising from reports in the Sunday Mirror and The Mirror and that the investigation is now closed". "This investigation followed the complaint made to them by Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire," the spokesperson said. The House of Commons watchdog - Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards - has also launched an inquiry into Vaz, who has since joined the Parliament's Justice Select Committee in October. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after a sex clip purportedly featuring him and two others went viral on social media, city Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena today filed a criminal case and a defamation suit against NSUI state chief Itish Pradhan and Pradip Pandey, the proprietor of the website that hosted the video. While Jena appealed to the court to ban the video from the Internet, the Commissionerate of Police Bhubaneswar-Cuttack approached YouTube to remove the tape, which was also uploaded on the popular video sharing site. "I have filed a criminal case and a defamation suit of Rs one crore at the sub-divisional judicial magistrate court here. Earlier, I had lodged a complaint with the police against Pradhan and Pande," Jena told reporters. Stating that the truth will come out, Jena said the entire city is aware about his regard for the women. Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi said the Commissionerate Police has written to YouTube to remove the video from its website. "We will also investigate the matter," the DCP said. When contacted, Pandey, the proprietor of niankhunta.Com, said, "I hosted the video without mentioning the mayor's name. It is up to the people to decide who featured in the video." Meanwhile, BJP workers gheraoed the office of the Commissionerate of Police and blocked road at Power House square demanding Jena's arrest and dismissal from the post. NSUI state president Pradhan yesterday at a press conference demanded Jena's resignation here claiming that the video featured Jena. He further alleged Jena's involvement in the murder of Rishi, student of a Bhubaneswar-based private engineering college. However, Jena has dismissed the allegations, saying they are "baseless and concocted". Meanwhile, BJD maintained a wait and watch policy after its general secretary and city Mayor was entangled in the alleged sex scandal. "We are keeping a watch on the situation. The police are verifying the authenticity of the video. A police complaint has been filed," said BJD spokesman P K Deb. The issue was raised in the Assembly yesterday with Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati demanding a CBI probe into the incident. He also demanded Jena's resignation saying the incident has "brought shame for the capital city and the entire state". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To detect financial frauds, SFIO is in the process of developing an early warning system and a consulting agency has been engaged to prepare the conceptual framework, the government said today. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal said the development of EWS (Early Warning System) is an "iterative process". The system would show results after the framework under development stabilises, he noted. Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry. According to the Minister, the agency is in the process of developing EWS for "early identification and pre-intimation/ warning system to detect financial frauds in the country". In this regard, services of a consulting agency have been engaged to develop the conceptual framework. SFIO has been ordered against 390 companies in more than three years for allegedly indulging in fraudulent activities. From 2013-14 till date in the current fiscal, the ministry has ordered investigations through SFIO in the affairs of 390 companies allegedly indulging in fraudulent activities, Meghwal had told the Rajya Sabha last month. Of these, investigations have been completed in 139 cases and probe is "under progress" in 245 cases. Besides, such probes have been quashed or stayed by the courts in as many as six cases, he had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than a dozen persons, including a Shiv Sena corporator from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) were booked on charges of disrupting a meeting of citizens to discuss development of slum colony. The incident took place on December 11, while the suspects were booked yesterday, police said today. No arrests have been made so far. The complaint by one Lizzy Chako said the corporator who also doubles up as a developer had in 2009 undertaken to develop the slum colony at Pokhran Road No II and give tenements to the occupants, but he failed to keep up his commitment. In this connection the affected persons had called a meeting to discuss the issue. The meeting was addressed by social worker Adv Darmyansingh Bist and one Madhu Acharya and the issues relating to the delay in redevelopment were being discussed. When the meeting was in progress the accused arrived at the meeting place and allegedly started disrupting the meeting by snatched away the mike from the hands of Adv Bist and also threw the chairs away, the complaint said. The accused also threatened the organisers not to hold any such meeting again else they would face serious consequences, the complaint stated. The accused also beat some people were present for the meeting, it stated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a setback to cellular phone operators, the Supreme Court today ruled that state governments can impose property tax on mobile towers as the levy was not on the use of the plant and machinery but the land and building. The apex court delivered its judgement to this effect after setting aside the 2013 verdict of the Gujarat High Court holding that the levy of property tax on mobile towers by state government was beyond its competence. A Bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P C Pant held as valid the provision of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act imposing tax on on mobile towers on the ground that they were within the fold of "land and building" as defined in the law. The apex court said though in common parlance and in everyday life a mobile tower was certainly not a building, there was no reason why it should not be considered as a building for levy of the tax under Entry 49 List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution enumerates the items on which a state government can make law and Entry 49 refers to land and buildings. "If the definition of land and building contained in the Gujarat Act is to be understood, we do not find any reason as to why, though in common parlance and in everyday life, a mobile tower is certainly not a building, it would also cease to be a building for the purposes of Entry 49 List II so as to deny the State Legislature the power to levy a tax thereon," the bench said. The apex court said, under the Act, the incidence of the tax was "not on the use of the plant and machinery in the mobile tower but on the use of the land or building, as may be, for purpose of the mobile tower". It said the fact that the tax was imposed on the person engaged in providing telecommunication services through such mobile towers, "merely indicates that it is the occupier and not the owner of the land and building who is liable to pay the tax". The Gujarat high court had in 2013 declared Section 145A of the Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act ultra vires the Constitution and on that basis prohibited levying of property tax on mobile towers. The high court, however, held that the cabin on a tower is liable to property tax. The high court's decision was challenged by the state government and municipal authorities to the extent that it prohibited levy of property tax on mobile towers. The cellular companies had challenged the high court's decision to levy property tax on the cabins on mobile towers. To target the provident funds segment, Sundaram Mutual Fund with its current AUM at Rs 29,000 crore is set to launch an open-ended Nifty 100 Equal Weight Fund this month, a top company official said. The company has also lined up four new products for launch in the next few months. "We will be launching the open-ended Nifty 100 Equal Weight Fund on December 26 and the new fund offer will close on January 9, to reopen on January 14. The fund is targeted at PF Trust Funds," Sundaram Mutual chief executive Sunil Subramaniam told PTI here today. "Sundaram Mutual is among the first to launch this equity fund in the domestic market. Globally such kind of funds are quite popular, but we don't have many of such funds in the country," he said. About the performance of general index funds in the country, he said, "In India the size of general index funds, also known as normal passive funds, has increased to Rs 24,000 crore as of September 2016 from Rs 2,300 crore in March 2013." The fund category is expected to grow much more as now pension and provident funds are permitted to invest in equity, he said. The Chennai-based fund house has also lined up four new funds by the fiscal-end which includes Micro Cap funds, Top-100 Funds under Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme and close-ended Value Funds, Subramaniam said. He said the company is planning to launch by February a close-ended Value Fund. The fund will invest in turnaround stories within next 2-3 years. The company had launched long-term Micro-cap tax advantage fund in September, which was closed in November. Talking about this fund, Subramaniam said "we have already mopped up Rs 114 crore through this fund. The company has already launched the next fund in this series. "Now, the company has also launched close-ended Micro-cap Series-II fund on December 8 to close on December 22 from which we are expecting to collect more than Rs 50 crore." DSP Blackrock already has a small and Micro-cap Fund which is open-ended. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As Taiwan becomes a contentious issue between China and US President-elect Donald Trump, Taiwanese are hoping it will lead to closer ties with Washington but are wary of becoming a bargaining chip between the world's two largest economies. Trump's December 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raised expectations that he will upgrade relations with the self-governing island with which Washington has only had unofficial ties since recognizing the Communist government on the Chinese mainland in 1979. Trump followed up the call with tweets and comments criticizing Chinese trade and foreign policy, stoking speculation about a major change in American policy toward the nearly 70-year-old regional rivalry. But the euphoria has been tempered by worry about what might happen to Taiwan if Trump uses it to press Beijing on trade, China's territorial expansion in the South China Sea or its ties with North Korea. "On the surface, it looks like this means America is getting closer to Taiwan," said Jonathan Wang, a civil engineering student at National Taiwan University in Taipei. "But Trump is a businessman, so he has own considerations," Wang said. "If Taiwan becomes a bargaining chip in negotiations with China ... (Trump) might give up the goodwill." The mix of excitement and fear poses a tricky challenge for Taiwan's government. Despite being shunned by Beijing for her pro-independence stance, Tsai has repeated over the past two weeks that she values ties with both China and the US China and Taiwan separated during a civil war in 1949 and Beijing continues to view the island as its territory, to be unified with by force if deemed necessary. China suspended dialogue with Tsai's government shortly after her inauguration over her refusal to endorse its principle that the two sides are part of a single Chinese nation. China already uses its diplomatic and economic heft to prevent Taiwan from making formal contacts with most other countries or joining international organizations such as the United Nations that require statehood as a prerequisite. Since Tsai's May inauguration, Beijing has sought to increase the pressure by discouraging Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan and blocking its participation in some international forums. As a further step, China could use its influence to win away Taiwan's remaining 22 diplomatic allies. An indication of Trump's approach to the issue may come as soon as next month when Tsai is due to transit in the US on her way to visiting allies in Central America. A Taiwanese foreign ministry official declined to say whether Tsai might meet Trump transition team members during the transit stop, something that has been hinted at by both sides. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) To prevent unsustainable urban expansion, Asia Pacific countries, that account for over 55 per cent of global urban population, have resolved to adopt 'Urban Plus' approach, taking development beyond city limits. This was part of the 'New Delhi Declaration' adopted here today on the conclusion of the three-day deliberations of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD). The theme of the conference was 'Emerging Urban Forms - Policy Reforms and Governance Structures in the Context of New Urban Agenda'. In the 'Implementation Plan', that was also adopted, the member countries have strongly recommended formulation of 'National Human Settlement Policies' to promote inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable city with human settlements. Briefing media persons on the deliberations and outcomes of APMCHUD, MoS for Urban Development Rao Inderjit Singh stated that the New Delhi Declaration has strongly advocated planning for urban and adjoining rural areas in an integrated manner instead of independent entities. The Declaration also called for a thorough review of existing policies and formulation of new ones to promote 'New Urban Agenda' adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development in Quito (Eucador) in October this year. The key to sustainable development in urban areas was the effective governance, the Declaration stressed. The Implementation Plan recommended land regulation policy mechanisms such as land pooling, enforcement and incentivisation of timely execution of infrastructure projects, formulation of comprehensive urban parking policies and community participation in urban planning, among others. In view of the vulnerability of most of the Asia Pacific countries to natural disasters and other risks, the Implementation Plan has recommended urban resilience as a criteria for investment. Resilience is the ability of cities to withstand and absorb disasters and maintain normal services and quickly return to normalcy. The member countries adopted the New Delhi Declaration and the Implementation Plan by thumping of desks after they were read out by the Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, M Venkaiah Naidu. The next biennial APMCHUD will be hosted by Iran, the Urban Development minister Naidu informed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three persons were arrested here today for allegedly robbing Rs 30 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes from a car which carrying it to exchange those for demonetised notes, police said. The three accused were part of a 15-member gang which rammed the car with another vehicle here last night, police said. The gang then assaulted three persons in the car who were taking the notes to one Rajendran to exchange those for a commission, and decamped with the money, a police officer said. A case was registered against seven persons, including Rajendran, police said, adding, three persons have been arrested in connection with the robbery. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police have seized Rs 16.35 lakh cash in valid currencies in two separate incidents and detained three persons. The cash comprised Rs 16 lakh in denomination of 2000 rupee and rest in Rs 100 bill, police said today. In the first incident, one Hiren Joshi was nabbed by Bhaktinagar police with 400 notes of Rs 2000. "Based on a tip off, we intercepted Joshi near Kothariya colony area late last night. Upon searching his bag, we found Rs 8 lakh in cash. All notes were of Rs 2000 denomination," said Bhaktinagar police sub-inspector M J Dhadhal. According to police, Joshi told them he has been asked by a person to deliver these notes to an auto spare parts dealer who has a shop on 80-feet ring road. "Since Joshi could not give any specific details about the source of cash, we have detained him and informed Income Tax department about the cash seizure. We have also launched a hunt to nab the supplier as well as receiver of these notes," Dhadhal added. In another incident on the outskirts of the city, police nabbed two persons with Rs 8.35 lakh cash, including Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2000 bills and Rs 35,000 in Rs 100. "Two persons on a bike were intercepted by our staff when they tried to drove away upon seeing the police near Pedak Road Gate. Upon searching their bag, we found Rs 8.35 lakhs cash, including 400 notes of Rs 2000 and 350 notes of Rs 100," said 'B' division police inspector D H Bhatt. The duo were identified as Ashok Koshiya and Kaushik Rajyaguru. "They claimed to be wholesale dealers but failed to give any satisfactory explanation about the cash in their possession. We have taken them in custody and informed I-T department for further action," said Bhatt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three top engineers of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Mahatransco) have been suspended for dereliction of duty, Energy Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule told the state Legislative Council today. Replying to a question by BJP member, Anil Sole, under rule 97, the minister said a 220 kv transformer in Borgaon in Wardha district fell prey to fire on September 19 and the company suffered a loss to the tune of Rs two crore. Besides, the blaze claimed life of one person. "The transformer was reduced to ashes and the power supply through 11 kv power lines was disrupted," he said. Superintendent Engineer of Chandrapur circle, Sudhir Balkrishna Dhawale, Executive Engineer Dinesh Tapgadge and Deputy Engineer Narendra Zode were found guilty of dereliction of duty, he said. "The transformer installed in 1991 was not fully protected from fire-like disasters. Had enough care been taken, the transformer could have been saved from fire and damage," the Minister informed the Upper House. "Besides this, the concerned Director of Transco has been issued notice for poor maintenance of the transformer," he said. Talking about the modernisation of the system, Bawankule said old electricity supply poles are being replaced with new ones. He also informed the House that the Centre has decided to set up Central Power Institute in Deolali and Nagpur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today arrested a key adviser to Rome's mayor in a corruption investigation, dealing yet another blow to the populist 5-Star Movement's highest-profile officeholder. Raffaele Marra, the head of personnel in City Hall and considered Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi's right-hand man, was arrested in an investigation of business deals dating from 2013 when Marra worked for a previous administration. The arrest came a day after police searched City Hall and seized records about disputed city appointments, and follows the resignation of Raggi's top environmental adviser, who is the subject of a separate investigation. The setbacks renewed pressure on Raggi's administration. She is the top office-holder of the populist 5-Star Movement, which has been pressing for new parliamentary elections following the political crisis that forced the formation of a new government. Meanwhile in Milan, Mayor Giuseppe Sala has announced he will step aside after he reportedly was added as a suspect to an ongoing investigation into contracts for the Expo 2015 world's fair, which he ran before his election. Sala said in a statement late yesterday that he was notified only by the media that he had been placed under investigation and that he was unaware of the allegations against him. Sala's name was added to the suspect list after a judge refused a prosecutor's request to archive the case. The chief Milan prosecutor, who has taken over the case, has requested another six months to complete the investigation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) will support "greater friendship" between India and Pakistan, a prominent Indian-American industrialist said on Friday as he met the President-elect and discussed issues ranging from growing India-US trade to relations with China and Pakistan. Shalabh Kumar, founder and president of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), met Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Trump's daughter Ivanka and sons Don and Eric and other senior officials from the incoming Trump administration at the Trump Towers. "It was a great meeting," Kumar told PTI after the nearly 25-minute meeting with Trump at his luxurious headquarters in Manhattan. Kumar, who played a leading role in mobilising Hindus for US Trump and has been appointed to the Transition Finance and Inauguration committee, said the Trump administration is "looking forward to having a great relationship with India". Kumar said during the meeting, they discussed about the mechanisms for increasing trade between US and India. "We also talked about policies with respect to China and with respect to Pakistan and how India views them," Kumar said. Kumar added that Trump is "very well aware" that terrorism is a big concern for India and "he is also confident in a way that he could persuade Pakistan to do the right things and actually create a friendship between India and Pakistan. "His attitude is always that you can do it, you put your mind to it and do it in a business-like manner. So you can do that." Kumar further added that Trump will be "very straight" with Pakistan and if Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif focusses on development and education in his country, then even the RHC and the Trump administration is with Pakistan and will support it. Kumar said in the meeting they discussed that Pakistan needs to control terrorism and "the fact that if there was an opportunity to have greater friendship between India and Pakistan, he (Trump) will be for it. "If anything he (Trump) can do to foster friendship, he is a businessman and wherever through business he could help create peace and prosperity, he is all for that," Kumar said. The Indian-American industrialist said both sides also discussed plans for creating a million to two million new jobs in the US by increasing the trade between US and India. He noted that there is potential to increase bilateral trade from the 130 billion dollars a year currently to 300 billion dollars a year. Kumar said the issue of demonetisation also came up during the meeting that was also attended by Steven Mnuchin, Trump's pick for treasury secretary. "We also had Treasury Secretary-elect present throughout and he offered his views that they love the fact that (demonetisation) could take out corruption from India and India's could grow much higher at more than 10 per cent and double digit rates," Kumar said. Two students, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and as many others were injured when their bikes were hit by a vehicle near Katawar village in neighbouring Baran district, police said today. The four students were on two bikes when they were hit by the unknown vehicle under Modepur police station area in the district this morning. They were going for their half-yearly examinations. The deceased were identified as Pinki Mali (15) and Nishant Meena (15) while two injured students Ravi Kumar and Vinod Suman were admitted to government hospital in Baran, ASI Mohan Chand said. The bodies were handed over to their family members after the postmortem, police said A case of negligence driving has been registered against the driver of unknown vehicle on the report of the family members of the deceased and the injured. Baran district was formed on 10 April 1991 by carving out Kota district. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A complaint has been filed after a family member of eminent shehnai exponent Ustad Bismillah Khan went missing today from Cantt Railway station here, GRP officials said. The daughter-in-law of Khan's elder brother went missing from the platform while she was waiting for a train along with her family members. 55-year-old Munnawar Jahan, daughter-in-law of Shamsuddin Khan, had gone to the railway station to catch a train for Sivan in Bihar to attend a marriage function. She went missing from the platform following which a complaint was lodged at Cantt GRP station by her family members, officials said. An investigation has been launched, they added. Earlier this month, five of Khan's shehnai, four of which were made of silver, had gone missing from his son Kazim Hussain's home following which an FIR was registered. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) MDMK General Secretary Vaiko today staged a protest here urging the Centre to take steps to ensure that Sri Lanka did not make amendments to its maritime law that could affect the lives of Tamil fishermen crossing maritime borders for fishing. More than 500 people belonging to the fishing community besides Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (MDMK) volunteers took part in the protest led by Vaiko. Slogans were raised asking the Centre to act against the proposed Sri lankan move. "Lives of fishermen would be destroyed if the Sri Lankan legislation is enacted. They will have to pay fines up to Rs 7 crore," the MDMK supremo said during the demonstration. The agitators also sought the governments to take steps to protect the rights of the Indian fishermen. In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday in New Delhi, MDMK chief urged him to use diplomatic channels to ensure the Sri Lankan government does not add tough penal provisions to a 1979 law that could affect the lives of Tamil fishermen crossing maritime borders. The Sri Lankan government is mulling imposing fines as high as 150 million rupees on Indian fishermen poaching in the country's waters, a senior Sri Lanka government official had said recently. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an effort to prevent incidents of suicide on campuses, the HRD ministry will ask universities to establish local guardian systems for outstation students, while the Vice Chancellors would closely monitor the departmental issues. The ministry has decided to ask University Grants Commission (UGC) to circulate a list of twelve such recommendations for varsities following the Roopanwal commission report, which was set up to look into the circumstances behind scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in the University of Hyderabad earlier this year. Significantly, the report and recommendations of the Roopanwal commission in this regard were tabled by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar in the Parliament yesterday. Justice (retd) A K Roopanwal had made six recommendations in the report, with the HRD ministry adding six of its own recommendations to the list. The measures suggested by the HRD ministry include a strong induction programme for better acclimatisation and establishing a local guardian system for outstation students. The ministry has held that grievances of students should be discussed and dispensed with on weekly basis and Vice Chancellors should hold monthly meetings. It also suggested remedial teaching for academically weak students while stating that deans should closely monitor department problems. The ministry has recommended that in case any serious issue is detected, it should be immediately brought to the notice of the Vice Chancellor. Universities have also been asked to select suitable student volunteers to act as mentors. Another key recommendation by the ministry includes an effective administration, supervision of hostels and strict compliance of hostel admission rules, so that only those students allotted hostel accommodation by the respective university stay in such facilities. The UGC will in the coming days circulate these recommendations, in addition to the ones made by Justice Roopanwal, to all central universities and monitor compliance. It is learnt that the Roopanwal commission had recommended measures like establishment of counselling centres, system of appeal for students in case there is an excess by the university, monitoring committees and Equal Opportunities cell. The Roopanwal Commission had also held that a Grievance Redressal Committee headed by an ombudsman as per the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations 2012, should be made effective. There had been a massive uproar over Rohith Vemula's suicide in February this year, with the Opposition attacking the government over the incident. The HRD ministry had then appointed the one man Roopanwal commission to look into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident and come up with measures to prevent and deal with such situations. The commission in its findings had also said that Vemula's 'Dalit' status could not be established. The family of the scholar had, however, maintained that he was a dalit. Venezuela extended the closure of its borders with Colombia and Brazil for another 72 hours as part of a drive to fight what it calls criminals hoarding 100-bolivar banknotes. The closure in place since Monday will now last until Sunday, President Nicolas Maduro said. The government is withdrawing the 100-bolivar note on the grounds that "mafias" are hoarding it abroad in what Maduro calls a US-backed plot to destabilize Venezuela. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) VIT University has become India's first academic institution to be accredited QS 4-star rating due to its excellence in fields of teaching, innovation and employability. The QS 4 Star rating cetificate was handed over by regional director of Quacqarelli Symonds(QS) Ashwin Fernandes to the founding Chancellor of VIT University G Viswanathan in presence of Union Minister of State for Fianance Santosh Gangwar, at a function held here. "This is the rating and not the ranking," said Fernandes, adding the university has got 5-star rating for teaching, employability, facilities, internationalisation and innovation. "VIT is the only university in India now with 4 Star overall rating of QS," he said. Quaquarelli Symonds (QS), UK, founded in 1990 is the world's leading network for top careers and education. QS has been producing rankings since the launch of the QS World University Rankings in 2004. The minister lauded the university saying its achievement of QS 4 rating was matter of "pride" for the country. He said the nation was poised for changes in education sector with political change in the country. "The political change in the country has envisaged changes in all fields. Just as the country has raised a strong voice against black money and all the people supported it, in a similar spirit we need to work for improving the education sector and enable the academic institutions to function in a better way," Gangwar said. Viswanathan announced that VIT University, having its campuses in Vellor and Chennai, was going to open two more campuses in Bhopal and Amaravati from July 2017. Highlighting the academic activities of the university he said VIT students published 2,390 research papers in 2014, "second highest" among the universities in the country, while this year 2,367 research papers have been published. In a bid to prepare its students to be able to work anywhere in the world, VIT has also collaborated with 207 universities in different countries, he said. Fernandes said VIT was assessed in a rigorous rating process over six months. The rating involved 52 indicators and the university got 5 Star category rating in areas of 'teaching, innovation, facilities, employability and inclusiveness. Vice Chancellor of VIT Dr Anand A Samuel and other authorities of the university were present on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid reports that Rajinikanth turned down his request to dub for the Tamil version of upcoming film "Dangal", actor Aamir Khan today said they felt the southern megastar's voice didn't suit his character. As per reports, Aamir had screened the film for Rajinikanth and also requested him to dub for his character for the Tamil version, which was turned down politely by Rajinikanth. "The film will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. I did approached Rajini sir and he loved the film. We both felt his voice is too recognisable, as he is too famous. We felt his voice will not suit my face. He loved the film and is very encouraging," Aamir told reporters here at the teaser launch of "Secret Superstar". He said a dubbing team will take a call to find suitable voice for the Tamil version. Aamir and Rajinikanth had worked together in 1995 film "Aatank Hi Aatank". Asked about collaborating with the south star again, Aamir said, "I would love him to do Hindi films. I would love to work with him. I am a big fan of him. I am looking forward to 'Robot 2'. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court has awarded life imprisonment to a woman and her paramour for killing her husband, who objected to their illicit relationship. Additional Sessions Judge N K Malhotra handed down the jail term to Poonam, wife of the victim, and her paramour Rajiv, for offences of murder read with criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence under IPC while relying on circumstantial evidence. "Inthepresentcase,thechainofcircumstanceis complete and indicatesthatboththeaccusedpersons are held guiltywithout anyhypothesisoftheirinnocence," the court said. The court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Rajiv and Rs 7,000 on Poonam with a direction that out of the total amount, Rs 15,000 be paid to the victim's father. It also directed West District Service Legal Authority to award appropriate compensation to legal heirs of the victim underthe CompensationScheme2011 of Delhi. While holding the accused guilty, the court relied on victim's postmortem report, as per which he suffered six injuries, saying, "Alltheinjuries wereantemortemin nature. Thus, deceaseddiedhomicidaldeath." According to the prosecution, Rajiv was arrested on September 5, 2013 after a missing complaint of victim Sanjay was lodged by his father. It said that Poonam, Sanjay's wife, had abducted him with Rajiv's help as the victim did not like their closeness to each other, which was the motive of the murder. The police said that in his confession, Rajiv, a security guard by profession, had said he had illicit relations with Poonam and they wanted to kill her husband as he was suspicious and would quarrel with her. It said that they took Sanjay to a godown in west Delhi where they slit his throat and threw the body in a borewell. However, both the convicts had denied the allegations in their statement recorded under CrPC saying they were falsely implicated by the police which made them sign on a blank papers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ratan Tata, the patriarch of one of India's most prominent business families, played down reports on Friday that he would step down soon as chairman of Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder in the Tata conglomerate's holding company. In a report, the Times of India cited a Tata aide, R K Krishna Kumar, as saying the group was preparing for Tata to step down from the Trusts next year after two decades. It said an external consultant had been asked to advise on the selection process for a successor. In a statement, Tata Sons said there were "no plans for (Ratan Tata) stepping down from the chairmanship of the Tata Trusts at this point in time." It said it would put in place a process for a "smooth succession at an appropriate time." and the charities that make up the Trusts have been at the heart of a public dispute with Cyrus Mistry, who was dismissed as chairman of Tata Sons in October. Mistry has accused Tata of continuing to control the group's operations through the Trusts, even after retiring as chairman of the holding company in 2012. Tata, 78, rejects those claims. Two trustees of the Tata Trusts public charities that own 66 per cent of Tata Sons told Reuters that a change was being considered, but said there was no timeline, and no external adviser had been retained. Krishna Kumar told Reuters that talk about succession began before the current row with Mistry, adding there was "no question of an external firm being consulted." V R Mehta, a trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one of the several Trusts, also played down talk of Tata's departure, calling it "fairly premature". "Although succession planning has long been on the table, the trustees have not had any meetings to discuss the hiring of any external firm," he said. Shareholder Meetings Tata Sons has called for extraordinary shareholder meetings at over half a dozen Tata to dismiss Mistry as a director. Several shareholder meetings are due next week. Shareholders of Indian Hotels Co, parent of Taj luxury hotels, are set to vote on Mistry's ouster on Tuesday, while similar votes are scheduled at Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals and Tata Power Co on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and December 26, respectively. Earlier this week, shareholders in Tata Consultancy Services, the conglomerate's most valuable company, voted to remove Mistry from its board. Various sections at the London Chess Classic are heading for tight finishes. In the premier, (10-player round robin) Wesley So leads with 4.5 points from 6 rounds. The Filipino-American GM has broken into the elite rating level of 2800-plus. So is followed by his compatriot, the Italian American GM, Fabiano Caruana (4/6). "Fab" is the world#2 and his performance here (Elo running at 2830) is bringing him within touching distance of Magnus Carlsen (2840). Vladimir Kramnik (3.5/6) is the only other player on a plus score. In an ambition to dominate the sector, Bajaj Auto lifted the curtains off from its biggest ever motorcycle - Bajaj Dominar 400. With an introductory offer, priced at Rs 1.36 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the powerful bike from Bajaj was launched on Thursday. Here's why the firm is betting so hard on its newly launched product. 1. Dominar is the most powerful motorbike from Bajaj Auto. The motor comes paired to a 6-speed gearbox and also gets a slipper clutch, a first for any Bajaj offering. With respect to power, the Dominar 400 uses a 373.2 cc single-cylinder engine. It comes with automatic headlamp on, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and also it is the first Bajaj bike to get an all-digital LCD-instrument cluster and complete LED equipped headlight. 2. Styling is important, and without much experimenting in terms of the looks, the Dominar largely resembles the Pulsar CS400 concept that the world witnessed first at the 2014 Auto Expo. To finalise the name of its flagship product, Bajaj has gone through many brainstorming sessions since then like the VS400 and Kratos 400, and finally settled on Dominar 400. 3. With Dominar, the Pune-based two wheeler giant is locking horns with its direct comepetitiors such as Royal Enfield Classic 350 and Honda CBR250R. It is also one of the heaviest bikes at 182 kg. However, listing out the advantages over the already existing market players, Bajaj says the Dominar can hit 0-100 kmph in just 8.23 seconds. A Punjab businessman was laughing all the way to the banks and his 85 accounts until the Enforcement Directorate caught up with him on Wednesday night as part of a crackdown on cash hoarders following the government's demonetisation drive. Top revenue intelligence sources and insiders in the home and finance ministries say the currency switch is slowly finding public acceptance and people are aiding raiding teams with information about hoarders of new currency and those with bogus bank accounts and black money. As the drive gets more intense, the scanner is on bank managers and entry operators as a clear nexus between the two has emerged leading to a trail of big catches. Top sources in the government confirmed that the ED laid its hands on two big cases of money laundering in 24 hours. MAIL TODAY has exclusive information about these two unreported cases, one from Jalandhar in Punjab and another from Kolkata in West Bengal. The ED, after getting some input from public had raided on Wednesday night in Jalandhar and found the businessman with 85 bank accounts in his name. "The matter has been referred to the CBI for further investigation," said a top official, requesting anonymity. In another case of money laundering involving a Jan Dhan account of a poor woman, a Kolkata-based businessman had used her account to transfer Rs 58 lakh. "When we received this input from the financial intelligence unit of ED, the matter was pursued further and we later found that the businessman had actually transferred Rs 7 crore through RTGS using such mode. This case will also be probed now by the CBI,'' said the source. There are many such arrests and confirmed hauls in the net of revenue intelligence teams currently raiding, but all cannot be revealed pending investigation, officials indicated. The ED has already conducted 67 raids on FEMA violators, 36 raids on those indulging in hawala transactions and surveyed about 50 banks under money laundering cloud. Sources said the top leadership has given a free hand to raiding teams with a clear message that "no one will be spared" and after India Today TV's sting on money laundering, the influential and mighty are also in the "suspicious club." Apart from bank managers, who are the first stop for account opening and transactions still in many parts of the country, data entry operators manage the computers and appropriate software for entering,updating, researching, verifying and retrieving data related to various transactions across systems. In one such case in Noida on Thursday, about 20 fake accounts were detected in an Axis Bank branch, with the company already facing the heat over similar cases. The Income Tax department had raided the bank's Chandni Chowk branch last week and found Rs 100 crore deposited in 44 fake accounts. Such fake accounts and businessmen hoarding new currency are coming to light more now and with the Income Tax department, ED, CBI and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence along with local police gathering information in plainclothes from the public near banks and ATMs, the government is only going to make things tougher for hoarders, say officials. Some states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana Punjab, Goa and Odisha, are currently under constant monitoring by intelligence teams apart from cities like Delhi and Chandigarh. When asked what the government is doing with the new currency recovered, a senior official replied: "Nearly Rs 375 crore, including Rs 80 crore of new currency, has been found in raids by various agencies and it is being put back for public use through ATMs and banks." Global Student Accommodation (GSA) have today welcomed the decision of An Bord Pleanala to grant planning permission for the construction of 21,000m2 of student accommodation and 3,700m2 of retail space at Brunswick Street in Dublin 7. The student accommodation building will deliver 571 en-suite student rooms as well as designated retail space at street level, including a supermarket offering. This approval of planning permission follows GSAs extensive repositioning and refurbishment of the 101-bedroom Broadstone Hall in Dublins north inner city, which is now 100% occupied for the 2016/2017 academic year providing a new residential offering for students in Dublin. There are currently some 80,000 full time students studying in Dublins nine higher education institutions and a further 100,000 students coming to the city to study English language courses each year. The recent Irish Government education strategy includes a goal of increasing international enrolment in Irish higher education by 33% by 2020. There has been almost no student housing built on or off campus in Dublin for several years leading to a general shortage in accommodation. GSA has a commitment to invest 250 million in student accommodation in Dublin to provide much-needed homes and new accommodation choices for students studying in the city In addition to Brunswick Street and Broadstone Hall, GSA, alongside joint venture partner Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, is developing purpose-build student accommodation at two further sites in the city - the New Mill, in Mill Street, Dublin 8 is a 400-bedroom development coming to market in 2017, as well as a 491-bedroom development Kavanagh Court in Gardiner Street, Dublin 1. Development Director for GSA Dublin, Aaron Bailey says, "GSA is delighted to receive planning permission for the Brunswick Street site, the latest in a series of student accommodation investments that the group is making in Dublin." He added, "We are delighted to be bringing this best in class expertise to key strategic locations in Dublin such as Brunswick Street. This latest approval signals real progress in our long-term plans for investment in Dublin." Source: www.businessworld.ie It was announced today that Ascott Limited has acquired the Temple Bar Hotel for 55.1m. The Dublin property sits on Fleet Street, minutes away from Dame Street, a main thoroughfare in the Irish capital where many financial institutions such as the Central Bank of Ireland are situated. It is also within walking distance to the International Financial Services Centre that houses more than 500 companies including global financial institutions, law firms, audit firms and taxation advisors. Its central location offers guests convenient access to Grafton Street and Henry Street, the two main shopping streets in Dublin. In addition, major event facilities such as the Convention Centre Dublin, the 3Arena and Aviva Stadium are nearby. The property is close to museums, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, galleries and attractions such as the famous Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery. The Ascott Limited is a Singapore company that has grown to be one of the leading international serviced residence owner-operators. It has over 29,000 operating serviced residence units in key cities of the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, as well as over 22,000 units which are under development, making a total of more than 51,000 units in over 300 properties. Speaking today, Ascotts Managing Director for Europe, Mr Alfred Ong said, "We look forward to bringing our signature hospitality to Ireland with a centrally located and quality accommodation in Dublin for our corporate and leisure guests. Acquiring an operating property in Dublin will give us a much faster time-to-market." He added, "The property has been achieving over 80% occupancy in the last few months and we are confident that we will be able to add value to this prime asset. There are already plans to rebrand the property at a later date." Source: www.businessworld.ie About us RTE has today reported that Taoiseach Enda Kenny has ruled out a bilateral agreement between Ireland and the UK on their future trading and political relationships ahead of the start of any negotiations between Britain and the EU. Mr Kenny said that any future arrangements on customs checks on the island of Ireland depended on the nature of the relationship Britain was seeking with the EU. Mr Kenny also said that Theresa May told EU leaders that she wants an early agreement on the status of Britons living on the continent and EU citizens in the UK after Brexit. The push for an early agreement on the status of citizens comes amid concern from many European leaders about the rights of their nationals in the UK after Brexit. Speaking following a meeting of the heads of government of the 27 member states remaining in the European Union, Mr Kenny told reporters, "Obviously a bilateral deal is not available in the context of Ireland being a member of the European Union negotiating team. We have agreed, because of the Common Travel Area, which has applied since 1922, that nobody should lose any benefits from that, and obviously we have made it very clear to all of the leaders the importance of the peace process, our own economy, Interreg Funds, Peace Funds and no return to a hard border." Mr Kenny added, "Until it becomes clear what sort of relationship the UK actually wants to have with the future European Union, it's then you can make the decisions and negotiate on those decisions after Article 50 is triggered." Source: www.businessworld.ie The Small Firms Association (SFA) have advised small businesses holding staff Christmas parties to take pre-emptive action to reduce the likelihood of any negative repercussions for employees or the business. The Association warns that an employer can be held liable for anything done by the employee in the course of employment. In this regard, a work related event is seen as an extension of the workplace and it is important that employers and employees are aware of their obligations from the outset. They recommend that prior to the Christmas party, employees are reminded about existing employment policies e.g. disciplinary, bullying, harassment, social media etc. and are informed that they apply to work related social events. The SFA claim they have received many calls to date from members who are dealing with complaints from employees following the Christmas party in particular grievances, harassment and sexual harassment concerns. SFA Director, Patricia Callan commented, "The SFA has received many calls to date from members who are dealing with complaints from employees following the Christmas party in particular grievances, harassment and sexual harassment concerns." She added, "It is advised that employers take action on these complaints without delay and follow the company procedures in the normal way. Previous case law has shown that the Equality Tribunal was extremely critical of complaints not being followed up by a company as the issue arose at the Christmas party." Source: www.businessworld.ie Facebook Inc said on Thursday it will introduce tools to prevent fake news stories from spreading on its platform, an about-face in response to rising criticism that it did not do enough to combat the problem during the U.S. presidential campaign. The social network company stressed that the new features are part of an ongoing process to refine and test how it deals with fake news. It has faced complaints this year involving how it monitors and polices content produced by its 1.8 billion users. Facebook said users will find it easier to flag fake articles on their News Feed as a hoax, and it will work with organizations such as fact-checking website Snopes, ABC News and the Associated Press to check the authenticity of stories. If such organizations identify a story as fake, Facebook said, it will get flagged as "disputed" and be linked to the corresponding article explaining why. The company said disputed stories may appear lower in its news feed, adding that once a story is flagged, it cannot be promoted. A few weeks ago, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said it was a "crazy idea" that fake or misleading news on Facebook helped swing the election in favor of Republican Donald Trump. But criticism persisted amid reports that people in the United States and other countries have fabricated sensational hoaxes meant to appeal to conservatives. Critics said fake news often was more widely read than news reported by major media organizations. Ahead of the Nov. 8 election, Facebook users saw fake news reports saying Pope Francis endorsed Trump and that a federal agent who had been investigating Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was found dead. The effort by Facebook is intended to focus on the "worst of the worst" of clear hoaxes created by "spammers for their own gain," Adam Mosseri, Facebook's vice president in charge of its News Feed, said in a blog post. Some far-right conservative writers quickly pounced on the announcement, decrying it as a covert attempt to muzzle their legitimate content. "Translation: A group of incredibly biased left-wing fake news outlets will bury dissenting opinions," Paul Joseph Watson, editor-at-large of the far-right website Infowars, which routinely peddles unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, said on Twitter. Facebook has struggled throughout the year to mollify conservatives who fear the company may be censoring them. The company fired contractors who managed the site's trending news sidebar after a report by Gizmodo in May quoted an anonymous employee claiming the site routinely suppressed conservative news. On Thursday, Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice president for U.S. public policy, met with President-elect Trump at his Manhattan tower. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie FILE - The Book of Mormon is shown during the "Foundations of Faith" exhibit news conference Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014, in Salt Lake City. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday unveiled a new collection that features some of the faith's most treasured artifacts, including a page from the original Book of Mormon manuscript written by founder Joseph Smith. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) LOGAN, Utah (AP) The Mormon church has given $1 million to Utah State Universitys Mormon studies program and an anonymous donor has pledged to match other donations up to $500,000. Philip Barlow, USUs only full-time Mormon studies professor, tells the Deseret News (http://bit.ly/2hAqary ) that the donation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came with no strings attached and will pay for guest speakers, symposia and fellowships for students. The 66-year-old Barlow says the two gifts give him confidence that the program will endure after his retirement. USU is the first Utah university to offer a Mormon studies major and is raising a $3 million endowment to fund the program and its Leonard J. Arrington Professorship of Mormon History and Culture. Former Genius Gluten Free boss Roz Cuschieri has been appointed chairman of snack brand Emily Crisps. Cuschieri joins the healthy snack business following recent investment in the firm by Inverleith LLP and investor club Hothouse Brands. She began her career in the FMCG sector at United Biscuits in sales and consumer marketing, followed by a five years at Scottish Courage in senior trade and category marketing roles. Cuschieri joined Warburtons in 1998 and subsequently spent five years as commercial director. Joining Genius Gluten Free in 2012 at chief executive, she helped develop the business to sales of 50m and oversaw the expansion from nine employees to more than 600 across multiple sites. Emily Crisps was founded in 2014 by partners Emily Wong and Alessandro Ascani as a healthier alternative to traditional potato crisps and fruit snacks. Emily Crisps is an exciting brand, created by two talented entrepreneurs, said Cuschieri, adding the business operates in a growing market and taps key consumer trends. I believe it has a bright future as a healthy indulgence snack and I look forward to working closely with the team. Wong said she was absolutely delighted Cuschieri is joining Emily Crisps as chairman. With her vast experience and expertise within the FMCG industry, we know Roz is the right person to help steer our journey towards becoming the healthy indulgence snack of choice across the UK and further afield, she added. Joining the Emily Crisps board of directors alongside Cuschieri and the two founders is Paul Skipworth, former chief executive of The Glenmorangie Company and Partner L Capital and a partner at Inverleith LLP and Hothouse Brand Ltd. He joins Emily Crisps a non-executive director. On November 12, 2016, Vladimir Putin officially approved a government proposal to form a permanent joint Russian-Armenian ground force. This is the second Russian initiative following the establishment of a united Russian-Armenian regional air defense system. As the crisis in Ukraine has expanded, the security thinking of the Russian leadership has undergone important changes regarding the imposition of actionable mechanisms intended to prevent allies such as Armenia from drifting westwards. By reinforcing existing military bases and simultaneously integrating Armenias armed forces into its Southern Military District (SMD) framework, Russia seeks to bolster its control over Armenias defense strategy and defense policy-making. BACKGROUND: Whereas these recent developments have primarily concerned the legal status of the joint Armenian-Russian ground forces, the first exercises combining Armenian and Russian troops were conducted as early as 1995 and 1998. The core task of these drills was to enhance collective interoperability with the tactical focus of repelling a simulated enemy assault on Armenia from the West. The March 1995 Russian-Armenian strategic agreement on the deployment of a Russian military contingent has long guided the operative-tactical tasks of such joint exercises. Furthermore, in 2000 the allies signed a bilateral accord on joint utilization of available troops in the event of an impending military threat. Moscow and Yerevan then ramped up the process of force unification, conducting various joint drills on a regular basis. A recent large-scale exercise, involving roughly 4,000 troops along with tanks, artillery systems, helicopter gunships, and other military aircraft, took place in September 2014 at the Alagyaz polygon. Troops from the 102nd Russian base and Armenias 5th Army Corps appear to constitute the core of the redesigned joint Russian-Armenian ground force. Moreover, it can be assumed that the recently dispatched Iskander-E short-range ballistic missile systems showcased at the military parade in Yerevan will be drawn into a joint force. It is also reported that the joint force will be reinforced with an air defense component, plausibly by integrating the previously formed Russian-Armenian air defense network. The joint force is deployed along the border with Turkey and also constitutes a strategic headquarter reserve. Yet, it is structurally subordinated to Russias SMD Supreme Command. The formal commander of the combined force is Armenian Maj. Gen. Andranik Manukyan, a former chief of Armenias 4th Army Corps who reportedly has a pro-Russian mindset. He was appointed by President Serzh Sargsyan in July 2016, with previous approval from the Russian side. Armenian and Russian military officials met on multiple occasions in 2015-16, aiming to speed up the institutional integration of the Armenian and Russian armed forces. The united air defense system along with the combined task force now constitute the key components of both the Armenian-Russian security relationship and Armenias membership in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). IMPLICATIONS: Russia has established a significant influence in almost all dimensions of Armenias political-social life. The Armenian leadership long believed it could comprehensively deepen bilateral ties with Russia, and rely heavily on Moscow in national security matters, while simultaneously developing ties with the West. History has invalidated this assumption. Russias coercive diplomacy to keep Armenia firmly within its orbit has contributed to Yerevans international isolation and the countrys lasting economic decline. The insecurity of Armenias political establishment, facing threats both to the country per se and to their hold on power, has played into the Kremlins hands. Concerned over regime change scenarios, Moscow likely calculates that the joint Russian-Armenian land force emphasizes Russias indispensability in the eyes of the Armenian public in light of multiple external threats to the country, and it is unlikely that Moscow envisions using the joint force to prevent unrest similar to Ukraines Euromaidan. However, against the backdrop of the reinforced anti-Russian moods in Armenia since the April fighting with Azerbaijan and the seizure of a police station in Yerevan by armed insurgents in July Moscow appears to hedge its bets. Cluster 1 of the Russian-Armenian agreement founding the joint task force, outlines the role of the joint force as providing security assurance from external and internal military threats, thereby echoing Moscows apprehensions about the recent and ongoing tensions in Armenia. The pivotal point, however, lays in regulation III, noting that in case of an imminent threat of aggression and in wartime the unit will be put under direct command of Russias SMD amid Armenias formal consent. This implies that Moscow can potentially apply to use the joint Russian-Armenian force if any incident with NATO in the Black Sea (e.g. involving Turkey or Georgia) is assessed as an imminent threat of aggression vis-a-vis Russia. From Armenias perspective, regardless of Yerevans setback with Euro-integration in 2013 and amid the enduring Russia-West standoff, the military is a core pillar of the countrys security and sovereignty, which still retains practical and political ties with NATO. Yet if Putin proceeds with his plans for Armenia, the Armenia-NATO partnership almost certainly will run into a dead-end. Even though Armenia is nominally a NATO partner, Moscow could in the foreseeable future benefit from this momentum, using Armenias ties with NATO against the Alliance. Russias playbook on Armenia was adapted to fit the logic of confrontation with the West, meaning a point of no return for Armenias path towards Euro-integration. As predicted, Russia was deeply involved in the reshuffle of the Prime Ministers cabinet, which explains the appointment of several former Gazprom functionaries to minister posts. Meanwhile, via local collaborators Moscow promotes the claim that Armenia has no alternative to deepening its damaging integration with Russia. Another common feature of Russian propaganda aimed at the Armenian public is the notion of an impending Turkish invasion, necessitating a reinforcement of Armenias armed forces with those of Russia. In fact, the joint command structure represents a practical vehicle for intervention or an actionable lever to undermine Armenias MoD reforms, as the joint force requires standardization. Armenian army units, at least those involved in the joint force, should meet Russian standards, hence rolling back NATO-backed reforms in Armenias defense sector. Yet the Kremlins increased control of Armenias armed forces poses an even more serious risk, for two reasons. First, it will reinforce Armenias dependence and subordination to Russia, further undermining Armenias ability to make independent policy decisions. Above all, it opens for Russias utilization of Armenias infrastructure, communications and assets, entailing political and strategic benefits for Russia at the expense of Western interests in South Caucasus. Second, Russian officials have repeatedly protested Georgias aspirations to join NATO, terming the establishment of a NATO training and evaluation center in Georgia a threat to Russias interests and regional security. Accordingly, the increase of Russian military prowess in Armenia leads to an increased risk of hybrid threats to both Armenia and Georgia. Since the limitations to Russias troop deployment in Armenia were abolished by the prolongation in 2010, Russian forces could be used either like in Crimea threatening Yerevan and Gyumri in case of social unrest; or for an unexpected provocative incursion into Georgia. The joint task force also increases the risk of entangling Armenia into adventurism against Georgia, NATO or in the Middle East. Similar agreements are in force with Belarus as well as with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhaz, South Ossetian and Armenian joint forces are placed under the supreme command of Russias SMD Staff. Thus, the Russian moves in Armenia imply risks for Georgias security, by the prospect of a threat from Armenia. CONCLUSION: Against the backdrop of increasing anti-Russian moods among the Armenian public, fueled by Russias balancing policy towards the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Moscow has presented both the joint air defense and ground forces as designed to serve Armenias security in order to discredit concerned voices. In addition, the disaffection among a wide segment of Armenian society presents an increasing risk to the continued rule of Armenias political elite, which is broadly perceived as Russias critical client in the region. While the authorities and biased experts in Yerevan spare no efforts to promote the Russian-Armenian joint force, it is obvious that the process aims to eventually Russify Armenias armed forces, in order to serve Russias regional interests. Due to Armenias subservient posture vis-a-vis Russias regional interests, Armenias credibility as a sovereign state is becoming increasingly questionable. Armenian authorities appear either unable or unwilling to uphold the countrys ability to pursue independent policy, rendering Armenias political future fairly bleak. Therefore, Russias efforts to turn Armenia into a proxy should not be underestimated by politicians and experts based in Washington, Brussels and London, as it cannot be ruled out that Armenia could be embroiled in one of Russias military adventures in the mid-term future. AUTHORS BIO: Eduard Abrahamyan, is a defense and security analyst and researcher at the University of Leicester, UK. His expertise is on NATOs strategy evolution and adaptation in the Eastern Europe and Black Sea regions. Image source: www.kremlin.ru, accessed on December 15, 2016 European Council: "History will not forgive", says mayor of eastern Aleppo Published on December 16, 2016 Story by Gisela Castro Isern en fr es it de pl [OPINION] European heads of state and government met today in Brussels in presence of Brita Haj Hassan, mayor of eastern Aleppo. As expected, despite a lot of hearfelt declarations, no concrete decisions were taken. A cry for help Today, as the evacuation of civilians began under the protection of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Aleppo, Bachar Al-Assad appeared on a video hailing the fall of the city, calling it a historic moment. Historic indeed, says the mayor of eastern Aleppo to the European Council: History will not forgive. History will remember this international silence in front of the crimes against humanity committed in Syria. In Brussels to implore European leaders for help, he declared he had come to demand justice in the name of humanity, in the name of human rights. He delivered a very emotional testimony of the current situation in Aleppo. Recalling that the civilians of eastern Aleppo are only waiting for their death, he confessed that the fact that [he is] not able to help them, made [him] cry. More words, still no action Although in todays meeting, European leaders were to discuss many other topics such as economy, Brexit and migration they all expressed upon arrival their concerns towards the situation in Aleppo. We need to robustly condemn what is happening in Syria, said Theresa May, UK Prime Minister. All leaders insisted on the first priority, which is the protection of civilians according to Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. French President Hollande stated that EU leaders were aware that the population cannot take the bombings and massacres anymore. Although Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel and President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that they knew Syrians were tired of hearing words without seeing any concrete action on the ground, European leaders were not able to do much more than talk. We are not as effective as we would like to be, admitted Donald Tusk. However, he underlined that the EU and its Member States represent the biggest player in terms of humanitarian relief: "We are behind a lot of the aid that the UN is currently trying to deliver to Aleppo. EU competences do not allow it to be much more active on this topic, though. Some have nonetheless mentioned the possibility of additional sanctions against Russia, whereas some such as Belgium expressed their concerns that this could mean an escalation of the situation and might not be the best way to ensure the effectiveness of humanitarian relief on the ground. Adopting a much more consensual attitude, European leaders said they would use all the diplomatic channels at their disposal to put pressure on the Syrian regime and its Iranian and Russian supports. Impossibility or unwillingness to act? This situation is unbearably ordinary how many times have the EU and the UN declared their will to act, but have not done so? European leaders must understand that even though their means are limited, they need to stop complaining about their inability to act. Although it is true that the EU lacks crucial competences in this area, it is also undeniable that all options are not explored: sanctions are barely considered for instance. Moreover, they need to remember that they are the authors of the treaties, and that the EUs lack of competences are mostly due to their unwillingness to give such competences to the EU. Finally, they need to be more coherent in their policies: they cannot, on the one hand, deplore the unacceptable situation of the civilians in Aleppo, and on the other hand, keep conducting policies that try to prevent people fleeing war zones from getting into Europe. Perhaps it is also time to question our international institutions in light of their complete inefficiency when it comes to situations that are so simple. We are not talking here about finding a viable political solution to the very complex Syrian conflict, we are simply talking about ensuring the effectivity of humanitarian aid in respect of international law. It is time to question the way decisions are taken at the UN why should so much power be given to so few? Donald Tusk said he was convinced that no one in Europe is indifferent to the situation in Aleppo. This is true, and should be made clearer. Lets think about rebuilding our democracies in a way that allows our voices to be heard. Story by Gisela Castro Isern European leaders cast doubts on how long Brexit will take Published on December 16, 2016 Story by Ivo Alho Cabral en fr it es de pl EU leaders backed the appointment of Michel Barnier as EU negotiator, who wants to finish Brexit within 18 months, during last night's European Council. The decision leaves the European Parliament without a real role in the negotiations, although their green light will be needed for a final decision. The European Council of December 15th was yet another edition of the no negotiation without notification play, starring EU leaders who made no mistake in their roles. This means we will not know more about the EU position until the end of March, when the UK will most likely trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty as British PM Theresa May reassured before the summit. Waiting for the notification, EU leaders have backed the Commissions plan for Brexit: Michel Barnier is now the official EU negotiator, who is already preparing the talks along with a dedicated unit of 22 people. This could mean a fast Brexit as Barnier announced last week that the process should last just 18 months. May agrees with planning a quick schedule: We want it to be a smooth and orderly process as possible, she said. Yet, German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes there is no need to rush: its not an urgent task, she said. There is still another element to the formula: the European Parliament (EP) has no relevant role in this arrangement. EP Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt threatened he would start to separate negotiations with the UK authorities if he was left out of the deal: Better to have me inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in, he said, quoting former US President Lyndon B. Johnson. Following this EU Council agreement, Verhofstadt and other EP representatives will just be invited to preparatory meetings with representatives from the 27 member states and sessions for exchanging views with European Council President Donald Tusk. Joining Barnier for the encounters with the UK will be representatives from the rotating presidency of the Council; Malta, Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria - if negotiations stick to Barniers deadline. EU leaders said they will not disclose their position until the UK triggers Art. 50. Theresa May did seem in a hurry to know their plans and get all this chess game started: she skipped her press conference and just gave a 45-second speech, accepting no questions, before getting in her official car. Anyways, she seems to have no friends in Brussels. Story by Ivo Alho Cabral "Every Meal An Adventure!" ~ Food & Travel in Asia Members of African Bar Association Poised to Intervene In Cameroon Wilson MUSA The African Bar Association, AFBA, has strongly condemned the use of force on striking Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions and has called on France, the former colonial master of French Cameroon to use their leverage to bring the government of Cameroon to order. In a release signed by its President Hannibal Uwaifo, the AFBA said, The brutalization of lawyers in their legitimate demand for justice in their country and attempt to gag the press and curtail the right to freedom of expressions and peaceful assembly in Cameroon is an evil wind that will blow the Government of President Paul Biya no good, instead as history has taught us all, victory for the oppressed people of Anglophone Cameroon is certain. The African Bar Association described the regime of Paul Biya as recalcitrant and maintained that the bilingual and bi cultural nature of the country must be respected to the last letter. Destroying ISIS Isn't the End: Christians and Other Minorities Need More Help On Oct. 30th, the clear ringing of church bells could be heard over the city of Qaraqosh, just a few miles southeast of Mosul. For the first time since the Islamic State had launched its genocidal rampage across Northern Iraq, Christians had returned to give thanks for their newly liberated homes. As the Islamic State loses more ground, it is critical that the international community ensures a future for religious minorities not just in Iraq, but across the Middle East. Unfortunately, even with the imminent liberation of Mosul, many Christians in Northern Iraq are cynical about their future chances of survival. My organization, International Christian Concern, interviewed internally displaced Christians to hear their thoughts on the future of their communities. For their security, their names are changed here. Habib of Mosul believes that the Islamic State has left a lasting impression on the culture in the region. Asked whether or not he would be returning to Mosul in an interview with ICC, he said, "We are glancing at hope again, but I think defeating ISIS will result in another kind of problem which could last for at least six months. I don't think that I will be back to Mosul again. I can feel settled here in Erbil." He added that the Islamic State's atrocities will leave a more lasting mark. "Foreign ISIS troops will leave or die, but what they did during the last two years is preparing thoughts for the next generation. [They've created] a death culture." Yet others are still hopeful, and plan to return home. Omar, originally from Qaraqosh, told ICC, "I started thinking 'leave Iraq', I lost hope to get Qaraqosh back and settle down again there one day. My mind totally changed when operation of liberation started. I would love to be part of a Christian neighborhood again." Many other former residents of Qaraqosh that were interviewed felt that they could return to the city if its security was restored by the government. Through our interviews, there is a clear dichotomy between those from Qaroqosh, a previously predominantly Christian area, who want to try and return, and those from Mosul see no real future for Christians in that region. Akram, a local religious leader seemed to confirm this by saying, "For sure, Christians from Mosul will never be back there. They can't live anymore among Sunni Arabs who deceived them when ISIS attacked." It is clear is that there are differences based on geography. Those form Qaraqosh and Bartella see a possibility of returning to the majority-Christian area in which they once lived with added protections. Those from Mosul tend to be the opposite, seeing little chance of being able to reconcile and live next to their Sunni neighbors once again. No matter the wishes of individual internally displaced persons, it is clear that problems of security, humanitarian needs, and social reconciliation still face the people of Iraq, no matter their religion or geography. If religious minorities are expelled by way of religious persecution and humanitarian crisis, what will remain is a region dominated by a homogenous ideology with ill effects for the future of Iraq. To address these problems and needs of post-Islamic State Iraq, a holistic plan is needed in which governments, non-governmental organizations, and individuals work together toward a common goal of healing and assistance based on the ideal of religious freedom and respect. To this end, it seems clear that some security force will need to remain in the region to protect religious minorities. Similarly, the judicial system must be quick to uphold the rights of religious minorities and address discrimination wherever present. In the wake of the genocide against minorities, it is also vital that these groups be given a greater voice in the government to advocate for policies that will ensure their future in the region. Also vital is the need for regular and constructive dialogue between religious leaders to prevent future sectarian violence in the region. Only when the rights of others to worship as they please are respected can Iraq move on from its recent history, based upon atrocities and sectarian violence. Only then can those displaced by the violence of the Islamic State return to their native homelands and rebuild their lives securely and with dignity. Jeff King is president of International Christian Concern. Cameroon Youth Association After Bamenda Meeting Musa Wilson Leaders of Cameroon Youth Association have called on the government to release hundredths of Youths arrested in Kumba, Bamenda and Kumbo during last weeks strike action. The Post newspaper reports that the youths gathered at the Presbyterian Church Centre Ntamulung in Bamenda, North West Region Wednesday December 14, 2016 in a press conference on the recent happenings and to propose way forward. In his opening speech, the coordinator of the Cameroon Youth Association, Marcel Amabo Mutanga said like the biblical job, we have waited, we have waited, hoping that our fathers and leaders will solve these issues but we have instead watched with consternation, the massacre of our brothers, self justification, and the use of national issues for selfish political interest. The Cameroon Youth leaders condemned all forms of violence in the expression of grievances and the maintenance of law and order. The Post writes that the Youths also condemned the massacre of Anglophones or Southern Cameroonians by forces recruited to protect them. Marcel Amabo declared, We hereby demand the release of all those arrested in Bamenda, Kumbo and Kumba. The Cameroon Youth Association has promised to investigate into the real number of youths arrested, missing, wounded and to descend to the streets to sensitize the youths on how to go about the strike in civility so as to stay away from soldiers killing them. | BY Ricki Green | 303 MullenLowe has lured Andrew Livingston back to Sydney from London to lead the agencys media division across Sydney and Perth as managing partner, Media. Livingston is an experienced media professional with an impressive track record and most recently led Initiative in Australia as its CEO, concluding with a stint as COO a role he departed in January 2016 to return to London. Says Nick Cleaver, CEO, 303 MullenLowe: Were delighted Andrew is coming on board to lead our integrated media offer. He represents our intent and commitment to making sure our media product has the best talent within it. Andrews tremendous experience across the breadth of media disciplines and his track record of delivering growth are exciting qualities we feel will really enhance our capabilities and business. Originally from London, Livingston first moved to Sydney in 2005 as national negotiations director at Optimedia. He later joined MediaCom as head of client communications, followed by a four-year stint at Initiative where hes credited with a succession of new business wins and significantly growing the revenue base. Says Livingston: I have immense respect for the multidisciplinary model that 303 MullenLowe has created. Having advertising, strategy, data, PR, digital and media buying all sitting together under one roof, without walls or silos, is a compelling approach to developing better client solutions. Im looking forward to bringing my media agency expertise to a hyper-bundled agency environment. Livingston replaces Gavin Gibson, who leaves the agency with some significant achievements under his belt. Says Cleaver: Gavin added enormously to our media smarts by creating a new programmatic trading desk and a new data analytics capability. While were sad to lose him, were looking forward to growing our media capabilities further in 2017 under Andrews leadership. | BY Lynchy | Over a year ago, Daniel Cabrera, a homeless 9-year old boy, was photographed doing his homework by the light of a McDonalds store in the Philippines. Joyce Torrefranca, a Medical Technology student, took that photo when she was taking a break from a night of studying. Incredibly touched and inspired by the boys dedication to his studies despite his circumstances, she uploaded the photo on her Facebook page. Before long, her post went viral online. Financial aid and other donations from all over the world poured in for the boy, helping his life take a turn for the better. The new film by Leo Burnett Manila and Filmex Production recollects that fateful night through Joyce. It also retells the dire straits Daniels family were in and his perseverance to finish school so he could become a policeman, as told by his mother. A poignant reunion between Daniel and Joyce ensues over a simple meal. Olloclip and adventure photographer Chris Burkard are temaing uo for an insightful, 45-minute class on capturing incredible images beaches, vistas, mountains, and extreme experiences with the smartphone you carry everyday and the help of olloclip lenses. Chris has grown his Instagram community to over 2 million fans through sharing incredible images and experiences and now he'll teach you how to do the same.Hit jump for the details. You'll learn to create and share exceptional images that look professional and feel immersive, including: Inspiration: Every lesson is filled with behind-the-scenes stories of his real-life adventures, from surfing in Northern Russia to camping beneath the Northern Lights. Shooting Tactics for Mobile: Learn how to capture timeless photography styles on your mobile phone, from silhouettes to leading lines and more. Pro Editing on Mobile: Level up your smartphone editing with Chris's step-by-step workflow using Adobe Lightroom Mobile, available for both iOS and Android. This is a class close to Chris's heart, shot in his home town of Pismo Beach, CA and taking an exclusive look at his home-grown studio and gallery. Truly behind the scenes! By the end, Chris asks every student to share photos of their own from their adventures, hometown, and daily sunrise. Get ready for a true photo adventure. Enroll in the class and submit a project in the Project Gallery by January 1st, 2017 for a chance to win some awesome prizes from olloclip, Artifact Uprising and Skillshare: Grand Prize (1 winner) TBD Best olloclip pack 25 free square prints from Artifact Uprising 1-year Skillshare Scholarship Runner Ups (4 winners) TBD Better olloclip pack 25 free square prints from Artifact Uprising ---- olloclip offers a line of award winning and ground-breaking lenses & accessories for the mobile photographer. You can learn more about the lenses Chris uses by visiting olloclip. --- Want to learn more from Chris? Check out his other Skillshare class on Outdoor Photography: Shooting at Sunset, Sunrise, and Night! Colliers said the centre would cut 2.5 to 5 per cent from the value of blocks for up to five years from the 2005 announcement, after which the market would "come to accept the facility as part of the landscape and not discount values". "We are certainly very proud to be able to recognise here today the quality and the quantity of his contribution, not only to this country but of course to this great university of ours which we are now are so proud to make him a more permanent and deeply entrenched member." "I have sat through all the court proceedings and listened to the evidence of how he filmed himself obtaining sexual gratification by indecently interfering with her lifeless body shortly after he murdered her; this is something no sister should have to endure." The units are used to control the temperature of a patient's blood during surgery, and it is believed the confirmed cases may have involved the bacteria being transmitted from the machine with the blood into the sterile area during operation. It's a different story in the ACT and federally, however, where no ICAC-style agencies operate and where traditionally there has been little enthusiasm for their establishment. That may change in Canberra over the next four years, since the Greens have pledged to establish an integrity commission and where, crucially, they have the clout to ensure this occurs, thanks to their governing coalition deal with Labor. Indeed, a select committee to look into the most effective model for the ACT was established this week. BCN Contributor Alex J. Ortolano sent in these wise words, and got me thinking: Current Liberal Democrat Muse and Russian Strong Man, Vlad Putin; the Face of Mother Russia: Above. I made this immediate commentary on Facebook, December 13, 2016, once I became aware of the concerted Liberal's /Socialist's talking points on the alleged Russian Election Meddling And now to expand on this latest Liberal /Socialist Group Think It appears that this knowledge is rarefied wisdom, with no evidence, that can only be fathomed by the severe Liberals /Socialists that still can't understand that their presidential candidate /candidates, at many levels of government, got drubbed in a free and fair election.If any of these crybaby Liberals can produce evidence how Trump and the Russians stole /rigged the election, it would wonderful if they would bring it into full reveal.Still, watching intellectually distant /dishonest adults play crybaby is an incredibly fun thing to observe.By the way, and this in face of lead Crybabies Jill Stein and L. Hillary Clinton, their ridiculous recount in Michigan has proven voter fraud in Detroit precincts, and even more substantial victory for Candidate Trump in that state.The public and constant indignation by incredulous Liberals, and their owned Democrat Media, over the possible meddling of Russia in the 2016 Presidential Election is becoming a bit shopworn from an intellectual standpoint. The pattern indignation from the Democrat Media, who willingly abdicated their Free Press, 1st Amendment, responsibilities to exclusively work on the L. Hillary Clinton campaign has increasingly become a wonderment to principled Americans.Obviously, this political hackery, literally, writ large in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Huffington Post is a continuing example, fa mere fragment of the shameless Democrat Media that has one current directive, which is to work to the benefit of chosen Democrats, and to inform, as per their 1st Amendment co-dependent right, on their predetermined, filtered-down "Need to Know" basis of correspondence.A point fact is that Liberals /Socialists and their associative Democrat Media rationalized that if anyone controlled the news flow, it would be the unprincipled Democrat Media as the associative "5th column" of the Liberal /Socialist party - the Democrat party. The "Billy Bush hot-mic-locker-room-talk" moment for Donald Trump, held in abeyance for years by the NBC News Dept, and then released as NBC New's October surprise contribution to the Democrat Cause was supposed to be that one visceral ugly moment that would bring down the man who had never lived a buttoned down life - Donald J. trump. It almost worked as many Republican politicians scurried hither and thither to avoid the bombastic New York developer, and to avert their own down ballot demise. In this outrageous political season, that avoidance motif proved to be a far less wise path for these GOP politicians.Considering that some resourceful entity (it is alleged that the CIA believes it to be Russia; it is also alleged that the NSA and the FBI are unsure) either hacked into the DNC's (Democrat national Committee), or any of L. Hillary's many illegal servers, or someone with access leaked this data of the many faces of L. Hillary and her minions, the Democrats and their media arm are apoplectic that they could not control the news flow, the dirt. Remarkably, with these crybabies in full tantrum mode, many leaders within the Democrat /Socialist Group Think construct are seriously accusing the President-elect of being a 'Russian agent, in league with his good friend Vlad Putin', and they think that they are making intellectual headway.If there are those that would parrot these Group Think 'talking points', there are also those that will quietly consider this ridiculous commentary as a litmus test of one's intellectual depth. Remember, those that are originating these Socialist /Liberal talking points are the same partisan hacks that ignored all Obama scandals too numerous to mention, but chief among them: the IRS political targeting cover-up; the Benghazi cover-up.The run-up to the presidential election brought out the truth to what extent the partisan Democrat media would sink. The Crybaby character of the women running for president, and those of low principles who would follow them to the 'Gates of Hell' suggests that there is much work left for Democrat party if they wish the best of all Americans to ever take them seriously again. (left to right) Tyler Campbell, Brandy Holliday and Kyle Sadler are congratulated by BCCC's administrators as they advance to compete with other students across the state or nation. Marquitta McCray is not pictured. Contact: Attila Nemecz Attila Nemecz Attila.Nemecz@beaufortccc.edu WASHINGTON The following individuals were selected by committee to represent BCCC on a statewide or national level.Brandy Holliday was nominated for the All-USA Community College Academic Team. This award recognizes high achieving two-year college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society. Holliday is a human services technology student and a BCCC ambassador.Kyle Sadler was also nominated for the All-USA Community College Academic Team. This award recognizes high achieving two-year college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society. Sadler is an officer in Gamma Beta Phi, the honor society at BCCC and a student at the Beaufort County Early College High School.Tyler Campbell was nominated for the Governor Robert Scott Leadership Award. This award is designed to highlight outstanding curriculum student leadership and service. Campbell is an alumnus of the Beaufort County Early College High School, a nursing student and a member of the Beaufort County Association of Nursing Students.Marquitta McCray was nominated for the Dallas Herring Achievement Award. This award was established by the North Carolina Community College System to honor the late Dr. Dallas Herring whose philosophy of "taking people where they are and carrying them as far as they can go" is the guiding principle of the system. The award is given annually to a current or former community college student who best embodies Dr. Herring's philosophy. McCray is an Associate of Arts student. CJ photo by Kari Travis One of the most far-reaching of the 21 bills filed by House members during the special legislative session that convened today is House Bill 17 , sponsored by House Rules Committee Chairman David Lewis, R-Harnett, among others.The bill undertakes a serious reshuffling of state government in several departments, led by the Department of Public Instruction. Under the state constitution, the (elected) superintendent is responsible for implementing policies enacted by the (appointed) State Board of Education, but the General Assembly can set some boundaries on that policymaking authority.If H.B. 17 passes as written, newly elected Superintendent Mark Johnson, a Republican, will have much more leeway than did his predecessor, Democrat June Atkinson.H.B. 17 sets major new limits on the SBE. Among other things, it shifts the administration of funding (state and federal) from the SBE to the superintendent; gives the superintendent, rather than the SBE, appointment powers for senior administrators (including the SBE's staff); and shifts the Office of Charter Schools to the superintendent's control.The bill also reversed a 2013 move expanding the number of political appointees inside the governor's Cabinet departments from 400 to 1,500 - a boon for Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. If the bill passes, Democratic Gov.-elect Roy Cooper will have 300 political appointments at his disposal.And it requires the governor's Cabinet heads to be confirmed by the state Senate.The bill eliminates the governor's ability to appoint four of the 13 members to the boards of trustees of each of the 16 University of North Carolina campuses, giving that power to General Assembly leaders.Carolina Journal will provide more detailed reports on this and other bills in the special session as developments warrant. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. ECU senior Lakisha Pittman received the Campus Compacts Community Impact Award (Contributed photo) East Carolina University senior Lekisha Pittman was recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact, a statewide network of colleges and universities with a commitment to civic engagement. Pittman is a recipient of the network's Community Impact Award, honoring one student leader at each member school.Pittman is a family and community services major from High Point and is a founding member of the ECU Campus Kitchens Project (CKECU) Nutrition Outreach program. She helps lead four nutrition lessons and provides healthy snacks to 40 children each month. Pittman said she does not take what she does on campus or in the community lightly.said Pittman.Her commitment to nurturing healthy bodies and minds through service has led to more students becoming engaged, growing the nutrition outreach program from one student leader last year to 13 active members and numerous one-time volunteers today. Pittman spends 25 hours a week as an intern with CKECU, conducts research on food insecurity among local senior citizens, and is working with other students to start an on-campus food pantry.Pittman was honored at the Compact's annual CSNAP student conference on Nov. 12 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Students and staff from 24 campuses participated in networking opportunities and student-led workshops on diverse community engagement topics and a showcase of organizations working for social change, including the Campus Kitchens Project.As one of 25 students selected by their campus for the 2016 honor, Pittman joins more than 200 college students recognized by the network since the award was first presented in 2006.North Carolina Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 36 public and private community colleges and universities. The network was founded in 2002 and is hosted by Elon University. North Carolina Campus Compact is an affiliate of the national Campus Compact organization, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students. The national winners of the ninth edition of Tata Building India School Essay Competition 2014-15 got an opportunity to meet the Honorable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, yesterday at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi as part of their felicitation. Launched in 2006, the Tata Building India School Essay Competition is India's largest national school essay competition that has provided a platform for students from class 6 to12 to express their views and ideas on nation building and pertinent issues. The 2014-15 edition was held in 11 different languages - English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Telugu, Punjabi, Assamese and Malayalam across 7000+ schools in over 200+ cities. In this edition 3 million students penned their thoughts on the theme of "Clean India" with the topic being "Describe your views on how cleanliness impacts national development and health and how you can encourage your locality and city to adopt cleanliness and promote healthy living" Some of the thoughts expressed in the winning essays were: Everyone must be his own scavenger. Cleanliness of body, surrounding areas and environment is very necessary for our physical, mental, social and intellectual health. Dirt is the mother which gives birth to various diseases. Spread Gandhiji's message - "I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet." Cleanliness is next to Godliness. It sure is a sign of civilization. The national winners of year 2014-15 edition were also felicitated by the Tata group at a function held on the same day at the Ghalib Auditorium in New Delhi. Mr. Ranjeet Goswami, Country Manager, Corporate Affairs, Tata Consultancy Services who was the chief guest at the event, gave away the prizes to the young achievers which included the Tata Building India trophy and a laptop. Speaking at the occasion, the chief guest, Mr. Goswami said, "I would like to congratulate the winners and all the participants of the Tata Building India School Essay Competition. The entries submitted by the students are a clear indication of their thoughts and excellent ideas and it showcases the talent of these young minds. In today's day and time, Clean India as a subject has received national attention from the Prime Minister himself and the topic for the competition is commendable to create awareness among the youngsters, as they play an active role in bringing social and national change." Senior category winner for the English language TBI essay competition Expressing her happiness on being one of the winners, Mitali Agarwal from Bharatpur (senior category winner for the English language TBI essay competition from the 2014-15 edition), said "I feel extremely proud to be a part of this remarkable journey. This has instilled in me greater confidence to come up with solutions for the betterment of our society and country at large, and has inspired me to be a responsible citizen. I would urge the people of India to take a step forward towards making our country clean". Junior category runner-up for the Marathi language TBI essay competition Expressing her happiness on being one of the winners, Kritika Abhyankar from Ratnagiri (junior category runner-up for the Marathi language TBI essay competition from the 2014-15 edition), said "I am grateful to Tatas for giving me such a great opportunity. Tata Building India has motivated youngsters like us to express our views on the subject of national importance and has inculcated in us a sense of nation building." Senior category winner for the Hindi language TBI essay competition Expressing her happiness on being one of the winners, Saumya Shukla from Kanpur (senior category winner for the Hindi language TBI essay competition from the 2014-15 edition), said" I am really excited to meet the President of India and visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It has been a great journey and experience and I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and school for encouraging and supporting me to be a part of this prestigious initiative of the Tatas." About Tata Building India School Essay Competition Started in 2006 as an English-language essay contest, the Tata Building India School Essay Competition is a unique initiative undertaken by the Tata group of companies to motivate the youth of India towards thinking about nation building. The essay competition provides a unique platform to encourage young leaders of tomorrow to showcase their expressions in writing on a host of subjects related to nation building. The competition is a two-phase activity in participating schools. The first phase consists of screening inspirational Tata-linked films which stimulate the students to think about the nation. The audio visual for the year 2014-15 was 'Keepers of the Flame, along with an audio visual on Tata Building India. Followed by this, the topic of the essay is shared with the students and they are required to write an essay on the given topic, based on a theme announced earlier. The ninth edition (2014-15) encouraged young minds to express their thoughts on the theme of 'Clean India'. Judging process The essay is written by the students only once and the same is evaluated at three levels: School level: Essays at the school level are evaluated by judges within each school. Winning entries from each school qualify for city level evaluation. Essays at the school level are evaluated by judges within each school. Winning entries from each school qualify for city level evaluation. City level: The essays of school level winners in each city are evaluated by a panel of judges from the field of academics and journalism, among others. The best essays win city-level recognition. The essays of school level winners in each city are evaluated by a panel of judges from the field of academics and journalism, among others. The best essays win city-level recognition. National level: The best essays from each city are finally judged by an elite panel comprising of eminent people to choose the national winners in each language (regional level winners in case of regional languages). Here is a link to the video that encapsulates the emotions of student winners of TBI 2014-15 after meeting the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi - https://youtu.be/y7q7FTHTKy0 For more information, please log on to www.tatabuildingindia.com. One can participate in exciting online contests on https://www.facebook.com/TataBuildingIndia. About Tata group of companies: Founded by Jamsetji Tata in 1868, the Tata group is a global enterprise, headquartered in India, comprising over 100 independent operating companies. The group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, with a mission 'To improve the quality of life of the communities we serve globally, through long-term stakeholder value creation based on Leadership with Trust'. There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about $116 billion (as on March 31, 2016). Tata companies with significant scale include Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels. For further information visit, www.tata.com The call letter for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) (Assistant Commandants) Examination 2016 has been released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on its official website. This exam will be a interview/personality test. The venue of the examination is UPSC office at Dholpur house. It will commence on January 9, 2017. The notification of the UPSC website reads that, the e-summon letter/call letter for the interview/personality test will be held at Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi, 110069 with effect from January 9, 2017. How to download the UPSC CAPF Assistant Commandant interview call letter 2016: Visit UPSC official website upsc.gov.in Under the column " What's New ", click on the notification which says " e-Summon Letter Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) (Assistant Commandants) Exam 2016 ". ", click on the notification which says " ". Enter your roll number that has seven digits Enter the word verification code Click Next A new page with the call letter will be displayed. Save it and take a print out for future reference.. Candidates will not be allowed in the exam hall without the call letter. Also, they are advised to carry photo identity proofs to the hall. The proof documents should contain details of the candidate such as date of birth, educational qualification, caste/ community certificate, etc. "In case the photograph is not visible or not available on the e-summon letter, candidates are advised to carry identical photographs for verification along with proof of identity such as identity card, voter identity card, driving license, passport on the date of the personality test/interview," the UPSC notification read. In case of any queries or problem, the candidates can approach the UPSC Facilitation Counter in person or on call on its telephone numbers (nos.: 23381125, 23098543 and 23385271). This is in order to avoid discrepancies in the undersanding of the rules by the candidates and what the commission stipulated. Admit Cards for UPSC Engineering Services Preliminary Exam Released: Download Now! Kathy Manos Penn Visions of sugarplums? Not me, instead I'm having visions of a Greek dinner for Christmas. There was never one special meal we always had for Christmas when I was a child. We lived in New York City until I was thirteen, and we celebrated Christmas with my father's family in Queens unless we drove south to see my mom's family in Georgia and Alabama.When in the north, we might have roast pork or roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy and other sides, or even a meal of baked ziti instead. My Greek aunt was married to an Italian, so very often the meal was prepared by my Uncle Graz's sisters, and we would have homemade pasta among other delights. Dessert was often a good ol' New York cheesecake. I recall dinners with the NYC crowd as being much more boisterous than those with my mother's more sedate Southern relatives.When we traveled south, we enjoyed turkey, dressing, ham, and the usual array of sweet potato casseroles, butter beans, and peas along with congealed salads. Dessert always included several seven-layer cakes-German chocolate, coconut, lemon cheese-and pound cake and pecan pie.Daddy never cooked Greek food other than occasionally his mother's Greek meatballs as an appetizer, but we always had a Greek salad. This year, I'm planning pastitsio and Greek salad. I'll pick up feta cheese and Kalamata olives at the grocery store, and visit the local Greek bakery for olive bread, spanakopita, and Greek pastries. My youngest sister, who's always in charge of the pound cake and pecan pie for dessert, is happy to forgo that assignment this year.Times were I'd have plenty of home-baked cookies on hand, but I just don't do that much baking these days. I do love kourabiedes, what I call the Greek wedding cookies, but if I bake them, I'll eat them nonstop, so the only ones in the house will be those that come on the pastry tray from the Greek bakery.I'm the same way about the sugared peanuts I make annually to give to friends. I try to make just the right amount to fill the gift tins, with not too many left for us. It's a terrible thing to have next to zero willpower. For me, willpower is keeping the temptation out of the house.My sister and brother-in-law from New Orleans will arrive Christmas Day with their dog and spend Christmas night, so I'll have cheese, hummus, crackers, and other nibbles on hand to keep us going through the afternoon until the evening festivities begin.We'll have the wood-burning stove going all of Christmas week and into the New Year, making the atmosphere just right for conversation and a bit of dozing and reading on the couch. And, then before you know it, it will be January 2, and I'll be back at work, trying to adjust after a restful ten days of good food and good cheer.**Kathy Manos Penn is a Sandy Springs resident now happily retired from a corporate career in communications. Find her book, "The Ink Penn: Celebrating the Magic in the Everyday," on her website at www.theinkpenn.com. Contact her at inkpenn119@gmail.com. Allianz SE, Europes largest insurer, is in discussions with Assicurazioni Generali SpA as it weighs a bid for the companys French operations, according to people familiar with the matter. Allianz executives are uncertain whether a combination with the French insurance business would be approved by regulators, and the companies may not reach a deal, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Spokesmen for Allianz and Generali declined to comment. France accounts for about 15 percent of Generalis gross written premiums, making it the companys third-largest market after Italy and Germany. A purchase of the unit would add more than 11 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in premiums to Allianzs business, bringing it closer to the top three insurers in France. Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete, who took the top post last year, has said hell consider acquisitions to help boost profit. Generali rose as much as 5.2 percent to the highest in more than 10 months in Milan. The shares were up 2.7 percent at 12:47 p.m. The stock is the worst performer in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Insurance Index this year, with a decline of 14 percent. Allianz rose 0.5 percent in Frankfurt. Antitrust Issues We are a bit skeptical about a possible sale of the French business, as Generali is a top player in that market and a successful turnaround has just been completed, Mediobanca SpA analyst Gianluca Ferrari said in a report. There might be some antitrust issues for Allianz, considering that the German insurer is a major player in France. A person close to the situation told Reuters on Friday that Generali doesnt plan to leave France. European insurers are struggling to maintain earnings growth as investment returns fall and competition pressures prices. Generali, Italys biggest insurer, has said it will exit less-profitable businesses to increase efficiency and mitigate risks. The company has said it plans to generate 1 billion euros from disposals and lower operating costs by 200 million euros in its mature markets by 2019. The disposal plan doesnt envisage exiting France, Giuseppe Mapelli, an analyst at Equita Sim SpA in Milan, wrote in a note to clients. An eventual sale of the French operations would have positive consequences the insurers Solvency II capital ratios, he added. Paying a Premium Generali France, with about 7,600 employees, has close to 5 percent market share in both the life and non-life segments, according to the insurers website. Allianz is currently the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the country and No. 8 in life and health, according to an investor presentation earlier this year. Allianz CEO Baete has set a target to increase earnings per share by an average of 5 percent a year by 2018. He is also selling less profitable operations and investing in technology to boost earnings, but has said hell consider acquisitions to help meet the targets. The insurer has until the end of the year to spend 2.5 billion euros left in its acquisitions budget or the company will have to return the funds to shareholders through a buyback. He told investors last month that the insurer remained extremely disciplined on M&A over the past 18 months as it hasnt seen the quality assets coming around at the proper prices. But he also made clear that Allianz would be ready to pay a premium if it found the right fit. That might mean in some situations where we really believe we are going to get to a totally different strategic standpoint by closing a gap in a region, getting to a leading position in some of our markets, we are going to pay a premium, maybe even a larger one, he said. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. When politicians and Education Department bureaucrats began designing policies to lessen college students' federal loan burdens, they weren't concerned much with the cost to the taxpayers. Their imperative was coming up with popular and ostentatious ways of helping indebted students; exactly how much doing so would drain the Treasury was of little consequence.At the urging of Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) undertook an analysis of the probable costs of the government's various loan repayment and forgiveness programs. The GAO's report was released on November 30. It concludes that the cost of the programs can't be calculated exactly, but will be more than twice what had been originally expected for student loans made in the years 2009-2016.According to the GAO's estimate, the current student loan forgiveness programs will cost the government at least $108 billion. It could be higher because the Department of Education has been aggressively promoting such programs. If the government's outreach efforts "succeed" in increasing enrollment, the costs will rise significantly.In the last three years, enrollment has tripled in the government's two programs that lower students' monthly payments and can wipe out their debt balance after as little as ten years (if they work in a "public service" job, which covers roughly 25 percent of the labor force) or twenty years for jobs in the for-profit sector of the economy. For most students, lower payments combined with the prospect of forgiveness is a nice deal and few politicians can resist such seemingly cost-free generosity.Nor is there reason to anticipate much if any change in policy under the Trump administration. During the campaign, Trump voiced support for helping students with loans by proposing a cap on monthly payments at 12.5 percent of income as well as a 15-year forgiveness policy. He's likely to push for something from Congress so he can say he carried through on that.Moreover, there are bills in Congress that would make the system easier and more generous toward student borrowers.One is the SIMPLE (Streamlining Income-Driven Manageable Payments on Loans for Education) Act, which has bipartisan support in the House. It would automatically enroll a student in income-based repayment once he or she misses a payment. Another is the Student Loan Tax Relief Act , which would change a feature of the income tax code. Currently, when a student benefits from loan forgiveness, the amount is treated as taxable income, but not if the student received debt elimination under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This bill would eliminate the tax on forgiven student loans.The sad truth is that all of the momentum is toward making the federal student loan system less burdensome for those who borrow for college. One would think that we'd held a national referendum to identify our most pressing problem and reducing the burden of student loans came out on top.But should it be so important? Among the sensible questions Sandy Baum asks in her recent book Student Debt isHer answer is that it shouldn't necessarily be since, she writes, "people owing educational debt are not the worst off members of our society."In fact, many student debtors who benefit from loan forgiveness are very well off. For example, some lawyers have cleverly played the system so as to get a large percentage of their loans for law school forgiven. They're earning fine salaries in "public interest" work, yet escape paying for much of the cost of their education. (See " How Elite Law Schools are Offering Free Rides on the Taxpayers' Dime " by Jason Delisle and Alexander Holt.)Loan forgiveness is therefore a policy that subsidizes some people who are already well off, largely at the expense of people who are less well off. Almost no one regards that as sensible.The bigger problem, however, is that our concentration on helping students pay off their loans distracts us from dealing with the fundamental cause of their debt trouble-the fact that so many Americans are lured into debt for dubious college education.I recently wrote about that issue here , arguing that students need but seldom receive good counseling before they commit to debt for college. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies to the student loan issue. Rather than having the government help students who might be in over their heads with college (and grad school) debts, it would be far better to keep them from getting in trouble in the first place. (Too bad that almost no one in Washington is talking about that.)The cost to society, after all, is not just the bad loans and forgiven amounts-it's the resources that are devoted to failed education, including the time students devote to courses in which they learn little and the work of the faculty and administrators in teaching and overseeing them. The visible waste of bad and forgiven loans is just a fraction of the total waste we endure by subsidizing college.When the GAO reports that the taxpayers are going to be giving away more than $108 billion on student loan forgiveness, it's no doubt correct. That is a great deal of money that could be used for other priorities (or reducing our ever-expanding debt). The full cost of our student lending folly is, however, far greater. A 29-year-old man has been charged with five criminal endangerment felonies after crashing an SUV into a light pole near the downtown DoubleTree hotel, according to the charges. Louis Allen Cavanaugh was driving with five passengers at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when he crashed a Chevrolet Suburban into a light pole on North 27th street, according to charging documents. Cavanaugh appearing in Yellowstone County Justice Court on the felonies as well as misdemeanor aggravated driving under the influence, driving without insurance and driving with a suspended license. When officers spoke with Cavanaugh, his speech was slurred and he smelled of alcohol, documents state. An ambulance took two of Cavanaughs passengers to a hospital for their injuries. Cavanaughs blood alcohol concentration was 0.177, more than double the legal limit, according to charging documents. A fan of the less is more motto, DF Automotive have enhanced the look of an Audi A3 Sedan with a set 920-inch rims, from MB-Design, which have been wrapped in 235/30 Continental Sport Contact 6 tires. Since the customized wheel-tire-combination has changed the driving dynamics of the car, the tuning company recommends fitting a coilover suspension as well. In this case, the four-door compact Audi has received one made by KW. According to the company, the ride height can be lowered by 25-50 mm (1-2 in) up front, and 25-45 mm (1-1.8 in) at the rear. DF Automotive hasnt messed with the 1.4-liter TFSI engine that puts out 150 PS (148 HP) to the front wheels through an S tronic transmission. The tuners latest project comes right after they updated a Seat Leon ST FR, whose output has been boosted from 179 PS (177 HP) and 250 Nm (184 pound-feet) of torque, to 210 PS (207 HP) and 310 Nm (227 lb-ft) of torque. The cars extra muscle was complemented by a set of special OZ Superturismo rims, 20-inch in size, and a Variant 1 KW coilover suspension. PHOTO GALLERY VIDEO As Faraday Future edges towards the release of its first production vehicle at CES next month, the company would want nothing but positive publicity. Unfortunately for FF, more details are emerging of the brands financial woes. In a comprehensive investigation by Buzzfeed News, it is revealed that by July 2016, the electric startup had accrued over $300 million in debt due to missing supplier and vendor payments. Additionally, Faraday was over 30 days overdue on in excess of $100 million worth of payments to vendors and suppliers at the same time, according to a former employee. Things then got worse last Friday when the company was slapped by a lawsuit from automotive supplier Futuris against breach of contract. The supplier manufacturers and tests seats for Faraday and claims that it is owed over $10 million and that $7 million of that is in excess of 30 days overdue. In April, Faraday commenced work for its $1.3 billion in Nevada but in October, it was confirmed that construction on the factory had stalled. At the time, Faradays construction firm AECOM revealed that the carmaker was $21 million behind on its September payments and would owe an extra $37 million for October and November. Only yesterday, it was revealed that the state of Nevada granted Faraday over $300 million in tax credits to build its factory without being aware of its financial circumstances. Speaking with Buzzfeed News, Nevada state treasurer Dan Schwartz said I truly dont believe they have any money. It seems inevitable that CES 2017 will be make or break for the company. If its pre-production model proves popular and it locks down some orders, the model may hit the market. If not, we could be saying goodbye to the brand for good. PHOTO GALLERY Wanxiang Group, the Chinese owners of Karma Automotive, became the sixth company in the nation to receive permission from Chinas officials to produce electric cars. The National Development and Reform Commission gave the thumbs up today to Wanxiang Group to invest in the manufacturing facilities that plan to produce an annual capacity of 50,000 extended-range electric vehicles, Bloomberg reports. Chinas special scheme aims to encourage companies outside of the car manufacturing to develop new-energy cars. Wanxiang Group bought the bankrupt Fisker Automotive and provided financial backing to restart the company as Karma. Last September the reborn company cleared the environmental impact review, opening the way for the investment of 2.5 billion yuan ($360 million) in a plant near Hangzhou which is destined to produce cars on the Karma platform. Out of the annual 50,000-unit production run, 39,000 are reserved for a new two-door model called the Atlantic, which has a top speed of 134mph (216km/h) and can get to 62mph (0-100km/h) in 6.5 seconds, according to Wanxiangs application for the environmental impact review. China is giving production licenses to newcomers to the auto industry as part of their push for more innovation and less emissions, with billionaires like Jack Ma, Terry Gou, Li Ka-shing and Jia Yueting being among the investors whove spent at least $2 billion into the development and production of greener cars. PHOTO GALLERY With the first units already rolling off the assembly line at the Ujina plant a couple of weeks ago, Mazda has started taking orders for the new generation CX-5 in its domestic market, with deliveries set to commence on February 2. Unveiled at the 2016 LA Auto Show, the crossover can be had from 2,462,400 yen ($21,370) in Japan, in its most basic version, the 20S, which uses a 2.0-liter SkyActiv-G engine and front-wheel drive. The cheapest all-wheel drive model is the 25S, using a 2.5-liter SkyActiv-G petrol engine and carrying a price tag of 2,689,200 yen ($23,340), while heading for the range-topping XD grade will set buyers back at least 2,775,600 yen ($24,090) in FWD and 3,002,400 ($26,055) in AWD. This trim level can also be had as a Proactive or with the L Package, with the latter offered from 3,526,200 yen ($30,600), in its most expensive form. All XD models are powered by the new 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D diesel. Depending on the selected version, the new CX-5 can be had with the brands Radar Cruise Control with Stop & Go, a feature available in a Mazda vehicle for the first time in Japan, which works up to 100 km/h (62 mph) and can bring it to a complete stop. The crossover can also be specified with one of three interior packages (pure white, black leather or black fabric), while on the outside, it can be finished in the new Soul Red Crystal or Machine Gray, in addition to the other six body colors that are available. PHOTO GALLERY Rolls-Royce has just released the first in a series of short films dedicated to showing how the British brand has cemented itself as an industry leader. The first video, aptly dubbed The Spirit of Ecstasy, is narrated by Academy Award winning actress Kate Winslet and charts the founding years of Rolls-Royce from when Charles Rolls and Henry Royce first joined forces through to the brands adoption of the famous Spirit of Ecstasy emblem. The clip has been created with advanced motion capture and 3D scanning techniques to bring the Spirit of Ectasy to life and to accurately highlight the companys quest to create the worlds greatest automobiles. In the coming months, further short films will be released in the lead-up to the launch of the next-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom. VIDEO Photo: Contributed Peter Haubrich, left, and Jeff Keen It will be a special day for Peter Haubrich and Jeff Keen as they will be presented with honorary memberships at Accelerate Okanagan today at the Founders Lunch: Holiday edition. Jeff Keen is a technology entrepreneur with a passion for startups, innovation and community building. His background in the technology industry spans more than 25 years, ranging from startup founder to senior executive in several high growth technology companies and not for profit organizations. Peter Haubrich Is one of the Okanagans most recognized champions of high-tech, research and innovation, Peter has more than 30 years of international experience in Research & Development and Innovation Management. Congratulations to both of you on your accomplishments and thank you so much for helping Kelowna's tech community continue to thrive. If youre a pastry or sweet fan you probably already know Sandrines French Pastry and Chocolates, but this year it is offering an entire French Christmas experience through its savoury bites. When I was growing up, we had big meals after midnight mass Christmas Eve. Mom would prepare tortiere, foie gras, Yule logs, duck, turkey, cheese and so much for the celebration of Le Reveillon. Maybe there were some hopes we would sleep in on Christmas morning, but that never worked. I strongly suggest if you want a little touch of French traditions throughout your holidays go and visit Sandrine and see what she has to offer. The team at Motovida is inviting the community to come to their Christmas open house this Saturday. Come hang out, snack, listen to live music, shop and talk motorbikes. Mac and Jill, Reign and Gray and Devine 89 will be there showcasing some of their local products. McMillan Farms has brought back its winter hay rides. Visit the farm Friday evening or on the weekend for a half hour hay ride over the 110-acres of snow-covered fields. There will be fire pits at the beginning, middle and end for you to keep warm. There will also be some music, hot chocolate and fixings to make your own smores. The retail stores have caught on that people like ugly sweaters around Christmas time, so it wont be hard to find something to wear to Hotel Eldorados annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Dec. 23. Get ready to dance, as Gordon James will be entertaining you while you enjoy an evening of holiday cheer. Browns Social House opened its 60th location here in Kelowna this week. Franchisee Derek Archer and Brent Bolin picked Kelowna because it has a strong food-and-wine culture. Browns Social House is known for its fresh food and stylish yet relaxed atmosphere that is the perfect balance between neighbourhood pub and upscale dining. Go check it out and welcome them to Kelowna. Make it a great week! This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Photo: RCMP A Kelowna senior in need of help after falling on ice outside Plaza 33 Shopping Centre in Rutland Thursday ended up with her handbag stolen instead. Officers were called to the scene at 10:21 a.m. after a reported purse snatching outside the Save-On-Food grocery store. Police believe that the unknown male suspect allegedly stole a 76-year-old womans purse, as she laid injured on the ground and yelling for help after she slipped on ice in the rear parking lot, said Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey, RCMP spokesperson. Investigators also believe that the suspect went inside the store to report the fall to staff before he walked away from the area with the womans purse which has been described as green, blue and white with black handles. RCMP are asking for help in identifying the man who was caught on surveillance footage. The suspect is described as a Caucasian male between 25-35 years old, of slender build and standing five-feet-seven to five-feet-nine-inches tall. He was wearing blue jeans, a black hoody, a grey and orange winter jacket and carrying a black backpack. The woman was taken to hospital by paramedics for assessment of her injuries related to the fall. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cst. Aaron Dermake of the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300 or, to remain anonymous, by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net or by texting your tip to CRIMES (274637) ktown. Photo: Contributed Researchers from Urban Systems and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) are developing an online tool to help ranchers predict the risk of decline to ponds on their rangelands. A previous study, funded by the Ranching Task Force of B.C., supports what B.C.s ranchers have known for years that B.C.s grasslands closed-basin ponds are drying up due to changes in climate. Thats particularly bad news for local ranchers who graze livestock on grasslands, and rely on ponds to provide a much-needed sustainable water source for their animals. The Climate Change Impact Risk Assessment Tool will be accessed through the internet and will be preloaded with a B.C. rangeland Global Information System (GIS) climate model. Ranchers will provide the other information needed to assess individual ponds, such as the pond location, depth, seasonal fluctuations, surface runoff and surrounding vegetation. The tool will then combine the GIS information with the ranchers answers to several questions and provide an assessment of either high risk, moderate risk or low risk of decline for the individual pond. Once finalized, the tool will help ranchers anticipate how their ponds may react to projected changes in climate, said Tom Pypker, assistant professor at TRU. Our main goal in providing this information is to help equip ranchers to proactively plan for how to deal with future water shortages on their rangelands. To help refine the tool and make sure it is easy for ranchers to use, the research team is asking ranchers to test a prototype and get involved in focus groups. The team will be seeking alternate funding in 2017 to bring the tool to general use and make it accessible to all B.C. ranchers. Photo: The Canadian Press "You cant have a national carbon tax where the westerners who produce the energy are paying double what the people in central Canada are paying to use the energy, in terms of an additional carbon tax. British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, outside a first ministers meeting, Dec. 9, 2016. For a brief moment last Friday, it looked like B.C. Premier Christy Clark might scuttle Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's hopes of emerging from a day-long first ministers meeting with a pan-Canadian framework agreement to combat climate change. The sticking point was her insistence that Ontario and Quebec's cap-and-trade market must impose a price on carbon emissions equivalent to provinces, such as B.C., that choose to impose a carbon tax. On the face of it, there was no disputing Clark's assertion that within five years, carbon-taxing provinces will be paying twice as much Ontario and Quebec. And so, in a last-minute concession to mollify Clark, Trudeau agreed to have an independent expert panel evaluate the carbon pricing regime in 2020, when the rest of the country will have theoretically caught up to the $30 per tonne of emissions that is already imposed by British Columbia. But environmental economists say it's misleading and simplistic to compare only the price per tonne of emissions under the two very different methods of pricing carbon. This one earns a ranking of "some baloney" Clark's assertion is partly accurate but important details are missing. B.C. currently imposes a carbon tax of $30 per tonne of emissions. Alberta will follow suit in the new year, with a $20 per tonne levy, rising to $30 per tonne in 2018. That's consistent with Trudeau's climate agreement, under which provinces must impose either a carbon tax or adopt a cap-and-trade system by 2018. In those that don't (Saskatchewan is likely to be the only hold-out), the federal government will unilaterally impose a carbon price, starting at $10 per tonne in 2018 and rising by $10 each year to $50 per tonne in 2022. Hence, in five years, the national price on carbon will be $30 per tonne the same as B.C. and Alberta. Quebec's carbon market is currently trading permits for about $8 per tonne and is forecast to rise to $16 per tonne once Ontario fully joins Quebec and California in the Western Climate Initiative in other words, roughly half what westerners will be paying. So, in that sense, "there is some truth" to Clark's assertion that westerners in energy-producing provinces will be paying twice as much as central Canadians, says Ottawa University environmental economist Nicholas Rivers, who holds the Canada research chair in climate and energy policy. But that's only part of a very complicated story. "It's a bit misleading to compare these two systems just on that metric," Rivers says. To understand why, one needs to understand how the two systems work. A carbon tax is relatively straightforward: a levy is imposed by government on all or some carbon emitters for every tonne of emissions they produce. That levy is passed on to consumers in the form of increased prices for things like fuel. In a cap-and-trade system, the market decides the price on carbon, which is also passed on to consumers. As Rivers explains it, under cap-and-trade a government imposes a quota or cap on the amount of emissions it will allow and issues permits for those allowable emissions. Because there's a limited number of permits, they acquire a value in the market as companies trade permits among themselves. That value will depend on how stringent the emissions cap is. The lower the quota, the fewer the permits that are issued and, therefore, the higher their value becomes on the market. Photo: Contributed Students in School District 53 will be prepared for the careers of tomorrow thanks to $22,500 in provincial funding awarded to the district. The money will help to connect kids with opportunities in skilled trades and tech training. "Thanks to these programs, students in the Okanagan-Similkameen region have a unique opportunity to receive mentorship and training right here at home that will help them take advantage of available jobs in our thriving economy," said Boundary Similkameen MLA Linda Larson. Shoulder tappers career coordinators will provide one-on-one support to students as a result of a $17,500 grant, encouraging students with positive input, advice and innovative workshops. The district is also receiving $5,000 from the skills training access grant, which is helping the district connect students with training in fields such as carpentry, coding and culinary arts. This program also supports student skills-training development right at home by bringing mobile training units to the district. A 61-year-old man convicted of touching and licking the breast of a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to community treatment. An exception to the mandatory minimums of sex crimes allows offenders to be treated in the community as opposed to sent to prison. Without the exception, Arnold William Ott would have faced a minimum of four years incarceration for sexual assault. Instead, Ott was sentenced to 20 years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with 15 of those years suspended. Ott's sentence included a recommendation for him to spend the five years in a DOC outpatient sexual offender treatment center. The programs there take anywhere from five to eight years to complete. The sentence was based on several mitigating factors. Ott is a man with a support system, including his wife, who during a heartfelt defense of her husband forgave both Ott and the victim. Michael Sullivan, a licensed clinical social worker, did a psychosexual evaluation of Ott and found him at low risk to offend again. Sullivan recommended treatment over incarceration, noting the lack of resources at the Montana State Prison for treating sex offenders. The victim was described as someone with behavioral problems. No statement from the victim was presented at sentencing. Both Yellowstone County District Court Judge Michael Moses and Yellowstone County Senior Deputy Attorney Juli Pierce emphasized the crime Ott committed against the victim was not the victim's fault. Pierce argued the five-year commitment to the DOC counted as incarceration under the law. Within three months of being charged, Ott admitted what he had done. This also was a mitigating factor in the case. The impact of this type of crime on a victim was "incalculable," Moses said. Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer People looking for affordable bicycles for children, will find what they are looking for at the Penticton and District Society for Community Living, today, Friday. The first annual kid's Christmas bike sale is running until 3:30 p.m. at the organization's office on Industrial Avenue. "We've cleared out everything for just the kids bikes to be on sale here and right now they are 50 per cent off," said executive director Tony Laing. It was Paul Creasey, a new staff person in the bike shop, who came up with the idea for the sale as a way to support low income families and get word out about the shop. Laing was immediately receptive. "We just thought it was a great idea," he said. The bikes for sale are ones that have been lost or stolen, turned over to PDSCL by the RCMP, then held in impound for 90 days before being sold. By mid-morning, Friday, they had sold about five, with customers praising the effort. "People have been really excited about the sale," said Creasey. "One lady said it was a life-saver, because she was able to buy two bikes for her kids for Christmas." The bike shop is typically open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Both adult and children's bikes range in price from $20 to $2,000, with funds raised going back to the clients who work in the shop. Photo: Contributed A flight heading to Penticton from Calgary was cancelled Thursday night due to a medical incident. An anonymous tip into Castanet said an elderly person died on the plane. WestJet has declined to comment on the incident, but did confirm that flight 3267, which was scheduled to depart Calgary at 8:55 p.m. was cancelled. Out of respect for the guest and the guest's family, we are not going to confirm any details, spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said. The cancelled flight was the final trip to Penticton of the day, so passengers were put into hotels and transferred to a flight Friday afternoon. Photo: Brynne Morrice Likening quagga and zebra mussels to terrorists that must be stopped at B.C.'s border, an environmental activist in Vernon is pushing the provincial government to do more to protect its fresh water lakes and rivers. Brynne Morrice of Protect Our Freshwater said recent news that the invasive mussel species had reached Montana was very bad news. Here in B.C., our officials continue to do far less than is truly required, Morrice said. This week, Morrice tweeted: BC freshwater now on brink of disaster @DavidSuzuki. Invasive Z/Q mussels draw close: Montana. Really need the cavalry now. Help? That tweet brought a reply from the province's environment minister, Mary Polak. She said: @BrynneMorrice we're working with all our partners including CBSA who inspect at borders 24/7 - we'll keep improving the effort!" But the province's effort has left serious holes in the inspection process, according to Morrice. The Okanagan Basin Water Board agrees, stating there are gaps in the province's defence. It's like (Polak) is saying, 'we'll do our best' but if they were then there would be 24/7 border inspections. They would treat this like the threat it is. If there were a terrorist threat at the border, we would have police stopping every car. Morrice organized a splash mob in Kalamalka Lake last summer to highlight concern over the irreversible damage the mussels could do to the lake if allowed into the water system. Two large photo prints of that event are now being signed by supporters in Vernon which Morrice plans to drop off at Premier Christy Clark's office in Kelowna in the new year. Well over 100 people have signed so far, Morrice said. The prints are on display and for signing at Big Sun Beachwear and Tanning, 4311 27th St. in Vernon, until Dec. 20. If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... Emefiele Chairs IILM Governing Board The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has been elected as the chairman of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM) on Thursday, December 15, 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. In a press release, the CBNs Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor says that by this development, Mr. Emefiele is also the Head of the General Assembly of the financial body comprising of nine countries and Islamic Development Bank with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (the IILM) is an international institution established by central banks, monetary authorities and multilateral organisations to create and issue short-term Shariah-compliant financial instruments to facilitate effective cross-border Islamic liquidity management. By creating more liquid Shariah-compliant financial markets for institutions offering Islamic financial services (IIFS), the IILM aims to enhance cross-border investment flows, international linkages and financial stability. The bodys major mandates include developing a robust Islamic liquidity management as a catalyst for cross-border financial linkages and facilitating effective cross-border liquidity management instruments for institutions that offers Islamic financial series. The organization is also charged with the responsibility of enabling a future global finance industry with greater connectivity, stability and sophistication. The body, which was established in 2010, is open to central banks, monetary authorities, financial regulatory authorities or government ministries or agencies that have regulatory oversight of finance or trade and commerce, and multilateral organisations. The current shareholders comprise of central banks and monetary authorities of Indonesia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Development Bank. No one hung a new angel on the tree meant to remember the deaths of DUI accident victims, despite the death of 31-year-old Jashua James Fry. The man suspected of killing Fry was still pending trial Thursday when law enforcement and justice officials met in the Yellowstone County Courthouse to honor DUI victims. Kent Roderick Jensen, 19, was charged in July with negligent vehicular homicide after investigators alleged he smoked marijuana before a car accident resulting in Frys death. Because the case is still pending at the time of the tree ceremony, Frys name could not be added. Jensen has plead not guilty to the charges. Instead of adding a new angel, the Yellowstone County DUI Task Force focused on the achievements the many agencies involved have accomplished over the past 42 years. The first Angel Tree was in 1974 when Yellowstone County recognized 18 victims. During the first 10 years of the task force, Yellowstone County added a total of 114 names to the tree. Over the next 31 years, Yellowstone County would add 148 additional names. In the last 10 years, 15 DUI victims have died in Yellowstone County. Yellowstone Deputy County Attorney Morgan Shaw, who represents the prosecutors office on the task force, also noted the decrease in the number of DUI cases being prosecuted by Yellowstone County. In 2010, the office prosecuted about 10,000 cases. In 2015, the office prosecuted about half that. The reduction shows that more DUIs are being prevented, Shaw said. Every year the DUI task force recognizes the work of law enforcement and local community members who help to combat the problem of DUIs in the county. Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Kirk Robbins made 67 DUI arrests between January and November of this year and was recognized for his commitment to combating DUI and drug offenses. Robbins joined the Montana Highway Patrol about three years ago. Laurel Police Department School Resource Officer Fred Gregory was recognized for the 10 DUI arrests he made between January and November of this year. While presenting the award, Shaw said the number may seem small, but as a school resource officer, Gregory doesnt work the average patrol. He made the majority of his DUI arrests in the morning near schools. Yellowstone County Sheriff Deputy Aaron Harris made 35 DUI arrests through January and November of this year. Harris wife, Kelly Harris, accepted the award on behalf of her husband who was at a training. Much of the DUI paperwork comes home with her husband, Kelly Harris said. Aaron Harris was a paramedic for 13 years before joining law enforcement, Kelly Harris said. He saw it from the other end, Kelly Harris said. I think he wanted to alter those outcomes. City Cab owner Rodney Willson was also honored. Willson died in August of this year, so his wife, Teresa Willson, and their four children accepted the award on his behalf. Willson was an early member of the DUI task force and worked to provide cab services to events where alcohol was provided. Depending on the outcome of Jensens trial, Fry, who was a father of five and engaged to be married, might be recognized next year. Fry died on March 7 when he was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle eastbound on South Frontage Road. In his obituary, Frys family wrote that he died doing what he loved: Riding his motorcycle. Montanas Public Service Commission was wrong to pull the plug on guaranteed rates for small solar projects earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled Thursday. At issue was a PSC decision June 17 to suspend a $66 per megawatt hour rate for the solar energy projects no larger than 3 megawatts projects large enough to power 540 or fewer homes. Montanas largest public utility, NorthWestern Energy, had asked that the required rate be eliminated because it believed its customers shouldered the burden unfairly. The utility announced in May that hook-up applications from solar companies had unexpectedly surged. NorthWestern blamed the state-set rate, one the utility had to offer to small solar projects. Ending the rate cuts the number of Montana solar projects hoping to sell electricity to NorthWestern to about 10. NorthWestern had received about 97 solar hookup requests since January 2015. Green energy advocates said the ruling blindsided solar companies developing Montana projects under the PSCs published terms, which hadnt changed since 2012. One solar developer, FLS Energy of North Carolina, filed a complaint with FERC, arguing that it had reached terms with NorthWestern before the PSC killed the rate. It didnt have a contract. FLS accused NorthWestern of slow walking an agreement, while the utility petitioned the state to kill the guaranteed price. States are required to set a price and contract lengths in order to promote alternative energy resources under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Its something federal law has required states to do for 48 years. Utilities are supposed to be obligated to buy power from qualifying facilities under the states terms. FERC sided with the solar company, but stopped short of forcing the PSC to reverse its June decision and grant the rate to FLS. We do not intend to go to court to enforce PURPA on behalf of FLS; FLS thus may bring its own enforcement action against the Montana Commission in the appropriate district court, FERC ruled. Next month, the PSC will begin steps to formally review and likely lower the rate it suspended in June. An attorney for the PSC said Thursday the FERC ruling was being reviewed and the commission had not decided how to respond. No Meals on Wheels will be delivered on Friday. The Adult Resource Alliance also has canceled Friday's Christmas dinner in all senior centers and senior meal sites in Yellowstone County. All seniors are encouraged to stay home. The Huntley Christmas Stroll, scheduled for Saturday is canceled due to weather, said Becky Tescher Robison. The Montana/Dakotas State Office and the Billings Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management are closed on Friday due to adverse weather conditions. A news release from Al Nash, communications chief at the state office, said the closure was called by Jamie Connell, state director on Friday morning. Billings School District 2 on Thursday called off school for Friday. Billings Catholic, Blue Creek, Big Timber, Canyon Creek, Elder Grove, Elysian, Independent, Laurel, Lockwood, Pioneer and Shepherd schools have canceled classes for Friday and called off all extracurricular activities through Saturday. Yellowstone County Boys and Girls Club sites will also close. School District 2 Superintendent Terry Bouck said in an email that forecast cold, ice, snow and windy conditions prompted the decision. Lockwood Superintendent Tobin Novasio cited extreme temperatures forecast for Friday as the primary reason for canceling. Also, the Adult Resource Alliance Meals on Wheels will not be delivered on Friday because of weather conditions and safety concerns for participants and volunteers. In addition, the Alliance has canceled Friday's Christmas dinner in all senior centers and senior meal sites in Yellowstone County. Gary Ames, 65, has been identified as the man found dead on Sunday morning on a downtown Billings sidewalk. Yellowstone County Sheriffs Deputy Coroner Cliff Mahoney released Ames name on Friday morning after being unable to contact relatives. Mahoney also said that Ames, a transient, died of medical causes related to heart and lung issues and not of exposure. Billings police found Ames while responding to a 7:30 a.m. Sunday report of a body in front of St. Vincent de Pauls Montana Avenue office, near the intersection of Montana Avenue and North 27th Street. Ames, who had warm clothes and a sleeping bag with a low temperature rating, was found by other people sleeping in the area, police said. Mahoney said Ames has a son in Washington state but that he was unable to find a working telephone number for him. The father and son apparently had not had contact for more than two years, he said. Ames had spent time in Washington, Florida and Kansas and in federal prison, Mahoney said. A semitrailer that crashed on Interstate 90 near Columbus blocked both lanes of westbound traffic and closed the roadway for more than three hours, according to an email update from the Montana Department of Transportation. The crash occurred west of Columbus on I-90 near mile marker 406 at around 5:20 p.m., according to the Montana Highway Patrol's incident tracking website. The road reopened at about 9 p.m., according to MDT. Speaking at about 8:20 p.m., MHP Trooper Todd Hagenbuch said the semitrailer jackknifed and that MDT was sanding and plowing the road before reopening. No injuries occurred and no vehicles were damaged in the crash, which Hagenbuch said might have been caused by a combination of inexperienced driving and weather. "It's still snowing pretty heavy, it's really slick out right now," Hagenbuch said. An MDT email update sent at about 9 p.m. said snow and ice were on the roads and that drivers should expect snowfall and poor visibility. A detour was setup to send traffic onto Old U.S. Highway 10 at the exit to Columbus, said Diana Walker, an MDT road reporter. Hardin High School students signed a pledge this fall to fight texting and driving. This came after a medical student, while working in Big Horn County, visited the school to interact with Hardin students and talk about distracted driving. Marjorie Nicholson, 28, is a third-year medical student at the University of Washington. She has roots in Billings and has been in Big Horn County on a rural rotation through the university, working alongside local physicians. Across Montana, 452 people died or were seriously injured in a distracted, careless or inattentive driving crashes last year, according to state data. In Big Horn County, 5.6 percent of all fatal crashes resulted from distracted driving. "I met a lot of people who are paraplegic and quadriplegic from vehicle accidents," Nicholson said. That work, in part, inspired her to reach out to the school in Hardin. She visited twice this fall to speak to juniors and seniors. Nicholson said that most of the kids she spoke with knew someone who was seriously injured or killed in a vehicle crash. As we had the talk along, they got more serious," Nicholson said. "We had them share their personal stories. Nicholson worked with Dr. Lori Byron, a retired Indian Health Service physician, to coordinate the school outreach. Byron works now on legislative affairs for the Academy of Pediatrics in Montana. She said that she hopes to get a statewide ban on texting and driving through the 2017 Legislature. Montana is among a small number of states without such a statewide law, though most population centers have ordinances. "Right now we're encouraging people to call their representatives and senators who are on transportation and judiciary committees," she said. But another part of the effort is school outreach. Nicholson said that she aimed to influence the next generation of adult drivers. On Nicholson's final visit to Hardin High on Monday, they took a group photo. Byron said that they plan to place little reminders around town. We decided wed get a picture of them after wed done this and blow it up to a banner to put around town," she said. When news broke that U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke is President-elect Donald Trumps choice to lead the Department of Interior, people across the West were pleased. Zinke knows the West and understands the huge impact Interior has on our livelihoods and quality of life. As The Gazette noted in its endorsement of Zinke for re-election in November: Zinke has voted generally in favor of public lands and public access despite his partys platform supporting transfer of public lands to states. He resigned as a voting delegate to the GOP national convention in protest of the lands plank, but still gave a speech praising Trump. If Zinkes two years in the U.S. House are any indication of where he would lead Interior, we expect him to work to pave the way for more coal leasing, probably ending the moratorium on new leases now in place during a review of federal mineral policy. Zinke has opposed changes that would increase royalties coal companies pay. Polls conducted in Montana consistently show strong support for federal public lands. Montanans use those lands for grazing livestock, harvesting timber, mining, drilling, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and many other activities. Interior agencies Interior agencies are important in Montana. The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for nearly 8 million surface acres in Montana and nearly 38 million subsurface acres, including coal, oil and natural gas deposits. The BLM manages Pompeys Pillar National Monument east of Billings and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. It has about 460 employees in the state. With seven reservations, Montana has 587 The Bureau of Indian Affairs employees and 16 Bureau of Indian Education employees. Other Interior agencies working in Montana include the Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service, which is responsible for Yellowstone, Teton and Glacier national parks as well as the Little Bighorn National Battlefield. In a Gazette guest opinion printed a year ago, Zinke noted that the outdoor recreation industry supports 64,000 Montana jobs and exhorted Republicans to return to our conservation roots. In a guest opinion printed in the June 21 Gazette, Zinke wrote: I promised that I would not tolerate the sale or transfer of public land, and promised that reforming our management practices remained a top priority. In that opinion, Zinke mentioned forest fires, litigation and public access as problems to address on federal lands, adding: The solution to better management is not getting rid of our public lands; its getting more state and local stakeholders involved. TR conservationist Zinke serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and 28 percent of legislation he sponsored in his first term related to public lands, according to Govtrack. Being a conservative and being a conservationist are not mutually exclusive, Zinke wrote in a guest opinion printed April 24. Its our responsibility to be good stewards and ensure our children and grandchildrens children enjoy the same outdoor opportunities we have. Im a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist. Like Teddy, I believe our lands are worth cherishing. Were all in this together. While there is a lot that separates folks as Republicans and Democrats, theres also a lot that binds us together as Montanans. Preserving and conserving our public lands, I think, is one of those values. Im calling on my colleagues to work on the things that bring us together. Lets work toward better stewardship and management so our public lands can be enjoyed for generations to come. As Montanans, we are gratified to see a Montanan considered to lead the Interior Department. As journalists, we pledge to continue to hold Zinke accountable for his decisions in public office. If Zinke leads Interior, he will have a challenging job balancing the demands of development and conservation. We urge him to seek common ground and mutual benefit for the people of Montana and the United States. There will be urgent decisions that must be made with understanding of how they will affect our children and grandchildren. If Zinke is confirmed for Interior, Montanans and other Westerners will be watching carefully to see how he keeps his word to be a conservative conservationist and Teddy Roosevelt Republican. A federal judge in Billings has set a jury trial for Jan. 9 for a Wyoming man who is accused in the double murder of a couple on the Crow Reservation. U.S. District Judge Susan Watters set the trial date in an order filed on Thursday after ruling this week that Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 19, of Worland, is mentally competent to stand trial. Watters held a competency hearing on Wednesday and heard testimony from a forensic psychologist, who testified for the prosecution. The psychologist evaluated Mendoza and said he has several mental disorders. But Mendozas mental illness would not substantially impair his ability to understand the charges or to help in his defense, she said. Mendoza has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including two counts of first degree murder, attempted murder and other crimes in the shooting deaths of Jason and Tana Shane near Pryor on July 29, 2015, near Pryor. Prosecutors say the couple had stopped along the roadside to help Mendoza when he shot them with a .22-caliber rifle, killing both, and wounding their 26-year-old daughter. In April, the U.S. attorney general decided against seeking the death penalty in the case if Mendoza were to be found guilty. If convicted of murder, he faces mandatory life in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. I was asked to give a talk at the Missouri Slope retirement home, where their activity director works hard to provide new experiences for the residents. Being more than happy to give something back to the community, I spent a little time with them one recent day and took along a slideshow. My topic, Stories About Horses, covered several aspects without going into depth on any of them. You see, Im not an expert on horses, I just like the looks of them and stories about their history. Like Teddy Roosevelt said, I am a part of everything I have read. I cant attest to the feel of sitting comfortably on a well-worn saddle or driving a team of horses back and forth in a field. Listening to stories told by people who did work with them or reading some of the literature about them comprise the main share of my knowledge base. One wall in my home office bears the collected weight of many black-and-white photographs, mostly of family members from past generations who stand with their teams. My two grandfathers are up there. One is shown in Plum City, Wis., holding by their halters a large team draped with fly nets. The other sits on his five-foot mower, at rest in a meadow, giving his horses a breather under the hot sun. A great-grandfather I never knew stands with a horse in a snowstorm looking directly into the camera lens. In another, my mother is a young girl who, with her oldest brother, stands with an unmatched team, one black, one white, hitched to an empty hayrack. She surprised me one day when she told of riding horses a lot as a girl, one time riding 3 miles to the store to fetch the cans of Copenhagen that Grandpa had forgotten on the counter. One large picture I displayed on the screen for the folks featured machines, horses and men crossing the Sheyenne River a few miles south from where I was born and raised. Photos taken by those old cameras hold great detail and permit us to peer deeply into them. A steam tractor, a 22-horsepower Buffalo-Pitts to be exact, has just entered the water while hitched to a Nicholson-Shepard threshing machine. Midstream, on one side of the steam engine, a man, most certainly the boss, sits on the spring seat of his buggy while hitched to a single horse and waiting for the photographer to finish shooting. On the other side, a man stands on top of a water wagon, which followed a steam engine everywhere because it held the water needed to quench its fiery thirst. Another team hitched to a bundle wagon emerges from the background, and that driver, added to all the others, makes 13 men headed to the next field. History tells me many of these men would have been hobos who had ridden in on a freight train. To feed them, two or three cooks prepared large meals. An article found in the archived copies of my hometown newspaper gave some of specifics about the machines in the photo. The news writer at the time stated this particular rig was purchased in 1901 for use in custom harvesting and went on to say that men on harvest crews were being paid the grand sum of $2 per day. Editorializing, he thought that $2 per day was about right. Weve learned, though, how these low wages started creating unrest among the laborers, and not long after this, the IWW, better known as the Wobblies, rose up to make themselves heard. Our program at Missouri Slope included many little stories. For instance, the bucking horse on Wyoming license plates depicts a rodeo animal named Steamboat, so named because the labored breathing sounds he made due to a previous nose injury reminded some of an air horn on a steamboat. Another is a painting from World War I that shows a soldier holding the head of his dying horse while his unit waves him to come. About 8 million horses died during the war on battlefields due to wounds, injuries and sickness. Some famous books about horses came up: "Smoky," "My Friend Flicka," "The Red Pony" and more. One in the audience showed enthusiasm for the topic and couldnt wait to start adding, I could tell you the breed of every horse you showed on that screen. Even though he now sits in a wheelchair, he clearly communicated his memories of a lifetime and stated his sons still work some with horses on the farm. He left no doubt that he would like to be out there with them holding the reins in his hands. Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman David Archambault II and then-Gov. Jack Dalrymple met late Monday in an attempt to restore relations following months of conflict over the Dakota Access Pipeline: The result may be a barricaded bridge near the reservation will be inspected and possibly reopened. Dalrymple said the meeting went well and laid a foundation for future efforts to rebuild the two governments' relationship. We resolved right away to not talk about frustration or anger about past issues, said Dalrymple, adding the conversation was mainly about a path forward. Archambault said the police barricade on Backwater Bridge established Oct. 27 has been a hardship for the reservation since N.D. Highway 1806 is a lifeline for emergencies and a corridor for commerce. The three-hour meeting among tribal, state and police officials resulted in an agreement to create a safe area around the bridge so that the North Dakota Department of Transportation can see whether fires set on the bridge during a protest conflict harmed the bridges integrity, according to Dalrymple. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs will be asked to provide security during the inspection and normal traffic would resume once any repairs are made, Dalrymple said. The main protest camp near the bridge is occupied by about 300 people and Archambault said camp organizers told him they need until Jan. 1 to fully break down the entrenched encampment near the bridge, occupied by as many as 10,000 people since August. Former congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes has emerged as a new spokesman for the camp and, in a posted interview, said it has been renamed to Oceti Oyate, or peoples camp, and those who remain are dedicated to seeing the pipeline controversy to its end. Archambault said he talked to Iron Eyes and asked him not to encourage the camp. Im never going to give them a deadline or sweep it out. We just want to make sure people are safe. If theyre going to stay, theyre going to stay," said Archambault, adding the camp is not helping the cause and could hurt it if people are still agitating when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The face-to-face meeting, after a prolonged standoff between police and protesters that has resulted in 570 arrests and multiple injuries, came during one of Dalrymples last days in office: His term ended Thursday. Long after the issues surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline are resolved, the state and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council must work together, said Dalrymple, stressing hes had a good working relationship with Archambault throughout his administration prior to the protests. Dalrymple said he remains optimistic a reasonable solution to the pipeline issue and protests can be reached. Hes confident the initial meeting will create an opportunity for Gov. Doug Burgum, who assumed office Thursday, to continue work on the matter. We have talked about it. I will bring him up to the minute in the next couple of days, Dalrymple said. I believe he will work hard to bring this to a good conclusion. Then-Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley said the administration has been in regular contact with Archambault and other leaders at the protest site for months trying to keep communication open. He said the situation has been complex and involves numerous groups from across the nation with a variety of goals outside of just the pipeline. This is not a conflict between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the state of North Dakota. Its just one small sliver, said Wrigley, expressing hope initial talks bear fruit for the incoming administration. Starting in January a free book study catering to parents and teachers will begin in the Mandan Brave Center boardroom. The book, "Executive Function 'Dysfunction': Strategies for educators and parents," focuses on dealing with children and students who may need assistance in staying organized, focusing, behavior difficulties and also who have trouble switching from one activity to another. Study dates will be Tuesday evenings, from 4:30 to 7:30, Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31. The first 20 people to register will be loaned a book to use during the study; participants also can buy a copy of the book. During the sessions there will be Pediatric Therapy Partners and a school psychologist discussing topics that the book covers, such as behavior components. Research, strategy, reviewing online resources and assistive technology available to assist students with executive functioning are to be discussed. Daphne Davis, the Morton-Sioux Special Education Units Family Educator Enhancement Team, book study coordinator and special education teacher at Mandan Middle school, said, Wed love to see parents attend. Each year, the group organizes educational opportunities for parents and school staff on various topics to assist in better serving students with special needs. MSSEU serves schools in Glen Ullin, Hebron, Mandan, New Salem-Almont, Selfridge, Solen-Cannon Ball, Sweet Briar, Christ the King and St. Josephs. For more information on the book study or to register for the free book study, contact Davis at daphne.davis@msd1.org or 701-751-6502 by Dec. 30. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions People who own private property on Lake Tschida will not have to meet a 2021 deadline to remove their homes and trailers. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., authored legislation that enables homeowners to remain on Lake Tschida as part of a larger water bill, which is sitting on President Barack Obama's desk awaiting his signature. Part of the legislation limits fee increases for lot renters on Bureau of Reclamation lakes, Lake Tschida, Lake Patterson and Jamestown Reservoir. On Tuesday, Hoeven held a round-table discussion in Bismarck with members of the Heart Butte Cabin Association, who thanked Hoeven for the legislation. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., who helped pass the legislation in the Senate, and Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., also attended. More than 30 people spoke about the importance of their property on the recreation reservoir between Glen Ullin and Elgin, many of whom have been there for 40 to 60 years. "The lake has been very important for families around the area for as many as three generations, and its so great to know this will continue for the future generations, said Leo Vetter, vice president of the cabin association. After a flood in 2009, the Bureau of Reclamation made a decision that all trailers had to be removed after 2021 and only recreational vehicles would be allowed on the leased lots. The decision received strong pushback from members of the cabin association, who appealed to Hoeven's office to intervene. Its an overwhelming victory; its been a long journey. Many times, it looked very grim, Vetter said. If youre looking for a victory over bureaucracy and unreasonable government, I think this is it," Heitkamp said to applause at the Elks Lodge in Bismarck Tuesday. Hoeven convinced Interior Secretary Estevan Lopez to visit the site last fall to meet with trailer owners, but Lopez stood by the bureau and the 2021 deadline. Vetter attended Tuesday's meeting with several family members, including his two grandsons. His family has owned a trailer on the lake since 1997 and has since made many improvements with the intention of staying there. This past summer since this whole issue surfaced, it gets a little bit frustrating or difficult to be (at the lake) at times just knowing that the whole atmosphere is going to not exist at some point," he said. Mal Olson, of Bismarck, has a cabin on the north side of the lake. Olson, 92, calls himself the "grandfather of Heart Butte" because he doesn't think anyone has been there longer than he has, which is about 60 years. The lake has been important for many generations, according to Olson, who said, on any given day in the summer, there can be four generations of his family on the lake. Were Heart Butte people," Olson said. "I'm out there every minute I can spend." The legislation was passed by Congress last week as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which also includes aid for Flint, Mich. For that reason, Hoeven said he's confident Obama will sign it by the end of the week. Hoeven said he was pleased by how people of the cabin association approached the situation. It shows what people can accomplish when they work together in a unified, positive way," he said. The bill also limits fee increases for people with exclusive use of property on Lake Tschida, Lake Patterson and the Jamestown Reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation recently increased permit fees, which were set to double at Lake Tschida and more than double at Lake Patterson and Jamestown Reservoir. The new legislation limits the total fee increase to no more than 33 percent over the next five years. On Dec. 9, 12 officials wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, describing inaction by the federal government during the protests. It was signed by sheriffs and police chiefs from across the state, including Morton County, Minot, Fargo and Wahpeton. The federal governments response to the events in our community has been appalling, and it is abundantly clear they have no interest in helping the citizens of North Dakota, they wrote. Frankly, our federal leaders should be ashamed of their lack of response to a dangerous crisis currently in progress on their own soil. Each day this lack of response continues only serves to empower criminal protesters and support lawlessness in the name of radical political agendas. A local thrift store in downtown Bismarck that assists abused partners risks closing because of a faulty heating system. The Abused Adult Resource Center Seeds of Hope Thrift and Gift Store, 520 E. Main Ave., is seeking the public's help to pay for a new boiler at an estimated cost of $42,000, including replacing the firewall. "If this quits, we close," said Diane Zainhofsky, executive director for the AARC, who indicated the leak was discovered in the boiler about three weeks ago. "They are saying the leak is still there, but we are still functioning. But if we continue, that leak is going to get worse." Zainhofsky estimates the AARC assists about 1,200 people per year from a seven-county area. The store sales support 26 percent of the AARC's budget to provide education programs for battered women in the program's shelters. "Right now, we have, between the two shelters, about 20 families. It brings food to the table for them, gives them clothing. I think our women are among the best dressed in town," Zainhofsky said. "Many women come to the shelter with only the clothes on their back. They've left everything else behind." She said the community demonstrates its belief in the AARC mission by donating items to the store for sale and shopping there. "We use this site for training. Part of the curriculum for New Directions Program is working in the store for about three weeks. They learn how to use the cash register, how to do customer service, how to do display in windows, how to sort," she said. "I've seen women so empowered they've gone back to school. Most of the women we work with have been in a power-and-control relationship so they didn't work outside their home. This is really a safe environment for them to get some good training." Training programs for people with disabilities also bring clients to the store to hone work skills, such as sorting shoes, tagging items, she said. A Christmas store that runs from October to early January is run by volunteers, many of whom are retired seniors. The store employs 27 people and pays slightly above minimum wage. This is only the second time, the AARC has sought direct donations from people, Zainhofsky said. "A woman was burnt after her partner had set her apartment on fire, and I asked this community to help with a sprinkler system for fires," Zainhofsky said. Anyone wishing to help, can send donations to AARC, P.O. Box 5003, Bismarck, N.D., 58502. Donations also can be dropped off at the AARC office at 218 W. Broadway Ave. in Bismarck. For more information about how to help, call 701-222-8370. The company moved into this new space which features Bitmoji versions of its employees in the front lobby at the Civic Opera Building in July 2016. Previously, it was headquartered in Highland Park, but employees also worked out of Assemble Shared Office. (Keri Wiginton / Blue Sky) G2 Crowd, the Chicago-based company that aggregates user reviews of business software, has raised $4.3 million in funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document filed Thursday. The new funding came from existing investors and founders, said Adam Beeson, G2 Crowds communications director. The company was launched in 2012 by five co-founders, including former SteelBrick CEO Godard Abel . The company, which moved into a new downtown office space in July, has doubled its headcount in the last year, Beeson said. It was previously headquartered in Highland Park. It raised a $7 million Series A round last year to ramp up hiring and expand into new software categories. mgraham@chicagotribune.com Twitter @megancgraham The FTC alleges DeVry University deceived consumers about the likelihood that students would find jobs in their field of study. (Chicago Tribune) DeVry University has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging the for-profit college misled tens of thousands of students about their job prospects and income levels after graduating from the school. The agreement requires Downers Grove -based DeVry to pay $49.4 million to students harmed by the deceptive advertising. The settlement also includes $30.35 million to forgive all private unpaid student loans issued to undergraduates between September 2008 and September 2015, and $20.25 million for tuition, books and lab fees. The settlement is the latest since the Obama administration began a crackdown in 2011 on the for-profit college industry, taking on everything from inflated job placement claims to predatory financial practices. Government investigations and sanctions have led to several high-profile closures. Advertisement California-based Corinthian Colleges sold or closed most of its 107 campuses and liquidated its assets through Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year after it was sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for deceptive practices. The U.S. Department of Education has agreed to forgive $171 million in student debt held by former Corinthian students. In September, ITT Technical Institute ceased operations at its more than 130 campuses nationwide after the Education Department cut off access to federal financial aid for new students over accreditation criteria. On Monday, the Education Department ended federal recognition of the Accrediting Council on Independent Colleges and Schools, which provided accreditation for a number of for-profit colleges, citing "pervasive noncompliance." The accrediting council filed a federal lawsuit against the department on Thursday in a bid to restore recognition. Advertisement In January, the FTC filed suit against DeVry, alleging the company deceived consumers by claiming a 90 percent placement rate within six months of graduation. DeVry promoted these claims in TV, radio, online and print advertisements. The complaint also alleged that DeVry misled students by claiming graduates had 15 percent higher incomes one year after graduation than those with bachelor's degrees from other colleges or universities. A study released by the Education Department last month showed that graduates of public undergraduate certificate programs earn, on average, $9,000 more than graduates of for-profit programs. "When people are making important decisions about their education and their future, they should not be misled by deceptive employment and earnings claims," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a Thursday news release announcing the DeVry settlement. "The FTC has secured compensation for the many students who were harmed, and I am pleased that DeVry is changing its practices." DeVry Education Group said in a news release it chose to settle the lawsuit after "denying all allegations of wrongdoing." Under the terms of the settlement, which is still pending final approval in federal court, DeVry is required to notify students eligible for debt relief by email and mail within 30 days of the order, and to inform credit bureaus and collection agencies of the debt forgiveness. All loan and debt forgiveness will occur automatically. The company also must release transcripts and diplomas withheld from students because of outstanding debt. In October, DeVry reached a settlement agreement with the Education Department to stop promoting unsubstantiated job placement claims. In March, the Department of Veterans Affairs suspended DeVry from its Principles of Excellence program in the wake of allegations that the college misled students about job placement success. Founded in Chicago in 1931 as the DeForest Training School, the school's earliest mission was preparing students to work in electronics, film and radio/TV, according to its website. It was renamed DeVry in 1953, expanding its programming offerings and locations over the years. Advertisement Publicly traded DeVry has more than 55 campuses nationwide, including nine in the Chicago area. DeVry students can get more information about the refund and debt forgiveness program at www.ftc.gov/devry or by calling 844-578-2645. rchannick@chicagotribune.com Twitter @RobertChannick Charles J. Dushek has been indicted on nine counts of securities and commodities fraud in connection with an alleged securities scheme that spanned more than four years, according to court documents. (Kuzma / Getty Images/iStockphoto) The president of a local investment advising firm has been indicted on nine counts of securities and commodities fraud in connection with an alleged securities scheme that spanned more than four years, according to court documents. Charles J. Dushek also was indicted on one count of making a prohibited transaction as an investment adviser. Advertisement Dushek was president of Lisle-based Capital Management Associates, which managed more than $25 million in assets, according to an indictment filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. The vice president of administration at the company also allegedly was involved in the scheme, but that person was not named in the indictment and was identified only as "Co-schemer A." Dushek and his co-schemer allegedly would make trades and wait to allocate them until they knew if the trades were profitable. They allocated profitable trades to personal or family members' accounts and unprofitable trades to clients' accounts, according to the indictment. Advertisement Dushek sold shares of publicly traded companies including Caterpillar, BP, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, American Electric Power, PepsiCo, Avon Products and Walgreens, according to the court documents. The scheme went on from roughly July 2008 through August 2012, according to the indictment. Dushek allegedly withdrew $1 million from his personal accounts that he gained through the scheme. Dushek could not be reached for comment. amarotti@chicagotribune.com Twitter @AllyMarotti The MacArthur Foundation is investing $11.6 million into about two dozen organizations throughout Chicago that work to prevent violence, spur economic development and accomplish other community goals. The largest sum will go to the Chicago Community Loan Fund for its Transforming Retail Economics of Neighborhood Development, an initiative that makes loans that will kick-start shopping development in low-income communities. MacArthur is giving the fund a $1.4 million grant and a $5 million loan. Advertisement A $750,000 grant will go to the newly formed Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, which plans to launch a Latino theater festival next year, according to a news release from MacArthur. The rest of the investments are divvied up into grants of $500,000 or less that will be distributed mostly over one or two years. Advertisement Chicago-based MacArthur supports organizations in about 50 countries, according to its website. It often focuses on global or big-picture problems, such as climate change or nuclear risk, but it stays true to its hometown: MacArthur has invested a total of $1.1 billion in 1,300 organizations in and around Chicago over the past 35 years. amarotti@chicagotribune.com Twitter @AllyMarotti Erik Attkisson, 49, laughs as he tries on a coat at Uncle Dan's Outfitters, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, in the Lincoln Square community. Attkisson was visiting the store with his wife, Jill, in order to replace the last winter coat he bought 20 years ago. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) Most Chicagoans are cursing this week's bone-chilling temperatures. But for local purveyors of parkas and boots, the frosty weather is reason to cheer. Last year, retailers blamed unseasonably warm temperatures for lackluster holiday sales and a glut of excess winter apparel that had to be sold at a discount. Advertisement "We were swimming in inventory, as was the entire industry," said Rudi Mayer, general manager of Arlington Heights-based Erewhon Mountain Outfitters. It was one of Erewhon's worst years in the last 20, he said, and until two weeks ago, this year was shaping up to be even worse. Advertisement But after last week's plunging temperatures and snowfall, this winter is shaping up to be a much merrier one for outerwear sales. Amber Warners, an employee of Uncle Dan's Outfitters in Lincoln Square, helps a customer find a pair of comfortable pants suited for cold weather, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) During the mild fall, Uncle Dan's Outfitters owner Brent Weiss and his team had resigned themselves to another winterless year. Kids' coats normally popular during August and September hung unsold on the racks at the company's stores in Chicago, Evanston and Highland Park. Then came the third weekend in November, when temperatures dropped from the 70s to the 30s, accompanied by gusting winds. "We saw parents running in Nov. 19, coming in with kids with no coats," Weiss said. After a brief warm spell, freezing temperatures and snow returned last week. So did customers. "As soon as people see snow, they start thinking the local (ski hills) are open," said Viking Ski Shop employee Chris Stollmayer. Nonskiers also have been coming to Viking's Chicago and Barrington shops to buy heavy-duty gloves and long underwear, she said. "I'm fully aware there are way better sales in the summer, but you're just not thinking about it then," said Erin Fisher, 25, of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, as she tried on a puffy red parka with a fur-lined hood at The North Face's Michigan Avenue store Wednesday. U.S. winter apparel sales were down an estimated $572 million last November and December compared with 2014, said Kelly Carroll, director of client services at Planalytics, which analyzes the weather's impact on business. But those sales are expected to be up $350 million during the first three weeks of December this year, she said. Advertisement Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 65 Skaters take to the ice at the skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park on Dec. 20, 2016. Relief from the bitter cold the last few days was helped by generous sunshine. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) Customers tend to buy winter apparel based on the prior season, stocking up early after a particularly frigid year and holding back after temperate ones like last year, retailers said. This week's average temperature in Chicago is 31 degrees lower than during the same week last year, the biggest drop in 121 years, said Bill Kirk, CEO of Weather Trends International, which advises businesses affected by weather. That could boost winter apparel sales by more than 62 percent over this week last year and push growth in sales of goods like portable heaters and electric blankets even higher, according to Kirk. Mayer isn't sure Erewhon will make up for slow October and November sales. But December likely will meet or exceed expectations and January and February sales should be strong if the cold and snow remain, he said. Grim weather isn't an unqualified cause for celebration. A retailer's ideal December forecast would be cold but not dangerously cold, with enough snow to warrant boots but not enough to make roads slick or clog parking lots, Carroll said. Advertisement Children's winter coats line the wall at Uncle Dan's Outfitters, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, in the Lincoln Square community. (Alyssa Pointer / Chicago Tribune) "As long as customers can get inside (stores), no one is going to complain about a few flakes falling," she said. And if winter stays too cold for too long, customers might not be in the mood for spring apparel when retailers start swapping sweaters for short sleeves in February. At outdoor retailer Columbia's Michigan Avenue store, Todd Beidler, 48, an ice fishing enthusiast from Park Ridge, said he usually waits for end-of-season sales to buy outerwear. That might be tougher this year, Kirk said. If colder temperatures drive more sales now, there won't be as much unsold apparel to discount in the spring, especially if retailers that slashed winter apparel orders have trouble keeping up with demand. Normally, it's extremely difficult for stores to reorder sold-out sizes and styles midseason. But after getting burned last year, retailers were even more conservative with their initial orders than vendors expected, so some have been able to help retailers restock, Mayer said. He estimates Erewhon cut orders for this season by about 30 percent. At Uncle Dan's, Weiss said he has already reordered a new type of boot with soles designed to keep a firm grip on icy sidewalks three times. Advertisement "I want a pair, but I don't want to take them off the shelves," he said. lzumbach@chicagotribune.com Twitter @laurenzumbach This weekend's brutal temperatures and wind chills could produce the coldest low temperature for 2016, according to the Bismarck Office of the National Weather Service. "Friday and Saturday will be the cold ones," said Rick Krolak, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. One to 2 inches of snow are expected to fall today with a high of zero to 5 above. Following the snow will be life-threatening wind chills that could drop to near 50 below zero across western and central North Dakota tonight through Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Exposed skin can suffer from frostbite within five to 10 minutes. Tonight's low will be 15 below zero. The record low for Dec. 17 was a temperature of 27 below set in 1906. Saturday is expected to be even colder with a high of 10 below zero with winds of 10 to 15 mph. Lows Saturday night into early Sunday morning will drop to 25 below zero. The record low temperature with no wind chills for Dec. 18 is 36 below zero, set in 1951, Krolak said. The coldest low so far in 2016 is 23 below zero set Jan. 10. A 50-degree reprieve may be coming early next week as the Arctic air moves out. A transition to normal or slightly above normal highs is expected Monday through Wednesday. The average high in Bismarck in December is 26 degrees, according to information provided by U.S. Climate Data. An abbreviated Wreaths Across America event was planned for Saturday at 11 a.m. because of severely cold temperatures and wind chills. Now, the wreath ceremony has been postponed because the arrival of the wreaths have been delayed. Lt. Col. Sean Johnson chief of staff for the North Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol said the reason for the delay is unknown. With the delivery delay, however, organizers had no choice, but to reschedule, he said. The public will be notified when the new date will be for laying the 6,000 wreaths at the North Dakota Veterans Ceremony. "We are of course saddened that we won't be joining over 1,200 other sites simultaneously to carry out the Wreaths Across America Mission," Johnson said. "But circumstances beyond our control have put us in this position. We share the disappointment of many in this community who were looking forward to placing the wreaths on Saturday, and hope they can still join us at the N.D. Veterans Ceremony when we have a firm arrival date and can reschedule." He said organizers have been assured by the Wreaths Across America program and the trucking companies that the wreaths destined for the local event are en route and the local Civil Air Patrol is keeping in contact with them to learn of the wreaths' arrival. Cellist Gautier Capucon, left, shakes hands with guest conductor Michael Tilson Thomas after performing Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 on Dec. 15, 2016, at the Chicago Symphony Center. (Brittany Sowacke / Chicago Tribune) Beyond the attractions of Michael Tilson Thomas' program with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this weekend at Symphony Center, audience members have another inducement to attend: These concerts will be the last subscription series events they will hear from the orchestra until Feb. 3, seven weeks from now. That's because the orchestra and Riccardo Muti will be shifting their attention to Europe during January, when they are scheduled to undertake a two-week, 11-concert tour that is to include performances in Paris, Milan, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Vienna. This will mark their fifth tour of the Continent together. Advertisement Meanwhile, back at Orchestra Hall, Thomas and the CSO are focusing attention on 20th-century ballet music consisting of familiar Prokofiev and unfamiliar Stravinsky. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement The guest conductor began his program Thursday night with Stravinsky's "Scenes de ballet" (1944), in what apparently was the CSO's only modern performance since music director Desire Defauw played it for the first time at these concerts in 1945. Thomas confessed to the audience that the piece has "special meaning" to him, given that he and "Scenes de ballet" came into the world the same year. Stravinsky wrote it for a Broadway revue, and its birth caused him grief. Large portions of the music had to be cut because the theater orchestra could not manage the five-beat bars, and Stravinsky suffered the indignity of producer Billy Rose's asking him to turn his orchestration over to Robert Russell Bennett for retouching. Thomas called the 19-minute sequence of dance movements "a diversion, but one from the hands of a master." It is indeed a delectable curiosity, light on its toeshoes and crafted with immense wit and vitality in the composer's American neoclassical manner. So what if the musical invention is not top-drawer Stravinsky? Its chugging rhythms and enameled textures drew a whistle-clean reading from Thomas. He knew the aged Stravinsky and respects the music's purity without ever appearing detached from it. The various woodwind, brass and cello solos were neatly taken. The generous sequence of selections from Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" ballet Thomas presented after intermission, lasting some 45 minutes, gave listeners more of this wonderful score than they normally hear in concert. In keeping with many conductors, Thomas assembled his own suite of excerpts from the full-length ballet, sticking to the original dramatic sequence so that you got a sense of how Shakespeare's tragedy unfolded through one of Prokofiev's greatest and most-loved scores. Too bad that time constraints forced the conductor to end the sequence heard on Thursday night with "The Death of Tybalt," thereby omitting the half-hour of additional music (including the lovers' final scenes, Juliet's funeral and death) that you can hear on his recording of the Prokofiev ballet with his San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. That said, there was enough admirable playing to conjure nostalgic images in one's mind's eye of Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing literature's most famous lovers. Thomas' tempos were well chosen, there was nice rubato shaping of lines, and the sound he drew from the CSO had both symphonic weight and balletic buoyancy. All the sections we know were there, along with one or two that we don't. The orchestra responded with admirable tensile strength (three cheers to those snarling trombones in "The Quarrel") and tenderness (the entire balcony sequence). All told, this was a welcome addition to the survey of Prokofiev's works the CSO is presenting this season in honor of Prokofiev's 125th birthday anniversary. Advertisement There was something of the balletic impulse, too, in Gautier Capucon's suave and assured reading of the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1. The French cellist was off like a shot in fast passages, sacrificing little if any digital security or clarity of articulation to fast tempos. The penetrating, slightly nasal sound he drew from his instrument (a 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello) fell pleasingly on the ear and kept him well balanced alongside the orchestra's sympathetic accompaniment. Capucon has virtuosity to burn, of course, but that is less crucial to this music than creating a mood of rapt, hushed tenderness in the lyrical pages. The cellist achieved that mood like the musical poet that he is. Thursday's appreciative audience included nearly 1,000 students and teachers attending the 70th annual International Band and Orchestra Conference Midwest Clinic, for short at McCormick Place. John von Rhein is a Tribune critic. jvonrhein@chicagotribune.com Twitter @jvonrhein When: 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday Advertisement Where: Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets: $36-$215; 312-294-3000, www.cso.org RELATED STORIES: Abrams scores strong Civic Orchestra debut with Copland's 3rd Symphony Neeme Jarvi brings quiet authority to Sibelius-Prokofiev program with CSO Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) On Tuesday night, Dolly Parton, a proud daughter of Sevier County, Tenn., who understands her own privilege, held a telethon that raised $9 million for the hundreds of struggling families afflicted by the devastating wildfires that turned the soul-stirring rocky tops of the Smoky Mountains into flames that consumed livelihoods and lives. She did all that in about 10 days flat. Only she could have done so. You might have expected country music stars like Alabama to come to the aid of a beautiful rural county that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the last election in Sevier County, 28,111 citizens cast their vote for Trump and Mike Pence but only 6,295 for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. And indeed, Alabama was there. So was Reba McEntire. So was Hank Williams Jr. But the list of performers was more complicated than that. Advertisement Cyndi Lauper, an artist with an unequaled history of support for LGBT causes, was there at the drop of hat. So was the Asian-American comedian Henry Cho. And the mostly African-American faces of the Tennessee Titans. So was Don McLean, whose progressive roots go deep and wide. Like Taylor Swift, Paul Simon reportedly handed Parton a personal check for $100,000. Which will go those election results surely imply mostly to Trump voters. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Advertisement Why did this happen at a moment when spaces for shared conversations within this deeply divided nation seem to be shrinking almost to the point of nonexistence? Well, in no small part because the beloved Parton is a walking, talking, completely unassailable shared conversation. Like President Barack Obama (who, of course, is not unassailable, having gone into politics), Parton has always used language of inclusion, however hard it can be for others to deal with that choice and whatever blowback has come her way. A shared conversation can be people, passions, places, Parton. The Pigeon Forge theme park Dollywood for which I have a passion and where I have often vacationed is another of those shared spaces, mostly because it somehow presents a nonatrophied sense of its actual place to the visitor (the Smokies themselves have a way of rebuking the ways in which we divide ourselves) and, well, because Dollywood is named after Dolly Parton. Parton flashed into my mind as she often does as I stood at Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Wednesday night listening to the eloquent theater artist Declan Donnellan deliver remarks on the conclusion of the Shakespeare 400 festival in Chicago. Ormerod was talking about the difference between sympathy which seems kind but is in fact condescending and empowering mostly of the feeler and empathy, which is all about walking in someone else's shoes and is the only way to love someone different from you. Most of the tweets to date of the president-elect, soon to be our consoler in chief through the horrors that the future surely holds, have lacked that quality. They have tended to be pushbacks, declarations of intent, negotiating positions, counterpunches or refutations. If there have been tweets of empathy, I've missed them in my feed. Which brings us to the Second City comedy theater. Second City has always felt to me like the Dolly Parton of Chicago institutions. It is not a position it should decline to hold, however hard the internal struggle. Once it's gone, it can be gone for ever. I started worrying about that last weekend, when the mainstage opened a show that, reasonable people can agree, evidenced strikingly stark hostility toward anyone of conservative persuasion, and the theater put up a sign in its entryway limiting not just hate or personally abusive speech, which should never be tolerated, but "prejudiced" audience speech, which should be tolerated, for prejudiced speech if by that we mean biased speech is what is rightly happening on the stage. God save us from a Second City show without biased speech on its stage. The reason for Second City's Parton-like place in Chicago has to do with its 60-year history as a tourist destination, especially for people from smaller cities in Midwestern states without such an esteemed institution and for whom, frankly, it has always been a rare chance to experience the cutting edge. The very unfamiliar. The risky. You may find a lot of Trump voters in Sevier County, but not so many at arts institutions within the city of Chicago. You do or you always have at Second City. It also has to do with the inherently audience-centered nature of the work to be found there, and the near-totalitarian insistence on complexity, and ambiguity, by the creators thereof (I'm talking Del Close, Joyce Sloane, Sheldon Patinkin and Bernie Sahlins). These crucial figures in Chicago arts and politics insisted that their casts allowed the audience, through its uncensored suggestions, to drive the content of the show. In other words, generations of artists, many of whom took what they learned and now run the showcases of American comedy, have been forced to deal with the audience, whether they wanted to or not, which means they were forced to deal with America. You only have to read their best-selling autobiographies to understand what they gained. Advertisement This challenge has been made much greater by the current climate, and by the presence of more artists of color in the Second City's young casts, some of whom have pointed out to me that no "old" white critic sitting there in the dark could possibly know or understand what it feels like to be out there, twisting in the wind in potentially hostile, racist territory, especially, they say, this fall of all falls, when audiences are out of control. I acknowledge that. It takes a level of courage I would not have myself. It is a calling. I further acknowledge the debate about appeasement the feeling by some artists of color, especially, that there is no conversation to be had with at least a quarter of America. Fair enough. But Lauper, among others, made a different choice this week when she inherently embraced empathy for the people of Sevier County. It also took courage for the New York cast members of "Hamilton" to directly address the vice president-elect, as was their right and bound duty, for it was entirely in concert with the piece of art they were delivering at that moment. They did so without making him feel uncomfortable. "Hamilton" is not "Cats." Neither is Second City. At Second City, and this is the nub of the issue, this focus on taking care of, and empowering, the audience has never driven the point of view of the show, for that has always remained the province of the creators, and thus the institution's secret political weapon. And because those who often have opposed the views of the artists driving the work have actually been in the seats watching and, when not drinking, listening, Second City has been able, once it overcame the inevitable internal issues that crop up from time to time, to change minds and hearts. In many of the Second City shows I've seen over the last 25 years, the point of view of the show actually has subtly undermined everything the audience thought it was saying. It took the theater a long time to diversify, but it still did so more quickly than most of its peers, including its better-known late-night TV spawn. The recent further movements in that direction have been thrilling. Nothing less. On opening night, the show at the Second City e.t.c. Stage was the best work in years. Advertisement At this point, the leadership of Second City has to decide if it can make its performers feel safe, and also make the conservatives in the audience feel safe, even if their worldview is, in fact, subject to change. That very night. Parton, who is not apolitical, knows what she is communicating to her audience when she and Lauper are seen in a hearty embrace, even though Lauper has warned about how a democracy must be ever vigilant against the rise of fascism. Parton is just smarter and kinder than any of us fully realize. Chris Jones is a Tribune critic. cjones5@chicagotribune.com Twitter@ChrisJonesTrib RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Discontent all around at Second City in 'The Winner ... of Our Discontent' Chris Jones' top 10 stage performances of 2016 Counting down the best of Chicago theater in 2016 Watch the latest movie trailers. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox) When she was 9 years old, Moaza Al Matrooshi found out she would need chemotherapy in order to receive a bone-marrow transplant and treat a potentially fatal blood disorder. Her family worried the chemotherapy would cause her to become infertile, so they made a decision that was considerably rare at the time: they removed her right ovary and froze the tissue. Advertisement On Tuesday, about 15 years later, Al Matrooshi, of Dubai, gave birth to a healthy baby at London's Portland Hospital for Women and Children. The 24-year-old woman is believed to be the first in the world to deliver a baby after having frozen ovary tissue before puberty. The successful birth presents "enormously valuable" news for the parents of young girls requiring risky medical treatments - such as chemotherapy - that can damage ovaries, said Helen Picton, who leads the division of reproduction and early development at the University of Leeds in England and carried out Al Matrooshi's ovary freezing. The case provides evidence that doctors could potentially restore fertility in these women by freezing their ovary tissue at a very young age, she said. Advertisement "She and her family really are courageous - and pioneers - to have done this," Picton said in a phone interview with The Washington Post. "It's tremendously hopeful technology because you're investing in the future fertility life of your daughter." In an interview with the BBC, Al Matrooshi said the birth of her baby was "like a miracle." "We've been waiting so long for this result," Al Matrooshi said. "A healthy baby." When Picton preserved Al Matrooshi's ovary tissue at the University of Leeds in 2001, there was not yet proof the process would work. The first human baby born from ovary tissue preservation would not be delivered until 2004, in Belgium. "We had no evidence that we would be able to restore her fertility," Picton said. Then, two years ago - after more than a decade of advancements in fertility preservation - Al Matrooshi's doctor reached out to Picton, letting her know the woman wanted to try transplanting the ovary tissue in the hopes of becoming pregnant. Her doctor, Sara Matthews, had previously worked with Picton as a medical fellow. Picton put the doctor and the woman's family in contact with a team of surgeons in Denmark who last year transplanted the ovarian tissue back into Al Matrooshi's body, stitching four to her left ovary and one onto the side of her uterus. Al Matrooshi had been going through menopause before the surgery, but after, her hormone levels began returning to normal, the BBC reported. She began ovulating and her fertility was restored. After Moaza Al Matrooshi and her husband Ahmed underwent IVF treatment - in the hopes of maximizing chances of fertility - three embryos were produced. Two of them were implanted earlier this year. Advertisement Through this entire process, Picton has served as a sort of behind-the-scenes architect of Al Matrooshi's fertility restoration. Over the course of about 15 years, Picton has never met Al Matrooshi - but she would love to someday, she said. The professor was getting constant updates from Matthews as the pregnancy progressed. "It gets more and more exciting as it goes along," Picton said. "We had to contain our excitement, because the most important thing is Moaza and her family and the baby." Picton was fairly confident the restoration would work, but there was always a sliver of doubt, since it was "a first," Picton said. On the one hand, doctors have known a girl's egg bank is more plentiful the younger the age. "But there were a lot of unknowns," she said. "The difference is the tissue is much smaller, the girl is much smaller," Picton said. "You really only have one chance to do this, and you have got to get it right." Al Matrooshi was born with beta thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder that can become fatal if left untreated. In addition to being the first case of pre-pubertal freezing, her delivery is the first from a patient who underwent treatment for beta thalassemia, Picton said. Last year, a woman in Belgium gave birth using ovarian tissue that was frozen at the age of 13, but unlike Al Matrooshi, she had not yet begun going through puberty when her ovary was removed. Advertisement Since 2004, more than 60 babies have been successfully born as a result of restoration of ovary tissue. Many more thousands of women have banked their ovarian tissue in the hopes of restoring fertility later on in life. Picton expects many more women will begin giving birth using ovary tissue that was frozen at a young age - even at the age of a toddler. As for Al Matrooshi, the new mother still has one embryo in storage and two remaining pieces of ovarian tissue. She told the BBC she definitely plans to have another baby in the future. "I always believed that I would be a mum and that I would have a baby," she told the BBC. "I didn't stop hoping and now I have this baby - it is a perfect feeling." RELATED STORIES: Laughing gas makes a comeback as option for labor pain relief Study details anxiety women feel after being denied an abortion Advertisement How new moms can avoid injury when exercising post-baby Hairstylist Christine Walker works at the Belle De Jour Salon in Lemont on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. "We always say we're not just hairdressers," she said. "We're your therapist, sometimes your doctor; we have a lot of different hats." (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) In 13 years as a professional hairstylist, Christine Walker has listened to clients vent about all sorts of personal drama: work stress, trouble with teenagers, extramarital affairs. But starting Jan. 1, Walker, who works at Belle du Jour Salon in Lemont, will be required by law to have special training on how to handle conversations about domestic violence and sexual assault. Advertisement Under the new measure signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner last summer, the state's 88,000 licensed beauty professionals must take an hourlong course designed to teach them to recognize signs of domestic violence and ways to address it. Stylists will be required to complete the course while applying for a new license, and then as an additional hour added to the 14 hours of continuing education required for license renewal every two years. The law includes barbers, cosmetologists, aestheticians, hair braiders and nail technicians and will be enforced by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Illinois is the first state to adopt such a mandate, according to Illinois state Rep. Fran Hurley, who sponsored the bill that led to an amendment in the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding and Nail Technology Act of 1985. Hurley and other legislators worked closely with Chicago Says No More, a nonprofit organization that works to combat domestic violence and sexual assault, to develop the law. Advertisement "There's an openness, a freeness, a relationship that last years or decades between the client and the cosmetologist," Hurley said. "They're in a position to see something that may or may not be right." Although the measure does not require stylists to report incidents to authorities, advocates hope the training will ultimately help lower incidents of domestic violence by making more people conscious of the problem, and offering victims one more place they can turn for help, especially when many do not seek help from authorities, said Kristie Paskvan, founder of Chicago Says No More. According to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, there were 103,546 domestic violence offenses reported to law enforcement in Illinois in 2015. That's up from 99,795 offenses reported the year before. And from July 1, 2015, to this past June, there were 49 domestic violence-related deaths in Illinois, including three children, according to the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. By learning signs of domestic abuse, statistics about its prevalence and the resources available, hairstylists and other cosmetologists will be able to help victims trying to navigate difficult and sometimes dangerous situations, Paskvan said. The group also is considering future efforts to have other occupations, such as bartenders, included in domestic violence training. "This is a person who is literally grooming you, so it's a relationship that's kind of special," Paskvan said. "Just getting people the information gives them a different perspective." But not all hairstylists are eager to have the added responsibility. Analie Papageorge, owner of the Steven Papageorge Salon and Beauty Academy in Evanston, said the training puts enormous pressure on stylists, who did not get into their line of business to be on the lookout for crime. Advertisement "You could make or break somebody's family," she said. "It's heavy on the heart." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Charles Ifergan, owner of three salons in the Chicago area, said he, too, was concerned about the added responsibility being required of his 120 employees. Ifergan, a veteran stylist, said relationships between stylists and clients have evolved over the decades. In the 1960s, '70s and '80s, clients came once a week to have their hair blown out. Today, clients and stylists may see each other only once every few months because people tend to care for their own hair at home, he said. "You do not have the in-depth relationship that we used to have," Ifergan said. "It's hard for me to believe that a client would report (domestic violence) to a junior stylist." But Walker, the hairstylist in Lemont, said she could see why a hairstylist could be an ideal person to turn to during domestic violence situations. While a victim may not feel comfortable turning to a close friend, he or she may feel safe sharing troubles with someone more removed from the situation. Walker is looking forward to the extra training, she said. "We always say we're not just hairdressers," she said. "We're your therapist, sometimes your doctor; we have a lot of different hats." Advertisement vortiz@chicagotribune.com Twitter @vikkiortiz Federal, state and local officials celebrated the opening of the $142 million Englewood flyover bridge, which will replace a crossing between Metra Rock Island tracks and a set of Norfolk Southern tracks at 63rd & State St. (Chicago Tribune) Federal, state and local officials Thursday marked the opening of the $142 million Englewood Flyover, a railroad bridge intended to eliminate a major bottleneck in the nation's biggest, busiest and most congested railroad hub. The bridge will relieve Metra and Amtrak train delays and reduce emissions and noise from idling trains in the Englewood neighborhood, officials said. Advertisement Although the flyover is being hailed as a milestone in Chicago rail history, the project was also a contributing factor in the controversy that rocked Metra in 2013 and forced the ouster of its then-CEO and resignation of several board members. The bridge replaces a rail crossing between the north-south Metra Rock Island tracks and a set of east-west Norfolk Southern tracks at 63rd and State streets, often blamed for causing havoc in Metra and Amtrak schedules. Advertisement The U.S. Department of Transportation considered the crossing one of the worst railway obstructions in North America. Rail experts have long pointed out that it can take as long as two days for a freight train, slowed by a bewildering, century-old maze of tracks and outdated signals and switches, to pass through the city. The new bridge, completed earlier this month, carries 78 weekday Rock Island Line trains over the tracks used by approximately 60 freight and 14 Amtrak trains a day. The flyover is a major component of the program known as the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency, or CREATE, to ease rail congestion. CREATE is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation, the state of Illinois, the city of Chicago, Metra, Amtrak and the nation's freight railroads. The flyover was funded with a combination of federal, state and railroad industry money. The flyover's completion lays the groundwork for two more CREATE projects. The planned 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project will divert trains on Metra's Southwest Service to the Rock Island District at a point south of Englewood, officials said. Also, the planned Grand Crossing Project will shift six daily Amtrak trains to Norfolk Southern tracks east of Englewood. Behind the celebration of the flyover, however, lies a tangled web of allegations, denials and maneuvering over the awarding of the project's construction contract. Advertisement Metra initially planned to award the pact in May 2012 but postponed the deal after three South Side congressmen, U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, complained the contract didn't provide enough jobs to African-Americans who live nearby. Metra contended that the contract was awarded fairly and equitably under federal rules to the low bidder, Elgin-based IHC Construction Cos. LLC. Metra said IHC met the contract's goal of 25 percent participation by disadvantaged businesses. The outcry put pressure on Metra's then-acting chairman, Larry Huggins, president and CEO of Riteway Construction Services Inc., a major minority-owned construction firm. Two months later, Rush and Davis announced they had reached a nonbinding "memorandum of understanding" with IHC to boost participation by African-American subcontractors. But in a scathing memo that he wrote the following April, Metra's then-CEO Alex Clifford alleged that Huggins had held up the contract and interfered with the process when Clifford wouldn't terminate the IHC contract. Clifford contended that Huggins responded to the congressmen's threats by devising a plan to pay $50,000 to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, a group picked by Rush, to monitor the memorandum. When Clifford raised questions and refused to pay, the effort was abandoned, he wrote. Advertisement The flap might have been avoided, Clifford said in testimony before the Regional Transportation Authority, if Target Group a consulting firm owned by a business associate of Huggins had fulfilled the terms of a $200,000 no-bid contract it got from Metra, with help from Huggins and Rush, in 2010. Target was supposed to recruit and pre-qualify minority bidders, Clifford said, but he terminated its contract because it was over budget and far from finished with its work. The allegations Clifford raised against Huggins were among several that led to Clifford's departure in May 2013 as head of the commuter rail agency. Huggins challenged Clifford's allegations and denied any improper conduct. But after losing Mayor Rahm Emanuel's critical support, Huggins resigned from Metra's board in August 2013. His departure followed that of other board members who voted to oust Clifford, including Chairman Brad O'Halloran. Rush defended his role in the episode and said racially biased reporting by the Tribune unfairly characterized his recommendation that Metra pay $50,000 to the National Black Chamber of Commerce. Advertisement Rush said he had suggested the group get the monitoring fee because it had a strong reputation and he wanted to bring more jobs to impoverished South Side communities. At a Thursday morning event set to celebrate the flyover's opening, Rush took the podium and acknowledged his frustration at the lack of employment opportunities for minority businesses. "We're sick and tired of the dust and the dirt and the delays and not getting the dough," Rush said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > But the majority of the conference was lighthearted. Martin Oberman, chairman of the Metra board of directors, frequently joked, at one point yelling out, "unimpeded, unimpeded" as an Amtrak train sped past while a Metra train rested on the flyover above. Advertisement Oberman explained how the seemingly simple solution would solve the problem of the "congestion point" for multiple rail lines. "Just put one set of tracks over another, and a set of conflicts will end," Oberman said. Tribune reporter Dana Ferguson contributed. rwronski@tribune.com Twitter @richwronski Members of the Mexican Army carry boxes with heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine to be incinerated at a military base in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state, on August 23, 2013. The drugs were seized in various operations of the Army and the Mexican General Prosecutor's Office in the state of Nuevo Leon, which has a narrow frontier area with the United States. (Julio Cesar Aguilar / AFP / Getty Images) President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to curb America's heroin epidemic by cracking down on the Mexican border. That sounds terrific to DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin, who has seen the drug ravage his suburban jurisdiction. "(The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) is seizing more and more, but the reality is there's more that can be done," he said. "If we can reduce the amount that comes into the country, we'll limit the supply and, I think, reduce the number of users. That's a public safety win." But Trump has also promised to repeal Obamacare , the federal health insurance program many people have used to access treatment. That sounds awful to Chelsea Laliberte, leader of an Arlington Heights-based nonprofit dedicated to combating heroin. "I truly believe this could be a disaster," she said. "I'm an optimistic person, but I'm having a hard time being optimistic here." Advertisement Trump frequently mentioned the opioid crisis during his campaign, and according to some postelection analyses, he performed especially well in Rust Belt counties devastated by the drugs. But his policy prescriptions remain vague, and to some observers, contradictory a grab bag of tactics alternately embraced by the right and the left. It has left some treatment specialists, anti-heroin advocates and law enforcement professionals in the Chicago area unsure of exactly what to expect from the Trump administration. Advertisement "(Trump's strategy) is both sides of the coin," said Dan Bigg of the Chicago Recovery Alliance, which does outreach work with people with addictions. "It's not just (a law-and-order approach). It says some of the most enlightened stuff too. I don't know what to think of it. It's all over the place." Representatives of Trump's transition team did not return requests for comment, but in an October campaign speech in New Hampshire, Trump laid out what he called a plan "to end (the) opioid epidemic in America." He started by saying he would stop the flow of drugs into the country by building a wall at the Mexican border. But author Sam Quinones, whose book "Dreamland" chronicles how small-time Mexican drug dealers brought heroin to Middle America, said a draconian crackdown on the already heavily secured border would likely be ineffective. "We have walls, and they're still smuggling that stuff in," he said. "They're smuggling it in because we have millions of trucks every year crossing back and forth, and heroin is the easiest drug to smuggle. You can smuggle in a very, very significant amount of heroin in a backpack or a purse." He said a more productive approach would be to forge close ties with Mexican law enforcement rather than treat the country as "a wayward child." Given the antagonism Trump displayed toward Mexico during the campaign, though, Quinones doubts that will happen. Trump also pledged to fight the opioid crisis by deporting people living in this country illegally and taking part in the drug trade. Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim said federal officials have always been cooperative when his office has sought a person's expulsion. His larger concern is getting help for those who fall prey to the drugs. "My opinion is that the new way we need to deal with this epidemic is not only reducing supply but reducing demand," he said. "While I certainly support being aggressive with trafficking, I also support being aggressive with getting people into treatment." Advertisement Trump addressed that, too, saying he plans to "dramatically expand access to treatment slots" without providing many details on how that would happen. Some, such as Kathie Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy, question his sincerity, pointing to what they call the outdated thinking of some of his appointees. Jeff Sessions, Trump's choice for attorney general, has advocated harsher punishment for drug sellers, a step that runs counter to policies pursued by President Barack Obama's administration. Tom Price , a Georgia congressman who is the nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is an Obamacare foe and has voted to block funding for needle exchange programs. And Vice President-elect Mike Pence , whom Trump credited for being a strong leader on the opioid crisis, has been criticized for being slow to act last year after Indiana was struck by an outbreak of HIV infections tied to drug use. "If you're going to say this is a health crisis, then holding up Mike Pence as a hero is probably not the best way (to earn trust)," Kane-Willis said. Others like some of what they see in Trump's promises. Sheriff Mike Downey of Kankakee County, which has seen more than two dozen overdose deaths this year, said Trump's pledge to reduce the amount of prescription painkillers sold in America was an overdue step. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "I agree wholeheartedly," Downey said. "I've talked to a number of heroin users who've ended up in jail who are hardworking people (but) were prescribed painkillers. The addiction to that is what brought them to where they are. I've seen it ruin families and relationships and everything else." Harold Pollack, the Helen Ross Professor at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, approved of Trump's pledge to lift the cap on the number of patients a doctor can treat with buprenorphine, a habit-forming medication used to curb opioid cravings. "Right now we have people who are addiction specialists who should be able to prescribe buprenorphine to lots of patients," Pollack said. "There are lots of ways to monitor the quality of that, but we have a real access problem." Advertisement While Pollack also found plenty to criticize, he said Trump's thinking appears to reflect the growing bipartisan consensus that drug addiction should be treated with compassion. That trend has given Pamela Rodriguez of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps people in the criminal justice system who have drug problems, confidence that the federal government will pursue humane solutions. "The opioid epidemic and criminal justice reform are such powerful forces, even in a new administration, that we can look forward with hope for resources for our clients," she said. jkeilman@tribpub.com Twitter @JohnKeilman An airplane bound for Florida lost its "number one engine" after a bird struck it shortly after takeoff Thursday evening, officials said. Allegiant Air Flight 1671, an A320 aircraft, departed at 4:50 p.m. from Rockford Airport for Punta Gorda, Fla., but returned about 5:25 p.m. after the pilot reported a loss of one of the engines, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. Advertisement There were 177 passengers and six crew members on board; no one was injured. "The aircraft experienced a bird strike to its number one engine in flight, and per safety procedures the captain shut down the engine," said Allegiant spokeswoman Hilarie Grey in a statement. "The aircraft returned to Rockford, landed safely and was met by airport fire crews. Passengers deplaned at the gate." Advertisement A replacement aircraft was being dispatched to carry the passengers to Punta Gorda on Thursday evening, Grey said. "We apologize to our passengers for the inconvenience and disruption to their plans," she said. Passengers were gifted Allegiant meal and travel vouchers. Customers may change their reservation to any other flight in the Allegiant system at no charge. This was the second bird-involved plane incident in the Chicago area Thursday. About 10 a.m., a Southwest Airlines plane bound for Las Vegas was forced to return to Midway Airport on Thursday morning after a bird was pulled into one of its engines. The FAA is investigating. Ashley Sellars cried as she stood outside her grandmother's Austin home and watched 40 years of memories go up in flames. The fire started in an apartment building down the block Dec. 3 and spread to two other houses. As firefighters rushed around her, Sellars thought about all the family dinners her grandmother had hosted every Sunday. By the time the fire was out, the brick home Sellars knew as the family fortress was gutted. All their belongings were gone. Sellars' 90-year-old grandmother, known in the neighborhood as Mrs. Bailey, bought the building with her late husband. As devastating as the fire was, Sellars said her grandmother embraced her family and assured them that things would be alright. "She told me she hasn't cried yet and I'm trying to follow her lead, but it isn't easy," Sellars said this week. While searching for anything that was salvageable, Sellars said she saw her next-door neighbor sifting through ashes of her home. "She was outside crying and rummaging through her baby's burned items," Sellars said. The baby is about 6 months old, and the neighbor also has a 6-year-old daughter, Sellars said. She said she and her family decided to appeal for help for her as well. They have started a GoFundMe page asking for cash donations and contributions of shoes, clothes and whatever else people might need to put their lives back together. "We are asking not only for ourselves but also for the occupants of the house next door," the Sellars family says on the GoFundMe page. "We need any donations." For now, the displaced family is being given temporary shelter with the help of the American Red Cross. "The Red Cross came and after I talked to one of their workers I found out that this happens to several people during this time of year," Sellars said. She said the ordeal has been especially tough for her 36-year-old brother Brandon who has autism. "Autistic people need consistency," Sellars said. "Things have to be in the same place and you can't change their routine suddenly. This is really difficult for him." Catherine Rabenstine, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois, said a fire in the home is the biggest threat to families. The agency responds to three to four fires a daily throughout the year, she said. In Chicago and northern Illinois, the Red Cross has responded to about 69 home fires so far during the month of December, Rabenstine said. Most home fires can be prevented with regular upkeep and use of smoke alarms, she said. In the the case of the fire that destroyed the Bailey home, Fire Department officials said the extra-alarm fire was being investigated as possible arson. Neighbors have speculated the fire may have been set by a squatter in the apartment building. Community members had been trying to get it boarded up because squatters had been living there for the past couple of years, neighbors said. On the GoFundMe page, the Sellars family asks for donations of shoes, coats and winter accessories and said they can be dropped off at the following locations: -- First Corinthian Baptist, 922 South Keeler Ave. -- Chicago International Christen Church, 211 South Laflin St. -- Clara's House, 650 W. 63rd St. -- Whitney Young High School, 211 S. Laflin St. "There's always a blessing in the storm," Sellars said. "I'm glad everyone made it through unharmed. Possessions can be replaced but life can't." The Illinois Tollway board passed a $1.7 billion 2017 budget on Thursday, which includes money for a building project to create western access to O'Hare International Airport, despite ongoing opposition from a Canadian railroad. The Tollway plans to spend $374.5 million next year to continue construction of the Illinois Route 390 Tollway and to plan for the north-south I-490 Tollway. The toll roads would connect and provide western access to the airport. Advertisement Completing the projects requires the Tollway to build over Canadian Pacific Railway tracks on the airport's western edge, which the railroad has refused to allow. Last month, the Tollway filed a suit against Canadian Pacific with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board, so that the board can decide "on an expedited basis" to allow it to build five ramps over the tracks, the suit said. When asked if he expected delays to the western access project, Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom told reporters that he hoped not. Advertisement "That's one of the reasons that we filed suit, is to have an impartial third party help us come to an agreement, or mandate an agreement, or mandate a decision so it gets done," Schillerstrom said. He said the Tollway has not yet heard from the board. Schillerstrom said the Tollway would like to come to an agreement with the railroad. "But it's proven to be impossible to come to an agreement with them because they won't even meet with us," he said. The railroad has argued that the toll authority's plan would interfere with its freight rail operations and reduce its flexibility to deal with rail gridlock an ongoing issue in Chicago. The railroad filed a response to the suit earlier this month, saying the Tollway's request would involve "critical and irreplaceable" operating property. The Tollway budget includes a capital program of $961.3 million, $405 million for debt service and $336 million for maintenance and operations. The budget is funded by bond proceeds, used for the capital program, plus $1.38 billion in revenues. No new toll increases are expected this year, other than the third year of a planned increase for commercial vehicles. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The 2017 budget includes $6 million allocated for an environmental impact statement on a controversial proposal to extend I-53 into Lake County, something the Tollway has been considering since 2011. Another $6 million was spent in 2016 the total study is expected to cost up to $50 million. Former Tollway board member Bill Morris told the board during a public comment session that the statement is a waste of money when there is "no reasonable plan" to finance construction. "Why study the environmental impact when you have no way to pay to build the road?" said Morris. Schillerstrom said that the board had already voted to move forward on the EIS. Advertisement The ramps the Tollway wants to build over the CP tracks would be part of a planned beltway around O'Hare. When it's all done, Interstate 390 east toward the airport would connect with the new 490. That new tollway would connect with Interstate 90 to the north and the Tri-State Tollway to the south. The "Elgin O'Hare Western Access" project is expected to cost about $3.4 billion and supports the $13.3 billion O'Hare Modernization Program. mwisniewski@tribpub.com Twitter @marywizchicago Willa Wickerson, 56, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the homicide of a 1-month-old infant, Chicago police said. (Provided by Chicago Police Department) Prosecutors say a babysitter charged with the murder of an infant confessed to punching the child because he would not stop crying, but relatives insist she could not have hurt the baby and is innocent. Willa Wickerson, 56, of the 6700 block of South Parnell Avenue, is charged in the death of one-month-old Timothy Harmon. Her family says she is related to the baby's family. Advertisement Prosecutors said the baby was in good health when his parents went to work and left him in the care of Wickerson about 8:30 a.m. Dec. 7 in the 6600 block of South Racine. He began crying and, after 15 minutes, Wickerson became "irate'' and punched the child with a closed fist in the stomach and then threw him down onto a car seat, according to prosecutors. About 2 p.m. Wickerson realized Timothy was unresponsive and called the baby's mother to tell her he was not breathing. She did not call 911 but Timothy's mother did, prosecutors said. Advertisement When paramedics got there he was still unresponsive so he was intubated and taken to St. Bernard Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy the next day determined Timothy died of injuries from child abuse, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. His death was ruled a homicide. In a videotaped confession, Wickerson admitted becoming upset with the baby and demonstrated to the detectives how she punched and threw a 44-day old baby onto a car seat, prosecutors said. Wickerson has no criminal background and is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 4 A 19-year-old female relative of Wilkerson said she suffers from a mental disability. "If you talk to her for a short period of time you can see yourself that she is kind of special,'' the relative said. Another relative, Wickerson's niece Consuela Allen, 34, said Wickerson is the kind of person who always wants to please others and sometimes get taken advantage of because of that. "I can't stop crying, this is not sitting well with me,'' said Allen. "My auntie is not that kind of person. She could not have done this.'' Wickerson's sister, Theresa Wickerson, described her as "the first person you call when you need a babysitter'' and someone who babysat "all the time.'' Advertisement Wickerson said no one ever had a problem with her child care skills. "I have seen her with crying babies and I have never, ever, ever seen her be mad at a baby,'' Wickerson said. Theresa Wickerson said her sister is also someone who is easy to please and "easy to manipulate.'' "She doesn't have a lot of social skills; she is very easy to please. "You could get her to say she killed JFK if you told her enough.'' "Everyone in the family stands behind her,'' said her sister. Lance Wells, her former brother in-law, said he was "devastated" when he learned Friday morning of the accusations against Wickerson, when a friend called. Wells is divorced from Wilkerson's sister but still remains "lifelong" friends with Wickerson and her family members. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > "She's not a violent person in the least bit, 'said Wells, who was reached by phone at his Atlanta Georgia home. "She would not step on a roach, she would not even kill an ant,'' Wells said. Wickerson, who's been a babysitter and homemaker for many years, raised three kids of her own and loves children, she said. "She's not capable of this.'' "This is not something she would do at all. I'm very, very very shocked,'' Wells said. "This is a misunderstanding. This is not her.'' Timothy's mother was reached by phone Friday afternoon after attending the baby's funeral. "We are grieving. Justice has been served,'' she said. Advertisement Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at $1 million during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Friday. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner was a speaker at the Illinois Manufacturer's Association's 2016 Annual Luncheon at the J.W. Marriott on Dec. 2, 2016. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune) Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday approved a plan to ensure prison inmates are provided with state identification cards upon their release, clearing a hurdle that has made it difficult for offenders to rebuild their lives. The legislation was among more than a dozen recommendations that have come out of a task force on criminal justice issues that Rauner formed in his first month in office. It has produced several pieces of legislation in the years since. Advertisement But even as he was flanked by Democratic lawmakers who hailed the new law as a rare example of bipartisan compromise, the broader political fight at the Capitol that's held up agreement on a budget for state government loomed over the bill-signing ceremony. "The fact that we've done this with a lot of strain concerns me a bit," state Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, said of the legislation, which was approved late in the year during lawmakers' veto session. Advertisement Raoul said he hoped that the "symbolism" of the bipartisan achievement would "seep out into other policy areas." The new law requires the secretary of state's office to issue a state ID card at the time of an inmate's release if that inmate presents their birth certificate, Social Security card or other identifying documents, and two proofs of address. Inmates who don't have those documents on hand can receive a 90-day ID card upon their release, which they can exchange for a standard-issue ID later. State Sen. Karen McConnaughay, a St. Charles Republican, remarked that the legislation was "long overdue." "You can't imagine that people were coming out of our state penitentiaries and not having any sort of identification in order to move on with their life," McConnaughay said. Rauner said it was "extraordinary" that such a rule wasn't already in place. But he said it was "better late than never." The governor began his administration with a goal of reducing the prison population by 25 percent over 10 years, and he cast Thursday's bill signing as an attempt to help with that effort. The new law takes effect July 1. "Everybody deserves a second chance," Rauner said. "This bill helps those who made a mistake get re-established in their lives and make up for their mistake and lead productive lives, as well as by being productive citizens they're less vulnerable to going back and making a mistake and committing criminal behavior. And therefore, we're keeping our community safer." Rauner tried to sidestep the budget issue, alluding only briefly to the larger political fight in Springfield when he said he hoped the criminal justice legislation "can be another step in our bipartisan efforts" at the Capitol. But the bill signing ceremony was held at A Safe Haven, a West Side homeless shelter that does business with the state and could lose access to taxpayer funding if the governor and lawmakers can't agree to a spending plan to replace a stopgap measure that expires Jan. 1. Advertisement The organization's president, Neli Vazquez Rowland, organized the ceremony, which included testimonials from two individuals who credit A Safe Haven's services with helping them out of a cycle of incarceration. Rauner and his wife are longtime supporters of A Safe Haven, the governor said. The couple's personal donations date to the organization's founding more than 20 years ago, when the Rauners provided the "angel dust" that helped get the group off the ground, Rowland has said. But given the budget stalemate between Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, taxpayers' payments to the organization could be snarled in the political fight. Meetings between the two sides came to a halt earlier this month amid disagreement over how to proceed with negotiations. If no deal is reached by the end of the year, state funding for A Safe Haven and some other not-for-profit providers of state services could be held up as a result. Asked about the budget implications for the organization, Rauner would not respond to the question. His staff had instructed reporters only to ask "on topic" questions. kgeiger@chicagotribune.com Twitter @kimgeiger Ald. Willie B. Cochran, 20th, who has been indicted on federal charges, attends the last City Council meeting of the year Dec. 14, 2016, at City Hall in Chicago. Cochran was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery, the most serious of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. He left the meeting early. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Even in the crowded annals of Chicago City Council malfeasance, Ald. Willie Cochran's indictment this week on federal criminal charges puts the 20th Ward in some rarefied air. When the federal paperwork hit at the start of Wednesday's council meeting, Cochran, a retired police sergeant turned politician, officially became the third of the past four aldermen from the South Side ward to be indicted while in office. It's the City Council's version of the office of Illinois governor, where four of the nine to previously serve ended up convicted. Advertisement Cochran maintains his innocence and pledges to keep his seat representing parts of Englewood, Back of the Yards, Washington Park and Woodlawn while he fights the 15-count indictment on charges of wire fraud, extortion and bribery. Given the 20th's history, news of the latest charges was met with something short of shock in the ward a patchwork of working class and poor neighborhoods, plus a tonier section south of the University of Chicago even among those who aren't convinced Cochran did what the indictment claims. Advertisement Mattie Butler, the veteran executive director of the Woodlawn East Community and Neighbors group, said that's because of the near-constant parade of aldermen from all over Chicago who've gotten in legal trouble over the past several decades. Twenty-nine aldermen have been convicted of crimes related to their official duties since 1972. "I don't think it's just this ward, I think the indictment is an indication of broader problems in wards across the city," Butler said of the charges. "Still, I have my doubts about whether he did that, what the indictment says he did." The ward desperately needs a committed advocate in City Hall to overcome the unemployment and business disinvestment that have plagued it, she said. "It's a very high mountain to climb, and that's not (Cochran's) fault," Butler said. Cochran's indictment puts him in the company of 20th Ward predecessors Arenda Troutman and Clifford Kelley, whose charges alleged similar efforts to line their pockets by using the broad ward-level power enjoyed by Chicago aldermen. Cochran is accused of shaking down a liquor store manager in exchange for the alderman's support on an ordinance change, and of taking a bribe in connection with a federal program to clean up vacant buildings. Federal investigators also say he stole tens of thousands of dollars in charitable contributions meant for poor children and seniors in the ward, money he used to gamble and help pay his daughter's college tuition. Troutman was indicted in 2007 on charges of extortion, bribery, mail fraud and income tax evasion for allegedly shaking down developers and others in return for her support on zoning changes, building permits and the sale of city-owned real estate. She pleaded guilty in 2008 to mail fraud and tax fraud and was sentenced to four years behind bars. Following her arrest by the FBI the month before the election, then-challenger Cochran called for Troutman to resign. "Most people in the ward are tired of our public officials being embroiled in one controversy after another," Cochran said after Troutman's indictment. Former Chicago Ald. Clifford Kelley arrives at the Dirksen Federal Building on June 11, 1987, where he was to be sentenced on charges of accepting bribes. Kelley, a 16-year City Council veteran, pleaded guilty to accepting $36,000 in cash from Waste Management Inc., and a New York bill collection agency seeking city business. He was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service. (Val Mazzenga / Chicago Tribune) Kelley was indicted in 1986 as part of the Operation Incubator federal investigation into City Hall corruption. The charges alleged he took a bribe from a trash hauling company after helping the company obtain an option to buy land in the 20th Ward to be used as a waste transfer station. Advertisement He also was accused of taking another bribe from a con man posing as a representative of a New York bill collection agency vying for city work, along with car repairs, campaign contributions and tickets and transportation to the 1984 and 1985 Super Bowls. Kelley, too, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to a year in prison. (Ernest Jones knocked off Kelley in 1987 and served until he died in office, with then-Mayor Richard M. Daley appointing Troutman.) Che "Rhymefest" Smith, a Grammy- and Academy Award-winning songwriter and rapper who forced Cochran into a run-off election in 2011 but lost, said the indictment is no surprise. Cochran, Smith said, is just the latest African-American alderman to be elected in Chicago without his constituents' best interests at heart. "In many African-American wards, the winning candidates are reliant on city power brokers for support, and the selection is never someone who's an advocate for the community," Smith said. "They do what the powers want them to do, and ultimately they do what they want to do for themselves. You can see it in the narcissism of their personalities." "You're less likely to see aldermen who are disconnected from the community get elected in places like Lincoln Park or the Gold Coast, because somebody who's independently wealthy who is connected to the community is going to either run himself or back another candidate to beat them," Smith added. "Community activists in the 20th Ward don't, for the most part, have the financial wherewithal to come up with the $200,000 or more it takes to run a race for alderman." Still, the Rev. Richard Tolliver of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church in Washington Park said as cynical as lots of people are about city politics, many are just as skeptical of the legal system. A large number of Cochran's constituents are going to let the case play out, he said. Advertisement "I don't think people are rushing to judge," Tolliver said. "Right now, he's not guilty. On the other hand, this situation is likely to continue to add to the feelings of jadedness many voters are experiencing. We need to have the political will to address some of the systemic loopholes that continue to let these kinds of situations happen." Cochran, 64, faces 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery, the most serious of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. According to the charges, he was the sole signatory on the 20th Ward activities fund, a charity set up to host ward events and parties for constituents. Cochran was charged with using "a significant portion" of the donations made over more than four years for personal use, including paying $5,000 toward his daughter's college tuition. He also withdrew about $25,000 from ATMs in or near casinos where he gambled, according to the indictment. He's set to be arraigned Dec. 23 at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. jebyrne@chicagotribune.com Twitter @_johnbyrne Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama walk off stage after speaking at a rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 7, 2016. (Andrew Harnik / AP) Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Topspin It's old news that Hillary Clinton won Illinois on her strength in urban and suburban areas, but a new postelection report indicates her showing in Cook County's suburbs was even stronger than it was for President Barack Obama in each of his winning elections. Advertisement "Clinton received the highest number of votes 699,003 by a presidential candidate in modern suburban Cook County history," Clerk David Orr states in an election report he's releasing Friday. "She surpassed Barack Obama's 2008 record by 845 votes." President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, wasn't so well-liked among the electorate in Cook's suburbs, where Clinton grew up in Park Ridge. "Donald Trump received the lowest number of votes 317,970 by a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate in modern suburban Cook County history," Orr states in the report's opening letter. Advertisement The vote totals for Clinton may have been helped by the fact that the number of voters registered more than 1.5 million was higher than it was in both 2008 and 2012 when Obama, a former U.S. senator from Chicago, was at the top of the ticket. The 72 percent turnout rate this year, the report says, was "about average." A quick look at Chicago election results shows that Clinton beat Obama's 2012 vote total in the city, but not his 2008 tally. That comparison also held true in each year for the entire state of Illinois. Another interesting fact from Orr's report: More than 4 in 10 voters cast ballots before Election Day through early voting, mail-in voting or grace-period voting. (Hal Dardick) What's on tap *Mayor Rahm Emanuel's schedule was not available. *Gov. Bruce Rauner's schedule was not available. What we're writing *Dangerous Doses: In this Tribune investigation, pharmacies miss half of dangerous drug combinations. *Here's how the tests were done, and here's what dangerous drug interactions can mean for people. *Rauner, Democrats praise criminal justice plan as their budget fight continues. Advertisement *Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is raising the bar for charging shoplifters with felonies. *Health groups urge Rauner to fight Obamacare repeal. What we're reading *Inmate denied parole in 1960 Starved Rock murders. *Jury awards $22 million in damages to wrongly convicted ex-El Rukn gang member. *Aurora alderman convicted of theft not running for re-election to "give other people a chance." From the notebook Advertisement *And then there were 10: A day after he cast one of the few votes against a new fund for Chicago immigrants facing possible deportation, Ald. Nicholas Sposato confirmed he is parting ways with the City Council's Progressive Reform Caucus, which backed the plan. The group of what's now 10 aldermen is often at odds with Mayor Rahm Emanuel but backed his plan for a $1.3 million immigrant legal fund. Sposato said his reasons for the split are twofold: His multiple sclerosis, which has him getting around in a wheelchair these days, has left him with less energy, and his conservative views on some issues have sometimes placed him at odds with the group like it did Wednesday. "It's nothing personal, I'm just too overwhelmed," said Sposato, confirming a Daily Line report that he's departing the caucus. He says he can't make all of the group's meetings or respond to all of their frequent emails. Sposato also noted that he's differed with Progressive Caucus members on a couple of issues, including his vote Wednesday to oppose the new fund for immigrants. He also split with caucus members when he supported the so-called Blue Lives Matter ordinance, which calls for making hate crimes of offenses committed against police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Sposato said that when the Progressive Caucus issues a statement saying it's for something, like the additional $1.3 million immigrant assistance allocation, people mistakenly conclude he's on board. At the same time, he added, caucus members are "still my best friends on the council" and he would be with them on certain issues, particularly pro-union efforts. Sposato, who was a city firefighter before defeating an endorsed Democrat to win his first council election in 2011, hails from a Northwest Side ward that includes many current and retired city workers. Although the ward has a strong Democratic majority, it leans a little more to the right than most. In November, more than a third of the ward's voters cast ballots for Republican President-elect Donald Trump. Advertisement In the wake of Sposato's departure, Progressive Caucus Chairman Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, made it clear there were no hard feelings and said his group which now includes a fifth of the council's 50 members among its ranks still would continue to forcefully push its agenda. "We appreciate all the hard work Ald. Sposato has put in over the years, and we know he'll still be alongside us on a range of issues in standing up for Chicago's working people," Waguespack said. "The Progressive Caucus will continue to be impactful because we've relentlessly worked to drive our progressive policy agenda forward. That will continue to be the case going forward." (Hal Dardick) *Sunday Spin: On the Sunday Spin, Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests include Tribune colleague Ray Long and Cory Jobe, the director of the state office of tourism. The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-AM 720. Follow the money *The Illinois Republican Party reported a $20,000 contribution from AT&T Illinois' political committee. *Democrat Merry Marwig of Chicago reported a more than $1,400 contribution from Personal PAC. She lost her bid for Illinois House to Republican Rep. Michael McAuliffe in a race that neared $5 million in fundraising between the two candidates. Advertisement *Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here. Beyond Chicago *House conservatives want Donald Trump to undo regulations on climate, FDA, Uber. *To combat Trump, Democrats ready a Republican tactic: lawsuits. *The electoral voters speak, and they're not out for a revolt. *Jury convicts Dylann Roof on all counts in Charleston, S.C., church shooting. This column is for Bernard Gibson, a good man from the state of Indiana. Late last month, National Public Radio went out to Vigo County there to explain why it flipped from voting for Barack Obama in 2012 to Donald Trump in 2016. Gibson was one of those interviewed and here is what he said: "These are real people here. These are not New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, you know. You know, these are real people that live every day from hand to hand, just have to work to make a living and everything else." Oh. There are some things you ought to know, Mr. Gibson. I served in the Army. I worked at blue-collar jobs. I washed dishes and bused tables. I went to college at night and worked during the day for an insurance company. (The legendary "Cohen of Claims.") My father was raised in an orphanage and my mother was an immigrant from Poland whose first childhood memory was of hunger. Somehow, despite, all of that, I am called a member of the "elite." If so, I earned it. I do not mean to pick on Gibson, a real person after all, but I am tired of being told by him and others that I am not quite a genuine American because I did not vote for Trump or because I live on one of the coasts. I want to point out to Gibson that there are more of us than there are of him. At least 2.8 million more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. That does not mean that Clinton actually won the election she lost the Electoral College and that's what counts but it is nevertheless true that Clinton was not just the candidate of the limousine set, but of most voters. After the election, I was repeatedly told that I live in something called "a bubble" and, because of that, I know nothing about my fellow Americans. Well, in the first place, my bubble is bigger than theirs size ought to matter in this instance and in the second place, I know plenty. Among the things I know is that Trump voters were played for suckers. After lambasting Clinton as a tool of Wall Street, Trump has so far named four Wall Street figures to his administration three from Goldman Sachs alone and an oil man is under consideration. And at Labor, Trump has chosen Andrew Puzder, a fast-food magnate (Hardee's and Carl's Jr.) who is opposed to a decent minimum wage. This is fast shaping up as a Cabinet of billionaires and, just for leveling, the occasional millionaire. So far, ain't no one who works with his hands. Ever since the days of Jefferson and Madison and their veneration of "yeoman farmers" (some of whom owned slaves), we have been a bit gaga over our rural cousins, associating acreage with wisdom. Whatever the case, Americans have so totally fled the farm that now only 2 percent of us till the legendary fields. The country has not had a rural majority since 1920. Nevertheless, our electoral system favors the country mouse. The city mouse can vote or not vote it often amounts to the same thing. As it happens, Mr. Gibson, I have plenty of sympathy for the average Trump voter. (I exclude the alt right and other menaces to the public good, like Rudy Giuliani.) I have written about cultural dislocation and I understand the corrosive effect of diminished expectations. Hillary Clinton talked about the glass ceiling, but too many American workers or former workers had to contend with a cement one: jobs that were gone and not coming back. We in the bubble understand. Truly, we do. But I will not concede that a greater wisdom exists in what is known as "flyover country." It has voted for a charlatan, a blinged ignoramus who has promised the past as the future. Trump, who lives in a gilded bubble of his own, cannot reverse automation, replace robots with people, or blunt American businesses' compulsive search for the cheapest work force. Gibson is one thing. I understand. What I cannot understand is my fellow bubble mates who tell me, with an air of impeccable condescension, that a vote for Trump was such proof of their own superior wisdom that it eclipsed all doubts about his qualifications, his temperament, his honesty in business and his veracity in speech. These people live in a bubble of their own. It is one that excludes the lesson of history and the demands of common sense. It will burst. DES MOINES, Iowa - Competing attorneys gave a district judge reasons Thursday why he should either allow a controversial oil pipeline already buried underground in Iowa to remain intact or invalidate the state authority used to take farm easements and give owners options to seek damages or have the pipe removed from their land. Bret Dublinske, a Des Moines attorney for Texas-based Dakota Access, argued claims -- brought by landowners and the Sierra Club's Iowa chapter opposing the pipeline project -- were without merit because the company had met Iowa Utilities Board requirements for a state permit and authority to use eminent domain for condemnation proceedings in cases where voluntary easements could not be negotiated. "The pipeline in Iowa is now 100 percent in the ground," Dublinske told Polk County District Judge Jeffrey Farrell at Thursday's court hearing, rendering further legal issues "moot" based upon previous court rulings, other relevant case law and provisions of the Iowa code and state Constitution that were satisfied during the permitting process. Iowa Utilities Board legal counsel David Lynch said the three-member panel had substantial evidence that the proposed pipeline met the criteria of providing a service to oil-dependent Iowans as a public convenience and necessity that was safer than rail shipments and the court should provide some "finality" to the ongoing dispute. However, Sierra Club attorney Wally Taylor said IUB officials ignored relevant evidence refuting the service and public use aspects of a project that was transporting oil for a private business from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to a shipping terminal in Illinois with no direct benefits to Iowans. Taylor argued the board was wrong in utilizing "a very narrow scope of authority" in evaluating the hazard liquid pipeline and acted in a "capricious, arbitrary and unreasonable" manner in issuing a permit to Dakota Access and granting eminent domain authority to secure a diagonal route through 18 Iowa counties. "We believe the agency was wrong in this case," said Taylor, and argued the court should "simply not be a rubber stamp" for action that violated Iowans' property rights. Likewise, Bill Hanigan, a Des Moines attorney representing landowners in six counties, said Dakota Access should not have been allowed to force landowners to sell easements by condemning the land against their will in a way that runs contrary to a 2006 Iowa law and recent court rulings in other states. Farrell noted that farmers along the pipeline route will still have the use of their land even if the project disrupted their operations this year and maybe next year as well, but Hanigan said Iowa's constitution does not provide for a partial taking for situations involving out-of-state companies not recognized as common carriers under state law. Dublinske said the Sierra Club does not have standing as an intervenor in the legal case and Farrell should reject the landowners' faulty legal arguments, but Hanigan predicted the case would end up in the Iowa Supreme Court and maybe the U.S. Supreme Court before the matter is settled. If the landowners prevail, Hanigan said, the pipeline should be viewed as a trespass and oil passing through the pipe would be a continual trespass that could result in monetary compensation or removal depending on future rulings by judges in the counties were condemnations were wrongly ordered. The project by Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners L.P., is a $3.8 billion, 1,168-mile underground pipeline slated to transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily from North Dakota's Bakken region to a distribution hub at Patoka, Ill., that includes 346 miles of pipeline in Iowa, crossing the state on a diagonal from northwest to southeast. No oil has been transported yet because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has halted the project in North Dakota due to protests by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which opposes allowing the pipeline to be bored beneath the Missouri River -- close to the tribe's source of drinking water. The project also has been the focus of protests and arrests in Iowa. More than 100 opponents crowded into an overflow courtroom Thursday and then marched to a nearby downtown park for a rally in protest of the project going forward. FARGO Sen. John Hoeven praised the efforts of the Fargo-area Mayors Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction as a potential template for the rest of the nation on how to tackle the growing problem of addiction to opioids and other substances. The commission is a model for across the state and across the country, Hoeven, R-N.D., told attendees at a roundtable meeting Thursday at the Dakota Medical Foundation. He said his focus in Washington is to get resources to local agencies so they can customize their anti-addiction strategies to really get the job done. Our solutions may be different than San Francisco, than Houston, or elsewhere, Hoeven said, adding, This is the right model. The Commission on Addiction was created as part of a broad effort to stem a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths, many caused by synthetic variants of the powerful painkiller fentanyl. In Cass County, 46 people died of opiate overdoses from 2012 to 2015. But in 2016, there were already 14 deaths from January to July, the coroners office reports. The Centers for Disease Control identified North Dakota as one of 14 states that had a significant increase in drug overdose deaths between 2013 and 2014, rising from 20 to 43 a year. The Fargo region has had 20 known overdose deaths this year alone, Hoevens office reported in a news release. The commission calls for focusing efforts in three major areas: promotion and prevention, early intervention and treatment and recovery. Promotion and prevention efforts include: Developing parent- and family-based programs, including expanding the Nurse-Family Partnership, which provides nurse home visits for at-risk pregnant women and young families. It has been found to reduce teen alcohol use. Expanding and improving school health and wellness programs. Researching, expanding and putting into place workplace wellness and addiction prevention programs. Beginning a community public awareness campaign to change attitudes and behaviors about addiction. Reducing prescription drug misuse by increasing education for medical providers and consumers, and increasing drug take-back programs. Early intervention efforts include: Beefing up FirstLink and its 2-1-1 Helpline service to create and market a clearing house for behavioral health services by July 2017. This effort is also expected to help with treatment and recovery. Training people to act as navigators of the clearing house system of care. This effort is also expected to help with treatment and recovery. We have to get people to the treatment they need, said Ann Malmberg, director of community health at Essentia Health. Creating a system that gets people to needed services. Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said creating a health data hub is vital to make the treatment system more navigable. Theres a lot of information, but its all flying around, Lee said. Building more transitional housing to ensure people in treatment for addiction have safe and sober places to live. This effort is also a treatment and recovery goal. Reprioritizing funding to programs with proven results. Starting or bolstering programs that reduce harm. That includes distributing Narcan for immediate treatment of overdoses, expanding drug take-back and needle-exchange programs, and expanding family drug courts for youths and adults to focus legal interventions more on recovery than punishment. Treatment and recovery efforts include: Increasing the number of medical detoxification beds. Moorhead has a 16-bed facility that is heavily used, but Fargo doesnt have a detox facility. Changing insurance policies to reimburse effective treatment plans. Creating a community-based, integrated system to deliver services. It can be a nightmare to find the right services and get family members into needed programs, said Mike Kaspari, a registered nurse with First Step Recovery and leader of the treatment and recovery panel. Hoeven also pointed to federal efforts to fight addiction. The 21st Century Cures Act, passed earlier this month, provides $1 billion over two years to fight opioid addiction. North Dakota will get $2 million this year as a first payment from that pool. Hoeven also cited the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, approved in July, which combats prescription opioid and heroin addiction by expanding prevention efforts, helping law enforcement, improving treatment of overdoses and increasing addiction treatment opportunities. Hoeven also is an author and helped introduce the Illegal Synthetic Drug Safety Act of 2016. It is designed to close a loophole in U.S. law that lets companies sell synthetic variations of drugs like fentanyl by labeling the products as not for human consumption. Im pretty sure we can get this passed this year, Hoeven said. We have to make sure the law catches up with the evolution of these drugs. Pat Traynor, president of Dakota Medical Foundation, said his organization is glad to be part of the effort to get the addiction epidemic under control. But he says it wont happen quickly. Were going to be behind this for the long haul, because it isnt going to be a quick fix, Traynor said. President Barack Obama signed a bill into law Wednesday night that would require the U.S. Forest Service to consult local officials before initiating a prescribed burn on USFS lands when there is an extreme fire danger. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and John Thune, R-S.D., passed Senate bill 3395, the Prescribed Burn Approval Act of 2016. The two senators introduced the legislation after the Pautre fire in 2013, which was a prescribed burn aiming to cover about 100 acres in northwestern South Dakota before escalating into a 16,000-acre uncontrolled fire that burned for several days destroying millions of dollars worth of property in North Dakota and South Dakota, according to Heitkamps press release. The Forest Service needs to listen when ranchers and first responders say conditions are unsafe for a burn and this bill will help guarantee that happens, said Heitkamp, according to the press release. The Pautre wildfire was completely preventable, making it obvious that the Forest Service hasnt done enough to listen to local communities in North Dakota and beyond. Our bipartisan bill will help prevent what happened in 2013 from happening again, which will help protect our ranchers, their property, and valuable grasslands. Shannon Boehm, the district ranger for the Medora ranger district of the Dakota Prairie grasslands, said he welcomed the laws passage, noting that he had sought out local landowners and grazing associations input on prescribed burns since he started working for the service. We need to have those conversations because some of the issues that are plaguing the grasslands that are a concern to them an example is the juniper (tree) encroachment out onto the grasslands is an issue that we need to talk about as it relates to fire, Boehm said. So fire is a way to deal with the juniper encroachment, and weve been having those conversations. I think this is a great thing. He said he understands the concerns surrounding prescribed burns but noted that their use has important environmental benefits. For example, the Rocky Mountain Juniper tree is not native to the grassland and kills the native grass. Fires are a way to eliminate these threats in order to keep the grasslands healthy to sustain their grazing populations. He said his department works with the local grazing associations by attending their board meetings and discussing issues of mutual interest, noting that they are the services managing partners for the national grasslands. We cannot effectively manage the grasslands without them thats just the truth, he said. They know the land, their families by and large have been working the land for years and years and years. They know what works, they know what doesnt, and their perspective along with our scientists that are in the Forest Service -- bringing that together is huge. It gets you to a much better solution set. He also pointed out that the Forest Service has a remarkable track record when it comes to prescribed burns. Unfortunately there are escapes sometimes, but the service is dedicated to planning and executing these burns in the proper conditions, he said. After each burn, whether successful or not, the service reviews it in order to learn more for the next time. Bill ODonnell, the grasslands supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service, said that the Forest Service had recommended that the president sign the legislation. He said the bill will require them to talk to counties and volunteer fire departments about starting these prescribed burns when there are extreme fire dangers -- but that the decision is ultimately in the hands of the secretary of agriculture, the chief of the Forest Service. The Forest Service goes through extensive analysis before determining how to perform the prescribed burns and what they aim to accomplish, he said. In the Sheyenne Grassland their objective by using prescribed burns is to restore the tall grass in the prairie and to curb the plants that hinder its growth. Theres always an objective toward our land management plan that we are wanting to achieve by using fire, he said. HATTON -- A mourning Larimore mother has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a Hatton couple she claims were negligent in a snowmobile accident that killed her son almost a year ago.. Julie Moen, mother of 10-year-old Mason Moen, believes Michael and Tracie Johnson bear responsibility in her sons death and wants in excess of $50,000 in damages, court documents say. The Johnsons were the parents of the other boy who was on the snowmobile in the crash near the small town about 40 miles southwest of Grand Forks. In the civil suit, Moen, via her her attorney Gary Hazelton, charges the Johnsons with one count of negligent entrustment for allowing her 10-year-old son to ride on a snowmobile without an adult, and one count of negligence for either not providing her son with a helmet or providing a helmet that was improperly sized. Hazelton said his client had been OK with supervised riding on the snowmobile, but not riding out of range of parental supervision and not at high speeds. The Johnsons, in a formal answer issued through attorney Barton Cahill, reject the claims against them. The whole thing was unfortunate and my clients were surprised a civil case was filed, Cahill said. The crash occurred the afternoon of Jan. 11, when Mason Moen, 10, was riding on snowmobile with Brody Johnson, 9. The snowmobile, a 1998 Polaris 700, belonged to the Johnsons, and the boys were riding near their home northwest of Hatton. The North Dakota Highway Patrol could not determine who was driving the snowmobile, which they said was traveling at 50 mph when the fatal crash occurred. In her lawsuit, Moen claims the Johnsons child was driving. In their response, the Johnsons contend that Mason Moen was driving. Cahill said he is confident Mason Moen was driving the snowmobile. Hazelton said who was driving is not a critical factor. Its kind of irrelevant who was driving, Hazelton said. It was a 9- and 10-year-old boy operating a 700 cc machine. The Highway Patrol report stated both helmets that were recovered from the scene were adult-sized did not have damage consistent with being in a crash. Brody Johnson suffered significant injuries in the crash, Cahill said, including being in a coma for several days. He does not remember the crash. A trial date for the lawsuit has been set for September 2017, but Cahill believes it may not come to that. The parties have a mediation conference scheduled for Feb. 15, he said. Both parties have agreed to attempt to resolve the claim, Cahill said. Hazelton said he is also confident the suit will be resolved in mediation. If not, he said expert witnesses will be hired in preparation for the trial. The Grand Forks County States Attorneys Office did not file any criminal charges in the case. Cahill said there is no reason for a criminal case to be reopened. Theres no new evidence, he said. Theres no smoking gun of any kind. Image taken on Dec. 13, 2016 shows a man taking a photo of the works displayed during the exhibition "Chinese Style: Selected works from the China National Academy of Painting", in the National Museum of Decorative Arts (MNAD) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. An exhibition of traditional Chinese hand-painted fans was opened to the public here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala) An exhibition of traditional Chinese hand-painted fans was opened to the public here on Wednesday, representing the most important Chinese art show held in the Argentine capital in a decade. Titled "Chinese Style: Selected works from the China National Academy of Painting", the show featuring 60 painted fans was held at the National Museum of Decorative Arts (MNAD).mweimeisgrnh The opening ceremony held late Tuesday was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Argentina Yang Wanming, officials from Argentina's Ministry of Culture, and representatives from China National Academy of Painting and the host museum. "We hope to promote exchanges, to have more people become familiar with our culture, to promote mutual knowledge," Zhang Jiangzhou, vice president of the academy, told Xinhua, adding: "Art has a universal function." "The works have deep meaning, they reveal the talent and temperament of Chinese artists," said Zhang. The fan paintings range from landscapes to scenes of daily life, which are part of an artistic heritage dating back thousands of years, MNAD Director Alberto Bellucci wrote on the museum's website. "More than 4,500 years ago, the fan became a firm fixture in China's history, over the centuries turning into an icon of its culture, an essential element in its theatrical presentations, and an everpresent symbol in its ceremonial tradition," said Bellucci. A fan came to serve as a type of "portable painting bearing images of landscapes, flora and fauna, or personalities," he added. A series of calligraphy works accompany the exhibit, because as Bellucci told Xinhua, "China ... has a special heritage in the quality of stroke, in the line, and in this line resides the delicateness and the depth" of the artist. "We hope this exhibition ... has the success it deserves, because it offers well-being for the soul and for the eye that contemplates it," said Bellucci. As the Year of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange, 2016 saw a significant number of Chinese art exhibitions, as well as stage performances and literature-related events, throughout the region. In October, Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, this year's winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for writing, visited Buenos Aires as part of a delegation. Writers from both countries got together to discuss translating classics from each other's countries, among other collaboration. "Chinese Style" will be on show through mid-March. Shandong Shanshui Cement, one of China's largest cement producers, has defaulted on its debt, been witness to a vicious boardroom battle and finally turned its losses into profit. The company, with more than 20,000 employees across various provinces, defaulted on multiple bonds after a fierce battle for control of the company last year, but solutions to the 4.6 billion yuan (664 million U.S. dollars) of defaulted debt are now in place, deputy chairman Mi Jingtian said Wednesday. Mi, who is responsible for daily operations, said the company had "paid in full" all outstanding interest and regained a "normal working relationship" with commercial banks. Shandong Shanshui Cement is the operating subsidiary of China Shanshui Cement, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. A Dec. 5 disclosure said Shandong Shanshui had settled with China Merchants Bank in a dispute over 564 million yuan of loans. Apart from being sued by commercial banks, Shandong Shanshui's defaults included a 2-billion-yuan bond in November 2015 and a 1.8-billion-yuan bond in January 2016. Boardroom brawl The defaults were the direct results of a protracted battle for control of Shandong Shanshui and China Shanshui. Banks and financial institutions that the company had dealings with were alarmed by the uncertainty and the impact on business prospects. The fight led to chaos and sometimes violence, with neither side willing to surrender control. It got so bad that the local government sent in a team of officials to the company, which is not state-owned, to ensure order. The new board is now in "total control" of all subsidiaries and putting them back to work, said Mi. Big turnaround China Shanshui Cement used to make profits of hundreds of millions yuan, but collapsed to a stunning 6.7 billion yuan loss in 2015, when boardroom troubles reached their climax and the cement market plunged. Mi claimed that since then a lot has been done to lower business costs, including more effective sourcing of raw materials. Cement prices have since risen in China, but at the same time, production has been slashed. In October, Shandong Shanshui hosted the meeting that saw northern China's biggest cement players sitting together to coordinate the cuts. This year, Mi said, Shandong Shanshui has significantly outperformed last year and the company is operating "at a profit" again. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MOD) has rebutted a U.S. think tank's report which claims that China is setting up weapon installations on the reefs of the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. An aerial photo of a reef in the South China Sea. [Photo / MOD] The MOD said on Dec. 15 that China has "undisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands along with the waters that surround them." The MOD reiterated that the construction, including land reclamation, in the South China Sea was mainly for civilian purposes. In its report published on Dec. 13, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a U.S. think tank affiliated to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), claimed that "China appears to have built significant point-defense capabilities, in the form of large anti-aircraft guns and probable close-in weapons systems (CIWS)." "These gun and probable CIWS emplacements show that Beijing is serious about the defense of its artificial islands in case of an armed contingency in the South China Sea. Among other things, they would be the last line of defense against cruise missiles launched by the United States or others against these soon-to-be-operational air bases," the report concluded. The Chinese MOD defended the deployment, saying "the necessary military facilities are for self-defense and are justifiable and legitimate." "For example, if someone is flaunting powers just before your door, wouldnt you prepare a slingshot just in case?" the MOD said. According to the MOD, the construction and most of the facilities are for civil purposes, such as meteorology, maritime studies, rescue and ecological protection. The MOD's refutation may signal rising tensions over the South China Sea issue. Reports show Vietnam protesting over the PLA Navys celebration of the 70th anniversary of recovering the Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands after Japan's illegal occupation in World War II. The PLA Navy Commander, Admiral Wu Shengli said in his speech at the commemoration held on Dec. 8 that the Chinese government's recovery of the South China Sea islands were "as per the stipulations of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation," which shaped the post-WWII world order. Admiral Wu stressed that the Chinese government always upholds the principal of "retaining sovereignty, setting aside disputes and making joint explorations" to resolve disputes through negotiation and to manage differences through mechanisms that achieve win-win results through mutually beneficial cooperation. NEW ROCKFORD -- A 52-year-old New Rockford man was sentenced Thursday to 29 years in prison for murdering an apparent innocent bystander at a wedding reception in September 2015 and to another 20 years that will run concurrently for attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend. David Troske was sentenced in an almost packed Eddy County courtroom by Judge Thomas Merrick with his ex-girlfriend -- Mary Seiler, 51, New Rockford -- in attendance and testifying that she lives almost every day in fear that someone will hurt her and his constantly looking over her shoulder. Troske, who has been in jail already for 466 days and was given credit for that time, will be held in the Stutsman County Correctional Center until he is processed into the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. On Sept. 6, 2015, Troske approached a table where Donald Donnie Perleberg of Pingree and Seiler were sitting in the New Rockford Eagles Club and shot Perleberg in the neck, killing him. He then shot Seiler in the neck and in the chest. Seiler survived her wounds. Prior to Troskes sentencing, Eddy County States Attorney Travis Peterson recommended Troske receive 34 years for the murder and 15 years for the attempted murder. Joseph Friedberg, one of two attorneys representing Troske, said his client had expressed remorse outside of the courtroom and he had no recommendation on Troskes sentence. Merrick said Troske will serve a minimum 85 percent of his sentence, which would be 24.65 years. With his credit for time served, Troskes expected release date is sometime in 2040. Troske pleaded guilty to the charges before Merrick on Sept. 28 in Southeast District Court in Jamestown. In exchange for his plea, Peterson agreed to drop charges of aggravated assault, three counts of reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm in a bar. Troske didnt say he was sorry for his actions before being sentenced, but tried to convey his feelings about what he was thinking when he shot Perleberg and Seiler. Its unfathomable, he said. I cant even comprehend how I got to such a bad place. I just cant. Prior to the sentencing, Eddy County States Attorney Travis Peterson had four people - Seiler; Jeanette Perleberg, who is married to one of Donnie Perlebergs cousins; Marlys Perleberg, Donnies mother, and Pamela Perleberg, Donnies sister - speak about the impact that Troskes actions have had on their lives. Seiler was shot once in the neck by Troske, then in the left side which damaged her lungs, stomach and diaphragm. She said she still has bullet fragments in her right side. Since the shooting Seiler said her life and her family members lives have not been the same. I go to work, I go home, she said. Im always watching over my shoulder, always watching, always have to sit so I can see who is coming and who is there. Its a daily fear that someone will hurt me. Seiler said she has no social life, stays away from everyone except for family, and she panics if she receives a message on her phone from someone she doesnt know. Im just scared he will come after me again, she said. I dont want to be scared anymore. Seiler also emphasized she didnt know Perleberg at the time of the shooting, and he just happened to be sitting at the same table she was at. Marlys Perleberg said she was happy to see Troske at the wedding reception. Our families were friends, she said. I had no idea this would happen. She said she will never forget the shock of that night and how she lost her son. Donnie never hurt anyone, she said. He liked to have a good time, he liked to dance. He was a good son, a good brother to his sister, a good father to his son and was looking forward to his first grandchild. Pamela Perleberg said Donnie was a quiet leader, a gentle soul and a friend to all. She said Troskes actions were a heinous act of violence. Perleberg had her own recommendation for Troskes sentence. At the minimum, I wish I had asked for this earlier, 41 years, 6 months, 26 days, she said, the number of days Donnie walked this earth. I want him (Troske) to think about Donnie every one of those days. Its not my job to forgive him and I wont. President-elect Donald Trump's pick of Rex Tillerson for secretary of state offers many possibilities to improve the conduct of United States' foreign relations. A realistic, practical, and businesslike approach to foreign relations is certainly in order for Washington. But Tillerson faces political obstacles. During the campaign, Trump made it clear that he wants a new foreign policy and new people to create and implement it. He criticized the policy of unnecessary intervention and war in the Middle East and said he wanted to improve relations with major powers such as Russia. He said he wanted new thinking and a policy that puts "America First". Trump's stated vision is a sharp break from post-World War II mainstream U.S. foreign policy based upon a hegemonic global role for the United States. Trump gave the impression that he sees the world in more multipolar terms and rejects rigid Cold War thinking. Friends and foes Such a non-interventionist and practical foreign policy is welcomed in some political circles but opposed by others. The basic split is between the various political factions in each party which support hegemonism and those who oppose it. During the campaign, both Trump and Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders appealed to the vast majority of Americans who want to stop the present policy of global intervention, hegemonism and endless war. The other Republican candidates and Hillary Clinton are all well-known hawks. So the choice of Tillerson is a welcome one to many if it means the pursuit of a constructive U.S. foreign policy based upon a realistic understanding of national interests. This means careful calculation of means and ends, prudence, and restraint from unnecessary interventionism. Globalist activism and crusades for regime change are expected to be halted in this context. Because Trump appears to see the world in multipolar terms, it is logical for him to change the way Washington deals with other major powers. Thus, his stated goal of repairing relations with Russia is understandable but this is a tall order considering the damaging impact of the hostile and counterproductive Russia policy under the Obama administration. Russia, however, is open to improving relations with the United States as Vladimir Putin has made clear on many occasions for a number of years. Although his signals fell on deaf ears it seems that is about to change as Trump moves to begin a new type of relationship with Russia. Tillerson, an engineer, became a global businessman leading one of the world's giant corporations. Given such experience, he has a realistic understanding of international affairs and of the international economy. Additionally, he has management experience which can help update and improve the machinery of U.S. diplomacy. To Russia, with love? American commercial relations with Russia date back to 1697 when Peter the Great issued an edict allowing the importation of tobacco from Virginia. During the 18th and 19th centuries, there was active commerce between the United States and Russia. Even during the 20th century, before World War II, a number of U.S. companies were doing business in the former Soviet Union. Lenin's New Economic Policy welcomed foreign business. Political opposition to Tillerson comes in various forms. Some oppose him for being the head of a giant capitalist business corporation. Some oppose him for supporting the development of hydrocarbon resources which they see as causing global warming. Very sharp opposition comes from Republican and Democratic politicians who are anti-Russia because of their outdated Cold War perspective. They want to see regime change in Russia and have a hysterical and alarmist reaction to the Russian leader. Other politicians oppose him because of their agenda for promoting human rights and democracy in Russia. So it is likely that there will be some heated rhetoric in the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations during the confirmation process. Whether the rhetoric of the fulminating politicians transforms into enough votes to kill the nomination remains to be seen. What are the stakes in the Tillerson nomination? There are several geopolitical concepts making their way around Washington as a basis for national strategy and foreign policy. To date, during the Obama administration, the leading concept has been hegemonism and a unipolar approach. The basic national strategy under Obama has been to put pressure on Russia and China and use Western allies as a means to maintain global dominance through NATO and other means. The so-called "pivot" strategy is part and parcel of this larger geopolitical design. But this strategy has been overtaken by international developments. So the question today is whether or not the Trump administration can come up with a new vision and a new strategy and foreign policy. The geopolitical concept underlying the Obama foreign policy and pivot is the creation of an alignment of the United States with India, Japan, and Australia to contain China. Some circles would like to continue this under Trump. A variation being discussed in some think tanks is an initiative by the United States to split Russia away from China and form a United States alignment with India, Japan, and Russia against China. Although fanciful, one does hear this around Washington. A level-headed approach A more sensible approach for the 21st century is cooperation among the major powers. For the Pacific, this would involve China, Russia, Japan, and the United States working in concert to manage new initiatives for economic development as well as to replace old obsolete security architecture. While it appears that Trump does indeed have a positive general idea about improving relations with Russia, his approach to China so far leaves something to be desired. On the one hand, he sends a positive signal with his new choice for ambassador to China but on the other hand, his advisors push him into contradictory and counterproductive signals involving the Taiwan red line. Tillerson must energize U.S. foreign policy in the direction of major power cooperation in the interest of global peace and development. While working to court Moscow, he must work overtime now to court Beijing. The author is a former senior staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and an op-ed contributor to Beijing Review You are here: Home Flash Somali security forces arrested six suspected members of the Al-Shabaab Islamist group in operations in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday. Benadir region police commissioner, Bishar Abshir Gedi, told reporters in Mogadishu on Thursday that security forces were interrogating the suspects. The police officer said the operations aimed to ensure peace and security prevails in Mogadishu as lawmakers are expected to choose a new president on December 28. Security has been tightened in Mogadishu where lower house elections are going on. Some key roads have also been closed to ensure the exercise runs smoothly. Elections of speakers of the lower and upper Houses will take place next week. Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday focusing on a decades-old territorial dispute and a post-war peace treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting in Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan, Dec. 15, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Abe told reporters after a three-hour summit with Putin that he had a "candid and in-depth" discussion with Putin and they discussed free visits of Japanese ex-residents to and joint economic activities in four disputed islands in the Pacific. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to Putin, told media that the two sides agreed to start consultations on conditions of joint economic activities over the four Pacific islands, though stressing that the activities should be conducted under Russian jurisdiction. Russia suggested joint economic activities to Japan on the disputed islands in November, but some analysts here have been concerned that if Japan accepts the suggestion, it would mean a big step towards Moscow by recognizing Russian control of the Islands. Japan has hoped to open a door for making breakthrough on dispute over the four Pacific islands held by Russia but claimed by Japan through the Abe-Putin summit. Earlier in the day, Abe told reporters before departing for Nagato that he hopes to "spend time to negotiate in a quiet atmosphere at night." Abe also showed his determination to resolve the issue by visiting and praying before his father's grave while waiting for Putin's arrival which was delayed for over two and a half hours, according to local media reports. Abe's father Shintaro Abe, former foreign minister, was known for pushing for resolution of the territorial dispute. However, despite Japan's efforts to lure Russia to cave in with economic cooperation and Japanese investment, it is widely believed that prospects of solving the dispute are slim, as differences are hard to iron out. "I hope the meeting could be productive for the Russian-Japan relations, but it will be very difficult to solve territorial issues," a Russian national here told Xinhua earlier, saying that it is an issue concerning national interests. Russia and Japan have not signed a peace treaty formalizing the end of World War Two mainly due to a territory row over four small islands in the Pacific which are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia. Japan maintains that the four Pacific islands are its inherent territory and that Russia illegally occupied them after Japan's surrender in WWII, while Russia, for its part, says the seizure was legitimate and urges Japan to recognize the outcome of the war. Putin told Japanese media on Tuesday that there is no territorial issue between Russia and Japan over the four islands. "We believe we have no territorial problems at all. It is only Japan that believes it has territorial problems with Russia. We are ready to talk about this," Putin said. Putin, whose visit was initially eyed in 2014 but postponed due to deterioration of bilateral ties following the Ukraine crisis, is the first Russian president to travel to Japan for a bilateral meeting in 11 years. Flash Greece's parliament approved on Thursday a one-off Christmas bonus for low income pensioners which has caused the skepticism and dismay among international creditors. Greek pensioners participate in an anti-austerity rally in central Athens, capital of Greece, on Dec. 15, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Meanwhile, at least 4,000 retirees from across Greece, braving the cold, were protesting in central Athens against the handout of "breadcrumbs" demanding instead an end to austerity policies and "decent" pensions for all. With the support of the deputies of the two- partite ruling coalition, as well as some of the opposition parties the bill containing the provision passed with 196 votes in favor in the 300-member strong plenary. The Left-led government's aim was to secure the broadest possible consensus to show to lenders that the assistance of the most vulnerable groups of Greek society was a cross party request, cabinet ministers explained before the vote. A week ago, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made the surprise proclamation that 617 million euro (646.3 million US dollars) deriving from the 2016 primary budget surplus will be handed out to pensioners earning less than 850 euros per month on December 22. Athens insists that it was within its rights to decide how to spend the fund, once it has reached and outperformed the fiscal targets set under the bailout agreement. However Greece's creditors thought otherwise and on Wednesday Eurogroup and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) announced they are freezing the implementation of the short-term measures for debt relief sealed on December 5 until it is made clear whether Athens' initiative was in line with the agreement. Addressing the plenary, Interior Minister Panos Skourletis defended the government's decision to offer immediate financial support to the low pension earners. "The needs of citizens, the needs of pensioners cannot wait (to be covered). Human lives should have priority ahead of the bureaucracy of Brussels," he said. The conservative main opposition New Democracy (ND) party voted "present", accusing the Greek government of following a blind course. Presenting the party's arguments, ND deputy Marios Salmas criticized the government of agreeing with the country's creditors on "unfeasible fiscal targets" over many years which will bring harsh austerity measures so that it can receive some debt relief "and then blowing up the deal." The proclamation of the bonus, which stands at 300 euros to 840 euros depending on the beneficiaries' monthly income, did not receive a warm welcome also by the largest unions of retirees. The one-off Christmas bonus, under the government's plan, will be distributed to 1.6 million pensioners out of a total of 2.5 million retirees. White-haired protesters on the Syntagma square were shouting slogans against the plan, saying that it was like a drop in an ocean, after a dozen rounds of austerity policies since 2010 have shrank their income by 30 to 40 percent on average. Rejecting as "hypocritical" the idea of one-off benefits a few days after the same MPs ratified the 2017 state budget which foresees new tax hikes, they asked for drastic changes in policy to allow breathing space to households again. "Return the money you have stolen from our pension funds," read banners held by demonstrators. "We have paid all these funds. We are tired. We have got sick and today they have come to do this? It is unacceptable. I am ashamed. They should be ashamed. Shame!" Filalidis Kostas, President of the pensioners of Chalkida, a city about 60 kilometers north of Athens, told Xinhua. Flash The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which is investigating the downing of flight MH17, has identified about 100 people linked to the crash, Ukraine's First Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Storozhuk said Wednesday. MH17 crashed in the conflict area in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch citizens. [Photo/Xinhua] "Currently, we are unable to announce who is a suspect and who is a witness, because the role of each person is not established yet," Storozhuk told a media briefing. The JIT, consisting of representatives of the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium and Ukraine, is establishing a witness protection program to carry out the questioning of those people, Storozhuk said. The Ukrainian side supports the initiative to hold a judicial proceeding into the crash in the Netherlands, he said, explaining that the possible hearings in Ukraine's court could be perceived as biased by some. "Any judicial consideration in Ukraine would be politicized and there would be constant accusations of bias, because Ukraine is a party to an armed conflict," Storozhuk said. MH17 crashed in the conflict area in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, most of them Dutch citizens. In September this year, the JIT said that the aircraft was downed by a Buk missile, which was brought from Russia and fired from a region in eastern Ukraine controlled by independence-seeking insurgents. Moscow has denied the allegations, saying that the plane was shot by a missile from the territory controlled by Ukrainian government troops. The Russian Defense Ministry also accused Ukraine of hiding vital data on the crash and manipulating the investigation of the catastrophe. Flash In his final address to a European Council meeting as president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz urged European leaders on Thursday to "have the courage to fight for Europe" as the European Union (EU) faces unprecedented existential challenges. "You all agreed that you need the EU, that the EU is the only means to tackle the challenges we are facing in this century," Schulz reminded the EU heads of state and government who gathered in Brussels for the annual meeting at the end of year. "This spirit should never be forgotten and should guide your actions over the years to come," said Schulz. The outgoing president of the European Parliament will step down in January to return to national politics in his native Germany and possibly threaten German Chancellor Angela Merkel in national elections next fall. He spoke in light of unprecedented challenges to the European Union, including Brexit, migration, common defense, ongoing economic concerns, rising populism and the conflicts in its neighbourhood, typified by the one raging in nearby Syria. Solidarity is essential if the EU is to successfully tackle the migration crisis, said Schulz. "Since more than one year, asylum and migration have become the deepest challenge for the European Union, a challenge we will only master if we help each other and stand together in solidarity." Schulz also weighed in on Brexit, urging EU countries to work in "a spirit of loyal cooperation." "We cannot allow the Brexit process to become an emotional affair, nor should we turn it into a legal maze from which exit is extremely difficult. We must not feed populists' unfounded claims that the EU is the master of all evil," said Schulz. Echoing fellow parliamentarians, he also warned against Brexit negotiations being undertaken without the full involvement of the European Parliament: "If we are not adequately involved, we may not be able to give our consent. And in this situation the UK would face the hardest Brexit possible." "One of the effects of Brexit was the new impetus this has given to go further in defence cooperation," the European President observed, turning to the question of the European Defense Union, approved by the European Parliament in a resolution adopted in November. "I see many among you driving this initiative and this makes me optimistic that after many years of empty rhetoric, concrete actions are finally taken. I urge you to make sure that this momentum is now maintained," insisted Schulz. In line with his support of the European Defense Union, Schulz admonished leaders for spinning successes as national and failures as European: "What we all do in Brussels can only become a success if everybody takes proper ownership." In his last speech to the European Council as president of the European Parliament, Schulz concluded: "I have called this Union the biggest achievement of our civilisation of the previous century, and I am still convinced that this is true. Let us have the courage to fight for it." Schulz was first elected to the European Parliament for Germany in 1994, and had served as leader of the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group until his election as president in 2012. Flash Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised to continue war against terrorism on Friday in his message on the second anniversary of the attack on an army-run school, which killed 150 people, mostly students. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed the brutal and bloody attack on the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Dec. 16, 2014. Commemorating events were held across Pakistan, including the capital city of Islamabad, in schools to pay homage to those killed and show solidarity with the families. Parents and relatives of the slain students gathered in the APS to pay homage to the students and their teachers. Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra joined the families at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," Sharif said. "Sixteenth December reminds us of the most painful tragedy of our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies. It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenseless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," said the prime minister. He said the Pakistani nation and leadership took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," said Sharif. Sharif assured the nation that his government will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for the future generations. Bajwa said the blood of the victims has kept his patriotism alive. "The blood of APS victims is an obligation on the nation and the armed forces," said the army chief. Flash The second foreign ministers' meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) will be held on Dec. 23 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Chinese Foreign Ministry Geng Shuang said on Friday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn will co-chair the meeting that will also gather foreign ministers from Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, Geng said at a regular news briefing. "China hopes to deepen practical cooperation with the five other countries in politics and security, economy and sustainable development," Geng said. The six countries along the Mekong (known as Lancang in the Chinese stretch) launched the LMC mechanism in 2015 and convened the first Leaders' meeting earlier in 2016. Of the 45 early harvest projects agreed in the summit, more than 10 have been completed or partly done, showing the pragmatism and efficiency of the LMC, the spokesperson added. The first pipeline protesters will go on trial Monday and the prosecutor is asking that they keep issues of tribal sovereignty, the concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline and "any other social or political cause" out of the courtroom. "This trial is not being held so there can be a forum to extend the months of conflict and context over these extraneous issues," Ladd Erickson, who is prosecuting the case for Morton County, wrote in a motion filed Dec. 12. But a local criminal defense attorney involved in the protest cases said the 10 people set to be tried on disorderly conduct charges have "a right to explain why they were there," which the prosecutor's request seems to preclude. The protesters fear pipeline construction disturbed sacred sites and that a leak could contaminate the Missouri River. "They just didnt parachute in from Mars," Tom Dickson said. "They certainly have a right to say why they were there, why they were doing what they were doing." South Central District Judge Cynthia Feland, who is overseeing the trial, has yet to rule on the motion. The trial pertains to 10 pipeline protesters arrested on Aug. 11, one of the first days of the protests, when protesters gathered near a construction site on Highway 1806 in Morton County. They are scheduled for a joint misdemeanor trial at the Morton County Courthouse on Monday morning. The defendants are charged with with disorderly conduct, a B misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and $1,500 in fines. An affidavit filed with the complaint accuses the defendants of pushing through law enforcement lines or police tape to access the work site. Erickson suggests in court documents that, if convicted, the state would seek $1,000 from each defendant to repay law enforcement costs. Dickson contends the charges are inherently political. "People have gotten arrested while espousing their political viewpoint which at some point the state contends violates the law," Dickson said. But the judge has suggested in her responses to court motions that she believes the alleged conduct, if proven, is criminal. In an order responding to a defendant's requests to dismiss her case because she was exercising her First Amendment rights, Feland wrote that the defendant's alleged actions, crossing onto an access road to the work site against police orders, went beyond free speech. "The court recognizes that the First Amendment gives the public a right to voice their concerns, to protest lawfully, to criticize the police and even to yell profanities at police officers, Feland wrote in her order. "Under the facts alleged, rather than obeying the orders of law enforcement and conducting the protest in a peaceful and lawful manner, the defendant directly disobeyed law enforcement and deliberately crossed into undesignated areas, creating a hazardous and alarming condition for both law enforcement officers and Dakota Access construction workers," she wrote. Due to this being the first pipeline trial, 65 potential jurors the number usually called for a felony trial have been called to fill the six-person misdemeanor jury, according to Ross Munns, assistant court administrator for the region. Erickson, the prosecutor, noted there could be issues picking a jury due to the public nature of the case and protests. "The whole state is invested in this," Erickson said. "Its not a typical case where the jurors haven't heard anything on it." The trial is scheduled for one day, with extra tables and chairs to accommodate the 20 lawyers and defendants, but Dickson suggested it could take more than a day just to pick the jury. "Its more than just been in the news," Dickson said. "This has been high-profile and high-involvement by the community." In advance of the trial, Feland has ordered court-appointed attorneys to track their hours spent preparing for the cases. This is in response to a motion by Erickson, who indicated in court documents he will seek hearings on repayment of public defender fees after trial. He contends protesters are seeking to cost the state and county money through their arrests and criminal cases. "Our systems are set up so criminal defendants have their constitutional rights enforced. To the contrary, our systems are not set up to be foddered by economic weaponry when people from around the world come to intentionally commit crimes for political purposes and have North Dakota taxpayers pick up the tab," Erickson wrote in a motion filed Dec. 12. At least four of the defendants have court-appointed counsel. Public defenders have been assigned 287 cases and are requesting an additional $670,000 to pay for the additional lawyers, according to Jean Delaney, executive director of the indigent defense commission. Delaney said it's not uncommon for the state to try and recoup fees, but it's typically dependent on the person's funds, not their intentions. Whether there is recoupment ordered is based on whether there is a possibility of the client being able to pay it, Delaney said. Feland is a former prosecutor, who recently dismissed felony charges against more than 100 protesters arrested during a raid of the northern "front line" camp. The defendants include Sara Jumping Eagle, a doctor and wife of former congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes. For two of the 10 defendants, Monday will not be their last date in court, as they have additional open cases relating to pipeline arrests. The defendants are from 9 different states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon and Hawaii. They range in age from 23 to 57 years old. Monday's trial is just the first pipeline protest trial of the week. Sixteen more protesters are scheduled for trials on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, according to the court clerk's office. A total of 571 people have been arrested in connection with the pipeline protests, according to the Morton County Sheriff's Department. WASHINGTON A Standing Rock Sioux Tribe representative said the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy served as a springboard for discussion this week during a listening session with the Donald Trumps transition team and tribal leaders. Chad Harrison, member of the Standing Rock Tribal Council, was among tribal leaders from around the country who participated in a listening session Wednesday in Washington. While the event was not focused on Dakota Access, the Standing Rock Tribes lawsuit over the pipelines Missouri River crossing raised awareness of broader issues, such as the need for greater tribal consultation on infrastructure projects and other policy issues, Harrison said Thursday. The event held in collaboration with President-elect Trumps transition team aimed to provide an opportunity for tribal leaders to discuss issues important to Indian Country. I was impressed with what seems to be the Trump administrations efforts to get in front of some issues and be inclusive of Native American issues, Harrison said. Harrison said he didnt speak publicly during the event, but he did tell a member of the Trump transition team that Standing Rock officials are open to a more formalized meeting to discuss how to move forward with Dakota Access. We wanted to make those folks on that team as well as the folks at the meeting aware that we are open to that dialog, he said. Harrison said he wanted to clarify the tribes position on Dakota Access, which would cross the Missouri River less than a mile north of the reservation. Were against the placement of the pipe. We havent taken a stance against oil development or energy development, Harrison said. We realize thats part of the world today. HANOI - China consumed some 70.4 percent of Vietnamese fruit in the first 11 months of 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on Thursday. Among major markets, South Korea followed China to rank second by buying 3.6 percent of Vietnamese fruit exports. Vietnamese fruit export revenue reached $2.178 billion during the 11-month period. Turnover of fruit export this year is expected to exceed that of rice and become the nation's major export commodity, said MARD. The ministry said fruit export has witnessed the fastest growth rate among agricultural produces and ranks the third on the nine agriculture-forestry-fishery produce list with high value. Meanwhile, from January to November, dragon fruit tops the list of 29 Vietnamese-grown tropical fruits for export, with turnover of $700 million. Impressive growth was also seen in longan and watermelon exports, local Sai Gon Giai Phong (Sai Gon Liberation) online newspaper quoted MARD as saying. In its planning for fruit export growth, the ministry focuses on 12 major fruits including dragon fruit, mango, rambutan, durian, star apple, grape fruit, longan, banana, pineapple, orange, custard-apple and tangerine. However, Vietnamese fruit export faced difficulties including quarantine and food safety regulation. Le Van Banh, head of the MARD's Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production, said the country needs to perform radiation treatment and growing fruits as per international standards. In addition, cultivation areas should be planned for each market and farm address according to regulation, said Banh. Visitors look at 3D-printed products at the Roche Group booth at a technology fair in Shanghai. [Photo/China Daily] Foreign investment mainly flows to services, and pharmaceutical and high-tech sectors Foreign direct investment from the United States and the European Union surged by 55.4 percent and 43.9 percent, respectively, between January and November, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The investment mainly flowed into service businesses including information, consulting and computing science, and the pharmaceutical and high-tech equipment manufacturing sectors, during this period. Ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen said because of China's comparatively high productivity and market size, companies from developed markets enjoy a stable revenue growth and brand recognition, which enable them to invest more in the country. Foreign investment gained by high-tech services business jumped 97.7 percent to 88.14 billion yuan ($12.71 billion) on a year-on-year basis in the first 11 months. Foreign investment in the high-tech manufacturing sector amounted to 54.73 billion yuan, increasing 3.6 percent year-on-year. "China has mature clusters of efficient suppliers for a large number of manufacturing businesses inside the country and across many neighboring markets, especially in Southeast Asia and Central Asia," said Sun. Foreign direct investment in China rose 3.9 percent year-on-year to 731.8 billion yuan in the first 11 months of this year. Within the EU, investment from the United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden rose 120 percent, 87 percent, 129 percent and 48 percent, respectively, during the 11-month period. Switzerland-based Roche Group invested $126.7 million in November to build an innovation center in Shanghai. The new facility will be operational in 2018. Johnson Controls Inc, the United States-based manufacturer of energy storage, building equipment and control systems, will also open its second global headquarters with a capacity for 1,200 employees in Shanghai in April. "China has been keen to stimulate global trade through the Belt and Road Initiative and seal various free trade deals such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific," said Mei Xinyu, a research fellow with the Research Academy at the Ministry of Commerce. "Under such circumstances, foreign companies certainly don't want to miss such opportunities to ship more products to other markets from their plants in China," he said. Alexandra Voss, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce-North China, said the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu with strong consumption power, demand for industrial upgrading and infrastructure, will continue to remain attractive to German companies in the long run. Gao Songya contributed to this story. Twenty lighting product manufacturers in Guangdong plan invest in a light-emitting diode or LED industrial park in India. The idea is to tap the vast market potential and lower costs in the populous South Asian country. Led by the Guangdong Solid State Lighting Industry Innovation Center, the group of manufacturers is talking with several states in India for the project. Two states have already held talks: Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Rajasthan, both in western India. The agreement on the project is expected to be signed in the first half of next year. The proposed project is estimated to generate annual output of $596.88 million, said Gui Shirong, director of the center. Total investment for the planned park is estimated at $2.98 billion, half of which would come from the participating enterprises. The rest is expected to be in the form of low-interest loans and support via advance purchase orders, Gui said. The Chinese enterprises involved include those engaged in the manufacture of LED-based displays, road lamps, and household and commercial lighting products, chip packaging, and supporting industries. As the largest LED-strong Chinese province, Guangdong houses more than 10,000 related companies, or 60 percent of the national total. Its LED output surged from 38 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) in 2009 to 415.6 billion yuan last year, including exports worth 126 billion yuan. The province had replaced more than 4 million road lamps with LED products by the end of last year, saving energy by 55 percent, a record that can be replicated in other countries, he said. This is particularly true for India where LED consumption is less than 5 percent of that in China. But things are changing. Certain brands such as Philips, Osram, Havells, Wipro, Bajaj, Eveready, Syska, Oreva, Moser Baer and Surya are already slugging it out in the Indian LED market. Yet, LED exports from Guangdong to India grew rapidly to $644 million last year, up 148 percent year-on-year. According to Research and Markets, India's LED market is forecast to reach $1.4 billion by 2019. "Government initiatives to replace incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs, increasing energy demand supply gap, declining prices are the factors driving the growth of LED lighting in India. Street lighting application accounts for majority of the market revenues in Indian LED lighting market... LED lighting market will account for 32 percent of the overall India's lighting market revenues by 2019." According to Frost & Sullivan, a business consulting firm, by 2021, the LED technology is estimated tol penetrate 57 percent of the lighting market in India. The proposed Chinese LED park in India is expected to help advance LED industrialization, upgrade the LED technology and popularize LED lighting products in the country, and create an industrial cluster in the state where the park would be eventually located. It is also estimated to create about 10,000 local jobs. As an emerging market with a big population, India has room for taking the LED manufacturing capacity, said Liu Jisen, vice secretary-general of the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies. Massive production should help India develop its LED industry and bring down the price to increase affordability. The promotion of energy-saving LED products should help India address its sustainable development issue, Liu said. Apart from India, the markets in Brazil, Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia and East Europe also have potential for similar LED industrial parks, Gui said. Building on the massive capacity, the LED industry of Guangdong has also embarked on technological innovation and upgrading, inviting participation by institutions from advanced economies, he said. Darren Woods, newly named chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. [Photo provided to China Daily] Exxon Mobil Corp named Darren Woods, the heir apparent who built the company's refineries into profit centers, to succeed Rex Tillerson as chairman and chief executive officer, effective Jan 1. Woods, the company's refining boss since 2012, was elevated after president-elect Donald Trump picked Tillerson to become US Secretary of State, the Irving, Texas-based oil explorer said in a statement on Wednesday. Even if Tillerson doesn't become the top US diplomatthree Republican senators have expressed misgivings about his nominationhe was due to leave no later than March when he reaches Exxon's mandatory retirement age. Woods, 51, inherits a drilling and refining behemoth hamstrung by a two-and-a-half year slump in energy markets, and ill-timed investments in North American shale and Russia. Still, Trump's election, OPEC's plan to cut production and Woods's ability to boost the value of the company's refineries have all combined to change the face of the industry for Exxon heading into the future. "Validating the integrated model will be the challenge for the next leader of Exxon," said Vincent Piazza, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence in New York. "Downstream and chemicals have been the few bright spots counterbalancing the negative impact of prices on the upstream segment." Woods's elevation to chairman and CEO was telegraphed with his promotion to president in January, the same time he became a member of the board of directors. He's been on the six-person management committee that oversees day-to-day operations since June 2014. He steps into the new roles effective Jan 1. Refining reversal For the past five quarters at Exxon, refining has outperformed so-called upstream oil and natural gas wells, a reversal of the traditional relationship. Since June 2015, Exxon's refineries and related business lines raked in $6.34 billion, compared with $3.05 billion for the oil and gas business. During that same period, refining burned through $3.1 billion in capital spending, compared with $23.2 billion in the upstream segment. A Kansas-born electrical engineer by training, Woods joined Exxon as an analyst in 1992 and rose through the ranks on the refining and chemicals side of the business. His main rival in the competition to succeed Tillerson was Jack Williams, a drilling engineer who oversaw oil and gas projects from Louisiana to Malaysia before taking control of XTO Energy, the shale explorer Exxon bought in 2010 for $35 billion. One of Woods's most-pressing tasks will be figuring out how to rescue a stillborn Russian joint venture that locked up $1 billion in investments and a billion-barrel Arctic oil discovery behind a wall of international sanctions. Russia quandary When Exxon signed a 2011 agreement to join with Rosneft PJSC in drilling Arctic, deepwater and shale fields, it was seen as a crowning achievement of Tillerson's career. But the work slammed to a halt when the US and European Union imposed economic sanctions against Russia in 2014. The venture has been mostly idle ever since. On the home front, Woods will face allegations by attorneys general from New York, Massachusetts and other states that Exxon misled investors about the threat posed to the company's portfolio by climate change. Under Tillerson, the company has aggressively defended its record. Exxon shares have risen 16 percent this year, lagging the 19 percent advance by the Bloomberg World Oil & Gas Index. Chevron Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have also outperformed their bigger rival, with gains of 29 percent and 40 percent, respectively. Woods made $28,848 in political contributions during the past four years. The biggest recipient was Exxon's political action committee, which took in $13,700. Woods also gave the Republican National Congressional Committee $10,000. Exxon's leadership change comes after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC nations including Russia committed to cutting almost 1.8 million barrels a day of crude starting next year. Oil in New York has risen about 15 percent to over $50 a barrel since the Nov 30 accord. Legendary oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens sees crude reaching $60 a barrel within a month, and $75 some time next year. "I'm long oil," Pickens said on Monday. Bloomberg BEIJING - An A320 aircraft was delivered at the Airbus (Tianjin) Delivery Center on Thursday, the 300th A320 to come off the Tianjin assembly line. It was delivered to China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. , and then handed over to Sichuan Airlines, according to Airbus China. "The A320 family is renowned for economy and excellent performance. We're honored that the A320 has again been chosen by both a leasing company and a Chinese airline," said Eric Chen, president of Airbus China. Inaugurated in 2008, the Tianjin assembly line has reached its phase I production target of four aircraft per month, or 48 to 50 each year. The assembly line is a joint venture between Airbus, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Zone & Tianjin Port Free Trade Administrative Committee, and the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It was the third A320 final assembly line in the world and the first outside Europe. It delivered its first aircraft in June 2009. According to Airbus China, all partners have agreed to extend the joint venture until 2025 for phase II, including final assembly of the A320neo from 2017 onwards. Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma attends the opening ceremony of the third World Internet Conference in Wuzhen town of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, November 16, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Alibaba's Jack Ma and four other Chinese entrepreneurs were named among the World's Most Powerful People, alongside successful politicians and business leaders, according to Forbes' annual ranking. Jack Ma, ranking No. 28 on the list, has set a goal of creating 10 million profitable businesses and 100 million jobs in the next 20 years. Ding Xuedong, chairman of China Investment Corporation, the country's largest sovereign wealth fund, is also listed. Ding is responsible for steering an asset pool reportedly worth more than $800 billion. Ma Huateng (No 45), founder of Chinese internet giant Tencent, provides innovative services including mobile texting juggernaut WeChat. Real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin and Baidu CEO Robin Li are also included on the list. The top 10 most powerful CEOs are all from American-run firms with a combined market cap of $3 trillion, according to Forbes. Larry Page, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, topped the rankings. Fang Zhaoxue (middle), co-founder of ekuaibao, makes it directly through to the final round in the Beijing section of the first Strait Cup (Jinjing) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, Dec 14, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Standing under eyes of the crowd, Li Yun, a post-70s entrepreneur who runs a cloud-based crowdsourcing call service platform, only had eight minutes to convince the six professional investors sitting in front of him that his project is promising. He was in the Beijing section of the first Strait Cup (Jinjing) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, competing with 54 other contestants in the preliminary round from December 14 -15 to qualify for the next round. "What my company needs most at the current stage are funds and exposure. I think the competition is an opportunity," Li said. In the past four years, Li participated in more than 60 entrepreneurship competitions held by city governments at all levels across China. He won a prize once, but has not received what he really desires yet, the favor of investors. Fang Zhaoxue, co-founder of ekuaibao, an online enterprise consumption and reimbursement management solution provider, showed a relatively relaxed attitude towards money in the competition. "I am not here for funding. Our company raised 30 million yuan ($4.33 million) in a round of financing from DCM Ventures on October 25," Fang said to the judges at the road show. She became the first contestant to make it directly through to the final round. Most entrepreneurs in the competition are from the fields of electronic information, internet and mobile internet. Their startup projects cover a large range of things from online knowledge sharing platforms, online dating platforms to internet plus poverty alleviation platforms. Liu Ning, a judge in the competition and investment director of China Venture Capital Co Ltd, said the content of these projects are diversified, but internet entrepreneurs need to seriously consider their profit models. "We prefer investing on startup projects that aim at the masses, can be used in high frequency, meet rigid demands and can spread fast," said another judge Li Yi, senior investment manager of 36 Kr, an ecological service platform for internet startups. A couple from Taiwan working on a new energy project also participated in the competition. Chen Shumin, the wife, said, "We have been running our company in Beijing for two years, feeling innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly encouraged here." Since Premier Li Keqiang called for "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" at the Summer Davos in Tianjin, in 2014, it has been viewed as a new engine for China's economic growth. A total of 633 domestic and foreign entrepreneurs were short listed in the first Strait Cup (Jinjing) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition held by the Jinjiang municipal government. Besides Beijing, the competition is also held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province and Jinjiang, Southeast China's Fujian province. A visitor watches the making of ice wine at a chateau in Ji'an of Tonghua city, Northeast China's Jilin province, Dec 8, 2016. As a dessert wine, the ice wine is produced from frozen grapes. In recent years, local government of Ji'an encouraged the research and development of ice wine industry. The growing area of the special grapes has exceeded 330 hectares and local yearly production of the ice wine reaches 500 tons. The Ji'an ice wine has become an example of the Chinese ice wine in global market. [Photo/Xinhua] BEIJING - An Italian-style shopping town in Wuqing district, connected by rail, in China's northern port city of Tianjin is expected to host 6 million visitors this year. Florentia Village, where tourists can buy top-notch brands from Italy and other countries, is just 100 meters away from Wuqing railway station, the midway stop on the high-speed railway between Beijing and Tianjin, which started operation in 2008, shortening travel time between the two cities to half an hour. It only takes 23 minutes to reach Beijing, and 13 minutes to downtown Tianjin, from Wuqing by rail. Florentia Village attracted 5.6 million visitors in 2015, bringing 2.7 billion yuan ($390 million) in sales revenue. "The train station in Wuqing has optimized Wuqing's geographic advantage, the most direct reflection is the booming commerce," said Sun Jiannan, deputy head of the district. Wuqing's GDP in 2015 was more than six times its size in 2007, prior to the opening of the railway. This is just one of the great changes that railways have brought to Wuqing, a satellite town of Beijing and Tianjin. In the past two years, Wuqing introduced more than 3,000 investment projects from the capital, or 40 percent of total deals signed. China proposed a plan in early 2014 to boost the integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, to create a new growth pole for the country and to jointly tackle air pollution. Railways have become a key catalyst for the implementation of the plan. As important progress in integration of transport infrastructure, the high-speed railway between Tianjin and Baoding, a major city in Hebei, opened in December 2015, cutting travel between the two from 2.5 hours to 1 hour. Beijing has high-speed trains to Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei. Meanwhile, new domestic and international rail freight services have carried more local commodities beyond the area to as far as Europe. Three freight trains have been launched from Tianjin to central Asia and Europe this year, carrying a total of 480,000 tonnes of freight, according to the Beijing Railway Bureau. Hebei opened two freight trains to central Asia and Germany this year. Direct freight trains were also launched from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei cities such as Shijiazhuang and Baoding, to south China cities, said said the bureau. "Such railway freight service helps reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the capital region," said an official at the bureau. In November, the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, approved a program to build an inter-city railway network in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei by 2030 to push forward regional integration and economic growth. According to the plan, 24 inter-city railways with a total length of 3,457 km will be built in the region at an estimated cost of 650 billion yuan. Before 2020, nine inter-city railway projects will be started, with a total length of 1,100 km and a cost of about 250 billion yuan. "The inter-city railway network has great significance in coordinated development of small, medium-sized and big cities of the region," said Gao Mingming, an official in charge of the intercity railway network plan. "I believe more towns like Wuqing in the region will see rapid development in the future," he added. TIANJIN - Once known for producing carpets, the township of Cuihuangkou in North China's Tianjin municipality has found new economic life as an e-commerce base. Cuihuangkou is currently home to about 400 carpet companies, which provide jobs for 25,000 people. The town's carpets have been exported to more than 50 countries and regions, accounting for 40 percent of the country's export volume. "The carpet companies in our town once focused on processing products for export, so their income mainly came from export rebates. Vicious competition among these companies left business even worse," said Cao Shiquan, deputy Party chief of Cuihuangkou Township. Low additional value, pollution from the dyeing process, and shrinking profits of the carpet industry also hampered the town's economic development, Cao said. To revitalize the industry, Cuihuangkou Township set up a carpet industrial park in August 2009. However, the park only contributed taxes of 50 million yuan ($7.21 million) in 2011 and couldn't attract enough businesses. The town faced hard times until June 2012, when Vip.com, a Chinese online discount retailer, decided to set up its north China branch in Cuihuangkou. Zhou Jianxiang, head of Cuihuangkou Township, said Vip.com's arrival was viewed as a landmark event for the town's development. The carpet industrial park started to change its focus to e-commerce and formally changed its name to Tianjin Jingjin E-commerce Industrial Park in March 2014. Its main aim is developing e-commerce, Internet technology, and the cultural creative industry. In 2015, the park paid taxes of more than 1 billion yuan, 20 times the amount in 2011. The Jingjin E-commerce Industrial Park has attracted more than 1,200 enterprises, including popular e-commerce companies such as JD.com., Vip.com, Ctrip.com, and Qunar.com, creating jobs for 12,000 people. Thanks to convenient transportation around the park, product delivery time has significantly improved, said Zhang Jianwei, general manager with the Jiuxianwang E-commerce (Tianjin) Co, Ltd, an e-commerce liquor company. "It used to take two days to deliver goods from our former warehouse in Beijing to Hebei and Shandong provinces, but now delivery time from the industrial park to the two provinces has been shortened to one day," said Zhang. Hu Chaoyang, Party chief of Cuihuangkou Township and director of the management committee of the Tianjin Jingjin E-commerce Industrial Park, said the town also supports the transformation of the local industry. An e-commerce carpet company, etancheng.com, was founded in Oct 2015 to help the local carpet industry explore the domestic market via online sales. "Carpet companies used to focus on the international market. Now, as the living standard of Chinese people has improved, we have started to eye the domestic market and offer customized service as well," said Li Yunlong, operating officer with etanchang.com. The company's turnover for the first three months surpassed 15 million yuan, while turnover in 2017 is expected to exceed 100 million yuan, Li said. In addition to the carpet industry, the industrial park will integrate two other traditional local industries -- bicycle and silk flower production -- with e-commerce. It is expected that the town's GDP will reach 20 billion yuan by the end of China's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), five times that of 2015. China Bohai Bank plans to make more innovative financial products to better serve people in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (or Jing-jin-ji ), says the bank's chairman, Li Fu'an. At the annual conference of national joint-stock commercial banks in Tianjin this week, Li said the bank had closely studied the Jing-jin-ji integration strategy promoted by the central government and had looked at how to innovate to support economic development. Branches of the bank have formulated projects that could support the strategy, especially with connectivity, infrastructure building, environment, and solutions to air pollutions, he said. "We could also provide financial services targeting those who often travel to and within different cities in the Jing-jin-ji region." For example, the bank is designing a transport pass that could be used anywhere within the region, and is also working with others on creating and running funds that could support regional economic development, he said. China Bohai Bank says it now has more than 50 branches in the Jing-jin-ji region, 90 percent more than in 2010. It serves 13,500 companies and individual customers, 80 percent more than in 2010, it says. Containers are loaded on the first train heading for Madrid, Spain, at the railway freight transport station in Yiwu, Zhejiang province.[Photo/China Daily] Top leaders vow to balance growth with risk prevention as they set the tone for next year The nation's top leaders pledged on Friday to balance stable growth and risk prevention as they wrapped up an annual tone-setting meeting that mapped out economic policies for next year. "Maintaining stability while seeking progress" will be an important principle for China's economic work next year, said a statement from the three-day Central Economic Work Conference. The meeting agreed that China's economic policy stance will remain largely stable next year. It said that China will maintain a prudent and neutral monetary policy and a proactive fiscal policy in 2017, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency. The nation should maintain an appropriate growth range and try to prevent risks in key areas, according to the statement. The country also should continue to push forward supply-side structural reform aimed at cutting excessive capacity and lowering the tax burdens on enterprises, and keep liquidity and the yuan basically stable, it said. "A stable policy environment, including a stable currency, provides a foundation for stable economic growth," said Dong Yuping, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Participants agreed that attention should be paid to prevention of financial risks. Asset bubbles should be put under control and regulatory capacity should be improved to prevent systemic financial risks. "China's stock, bond and currency markets all experienced huge fluctuations recently, which means financial risks have become more apparent," Dong said. The nonperforming-loan ratio for banks is rising and capital outflows have increased. Therefore, the government must focus on financial risk prevention while trying to stabilize growth, he said. China should keep its real estate market stable and healthy, as "properties are for residential use, not speculation", according to the statement. A market-oriented and long-term mechanism should be established that can curb a real estate bubble and prevent erratic fluctuations, it said. Local governments will be held accountable if prices rise too high, it said, adding that the land supply should be increased to ease price rises. Niu Li, an economist at the State Information Center, said that in the first 11 months of the year, about 45 percent of the country's new yuan lending was used by residents to buy properties, compared with about 25 percent in previous years. The statement also said the government should increase the confidence of private business owners by strengthening property rights protection. It also said China should deepen reform of State-owned enterprises, and "substantial progress should be made in some areas, such as power, oil, natural gas, railway, civil aviation, telecom and the military industry". Sound bites Stronger-than-expected data in November, mainly industrial production growth, suggest that the economic growth momentum remained stable. We maintain our forecast of GDP growth at 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter. - Zhao Yang, chief China economist at Nomura Securities Concerns for the nations near-term economic outlook are limited. We expect a soft landing in economic growth, and the impact from cooling measures in the property sector will be balanced by fiscal stimulus measures. - Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley China needs to accelerate financial reforms and use innovation to extend substantial financial support to the real economy. - Zong Liang, deputy director of the Institute of International Finance at Bank of China A long-term mechanism for the healthy development of Chinas real estate market that looks at supply, demand, finance and taxes is essential. - James Macdonald, head of Savills China Research BEIJING - Auto sales and output in China, the world's biggest auto market, continued to expand during the first 11 months, hitting an all-time high. From January to November, about 25 million cars were sold in China, up 14.1 percent year on year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Vehicle production rose 14.3 percent from a year ago to top 25 million units. New energy vehicles remained popular, with both output and sales more than double last year's. The continued growth may be due to tax reductions for smaller cars and booming demand for SUVs, backed by signs of a stabilizing economy. Mercedes-Benz training cars and driving instructors of the driving school in Shanghai. [Photo/english.cri.cn] A driving school in Shanghai, which only uses Mercedes-Benz cars for training, has been welcomed enthusiastically by clients, particularly by female students. A female client surnamed Chen is one of them. "Although the fees are quite high, it is reasonable and I am ok with it," she said. Chen said in her impression, the cars in most driving schools are old and shabby, and the instructors have reputations for being rude and even cursing at or beating students. The school, jointly run by Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy and Dazhong Driving School, just opened and has 31 students currently - 17 women and 14 men - and the majority of people who have come to inquire about the courses are women. All the cars it owns are Mercedes-Benz executive cars, each valued at around 300,000 yuan ($43,265). The fees at the school are approximately double the price that most driving schools charge, but some discounts are available. It charges 16,800 yuan ($2,424) for those who choose to take lessons on weekends, 15,800 yuan($2,280) for students who decide to have lessons on workdays and weekends, and 14,800 yuan($2,135) for those who only have lessons on workdays. Chen said she paid 13,200 yuan ($2,135), a discounted price, for the weekday driving lessons she bought. There had been previous media reports about driving instructors, especially male instructors, being rude and lacking patience, with some even insulting or beating students. The school currently has eight instructors including two women, and General Manager of Dazhong Driving School Chen Jinghai said it is anticipated that 40 percent of the instructors in the future would be women. "The image of traditional driving schools and instructors is not very good. There are even instructors who would scold and beat students, which made some female clients scared of traditional driving schools and instructors," he said. He said female instructors are relatively patient, have an eye for detail, and are better at communication. Apart from general training, things like service awareness and emotional management are also on the school's training schedule. Blake Moret, Rockwell Automation's president and CEO. [Photo provided to China Daily] The concept helps to improve productivity, sustainability and performance, while forging connections among people, production and technologies, says Rockwell Automation's chief "Doing more with less" is Blake Moret's buzz-phrase. And, in his book, even in the age of cost-conscious corporates culture, "less" need not always mean fewer workers or a thinner wage billand "more" could very well mean more "indirect" jobs. Moret, Rockwell Automation's president and CEO, and a mechanical engineer by training, is passionate about his vision for "Connected Enterprise", a concept or solution he believes can help people and enterprises to do more with less. So, he is driving its acceleration through innovation, leveraging his in-depth knowledge of customers' business needs. That knowledge is his by dint of decades of working with one of the world's largest industrial automation and information companies by market value. Moret has 31 years of broad experience with Rockwell Automation, a leading provider of industrial automation power, control and information solutions for manufacturers including leadership roles in marketing, solutions, services and product groups. He assumed his current management role on July 1 this year. "Doing more with less", in China's context, is to maximize the application of the "Connected Enterprise", so as to deliver the future today, he said. The idea is highly related to China's campaign to upgrade the manufacturing sector through its "Made in China 2025" and "Internet Plus" initiatives. According to Moret, the Connected Enterprise solution will forge connections among people, production processes and technologies through information-sharing and internet connectivity. This will, in turn, enable enterprises to significantly improve productivity, sustainability and performance. The solution, based on synergized control and information structure, offers enterprises smarter, safer and more productive manufacturing environment. During his frequent visits to China, Moret is often found in meeting rooms with clients, or at manufacturing sites, listening to customers' latest requirement and needs. Recently, he spoke with China Daily about the company's strategy, business opportunities and prospects. The following are the edited excerpts from the interview: What are the major changes China's manufacturers are facing amid cutting overcapacity and the 'Made in China 2025' campaign? In the past, it was enough just to provide equipment that would enable greater capacity or to replace older equipment. But today, there must be additional values such as faster time-to-market, lower total cost of ownership, increased asset utilization, and better management of enterprise risk. It's also important to note that rarely does a manufacturer make the change all at once. So they should have a step-by-step approach and be able to put a foundation in place that's future-proof, so that you can take advantage of additional new technology in the future. Would you please give an example of these additional values? In one example, We have provided additional value to a luxury automotive manufacturer where again it's not enough just to be able to provide the means for enabling additional capacity, but to be able to enable their made-to-order process. In that example, keeping with principles of "Made in China 2025", we have applied information management software in concert with the basic control equipment, to be able to provide a higher level of productivity and decision-making support. What's your take on the view that automation leads to job losses instead of creating the much-needed new jobs? In today's worldwide competitive economy, manufacturers that want to remain relevant have to find ways to become more productivethere's no alternative. Today, for traditional manufacturing, for every direct manufacturing job, there's estimated to be another half of a job that is required to support that process. In smart manufacturing, the multiplier of additional jobs created is three or four additional indirect jobs that support that basic process. So, while there may be some reduction of the repetitive traditional labor on a factory floor, the overall employment for the most competitive manufacturers will actually go up because of those additional indirect jobs, and also because they themselves will be taking additional market share. How can automation solutions help Chinese manufacturers to build up their overseas footprint? Rockwell Automation can provide several valuable services and solutions in working with these manufacturers investing overseas, which are facing various challenges, including regulation and standards. For example, introducing those manufacturers to our global partners, and conducting assessments of the readiness of the Chinese product in Chinese manufacturing operations for a given market, such as safety assessments to see if a given machinery will comply with the relevant country standards. We can also enforce worldwide standards across multiple countries. Has any Chinese manufacturer benefited from these solutions? One example that I can provide is of a very large Chinese tire manufacturer who wishes to establish a plant in the United States. We were able to work with that manufacturer to understand their requirements, because we've worked with them in China to introduce them to local sources of value in the state that they were moving to, and also to help acquaint them with some recent advances in tire-making information systems, that they'll apply to their new process. How does Rockwell Automation seize the opportunities arising from smart manufacturing in China? The rise of the middle class and the demand for additional consumer products will drive a lot of our growth. The whole class of products that we refer to as "consumer products" is a very important focus area for the company for that very reason: for the increasing numbers of people that fit that classification, such as automobile buyers. Our capabilities for adding information management systems on top of basic control such as serialization and track-and-trace capabilities will be particularly important in the future to meet demands for flexibility, speed and quality. We're working with not just consumer-based product companies like food and beverage where we're really strong like auto and tire, we're also working with companies that make doors for the metro and rail industry to help them integrate MES (manufacturing execution systems) in their facility. What's your client portfolio in the China market? How do you localize your business in China? China is the second-largest country market for Rockwell Automation. Over the last five to 10 years, we've transitioned from where our business was 30 percent domestic and 70 percent multinationals, to current position with 70 percent of our business coming from domestic customers and 30 percent from MNCs. We've double-digit market share in terms of programmable controllers. In general, our market share positions are highest in consumer and automotive and tire industries. What are the latest requirements and demands you have heard from your clients' feedback? One is to be able to continue to improve the output and the efficiency of those machines even after the initial machinery is delivered. It is a new concept to be able to provide upgrades to that equipment, to be able to improve its effectiveness even after the initial delivery. And that's something that we're helping equipment manufacturers provide today. Another is the ability to remotely monitor that equipment. So, to be able to reduce the amount of labor that is on the site physically, you have to have a deep understanding of the machinery. The use of remote monitoring techniques is becoming important in all industries that we serve. What's your leadership style? What is your mantra? It's results-oriented. I like to create simple plans and assemble a team of capable, empowered people who can execute on those plans. CV Age: 53 Nationality: US Career: 2016: President and CEO, Rockwell Automation 2011-16: Senior vice-president, Control Products& Solutions 2007-11: Vice-President, Customer Support and Maintenance 2005-07: Director, Electronic Operator Inter-face Business 2002-05: Business Man-ager, Medium Voltage Drives 1985-2002: Joined Rock-well Automation, held various roles. Education: 1985: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, US. Family: Married with four children Hobbies: Mountaineering, hiking, skiing, cycling. Children watch robots at the 5th China International Robot Show(CIROS2016) on July 6, 2016, Shanghai. [Photo/IC] HEFEI - China's robot industry is growing rapidly, but a more standardized industry is required if products are to be more reliable. At the China Robot Industry Conference in Wuhu, Anhui province, data released by China Robot Industry Alliance (CRIA), a non-profit organization, showed that 19,000 industrial robots were sold in China in the first half of 2016. Applied to various manufacturing tasks including packaging, welding and assembly, industrial robots are more widely used and the market has grown from $8.5 billion in 2013 to $12.3 billion in 2015, according to International Federation of Robotics. China has been the largest consumer since 2013. From January to November in 2016, China produced 64,000 industrial robots, over 90 percent more than all production in 2015. Nearly 3,000 robot manufacturers have sprung up in China over the last five years, but current industrial standards are inadequate. The market needs new standards designed by the government and the market, said Xie Bingbing, deputy chief engineer of the Beijing Research Institute for the Automation for the Machinery Industry. At the conference, the CRIA released new standards for industrial robots, providing a technical guide for manufacturers. The CRIA is now working on standards for service robots. OTTAWA - BlackBerry announced on Thursday that it has entered a long-term licensing agreement with TCL, which allows the Chinese electronics company to make and sell BlackBerry-branded mobile devices globally. Under the agreement, the hardware made by TCL will be coupled with BlackBerry's security software and service suite, according to the Canadian company. "TCL Communication is the natural choice to license BlackBerry's software and brand on a global scale," said Ralph Pini, chief operating officer of BlackBerry, hailing the Chinese company's vast global reach and consumer access. After years of trying to turn its smartphone business around, BlackBerry has largely ceded the global market to its rivals such as Apple and Samsung. The company announced in September the decision to outsource its smartphone business. The new agreement allows TCL to design, make, sell and support BlackBerry-branded smartphones in all countries except India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. A deal signed in September between BlackBerry and Indonesia's BB Merah Putih gave the latter the rights to manufacture and sell the devices in the Southeast Asian country, which is BlackBerry's largest handset market. Founded in 1981, TCL began as a manufacturer and seller of telephones and related equipment, but its business expanded into other areas in the 1990s. Today, the TCL employs more than 75,000 people in 80 countries. BEIJING - China announced a major breakthrough in its Operation Fox Hunt on Thursday with about 400 economic-crime fugitives now back on home soil. As part of the operation, fugitives were told the authorities would be more lenient with sentencing if they returned to China before Dec1. Although this operation is set to end on Dec 31, Vice Public Security Minister Liu Jinguo on Thursday insisted that the hunt would continue until all fugitives were tried on home soil. The fight against corruption must be extended beyond the country's borders as corrupt officials have fled the country with their ill-gotten gains. It has become common practice for corrupt officials to transfer funds and assets offshore and emigrate along with their families. China's graft commission has been thwarted in its attempts to secure the extradition of many fugitives due to a lack of treaties with certain countries. The case of Yang Xiuzhu, former vice mayor of Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province, is a typical example. When investigators started looking into her possible involvement in graft in 2003, she fled China with her family to the United States via Singapore and then to the Netherlands. Investigators later uncovered evidence showing Yang had accepted bribes amounting 253 million yuan (41 million US dollars). Through Interpol, China filed a Red Notice for her in 2006 and negotiations had begun but had yet to bear fruit. This lack of cross-border coordination enables officials to hide in plain sight and has clearly thwarted domestic efforts to root out corruption. The barriers to obtain cooperation from other countries has many barriers, especially Western countries that are weary of China's legal system. Despite the hurdles it may face, China's fight against graft will continue. Thanks to the fox hunt ultimatum, of the 428 repatriated suspects in the operation, 231 chose to turn themselves in. Fugitives that remain abroad face an uncertain future as Chinese leaders step up diplomatic efforts for cross-border operations. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) corruption law enforcement network was established last month, with a strong lead from China. The network includes countries deemed "safe havens" by corrupt officials. President Xi Jinping put forward antigraft international cooperation as the third of his four proposals presented at the G20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, last month, evidencing China's commitment to the success of Operation Fox Hunt. China has investigated more than 50 officials of provincial level or higher for graft, including Zhou Yongkang, a former Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, not mentioning hundreds of officials at lower levels. Those hoping that the campaign was a passing phase should start to think seriously about their fate. Innovative universities are vital for China's economic transition, and will lead to more inventive centers of learning according to the president of a leading Chinese institution. Zhang Jie, the youngest president of Shanghai Jiao Tong University since 1949, said the key to building a leading innovative university is to develop and encourage a high-quality faculty that is motived by innovation. One year after Zhang took his post in 2007, he initiated a reform of a university-wide incentive system to motivate the faculty and students to be more innovative. The goal of the incentives is to develop a high-quality faculty that will be on a par with the best universities in the West by 2020. In Shanghai in October, Zhang and fellow presidents from eight leading Chinese universities welcomed a delegation of eight vice-chancellors from the Russell Group, which represents Britain's top 24 research universities. Zhang and David Greenaway, chairman of the Russell Group and vice-chancellor of the University of Nottingham, co-chaired the Russell Group-China 9 Dialogue. At the event, a joint statement was signed outlining ways to explore and build on existing relationships. China 9 comprises nine elite research universities- Peking, Tsinghua, Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Harbin Institute of Technology, Nanjing University, the University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and Zhejiang University. Greenaway said: "Our universities are international institutions that thrive on their academic links around the world. They recognize that big scientific, economic and social challenges will only be solved when the best minds work together through global research collaboration." Zhang said the joint statement had laid a foundation for further collaborations. "We are looking to set up a joint institute for low-carbon research in Shanghai alongside the University of Edinburgh, University College London and Imperial College London." Zhang said Western universities have a strong interest in the rapid development of Chinese universities. "In the West, universities have evolved, while in China universities could achieve the same goals in a relatively short time by following very detailed design with both top-down and bottom-up approaches," he explained. As modern universities first developed in Europe, Zhang believes Western centers of learning have a much deeper understanding of the relationships between universities and society as well as the contribution a particular university makes to society, which is something Chinese institutions could learn from. Zhang said both parties were discussing standards that would allow students to use their credits at universities in both the UK and China. The Palace Museum Calendar for 2017 offers a bilingual version.[Photo provided to China Daily] Calendars turned into luxuriously illustrated books, often with a twist of interactivity, are highlights of China's book scene at the end of the year. The most popular is the Palace Museum Calendar, which has sold 1.3 million copies since it was first issued in 2010. The first printing of the 2017 version300,000 copiesis sold out, and four more printings have been ordered. For 2017, the Palace Museum Press is offering a bilingual version with English and Chinese. The Beijing museum also is known as the Forbidden City. "We saw a need abroad for understanding Chinese cultural traditions," said Wang Guanliang, director of the office that plans the calendar datebooks. "We didn't expect this but the market treats our publications as collectibles," Wang said. The 2010 version is now worth 80 times its original price, according to online sites for book sales. Wang said that the calendar is inspired by Chinese zodiac animals, and is illustrated with photos of relics from the Palace Museum's collection of some 1.82 million antiques"almost an endless source for us". Publishing expert Zhang Lei said that the success of the Palace Museum Calendar has inspired more publishing entities to follow suit. "We have embraced the new types of calendars since the Palace Museum won the hearts of consumers by introducing arts to people's daily lives," Zhang said. The number of such calendar titles has risen to 51 this year, compared with last year's 16. "Most of the calendars are like art books. For young readers, they are portable, affordable, and chic to have," he added. Zhao Mingye, director of the Plants and Animals Calendar team of Guokr.com, told China Daily, "Most of our customers buy more than one copy." Their calendar for 2017 is full of cute animals, with a QR code for each day offering updated online content. "Our 2016 version sold 100,000 copies, and 40,000 copies of the 2017 version were sold the night it was launched," Zhao said. Besides the Plants and Animals Calendar, there is the One Way Street Calendar that resembles an old style Chinese almanac. If scanned using an augmented reality app, it displays videos of celebrities reading poems. China Book Company, which created a Dream of the Red Chamber calendar for 2014, has since developed five more calendars with themes which include Chinese classical literature. As the popularity of printed books declines, calendars are turning a new page for printed content with innovative designs and themes, reviving interest in categories like traditional culture, popular science and literature. A passenger gets her ticket at Nantong Railway Station in Jiangsu province on Thursday after purchasing it online. Xu Congjun / For China Daily Train tickets went on sale on Thursday for the first day of Spring Festival rush, the 40-day travel peak during the Chinese New Year holiday. This year, China Railway Corp has scrapped pictorial verification checks for the online purchase of most tickets, to streamline the buying process during the rush, which runs from Jan 13 to Feb 21. Since the beginning of last year, the railway operator's official website - 12306.com - had required users to verify a booking by selecting a photo based on a subject or question. The security feature has now been removed for 60 percent of tickets. "The other 40 percent is understood to be for the most popular departure or destination stations, such as Beijing and Shanghai," Huang Xin, deputy director of railway transportation for CRC, was quoted as saying by China National Radio. The security feature was put in place to prevent scalpers from using software that allows them to buy hundreds of tickets within seconds. However, ordinary users had complained it was time-consuming. "The images are just too fuzzy to recognize," said Song Wenbo, a college student in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, who returns home to Jilin province each Spring Festival. "I was always afraid of tickets being sold out before I could figure out the pictures." Wu Jianhong, a former researcher for the Ministry of Railways' Economic and Planning Research Institute, said: "The security feature affected ordinary passengers as much as scalpers. Scalpers always have software to get around security checks, so it is passengers who end up suffering." China Railway Corp predicted China's rail network will handle 356 million trips during Spring Festival, up 9.7 percent from last year. After Dec 30, tickets will be available to buy online just 30 days before the date of departure, while tickets at offline locations will be available 28 days in advance. Li Hongyang contributed to this story. Hu Jihua, head of Lequn village, surveys the land worked by members of the local cooperative. This year, the village has lost tens of thousands of yuan's worth of crops as a result of disease and abnormally hot weather.Liu Hao\china Daily This is the fourth in a series of special reports that China Daily is publishing. The reports focus on efforts to eradicate poverty and raise living standards in the country's rural areas, especially among members of the nation's ethnic minority groups. When he was elected head of his village six years ago, Hu Jihua vowed to lift every one of the 4,000 residents - many of them disabled - out of poverty, and fulfill a personal dream at the same time. The 38-year-old, who stopped growing at 1.4 meters tall as a result of a rare, congenital spinal disorder, was desperate to demonstrate that "anything a healthy man can do, I can do better". He has set about proving his point. Hu's idea was simple: Gather all available resources and focus on one thing at a time. He established a cooperative for the village and invited every resident to invest land or money. The cooperative operates like a regular company, but with a twist. It sells farm produce and other local goods, and the villagers take a cut of the profits. But they also receive an annual dividend based on the sum they invested, even if the cooperative loses money. Although the concept sounds simple, achieving their goal was anything but easy for Hu and his peers. They live in Lequn, a remote settlement tucked away in the mountains surrounding Liupanshui in Guizhou province. Nearly 400 villagers - 10 percent of the residents - have physical disabilities, almost double the national average. According to official estimates, 85 million people in China have a disability, roughly 6 percent of the population. One of the reasons behind the high disability rate in Lequn is generations of marriage between close blood relatives, according to Hu Jihua, the village head. About 50 percent of the residents are members of ethnic groups, mostly the Hui, Buyi and Yi peoples, said Hu, who is of Yi origin. In previous generations, most of the groups forbade marriage with people of other ethnicities, and although the local government has tempered the tendency in recent years, the problems are likely to remain for some time. "What's done is done," Hu said, with a sigh. Another reason is a problem that often affects isolated villages such as Lequn, where the primary activity is farming. About 20 years ago, the lack of other work resulted in younger villagers, mainly men, leaving home and heading to coastal cities, where wages were about 10 times higher, in search of jobs. Most of them ended up on unregulated, dangerous construction sites, and their status as migrant laborers provided little protection if they became injured. Almost inevitably, a large number of them returned home with permanent physical damage. Fang Jiaping is one of them. As a result of a work injury, the 47-year-old's left leg has withered to the extent that the muscles are barely visible. Wearing a flat cap and clutching a handmade pipe, Fang had to lean against a wall for support as he spoke. Nearly 20 years ago, Fang headed to Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou, to do odd jobs. His injury occurred when he fell off scaffolding while working at a construction site, leaving him with a crippled leg and five toes he is unable to flex. He said pain is the only thing he has felt in his lower limb for nearly two decades. Fang, a Han, is married to a woman from the Buyi group. They have a 19-year-old son, who has followed his father's example and left to work in Zhejiang province, despite a serious skin condition that's exacerbated by the humidity in the coastal province. "He lives on his own money. We don't expect him to give us anything. We're happy as long as he doesn't come back to ask us for money." Fang said, with a humble smile that revealed several yellow teeth. The family has three mu (0.2 hectares) of land. Before Hu was elected as the village head the family was dependent on Fang's wife, who raises chickens, cattle and pigs in addition to farm work, to make ends meet. Hu's plan has raised the family above the national poverty line of 2,600 yuan per person per year. Fang acts as a casual laborer at the company, packing bags with grain, earning 90 yuan ($13) a day. He has also invested 5,000 yuan in the cooperative to become a shareholder, which has given him a rare taste of how it feels to make money with money. Even better, even when the cooperative fails to make a profit, Fang can still get his 5,000 yuan back whenever he wants. Cai Xingxue's urinary system was damaged in a farming accident, so the 52-year-old has to wear a diaper in bed. His wife has a serious spinal condition which prevents her from working, despite the fact that the couple has three daughters and a young son to support. Before Hu established the cooperative, a family such as Cai's would have been reliant on limited government subsidies. "Since joining the cooperative, I do whatever I am able to do, such as spraying pesticides, watering the plants, and weeding. Every year, I work for five or six months and earn about 10,000 yuan," he said. Villagers whose land falls within Hu's area of activity have an extra option. They can invest their land in exchange for shares in the cooperative, and every mu they allow it to use brings them a fixed sum of 600 yuan a year. Hu is proud that his idea has improved the peoples' lives: "We give them cash before the seeds are planted, and as long as the plot of land is accurately measured, the dimensions are made public and no one disagrees, I transfer the money to their bank accounts, so they have a guaranteed income. For now, at least, investing their land brings them 200 yuan (per mu) more than farming it would." Contact the writer at chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn A man who was convicted of illegally detaining and killing his debtor by putting the victim in an iron cage and throwing him into a lake was executed on Tuesday. The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang province ordered the execution of Hu Fangquan after his death sentence was approved by the Supreme People's Court, the Hangzhou court said in a statement published online. Hu, a native of Wenzhou in Zhejiang, was found by the court to have forcibly taken Zhang Hong, a businessman from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region who owed Hu at least 10 million yuan ($1.44 million), from a hotel in Hangzhou with the help of several other accomplices on June 10, 2012. Zhang was then illegally imprisoned by Hu as the latter called Zhang's family asking for a ransom of 50 million yuan. Hu instructed his accomplices to imprison Zhang, with the place of detention continually changing for more than 80 days to dodge a police manhunt. Hu later obtained 6.2 million yuan from Zhang's family members. The court said Hu, with the help of two other accomplices, Zhang Chongxuan and Jin Chaoguo, put Zhang Hong into a cage and pushed the cage off a bridge into the Tankeng Reservoir, which is located in Zhejiang's Lishui. Hu was detained by Hangzhou police in a hotel in Thailand in 2013. The police later detained another 13 people who were involved in the case. It took the police four search attempts over a period of almost a year to locate the cage under water, which was finally found on Dec 28, 2014. DNA tests showed the body inside the cage was that of Zhang Hong. In its verdict, delivered on March 16, 2015, the court said that Hu showed no remorse by refusing to admit to his crime. Zhang Chongxuan and Jin were given the death sentence with a two-year reprieve and life imprisonment respectively. Another seven of Hu's accomplices in the case were given prison terms ranging from one year and nine months to three and a half years. Jiang Jian'guo (right), head of the State Council Information Office, talks with Sameh El-Shahat, president of China-i, a consultative management company, during the office's New Year reception in Beijing on Thursday.Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily The State Council Information Office on Thursday launched an app and an online briefing hall to provide the latest, most authoritative information about China and to offer better services for reporters from China and abroad. The SCIO Release and Online Briefing Hall app was activated by Jiang Jian'guo, minister of the State Council Information Office, and three other senior officials on Thursday during a New Year reception in Beijing. The SCIO Release app will be available in Chinese and English. In addition to offering news conferences organized by the State Council Information Office, central departments, ministries and local governments, the app will provide updated information about developments in China. The Online Briefing Hall will provide information on interview opportunities as well as a platform for asking questions. "The State Council Information Office has held more than 120 news conferences in 2016," said Jiang. "The number would reach several thousand if you included the news conferences held by different ministries and local governments." In 2017, the State Council Information Office will be even more open and play a bigger role in connecting China with the rest of the world by strengthening communication with media and offering better services, he said. Patrick Baert, chief of Agence France-Presse's Beijing bureau, said he hopes the app will offer easy access to statistics. "Sometimes we have trouble in searching for statistics about China, and figures from different sources don't match," he said. More than 400 representatives from major world news agencies, as well as diplomats stationed in Beijing and representatives of central departments and ministries, attended the reception. houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn The People's Liberation Army Air Force will continue to carry out combat-ready patrols above the East China Sea and South China Sea and long-distance training operations, said Air Force spokesman Senior Colonel Shen Jinke. Shen was quoted by the Air Force's micro blog on Thursday as saying that these operations are lawful and reasonable and will continue as scheduled. He said the recent patrols over the East and South China seas were "routine and regular" activities of the Air Force, adding that the Chinese public supports and urges the Air Force to conduct more such patrols. The spokesman made the remarks in response to overseas media reports that the PLA Air Force performed two drills near Taiwan and flew over the South China Sea, Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait in recent days. The Air Force handled various encounters and verified and improved its long-range combat capabilities through its long-distance operations over the past two years, he said. On Dec 10, two Japanese F-15 fighter jets fired decoy flares and closely harassed PLA Air Force planes that were passing through Miyako Strait to conduct an exercise in the western Pacific Ocean, Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun previously said. Shen said the Air Force will continue to hone its capabilities to meet the requirements of China's national interests. The PLA Air Force made its first patrol into the western Pacific Ocean in March last year and since then has conducted seven more. Fu Qianshao, an aircraft expert with the PLA Air Force, said that compared with the first patrols by the Air Force, recent ones featured more aircraft, longer ranges and participation from multiple theater commands. Wang Ya'nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said he expects that the Air Force will send early warning, aerial refueling and electronic warfare planes to take part in future long-range operations. zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn Qiu He, former deputy Party chief in Yunnan province, has been convicted of bribery and sentenced to 14 years and six months in jail, according to a court in Guizhou province. Qiu, 59, was also fined 2 million yuan ($289,000), while all his ill-gotten assets were confiscated and retuned to the State, according to the verdict from the Guiyang City Intermediate People's Court in Guizhou province. According to the court, Qiu abused his power to gain benefits for others in projects, bank loans and jobs, and accepted bribes totaling 24.33 million yuan, paid either to himself or through his staff, from 2008 to 2015. During the course of seven years, he served mainly as a member of the Standing Committee of Yunnan Provincial Party Committee, Party chief in Kunming city and deputy Party chief in Yunnan province. The court said in a statement that Qiu was given relatively lenient punishment because "he had confessed to his crimes and expressed regret, and all his ill-gotten funds have been recovered". In March 2015, Qiu was investigated for "serious violations of Party discipline" by the CCDI and was taken away by inspectors from a hotel in Beijing after attending the final meeting of the annual session of the National People's Congress. The China Remote Sensing Satellite North Polar Ground Station is seen in Kiruna, Sweden. China has a total of four domestic ground stations located in Miyun in Beijing; Sanya in Hainan province; Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region; and Kunming in Yunnan province. [Provided to China Daily] Chinas first overseas land satellite receiving ground station was put into trial operation on Thursday. The China Remote Sensing Satellite North Polar Ground Station is above the Arctic circle, half an hour's drive from Kiruna, a major mining town in Sweden. An inauguration was held in the Esrange Space Center, where the station is located, on Thursday. Chen Yuming, Chinese ambassador to Sweden, sent a letter of congratulations stating that the ground station has laid a solid foundation for long-term relations between China and Sweden in science, technology and economic cooperation. "Since China and Sweden established diplomatic ties 66 years ago, the two sides have achieved fruitful outcomes in bilateral cooperation. I am sure that expanding cooperation in space projects will play a positive role in bilateral relations and social economic development of the two countries, making contributions to the peaceful use of outer space and benefiting all humanity," Chen said in the letter. "Kiruna is an ideal place for remote sensing satellite data reception. With this ideal location, and with this high-performance antenna, Chinese Earth observation satellites will acquire global data more efficiently, and hence respond to user application requirements, such as disaster monitoring, better and quicker," said Liu Jianbo, deputy director of the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China has ground stations in Miyun in Beijing; Sanya in Hainan province; Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region; and Kunming in Yunnan province. The four ground stations receive satellite signals covering 70 percent of the Asian continent. Domestic stations can receive a signal from each satellite five times a day when it passes overhead, while the new station can receive signals up to 12 times a day. In addition, the new station can acquire satellite data in any part of the world within two hours. "It is capable of receiving all-weather, all-time and multi-resolution satellite data, and it is an important complement to the four domestic stations," Liu said. The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth has been in charge of building and operating the five ground stations. Construction started in the 1980s, and the ground station network now receives and processes data sent from more than 30 satellites. The Compact Muon Solenoid, a general-purpose detector, is seen at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. [Photo/Agencies] Research team must wait until 2020 to reapply for 800 million yuan in State funding The decision not to include a proposed next-generation particle collider in China's latest development plan is a setback for the project, but not a fatal blow, according to senior scientists. A team of physicists submitted a preliminary conceptual design report for the Circular Electron Positron Collider in June in a bid to secure a place in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) as a large-scale scientific facility and up to 800 million yuan ($115 million) in research funding. However, the proposal failed to pass a review by the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, according to details released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of High Energy Physics, the driving force behind the collider project. The research team received a 35 million yuan grant from the Ministry of Science and Technology, but the NDRC's decision means the team will need to wait until 2020 for another chance to land such a significant injection of State funds. Wang Yifang, director of the institute, said in an exclusive interview that he remains upbeat about the collider's prospects, but knows time could be of the essence, with rival projects in the pipeline overseas. "This is a very promising facility that will help China, and the world, make great discoveries," he said, adding that the collider will be an international project with 30 percent of funding coming from international investors. "We believe this is a great opportunity for everyone, as our understanding of the universe will be substantially deepened." Different from other scientific fields that flourish in multiple research institutes worldwide, the development of high-energy physics depends on large-scale scientific facilities - and in the past 30 years that has been the European Organization for Nuclear Research, more commonly known as CERN. With the world's largest and most sophisticated collider, the Large Hadron Collider, the organization attracted more than 6,500 particle physicists - half of the world's total - to work for it and successfully made almost all of the important discoveries in particle physics to date. In July 2012, CERN announced the discovery of the long sought-after Higgs boson, the so-called God particle, regarded as the crucial link to explain why other elementary particles have mass. The discovery received a Nobel Prize a year later. Inspired by the success, physicists from China, Europe and Japan proposed their own next-generation colliders to study the Higgs boson in detail. While China's CEPC has many advanced features, it will compete with Japan's International Linear Collider and CERN's Future Circular Collider, which could also begin construction between 2020 and 2030. "Whoever builds the largest collider will be the international leader in particle physics," said Yuan Lanfeng, an associate researcher of the Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale. "China has a strategic opportunity to build a large collider in the next five to 10 years," he said. "At the current development stage of particle physics, there can be only one most sophisticated collider in the world. If a country builds one, other countries will have to change their original plans because it is meaningless to build two colliders of such scale," he said. Wang agreed and added, "We need to come up with a competitive machine in order to gain necessary support from the international high-energy physics community, and we need to do it quickly." In September, Yang Zhenning, the 94-year-old Chinese-American physicist and Nobel laureate, published an article online that argued against building a large collider in China, citing the huge potential cost and stating that the nation has more pressing concerns, such as poverty alleviation. Wang said it is unknown whether Yang's comments influenced the government's decision, but added that "many people may not be aware of the tremendous role high-energy physics plays in promoting a country's industrial level, but I believe the decision-makers took that into consideration". China's first collider, the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, boosted industrial development in the field of microwaves, magnets, vacuum technique, precision machinery, electronics and computer technology. In the latest upgrade of the collider, completed in 2009, 85 percent of the equipment came from Chinese suppliers. "Yang has said that most of the equipment for the Circular Electron Positron Collider will come from foreign suppliers, but that is not true," Wang said. "For such a large project, it would be impossible to purchase most parts from overseas." Yang did not respond to emails from China Daily. Unable to find out who threw a yogurt bottle out of a window, the parents of a 2-year-old girl who was hurt by it sued 448 suspected homeowners. The Chongqing Yuzhong District People's Court ruled this week that all of them must split the compensation and each pay 360 yuan ($51). All the homeowners who attended the court hearing accepted the ruling. On the evening of Sept 16, 2014, the girl was playing in a neighborhood in Yuzhong district, downtown Chongqing. A yogurt bottle was thrown out of a window of a nearby building and hit the girl's head. The girl was knocked unconscious and was taken to hospital. The family spent more than 80,000 yuan on medical treatment for the girl's skull fractures and related injuries. As the parents could not find who was responsible, they had to sue all 448 residents from the second to 33rd floors and asked for a total of 300,000 yuan in compensation. In recent years, news about objects falling from tall buildings and hitting passers-by has drawn public attention. But most victims with minor injuries just let it go since it is so difficult to identify the person who threw the object. However, under Chinese civil law, victims in this kind of case can be compensated by all users of a building if nobody is found to be responsible. "This is a typical case," said Ding Hanqing, a lawyer from Chongqing Long Heng Law Firm. "If the homeowner of that building can provide an alibi, he or she can be exempt." But some legal experts said that it does not provide adequate deterrence, and the preconditions to applying the rule are not clear. Twenty-one crew members of a Taiwan fishing boat, rescued by two fishing vessels from the Chinese mainland on the high seas off Peru, were returned to their company on Wednesday. One person remains missing. The Nianni 588 squid-jigging boat, owned by Taiwan's Longda Fishery Co, had 22 crew onboard when a fire started suddenly in the engine room on Friday. The speed of the fire meant the crew could not send out distress signals, lower the life raft or put on life vests. They jumped into the sea, grabbing a few floats and waiting for longer than two hours until they were spotted by a passing ship, according to the rescued fishermen. Shi Sihong, captain of the Mingxing, a ship belonging to a branch of CNFC Overseas Fisheries Co in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, said it was about 10 pm on Friday when he spotted red smoke about 5.8 nautical miles in front of his ship. He realized that the unusual smoke and light might be caused by a boat fire, and promptly steered his ship toward the Nianni 588. After confirming it was an emergency, Shi contacted another nearby fishing boat from the Chinese mainland, the Liaoyu No 1, for help. The Mingxing searched the area for several hours, but failed to find a missing Vietnamese fisherman. Relaxation of rules for female students applauded by parents High school student Li Chuling brushes her long hair into a ponytail before she leaves for school every morning. It takes time, but she enjoys it. "Every girl likes to be well groomed," she said. Yet up until recently, the length of girls' hair was strictly controlled at many high schools in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. The city hit national head-lines in 2006 when female students were told to keep their hair short - level with their earlobes at the longest. This stirred heated discussions about whether schools had the right to dictate such things. But local media have report-ed that the once-strict requirement is being relaxed at many schools. The Affiliated High School of South China Normal University, a top high school in Guangzhou, revised the rule this semester. Xiao Chaoyun, deputy headmaster, said the school management now just requires students to be neatly dressed and tie up their hair if they want to wear it long. The change "indicates that students' personality is respected", Xiao said. "Now every floor of the girl students' dormitories has been equipped with a hair dryer," she added. Zhang Yiri, an associate professor at Guangzhou City Polytechnic, said the rules that require all the students to have the same, short hairstyle are outdated. "Students are not servicemen, and they have the right to develop their personality and like to look smart while studying hard," Zhang said. In recent years, more schools have quietly relaxed their rules on girls' hair, only requiring female students to have a short haircut at the beginning of the semester, rather than year-round. Xiao explained that the previous strict requirement was made in consideration for students' health and safety. "Girl students with long hair could have an accident during laboratory work in their chemistry lessons. They might also easily catch a cold after swimming, as their long hair cannot be dried in a very short time," Xiao said. The new tolerance of long hair has been applauded by parents and their children. Wang Yanyan, mother of a 16-year-old girl, said it was hard work persuading her daughter to have her hair cut before the new school term began. "My daughter used to cry and say she looked ugly after having a short hair cut," Wang said. "Fortunately I no longer have to do that." The United Nation (UN) held an entrance exam in Beijing on Wednesday. The exam is part of an initiative to recruit young professionals into the international organization. To work at the UN, one has to pass the language test and has the ability of adaptation to multicultural environment, and familiarity for the operation rules of the UN, explains Zhang Dan, vice-president of the U.N. Association of China(UNAC). About 5,000 candidates will sit the exam, including the UN staff. Each year as many as 50,000 people apply for the exam, says the Central Committee organizing the examination. Candidates from around 60 countries took the exam, with at most 40 places for each country in a department. In China, highly competitive examinations are no strangers to the thousands of the hopefuls taking the exam. This exam falls within months of both the Chinese National Civil Service Examination and the Beijing Civil Service Examination. This year the UN recruits for economic affairs and information and telecommunication technology, reported thepaper.cn. "I work in a bank, it's been hard for me to finish the exam though I've prepared for them according to the reference books," says an applicant from south China's Guangdong Province. The written exam takes four and a half hours and evaluates language and knowledge ability. The first part tests the applicants' substantive knowledge, analytical thinking and drafting abilities and must be written in either English or French. The second part must be written in any of the six official UN languages (Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Russian). A Beijing applicant said they had to answer questions about two treaties relating to cross-border crime and corruption, and the Nash theorem. There were 50 choice and 11 subjective questions. The exam is only the first part of the recruitment process, passing it means an interview including a competency-based evaluation, before the final recruitment can commence. For those who might not make it into the programme, an internship is a possible and easier option. Liu Meng majors in economics and interned at the UN as well as a number of other international organizations during her college years. She hopes her experience will add weight to a career at the UN and believes it will be a chance to build cultural understandings between China and the rest of the world. The UN secretariat has 41,000 members of staff. The Chinese account for 461 and work mostly as translators or general service providers. Only around 70 of them engage in direct management and decision making, according to theUNAC. Shanghai United International School Wenzhou Campus [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] On behalf of everyone here at SUIS Wenzhou, I would like to warmly welcome students from all over the country and the world to our school. This is a place where Chinese traditions, Western customs, and Wenzhou's own special culture intertwine. SUIS has long embraced the unique educational philosophy of 'East meets West'. We are committed to providing a high-quality bilingual education, as well as offering students personalized services. Crucially, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with teachers. Students can choose from a wide variety of courses and in-depth studies designed tobroaden and enrich the minds of young learners. However, SUIS Wenzhou believes the educational experience to be more than simply learning, we see it as a social platform, a place where young people learn to grow and challenge themselves. At SUIS, we prepare students for a global society by creating an awareness of international issues and encouraging thinking on a worldwide basis. Our aim is to develop well-rounded individuals through a wide range of cultural and social activities. Here at SUIS, we strongly believe our broad and carefully designed curriculum offers enterprising students a wealth of opportunities to achieve their dreams. Passionate individuals have the perfect environment to cultivate their own interests. One important feature of our school is our constant attempt to encourage students to become problem solvers and leaders. At SUIS, we ensure learning extends beyond the walls of the classroom and we strive to endow students with lifelong skills. We teach students how to embrace change and the importance of remaining positive in the face of adversity. Upon graduating, we believe SUIS students possess the confidence and skills necessary to create a productive and fulfilling future. SUIS is a place for students to discover their own talents and potential, it is environment in which it truly pays off to work hard, and it is a school with all the resources to allow students to realize new ideas and aim towards their potential. What's more, the journey our students go through is more fun than they could ever imagine. Sincerely, John Zhang, M.ED Chinas first overseas land satellite receiving ground station was put into trial operation on Thursday. The China Remote Sensing Satellite North Polar Ground Station is above the Arctic circle, half an hour's drive from Kiruna, a major mining town in Sweden. An inauguration was held in the Esrange Space Center, where the station is located, on Thursday. French director Luc Besson [Photo provided to China Daily] French director Luc Besson recently visited Beijing to discuss his upcoming sci-fi epic, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The effects-laden feature is adapted from the French comic series Valerian and Laureline, the country' most popular sci-fi series over the past half century. It was Besson's favorite as a teen. The comics influenced most of his previous films, such as The Fifth Element (1997) and Lucy (2014), he says. The movie revolves on Valerian and Laureline, two special agents who maintain order throughout the universe in the year 2740. They embark on a mission to the intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis that's home to more than 3,200 alien species, who speak thousands of languages. Up to 2,700 digital scenes are produced by top visual-effects companies, such as ILM, Weta and Rodeo FX. Chinese actor Kris Wu appears in the film alongside the lead stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne. The film is jointly produced by Besson's EuropaCorp and the Chinese studio Fundamental Films. It's slated for North American release in July and may be screened in China. Related: Will Smith channels grief for his latest role European premiere of 'Star Wars Rogue One' [Photo provided to China Daily] China Music House, or Xin Yue Fu, a music project which brings together traditional Chinese opera performers, musicians who play traditional Chinese instruments, DJs and Western artists, will launch a tour in 2017. The tour will cover Hangzhou, Huizhou and Guangzhou from Jan 1 to 3. It will be in Beijing on Jan 9 and in Shanghai on Jan 13. The tour will end on Feb 8 in Singapore. Launched in 2014 by music producer Chen Weilun and Beijing-based indie record company 13 Month, the project aims to revive traditional Chinese music with a contemporary twist. So far, five albums have been released under the project, including one blending Kunqu Opera, electronic music, pingtan an old art of storytelling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect and jazz beats. Another five will be released next year. The Riverdance troupe performs in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi province, Dec 14, 2016. [Photo/VCG] Irish dance phenomenon Riverdance debuted in Taiyuan, North China's Shanxi province, on Wednesday, marking the fifth stop of the grand tap dance troupe's China tour, which will continue through February 2017. During the two-month tour, the Irish dancers will perform in 15 major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Macao. The show will be in Beijing from Jan 5 to 8. Riverdance is the pinnacle of traditional Irish step dancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. Since its premier show in Dublin in the 1990s, Riverdance has toured the world with more than 20,000 shows. From left: Loro Piana's CEO Fabio d' Angelantonio, breeders Zhan Fayu and his wife Li Juying, herderWang Cunxiang and Loro Piana's deputy chairman Pier Luigi Loro Piana at the award ceremony in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily] Luxury clothing brand Loro Piana is assisting Chinese goat breeders to produce better wool. Sun Yuanqing reports. China is known for the quantity of cashmere it produces, but not necessarily for its quality. But that is changing as local brands and breeders shift their focus. Italian luxury brand Loro Piana, a key name in the apparel industry, has also joined the effort. In November, two couples from among the herders in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and other areas in ChinaShi Yushe and his wife Wang Cunxiang, and Zhan Fayu and his wife Li Juyingreceived the Loro Piana Cashmere of the Year Award in Beijing, based on the fineness, length and other attributes of their cashmere. Separately, the brand is promoting the Loro Piana Method of producing cashmere, which is a system of selective breeding that can improve quality, in Inner Mongolia's Alashan. The method, which was devised and introduced in 2009 as part of a joint project among the company, the Jilin Agricultural University in China, the University of Camerino in Italy and the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, is now being taken to other areas in the Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions. Explaining the rationale behind launching the project in China, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, deputy chairman of Loro Piana, says: "We believe that cashmere is one of the best materials for a modern lifestyle. And China is the country that produces the best cashmere in the world. We wanted to start with the best." The father and sister of Nie Shubin react after hearing Nie is exonerated in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, Dec 2, 2016. [Photo/VCG] THE FAMILY OF NIE SHUBIN asked for a State compensation of 13.91 million yuan ($2 million) on Wednesday, of which 12 million is for mental anguish and emotional distress. Nie was executed in 1995 after Hebei provincial high people's court found him guilty of rape and murder. On Dec 2, a new decision by the Supreme People's Court cleared Nie of any crime. Beijing News comments: Should there be compensation for mental suffering as a result of a miscarriage of justice? Before 1986, the law only stipulated compensation for damage to property, harm to physical well-being, and loss of personal liberty. There was no mention of mental pain and suffering. It was in 1986 that the Civil Law first mentioned mental anguish. In 2002, the State Compensation Law included mental anguish, but strictly speaking, such payments are solatium, or consolation money. A later judicial explanation said that such payments should not exceed 35 percent of the State compensation a person receives for damage to property or loss of personal liberty. In several special cases, the victim received solatium higher than this, but they were exceptions. It would be giant progress if the standards of compensation for mental anguish and emotional distress are raised, because if State employees violate people's rights while performing their duties, the government has an obligation to compensate the victims. Moreover, the mental suffering that results from abuses of power can be very serious, even more serious than the physical harm done. Nie's case shows this loophole is rather big. His family fought for the retrial since 2005 when another suspect claimed responsibility for Nie's alleged offense, and Nie's mother suffered all kinds of difficulties in the process. She deserves a lot of compensation and a formal apology from the State. And there are other cases in which the victims and their families deserve compensation for their mental anguish and emotional distress. State compensation cannot undo the mental pain suffered by victims and their families, but it can at least help improve their lives a little. Moreover, fair State compensation is necessary to remind government employees not to abuse their powers. It is time to revise the law and set a clear, fair standard of State compensation for mental anguish and emotional distress. The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently approved a guidance document on strengthening protection for intellectual property rights. The document proposes stiffer punishments for infringements of intellectual property rights and a higher ceiling for compensation. According to the guidance, malicious infringements will face punitive damages, in order to increase the cost of intellectual property right infringements and deter violations. Punitive damages shall be decided by the court with the amount of compensation exceeding the actual loss involved. Lawmakers in China have proposed the adoption of punitive damages for a long time, and they are now being discussed as part of the revisions to the Trademark Law, Copyright Law and Patent Law. Experts say that in awarding punitive damages the judge will have the discretion to set the compensation amount for intellectual property right infringements under certain conditions, but the specific stipulations such as how to decide whether it is a malicious infringement or repeated infringement are still under discussion. Fighting against intellectual property right infringements is essential in order to create a healthy environment for innovation. Sarah Sewall, the US under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, spoke recently of how freedom of information and freedom of the press form the bedrock for US foreign policy. She lashed out at China and Russia, saying that a recent report found that the Chinese government and its legions of helpers write nearly a half billion fake posts a year, and that the Russian government spends at least $400 million a year on its propaganda machine of bots and trolls and factories of false content to undermine trust in independent media. She then claimed that the US ramped up support in Europe for civil society and media most vulnerable to Russian pressure by more than 50 percent to over $85 million. Sewall's allegations against the Chinese and Russian governments are yet to be substantiated, while her admission that the US government spent $85 million on propaganda in Europe raises questions about the US government meddling in its media. Sewall quickly left after the six-minute speech she gave at a seminar in honor of the 250th anniversary of Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act. The event touched on much of the challenges the media face in the US today, especially under President Barack Obama's administration. In the 2016 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, the US ranked 41st out of 180 countries. Its standing in 2015 was 49th. Such a relatively low ranking, behind Slovenia (40), Ghana (26) and Namibia (17), hardly looks like the robust media freedom that Sewall touted. The Reporters Without Borders report blasted the US government's "war on whistle blowers who leak information about its surveillance activities, spying and foreign operations, especially those linked to counter terrorism" and the lack of a "shield law" in the US to help journalists protect confidential sources. Sam Sanders of National Public Radio reported that Obama's Justice Department has cracked down on reporters in an effort to prevent leaks; it also set a new record for withholding access to government files under the Freedom of Information Act (despite Obama calling for a "new era of openness" on his first day in office). A study by the Columbia Journalism Review found that relations between the White House and the news media have never been so controlled in the past 50 years, saying that the "White House is determined to conceal its workings from the press, and by extension, the public." New York Times reporter James Risen last year called the Obama administration "the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation". Risen was beseeched by the Obama government to identify his confidential sources for parts of a 2006 book in which he detailed a CIA plan to undermine Iran's nuclear program. At the seminar, veteran US journalist Marvin Kalb shared his personal experiences covering the Vietnam War and talk-ed about how presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon did not like his reporting that was critical of US foreign policy. Some reporters in his time ended up on the "enemies list", their phones being tapped and income tax returns scrutinized every year. He lamented that there are many ways the government even in a free country can put the pressure on a reporter, but added that many reporters acted more aggressively under such pressure. Jeffrey Herbst, president and CEO of Newseum, noted the high societal pressure on journalists in the US today. Feed-back on reporters' stories often includes hateful or vitriolic comments. He admitted that some US reporters tend to censor themselves under such a public backlash. It would be good if Sewall had also reflected on the US government's war on the media before pointing fingers at other governments. The recently released Casey Report has raised serious questions in Britain about how the increasingly diverse country is managing its fast-changing demographics and ensuring social stability. The report makes interesting, but at times depressing reading. What is perhaps most striking about it is its similarity to previous reports highlighting the same problems, urging similar solutions, and warning of dangers if the issues arent tackled. Many in Britains political establishment often talk with pride of the countrys openness and tolerance, and the strengths it derives from its diversity. Yet in recent years, public concern over high levels of immigration and worries about the apparent isolation of some communities, have combined with evidence of differing socioeconomic outcomes for different groups. Three issues have been repeatedly highlighted by government reports over the past 15 years: the apparent isolation of many British Muslims, the lack of a strategy to integrate immigrants into British society and the need to promote a common set of values. Yet little progress appears to have been made on any of these issues, and with the current public anxiety about the future direction of the country, it seems a good time to ask why. The riots that took place in several of Englands northern towns in 2001, involving white and - largely Muslim - Asian youths, sparked a flurry of national soul-searching. The governments Cantle Report which was later released on the background to the riots, famously claimed different communities in the city were leading parallel lives. In Louise Caseys report, she repeatedly highlights the stark differences between British Muslims and the non-Muslim majority. Casey is particularly concerned about the plight of some Muslim women living in areas with high Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage Britons. The report highlights low levels of female employment and in some cases a total lack of personal freedom due to the conservative attitudes prevalent in these communities. As with past government reports, local officials come in for strong criticism for their failure to address these issues, in particular for not wanting to be seen as racist. Previous reports have recommended everything from ensuring that schools do not become ghettoized to funding for interfaith dialogue. Yet the situation appears largely unchanged. However, one thing that has changed over the past 10 years is the size of the community, as Casey herself makes clear, and much of it is concentrated in some key British cities (2001-2011 saw a 72% increase in the number of Muslims in Britain). Perhaps this explains the lack of action - the problem is now simply too big for a government to really tackle without risking social unrest, or at the least, the loss of votes in important constituencies. He Yafei, the Co-chair of Center for China and Globalization and former vice-minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addresses the 3rd Conference of China Outbound Investment Forum in Sanya city of South China's Hainan province, December 2, 2016.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] There have been unprecedented upheavals in globalization and global governance in recent years culminating first in the British referendum to withdraw from the European Union and the recent election of Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States. And these upheavals are gaining momentum in Europe too, from Italy to France and to Germany and beyond, affecting their political eco-systems and causing a social division so deep that it could override almost all the other traditional rifts along racial and gender lines. This ripple effect is still being felt far and wide across the globe, baffling many, especially elites in US and other Western nations, as to how it happened and what it means for the future of US with its liberal democracy and economic neo-liberalism as well as the future direction of globalization. Is America going into an isolationist mode and a continued worldwide retrenchment? Will American under Trump lead an anti-globalization movement that will cripple global free trade and investment? Will all this combine to induce or produce a roll back in globalization per se or rather usher in a new era of globalization with new paradigms? At the same time, China is maintaining its fast growth momentum and its development model has caught the attention of many nations. With its expanding global influence China has taken on global governance with enthusiasm and determination. In this regard, the G20 Summit in Hangzhou last September produced a shining report card with many new ideas for furthering globalization while overcoming its "negative impact" on social justice and fairness. President Xi Jinping recently delivered a much welcomed speech at the Lima APEC Leaders Meeting outlining China's continuous efforts to promote global free trade and investment with particular reference to quicken the pace of negotiation on an APEC Free Trade Agreement, in view of a possible abandonment of TPP by Trump. The US is no doubt a major moving force in the future of globalization as one American once commented that "globalization is Americanization". There are two things that appear to be influencing the American engagement in globalization and global governance. The feeling that globalization is no longer on the track of "Americanization" is one, hence Trump's "America First" clarion call, presaging the new US administration to further change the rules in global economic governance, including jettison multilateral FTAs and renegotiate bilateral free trade agreements to have manufacturing return to America. It is a different story whether such efforts will succeed as advocated by Trump and Novarra. The other is a continuation of overall American strategic retrenchment focusing on domestic political and economic agenda with an inward-looking approach to international affairs that started in early 2009 with Barack Obama and will supposedly continue under Trump. On a positive note, we can rest assured that globalization per se will not disappear overnight or be rolled back at one stroke across the board because for the past several decades globalization has promoted global economic growth for all to an unprecedented degree and knit nations into an interlocked and interconnected web of networks with ever greater interdependence and common interests. The question ought to be about "re-globalization" or "make globalization great again", rather than about the demise of globalization. In other words, with Trump in power the world has entered a new era of globalization wherein global free trade and investment and international cooperation to tackle global challenges will face new paradigms and conditions. The US for all the talk by Trump can't wriggle itself out of the closely knit web of common interest with its partners both economic and political. To be fair, we do need to spend more efforts to address "global governance deficiency" in promoting social justice and fairness, such as narrowing the gap between rich and poor both domestically and among nations. Also, we need to start thinking in real earnest what to do about the relationship between capital and labor as suggested in the famous book "The Capital of the 21st Century" by French economist Pickety. A seminar on MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) needs and innovation was held in Beijing on Dec 13. It was organized by the Beijing High-end Tourism and Meetings Industry Alliance, which was initiated by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development. Approximately 200 people attended the event. Participants focused on the prospects for MICE with regard to the medical, automobile, internet technology and fast moving consumer goods sectors. Lu Chuan, the head of the Beijing tourism commission's city image and marketing division, called for efforts to optimize the MICE environment in Beijing, cultivate MICE talent and improve services. Related: Follow me, my carry-on Tourists enjoy fairytale-like Wusong Island Scenery of the Maldives.[Photo/IC] The Maldives tourism industry has seen a remarkable growth in 2016, contributing to strengthening the island's economy, a press statement by the Maldives Embassy in Colombo said on Wednesday. "The growth has been achieved with the dynamic economic policies introduced by President Abdullah Yameen to transform the economy of Maldives," the statement said. Maldives, this year, unveiled seven new resorts, including Huravalhi Island Resort, featuring the world's largest underwater restaurant. The government said that 20 new resorts would be unveiled in 2017. "With the opening of the new resorts and influx of tourism investments, the tourism industry has become a catalyst for the governments key pledge of youth employment," the embassy statement said. The statement added that in addition to the new resorts, in April, the government also launched the expansion of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), with a 3,400 meter long and 65 meter wide new runway to cater to the expanding tourism industry. According to the government, the new runway can accommodate large commercial airplanes including the A380 Airbus. Upon completion of the expansion, 7.5 million passengers would be catered annually, creating thousands of job opportunities for the youth of the country. Beijing says measures taken on the Nanshas are not 'militarization' Beijing said on Thursday that necessary military measures on the Nansha Islands are mainly for defense, citing a high-profile foreign military presence right "outside the front door", an apparent reference to the United States. The Defense Ministry's remarks on its micro blog followed a report by a US think tank on Wednesday. The report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, which cited recent satellite images, said China appeared to have installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on seven islands in the South China Sea. The Defense Ministry said development on the Nansha Islands was mainly for civilian purposes, while necessary military measures there were mainly for defense and were "legitimate and legal". "For example, were someone to be threatening you with armed force outside your front door, would you not get ready with even a slingshot?" the ministry said on the micro blog. The US military has repeatedly conducted "freedom of navigation" operations in which ships and planes have passed close to Chinese territory. Beijing said the moves were provocations and increased the risk of a military accident. Admiral Harry Harris, who leads the US Pacific Command, said on Wednesday that the United States will be ready to confront China "where we must". US president-elect Donald Trump also hinted on Twitter that he would be harsher than his predecessor with China in the South China Sea. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular news briefing on Thursday, "If China's building of normal facilities and deploying necessary territorial defensive facilities on its own islands is considered militarization, then what is the sailing of fleets into the South China Sea?" He said the Nansha Islands "are China's inherent territory". He said the defensive facilities on China's territory are completely normal and have nothing to do with "militarization". Zuo Xiying, a researcher of international relations at Renmin University of China, said, "Given existing foreign threats against China in the South China Sea, how can China put no defensive measures in the region? "And, for sure, the US will continue using this topic to press China," he said. Zuo added that it seems Beijing and Washington have different understandings of non-militarization in the South China Sea. Alexander Neill, a senior fellow for Asia-Pacific security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Singapore, told the Associated Press that, looking forward, China's new military deployments will likely be calibrated in response to moves taken by the US. Chu Yi contributed to this story. Participants attend a rally in solidarity with the people of Aleppo and against Russia's support of the Syrian army and President Bashar al-Assad, in front of the Russian embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, December 15, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] Residents in eastern Aleppo started to board buses and ambulances as the long-awaited pullout from the last rebel enclave in the embattled Syrian city got underway on Thursday. The evacuation was part of a cease-fire deal reached this week to have the opposition surrender their last foothold in Aleppo to Syrian government control in the face of a devastating ground and air offensive by government forces in the past weeks that chipped away at the rebel stronghold. The rebel pullout will mark the end of the rebels' four-year control of eastern Aleppo. Plans to evacuate on Wednesday were scuttled when the area erupted in violence, raising the haunting possibility that all-out war could consume the city again. Much of eastern Aleppo has been reduced to a scene of devastation and rubble. Earlier on Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed its staff arrived together with the Syrian Arab Red Cross to evacuate 200 wounded people from the enclave, some in critical condition. Syrian state television reported that at least 4,000 rebels and their families would be evacuated under the plan. Syrian state TV has broadcast footage showing a convoy of green-colored municipal buses rumbling toward the agreed-on evacuation point inside the opposition-held area. The Russian military said 20 buses and 10 ambulances would take the rebels to the rebel-held areas in the province of Idlib later on Thursday. The Russian military said the Syrian government had given security guarantees to all rebels willing to leave Aleppo and that the Russians were monitoring the situation using drones. Separately but in a key addendum to the deal Syria state TV said 29 buses and ambulances were heading to two Shiite villages besieged by rebels to evacuate those critically ill and other humanitarian cases. The TV quoted Hama provincial governor, Mohammed al-Hazouri, as saying that the medical teams were heading to Foua and Kfraya for those evacuations. The Turkey-Russia brokered truce-and-evacuations deal for Aleppo was held up on Wednesday over demands by Syrian government allies to evacuate the sick and other humanitarian cases from the two villages. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. By Cai Hong in Tokyo and Wang Qingyun in Beijing | China Daily | Updated: 2016-12-16 07:48 Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting on Thursday in Nagato, Japan. [Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press] Beijing says pleased to see the two neighbors develop normal and friendly cooperation Being on a different wavelength with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may find it impossible to settle the territorial dispute between the two countries during Putin's visit that began at a hot springs resort in Abe's ancestral hometown of Nagato, Yamaguchi prefecture, on Thursday. Japan put the issue high on the agenda for the first day of Putin's two-day visit. Abe is eager to get back the four disputed islands off Japan's northernmost main island, Hokkaido, claiming that they are inherently part of the country's territory. Putin, however, has asserted that there are no territorial problems with Japan. "It is only Japan that feels it has a territorial issue with Russia," he told Japanese media on Tuesday. "The results of that terrible tragedy of the 20th century, namely World War II, are enshrined in corresponding international documents." After the meeting, Russia's foreign minister said Japan and Russia will likely revive security talks and keep discussing the territorial dispute. Lavrov told reporters that Putin had offered to resume security talks among their foreign and defense ministers which were suspended after Russia annexed the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Commenting on the visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that China is pleased to see Russia and Japan develop normal and friendly cooperation based on mutual respect and treating each other equally. He said both Russia and Japan are China's neighbors and important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, adding that their relations should benefit regional peace and stability. The Soviet Union seized the islands at the end of the war. This is the fourth meeting between Abe and Putin this year and the 16th in total. Putin's trip to Japan was the first by a Russian leader in 11 years. He had been scheduled to visit in 2014 but had to postpone after the Crimean annexation. Along with the West, Japan imposed sanctions on Russia, which Putin has criticized for creating a major barrier toward progress in negotiations on a peace treaty. Putin told Yomiuri Shimbun this week that the goal of a peace treaty would be harder to achieve if Russia remained subject to Japanese sanctions. Japan and Russia signed a Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration in 1956, ending their state of war and restoring diplomatic relations. These islands, which are called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, have stood in the way of a peace treaty. Japan holds the settlement of the issue as a precondition to conclude a peace treaty. Putin is interested in "joint economic activities" on the four disputed islands under Russia's sovereignty. Abe and Putin were scheduled to meet on Friday in Tokyo for economic cooperation and a joint news conference. Abe's bid to improve relations with Russia had worried Washington, but US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to seek a thaw with Moscow, Reuters reported. Contact the writers at caihong@chinadaily.com.cn The one-China policy is the premise and foundation for China's diplomatic ties with other countries, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. Wang made the remarks while talking over the phone with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Wang expressed gratitude toward Ayrault's stance on the one-China policy after the challenging remarks of US president-elect Donald Trump. Taiwan question is related to China's national territory sovereignty, Wang said. China deems France as an important strategic cooperative partner, and it would like to respect each other's core interests with France, he said. Ayrault said that the one-China principle is important for regional and international peace and stability, and France would like to pay high attention to the Taiwan question. The France-China relationship is based on mutual trust and mutual benefits, he added. Ayrault told TV channel France 2 earlier that Trump's approach to China was "not very clever". He warned the US president-elect not to threaten or lecture Beijing as "we do not talk like that to a partner". Trump said over the weekend that he didn't feel "bound by a one-China policy" after breaking four decades of diplomatic precedent by talking on the phone with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on Dec 2. Contact the writer at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn MELBOURNE - A viral video showing an American vlogger smuggling himself from Melbourne to Sydney in a suitcase has been dismissed as a fake by Australian airline Tigerair on Friday, after the video amassed almost half a million views in just three days. Vlogger Adam Saleh posted a video to YouTube on Tuesday, alleging that he checked himself in - literally - on a Tigerair flight from Melbourne to Sydney. The video shows friends helping Saleh into a large suitcase, before taking him in a taxi to Melbourne Airport and loading him onto the automated bag drop conveyor belt. But on Friday, Tigerair wrote an open letter to Saleh pointing out a number of inconsistencies and ultimately discounting his video as a hoax. "Firstly, you wouldn't have been accepted by our automated bag drop machines at 66 kilograms as a friendly staff member would have stepped in to assist," Tigerair said. "Secondly, some aircraft have heated baggage holds but the aircraft you were on does not and it gets pretty cold at 36,000 feet so by the time you arrived in Sydney you would have been a popsicle. "Thirdly, we have footage of you boarding the aircraft using your legs." The airline also moved quickly to reassure its customers that, as the video was fake, no customers or staff were at risk at any time. "The safety and well-being of our staff and customers is always our number one priority and was not compromised at any time," a spokesperson told Sun Online. "Tigerair Australia has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behavior and has investigated this matter as a priority. We can confirm that the footage is not genuine and we have requested that the footage be removed as a consequence." Luo Linquan (right), Chinese consul general in San Francisco, congratulates Larry Jobe, president of the Flying Tigers History Organization, on the recent flight over the famed Hump route by a restored World War II military transport airplane. A reception was held at the consul's residence on Thursday. The flight, conceived by the FTHO, was made possible with a donation of $175,000 from Florence Fang, a Chinese-American entrepreneur, and $50,000 raised by the group. The plane landed on Nov 19 in Guilin, China, where the airplane will be on permanent display at the Flying Tigers Heritage Park and Museum. Luo said Flying Tigers was a household name in China and an important part of China-US relations and that the Chinese people would never forget this chapter of history. [Photo by Lia Zhu/China Daily] Dane Terrence Leo dresses like Santa and gives high fives to the students. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Kids Read China project held a Christmas party for primary school students in Beijing on Thursday. The aim of the event was to teach the children about Christmas tradition and provide them a chance to practice English. This was the second community event to be held in Beijing since the project moved to China in 2016. Supported by HSBC and developed and delivered by the British Council, the project aims to promote a love of reading in primary students, with the long-term goal of improving academic performance, language and critical thinking. Students from Grade 1 to 5 of Yinghuayuan Primary School prepared different things for Santa's visit, from tiny Christmas trees to Christmas posters. Each class also learned a different Christmas song with a short dance routine. Santa and his helpers then visited each class and the best performers were awarded prizes. HSBC volunteers played Christmas coloring games with the students, with all the communication conducted in English. The children also learned stories about Christmas such as why Christmas is celebrated through a quiz, and the grade 1 was the surprise winner. Every student wrote a card to Santa afterwards in which they described what they would like for Christmas. Teachers from the British Council assisted in the training of teachers of Kids Read project and enriched their English teaching skills during the past three months. Education personnel exchange is a part of the fourth China-UK High Level People to People Dialogue, which kicked off in Shanghai on December 6. British Council contributed to this story. Leaders of some of the G20 countries will be among those attending the annual of meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next month at which China's role in shaping global governance and driving economic progress will be high on the agenda. A detailed agenda for the January 17-20 gathering will be announced days ahead of the meeting. In the meantime, the WEF said this week that the five critical leadership challenges facing participants were strengthening global collaboration, restoring a sense of shared identity, revitalizing economic growth, reforming capitalism and preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The annual Davos meeting began in the 1970s. In recent years, China's coastal cities of Dalian and Tianjin have rotated the hosting of summer meetings of the WEF. January's session will be held against the backdrop of the UK preparing to leave the EU, Donald Trump's election as US president, the emergence of a protectionist mood in the West and a stalling globalization process. At Davos, global leaders will be urged to renew the systems that have supported international cooperation in the past by adapting them to today's complex world in ways that foster inclusive and equitable growth." "Our world continues to become increasingly interdependent, even as political events signal a desire for isolation and a retreat from globalization," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said on Thursday. Schwab said the world must strive to set up systems that better respond to the need for social inclusion and produce constructive answers to the multiple global challenges. In the run-up to this year's 47th meeting in Davos, the WEF noted that responsive and responsible leadership requires recognizing that frustration and discontent are increasing in the segments of society that are not experiencing economic development and social progress. It said their situation will only become more uncertain with the onset of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact on future employment. Participants will consider the impact of that revolution, which drives the convergence of technologies that blur the lines between physical, digital and biological systems. "Our interdependence will not diminish, but more agile, inclusive and collaborative responses are urgently needed to address the complexity and uncertainty in people's lives," the WEF said in a pre-Davos brief. "We must hone our capacity to manage the systems that underpin our prosperity and security." More than 2,500 participants from nearly 100 countries will meet and participate in over 300 sessions. (Photo : Facebook) China tells US to keep its stance on the South China Sea issue and abide on the decades-long One China Policy. Advertisement Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Wednesday urged the United States to keep its commitment not to take a position on the South China Sea issue and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability. In a report by Xinhua, Geng Shuang's comment at a press briefing came after US Pacific commander Harry Harris's remarks about the US' readiness to "confront" China in the South China Sea. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Geng, who described the South China Sea situation as "tending toward stability" and "moving in a good direction," also disputed the senior US defense official's remark that Taiwan should increase its defense spending, encouraging the US to keep its promise to stick to the One-China policy. "The One-China policy is the political foundation of China-US ties," Geng noted, asserting that China opposes any form of official and military relations between the US and Taiwan. "We urge the US to stick to the One-China policy and the three Joint Communiques between China and the US and to deal with the Taiwan issue in a prudent and discreet manner to prevent China-US ties being disturbed," he said. What is One-China Policy? The One-China Policy is the diplomatic acknowledgement that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of that, BBC explained. As a policy, this means that countries questing for diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China must cut off official relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) and vice versa. The policy can be traced back to 1949 and the end of the Chinese civil war. The defeated Nationalists, also known as the Kuomintang, retreated to Taiwan and made it their seat of government while the victorious Communists declared the People's Republic of China. Both sides said they represented all of China, as reported by BBC. Under the policy, the US has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan. However, the phone call between Trump and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen in early December seemed to break the decades of US Diplomatic protocol that get China's attention to remind US about the existing One-China policy. Advertisement Tagschina, United States, China Taiwan One-China Policy, South China Sea, donald trump (Photo : Getty Images) Based on the certification, the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro will support dual-band Wi-Fi, which are the 2.4GHz frequency and the 5.0GHz frequency. Advertisement The last time the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro made it to the headlines was when Samsung reportedly delayed the phone's official release until January. Recently, the C7 Pro was once again the topic of several discussions after the phone received official Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance. Based on the certification, the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro will support dual-band Wi-Fi, which are the 2.4GHz frequency and the 5.0GHz frequency. The certification document also revealed Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro's model number, which is SM-C7010, according to GSM Arena. This same model number has been highlighted in a handful of leaks including those from benchmarking website like GFXBench. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro was originally slated for a late release this year. However, the release was postponed, with reports saying the phone will hit the market early in January next year, along with the Samsung Galaxy C5 Pro, according to Android Headlines. The Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro is expected to sport a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD resolution. Based on the GFXBench listing, the phone will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor with an Adreno 506 graphics processing unit. The phone is expected to have at least 4GB of memory, and storage options are rumored to be 32GB or 64GB, both will support storage expansion. On the camera aspect, the phone is expected to sport a 16-megapixel front-facing and rear-facing cameras. The Galaxy C7 Pro will also come equipped with a 3,300mAh battery pack with support for Qualcomm's quick charging technology. Samsung is yet to confirm these specs, although it is rumored that the company will release the official specs sheet before the end of this year. Advertisement TagsSamsung, Galaxy, samsung galaxy c7 pro, galaxy c7 pro, Wi-fi, galaxy c7 pro news, galaxy c7 pro specs, galaxy c7 pro release date (Photo : Getty Images) Ambassador Cui Tiankai warned the US that China's territorial integrity is not negotiable. Advertisement China's ambassador to the United States said that Beijing would never bargain with Washington over issues pertaining to its national sovereignty or territorial integrity. Speaking to executives of top US companies, Ambassador Cui Tiankai said that China and the United States needed to work on ways to strengthen their relationship. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "The political foundation of China-U.S relations should not be undermined. It should be preserved," the ambassador said. Tiankai added that basic norms of international relations should be observed and not ignored and that they should not be seen as commodities that can be traded off. "National sovereignty and territorial integrity are not bargaining chips. Absolutely not. I hope everybody would understand that," the ambassador reiterated. The ambassador did not specifically mention Taiwan or Trump's comments last week that the US do not have to necessarily stick to the "One China" policy. The "One China" policy has been in place for nearly four decades, and it recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Ambassador Cui's remarks are in line with the recent protests from China's Foreign Ministry that views the "One China" policy as the cornerstone for the US-China ties. China's government sees Taiwan as a renegade province, and Beijing has never renounced the use of force as a viable option to bring Taiwan back under its control. Last Thursday (Dec. 15), China's state-run newspaper Global Times said that China needs to take the lead in deciding the future of Taiwan. "It is hoped that peace in the Taiwan Straits won't be disrupted. The Chinese mainland needs to display its resolution to recover Taiwan by force," the tabloid said, adding that peace does not belong to cowards. US corporate executives, on the other hand, are getting worried about their business opportunities in China due to the tough restrictions on foreign investment that have been put in place. The ambassador, meanwhile, said that China will ensure that there is a level playing field for all companies in the country, both domestic and foreign. Advertisement Tagschina, United States, Taiwan, China and Taiwan, donald trump (Photo : Getty Images) President Duterte has courted more controversy after claiming that he has 'personally' killed criminals. Advertisement Two senators said that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte could be impeached after admitting that he "personally" killed criminals when he was still a mayor of Davao City. The hugely controversial president made the claim to business leaders on Monday that as the Davao City's mayor, he used to prowl on the streets on a big motorcycle looking for "an encounter to kill," just to show local authorities that he was capable of doing it. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "I used to do it personally, if I can do it, why can't you?" Duterte told business executives. More than 2,000 people have been killed by police anti-drug operations since Duterte assumed power in July. Many of them were shot while resisting arrest. Another 3,000 fatalities are being investigated, with human rights activists calling them vigilante killings. Senator Leila De Lima, an avowed critic of Duterte, said the president's admission could be grounds for impeachment proceedings to be set in motion. "That is betrayal of public trust and that constitutes high crimes. Mass murders certainly fall into the category of high crimes," de Lima told journalists on Thursday. Senator Richard Gordon, the head of the senate justice committee, said that President Duterte left himself vulnerable to possible impeachment proceedings when he made his controversial remarks. "When he says that, he's opening himself up, so what's the legal way? Then go ahead and impeach him," Gordon said, adding that he was not surprised by Duterte's remarks. On the other hand, Duterte's allies in the country's congress have dared the president's opponents to file an impeachment motion. They say that removing Duterte through a political process is a numbers game, something the opposition does not have. There are only a handful of opposition lawmakers in the 293-member lower house of Congress. A two-thirds vote is required to successfully impeach the president. Meanwhile, Peter Wallace, the organizer of the business function where Duterte spoke, believes that the president's remarks were his "usual bravado." "He talked as he often talks about drugs, and killings and criminality," Wallace said, adding that they had expected that he would, but they were not there to listen to that. "We were there to talk to him or listen to him about business," the business executive said. Advertisement TagsSouth east asia (Photo : Getty Images) The Canadian beauty has provoked China's wrath after accusing it of human rights abuses. Advertisement Miss World contestant Anastasia Lin is back in the limelight. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Lin, whose advocacy for victims and human rights abuses in China had infuriated Beijing, was given the green light to speak to the media by pageant organizers on Wednesday, bringing an end to a three-week stand-off in Washington. The stand-off had drawn unfavorable attention to the popular beauty pageant that has become increasingly dependent on Chinese corporate sponsors. According to her friends and family, Lin has been warned by employees of the beauty pageant that she is at risk of getting ejected from the competition if she speaks publicly about the Chinese government-sanctioned transplant programs. Human rights advocates said that the program relies heavily on the organs of people who died in prison. China has, however, denied the allegations, insisting that organ donations in the country are voluntary. In a brief interview, the Chinese-born Canadian declined to reveal whether she had been ordered to remain silent on the issue, opting instead to praise the Miss Word Organization for allowing her to compete in the finals. "To their credit, they did give me this platform, and I'm able to speak freely now," Lin said. She also revealed that the pageant's executive director, Julia Morley, had allowed her to attend the premiere of the feature film, "The Bleeding Edge," which she stars in. The film aims to dramatize the cruelties of what human rights advocates describe as Chinese government's programs that harvest the organs of prisoners. Last year, Lin was barred by China from attending the Miss World finals in Sanya. According to Lin, pageant officials had made no effort to intervene on her behalf. They did, however, allowed her to retain the Miss Canada title for another year, smoothing the way for her to participate in this year's finals. Lin wants to shed the spotlight on her advocacy for the Falung Gong, a spiritual movement that has been banned in China. Lin and other critics of the Chinese government said that Falung Gong followers who die in prison are made unwilling organ donors for China's profitable transplant industry. However, she is skeptical that her awareness program will make it past China's censorship but believes that her appearance in the finals could inspire others to stand up to Beijing. Advertisement Tagschina, Canada, China human rights (Photo : Getty Images) The Obama administration is concerned that China is pricing out American grain exporters. Advertisement The Obama government has launched its 15th challenge against China at the World Trade Organization,in a move that is sure to escalate a simmering debate over Chinese trade practices that US government officials said limit American farmers' abilities to export wheat, corn, and rice to China. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The US government said that it took the action in an effort to get China to honor its commitment to allow set quantities of grain and corn to enter its borders. According to the agreement, the grain is supposed to enter China at lower tariffs. Exporters frequently voiced concerns that countries make it difficult for products to gain entry at the lower tariff rates. "China's system is not transparent, fair or predictable," US trade officials said. The US government complaint comes at a time when the US-China relations are fragile. US President-elect Donald Trump angered China when he spoke by phone to Taiwan's president. He later suggested that he may reconsider the US policy that maintains only unofficial relations with Taipei. The island broke from China in 1949, and China has warned that any changes to the "One China" policy that recognizes Taiwan as a province of the mainland will threaten the region's stability and also destroy relations with the US. The US government has also said that it is frustrated with China's trade policies. The new challenge to China is the second in recent months. In September, the US alleged that China was granting excessive subsidies to rice, wheat, and corn, driving up production from local producers and thus making it harder for American producers to export the same crops to China. "China's policies limit opportunities for U.S farmers to export competitively priced, high-quality grains to customers in China," US Trade Representative Michael Froman said, adding that the US would aggressively pursue this challenge on behalf of American wheat, rice, and corn farmers. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both sides of the political divide have applauded the effort. Advertisement Tagschina, Barack Obama, WTO, United States, donald trump (Photo : Getty Images) GM China is reportedly being investigated by the government for potential antitrust violations. Advertisement GM China, which operates in the mainland through its joint venture with SAIC, is reportedly facing investigation for potential antitrust violations. The investigation is believed to be carried out by China's National Development and Reform Commission. It is speculated that some of the JV's dealerships were probed for their retail pricing policies. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The news comes amidst growing acrimony between the US and China. President-elect Donald Trump has called for imposing stiffer tariffs on Chinese goods. And such action is likely to have a deep impact on trading relationships between the two countries. According to Bloomberg, GM did not issue any statement about the matter. Irene Shen, a company spokeswoman, said that the company respects local laws and regulations and does not comment on speculations. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has also not provided any answer to the request for comment. The report had a negative impact on automaker stocks in the US stock market. General Motors and Ford Motor saw their scrips declining. Reacting to the report, Jason Miller, a spokesman for the transition team for Trump, said, "The president-elect has made very clear that he's going to get out there and fight for American companies and American jobs, and that's something he has not been shy about doing so far." China is the world's biggest vehicle market. Any setback in the market may have significant repercussions for GM. The company derived more than a third of its sales volume in 2015 from Chinese market. China also contributed nearly 20 percent of the company's global net income in the same year. Advertisement TagsGM, china, saic (Photo : Getty Images) According to anonymous US officials, Russian president Vladimir Putin personally supervised cyber attacks against the United States. Advertisement Russian President Vladimir Putin personally supervised his intelligence agencies in hacking the US presidential election, three US officials revealed on Thursday. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The hacks were reportedly from a general effort to discredit the country's election process to attemp to support Republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump has reacted angrily to claims that Russia tried to influence the election by hacking people and institutions, including the Democratic Party systems, in an effort to help him win. The US president elect insisted that he won the Nov. 8 election fairly. Russian authorities, on the other hand, have denied accusations that they meddled with the election. However, the US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the US intelligence community is fairly certain that Russia carried out cyber attacks on the election. "This began merely as an effort to show that American democracy is no more credible than Putin's version is," one of the officials revealed. According to the official, the hacking campaign gradually started from its initial objective to publicize Democratic flag-bearer Hillary Clinton's shortcomings. The hackers were also targeting Republican institutions, but they gradually started ignoring that campaign. The officials say that by the fall, the hacking was shifted as an effort to help Trump's campaign because Putin believed that a Trump presidency would be much friendlier to Russia. Putin was totally convinced that Trump would be a more pliable president than Hillary Clinton on the matter of economic sanctions. Earlier, media reports revealed that US intelligence officials were highly confident that Putin personally invested in the Russian cyber campaign against the United States. But speaking to his country's media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that he was "dumbstruck" by the accusations. "I think this is just silly, and the futility of the attempt to convince somebody of this is absolutely obvious," the minister said. Meanwhile, the US officials argued that the fact Putin was in charge of the hackings should not come as a surprise. "If anything, given his background as a KGB officer, Putin has a much tighter grip on all Russian intelligence operations, civilian and military, foreign and domestic, than any democratic leader does," one of the officials said. The reports of Russian hacks have caused concerns on both sides of the political divide in the Congress. Top Republicans have broken ranks with Trump and are calling for closer scrutiny. Advertisement TagsRussia, Vladimir Putin, US, donald trump, Hillary Clinton (Photo : Getty Images) The General Motors logo is displayed at Boardwalk Chevrolet on November 9, 2011 in Redwood City, California. Advertisement China could slap a penalty to unnamed US automakers for monopolistic behavior, a senior Chinese official warned on Wednesday in an interview with China Daily. "The penalty comes as authorities work to step up against oversight and expand the industries they scrutinize in order to promote fair market," Zhang Handong, the director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)'s price supervision bureau, said. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Following the warning, shares of US companies including General Motors and Ford Motor Co. dropped on Wednesday. GM shares plunged 2.28 percent to $36.51, while Ford fell 0.55 percent, the Financial Buzz noted. The official, however, did not identify the car manufacturers and divulge the size of the penalty. Meanwhile, Mark Turby, the chief spokesman of Ford's Asia-Pacific operations, said "We are unaware of the issue." GM, on the other hand, said it "fully respects local laws and regulations wherever we operate. We do not comment on media speculation." The warning came following US President-elect Donald Trump's comment on the decades-long US policy of acknowledging Taiwan as part of "One China." "This action is just a hint as to how much power China wields," Michael Dunnes, president of Dunne Automotive, told Financial Buzz. "A small fine of several million dollars is likely. The message is, 'If you want to play, we can play'." However, sources told the Newsweek that Chinese officials have already been probing on several automakers' pricing practices even before Trump's controversial comment. China has been utilizing its antitrust laws not only to monitor foreign firms' performance but also protect its local brands, UPI noted. Advertisement Tagsprice-fixing, China antitrust law, US car manufacturers in China (Photo : Getty Images) The embattled BlackBerry Ltd said on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Chinas TCL to manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded mobile devices. Advertisement The ailing smart maker BlackBerry Ltd announced that it has struck a deal with China's TCL Communication Technology LTD for making and selling BlackBerry-branded mobile devices across the world. The deal gives TCL the license to manufacture and sell BlackBerry-branded smartphones in all countries except in some of the key markets such as India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement BlackBerry CEO John Chen hinted that the company has already initiated talks with an Indian company to make phones for Indian market and an agreement is soon forthcoming on this front. TCL has already made two Android-based BlackBerry phones - DTEK50 and DTEK60 - that were unveiled in October. A month before that, BlackBerry struck a deal with Indonesia's BB Merah Putih to manufacture and sell new devices across Indonesia. Chen has been busy diversifying the business of the Canadian-based company since he took over the reins three years back. The company, which was once a top player in the smart phone industry, is now steadily shifting its focus on the software business. BlackBerry's profit from software and other services stood at $156 million in its latest quarter, down from $166 million in the last quarter. The revenue from smart phone device accounted for $105 million in the last quarter. For several years, BlackBerry has been losing the market share in the lucrative smart phone to arch rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics. Several industry analysts blame Canadian firm's inability to understand consumer needs and failure to gauge market demands for its falling fortunes. Advertisement TagsBlackberry, TCL, TCL Corporation, BlackBerry China, china (Photo : Getty Images) The Philippine's foreign ministry has said that Manila would set aside its dispute with Beijing over the South China Sea and focus on improving their bilateral relationship Advertisement Manila is setting aside its South China Sea dispute with Beijing for the meantime and will instead focus on enhancing the other aspects of their relations such as trade, commerce, and political affairs. In an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore on Thursday, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said Manila has decided to temporarily drop its ongoing conflict with China over the South China Sea. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "The only way to move forward is to strengthen the other aspects of our relationship and also make sure that in the process, you are able to pursue confidence-building measures that will eventually allow you, in the future, to resolve your disputes peacefully," Yasay told Channel NewsAsia. Bilateral talks Yasay, who is in Singapore accompanying Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on a two-day state visit, said bilateral talks on the South China Sea would resume only after Beijing has accepted the Hague-based tribunal ruling on the dispute handed down on July 12. According to the ruling, China has no legal basis for its massive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The court also ruled that Beijing had violated international law and the Philippines' rights to explore its resources within its exclusive economic zone. Manila filed the suit in 2013 before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague questioning the validity of China's claims. $24 billion China furiously refused to accept the ruling saying the decision was "illegal" and a "complete waste of piece of paper." After Duterte assumed office in June, the tough-talking former mayor of Davao sought to mend ties with China. In October, he brought home a $24 billion worth of investment package during his first state visit to Beijing. Yasay said the South China Sea dispute with Beijing is not the be-all and end-all of its relationship with the Asian giant. He pointed out the impracticality and other negative aspects of confronting China over the disputed territories in the strategic waterway. "What will you do? Engage yourself in a war with China where there will be no winners? Nobody wants a war," he said. Yasay emphasized that the best way to approach and resolve their maritime dispute is through bilateral talks and other peaceful avenues. "We always try to pursue the non-confrontational approach in resolving our differences and disputes," he said. " It will be pursued in a peaceful way." Advertisement TagsSouth China Sea, President Xi Jinping, President Rodrigo Duterte, bilateral talks, Hague-based tribunal ruling, china, Philippines Ohio became the latest state in the US this year to ban abortions after 20 weeks, but vetoed the 'heartbeat bill' which prohibited abortion at around six weeks when fetal heartbeat becomes detectable. Fifteen other states have 20-weeks ban on abortion, but the 'heartbeat bill' would have been the strictest abortion regulation in the country as most women are not aware of pregnancies before week six. Governor John Kasich is known to have taken a pro-life stance in the abortion debate, but vetoed the 'heartbeat bill' because he said that odds of legal challenges were stacked high against the bill. "The State of Ohio will be the losing party in that lawsuit and, as the losing party, the State of Ohio will be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to cover the legal fees for the pro-choice activists' lawyers. Furthermore, such a defeat invites additional challenges to Ohio's strong legal protections for unborn life," he said in a statement. Similar measures have faced legal challenges in other states, the news service goes on to say, a fact weighing heavily in Kasich's veto defense. Kasich noted bans in two other states had been declared unconstitutional. The 'heartbeat bill' was considered by the Ohio Senate many times in previous years, but was never passed because of the unlikelihood of its withstanding legal challenges. At least forty three states have some form of abortion restrictions tied to phases of fetal development and viability of the fetus outside the womb. Some states have restrictions linked to time after conception. In other states, the laws that make abortion illegal after viability of the fetus are not dependent on time period of pregnancy. Abortion rights groups were against both the 20-week ban and the heartbeat bill. Some expressed plans to challenge the new 20-week ban. Theres no way were going to take this lying down, Gabriel Mann, spokesman for Naral Pro-Choice Ohio, told the New York Times. Its too horrific of a restriction for women who are facing medical complications and situations where they need an abortion around that 20-week period. Some pro-life organizations welcomed governor's decision to pass the 20-weeks ban while vetoing the 'heartbeat bill.' "While it must have been difficult, the current makeup of a radically pro-abortion Supreme Court required the governor to exercise great restraint," said Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. "By endorsing the 20-week ban in lieu of the heartbeat approach, Gov. Kasich provided strong pro-life leadership to finally engage a winnable battle with the federal judiciary while saving countless babies at the same time." A federal court found Dylann Roof guilty of killing nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015. The decision was arrived at by jury members who convicted Roof on all the 33 charges leveled against him. A retired nurse and one of the few survivors of the shooting, Polly Sheppard, testified last in the trial. She said that Roof started firing when all the other members were praying with eyes closed at the end of the prayer. Suddenly, she heard the gun sounds but couldn't make out if those really were gun shots. Then she heard another member Felicia Sanders, who is also alive, saying, "He's shooting everybody, Miss Polly!" She hid under a table for cover and prayed aloud, but Roof told her, "Have I shot you yet?" Then Roof continued, "I'm not going to. I'm going to leave you here to tell the story." In earlier testimonies, Roof said that he had had second thoughts about shooting and could have walked out of the church. "I was sitting there thinking about whether I should do it or not. That's why I sat there for 15 minutes. I could have walked out," Roof said. Church CCTV footage showed that Roof was inside for as many as 45 minutes. He was asked if he wanted to kill more black people, to which he replied, "Oh no. I was worn out." Two handwritten notes were found in Roof's car, one each to his mother and father, according to a crime scene technician. To his mother, he had written: "As childish as it sounds, I wish I was in your arms." "I love you and I am sorry. You were a good dad," he told his dad in the note. Roof has admitted his crime in a videotaped interview, and had offered to plead guilty if prosecution would pardon him of death sentence. But, uncertainty over his sentence looms and he is awaiting his penalty which will be announced in January. Statements about his state of mind and personal characteristics will not be heard till the penalty phase of the trial begins. The French National Assembly has designated the act of providing pro-life information online, particularly about alternatives to abortion, as a "crime." The legislation was approved by a 173-126 margin, which stated that the law prohibited anyone from "exercising, by any means, moral and psychological pressures, threats or any act of intimidation against people seeking information on a voluntarily termination of pregnancy." Director of the European Centre for Law and Justice Gregor Puppinck said that the legislation has vague language, and that the "moral and psychological pressure" could be led to interpret pro-life messages as offensive. "Publishing the Christian teaching that abortion is a crime could be seen as putting pressure on people," Puppinck said. "The simple sharing of information that might upset moral conscience could be sufficient to constitute a crime." Laurence Rossignol, the Socialist government's minister for women's rights and families, said that pro-life websites disseminate false propaganda. "Freedom of opinion is not the right to lie," she said referring to the websites, which pro-life groups allege are treated as frauds by government. "These internet sites spread false allegations," she said in the National Assembly, adding that their counselors "are not professionals, but in fact anti-abortion activists hiding behind the anonymity these hotlines give them." A pro-life website IVG.net, which suggests alternatives to abortion, said that the new bill violates the principles of democracy in France. "Extending the offense of obstructing voluntary termination of pregnancy is contrary to several fundamental principles guaranteed by French and international law, in particular the principle of the legality of offenses and penalties and the right to freedom of expression. It is a dangerous...text," IVG said. I had the privilege or reading a pre-release version of "God Shines Forth: How the Nature of God Shapes and Drives the Mission of the Church." Here are 20 quotes from the book, which you should pick up. President Obama has approved legislation promoted by religious freedom advocates that should strengthen the United States effort to combat persecution of Christians and other faith minorities. The House of Representatives approved the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), H.R. 1150, on December 13 to complete congressional action on the proposal. That action came only three days after the Senate amended and passed an earlier House-approved version. Both the House and Senate endorsed the amended bill without opposition. Bill supporters were optimistic that Obama would sign the measure, named in honor of Congress longtime top religious freedom advocate, into law. He did so on Friday. H.R. 1150 serves as an update of the 1998 bill that established a religious freedom office in the State Department and an independent watchdog panel, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Wolf, the since-retired congressman from Virginia who championed ... 1 Theyre the three men in glittering velvet robes and fake beards in the living nativity at church. Sometimes they tow a live camel. Bearing gifts, they traversed afar, following yonder star through the back of the sanctuary in the grand crescendo of our beloved annual Christmas pageant. Im speaking, of course, of the Magi. Or is it wise men? Wait, kings? Perhaps if Luke the historian had written about them in his Christmas account, we might have had precise details. But Matthews account is vague, shrouded in mystery: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem (Matt. 2:1). Intrigue swirls around these festooned foreigners. Where did they come from? With a wink Matthew writes, the East. Indeed, his description is so utterly specific that church traditions in dozens of countries claim to be their country of origin. And who were they? Technically speaking, Matthew calls them magibut what are magi? Are they kings? Wise men? Sorcerers? Astrologers? Christians have been trying to nail down their identity for millennia. As early as A.D. 200, Tertullian was laying out arguments that the Magi, while astrologers by trade, were considered kings. To the contrary, John Calvin felt strongly about anyone who would label them three kings: Beyond all doubt, they have been stupefied by a righteous judgment of God, that all might laugh at [their] gross ignorance. Adding a further wrinkle, first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder wrote several chapters about the Magi wherein they sound more like something from a Harry Potter novel. He details their skill in magic ... ACLJ Launches Global Effort to Free Christian Pastor - A U.S. Citizen - Imprisoned in Turkey Because of His Christian Faith Pastor Andrew Brunson, a U.S. citizen, is imprisoned in Turkey because of his Christian faith Contact: For Print: Gene Kapp, 757-575-9520; For Broadcast: Alison Geist or Anna Hutsell, 770-813-0000; www.aclj.org WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is active in defending persecuted Christians around the globe, has announced it is representing the family of American Pastor Andrew Brunson a U.S. citizen from Black Mountain, North Carolina who is imprisoned in Turkey because of his Christian faith. Pastor Andrew has been in a detention center for the last two months and just days ago was transferred to a prison. The ACLJ is launching a global campaign to free Pastor Andrew. "We are representing the family of an American Pastor who is facing grave danger in a Turkish prison where he is being held simply because of his Christian beliefs," said Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ. "The government of Turkey led by an Islamic party has begun increased crackdowns on Christians, and Pastor Andrew, if convicted, may face years in prison based on extremely serious and false charges. We are launching a global campaign to call attention to his plight demanding that Turkey a NATO member release Pastor Andrew without delay." The family of Pastor Andrew Brunson released this statement: "Andrew's strong faith has always been at the center of his life and that has never been more evident than his pastorship in Turkey. His love and concern for the people of Turkey is unmistakable, as he has dedicated 23 years of his life serving them. That is what makes his imprisonment and the unfounded charges so unbelievable and shocking. This development is not only troubling but places him in grave danger. We are working to secure his freedom and will not rest until Andrew is free. We're grateful for the support of the ACLJ and others who are working to demand that Turkey release Andrew without delay." Pastor Andrew's daughter, Jacqueline Brunson, an 18-year-old college student in North Carolina, released this statement about her father's plight. "It is both troubling and disturbing that my father, who has called Turkey home for the last 23 years, is imprisoned without cause. I grew up in Turkey and saw firsthand how much he loves Turkey and the Turkish people. He has exhibited nothing but love, mercy and grace during his time there. Our family is shocked by this latest development and we urge the government to release him immediately. The best Christmas present our family could receive this year is the release of my father." On the morning of October 7, 2016, Pastor Andrew was summoned to the local police station in Izmir, Turkey. He believed he would be receiving a long-awaited permanent residence card. Pastor Andrew, who is a U.S. citizen, has been living in Turkey for 23 years, running a Christian church with the full knowledge of local authorities. When he arrived at the police station, he was informed he was being deported based on being a "threat to national security" a common excuse for deportation in Turkey. It then became clear that he was being arrested and would be detained until deportation. Pastor Andrew was fingerprinted, searched, and officials confiscated personal affects including his phone. He was also denied a Bible. Instead of being deported, as he was originally told, he was held with no charges for 63 days, during which time he was denied access to an attorney. He spent part of this time in isolation. Then on December 8th, after being incarcerated for more than two months, the situation became worse. In the middle of the night, Pastor Andrew was taken to a counter-terrorism center in Izmir and then taken to court. He was questioned and now has been charged with "membership in an armed terrorist organization." The charging documents, however, do not present any evidence against him. A Turkish judge had the option to deport Pastor Andrew, release him with the condition that he sign-in with local authorities weekly, or imprison him. The judge decided to remand Pastor Andrew to prison. Family members say that Pastor Andrew has quietly and faithfully pastored churches in Turkey for nearly a quarter century. He has raised his family in Turkey, and has never been a member of an armed terrorist organization. Pastor Andrew remains in prison where he is awaiting trial and, if convicted of these false charges, could face years of imprisonment. The ACLJ represents the family of Pastor Andrew and is mobilizing its international resources including ACLJ-affiliated offices in the region seeking Pastor Andrew's freedom. The ACLJ is launching a global campaign to generate awareness of Pastor Andrew's plight and is calling on the U.S. State Department, as well as international organizations including the United Nations as well as NATO member countries to demand Turkey a NATO member release Pastor Andrew without delay. "As we approach Christmas a season of hope and promise we know that people around the world will stand with Pastor Andrew will be Pastor Andrew's voice supporting his fight for freedom and will join us in urging Turkey to release him immediately," said Sekulow. The ACLJ has been advocating for the protection of Christians and other religious minorities for years. The ACLJ also has been very active in working to bring an end to the persecution of Christians taking place in many parts of the world. Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, is based in Washington, D.C. and is online at www.aclj.org. Carmel Teens for Life Club Receives Wide Support Timeline of events Contact: Liberty Counsel, 800-671-1776, Media@LC.org, Press Kit CARMEL, Ind., Dec. 16, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- "As we celebrate the anniversary of the Bill of Rights, the Carmel Teens for Life Club learned that free speech cannot be taken for granted," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents the high school students who lead the club. On Monday, December 5, 2016, Liberty Counsel sent an initial demand letter with photo attachments, outlining the unconstitutional censorship of Carmel Teens for Life by Carmel High School administrators, which removed their pre-approved poster after a student complained. The letter requested a response by December 12, 2016. District counsel responded via phone on Tuesday, December 6, and assured Liberty Counsel that the District was taking the letter's concerns seriously. In addition, District counsel sent a request to the superintendent to obtain the District's side of the story, and stated that a response before December 12 was unlikely. Liberty Counsel agreed to extend the timeline for a response to at least December 23, before further action would be taken. However, the District summoned the club's leaders three days later on Friday, December 9, 2016, demanding that they sign an agreement that they would not seek outside legal counsel or parental input, that they would have to receive prior approval for "all communications," and that they not use the word "abortion" in any communications, including Facebook. There was also a threat to withdraw teacher sponsorship if the teens did not sign the "Agreement." Liberty Counsel sent an email Monday, December 12, at 2:16 p.m., demanding a response and an explanation. However, Liberty Counsel received no response for over 24 hours. Liberty Counsel placed a phone call to District counsel on Tuesday, December 13, at 3:36 p.m., seeking an explanation. However, District counsel was unavailable. With counsel unresponsive, Liberty Counsel informed the media regarding Carmel High School's actions at 4:55 p.m. The Friday, December 9 attempt to strong arm the club behind-the-scenes was a game changer that should have received an immediate response from District. "It is highly improper for school officials to demand students forgo their rights and not seek legal counsel or parental input," said Staver. "The District has until Monday to correct course. The District's actions are shocking. Instead of supporting the Bill of Rights, the District has trampled them. Students do not shed their rights to free speech when they enter the schoolhouse gate," said Staver. Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics. 10 Tax Developments that Affect Churches and Clergy Contact: Sandra Hoekstra-Lower, Christianity Today, 630-260-6200 ext 4224, shoekstralower@christianitytoday.com CAROL STREAM, Ill., Dec. 15, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Several important tax developments in 2016 will affect 2017 tax reporting by ministers, church staff, and churches. Richard Hammar lists the top ten developments in the January/February issue of Church Law & Tax Report, including: Affordable Care Act reporting requirements Changes in Form W-2 and Form W-3 IRS extends audit protections to church payroll compliance Status of the housing allowance Find explanations of all ten tax developments in the January/February issue of Church Law & Tax Report, and stay current on changing tax developments that affect churches throughout the year by subscribing to Church Law & Tax Report. For information on more tax developments that affect churchesbeyond this top ten listsee the 2017 Church & Clergy Tax Guide. This guide also serves as a year-round reference for churches and clergy. Christianity Today is a nonprofit, global media ministry centered on Beautiful Orthodoxystrengthening the church by richly communicating the breadth of the true, good, and beautiful gospel. Reaching over four million people monthly with various digital and print resources, the ministry equips Christians to renew their minds, serve the church, and create culture to the glory of God. Christmas Children's Book Release: 'A Nativity Christmas' Contact: Tawney Anderson, 818-353-1683, www.tawneyanderson.com HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 15, 2016 / In the story, Jenny's animal friends are waiting for her at Grandpa Bob's farm to read the annual Christmas story. On the way, a sudden snowstorm hits, causing the truck to lose control and collide with a pack of wolves! Stuck in a snow bank, and surrounded by wolves, Jenny and her family need help. Sensing danger, the farm animals sound the alarm and help rescue the family they've all grown to love. Tawney Anderson grew up in an untamed area in Oregon. The woods was her favorite place to explore with her siblings and their collie dog, Laddie. After graduating from the University of Washington and starting a family, Tawney and her husband insisted on raising their daughter away from the city lights, in a horse community near Los Angeles. There the family raised horses, chickens, dogs, cats, birds and any other creature that may have needed their help. Tawney is excited to continue her journey inspiring young readers. "A Nativity Christmas" is the first in a four book series of "Jenny Adventures." "A Nativity Christmas" is available for purchase at Amazon in paperback or as a Kindle eBook download: Purchase of the paperback version of the book gives access to a free download of the Kindle eBook. Read more at Media Copies: A complimentary digital copy of "A Nativity Christmas" is available upon request by contacting the author: The author is available for interviews. Author availability: Hollywood, CA, and via telephone (818-353-1683) (email: Share Tweet Contact: Tawney Anderson, 818-353-1683, tawney@tawneyanderson.com HOLLYWOOD, Dec. 15, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Just in time for Christmas, author Tawney Anderson has released her new children's book: "A Nativity Christmas." Tawney has combined her talents as a playwright and theater director to create a unique host of characters that bring this Christmas story to life. Combined with animal character illustrations, "A Nativity Christmas" creates theater of the mind that will leave a heart-warming impression in the minds of all children and their families, while exemplifying why we celebrate Christmas.In the story, Jenny's animal friends are waiting for her at Grandpa Bob's farm to read the annual Christmas story. On the way, a sudden snowstorm hits, causing the truck to lose control and collide with a pack of wolves! Stuck in a snow bank, and surrounded by wolves, Jenny and her family need help. Sensing danger, the farm animals sound the alarm and help rescue the family they've all grown to love.Tawney Anderson grew up in an untamed area in Oregon. The woods was her favorite place to explore with her siblings and their collie dog, Laddie. After graduating from the University of Washington and starting a family, Tawney and her husband insisted on raising their daughter away from the city lights, in a horse community near Los Angeles. There the family raised horses, chickens, dogs, cats, birds and any other creature that may have needed their help.Tawney is excited to continue her journey inspiring young readers. "A Nativity Christmas" is the first in a four book series of "Jenny Adventures.""A Nativity Christmas" is available for purchase at Amazon in paperback or as a Kindle eBook download: www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1ILU1U Purchase of the paperback version of the book gives access to a free download of the Kindle eBook. Read more at www.tawneyanderson.com Media Copies: A complimentary digital copy of "A Nativity Christmas" is available upon request by contacting the author: tawney@tawneyanderson.com The author is available for interviews.Author availability: Hollywood, CA, and via telephone (818-353-1683) (email: tawney@tawneyanderson.com home World ACLJ launches petition to free American pastor jailed in Turkey The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has started a petition on Wednesday calling for the release of an American pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey for his alleged ties to a terrorist organization. Rev. Andrew Brunson and his wife, Norine, who have been living in Turkey for over 20 years, were initially detained on Oct. 7 after they were accused of conducting activities that were said to be a "national security risk." Norine was released on Oct. 19, but Brunson remained in detention. On Dec. 8, the pastor was transferred to a counter-terrorism center, according to World Watch Monitor. He was then taken to a court in Izmir where he was interrogated and accused of being a member of an armed terrorist organization. The officiating judge stated that the charge against Brunson came from a "secret informant." The pastor was accused of having links to the Fethullah Gulen movement, which is allegedly responsible for the failed military coup against the government on July 15. Brunson's Turkish attorney was not allowed access to his case file. According to the ACLJ, the judge had the option to deport Brunson, release him on the condition that he would sign-in with local authorities weekly, or imprison him. The judge chose to remand the pastor to prison. ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow announced that a global campaign has been launched to urge the Turkish government to release Brunson. "The government of Turkey a led by an Islamic party a has begun increased crackdowns on Christians, and Pastor Andrew, if convicted, may face years in prison based on extremely serious a and false a charges. We are launching a global campaign to call attention to his plight demanding that Turkey a a NATO member a release Pastor Andrew without delay," Sekulow said in a statement. Brunson's family issued a statement describing his imprisonment as "unbelievable" and "shocking." "We are working to secure his freedom and will not rest until Andrew is free. We're grateful for the support of the ACLJ and others who are working to demand that Turkey release Andrew without delay," the family stated. Archbishops Of Canterbury And Westminster Praise Massive Social Good Done By Christians There might be fewer of them in Britain but the Christians that do still exist are doing more good in society. A new report shows that while overall numbers of Christians have declined, they have become more socially active. Doing Good: A Future for Christianity in the 21st Century, by Nick Spencer for the religion think tank Theos shows the huge social contriubution that Christians are making to society, motivated by their faith. They are active throughout the country in volunteering to help with debt advice, homeless charities, mum and toddlers' groups, food banks and Street Pastors. The report demolishes the secular myth that the demise of Christianity is imminent. It does admit there has been a decline however. In 2006 when Theos was founded, there were about 4.5 million people Sunday worshippers in the UK. Just ten years later this has fallen by 300,000 and is now down to about 4.2 million, consisting of one million Anglicans, one million Catholics and 2.2 million others. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, in the foreword, says: "While critics prophesy its imminent demise as critics have done for several hundred years Christians across the country are doing what they, too, have done for many hundreds of years: worship, pray, witness, serve." There is nothing strange about this, he says. Writing with the Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, he continues: "What is strange or at least worthy of greater notice than it usually receives is that the breadth, depth and intensity of this Christian service is deepening. "From personal debt advice to marriage counselling, from foodbanks to street pastors, from rehabilitation to reconciliation, the Church and Christian charities across the country are rolling up their sleeves, struggling on behalf of human dignity, pursuing the common good and doing it all in the name of Jesus Christ." Britain's two leading churchmen assert that politicians and commentators across the political spectrum are realising that a good society needs people dedicated to service. Spencer said: "Christianity in 21st Century Britain is liable to be smaller but more activist. Fewer people will naturally call themselves 'Christian' but those that do will do more about it. "This is something that should be welcomed, not least as the evidence strongly suggests that religious worship and social action are strongly correlated with well-being and good mental health." 'Everything Is Gone': ISIS Deals Brutal Final Blow To Iraqi Christians Islamic State militants have dealt a final blow to Iraq's displaced Christian population by burning thousands of homes before surrendering the occupied territories. As more than two years of occupation comes to an end, ISIS forces have systematically set fire to homes in the Nineveh Plain before leaving, World Watch Monitor reports. Many had long hoped for an eventual return home, but even with ISIS forces gone, the destruction has dealt a blow to their dreams. "This is it. Everything else is gone," said one man, who was only able to salvage to some books, shoes, and photos from his house in Bartella, a recently liberated Christian town. His family were forced to flee after ISIS invasion in summer 2014, but they had remained in Ashti refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the hope of one day returning home. Liberation of some towns in the Nineveh Plain in October had raised such hopes for many families. Now though, this man's home has been destroyed, and the dream with it. "Everything is gone. We have nothing left. Why should we stay in this country any longer?" he says. "We have lost all hope. Is there any country willing to take us in? Please, tell me which one; we will be on the next plane out of here." In Christian settlements like Bartella, Qaraqosh and Karamles, about 80 per cent of the houses have been either completely destroyed by Coalition bombs or burned out and rendered uninhabitable by ISIS. One volunteer assessed the damage in Qaraqosh: "In most houses, all the rooms have been burned out completely," he said. "Except, strangely enough, the kitchens. It is clear this has been an organised strategy." Father Thabet, a priest from Karamles, said the destruction in some cases was done only hours before ISIS forces left. "It seems they wanted to make sure nothing of value would remain," he said. "The effect is a mounting feeling of hopelessness among the Christians when they discover the damage. They will really need time to recover from this news, to adjust to the new perspective of living in displacement longer than they might have expected." The devastation has clearly wreaked more than just physical damage. "People have the feeling that their history has been erased," he says. "They feel emotionally displaced because of this." Thabet still has hope of restoration and work with the help of volunteers has begun. Christian charity Open Doors is supporting the opening of the first Centre for Support and Encouragement, which will facilitate the return of those who have been displaced and feel ready to return. However, the road ahead will be long. "There is no electricity, no water, nothing. Do you know how difficult it is to start cleaning without water available? This process is going to take longer than some people have expected," he says. ISIS has not been wiped out either and violence still surrounds the liberated territories. Thabet says: "The whole international community has to come up with a solution for the Christians here." He adds: "We have to prepare for a long time of reconstruction. Yet, I firmly believe this is Christian ground, and I will work hard to help the Christians return to this place God willing, to live here in peace." Extraordinary Row Could See York Minster's Bells Fall Silent At Christmas York Minster's bells may remain silent at Christmas for the first time since 1361 after a row between bell ringers and the Minster. The Minster's bell ringers were barred from the belfry in October with the Archbishop of York citing a safeguarding issue with one of the 30-strong team. But the decision caused outrage among campanologists across the UK. Now 17,000 have signed a petition demanding the bells ring on Christmas Day. But one-by-one, neighbouring teams of bellringers have turned down the Minster's offer to play on Christmas Day "in solidarity" with the disgraced York team. Leeds Minster has become the latest to reject the offer with ringing master Robert Childs saying members voted at a practice session to turn down the opportunity. Childs said normally they would have relished the prospect as York's bells were the best in the country for sound. But many of his team knew the 31 York members dismissed and did not feel they could play in their place. "They felt it would be the wrong thing to do," he said according to the Telegraph. "You could see it as an act of solidarity with our fellow bell ringers in York." The country's top bellringing body has told other groups they must "follow their own consciences" as the Minster continues to invite other neighbouring groups. President of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers, Chris Mew, said: "Whilst this may be attractive to the community it has raised varying reaction from ringers approached to help and from the wider ringing fraternity." A York Minster spokesman said they are recruiting a new team but the process would take three months and they are looking at how they bells could ring at Christmas. "The Chapter of York is making plans for future bell ringing arrangements at York Minster and we are drawing on expertise from around the county and country to help us shape those plans. "We are exploring options for ringing at Christmas but are not yet in a position to confirm if we will go ahead". Fascism And False Messiahs: Why The World Needs Christ More Than Ever It is likely that the year 2016 will go down in history as a 'year of infamy'. Historians will look back on it as the beginning of a chain of events that set the world on the path towards a menacing authoritarianism. In this new authoritarian age, it seems that a new world is coming into being a world that is moved not by the Christian values of love, compassion and solidarity, but by elemental powers and sinful passions, by the racial politics of blood and soil, the media-fabricated 'will of the people' and the demonic power of nationalistic pride. Two decades after the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust, a historical amnesia has set in among the nations of the West. Fascism has now made a subtle return to the political mainstream. In the 1930s a hate-filled demagogue and populist leader, Adolf Hitler, was democratically elected by millions of Germans on the slogan that he would 'make Germany great again' after the humiliation of defeat in the First World War. This is not to say, of course, that Brexit or the Trump election victory can be equated with the kind of fascism that arose in Europe in the early 20th century. There are clear differences and it is certainly not the case that every person who voted for Brexit or for Trump is a fascist sympathiser. Nevertheless, there are signs that fascism is resurgent in the West and extremist groups have openly acclaimed the victories of Trump and the Leave campaign. Trump, Putin, Le Pen, Brexit, UKIP, and the resurgence of populism throughout the world all these regrettable tendencies are symptomatic of an underlying spiritual crisis resulting from humankind's estrangement from God. They testify to the decadence of the world and the process of dehumanisation that is occurring in a fallen world buffeted by cruelty, conflict and a thoughtless indifference towards suffering people. Instead of trusting in God and looking to the future with hope, many people seem to have put their trust in false messiahs and have capitulated to the basest sinful instincts of fear and selfishness. Trump and Brexit and the current fascist resurgence in the West indicate the desolation of a sin-sick humanity that has forsaken God and, in its turn, has been forsaken by God. The result is that, instead of a culture of compassion and solidarity, we have a celebrity culture that is waging an undeclared war against the truth. We even have a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary, 'post-truth', to describe our lamentable condition. Our age is also characterised by a brutish cruelty towards human beings. In an unjust world, justice is hard work and requires perpetual vigilance. The problem today is that many good people have become distracted and apathetic as the world sleepwalks into breakdown, further conflict and the potential of a global war. Christians, like many other Western consumers, have become preoccupied with the latest gadgets and gossip. Many theologians have too often been shackled by a myopic preoccupation with minute details of biblical exegesis or with abstract metaphysical speculation. What profit is yielded by the sterile speculation on the eternal consubstantiation of the Persons of the Trinity, if we have nothing to say about relationships, popular culture, the human costs and the spiritual implications of living through a 'crisis of compassion' in a 'post-truth' age? How do we expect to engage with the world in a meaningful way? In today's Western world Christianity has lost its vivacity and creative dynamism. Too often, Christianity has become inert, compromised and conformist. Instead of offering prophetic resistance to the dehumanising tendencies of this age, many Christians have unwittingly colluded with these anti-gospel forces. Christianity still needs to be revealed to the world as a religion of universal compassion that can resist these demonic forces in the name of the Kingdom of God. But this will never happen so long as the best and most original Christian minds today are distracted by pointless disputes concerning the meaning of church sacraments, the authorship of the Pentateuch, the latest take on the Chalcedonian formula or the eternal pre-existence of the Second Hypostasis. The crisis of compassion in contemporary society is expressed in the alluring falsehoods of secular humanism, consumerism and materialistic rationalism, which have made a wasteland of the human spirit. This crisis has been exacerbated by a world-denying false theology among many Christians, which reduces the whole meaning of the gospel of salvation in Christ to a transaction that results in the forgiveness of sins and the settling of heaven's accounts. Instead of being salt and light, Christians have tended to avoid concrete issues of solidarity, justice and compassion and have opted instead to concern themselves with abstract and distant categories, such as the soul, heaven and eternity. Many Christians have become too enmired in a swamp of religious practices and metaphysical preoccupations to be concerned about the plight of the poor and the immeasurable suffering of a fallen world. As a result of Christians' self-imposed evacuation from the pain of the world, the earth today is covered in shadows. The lamps of truth, compassion, solidarity, respect and courtesy are going out. It may even seem that the world is passing through its twilight period and entering the darkness of a universal night. But amid the prevailing darkness, the everlasting light still shines, summoning God's people to repentance and onto faith and courage. I should mention that as an evangelical Christian, I take absolutely no consolation in the kind of bland cliches that insist that somehow 'God is still in control', despite the current deplorable developments in world politics. By this same logic, presumably 'God was still in control' between 1933 and 1945, but this didn't prevent Hitler from coming to power and starting a war that led to the death of over 50 million people, including an unprecedented genocide in which six million Jews were murdered by the Nazi regime. If history teaches Christians anything, it is that God respects our human freedom and allows human irrationality, ignorance, fear and hatred to take their destructive course. However, we should not despair, because hope can be found elsewhere. Amid the darkness a new movement of the Holy Spirit can be discerned. This movement defies the dehumanising tendencies in contemporary society. It aims for the rediscovery of the true meaning of Christianity in terms of the creation of a global community of solidarity. This community radiates the gospel values of kindness, compassion, truth and justice. This community stands at the forefront of a new gospel movement that promotes a social context in which justice and peace can thrive. This movement is calling upon the global Christian community to embody and inculcate humane virtues in society, so that degenerate forces of inhumanity and callous indifference to the suffering of others would not be able to flourish. Within this global Christian community, the gospel is emerging as a transformative and world-shattering message of the good news concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This gospel message, purified from deadening legalism, has a new basis not in judgment and retribution, but in divine-human creativity, compassion and the indestructible power of resurrection life. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will raise up a new generation of followers of the Risen Christ, who can be at the spearhead of a new movement that resists the violent tendencies and zoological impulses of contemporary society. Given the difficult circumstances, it is inevitable that these people will be a minority. However, as Jesus said, it takes only a little yeast to leaven the whole lump of dough. Christians, sooner or later, will need to face up to the fact that to be a follower of Jesus Christ in the Western world today is to be part of a dwindling minority in a world that is passing through a painful era of godforsakenness. It is our task to negotiate this passage by following the 'kindly light' step by step until the time has come for the final defeat of the evil, when the "kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our God and His Christ" (Revelation 11:15). Therein lie our future and our hope. Dr Joshua Searle is tutor in Theology and Public Thought at Spurgeon's College. He writes in a private capacity. How London Churches Are Battling The Housing Crisis Churches in London are benefiting from an innovative scheme designed to enable them to beat the vast cost of housing. The London Missional Housing Bond has raised almost a million pounds and already enabled two churches to buy housing for workers doing mission in the communbity. The bond required investors to put in sums of over 5,000 for which they were rewarded with up to two per cent returns. From individuals and churches, enough was raised to purchase two properties. They are both now being used by churches in deprived and diverse areas, which, thanks to London's extraordinary cost of housing, would be unaffordable to them otherwise. Tom Woodbridge, one of the occupants, who recently moved into the flat on the Stafford Cripps Estate near his church - Inspire London - with his wife Rosie, said: "The challenge of building community in the city across the divides of economics and demographics really inspired us. It is early days and it isn't always easy but I can see how being here will really allow us to build relationships from the ground up as genuine neighbours." The Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, is among those backing the scheme. "The cost of living in our capital continues to escalate at an alarming rate," he said. "The provision of housing for front-line workers is vital if we are to continue to serve the most needy and vulnerable. Through the Missional Bond, we are embedding workers at the very heart of London's communities where their presence is most needed, allowing us to respond creatively to our calling to share the good news of Jesus Christ in this great world city." It's hoped the model can now be replicated elsewhere. Tim Thorlby from the Centre For Theology & Community, which helped to create the bond, said, "Social investment is an underused source of finance for the Church and its mission. We hope that this Bond will play a role in promoting a change of attitudes within churches towards the more imaginative use of resources, helping the Church to include social investment as one of its regular habits." Charleston: Why Dylann Roof Should Not Be Executed Dylann Roof is guilty not that this was ever in doubt. Following his trial was harrowing. The details of the massacre of worshipers at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in the summer of 2015 are horrific. The gruesome details testified by witnesses during the trial include the methodical way Roof planned the killings, and that he left one member of the Bible study group alive to ensure that what he'd done would be told widely. It's important we don't turn away from the case, however difficult it is. The appalling indifference Roof showed when describing his actions was astonishing. Not only has he shown no remorse, but the trial continued to cause pain his mother had a heart attack while a victim was giving evidence last week. Surely, then, the state is correct to be seeking the death penalty? In fact, that was the essence of what the court case was trying to establish. Having admitted the massacre and already been found fit to stand trial, the case was really about whether he will be given the death sentence or life in prison. Roof offered to plead guilty should the federal prosecutors choose not to pursue a death sentence, but the state refused to do so. If ever there was a candidate for the death penalty, it is Roof. He killed defenceless worshippers and by his own admission, he was looking to start a wider racial conflict. Any extremist, terrorist, who attempts to stir up wider conflict must surely be made an example to others. In a country where racism is still pervasive, where white supremacists seem to have been emboldened by the year's political events, it's the responsibility of the authorities to pursue the strongest possible penalty not only to remove this incredibly dangerous man from the face of the earth but to send a message to his fellow travellers that the might of the state will be brought to bear on them should they even consider copycat actions. Yet, there is another side to the story. As highlighted by Goldie Taylor in an article for the Daily Beast, African Americans in South Carolina don't seem to want the death penalty for Roof. She points to data which show 65 per cent of black people polled want him to be given a life sentence instead. That contrasts with 64 per cent of whites who think he should be put to death. Taylor outlines some of the possible reasons for this. "Whether because of our own distrust for a government that disproportionately imprisons African Americans" she writes, "or because of religious traditions, as a people we have turned away from an 'eye for an eye.' Retribution, many will tell you, is not justice." The astonishing way in which some of the families of the victims responded to the shooting spree was noted around the world. Their forgiveness of Roof seemed incomprehensible to many and it allowed them to speak of their faith alongside their loss. "You took something very precious from me. I will never talk to her again. I will never, ever hold her again. But I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul," one family member told Roof just days after the killings. Others haven't found themselves able to forgive. Sharon Risher, whose mother was killed, said that she was unable to forgive Roof yet. Despite this she doesn't support the death penalty. "I don't believe in the death penalty, even for the man who killed her. That's my conviction because of my faith," she said. "I've said the same thing all along I don't believe as human beings that we should take away someone's life just because we have the power to do so." The Christian conviction of many of the family members is clear. Even though they disagree over whether and when Roof should be forgiven, some family members have made clear they don't support the death penalty. Those of us who aren't direct victims really have no place telling those who are how they should react and feel. Yet there is something incredibly profound about leaving the decision on when Roof's life should end to God. It is a powerful act of Christian witness to suggest that even though he has caused unimaginable suffering to many hundreds of people and had a devastating effect on the whole community, the death penalty could be questioned by family members. Rather than disempowering the victims, it seems to give them even more dignity. In refusing to support ending the life of a man who so brutally ended the lives of their family members they demonstrate the mercy which Pope Francis has spent much of the last year preaching on ("Now is the time to unleash the creativity of mercy, to bring about new undertakings, the fruit of grace" he tweeted yesterday morning). They also demonstrate in the most visceral way that life is sacred. That this sacredness which Roof is accused of so brutally violating could be honoured in him is a powerful witness. It also says that the families trust God will judge him. As we know from Scripture, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God something Dylann Roof will have to think about for the rest of his days, however long or short they may be. Miss Universe Donates Designer Shoes, Bags And Dresses To Catholic Charity Miss Universe has donated luxury goods to a Catholic charity in the Phillipines her home country. Pia Wurtzbach won the crown in 2015 meaning she was the third Fillipino to claim the title. Now, according to the Catholic Herald, she's contributed shoes, bags and dresses to a charitable appeal on behalf of Caritas Manila, which works with those in poverty in the capital city. She reportedly dropped the goods off in person with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who gave her a rosary which had been passed to him by Pope Francis. "We are here for one purpose and that is to serve our brothers and sisters with no other motivation but love," he said. The Cardinal went on to say, "Miss Pia, you are towering figure we look up to you. We welcome you to the residence of the Archdiocese of Manila. We call it residencia. Very simple residence. We are here for one purpose and it is to serve our brothers and sisters with no other motivation but love." At least 80 per cent of the population of the Phillipines is Catholic, with another ten per cent of other Christian denominations. Muslim Businessman Chooses Huge Christmas Tree To Support Iraq's Devastated Christian Community Though the war with Islamic State is not yet over, Christians and Muslims in Iraq are looking forward to the day when they can live in peace, side-by-side again. A humungous Christmas tree 86-foot-tall chosen by a Muslim businessman is now proudly on display in Iraq's Baghdad, in a show of solidarity with the country's persecuted Christian minority, AP reports. Yassir Saad told the news agency the sentiment was about "joining our Christian brothers in their holiday celebrations and helping Iraqis forget their anguish, especially the war in Mosul". The persecution of Christians and other religious minorities by Islamic State has been labelled a genocide by the US administration, European Parliament, UK Parliament and Council of Europe. When ISIS first overran the Nineveh Plain more than two years ago, an area once known as Iraq's Christian heartland, hundreds of thousands of Christians fled; some to areas within Iraq, but others across the border into neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and even further afield. The number of Christians still living in Iraq is now thought to be as low as 200,000. In 2003, there were 1.5 million. Isaac Six, advocacy director at International Christian Concern (ICC), told Christian Today that the Christian community in Iraq has been "decimated over the past thirteen years." "Of the relatively small number who remain, hope is in very short supply," he added. "ICC has been working since August of 2014 with many of these communities to provide relief and assistance, and what we see now, even with ISIS slowly being pushed out of the country, is still a tremendous amount of fear that it's only a matter of time until they will have to leave the region all-together." Nine Out Of Ten Evangelicals Will Give Generously This Christmas Evangelical Christians are significantly more likely to give to charity or volunteer this Christmas than the average population. Nine in ten British evangelicals will either volunteer or give to charity over the festive period, research released on Friday revealed. This compared national figures that show only 12.5 per cent have volunteered in the last year and two-thirds have given to charity. Four in ten evangelicals (39 per cent) will serve their local communities by providing food parcels or meals for the homeless and vulnerable this Christmas, Friday's research showed. But the survey of more than 800 Christians by the Evangelical Alliance also revealed most evangelicals most evangelicals will not struggle financially this Christmas. In a sign of the "middle class culture" within Christianity, 71 per cent said they did not have to cut back or not get want they want this Christmas. Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said the comparative wealth was a "real challenge" in the Church. "The ease with which many can enjoy Christmas is certainly not universally shared with many requiring food parcels, or struggling with unsustainable debt," he said. "When we don't see for ourselves the challenges many face, it's a nudge for Christians to continue to show charity but also a stark reminder that our congregations might not reflect the realities of the communities we are in or seeking to reach." The Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, wrote a column for the Church Times earlier this month lambasting the Church of England for its "establishment bandwagon of outrage and horror". He said the Church's agenda was "set not by the poor, but by academics, the moneyed elites and certain sections of the secular media". He warned the CofE was so disconnected for deprived communities "that it no longer hears what they are saying, let alone amplifies their voices to the nation". Pastor Greg Laurie on Forgiveness: 'To Forgive Means...Surrendering My Right to Get Even' Pastor Greg Laurie from Harvest Christian Fellowship preached about forgiveness last Sunday, saying that the only way people can discover God's master plan for their lives is if they open the door of forgiveness. Laurie used the life story of Joseph in Genesis, according to The Christian Post in his sermon. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and was even sent to prison after he turned down the advances of the wife of his master. In prison, God blessed Joseph with prophetic dreams. After he helped the pharaoh with his dreams, he quickly rose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt. When he came face to face with his brothers, Joseph could have made them suffer by turning his back on them. Instead, he forgave them and offered his help. In the same way, Laurie said Christians should learn to forgive their oppressors. "I suggest to you that we sin more often than we think we do," he said in his sermon, "The Power of Forgiveness." As believers, God "graciously gives His forgiveness to us though we don't deserve it." However, people often find themselves unable to forgive those who have wronged them, Laurie said. "Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely thing until they have someone to forgive," he said. The main reason why people should have a forgiving heart is because God commands it. But aside from that, forgiveness is important for one's wellbeing. Forgiveness does not mean people are allowing other people to get away with bad behaviour. It doesn't even need to mean reconciliation, because it isn't always possible, said Laurie. "To forgive means, I'm surrendering my right to get even," he clarified. "It's not giving in to that person, it's getting free from that person." Joseph himself knew that God is sovereign. He understood that God is good and He is in control of all things. "This means the things He allows in my life are ultimately for my benefit and the benefit of others," Laurie explained. So for people who have experienced same hardships as Joseph did, Laurie asked, "Can you let it all go?" Pastor on Brink of Divorce Kills Daughter, Himself and Accuses Wife of Being a 'Vow Breaker' In a development that shocked members of a church in the U.S., a pastor armed with a shotgun barged into the home of his estranged wife and fatally shot his daughter multiple times before killing himself. Pastor Daniel Randall, 56, of the First Congregational Church in Bristol, Rhode Island committed the crime right after he was released from a 90-day stint in a rehab facility for alcoholism, according to the Portland Press Herald. The pastor and his estranged wife Anita, who was not in the house when the crime was committed, were reportedly on the brink of a divorce. Police found the body of his daughter Claire in the bathroom of the family home in Hebron, Maine. Daniel was found on the porch with a self-inflicted shot to the head. Authorities are calling the crime a murder-suicide. Daniel left Liberty Bay Recovery Center in Portland on Thursday around 10 a.m., then purchased a shotgun, drove home and killed his daughter just before 2 p.m. Before shooting himself, Daniel even spray-painted messages on the walls in five rooms of the house. One of the things he wrote was "VOW BREAKER." Daniel served as a pastor for First Congregational Church for 12 years before resigning in December 2014. When Zachariah Smith, a former parishioner in Daniel's church, heard of the news, he was shocked because the crime did not reflect the man he once knew. "My former pastor and dear, dear friend, for some awful and unknown reason, took his own life today. What's worse is he took his daughter's life as well," he said. "I can only imagine the anguish and self-loathing he was going through to make such a rash decision," he added. "That was not the man I knew and loved. He became sick, and a whole bunch of us missed it. Please, please pray for the Randalls and for the community of the First Congregational Church of Bristol RI. Please to the faithful, add the Randall's to every prayer chain possible." A neighbour, Carroll Daggett, 71, first discovered the bodies after Anita called her to check up on Claire because she was not answering her phone. When Daggett saw Claire's lifeless body on the floor, he told Anita to drive home immediately. Daggett, an Army veteran, did not suspect Daniel capable of the crime he committed. "He seemed to be a very pleasant person," Daggett said of his new neighbor. "A sort of take-charge, family-type person." Another family member named Molly also responded to the scene and asked for privacy during this difficult time. "We don't want to talk to anyone," she said. "Please respect us in this. It's very, very hard." Saudi Arabia Resets Calendar To Follow Birth Date Of Jesus Christ Saudi Arabia has changed its official calendar so that the Islamic kingdom is now being run on a timeline based on the birth of Jesus Christ. Saudi Arabia has used the Islamic Hijri calendar since the kingdom was founded in 1932. The lunar Hijri calendar dates its first year in AD 622, when Muhammad made his pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina. It has 12 months but each year is 11 days shorter than a year of the Gregorian calendar. The kingdom has adopted the Western Gregorian calendar, based on the date of the birth of Jesus Christ, for administering the state, such as paying its civil servants. The downside for the civil servants and all other public sector workers, is that for no extra pay, they now have to work an extra 11 days a year. The dates of Islamic festivals will continue to follow the Hijri calendar as they do worldwide. Christians are still not allowed to worship publicly in Saudi Arabia and there are no official churches. According to The Economist, puritans in Islam's birthplace are "wincing" at their loss of control of the calendar. The Economist reports: "Guardians of the Wahhabi rite, who seek to be guided by Muhammad's every act, ask whether they are now being required to follow Jesus." These scholars refer to the pre-Islamic as an "age of ignorance". The Economist notes: "The judiciary, a clerical bastion, still defiantly insists on sentencing miscreants according to the old calendar." The change was announced in April, when it was part of a plan that significantly was titled "Vision 2030" and not "Vision 1451" as Islamic scholars and judges would have wished. It passed into law in October. "Henceforth they will run the state according to a reckoning based on Jesus Christ's birth, not on the Prophet Muhammad's religious mission," reports The Economist, which also notes that some other countries also use non-Christian calendars to order their affairs. In Iran it is currently 1395, in Kurdistan it is 2628 and in Israel it is 5776. In Thailand it is 2559 and in Japan, it is just year 28 of the Heisei era. The Silence Of Heaven: Does God Still Speak Today? Doubtless over the Christmas period there will come a time when you will long for the sound of silence! Silence can be really beneficial. Silence can also be devastating. This Christmas there will be those who are devastated because they hear nothing from those they love. But silence in heaven? Martin Scorsese has a new film coming out in January entitled Silence. It asks the key questions about how we as Christians cope when God seems to be silent. And does the silence of God mean the absence of God? The answer to the latter question is clearly no. In this weeks Revelation passage (chapter 8) we read the astonishing statement that there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. This does not mean that God has left heaven! What it does tell us is that what was occurring was so dramatic and powerful that it demanded the noise of praise and prayers was silenced, even in heaven. It is a dramatic device that succeeds in grabbing our attention. What does this silence mean? Sometimes there is the silence of the presence of God. Have you even been in a church service where at some point you could have heard a pin drop even in the midst of hundreds of people? This is a silence of awe. Stillness. This is the fulfillment of the command, 'Be still and know that I am God'. There is also what I call the silence of comfort. Sometimes you are with people and because you don't know each other you talk non-stop. But other times you see a couple who are sitting in silence, not because they have nothing to say, but because they are comfortable just being in one another's presence. They don't feel the need to be talking or making a noise all the time. Sometimes when we practise the presence of God, that is what we experience. Be still my soul. A different silence is the silence of judgement. This is God not speaking to us. This is the pain of the 400 years without prophets between Malachi and Matthew. This is the silence that Scorsese's film is about. Lord, why don't you speak? Why don't you act? In a relationship there is one thing worse than a couple having an argument and shouting at each other it's when there is silence. When neither is communicating. The worst thing that can happen to you as an individual, us as churches or society, is not that God speaks to us in rebuke, warning and anger, but that he does not speak to us at all. In Romans 1 we are told what is wrong with society: "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creatorwho is forever praised. Amen." (Romans 1:21-25 NIV) This is the worst-case scenario. We turn away from God. We say we don't need you. We don't want to hear your voice. We can make it on our own. And God gives us what we want there is silence on Earth. In Revelation 8 there is both the silence of awe and the silence of judgement. After the half hour, all heaven breaks loose. The silence is broken by the seven angels sounding their trumpets and the judgements of God beginning. These are tough. And bitter. In verse 11 we read about the name of the great star that falls on the earth as being Wormwood. Although some modern Christians have seen great significance in the fact that wormwood in Ukrainian is Chernobyl (the scene of the greatest nuclear disaster in the West), the reality is that this is an allusion to the fact that the judgements of God are bitter. The word is used several times in the Old Testament to describe that bitterness. Whereas the word of God in is usually as sweet as honey, in judging humanities sin, it is indeed bitter. Does God still speak? What is he saying? Sometimes I fear that there is a shutting up of the heavens, that the Lord is judging us by giving us what we want. And that there is this awful silence in heaven and on earth as we await God's answer. We are told that the silence is broken when an angel takes the incense with the prayers of God's people. We need to cry out, 'how long O Lord, how long?' until the silence of heaven is broken. If we are concerned that there is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord in our country today, we need to first of all take our words in prayer to him. But I also know that God is still speaking in the following ways: He speaks through providence, what is happening. We need to learn to interpret the signs of the times. I am reminded of CS Lewis's well-known saying that "God whispers to us in our pleasures and screams to us in our pains." He speaks through his Spirit, the One who convicts of sin, righteousness and the judgement to come. The One who brings the Word and applies it to our heart. The One who regenerates. He speaks through his Son, "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Hebrews 1:1-3) He speaks through the Scriptures, this is the propositional revelation, so despised by those who consider themselves more 'spiritual' and in touch with the Almighty. I accept that I've heard some sermons that do their best to reduce the revelation of God to what can be described, as at best, sanctified waffle, but that does not do away with the importance of God revealing himself through words. The late great prophetic Francis Schaeffer wrote a marvellous book about this entitled He is There and He is not Silent. He said: "Even secular anthropologists say that somehow or other, they do not know why, man is a verbaliser. You have something different in man. The Bible says, and the Christian position says, I can tell you why: God is a personal-infinite God. There has always been communication, before the creation of all else, in the Trinity. And God has made man in His own image, and part of making man in his own image, is that he is a verbaliser." Some Christians think it is somehow more spiritual and more practical to either deny or play this down and so they use words to state the words are not important. They come up with the kind of nonsense that is sometimes attributed to Francis of Assisi. "Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words when you have to." Why is it nonsense? Apart from the fact St Francis almost certainly never said it, he also never lived it. He preached a lot. It's a sad irony of the reality of fallen man that somehow we manage to complain that God is not speaking and then complain when he does! If only he would just make us feel, without thinking, without speaking. This Sunday in my own church we have reached Isaiah 62. Maybe it's a coincidence but I find the first verse very appropriate. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch." God will not keep silent. For the sake of his people he will speak whether in the fire, or after the fire in a still small voice. He is there and he will not be silent. Simon and Garfunkel have a great song entitled The Sound of Silence. The lyrics are as follows: "Fools" said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows. Hear my words that I might teach you, Take my arms that I might reach you." But my words like silent raindrops fell, And echoed In the wells of silence And the people bowed and prayed To the neon God they made. And the sign flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming. And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls And tenement halls." And whisper'd in the sounds of silence. Let's pray that this Christmas the people would stop bowing to the neon gods they have made and instead be listening to the words of the prophets, whether written on subway walls or Christmas cards. The God of heaven has spoken on Earth and Christ is his Word. David Robertson is minister of St Peter's Free Church, Dundee and associate director of Solas CPC. Follow him on Twitter @theweeflea White Supremacist Dylann Roof Is Guilty Of Charleston Murders White supremacist Dylann Roof was found guilty yesterday of shooting dead nine black worshippers at a church in South Carolina last year. The jurors took just two hours to convict the 22-year-old on all 33 counts he faced. Roof took part in a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston before drawing his weapon and opening fire. He told police he wanted to start a race war and that he hated black people. Among his victims was state senator Rev Clementa Pinckney. Roof's crimes shocked the nation and led to one of President Barack Obama's most significant speeches on race. He sang Amazing Grace at a memorial service to the victims. Survivor Felicia Sanders said after the verdict that Roof was a coward because he had refused to look at her as she gave evidence. She said she would always remember her murdered friends: "I wear a smile, because if you look at the pictures of all nine, they're smiling." Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Centre, said: "Dylann Roof represents the modern face of domestic terrorism: the extremist who acts alone after being radicalized online. "When Roof searched 'black on white crime,' he found a flood of white supremacist propaganda. Once hard to access, that propaganda is now just a few keystrokes away from anyone, anywhere, who has access to the internet. Counter-narratives that expose the lies behind the propaganda often don't make the first page of search results. It's a problem we must address. "Charleston is still healing from Roof's horrific, racially motivated crime, as is our nation. Our hearts go out to the victims' families who will forever mourn the loss of their loved ones." Charleston mayor John Tecklenberg said: "Today, Dylann Storm Roof was held accountable for the horrific acts of evil he committed last June in the hallowed walls of Mother Emanuel church. We can only hope that this verdict brings some measure of comfort to the survivors and families, who remain in our prayers and whose extraordinary faith and grace have so moved us all." Roof will find out next month whether he will receive the death penalty. The Spider-Man of art dealers John Kasmin was at the centre of London's art scene web in the 1960s. Now his frank memories provide the thread for a fascinating installation at Tate Britain If Im talking strangely, says John Kasmin in the doorway of his west London home, its because two of my teeth snapped off in a bread roll while I was looking at Vesuvius during a hiking trip in Italy last week. The dental trauma is, luckily, only temporary he has an appointment for two gleaming implants but the remark hangs in the air as characteristic of the celebrated art dealer: precise, confiding, energetic, self-dramatising. Even the detail about the famous volcano is an assurance that youd never catch him looking at anything ordinary, banal or suburban. Now in his 82nd year, Kasmin has been doing a lot of talking lately. Not a week goes by when Im not being interviewed, he says. Stephen Bayley is in touch about his biography of Terence Conran. And a lady doing the official biography of [the New Zealand novelist] Maurice Shadbolt, whom I knew. Im being given a free dinner at the Gagosian Gallery because theyre doing an Yves Klein show, and Im probably the only living person who knew Yves Klein. He sighs. Its what happens when youre a survivor with a reasonable memory and enough willingness to answer questions. Kasmins most epic feat of recall, however, is about to make him the subject of a display at Tate Britain. It celebrates 25 years of Artists Lives, an offshoot of the British Librarys National Life Stories oral history project, in association with the Tate. For a quarter-century, 370 of the nations most eminent painters, sculptors and art professionals (curators, dealers, even critics) have been interviewed about their influences and aesthetic vision, their relationship with money, their exhibitions and retrospectives, their hard times and failures. Kasmins interview clocks in at more than 100 hours a rolling, Ciceronian stream of reminiscence beside which Marcel Proust is like a befuddled valetudinarian We give each person the same opportunity to talk about their lives, from their ancestors to the present day, says Cathy Courtney, project director and chief interviewer. Nothing is off-limits. We dont mind digressions and jumps in time. And we dont want them to talk only about work in the studio. We ask where they buy their Brussels sprouts, whether they believe in God, whether theyve made money in property. Were not trying to get sound bites. Ill say. Some of the interviews are astoundingly long. Short ones range from 12 to 20 hours. Some go on for 40. And then theres Kasmin, who clocks in at more than 100 hours a rolling, Ciceronian stream of reminiscence beside which Marcel Proust is like a befuddled valetudinarian striving to recall what he did last Tuesday. Open a larger version of this image Kasmin with his collection of sporting postcards by Belgian illustrator Fernand Fernel, dating from 1900-02. Photograph by Christoffer Rudquist Why did it take him so long? First, I gave up drinking in 1992, says Kasmin proudly. And if you have been a heavy drinker like I was, your memory is much clearer after giving up. Second, I enjoyed the task, so I was willing to excavate the past. I could look at a card from an exhibition and remember installing the show and who was around. I kept diaries of events and people I had lunch with. And I always took lots of pictures and kept photo albums. Had he been taken aback by any questions, or body-swerved any replies? There were lots of questions about sex, and whether I was screwing people or not, says Kasmin happily. I didnt avoid any subjects. They were amazed by what I was willing to talk about. All the work that will feature at the Tate will have a Kasmin connection: pieces by Anthony Caro, Robyn Denny, David Hockney, Richard Smith, John Latham, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski and Frank Stella. Either they were shown in his gallery at 118 New Bond Street between 1963 and 1972, or they were bought from him by the Tate, or acquired from him after the gallery closed. Visitors can look at the paintings as well as evocative photographs from the era while listening to 200 extracts from the recorded interviews. The main themes are the relationships between dealers, artists and national museums, and their networks of contacts. At the centre of these professional webs stands Kasmin, the Spider-Man of dealers for more than 40 years. The story of his early days is remarkable. He was born John Kaye in Londons Whitechapel in 1934; his forebears were Jewish schmatta traders. He grew up in Oxford and went to Magdalen College School, but his classical education (I liked writing Greek hexameters and translating Homer) was interrupted when his father who resented and disliked me from the word go sent him to work in the pressed steel factory in Cowley, paying off these sweating guys pressing out Bentley bodies, and studying cost accountancy at night school. He had to get out. So, at the age of 17, with 80 saved for his bar mitzvah and the help of his aunts, he legged it to New Zealand, worked in a hospital and wrote beatnik poetry. Four years later, he was back in England, in Soho at the time of coffee bars, skiffle and Look Back in Anger. He met artists such as the two gay Roberts, Colquhoun and MacBryde, but only as fellow drinkers. There were far more literary people around I used to drink with Elizabeth Smart and George Barker. Then he met Victor Musgrave, poet and art dealer, who owned Gallery One in Sohos DArblay Street. He was handsome, charismatic, bohemian and occasionally transvestite, and his gallery drew Kasmin like a moth to a chandelier. Victor lived above the gallery, and people would drop in for tea. Thered be a mixture of odd painters who also wrote, like Francis Newton Souza and Alexander Weatherson. It was a milieu where talented people met and had tea, while prostitutes wandered about outside. I told Victor Id love to work there. He said, No, I can hardly make a living myself. Victors wife Ida Kar intervened. An Armenian portrait photographer of international repute, she took Kasmin upstairs for tea, and I stayed the night. Next day, Victor said, If you can keep her quiet and stop her smashing my door down because he was then having an affair with a young artist you can have a job helping out here. He became the gallerys cook and Idas manager. But his education in art history had to wait until he joined the Kaplan gallery under Ewan Phillips. Not a lot happened in galleries in those days. I read my way through both volumes of John Rewalds History of Impressionism. And after a show at the Tate, I became involved with American painters. In 1960, he discovered David Hockney, a name linked immovably to his for half a century, although he now says, He was the most minor of all my artists. I would never have created a gallery to show Hockney. My passion was American colour field abstract painting. So why had Kasmin championed him? I liked his spirit and cheekiness. He looked like hed got something sensible from Dubuffet, and hed picked up a trick or two from Larry Rivers. The main thing was, Hockney was terribly shy and needy, and I knew I could help him. I didnt avoid any subjects. They were amazed by what I was willing to talk about Kasmins next professional home was the Marlborough gallery, of Piccadilly. His relationship with the Austrian emigre owners, Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer, could best be described as scratchy. They were very disliked, he drily recalls, spoken about as big shots pinching artists from other galleries across London. They brought in business practices that were highly unusual in the art world like paying your artists before you paid your bookie. They were tough and businesslike and wanted to make money. They werent rich people to start with, unlike most London art dealers. Although they signed up Kasmin as curator of the offshoot Marlborough New London, to exhibit all that was lively in post-war British art, they didnt much care for his proteges. They thought Hockney was the silliest chap in the world, painting daft pictures on irregularly shaped bits of canvas. Open a larger version of this image A rare photo postcard from Kasmins collection. Photograph by Christoffer Rudquist Kasmin regarded Anthony Caros big metal sculptures as exciting, brave and truly inspired, but Lloyd and Fischer told him theyd never sell. When he introduced them to the Zambian-born conceptual artist John Latham and his collages of torn, sawn-up and burnt books, they recoiled with horror. Kasmin needed a gallery of his own. He found a perfect backer in Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, the 5th Marquess of Duferin and Ava, then a student at Oxford. A debutante gallery assistant said one day, Theres a chap Ive met, a rather well-off young lord, whos started buying paintings. I met him at a party at the Hurlingham Club to present him to the world. I liked this shy young fellow, three years younger than me, and visited him in Oxford. He had the most enormous sitting room overlooking the main quad in Christ Church, and had wall-to-wall carpets, very unusual in student quarters. [The Marquess] liked the adventure of the art world, being on the inside track, seeing things from the dealers point of view And he was very interested in people with great wealth Duferin was keen to learn about art. He trusted Kasmin, and quite rapidly I was telling him what to buy. Did the Marquess have taste? He came from a family with no taste at all except for hunting prints and portraits, says Kasmin acidly. But he liked the adventure of the art world, being on the inside track, seeing things from the dealers point of view, whether it was furniture or Old Masters. And he was very interested in people with great wealth. So Kasmin and Lord Duferin decided to use the formers taste and the latters money to start a gallery and enjoy themselves. It wasnt just to make money. I wanted to make the best gallery, have the best art, the best reputation and the best setting and if it made money, good. Kasmin left the Marlborough in the summer of 1961, and their new company was incorporated in November, although they dealt for a time from Kasmins home in Fulham (where he lived with his wife Jane Nicholson, niece of the artist Ben). Open a larger version of this image John Kasmin examining a postcard from his collection. Photograph by Christoffer Rudquist WASHINGTON A Texas Republican elector who has received national attention for refusing to vote for Donald Trump in the Electoral College appeared in an ad on "Morning Joe" Friday urging the Obama administration to release a report on alleged Russian cyber intrusion in the election. Christopher Suprun, a Dallas paramedic, appears on the MoveOn.org ad saying "I'm a loyal Republican and I'm not voting for Donald Trump because I don't think he's the right man for the job." The Electoral College votes on Monday. A number of liberal and Democratic-leaning groups have been urging electors not to ratify Trump's Electoral College victory in the Nov. 8 election, in which he lost the popular vote. RELATED GALLERY: What Trump is planning for his first 100 days in office Suprun garnered widespread attention earlier this month when he penned an opinion piece in the New York Times identifying himself as a member of the Electoral College who would not cast his ballot for Trump because the President-elect "shows daily he is not qualified for the office." In the MoveOn.org ad, Surpun, pictured in business attire in an office suite, cites recent reports based on CIA officials alleging that Russian government-backed hackers tried to interfere in the 2016 election to help Trump win the presidency. "When a foreign government interferes with our election and tries to undermine it, much less pick favorites, our country is in trouble," Suprun said. The ad calls on President Barack Obama to release the data from the CIA reports to members of the Electoral College. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A Corpus Christi attorney filed a lawsuit Thursday against Valero Energy Corp.s refinery there less than 24 hours after the city issued a warning to its 320,000 residents telling them not to drink or shower with the water because it may have been contaminated in an industrial back-flow incident. The suit was filed in Nueces County on behalf of local businesses, including Anthonys Aveda Concept Salon that had to close because of the lack of water. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages. This case demonstrates the human and societal suffering caused when the drive for corporate profits takes priority over the safety of ordinary people, attorney Bob Hilliard, who filed the case, said in a statement. Hes also suing Valero Marketing and Supply Co., Valero South Texas Marketing Co., the Valero Bill Greehey Plant in Corpus Christi and Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. Two chemicals may have been released into the public water system Wednesday, according to state officials. The leak first came to light that day when workers at the refinery noticed a sheen to the water coming from its faucets, said Deanna McQueen, a Corpus Christi city spokeswoman. The contamination warning sent panic through the Gulf Coast town, shuttering schools and local businesses and prompting a rush on water at grocery stores, where long lines formed with people pushing carts filled with packages of bottled water. Texas officials are aggressively monitoring the situation, calling on state health, emergency management and industry regulators to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts office. The Texas Department of Emergency Management is coordinating shipments of water to Corpus Christi in the meantime. Governor Abbotts top priority is a transparent response and the safety of Corpus Christi residents, and our office will continue to provide any and all support to remedy this situation as quickly as possible, the statement said. Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said the companys refineries in Corpus Christi werent the source of the contamination. The company blamed the problem on Jackson, Mississippi-based Ergon, which has a Corpus Christi location near Valeros West refinery on property owned by Valero Marketing and Supply Co., according to the Nueces County Appraisal District. While we have been named in lawsuits, we are not the source of the contamination in question. We continue to believe this is a localized backflow issue from Ergon in the area of Valeros asphalt terminal, Riojas said in an email, adding that the company is cooperating with regulators and providing truckloads of bottled water to residents. Valero is offering its resources to assist in isolating the issue and helping to confirm the Citys water supply is safe. The city identified Indulin AA-86, an emulsifying agent for asphalt, as the main hazard. Its an amber liquid considered hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that can cause eye and skin burns and severe respiratory tract irritation, according to the chemical Material Safety Data Sheet. Up to 24 gallons of the chemical may have leaked into the water supply beginning Wednesday, city officials said. City Councilman Michael Hunter told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that its unlikely the chemicals are concentrated enough to do harm, but officials are taking every precaution that we can. Resident Lisa Olivares, who lives about five blocks from the Corpus Christi Bay, said she first learned not to drink the water from a local TV news report around 2 a.m. Thursday. Since then, she's heard nothing from the city about the contamination or where it came from "We can't bathe, we can't do dishes, we can't wash clothes," she said. "Our city is not telling us anything." H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said the San Antonio-based supermarket chain has been shipping bottles and gallons of water on 18-wheeler trucks to its 10 stores in Corpus Christi since Wednesday night. The company is also bringing in water tankers from around the region to provide clean water for its store operations, Campos said. Corpus Christi customers are limited to three cases of water per purchase, Campos said. By putting a limit on case purchases, we can make sure all customers have access to the water they need throughout the day, Campos said. Valero Energy, the nations largest refiner, has two plants at its Bill Greehey refinery complex in Corpus Christi. The plants have a combined capacity of 325,000 barrels per day and are located along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. The citys industrial district is located north of Interstate 37 near downtown and along Nueces Bay. The Port of Corpus Christi said it was complying with the notice to discontinue the use of tap water and is in touch with customers, but it has other water sources available. Port Corpus Christi continues to notify customers who may be using the Port facilities of the ban and will continue to keep customers aware and updated on the situation as we know more, the port said in a statement Thursday afternoon. Port Corpus Christi has water supply from other sources including San Patricio Water District which is not affected by the ban. Port Corpus Christi will continue its diligence on keeping customers current on the situation and supporting maritime operations as needed. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which enforces federal clean water rules, said its begun sampling the water supply in Corpus Christi to determine the extent of the problem, spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said in an email. Its not the first time the city has had trouble with its water supply. The TCEQ ordered residents to boil water after low levels of chlorine disinfectant and chlorine were found in the supply in May and September 2015, respectively. jhiller@express-news.net Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller Staff Writer Madalyn Mendoza and the Associated Press contributed to this article. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Show More Show Less 3 of 3 The Deer Park Police Department is seeking input from the community to locate a suspect thought to be responsible for thousands of dollars of fraudulent credit card transactions in Deer Park, Pasadena, Houston and La Porte. "We're not 100 percent sure how the suspect is accessing the stolen credit card numbers," Deer Park police detective J. White said. "There are a couple of ways he could find stolen account numbers to create fictitious credit cards, such as using a skimmer." A group of Heights residents mostly in favor of Texas grocer H-E-B building a store in their neighborhood met Wednesday night with Scott McClelland, president of Houston stores for H-E-B, and other representatives from the company. The discussion centered on H-E-B's request it submitted to Houston Planning and Zoning Commission about two months ago for a 10 feet variance for their planned 87,000 square feet store on North Shepherd and West 24th Street in the Heights. The standard variance on that street for a commercial property is 25 feet, said John Rose, engineer and senior due diligence manager for H-E-B. Rose said that at the first meeting with the commission to request the lesser variance, the city came back with suggestions to make the design more pedestrian friendly. As a result of the discussions with the city, the company brought designs of what the store-front would look like with both the 10 and 25 feet setbacks to illustrate to the community the difference in appearance, parking structures, walkability and pedestrian friendliness. "I'm not going to lie," said McClelland. "There are advantages for us with the increased parking, but as a customer, there are advantages for you too." McClelland said the company is investing between $30 and $35 million in the project, and if their variance request is granted, construction will begin 2017, if not, then they say it will delay ground-breaking. The company is asking the city to allow them to build their store 15 feet closer to the sidewalk along the North Shepherd side so that they can extend its walls to provide full covered parking along with a few more spaces, an estimated 442, and to lend to the "urban feel" that Heights residents want, said McClelland. At the gathering of just under 30 residents at the historic Heights fire station on 12th Street, McClelland led the presentation and took questions from the group. Jonanthan Ahearn, who lives on 24th Street came to the meeting to find out about the impact the store will have on traffic along the block where he lives. "We're all about the store coming in," said Ahearn who is married with a three-month old baby. "But there's no speed control on 24th, we just want it done right, and I have no doubt they will," he said. Although his main concern is safety, he said that he and most of his neighbors on his street voted for the measure to overturn the prohibition on the sale of alcohol in the Heights because they want an H-E-B in their neighborhood. The popular President of Houston stores for the San Antonio based chain explained that if the city grants the second request they plan to submit on Dec. 19, they have plans for innovation along Shepherd Drive. "When you highlight local artists, you create a sense of place," said McClelland. He said the company will find five to six local artists and let the community vote on the best pieces that will hang on the exterior of the store, along what they hope will be more of a boulevard and less like walking through a parking lot. The drawings showed the exterior of the first-level parking garage lined with a "green wall" of ivy, and planters for shrubs on the sidewalk to buffer pedestrians from traffic. The other artistic feature that McClelland called "Put the 'I' in Heights" are life-sized statues of letters along the sidewalk spelling out "Heights", except with the "I" missing so that customers, or passers-by can stand in for the letter and take pictures. He said aside from one store in San Antonio, no other H-E-B in Texas or Mexico has artwork like what they have planned for the Houston Heights. Glenn Clements Jr., Heights resident, and part-owner of a newly-renovated retail strip center adjacent to the planned store said, "Retail tenants generally want to locate next door to a grocery because of its daily traffic." He and his partners are curious about the time line on the project as they suspect potential renters are holding off until they see what happens with the four acres H-E-B will develop. Personally, he's happy with the store moving in. Other features of the store include indoor and outdoor bike racks, a first-floor pharmacy with a drive-thru, and the main store on the second floor. Two parking levels will straddle the store, one on ground-level, and one on the roof. The Texas grocer had intentions for the development pending the results of the November vote to overturn the century's old prohibition in the neighborhood on the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption. H-E-B donated heavily to the Houston Heights Beverage Coalition, a political action group in favor of proposition 1 to overturn. The request to the city for the variance adjustment came less than one month after voters approved the new ordinance. McClelland explained that whether the city grants the new variance or not, they are going to build the best store possible in order to entice customers away from the competition. "What the city is going to get is a structure that delivers an urban feel. We're committed to delivering a great looking store that's in line with what Heights residents are expecting," said McClelland. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) The father of a Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving wreck has been found guilty of falsely identifying himself as a peace officer. Fred Couch, 51, was sentenced Wednesday in a Tarrant County courtroom to a year's probation. If he violates the terms, he could be jailed for up to 120 days. MOCKED: Internet memes rips into affluenza teen In a dashcam video shown to jurors, Couch is seen telling North Richland Hills police officers responding to a disturbance two years ago that he is a reserve officer. Defense attorney Scott Brown argued to a jury this week that Couch, who carried a badge bearing the words "search and rescue" and "Lakeside Police," never asserted authority with it. Couch's family has been embroiled in one legal drama after another in recent years. ON THE LAM: Hotel employee: 'Affluenza' teen racked up a strip club bar tab in Mexico and his mom had to pay it His son, Ethan Couch, was 16 when he killed four people in a 2013 drunken-driving wreck. His blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for adult drivers when the crash occurred. A defense expert invoked the term "affluenza" in arguing during the sentencing phase of the teenager's trial that Couch's wealthy parents may have coddled him into a sense of irresponsibility. The condition is not recognized as a medical diagnosis by the American Psychiatric Association, and its use drew widespread derision. The case of Ethan Couch, now 19, led to a protracted legal battle in which his attorneys argued he should be tried in juvenile court. A judge ultimately moved the matter to adult court and he is now serving a nearly two-year jail term. The younger Couch's incarceration was triggered after it appeared he violated terms of his probation for the 2013 wreck when a video surfaced last December that showed him at a party with alcohol. HOT WATER: 'Affluenza' teen being investigated after beer pong video surfaces Couch then disappeared and Tarrant County authorities say he fled to Mexico with his mother, Tonya Couch. They were found a few weeks later in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta. Ethan Couch appeared to have grown a beard and dyed his hair black. Tonya Couch subsequently was indicted on charges of hindering apprehension of a felon and money laundering. She was released from home confinement over the summer and was tending bar in suburban Fort Worth. THE MOM: Tonya Couch, mother of 'affluenza' teen Ethan Couch, indicted Her attorney, Stephanie Patten, has previously said her client did not break any state laws. Fred and Tonya Couch are divorced. A teacher in West Blocton, Ala. is accused of engaging in sexual affairs with at least three students at West Blocton High School. District Attorney Michael Jackson told Al.com that Michael Jones, 43, was arrested following grand jury indictments. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In her first major action as Harris County's incoming district attorney, Kim Ogg announced Friday she has shown 40 prosecutors the door in a massive shake-up as as she prepares to take office Jan. 1. Ogg, who was elected in November as the county's chief prosecutor, notified prosecutors by email Friday that their services will not be needed in the new administration. "Change is coming," Ogg told reporters Friday afternoon. "My administration is headed in a new direction." The terminations have been expected as Ogg - who ran on a campaign of reform - worked to install her own lieutenants and administrators. The district attorney's office employs about 329 lawyers, with a well-established hierarchy that includes bureau chiefs, division chiefs and trial chiefs. Most prosecutors who lost their jobs could not be reached for comment late Friday. Emails explaining that they would not be invited to stay were sent out around noon, and two people who asked not to be identified said many staffers were in tears. Ogg, a former felony chief prosecutor under longtime District Attorney Johnny Holmes, will take the oath of office Jan. 1. The Democrat beat Republican incumbent Devon Anderson in the November election. Anderson took the opportunity Friday to fire a shot at Ogg, relasing a statement that the new administration "fired by email 37 experienced prosecutors 9 days before Christmas." "With her first act as District Attorney, Ogg is endangering the citizens of Harris County," Anderson said. "The dedicated prosecutors let go today had a combined 685 years of service." Ogg said Anderson's announcement was "irresponsible," and noted, "the business of the DA's office will go on." For the full story, visit www.houstonchronicle.com. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN -- A state district judge on Thursday ordered a "Charlie Brown Christmas' display at a Killeen school restored after it was ordered taken down over a biblical message that educators said could be offensive. After an hour-long hearing, Judge Jack Jones ruled that the door display featuring the Peanut character Linus, and his explanation of why Christmas matters, should be put back up with an added line: "Ms. Shannon's Christmas message." Nurse's aide Dedra Shannon had put up the display on her office door at Patterson Middle School two weeks ago, and the principal quickly ordered it removed because it contained a version of the biblical message that Linus had stated in the classic show. School officials insisted the display violated state law. Despite protests from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and community activists that the decision smacked of being "politically correct," the Killeen school board on Tuesday upheld the take-down order by a 6-1 vote. Paxton sued the district earlier Thursday, seeking a restraining order to allow the display to go back up on Friday -- the last day of school this semester. In his ruling, the judge said that adding the disclaimer to the display would clear up any perceived endorsement of religion by the district. In his suit, Paxton characterized the decision as "censorship" and asked a judge to allow the display to be put back up. CHRISTMAS FIGHT: Texas school district forces nurse to remove Bible verse Christmas decoration "Contrary to the decision of KISD, the inclusion of Bible verses or religious messages on student or teacher-sponsored holiday decorations does not violate Texas law," the suit filed in Bell County district court states. "To the contrary, Texas law prohibits KISD from expressing hostility toward religious messages, and it also specifically encourages school districts to take a more inclusive approach to religious and secular celebrations." Shannon, a nurse's aide at Patterson Middle School, had put up a homemade decoration on her office door depicting the Peanuts character Linus saying, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." CHARLIE BROWN VS KISD: Charlie Brown display causes backlash at Texas school Linus made the comment after being asked if anyone knew what what Christmas is all about. "Once again, public schools have decided that their commitment to diversity does not extend to Christians," Paxton said. "Neither faculty nor students shed their constitutional rights when they step inside the schoolhouse door. The law in fact encourages school districts to take an inclusive approach to religious and secular celebrations that are both respectful and accepting of different viewpoints. BAH HUMBUG: Evangelist travels to Texas, tells kids Santa isn't real Killeen school officials had no immediate comment on the decision. "Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups," Paxton said in a statement after the judge's decision. "I am glad to see that the court broke through the left's rhetorical fog and recognized that a commitment to diversity means protecting everyone's individual religious expression." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- She has arrived. Her name is Jannet Sylva, and she is an adorable 12-year-old girl from Gambia, Africa, whose face bears a tumor that has caused a severe deformity -- one that's dramatically changed her appearance. And she's in dire need of surgery. The tumor on Jannet's jaw has been growing for at least three years and will continue to get larger if not removed. Elissa Montanti, founder of the Staten Island nonprofit Global Medical Relief Fund, facilitated Jannet's entry to the United States so that she can receive the treatment she so desperately needs. Finally, now, that treatment is not far off: Dr. David Hoffman, the head of oral maxillofacial surgery at Staten Island University Hospital, is scheduled to operate on the tumor Jan. 15 at Cohen's Medical Center/Northwell Health in Long Island. It was Dr. Hoffman who was first introduced to Jannet through an e-mail from Healing the Children, Florida Chapter. The tumor could have easily been addressed when she was younger at first diagnosis, said Dr. Hoffman, but it has now become impossible to treat in her home country. "The tumor has changed the size of her face and at least tripled the size of her mandible, or lower jaw," he says. "It has caused such a deformity that she walks around with a scarf around her face and has been reluctant to go to school or engage with friends." After learning of Jannet's need, Dr. Hoffman notified Donna Proske, the executive director of Staten Island University Hospital, who arranged for the girl's initial care and workup. Then, once treatment was approved, he reached out to Montanti, who handled the transportation, housing and visa for young Jannet and her mom, Philomena. "God will give Jannet a new face for Christmas," Montanti said. Although the photo that Dr. Hoffman initially saw was compelling, it was not until he first set eyes on Jannet last week that he realized the extent of her problem, which has the potential to end her life. The surgery aims to both remove the tumor and immediately reconstruct the jaw. Dr. Hoffman will lead a team of nationally known experts that includes Dr. Spiro Manolides, Dr. Armen Kasabian, Dr. Gene Coppa, Dr. Lydia Lam and others. To coordinate care and to plan, the team will meet on a weekly basis until the surgery. This week, Jannet will undergo a series of imaging studies and CAT scans that will, among other things, be used to create 3-D models of her jaw. The team will also do virtual surgery that will take them through every step of the procedure on a computer. This high-tech approach helps with challenges like taking the fibula (leg bone), which is normally straight, and reconstructing it into the mandible. Dr. Hoffman said everything is set for Jannet's mom to stay in her room after surgery, and then in a room provided at the Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan. Between now and the date of surgery, there will be a tremendous effort to improve Jannet's nutrition. Her food intake is very limited and she can only eat soft foods, pushing them into her mouth while holding open the cheek with the tumor. A blender is being purchased for Montanti's staff in the Staten Island "Dare to Dream House," where Jannet is currently staying, in order to prepare nutritious foods, and pediatric Ensure is being prescribed. Jannet has also been coughing and her health status needs to improve prior to the surgery. About Jannet's surgery Jannet's surgery has been planned on computers, and specialized pieces of equipment have been created to aid during the operation. Surgery will begin in the morning and last an estimated 10 hours -- and mom Philomena will receive updates throughout the procedure. The surgery has several steps: Step 1: A small opening will be made in her neck so that she can breathe. Step 2: The tumor will be removed. Its size is approximately 7 inches, the diameter of a small watermelon. Step 3: A new jaw will be made using a small bone, the fibula, from one leg. The bone will have a new blood vessel attached to be placed in Jannet's neck. With three-dimensional imaging, a pattern has been made to precise measurements so that the plastic surgeon can cut and shape the bone to fit perfectly into Jannet's jaw as a replacement for her own. Post-op, Jannet will be in the ICU at Cohen Medical Center and she will spend another two weeks in the hospital. Dr. Manolides noted that it's a sizable tumor, and there is some surgical risk. Anatomy in the neck is important and the goal is to protect 27 facial muscles that control facial expression, vocal chords and nerves. "Since these muscles have not been used due to the tumor, Jannet will have to relearn to chew, swallow and speak," Dr. Manolides said. "We leave it in the hands of God. All blessings for the doctors," Jannet's mom, Philomena, told the doctors. Managed Services Operations Manual - 1300+ pages in four books, plus downloadable bonus content. Learn more at www.SOP4SMB.com. This four-volume set is the definitive guide to Managed Services. From the front office to the tech department, we cover it all. Every computer consultant, every managed service provider, every technical consulting company - every successful business - needs SOPs! When you document your processes and procedures, you design a way for your company to have repeatable success. And as you fine-tune those processes and procedures, you become more successful, more efficient, and more profitable. The way you do everything is your brand. How to Deliver Successful, Profitable Projects on Time with Your Small Business Clients by Dana J Goulston, PMP and Karl W. Palachuk Learn More: ProjectManagementinSmallBusiness.com Small Business project management is simply not as complicated as project management in the enterprise. But small business projects have the same challenges as enterprise projects: They need to achieve their goals effectively, on time, and within budget. They also face the same primary challenge staying inside the scope of the project! 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Newly Revised - 2013 Learn More: RelaxFocusSucceed.com Balance Your Personal and Professional Lives and Be More Successful in Both. Bringing balance into your personal and professional lives and becoming the person you want to be. Only $19.95 California and the U.S. Department of Education continue to fight over the best tests to measure students achievement in science. Earlier this week, the Education Department rejected Californias request for a waiver that would allow the state to skip standardized science tests for two years. The state wanted to give new pilot tests based on the Next Generation Science Standards , which the state adopted in 2013. In a letter, Ann Whalen, an adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, laid out the concerns with Californias plan, writing CDEs proposed pilot tests would not measure the full depth and breadth of the states academic content standards in science, as each student would receive only a sample of assessment items during the pilot phase, and both the proposed pilot and field tests would not be aligned to the relevant academic achievement standards, as such achievement standards would not have been established. Whalen also expressed displeasure with the states proposal to forego administering its current science assessments during any pilot testing and its plan not to release the scores of these tests. The department argued that for these reasons the state would be out of compliance with federal education laws. The state is vowing to appeal. In a joint statement, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael Kirst asserted that, California moves forward, not backward. They also expressed their disappointment with the decision. We reject their insistence that we double-test, they wrote. We believe the denial of this request harms our students, who will be forced to study science based on state standards adopted in 1998 that are outmoded and not designed for the 21st century. California plans to move full-speed ahead implementing our new, computer-adaptive science assessment pilot in 2017. Its unclear now how a change in the national administration next month would affect this situation, although some have speculated that President-elect Donald Trump might be more amenable to Californias position since he supports states playing a larger role in education policy. Related stories: Dylann Roof Guilty on All Hate Crime Charges in Charleston Church Shooting A Charleston jury found self-avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof guilty on 33 counts of federal hate crimes in the massacre of nine black church parishioners in the city last year. It took less than two hours for the twelve jurors to agree on guilty verdicts for each criminal charge, and they must now move on to the penalty phase of Roof's trial. At stake is whether Roof will be put to death for the slayings or spend the rest of his life in prison, and he has requested to represent himself. "You Have to Go" On June 17, 2015, Roof entered the historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and prayed with a bible group for about an hour before telling them, "I have to do it ... You rape our women and you're taking over our country," and opening fire. Jurors heard testimony from survivors of the attack, including one who, according to NPR, "described feeling the blood of her mortally wounded son and aunt who were on either side of her," and another who was told, "I'm going to leave you here to tell the story." The story prosecutors told was one of a young man steeped in racial hatred who had planned a mass slaying of black people for months. Along with Facebook photos showing him with apartheid-era South African and Rhodesian flags, prosecutors also played Roof's confession following his arrest, during which he said he was inspired to commit the crime after searching Google for "black on white crime." "I Am Guilty" Roof's guilt for killing nine people (including Reverend Clementa Pinckney, the church's pastor and a state senator) and wounding three more was never in doubt. "I am guilty," he told FBI agents. "We all know I'm guilty." His defense attorneys didn't call any witnesses, and Roof declined to testify. In his closing arguments, defense attorney David Bruck did not challenge the fact that Roof had committed the crime, but instead blamed Roof's motivation on "things he saw on the internet." Whether that argument is persuasive during sentencing remains to be seen. Still outstanding are separate murder charges filed by the state of South Carolina, for which he could also face the death penalty. Related Resources: What Small Business Owners Should Know About Embezzlement Embezzlement happens when an employee, or someone with authorization to possess something of value, misappropriates (aka steals) that something for themselves. Most commonly, embezzlement occurs in an employment setting where an employee has access to cash, or other resources or valuable items, and sees that there is a way to steal without getting caught. It can be something as small as not punching out during a lunch break to large thefts of thousands of dollars or more. Embezzlement is pretty much the epitome of a crime of opportunity. Employers are encouraged to head the warning signs. What surprises many small business owners though is that embezzlement is more common at small businesses than large ones. This is largely due to the lack of oversight that is commonly found in smaller businesses leading to more opportunity for employees to steal unnoticed. While an employee may have the legal right to access the resources or cash, when they misappropriate it for personal use or benefit, it becomes theft. Below, you'll find three tips that small business owners need to know about embezzlement. If You Accept Cash, Expect Employees to Embezzle If there are cash transactions taking place, having systems in place to track every transaction is critical. If you can't track each transaction, it may be impossible to prove the embezzlement occurred. For retail and services businesses, this is where a good POS (point of sale) system can really help. Making sure that the cash drawer cannot be opened unless a transaction is taking place can also help (which means that those really cool, big, gaudy old-style cash registers should be retired from use). Also, requiring employees to give all customers a receipt can ensure that every transaction is logged. Any Employee, Even Management, Can Embezzle While business owners will generally be quick to blame the employees at the lowest levels, management level employees have the most access to cash and resources, and thus the most opportunity. Additionally, management level employees may be able to alter numbers and make everything appear normal (sometimes low-level employees can do this too). In order to protect against this, it is important to have independent financial audits, or at least make sure that management level employees are overseeing each other. Audit, Audit, and Audit Again It can be extraordinarily difficult to detect embezzlement. Because employees may be able to cover their tracks, it is important to not only have monitoring capabilities over all financial transactions -- numbers need to be crunched regularly and irregularly. You can have regularly scheduled audits, as well as unannounced, or even secret, audits conducted shortly before or after the scheduled ones. Related Resources: Myanmar has been a technologically backwards authoritarian state for much of the past 50 years, with less than 1% of the country connected to the net, until 2015, when the country held its first elections in decades, a moment that was swiftly followed by a relaxation in telcoms controls and widespread access to the internet via mobile devices. 50,000,000 people are now able to get Facebook, in other words. The net has delivered a complex basket of social changes, among them a revival of the country's ugly, murderous history of ethnic cleansing, fueled by blood libels about minority Muslims attacking the Buddhist majority. The new incitements to violence are travelling hand in hand with news about Trump and his promise to end Muslim migration into the USA. Trump's election is being used to normalize and justify ethnic cleansing movements in Myanmar ("We should do like America and do it here too. No more Muslims!"). As was the case in earlier eras of the internet's history, these new users equate the net with the service they use the most (once it may have been "Netscape" and "the net"; then "the web" and "the net"; then "Google," etc) they use "Facebook" and "internet" interchangeably. This is due to increase, as Facebook has sold the carriers on its "Free Basics" system a net discrimination deal with the mobile carriers, who take bribes from Facebook to exempt the company (but not its rivals) from their data-caps. The racist extremists in Myanmar are using Facebook to forge alliances with xenophobic movements elsewhere in the world. Sheera Frenkel's piece on the rise of Facebook, the internet and xenophobia in Myanmar is a fascinating and detailed look at the complex and often unique circumstances of the country's high-speed entry into the networked world: from the division in the kinds of script used to represent written Burmese to the legal crackdown on parodists who attain notoriety by shooping politicians' heads onto Hollywood stars' bodies. Wirathu rose to prominence as part of a group of extremist monks once known as the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, and then the "969" movement. Today, they are called Ma Ba Tha, after their Burmese acronym. Since the end of military rule, monks have assumed an increasingly public role in the largely Buddhist country. Wirathu, and the Ma Ba Tha movement, have denied any role in the Buddhist lynch mobs, which, in recent years, have killed more than 200, and displaced more than 150,000 of the country's Muslims, who make up roughly 4% of the total population. Civil society groups allege that the state's security forces have fomented recent outbreaks of violence against the Rohingya. But there is no denying that Ma Ba Tha's bashing of Muslims as "cruel and savage" is often repeated by those who want to see all Muslims expelled from Myanmar and they admit that their anti-Muslim stance has gained its largest following through Facebook. This week, following news that Trump's administration was being staffed with hardliners, Wirathu released a statement hailing Trump's White House as a victory in the fight against "Islamic terrorism." "May US citizens be free from jihad. May the world be free of bloodshed," Wirathu wrote in a public statement. It was one of many Trump received from figures across the world who appeared to feel emboldened by his win. This Is What Happens When Millions Of People Suddenly Get The Internet [Sheera Frenkel/Buzzfeed] (via Beyond the Beyond) (Image: Minzayar Oo/BuzzFeed News) This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In an unusual shift, Texas is not the state with the most executions in the U.S. this year. In 2016, Georgia performed nine executions while Texas executed seven inmates. Some experts predict this may be related to the controversy over the lethal drug that's administered in Texas. NOTORIOUS: Looking back at the 'Candy Man' 42 years later The decrease in executions in 2016 and other recent years might also have something to do with some high-profile U.S. Supreme Court cases. Among these is the Florida Supreme Court's review of that state's new death penalty law, and whether or not it's constitutional. The new statute would not require juries to be unanimous when handing down death sentences. Recently, a number of topics have halted planned executions at least temporarily. In November, justices debated on how to define intellectual disability in Texas death row cases. CONDEMNED: Texas inmate gets hearing before high court However, since the death penalty was reinstated, Texas still claims the overall highest number of executions. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the state of Texas has executed 538 death row inmates since 1982. Since that time, the highest number of executions in one year was in 2000, when a reported 40 inmates were put to death, the TDCJ website reports. The Texas Tribune reports that the highest number of men and women on death row in Texas peaked at 460 in 1999. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This week the New York Times wrote about a Charitybuzz bidding war for a special audience with Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President-elect Donald Trump. One of the top bidders in the charity auction happened to be Russell Ybarra, the owner of the Houston-area Tex-Mex empire that includes Gringos Mexican Kitchen and Jimmy Changas. On Friday morning the bidding was sitting at $72,888 with four days left in the auction, but just before midday the auction was missing from the Charitybuzz website. CASTRO AND TRUMP: What Castro's death and Trump's election mean for Cuba's economic awakening Ybarra is known for his various charitable activities in the area, including his work with the PTSD Foundation of America and its Camp Hope location in northwest Houston. He founded the first Gringo's location in Pearland in the early '90s and now presides over 10 locations across the area, with three more in the planning stages. There are now four Jimmy Changas locations. On Friday Ybarra told Chron.com that he was attracted to the auction because it benefits St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, a charity that he raises money for annually. Im guessing it will go for at least $100K when it's over. The best part is that it all goes to St. Jude, other than the small percentage Charitybuzz receives for listing it, Ybarra said in the hours before it was taken down. Hes a fan of Trumps daughter and thinks she will be an articulate asset to him as he starts his term next year. EARLIER THIS YEAR: Two of Houston's most-popular Tex-Mex chains won't allow 'open carry' "She'll be able to offer to the presidency a unique perspective very few children of past presidents have ever had simply because of her age, her educational background and the fact that she has three children," Ybarra says. In the New York Times piece which was published on Thursday, Ybarra was profiled as one of a handful of powerful people vying for a chance to have a cup of coffee with Ivanka. Some believe the fundraising to possible be problematic, as Ivanka is playing a major role in the Trump transition process and she and her husband are expected to have influence in a Trump White House. The Trump family has done auctions like this in the past, but with outcome of the election this year it is controversial. During the presidential campaign, Trump often accused Hillary Clinton of "selling" access to the State Department through the Clinton foundation. BACKING OUT: Texas GOP elector resigns rather than vote for Donald Trump Ybarra told the Times reporter that his reason for bidding including in part being able to tell Ivanka to persuade her father to remain relaxed and far in his immigration law dealings. Ybarra employs a great deal of immigrants at his location and he has their best interests in mind, he says. Ybarra also told the Times that he thinks Ivanka is a more open-minded and reasonable person. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Authorities arrested 15 people accused of being part of a methamphetamine distribution ring in central Texas. TEEN IN A LOT OF TROUBLE: Mexican boy, 15, held after $1.1M Texas marijuana bust According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the 15 were each charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth. The defendants include: Corey Damont Jefferson, 39, of Temple; Talmage Currey Sedberry, 34, of Waco; Elgin Rayon Campbell, 30, of Mexia; Cesar Alfred Cazares-Rodriguez, 30, of Dallas; Martin Paul De-La-Rosa, 29, of Waco; Leroy Wildman, 33, of Temple; Billy Edward Sedberry, 35, of Gatesville; Aaron Sedberry, 34, of Waco; Marisela Garza, 31, of Waco; Larry Darnell Branch, 43, of Waco; James Edward Patterson, 30, of Waco; Juandell Laron McCorkle, 34, of Temple; Timothy Lama Jackson, 31, of Waco; Karmon Patterson, 32, of Waco; Aphtan Daniella Ochoa, 27, of Waco. Jefferson, Sedberry, Campbell, Cazares-Rodriguez and De-La-Rosa were each caught with more than 500 grams of meth and can face 10 years to life in prison, authorities said. Ochoa was allegedly found with less than 50 grams of meth and can face up to 20 years in prison. All other suspects were allegedly found with more than 50 grams of meth and face five to 40 years. All of the suspects remain in federal custody pending detention hearings next week in Waco. The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety, and police departments in Temple, Killeen and Mexia assisted in the investigation. A central Texas woman was arrested after being accused of pouring gasoline on her roommate and threatening to set him on fire. Manor police said Jenna Tyon, 37, doused her roommate in gasoline after learning he was going to throw a party and did not invite her. Australian science fiction author Sean Williams writes, "I first met Kim Stanley Robinson in Hobart, 1995, when he was on his way to the South Pole. Stan suggested I look to the Australian Antarctic Division as a possible means of fulfilling my dream of visiting the great southern land. Over twenty years later, and thanks to the Australian Antarctic Division's Arts Fellowship program, that dream is about to come true." I'm incredibly honoured to have been awarded the 2016/17 Fellowship. Alumni include artists working in performance, documentaries, sound, and of course visual arts and writing. I'm the first speculative fiction writer since Anthony Eaton (2005/6) whose book Nightpeople won the 2005 Aurealis Award for best YA novel, and possibly the first South Australian writer ever to be awarded the Fellowship. The responsibility is incredible. The opportunity likewise. I cannot wait to get down there and get started. The novel I'll be researching is a counterfactual sequel to the War of the Worlds, which will pit Douglas Mawson against a wayward Martian. Its working title is LONE SOUL STANDING (a quote from Mawson's diary about how being in the Antarctic is like being on the surface of Mars) but I quite like Charlie Stross's suggestion too: MAWSON'S MARTIAN. Time and writing will tell which wins out. An inmate who escaped from Galveston County Jail while taking out the trash on Monday is back in police custody. According to the Madison County Sheriff's, Dominic Potter was taken into custody at around noon on Friday. Madisonville Police Department received a call of a man on foot acting suspicious at the Buc-ees store. Officers confirmed that the man was Potter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Jerry Henderson went to the theme park this Saturday dressed as Santa Claus, attracting children and photo ops, according to Inside Edition. Henderson said he was kicked out after he told security guards that he wasn't an employee of the park. WHO WAS ST. NICK?: The story behind the real Santa Claus The Burleson man said he was wearing a red vest, jeans and a Santa hat and not a full costume. Still, Six Flags officials deemed Henderson too similar to St. Nick to stay in the park. They also took issue with Henerson passing out candy to kids. "We apologize that Mr. Henderson was inconvenienced, but the safety of our guests is always our highest priority," Six Flags told Inside Edition in a statement. "We cannot knowingly allow individuals who are not approved by the park to interact with small children in this capacity." Henderson said he and his wife have been going to Six Flags dressed in holiday gear since 2013. This is the first year the two have been kicked out of the park. UNDER THE SEA: Scuba Santa feeds fish this holiday season NBC News reports Henderson has looked like Santa year round for the past 20 years. He claims park officials told him he can come back if he shaves off his beard. Henderson refused, telling NBC News that he wants an apology and a partial refund for his season pass. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A jury found Lars Itzo, who shot his wife to death a year ago and told police he mistook her for an intruder at their home, not guilty of murder after hours of deliberation Thursday, but found him guilty of manslaughter. After the verdict was read, state District Judge Steven Hilbig told the court Itzo would not be taken into custody and could remain free on his $75,000 bond. Mr. Itzo, you need to understand that if you do something silly, the consequences will not be good, Hilbig said. Earlier Thursday during closing arguments, Itzos defense attorney said that he was not guilty of either murder or manslaughter but was guilty of committing the biggest mistake of his life by killing Debora Kelly, 48, his wife of two years. David W. Phillips told jurors that Itzo, now 49, did not know the person he shot was his wife. Our defense is not that complicated, Phillips said of the murder charge. He had absolutely no intent none. It ends right there. And manslaughter? It was not reckless. If you agree, it ends right there. In his closing arguments, prosecutor Leo Gonzalez said Itzo did have intent to cause serious bodily injury when he shot Kelly on the night of Oct. 10, 2015. You dont fire a weapon unless you intend to kill someone, Gonzalez said. In tearful testimony Thursday, Itzo had said suspicious noises and the growling of the couples dog woke him at 4 a.m. He said he thought his wife was in bed with him when he got up, took a sawed-off shotgun down a dark hall and shot at a figure in front of him. Experts had testified the shot was fired from a distance of 3 or 4 feet. Itzo said he fumbled unsuccessfully to reload and went back to the bedroom to retrieve a pistol before he realized the person he shot was his wife. They had been married for two years. Itzo said he fumbled unsuccessfully to reload and went back to the bedroom to retrieve a pistol before he realized the person he shot was his wife. They had been married for two years. Police officers who arrived at the home in the 3500 block of Bent Hollow testified that Itzos hands were clean, though a 911 dispatcher had talked him through administering CPR. A detective told the jury that Itzos grief during a subsequent interview seemed forced. In an audio recording of the 911 call Monday, the dispatcher could be heard instructing a sobbing and apparently panicked Itzo to plug the wound with a plastic bag. She died at the scene, shot once in the chest. Prosecutors never stated what Itzos motive for murder might be, though they hinted that he was disgruntled at living in his wifes shadow as a general contractor married to the wealthy vice president of National Surgical Healthcare. On cross-examination, prosecutors asked Itzo why one of the officers said he didn't see blood on his hands, to which Itzo replied, Yes, there was. Alexander hammered at the blood evidence in closing arguments, saying Itzo didn't do anything to help his dying wife until he called 911. He also called the noises Itzo made while talking to the dispatcher an act, fake CPR. He didn't drop blood all over the floor because he was faking it, Alexander told the jury. Phillips reiterated testimony from witnesses who said Itzo and Kelly were happily married, and although she was financially successful and didnt change her name when the two married, that he loved her and wasnt after her money or belongings. Kelly did not have a will, and Itzo was not a beneficiary of any of her assets, worth an estimated $1.3 to $1.4 million, with the exception of the house, half of which was left to him. Kellys parents own the other half. Phillips said an irrevocable trust was set up for Kellys nieces and nephews and said Itzo was in mediation over it, but only to make sure that his wifes wishes were followed. Prosecutor Karl Alexander urged the jury to concentrate on Itzos inconsistencies, in his interviews with police and as he testified at trial, changing details of whether it was a grumble, a creak or the dog growling that made him jump out of bed and get his shotgun. For all the love for his wife Itzo professed, how could he not recognize her, Alexander asked, from 3 feet away? He said he knows her scent, sound, her shape, Alexander said. I know if its me and I see my wifes shadow, I know its her. I know every inch of that woman. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony. Itzo faces a sentence between two and 20 years in prison. He has applied for probation. The punishment phase is expected to begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday in the 187th state District Court. As if the ocean isn't terrifying enough already, a bizarre-looking fish known as the ghost shark or "chimaera" has been filmed alive by scientist for the first time. Known for a retractable sex organ on its head, the ghost shark lives deep in the ocean. Little is known about the odd creature, but recent footage by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute hopes to change that. The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p. As the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo continues to grow, many people are looking for ways to help. The Chicago Red Eye put together a collection of charities to donate to. Here's an excerpt of the list: Donate to the White Helmets Hero Fund, a grassroots search-and-rescue force in Syria and specifically Aleppo. The group of 2,900 civilians have been in action since 2013 and 100 percent of the donations go directly to volunteers who work to rescue civilians caught in the crosshairs of the civil war. Support the International Rescue Committee. The IRC has been working in Syria since 2012 and assisted over 1.4 million people in 2015 alone, according to their website. Currently, the organization is calling on President-elect Trump and President Obama to lend support and demand accountability for the human rights violations occurring every day in the war-torn country. The organization has already dispatched 4,000 volunteers to Idleb province near eastern Aleppo. Donate to Doctors Without Borders. Aleppo has no functioning hospitals, making the work of this global, nonpartisan medical relief organization that much more important. Volunteers are active on the ground across Syria providing equipment, supplies and medical attention. In addition to Doctors Without Borders, the Syrian American Medical Society has been operating in Syria since 2011 and currently maintains 100 medical facilities within the country. The organization provides equipment and mobile clinics throughout the country, as well as physical rehabilitation for those wounded. Support Save the Children, an organization that works with internally displaced and refugee children affected by the Syrian conflict. Since the start of the civil war, Save the Children and its partners have helped over 1 million children and families throughout Syria, only a fraction of the 7.5 million children affected by the war. Save the Children has also established camps and host communities for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Jordan. Donate to Hand in Hand for Syria, an organization that works alongside the U.N. to provide aid to Syrians who are directly in the line of danger. In the wake of volunteers living in eastern Aleppo being forced to abandon their work during the pro-government siege earlier this week, the organization has created an emergency appeal for the approximately 100,000 citizens attempting to flee the city. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Trespassing case might test states pipeline survey law A land surveyor for Summit Carbon Solutions faces a criminal trial in December for allegedly trespassing on land in northwest... Cherokee Skate Park awaits FEMA okay As opposed to speedy skate board wheels, the wheels of progress grind slowly regarding the citys proposed new skate park... Anyone who's waded any distance into the murky waters of legend surrounding British occultist Aleister Crowley has likely heard the stories about his involvement with British intelligence in WWII. He helped interrogate Rudolf Hess after Hess flew a plane from Germany to Scotland to negotiate peace. He worked closely with Ian Fleming (and Fleming's Blofeld is based on him). He falsified astrology charts to throw off Hitler's soothsayers. Or, these are the apocryphal stories, anyway. In Aleister & Adolf, author, media theorist, and now comic book writer, Doug Rushkoff makes clever use of these and other tales about the self-proclaimed Beast 666 to make a deeper point about the profound manipulating powers of "charged" symbols in our modern world. It's ultimately a book about how the manipulation of symbols and the effective use of propaganda can have deep consciousness-changing effects on a population, and can lead to fascism. Timely, eh? The book runs with one well-known story from the Crowley apocrypha, that he was responsible for creating the V for victory symbol to be used by Churchill as a counter-sigil (occult symbol) to neutralize the swastika. Rushkoff casts Crowley and Hitler as real-world superhero and supervillain (or maybe, supervillain working for the good guys and straight-up supervillain) in an intense war of symbols and psychic combat. Actually, we don't see much of Adolf in this book, Aleister & Adolf is mainly about the Crowley side of the magical front lines, as seen through the eyes of a young American army newspaper photographer sent to spy on Crowley and possibly recruit him to work for the U.S. The Crowley story is bookended by a tale set in New York, 1995, of a young web designer for a big corporation who stumbles upon the Aleister and Adolf war story and its ominous relevance to advertising and the burgeoning web. While the subject-matter is certainly compelling enough, the whole project really becomes something special in the hands of artist Michael Avon Oeming (best known for the Powers comic book with Brian Michael Bendis). Oeming achieves some very intense and charged occult imagery within these pages. Using very vivid, bold, and black-saturated panels, Oeming's graphic narrative creates a succession of dizzying, dark and shadowy corridors that you feel like you're stumbling through in some opiated haze. This book feels like a trip through a haunted house. Or at least that's where the visuals took me. I can't think of an artist who could have done a better job of rendering Rushkoff's story than Michael Oeming. [Perhaps even more magical to me than the art in the book is watching Mike Oeming ink up a panel of it in this YouTube video] Aleister & Adolf by Douglas Rushkoff, Michael Avon Oeming (Illustrator) Dark Horse Originals 2016, 88 pages, 6.3 x 0.5 x 9.3 inches, Hardcover $16 Buy one on Amazon See sample pages from this book at Wink. Belatedly, I've finally read Hao Jingfang's novelette "Folding Beijing," which won the Hugo Award last summer in Kansas City: it's a story about a future in which the great cities continue to be engines of economic power, but where automation eventually makes most of the people in the cities obsolete a problem solved by dividing the city's day and geography up by strata, using marvellous origami buildings that appear and disappear, and suspended animation technologies that whisk away great portions of the city's unneeded proletariat for most of the day. It's a gorgeous story: the core conceit of a world in which suspended animation is used to relieve population pressure is well-established in science fiction, from Philip Jose Farmer's classic Dayworld trilogy to Karl Schroeder's mindbendingly great YA novel Lockstep. Hao mixes up this temporal population-slicing with a fanciful and visually exciting geographic machinery that rotates the city's very buildings in and out of view, a kind of mix between Inception, Dark City, and China Mieville's The City and The City. Hao's protagonist, the waste processing worker Lao Dao, describes his life of poverty with the vividness of Knut Hamson's The Hunger, but Lao's journey is about the dawning comprehension of his own economic superfluity a theme that is very zeigeisty in an era of anxiety about robots taking our jobs (and note that this anxiety is reflected in a Chinese author's story, an even more zeitgeisty wrinkle). Hao is a macroeconomics researcher, and it shines through in her work, particularly in the way that she portrays the power-law distribution of wealth in her society, and how that plays out in the real life-choices and priorities of her characters. This is an excellent tale, all the better for Ken Liu's expert translation. It's easy to see how it came to win this year's Hugo. Lao Dao's stomach growled. He quickly averted his eyes, but it was too late. His empty stomach felt like an abyss that made his body tremble. It had been a month since he last had a morning meal. He used to spend about a hundred each day on this meal, which translated to three thousand for the month. If he could stick to his plan for a whole year, he'd be able to save enough to afford two months of tuition for Tangtang's kindergarten. He looked into the distance: The trucks of the city cleaning crew were approaching slowly. He began to steel himself. If Peng Li didn't return in time, he would have to go on this journey without consulting him. Although it would make the trip far more difficult and dangerous, time was of the essence and he had to go. The loud chants of the woman next to him hawking her jujube interrupted his thoughts and gave him a headache. The peddlers at the other end of the road began to pack up their wares, and the crowd, like fish in a pond disturbed by a stick, dispersed. No one was interested in fighting the city cleaning crew. As the vendors got out of the way, the cleaning trucks patiently advanced. Vehicles were normally not allowed in the pedestrian lane, but the cleaning trucks were an exception. Anybody who dillydallied would be packed up by force. Folding Beijing [Hao Jingfang and Ken Liu/Uncanny Magazine] (via Marginal Revolution) New Jersey may soon become the first state to pass a bill that would reverse the mandate to print legal notices in newspapers. The bill passed Thursday in both the state senate and assembly appropriations committees, could see a final vote as early as Monday. If passed, the measure could hit New Jersey newspapers hard at a time when several already are cutting jobs. Newspaper groups fear the move could embolden other states to take similar steps. Florida and Virginia have considered the move in years past, as have legislators in New York City, but so far no anti-print notice measure has passed. Gov. Chris Christies office claims New Jersey spends more than $80 million a year on printing legal notices, and that moving them online would save taxpayer money. State media groups have questioned the accuracy of this figure and say any money saved would end up going towards setup and maintenance fees. Some local journalists also have accused Christie of a media vendetta, using the bill to punish a state press pool that has often been tough on the governor. Miriam Ascarelli, president of the NJ Society of Professional Journalists, sees the move primarily as a disservice to the public. You have to think of the newspaper as the public square, Ascarelli tells CJR. You put the legal notice in the newspaper and everybody sees it. Its a known place where people know to go for it. Putting these ads online only, that opens things up to hacking, which is not a trivial consideration. Matt Paxton, president of the National Newspaper Association, has fought similar moves in Virginia for the last 20 years. Whats saved his market, he says, is reinforcing to lawmakers that these kind of changes come with added costs. Is the locality or somebody at the locality who posted it going to be able to attest legally that it did run? How do you know the site was up the entire time? Sign up for CJR 's daily email What Virginia and other states have done to make sure the public is appropriately informed is to have the notice published in newspapers and on a state website maintained and paid for by the states press association. On Thursday, the New Jersey Press Association offered a compromise in hopes of cutting a deal with state legislators. That proposed deal includes reducing the fee for government-paid notices by 50 percent while increasing private-paid legal notices by increases of 5 percent in 2017, 4 percent in 2018, 3 percent in 2019, and an adjustment for each of the following years based on the Consumer Price Index. Christie and his team have not issued a public response to this offer. Meanwhile, the press association warns that if the measure passes, between 200 and 300 additional journalism jobs could be lost in the state. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Carlett Spike is a freelance writer and former CJR Delacorte Fellow. Follow her on Twitter @CarlettSpike. Warming at the top of the world has gone into overdrive, happening twice as fast as the rest of the globe, and extending unnatural heating into fall and winter, according to a new federal report. In its annual Arctic Report Card, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday tallied record after record of high temperatures, low sea ice, shrinking ice sheets and glaciers. Study lead author Jeremy Mathis, NOAAs Arctic research chief, said it shows long-term Arctic warming trends deepening and becoming more obvious, with a disturbing creep into seasons beyond summer, when the Arctic usually rebuilds snow and ice. Scientists have long said man-made climate change would hit the Arctic fastest. Mathis and others said the data is showing that is whats now happening. Personally, I would have to say that this last year has been the most extreme year for the Arctic that I have ever seen, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, who wasnt part of the 106-page report. Its crazy. NOAAs peer-reviewed report said air temperatures over the Arctic from October 2015 to September 2016 were by far the highest in the observational record beginning in 1900. The average Arctic air temperature at that time was 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1981-2010 average. Its 6.3 degrees (3.5 degrees Celsius) warmer than 1900. Other extremes the report detailed: -Ocean temperatures were 9 degrees (5 degrees Celsius) higher than the 30-year average off the coasts of Greenland. -Arctic sea ice didnt set a record for the annual minimum, but in October and November when sea ice normally starts growing back, it didnt. Sea ice from mid-October through November was the lowest on record. Dartmouth University professor Donald Perovich, author of the chapter on sea ice, said sea ice conditions have sunk from a B-plus grade 11 years ago to a D-minus grade and thats because Im an easy grader. -Snow cover in North America reached a record low for spring, falling below 1.5 million square miles in May for the first time since satellite observations began in 1967. -Though not a record, Greenlands ice sheet continued to shrink, starting early, on April 10. It was the second earliest start of the Greenland melt season on record. Whats happening is due to both man-made warming and a large El Nino that just ended, Mathis said. Not only is it extreme in any number of measures 0 air temperature, loss of sea ice and on and on but there are so many things we havent seen, particularly this extremely warm fall, said study co-author Brendan Kelly, executive director of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. In 1979, Kelly cruised the Bering Straits region with a native hunter who told him dozens of Yupik words for sea ice. One was tagneghneq, for a charcoal grey thick multi-year ice. That ice is pretty much gone, Kelly said. This is more than an Arctic problem, because the cold air escaping changes weather conditions, such as weakening the jet stream, Mathis said. What happens in the Arctic doesnt stay in the Arctic, Mathis said. The Lower 48 may have to deal with more extreme weather events in the future. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Katrina Williams wanted a safer alternative to smoking, and e-cigarettes seemed to be the answer until the day one exploded in her pocket as she drove home from a beauty salon. It was like a firecracker, the New Yorker said, as it seared third-degree burns in her leg, blasted through her charred pants and stuck in the dashboard. That was in April. Williams, a freight manager, said she still hasnt returned to work. It was very disturbing. Similar painful accidents have been recorded with increasing frequency over the past year as use of e-cigarettes has climbed, with faulty batteries seen as the suspected culprit. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which started regulating e-cigarettes in May, identified about 66 explosions in 2015 and early 2016, after recording 92 explosions from 2009 to September 2015. In late November, a clerk at a liquor store in New Yorks Grand Central Station was casually leaning against a counter when the e-cigarette in his pocket erupted. A security camera captured him frantically trying to snuff out a fountain of white-hot sparks. Surveillance video also captured an e-cigarette explosion in September at a New Jersey mall that left a womans Louis Vuitton bag smoking as she stood at a checkout counter. Police say a teenage girl on a train at the Universal Orlando amusement park suffered burns in October when an electronic cigarette belonging to another visitor exploded and shot a fireball at her. The numbers kept by the FDA may be an undercount. One hospital, the UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, says it has seen about 23 patients with e-cigarette burns since it started tracking them informally in October 2015. They are extremely dangerous and need to be revamped or revised, said Marc Freund, a New York attorney who represents both Williams and a 14-year-old boy who was partially blinded when an e-cigarette device exploded at a kiosk selling e-cigarettes at a Brooklyn mall. The problems with the devices are linked to their lithium-ion batteries, which help vaporize liquid nicotine into a mist that distributors and some health experts say is far less harmful than traditional tobacco cigarettes. The same types of batteries are used safely in many consumer electronics, but theyve also been behind fires in hover boards and smartphones. Last year, the federal Department of Transportation issued a rule prohibiting passengers from packing e-cigarettes in checked luggage to protect against in-flight fires. Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, argues the devices are safe when used properly. He said the TVECA encourages proper recharging of the batteries as a way to prevent possible injuries. Euromonitor International, a market research company, noted there were 10.8 million regular e-cigarette users in the U.S. in 2015, generating $3.5 billion in sales. Gregory L. Bentley, an Irvine, California, attorney, won a nearly $2 million judgment in a product liability lawsuit for a woman burned by an e-cigarette last year. He said he has a growing list of similar cases, most of which involve batteries and other components manufactured in China that have been subject to little safety oversight. The problem is defectively manufactured batteries, he said. Consumers need to know its next to impossible to sue a Chinese company. If people want to seek compensation they have to target distributors, wholesalers and retailers. Last week, the U.S. surgeon general called e-cigarettes an emerging public health threat to the nations youth, although he highlighted the risk of nicotine addiction, not explosions. New York Sen. Charles Schumer said the FDA should consider a recall. Its bad enough that e-cigarettes cause nicotine addiction and may be dangerous to a persons health, but now it seems theyre doubling as a ticking time bomb, he said. FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said the agency is reviewing the health impacts of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. He said the review will include an evaluation of the use of e-cigarette batteries, including amperage, voltage, wattage, battery type and other issues. (Associated Press researcher Jennifer Farrar contributed to this report) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Hitting speeds of more than 100 mph, two cars raced down Interstate 25 in the Friday night darkness toward the heart of Albuquerque, N.M. One weaved in and out of traffic before smashing into the back of an unsuspecting familys SUV. The Nov. 12 collision sent the vehicles rolling, ejecting 10-year-old Carmen Esmeralda Rivera and killing her in a gruesome crash that has reignited a push by a New Mexico lawmaker and the state attorney generals office for tougher penalties for those convicted of reckless driving resulting in death. The driver accused in Esmeraldas death, 23-year-old Xavier Nelson, pleaded not guilty last week to charges of reckless driving, street racing and possession of prescription drugs. Nelson, who has no prior criminal history, was released on bond pending trial and faces no more than six years in prison if convicted of the more serious reckless driving charge. Sarah Maestas Barnes, a Republican, plans to pre-file legislation this month that would increase the crime to a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years behind bars the same punishment drunken drivers now face when convicted of vehicular homicide. State Attorney General Hector Balderas, a Democrat, is backing the effort and plans to seek support from Democrats and Republicans. The crash and the heartache that followed were avoidable, said Maestas Barnes, a mother of two young daughters and a lawmaker whose district includes areas frequented by street racers. A person chooses to drink and drive. A person chooses to drive erratically and recklessly down the streets. A person chooses to drag race. Its a conscious decision, she said in an interview, and we have to ensure we have laws in place that protect New Mexicans so that we dont have another family thats suffering the loss of a loved one. Balderas said the current maximum punishment illustrates a lack of parity in how New Mexico treats reckless drivers and drunk drivers. Its absurd that the law treats a drunken driver with more accountability than a driver who chooses to operate a vehicle at 112 mph and then kills somebody, he said. Stiffer punishment for reckless drivers was supposed to be addressed during the 2016 legislative session that ended in February but the measure was amended in the final hours by the Democratic-led Senate. Maestas Barnes and Balderas acknowledged it could be difficult to attract legislative support for the lengthier reckless driving prison terms but said the death of Esmeralda could give the effort a boost. She was one of the 369 people who died on New Mexico roads between January and November, a number that far surpasses the 298 killed in 2015. State transportation officials say they know of no particular trend or causes behind the rise and are maintaining campaigns against distracted and drunk driving. Alcohol-related crashes make up nearly 40 percent of the total fatal accidents in 2016, about the same as last year. We see it time and time again someone has too much to drink, then gets behind the wheel and kills someone. Or someone sends a text message then ends up in a fatal crash, said Emilee Cantrell, a transportation department spokeswoman. We all play a part in preventing tragic crashes. Everyone needs to demand that their friends and family are responsible when they get behind the wheel. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. watch now Jim Cramer is worried about the oil patch, and warned investors that what you see is what you get when it comes to crude. "At a certain point all of this drilling could be sowing the seeds of the oil market's own destruction. This is basic economics 101," the "Mad Money" host said. Cramer calculated that one of the main reasons why the price of crude has been stuck in the low-$50s is because companies like Pioneer are selling as much oil forward as they can. Meaning, they are drilling and locking in gains for future production right now. So, if companies are selling into the futures markets, it could mean investors should think twice about buying. A floorhand works on an oil rig in the Bakken shale formation outside Watford City, North Dakota. Getty Images Apologies to investors that thought they were suddenly a stock picking genius overnight, but Cramer says there's a stronger force at work. Stocks have been going up because of the positive backdrop created by President-elect Donald Trump, Cramer said. Trump is the most pro-business President-elect he has seen in ages. The results of his victory are unfolding in the market every day. "It's not that we have all become a bunch of genius stock pickers overnight. It is that we are in the right place at the right time, the stock market in this post-election era of good feelings," Cramer said. Cramer compared the stock market to a game of leapfrog. When one stock moves up, it causes others in the sector to be revalued higher, almost instantly. Maker of commodity computing components have struggled in the past few years as investors assumed that the PC had peaked and was in a secular decline. However, stocks like Western Digital have suddenly caught fire in the past six months. And it wasn't a sudden recovery in PCs that fueled Western Digital's run, Cramer said. It was the transformation the company has undergone to transition beyond hard drives. Seven months ago the company closed on its acquisition SanDisk for $16 billion. This allowed the company to offer semiconductor based flash storage in areas where its disk drive technology was slowing. Cramer spoke with Western Digital's CEO Steve Milligan, who said the entire platform for the company was based on the premise of capitalizing on the substantial amount of growth in people's personal and professional lives. "It's really about the ability of a company and a set of individuals, which I am proud to be the CEO of, to be able to transform from a technology, from a product perspective, from a capability perspective to enable us to grow and thrive into the future," Milligan said. MILATAS | Getty Images Meaning, they are drilling and locking in gains for future production right now. So, if companies are selling into the futures markets, it could mean investors should think twice about buying. Cramer calculated that one of the main reasons why the price of crude has been stuck in the low-$50s is because companies like Pioneer are selling as much oil forward as they can. "At a certain point all of this drilling could be sowing the seeds of the oil market's own destruction. This is basic economics 101," the " Mad Money " host said. Jim Cramer is worried about the oil patch, and warned investors that what you see is what you get when it comes to crude. Cramer had other concerns, too. The price of oil spiked fast on the back of news that OPEC had reached an agreement to cut production, hitting nearly $55 a barrel. Meanwhile, the price of oil out five years hasn't had much movement. They both remain in the mid-$50 range. "That suggests that as much as we might want to believe that OPEC has discipline, the longer-term and in many ways more important markets are signaling that what you see is what you'll get, and no more than that," Cramer said. He was also wary of Diamondback Energy 's secondary offering, with the company selling 10.5 million shares of its stock at $97 to help pay for its acquisition of acreage in the Permian Basin. Secondary offerings have become a pattern for exploration and production plays. Simply, they issue stock to pay for low cost acreage in premium locations. Cramer warned to be careful of Diamondback because oil has had such a big run, it may not have that much more room for upside. While the Permian Basin has some of the best acreage, there could be a downside. The U.S. rig count lately wasn't very comforting, either. It's almost back to where it started this year. After falling to 404 rigs in May, it's now back up to 624. That means the oil spigot has been turned back on. The U.S. certainly won't be able to make up for the 1.8 million barrels in production that OPEC is expected to cut, but it will factor into the balance of supply and demand. The last concern on Cramer's mind was President-elect Donald Trump. He has put in place a cabinet that favors drilling everywhere, and with the advances in technology, Cramer could only speculate on how much oil they will be able to pull out of the ground. "So, just be careful here. Diamondback Energy is up 50 percent for the year ... the stuff its pulling out of the ground has to keep climbing before you can get too excited about participating in still one more equity deal from the oil patch. I'm not saying we should turn our backs on this company," Cramer said. "I just want you to be cautious in case this FANG tries to bite you." It's that time again! Jim Cramer rang the lightning round bell, which means he gave his take on caller favorite stocks at rapid speed: Viacom : "It's kind of just neither here nor there. I'm not crazy about it. I am crazy about CBS, that's the channel 2 kind not CVS that guy is doing a good job over there, Les Moonves [CEO]." Bristol-Myers Squibb : "Bristol-Myers is good. I think the stock's gotten a little too far north, frankly, after that Opdivo didn't work so well, so be careful. We do need to see some sort of charge or restructure I think for how much money they spent on that drug." Nokia : "Don't buy. Not a Trump stock. Sell." United Rentals : "The stock was a great buy in the $60s, but at $107 it's too rich for me." Bob Evans : "I still think that if the company had split up it would have been worth a lot. But it's still worth a lot on its own. I think it's a good company. I actually love to eat there, too. We could use one nearby." ABM Industries : "Trump stock. Servicing buildings, that business is going to get good. It has pulled back a lot. I'm salivating over it." Momo Inc : "No, we are not recommending any China stocks particularly because they are definitively not a Trump stock." Finisar Corporation : "A monster good quarter, as did Ciena, as did Juniper. It's a triple play of fiber optic companies!" Hawaiian Holdings : "Pretty good, I'll see you at Alaska Air, which was even better. True!" Dow Chemical said it would convert $4 billion of preferred shares, held by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, into common equity. Buffett bought 3 million preferred shares of Dow for $3 billion in April 2009, helping Dow finance its acquisition of chemical company Rohm & Haas, while Kuwait Investment Authority bought 1 million preferred shares of Dow for $1 billion. The conversion of these shares, which had an annual dividend of 8.5 percent, into common equity was contingent on Dow's shares trading above $53.72 per share for any 20 trading days in a 30-day window. Up to Thursday's close of $58.35, Dow's shares had risen nearly 10 percent in the past month. The conversion of each preferred share into 24.201 shares of Dow common stock, will give Buffett about 6 percent of the company and Kuwait Investment Authority about 2 percent. Dow has paid Buffett $255 million in dividends every year, helping him make about $1.8 billion since 2009. Kuwait Investment Authority netted nearly $600 million in the same period. Even better, Ayers says in the pro-growth environment in the United States, he expects millennials to form more households and acquire more pets. "I think the baby boomers passed on something stronger to the millennials. Eighty-seven percent of millennials say that pets make them happier than almost anything else," Ayers told " Mad Money " host Jim Cramer. Turns out 50 percent of dog owners buy their pet a gift during the holidays, according to Ayers, and millennials are even crazier about animals, clocking in at over 60 percent. If you're an unhappy millennial looking for a little holiday cheer, IDEXX Laboratories CEO Jonathan Ayers says a pet could be the answer. I think the baby boomers passed on something stronger to the millennials. Cramer refers to the growing trend of the humanization of pets as "one of the greatest secular growth stories in the world." Simply, as more people allow man's best friend to sleep in their bed and become a part of the family, the more they spend on veterinary care. Pet stocks also do not require the help of the government to thrive, which could be good news when President-elect Donald Trump takes over the White House. IDEXX Laboratories is the maker of veterinary testing equipment and is the world leader in diagnostic tools for animals. It supplies the instruments, analysts and test kits required to care for an animal, and it also has a livestock related business to provides services for outside reference labs and sells software for veterinarians to run their practice. And while the stock has already run 65 percent for the year, Cramer thinks it could have more room to run. He highlighted the veterinary business as an instant start-up business that works from the get go. "Vets [veterinary businesses] are excellent credit risks and very low bad debt because it's a good business. It's a growth business," Ayers said. Ayers attributed the success of veterinarians to the growing number of people who love their pets and are willing to pay cash, which creates a solid cash flow business. The average veterinary practice grows 6 to 7 percent per year. Moving forward, IDEXX plans to focus its attention for diagnostics on urine, which is currently a highly manual process. Its urine sediment analyses method can simply take 5 drops of urine and provide results in 5 minutes. "It turns out urine has a ton of medical information and now we call it liquid gold," Ayers said. Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Ayers stated dog owners give their pets a gift during the holidays. Shari Redstone, Vice Chair of CBS and Viacom and Co-Founder of Advancit Capital, speaks during the New York Times DealBook conference in New York, Nov. 10, 2016. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images I spy .... yet another lawsuit involving the Redstone clan. The former girlfriend of media mogul Sumner Redstone is now suing the billionaire's daughter, accusing Shari Redstone of privacy violations which allegedly included having Sumner's nurses spy on the once-happy couple and dishing to Shari on their "sex life." Sydney Holland Getty Images Sydney Holland's legal action Thursday comes three days after Holland filed a cross-complaint against the 93-year-old Redstone himself. In that prior filing, Holland, 45, claimed Redstone had paid many millions of dollars to multiple women for sexual favors including a would-be reality TV producer who got $21 million while he was romantically involved with Holland. Shari Redstone is the vice chairman of both CBS and Viacom, each of whose controlling shareholder is her father. Shari Redstone could not be immediately reached for comment. Holland's legal actions come in reaction to a recent lawsuit by Sumner Redstone against her and another ex-girlfriend of his, Manuela Herzer. Redstone's suit alleges that Holland and Herzer conspired to emotionally manipulate and abuse him so that he would give them gifts totaling $150 million over the years. Holland in turn has argued that Redstone gave her those items willingly, while in sound mind, just as he gave a flight attendant on a CBS corporate jet $18 million and her sister $6 million. She is seeking to hold Redstone to his purported promises to financially support her and her young daughter. In response to Holland's new claims against Shari Redstone on Thursday, Sumner Redstone's legal team said: "Through her frivolous cross-complaint, Sydney Holland has adopted the same pathetic tactics as her cohort, Manuela Herzer. We expect the jury will see them for who they truly are." Sumner Redstone Getty Images Holland, in that cross-complaint, claims that when she and Sumner Redstone were living together, Shari secretly paid her father's household nursing staff to spy on Holland "and invade Redstone and [Holland's] privacy." All this was done by Shari, according to Holland's court filing in Los Angeles, "to discover confidential information she could use to oust [Hollland] from Redstone's life." The cross-complaint names three of Sumner Redstone's household employees as defendants as well, accusing them and Shari Redstone of intentionally interfering with Holland and Sumner's relationship. The complaint claims that in 2013, Shari Redstone hired a private eye to snoop on Holland in hopes of discovering "damning" information about her that would cause her father "to exile" Holland from his life. When that didn't pan out, the suit claims, Shari asked one of Sumner Redstone's nurses to "be her key insider," and secretly share "private on-goings" in the Redstone residence and report to Shari. The complaint says he and the two other nurses, in violations of confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements they had signed, "transmitted highly confidential and private information to Shari" without consent of Sumner Redstone or Holland. That included, the complaint says, "secretly taping conversations between Redstone, [Holland], and their lawyers; listening in to [Holland's] and Redstone's conversations about marriage and adoption"; documenting the couple's respective schedules and who visited their home; and "talking about Sydney and Redstone's sex life." The nurses also are accused of "repeating [Holland's] and Redstone's conversations about Redstone's sensitive medical information" to Shari. In addition to privacy violation claims, Holland accuses Shari of inducing Sumner Redstone to break his "valid oral contract" with Holland to provide for all of her "financial support and needs for the rest of her life in the same style and manner that were established during" her relationship with Redstone. Holland's filing says "Shari and Redstone have always had a tumultuous relationship," and that "for long bouts Redstone and Shari were estranged because of Redstone's long-held position that Shari was unfit to be his successor." "Nevertheless, Shari kept fighting for control of her father's empire," Holland's suit said. "She knew that the only thing standing in her way was Redstone himself. That was, until, Redstone fell in love with Sydney." The complaint says Redstone and Holland met through through celebrity matchmaker Patti Stanger, which was followed by their engagement in 2011 and Holland moving in with him. Holland claims that in the first few years of their relationship, she "worked hard to try to bring the feuding family together." The suit contains several photos of a smiling Shari Redstone with Holland, and others, including Sumner Redstone. But, the suit adds, "Redstone and Holland sensed increasing hostility and jealously from Shari shortly after [Holland's] daughter was born, whom she inevitably saw as an additional threat to her eventual multibillion-dollar empire." That child is not Sumner Redstone's, although Holland has said he stated he intended to adopt her. The complaint says that Shari's hostility "boiled over" in mid-2014 when she hired lawyers and threatened to sue Holland and Herzer for exercising "undue influence" over her father. The Obama administration didn't respond more forcefully to Russian hacking before the presidential election because they didn't want to appear to be interfering in the election and they thought that Hillary Clinton was going to win and a potential cyber war with Russia wasn't worth it, multiple high-level government officials told NBC News. "They thought she was going to win, so they were willing to kick the can down the road," said one U.S official familiar with the level of Russian hacking. The administration did take action in response to the hack prior to the election. In September, President Obama privately confronted Vladimir Putin about the hacks at the G-20 summit in China. He warned the Russian President of unspecified consequences if the hacks continued. More from NBC News: N.C. GOP makes power grab after election loss Feds to review police department after Philando Castile death Coming soon: The 'real' presidential election On October 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued an unprecedented joint statement pointing the finger at Russia, saying hacks of U.S. political groups and individual politicians could only have been done with the authorization of "Russia's senior most" Russian officials and that its intent was to undermine the integrity of the election. Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized the Obama administration for not being more forceful. "I think it is a legitimate question and I think given the stakes at the national level the question deserves an answer," said ret. Adm. James Stavridis when asked by NBC News about the level of the administration's response. "In retrospect it certainly seems as though it was a mistake not to call the Russians sooner and respond to them in a very forceful way." An administration official, in turn, criticized the news media for focusing more on the leaked documents than on the Russian covert operation that hacked into political entities to steal the documents. Administration officials pointed out that the day the intelligence assessment was made public was the same day a tape was leaked revealing Trump's lewd conversation with Billy Bush. Eleven days later, at an October press conference, Obama was not asked a single question about the Russian hacks. "We used the same playbook we did with Sony," an administration official said, referring to the North Korean cyber attack on the Hollywood studio. The difference, he said, was that the media and the public was focused elsewhere. The Taliban say they're giving China the green light to restart a $3 billion mining project, but Afghanistan's legal government says the militant group is just blowing smoke. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan directs all its Mujahideen to help in the security of all national projects that are in the higher interest of Islam and the country," the Taliban announced on Nov. 29, adding that a massive copper mine called Mes Aynak is among the sites it is "committed to safeguarding." Mes Aynak was signed over to China's state-owned Metallurgical Group Corporation in 2008. Speaking to CNBC on Friday, the Afghan government dismissed the Taliban's announcement. "The Taliban never protects projects, and it isn't their job. There is no stake for a terrorist group in the [national] projects," said Javid Faisal, a spokesman for Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. Over the last 15 years, he noted, the Taliban have "attacked highways, destroyed bridges, burned schools, clinics, and universities." The Mes Aynak copper mine is north of Kabul and is protected by a security unit under the Afghan Ministry of Interior. The Taliban killed eight Afghan workers near Mes Aynak in June 2014. watch now President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he will nominate bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel, and Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post in Jerusalem, implying a move from Tel Aviv that would mark a break in longstanding U.S. foreign policy and anger the Muslim world. While campaigning for the presidency, Trump pledged to switch the embassy from Tel Aviv, where it has been located for 68 years, to Jerusalem, all but enshrining the city as Israel's capital regardless of international objections. "(Friedman) has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said in a statement issued by his team on Thursday. The Republican made clear during his campaign that he would support Israel in a number of critical areas, said he would not put pressure on Israel to engage in talks with the Palestinians. The United States and other powers do not regard Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Other nations embassies are located in Tel Aviv - and do not recognize Israel's annexation of Arab East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East war. One of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is resolving the rival demands for Jerusalem's future. Palestinians regard the ancient city - which contains sites sacred to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths - as the future capital of a separate state. Friedman, who specializes in litigation and bankruptcy law, said in the statement that he would work tirelessly to "strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem." watch now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has had a fractious relationship with Democratic President Barack Obama, has welcomed Trump's election, chatting with him by phone and posting a video on Facebook promoting ties with the United States. In an interview with Israeli left-leaning newspaper Haaretz, in June, Friedman was asked whether Trump would support the creation of an independent Palestinian state - a bedrock of U.S. foreign policy which supports a two-state solution. "The answer is - not without the approval of the Israelis," said Friedman. "If the Israelis don't want to do it, so he doesn't think they should do it. ... He does not think it is an American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state." There was no immediate comment from the Israel embassy in Washington on the news. Advocate of settlement building Friedman is also considered far-right on issues, including settlement building and has advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. The Obama administration has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal. The Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last U.S.-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014. J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group based in Washington, said it was "vehemently opposed" to Friedman's nomination. "This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk," the statement said. The Zionist Organization for America, a conservative Jewish-American pro-Israel group welcomed the nomination, saying he had "the potential to be the greatest U.S. ambassador to Israel ever." watch now The Philippines' top diplomat criticized the United States on Friday for deferring a decision on a major aid package over human rights concerns and said the Philippines can survive without it. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the uncertainty over the aid package emerged after President Rodrigo Duterte declared he would chart a foreign policy independent of the United States. A U.S. government aid agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, said this week that its board deferred a vote on a renewal of the development assistance package for the Philippines "subject to a further review of concerns around rule of law and civil liberties." The Philippines had been slated for another aid package after its previous five-year, $434 million poverty reduction program was completed in May under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III. Duterte took office in June. The agency's spokeswoman, Laura Allen, said Thursday it will continue to monitor events in the Philippines before the next board review in March 2017. The U.S. decision is among the first signs of how concerns about the rule of law and human rights under Duterte could entail economic costs. The U.S. government, along with European Union and United Nations officials, has raised concerns about Duterte's crackdown on illegal drugs, which has left more than 2,000 suspected drug users and dealers dead in purported gunbattles with police. More than 3,000 other deaths are being investigated to determine if they were linked to illegal drugs. The complex political system in the European Union could give the upper hand to U.K.'s Prime Minister Theresa May as both sides prepare for exit negotiations next year. The EU's negotiating team has become much bigger. Apart from the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier, there will be: a representative of the EU's rotating presidency (one member state every six months), representatives of the president of the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament. "The Commission must be the leader in the negotiations process but we have also discussed the role of the European Parliament," Donald Tusk, president of the European Council and chair of the , told journalists on Thursday night. Ensuring that the three main European bodies the Commission, the European Council and the Parliament feel integrated in the Brexit talks decreases the likelihood of the exit deal being blocked by any of the institutions. A spokesperson for the European Commission explained that each representative will help out in the negotiations by providing different kinds of expertise. "Obviously questions on fisheries require different expertise than questions on banking regulation," the spokesperson told CNBC via email. However, the EU's complexity could help Theresa May. "The complexity of the European institutions reflects the complexity of the European Union," Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, told CNBC over the phone. "Obviously, Theresa May will have the advantage of the EU at 27 and the fact that there are 27 different opinions," Wolff said, adding that at the moment the EU is united in the process but not in the aims for the negotiations. A government agency that assists states in improving voting systems and acts as a clearinghouse for electoral information may have been the target of a hacker, although the breach was blocked very quickly. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) said Thursday that the FBI is investigating a "potential intrusion into an EAC web-facing application'' and that access was blocked as soon as EAC officials learned of the possible breach. News of the potential breach comes as reports of cyber security attacks in the U.S. presidential election have hit a fever pitch. But the possible event at the EAC is unrelated to a case in which Russian hackers penetrated the Democratic National Committee's system earlier this year. More from USA Today: Trump's soft spot for Russia: wealthy condo buyers 2016: The year in pictures Hundreds of Santas spread kindness around the world Congressional lawmakers are calling for hearings to investigate CIA allegations that Russia deployed hackers to disrupt the presidential election to help President-elect Donald Trump. The EAC does not run elections. Congress created the commission in 2002 as part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to help states improve their voting systems. The commission also serves as a source of election-related information and data. "We're hoping that his can be resolved relatively quickly,'' said Tom Hicks, chairman of the Election Assistance Commission. The breach appeared to have happened weeks after Election Day, he said. It's not clear yet exactly when. Hicks said the FBI is investigating how the person or person gained access, but "they don't believe it's a foreign government.'' Hicks said information about elections or registrations was not compromised. "We don't have any information about voters,'' he said. "The states are running elections.'' Republican leaders join outrage at Russia, will investigate hacks Earlier Thursday, the EAC held a post-election briefing at its headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., to discuss a range of issues, including cyber attacks. State election officials and voting rights advocates said most elections went smoothly and dismissed concerns that voting systems could have been hacked. "I am quite satisfied that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to hack a national election in any meaningful way," said Denise Merrill, president of the National Association of Secretaries of States and Connecticut's Secretary of State. "I think we explored it quite thoroughly." Merrill said she spent a lot of time explaining that voting systems are not online and not vulnerable to hacking. Federal and state election officials tried earlier in the year to ease voter concerns about the potential hacking of voting systems. State officials said they took extra precautions to guard against cyber attacks and other concerns. Fears of hacked election ebb in quiet, watchful night "Everything seems to have gone smoothly from what we know so far,'' Hick said early Thursday. He said cyber security threats are among the issues election officials will continue to monitor. "I believe that election officials have looked at this issue over time and they will not go back to not looking at all aspects of this,'' Hicks said. Concerns have been raised in the wake of recent cyber security attacks, including a case in which Russian hackers penetrated the Democratic National Committee's system earlier this year. Congressional lawmakers are calling for hearings. Federal and state election officials stressed that election systems are decentralized making it hard to influence a national election. "The electoral process was secure, its integrity was maintained,'' said Don Palmer, a fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center. Palmer said there was "no evidence of hacking,'' but said "we can always improve the voting process and give voters more options." Schedler: Elections will run smoothly Munster, who is leaving Piper Jaffray for a new career in venture capital at year's end, has written 874 research notes on Apple, most of them bullish. In the final note, Munster offers his thoughts on the next years for Apple and a cool story of what got him excited about the company in the first place. After years of being one of the most widely read and quoted Apple analysts on Wall Street, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster on Friday released his final research note on the company. Adding various sensors to phones and creating external glasses are among the short-term opportunities, he said. But over the longer term (more than five years out), Munster said he believes "Apple could develop some type of AR or MR wearable that ultimately replaces the smartphone." "The smartphone remains the world's window to augmented reality today," Munster wrote in the note. "While this will change driven by augmented and mixed reality hardware in the future, we would expect the next five years of AR innovation will happen mainly through the device in our pockets." As for Apple's future, Munster sees the company looking to increasingly become a services company and points to augmented reality as one of the key opportunities for Apple to innovate. There was no mention in the note of Apple's plans to build an actual television set, which Munster had predicted for years. And he doesn't see the company giving up on cars, though he said Apple may end up working with traditional carmakers and focusing on what kinds of services it can offer them. "We believe the efforts in automotive tie back to services in that automotive for Apple may mean partnering with experienced automakers to deliver great services rather than building the hardware itself, cars in this case," Munster wrote. "While an autonomous vehicle solution from Apple, either a car or the software, is likely multiple years away, we view auto as the next platform likely for the company to try to own." Munster closes the note with a story, pointing to the 2001 launch of the iPod, which he got for Christmas from his parents that year, as the starting point in his interest in all things Apple. "In those days, you had to have a Mac to put music on the iPod, so I would spend nights in the design office at Piper Jaffray painfully uploading music from CDs on the only Mac I had access to," Munster wrote. "The experience was rough, but using the iPod gave me a sense of joy I never had from any other product. They did it with the iPod and recreated that joy with the iPhone. That magic is a big reason why we've been unwavering bulls on Apple for almost the entire time we've covered it. Sometimes we missed the short-term, but long-term it's been the right bet." For those who want to follow Munster's next chapter, his new company Loup Ventures has a placeholder site here. Update: I asked Munster what it felt like to pen that final note. "It's cliche, but there were lots of emotions," he said in an e-mail. "I've been doing this a long time, and I was thinking back to the fun that I've had, the people who have helped me, and how much I'm going to miss them. I love research, and knowing that I'll continue to do that in my new role made writing my farewell to the sell side a little easier." By Ina Fried, Recode.net. CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode's parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement. Bowalley Road Rules The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place. So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules. These are based on two very simple principles: Courtesy and Respect. Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned. Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym. Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse. However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen. With President-elect Donald Trump seemingly having a better relationship with President Vladimir Putin and Russia, this could be the perfect opportunity to invest in the country, one analyst said on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Friday. The Russian market has seen $451 million of stock fund inflows this past week, making up the country's biggest haul since 2011. Still, it continues to have some upside as one of the cheapest markets in the world, Firebird Managmeent co-founder Harvey Sawikin said. "It's still very unloved and it's got a long way to go to get back to its old highs," he said. "But I would say I'm cautious you know some of that macro stuff, these investigations of the Russian hacking is going to come out, and there could be some bumps in the road, but the valuations are really good." Earlier in the afternoon, President Obama held a news conference where he called Russia a smaller and weaker country, calling out the Russian economy for its lack of diverse production. "Their economy doesn't produce anything that anybody wants to buy, except oil and gas and arms," the outgoing president said. One analyst agreed with Obama that Russia's bread and butter is oil and natural resources, and that's why he sees its economy stalling in the near future. Oil prices have peaked and probably won't go much higher than they are now, Pran Tiku of Peak Financial Management said. Looking ahead, he expects the Russian economy to stall, and suggested that economic sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union are having an impact on the country's production. Sawikin, on the other hand, doesn't think the sanctions necessarily have to go away for a company to do well. The companies under sanctions are the ones that have been performing the best this year, he said. , for example, has almost tripled this year and is still under sanctions. Sawikin said the bank told him nothing would change if the sanctions were lifted because the bank has already been repositioned "to live in a world of sanctions." Italy's government is ready to pump 15 billion euros into Monte dei Paschi di Siena and other ailing banks, sources said, as the country's third-largest lender pushes ahead with a private rescue plan that is widely expected to fail. The world's oldest bank has until Dec. 31 to raise 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in equity or face being wound down by the European Central Bank, potentially triggering a wider banking and political crisis in Italy. If needed, the government will pump 15 billion euros into the Siena-based lender and several other smaller banks to prevent that, two sources close to the matter said on Thursday. One source said unlisted regional banks Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, which were rescued this year by a state-backed fund, would also get support from the state. The government would make the 15 billion euros available in a decree on Dec. 22, La Repubblica newspaper said on Thursday, adding that Banca Carige could also benefit. Italy's banking sector is saddled with 356 billion euros of bad loans, around a third of the euro zone's total and a legacy of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis when, unlike Spain or Ireland, Italy did not act to help its banks. Monte dei Paschi di Siena, advised by investment banks JPMorgan and Mediobanca, plans to raise equity to remove 28 billion euros in bad loans from its books. Italy's opposition 5-Star Movement has called for JPMorgan's fees to be voided if taxpayers have to come to the rescue. "We would have never done a deal like that with JPMorgan. In any case we would not pay the commissions (if the bank had to be nationalized," Alessio Villarosa, a 5-Star lawmaker, said. Cuba has offered a different kind of liquid asset to the Czech Republic, suggesting that its famous rum serves as a means of paying back debt. The Caribbean communist country owes the Czech Republic approximately $270 million, which dates back to the latter's position as part of the eastern European Soviet bloc. Katerina Vaidisova, of the Czech finance ministry's PR department, told CNBC via e-mail that Cuba had suggested a range of commodities that it could supply as part of the repayment, which included "drugs and several brands of rum." Vaidisova added that her party "believes that at least part of the debt should be dealt in cash." Negotiations on the debt are in early stages with the first meeting was held in late 2015, Vaidisova detailed. Ideas on solving the problem are still being presented, including the question of quantifying the debt, "part of which is still held in non-convertible currency," she explained. Cuba has a dual currency system in which Cuban pesos (CUP) are used by locals, alongside the Cuban convertible peso (CUC) which is pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and used by tourists. CUCs are worth more than 25 times their cheaper counterpart. Neither currency is available outside of Cuba. This is not the first time the Czech Republic has been offered an unusual form of debt repayment. In 2010, North Korea suggested ginseng to their central European creditors as a means of paying back debt. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. President Barack Obama has no choice but to publicly reveal the evidence that Russia hacked Democratic computers to disrupt the presidential election, NBC News political director Chuck Todd told CNBC on Friday. Todd spoke ahead of the president's scheduled 2:15 p.m. ET news conference. "Just lay it out there. Lay out all the evidence in public. Connect the dots, because that might be the best way to embarrass [Russian President Vladimir Putin] in the world," the moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press" said on "Squawk Box." High-level Obama administration officials told NBC News the White House did not respond more forcefully to Russian hacking before the election in order to avoid the appearance of interfering with the vote. Officials assumed Democrat Hillary Clinton would beat Republican Donald Trump and felt potential a cyberwar with Russia wasn't worth it, NBC News reports. The Kremlin said Friday that Washington should either prove the accusations or drop the issue. "If you want it to be effective, if you want to shame Putin from doing this again, I think you have to go big on this. And big as in show you're work," Todd said. The world will push ahead with plans to tackle climate change with or without the United States, the chairman of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board told CNBC on Friday. "I don't think that the framework for movement forward on climate change rests on any single country or indeed on any single government," Richard Samans said. "There is a very broad consensus for movement, as was made clear at the climate negotiating meeting that occurred last month in Morocco. There are nearly 200 countries that are committed to move forward on this," he added. Samans was referring to November's Marrakech Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as COP22. A year earlier, at COP21 in Paris, world leaders agreed to make sure global warming stayed "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and to "pursue efforts" to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. There are fears that President-elect Donald Trump may pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. "Irrespective of what the ultimate posture of the new U.S. administration is, there's going to be a lot of movement and action to follow through on the commitments that these couple hundred countries made in those negotiations," Samans said. "I believe that the other countries are going to move forward irrespective of the United States," Samans went on to state. Russian stocks are up 16 percent since Nov. 8, based on the performance of the RSX Van Eck Vectors Russia ETF, while the other emerging markets are down 6 percent collectively, as measured by the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF EEM . Oil's rise above $50 has helped Russia, which depends on its energy industry to remain solvent. President-elect Donald Trump is also expected to push for better relations with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies say hacked into the Democratic National Committee's emails in an effort to throw the election toward Trump. Russian President Vladimir Putin denies it. Brent crude is up 19 percent since Election Day and was trading at just under $55 per barrel Friday. "They're obviously getting benefits both from the sense that the tensions with the West are going to go down and that they're going to have more access to markets, plus the fact that oil has gone up," said Bruce Kasman, chief global economist at JPMorgan. "It's a double positive for them," he said, adding that an agreement to curtail oil output that OPEC reached this month with Russia and some other nonmember states should push crude prices higher. [image: None Of This Had To Be: The Two Paths] There are broadly two views of the situation we human are in. The first is that what is happening is just a... It's been more than a week since President-elect Donald Trump was quoted in the Time Magazine "Person of the Year" issue saying he is going to do something to bring down prescription drug prices. Since then, Trump hasn't tweeted or said a word about any drug company or individual costly drug. But you can bet he will. And there are some very specific drugs he could likely target that are staring everyone right in the face. The big drug companies should be grateful that in the interim, Trump's gone after Boeing on Twitter to attack the high price of Air Force One and used Twitter again to target Lockheed-Martin over the cost overruns on the F-35 stealth fighter. Expensive military expenditures are an easy target in the court of public opinion. But if you want to talk easy, just think how much public support Trump could muster if he set his sights on the priciest prescription drugs the U.S. government pays for via Medicare and Medicaid. Americans may mostly want to see lower costs for military-grade jets, but there's no denying that's relatively low on the public's priority list compared to wanting lower drug prices and anything that can help keep Medicare and Medicaid afloat for generations to come. When it comes to naming specific drugs so many of us need and the companies that make them, this is a slam dunk target for Trump. And there's an even more enticing reason that going after pricey drugs by name probably appeals to Trump: Hillary Clinton's already done it... twice! Clinton first weighed in on Twitter to complain about big drug price hikes in September of 2015 when she specifically decried the jump in the cost for the specialty drug Daraprim. Her tweet sent biotech stocks tumbling that day and was one of the more dramatic moments in the case of the man behind that cost increase, the now-infamous Martin Shkreli. 11 months later, the scenario almost exactly repeated itself when Clinton used Twitter to wade into the EpiPen pricing controversy. She tweeted "there's no justification for these price hikes," and biotech stocks fell again. But in each case, it can easily be argued that Clinton's tweets led to positive results. Within a month of Clinton's tweet about Shkreli's Daraprim, a competing company announced it was selling a generic alternative for $1 per pill. And in the days after Clinton's tweet and Congressional hearings on EpiPen costs, EpiPen manufacturer Mylan announced steeper discount and rebate programs. The bipartisan support Trump could get for going after pricey drugs goes beyond just the Hillary Clinton connection. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, is one of two U.S. Senators who have just publicized a letter they've sent to Pfizer demanding answers to questions they have about the spiking price of its anti-opioid drug overdose drug naloxone. And Senator Bernie Sanders called for a federal investigation last month into the makers of pricey insulin injection drugmakers. The list goes on. Bottom line, a Trump Twitter storm on drug costs has "political common ground" written all over it. But let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? Which drugs made by which companies are most likely to be targeted by the Trump team? We have some clues based on Trump's base of support and the drugs the U.S. government spends the most on right now. Trump's support among elderly voters was historically strong in this election, and that's why anything that's costing the Medicare Part D program big money has a good chance to be singled out. CNBC's Meg Tirell reported this week that Gilead's Hepatitis C drug Harvoni costs Medicare Part D the most at $7 billion per year. Sanofi's insulin injection pen Lantus comes in second with annual expenditures of $4.3 billion. And anti-cholesterol drug Crestor, made by AstraZeneca comes in third with a $2.8 billion yearly price tag. There are other ripe targets too, like almost all the drugs used to fight the common ailment of macular degeneration which is a leading cause of blindness for the people 60 and up. The average cost per unit for anti-macular degeneration drug Eyelea, made by Regeneron, is a whopping $35,457. Another macular degeneration drug made jointly by Roche and Genentech comes in second in unit cost at $35,331. And a third macular degeneration treatment provided by doctors through Medicare Part B, also made by Regeneron, is the number one priciest drug in that program. It costs Medicare Part B $1.9 billion per year. Of course, there are so many more pricey prescription drugs out there with a number of them undergoing recent price spikes. But drugs that particularly are used by the elderly seem like the best bet if Trump is indeed inclined to take on Big Pharma. And considering the immediate impact his tweets have had on companies and their entire related sectors, the CEOs of some of the bigger drug companies might want to try to preempt this threat with a call or two to Trump Tower before it's too late. President-elect Donald Trump has surprised with many of the names that he has chosen for his future cabinet, but, according to a former White House official, the business community should be very happy. "I think he's appointing a strong team, I think the business community in particular in America should be very, very pleased," Mary-Jo Jacobi, former assistant for the U.S. secretary of Commerce, told CNBC Friday. Jacobi - formerly an aide to President Ronald Reagan who also worked for the administration of President George H W Bush - said that most of the names are pro-business and pro-bilateral trade, which should favor businesses in the U.S. The most recent name for the new administration has been David Friedman a bankruptcy attorney who is now set to become the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. watch now Valued at $68 billion, Uber is the richest start-up in history. But it's also losing money at an unprecedented rate. In the first half of this year, the company lost at least $1.27 billion, according to reports. To put that in perspective: Amazon's biggest loss ever was $1.4 billion for all of 2000. But could the company's next big bet "Uber for Business" help stem the losses? Uber's global head of enterprise, Travis Bogard, told CNBC that it's going all-in on business travel, a market worth $1.25 trillion globally according to the Global Business Travel Association. "Uber for business is a big bet that we're making," he says. "That means building technology that powers a wide range of transportation needs. Everything from business travel to daily commutes; from rides to company events and food delivery; and from caregiver and patient transportation to freight." And in a rare look into the start-up's financials, he says it is predicting a run rate of $1.5 billion in this segment next year. That's a significant chunk considering leaked documents that show revenue on pace to top $1.5 billion in 2015. Bogard was hired by Uber from Jawbone earlier this year to grow the enterprise travel segment and he branded it "Uber for Business" in a blog post on Uber's site Friday morning. In the nearly five months since Bogard joined, he's added big corporate customers to Uber for Business like Goldman Sachs , Accenture and Salesforce . The business platform now offers premium services, like accounting, for a fee, he said. Importantly, the segment would create a recurring revenue stream for the company an important metric for investors when Uber goes public. Uber's push into the business travel segment is still in early stages, Bogard said. He expects the number of companies and users using Uber for Business to double by the middle of next year. Still, a run rate of $1.5 billion for the segment in 2017 only goes so far at Uber's current burn rate. But Uber for Business may be another indication that the young, disruptive start-up is growing up and showing more discipline. Earlier this year, Uber retreated from China where it was losing $1 billion a year to compete with local ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing. In return, it washed its hands of losses, got a $1 billion investment and a 17.5 percent stake (worth $7 billion) in its rival. "Twelve months ago, Uber was at war on a number of continents. With Lyft in the U.S., Didi in China, Ola in India, GrabTaxi in Singapore and Malaysia. Being able to focus their efforts where they can leverage what they already have is an opportunity," said Michael Moe, CEO of GSV Capital in Silicon Valley. White nationalist Richard Spencer is considering running for Congress, the Huffington Post reported Friday. Spencer, who received national attention for yelling "Hail Trump" during a postelection conference last month in Washington is looking at campaigning for Montana's only congressional seat, which will be vacant if the Senate confirms Rep. Ryan Zinke as Donald Trump's Interior secretary. Spencer, who has never held public office, told the Post he is "only thinking about it." He said "a lot of people" were urging him to do it, and that he is taking "an exciting prospect" seriously. He spends some of his time in Whitefish, Montana, according to the publication. Spencer is head of the National Policy Institute, a white nationalist "research and educational" group. The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate groups, says Spencer coined the term "alt-right" in an effort to rebrand white nationalism. "If I did this, it would not be some eccentric campaign that no one talks about and is a footnote to history," he said. "It would become a major conversation around the country ... just because of my profile in the alt-right. Again, I would only do it to win it," he told the Post. Read the full Huffington Post report here. It's bad news for all British wine lovers: Bottle prices are set to increase in 2017 as sterling continues to depreciate against the euro . It is another consequence from Brexit; as the British currency falls against the euro, U.K. retailers are under pressure as the cost of imported goods go up. Recently, British supermarket chains battled with Unilever after the consumer goods giant asked them to raise food prices to offset the higher costs of imported goods. Now, the wine industry admits that it will not be able to protect consumers from their higher costs given the low margins in the business. "I'm sure all retailers will have to pass that on eventually because wine is an extremely low margin business," Rowan Gormley, chief executive officer at Majestic Wine, told CNBC on Wednesday. The head of the largest U.K. wine retailer said that for now consumers were safe because they bought stock in advance, but when they run low, new orders will bring higher prices. "I do think it's inevitable, if the pound has a sustained fall against the euro that will have to be reflected in the price of oil, of wine, all kind of exciting liquids," Gormley added. Amy Price, senior food and drink analyst at market research firm Mintel, told CNBC via email: "The deterioration in the exchange rate will put upward pressure on prices of imported goods, including wine. This puts wine under greater competitive pressure from other drinks categories such as cider, much of which is produced in Britain using British ingredients, which should be better able to avoid price rises." The market for good and rare notes is maintaining its momentum, as illustrated by the results for a Civil War era $20 compound interest Treasury note in the Lyn Knight Currency Auctions Nov. 18 sale in Rosemont, Ill. The market for good and rare notes is maintaining its momentum. At the Lyn Knight Currency Auctions November 18 sale in Rosemont, Ill., in the large-size category, as expected, an 1864 $20 compound interest Treasury note (Friedberg 191a) surpassed all others. Including the buyers fee, it brought $28,200 in a grade from PCGS Currency of Very Fine 30 Apparent (for small edge splits and minor restorations). The only examples of this number to ever sell for more were problem free or of a higher grade. Only 57 of the F-191a variety are known, most graded lower, so the supposed defects of the note in the Lyn Knight auction should not be considered a detriment. It is one of the best available. Close behind, at $23,500, was a PCGS Currency Gem New 65 F-42 Series 1869 $2 United States note (aka, the Rainbow note). Fewer than a dozen are graded this high and only two of them have ever sold for more in this grade. Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Finally, a rarity that was not third-party graded sold for $16,450, well over its $10,000 low estimate. This previously unreported Series 1890 $5 Treasury note is only the 19th known and was graded by the auctioneer as a restored Very Fine. With many folds and a worn appearance, it may not be the prettiest one ever seen, but it is a rare event if this issue is offered for sale more than once in a year. An extremely rare and recently-found $100 Brown Back national bank note from the First National Bank of Grand Forks (North Dakota) is only the second of this denomination for the entire state (the other is also from this bank). It reached $21,150 in a grade the cataloger called XF+. The Track and Price database has no records of sales for a $100 Brown Back national from the bank; by any measure, this was the bargain of the sale. The small-size section was led by yet another uncertified note, a $500 1928A gold certificate (F-2407) in Very Fine condition. It is one of just 86 known and its $8,812.50 price realized was in line with what similar third-party graded notes have been selling for recently. Sellers do not seem bashful about testing the market in the next event on the U.S. paper money calendar, a Heritage currency auction of more than 1,600 lots. This auction is being held in conjunction with the Jan. 4 to 8 Florida United Numismatists show in Fort Lauderdale. In addition to the almost ubiquitous small-size high-denomination notes that continue to draw extraordinary attention and prices are a few notable large-size notes and national bank notes. A Series 1869 $50 United States note (also called a Rainbow note), F-151, is new to the census and looks to the naked eye better than its assigned PMG VF-25 grade. Another Rainbow note, a Series 1869 $20 United States note (F-127) graded by PCGS Currency as Very Choice New 64 should advance well into the five-figure range. One of only 14 known $100 1880 United States notes (F-176) in PCGS Currency VF-20 should easily eclipse the $8,800 it brought when it was last on the market in 1998. An F-344 Series 1891 $100 silver certificate in PCGS Currency VF-30 last sold for $29,900 in 2011 and is expected to surpass that this time. The fourth known Series 1918 $1,000 Federal Reserve note from Boston (F-1133-A), graded PMG VF-30, presents an opportunity not available since an auction in 2007. Among the nationals Heritage will offer are a Series 1902 $5 Red Seal issue (F-588) from the Merchants National Bank of Fargo (North Dakota) graded PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ. Also notable is the first offering in nine years of a Series 1873 $20 California national gold bank note from the First National Gold Bank of Stockton (F-1155). Its grade by PMG as VF-20 Net places it among the finest known. There are also some uncut sheets of four from national banks in Clifton, Kan., and Saint Paul, Neb. Get ready to rev up for U.S. Mint products for 2017 The reverse of the 2017 Effigy Mounds National Park quarter dollar depicts an aerial view of mounds in the Marching Bear Group. Bags, rolls and boxes of circulation-quality 2017 Native American dollars from either the Philadelphia Mint or Denver Mint will be available for purchase beginning at noon ET Jan. 25. The Proof and Uncirculated 2017-P Lions Clubs International Centennial silver dollars go on sale at noon ET Jan. 18. Illustrated is the Proof version of the commemorative silver dollar. The U.S. Mint has begun announcing release dates for 2017 numismatic products. Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Posted issue dates on the Mints website, with no pricing information available as of Dec. 16, list the following products: ??Jan. 5 2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set. The five-coin set will contain Proof copper-nickel clad quarter dollars struck at the San Francisco Mint and bearing the facilitys S Mint mark. The coins will bear reverse designs reflective of Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa; Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, D.C.; Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri; Ellis Island National Monument (Statue of Liberty) in New Jersey; and George Rogers Clark National Historical Park in Indiana. ??Jan. 10 2017 Birth set. The five-coin set will contain Proof versions, from the San Francisco Mint, of a 2017-S Lincoln cent, Jefferson 5-cent coin, Roosevelt dime, Effigy Mounds National Monument quarter dollar, and Kennedy half dollar. ??Jan. 10 Happy Birthday Coin set. This five-coin set will contain Proof versions, from the San Francisco Mint, of the 2017-S Lincoln cent, Jefferson 5-cent coin, Roosevelt dime, George Rogers Clark National Historical Park quarter dollar, and Kennedy half dollar. ??Jan. 18 Single Proof and Uncirculated 2017-P Lions Clubs International Centennial silver dollars. The commemorative coin program recognizes the worldwide service organizations Century of Service. The enabling legislation authorizes the production and release of up to 400,000 Proof and Uncirculated silver dollars combined. Both versions of the silver dollar are being struck at the Philadelphia Mint. ??Jan. 25 2017 Native American dollars in rolls, bags and boxes. The products comprise circulation quality 2017-P or 2017-D Native American dollars, offered in single 25-coin rolls, 100-coin canvas bags or 250-coin boxes from either facility. Sculptor Glenna Goodacres obverse, which was introduced on the Sacagawea dollar in 2000 and carried over to the Native American dollar in 2009, will be paired with a reverse design featuring a profiled likeness of Sequoyah writing Sequoyah from Cherokee Nation in his syllabary along the border of the design. The bronze 1-cent coins from 1956 to 1973 are small sized and in a scalloped shape. Cents issued from 1885 to 1954 were larger. The 5-cent coin was the first to abandon silver, beginning in 1907, only the second year the denomination was issued. Copper-nickel was the composition until 1942. The 50-cent coin of British Honduras was the colonys largest denomination coin, as all denominations above that were issued as paper money. The first 10-cent coin for British Honduras was issued in silver in 1894, when three denominations were added to the coinage system in the colony. When considering coins of the British Empire, collectors often think of those from Australia, British India, Hong Kong or various Pacific Islands. Not as many think of the coinage that served Britains holding in Central America, British Honduras. Yet this small colony on the Caribbean was part of the globe-spanning British Empire for more than a century, and in that time issued coins sporting the visages of four different British monarchs. When considering coins of the British Empire, collectors often think of those from British India, or perhaps those of British West Africa, or of Australia, or even those of Hong Kong or various Pacific Islands. Not as many think quickly of the coinage that served Britains holding in Central America, British Honduras. Yet this small colony on the Caribbean was part of the globe-spanning British Empire for more than a century, and in that time issued coins sporting the visages of four different British monarchs. British colonialization When the British monarchy got serious about building a colonial overseas empire, Spain and Portugal had already been in the business for centuries. Admittedly, by the 1600s, England was well along in the game, however, claiming land in North America that would ultimately become Canada and the United States. But Central and South America had long been carved up between the two nations on the Iberian peninsula. One can argue that the Treaty of Tordesillas, giving Spain all the land west of a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, and Portugal all the land to the east, remains one of the most famous and largest land deals of all time. Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter After all, it basically chopped the world in two for Spain and Portugal. It was negotiated between those two countries with the help of the Vatican and Pope Alexander VI, largely so that there would be no war over newly found lands west of the Atlantic. The area that would become British Honduras had long ago been part of the Mayan Empire, and became part of what was called New Spain. But it was never heavily colonized until British business concerns saw some potential in extracting raw materials, largely mahogany. The timing turned out to be good for British business, because newly independent Mexico was at war with the Maya who still lived in the area. Status as a crown colony was formalized in 1871. With colonial status and British rule came all the trappings and details of being part of a well-run, global empire, including a monetary system. A decimal system based on 100 cents to a dollar was implemented. From the first issue of 1-cent pieces in 1884 all the way until what would become the final issue of any British Honduran coin in 1973, the lowest denomination was a 1-cent piece made of bronze, while the highest coin denomination was a 50-cent piece, originally a silver piece weighing in at 11.62 grams, roughly equivalent to United States half dollars of the day (the Seated Liberty half dollars weighing 12.44 grams after 1853). All denominations of 1-dollar and higher were produced as paper money. Understanding the coinage For many collectors, an interest in the coins of British Honduras may begin with something as casual as finding a single handsome example in some dealers bargain bin, or perhaps with a visit to this tropical Caribbean vacation spot with its blue waters and Mayan ruins. As far as the dealers bins, many of the colonys more recent coins were minted in base metal compositions, and are extremely affordable. As for trips to the country, well, its using its own coins now. But were getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Lets put this system into some order. First, the cents. British Honduras 1-cent coins were first issued in 1885, and then issued intermittently through 1973. They started out as bronze coins that would do a U.S. or Canadian large cent proud. Four years of cents sport Queen Victoria on the obverse, which probably helped make her the most popular figure and image on coins, at least for her time. The 1-cent pieces of Kings Edward VII, then George V, then George VI take a collector all the way up to 1951. A single issue of 1954 is the first for which Queen Elizabeth graced the obverse, a change that turned out to go along with a drastic reduction in size. The issues from 1956 to 1973, the small cents as it were, complete the denomination, this time struck in a scalloped shape. Next, the larger coins. Larger denomination British Honduran coins have one thing in common they all began as silver issues, even the little 5-cent pieces of 1894. Along with the small 5-cent coins, which had only a 0.0346-ounce silver content, were 10-cent, 25-cent, and 50-cent pieces dated 1894, and all showing a crowned Queen Victoria on the obverse and the value on the reverse. A date set of just the 1894 issues might serve as a good starting point for what could become a larger collection from this small colony. Coins lose silver over time As the 19th century ended and the 20th century unfolded, some of the colonys denominations had their precious metal content degraded or completely removed. The 5-cent pieces were the first of the coins of British Honduras to see their silver removed, as the issue of 1907 (only the second year the denomination was minted) was made of copper-nickel. This composition served for the issues under Kings Edward and both Georges, until 1942, when the composition changed to nickel-brass, until the end of the series. The three higher denominations fared somewhat better in retaining precious metal content. The 10-cent pieces were produced in silver up until 1946, when they were changed to copper-nickel. The 25-cent pieces saw the switch to copper-nickel in 1952. And the big 50-cent pieces hung onto their silver until 1954. After those dates, each subsequently was produced in copper-nickel to the colonys final days. For a collector who wishes to assemble the coins of British Honduras into one set, an obvious line or border is the point at which the coins went from being minted in silver to being produced in a base metal, copper-nickel alloy. All of those made in base metal are going to be very inexpensive, with the possible exception of the few Proof examples produced as far back as 1894. But even those Proof coins are not particularly costly for the avid collector today, simply because the modern collector base for such coins is not all that large. Collecting approaches vary A bigger challenge would be trying to assemble the silver versions of each of these coins, and in higher circulated or Uncirculated condition when possible. As mentioned, there is not too much to gather when it comes to the 5-cent piece, but some of the larger denominations will require a bit of patience. For example, the 25-cent pieces and the big 50-cent pieces were coined in 1894 and 1895, then again in 1897 and 1901, then with King Edwards royal image in 1906 and 1907, then with George Vs face in 1911 and 1919. The 25-cent pieces each contain 0.1728 ounce of the precious metal, while the 50-cent pieces have exactly twice that much, 0.3456 ounce in them. Thus, even worn examples are pegged to the price of silver (which is $5.18 per 50-cent piece when silver trades at $15 per ounce), and its fair to expect a premium for any examples preserved in grades at About Uncirculated or any level of Uncirculated. But thats the heart and soul of the challenge patiently searching for each coin in a grade that still has some eye appeal. The independent nation that arose from the colony of British Honduras is Belize. The first coins to proclaim Belize on them, back in the 1970s, still also bore the image of Queen Elizabeth on their obverses, but the days of a colony known as British Honduras had passed. One legacy of that time is a wonderfully easy and engaging series of coins waiting for the interested collector. Though the modern sovereign was born in 1817, it has roots to Henry VII and 1489. The gold sovereign of the medieval ruler was meant to project a message about the strength of the monarchy. The 2017 gold sovereigns mark the 200th anniversary of modern sovereign coins. The Proof 2017 coin, right, reflects Pistruccis 1817 design, including the border. Editor's note: this is the first part of a story about the British gold sovereign, which celebrates a milestone anniversary in 2017. senior editor Jeff Starck's story about the coin and its history appears in the January 2017 monthly Coin World. Britains gold sovereign, with the famous image of St. George slaying the Dragon, is one of the most recognized gold coins ever. The sovereign a coin that lacks a declaration of country or denomination is the choice of investors and evaders, secret agents and villains alike (after all, James Bond famously carries 50 of them in his attache case). Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter A sovereign is of course a supreme ruler, especially a monarch, one possessing supreme or ultimate power. The coin of the same name evokes similar power and prestige, characteristics the Royal Mint celebrates in 2017 on the modern sovereigns 200th anniversary. Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: The Sovereign has endured for centuries, and the fact that it is anchored almost as much in the heart as in the purse has defined its character and made it immeasurably more than money. Sovereigns deep roots The modern gold coin has a historic past the sovereign as a denomination traces its history to 1489 when it was struck under the rule of Henry VII, making it is one of the oldest coins still produced today. According to John Porteous, writing in Royal Sovereign 14891989, edited by Graham Dyer, portrayal of the king was copied in part from another large gold coin, the real dor of the Netherlands, struck for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian in 1487. Porteous describes the British coin: The enthroned king sits in splendour, but against a simpler background [than on the Dutch coin]. The reverse is much bolder, with the shield bigger in proportion to the rose and surmounted by a magnificent crown. The sovereign of Henry VII was worth 20 shillings, but Henry VII valued it much more as a propaganda vehicle. Its diameter of 42 millimeters allowed plenty of room for the message his wish to emphasize the grandeur of monarchy, ruler and England itself inspired all that appears on the coin, according to Richard Doty in The MacMillan Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatics. The coin eventually would be debased, as economic need pushed rulers to squeeze profits from every corner of the kingdom. The final sovereign of what might be termed the medieval type was struck in 1662, after which a new gold coin, the guinea (worth 21 shillings), replaced it. While the sovereigns story is more than five centuries old, it was interrupted until the post-Napoleonic era in England. When fighter Augustin de Iturbide couldnt beat Vicente Guerrero in the Mexican War of Independence, he joined him. In 1821, Iturbide met with Guerrero and agreed to the Plan de Iguala, Guerreros goal for the full independence of Mexico, which was achieved on Sept. 27, 1821. In May of 1822, the Mexican Congress awarded the Imperial Crown to Iturbide, and he was crowned as Augustin the First in Mexico City on July 21, 1822. His reign would be short-lived, however, but long enough for Proclamation medals to be issued. A gold example of an 1823 Proclamation medal for Iturbide highlights Stephen Album Rare Coins auction No. 27, which runs from Jan. 19 to 22. Connect with Coin World: Sign up for our free eNewsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter The proclamation medal for the Feast of the Proclamation on Jan. 24, 1823, weighs 35.34 grams and measures 39 millimeters in diameter, meaning its heavier than a 1-ounce gold Libertad, but about the same diameter. The design, by engraver J. Guerrero, shows the ruler on the obverse, surrounded by inscriptions proclaiming his role as emperor by divine providence. The reverse carries the familiar crowned eagle on cactus, and inscriptions relating to the Jan. 24, 1823, proclamation ceremony. The medal is cataloged as Grove 11 in Medals of Mexico Vol. II, 1821-1871, by Frank W. Grove. Proclamation medals are highly historic and important, and due to their overall rarity, seldom offered in the marketplace. Though generally issued in silver, some were made in gold and bronze. Since these medals were thrown to the crowds during the proclamation ceremonies, likely more were spent or melted than saved. Generally speaking, Proclamation medals were produced in various cities to display loyalty and allegiance to the new monarch. In the Spanish Empire, they were produced in various colonial cities and were issued during the festivals and ceremonies arranged in honor of the new king. Though festivities celebrating Iturbides ascension to power were notable, his initial popularity did not prevent him from being ousted on March 19, 1823. Exiled to Italy and then to London, he tried to return to Mexico in 1824. Immediately arrested, he was shot by local authorities. His body was finally buried in 1838 in the cathedral of Mexico City with the title of Liberator National. Despite generous production figures, Proclamation medals survive to the current day in quite small numbers. Medals for an earlier king were often melted, repurposed into medals for a new king. The offered example appears to have been used as a pendant and is in Extremely Fine condition. One other example sold in the Numismatica Genevensis SA auction of December 2008, where the piece, in approximately About Uncirculated condition, brought about $14,940, according to the Album sale catalog. This example has an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. Types of obituaries The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries family obituaries and life stories. A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories. MU takes 'breather' on demo project Crowder Hall, which houses the University of Missouri's Military Science Department and ROTC programs, is getting a reprieve from demolition. News / Local by Alice Dube Zanu PF Secretary for Finance in the Politburo, Obert Mpofu reportedly donated 20 000 litres of diesel towards the annual conference in Masvingo, state broadcaster reported.Every year, the party's conference caps the year with such a spectacular show of might with rich top brass competing to show their net worth.According to ZBC, Mpofu who is also Marco-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister offered 20 000 litres of diesel.It is not clear whether the fuel was from his personal wealth.About $4 million would be spent on the conference which ends tomorrow.The party reportedly secured more than 12 000 blankets and over 7 000 beds for the delegates.Masvingo residents and businesses are also cashing in on the gathering with most of them expecting brisk business from thousands of delegates.Several dozens of cattle, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs and even wildlife will lay their lives at the Zanu PF sacrificial alter to be consumed by no less than 7 000 senior party officials who are gathered in the ancient city to scheme ways of remaining in power.Around the city and beyond are drought-stricken rural communities. Originally posted on the Puppet blog, and republished here with Puppet's permission. You want to create a much closer working relationship between your IT operations team and the software development team. How do you do it? Here are a few highlights from Puppets ebook, Get Started with DevOps: A Guide for IT Managers around fostering collaboration between teams and easing the transition. Collaboration over contract negotiation One of the tenets of the agile manifesto is "customer collaboration over contract negotiation." This also applies to the relationship between development and operations teams. Devote some time to helping the dev team; for example, instead of holding meetings to set some minimum performance measures, pair with the dev team to help them measure, and then improve, application performance. Pairing is a great way of starting collaboration across teams and the dev team will likely be happy for the help. Security is a great icebreaker Ops teams have a healthy fear of real-world users and a good eye for security issuesfor good reason. Developers are interested in security, but don't always have expertise in it. That's why security can be such a good place to start. Your ops team can offer internal training sessions on security, and invite developers into threat briefings. Show devs the monitoring data around malware or DOS attacks. By giving people common information, you'll help people appreciate each other's expertise and build relationships between the teams. Building self-service platforms Its increasingly common for operations teams to be internal service providers. Rather than having your ops team deploy everything, develop a standard way for developer to deploy their own applications. Rather than the ops team being the only people who have access to production monitoring, the team can instead maintain the monitoring system and provide self-service access and training to devs. This won't happen overnight. Start by identifying largely repetitive work that is ripe for standardization, and then design a service model around that activity. Repeat for other common activities. The shift to self-service will fundamentally change the relationship between Ops and Dev, from operators slowing developers down to operators empowering developers. You built it, you run it The best people to support a complex application are the people who built it. Help development monitor and support their applications. Once the development team knows they will be directly responsible for any problems in production, they are much more likely to make sure the software is operable, stable and resilient to failure. This doesnt mean traditional operations skills arent needed. It might mean the team structures change, and that the organization moves towards cross-functional teams of developers and operators. Ops might also become a smaller services team for the entire organization, setting standards and offering their expertise and advice when needed. Managing change There are a few things you can do to help both your own operations team and the development team transition to the new way of doing things. Here are a few ideas: Developers often underestimate or simply aren't aware of the parts of operations and service management that aren't strictly about code deployment. The ops team can train developers on things like capacity planning, incident management or auditing requirements, preferably through pairing. Most people learn better by working with someone, and pairing is a great way to develop greater empathy between teams. Involve the development team in designing shared services after all, what your operations team members want may not align with what the developers feel they need. Start by clearly defining user needs, and work out whats possible in the short term and medium term. Involving both teams should lead to a better service and a better understanding of the underlying problems and tradeoffs. Include developers in on-call rotations. The main benefit here is in aligning incentives; it's a lot harder to consider actually shipping software that has performance or stability problems if you know you're going to be called when things break. The above are just a few practical ideas you'll find in Get Started with DevOps: A Guide for IT Managers. Read it for more help in winning over your own operations team, the development team and executives to the DevOps way of working. This story, "Bringing Dev and Ops together" was originally published by CIO . Microsoft's overly aggressive efforts to get people to migrate to Windows 10 are well-documented. The company pushed people way too far by engaging in tactics like not allowing people to click a "No" option for the upgrade and changing the "X" from closing the prompt to giving permission to perform the upgrade. There had been at least one prior victory over by a small business owner named Teri Goldstein who found Windows 10 forced onto her laptop used to run her travel agency and then rendered it unusable. She won $10,000 from Redmond. There is now another victory, and this one is even more sympathetic because of the person impacted. Jesse Worley, an independent IT contractor, had set up a Windows 7 machine to look like Windows XP for his grandfather, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. One of the palliative ways of treating the condition is to surround the sufferer with the familiar, so Worley wanted to make the Windows 7 PC look like XP, which his grandfather knew well before the condition struck. In a lengthy post on his personal website (he eschews all social media, so it took a while for his story to get around), Worley documents the process. Like every other Windows 7 user, Worley's grandfather was bombarded with the Get Windows X (GWX) app. "My grandfather knows better than to say 'yes' to things that randomly pop up on his screen, so we had absolutely no problem explaining to him that Windows 10 wasnt something we needed, and that when it came up he just needed to say no. He did so successfully for more than 6 months while Microsoft bothered him with the same pop-up over and over and over again, and would have continued to do so if Microsoft hadnt gone out of their way to trick him," he wrote. It worked for a while, until May of 2016, when Microsoft modified the design and function of their Get Windows X popup by changing the yes or no buttons to install now or install later. "For users not paying attention, those with bad eyesight, those with Alzheimers Disease, or even those of us intentionally conditioned to click the 'no' button, we inadvertently opted in for an update!" he wrote. And his grandfather accidentally upgraded his PC. An attempted rollback failed, so Worley rebuilt the PC. Worley had read about Goldstein's victory and decided to pursue action against Microsoft for the $650 it cost to rebuild the computer. He goes into very lengthy and instructional detail, mostly to help out anyone else considering legal action against Microsoft. "Just as I was inspired by Teri Goldstein to hold Microsoft accountable in my own way, I wrote this to hopefully compel others to discover their own methods of doing the same. Anyone who had to spend hours fixing a broken or unintended install for themselves or family should be demanding at least $50 per hour just as I did, or anyone who had to pay a professional should be sending in copies of invoices expecting full reimbursement. If recent history holds steady they might just write you a check!" he wrote. He wrote the company a letter of his intent to take it to small claims court as requested in Microsofts EULA for Windows 10, which states that we hope youll mail a Notice of Dispute and give us 60 days to try to work it out, but you dont have to before going to small claims court. Microsoft didn't put up much of a fight, as it turned out, but it initially wanted to give him a $500 Visa card and $150 in coupons from the Microsoft store. Worley rejected it and received $650, which he donated to the Alzheimer's Association. The only thing that surprises me about this story is that Worley is just the second person to do it. Perhaps people didn't know how they could hold Microsoft accountable. Well, Worley has provided them with a very neat guide to do just that. General Motors announced it will be the first company to begin testing fully autonomous cars on Michigan's roads after the state passed legislation that allowed self-driving vehicles on all public roadways. GM said it will test versions of all-electric Chevrolet Bolts equipped with self-driving technology that it said will begin rolling out of a Michigan plant in January. "Revolutionizing transportation for our customers while improving safety on roads is the goal of our autonomous vehicle technology, and today's announcement gets us one step closer to making this vision a reality," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "Our autonomous technology will be reliable and safe, as customers have come to expect from any of our vehicles." Nissan Nissan Motor Co. General Manager Tetsuya Iijima removes his hands from the steering wheel of an autonomous Nissan Leaf as it pilots itself through Sunnyvale, Calif. in January 2016. Some self-driving vehicles are already being tested by GM at its Technical Center campus in Warren, Mich., but after the state legislature passed a series of bills allowing autonomous vehicles on its roadways, the carmaker said they will now expand to public roads on the facility's outskirts. Within the next few months, testing will expand to metro Detroit, which will become GM's main location for development of autonomous technology in winter climates. Workers at GM's Orion Township assembly plant will build test fleet Bolt EVs equipped with fully autonomous technology that will include LIDAR, cameras, and sensors. The test fleet vehicles will be used by GM engineers for continued testing and validation of GM's autonomous technology already underway on public roads in Scottsdale, Ariz. and San Francisco, as well as part of the Michigan testing fleet, GM said. Last week, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed four bills that were backed by automakers and were aimed at accelerating Michigan into the lead past California and especially Silicon Valley, where autonomous technology has taken the forefront with developers such as Google. "As far as I know, Michigan is the first state to make it official that these types of vehicles can be used on public roads," said Brandon Schoettle, a project manager with the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute. Michigan's new laws not only allow vehicles with fully autonomous capabilities but also those without drivers or steering wheels. Conversely, California prohibits those that don't have a steering wheel or a brake pedal. Michigan, however, has cleared for both carmakers and technology companies to test and sell their self-driving vehicles in the state, and allows for ride-sharing services, such as Uber, to use those vehicles as well once they've cleared testing. GM was joined by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford, Toyota, Google, Uber, and Lyft in helping to define Michigan's final autonomous vehicle legislation, according to Michigan state officials. In January, GM announced the formation of a dedicated autonomous vehicle engineering team and a $500 million investment in Lyft to develop an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles in the U.S. In March, the company announced the acquisition of Cruise Automation to provide deep software talent to help speed development. In June, GM began testing autonomous Chevrolet Bolt EVs on the public roads in San Francisco and Scottsdale. The company has more than 40 autonomous vehicles testing in the two cities. Earlier this year, Pittsburgh began allowing real-world tests of a self-driving, Uber-owned Ford Fusion. Uber An Uber autonomous car prototype in Pittsburgh. Several states and Washington D.C. have passed autonomous vehicle legislation that allows for limited testing of cars and trucks on public roadways. Since 2012, at least 34 states and D.C. have considered legislation related to autonomous vehicles. News / Local by Thobekile Zhou President Robert Mugabe has again warned Zanu PF members who use social media to settle internal party squabbles.Mugabe said issues should not be solved through Twitter and Facebook.Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo has been accused of taking potshots at some top officials using his Twitter account, with vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa largely being seen as his target, forcing his rivals to demand his censure by the ruling party's national disciplinary committee."There is a new culture of indiscipline in the party. When you join the party there are rules to be adhered to and ways to be followed" said Mugabe during his televised key address in Masvingo."We do not address our grievances through twitter, Facebook etcit is done by senior members, not juniors."Some quarrels, we do not even know themwe see them in paperslet us not be used to feed the private papers,that has made them survive."You cannot dictate what happens in the party. No one person should stand up and say do this or that."When you are a member of the party, when you join the party,you are mature enough to know that there are rules to be obeyed". Yes, justice does move slowly, but in the Google age-discrimination case it almost seems ironic. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson last week set Nov. 26, 2018 as the trial date in a case brought by two over-40 job applicants who were denied jobs. One of the plaintiffs was interviewed by Google on four separate occasions. The case was first filed in federal court in San Jose, Calif. in April 2015. In October, the court approved a motion by the plaintiff to turn the case into a "collective action," a type of class action, that allows others to join the lawsuit. People may be eligible to the join the lawsuit if they had an in-person interview with Google for certain types of software engineering jobs, are over the age of 40, and were rejected by Google from August 2014 through the present. There may be a lot of work ahead to bring this case to trial. The parties in the case have met about a paying a third-party administrator to determine who will receive an opt-in notice about the lawsuit, according to recent court filings. Google told the court that it may take six to eight weeks to produce the names and contact information for the affected parties. The plaintiffs believe there are thousands of people potentially eligible to opt into this lawsuit. But the parties were arguing over how inviting to make the opt-in notice. The plaintiffs wanted the notice to say, "Notice of opportunity to join conditionally certified collective action lawsuit to recover damages." But Google objected to the use of the term "opportunity," and the court agreed. "The right to join a lawsuit is not an opportunity," wrote Judge Labson, who said the notice may be titled "Notice of conditional certification of lawsuit alleging age discrimination," or something similar. But something that may deter people from joining this lawsuit is the risk of being on the hook for some of the costs, should Google prevail. Google argued that the proposed opt-in notice should state that plaintiffs "may be required to pay a portion of Google's costs if Google prevails." Labson noted that some courts have not required the inclusion of this language in similar cases, but agreed that "it is more accurate to indicate that the potential opt-ins may be responsible for their share of the costs if they lose at trial." The costs may be limited to fees and compensation of court-appointed experts, compensation of interpreters, and other services. But details are still being worked out and those potential costs are not yet known. The parties will meet "to determine the appropriate language" in the notice, the judge wrote. Error 500 Oopsour servers taking a break while we frantically figure out what went wrong. We apologize for ruining your day. If you keep running into this error, please let us know. News / National by Thobekile Zhou The Zimbabwe Republic Police has been called to speedily investigate Zanu PF on source on funds used to procure over 350 top-of-the-range vehicles for the 2018 elections campaign.About $10 million is said to have been used to buy the vehicles.Opposition People's Democratic Party secretary-general, Gorden Moyo said police have a duty to investigate."Zanu PF has gained its own peculiar reputation of dipping its hands in the national till, including stealing from itself. Its president has a very short moral height and the whole institution has no moral rectitude."It comes as no surprise to us that, while civil servants have no salaries and bonuses, Zanu PF is not embarrassed to display its excesses in Masvingo in the form of a primitive accumulation and gluttonous politics" he is quoted saying.MDC-T spokesperson, Obert Gutu said the funds could be from illicit diamond sales"It is clear that the vehicles that the party is purchasing are being funded from a shadowy source, most likely it's coming from the proceeds of illicit diamond sales,".However, Zanu PF Secretary for Transport Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri says the party has been "working tirelessly to replace the fleet that was bought in 2008".Zanu PF took delivery of 45 vehicles and presented to President Robert Mugabe at the party headquarters in Harare on Wednesday.Muchinguri-Kashiri said the rest of the vehicles will be delivered by March next year, 12 months before the crunch presidential elections. Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, Managing Director of Biteback Publishing, a columnist and broadcaster and a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate. For anyone under the age of about 45, the name Jim Prior, who died on Monday, probably doesnt mean much. However, those of us who know our history of the 1970s and 1980s also know how significant he was. A key ally to Ted Heath, he was Agriculture Minister in the Heath government, and stood in the 1975 leadership contest. He never reconciled himself to Margaret Thatchers leadership, and was the archetypal Tory Wet. He became Employment Secretary in 1979, but the Prime Minister became irritated with his softly-softly approach to industrial relations. In her 1981 reshuffle, she replaced him with Norman Tebbit. This was a key moment for Prior who, instead of resigning to lead the internal opposition to Thatcher, he accepted the post of Secretary of State for Siberia or, rather, Northern Ireland. Because he necessarily therefore spent most of his time outside Westminster, Prior lost influence and in 1983, following her landslide victory, Thatcher summarily sacked him. And that was the end of his political career. One funny anecdote. How true it is, I have no idea, but it demonstrates how Thatcher used her femininity. Arriving for Cabinet one morning, Prior engaged the Prime Minister in some light chit-chat. He said to her: Margaret, youre sounding very sexy this morning: have you got a cold?. Raising an eyebrow, Thatcher put on her deepest voice and smiled: Jim, I can assure you that I dont need a cold to sound sexy. Sadly, history doesnt record Priors reaction. Condolences to his family, especially to his son David, who now serves as a minister at the Department of Health. Sometimes, just for a laugh, I have a look at the Morning Stars website. After all, its important to keep up with publications which form the daily reading of Her Majestys Leader of the Opposition, isnt it? I could hardly believe my eyes when I read it describing the fall of Aleppo as a liberation. Yes, really. That rather tells us all we need to know. And the thing is, the likes of Seumas Milne and Andrew Fisher were probably nodding along in agreement. How do I know this? Well, the fact that someone has put a Soviet-style red star on the top of Jeremy Corbyns office Christmas tree is a bit of a clue In the last eleven days, Labour has a) lost its deposit in the Richmond Park by-election; b) moved from second to fourth in the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election, and c) recorded its lowest opinion poll ratings with two polling companies since the 1983 general election. But, splutter the Corbynistas, weve got our highest membership since the 1960s and were the largest political party in Europe. That doesnt really matter a jot in terms of electoral success. Im told that in Richmond, Labour has close on two thousand party members. The fact that their candidate, Christian Wolmar, only managed to get 1515 votes tells you all you need to know. No doubt they will put it down to tactical voting, but if you cant even motivate your own members to put a cross by their partys candidate then theres something very wrong. Meanwhile, the party leader seems to have completely disappeared. I cant recall the last time he did a major interview or did, well, anything to be honest. On Tuesday, we learned that he has virtually nothing in his diary between now and Christmas. Yet another reason why Labour MPs are starting to tear whats left of their hair out again. Andy Carroll walks on water. Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la. George Osbornes speech in the Aleppo debate was quite something. I wonder whether we are about to see a totally different Osborne one who can spread his wings a bit, and make his mark in policy areas outside the economy. Many MPs made powerful contributions to that debate, not least John Woodcock. He said that Osborne had made the speech which should have been made from the Opposition front bench. Woodcock is a man who seems to have increasingly little in common with his party. If CCHQ have a top ten list of Labour MPs most likely to defect, hed be pretty near the top. I do think the election of Philip Davies to the Women & Equalities Select Committee is delightful. It will certainly make the committees inquiries a little more newsworthy. Only in Britain could you have a womens committee with three men on it. If you missed ITVs programme on Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, be very thankful. Rarely have I seen such a terrible programme. The Duke clearly wanted no part of it, and gave monosyllabic answers to virtually everything he was asked by the shows hapless host, Philip Schofield. Schofield was as cringingly craven as it is possible to be. How this 47 minutes of puerile rubbish passed the ITV quality threshold is quite beyond me. Liam Foxs Department for International Trade has nothing much to do, because we cant negotiate any trade deals until after Brexit. So runs one take on Theresa Mays new creation. It is wrong. This is so not only because there is plenty to be done to prepare for such deals, but for wider reasons. Indeed, the department is the more significant of the Prime Ministers two Whitehall inventions. The Department for Exiting the European Union, after all, will fold in the wake of Brexit, which may be only two years away. But the new trade department is likely to endure, even if May doesnt win the 2020 election so crucial will boosting exports be, especially outside Europe, in the aftermath of Britain leaving the EU. So how is Fox getting on? To answer the question, one must first of all grasp how indispensable trade is to Britain. We think of ourselves as a trading nation, and this is correct: our exports count for over a third of our GDP; Europe is a declining market for them and, since that trend is set to continue, it follows that other countries must replace it (at least if we are not to consume more of our own products and fewer from abroad). This would have been as true if we had voted to Remain as it is now. But we have not been preparing for change as energetically as we might. Not so long ago, we had a department with the splendidly old-fashioned title of the Department for Trade and Industry reflecting the importance of trade to the economy. The trade part of it was represented in the Commons by a senior Minister: a slice of Alan Clarks diaries is about his time and travels as Minister for Trade. But since Labour replaced it with the Department for Business, the trend has been to appoint senior Ministers in the Lords, the first being Digby Jones. Trade has had six Ministers since 2010, but only one of them has been an MP Mark Prisk (and he was in charge only briefly and without the title). The logic of Gordon Brown and David Cameron was that a senior businessman such as Jones or Ian Livingston, or a banker like Stephen Green, was likely to have more commercial nous than a mere member of Parliament. Whatever the merits of this view may be, it had the effect of distancing Britains export drive from the Commons and perhaps from the department itself, since the Minister was usually abroad. Foxs appointment has changed all that. Trade is now back at the centre of Whitehall, with its very own department almost literally, since it occupies part of what is usually thought of as the Foreign Office. The new Secretary of State is on the same corridor as Boris Johnson (which apparently comes in very handy), with his office tucked in above a corner of Whitehall and Downing Street. The last of Camerons trade ministers, Mark Price, has stayed in the department. Greg Hands is Trade Minister; Mark Garnier Under-Secretary. Fox has had to shape a department before: the Ministry of Defence, at the time of a cost-cutting Defence Review an experience that friends of his describe as like redesigning a ship at sea while under fire. Forming the trade department has been easier, though there were tussles with the Foreign Office over the summer over functions and staff. The core of the department is the old UKTI, but it has also taken trade functions from Johnsons department, Defence and elsewhere. Some three thousand civil servants are in place. A Permanent Secretary is shortly to be appointed, not necessarily from within Whitehall. But all this, and the very creation of the new department, could be no more than shuffling government furniture. Is Fox really making a difference? Or will he simply tour the world, preaching the benefits of free trade, while nothing much really changes at a time when his department also needs to get to grips with the complexities of Britains future tarrif rate quotas? The Trade Secretary has kept much of Camerons network of trade envoys intact. One of them not at all a man I would have put down as a fan of the Trade Secretary told me that I honestly think that he is setting about this with real vision and determination. He said that Fox and his team are introducing a new online capability for people abroad to be able access information about our companies which can offer actual supply chains, which has never happened before. Additionally, Ministerial visits abroad will require involvement in pushing possible business contracts during their visits: this is standard practice by other countries and is pursued ruthlessly. Fox is also trying to get much greater involvement in export activity by SMEs which has been thus far wholly inadequate. UKEF which does export finance saw its funding for SMEs doubled in the Autumn Statement, which of course is higher risk but will hopefully encourage the sector to think more of exporting. Some other sources are less impressed. One said that the Trade Secretary doesnt always go down well in the City, and that we have heard it all before on SME funding, which was also increased on George Osbornes watch. But most of those ConservativeHome has spoken to believe that the restructuring is important, and that Foxs tiggerish energy is making a difference. I would have put down in the summer as the most likely of the Brexiteers to jump or be pushed, said one experienced observer. I dont think so now. The Trade Secretary recently announced that Britain will preserve its current tariff arrangements after we leave the EU which drew fire from different quarters. Some Leavers were disappointed. And some Remainers were critical, claiming that his announcement showed the Leave campaigns promises on trade to be threadbare (though had he not done so, they would have said that he plunging British business into further uncertainty). But Foxs position is essentially a holding one, like the Governments broader approach of carrying over EU regulation. He and his team have two huge tasks ahead. The first is to match the best of our European competitors the inevitable example is Germany at exporting to the rest of the world. The second is to carry out as much scoping as possible abroad in order to map a path to new trade deals identifying barriers to trade, for example. And to do so at a time when our future relationship with the EUs customs union is uncertain (the Government seems to want some sort of hybrid arrangement). The more closely we stick to it, the more Foxs wings will be clipped. Then there is the uncertainty of knowing when we will agree a trade deal with the EU if one is struck at at all. Plenty to occupy the Cabinets most irrepressible advocate of an Open Britain and of the moral case for free trade. News / National by Stephen Jakes Zanu PF youths recently reportedly looted goods and threatened to take over a vending stall owned by one Moven Chikami at Gazaland Shopping Center in Highfields West Harare.Chikami, an MDC-T supporter reported the issue to his party superiors who then sent some party youths to man the vending stall until Chikami felt safe.Zimbabwe Peace Project also reported that activists Patson Dzamara and Ishmael Kauzani were recently allegedly abducted by suspected state security agents in plain clothes."The abduction took place a night before a planned protest by social movement activists against government's introduction of bond notes. It is reported that Dzamara was in the company of other activists who fled after the ambush by the armed men," according to ZPP."The two were severely assaulted and sustained serious injuries to the head and back and their cars were torched. They were found the following morning at Avenues Clinic where they were treated. At around 2am a group of approximately 20 uniformed soldiers assaulted civilians in Kuwadzana East. It is reported thatthe army officers patrolled nightclubs and shops around Kuwadzana 2 beating up civilians. They first went to Sunset Nightclub where they beat up people using baton sticks and bare hands before proceeding to K2 Nightclub."ZPP states that at K2 Nightclub they assaulted vendors outside the bar before proceeding to attack patrons inside the club. It is believed thattheir motive was to intimidate people from participating in the anti-bond notes protest that had been planned by socialmovement activists. CORNWALL, Ontario The Federal Bridge Corporation and Louis Bray Construction have notified the City of Cornwall that Brookdale Avenue will not open Friday, Dec. 16. The reason for this delay has been blamed on street light poles not being received from the manufacturer. The City cited its own concerns of nighttime traffic on Brookdale Avenue without street lights. Reopening Brookdale Avenue will result in changes to traffic patterns and driver behaviour adaptation at a time of year when there are more hours of darkness than daylight and when volumes are higher with the lead up to the holiday seasonm The City of Cornwall said in a statement. The area near the traffic circle is a particular concern. We are disappointed with the situation and regret that the poles are delayed. Although frustrating, it is in the interest of public safety to wait a few additional days to reopen Brookdale Avenue. The City said that hopefully Brookdale will re-open sometime next week. Opinion / Letters 1. Introduction 2. Statement of the problem 3. The Mafela Trust 4. The Freedom Charter of Mthwakazi 5. Conclusion The former President of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, observed that, 'In every era, in every clime and for every oppressed people, God in His infinite wisdom provides an opportunity for them to break the yoke of suppression and oppression'. Consistent with this observation from perhaps one of the greatest intellectuals of Africa in recent memory, we are compelled to pose a few questions by way of an intellectual outline regarding the role of the Mafela Trust in Mthwakazi.It is noteworthy that as we open up the Closed Doors of the Mafela Trust for public discussion and scrutiny, especially to the people of Mthwakazi, we are doing so solely in pursuit of the truth. It will be remembered that a few days ago there was a Josiah Ndlovu who not only shouted that this writer be condemned for what he called an 'attack on Zapu, Zipra and Joshua Nkomo', but he also claimed to be a member of the Mafela Trust. It is therefore hoped that by opening the Closed Doors of the Mafela Trust, Josiah Ndlovu who claims to be a Zipra war veteran will empower the people of Mthwakazi a great deal about the workings of his organization. Fundamentally, however, it is important for Josiah Ndlovu and his comrades to know that the Draft Freedom Charter of the people of Mthwakazi (as highlighted below) empowers us to open up all closed doors anywhere in Mthwakazi for the benefit of all the citizens of our country.We need not apologise for this statement of the problem as it forms the crux of the matter under discussion. It relates to our understanding within the Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) of what the Mafela Trust is all about. Some of us, including the writer hereof, were not only trained but were battle- hardened Zipra fighters, who unlike Josiah Ndlovu were not only at one time accused of seeking to overthrow the Zipra high command, but were hunted down like game animals in Zambia resulting in scores being killed not by the enemy but on the orders of certain sections of the high command.Those who were lucky were incarcerated in Zambian prisons while the writer hereof was incarcerated in a Luanda Prison in Angola that was more than 400 years old at the time. Unlike Josia Ndlovu, especially after the untimely death of the former commander of Zipra forces, Alfred Nikita Mangena, who was totally against the Zimbabwe project (and that is the key reason he was killed) as conceptualized even then, we also began challenging the high command for answers regarding the bombardments of several unarmed Zapu camps throughout Zambia, from the Freedom Camp (FC) right up to Mukushi Camp (MC) and Solwezi Camp (SC) towards the fall of 1978.Furthermore, unlike Josiah Ndlovu, some of us (including the writer hereof) wanted answers as to how it was possible for the Rhodesian Air Force to drop tons of napalm bombs from the skies of Zambia on the defenseless refugees of Mthwakazi in various camps in Zambia without a single defensive shot ever being fired. The first bombardment occurred towards the fall of October in 1978 at Freedom Camp (FC), about 15 kilometers to the east of Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. Hundreds of the dead were buried through the use of a grader which simply dug a huge, deep and very long trench pit (burial site).The dead could not be touched by human hands; one had to use either a log, stick or any other object to push the dead into the dug pit for fear of being burnt by napalm. The rest were simply pushed into the deep trench by the grader. Some of us experienced this trauma first hand during our early adult lives. From FC, the bombers proceeded to bomb camps to the north and north east of Lusaka in Kabwe, Mukushi and Solwezi, before returning to the south and south east of Lusaka and continue bombing raids against civilian refugee targets, all supporters and recruits of Zapu's Zipra forces. Josia Ndlovu would not know about these brutal experiences as people like him were either pimps or amawasha of certain members of the high command's clothing or simply omantshingelani.It must be noted that, just like the starvation policy employed by the Zanu-pf regime especially during the Gukurahundi period, a number of Zapu camps and their inhabitants also experienced starvation (at times for many days) during the immediate period before they were bombed. The explanation for the lack of food at these camps was always the same, namely that 'Zapu did not have food production firms and therefore that it depended on the handouts from the United Nations', World Food Programme and other international bodies. Our own explanation at the time was that there must have been enemy moles or agents at the highest structures of Zapu and Zipra working side by side with the Rhodesian forces to ensure maximum devastation and casualties.Of course as the bombardments took place some of the unlucky comrades who had been accused of being spies (simply for not towing the high command line) were killed in the internal prisons of those camps which comprised simply of dug out pits. Josiah Ndlovu would not know of all these experiences as he would have been protected as a blue eyed boy of the high command. If indeed he is aware of these Zipra pit prisons scattered in all the camps of Zambia, then he must have been just like the Treblinka guards, a guard of one of them. Clearly, therefore, a large chunk of Zipra's history is yet to be written. Attention of this historiography must of necessity focus on the formidable power wielded by the high command of Zipra, the power which could decide a person's life chances (whether he died or simply disappeared) at any moment.Unfortunately, those who must write this history are rapidly aging and also uneducated. It is important that some initiative is started to motivate and provide real assistance to these remaining survivors of Zipra's war effort to document their experiences to the best of their abilities. I myself am busy with my own autobiography. I am also collaborating with a few of those survivors who are in their 60s and mid-60s in putting together what went behind the closed doors of Zipra in Zambia, and the consequences thereof at the frontline at home in the real military operations.It has to be noted that the blue eyed boys of the high command such as Josia Ndlovu (if at all this character exists) never experienced battle. If he did, he would know my guerre de nom (my war pseudo name) as I was one of only the best commandos within Zipra, who knew then and today that the Zimbabwe project was simply a wrong idea for our people, so was this thing called socialism and communism which by and large was responsible (just as the Zimbabwe idea) for the hundreds of thousands of deaths of the people of Mthwakazi. This is one of the fundamental reasons why we in the MLF must oppose any talk of a war with our oppressors as we would not want ever again to empower certain unruly individuals with the power of life and death.The fact that Zapu was not accorded the opportunity to govern in what is called Zimbabwe today is perhaps both fortunate and unfortunate. It is fortunate because the power that these individuals within Zapu and Zipra wielded would simply have continued unabated with scores of individuals including myself having disappeared. It is unfortunate because maybe it might have triggered some kind of investigations into the disappearance of scores of our comrades in Zambia. We are therefore not surprised that the Mafela Trust did not neither will it ever concern itself with the question of those comrades who disappeared at the hands of certain individuals within Zipra's high command.There is one name in particular that keeps coming up to me, an inspirational figure and a brilliant commando instructor, Godfrey and those who were perceived to be radicals (so-called renegades as I was also labelled at the time) like him in espousing the Mthwakazi question. To this day all I can do is to imagine what exactly happened to him and others. There is no closure. It is perhaps once we have attained Mthwakazi that we must ensure that these cases are thoroughly investigated. These guys disappeared from the face of the earth in one of the camps in Zambia. I myself managed to escape from Zambia into neighbouring Angola where I paid for my convictions with my life at the Casa Recoperesau (House of Recuperation as the Luanda Prison was and is known today), for standing up against the high command of Zipra in the face of hundreds of thousands of the dead who at the very least would be alive today if only this high command knew what it was doing.Fleeing Lusaka, Zambia on foot and having to hitch-hike to Angola (where I was trained) through the Jimbe border post just next to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) for several endless kilometers was not a child's play; it had to do with survival of the highest order. I wonder if Josiah Ndlovu has such a painful experience. For his information, Josiah Ndlovu must find out from Ben Mathe (uDubu as he was known then) the commander of the first group to be trained at the outskirts of Luso (now Luena) in Angola, about the person who deputized him at the same time being the artillery commander of Company 10, then he should know me.Josiah Ndlovu must also understand that (some of us) the first group to be trained in Angola also had to fight off a formidable enemy during this time in the name of Unita rebels. Survival at this training camp was not a child's play either as many of our comrades succumbed to malaria. Food rations were also so little from the Cubans (only as big as fitting in one's palm) and relish at times was simple condensed milk. Their bones are still scattered there, hence it is important that we interrogate the question of our role for the struggle and liberation of Zimbabwe and not of Mthwakazi objectively and not simply saying we must not talk about so and so. It is our lives and experiences that we are talking about - hence never again shall we stand by and witness our people being led astray by anybody who wants to hide under the charismatic personality of Joshua Nkomo. History must be told as it is, there can be no hiding. The bones of our fellow comrades which are scattered all over central Africa (in Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, in Mthwakazi and elsewhere) having died in vain, compel us to continue struggling for the truth (rather than a false idea) in the form of the Restoration Agenda for Mthwakazi.It is no wonder therefore that like yesterday the surviving members of this high command are still hell-bent on leading our people of Mthwakazi to a Zimbabwe project that sadly will never be achieved for the benefit of the people of Mthwakazi. This is all the more important why all of us have to interrogate our destiny without fear, favour or prejudice. We owe our resolve for the Restoration of Mthwakazi to all the departed and living, in charting a new way with the boldest determinism never experienced before. As I now turn to look closely behind the closed doors of Mafela Trust, the assumptive findings should not only shock you, but propel you to never ever again let yourself and your humanity be led astray. You can at least join the MLF and provide more worthwhile and formidable capacity in this restoration journey.From the outset it is important to emphasise that I have not been a member of this Trust. As a matter of fact I do not even know what its mission statement or vision is all about. To me it is simply that mechanism which is at best useless and at worst designed to lead the people of Mthwakazi astray. Everything that this trust is supposed to have been doing and continue doing to this date has never been done. So what is the Mafela Trust all about? What is its mission, purpose, goals or objectives?To these and many other questions, the answers cannot be in the affirmative as virtually nothing is known about this trust. To begin with it is important to note that Zapu and Zipra do not have a single documented record of the cadres who joined both ranks either as recruits for military training or as political members. The only copy that Zapu and Zipra had was confiscated by the Zanu-pf regime in 1982 at eMguza Farm a few kilometers north of Bulawayo, when Zapu was accused of sponsoring so-called 'dissidents'. However, because during the raid by these Zanu-pf operatives, a fire managed to gut down the structure within which this single copy was housed, the explanation has therefore always been that this record got burnt down by the fire at eMguza Farm.But why a single copy? How could Zapu and Zipra have only one copy of the records of its cadres and everybody who joined these two organisations, not only outside what was then Rhodeisia, but also inside? How could the number of hundreds of thousands of people be recorded only in one copy? How could this monumental inefficiency and ineffectiveness take place when Zapu had so-called representatives throughout the world, in the United Nations, Scandinavian Countries just to name a few across the seas and in Zambia, Tanzania, Angola and elsewhere within the continent of Africa? What complacency characterized Zapu and Zipra?What does all this say about the management of the organisations called Zapu and Zipra? Surely if the English colonialists who annexed our country Mthwakazi in 1893 could send telegrams and other information from Mthwakazi to Britain one hundred years earlier (as I discovered when I interrogated the Matebeleland Order In Council of 18 July 1894 recently in London), how could Zapu and Zipra not record not only all the names of those who joined both ranks but also of all the battles fought as well challenges experienced? These and various other questions are indeed critical questions that need to be posed when crafting the largely incomplete history of both organisations.It is in view of all the above that one would at least have expected Mafela Trust to begin by researching and compiling a data base of all those who joined Zapu and Zipra during the war years. But this trust and whoever is running it did not. Such a research would only be methodically viable and reliable if all other approaches were not followed, including the random sampling, but a village to village, house to house research methodology. The question to be asked would simply be who went to the war effort led by Zapu and Zipra between certain years? Of those who left who or how many came back after the war? Just some basic questions would give an appropriate picture not only of the numbers involved, but would attach real names of individuals to those numbers.The second step that the Mafela Trust would have to do if it was a genuine mechanism with the interests of bereaved families who lost their children and loved ones at large, would be to erect a memorial stone in every district (for example one in Plumtree, another in Tsholotsho, and then Gwanda, Beitbridge and so on throughout the hinterlands and towns of Mthwakazi) so that parents and relatives of all those who remain unaccounted for (in other words who did not return from the war) could find closure. Added to the erection of these memorial remembrance stones, the Mafela Trust would need to conduct workshops and various meetings specifically in order to explain to the parents why their children and loved ones perished or died during the war. Thus far, not even Zapu or Zipra went about explaining to the bereaved families what happened to their children. So what is the Mafela Trust all about, if it has not addressed these questions?One of the crucial roles that the Mafela Trust could have been doing since inception would be to bring the remains of our brothers and sisters whose mass graves are well known. There is simply no reason whatsoever why the remains of those buried in mass graves like in the case of those who were butchered by the Rhodesian Air Force at FC and various camps have not been brought to Mthwakazi for reburial. Transportation of these remains could be in the form of trucks and hundreds of our people including business sections would actually contribute towards this cause.Over and above that the Mafela Trust could be in a position of knowing about the remains of those of our colleagues who died in the frontline both within Zambia and in Mthwakazi. There are hundreds of our fellow comrades who died during the many bombardments on the Zambian side just before crossing the Zambezi River in a number of ambushes, all because of the selfish activities of the Frontline Regional Commanders such as Tangwena at the Death and Casualty frontline, about 30 kilometers south of Zambia's city, Choma. Of course Josia Ndlovu would not know about this experience and pain. Some of the dead were then booby trapped by the Rhodesian forces to cause maximum impact in the event that the survivors tried to bury their remains. But then Mafela Trust is simply as trust embedded in a useless mission and vision.There are also many of our comrades who lie buried throughout Mthwakazi who fell not only through battles against the Rhodesian forces but others survived only to die of their injuries a few days later, and still others fell ill and died. The fallen comrades who fought gallantly for the non-existent idea of Zimbabwe with unmeasurable sacrifice were buried by their comrades throughout Mthwakazi and still some of the villagers actually know where some of these gallant fighters lie buried. What this implies therefore, is clearly that the Mafela Trust has not been involved neither will it be in the near future, with the interests of the living and the dead of Mthwakazi.It remains to be seen exactly what this trust has done, but we can emphatically (judging from the unanswered myriad of questions above) state that the opening of the Closed Doors of Mafela Trust have revealed something more akin to nothing. This trust has therefore failed our people both the living and the dead, it is not even worth the name 'Mafela'. As Constantine Cyril, the Philosopher observed during the 9th Century: 'Does not the sun shine equally for the whole world? Do we not all equally breathe the air? Do you not feel shame at authorising only three languages and condemning other people to blindness and deafness? Tell me, do you think that God is helpless and cannot bestow equality, or that he is envious and will not give it?'It is therefore imperative that we interrogate these mechanisms that are fueled more by envy than reality consistent with the air that we breathe equally instead of being condemned by such organisations as the Mafela Trust to blindness and deafness. Mthwakazi must rise. In concluding this brief highlight on Mafela Trust, it is important also to bring to your attention the Freedom Charter that is envisaged for the people of Mthwakazi. You are therefore reminded that as you interrogate the above discourse and the Freedom Charter below, we await your comments and contributions. There will be an article that will sum up all your comments and contributions regarding the different subjects that we have addressed in the near future.Our free Homeland of Mthwakazi shall be the hospitable home of an inter-cultural society based on the self-determination of all the nationals of the community, expressing the popular will of all the sections of the community and endowed with the safeguard for the minority groups.Our free Mthwakazi shall be committed to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief: And, THAT,There shall be political democracy which guarantees the government of the people, by the people and for the people themselves;There shall be the rule of law which shall bind all the offices and institutions of the land and ensure that all the people are equal before the law;The respect for the human dignity and the tolerance for diverse points of views which do not infringe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights shall be enforced in our free homeland;There shall be a policy of public relations on the basis of the truth, justice and morality regarding our attitude towards each other and the rest of mankind;The national wealth of Mthwakazi shall be managed with transparency to ensure a fair distribution, exchange, consumption and exploitation of the country's resources;The cultural identities of all the ethnic nationalities of Mthwakazi shall be promoted and protected by the state and all the languages which are used as mother tongues by the compact local communities shall be graded as official languages which shall be taught in all the relevant educational institutions up to the highest level of learning, their use in daily life by both the community shall be encouraged and their use by the mass media of the land shall be promoted.All the central government, federal, local authorities and the business institutions shall operate ethically, according to approved standards in order to satisfy all the consumer expectations;The occupation opportunities shall be allocated according to merit and the government shall be obliged to widen career development and create sufficient opportunities for the whole community;All the elected representatives of Mthwakazi shall be delegated with the mandate of their constituencies to which they shall be accountable, and shall be constitutionally liable to be recalled with a vote of no confidence if need arises; AND THAT,A free Homeland of Mthwakazi shall respect the international law and its relations with other nations shall be based on the principles of non-alignment and non-interference on other state's affairs.The Mthwakazi freedom charter is thus a befitting metaphor for all the struggles of the various stateless nations, nationalities and peoples of the world who make daily sacrifices in pursuit of the right to self-determination. To this end, the Mthwakazi people shall subscribe to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention against Torture, the principles of the Rome Statute, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, all of which will guide our ethical conduct as a people. Finally, in echoing Ledum Mitee, it is safe to say that God has indeed through the Restoration Agenda for Mthwakazi provided the people of Mthwakazi 'an opportunity for them to break the yoke of suppression and oppression'. Continue Reading Below Advertisement A single Reaper drone costs about $13 million and wasn't named ironically: when it strikes, it often circles back, and bombs the same area twice to ensure everything there is killed to death. U.S. Air Force Which should raise a few questions about the whole "laser precision" thing. "One night, my partner woke me up at 2 in the morning for a call," Muhammad told us. "At first, I thought it was another terrorist attack. Once we got to the site though, there was an interesting crowd forming. Usually, people are running way from the bomb. Whatever struck Miranshah today was not a bomb. It was a drone strike ... We are actually taught not to go to the aid of people in a drone strike, because there is usually a second drone strike 5 to 10 minutes later to make sure the job is done. From the stories I've heard the second drone strike can sometimes be even hundreds of meters away from the first." Continue Reading Below Advertisement Fortunately, that night, the second strike never came -- but only because they were sure the first one already took out the intended target. "From the looks of it," Muhammad says, "the drone was targeting an elder tribal gathering in an already rundown building. If that was the case, then the strike was pretty accurate. It didn't leave huge craters at all but the building and everyone in it were gone." Channel programs News Cognizant Makes Second Deal After Activist Investor Criticism, To Buy 100-Person Insurance Consultancy Michael Novinson Share this Cognizant plans to make its second acquisition since an activist investor called for a shake-up, agreeing to buy a 100-person Australian consultancy specializing in the insurance vertical. Teaneck, N.J.-based Cognizant, No. 7 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500, said its purchase of Sydney, Australia-based Adaptra will strengthen its insurance, business transformation and platform capabilities. Adaptra implements platforms such as Guidewire to help insurance companies drive improvements across areas such as underwriting, policy administration, claims management and billing. "Increasingly, insurers around the world are looking to simplify critical processes relating to policies, claims and billing," Jayajyoti Sengupta, Cognizant's head of Asia-Pacific, said in a statement. "Adaptra's high-end business transformation and Guidewire expertise will further enhance our integrated solutions spanning the insurance life cycle." [RELATED: Cognizant Makes Digital Agency Acquisition In Wake Of Elliott Management Activist Offensive] Adaptra works with five of the top 10 insurers in Australia and New Zealand, providing them with platform advisory and implementation services and helping them define their target business and operating models. Terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed, and Cognizant did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. Activist technology investment fund Elliott Management said in November that Cognizant has been slow to use cash to strengthen its digital footprint. Elliott Management said rival Accenture, No. 2 on the 2016 CRN SP 500, has put itself at the forefront of cloud and digital services by making 45 tuck-in acquisitions since 2014. But Cognizant has not yet met that acquisition pace, making just eight acquisitions between 2014 and late November, when Elliott Management Senior Portfolio Manager Jesse Cohn wrote a letter to Cognizant's board of directors. Elliott Management is pressing for Cognizant to use 25 percent of its annual U.S. free cash flow as well as $1 billion in foreign cash to make acquisitions, which Elliott Management said would fund a steady pace of 14 attractive tuck-in acquisitions. Adaptra is the second acquisition made by Cognizant since Elliott Management raised its objections, and comes just 17 days after Cognizant purchased Netherlands-based digital marketing agency Mirabeau BV. Adaptra specializes in helping insurers increase their speed to market, transform core processing, drive product differentiation and digitally engage with customers, according to a company statement. Adaptra said Cognizant's global experience, deep digital capabilities and entrepreneurial culture will enable the IT services provider to deliver broader transformational solutions to insurers. "Becoming a part of Cognizant uniquely positions us for new growth opportunities across newer technologies and industries," Peter Overton, managing director of Adaptra, said in a statement. "With our shared commitment to helping insurers navigate the shift to the digital economy, we can drive further diversification and deliver high-value solutions." Prior to the deal, Cognizant had offices in Melbourne and Sydney and employed more than 850 people in Australia. The company recently unveiled plans to establish a Digital Business Collaboratory in Melbourne, where Cognizant employees, customers and partners can work together to design, prototype and build digital solutions. Adaptra partnered with Cognizant rival Capgemini, No. 5 on the 2016 CRN SP 500, in November 2014 to drive innovation in the insurance industry through a preconfigured Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering tailored to policy administration, billing services, claims management and business intelligence environments. Adaptra was founded in 1998, and is the sister company of Nova IT, an IT recruitment and resource provider specializing in the financial services and government sectors. Elliott Management's letter to Cognizant also called for the $13.5 billion solution provider to shake up its board of directors and buy back $2.5 billion of shares as part of what it called a value enhancement plan aimed at driving shares up by 50 percent to 69 percent over the next year. Specifically, Elliott Management said Cognizant's lack of operating leverage is impairing its ability to make sound investments in mergers and acquisitions. Cognizant's sales in the most recent quarter climbed to $3.45 billion, up 8.4 percent from $3.19 billion the year prior. Net income also improved to $444.4 million, or 73 cents per share, up 11.9 percent from $397.2 million last year. Channel programs News HPE Partners: Channel Stalwart Richardson's New Channel Chief Role Is A Game-Changer Steven Burke Share this Hewlett Packard Enterprise partners say the appointment of longtime channel stalwart Terry Richardson to oversee all of the value-added reseller partners across the country is a game-changer that is sure to help partners drive sales gains in the new year. The appointment gives Richardson, a highly respected channel chief veteran who was previously overseeing East Region partners, a prominent channel chief role as the vice president of U.S. channel sales for the enterprise business as the company moves to double down on partners with a new sales structure aimed at accelerating channel growth. The move is a return to a prominent national channel role for Richardson, who headed up the Hewlett Packard enterprise channel in 2014. "Terry is one of the best channel executives in the industry," said Fred Traversi, president of Alpharetta, Ga.-based AdvizeX Technologies, one of HPE's top 10 enterprise partners and a unit within services giant Rolta, a $500 million IT services powerhouse. "He has channel experience, direct sales experience and he's one of the best businesspeople in the business. He is able to drive companies like AdvizeX to perform on behalf of HPE and at the same time drive the HPE plan. He is extremely well respected, trusted and, most importantly, he does what he says he is going to do." [Related: CRN Exclusive: HPE CEO Whitman On Cisco's 'Weakness,' the Arista Partner Opportunity, Server Sales Issues, And The Starboard Value Investment In HPE] Richardson, a 30-year channel veteran, has held sales management and prominent channel roles with a number of enterprise computer powers including EMC. In fact, Richardson was one of the driving forces behind EMC's transformation from a direct sales channel antagonist to a respected channel power before it was acquired by Dell. Traversi said he expects Richardson's appointment and a new national sales structure that puts partners front and center in HPE's go-to-market plan to pave the way to more robust sales growth for HPE partners."These changes are going to provide exactly what [President and CEO] Meg [Whitman] wants, which is moving the channel to become an increasing part of the go-to-market strategy for HPE," he said. Traversi said that under the regional line-of-business structure the channel's ability to execute was weakened by inconsistent execution in the field. Now Richardson will be working with HPE Vice President, U.S. Enterprise Accounts Dan Belanger to drive channel enterprise sales growth. Richardson's leadership and the new structure puts in place a model in which "the behavior, consistency and performance of channel players that are committed to HPE manifests itself in our improved business performance," said Traversi."Terry has always been able to get the organization to deliver the plan predictably and in a trusting way so that HPE and partners can be successful." Traversi said Richardson's prior experience as a channel chief provided the company with critical channel stability and "relevance" when it was in the midst of major leadership changes. "We are delighted to have Terry back in the role," he said. "We are doubling down on some of our HPE investments because of this. With Terry's appointment I have a lot more confidence in the ability to execute on the HPE vision." The change comes with AdvizeX and other partners accelerating their cloud consulting advisory business which will be critical in driving HPE next-generation enterprise infrastructure sales. "With Terry in that job, a lot more of our solutions will be based on HPE technologies," Traversi said. "We trust him to deliver on the HPE commitments." Traversi said he expects Richardson to combine with Americas Channel Vice President Scott Dunsire, who oversees HPE's entire channel effort, in what he called a "one-two punch" for the channel. "Scott is a channel pro, and Terry knows the enterprise value business extremely well. Together they'll make sure that what Meg calls the increasing role of the channel is true, which will manifest itself in HPE growing top line and gaining market share." John Kolimago, chief sales officer for Anexinet , Blue Bell, Pa., No. 200 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500, said what separates Richardson from most channel leaders is his all-out commitment to partners. "It's not just a job for Terry," Kolimago said. "He believes in the channel. That's very rare. Most channel organizations take their marching orders from the sales organization and when there are challenges in the field they stand down. Terry rolls up his sleeves and does the right thing whether it is a big partner or a little partner." Richardson is always proactively looking at innovative ways to work with the channel to get deals done in the field, said Kolimago. "I was excited to see Terry take this role," he said. "As we try to grow our business, it is good to have someone in that leadership role that understands what we do." Kolimago expects a sharper focus on business planning to drive sales growth under Richardson's channel leadership. "I know Terry reads every single one of the business plans from partners," he said. "He is always looking to find ways to help us grow our business looking at new areas of investment and things that HPE could be doing better." Kolimago expects more innovative sales programs like HPE's Flexible Capacity program that allows partners to drive on-premise solutions with cloud computing consumption-based pricing. "That program has been a real differentiator for HPE partners," said Kolimago. Kolimago also sees Richardson teaming closely with Dunsire, who has assembled an all-star channel team as part of a plan to drive a stepped-up SMB channel charge. "That SMB focus makes sense -- that's channel-led business," Kolimago said. "Putting that business under Scott shows that HPE is committed to helping partners win in the SMB space. I see Scott and Terry working together to champion the channel to drive more of the business through Anexinet and other partners." Mark Marron, president and CEO of ePlus, the $1 billion Herndon, Va., national solution provider powerhouse, No. 34 on the 2016 CRN SP 500, said Richardson is "one of the good guys" that gets the channel inside and out and is committed to driving a "win-win" scenario that benefits both HPE and partners. "Terry understands HPE's strategy and where they are going, but just as important he understands what is important to the channel and the partners," said Marron. "As compared to some others, he does a really good job of matching where HPE is going to the strengths of partners. He has done a really nice job for ePlus of looking at our business, where we are going and how we can work together to drive mutual business and make it profitable for both of us. He is also smart enough to understand that you don't get there without execution. He is good at sitting down and building out some of the go-to-market plans between the two organizations to ensure we are going to get the success we are looking for." Storage News Violin Memory: From Flash Storage Pioneer To Chapter 11 Joseph F. Kovar Share this Violin Memory, a pioneer in the flash storage industry which was never able to capitalize on its early market lead, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and unveiled plans to hold an auction for its assets. The move to file for Chapter 11 comes a year after Santa Clara, Calif.-based Violin Memory first said it is exploring strategic alternatives. Violin Memory on Wednesday said that, in additional to the Chapter 11 filing, the company plans to hold an auction early next month to sell its assets, which include 58 U.S. and 64 foreign patents and multiple pending patents. It also has a recurring revenue business at $20 million per year. [Related: Violin Memory Reports Disappointing Quarter, Is Exploring 'Strategic Alternatives'] Violin Memory was founded in 2005, and developed its own flash storage modules instead of using standard SSDs to coax better performance from its solutions. For a time, the company was known for the performance of its all-flash storage solutions. By 2011, it had already introduced all-flash arrays targeted at tier-one, mission-critical applications. However, over the years, intensifying competition, at first from a large number of startups using standard SSDs to develop high-performance all-flash storage arrays at a lower cost, and later from established storage vendors who were able to easily slot all-flash storage into their existing storage ecosystems, took its toll on the company. The company in early 2014 made the decision to exit the PCIe flash memory card business and focus on the arrays. It sold that business in June of 2014 to South Korea-based semiconductor company SK Hynix. Violin Memory in December unveiled a new entry-level all-flash array and a new high-density flash storage array into its Flash Storage Platform (FSP) family, in effect transforming from its focus on high-end, Tier 0 flash storage solutions to more of a primary storage play. Jeff Nollete, vice president of channel sales at Violin Memory, told CRN at the time that the company had cornered itself in regarding its total addressable market. "It was a one-trick pony in focusing on the high end of the market. So now we've expanded to primary storage. We are a high-end data storage solution provider rather than a provider of database acceleration solutions," Nollete told CRN then. Violin Memory in September of 2013 held its IPO, selling about 18 million shares at $9 each, giving it a total IPO of $162 million. However, share prices closed that day at $7.02, and have continued to fall since. Shares on Thursday for the company, which are available via over-the-counter markets, fell 68 percent to just over 5 cents per share. One never likes to see a company like Violin Memory, with good technology and people, fail, said John Woodall, vice president of engineering at Integrated Archive Systems, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based solution provider and Violin channel partner. "But they've clearly struggled," Woodall told CRN. "I've watched their earnings. They never really turned the corner. Clearly, they had to exit. Hopefully, their actions will allow their intellectual property and customer business to continue." Woodall called Violin Memory a pioneer of the flash storage business and helped to define the industry, but its idea of a flash module vs. standard SSDs never really caught on. "Violin Memory had an early customer and performance advantage," he said. "But the market changed much since the company started. Flash storage is a disruptive technology, but it's still storage. The advantage has moved to more established vendors, those that have the ability to integrate with technologies from other vendors and that have broad software and services capabilities." The flash storage business is not a forgiving one, Woodall said. "It seems to favor established vendors over startups," he said. "Customers are not all focused on speeds and feeds. Instead, they look at, do you have a Docker plugin? Do you scale? Things are changing faster that the startups anticipated." Violin Memory executives were not available to talk to CRN by press time. However, Kevin A. DeNuccio, Violin Memory's president and CEO, said in a prepared statement, "We are taking this action, which should conclude by the end of January 2017, to bolster Violin's ability to serve the needs of its customers. Violin intends to continue to sell solutions to customers and prospects as well as service and support customers during this restructuring." Forty-eight-year-old father of three Rev. Yamane Abraha received an ultimatum in Khartoum following a trip to Ethiopia in the autumn of 2015. [Sudanese government] security threatened me, saying I would have to appear in court either as a witness, or an accused, the Evangelical Baptist Church of Khartoum pastor told World Watch Monitor. But my father was sick, so unlike others I couldnt escape. Abraha was one of several Sudanese Christians gathered abroad to pray for their nation. Among them were Rev. Hassan Taour and Rev. Kuwa Shamal, Sudan Church of Christ pastors from the Nuba Mountains region. Also attending was Czech Christian aid worker Petr Ja?ek. According to Christian advocacy group Middle East Concern, these three had helped facilitate financial assistance to pay for the medical treatment of a Darfurian university student who had suffered burn wounds when government security officials attacked a campus demonstration in Omdurman, north of the capital, Khartoum. Sudanese at the meeting suspected there were spies around their Addis Ababa hotel. Then shortly after their return to Khartoum, the police arrested Taour, Shamal and Ja?ek, in December 2015. They have now been in detention for a year. Detained along with them is Abdulmonem Abdumawla, also from Darfur, who helped facilitate the medical treatment for the student. The four are charged with waging war against the Sudanese state, espionage, conspiracy to carry out criminal acts, and undermining the authority of the state through violence. Trial proceedings finally begun in August have been postponed repeatedly in recent months. They could face the death penalty. Delayed escape Abraha was not arrested until three months after his colleagues, on 13 March, and then held for only one day. Security officials ordered him to report back daily, and on 24 March told him he would have to appear in court in the role of his choice: testify against the others, or be charged along with them. On 26 March his father died. Abraha gathered his family and travelled eight hours east by bus to bury him in their hometown of Kassala, on the border with Eritrea. And there he dropped off the radar, ditched his mobile phone, and waited. Two weeks later, he returned to Khartoum and set his plan in motion. Nervously, he checked his surroundings before going to buy a ticket to Egypt. With his wife, he exchanged notes on paper serviettes, which they soaked and discarded once read. Discreetly, they packed their childrens belongings, lest they tip off authorities at school. Abraha then checked with a friendly security officer that his name was not on a watch list. And on 20 April, he told his children they would have a family picnic near the airport. Relatives and kids were surprised to learn they were saying goodbye. In Egypt, Abraha is now involved in training for discipleship and church planting, and supervises 15 house churches among Sudanese refugees. Over 31,000 Sudanese in Egypt are registered with the UN High Commission for Refugees, according to its August 2016 report. Unofficial estimates suggest there are well over one million. Most have fled the ongoing violence in Darfur and the southern regions of Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains, bordering South Sudan. Recurring pattern But Abrahas story is not unique. Barnaba Timothous, who fled to Egypt three years earlier, had also been pressed to testify against Christian colleagues. Doing student campus ministry, he was accused of taking foreign money. I was told that if I would cooperate, nothing would happen to me, he told World Watch Monitor. But if not, nothing would protect me from them. Some people criticised him for his decision to leave. He did so quickly, taking one bag and telling no-one in his family. And though he stated he was not personally involved in ministry among Muslims, he refused to betray those he knew. I will not be involved in issues that hurt the body of Christ and bring suffering to innocent people, just because they follow Christ as saviour, he said. The Islamic government of Sudan is persecuting the leaders of churches and ministries. And now our students no longer trust each other, fearful someone might report them. Timothous, who has since been joined by his mother and sister, is now working amongst students at several university campuses in Egypt. World Watch Monitor has spoken with other Christian leaders who tell similar stories. Excuse for crackdown The [Sudan] government wants Sharia and is cracking down on the Church, said Kamal Fahmi, head of the religious freedom advocacy group Set My People Free. He recalled President Omar al-Bashirs threat, on the eve of South Sudan independence in 2011, to make Sudan a fully Islamic state, the removal of foreign NGOs thereafter, and the expulsion of South Sudanese in 2013. Authorities felt Pastors Hassan and Kuwa were shaming them, bringing a bad report, Fahmi told World Watch Monitor. In the rebel areas, the Church is doing humanitarian work and is not involved in the conflict, but it does expose the atrocities the Sudanese government is committing. It will find any excuse to accuse them. Pastors have been arrested, churches have been destroyed, and land has been confiscated, according to the US State Departments 2015 Report on International Religious Freedom. And on 6 Oct. the European Parliament passed a resolution against Sudan, specifically naming the four detainees. Noting the EU partnership with Sudan towards better migration management, the resolution reaffirms that freedom of religion, conscience or belief is a universal human right that needs to be protected everywhere and for everyone especially in the case of apostasy. But in January 2015, Sudan expanded its apostasy laws to include criticism of Muhammads wives or early companions. Fahmi, who recently penned an open letter to the UN with the Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe, links an oppressive religious climate to development issues, which, he says, assaults the core of human nature. Apostasy laws have negative social and political consequences everywhere they are in force, he wrote. They create instability and inspire violence. Without freedom to change beliefs, there is no religious freedom, he told World Watch Monitor. Going to paradise is not compulsory. Courtesy: World Watch Monitor Publication date: December 16, 2016 Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More than half of the primary schools in the Croydon have failed to hit government targets for their SATs results, despite the borough being on the rise in national rankings. Croydon has shot up the league table with the announcement of this year's results, moving up 54 places from the 118th best local authority area in the country last year to 64th. But while some primaries have excelled in the Year 6 assessments - tests sat by 10 and 11-year-olds in the summer - others are lagging behind. There is a wide gap in attainment between the lowest and highest performing schools in Croydon. Schools are ranked by how many pupils achieve the national standard in reading, writing and maths. The government expects at least 65% of pupils in each school to hit these targets. Of 71 primaries in Croydon with recorded SATs results, 45 have failed to meet this standard 63% of primaries in the borough. At Castle Hill Academy, in New Addington, less than one fifth of pupils met the attainment threshold. The academy sits at the foot of the Croydon rankings with the lowest results in the borough, a position it also held last year. A spokesperson for REAch2, who run the school, said: "The last year has undoubtedly been challenging, but with a very strong leadership team now in place, Castle Hill has turned a corner and 2017 promises much more positive results." Ecclesbourne Primary School, in Thornton Heath, also failed to get more than 20% of its students to meet government expectations. The five lowest ranking schools in Croydon for SATs results are: Castle Hill Academy - 17% Ecclesbourne Primary School - 20% St Mark's Church of England Primary Academy - 32% Gilbert Scott Primary - 33% Forest Academy - 36% Despite the poor results of many schools, the position of Croydon overall has improved when compared to the rest of the UK's primaries. Topping the local table, Oasis Academy Byron, in Coulsdon, has performed exceptionally, with 88% of pupils reaching their academic goals well above the national average. Staff at the school were delighted with the achievements, but still want to strive for more. Oasis Academy Byron principal Clare Wingrave said: "While I am, of course, very proud of what our pupils and their teachers achieved this year, it is nothing less than what their hard work and commitment deserves. "We are uncompromising in raising our pupils' expectations, making it clear that there is no limit to their ambition or what they can achieve. We will go forward from these results with confidence, eager to build on what we have achieved so far." (Image: Oasis Academy Byron) The school achieved the highest average score for reading and maths in Croydon, and was joint first in writing with St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy, in Thornton Heath. St Cyprian's came second overall in the borough, with 84% of its pupils hitting the national target. The top five Croydon schools for SATs results are: Oasis Academy Byron 88% St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy 84% Coulsdon CofE Primary 83% Beaumont Primary School 81% St Joseph's RC Junior School 79% Changes to the method for measuring student attainment have resulted in more schools recording results close to the national average, with less variation. The changes also mean rankings and achievements this year are not directly comparable to previous SATs results. Croydon's SATs results in full: The results list the percentage of pupils achieving minimum expected standards in reading, writing and maths. The government expects 65% of pupils from each school to hit these targets. The Costa Atlantica, currently sailing China's first 46-day cruise to the South Pacific, has become the first large cruise to visit Vanuatu from China as it berthed in Port Villa earlier in the week with over 2,000 Chinese guests onboard. The ship and passengers were greeted by Salwai Charlot, Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Joe Natuman, Deputy Prime Minister, Liu Quan, Chinese Ambassador to Vanuatu, Parliament representatives, other Vanuatu government officials, the local media, as well as representatives of the local Chinese community. The VIP Delegation of Vanuatu was later welcomed by Captain Nicolo Alba. Prime Minister Charlot and Captain Alba exchanged plaques during the commemorative meeting. According to a statement from Costa, in line with Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative, this 46-day cruise launched by Costa Asia in partner with Caissa Touristic is expected to promote cooperation between the countries along the road in travel, business, culture, education and transportation. The arrival of China's first South Pacific cruise was special cause for celebration in Vanuatu, welcomed by tropical music and local dance performances to entertain Chinese guests with local traditions. Then Costa Atlantica docked at Port Villa for 10 hours, allowing its guests to explore the culture and nature in the island nation. Fincantieri has been short-listed by the Australian Government to bid to design and build nine new frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and has established its local company, Fincantieri Australia, and will open a new Australian headquarters in Canberra soon, according to a statement. Dario Deste has been designated Chairman of Fincantieri Australia and he will be supported by former Rear Admiral, Mark Purcell. Deste said Fincantieri Australia will now manage the important phase of the shipbuilders participation in the competitive evaluation process for the SEA 5000 Future Frigates program. Fincantieris commitment to this project will be total and we will deploy all of the companys strengths as a market leader. The FREMM Frigate we are offering is an absolute cutting-edge product. The company will engage with Government, businesses involved in the Australian shipbuilding industry and the supply chain, and other key players with a stake in the construction of the frigates in Adelaide, South Australia. Fincantieri Australia will be resourced with senior technical and other personnel recruited locally in Australia and drawn from Fincantieris global network of naval ship building executives," he said. We are very happy with the team assembled so far and all of the people who will take part in with the team assembled so far and all of the people who will take part in bidding for this significant naval project will have an important role. I make particular mention of former Rear Admiral Mark Purcell, who has joined the team and whose experience will certainly be a very significant point of strength for Fincantieri, Deste added. The Cruise Association of Newfoundland and Labrador said that the 2016 cruise season totaled 66 port calls to 22 member ports by 16 cruise lines and 22 ships, adding up to 33,933 passengers and 16,515 crew. The province has positioned itself well within the cruise industry as a premier destination that offers world class, bucket list experiences, said Dennis OKeefe, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Cruise Association and Mayor of St. Johns. Newfoundland and Labrador is becoming a must see destination in the Canada New England region, for cruise lines around the world, and expedition lines in particular. In Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon there were nine port calls by five different cruise operators with seven ships. The six-month Newfoundland and Labrador cruise season kicked off on in St. Johns with a visit by Fred Olsens the Balmoral on May 13, and it ended on the West Coast in Corner Brook when Oceanias the Regatta visited on October 18. Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador is looking forward to a record breaking cruise season in 2017, according to a prepared statement, almost doubling expected passenger and crew numbers. Current plans see the province welcoming 30 ships making 120 port calls, with an expected 99,266 passenger and crew. Of these 120 port calls, we will welcome 10 new ships and/or cruise lines. Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon are expected to welcome 20 port calls, a big jump from their nine calls in 2016. Since early 19th century West Africa, the word Zombie has struck fear into the hearts of people. With the evolution of technology, and the rise of hit shows like The Walking Dead, zombies are more popular than ever, but the most terrifying thing about the world of The Walking Dead isnt "Walkers", its other people: Walkers, as they are referred to on the show, are predictable; theyre hungry, and they want to eat your brains. Humans on the other hand, often can and will be unpredictable, and thats exactly what makes them dangerous. Here are some tips to learn from the popular show. Predictability is just as dangerous as unpredictability Perceived cyber threat expectations among companies and corporations, from mom and pop shops to mega conglomerates shouldn't base cybersecurity protocols on trends, let alone implement new cybersecurity techniques, technologies and procedures without a full understanding of them. The vetting of various new implementations on any network comes down to knowledge of its most critical weaknesses, and even the most well run networks and business are only as strong as the weakest link. [ MORE: 7 security lessons learned from Game of Thrones ] "Walkers" in the world of The Walking Dead are a serious threat, but it's the living, whose primary motivations are to "survive at all cost" that pose the greatest threat to others. From departmental staff changes and the changing of passwords, to the full overhaul of security protocols and procedures; staying ahead of the various threats to network security in today's world requires the certainty of uncertainty, and a better understanding of antivirus software, hardware and storage than possible attackers is imperative. New people should be vetted On The Walking Dead, before allowing anyone access to the group's hard earned resources, the protagonist asks newcomers three simple questions, "How many walkers have you killed?" "How many people have you killed?" "Why?" The first question aside, thorough background checks, psychological evaluations and surveys of and about new employees can give companies a leg up in the long term. It seems obvious, but many companies give relatively new employees access to highly sensitive information. Access to networked passwords by people with little knowledge of cybersecurity may lead to phishing threats from outside the company, worse yet is access to networked passwords, procedural protocols and other sensitive information by disgruntled employees who have knowledge of coding, may dabble in, or otherwise be experienced hackers. Bad management often leads to issues from lower-level employees, and anonymous surveys by lower-level employees may lead to restructuring, or even firing of managers who shouldn't be holding their positions to begin with. Periodic and random psychological evaluations can be needed of employees within various sectors. Though the use of screening employees through psychological evaluations must fall within the legal precedence set by the Supreme Courts decision in the 2005 case of Karraker v. Rent-A-Center Inc. which found that the employers use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) as part of its testing process for managers violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Checks and balances at every level of employment should be put in place to prevent any and all threats rising up the chain: from new hires to high-level executives. Security protocols and procedures may help curb these issues, but they should begin at the beginning. Walls help, but not enough From the CDC in Atlanta, the West Georgia Correctional Facility, the hospital in Atlanta, from Woodbury to Alexandria, and even the Saviors camp, one or two, or even a dozen walkers may become a piece of cake for the grizzled veterans of The Walking Dead, but a thousand walkers herded together can and most often will breach the walls of any safe zone, no matter how secure it may seem. On Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, a coordinated DDoS attack shut down DNS servers through Dyn Corporation, located in Manchester, NH. Dyn wont speculate as to the identity of the attackers, but recent reports and further analysis suggest that a Mirai botnet attack perpetrated by a group of amateurs calling themselves The New World Hackers was at least partially responsible for the attack. These attacks used compromised consumer devices such as routers, IP cameras and DVRs to target Dyn's network servers. As previously stated: the overall security of any business is only as strong as its weakest link. Much like The Walking Dead, sturdy walls may prevent small groups from threatening the safety of any community, just as a good series of firewalls may prevent one, two, or even 10 drive-by-downloads containing packets ready to unleash malware in the hundreds of thousands to the millions. Just as one walker can breach a wall and cause an outbreak of walkers in seconds, Zombie Botnets may unleash a horde of DDoS attacks through something as simple as one to a few well placed phishing emails. Even major DNS service providers such as Dyn have proven unable to prevent these packets from breaching their firewalls and running rampant through their networks. Securing the most trivial of systems within a network is paramount when something as simple as a malicious email may contain links to a horde of Zombie Botnets waiting to wreak havoc throughout a network and DDoS it to its knees. Clear Security begins and ends with situational awareness: an awareness of the immediate as well as long-term perceived threats must be handled with an absolute certainty of the uncertain. In the post apocalyptic world of The Walking Dead, from stringed together tin cans, sharpened spikes and barbed-wire, to tripwire triggered explosive devices, booby-traps are often the first, as well as the last line of defense against invaders, whether alive or undead. The characters on The Walking Dead often gather intelligence of future threats through both scouting and catching people attempting to scout or invade their territory. On more than one occasion, the characters have hidden in plain site by either disguising themselves as their living enemies, or by covering themselves in the blood and guts of walkers to mask their smell against the immediate threat of being eaten alive. In both The Walking Dead and in the real world, deception is a valuable tool against threats. Honeypots have become an incredibly useful resource against cyber-threats. Hackers often bypass network defenses by using encryption or IPv6 tunneling. Honeypots wont gather the data of every perceived threat, because they only report the connections they receive, and almost all of these will be from real attacks. While honeypots rely on well thought out deceptions and stories to lure bad actors into traps, which in turn, covertly gather data from the source of any intrusion, they do so by using IPv6 or SSH, which are able to capture every action by bad actors, including toolkits, keystrokes and communications. Honeypots contain no valuable data, nor applications a company would deem as critical. But they hold enough data which at first or second glance would be perceived as interesting, that hackers are lured in long enough to occupy themselves with a web of lies, as data is gathered by the honeypot. It can be used to analyze the methods, tools and techniques, as well as their skill level. So whether your company is brand new, and as fresh to threats as Dr. Eugene Porter, protecting your company's data can seem as complex as traversing a maze of walkers, Or, if your company is well established, and as seasoned to threats as Morgan Jones and Rick Grimes, guarding your companys data against attacks can seem as simple as carrying a big stick, as weve learned from The Walking Dead: the devil is in the details. Evernote CEO Chris O'Neill has had a long couple of days. The company he runs recently ignited a firestorm among its users when it announced a privacy policy change that would have required users to open up all their notes for analysis in order to take advantage of forthcoming machine learning features. "We let our users down," he said in an interview. "We really tactically communicated in about as poor a way as we could." Evernote is going back to the drawing board and reversing course on the proposed policy. Users won't have their data shared with employees to help with machine learning unless they explicitly opt in. "If any human is going to be involved, its going to be on an opt-in basis, period," O'Neill said. Furthermore, he said that he wanted to be clear that the company isn't in the business of reading users' notes. He joined Evernote as a heavy user of its service, and he keeps private information in his own account. [ MORE: Evernote backs off from privacy policy changes, says it 'messed up' ] "Evernote never has and won't read peoples notes without their permission," he said. I want to be really clear on that. We've not done that. We dont plan to do that, period. Trust matters This reversal is an important move for Evernote because it's competing in a tough market against Microsoft, Google, Apple, and a host of other companies to be the service for people to store their notes. When it comes to storing deeply personal data, trust matters. "We're not a social media outlet that's reading your stuff to then schlep ads in front of you," O'Neill said. "The only thing that matters is trust and the quality of our product. You have to trust us, and you have to find value in our product. And if you dont, guess what? You dont pay us." Going forward, Evernote is still going to be working on features based on machine learning, though it's shelving the privacy policy change that kicked off this wave of concern. CTO Anirban Kundu said the company is working on two broad types of functionality. The first type is a capability can be trained using public data sets and information provided to the company but don't require data from all of Evernote's users. An example he gave was a way to extract tasks from meeting notes. "Theres a defined manner in which you can extract tasks out of a particular meeting note," Kundu said. "We dont need to look at your notes to figure out what the task is." In order to train that type of machine learning system, Evernote may ask its users to submit notes they're comfortable sharing with the company as part of a beta program. In addition, users will be able to choose to submit their notes for review if a system didnt identify them correctly. There are other machine learning systems that will need to be trained on each user's behavior for them to work correctly, Kundu said. The way users search is one such example: Every person uses different methods to search, and it will be necessary to train the system on the way a particular user works in order to be useful. Note data submitted for those purposes would have the identity of the user removed, and the data scientists analyzing it would see aggregated data, not a specific whole note from a user. "That was always the intention," Kundu said. "We respect what you put into Evernote too much to think of it in any way besides that." If that was the intention all along, why did Evernote change its privacy policy? Policy details "Our primary goal with the communication was to be as blatantly transparent as we possibly could, and in the spirit of not trying to get to nuance on it, we just went for the blunt instrument," said Andrew Malcom, Evernote's senior vice president of marketing. Bluntness and a lack of detail -- coupled with the fact that Evernote hasn't yet completely figured out exactly what it plans to do -- helped lead to the perfect storm of confusion and dismay when the new privacy policy was announced Wednesday. It also didn't help when the company asserted in its privacy policy update that opting out of the machine learning features wouldn't block employees from viewing user notes for other reasons. Those other reasons don't include allowing Evernote employees to just look at users notes whenever they want, though. Instead, the company's privacy policy allows employees to view notes for the sake of offering technical support at the request of a user, responding to law enforcement requests, and investigating suspected violations of its terms of service. Users can't opt out of those scenarios. Those provisions -- especially responding to law enforcement requests -- are common among other online service providers like Evernote. Apple, Microsoft, and Google, which all offer competing services, also provide data from users' accounts in response to police requests they deem appropriate. Public discussion In some ways, Evernote's willingness to discuss these issues publicly is a differentiator from its competition. "The nuanced, every-single-word-is-massaged privacy policies that are overly vague, that intentionally introduce gray areas, that are commonplace among tech companies -- that's not our style," O'Neill said. When asked about how OneNote handles user privacy for machine learning, a Microsoft spokesperson refused to provide explicit details. The company's privacy policy says that Microsoft collects data about users' usage of OneDrive, which is used for cloud syncing of OneNote files, as well as the content they store inside of it. A Google spokesperson didn't offer details beyond the companys privacy policy, either, which says that the company uses information that it collects to -- among other things -- improve and develop new services. Apple didnt respond to a request for comment, but its privacy policy says the company may also use personal information for internal purposes including "auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Apple's products, services, and customer communications." Evernote's reversal on its privacy policy means the company will have more to say about the specifics of its machine learning plans and user privacy in the future. At this point, the company is still working out what's going to happen, including what this change means for Evernote Business customers. The company's privacy policy won't be amended yet. We can't seem to find the page you are looking for. You may have typed the address incorrectly or you may have used an outdated link. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Bebeto Matthews / AP Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Bebeto Matthews / AP Show More Show Less 3 of 3 John G. Rowland, the disgraced former governor and two-time loser in the federal justice system, barely lasted two months in the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y. before he was transferred farther away to Lewisburg, Pa. Federal Bureau of Prisons officials on Thursday confirmed Rowland, 59, and serving 30 months for taking under-the-table fees for consulting a failed congressional candidate, was transferred late last month to a minimum-security facility near the maximum-security facility in eastern Pennsylvania. No reasons were given and prison officials declined further comment. He turned himself in at Otisville in late September. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The states first approved medical marijuana research trial will test whether the drug could rival opioids as a potent painkiller. The doctors leading the study said the results could transform pain treatment and help combat the epidemic of fatal opioid overdoses gripping the state and nation. The research program, at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, was announced by state officials Friday. It will examine the effectiveness of medical marijuana compared with the widely-prescribed oxycodone in treating the acute and chronic pain of patients with multiple rib fractures. Heres a substance that will give us adequate pain control but, at the same time, will probably reduce our use and dependence and, therefore abuse, of opiate pain medications, Dr. James Feeney, director of trauma services at Saint Francis, said in an interview Friday. Medical marijuana has the potential to change the way we treat acute and chronic pain. We believe this will help to end the opiate epidemic in Connecticut and maybe America. Opioid abuse has fueled the escalation in drug-related deaths in the state. Some 420 people died from heroin-related overdoses last year, more than double the toll in 2012. About 190 died from overdoses involving fentanyl, more than 10 times the total in 2012. And 95 suffered last year a fatal overdose involving oxycodone, compared with 71 in 2012. Many people become addicted to heroin or illegal forms of fentanyl after first using legal opioids such as oxycodone, which comes in a generic version and in branded forms, such as the OxyContin drug made by Stamford-based Purdue Pharma. More Information Connecticut's medical marijuana program Launched in 2014 584 physicians registered 14,858 patients registered See More Collapse Saint Francis is well-qualified to conduct the marijuana research, said Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, president of the Connecticut State Medical Society. The State Medical society has been encouraging marijuana research to be done in this type of way and in this type of setting, Gordon said. It allows us to understand the potential benefits and risks of medical marijuana. There are a lot of questions, and medical research is how you answer them. Some 60 patients from Connecticut will participate in the study, which is expected to take about six months to complete. Half of the patients will take only a generic version of oxycodone. Another half will take marijuana and oxycodone as well, if they need the opioid in addition to the marijuana to manage their pain. Patients with rib fractures typically experience pain for six to eight weeks and would receive opioid medications. They are well-suited for research because they do not have other major injuries complicating the study of their rib pain, Feeney said. Feeney and five other trauma surgeons at Saint Francis are self-funding the study, which is expected to cost between $30,000 and $50,000. They are paying for the research because of their belief in the project and also because of the challenges involved in securing public funding for research involving marijuana, which is classified by federal authorities in the same schedule of drugs as heroin and LSD, Feeney said. The Saint Francis research team plans to publish its findings in a peer-reviewed journal and expects its study to provide a foundation for subsequent research of pain treatment, Feeney said. Beyond anecdotal evidence Legislation passed this year in the state legislature allowed for licensed medical facilities, higher education institutions and medical marijuana dispensaries and producers to apply for research program licenses starting Oct. 1. We expect to see more thoughtful programs like the one developed at Saint Francis to start here in Connecticut in the coming months and look forward to the medical progress we can make for families suffering from severe illnesses in the state, Jonathan Harris, the states consumer protection commissioner, said in a statement. The states medical marijuana program was signed into law in May 2012, paving the way for medication to become available at dispensaries in September 2014. Compassionate Care Center in Bethel is the only dispensary operating in Fairfield County. Were all very excited about this announcement because it gives the plant a lot more credibility, said Angela DAmico, Compassionate Care Centers owner. Everything Ive heard from doctors is that they say there are no trials or clinical data, that everything is anecdotal. This gives it legitimacy and justifies it as medicine. Connecticuts medical marijuana program is open to patients with a range of conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Parkinsons disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries and epilepsy. pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott We wish Connecticuts legislators, both new and returning, the most peaceful and joyous holiday season. They should get their rest during this seasonal lull because when the wreaths and menorahs are getting ready to go back into storage, Connecticut legislators should be prepared to hit the gound running when the General Assembly is seated on Jan. 4. Yes, as always, a predicted budget deficit will hang like smog over everything, but wed respectfully suggest that the very first order of business for the l egislature is to get started on fixing the irrational system of funding public schools in the state. When he issued his decision in September, Judge Thomas Moukawsher initially gave the state 180 days to set straight a system that ... spends billions of dollars on schools without any binding principle guaranteeing that education aid goes where its needed. As Bridgeports Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim said at the time, It could and should be the central issue of this next legislative session. And this is not, and should not be, a partisan issue. Danburys Republican Mayor Mark Boughton, president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and a gubernatorial hopeful, praised the judge and noted, This judge has taken on the public education system in Connecticut. Indeed he did, and the General Assembly needs to do nothing less. Though the judges decision has been appealed, theres no reason to delay work on this vital issue. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has taken a brave step in addressing the behemoth problem of the states $15 billion unfunded liability in its various pensions. Until the pension system is modified in some way, starting immediately with new employees, the states finances will wobble on the spindly legs of uncertainty. Malloy and employee representatives earlier this month agreed on a plan to extend the period under which the state is obligated to have the pensions fully funded. Republican leaders in Hartford dismissed the agreement as a mere restructuring of the debt that will spread it out over more years and increase cost that future generations will have to bear. The fact is, Malloys actions have at least started a discussion that through several prior administrations no one seemed much interested in having. There will be, of course, countless other matters of import. But wed urge the 151 members of the House of Representatives and the 36 members of the Senate to find common ground on the school funding and pension reform and score a victory or two before moving back into partisan trenches. Stratford Police photo STRATFORD - A 37-year-old Stratford man, who is a convicted felon, has been arrested on weapons charges including having a stolen handgun and possessing a sawed-off shotgun. Daniel MacDaniel, who lives on Jackson Avenue, was suspected of possessing a stolen handgun which was reported out of the town of Higganum in eastern Connecticut in November. Civil War Gala to be held Saturday in Somerset The 14th annual Col. Robert Cummins Civil War Gala will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Somerset Church of the Brethren, 606 Berlin Plank Road in Somerset. Six weeks after the EU referendum, I wrote a piece on this page lamenting the extreme bitterness and anger the result appeared to have aroused among the losing side. Never before had I experienced a political event that divided families (including my own) and set Briton against Briton in quite such an acrimonious way. My hope was that time, the great healer, would soon work its magic, tempers would cool and Remainers would come to realise that we who voted Brexit were not in fact mad or bad, as they claimed. Surely they would begin to realise that we, like them, were motivated purely by our sense of what would be best for the country, our children and grandchildren. Not a day passes without another sneering insult to the majority, portraying us as senile, uneducated, knuckle-dragging racists Not for one moment since the vote have I wavered in my conviction that the majority all 17.4 million of us made the right choice. Indeed, Ive been pleasantly surprised by how calmly the markets have taken the result and the economys steady growth since that wonderful day in June (though Im not kidding myself that it will be plain sailing all the way to freedom and beyond). But while Im still sure I was right about Brexit, on one thing I was quite wrong. Neither the passage of time, nor the proven fallacy of Project Fears predictions of an immediate recession, seems to have done anything to abate the uncomprehending fury of die-hard Remainers. Indeed, six months after the referendum, not a day passes without another sneering insult to the majority, whether from a politician or a BBC comedian, portraying us as senile, uneducated, knuckle-dragging racists, too stupid to see through the lies of the Leavers. Brexiteers have even been accused of complicity in the revolting murder of Labours Jo Cox Does it even occur to them that these are remarkably intemperate charges to lay against more than half their voting fellow countrymen? Perhaps nastiest of all, Brexiteers have even been accused of complicity in the revolting murder of Labours Jo Cox by all accounts a wonderful woman and an exemplary MP. Im sure I speak for all 17.4 million who voted Leave when I say I was appalled and terribly saddened by her death. So in the spirit of this season of goodwill, Id like to renew the plea I made back in July: whichever side of this great debate we may happen to be on, could we please resolve to calm down a bit and be nicer to each other? By all means, attack the arguments for or against Brexit. But for goodness sake, stop impugning each others motives. Come on, its Christmas. To set the ball rolling, let me say, hand on heart, that I have never for one second questioned the patriotism of those who voted Remain. Im quite sure they did so in the honest belief that staying in the EU would be best for Britain and everyone else just as I voted Brexit, honestly believing this the better option for us all. Nor do I think that Remainers in general are stupid. Some of them are, obviously. (The Labour MP Ben Bradshaw springs to mind, with his preposterous claim this week that its highly probable that Russian hackers swung the referendum result!) But there will always be some stupid people on both sides of any debate. Yes, I believe they were wrong. But then even the most intelligent people can often be wrong. For example, didnt almost all the great philosophers of the Middle Ages think the world was flat? And didnt even Nobel prize-winning economists believe the one-size-fits-all euro was a good idea, before it spread misery and unemployment throughout most of southern Europe? But though I and most others thought it wiser to Leave, I was quite willing to respect the sincerity of Remainers arguments. Indeed, as a dyed-in-the-wool conservative, I can well understand the appeal of the status quo and keeping hold of nurse, for fear of finding something worse. Its just that for a great many years, I have believed that the self-governing nation in which I grew up until 1973 when we began to surrender our right to make our own laws and trade with whomever we pleased was a better nurse than the sclerotic and anti-democratic bureaucracy in Brussels. Of course, you may argue that Im wrong. But at the risk of breaking my own Christmas resolution before I even reach the bottom of this page, I have to say that it strikes me as plain silly and rude to dismiss those who share my view as thick. Yet how many times, these past six months, have we heard Remainers complain that they lost because the gullible electorate was taken in by Leaves lie that Brexit would hand us an extra 350 million a week to spend on the NHS? Speaking for myself, I havent met a single Brexiteer, from any walk of life, who believed that ludicrous whopper, painted on the side of the Leave bus. I havent met a single Brexiteer, from any walk of life, who believed that ludicrous whopper, painted on the side of the Leave bus No more have I met anyone, on either side of the fence, who fell for George Osbornes scaremongering claim that withdrawal would cost every UK household precisely 4,300 a year. Voters know a politicians lie when they hear one. All of which brings me to the most often repeated slur of the lot that the result was attributable to racism. Whether personally racist or not, say the Remainers, Leave campaigners were guilty of riding the tiger deliberately appealing to voters ugliest instincts by focusing on immigration. Now, I dont know what country theyve been living in, but the Britain I know and love is the most racially tolerant and harmonious nation on Earth. Like most Brexiteers, I want to keep it that way. Certainly, there are some deeply unpleasant fanatics around. But you cant write off more than half the electorate on the basis of the foam-flecked few who spew vile comments about racial minorities across the internet. Even leaving aside that most migrants from the EU are white, its a serious libel against Britain to suggest its possible to win a referendum here by sucking up to inter-racial animosity. If Remainers really want to see racism in action, as Im quite sure they dont, they should travel to countries staying in the EU France, Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece where the far Right is on the march and razor-wire fences are being erected to keep migrants out. No more have I met anyone who fell for George Osbornes scaremongering claim that withdrawal would cost every UK household precisely 4,300 a year So heres my Christmas suggestion to Remainers. When Brexit supporters say theyre concerned about the impact of uncontrolled immigration on school places, hospital beds, housing, wages and social cohesion, dont tell them: Oh, no, youre not. Youre just a filthy racist who hates foreigners. How about doing them the courtesy of respecting the sincerity of what they say? It may even begin to dawn on some who have sought to silence debate about immigration since the Sixties that it is entirely possible to be worried about the sheer weight of numbers, without harbouring the slightest ill feeling towards migrants as fellow human beings. As for those BBC comedians who constantly sneer about Brexit and Brexiteers and theyre everywhere, from The Now Show and The News Quiz on radio to just about every panel game on TV how about opening your minds for a change? The source of this unwarranted pessimism was Sir Ivan Rogers The BBC was in full Bremoaner mode again yesterday as it led bulletins with another dire warning about how impossibly difficult Brexit will be. The source of this unwarranted pessimism was Sir Ivan Rogers, Britains ambassador to the EU, who has told ministers it could take up to ten years to negotiate a trade deal, which even then could be vetoed by a single parliament in any member state. What appeared to be a carefully orchestrated propaganda Blitzkrieg, designed to coincide with Theresa Mays arrival in Brussels for a summit, saw Sir Ivans bleak assessment endorsed by Euro zealot Lord Mandelson (since when did anyone listen to a word he said?) and one-time Cabinet Secretary Lord ODonnell. Just as during the referendum campaign, the Establishment spoke in unison, and sent a single message: Brexit will be a total disaster! Not for a minute does the Mail accept this utterly defeatist view. Especially as it comes from a diplomat who by resisting attempts to get a proper deal on immigration and advising David Cameron to settle for next to nothing did so much to undermine the renegotiation. Delve into his past and it is clear Sir Ivan is every inch the Foreign Office mandarin an institution with a disastrous history of rolling over to French and German demands who worked for that arch Europhile Ken Clarke at the Treasury and then as chief of staff to the former vice president of the European Commission, Lord Brittan. What appeared to be a carefully orchestrated propaganda Blitzkrieg, designed to coincide with Theresa Mays arrival in Brussels for a summit Quite why it should take so long to hammer out a trade deal with some of our closest trading partners twice as much time as it did for the Allies to overcome Nazism is for the Foreign Office to explain. Never let it be forgotten that Europe especially Germany sells far more to us than we sell to them. It is in their interests to carry on trading. And thats if the EU survives. With the eurozone mired in economic stagnation, its entrenched elites under attack from anti-EU forces and with clear signs of an Italian banking crisis around the corner, it will have every incentive to do a deal. So, instead of sending up the white flag, might the Foreign Office think about hiring some diplomats with willpower, ingenuity and patriotism who see the exciting opportunities of Brexit instead of spreading endless gloom? The truth about tests Teaching unions fought tooth and nail both against primary schools conducting new rigorous SATs tests for 10 and 11- year-olds, and then against the results being published. Yesterday we received a devastating insight into why, given the results show 665 schools were performing below minimum standards. Overall, some 200,000 children attend failing primaries. If they do not learn the fundamentals at that age, they may never catch up. Yesterday we received a devastating insight into why, given the results show 665 schools were performing below minimum standards Many teachers work very hard. But surely we must have some form of assessment of how their pupils are faring in the basics of reading, writing and mathematics. On this, as with their opposition to grammar schools, both the unions and the rest of the education establishment blob are miles out of touch with the public. Stop the silent killer The case of two-year-old Freddie Taft shows exactly why this paper is right to raise awareness of sepsis. In January, his mother Jenny read our shocking account of the death of 12-month-old William Mead. So when Freddie fell terribly ill three months later, she recognised the symptoms and raised them with doctors, saving his life. With a new NHS campaign on sepsis, there is every hope the number of deaths from this silent killer currently a shocking 44,000 a year will fall. From backfiring bluffs to harsh insults in the heat of the moment, parents have revealed the things they most regret saying to their children. In a thread on reddit, mothers and fathers shared their embarrassing parenting fails. They include telling little white lies that left a lasting impression to one mother who wishes her daughter had never overheard her telling her husband: I need to leave before I punch her in the face. A user named stickyfingers40 wrote: One day as I walking in from work my wife met me at the door on her way out. Scroll down for video Regrets: Parents have revealed the things they most regret saying to their children on reddit (stock image) She needed a break from our argumentative 10-year-old daughter. My wife muttered under her breath I need to leave before I punch her in the face. Our daughter heard and immediately burst into tears. Then theres the father who ruined the holidays for his daughter and left his son with mental scars after threatening to flush him down the toilet. My daughter was very young at the time, he wrote. On Thanksgiving Day, as I pulled the turkey out of the oven and removed the lid to the roasting pan to baste it, my four-year-old daughter looked at the still white turkey and said, Daddy, whats that? My reply, this is what we do to bad babies. He adds that more than 20 years later, his daughter still refuses to eat turkey. My son, again very young at the time, still in diapers, he was acting up and I told him that if he doesnt behave, Id flush him down the toilet. Pretty sure at age 30-something now, he still doesnt use the toilet, he joked. My bad. One father said he owes his daughter almost $15,000 after making an unfortunate agreement with her. When my daughter was around eight, I told her that a lot of the words that Daddy used were grown up words and that she shouldnt use them herself, he wrote. Fails: They include bluffs that backfired and white lies that left lasting impressions on kids (stock image) Then she worked out what they were, and she said that I shouldnt use them either. I agreed, and in a fit of noble intention, agreed to the swear jar, a dollar a swear, to be all paid on her 18th birthday. I owe my 16-year-old daughter about $14,500. She has kept meticulous records, including a signed agreement from the year 2009. I owe my 16-year-old daughter about $14,500 But another father seriously regrets his reaction to his young son as he didnt realize he was having his first seizure. What is it buddy? Stop talking like that. I cant understand you. I said STOP TALKING LIKE THAT! user WalkingBack wrote. He explained that he only realised something was wrong when he noticed that one side of his sons face was drooping. Ill never forgive myself, he added. Some children also posted on the thread to share some of the most hurtful comments their parents had said to them. One user said his mother had told him: I hope God blesses me with an early death so Ill never have to depend on any of my selfish-a** kids. When Ruth Owen was given the devastating news that her beloved miniature bull terrier had a deadly cancerous growth in her stomach, she prepared herself for a sad goodbye. The vet gave her dog just months to live but suggested that while chemotherapy and steroids couldnt cure the small cell lymphoma, they could buy Ruth a little more time with her pet Dorothy, then 11, which she had taken in as a rescue puppy a decade earlier. However, Ruth decided that she could not put her adored dog through the agonising side-effects of the drugs. Instead, the 54-year-old, from Newton Abbot, Devon, opted to try homeopathy in the hope of making Dorothy more comfortable during her final days. Scroll down for video Ruth Owen, pictured with miniature bull terrier Dorothy, 11, is convinced homeopathy cured her beloved pet's cancer, who lived three years longer than vets believed she would Astonishingly given the lack of scientific weight behind homeopathys claims, Ruth found a Cambridge University-trained veterinary surgeon, Geoff Johnson, who offers only alternative therapies at his Somerset practice. While other veterinary practices have banned homeopathy on the grounds that it is ineffective and this week a study concluded claims that animals benefit from homeopathy are based on unreliable evidence Geoff has worked on hundreds of animals homeopathically since gaining a second degree in the subject from Oxford University 12 years ago. The only thing I knew about it was that it purports to do no harm, so I took Dorothy along for a consultation, says Ruth. As well as having a very distended stomach, she also had terrible sickness and diarrhoea, and no energy, and I hoped homeopathy might ease her symptoms. Following an hour-long assessment, Dorothy was prescribed a thrice-daily drop of Gadolinium arsenate, derived from metal and salt and one of around 4,000 homeopathic remedies, diluted in 100ml of water. The consultation and prescription cost 100 in total. After a week, Ruth insists, Dorothys stomach was no longer swollen and within three weeks her symptoms had cleared and she appeared to be back to full health. She had been suffering for three months before treatment and, as it was the only change that Ruth introduced, she is convinced homeopathy cured her precious pet. Ruth continued the treatment for a further eight months, and then Dorothy continued receiving just one 2ml dose a week. Despite having been given just months to live, she remained fit and well for another three years before dying aged 14 not of cancer, but a stroke. Ruth says: I believe that, thanks to homeopathy, I got three more wonderful years with Dorothy. 'They were years in which she didnt have to suffer the dreadful side-effects of steroids and chemotherapy. She was 14 when she passed away, due to a stroke, no doubt the result of her advanced years, but she was fit and healthy right up until the end. 'The expected lifespan for a miniature bull terrier is just 11 or 12 years, so I feel extremely fortunate that homeopathy helped Dorothy beat cancer and gave her a new lease of life. Understandably, though, many were dubious about Dorothys apparently miraculous recovery. Some people Ive told have said, She couldnt have had cancer, it will have been a wrong diagnosis, but it showed up on X-rays, in blood tests and biopsies, says Ruth. She admits she didnt have Dorothy X-rayed after the homeopathy to see if the tumour in her stomach had changed size, but says: My message to doubters is, if homeopathy didnt cure it, where did the mass go? However, even Ruth has been forced to admit that homeopathy carries no guarantees. She returned to Geoff Johnson when her crossbreed dog Kevin developed a skin rash last year and says: He tried three different treatments on him, none of which worked, so in the end I went to my regular vet who prescribed a steroid cream, which cleared the rash. So, obviously, homeopathy doesnt work for everything. Vet Geoff, 53, first became interested in animal homeopathy 21 years ago after being successfully treated for hay fever by a professional homeopath, and is in no doubt that the remedy he prescribed shrank Dorothys tumour. He explains that homeopathy is not used to cure specific conditions, but triggers an individuals body into being able to heal itself. So, the key is finding out as much about the person, or animal, as possible taking into account temperament, medical history, sleeping and eating before selecting a remedy for them. Conventional medicine has a very important role and, if my child had meningitis, I would ensure they were on a penicillin drip in a hospital in no time, says Geoff. But in the case of Dorothy, and many others, there was no medical cure so we used homeopathy to help her body heal itself. I understand why some people question its efficacy because the mechanism is totally different to conventional medicine, but I would tell them, Come and look at the animals Ive treated successfully. However, homeopathy is deeply controversial among Geoffs colleagues in the veterinary world. In a report published this week, scientists from the University of Kassel, in Germany, assessed studies published between 1981 and 2014 and found none of the clinical trials that claim to show effectiveness have been repeated under comparable conditions, meaning results are unproven. Devon vet Danny Chambers has drawn up a petition asking the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to introduce rules preventing the use of homeopathy by vets. It has attracted 2,500 signatures, including those of 1,100 vets, veterinary nurses and scientists. He says: I have seen cases of animals who have had to be put to sleep because homeopathy has been used instead of a conventional treatment, which could have worked. He adds: Ive seen this with a dog who had Cushings disease, a hormonal condition which could have been treated effectively with drugs, but the owners chose instead to use homeopathy. Another was a cat with hyperthyroidism, which could have easily been treated with medicine. Even if a vet is giving homeopathic remedies alongside conventional treatment, although it wont harm the animal, it legitimises a treatment that doesnt warrant it and owners are being charged for things that just do not work. However, the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons disputes the claims that there is no proof the treatment works, and the RCVS says it would be difficult to ban vets from offering it. Most studies have concluded that there is no evidence of the medicinal effect of homeopathy, whether practised on humans or animals. Gemma Cook's (left) horse, Derby, has reiki performed by Sarah Adams (right), which keeps her calm and apparently eased stiffness in her leg A 2010 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report stated that homeopathic remedies work no better than placebos and that the principles on which it is based are scientifically implausible, a view shared by Englands Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies. Nevertheless, more and more owners are giving their pets alternative therapies and homeopathy has many advocates, including Prince Charles, who last month revealed that he uses homeopathic remedies on his cows and sheep. Homeopathy is currently practised by some 50 qualified vets. And its far from the only complementary therapy that owners rely on when their animals become sick. Gemma Cooks strawberry roan horse Derby has had a stiff hind left leg for years and, as physiotherapy has been unable to cure it, she turned to reiki. With its roots in Japanese culture, reiki healing is based on the theory that humans, and animals, have seven major chakras centres of energy in their bodies and when one or more of these becomes unbalanced, the body and mind suffer. Another owner at the stables where Gemma keeps Derby, near her home in Kent, employed a reiki healer to treat her horse for cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the soft connective tissues, in one of its hind legs, and recommended the therapy. Derby was very highly strung and so, as well as her physical symptoms, I thought the reiki might help calm her, says Gemma, 34, who works in advertising sales. Weve had quite a few falls over the 17 years Ive had her, usually because shes refused to jump, which may be partly due to her stiff leg. But its made us both a bit nervous and wary. Derby could be naughty, biting and pushing me out of the way too. A month ago, reiki practitioner Sarah Adams began visiting Derby at her stables and, standing a little distance from the horse, allowed the energy to flow between them. After three hour-long sessions to help rebalance her chakras, monthly follow-up appointments have been recommended, at a cost of 35 each. I dont have to place my hands on the animal, says Sarah. Its a natural healing therapy and the energy needed to rebalance the chakras flows from me to them. After the first session she was more flexible and mobile and less stressed, and much better still after the third. Gemma also believes that Derby is happier and more relaxed as a result of the treatment. She says: When I ride her I can feel that the stiffness in her leg has eased, so we both feel a lot more relaxed. In fact, she felt so different beneath me that I had to ask one of the stable girls to check if she looked OK. Shes also more laid back and doesnt get uptight when I leave her. Friends who are sceptical about alternative therapies look at me as if Im crazy and say, Why on earth would you pay for reiki for a horse? 'But I want Derby to be happy, and Im pretty open-minded, so willing to give things a try. Emma Saville was close to the end of her tether, after consulting her vet about methods to stop her cat urinating and defecating all over the family home in Chelmsford, Essex, by the time she tried aromatherapy. Annie, a fluffy, long-haired black and white moggy, was three when Emma rescued her three years ago. She and her daughters Ava, now nine, and Neve, seven, were advised to keep Annie indoors for the first eight weeks, until she became acclimatised. Emma Saville, right, tried aromatherapy treatment from therapist Caroline Thomas, left, to stop cat Annie, pictured, urinating and defecating around her home in Essex During that time Annie used a litter tray. However, once it was time for her to venture outside, where she was expected to go to the toilet, she refused and, avoiding her tray, used carpets indoors instead. I took her to the vet, who said she was clearly stressed and anxious and consequently marking her territory, recalls Emma. It was a huge headache for me because, with young children to protect, I was forever having to check the corners of rooms and clean up the mess Annie left. Emma discovered that, when Annie was rescued by the RSPCA in Colchester, she had been a stray and recently given birth to a litter of kittens, who were found lying dead around her. Convinced this was at the root of Annies distress, Emma did some online searches and came across animal aromatherapist Caroline Thomas, who charges 45 for an initial consultation. Caroline explained that cats have an advanced olfactory system and are therefore very sensitive to smells. But, while aromatherapy can help, the essential oils must be heavily diluted and carefully administered to cats, as they lack an enzyme important in breaking down the oils. Having heard Annies story, I decided to try her with three different oils yarrow, which is useful in helping with emotional trauma; carrot seed, which we use for abandonment; and angelica essential, which is for traumas suffered in early life, says Caroline. We believe that aromatherapy helps with stress by balancing the body and connecting to the brains limbic system, which deals with emotions. Caroline left the bottles each costing 15 and containing one drop of essential oil in 25ml of carrier oils with Emma and told her to take off the lids each day and let Annie choose which ones she wanted to sniff. Somehow it seemed to quell her anxiety and, after a week, she stopped using our home as a toilet and happily went outside instead, says Emma. With figures showing one of the main reasons four in ten pet insurance claims are rejected is the growing number looking to be reimbursed for treatments such as acupuncture and hydrotherapy, it seems Ruth, Gemma and Emma are far from alone in seeking alternative solutions. Vet Danny Chambers, however, continues to urge caution. It may be mid Winter but Crown Princess Victoria had a spring in her step as she stepped out in a summery dress in Rome today. The Crown Princess of Sweden, 39, showcased her typical elegant style as she joined her husband Prince Daniel at the Swedish insitute on Friday. Victoria, who is first in line to the throne, was sure to do an Italian job when it came to her dress opting for a nautical striped dress from Italian designer Dolce and Gabbana. The Crown Princess of Sweden, 39, showcased her typical elegant style as she joined her husband Prince Daniel for engagements in Rome today The glamorous white dress was decorated with blue horizontal and vertical stripes and featured pleated detailing at the hem. She was pictured clutching a small black leather bag as she and Prince Daniel left the Marriott hotel in Rome. The mother-of-two kept her hair from her face in a chic chignon which she has known to favour and is rarely seen with her hair down. The couple paid a visit to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations After meeting with officials the couple posed for a photograph by the United Nations flag On their second day in the Italian capital the couple visited the Swedish institute (Istituto Svedese di studi classici a Roma). The institute serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy. The princess beamed as she was shown historical images and ancient artifacts by staff at the institute. The couple later visited the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome where they met with officials to pose for a photo. Earlier today the pair visited the Swedish institute (Istituto Svedese di studi classici a Roma) The institute serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy The princess beamed as she was shown historical images and ancient artifacts by staff at the institute Today marks Victoria and Daniel's second day in Italy having arrived in the city on Thursday. Yesterday the Crown Princess stunned in a taupe -coloured coat dress as she visited the city's Parliament building, Palazzo Montecitorio. The royal's collared zip-up coat was cinched in at the waist to show off her silhouette, as she added a pair of pointed courts and teasing her hair into a sleek ponytail. The 39-year-old royal couldn't help but take a closer look at some of the photos put out on display this morning Today the Crown Princess went for an Italian designer wearing a nautical stripe Dolce and Gabbana dress The pair appeared in good spirits as they attended a meeting with Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy (Camera dei deputati) in the opulent building. The 43-year-old Prince, a former personal trainer whose official title is now Duke of Vastergotland, looked dapper in a royal blue suit and tortoiseshell glasses. Victoria and Daniel, who are proud parents to Princess Estelle, four, and Prince Oscar, nine months, will move onto Milan before returning to Stockholm on Saturday. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, centre, joins her husband Prince Daniel along with with Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies, right, on an official visit to Rome Princess of fashion! Princess Victoria of Sweden stunned in a mushroom-coloured coat dress The 39-year-old royal wore her collared zip-up coat which was cinched in at the waist to show off her silhouette, adding a pair of pointed courts and teasing her hair into a sleek ponytail The pair looked happy and relaxed as they met with Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy ( Camera dei deputati ) in the opulent building in Rome Whistlestop tour: Victoria and Daniel, who are proud parents to Princess Estelle, four, and Prince Oscar, nine months, will move onto Milan before returning to Stockholm on Saturday The Swedish royals have been busy preparing for the festive season this week with Victoria and her four-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle were presented with seven trees at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Wednesday. And their schedule shows no sign of slowing down before the big day, with a slew of concerts to attend in the Swedish capital as well as a formal gathering of the Swedish Academy. The pair officially welcomed Prince Oscar into the world in May at a glittering christening ceremony at the Royal Chapel in Stockholm. Their Italian trip comes after Victoria and her four-year-old daughter, Princess Estelle were presented with seven trees at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on Wednesday After their trip, the royal family will attend a slew of concerts to attend in the Swedish capital as well as a formal gathering of the Swedish Academy The royal couple pose for a photograph with Laura Boldrini before departing the building The prince - whose full name is Oscar Carl Olaf - wore a traditional christening gown as he made his entrance, while Victoria donned a beautiful white broderie anglaise dress. She could also be seen wearing a brooch with a blue ribbon on her chest. The brooch is her personal property, a gift she received from TRH Princess Lilian and Prince Bertil. Firm friends: The pair appeared to be getting along famously as they shared a joke before leaving the building on Thursday afternoon The group smile for a final photograph to mark their visit, before Victoria and Daniel are due to fly to Milan as their trip comes to a close this weekend Oscar was born on March 2 weighing just over 8lbs at the Karolinska University Hospital in the Swedish capital of Stockholm and will be third in line to the Swedish throne after his mother and four-year-old sister. In 1980, Sweden changed its constitution to allow the eldest heir to inherit the throne, regardless of gender. Before that, female heirs were excluded. Tracey, Sharon and Dorien find themselves in Morocco for the Birds Of A Feather Christmas special, where Traceys son Travis has disappeared on his gap year. Its not long before they bump into Doriens ex Vince, played by Martin Kemp, and find themselves embroiled in a gangland plot. Here Linda Robson, Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph, who play Tracey, Sharon and Dorien, open their diaries from their trip to Malta, which doubles for Morocco in the show... Lesley Joseph, Linda Robson and Pauline Quirke return for a Christmas special of Birds of a Feather Monday Linda: Its a 4.30am start for the three of us this morning as we begin filming in Malta. Pauline and I are staying in the same hotel as the crew, while Lesleys in a different one. She needs longer in the make-up chair so her hotels nearer the set! Lesley: Getting ready as Dorien does take time the hair and make-up alone take over an hour but once I have the heels and my short dress on I really do feel like her. I even walk differently! Its such a beautiful location and in fact, as soon as we arrived last night, my make-up girl and I went straight to the beach and had a few champagne cocktails. Just a couple though it doesnt take much for me to get tiddly as Im quite small! Pauline: Todays scenes are out on a boat, showing us arriving in Morocco. Martin Kemp reprises his role as gangster Vince and helps the ladies as they get themselves into a bit of a pickle in Tangier Lesley: The ferry were using to film on only takes about 15 minutes on its journey, though, so we have to make the trip about ten times to get the shots right! What makes it more difficult is there are English tourists on board and were trying not to give the plot away. Thankfully theres no seasickness. Tuesday Lesley: Were all up early again. Im in the middle of appearing on Strictly Come Dancing at the moment and my professional partner Anton Du Beke has flown over to rehearse with me. Its all right for him as he gets to sunbathe around the pool all day while Im filming. Pauline: Today were wandering around a souk market trying to find Traceys son Travis. The trio share their diary of life on set Lesley: We get so excited when we see the souk as we all love shopping, so we make plans to go shopping this evening only to discover its our own fictional set! Theyve brought everything over from Shepherds Bush market in London to create it. We cant stop laughing. Pauline: Its so nice to have my son Charlie on the set with us playing Travis and my husband Steve working as executive producer. Charlie fits in so well. The girls adore him and he adores them. Lesley: Hes got three mums on set! Linda: When we finish filming in the souk about 5.30pm today Lesley performs her Strictly dance with Anton by the fountain at the hotel only silly me only goes and drops my handbag in the fountain. I cant believe it. Its full of water now. Thankfully I took my phone out but everything else is completely soaked. What an idiot! But its great watching Lesley dance. We all really like Anton a lot, but no, he definitely cant persuade Pauline and me to follow in Lesleys footsteps next year. Wednesday Lesley: Were filming scenes in an old Mercedes in the middle of the desert today, and its very, very hot. In the plot weve run out of petrol, so I go off to find some while Pauline and Lindas characters are stuck in the car. Linda: Gosh, it really is so bloody hot today! And were not allowed to open the windows because of continuity. Theres quite a lot of fast driving too with no seat belts, its very scary. Pauline: Its a bit of excitement in our lives! We must have been going about 70 miles an hour on a desert road. Lesley: Can you imagine us three on Top Gear? We had other filming issues today because Doriens supposed to end up riding a camel. Only the one in Malta is so badly behaved we dont even get to meet him. A decision is made to film those scenes back in England. Thursday Lesley: The weeks gone by so quickly, and everyones been brilliant. Martin Kemp has been a joy to work with. Hes such a wonderful person and out here in Malta everyone knows him from Spandau Ballet, but he never says no to a photograph with a fan. Today were filming on the airport runway without giving too much away weve had a run-in with some robbers so were trying to hire a plane to make our escape. Linda: Its a great day out at the airport, full of excitement. Were all really tired but we decide to go out for a meal together as its our last night. Pauline and I discover weve got mosquito bites on the same side of our face. In fact Ive been bitten all over. Ive got about 20 mosquito bites. Pauline: Me too, but what fun weve all had. Lesley: I love working with everyone so much, but we have our own little ways. On set youll often find we stand in the same order. As youre looking at us, Im usually on the left, Paulines in the middle and Lindas on the right. We feel a bit funny if we dont stand in this order. Im so proud of what weve achieved in Malta. Its our best ever Christmas special. While young, slim, white women still fronted a majority of international fashion magazine covers this year, a new study has found that the industry became more diverse than ever in 2016. The website The Fashion Spot looked at 48 international fashion publications, tallying up the cover models for every issue put out and found that there were more women of different races, sizes, and ages than ever before. Though the site noted that the numbers still have a way to go, there has certainly been a leap in progress this year. How'd they do? The Fashion Spot tallied up diversity on fashion magazine this year Sample: The site looked at 679 cover stars across 48 international fashion publications Up: Women of color, like Amandla Stenberg on Teen People, made up 29 per cent of covers Stars and models of color have become more vocal in recent years about the need for more diversity in the fashion industry, and their outspokenness may have contributed to a boost in their presence. The Fashion Spot looked at 679 cover stars, and found that 197 were nonwhite. That makes 29 per cent of cover models women of color, which is a 6.2 per cent increase from 2015. The boost is definitely an improvement, and the site adds that it's even more impressive than the percentage of nonwhite models on the Spring 2017 runways this September and October, where only a quarter of models were nonwhite. There was a 6.2 per cent increase since 2015 thanks to stars like Serena Williams and Joan Smalls in Glamour Changes: Nonwhite models like Indian star Priyanka Chopra were more represented Better: The site noted that there was a bigger increase in print than on the runway Elle in the US seems to have been especially diverse, casting Taraji P. Henson, Priyanka Chopra, Lupita Nyong'o, Kerry Washington, FKA Twigs, and Beyonce front and center. Meanwhile, Joan Smalls, Serena Williams, and Demi Lovato covered Glamour, Michelle Obama and Kerry Washington covered InStyle, Zendaya coverd Cosmopolitan, and Selena Gomez posed for Marie Claire. Half of Paper magazine's cover stars were women of color. Teen Vogue also led the cause, casting six stars including Amandla Stenberg, Willow Smith, and Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles in front. Stars: This year, Demi Lovato covered Glamour, while Selena Gomez covered Marie Claire In demand: Zendaya and Beyonce also earned starring spots in 2016 Inclusive: Racial diversity is up more than other metrics, according to the site Again, there are still changes to be made. LOVE magazine booked no nonwhite models this year, or at all in the past three years. Vogue Germany, Vogue Netherlands (for the second year), Vogue Russia (for the third year), Porter (for the second year), and Harpers Bazaar U.S. (for the second year) also had only white, straight-sized models. Vogue UK only had one nonwhite cover star this year Rihanna and has only cast six nonwhite models as solo cover stars in the past 14 years. All bodies: Ashley Graham helped offer a big boost in plus-size representation Growing: Women over size 12 made up .9 per cent of covers in 2016 Wow: Even fitness publications like Women's Running got in on the new wave Plus-size stars also saw greater representation, with Adele, Ashley Graham, and even new unknowns earning cover spots. For all of 2015, .9 per cent of cover stars that's six total were over a size 12. And it's not just in fashion. Women's Running followed its own lead from 2015 by casting a plus-size runner on the cover, while Ashley Graham starred on Cosmopolitan and Self. Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones broke down all the barriers as a black, plus-size 49-year-old, covering Elle magazine to promote Ghostbusters. Age and experience: Stars over the age of 50 made up 5% of cover stars this year Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, and Diane Keaton all appeared on Vanity Fair's Hollywood issue Big name: Julia Louis-Dreyfus also earned one of Elle's Women in TV covers In addition to examining transgender models who covered Elle U.K. and Wonderland, the website also rounded up women over the age of 50 often forgotten in favor of younger stars who were honored with features. These women, including Barbra Streisand, Michelle Obama, and Viola Davis, graced 34 covers (5 per cent) this year. Jamie Poulton, now 13, is addicted to synthetic high 'spice' The decorations are up. The presents are wrapped. But hopes of a happy Christmas are a distant prospect for Teresa Poulton and her nearest and dearest. Having spent a small fortune on gifts, the 49-year-old twice-married great-grandmother has hidden them away at her two-bedroom council flat in the centre of Lincoln. If her 13-year-old grandson Jamie gets his mitts on them, she explains, theres the possibility hell sell them to buy Black Mamba, an illegal synthetic street drug which has become the scourge of Britains town and cities. To fund his 10-a-day habit, baby-faced Jamie has stolen from family members and sold several bikes and the computer tablet he was given last Christmas, as well as his mobile phone. When he doesnt get what he wants, says Teresa, he becomes foul-mouthed and physically violent. Lamps have been broken. DVD players smashed. Food thrown. His mother, 33-year-old Jennifer, has a painful-looking bruise on her upper arm. If anyone tries locking the out-of-control teen in his bedroom he simply jumps out of the window. Hes like Jekyll and Hyde, says Teresa. Hes loving one minute. Then he kicks off and is vile. Things have got so bad that shes even asked if Jamie can be taken into temporary foster care. Im at my wits end, she adds. I cant take it any more. We need help. Last week Jamie's gran released the picture on the right of the teenager high on spice, which Barbara Davies says is a parable of our times. Left, Jamie in everyday life So what on earth can be done for this troubled family? Well, having failed to get Jamie onto the Jeremy Kyle show, which they hoped might see him offered a place in rehab, this month the Poultons turned to their local paper, The Lincolnshire Echo, telling them they were desperate for help. Before long, their disturbing plight was making national news as young Jamie declared his drug use was tearing me and my family apart. The family has been badly let down, says Teresa, by teachers and schools, by social workers, by doctors, the local council and the police, and last, but not least, the drug addiction charity Addaction. Their soft-hearted staff, she complains, merely take Jamie off for cozy chats over tea and biscuits or a McDonalds burger. Someone needs to get tough with him, she says. Indeed. But who? When I visited Teresas home this week, I found a chaotic family in meltdown, alternately raging at society for the litany of misfortunes which have befallen them and asking themselves where it all went so terribly wrong. Their story could sum up the deep-seated, tragic problems of that chunk of society now casually referred to as the underclass. They certainly could never be called a nuclear family. Teresa has raised Jamie and his older sister Cortney, 16, since they were babies and they both call her mum. Their biological mother, Teresas eldest daughter Jennifer, was in a violent relationship and unable to care for them as babies. Since ending that relationship and moving onto another one, she has had two more children, eight-year-old Ella and four-year-old Tommy-Lee, and lives with them in a council house around the corner. Her on-off boyfriend Lee is called dad by Jamie. Confusing as it may sound to the average person, the family insist this complex arrangement works for them. Even if they live with my mum and call her Mum, Cortney and Jamie know Im their mum, declares Jennifer. Also living in Teresas two-bed flat is 16-year-old Cortneys 19-month-old daughter Mitzee and Cortneys 17-year-old friend Abbie, who was, until recently, in foster care. Sleeping arrangements are, as one might expect, not straightforward. Jamie with his mother and grandmother who plant kisses on his cheeks. His grandmother, left, says he will only recover with bootcamp or rehab Mitzee sleeps in Teresas room. Cortney and Abbie share the bunk-beds in the second bedroom unless Jamie is sleeping in there. In that case, Abbie sleeps on the sofa in the sitting room and Cortney sleeps in Teresas room. Indeed, it is hard to keep up with the number of people trooping in and out of the flat. During my visit, the buzzer sounds constantly and new faces appear. The youngest member of the family, baby Mitzee, cries as she struggles to manoeuvre her toy pram around Teresas crowded, cigarette-smoke-filled sitting room. Nobody works. None of the teenagers is in full-time education. Everyone is on benefits of some kind: child tax credits and child benefit and income support and disability living allowance and carers allowance. Nor does Jamie have any contact with his father, who has been in and out of prison for most of his adult life. Ironically, the Poultons were among the 120,000 British families that David Cameron once pledged to help via his flagship Troubled Families Programme, which gave cash to local councils to improve truancy, crime rates and worklessness in target families. Authorities were able to get 4,000 bonuses for each family they claimed to have turned around. But the 1.3 billion programme, launched in the wake of the 2011 riots, was denounced as a failure in October this year after failing to cut crime or get people off benefits. Lincolnshire County Councils response to the programme was their Families Working Together initiative, but after the Poultons were identified as a troubled family, Teresa says that the help they were offered two years ago, via social workers and support workers and counsellors, was a waste of time. She recalls: I went to a few meetings to talk about Jamies school and safety on the streets, but nothing ever got done. They tried to give me advice about shopping and spending money. You could get some repairs done. I was given a single bed for Jamie and a freezer which was too small to be any use. The support worker who was supposed to be helping us moaned about picking Jamie up in the morning to take him to school. Jamie is pictured left with his grandmother Teresa who looks after him and right with his mum Jennifer Today, there is no sign of Jamie at Teresas home, not because hes at school, but because hes gone round to a friends house. His mobile phone a replacement is switched off. No one knows when he might be back. According to Teresa, his behavioural problems began as a toddler. The doctor said it was the terrible twos, she says. But soon Jamie was breaking into cars and sitting inside them. The police told her he was just a naughty boy, but she thought otherwise. I was struggling to get him diagnosed with ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder], she says. But no one would listen to me. At school things were just as bad. There Jamie got in trouble for shutting a fellow pupil in a box and sitting on the lid. He drew pictures of graveyards and people getting stabbed. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven supporting Teresas claim that Jamies behaviour was nothing to do with the way he was being raised but was due to a medical problem. He was temporarily put on Ritalin, but it didnt agree with him and the problems continued. Aged ten, he was expelled from primary school and completed his final year at another school. Secondary school was equally disastrous. He lasted just four days at The Priory City of Lincoln Academy before being suspended and then expelled. Teresa blames the teachers for handling him badly. I told them, if hes on one and runs off, dont chase him. It will make him worse. But they chased him round the whole school. Jamie, who takes a drug called Elvanse for his hyperactivity, goes to a special school in Lincoln for disruptive pupils, but only for an hour-and-a-half each day and more often than not he doesnt turn up. Instead, he roams the streets, trying to impress the older boys and men he hangs around with. It was them, says Teresa, who got him on Black Mamba. The addictive class B drug, which mimics cannabis but is far more potent, was banned in May when the Psychoactive Substances Act came into effect but is still sold illegally by dealers on Lincolns streets at 10 a go. Teresa and Jennifer first found empty packets of the drug in Jamies pockets a couple of years ago. He was zonked out on it, says Teresa. He couldnt even speak. When she stopped giving him money to spend at KFC and McDonalds, she noticed money and items going missing from her flat. Last month things got dramatically worse when he began smoking it nearly every day, smashing up the flat when she refused to give him money. At one point, she called the police. When they got here hed stopped. They said: Well, hes calm now so everythings all right. But Teresa believes that only rehab or a secure unit or boot camp will save her grandson. He needs professional help, she says. As for her own responsibilities as Jamies main carer, Teresa insists she is doing all she can. He gets everything. Hes had a PlayStation. Ive bought him ten bikes and hes sold them all for drugs money. He gets proper spoilt twenty thousand grand in debt spoilt. I had to go bankrupt in the end. Teresa, who says she herself suffers from anxiety and depression, insists she will do anything for her children. Some might say that this is part of the problem. She is proud that her home is a magnet for waifs and strays. Her dream, she says, is to have her own childrens home. If I won the Lottery, Id buy a big eight-bedroom house with a play room and a pool room. We wouldnt need to go out. Wed all live together. But her matriarchal ambitions are largely driven by her own miserable childhood. She was shown little affection by her mother. She has only met her father twice, once when she was 18 and once last year. She grew up in poverty, skipped school because of bullying and was often hungry and cold. I had bronchitis all the time, she says. I still suffer with my chest but I cant stop smoking because Id crack up without my cigarettes. Pregnancy, at the age of 16, offered a way out. I wanted something for me, she says. I love being a mum. I love looking after everyones kids. Aside from a temporary six-month stint as a packer in the Walkers Crisps factory, she has never worked. Over the years, she reckons she has taken in and cared for between 15 and 20 children who are not related to her. I dont get paid for it, I do it all off my own back. Im a very loving person. That sentiment is echoed by the heart-shaped ornaments hanging all over the flat. Some are inscribed with sugar-sweet platitudes Theres no place like home, Home is where the heart is. In the kitchen, another sign reminds family members: There are so many reasons to be happy. But though Teresa is driven by a belief that she is creating the warm, loving home she missed out on as a child, something has clearly gone tragically wrong. And its hard to see what might break this familys never-ending cycle of hopelessness and dependence on the state, especially given that Teresa and her adult daughters believe they are powerless to change. I cant stop being what I am. I cant help it, says Teresa. For now, Christmas offers a brief distraction from their struggles. Teresa has done all her present shopping, helped, in part, by a timely 600 bingo win. Jamie is being treated to 100 Nike Air trainers and 40 Nike tracksuit bottoms, an 80 second-hand iPhone 4, a 30 Joop! aftershave gift set as well as some smaller gifts. His mother Jennifer has bought him a second-hand laptop. How long he holds onto these gifts, of course, remains to be seen. On Christmas Day itself, Teresa will cook for however many people turn up to her flat. There will be dancing although, she admits, the neighbours will moan at the loud music. Sometimes she wonders how she manages to keep going. Her eyes well up with tears when she talks about the toll that family life is taking on her. All I have ever done is look after other people, she says. But theres no one to look after me. The professionals who have tried to help the Poulton family might argue that they have been offered opportunities to improve their lives. But if the family arent prepared to help themselves, then it goes without saying that social workers and community police officers and support workers and counsellors and teachers cant perform miracles. Experts will tell you that the only cure for a hangover is to not drink so much alcohol. But now a new test based on 100 traditional remedies from around the world, promise to ease your throbbing head and reduce your urge to vomit - although some are so unusual they might well make you feel worse. Back in ancient Roman times, for instance, they believed deep frying a canary was the best way to cure you of your hangover, but it's probably best not to try this one at home. Scroll down to take the test A new test by Ebookers will tell you which hangover cure from around the world will cure you of your ills quickest, depending on how fuzzy your head is The test works by asking you on a scale of one to five how hungover you are. You can then tick a box to see if you eat meat and fish, and answer yes or no to the question: 'If it will aid you in your recovery, could you stand the idea of more drink?' The test by Ebookers will then generate a hangover cure from around the world that it claims will be the best cure for your pain. In Hungary, a legend has it that sparrow droppings in brandy will also do the trick. Luckily some other suggestions are slightly more palatable. The test reveals that some traditional cures are stranger than others, such as deep frying a canary - an ancient Roman custom In Hungary, a legend has it that sparrow droppings in brandy will cure you of a hangover The trick to a hangover in the UK can be drinking more alcohol - termed 'hair of the dog' The British tradition of drinking more alcohol to ease the hangover is among the cures the test could recommend to you. A full English, ceviche, or a mince pie with chocolate milk will also eliminate your fuzzy head, according to some national traditions. Find out what your ideal hangover cure should be by taking the test below. It hasn't been a good week for Michel Roux Jr. The renowned chef has admitted that he pays some staff at this 212-a-head restaurant below minimum wage and, yesterday, that they do not receive a share of the service charge. The backlash has been fierce, particularly from former fans of the 56-year-old, who rose to public attention for his former judging role on MasterChef: The Professionals and other TV appearances. And many have shared their disappointment in the chef patron of the Michelin-starred Le Gavroche restaurant in central London on social media. Michel Roux Jr has admitted that he pays some staff at this 212-a-head restaurant below minimum wage and, yesterday, that they do not receive a share of the service charge Among names too swear-ridden to print here, the chef has been branded a 'slave-wage paying tip-thief,' 'greedy,' and a 'Scrooge'. The scandal is particularly embarrassing for the chef, a member of the Roux cooking dynasty, because last month a spokesman for Le Gavroche said that ' all staff, front of house and kitchen, share in the 13 per cent discretionary service charge'. But the chef has now confirmed that the Mayfair restaurant regards the charge as 'revenue' and keeps all of it. The service charge at Le Gavroche totals 27.56 if customers pay the 212 for the fixed price menu - and many would have assumed that front of house and kitchen staff would take a share of that amount. Many former Michel Roux Jr fans have shared their disappointment in the renowned chef It follows the chef's similarly controversial confession that some staff are paid below the minimum wage at the restaurant, something for which he has apologised for. The scandals have turned fans into critics on social media. Holly Anthony said: 'Sometimes your idols aren't who you thought they were... I feel sorry to have eaten at Le Gavroche! Disappointed in Michel Roux Jr.' Dave of Meadowbank called Roux Jr a 'slave-wage paying tip-thief,' and commented that the chef was probably not having 'a good week'. HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR WAITER RECEIVES YOUR TIP The British Hospitality Association (BHA) makes clear on its website that there are differences between service charges and tips. It explains that a service charge 'is a payment suggested by the restaurant, which the customer is totally free to make or not. The payment is made to the restaurant... It is not a cash tip.' Tips meanwhile are defined as 'additional payments given by the customer over and above the amount of the bill and any discretionary service charge. They fall into two categories: cash tips, given to an individual employee, or non-cash tips... paid to the restaurant.' However there is an expectation that a service charge is in whole or at least partly paid out to staff members, despite there being no legal requirement to do so. The BHA says it is good practice for restaurants to 'disclose to customers how they deal with discretionary service charge and non-cash tips, at least by a written note available for inspection at each restaurant and on the restaurants website'. But in light of the recent revelations, the only way to guarantee that your waiter will receive your tip is to give them money in cash. As the BHA explains: 'Cash tips are payments given directly by customers to individual employees, not to the restaurant... Any arrangement for sharing cash tips among employees should be in accordance with their wishes. The restaurant owner will not be involved in this process.' Advertisement Psychic Lauren said that despite previously being a fan of Roux Jr, she declared the chef 'cancelled'. Cailean McBride said it was 'depressing' and believed Michel Roux Jr to be a 'greedy ****.' Julie Webster called the practice of not paying a service charge to staff 'absolutely disgraceful,' while Julie Hull said he was now a 'greedy, lying, exploitative unscrupulous Scrooge-y wee *******' in her eyes, despite previously liking him. Rachel Hawkins said she had 'fallen out of love' with him, and Christian Guthier said he would never watching anything he starred in ever again. Many simply said they were 'disappointed'. Many fans said on social media that they were 'disappointed' in renowned chef Michel Roux Jr following the service charge revelations Commenting on service charges, a spokesman for Le Gavroche, which opened in London in 1967 and has two Michelin stars, said: 'Wages are not dependent on fluctuating levels of discretionary service charges or tips. 'Gratuities form just one part of the payroll each month. Service charge is treated as revenue and the restaurant pays all taxes accordingly.' Roux also announced yesterday that the service charge will no longer be discretionary. 'There is too much ambiguity between service charges and tips. So from the end of January 2017 we are going service included,' he said. 'This will be marked on the bill and menus so as to make it clear that no further payment or gratuity is needed and credit card slips will be closed.' Earlier this week the chef described himself as embarrassed and sorry that some chefs were receiving just 5.50 an hour for 68 hours work a week less than the salary of a fast food worker. Hospitals have been ordered to cancel hundreds of thousands of operations in a desperate bid to free up beds. Health bosses have written to all trusts instructing them to postpone most non-urgent procedures until January 16. This includes hip and knee replacements, some heart surgery, cataract operations and hernia repair. Hospitals are becoming increasingly overcrowded, with NHS figures yesterday showing they are on average 95.3 per cent full. Health bosses have written to all trusts instructing them to postpone 'most' non-urgent procedures until the 16th of January This is up from 95 per cent this time last year and well above the 85 per cent safe level, putting patients at higher risk of infections Yet figures also show that 20 per cent of space is taken up by elderly bed-blockers who cannot be discharged due to a lack of social care. Hospitals are likely to become even fuller over Christmas, when GP surgeries close and unwell patients end up in A&E. But the measures will cause huge anxiety for thousands of patients needing routine operations who will now have to wait until the New Year. Senior doctors said they were a false economy that would only delay the pressures and create a backlog. An estimated 620,500 operations are carried out on the NHS in a typical month, although it is not known what proportion will be cancelled. The postponed procedures include hip and knee replacements, some heart surgery, cataract operations and hernia repair The instructions were issued in a letter from NHS Improvement, which oversees hospitals, and uncovered by Health Service Journal. It states: In preparing for managing winter pressures, it is recommended that all providers pace their elective work. Trusts are urged to cease most in-patient elective activity and focus on treating emergency activity. The letter adds: Given the level of risk facing the system, it is clear that having sufficient bed capacity going into Christmas is critical. This is yet another indication of how the NHS is struggling to the cope with the increased pressures during winter Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth Hospitals should reduce occupancy levels to 85 per cent between next Monday and January 16 by focusing on admission avoidance. Patients who come in for routine operations may end up staying several days in hospital, taking up bed space that may be needed by others falling suddenly ill. But shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: This is yet another indication of how the NHS is struggling to cope with the increased pressures during winter. The Tory failure to provide the NHS with the funding it needs means hospitals are having to close operating theatres over Christmas just to get through the winter. This short-term fix is only going to store up problems and leave more and more people stuck on waiting lists. Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society of Acute Medicine, which represents more than 1,000 hospital staff, warned it was a false economy and the system could be pushed beyond the point at which it can cope. PATIENTS AT THREAT Patients are at 'real threat' of contracting deadly infections this winter because hospitals are too overcrowded, a think-tank warned today. Managers are having to roll out an extra 3,500 contingency beds every day and cram them into wards or elsewhere. This is equivalent to opening an additional five and a half hospitals which on average have 650 beds each. The Nuffield Trust is concerned that cramming these beds in so tightly is putting patients at greater risk of infections. Advertisement Unless we can maintain social care during this period to maintain safe discharge processes we will simply be building up a bigger problem for January, he added. Chris Hopson, of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said the measures were a classic illustration of how trusts are now caught between a rock and a hard place. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned yesterday that hospitals are struggling to cope with demand. Figures compiled by the college from 60 NHS trusts showed a fifth of beds are taken up by an elderly patient well enough to go home. However, they cannot be discharged due to a lack of social care and they are the main reason hospitals are so full. Earlier this week the Government gave local authorities the green light to raise council tax by 6 per cent to ease the crisis in social care. NHS Improvement said: NHS providers will be doing all they can to make sure their patients are able to receive quality care during the busy Christmas period. When Ramjeet Rathore was rushed to a premier private hospital after suffering injuries in a road accident he expected first-class medical care. What he got instead, he claims, was a nasty combination of apathy and a mammoth bill. Ramjeet's complaint is one among dozens that the Delhi Medical Council is examining with the city's top five private hospitals also under the scanner. The Delhi Medical Council is examining with the city's top five private hospitals also under the scanner after a number of complaints as to the quality of care and the attitude of staff 'Within nine days, my family was given a medical bill of Rs 11 lakh when I was in a private ward,' the resident of south Delhi's Badarpur area told Mail Today. 'And when I was unable to pay the huge bills, I was shifted to a free ward, where doctors are not very serious about patient care and rarely visit. 'These private hospitals just want to make huge bills.' Max Hospital (Saket and Shalimar Bagh), Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Apollo Hospital, BLK Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital are all on the alleged-offenders list. Mail Today sought a reaction from Apollo on the Ramjeet case but the hospital did not respond. The institute was at the centre of a row this year when some of its personnel were accused of running a kidney-for-cash syndicate in connivance with some touts. DMC registrar Dr Girish Tyagi said the council received 253 complaints of medical faults by doctors in 2015 and the incidents are being looked into. Devashish Bhattacharyya, who is a doctor by profession, has accused the Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital of medical negligence. 'My father was intentionally administered wrong treatment due to which I had to move him in a very serious condition to some other hospital,' he said. 'Had the doctors at Fortis Hospital provided my father with appropriate treatment, he would have been alive today,' added Bhattacharyya, who has filed a complaint to DMC regarding the matter. Zaheeruddin, suffering from acute Dengue fever, is comforted by his mother Amina in a ward at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi The hospital authorities did not respond to the questions from Mail Today. The Fortis Hospital at Shalimar Bagh was in the news this year over reports of operating on the wrong leg of a patient. On October 26, Rohini sector-13 resident Balwan Singh lodged a complaint against Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh. A similar, complaint was registered on November 2 against the hospital's Saket branch by a patient, Harsh Gupta, who hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Prasdesh. When contacted, Max Hospital said, 'Max Hospitals take allegations of medical negligence very seriously and if there is any adverse remarks from DMC against any doctor, the hospital takes appropriate action.' Kaushal Mudgal, a patient from Gwalior who came to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in October, registered a complaint against the institute. Patients suffering from Dengue fever lie at special makeshift Dengue ward at a hospital, in New Delhi, India The hospital administration told Mail Today, 'Since the complaint is under consideration, we cannot comment. However, the hospital has its own ethics committee, which deals with such issues and takes the matters very seriously.' BLK hospital refused to comment on the matter. Among other private hospitals, Moolchand, Rockland and Indian Spinal Injuries Centre are also being probed over complaints. it is to divide up large sums of money and avoid the taxman The scam is effective because the more accounts you have, the A Punjab businessman was laughing all the way to his 85 bank accounts until the Enforcement Directorate caught up with him on Wednesday night. Top revenue intelligence sources in the Home and Finance ministries say the currency switch is slowly finding public acceptance. Concerned citizens have been actively supplying information and aiding raiding teams about those hoarding the new currency, and those using bogus bank accounts and black money. A Punjab businessman was laughing all the way to his 85 bank accounts until the Enforcement Directorate caught up with him on Wednesday night As the drive gets more intense, the scanner is on bank managers and entry operators as a clear nexus between the two has emerged leading to a trail of big catches. Top sources in the government confirmed that the ED has unearthed two big cases of money laundering in 24 hours. Mail Today has exclusive information about these two unreported cases, one from Jalandhar in Punjab and another from Kolkata in West Bengal. The ED, after receiving information from the public, raided a premises in Jalandhar and found the businessman with 85 bank accounts in his name. 'The matter has been referred to the CBI for further investigation,' said a top official, requesting anonymity. In another case of money laundering involving a Jan Dhan account of a poor woman, a Kolkata-based businessman had used her account to transfer Rs 58 lakh. Police inside an Axis Bank branch Sector-51 in Noida that was raided by Income Tax officials 'When we received this input from the financial intelligence unit of ED, the matter was pursued further and we later found that the businessman had actually transferred Rs 7 crore through RTGS using such mode. 'This case will also be probed now by the CBI,' said the source. There are many such arrests and confirmed hauls in the net of revenue intelligence teams currently raiding, but all cannot be revealed pending investigation, officials indicated. The ED has already conducted 67 raids on FEMA violators, 36 raids on those indulging in hawala transactions and surveyed about 50 banks under money laundering cloud. Sources said the top leadership has given a free hand to raiding teams with a clear message that 'no one will be spared' and after India Today TV's sting on money laundering, the influential and mighty are also in the 'suspicious club.' Your money is no good here: An auto driver refuses to take a 500 rupee note from a passenger in New Delhi, India Apart from bank managers, who are the first stop for account opening and transactions still in many parts of the country, data entry operators manage the computers and appropriate software for entering, updating, researching, verifying and retrieving data related to various transactions across systems. In one such case in Noida on Thursday, about 20 fake accounts were detected in an Axis Bank branch, with the company already facing the heat over similar cases. The Income Tax department raided the bank's Chandni Chowk branch last week and found Rs 100 crore deposited in 44 fake accounts. Such fake accounts and reports of businessmen hoarding new currency are now coming to light, and with the Income Tax department, ED, CBI and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence along with local police gathering information in plainclothes from the public near banks and ATMs, the government is only going to make things tougher for hoarders, say officials. Some states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana Punjab, Goa and Odisha, are currently under constant monitoring by intelligence teams, independent from cities like Delhi and Chandigarh. When asked what the government is doing with the new currency recovered, a senior official replied: 'Nearly Rs 375 crore, including Rs 80 crore of new currency, has been found in raids by various agencies and it is being put back for public use through ATMs and banks.' Rs 60 crore found in Axis Bank vaults The Income Tax Department on Thursday unearthed Rs 60 crore from the accounts of 20 shell companies in a raid at an Axis Bank branch in Noida, making it the third branch of the bank in the NCR post-demonetisation to come under the scanner for money laundering. In the search, Rs 60 crores were found in 20 accounts of as many shell companies, an official said, adding the IT team was scanning the records to trace the directors of these companies. A team of I-T Department had earlier found that a jeweller in Noida had sold gold bricks worth Rs 600 crore after demonetisation and has accounts in the same branch of the bank in Noida's Sector 51. Axis' retail banking head Rajiv Anand said so far, the investigating agencies had visited eight branches, including five in New Delhi (file pic) Meanwhile, Axis Bank said it has so far suspended 50 accounts and 24 employees for suspicious activities. Asserting that investigating agencies acted on tip-offs provided by the bank itself, it admitted that the adverse publicity was affecting its brand, but hoped this was temporary. Axis' retail banking head Rajiv Anand said so far, the investigating agencies had visited eight branches, including five in New Delhi, and the number of employees suspended has gone up to 24 from 19 last week. It is not that Axis Bank is under the scanner, but the person doing the transaction with us is, he said, adding at no point, it has been asked to shut any branch. 'The suspension of account is temporary and the bank carries out extra due diligence, including a visit to account holder's address in some cases,' he said. The bank refused to share details of amounts transacted in the suspicious accounts, but Anand conceded that a bulk of the affected accounts are in the bullion trade. It said all the accounts are KYC-compliant, but the problem arises when account-holders do suspicious transactions or those involving shell companies. The bank has defined criteria for flagging such transactions and regularly files STRs (suspicious transaction reports) and cash transactions reports with the Financial Investigation Unit, he said, adding all suspicious deals reported/investigated till now were first reported by the bank as STRs. The Supreme Court has ordered the closure of all liqour shops along National and state highways, stressing the need to improve road safety and curb the menace of driving under the influence. The court also made it clear that licenses of existing shops will not be renewed after March 31 next year. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur also ruled that there should not be any liqour vends within 500 metres of such highways and they should also be not visible from such roads. The court made it clear that licenses of existing shops will not be renewed after March 31 next year The court was delivering its verdict on petitions which challenged various high court verdicts, which disapproved the sale of liquor on highways. The bench also restrained authorities from issuing new licenses. Chief secretaries of every state has been asked to chalk out plan for the enforcement of the ban in consultation with excise and municipal officials of each state. The order is meant to increase safety and security of commuters and drivers who get 'distracted' after seeing the liquor shops On Wednesday, the court had said that it would order shutting of all liquor vends on national and state highways for the safety and security of commuters who get 'distracted' after seeing the shops, causing accidents. The apex court had come down heavily on states for not heeding the Centre's advice to not give licences to liquor vends on highways. The bench pointed out that instead of following the Centre's instruction, the states have issued more licences. The court claims that this decision will help in reducing the cases of drunken driving In 2007, first communication was released to the state offices and since then several such notices have been sent across to the states. 'We would not like any vend on national highways, state highways, advertisements, or signage about the availability of liquor shops.' 'We will direct all highway authorities to remove all sign boards. It should be absolutely free from any distraction or temptation. It should not be visible. Visibility is the first temptation,' Justice Thakur had said. Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested three men, including the main conspirator who helped the inmates in escaping from of Nabha Jail. At the time of apprehension they all were trying to flee to Punjab. Having been intercepted by the police they opened fire. The arrested persons have been identified as Chanpreet Singh, Harjot Singh and Ranjit Singh Kalkat. Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested three persons who allegedly felicitated the Nabha jailbreak 'They all were arrested from Lajpat Nagar area when they were planning to flee to Punjab. Three sophisticated semi-automatic pistols along with 17 live cartridges of 7.65 mm each, have been recovered from them,' said PS Kushwah, deputy commissioner of Police (Special Cell). Khalistan Liberation Force chief Harminder Singh Mintoo had managed to escape the jail but was later arrested Chanpreet alias Channa is one of the main accused in the sensational Nabha Jail break. Channa played the role of the hitman in the infamous jailbreak case in which 14 men stormed the jail in four cars and facilitated the escape of six inmates on November 27. He had snatched weapons from the sentry and assisted all the six inmates to flee. The six inmates who had escaped the jail were KLF chief Harminder Singh Mintoo, and Kashmeer Singh, Gurpreet Singh Shekhon, Vicky Gonder, Kulpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh. Channa was lodged in Kapurthala jail for a murder case, but was out on bail since August, police said. KLF chief Mintoo was picked-up from Nizamuddin Railway Station by Special Cell on the intervening night of November 27 and 28 after he had escaped the Nabha jail. 'His custodial interrogation revealed that some of the escapees and criminals involved in the jailbreak could take shelter in Delhi,' Kushwah said. officials investigating after the five inmates of Nabha Jail Channa along with others had entered the jail premises, snatched the gun from the guard and opened indiscriminate fire to guard the jail inmates, helping them to escape. During interrogation Channa admitted that after the escape, they fled to Chandigarh, and stayed there for a night. Police informed that the three accused were living in a rented flat in Lajpat Nagar After learning that Palwinder Singh - one of their accomplices in jail break was caught by the UP police in Shamli the same day - they went back to Delhi, taking shelter in Lajpat Nagar area. The lived in a rented flat, which was provided by a man named Ranjit Singh Kalkat. Chanpreet also revealed that he and his associates involved in jail break, had earlier robbed a businessman in Ludhiana in September 2016, by entering his house, posing as CBI officers. After Vodafone marked his credit score, Oliver was told he should have been checking his monthly payments In the summer I received a text from Vodafone telling me I was having trouble paying my bill and when I logged onto the account I was shocked to see an outstanding payment of 175. As I have always paid via direct debit this came as quite a surprise but I paid the full amount straight away and cleared the account. Then in October when I applied for a new bank account my application was rejected and the bank said this was because of my credit rating. This surprised me so I obtained a copy of my credit report and on it saw several missed payments from Vodafone between March and June this year but as I have had a long-standing direct debit payment in place I was at a total loss over how this had happened. I called Vodafone and was told by a customer service agent that my bills had been migrated and the direct debit payment had been cancelled by mistake. I then went back to the credit agencies to try and clear my credit score but I was told that Vodafone had told the agency that the missed payments are valid and should remain there. After speaking to Vodafone again, I have now been told there is nothing to show that my direct debit had been cancelled by Vodafone, and that I should have been checking my account each month to see if the bill was being paid. I find this outrageous and I am now in a situation where mistakes by Vodafone have harmed my financial history and my ability to open a bank account, let alone other financial products. I have always paid via direct debit, I cleared the bill when this was cancelled by Vodafone and I feel Ive done nothing wrong. All I want now is for my credit report to be cleared and for Vodafone to take responsibility for whats happened. Oliver Poyntz-Wright, via email. Rebecca Rutt, of This is Money, replies: Something is going seriously wrong at Vodafone as your story is the third one along these lines weve heard about in the past few months. Meg Dickens was in a similar situation last week whereby she was having to call up and pay her bill each money to Vodafone because of a faulty direct debit payment and Kayleigh Gibsons direct debit was cancelled three times by the mobile giant, without her permission or knowledge. ARE YOU HAVING A PROBLEM WITH VODAFONE? Are you having problems with a Vodafone contract? This is Money would like to hear your story. E-mail: rebecca.rutt@thisismoney.co.uk When you sign up to pay via direct debit you do so because you dont want the hassle of calling up and paying a bill every month and if its set up properly its meant to automatically take money from your bank account. However in your case this hasnt happened and your credit score has now been affected, which means youve been rejected for a bank account application and your ability to take out credit in the future may be affected. You spoke to someone at Vodafone who told you the direct debit payment had been cancelled as a mistake, yet Vodafone hasnt yet apologised or cleared your credit score. You then spoke to a different person, a week later, and you were told there was no record of this being Vodafone's mistake. On top of this, you have tried to fix the problem yourself and youve been told that Vodafone has confirmed the missed payments are valid. We got in contact with Vodafone to find out why this has happened and why it is now refusing to clear your credit score. Vodafone was fined 4.6 million earlier this year by Ofcom yet problems still continue A spokesperson came back to us and said: Mr Poynz-Wrights direct debit failed when we transferred his account to our new system. Were sorry this happened. Weve put this right and have corrected his credit file. Well also offer a months free line rental by way of apology for the problems he has experienced. Your credit score has been cleared and the problem rectified but theres really no excuse as to why this happened in the first place, or why Vodafone refused to put this right before we got in touch. In October the mobile giant received a fine of 4.6 million by the Ofcom over a string of failings, including mis-selling, inaccurate bills and poor complaints handling, but we are still hearing regularly from our readers who are stuck in the middle of disputes with the firm. Our sister publication, the Mail on Sunday, has also reported numerous tales of customers who are caught in the middle of long-standing issues with Vodafone and there few signs of the problem slowing down. Another route you could have taken is complaining officially to Vodafone, and then after eight weeks taking your complaint to the ombudsman if you werent happy with the response from Vodafone. Complaints about Vodafone are dealt with by the Ombudsman Services: Communications which can look into issues such as yours independently and could ask Vodafone to clear your credit score and pay you compensation for the time youve spent trying to resolve the problem. Murdoch men have a habit of making life difficult at Westminster. Downing Street and ministers have good reason to keep them on-side and in support of policy especially at election times. But government also has a duty to scrutinise and make sure that the support craved does not interfere with media diversity. The 11.7billion 21st Century Fox bid for the 61 per cent of Sky shares it doesn't own is certain to open old wounds. One trusts that Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport (not be confused with the Apprentice sidekick) will need to pass the deal on to Sharon White at Ofcom for a ruling rather than try to stitch up a sweetheart deal and a political stink. Murdoch and Sons: Rupert Murdoch centre with sons Lachlan, left, and James, right Given the scale of Sky's operations on the Continent, it would be surprising if the formidable EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager didn't want to take a look too. All the political arguments from Sky this time revolve around the governance changes over the last five years. Fox will attempt to show that it is an entirely separate legal entity from News Corporation, owner of News UK, which controls the Sun and Times. It wants to make plain the plurality and ethical issues, which killed the approach last time are off the table. If you believe that, then think again. Proposals for the future of Sky are understood to have been outlined by independent directors to Rupert, James and Lachlan Murdoch in New York. Leadership of the boards of Fox and News Corp virtually is interchangeable and for that matter James Murdoch is the chairman of Sky. So the idea of separation does not hold to close scrutiny. As for ethical worries, News Corp faces up to 20 legal claims over stories involving the 'Fake Sheikh', including one from the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. Many of the same plurality and reputational problems, which faced the Murdoch dynasty last time may be more deeply disguised, but haven't gone away. In addition Ofcom will have to consider whether fearlessly independent Sky News would look the same if forced into bed with its combustible American twin Fox News. When the Murdoch dynasty recently considered the purchase of Sky there were three options on the table. The first was to sell down their Sky stake, the second for Fox to make a take-it-or-leave-it bid and third to go for an agreed deal with independent directors, which would allow them to fast track the transaction through a Scheme of Arrangement. The latter was chosen and an initial premium of 30 per cent was upgraded to 40 per cent because of an intervention by Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen, the senior independent director. The bid premium turns out to be far less attractive when the impact of the falling pound and previously dismal Sky share price is taken into account as well as the 5billion or so that Fox collected from Sky investors for Fox's stakes in German and Italian offshoots. It requires 75 per cent of minority Sky shareholders to approve the deal. Sky passes Go and collects 200million if the whole caboodle collapses. Rupert Murdoch and his family have devoted an enormous amount of time, energy and funds into turning Sky into a technical and creative powerhouse for Britain. But we should not underestimate the resource that made this possible in the shape of equity and funds provided by UK-based investors and high quality British technical and creative talent. Allowing the centre of gravity to shift across the Atlantic would be a tragedy for a national star made in Britain that is now taking Germany and Italy by storm. Shell game Extravagant praise by Shell chairman Charles Holliday for departing finance director Simon Henry only fuels suspicion the Anglo-Dutch oil major is not revealing all. What we can probably be sure of is that Henry will not be joining Exxon-Mobil boss Rex Tillerson at the State Department. Henry is largely regarded as the leading light behind Shell's 40billion takeover of BG just a year ago. He, together with former rival for the top job and chief executive Ben van Beurden were the main architects of a deal, which required a hefty recovery in oil and gas prices to make economic sense. Opec came along just in time both for Shell and Henry who has made a timely personal share sale. Very shrewd. Cyber warriors Admission by Marissa Mayer's Yahoo that up to 1bn user accounts may have been hacked is a blow to investors rubbing their hands at the prospect of Verizon's 3.9bn bid. It is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good. Britain's top defence company BAE systems is rapidly speeding up its commitment to cyber-security. Among other things it is to take on 80 cyber security graduates in its Applied Intelligence division, more than in any other parts of the business. It's heralded as the next global superpower. And after beating the West with its economic growth, education and productivity, China has also topped the table in terms of real estate - with four of its sprawling mega-cities making it into the top five of a Global Cities Index. China's capital Beijing, home to around 22 million people, has jumped from fourth place to pole position in the index from fund manager Schroders, which ranks cities according to their future prospects and desirability of real estate. Despite the ongoing machinations of Brexit, London is the only city not in China or the US to make it into the top 10. It jumped two places to number eight - partly down to the combination of high demand alongside Green Belt planning rules that limit supply and increase the value of existing real estate. On the up: Beijing, the world's third most populous city, steals the top spot from Shanghai After Beijing, the next three places have been bagged by fellow Chinese cities Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin. In fact, New York was the only non-Chinese city to sneak into the top five, falling from second to fifth place. After that, North America features heavily in the index, with Los Angeles, Dallas, Huston and Chicago all making it in to the top 10. Overall, the US takes 17 of the 30 places on the index. The Global Cities 30 index is based on a range of factors, including the projected growth of the economy, disposable incomes over the next decade and the size of the working population. It's compiled by the team behind the Schroder Global Cities Real Estate fund. The fund's aim is to invest in shares that should benefit from strong demand for commercial property in the world's most highly-ranked global cities. In particular, it looks for cities that face restrictions on how far they can sprawl, whether through geographical limits or planning rules, such as London's green belt. The essential idea behind the investment strategy is that these are the cities where global growth is concentrated and that their enduring attraction gives companies that own a slice of them considerably long-term pricing power. The cities have a Warren Buffett-style moat. Location, location, location: Shanghai, New York and London (l-r) are second, fifth and eighth The 'ideal' global city has high projected growth, a growing population and skilled workers with high disposable incomes. The top ranking cities also tend to boast excellent universities and strong infrastructure. Top 10 global cities 1 - Beijing, China 2 - Shanghai, China 3 - Shenzhen, China 4 - Tianjin, China 5 - New York, United States 6 - Los Angeles, United States 7 - Dallas, United States 8 - London, United Kingdom 9 - Houston, United States 10 - Chicago, United States They are economically diverse and draw in residents by offering plenty of cultural and leisure activities. Hugo Machin, co-head of Schroder Global Real Estate Securities, said that disposable income - the amount of money the population has to spend on non-essential items - is the only thing now holding Chinese cities back. 'Chinese cities continue to grow at a rapid rate as the country industrialises. GDP and retail sales are growing quickly. 'The only one of the five factors that holds these cities back is disposable income but the rate of growth there is strong even if the absolute number is below peers. 'We expect these Chinese cities to become increasingly important and play a larger part in our investment universe in the coming years.' Due to Chinese rules, many of the cities in the country are difficult for individuals to access by investing directly, but there are other ways to gain exposure, for example through Hong Kong-listed real estate companies. Machin added that London 'still remains one of our favourite cities due to its highly skilled workforce, large tourist demand and cultural appeal and we believe it will continue to thrive'. Crunch time: Rivington Biscuits has crashed into administration An iconic biscuit maker which specialises in pink wafers has crashed into administration blaming the fall in the pound for its demise. Rivington Biscuits, which produces Pink Panther wafers, said spiralling costs due to the drop in value of sterling after June's referendum had left it 'no viable alternative'. The loss-making firm said margins had been squeezed after imported ingredients used to make its biscuits became more expensive when paid for in sterling. Almost 100 people have lost their jobs, leaving just 24 people at the Wigan-based firm to fulfil orders into the New Year. It becomes the latest food manufacturer to blame Brexit for rising costs, after Unilever sparked a dispute with Tesco for raising the price of Marmite. A finance boss at Royal Dutch Shell who was tipped to take over the top job has suddenly left just days after he sold stock worth 1million. Credited with leading the firm's 41billion takeover of oil and gas group BG last year, Simon Henry was a key lieutenant of chief executive Ben van Beurden. But the 55-year-old's departure was announced yesterday to the shock of the markets. Relatively unknown internal finance executive Jessica Uhl has been appointed in his place. It emerged Henry sold more than 1million of shares on December 1, within 24 hours of the historic Opec deal to cut production that then sent the price of oil soaring. Shell finance boss Simon Henry sold stock worth 1m just days before he suddenly left the firm Shell would not say why the 3.2million-a-year boss was leaving, but issued a statement thanking him for his role in the BG purchase, which increased its oil and gas reserves by around a quarter at a time of falling oil prices. While there is no suggestion of impropriety, experts were yesterday looking for reasons as to why one of the most influential bosses in the oil industry would suddenly quit. One source said: 'It was completely out of the blue. There was no inkling of his departure among staff.' Alex Brooks, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said: 'The highlight for him has been the BG deal for good or for ill. It was a massive leverage buyout and they were hoping they would be repaid with the oil price. To date that has not worked out. Jessica Uhl is inheriting a challenging situation.' Retired Shell executive Paddy Briggs said: 'I think it is quite surprising. There was a period possibly about four or five years ago when he was being talked about as a possible chief executive. 'If Shell had decided they wanted a finance person as head honcho, then he would have been in the spot. He struck me as being very personable.' It emerged that on December 1, Henry sold 50,000 shares at 21.63 each, making 1,081,500. Royal Dutch Shell shares soared 60p from 21.18 at closing on November 30 to 21.78 at closing on December 1, following the cartel of oil-producing nations' deal to cut production by 1.2m barrels per day in a bid to boost prices. A company spokesman said Henry, who earned 3,171,000 in 2015, still held 'significantly above' the required holding of four times his base annual salary in shares. She added: 'All director dealings in shares are reported as per regulatory requirements; this was the only sale of shares made by Simon Henry this year.' Henry is also an independent non-executive director at Lloyds Banking Group, where he is a member of the audit and risk committees. The married father-of-three is due to stay in his role at Shell until March 9, after more than 30 years with the company and seven years in his current role. He is also regional executive director for Asia Pacific, in charge of business development in China, and was group head of investor relations from 2001 to 2004. Henry said: 'I have been privileged to spend the past 34 years working with great colleagues, in a great company. 'Together we have made a difference in an industry that really matters to so many people around the world. 'I wish Jessica every success in the role, and am confident that she and Shell will deliver a world-class investment in the most responsible and sustainable way.' Uhl, 48, is an American citizen who grew up in California, has worked for Enron and Citibank, and is executive vice-president of finance for Royal Dutch Shell's gas business. She is married and has three children. A multi-billion pound takeover of Yahoo was on the brink of collapse last night after a fresh hacking scandal at the beleaguered internet giant, sources said. Verizon had put in a 3.9billion bid for the business, but may walk away following Yahoo's announcement that 1billion users' details have been stolen. Hackers may have gained access to names, email addresses, telephone numbers, passwords and dates of birth, as well as security questions and answers. It could potentially help criminals get inside bank accounts, social media pages and online shopping profiles. Concerns: Verizon had put in a 3.9bn bid for Yahoo, but may walk away following the announcement that 1bn users' details have been stolen The attack, which happened three years ago, but was only made public on Wednesday, is thought to be the biggest in history. It is the second to be announced by Yahoo this year, after the company disclosed a separate assault, which hit 500million accounts in 2014. The wave of bad press is likely to pile pressure on its struggling chief executive Marissa Mayer, who has previously faced criticism for frequently turning up late to meetings and micro-managing recruitment. And it is also making Verizon think twice about its plans to take the business on. The US telecoms group is seeking to secure its future by forging a key role in the online world, and acquired internet firm AOL in a 3.5billion deal last year. It warned there would be an impact on the Yahoo takeover after the last breach came to light. And if the company's brand is now fatally tarnished, Verizon may decide to walk away. A group led by AOL boss Tim Armstrong is still working on a plan to get Yahoo up and running after the takeover, sources said. But another team overseen by Verizon general counsel Craig Silliman is said to be assessing the damage. Insiders said they were looking at whether the deal should be abandoned or renegotiated at a lower price. Verizon is understood to want to ensure it is not responsible for any future legal fallout from the scandal. A spokesman said: 'As we've said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation. 'We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions.' Analysts said the business was likely to at least demand a hefty price cut. Paraag Amin, of equity research firm Peel Hunt, said there could be more revelations ahead. 'If they're only coming out with details of these two hacks now, who knows what's happened in the time since?' he said. 'If you were buying this business you would want two things firstly, some forensic consultants to come in to scan the entire system and ensure there's nothing else. 'You then want to make sure the business is safeguarded from anything in the future. 'But all of this will cost money and that is likely to be exacerbated by any fines Yahoo could have to pay.' And that was before even considering the reputational damage the episode had caused, Amin said. A former Tesco director has been told he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office over his role in the 326million accounting scandal that cost him his job. More than 2billion was wiped off the value of the supermarket in 2014 when an accounting black hole revealed the firm had overstated its profits by 263million. Kevin Grace, former commercial boss at the retailer, has now been told he will not face fraud charges. Probe dropped: Former Tesco director Kevin Grace has been told he will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office over his role in the 326m accounting scandal It comes just two weeks after his former colleague, Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke, was told he would not face charges. But some experts have predicted the supermarket could face a fine of up to 500million if the SFO finds evidence that a senior employee was involved in the alleged behaviour. Three former senior executives have been charged with fraud and will stand trial in September next year. All three have pleaded not guilty. The SFO has been investigating the supermarket since October 2014 and has said its probe will conclude by the end of the year. Last night the SFO was unavailable for comment. The family and friends of a 14-year-old Reno boy who was shot by a school district police officer marched to the district headquarters Wednesday afternoon to protest the use of lethal force at the high school campus. Logan Clark's mother, Cheryl Pitchford, was joined by about 100 people who jammed into the reception area at the Washoe County School District headquarters Wednesday afternoon to demand someone formally accept the petition that calls for campus officers to carry Tasers and pepper spray. She was joined by Demick La Flamme, the father of a friend of the hospitalized boy, who led the 2-mile march and delivered the petition to school officials. Police say Clark, who was publicly identified by his father Justin Clark, was threatening others with knives when he was shot in the chest December 7 while surrounded by dozens of students in a school courtyard at Procter R. Hug High School. He last was reported in critical but stable condition on Thursday. Scroll down for video Police say Logan Clark (above) was threatening others with knives when he was shot in the chest December 7. He was surrounded by dozens of students in a school courtyard at time of shooting This is the first picture of the 14-year-old recovering in the hospital, more than a week after he was shot in the chest by a cop at his Reno school His mother Cheryl Pitchford protested on Wednesday about his shooting. She is pictured above third from right while waiting for school officials to accept a petition on non-lethal force at the Washoe County School District headquarters The boy's lawyer, David Houston, said earlier he was in a medically induced coma after undergoing surgery for a stroke on Friday. Houston said the teen had been bullied and beaten before he brought two kitchen knives to the school for fear he'd be attacked again and ended up getting shot by the campus officer. District officials have refused to say if campus officers typically carry non-lethal weapons. They say they can't comment while an investigation continues into the officer-involved shooting that many Hug High School students captured on cellphone video and posted on social media. 'There had to be another way,' Pitchford said of her son being shot. Pitchford showed school officials a cellphone photo of her son with an oxygen mask and other tubes in a hospital bed while pleading for Washoe County School District Superintendent Traci Davis to come forward and better explain what had happened. Pitchford was joined by about 100 of the boy's classmates and friends who marched with her to the school office to deliver the petition The boy's lawyer, David Houston, said earlier he was in a medically induced coma after undergoing surgery for a stroke on Friday. Above protesters gather inside the district headquarters Davis said at a news conference a day after the shooting that the school's emergency response plans worked flawlessly and praised the officers' 'who acted swiftly to protect the safety of our students.' She's had no comment since she said in a statement Friday that she believes 'the officer's judgment saved other students from deadly force.' Pitchford said Wednesday she was not seeking an apology from the superintendent. 'She wasn't there. It's not her fault,' Pitchford said. 'It's her fault for not coming out and saying maybe that there was another way, or maybe it was not flawless like she said in her news conference or whatever she had. Because she wasn't there. She didn't know.' Irene Payne, the school district's chief of communications who accepted the petition from La Flamme and Pitchford, told The Associated Press she couldn't immediately comment on district police regarding the equipment campus officers typically carry. Demick La Flamme, center, carried the petition as people march to the Washoe County School District Headquarters Wednesday. La Flamme's son is a friend of the boy Classmates, family and friends of a 14-year-old Reno boy who was shot last week by a campus police officer leave the Washoe County School District headquarters, after delivering a petition on non-lethal force Like officers on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, school district police are separate from the Reno Police Department but like their counterparts are authorized to carry guns. UNR spokeswoman Kerri Garcia confirmed Thursday all their campus officers carry Tasers along with their service weapons. She said pepper spray is optional. Holly Welborn, policy director of the Nevada ACLU, said law officers have a duty under state law to use only the degree of force necessary to maintain community safety. 'We intend to review the use of force, emergency and bullying policies of the Washoe County School District and monitor developments as the Reno Police Department's investigation of this matter continues,' Welborn said Thursday after submitting a public records request to the school district. In an interview with the Today show Thursday morning, Clark's father Justin spoke out to defend his son - saying that administrators knew he was being bullied and did nothing. 'My son wasn't just some knife-wielding psychopath. It felt like he wanted to make sure he wasn't beat up and robbed,' Mr Clark, right, said of his 14-year-old son, left 'My son wasn't just some knife-wielding psychopath. It felt like he wanted to make sure he wasn't beat up and robbed,' Mr Clark said. Mr Clark also took issue with the police officer who he says jumped to using lethal force before trying other means of subduing his son. He said it's 'easy to see' in the video that his son's posture is 'defensive' and 'not an attacking posture'. He's also bleeding from the mouth, a sign of the fight he had allegedly just gotten into with an 'older' and 'quite a bit bigger' student who had been bullying him. 'He just doesn't want to be attacked anymore and that's what happened...I think the officer could have evaluated that if he just paid attention a little bit,' Mr Clark said. The troubled father added: 'I'm upset that he didn't have another alternative or he didn't spend more time trying to talk my son down. For me it would have been hard for me to shoot someone's 14-year-old son so easily.' Mr Clark says his son was previously suspended for fighting, something he says was the result of bullying that he reported to the school. A 15-year-old entrepreneur who has dedicated countless weekends and school holidays to success is set to make over 100k this Christmas period. Will Deeth from Toowoomba in Queensland has started his own importing business bringing cool new toys from China to Australia and selling them in his pop-up stores. The teenager should have $75,000 in the bank heading into the new year. His mother Lisa has supported his dreams and even traveled to China to help him pick out the toys for his stores. Will Deeth, 15, is an entrepreneur who buys and sells toys from China for a tidy profit Will, pictured here wearing a Santa hat while selling goods, has a pop-up store 'He is naturally business minded, since he was a young fellow he has been trying to work out how to make money,' Mrs Deeth said. The teenager is on track to owning his own home by April, according to his mother. 'All he wants to do is buy his first property, 'she said. 'That is what he has been working so hard for.' He goes to China to find stock to sell in his home town of Toowoomba, Queensland Mr Deeth had a pop up store last year and manage to make a few thousand dollars which he saved to re-invest in this year's stock. But because his dreams were so big he also took a loan of $20,000 from his parents so he could buy more stock to sell. 'Once you take away the $25,000 he started with the prophet will be around $75,000,' she said. Pictured here with his mum Lisa during one of his buying trips in China 'We will be heading back to China again in April to buy more stock for his online store and pop-up businesses. 'Will has also given his 17-year-old sister a job.' Will's parents own an importing company of his own but the youngster has been wanting to start his own brand for years so his mother finally gave in. 'I keep having to hold him back if anything, and let him know I still need to work as well,' she said. Mr Deeth will have 20 different items for sale in his store after spending a week trying out new toys in some of China's busiest factories. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has finally closed his five-year investigation into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate. Arpaio had fixated on the investigation for years, going so far as to send a deputy and member of his volunteer posse to Hawaii to question officials. He also earned plaudits from Donald Trump and became one of the nation's leading voices on the debunked controversy over Obama's birthplace. But he closed the years-long investigation at a news conference on Thursday, ending a chapter that critics denounced as a shameless ploy to raise money from his right-wing base. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has finally closed his five-year investigation into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate at a news conference on Thursday It came three weeks before the end of his 24 years as metro Phoenix's top law enforcer and five weeks before Obama leaves office. He complained to a crowd of about 75 supporters that his claims about the document weren't taken seriously. 'We and anyone else who dared to question the document have been maligned, falsely labeled and grossly criticized,' Arpaio said, refusing to take questions from reporters. The sheriff took up the 'birther' mantle as he faced some of his worst legal troubles, including a racial profiling case that discredited his patrols targeting immigrants and a grand jury inquiry into his failed investigations of local political enemies. He refused to back away from the investigation three months ago when Trump - an Arpaio ally - relented on his claim that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo - a longtime Arpaio critic - said the investigation was a publicity stunt to raise the sheriff's national political profile and bring in campaign dollars. 'He was trying to throw meat to his base, and that's exactly what he did,' Gallardo said. 'He threw red meat.' The closing of the investigation came three weeks before the end of Arpaio's 24 years as metro Phoenix's top law enforcer and five weeks before Barack Obama leaves office Arpaio had fixated on the investigation for years, going so far as to send a deputy and member of his volunteer posse to Hawaii to question officials over Obama's birth certificate Arpaio was not the only Arizona politician to plunge into the erroneous effort. The Arizona Legislature passed a bill in 2011 that would have required Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were U.S. citizens before their names could appear on the ballot. It was vetoed by the GOP governor. Several Electoral College members even questioned Obama's eligibility to serve as president as they cast their votes for Republican Mitt Romney four years ago. Arpaio has said he launched the probe after nearly 250 people connected to an Arizona tea-party group requested it. He pressed forward despite aides warning he would be ridiculed. In the 2014 documentary 'The Joe Show,' Arpaio was seen brushing aside his publicist's prediction that he would be viewed as a clown. The sheriff said the investigation would help his fundraising efforts. 'It may look nuts, but you know what, it's going to be pretty good,' Arpaio said. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio complained to a crowd of about 75 supporters that his claims about the document weren't taken seriously Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks to the findings of a five-year investigation into the authenticity of President Barack Obama's birth certificate on Thursday The sheriff won praise several months later in a tweet from Trump: 'Congratulations to @RealSheriffJoe on his successful Cold Case Posse investigation which claims @BarackObama's 'birth certificate' is fake.' Arpaio farmed out the investigation to volunteers on his posse, which is funded through donations, in anticipation of criticism he was throwing away taxpayer money. In 2012, he said the investigation revealed that there was probable cause to believe Obama's long-form birth certificate was a computer-generated forgery and that the selective service card completed by Obama in 1980 was likely a fraud. The facts say otherwise. Hawaii officials repeatedly confirmed Obama's citizenship, and the courts rebuffed a series of lawsuits. Arpaio insisted he wasn't investigating whether Obama was a U.S. citizen but examining an allegation that the document was fraudulent. But critics say it was a calculated swipe at the identity and legitimacy of the nation's first African-American president. Prince Harry and his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle have been pictured together for the first time. The couple, who have been seeing each other for several months, were snapped while on a romantic date in London, where they saw critically-acclaimed play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Gielgud Theatre. From the images it seems Harry was doing most of the talking as they strolled along Shaftesbury Avenue, with the Prince gesturing with his hands and looking animated. The glamorous Meghan, 35, was keeping her head down but appeared to be smiling as she enjoyed spending the evening with her man. But it is understood she will not be accompanying Harry to Sandringham to spend Christmas with the Queen. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were pictured together on a romantic evening in London, left and right It is the first time the couple, pictured centre, have been caught on camera together in public Harry looked animated as he and Meghan walked along Shaftesbury Avenue, gesturing with his hands while his girlfriend kept her head down Meghan is believed to be spending the week with Harry at his Kensington Palace cottage before flying home this weekend. T he prince will join other senior royals for traditional celebrations at the Queen's country estate in Norfolk. It would be unprecedented if Miss Markle attended as the invite is usually reserved for close family. The couple had kept a relatively low-profile since Miss Markle arrived in London on Monday, although they broke cover to pick out a Christmas tree together that same night. Their theatre date followed on Wednesday when the couple drew double takes from Christmas shoppers as they walked down some of London's busiest streets wearing matching beanie hats and winter coats. It is understood they secured last-minute tickets for the 7.30pm performance of the Curious Incident, which is based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon. It was initially thought the couple had watched comedy Peter Pan Goes Wrong but the team behind the Curious Incident confirmed Prince Harry was in the audience. The official Twitter account for the Curious Incident posted: 'We were delighted to welcome HRH Prince Harry to last nights performance at The Gielgud Theatre in Londons West End.' Meanwhile staff at the theatre had no idea the couple were at the performance. Both matinee and evening performance staff coming and going by the stage door between shows said they were unaware of the Royal guest. The couple wore matching beanie hats and winter coats as they braved the British winter It is understood Meghan will stay with Harry at his Kensington Palace cottage until the weekend, when she will fly back to the US for Christmas Harry, pictured with Meghan, will head to Sandringham for a traditional Christmas with the Royal Family One usher said yesterday: 'No one was aware of it. We were not told anything until we heard the news this morning. It was a bit of a surprise. 'There were a lot of people here last night, and nobody knew they were here.' Another theatre worker said: 'It was news to me. But when the lights are down it's hard to see the audiences in much detail. 'Maybe they waited till then before taking their seats? It was all kept very hush hush.' A member of staff at the Apollo Theatre next door added: 'No one knew they were around last night. 'I have had people calling me on my phone asking of I saw them, but I had no idea.' The couple have previously seen the Lion King musical on the West End. Miss Markle, 35, is currently enjoying a few months off from filming US legal drama Suits. The official Twitter account for the Curious Incident for the Dog in the Night-time posted this message today, confirming Prince Harry attended a performance last night After just a week apart from her boyfriend, the actress hopped on a plane to London for a week of festive activities. They last saw each other in Toronto, where Miss Markle is based, after Prince Harry made a 1,700-mile detour on his way home from an official tour of the Caribbean. But while there is every sign the relationship is serious, royal experts have said it is still unlikely that the couple will be spending Christmas Day together. Kate Middleton only made her first appearance at Sandringham in 2011, the year she married Prince William. Royal expert Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of the Queen's speech, said a Royal Christmas would be 'too stressful' for Miss Markle. Ms Seward told MailOnline: 'At Sandringham it is only close family and occasionally very close friends. The couple are understood to have secured last-minute tickets for the 7.30pm performance of the National Theatre production at the Gielgud Theatre, pictured in file image Miss Markle was out with a friend in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday but later flew to London. She is believed to be staying with Prince Harry in his cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace The couple have kept a low-profile but were spotted picking out a Christmas tree together at Pines and Needles in Battersea Park, south London, pictured, on Monday 'It is not a moment to bring girlfriends. It would be too stressful. They all have their own in-jokes, their own little traditions.' MEGHAN WHO? MARKLE TOPS 2016 GOOGLE SEARCH LIST Meghan Markle has topped the British list of the most Googled female celebrity in Britain in 2016. The American actress saw the number of Google searches rocket almost over night in October, when rumours of her relationship with Prince Harry first emerged. She beat out actress Stephanie Davis and X Factor contestant Honey G to claim the top spot. Carol Vorderman and Kesha also made the top five. The male celebrity most Googled by British web users was UFC fighter Conor McGregor Advertisement She added California-native Miss Markle might also struggle with cultural differences. 'Americans are different. They have different ways of thinking and they are different. 'So for somebody from a flat in LA to be with [the Royal Family] it would be like being in outer space.' However she said it would be possible for Kate and William to invite her to join them at Anmer Hall, their home on the Sandringham estate. 'Kate and William might invite her. It depends if they have got room. It is family first but there is no reason for them not to invite her.' Ms Seward added it was likely the Queen would advise her grandson to 'take it gently' if asked about the romance. 'It cannot go wrong because it reflects so badly on the institution of the monarchy. 'Unfortunately, everything Harry does reflects on the monarchy. And that is just the way it is. Therefore everything Meghan does also slightly reflects on the monarchy.' Melbourne Cup winning racehorse Saintly has died aged 24. Anthony Cummings, the son of legendary trainer Bart, announced the news on Twitter on Friday. 'Saintly, the horse from heaven, has gone home. He gave us so much,' he wrote. Melbourne Cup winning racehorse Saintly has died aged 24. The news was announced on Twitter on Friday by the son of Saintly's legendary trainer, the late, great, Bart Cummings. Owned and trained by the late Bart Cummings, Saintly became a household name in 1996 after charging home to beat Filante in the Cox Plate and then 10 days later cruising home to win the Melbourne Cup. Saintly's career ended just one start after the Melbourne Cup after bowing a tendon. Nicknamed 'The horse from heaven' due to his relationship with champion jockey Darren Beadman, who retired from racing at age 31 to study to become a pastor, Saintly amassed $3,851,765 in prize money during his short career. Beadman said in recent interview that 'Saintly would live forever'. 'A horse like Saintly will forever live on in racing folklore, partly because he was associated with Bart,' Beadman said. 'People loved Bart and so therefore people loved Saintly.' Owned and trained by the late, great, Bart (above), Saintly became a household name in 1996 after beating Filante in the Cox Plate and 10 days later winning the Melbourne Cup. A 76-year-old retired University of Nevada, Las Vegas, professor has been found brutally stabbed to death in his home. Leroy Pelton was found dead on Saturday night at his property in Henderson, Nevada after he had not been seen or heard from in more than a month. Pelton had worked as an emeritus professor at the UNLV since 1997 in the school of social work. He retired in 2013. Scroll down for video Retired University of Nevada professor Leroy Pelton, 76, was found brutally stabbed to death in his Nevada home on Saturday night after neighbors had not seen him in more than a month His body was found by police at his home after they performed a welfare check on him. Neighbors had not seen or heard from Pelton since early November. He died from multiple stab wounds and police are treating his death as a homicide. 'We are shocked and saddened by the news of the passing of Professor Emeritus Leroy Pelton,' the university said in a statement. Pelton's body was found by police at his home after they performed a welfare check on him. Neighbors had not seen or heard from Pelton since early November 'He was well respected both on campus and in the community, and he will be missed dearly. Our sincere condolences go out to his family and friends, his former colleagues, and the many students he taught during his tenure.' Pelton was described by friends as an advocate for the homeless and an outspoken supporter of Bernie Sanders. Video courtesy of Las Vegas Now 8 'Leroy was salt of the earth, a man who embodied the best of those who supported Bernie. Although I got to know him only at the convention, I felt like I knew him all my life because for anyone blessed enough to cross life paths with him, your soul couldnt help but fall in love with his,' a fellow Bernie Sanders delegate Carol Cizauskas said. No arrests have yet been made but police are still investigating. Pelton was an outspoken supporter of Bernie Sanders. He is pictured here with a Bernie Sanders delegate Carol Cizauskas who posted a lengthy tribute mourning his loss A Russian-speaking hacker believed to be acting on his own managed to breach the systems of the US agency in charge of maintaining the integrity of election voting machines after the November 8 presidential contest. Recorded Future, the internet security company, said on Thursday that it had detected a breach in the system of the US Election Assistance Commission. The firm said that it noticed 'chatter' which indicated that a hacker known as 'Rasputin' was trying to obtain information about vulnerabilities in the Election Assistance Commission's system and then sell that data to a 'Middle Eastern government.' Recorded Future has presented its findings to law enforcement, which is now working on the case. A voter casts her ballot using an electronic voting machine in Ohio on November 6, 2016. The agency which oversees electronic voting had its system hacked after the election Created in 2002, the commission certifies voting systems and develops standards for technical guidelines and best practices for election officials across the country. Recorded Future says that Rasputin had obtained the log-in information belonging to more than 100 accounts at the commission, some of them with the 'highest administrative privileges.' 'These administrative accounts could potentially be used to access sensitive information as well as surreptitiously modify or plant malware on the EAC site, effectively staging a watering hole attack utilizing an official government resource,' Recorded Future said on its blog. After Rasputin's activity was detected, the security firm managed to seal the breach. The hack against the US Election Assistance Commission was detected by Recorded Future, an Internet security firm, which blames a Russian-speaker hacker known as 'Rasputin'. Above is a systems status report page provided by Rasputin to the company The company's researchers said that the hacker most likely acted on his own. They said that he had an unusual business model, in that he scanned for ways to break into all manner of businesses and other entities and then moved rapidly to sell that access, rather than stealing the data himself. 'We don't think he actually works for any government or is super-sophisticated,' Andrei Barysevich, a Recorded Future expert, said. Recorded Future believes that Rasputin was working as an independent hacker who tried to sell the data he gleaned to a Middle Eastern government In the case of the election commission, the hacker used methods including an SQL injection, a well-known and preventable flaw, obtaining a list of usernames and obfuscated passwords, which he was then able to crack. Grigori Rasputin (above) was a Russian peasant and mystical healer who became a powerful influence on the family of Tsar Nicholas II Though much of the commission's work is public, the hacker gained access to non-public reports on flaws in voting machines. In theory, someone could have used knowledge of such flaws to attack specific machines, said Matt Blaze, an electronic voting expert and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The moniker Rasputin is taken from the famous Russian peasant and mystical healer Grigori Rasputin. In the early 20th century, Rasputin came to fame as a powerful influence on the Russian tsar in the years leading up to the Russian revolution. The researchers were confident that the hacker moved to sell his access soon after getting it, meaning that he was not inside the system before election day. Further, the US voting process is decentralized and there were no reports of widespread fraud in November. Over a month after the election, government officials are convinced that Russia directed a campaign to hack into the systems of American political organizations specifically the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign in order to influence the results of the race. Six new charges involving five women have been added to the 15 charges that Alec Cook, a suspended University of Wisconsin-Madison student, faces Six new charges involving five women have been added to the 15 charges a suspended University of Wisconsin-Madison student faces. Alec Cook now faces 21 criminal charges involving 10 women, the Wisconsin State Journal reported on Thursday. Six of the women allege they were sexually assaulted by Cook, the report said. Cook is due back in court Friday for a hearing on whether his $200,000 bond should be reduced. The most serious of the new charges against the 20-year-old Cook are two felony stalking charges. Two women each told police that Cook followed them around campus or showed up in places they frequented and stared at them, despite being told to leave them alone. Cook was also charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and disorderly conduct for incidents in September. The charges stem from when he grabbed a woman and pursued her, touching her buttocks inappropriately while she attempted to walk away, the newspaper reported. Cook was also charged with disorderly conduct for earlier incidents involving two other women. One of those women says that in May, Cook came up to her at a food store and asked personal and sexual questions, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The other woman says Cook tried to get her to go out with him in July and that he grabbed her and dipped her as she tried to walk away, the newspaper said. Scroll down for video Alec Cook now faces 21 criminal charges involving 10 women - six of whom allege they were sexually assaulted by him Cook was earlier charged in October with seven counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of third-degree sexual assault, two counts of strangulation, two counts of false imprisonment and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault. Eleven of those 15 charges were sexual assault charges regarding five women, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Cook was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in his apartment the night of October 12 after inviting her over after studying together. Media reports of those charges drove dozens of women to report to police their encounters with Cook. According to a complaint, the accuser from the October 12 incident says she went to his apartment after studying with him at a campus library. She said he assaulted her for two-and-a-half hours, maintaining what she described as a 'death grip' on her arm or body. Cook told police the woman never told him to stop, the complaint said. Cook, center, appears in court in October after being charged with multiple counts of sexual assault stemming from the reported assaults of several women between March 2015 and October 2016 Chris Van Wagner, Cook's attorney, displays an enlarged copy of a notebook page belonging to his client while speaking to members of the media following Cook's initial appearance in Dane County Circuit Court in October Cook allegedly spent time with his victims on campus grounds (stock image above), studying with them in some cases before pouncing on them in private at his apartment Another woman came forward two days after charges were filed in that case. She said she met Cook at her friend's birthday party in March 2015. Two weeks later she visited his apartment, where he allegedly began kissing her forcefully, then sexually assaulted her. The same day that Cook was charged with the October 12 assault, two other women reported being assaulted by him. One woman told police she was in a ballroom dance class with Cook during the spring 2016 semester. She accused him of repeatedly touching her breasts and buttocks while they were dancing despite her telling him to stop. The touching occurred 15 to 20 times over the semester, she said. The class instructor told investigators she got an email from the woman saying she was uncomfortable with how Cook was touching her. The instructor responded by speaking to the class about appropriate contact during dances. She said no other students complained about Cook. Phi Delta Theta, the 20-year-old's fraternity, has distanced itself from him since his arrest Another woman told police that she met Cook during a human sexuality class and began dating him in January, the complaint said. She said he assaulted her at his apartment in February. She told police at one point she told Cook 'OK, let's just have sex' but she believes she said that to make herself feel as if the assault was consensual, the complaint said. Another woman told police that she met Cook during a psychology class experiment. They had consensual sex at his apartment in August, the woman said, during which he tried to choke her. After taking a break to smoke marijuana, Cook allegedly tried to have sex with her again, this time slapping her and leaving bruises. Officers searching Cook's apartment found a black book listing women he'd met and documenting his 'sexual desires' and statements of 'kill,' authorities have said. to be part of an international hacking group The mother of alleged teenage hacker Dylan Wheeler, hunted by the FBI and wanted in Australia, is today behind bars. Anna Wheeler, 51, was found guilty by a jury in the District Court of WA of aiding her son's escape to the Czech Republic and perverting the course of justice. The court heard Wheeler had given money to her son to buy a plane ticket, driven him to Perth airport and transferred cash to his bank account. Mug shot of alleged hacker, Dylan Wheeler, son of convicted Anna Wheeler, from the Freedom of Information request he lodged. At the time, Dylan was subject to a court order to hand over his passport and not leave Australian soil. In court, Wheeler denied the charge, saying she had been willing to fund her son's defence. 'I escaped the communist system to come to Australia,' Wheeler told News Corp reporters in July last year. 'But nothing like this ever happened to my family in Czechoslovakia. We are just being victimised and harassed.' In 2015, Dylan slipped pass Australian board control, and traveled to the Czech Republic. After seeing evidence of several electronic transfers and viewing security footage of an exchange between Anne Wheeler and Dylan Wheeler at Perth airport, the jury convicted the mother. She faces a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment and is due to be sentenced in February. In May 2013, Dylan Wheeler, 17, a high school student from from Perth, was charged with being part of an international group, that hacked the computers of Microsoft and the US Army. The group is alleged to have stolen more than US$100 million of intellectual property. Dylan faced 10 years behind bars if found guilty of computer hacking. In May 2015, Dylan disobeyed a court order and slipped pass Australian board control, taking a flight to the Czech Republic. 'I left Australia because my case went on for about two to three years and it was getting nowhere,' Dylan Wheeler told 7:30. 'I was really quite scary that I was able to leave on my Australian passport.' He is currently residing in the Czech Republic, and claims that he is not afraid of being caught in an interview with 7:30. He has also reportedly asked donors on a crowd funding page to contribute funds for a new $500,000 Ferrari to 'improve his health', 'I need a Ferrari because of my anxiety, my doctor has said because of the FBI and police I am unable to function property without a Ferrari,' he allegedly wrote in a post on the crowdfunding site. Traffic: Britons spend on average some 2.2 days a year looking for a parking space Drivers are wasting up to three days of their lives each year looking for elusive parking spaces, a new report reveals today. Britons spend on average some 2.2 days a year looking for a parking space with those in the worst affected cities spending 2.8 days going around in circles. Motorists also endure 2.6billion of damage caused by nearly 16 million parking prangs each year in the UK. And when length of time spent searching for a space, the risk of a prang and the likelihood of a parking ticket are taken together, Birmingham emerges as the nations worst city overall for parking, says the study by Privilege Car Insurance. Bumper to bumper: Drivers in the worst affected cities spend up to 2.8 days going around in circles Experts asked motorists how long they spent looking for a space at locations including supermarkets, the town centre, outside their home, at work and shopping centres. Based purely on time taken, the residents of Cardiff spend the longest time searching for a space. They drive around for 52 minutes each week or the equivalent to 2.8 days a year on average. This compares to the national average of 40 minutes or 2.2 days per year. Cardiff is closely followed by Glasgow at 48 minutes, and Birmingham, where motorists spend an average of 47 minutes a week, or around two and a half days a year. They are followed by Manchester (45 minutes), Leeds (44 minutes), London (42mins), Newcastle (40mins), Liverpool (38mins), Southampton (36 mins), Plymouth (35mins), Norwich (31minutes) and Bristol, Edinburgh and Nottingham (all 27mins). The report says: Residents in Cardiff spend the longest looking for a space, driving around for 52 minutes each week; the equivalent to 2.8 days a year on average. 'This compares to the national average of just over two days (40 minutes a week) spent searching for somewhere to park.' When it comes to having your car damaged while parking, Birmingham is the most prang-prone city in the survey with Brummies suffering most from someone denting their car door, scuffing their paintwork, or clipping their car on the way in or out of a space. Birminghams residents experience damage to their cars once every 19 months on average (or 3.1 times every five years). That compares to the UK average of once every 27 months - the equivalent of 15,750,805 collective parking prangs every year. Plymouth drivers have endured 2.8 prangs over the last five years followed by Manchester (2.6), Edinburgh (2.4), London (2.3), Bristol (2.2), Cardiff, (2.1), Norwich (2.0), Southampton (1.9) and Nottingham (1.8 every five years). Drivers living in Newcastle get off most lightly when it comes to parking prangs, experiencing damage to their cars just 1.5 times every five years on average. The average payment required to fix scrapes and scuffs caused by poor parking in the UK is 167, meaning that 2,627,599,796 of damage is caused across Britain each year in total. Common parking incidents across the UK include someone opening their car door onto yours (39 per cent), someone scuffing the paint on your car when it is parked (35 per cent), and someone clipping your car on their way in to a space (31 per cent). Birmingham is the city where motorists are most likely to get a parking ticket, says the report. The researchers also produce an overall cumulative parking score index by assessing a cocktail of all three key parking frustrations: the length of time motorists spend driving around looking for that elusive space; the number of parking tickets issued against hard-pressed drivers; and the number of parking-related prangs they endure. On this basis Birmingham is the worst place overall in Britain to park your car with a cumulative parking score of 228, followed by Manchester (217), Cardiff (215) and Bristol (209). London came in fifth place on the list, with a cumulative score of 204, followed by Plymouth (199), Southampton (188), Edinburgh (183), Liverpool (180), and Newcastle (175). Best performers based on the three criteria were Nottingham (152), Glasgow (157), Norwich (159) and Leeds (161), according to the survey conducted by Opinium via online interviews among a representative sample of 2,000 adults, of whom 1,392 were drivers. Charlotte Fielding, head of Privilege Car Insurance said: As technology such as parking sensors and parking assistance become increasingly standardised in our cars, we should hopefully start to see fewer parking prangs and incidents on our roads. Transgender woman Dee Whigham was found stabbed to death in a Mississippi hotel room in July. Dwanya Hickerson has pleaded not guilty to murder charges A Navy sailor from New Orleans has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of stabbing and slashing a transgender woman 119 times in a coastal Mississippi hotel room. Dwanya Hickerson, 20, is charged with the capital murder of 25-year-old Dee Whigham, from Shubuta Mississippi: a recently graduated nurse at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg. Hickerson was in a training class at Keesler Air Force Base when Whigham was killed on July 23 in St Martin, WLOX-TV and The Sun Herald reported. Whigham had originally come to the coast for the 7th Annual Gulf Coast Black Rodeo. Her friends later found her body cut up in their shared Best Western hotel room. Authorities said the shower was running when they arrived and blood was still in it. Most of the stab wounds were to Whigham's face and her throat had been slashed three times, according to investigators. Alleged surveillance photos of Dwanya Hickerson from the scene were posted on social media sites over the summer Hickerson as identified as a suspect after surveillance video of a man leaving the room with his shirt around his neck was released. The murder sparked anger among the LGBT community. 'The violence that transgender women of color face is rooted in racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia,' Emily Waters, senior manager of National Research and Policy at NCAVP, told the Guardian. 'We need to notice how these biases and violence are present in all of our everyday environments, and then work to change them.' In the hours after her death, Whigham's aunt Shamela Walker told the Guardian: 'We just dont understand how something so bad can happen to such a sweet person. 'She loved everyone.' Secretary of State John Kerry wouldn't accuse Russian president Vladimir Putin of masterminding hacks on Democrats to throw the U.S. presidential election today. He cast doubt on a report claiming that Putin personally ordered cyber attacks on Democratic operatives Thursday afternoon, using air quotes as he talked about the anonymous 'intelligence officials' behind the leaking. 'Look, I am not going to start making comments at this point. I havent commented on this publicly because of the job I do,' Kerry said. 'Im not going to comment on anonymous reports from intelligence officials that are not identified that have quotes around the concept of intelligence officials.' Scroll down for video Secretary of State John Kerry wouldn't accuse Russian president Vladimir Putin of masterminding hacks on Democrats to throw the U.S. presidential election today US intelligence officials believe 'a high level of confidence' that Putin was personally involved in the election hack, two senior officials told NBC News. Putin not only ordered the hack but controlled the way that the materials obtained in the operation from was leaked and used during the election, they said. One official claimed that Putin did this as a 'vendetta' against Hillary Clinton in the beginning, but then turned it into an exercise attempting to hint at corruption in US politics to 'split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore.' The president's press secretary wouldn't affirm Putin's direct involvement Thursday when he was asked about the intelligence. 'I do not have an additional intelligence assessment to share from the podium,' press secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily briefing. Earnest said intelligence officials are 'apparently' calling up reporters and telling them, anyway. 'I am not in a position to confirm them,' he said of those reports. 'It's particularly concerning in those circumstances when people are sharing information that's classified or sensitive. But this is not a new phenomenon,' he added. President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell this afternoon that he suspects that Putin was directly involved in the cyber crime. 'I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it,' Ben Rhodes said. 'Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that... ultimately, Vladimir Putin is the official responsible for the actions of the Russian government.' US intelligence officials believe with 'a high level of confidence' that Vladimir Putin (above on December 1) was personally involved in efforts to meddle in the election The CIA has already offered a 'high confidence' assessment the Russians did this because they wanted to elect Donald Trump. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims of Thursday however, saying they were nothing more than 'laughable nonsense.' 'I'm not surprised,' Obama's spokesman, Earnest, said in response. The White House separately claimed this week that Trump knew Russia was interfering in the election, despite his claims to the contrary. Trump responded to this on Twitter Thursday morning, writing: 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House waite [sic] so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' In October, all 17 intelligence agencies signed onto a statement attributing the Democratic National Committee hack to Russia In that statement they also said that 'only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.' That statement did not however explicitly name Putin as having any role in the hack. Earnest said Thursday it's 'pretty obvious' which high-ranking official the statement was referring to. Putin is reported to have done this in revenge against Hillary Clinton for publicly questioning the integrity of Russian parliamentary elections back in 2011 (Putin and Clinton above in 2012) 'My reading of it was that it was not intended to be subtle,' Earnest said Thursday. 'The reference to senior most officials in Russia would lead me to conclude that, based on my personal reading, and not based on any knowledge that I have that may be classified or otherwise, it's pretty obvious...that they were referring to the senior most govt official in Russia. Putin is said never to have forgiven Clinton publicly questioning the Russian system and integrity of parliamentary elections back in 2011 while serving as secretary of state. He also accused her of encouraging street protests with her statements at the time Michael McFaul, who was ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, said of the hack, 'It is most certainly consistent with the Putin that I have watched and used to work with when I was an ambassador and in the government.' 'He has had a vendetta against Hillary Clinton, that has been known for a long time because of what she said about his elections back in the parliamentary elections of 2011. 'He wants to discredit American democracy and make us weaker in terms of leading the liberal democratic order. And most certainly he likes President-elect Trump's views on Russia,' the former diplomat said. The CIA has concluded that Russia tried to interfere in order to elect Trump (above), a claim the President-elect has rejected U.S. officials have now begun a probe of Putin's personal wealth in preparation for any possible retaliation by the Russian leader. They believe that Putin's network controls around $85 billion worth of assets, though the CIA would not comment on that number or the probe. And U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for a formal congressional investigation into the hacking. Obama's spokesman hinted at Trump's possible knowledge of the situation this week, saying: 'There's ample evidence that was known long before the election, and even in most cases long before October, about the Trump campaign in Russia, everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent. 'It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he was - he had available to him, that Russia was involved, and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign.' He continued: 'That's why he was encouraging them to keep doing it. You had the Republican nominee refer to the president of Russia as a strong leader. 'The Republican nominee chose a campaign chair that had had extensive, lucrative, personal, financial ties to the Kremlin and it was obvious to those who were covering the race that the hack and leak strategy that had been operationalized was not being equally applied to the two parties and to the two campaigns. 'There was one side that was bearing the brunt of that strategy and another side that was clearly benefiting from it,' Earnest said. Trump has rejected the CIA's conclusion that Russia tried to interfere with the presidential election and blamed 'very embarrassed' Democrats for the public release of the assessment. The president-elect called the CIA's assessment 'ridiculous' while speaking to Fox News in an interview that aired on Sunday. 'I don't believe it. I think it's ridiculous,' said the president elect. Earnest said Tuesday that Trump must of known. 'He called on Russia to hack his opponent. He called on Russia to attack Secretary Clinton. So, he certainly had a pretty good sense of which side this activity was coming down on,' he said. Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway lashed out at the Obama spokesman on Thursday during an appearance on Fox & Friends. 'That is just remarkable. That is breathtaking. I guess he's auditioning to be a political pundit after his job is over soon,' she said. 'That is incredibly disappointing to hear from the podium of the White House press secretary...he essentially stated that the president-elect had knowledge of this, maybe even fanned the flames.' A decade long addiction cost a 34-year-old woman her life after she overdosed on heroin in a Hungry Jack's toilet. The unnamed mother had survived an overdose just three weeks prior to her death in the Melbourne fast food restaurant on May 29 this year. Her death was part of a coronial inquest which considered whether a supervised heroin injecting room near Victoria Street in north Richmond should be funded, The Age reported. A decade long addiction cost a 34-year-old woman her life after she overdosed on heroin in a Hungry Jack's toilet (stock) A Hungry Jack's spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were saddened to hear about the woman who died in hospital after being found by staff. 'The woman had been taken to hospital by ambulance after staff at Hungry Jack's North Richmond restaurant found her unconscious and called for urgent assistance.' The woman, identified only as Ms A, had been charged last year over property and drug-related offences. Overall she had contact with police 35 times since 2007 and would often would be under the influence of drugs or carrying drug paraphernalia when speaking with authorities, acting manager of the Coroners Prevention Unit Jeremy Dwyer said . Mr Dwyer added that Ms A had attempted to become clean and free herself from her addiction. But various incidents including the removal of her children by the Department of Human Services and family violence, thwarted her attempts to overcome her addiction. North Richmond, where Ms A overdosed, is currently seeing worryingly high numbers of deaths from heroin overdoses, the inquest heard. There were 172 heroin overdose deaths in Victoria last year, 34 of which occurred in the City of Yarra, The Age reports. The unnamed mother had survived an overdose just three weeks prior to her death in the Melbourne fast food restaurant on May 29 this year A mother who starved her three-month-old daughter then left the body to decompose in a shed is due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Tamara Louise Thompson, 38, failed to provide proper nourishment to baby Destiny whose body was found in July last year wrapped in muslin cloth inside a cooler bag that had been placing in a cardboard archiving box. The Western Australian mother, from Geraldton, did not want the baby girl as she was unplanned and a reminder of the father, Thompson's meth dealer, who wanted nothing to do with either of them, the WA Supreme Court trial heard. Tamara Louise Thompson (centre) is due to be sentenced after starving her baby daughter Destiny and leaving her body in a shed The baby was born six weeks premature, spending the first 20 days of her life in a neo-natal unit after being born by Caesarean like her five older siblings. The court heard Thompson would at best leave a baby bottle of milk in Destiny's cot and not bother to ensure the newborn drank from it. When people wondered where Destiny was after she had not been seen for a while, Thompson told them different stories, including the baby was in the care of the Department for Child Protection. Thomson's landlord alerted the department when she inspected the property - which was home to two of Thompson's other children and a menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, rabbits and chickens - and saw her rocking back and forth, surrounded by animal faeces. Thompson pleaded guilty mid-way through her trial at the WA Supreme Court (stock) After she was arrested, Thompson told police she was relieved when Destiny died, didn't know what had happened to her body and didn't care. It took several hours for her to admit the baby 'might' be in the shed, where the infant's body was found, partly mummified. Thompson pleaded guilty to manslaughter mid-way through her trial. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo said during a sentencing hearing last week that Destiny had a fractured rib but her body was so extensively decomposed the official cause of death could not be ascertained. 'The offender was grossly reckless in her care and monitoring of the needs of the baby,' Ms Barbagallo said. TigerAir said the video was a hoax and slammed the stunt as A man claims to have hoodwinked airport security by flying from Melbourne to Sydney in a suitcase. Adam Saleh posted a video of himself being crammed into a large suitcase in Melbourne and popping out at Sydney airport to his popular Youtube account on Tuesday. The American video blogger claimed he made the hour long journey in the baggage compartment of a Tiger Air plane - undetected by security or check in staff. Scroll down for video Adam Saleh posted a video of himself being crammed into a large suitcase in Melbourne and popping out at Sydney airport to his popular Youtube account on Tuesday The video includes footage of his friends looking at Mr Saleh's 'empty seat' on the plane before discussing that he entered the cargo hold without any food or water. I made it from Melbourne all the way to Sydney, Im just happy to be alive, he said as he popped out on the baggage carousel. But Tiger have confirmed Mr Saleh was caught on security footage boarding the plane and slammed him for the irresponsible stunt. Firstly, you wouldnt have been accepted by our automated bag drop machines at 66kg as a friendly staff member would have stepped in to assist. Mr Saleh's friends crammed him inside the large suitcase at their hotel in Melbourne Mr Saleh's arm poked out of the suitcase before he allegedly was loaded on to the plane He had a video camera inside and pretended to be in the cargo hold on board The suitcase was seen being accepted after paying a fee for excess weight The video includes footage of his friends looking at Mr Saleh's 'empty seat' on the plane before discussing that he entered the cargo hold without any food or water Secondly, some aircraft have heated baggage holds but the aircraft you were on does not and it gets pretty cold at 36,000 feet so by the time you arrived in Sydney you would have been a popsicle. Thirdly, we have footage of you boarding the aircraft using your legs. A spokesperson for Tiger Air said the incident is being investigated after concerns were raised that others may try to copy the stunt. The safety and well being of our staff and customers is always our number one priority and was not compromised at any time. Mr Saleh was next seen after the bag was loaded on to the baggage carousel I made it from Melbourne all the way to Sydney, Im just happy to be alive, he said The airline industry in Australia is highly regulated and has amongst the strictest standards in the world. Tigerair Australia has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour and has investigated this matter as a priority.' Melbourne Airport confirmed the prank had been 'debunked' and warned others not to replicate the 'professional idiot's' stunt. 'This production is a publicity stunt that makes fraudulent claims and depicts events that are untrue,' a spokesperson said. 'Security screening is a highly regulated facet of Australian airport operations, and multi-layered systems are designed to protect human safety and prevent attempts such as this from being successful.' Edward Moore Jr., 39, is on the run An 'extremely dangerous' inmate is at large in North Carolina after escaping from a hospital emergency department. Edward Moore Jr., 39, who is believed to be armed and was wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles, escaped from the Fayetteville hospital and carjacked a vehicle Wednesday night. He assaulted a sheriff's deputy before fleeing in a stolen van, according to authorities. Fayetteville Police Department tweeted: 'Edward Moore Jr., 39, escaped from custody of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office this evening while at CFVMC [Cape Fear Valley Medical Center]. Call 911 if you see him.' A second tweet read: 'Moore was an inmate of the CCSO Detention Center for bank robberies. He is EXTREMELY dangerous. Call 911 with any info or 483-TIPS.' The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Moore had been taken to the hospital for treatment, according to Reuters. The van Moore used to escape was discovered on Wednesday night about 7 miles from the hospital, local television station WNCN reported. According to the outlet, the van was stolen from Naloni Williams, who was at the hospital with her father. Edward Moore Jr., 39, escaped from Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville (pictured) 'I was unloading him, got him in a wheelchair and when I stood up, turned to take him inside the inmate ran out with a weapon pointed at us, yelling, ran around my vehicle and got in and took off,' she said. Relations between British and German spy chiefs have hit rock bottom because London says its counterparts in Berlin cannot be trusted to keep secrets. At a time of escalating Islamic terror threats across Europe, Germanys spy agency BND is being frozen out by GCHQ and the National Security Agency in the US. Both London and Washington believe insecure German data servers have contributed to the leaking of tens of thousands of classified documents to Wikileaks. And they have infuriated Berlin by refusing to hand over secret intelligence data demanded by left wing and Green politicians which they fear will be aired in the German parliament. Scroll down for video. At a time of escalating Islamic terror threats across Europe, Germanys spy agency BND is being frozen out by GCHQ (base pictured) It is claimed in Germany that a tranche of 500,000 sides of files put out by Wikileaks this month were GCHQ documents on covert mobile phone policy for British intelligence agents dated June 2010 and classified as secret. They believe that the documents, once shared with Germany, were transferred to hackers - possibly Russian - who then fed them to the whistleblowing group. Also listed as top secret was a briefing paper for attendees at a pre-G20 meeting held in London between September 2 and 5 2009 in which Turkeys role in Europe was on the agenda. It is understood that in November 2014 there was a meeting in Berlin between Sir Simon McDonald, the then British ambassador to Germany, together with Patrick McGuinness, Deputy National Security Adviser for Intelligence, Security, and Resilience at the Cabinet Office, and high security officials in Angela Merkels government. In November 2014 there was a meeting in Berlin between Sir Simon McDonald, the then-British ambassador to Germany, and high security officials in Angela Merkels government The British made it plain at the meeting that co-operation between Britain and Germany was becoming increasingly problematic because of leaks. A source familiar with the meeting said: They stressed that a secret service is just that and that its workings and operations must remain secret and they felt that Germany was leaking them like a sieve. Britain told the Germans that the freeze on information would not only apply to MI6 and GCHQ but also to the Metropolitan Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the UK Border Force. The source said: It has now reached the point where there is virtual radio silence between the two biggest and most important intelligence services of the western world and the BND of Germany. Germany is worried because it needs the umbrella protection of these agencies. It is virtually blind without it. Another crisis meeting was held in Berlin in February last year to discuss the biggest rift between secret services since the end of the Second World War. It failed to placate the British and the Americans. High-grade information on jihadists, their movements and terror plans as discovered by London and Washington and directly involving Germany, are no longer being passed on as a matter of routine. The upheaval has been caused in part by left-wing and green politicians still fuming over the spying activities carried out in Germany by Americas National Security Agency, which involved the eavesdropping on Mrs Merkels personal mobile telephone. The German government requested Britain to release details of the secret operations to a committee probing the NSA and other foreign spy agency activities in the country. The move was forced by politicians of the hard-left Die Linke and the environmentalist Green parties. Left-wing and green politicians are still fuming over the spying activities carried out by the National Security Agency, including eavesdropping on Mrs Merkels personal mobile Both the UK and America refused to send any of the requested files to Germany. Included among them was a demand for information about a 2013 operation handled by both countries - and in co-operation with the BND - which was, and remains, top secret but was known to involve a massive surveillance programme on suspected Islamic terrorists across Europe. Britain fears a big debate in the German parliament which would lay open secret sources and intelligence gathering techniques. Nearly 10,000 first responders training at a federal terrorism response center in Alabama were unknowingly exposed to a toxic form of ricin powder for over the past five years. Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) made the shocking announcement Wednesday saying none of the firefighters, paramedics and other students who trained at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston were harmed by the toxic poison to their knowledge. FEMA is blaming an outside laboratory for a number of shipping mistakes that date back to 2011 in which the training center used the deadly form of ricin powder to train a total of 9,648 students from around the country. Nearly 10,000 first responders training at a federal terrorism response center in Anniston, Alabama (pictured) were unknowingly exposed to a toxic form of ricin for over the past five years FEMA is blaming an outside laboratory for a number of shipping mistakes that date back to 2011 in which the training center used the deadly form of ricin (pictured above) powder to train a total of 9,648 students from around the country Ricin is made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans. In addition, it comes in the form of a mist, a powder, or a pellet. It can also be dissolved in weak acid or water. WHAT IS RICIN? Ricin is made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans. In addition, it comes in the form of a mist, a powder, or a pellet. It can also be dissolved in weak acid or water. According to the Centers for Disease Control, effects from ricin exposure usually show up within a day. The major symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on the route of exposure and the dose received, though many organs may be affected in severe cases. There is no antidote to treat ricin poisoning. Ricin poisoning is not contagious and Ricin-associated illness cannot be spread from person to person through casual contact. However, if you come into contact with someone who has ricin on their body or clothes, you could become exposed to it. Source: The Centers for Disease Control Advertisement It is easily capable of killing at small doses and there is no antidote to treat ricin poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control, effects from ricin exposure usually show up within a day. 'The major symptoms of ricin poisoning depend on the route of exposure and the dose received, though many organs may be affected in severe cases,' the CDC says. The deadly toxin has been used in acts of terrorism and weaponized in war for decades. Officials claim they ordered a specific type of ricin extract that does not cause serious harm. However, the Florida company Toxin Technology claims they sent nine shipments to the center dating back to 2011. Officials with the company told USA Today that the products they shipped to the training facility were labeled as 'RCA60', which is the scientific name for the deadly form of the ricin toxin. Emergency responders are trained at the Anniston facility where they respond to radiological, biological and chemical events via the Department of Homeland Security. Ricin is made from castor beans (pictured) and is easily capable of killing at small doses and there is no antidote to treat ricin poisoning Training exercises are structured around both possible acts of terrorism and natural disasters. FEMA administrator W. Craig Fugate has called for an investigation into the mistake to be completed by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General. All training with biological agents have been suspended at the training center, including sessions that were centered around a less-dangerous strain of anthrax, USA Today reported. Tom Ridge, the former Homeland Security Secretary, said that he is shocked that the training center never confirmed it was receiving the correct products over the past five years. 'It's beyond careless and outrageous. It's almost malfeasance,' Ridge told USA Today. FEMA spokeswoman Alexa Lopez said that students who were being trained at the facility wore protective gear during exercises and that the ricin training materials were prepared in special biosafety cabinets. Tens of millions of patients still cannot see a GP out of hours despite a major drive for longer opening times. Fewer than a fifth of surgeries in England offer appointments during evenings and weekends, NHS figures reveal. And patients lucky enough to live in areas where out-of-hours slots are available are almost always seen by an unfamiliar doctor. Most practices running extended access schemes are part of local groups where only one stays open beyond normal office times. Fewer than a fifth of doctors' surgeries are offering evening and weekend appointments, NHS figures have revealed (file picture) The figures will fuel concern the Government pledge to offer out-of-hours appointments nationwide by 2020 is wildly off course. Ministers have repeatedly promised to extend surgery hours in the hope of preventing rising numbers of patients going to A&E. But senior GPs oppose the schemes and claim they have neither the funds nor staff to provide more appointments. Doctors in parts of North Yorkshire and Hertfordshire who were initially offering weekend slots have since abandoned them, claiming patients were not showing up. Campaigners said the figures were of significant concern and warned the shortage of out-of-hours slots was creating huge pressure in A&Es. The schemes were announced in 2013 by David Cameron, who promised hardworking people would be able to see a GP seven days a week. Surgeries were encouraged to apply for extra NHS cash so they could hire additional staff. Smaller practices were urged to form local groups together called federations, with one designated as a hub to offer all out-of-hours slots for the area. But the schemes have been heavily criticised by the Royal College of GPs and the British Medical Association, who claim patients do not want to see a doctor at such times. They say practices do not have enough money to stay open seven days a week, with many struggling to provide even a nine-to-five service. The Government has pledged to offer out-of-hours appointments nationwide by 2020, with David Cameron making the promise in 2013 (file picture) An NHS England survey of 7,139 of the 7,459 surgeries in the country found just 18.5 per cent offer full extended access. This was defined as providing appointments to their patients for an extra one-and-a-half hours on weekdays usually until 8pm and at weekends. The figures, uncovered by Health Service Journal, mean only 9.86million patients are fully covered out of hours. Six in ten patients have partial extended access to a GP meaning one evening appointment a week at a surgery somewhere in their area. NHS England includes these patients in its figures, but critics says this does not fully meet the Governments pledge. Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association said: We are disappointed to hear most areas are still falling behind in offering GP appointments at evenings and weekends if patients do not have access to primary care services they are more likely to attend A&E departments which are already experiencing high demands. INFECTION RISK FROM HOSPITAL CROWDING Patients are at real threat of contracting deadly infections this winter as hospitals are too overcrowded, a think tank has warned. Managers have to roll out an extra 3,500 contingency beds every day and cram them into wards. The Nuffield Trust fears that cramming beds in is putting patients at greater risk of infection. Figures analysed by the think tank show hospitals were 95 per cent occupied last winter the highest level on record and this year is set to be worse. Latest statistics show rates of the winter vomiting bug norovirus are already 14 per cent higher than the five-year average. There were 1,954 confirmed cases last week and 13 hospital wards had to be closed. Advertisement Lack of access to GPs is of significant concern. Long waits are unacceptable as some patients may decide not to seek treatmentThis may lead to serious illnesses being missed. But Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard of the Royal College of GPs said: Extending GP surgery opening hours means taking staff and other resources away from our routine service, which is already stretched incredibly thinly due to years of decline in investment. She added that many practices offering services in the evening and at weekends have stopped because patient demand has been so low. Richard Vautrey of the British Medical Association GP committee said the scheme was flawed and warned some surgeries would have to reduce extended access as the Government had cut funding. Patients have struggled to get out-of-hours appointments since 2004 after a GP contract negotiated by Labour. The terms allowed doctors to opt out of being responsible for their patients at evenings and weekends yet their pay soared to more than 100,000 a year. The Tories have repeatedly promised to undo the disastrous changes. But surgeries are under pressure due to migration, an ageing population and an exodus of GPs. Many have waiting times of more than three weeks. An NHS England spokesman said it was encouraging to see from these figures that local GP practices, by working together, are offering evening and weekend appointments to the vast majority. Residents of a former childrens home yesterday told how they had endured years of abuse at the hands of those who had been entrusted with their care. Many of the abuse victims, who waived their right to anonymity, broke down as they revealed they had been subjected to horrific sexual attacks at as young as five or six at Shirley Oaks Care Home in Croydon, run by Lambeth council in south London. Some also described how years of living with their ordeal had contributed to the early death of their siblings. 'Sandra' (left) and 'Bill' (right) speak about their experiences of abuse in London today Sandra Fearon The 64-year-old, who lives in Devon, said her abuse begun aged 12 at another care home when she was given a glass of water, drugged and woke up the following morning soaked in blood. She said: My father and a social worker dropped me off. I was in a dormitory, on my own, in isolation. I was given drugs and water. When I woke up in the morning I was lying in the bed haemorrhaging. I got out of bed, I was dizzy. It happened the other eight weeks I was there. She never found out who had raped her. She later moved to Shirley Oaks, where for two years she was sent to a cottage and raped by a man she was told was a doctor. I was kept in total isolation away from other children. When I got to Shirley Oaks two weeks later I was raped that went on for about two years, she said. Our childhood was destroyed and also our adulthood was taken away from us as well. Weve lived with the pain all of our lives. Raymond Stevenson The leader of the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOAS), and the author of the report which laid bare the abuse, spent 11 years at Shirley Oaks. In the report, he told of how he had spent his life remembering his time in care through flashbacks and nightmares. Although he was not sexually abused, Mr Stevenson, 53, experienced extreme physical abuse at the home. I remember having my head flushed down the toilet by staff many times ... gasping for breath and thinking that I was going to die, he wrote. It got worse and there was nowhere to hide from the senseless beatings. Sosa founder Raymond Stevenson holds up a printed copy of the report in London today He was often banished to a cupboard and a coal shed overnight if he put a foot wrong. Of his housemistress, he said: She locked me inside the coal shed all night on half a dozen times and would put me in freezing cold baths and held my head underwater. As a result of the abuse, Mr Stevenson had a speech impediment and wet the bed each night. Paul and David Annon The brothers, aged 51 and 49, from south London held each other and wept as they told how they and their older brother Mark, who died in 2014 aged 49 had been abused repeatedly as children but had never even shared their dark secrets with each other. Paul said he had been physically and mentally abused at Shirley Oaks, where he arrived aged four and remained until the age of 12 or 13. During that time he was sexually abused by a man and woman. Paul (left) and David Annon (right) speak to guests today about their late brother Mark, at the unveiling of an interim report on findings by the 'Shirley Oaks Survivors Association' He said: You dont understand what happened, you carry it as if it was your fault. You were told: We are doing what your parents would have done. When you try to tell the truth afterwards, they call you liars. Mr Annon said he had spent his life filled with anger and mistrust. He said: You dont even know the names of the people [who had abused them], you called them aunties or uncles, they would just come in and out ... I kept it to myself and took it with me. Vincent McCabe Vincent, 59, was taken to Shirley Oaks when he was just weeks old. Years later he watched his brother Anthony spiral out of control after he allegedly started being abused at around six-years-old. When Anthony died aged 49 in 2006 he was a paranoid schizophrenic and his body was covered in self-harm marks. Mr McCabe, who said he was later abused at other care homes run by Lambeth council, said he was speaking out for his brother. Vincent McCabe is emotional as he speaks at the unveiling of the interim report today Wearing Anthonys clothing in his memory, he covered his face in an attempt to fight back tears. The suffering of my brother ended with him being out in the community shunted from one mental home to another, he said. Anthony was displaying abhorrent sexual behaviour at five or six. He was wilfully destroyed. Mr McCabe added: This is the first opportunity I have had to put into the public arena what happened to my older brother. He is dead ... his voice is silent. Pauline Blackwood The 53-year-old from Brixton, south London, said her abuse had begun as a little girl. Yesterday she said: Im happy that everyone knows. Ive lived in shame for a long time. I was there from when I was six to 15, now my voice is on the record. I was abused mentally, emotionally and physically. Shane Donnelly (left) and Pauline Blackwood (right), who are former residents of the Lambeth council care system and survivors of the systematic abuse that took place there Everything you can think of, I went through ... I was being groomed by a school teacher. I was being abused sexually at the time. How can you do that to a young child? She added: My story is very painful but at last its been heard. My cries went unheard by the authorities. Vilma Jones Vilma, 52, a self-employed cleaner from south London, said she never learned to read or write growing up in Shirley Oaks and had been deprived of even the most basic rights. When I had the time of the month my house mother would never give me pads, she said. I was deprived of sanitary towels. How can you do that to a young girl? NSW students are receiving their HSC ranking after years of gruelling over the textbooks, as one teen said she was going to 'have a heart attack' when she got her 99.9 score. 50,000 students across the state are receiving their ATAR university entrance ranks on Friday morning after completing the HSC exams. Natalie Teh, 17, said she hopes to study medicine after receiving her 99.9 score on Friday morning, screaming: 'Oh my god!' Sydney Morning Herald reported. Natalie Teh, 17, said she felt like she was going to have a heart attack when she received her 99.9 score Twins Angelo and Domenic Beretta did identical HSC subjects and received ATARs of 98.45 and 98.10 on Friday 'My hands are shaking,' said the student from PLC, in Sydney's inner west. 'I am literally going to have a heart attack.' Natalie said she will have a celebratory lunch with friends before going to work at a candle shop. Twins Angelo and Domenic Beretta did identical HSC subjects and received ATARs of 98.45 and 98.10 on Friday. The pair from Liverpool will study Civil Engineering and Surveying at UNSW. Daniel Liu from North Sydney Boys received a perfect score of 99.95, and plans on studying medicine Newcastle's Merewether High School student Ryan Mitchison scored a 99.9 Bede Polding College student from South Windsor, Emily Tyrrell (pictured), received 99.85 and is interested in studying in law and politics Daniel Liu from North Sydney Boys received a perfect score of 99.95, and plans on studying medicine. He put his results down to balancing work and leisure. Newcastle's Merewether High School student Ryan Mitchison scored a 99.9. He told Daily Mail Australia he is not certain what to study, but is leaning towards engineering. Knox Grammar School, of Wahroonga in Sydney's north shore, celebrated on Twitter after student Jackson Chen received a 'perfect score' of 99.95. Bede Polding College student from South Windsor, Emily Tyrrell, received 99.85 and is interested in studying in law and politics. 'I'm going to be the first in my whole family to go to university, and despite my ATAR my mother is actually so proud. It feels good,' another NSW student wrote on Twitter Knox Grammar School, of Wahroonga in Sydney's north shore, celebrated on Twitter after student Jackson Chen received a 'perfect score' of 99.95 Not everyone was happy with their ATAR, despite the achievement One student took to Facebook to share her ATAR ranking of 'not eligible' Millions of Britons with BT and Sky email accounts are among the victims of the vast Yahoo cyber-attack, it emerged yesterday. Despite the hack having taken place three years ago, the firms have warned customers to change account passwords immediately. Consumers are also being advised to watch out for suspicious emails and activity across all their personal, banking and work internet accounts. However, security experts say it could be too late to protect users from being targeted by criminals and even snooping by foreign governments. Interconnected:Sky and BT email accounts are among the victims of the Yahoo cyber-attack Yahoo has admitted the personal details and email account passwords of some one billion people were stolen in 2013 in what is the worlds biggest ever data breach. It previously revealed another 500m were taken in 2014, which it blamed on an unnamed foreign government. The US web giant provided an email service to millions of British consumers under its own name. It also provided the infrastructure for millions of email accounts offered by both BT and Sky. Delayed notification: Yahoo admitted that the personal details and email account passwords of some one billion people were stolen in 2013. Pictured: Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo The hackers appear to have stolen names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, passwords and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The most basic risk is the hackers can log into an email account unnoticed and read personal correspondence. Fraudsters can sift through using computer programs to find bank account details, addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and so on. This sort of information or snippets of it is frequently contained in messages and receipts sent by online retailers. Many Yahoo accounts are likely to house enough detail for someone to commit identity fraud and take out credit cards, loans and even open fake bank accounts to launder money in a customers name. Fraudsters can cash in on a name and password without even snooping on mail. Many Yahoo accounts are likely to house enough detail for someone to commit identity fraud and take out credit cards, loans and even open fake bank accounts to launder money Surveys show up to half of internet users pick the same passwords for all their accounts. And, crucially, websites often use customer email addresses as their username. That means the Yahoo hackers could be sitting on the full log-in details for all sorts of accounts, from film subscriptions to shopping websites. Yahoo said customers need to review their internet passwords and change any that are the same as the ones stolen by the hackers. It added: Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails. The security failures by the firm threaten its future, particularly the planned sale of its digital operations to the US telecoms giant Verizon Communications for $4.8bn (3.7bn). BT refused to say how many of its customers have been caught up in the security breach. It said customers with its legacy Yahoo email product were advised to re-set their passwords when security concerns first emerged in September, adding: We recommend customers regularly reset their passwords. It is understood 2.1m Sky customers were part of the Yahoo system at the time of the hack in 2013. Many of these sky.com email accounts are still in use. Sir Ivan Rogers, who has suggested it could take a decade to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with Europe and even that could still collapse The knives were out last night for Britains ambassador to the EU over his gloomy pessimism about Brexit. Sir Ivan Rogers had suggested it could take a decade to secure a post-Brexit trade deal with Europe and even that could still collapse. Eurosceptics said he was scarred by his time spent negotiating David Camerons failed referendum deal and, as a veteran of Brussels, was out of his comfort zone. There were even demands for Sir Ivan to be replaced with a diplomat who is more energetically pro-Brexit, amid speculation that his comments were deliberately leaked to undermine his position. A ten-year timetable is at odds with the stated position of both Downing Street and Brexit Secretary David Davis. Mr Davis predicted a deal could be done in 18 months earlier this week, while Number Ten yesterday reiterated its commitment to completing the Brexit process in two years. The row exploded when comments made by Sir Ivan, a former top mandarin to Tony Blair, were leaked to the BBC. The timing coincided with Theresa May arriving in a Brussels for a one-day summit, guaranteeing extensive coverage. The diplomat reportedly said that an EU deal on Brexit was likely to take until the mid-2020s to complete and, even at that stage, could be scuppered by national parliaments. Number 10 insisted that Sir Ivan had merely been reflecting comments made by officials from other member states, not reflecting his own view or that of the Government. But the ambassadors downbeat tone earned a withering rebuke from leading Tory Eurosceptics, who pointed out Sir Ivan was the man who persuaded Mr Cameron to water down his demands for immigration controls in his own failed negotiation with Brussels. The timing coincided with Theresa May arriving in a Brussels for a one-day summit, guaranteeing extensive coverage The lack of an emergency break or any meaningful new border restrictions is widely considered to be one of the most significant reasons why the country voted Leave on June 23. Ex-minister Dominic Raab, a former Foreign Office lawyer, said Britain was in a strong position to strike a deal with Brussels and the EU would be committing an act of economic self harm if it delayed or refused a trade deal. Mr Raab, a prominent Leave campaigner, said of Sir Ivan who also once worked for the europhile Tory MP Ken Clarke: He was the diplomat who persuaded David Cameron to dilute his ambitions for the renegotiation, which was one reason the referendum was lost. So, he has been rather scarred, in fairness, by his own pessimistic advice in the past. But, I think its reasonable to set out the very worst case scenario for a five to ten-year period to iron out all the details of a trade deal. I respect the Foreign Offices professionalism, but they have always been very pro-EU and very anti leaving the EU. Michel Barnier, the Commissions chief Brexit negotiator believes they can reach agreement with Britain faster than it did with Canada, which took seven years Lets not be consumed by Sir Ivans gloomy pessimism, lets get behind the Government, lets set out the case for a strong, post-Brexit relationship with the EU on trade, security, and other areas. Ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith added: The idea that this is going to take up to ten years is the absolute worst case. People like Ivan Rogers are now utterly out of their comfort zone. They are dealing with a set of arrangements they have never dealt with before. This is a completely different ball game. Ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: Brexit obstruction from the UKs EU ambassador. Further evidence of why we need a clear out at the Foreign Office. Contradicting Sir Ivans remarks, it emerged yesterday that the European Commission believes it can reach agreement with Britain faster than it did with Canada, which took seven years. The comments were made by officials in a seminar last October by Michel Barnier, the Commissions chief Brexit negotiator. Downing Street defended Sir Ivan, saying he was performing an important role in the negotiations. A Number 10 spokesman said: It is wrong to suggest this was advice from our ambassador to the EU. Like all ambassadors, part of his role is to report the views of others. The Government is fully confident of negotiating a deal to exit the EU that works in the interest of the UK and the rest of Europe. Remain-backing former Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg, said: I worked with Ivan Rogers in Brussels on trade deals 20 years ago. He knows what he is talking about the Government should listen. Lord Mandelson, one of the architects of the failed campaign to keep Britain inside the EU, said he believed a trade deal would take five to ten years. Mandarin who scorns Eurosceptics By Andrew Pierce AS a former private secretary to Tory chancellor Ken Clarke, the choice of Sir Ivan Rogers as Our Man at the EU could not have been more provocative for Eurosceptics. The appointment of Rogers in 2013 by David Cameron also spoke volumes about the former Prime Ministers views on Europe. Rogers also served as chief of staff to the former vice president of the European Commission, the late Lord Brittan. Clarke and Brittan were both champions of Britain joining the Euro and of ever closer and deeper political integration with Brussels. Only last week Clarke was the only Tory MP to vote against giving Theresa May the authority to trigger Article 50. The appointment of Rogers in 2013 by David Cameron spoke volumes about the former Prime Ministers views on Europe A career civil servant, Rogers also served as principal private secretary to Tony Blair who is talking of making a political comeback to lead the fight to overturn Brexit. At no point has he worked for any opponents of the EU, which is not surprising. He is privately scornful of Euro-sceptics on the Tory benches who he regards as Little Englanders. While as a civil servant he is supposed to be scrupulously impartial, he makes little secret of the fact he is a fully committed disciple of the school of thought that the UK is better off in the EU whatever its shortcomings. Mark Ivan Rogers, who looks older than his 56 years, was educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He is married to Stephanie and they have a son and daughter. He has spent all but five years of his professional life has been spent in the Civil Service. He worked in the City for Citigate heading up their Brussels arm and with Barclays Capital. He was brought back to Whitehall by Cameron as his EU adviser in 2011 and became UK Representative to the EU in November 2013. It fell to Rogers to mastermind Camerons renegotiation with the other 27 EU leaders before the referendum. Even the former prime ministers most ardent supporters concede that their joint efforts were a miserable failure. Publicity shy, he is conspicuous by his absence from Whos Who, the bible of the great and the good. He is rarely seen in photos, never gives interviews, and at summits like yesterday he is usually one step behind ministers or locked away from public view in long technical meetings. Now hes turning his attention to Theresa Mays Brexit and, as usual, is spouting doom and gloom. Paid around 170,000 he is earning considerably more than the Prime Ministers 143,000. But the Brexiteers are warning the PM to treat his advice with caution. An Establishment figure to his finger tips, he is anti-change and does not want to upset the EU leadership who he is instinctively at home with. Shirley Oaks seemed well equipped to give the vulnerable and unfortunate children who ended up there just the kind of start in life they needed. Situated in the leafy outskirts of Croydon, South London, its 70-acre site included cottages where children in care were looked after by so-called house mothers and fathers, a school, swimming pool, sick bay and playing fields. But as the survivors group report put it yesterday, while it had all the comforts and facilities of a picture-box village where the damaged souls could recover, all was not as it seemed. The council has accepted liability for abuse carried out at Shirley Oaks (pictured) in Croydon and said ex-residents would be paid - whether or not they were abuse victims Residents of the Lambeth Council care system and survivors of the systematic abuse that took place there, watch a film of archive footage as they attend the unveiling the report today It added: Away from monitoring ears, the children would be less complimentary about its virtues and they would whisperingly refer to it as Shirley Hell. This childlike nickname would prove not to be so infantile once we discovered the extent of the unpalatable and sickening practices that had been taking place inside its perimeter walls. Shirley Oaks was opened in 1904 in the hope of allowing children to be brought up in a home environment rather than in a large regimented institution. Many children were admitted for their own protection because they had been abused or neglected by their parents. Children were also sent to the home if their parents became ill, were sent to prison or were teenage mothers unable to cope. But Shirley Oaks was infiltrated by paedophiles from the mid-1950s until its closure in 1983, the survivors say. In harrowing testimonies, former residents have told of physical and emotional cruelty on a day-to-day basis. One had to be taken to a doctor with a ruptured testicle after a house parent kicked him in the groin for being obstinate. Others have told of regular punishment beatings. And speaking at night might result in being marched down to the kitchen and made to stand and face the wall with bare feet for two hours, or made to take all the pots and pans out of the cupboards and put them back again. 'Sandra' (left) and 'Bill' (right) speak about their experiences of abuse in London today Shane Donnelly (left) and Pauline Blackwood (right), who are former residents of the Lambeth council care system and survivors of the systematic abuse that took place there Then there were the other scarier places and the things that happened in them which they dared not speak of at the time: the boiler house, the lodge house, the dark cottages, as some have called them, where they were sexually abused. The 130-page report details how one abuser, who was not employed at the home but was a so-called Social Uncle, would let a boy, referred to as Child 2, drive his Mini Cooper while sitting on his lap and was always aroused. He would take off his trunks when they went swimming and tell the boy, who went into Shirley Oaks when he was aged six in 1972, to do the same before abusing him. The pervert would shower the boy with presents and told him: Its what people do to show their love for one another. Russell Specterman (left) looks on as his sister Samantha holds up a rattle that belonged to their 11-month-old sister Sarah, who died while in the care system in South London Child 2 said his abuser worked for the council as a computer programmer and would sometimes take him to his office. When it got late I would sleep in the chair in his office and once he had finished work he would take me back to his house. After spending the weekends at his, I would come back to Shirley on a number of occasions feeling ill and I now believe I was being drugged by him. Child 7, a girl who was there from 1962 to 1970, said one of the teachers at the school would come into the changing rooms when they went swimming on the pretext of drying their hair. The report said: Instead of doing so, he told her and other children to take off their towel and would stare at them which made them feel really uncomfortable. 'Adrian' speaks about his experiences of the historical systematic abuse in the care system Vincent McCabe is emotional as he speaks at the unveiling of the interim report today Campaigner Lucia Hinton (left), Lib Peck of Lambeth Council (second left), Shirley Oaks Survivors Association founder Raymond Stevenson (third left), former Shirley Oaks resident Shayne Donnelly (third right), MP for West Norwood Helen Hayes (second right) and MP for Streatham Chuka Umunna (right) pose for a photograph before the report's unveiling today Another survivor, Child 8, who was there in the late 1960s, told of a teacher who was a dirty old man who always wore the same clothes: tweed jacket, suit trousers and arm pads. When the children would go to the desk to check out a book, he would make them stand next to him so he was able to rub their backside. This happened to all the girls who took a book out. Another girl, Child 14, who went to Shirley Oaks in 1973, said she was abused by an older boy but when she reported it, the head of house called her a liar. Afterwards, the girl was always told off and not let out to play ever. She spent practically all day in her room. She added that if she could not eat all of a meal, she would be force-fed until she was physically sick and then punished for being sick by being made to clean up the mess. She added: I knew many kids in Shirley Oaks who have suffered like me but to us it was normal behaviour. A British foreign aid project aimed at helping to educate the worlds poorest girls actually assisted more boys, according to a report. Officials poured 238 million into a programme meant to provide girls in Pakistan with access to schooling, but a report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has found that the money funded more boys. The hard-hitting and highly critical review also cast doubt over British aid money being spent on private school education for overseas children, saying there was a lack of evidence as to whether it was good value for money. The ICAI said UK aid was falling short of its ambitions to educate the poorest and most vulnerable girls, and was instead focusing on boys. The ICAI said UK aid was falling short of its ambitions to educate the poorest and most vulnerable girls The report comes amid calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to put elderly people first by diverting the ballooning 12 billion foreign aid budget to help tackle the social care crisis at home. ICAI commissioner Tina Fahm said: Globally, 62 million girls miss out on an education. The UK Government has made a strong commitment to tackling this huge problem, but has struggled to maintain the focus on girls. She blamed weaknesses in performance, saying this meant that girls, especially those who were hard to reach, were less likely to get the education they so desperately need. Programmes designed to tackle the issue performed poorly against their original objectives, losing the necessary focus on girls. ...that's 66million meals on wheels Calls have been made this week for the 12 billion foreign aid budget to be curbed to help pay for the social care crisis at home. Town halls have been given permission to hike council tax by up to 6 per cent to help pay for vital social care, which has fuelled calls for Theresa May to put elderly British people first by diverting part of the aid budget. Pensioners are being denied access to meals on wheels after they were axed by 45 per cent of councils. The average cost of a meal is now 3.80. If the 238 million sent to help Pakistani girls go to school was spent on social care in this country, it would have paid for 66 million hot meals. Advertisement The report added that in some cases programmes abandoned targets for supporting girls altogether. It said there needed to be significant improvement and clear, strategic direction to tackle a pattern of underperformance. The project in Pakistan was aimed at providing girls who were not in education with vouchers allowing them to enrol in private schools. But vouchers were distributed to fewer girls than to out-of-school boys, the review found. According to Dfid (Department for International Development) staff, only 43 per cent of vouchers were distributed to girls, despite girls making up a much higher proportion of out-of-school children in the province, it noted. This was blamed on the fact that the distribution of vouchers was to an extent dependent on the supply of private schools, and there were more schools for boys. There was a similar problem in South Sudan, where a 64 million education programme for girls failed to reach enough females. The programme is not ensuring that schools use their grants to promote girls education, as originally intended, the report found. The watchdog said Dfid lacked strong evidence with which to guide its decisions on supporting private schools. Dfid supports low-cost private schools in countries such as Pakistan, Tanzania and Kenya. The report said: These have expanded rapidly in recent years, providing a possible alternative means for reaching marginalised girls. Vouchers were distributed to fewer girls than to out-of-school boys, the review found However, for the time being, Dfid lacks evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of working through private schools. It said there were concerns about whether private provision was equitable, and whether it has a detrimental effect on public education. A Dfid spokesman defended the Pakistan project and said it was aimed at both girls and boys. Last Saturday afternoon, I had to go to Piccadilly in Central London to pick up a gift. How lovely, you might think. How wrong. It was a complete nightmare. The pavements were heaving with people, there were queues just to get inside shops and an edge of ill temper attached itself to proceedings like the rime of a malign frost. It was the same story on Oxford Street and in Knightsbridge, where Harrods wasnt just busy, it looked under siege. The pavements on Oxford Street have been heaving with people, there were queues just to get inside shops Everywhere you looked, thousands and thousands of people were just aimlessly milling about, pouring into shops, buying nothing, grumbling, looking a bit miserable, barging into each other without apology. This was no festive fairy tale, in fact, it couldnt have been grimmer. I always fondly imagine that my Christmas shopping is going to be like a lovely scene in a film, with a sparkling-eyed me tottering along in a red dress trimmed with white fur, holding a stack of beribboned gifts while my handsome date opens a door and we have eggnog in the Mistletoe Bar. But its never like that, is it? It is usually some ghastly solo thrash through a shopping arcade that smells of burgers and unwashed anoraks. To add to the merriment, many of us will be feeling slightly liverish, while Mariah Careys All I Want For Christmas is played on a loop and splits your skull with axe-like precision. The thing you want is out of stock. The other thing is too expensive. And I got very despondent in two different Waitrose stores, when three shop assistants all directed me to the butchers counter when I asked where I could find the Christmas mincemeat. We dont sell that here, one uncomprehending assistant said, when I explained what it was. You do, you do! I found myself almost shouting, oddly disgruntled at being a stranger in my own land. And as much as I love Christmas, something seems to be wrong this year. What has happened? Its as if all the air has been sucked out of the festive balloon and a naughty elf has nicked the sixpence out of our Christmas pudding. Everyone I talk to is either moaning about Christmas or slightly dreading it. Most havent even started their Christmas shopping, others dont know if they will bother this year anyway. It is not too fanciful to think that the weight of world events are playing their part, casting a long shadow over any putative festivities. Trumpageddon, a prowling Putin, a refugee crisis, acts of terrorism, transport strikes, the horror of Aleppo. Trumpageddon, a prowling Putin, a refugee crisis, acts of terrorism, transport strikes, the horror of Aleppo are casting a shadow over Christmas All this has a bearing on how we behave. The world seems particularly vulnerable and insecure right now and there is little comfort to be had when the essential religious message of Christmas seems to get lost in a commercial blur that starts in mid-November and sickens everyone before advent is halfway through. No one is quite sure what is going to happen next. So for once, you must forgive me for not getting as excited about Christmas tree-shaped tortilla chips, The Snowman and the appearance of Santa Claus as usual. And instead of partying through the pain as per, my idea of a perfect Christmas evening this year is Not Going To A Party. Instead, the quiet joy of crawling home after work and locking the door behind me is the most wonderful thing. Jimjams, a glass of wine, a smoked salmon sandwich and the world at bay beats revelling any night of the week. It wont last. I might have to get my jingle on by next week. However, it is bliss while it lasts. Superwomen don't pose in their stockings Jessica Cunningham (pictured) did not fare well on last nights The Apprentice, where she was grilled by Linda Plant Oh dear Jessica Cunningham did not fare well on last nights The Apprentice, where she was grilled by Linda Plant, one of Lord Sugars trusted advisers. She ripped me to absolute shreds; Ive left my dignity on the 42nd floor, said former stripper Jessica, who has recently posed semi-starkers for a number of racy photoshoots and seemed to have waylaid her dignity a long time before that, ahem, ahem. Perhaps you wont be surprised to hear that the mother-of-three didnt make it into The Apprentice 2016 final. Could it be that if you want to be taken seriously as a businesswoman, its not always a good idea to sit around in your stockings, posing for lads-mag style cheesecake shots? And does this mean that we have seen the last of Jessica and her exotic clothes range, Prodigal Fox? A quick perusal of the website reveals a parade of eye-watering outfits that would be perfect for any hooker on a budget. Are these clothes even in production? They promise that a 185 frock called The Lustfull (sic) One will be made to fit you perfectly. It makes one suspect that a lot of the limelight-hungry, sociopathic dimwits who appear on The Apprentice are more interested in the fame side than the business side. And that the truth about their commercial ventures is that they are something badly concocted and crudely stitched up, solely to get them on the show? Just like Prodigal Foxs ribbon-tied Ruger dress, which was made from fabric exclusively sourced from Berwick Street in Londons Soho. How very . . . chic. Perfect Kirstie puts the rest of us to shame Kirsties Handmade Christmas is always a delight for those of us who love handcrafts There is nothing that you cant make at home, says Kirstie Allsopp, but we all know she is lying. Id like to see her try a turducken (chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey) for a start. Yet Kirsties Handmade Christmas (Channel 4) is always a delight for those of us who love handcrafts and I do. The sight of Kirstie in her turnip-sized bobble hat and diamonds, making cinnamon lollipops, balloon snowmen and wooden chopping boards while admiring the work of blacksmiths and toymakers is a heartening one. However, not everyone was charmed. This week, one viewer called Helen Love tweeted that the show was full of middle class people from the Home Counties pottering about making s**t. Thats the spirit! Too tired to switch over? Kirstie tweeted right back. And yes, one did get the feeling that Helen was lying on a sofa somewhere in a week-old onesie, eating beans from a tin while sneering at a lovely father-and-daughter team who make dolls houses together. Yet there are moments when I quietly curse Kirstie myself. Like late the other night, when I was binding sphagnum moss onto a copper wire wreath frame and thinking to myself: What the hell am I doing with my life? I am trying to be a little bit Kirstie, thats what. On her Christmas show she looked so pretty, in a jewel-coloured coat and sugarplum cheeks as she picked up the holly and greenery for her wreath. And you just know that back at the Kirstie Ranch, mince pies are warming in the Aga and the halls are decked and gorgeous already. Will I even finish my wreath? Not having a handcrafts-shaped window in my timetable, Ive had to stuff the bald old thing in a cupboard and I might have to leave it there till next year. Ladies, may I suggest something? There will be a lot of you out there who could do the exact same thing with your husbands. I know who I'd trust over the teen cancer vaccine Melinda Messenger is refusing to give her 13-year-old daughter the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer. The former Page 3 model used an appearance on ITVs This Morning to express her concerns about a possible link between the jab and a range of chronic illnesses. However, experts around the world remain adamant there is no evidence to link the vaccine to anything stronger than the usual side-effects. I think Id trust them rather than listen to her. Cancer is such a cruel disease yet here is a perfectly safe solution that experts reckon can save 400 lives in the UK every year. Of course, parents should have a say and Melinda has written an article on this subject for the Mail but she is no medical expert and shouldnt be presenting herself as one. Unless she has some alarming new evidence, I do wish Melinda would keep her worries private. We love you, dizzy Darcey It has been suggested that Darcey Bussell will be promoted to the role of head judge Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman once accurately described himself as a cup of tea in a world of skinny lattes. Now that he is to leave the show and semi-retiring to the Old Codgers coffee bar, it has been suggested that Darcey Bussell will be promoted to the role of head judge. Hurrah! That makes sense. Craig Revel Horwood is the only judge willing to tell it like it is, Bruno Tonioli is a marvellous comedy turn but it is Darcey who is the beating heart of the show. Oh, she is always so kind and constructive, even if she does sometimes come across like a gin-soaked duchess whos just crashed in from a 48-hour poppers party. Those are the best male arms Ive ever seen on a celebrity, she told pop star Jay McGuiness last year, going on to admire their emotion and energy. This year she caused titters by telling MTV presenter Laura Whitmore that she admired her for getting busy down below. Darcey! What on earth would we do without her? Have you ever stood in a field near Cambridge and thought, Oh, I really fancy a packet of popcorn? If so, you are in luck. Amazon made its first delivery by drone this week a packet of sweets and some popcorn were dropped in the field next to its drone HQ. This has been heralded as a great breakthrough but I loathe drones and dread the skies being infested with them, like a swarm of flies. Apart from the obvious safety concerns (there have been near misses with aircraft over several cities) the darned things are noisy, invasive and worrying. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange flatly rejected U.S. intelligence claims that his organization received leaked Clinton emails from the Russian government, saying the allegations are part of a 'foolish' and 'dangerous' effort by Democrats to overturn Donald Trumps election victory. 'Our source is not the Russian government,' Assange told Sean Hannity on his radio show on Thursday, in his first U.S. interview since the election. 'We have U.S. intelligence saying that say they know how we got our stuff and when we got it, and us saying we didnt get it from a state.' Assange said his group has a strict policy against commenting on its sources, but he wanted to dispute allegations that Wikileaks was involved in a Russian-orchestrated campaign to swing the election for Donald Trump. Julian Assange has rejected U.S. intelligence claims that his organization received leaked Clinton emails from the Russian government, saying the allegations are part of a 'foolish' and 'dangerous' effort by Democrats to overturn Donald Trumps election victory (file) The CIA believes the Russian government gave Wikileaks hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's campaign Chief John Podesta to intentionally damage Hillary Clinton. But that view has been questioned by the FBI and the Director of National Intelligence, who say there is not enough evidence to determine Russias motivation and whether it gave the documents to Wikileaks. Assange declined to confirm or deny comments from former UK Ambassador Craig Murray a close Wikileaks associate who told Dailymail.com this week that the group's email sources were American and that he met with one of them in Washington, D.C. 'We dont comment on sourcing,' said Assange. 'Craig Murray is a former UK ambassador. He is a friend of mine. He is not authorized to speak on behalf of Wikileaks.' Murray told Dailymail.com that he traveled to Washington, D.C. in September and met with a Wikileaks source in a wooded area near American University. 'Neither of [the leaks] came from the Russians,' said Murray. 'The source had legal access to the information. The documents came from inside leaks, not hacks.' Murray is a controversial figure. He was removed from his posting in Kazakhstan amid allegations of misconduct. He was cleared but quit the U.K. diplomatic service and is now a critic of successive British governments. The CIA believes the Russian government gave Wikileaks hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's campaign Chief John Podesta (pictured in September) to intentionally damage Hillary Clinton Assange declined to confirm or deny comments from former UK Ambassador Craig Murray (pictured speaking to media in 2012) who said this week that the group's email sources were American and that he met with one of them in Washington, D.C. Although Assange said Murray does not speak for Wikileaks, the ex-diplomat's links to the organization are well known. Assange speculated that Clinton supporters were promoting the Russia allegations to raise doubts about the election's legitimacy, in a last-ditch effort to block Trump from getting instated by the Electoral College. Democrats have been urging electors in states that voted for Trump to flip their support when the Electoral College meets on Monday. If enough electors were to switch their votes, it could block Trump from taking office although experts say the strategy is a long-shot and would almost certainly be overruled in congress. 'It's foolish because it won't happen,' said Assange. 'It's dangerous because the argument that it should happen can be used in four years' time, or eight years' time, for a sitting government that doesn't want to hand over power. That's a very dangerous thing.' The Wikileaks founder said he was surprised by Trump's victory, and that the inaccurate polling which predicted a comfortable Clinton victory might have actually helped him win by giving Clinton a false sense of security. Assange speculated that Clinton supporters were promoting the Russia allegations to raise doubts about the election's legitimacy, in a last-ditch effort to block Trump from getting instated by the Electoral College. Hillary Clinton is pictured December 8 The Clinton campaign 'got fooled by the polling and therefore didn't spend the amount of money that they needed to on the campaign, and didn't recruit even more mainstream media sources to beat up Trump and defend Clinton.' He also called the mainstream media 'a paper tiger in this election' and 'increasingly not very important.' 'There was intense pressure in the United States from the mainstream media to make people feel ashamed for wanting to vote for Donald Trump, and to make them feel that they had to vote for Hillary Clinton, even though they didn't want to,' said Assange. 'The degree of bias they've been showing during this electionthis is the other reason why Trump won,' he added. 'That kind of hectoring from the liberal media in the United States, and the tide of advertising that Hillary Clinton was putting out, really put a lot of people off.' A former nurse has been jailed for at least 27 years for murdering two residents at a northern NSW aged-care facility by injecting them with lethal doses of insulin. Megan Haines, 49, was found to have murdered Marie Darragh, 82, and Isabella Spencer, 77, in May 2014 at Ballina's St Andrews Village, after learning they had made complaints about her. In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Peter Garling described the murders as 'particularly serious', noting the vulnerability of the victims and the registered nurse's significant breach of trust. Scroll down for video Nurse Megan Haines, 49, (pictured) sentenced to 27 years jail for the murders of Marie Darragh, 82, and Isabella Spencer, 77, in May 2014 at Ballina's St Andrews Village Isabella Spencer (right), 77, and Marie Darragh (left), 82, were given a fatal dose of insulin while they slept During the two-and-a-half week murder trial, the court heard that Haines had boasted about knowing how to kill a person while she watched an episode of CSI with her ex-boyfriend in 2009. 'It's easy - inject them with insulin,' she allegedly said. 'Because the body continues to metabolise insulin, so it looks like natural causes.' Marjorie Patterson had also made a complaint about Haines and feared she would target her Haines had previously been suspended after complaints about her in Victoria and had only recently started work at Ballina while she was subject to reporting conditions. The judge said Ms Darragh had complained about Haines refusing to give her a cream to soothe an itch, while Ms Spencer said she had refused to help her reach the toilet. Hours after learning of the complaints, Haines went into the medication room between midnight and 1am, removed two syringes, drew up two injections of insulin, and administered them to the women, probably as they slept. Megan Haines (pictured) made an eerie phone call to divulge her victims had been given the 'wrong medication' before a toxicology report revealed they had been poisoned with insulin Marie Darragh (pictured with daughter Charli Matterson) died after being given a lethal dose of insulin The court heard Haines had three separate complaints made against her in the short time she worked at St Andrews Village nursing home at Ballina in northern NSW in 2014 In jailing her for a maximum of 36 years, the judge described her offences as 'deliberate and calculating', and a flagrant abuse of her power. Outside court, Ms Spencer's brother Donald said he was 'over the moon' about the sentence. Hillary Clinton was spotted looking rather glum as she arrived at her holiday party in New York, while once-beaming millionaire donors like Anna Wintour dodged cameras. A downcast Clinton arrived at New York's famed Plaza Hotel on Thursday night and was pictured sitting in the back of a black car as it was directed into the hotel's loading dock garage. Vogue editor Anna Wintour hid her face behind a male friend as she walked through the hotel and made her way into the party. It is in stark contrast to the beaming attitudes they had during the recent election campaign before Clinton was beaten by Republican Donald Trump. Clinton gave a speech at one point during the evening, where she was joined on the stage by her husband Bill, daughter Clinton and son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky, running mate Tim Kaine and John Podesta. It is unclear if Huma Abedin attended the event. Scroll down for video She was joined on stage by her husband Bill, daughter Clinton and son-in-law Marc Mezvinsky, running mate Tim Kaine and John Podesta Justin Belmont, one of the guests at the event, snapped a photo of himself with former president Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton was spotted looking glum as she arrived at New York's Plaza Hotel to host her holiday party on Thursday for the deep-pocketed donors who helped fund her campaign Vogue editor Anna Wintour hid her face behind a male friend as she walked through the hotel and made her way into the party As recently as October, Wintour was pictured smiling as she arrived at a Hillary Victory Fund concert in New York wearing a Clinton supporter t-shirt. Clinton planned the costly party to thank those donors who doled out millions to the Democrat's presidential campaign. Among the other guests expected to attend were Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, designer Tory Burch, investor Alan Patricof and billionaire hedge-fund manager Marc Lasry. They not only donated to Clinton's campaign but also hosted fundraising events. Wintour also used her position to have Vogue formally endorse Clinton for president. The costly holiday party was expected to be held in the hotel's 4,800 square foot Grand Ballroom. Clinton beamed as she attended a fundraiser for her hosted by Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein in June in New York Vogue editor Anna Wintour wore a Hillary Clinton t-shirt as she attended a Hillary Victory Fund concert in New York in October (left). She dodged photographers on Thursday (right) Clinton arrived at the Plaza on Thursday night and was pictured sitting in the back of a black car as it was directed into the hotel's loading dock garage Clinton's cars drove into the loading dock garage of the Plaza Hotel on Thursday night Clinton arrived at the famed Plaza Hotel on Thursday night in a black vehicle Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump continued his 'thank you' tour on Thursday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He went after White House press secretary Josh Earnest who has been pounding on Trump from the White House podium over Russian interference in the U.S. elections. 'This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I don't know,' Trump said, calling out President Obama's chief spokesman by name. 'You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad.' 'He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK?' Trump quipped. They, he added without explanation: 'Maybe he is getting his orders from somebody else?' The costly holiday party was being held at New York's famed Plaza Hotel The gathering took place at the hotel's Grand Ballroom (above), where events cost well over $100,000 on average Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and Vogue editor Anna Wintour (pictured) were among the guests invited to Clinton's holiday party Wintour used her position to have Vogue formally endorse Clinton for president (above watching Clinton speak with Bryan Lourd at a May fundraiser in LA) Trump has been much softer on Obama, with whom he has been consulting by phone, during his rallies, praising the outgoing president for how he has been handling the transition. Earnest turned up the heat on Trump and his transition over Russian interference following media reports citing CIA sources that the purpose of Russian-backed hacking was to help Trump. 'It is just a fact you all have it on tape that the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent, because he believed that would help his campaign.' 'It is not a controversial statement,' Earnest continued. 'I'm not trying to be argumentative. But I am trying to acknowledge a basic fact,' Earnest said at Thursday's White House briefing. President-elect Donald Trump continued his 'thank you' tour on Thursday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania He went after White House press secretary Josh Earnest who has been pounding on Trump from the White House podium over Russian interference in the U.S. elections US President-elect Donald Trump was introduced to speak to supporters at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday Trump had been scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday about how he would deal with his business empire while in office, but his transition postponed it until January. As he has at previous post-election rally, Trump has gone after flag burning and terrorism. 'I see these punks burning the flag, stomping on it... No good,' he said. 'We're going to maybe have to do something about that.' 'We will keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country,' Trump said at another point. Then he complained that 'Our infrastructure is going to hell,' although he sent off the crowd with a seasonal greeting: 'Merry Christmas.' Australian racehorse trainer Ben Currie has been fined $6000 after his horse 'Party Till Dawn' tested positive to amphetamine also known as ice. The five-year-old mare allegedly tested positive to the drug after she won at Toowoomba, in Queensland's south-east, on July 16 by six lengths. However, stewards adjourned a second inquiry involving Currie until next week. Scroll down for video Toowoomba-based racehorse trainer Ben Currie (above) has been fined $6000 after his horse 'Party Till Dawn' tested positive to 'ice' After an initial hearing on Wednesday, stewards charged Currie after Tints returned a positive swab to the steroid boldenone at Rockhampton on April 8. Currie pleaded not guilty but after taking lengthy evidence stewards found otherwise and fined him $6,000. Chief steward Allan Reardon said Currie had been charged with presenting a horse with a prohibited substance which usually carried a fine. The trainer had not been charged with the more serious administration of a steroid which could carry an automatic disqualification. Reardon said there was no evidence to support an administration charge in Currie's case and that inquiry was adjourned until next Wednesday so other evidence could be presented. The five-year-old mare (above) allegedly tested positive to the drug after she won at Toowoomba on July 16 by six lengths President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel has had angry clashes with the liberal pro-Israel group J Street, has slammed 'lifers' in the State Department for failing to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and says the U.S. will never 'pressure' Israel into adopting a two-state solution. Trump on Thursday nominated David Friedman as ambassador to Israel and said his pick would do the job 'from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem.' Friedman, an attorney and campaign adviser, said he looked forward to carrying out his duties from there, even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. Trump himself has said he would move the embassy, and Friedman made no doubt about his feelings on the matter in a speech in Jerusalem days before the elections. 'When Donald Trump has his first meeting with the lifers in the state Department and they say, 'Mr. Trump, with all due respect, you have only been president for a couple of days, we've been living here for the last 20 years, we don't do it that way, we do it this way we don't move the embassy, that's been State department policy for 20 years, the reaction from Donald Trump is going to be, 'You know what guys, you're all FIRED!'' Friedman said, Haaretz reported. He also told the crowd ' the Trump administration will never pressure Israel into a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the wishes of the Israeli people.' Friedman's appointment, if confirmed by the Senate, along with Trump's ascension would represent a major shift in the tenor of relations between Israel and the U.S. on settlement policy. The U.S. under President Obama has frequently applied pressure to try to slow or halt new settlement construction. Friedman supports them. Scroll down for video President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated David Friedman as ambassador to Israel. Friedman is pictured with Trump and Ivanka Trump in 2010 Friedman's selection won immediate praise from the Republican Jewish Coalition, whose board members include major Trump booster Sheldon Adelson, but drew a strong condemnation from the liberal J Street group. 'As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials,' the group said in a statement, pointing to Friedman's support for Israeli settlements, 'Friedman should be beyond the pale.' Friedman had blasted the group this summer, comparing them to those who collaborated with the kapos who collaborated with the Nazis. 'The kapos faced extraordinary cruelty. But J Street? They are just smug advocates of Israel's destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas it's hard to imagine anyone worse,' he wrote, the New York Times reported. The group's president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, tweeted on Thursday: ''Trumps pick of Friedman for Israel Amb[assador] is anathema to values that underlie U.S.-Israel relationship. Well fight this with all weve got.' Like the current U.S. ambassador, Daniel Shapiro, Friedman speaks Hebrew and is Jewish. Yair Lapid, an opposition politician who was Israels finance minister, said of the selection: 'I look forward to working with David Friedman, a great friend of Israel, in his rightful office in our capital, Jerusalem,' the Forward reported. Trump, like some of his predecessors, has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. 'He has made that promise,' Trump transition adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters. 'I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly.' The move would also distance the U.S. from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. Trump said in a statement: 'The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when I'm President. 'As the United States' Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. 'He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. 'His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. 'Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad.' The Trump transition team said in a release: 'Mr. Friedman, whose bar mitzvah was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 45 years ago, is a fluent speaker of Hebrew and a lifelong student of Israel's history. 'On Thursday, he expressed his resolve to be a rock-solid partner with the Israeli leadership as our two countries seek to advance our mutual interests and keep our people safe.' Trump said in a statement that Friedman's 'strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East' (2010 photo) Friedman said in a statement: 'I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump to represent the United States as its Ambassador to Israel. 'I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem.' The announcement sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, called nominating Friedman 'reckless,' citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. He said: 'This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk. 'Friedman should be beyond the pale for Senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel.' The Republican Jewish Coalition said in a statement: 'The selection of Mr. David Friedman to serve as United States Ambassador to Israel sends a powerful signal to the Jewish community and the State of Israel that President-elect Trump's administration will strengthen the bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region.' The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trump advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. 'He has made that promise,' Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Thursday. 'I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly.' One option Trump allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trump advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. It's unclear how far those discussions have gotten or whether Trump himself has been briefed on the proposal. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but backed away from the idea once in office. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state. President-elect Donald Trump arrives for a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Thursday Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said this week that he has been in touch with Trump's staff about the embassy issue. Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move. Asked during the campaign whether he believed in a two-state solution, the basis of more than two decades of peace negotiations, Friedman had said Trump was 'tremendously skeptical'. 'A Trump administration will never pressure Israel into a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the wishes of the Israeli people,' Friedman told a Trump rally in Jerusalem in October. President Barack Obama has signed a disaster declaration to speed federal recovery aid to victims of the recent deadly wildfires in a hard-hit eastern Tennessee county. A White House statement late Thursday said the declaration is intended to expedite federal funding for Sevier County, where fast-spreading flames claimed 14 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,500 homes, businesses and other buildings in that Appalachian tourist locale. The declaration is to allow for grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners back on their feet. The toll of the wildfires that ravaged Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in recent weeks is staggering with 14 people dead, another 175 injured, and more than 2,400 homes and businesses destroyed It adds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency says damage surveys are continuing and more counties and additional assistance may be designated later. The deadly wildfires caused more than $500 million in damage as they tore through a tourism community in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The disaster relief comes after revelations the two teens accused of starting the wildfires could be jailed for life. The youths are currently sitting in a Sevier County detention center but if they are convicted of aggravated arson, they could each be facing prison terms of 60 years. As the full extent of the catastrophic damage reveals itself, authorities who early on suspected arson, have since confirmed that the blaze was man-made Fire erupting on the side of The Spur on Highway 441 between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. In Gatlinburg, smoke and fire caused the mandatory evacuation of downtown and surrounding areas At the time, thousands of people were evacuated from the area with the damage estimated to be around $500 million If the duo are slapped with more serious charges, including first-degree murder and are convicted, they could be jailed for life. It's not yet known whether prosecutors will charge them as adults. The fires blew into the city on November 28 on gusts around 87 miles per hour that knocked down power lines and started other fires. People fled the city on foot or by car as walls of fire closed in. The fires damaged more than 2,400 buildings in the Gatlinburg area, including more than 2,100 homes and almost 60 businesses were destroyed. Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters put a dollar figure on the damage for the first time at a news conference on Tuesday, where officials also defended their emergency response in the Gatlinburg area and promised to conduct wide-ranging reviews of what can be done better. The remains of a home smolder in the wake of the fire. Two Tennessee youths are sitting in a Sevier County detention center while prosecutors decide what will happen to them next Last week, she appeared in court via video link in a dark green prison jumpsuit Canadian porn star's lawyer said she will plead guilty in Sydney's Local Court A Canadian porn model will plead guilty to smuggling $31million worth of cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship. Isabelle Lagace, 28, faced Central Local Court in Sydney on Friday afternoon where her lawyer Louis Ialenti said she would plead guilty. Lagace, originally from Quebec, is accused of allegedly smuggling 95 kilograms of cocaine into Sydney on the Sea Princess cruise ship in September. Scroll down for video Isabelle Lagace, 28, fronted court for her alleged involvement in a cocaine smuggling ring Melina Roberge is pictured left, Isabelle Lagace is pictured right Andre Famine, Melina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace are pictured Another woman, Melina Roberge, 23, has pleaded not guilty to commercial drug importation charges. A third person, Andre Famine, 63, waived his right to a committal hearing. He will stand trial in the NSW District Court on February 3, 2107. At the beginning of the committal hearing, the three people sat side by side in the dock. Roberge in a white top and Lagace in a red one, sat passively through the hearing. Both dabbed a tissue to their eyes throughout. The grey-haired Tamine wore a green jumper and sat silently to the side of the two women, avoiding eye contact. Lagace is pictured right and Roberge is pictured left Last Wednesday, Lagace appeared at Sydney's Central Local Court via video link from Silverwater women's jail wearing a dark green prison jumpsuit. She remained composed throughout the brief appearance last week. She spoke only three words - 'yes' and 'thank you'. Lagace was holidaying on the MS Sea Princess when US and Australian police co-ordinated an operation to track her. Australian Border Force Commander Tim Fitzgerald has alleged 35 kilograms of cocaine were found her cabin after the ship docked in Sydney Harbour. She was Quebec charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine and remains in custody. Police allege Lagace tried to smuggle $31 million worth of cocaine into Australia Lagace posted an image of her on a beach in Tahiti with the caption 'collect moments, not things' The maximum penalty for the charge is life imprisonment. The young woman's social media accounts showed her having the time of their life in the months leading up to their arrest. Lagace also posted pictures on Facebook showing off her toned body and the exotic locations she travelled to before the arrest. She visited Colombia, French Polynesia Chile, Peru and New Zealand. Police said Lagace had been identified by the United States border control agencies of Canada as a high-risk traveller and suspected of being part of an international drug trafficking cartel. Lagace will be sentenced next year. Magistrate Robert Williams adjourned Fridays committal hearing for Roberge until December 21. Famine will stand trial in the NSW District Court on February 3, 2107. The father of two missing twin girls has made an appeal for their return after they were allegedly abducted by their mother two years ago. Michael Watter, father of Isabella and Bronte Watter, has urged members of the public with new information on the girls or their 43-year-old mother, Catherine Watter, to come forward after Queensland Police released computer-generated images of what the nine-year-old girls look like now. The twins' last known whereabouts was in April 2014 after Mr Watter dropped them off at Hermit Park Primary School in Townsville, in Queensland's south-east, after Mr Watter was awarded sole parental custody of the twins. Townsville father Michael Watter has made an appeal for the return of his twin daughter's after Queensland police release new computer generated images of the girls Isabella (left) and Bronte Watter, 9, (right) were allegedly abducted by their mother Catherine Watter, 43, in April 2014 He told the media: 'It's been nearly three years since my heart stopped beating the day that I found out that they had been taken.' Mr Watter said seeing the new computer generated images of his daughters reminded him that he had gone three years without knowing what happened to his girls. 'It's getting to the point now where I don't really know my children,' he said. 'When [I] go looking for Christmas presents and birthday presents for them soon... I think firstly should I be getting these presents because who knows when they are coming back,' Mr Watter said. 'And then I think what would I buy them? I don't really know what I could buy them cause I don't really know what they like now and it's been a long time.' The heartbroken father said that his wish for this Christmas is that the girls are returned to their stable and happy home. Mr Watter said that it was likely their mother had changed the appearance of the girls (Isabella on the left and Bronte on the right), which the Queensland police have also created alternative computer generated images of Mr Watter said at the press conference: 'It's been nearly three years since my heart stopped beating the day that I found out that they had been taken' Mr Watter said his daughters are registered as missing persons and a warrant has been issued for Catherine's arrest if she is found 'The most important thing for me is that they get back to a normal life and not be made to live on the run from the law as they have been for the last three years,' Mr Watter said. 'I'm not worried that they don't know how much I love them, I'm concerned they'll think I'm disappointed with them or angry with them that they're gone.' The father added the girls were registered as missing persons and a warrant had been issued for Catherine's arrest if she was found. He also said that it was likely their mother had changed their appearance. 'The most important thing for me is that they get back to a normal life and not be made to live on the run from the law,' Mr Watter said The heartbroken father said 'I want to see them and I'd love to hold them again, and play with them again, and hear them laugh' He believes someone helped Catherine with abducting the children and is continuing to help them on an on-going basis in terms of money, food and accommodation. 'I want to see them and I'd love to hold them again, and play with them again, and hear them laugh,' he said. hundreds of likes and comments from other mums A young mum staged her 10-month-old son in a fake car crash to remind people not to drink and drive over the holidays. The crash, staged using a red and yellow Little Tikes Cozy Coupe and a baby walker, sees Xavier - who is 'four times over the limit on milk' - crash head first into Bob the Builder who died at the scene. Young mum Teleasha Cameron, 27, from Queensland, got the idea to use her son to warn people about the dangers of drink driving when she saw her son napping in his toy car with a milk bottle in hand. A young mum has staged her 10-month-old son in a fake crash scene in hopes of reminding people to stay safe behind the wheel this holiday season. When Teleasha (pictured) saw her son Xavier (pictured) napping in his Little Tikes car with a milk bottle in hand, she was reminded of countless car crash stories she'd seen on the news. Mum came up with the idea to use her son as a prop in a fake crash scene and post the photos on social media. 'Every time I turn on the news or log onto Facebook, I learn about more and more accidents and it's terrifying', she said. What started as a light-hearted gesture to give her Facebook friends a giggle quickly transformed into a serious message about driver safety. It's not worth risking your life or the lives of others. Teleasha Cameron, Queenland, mother of Xavier 'Initially it was supposed to be a funny little thing for people I know, but I've since taken into consideration the serious side of it', Ms Cameron said. 'You could be doing everything right, but all it takes is one tired or drunk person to cause an accident, which is why it's so important to pull over if you're tired. 'It's not worth risking your life or the lives of others.' Within 24 hours of publishing, Ms Cameron's post had received 175 likes and many comments from other mums. Teleasha's facebook post received 175 likes and many comments from other mums What started as a light-hearted gesture to give her Facebook friends a giggle quickly transformed into a serious message about driver safety. 10-month-old baby Xavier (pictured) crashed head first into Bob the Builder who died at the scene. Teleasha got the idea to use her son to warn people about the dangers of drink driving when she saw her son napping. Ms Cameron, who lives close to Mackay Bucasia Road, a major four-lane road that is a hot spot for car accidents, hopes to one day show the photos to Xavier when he is of driving age. 'I'm shocked by all the response I've been getting from people who loved the idea', Ms Cameron said. 'I hope people will remember to drive safe and have a Merry Christmas.' A nurse who slashed his boss' throat and stabbed her to death finally had his nursing registration cancelled four years after he was jailed for life. Walter Ciaran Marsh brutally murdered Sydney nurse manager Michelle Beets, 57, after she did not renew his contract at Royal North Shore Hospital in 2010. The former U.S. Marine believed Ms Beets gave him several bad references that prevented him from getting another job he needed to stay in Australia on a 457 visa. Walter Ciaran Marsh, who slashed his boss' throat and stabbed her to death, finally had his nursing registration cancelled four years after he was jailed for life He was sentenced to life in prison on March 9, 2012, after a more than six week trial for the crime a judge called 'meticulously planned' and 'cold, merciless and abhorrent'. Despite Marsh now residing in a maximum security prison, the Health Care Complaints Commission only on Thursday canceled his nursing licence. The Commission sought to strike him from the register on the grounds that he was convicted of a crime and was 'not suitable to hold registration as a registered nurse'. '[Marsh's] lack of remorse and denial of guilt points compellingly to an underlying defect of character such that there would be no confidence that public and professional confidence could ever be reposed in him,' it said in its submission. Marsh crept into Ms Beets' Chatswood house and cut her throat and stabbed her eight times in the chest after she came home from work, leaving her to die on the verandah. Justice Derek Price, in sentencing, described Beets' murder as 'an act of barbarity' and noted he had 'neither expressed remorse or shown contrition for the offence'. He brutally murdered Sydney nurse manager Michelle Beets, 57, after she did not renew his contract at Royal North Shore Hospital in 2010 The murder came after weeks of planning where he cased her house to learn its layout and security and called her from payphones to see when she usually got home. He also practiced, on his wife and bother-in-law, throat cutting techniques marines used to kill guards silently. But on April 27, 2010, Ms Beets changed her routine as she backed into her driveway instead of pulling straight in, forcing him to confront her head-on. Her screams alerted neighbours and a couple walking their dog nearby, who challenged Marsh before he fled and they ran to Ms Beets' aid. After the murder, Marsh told his wife Samantha, whose testimony was critical to his conviction: 'It's done, the bitch is gone. No more bad references.' President Barack Obama raised the temperature in the U.S. clash with Moscow over what intelligence officials say was interference in the U.S. elections, bluntly vowing to take countermeasures against Russia. Obama told NPR News the US will respond at a 'time and place of our choosing,' without revealing what he had in mind. His comments are the clearest indication to date that whatever response the US is planning has not yet occurred. 'I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action,' Obama said. 'And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be.' The new threats came as the clash with Russia has jacked up tensions between President-elect Donald Trump and the White House, after a handover process that has been surprisingly cordial, with the two men speaking frequently and Trump even saying he was consulting Obama about cabinet decisions. President Obama confronted Vladimir Putin in September at the G-20 Summit in China, according to a US official Trump weighed in on the subject of hacking yet again on Twitter Friday morning, drawing attention to the substance of the hack rather than the hacking itself or the threat posed by Russian interference. 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' Trump wrote. He was referencing hacked emails that revealed former CNN commentator Donna Brazile and DNC official stating that she sometimes got an advance look at debate questions and passing information to the Clinton camp before a campaign forum. On Thursday night, Trump hit at Obama by going after White House press secretary Josh Earnest as 'this foolish guy' then said without explanation, 'Maybe he is getting his orders from somebody else?' 'You know, having the right press secretary is so important because he's so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad,' Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania. 'He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldn't sound good, OK?' Trump said, continuing his hit on Obama's outgoing flak. 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' wrote Trump On Thursday, Earnest hit Trump for his campaign statement asking the Russians to hack into Clinton's emails, something Trump later said was a joke. 'It is just a factyou all have it on tapethat the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent because he believed it would help his campaign.' Trump transition official Kellyanne Conway called the statement 'breathtaking.' Trump's two other recent tweets since bombshell reports that the CIA believes the hacking was meant to help Trump have lashed out, without mentioning the seriousness of the threat. 'These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction,' Trump tweeted after a Washington Post report on the hacking last week. Later, he wrote: 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act?. Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' Russian President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov fired back at Obama Friday, saying it was said it was 'indecent' for the U.S. to 'groundlessly' accuse Russia of interference, Russian state news agency Tass reported. 'They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly,' Peskov said. Obama says he's spoken directly to Putin about his feelings about the hacking. Multiple government officials told NBC News Obama didn't mount a more robust response because the White House thought Hillary Clinton would win and it didn't want to to be seen to be interfering with the election. 'They thought she was going to win, so they were willing to kick the can down the road,' said one official. Security officials had internally raised countermeasures including exposing Putin's relations with oligarchs or impacting Russia's internet to allow dissenting voices through, but the ideas got shelved. A US official says he confronted Putin at the G-20 summit in China and promised unspecified consequences if the hacks continued, reports the outlet. But some feel Obama didn't do enough. NBC News said that Obama didn't call out Russia more strongly because he thought Clinton was going to win the election and it would be seen as interfering 'In retrospect it certainly seems as though it was a mistake not to call the Russians sooner and respond to them in a very forceful way,' said retired Admiral James Stavridis, current dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. One official pointed the blame at the media for focusing more on the leaked documents than the Russian hacking that got them leaked. Still to be determined is how the flareup might impact Trump's nomination of Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. Tillerson has spent years doing energy deals with Russia, knows Putin personally, and even got a medal of friendship that Putin bestowed. A trio of Republican senators have raised concerns about the nomination, citing concerns with Russia. Trump seemed to finally admit that perhaps someone - maybe even Russia - was hacking He then tweeted early the next morning - once again bringing up the fact that Hillary had allegedly seen debate questions Additionally, the day that the hacks were made public by intelligence officials was the same day that 'pu**ygate' broke with the Donald Trump/Billy Bush tape revealing Trump's crude brag that he could grab women by the privates if he wanted to. The media chose to focus its attention on the sensational recording. Eleven days later, Obama did not receive one question about Russia at a press conference. The White House is also sharply criticizing President-elect Donald Trump for his response to allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. election. Vladimir Putin (right) is in Tokyo today meeting Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left). The pair laughed and joked during a visit to a judo hall White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Trump should stop attacking the US intelligence community. He said instead, Trump should be supporting the investigation into what occurred that Obama has ordered. Trump's transition team has complained that the White House has suggested Trump knew during the campaign that Russia was trying to interfere. But Earnest said its 'obvious' Trump knew and that it's a fact. He is also disputing Trump's claim that he was joking when he encouraged Russia to find Hillary Clinton's emails. As for Trump, he did a turn-around Thursday, and instead of denying that Russia hacked into Democrats' computers and emails, tweeted, 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' He then tweeted again at 6.10am on Friday, bringing up the fact that Hillary had allegedly been leaked debate questions. 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' he wrote. His top transition aide, Anthony Scaramucci, seemed to be on the Democrats' side, agreeing that there was a Russian hack. 'I dont think anybody thinks that youre wrong,' he told Brian Williams on MSNBC of an NBC News report that said Putin was directly involved in the hacks. 'Our position right now is that were waiting for more information. We reject the notion that people would cyber attack our institutions. We are very upset about it.' Donald Trump has said he does not believe that Putin and Russia hacked into Democrats' emails, but may have just pivoted with his latest tweet Earnest says nobody in the White House, Congress or the intelligence community found it 'funny' that a US adversary was trying to 'destabilize our democracy.' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says he believes Vladimir Putin was personally involved in efforts to intrude into the presidential election and help Trump win the White House. The Nevada Democrat said Thursday 'the answer is clearly yes' when asked about the Russian president's involvement. He adds that because Putin is a former KGB chief, his alleged actions should surprise no one. Vladimir Putin (left) was named this week by Forbes as the world's most powerful person. He is in Tokyo today for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) Reid also criticized FBI Director James Comey for doing 'nothing' to prevent Russia from hacking Democratic campaign documents while focusing on Hillary Clinton's private email server. Reid says Comey, who used to be a registered Republican, 'became so partisan' that he should head the Republican National Committee. Reid is retiring at the end of the year. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has lauded nominees for the incoming Trump administration as people with no 'anti-Russian stereotypes.' Medvedev said in a televised interview on Thursday that Moscow is glad Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has been nominated for secretary of state, describing him as someone with 'pragmatic thinking.' Medvedev said President-elect Trump's recent appointments show that he hires people who 'don't have ingrained anti-Russian stereotypes, or any stereotypes.' The Kremlin has cheered Trump's victory although some top Russian officials have recently said they had no illusions and were not expecting relations between Russia and the US, which were battered after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, to improve overnight. Intelligence sources told NBC News that there's no evidence that Trump was in cahoots with the Russians and that if Trump comes out against the hack 'it will scare the bejesus out of the Kremlin.' The Santa at the center of a touching story about a terminally ill boy who died in his arms is standing by his version of events after skeptics raised doubts. Eric Schmitt-Matzen broke down in tears during an interview with DailyMail.com on Monday when he described how the five-year-old boy had died in his arms after he visited him in hospital dressed as Santa. The story of how the 60-year-old had granted the dying wish of the little boy went viral after it first appeared in a local newspaper column. Now, Schmitt-Matzen has been forced to defend his account of what happened after that same newspaper, the Knoxville News Sentinel, cast doubt on their own story this week. Eric Schmitt-Matzen, 60, said he fulfilled a terminally-ill child's wish to see Santa Claus and then held the boy as he died in his arms in mid-October The newspaper had claimed they were unable to verify certain details of his story. Schmitt-Matzen, who plays Santa at 80 different gigs every year, has always refused to reveal the names or details of the young boy he visited, or his family on the grounds of privacy. He also refused to divulge the name of the hospital or nurses who called him in to visit. Schmitt-Matzen told WBIR 10News that he had initially caught the time-frame wrong when he said the boy died about six weeks ago and has blamed his bad memory. He said his wife of 38 years, Sharon Schmitt-Matzen, told him it actually happened in mid-October after doubts were raised this week. He said while he would love for the nurse to come forward and confirm the details, she fears her job will be on the line for calling a non-family member into the ICU without prior hospital approval. 'If the family wants to come out and say who they were, I'll stand beside them,' Schmitt-Matzen said. 'I'll support them in any way I can, but the way my life's been upset in the last three days, four days, don't do it. You have enough problems. Your family will be tore apart more than it is now.' He had sent text messages to two of his friends explaining what had happened, which matched the mid-October timeline, WBIR 10News reports. The mechanical engineer said he was so shaken by the experience he considered hanging up his Santa suit for good DailyMail.com visited or contacted five hospitals in the Eastern Tennessee area near Schmitt-Matzen's home in an attempt to verify the story earlier this week, but none of the facilities approached had any record of such a visit taking place. Erica Estep, public relations manager from East Tennessee Children's Hospital,the only children's ICU in the Knoxbille metro area, told DailyMail.com: 'I am aware of the story but this did not happen at our hospital.' A marketing manager for the Tennova Healthcare, which manages nine hospitals or health centers in the area and is the second largest healthcare provider in the Knoxville metro area, said it did not happen at any of their facilities. Jellico Community Hospital told DailyMail.com that such a little boy had not been in treatment at their center. When visited at his business, Schmitt-Matzen told DailyMail.com that he did not have any information on the family and added that he would not have done the original interview if he had known the story would become so big. 'This has gotten so blown out of proportion,' he said. However, the professional Santa, who is also a mechanical engineer and co-owner of Packaging Seals & Engineering, said he was unfazed by the skepticism now surrounding his story. 'If some people want to call me a liar . . . I can handle that better than I can handle a child in my arms dying,' he said. 'It's sticks and stones,' he told the Washington Post. Schmitt-Matzen works 80 gigs as Santa Claus a year, even bringing along his wife as Mrs Claus, but it was this visit to the hospital that he will never forget Schmitt-Matzen claims that he had just gotten home from work just over a month ago, when he got an urgent phone call. A nurse who worked at the hospital where Schmitt-Matzen, 60, often spreads joy and Christmas cheer, said there was a 'very sick five-year-old boy' who wanted to see Santa Claus, Schmitt-Matzen told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Fifteen minutes later, Schmitt-Matzen said he arrived and the boy's mother handed him a toy to give to her son. 'I sized up the situation and told everyone, 'If you think you're going to lose it, please leave the room. If I see you crying, I'll break down and can't do my job,'' he said. 'When I turned around, where is everyone? Already outside, crying in the hallway,' he told DailyMail.com. As the boy's relatives watched from a window looking into the ICU, Schmitt-Matzen said he walked inside and saw the boy. 'He was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep,' he said. 'I sat down on his bed and asked, 'Say, what's this I hear about you're gonna miss Christmas? There's no way you can miss Christmas.' 'Why, you're my Number One elf!' He said the little boy looked up at Schmitt-Matzen and his perfect Santa Claus beard and asked: 'I am?' Schmitt-Matzen said he decided to become a professional Santa six years ago, after agreeing to play him for his local church. He even studied at 'Santa School' before he was allowed to become a fully fledged Santa Claus Schmitt-Matzen had assured the child that he was, and then gave him the toy. 'He was so weak he could barely open the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside, he flashed a big smile and laid his head back down.' The little boy then had a big question for Santa, Schmitt-Matzen said. 'They say I'm gonna die,' he told Schmitt-Matzen. 'How can I tell when I get to where I'm going?' Schmitt-Matzen then asked the little boy to do him a 'big favor'. 'When you get there, you tell them you're Santa's Number One elf, and I know they'll let you in,' he told the boy. 'They will?' the child asked. 'Sure!' Schmitt-Matzen said he had replied. The little boy sat up and gave him a big hug. He had one more question: 'Santa, can you help me?' It would be his final words. 'I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there,' Schmitt-Matzen said. 'He was in my arms when I felt him pass. 'I kinda looked up in the air, and tears started coming down my face,' he told DailyMail.com, choking up again at the memory. He and his wife Sharon Byrne Schmitt-Matzen, pose together as Mr and Mrs Claus 'I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him.' Schmitt-Matzen said everyone outside the room then realized what had just happened, and the little boy's mother ran into the room screaming. 'I handed her son back and left as fast as I could,' he said. 'I spent four years in the Army with the 75th Rangers, and I've seen my share of (stuff). But I ran by the nurses' station bawling my head off. The entire experience completely rattled Schmitt-Matzen, who said he cried the entire drive back home. 'I even had to pull over a couple of times,' he told the DailyMail.com. 'My wife and I were scheduled to visit our grandchildren in Nashville the next day, but I told her to go by herself,' he said. 'I was a basket case for three days. It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time,' he added of the experience, which occurred more than a month ago. Schmitt-Matzen was so affected he even considered leaving Santa Claus behind for good. But he dragged himself to another show, and remembered just what had inspired him to wear Father Christmas' suit in the first place. 'When I saw all those children laughing, it brought me back into the fold,' he said. 'It made me realize the role I have to play.' Police have launched a desperate appeal to locate a missing one-year-old baby boy who was last seen with a man four days ago. Alan Reid, 24, was last seen with the infant on December 8 at a Markwell road address in Caboolture, north of Brisbane. Queensland police media have confirmed Reid and the baby are known to each, but not specified what their relation is. Police are searching for a one-year-old baby boy from Caboolture who has been missing since for the past four days They are also concerned for the man's welfare as he has not been in contact with his family since going missing. It is believed the pair could be travelling in an unregistered red four wheel drive, either a Nissan Patrol or similar-looking Toyota, around the Caboolture, Esk or Ispwich areas. The baby is described as Caucasian, with fair or blonde hair, and blue eyes. Reid is also described as Caucasian, 190 centimetres tall, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Anyone with information which could assist with this matter should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333. Beijing has staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea. Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea. China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the US criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. No other country has claims in China's busy waterway of the Bohai Sea, but the drills come amid new tension over self-ruled Taiwan, following US President-elect Donald Trump's recent telephone call with the island's president that upset Beijing. Beijing has staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the US criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation Warships and jets engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday. 'This is the first time an aircraft carrier squadron has performed drills with live ammunition and real troops,' it said. China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated, CCTV said. It broadcast images of fighter jets taking off from the carrier, firing missiles and destroying a target at sea. Warships and jets engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated A US think tank says China has been installing anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on artificial islands in the South China Sea, prompting China to defend its right to install military hardware there The Liaoning has participated in previous military exercises, including some in the South China Sea, but the country is still years off from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the United States has practiced for decades. On Wednesday, a US think tank said China had been installing anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on artificial islands in the South China Sea, prompting China to defend its right to install military hardware there. China's exercises aim to test the equipment and troop training levels, an unidentified navy official told the official China News Service. Last December the Defence Ministry confirmed China was building a second aircraft carrier to go with the existing vessel, but its launch date is unclear. China keeps its aircraft carrier programme a state secret, and CCTV blurred images showing the cockpit instrument panel of one aircraft involved in the Bohai Sea drills. Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years, the Pentagon said in a report last year. Two children have died after falling through the ice in southwestern Indiana, despite one of the victim's mother's desperate rescue attempt. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources said a 12-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl were killed in the accident Thursday around 5.30pm in southern Pike County. State conservation Officer Joe Haywood said the woman was cooking dinner Thursday evening when her son and a girl she was watching asked if they could go outside to play. When dinner was ready about 10 minutes later, he said the woman went outside to call the children and saw her son flailing in the icy water of the pond behind her home near the town of Winslow. Two children in Pike County, Indiana fell through a frozen lake (not pictured) to their deaths The children were rushed to Memorial Hospital (above) but died from their injuries A public safety diver pulled the two children out of the ice after arriving on the scene, but both had been underwater at least a half-hour. The Pike County police released a statement saying that the first victim was rescued after 20 minutes, the second after 40 minutes. Seven agencies responded to the tragedy. They were taken to Memorial Hospital in Jasper for treatment but died from their injuries. Foul play is not suspected and autopsies is planned for Saturday, according to WTHR. Andre Famine, 63, has waved his right to committal and will stand trial next year Another woman, Melina Roberge, 23, has pleaded not guilty to drug importation Last week, she appeared in court via video link in a dark green prison jumpsuit Canadian porn star's lawyer said she will plead guilty in Sydney's Local Court A Canadian porn model pleaded guilty on Friday to smuggling $31million worth of cocaine into Australia on a cruise ship. A second Canadian woman, 23, pleaded not guilty to charges involving the same alleged importation. A French Canadian man, 63, has not entered a plea but will stand trial next year. Isabelle Lagace, 28, faced Central Local Court in Sydney on Friday afternoon where her lawyer Louis Ialenti said she would plead guilty. Lagace, originally from Quebec, is accused of allegedly smuggling 95 kilograms of cocaine into Sydney on the Sea Princess cruise ship in September. Scroll down for video Isabelle Lagace, 28, fronted court for her alleged involvement in a cocaine smuggling ring Melina Roberge is pictured left, Isabelle Lagace is pictured right Andre Famine, Melina Roberge and Isabelle Lagace are pictured Another woman, Melina Roberge, 23, has pleaded not guilty to commercial drug importation charges. A third person, Andre Famine, 63, has pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a committal hearing. He will stand trial in the NSW District Court on February 3, 2107. At the beginning of the committal hearing, the three people sat side by side in the dock. Roberge in a white top and Lagace in a red one, sat passively through the hearing. Both dabbed a tissue to their eyes throughout. The grey-haired Tamine wore a green jumper and sat silently to the side of the two women, avoiding eye contact. Lagace is pictured right and Roberge is pictured left Last Wednesday, Lagace appeared at Sydney's Central Local Court via video link from Silverwater women's jail wearing a dark green prison jumpsuit. She remained composed throughout the brief appearance last week. She spoke only three words - 'yes' and 'thank you'. Lagace was holidaying on the MS Sea Princess when US and Australian police co-ordinated an operation to track her. Australian Border Force Commander Tim Fitzgerald has alleged 35 kilograms of cocaine were found her cabin after the ship docked in Sydney Harbour. She was Quebec charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine and remains in custody. Police allege Lagace tried to smuggle $31 million worth of cocaine into Australia Lagace posted an image of her on a beach in Tahiti with the caption 'collect moments, not things' The maximum penalty for the charge is life imprisonment. The young woman's social media accounts showed her having the time of their life in the months leading up to their arrest. Lagace also posted pictures on Facebook showing off her toned body and the exotic locations she travelled to before the arrest. She visited Colombia, French Polynesia Chile, Peru and New Zealand. Police said Lagace had been identified by the United States border control agencies of Canada as a high-risk traveller and suspected of being part of an international drug trafficking cartel. Lagace will be sentenced next year. Magistrate Robert Williams adjourned Fridays committal hearing for Roberge until December 21. Famine will stand trial in the NSW District Court on February 3, 2107. TigerAir said the video was a hoax and slammed the stunt as Tigerair has blasted American YouTube prankster Adam Saleh, branding the video purporting to show him traveling from Melbourne to Sydney as not only fake, but reckless. The footage, which appears to show Saleh cramming himself into a suitcase in Melbourne and popping out at Sydney, clocked up hundreds of thousands of views this week on social media. But CCTV footage has since emerged showing the American prankster boarding the flight with his friends, and airline has used Twitter to take Saleh to task over the stunt. Scroll down for video Adam Saleh posted a video of himself being crammed into a large suitcase in Melbourne and popping out at Sydney airport to his popular Youtube account on Tuesday 'There are a few little inconsistencies in your production that don't line up with reality,' the Tiger spokesperson wrote on Twitter. The American video blogger claimed he made the hour long journey in the baggage compartment of a Tiger Air plane - undetected by security or check in staff. But the budget airline cast doubt on his claims with some fundamental holes in the story and claimed he would never have made it out the other end alive. 'Had you been in the baggage hold, by the time you arrived in Sydney you would have been a popsicle.' 'Anything over 32kg gets rejects and our friendly staff would have stepped in to assist with options, as indeed they did. We have the footage,' The video includes footage of his friends looking at Mr Saleh's 'empty seat' on the plane before discussing that he entered the cargo hold without any food or water. CCTV footage has since emerged showing the American prankster boarding the flight with his friends Tigerair has blasted the American YouTube prankster, branding the video as not only fake, but reckless Mr Saleh's friends crammed him inside the large suitcase at their hotel in Melbourne A spokesperson for TigerAir said the incident is being investigated after concerns were raised that others may try to copy the stunt. 'The safety and well being of our staff and customers is always our number one priority and was not compromised at any time. 'The airline industry in Australia is highly regulated and has amongst the strictest standards in the world. 'Tigerair Australia has a zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour and has investigated this matter as a priority.' Melbourne Airport confirmed the prank had been 'debunked' and warned others not to replicate the self-proclaimed 'professional idiot's' stunt. Mr Saleh's arm poked out of the suitcase before he allegedly was loaded on to the plane Identical twins who studied the same subjects have recorded an ATAR scores only 0.35 apart and plan on studying the same course at university. Liverpool twins Angelo and Domenic Beretta undertook the same subjects at school and received scores of 98.45 and 98.10 on Friday. With both twins going onto study a double degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Surveying, the brothers said their dedication to study paid off. Twins Angelo and Domenic Beretta did identical HSC subjects and received ATARs of 98.45 and 98.10 on Friday 'We're over the moon, all that hard work during the year has paid off,' Domenic told The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW students are receiving their HSC ranking after years of gruelling over the textbooks, as one teen said she was going to 'have a heart attack' when she got her 99.9 score. 50,000 students across the state are receiving their ATAR university entrance ranks on Friday morning after completing the HSC exams. Natalie Teh, 17, said she hopes to study medicine after receiving her 99.9 score on Friday morning, screaming: 'Oh my god!' Sydney Morning Herald reported. Natalie Teh, 17, said she felt like she was going to have a heart attack when she received her 99.9 score 'My hands are shaking,' said the student from PLC, in Sydney's inner west. 'I am literally going to have a heart attack.' Natalie said she will have a celebratory lunch with friends before going to work at a candle shop. Daniel Liu from North Sydney Boys received a perfect score of 99.95, and plans on studying medicine Newcastle's Merewether High School student Ryan Mitchison scored a 99.9 Bede Polding College student from South Windsor, Emily Tyrrell (pictured), received 99.85 and is interested in studying in law and politics Daniel Liu from North Sydney Boys received a perfect score of 99.95, and plans on studying medicine. He put his results down to balancing work and leisure. Newcastle's Merewether High School student Ryan Mitchison scored a 99.9. He told Daily Mail Australia he is not certain what to study, but is leaning towards engineering. Knox Grammar School, of Wahroonga in Sydney's north shore, celebrated on Twitter after student Jackson Chen received a 'perfect score' of 99.95. Bede Polding College student from South Windsor, Emily Tyrrell, received 99.85 and is interested in studying in law and politics. 'I'm going to be the first in my whole family to go to university, and despite my ATAR my mother is actually so proud. It feels good,' another NSW student wrote on Twitter Knox Grammar School, of Wahroonga in Sydney's north shore, celebrated on Twitter after student Jackson Chen received a 'perfect score' of 99.95 Not everyone was happy with their ATAR, despite the achievement One student took to Facebook to share her ATAR ranking of 'not eligible' Advertisement Syrians have spray-painted moving messages on their homes ahead of their evacuation from Aleppo - vowing that they will return to the city. Graffiti has been scrawled on buildings around the city with one fleeing resident writing 'goodbye' and others insisting: 'we will come back'. The messages emerged as a deal to evacuate civilians from Aleppo collapsed amid reports Syrian troops had used bulldozers to block a humanitarian corridor out of the city - trapping thousands inside the warzone. Some expressed anger over the way their homes had been destroyed while one heartbreaking message said: 'For everyone who shared the misery with me, I love you'. Thousands of residents and rebel fighters are said to have already left in a convoy of buses and ambulances over the last 24 hours as part of a fragile truce deal. But the evacuation came to a dramatic halt this morning as a line of buses came under fire with both sides accusing each other of derailing the process. Scroll down for video Syrians have spray-painted moving messages on their homes ahead of their evacuation from Aleppo - vowing that they will return to the city. One fleeing resident write 'goodbye' (pictured) One couple took a selfie in front of a message that said: For everyone who shared the misery with me, I love you. 15.12.2016 Some expressed anger over the way their homes had been destroyed while one defiant message said: 'We are returning' (above) Graffiti has been scrawled on buildings around the city with one fleeing resident writing 'we shall return one day' (left) and another saying: 'Under each destroyed building is a family buried with their dream. They were finished by Bashar Al Assad' (right) Some left messages of love as they fled from the war-torn city while one said: 'Love me far from the country of misery and oppression, far from out city that has had enough of death' This man, believed to be a dentist, wrote on a whiteboard: 'Please don't ruin this place, there are things inside could be useful for your kids" Panic: Desperate residents crowded into the streets ahead of being evacuated - but the deal came to a dramatic halt this morning Road block: A Syrian soldier stands in the road in front of empty buses that were supposed to be used for transporting civilians from the city It comes amid claims 'Iranian' militants loyal to dictator Bashar al-Assad had 'detained' civilians as they were being transported along what was supposed to be a safe route towards the town of Idlib. There had earlier been reports that protesters have blocked the road preventing buses from passing as they called for the evacuation of two Shi'ite villages near Aleppo. But Syrian state TV blamed rebel opposition fighters, accusing them of opening fire on the convoy. Accusations have also been made that rebels are trying to take prisoners with them out of the city - against the terms of the truce. Russia said this morning that the evacuation was 'finished' after more than 9,500 people - including 4,500 fighters, 337 wounded and all women and children - had left the rebel-controlled area. But some rebel fighters remained and were firing at Syrian troops, Russian media reported. According to local reports, pro-government bulldozers have started building barriers in the Ramousa neighbourhood - effectively closing the evacuation road. Thousands have already been transported from the city, but there are fears that terrified evacuees could risk becoming caught up in yet another massacre once they are relocated to the town of Idlib. Check-point: The evacuation came to a dramatic halt this morning as a line of buses came under fire with both sides accusing each other of derailing the process. Syrian and Russian troops are seen monitoring the convoy today On the move: The Aleppo evacuation had appeared to be running smoothly until it came to a sudden halt this morning Buses are seen during an evacuation operation of Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from an opposition-held area of Aleppo Observation: Syrian government forces stand guard as they monitor the passing buses and ambulances this morning Stand-off: Syrian troops watch on from beneath a bridge as van-loads of Aleppo citizens and fighters are transported out the city Meanwhile, hospitals in Western Aleppo are said to be 'overwhelmed' as they treat patients with missing limbs, horrific head and eye injuries and chronic disease including diabetes. Earlier, footage emerged showing terrified children flewing for their lives from an ambulance after it was targeted by snipers during the mass evacuation. Harrowing footage shows the group of frightened boys and girls crying as they are led away from the emergency vehicle against the backdrop of sniper fire. Video of the dramatic escape emerged as a mass evacuation of civilians was suspended this morning amid reports of an explosion at the pick-up point for buses leaving the city. Footage captured by Mojahed Abo Al Jood, a freelance cameraman for ITV News, shows adults helping the children out of the ambulance and across rubble towards a bombed-out building. The sobbing youngsters cower in the building as shots are fired nearby. It is not known exactly where the incident unfolded or for how long they were forced to hide. Inspection: A Russian soldier examines a truck carrying rebels and civilians out of war-torn Aleppo earlier today before the convoys were barred from moving out Families dragged their belongings onto the street as they waited to be evacuated from the war zone in eastern Aleppo An armed person stands next to a car packed with baggage as civilians crowd a street in the eastern part of Aleppo Harrowing footage shows the group of frightened boys and girls crying as they are led away from the emergency vehicle against the backdrop of sniper fire The dramatic escape took place as evacuations got underway in a bid to save the lives of thousands of trapped civilians and rebel fighters in the war-torn Syrian city Footage captures the moment terrified children escaped from their ambulance after it came underfire during their evacuation in Aleppo Video of the dramatic escape emerged as a mass evacuation of civilians was suspended this morning amid reports of an explosion at the pick-up point for buses leaving the city The Russian military's Center for Reconciliation says 's preparing for the rebels' exit together with the Syrian government. It says Syrian authorities have given security guarantees to all rebels willing to leave Aleppo This morning the operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo was suspended as Assad's regime accused rebels of violating the deal. 'The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement,' a security source said. 'The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo,' state television added. Robert Mardini, regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, confirmed Friday that 'regretfully, the operation was put on hold'. 'We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched and proceed in the right conditions,' he said. Harrowing: Video shows adults helping the children out of the ambulance and across rubble towards a bombed-out building Escape: The sobbing youngsters cower in a building as shots are fired overhead. A terrified child is pictured sheltering A child cries as he clambers over rubble to safety against the sound of gunshot. The video was captured as civilians were being evacuated from the city About 6,000 people have left rebel-held Aleppo in several convoys of buses since Thursday - but the operation was suspended this morning The number of buses being used has doubled to about 50 and the speed of evacuations is increasing It comes as Syria's envoy to the UN, Staffan de Mistura last night warned violence could sweep in to the town of Idlib, west of Aleppo unless a political accord is found for the ceasefire. He said: 'I don't know what will happen in Idlib, but if there is no ceasefire or political accord then it will become the next Aleppo.' He also added that there were 'not enough' UN observers on the ground at present to observe the evacuation. His comments came amid warnings from eastern Aleppo's leader Brita Hagi Hassan that tens of thousands 'are about to be victims of a general massacre.' Last night, the UK announced it will provide a further 20million of aid for Syria as Prime Minister Theresa May condemned Assad and his Russian and Iranian supporters. Earlier this morning the evacuation of rebel fighters and civilians - including wounded from the last opposition-held areas - had been gathering pace under a ceasefire that would see the government retake the city. A line of green buses and ambulances drive in convoy as they evacuate residents out of Aleppo this morning Hospitals in Western Aleppo are said to be 'overwhelmed' with patients, some with missing limbs and head injuries and and others with chronic diseases including diabetes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, estimated some 8,500 people had left so far, including around 3,000 rebel fighters A woman watches from her balcony during an evacuation operation of Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from Aleppo There was no sign, however, of evacuations from two villages besieged by rebels in neighbouring Idlib province, which were expected to be included in the deal. About 6,000 people had left rebel-held Aleppo in several convoys of buses since Thursday, when the evacuations began, Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the number was closer to 3,000, including some 600 fighters. The number of buses being used had doubled to about 50, Malahifji said, suggesting the speed of evacuations was increasing. 'There are a lot of buses now,' Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas of control in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their territory in a matter of weeks. THE TRUCE EXPLAINED: TERMS OF THE EVACUATION At least 4,000 rebels and their families will be evacuated from the last opposition-held districts of Syria's Aleppo, under the terms of the latest truce. A convoy of 20 buses and 10 ambulances have been lined up to transport the first wave of residents towards the Idlib province, which is controlled by a powerful rebel alliance that includes the extremist Fateh al-Sham Front. Russia says it has launched drones to monitor the evacuation, which will see buses travel through the government-controlled south-western district of Ramousseh towards the rebel-held town of Khan Touman, about five miles away. At least 4,000 rebels and their families will be evacuated from the last opposition-held districts of Syria's Aleppo, under the terms of the latest truce The UN's Syria humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said that while most of those evacuated will go to Idlib, others may choose to go on to camps in Turkey, A man id pictured receiving treatment after arrival in opposition-held areas west of the city The UN's Syria humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland said that while most of those evacuated will go to Idlib, others may choose to go on to camps in Turkey. The Russian military's Center for Reconciliation says it's preparing for the rebels' exit together with the Syrian government. It says Syrian authorities have given security guarantees to all rebels willing to leave Aleppo. A source close to the regime with knowledge of the negotiations initially said the army would 'receive the names of all evacuees' but subsequently said it was unclear if such a list would be turned over. The issue of the handover of a list of names had reportedly been one factor in the collapse of the earlier deal. The source also said the agreement would involve the evacuation of sick and wounded residents of Fuaa and Kafraya, two government-held villages in Idlib province that are besieged by rebel forces. Russia says it has launched drones to monitor the evacuation, which will see buses travel through the government-controlled south-western district of Ramousseh towards the rebel-held town of Khan Touman, about five miles away Observation: A pro-Assad soldier watches out over Aleppo as a convoy carrying injured fighters and civilians moves out of the city The United Nations was not involved in mediating the evacuation deal but was ready to monitor and accompany evacuees all the way to their destination, Egeland said. Russia confirmed at a meeting with the UN 'that this is a swift, unbureaucratic, non-intrusive evacuation and no harm will meet those who are evacuated,' Egeland told reporters in Geneva. 'It's a three-pronged evacuation - of wounded and sick, of vulnerable civilians, and evacuation of fighters,' he said. 'All in all it surely must be well over 1,000, it could be in the thousands.' The U.N. had contingencies to receive 100,000 people in Idlib, he said, but that was not an end to the problem, Egeland said. The U.N. was in contact with Turkey about the possibility of setting up 'major new camps'. 'I am afraid for what may come when this operation is over, both for the people of Idlib and all of the other areas that are still contested and where there are hundreds of thousands displaced in the middle of a war zone,' Egeland said. Advertisement Meanwhile, a senior Turkey official has said a camp to host people evacuated from Aleppo will be set up inside Syria near the border. Turkey will continue to accept sick and wounded coming from the city, the official said. Two potential sites, about two miles inside Syria, have been identified to set up a camp, which will have the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, officials said, adding that they expected around 30,000 to 35,000 people to come. Evacuations of rebel fighters and civilians including wounded from the last rebel-held areas of Syria's Aleppo have gathered pace, with a Turkish official saying close to 8,000 civilians have left the city. Turkey was making efforts to increase the number of buses used for the evacuation to speed up the process. Russia has been providing road security for the convoys and they have not suffered any fresh attacks, officials said. President Vladimir Putin said he and his Turkish counterpart are working to launch a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition - negotiations which would take place in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Rescue: A child smiles as she waits with other children and adults in eastern Aleppo for their evacuation to take place Armed men stand among civilians with their luggage in the eastern part of Aleppo, Syria as evacuation got underway A senior Syrian opposition leader said on Friday his negotiations committee was willing to join peace talks planned by Russian President Vladimir Putin provided that the aim was to set up transition government Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has consistently ruled out stepping down as part of a political solution to the war and this week he claimed a major military victory when his forces recaptured rebel-held areas of Aleppo Late last night the UN peace envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said around 50,000 people, the majority civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo Mr Putin, speaking during on a visit to Japan on Friday, said Ankara had helped to broker the rebel exit from Aleppo that is currently under way. He said he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also working for an overall truce in Syria. The Russian leader said that once the Syrian army secures control of all of Aleppo, civilians will be able to return to their homes. It was not immediately clear if western-backed Syrian opposition would accept such a location for peace talks with President Bashar Assad's government. A Turkish official said his country's aid organisations are helping Syrians who have been evacuated from Aleppo to a border area held by the opposition in Syria's Idlib province. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu confirmed on Friday that talks were being planned in conjunction with Russia to bring together the Syrian opposition and representatives of the Syrian government in Kazakhstan The International Comimttee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a leading agency in the evacuation of the wounded and civilians from east Aleppo, called on all sides to resume the operation, which was suspended hours earlier Some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded people, including children, were evacuated from east Aleppo on Thursday in two evacuations, the ICRC said in a statement The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate The deal was put on hold shortly after President Vladimir Putin said Russia was 'actively negotiating' with the opposition and seeking a nationwide ceasefire. Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Friday that '20 buses from Aleppo have reached the safe zone under control of the Free Syrian Army in Idlib'. He said 30-35 injured people were being treated at the Sahra hospital just over the border. Mr Kaynak said there had been a discussion with Syrian opposition forces over the possibility of establishing a centre 'within a security zone in Syria'. He told the private Dogan news agency that 'Idlib has no physical capacity to accommodate so many people'. He estimated there are 80,000 to 100,000 individuals who would like to leave Aleppo under the ceasefire deal which Turkey helped broker. The family of 'Marine A' Alexander Blackman face another agonising wait to hear if he will be home for Christmas after a judge delayed a bail decision today. Blackman's wife Claire and hundreds of supporters swamped the Royal Courts of Justice in the hope a judge orders his freedom. But the Lord Chief Justice has delayed the decision until Wednesday - just four days before Christmas Day. Sgt Blackman has spent three years in HMP Erlestoke, in Wiltshire, for the shooting of a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2011. Mrs Blackman left to cheers and applause from the many servicemen who attended, shouting 'justice' and 'see you on Wednesday' as she departed. Disappointment: Claire Blackman (centre) arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, where her husband, Sergeant Alexander Blackman, who was found guilty of murder, was told he would have to wait to be freed Court battle: Jailed Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman has won the right to a fresh appeal - today his wife Claire, pictured today outside court, is yet to learn if he'll be with his family for Christmas Supporters hold the Royal Marine flag with a picture of former Marine Sgt Alexander Blackman outside the Royal Courts of Justice Lord Thomas announced: 'There is before the court an application for bail and for directions. 'The court has postponed until further order the reporting of what has transpired at the hearing today in the interests of justice. What is said in this judgment may be reported.' In the short ruling, he said: 'The issues referred by the CCRC all in essence appear to turn on the mental state of the appellant at various material times including, in particular, at the time of the shooting. 'The Crown only received the full reference from the Criminal Cases Review Commission, as did the court, yesterday afternoon or evening.' He said 'in the circumstances', David Perry QC, for the Crown, 'has helpfully indicated to the court that he will be in a position by next week to make clear the stance that the Crown is going to take about the evidence in relation to the appellant's mental state'. Lord Thomas added: 'As that decision is central to the way in which the appeal will be heard and the timescale within which it can be heard, including the probability of hearing it within weeks, the court considers that the interests of justice are best served by adjourning this application until next week. 'When the court receives the Crown's indication of its stance it will then determine the issue of bail and give further directions.' Former servicemen and members of the public have vowed 'to show Al he is not alone' at his crucial bail application. But his wife Claire, his team of lawyers funded by Daily Mail readers, and dozens of supporters are packed the Lord Chief Justice's historic Court 4. She has said she was 'trying hard not to get excited' about his possible release. 'We think we've got a really strong application for bail and we're hopeful, of course - it would be amazing, it would be fantastic, but one step at a time,' she said. Sgt Blackman has spent three years in HMP Erlestoke, in Wiltshire, for the shooting of a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2011. His wife Claire has said she was 'trying hard not to get excited' about his possible release Former Royal Marine Commandos show their support by walking from Parliament Square to Downing Street in October 2015 - they returned in force to court later today Wedding day: Sgt Alexander Blackman with his wife Claire when they married - the family's hoped they'll be reunited today have been dashed Blackman was convicted in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years. In May 2014, the Court Martial Appeal Court rejected his conviction challenge, but reduced the minimum term - the least he must serve before becoming eligible to apply for parole - to eight years because of the combat stress disorder he was suffering from at the time of the incident. His wife Claire, his team of lawyers funded by Daily Mail readers, packed the Lord Chief Justice's historic Court 4 The killing happened in Helmand province in 2011 while Blackman was serving with Plymouth-based 42 Commando. He shot the insurgent, who had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter, in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol before quoting a phrase from Shakespeare as the man convulsed and died in front of him. Blackman told him: 'There you are. Shuffle off this mortal coil, you c***. It's nothing you wouldn't do to us.' He then turned to comrades and said: 'Obviously this doesn't go anywhere, fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.' The shooting was captured on a camera mounted on the helmet of another Royal Marine. Two junior colleagues were cleared of murder. During his trial, Blackman - who was known at that stage as Marine A - said he believed the victim was already dead and he was taking out his anger on a corpse. As well as the life sentence, Blackman - who denied murder - was 'dismissed with disgrace' from the Royal Marines after he had served with distinction for 15 years, including tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. Blackman applied to the CCRC in December 2015 for a review. The commission said that following an 'in-depth', 11-month investigation it had decided to refer the case. The commission said it had concluded that a number of new issues 'raise a real possibility' that the Court Martial Appeal Court 'will now quash Mr Blackman's murder conviction'. His lawyers believe he has a good chance of being granted release on bail pending the new appeal, which will not be heard until the summer or autumn. Mr Goldberg QC will tell the court Sgt Blackman knows he owes it to his supporters not to abscond, if he was granted bail. He said: 'Tens of thousands of ordinary people have contributed donations to the Justice for Sgt Blackman campaign organised by the Daily Mail which has paid the legal fees to prepare this fresh appeal. 'Thousands of former Royal Marines have peacefully held rallies and demonstrated in Parliament Square and Birmingham. He is a man of great integrity who acutely feels a duty and a debt of gratitude to them. He will follow due process meticulously.' The Mail's long battle to win justice Royal Marine Alexander Blackman was the first known British serviceman to be jailed for murder on a foreign battlefield. SAM GREENHILL charts the case and the path to justice. December 7, 2013 CASUALTY OF WAR DECEMBER 7, 2013 The Daily Mail reports how Sergeant Alexander Blackman, previously named only as Marine A, was jailed for life after shooting a fatally injured Taliban fighter. A SHAMEFUL INJUSTICE SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 The Mail uncovers vital evidence that was 'deliberately withheld'. One officer quit his commission in disgust at being blocked from testifying in support of Sgt Blackman. FALL GUY FOR A FIASCO SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Sgt Blackman tells the Mail about the 'tour from hell' in Afghanistan. He says one mistake under extreme stress made him the fall guy. September 11, 2015 COVER-UP PLOT EXPOSED SEPTEMBER 12, 2015 The Ministry of Defence is accused of cover-ups, including trying to censor an internal report casting doubt on the Marine's conviction. BOMBSHELL REPORT LEAKED SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 The internal report is leaked to the Mail. It reveals Sgt Blackman was failed by senior officers and put under unimaginable pressure. FAMILIES JOIN CAMPAIGN SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 Families of Marines killed by the Taliban on Sgt Blackman's 'tour from hell' poignantly join the campaign to review his conviction. FIGHTING FUND TOPS 750K OCTOBER 5, 2015 In less than a month, generous Mail readers raise an incredible 750,000 enough to fund a team of lawyers to pursue a new appeal. September 17, 2015 DEFIANCE OF THE MARINES OCTOBER 28, 2015 Royal Marines past and present rally in Parliament Square in support of their jailed comrade. SHAMEFUL PLOT DECEMBER 12, 2015 We expose a plot to keep Sgt Blackman behind bars. A leaked document reveals the determination of senior officers to block efforts to overturn his conviction. APPEAL IS LAUNCHED DECEMBER 16, 2015 Accompanied by 500 green beret-wearing supporters, Sgt Blackman's wife Claire delivers a seven-file dossier to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. WILL HE EVER GET JUSTICE? October 5, 2015 SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 A year after our campaign is launched, the Mail reveals bureaucratic delays to Sgt Blackman's fight for justice. At the same time, British troops are being hounded by ambulance-chasing lawyers over other incidents in the line of duty. SHOW OF SUPPORT OCTOBER 28, 2016 More than 2,000 ex-Marines and members of the public flood Parliament Square to demand justice. They hear speeches and messages from the former director of Special Forces Major General John Holmes and Marines Falklands commander Major General Julian Thompson. NEW HOPE DECEMBER 6, 2016 A German politician has warned that the country is losing control of its streets, and has called for mass deportation of migrants. Markus Soder, finance and home minister in Bavaria, made the comments following the murder of teenager Maria Ladenburger, and nearly a year since hundreds of sex assaults in Cologne. He warned: 'Our women and daughters are increasingly afraid of sexual assaults.' Markus Soder, finance and home minister in Bavaria, warned: 'Our women and daughters are increasingly afraid of sexual assaults.' He claimed police were becoming 'frustrated' with punishments meted out to migrants who commit sex offences. A 17-year-old Afghan migrant has been accused of killing Miss Ladenburger, 19, and authorities are bracing themselves for New Year's celebrations across the country. Maria Ledenburger was killed in October. A teenager from Afghanistan is suspected of her murder She was killed in mid October in Freiburg, close to the Swiss border. Teenager Hussein Khavari is suspected of her killing. Earlier this month, a 31-year-old Iraqi migrant was arrested on suspicion of raping two women in Bochum. Last year's festivities were marred by hundreds of sexual assaults and robberies of women, largely centred around Cologne railway station. Soder told German newspaper Welt: 'The state must act more decisively than in the past. 'Last year we lost control over our borders. Now we are beginning to lose control of streets and squares.' He said not enough had been done after the disgraceful incidents in Cologne last year, saying there were 'hardly any' deportations. Soder stated: 'To protect public order, even the slightest attacks must be prosecuted and punished.' While the German government debates immigration rules, Soder called for the deportation process to be simplified. Hundreds of sex assaults were reported in Cologne during last year's New Year's Eve celebrations, and authorities are planning a huge police presence on the streets this year He dismissed current figures, which show around 50 people are deported each say, saying 'it is about hundreds of thousands'. Soder told Welt: 'We need a bigger plan.' On Monday it was announced that 1,500 police officers would be deployed in Cologne over the new year. Last year's assaults were damaging to Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity, and called her open door immigration policy into question Police last year responded too late and in too few numbers to help the hundreds of women who were attacked by mostly North African men. Cologne's police chief was suspended from his position after the mayor said police had failed to inform her fully of the sexual assaults and was later replaced. Last year's assaults were damaging to Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity, and called her open door immigration policy into question. This year her staff have been kept informed of the additional security measures. When a Florida mother caught her 15-year-old son using a cell phone she didn't recognize during a parent-teacher conference, alarm bells went off. Lakesha Robinson, 37, from Fort Myers, decided to investigate for herself whether or not her son, Chris Salters, was stealing. After doing her own sleuthing, she tracked down the true owner of the phone, who said it had been stolen from his truck along with his wallet and credit cards. Lakesha Robinson, 37, decided to investigate for herself whether or not her son, Chris Salters, was stealing. Pictured: Robinson speaking to NBC-2.com 'I said, "Call the police, do whatever you have to do." Because if my son is involved, or anybody else, theyre going to jail, because he shouldn't be out there doing this,' Robinson told Inside Edition. Later, she found bags from McDonald's and Walmart in her son's car with receipts matching amounts spent on the stolen credit card. 'I instantly started crying,' Robinson said. Because of her own criminal background, Robinson didn't want her son to make similar mistakes. Until 2007, she sold drugs and had been charged with criminal mischief and petit theft. 'This couldve ended way differently. Someone couldve caught him, shot him and asked questions later,' Robinson said about her son's (pictured) crime. 'I lived this life and I dont want him to live this life. Im not losing my son to the system or to the streets. My son isnt going to be a statistic. 'If I had to do this so he does better, its how Im going to do it. Im just not allowing my son to take that path. 'Im gonna stop it ahead of time. This couldve ended way differently. Someone couldve caught him, shot him and asked questions later,' she told Inside. Satlers was charged with four counts of burglary, while two other boys - Alvero Jackson and Lovens Sylfroid, both 18 - each face eight charges. Jackson and Sylfroid remain in Lee County Jail while Satlers was taken to a juvenile assessment center for 12 hours. 'I dont want to see my mom cry. I apologize for stealing,' he said, when asked about the crime. Robinson, though, is determined that her son understands the full magnitude of what he's done so he can forge a different path than the one she made years ago. 'They dont know what I went through and they dont know my story. Im actually saving my sons life because if I dont do it now, nobody will do it,' she said. A 12-year-old child dubbed 'The Kindergarten Bomber' has been arrested in Germany accused of plotting to blow up a Christmas market. The boy, who has dual German-Iraqi citizenship, is the youngest ever to be seized in Europe for a suspected terror offence, but he cannot face criminal conviction because he is under 13. The child was 'strongly radicalised' in recent weeks by a member of the Islamic State and planned to detonate his nail bomb on November 26 but it failed to explode, according to local sources. A 12-year-old child dubbed 'The Kindergarten Bomber' has been arrested in Germany accused of plotting to blow up a Christmas market (file photo) He or someone else had assembled a device made from gunpowder surrounded with nails and screws designed to cause maximum casualties when it went off, according to Focus Magazine. He placed it in bushes near the to the Ludwigshafen Christmas market, but it failed to go off. He tried again on December 5, this time placing it in different shrubbery near the city hall, according to Focus. An eagle-eyed passer-by saw what he was doing and contacted police and the specialist explosive squad was brought in to carry out a controlled explosion. A police vehicle stands in front of a residential building as an anti-terror operation is taking place in Germany The boy, born in the city in 2004, was seized the same day and has been remanded in a juvenile detention centre where a team of youth workers have been assigned to care for him instead of facing trial. He was handed over to the police by his parents the day after the second attempted bombing. According to Focus - known in Germany for a magazine with close ties to and sources within the security services - the bomb was in a glass jam jar and the nails and screws were glued to the sides. But police investigators determined that the explosive material used in the child's bomb been created out of the ingredients of fireworks and sparklers and was flammable but not explosive. On Thursday, in a separate case, prosecutors said a Tunisian man suspected of planning an unspecified mission for ISIS was arrested. Charfeddine T, 24, allegedly joined the terror group before he arrived in Germany in October 2015, the prosecutors' statement said. They obtained an arrest warrant against him on Wednesday, accusing him of membership of a foreign terrorist organisation. He had been in contact with an ISIS member in Syria responsible for running the group's operations abroad and had 'requested permission to carry out his mission'. 'Investigations so far have not confirmed whether it was to carry out an attack,' said the federal prosecutors. The attempted slaughter illustrates the spiking terror threat in Germany. Returnees from the ranks of Isis in the Middle East have told intelligence services that it is the group's main target in Europe. Germany has been rocked by terror attacks this year, heaping pressure on chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door immigration policy. A bloody week of violence that rocked Germany began on July 18 when Pakistani teenager Riaz Khan Ahmadzai, 17, posing as an Afghan refugee, hacked at passengers on a train in Wurzburg with an axe, wounding five. He was shot dead by police. Four days later mentally unstable German-Iranian teenager Ali Sonboly shot nine people dead during a rampage through a shopping centre in Munich before taking his own life. Sonboly claimed he was taking revenge for being bullied at school with no political motive to the murderous rampage. Germany has been rocked by terror attacks this year, heaping pressure on chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door immigration policy In October, Police in have stormed 13 buildings across the country after reports ISIS terrorists were planning an imminent attack. Anti-terror raids were launched on houses in Thuringia, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Bavaria as officers believed the threat was credible. Armed police accompanied by sniffer dogs conducted the raids after being sent to look for weapons and explosives. The operation came as part of an investigation into a 28-year-old Russian citizen of Chechen background suspected of intending to join the fighting in Syria on behalf of ISIS. The investigation later developed into a probe of 13 further individuals, 10 men and three women, suspected of financing extremist activity. Police said all were people of Chechen ethnicity with Russian citizenship seeking asylum in Germany, and whose status has not yet been decided. Jaber al-Bakr, who planned a German bomb attack, has taken his own life while in custody Earlier that month, a suspected ISIS airport bomb plotter hanged himself in a German prison after being arrested following a manhunt. Syrian national Jaber al-Bakr, 22, was found hanged in his cell in Leipzig, eastern Germany on Wednesday evening - having reportedly used his own t-shirt - and was taken away overnight. He was detained on Sunday after three days on the run following a tip-off that he may have been looking to team up with associates in Leipzig. Al-Bakr had built 'a virtual bomb-making lab' in a flat in Chemnitz and was thought to have planned an attack against either one of Berlin's two airports or a transport hub in his home state of Saxony, security sources said. An ex-girlfriend of billionaire Sumner Redstone claims that the media mogul's daughter listened in on details of the couple's sex life in an attempt to drive the two apart. Former flame Sydney Holland, 45, is suing Shari Redstone, 62, for helping to destroy a five-year relationship through hiring private investigators and using nurses to spy on her, court documents claim. The spying included 'listening in on Sydney's and Redstone's sex life', 'secretly taping conversations' and that the nurses were 'moles for Shari', claims the lawsuit that was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday. Sydney Holland is suing mogul Sumner Redstone's daughter for claims that she used nurses to spy on her and talk about the couple's sex life Holland is suing Shari Redstone, 62, (pictured) and is seeking punitive and exemplary damages for violation of privacy and inducing breach of contract. She claims that nurses were 'moles for Shari' Holland, who met the billionaire through a matchmaker, claims nurses aided Shari to split up the relationship and to help kick Holland out of Redstone's Beverly Hills home. The suit, targeted against Shari and several of Redstone's nurses, is seeking punitive and exemplary damages for violation of privacy and inducing breach of contract. The information comes on the heels of other explosive details centered around the 93-year-old businessman that were revealed in another lawsuit filed by Holland. She alleges that Redstone 'paid out $70million to women who provided nothing more than sexual favors' in a separate lawsuit against the tycoon, and she is seeking half of his estate. This suit is on the heels of another lawsuit filed by Holland that claims billionaire Redstone paid '$70m to women for sexual favors' (Holland, Redstone, Manuela Herzer and Shari Redstone above) In papers filed in Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Holland said that Redstone gave $21million to a former mistress who is an aspiring reality television producer; $18million to a flight attendant on the CBS corporate jet and $6million to the flight attendant's sister who he 'slept with'. She is asking for half of his wealth when he dies because he broke a verbal agreement with her when she was kicked out of his $20million home when he learned of her affair with George Pilgrim last year. Hollands suits are in response to a lawsuit filed by Redstone for $150million that accuses her of elder abuse. Britain must be braced for Russia to ramp up hacking of elections and government as Vladimir Putin could have been emboldened by his 'success' in the US, the country's cyber-defence chief has warned. Ciaran Martin said there were rising concerns about states using 'influencing and propaganda' and countermeasures had been stepped up. The warning came amid a spiralling row in the US over claims that Russia tried to skew the result of the presidential election in Donald Trump's favour. Outgoing commander-in-chief Barack Obama has threatened revenge against Moscow amid accusations that Mr Putin personally approved hacking. Ciaran Martin said there were rising concerns about states using 'influencing and propaganda' and countermeasures had been stepped up The Kremlin has flatly rejected claims about the personal involvement of Mr Putin (pictured), with the president's spokesman dismissing it as 'laughable nonsense' Thousands of emails from the Democratic National Convention and Hilary Clinton's campaign manager were leaked during the campaign. But Trump aide Kellyanne Conway has dismissed the idea the billionaire knew about any interference as 'breathtaking' and irresponsible. Earlier this week Labour MP Ben Bradshaw sparked outrage by alleging that Russia had intervened to secure the Brexit vote in the historic EU referendum. Mr Martin stopped short of saying he had seen evidence of Russian involvement in hacking attacks. But he stressed the risk of such incursions was increasing. 'States undertake cyber-attacks for all sorts of different reasons,' he told BBC's Newsnight. 'They undertake it sometimes for commercial and economic advantage, they undertake it for commercial espionage. They undertake it for political espionage. 'And it may be the case that states are undertaking cyber-attacks in order to achieve outcomes in influencing and propaganda.' He added: 'There may be a perception now that this is a successful model for intervention in a society such as ours and those of our allies. And clearly that's something we need to be prepared to deal with.' He also 'fully endorsed' claims by German intelligence that hacking attempts had been made to influence elections in the country next year. Mr Obama told NPR News that he had spoken directly to Mr Putin and America would respond at a 'time and place of our choosing'. But the Kremlin flatly rejected claims about Mr Putin's involvement, with the president's spokesman dismissing it as 'laughable nonsense'. The dispute over Russia's role is fuelling tensions between Mr Obama's White House and Mr Trump's team - and potentially wreck a delicate truce that has been in place since election day. Outgoing commander-in-chief Barack Obama has threatened revenge against Moscow amid accusations that Mr Putin personally approved hacking. The pair had a tense encounter at the G20 summit in September, pictured at her like a donkey Reid was on bail for A serial arsonist on bail for assaulting a 91-year-old woman before braying at her like a donkey has pleaded guilty to attempting to burn down a classroom with three candles. Shane Anthony Reid appeared in Hamilton District Court, New Zealand on Friday. The 39-year-old pleaded guilty to one charge of arson and one charge of common assault, Stuff reported. Shane Anthony Reid appeared in Hamilton District Court, New Zealand on Friday (he is pictured left at a 2005 court appearance) Reid went to a classroom at Fraser High School (pictured) shortly after midnight and stuck a candle into a small hole in a building before setting the wick alight Reid was on bail for assaulting a 91-year-old woman with limited vision in Wellington on January 26. The woman was walking down a path in the opposite direction of Reid, when he stuck his elbow out and struck her on the hip. As the woman almost fell into the gutter Reid turned to her and brayed like a donkey. The arson charge related to a matter on July 23. Reid went to a classroom at Fraser High School shortly after midnight and stuck a candle into a small hole in a building before setting the wick alight. The candle went out but Reid stuck a further two candles into the building before it started to smoulder. A serial arsonist on bail for assaulting a 91-year-old woman before braying at her like a donkey has pleaded guilty to attempting to burn down a classroom with three candles (stock image) He then called emergency services and told them what he had done. Fire fighters managed to put out the small blaze before police arrested Reid who was found nearby. He later told police he was angry with a former officer and was trying to send him a message, Stuff reported. A bare-bottomed man has chased after a gang of thieves who were raiding his brother-in-law's home, dashing after them and retrieving two stoles bicycles. The very revealing CCTV footage shows the man charging after four burglars who were making off with his brother-in-law's bikes after breaking into the home in Darwin. The footage shows one of the offenders creeping out of the property with a bicycle - appearing to get away with the theft at around 2am on Friday. A bare-bottomed man has chased after a gang of thieves who were raiding his brother-in-law's home, dashing after them and retrieving two stoles bicycles But moments later three of his accomplices charge past - closely followed by the naked hero. The nude man, who did not wish to be named, chased the startled men out into the street and manage to reclaim two of the bicycles and one of the thieves' backpacks. The burglars got away with two of the bikes. The brave man told 9 News that he did not realise he was naked until he was out under the glare of the streetlights. The very revealing CCTV footage shows the man charging after four burglars who were making off with his brother-in-law's bikes after breaking into the home in Darwin The brave man said he did not realise he was naked until he was out in the middle of the street 'I've never pursued people butt naked before,' he said, while not wearing a shirt. 'That's an uncomfortable situation to be in when you're chasing a young man and you're not wearing anything.' No arrests have been made. Ivanka Trump has reportedly been lobbying members of Congress to support her father's childcare plans. The President-elect's daughter has been calling members of Congress, including Ways and Means committee members and female members, asking them to support her father's legislation, a source told CNN. In September, Trump surprised many when he unveiled a set of policy proposals aimed at making child care more affordable. Speaking alongside Ivanka in suburban Pennsylvania, Trump said he wanted to make child care expenses tax deductible for families earning less than $500,000 and to establish tax-free accounts to be used for child care and child enrichment activities. Scroll down for video Ivanka Trump played a key role during her father's campaign and is expected to have a position within his administration Trump also said he wanted to offer mothers six weeks' guaranteed maternity leave by extending unemployment insurance benefits to working mothers whose employers do not offer paid maternity leave. 'For many families in our country, child care is now the single largest expense -- even more than housing,' Trump said. 'Our plan will bring relief to working and middle class families.' Before her father spoke in September, Ivanka said affordable child care is one of her top concerns, and she is believed to have had a strong influence on her father's position on the subject. Ivanka is said affordable child care is one of her top concerns, and she is believed to have had a strong influence on her father's position on the subject Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been shopping for houses in Washington, although their roles in Trump's administration have not yet been decided Speaking in September, Ivanka said her father is 'in a very unique position to do something about this problem.' 'Little focus has been put on how best to alleviate enormous financial burdens child care places on low-income and middle-income families,' she added. Trump's children are expected to play a key role during his presidency, and Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have been shopping for houses in Washington, although their roles in Trump's administration have not yet been decided. Ivanka and Jared, along with two Trumps other eldest children, Donald Jr. and Eric, pictured far left, attended the President-elect's big tech summit in Trump Tower earlier this week Ivanka has been a key public representative throughout her father's campaign, sitting in on meetings, including a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November. Ivanka and Jared, along with two Trumps other eldest children, Donald Jr. and Eric attended the President-elect's big tech summit in Trump Tower earlier this week. The move is unprecedented, as no American president has previously entrusted so much responsibility to his children. Mail order companies and Post Office staff have been accused of ruining Christmas by putting stickers on parcels revealing the presents inside. Julie-Anne Powell, 42, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, wanted to send a present to her friend in Lancashire after wrapping it up and placing it in a plastic mail bag. But she was shocked when a worker at her local Post Office put a 4in by 6in sticker on the item and looked through a list of options before ticking perfume. Pamela Sanderson ordered this 59.99 table football game from Amazon for her grandson, who soon realised what he was getting for Christmas when it arrived at his home in Hampshire Tom Heath from Tadworth in Surrey was disappointed when he received a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Classic Edition from Cash Converters because it was wrapped in clear bubble wrap, clearing showing the contents - although it was a gift Tref Farrow, who lives near Pontypridd in South Wales, was disappointed that Boots ruined a surprise present of a 30 Soap and Glory gift set by saying what it was on the box, but the firm did give him some Advantage points She claimed to have told the employee: What on Earth have you gone and done that for? The person receiving this is going to know exactly what is in it. The worker told her it was the rules and the Post Office initially apologised because it was incorrectly believed the customer had filled out a customs declaration form. However it has since emerged that perfumes are classified as 'restricted goods' by the Royal Mail and therefore an ID8000 form must be filled out before posting them. Meanwhile Pamela Sanderson ordered a 59.99 table football game from Amazon for her grandson, but it came with a huge label on the outside revealing what it was. This meant that when the 'World Cup Champion Soccer' game arrived at the boy's home in Hampshire, he immediately realised what he was getting for Christmas. Victoria Farr joked that Amazon had made a 'smooth move' by delivering a clearly-marked 69 National Geographic astro planetarium to her in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Her mother, who the present is for, took the delivery while she was at work. When she complained she said the firm stated that on its website it said it would come in 'Frustration-Free Packaging' Philippa Lunn from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, criticised Littlewoods for 'spoiling my hubby's birthday surprise' after the Playstation 4 Slim 500GB she ordered for him with Uncharted 4 and FIFA 17 games was marked as such on the box Tom Heath from Tadworth in Surrey was disappointed when he received a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Classic Edition from Cash Converters because it was wrapped in clear bubble wrap, clearing showing the contents - although it was a gift. And Philippa Lunn from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, criticised Littlewoods for 'spoiling my hubby's birthday surprise' after the Playstation 4 Slim 500GB she ordered for him with Uncharted 4 and FIFA 17 was marked as such on the box. Ms Powell spoke of her anger to The Sun Online reporter Brittany Vonow, saying: I would have been better off sending a voucher to my friend, it has spoilt her gift. The writing is big enough for her not to miss it. Why not just write that its safe, that it contains liquids, or something like that? There are a number of ways around it. Spoling the surprise: Julie-Anne Powell wanted to send a gift across Britain to her friend after wrapping it up and placing it in a plastic mail bag - but a worker ticked 'perfume' on a label A Post Office spokesman told MailOnline: Unfortunately we were initially informed that the customer had been asked to write the contents on the front of the package. When should you fill out a customs form? Customs declaration forms - known as CN22 or CN23 - are needed to post any goods using Royal Mail services outside the European Union. They should include a description of the goods, the value and whether they are gifts or commercial items. International customs law states that the sender is legally responsible for the details on the declaration. CN22 forms are for items with contents up to the value of 270, while CN23s are for those valued above. Meanwhile, customers do have to fill out an ID8000 form when posting perfumes and some other 'restricted items' even within Britain. Advertisement 'The only reason for this would be if a customer has been asked to complete a customs form in error. 'Further information has been supplied and our branch did of course follow the correct procedures.' 'Royal Mail prohibits or restricts certain items from its network. Restricted items may be subject to quantity, packaging and labelling requirements to ensure they can be sent safely through the post. To check whether an item is prohibited or restricted, please visit (here or here). 'Post Office must comply with these regulations when accepting items. A label needs to fixed to the package and a tick box completed to indicate contents, in this case perfume/aftershave.' A strike by Post Office workers will go ahead next week after their union said an offer it made to resolve a row over jobs, pensions and closures was rejected. Communication Workers Union members will walk out next week, including on Christmas Eve, after the Post Office was accused of rejecting a peace plan. Action will be taken on five days next week, including three days of walkouts by workers in Crown Offices - the larger branches usually sited on high streets. Footage from a smokey battle field shows territorial villagers facing-off with firecrackers after a disagreement over where to build a road. On December 12, the battle broke out between two Chinese villages in Lanshan county of Hunan province. Dongtou villagers planned to construct a road connecting the S322 highway in Hunan province. According to the plan, it would be built across several farmlands owned by Ma Niao village. Explosive: The battle between two villages was started over a territory dispute Firework fight: The battle sent two villagers to the hospital and left one police officer injured Thepaper.cn reports Dongtou villagers grew impatient and started trying to build the road. Ma Niao villagers rushed to the site to stop them from building which led to the violent dispute. The battle sent two villagers to the hospital and left one police officer injured. One dozen or so villagers were involved in the fight. At the beginning of the video, a man on the left, wearing a helmet, stands with a trolley filled with fireworks. He throws stones and fireworks to the villagers on the other side. Dongtou and Ma Niao villagers became violent because of a road construction disagreement A police officer was injured along with two other villagers who were treated at a hospital Armed officers arrive to the firework battle with helmets and shields A man, at the centre of the scene, picks up and throws objects from a bucket. Villagers on the other side throw fireworks, that loudly explode and make the battle field smokey. A photo shows a police officer with a head injury. Another photo shows a team of police armed with helmets and shields. The Lanshan county officials said they are investigating the dispute. Advertisement A top student in North Korea has shined a light on the country's suppression after going on her first trip outside of the capital at the age of 20. Having never left Pyongyang, the woman known as Miss Kim was taken out of the city and talked to a French photographer who was visiting North Korea for the sixth time. Eric Lafforgue was given rare one-on-one time with the student, who is top of her English class at university, and he documented her answers. They confirmed the crippling control the state has over what enters the country, with Miss Kim never hearing of Lady Gaga, not believing in iPads or ripped jeans and she genuinely thinks Kim Jong-il invented the hamburger in 2009. Despite seeing beggars on the street on their trip, she said everyone in North Korea enjoyed equal wealth and that unmarried women never get pregnant. Miss Kim (pictured) - a top student in North Korea -was asked by French photographer Eric Lafforgue to smile, her response was that she couldn't do it One woman in pink stands among a huge crowd of North Korean soldiers as Miss Kim ventured out of Pyongyang for the first time in her life Eric Lafforgue snapped this picture of women in military gear on his sixth trip to North Korea Despite seeing beggars on the street on their trip, like these pictured left, Miss Kim said everyone in North Korea enjoyed equal wealth On her country's rulers, she refused to refer to Kim il-Sung - pictured here on a government building as women gather under an umbrella - just by his name, referring to him as 'The Great Leader Kim il-Sung' and saying he was the pillar of his heart before his death in 1994 Miss Kim said she had heard of Michael Jackson, but not Lady Gaga. When asked why British and American music doesn't reach the country, she said it's because no North Koreans want to listen to it and that they prefer Mozart, Bach and Beethoven. Fashion is blocked from entering the the country too, with Miss Kim describing the criteria for beauty in North Korea as: 'A woman should have big eyes, a high nose, a small mouth and a white skin, and she should not be skinny. 'Women in North Korea are truly beautiful flowers.' When asked if women find Kim Jong-un handsome, she said it was an 'outrageous' question, adding that boys and girls don't dance together because they are too shy. The guide was introduced to the idea of people wearing fashionable ripped jeans in Europe, but she did not believe her interviewer. With the state controlling even the way citizens cut their hair, Miss Kim said their style is the last thing they care about, that nobody dyes their hair and that North Koreans have 'a lot of choice'. The student was was shown an image of Walt Disney's most famous character - Mickey Mouse - which was on a child's t-shirt and trousers - but Miss Kim said: 'It's just a mouse. It's Chinese.' A ribbon and badge-clad solider, who Miss Kim says are normal citizens, poses in his immaculate uniform A smiling woman points at North Korea on a huge globe. The student told Mr Lafforgue if a South Korean entered her country, they would be welcomed Miss Kim (pictured) poses in front of a numbers board for photographer Eric Lafforgue as the pair travelled around North Korea Some American and European influences have filtered through to North Korea, but it largely remains untouched and insular Women in North Korea are not meant to be skinny, according to the student, and are encouraged to display white skin People in North Korea wear plastic gloves to eat hamburgers to avoid getting dirty, like this woman snapped on their tour Throughout the trip, which was the student's first ever outside the confines of Pyongyang, the photographer carried an iPad, but Miss Kim (pictured) had no idea what one was Fashion in North Korea has not taken influence from European or American styles because they have never properly reached the country as a woman in an elaborate gown walks down the street using a phone Miss Kim recalled dancing for the government as depicted by the picture when she was just seven years old and remembers it fondly Miss Kim (pictured, front) is top of her class at university where she is studying English, but she has little knowledge of anything outside North Korea The French photographer Eric Lafforgue took pictures such as this one on the trip around North Korea where the student (pictured) demonstrated the extent of the suppression Miss Kim (pictured) was confronted with the accusation people on the subways were actors, which she dismissed as 'embarrassing' Miss Kim (pictured) was invited to explore the country with French photographer Eric Lafforgue in her first jaunt outside of Pyongyang as she looks through a telescope towards the unknown land of South Korea Miss Kim (pictured), 20, spoke glowingly of her country's leaders and former leaders, refusing to call them by their first name, instead referring to them as 'supreme leaders', and said Kim Jong-un would be a good gift Having finally taken a trip outside the country's capital, the student (pictured) has aspirations of visiting a foreign country She was shown an image of Walt Disney's most famous character - Mickey Mouse. Miss Kim said: 'It's just a mouse. It's Chinese.' Throughout the trip, which was the student's first ever outside the confines of Pyongyang, the photographer carried an iPad. She was told it could be used to listen to music, watch videos and check emails, but she didn't believe him. Despite this, and seeing beggars on the street on their trip, she is convinced every North Korean is of equal wealth and that if a South Korean enters the country, they are welcomed with open arms. Soldiers, she says are normal citizens that serve the people, and Miss Kim refused to entertain the fact unmarried women got pregnant. 'It never happens,' she said. With the state controlling even the way citizens cut their hair, shown by these pictures, Miss Kim said their style is the last thing they care about, that nobody dyes their hair and that North Koreans have 'a lot of choice' A family surrounded by flowers pose in front of a mural of the country's two former leaders, Kim il-Sung (left) and Kim Jong-il (right) Women, like the ones pictured, are not meant to be skinny, according to Miss Kim, and asked why no women cycle in Pyongyang, she said: 'Because it is dangerous and it doesn't give you nice legs.' On her country's rulers, she refused to refer to Kim il-Sung just by his name, referring to him as 'The Great Leader Kim il-Sung' and saying he was the pillar of his heart before his death in 1994. His face is plastered across the country, as is current communist leader Kim Jong-un. The photographer snapped a photo of a woman eating a burger wearing plastic gloves, and asked Miss Kim why that was. 'So we don't get dirty when we eat it,' she said, claiming Kim Jong-un invented the hamburger in 2009. Women are not meant to be skinny, according to Miss Kim, and asked why no women cycle in Pyongyang, she said: 'Because it is dangerous and it doesn't give you nice legs.' People in the countryside like this woman have to cycle, Miss Kim said, because they have no other way of getting around The English student refuses to believe any unmarried women in North Korea fall pregnant - 'it doesn't happen,' she says, as a nurse stands above two newborns Miss Kim's aspiration is to become a foreign languages master and wants to visit a foreign country as a departure boat at an airport displays just one departure - to Beijing Miss Kim's aspiration is to become a foreign languages master as a soldier removes his hat to move closer to a woman underneath an umbrella on a stone bench Having finally taken a trip outside the country's capital, she has aspirations of visiting a foreign country. Miss Kim wants to visit England, but not the US, because 'she hates Americans'. Nevertheless, she said she has watched an American film - Gladiator. The student said she liked it, but that scenes of the couples together were 'embarrassing'. Her favourite film is Sea of Blood which is about the mass killings perpetrated by the Japanese against North Korean people. Advertisement More than 70 years ago, the Army arrived in a picture-perfect village near the Dorset coast carrying orders for the residents to move out. The 225 inhabitants of Tyneham were given just a month to leave their homes in 1943 with Allied commanders deciding they needed the area to help plan for the D-Day invasion. Now all that remains of the ghost village are the shells of the villagers' houses, a post office and the church. Scroll down for video The inhabitants of Tyneham village, in Dorset, were given just a month to leave their homes in December 1943 - the crumbling ruins of their cottages can still be seen today The villagers were told they would be able to return to their homes when the war was over - but in fact no one would ever live in the village again Army training in the village has taken its toll on the village - the crumbling remains of the residents' houses are still in place This note was left on the church door by resident Helen Taylor who said 'we will return one day' - however no residents did Helen Taylor, pictured at 17, lived in Tyneham until she was 42 and pinned a note to the church door when she was the last occupant to leave in December 1943 With the village earmarked as a tank firing area ahead of D-Day, the villagers had to make a hasty departure. An official letter said: 'The Government appreciate that this is no small sacrifice which you are asked to make, but they are sure that you will give this further help towards winning the war with a good heart.' Helen Taylor, the last person to leave the village on December 17 1943, left a note that was nailed to the church door. It wrote: 'Please treat the church and houses with care. We have given up our homes, where many of us have lived for generations, to help win the war to keep men free. 'We will return one day and thank you for treating the village kindly.' However no-one ever returned. This shows how the once bustling community of Tyneham looked before all the villagers had to leave in December 1943 The Tyneham House estate, the village's 14th century manor house that was owned by the Bond family who were also forced to depart A drinking fountain from the 'ghost village' that is now accessible to people on weekends and Bank Holidays After the War, the Army purchased the land and it has remained a base for military training ever since. In subsequent years there were calls by some villagers and protesters for a return to their homes. Resident John Gould wrote to prime minister Harold Wilson in 1974, urging him to hand it back to the people. 'Tyneham to me is the most beautiful place in the world and I want to give the rest of my life and energy to its restoration ... Most of all, I want to go home,' he wrote. The MoD gradually made the ruins accessible at weekends when there is no military training and the church was re-opened in 1973, hosting its first service for 36 years in 1979. The school - which shut in 1932 before the evacuation - now stands as a museum for history buffs. The church (where the note was pinned on the door) re-opened in 1973 and held its first service for 36 years in 1979 Fifty years after pinning the note on the church door, Helen Taylor, then 92, said she bore no grudge against the army. 'We went with goodwill, thinking we were doing our share to help with the war,' she said. The years of Army training had also taken its toll on the former cottages in the village. Stanford in Norfolk and the Wiltshire village of Imber suffered a similar fate during World War II. The chimney breast showing living room and bedroom fireplaces is among the few parts of this family home to have survived the seven decades since the village was abandoned After the war, there were protests by some residents calling for the village to handed back to them - but is has remained under military control The inside of a telephone box in the abandoned village where all the residents left in December 1943 The villagers were initially promised they would be able to return to their homes when the war was over, but they never did Advertisement Fascinating pictures give a unique insight into what happens when hundreds of people shed their clothes and show each other unconditional love at festivals around the world. Photographer Denis Vejas has travelled to Rainbow Gatherings in Mexico, Guatemala, Morocco and Russia. The annual festivals are attended by loosely-knit communities, who gather in forests and remote places to be at one with nature and promote a life free of consumerism. A couple enjoy an intimate moment at a Rainbow Gathering, where hundreds of attendees gather to be at one with nature People gathered at a Rainbow Gathering, where they relax in a river as they celebrate unconditional love and freedom A young woman covered in mud at a Rainbow Gathering event, which promote freedom and unconditional love A moment of solace for a woman at one of the gatherings, which have been photographed by Denis Vejas Among the images are scenes of naked attendees relaxing in rivers and on banks, while others show them as they decorate their faces, meditate and smoke drugs. The 30-year-old Lithuanian photographer said: 'Nomadic and alternative lifestyle is a big part of my photography and rainbow gatherings are a big part of nomadic culture and I felt I needed to document it. 'Unconditional love is a beautiful social experiment, especially when it is practiced by hundreds of people at the same time. Denis said: 'Its an attempt to build a different world without authorities and organisations where you can be absolutely free without the need to explain' Participants at the free-to-attend festivals take part in a range of activities including meditation, dancing, yoga and playing music People meditating on a beach at a Rainbow Gathering festival, where photographer Denis Vejas has captured a series of stunning images 'Its an attempt to build a different world without authorities and organisations where you can be absolutely free without the need to explain. 'Gatherings attract same-minded people, so there is no one to shock. 'They happen in different parts of the world and usually in the outskirts of the countryside so the only contact with the outside world is some random small local village. He said: 'They happen in different parts of the world and usually in the outskirts of the countryside so the only contact with the outside world is some random small local village' Close-knit communities at the festivals gather in forests and remote places to be at one with nature and promote a life free of consumerism Attendees are seen holding hands in a circle one of the festivals, which are held annually to promote unconditional love and peace 'In most of the cases, rainbow people sustain a very friendly relationship with the neighbours and locals often come to play music by the bonfire or eat together.' The first Rainbow Gathering took place in 1972 in Colorado, and similar events are now held all over the world. Participants at the free-to-attend festivals take part in a range of activities including meditation, dancing, yoga and playing music. Denis said: 'I love honest and uncensored photography. I am attracted to communities that are born on the edges of global culture.' The series of photos were taken at Rainbow Gatherings in Mexico, Guatemala, Morocco and Russia Hundreds of people head to the gatherings, which have become worldwide events since the first was held in Colorado in 1972 An intimate moment between two people at one of the festivals, where attendees cut contact with the outside world UPES announces scholarships and teaching assistantship of up to Rs. 3.53 crore for meritorious students ANI, New Delhi | Published : 15th December, 2016 UPES today announced that it will award a total of 590 scholarships worth Rs. 3.53 crore to deserving students for academic year 2017-18. This year the university is awarding scholarships worth Rs. 1.53 crore more compared to last academic year and has included new programs like B. Design, B. Planning and MBA. There are also special scholarships for Uttarakhand Domicile students and UPES will award scholarships to 150 toppers from Uttarakhand Board as per the eligibility criteria. Apart from scholarships to under-graduate students, UPES is also offering teaching assistantship to students planning to pursue one of the three post-graduate courses M. Tech, M. Plan and M. Design. Eligible students from these courses can earn a monthly assistantship by doing teaching and research related work at the campus for few hours every week. Find it Useful ? Help Others by Sharing Online Comments and Discussions Drinking from a serene watering hole, this thirsty impala was completely unaware of the killer crocodile hiding underneath the mud. But when the 330-pound predator made a leap for its prey, the lightening-quick herbivore sprung backwards to avoid its jaws. The impala then dashed away from danger in dramatic footage filmed in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Drinking from a serene watering hole, this thirsty impala was completely unaware of the killer crocodile hiding underneath the mud The nail-biting incident was filmed by guide and wildlife photographer Peter Geraerdts. He said: 'Water was scarce and crocs know the favourite drinking places of the herbivores so that is where they hide themselves, close to the edge. 'This specific moment I knew something was about to happen because this croc was digging itself in the mud just at a drinking place. 'Not long after that a group of impalas came to drink. I had one camera set for filming and one for photography. 'Luckily the filming worked out but the pictures were not good as the impala jumped so high and quick that the head was cut off in the viewer.' The 47-year-old, originally from the Hague in the Netherlands, said most people like his clip as they always want the prey to escape. But when the 330-pound predator made a leap for its prey, the lightening-quick herbivore sprung backwards to avoid its jaws (left, right) He added: 'The happy ending situations are always good for people to see. 'Once animals become a prey to the hunter you sometimes find that people don't cope that well with bloody situations. 'That's especially true when it's about young animals or big animals because they usually take longer to die. 'I love the excitement of finding a good situation in good light and catching the right moment to make an impressive image.' Peter loved Africa so much he decided to open his own lodge in 2007 and has not looked back since. The impala then dashed away from danger in dramatic footage filmed in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia The hungry crocodile was left looking disappointing after failing to capture its prey 'Africa is a special continent. I fell in love with nature in Africa. It's simply something you don't find in Europe or anywhere else. 'About twelve years ago, I had the Idea of opening a lodge in Zambia and I bought a piece of land bordering the National Park in the Luangwa Valley. The Kremlin has slammed Washington for pointing the finger at President Vladimir Putin over cyber attacks targeting the US election, telling America to either provide proof of the allegations or keep quiet. Moscow made the comments after President Barack Obama pledged to retaliate against Russian hacking. 'At this point they need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof. Otherwise this looks extremely scurrilous,' Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a visit to Japan. Scroll down for video Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of carrying out cyber attacks in order to influence the US presidential election Obama yesterday warned that the United States would take action against Moscow after the White House accused Putin of direct involvement in cyber attacks designed to influence the US election. 'I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action,' Obama told NPR radio. 'And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing.' The outgoing US president's remarks dramatically upped the stakes in a dispute between the world's leading nuclear powers over interference that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican billionaire Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. Obama yesterday warned that the United States would take action against Moscow over the alleged email hack Obama's threat came after the White House ratcheted up allegations over the Russian hacking by personally tying Kremlin strongman Putin to the attacks. 'I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it,' one of his top advisers, Ben Rhodes, said yesterday. Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election also puts the White House on a collision course with Trump, who has become increasingly isolated in questioning Russian involvement in hacks of Democratic Party emails that appeared to slow the momentum of Clinton's campaign. A monster 500kg saltwater crocodile caught preying on livestock and dogs has been relocated by outback wranglers. The 4.5-metre croc, dubbed 'Two Dogs', was moved into a purpose built pen, about 100km from Darwin in the Northern Territory. Footage shows a team of five men wrangling the massive man-eater off a truck and releasing it into the enclosure, before snapping its jaws onto the trailer. Outback wranglers release the 500 crocodile into an enclosure after it was caught preying on livestock and dogs The wranglers lassoed the crocodile's nose before using a 4WD to drag the apex-predator out of the water onto a trailer, reports NT News. 'He was taking livestock at the Finniss River Station and a couple of dogs which is why they caught him in the first place,' said the enclosure owner Tommy Abdoo The enclosure in Sandpalms Roadhouse was built with shade and a viewing platform. 'I had wildlife officer Tommy Nichols come out and inspect the pen. He said it was one of the best private pens he'd seen,' Mr Abdoo said. He said the rescue was a flying success - despite 'Two Dogs' whirling around to lock jaws with the trailer. 'The operation went very smoothly. We got him off the trailer into the pen and he swam up one end then came back and had a nibble on the trailer light while we were taking it out.' The wranglers lassoed the crocodile's nose before using a 4WD to drag the man-eater out of the water onto a trailer Donald Trump may not have paid tax for nearly four decades, it emerged today after the discovery of files on the future President compiled by communist spies in Czechoslovakia. Documents from the country's secret service claim that a Czech informant told his spymasters the tycoon was given a 30-year tax exemption by the US President in 1977. If the extraordinary claim is correct, it means that Trump might not have paid any federal income tax for the past four decades because it has previously emerged that the billionaire has been exempt from taxes since 1995 thanks to his business losses. President-elect Trump's team has not yet responded to the accusation. Scroll down for video Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana are pictured in New York in 1982. Communist spies were keeping an eye on the couple because she was born in Czechoslovakia Prague's spies took an interest in Trump in the 1970s because he had recently married Ivana, his Czech-born first wife, who is the mother of Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. During the presidential election Trump's tax affairs were frequently targeted by Hillary Clinton. Trump repeatedly refused to publish his tax returns - the only candidate in recent political history who has failed to do so - amid widespread speculation that he had paid little or no tax. The tycoon said he would publish his tax returns when an IRS audit had been completed, and in one debate promised to release them if Mrs Clinton revealed her 33,000 emails, which she had put on a private server. Earlier this year the New York Times reported that Trump could have used a $916million loss reported on his 1995 tax return to avoid paying income tax for up to 18 years. When confronted about the claim during a debate, the tycoon replied: 'That's because I'm smart.' During one of the presidential debates (pictured) Donald Trump said he would only reveal his tax returns if Hillary Clinton published details of all her 33,000 emails Czech television and Germany's Bild newspaper say they have discovered files from the Statni Bezpecnost (StB), the spy agency of communist Czechoslovakia. The StB were interested in Trump because he had just married Ivana Zelnickova, a model who had been born in the town of Zlin in what is now the Czech Republic. After fleeing to Canada, she met Trump and married him in 1977 but regularly returned to Czechoslovakia to visit her father, Milos Zelnicek. The Guardian reported that the files contained information from an StB informant who said Trump's businesses were 'absolutely safe' because they received commissions from the state. Donald Trump, a real estate developer who was beginning to make a name for himself with his casinos in Atlantic City, is pictured with his first wife, Ivana, on their yacht in 1988 The informant added: 'Another advantage is the personal relationship with the American President and the fact that he is completely tax-exempt for the next 30 years.' Although the President in question is not named it is likely to be Jimmy Carter, who was inaugurated in January 1977. Another StB file from 1988 from an informant using the code name Milos reported that Trump was being put under considerable pressure to run for the US presidency. Donald Trump and his first wife Ivana are seen at a friend's wedding in 1981. She is the mother of Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr. The informant said Ivana was under pressure 'not to put a step wrong' during visits to her father in Czechoslovakia. At the time, during the Cold War, a presidential candidate being married to a woman who had family in a communist country and made frequent trips there would have been extremely suspicious. 'Any false step of hers will have incalculable consequences for the position of her husband who intends to run for president in 1996,' Milos wrote. The file said Trump was convinced he could win the presidency. A Czech spy reported that in 1988 Trump had donated two payments of $10,000 each to the Democrats and the Republicans. George H. W. Bush won the election. Donald and Ivana Trump divorced in 1992, after he had an affair with a woman called Marla Maples, who bore him his fourth child, Tiffany. Earlier this year Ivana gave an interview with US magazine in which she said Trump had been thinking of running for president in the late 1980s. She said: 'Probably five years before our divorce, Reagan or somebody brought him a letter and said, "You should run for president." So, he was thinking about it. But then there was the divorce, there was the scandal, and American women loved me and hated him.' Trump later married Melania, who was born in a part of communist Yugoslavia, which later became Slovenia. The StB was dissolved following the collapse of communism in 1990 and Czechoslovakia is nowadays two countries - the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A lucky Western Australian family has scooped a first division lotto win of $10 million just in time for Christmas. The Armadale family took home the entire division one pool in Tuesday's Oz Lotto draw on Wednesday night after purchasing the ticket at Haynes Good News Agency in Brookdale, WA Today reported. The young family are planning a holiday to Disneyland and say they will purchase their dream home - with two storeys, a pool and even a new family dog. Two employees at Haynes Good News Agency in Brookdale, WA hold up the $10 million jackpot sign The young parents are battlers from Armadale with several children who were living pay check to pay check. 'There were lots of tears and we haven't slept since learning of the news last night,' they told 7 News. 'We were preparing for a basic Christmas because we couldn't afford anything extravagant, but that's all about to change now. 'This money guarantees our children a good start in life and they'll have everything they need including a great education.' Meanwhile a single mother from Mandurah won the Set for Life draw - a prize of $20,000 each month for the next 20 years. 'We've been struggling financially, living paycheck to paycheck. We were close to getting our water cut off,' the winning mother told WA Today. Meanwhile a single mother from Mandurah won the Set for Life draw - a prize of $20,000 each month for the next 20 years The first division one ticket to be sold at the store since it began operating five years ago The first division one ticket to be sold at the store since it began operating five years ago. Mikaela Thompson, who works at the agency, said staff are thrilled and in shock. 'It's just the most amazing feeling to know that we have changed someone's life for the better and what a perfect time just before Christmas,' Ms Thompson told Daily Mail Australia. It is the fifth first division win in Western Australia in just five days, according to Lottery West. WA's tally of division one lotto and first prize winners for the year has now reached 83. Max Spiers, who investigated cover-ups and conspiracies, died in Poland after vomiting two litres of black fluid, an inquest heard A conspiracy theorist vomited two litres of black fluid and died amid claims he had made powerful 'enemies', an inquest heard. Max Spiers, 39, was said to be investigating allegations of sexual abuse against at a military base in California at the time of his mysterious death in Poland. The father-of-two, from Canterbury, Kent died in an apartment in Warsaw, where he had gone to give a talk about conspiracy theories and cover-ups. His mother fears he may have been murdered after she received a text just days before his death saying: 'Your boy's in trouble. If anything happens investigate.' Mr Spiers, who went to school with Orlando Bloom, was known as a 'supersoldier' by his followers and those in the conspiracy and supernatural community. Reports around the time of his death claimed he was looking into alleged historical abuse at the Presidio Army base in Northern California. Authorities in Poland, where Max was attending a conference, initially concluded the sudden death was due to natural causes. But after his body was repatriated to the UK, doctors at a Margate hospital were unable to determine the cause of his death. His mother Vanessa Bates fears he may have been killed because of his investigations Mr Spiers told fiancee Sarah Adams he was desperate to come home just before his death Kent Police have now launched a joint investigation with Polish police, which may see Mr Spiers' computer and mobile phone forensically examined. At an inquest into his death, which opened in Canterbury on Monday, the court heard how the 39-year-old had been visiting Poland to speak at a conference. In a statement, coroner's investigations officer Caroline O'Donnell said: 'When they returned, Mr Spiers became ill with a high temperature and was weak. 'The following day, Mr Spiers vomited two litres of black fluid. The friend called a doctor who attempted resuscitation before pronouncing him dead.' He died on July 16 and his mother Vanessa Bates, 63, fears he may have been killed. She said: 'I think Max had been digging in some dark places and somebody wanted him dead.' An inquest into his death has been adjourned. British police are now also investigating She is hopeful the investigation will shed light on the mysterious death. 'It's been a long time coming, but I'm just relieved that at last something is happening and there is a proper investigation and inquest,' she added. Coroner Alan Blunsdon told the court he was still awaiting a report from Polish authorities, adding that the workload of Kent Police may delay forensic analysis of Mr Spiers' phone and computer. President-elect Donald Trump has mocked allegations that he knew Russia was involved in hacking during the US election - instead drawing attention to claims that Hillary had an unfair advantage during a debate. In his early-morning tweet, which he sent at 6.10am, he wrote: 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' Trump appeared to not be outright denying the alleged Russian hack, but instead cast the spotlight back onto Democrat Hillary, who was allegedly tipped off by Donna Brazile, the interim chair of the Democratic National Committee about a question in advance of a CNN Democratic primary debate. Scroll down for video Donald Trump referenced the leaked question again in a tweet this morning After the alleged leak was made public, CNN president Jeff Zucker branded Brazile 'unethical' and 'disgusting' after the email apparently showed her providing a second debate question to Hillary Clinton's team. Brazile, who at the time was a contributor at the network, claimed she did not feed a question to the Clinton campaign that would be asked at a CNN-hosted forum, implying that an email on the Wikileaks website indicating she did was falsified, but she resigned on October 14 anyway. Both the White House and Hillary Clinton addressed the issue of the Russian-led hacks before the election. The New York Times previously reported that there was some dragging of feet, with the White House not holding a Situation Room meeting on the matter until July, three months after the Democratic National Committee was compromised. CNN president Jeff Zucker branded Brazile, pictured, 'unethical' and 'disgusting' after the email apparently showed her providing a second debate question to Hillary Clinton's team Additionally, the White House rejected more robust responses that would have gotten Moscow's attention, the Times wrote. NBC News yesterday reported that intelligence sources now believe with a 'high level of confidence' that Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved. When asked about the revelation, spokesman Jason Miller said: 'I'll let the president-elect's tweets speak for themselves.' 'I'd say the continued efforts to try to de-legitimize the election at a certain point, at a certain point you kind of realize the election from last month is going to stand whether it's the recount or continued questions along this line,' Miller told reporters. 'And we're moving ahead and putting together a successful administration that's ready to go to work serving the American people,' he added. President Barack Obama has also said that America must and will take action against Russia in response to cyber interference President Barack Obama has also said that America must and will take action against Russia in response to cyber interference with the election, sayingthe US will respond at a 'time and place of our choosing.' He says he's spoken directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin about his feelings about the hacking. As for why Obama didn't do something when he knew about the hacking before the election, multiple government officials told NBC News it's because the White House thought Hillary Clinton would win and it didn't want to seem to be interfering with the election. 'They thought she was going to win, so they were willing to kick the can down the road,' said one official. However, the President did apparently intervene behind the scenes. A US official says he confronted Putin at the G-20 summit in China and promised unspecified consequences if the hacks continued President-elect Donald Trump is questioning the White House's motives for being so interested in Russia's hacks into the Democratic National Committee The hacks became widespread knowledge back on October 7, one month and one day before the presidential election. The Homeland Security Department and Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a joint statement saying they were 'confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations.' The White House and Clinton began addressing the hacks after that. 'We have 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin, and they are designed to influence our election,' Clinton said at the final presidential debate. 'I find that deeply disturbing.' Trump appeared to not be outright denying the alleged Russian hack, but instead cast the spotlight back onto Hillary On Friday, the Washington Post broke the news that the CIA had told members of Congress that Russia's intention with the hacks was to assist Trump in winning the White House. 'I think it's ridiculous,' Trump said when asked about it by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace. 'I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it. I don't know why and I think it's just you know, they talked about all sorts of things. Every week, it's another excuse.' 'We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the Electoral College,' Trump added, pushing back against the fact that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote. On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested that Trump knew Russian actors were responsible for hacking the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta because of remarks the Republican hopeful made at a press conference in July. 'Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,' Trump told reporters at the time. 'I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.' Clinton had deleted some 30,000 personal emails from her private server before turning the rest of the contents over to the feds. Trump used this heightened campaign rhetoric at a time when Clinton's homebrew server was already offline and thus couldn't actually be hacked by the Russians. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest interpreted Trump's statement literally telling reporters on Monday, 'He called on Russia to hack his opponent. He called on Russia to attack Secretary Clinton.' 'So he certainly had a pretty good sense of which side this activity was coming down on,' Earnest added. Earnest made similar claims Wednesday during the White House press briefing. 'There was ample evidence that was known long before the election, and in most cases long before October, about the Trump campaign in Russia, everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent,' Earnest said. 'It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign,' the press secretary added. Trump's Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway shot back this morning on Fox & Friends calling Earnest 'incredibly irresponsible.' Donald Trump tweeted this morning asking why the White House was so concerned with the Russian hacks now - suggesting it had to do with the election result 'That is just remarkable,' the top Trump aide said. 'That is breathtaking.' 'I guess he's just auditioning to be a political pundit after his job is over,' she continued. 'That is incredibly disappointing to hear from the podium of the White House press secretary.' 'Because he basically he essentially stated that the president-elect had knowledge of this, maybe even fanned the flames,' she added. She wondered aloud if President Obama held these same views. The hosts pointed to Obama's recent sit-down with Daily Show host Trevor Noah. 'The president-elect in some of his political events, specifically said to the Russians, "Hack Hillary's emails so that we can finally find out what's going on and confirm our conspiracy theories,' Obama said on Monday. Conway called Obama's statement 'unfortunate too' and suggested the White House was 'trying to re-litigate a political campaign.' '[Americans] are going to see this as a continuation of the permanent campaign of people who just can't get over themselves, their bad predictions, frankly, and the fact that they wanted a different result,' Conway said. Donald Trump's campaign manager pointed fingers at Hillary Clinton this morning as she pushed back on White House claims that Donald Trump knew Russia was responsible for hacking the Democrats She then turned her attention to Clinton. 'She got this party started,' Conway said of Clinton. 'Look, we should really be talking about what we know, not what we don't. And what we know is that Hillary Clinton selfishly set up a private server that put us all at risk.' 'So when you're talking about hacking into emails, why have we left behind this piece of evidence that's right in front of us?' Trump has diverted attention onto Hillary Clinton amid accusations of email hacking 'But she started this with her illegal server,' the Trump aide stated. Expanding on Trump's tweets asking why the White House suddenly cared about the Russian hacks, Conway pointed a finger at team Clinton, wondering why they didn't bring up the Russian hacking before the election results were in. Many of the stories about Russian interference were eclipsed by other news of the day, including the leak of the 'Access Hollywood' video, which briefly looked to have doomed the Trump campaign. 'Let's roll the tape of everyone, all those geniuses on TV, all the people on Team Clinton. Let's roll the tape leading up to the actual Election Day,' Conway said. 'How many people were actually talking about this as interfering in the election?' 'They were talking about what they were going to do in the West Wing, that the path was closed, we can never win,' she continued. 'Nobody talked about this.' And, as a final ding, Conway ridiculed the celebrity-filled campaign rallies Clinton hosted in the campaign's last days. China's embassy in Indonesia has expressed alarm at media reports accusing China of using a biological weapon against Indonesia, after four Chinese nationals were arrested for planting imported chili seeds contaminated with a bacteria. The headlines splashed across Indonesian media have sparked a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment on social media in a country with a history of simmering resentment towards its giant neighbour and a minority ethnic Chinese community. Indonesian authorities said the imported chili seeds confiscated on a farm about 37 miles south of the capital, Jakarta, contained the bacteria erwinia chrysanthemi, which is harmless to humans but can cause failure in crops. A man holds chili peppers in Jakarta. Four Chinese nationals were arrested for planting imported chili seeds that contained a bacteria It was the first time the bacteria had been detected in Indonesia, the state-owned news agency Antara quoted the head of the country's quarantine body as saying. Indonesians are among the most avid users of social media in the world, and conspiracy theories about the intentions of the four Chinese nationals running the farm quickly spread. Twitter user @BoengParno said: Haven't people realised that Chinese attacks on this country are real in many ways. From drugs, illegal workers, now chili bacteria. Authorities burned the chili seeds and destroyed the crop sowed by the Chinese men and 30 Indonesian workers on a leased plot of land near the city of Bogor. The Chinese embassy in Indonesia in concerned because of anti-Chinese sentiment online The Chinese embassy in a statement said accusations of a plot to use biological weapons to destroy the economy of Indonesia carried no basis in facts and were very worrying. We hope that the bilateral relations and friendship between the people of China and Indonesia will not be affected by this matter. Indonesia's maritime affairs minister Luhut Panjaitan criticised some of the outbursts on social media. Whether it's true or not, some people overreact, he said. Oh, the Chinese invade Indonesia". Come on. This is the problem with social media ... Without checking, they just spread the rumours." Chilies are sold in Jakarta. The chili seeds planted by the Chinese nationals were destroyed Indonesia has suffered bouts of anti-Chinese and anti-communist sentiment over its history, and recently. President Joko Widodo was falsely identified as having ethnic Chinese ancestry and being an agent of influence for Beijing during a 2014 election campaign he narrowly won. There has also been a recent spike on social media of hostility over China's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea as well during the re-election campaign of Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian. President Joko Widodo was accused of having Chinese ancestry during the 2014 election Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians attended rallies in the past six weeks denouncing Purnama, who is facing trial for blasphemy after criticising people who had cited the Koran to argue that Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims. On average, ethnic Chinese are far wealthier than other groups in Indonesia and stereotypes persist that they are less patriotic than other Indonesians. An elderly French electrician and his wife were convicted on Friday of illicitly procuring hundreds of Picasso artworks that they kept for almost 40 years in the garage of their home. An appeals court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence gave a two-year suspended sentence to Pierre Le Guennec, who carried out electrical work at the home of Pablo Picasso's last wife in the early 1970s, along with his wife, Danielle. The two were also ordered to hand the works over to Picasso's heirs and to pay legal and other related costs. Sentenced: Pierre and Danielle Le Guennec were convicted on Friday of illicitly procuring hundreds of Picasso artworks at an appeals court in Aix-en-Provence, France The court also upheld an earlier ruling ending six years of legal wrangling that began when the Le Guennecs took out the 180 paintings and other artworks as well as a book of 91 drawings in 2009-10 to get them authenticated, revealing their existence. The artworks that were kept in a box in the Le Guennecs' garage have an estimated combined worth of 60-100 million euros (50 to 84 million), according to public prosecutors. Found: Two of the 271 Picasso works the Le Guennecs stole. The couple was ordered to return the paintings to the artist's heirs A drawing of a horse, one of the 271 artworks that the Le Guennecs had stolen Pierre Le Guennec, a retired electrician, leaves the courthouse after his unsuccessful appeal trial Pierre Le Guennec, now 77, worked for several years at the Picasso couple's villa in the French Riviera town of Mougins. He argued at the trial that he was given the artworks by Jacqueline Picasso upon her husband's death at 91 in 1973, which sparked a succession feud between her and her son-in-law, Claude. Claude Picasso's lawyer, Jean-Jacques Neuer, welcomed Friday's ruling and told reporters that the artworks were in perfect condition after almost four decades in storage. Picasso, a Spaniard, spent most of his life in France. Jeremy Corbyn, pictured at a homeless charity yesterday, has vowed to derail tough new strike laws Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to derail tough new strike laws aimed at stopping workers from closing the railway by blocking the plans with unelected peers. The Labour leader is likely to be powerless to stop any new legislation brought forward by the Government in the House of Commons as the Tories have a majority. But by working with the Liberal Democrats, Mr Corbyn may have the numbers to frustrate the plans in the unelected House of Lords. Mr Corbyn has a long record of calling for the upper chamber to be scrapped but since becoming Labour leader has repeatedly used it to frustrate the Government. Ministers are studying plans that would demand unions maintain a skeleton staff when they take workers out on strike, The Times said. But Mr Corbyn said: 'We will fight to block any further clampdown on trade union laws.' Southern train services are completely suspended again today, the third day of stoppage this week, after train drivers joined guards on the picket line. On Wednesday, British Airways cabin crew yesterday joined the train drivers, post office staff and Argos drivers plotting a Christmas of discontent Mr Corbyn has been urged to call off his union allies, and yesterday confirmed he had spoken to the union boss, who helped bankroll his leadership campaign. Tracks and platforms at Clapham Junction were deserted today, pictured, because of the latest day of strike action by Southern staff A long-running dispute over driver-only trains has led to three days of complete shut down on the major commuter routes But he indicated he had no intention of telling him to end the walkouts. He added: 'I have spoken to the general secretary and he explained the issues and their concerns about the safety of driver-only trains on very busy routes like London to Brighton. 'It is not a militant approach in the case of Aslef and the RMT it is about efficiency and safety.' Asked whether he will consider changing strike laws, Mr Grayling told Tuesday's Today programme: 'There is a lot of things in the future we are going to have to take a careful look at.' Pressed again on whether the law would be re-examined, he said: 'There is a variety of things we are going to think through.' Ralph Clarke (pictured) faces being the oldest person ever to be jailed in Britain A 101-year-old paedophile faces being the oldest person ever to be jailed in Britain after he was today convicted of a string of historic child sex offences. Ralph Clarke - who was born in March 1915 - showed no reaction as the jury delivered the 21 guilty verdicts. The pensioner, who was in his late 20s when he served in the RAF during World War Two, sat back in his chair and leaned on his white walking stick as he listened. His victims finally contacted police in August last year having seen Facebook posts celebrating Clarke's 100th birthday. And the three victims wept as the verdicts were delivered and hugged each other in Birmingham Crown Court. Clarke, of Erdington, Birmingham, admitted nine sex offences against a boy, who he abused between the ages of nine and 14, halfway through his two-week trial. He was remanded in custody today. One victim of Clarke said he deserves to die behind bars and 'rot in hell' for his crimes. As Clarke was spending his first hours in custody following his convictions, all three of his victims, now aged in their 40s and 50s, expressed relief that he had finally been brought to justice. Speaking anonymously, the older of Clarke's two female victims said: 'He has damaged so many lives in such a massive way and he has no remorse. The retired lorry driver Ralph Clarke was photographed arriving at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (pictured). Clarke (right) was found guilty of 21 historical child sex offences 'He's evil and he deserves to be in prison - he deserves to die in prison, he deserves to rot in hell for what he put me through, let alone the others. I think we can all say that.' She added: 'We will never get full closure - it's something we have always got to live with - but it was a huge step towards some closure.' The younger of the female victims said: 'You are never ever going to feel like you have got justice when you have been abused, I don't think. 'It makes me angry that he knew right from the beginning we were telling the truth. The guy can't even say sorry and it makes me so angry that he has got no remorse, no regret.' A jury of six men and six women took just under eight hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on 21 sexual offences against two young girls. He was cleared of one charge of indecency with a child. Today's verdict means he has become the oldest convict in Britain, replacing 96-year-old paedophile Gaston Pinsard. Pinsard, from Guernsey, was jailed for 18 months for the historic sexual abuse of two young girls more than 50 years ago. And today, Judge Richard Bond said he would sentence Clarke on Monday morning after he had heard victim impact statements and submissions on the guidelines. Clarke, who walks with the aid of a white stick, was given special permission to sit outside the dock at the back of the court during the trial. The retired lorry driver listened to proceedings through his hearing aid and had an intermediary sitting next to him for support. Judge Bond told the jury he was 'speaking slowly' for the benefit of the OAP and had reduced sitting hours of between 9.30am and 1.30pm to allow Clarke to go home. The court heard Clarke indecently assaulted the three victims in his lorry cab and his 'man cave' shed between 1974 and 1983. Prosecutor Miranda Moore QC told the jury he also abused the children, who are siblings, in the bath and in a bed. He bribed the young girls with sweets and money and would even take his false teeth out before committing sex acts on the boy. Clarke was arrested after his two female victims walked into a police station in August last year to make a complaint against the centurion. Miss Moore told the jury they were 'tipped over the edge' when he turned 100 in March 2015 and 'everybody was saying what a good life he had led'. The court heard Clarke abused one of the girls from the age of seven and would force both female victims to perform sex acts on him. Miss Moore said: '(The victim) said it was a daily event. The defendant was very handy, he could mend things. 'He had one of those workshops, probably today it would be called a man shed or man cave. All three victims talk about being in a garden shed or a workshop. '(The victim) remembers sitting on the bench, she remembers that the abuse happening in the shed was in the summer. 'When he did these things he was a young and strong man and they were children.' His three victims wept as the verdicts were delivered and hugged each other in Birmingham Crown Court (pictured) Clarke was found guilty of 12 charges of indecent assault and nine counts of indecency with a child relating the two young girls. He also denied five charges of indecent assault, two counts of indecency with a child and two charges of attempting to commit buggery. But he changed his pleas to guilty to all nine counts, which all refer to the male victim. Miss Moore told the jury: 'He (the boy victim) was also abused in the garage workshop. There was masturbation and oral sex. 'He vividly remembers that the defendant would take his teeth out beforehand.' Giving evidence, Clarke told the jury the offences against the boy were 'something that happened'. But he claimed there wasn't enough room in his makeshift workshop for anything to have happened between him and the two girls. Clarke said: 'What room was in there, I needed. I had always got a pile of kids around the garage because I used to repair all the bikes for them. They'd come from all over. Police have cleared Keith Vaz over claims he paid rent boys for sex and offered to buy them drugs Police have cleared Keith Vaz over claims he paid rent boys for sex and offered to buy them drugs. Scotland Yard said it has closed its investigation but the Labour MP now faces a probe by Parliament's sleaze watchdog over whether he breached Commons rules. The Leicester East MP, dubbed 'Mr Vazeline' in Westminster, was kicked out as chairman of the influential Home Affairs committee after newspaper revelations about his private life. Undercover footage showed him with two gay, Romanian escorts at a flat he owns in Edgware, north-west London in the summer. He tried to hide his identity by telling the sex workers he was called 'Jim' and worked as a washing machine salesman. The video showed him telling one of the rent boys he would pay for cocaine, although he said he did not want to take the drug himself. Mr Vaz's position as chair of the Home Affairs committee was untenable because it was carrying out a high profile report on sex workers and had also conducted investigations into drug use. Weeks after being kicked off the committee, Mr Vaz took the remarkable step of nominating himself to join the Justice committee, a move that was then approved by MPs in a vote in the Commons. His colleagues in Parliament reacted to the news he had been cleared by police with disbelief. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, MP in the neighbouring North West Leicestershire seat who has led calls for Mr Vaz to face disciplinary action, told MailOnline: 'I can't believe the police aren't charging him with anything. I'm shocked. It's unbelievable.' It is understood police interviewed Mr Vaz over the allegations earlier this month. Parliament's Standards Commissioner Kathryn Hudson was waiting for police to finish their investigation before deciding whether his conduct had broken MP rules. Keith Vaz was covertly filmed with two gay escorts at a flat he owns in Edgware, north-west London in the summer She will investigate whether the Leicester East MP broke Clause 10 of the MPs' Code of Conduct, which covers public interest and whether 'significant damage' was done to the reputation of the House of Commons. It states: 'Members shall base their conduct on a consideration of the public interest, avoid conflict between personal interest and the public interest and resolve any conflict between the two, at once, and in favour of the public interest.' Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, pictured, MP in the neighbouring North West Leicestershire seat who has led calls for Mr Vaz to face disciplinary action, told MailOnline: 'I can't believe the police aren't charging him with anything. I'm shocked. It's unbelievable' The investigation will also probe whether he breached conflict of interest rules as chair of the home affairs committee. His Home Affairs committee had conducted investigations into drug use and prostitution. The Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members on select committees states that 'a Member who has personal interest which may reflect upon the work of the Committee or its report should stand aside from the Committee proceedings relaying to it.' Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, MP in the neighbouring North West Leicestershire seat who has led calls for Mr Vaz to face disciplinary action, told MailOnline: 'I can't believe the police aren't charging him with anything. I'm shocked. It's unbelievable.' A spokesman for Mr Vaz said: 'The Metropolitan Police Service has informed us that they have decided 'not to proceed any further' with their investigation arising from reports in the Sunday Mirror and The Mirror and that the investigation is 'now closed'. Alex Tilbrooke says he faces losing his home after putting up a fence a few inches too close to that of the millionaire next door A retired musician faces losing his home after putting up a fence a few inches too close to that of the millionaire next door. Alex Tilbrooke says he was a model neighbour when optics businessman Ian Goble, 59, and his wife moved next to him in 1998. He says he looked after their home when the couple were on holiday, helped to do odd jobs and even 'rescued' their cats. But issues between the two flared up in 2009 when Mr Tilbrooke, 69, began works to flatten a slope and erect a fence between his detached home in Fairlight, East Sussex, and the Gobles' 600,000 property up the hill. Mr Goble - who runs a contact lens manufacturing business - accused his neighbour of having 'undermined' his garage, knocking 150,000 off the value of his home. 'Good neighbourly relations' dissolved as Mr Goble took Mr Tilbrooke to court for failing to get his permission before carrying out the works. Ruling Mr Goble in the right, a judge found that Mr Tilbrooke's fencing contractor had 'disturbed the ground' a few inches too close to his neighbour's property. The pensioner was ordered to pay a crushing 140,000 in damages and costs. And Mr Tilbrooke has now told London's Appeal Court he can't afford to pay and is facing the 'unbearable' loss of his home. Lord Justice Briggs heard the two properties were originally divided by a 'gentle slope' with the Gobles' home at the upper end and Mr Tilbrooke's at the bottom. Mr Tilbrooke had grown concerned that water running off the slope was affecting his home and decided to excavate it, creating a 'vertical drop' to a flat graveled area, bordered by a fence. Issues between the two flared up in 2009 when Mr Tilbrooke began works to flatten a slope and erect a fence between his and Mr Goble's homes in Fairlight, East Sussex He thought he was within his rights to make the changes without consulting the Gobles, as the fence was 3.08 metres away from the border with their land. Under the Party Wall Act, neighbours have a legal right to prior consultation in relation to works which potentially undercut the foundations of their property if they take place within three metres of their land. Mr Goble said the works had undermined the foundations of his garage, by affecting land within the three-metre exclusion zone. A judge at Brighton County Court found in the businessman's favour in December 2014, ruling that it was 'more likely than not' that, when the contractor erected the fence posts, he had 'disturbed the ground more than 8cm' from the fence in the direction of the Gobles' garage. He awarded damages and costs and granted the Gobles access to Mr Tilbrooke's land in order to construct a 30,000 retaining wall in place of the fence - with the pensioner footing the bill. Mr Tilbrooke challenged the judge's ruling before Lord Justice Briggs, at the Court of Appeal. Mr Goble (pictured) said the works had undermined the foundations of his garage, by affecting land within the three-metre exclusion zone The retired musician told the court he had been 'traumatised' by his row with the couple next door. 'I was on good terms with them. I looked after their property when they were on holiday. 'I even rescued their little cats for them when they got into trouble, and have generally been helpful,' he said. 'The thought of losing my home and the bill of 140,000, which is the lawyers' fees plus the cost of the wall, is just unbearable,' he added. 'I'm deeply traumatised. It's been an eight-year struggle and has made my health physically and mentally suffer,' he said. Mr Tilbrooke argued that he now has strong evidence that the ground was not disturbed either side of the posts when the fence went up. Mr Goble said the row has knocked 150,000 off the price of his home (pictured) and cost him 50,000 in lawyers' fees, plus 30,000 to build the wall to prop up his land He also claimed that a local authority investigation suggested his neighbours' garage has 'deep sandstone foundations' that would not have been affected by the works. The 30,000 wall he has been ordered to finance is 'not necessary', he told the court. But Lord Justice Briggs dashed his hopes, saying he was unable to change the trial judge's 'essential finding of fact'. It was 'more likely than not' that the works to erect the fence had 'disturbed the ground' more than either side of the fence. Mr Tilbrooke had therefore 'carried out works in breach of his obligation to give notice to his neighbours under the Party Wall Act.' The judge added: 'He is seeking to challenge the judge's findings of fact by new evidence that could have been disclosed at trial 'I have considerable sympathy for the financial predicament in which Mr Tilbrooke finds himself. There had been generally good neighbourly relations between them. 'Mr Tilbrooke is gravely concerned about losing his home which he may have to do in order to pay damages and the cost of his legal bills. 'But I can see nothing in these grounds which would lead the full court to overturn the essential finding of fact,' he concluded, refusing his application for permission to appeal. Outside court, Mr Goble said the row has knocked 150,000 off his house price and cost him 50,000 in lawyers' fees, plus 30,000 to build the wall to prop up his land. The former biologist naps, plays and raises the animals in his house He has owned 20 bears at Point of View Farm in Hillsboro, West Joel Rosenthal, 74, has been rescuing wild bears for the past seven years A former biologist has achieved a lifelong dream - by regularly hiking with his five pet bears through the wilderness. Joel Rosenthal lives with several black bears at a farm in Hillsboro, West Virginia and can go months on end without seeing another human being. The 74-year-old has been rescuing wild bears for the past seven years, raising them inside his house and protecting them during hunting season at Point Views Farm. Joel Rosenthal, 74, lives with five black bears and takes the animals on hikes at Point of View Farm in Hillsboro, West Virginia The animal lover naps, hand-feeds and plays with his black bears. He has been rescuing the animals for the past seven years And now, he has developed such a close relationship with the animals, he can regularly take them for hikes in the forest, hand-feed them and sleep in their enclosures. He said: 'Nothing in this world - not sex, not food, not a good night sleep can top going for an hour hike with a bear. 'Nobody else in the world can do this, nobody else in the world does this. 'I take naps with them, we play in the house, we get fed in the house and as they grow - they move to larger facilities outside. 'It's really special to be able to hike around with two or three bear cubs that are just following me. I really have to pinch myself all the time because I can't believe I'm doing this - that I have this relationship with these animals.' The first bear came into Rosenthal's care in 2009 and people often contact him when they find injured or abandoned animals in the hope that he will take them in. The former biologist said: 'I really have to pinch myself all the time because I can't believe I'm doing this - that I have this relationship with these animals' Rosenthal took care of his first bear in 2009 and people often contact him when they find injured or abandoned animals Once the hunting season has passed and the bears are old enough, Joel releases them back into the wild. He said: 'They don't go off and become a nuisance, they don't break into people's homes, they don't attack people - they just go off and become wild bears which is exactly what they are genetically programmed to do. 'I consider bears to be very, very safe but all the statistics bail that out, regardless of anything that I am prejudiced about. 'In North America over the last 100 years plus, I believe that there are 60 or 70 documented cases of black bears actually killing anybody. Rosenthal releases the bears back into the wild once the hunting season has passed and the bears are old enough Rosenthal said: 'Nobody else in the world can do this, nobody else in the world does this' 'I have never been attacked by a bear. I mean we are talking about a 200 or 300 pound animal that is stronger than 10 human beings and quicker than a rattle snake and yet here I am as the doting mother trying to discipline a huge linebacker.' Rosenthal predominantly feeds his bears with meat, but does treat them now and then to some peanut butter. Living on the deserted side of a large river can result in Rosenthal being on his own with his animals for weeks, if not months. He considers the bears to be 'very, very safe'. The National Park Service said on its website that bear attacks are rare but have occurred before, resulting in 'serious injuries and death' 'I'm the only one living on this side of the river for miles,' he said. 'I live all alone. I live miles from the nearest human being and I am a happy camper. 'I want the bears to get used to me, I want them to become bound to me so that we have this special relationship which makes the entire process of raising them and eventually releasing them a lot easier. 'I prefer any animal to humans!' After owning 20 bears over the years, Rosenthal does struggle with the thought of them being hunted and killed. He said: 'My guess is that almost all of them have been killed by hunters. Because of his rural location, Rosenthal can go months on end without seeing another human. The population of the tiny West Virginia town was 252 people in 2013 'It's very, very cruel. It's not just a matter of shooting and making a clean kill on a bear. It's barbaric in a way. 'I try to separate my emotions from it.' Rosenthal's unique relationship with his bears has attracted a great response from animal lovers keen to keep up to date with his journey. 'I get a lot of attention on my Facebook page,' he added. 'There are people from all over the world who now follow the exploits that happen here at Point of View Farm. 'There is no doubt that my caring for, interacting with and releasing bears into the environment has been very, very special. 'I mean I'm 74 years old now. This is the combination of my lifelong dream - to have a place like this and it's all happening. A couple have been awarded a 6,000 payout after their dream holiday to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary was ruined when they both contracted chronic food poisoning. Christopher, 62, and Sharran Dawson, 46, had jetted to Sharm el Sheikh for a fortnight-long holiday in July 2015 but fell ill just two days into the trip. They complained about the poor hygiene at the five-star Thomson Platinum Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and Spa, where they said flies buzzed around the food and the pool was not cleaned. Mr Dawson, from Pontefract in West Yorkshire, said: 'We will never forget the holiday but all for the wrong reasons.' Christopher, 62, and Sharran Dawson, 46, had jetted to Sharm el Sheikh for a fortnight-long holiday in July 2015 but fell ill just two days into the trip As Mr Dawson grew more ill, he became increasingly weak and dehydrated to the point he fainted. The hotel doctor put him on a combination of antibiotics and rehydration treatment through a drip (pictured) The 62-year-old, a retired nurse, was first to fall ill. He said that after eating at one of the resort's restaurants he was crippled by stomach cramps, sickness and diarrhea. As his illness worsened, he became increasingly weak and dehydrated to the point he fainted. The hotel doctor put him on a combination of antibiotics and rehydration treatment through a drip, but he remained very sick for the remainder of his holiday. His wife, also a general nurse, was then struck down with illness meaning the last nine days of the holiday were spent 'unwell in hell'. The couple were awarded a 6,000 payout after their dream holiday to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary was ruined The couple complained about the poor hygiene at the five-star Thomson Platinum Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and Spa (pictured) Mr Dawson said: 'This illness ruined our holiday and our anniversary celebration, we spent days confined to our room. We were unable to celebrate or explore any of the surrounding areas as we were simply too ill. 'This was a holiday to celebrate our wedding anniversary, just us two, an indulgence to remember. It was completely ruined by sickness. We will never forget this holiday but it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. 'The breakfast food was heated by urns, the food seemed to be sat there from opening to closing. You could also see flies swarming over the uncovered cold foods such as cereal, jams and bread.' He also claimed he 'never' saw the pool being cleaned during their two-week stay. Mr Dawson said he made a number of serious complaints against Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and Spa, claiming the food was frequently uncovered, cold and had fliers buzzing around it He said: 'We booked this holiday as a treat to celebrate our upcoming anniversary, we had been to Egypt some years before and had enjoyed that experience with no problems so never dreamed what was in store for us this time. 'The room we stayed in was quite grubby and certainly not a five star quality. We were happy enough to put up with it before we became ill because our first priority was sunshine and nice weather. 'We wanted to concentrate on the positive side of the holiday in light of our upcoming anniversary. Thankfully the air con worked well within our room and was this holidays saving grace, given that we spent more time in there than anywhere else due to our combined sickness.' He said he made a number of serious complaints against the Reef Oasis Blue Bay Resort and Spa, claiming the food was frequently uncovered, cold and had fliers swarming around it. The shower in the couple's room - they claimed their room in the five-star hotel was 'grubby' Mrs Dawson also required medical treatment and contacted the local pharmacy where she was prescribed antibiotics, electrolyte replacement salts, antispasmodics and anti-motility tablets. Once back in the UK, the couple remained plagued by repeat illness symptoms. GP tests confirmed Mrs Dawson had contracted gastroenteritis whilst Mr Dawson was referred for further hospital tests. Legal experts at Your Holiday Claims, a division of Farnworth Rose Solicitors, secured a total of 6,200 for the couple in a settlement with tour operator, Thomson. The shower inside the couple's hotel room - they complained about the poor hygiene Lawyer Sue Robinson said: 'I am so pleased that I was able to achieve a positive outcome for Mr and Mr Dawson after their anniversary getaway was plagued by illness and led to a lengthy recovery period for Mr Dawson. 'Gastroenteritis is one of the most common causes of holiday illness and is usually contracted as a result of food poisoning. 'When hygiene is poor within all-inclusive hotels, there is the danger that guests could develop illness symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps. 'I strongly urge anyone who has suffered from such illness symptoms on a package holiday within the last three years to come forward and contact Your Holiday Claims.' KFC have launched 'finger condoms' so customers don't get their hands dirty while tucking in. Seemingly turning their back on the Colonel's iconic slogan, 'Finger lickin' good', the hand sheaths have been rolled out in Japan this week. Known as the Finger Nup, short for Finger Napkin, the small bits of plastic are designed to protect thumbs and fingers from getting oily when eating the famous chicken pieces and allows customers to use smartphones and laptops immediately after eating. KFC have launched 'finger condoms' so customers don't get their hands dirty while tucking in Seemingly turning their back on the Colonel's iconic slogan, 'Finger lickin' good', the hand sheaths are being rolled out in Japan (Pictured Korean brand Finger Nap) Known as the Finger Nup, short for Finger Napkin, the small bits of plastic are designed to protect thumbs and fingers from getting oily when eating the famous chicken pieces and allows customers to use smartphones and laptops immediately after eating The fast food chain's officials in Japan said the new product is a mark-up on customers' tendency to wrap napkins around the chicken while eating It occurred to bosses paper napkins weren't working well enough because the oil was seeping through the tissue The fast food chain's officials in Japan told Rocket News the new product is a step up from customers' tendency to wrap napkins around the chicken while eating. It occurred to bosses paper napkins weren't working well enough because the oil was seeping through the tissue. The company decided to trial plastic with the aim of it being easy to wear and take off. The finger condoms have been introduced to 222 branches across the Kanto and Kansai regions. They will be stored behind the counter with staff. A railway worker has decked out his home with 16,000 bulbs that light up to a Mariah Carey Christmas classic. Father-of-four Barry Behan has spent the last year meticulously planning and sequencing his lights to flash to the US star's 'All I Want for Christmas is You. Having spent endless hours carefully soldering and sequencing the lights, on his semi-detached home in Waterlooville, Hampshire, with his eldest son Tyler, 13, he then dedicated a further 24 hours to putting them all up. A railway worker has decked out his home with 16,000 bulbs that light up to a Mariah Carey Christmas classic The incredible display flickers and dances to various other festive hits, including 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'Warm this Winter' by Connie Francis. An enormous flashing Christmas tree shows presents appearing beneath it, snow falling and even displays some of the lyrics in time with the music. Mr Behan impressively taught himself the entire process from start to finish. He is thought to have spent hundreds of pounds on transforming his home - much to the delight of his young children. The display, which blasts out music with the lights on repeat for an hour, includes a light-up tree, presents and a model of Olaf the snowman from Disney film Frozen. The 42-year-old said he was inspired by lavish American light shows - and points out that he monitors the noise of the music so not to annoy neighbours. He came up with the idea following a trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London, last winter with his nine-year-old daughter April. He said: 'I've never done this before, but I had the idea last year when my daughter said we didn't have enough lights. That was that really. Father-of-four Barry Behan has spent the last year meticulously planning and sequencing his lights to flash to the US star's 'All I Want for Christmas is You The incredible display flickers and dances to various other festive hits, including 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'Warm this Winter' by Connie Francis 'I didn't realise how many lights it was going to be. I have been going out every night with the kids. They have been so amazed. 'It's totally different because it is something you have only seen in America. I have never seen it here. This is the first year I have done it.' Mr Behan said that he had an idea of how to put together a light display, but learned from scratch over the course of the year. He said: 'The planning plays a big part. I soldered and waterproofed them throughout the year. You need some sort of plan. 'My friend got me the board that sends messages to the lights. I learned from forums and testing on small strips.' He picked up many of the lights involved in the display from auction website eBay to keep costs down, though he is not envisaging a nasty surprise energy bill in the new year. He said: 'I am not expecting a huge bill. Maybe a little more than usual. 'When you work out the wattage, it is less then normal outdoor lighting because LEDs are cheaper to run.' Mr Behan said that his neighbours love the display despite it flashing on and off every night He said that the ambitious festive performances have drawn the attention of impressed neighbours and passers-by. He added: 'To be honest, it has done better than I thought it would do. 'People love it; they say it's brilliant. You have got to see it to believe it.' Mr Behan keeps the music at a low volume for the majority of the time and said that he has received no complaints from neighbours so far. He added: 'The kids get me out there every day when they come home from school and when it's dark I put it on. 'I am going to try out my new snow machine as well.' Jeremy Corbyn, pictured at a homeless charity yesterday, plans to spend more time in front of voters in 2017 Jeremy Corbyn has planned a startling change of political strategy for the new year that will see the Labour leader embrace being popular. Party sources have confirmed plans to ramp up Mr Corbyn's TV appearances in the hope his unpolished approach will cut through to voters if they are exposed to more of it. Mr Corbyn will attempt to position himself as a left-wing populist to capitalise on the post-Brexit, anti-politics mood sweeping the West. Just over a year after he was first elected as Labour leader and months after winning back his job, Mr Corbyn has led his party to historic lows in opinion polls. His personal ratings trail so far behind Theresa May that he is comfortably outscored by 'Don't Know' when voters are asked who should be Prime Minister. Labour collapsed to embarrassing levels of support in two recent Commons by-elections in a chilling indication of the party's support in actual votes. News of the new strategy emerged just days after two of Mr Corbyn's closest allies warned him about Labour's dire ratings. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, added pressure by saying she expects Mr Corbyn to close the 17 point gap with the Tories 'within the coming 12 months'. Longterm ally Ken Livingstone told BBC1's Sunday Politics: 'If it's as bad as this in a year's time, we would all be worried'. The former London mayor added: 'I don't think it will be, because Jeremy and his team are going to focus on the economy, and that's what wins every election'. Just over a year after he was first elected as Labour leader and months after winning back his job, Mr Corbyn has led his party to historic lows in opinion polls. This week's ICM poll had Labour on just 27 per cent Mr Corbyn will attempt to position himself as a left-wing populist to capitalise on the post-Brexit, anti-politics mood sweeping the West At a Westminster rally for the NHS on Thursday, Mr Corbyn and shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth criticised Ukip's 'divisive' new leader Paul Nuttall, accusing him of wanting to privatise the health service. It marked a potential pivot in approach for Labour, which faces losing northern Brexit-voting seats to Ukip as immigration continues to play a central role in the Brexit debate. The issue has proved difficult for the party, with leading figures expressing apparently opposing views. Last weekend, shadow home secretary Ms Abbott recently appeared to support free movement of EU citizens, saying it was 'inextricably linked' to access to the European single market, which Labour is demanding. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, added pressure by saying she expects Mr Corbyn to close the 17 point gap with the Tories 'within the coming 12 months' But Manchester mayoral candidate Andy Burnham has spoken of the need to end free movement, which he says has had a disproportionate impact on northern de-industrialised communities. Labour's election co-ordinator Jon Trickett said the party was already placing itself on a war footing in expectation of a snap general election in 2017. He told the Guardian: 'Theresa May has said there will not be a snap election; that doesn't mean there won't be an early election. 'It's our job to be ready. We're ramping up the organisation now. There's a great deal of analytical work going on behind the scenes.' Battle lines are being drawn over the shock 50billion 'divorce' demand from the EU - with calls for Britain to charge the bloc rent for its buildings. The prospect of making a counter-claim against Brussels has been raised after the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier threatened to present the huge bill in looming Brexit talks. European ministers have also been signalling a tough line against the UK, with Czech minister Tomas Prouza saying it will be one of the 'first issues' in the looming talks. Brexiteers urged the government to reject the demands outright - suggesting they could only be justified if we receive all our contributions back since we joined in 1973. They also said we should charge rent on assets like the European Commission building in Brussels (pictured) But Downing Street played down the idea it could be so large, insisting the details of our departure package were 'for negotiation'. Meanwhile, Brexiteers urged the government to reject the claims outright - suggesting they could only be justified if we receive all our contributions back since we joined in 1973. The mooted bill is intended to settle all the EU's joint liabilities, with the UK's payments expected to continue until around 2020 - well after we formally leave the bloc. The UK's share would include covering part of the hundreds of billions of as yet unfunded budget commitments. The EU has gone on a spending spree following the enlargement to 28 members, and many projects such as motorways and infrastructure in eastern states have been completed based on pledges that Brussels will contribute later. The value of these liabilities was said to total 218billion euros in 2015 - compared to the organisation's annual budget of around 145billion euros. Meanwhile, pensions for Eurocrats are thought to amount to more than 60billion euros. The EU is insisting that the UK will be on the hook for a share of all the retirement handouts - not just those for around 1,700 British officials. A range of other smaller liabilities could add billions more. But Downing Street insisted it did not recognise the figure that had been mooted by Mr Barnier. A spokesman for the PM said: 'The negotiations haven't begun, so a figure doesn't actually exist. 'In terms of the proposition that was actually put forward, there's clearly a range of issues that will need to be resolved during the negotiations. 'Issues around EU budget contributions clearly will be one of those. What's important is once we've left the EU the decision about how taxpayers' money is spent will be one for the UK government.' Mrs May looked glum at an EU summit yesterday where she was slighted by counterparts, and Czech minister Tomas Prouza confirmed the 50bn demand would be part of the negotiations Mrs May did manage to raise a laugh as she spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the gathering yesterday. But she was shut out of the room while the rest of the EU discussed Brexit The demands drew fury from Eurosceptics, who said the idea of such payments being made after we leave was 'for the birds'. Ukip MP Douglas Carswell told MailOnline: 'Of course we need to meet current obligations until we leave. 'But the idea that we are going to have to pony up additional amounts on top of existing obligations is ridiculous.' Mr Carswell said those who were briefing about the scale of the bill had failed to 'understand' that the UK could simply leave the EU without any agreement being sealed. 'They can demand whatever they like,' he said. 'It's not really how it works.' Mr Carswell said if the UK was being held to 'own' 16 per cent of the bloc's liabilities, it should also be benefiting from the same proportion of its assets. 'If they are going to charge us for legacy costs it is only fair that we should have a similar percentage of EU assets,' he said. 'We should charge them rent for assets that have been built with UK contributions.' Tory backbencher Peter Bone said the figures being discussed were 'for the birds'. 'If in a marriage you have paid in money, you take that into account in the settlement,' he said. 'I don't mind paying them 50billion if they repay every single penny we have paid in since we first joined.' A team of Chinese archaeologists have unearthed an ancient cooking vessel which contained a number of cow bones. This discovery was made on December 13 in Henan Province in central China where the Chinese civilisation is thought to have originated. A member of the archaeological team said the container, called 'ding', dated back about 2,300 years to the Kingdom of Chu. Archaeologists from Henan, China, have unearthed an ancient cooking vessel with cow bones The bones could have been cooked, but further analysis is needed, according to experts The remains were found inside an ancient Chinese cooking vessel dating to the Chu Kingdom Wu Zhijiang, a team leader from Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told MailOnline that the clay vessel had been discovered in an ancient tomb chamber near the city of Xinyang. Now a modern city of around 8.5 million residents, Xinyang was once a capital of Chu, which ruled the central and eastern China from 1,100BC to 223BC. Mr Wu said after his team excavated the vessel, they immediately sent it to the laboratory and informed his colleagues who specialised in analysing animal bones. The vessel was discovered near the city of Xinyang, once a capital of Chu (1,100BC to 223BC) The clay vessel was found in the tomb chamber of an aristocrat, together with a number of other containers Mr Wu said after his team excavated the vessel, they immediately sent it to the laboratory The experts were able to identify that the bones had come from the forelegs of cows. The ancient 'ding' had been found in the tomb chamber of an aristocrat, together with a number of other clay containers. Pictures of the unearthed cauldron, filled with muddy water, have drawn creative comments from Chinese media, with many calling the discovery 'a pot of delicious ancient beef soup'. Archaeologists who specialise in analysing animal bones were called to help with the project Experts from Henan were able to identify that the bones had come from the forelegs of cows Mr Wu said because the condition of the tomb chamber was poor, they transported the ding, together with the bones and muddy water inside, to the laboratory before they took the pictures. Mr Wu said it was possible that the pot had been used to contain dishes and soup prepared for the dead; however, it could also have been used to carry the slaughtered animals during the burial ceremony. Further analysis is due to be carried out to identify whether or not the pot had been used on fire. Official IRA man: Joe McCann, 24, was shot dead in disputed circumstances in Belfast Two ex-paratroopers are being prosecuted for murder over the killing of an IRA commander in Northern Ireland more than 40 years ago. The former soldiers had twice been assured they would not be hauled before the courts for gunning down Joe McCann at the height of the Troubles. The pair, known as Soldier A and Soldier C, are the surviving members of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment patrol that opened fire on the terrorist in 1972. The men, now 67 and 65, are expected to stand trial next year for the Belfast killing and face jail if convicted. It comes two days after Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon vowed to safeguard British troops from such witch-hunts. It is thought to be the second historical military prosecution relating to the Troubles. Ex-Warrant Officer (Class 1) Dennis Hutchings, 75, was charged with attempted murder over the fatal shooting of an IRA suspect later found to be innocent in 1974. Lawyers acting for soldiers A and C were angered by the decision of the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland (PPS), which is headed by lawyer Barra McGrory, who used to work for leading Republicans Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness. Philip Barden, of Devonshires Solicitors, said: Now 44 years after the shooting of Mr McCann and in their retirement years and having served their Queen and country for many years, they are accused of murder and must fight to clear their names. This is no way to treat those who serve our country. Their treatment differs from that of suspected IRA bomber John Downey, who escaped prosecution for the 1982 Hyde Park terror blast, which left four soldiers and seven horses dead, because he had been given a police guarantee he was immune from prosecution. Downey always denied involvement and pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey in 2014. The men are likely to appear in court next year over the death of Mr McCann (pictured in 1971) Mr Hutchings, of Cornwall, who is due to stand trial next year, said: This is a total witch-hunt. It is shambolic. British troops feel totally betrayed when they think they could be hauled into court and put on trial for doing their duty and protecting the country from terrorists. Colonel Richard Kemp, who served eight tours in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s, said: This is blatantly part of a politically motivated vendetta against British troops who served in Northern Ireland. Its objectives are to appease IRA terrorists and their families and to portray British soldiers and police as being equivalent to the terrorists themselves. IRA terrorists deliberately and cold-bloodedly set out to murder, maim and destroy. British soldiers were sent onto the streets by the government to save lives and maintain law and order. After the soldiers were told in May that their files had been passed to the PPS, Soldier C, a grandfather-of-one from Hampshire, said: How can this be justice? It is a disgrace. I was doing my duty in Northern Ireland, trying to protect the public and keep the peace. Now I am being thrown to the wolves. McCann, 24, was one of the Official IRAs most prominent activists. He was regarded by members of the security forces as a terrorist who would be armed and not hesitate to use his weapon to resist arrest. Military prosecutions involving N. Ireland The McCann case is said to be the second military prosecution involving Northern Ireland since the 1990s. Another ex-soldier was charged last year with an unrelated Troubles killing. Retired corporal Major Dennis Hutchings, from Torpoint in Cornwall, was accused of an attempted murder in County Tyrone in 1974. Retired corporal: Major Dennis Hutchings, from Torpoint, Cornwall, was accused of an attempted murder in County Tyrone in 1974 In 1999 Paratrooper Lee Clegg was cleared of murdering a Belfast teenager. Files on the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings by soldiers in Londonderry are with prosecutors. Advertisement On April 15, 1972 weeks after Bloody Sunday two Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch officers recognised him near Belfast city centre and decided to arrest him. Soldier A, Soldier C and a colleague on patrol nearby were ordered to help. As McCann fled, it is claimed the soldiers shouted at him to stop or they would shoot. When he failed to halt, the three paras opened fire and he was killed. After an RUC investigation at the time, the soldiers were told they would face no further action. In 2010, the troops were traced by Northern Irelands Historical Enquiries Team (HET), which reviewed the case then told them the matter was closed. But its report in 2013 found the soldiers were unjustified in gunning down the IRA commander, saying he was unarmed. Prosecutors reviewed the case after the Northern Ireland Attorney General, John Larkin, referred it to the Director of Public Prosecutions in March 2014. Mr Larkin had been pushed by the dead IRA commanders family for a fresh inquest. Soldier A and C will receive court summons in the next few weeks. Last week the Mail told how up to 1,000 retired soldiers in their 60s and 70s faced a police witch-hunt some 40 years after they battled terrorism in Northern Ireland. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chiefs were blasted for re-examining every single British Army killing during the Troubles. McCanns widow, Aine, welcomed the decision. Her solicitor Kevin Winters said: This is some measure of justice after all these years. The PPS said the decision to prosecute was reached following an objective and impartial application of the test for prosecution. A schoolgirl obsessed with serial killers and school shootings was jailed for a decade for trying to murder her best friend. The pupil, who was aged 14 years at the time, lured her 15-year-old victim to a quiet corner of the school grounds with the promise of a present on before stabbing her in the torso. The year-10 pupil, now aged 15 years and who had previously planned to kill her own mother and brother, said she was inspired by mass shootings such as the Columbine school massacre in America. Dressed in white shirt with a black, hooded coat, she was emotionless and unblinking as she was sentenced to 10 years behind bars followed by an extension period of four years to be served on licence. A 15-year-old girl obsessed with serial killer who tried to kill one of her best friends at school with this knife has been sentenced to a decade behind bars 'There is simply no comprehensible motive for this attack at all, which was carefully planned and premeditated, and you could not explain it yourself, said High Court judge Mr Justice Peter Fraser, in sentencing the girl who cannot be named for legal reasons. 'You said part of you did not want to commit this offence but part off you was making you do it and felt you had no choice but to do it.' The court heard how the defendant had been the victim of 'online abuse, unwanted attention and obscene suggestions from third parties' after her personal details were released online and wrongfully accused her future victim, referred to as 'A', in the weeks leading up to the attempted murder. However, she had previously told the court that she did not hate her victim, who was described only as Miss A. 'There was no animosity or hostility on your part towards A,' the continued as he sentenced the girl at Winchester Crown Court. 'She was just a convenient target.' Mr Justice Fraser added: 'Your school friends gave evidence and you admit that you had an obsession with serial killers and school shootings. 'You watched snuff movies on the internet and would show these to your friends at school on your phone, for shock value. 'These films showed people being actually tortured and killed, with these dreadful images recorded and posted online. The shocking case has been heard at Winchester Crown Court over the past week 'You watched films where people were murdered, chopped up and also an IS video, the link for which was sent to you by an online contact in America. 'One of the films you watched and showed to your friends was the rape of a tiny baby by an adult. Whatever your mental state at the time, common sense suggests that watching such material can only have made it far worse.' The night before the attack the girl had planned to kill her own mother and brother while they slept. The judge continued: 'You describe yourself as 'motivated' by serial killers such as the two boys who carried out the Columbine school massacre in the United States.' 'You based a school fashion project on Ted Bundy, another notorious serial killer,' he added. 'You prepared a 'kill list' of of about 60 people and made outline plans to carry out a school shooting of your own. 'You listed the names of people at school, as well as your own mother and brother, in your journal.' Although this never happened, another plan was drawn up to kill her mum and brother while they slept at home, something she discussed with another friend, and researched online killing people with a knife, slitting someone's throat, muffling people's cries and the length of time for someone to bleed to death. She had planned to kill her family members on the night of Sunday, April 24, he told the court. 'You discussed cutting your face like The Joker in the Batman films, pleading insanity and going on the run together. She did not take you seriously but went along with you,' he added. 'You said that you would blame it on voices in your head if anything went wrong with the plan.' Although she did cut her face like The Joker, she did not go through with the plan, instead deciding to murder her school friend, covering her facial injuries with make-up and a scarf the following day. The court heard how she led her victim to some steps behind their school's science block and asked her to hold out her hands, claiming she had a present for her. 'You moved her long hair away from her chest because it was in the way and took the knife out of your bag,' the judge added. 'Extremely fortunately, at the very last moment, A instinctively felt something was wrong and opened her eyes. She saw you in the act of lunging towards her with the knife to stab her. 'Her quick reactions saved her from very serious injury or death. She jumped back instantly, just in time. Although the knife penetrated through the the lapel of her blazer, the front panel of her blazer, and her school shirt, it not penetrate very far into her body, and nowhere near as deep as you intended.' The girl was interested in serial killers, particularly the US murderer Ted Bundy The court also heard howl how her actions had had a 'considerable' affect on her former best friend, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 'She unsurprisingly now lacks trust in others, does not like having her eyes closed and also wonders why B, whom A has known since she was a baby, did not warn her of your plan,' said Mr Justic Fraser. He added: 'A was after the offence undoubtedly in a state of emotional turmoil. She was also, to her credit, very concerned about you and even missed you, as you were one of her close friends.' Described she posed a 'significant risk to members of the public of serious harm' and sentenced her to 10 years behind bars in a secure unit, with a further four years on licence. 'You do have a lack of emotionality, are highly controlled and also you do not know very much about the darker side that you doubtless have. 'You had an active interest in killing and may also have a current interest in doing so.' A restraining order was also taken out barring the defendant from contacting her victim. The girl had denied attempted murder but was convicted at Winchester Crown Court on October 12. She had earlier admitted unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article on school premises. The friend escaped with a minor injury to her chest after opening her eyes at the moment she was being stabbed and pulled away. The court heard that during the previous night, the defendant had researched fatal stab wounds to the heart. The schoolgirl, who was 14 at the time, claims she was motivated by the Columbine school shooting in America and would show her friends videos of rapes, killings and tortures to friends on her phone. High Court Judge Mr Justice Fraser described her a danger to the public and sentenced her to 10 years in custody and a further four years on licence. The defendant admitted she had been fascinated with serial killers and had even produced a fashion GCSE project based on US killer Ted Bundy. She had planned to slit the throats of her mother and brother while they slept and the court heard she had produced a journal, which she later burnt, with a plan for a school shooting which included a 'kill list' of 60 people. The defendant told the court that she had planned to do something 'sensational' so that she would 'stand out' from others and because she was not interested in having a nine-to-five life 'mapped out' for her. The trial also heard that on the night before, she had a cut a 'Chelsea grin' on her face to emulate Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight movie as she intended to enter an 'insanity plea' if she was arrested for a crime. The defendant said that she had chosen her friend as her target because she felt 'uneasy' about her after fake social media profiles were set up in her name the previous summer. The victim denies any involvement. A mother has been jailed for up to ten years for starving her three-month-old baby to death and leaving the body in her backyard shed. Tamara Thompson, 38, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was given 10 years for killing her baby, Destiny, through gross neglect last year, according to Perth Now. Thompson failed to provide proper nourishment to baby Destiny whose body was found in July last year wrapped in muslin cloth inside a cooler bag that had been placing in a cardboard archiving box. The Western Australian mother, from Geraldton, did not want the baby girl as she was unplanned and a reminder of the father, Thompson's meth dealer, who wanted nothing to do with either of them, the WA Supreme Court trial heard. Tamara Louise Thompson (centre) has been sentenced to 10 years in jail after starving her baby daughter Destiny and leaving her body in a shed The baby was born six weeks premature, spending the first 20 days of her life in a neo-natal unit after being born by Caesarean like her five older siblings. The court heard Thompson would at best leave a baby bottle of milk in Destiny's cot and not bother to ensure the newborn drank from it. When people wondered where Destiny was after she had not been seen for a while, Thompson told them different stories, including the baby was in the care of the Department for Child Protection. Thomson's landlord alerted the department when she inspected the property - which was home to two of Thompson's other children and a menagerie of dogs, cats, ducks, rabbits and chickens - and saw her rocking back and forth, surrounded by animal faeces. After she was arrested, Thompson told police she was relieved when Destiny died, didn't know what had happened to her body and didn't care. It took several hours for her to admit the baby 'might' be in the shed, where the infant's body was found, partly mummified. Thompson pleaded guilty to manslaughter mid-way through her trial. Thompson pleaded guilty mid-way through her trial at the WA Supreme Court (stock) Her defence lawyer said the accused did not intentionally decide to starve her baby, but her decision-making was impaired by her depression and personality disorder. But Justice Hall told Thompson she had plenty of chances to seek help. 'It is immeasurably sad that the person who Destiny most needed to love and care for her did not do either of those things,' Justice Hall said. Prosecutor Carmel Barbagallo said during a sentencing hearing last week that Destiny had a fractured rib but her body was so extensively decomposed the official cause of death could not be ascertained. 'The offender was grossly reckless in her care and monitoring of the needs of the baby,' Ms Barbagallo said. Married couples will no longer have to pledge to be faithful in Italy after it was considered fidelity was outdated. A bill put forward to Italy's Civil Code would permit adultery by removing faithfulness from marriage contracts. Senators who have signed off the amendment claim married people not cheating on their wives and husbands is a 'cultural legacy from an outdated and obsolete vision of marriage, family, and the rights and duties of spouses'. Married couples will no longer have to pledge to be faithful in Italy after it was considered fidelity was outdated Laura Cantini, one of the senators pushing the new bill, said the new wording is 'a much more advanced model', according to The Local. She and her peers are citing a ruling from the top court in Italy stating judges could not by law blame a divorce on 'the mere failure to observe the duty of fidelity'. It is down to the husband or wife who has been cheated on to prove their other half's infidelity caused the break-up. The amended legislation is now with the judiciary committee having been presented to the Italian Senate last year. A bill put forward to Italy's Civil Code would permit adultery by removing faithfulness from marriage contracts Senators who have signed off the amendment claim married people not cheating on their wives and husbands is a 'cultural legacy from an outdated and obsolete vision of marriage, family, and the rights and duties of spouses' Earlier this year, fidelity and faithfulness were removed from civil unions bills in Italy. It sparked outrage within the LGBT who claimed it showed disparity between heterosexual and homosexual relationships. In 2013, a poll showed 55 percent of men and a third of women in Italy admitted to cheating on their partners - the highest percentage in Europe. A handwriting expert who has examined the ransom note left in the JonBenet Ramsey case says it is very likely that the letter was written by the child beauty queen's mother Patsy. 'It's highly probable that she wrote the ransom note,' says handwriting expert Cina Wong in a preview for Friday night's episode of 20/20 on ABC, that will take a look back at the case 20 years after JonBenet's murder. Wong spent three weeks examining the note and comparing it to 100 examples of Patsy's handwriting back in 2000, and found multiple similarities between the two. For instance, the ransom note had the letter 'A' written in four different variations, and Patsy wrote that same letter in those some four ways. In total, Wong found over 200 similarities in the writing of the ransom note and the 100 samples of Patsy's penmanship. Also appearing on Friday will be one of the jurors who voted to indict John and Patsy on charges related to the murder of their daughter after a year-long grand jury trial. That man said that he believes he knows who murdered the child on December 26, 1996. Scroll down for videos Deeper look: JonBenet Ramsey's murder will be re-examined on Friday night's episode of 20/20 on ABC (Ramsey family above in the early 90s) Penmanship proof: Handwriting expert Cina Wong says during the episode that it is 'highly probable' that JonBenet's ransom note was written by her mother Patsy (samples of the ransom note on left and Patsy's handwriting on the right) Strong case: In total, Wong found over 200 similarities in the writing of the ransom note and the 100 samples of Patsy's penmanship she examined In the end, the grand jury voted to indict the Ramseys on four counts but they were never formerly indicted because the DA refused to sign the documents. The grand jury planned to indict John and Patsy for child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime. The child abuse charge stated that John and Patsy 'did unlawfully, knowingly, recklessly and feloniously permit a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation which posed a threat of injury to the child's life or health, which resulted in the death of JonBenet Ramsey, a child under the age of sixteen.' Hard work: Wong (above) spent three weeks examining the note and comparing it to 100 examples of Patsy's handwriting back in 2000 And the accessory charge declared that the two 'did unlawfully, knowingly and feloniously render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime, knowing the person' being assisted has committed and was suspected of the crime of Murder in the First Degree and Child Abuse Resulting in Death.' When asked if he believed that John and Patsy should have been tried on charges related to the murder of their daughter the juror said: 'Based on the evidence that was presented I believe that is correct.' When asked however if he thought that the district attorney would have been able to get a jury to find the parents guilty, he said: 'There is no way that I would have been able to say, "Beyond a reasonable doubt, this is the person."' He then added: 'And if you are the district attorney, if you know that going in, its a waste of taxpayer dollars to do it.' Host Amy Robach then asked the juror if he knew who murdered the young girl after the evidence that was presented to the grand jury. 'I highly suspect I do,' said the juror. He also spoke about the trip the grand jury members took to the Ramsey home, and being in the basement where the young girl's body was found by her own father, just hours after she was reported as missing to police. 'In the basement where she was found, it was actually kind of an obscure layout. You come down the stairwell and you had to go into another room to find a door that was closed. It was a very eerie feeling. It was like, "Somebody had been killed here,"' said the juror. Opening up: There will also be an interview with one of the grand jury members (above) who voted to indict John and Patsy on Friday night's episode Decision: In the end, the grand jury voted to indict the Ramseys on four counts but they were never formerly indicted because the DA refused to sign the documents (Patsy's child abuse indictment above) The accessory charge declared that the two 'did unlawfully, knowingly and feloniously render assistance to a person, with intent to hinder, delay and prevent the discovery, detention, apprehension, prosecution, conviction and punishment of such person for the commission of a crime Boulder police and prosecutors are now planning a new round of testing on DNA evidence found in the case, and on Friday's episode District Attorney Stan Garnett will speak about the next steps. The tests would also tap into an FBI database that includes genetic profiles from more than 15.1 million known offenders. Garnett and Boulder police Chief Greg Testa said that they have already discussed the matter with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation during a meeting that took place just before Thanksgiving. The body of JonBenet was found bludgeoned and strangled hours after she was reported missing and covered by a white blanket with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists bound above her head and her mouth covered by duct tape. Her skull was also cracked. John and Patsy had called police to report her kidnapping and said they found a note demanding a ransom of $118,000 for her safe return - and that they had not contact the authorities. Despite this, police arrived to their home shortly after in clearly marked vehicles. John and Patsy would remain the primary suspects in their daughter's death for more than a decade, and it was not until 2008 that police finally cleared them of any wrongdoing. At that time, Patsy had been dead for two years after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. Many however still believe it was a member of the family, something JonBenet's father addressed in an interview with Barbara Walters that aired last year. Appearing on Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals, John said that he and his late-wife Patsy did everything they could to protect their son Burke from learning that he was being accused of murdering his sister. No one in the family was ever charged in the death of the six-year-old, but for years tabloids and members of the public believed they were the culprits of this unspeakable crime. Most of these stories focused on parents John and Patsy, but some went so far as to claim that Burke had been responsible for his sister's death - despite the fact that he was only nine years old at the time. 'We tried to shield him from that,' John said of the tabloid reports about Burke. 'Friends would ask us, "What can we do to help?" We said, "Next time you go in the supermarket, call the manager over when you see our childs photo on the front cover, and ask him to remove it." A lot of them did that.' Bombshell: The grand jury member says that he 'highly suspects' he knows who murdered JonBenet 20 years ago Scene: The grand jury member said he got a 'very eerie feeling' when he saw the basement of the Ramsey home (above) Stories would point to the fact that Burke was in the house when JonBenet was reported missing, but his parents always stood firm on the fact that he was sleeping the entire time and did not wake up until after they called police. He was exonerated by DNA evidence in May of 1999, a little over two years after the murder. Burke - who is now 28-years-old - has mostly avoided the public spotlight since his sister's death. John also said that he still believes the killer will be found. 'I think we will have two ways that will happen,' John tells Walters in their interview. 'It will either be a DNA match or someone who knows something will become angry or bitter against this person and will tell.' Male DNA was found on the underwear of JonBenet when her body was discovered, but authorities have never been able to match it to a suspect. There was also a bowl of pineapples found in the kitchen when the young girl was first reported missing but police on the scene allowed someone to clean the bowl. This ended up being a crucial error as JonBenet was found with pineapple in her stomach when her body was examined by the coroner. The house was also not sealed off by police and friends and family were allowed to come and go during the initial investigation, contaminating the crime scene. Another look: Boulder police and the district attorney recently said that they will be retesting the DNA evidence in the case (John and Patsy above in 1996) Keeping quiet: JonBenet's brother Burke (above at his mother's funeral) recently spoke about the murder John - who was briefly linked to Natalee Holloway's mother Beth in 2007 and remarried in 2011 to Jan Rousseaux - also discussed how he lost his millions after the death of JonBenet when he decided to move the family out of Boulder and back to Atlanta, not realizing the stigma that would be placed on him by the public and how difficult that would make it for him to obtain a job. 'I was told by a very experienced FBI person that most victims of violent crime end up broke,' said John. 'It's very expensive to deal with the justice system. You make bad decisions - you sell your home, you quit your job, you move, you change jobs.' In addition to losing JonBenet, John had also lost his oldest daughter Elizabeth from a previous marriage in 1992 when she was 22-years-old after she was in a car accident. As a result of what he has gone through, he now has advice for others who might face a similarly tragic situation. 'When something really tragic happens in your life, put your life in park. Give your checkbook to a trusted friend. Avoid making any big decisions,' said John. 'Because you're just not capable of making good decisions.' The case will be revisited later this year on CBS, where they are planning an unscripted miniseries which will reunite members of the original investigation team and bring in new experts to re-examine the murder mystery. A New South Wales Police Crash Investigation Unit car has been caught on camera failing to indicate three times in just over a minute. In the video, the police car is seen exiting Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre's car park in Sydney and turning left - but not switching on its indicator. A motorist, called Tom, was left confused and angered by the police driver's manoeuvre, muttering to himself: 'Which way are you going? In the video, the police car is seen exiting Marrickville Metro Shopping Centre's car park and turning left - but not switching on its indicator 'Top indication,' he added as the police car pulled out of the junction without the officer signalling which they intended to turn. Tom continued to film on his dashcam as the police car pulled up at another junction, and again failed to indicate before turning left. 'Does your indicator not f***ing work?' he is heard asking as he grew more frustrated with the driver's actions. Seconds later, the police car pulled up at a red light, before heading over a crossroads after the lights turned green. But to the motorist's annoyance, the driver again did not indicate as they merged right to overtake parked cars 'No indication again,' Tom is heard moaning. The driver continued to film on his dashcam as the police car pulled up at another junction, and again failed to indicate before turning left The police driver again did not indicate as they merged right to overtake parked cars After posting his dashcam video online, he sarcastically added that the police officer was 'setting a fine example, in the wet too'. Drivers who use an indicator 'contrary to permitted use' can be fined $180 and handed three demerit points. A New South Wales Police spokeswoman said the force was investigating the footage. She said: 'New South Wales Police is aware of the footage, which will be investigated. Porn star Teanna Trump wants to get 'back on her feet' after she was released from jail A porn star has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her get 'back on her feet' after she was released from jail. Adult film star Teanna Trump has launched a GoFundMe campaign after being released from prison for being caught with six pounds of marijuana. The 20-year-old, whose real name is Keanna Nichele Jones, pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to marijuana possession charges back in June, when she was jailed for 180 days. She was arrested and jailed for five days last year, but then was later hauled back in to court and handed another prison sentence. Trump made her return to social media last Friday, where she announced that she had just regained her freedom. Appealing for her fans to donate money, she wrote: 'I was just released from prison a week ago. I'm trying to get back on my feet so I can continue to please my fans. Spoil me and I'll spoil back.' Adult film star Teanna Trump has launched a GoFundMe campaign after being released from prison after serving a sentence for marijuana possession Trump made her return to social media last Friday, where she announced that she had just regained her freedom Her fundraising page appears to have since been taken down, but she has continued in her bid for donations, asking her follows to send her money on PayPal and Venmo Trump is reportedly asking for money because the terms of her probation means she cannot leave Oklahoma, and the state does not allow porn movies to be filmed there. Her fundraising page appears to have since been taken down, but she has continued in her bid for donations, asking her follows to send her money on PayPal and Venmo. Before the page was taken down, she had managed to raise just over $500 of her $10,000 goal. There have been mixed responses to her fundraising campaign, but several of her fans have donated cash Before the GoFundMe page was taken down, she had managed to raise just over $500 of her $10,000 goal There have been mixed responses to her fundraising campaign, with one Twitter user telling her to 'get a job!' while others wished her good luck. William Joseph, who donated $30 to her campaign wrote: 'Good luck boo, hang in there', and donating $10 Larry Kay said: 'So glad you are out, have missed you so. Please remember me.' And Marc Marriott said: 'I donated what I could I'm sorry I couldn't do more', and Christopher Green wrote: 'Most definitely I got you bae.' However, not everyone was so supportive. A seven-week-old girl died after being crushed under the wheel of her father's BMW, an inquest heard. Tiny Amirah Achtar suffered severe head injuries after slipping out of her car seat carried by her mother Jessica Crocquet, 21, and on to the floor as her father Majid Achtar, 29, drove off. Her parents - who have both been jailed for possession of cocaine with intent to supply - had been arguing furiously when the tragedy happened on October 17 last year. Amirah's parents rushed her to Bedford Hospital but she died that day. Majid Achtar was not at his daughter's inquest, after being locked up for four years and eight months last Wednesday Amirah Achtar suffered severe head injuries after slipping out of her car seat and on to the floor as her father Majid Achtar, 29, (pictured) drove off Amirah's mother, Jessica Crocquet, was handed a 21-month suspended sentence while her father Majid (pictured) was also jailed for possession of cocaine with intent to supply Senior Coroner Tom Osborne said Amirah's parents had been acting 'unwisely and in an immature manner' in the moments leading up to her death. The inquest heard the pair had been arguing about Achtar going to a gig and Amirah had been left unsecured in her car seat, which was being carried by her mother. As Achtar drove off, Amirah slipped out of the seat and was crushed to death. Majid Achtar was not at the inquest, after being locked up for four years and eight months last Wednesday for possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Jessica Crocquet was also handed a 21-month suspended sentence for the same crime at Luton Crown Court last week. Photos from Majid Achtar's Facebook show him pictured with guns Detective Constable Elizabeth Morris told the inquest Majid (pictured) and Jessica had a disagreement about him going to gig on the evening of the Amirah's death Detective Constable Elizabeth Morris, of Bedfordshire Police, told the inquest on Tuesday: 'Majid and Jessica had had a disagreement about him going to gig on the evening of the Amirah's death. 'Jessica had seen a text on Majid's phone about sorting a hotel room. Majid had said following the disagreement he was going to leave and packed a bag.' But as he got outside and into his BMW, the inquest heard Jessica came running out with the baby in a car seat and began banging on the window of the car. A statement from eyewitness Una Parker said: 'Jessica came running out and began banging on the window in a hammering motion. 'It looked like she had keys in her hand. She was in a rage.' The tragedy happened in Beauvais Avenue (pictured) as Amirah's parents had an argument In her statement to police, Jessica claimed she had put baby Amirah in a safe spot before the argument outside the family's flat in Luton, Befordshire, began. Following an investigation, it was confirmed by DC Morris that there was no intention to wilfully or maliciously cause injury to the child. Concluding the inquest, the coroner said: 'This death is a result of a tragic accident. 'The deceased was a baby in a car seat but not secured. She fell out of the car seat during an altercation between her mother and father and was crushed by the car. 'Both parents behaved unwisely and in an immature manner, but I do accept that there was no malicious intention on their part to cause injury to Amirah.' A University of Alabama student died after being hospitalized for more than a year since he was shot in the head by a friend's uncle during a Florida vacation. Rivers Starkey, 23, died Thursday at a hospital in his hometown of Florence, his father, Trey Starkey, told al.com. 'We appreciate all the prayers and support from so many people during this time,' Trey Starkey said. 'We are proud to know that Rivers has had such an impact on so many lives.' Rivers Starkey, left, pictured with his girlfriend Allison Nolen, has died a year after being shot four times, twice in the head and once in the arm and leg Starkey, 23, died Thursday afternoon at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, Alabama Starkey was at the home of a friend's uncle, John Marshall Fitzgerald who was found not guilty of attempted murder Starkey had traveled to Navarre, Florida, during his holiday break in October 2015 when he and a friend ended up at the home of John Marshall Fitzgerald, the friend's uncle. 'According to Rivers' friend, as the night progressed, Mr Fitzgerald became increasingly verbally abusive to Rivers,' said Cheryl Starkey, the student's aunt. 'At first he appeared to be joking and then became more personal and abusive in his remarks.' An argument broke out and Fitzgerald, 60, demanded that his nephew and Starkey leave the home. When they refused, Fitzgerald left the room and returned with a handgun. The man's nephew ran out the front door, and thought Starkey was behind him. The shooting happened in October 2015 when Starkey was on a holiday break from school Rivers appeared to be on the long road recovery when things suddenly took a turn for the worse Fitzgerald later testified in court that Starkey tried to grab the gun and they struggled. Fitzgerald shot Starkey several times, including twice in the head. Fitzgerald stood trial for second-degree attempted murder and other charges in Florida. Fitzgerald's first trial ended in a hung jury. A jury acquitted him last week, finding Fitzgerald had acted in self-defense under the state's stand your ground law. As he fought to live, Starkey was treated at a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and then at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation. Eventually he was moved to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, where he died. The Starkey family has received an outpouring of support since the shooting. A GoFundMe page set up raised over $31,000 of its $35,000 goal. The message on that page today was this: 'Rivers is no longer having to struggle and is at peace.' When confronted by police, Ross said it was 'a joke' and 'a prank'; she must now undergo Police say Ross dropped off figurine worth $2,700 at a local hospital with an A Pennsylvania woman has been jailed after police say she stole baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in Bethlehem and dropped the statue off at a hospital with a note accusing 'Joseph and Mary Christ' of neglecting their child. Police say when they tracked down 49-year-old Jacqueline Ross, she told them it was a joke and a pre-Christmas prank, but they were not amused. Ross was identified from surveillance video and was arrested on charges of theft and institutional vandalism. No room at City Hall: Police in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, says baby Jesus was stolen from this Nativity Scene at the City of Bethlehem City Hall Plaza last week Cradle robber caught: Screenshots from surveillance video show a woman, later identified as 49-year-old Jacqueline Ross, cradling the baby Jesus figurine from the Nativity Clue: The suspect was operating this dark colored two-door Saturn, which was later found parked outside Ross' home The bizarre holiday stunt took place at around 2am on December 4 when the statue of baby Jesus was snatched from the Nativity Scene at the City of Bethlehem City Hall Plaza. The scene is owned by the Chamber of Commerce and placed there for Christmas for public viewing. The female suspect in the theft was seen walking a tan or gold-colored dog at the Nativity scene at City Hall. She was operating a dark-colored two-door Saturn. The pilfered porcelain figurine worth $2,700 was later recovered at the St. Luke's Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township. An incoherent note was left with the statue, which had damage to one leg and hand. Holiday tradition: The scene is owned by the Chamber of Commerce and placed there for Christmas for public viewing No laughing matter: Police say Ross, who claimed the theft was just a joke, dropped the statue off at the St. Lukes Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township (pictured) with a note accusing 'Joseph and Mary Christ' of neglecting their baby According to court documents, cited by Lehighvalleylive.com, the handwritten missive read: 'Child has broken right foot which is been [sic] neglected. Parents Joseph and Mary Christ got a warning. Apparently sheep has a baby toe nibbling fetish. Child has been taken to Anderson St. Luke's hospital for evaluation repair. Signed concerned citizens, Trooper and Shilo.' The suspect left the statue in the 'safe space' portion of the emergency room lobby where people can drop off unwanted babies, according to police. A trooper recognized Ross from the CCTV screengrabs showing a woman cradling the figurine and went to her home in Bethlehem Township. A dark-colored Saturn was parked outside, and the woman told the officer she owned a gold-colored dog. Holy Family: The pilfered porcelain figurine worth $2,700, which had sustained damage to one leg and hand, has since been repaired and returned to the plaza When questioned about the Nativity theft, the 49-year-old suspect allegedly confessed to the crime, telling the trooper: 'I took it. I took the statue. It was a joke, a prank.' Ross was arraigned Thursday night and ordered held at Northampton County Prison on $30,000 bail. Caron stepped down on Wednesday, saying the emails were 'out of character' One photo makes light of the Black Lives Matter slogan 'Hands up, don't shoot' Police Chief David Caron was caught sending memes of naked women via email - some with A Connecticut police chief who was caught emailing pictures of nude women - some with racially charged undertones - has stepped down. Chief David Caron of Glastonbury Police Department wrote a letter to the town manager announcing his retirement this Wednesday. The Hartford Courant began to unravel the police chief's inappropriate communications after an unmarked envelope, filled with three screenshots of emails forwarded from Caron's official police email address, was dropped off at their office. Police chief David Caron of Glastonbury Police Department stepped down on Wednesday after he was caught emailing pictures of nude women to friends All three involved photos of naked women and one email in particular, sent on November 14, included an offensive meme. In the photo, a group of nude pool-side women had their arms raised in the air. In bold letters, a headline read: ' I just can't believe how this "Hands up, don't shoot" c**p is spreading!' Above, it said: 'When is all this senseless violence going to end??? Don't the blacks know white lives matter, too?!!!' The 'Hands up, don't shoot' phrase became a slogan for the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014 after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer while unarmed. Caron denied seeing the offensive email in question or writing the corresponding words. When interviewed about the emails as a whole, Caron said he sometimes sends photos of this kind to three friends, and they in turn send some to him. 'I view it like a Playboy layout,' he said about the emails, but added: 'I don't search [for] this stuff.' Pictured, the capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut 'I view it like a Playboy layout,' he told the Courant, but added: 'I don't search this stuff. 'I should be holding myself to a higher standard than this. It's out of character for me.' Other snaps included women wearing nothing but cowboy hats and boots, and one picture captioned 'the tattooed lady' - despite the woman not having any tattoos on her body. Town manager Richard Johnson called the email scandal 'a serious lapse in judgement' but said 'people make mistakes'. Not everyone in the town was as forgiving. Advertisement The festive season is now underway, and if these photos are anything to go by, it appears Australians are well and truly embracing the Christmas spirit. Revellers were pictured in particularly high spirits on Friday night, spilling out onto the streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. One particularly high-spirited reveller was snapped as she left for the night in the back of a taxi. Leaning out the rear window, the woman can be seen attempting to retain her modesty as her black top sank dangerously low. Seemingly carefree, the blonde woman grins from ear-to-ear as she strikes a pose for the cameraman. With one arm splayed across her chest, the woman desperately tries to cover herself. Scroll down for video Worse for wear: One woman in Melbourne looked as if she was having a fun night - but appeared to have had a slight wardrobe malfunction The blonde woman tries in vain to cover herself after a night out in Sydney, but unfortunately is unsuccessful in her attempt Taxi! The woman appeared to be on her way home when she was pictured hanging out of a cab on Friday evening Two women in Brisbane appear to be enjoying the night arm in arm while embracing the Christmas spirit and wearing Santa Claus hats One man looks particularly unimpressed as he stands in a line waiting to be let into a venue in Brisbane, as his friend in a Santa Claus hat looks over to him with a confused look on his face One woman dressed in black was angered enough to present the middle finger at a cameraman as he took her photo in the streets of Brisbane on Friday night Tough night! One woman looked like she was just about ready for bed as she sat with her friend on a pavement in Sydney Other party-goers appeared somewhat less energetic as the night drew to a close. So exhausted by the day's events, two women were pictured seeking shelter in the street gutter. One woman in a blue and white striped dress looked somewhat distressed as she took refuge on the ground, alongside her friend. Seemingly unimpressed, the woman can be seen crying out and hanging her head in her hands, before seeking comfort from her friend. End of the night: Two slightly worse for wear ladies looked like their evening had come to an end as they sat on the pavement The woman can be seen crying out and hanging her head in her hands, before seeking comfort from her friend, who appeared equally unimpressed Wakey wakey! The woman in the blue and white striped dress appeared to be trying to rouse her friend who was partied out Out for the count: One woman looked like she had stopped for a nap as her friend watched over her in Sydney on Friday One man pictured with his pink shirt tucked into the rear of his pants, appears unconcerned he was snapped in a state of undress One man pictured with his pink shirt tucked into the rear of his pants, appears unconcerned he was snapped in a state of undress. With a smile plastered across his face, the happy-go-lucky reveller attempts to retain his modesty by covering himself up with his hands. But after happily staring down the barrel of the camera, the man turns camera shy and heads off and down the street. With a smile plastered across his face, the happy-go-lucky reveller attempts to retain his modesty by covering himself up with his hands Strutting his stuff: One shirtless man looked particularly full of Christmas cheer as he wandered down a street in Sydney Costumes were popular across Australia on Friday night, as revellers took to the streets to celebrate the Christmas holiday A man in a banana costume is seen with his arms splayed out as he stands on a street curb in Brisbane's bustling city While most Christmas revellers were finishing the night off with a laugh, others were slightly more tense. One man in a blue shirt appears somewhat angered while negotiating with the police. With his hands in the air, the man looks desperately at the policeman, only to apparently give up fight and walk away. Home time? Two police officers were seen chatting to the young man and it appeared as if his night was over Bouncing out: One man-bunned gent's discussion with a bouncer did not appear to be going to plan outside a Sydney bar All right lads? Two New South Wales Police officers had a cordial chat with four men who were on a night out in Sydney With his hands in the air, the man looks desperately at the policeman, only to apparently give up fight and walk away from the police While some were slightly under the weather, others were seen happy and healthy, simply embracing the opportunity to dress up. Masses of Sydney-siders were pictured in costume, as they headed out for their night on the town. One woman in a particularly frightening costume, opted to go as a zombie-bride. With stark white paint covering her face and a white dress with vale and all, the woman's facial expressions even matched her costume. Another woman was seen with tears streaming down her glitter-covered face as she cradled a dog in Brisbane. It's unknown why she had a dog with her, but she was clearly distressed as she navigated the dark Brisbane streets. It's Christmas, girls! Two women appeared to have missed the memo as they donned outfits better suited to Halloween Puppy love: One woman seemed to have become overwhelmed by how cute a dog was as she partied in Brisbane on Friday Two men dressed in labourer attire appeared to be covered in blood while posing for the camera with bottle of wine in hand Although they were covered in blood, the two men appeared in high spirits as they partied the night away in Sydney Boisterous boys: Two men shared a joke and a friendly push as they wandered through Sydney on their big night out It was a long night for this weary couple who stood on the streets of Sydney waiting for a taxi to arrive and take them home All I want for Christmas is you: This couple got into the festive spirit as they smooched under some mistletoe in a bar Partying a little too hard: A woman police officer was seen escorting one man on his merry way after a night out in Brisbane Can you hear me? One woman was seen battling to hear someone she was speaking to on the phone on what was a loud night Friends: Two buddies were seen piggybacking their way across a street in Brisbane on their raucous night on the town 'Me?' A young man and woman were seen having a quick natter as they stood on a road in Sydney on Friday night Party time! This pair looked like they were having a great time as they dangled over the back of a Honda in Melbourne Is the party back on? The man was also seen ambling down a Sydney with his arms outstretched, with a friend close behind Dreaming of a white Christmas? One woman looked glamorous in a white dress, topped off with some reindeer antlers Saucy: One woman dressed up as a bottle of tomato ketchup for her big night out on the town on Friday evening Big night out: These two women dressed up in style as they prepared for a fun evening in Sydney on Friday A man charged with terror offences after he allegedly filmed videos demonstrating how to kill Jewish people is believed to have encouraged racial abuse across Adelaide's western suburbs for the past six years. The 50-year-old Adelaide man, who cannot be named, was charged after he posted videos to social media that encouraged people in overseas conflict zones to commit terrorist acts, police alleged. Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday heard the videos gave graphic evidence and detailed instructions, as well as demonstrations on how to commit terrorist acts, Nine News reported. Scroll down for video A man has been charged with terror offences after he allegedly filmed videos demonstrating how to kill Jewish people (his image and name have been suppressed) They were filmed at his Flinders Park home and shared online. It is believed the videos are still on social media and have been viewed thousands of times. Neighbours of the man told Nine News they were in shock. The man is believed to have been promoting race hate in the area for over five years. Flyers were put in letterboxes resident Alexandra Reutt said. 'There was something against the government, something against the police, against everything he didn't like,' she told Nine News. The man was already being held at Yatala Prison in Northfield by counter terrorism police following a tip off and was arrested there on Thursday. The 50-year-old Adelaide man, who cannot be named, posted videos to social media that encouraged people in overseas conflict zones to commit terrorist acts, police alleged (his image and name have been suppressed) He was charged with four counts of advocating terrorism. He faced a hearing in Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link. His lawyer Stacey Carter did not make an application for bail. Australian Federal Police, who were present in court, said 'there are no current or impending threats to the Australian community as a result of these activities,' in a statement released on Thursday. The man was remanded in custody and is set to appear in court again in February. Amanda Knox (seen above with boyfriend Christopher Robinson in Manhattan) gained notoriety after she was convicted of the grisly murder of a British exchange student in Italy - only to have her conviction overturned in 2011 Amanda Knox says that women are more likely to be coerced into confessing to a crime they did not commit than men because they are more vulnerable to pressure from interrogators and are conditioned to please by a male-dominated society. The onetime convicted killer known as 'Foxy Knoxy' had her jail sentence reversed in an infamous case that generated global headlines. In 2009, Knox, an American exchange student studying in Italy, and her male companion were sentenced to 26 years in prison for the 2007 murder and sexual assault of fellow exchange student Meredith Kercher. Knox was convicted even though there was no DNA evidence linking her to the crime. Instead, she had signed a document typed out by Italian interrogators who spent hours extracting coerced statements from her that later amount to a confession. Two years later, new developments in the case led an Italian court to throw out the convictions. Following a lengthy appeals process, the acquittal of Knox and her boyfriend remained in place. Now Knox, who is working as a journalist, is writing on behalf of female convicts whose confessions were coaxed under circumstances that are in dispute. Knox cites a number of cases in which women were sent to prison on the basis of confessions that may have been coerced, according to Broadly. She mentioned the case of Melissa Calusinki, the day care worker who in 2011 was convicted for causing the death of a 16-month-old boy. She was sentenced to 31 years in prison. Knox was convicted even though there was no DNA evidence linking her to the crime Prosecutors in Illinois used evidence which indicated that the boy exhibited signs of brain trauma. Calusinki was interrogated for nine hours by the police. After repeatedly denying that she had anything to do with the boy's death - she told 79 times that she was innocent, according to People Magazine - she finally relented and told police that she violently slammed the toddler's head against the ground. Melissa Calusinki (above), the day care worker who in 2011 was convicted for causing the death of a 16-month-old boy, confessed to the crime after a nine-hour interrogation Afterward, she recanted her confession, but this was not enough to persuade prosecutors, who successfully sought a conviction. Defense attorneys and advocates have claimed that Calusinki's confession was coerced. They noted that Calusinski had a very low verbal IQ, which meant that she had difficulty expressing herself and understanding others. This made her particularly susceptible to questionable interrogation tactics by police. When asked why she confessed in the first place, she said she simply wanted the ordeal to end. 'The only way for me to get out of there was basically what they wanted,' she told CBS Chicago. Despite evidence that indicates the toddler suffered from a pre-existing brain injury that may have been the key factor in his death, a judge refused Calusinski's request for a new trial, Chicago Tribune reported in September. The case is now in appeal. There was also the case of Sabrina Butler, a Mississippi woman who was convicted in 1990 for killing her nine-month-old son. Sabrina Butler (right), a Mississippi woman who was convicted in 1990 for killing her nine-month-old son, was freed from death row after it was learned her son had a kidney malady Authorities arrested Butler after noticing that the boy sustained serious internal injuries which they believed caused his death just after midnight on April 12, 1989. Butler was coerced into confessing to punching the baby and sentenced to death, according to The National Registry of Exonerations. But it was later learned that the boy had died from a pre-existing kidney condition, and the bruises on the boy's body were caused by Butler's attempts to unsuccessfully resuscitate him. In 1995, she was released after spending almost three years on death row. Another infamous case involving wrongfully convicted women was that of the 'San Antonio Four' Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez. In 1994, these women were accused of aggravated sexual assault by two of Ramirez's nieces who were staying with Ramirez, who was 20 years old at the time, and her female companion, Mayhugh, who was 21. Elizabeth Ramirez (from left), Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez - the 'San Antonio Four' - take part in a panel discussion in Beverly Hills on August 1, 2016 The young girls, ages nine and seven, told their grandmother that they had been sexually assaulted by the two women as well as their friends, Rivera, a 19-year-old mother of two, and Vasquez, who was also 19 years old. The girls alleged that the women had forced them to take part in a 'tequila-fueled orgy' in which they held them down by their wrists and ankles and raped them with various objects, according to Slate. Prosecutors and jurors ignored inconsistencies in the young girls' accounts and the four women were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Two years earlier the girls falsely accused another person of raping them. It was also learned that the key medical expert in the case gave false testimony about a strange mark on one of the girl's genitalia indicating abuse. In light of the new evidence, a Texas judge who heard the case on appeal threw out the conviction. The women believe that the anti-lesbian prejudice that was prevalent in those days was the key factor driving authorities to seek a conviction. In her essay, Knox writes that these cases are indicative of a societal predilection toward blaming women whenever a child dies since there is an unspoken code that views women as natural caretakers. Any incident in which a child dies is thus automatically attributed to criminal actions by women. Knox also cites research which says that women are more likely than men to fall victim to false memories being implanted in their minds, making them more vulnerable when dealing with experienced interrogates eager to coerce a confession. One researcher in California, Elizabeth Loftus, says that 'women go into therapy for depression and eating disorders' can then 'come out of it thinking they were raped as a child.' Loftus said that in her experiments she has been able to convince an average of 30 percent of healthy people of both genders that they had experienced traumatic events that were totally fabricated. The University of Bristol conducted a study in 2011 based on interview with 50 women who were sent to jail in Britain. Michelle Obama fed her husband's feud with Donald Trump on Friday as she gave a gloomy description of the hopeless climate his election win has created. The First Lady used her final interview in the White House to tell Oprah Winfrey that a 'grown up' should be in charge of the country. Looking forward to president-elect Trump's looming inauguration, she said even though hope was lost, it was necessary to move on. 'Now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary,' she said in her first direct response to the November 9 election result. Mrs Obama's remarks come within hours of her husband's announcement Russian hackers interfered with the election to help his successor. Trump, who is yet to accept the DNC hack was orchestrated by one of Putin's agencies, undermined the announcement on Twitter. Michelle Obama gave her final interview as First Lady on Friday, telling Oprah Winfrey that the country had lost hope since Trump's election win In her interview with Oprah, the First Lady said the president needs to be someone 'who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil: "hey, it's gonna be ok"'. She said she was assured her husband had achieved his goal of setting a hope-fueled agenda because of the contrasting mood brought by Trump's victory. 'Your husband's administration, everything, the election, was all about hope. Do you think that this administration achieved that?' asked Winfrey. In a lengthy reply, Mrs Obama said calmly: 'Yes. I do. Because we feel the difference now. Mrs Obama maintained a firm quietness on Trump's win for weeks 'Now, we're feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept. 'What else do you have if you don't have hope?' In a glowing assessment of her husband's tenure, Mrs Obama likened him to the calming parent of the panicked toddler nation. 'Our children respond to crisis the way they see us respond. You know, it's like the toddler bumps his head on the table and they look up at you to figure out whether it hurts and if you're like (gasp) "oh my god" they're crying but if you're like "you know what, babe it's OK"... 'And I feel that way about the nation, I feel that Barack has been that for the nation in ways that people will come to appreciate. 'Having a grown up in the White House who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil : "hey, it's gonna be ok", let's remember the good things that we have, let's look to the future, let's look at what we're building" - all of this is important for our kids to stay focused and to feel like their work isn't in vain and their lives aren't in vain. 'What do we do if we don't have hope, Oprah? The one-on-one took place ahead of the first family's departure from The White House to Hawaii where they will enjoy a two-week Christmas break. It will be shown on CBS on December 19 at 8pm. On Thursday, The White House issued its first public acknowledgment that Russian hackers had interfered with the election to help Trump's chances. Mrs Obama said hope was 'necessary' to move forward in the rare one-on-one The interview is the First Lady's last in her current role. In it, she reflects on her time in the White House President Obama promised there would be consequences for Vladimir Putin, one of Trump's most vocal international supporters, as he addressed the scandal. 'I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action,' Obama said. 'And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be,' he told NPR News. President-elect Trump is yet to accept publicly that the hack, which has been credited with tumbling Hillary Clinton's campaign, was orchestrated by Russian officials and designed to push him towards the White House. He responded to the White House's announcement on Thursday by undermining it. 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' he wrote on Twitter. He then appeared to justify the breach by highlighting some of the damning information it revealed about his opponent. 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' Mrs Obama had maintained a firm quietness on the election result since November 9. She claimed to have gone to bed early rather than stay up to watch the results and refused to be drawn on them afterwards. On Thursday, President Obama publicly acknowledged the DNC hack had been orchestrated by Russian agencies to help push Donald Trump towards the White House. He said there would be consequences for Vladimir Putin (pictured together, above in September) as a result Donald Trump is yet to accept the hack was orchestrated by Russian agencies, undermining the White House's announcement on Thursday on Twitter (top) before appearing to justify it with mention of the information it exposed (bottom) In campaign speeches for Hillary Clinton, the First Lady gave passionate condemnations of the businessman's policies and principles. She was widely lauded as Clinton's most valuable advocate and the appearances, all of which were applauded and well-attended, fueled speculation Mrs Obama has designs for her own presidency. The First Family is yet to formally address the speculation. At an event last week, Mrs Obama responded to one screaming request for her candidacy: 'Quiet back there!' In his New Yorker interview, the president said they were looking forward to the next chapter of their political lives after leaving the White House. President Obama has implored the country to get behind the businessman despite publicly admonishing him throughout the campaign. 'We are all now rooting for his success,' he said after the election result was made plain. He told of his commitment to helping 'Donald' in his transition to power and met with the billionaire in the Oval office to discuss the handover. Noel David Jones, 53, preyed on the women in a lengthy filming session which lasted more than 45 minutes A British businessman who secretly filmed up the skirts of 10 women in a Singapore supermarket has been jailed. Executive Noel David Jones, 53, preyed on the women in a lengthy filming session which lasted more than 45 minutes. Jones put his iPhone, which was recording video, into a supermarket basket, which he swung under his victims' skirts and dresses. He was jailed for four weeks after admitting three counts of insulting the modesty of a woman. A further seven counts were taken into account when he was sentenced as part of a plea bargain. Jones was caught after one woman and her boyfriend got suspicious about how close he was getting to them. They tipped off store security guards, who seized the pervert as he attempted to leave the supermarket. It happened at a Cold Storage supermarket at Great World City on June 12, the Straits Times reports. A district court heard that Jones, a British national working as a project services system specialist, went to Cold Storage supermarket at Great World City on June 12. Police later linked the footage on Jones's phone to CCTV images of him wandering around the supermarket. Jones - a project services system specialist who lives in Singapore - could have been jailed for up to 10 years, one year for each charge. She told close friends she was being 'mindf*****' by Jedi Star Wars Anne Barnsdale, from Goldalming, Surrey, said that knights and Jedi from the blockbuster movies were speaking to her and that she was being 'mindf*****' by the Jedi A BBC manager threw herself in front of a train on Hallowe'en after she claimed Star Wars film characters were contacting her, an inquest has heard. Anne Barnsdale, from Goldalming, Surrey, said that knights and Jedi from the blockbuster movies were speaking to her and that she was being 'mindf*****' by the Jedi. The 39-year-old manager with the BBC World Service had recently returned to work after having a baby daughter but the inquest ruled that she was not suffering from post-natal depression when she committed suicide. 'Anne described her feelings of being sleepy and of being Jedi mind-f*****,' her husband Jonathan Clark told the inquest. 'None of these signs was picked up by the GPs.' Dr Steve Simons, Mrs Barnsdale's doctor, saw her days before her death and wrote in his statement to the inquest that despite her feelings of mental instability, she was not delusional. 'She described to me having weird thoughts, for example communicating with the Jedi,' he said. 'We talked about this and she recognised herself that this was fiction and she was not delusional or psychotic at the time.' Although the rapid deterioration in her mental wellbeing coincided with the early months of her baby daughter, who was born in July 2014, Dr Simons concluded she was not suffering from the post-natal depression. 'I prescribed her some sleeping pills and attributed her stress to her busy job at the BBC,' he added. 'I did not diagnose her with post-natal depression.' The inquest heard how the married couple had shared a 'lazy morning' together on the day of her death, October 31, having been for a walk and a coffee but Mrs Barnsdale, who had only returned to the BBC from maternity leave two months before, left the home while her husband was seeing to their month-old daughter upstairs. She was seen running in front of a train heading to Portsmouth from London Waterloo at about 4.30pm, just outside Goldalming, Surrey. Train driver Trevor Mailey wrote in a statement, which was read out at the inquest: 'We were travelling between 40mph and 50mph when I saw a figure wearing purple clothing crouched down by the left of the tracks. 'I blew the train's horn but she did not react to this so I slammed on the emergency brakes but we struck her. Assistant driver Lea Ware added in his statement: 'In my opinion she dived out towards us.' Computer programmer husband Mr Clark and Mrs Barnsdale's sister, Michelle Barnsdale-Ward, claimed that the doctors who saw her in the week leading up to her death should have done more to save her. 'We believe that the system failed her as she made three cries for help over her last five days,' he told the inquest in Woking, Surrey. 'I will have to live with the fact that I could have done more to save her from killing herself and the doctors will have to live with that on their conscience as well. 'A baby girl has to go without a mother due to a lack of care it now seems.' However assitant Surrey coroner Anna Loxton insisted that no-one else was to blame for her death, the cause of which was ruled by pathologist Dr Ben Haagsma as multiple injuries having been struck by a train 'I can only look from my role at what systems were there and I am satisfied people acted appropriately within those systems,' she said. Mrs Barnsdale, who did not take her husband's surname when they married in 2009, had taken both ecstasy and cocaine in the past and had another appointment booked with her GP on Monday November 2. She was first diagnosed with mental health problems in August 2008 when was rushed to hospital having slashed her wrists with a knife and Miss Loxton recorded her death as suicide. 'In this case I must consider suicide given the circumstances,' she said. 'I am mindful of the evidence before me particularly of the CCTV footage footage from the train and of the drivers' witness accounts. 'Mrs Barnsdale was seen heading into the path of the train and it should be noted that the area where she was seen was not easily accessible from the road. 'It's seems very unlikely that Mrs Barnsdale could have wandered onto the tracks unintentionally or that she was trying to cross them at that point. 'It's tragic that despite seeking help and having further appointments booked that Mrs Barnsdale felt she had no option than to end her life on that day.' Mrs Barnsdale was killed on railway lines adjacent to the A3100 Portsmouth Road, Goldalming, at about 4.30pm on Saturday October 31 2015. MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment. China's capital turned from a blue-skied city to a scene from a climate horror film in just seven hours today. Striking pictures, released by China's Xinhua News Agency, captured how a bout of smog, thought to be the heaviest of this year so far, completely devoured Beijing, a city of nearly 22 million people. Yesterday, the city's authority issued its first red alert for air pollution this year, forecasting heavy smog between December 16 to 21. Before and after: The picture, released by China's Xinhua News Agency, show how a rooftop view in Beijing changed during the space of one day Beijing turned from a blue-skied city to a scene from a climate horror film in seven hours today Xinhua, China's state media agency, released two collages on its Twitter account today. The first set of pictures, comprising five photos taken from the same spot, show how the smog descended on the city. At 9am, the buildings were visible at the foreground and blue sky could be seen. At 1pm, most structures had been hidden by air pollution and the dome of China National Centre for the Performing Arts was barely visible. And by 4pm, the view became dominated by thick smog as almost all building had been obscured in the severe weather condition. The Beijing authority issued its first red alert for air pollution this year yesterday. A chimney of a power plant is pictured among smog in Beijing today Beijing and neighboring provinces are due to suffer heavy air pollution until December 21. A woman is pictured wearing a mask to protect herself from pollution in Beijing today Xinhua later released another collage, comparing the same rooftop view in Beijing today and yesterday. On December 15, before the smog arrived, Beijing enjoyed fair weather and blue sky with the skyline clearly visible; but today the view was a world apart. According to Beijing Meteorological Service, the red alert will be activated at 8pm on December 16 and is expected to be lifted on December 21 when the air quality in the city improves. China National Environmental Monitoring Center said during the period, Beijing and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province would suffer heavy air pollution. The bout of smog is also due to affect Shandong Province in eastern China and Henan Province in central China. A red alert is the most serious level on China's four-tier colour-coded warning system for severe weather. A pedestrian is pictured wearing a face mask walks on a road in Beijing today During a red alert, high-polluting vehicles will be pulled off the road while in Beijing Besides, construction sites will be shut down and certain factories will be closed A red alert is the most serious level on China's four-tier colour-coded warning system for severe weather. During a red alert, high-polluting vehicles will be pulled off the road while other vehicles will be restricted based on an odd-or-even license plate rule, according to Xinhua. Besides, construction sites will be shut down and certain factories will be closed. Schools will be advised to suspend classes too. In China, a red alert is issued if a city's Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches 500. On the six-tier Air Quality Index values, readings between 301 and 500 is the worst and is labelled 'hazardous' which means it 'would trigger a health warnings of emergency conditions' and 'the entire population is more likely to be affected', according to Air Now. Flora Mascolo, 50, is the widow of Toni&Guy founder Guy Mascolo A wealthy widow who says she was duped by her toyboy ex could be in line for a 2million Christmas present after obtaining a court order against him. Flora Mascolo, 50, is the widow of Toni&Guy founder Guy Mascolo, and lives in a 5million Chelsea house next door to Charles Saatchi. She is suing her 35-year-old ex-lover, German 'celebrity chef' and restaurateur Michael Riemenschneider, claiming he is a 'professional conman'. She says he fleeced her of 2million during their 18-month relationship between September 2014 and April 2016. Mr Riemenschneider, who has a string of UK restaurants, including several in London, denies all the allegations against him. He insists any money he received from Mrs Mascolo was by way of legitimate investment in two restaurant projects. Today at London's High Court Mrs Mascolo obtained a crucial evidence disclosure order against him. And, if he fails to comply in full, he could lose the chance to defend himself in court and be ordered to pay up before Christmas. At an earlier High Court hearing the widow's barrister, Rupert D'Cruz, said that Mrs Mascolo claims to have bought her ex a 150,000 Mercedes. She also gave him 2.12million to invest in two new restaurants whilst they were together, the court heard. But she now claims Mr Riemenschneider is a 'liar' and a gold-digger who 'used the restaurants as a front' to obtain her millions. She says he spent her cash on a 'lavish personal lifestyle', including super cars, expensive watches, and private jets. Mr Riemenschneider falsely 'led her to believe that he was a well-connected chef with a Michelin star grading' said Mr D'Cruz. Mr Riemenschneider, who has a string of UK restaurants, including several in London, denies all the allegations against him In reality, was a 'professional conman,' the barrister claimed. Huw Davies QC, for Mr Riemenschneider, has accused Mrs Mascolo of 'oppressive behaviour' towards him and demanded time for the chef to fight the claims. But neither he, nor his lawyers, were in court today as Mr Justice Males granted the disclosure order. Mr Riemenschneider is now compelled to give detailed disclosure of his worldwide and UK financial assets to Mrs Mascolo's lawyers. He has until 1pm on December 23 to comply with the court order. And, if he doesn't, Mrs Mascolo will have 'an opportunity to obtain judgement in default before Christmas,' Mr Justice Males said. Mrs Mascolo, pictured left with her daughter Emmanuella, is the widow of Toni&Guy founder Guy Mascolo (right) Mr D'Cruz explained outside court that Mrs Mascolo's lawyers plan to return to court on the afternoon of December 23. And if the chef has not obeyed the court order in full by then, they will demand damages and costs of over 2m. Mrs Mascolo is the widow of Guy Mascolo who, together with his brother Toni, was the founder of Toni&Guy. Their globally renowned hairdressing company was launched in Clapham in South London in 1963 when the brothers were still in their late teens. A top university has announced plans to lower entry grades for disadvantaged students, as new figures showed the gulf between rich and poor children winning degree places has reached record levels. Bristol University said the initiative, designed to boost diversity among its students, will see local young people offered places based on lower entry requirements. Vice-chancellor and president Hugh Brady said the university wanted to make a step change in opening the institution up to students from all backgrounds. Bristol University said the initiative, designed to boost diversity among its students, will see local young people offered places based on lower entry requirements. The announcement comes as new Ucas statistics showed that children who received free school meals - a key measure of poverty - are less than half as likely to enter higher education than those who do not, the biggest gap in recent years. While there has been a steady increase in the entry levels among less wealthy students over the last 10 years, an increase of 78 per cent proportionally, this has slowed sharply since 2015, according to the organisation's annual report. The figures will come as a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May, who put slashing inequality at the heart of her Government's ambitions when she took office in July. Overall, the UK university acceptance rate for more advantaged students is increasing around five times faster (up 1.4 percentage points to 32.8 per cent) than for their poorer peers who are on free dinners (up 0.3 percentage points to 16.1 per cent), the Ucas figures show. While this marks an all-time high for the amount entering university from both demographics, the difference in growth widens the gap between rich and poor to its largest since 2006. This 16.7 percentage point difference is the largest recorded value between the two groups, the university admissions service said. Under Bristol University's plans, lower offers will be made to five high potential students from every school in the local area, with eligibility based on headteachers' assessment of potential and progress, rather than just exam results. The university said it will also make more use of contextual data which takes into account an applicant's background or school when making offers. The figures will come as a blow to Prime Minister Theresa May (pictured), who put slashing inequality at the heart of her Government's ambitions when she took office in July Students attending state schools and colleges that are in the bottom 40 per cent in terms of A-level results and sending students on to higher education, will receive offers two grades lower than the standard offer for the course. Professor Brady said: These are bold measures designed to address a problem that is seen across the education sector. At Bristol, we have spent 18million on recruiting and supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the last 10 years, and much as we are making good progress, we want to make a step-change in opening up our university to students from all backgrounds. We're confident that, in time, we will achieve a more diverse student community at the University of Bristol; this will be a change which will benefit everyone, and something we hope other universities will consider replicating. Ucas's latest analysis on entry to UK universities in 2015/16 also showed: A pre-Brexit spike in students from the EU taking places at UK institutions, while overseas students entering higher education in this country dropped for the first time since 2011. A persisting gender gap between those accepting university places - with women now a record 35 per cent more likely to take places than men. The highest-ever number of 18-year-olds accepted to university this year. White people still ranking as the lowest ethnic group for entry rates. Ucas chief Mary Curnock Cook said: When she entered Downing Street in July, the Prime Minister pointed out that white working-class boys are the least likely to go to university. Our report underlines this point, showing that nearly three-quarters of the group least likely to enter university are men, most are from lower income families, and nine out of 10 are in the white ethnic group. Although the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education has reached record levels again this year, there are early signals that the good progress made in recent years may be slowing down. The best way to get on track to better progress is to focus efforts on improving GCSE outcomes for all children, which we know is the primary driver of increased entry rates to higher education. Universities and Science Minister Jo Johnson said: It is welcome news that record numbers of students secured places at university this year and that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are now more than a third more likely to enter higher education than in 2010. A councilwoman who told a volunteer firefighter she'd beat him over the head with his prosthetic leg says she was only joking but is resigning anyway. Sandra Hinkle, councilwoman for North York, Pennsylvania, was accused of threatening amputee Christopher Wilhelm when he filmed her during a budget meeting on Tuesday. She allegedly said to Wilhelm: 'If that (video) goes on YouTube or Facebook, I will take your leg off and beat you with it.' This happened after Wilhelm recorded two Facebook Live videos at the meeting on the borough's budget, which Wilhelm said he was trying to publicize for residents who couldn't attend. Sandra Hinkle (left), a councilwoman for North York, Pennsylvania, resigned after she threatened to beat Christopher Wilhelm (right), an amputee, with his own leg because she didn't like that he had filmed her at a budget meeting The firefighter lost his leg due to cancer in 2010 said Hinkle's comments were hurtful, so he started a petition calling for her resignation. In his online post, he said Hinkle approached him after the meeting and told him she would flash him the next time he was filming. All before threatening to beat him with his own leg. He told the The York Daily Record: 'Her comments were very rude, very disrespectful. 'You're labeling a type of person when you say you'll take their leg off and beat them with it. It's a discriminatory comment ... I think she needs to resign.' Hinkle said on Thursday that the controversy prompting her resignation is a 'blessing in disguise' because she's tired of infighting and other contentious issues on the council. She said she had previously been involved with the fire company as a trustee and a fire police officer, and contends her joking threat stemmed from a long-running joke among firefighters about Wilhelm's condition. Friends and neighbours have paid tribute to a 'gentle and fun-loving' seven-year-old boy who was found dead with his mother this week. The bodies of Oisin O'Driscoll and Sinead Higgins, 37, were found by police at their home on Wednesday morning. It is feared Ms Higgins killed her son and took her own life. Oisin was a pupil at St Swithun Wells' Catholic Primary School in Ruislip, west London, where pupils, parents and teachers expressed their shock today. Oisin O'Driscoll and his mother Sinead Higgins were found dead at their home this week Floral tributes and toys have been left on the doorstep of their home in west London today In a statement, Kristy Davis, his headteacher, said: 'Oisin was a gift to our school community. Many were lucky enough to call him a friend and we all have special memories of him to treasure. 'We will remember seeing him around the school with his lovely smile and his gentle and fun-loving personality. 'We have all been blessed to have Oisin in our lives.' Tributes have been left on the mother's doorstep, including an advent candle, a toy bear wearing a jumper with an Irish shamrock on it. One handwritten note stated: 'There are no words to describe our sorrow for your tragic loss at this time. 'May God bless your beautiful son Oisin and keep him and his mummy safe always. With love.' A poignant message left with the flowers read: 'God bless your beautiful son Oisin' Ms Higgins left messages online suggesting she was struggling before the deaths this week Ms Higgins posted this tweet just five days before she and her son were found dead A mother who child goes to the same school as Oisin said: 'This morning the priest did a mass for us and we all prayed for her and her son. 'I think they were telling the children about it today but they told the parents yesterday in a letter. 'It's really such a sad thing to have happened. What I do know about Oisin from other parents is that he was just a lovely little boy.' Speaking outside the school, the mother added: 'All of us mums are just so shocked and saddened that I don't really know what to say. 'I can't imagine losing my children so I don't know what to think about this. It's just such a shock for the school and all of the parents.' Just five days before her death, Miss Higgins, who is originally from Ireland, posted a cryptic tweet comparing her life to a tornado. It read: 'The future looks very...' followed by a tornado emoji. A post mortem is being carried out to determine how the mum and son died. Mothers of other children at Oisin's school in Ruislip said they were shocked by the deaths Police forced their way into the home where the mother and son were found on Wednesday For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116123 or go to samaritans.org Video shows Amy's colleague lobbing phallic sex toys at the intruder, forcing him to flee empty-handed was a fake, so she and her co-worker decided to put up a fight An armed would-be robber walked into an erotica shop in California this week deeming it a soft target, but fearless store employees quickly taught him a hard lesson. The incident took place just before closing time Wednesday night at the Lotions & Lace store in San Bernardino and was caught on surveillance video. The grainy footage shows a man in a hooded sweatshirt sauntering into the adult store and pulling what appears to be a handgun on two female clerks manning the counter. Gun-toting thug: A man brandishing a gun walked into an erotica shop in California Wednesday night, hoping to rob it Not impressed: Store worker 'Amy,' seen in the video with long blonde hair, said she was certain the firearm in the man's hands was a toy gun Not-so-soft target: The incident took place just before closing time Wednesday night at the Lotions & Lace store in San Bernardino Store worker 'Amy,' seen in the video with long blonde hair, said she was certain the firearm in the thug's hands was a toy gun. Speaking to KABC later, Amy said of the suspect: 'I just thought he was trying to be funny, to scare us. But then I saw the gun and it was like, really? I don't have time for this.' Instead of handing the intruder cash from the register, Amy started yelling at him and pounding her fist on the counter. At one point in the video, the armed man is seen grabbing Amy. That is when her valiant co-worker jumps into action, pelting the perpetrator with adult sex toys. Fierce: Instead of handing the intruder cash from the register, Amy started yelling at him At one point in the video, the armed man is seen grabbing Amy, prompting her co-worker to begin pelting the perpetrator with adult sex toys Facing a barrage of naughty projectiles, the man is forced to beat a heist retreat and flee the store empty-handed. I think he was a coward, said the worker seen in the video lobbing the stores phallic merchandise at the criminal. Coming in and trying to get over on two females and not realizing that were pretty feisty. The San Bernardino Police Department has released the CCTV footage of the attempted robbery, along with a screenshot depicting the suspect standing outside the store prior to the failed robbery. As of Friday morning, the suspect has not been identified and no arrests have been made. Valerie Graves, 55, was bludgeoned to death when she was house-sitting at the riverside property in Bosham, West Sussex Detectives desperately hunting a hammer-wielding killer who brutally murdered a grandmother inside a 1.6million house have issued an appeal as the third anniversary of her death approaches. Valerie Graves, 55, was bludgeoned to death when she was house-sitting at the riverside property in Bosham, West Sussex - which once featured on an episode of ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. A huge police operation to find the man who carried out the killing on December 29, 2013, has proved unsuccessful despite the force's biggest ever voluntary mass DNA screening. Sussex Police has taken 2,737 samples from local men but Ms Graves' killer remains at large. The force also televised appeals on Crimewatch and are offering a 10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of her murderer. Ms Graves, a mother-of-two, was sleeping downstairs when the intruder smashed her in the face and head with a 1ft-long claw hammer, which he dumped in water nearby leaving a partial DNA clue. She had been staying at the waterfront home while the owners were away over Christmas. Although the DNA obtained from the hammer was not suitable for a search on the national database as it only gave a limited profile, it revealed the suspect was male. The grandmother was inside a 1.6million house in Bosham when she was attacked with a hammer Ms Graves, a mother-of-two, was sleeping downstairs when the intruder smashed her in the face and head with a 1ft-long claw hammer (pictured) During the mass DNA screening, police asked all men aged over 17 who live, work or visit Bosham to provide a sample to eliminate them from the inquiry. Detective Superintendent Jason Taylor said: 'This investigation remains a priority for Sussex Police and we will do everything reasonably possible to find Valerie's killer and get justice for her and her family. 'This time of year is particularly difficult for her family and friends. 'We are still offering a 10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Valerie's killer and I would ask anyone who has information to contact police.' The village in West Sussex once featured on an episode of ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders Sussex Police has taken 2,737 samples from local men in the village but Ms Graves' killer remains at large Officers have looked into the background of Ms Graves, who had recently moved to Sussex from Scotland to look after her elderly mother, but have found nothing to indicate any motive. Ms Graves had been running a craft studio and gallery at Jedburgh on the Scottish borders but moved to Sussex shortly before her death. A deer which swam across the East River to Manhattan in a vain bid to find a mate and has been living in a park in Harlem for weeks has been given a reprieve from a death sentence. The wayward buck was set to be put to death today after galloping merrily for weeks around a housing complex. But the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, tweeted today: 'We want to do everything we can to save the deer. We have told the city that the feds or we can transport it upstate today.' The New York Post claimed the Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, felt there was 'no other option' but to euthanize the deer. But he seems to have had a change of heart. Jessica Ramos, from the Mayor's office, told Mail Online: 'We'd love to make sure it stays alive but we are trying to find out what is the best policy. But we can't let it wander around the city.' Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has offered 'to do everything we can to save the deer' She said their best guess was that it had swum across from the Bronx, which is attached to the mainland. Later she confirmed the deer would be transported to upstate New York. Seal Francis, from Brooklyn, tweeted: 'DeBlasio, you have enough problems. Don't kill Bambi. #harlemdeer' Twitter user @moonlightbritt commented: 'Let the deer stay in Harlem and get rid of all the gentrifiers. Deers don't raise rent #problemsolved.' The deer was first spotted earlier this month in a copse in Jackie Robinson Park and has been living there ever since. In the early hours of yesterday morning the lonely deer was captured on video running through the Polo Grounds Towers housing complex as astonished residents watched. The deer has been wandering around the Polo Grounds housing complex (pictured) The deer is pictured on a Harlem street, next to a fire hydrant and a bunch of recycling Earlier Natalie Grybauskas, who works for the Mayor of New York, Bill DeBlasio, told the New York Post: 'The deer was brought to Animal Care & Control. We do not intend to release the deer back into the busy and dense borough of Manhattan.' Ms Grybauskas said last night: 'The state's position was that euthanization was the preferred route. Later, the state reversed years of their own policy and offered to help relocate the deer. 'The State itself has said it is not safe to relocate deer and so the only humane and safe recourse is to euthanize the deer, and that will happen in the morning.' New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is now said to transport the deer upstate. The regular deer hunting season in upstate New York ended on December 11, although some hunters might be out until early next week. The Polo Grounds complex, where the deer was captured, is named after the famous baseball stadium which stood on the site until the 1960s. Beijing carried out its first ever live-fire drills in the South China Sea this week The move by Trump is said to have seriously angered Chinese officials A Chinese warship has captured an underwater US Navy drone right in front of the eyes of the crew of an American ship in the South China sea, prompting a government official to say, 'they stole it'. The incident has triggered a formal demarche from the United States and a demand for its return, a US defense official told Reuters on Friday. The capture - the first of its kind in recent memory - took place on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle. A US Navy drone has been captured by a Chinese warship, which snatched it right in front of the American vessel. Pictured is a Slocum ocean glider When the Bowditch stopped to collect the underwater equipment, a Chinese warship that had been following it dropped a boat into the water the pulled up alongside the US vessel and snatched the drone, according to CNN. The USS Bowditch had been sampling and data collection of surface, midwater and ocean floor measurements, and US officials received no reply from the Chinese when they radioed to state the drone was American. The US crew had hoped to start communications with the Chinese vessel to get the drone back, but the ship eventually responded to say it was returning to normal operations and left the area, according to NBC News. The Department of Defense released a statement, saying it was: 'not the sort of conduct we expecti from professional navies.' A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea. Pictured is a Chinese ship in the Bohai Sea The incident took place on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay just as the USNS Bowditch (pictured), an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned vehicle The incident comes after president-elect Donald Trump thrust US relations with China into chaos with a series of controversial comments after his election win. THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S RESPONSE A Chinese navy ship seized an 'ocean glider' unmanned underwater vehicle yesterday as the U.S. Navy oceanographic research ship USNS Bowditch was attempting to recover it. The Chinese navy ship ASR-510, a Dalang III-class ship, approached within 500 yards f the Bowditch, launched a small boat and seized the UUV. The incident occurred in international waters about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, Philippines. Bowditch made contact over bridge-to-bridge radio and demanded it back. Those demands were ignored. We have since worked through diplomatic channels to demarche China on this. This is not the sort of conduct we expect from professional navies. Advertisement Trump was attacked by Chinese newspapers this month, just days after he created potential diplomatic controversy by calling Taiwan and criticizing China's government. Trump's protocol-shattering call with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and a subsequent Twitter tirade against Beijing's policies could upend the delicate balance between the world's two largest economies, the country's media outlets said. 'Provoking friction and messing up China-US relations won't help "make America great again",' a front-page opinion piece in China's People's Daily said. The newspaper is a mouthpiece for the country's Communist Party. The nationalist Global Times newspaper's Chinese edition also ran a page-one story on Trump's 'inability to keep his mouth shut', damning his 'provocation and falsehoods'. Trump fired off two tweets on Sunday blasting China for devaluing its currency, taxing American imports, and building military installations in the South China Sea. The incident comes after China was angered by Donald Trump's phone call on December 2 with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured right) Beijing has staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea A Chinese aircraft carrier is seen in the South China Sea during the first-ever live firing tests The comments followed criticism of Trump in the US and Chinese media for taking a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that flew in the face of nearly 40 years of diplomatic protocol and raised questions about whether the president-elect intends to pursue a hard line against Beijing. The capture of the Navy vessel comes just days after China staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea. Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea. China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the US criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fueled concern, with the US criticizing its militarization of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated No other country has claims in China's busy waterway of the Bohai Sea, but the drills come amid new tension over self-ruled Taiwan. Warships and jets engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday. 'This is the first time an aircraft carrier squadron has performed drills with live ammunition and real troops,' it said. China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated, CCTV said. It broadcast images of fighter jets taking off from the carrier, firing missiles and destroying a target at sea. Families flying this Christmas face chaos after militant unions unleashed a wave of strikes at airports last night. Furious MPs described trade union bosses as the Grinches who stole Christmas after ground staff across the country and Virgin pilots threatened to scupper festive travel plans. Last night it was also revealed that BA cabin crew will strike on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Post Office workers are set to walk out next week, and a rail union boss threatened to spread strike mayhem to the North-West. It comes just after check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew announced strikes across 18 UK airports. UK airports which will be affected by the strike include Heathrow in London (pictured) Other airports which will be affected include Heathrow, Leeds/Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton and Stansted (pictured) British Airways' cabin crew staff have announced strike action on December 25 and 26 Last nights news that air travellers face misery follows days of chaos on the railways, with commuter lines across the South brought to a standstill. The Unite union announced that 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew at 18 airports will strike for 48 hours from December 23 in a dispute over pay. The move will affect airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton and Stansted. Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said the union appreciate(s) this is a very busy time but insisted the action by employees of aviation services firm Swissport was a last resort. Len McCluskey is the general secretary of Unite. They said staff were striking because of a long-running pay dispute CHAOS UNFOLDING ACROSS UK POST OFFICE WHO: Communication Workers Union Row over jobs, pensions and branch closures. WHEN: Shop counter staff will walk out on December 19, 20 and 24. Cash-handlers who deliver money to branches will walk out on December 22 and 23. SOUTHERN RAIL WHO: Aslef and RMT Row over onboard safety guards (Aslef) and the role of conductors (RMT). WHEN: Aslef walkout planned from January 9 to 14. RMT strike due from December 31 to January 2. BRITISH AIRWAYS WHO: Unite Row over 2 per cent pay rise. WHEN: Christmas Day and Boxing Day AIRPORT WORKERS WHO: Unite Strike over pay. WHEN: From December 23 for 48 hours. VIRGIN ATLANTIC WHO: PPU. Pilots row over union recognition. WHEN: From December 23. Advertisement The Airport Operators Association last night pleaded with the union to back down. It said: UK airports are preparing for one of the busiest times of the year. We urge all parties to work together to seek to avoid industrial action so that travellers can get to their destinations at this special time of year. THE 18 AIRPORTS ARE Aberdeen Belfast Birmingham Bristol Bournemouth Cardiff Doncaster East Midlands Edinburgh Gatwick Glasgow Heathrow Leeds/Bradford Luton Manchester Newcastle Southampton Stansted Advertisement In another blow to passengers, Virgin Atlantic pilots voted to take action which could lead to the cancellation of flights. It will start on Friday and last for a week. During this period pilots will refuse to be on call known in the industry as pilot goodwill and will stick rigidly to their rota. Airlines are heavily reliant on being able to call pilots at short notice. The Professional Pilots Union said 87 per cent of its members had voted in favour of the action. It warned: It is possible that this may leave some flights not covered for the duration of any action, which has the potential to continue indefinitely. The dispute centres on the refusal of Virgin to recognise the PPU. It was launched three years ago, breaking away from the British Airline Pilots Association or Balpa, and claims to represent 70 per cent of Virgins 900 pilots. Virgin said it was disappointed by the unnecessary action but said it did not expect flights to be affected. BA said it was appalled at the cabin crew strike decision by the Unite union and pledged to ensure its customers get to their destination. The row involves around 4,500 so-called mixed fleet cabin crew who joined BA since 2010. Unite say they are on lower pay than other staff. There will be Christmas travel chaos this month after 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew at 18 airports announced they will walk out It is the latest industrial dispute to flare in recent months after a number of strikes on Southern Railway over staff (pictured) Last night Tory MPs accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of egging unions on to cause maximum chaos. 1978-79: THE WINTER OF DISCONTENT Widespread strikes by the trade unions in the winter of 1978-79 brought the country to a halt during the coldest winter for 16 years. Rubbish piled up in the streets and walk-outs by gravediggers in Liverpool and Manchester had even left bodies unburied. The strikes were in protest at the Labour government's attempt to impose a limit on pay rises. Government papers revealed that prime minister James Callaghan was less than 24 hours away from declaring a state of emergency and mobilising thousands of troops during the Winter of Discontent. The Prime Minister had already rejected calls to declare a state of emergency on January 4. A week later he infamously told journalists that suggestions of 'mounting chaos' were an exaggeration. His remarks were paraphrased the next day under the headline 'Crisis, What Crisis?' words which helped condemn Labour to defeat at the next election. Advertisement Mr Corbyn this week reiterated his support for the strikes by guards and drivers on Southern rail, which brought services to a standstill again yesterday. Southern passengers face further mayhem, with another 48-hour walk out by guards scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. Critics have pointed out Mr Corbyns leadership campaign was bankrolled by train drivers union Aslef. Earlier this week Transport Secretary Chris Grayling revealed the Government is considering plans to toughen up anti-strike laws. Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, a member of the cross-party Public Accounts Committee, urged the Government to take action. He said: Its shameful that militant trade unions are waging war on families over Christmas. 'Mr Corbyns failure to stand up for working people is clearly egging the unions on to try to cause maximum chaos. Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke said: Once again hard working people, who the unions are supposed to represent, are going to see their plans to wind down with family and go away on breaks theyve saved all year for, be wrecked by union Grinches. Rail strikes look set to spread from the South East to Merseyside as Liverpools Labour mayor Joe Anderson announced a 460million investment in driver-only trains, which are at the centre of the Southern row. Boss of the RMT union Mick Cash said: We will do whatever is necessary to defend the safety of our members and the travelling public. Virgin Atlantic pilots have voted to take industrial action short of a strike in a row over union recognition Meanwhile, there has been strikes at the Post Office over jobs, pensions and closures Advertisement A Russian warship has been escorted by the Royal Navy through British waters for the second time in a fortnight. Yaroslav Mudry was encountered by Navy frigate HMS Sutherland at the English Channel entrance yesterday. She was monitored while sailing through UK waters as diplomatic tensions rise between Moscow and London. Scroll down for video Escort: Yaroslav Mudry (rear) was encountered by the HMS Sutherland (front) at the entrance to the English Channel British ministers have been lining up to condemn Russia's support for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. It comes after his regime's forces won a brutal victory in the four-year battle for war-torn Aleppo. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has summoned Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to the Foreign Office. He is insistent that Moscow deserves no credit for the evacuation of civilians from the shattered Syrian city. Mr Johnson expressed 'deep concern' at reports of civilians being executed and ambulances being shot. 'Disappearances' were also allegedly carried out by pro-Assad forces in formerly rebel-held areas in east Aleppo. The Yaroslav Mudry was monitored while sailing through UK waters as diplomatic tensions rise between Moscow and London The Yaroslav Mudry had recently been operating in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. She then sailed across to the Caribbean to visit Cuba and Trinidad. HMS Sutherland and a Merlin helicopter joined French and Dutch warships in following the Yaroslav Mudry. Her progress will be monitored by ships from other Nato nations as she passes through northern European waters. Commander Trish Kohn, Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland, said: This is just one example of the many activities undertaken by the Royal Navy in safeguarding the United Kingdoms waters. Previously: On December 3 the Vice Admiral Kulakov (rear) was met at the edge of the Channel by HMS Sutherland (front) Commander Kohn added: My crew have been very busy this year, with the ship spending over 200 days at a high state of readiness in order to be prepared for a wide range of activities. While most people are preparing to enjoy time at home with families and loved ones, there will be a Royal Navy warship on duty over the Christmas period, as there is at all times throughout the year, ready to respond. Plymouth-based HMS Sutherland, which carries 180 sailors, is also a highly sophisticated submarine hunter. It has the latest towed array sonar to track submarines that may attempt to enter UK or allied waters undetected. On December 3 the Vice Admiral Kulakov was met at the edge of the English Channel by HMS Sutherland. In October Navy vessels monitored Russian ships including the smoke-belching Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier (file) Royal Navy sailors on the ship based at Devonport watched the Udaloy class destroyer through binoculars. They had been deployed in the early hours and used radar to track the Russian ships course and speed. The Kulakov had been in the Eastern Mediterranean and was on her return journey, escorted by other Nato ships. HMS Sutherland has been tasked, along with her Nato colleagues, with patrolling UK seas since the summer. In October Navy vessels monitored Russian ships including the smoke-belching Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. Prince William and Catherine with Charles and Charlotte The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to skip the Royal Familys traditional Christmas celebrations at Sandringham in favour of spending the festive season with the Middletons. The couple, accompanied by Prince George, three, and 18-month-old Princess Charlotte, will enjoy a family get-together with all the trimmings at Michael and Caroles 4.7million mansion in Bucklebury, Berkshire. Friends say they plan to pull out all the stops to mark the occasion as it will be Pippas last Christmas as a single woman. She will marry her multi-millionaire fiance James Matthews in May and the couple hope to start their own family soon afterwards. It is understood that Kates brother James will also join in the fun. The Queen however will not be without children on Christmas Day as granddaughter Zara Phillips, pregnant with her second child by husband Mike Tindall, will be bringing her mischievous two-year-old daughter Mia. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children will spend a private Christmas with the Middleton family They will be with Kates family at the home of the Middletons (right) instead of joining other members of the Royal Family with the Queen (left) at Sandringham estate in Norfolk William and Kate have missed the royal celebrations once previously back in 2012 when Kate was pregnant with her son and suffering from an acute form of morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum. But they re-joined the family at the Queens 20,000-acre Norfolk estate for Prince Philips traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot and it is likely they will do the same this year. A Royal aide told the Mail yesterday: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children will have a private Christmas Day with the Middleton family. Kate, 34, is very close to her family and has always made clear that they will play a significant role both in her life and those of her children. On the few occasions the couple have left the youngsters, they have always stayed with their maternal grandparents. Carole Middleton, James Middleton, Michael Middleton and Pippa Middleton were guests at Sandringham in the new year (pictured) Doting Carole and Michael taking the children out is a familiar sight in the local community, offering the third and fourth in line to the throne a taste of life outside the royal birdcage. Kates stance, it has been suggested, has led to tensions with her father-in-law Prince Charles, who is privately said to have bemoaned the fact that he does not see enough of his grandchildren. Clarence House has always publicly maintained he has an excellent relationship with both, however. Royal sources said yesterday that the Queen understood and endorsed William and Kates decision not to spend Christmas Day with her. One said: Her Majesty understands that it is a dilemma that many young couples face and acknowledges how close Catherines relationship is with her family. 'Indeed that is why she has long included Mr and Mrs Middleton in family events. 'She thinks they have conducted themselves impeccably and with enormous dignity over the years. Christmas at the Middletons Georgian pile in Berkshire is also, in truth, likely to be far more fun than the staid celebrations at Sandringham where tradition and formality including daily visits to church and several changes of dress a day is the norm. Kates sister Pippa has previously written about magical family Christmases and how their father dons fancy dress costumes including, once, that of an inflatable sumo wrestler. It is likely, however, that the entire family will go to church on Christmas Day at nearby St Marks Church in Englefield, where Pippa will wed next year. Among the royals expected to go to Sandringham on Christmas Eve now are Prince Harry, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence and Prince Edward with his wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, and their children, Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn. Both Princess Annes children are also expected to be present this year with their spouses. Prince Andrew will be joined by his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. A Russian student nicknamed the female Wolf of Wall Street has been arrested for a 116million tax scam after police spotted glamorous social media photos. Anastasia Tsirenschikova, 22, now also pictured in jail, was one of five people arrested for allegedly moving nine billion rubles - 116,500million - into overseas tax havens from Russia. The glitzy socialite's social media account is littered with pictures of her sipping expensive champagne, sunbathing in tropical locations and posing with luxury cars. Anastasia Tsirenschikova, 22, is poses next to a foamy bath sipping a big glass of red wine The suspected money launderer is pictured with a cub lion - one of the ultimate status symbols in Russia The glamorous student enjoys a large glass of white wine and a big plate of oysters Miss Tsirenschikova's Instagram account is full of the bikini-clad student at exotic resorts In the most recent picture of her, the 22-year-old has been snapped in prison Pictures she posted on social media showed an unbelievable lifestyle for a student which involved designer clothes, swanky restaurants and exotic holidays. The stunning brunette was pictured sipping champagne while wearing an evening dress on a beach, stretching her long legs over the side of an open-topped car, sipping cocktails and eating oysters at a high class restaurant. In one photograph, she was even seen cuddling a lion cub - one of the ultimate status symbols in Russia - but her most recent picture, showing her in custody, might give a better idea of her future prospects. The leggy economics student sits in a huge bath with her as the jets blow bubbles towards her Tsirenschikova, pictured here on the floor with dazzling heels, a second suspect called Gomma, a Panamanian man named as Ortis A, 25, and two other businessmen, 29 and 47, whose names have not been disclosed, allegedly helped thousands of businessmen illegally shift funds overseas Wearing enormous heels, Anastasia Tsirenschikova drapes her legs over the door or a convertible Mercedes-Benz In a full-length gown, the student poses with a drink on a pebbled beach with two grand candle holders behind her The glamorous suspected criminal plays with her hair as she holds up a cocktail Tsirenschikova, a second suspect called Gomma, a Panamanian man named as Ortis A, 25, and two other businessmen, 29 and 47, whose names have not been disclosed, allegedly helped thousands of businessmen illegally shift funds overseas. They reportedly charged 2.5 percent in commission for their services which would have netted them an estimated 225million Rubles (2.9million). The money was moved through a number of accounts in an attempt to throw the Russian financial authorities off the scent before the huge pot ended up offshore. Tsirenschikova reportedly told police that she met Gomma through a female friend and had no business dealings with him, but later partially admitted her guilt, according to local media. She was shortly due to graduate from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in Moscow. Police also revealed that they found cocaine in her flat. A video purportedly showing a young child being operated on without anaesthetic in Aleppo reduced a Turkish journalist to tears on television. Turgay Guler broke down after the footage was screened. It is claimed to show a five-year-old child reciting verses from the Koran during surgery. The video purportedly shows a five-year-old child being operated on without anaesthetic in Aleppo The footage of the operation has not been verified by MailOnline. After seeing the brief clip, which appears to have been filmed by a medic in the war-torn Syrian city, a tearful Guler held his head in his hands, barely able to speak. It is not known when the video was taken. Turgay Guler broke down after the footage was screened on Turkish TV Earlier this month the United Nations criticised Russia and Syria for preventing supplies including medical equipment from reaching sick civilians in east Aleppo. An evacuation of the city stalled today, with Syrian officials calling for injured people to be let out of the besieged Shi'ite villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province. Tennessee sheriffs are searching for two inmates who managed to escape from jail early on Friday morning after assaulting deputies and taking off in one of their vehicles. The incident took place just after midnight on Friday, when four inmates managed to escape, according to WBIR. Deputies at the Jefferson County Work House in Dandridge, Tennessee, were treating another inmate, 24-year-old Adam Lethco, for a hand injury. Scroll down for video Matthew Porter (left), 27, and Adam Lethco (right), 24, escaped from Jefferson County Work House in Dandridge, Tennessee, just after midnight on Friday As the deputies left the cell, four inmates assaulted them and stole the keys to a sheriffs vehicle, according to ABC News. When volunteer firefighters spotted the stolen black Chevrolet on a highway in nearby Sevierville, they alerted authorities who arrested one of the escaped inmates, Jimmy Moore, 22. Just before 4am, deputies also located another of the escaped inmates, 26-year-old Richard Lorenz. Moore and Lorenz were taken back to jail. They face charges of aggravated assault on an officer and escaping from jail. The other two who escaped Lethco and Matthew Porter, 27 are still on the loose. Authorities say that the vehicle in which they fled may have had a gun and that the two fugitives should be considered armed and dangerous. Lethco was sent to jail for eight years for aggravated burglary, theft, and vehicle theft. Porter, meanwhile, is serving the first year of a six-year sentence for reckless endangerment and evading arrest. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told her top supporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed interference in the U.S. election out of a 'personal beef' against her, in a ploy she said undermined U.S. democracy. Clinton, who spoke at a party she threw for top donors in New York, stated as the motive her own criticism of 'flawed' Russian parliamentary elections that paved the way for Putin's return to power in 2011. 'Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election,' she said. The New York Times obtained audio of Clinton's remarks at an event that was meant to financial backers for her $1 billion ultimately unsuccessful campaign. She said Russia hit back at her with an effort to 'undermine our democracy.' Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday called Russian hacking during the elections an 'attack against our country' 'Make no mistake, as the press is finally catching up to the facts, which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign,' Clinton said, in just one of her lines that hinted at her deep resentment. She called it a 'unprecedented Russian plot to swing this election.' In her remarks, Clinton also called out FBI director James Comey, and points to an analysis by political polling expert Nate Silver that pointed to a drop in her support among late-breaking voters in swing states following the release of a bombshell Comey letter indicating that investigators were resuming an investigation of Clinton's emails. Comey ultimately released another letter two days before the election stating that the bureau hadn't learned anything to change its prior decision, having announced he would not recommend charges against Clinton. 'Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the F.B.I. letter from Director Comey,' Clinton said. She pointed to her popular vote margin of about 3 million votes over Trump, and even spoke about her 2008 loss to President Obama. Clinton vented about the elections days after a report that CIA officials have concluded that the intention of Russian-directed hacking was to get President-elect Donald Trump elected president. Hillary Clinton addressed some of her top financial supporters at The Plaza Hotel on Thursday night, and delivered extended remarks on Russian hacking Hacked aide Podesta calls FBI 'deeply broken' in op-ed Clinton unloaded on the Russians and Comey just hours after her campaign chair, John Podesta, released an op-ed in the Washington Post calling the FBI 'deeply broken.' Podesta, whose Gmail account was targeted in a phishing scheme that led to the disclosure of thousands of damaging and embarrassing emails, contrasted the FBI's 'painstaking' response to the Clinton email scandal, which director James Comey said required thousands of hours of effort, to how the bureau handled the early stages of the hack of the Democratic National Committee. He referenced a New York Times story about the hacking that revealed an agent first broke the news to the DNC by telephoning the help desk. The staffer who took the call wasn't initially confident that the FBI caller was legitimate. The failure to have an FBI agent visit the targeted building, just a few minutes away in Washington DC, was presented as one of many inept responses. 'Of course, as Comey himself concluded, in the end, there was no case; it was not even a close call,' Podesta wrote, referring to the email scandal. Comey in fact cited Clinton for being extremely careless, but said there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute. 'Comparing the FBIs massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI,' Podesta wrote. 'There are now reports that Vladimir Putin personally directed the covert campaign to elect Trump,' Podesta wrote. 'So are teams of FBI agents busy looking into the reported meeting in Moscow this summer between Carter Page, a Trump foreign policy advisor, and the Putin aide in charge of Russian intelligence on the U.S. election?' 'What about evidence that [Trump advisor] Roger Stone is in contact with WikiLeaks and knew in advance that my hacked emails were about to be leaked? Are thousands of FBI person-hours being devoted to uncovering Trumps tangled web of debts and business deals in Russia and elsewhere?' he wrote. President Obama mentioned Podesta during his White House press conference Friday as he tried to make a joke about some of the emails, even as he scolded the press for doing the Kremlin's dirty work. 'Im finding it a little curious that everybodys suddenly acting surprised that this looked like it was disadvantaging Hillary Clinton because you you guys wrote about it every day,' Obama said. 'Every single leak. Every little juicy tidbit of political gossip including john Podestas risotto recipe. This was an obsession that dominated the news coverage,' the president said. Podesta called on the administration to declassify as much information as possible about the hacking, brief members of the Electoral College before they meet on Monday, and authorize a bipartisan, independent investigation. 'The public deserves to know exactly what happened, why and what can be done to prevent future attacks,' he said. Advertisement When Clinton said the activity was something 'every American should be worried about,' a member of the crowd yelled, out, 'No kidding!' 'This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country,' Clinton said. 'We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation.' She made her remarks just days before the Electoral College is to meet to elect Trump, and hours before President Obama's final news conference of the year. Her campaign chairman John Podesta, who got hacked, is calling on security agencies to brief members of the electoral college. 'I am in an odd historic position,' Clinton said. 'Back in 2008 I won slightly more votes than president Obama but lost the delegates, and now I won 3 million more votes than Donald Trump but fell short in the Electoral College.' 'I know how the system works, probably better than everybody else. But there were some unprecedented factors that I don't think we can ignore,' she said. 'There were some unprecedented factors that I don't think we can ignore,' she said. She brought up Silver's analysis of polling around the time of Comey's letter 12 days before the elections. 'Nate Silver believes, I happen to believe this, that that [Comey] letter most likely made the difference in the outcome.' Turning back to Putin's return to power after leaving office and becoming Prime Minister, she called the Russian parliamentary elections she called 'flawed' and so 'illegitimate' that it was 'embarrassing.' 'At least in those years we stood up for democracy and human rights,' she said. She called it a 'phony attempt for him to appear as if he had a parliamentary victory.' 'We have to recognize ... Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me,' Clinton said. She said Putin was 'determined not only to score a point against me - which he did,' but to undermine U.S. democracy. She called it 'part of a long term strategy to cause us to doubt ourselves and to create the circumstances in which Americans either wittingly or unwittingly will begin to cede their freedoms to a much more powerful state.' Clinton's remarks also make clear her lingering resentment toward the press, which reported on Russian hacking but also delved into internal campaign and Clinton Foundation intrigue after internal emails got posted on WikiLeaks and other sites. 'As the press is finally catching up to the facts which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign,' she said. 'This is not just an attack against me and my campaign ... This is an attack on our country. We are well beyond normal political concerns here,' she said. Clinton called for an investigation modeled on the Sept. 11th commission, saying it should 'do everything possible to get to the bottom of what happened.' She spoke of the 'mud of politics,' and said 'I have over 66 million reasons to be proud of our country,' she said, referencing her popular vote total. Clinton arrived at the Plaza on Thursday night and was pictured sitting in the back of a black car as it was directed into the hotel's loading dock garage Clinton beamed as she attended a fundraiser for her hosted by Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein in June in New York. Her event Thursday was a thank you for financial campaign backers The costly holiday party was being held at New York's famed Plaza Hotel 'I know how the system works, probably better than everybody else. But there were some unprecedented factors that I don't think we can ignore,' she said. 'There were some unprecedented factors that I don't think we can ignore,' she said. She brought up Silver's analysis of polling around the time of Comey's letter 12 days before the elections. 'Nate Silver believes, I happen to believe this, that that [Comey] letter most likely made the difference in the outcome.' Turning back to Putin's return to power after leaving office and becoming Prime Minister, she called the Russian parliamentary elections she called 'flawed' and so 'illegitimate' that it was 'embarrassing.' 'At least in those years we stood up for democracy and human rights,' she said. She called it a 'phony attempt for him to appear as if he had a parliamentary victory.' 'We have to recognize ... Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me,' Clinton said. One of the suspects in the murder of a 26-year-old Connecticut man actually has appeared to exonerate his friend and co-defendant, telling police he had 'nothing to do with it.' In a series of statements to detectives last month, Lawrence Dilione allegedly said 'Max had nothing to do with it', the New York Daily News reports. James Rackover, 25, and Lawrence Dilione, 29, have both pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing a corpse, hindering prosecution, and tampering with evidence. Neither of the men have been charged with murder. Max Gemma, 29, a childhood pal and roommate of Dilione's, was also booked on charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. The men are facing the charges in the death of Joseph Communale, who was allegedly stabbed to death in Rackover's apartment on November 13. He was allegedly knifed 15 times, before his body was left in a shallow grave in New Jersey. Scroll down for videos Lawrence Dilione, 29, has allegedly given a statement to police exonerating a third defendent, his friend Max Gemma Max Gemma, 29, of Oceanport, New Jersey has been charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence in Joseph Comunale's death James Rackover, 25, pictured, and Lawrence Dilione, 29, are facing a string of charges Video courtesy of Crime Watch Daily Both and Dilione hail from Oceanport, in New Jersey. The defense had sought permission for Gemma to go to London on a pre-planned family vacation on December 27, but his request was refused - even in light of Dilione's statements being received by the court. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon said: 'In my judgement, it's too serious a case to allow him out of the country.' More than 800 heartbroken friends and family members turned up in Stamford, Connecticut, at St Leo's Church to pay their final respects. His father Pat broke down in tears as he spoke to those in attendance, saying: 'Well, Joey'd be mad at me for crying, because he never cried. The judge in the case reduced Rackover's bail sum from $3million to $1million, or a $300,000 cash bond 'He loved his friends. That's a testament to what kind of kid he was. And he shared everything with his friends, I can assure you.' Family members and friends outside the church said that all they want now is for justice to be served, and for Dilione and Rackover to go to prison for killing the caring young man with a 'big heart.' The body of Comunale, who went by the name Joey, was discovered in a wooded stretch on the Jersey shore on November 16. The area is just minutes from Dilione's workplace, Shore Point Roofing. Comunale's partially-burned remains were found inside a suitcase that had been buried behind Foggia's Florist in the town of Oceanport. There were multiple stab wounds on the victim's body while he also suffered a broken pelvis. One and two: Comunale, 26, was at the apartment of James Rackover with Lawrence Dilione (above), when he was stabbed Rackover changed his name in March of last year after moving in with Jeffrey Rackover (pair above in May 2014) Comunale was reported missing at 8am on Tuesday, November 15 by his father after he never returned home from his weekend trip to New York City. He reportedly met Rackover and Dilione at Gilded Lily, a club on West 14th Street, and that at the end of the evening they headed back to Rackover's apartment on 59th Street with three women. The three women then left early that morning, and Comunale was seen reentering the building around 7.30am. Some time after he returned the men reportedly got into a fight and Comunale was stabbed multiple times. Then at some point a person inside called the front desk to request a luggage cart. Dilione was released on bond last month and has been at home in New Jersey Not long after that, a man was recorded on surveillance video using the cart to transport two pieces of luggage out of the building. A building employee was also reportedly asked by an individual in the building how long video surveillance was kept before it gets erased. Rackover was born James Arthur Beaudoin Jr. in Florida, and was arrested multiple times for burglary, armed robbery, and drug possession. Then, in January of 2009 he was charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, again in Broward County. For that arrest he was also charged with violating his probation. He left Broward County and his criminal past behind however to travel north to New York, where he found a new home in Jeffrey Rackover's multimillion dollar apartment. James was later given his own apartment in the same building, which is where police believe the grizzly murder of Comunale occurred this weekend. Jeffrey treated James as the son he never had and allowed him to formally use his name. The Russian army will expand mobile missile patrols near its European borders next year, a senior military commander announced today. Improved technology meant nuclear weapons could 'overcome practically any water obstacle' when being transported to other areas, said Col Gen Sergei Karakaev, commander of Russias strategic missile forces, according to the BBC. Col Karakaev claimed the missiles had a 'global reach and enormous destructive power'. The Russian army will expand mobile missile patrols near its European borders next year, as Ukraine-Russia relations reach an all-time low. Warships were already dispatched to the disputed Crimean peninsula earlier this month Karakaev added: 'In the current geopolitical situation, the Strategic Nuclear Forces are the guarantor of the security of the Russian Federation and its allies, as well as the independence of its foreign and domestic policy'. Tensions between Russia and Nato have escalated since the Ukrainian War and annexation of Crimea, the Independent reported. Both sides have launched high-profile military manoeuvres this year. More than 20 Nato and partner countries participated in a large-scale military exercise in Poland in June, while Russia deployed missiles two months ago in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. A billboard with a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin is displayed on a street in Kerch, Crimea. The board reads: 'Crimea. Russia. Forever' Earlier this month Putin deployed about 55,000 Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and 23,000 in Crimea. Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, the same year it launched attacks on Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin said the move was necessary to combat Nato 'threats'. However, Russia and Nato have agreed to hold talks in Brussels on Monday for the first Nato-Russia Council meeting since July, the BBC reported. Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: 'When tensions run high, as today, it is even more important to have direct dialogue with Russia'. Ahead of the planned talks, Stoltenberg said the two parties were increasing cooperation on cyber attacks, maritime defence and military exercises. Nato suspended cooperation with Russia over the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and satellite images appearing to show Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. A teenager shot and killed a deer after it busted through his family's front door, ransacked their home, and knocked over their Christmas tree. Ryan Manchester, a high school senior from Frederick, Maryland, thought someone was trying to break into his home on December 5 when he heard banging at the door. Instead, he found a fully grown deer ransacking his home, and decided to take matters into his own hands by shooting it once between the eyes, and a second time in the shoulder. Scroll down for video Ryan Manchester, a high school senior from Frederick, Maryland, shot and killed a deer after it busted through his family's front door Manchester recorded a video that shows the deer knocking over the family's Christmas tree and causing other damage as it tried to escape out a window Manchester called his father, got the key to the gun cabinet, and headed back downstairs to face the animal Manchester was in the kitchen of his family home at 1.30pm on December 5, when he thought 'someone was trying to break the door down with a sledgehammer', he told the Frederick News-Post. The animal soon broke the front door, before trying to exit the home through a window in the living room. Manchester recorded a video that shows the deer knocking over the family's Christmas tree and causing other damage as it tried to escape out a window. The teenager told the Frederick News-Post he thinks the deer was attracted to the scent of doe urine on their Christmas tree. Unsure what to do, Manchester locked his dog in the bathroom, ran upstairs, and called 911 - but they didn't react with any urgency, he said. Manchester said: 'So I asked them if I should shoot it. They didnt tell me to shoot it. But they didnt tell me not to shoot it. So I was like, "Im probably gonna shoot it."' The animal control person was still 15 minutes away, so Manchester called his father, got the key to the gun cabinet, and headed back downstairs to face the animal, which found its way into the kitchen. Manchester said the deer must have been hurt trying break into the house, because the animal left its blood all over the windows. The teenager went so far as to gut the animal outside and smear its blood on his face The teenager followed the deer back into the living room, where it finally realized there was someone else in the house in stopped in its tracks. When the animal started at him 'like a deer in the headlights', Manchester pulled the trigger and shot in between the eyes. But it took another shot in the shoulder before the deer died. Manchester was concerned the SWAT team would swarm down on the home if his neighbors heard gunshots, but police arrived and took a report without any problems. The Denver Police Department has been forced to defend its officers after shocking video emerged of cops taking blankets and survival gear from homeless people in the freezing cold. Footage was widely circulated this week showing as many as nine officers standing over a group of homeless people, pulling blankets off them as they slept and sat on the sidewalk. In a video published on November 29 shortly after 2:30am, two officers stacked the blankets in piles and then carried them away. The blankets were taken as 'evidence' the homeless people in the video were committing a crime by violating the city's urban camping ban. Scroll down for videos Denver police officers have been caught on video taking blankets and other survival gear from homeless people sleeping outside in the freezing cold 'We are taking your tent and sleeping bag as evidence of a crime,' one of the officers told a homeless man, who the video claims is a veteran. 'It's cold out here, and (the police) are telling me they don't give a f*** about whether I die out here in this cold weather,' the homeless man was heard saying in the footage. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado shared the videos this week, and included a letter to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and the Denver City Council demanding officers stop taking things from homeless people. 'It is not an inherent crime to sleep outside, and many people right now have no other viable option,' ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley said. The video showed officers grab the blankets and bundled them together, before carrying them away as 'evidence' One man, who claimed to be a veteran, was left with nothing after police took his blankets and a tent 'Denvers shelters are simply unable to serve all people in the Denver area experiencing homelessness, even in the short term, much less as a long-term solution. 'Until real solutions become Denvers priority, the citys ongoing policing-first approach to homelessness is a cruel waste of funds, curtailing fundamental constitutional rights, causing deep human suffering, and endangering lives.' Hancock defended his officers, saying it is not a 'widespread practice', and claimed the homeless people were protesters. 'It's cold out here, and they (the police) are telling me they don't give a f*** about whether I die out here in this cold weather,' the homeless man (middle) was heard saying The video showed some of the blankets being taken from homeless people as they were sitting underneath them 'The video clip... was actually three individuals who were protesting and setting up camp in front of city hall,' he said, according to CBS Local. 'And after the police asked them to move, they did not, they were cited and their equipment was taken as evidence. 'But this is not a widespread practice throughout the city and we wanted to make sure that it didnt go any further and that people understand this is not how we want to operate during these frigid temperatures.' The Denver Police Department also released a statement, saying it took the equipment from the people in the videos because they were 'illegally camping'. Mayor Michael B. Hancock (right) said the behavior seen in the video was not standard practice, but said the homeless men in the clip were protesters A Muslim woman was dragged along the street by her hijab by two men in London before managing to dial 999 and limp to a Turkish restaurant. The 27-year-old woman had been at a hair salon when she had her headscarf grabbed by two white men. She was attacked in Hall Lane in Chingford Mount at 8.30pm on Wednesday. The 27-year-old woman had been at a hair salon when she had her headscarf grabbed by two white men in Hall Lane, in Chingford (pictured) A waiter at Fes, the nearby Turkish restaurant, told the London Evening Standard: 'The poor girl was shaking like a leaf, we had to sit her down and give her water before she could speak. 'She told us two white guys shoved her then dragged her along the floor by her headscarf and left her on the pavement. She was having a panic attack and could barely breathe.' Witness Hussan Bukhari told the newspaper: 'She was absolutely terrified and in tears.' Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service were called to treat the victim for her injuries and took her to hospital. In October Sophia Dar, 47, a mother-of-four from Ilford, had her hijab ripped off by a thug on Oxford Street as she walked to work. She told MailOnline she would not give in to bullies after the attack in broad daylight. She was left sobbing in the busy street and said no one came to aid to try and stop the aggressor. Female victims are more likely to suffer attacks because they appear 'more visibly Muslim' thanks to traditional dress and are also perceived as 'soft targets', campaigners have said. A Home Office report also showed that in 2015/16 the overall number of hate crimes logged by forces in England and Wales increased by nearly a fifth, with offences recorded at a rate of around 170 a day. Police are appealing for witnesses to the assault in Chingford, on December 14. No arrests have been made. The suspects are described as two white males, aged 17 to 19. They were wearing all black clothing. Rochelle Purdie faces jail for failing to control her husky dog A woman whose pet husky was shot dead by a farmer after it attacked his sheep has been warned she could face jail. Rochelle Purdie, 31, cost farmers thousands of pounds when her pet mauled livestock on three separate occasions. The dog attacked a flock of sheep, killing two of them, at Bogside Farm, near Purdie's home in Carluke, Lanarkshire, last December. The stress of the attack caused a further eight sheep to lose their lambs and cost the farmer 2000. In March, the husky struck again, killing two sheep and leaving another five injured at Hillhead Farm, Carluke. The farmer lost 8200 because of the impact on his breeding stock. The dog then killed three sheep and injured two others so badly they had to be destroyed at Bonnington Mains Farm, Lanark in August. During this incident the farmer used his shotgun to kill the dog and another husky belonging to Purdie. He later estimated he lost 350 as a result of the attack. Purdie appeared at Lanark Sheriff Court and admitted being the person responsible for the dog during the three incidents. One of her animals savaged sheep on three different farms near her home in Lanarkshire The court was told she had phoned police to report her dog missing, claiming it had run off after the first two attacks. But at the time of the third attack, the dog was subject to a council control notice meaning it is viewed as being 'out of control'. Purdie later labelled the farmer 'cold blooded' for his actions. She wrote on Facebook: 'I witnessed these ruthless cold blooded men as they took off on quad bikes dragging my dogs bodies with them claiming they had killed two sheep. My dogs ran off together with both leads/harness on. 'I drove straight to the farm where I found the old farmer and his son at the side of the dirt road who shot them. 'I was led to a barn where they lay, not one trace of sheep blood to be seen on my Siberian huskies white face never mind my young pup. 'I lifted them into my car and buried them together. My heart was ripped out the day I heard them crying for help. Unfortunately I couldn't get to them quick enough. My dogs were my everything my family in which I worked around.' Purdie tried to claim she was the victim and branded the farmers 'cold-blooded' But in court Stephen MacBride, defending, said: 'She accepts the responsibility for what happened to the other animals who were completely innocent.' Sheriff Nikola Stewart said: 'The damage done to these sheep and the resultant cost to the farmers who own them is in the thousands. 'I think there is a degree of minimising the impact this has had on them 'I get that she is sad about the dogs, I like dogs as well, but she put herself in a position where responsible land owners took the steps that they took and that they are perfectly entitled to take. 'On these occasions she was clearly a bad dog owner.' Kieran Lister, from Leeds, wrote on December 12 saying he had broken up with his girlfriend of two years A heartbreaking final post by a 20-year-old from West Yorkshire has gone viral after he took his own life. Kieran Lister, from Leeds, wrote on December 12 saying, 'I don't know what to do anymore'. The post revealed how he had recently split from his girlfriend of two years, before saying it was not her fault. The post read: 'I don't know what to do anymore. My girlfriend of over 2 years (yes you may think it's a short period) has decided we aren't good for each other anymore - 2 years is a long time to bond, to be happy with. 'Now we are separating I don't feel like I can cope without her full love any longer. She was and still is my everything. I don't think I will be able to get over this. I don't want to wait till I get over the situation because she's the only one that's ever made me truly happy. 'This isn't (girlfriend's name) fault at all, we both just weren't right for each other in the end. I did a lot of bad in the relationship that may of led up to this. From day one to the end, I should have cared the same as I did during happy times. 'I guess people slowly move apart from each other and I would do anything to stop this but it's something that I have no control over. 'I know I'm being selfish considering I have my two families, my dog snoop, my reptiles & my princess (girlfriend's name). 'I'd like to wish upon everyone to listen to these last wishes. 'To remember the good times I shared with people I'd like my favourite song to be played for me - Lion King circle of life. I would like someone to look after snoop for me until he joins me. He's looked after me through hard/good times and I'm sure he will look after whomever chooses to take it upon them. 'The flat and car I own, is now (girlfriend's name). Use my bank account to pay for it & the clothes I have that are worth money, eBay them to get more for it (don't throw them it's pointless). 'Once you have enough money to get a place better, make sure you are moving out with someone that cares. That won't just be there for the meantime, then move out but please take the photo on the wall with you. 'Please sell all my belongs, like consoles and everything that's worth something, the furniture, once you are done with, give to someone else that's in need and looking for somewhere to live. I wish everyone to look after each other, stop falling out and remember how precious life is. 'The presents I have bought (girlfriend's name) they're in loft), take them and have a good Christmas, a happy one. It's what I want & a lot of thought went into them. Kieran Lister, from Leeds, wrote on December 12 saying, 'I don't know what to do anymore' 'As I'm writing this upset and I can see snoop feeling the pain I'm feeling while whining (either that or he's hungry lol) 'I'm sorry to all the people I have hurt, let down and just generally upset. If I could I'd make everyone forgive me but I'm not god. Yet. I am not a believer of god, I'm just imagining someone powerful, who's indestructible. I wish I was. 'Please Facebook, don't take my post down. The reason I'm writing this for Facebook is because maybe this note will leave an eye opener to the people that are looking for happiness, something I've looked for my whole life. I want my family and friends to read this and to know, I care. I love everyone so dearly. I'm out. Don't try save me it's what I want. 'Let's play hide and seek but never stop looking for true happiness.' His post has been reacted to by over 20,000 people and shared around 11,500 times. Thousands of people have commented about how 'heartbreaking' it is to read the post, while others have simple wrote 'RIP' and 'God Bless'. However it has also attracted some negative comments prompting family members to speak out. A cousin of Mr Lister wrote: 'I cannot believe some of the nasty evil comments I've been reading especially from people that didn't know him. RIP Kieran you really were a popular guy loved by many. A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: 'At 7.42pm on Monday, December 12, police received a call expressing concerns for the welfare of a 20-year-old man who had gone missing from his home in Churwell and had last been seen earlier in the day. 'Enquiries were carried out and searches conducted and the man was found dead in the Cottingley area at about 1.40am on Tuesday. The death is not being treated as suspicious and the Coroner's Office has been informed.' Democrat billionaire George Soros is among investors who will bankroll Facebook's new fake news fact checking feature Billionaire Clinton donor George Soros is among a line-up of wealthy liberal figures who will fund Facebook's fake news fact checker. The 86-year-old Hungarian financier's Open Society Foundation is listed among organizations which are backing The International Fact Checking Network, the body tasked with flagging bogus news stories to social media users, on its website. Soros, a staunch Democrat who tried to block George W. Bush's campaign in 2004, has given $25million to Clinton and causes dear to her. Other donors involved in the new fact checking feature include eBay founder Pierre Omidyar who has committed more than $30million to the Clintons and their charities. Google, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy are also funding the pilot. The line-up feeds criticism from right-wing commentators that the new fact checking feature will be biased towards left-wing causes and could interfere with the social media feeds of millions of voters. The feature was announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday night. It will flag any stories which have been 'disputed by a 3rd party' before users attempt to share them and prohibit the promotion of any fake stories. The third parties include but are not limited to ABC News, Politico, Snopes and The Washington Post. They are among signatories to the IFCN's code of principles. The Poynter Institute said it would review its sign-up processes in light of Facebook's announcement and would not be accepting any new members for the foreseeable future. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (left) is also involved in the pilot scheme that was announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (right) on Thursday Soros's support was considered so crucial by Clinton campaign aides during the presidential race they discussed how to 'keep him happy' in leaked emails. In one, senior aide Huma Abedin advised campaign manager Robby Mook to send Clinton to a Soros event 'for political reasons'. When her crushing defeat was made plain on November 9, Soros regrouped with other Democrat mega-donors to discuss how they could 'take back power' from the Republicans. At a meeting arranged by the Democracy Alliance, another organization spearheaded by the billionaire, insiders plotted how to correct the course of action and dissect their mistakes in trying to get Hillary elected. ' You dont lose an election you were supposed to win, with so much at stake, without making some big mistakes, in assumptions, strategy and tactics,' Gara LaMarche, president of the Democracy Alliance, admitted in his opening statement. His role has prompted rife concern among right-wing news organizations. Breitbart, whose owners are among Trump's largest donors, heralded news of Soros's involvement as proof of bias in the Facebook feature. Infowars, another staunchly Republican site, was among the first to condemn the added feature and question the trustworthiness of the 'third party' checkers. ' One of Facebook's 'fact checkers' is the Washington Post, who had to admit to putting out an inaccurate 'fake news' list just a week ago,' said Infowars' Paul Watson on Twitter. 'The 'fact checkers' that will bury 'fake news' on Facebook is just a bunch of mainstream news outlets. This is about silencing competition,' he added Investigative conservative group, Veritas Action, added: 'Seriously @facebook? Using biased sources re @factcheckdotorg @snopes @PolitiFact as sources to determine #FakeNews?' Conservative and right wing news outlets were among the loudest voices, accusing Facebook of choosing left-wing partisan organisations after the social media giant announced that the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network would lead the fact-checkers Clinton has blamed Russia for her campaign defeat. Some of the fake news stories which may have harmed her chances came from Russian sources Meanwhile the FrontPage said the move should make conservatives re-consider using Facebook at all. WHO ARE THE FACT CHECKERS? The third party fact checkers are members of the International Fact Checking Network which was founded in September 2015 amid a surge of fake news stories. The network's members are those which signed up to it before Facebook announced its pilot scheme with the Poynter Institute. Some but not all of those listed below will be tasked with checking any stories flagged by Facebook users. The current list, which has now been closed to new signatories, is below: ABC News (USA) Africa Check (South Africa, Senegal and Kenya) Agencia Lupa (Brazil) Agencia Publica - Truco (Aos Fatos (Brazil) AP (USA) Added Dec. 15th Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (Kosovo) Climate Feedback (USA) Added Dec. 5th Colombiacheck (Colombia) Added Nov. 11th Chequeado (Argentina) Demagog CZ (Czech Republic) Demagog PL (Poland) Dogruluk Pay (Turkey) El Deber Data (Bolivia) El Mercurio El Poligrafo (Chile) El Objetivo La Sexta (Spain) Factcheck.org (USA) FactCheck Georgia (Georgia) FactCheck Northern Ireland (UK) FactCheck-Ukraine (Ukraine) FactsCan (Canada) Faktabaari (Finland) Full Fact (UK) GKillCity.com (Ecuador) Internews Kosova (Kosovo) Internews Kosova Istinomer (Serbia) Melu Detektors (Latvia) Added Sept. 26th Metamorphosis Foundation (Macedonia) Observador (Portugal) Ojo Publico (Peru) Pagella Politica (Italy) Pesa Check (Kenya) PolitiFact (USA) Snopes (USA) South Asia Check (Nepal) TheJournal.ie (Ireland) UY Check (Uruguay) Valheenpaljastaja (Finland) VERA Files Fact Check (Philippines) Added Sept. 19th VoxUkraine (Ukraine) The Washington Post Fact Checker (USA) Zasto ne Istinomjer (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Advertisement 'In essence, Facebook is giving the partisan left free space on conservative news links. It's also allowing them to undermine a conservative link while promoting their own agenda. ' 'It's not quite censorship, but the partnership with left-wing partisan "checkers" helps move it to the next step of barring sites outright. For the moment, Facebook has decided that you shouldn't just be able to share links to what you're interested in without the left getting a say. 'This is yet another reason for conservatives to rethink being on Facebook,' the news outlet stated. The Weekly Standard questioned the authority of those signed up to the network so self-police. It singled out Politifact, recalling several occasions in which the outlet admitted it had peddled falsities. Fake news peddlers themselves however welcomed the announcement. 'This is the right approach,' Marco Chacon, the founder of fake news site RealTrueNews.org, told The Daily Beast. He said the move gave more responsibility to social media users who like to share articles, even if they believe they may be fake, as part of 'tribe signaling'. Under Mark Zuckerberg's new plans, these organizations will get to determine what news stories being shared on Facebook are real, and which should be flagged as fake. Facebook will then prohibit paid promotion of stories marked as disputed. Users will have the option to 'learn why this is disputed' for further explanation as to why Facebook has flagged it as fake. 'We'll use the reports from our community, along with other signals, to send stories to these organizations,' Facebook VP Adam Mosseri wrote in a statement. 'If the fact checking organizations identify a story as fake, it will get flagged as disputed and there will be a link to the corresponding article explaining why.' Facebook will not go as far as to ban users from posting any 'fake' news, but each new posting will carry the warning that the story's authenticity has been disputed. For a story to be passed to the fact-checkers, readers must first flag it as potentially fake. Once enough users report it, it goes to the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network. Fake news stories on Facebook have touched on a broad range of subjects, from unproven cancer cures to celebrity hoaxes and backyard Bigfoot sightings. But fake political stories have drawn attention because of the possibility that they influenced public perceptions and could have swayed the U.S. presidential election. There have been other dangerous real-world consequences. A fake story about a child sex ring at a Washington, D.C., pizza joint prompted a man to fire an assault rifle inside the restaurant, Comet Ping Pong. 'We do believe that we have an obligation to combat the spread of fake news,' said John Hegeman, vice president of product management on news feed. Sources of misinformation range from click-bait produced by 'content farms', to partisan sites from both parties, to accusations that Russia has been spreading 'fake news' on social media to swing the election for Trump after analysts 'traced anti-Clinton stories back to Moscow-linked Twitter trolls'. Among 'fake' stories peddled by accounts with links to Moscow was one focused on Clinton's apparent ill health after she fell ill at a 9/11 memorial event in September. In the future, Facebook messages that are disputed will display these messages Mark Zuckerberg posted that he was improving Facebook in the wake of the fake news scandal Speculation grew over her condition after she appeared to faint on camera while getting in to her car. A string of stories ensued after the Democratic candidate appeared at other events fighting a lingering cough. It was later revealed she was battling pneumonia. Some outlets, however, picked up on claims she was suffering Parkinson's disease or Syphilis. The unfounded reports were then shared thousands of times on Twitter, said the experts. By partnering with respected outside organizations and flagging, rather than removing, fake stories, Facebook is sidestepping some of the biggest concerns experts had raised about it exercising its considerable power in this area. MARK ZUCKERBERG'S STATEMENT IN FULL A few weeks ago, I outlined some projects we're working on to build a more informed community and fight misinformation. Today, I want to share an update on work we're starting to roll out. We have a responsibility to make sure Facebook has the greatest positive impact on the world. This update is just one of many steps forward, and there will be more work beyond this. Facebook is a new kind of platform different from anything before it. I think of Facebook as a technology company, but I recognize we have a greater responsibility than just building technology that information flows through. While we don't write the news stories you read and share, we also recognize we're more than just a distributor of news. We're a new kind of platform for public discourse -- and that means we have a new kind of responsibility to enable people to have the most meaningful conversations, and to build a space where people can be informed. With any changes we make, we must fight to give all people a voice and resist the path of becoming arbiters of truth ourselves. I believe we can build a more informed community and uphold these principles. Here's what we're doing: Today we're making it easier to report hoaxes, and if many people report a story, then we'll send it to third-party fact checking organizations. If the fact checkers agree a story is a hoax, you'll see a flag on the story saying it has been disputed, and that story may be less likely to show up in News Feed. You'll still be able to read and share the story, but you'll now have more information about whether fact checkers believe it's accurate. No one will be able to make a disputed story into an ad or promote it on our platform. We've also found that if people who read an article are significantly less likely to share it than people who just read the headline, that may be a sign it's misleading. We're going to start incorporating this signal into News Feed ranking. These steps will help make spreading misinformation less profitable for spammers who make money by getting more people to visit their sites. And we're also going to crack down on spammers who masquerade as well-known news organizations. This is just one of many steps we'll make to keep improving the quality of our service. Thanks to everyone for your feedback on this, and check back here for more updates to come. Advertisement For instance, some worried that Facebook might act as a censor and not a skillful one, either, being an engineer-led company with little experience making complex media ethics decisions. 'They definitely don't have the expertise,' said Robyn Caplan, researcher at Data & Society, a nonprofit research institute funded in part by Microsoft and the National Science Foundation. In an interview before Facebook's announcement, she urged the company to 'engage media professionals and organizations that are working on these issues.' Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg insists that fake news constitutes less than one percent of what's on Facebook , but critics say that's wildly misleading. For a site with nearly 2 billion users tapping out posts by the millisecond, even one percent is a huge number, especially since the total includes everything that's posted on Facebook photos, videos and daily updates in addition to news articles. In a study released Thursday, the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of Americans say they have shared a made-up news story, either knowingly or unknowingly. Forty-five percent said that the government, politicians and elected officials bear responsibility for preventing made-up stories from gaining attention. Forty-two percent put this responsibility on social networking sites and search engines, and a similar percentage on the public itself. Fake news stories can be quicker to go viral than news stories from traditional sources. That's because they were created for sharing they are clickable, often inflammatory and pander to emotional responses. Mike Caufield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University Vancouver, tracked whether real or fake news is more likely to be shared on Facebook. He compared a made-up story from a fake outlet with articles in local newspapers. The fake story, headlined 'FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide' from the nonexistent Denver Guardian, was shared 1,000 times more than material from the real newspapers. 'To put this in perspective, if you combined the top stories from the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times, they still had only 5% the viewership of an article from a fake news,' he wrote in a blog post . Facebook is emphasizing that it's only going after the most egregious fake news creators and sites, the 'the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain,' wrote Adam Mosseri , vice president of product for Facebook's news feed, in a blog post Thursday. The news Facebook will be relying on independent fact checkers comes just days after the social media site revealed it has been misleading its advertisers. Facebook wrote on Friday that it had been miscalculating more of its viewership metrics for advertisers. One miscalculation is a discrepancy between the number of likes and shares Facebook shows for web links through its Graph API for advertisers and through its mobile search field. Facebook has also been miscalculating the number of likes and reaction emojis that page owners see for their live videos. Government officials are calling for Uber to stop testing its self-driving cars in San Francisco just two days after the trial got underway. The demand comes after one of the self-driving cars was caught on camera jumping through a red light and almost slamming into a pedestrian. A fellow motorist, who was correctly stopped at the light, spotted the distinctive Volvo blasting through the junction. Scroll down for video Government officials are calling for Uber to stop testing self-driving cars in San Francisco just two days after a trial started (pictured: a self-driving car running a red light on Thursday) Uber defended its new fleet, which launched on Wednesday, and said the incident was the result of human error. The driver who was behind the wheel at the time has been suspended. 'This is why we believe so much in making the roads safer by building self-driving Ubers,' the company said in a statement, highlighting the need it sees to eliminate human drivers, according to CBS News. But the statement wasn't good enough for a fleet of Californian regulators, who met with the company on Thursday to deliver their demands in person. This is the moment a self-driving Uber jumped a red light in San Francisco during a trial San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (left) said the ride-sharing app should immediate stop picking up passengers with its driver-less cars, but California Transport Agency spokeswoman Melissa Figueroa (right) said no deal has been reached between the company and regulators San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said the ride-sharing app should immediate stop picking up passengers with its driver-less cars. Lee and other state officials insist Uber must shut down the service until the company obtains a special permit for testing its Volvo SUVs on public roads. However, Uber claims it does not need the permit, because they have a backup driver at the wheel at all times monitoring the performance of each car. The highly distinctive Volvo cars have a range of sensors on the roof for detecting danger The self-driving Ubers have an operator, pictured left, and an engineer, right, monitoring the systems and ready to take control in the case of an emergency When working normally, the operator does not have their hands or feet on any of the controls A resolution could not be reached on the dispute on Thursday, a spokeswoman for California transportation regulators confirmed. Melissa Figueroa said discussions would resume on Friday, after 'positive conversations' on Thursday. Uber introduced the first self-driving cars in September in Pittsburgh. All of the self-driving cars have a human operator who monitors the journey from behind the steering wheel and can take over control at any time. A Kentucky man who was bothered by a rattle in a car he'd recently bought at an Ohio auto auction has found two pounds of heroin in a secret compartment inside the vehicle. The man drove the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta for several weeks before discovering the drugs beneath the front passenger seat in a hidden compartment. 'We went out to dinner one night and the car started making a strange noise inside the passenger seat,' he said to WCPO. A man heard a rattling in his car and was shocked to discover it was a box of drugs hidden underneath the car seat Two pounds of heroin had been stashed underneath the passenger seat The car was bought at auction but even though a search had been conducted the drugs were never found The man immediately called the police and turned over the drugs when he realized what he had found. Investigators found more than 6 pounds of the drug in the car said to have a street value of $130,000. Incredibly, there is almost a logical explanation for the drug stash: eight months earlier, the Ohio State Highway Patrol revealed that it had found three kilos of heroin in the same car. At the time, it was being driven by a former Mexican law enforcement officer who said a drug cartel was forcing him to drive the drugs across the country. The drugs were cleverly hidden to avoid detection unless a thorough search was conducted Rolf Kruger, 63, was promptly arrested, but the car made its way back to an impound lot, and then onto the Columbus Fair Auto Auction. Rolf Kruger, 63, was a a former Mexican law enforcement officer and the previous owner of the car. He was arrested A Highway Patrol spokesman says the car was thoroughly searched using a K-9 before it was released to the auction. The auction company say they would never have allowed the car to have been sold if they would have known about its history. They have since agreed to take the car back. Tim Reagan from the Cincinnati Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency said secret compartments are often built to make things the drugs harder to find. 'It's actually probably more common that law enforcement does miss cash or drugs in vehicles just based on the way things are hidden,' he said. 'The only person that may know exactly how to operate the trap or where the trap is is the person who built it.' Eduardo Rivera (pictured) reportedly stole a car because 'it was too damn cold to wait at the bus stop' An 18-year-old from Chicago stole a car because 'it was too damn cold to wait at the bus stop,' according to prosecutors. Eduardo Rivera came across an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition shortly after he left his home on Wednesday, according to an arrest report cited by DNAinfo. Rivera was stopped less than three miles away after he made a turn without signalling, and police ran the license plate and realized the car had been stolen. He spotted the 1999 Chevy Suburban parked on the street near his home in the 2300 block of North Austin Avenue. Rivera and two other passengers were stopped just 2.5miles away in the 4800 block of West Belmont Avenue, after he turned without signalling. Police ran the license plate and realized the car had been stolen, according to court records. He spotted the 1999 Chevy Suburban parked on the street near his home in the 2300 block of North Austin Avenue (pictured), but was stopped by the police just 2.5miles away He told police he took the SUV because it was too cold to wait at the bus stop, according to the Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto. Rivera, a high school student who does not have a previous criminal record, faces a charge of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. A polar vortex descended in Chicago on Wednesday, with wind chills dropping 20 to 30 below zero. The National Weather Service also issued a Wind Chill Advisory on Wednesday night. The National Weather Service also issued a Wind Chill Advisory on Wednesday night (pictured, commuters on Thursday). Temperatures, with wind chills dropped to 20 to 30 below zero Arthur Sulzberger Jr. (seen above in this November 10, 2016, file photo), the publisher of The New York Times, circulated a memo to staff on Friday announcing the re-design of the newspaper's office space It appears The Gray Lady is doing some belt-tightening. Citing a need to generate revenue and cut costs, The New York Times circulated a memo to its employees on Friday announcing that it would vacate at least eight of the floors that it occupies in its 52-story skyscraper in midtown Manhattan, according to Politico. The paper's publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and its president and CEO, Mark Thompson, informed staff on Friday that it will reconfigure its newsroom and office space so that it could then rent the eight vacated floors. 'We've made the decision to consolidate our footprint across the building to create a more dynamic, modern and open workplace, one that is better suited to the moment,' the memo read. 'We're planning significant investments in a redesign of our existing space in order to facilitate more cross-departmental collaboration. We expect a substantial financial benefit as well. All told, we will vacate at least eight floors, allowing us to generate significant rental income.' The re-design will effectively eliminate the corner offices that belong to Sulzberger and Thompson, which they noted were 'vestiges from a different era.' While the renovations are done, the newspaper will relocate 400 of its staff to a temporary office space nearby. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. The New York Times Company, the newspaper's corporate parent, occupies the 2nd to 21st floors of the building, which is owned jointly by the company and real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies. The 52-story office tower in midtown Manhattan (above) is jointly owned by The New York Times Company and real estate developer Forest City Ratner Companies Prior to Friday's announcement, the Times occupied 628,000 gross square feet of office space. Last month, the Times reported a sharp decline in revenue from print advertising. In its quarterly earnings report, the newspaper said its print edition ad revenue fell 18.5 percent. Overall, advertising revenue at the company dropped 7.7 percent to $124.9million. Executives at the newspaper expect ad revenue to continue to decline, though the Times did note with satisfaction that it has seen an increase in the number of digital subscribers. Nonetheless, the newspaper has implemented a series of cost-cutting measures in recent years, shrinking the newsroom by laying off staff and closing foreign offices like the one in Paris, according to Politico. The man who allegedly opened fire inside a Washington D.C pizzeria after being inspired to 'self-investigate' an internet conspiracy has pleaded not guilty in court. Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, of North Carolina, was arrested on December 4 after storming into Comet Ping Pong restaurant to research untrue internet claims that Hillary Clinton was part of a child sex ring based in the pizza place. A public defender for the 28-year-old waived her right to argue for his release at a hearing Friday, which means he will remain held without bail. Edgar Maddison Welch (pictured as he was arrested on December 4) pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly opened fire in a pizza restaurant Authorities say Welch fired multiple shots inside Comet Ping Pong after driving from his North Carolina home to look into the fake claims. Police say he surrendered after panicked customers and staff fled and he found no such thing. It comes Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefantis spoke for the first time since the controversy during an interview on Fox's The Kelly File. He said social media attacks, including death threats, had been made against him, his staff, and his family as the election went on and more people began to spread the conspiracy. Welch, 28, of North Carolina, was arrested on December 4 after storming into Comet Ping Pong restaurant to research untrue internet claims that Hillary Clinton was part of a child sex ring based in the pizza place Signs of support hang on the building at Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, December 6 He went on to it feels like he is 'being terrorized'. Welch had earlier told The New York Times after his arrest that he had acted in haste and regrets how he handled the situation. 'I just wanted to do some good and went about it the wrong way,' he told the Times during a video conference. Welch, the father of two daughters, said when he woke up on Sunday morning, he told his family he had things to do before leaving Salisbury and heading for D.C. His plan was to give the restaurant a 'closer look' before returning home later that day, he said. But as he made the 350-mile drive to Washington, he felt his 'heart breaking over the thought of innocent people suffering,' according to the Times. Police shut down Connecticut Avenue outside Comet Ping Pong after Welch opened fire. The pizza restaurant was the subject of a fake news story claiming it was the center of a child sex ring orchestrated by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chief, John Podesta The plan quickly changed once he arrived at Comet Ping Pong - so named because patrons can play Ping-Pong on tables in the back. He told police he had 'read online that the Comet restaurant was harboring child sex slaves and that he wanted to see for himself if they were there,' authorities said. Welch, who said he has grown religious in recent years, said he 'was armed to help rescue them,' police said. Police surround Comet Ping Pong, a popular neighborhood restaurant that has endured weeks of threats since the fake news story, referred to as 'Pizzagate', began appearing on websites 'The intel on this wasn't 100 per cent,' Welch told the Times, while refusing to deny outright the claims in the fake news articles. He only said no children 'were inside that dwelling' and added that child slavery was a world-wide phenomenon, according to the Times. Welch has his next hearing in January. President Barack Obama indicated Friday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin had a hand in the hacking operation that targeted Democratic operatives before the election that ultimately sent Donald Trump to the White House over his favored successor. 'Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin. This is a pretty hierarchical operation,' Obama said. He stopped shy of pointing the finger directly at the foreign leader outright yet said, 'Last I checked theres not a lot of debate and democratic deliberation, particularly when it comes to policies directed at the United States,' leaving little doubt where he thought responsibility should rest. 'I will let you make that determination whether there are high level Russian officials who go off rogue and decide to tamper with the U.S. election process without Vladimir Putin knowing about it,' the U.S. president stated. The CIA said this week that it believed Russia intervened to help Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton - an assessment the FBI echoed minutes before Obama's remarks. Scroll down for video President Barack Obama indicated Friday that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin hand a hand on hacking Democratic operatives before the election At a news conference where Russia dominated the discussion, Obama mocked Donald Trump for saying the government accused the Kremlin only after Hillary Clinton lost. He argued that his administration was right to slow roll its response to the cyber thefts The CIA said this week that it believed Russia intervened to help Trump - an assessment the FBI echoed minutes before President Obama was due to begin his year-end news conference At a news conference where Russia dominated the discussion, Obama mocked Donald Trump for saying the government accused the Kremlin only after Clinton lost. He argued that his administration was right to slow roll its response to the cyber thefts, in part to avoid charges of inappropriate meddling. 'Stolen emails were already in the possession of Wikileaks, and they were going to come out anyway. The leaks had 'already occurred,' he said. More aggressive action would have undermined confidence in the election, Obama contended, at a time when Trump was already claiming the voting process was 'rigged'. 'We handled it the way it should have been handled,' Obama said Friday. The president said his primary goal was to make sure the 'election itself went off with a hitch, that it was not tarnished and that it did not feed any sense in the public that somehow tampering had taken place.' 'We accomplished that,' he said. 'That does not mean that we are not going to respond.' Obama said he wanted to make sure 'everybody understood we were playing this thing straight' before the election between Trump, a Republican, and Clinton, a Democrat and the president's former secretary of state, to ensure that the integrity of the process was sustained. 'I felt that the most effective way to ensure that that didnt happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out, there were going to be some serious consequences if he did,' Obama said of Putin. The CIA and FBI have concluded that Russia tried to interfere in order to elect Trump (above), a claim the president-elect has rejected Obama stopped shy of pointing the finger at Putin outright on Friday yet said, 'Last I checked theres not a lot of debate and democratic deliberation, particularly when it comes to policies directed at the United States Trump said in a tweet this week, 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' The president-elect called the CIA's assessment 'ridiculous' while speaking to Fox News, saying, 'I don't believe it. I think it's ridiculous.' Obama said Friday this is exactly why he's ordered a review of the intelligence. 'When the report comes out before I leave office that will have drawn together all of the threats, and so I don't want to step on their work ahead of time,' he said. 'What I can tell you is that the intelligence that I've seen gives me great confidence that the Russians carried out this hack - the hack of the DNC and the hack of John Podesta.' A New York Times report this week took a critical look at Obama administration's October statement that Russia did the hacking, even though it knew the Kremlin was responsible several months before. Podesta piled on in a Washington Post op-ed on Friday. 'The FBI knew that the DNC was the target of foreign espionage in September of 2015. Instead of visiting the Democratic Party headquarters just across town, it left messages,' he wrote. It also expended significant resources investigating Clinton's emails, her former campaign chairman complained, even though he wrote that the FBI had 'no case'. 'The FBI's behavior is 'baffling' and 'downright infuriating,' said Podesta, who was at the White House Friday meeting with former and current chiefs of staff along with Trump's incoming senior aide, Reince Priebus. 'Comparing the FBIs massive response to the overblown email scandal with the seemingly lackadaisical response to the very real Russian plot to subvert a national election shows that something is deeply broken at the FBI,' he stated. Podesta is calling on security agencies to cede to a request from a group of electoral college members for a briefing on the hacking before they officially declare Trump the winner on Dec. 19. Obama turned down an opportunity to make a similar appeal when asked whether he though the electors should get briefed on the hack. 'It's the American people's job, and now the electors' job to decide my successor,' he said. Hillary Clinton on Thursday called Russian hacking during the elections an 'attack against our country' and accused Putin of taking revenge on her for speaking truths Intelligence officials said as far back as July of this year that the Russians hacked Democratic National Committee officials. Clinton's campaign rang the alarm, in response to those reports. The Obama administration didn't affirm her campaign's statements until two months later. Other intelligence officials claimed this week Putin had a personal hand in the attacks on Democratic officials. Obama's spokesman and his deputy national security adviser intimated the White House's belief that Putin was personally involved in the cyber thefts Thursday. They did not call the Russian president out directly, though, and secretary of State John Kerry cast doubt on a report claiming that Putin personally ordered the attacks, using air quotes as he talked about the anonymous 'intelligence officials' who did the the leaking. U.S. intelligence officials believe 'a high level of confidence' that Putin was personally involved in the election hack, two senior officials told NBC News. Putin not only ordered the hack but controlled the way that the materials obtained in the operation from was leaked and used during the election, they said. One official claimed that Putin did this as a 'vendetta' against Hillary Clinton in the beginning, but then turned it into an exercise attempting to hint at corruption in US politics to 'split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader anymore.' Clinton told her top supporters at a private event she believes Putin directed interference in the U.S. election out of a 'personal beef' against her in a ploy she said undermined U.S. democracy. Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, whose email was hacked before the election, attacked the FBI in an op-ed Friday for its handling of the situation. He was at the White House Friday meeting with former and current chiefs of staff along with Trump's incoming senior aide, Reince Priebus She said his motive was her own criticism of 'flawed' Russian parliamentary elections that paved the way for Putin's return to power in 2011. 'Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election,' she said. She said Putin was 'determined not only to score a point against me - which he did,' but to undermine U.S. democracy. 'We have to recognize ... Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me.' The New York Times obtained audio of Clinton's remarks at an event that was meant to financial backers for her $1 billion ultimately unsuccessful campaign. The president's press secretary wouldn't affirm Putin's direct involvement Thursday when he was asked about the intelligence. 'I do not have an additional intelligence assessment to share from the podium,' press secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily briefing. Earnest said intelligence officials are 'apparently' calling up reporters and telling them, anyway. 'I am not in a position to confirm them,' he said of those reports. 'It's particularly concerning in those circumstances when people are sharing information that's classified or sensitive. But this is not a new phenomenon,' he added. He later said it's 'pretty obvious' which high-ranking official the statement was referring to. Obama's deputy national security adviser told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell he suspects that Putin was directly involved in the cyber crime. 'I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it,' Ben Rhodes said. 'Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that... ultimately, Vladimir Putin is the official responsible for the actions of the Russian government.' Putin is reported to have done this in revenge against Hillary Clinton for publicly questioning the integrity of Russian parliamentary elections back in 2011 (Putin and Clinton above in 2012) At a briefing later in the day, John Kerry said, 'Look, I am not going to start making comments at this point. I havent commented on this publicly because of the job I do. 'Im not going to comment on anonymous reports from intelligence officials that are not identified that have quotes around the concept of intelligence officials.' Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the claims of Thursday however, saying they were nothing more than 'laughable nonsense.' 'I'm not surprised,' Obama's spokesman, Earnest said in response. The White House separately claimed this week that Trump knew Russia was interfering in the election, despite his claims to the contrary. In October, all 17 intelligence agencies signed onto a statement attributing the Democratic National Committee hack to Russia That statement said that 'only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities.' It did not explicitly name Putin as having any role in the hack. 'My reading of it was that it was not intended to be subtle,' Earnest said Thursday. 'The reference to senior most officials in Russia would lead me to conclude that, based on my personal reading, and not based on any knowledge that I have that may be classified or otherwise, it's pretty obvious...that they were referring to the senior most government official in Russia. Responding to Trump's tweet today, Obama said this is exactly why he's ordered a review of the intelligence. Putin is said never to have forgiven Clinton publicly questioning the Russian system and integrity of parliamentary elections back in 2011 while serving as secretary of state. He also accused her of encouraging street protests with her statements at the time Michael McFaul, who was ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, said of the hack, 'It is most certainly consistent with the Putin that I have watched and used to work with when I was an ambassador and in the government.' 'He has had a vendetta against Hillary Clinton, that has been known for a long time because of what she said about his elections back in the parliamentary elections of 2011. 'He wants to discredit American democracy and make us weaker in terms of leading the liberal democratic order. And most certainly he likes President-elect Trump's views on Russia,' the former diplomat said. U.S. officials have now begun a probe of Putin's personal wealth in preparation for any possible retaliation by the Russian leader. They believe that Putin's network controls around $85 billion worth of assets, though the CIA would not comment on that number or the probe. U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for a formal congressional investigation into the hacking. Trump has rejected the CIA's conclusion that Russia tried to interfere with the presidential election and blamed 'very embarrassed' Democrats for the public release of the assessment. 'Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card. It would be called conspiracy theory!' he said Monday. Obama's spokesman let loose on him in several of his daily briefings. 'He called on Russia to hack his opponent. He called on Russia to attack Secretary Clinton,' he asserted on Monday. 'So he certainly had a pretty good sense of which side this activity was coming down on.' The Obama spokesman made similar claims Wednesday. 'There was ample evidence that was known long before the election, and in most cases long before October, about the Trump campaign in Russia, everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent. 'It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign. Secretary of State John Kerry wouldn't accuse Russian president Vladimir Putin of masterminding hacks on Democrats to throw the U.S. presidential election Thursday Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway lashed out at the Obama spokesman on Thursday during an appearance on Fox & Friends. 'That is just remarkable. That is breathtaking. I guess he's auditioning to be a political pundit after his job is over soon,' she said. 'That is incredibly disappointing to hear from the podium of the White House press secretary...he essentially stated that the president-elect had knowledge of this, maybe even fanned the flames.' Trump raised new concerns with the hacking claims on Friday morning. 'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?' He threw the spotlight back onto Clinton, who was allegedly tipped off by Donna Brazile, then vice chair of the DNC and now the interim head, about a question in advance of a CNN Democratic primary debate. Despite their differences, Obama said at his new conference that his relationship with Trump is 'cordial,' confirming in his statement that he spoke to Trump just the other day. 'Maybe I can transmit some thoughts about maintaining the effectiveness, integrity, cohesion of the office, our various Democratic institutions. And he has listened,' Obama said. A spurned wife who shot dead her wealthy husbands pregnant mistress has been secretly freed from prison and now says shes dying of cancer. Former Army sharp-shooter Rena Salmon, 56, revealed details of her illness after she was pictured for the first time since being released on licence after 14 years. Yet the mother-of-two appeared relaxed and in good spirits earlier this week as she moved furniture into her new flat with the help of her daughter, 24. Former Army marksmen Rena Salmon, 56, pictured after serving a 14-year prison sentence for the murder of former friend Lorna Stewart in 2002, who was pregnant with her husband Paul's child On other occasions, she was seen strolling to a bus stop with the aid of a walking stick. Last night her exact prognosis was unclear. One of the countrys most notorious female killers, she murdered her Scots-born love rival Lorna Stewart, 36, in September 2002 in a crime that shocked the nation. The married mother-of-two shot Miss Stewart, 36, twice with a double-barrelled shotgun in her beauty salon, then sent a text message to her estranged husband Paul confessing to the murder. The day before the shooting, Salmon told a friend: Ive got a gun. Im not going to kill her. Im just going to hurt her, to shoot her so she cant have babies. It later emerged that Miss Stewart was two months pregnant with Mr Salmons child when she was murdered. Salmon was jailed for life, with a recommendation that she serve at least 14 years. She was released from Askham Grange womens prison in North Yorkshire in September after spending 14 years behind bars. This included the eight months she spent on remand before her trial in May 2003. In her first public comments since her release, Salmon initially said: I had a heart attack last year and Im having treatment for cancer. I do voluntary work I live on my own, I dont want people to know where I am. Lorna Stewart, (pictured) who was murdered by Rena Salmon. Salmon was given a life sentence for the murder of Stewart, who Salmon had discovered was her husband's love Later she said she has incurable cancer and is taking her life one day at a time. She added she did not want to talk about her time behind bars, but revealed: I have breast cancer with secondary cancer. I had surgery last year, but because of my heart I couldnt have chemo. Ive had radiotherapy, but they dont know how long Ive got left. Im just taking things day by day. The murderer said she would be spending her first Christmas since being released on her own. It will be quiet, but I dont mind, she added. Im used to spending Christmas on my own I did it for 14 years. Behind bars, she befriended Maxine Carr who provided a false alibi for Soham murderer Ian Huntley and also gave an interview to The Guardian in which she portrayed herself as a victim. She told a womens rights campaigner who talked to her in jail for the article in 2004: I hate what Ive done, but Im not the only one responsible for all this pain. This is not a crime you could fit into a neat hole, with a classic explanation. I firmly believe that I deserve to be punished for my crime, but I will always deny it was murder. The countdown to murder began in January 2002 when Salmon learned her husband was having an affair with Miss Stewart, their next-door neighbour. The Salmons were friends of Miss Stewart and her husband Keith Rodrigues in the upmarket village of Great Shefford, near Hungerford, Berkshire. The couple had extravagant parties for friends in the village, and even downed glasses of Pimms in their outdoor hot-tub with Miss Stewart and Mr Rodrigues. Paul and Rena Salmon on their wedding day June 5, 1984. Paul, 42, last night revealed he had 'no regrets' over the affair that led to his wife shooting dead his pregnant lover But then Salmon became aware of her husbands betrayal with her close friend, an attractive massage therapist. Mr Rodrigues told Salmon he had discovered from an email on his wifes computer that she and Mr Salmon were having an affair. The couple later set up home together and Miss Stewart reverted to her maiden name. Nine months later, in September 2002, Salmon took one of the shotguns her husband of 17 years had left at their home and marched into Miss Stewarts beauty salon in Chiswick, West London, to carry out the murder. After her arrest, Salmon, a former member of the Womens Royal Army Corps, waged a hate campaign against her estranged husband, then an IT consultant earning 130,000 a year. In May 2003, the Old Bailey was told that neither of them knew Miss Stewart was pregnant and this fact was kept from the jury to avoid prejudicing the trial. Salmon, trained to use firearms during ten years in the Army, blamed her actions on her troubled childhood. She denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. She was found guilty of murder and jailed for life. Labour was last night facing a fresh revolt over migration as Yvette Cooper led an attack on Jeremy Corbyns soft approach to the issue. The former shadow home secretarys call for immigration controls were echoed by Andy Burnham and even Len McCluskey usually one of the Labour leaders staunchest supporters. Mr Corbyn and his shadow home secretary Diane Abbott have repeatedly rejected calls to tighten our borders once Britain leaves the EU. Yvette Cooper (pictured) has called for more immigration controls, saying she takes a 'different view' than Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow home secretary Diane Abbott But Miss Cooper insisted immigration had to be controlled and last night said she took a different view from Mr Corbyn and Miss Abbott. The Labour MP, who is now chairman of the home affairs select committee, told political magazine The House: I think when you look at the way agencies have been able to draw in a lot of low-skilled workers and then have employers use that to undercut wages and jobs, I think it does cause problems for economies. Thats why I think you can make a progressive argument to say free movement hasnt been working for the British economy in a way thats fair. My starting point would be different from Jeremy and Dianes. She dismissed Miss Abbotts claim that calling for immigration controls would turn the party into Ukip lite. Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) has repeatedly rejected calls to tighten borders once Britain leaves the EU I think weve got to take Ukip on and be much harder about taking Ukip on, she said. Immigration is really important for Britain, it just needs to be controlled and managed in a way thats fair. I think its possible to be positive about what the economy needs and also talk about reform at the same time. Andy Burnham said politicians were often scared of bringing up immigration but border controls should be a priority when we leave the EU. Andy Burnham (pictured) agreed with Miss Cooper and said that border controls should be a priority when Britain leaves the EU He wrote in The Guardian: The time has come for the left to break out of this dysfunctional cycle of denial and overreaction. By specifying single market access as our highest priority in the Brexit negotiations, we are getting things in the wrong order. The implication of this position is that if Europe made accepting full freedom of movement its price, we would accept it. That is it is not what people voted for. Len McCluskey also demanded an end to free movement of migrants as he launched his bid to be re-elected general secretary of the Unite union. The firebrand dubbed Red Len yesterday said it was essential to listen to the concerns of working people who want limits on the number of arrivals. He said: Unions understand that workers have always done best when the labour supply is controlled and communities are stable. While we must reject any form of racism, and help refugees fleeing war, we must also listen to the concerns of working people. David Scott, 47, was inspecting a water tank in Braintree, MA when his air supply equipment failed and he drowned A diver drowned while inspecting a water tank in Massachusetts while his 14-year-old son helplessly watched from a video feed on the ground. David Scott, 47, was doing a routine inspection of a million-gallon Lincoln Heights tank around 10am in Braintree on Thursday. He reported a problem with his air supply and then lost communication with his spotter, who was sitting on top of the 150-foot tank. The spotter, who was not wearing diving equipment, jumped in to try and save Scott, who had fallen unconscious. He was able to grab Scott's hand before the diver slipped away and the spotter himself became trapped in the frigid 45 degree water. Emergency services were called and two firefighters battled 50 mph gusts of wind to hoist the spotter out of the tank, where ice was forming from overflowing water. Braintree Fire Chief James O'Brien revealed the spotter was 'completely soaked' and had 'no body strength at all' after he was rescued, he told the Boston Globe. Weather conditions, including strong wind gusts, made it too dangerous for rescue workers to retrieve Scott's body on Thursday morning. Instead officials drained 1 million gallons of water from the tank into a retention pond, a process to took up to 16 hours. Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said they wanted to make sure Scott's body was removed from the tank in a 'dignified and respectful' manner. Scott reported a problem with his air supply and then lost communication with his spotter, who was sitting on top of the 150-foot Lincoln Heights tank (pictured on Thursday) The spotter, who was not wearing diving equipment, jumped in to try and save Scott, but his hand slipped away. Then the spotter became trapped in the frigid water and had to be rescued Scott's 14-year-old son (pictured) could only watch helplessly from a video feed on the ground as his father drowned Rescue crews worked through the night to recover the man's body, which was retrieved through a vault on the side of the now empty tank around 4.30am. The spotter suffered hypothermia but is expected to recover, according to The Patriot Ledger. 'It's a tragic day. It's a difficult day for us,' Sullivan said on Thursday. 'That individual was providing valuable service to our community. We also saw the best of our fire department and others who stepped up and took the time to save a life.' 'None of this activity should be considered routine. And obviously today we found out the difficulty of this work.' Sullivan also praised the firefighters who saved the spotter and commended them for their 'committed and heroic' response. Weather conditions, including strong wind gusts, made it too dangerous for rescue workers to retrieve Scott's body on Thursday morning Rescue crews worked through the night to recover the man's body, which was retrieved through a vault on the side of the now empty tank around 4.30am 'There were incredibly difficult weather conditions,' he said. 'You're talking about a 150-foot tower. You're talking about incredibly cold weather, with wind that was just gusting.' Scott and the spotter had been hired by TK Potable Diving, a subcontractor in Texas that was being used by Pittsburg Tank & Tower Co. Ben Johnston, the president of Pittsburg Tank & Tower, called the accident a 'bad day'. 'We're just trying to get our arms around everything,' he said. 'Certainly, we offer prayers for the family of the deceased and we'll continue the investigation to understand what happened.' All water tanks in Braintree must be inspected once every five years. The Norfolk District Attorney's Office said there are no signs foul play was involved in Scott's death. It will be five to seven days before the tank is refilled. Officials said there is no threat to the town's water supply. A 73-year-old man who was killed by a police officer on Monday suffered five gunshot wounds, an autopsy revealed. Rookie cop and former-Marine Reagan Selman, 26, fired seven rounds at Francisco Serna in Bakersfield, California, at around 12.30am Monday. The autopsy found Serna was hit five times; his son previously claimed he had been shot nine times, but police told CBS he had been 'misinformed'. Police responded to reports that a man was brandishing a firearm in the neighborhood, and a witness pointed to Serna, who had both hands 'concealed inside his jacket', according to police. Scroll down for video Officer Reagan Selman (left) fired seven rounds, five of which struck Francisco Serna (right) in Bakersfield, California, around 12.30am Monday. Serna died at the scene Serna had five children and was a 'retired grandpa, just living life,' his son said. Family members said he exhibited signs of dementia, and took walks at night when he couldn't sleep Selman (pictured) has been a member of the Bakersfield force since July 2015 after a stint in Afghanistan. He and six other cops were put on administrative leave pending an investigation But the elderly man was unarmed, and instead of a gun, police found 'a dark colored simulated woodgrain crucifix,' according to a police statement cited by USA Today. Serna's neighbor returned home with a friend and got out of the car in her driveway, only to find the 73-year-old standing behind her with his right hand hidden inside his jacket, according to police. Serna questioned her about living in the neighborhood, and told her to open the car door so he could have a look inside. The woman's friend complied. The neighbor saw a 'dark brown or black handled object that she believed was a gun,' and ran inside the house, telling her husband to call the police. When the husband called 911, he told the dispatch without expressing any doubt that Serna was armed and brandishing a revolver, according to Assistant Police Chief Lyle Martin. When Selman and several other officers arrived, the neighbor pointed at Serna and yelled, 'That's him!' Selman (pictured with his wife Crystal) allegedly started firing at Serna less than 30 seconds after the neighbor pointed to the 73-year-old and yelled 'That's him!' The elderly man walked towards them with both hands concealed inside his jacket, and did not follow orders to stop and show his hands, police said. Selman fired seven rounds at the 73-year-old even though he did not lunge at the officers or exhibit any threatening behavior, Martin said. Martin also said the police failed to utilize 'lower levels of force'. Selman was the only officer who opened fire just 20 to 30 seconds after the neighbor yelled, and Serna was pronounced dead in the driveway on the same block of his home. A search of the scene revealed Serna was not armed. Police found a 'dark colored crucifix' instead. Selman and six other officers have been put on administrative leave pending an investigation, Martin said. Rogelio, above, who goes by Roy, posted a video on Facebook claiming police murdered his father, and pointed to the area where it happened While the 73-year-old's son claimed he was shot nine times, Martin told reporters on Tuesday that Selman fired seven rounds. 'Right across the street is where the police shot my father with nine bullets to his body, and my dad was not armed,' Rogelio Serna said in a video on Facebook. 'My father was MURDERED by BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT' he wrote. Rogelio wrote in another post that his father was in the early stages of dementia and would go on walks when he had trouble sleeping. 'My dad did not own a gun. He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life,' Rogelio Serna told the Times. 'He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets,' he added. Serna's wife, Rubia Serna (center) was at a candlelight vigil on Tuesday. She is pictured surrounded by her sons Jesse Serna, right, and Frank Serna, left About 150 people gathered at the vigil. Rogelio Serna paid tribute to his father and said: 'He was taken from us sooner than expected. Not from a sickness, but from senseless police' Serna was a father of five, grandfather of 16 and great-grandfather of five. He lived with his wife and one of his daughters. He worked at a cotton gin in California's Central Valley until he retired more than a decade ago. Rogelio Serna said his father had been suffering from delusions and other early signs of dementia over the course of the last year, and his condition had deteriorated in the past month. Police had visited the house twice before because his confused father activated a medical alarm, Rogelio Serna said. Rogelio Serna filmed another video on Tuesday, alerting supporters to a candlelight vigil that was being held that day. He paid tribute to his father and said: 'He was taken from us sooner than expected. Not from a sickness, but from senseless police.' Sheriffs officials in Alabama on Thursday arrested and charged a suspect in the murder of a mother-of-two who was found dead in her Shelby County home on Wednesday. Adam Michael Burrus, 37, of Chelsea, was being held in the Shelby County Jail on a charge of murder in the slaying of Constance Overstreet Woolweaver. The 37-year-old woman was found dead by her 13-year-old son after he returned to their Birmingham home inside a gated community from school around 3.45pm Wednesday. Suspect charged: Adam Burrus, 37 (left), has been arrested and charged with murder in the killing of mother-of-two Connie Overstreet Woolweaver, 37 (right) Shelby County Sheriff's Capt Jeff Hartley described the scene in a stairwell leading to the basement as 'terrible' and said Woolweaver's death was being investigated as a homicide. Officials revealed on Friday that the woman was shot multiple times, including in the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Under these circumstances, I feel words alone are not enough, Sheriff John Samaniego told the victims family in a statement following Burrus' arrest. The loss of a relative or friend is always hard during the holidays, and if it is at someone else's hand, that makes it all the more tragic. If I could, I would wish all of you some comfort through knowing that I believe the person responsible for her death is now in jail and awaiting trial. Investigators have not released a motive, but Al.com reported that the suspect and the victim were friends and business associates, and money may have played a role in the killing. During a press conference on Friday, Samaniego called the brutal slaying a 'crime of passion,' but he noted it was not immediately known if the married man and the mother-of-two were in a romantic relationship. 'Anger is also passion,' the sheriff said, according to CBS News. Samaniego couldn't confirm Woolweaver loaned Burrus a large sum of money, however he said investigators are aware of the theory, AL.com reports. Burrus has a wife and two children, and he is the owner of Bass Attacker LLC, a company that sells fishing equipment, of which Woolweaver is a partner. Burrus also operates landscaping and construction companies. According to the news site, Burrus had been ordered to enter an anger management program after making threats against a family member several years ago. His bail has been set at $500,000. Woolweaver leaves behind a 13-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter. She had just celebrated both of their birthdays in the last week He became a person of interest Thursday morning and he voluntarily went to the sheriff's office. Search warrants were obtained and a handgun was found at either his business or home, or in his vehicle, Samaniego said. Woolweaver's son and her seven-year-old daughter had just celebrated their birthdays last week. The boy's father died last year, according to AL.com. Just hours before she was found dead, Woolweaver posted an illustration on Facebook of a woman awake in bed. It read: Ive got 99 problems and 86 of them are completely made up scenarios in my head that Im stressing about for absolutely no logical reason. Burrus has a wife and children, and he is the owner of several companies; he and Woolweaver reportedly were friends And this is why I cant sleep. Brain shut up! she wrote in the caption of the post. Major Ken Burchfield told the Daily Mail Online investigators do not believe the murder occurred during a home invasion. Sheriff Samaniego assured the community that their safety was not in danger. 'I do not believe there is a related threat to any of the residents in Highland Lake or other local communities related to Ms Woolweaver's death,' he said in a statement. 'Her intentional death was the result of a calculated act and our investigators are making progress identifying her killer.' 'This was a senseless act and I am very saddened for her family and friends.' Friends from Woolweaver's high school have created a GoFundMe to help raise money for her children. As of Friday evening, the campaign has drawn more than $19,000 in donations. A Texas judge has ruled that a middle school is allowed to display a Charlie Brown Christmas poster with a Bible verse after the district tried to ban it. The six-foot poster was taped to a door of the nurse's office at Patterson Middle School in Killeen, and depicts Linus reading scripture about the birth of Christ. 'For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord... That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,' the poster reads. On Wednesday, the school board voted to ban the poster's display on the grounds that it could offend students who do not have the same religious views as Christians. A Texas judge has ruled that a middle school can display this poster inspired by the Charlie Brown Christmas special the district tried to ban it due to the fact it included a Bible verse But Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, a conservative Christian, said the school district had unlawfully stamped out religious expression. He sued the school district on Thursday and demanded that the district allow the poster, which was created by nurse's aide Dedra Shannon, to be put back up. 'Religious discrimination towards Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups,' Paxton said. 'I am glad to see that the court broke through the left's rhetorical fog.' The district said the ruling from the Bell County 146th District Court required that text must be added to the poster saying it is 'Ms. Shannon's Christmas Message.' 'We believe that directing the individual to include the additional text better complies with state and federal law,' the district said in a statement. 'We support this decision.' Shannon said she had been inspired to decorate the door to the nurse's office from the Charlie Brown Christmas TV special. She created the poster showing a picture of Linus, along with a Christmas tree and the Bible passage, which is quoted in the film. The six-foot poster was taped to a door of the nurse's office at Patterson Middle School (pictured) in Killeen. School officials worried it would offend children who are not Christian Shannon told Fox News that just days after putting it up, she was told by the school's principal to remove it. 'She said, "Please don't hate me, but unfortunately you're going to have to take your poster down,"', Shannon recalled the principal saying. 'I'm disappointed. It is a slap in the face of Christianity.' Shannon said the principal told her that the poster violated the US Constitution. 'She said my poster is an issue of separation of church and state. She said the poster had to come down because it might offend kids from other religions or those who do not have a religion.' The view was echoed by education officials at the school district. 'Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and holiday season in the manner of their choosing,' the district said last week in a statement to KWTX-TV. 'However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students.' Paxton argued that the display was protected by the Merry Christmas Law the state legislature passed in 2013. 'We passed that law precisely because of this type of discrimination against people of faith,' Paxton said in the statement. The poster was created by nurse's aide Dedra Shannon, who said she had been inspired to decorate the door to the nurse's office from the Charlie Brown Christmas TV special (pictured) 'No school official in Texas can silence a Biblical reference to Christmas. This is an attack on religious liberty and a violation of the First Amendment and state law.' The Merry Christmas Law that Texas legislators passed in 2013 removes 'legal risks' from exchanging holiday greetings in classrooms and protects symbols such as Christmas trees, menorahs or Nativity scenes, so long as more than one religion is represented and a secular symbol such as a snowman is displayed. But Killeen Independent School District officials have said the law doesn't protect the poster because it encourages one particular religion. Matt Angle, director of the left-leaning Lone Star Project that is often critical of Paxton, saw the attack against the school district as being a 'cynical smokescreen'. 'Ken Paxton is exploiting people of faith in order to distract from his own criminal indictment,' Angle said. After Britain voted for Brexit, David Cameron gave up his job, his house and his 142,500 salary. But leaving the front line of politics may have had one upside for Mr Cameron is said to have taken up pheasant shooting again after a decade-long break. He gave up hunting and shooting when he took charge of the Conservative Party in 2005, but reportedly dusted off his plus fours during his final weekend in Downing Street. David Cameron gave up hunting and shooting when he took charge of the Conservative Party in 2005, but has allegedly returned to hunting pheasants He has gone shooting at least twice in the past five months, including a day at the Salperton estate in Gloucestershire in July, the Daily Telegraph claimed. A spokesman for Mr Cameron did not respond to a request for comment last night. Last year the first picture of the former PM at a fox hunt was unearthed by ex-Tory donor Lord Ashcroft for his biography of Mr Cameron, which was serialised in the Daily Mail. Mr Cameron joined the Heythrop hunt from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire six times before the hunting ban was introduced by Labour in 2005. He is pictured with his wife on holiday in Alvor, Portugal last summer Mr Cameron joined the Heythrop hunt from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire six times before the hunting ban was introduced by Labour in 2005. In the run up to the 2015 general election he backed a repeal of the Hunting Act, saying it had done nothing for animal welfare. Leopold II of Belgium (pictured) laid the foundation stone of the library at Queen Mary University of London in 1887. The two plaques commemorating his visit have been torn down after student protesters said they were offensive to ethnic minority students Two plaques commemorating a visit to a British university by King Leopold II of Belgium have been torn down after student campaigners claimed they were racist. The 19th century monarch visited Queen Mary University of London in 1887, when he laid the foundation stone of the library. But student protesters said the plaques were offensive to ethnic minority students because they pay homage to a genocidal colonialist and should be removed. They claimed this would help black students feel welcomed, respected, integrated and entitled to a sense of belonging on campus. Campaigners lobbied the student council to take down the plaques, but members voted against it. However, it emerged yesterday that university authorities removed the memorials quietly in June as part of ongoing refurbishment. THE TYRANT BEHIND MURDER OF MILLIONS OF AFRICANS He posed as a generous philanthropist bringing civilisation and wiping out slavery. But King Leopold II of Belgiums exploits in the Congo in the Victorian era were motivated by personal greed and ambition. Jealous of Britain and Frances empires, he joined the scramble for Africa by the great European powers, and succeeded in making the vast Congo his personal fiefdom. It was owned by him alone and he became one of the richest men in the world from ivory and rubber he looted there. His personal triumph came at a terrible cost. Although Belgium long kept secret the horrifying documents detailing his activities at the end of the 19th century, it is now believed that as many as ten million Africans were killed under his orders. It has been described by some as genocide. The King talked openly of plans to secure a slice of this magnificent African cake, and had done so by 1885. Whole villages were massacred at the first hint of rebellion. The Daily Mail was only a year old when it helped expose Leopolds crimes in 1897. The first in a series of campaigning articles was headlined Congo Horrors: Slaughter of rubber gatherers, Smoked hands as trophies. Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad worked on a steamer on the river Congo during the period, and drew on his grim experiences to write Heart of Darkness, his novel about mans capacity for evil. King Leopold succeeded his father to the throne of Belgium aged 30 in 1865, and ruled until his death in 1909. He was 18 when he married Marie Henriette of Austria. Their only son died of pneumonia aged nine. Leopold disinherited their three daughters after separating from his wife and taking a teenage French prostitute as a mistress. Setting his sights on one of the few unclaimed parts of Africa, he took control of the Congos rainforests, populated by tribes with no modern weaponry. The region boasted huge herds of elephants, and there was an insatiable demand in the West for ivory. But the king also made money from rubber. Unpaid villagers would be ordered to provide huge amounts of the substance in what amounted to mass slavery and were sent out at gunpoint to gather it in the jungle. If they failed to provide enough, they would have their hands cut off. Many were forced to watch as their childrens hands and feet were amputated. The kings exploits came to light after a young British shipping official Edmund Morel working in the Belgian port of Antwerp realised Leopolds ships were arriving from Africa with ivory and rubber but returning only with soldiers and weapons. He later wrote: I had stumbled upon a secret society of murderers with a king for a crony. He returned to England to mount a huge public campaign, reported on by the Daily Mail, and eventually the truth was revealed, forcing Leopold to hand over the Congo to Belgium in 1908. The African country was granted independence in 1960. Advertisement A spokesman for the Russell Group university said: Queen Mary University has no historical ties with King Leopold, other than he visited Mile End in April 1887, and then returned to lay the foundation stone in June 1887. The size and prominence of these inscriptions suggested a strength of association that was never the case, and as such the decision was taken to remove both from view. Critics said the move was counterproductive to the aims of a modern university. Alan Smithers, education professor at Buckingham University, said: King Leopold of Belgium is history and it makes no sense to reinterpret his actions as racist Queen Mary University is only pandering to this unhealthy search for racism and other isms everywhere. The University should stand up for the truth, which is the point of universities. The plaques were in the universitys Octagon Library. King Leopold was invited to lay the foundation stone in 1887 when the library opened a great honour for the university at the time as he was Queen Victorias first cousin. Queen Mary University authorities removed the memorials quietly in June A plaque in the library read: Foundation stone of this library was laid by his Majesty Leopold II King of the Belgians, June 25, 1887. Another plaque states that it was unveiled by the Belgian ambassador on behalf of the king. Both have now been put into an archive, according to the university. It follows a Leopold Must Fall campaign by the institutions Pan-African Society, demanding the plaque be moved to a museum or space, preferably one dedicated to the memorialisation of the crimes of genocide, colonialism and imperialism. They said the plaques needed to be accompanied with a commentary that addresses King Leopolds colonial past and historical crimes. They added: Queen Mary should be a space that elevates the victims and people who resisted imperialism and colonialism as opposed to those who perpetrated it. Last year, protesters at Oxford University tried to get a statue of Cecil Rhodes torn down over claims it amounted to violence against ethnic minority students. Sgt Alexander Blackman has spent three years in prison for the shooting of a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan in 2011 We wait outside the Royal Courts of Justice. A happy handful of us Marines smart in their berets and medals, loyal members of the campaign team, Chelsea Pensioners, shoes shining. Ordinary men and women from Birmingham to Portsmouth. All for one man: Sergeant Blackman. Willing the courts to grant Sgt Alexander Blackman bail. Big Al is not even here. He's keeping clear of the courts in case he jinxes the outcome, preferring to stay and wait quietly, hoping, holding his breath. Like we all are, waiting here in the cold. It's a funny thing, the law. You know its beyond your control. A decision made by the interpretation of precedent and the rule book. The stuff of statutes and fusty wigs, of wide pin stripes and old men with white hair. But still, you think maybe the judge will see things your way if you think good thoughts, if you show you are watching with your fingers crossed. Like when you hand over your child to a surgeon for general anesthetic and go off to barter with a god you've never believed in that if those medical men make your child walk again you will go to church every Sunday for the rest of your life. They did. I didn't. I spoke to his campaign team in a cafe up from the courts with Sergeant Blackman's lovely wife. Trying to drink tea and wait patiently for the minutes to run down. Trying to act calm. To keep being brave and not hope too much. Claire Blackman arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for her husband's appeal Here outside we stay hopeful. Hopeful the courts will 'see sense'. That the courts will 'see what hundreds of ordinary people see'. Whatever went on, we can't possibly imagine what life was life for him on his third tour of Helmand and he shouldn't be behind bars. A Chelsea Pensioner comes out for a stretch and a smoke, disbelieving of the farce of having our own servicemen treated this way. He tells me two of his friends who just received notice they were being investigated for their action in Northern Ireland in the 70's. It seems so wrong. The good guys all ended up in the dock. How did that happen? You might have seen the footage of Sergeant Blackman shooting the Taliban in 2011, killing someone or appearing to kill someone. Telling him to 'shuffle off his mortal coil'. You may have your own thoughts about this cruel act. That it falls outside the standards we expect from our military. Personally, I think the best enemy is a dead one. But people are quick to tell me the standards we abide by in the field are what separate us from the evil of the enemy. Supporters hold the Royal Marine flag with a picture of Sgt Blackman outside the Royal Courts of Justice I am equally quick to remind them that Sergeant Blackman and the hundreds of brave men and women in our British armed forces are what separate us from the evil enemy. Men and women sign up to do the tough stuff they do to protect the freedom we enjoy. I see that here, now, outside the Royal Court of Justice. Cabbies and Marines stand in solidarity. But bearded hipsters push past, chuntering angrily because their pavement space has been violated by smart clean shaven men who fought for their freedom to be obnoxious. Whatever your view, this is not a case to be settled in the court of public opinion. It is not yet another opportunity for the ill-informed to take their organic tomatoes and throw them at a soldier in the stock. An opportunity to rant against the military or the use of force, to play the righteous liberal and enjoy acting shocked. Sgt Blackman's wife Claire has said she was 'trying hard not to get excited' about his possible release This is a campaign for justice. For a fair trial. Four individuals have put up 200,000 to secure bail for Big Al whilst he waits. Speaking earlier to the campaign manager he reminded me; 'Bail would be the icing on the cake. But our clear aim is a fair trial for Alexander Blackman.' Colonel Bob Stewart DSO said much the same in Parliament; 'The defence did not defend properly and the judge advocate general in a court martial did not give options to the board. They gave one option: murder. That was one just option; manslaughter was another, and at the very least should be considered by the military authorities. That should be done with a new legal team, which has a responsibility to go straight back to the military authorities and say, This is wrong. Sort it, please." Then bad news came. This will not be sorted yet. An adjournment. Another week of waiting whilst the prosecution make more submissions. This wasn't how I imagined it to be. This was not the happy Christmas the street lights were promising. This was not what we came for. This was awful. 'The judge is a wanker' shouted an angry man in the crowd, cross, disappointed. I am not certain this is true. But I am sure the law is an ass. A law which goes after our own soldiers, when migrant rapists have human rights to a family life here. A law which tells our Chelsea pensioners they are being investigated for their efforts in Northern Ireland forty years ago when ex IRA sympathisers, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness can assume power, blame free. For the 500,000 people who commute into London by rail every morning, their train service is a lifeline. That much was discovered by Lee Fenton, 44, who started a job as a health and safety officer for Merton Council in June, only to lose it three days later after a series of strikes by staff on Southern railway made him at least half an hour late every morning. He is not the only one. Growing numbers of commuters have been forced to give up their jobs because they can no longer rely on what has become Britains worst train service. In the four weeks preceding November 12, 11 per cent of trains operated by Govia Thameslink which runs the Southern railway franchise were either cancelled or arrived at their destination more than half an hour late. Beat the cancellations: some commuter towns have several different train services If you live anywhere along the Brighton line, you have no choice but to rely on strike-bound services. Until last year, Southern and Thameslink were two different franchises. Since July 2015, they have been operated by the same company, putting commuters at the mercy of unions. But what if you could have a choice of services to London, so that if one line is on strike you could take a train operated by another company? For some commuters that is the reality. Those in Dorking normally take the Southern rail service to Victoria but can also travel on the South West Trains service to Waterloo. If you live in Watford, the fastest way to London is aboard a London Midland train from Watford Junction to Euston. If there is anything wrong with the London Midland service, you can use the TfL-run Overground to Euston. Alternatively, you can take the Metropolitan Line to Baker Street. The towns rail connections are about to get better with the extension of the Metropolitan line to Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations by 2020. Commuting hotspots with a choice of trains Reading Great Western to Paddington 28 mins South West Trains to Waterloo 1 hr 4 mins Watford London Midland to Euston 18 mins Overground to Euston 51 mins Metropolitan Line to Baker St 42 mins Southend C2C, Southend Central to Fenchurch St 56 mins Greater Anglia, Southend Victoria to Liverpool St 1 hr 4 mins Dorking South West Trains to Waterloo 51 mins Southern to Victoria 1 hr 3 mins Windsor Great Western, Windsor & Eton Central to Paddington, change Slough 42 mins South West Trains from Windsor & Eton Riverside to Waterloo 58 mins Oxford Great Western to Paddington 59 mins Chiltern Railways to Marylebone 1 hr 9 mins Cambridge Great Northern to Kings Cross 55 mins Greater Anglia to Liverpool St 1 hr 17 mins Bedford East Midlands Trains to St Pancras 37 mins Thameslink to Blackfriars 1 hr 6 mins St Albans Thameslink, St Albans City to St Pancras 21 mins London Midland, St Albans Abbey to Euston (change Watford Junction) 43 mins Hertford Greater Anglia, Hertford East to Liverpool St 51 mins Great Northern, Hertford North to Moorgate 45 mins Advertisement One who knows the importance of a choice in rail services is Richard Hair, who runs an estate agency in Southend, but commuted to London for many years in his role as President of the National Association of Estate Agents. Southends geography makes it attractive to commuters, he says. Not only does it have the quickest commute to London of any seaside town, but it has several railway stations, meaning that most properties lie within a 15-minute walk of the train. Another option for commuters who want to hedge their bets is Hertford. The town doesnt have the fastest trains to London, but there is a choice, says Sam Collins, of Steven Oates estate agents. Commuters can take a Great Northern train from Hertford North to Moorgate, which takes 45 minutes, or opt for a Greater Anglia service from Hertford East to Liverpool Street (51 minutes). They are different lines operated by different companies, so it is highly unlikely both would be affected at the same time. Thirty per cent of buyers in the town, says Collins, are commuters. For resistance to rail strikes, towns to the north of the capital are better than those to the south. Those living to the north have the option of driving and catching a Tube line. Southern rail commuters dont have such choice as the only Tube lines which extend far into South Londons suburbia are the District and the Northern lines which, terminate at Wimbledon and Morden. Sussex once had a reputation as the place where the posher commuters lived. From excellent leadership to great salaries and beer bashes Apple is known for its exciting and enjoyable work environment. However, like most tech giants, the Cupertino company grills potential employees with technical, personal and even puzzling questions during interviews. Candidates have shared a few of these tricky and bizarre questions on Glassdoor - revealing what it takes to land a position at Apple. Apple grills potential employees with technical, personal and even puzzling questions during interviews. Candidates have shared these tough, tricky and bizarre questions on Glassdoor - letting everyone sees what it takes to land a spot at Apple (pictured is Apple headquarters) What began in a small garage in Lost Altos, California on Crist Drive has expanded to an 11.26 square mile headquarters in Cupertino and 488 retail stores in 20 different countries. And as of last year, Apple claimed some 66,000 employees work for them in the US. However, the tech giant has made it clear that they are very specific on who they let represent the Apple logo. Apple CEO Tim Cooke told CBS news magazine 60 Minutes in a 2015 interview that Apple only hires people that work with passion and idealism. Now, a list of questions on Glassdoor, dug up by Business Insider, gives the public a look at what Apple looks for when bringing a person over to the team all of the participants are or were employed at Apple. 1. Write a piece of code that allows you to detect if the machine you are running the program is little Endian or big Endian memory. 2. What is your favorite food? Apple CEO Tim Cooke told CBS news magazine 60 Minutes in a 2015 interview that Apple only hires people that work with passion and idealism 3. Debug why the below mentioned code goes into an infinite loop int a[10]; int i; for(i=0;i<=10;i++) { a[i]=0; } 4. A cube (1-1-1m) of ice in a room (50C) sitting on a wooden table. The ice is 1m away from the walls around its 4 sides, except for 1 side is 30cm away. You're given 2 insulating blankets (1m by 1m) that can be used to cover the ice block. The goal is to keep the ice in solid form as long as possible. Where would you put the blankets? 5. Whats your favorite Apple product and why? 6. How many Apple products do you own? 7. If you had to float an iPhone in mid-air, how would you do it? From excellent leadership to great salaries to beer bashes Apple is known for its excitement and enjoyable work environment. Pictured is Apple CEO Tim Cooke (right) at one of Apple's beer bashes 8. If you had a white Rubik's cube, how many sides would be white? How many corner sides are white? 9. You have a customer that wants to buy their Mac at a Best Buy. How would you convince them to choose Apple? 10. How does technology help you with your daily living? 11. If you could bring one piece of technology to a remote location, what would it be? 12. Do you trust Apple? 13. In an hour, write a simple C++ algorithm involving standard input and output. Provide test cases. 14. What does working at Apple mean to you? 15. If you could change something about Apple, what would you change? 16. 'I'm on my honeymoon at the beach in Hawaii and I had my iPhone in my gym bag while I was swimming and it seems like my water bottle spilled in the bag, what do I do? All my wedding photos are on my phone! Am I going to lose all my pictures? 17. Sell me this pen. 18. How you would hack our system? 19. Design and sketch a machine you would build that would bend a quarter in half. Include drawings/solid models, and analysis of how you arrived at your design. 20. What would be your slogan for yourself? 21. Name 5 ways to save battery life on an iPhone. 22. Explain to an 8-year-old what a modem/router is and its functions. 23. What company has Apple recently partnered with? 24. If you were an Apple product, what would you be? 25. What is your favorite guilty pleasure song on your iPod? Few of us make it through our careers without enduring at least one terrible boss, who can make work life a misery. New research suggests that if you have a bad boss, there's a strong chance they'll fall into one of two categories - dysfunctional or dark. Researchers hope that understanding the traits that underlie bad management could reduce stress in the workplace. New research suggests that if you have a bad boss, there's a strong chance they'll fall into one of two categories - dysfunctional or dark (stock image) TRAITS OF A BAD BOSS Bad bosses generally come in two forms dysfunctional, and dark. Dysfunctional bosses don't want to hurt you, but through a lack of skill, or other personality defects, they're not very good at their job. Dark bosses have destructive behaviours, and hurt others to elevate themselves. These bosses are looked at through the three characteristics called the 'Dark Triad,' which includes Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Advertisement Researchers from Binghampton University, State University of New York looked to establish a taxonomy for identifying bad bosses and their distinct behaviours. They say that bad bosses generally come in two forms dysfunctional, and dark. Dr Seth Spain, lead researcher of the study, said: 'They don't want to hurt you. 'Through lack of skill, or other personality defects, they're just not very good at their job. 'Largely, that's what we would call "dysfunctional."' Dark bosses, on the other hand, have destructive behaviours, and hurt others to elevate themselves, said Dr Spain. These bosses are looked at through the three characteristics called the 'Dark Triad,' which includes Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Dr Spain said: '[These are] people who enjoy the pain and suffering of others - they're going to be mean, abusive and harassing in daily life.' But that's not to say that there aren't degrees in which these characteristics are displayed - the researchers say that everybody exhibits these behaviours to some extent. Whether they're dysfunctional or dark, bad bosses can cause a great deal of stress to employees. Famous dysfunctional bosses in TV, include Michael Scott from The Office US, while Gordon Gekko from the film Wall Street is a notorious dark boss Dr Spain said: 'A person's direct supervisor is a lens through which they view their work experience. 'We think, in particular, that a boss can be an incredibly substantial source of stress for people who work for them,' said Dr Spain. But having this framework of behaviors that bad bosses exhibit could be the first step into fixing them, ultimately reducing stress in the workplace, said Dr Spain. He added: 'We believe that these characteristics are extremely important for understanding employee development and career advancement. Nintendo has so far remained guarded on the details of its incoming Switch console, but new patents reveal that it could support virtual reality. A patent illustration suggests that the console's handheld screen would be slotted into VR headset, while the user would use the detachable hand controllers to play. The long-awaited Nintendo Switch is due to land in March, though the Japanese games firm has yet to confirm an exact launch date or a price. Scroll down for video A patent illustration suggests that the console's handheld screen would be slotted into VR headset, while the user would use the detachable hand controllers to play. NINTENDO SWITCH The console connects to the TV when mounted in its dock and when removed, it transitions to portable mode to be played through a handheld device. The Switch controller can be used much like a traditional Nintendo controller. But, side components can be removed to create two independent Joy-Con controllers as well. Advertisement The patents were originally filed in June but were only made public this week, when they were posted to the NeoGAF forum. Along with VR capability, the patent also reveals that the handheld portion of the Switch may feature a touchscreen. 'The touch panel may sense position, pressure or other characteristics of touch,' says the patent. 'In the present embodiment, the touch panel is of a type (e.g. the capacitive type) that enables a multi-touch input'. However, not all of the features listed in the patent will necessarily make it into the finished product. Details of the new games machine recently emerged in a preview video. But Nintendo president, Tatsumi Kimishima, has said that major details of the console - including a launch date and details of the first games to become available - will be revealed at a live event in Tokyo on 13 January 2017. Sampling events for media, partners, and consumers will take place in the US and Europe after the event. The Japanese firm also said it will provide opportunities for the public to get some hands-on time before the launch as well, with details to be confirmed. Along with VR capability, the patent also reveals that the handheld portion of the Switch may feature a touchscreen. The patent features various illustrations, including how the removable controllers could be used for multiplayer gaming The Nintendo Switch allows players to switch instantly between home and mobile gaming. Called Nintendo Switch, the new system connects to the TV when mounted in its dock Nintendo gave the public its first look at the console in October in a promotional video, showing a shape-shifting console that allows players to switch instantly between home and mobile gaming. The new system connects to the TV when mounted in its dock and when removed, it transitions to portable mode to be played through a handheld device. With removable Joy-Con controllers, it is capable of both single and multiplayer use whether youre playing at home or on-the-go. Nintendo president, Tatsumi Kimishima, has said that major details of the console - including a launch date and details of the first games to become available - will be revealed at live event in Tokyo on 13 January 2017 The console is set to be launched in March, according to the firm, and many details still have yet to be released. The tablet-like console clicks into the Nintendo Switch Dock, connecting it to the TV. In this version, the controller can be used much like a classic system, with grips and buttons on both sides. But, these components can be detached to create two independent Joy-Con controllers as well. For single player use, one person can play with a controller in each hand. Or, two people can play using one Joy-Con controller each. With removable Joy-Con controllers, it is capable of both single and multiplayer use whether youre playing at home or on-the-go The video also shows how the console can be used for mobile gaming by simply lifting the device out of the dock. This immediately switches it to portable mode, and the Joy-Con controllers slide onto each side of the screen. In this mode, as well, the controllers can be removed in both single player and multiplayer scenarios. The video shows how a supporting arm pulls out from the back so it can stand upright on a flat surface. The tablet-like console clicks into the Nintendo Switch Dock, connecting it to the TV. In this version, the controller can be used much like a classic system, with grips and buttons on both sides, as pictured The video also shows how the console can be used for mobile gaming by simply lifting the device out of the dock (pictured left). This immediately switches it to portable mode, and the Joy-Con controllers slide onto each side of the screen (shown on right) According to the firm, the system will also support multiplayer face-to-face competition by bringing numerous Nintendo Switch systems together. Nintendo Switch allows gamers the freedom to play however they like, said Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO, Nintendo of America. It gives game developers new abilities to bring their creative visions to life by opening up the concept of gaming without boundaries. In the months leading up to its official release this coming March, the firm says it will be unveiling full game demonstrations, the list of launch window titles, the configuration and specs. For single player use, one person can play with a controller in each hand. Or, two people can each play using one Joy-Con controller each, as seen above It opens its jaws, lunges forward and snags the prey with its needle-like teeth When food swims by, it raises the front half of its body out of the sand They are named for their large, wing-like pectoral fins that resemble the arching of angel wings - but angel sharks are far from angelic. These creatures resemble the same colour and pattern as sand, allowing them to blend in with the sea floor and snatch unsuspecting prey swimming by. Although they can camouflage themselves from other marine animals, angel sharks have been unable to do so against fishermen making it the most threatened shark group in the world. Scroll down for video They're named for their large, wing-like pectoral fins that resemble the arching of angel wings - but angel sharks are far from angelic. These creatures resemble the same colour and pattern as sand, allowing them to blend in with the sea floor and snatch unsuspecting prey INVISIBLE SHARKS An angel shark's skin is the same colour and pattern of sand, allowing it to hide and stalk its prey During the day, angel sharks bury themselves in the sea floor and lie motionless with only their eyes being seen. When food passes the still creature, it springs into action by raising the front half of its body, opens it jaws and lunges forward sucking in the prey and crushing it with its needle-like teeth. The head and body of an angel shark is very broad and stocky, and its eyes are position dorsally that are adjacent to a pair of larger pores used for breathing. Advertisement There are about 22 angel shark species that all belong to the Squatiniadae family, reports Lesley Evans Ogden with BBC.com. The angel shark was originally described by the Swedish historian Carl Linnaeus, known as the 'father of taxonomy', in 1758, who gave it a Latin name that derives from 'skate'. Other common names used include angel, angel fiddle fish, angel puffy fish, angel ray, angelfish, escat jueu, fiddle fish, monk, and monkfish. Besides being mistaken for sand, these creatures have also been confused with sting rays as they both have flat bodies, eyes closer to the top of their heads and are found trolling the sea floor, reports Encyclopedia of Life. The head and body of an angel shark is very broad and stocky, and its eyes are position dorsally that are adjacent to a pair of larger pores used for breathing. Fishermen have since depleted the population by unknowingly catching them in their fishing nets that trawled the sea floor. But in the 1980s, trawling was banned around the Canary Islands, which gave these endangered creatures a place to call home During the day, these creatures bury themselves in the sea floor and lie motionless with only their eyes being seen. When food passes the still creature, it springs into action by raising the front half of its body. It then opens it jaws and lunges forward sucking in the prey and crushing it with its needle-like teeth. Other names used include angel, angel fiddle fish, angel puffy fish, angel ray, angelfish, escat jueu, fiddle fish, monk, and monkfish. Experts who have seen an angel shark were not able to spot the creature until it moved around or gave obvious clues it was in the sand And this inconspicuous form of hunting has earned it the title of an 'ambush predator'. The angel shark Squatina squatina (S. squatina), which also goes by the name monkfish, anglerfish and sea-devil, thrived in the British waters up until the 20th century. However, fishermen have since depleted the population by unknowingly catching them in their fishing nets that trawled the sea floor, Nicholas Dulvy of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, who is co-chair of the Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, told BBC. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea released a study in 2006 highlighting that not a single S. squatina was caught over a 40 year time span from the waters in Portugal to Norway. At night, angel sharks aren't as still. They can be seen moving around much more and swimming above the sea floor These creatures have also been confused with sting rays as they both have flat bodies. The head and body of an angel shark is very broad and stocky, and its eyes are position dorsally that are adjacent to a pair of larger pores used for breathing These creatures have made a home for themselves in the Canary Islands, which banned trawling in the 1980s. Now, experts are working around the clock to keep teh population alive These findings made researchers believe that they had gone extinct in the area. But in the 1980s, trawling was banned around the Canary Islands, which gave these endangered creatures a place to call home. 'The beautiful paradox of these animals is that they are critically endangered, but you can virtually guarantee going to dive with them in the Canary Islands,' said Dulvy. 'Anywhere else in Europe, no chance.' To keep these sharks from really vanishing, researcher have recently introduced an Angelshark Action Plan that aims to developed the Canary Islands into a place where they can be are abundant and protected There are about 22 angel shark species that all belong to the Squatiniadae family, which is the most endangered group of sharks. But experts have started an action plan to protect angel sharks living near the Canary Islands There are two other species of angel sharks that can be found in this area - smoothback angel sharks (S. oculata) and sawback angel sharks (S. aculeata) Dulvy traveled to the Canary Islands for the first time in June 2016 when he saw his first 'invisible' shark. He was in the water, wading near sandy-coloured rocks when he spotted the hidden creature, which he said was a 'discombobulating experience'. Ali Hood, director of conversation for the UK charity Shark Trust, told BBC a similar experience. When food passes the still creature, it springs into action by raising the front half of its body, opens it jaws and lunges forward sucking in the prey and crushing it with its needle-like teeth When food passes the still creature, it springs into action by raising the front half of its body. It then opens it jaws and lunges forward sucking in the prey and crushing it with its needle-like teeth. And this inconspicuous form of hunting has earned it the title of an 'ambush predator' She said that unless you spot the 'telltale giveaways' of the angel shark, it will look like just lumps and bumps on the sea floor. The telltale giveaways Hood is referring to are the impressions it leaves while buried in the sand it's similar to the design left behind from a snow angel. To keep these sharks from really vanishing, researcher have recently introduced an Angelshark Action Plan that aims to developed the Canary Islands into a place where they can be are abundant and protected. The Guy Harvey Research Institute and the Save Our Seas Foundation are also using genetic approaches to understand the population dynamics of the last remaining common angel sharks in the species last distributional refuge, the Canary Islands. The Guy Harvey Research Institute and the Save Our Seas Foundation are also using genetic approaches to understand the population dynamics of the last remaining common angel sharks in the species last distributional refuge, the Canary Islands The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea released a study in 2006 highlighting that not a single S. squatina was caught over a 40 year time span from the waters in Portugal to Norway - revealing they have gone extinct in this area 'To achieve this Vision, six Goals have been developed to reduce the threats identified in the priority threat categories,' reads the Angelshark Action Plan document. Over 100 nations that are part of the international Convention on Conventional Weapons will debate a ban on so called 'killer robots' next year, it has been announced. At their five-year review conference in Geneva, the 123 nations that are part of the international Convention on Conventional Weapons, agreed to formalize their efforts next year to deal with the challenges raised by weapons systems that would select and attack targets without meaningful human control. It comes as experts warn 'time is running out' for controls on the technology. Scroll down for video As artificial intelligence advances, the possibility that machines could independently select and fire on targets is fast approaching. Fully autonomous weapons, also known as 'killer robots,' are quickly moving from the realm of science fiction( like the plot of Terminator) toward reality WILL ROBOTS GET AWAY WITH WAR CRIMES? If a robot unlawfully kills someone in the heat of battle, who is liable for the death? In a report by the Human Rights Watch earlier this year, they highlighted the rather disturbing answer: no one. The organisation says that something must be done about this lack of accountability - and it is calling for a ban on the development and use of 'killer robots'. Called 'Mind the Gap: The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots,' their report details the hurdles of allowing robots to kill without being controlled by humans. 'No accountability means no deterrence of future crimes, no retribution for victims, no social condemnation of the responsible party,' said Bonnie Docherty, senior Arms Division researcher at the HRW and the report's lead author. Advertisement 'The governments meeting in Geneva took an important step toward stemming the development of killer robots, but there is no time to lose' said Steve Goose, arms director of Human Rights Watch, a co-founder of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. 'Once these weapons exist, there will be no stopping them. 'The time to act on a pre-emptive ban is now.' At the Fifth Review Conference of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, countries around the world agreed to begin the formal discussionswhich will take place for two weeks at the 2017 UN convention in Genevaon a possible ban of lethal, autonomous weapons. Talks will begin in April or August, and 88 countries have agreed to attend. These weapons have not yet been developed, but technology is moving rapidly toward increasing autonomy. For the first time, China said in Geneva it sees a need for a new international instrument on lethal autonomous weapons systems. It comes as fears rise that new technology could lead humans to relinquish control over decisions to use lethal force. 'As artificial intelligence advances, the possibility that machines could independently select and fire on targets is fast approaching, warned Bonnie Docherty earlier this year, writing for The Conversation. 'Fully autonomous weapons, also known as 'killer robots,' are quickly moving from the realm of science fiction toward reality. 'These weapons, which could operate on land, in the air or at sea, threaten to revolutionize armed conflict and law enforcement in alarming ways. 'Proponents say these killer robots are necessary because modern combat moves so quickly, and because having robots do the fighting would keep soldiers and police officers out of harm's way. Removing humans from the targeting decision would create a dangerous world. Machines would make life-and-death determinations outside of human control. But some nations are using unmanned vehicles, such as the Reaper drone (pictured) to carry out missions in combat zones 'But the threats to humanity would outweigh any military or law enforcement benefits. 'Removing humans from the targeting decision would create a dangerous world. 'Machines would make life-and-death determinations outside of human control. 'The risk of disproportionate harm or erroneous targeting of civilians would increase. In addition, inanimate machines could not truly understand the value of any human life they chose to take. Allowing them to determine when to use force would undermine human dignity. These Foster-Miller TALON SWORDS units (pictured) are equipped with various weaponry, but such systems - if made autonomous - could revolt and engage incorrect targets, say experts 'No person could be held responsible. 'The moral, legal and accountability risks of fully autonomous weapons, preempting their development, production and use cannot wait. 'The best way to handle this threat is an international, legally binding ban on weapons that lack meaningful human control.' REPORT CALLS FOR BAN ON KILLER ROBOTS The report by Human Rights Watch and the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic was released as the United Nations kicked off a week-long meeting on such weapons in Geneva. The report calls for humans to remain in control over all weapons systems at a time of rapid technological advances. It says that requiring humans to remain in control of critical functions during combat, including the selection of targets, saves lives and ensures that fighters comply with international law. 'Machines have long served as instruments of war, but historically humans have directed how they are used,' said Bonnie Docherty, senior arms division researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. 'Now there is a real threat that humans would relinquish their control and delegate life-and-death decisions to machines.' Some have argued in favor of robots on the battlefield, saying their use could save lives. But last year, more than 1,000 technology and robotics experts including scientist Stephen Hawking, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak warned that such weapons could be developed within years, not decades. n an open letter, they argued that if any major military power pushes ahead with development of autonomous weapons, 'a global arms race is virtually inevitable, and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious: autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow.' According to the London-based organization Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, the United States, China, Israel, South Korea, Russia, and Britain are moving toward systems that would give machines greater combat autonomy. Advertisement Under international criminal law, a human operator would in most cases escape liability for the harm caused by a weapon that acted independently. Unless he or she intentionally used a fully autonomous weapon to commit a crime, it would be unfair and legally problematic to hold the operator responsible for the actions of a robot that the operator could neither prevent nor punish. In addition, inanimate machines could not truly understand the value of any human life they chose to take. Allowing them to determine when to use force would undermine human dignity. MQ-9 Reaper (pictured), armed with GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided munitions could revolt and shoot nonthreatening targest There are additional obstacles to finding programmers and manufacturers of fully autonomous weapons liable under civil law, in which a victim files a lawsuit against an alleged wrongdoer. The United States, for example, establishes immunity for most weapons manufacturers. It also has high standards for proving a product was defective in a way that would make a manufacturer legally responsible. In any case, victims from other countries would likely lack the access and money to sue a foreign entity. The gap in accountability would weaken deterrence of unlawful acts and leave victims unsatisfied that someone was punished for their suffering. At a U.N. meeting in Geneva in April, 94 countries recommended beginning formal discussions about 'lethal autonomous weapons systems.' The talks would consider whether these systems should be restricted under the Convention on Conventional Weapons, a disarmament treaty that has regulated or banned several other types of weapons, including incendiary weapons and blinding lasers. PENTAGON WON'T RULE OUT ROBOSOLDIERS THAT CAN KILL WITH NO HUMAN INPUT Allowing them to determine when to use force would undermine human dignity. Keeping a human in the loop on decisions to use force further ensures that accountability for unlawful acts is possible In March, a top Pentagon official gave a tantalizing peek into several projects that not long ago were the stuff of science fiction, including missile-dodging satellites, self-flying F-16 fighters and robot naval fleets. Though the Pentagon is not planning to build devices that can kill without human input, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work hinted that could change if enemies with fewer qualms create such machines. We might be going up against a competitor that is more willing to delegate authority to machines than we are, and as that competition unfolds we will have to make decisions on how we best can compete,' he said. Work, who helps lead Pentagon efforts to ensure the US military keeps its technological edge, described several initiatives, including one dubbed 'Loyal Wingman' that would see the Air Force convert an F-16 warplane into a semi-autonomous and unmanned fighter that flies alongside a manned F-35 jet. 'It is going to happen,' Work said of this and other unmanned systems. Pentagon researchers also are developing small bombs that use cameras and sensors to improve their targeting capabilities. Other projects include robot boats and a hyper-velocity gun -- known as the electromagnetic rail-gun -- that can blast a projectile out at an astonishing 4,500 miles (7,250 kilometers) per hour. Advertisement The nations that have joined the treaty will meet in December for a review conference to set their agenda for future work. It is crucial that the members agree to start a formal process on lethal autonomous weapons systems in 2017. Disarmament law provides precedent for requiring human control over weapons. For example, the international community adopted the widely accepted treaties banning biological weapons, chemical weapons and landmines in large part because of humans' inability to exercise adequate control over their effects. Countries should now prohibit fully autonomous weapons, which would pose an equal or greater humanitarian risk. The military robots in Marvel's Iron Man 2 (pictured) might not be so far from reality. And experts say it is crucial that the members agree to start a formal process on lethal autonomous weapons systems in 2017. Disarmament law provides precedent for requiring human control over weapons They should initiate negotiations of a new international agreement to address fully autonomous weapons, moving beyond general expressions of concern to specific action. They should set aside enough time in 2017 at least several weeks for substantive deliberations. While the process of creating international law is notoriously slow, countries can move quickly to address the threats of fully autonomous weapons. Dubbed the 'Sea Hunter', the 132ft ship is designed to travel thousands of miles out at sea without a single crew member on board. Now, the 132-foot Sea Hunter trimaran, has taken to the seas off San Diego to begin at-sea testing of its sensors, and self driving software. When it enters service, Sea Hunter will operate for around 30 to 90 days at sea without a crew, and will leave and return to port on its own. Scroll down for video The 132ft-long (40-metre) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface without a crew. The ship's projected $20 million (14.2 million) price tag and its $20,000 (14,300) daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the navy THE SEA HUNTER WARSHIP The 132ft-long (40-metre) unarmed prototype, dubbed Sea Hunter, is the naval equivalent of Google's self-driving car, designed to cruise on the ocean's surface without a crew. The ship's projected $20 million (14.2 million) price tag and its $15,000 (10,650) to $20,000 (14,300) daily operating cost make it relatively inexpensive for the navy. The ship is about to undergo two years of testing, including to verify that it can safely follow international norms for operating at sea. First and foremost is ensuring that it can use radar and cameras to avoid other vessels. Powered by two diesel engines, the ship can reach speeds of 27 knots per hour. Advertisement In initial testing of Sea Hunter's autonomy capability, the ship successfully executed a multi-waypoint mission with no person directing course or speed changes. Leidos also completed a test of the Remote Supervisory Control Station (RSCS), which allows remote supervisory control of the vessel and enables new mission tasking from a remote location, either afloat or ashore. The completion of the RSCS test was the final test before beginning more extensive autonomous operations. Testing of the Sea Hunter autonomy system in a variety of mission scenarios is scheduled to continue through fall 2017 as part of a two-year test program jointly funded by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). 'Sea Hunter is at the forefront of new autonomy technologies for the U.S. military,' said Mike Chagnon, president of the Leidos Advanced Solutions Group. 'The operational testing is designed to showcase the unprecedented capabilities that this type of unmanned vessel could offer our military forces.' Experts say the vessel has the potential to revolutionise not only the military's maritime service but also commercial shipping. Sea Hunter is designed to operate for extended periods at sea with no person on board and only sparse supervisory control throughout deployment. While initial vessel tests require a pilot on board the ship, later tests are planned to have no personnel on board. The completion of Sea Hunter's performance trials is the first milestone in the two-year test program co-sponsored by DARPA and the Office of Naval Research. Testing in upcoming months is scheduled to include testing of sensors, the vessel's autonomy suite, compliance with maritime collision regulations, and proof-of-concept demonstrations for a variety of U.S. Navy missions. It marks the first step toward sending unmanned cargo vessels between countries, according to military officials, who showed off the ship in San Diego today before it was put in the water. The Pentagon's research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) developed the ship along with Virginia-based Leidos. Darpa will test it in conjunction with the Navy over the next two years off California's coast. The tests will largely focus on its ability to react on its own to avoid collisions with seafaring traffic. During the testing phase, the ship will have human operators as a safety net, but once it proves to be reliable, the autonomous surface vessel will maneuver itself able to go out at sea for months at a time. Program manager Scott Littlefield said there will be no 'remote-controlled driving of the vessel'. Instead it will be given its mission-level commands telling it where to go and what to accomplish and then software will enable it to drive itself safely. The military initially built the diesel-powered ship to detect stealthy electric submarines. The vessel was unveiled by Deputy US Defense Secretary Robert Work and has been developed by the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa). The ship is about to undergo two years of testing, including to verify that it can safely follow international norms for operating at sea THE SILENT ENEMY SUBS The advent of increasingly autonomous ships and aircraft is stoking concern among some experts and activists about armed robotic systems that could identify people as threats and kill them. Diesel-electric submarines are quickly becoming one of the biggest threats to naval operations and a $1.8 trillion commercial shipping industry. Diesel-electric submarines, with their nearly-noiseless engines, are incredibly difficult to track from afar. They're also cheap at $200 million to $300 million each. Advertisement But developers say they believe it has the capability to go beyond that, including doing mine sweeps. There are no plans at this point to arm it. 'There are a lot of advantages that we're still trying to learn about,' Littlefield said. Among them is the possibility that the full-size prototype could pave the way to developing crewless cargo vessels for the commercial shipping industry someday, he added. Countries from Europe to Asia have been looking into developing fleets of unmanned ships to cut down on operating costs but the idea has sparked debate over whether it's possible to make robotic boats safe enough to run on their own far from land. The International Transport Workers' Federation, the union representing more than half of the world's more than one million seafarers, has said it does not believe technology will ever be able to replace the ability of humans to foresee and react to the various dangers at sea. The 'Sea Hunter' was built off the Oregon coast, and moved on a barge to San Diego's coastline to begin testing. The project began in 2010, when Darpa announced that it was building an autonomous boat to track quiet, diesel-powered submarines. The program was dubbed Anti-submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel, or ACTUV. An early concept image is pictured The prototype can travel at a speed of up to 27 knots per hour, and is equipped with a variety of sensors and an advanced optical system to detect other ships, Littlefield said. The program to develop the ship cost $120 million, though Littlefield said the vessels can now be produced for about $20 million. During the collision tests, the ship will be programed to follow international traffic rules for boats of its size. There are no standards for unmanned ships yet, but Littlefield believes that could change if vessels like this one make it out of the experimental stage. The Navy over the years has experimented with a number of unmanned systems from drone helicopters to small, remotely controlled boats launched from ships. The Pentagon's budget over the next five years calls for investing in more high-end Naval ships, including $600 million to be invested in unmanned undersea vehicles. She's been an avid fan of cosmetic and plastic surgery for the past year, recently undergoing a nose job. Now Skye Wheatley appears to have completed her transformation from bubbly blonde to seductive vixen. In a live Instagram story posted on Thursday, the 22-year-old looks like a completely different person to the fresh-faced Big Brother contestant viewers met in 2014. Scroll down for video Who's that girl? Skye Wheatley appears to have completed her transformation from bubbly blonde to brooding vixen Changes: In a live Instagram story posted on Thursday, the 22-year-old looks like a completely different person to the fresh-faced Big Brother contestant viewers met in 2014 Transformation: She chose a strong look with glittering purple eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, false lashes and matte, gothic lips The makeup artist donned a black lace headpiece with kitten ears and a matching choker, her blonde locks swept up in a high ponytail. She chose a strong look with glittering purple eyeshadow, liquid eyeliner, false lashes and matte, gothic lips. The darker persona complimented her green eyes, pearly whites and fair skin. Sultry: Her new appearance is a far cry from her original appeal, which could be described as more natural and girl next door Her new appearance is a far cry from her original appeal, which could be described as more natural and girl next door. The former barista has morphed into a glamour puss since appearing on the reality show, where she appeared in the grand finale and was crowned second runner-up. The enhanced beauty underwent rhinoplasty surgery earlier this month to reduce the length of her nose in addition to shrinking her nostrils. Right on the nose! The Gold Coast resident flew to Sydney for rhinoplasty surgery, which she's now 'really happy' with She opened up about how the 90-minute procedure initially left her distraught. 'I bawled my eyes out,' she told YahooBe. 'I was like, 'What the f*ck' is this?' The Gold Coast resident flew to Sydney for the surgery, which she's now 'really happy' with. Work: In addition to also regularly injecting lip fillers along with getting her nose done, she's admitted to a botched boob job In addition to also injecting lip fillers, she's admitted to a botched boob job. The budding swimwear designer traveled to Bangkok last year for the breast augmentation, which left her with a 'double bubble' in her chest. She told Daily Mail Australia earlier this year she planned to have surgery to fix it. Winter is in full swing, and Chrissy Teigen was feeling it when she stepped out in New York City on Thursday. She'd wrapped herself in a navy, beige, white and scarlet tartan jacket with heavy fringe running down its middle. The 31-year-old was carrying her bundled-up firstborn Luna, whom she and her husband John Legend welcomed this April. Out and about: Chrissy Teigen took a walk on Thursday carrying her bundled-up baby daughter Luna Slicking back her hair severely and winding it into a high bun, the model had popped on a pair of stylish aviator sunglasses. A voluminous white turtleneck stuck itself out from the top of her coat, which otherwise completely obscured her jumper. Black stiletto boots stretched up to the knee, where they gave way to sky blue jeans, and she completed her look with gold hoop earrings. Eight months on: She and her husband John Legend welcomed their firstborn this April Meanwhile, the adorable eight-month-old looked safe and warm in a large pearl grey cap with a fuzzy brown ball at the top, as well as a wool-lined pearl grey anorak. On occasion, her mother passed her off to someone else and pulled on a pair of attractive walnut brown gloves featuring a touch of fur that may have been faux. That day, she'd worn the same outfit in her Snapchat Story, Luna sat on her lap in a white-collared pink top. New York chic: The 31-year-old had wrapped herself in a navy, beige, white and scarlet tartan jacket with heavy fringe running down its middle Her mother applied a filter to the image that stuck a circlet of white, pink and yellow flowers about her baby's head. In a close-up, the circlet was replaced with stars. In the December issue of Cosmopolitan, the mother of one dished on delivering a child and then instantly getting on with the business of mothering her. 'Exhausting,' she called that time, noting: 'Its not like you have a week to recover and then they start needing to nurse. Nope! Youre in it!' Keeping warmer: On occasion, her mother passed her off to someone else and pulled on a pair of attractive walnut brown gloves featuring a touch of fur that may have been faux Recalled she: 'I would wake up and my bed would be soaking in sweat and milk. But John was so incredibly helpful and sweet.' As she conceded, 'Your husband doesnt have the boobs so theres only so much that he can do. Its all on you.' The model went on: 'I think for women, its easy to look at him and get resentful. But John would wake up with me just to sit there in the dark. He was so wonderful.' Crowned: That day, she'd worn the same outfit in her Snapchat Story, Luna sat on her lap in a white-collared pink top and an animated floral circlet Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West are united despite divorce rumors sparked by the recent personal turmoil both stars have suffered. The two spent Wednesday night together at their mansion in Bel-Air, the upscale neighbourhood of Los Angeles, a source told E! News. 'They were very sweet together and were very much together,' the insider said. United front: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, seen here at a wedding in September, are still together despite divorce rumors sparked by recent personal turmoil both stars have suffered 'They are going through a lot but, from what it seems like, they are doing it together and getting through it. It's been a very rough year for her.' Another source told E! News last week that Kim, 38, and Kanye, 39, are 'strong' and doing fine as a couple. 'Just because the paparazzi don't see him, they're like, "Oh, Kanye's not with Kim anymore." That's bulls**t,' the source said. The rapper flew in from New York on Wednesday after his meeting with President-Elect Donald Trump the previous day. With the main man: The rapper met President-Elect Donald Trump on Tuesday. The two talked up the possibility of Kanye becoming an 'ambassador of sorts' The two discussed the possibility of Kanye becoming an 'ambassador of sorts,' according to E! News. Meanwhile, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has stepped back from the public since she was the victim of an armed robbery in Paris in October. The rapper has also kept a low profile after spending more than a week being treated for exhaustion at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Los Angeles. Hanging with her pal: Kim with a girlfriend at Shelli Azoff's Christmas bash at The Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday. It was the first time she had been seen out since becoming the victim of an armed robbery in Paris in October He made his first public appearance last week at the MOCA Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood for the preview of an exhibition, Rick Owens: Furniture, before it opened to the public. Meanwhile, Kim was seen out for the first time earlier on Wednesday evening. She joined her mother Kris Jenner, sister Kendall Jenner and friend Maria Menounos as well as Kate Hudson, Courteney Cox, Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson and Kathy Griffin at Shelli Azoff's Christmas bash at The Forum in Los Angeles. Her mother Roxy Jacenko is often seen looking primped to perfection. But on Friday, it was the Sydney PR queen's five-year-old daughter Pixie Curtis, who was seen getting glammed up in the makeup chair, in a snap shared to Instagram. The image captioned 'last day of kindy calls for a bit of glitter', came just shortly after her father Oliver Curtis learned he would spend Christmas behind bars, after his appeal for an insider trading conviction was thrown out. Scroll down for video 'Last day of kindergarten calls for a bit of glitter': A snap shared to Instagram on Friday, saw Roxy Jacenko's five-year-old daughter Pixie Curtis getting glammed up in the makeup chair The snap, shared with Pixie's 111,000 Instagram followers, saw Roxy's young daughter getting her makeup done professionally. While sitting in a chair at her luxurious Sydney home, Pixie was seen having glitter applied to her eyelids. The little one appeared relaxed and content as she was attended to by makeup artist Sanaz Fakhra. Lost appeal: The post came just shortly before Pixie's father, jailed investment banker Oliver Curtis (pictured) 31, lost the appeal against his insider trading conviction and will remain behind bars for Christmas. Pictured with Pixie and son Hunter, two Keeping busy: Roxy (pictured in Sydney on Friday) was not in court when Oliver lost his appeal just after 10am Work mode: She was seen making her way to her office in Double Bay The post came just shortly before Pixie's father, jailed investment banker Oliver Curtis, lost the appeal against his insider trading conviction and will remain behind bars for Christmas. The 31-year-old husband of Roxy was jailed for a minimum one-year sentence in late June, but launched an appeal to have the conviction overturned. Oliver hoped to walk free just in time to spend Christmas with his family, but on Friday he was told the appeal has been dismissed and will stay in Cooma prison for a further six months. Facts: Oliver (seen at court with wife Roxy Jacenko) appealed his conspiracy to commit insider trading conviction to the Criminal Court of Appeal Sweaty Betty chief Roxy had told the couple's children Pixie and son Hunter, two, that their father is in China and will be home for Christmas. But in reality Oliver has been serving time at Cooma Prison, an hour south of Canberra, and working as a prison clerk. Roxy was not in court when Oliver lost the appeal against his conviction just after 10am on Friday. The former Celebrity Apprentice contestant has flown by private jet to visit her husband at least once since the trial. On Friday morning, she posted a selfie to her Instagram page, captioned with a single love heart. She has also supported him through his daily struggles, putting $100 a week into his buy-up for essentials like a doona to cope with the area's cool alpine climate. But Roxy did not attend Oliver's appeal hearing in October, unlike his father Nick and mother Angela. Only love: Earlier in the day, Roxy posted a selfie to her Instagram page, captioned with a single love heart Happy times: Oliver is seen with his young family in a sweet family picture At sentencing in June, Justice Lucy McCallum said Oliver had 'not embraced responsibility for his offending'. He and his former best friend John Hartman earned a net profit of $1.43 million through their alleged agreement. Justice McCallum said despite Curtis knowing what he was doing was 'very wrong' he used the alleged deal to 'fund a lifestyle of conspicuous extravagance'. A jury found him guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit insider trading. Oliver's counsel Bret Walker SC told the Court of Criminal Appeal in October that Curtis and Hartman's agreement did not meet the definition of an insider trading offence. Prosecutors argued their agreement was very clear and it was not necessary to prove an offence had occurred for a jury to find Curtis guilty of conspiracy. A lawyer for Mr Curtis said he would not be commenting. She's a very successful model, walking in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and gracing the cover of countless magazines. And it seems the Shanina Shaik was always destined for stardom. The 25-year-old took a trip down memory lane on Friday, posting an adorable throwback snap of when she was a baby, surrounded by trophies and prize ribbons. Memory lane: Shanina Shaik, 25, took to Instagram on Friday, sharing an adorable throwback snap of herself as a baby The image captioned #throwback Champion!! alongside a trophy emoji, saw baby Shanina sporting a white onesie, while laying down on a bed. As a pink pillow helped to prop up her tiny body, a series of award ribbons and trophies were positioned around her. Shanina was seen grinning from ear-to-ear in the precious snap. 'Champion': The precious photo saw a very young Shanina laying on a bed, while surrounded by a series of award ribbons and trophies This is not the first time the Seafolly ambassador has shared snaps of her younger self to Instagram. Earlier this month, Shanina showed a more cheeky side to her personality as she posted a flashback of her pre-school years. The snap saw the brunette beauty beaming, with her short curls out and a small section of hair held back with a blue teddy bear clip. Too cute! Earlier this month, Shanina showed a more cheeky side to her personality as she posted a flashback of her pre-school years 'Baby Nina My smile hasn't really changed,' Shanina began the caption. 'I just smiled every time I saw a camera,' she continued, alongside the hash-tag #throwback. Shanina's stunning good looks have made her one of the most in-demand models. The personality who is signed to agency IMG, graced the Victoria's Secret fashion show runway in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. She is also an ambassador for Australian swimwear brand Seafolly and has appeared on magazine covers including Harper's Bazaar Australia and Vogue India. Killer curves: The personality who is signed to agency IMG, graced the Victoria's Secret fashion show runway in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 Her late father was one of the UK's most beloved comedians. And while Charlotte Dawson has followed in her dad Les' footsteps into the spotlight, her mother Tracy has remained relatively low-key. Yet she opted to lap up the limelight at the Tailored Aesthetics launch at Piccolino in Warrington on Thursday night for a girls' night out. Scroll down for video Mummy and daughter: Charlotte Dawson has followed in her dad Les' steps into the spotlight, her mother Tracy has remained relatively low-key, yet she opted to lap up the limelight at the Tailored Aesthetics launch at Piccolino in Warrington on Thursday night The Ex On The Beach star looked sensational in a thigh-skimming pair of leather shorts and a matching jacket while her glamorous mum looked incredible in a plunging grey number and fluffy hat. Charlotte, who soared to fame on this summer's fifth season of the MTV dating show, wowed in her sexy ensemble as she rocked double leather to perfection. Her tiny shorts showed off the entirety of her endless legs which were clad in racy fishnet tights while lengthened by chunky ankle boots. The studded biker jacket tied in perfectly with the rock chick look with badges and stamps adorned all over - looking stunning as she went. Beneath she wore a high neck crop top which looked perfect with the ensemble - with the head-to-toe black look perfecting her ensemble. Legs eleven: The Ex On The Beach star looked sensational in a thigh-skimming pair of leather shorts and a matching jacket while her glamorous mum looked incredible in a plunging grey number and fluffy hat Way back when: Charlotte's late father Les was one of the UK's most beloved comedians During her stint on Ex On The Beach, where she enjoyed a dalliance with Stephen Bear, she boasted flowing raven locks. Yet the hair chameleon has recently transformed her tresses to a stunning auburn hue which was glossy and perfectly style styled into bouncy waves. As a trained make-up artist, her cosmetic regimen was naturally flawless, with lashings of highlighter drawing out her high cheekbones while her plump lips were accentuated with a slick of gloss. Tracy meanwhile looked incredibly glam in her winter best, yet still managed to give a cheeky hint of cleavage. Mummy dearest:Charlotte, who soared to fame on this summer's fifth season of the MTV dating show, wowed in her sexy ensemble as she rocked double leather to perfection Queen Katie: The duo were joined by Love Island star Katie Salmon who also opted for a sexy winter look in a tattered jumper with saucy thigh high boots Her blonde tresses were styled into a bouncy blow dry while she topped off her sleek hair with an over-sized grey fur hat. The duo were joined by Love Island star Katie Salmon who also opted for a sexy winter look in a tattered jumper with saucy thigh high boots. She too boasted newly dyed tresses as she made the transition from raven hair to a perfectly styled bleach blonde. Forthcoming: The duo's outing comes shortly after an ITV documentary is set to air showing previously unseen footage of Les, who died when Charlotte was just 18-months-old Chic: Her tiny shorts showed off the entirety of her endless legs which were clad in racy fishnet tights while lengthened by chunky ankle boots Do they have more fun? She too boasted newly dyed tresses as she made the transition from raven hair to a perfectly styled bleach blonde The duo's outing comes shortly after an ITV documentary is set to air showing previously unseen footage of Les, who died when Charlotte was just 18-months-old. He was 62, Tracy was just 44 when they had been married for four years, before he had a coronary and passed away in 1988. Les and Tracy were together just six short years they met in 1986 when his first wife, Meg, and mother of his three older children, was dying after an eight-year battle with cancer. Fashionista: Meanwhile Katie too boasted newly dyed tresses as she made the transition from raven hair to a perfectly styled bleach blonde Slender: Also present was Gemma Merna, who showed off her yoga-honed body in a slinky khaki strapless number Her latest role in Garth Davis' Lion has received several award nominations and is already getting Oscar buzz. And Nicole Kidman, 49, proved that her fashion game is similarly tough to beat while promoting the film in London on Thursday. Clad in an classy raven long-sleeved dress, the Practical Magic actress showed off her svelte pins while appearing on the Graham Norton Show, alongside fellow actress Felicity Jones. Scroll down for video Trendy: Nicole Kidman, 49, proved that her fashion game is tough to beat while promoting the film in London on Thursday Mother-of-four Nicole, who is visiting the UK on the promotional trail, complemented her look with an array of golden pieces to glamourise the outfit. The Australian beauty opted for a face marked with lush foundation, blush, smokey eyes and rose lipstick. Her golden locks were parted down the middle and styled down in an extravagant way as she smiled for the cameras. Leg for days: Clad in an classy raven long-sleeved dress, the Practical Magic actress showed off her svelte pins while appearing on the Graham Norton Show Hoops hoops and more hoops: The mother-of-four complemented her look with an array of golden pieces to glamour the outfit At her side was Stars Wars actress Felicty who has been garnering rave reviews for her performance in Rogue One. The 33-year-old Inferno actress was in good spirit while clad in an angelic white ruffled frock with black trimming. Felicity wore rouge lipstick with minimal foundation and eye make-up as she was all smiles while joking with host Graham. The early reviews of Rogue One: A Star Wars story have generally been positive as the film gears up for a worldwide release later this week. On a high: She was joined by Felicty Jones who has been garnering rave reviews for her performance in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Writing for DailyMail.com, Brian Viner said of the actress: 'She is tremendously sexy and plausibly feisty as Jyn Erso, separated as a child from her scientist father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), who is forced to work for the Empire to develop "a super weapon".' In the flick, Felicity leads The Rebellion in a risky move to steal the plans to the Death Star. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theatres on December 16 in the US, preceded by the UK release on December 15. Nicole and Felicity will appear on the Graham Norton Show on Friday evening along with Dev Patel, Jack Savoretti, Dawn French and Sir Michael Parkinson. Leading man: Lion's lead actor, Dev, opted for a suave grey blazer atop a crisp white shirt with black pants A great performance: Jack Savoretti sings during the filming of the episode Feeling festive: comedic Dawn French (left) and broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson were in good spirits on the show She loves to flout Instagram rules and post nude selfies and is outspoken on many issues, but it seems Caitlin Stasey was stumped by Syria. The Australian actress offered a sincere and self-effacing online apology and admitted her own ignorance after an Instagram cry for action over Aleppo went wrong. On Friday, Caitlin told her almost 200,000 followers that 'I have no f**king idea what I'm talking about.' Boobs I did it again: Caitlin Stasey loves to flout Instagram rules and post nude selfies like this one but she was stumped by Syria There's no question that Caitlin had the best of intentions on Wednesday when she stumbled into the Aleppo debate. The 26-year-old actress opened a can of worms when she vaguely called for 'executive action' in words eerily reminiscent of Donald Trump, who she regularly lambastes. She then went on to accuse everyone reading of being guilty of mass murder and complicit in the deaths of children through inaction. The response from some was to query what Caitlin was actually asking for, and from others to see how they could help - and it turns out she didn't have the answers. Crying out for action: Caitlin Stasey called for 'executive action' to help the victims of the war in Aleppo and accused everyone reading of mass murder 'THIS is the reality,' she posted alongside a photo of bloodied children associated with the ongoing over Aleppo in Syria. 'THIS is happening right now,' she continued. 'What the f**k is wrong with us that we can't take executive action. Don't tell me it isn't that f**king simple, it should be and because you refuse to let it be these children will die and it will be on all of us. We are all actively participating in the mass murder of children. WHOMEVER is to blame is irrelevant these families need placement and they need it NOW.' Caitlin lashed out in the comments to user @kennethstein when he asked 'What action do you propose? Bombing someone...? Troops...? You don't want to hear, "It isn't that simple." Well, okay. What's your suggestion...?' Standing up for the kids: There's no question that Caitlin had the best of intentions on Wednesday when she stumbled into the Aleppo debate Why did I open my big mouth?: Caitlin wound up in an argument in the comments on her Instagram account as a user asked simply 'what action do you propose?' Stared down: Caitlin insisted 'exit corridors' were the solution before users noted that was another empty phrase, to which the actress withdrew to research A fired up Caitlin shot back, questioning his bravery in challenging her. '@kennethstein what the f**k is your point, man? What are you here trying to defend? Do you approve of this mass killing? I'm stunned that something as indefensible as this is still drawing critique from onlookers with nothing invested,' she fired back. 'You feel brave and powerful condemning someone else's ideas? What do You hope to achieve here? Exit corridors for ALL civilians, accepting Syrian refugees without hesitation, speeding up vetting processes whilst not diminishing their effect. BRING THEM HERE.' Kenneth continued to push Caitlin for a clear statement on what action she wanted taken, noting that 'exit corridors' was another empty phrase, and asking if she was suggesting military action. 'Of course I don't approve of mass killing. And I'm not condemning any ideas. On the contrary, I asked YOU for YOUR idea ... I am honestly asking you: What do you propose we do to stop Assad, the Russians, or whoever from killing more people. If you say, "Go in, guns blazing!" Then that's fine, right or wrong - at least it's SOME suggestion,' she responded. Something must be done: After a brief hiatus, Caitlin returned to apologise for her earlier statements, acknowledging she needed to learn more and seeking non-biased facts Hear me roar: Amid the to-and-fro over Caitlin's demand for action, she posted this self portrait with the words '"Never forget who you are." - Mufasa' Caitlin's only response was silence. A day later she took to Instagram again to share the contact details for governments and Russian embassies around the world while again accused the world of selfishness, failure and impotence. 'We are all guilty and now we are left utterly impotent,' she wrote. 'We all failed them. I count myself among the many who have done little to nothing and all too late. We should be so ashamed and horrified by our selfishness and inaction.' It seems Caitlin has since learned that despite her protestations a solution in a Syrian civil war where Russia and the US are both involved really isn't that simple. On Friday, she offered an unreserved apology and owned up to her ignorance alongside the words 'The only consistent is sanctuary, evacuation and resettlement'. 'Formally apologizing my for [sic] initial response to the ongoing conflict in Syria. After researching and listening to the many voices surrounding the issue, I can safely say I have no fucking idea what I'm talking about. The only truth to emerge is that displaced refugees NEED to be granted access to foreign placement and we must do everything we can to see these men, children and women resettled and accepted.' Aleppo has been a key battleground in the five-year civil war in Syria between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to remove him. A fragile ceasefire aimed at providing much needed humanitarian aid to the millions of people affected has just collapsed after one week. An instinct for trouble: Caitlin was still mixing the silly with the serious, posting this moving image of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and a water bottle, entitled 'Stone Cold' The apology was swiftly acknowledge by kennethstein: @caitlinjstasey69 Kudos!' while many other users have praised Caitlin throughout for at least speaking up on the tragedy as well as for admitting the complexity of the problem,' he wrote. Meanwhile, Caitlin has uploaded some other rather unusual images to her Instagram page, posting a moving image she created of a water bottle imposed over the famous shot of Sharon Stone in the interrogation room in Basic Instinct. She also shared shot of her standing in front of a full moon announcing that she has her period. She's the raven-haired beauty who won Australia's Next Top Model in 2009. And while the 24-year-old recently launched her own bikini line, perhaps a signature lingerie collection is next on Tahnee Atkinson's list of achievements. The bronzed stunner flaunted her decolletage in a head-turning bra on Instagram on Friday, as she proudly showed off her new diamond and gold ear cuff. Scroll down for video Stunning: Tahnee Atkinson flaunted her decolletage in a head-turning brassiere on Instagram on Friday, as she proudly showed off her new diamond and gold ear cuff The curvaceous model gazed seductively into the camera as she posed in the provocative black and white undergarment. In the photo's caption she described being 'in love with' the ear cuff gifted to her by Sydney-based jeweller Recreational Studio. 'The perfect Christmas gift,' was how Perth-born charmer described the item. 'I made the ear cuff for Tahnee because she contacted me via Instagram loving my jewellery,' explained designer Emma Swann of how she connected with the model She also thanked the brand's founder 'Em', better known as Emma Swann. 'I made the ear cuff for Tahnee because she contacted me via Instagram loving my jewellery,' Emma told Daily Mail Australia. 'Her fellow Australian model friend Georgia Fowler had done a shoot in my studio space and saw the pieces I was making on the day and fell in love with them. Mutual love: Tahnee (L) was introduced to Recreational Studo jewellery pieces by her 'fellow Australian model friend' Georgia Fowler 'She purchased a few earrings and bangles. Georgie then showed them to Tahnee, and then Tahnee contacted me,' explained Emma. The ear cuff has a diamond version which is P.O.A. (price on application) while the more affordable version with 18ct gold vermeil and white sapphires retails at $95. The jewellery compliments Tahnee's Kenni and Kai swimear range, which she has described as 'all very neutral colours, very simple, plain, beautiful cuts.' She recently relinquished her role as Studio 10 host to Bachelorette's Georgia Love for the summer non-rating period. And on Friday, Sarah Harris was seen using the time off the cameras to celebrate her son's first birthday in a adorable and humorous post to Instagram. The quirky mother-of-one commented how this time last year she was in labour with her son and how her life is 'infinitely better with him in it'. Scroll down for videos 'Happy first birthday Pauly': Sarah Harris celebrated her son Paul's first birthday with a sweet tribute to the tot on Instagram on Friday 'Bout this time last year I was sucking down happy gas between contractions and screaming at Tom that he was never going to touch me, ever, EVER again (sic). 'An hour later, my baby boy was born. My life is infinitely better with this smiley little man in it. Happy first birthday, Pauly,' she added. The picture posted to Sarah's Instagram sees her baby boy wearing a navy knit jumper, tiny polo shirt and banana patterned bucket hat while sitting in his stroller. The beaming one-year-old couldn't look happier in the picture posted by his doting mother. The apple of her eye: The blonde TV host often posts sweet pictures of her son on Instagram More time: Sarah is taking a break from her Studio 10 hosting gig over summer Doting dad: Sarah shares her son Paul (R) with her husband, Tom Ward (L), whom she married in 2014 Sarah shares her son Paul with her husband, Tom Ward, whom she married in 2014. Meanwhile, earlier this year the popular television host announced she was giving up her hosting duties for Bachelorette's Georgia over the summer. She marked the occasion by posting a selfie with Georgia in the studio. She wrote in an accompayning caption: 'When I saw first saw this gorgeous gal stumble down the stairs in a fancy gown - without spilling a drop of champagne! - on The Bachelorette, I thought, 'this bird is awesome'. Taking a break: Earlier this year the popular television host announced she was giving up her hosting duties for Bachelorette's Georgia over the summer 'And I can happily report that @georgiealove is just as adorable in real life as she seems. 'She'll be sitting in my chair and running the show in a few weeks. I've warned her about @joe_hildebrand's bananas (not a euphemism as loyal viewers of @studio10au know). 'And about @jonoanddano (also not a euphemism). You're in safe hands lady face! Knock 'em dead.' Reality stars: Georgia (L) found fame and love on season two of the Bachelorette Australia where she met her partner Lee Elliott (R) Georgia found fame on the second season of the Bachelorette Australia released on television earlier this year. The brunette television personality fell in love with bachelor Lee Elliott after a cast of 18 eligible men competed for her heart. Joel Edgerton may have the wrong role in the right film when it comes to the Oscars. This week's Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations announcement contained bad news in the form of a surprise snub for Joel. The Australian actor has so far had a successful awards season and is still tipped as a chance for an Oscar nomination, however it appears odds have slipped. Scroll down for video Waving goodbye to Oscar? Joel Edgerton has seen his Academy Award nomination chances slide after the Screen Actors Guild snubbed him In Loving, he plays Richard Loving in the true story of an interracial couple who were banished from the state of Virginia for 25 years after their marriage was found to contravene the law against mixed-race unions. It is a powerful performance and the film's strong civil rights era story is tipped to resonate with Oscars voters after two years of backlash against the Academy for the lack of diversity among their nominees, highlighted by the famed #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. The buzz surrounding his co-star Ruth Negga has been even more intense with the up-and-comer elevated to Vogue cover star and now third favourite with bookmakers for the Oscar, behind favourites Emma Stone and Natalie Portman. Yet she also missed out on the SAG list. Unlucky in Loving: Actress Ruth Negga and Joel have both missed out on a SAG nomination for their roles in the civil rights era biopic, but remain Oscar hopefuls Joel was nominated on Monday for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Richard Loving, and again for an AACTA International Award on Wednesday. He was also present on Sunday at the Critics' Choice Awards when Casey Affleck edged him out for the Best Actor Award. Joel was even announced as the GQ Actor of the Year in November having received high praise for his other high profile role this year in Midnight Special. So hot right now:The buzz surrounding his co-star Ruth has been even more intense with the up-and-comer elevated to Vogue cover star and now third favourite for an Oscar Object of her Affleck-tion: Casey Affleck and Nicole Kidman both received SAG nominations and his chances increased after receiving the Critics Choice Award she presented Back of the Q: Joel was announced as the GQ Actor of the Year in November having received high praise for his other high profile role this year in Midnight Special The favourites for the Best Actor Oscar are now Affleck and Denzel Washington for his role in Fences which he also directed, and it would be stunning if either were missing from the list of nominees. Ryan Gosling is also all-but-guaranteed a nomination for his performance in La La Land which is also the hot tip to win Best Picture despite missing out a nomination in the SAG's equivalent award Best Ensemble Cast. Fences favourite: Denzel Washington is one of the favourites to win the Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Fences which he also directed Ga Ga for La La: Ryan Gosling is also all-but-guaranteed a nomination for his performance in La La Land That leaves Edgerton fighting it out for one of the remaining two nominations, set to be announced in Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 24. While there is still hope, he faces stiff competition from SAG outsider Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge) and surprise nominee Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), as well as Tom Hanks for Sully, who also missed out on the SAG list and a Golden Globe nomination but can never be ruled out when it comes to the Oscars. Edge-d out: Joel faces stiff competition for the last two Oscar nomination slots for Best Actor Hacksaw's hero: SAG outsider Andrew Garfield will also be hopeful of an Oscar nomination Tom loves Oscar, Oscar loves Tom: Tom Hanks also missed out on the SAG list and a Golden Globe nomination for Sully, but he can never be ruled out when it comes to the Oscars. She failed to capture the heart of Richie Strahan on The Bachelor Australia. But Georgia Tripos reminded onlookers of her appeal, as she attended outdoor event The Royal Croquet Club, in Melbourne on Thursday. The 24-year-old flaunted her lean legs in a black lace playsuit and pair of beige wedge heels. Thigh's the limit! Bachelor reject Georgia Tripos, 24, flaunted her lean legs in a black lace playsuit, as she attended outdoor event The Royal Croquet Club, in Melbourne on Thursday Georgia highlighted her toned legs in a black lace playsuit with the hemline finishing mid-thigh. The ensemble's plunging neckline showed off her delicate decolletage, while semi-sheer sleeves offered glimpses of her slender arms. Keeping accessories to a minimum, Georgia sported a black leather jacket, a pair of beige wedge heels and dark aviator sunglasses. Svelte: Semi-sheer sleeves offered glimpses of the star's slender arms, while the plunging neckline showed off her delicate decolletage Coordinating: Elongating her frame with a pair of beige wedge heels, Georgia carried a black leather jacket over one arm and concealed her eyes with a pair of dark aviator sunglasses Sweeping her dark locks into an effortless ponytail, the reality star sported a minimal makeup palette of a matte complexion, defined brows, lashings of mascara and a coating of soft pink lipstick over her plump pout. Georgia was joined by fellow Bachelor rejects Sasha Zhuravylova, 31, Laura Williams, 25, and Tolyna Baan, 31. Sasha cut an edgy figure in an all-black ensemble. Content: The reality star appeared completely at ease and relaxed as she chatted with fellow Bachelor reject Sasha Zhuravylova (L), 31 Edgy: Sasha sported a simple round-neck top, paired with skinny leg jeans, ankle boots and a fitted black leather jacket A simple round-neck shirt was teamed with skinny leg jeans, ripped at the knee, a fitted black leather jacket and pair of ankle boots. Laura donned a patterned mini-dress, paired with a faux-fur vest and grey suede ankle boots. While Tolyna dressed down for the occasion in blue cropped pants, a pastel pink tank top, loafers and a thin white cardigan. Having a blast: One moment saw Sasha affectionately place her right hand on Georgia's neck Low-key: Also in attendance was fellow Bachelor reject Tolyna Baan (L), 31, who dressed down for the occasion in cropped blue trousers, a pastel pink tank top and thin white cardigan The trio appeared in high spirits during the outing, enjoying takeaway food and beverages and posing up a storm on the media wall. Georgia revealed in August that she had begun 'dating someone' since being kicked off The Bachelor. Speaking to Popsugar at the time, she explained: 'I thank The Bachelor experience for making me question what it is I really wanted in a guy and all that.' Georgia also revealed that she knew her mystery boyfriend from before the show, but said that they 'never had anything serious' until she returned. The veteran film actress has officially made the move to television. Julia Roberts, 49, is set to appear in her first-ever TV series based on Maria Semple's New York Times best-selling novel, Today Will Be Different. The Pretty Woman star will play the lead in the TV adaptation of the book that was just released this fall. Television star! Julia Roberts, 49, is set to star in her first-ever TV series based on Maria Semple's New York Times best-selling novel, Today Will Be Different Big break: She burst onto the scene in 1990 when Pretty Women became one of the biggest hits of the year Roberts, who has become one of the biggest stars of her generation, is known for blockbuster hits like Notting Hill, My Best Friend's Wedding and Mystic Pizza. She burst onto the scene in 1990 when Pretty Women became one of the biggest hits of the year and cemented her status as Hollywood royalty. In fact, in the mid-2000s she was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood and worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Richard Gere, Matt Damon, and Hugh Grant. Blockbusters: The actress is known for hits like, My Best Friend's Wedding that helped catapult her to stardom Highest paid actress: In the mid-2000s, Roberts was one of the hightest paid actresses in the world The stunning star, who won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Erin Brockovich in 2000, will lead the cast in the new TV miniseries. Today Will Be Different is about a day in the life of Eleanor Flood, played by Roberts, who decides that day will be the day to tackle the little things she has been putting off. The entire series will take place over the course of that single day and has been described as a 'hilarious, heart-filled story' about reinvention, sisterhood and facing ones true self. Iconic role: The actress starred in Pretty Woman in 1990 when she was a relatively unknown actress Leading lady: She's worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry, including Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Richard Gere, Matt Damon, and Hugh Grant (here she is starring in Notting Hill) The series doesn't have a network attached to it, but producers are apparently hopeful a big name like Roberts can attract interest. Roberts, who hasn't starred in a television series since before she was famous, is the latest in a long line of movie starts taking the leap from blockbusters to TV. Veteran movie star Meryl Streep is starring in a series from J.J. Abrams, which doesn't yet have a network, Julianne Moore and Robert De Niro are both starring in a new Amazon series, and Emma Stone is set to appear in Netflix's 'Maniac.' She kicked off her romantic holiday by posting a cheeky snap with her boyfriend, Pete Wicks. And Megan McKenna seemed to be on a roll as she shared another bootylicious belfie from Dubai on Instagram on Thursday. Clad in a thong-style bikini, the 24-year-old left little to the imagination as she was snapped facing away from the camera. Scroll down for video The Only Way Is Tooshie! Clad in a thong-style bikini, Megan left little to the imagination as she was snapped facing away from the camera whilst on holiday in Dubai The scanty material did nothing to cover up her peachy posterior, which took centre stage in the shot. Running her hands through her chestnut coloured tresses, the TOWIE starlet dazzled as she gazed sultrily out towards the horizon. Allowing the picture to convey its own message, she merely captioned the shot with a water emoji. Lazy days: Megan previously snapped herself sunbathing topless as one of the many saucy Instagram shots from her sun-soaked break to Dubai Earlier in the day, Megan posed for a picture on a giant gold inflatable swan. The Essex beauty kneeled atop the bird in a metallic green bikini as the sun glistened on her bronzed skin. Looking downwards, she flashed a peace sign at the camera as the sea lapped against the shore. Megan captioned her snap: 'Finally got the opportunity to pose on one of them swans.' (sic) Swanning around! Megan, 24, ticked another item off her wishlist as she posed for a picture on a giant gold inflatable swan while holidaying in Dubai The former Ex On The Beach star then got particularly cheeky as she posed for a lift selfie with her long-haired lover. Pulling her kaftan up to reveal her leopard print bikini bottoms and peachy posterior, the brunette pouted away as Pete wrote alongside the snap: 'Now that's a lift selfie!' Previously on the trip, the TOWIE babe laid in an eye-catching bikini, with touches of metallic colour brightening up the ensemble. Peachy posterior: The former Ex On The Beach star then got particularly cheeky as she posed for a racy lift selfie with her long-haired lover Pete Wicks Winter sun: Megan and Pete, 28, looked to be living a life of luxury as they shared pictures from their Dubai jaunt on Instagram She messily tied up her brunette tresses underneath a black cap which she pulled down to shield her eyes from the Middle-Eastern sun. Her slender shape looked enviably bronzed as she relaxed on a comfy seating area covered with blue beach towels. Megan helped herself to a plate filled with freshly sliced watermelon - the perfect beachside snack. Meanwhile, Pete, 28, was pictured sunning his heavily tattooed torso in a pair of black swimshorts. Laidback: Pete was pictured sunning his heavily tattooed torso in a pair of black swimshorts The heartthrob tied his long locks up and wore a pair of shades as he basked in the sunlight. With his phone and a packet of cigarettes next to him, he clutched what looked like a glass flute filled with rose. Pete wrote beside the image: 'Having such a chilled day @covebeachdubai - thank you for the hospitality ' Keeping their fans in the loop, Megan previously posted a snapshot of herself in a silver sequinned bikini smooching her beau while soaking in a swimming pool. Smacker: Megan previously posted a snapshot of herself in a silver sequinned bikini smooching her beau while soaking in a swimming pool Megan's brunette hair was worn into a tousled top knot for the dip, while Pete let loose his famous man bun. The couple appeared to be enjoying their winter getaway, with Pete posting a second shot with his back to the camera, showing off his copious tattoos as he dipped his toes in the water. It seems the couple may have travelled in style, with Megan earlier sharing a snapshot of the pair enjoying a glass of bubbly on the plane. 'Champers in our couple pod!,' she wrote. Winter sun: The TOWIE star posted a snapshot showing himself dipping his legs in the pool while showing off his copious tattoos In our couple's pod: Megan and Pete flew to Los Angeles in style The couple's appearance came following Megan's starring performance at Sunday night's West End Musical One More Dance. The star performed in a slinky silk floor-length red gown which hugged her slender physique to perfection, before she later changed into a more casual black ensemble. And Megan's dad Dave McKenna was also there to support his daughter, posing alongside cheerily alongside Pete. Megan's parents featured heavily in TOWIE scenes during which Pete wooed Megan back following his sexting scandal over the summer. Pucker up! Boyfriend Pete looked proud as punch as he supported Megan during her live singing debut on Sunday night Lady in red: Megan took to the stage in a figure-hugging strappy number hugged her slender physique to perfection, and she later changed into a more casual black ensemble Number one fans: Supporting her on her big night was of course both her number one fans - Pete and father Dave McKenna Earlier in the night-despite being better known for her dramatic escapades on ITVBe's The Only Way Is Essex, Megan looked every inch the theatre pro. Worlds away from her reality star counterpart on Sunday night,she made her West End debut in Kristina Rihanoff and Gleb Savchenko's production One More Dance. Singing her heart out onstage at the Adelphi Theatre, the reality star truly dazzled in a slinky red satin number as she first wowed the audience with her powerful voice. The TOWIE lass later changed into an angelic white gown, which injected a hint of glitz into the evening with chic embellished shoulder panels. This is my moment: Megan looked every inch the theatre pro on Sunday night, as she made her West End debut in Kristina Rhianoff and Gleb Savchenko's One More Dance Superstar: Singing her heart out at the Adelphi Theatre, the reality star dazzled in a slinky red number before changing into an angelic white gown as she wowed with her powerful voice Centre stage: Megan dominated the stage in her West End debut as Gleb, Kristina and their dances moved effortlessly around her Dynamic duo: Megan posed with professional dancer Gleb Savchenko backstage at her first sold out performance Having bonded with Kristina Rihanoff during their time in the CBB house earlier this year, Megan stayed in contact with the former Strictly Come Dancing star and was consequently cast in her West End show alongside Gleb Savchenko, earlier in the year. Kristina listened to Megan sing while they spent the same season of CBB together and booked her for the one-night-only show last month, when Megan said how 'thrilled' she was to be asked. 'I didnt have to think twice,' she said of the casting. 'Making my West End debut singing on stage with some of the most talented dancers in the world accompanying me truly is a dream come true.' Dreamy: The TOWIE lass later changed into an angelic white gown, which injected a hint of glitz into the evening with chic embellished shoulder panels Debut: Megan looked thrilled as she left the Adelphi Theatre after making her West End stage debut in stunning satin gown alongside Gleb Savchenko The TV personality has been desperate for years to be recognised for her singing ability more than anything else, and her slog through the realms of reality TV has finally allowed her to do this. Before the show on Sunday, she treated fans to photos of her backstage in the stunning cherry red gown. She posed for the camera in the satin floor-length backless number, showing off her delicately curled brunette locks which she wore loosely behind her shoulders. 'It's show time!' was her caption, before posting a second shot of her in the wings with an array of backstage crew around her, holding out her dress's train in all directions, creating an almost winged effect. 'Just chilling backstage...' she quipped in the caption. 'It's show time': She posted a shot of her in the wings with an array of backstage crew around her, holding out her dress's train in all directions, creating an almost winged effect The show featured Ballroom and Latin American dance routines, starring Gleb and Kristina. Parts of it was accompanied by live singing performances from a variety of stars, including Megan. Starting out, she appeared on Britain's Got Talent in 2006, aged 16, where she performed a rendition of What is This Feeling? (Loathing), from West End musical Wicked. She went on to appear on The X Factor, made a brief appearance on TOWIE as a member of Jess Wright's band LOLA, two stints on Ex On The Beach, a spot on Celebrity Big Brother and her now-regular role on TOWIE. Bachelor babe Sasha Zhuravlyova was spotted looking VERY cosy with a mystery man on Thursday night. The Russian model was enjoying a night out with fellow reality stars Laura Williams, Tolyna Baan and Georgia Tripos at The Royal Croquet Club in Melbourne. But the brunette beauty seemed distracted by the unknown man, who wrapped his arms around Sasha's slender waist as the pair shared a passionate kiss on the dance floor. Scroll down for video Mystery man: Bachelor babe Sasha Zhuravlyova was spotted looking VERY cosy with an unkown man in Melbourne on Thursday night After their amorous embrace, Sasha placed her hand on the man's chest with a fiery look in her eyes. Her slender legs were showcased by her skin-tight jeans, while a leather jacket completed her rocker chic look. Her tinted locks were styled in loose curls and left to cascade down over her shoulders. Where are you going? Sasha placed her hand on the man's chest with a fiery look in her eyes Dancing the night away: The Russian model was enjoying a night out with her fellow Bachelor stars, including Laura Williams (pictured) It had been a long day for Sasha and her fellow Bachelor stars, who were seen arriving at the club in the early afternoon. Sasha was seen enjoying a beer, before switching to wine. Earlier in the day, the reality star spoke candidly to Daily Mail Australia about her time in the Bachelor mansion. Gal pals! Sasha was also seen embracing blonde beauty Laura on the dance floor Starting early! It had been a long day for Sasha and her fellow Bachelor stars, who were seen arriving at the club in the early afternoon. Above, Sasha is pictured with Georgia Tripos That do: Sasha's tinted locks were styled in loose curls and left to cascade down over her shoulders She confirmed that one of the contestants took a pregnancy test during filming. 'Her period was late,' the 31-year-old beauty said, but refused to reveal the identity of the contestant. 'The girls went to a pharmacy to get a pregnancy test for her as her period was late,' Sasha revealed. Chic: Her slender legs were showcased by her skin-tight jeans, while a leather jacket completed her rocker chic look Bachelor buddies: Sasha was seen with fellow reality star Tolyna Baan 'One girl did a pregnancy test during the series. I cant say who she is.' 'But it was all clear and we moved on,' she clarified. However, she claimed that Richie - who is now dating series winner Alex Nation - did not sleep with any of the girls in the mansion. Mixing it up! Sasha was seen enjoying a beer, before switching to wine Opening up: Earlier in the day, Sasha spoke candidly to Daily Mail Australia about her time in the Bachelor mansion If we had a chance to sleep with anyone, we would! I was a horny motherf**ker!,' Sasha told Daily Mail Australia. 'We always had cameras on us. Any time Richie was around us, there was always a producer sitting there. There was never a moment alone with Richie.' 'How would you have sex? Unless you were OK with a producer watching you. Im pretty sure no-one had sex,' she added. 'I was a horny motherf**ker!' Sasha told Daily Mail Australia of her time on the show Leggy: Georgia's very trim pics were on full display in her chic lace mini dress Style: Georgia slender legs were accentuated by a pair of white platform heels Bachelor star Tolyna Baan was seen sporting a pink singelt and sky blue jeans The #OscarsSoWhite controversy has polarized Hollywood ever since becoming a trending topic before last year's ceremony. And now Denzel Washington has decided to weigh in as awards season rolls around again. In a new 60 Minutes interview, the immensely successful 61-year-old Oscar winner reveals his insider take on the industry's diversity issues. New opinion: Denzel Washington has decided to weigh in on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy as awards season rolls around again When asked his opinion on the Oscars being criticized for a lack of diversity, Denzel was moved to reflect on his own experience. 'I don't have to think about it, I've lived it' said the Hollywood icon, before adding 'Ive been the guy at the Oscars without my name being called, Ive been the guy at the Oscars when my name is called, Ive been at the Oscars when everybody thought they were going to call my name and they didnt. Ive lived it.' He was then asked about what he would say to those who claim the process is unfair, and responded very frankly. Pulling no punches: When asked his opinion on the Oscars being criticized for a lack of diversity, Denzel was moved to reflect on his own experience 'Yeah and so what? Give up? If youre looking for an excuse, youll find one,' he said. 'You can find it wherever youd like,' he continued, 'you cant live like that. Just do the best you can do.' And Denzel can be counted on to be an authority on the issue, as he's been one of the most awarded actors in Hollywood history. Top-notch: Denzel can be counted on to be an authority on the issue, as he's been one of the most awarded actors in Hollywood history (pictured here in September 2014) Over the course of his lengthy career, he's garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations and won two, for his work in Training Day and Glory. He's also racked up an astonishing nine Golden Globe nominations which also included three wins. Of course he was just nominated for a Globe for his performance in the drama Fences, which is reportedly also in the Oscar discussion. Lots of hardware: Over the course of his lengthy career, he's garnered an impressive five Oscar nominations and won two, for his work in Training Day and Glory They're fresh off the heels of their Los Angeles premiere for their film Passengers. Soon after, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt jetted off to the other side of the world to continue their whirlwind promotional tour. On Thursday, the actors were seen arriving to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where they were greeted with flowers. Now that's a greeting! Jennifer Lawrence arrived to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, where she was greeted with flowers for her Passengers promotional tour Jennifer opted for comfort for the long flight; the 26-year-old donned dark hued joggers that she scrunched up to her knees. The actress paired the casual bottoms with a thick black and white coat, adding a patterned scarf around the neck. The blonde beauty complemented her ensemble with leather gloves, sunglasses and a newsboy cap. She stayed comfortable in her black suede lace-up oxfords. Looking very handsome: Jennifer was joined by her Passengers co-star Chris Pratt Jennifer styled her blonde tresses back into a low bun and opted for a touch of gloss on her lips and rosy blush on her cheeks. Her handsome Passengers co-star, Chris Pratt, was also welcomed with flowers. The Jurassic World star, 37, in dark wash denim and a white T-shirt; he stayed warm in a khaki and navy bomber jacket. Beaming: Jennifer opted for comfort for the long flight; the 26-year-old donned dark hued joggers that she scrunched up to her knees Looking sharp: Her handsome Passengers co-star, Chris Pratt, was also welcomed with flowers He's so suave: The Jurassic World star, 37, in dark wash denim and a white T-shirt; he stayed warm in a khaki and navy bomber jacket Chris donned sunglasses and toted his bag in one hand. On Wednesday, the twosome attended their movie premiere in Westwood. Jennifer stunned in a strapless Christian Dior gown from their Spring 2017 collection. Chris looked dapper in his suit and tie; he brought his lovely wife actress Anna Faris, 40. The film is about a spaceship heading to a new planet with all of its passengers in an induced hibernation; the trip takes 120 years but two people on the spacecraft - Chris and Jennifer's characters - awaken 90 years too soon. Passengers will be released to theaters on December 21. Strike a pose: On Wednesday, the twosome attended their premiere in Westwood An absolute vision in white! Jennifer stunned in a strapless Christian Dior gown from their Spring 2017 collection; pictured on Wednesday in Westwood She's the glamorous fashion blogger who captured the heart of former AFL star Joel Patfull, earlier this year. And Elle Ferguson inadvertently revealed on of the reasons why her boyfriend of eight months is so smitten after sharing a stunning swimsuit selfie to Instagram on Friday. The Style Squad star, who is currently enjoying a holiday with her man in Hawaii, showed off her toned thighs and slender waist while posing in a pink floral-print one-piece. Sizzling hot! Elle Ferguson showed off her stunning bikini body in a revealing swimsuit selfie shared to Instagram on Friday The high-cut design displayed her torso tan lines as she posed in what appeared to be her hotel room. Her curled blonde locks were worn loosely and covered her face as she took the selfie using her smartphone. 'Early morning dip before we start the day... @modernhonolulu,' she captioned. Romatic getaway: Elle is currently enjoying a holidayin Hawaii with former AFL star Joel Patfull The couple, who met through Elle's fashion work, got together after realizing they lived next door to each other in Bondi. 'We both have these weird suspicions. He never turned right coming out of his house and I never turn left when leaving the house so we never bumped into each other,' she told Fairfax. '... He's so unique but so down-to-earth.' Bronzed beauty! Elle showcased her enviable bikini body in another revealing photo earlier this week Elle's swimsuit selfie comes just days after she shared another revealing shot of herself soaking up the sun while lying next to her beau. In the caption, she quipped: 'We found the pool and the SPF50.' Her whittled waist and sun-kissed complexion were on display as she posed in a string bikini top and denim cut-off shorts. 'We found the pool and the SPF50': Taking to Instagram on Tuesday , the staggeringly popular social media star shared a snap of herself soaking up the sun while lying next to her beau Dreamy: Hours earlier, the They All Hate Us blogger shared a photo of herself wandering through her tropical Honolulu resort wearing a backless dress by Byron Bay label Spell Busting out! She also gave fans a peek at the plunging front of her dress in a previous post as she arrived at the resort Hours earlier, the They All Hate Us blogger shared a photo of herself wandering through her tropical Honolulu resort wearing a backless dress by Byron Bay label Spell. 'Off to find the pool...', wrote the blonde next to the candid-looking photo. She also gave fans a peek at the plunging front of her dress in a previous post as she arrived at The Modern Honolulu. On Monday, she flaunted her slender physique once again as she posed in a bikini for a Boomerang video on Instagram. Blowing kisses: On Monday, she flaunted her slender physique once again as she posed in a bikini for a Boomerang video on Instagram 'Mornings on the north shore in @billabong_womens_australia #abikinikindalife,' the bronzed glamazon wrote in the caption as she wiggled and blew a kiss to the camera. Joel also made an appearance on her Instagram page on Saturday, posing alongside his ladylove in a holiday happy snap. The pair both shielded their eyes with sassy sunglasses as they stared down at the camera with serious expressions. Genetically-blessed duo! Joel also made an appearance on her Instagram page on Saturday, posing alongside his ladylove in a holiday happy snap 'North shore with babe...,' wrote Elle, tagging her man. Joel met Elle online after he started following her popular Instagram account. They soon realised they lived just metres apart in Bondi, with Elle telling the Sydney Morning Herald: 'We both have these weird suspicions. He never turned right coming out of his house and I never turn left when leaving the house so we never bumped into each other.' They even dress alike. Scott and Mason Disick were the picture-perfect pair Thursday when they stepped out in Calabasas, California, after enjoying a pizza lunch. The little boy, who just turned seven on Wednesday, held hands with his dad, 33, as they walked through the parking lot in matching grey hoodies. Picture perfect: Scott Disick and son Mason coordinated outfits for a pizza lunch in Calabasas, California on Thursday afternoon Matching pair: The father-son duo even coordinated their grey pants and white shoes to complete the look The father-son duo even coordinated their grey pants and white shoes to complete the look. Scott completed his bearded look with a pair of cool aviator sunglasses. He had his hair styled and slicked back, away from his face. In one of the photos, Mason - whose mother is Kourtney Kardashian - cracked a smile, revealing he recently lost a front tooth. All I want for Christmas? Mason revealed he recently lost a front tooth The pair looked happy as they made their way to their car after enjoying a private lunch together. The outing comes just one day the family made a trip to Anaheim, California to visit Disneyland. The 33-year-old reality star and ex, Kourtney - were the picture perfect parents as they celebrated their son's - Mason and Reign, who just turned two, - shared birthdays. Birthday surprise: The outing comes just one day the family made a trip to Anaheim, California to visit Diensyland Kourtney looked adorable in sequined Minnie Mouse ears while enjoying a family afternoon along with momager, Kris Jenner. Earlier in the day the raven-haired beauty had decked her house out in honour of their birthdays that morning. Taking to Snapchat, Kourtney showed off the gorgeous decorations that awaited her children. The boys, whose mom is Kourtney Kardashian have the same birthday; Mason turned seven and Reign turned two The reality star also took a video from inside her bathroom, where on the mirror it was written in red lipstick, 'Happy Birthday Mason.' 'The elf with the lipstick! Happy birthday Mason?' Kourtney gushed to her son. 'Yeah! It's my birthday,' he replied. Meanwhile, Scott is allegedly selling his seven bedroom, seven bathroom bachelor pad in order to be closer to ex Kourtney and their three children, which also includes daughter Penelope, three. 'Happy Birthday Mason': The reality star also took a video from inside her bathroom, where she wrote on the mirror in red lipstick Same day! The reality star wished her two boys, who were born on the same day, a happy birthday Kourtney and Scott split in July 2015 after dating for nine years but E! News reported earlier this month that the always on-off duo 'are back together.' 'They are back together and giving their relationship a try again,' a source told the site. The rekindling appeared to have come after Scott toned down his wild ways. Winona Ryder looks better than ever. The 45-year-old actress was front-and-center at Thursday's New York City screening of Paterson at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema put on by Amazon Studios and Bleeker Street. The dark-haired beauty, who stars on the show Stranger Things, wore a black leather jacket with a white Tom Waits T-shirt, a long black skirt and black boots. The stunning star rounded things out with a black leather purse. Scroll below for video Stunning: Winona Ryder, 45, looked amazing as she walked the red carpet at Thursday's New York City screening of Paterson at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema The Edward Scissorhands actress is having a good week, as on Wednesday, she nabbed a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for her work as Joyce Byers on the Netflix series. Her 12-year-old co-star, Millie Bobby Brown, was also nominated in the category. Rounding out the TV nods were The Crown's Claire Foy, House of Cards star Robin Wright and Westworld's Thandie Newton. It's been a very good year for Ryder, who's received strong reviews for her work on the sci-fi thriller, which is set in 1983 in Indiana. In style: As usual, the actress was in prime fashion form, putting together a matching ensemble that was perfect for the occasion A reason to smile: Ryder received big plaudits this week for her work on the series Stranger Things, with a SAG nomination for best female actor in a drama Ageless: The Mermaids star, who said this summer she enjoys the aging process, said she's sworn off plastic surgery despite pressure in her career to go under the knife The force is strong with this one: Adam Driver, 33, of Star Wars fame stars in Peterson as the title character The Girl, Interrupted star continues to be going strong in her career and looking better than ever. This past summer, speaking with The EDIT, the fashionista revealed that she's never gone under the knife for cosmetic surgery, which she described as being 'treated almost like hygiene' in image-conscious Hollywood circles. 'I love getting older; I think it has to do with always being the kid on set,' she said. 'I've had people say to me, "Oh, you should, you know...", and they point to my forehead [and say,] "Get that seen too!" But I'm like, "No! I've been waiting so long for that to happen!"' That's a wrap: The Girls actor posed on the red carpet with the director of the film, Jim Jarmusch Playing around: The director and his leading man share a lighter moment with the hard work behind them and the film in the can Also on hand for the swanky cinema event was director Jim Jarmusch and actor Adam Driver, who plays the film's titular character. He's a member of the highly secretive Morgan family. And the strain of living in secrecy appears to have become all too much for actor James Stewart's character Justin Morgan, who was seen confronting a bikini-clad blonde in an upcoming Home and Away scene. Sporting a black T-shirt and green cargo pants, 41-year-old James looked tense while in character as he filmed scenes for the show at Sydney's Palm Beach on Tuesday. Drama: James Stewart, who plays Justin Morgan on Home and Away, was seen confronting a bikini-clad blonde while filming scenes for the soap at Sydney's Palm Beach on Tuesday As a group of bikini-clad girls made their way to the beach, the actor was seen trailing them and yelling from behind in an attempt to get them to face him. His focus appeared to be aimed at the blonde woman, who is set to make her debut in Summer Bay. Last month, different images showed him getting physical with the slender woman on the beach. Get back here! The actor looked frustrated as the bikini-clad women ignored him What's his problem? The women refused to turn around and face him She appeared scared and attempted to walk away from the hunk, who again appeared to corner her as they walked in the sand. It is unclear whether she is making a cameo or will be a permanent character. James, who sported his character's usual casual board shorts and a singlet, was seen grabbing his co-star's wrist while appearing to make some form of threat against her. Nervous: The blonde woman looked pensive after the confrontaion Pia Miller, who plays Katarina Chapman, attempted to play mediator in the fight. Justin and Katarine were recently involved in a shooting involving the Morgans new protection officer, Ranae. The Morgans were previously forced into hiding as part of their witness protection program and while they are desperate to begin living normal lives - old secrets continue to haunt them. C'mon let's go: They continued about their day after he finally left them alone Oliver Curtis' appeal to have his conviction for insider trading overturned was dismissed on Friday. And according to The Sydney Morning Herald, his PR maven wife Roxy Jacenko continues to 'enjoy the support' and friendship of her millionaire ex-boyfriend, Nabil Gazal, while her husband remains in jail. The publication previously alleged that the pair were seen having dinner together in Sydney and 'appeared relaxed with each other'. Scroll down for video Still friends? Roxy Jacenko is reportedly still 'enjoying the support' of millionaire ex-boyfriend Nabil Gazal (pictured) while husband Oliver Curtis is in jail Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Roxy for comment. Gazal was described as one of Roxy's more 'serious' past boyfriends and they have been quite open about their meetings, it was claimed. In October, the 36-year-old mother-of-two was seen sporting a cool and casual outfit in Sydney, with Gazal by her side. The pair ambled through the streets as they headed towards Sweaty Betty PR's offices. Behind bars: Roxy's husband Oliver Curtis (pictured) is serving a two-year sentence in Cooma Prison after being jailed for insider trading in June Meanwhile, Roxy's husband is serving a two-year sentence in Cooma Prison after being jailed for insider trading in June. The couple share two children, Pixie, five, and two-year-old Hunter. They have been kept away from their father since he was sentenced. Happier times: The couple share two children, Pixie, five, and two-year-old Hunter Curtis, 31, launched an appeal to have his conviction overturned and was hoping to walk free just in time to spend Christmas with his family. But on Friday, he was told the appeal has been dismissed and will stay in jail for a further six months. Daily Mail Australia has approached Roxy for comment. She spent months in the wilderness protesting to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. And while she and other protesters achieved an initial win, Shailene Woodley isn't stopping her advocacy yet. The 25-year-old Divergent star joined fellow celeb Mark Ruffalo at the Stand with Standing Rock Benefit in New York City on Thursday. In a good mood: while her and other protesters achieved an initial win, Shailene Woodley isn't stopping her advocacy yet The Snowden actress showed up for the event all bundled up. On top she sported a light denim jacket over a black pullover, while she rocked some figure-hugging dark denim jeans on the bottom, along with a pair of chunky, black leather boots. Further warmth was provided by a grey tasseled scarf emblazoned with a Native American-inspired pattern, and a wide grey headband. Aside from her moderately-sized hoop earrings and prominent nose ring, she was decidedly bling free. Winter-ready: The Snowden actress showed up for the event all bundled up Nothing fancy: Aside from her moderately-sized hoop earrings and prominent nose ring, she was decidedly bling free Looking good: Some light blush and pale rose lipstick ensured the star was ready for some on-camera action Not afraid of hard work: Later, when she took part in a panel, she ditched the cold weather gear and rolled up her sleeves for the discussion Some light blush and pale rose lipstick ensured the star was ready for some on-camera action. Later, when she took part in a panel, she ditched the cold weather gear and rolled up her sleeves for the discussion. Also participating in the event was Spotlight star Mark Ruffalo, 49. Pumped: Also participating in the event was Spotlight star Mark Ruffalo, 49 Important: Both celebs took the stage with prominent activist Tokata Iron Eyes to urge more donations to support the cause The Avengers actor also kept things casual for his appearance, opting for a heather grey sweater and blue jeans. Both celebs took the stage with prominent activist Tokata Iron Eyes to urge more donations to support the cause. While the anti-pipeline protests were successful in persuading the Army Corps of Engineers to revoke a key easement, the threat of reinstatement by an anti-environment Trump presidency means activists have not ceased their efforts to kill the pipeline completely. The easement would've allowed the pipeline to cross sacred Native American tribal lands and clean water sources. Bambi Northwood-Blyth is often described as Australia's answer to Cara Delevingne due to their similar bold brows. And her husband Dan Single agreed they certainly look alike during an interview with Daily Mail Australia on Friday. The fashion designer, who is friends with Cara, claimed he finds both women 'beautiful and amazing' in their own ways. Scroll down for video Separated at birth? Bambi Northwood-Blyth (L) is often described as Australia's answer to Cara Delevingne (R), and even her husband Dan Single realises their resemblance Dan spoke to DMA after performing a DJ set alongside The Veronicas at Thursday's launch of the new Holden Astra in Sydney. 'They're both so beautiful and amazing. So if it's a comparison between Bambi and Cara, I would say definitely yes,' he shared with a laugh. Bambi and Cara are friends, and have been spotted partying together in the past. High profile: The couple posed for photos at the launch of the new Holden Astra in Sydney Leggy lady! Bambi stunned at Thursday night's event in a velvet Galvan London frock Star-studded: Dan acted as the main DJ set alongside The Veronicas (pictured) Bambi and Dan married in an intimate ceremony with family and friends in 2013. The couple became engaged earlier that year, when Dan proposed while they were on holiday in Thailand. Dan presented her with a black onyx heart-shaped ring designed by Angus Logan. Side to side: Bambi struck a model pose for photographers at the event Both having an exceptional taste for rose, Bambi told Daily Mail Australia in October how she and Dan came up with the idea for their own brand, Pour Les Amore. 'It's an amazing project that we did. We started doing it on our honeymoon and it's been going great - it's won nearly five awards.' The couple have also launched their own pajama line including a range of silk, monogrammed and basic sleepwear. She's her own fashion stylist. And Bryce Dallas Howard scored another win on Thursday night as she attended the Huading Film Awards in Los Angeles. The 35-year-old stunned in a skintight sequin gown at the Chinese awards ceremony. Gorgeous: Bryce Dallas Howard scored another win on Thursday night as she attended the Huading Film Awards in Los Angeles Wearing her strawberry blonde hair in sexy tangles as she went for an off the shoulder look. The dress, however, was most likely something she purchased herself. Just last Sunday, she wowed in a colorful gown for the Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica. The actress, daughter of Ron Howard, hit the carpet on Sunday in a plunging mustard hued dress by Topshop - which retails for $240. Another stunning number: The 35-year-old stunned in a skintight sequin gown at the Chinese awards ceremony The Jurassic World star bought her 2016 Golden Globes dress as well as her frock for last year's Critics' Choice Awards. The beauty recently told People: 'When you're not "sample size," or when you don't have a direct relationship with a designer, or if you don't have a lot of notice, those types of size 6 dresses just aren't that available that much.' She added that 'if something is sort of last-minute, or I don't have a good relationship with a place, then I go to Neiman's, or I get something online.' Tangled: Wearing her strawberry blonde hair in sexy tangles as she went for an off the shoulder look For last year's Critics' Choice Awards, the starlet wore a $1,300 Pierre Balmain dress; she bought the low-cut black gown online from Forward By Elyse Walker. The Black Mirror star wowed in a deep blue Jenny Packham dress she purchased from Neiman Marcus for the Golden Globe Awards last January. Bryce stars alongside Matthew McConaughey and Edgar Ramirez in the Stephen Gaghan directed action thriller. Gold will hit US theaters on January 27. So what do you buy Mariah Carey for Christmas? NBC Late Night host Seth Myers suggested it would be difficult to come up with ideas for gifts for the singing superstar who seems to have it all. But Mariah, 46, was quick to disillusion him of that notion when she appeared on his show Thursday night. 'It's not hard at all 'if you go with this sort of thing' she explained as she touched the enormous ruby and diamond necklace she was wearing. Difficult? Moi?: Mariah Carey dismissed suggestions from Late Night host Seth Myers that she's difficult to buy Christmas gifts for, saying she's always happy to receive jewelry Loves her bling: It's not hard at all 'if you go with this sort of thing' the pop diva explained as she pointed to her stunning diamond and ruby necklace she was wearing The penchant for bright sparkly things is something that her now ex-fiance James Packer knew was a way to her heart. The Australian billionaire businessman gifted her with a yellow diamond heart pendant and a diamond choker, each reported to be worth half a million dollars during their whirlwind romance. The couple split in October. Custom seating: Mariah, 46, was invited by Seth to join him in a huge decorated sleigh created especially for her on the Late Night set Loves the festive season: The songstress wraps up her All I Want For Christmas series of concerts in NYC on Saturday after which she heads to Aspen, Colorado, for the holidays The diva, who was on the NBC show to promote her E! reality series Mariah's World, accepted Seth's invitation to sit next to him in a sleigh on the set. She wraps up her All I Want For Chrostmas series of shows in NYC on Saturday after which she heads to Aspen, Colorado, for the holidays. She traditionally spends the festive season in the celebrity-filled Rockies resort with her twins Monroe and Moroccan, five, from her marriage to Nick Cannon. No expense spared: Mariah explained that making Christmas great for her twins Monroe and Moroccan, five, is her main priority ans that Santa comes to her house in a sleigh with reindeer Not singing the blues: The Vision of love beauty appears to be moving on happily following her surprise October split from fiance James Packer Making sure the youngsters have a fabulous Christmas is her priority, she said. 'Santa Claus comes with a real sleigh and real reindeer to my house in Aspen,' she said. 'He knows the way to my house.' Mariah also confirmed she's heading out on tour with Lionel Richie in 2017 and said she was looking forward to seeing all her fans. She failed to find love with Richie Strahan on this year's season of The Bachelor. But Sasha Zhuravlyova says the cast were surprised to see who did win the heart of the Perth rope access technician. The Russian beauty told Daily Mail Australia the contestants no idea who won the show until it was aired on TV. Scroll down for video They portrayed Alex as silly and desperate': The Bachelor's Sasha Zhuravlyova (pictured) says she was not expecting Alex Nation to win Richie Strahan's heart 'We were just like the public, we had no idea,' she confessed. 'I spoke to Nikki while the show was still airing, but she didnt say anything. Neither did Alex.' But Sasha said Richie's final choice left her blindsided. They portrayed Alex as silly and desperate and Nikki as the girl next door,' she explained. Warner Bros. did a very good job misleading every single person in Australia including us!' 'Warner Bros. did a very good job misleading us': Sasha claimed the Bachelor girls were convinced until the last episode that Richie was going to choose runner-up Nikki Gogan Sasha claimed the Bachelor girls were convinced until the last episode that Richie was going to choose Nikki Gogan. After the show, we were all sure it was Nikki,' Sasha said. But the 31-year-old eventually confessed his love for Melbourne single mother Alex Nation, 25. He found love! In the Bachelor season finale, Richie confessed his feelings for Alex Nation (R) Sasha, 31, was eliminated from The Bachelor after six weeks and did not have a single date with Richie. But she recently told her Instagram followers there were no hard feelings. 'When I saw him from the limo, I knew it wasn't gonna work,' she said. One is a Lethal Weapon and the other has slaughtered countless enemy combatants on screen. So no wonder Mel Gibson looked so happy to congratulate Sylvester Stallone after he was given a lifetime achievement gong at the Huading Global Film Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday. The ageing action icons seemed to be having a great time as they cuddled up together backstage at the prestigious ceremony. Everyone's a winner: Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone were grinning after being handed gongs at the Huading Global Film Awards in LA Thursday The pint-sized Rocky star looked like he could hardly believe his luck as he brandished his golden plaque and oddly shaped trophy on-stage. And the 70-year-old Rambo favourite looked good for his age in a smart grey suit, white shirt, purple tie and shiny leather shoes. Hacksaw Ridge director Mel, 60, who received a critics award, meanwhile looked every inch the dapper chap with his black suit jacket, jeans and boots. He rounded off his look with his now trademark comedy beard. The Chinese awards show was set up by the Tianxia Yingcai Cultural Media company. Unlike traditional annual events, this show is held much more frequently. A Rocky reception: He seemed delighted as he picked up his lifetime achievement gong Grin when you're winning: Getting the Huading doubtlessly made up for missing out on an Oscar for Creed Pride of place: No doubt he will hang his certificate over and place his oddly shaped trophy on his mantelpiece Indeed this was the 21st event since the Huading Awards were established in 2007, meaning there are more than two events per year on average. It is the second time that the awards have taken place in Hollywoods home town, after a previous visit in 2014. Ignoring the early cinematic endeavours of the French and British, founder Wang Haige said: 'Los Angeles is where film culture originated from. 'So being here helps us to build the authority of the Huading Awards. And besides, it is good to return after two years.' Back in the winners' circle: The formerly disgraced star won a coveted critics award Biggest role yet: Mel's bushy beard will see him in huge demand over Christmas She's The Wiggles star known for her signature yellow turtleneck. But Emma Watkins' trademark top was nowhere in sight as she stunned in a bridal photo shoot for White Magazine. The flame haired beauty, who married Lachlan Gillespie in April, posed in a selection of beautiful wedding dresses. Scroll down for video The Wiggle in white! Emma Watkins swapped her signature yellow turtleneck for a stunning array of wedding dresses for a White Magazine bridal photo shoot During the shoot, Emma showed off her natural beauty with simple make-up and an assortment of floral crowns. In one photo, the 27-year-old oozed Hollywood glamour with an elegant updo and strapless lace dress. Elsewhere, Emma showed off her classical dance training, as she was photographed in a series of graceful poses. Dancing queen: The 27-year-old children's entertainer showed off her classical dance training, as she was photographed in a series of graceful poses Strike a pose: During the shoot, Emma also showed off her natural beauty with simple make-up and an assortment of floral crowns Emma married her Wiggles band mate Lachlan earlier this year in a whimsical ceremony in Bowral, NSW. 'The wedding day itself was magical and Lachy and I felt that we were able to personalise our wedding and share our love of music, food, goats, sign language and dancing with our guests,' Emma previously told Cosmopolitan Bride. According to the magazine, the couple also had a viking tent at their reception. Emma was the picture of elegance as she walked down the aisle in an ivory Suzanne Haward couture gown and a Viktoria Novak headpiece. Her special day: Emma married her Wiggles band mate Lachlan earlier this year in a whimsical ceremony in Bowral, NSW Feeling floral: Emma previously described her own wedding day as 'magical' Quirky: According to Cosmopolitan Bride, the couple also had a viking tent at their reception 'The wedding day itself was magical': Emma was the picture of elegance as she walked down the aisle in an ivory Suzanne Haward couture gown and a Viktoria Novak headpiece Beauty: Emma and Lachlan married at Hopewood House surrounded by 200 guests, including Wiggles band mates Anthony Field and Simon Pryce Perfect: At the time, Emma described her special day in a statement, saying: 'Lachy. Love. Laughter. The best day of my life' They married at Hopewood House surrounded by 200 guests, including Wiggles band mates Anthony Field and Simon Pryce. Meanwhile the band's original line-up, featuring Murray Cook and Jeff Fatt, were also in attendance, but Greg Page had another 'prior commitment.' At the time, Emma described her special day in a statement, saying: 'Lachy. Love. Laughter. The best day of my life.' The Wiggles: Emma is the first female member of the popular Australian children's band The traditional spectacle of The Apprentice episode in which the five remaining candidates are questioned about their business plans is one of the most entertaining, enjoyable, programmes of the year. Unless youre Lord Sugar that is, and were facing the prospect of having to invest 250,000 in Jessica, Grainne, Frances, Courtney, or Alana. Then it must be horrifying. Scroll down for videos Triumphant: Courtney Wood and Alana Spencer made it through on Thursday night's episode of The Apprentice It meant viewers were left feeling sorry for the notoriously no-nonsense millionaire entrepreneur a position so incongruous you wondered if his appearance on The Apprentice had been a genius PR stunt: Alan Sugars way of re-inventing his image by winning our sympathy. The 2016 series had left him with a horribly unlikely selection of items to invest in: out of season childrens clothes, cakes, tacky novelty toys, cheap fashion wear promoted by Reality TV stars, and make-up. How he was going to re-coup his 250,000 God only knows, especially when he disabused the candidates of their assumption that having his name behind them would be enough to succeed. You're nearly hired: Lord Sugar whittled it down to two remaining contestants Delighted: The contestants were overjoyed at the news they'd made it You know what it comes down to - picking up the phone to some Mr. Supermarket and saying: Im Lord Sugars business partner? he blasted. Jack s**t ! Nothing ! It dont mean anything ! The product has to stand on its own two feet. In the end the process left Lord Sugar looking the prospect of having either Alana and Courtney as his partner an invidious choice to be sure. Cake-maker Alana made a mean chocolate brownie but had been pathologically lacking in self-confidence during the series but now claiming she could go from being a small trader supplying local delis to a nationwide operation. I will be the driving force, she insisted to Claude Littner. God help us ! he cried. I mean clearly youre not exactly a forceful character. Relief: Courtney and Alana could not help smiling as they headed home in a taxi Courtney meanwhile was cocky but totally devoid of charisma exactly the type of adolescent non-entity youd expect to create those pointless novelty gifts. Asked to design an example he came up with the idea of a Lord Sugar sugar dispenser that shot out a sugar cube each time you pulled back Lord Sugars head. The interviews also revealed that most of the five were sole traders whose businesses didnt actually have any employees. Courtney was dreaming up ideas from his parents spare bedroom where he lived while Alanas solitary member of staff was her boyfriend. In cold, hard, facts yes he could be replaced, she conceded forcefully. Lofty ambitions: Cake-maker Alana made a mean chocolate brownie but had been pathologically lacking in self-confidence Intimidating: The judges had a tough task on their hands to elimiate three contestants Hugging it out: Courtney and Alana embraced with a degree of relief Neither of the finalists struck you as likely to make anyone money, let alone a fortune. Mind you the other three candidates and their ideas were worse. Frances was proposing to expand her two childrens clothes shops into a nationwide network. Ive found a gap in the market for out of season stock to be sold in a boutique environment ! she boasted, although any such gap wouldnt be there for long now she had highlighted it on television. Grainnes plan was confusing but was essentially a combination of conquering Northern Ireland and make-up with a recruitment agency, an online store, and beauty school thrown in. Business plan: Frances Bishop was proposing to expand her two childrens clothes shops into a nationwide network Big ideas: Grainne McCoy's plan was confusing but was essentially a combination of conquering Northern Ireland and make-up with a recruitment agency, an online store, and beauty school thrown in Inventive: Jessica Cunningham wanted to create a fashion website that stocked what she called casual wear (jeans, jackets, t-shirts, casual dresses) driven by social media influences Jessica wanted to create a fashion website that stocked what she called casual wear (jeans, jackets, t-shirts, casual dresses) driven by social media influences i.e. promoting the clothes by paying fashion bloggers and Reality TV stars to wear them. Just what we need If the millionaire entrepreneur somehow hadnt realised what a bunch of inept idiots they were during the course of the past ten weeks tasks he would have after this. The show calls it the interviews episode but their experiences with Lord Sugars associates Claude Littner, Mike Soutar, Claudette Collins, and Linda Plant are more like interrogations that make the panel on Dragons Den look like pussycats. This is actually worse than childbirth ! exclaimed Grainne midway through the day. This is contractions times twenty! Then there were five: Grainne, Jessica, Courtney, Frances and Alana lined up in the boardroom Business plan: Alana may have been low on confidence but she managed to impress more than her rivals Unprepared: None of them seemed to have done this or be ready for what they were headed for This was nonsense of course. To be honest it looked much worse than that. Theres nothing in life that could prepare you for those interviews, cried Alana after they were over. Nothing except watching The Apprentice in any of the previous years, you thought. None of them seemed to have done this or be ready for what they were headed for. The show was an object lesson for viewers in how not to do a job interview and how not to sell yourself - the usual mess of ill-prepared accounts, hopeless generalisations, and badly-written CVs full of exaggerations, omissions, and downright lies. Judging: Karren Brady, Lord Sugar and Claude Littner had a tough task Frances for example had re-written her companys history, neglecting to mention two of her four shops had gone out of business. She compounded this by merrily admitting that she was not good with figures and really disorganised, gabbling: My filing system in my handbag ! I think Lord Sugar is quite intrigued by me, she claimed, presumably on the grounds that she had survived despite being on the losing side for eight of the ten tasks. Her interview with Claude Littner recalled a human version of that David Attenborough clip of a shark violently toying with a seal. Frankly its hard to find anything good about your performance, he began. I dont know what youre doing here. Not too impressive: The candidates all had mixed fortunes on the show First to go: She was the first to be fired by Lord Sugar Third to go: Frances became next in line for the chop Dont sit on the fence Claude With two businesses and three children that she had raised virtually single-handedly Jessica was clearly a stronger and more serious woman than her zany behaviour and frantic rambling suggested. Looking at my business plan theres a few grammatical errors but the numbers all add up! she babbled pulling a crazy face for good measure. Do you know what youre talking about here? Linda Plant cried. No I dont think I do actually! beamed Jessica. Last man standing: Courtney was the only remaining male out of the five finalists Mike Soutar achieved the not inconsiderable honour of silencing her when he suddenly demanded: did you realise you are still a director of Famous Frocks? The only director? No. Im not aware of that, she gulped. Soutar annihilated make-up artist Grainnes credibility too, quoting from her proposal that her roles would include liaising with clients, training and managing counter staff, running a shop and online store, and doing make up. The managing director cant be doing make-overs! Soutar scoffed. She was the first to be fired by Lord Sugar, followed swiftly by Jessica and eventually (thankfully) Frances. Piece of cake! Sweet treat maker Alana, 24, has landed herself a coveted spot in the final Slim pickings: The prospect of either Alana or Courtney ending up with 250, 000 was mind-boggling and, in Courtneys case, depressing Not so good: Make-up artist Grainnes credibility was annihilated The prospect of either Alana or Courtney ending up with 250, 000 was mind-boggling and, in Courtneys case, depressing. His credentials were tenuous at best and mostly bogus. You claim on your CV that when you worked for a Telecoms company you were the top salesman in Britain mentioned Soutar. Undeterred, Courtney grinned gormlessly: Thats a typo! Its meant to say the top salesman in the county not country. A pretty convenient typo Temporary friends: Courtney and Alana had to bid farewell to the three girls I think designing 33 products in 3 years is rather impressive! he insisted. These were gems such as a bottle that encouraged toddlers at weddings to join their parents in toasting the happy couple that they could drink their milk from and was in the shape of a champagne glass. Do you think thats appropriate?! Claudette Collins demanded. Courtney obviously did. Lord Sugars only objection was that as they were impossible to copyright anything Courtney created could easily be knocked off. Wheeling out: Frances nearly made it to the top two This was not a problem that applied to Alana and her cakes. On the contrary She revealed she was pocketing an astonishing mark-up from a Rocky Road: making them for 16p then selling at food festivals for 3. The type of tasty profit that would appeal to Sugar if he tries to emulate Dragons Dens success with Reggae Reggae sauce and capitalise on the obsession created by The Great British Bake Off. Alana has more personality than Courtney and generally seems nicer and more focused. Alana deserves to win, if only for her repertoire of amazing, anxious, facial expressions. He has been travelling the globe to promote Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. And it appears Ben Mendelsohn has been making the most of his regular stops at the duty free shops. The Australian actor was spotted with suitcases and shopping bags while leaving LA Airport on Thursday. Scroll down for video Watch it! Ben Mendelsohn needed a bit of help moving his pile of bags and shopping as he left Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday evening A man rushed over to help the Animal Kingdom star as he prepared to enter a car. Above his stuffed suitcase were several bags of duty free shopping a camel coloured coat. Despite his travelling schedule, Ben emerged from his flight looking fresh and rested. Looking good! The actor cut a relaxed figure in blue jeans with a white button up shirt He cut a relaxed figure as he left LAX, pairing fitted blue jeans with a crisp white button up shirt. He finished the look off with a pair of dark canvas shoes and sunglasses. The father-of-one is rumoured to play the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Origins, to be released in 2018. New project? The father-of-one is rumoured to play the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Origins, to be released in 2018 He will reportedly star alongside young Welsh actor Taron Egerton. Taron recently told Sky News: 'We have got the most kick ass Sheriff of Nottingham, I cannot tell you. 'I don't think I'm allowed to say yet but I think it'll probably be announced soon. Oh my God.' She sent fans into a frenzy when she stepped out in LA with a bedazzling rock on her engagement finger. And it seems Irina Shayk and her boyfriend Bradley Cooper had cause to celebrate the following day as they headed to swanky Nobu in Malibu for a romantic dinner. The model, 30, and the hunky 41-year-old actor were spotted heading to the Japanese eatery with a group of friends - getting together with their nearest and dearest in light of rumours they are both engaged and expecting their first child. Scroll down for video Celebrating? Irina Shayk and her boyfriend Bradley Cooper enjoyed dinner at luxury eatery Nobu on Thursday night amid reports they are both engaged and expecting their first child As one of the top models of the moment, it is no wonder Irina looked glamorous for the outing in floaty thigh-grazing black and gold frock. The dress was of a loose fit, but was made more chic by a pussy bow neckline which secured at the top of a saucy cut-out at her chest. Covering up in the chillier winter weather however, the Victoria's Secret catwalk star paired the number with a set of beige suede knee-high boots, and a black coat with an effortless waterfall hem. Low-key: Irina was sure to glam up for the event while Bradley, who is more often seen suited and booted on the red carpet, kept things casual in grey tracksuit bottoms and a blue jumper Leaving her glossy brown tresses in their natural state, the stunner looked truly radiant and glowing as she laughed with friends on her way in to the venue. Meanwhile boyfriend Bradley, who is more often seen suited and booted on the red carpet, kept things more casual in grey tracksuit bottoms and a blue jumper. Adding a comfortable beanie, he proceeded to remove this as he headed in with his girlfriend - displaying his famously handsome good looks to all. The pair appeared to enjoy a lengthy dinner at the luxurious venue in light of rumours they have become engaged. Just the two of us: The pair were later seen leaving the venue together as they headed for home Keeping a low profile? Irina was seen sporting a huge engagement ring on her left hand in LA earlier this week - which she subsequently kept hidden in her coat for the Nobu outing Irina was seen in LA earlier this week with a huge emerald and diamond rock on her engagement figure - similar to that of the Duchess of Cambridge's. Meanwhile the dress Irina sported to Nobu also appeared to be the same frock worn on the day the ring was spotted - adding to speculation surrounding the pair's blossoming relationship, by showcasing a slight bump at her stomach. Rumours Irina and Bradley were expecting their first child together emerged last month - just before the model hit the Victoria's Secret runway in an ensemble that covered her stomach. Getting serious: The Russian-born beauty has been dating the American Sniper star since 2015 - and are now rumoured to be engaged after Irina stepped out with a ring on her fourth finger E! News went on to report that Irina is in her second trimester and is 'so excited' about becoming a mother for the first time. The Russian-born beauty has been dating the American Sniper star since 2015. The A-list actor and the catwalk beauty were first linked last Spring, enjoying a series of dates in New York before making an appearance as a couple at the MET Gala in May. Despite rumours of a break-up in early 2016, the pair's relationship appears to be going from strength-to-strength. In recent days Irina has been seen in LA with both Bradley and his mother, sporting a slight bump - although neither party has yet commented on the pregnancy reports. They fell head over heels for one another on ITV2's Love Island earlier this summer. And now proving their relationship is going from strength to strength, Olivia Buckland, 22, and Alex Bowen, 24, shared a tender kiss as they walked the red carpet for the European premiere of Collateral Beauty on Thursday night. Looking ravishing, blonde beauty Olivia flaunted her endless curves in a white floor-length frock that hugged her hourglass frame to perfection as they arrived to London's Leicester Square. Scroll down for video Sealed with a kiss: Olivia Buckland, 22, and Alex Bowen, 24, shared a tender kiss as they walked the red carpet for the European premiere of Collateral Beauty on Thursday night The reality star oozed glamour as she donned the skintight frock that showcased her ample cleavage as she strutted along the red carpet. With her laced back exposed, Olivia made sure to display her peachy posterior as she lovingly leaned on her hunky beau while posing for pictures. Complementing her look, she accessorised her show-stopping ensemble a chic box clutch and eye-catching silver necklace while teetering to the venue in a pair of bedazzled pumps. Upping the ante, the ITV2 bombshell styled her locks into an flirty wave as she sported a dramatic smokey eye along with a nude lip. Work it! Looking ravishing, blonde beauty Olivia flaunted her endless curves in a white floor-length frock that hugged her hourglass frame to perfection Red carpet ready: With her laced back exposed, Olivia made sure to display her peachy posterior as she leaned on her hunky beau Meanwhile, her love Alex looked dapper, wearing a forest green blazer along layered over a black turtleneck and raven-coloured slacks. Clad in a sleek black patent leather loafer, he was the perfect accessory to Olivia's glamorous look. Alex and Olivia found love during the second season of ITV2 show Love Island and their relationship has gone from strength to strength. The handsome star recently moved into his girlfriend's Wolverhampton home, and the pair bought an adorable French bulldog puppy together called Reggie. Darling pair: Meanwhile, her love Alex looked dapper, wearing a forest green blazer along with a midnight turtleneck underneath and raven-coloured slacks Stylish pair: Clad in a sleek black patent leather loafer, he was the perfect accessory to Olivia's already fantastic look Speaking to MailOnline's FEMAIL about her beau, Olivia recently gushed: 'I know it sounds cliche but I honestly dont think it could be any better. 'When Im with him it just feels so right, its like nothing Ive experienced before. My mum always told me that when you find The One youll see why your past relationships werent right. Alex is The One.' The smitten pair have recently enjoyed a getaway to Barbados, where the blonde beauty's Instagram was lined with enviable sun-soaked snaps. Touch of sparkle: Complementing her look, she accessorised her show-stopping ensemble a oily clutch and classy silver necklace while donning a pair of bedazzled pumps And the couple are even planning on spending the festive period together. Olivia added in an interview with MailOnline: 'Well obviously be together for Christmas. 'Id love to get both our families together for it so well see. Then Alex and I are going to New York for New Year and my birthday so that will be very special.' From strenght to strength: Alex and Olivia found love during the second season of ITV2 show Love Island and their relationship has gone from strength to strength The blockbuster, which will be released in the US on December 16, follows a successful advertising executive Howard Inlet (Will Smith) whose child dies, leading him to retreat from life entirely. As a therapeutic exercise, Howard starts writing letters to 'Love', 'Time' and 'Death', which he posts. The film comes from Oscar-winning director David Frankel (Dear Diary, The Devil Wears Prada) and also stars Naomie Harris, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Edward Norton and Michael Pena. It looks sure to tug on moviegoers' heartstrings as it explores the personal tragedy Howard feels, especially around the Christmas season. Soon released: The blockbuster, which will be released in the US on December 16, follows a successful advertising executive Howard Inlet (Will Smith) whose child dies, leading him to retreat from life entirely. The cast posed happily on the carpet, getting into the festive spirit to celebrate the film's release by making a Christmas Tree out of thousands of dominoes. The festive creation is in tribute to Smith's character Howard, who embarks on many domino constructions in the movie. Collateral Beauty is released in the UK on December 26. They're usually spotted out and about on Ramsay Street. But Jodi Anasta and Zoe Cramond have recently been spending time together at a luxury five-star Bali resort. According the News.com.au, the Neighbours stars bumped into each other in Nusa Dua and indulged in spa treatments on Thursday. Scroll down for video Not on Ramsay Street anymore! On Thursday, Jodi Anasta (L) and Zoe Cramond (C) were pampered with spa treatments at a luxury five-star Bali hotel They were pampered after staff at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Resort were told Jodi was a famous actress, the publication claimed. While they spent the day together, both women had coincidentally travelled to the same area of Bali for different reasons. Jodi is in Bali with her daughter Aleeia and a friend on a festive shopping trip. Meanwhile, Zoe has taken to the island's famous waves for a surfing holiday. Neighbours who holiday! Photos show a glimpse inside the luxury Bali resort where soap stars Jodi and Zoe enjoyed a recent trip What a view! The TV actresses were pampered after staff at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Resort were told Jodi was a famous actress, according to News.com.au Surf's up! Zoe was in Bali to catch some waves and go surfing, it was claimed They had been travelling separately to Bali for the week when they discovered they were both in the same part of the tropical island. The 31-year-old single mother to News Corp: 'Were having a great time just chilling.' The impromptu girls' holiday comes after an eventful year for Jodi. Girls' trip! Jodi was on the island getting some rest with her daughter and a female friend Living the dream! The resort is located in Nusa Dua, an exclusive beach enclave in Bali After splitting from her husband Braith Anasta in December last year, she has since moved to Melbourne to star in Neighbours. 'Professionally speaking, the job with Neighbours was a big one,' she told The Courier Mail. 'It has really changed my life in the most wonderful and positive way.' Jodi and her daughter will return to Sydney to spend Christmas with family. The Grazia market editor and Instagram star has been holidaying in Fiji. And Pia Muehlenbeck bid farewell to the tropical island, which had been host to the Your Paradise DJ festival for six days, with a picture of herself soaking up the warm weather. Dressed in a green bikini, Pia flaunted her ample assets and trim torso as she reclined back on a bright yellow beach chair. Scroll down for video Beach chic! Pia Muehlenbeck bid farewell to Fiji after spending six days on Plantation Island for the Your Paradise festival She covered up on her lower half with a white wrap skirt, which accentuated her bronze skin. The law graduate protected her eyes with a pair of semi-rimless sunglasses and accessorised with gold chain jewellery. The day before, she shared another image of herself in the same outfit, this time sitting on a striped beach towel and smiling for the camera. She used the image to spruik self-tanning product Bondi Sands. Bronzing up! Pia advised her followers to begin applying fake tan in advance of their travels Pia told her social media following that after returning home from their tropical getaway, she and boyfriend Kane Vato would be spending New Years in Sydney at the Watsons Bay Hotel. The Your Paradise festival is an annual event held on Plantation Island in Fiji. The six-day party showcases talented DJs from all around the world. This year's line-up included international stars such as What So Not, Skrillex and Thomas Jack. Couples getaway! The law graduate was joined at the tropical resort by her photographer boyfriend Kane Vato Their trip to Fiji is just one of many international flights the genetically-blessed couple have taken in the last few months. In November, Pia and Kane spent time together in the Maldives before exploring Western Australia. And earlier this year, the pair visited a number of small islands around the Philippines for a photoshoot. She narrowly missed out on making it to this Sunday's The Apprentice final. But Frances Bishop, 25, overcame any disappointment in the best possible way, by holidaying in sunny Dubai. The brunette beauty showed off her slender shape in two sexy black bikinis, the nude paneling of the first adding an extra racy edge. Scroll down for video Bikini babe: Frances Bishop, 25, overcame any disappointment from losing out in The Apprentice in the best possible way, by holidaying in sunny Dubai Standing poolside, the Miss GB competitor tilted her head back and ran her fingers through her hair as the sun washed over her. She slowly entered the still pool as she sought an escape from the Middle Eastern heat. The reality star sported finely shaped brows, wore minimal makeup for a natural finish and let her locks fall freely over her shoulders. Dipping her toes in: She slowly entered the still pool as she sought an escape from the Middle Eastern heat Going for a dip: The brunette beauty showed off her slender shape in two sexy black bikinis, the nude paneling of the first adding an extra racy edge Lapping it up: Standing poolside, the Miss GB competitor let the sun wash over her Wet, wet, wet: Frances emerged from the water having suitably refreshed herself Winter warmer: Frances will no doubt be sporting an enviable bronze glow for Christmas this year Looking good: Frances showed off the body that saw her represent Fylde Coast while competing in the Miss Great Britain pageant in 2013 Beach beauty: Swapping the pool for the sea, Frances donned a billowing white cover up and shades atop her head as she waded knee-deep through the shallows Swapping the pool for the sea, Frances donned a billowing white cover up and shades atop her head as she waded knee-deep through the shallows. Slipping into another bikini, this time a plain number with a tasseled bra section, Francis decided to indulge her adventurous streak. The self-described pocket rocket hired a jet ski for an adrenaline-fuelled ride across the water. Pocket rocket: Slipping into another bikini, this time a plain number with a tasseled bra section, Frances decided to indulge her adventurous streak Speed demon: Frances hired a jet ski for an adrenaline-fuelled ride across the water Work it: She spent some of her time on the powerful vessel posing up a storm Ready to ride: Frances stood up and looked ready to twist the accelerator Getting it just right: Frances made subtle adjustments to her bikini as she stood in the sea Escape to the sun: Frances rested her glasses in her bikini and tied up her tresses She spent some of her time on the powerful vessel posing up a storm, alternating between standing and seated positions. The businesswoman then returned to the pool in her second ensemble and enjoyed another dip, before retiring to her sun-lounger to enjoy a beverage. Meanwhile, on Thursday night's penultimate episode of The Apprentice, Frances came under fire from Lord Sugar's advisors Claude Littner, Claudine Collins, Mike Soutar and Linda Plant during an interview. Me time: It looked like Frances was enjoying time to herself Making the most of it: The businesswoman then returned to the pool in her second ensemble and enjoyed another dip That's the life: Frances retired to her sun-lounger to enjoy a beverage On the horizon: Frances gazed out towards the sea while stood beside her comfy lounger She was visibly shaken after her interview with Mike, remarking: 'They know everything!' Adding to her woes, the children's clothing company owner was then told by Claude her business plan 'looks like its been thrown together,' adding, 'its appalling.' Not afraid to answer back, however, during her interview with Linda, Frances left the businesswoman astounded when she demanded to be allowed to finish explaining one of her points. Gorgeous: The Apprentice girls Jessica Cunningham, Frances Bishop and Grainne McCoy leaving the BBC Radio 2 studios on Friday Loving life: The girls appeared in high spirits as they shared a giggle at the entrance Cute: Jessica Cunningham wore a pair of very skimpy denim shorts over tights for the outing She is better known for her acting ability, which has scored her several award nominations in the past. But Sienna Miller proved she was a woman of many talents on Thursday - as she showed off her dance skills on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The blonde beauty, 34, looked to be having a ball as she got up mid-interview to perform a fun-filled can-can routine, alongside show host Jimmy and dance troupe, the Rockettes. Scroll down for video Off like a Rockette! Sienna Miller proved she was a woman of many talents on Thursday - as she showed off her dance skills on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon It's all kicking off! The blonde beauty, 34, looked to be having a ball as she performed a fun-filled can-can routine, alongside show host Jimmy and dance troupe, the Rockettes Sienna had admitted earlier on the show that she was 'obsessed' with the dancers who famously perform at Radio City Music Hall in NYC - and had always wanted to be a part of their team. In a festive surprise to the star, Jimmy then welcomed the Rockettes themselves onto the stage to give Sienna the opportunity to dance with them - an appearance that was met with her absolute delight. Dancing on in an impeccable style, the American Sniper star then hurried up on stage to join the glamorous girls for a cheeky and playful can-can routine. Living the dream: Sienna had admitted earlier on the show that she was 'obsessed' with the dancers who famously perform at Radio City Music Hall in NYC Surprise! Jimmy then welcomed the Rockettes themselves onto the stage in light of this admission, to give Sienna the opportunity to dance with them Can't wait: Dancing on in an impeccable style, the American Sniper star then hurried up on stage to join the glamorous girls for a cheeky and playful can-can routine Kicking and flicking alongside them, Sienna appeared to be having an absolute ball as she threw her head back in laughter at the scene. Struggling to keep up at some points, the stunning blonde then proved her worth on stage by hitting each of her solo moments at the right time and completing the routine's big finish. Met with huge applause from the studio audience, the Golden Globe nominee then animatedly clapped her dancing co-stars - clearly in awe at the fact she had been able to live one of her childhood dreams. Best day ever: Kicking and flicking alongside them, Sienna appeared to be having an absolute ball as she threw her head back in laughter at the scene Whoops: Struggling to keep up at some points, the stunning blonde then proved her worth on stage by hitting each of her solo moments on time And... smile! She then met the routine's big finish - which was met with rapturous applause from the audience The dance break certainly made the most of her ruffled ensemble - which already displayed her enviably leggy frame without the help of the kick sequence. The feminine Altuzarra Floral frock, patterned with navy florals, cinched in with a belt to flatter and show off her petite waist. Cutting low at her chest to tease at her delicate cleavage, the dress then skimmed her slim figure softly to its striking ruffled hem. Pins on parade: The dance break certainly made the most of her ruffled Altuzarra Floral frock - which already displayed her enviably leggy frame without the help of the kick sequence Maintaining the effortless feel throughout, the bombshell accessorised with a dainty pearl necklace and left her hair and make-up casual to show off her natural beauty. Not without her trademark hint of glamour however, Sienna finished the look with a set of metallic heels and a slick of red lipstick as she arrived at the show taping in NYC. The British actress had headed to the chat show to promote her new film Live By Night - having attended a screening for it in the Big Apple earlier that week. Effortless: Cutting low at her chest to tease at her delicate cleavage, the dress then skimmed her slim figure softly to its striking ruffled hem Set in the roaring 1920s, the movie is centred around a group of individuals and their dealings in the world of organized crime during the Prohibition Era. She plays Emma Gould, the mistress of a powerful mobster in the movie - which is set for release on Christmas Day - a year later than expected. The blockbuster also stars Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana and Ben Affleck, who acts as both the director and the leading man. In a teaser trailer released on last month, he is seen playing Joe Coughlin, the son of the Boston police superintendent, who chooses to live the life of an outlaw, turning his back on his strict upbringing. They were rumoured to have had a real-life fling after playing one another's love interest in 2015 drama, Sky. But Diane Kruger was happy to turn up to support Norman Reedus at his photography exhibition in Paris on Thursday night. No doubt continuing to set tongues wagging, Diane put all the rumours to one side as she posed in front of Norman's works of art. Scroll down for video The Walking Bed Head: Diane Kruger posed at Sky co-star Norman Reedus' photo exhibition in Paris on Thursday... after the pair set tongues wagging with rumours of a fling in July Cheers! The exhibition supports his book, The Sun's Coming Up... Like a Big Bald Head at Galerie Hors Champs The exhibition supports his book, The Sun's Coming Up... Like a Big Bald Head at Galerie Hors Champs. And Diane, who used to date Joshua Jackson, looked effortlessly chic wearing a black military style jacket. She showed off her trim legs in a pair of black leggings and wore a simple pair of flat knee-high boots, wearing a chain-strap bag across her body. She's got it going on: And Diane, who used to date Joshua Jackson, looked effortlessly chic wearing a black military style jacket Selling his wares: Walking Dead star Norman wore a matching black ensemble as he promoted his latest works Her gorgeous blonde locks were styled in tousled curls, with one side tucked behind her ear. Walking Dead star Norman wore a matching black ensemble as he promoted his latest works. Diane announced her split from long-time love Joshua in July. Snapping selfies: The two starred in the 2015 drama Sky, in which Diane leaves her husband before hooking up with a cowboy stranger, played by 47-year-old Norman A photo posted on social media of Rosetta Getty's annual July 4th party in Tuscany , appeared to show the actress seated next to her one-time rumoured fling Norman. An Instagram snap shared by PR firm zoe communications shows The Walking Dead actor Norman in conversation with a blonde seated next to him. In December it was reported that the actress had been spotted in a New York bar with Norman. The two starred in the 2015 drama Sky, in which Diane leaves her husband before hooking up with a cowboy stranger, played by 47-year-old Norman. They go well back: Norman and Diane attend the Chanel party for Sky during the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival at Soho House Toronto Is that her? A photo posted on social media of Rosetta Getty's annual July 4th party in Tuscany appeared to show the actress seated next to her one-time rumoured fling Norman Just two weeks after the Tuscany bash, the actress confirmed her split from Joshua Jackson after ten years together. MailOnline has contacted a representative for Diane Kruger and Norman Reedus for further information. 'Diane Kruger and Josh Jackson have decided to separate and remain friends,' a spokesperson told People Magazine. She never fails to look glamorous at red carpet events. And Jennifer Lawrence certainly did not disappoint on Friday as she made her dazzling arrival at the Passengers photo call at CGV in Seoul, South Korea. The 26-year-old flashed her toned and taut tum in a busty crop top and midi skirt as she happily posed at the event with her handsome co-star Chris Pratt. Scroll down for video Abs-olutely fabulous: Jennifer Lawrence, 26, looked truly stunning on Friday as she made her dazzling arrival at the Passengers photo call at CGV in Seoul, South Korea The actress looked truly stunning in her trendy two-piece, which was formed of a low-cut bralet and soft pink midi skirt. The plain black crop remained simple but classic in style - cutting into a low V at her chest to tease a saucy hint of her ample cleavage. Cutting off just below her bra line however, the top let her enviable figure take centre stage by leaving plenty of her toned and flat stomach on show. What a pair: The actress flashed her toned and taut tum in a busty crop top and midi skirt as she happily posed at the event with her handsome co-star Chris Pratt, 37 Jennifer then paired the bralet with a dusty pink midi skirt for a further feminine touch, which cascaded down into soft pleats. The number was lined with a strip of intricate black lace and featured an uneven, flowing hem, to make the look even more chic. Jennifer accessorised with a set of barely-there shoes adorned with a chunky diamante ankle strap for a hint of glitz, and left her hair and make-up natural to draw attention to her natural beauty. Stylish: Jennifer rocked a trendy crop top, which left her enviably flat stomach and busty cleavage on show, with a soft pink midi skirt lined with black lace Meanwhile Jurassic World star Chris, 37, suited and booted himself up in a traditional grey three-piece ensemble, which he jazzed up with a purple floral tie. The stars showed their chemistry on-screen extends to off, too, as they posed happily arm-in-arm for the cameras. Jennifer and Chris have been travelling all over the world to promote their new film Passengers. Hint of glitz: Jennifer accessorised with a set of barely-there shoes adorned with a chunky diamante ankle strap for added glamour Landing in South Korea on Thursday, the Hollywood stars had both been welcomed with open arms when they were greeted at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul by crowds of fans with flowers. The sci-fi flick follows a spaceship on its way to a distant colony planet with over 5,000 passengers - who are in an induced hibernation. However a malfunction occurs, causing inhabitants Jim Preston (Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Lawrence) ninety years early. Putting on a friendly display on the carpet, Chris recently admitted that he and Jennifer were told off several times for fooling around on set of the film - which is to be released on 21 December. Stunning: She left her hair and make-up natural to draw attention to her natural beauty He told People: 'Every once in a while we had to be shushed! We had a lot of fun. We were laughing a lot. 'She's better at switching immediately from goofball mode into serious acting mode, so sometimes I had to kind of shut it down and kind of go inward to get there.' Despite their winning chemistry however, Jennifer also admitted that she left all the challenging stunts to Chris in the film due to her own reluctance. Talking on the Graham Norton Show earlier this month, the star explained: 'As soon as I wrapped Hunger Games I was done with stunts. 'I didn't want to do any more, I didn't like it. I complained so much they said, "So we guess it will be mainly Chris doing all the action."' She turns heads on red carpets everywhere with her elegant sense of style. But Eva Longoria upped both the glamour and the sex appeal on Thursday night, as she headed on a night out in Paris, France in a particularly saucy fashion. The actress, 41, flashed her ample cleavage in a daring plunge jumpsuit as she left the Four Seasons Hotel George V for a night in the French capital. Scroll down for video Foxy lady: Eva Longoria, 41, upped both the glamour and the sex appeal on Thursday night, as she headed on a night out in Paris, France The former Desperate Housewives star certainly caught attention as she stepped out in the eye-popping jumpsuit - which featured a revealing mesh panel at the front. Cutting into a very deep V, the outfit revealed a sexy glimpse of her enviably plentiful bust as the semi-sheer material stretched tightly and alluringly across her braless chest. Showing off her sensational figure elsewhere, the chic jumpsuit cinched in at her womanly waist before skimming her long and svelte legs to the floor. Peek-a-boob! Cutting into a very deep V, the outfit revealed a sexy glimpse of her enviably plentiful bust as the semi-sheer material stretched tightly across her braless chest In a festive and glamorous touch, the one-piece was then adorned with a selection of pink, purple and green florals formed of shimmering sequins and beads. Tying the look together in her usual classy style, the beauty added simple black peep toe heels and a chic coat, which she draped casually over her shoulders. Despite the sexy outfit, Eva recently revealed that her husband, Mexican businessman Jose 'Pepe' Baston, 47, refuses to watch her past series of Desperate Housewives because he hates watching her in racy scenes. Accessories are key: Tying the look together in her usual classy style, the beauty added simple black peep toe heels and a chic coat Social butterfly: Eva and Doutzen Kroes smiled for a selfie on Eva's social media Snap happy: Eva and Doutzen posed at the event together on her Snapchat Holding on tight: Eva hilariously clung onto Soo Joo Park's leg at the exclusive party She's definitely worth it: The actress poked fun at her L'Oreal catch phrase Sweet treat: The US beauty was sure to prove that her model pal does enjoy a snack She explained on Loose Women: 'When we started dating he said he was going to watch it.... and he watched the first episode where Im having sex with everyone! 'He was like "I think Im not going to watch that"'. The brunette bombshell understood exactly why he was uncomfortable, however, as she revealed she couldn't watch much either, explaining: 'Its hard for me to see myself have sex on TV!' Sights and sounds: Eva took to the Parisian streets for a quick run to see the sights Jet-setter: Eva jetted straight to Paris from the Dubai Film Festival earlier this week - where she received an award at the Global Gift Gala alongside Melanie Griffith Going for gold: The Desperate Housewives star posed alongside a giant gold moose Picture perfect: Eva posed infront of the festive statue with a dear friend The star has proved herself quite the jet setter this month - hitting endless red carpets at the Dubai Film Festival before touching down at Charles de Gaulles airport earlier this week. The brunette beauty's week in Dubai kicked off to a flying start as she received an award at the Global Gift Gala with her pal Melanie Griffith, 59. Eva has supported the organization, who aim to help children, women and families in need, for years, attending its events in countries such as Spain and France. She has now seemingly jetted to Paris for a L'Oreal Paris bash - posting a selfie of her posing alongside fellow brand ambassadors Doutzen Kroes and Soo Joo to her Instagram page. Katie Price threw a dig at her ex husband Alex Reid on Loose Women on Friday as she revealed she partied with Eddie Redmayne, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. The 38-year-old said she praised the Oscar-nominee when she met him for his role in The Danish Girl, saying he 'reminded her of someone.' She said: 'I was talking to him about a scene in the movie because he played it so well. He really reminded me of someone I know.' 'He reminded me of someone': Katie Price told Loose Women on Friday that she 'bonded' with Eddie Redmayne over 'cross-dressing' movie The Danish Girl Awkward: The 38-year-old said she praised the Oscar-nominee when she met him for his role in The Danish Girl, saying he 'reminded her of someone' [meaning ex Alex Reid] The movie is a fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. Nadia Sawalha said to Katie: 'Do you mean you were talking about cross-dressing with Eddie Redmayne?' Kaye Adams added: 'A certain cagefighter?' which Katie didn't deny. Talking point: The movie is a love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener - it follows Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer Nadia Sawalha said to Katie: 'Do you mean you were talking about cross-dressing with Eddie Redmayne?' Kaye Adams added: 'A certain cagefighter?' (Alex pictured as alter-ego Roxanne) Cross-dressing cage-fighter Alex has talked openly about his alter-ego Roxanne. He previously said: 'If my body is alpha male, then I have a finger-sized kinkiness which is Roxanne.' He and Katie were married for just two years from February 2, 2010 - March 20, 2012, but have traded barbed insults since they split, despite both moving on with other partners. Katie also revealed she partied with former Prime Minister David Cameron and current Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Really? Katie also revealed she partied with former Prime Minister David Cameron and current Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and couldn't believe they 'knew who she was' She told the panel: 'I don't get star-struck but it was a real A-list party and I couldn't believe they knew who I am' She told the panel: 'I don't get star-struck but it was a real A-list party and I couldn't believe they knew who I am. Boris said to me: 'Of course we know who you are.' Nadia playfully said to her: 'Well you do get about a bit, Katie.' The caramel-haired beauty admitted she gets nervous going to parties and 'hates all the small talk'. She said: 'I don't walk in and shout, "Hey I'm here - WAHOO!". I'm quite quiet.' Seeing is believing: She posed backstage wearing a camo jumper, matching heels and tracksuit bottoms Mixing it up: Katie later changed into a velour number as she was pictured leaving the studios The Bachelor winner Alex Nation has had a whirlwind of a year. But the 25-year-old took a moment to spend quality time with her six-year-old son Elijah on Friday. In photos shared to Alex's Instagram account, the little boy was seen riding a bike before going for a run along the beach. Taking in the view: The Bachelor's Alex Nation shared a picture of her son sitting peacefully and watching the sunset at the beach on Friday afternoon The 25-year-old model shared a picture of her son sitting peacefully and watching the sunset at the beach. 'Chasing sunsets with my little soulmate,' she captioned the image shared with her 106,000 followers. Last week, Elijah turned six years old and enjoyed birthday lunch with his family at a restaurant in Melbourne. Birthday boy! Last week, Elijah turned six years old and enjoyed birthday lunch with his family at a burger restaurant in Melbourne A picture posted to Alex's social media account shows Elijah holding a burger with a Happy Birthday candle stuck into it. Earlier that day, Alex shared a photo of her son holding a giant balloon shaped like the number six. 'Six years ago today I held you for the first time and looked at you in complete awe,' she wrote in the caption. Quality time: Alex often shares endearing messages directed at her son on her Instagram page 'Six years on, I still look at you in the very same way. 'Little man, I am so proud to be your mum and you have filled my life with an abundance of love and happiness. Happy Birthday you little legend.' It came weeks after Alex and Elijah took part in a magazine photo shoot with her boyfriend, The Bachelor's Richie Strahan. She stops traffic with her eye-popping appearances. And Chloe Khan pulled out all the stops as she made a provocative statement in a sexy Mrs. Santa Claus outfit while heading to a pal's house in Manchester on Thursday night. The Celebrity Big Brother star, 25, suffered a nip-slip as she struggled to contain her surgically enhanced 32HH cleavage in the skimpy fancy-dress number as she celebrated the festive season. Scroll down for video Sexy Santa: Chloe Khan, 25, suffered a nip-slip as she made a provocative statement in a sexy Mrs. Santa Claus outfit while heading to a pal's house in Manchester on Thursday night Arriving in style: The Celebrity Big Brother star, 25, struggled to contain her surgically enhanced 32HH cleavage in the tiny fancy-dress number as she celebrated the festive season The sexy Santa outfit showed off every inch of her augmented figure as she emerged from her flashy white Range Rover. Constantly risking the appearance of her nipples in the saucy ensemble, the former X Factor reject cupped her ample bust on one occasion, before giving in to the racy look. Soaking up the attention, Chloe - formerly known as Chloe Mafia - worked a number of sexy poses, which all aimed to accentuate her enviable figure as she waited for her pal to let her in. Kicking up one of her heeled legs, the beauty struck a fierce side-pose, before clambering black into her car - flashing her pert derriere in the process. Festive fun: The sexy Santa outfit showed off every inch of her augmented figure as she worked her angles, showing a tattoo on the back of her leg Loving the limelight: She lapped up the attention as she waited for her pal to let her in the building Where's the mistletoe? Chloe - formerly known as Chloe Mafia - blew a kiss to her admirers as she braved the Mancunian cold Feeling nippy: The beauty constantly risked the appearance of her nipples in the saucy ensemble Ready for another wild night, the glamour model looked stunning with her fluttery eyes and glossy brunette locks which pinned away on both sides. Earlier in the night, Chloe treated onlookers to another saucy display as she headed out to Celebrity Fight Night in aid of CRISIS at the Clapham Grand in London. The reality star stole the limelight in a perilously plunging satin dress which flaunted her assets as she enjoyed the evening with her rumoured fiance, Ashley Cain. The risque black number, which hugged onto every inch of impressive figure, made her ample assets and tiny midriff the focal point. Working her angles: Kicking up one of her heeled legs, the beauty struck a fierce side-pose Gorgeous: The glamour model looked stunning with her fluttery eyes and glossy brunette locks which pinned away on both sides Like a pro! She expertly balanced on the edge of her car in the quest for a sexy snap Chloe didn't seem too concerned about the garment's thigh high split baring her underwear as she played up to the cameras. She reject looked every inch the brunette bombshell with her teased brunette mane and eye-catching make-up look. However, she did suffer from a wardrobe malfunction as she broke one of the straps of her heels. Pins on parade: Her toned legs were on fine form and boosted by a pair of towering heels and festive socks Why hello! Her male pal seemed hypnotized by her assets after he finally opened the door to let her in She's got front: Earlier on in the night, Chloe treated onlookers to a saucy display in a plunging gown as she headed to Celebrity Fight Night at London's Clapham Grand in aid of CRISIS Racy look: The reality star flaunted her surgically-enhanced 32HH cleavage as she enjoyed the evening with her rumoured fiance, Ashley Cain Style blunders: The garment's sexy thigh high split flashed her underwear and she managed to break both straps on her heels, leaving her with only silver detailing around her ankle Making sure it didn't put a damper on her night, Chloe tore off the other strap as well, leaving only the shoe's silver detailing around her ankle. The reality star, who has also confessed to lip fillers and Botox, was joined at the event by her Ex On The Beach star Ashley who looked cool in an all-black ensemble. Chloe ignited engagement rumours with the hunk earlier this month as she sported a sparkler while arriving to their hotel following a night out in Leicester. Breast friends: Chloe clearly has no issue flaunting her eye-popping 32HH assets and regularly uploads sexy snaps of herself on Instagram The couple began dating in September and have been inseparable in recent months, following her high-profile romance with Ashley's Ex On The Beach co-star Stephen Bear in the Big Brother house this summer. However, Chloe - who has an eight-year-old daughter from a previous relationship - was alleged to have still been married to estranged husband, Mohammad Imran Khan. A representative for the star told MailOnline that the pair were never 'legally married', as it wasn't a formal legal marriage service they had, but they referred to one another as husband and wife after it and classed themselves as civil partners. She found success with her first blow-dry bar when it opened in West London last year. And Tamara Ecclestone's business appears to only be going from strength to strength, as she opened another salon in glitzy Dubai on Monday. The F1 heiress, 32, put on a seriously glamorous display in a festive gold sequinned skirt as she welcomed guests to her new SHOW Dry boutique - letting them explore as she cuddled up to colour with her sweet daughter Sophia, 2. Scroll down for video Going for gold! Tamara Ecclestone, 32, put on a seriously glamorous display in a festive gold sequinned skirt as she attended the opening of her new blow-dry bar Show Dry in Dubai Number one priority: Tamara lets guests explore her luxurious new salon as she cuddled up to colour with her sweet daughter Sophia, 2, for a spot of colouring The brunette looked every inch the doting mother as she perched her adorable daughter on her knee and helped her with a spot of colouring. Dressed in a sweet polka dot T-shirt and white skirt, little Sophia looked happy as always to be spending time with her mother while the guests explored the new luxurious salon - which opened at the Four Seasons hotel DIFC on Tuesday. Tamara certainly wanted to make an impression at the event as she arrived for her big day in a bold and beautiful gold sequinned skirt. Leading lady: Tamara certainly wanted to make an impression at the event as she arrived for her big day in a bold and beautiful gold sequinned skirt The glitzy number cinched in at her womanly waist, before skimming her slender figure with its shimmering sequinned material to its stylish fishtail hem. Wanting to keep the focus on her show-stopping skirt, the model paired it with a plain black T-shirt and simple but classic strappy heels. The heiress showcased a flawless complexion with perfectly contoured make-up and rocked envy-inducing blow-dry of her own - proving her to be one to trust in the field. Stylish: The glitzy number cinched in at her womanly waist, before skimming her slender figure with its sequinned material to its stylish fishtail hem as she posed with guests (above) Let me take a selfie: The heiress showcased a flawless complexion with perfectly contoured make-up and rocked envy-inducing blow-dry of her own - proving her to be trusted in the field The daughter of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone happily chatted and took photos with bloggers and fans alike as she introduced them to her spanking new salon. The establishment looked as glamorous and refined as the founder herself - featuring luxurious leather sofas and top of the range products and equipment. The Dubai edition marks the daughter of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's second Show Dry - having opened her first blow-dry bar in Westbourne Grove last year. The heiress had expressed at the time that she wanted to expand her chain across the UK, Ireland and United Arab Emirates. Star of the show: Tamara happily chatted with local influencers, bloggers and fans alike as she introduced them to her brand and her spanking new salon Stunning: The establishment looked as glamorous and refined as the founder herself - featuring luxurious leather sofas and top of the range products Expanding: The glamorous Dubai edition marks the daughter of billionaire Bernie Ecclestone's second Show Dry - having opened her first blow-dry bar in Westbourne Grove last year However as well as a high quality service, she admitted that she created the service to appeal to young mothers such as herself, who still like to glam up despite their chaotic schedules. Speaking to Femail after the first opening, she said: 'As a working wife and new mother I know how hard it is to look and feel great when you dont have much time. 'Show Dry aims to provide a slick, time efficient service that allows all women the time to feel fabulous no matter how much time you "dont have". Before adding in reference to becoming mother to Sophia: 'Speed is everything to me these days!' Confident: Speaking of the venture at the London opening last year, Tamara called her blow-dry experience 'unique and opulent alternative, superior to anything they have tried before' She is rumoured to be expecting her first child with boyfriend Bradley Cooper. And Irina Shayk kept her figure under wraps as she stepped out on Thursday in West Hollywood after a gym session. The 30-year-old Russian-born model stepped out in a loose fitting short sweater over black leggings teamed with black and white striped trainers. Scroll down for video Staying loose: Irina Shayk sported loose fitting sweater and jeans as she stepped out in West Hollywood on Thursday amid rumours she is pregnant with her first child She wore little make-up and her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail on top of her head while she shaded her eyes from the sun with a pair of sunglasses, while a large black bag completed the look. The model also flashed her glittering emerald and diamond ring, which earlier this week sparked rumours that she and the Hangover actor are engaged. She later headed out for a romantic dinner with actor Bradley at Nobu in Malibu with a group of friends. Dazzling: Irina showed off her glittering emerald and diamond ring which could be a sign of her engagement to Bradley Cooper, although neither have commented Rumours Irina and Bradley were expecting their first child together emerged last month - just before the model hit the Victoria's Secret runway in an ensemble that covered her stomach. E! News went on to report that Irina is in her second trimester and is 'so excited' about becoming a mother for the first time. The Russian-born beauty has been dating the American Sniper star since 2015. Getting serious: The Russian-born beauty has been dating the American Sniper star since 2015 - and are now rumoured to be engaged after Irina stepped out with a ring on her fourth finger The A-list actor and the catwalk beauty were first linked last Spring, enjoying a series of dates in New York before making an appearance as a couple at the MET Gala in May. Despite rumours of a break-up in early 2016, the pair's relationship appears to be going from strength-to-strength. In recent days Irina has been seen in LA with both Bradley and his mother, sporting a slight bump - although neither party has yet commented on the pregnancy reports. This star turned up the heat on a cool day in New York. Charlotte McKinney strutted her way down Wall Street on Thursday, not letting a chill in the air out a damper on her fierce fashion. The 23-year-old certainly skipped the usual suit style worn but those working in Manhattan's Financial District. Hot to trot:Charlotte McKinney strutted her way down Wall Street in New York on Thursday, not letting a chill in the air out a damper on her fierce fashion The Carl's Jr. star instead donned a high waisted patent leather mini skirt with a black tank. The Los Angeles-based model did make some concessions to the cold weather, wearing a furry checked jacket perched on her shoulders and adding some black semi-sheer tights. Charlotte further accessorized her look with a pair of black mid-calf boots and a matching Versace handbag. Making the look more glamorous, her hair was left out but had lots of volume and her makeup was in a classic sex kitten style with a smokey-eye and pout defining lipstick. Lots of layers: The model wore a patent leather skirt with furry checked jacket perched on her shoulders and adding some black semi-sheer tights Added extras: Charlotte further accessorized her look with a pair of black mid-calf boots and a matching Versace handbag The model had only just flown into New York late the previous evening. She celebrated her arrival with a sexy shot of herself wearing just a bathrobe. Making sure to give the hotel a plug, she said: 'Early morning glam @editionhotels #NewYorkEDITION.' Just one week to go, and the wheels are in motion for what promises to be a mixed bag of festivities. Theres the prospect of more infidelity in Coronation Street, as Aidan finds himself increasingly drawn to Maria; the time-bomb that is Phils liver on EastEnders; and pretty much everyone confused in Emmerdale over who they want to be with/should be with/stand no hope of ever being with. Its not presents that Santa should deliver to this village, but a sleigh full of therapists. Bethany slips into Garys hotel room and not so subtly asks him to zip up her dress in Corrie I have my own wish list of things I want to happen, although I suspect my letter to Santa has gone unnoticed (again). Every year, I request that Emmerdales Lisa finds herself a hairdresser at least, one who could make her look halfway decent, if only in time for the slicing of the turkey. The poor woman spends the entire year looking as if her heads been attacked by the same carving knife. In EastEnders, Im putting in a request for a major cull of the Carters, Walfords answer to the Addams Family; there are just way too many of them. As for the sublime Coronation Street I can only ask that they keep doing what theyre doing. CORONATION STREET: COPS AND ROTTERS It was only going to be a matter of time before Bethany tried to seduce Gary, and when Sarah bails on him, the youngster slips into Garys hotel room and not so subtly asks him to zip up her dress. But when she later climbs onto his bed, its Faye, not Gary, who finds her. Martin tries, and fails, to cheer up Bex in this week's EastEnders By the way, who is bleaching her hair? Shes certainly not getting it done in Audreys salon. Anyway, Im not sure Myra Hindley blonde is a great look. Will she confess all about her crush to Gary when Faye winds her up? Alas, its a slippery slope, and when she goes missing, Sarah declares that shes calling the police. How many times have the police visited the Platts in the past year alone? Why dont they invite the whole force over for Christmas dinner? Come to that, they could just turn the house into a station. The cops spend more time there than they do at their official HQ. With passion rife, Maria begs Aidan to spend the night with her but ends up sleeping with Adam, who, after making a disparaging remark about Maria, gets whacked by Aidan. Can somebody please tell her to stop sleeping around and go and buy poor Liams presents? At this rate hell be lucky if he gets a tangerine and three walnuts in a sock. EASTENDERS: ITS SHOWTIME! OR SHOWDOWN TIME? As residents prepare for the Christmas show, it looks like being a miserable event when Martin tries, and fails, to cheer up Bex Im beginning to think that only jaw surgery and laughing gas can manage that. Incredibly, the Walford Players have sold every ticket, but will the show be a success? Please dont tell me that Denise is going to come over all Virgin Mary and give birth; that would be too much to take. Moira confides in Pete about work and they kiss in Emmerdale After dropping a bombshell on Billy and upsetting Jay, Phil tells Dot its time for him to die. After placing a present for Sharon under the tree, he is caught unexpectedly but tells her he cant spend Christmas there. Despite Sharons best efforts, and her determination to give Phil the best Christmas (fat chance), there is no changing his mind. Life as they know it is also over for Dot, who is preparing for her retirement party at the launderette. Its the end of an era, not least for locals for whom the place was where they came to wash their dirty laundry in public both literally and metaphorically. The Carters are spending a nervous Christmas when they learn that Ollies assessment wont be until the New Year (if you ask me, the whole family needs assessing). Still, they embrace the Christmas spirit and even share magical news. Dont hold your breath. Were not talking turning water into wine. EMMERDALE: DRIVING MISS CRAZY In one year, Moiras lost a husband, a daughter and the ability to laugh (mind you, on the laughter scale shes always been down there with the Mona Lisa). Hungover, she confides in Pete about work and they kiss kissing or killing are the only two options for couples in the village. Drunk again, she runs Pete over when he tries to save Jacob, who ends up in hospital. Later on, she trashes the farm. Get out now, Pete, while you still have your limbs. She's been on the style assault since the beginning of the promotional trail for her new film Passengers. Continuing to impress to fashion police, Jennifer Lawrence, 26, was back to her old sartorial tricks as she attended the film's premiere in Seoul, South Korea, looking straight out of a fairytale. The Oscar winner looked ethereal in a show-stopping blue floor-length gown that oozed Cinderella vibes as she arrived for the cinematic event on Friday. Scroll down for video What a fairytale: Jennifer Lawrence, 26, was back to her old sartorial tricks as she attended the film's premiere in Seoul, South Korea, looking straight out of a fairytale Sashaying down the red carpet, Jennifer's awe-inspiring look boasted a full powder blue tulle skirt that flared from her gym honed waist. Her jaw-dropping look allowed her to bare some skin as it featured sultry cutouts around her torso as well as eye-catching sword embellishment on the skirt and heart design over her bust. The spaghetti strapped number teased at her ample cleavage and pristine decolletage while she added a touch of sparkle with a glittering bracelet and drop earrings. Where's her glass slipper? The Oscar winner looked ethereal in a show-stopping blue floor-length gown that oozed Cinderella vibes as she arrived for the cinematic event on Friday Ethereal: Sashaying down the red carpet, Jennifer's awe-inspiring look boasted a full powder blue tulle skirt that flared from her gym honed waist as she posed with her co-star Chris Pratt All that glitters: Her eventful look allowed her to bare some skin as it featured sultry cutouts around her torso as well as eye-catching sword embellishment on the skirt and heart design over her bust Jennifer continued her dynamic ensemble as she worked her blonde chin-length locks into a voluminous french twist as a number of loose strands fell around her facial features. The American beauty accentuated her flawless complexion with a slight dusting of blush across the apples of her cheeks, while she applied a heavy hand of black eyeliner to her waterline. Not alone walking the carpet, she was joined by her dapper co-star in the highly-anticipated flick, Chris Pratt. Glam gal: Jennifer continued her dynamic ensemble as she worked her blonde chin-length locks into a voluminous french twist as a number of loose strands fell around her facial features Dapper: Not alone walking the carpet, she was joined by her dapper co-star in the highly-anticipated flick Chris Pratt Sharp: Flexing his fashion muscle, the 37-year-old donned a three piece grey and blue check suit for the occasion Suave: Chanelling Fifty Shades of Grey, the Minnesota native teamed his suave look with a complementary crisp grey shirt and steel coloured tie Flexing his fashion muscle, the 37-year-old donned a three piece grey and blue check suit for the occasion. Chanelling Fifty Shades of Grey, the Minnesota native teamed his suave look with a complementary crisp cornforth white shirt and steel coloured tie. Sporting his usual facial scruff, he quaffed his coif off his face as he smoldered for the waiting cameras. All smiles: Sporting his usual facial scruff, he quaffed his coif off his face as he smoldered for the waiting cameras Picture perfect: Jennifer held a picture from a fan on the red carpet Meanwhile, Jennifer had impressed the style mavens at the Passengers photo call at CGV earlier in the day as she flashed her toned and taut tum in a busty crop top. The actress looked truly stunning in her trendy two-piece, which was formed of a low-cut bralet and soft pink midi skirt. The plain black crop remained simple but classic in style - cutting into a low V at her chest to tease a saucy hint of her ample cleavage. Cutting off just below her bra line however, the top let her enviable figure take centre stage by leaving plenty of her toned and flat stomach on show. Abs-olutely fabulous: Jennifer looked truly stunning on Friday as she made her dazzling arrival at the Passengers photo call at CGV What a pair: The actress flashed her toned and taut tum in a busty crop top and midi skirt as she happily posed at the event with her handsome co-star Chris Jennifer then paired the bralet with a dusty pink midi skirt for a further feminine touch, which cascaded down into soft pleats. The number was lined with a strip of intricate black lace and featured an uneven, flowing hem, to make the look even more chic. Jennifer accessorised with a set of barely-there shoes adorned with a chunky diamante ankle strap for a hint of glitz, and left her hair and make-up natural to draw attention to her natural beauty. Stylish: Jennifer rocked a trendy crop top, which left her enviably flat stomach and busty cleavage on show, with a soft pink midi skirt lined with black lace Meanwhile Jurassic World star Chris, 37, suited and booted himself up in a traditional grey three-piece ensemble, which he jazzed up with a purple floral tie. The stars showed their chemistry on-screen extends to off, too, as they posed happily arm-in-arm for the cameras. Jennifer and Chris have been travelling all over the world to promote their new film Passengers. Hint of glitz: Jennifer accessorised with a set of barely-there shoes adorned with a chunky diamante ankle strap for added glamour Landing in South Korea on Thursday, the Hollywood stars had both been welcomed with open arms when they were greeted at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul by crowds of fans with flowers. The sci-fi flick follows a spaceship on its way to a distant colony planet with over 5,000 passengers - who are in an induced hibernation. However a malfunction occurs, causing inhabitants Jim Preston (Pratt) and Aurora Lane (Lawrence) ninety years early. Putting on a friendly display on the carpet, Chris recently admitted that he and Jennifer were told off several times for fooling around on set of the film - which is to be released on 21 December. Stunning: She left her hair and make-up natural to draw attention to her natural beauty He told People: 'Every once in a while we had to be shushed! We had a lot of fun. We were laughing a lot. 'She's better at switching immediately from goofball mode into serious acting mode, so sometimes I had to kind of shut it down and kind of go inward to get there.' Despite their winning chemistry however, Jennifer also admitted that she left all the challenging stunts to Chris in the film due to her own reluctance. Talking on the Graham Norton Show earlier this month, the star explained: 'As soon as I wrapped Hunger Games I was done with stunts. 'I didn't want to do any more, I didn't like it. I complained so much they said, "So we guess it will be mainly Chris doing all the action."' She separated from her husband Len Wiseman back in 2015, with the director filing for divorce this year. But Kate Beckinsale will certainly not be using the Internet to search for a new love. 'I would never be able to go on a dating site ever,' she told The Guardian's G2. 'I would just be expecting a murderer and a psychotic rapist.' Scroll down for video No Internet love: Kate Beckinsale, pictured last weekend in Los Angeles, said she would not be looking for love on the web And despite being based in Los Angeles with a Hollywood movie career to boot, the actress still values her long term friends. 'My oldest friends are from school and I don't know if I will have a relationship that will last as long as that,' she told the publication, while discussing her new movie Love & Friendship. Kate has remained single since the divorce from Wiseman who she married back in 2004 after splitting with actor Michael Sheen. However, she remains close friends with Michael with whom she shares a 17-year-old daughter Lily. Happier times: Kate and Len Wiseman, pictured together last January, split last December with their divorce finalised this year In fact, the former flames former flames couldn't have been prouder to see their daughter Lily, win a place at college on Thursday. Posting a sweet message on her Instagram page, the actress, leaped into the arms of her ex in sheer joy as they celebrated their girl's academic achievements. Kate wrote: 'The appropriate fatherly response when you find out your girl got into college: burst into tears, drop everything, rush over and pick up everyone even remotely involved. '@lily_beckinsale we are so unbelievably proud of you . Fly fly fly.' (sic) Jumping for joy! Kate Beckinsale posted a sweet snap on her Instagram page as she celebrated with daughter Lily, 17, and ex Michael Sheen, 47, after Lily won a place at college The hilarious snap saw the Underworld star straddling the Welsh actor, 47, before he scooped Lily up into his arms. Kate's social media outpouring comes after Lily recently joked that her screen star parents were going to stop her from getting into college. Posting a selfie of the former couple with an embarrassed-looking Lily on Instagram, Kate wrote: 'When your child is so excited to take a picture with her parents that it has tipped over into actual physical pain.' To which Lily commented: 'you guys are the reason i won't get into college.' Michael and Kate split in 2003 when Lily was aged four after eight years together. The ex factor: Kate and Michael are very vocal advocates of their modern family life and have maintained a close bond ever since their split in 2003 (pictured in New York in April 2016) The actor has been in a relationship with comedic actress Sarah Silverman, 46, since early 2014. Kate and Michael are very vocal advocates of their modern family life and have maintained a close bond ever since their split. The actress said in an interview with InStyle magazine in 2004: 'We were very lucky in that we didn't have an acrimonious split. 'We are still very close and [our daughter] sees us around each other. He's absolutely one of my most favourite people ever. I love him dearly - I would miss him dreadfully if he wasn't in my life.' In 2011, Michael said of his ex: 'Kate will always be one of the most important people in my life. I have real love for her.' Modern family: Kate has formed a close bond with Michael's girlfriend of two years, comedic actress Sarah Silverman, 46 (pictured in Los Angeles in May 2016) Kate and Sarah have also developed a close friendship over the past couple of years, and Michael admitted his relationship with his ex is 'better than ever'. Speaking to Chelsea Handler on her Netflix talk show Chelsea, he explained: 'Our relationship now is probably better than it ever was. And it helps that she [Kate] actually likes Sarah more than she likes me. Speaking about the pair's friendship, Sarah said: 'He and Kate are like brother and sister. I love her, she's hilarious. She's really, really cool.' Kate has also previously described her relationship with 'fantastic' Sarah and Michael as 'basically family'. Embarrassed teen? Kate's social media outpouring comes after Lily recently joked that her screen star parents were going to stop her from getting into college Jokers: Michael and Kate split in 2003 when Lily was aged four after eight years together - and the trio regularly pose for funny social media snaps together She told Stylist magazine: 'I don't know why everyone was so surprised. 'Sarah's such a fantastic woman, I love her and Michael and I have gotten on for years now. I've known him since I was 22, we're basically family. 'The thing that surprised me was what a big deal everybody made about us all getting on and then thinking, "F**k, that's really sad if it's that unusual".' Love & Friendship: Kate stars in the period drama film with Tom Bennett Kate also revealed that comedienne Sarah is a great influence on Lily and says she would want her around her daughter even if she were no longer dating the Masters of Sex star. She added: 'I'm completely open to any other strong, cool sensitive independent-thinking women who are going to be an influence in my daughter's life.' Speaking to E! on the red carpet earlier this year, Kate admitted she was thrilled at Michael's choice of girlfriend. She said: 'I love her. I love her. I love her. I am so glad Michael found her so I don't have to spend the rest of my life looking for her.' On Friday, Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey swung by Today and the Build Series in New York City to plug their new animated musical Sing!. Whilst chatting with Matt Lauer, the 40-year-old actress admitted that it was 'really hard' singing the 2014 Taylor Swift single Shake It Off in the film. The Wild star dished: 'I happened to run into her while I was making the movie, and I was "I have a new appreciation for how hard you work." She's like, "Yeah, I work really hard."' Doing the rounds: On Friday, Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey swung by Today to plug their new animated musical Sing! As the host pointed out, she'd won an Academy Award for a singing-heavy performance as June Carter in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line. Compared to the pop songs she's grappled with in Sing!, 'The country music is much easier for me,' the Legally Blonde star admitted. 'This was hard.' She'd put in her Today appearance in the Shimmer Lace Top from her own lifestyle brand Draper James, which she launched last spring. 'The country music is so much easier for me': Whilst chatting with Matt Lauer, the 40-year-old admitted that it was 'really hard' singing the 2014 Taylor Swift single Shake It Off in the film Black trousers tightened about the mother of three's toned legs, and she rounded out the ensemble with a pair of red-soled lacy black stilettos. Meanwhile, the Dallas Buyers Club Oscar-winner had let quite a bit of scruff grow onto his face and arrived in a deep purple checked suit from Isaia. Beneath it was a Persian blue dress shirt with a fair amount of sheen and its top button undone. Wine-coloured shoes clashed elegantly against the rest of the look. Chance encounter: The Wild star dished that 'I happened to run into [Swift] while I was making the movie, and I was: "I have a new appreciation for how hard you work"' Sing! stars the 47-year-old as Buster Moon, a koala who cobbles together a singing contest in order to prevent his flagging theatre from shuttering for good. The Failure To Launch star confided that he'd been selected to make his character 'optimistic but not annoying, so if I fell in the middle there, that's good.' Mrs Jim Toth portrays Rosita, a pig with 25 children who'd shelved her singing ambition to focus on motherhood until the contest came along. New York chic: She was spotted outdoors post-show, having concealed most of her outfit behind a large black overcoat and having perched a pair of black sunglasses onto her face This new task 'gets her out of the house and getting her remembering that she had a life beyond having kids,' said the actress, 'and I think it's a really touching story.' She noted that 'I think a lot of moms will relate to it, and I think a lot of kids will appreciate their mom more after seeing it.' Inasmuch as the film is, indeed, child-friendly, and she and McConaughey are both parents, 'I think, between the two of us, our kids have seen it, like, 16 times.' Family fun: Inasmuch as the film is, indeed, child-friendly, and she and McConaughey are both parents, 'I think, between the two of us, our kids have seen it, like, 16 times' They 'Loved it!' per the The Lincoln Lawyer actor. 'And, you know what, they come out, they have a different favourite character every time they come out. They have a different favourite song every time they come out.' He confided that 'It happens for me too, as a parent. I've got a different favourite character when I come out.' Witherspoon began rattling off the film's 'great messages' involving 'believing in yourself and learning to love your family members and, you know, loving what you do and having hopes and dreams.' Stumping for the film: Both of the film's stars popped by AOL Headquarters in New York City that day to plug Sing! on Build Series as well She was spotted outdoors post-show, having concealed most of her outfit behind a large black overcoat and having perched a pair of black sunglasses onto her face. Both of the film's stars had stuck with the same outfits when they popped by AOL Headquarters in New York City that day to plug Sing! on Build Series as well. Sing! will open in American cinemas next Wednesday, but won't be arriving in Britain until the 27th of January. Her own best advert: She'd put in her Today appearance in the Shimmer Lace Top from her own lifestyle brand Draper James, which she launched last spring That roguish smile: Meanwhile, the Dallas Buyers Club Oscar-winner had let quite a bit of scruff grow onto his face and arrived in a deep purple checked suit from Isaia The star also recently spoke out about the challenges working mothers face with Glamour. 'Every woman feels guilty if theyre working or guilty if theyre staying home all the time,' Reese said. 'There are all sorts of factors in between about economics and what each family needs. Actually my next show, [premiering on HBO in February] has a lot to do with that and about the complexity of womens lives and the choices they have to make that affect their self-esteem and their marriage and their family.' She's the leading lady in the new Star Wars spin-off Rogue One. Despite winning the coveted role, Felicity Jones has revealed that keeping the highly-anticipated plot for the new flick secret was a 'burden'. Appearing on Friday night's The Graham Norton Show, the 33-year-old revealed she had to keep the script's story under lock and key for two years. Scroll down for video 'Burden': Felicity Jones has revealed that keeping the highly-anticipated plot for the new flick secret a 'burden' She admitted: 'It was quite a burden for two years and then when the whole cast watched the film a couple of weeks ago there was a feeling of collective relief that at some point we would actually be able to talk about it. 'My friends would ask me what was happening in the film and I really wanted to tell them but had to keep my mouth shut!' Opening up about her new flick Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Felicity admitted fan's will be thrilled by the new offering. She divulged: 'There are lots of references to old characters and other movies that people get very excited about. It is a joyous thing being in the cinema with hard core fans.' Keeping it quiet! Appearing on Friday night's The Graham Norton Show, the 33-year-old revealed she had to keep the script's story under lock and key for two years Thrilling: Opening up about her new flick Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Felicity admitted fan's will be thrilled by the new offering The British beauty starred opposite Eddie Redmayne in his Oscar winning portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Playing the theoretical physicist's ex-wife Jane, she admitted: 'When you are performing as a real person you sort of go through a trial period. 'Meeting her felt much harder than any audition because you feel you need the nod of approval from the person you are playing. They are giving their lives up for everyone to see so you have a responsibility to look after their story.' Curiosity getting the better of Graham, he asked the starlet if she ever hung out with the author, to which she shared a hilarious story. Award winning: Felicity starred opposite Eddie Redmayne in his Oscar winning portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything Opening up: Playing the theoretical physicist's ex-wife Jane, she admitted: 'When you are performing as a real person you sort of go through a trial period She said: 'He has an incredible sense of humour. I remember he came to set and we were very nervous and tried to do our very best version of the take and when the director called "cut" we all waited anxiously to know what he would think and he wrote down, "Would Felicity please be able to give me a kiss?" He doesnt take himself seriously.' Meanwhile, Felicity has been receiving rave reviews for her turn as Rebel Alliance fighter Jyn Erso - an abandoned child of war who must decide what she believes in as the world devolves into chaos. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, 51, plays Jyn's father Galen, and trailers suggests that he is perhaps the designer of the most powerful space station ever built. Critical acclaim: Felicity has been receiving rave reviews for her turn as Rebel Alliance fighter Jyn Erso Rogue One sees the Rebel Alliance enlist Jyn to help steal the blueprint of the Galactic Empire's planet-vaporising Death Star. In the original Star Wars film, those plans wind up in the hands of Princess Leia and then Luke Skywalker, who ultimately destroys it successfully. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story goes on general release across the United Kingdom from Friday, December 16. They only met a year ago, while starring in a John Hughes-inspired cabaret musical. But pop duo Evan Rachel Wood and Zach Villa showed they are perfectly in tune as they jetted into Canada on Friday. The 29-year-old actress and the actor donned matchy-matchy travel style as they were spotted strolling through Montreal airport hand in hand. Evan looked like a laid-back jet-setter in a patterned sweatshirt, black coat, and coordinating skinny jeans which she teamed with striped socks and leather boots. Coordinating couple: Evan Rachel Wood and Zach Villa donned matchy-matchy travel style as they strolled through the airport in Montreal, Canada while hand in hand on Friday She covered her short bleached locks with a newsboy cap, and her make-up free face with a pair of dark shades featuring blue mirrored lenses. Zach's similar look included a fedora, a dark jacket, black skinny jeans and leather boots. Like Wood, he covered up his bleached tresses with a trendy hat and looked relaxed sporting a pair of stylish spectacles of his own. The pair are behind the new electronic pop group Rebel And A Basketcase. In sync: The 29-year-old actress and the actor, who met while starring in a John Hughes-inspired cabaret musical in 2015, both donned dark ensembles and trendy hats for flight But it was Evan's career as an actress which was behind their Canadian trip. The Westworld star, who was recently recognized at The Critics' Choice Awards for her role on the hit HBO show, is in the country to film the indie-flick A Worthy Companion. In the new independent thriller which began filming in November, Wood plays the character of Laura, a troubled woman in her 30s. All smiles: At the after party, Wood and Villa were spotted side by side as they celebrated her win at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California on Sunday Other stars that join her in the cast include Julia Sarah Stone of Aftermath and Denis O'Hare of This Is Us and The Good Wife. The release date has not yet been set for the film. In Westworld, Evan plays Dolores, an artificially intelligent 'host' at an amusement park who slowly gains sentience - unbeknownst to her creators. Last Sunday the star was recognized at The Critics' Choice Awards with a trophy for best actress in a drama series. At the after party, Wood and Villa were spotted side by side as they celebrated her win at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Jonathan Cheban couldn't believe what he was seeing when he checked out BFF Kim Kardashian's festive decorations on Thursday. The 42-year-old reality star stopped by Kim and Kanye's mansion and couldn't stop raving about the size of their Christmas tree. 'Oh my god Kim, this tree is huge! It's literally Rockefeller Center in Bel Air!' Jonathan gushed as he showed his Snapchat followers a glimpse of the massive spruce all lit up. Scroll down for video 'Oh my god!' Jonathan Cheban was bowled over by the size of Kim Kardashian's Christmas tree on Thursday night In the background Kim, 36, can be heard saying 'Just lights no ornaments'. Indeed the humongous tree twinkled with dainty lights and nothing else. 'Only a Kimye tree can be the size of a tree in Rockefeller!' Jonathan said in another clip. The beautiful tree was pictured being delivered to Kim and Kanye's home on December 2nd and needed at least six people to maneuver into the mansion doorway. 'It's literally Rockefeller Center in Bel Air!' Jonathan screamed in Snapchats he shared from Kimye's mansion Tasteful decor: In the background Kim can be heard saying 'Just lights no ornaments' Meanwhile it was reported earlier this week that Kim and Kanye are still a couple despite divorce rumours. After spending a cosy evening at home in their mansion on Wednesday an insider told E! News: 'They were very sweet together and were very much together,' 'They are going through a lot but, from what it seems like, they are doing it together and getting through it. It's been a very rough year for her. 'Just because the paparazzi don't see him, they're like, "Oh, Kanye's not with Kim anymore." That's bulls**t,' the source said. Reunited: Kanye, 39, is reportedly back at home now with Kim after his little jaunt to New York to hang out with president-elect Donald Trump Extravagant: Kim's BFF added a cool money filter to one of his Snapchats Kanye made headlines this week when he met with President-elect Donald Trump in New York. The two discussed the possibility of the rapper becoming an 'ambassador of sorts,' according to E! News. Meanwhile, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has stepped back from the public since she was the victim of an armed robbery in Paris in October. The rapper has also kept a low profile after spending more than a week being treated for exhaustion at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, Los Angeles. As one of the most popular supermodels of her generation, Karlie Kloss is making sure she stays fit for the holidays. The 24-year-old was spotted on Friday morning heading back to her New York City home after an early morning workout. The model appeared to be in positive spirits as she had some endorphins pumped inside her after an exercise routine. Morning workout: Karlie Kloss was spotted heading to her home after exercising in New York City on Friday Quick change: The fashion star switched out of her workout attire and into a fancy brown coat with matching shoes later that day Even though she was coming back from the gym, Karlie still knew how to glam it up. The fashion icon wore a long black coat that appeared to keep her pretty warm. She added on some workout attire, including tight blue leggings and white sneakers. So refreshed: The model sported some blue leggings with white sneakers after pumping iron With a pair of sunglasses, the woman kept her blonde hair tied back while letting some strands fall around her face. She kept it fashionable with a fancy black purse that matched her coat. She also appeared to be in a decent mood as she showed off a little smirk. Time on her own: Karlie takes the day off from runway shows and photoshoots to spend time by herself and head home The Victoria's Secret angel has been part of the lingerie line's fashion show from 2013-3015, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to attend this year. She took to Instagram last November to explain why she couldn't attend the big event. 'This year I have a work obligation that is keeping me from Paris,' she wrote. 'I'm sad to miss it but am wishing everyone all the best from afar!' She's doing a little Christmas shopping. And Kendall Jenner was the epitome of cool in black leggings and a black bomber jacket while picking up a few items in Beverly Hills on Friday. The 21-year-old had her hair pulled up in a tight bun and wore large aviator sunglasses that hide most of her face. Incognito: Kendall Jenner, 21, was the epitome of cool in black leggings and a black bomber jacket while picking up a few items in Beverly Hills on Friday Chic: The 21-year-old had her hair pulled up in a tight bun and wore large aviator sunglasses to hide most of her face The gorgeous model paired her black outfit with a blue and black army-inspired t-shirt. She donned a pair of army-inspired boots to pull together her chic outfit and appeared to wear very little makeup for the shopping trip. She was seen carrying a bag from Taschen, a famous art book publisher, perhaps purchasing a gift for an art-lover in her life. Art lover? She was seen carrying a bag from Taschen, a famous art book publisher, perhaps purchasing a gift for an art-lover in her life Busy bee: The shopping trip comes after a busy week for the reality star who attended Shelli Azoff's Christmas bash at The Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday The shopping trip comes after a busy week for the reality star who attended Shelli Azoff's Christmas bash at The Forum in Los Angeles on Wednesday with her mother Kris Jenner and sister, Kim. The 21-year-old posed next to a fully-decorated, bright and shiny tree, while decked out in a red dress and fur coat. On Thursday her little sister Kylie shared a sweet throwback photo of the two of them sitting on Santa's lap. Gorgeous: The Keeping Up With the Kardshians star posed next to a fully-decorated, bright and shiny tree, while decked out in a red dress and fur coat Throwback! Kendall's sister Kylie posted a throwback photo of the two girls from 2000 The Polaroid was captioned 'Christmas 2000', so Kendall and Kylie would have been five and three respectively at the time. Meanwhile Kendall is still coming down from her whirlwind trip to Paris where she walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show for the second year running on November 30, with the show airing on December 5. Earlier this week, she declared that new boyfriend John Noble was the only man she had ever loved. And Vicky Pattison certainly looked like the cat who'd got the cream when she stepped out in London on Friday, rocking a chic yet comfortable ensemble. The TV personality, who rose to fame on reality show Geordie Shore, sported a snug grey knit dress with some killer accessories to complement the look. Scroll down for video Glamorous: Vicky Pattison certainly looked like the cat who'd got the cream when she stepped out in London on Friday, rocking a chic yet comfortable ensemble Vicky kept warm in a black faux fur jacket and set off the look with a pair of thigh-high boots for added glamour. She toted a leather bah in one hand and wore her brunette locks in thick, glossy curls. The I'm A Celebrity star matched her thick, smokey eye shadow to the look, enhancing her features with plenty of bronzer. Preened to perfection: The former Geordie Shore star sported her locks in glossy curls Cheeky: The TV personality was on top form during her casual outing in the capital Goth vibes: The I'm A Celebrity star matched her thick, smokey eye shadow to the look, enhancing her features with plenty of bronzer This comes after Vicky took a swipe at all her former partners by insisting that new beau John Noble is 'The One', saying he is 'the only man I've ever loved'. In a gushing 29th birthday tribute on Wednesday, the I'm A Celebrity winner wrote: 'Huge happy birthday to the only man I have ever loved... And the most amazing human I know!!! Happy 29th gorgeous boy... Let's have a good one!!!' He was quick to return the favour, posting the same cosy snap of the pair alongside the caption: 'Spoilt rotton off my partner in crime! 29 today.' Super chic: Vicky kept warm in a black faux fur jacket and set off the look with a pair of thigh-high boots for added glamour Beaming: The reality star was in high spirits as she left the BBC Radio One studios Gal pal: Vicky was accompanied by a casually clad female friend Her shout out will come as a blow to her exes, including her former Geordie Shore co-star Ricci Guarnaccio, who she was briefly engaged to in 2012 before a very acrimonious split in 2013. She has gone on to enjoy short-lived romances with Spencer Matthews, Mario Falcone, and was linked to Alex Cannon, who she also declared she 'loved' when he appeared on CBB earlier this year. She also dated reality bad boy Stephen Bear after they met on Ex On The Beach, before another nasty split. The One? Vicky has taken a swipe at all her former partners by insisting that new beau John Noble is 'The One', saying he is 'the only man I've ever loved' in a birthday message Remember him? Her shout out will come as a blow to her exes, including her former Geordie Shore co-star Ricci Guarnaccio, who she was briefly engaged to in 2012 before a very acrimonious split in 2013 Bear not necessary: She also dated reality bad boy Stephen Bear after they met on Ex On The Beach, before another nasty split She has gone on to enjoy short-lived romances with Spencer Matthews, Mario Falcone (R), and was linked to Alex Cannon (L), who she also declared she 'loved' when he appeared on CBB earlier this year Vicky only had eyes for John, however, following their romance-filled weekend in Vienna with her boyfriend John Noble to celebrate his birthday. The fresh-faced former Geordie Shore star, 29, beamed as she returned home, looking casual and well-rested in a grey tracksuit and pink satin bomber jacket. The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here winner added a luxe touch to her low-key outfit with a pair of white and pink cult Valentino trainers. Sticking to an upmarket theme with her accessories, she also carried a cream Prada Saffiano tote bag. Perhaps feeling the effects of the delayed flight - which is said to have landed at 2am - the reality star appeared to go make-up free. Wearing her raven tresses in tousled waves, Vicky seemed to be in high spirits as she strolled down the arrivals lounge holding hands with John. Pucker up: Vicky only had eyes for John, however, following their romance-filled weekend in Vienna with her boyfriend John Noble to celebrate his birthday Loved up: The fresh-faced former Geordie Shore star, 29, beamed as she returned home, looking casual and well-rested in a grey tracksuit and pink satin bomber jacket Fancy footwear: The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here winner added a luxe touch to her lowkey outfit with a pair of white and pink cult Valentino trainers John, meanwhile, opted for a marginally dressier vibe - rocking a black bomber jacket over a shirt and distressed skinny jeans. The couple were clearly incredibly pleased with their city break in Austria, littering their social media accounts with loved-up selfies together. Kicking off the snap-happy action, Vicky uploaded a selfie of the pair sipping on cocktails at the airport, which she captioned: 'Vienna here we come....' Their trip was packed full of activities, including rooftop cocktails, a horse-drawn carriage ride and a visit to the opera. Summing up the mood of the getaway, Vicky captioned one panoramic shot of their drinks at a bar: 'Vienna for @johnnoblejn 's birthday is everything'. Well-rested: The couple were clearly incredibly pleased with their city break in Austria, littering their social media accounts with loved-up selfies together Romantic! They enjoyed a special tour of the city with a ride in a horse-drawn carriage The pair appear to be spending some much-needed alone time together during their European break in Austria, after being separated by Vicky's presenting job on the other side of the world. However her new beau flew out to meet her in Australia, where she was filming ITV2's I'm A Celebrity... Extra Camp, as a sweet surprise for her 29th birthday. Vicky then made the relationship public on her Instagram, when she posted a selfie of the pair alongside her mum enjoying a dinner Down Under to celebrate the milestone. She has since shared a number of lovey-dovey snaps of the couple, proving they are truly smitten. John is often at the heart of the Newcastle social scene, frequently sharing snaps with Vicky's former co-stars Gary 'Gaz' Beadle and Scott Timlin, so it is no wonder the pair crossed paths. Keeping it classy! Vicky dressed up in patent red stilettos and a graphic print dress for a trip to the opera 'Casual...We're so edgy': The couple perfected their pouts for one artful shot against a graffiti laden backdrop However their romance has already been plagued with drama - despite having only hit headlines this month. Her former flame Jordan Wright slammed the star while she was Down Under for moving on with John just a day after their own romance ended - a claim Vicky staunchly denies. Talking to The Sun, he said: 'The day after we split up was the day she went on X Factor. We split on the Friday and the Saturday she went on the show and necked off with the guy she's in Australia with.' 'Less than 24 hours after we split she had her tongue down another geezer's neck!' Cute couple: The pair appear to be spending some much-needed alone time together during their European break in Austria, after being separated by Vicky's presenting job on the other side of the world He continued: 'I was obviously p***ed off. The thing that f**ked me off the most about the whole situation is the way she brushed us under the rug like we weren't even a thing. Like she said we weren't serious.' However Vicky was quick to hit back at her ex's warring words, by posting a quote to her Instagram which read: 'Always be careful of what you hear about a woman. Rumours either come from a man that can't have her or a woman who can't compete with her.' She added to her followers in one final blow: 'Hatred and anger are curved blades that turn inward and only hurt those harbouring it. 'Sooooooo, move on, lighten up and chill out! Oh and always try not to be a helmet. Namaste.' Quite a view: Summing up the mood of the trip, Vicky captioned one panoramic shot of their drinks at a bar: 'Vienna for @johnnoblejn 's birthday is everything' Rapper Soulja Boy arrested on gun charge Soulja Boy, the rapper who started a viral dance craze while still a teenager with "Crank That," was arrested Thursday for illegally possessing a gun, police said. Officers entered his Los Angeles home early in the morning and took him into custody after discovering the firearm, a police spokesman said. Although the United States has lenient gun laws, Soulja Boy is banned from owning a firearm as part of his probation following an earlier arrest. Rapper Soulja Boy performs onstage on February 17, 2013 in Hollywood, California Frederick M. Brown (Getty/AFP/File) The rapper was detained in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun after police pulled over the driver of his car on suspicion of ignoring a stop sign. The 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was behind one of the previous decade's biggest dance memes with his debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" in 2007. The energetic but straight-forward moves, in which dancers shake their arms alternately to the right and left, helped propel the song to number one on the US charts. It became the first single to be downloaded three million times -- a record that has since been surpassed. After several follow-up hits, Soulja Boy has struggled to replicate his earlier success. He has recently been starring on reality television and promoting online poker. Obama vows to slap Russia over hacking, tensions on rise President Barack Obama, who has vowed to retaliate against Moscow over its election cyber-meddling, faces the media Friday as tensions soar with Russia's Vladimir Putin, whose Syria strategy has left Washington on the back foot. Just hours before he heads to Hawaii with his family for his last Christmas as president, Obama will hold his traditional year-end press conference at 2:15 pm (1915 GMT). It will be closely watched by his elected successor Donald Trump, who has pledged closer ties with the Kremlin. President Barack Obama says the United States will retaliate against Russian hacking MANDEL NGAN (AFP/File) "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing," he added, remaining vague about the nature of the retaliation, which could take multiple forms, some straightforward and others more subtle. Slapping sanctions on Putin's inner circle would put Trump, the 70-year-old Republican president-in-waiting, in a difficult position once in office: repealing the sanctions would spark accusations of being too cozy with Moscow, a stated policy shift that has alarmed some in his own Republican Party. Just five weeks before he leaves the White House, the outgoing Obama -- who has a somewhat limited margin for action -- is purposefully looking to raise the stakes over Russian election hacking, which US intelligence says was designed to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, a Putin critic. Of course, how much that hacking may have helped Trump, or hurt Clinton, is impossible to gauge. Several observers believe that Moscow was first trying to erode the confidence of Americans that the November 8 election was fair and legitimate. Moscow has virulently denied the US accusations. "At this point they need to either stop talking about this or finally present some sort of proof. Otherwise this looks extremely scurrilous," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a visit by Putin to Japan. While Obama did not mention Putin by name in his interview with NPR, one of his top advisors, Ben Rhodes, said Thursday: "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it." - FBI role up for debate - Trump rejects the intelligence community's assessment made public on October 7 about Russia vote interference and qualified as "ridiculous" a secret CIA evaluation unveiled by The Washington Post that the hacking was done specifically to help Trump win. He will soon be in charge of these same agencies. Pointing the finger at the Russian president over meddling in the election puts the White House on a collision course with Trump, who has become increasingly isolated on the issue, even among Republicans. The Republican president-elect has often praised Putin's leadership abilities, and has insinuated that the Obama administration is playing party politics by accusing Russia of orchestrating the hacks of Democratic Party emails that appeared to have slowed the momentum of Clinton's campaign. "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump tweeted on Thursday. Obama has recalled that the first intelligence assessment came "a month before the election -- this was not a secret." "We determined and announced in October that it was the consensus of all the intelligence agencies and law enforcement that organizations affiliated with Russian intelligence were responsible for the hacking of the DNC, materials that were being leaked," he said Monday. Former CIA director Michael Hayden called Trump "the only prominent American that has not yet conceded that the Russians conducted a massive covert influence campaign against the United States." Clinton campaign chief John Podesta, who saw thousands of his emails hacked and leaked by WikiLeaks just weeks before the election, on Friday slammed what he called mismanagement at the heart of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Podesta drew a contrast between what he called the FBI's "massive response" to Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state, and its "seemingly lackadaisical response" to Russian hacking. "Congress should more vigorously exercise its oversight to determine why the FBI responded overzealously in the Clinton case and insufficiently in the Russian case," he wrote in a commentary published in The Washington Post. "The election is over and the damage is done, but the threat from Russia and other potential aggressors remains urgent and demands a serious and sustained response." The White House has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the US election Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV (AFP/File) Glee to gloom: Climate and the 'Trump effect' When the world triumphantly celebrated the signing of the landmark Paris climate pact last December, it was hard to imagine that only a year later it might face an existential threat. Then again, who could have predicted at the time that a self-promoting reality TV impressario -- and avowed climate sceptic -- was months away from capturing the White House? "The Paris Agreement was bound to be tested sooner or later," said Myles Allen, head of the climate research programme at the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute. Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS (AFP/File) "It has just come sooner than most expected." Campaign promises to "cancel" the 196-nation deal notwithstanding, there are reasons to think that US President-elect Donald Trump will not seek to derail it, or that he would fail if he tried. For one thing, the first universal action plan for curbing global warming -- in force since last month -- has already been ratified by the US and 116 other countries. That makes pulling out a highly visible and lengthy process, lasting at least four years. "Overtly withdrawing has a cost," both political and economic, said Princeton international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer. Countries deeply invested in the agreement -- including China, the European Union and almost all the world's developing nations -- would likely register displeasure in other arenas. The idea of a carbon tax on US goods, for example, has been mooted. - Lost opportunity - But should the US turn away from the global transition to clean energy, the highest cost would be lost opportunity. In 2015, renewables outstripped fossil fuels globally for the first time in attracting investment, and overtook carbon-rich coal as a source of electricity. Trump may find that his options within the US are also limited. Domestically, he has threatened to scrap Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, defang the Environmental Protection Agency, and shelve incoming regulations designed to push down US greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Paris Agreement, Washington has pledged to cut US carbon pollution 26-28 percent by 2025 compared to 2005 levels. US emissions have declined in recent years, albeit slowly. But the main drivers have come not from the federal government but the market and individuals states, and these forces are likely to dominate no matter what Trump does, analysts say. "Trump will have little effect on trends in the US power industry, where coal is being rapidly replaced by natural gas and renewables," said William Sweet, an energy expert at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Pouring money into new coal-fired power plants -- a sector Trump has vowed to revitalise -- no long makes economic sense, Sweet and others said. Market momentum, however, is not enough to win the race to cap global warming under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the "do-not-cross" red line set down in the Paris treaty. An increase so far of 1 C (1.8 F) compared to pre-industrial era levels has already caused on uptick in deadly storms, droughts, wildfires and flooding. - 'Leadership vacuum' - National carbon-cutting pledges annexed to the Paris pact would, at best, yield an unliveable 3 C world. On top of all this, virtually all of the climate-saving scenarios laid out by scientists depend on technologies for sucking carbon out of the air that don't even exist yet. This suggests that political will -- at a national and global level -- remains critical for continued progress. And that could be a problem. "There is a real risk of a leadership vacuum," said Thomas Spencer of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris. The G20 meeting next July in Hamburg, Germany will offer the first clear clue as to whether Germany, China -- if any nation -- can step up to fill the void if the US disengages, he said. A Trump administration hostile, or simply indifferent, to climate change action could dim the odds of preventing dangerous warming. In the US, the auto-industry has already indicated it will try to water-down impending fuel efficiency standards, while stringent rules on capping gas-industry methane leaks are likely a dead letter. Even if Trump doesn't do a complete about face on climate, "we are likely to see a slowing down of progress compared to what would have happened if Clinton had been elected," said Oppenheimer. Internationally, he said, this will have repercussions. "Countries could say, 'if the US is not going to take their (emissions reduction commitments) seriously, we're not going to either'." Scientists point to recent red flags. Shattered temperature records in the Arctic; evidence that Greenland's ice sheet, which could raise sea levels by six metres (20 feet), is far more sensitive to warming than thought; an unexplained surge in emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO2 -- all of which suggest that the margin of error has largely disappeared, they say. "Nature will have surprises in store," Allen said. Global average temperatures rising Paz PIZARRO, Vincent LEFAI (AFP) The Arc de Triomphe in Paris is lit up in green with the words 'The Paris accord is done' to celebrate the coming into force of the Paris Climate Accord PATRICK KOVARIK (AFP/File) Pouring money into new coal-fired power plants, a sector US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to revitalise, no long makes economic sense according to experts GEORGE FREY (Getty/AFP/File) 2016, the year the IS 'caliphate' buckled Multiple ground assaults and a deluge of air strikes shrank the Islamic State group's "caliphate" to a rump and decimated its fighters in 2016 but the organisation remains a potent threat. The jihadists have squandered close to half of the land they controlled in 2014 and many of their losses came this year, which saw major operations by myriad forces and countries. The loss of symbolic bastions such as Fallujah in Iraq or Dabiq in Syria dented IS's aura, revealing it could not defend places it once vowed were impregnable and central to its own mythology. Iraqi soldiers check a cemetery where jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group were buried in Fallujah AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (AFP/File) The jihadists were driven out of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's vast western province of Anbar, as well as Manbij in Syria -- strategic areas crucial to the caliphate's territorial continuity. Earlier this month, they also lost Sirte, their last major bastion in Libya, a country the jihadists had hoped could drive the expansion of the caliphate. In October, tens of thousands of Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition launched a massive operation to retake Mosul, the city where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his "state" in June 2014. The going has been tough for the security forces in the booby-trapped and sniper-infested streets of Iraq's second city but there is little doubt the vastly outnumbered jihadists will eventually lose their stronghold. Shaping operations for a similar assault on Raqa, the only other major urban centre in IS hands, were subsequently launched in Syria setting up a battle that could be the caliphate's last stand. "The loss of Raqa will mean the end of IS's state-building project and would leave the group with no territorial symbol justifying its name of Islamic State," said Mathieu Guidere, a Paris-based professor of Middle East geopolitics. Western powers, Turkey, Iran, Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish forces and militias and paramilitary outfits have played a part in the surge against IS in 2016. - Terror attacks - Despite the formidable arsenal IS seized from regular forces and the fear it instilled in the world with its campaign of well-publicised atrocities, the jihadist group stopped expanding and eventually buckled. According to the Pentagon, at least 50,000 IS fighters have been killed since 2014, twice the number of fighters the coalition estimated the group had when the caliphate was proclaimed. "Almost three million people and more than 44,000 square kilometres of territory have been liberated" from IS in 2016, coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said Wednesday. But coordination between the various, sometimes rival anti-IS forces is still lacking and the jihadists have shown in two months of Mosul fighting they would not be defeated easily. Their urban tactics are well-honed and their seemingly endless supply of suicide bombers is a threat even the best-trained and equipped forces on the ground fear like no other. IS has also launched a number of diversionary attacks in both Iraq and Syria in an effort to stretch their opponents' ranks and retain some level of initiative, at least in the media. Those came in the shape of a spectacular commando raid on Iraq's oil-rich and Kurdish-controlled city of Kirkuk and earlier this month with the recapture of the Syrian oasis city of Palmyra from regime forces. Observers have long warned that territorial reconquest would not spell the end of the Islamic State group, which will find in both Iraq's and Syria's instability a fertile ground for future attacks. "2016 was the year of IS' decline but its influence is still great because there is no political solution in sight... especially for the Sunni population in both countries," Guidere said. The remnants of IS could in some ways be harder to fight once they have fully reverted to a clandestine insurgent group focused on terror attacks. The feared mass return of the caliphate's routed foreign fighters is also a huge source of concern at the end of a year that saw attacks claimed or inspired by IS in the United States, France and Belgium. "The group has been laying the groundwork to outlast its territorial defeats, framing such losses as temporary setbacks in Iraq and Syria and arguing that the Islamic State is a state of mind as much as it is a governing state," the Soufan Group consultancy said earlier this month. A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), flashes a victory sign in the northern Syrian town of Manbij after the SDF pushed out the Islamic State (IS) group DELIL SOULEIMAN (AFP/File) In October Iraqi forces backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition moved to retake Mosul, where IS supremo Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed his "state" in 2014 AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (AFP/File) Hong Kong 'Snowden refugees' dream of better life Like many four year olds, Sethumdi says she dreams of meeting Father Christmas. But her future is uncertain as her refugee parents fight for a new life abroad after they sheltered fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong. The story of how impoverished refugees helped Snowden evade authorities in 2013 only emerged in September, propelling them into the media spotlight. Supun Thilina Kellapatha and his partner Nadeeka are Sri Lankan refugees who helped shelter fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden Anthony WALLACE (AFP) Former National Security Agency contractor Snowden hid out in Hong Kong where he initiated one of the largest data leaks in US history, fuelling a firestorm over mass surveillance. After leaving his initial hotel bolthole, he went underground, fed and looked after by some of the city's 11,000 marginalised refugees. Snowden now lives in exile in Russia where he has sought asylum. The refugees remain in Hong Kong, desperately hoping for resettlement elsewhere. - 'Treated like animals' - Sethumdi is Sri Lankan and lives in a flat measuring just 14 square metres (150 square feet) with her father Supun Thilina Kellapatha, mother Nadeeka and baby brother Danath. They hope the awareness raised by the Snowden story might lead to a better life. The family wants to go to Canada, which has a track record of taking in refugees. Supun, 32, says he is proud to have helped Snowden and happy their case has gone public. "Before, we just tried to survive day by day. Now I have hope," he says. Hong Kong is not a signatory to the UN's refugee convention and does not grant asylum. However, it is bound by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) and considers claims for protection based on those grounds. It also considers claims based on risk of persecution. Like Snowden's hosts, many refugees spend years in limbo, hoping the government will support their claims. After government screening, claimants found to be at risk of persecution are referred to UNHCR, which can try to resettle them to a safe third country. But with fewer than one percent of cases successfully substantiated by Hong Kong authorities, most refugees live in fear of deportation. Supun and Nadeeka, 33, are awaiting a decision on their claim and say their lives would be in danger if they returned to Sri Lanka. Nadeeka fled after she was repeatedly raped, Supun after he was a target of politically motivated violence, according to their protection claim. They are banned from working because they have no official status and receive government handouts they say do not meet their basic needs. Nadeeka says she has been quizzed about Snowden by the Hong Kong branch of NGO International Social Service (ISS) -- contracted by the government to take care of refugees. She also says her case worker recommended she have an abortion when she was three months' pregnant with Danath. ISSHK told AFP it "completely denies" that allegation, and has rejected assertions by the refugees and their lawyer Robert Tibbo that it has breached its obligation to provide them sufficient humanitarian assistance. But Supun feels refugees in Hong Kong are treated "like animals". "Give them more food, give them more money. We want to work, let us work," he says. - Fighting for rights - The refugees initially had little idea of who Snowden was and Tibbo has been criticised for involving them. He played a key role in protecting Snowden in Hong Kong and asked his refugee clients to take him in. Tibbo defends the move. "They just saw a man who was distressed and in need. They wanted to help," he says. Tibbo feels he owes them a "moral debt" and is determined to get them resettled abroad. "But for these heroic families, I'm not sure Mr Snowden would have made it out," says Tibbo. Vanessa Rodel from the Philippines says she has no regrets about taking Snowden in. She is also battling ISSHK over what she and Tibbo say has been inadequate support for her family: four-year-old daughter Keana, and elderly mother Rosalina. Rodel, 46, says she hopes her case will lead to wider improvements for refugees in Hong Kong. She too dreams of a new home in Canada -- as does Ajith Pushpakumara, a former Sri Lankan soldier, who also sheltered Snowden. In the meantime, Vanessa says her family will enjoy Christmas as best they can. She has decorated a tree at home. Keana says she is hoping for a toy pony. "Next year my dream is to go to another country, for my safety, for my freedom," says Rodel. "I want to do good things for my daughter, and stand by myself." Russia calls for Syria ceasefire as rebel Aleppo evacuated Russia announced Friday it was negotiating with the Syrian opposition and seeking a nationwide ceasefire, as the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo entered a second day. President Vladimir Putin's intervention came as Russian drones and troops supervised the hard-won evacuation deal following a Western outcry over the Syrian army's operation to recapture the city. Thousands of traumatised civilians boarded buses and ambulances in freezing temperatures as the operation continued through the night. Syrians evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo, arrive in opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the city Baraa Al-Halabi (AFP) "The next step (after Aleppo) will be to reach agreement on a complete ceasefire across all of Syria," Putin said on the sidelines of a visit to Japan. "We are actively negotiating with members of the armed opposition, with the mediation of Turkey." Government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey jointly brokered the deal that has seen thousands of people cram into buses, ambulances and pick-up trucks to flee the last pocket of rebel-held Aleppo since Thursday. The evacuation deal, which will allow Syria's government to claim full control of the city after years of fighting, was expected to continue throughout Friday. "It will continue all through today and for so long as there are people who want to leave," said International Committee of the Red Cross spokeswoman Ingy Sedky. Initially, evacuees were leaving via single convoy of ambulances and green government buses that travelled back and forth between Aleppo and rebel-held territory in the west of the province. But overnight, the vehicles began returning individually to collect more evacuees as soon as they had dropped off their passengers, Sedky said. "That means it is difficult for us to know exactly how many people have left so far, but there will be an assessment by the end of the operation," she said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, estimated some 8,500 people had left so far, including around 3,000 rebel fighters. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring medical attention. He said some people were arriving in private vehicles, including pick-up trucks stacked with household items. From a gathering point near the town of Khan al-Aasal, people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. - Fears for remaining civilians - The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, and will hand the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. In a video message to Syrians on Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened in the city was "unconscionable", raising concern for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". "And the last thing anybody wants to see... is that that small area turns into another Srebrenica," he said, referring to a 1995 Bosnia war massacre. The UN Security Council will meet Friday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries. The UN estimated around 250,000 people were living in rebel east Aleppo when the government assault began in mid-November, although officials have since acknowledged that figure might have been incorrect. As the army advanced, tens of thousands of people crossed to parts of the city held by either the government or Kurdish forces. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday that perhaps 50,000 people remained in the last rebel-held districts, 40,000 of them civilians. The evacuation plan had been due to begin on Wednesday but was put on hold after objections from the government delayed the operation and clashes erupted. - 'We will return' - On Thursday, thousands gathered to leave, desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege but tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. An AFP correspondent in the city's southern Al-Amiriyah district saw people piling on to green buses, filling seats and even sitting on the floor, with some worried they would not get another chance to leave. Others were hesitant to board, afraid they would end up in the hands of regime forces, or anguished at the thought of departing. In the dust on the window of one of the buses someone had traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said ICRC head Marianne Gasser. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." The ICRC said it was unclear how many people were left in the east but the evacuations could continue for several days. Meanwhile, there was no movement on a reported deal to evacuate sick and wounded residents from two government-held villages under rebel siege in Idlib province. The Syrian government and its ally Iran had reportedly delayed the Aleppo evacuation to insist on a similar deal for the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya. On Thursday, state media said 29 buses were heading to the villages to evacuate residents, but the Observatory said on Friday that no one had yet left. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict, which saw a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. With Aleppo out of rebel hands, the largest remaining rebel bastion is Idlib province, which is controlled by an alliance dominated by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. Remaining areas controlled by rebels in Syria Thomas SAINT-CRICQ, Sophie RAMIS, Vincent LEFAI (AFP) A Syrian evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in Aleppo, cries on arrival at the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the city Baraa Al-Halabi (AFP) Aleppo evacuation suspended, trapping thousands The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. Appeals came in from around the world for the evacuations to resume, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warning that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell". The United Nations urges "the parties to take all necessary measures to allow safe resumption of this evacuation process", he said in New York. Syrians are evacuated from rebel-held parts of Aleppo on December 16, 2016 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called for all sides to respect the Aleppo deal. Rebel backer Ankara, which helped broker the accord with regime ally Moscow, said thousands of people were still waiting to leave. Turkey and a Syrian military source said the evacuation had been suspended but was not yet over, while Moscow insisted the operation was now "complete", with all women and children moved from the city. Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to turn back, an AFP correspondent said. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and continued overnight, with thousands of people leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the accord. "The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," a security source told AFP. State television said rebels had tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostage out of Aleppo. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has supervised the evacuation, confirmed it was on hold. - Besieged villages - The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from Fuaa and Kafraya, two villages under rebel siege in northwest Syria. The government and its other main ally Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the Aleppo deal. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, also said the suspension appeared to be related to the two villages. It said pro-government fighters had blocked the road out of Aleppo that the evacuation convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of residents of Fuaa and Kafraya. The evacuation of the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but was delayed by a day because of government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya. Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and on Thursday afternoon buses and ambulances began transporting evacuees to rebel territory in the west of Aleppo province. The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended, including around 3,000 rebels. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. - 'History in the making' - Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring attention. From a gathering point near the town of Khan al-Aasal, people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo and secure the regime's biggest victory in more than five years of conflict. In a video message to Syrians on Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened in the city was "unconscionable", raising concerns for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". The UN Security Council will meet later Friday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries. It is unclear how many people remain in east Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days, but perhaps tens of thousands are still inside. - 'Heart-breaking scene' - The evacuations have been emotional for departing residents desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege, but also tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. In the dust of one bus window Thursday someone had traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said ICRC Syria head Marianne Gasser. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." More than 310,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. A blast that rocked a police station in Damascus on Friday was caused by a young girl carrying explosives, Syrian media reported. State news agency SANA said an eight-year-old girl was sent into a police station carrying "a bomb" which was detonated from a distance. A police source told the Al-Watan daily, which gave her age as seven, that she had appeared lost and asked to use the bathroom when the explosives went off. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict, which reached a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was "actively negotiating" with rebels via Turkish mediators. "The next step (after Aleppo) will be to reach agreement on a complete ceasefire across all of Syria," he said in Japan. He added that the parties were proposing fresh peace talks, possibly in Kazakhstan. Aleppo's human tragedy Valentina BRESCHI, Simon MALFATTO (AFP) A member of a Syrian NGO comforts a man who was evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo on December 16, 2016 Omar haj kadour (AFP) Buses take part in an operation to evacuate Syrian rebel fighters and civilians from an opposition-held area of Aleppo on December 16, 2016 George OURFALIAN (AFP) Vietnam jails two for plotting democratic revolution A court in communist Vietnam jailed two activists for over a decade on Friday after finding them guilty of attempting to launch a democratic revolution, their lawyers said. The authoritarian country leans on a raft of broadly-worded national security laws to detain dissidents and dole out lengthy jail terms, drawing frequent criticism from rights groups and Western governments. On Friday, a court in northern Thai Binh province convicted activists Tran Anh Kim, 67, and Le Thanh Tung, 48, of attempting to overthrow the government by "setting up a democratic force for revolution," said Tung's lawyer Vo An Don. Vietnam has jailed two activists for attempting to launch a democratic revolution, their lawyers say Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP/File) Kim, a former soldier, was handed 13 years while Tung was sentenced to 12. Both were re-arrested last year only several months after they had finished jail terms for national security offences. Tung's lawyer told AFP after the trial that his client had been "wrongly charged". "It was just an intention. Vietnamese laws do not ban people from having the intention of setting up associations," he said. Kim's lawyer Tran Thu Nam also slammed Friday's trial as "not objective". Both will also be placed under probation for five years after they serve their sentences, the lawyers added. All newspapers and television channels are state-run in Vietnam, which ranks 175 out of 180 on Reporters Without Borders' latest press freedom index. Bloggers and activists have taken to social media in recent years to voice anti-government views but are routinely subject to arbitrary detention and jail time. China, Philippine coast guards meet despite sea row The Chinese and Philippine coast guards met for the first time on Friday and agreed to move forward on maritime cooperation, officials said, as relations between Beijing and Manila warm under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The two-day meeting in Manila on establishing a Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC) came just days after new images showed China had apparently installed defensive weapons on artificial islands in the hotly contested South China Sea. In a joint statement, the coast guards said possible areas for cooperation included fighting drug trafficking and other maritime crimes, environmental protection and search and rescue. Philippine coastguards patrol off Manila Ted Aljibe (AFP) "This is a milestone because it opened the communication lines between the two agencies involved in the (South China Sea)," Philippine coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo told AFP. China claims most of the strategic South China Sea -- despite partial counter-claims by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam -- and Chinese coast guard vessels have become an ever-growing presence in the waterway. Balilo said territorial issues were not discussed, but the meeting was a "confidence-building measure" resulting from Duterte's trip to China in October. Duterte, 71, has pivoted his nation's foreign policy away from traditional ally the United States towards China and Russia. His predecessor, Benigno Aquino, had angered China by asking a UN-backed tribunal to outlaw Beijing's claims to most of the South China Sea. A July ruling gave Manila a sweeping victory but Duterte vowed not to "taunt or flaunt" it as he sought to improve economic relations, while praising China's support for his deadly drug war. Philippine ambassador to China Jose Santiago Santa Romana said "sensitive" issues would be tackled separately. "It will be discussed using quiet diplomacy as well as high-level diplomacy," Santa Romana told ABS-CBN television. The meeting took place after a US think tank released images Wednesday that appeared to show China had installed "significant" defensive weapons on artificial islands it had controversially built over contested reefs. Philippine Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said Manila was trying to verify the report but if true, it was a "big concern" for the international community as it would mean China was "militarising" the area. Between guilt and outrage, West looks helpless over Aleppo The fall of Aleppo has unleashed a mixture of outrage and impotence in the West, in which fury at the relentless carnage has mingled with guilt over the failure to stop it. Even the European public -- who marched in the millions over the siege of Sarajevo or against the Iraq War -- stayed at home as the Russian-backed Syrian regime smashed the country's second largest city. The relentless offensive began mid-November, drawing condemnation from Washington to London to Berlin, but nothing else. A Syrian evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in Aleppo cries on arrival at the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the city Baraa Al-Halabi (AFP) In an emotional appeal on Tuesday, the US envoy to the United Nations, Samantha Power, asked President Bashar al-Assad, and his backers Russia and Iran: "Are you truly incapable of shame?" But beyond waging a war of words, the West has been unable to halt the onslaught. Air and ground strikes have killed hundreds of civilians and left hundreds of thousands without homes, food and water. At a European Union summit on Thursday, a visibly dismayed Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the Syria regime and its Russian and Iranian backers of war crimes, noting that "the attacks were targeted at civilians, at hospitals." And on a visit to Berlin earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande too admitted that "we waited too long to get a political plan." The Financial Times noted that "having stood by last year as Moscow intervened to save Mr Assad's tyrannical regime, the West has ceded influence over subsequent events." Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung was also scathing, saying that "at best, the EU resembles the well-meaning but limited rescue worker. At worst it is playing the role of the shocked observer." - 'Desperate for solidarity' - But even beyond the corridors of power, public mobilisation has also been lacklustre over the Syrian conflict that has evolved from anti-Assad protests into a multi-front war that has killed more than 312,000. The image of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach brought home the desperation of millions of refugees fleeing from the war-torn country. Yet that interest has not focused on the root causes of the exodus. Even in Germany, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, protests have not really taken off. Mohammad Abu Hajar, a Syrian refugee in Germany, voiced both anger and desperation at the public's apparent indifference. "Most of our protests here in Berlin are composed of an absolute majority of Syrians. We feel left behind," he told AFP, after the latest demonstration he organised this week attracted only dozens. "It is not only me who is angry we are talking millions of people, not only angry but also desperate for any kind of solidarity," he said. "Western governments... show so much solidarity with Syrian refugees but nothing against the reasons why they became refugees, an attitude that we cannot understand," he added. Merkel herself had said she was shocked to see hundreds of thousands of Germans hitting the streets to demonstrate against free trade deals but virtually no protests against the bloodletting in Syria. "There is something wrong there," she said. Berlin-based swimmer Yusra Mardini, who was a member of Team Refugee at this year's Olympics Games, agreed with the German leader. "But if I'm gonna watch every day what's happening in Syria, I'm going to go and cry every day in my room...The problem is that I can't do anything about it and that's making me feel bad," she said. It was only in the Bosnian capital where a protest gathered thousands this week. "We survived Sarajevo, and we know what that is, we can't remain silent," said Mujo Agonic of the 43-month siege of the city in the 1990s by Serb forces that claimed 10,000 lives, including that of her eight-year-old daughter. Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood on December 13, 2016 STRINGER (AFP) Netanyahu welcomes Trump's choice for envoy to Israel Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday joined settlers in welcoming US President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of a hardline lawyer to be ambassador to the Jewish state. David Friedman, a bankruptcy attorney, supports settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, characterised by succesive US administrations as an "obstacle to peace" with the Palestinians. A source in Netanyahu's office said the premier was "pleased" with the appointment. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to Israel -- backs moving the US embassy to Jerusalem MARCO LONGARI (AFP/File) "He knows David Friedman has the full confidence of President-Elect Trump and looks forward to working closely with him," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called the appointment "good news for Israel". Friedman -- a Trump campaign adviser -- backs moving the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, contrary to Washington's longstanding policy of basing its ambassador in Tel Aviv. "His positions reflect the will to strengthen the status of Israel's capital, Jerusalem, at this time and an understanding that the settlements have never been the real problem in the region," Hotovely wrote. In a Trump transition team statement on Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to "doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem". The United States and most UN member states do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel captured Arab east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. The Palestinians claim it as the capital of a future state. The Yesha council, which represents the more than 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, praised the new ambassador-designate. "Friedman has a deep love for all of the land and people of Israel, including those in Judaea and Samaria," the group's foreign affairs envoy Oded Revivi said in a statement on Friday, using the biblical term by which the Israeli right describes the West Bank. "His knowledge and wisdom of the issues will strengthen the bridge between our great nations." The left-wing Israeli daily Haaretz was less welcoming. "By Israeli standards, Donald Trump's designated Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is an extreme right-winger," it commented. "He makes Benjamin Netanyahu seem like a left-wing defeatist." Netanyahu's coalition government is seen as the most right-wing in Israel's history. The Palestinian government has so far not formally responded, though Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, was due to address journalists later Friday. Near Portland there is a great aviation and military museum called the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. I highly recommend that you visit this campus, which includes an IMAX theater, if you ever visit Oregon. The highlight is the Spruce Goose, the immense wooden plane designed and built by Howard Hughes which resides inside the facility. It is fantastic that the museum was built at a large enough scale to keep this plane indoors else it would likely soon be lost to the elements. They also have a large selection of rare FLYABLE WW2 era warbirds, particularly some of the German planes. Ive only seen an FW 190 in flyable condition at one other location. And heres another very rare one, an ME109. This is a place for the whole family and you can easily spend a day there. They have tanks out behind the facility (particularly Soviet late WW2 and post war models), a huge display of modern NASA exhibits, a movie theater, and a water park. I cant recommend this museum enough. Cross posted at LITGM Coalition strike destroys IS-captured weapons near Palmyra US-led coalition aircraft have destroyed heavy weaponry seized by Islamic State jihadists when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from regime forces over the weekend, officials said Friday. The strikes on Thursday destroyed an air defense artillery system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two IS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles, the coalition said in a statement. Among the Russian weaponry the IS group captured around Palmyra were thought to be modern surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs, giving jihadists the potential capability to shoot down coalition jets, a coalition official told AFP. IS initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics Earlier on Wednesday, the commander of the coalition forces conducting air strikes against the IS group in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, had said that "anything they (IS) seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will." Thursday's attack took place near the Tiyas military airfield near Palmyra, northeast of the fabled city along a highway. The IS group overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after its fighters were expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. The jihadists had initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics. Before the IS group retook the city, it had been the focus of Russian and Syrian counter-Islamic State operations and not an area were the US coalition was particularly active. The White House has been withering in its criticism of Russia for losing control of the desert town, accusing Moscow of focusing more on helping the Assad regime retake Aleppo than its claim of fighting the Islamic State group -- also known as ISIL. "(Russia) has only had one operational gain on the ground inside of Syria against ISIL. It has had that -- that gain rolled back," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "In fact, the threat that is posed by ISIL is now worse because of Russia's failed strategy inside of Syria, because ISIL didn't just retake Palmyra, they retook Palmyra and all of the military equipment that the Assad regime, backed by Russia, had moved in there." Child with explosives caused Damascus blast: Syria media A blast that rocked a police station in southeast Damascus on Friday was caused by a seven-year-old girl carrying a belt of explosives, Syrian media reported. The explosion in the bustling Midan neighbourhood of the Syrian capital wounded three police officers, said the Al-Watan daily, which is close to the government. "A seven-year-old girl entered the police station, carrying a belt that was detonated from afar," the paper posted on its Facebook page. Damage in the al-Midan district of Damascus in August following reported shelling on June 4, 2016 George Ourfalian (AFP/File) A police source told Al-Watan that she had appeared lost and asked to use the bathroom when the explosives went off. Although rebel groups have fired rockets and mortar rounds into the capital, explosions inside the city itself are rare. Syrian state news agency SANA said earlier there were preliminary reports about a "terrorist explosion at the Midan police station in Damascus". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed there had been a blast in Midan but said it could not specify the cause. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP that "one woman" was killed in the blast, but it remained unclear whether she was a suicide bomber or a bystander. In early 2012, a suicide bomber killed 26 people when he blew himself up in Midan. Jihadists' return from frontline a major threat, US experts warn The IS group may be on the defensive in Syria and Iraq, but it now has thousands of foreign volunteer fighters who, once home again, will pose a major threat, experts warn. Western authorities estimate some 25,000 to 30,000 fighters drawn by the call to jihad have thronged to the IS group's self-proclaimed "caliphate" in recent years. While some have died and others continue to wage war, a substantial number are returning to their home countries as IS loses ground under an onslaught by the US-led international coalition. Syrians fleeing from the town of Souran, in northern Hama, drive past burning vehicles on September 1, 2016 Omar Haj Kadour (AFP/File) "The flow of foreign fighters from western countries has fallen from 2,000 to about nothing a month," Albert Ford of the New America think tank told AFP. "But that's only half the issue: What do you do about the 25,000 or 30,000 people that are in Syria or have been there that now want to go back? It's an issue that's not going to go away," he said. In the 1980s, Arab volunteers flooded into Afghanistan to fight the Soviet Union in approximately equal numbers. After thwarting the Soviets, these so-called "Afghan Arabs" became the vanguard of several jihadist movements, while others carried out attacks across multiple countries. "Once mobilized, a wave of foreign fighters is often difficult to demobilize," said a report by 20 US experts entitled "The Jihadi Threat -- ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Beyond," which was published Monday. "And foreign fighters who do demobilize are likely to remain an important part of the fabric of modern jihads, becoming facilitators or supporters who push the agenda forward, even if they do not join the fight itself," the report said. In Europe, interviews carried out by special services and journalists after jihadists return from Syria and Iraq indicate that while the fighters may renounce violence, many still maintain the strong religious convictions that led them to join the movement. - 'Pass through the net' - "Total suppression of IS on the ground has nothing to do with what will happen in Western countries," Marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former CIA agent in Pakistan during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, told AFP, speaking in French. "In all countries, with the exception of perhaps the Netherlands and Denmark, it's time for rigor with the returning fighters. Politicians cannot afford to let even one person fall between the cracks and take action." The hundreds and soon thousands of veterans of the jihadist movement in Syria and Iraq who are beginning to return pose a difficult problem, Katherine Zimmerman of the American Enterprise Institute said. "Law enforcement is overwhelmed today, and it's going be even more so in a year in terms of the challenge that they face," she said. "There will be more people, and they're going to be better networked. And there is only so much that you can do to stop them," Zimmerman added. History has proven that it is necessary to closely monitor older jihadists who seem to have settled down, she said. "Look at Cherif Kouachi, one of the Charlie Hebdo shooters. He was in prison in the mid-2000s. It took him years to activate," Zimmerman said. For Nicholas Heras of the Center for a New American Security, the task at hand is not simple. "It's extremely difficult to differentiate those who come back because they don't believe in the cause any more from those who come back to wage jihad in another form," he said. Tunisia wants to stop rapists marrying underage victims Tunisia's prime minister said Friday that his government would seek to amend a controversial law that allows men who rape underage girls to avoid punishment by marrying their victims. Youssef Chahed's comments come two weeks after a Tunisian court approved the marriage of a 13-year-old girl to a relative who made her pregnant, under the terms of Article 227. The ruling infuriated non-governmental organisations who said the girl was raped. Dozens of people stage a protest outside of Tunisian parliament denouncing a law that allows men who rape underage girls to avoid punishment by marrying their victims Fethi Belaid (AFP/File) Dozens of people staged a protest outside parliament on Wednesday, denouncing Article 227 as a "backward" piece of legislation that should be revoked. Discussion of a draft law to be submitted to parliament to amend the article should be a "priority" pending a review of "all articles concerning the fight against violence targeting women", Chahed told Mosaique FM radio. Article 227 states that a man who has sex with a girl under 15 years old without the use of force can be sentenced to a six-year jail term but proceedings against him would be halted if he marries his victim. A bill to counter violence against women was drafted in 2014 but is still waiting to be discussed in parliament. "Our country can no longer refer to laws that are old fashioned and which do not reflect the spirit of rights and liberties," said the 41-year-old prime minister. Chahed, whose country is viewed as being ahead of most Arab countries on women's rights, said Friday that 2017 "will be the year of the child" in Tunisia. He said he will strive to draw up a strategy to improve the lives of children in Tunisia, particularly in the field of education. A planned wedding party for the girl involved in the recent case has been scrapped after the government's child protection office called for the marriage to be annulled. "When it's a 13-year-old child, we can't talk of a sexual relation with consent. It's rape," the agency's representative Houda Abboudi said earlier this week. British swimmer abandons Atlantic crossing attempt British amateur swimmer Ben Hooper has abandoned his attempt to cross the Atlantic, he said in a Facebook post Friday, after his support boat was damaged in a storm. Hooper had hoped to cross the ocean after leaving from Senegal on November 13, but lasted just 33 days at sea during which he was stung by a highly poisonous Portuguese man o' war jellyfish. "In the interest of the safety of all souls on board Big Blue we have decided to postpone the expedition and sail directly to Natal in Brazil by the shortest route," Hooper wrote on Facebook. British swimmer Ben Hooper stands on a boat during a training session in Dakar on October 28, 2016 SEYLLOU (AFP/File) "We were subjected to our fifth day of Atlantic storms as a result of which the expedition support vessel the sailing catamaran Big Blue suffered damage to her steering and standing rigging," he added. Hooper managed to swim 87 of his planned 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometres), and lost half his time at sea to weather issues, technical problems and recovering from his jellyfish sting. The 38-year-old said his crossing would resume at a later date. "I reiterate that my attempt to become the first person to swim across the Atlantic Ocean, every single mile (that) remains, but that it has been postponed for the time being," Hooper wrote. The former policeman had prepared for over three years for the immense journey and had trained himself to swim up to 10 hours a day. Only one man has achieved a comparable feat to Hooper's dream: Frenchman Benoit Lecomte swam across the Atlantic in the other direction in 1998, from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to Quiberon in northwestern France. Philippines' Duterte defiant over kill admission Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte boasted again Friday he had killed criminals, as he vowed no let up in his war on drugs that has already claimed thousands of lives. In an hour-long speech to Filipinos in Singapore, Duterte referred to international news coverage of his claims this week that in his previous role as mayor of a major southern city he killed suspects to set an example for police. "To spare you embarrassment about the crawlers on television that have been running on CNN and even the BBC since yesterday that says Duterte admits killing or shooting the criminals: they were not mistaken," he said. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a meeting with the Filipino community in Singapore on December 16, 2016 Roslan Rahman (AFP) People in the 6,500-strong crowd cheered as Duterte used his trademark strong language to promise his drug war would continue. "Sons of whores I will really kill these idiots," he said. "My campaign on drugs will not end, until the end of my term six years from now when every drug pusher is (killed)," he said, making a throat-cutting gesture. Duterte easily won presidential elections in May largely on a promise to eradicate illegal drugs in society by killing tens of thousands of people. More than 5,000 people have been killed since Duterte took office in late June, leading to fears of mass extrajudicial killings and a breakdown in the rule of law. Duterte's comments this week about personally killing people when he was mayor of Davao city triggered fresh outrage from rights groups. Long-running efforts by a United Nations rights rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, to probe the drug war hit another hurdle on Friday when she said she had rejected three conditions for her visit set by Duterte's government. Callamard said she had written to the government urging it to reconsider the conditions, which included a public debate with Duterte. Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, speaking to reporters in Singapore on Friday, said the government would not make any concessions. "If she cannot comply with it (the Philippine conditions), then that's the end of it," Yasay said. Duterte has repeatedly insisted neither he nor his security forces are breaking any laws in prosecuting the crime war. Duterte's aides and political supporters this week shrugged off his statements about personally killing people. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said Duterte did not violate any law, and either was making up the claims or had killed people only in self defence. "The president always uses hyperbole, is always exaggerated to put his message across," Aguirre said Wednesday. "If the suspect fought back, he must have been forced to kill him." Surveys show many Filipinos endorse Duterte's campaign, and some of those who turned up to listen to him in Singapore on Friday expressed sentiments felt by compatriots back home. "When the president promises that he will solve the drugs and crime problem, it's very hopeful for us," said Eloisa Lopez, 50, a domestic worker who had taken time off to volunteer at the event. Singapore's leaders also gave Duterte a warm welcome during his two-day state visit, that began early Thursday. France, US push for Aleppo observers The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow international observers in Syria's Aleppo and ensure urgent deliveries of aid, the US envoy said Friday. Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters following a closed-door council meeting that UN officials already based in Syria were ready to be quickly dispatched to the city as a "presence for protection." "They are eager and willing to carry out monitoring," Power said. Residents in a government-held part of Aleppo's Salaheddin neighbourhood look out from the balconies of their damaged houses on December 16, 2016 Youssef KARWASHAN (AFP) "The presence of independent observers can deter some of the worst horrors." France told the council meeting that it was working to quickly present a draft resolution on its proposal, but Russia, Syria's main ally, expressed skepticism. "There are some elements which I thought were questionable," said Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, arguing that it would take weeks to send the monitors to Aleppo. "To imagine that you can do it within two or three days is really unrealistic." Power said: "I think we are hoping to vote over the weekend, at least, because of the extreme urgency." The ambassador sought to address Russian resistance to the proposal. "Russia has helped deliver Aleppo to the Syrian government. Surely Russia can secure actual safe corridors for civilians," she said. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said: "The immediate priority is to save lives, to stop the massacres and to avoid a new Srebrenica," referring to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at the hands of Bosnian Serbs during the Balkan wars. Delattre told AFP that he planned to circulate the draft text to the council later Friday and that a vote would take place "as soon as possible." - Aleppo now 'synonym for hell' - The call to dispatch international monitors came as the Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from Aleppo, leaving thousands of people trapped and facing an uncertain fate. The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from two villages under rebel siege. It is unclear how many people remain in eastern Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days but perhaps tens of thousands still inside. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syrian parties to resume the evacuation operation and allow civilians to leave safely. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell," Ban said in his final news conference before he steps down as UN chief on December 31. Under a deal reached with Syria and backed by Russia and Turkey, evacuations began from the last remaining pocket of rebel opposition in Aleppo on Thursday, but were halted in the early hours on Friday. Thousands of people were allowed to leave the city, including 194 patients who were taken to hospitals in Idlib, western Aleppo province, and Turkey for treatment, said Ban. The Syrian government has for months refused to allow UN aid convoys to reach Aleppo as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad pushed ahead with an offensive to crush opposition fighters who held the city's east since 2012. The fall of Aleppo will hand Assad his biggest victory in the nearly six-year war that has killed more than 300,000 and displaced half of the country's population. US Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters following a closed-door council meeting that UN officials already based in Syria were ready to be quickly dispatched to the city as a "presence for protection" Jewel SAMAD (AFP/File) Mourners pay tribute to American space legend John Glenn Two days of public events celebrating the life of US astronaut John Glenn began Friday in his native Ohio, where the body of the first American to orbit Earth lay in state. Glenn, who was also the first senior citizen to venture into space, died last week at the age of 95. The former astronaut became a symbol of strength and of America's pioneering spirit, drawing admirers from all walks of life over a long career in the military, then NASA, and the US Senate. Veteran Warren E. Motts salutes the casket of former Astronaut and US Senator John Glenn as he lies in state at the Ohio Statehouse rotunda on December 16, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio Joshua Lott (AFP) The Ohio-born Glenn's body lay in state at the Ohio Statehouse rotunda in the capital Columbus -- an honor usually bestowed upon high-ranking government officials. In a solemn and quiet procession, a line of mourners filed past Glenn's flag-draped coffin, guarded by US Marines. One or two people at a time stood before the coffin for a few moments of reflection. One elderly man was seen saluting with a military salute. Some brought their children. Glenn's widow Annie arrived late in the afternoon, accompanied by dignitaries including US Secretary of State John Kerry, Ohio Governor John Kasich and others. Glenn's coffin was to remain at the rotunda until Saturday afternoon, when a public memorial was planned. The coffin will be carried from the rotunda in a hearse escorted by a platoon of Marines to a nearby auditorium on the campus of The Ohio State University (OSU). During the latter part of his life, Glenn taught at the university's college of public affairs, which bears his name. Vice President Joe Biden and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden were among those scheduled to speak at the memorial service, along with Glenn's adult children David and Lyn. The former astronaut will be buried in April at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside the capital Washington, according to OSU. - 'A true American hero - Glenn died surrounded by family at a Columbus hospital on December 8. The former astronaut and veteran of two wars had been in declining health and was hospitalized more than a week earlier. Glenn was among the first military pilots chosen to be US astronauts in 1959, the "Original Seven" whose saga was recounted in the classic movie "The Right Stuff." In 1962, he became the first American to orbit Earth, a year after Russia's Yuri Gagarin became the first person to do so. After his 23-year career in the US military and space program, Glenn entered the Senate as a Democrat, and made two unsuccessful tries for the party's presidential nomination. In 1998, he made history again when he returned to space at the age of 77, becoming the oldest astronaut. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Glenn the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor. After his death, NASA led tributes to a man it called "a true American hero." "John always had the right stuff, inspiring generations of scientists, engineers and astronauts who will take us to Mars and beyond -- not just to visit, but to stay," said Obama upon news of Glenn's passing. Philippines' Duterte warns US of 'tit-for-tat' response Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened Saturday to end a military pact with the United States in a "tit-for-tat" response to American aid being deferred because of concerns about his deadly crime war. Duterte reacted angrily to the announcement by the US government this week that a decision on a multi-year aid package potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars had been put off. "Bye bye America," Duterte said, after threatening to end a 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement that gives the legal framework for US troops in the Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech at the start of a state dinner hosted by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam held at Istana presidential palace in Singapore on December 15, 2016 WALLACE WOON (POOL/AFP/File) "Tit-for-tat. If you can do this, so do we, it ain't one-way traffic." The American Millennium Challenge Corporation announced this week that a decision had been deferred over whether to continue giving aid, after an initial five-year package worth more than $430 million expired in May. "This decision reflects the Board's significant concerns around rule of law and civil liberties in the Philippines," US embassy spokeswoman Molly Koscina said on Thursday. The US government set up the Millennium Challenge Corporation to promote economic growth and reduce poverty around the world. However countries can only qualify if they "demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in its people, and economic freedom", according to the corporation's website. The United States has been a vocal critic of Duterte's war on drugs, which has claimed about 5,000 lives since he took office in late June, with President Barack Obama urging Duterte to prosecute it "the right way". The criticism has severely strained ties between the longtime allies, with Duterte angered at what he insists is unfair interference in the Philippines' sovereign affairs. Duterte has made repeated threats to downgrade or even end military and diplomatic ties, while moving to establish closer ties with US rivals China and Russia. Duterte has already curtailed many of the war games held between the two nations in the Philippines. Duterte on Saturday said he was hoping for bilateral relations to improve when US president-elect Donald Trump took office next year. "I will just wait, I will let Obama fade away," Duterte said in a long press conference in his hometown of Davao that began shortly after midnight when he returned from a state visit to Singapore. But Duterte, a socialist who has said he admires the leadership styles of Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, also signalled he would lead the Philippines away from the United States even with a friendly Trump as US president. Tense Congo succession talks forced into extra day Congo's volatile political crisis rumbled on Friday after church-led talks were forced into another day, edging closer to the legal limit for President Joseph Kabila to hold on to power. The country's Catholic episcopal conference, CENCO, had set Friday as the deadline to get the government and opposition to agree on a transition for the country after Kabila's second and last legal term expires on Tuesday. An election for a new Democratic Republic of Congo head of state was supposed to have been held this year, but the authorities failed to organise the polls. Congolese President Joseph Kabila (C) is barred from a third mandate under the constitution JUNIOR D.KANNAH (AFP/File) The 45-year-old president, who stepped into his assassinated father's shoes in 2001 and is now ruling for a second elected term, is barred from a third mandate under the constitution. Opponents accuse him of delaying the vote in the hope of tweaking the constitution to extend the Kabila family's hold over a nation hugely rich in minerals that is almost the size of western Europe. The international community has warned the current tension could lead to spiralling violence. Some two decades ago, Congo sunk into the deadliest conflict in modern African history, its two wars in the late 1990s and early 2000s dragging in at least six African armies and leaving more than three million dead. The CENCO-sponsored talks launched early this month pit the ruling party and fringe opposition groups against a mainstream opposition coalition headed by veteran Kabila rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, who is 84. - Talks continue - Sources close to the talks had said early on Friday a deal was closing in on the date and organisation of a presidential vote. But later CENCO mediators returned from meeting members of Kabila's cabinet, declining to speak to the press and resuming talks with the rival groups behind closed doors. Discussions will resume at 0800 GMT on Saturday, they later said. But that round will be limited as Congo's bishops will leave Saturday for a long-planned visit to see Pope Francis. The main sticking point in any future deal is the political fate of Kabila, who true to his reputation as a man of few words, has not announced his plans. A democratic handover would break ground for Congo's 70 million people who since independence from Belgium in 1960 have never witnessed political change at the ballot box. And in the last few years hundreds of people have died in political violence in the capital, Kinshasa, and elsewhere. Tshisekedi and his allies had threatened nationwide protests from Monday to press Kabila to step down, but have opted to hold off pending the negotiations. "If we win guarantees (on an election date and a pledge that Kabila will not seek a new mandate) we will speak to the people because the challenge begins from December 19," Jean-Marc Kabund, the secretary-general of Tshisekedi's party, told AFP. The government for its part has ordered that social networks including Facebook and WhatsApp be blocked from 11:59 pm (2259 GMT) on Sunday. Police said they were setting up checkpoints in large Congolese cities to "discourage criminal intentions that have started to take on worrying dimensions". Photos: Joffrey Ballet's Brilliant 'Nutcracker' Revamp Is Rich With Chicago History Who knew that Chicagos Columbian Exposition of 1893 was perfectly suited as the setting of the Nutcracker? Our golden Statue of the Republic becomes The Queen of the Fair; a Daniel Burnham-inspired figure plays The Great Impresario; and the Fairs worldly pavilions come alive in the parade of cultural dances. Mice even turn into Chicago rats. Its a magical backdrop for an already whimsical story. The Joffrey Ballets Artistic Director Ashley Wheater and Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon talked about creating a new Nutcracker nearly a decade ago while working on a project at Wheeldons company, Morphoses, in New York. During lunch, Chris mentioned that he wanted to create a Nutcracker for The Joffrey Ballets Company, Wheater told us. I told him I was not sure when it would ever happen, but I would hold him to his offer. When it finally came time, they decided to set the story during the fairs construction, a timeline that got renewed attention several years ago with Eric Larsons bestseller Devil In The White City. And the result is spectacular. Beautiful, graceful and mesmerizing, theres nothing campy about Wheeldons updated vision of The Nutcracker. While a lot of the traditional elements, such as Tchaikovskys original score, were kept, new additions like denim- and plaid-clad dancers in "Buffalo Bills Wild West" stay true to the history of the Fair while adding a modern American touch. Theres also a nutty update to Mother Nutcracker that had kids and adults alike laughing aloud. The affluent family setting of the traditional Nutcracker is also switched, here centered around a working-class widowed mother and a community of immigrant fair workers. A sculptress tasked with making the Fairs statue, the mother embodies the magic that comes when Marie enters into the Dream Fair. All the traditional Nutcracker elements get refreshed thanks to Wheeldon, including the top-notch costuming and set projection. Dull colors of the working day in Act One break into vivid technicolor, A la the land of Oz, in Act Two as a massive Christmas tree vividly envelops the stage. Because of modern theater technologies, we are able to achieve much more on stage than we could 30 years ago, Wheater told Chicagoist. Wheeldon also has a background in musical theater and assembled a team of creative talent well-versed in both dance and theatrical productions. This fresh reimagining of such the classic ballet is in fine step with the new era of dance and theater. It's a magnificent production, one that will hopefully stick around for several future runs. The Nutcracker performances continue at Auditorium Theatre through Friday, December 30. Tickets range from $35 to 170. Obama denounces Aleppo 'horror' as evacuation suspended Responsibility for atrocities committed in Aleppo lies with Syria and its Russian and Iranian backers, US President Barack Obama said as Damascus suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the city's last rebel-held areas. Denouncing the "horror" in Aleppo, Obama called for impartial observers and warned President Bashar al-Assad that he would not be able to "slaughter his way to legitimacy". "The world as we speak is united in horror at the savage assault by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies on the city of Aleppo," he told an end-of-year news conference. Syrian residents leave Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood after pro-government forces captured the area in the eastern part of the war torn city on December 13, 2016 George OURFALIAN (AFP/File) "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands." UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier warned that Aleppo had become "a synonym for hell" and said the United Nations urged "all necessary measures" for a safe resumption of the evacuation. The Security Council could vote as early as this weekend on a French-drafted proposal to allow international observers in Aleppo and ensure urgent aid deliveries. US Ambassador Samantha Power said after a closed-door council meeting that UN officials were ready to be sent quickly to Aleppo. "The presence of independent observers can deter some of the worst horrors," she said. French Ambassador Francois Delattre said: "The immediate priority is to save lives, to stop the massacres and to avoid a new Srebrenica," referring to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the Balkan wars. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, however, argued that it would take weeks to send monitors to Aleppo. - Besieged villages - Turkey and a Syrian military source said the evacuation from the city had been suspended but was not yet over, while Moscow insisted the operation was "complete", with all women and children moved from the city. Amid the confusion, a convoy of evacuees that had already left the east when the operation was suspended was forced to turn back, an AFP correspondent said. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), supervising the evacuations, said it was looking into reports of shooting before the convoy was turned back. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and continued overnight, with thousands leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the deal. State television said rebels had tried to smuggle out heavy weapons and hostages. The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from Fuaa and Kafraya, two villages under rebel siege in northwest Syria. The government and Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the Aleppo deal. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government fighters had blocked the road the convoy had been using and rebels were refusing the evacuation of residents of Fuaa and Kafraya. Evacuating the last rebel pocket in Aleppo had been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but was delayed by a day because of government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya. Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and buses and ambulances began transporting evacuees to rebel territory in western Aleppo province. - Video message - The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended, including around 3,000 rebels. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring treatment. From a staging area near the town of Khan al-Aasal people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo and secure the regime's biggest victory in more than five years of conflict. In a video message Thursday, Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened there was "unconscionable", raising concerns for the "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". It is unclear how many people remain in east Aleppo, with tens of thousands fleeing to territory held by the government or Kurds in recent days, but perhaps tens of thousands are still inside. - 'Heart-breaking' - The evacuations have been emotional for departing residents desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege, but also tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. In the dust of one bus window, someone traced: "One day we will return". "The scene was heart-breaking," said Marianne Gasser from the ICRC Syria. "People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness." A blast at a Damascus police station, meanwhile, was caused by a seven-year-old girl being sent in carrying "a bomb" that was detonated remotely, state news agency SANA said. It was believed to be the first time such a young child has been used to detonate an explosive device in the war. A police source told the Al-Watan daily that she asked to use the bathroom and the explosives detonated. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make progress in resolving the conflict, which reached a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. Syrians are evacuated from a rebel-held area of Aleppo towards rebel-held territory in the west of Aleppo's province on December 16, 2016 STRINGER (AFP) Aleppo evacuation halted Simon MALFATTO, Frederic BOURGEAIS, Sophie RAMIS, Sabrina BLANCHARD, Jihad KACHAAMI, Thomas SAINT-CRICQ (AFP) A general view shows destruction in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood after pro-government forces captured the area in the eastern part of the war torn city on December 13, 2016 George OURFALIAN (AFP/File) Buses depart during an evacuation operation of rebel fighters and their families from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo on December 15, 2016 George OURFALIAN (AFP/File) Aleppo's human tragedy Valentina BRESCHI, Simon MALFATTO (AFP) Syrian rebel fighters and civilians who were evacuated from rebel-held neighbourhoods in the embattled city of Aleppo arrive in the opposition-controlled Khan al-Aassal region, west of the embattled city, on December 16, 2016 Omar haj kadour (AFP/File) 12 Burkina Faso troops killed in jihadist attack At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers were killed Friday in what local authorities said was the biggest ever jihadist attack on the army, at a base near the restive border with Mali. "A detachment of our army's anti-terrorist force suffered a murderous attack which claimed the lives of 12 of our valiant soldiers and left some wounded," said President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, in an address to the nation. "I strongly condemn this horrible attack which shows the cruelty of these perpetrators," added Kabore, who did not specify the number of injured. At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers were killed in a jihadist attack on an army base near the Burkina-Mali border on December 16, 2016 Dominique Faget (AFP/File) Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the army's Nassoumbou base some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Burkina-Mali border, the high commissioner of Soum province, Mohamed Dah, earlier told AFP by phone. "They were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles," he said, adding that it was "the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated" against the army. Dah added that at least five attackers were killed although their bodies were removed from the scene by other assailants on motorcycles. A security source who asked not to be named said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black jihadist flags. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. - Mounting attacks - This was the second direct attack against the Burkina army since jihadist assailants surfaced in the country in early 2015, mostly staging attacks in the north near the borders of Mali and Niger. But in January this year, three jihadists left dozens of people dead and 71 injured in an attack in the heart of the capital. Thirty people were killed when gunmen stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel and a nearby cafe in Ouagadougou. The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group behind a string of attacks in west Africa in recent years claimed responsibility for the strikes on the venues which were popular with Westerners. The army has, since 2012, had an anti-terrorist battalion deployed along the country's long border with Mali, an area which is frequently subjected to attacks and kidnappings. EU to seek summit with Turkey next month BRUSSELS (AP) The European Union will seek to hold a summit meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first half of next year to discuss the testy relations between the two, the 28-nation bloc's president said Thursday. EU President Donald Tusk said at the end of the EU summit that he was given "a mandate" to set up a meeting between the leaders of EU institutions and Turkey over the next months. He said no date or place had been set. The 28-nation EU and Turkey have a deal under which Turkey makes sure to stem the flow of migrants into Europe in return for billions of euros to take care of them there. However, Turkey and the EU have been at loggerheads about Turkey's security crackdown since a failed coup in July. European Council President Donald Tusk, left, speaks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, right, during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. European Union leaders meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss defense, migration, the conflict in Syria and Britain's plans to leave the bloc. At center is Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Tusk office said that the summit would likely be held after a regular EU summit in March. Earlier this week, EU countries expressed deep concern about Turkey's crackdown but stopped short of officially freezing membership talks with the country a move that is favored by Austria. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the migrant deal's main architects, stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open. "I don't think threats are the right answer," she said. While EU members don't currently plan to open any new chapters in the long-running membership negotiations, "everyone was aware that even if we have very critical remarks to make about some developments in Turkey, Turkey is our neighbor and we want to keep talking in the spirit of neighborhood," Merkel said. Merkel's Austrian counterpart, Christian Kern, reiterated his country's position that "there is no question of EU accession for Turkey." But he stressed that "Turkey is an important partner in dealing with the migration question, from a security policy point of view ... but also from an economic point of view." ___ This story has been corrected to show that the European Union is seeking to have a summit with Turkey's president early in the new year. 2nd man arrested for worshipper's stabbing outside mosque SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) A second man was arrested Thursday for allegedly stabbing a worshipper near a California mosque in an apparent hate crime. Marco De La Cruz, 26, of Simi Valley was arrested at his home on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and violations of civil rights and his parole. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer. De La Cruz is a gang member with an extensive criminal record and a neighbor of John Matteson, who was arrested shortly after the attack late Saturday night. Matteson, 29, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to making criminal threats, disturbing the peace and other charges with hate-crime enhancements that make them felonies. He is free on bail. Police said earlier this week that the men may have earlier asked to use a bathroom at the Jamia Razi Islamic Center and became angry when told it was closed, the Ventura County Star (http://bit.ly/2hLTvCp ) has reported. The men allegedly began yelling anti-Muslim slurs at people leaving the mosque, which led to a fight in a nearby shopping center parking lot where the stabbing occurred, police said. A 36-year-old man was stabbed in the abdomen and taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said. The suspects didn't target the mosque, Detective Cmdr. John Parks told the newspaper on Thursday. British company fine increased for misleading Australians SYDNEY (AP) An Australian court ordered a British consumer goods company on Friday to pay 6 million Australian dollars ($4.4 million) in penalties for misleading consumers about the effectiveness of a popular painkiller. The full-bench of the Federal Court upheld an appeal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the watchdog which launched the court action, against a smaller fine of AU$1.7 million imposed on Reckitt Benckiser in April. The watchdog argued that that penalty was too lenient to deter companies from breaching consumer law. The Federal Court ruled a year ago that Reckitt Benckiser deceived Australians by selling Nurofen painkillers that were marketed to relieve specific ailments, such as back pain and period pain, when all of the products contained an identical amount of the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine. The court ordered the company to remove the products from Australian stores. The watchdog had asked the court to impose a penalty of AU$6 million, arguing consumers had been tricked into unnecessarily paying more for the drugs. The watchdog said the price of the specific pain products was nearly double that of Nurofen's standard ibuprofen painkiller and other general pain relief products sold by competitors. Reckitt Benckiser has since changed the packaging for its specific pain line to indicate the drugs are also effective for general pain relief. The Nurofen brand said in a statement it was disappointed by Friday's ruling because it considered the original penalty appropriate. Security Council extends South Sudan mandate by a day UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. Security Council voted Thursday to extend its mandate in war-torn South Sudan by a day so its deeply divided members can try to reach agreement on a draft resolution extending the peacekeeping mission and addressing the crisis in the country. The mission's mandate expired Thursday and the council voted unanimously to approve the daylong extension after disagreement over the latest U.S. draft. Two years after South Sudan's independence from Sudan in 2011, the country plunged into violence when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer who was his former vice president. A peace deal signed in August 2015 has not stopped the fighting, and the U.N. says tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million displaced. Russia and others objected to the U.S.'s latest version of the draft resolution, which included calls for sanctions and provisions such as the use of drones, among other concerns, Deputy Russian Ambassador Petr Iliichev said. "There are several delegations that have very serious concerns, and we knew it from the very beginning," he said. "And the attitude that you just disregard these concerns doesn't work. You have to compromise." Lawrence Manley Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by US troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67. Lisa Colburn, speaking with The Associated Press on Thursday evening, said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday. He passed away at home in Canton, Georgia, according to his obituary. He is survived by his son, Connor, and three sisters. 'It was very quick,' she said by phone from her home near Atlanta. 'He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world.' My Lai massacre survivor Do Ba, 48, left, stands with former U.S. Army officer Lawrence Colburn, 58, right, during the 40th anniversary of the incident in 2008 My Lai Massacre survivor Do Ba, 48, left, of Ho Chi Minh city, places incense at his family's grave site during the 40 year anniversary of the incident in My Lai, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. He is accompanied by former US Army officer Lawrence Colburn who rescued Do Ba during the massacre She also called him 'a compassionate person who was a hero in many people's eyes'. Colburn was the last surviving member of a US Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him. Lawrence Colburn, left; Joe Elder, president of Madison Quaker, center, and Mike Boehm, executive director of Madison Quaker, walk in a procession to give incense to My Lai massacre victims during the 40th anniversary of the incident in My Lai, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The company's soldiers had begun shooting that day even though they hadn't come under attack, authorities later said. According to accounts, the shooting quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed as many as 504 civilians - most of whom were women, children and the elderly. The Charlie Company had suffered 40 casualties in three months due to landmines and booby traps and had recently lost a popular sergeant. Anger and fear permeated the group when they landed in the hamlets and began systematically wiping out the unarmed locals, including women and children. Lieut. Hugh C. Thompson (left and right) was awarded the Soldier's Medal and nominated for a Nobel Peace prize for helping stop the My Lai massacre and he testified at the original investigation - he was flying the helicopter in which Lawrence Colburn was a gunner Women and children pictured during the My Lai massacre. According to testimony, the woman in the black blouse on the right had just been raped and was adjusting her buttons. Seconds after this photo was taken, they were all reportedly killed When the slaughter became public knowledge in 1969 it prompted global outrage and helped turn the tide of public opinion against the war. In an initial Facebook post, Lisa Colburn confirmed the death of her husband and wrote: 'As most of you know, Larry has been very ill for a while but his suffering ended today, 12/13/16/.' She added: 'Your friendship meant a lot to him.' Vietnamese civilians killed by US Army soldiers during the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968 Houses burned by American soldiers during the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968 in My Lai, South Vietnam She added that she and their son, Connor, 'appreciate your love and support during this difficult time.' Trent Angers, the biographer for Thompson, who wrote 'The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story,' said Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai. 'He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did,' Angers said. Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldier's Medal, the highest US military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy. Lawrence Colburn greets survivors and relatives of My Lai massacre during the 30th anniversary commemoration Initially, the three were shunned and considered traitors for reporting the massacre. Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, Louisiana, died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in the Vietnam War three weeks after My Lai. Kentucky man convicted of reckless homicide in girl's death GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) A Kentucky man has been convicted of reckless homicide in the death of his former girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter, whose body was disposed of in a well. The Glasgow Daily Times (http://bit.ly/2hM7jNi) reports that Barren County Circuit Court jurors also found Anthony Barbour guilty Thursday of tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Barbour had been charged with murder. Defense attorney Ken Garrett focused in his closing argument on shifting the blame from his client toward Kelsey Wallace, the mother of Laynee Mae Wallace, who died in May 2015. Barbour testified Wednesday, giving a different story than he initially told police because, he said, he had been covering for Wallace. He testified that when he returned home after being gone a few hours, Laynee was already dead and her mother said it was an accident. ___ Nurse who murdered 2 elderly Australians jailed for 36 years SYDNEY (AP) A nurse at an Australian nursing home who gave lethal insulin injections to two elderly residents who had complained about her was sentenced on Friday to 36 years in prison, the second such case in less than a week. Megan Haines, 49, was sentenced in the New South Wales state Supreme Court for murdering Marie Darragh, 82, and Isabella Spencer, 77, at St. Andrew's Village at Ballina in May 2014. She must serve at least 27 years before she is eligible for parole. The sentencing comes after a staff member at another New South Wales nursing home was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison for murdering two elderly residents and attempting to murder a third with insulin injections. In sentencing Haines on Friday, Justice Peter Garling described the murders as "deliberate and calculating," and a flagrant abuse of power. Haines was convicted by a jury in November after pleading not guilty. Haines had previously been suspended from working as a nurse after complaints about her conduct in Victoria state and had only recently started work at Ballina when she heard that the victims had complained about her. The judge said Darragh had complained that Haines refused to give her a cream to soothe an itch. Spencer said Haine had refused to help her reach a toilet. Hours after learning of the complaints, Haines injected the women after midnight, probably as they slept, the judge said. On Tuesday, Justice Robert Allan Hulme sentenced Garry Steven Davis, 29, for injecting three nursing home residents with large doses of insulin. No motive was given. Davis's crimes were committed at Wallsend, 470 kilometers (300 miles) from Ballina and seven months before Haines' murders. Pakistan reeling at 87-8 in reply to Australia's 429 BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Skipper Steve Smith and rookie Peter Handscomb posted centuries to set a platform before the pacemen went to work under lights, having Pakistan reeling at 97-8 and setting Australia on course for a big first-innings lead in the first day-night test at the Gabba. A total of 15 wickets fell on Friday after Australia resumed the second day at 288-3. Handscomb (105) produced his maiden test century, Smith scored 130 and the last-wicket pair of Nathan Lyon and Jackson Bird added 49 to lift the total to 429 in a partnership that frustrated the Pakistan bowling attack. Australia's Peter Handscomb, right, is congratulated by teammate Josh Hazlewood after scoring his maiden test century during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) In the last 40 minutes of the middle session, Mitchell Starc (3-45) dismissed opener Azhar Ali (5) as Pakistan endured a difficult start to the innings in fading light. Sami Aslam (22) and Babar Azam (19) combined to get the total up to 43-1 before Josh Hazlewood (3-19) struck twice on consecutive balls to trigger the collapse. Pakistan then lost 7-24 before Sarfraz Ahmed (31) and Mohammad Amir (8) combined in an unbroken 30-run stand to ensure the visitors batted until stumps. Hazlewood removed Azam with the third-last ball of the 20th over, caught by Smith at second slip, and had Younis Khan (0) caught behind with the next. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (4) survived the hat-trick ball but was out six overs later when he edged Bird to slip, ensuring all Australia's fast bowlers chipped in. Starc returned to dismiss Asad Shafiq and Aslam's gritty defiance ended in the next over when Bird, during a nine-over spell that netted two wickets for seven runs, had him caught behind to make the total 56-6. Hazlewood took a return catch to remove Wahab Riaz and Starc took the last wicket of the day, getting Yasir Shah caught by Usman Khawaja at third slip. The Australian fielding was almost flawless, with Khawaja at third slip, Smith at second and Matt Renshaw at first holding some sharp catches, a contrast to the error-riddled fielding performance from the Pakistan lineup which put down at least three regulation chances two against Smith. The only blemish on the Australian fielding was a missed stumping chance by wicketkeeper Matthew Wade in the next-to-last over. Handscomb said the difference between the first and second nights of the test was the way the Australian fast bowlers combined to produce seam, swing and a nagging line and length. Wahab, meanwhile, said the dropped fielding particularly the dropped catches when Smith was on 53 and the failure to appeal when the Australian captain edged one from Amir on 97 had been costly. Amir and Wahab ended up taking four wickets apiece, and were on top of the Australian batsmen for a period of the second day when six wickets fell for 57. But the tailenders batted for long enough to ensure Pakistan wouldn't get a long period in the daylight to prepare for their first session facing the pink ball under lights in Australia. The Australians haven't lost a test at the Brisbane ground since 1988, while Pakistan has never won a test at the venue. After two days, the match appears to be going with traditional form. Australia's Peter Handscomb celebrates after scoring his maiden test century during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Australian players celebrate the dismissal of Pakistan batsman Asad Shafiq during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Pakistan's Mohammad Amir celebrates after taking the wicket of Australia's Mitchell Starc during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Pakistan's Wahab Riaz, left, is congratulated by a teammate after dismissing Australia's Steve Smith 130 runs during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Australia's Steve Smith watches his shot while batting during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Australia's Peter Handscomb watches the ball while batting during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Australia's Steve Smith waves to the crowd as he leaves the field after he was dismissed for a 130 runs during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Pakistan batsman Sami Azlam ducks to avoid a bouncer during play on day two of the first cricket test between Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane, Australia, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard) Man Dead After Reportedly Getting Shot 2 Separate Times In One Night By Mae Rice in News on Dec 16, 2016 3:47PM Crime scene tape (Photo by LukaTDB via Shutterstock) A Chicago man was fatally shot overnight Thursday, and the Tribune is reporting that he is the same man who was non-fatally shot in the arm earlier that same night. The 30-year-old man was first shot in a drive-by shooting in Lawndale just after 10 p.m., while driving near 18th Street and South Pulaski Road, according to police. He took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm and released just a few hours later. Another 30-year-old man was shot multiple times at around 1:10 a.m. in the 1600 block of South Millard Avenue, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. At least two other people who were shot overnight, according to the Tribune, despite frigid temperatures. A 23-year-old man was shot in the leg while riding in a car through Auburn Gresham Thursday evening, and a 25 -year-old man was shot in a drive-by shooting while walking in Roseland around 7 p.m. A 61-year-old police officer is 'serious, but stable' in hospital after being shot in the head by a suspect who barricaded himself into a house in Mount Vernon, 60 miles north of Seattle. The suspect reportedly took at least one hostage after firing at officers last night. But Sergeant Mark Francis, of Washington State Patrol, tweeted today: 'Primary suspect taken into custody.' A 44-year-old man - the 'primary suspect' - was arrested just after midnight and two other suspects were also detained. Washington State Patrol said: 'That primary suspect is known to law enforcement, and has a lengthy, violent criminal history.' Law enforcement vehicles gather near Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon The wounded Mount Vernon police officer, who has not been named but is known to have 30 years' experience on the job, was initially taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. He was then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said the officer underwent surgery overnight. Washington State Patrol Sergeant Keith Leary said the officer was responding to reports of a shooting just after 5.30pm. Sgt Leary said a local resident was grazed by a bullet and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The Mount Vernon neighborhood was swamped with police and a SWAT team negotiated with the suspect. Skagit Valley College's nearby Mount Vernon campus was put into lockdown last night. A Washington State Trooper directs traffic around a roadblock near Skagit Valley College The college tweeted: 'Everyone get inside and stay inside.' Local resident Maria Zendejas told Komonews: 'There was a bang, bang, bang. I had the kids go on the floor and don't really see much. 'I'm just shaken up with everything that's going on. Poor officer is down. You wouldn't think there's something going on especially just three, four houses down from mine.' The shooting comes less than a month after a Tacoma police officer was killed responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Reginald Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot November 30. Chinese leaders pledge stable currency, less financial risk BEIJING (AP) China's leaders pledged Friday to keep its currency stable and trim bloated heavy industry as they wrapped up an annual planning meeting amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European leaders over trade. Responding to concern about possible threats from rapidly rising debt, the official Xinhua News Agency said leaders at the three-day meeting also promised to reduce financial risks. The reports suggested President Xi Jinping's government plans no significant changes despite calls by reform advocates to move faster on pledges to make the world's second-largest economy more productive by giving market forces a bigger role. A woman walks past mannequins promoting a sale outside a retail outlet in Beijing, China, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European governments over trade and market access. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) There was no indication of concessions to pressure from Washington and Europe, which complain Beijing blocks access to its markets in violation of its free-trade commitments. Foreign companies complain Chinese regulators are trying to squeeze them out of technology and other promising industries. Trump, who takes office in January, has vowed to press Beijing for action by imposing 45 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. Few economists expect him to go that far but any sanctions could hurt Chinese export industries that support millions of jobs. The Economic Work Conference, attended by Xi and other Communist Party leaders, is a throwback to China's era of central planning but still plays a key role in directing development of the state-dominated economy. The Chinese leadership is trying to shore up economic growth while reducing reliance on debt that economists worry is dangerously high. Growth held steady at 6.7 percent over a year earlier in the quarter ending in September, propped up by a boom in real estate sales and credit growth. Forecasters expect growth to cool as regulators tighten controls to cool bank lending and housing costs. Some economists and business groups say they expect no major new initiatives until after a Cabinet reshuffle following a congress of the ruling party late next year. That gathering might see the retirement of some figures from the party's seven-member Standing Committee, China's ruling inner circle, giving Xi a chance to fortify his already extensive powers by promoting allies. The leadership promised to ensure the "basic stability" of the yuan, according to Xinhua. The currency has weakened against the dollar, prompting concern it might be allowed to fall further. Trump has accused Beijing of suppressing the yuan's exchange rate to help its exporters. Economists say while that was true earlier, the Chinese central bank has spent heavily from its reserves in recent months to prop up the yuan's value. Friday's statement promised to press ahead with "supply-side structural reforms," a reference to shutting down excess capacity in industries including steel and cement in which supply exceeds demand. European governments face complaints by steelworkers and others that a flood of low-cost Chinese exports threatens their jobs. U.S. aluminum producers say they are being driven out of business by Chinese imports. At the same time, European business leaders express frustration that Beijing blocks foreign purchases of most Chinese assets while its own companies are on a global buying spree to acquire technology and brands. The Chinese leadership also pledged to make a priority of preventing financial risks. Rising debt has fueled concern about possible threats to China's financial system in the event of defaults. Beijing's reliance on credit to drive growth since the 2008 global crisis has led to a rapid run-up in China's debt to the equivalent of 250 percent of gross domestic product, high for a developing economy. That has prompted warnings of a possible financial crisis or a drag on growth if debt isn't controlled. The ruling party has emphasized it intends to tighten political control over major companies, which its trading partners say runs counter to pledges to promote competition. Foreign business groups also are alarmed by official development plans calling for Chinese companies to dominate fields including information technology, electric cars and other emerging industries. The world is looking for "credible signals of further opening and reform," said Germany's ambassador to Beijing, Michael Clauss, in a statement issued during the meeting. "The signals so far are mixed at best," said Clauss. "The keywords seem to be stability, security and unified thinking, not bold reform, equal competition and liberated thinking." A woman jumps for a photo near an LED ceiling displaying images of gold and jewelry in Beijing, China, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European governments over trade and market access. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) A construction worker walks past mannequins promoting a sale outside a retail outlet in Beijing, China, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and European governments over trade and market access. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, a man reads a newspaper with the headline of "U.S. President-elect Donald Trump delivers a mighty shock to America" at a news stand in Beijing. Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from Trump and European governments over trade and market access. The Economic Work Conference, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Communist Party leaders, which began Wednesday, Dec. 14, is a throwback to Chinas era of central planning but still plays a key role in directing economic development. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, file photo, containers are organized in stacks at the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China. Chinese leaders are meeting to set economic goals for 2017 amid pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over trade and market access. The government of President Xi Jinping has promised to give market forces a bigger role. But reform advocates complain it has failed to reduce the dominance of state industry. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) Aleppo evacuation halted as both sides trade blame BEIRUT (AP) Diplomats sought to salvage the evacuation of eastern Aleppo after it stalled Friday amid recriminations by both sides in Syria's civil war, raising fears the cease-fire could collapse with thousands still desperate to escape the rebel enclave. The Aleppo evacuation was suspended after a report of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The Syrian government pulled out its buses that since Thursday had been ferrying out people from the ancient city that has suffered under intense bombardment, fierce battles and a prolonged siege. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell." This image released by Aleppo 24, shows residents of eastern Aleppo arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, as part of an evacuation deal. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) The halt also appeared to be linked to a separate deal to remove thousands of people from the government-held Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya that are under siege by the rebels. The Syrian government says those evacuations and the one in eastern Aleppo must be done simultaneously, but the rebels say there's no connection. The foreign minister of Turkey, a main backer of the rebels, said he was talking to his counterpart in Iran, a top ally of the Syrian government, to try to resume the evacuation. A closed emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was held on the crisis in Aleppo, discussing a French proposal to have independent monitors oversee the evacuation of civilians and fighters. The council meeting ended with diplomats saying they would convene again this weekend. The cease-fire and evacuation marked the end of the rebels' most important stronghold in the 5-year-old civil war. The suspension demonstrated the fragility of the cease-fire deal, in which civilians and fighters in the few remaining blocks of the rebel enclave were to be taken to opposition-held territory nearby. In announcing the suspension, Syrian state TV said rebels were trying to smuggle out captives who had been seized in the enclave after ferocious battles with troops supporting President Bashar Assad. Several opposition activists said Syrian troops shot and killed four people in one bus, but the incident could not be independently confirmed. The Lebanon-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV broadcast images of the government buses apparently returning evacuees to eastern Aleppo after the road was closed. Al-Manar TV, the media arm of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group that supports Assad, said Syrian government supporters had closed the road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded from Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. Syrian state media said rebels shelled a road that was supposed to be used by people leaving the villages. But the opposition's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hezbollah fighters backed by Assad ally Iran had cut the road to protest a lack of progress in the evacuations. Buses that arrived at a collection point in the Hama countryside to pick up evacuees from the villages waited for hours to no avail. Later, two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks said the fighters besieging the villages, including the al-Qaida linked Fatah al-Sham Front, had agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the villages. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called Iranian Presidential Deputy Ishak Cihangiri and told him he was ready to cooperate with Tehran on the evacuation issue. Reports differed on how many people remain in the Aleppo enclave, ranging from 15,000 to 40,000 civilians, along with an estimated 6,000 fighters. There also were contradictory reports on the number of evacuees. Syrian state TV put it at more than 9,000; the Syrian state news agency said 8,079 opposition fighters and their families have left; and Russia, a key Assad ally, said over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500, were taken out. More than 2,700 children have been evacuated in the past 24 hours, including the sick, wounded and those without their parents, UNICEF said. Hundreds of other vulnerable children, including orphans, remain trapped, it added. "We are extremely concerned about their fate. If these children are not evacuated urgently, they could die," UNICEF said in a statement. There are still "high numbers of women and infants, children under 5, that need to get out," added Elizabeth Hoff, Syrian representative for the World Health Organization, speaking by phone from western Aleppo. During Thursday night's evacuation, Pawel Krzysiek of the International Committee of the Red Cross told The Associated Press he could sense "fear, desperation (and) anxiety" among those waiting to escape. The civilians including children and the elderly, the wounded and the sick were out in the cold, "burning the plastic, trying to get some sort of heat to warm themselves," said Krzysiek, who is still in Aleppo. "It's the people leaving their house behind, their lives behind. It is very often they are facing impossible choices and this all occurs at the very individual level and it is difficult to compare with anything else," he said. "This is what the people are going through with their families, their relatives. This is really something very personal for them. I have seen sadness. I have seen really sadness in the people eyes. Heartbreaking sadness, broken lives, heartbreaking stories," Krzysiek added. Before the operation was suspended Friday, four convoys of ambulances and buses left Aleppo, Syrian state TV said, noting that some evacuees used their own vehicles. At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said she favors a French-drafted resolution calling for independent international monitors to oversee the evacuation. But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said "it takes weeks to deploy observers." Power said the Security Council could possibly vote this weekend on the resolution, but if there was a stalemate, an emergency special session of the General Assembly was possible. Churkin said Russia opposed that idea. In a year-end news conference, U.S. President Barack Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria, but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He put the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said. In Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new peace initiative, saying he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were working to set up talks between Damascus and the opposition. Putin said they would take place in Astana, the capital of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. Bassma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee, Syria's main opposition group, told the AP that her group supports the call for resumed peace talks but it wants them to take place under U.N. auspices and that it doesn't believe Astana was "the appropriate place." Several rounds of U.N.-mediated indirect peace talks this year in Geneva were suspended with no progress. Also on Friday, Syrian state media reported that a 7-year-old girl wearing a belt of explosives walked into a police station in the capital of Damascus, and her bomb was triggered by remote control, killing her and wounding a policeman. ___ Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Edith M. Lederer and Dave Bryan at the United Nations contributed to this report. This image released by Aleppo 24, shows residents of eastern Aleppo arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, as part of an evacuation deal. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows residents gathering for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) A Syrian man pulls their belongings after he was evacuated with his family from Aleppo, near Idlib, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track.(AP Photo) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows residents gathering for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows residents gathered near green government buses for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows residents stand next to a Syrian Red Crescent ambulance, while arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Thiqa News via AP) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows residents gathered near green government buses for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Aleppo 24 via AP) This image released on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016 by Aleppo 24, shows members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent carrying a girl on stretcher, while arriving in western rural Aleppo, Syria. The evacuation of eastern Aleppo stalled Friday after an eruption of gunfire, as the Syrian government and rebels threw accusations at each other, raising fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. (Thiqa News via AP) Syrian children, evacuated from Aleppo, smile to photographers in a refugee camp near Idlib, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track.(AP Photo) Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks to the media about evacuation efforts from the Syrian city of Aleppo, in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) Syrian boys, evacuated from Aleppo, sit in a field hospital bed near Idlib, Syria, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he is trying to help keep the process on track.(AP Photo) S. Koreans to rally for President Park's immediate removal SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Large crowds were expected to gather in South Korea's capital again on Saturday to call for impeached President Park Geun-hye to immediately quit and press the Constitutional Court to formally remove her from office. The massive protests against Park in recent weeks have been peaceful, but there was concern on Saturday about the demonstrators clashing with thousands of Park's supporters who planned their own protest near the court. South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament last week voted to impeach Park over an explosive corruption scandal that saw millions protest over consecutive weekends. Lee Joong-hwan, center, a lawyer for impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye, speaks during a press conference at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Lee says the Constitutional Court should restore her powers because there's not enough evidence to justify her unseating. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Prosecutors accuse Park of colluding with a longtime confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowing her friend to manipulate state affairs. The impeachment suspended Park's powers until the court rules whether she should permanently step down or be reinstated. The court has up to six months to decide, and if Park is formally removed from office, the country will hold a presidential election within 60 days. Park has apologized for putting trust into her jailed friend, Choi Soon-sil, whose criminal trial begins on Monday, but has denied any legal wrongdoing. On Friday, lawmakers attempted to inspect records at the president's office but were denied entry. The lawmakers had planned to look into allegations that Blue House security officials allowed Choi and her key associates to easily move in and out of the presidential offices and residence. Park's lawyer, Lee Joong-hwan, said the court should restore Park's powers because there is insufficient evidence to justify her unseating. He and other members of Park's legal team submitted a statement to the court explaining why the case should be decided in the president's favor. Dems to use hearings on Trump picks to court working class WASHINGTON (AP) Determined to hold around two dozen Senate seats in 2018, Democrats will use the coming series of confirmation hearings to try to distinguish themselves from President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire nominees and convince working-class voters who elected him that he's not on their side. While Democrats have little leverage to stop the Republican's picks in the Senate, they still plan a fight. To highlight what they say is the hypocrisy of Trump's campaign promise to be a champion for the economically struggling little guy, they'll focus on the nominees' wealth, ties to Wall Street and willingness to privatize Medicare, among other issues. In some cases, they'll seek to drag out the process by demanding more information and ensuring a full airing of potential conflicts of interest. "We're going to give each of them a thorough examination to determine whether they'll actually stand up for workers against the special interests or rig the system even more," said incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, echoing some of Trump's own campaign rhetoric. FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington. Determined to hold around two dozen Senate seats in 2018, Democrats will use next years confirmation hearings to try to distinguish themselves from President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire nominees _ and convince working-class voters who elected him that he's not on their side. "We're going to give each of them a thorough examination to determine whether they'll actually stand up for workers against the special interests, or rig the system even more," said Schumer, echoing some of Trump's own rhetoric. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File) Democrats gave up their ability to block Trump's nominees in 2013, when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed Senate rules and reduced the number of votes needed to end filibusters. Now in the majority, Republicans can confirm the nominees along partisan lines. The limits of the Democratic minority have already been tested, as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the new session, has repeatedly asked Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley for more time to review documents ahead of Jan. 10-11 hearings for Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's choice for attorney general. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has declined to delay the hearings. Still, Democrats are hoping a populist message will resonate outside of Washington, where in the 2018 elections the party faces multiple tough races in deep red states full of white, working-class voters who overwhelmingly supported Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton this year. Democrats are defending 23 seats, including in states such as North Dakota, Montana, Indiana and West Virginia that went overwhelmingly for Trump and also in once traditional Democratic states that flipped, like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Much of their focus will be on the wealthy business executives whom Trump has tapped for his Cabinet notably Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive picked to head the Treasury Department. On Friday, Democrats launched a website asking people who had been impacted by foreclosure practices connected to Mnuchin to share their stories. OneWest, a bank formerly owned by a group of investors headed by Mnuchin, foreclosed thousands of properties in the aftermath of the housing crisis. Other wealthy executives chosen by Trump include Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce. To head the Labor Department, Trump turned to Andrew Puzder, the head of fast food chain CKE Restaurants Holdings who has drawn the ire of labor leaders. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination whose populist message resonated in some Republican-leaning states, has criticized almost all of Trump's picks, saying they signal Trump will do the opposite of what he told voters during the campaign. "That is not the type of change that Donald Trump promised to bring to Washington that is hypocrisy at its worst," Sanders said of Mnuchin's nomination in a joint statement with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. On policy, Democrats will highlight the fault lines between the nominee and Trump. Georgia Rep. Tom Price, the president-elect's choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, strongly favors privatizing Medicare, arguing that a voucher system is necessary to ensure its long-term solvency. But Trump repeatedly promised his supporters he wouldn't cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. Democrats won't fight Trump on every nominee. Many senators up for re-election in 2018 from Trump states say they will pick their battles carefully. "I think I'll be supporting some of his nominees, I don't think there's any doubt about that," said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who faces re-election in a state Trump won by 20 percentage points over Clinton. Tester said he'd support nominees whom he believes know rural America and "understand what's going on in my neck of the woods." West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, another Democrat up in 2018 and a former governor, says he plans to be generally supportive of Trump's nominees because he believes an executive should have to answer for his own staff. That is, he said, "unless there's just something scathing coming out that I don't know about." Unlike liberal stalwarts Sanders and Warren, the more moderate Senate Democrats are likely to focus their criticism more narrowly. And because Democratic support isn't necessary to confirm Trump's nominees, the senators are freer to pick and choose. Bergdahl judge won't allow evidence of injuries to soldiers FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) The judge overseeing the military trial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl ruled Friday that he won't allow evidence that any service members were injured while searching for him. The judge, Army Col. Jeffery Nance, wrote the risk is too great that such evidence would spur military jurors to act on emotion, rather than logic, unfairly biasing them against Bergdahl during a court martial scheduled for April 2017. Nance issued the written ruling hours after hearing oral arguments on the matter. "The accused is not to be convicted because, while searching for him, his comrades were horrifically injured. Even (perhaps especially) hardened combat veterans of many deployments who might sit on this panel would be hard pressed not to be affected by the horrific injuries to SFC Allen, in particular," he wrote, referring to a soldier shot in the head. "Since the danger can be avoided, I deem it should be." FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives for a pretrial hearing at Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on accusations that he endangered fellow service members by walking off his post in Afghanistan in 2009. The Friday, Dec. 16 hearing will likely include further arguments on whether prosecutors should be allowed to admit evidence of injuries to service members who searched for Bergdahl. (AP Photo/Ted Richardson, File) Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy; the latter could put him in prison for life. Bergdahl has said he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009 to alert higher-ups to what he felt were problems with his unit. Nance said the defense has plenty of other evidence it can use to argue that Bergdahl's actions endangered his comrades. He noted that prosecutors have "ample evidence" that numerous search operations were undertaken, and many of them brought service members in contact with enemy forces. Questions about whether soldiers were injured or killed searching for Bergdahl have long surrounded the case, with critics such as President-elect Donald Trump repeating claims that lives were lost. However, a general who investigated Bergdahl's disappearance has testified that he found no evidence that service members died searching for Bergdahl. Prosecutors have focused on soldiers wounded during a firefight involving a half-dozen U.S. service members embedded with 50 members of the Afghan National Army. Another officer involved in that mission, about a week after Bergdahl left his post, has testified that its sole purpose was to find him. The group was attacked near a town in Afghanistan on July 8, 2009. U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Mark Allen was shot in the head, and prosecutors say he uses a wheelchair and is unable to communicate. Another soldier had hand injuries because of a rocket-propelled grenade. But Nance wrote that "the accused is not charged with causing anyone's injury or death. He is charged with endangering the command. While there are similarities in those consequences, they are distinct." Prosecutors have argued the injuries are the strongest evidence that Bergdahl endangered his comrades by triggering dangerous search missions. One of the prosecutors, Army Maj. Justin Oshana, told the judge Friday that military jurors, compared to civilians, are "much less likely to be susceptible to unfair prejudice." But defense attorney Army Maj. Oren Gleich said many factors some having little or nothing to do with Bergdahl coalesced in the mission that left the men wounded. Defense attorneys have presented evidence that the mission was shoddily planned, even by the standards of the missing-soldier alert Bergdahl caused. "You have to factor in all the intervening causes as to what created a dangerous situation," Gleich said. Before issuing his ruling, Nance told the lawyers he was aiming for the right balance: "Sgt. Bergdahl is not responsible for a never-ending chain of events ... But he is responsible for a certain amount of that chain of events." Bergdahl, who was swiftly captured after walking off his post and held captive for five years by the Taliban and its allies, hasn't decided whether to have a trial by jury or judge alone. The Obama administration's decision in May 2014 to exchange five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for Bergdahl's freedom prompted criticism from Republicans who accused Obama of jeopardizing the nation's safety. Bergdahl, who's from Hailey, Idaho, has asked Obama to pardon him before leaving office. ___ Rome mayor vows to stay in power despite arrest of top aide ROME (AP) Rome's mayor vowed Friday to keep governing despite a top City Hall official's arrest in a corruption probe, the latest blow to hit the populist 5-Star Movement's highest-profile official. Mayor Virginia Raggi emphasized that Raffaele Marra, the head of City Hall personnel, was left over from previous administrations. "We trusted in him, probably we made a mistake," she said, apologizing to the people of Rome, the political movement and its founder Beppe Grillo. She pledged full cooperation into the probe, which involves the purchase of homes from 2013, when Marra worked for another administration. A contractor also has been arrested. "The administration continues. Dr. Marra is not a member of this administration but one of 23,000 employees" of the city of Rome, Raggi said. Alluding to references to Marra as her right-hand man, she said that title goes to "the citizens of Rome, and it is for them I work without a rest." The arrest came a day after police searched City Hall and seized records about disputed city appointments, and follows the resignation of Raggi's top environmental adviser, who is the subject of a separate investigation. The setbacks renewed pressure on Raggi's administration. Her party, 5-Star Movement, has been pressing for a new parliamentary election following the political crisis that forced Italy to form a new government in recent days. In Milan, Mayor Giuseppe Sala has announced he will step aside after he reportedly was added as a suspect to an ongoing investigation into contracts for the Expo 2015 World's Fair, which he ran before his election. Sala said late Thursday that he was notified only by the media that he had been placed under investigation and that he was unaware of the allegations against him. Washington officer shot identified; remains critical SEATTLE (AP) Officials have identified a police officer who was shot and critically wounded in Washington state as 61-year-old Mike McClaughry, who is known by the nickname "Mick," police said. Mount Vernon Police Lt. Christopher Cammock said at a Friday briefing that McClaughry suffered a gunshot wound to the head while investigating a reported shooting in a Mount Vernon neighborhood north of Seattle. McClaughry is a father of three and a grandfather who started working with the Mount Vernon Police Department in 1985. Law enforcement vehicles gather near Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 15, 2015. A Mount Vernon Police officer was shot and critically wounded by a suspect who was then barricaded in a Mount Vernon residence, authorities said. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Cammock said, "Service might not adequately describe what Mick has done for our community," adding he was the first to run a drug abuse resistance education program, becoming a father figure to many. He has also been active in scouting and as a field training officer, training about three-quarters of the officers who currently work at the police department, Cammock said. McClaughry remained in critical condition at a Seattle hospital Friday afternoon although Cammock said he has shown some improvement. "The news is more positive than negative as to his condition," Cammock said Friday. "He is resilient." A repeat felon arrested in the officer's shooting was ordered held on $1 million bail Friday. Ernesto Lee Rivas, 44, was taken into custody overnight following an hour-long standoff at a home in Mount Vernon, during which he repeatedly fired at officers, the Washington State Patrol said. Hostage negotiators spent several hours communicating with him. Two juveniles were also arrested and prosecutors said they were being held on $500,000 bail each. McClaughry was shot when he was canvassing the neighborhood for witnesses to a report of another shooting Thursday evening, in which the victim was grazed by a bullet. McClaughry was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital and was stabilized before being transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Earlier reports said the officer was in serious condition, but the hospital said Friday his condition was critical. The neighborhood where Thursday's shooting happened in Mount Vernon, about 60 miles north of Seattle, was closed by police while officers and a SWAT team were attempting to negotiate. The shooting came less than a month after a Tacoma police officer was killed responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Reginald "Jake" Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot Nov. 30. The suspected gunman was killed by a sheriff's marksman, ending an 11-hour standoff. Rivas made an initial court appearance Friday. On advice from his attorney, he answered no questions not even to confirm his identity, the Skagit Valley Herald reported. Prosecutors have 72 hours to file charges. Rivas has an extensive criminal record that includes eight felony convictions, according to court and patrol records. In 1998, he reached a plea deal with Yakima County prosecutors that saved him from a life sentence for a third-strike conviction for his part in the abduction and interrogation of four people he believed stole a woman's necklace, according to a Yakima Herald-Republic story. Instead of life, he was sentenced to 15 years and gloated about it to a police detective in the courtroom, saying with a smile, "Oh, by the way, does that mean I got four balls and a walk?" The sentence angered Yakima police Detective Eric Walls, the Herald-Republic reported at the time. In a statement to the judge, he said Rivas should never be allowed to leave prison. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show Rivas was convicted of unlawful firearm possession in 2011, and in November 2015, the mother of Rivas' then-4-month-old child obtained a domestic violence protection order against him, saying he had been stalking her at her job at a Dollar Tree store in Mount Vernon. "He sits outside my work for long periods of time, comes into my workplace and complains about me," she wrote in a petition for the order. "He almost hit me with his vehicle while I was getting carts, yelling at me in front of customers." The issue, she said, was that he wanted possession of a Chevy Suburban they owned. She sought police help to retrieve a key to the vehicle from him. Susan Gregg, spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center, updates the news media on the police officer's condition, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 in Seattle. Police arrested a suspected gunman early Friday following an hourslong standoff in a community north of Seattle, after a police officer was shot and seriously wounded, the Washington State Patrol said. The 61-year-old Mount Vernon officer was listed in critical condition at a Seattle hospital following surgery for a head wound. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP) A Washington State Trooper directs traffic around a roadblock near Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 15, 2015. A Mount Vernon Police officer was shot and critically wounded by a suspect who was then barricaded in a Mount Vernon residence, authorities said. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Rich Weyrich, left, holds a brief news conference after Ernesto Lee Rivas' court appearance at Skagit County District Court in Mount Vernon, Wash., Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Police arrested a suspected gunman early Friday following an hours long standoff in a community north of Seattle, after a police officer was shot and seriously wounded, the Washington State Patrol said. The 61-year-old Mount Vernon officer was listed in critical condition at a Seattle hospital following surgery for a head wound. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Ernesto Lee Rivas, middle, is led into Skagit County District Court by Skagit County sheriff's deputies for his first court appearance in Mount Vernon, Wash., Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Rivas is being held on $1 million bail after probable cause was established to hold him in the shooting of a Mount Vernon police officer. Police arrested a suspected gunman early Friday following an hours long standoff in a community north of Seattle, after a police officer was shot and seriously wounded, the Washington State Patrol said. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) In this undated photo released by the Mount Vernon Police shows 61-year-old Washington state police officer Mike "Mick" McClaughry, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head while investigating a reported shooting in a Mount Vernon neighborhood in Washington. Police Lt. Christopher Cammock said at a Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, briefing that McClaughry is a father of three who started working with the Mount Vernon Police Department in 1985. McClaughry remains in critical condition at a Seattle hospital. An adult and two juveniles have been arrested in connection with the shooting. ( Mount Vernon Police via AP) In this Tuesday, April 14, 2015 photo, Mount Vernon Police officer Mike McClaughry dismantles branches cobbled into a shelter at an illegal campsite between Madison Elementary School and the Kulshan Creek Trail in Mount Vernon, Wash. Officials have identified a police officer who was shot and critically wounded in Washington state as 61-year-old Mike McClaughry, who is known by the nickname "Mick," police said. Mount Vernon Police Lt. Christopher Cammock said at a Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 briefing that McClaughry suffered a gunshot wound to the head Thursday evening while investigating a reported shooting in a Mount Vernon neighborhood north of Seattle. (Scott Terrell/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Ernesto Lee Rivas, third from left, a suspect in the shooting of a Mount Vernon, Wash. police officer, is taken by sheriff's deputies into the Skagit County jail early Friday morning Dec. 16, 2016. The officer, who responded to a residence on Dec. 15, is listed in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Wash. Rivas, 44, was taken into custody overnight following an hour-long standoff at a home in Mount Vernon, during which he repeatedly fired at officers, the Washington State Patrol said. Hostage negotiators spent several hours communicating with him. (Scott Terrell/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Vintage plane rally along Africa's length swoops to an end PLETTENBERG BAY, South Africa (AP) They survived detention in Ethiopia, an emergency landing in Kenya and two searches for a British retiree who flew off radar in remote locations. On Friday, however, the 8,000-mile (12,800-kilometer) adventure came to an end as nearly a dozen biplanes, many of them built in the 1920s, flew the final leg of the Vintage Air Rally along the South African coast and landed in the vineyard town of Stellenbosch. The event, which rumbled to a start in Crete on Nov. 12 with pilots from South Africa, Botswana and elsewhere, raised money for wildlife and other charity projects with the aim of following in the footsteps of pioneering flights in the 1920s. A vintage biplane approaches the landing strip at the airport near the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. On Friday, the 8,000-mile (12,800-kilometer) adventure came to an end as nearly a dozen biplanes, many of them built in the 1920s, flew the final leg of the Vintage Air Rally along the South African coast and landed in the vineyard town of Stellenbosch. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) The route took the pilots along some of the most evocative points in Africa, including a low flight along the Nile from Cairo to Khartoum in Sudan, past the continent's highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, and over the Serengeti game reserve and Victoria Falls. The organizers, Belgian flight safari company Prepare2go, said the only obligatory equipment for the journey was a sleeping bag, full black tie dress for meeting dignitaries along the way and a beginners' guide to Swahili. The planes, which were supported by more modern planes and helicopters, did not always have a smooth flight. On Nov. 25, pilots were detained in Ethiopia for entering the east African country's airspace illegally because of a breakdown in communications, with authorities not informed in time of their arrival. The pilots were held in the town of Gambella, where there is a high military presence due to tensions with neighboring South Sudan. The rally was suspended while diplomats scrambled to secure the release of the pilots and crew. Several days later, organizers said the pilots got the all-clear to continue their journey. The planes, one of had been was flown by the actor Robert Redford's character in the movie "Out of Africa," were cheered by spectators as they flew low over a national park in Kenya's capital, Nairobi. One plane was not as lucky. Irishman John Ordway and his daughter Isabella escaped uninjured after their 1930s Boeing Stearman made a forced landing on the way to Nairobi after engine failure. Organizers said the crew was not injured, "although the aircraft was irreparably damaged." Another pilot, 72-year-old Maurice Kirk from Britain, had no satellite tracking or working compass in his 1943 Piper Cub and went missing for two days between Sudan and Ethiopia. He was later found to be among the pilots detained in Ethiopia. It was the second time during the rally he had gone missing, prompting organizers to ask him to withdraw due to a "mismatch in expectations." Pope brings Colombia president, main critic to talk peace VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis brought Colombia's president and his main political opponent together to discuss the country's rebel peace deal Friday, making a remarkable personal intervention to try to seal an accord ending Latin America's longest-running conflict. But after the 25-minute meeting, neither President Juan Manuel Santos nor his right-wing predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, showed any sign of putting aside their differences, which have divided Colombians and are unlikely to be settled before 2018 presidential elections. The Vatican distributed a photo of the three men sitting at Francis' desk and said the pope "spoke about the 'culture of encounter' and emphasized the importance of sincere dialogue between all members of Colombian society at this historical moment." Pope Francis talks to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, right, and former President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP) Santos had already been scheduled to meet with Francis on Friday as part of a European tour after picking up this year's Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, and the two met as planned. The Vatican, though, at the last minute also invited Uribe, who had led the campaign against Santos' deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that resulted in in the accord's shock rejection in an October referendum. Uribe flew overnight from Bogota and met privately with Francis in an unannounced audience. The three men then joined up together in Francis' private study for the three-way huddle. After the referendum's failure, Santos introduced several changes to appease his critics and even sat down for a meeting with Uribe for the first time in six years. But he still failed to win his former boss' support when the revised accord was ratified this month by congress. Santos said that during the meeting, he reiterated to Uribe his willingness to maintain an open dialogue with the opposition to ensure the peace deal's effective implementation. "Polarization doesn't benefit anyone," Santos told journalists following the meeting. Uribe, meanwhile, was emphatic that his disagreement with Santos isn't personal but based on convictions shared by millions of Colombians who voted against the peace deal in October. "President Santos presented some arguments ... then I said, 'Holiness, tell him to loosen up a bit,'" Uribe said. Francis, history's first Latin American pope, has insisted that dialogue is the only way forward. Under his papacy, the Vatican also helped facilitate talks between the U.S. and Cuba that ended a half-century of conflict. Uribe, the country's most popular politician, said he was attending the meeting out of respect for Francis. He gave no indication that he was ready to drop his argument that the accord promotes impunity by sparing rebel commanders time in jail and instead awarding them seats in congress. Still, the Vatican has considerable leverage in the staunchly Roman Catholic country, especially among Uribe's conservative base, and the pope has been careful not to appear to be taking sides in the peace process. The pope has held off traveling to Colombia until the peace process is complete, although Santos has said he expects Francis to visit in early 2017. ___ AP writer Joshua Goodman contributed from Bogota, Colombia. Pope Francis welcomes Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos during a meeting at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP) Pope Francis talks to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, right, and former President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP) Pope Francis talks to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a meeting at the Vatican, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (Vincenzo Pinto /Pool Photo via AP) A man takes pictures of an A330 aircraft model at the ground breaking ceremony for Airbus Tianjin A330 completion and delivery center in the Tianjin Airport Economic Area of north China's Tianjin Municipality, March 2, 2016. [Xinhua] An A320 aircraft was delivered at the Airbus (Tianjin) Delivery Center on Thursday, the 300th A320 to come off the Tianjin assembly line. It was delivered to China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. , and then handed over to Sichuan Airlines, according to Airbus China. "The A320 family is renowned for economy and excellent performance. We're honored that the A320 has again been chosen by both a leasing company and a Chinese airline," said Eric Chen, president of Airbus China. Inaugurated in 2008, the Tianjin assembly line has reached its phase I production target of four aircraft per month, or 48 to 50 each year. The assembly line is a joint venture between Airbus, Tianjin Airport Economic Area Zone & Tianjin Port Free Trade Administrative Committee, and the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It was the third A320 final assembly line in the world and the first outside Europe. It delivered its first aircraft in June 2009. According to Airbus China, all partners have agreed to extend the joint venture until 2025 for phase II, including final assembly of the A320neo from 2017 onwards. North Carolina prosecutor: Fatal police shooting justified ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) North Carolina prosecutors say a white police sergeant was legally justified to use deadly force against a black man who had an assault-style rifle. Multiple media organizations report that Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams's decision Thursday comes nearly six months after Jai "Jerry" Williams was shot nine times by Asheville police. Police said the 35-year-old Williams had an AR-15 rifle and had fired it in a public housing complex before speeding away from pursuing police. The prosecutor says Williams grabbed the gun moments before Sgt. Tyler Radford fired. The district attorney's decision was influenced by two women in Williams' vehicle during the chase. They told investigators they struggled to keep Williams from pointing the gun at officers. High-ranking Taliban member sought asylum in Germany BERLIN (AP) German weekly Der Spiegel reports that a high-ranking Taliban member recently tried to enter Germany and apply for asylum. The magazine reported Friday that Abdul Rauf Mohammad, who was the Taliban's health minister in Afghanistan during the late 1990s, arrived in Frankfurt from Saudi Arabia several weeks ago. Spiegel reported that border police discovered he was using a forged passport, whereupon he tried to apply for asylum for himself and his family. The request was rejected after it was discovered that he had received asylum in Norway but was deported in 2014, citing national security reasons. He reportedly flew back to Afghanistan, via Saudi Arabia. Co-founder of Tanzania whistleblowing website charged DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) A founder of a whistleblowing website has been charged with three felonies after being arrested in Tanzania amid protests from human rights groups. JamiiForums co-founder Maxence Melo appeared before Dar es Salaam's Kisutu Resident Magistrate on Friday. He denied charges of operating and operating a website not registered in Tanzania, obstructing police in an investigation and failure to comply with a police order. Melo was arrested Wednesday. Authorities had attempted to force him to reveal identities of the contributors to his website. Melo's lawyer, Benedict Ishabakaki, says "we will fight until justice is served." The Latest: Officer shot identified as Mike McClaughry MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) The Latest on the shooting of a police officer in Washington state (all times local): 4:30 p.m. Officials have identified a 61-year-old Washington state police officer who was shot and critically wounded Thursday evening. Law enforcement vehicles gather near Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, Dec. 15, 2015. A Mount Vernon Police officer was shot and critically wounded by a suspect who was then barricaded in a Mount Vernon residence, authorities said. (Brandy Shreve/Skagit Valley Herald via AP) Mount Vernon Police Lt. Christopher Cammock said at a Friday briefing that Officer Mike McClaughry, who they call "Mick," suffered a gunshot wound to the head while investigating a reported shooting in a Mount Vernon neighborhood. Cammock says McClaughry is a father of three who started working with the Mount Vernon Police Department in 1985. Cammock said, "Service might not adequately describe was Mick has done for our community," saying he was the first to run a drug abuse resistance education program, becoming a father figure to many in the community. He has also been a field training officer, training most of the officers who work at the police department. McClaughry remains in critical condition at a Seattle hospital. An adult and two juveniles have been arrested in connection with the shooting. ___ 12:35 p.m. The suspect in the shooting of a Washington state police officer is being held on $1 million bail. Ernesto Lee Rivas made his initial appearance Friday in Skagit County Superior Court. He is being held on a charge of first-degree attempted murder. Authorities say Rivas shot an officer who was responding to a call about a shooting Thursday evening in Mount Vernon. The 61-year-old officer as in critical condition at a Seattle hospital with a gunshot wound to the head. Court and Washington State Patrol records show Rivas, 44, has eight felonies on his record. ___ 9:50 a.m. Police have not identified the suspect arrested in the shooting of an officer in Washington state, but jail records show a man was arrested overnight at a home at the intersection where the shooting was reported. The Skagit County Jail roster shows Ernesto Lee Rivas was booked at 1:55 a.m. Friday. Jail records show Rivas was booked for investigation of first-degree murder, though the officer remains in critical condition at a Seattle hospital. It was not immediately clear if Rivas has obtained an attorney. Police have only identified the suspect as a 44-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history. Court and Washington State Patrol records show that Rivas is 44 and has eight felonies on his record. He was subject to a domestic violence protection order last year after the mother of his child accused him of stalking her. __ 6:50 a.m. A police officer wounded in a shooting in Washington state is in critical condition following surgery. Earlier reports said the officer from Mount Vernon was in serious condition, but Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg says the 61-year-old man has been in critical condition since arriving unconscious at the Seattle hospital. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Keith Leary says the officer was wounded Thursday evening while responding to a call about a shooting. Police arrested a suspected gunman early Friday following a standoff in the community north of Seattle Susan Gregg, spokeswoman for Harborview Medical Center, updates the news media on the police officer's condition, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 in Seattle. Police arrested a suspected gunman early Friday following an hourslong standoff in a community north of Seattle, after a police officer was shot and seriously wounded, the Washington State Patrol said. The 61-year-old Mount Vernon officer was listed in critical condition at a Seattle hospital following surgery for a head wound. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times via AP) Iraq: retaken Mosul towns still battle-stricken, await aid MOSUL, Iraq (AP) The bodies of two dead Islamic State fighters have been lying on the sidewalk in front of Muhammad Jassim's house in eastern Mosul for the past week. Both of the corpses were burned, abused and decapitated, one was partially covered by a pastel floral bed sheet. "This isn't something we want our children to see," Jassim said, coming out into the street to approach a group of Iraqi special forces officers touring the recent territorial gains. "I asked them to please take the bodies away, the smell is terrible." As Iraqi forces settle into a routine of slow, steadier progress inside Mosul, more civilians remain trapped living along front lines for longer. Jassim's Mishraq neighborhood was declared liberated from IS nearly a week ago, but remains too dangerous for most aid groups to visit as it lies just a few hundred meters from ongoing clashes. Children welcome Iraqi special forces regaining control of Mishraq neighborhood from Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Thursday, a mortar landed across the street from Jassim's home and killed three of his neighbors. As the operation to retake Mosul enters its third month, Iraqi forces control two pockets of territory in Mosul: a cluster of neighborhoods on the city's southeast held by the Iraqi army's 9th division and neighborhoods on the city's east held by the special forces. "We've received nothing," Jassim said. Around the corner from his home a group of men filled plastic buckets with water from a burst pipe in a crater left by an airstrike. Another resident, Younis Ali, ran up to the officers asking for heating fuel or electricity. Families on Ali's street have begun collecting scraps of wood and cardboard to burn for heat as temperatures have repeatedly dropped below zero in Mosul over the past week. As Iraqi special forces Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi toured the area Friday, he kissed babies for a cluster of television cameras, posed for mobile phone selfies and promised the residents swift improvements. "We want people to know that this area is safe, that the military is here now," al-Saadi said, but he admitted that he expected progress to continue at a slow pace. Iraqi forces have repeatedly faced punishing IS counterattacks in Mosul's dense residential neighborhoods, after swift advances left the Iraqi forces vulnerable. "We are so thankful for these soldiers," Jassim said of the half dozen black armored Humvees dotting his neighborhood, "but what we really need now is a medical center." An Iraqi soldier patrols as civilians return to their houses after Iraqi special forces take full control of the Mishraq neighborhood after fight against the Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) A woman stands outside her house as she watches Iraqi special forces in the Mishraq neighborhood, recenlt liberated from Islamic State militant rule in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Iraqi special forces take control of the Mishraq neighborhood from Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Civilians return to their houses after Iraqi special forces take full control of the Mishraq neighborhood from Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) A civilian shakes hands with Iraqi special forces Lt. General Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi after he led the operation to liberate them from Islamic State militants in the Mishraq neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Civilians leave their houses as Iraqi special forces fight against Islamic State militants in the Mishraq neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Civilians welcome Iraqi special forces regaining control of the Mishraq neighborhood from Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) Iraq civilians leave their houses as special forces fight against Islamic State militants at Mishraq neighborhood in Mosul, Iraq, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban) The Latest: Kansas court hears death row inmate's appeal TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Latest on the appeal by a former Missouri city official sentenced to death in Kansas for killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and his wife's grandmother (all times local): 11:35 a.m. Attorneys for a former Missouri city official sentenced to death in Kansas for killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and his wife's grandmother have asked Kansas' highest court to throw out his conviction. As a Kansas public defender specializing in death-penalty cases, Meryl Carver-Allmond told the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday there's no dispute that her client, James Kraig Kahler, carried out the 2009 killings. But she argued that an accumulation of mistakes by the judge and prosecution during Kahler's trial made those proceedings unfair to her client. An attorney for the state pressed for Kahler's conviction and sentence to stand, saying everything the trial judge did was legal. Authorities say Kahler gunned down the four victims in his estranged wife's grandmother's home in Burlingame after losing his job as the water director in Columbia, Missouri, amid a contentious divorce. Friday's hearing was the first death penalty case heard by the state Supreme Court since Election Day, when voters opted to retain four justices who were targeted for ouster partly because the court overturned other death sentences. ___ This version of the story corrects the verb in the first sentence to have from has. 10:30 a.m. Attorneys for a former Missouri city official sentenced to death in Kansas for killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and his wife's grandmother is making his case to the state's highest court about why he should be spared. James Kraig Kahler contends that the court where he stood trial made mistakes and he questions whether his death sentence is warranted. Authorities say Kahler gunned down the four victims in 2009 in his estranged wife's grandmother's home in Burlingame after losing his job as the water director in Columbia, Missouri, amid a contentious divorce. Friday's hearing will be the first death penalty case heard by the state Supreme Court since Election Day, when voters opted to retain four justices who were targeted for ouster partly because the court overturned other death sentences. ___ 12:05 a.m. Attorneys for a Kansas death row inmate convicted of killing his estranged wife, their two daughters and his wife's grandmother in 2009 will get to make their case to the state's highest court about why he should be spared. James Kraig Kahler contends that the court where he stood trial made mistakes and he questions whether his death sentence is warranted. Authorities say Kahler gunned down the four victims in his estranged wife's grandmother's home in Burlingame. The couple was going through a divorce that was initiated by Kahler's wife. Coalition airstrikes destroy air defense weapon in Syria WASHINGTON (AP) Coalition airstrikes destroyed an air defense system that Islamic State militants had captured last weekend when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from Russian and Syrian regime forces. The U.S.-led coalition says that strikes in 10 locations destroyed the artillery system, 14 tanks, buildings and vehicles. The top U.S. general leading the fight against IS had warned that the coalition would likely target the area if Russian and Syria forces didn't take action in Palmyra. He said the weapons posed a threat to the coalition. House GOP quietly closes Flint, Mich. water investigation WASHINGTON (AP) Congressional Republicans quietly closed a year-long investigation into Flint, Michigan's crisis over lead in its drinking water, faulting both state officials and the Environmental Protection Agency for contamination that has affected nearly 100,000 residents. In letters to fellow Republicans, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Friday that Michigan and federal officials were slow in detecting high levels of lead in the water and did not act fast enough once the problem was discovered. The committee findings offer no new information and essentially summarize what emerged during several high-profile hearings earlier this year. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder speaks during a year-end interview on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, in his office at the Michigan Capitol in Lansing. Snyder said he wants municipalities and labor unions to jointly study how best to tackle retiree health care costs after Republican lawmakers removed a contentious proposal to aggressively curb the benefits from the postelection agenda. (AP Photo/David Eggert) "The committee found significant problems at Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality and unacceptable delays in the Environmental Protection Agency's response to the crisis," wrote Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. "The committee also found that the federal regulatory framework is so outdated that it sets up states to fail." Flint's drinking water became tainted when the city switched from the Detroit water system and began drawing from the Flint River in April 2014 to save money. The impoverished city was under state control at the time. Regulators failed to ensure the water was treated properly and lead from aging pipes leached into the water supply. After nearly a year of haggling, Congress cleared legislation last week to provide $170 million to deal with the Flint crisis and help other communities with lead-tainted water. In his letters to fellow GOP lawmakers, Chaffetz cites "a series of failures at all levels of government" that "caused and then exacerbated the water crisis." While the Republican chairman signaled the apparent conclusion of the inquiry Congress ended its two-year session last week the panel's senior Democrat insisted the investigation should continue and accused Michigan's Republican governor of stonewalling the committee over documents related to the Flint water crisis. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, senior Democrat on the oversight panel, said he wants Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to produce key Flint-related documents within 30 days. Cummings said Snyder and his administration have obstructed the committee's investigation into the Flint crisis for a year, refusing to provide or even search for key documents. Snyder's intransigence has thwarted committee efforts to answer critical questions about what he knew as the crisis unfolded and why he didn't act sooner to fix Flint's water problem, Cummings said. "Requiring Governor Snyder to finally comply with the committee's request will allow us to complete our investigation and offer concrete findings and recommendations to help prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again," Cummings wrote to Chaffetz. "In contrast, allowing Governor Snyder to flout the committee's authority will deny the people of Flint the answers they deserve." It's highly unlikely Republicans who control Congress will continue the inquiry next year. A spokeswoman for Snyder said the governor's office has provided the committee with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and the committee has wrapped up its investigation. "In Michigan, we are working hard each day to continue Flint's full recovery with funding for pipe replacement and health care for residents," spokeswoman Anna Heaton said, adding that it is "not productive to spend time engaging in partisan political attacks from out-of-state politicians" such as Cummings. Chaffetz addressed his letters to the chairmen of committees that oversee congressional spending and the EPA. He asked them to consider redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars now targeted to fighting climate change to upgrade the nation's drinking water pipes and other infrastructure. Chaffetz also asked for closer congressional oversight of the EPA, saying the agency has failed to update rules concerning lead and copper pipes nationwide. Aryele Bradford, a spokeswoman for Democrats on the oversight panel, called it "inexplicable" that Chaffetz would "rush to close down this investigation." His action "does a real disservice to the families of Flint who hoped they would get a fair shake from our committee," she said. ___ 2 children die after falling into icy southern Indiana pond WINSLOW, Ind. (AP) A boy and girl, both 12, died after falling through ice into a pond in southern Indiana, despite rescue efforts by the boy's mother, authorities said Friday. State conservation Officer Joe Haywood said the woman was cooking dinner Thursday evening when her son and a girl she was watching asked if they could go outside to play. When dinner was ready about 10 minutes later, he said the woman went outside to call the children and saw her son flailing in the icy water of the pond behind her home near the town of Winslow. Haywood said the woman entered the pond but was unable to pull her son to shore. She did not see the girl in the water. A public safety diver retrieved both children, but they had been underwater for at least half an hour and could not be revived. "They started CPR as soon as they were brought out of the water, and they continued that on the way to the hospital, but once they were at the hospital it was determined they had passed," Haywood said. "It's absolutely heartbreaking for everyone involved." The children were pronounced dead at a hospital in the nearby city of Jasper. A coroner will perform autopsies Saturday, but Haywood said it appears the children drowned. He said it's not clear why the children were on the pond, but that he thinks they might have been playing on the ice. China recently carried out the first live-fire exercise for its aircraft carrier battle group in the Bohai Sea, the People's Liberation Army Navy said on Thursday night. Carrier-based J-15 fighters prepare to take off from aircraft carrier Liaoning in a drill in the Bohai Sea. [Photo/China Daily] Dozens of ships and aircraft from the CNS Liaoning carrier battle group and the North Sea Fleet took part in the massive exercise. They fired more than 10 air-to-air, anti-ship and air defense missiles, the PLA Navy said in a statement. It did not disclose the exact time of the exercise. The Liaoning performed various drills with several destroyers and frigates, involving scenarios such as reconnaissance, aircraft interception, sea strikes as well as missile defense. Multiple groups of J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets used air-to-air and anti-ship missiles to hit targets during the exercise, according to the Navy. The statement also quoted chiefs of the Navy's training bureau as saying that the event was planned as part of the aircraft carrier's training schedule and aimed at verifying capabilities of personnel and weapons. Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were broadcast on China Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi, commander of the Liaoning carrier battle group, said the exercise is a "milestone" for the unit. "It enabled us to explore how to organize a carrier battle group exercise and to test the training levels of our sailors and pilots. It can also boost the battle groups efforts to become combat ready as early as possible," he told CCTV. Commander Xu Ying, chief of a J-15 squadron that participated in the event, was quoted by the State broadcaster as saying that through the exercise, pilots improved their use of tactics and weapons and enhanced confidence in their equipment. Though the Navy did not disclose components of the carrier battle group, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China Daily that he thinks the battle group would have three Type 052C or Type 052D destroyers, both of which have advanced vertical-launch missile systems and cutting-edge air defense radar, three Type 054A frigates, one replenishment ship and one attack submarine. "The recent exercise is really a landmark for the carrier battle group because it means the group's ships and aircraft have achieved a high level of integration and cooperation and that the unit is closer to gaining combat readiness," Zhang said. "Next, the group would focus on honing its air defense and counter-submarine capabilities." Wu Peixin, an aviation industry observer in Beijing, said the news indicates that the J-15 fighter force has obtained initial operational capability. "The J-15 is as mighty as the United States' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. It is capable of carrying out multiple operations such as fleet air defense and anti-ship strikes," he said. The Liaoning was commissioned in the PLA Navy in September 2012 in Dalian, Liaoning province. Its battle group took shape in December 2013, when the carrier and several escort vessels, including two guided missile destroyers, two guided missile frigates and an attack submarine took part in a long-range formation drill in the South China Sea. The Latest: Trump taps SC Rep. Mulvaney to run budget office WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times local): 8:55 p.m. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney as his budget director, naming a tough-on-spending conservative and an advocate of balancing the federal budget to the important post. President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a rally at the Orlando Amphitheater at the Central Florida Fairgrounds, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) An official on Trump's transition team, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter before it is officially announced, confirmed Trump's pick Friday evening. Mulvaney, 49, was elected in the 2010 tea party wave and is a founder of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, whose members pushed former Speaker John Boehner from power and have caused heartburn for current Speaker Paul Ryan. As director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mulvaney would be responsible for crafting Trump's budget and overseeing the issuance of major regulations. Mulvaney's nomination would require Senate confirmation. By Andrew Taylor and Jonathan Lemire ___ 6:45 p.m. One of President-elect Donald Trump's top campaign advisers is moving forward with plans to form a nonprofit group that will support the Republican's agenda in the White House. The group is being formed with the backing of Trump and his family, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Brad Parscale, who steered the campaign's data and digital operations, is leading the effort. Parscale confirmed his involvement to The Associated Press, saying the group will be "about supporting the conservative agenda and what the Trump movement stands for." The approach follows a model used by President Barack Obama, whose political advisers ran the group Organizing for Action. By Julie Bykowicz and Julie Pace __ 1:35 p.m. An Indiana union leader says a manufacturer criticized by President-elect Donald Trump for its plans to move jobs at its Indianapolis plant to Mexico has reached a severance agreement with the plant's workers. United Steelworkers Local 1999 President Chuck Jones said Friday that Milwaukee-based Rexnord and the union local had reached an agreement that "provides some certainty and benefits" to 300 workers who will lose their jobs at the Indianapolis bearings plant. Rexnord's facility is near Carrier Corp., which Trump criticized during his election campaign for moving jobs to Mexico. Trump later touted a deal to save hundreds of those jobs in exchange for about $7 million in state tax breaks and grants. Trump later took to Twitter to rip Rexnord's plans to move to Mexico. Jones says he has no knowledge of any direct talks between Trump and Rexnord. Rexnord officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ___ 1: 10 p.m. Three protesters who sued Donald Trump claiming they were assaulted at one of his campaign rallies are asking the president-elect to sit for a deposition before he takes office next month. Trump's attorney says he intends to "oppose any efforts to dispose the president-elect." The protesters sued Trump this spring alleging they were assaulted at a March rally in Louisville, Kentucky, after Trump "incited a riot" by repeatedly shouting "get 'em out." Trump's attorney, R. Kent Westberry, filed a motion requesting the suit be dismissed. A federal judge must first rule on that issue before deciding whether Trump should be deposed. Greg Belzley, a lawyer representing the protesters, said they asked the judge to consider a deposition before Trump "assumes the burden of the presidency." ___ 12:55 p.m. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee is defending the nation's intelligence officers amid dispute over the CIA's conclusion that Russian hacks were aimed at helping Donald Trump win the election. Trump himself has disputed the conclusion, calling it "ridiculous." He has also refused daily intelligence briefings. Without alluding specifically to those controversies, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina says in a statement Friday that the nation's intelligence professionals "check politics at the office door and focus on their mission. They are tasked with keeping our nation's leaders well-informed about events around the world." "We would all do well to remember the sacrifices they make on our behalf," Burr added. Burr also discussed plans for his committee to investigate Russian hacking efforts, as previously announced by Senate leaders. ___ 12:15 p.m. President Barack Obama's chief of staff Denis McDonough will have lunch Friday with President-elect Donald Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus. McDonough has invited Priebus to dine at the White House along with former White House chiefs of staff. The White House says the lunch is similar to a meeting that former President George W. Bush's chief of staff, Josh Bolten, held to welcome Rahm Emanuel, who was Obama's first chief of staff. Emanuel is among those invited on Friday, as are former Obama chiefs Bill Daley and Jacob Lew, who now serves as Treasury secretary. Others invited to attend include former Bush chiefs Bolten and Andy Card, as well as John Podesta, who chaired Hillary Clinton's campaign and was chief of staff to Bill Clinton. So are Samuel Skinner from George H.W. Bush's administration, Ken Duberstein from Ronald Reagan's administration and Jack Watson from Jimmy Carter's administration. ___ 3 a.m. Donald Trump's barnstorming tour across the states that won him the White House continues to feature far more taunts of triumph than notes of healing after a bruising election. Thursday's rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, found the president-elect calling for the mostly white crowd to cheer for African-Americans who were "smart" to heed his message and therefore "didn't come out to vote" for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump said: "That was the big thing, so thank you to the African-American community." Trump's victory lap continues Friday night with an event in Orlando, Florida, then wraps up Saturday in Mobile, Alabama. President-elect Donald Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus, left, stands with his chief strategist Steven Bannon during a rally at the Wisconsin State Fair Exposition Center, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in West Allis, Wis. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) President-elect Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Hershey, Pa., Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Despite claims, Iowa State expert does not run focus groups A prominent Iowa political scientist who goes by the nickname "Dr. Politics" has routinely made misleading claims suggesting he has gleaned unique political insight from a focus group, when he actually just discusses issues with acquaintances and contacts, The Associated Press has found. Iowa State University professor Steffen Schmidt, who is frequently quoted about the Iowa caucuses and writes guest columns in Iowa's largest newspapers, has written repeatedly about how his focus group astutely informed his views on issues such as Hillary Clinton's emails, the fallout from overseas terrorist attacks and Democrats' struggles. Pressed by the AP for details, Schmidt initially claimed his focus group consisted of 15 insightful, trusted acquaintances who helped him be "right more often than others." He reversed course this week after the AP requested their communications under the state's open-records law, saying he doesn't have any set panel. Instead, he said he refers to anyone he speaks with to inform his views as "my focus group," be they colleagues, students or fellow customers at the feed store. "My columns are political commentary and I do not present them as formal research," said Schmidt, who recently conceded that the term focus group "may sound too formal to some of my critics." Experts say Schmidt's use of the term is misleading and lends undue weight to his perspectives. In academia, studies that use focus groups are expected to be carefully designed to gain insight into public opinion and typically are monitored by an oversight panel. "Likely the words 'focus group' sounded more respectable than just 'listening to a bunch of my friends'," said retired University of Minnesota professor Richard Krueger, co-author of "Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research." ''It is unfortunate that the professor chooses to use a misleading word for the research because this raises questions about the quality of the research." The AP started looking into the issue Nov. 14, when Schmidt wrote in Iowa's second largest newspaper that Clinton's outreach to blacks, women and gays "was identified by my focus group as 'micro targeting' which alienated many voters who turned to vote for Donald Trump." Schmidt explained then that he doesn't operate a research-based focus group, which are often used to gather feedback on political campaigns or commercial products. Instead, he claimed his group consists of five Democrats, five Republicans and five independents whom he emailed informally and confidentially, saying: "I trust their insights much more than the polls, which is why we have been right more often than others." The AP requested Schmidt's emails with focus group members in the month before Trump's surprise election victory, which Schmidt has claimed he "always" predicted despite no proof in his columns supporting the assertion. The university said it would take several hours and cost the AP $210 to sort through Schmidt's emails and find any potentially responsive documents since he has no set focus group. In his book, Krueger outlines the best practices for focus group researchers to recruit participants, develop questions, and analyze results. He said Schmidt might have a smart group of friends, "but it should not be called a focus group." It's perfectly acceptable to informally consult people for insight, but the term focus group "implies a different methodology" and shouldn't be used in this context, University of Notre Dame political scientist David Campbell said. Focus group studies may need the approval of mandatory university boards that monitor research involving human subjects. Iowa State spokesman John McCarroll said its board had no role in Schmidt's work, saying that "mentioning focus group in a political commentary doesn't necessarily mean the author conducted research." Schmidt, 73, has been one of ISU's most high-profile professors for decades and is often interviewed by media outlets about the Iowa caucuses, which kick off the presidential nominating process. McCarroll said ISU administrators haven't expressed any concerns about Schmidt's writings. The university handbook says professors "should at all times be accurate" in public and notes that they can be disciplined for committing intentional misrepresentations. ___ A New Hampshire man allegedly poured gasoline on his twin sister before lighting her on fire at their home. Dwayne Crawford, 37, told Concord police that he deliberately lit his sister, Tamika Crawford, on fire Thursday, court documents say. Tamika was found in a snowbank outside their home on Woodbine Avenue with most of her upper body severely burned when police arrived around 2:48am. She suffered third-degree burns to her upper body and was taken to a hospital in Boston, where she was in critical condition as of Thursday. Dwayne Crawford (left), 37, told Concord police that he deliberately lit his sister, Tamika Crawford, on fire Thursday Tamika was found in a snowbank outside their home (above) on Woodbine Avenue with most of her upper body severely burned when police arrived around 2:48am Officer Brendan Ryder arrived first on the scene to find Tamika's two young sons and Dwayne standing outside nearby as smoke poured out of the second floor, The Concord Monitor reported. According to a sworn affidavit, Dwayne told Ryder, 'I did it, I lit her on fire.' 'As Dwayne stated this, he displayed very little affect and expressed no emotion,' Ryder said. He admitted more than once that he was the one who poured gasoline on his sister before he lit her on fire, police say. While she was being put into an ambulance, Tamika told officers, 'my brother did this, my brother did this ... you have to arrest him.' According to a sworn affidavit, Dwayne (left) told a police officer on scene, 'I did it, I lit her on fire.' While she was being put into an ambulance, Tamika told officers, 'my brother did this, my brother did this ... you have to arrest him.' Dwayne is being held without bail on charges of arson, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless conduct and criminal mischief, WMUR reported. He's scheduled for a hearing on December 28. It's unclear what provoked the attack and police have not released a motive as of Friday. However, both siblings are known to police in the town. Court records state that back in 2014, Dwayne was charged with simple assault and resisting arrest during a struggle with police, the newspaper reported. But both of those charges were later dismissed. In 2011, his sister pleaded guilty to at least three minor offenses, including simple assault and criminal mischief. The Latest: Fattah to challenge holdout juror's dismissal PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Latest on a juror's dismissal in congressman's case (all times local): 2:10 p.m. Lawyers for a former Pennsylvania congressman say their appeal of his racketeering conviction will include a challenge to the dismissal of a holdout juror. A federal judge on Friday unsealed jury notes and other documents related to a juror tossed in the corruption trial of former U.S. Rep. Chaka (SHAH'-kuh) Fattah. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle says other jurors complained the man was screaming and uncooperative. Bartle says the juror also told his clerk early on that he would cause a deadlock "no matter what." The unidentified juror told a legal blogger he refused to vote after it became evident he was the lone holdout for an acquittal. Bartle says the juror violated his oath. Fattah is due to start a 10-year prison term next month. ___ 1:10 p.m. A Pennsylvania judge says he dismissed a holdout juror in a congressman's corruption case after concluding he meant to cause a deadlock "no matter what." The judge Friday says the juror told a clerk on the first day of deliberations that he intended to cause a hung jury in the trial of former U.S. Rep. Chaka (SHAH'-kuh) Fattah. The eleven-term Philadelphia Democrat was convicted of racketeering and was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle says other jurors complained that the juror was screaming and uncooperative. The unidentified juror has told a legal blogger he refused to vote after it became evident he was the lone holdout for an acquittal. Bartle says the juror violated his oath. Fattah is appealing his conviction. ___ 11:15 a.m. A federal judge will unseal transcripts that could explain why a juror was dismissed before a jury convicted a Pennsylvania congressman of racketeering. The unidentified juror has told one news outlet that he was the lone not guilty vote in former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's case. The Philadelphia Democrat was sentenced this week to 10 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III on Friday says he will unseal transcripts surrounding the dismissal of the Lancaster County salesman. Bartle did not say when the documents would be available. Philadelphia Media Network filed the request. Fattah was convicted in June of using government grants and nonprofit funds on personal and campaign expenses. Lesson from NYC shooting: Don't disturb Hells Angels' bikes NEW YORK (AP) It's conventional wisdom on a block in Manhattan's East Village that the Hells Angels bikers at a notorious local headquarters there aren't necessarily horrible neighbors but just don't do anything to disturb the bikes parked outside. A man from upstate New York learned that lesson the hard way earlier this week when he tried to move one of the orange traffic cones the bikers used to hold curbside parking spots. The outsider ended up in the hospital with a gunshot wound, setting off the latest dust up between police and the motorcycle club. With the secretive group refusing to help investigators identify the shooter, patrol officers swept onto the mostly residential block this week and ticketed the tenement building it owns for petty offenses that had previously been ignored: installing an unauthorized bench, planters and a motorcycle ramp on the sidewalk outside the front door. All were removed the same day, with the New York Police Department saying it was merely responding to civilian complaints. A sign near the front door of the Hells Angels motorcycle club headquarters in New York reads "No Parking Except Authorized Hells Angels," Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Earlier in the week an out-of-town man was shot after moving an orange cone meant to save a parking space for club members. The secretive group has frustrated police by refusing to help identify the shooter. (AP Photo/Tom Hays) And the cones? They were taken, too, tossed into the back of a police cruiser. "I don't know how they got away with the parking thing in the first place," Megan McNally, a 26-year-old paralegal from Brooklyn who once lived in the neighborhood, said a couple of days later as she walked by the club. "And then somebody has to get shot over it?" On this day, six motorcycles three on each side were parked in rows in front of the clubhouse, apparently legally. A "No Parking, Except for Authorized Hells Angels" sign remained posted on its red brick facade. Asked about the shooting, three merchants along the block mostly shrugged it off. They said that the Hells Angels kept to themselves and that their claim on one of New York's rarest commodities parking had been quietly accepted for years. "It's all about staying away from the bikes," one said. Still, all spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of running afoul of their neighbors at 77 East Third Street. A reporter's knocks on the door went unanswered at the apartment building the Hells Angels have occupied since 1969, an era when the East Village's future as a high-rent district was unthinkable. Over the years, the tattooed, Harley-riding members gained a reputation for being the bullies of the block hosting rowdy parties, harassing passers-by and clashing with authorities who tried to put it to a stop. In 1985, police raided the clubhouse, making 15 arrests on drug and other charges. The city used the case to try to seize the building in the early 1990s in a federal lawsuit, but a jury sided with the bikers. The Hells Angels countered with their own litigation, accusing police of illegally searching the headquarters in 1999 and again in 2000. The city agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying the club more than $800,000. Any mayhem that crops up these days is typically instigated by people who consider the clubhouse a tourist attraction instead of a private property, said attorney Ron Kuby, who's represented the Hell Angels in multiple cases over the years. Some are "drunk or stupid or drunk and stupid and from out of town," said Kuby, whose latest client is a biker accused of chasing someone down the block with a bat. In the shooting, police say 25-year-old David Martinez, of Spring Valley, was riding with some friends in a Mercedes-Benz at around 1 a.m. Sunday when he got out to move a cone to get through some traffic. After a man believed to be with Hells Angels objected, a street fight broke out between Martinez and other men from the car and bikers, police said. Someone drew a gun and shot Martinez in the stomach, then vanished in what remains an unsolved case. Kuby said any lack of cooperation from the Hells Angels is consistent with their credo of not calling police for help nor offering any to them. The Hells Angels, he said, "just want to be left alone." A sign near the front door of the Hells Angels motorcycle club headquarters in New York reads "No Parking Except Authorized Hells Angels," Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. The latest clash between New York City Police and the Hells Angels came after a man from upstate New York tried to move an orange cone meant to hold a sparking spot for club members and ended up hospitalized with a gunshot wound. (AP Photo/Tom Hays) The Latest: Lawmakers promise thorough probes into hacking WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on President Barack Obama's year-end news conference (all times EST): 7 p.m. The Senate intelligence committee says it will conduct a thorough, bipartisan investigation and hold hearings about what led to the Obama administration's Oct 7 statement that the Russian government directed hacking of political sites. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina says, "The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads." California Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee, says his committee's ongoing oversight into the hacking has been stymied because the intelligence agencies have not provided information to the committee. Nunes says he is "alarmed that supposedly new information continues to leak to the media but has not been provided to Congress." Nunes said the committee has planned visits to the FBI, NSA, CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency in January to further investigate the hacking issue. ___ 4:10 p.m. President Barack Obama says he won't express an opinion on whether electors should receive a briefing on Russian involvement in the U.S. election before they cast ballots at meetings across the country Monday. He says, "It's the American people's job, and now the electors' job to decide my successor." The president describes the electoral college as a "vestige" and a "carry-over" from history. But he says that if politicians have a strong message the popular vote and electoral college vote should align. Obama adds that there's "no silver bullet" or "easy fix" to explain Donald Trump's surprise victory and increased political partisanship. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. ___ The quotation in this item has been corrected to say "now the electors' job" instead of "not the electors' job." ___ 4 p.m. President Barack Obama says he's advised Donald Trump to "think it through" before making any changes to the "one-China" policy. Trump has said he wouldn't feel bound by the decades-old policy in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. The "one-China" policy became an issue after Trump broke decades of diplomatic protocol by having a telephone conversation with Taiwan's president. Obama says he told Trump to have his full team in place and be fully briefed on issues before considering any changes. Obama said at his year-end news conference that the Taiwan issue is of utmost importance to the Chinese, and how they react to any potential change could be very significant. ___ 3:50 p.m. President Barack Obama is stopping short of saying President Vladimir Putin himself orchestrated the Russian hacking of U.S. political sites during the election. But he is confirming that it was done at the highest levels of the Kremlin. Obama says not much happens in Russia without a nod from Putin. He says he will let the public decide whether there were rogue high-level Russian officials acting without Putin's knowledge. Obama also says he wants to give the intelligence community a chance to issue a report on the hacking before the end of his administration. But he cautions that some information will be classified because disclosing it would divulge the way in which the U.S. has been able to collect the intelligence. ___ 3:45 p.m. President Barack Obama is criticizing Republicans for warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." He says Republicans are falling victim to efforts by Russia to weaken American democracy. Obama is citing a new survey showing that more than one-third of Republicans view Putin favorability. That's up from just 10 percent in July 2014. The president is speaking at his annual year-end press conference. Much of his appearance has been dedicated to discussing Russia's involvement in hacks of the Democratic National Committee and a top Clinton campaign staffer. ___ 3:35 p.m. President Barack Obama briefly paused his year-end news conference after an unidentified woman began to feel ill and medical help arrived. Obama sought help getting his doctor to come to the White House briefing room, where he was answering questions from reporters. At another point, he started telling people what doors to go through to get to the doctor's office. Journalists and photographers many of them dressed for the frigid weather packed the rather small briefing room for Obama's final news conference of the year, rendering it stuffy and uncomfortable. Reporters without assigned seats stood in the aisles, which is where the woman was when she began to feel ill. Obama is accustomed to people passing out at his events around the country just not in the White House briefing room. ___ 3:30 p.m. President Barack Obama says the U.S. would've had to be "all in and willing to take over Syria" for him to intervene more forcefully in the country's civil war. He says doing so wasn't feasible for many reasons. It would've required many U.S. troops; he lacked support from Congress and the right under international law; the U.S. already had costly deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan; Syria's opposition wasn't prepared to govern; and Russia and Iran were protecting Syria's government. Obama says military options short of invasion were tempting because "we wanted to do something." But it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Obama says he asked himself if he could do something to save lives. But he says his No. 1 priority was doing what was right for America. ___ 3:25 p.m. President Barack Obama says he's offered incoming President Donald Trump some "pretty specific suggestions" about safeguarding the integrity of the office and other institutions. Obama made the revelation during his year-end news conference at the White House. He offered no specifics about what the suggestions were. Obama says Trump "has listened" to him. But he says he can't say with certainty whether Trump will follow his advice. The president and Trump have spoken by telephone several times since they met in the Oval Office two days after election, and it's usually Trump who reveals that they've talked. Obama says their telephone conversations are "cordial" and not "defensive in any way," given their deep disagreements on the issues. ___ 3:20 p.m. President Barack Obama says he regrets not being able to transfer his own political success into Democratic races across the country. The president is acknowledging the failures of his party and himself to build up a broad base of support during his tenure. He says the party must do a better job of reaching out to all voters, even in states and counties they are unlikely to win. Obama says: "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." Democrats have lost more than 1,000 seats in Congress, state legislatures and governor's mansions during Obama's two-term. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. __ 3:17 p.m. President Barack Obama says everyone should be concerned about the level of cyber hacking that renders governments, businesses and individuals vulnerable. Speaking at his year-end news conference at the White House, Obama says Russian hacking during the election was not "some elaborate, complicated espionage scheme." He says the unsophisticated nature of what transpired concerns him and "it should concern all of us." Obama says the episode underscores the "constant challenge" the nation faces with hacking that happens every day. Obama commented on intelligence and law enforcement assessments that Russia intervened to try to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. ___ 3:05 p.m. President Barack Obama is defending how he's handled the hacking of political sites that took place before the November election. He says at a White House news conference that his goal is to send a clear message to Russia that such intrusions won't be tolerated. But he's not saying what the U.S. response will be. Obama says with the "hyperpartisan atmosphere" of the election, his main concern was the integrity of the election process. He says he wanted to make sure the U.S. public understood that the White House was trying to "play this thing straight." He says he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, and told him in these words to "cut it out." The White House hasn't commented about what a U.S. response might entail. Options could include a retaliatory cyberstrike on Russian networks or sanctions targeting Putin's associates. ___ 3 p.m. President Barack Obama says Syria, Russia and Iran have blood on their hands for what's happened in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Obama says the world is "united in horror" at the assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Obama at a White House news conference is accusing the Syrian government and its two powerful allies of deliberately "surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," and targeting aid workers and medical personnel. He says entire neighborhoods have been reduced to "rubble and dust." The president also says civilians have been executed. Obama acknowledges that Syria's almost 6-year civil war has been among the hardest issues he's faced. Despite his failure to stop the conflict, Obama isn't saying anything to suggest a change in U.S. strategy. ___ 2:46 p.m. President Barack Obama is using his year-end news conference to boast about his administration's achievements. Obama is citing a number of positive economic indicators such as a declining unemployment rate and higher rates of insured people under his health overhaul. And he's highlighting diplomatic achievements among them, the reopening of relations with Cuba. Obama says he's leaving the country "stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started." But he's reminding the public that there's more to be done on the country's biggest problems. He says he's going to continue working to push the agenda of his administration after leaving office. __ President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Drug overdose deaths have increased by 33 percent in the past five years across the country, with some states seeing jumps of nearly 200 percent. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 states saw increases in overdose deaths resulting from the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids. New Hampshire saw a 191 percent increase while North Dakota, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine had death rates jump by over 100 percent. Erika Marble visits the gravesite of Edward Martin III, her fiance and father of her two children, in Littleton, N.H. The 28-year old died Nov. 30, 2014, from an overdose of the opioid Fentanyl. Drug overdose deaths increased by 33 percent in the past five years across the U.S. as of 2016. New Hampshire saw a 191 percent increase while Massachusetts, North Dakota, Connecticut and Maine saw death rates jump by more than 100 percent. HOW THEY DIED Last year, more than 52,000 people died from drug overdoses, with almost two-thirds involving prescription or illegal opioids. Deaths from synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl, rose 73 percent, to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll but posted the smallest increase. Abuse of drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed 17,536, an increase of 4 percent. In comparison, the number of people who died in car crashes was 37,757, an increase of 12 percent. Gun deaths, including homicides and suicides, totaled 36,252, up 7 percent. Advertisement 'Too many Americans are feeling the devastation of the opioid crisis either from misuse of prescription opioids or use of illicit opioids,' said Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the CDC. 'Urgent action is needed to help health care providers treat pain safely and treat opioid use disorder effectively, support law enforcement strategies to reduce the availability of illicit opiates, and support states to develop and implement programs that can save lives.' Last year, more than 52,000 people died from drug overdoses, with almost two-thirds involving prescription or illegal opioids. Deaths from synthetic opioids, including illicit fentanyl, rose 73 percent, to 9,580. And prescription painkillers took the highest toll but posted the smallest increase. Abuse of drugs like Oxycontin and Vicodin killed 17,536, an increase of 4 percent. In comparison, the number of people who died in car crashes was 37,757, an increase of 12 percent. Gun deaths, including homicides and suicides, totaled 36,252, up 7 percent. The CDC report also included death certificate data for opioid overdoses in 28 states, finding that 16 saw a jump in death rates from synthetic opioids including illicit fentanyl. New York (135.7 percent), Connecticut (125.9 percent) and Illinois (120 percent) were the hardest hit. As for heroin deaths, 11 states had increases, with South Carolina (57.1 percent), North Carolina (46.4 percent) and Tennessee (43.5 percent) seeing the biggest spike. The Northeast has been hit especially hard by the drug crisis, with New Hampshire among those suffering the most. Just this year, overdose deaths were expected to top 500. The state's congressional delegation was among those supporting a bill that will provide $1 billion in funding to states to fight heroin and opioid abuse. Heroin, fentanyl and prescription painkillers are the primary drivers of addiction in recent years. 'Obviously the fact that 500 people are going to succumb to addiction this year is just a terrible tragedy,' said Republican Jeb Bradley, the state Senate majority leader. Glitch in Christmas tree lights sets fire that kills couple SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A Utah couple died after faulty Christmas tree lights sparked a fire at their home of 49 years, authorities said. The fire started Thursday night in a front room of the house in Woods Cross, about 10 miles north of Salt Lake City, according to South Davis Metro Fire spokesman Jeff Bassett. Investigators believe the husband and wife used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the flames but they were overcome by smoke, Bassett said. Bassett said the couple, 74-year-old Melba Mecham and 77-year-old Gary Mecham were unconscious when firefighters pulled them from the home. Rescue workers tried to save the Mechams but the couple died at a hospital. Bassett said neighbors had called 911 and tried to rescue the couple but the front door was too hot to open, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Neighbors say the Mechams had lived at the home for 49 years. Bassett said the couple had mentioned to others they had been having trouble with the lights, which came prewrapped to their artificial tree. Smoke and chemicals from the burning artificial tree likely overwhelmed the couple, while Christmas presents and logs for their fireplace stacked near the tree added fuel to the fire, investigators said. "We're talking a hot, thick black smoke that was to the floor," Bassett said, according to the Deseret News. "Extremely difficult, zero visibility." Neighbor Karen Gay Davis remembered Melba Mecham as someone who gave creative Christmas gifts to neighbors. UN extends peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for a year UNITED NATIONS (AP) The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously passed a draft resolution extending its peacekeeping mission in violence-plagued South Sudan by a year. The U.S.-drafted resolution includes stronger language aimed at protecting civilians, saying peacekeepers should do more to prevent and respond to sexual attacks in the country. It also calls on peacekeepers to monitor, investigate and report on hate speech incidents and incitements to violence. In a vote of 15-0, council members also proposed creation of a 4,000-troop Regional Protection Force in addition to the approximately 13,000 peacekeepers already there, mainly to ensure safe movement in and around the capital of Juba and to protect the airport there. The mandate maintains its original core functions, including the protection of civilians, monitoring and investigating human rights violations and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Two years after the African country's independence from neighboring Sudan in 2011, South Sudan was plunged into ethnic violence when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, his former vice president and a Nuer. The document asks both sides to return to a peace deal signed in August 2015. On Thursday, the council extended the mandate by a day so its divided members could try to reach agreement on prolonging the mission and addressing the crisis in the country. The mission's mandate expired the same day. Russia's Deputy U.N. ambassador Petr Iliichev said after the vote Friday that his country voted for the resolution in part because of the importance of a U.N. presence in the country but he admonished the United States for pushing through its interests over those of other countries. Russia and others had objected, for example, to language that threatens to impose sanctions and provisions such as the use of drones. South Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Joseph Mourn Majak Ngor Malok said his country welcomed the mission's renewal, but said he was also disappointed that the concerns of his and other countries were not considered. "The government of South Sudan continues to oppose the negative threats of sanctions and punishment, which can only undermine cooperation," he said. Obama signs bill for Flint water, Calif. drought WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California. Obama said the bill advances vital projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve flood control and rebuild water infrastructure including pipes in Flint, where residents have struggled with lead-tainted water for more than two years. The bill also approves a series of projects in California that Obama said "will help assure that California is more resilient in the face of growing water demands and drought-based uncertainty." Congress approved the $10 billion measure last week, despite complaints from some Democrats that it was a giveaway to California farmers and businesses. The extended drought has devastated California's abundant farmland and forced families to cut back on water consumption. In the past two years, 35,000 people have lost jobs, 1 million acres of farm land have gone fallow and 2,400 private water wells have gone dry, while more than 100 million trees on federal land have died. In a nod to criticism by California Sen. Barbara Boxer and other Democrats, Obama said in a statement that "I interpret and understand" the new law to "require continued application and implementation of the Endangered Species Act ... to assure that state water quality standards are met." Boxer and other critics say the bill undermines endangered species protections for threatened salmon and other fish and could severely damage the fishing industry in three states California, Oregon and Washington. Boxer helped draft the bill, but became an outspoken opponent after two other Californians Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein inserted language addressing the drought days before Congress voted. McCarthy called the bill signing "a great moment for California" and the most significant reforms to California water policy in 25 years. "This new law will help our communities receive more water this wet season and will help move forward storage projects that will define California's bright future," McCarthy said in a statement. "We have not solved all of California's water challenges, but this legislation is an incredibly positive first step." Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., hailed the Flint measure but called it long overdue. The measure authorizes projects for Flint and other communities, but funding is included in a separate, short-term spending bill approved last week. Aryan Brotherhood Mississippi leader gets life sentence OXFORD, Miss. (AP) A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Mississippi has been sentenced to life in prison, months after a federal jury convicted him of helping kill a man over an unpaid drug debt. The Justice Department says Aryan Brotherhood is a violent "whites only" group that operates inside and outside prisons. Prosecutors say 36-year-old Eric Glenn Parker of Richton, who directed gang activities, was sentenced Friday for murder, racketeering conspiracy and methamphetamine distribution. LA TV anchor to avoid theft charge if she completes program LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles prosecutors say a TV anchor arrested on suspicion of stealing a pair of headphones at Los Angeles International Airport will not face criminal charges if she completes a diversion program. The city attorney's office said Friday Lu Parker agreed to participate in the program, which is offered to people without a criminal record. The KTLA-TV anchor, whose full name is Frances Louise Parker, was arrested last month in connection with the theft. Authorities say the headphones' owner was an off-duty Los Angeles police detective. KTLA had said it was a misunderstanding. Prosecutors say details about Parker's participation in the program are confidential. A former doctor for USA Gymnastics, already facing sexual assault charges in a Michigan court, was arrested Friday on federal child pornography charges. Dr. Larry Nassar was arrested in Holt, Michigan, and transported to federal court in western Michigan. He appeared without a lawyer and remains in custody. Nassar has been under scrutiny since September when two gymnasts, including a member of the 2000 U.S. women's Olympic team, said they were sexually abused by him when they were teens. He denies it. Dr. Larry Nassar, a doctor who formerly worked for USA Gymnastics and is facing sexual assault charges has been indicted on child pornography charges (2008 photo) A federal indictment charges Nassar with possession of child pornography, and receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography, the IndyStar reported. The indictment says Nassar received child pornography and possessed thousands of images, from 2003 through 2016. A federal indictment charges Nassar with possession of child pornography, and receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography The indictment, obtained by the newspaper, alleges: 'The images of child pornography possessed included images that involved a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.' It says from between 2003 and 2016, Nassar had child pornography, and file names included 'pedo-vicky_10_year_old_orgasm' and 'Kelly 13 young girl,' IndyStar reported. In November, the Michigan attorney general's office charged Nassar with sexually assaulting a girl at his home in Ingham County. The allegations aren't related to his time as a gymnastics doctor. He has pleaded not guilty. Those assaults allegedly occurred between 1998 and 2005, when the girl was aged between six and 12. She was not a gymnast, patient or family member, Attorney General Bill Schuette said last month. He said Nassar, a former associate professor of osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University, committed 'predatory, menacing' acts and 'stole this young lady's childhood'. 'This is the tip of the iceberg,' Schuette said during a November news conference. Besides working for Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics, Nassar was a doctor at Michigan State University and treated gymnasts from all over Michigan. Over 50 people have filed sexual assault complaints about Nassar with Michigan State police, IndyStar reported. Nassar has been under scrutiny since September when two gymnasts, including a member of the 2000 U.S. women's Olympic team, said they were sexually abused by him when they were teens. He denies it. Pictured is the 2000 U.S. women's Olympic team Lawyers for 13 women and girls recently told Michigan State that they plan to sue the school over alleged sexual assaults by Nassar. At least three other lawsuits against Nassar are pending. Nassar was fired in September by Michigan State. Allegation: Rachael Denhollander (pictured) has said that Nassar molested her when she was 15, in 2000 Indianapolis-based USA Gymnastics has said that it cut ties with Nassar after learning of athlete concerns about him in the summer of 2015 and notified the FBI. In August, gymnast Rachael Denhollander came forward and said that Nassar had abused her while he was on the faculty of Michigan State University in 2000. She claimed that he had abused her five times when she was just 15, touching her genitals and breasts. She had gone to him for treatment after suffering back pains. Her mom was in the room when the abuse took place but Nassar would position himself so that his actions could not be seen, she said. Theresa May has told European Union leaders that she wants an early agreement on the status of Britons living on the continent and EU citizens in the UK after Brexit. The Prime Minister made the comments as she updated the other 27 leaders on her Brexit plans. The push for an early agreement on the status of citizens comes amid concern from many European leaders about the rights of their nationals in the UK after Brexit. Earlier today the PM met with her counterparts @MarisKucinskis from Latvia and @Grybauskaite_LT from Lithuania at European Council #EUCO pic.twitter.com/9taKBpWwz7 UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) December 15, 2016 Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny revealed the PMs comments following the European Council summit meeting in Brussels, telling reporters Mrs May updated her fellow leaders on the Supreme Court case on Article 50 and her hope for a deal on EU nationals. She would like to have the question of UK citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that take place, he said. Enda Kenny reveals Theresa May told EU leaders she wants an early agreement on the status of Brits abroad and EU citizens in UK after Brexit https://t.co/vWBbSIdq5A David Hughes (@DavidHughesPA) December 15, 2016 Mr Kennys comments came after Mrs May left the summit in Brussels without answering any questions on the UKs break from the EU. In a move signifying the UKs direction towards the exit, the other 27 EU leaders had carried on their discussions without her in order to finalise their approach to the negotiations for the UKs divorce from Brussels. PM arrives @EUCouncil: I welcome the fact that the other leaders will discuss Brexit tonight. We want a smooth and an orderly process. #EUCO pic.twitter.com/kBpYVtv8ki UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) December 15, 2016 The national leaders agreed European Commission official Michel Barnier will be given the lead role for the EU, risking a turf war with MEPs who feel they should have a greater involvement in the Brexit talks. European Council president Donald Tusk said the short, informal meeting had reconfirmed our principles, meaning the indivisibility of the four freedoms, the balance of rights and obligations and the rule no negotiations without notification. Donald Tusk, second left, met with Theresa May (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Mr Tusk said representatives of the European Parliament would be invited to preparatory meetings but maybe its not enough to placate the angry MEPs. Outgoing European Parliament president Martin Schulz has warned negotiations could be vetoed if MEPs are not fully involved, resulting in the hardest Brexit possible. Ahead of European Council #EUCO, UK PM Theresa May @Number10gov met with European Parliament @EP_President Martin Schulz. pic.twitter.com/X2hMaRMFSB UK Mission to the EU (@UKMisBrussels) December 15, 2016 Meanwhile, Downing Street insisted the Brexit process could be completed within two years after the UKs ambassador to the EU privately warned it could take a decade to finalise and even then may fail to be ratified by member states. Number 10 said Sir Ivan Rogers was passing on the views of other EU nations. (Olivier Matthys AP/PA) Ivan is there to report the views of others, he is doing the job of an ambassador, a source said. He was representing what others are saying to him. Downing Street indicated the Government believes it will be possible to complete both the divorce deal and a new trade agreement within the two-year timeframe set out under Article 50 of the EU treaties. We have been clear its a two-year process and we are not looking to extend it, the source said. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Mrs May ducked questions about the potential bill the UK will be landed with as part of the divorce settlement with Brussels. It is almost impossible that Donald Trump would not have known about Russian hacking during the US presidential election, a former ambassador to Moscow said as Barack Obama vowed that America would respond to the action. Obama tells @NPRinskeep that U.S. will take action in response to Russia hacking during election. pic.twitter.com/a8IxbfD17o NPR (@NPR) December 16, 2016 The outgoing president said the US would react at a time and place of our choosing to the hacking of Democratic officials emails in the run-up to the election. The UKs former ambassador to Russia, Sir Andrew Wood, said there was a case to answer for Mr Trump about the hack. Mr Obama told NPR News that he had spoken directly to President Vladimir Putin about his feelings over the hacking. Whenever a foreign government tried to interfere in US elections, the nation must take action and we will, Mr Obama stated. Speaking of a coming response to Russia, Obama adds in @npr interview: "Some of it may be explicit and publicized, and some may not be." Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) December 16, 2016 Some of it may be explicit and publicised, some of it may not be. But Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it. On Thursday the Obama administration suggested Mr Putin personally authorised the hacking of Democratic officials email accounts in the run-up to the election and said it was fact that such actions helped Mr Trumps campaign. And the White House also attacked the president-elect himself, saying he must have known of Russias interference. Donald Trump That view was echoed by Sir Andrew, who told BBC Radio 5 Live: I dont see how Donald Trump could not have known something. I think thats almost impossible. What he actually said to Hillary Clinton in the debates was, essentially, You cant prove it you dont know. He never said This is serious, it must be investigated. Sir Andrew, who was ambassador to Russia from 1995 to 2000, added: He did have people around him who had quite a lot to do with Russia or Ukraine. So I think there is a case to answer. Donald Trump The Kremlin has rejected Washingtons suggestions that President Putin was involved in the hacks, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it as laughable nonsense. Alexis Sanchez says he is very happy at Arsenal but insists it is up to the club to come up with a deal to keep him at the Emirates Stadium. The 27-year-old has 18 months remaining on his contract but both he and team-mate Mesut Ozil are reportedly seeking parity with the Premier Leagues top earners before extending their deals. Sanchez has been linked with a 500,000 a week move to the Chinese Super League, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger unhappy with continued questioning regarding the future of his top goalscorer. How much of a miss will Sergio Aguero be for @ManCity, boss?#MCFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/P8A71tInh3 Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 16, 2016 Sanchez has kept quiet about the situation up until now but has put the ball firmly in Arsenals court. It really doesnt depend on me, he told Sky Sports when asked about a new contract. If they want to show confidence in me. Im very happy at the club. I love all the staff. Im very grateful for everybody here. Im focused more on winning football matches Im staying concentrated on that. On Sanchez to China, any offer: "No..." Mark Mann-Bryans (@MarkyMBryans) December 16, 2016 The Chile forward went on to set out his targets with the Gunners ahead of this weekends trip to Manchester City. It depends on Arsenal, he added. I enjoy the relationship with the fans. I want to achieve more for them. I want to win the Premier League and the Champions League. Earlier on Friday, Wenger insisted neither Sanchez nor Ozil whose own deal also has a year and a half to run will be affected by their ongoing contract wrangles. Newspaper reports had claimed former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is ready to make a move for his compatriot Sanchez. "If people want to go to China, they go to China. I have completely different worries today ahead of City game." #AFC Mark Mann-Bryans (@MarkyMBryans) December 16, 2016 Pellegrini, now in charge of Hebei China Fortune, is quoted by The Sun as saying: If Alexis wants to come, we have a club for him right now. He can come to join us in China immediately. But Wenger, who was once again prickly when pushed further on contract news for the key duo, remained unmoved when asked if the situation could affect Sanchez and Ozil on the pitch Arsenal are at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Asked if he had concerns that lengthy contract talks could have an impact on the players, the Frenchman replied: There is no concern, not at all. There is no concern, I answer you straight away. You waste your time because these players have 18 months (left on their) contract and I dont see why there is any urgency in every press conference to have that question. 22 games 14 goals 8 assists And @Alexis_Sanchez has good memories of our last visit to @ManCity pic.twitter.com/2EZwLySv23 Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 16, 2016 Maybe you lack a bit of creativity in the newspapers and you always come up with the same subject. I dont see why that should turn up in every press conference. If people want to go to China, they go to China. You can understand that I have completely different worries than China today ahead of the Manchester City game. Arsenal have the financial ability to pay Sanchez and Ozil what they are asking for, even if it means breaking the clubs wage structure, after years of being unable to compete with Europes richest teams. What you want from the Premier League is that the top-level games live up to the expectation.#MCFCvAFC pic.twitter.com/WM3IvyeK75 Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 16, 2016 In the past, Wenger has lost some of his top talent to City with the likes of Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure and Bacary Sagna all moving to the Etihad Stadium as Arsenal looked to balance the books following their move to the Emirates. Wenger joked that City had been good clients for Arsenal in the past but now insists the north Londoners are not as vulnerable as they once were, even if the backers of the City Football Group mean the north-west side remain in a stronger position. A former EastEnders actor has appeared in court charged with a series of sex offences against four teenage girls. Joseph Shade, 23, who played Peter Beale in the soap from 1998 to 2004, denied nine counts of sexual abuse when he appeared at Norwich Crown Court on Friday. Wearing a white shirt, dark tie, grey trousers and with an earring in his left ear, Shade spoke in a high-pitched voice to confirm his identity and deny each count in turn. (Sam Russell/PA) The youth worker is accused of sexual offences against four girls aged between 13 and 16, with the alleged offending taking place between 2012 and 2015. Shade, of Cliff Road, Sheringham, Norfolk, faces eight counts of causing or inciting a person under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity while in a position of trust, and one count of sexual activity with a child. A 101-year-old paedophile facing a double-figure jail term has been branded evil by one of his victims after being remanded in custody becoming Britains oldest prisoner. A woman abused as a child by Ralph Clarke said he deserved to rot in hell and die behind bars after being convicted of 30 sexual offences committed in the 1970s and the early 1980s. Clarke, who abused two girls and a boy, showed no emotion as a judge at Birmingham Crown Court said he would be amazed if the pensioner lived long enough to be released back into the community. The centenarian, from Erdington, Birmingham, was allowed to keep his white walking stick as he was ushered from the dock and taken down to the cells. Speaking after a jury returned 21 guilty verdicts against Clarke, the older of his two female victims said: He has damaged so many lives in such a massive way and he has no remorse. Hes evil and he deserves to be in prison he deserves to die in prison, he deserves to rot in hell for what he put me through, let alone the others. I think we can all say that. Ralph Clarke Also speaking anonymously, the younger female victim said: You are never ever going to feel like you have got justice when you have been abused, I dont think. It makes me angry that he knew right from the beginning we were telling the truth. The guy cant even say sorry and it makes me so angry that he has got no remorse, no regret. Clarke, a former lorry driver, seemed unconcerned by the gravity of the charges against him throughout his two-week trial, at one point saying while jurors were outside: Well, it is Christmas he (the judge) might send us all home. Ralph Clarke The sex offender, who will be sentenced on Monday, briefly shook his head as his counsel and prosecutor Miranda Moore QC discussed legal guidelines governing sentencing for sexual offences. Pointing out that the offences had caused severe psychological harm to the victims, Judge Richard Bond told the court: The public would be horrified if I didnt send him to prison. I have to say the sentence I am looking at at the moment is in double figures. I will have to discount (the sentence) for the offenders extreme age, although there is of course the argument that he has been able to live in the community for decades now, when in fact he should have served a custodial sentence for this offending all those years ago. Police have dropped an investigation into Labour MP Keith Vaz after probing allegations made about his private life in a newspaper. The 59-year-old Leicester East MP issued a public apology to his wife and children, and quit as chairman of the influential Commons Home Affairs Committee, following reports in the Sunday Mirror that he paid two male escorts for their services. (Jonathan Brady/PA) Scotland Yard launched an investigation last month after receiving a letter on September 7 asking them to look into the matter. The Metropolitan Police Services (MPS) Special Enquiry Team began an assessment process to see what criminal offences if any may have been committed. But on Friday, a spokesman for the Met said: Following allegations in the Sunday Mirror on Sunday 4 September concerning a Member of Parliament, the Metropolitan Police Service received a letter on Wednesday 7 September requesting police consider the matter. The letter was forwarded to the Special Enquiry Team, part of Specialist Crime and Operations, who started an assessment process to identify what criminal offences if any may have been committed. Following that assessment, which included obtaining early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, the MPS started an investigation in November. During the investigation new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS, following which the MPS has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged. (Jonathan Brady/PA) Mr Vaz had a conversation regarding cocaine with one of the male escorts in which the MP said he did not want to use the drug, but indicated that he would pay for it for the other man at a later date, according to the Sunday Mirror. The Commons sleaze watchdog also launched an inquiry into Mr Vaz. The probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards will determine whether Mr Vaz was guilty of a conflict of interest as he headed the bodys review of vice laws at the time of the allegations regarding male escorts. The watchdog will also look into whether the former Europe minister has caused significant damage to the reputation of Parliament. However, the standards commissioners probe was suspended until the outcome of the police assessment of the Vaz affair. A spokesman for Mr Vaz said: The Metropolitan Police Service has informed us that they have decided not to proceed any further with their investigation arising from reports in the Sunday Mirror and The Mirror and that the investigation is now closed. The Chinese Air Force says overflights by its warplanes over the South China Sea, Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait are legitimate, reasonable and justified. File photo shows Chinese Air Force aircrafts taking part in a high sea drill. [Photo: Xinhua/Tian Ning] The Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke said the flights over the high seas are part of the air force's routine exercises which aim to build it into a strategic military force that can match with the country's national interests. "The Chinese Air Force has performed various training subjects on fighting against jamming and interference, reconnaissance and pre-warning, maritime patrol, sea assault and air refueling since it began routine drills on the high seas two years ago, which have improved the army's high sea maneuverability and tested its combat capabilities in blue water." He said the air force will constantly improve its capabilities through practical training in order to safeguard the country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and defend the country's aerospace safety and development interests. The remarks come a week after China lodged "solemn representations" to Japan over an encounter between Japanese fighter jets and Chinese warplanes passing through the international airspace of the Miyako Strait. The Chinese side accused the Japanese jets of coming in close range of the Chinese warplanes and "even launching jamming shells, which endangered the safety of Chinese aircraft and crew." The Chinese defense ministry had said Japanese military's actions "destroyed the freedom of navigation and over-flight endowed by international laws." A Royal Marine serving life after being found guilty of murdering an injured Afghan fighter faces a wait until next week to see if he will be freed pending a new challenge against his conviction. Lawyers for Sergeant Alexander Blackman, 42, of Taunton in Somerset, urged two judges at the Court Martial Appeal Court in London to grant him bail on Friday. After a hearing lasting more than an hour, Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and Mr Justice Openshaw adjourned the case until next Wednesday. Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman Lord Thomas said the court would decide the issue of bail at that stage after hearing further submissions from the prosecution. The bail move followed the announcement by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, of its decision to refer Blackmans conviction and sentence to the court for review. Lord Thomas announced that the court has postponed until further order the reporting of what has transpired at the hearing today in the interests of justice. Alexander Blackman's wife Claire, centre, outside court with his legal team But he said that his short judgment, given at the end of the hearing, may be reported. Blackmans wife Claire was present in court with dozens of supporters. She left the Royal Courts of Justice to cheers and applause from the many servicemen who attended. There were shouts of justice and see you on Wednesday as she departed. Lord Thomas announced: There is before the court an application for bail and for directions. The court has postponed until further order the reporting of what has transpired at the hearing today in the interests of justice. What is said in this judgment may be reported. Protesters campaign to free Alexander Blackman In the short ruling, he said: The issues referred by the CCRC all in essence appear to turn on the mental state of the appellant at various material times including, in particular, at the time of the shooting. The Crown only received the full reference from the Criminal Cases Review Commission, as did the court, yesterday afternoon or evening. He said in the circumstances, David Perry QC, for the Crown, has helpfully indicated to the court that he will be in a position by next week to make clear the stance that the Crown is going to take about the evidence in relation to the appellants mental state. A sign calling for Alexander Blackman to be freed Lord Thomas added: As that decision is central to the way in which the appeal will be heard and the timescale within which it can be heard, including the probability of hearing it within weeks, the court considers that the interests of justice are best served by adjourning this application until next week. When the court receives the Crowns indication of its stance it will then determine the issue of bail and give further directions. Blackman was convicted in November 2013 by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire, and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 10 years. In May 2014, the Court Martial Appeal Court rejected his conviction challenge, but reduced the minimum term the least he must serve before becoming eligible to apply for parole to eight years because of the combat stress disorder he was suffering from at the time of the incident. Virgin Atlantic pilots have voted to take industrial action short of a strike in a row over union recognition, and will work strictly to contract from December 23. Their union, the PPU union, said 88% of its members voted in favour on a turnout of 80%. The action will see a removal of pilot goodwill, with pilots who are members of the PPU working strictly to their contract. A Virgin Atlantic plane Virgin Atlantic pilots vote to take industrial action short of a strike in row over union recognition, and will work to contract from Dec 23 Alan Jones (@AlanJonesPA) December 16, 2016 It is possible that this may leave some flights not covered for the duration of any action, which has the potential to continue indefinitely, said a statement. The PPU was launched three years ago, breaking away from the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), and claims to represent 70% of Virgins 900 pilots. It wants to be the only union Virgin deals with, and for Balpa to be de-recognised. The PPU is formed entirely of Virgin Atlantic pilots and is not affiliated to the TUC. PPU union: Virgin Atlantic pilots to take industrial action in row over union recognition & to work "strictly to contract" from December 23 Sky News Breaking (@SkyNewsBreak) December 16, 2016 It is the latest industrial dispute to flare in recent months, with strikes on Southern Railway over staffing, the Post Office over jobs, pensions and closures, a work to rule on London Underground over jobs and ticket office closures, and threats of industrial action at British Airways over cabin crew pay. A PPU spokesman said: Our members have now voted in favour of industrial action in pursuit of sole recognition of the PPU by Virgin Atlantic. As we enter the third year of negotiations to achieve this aim, we urge the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic to make a return to the table so that transfer of recognition can be concluded before the start of any action in seven days time. The PPU said it has been involved in negotiations to secure sole union recognition with Virgin Atlantic for almost two years, adding that there has been little progress. Brazil's president to unveil stimulus plan to counter discontent BRASILIA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Michel Temer plans to unveil on Thursday fresh measures to ease the pain of consumers and businesses struggling with the country's worst recession on record amid growing popular discontent. Although limited in scope, government officials said the measures aim to appease Brazilians angry at the deepening recession in Latin America's biggest economy and allegations of corruption against Temer and some of his closest allies. Temer's press office said the measures will be announced later on Thursday after the president meets with his economic team, led by Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles. It did not detail the new policies. Local media has reported the government plans to write-off some of the taxes owed by companies reporting losses and allow workers to use part of their severance fund, known as FGTS, to abate their debts. Other microeconomic measures could include the extension of a government-funded program to help companies maintain the size of their workforce and a reduction in the time banks and credit card companies have to process payments made to businesses. With the country's finances in tatters, Temer has ruled out direct fiscal stimulus in his bid to ease the debt burden of Brazilians as the recession, now finishing its second year, trims millions of jobs and forces droves of companies into bankruptcy. Since he formally took office in August, Temer has faced pressure from business groups and political allies to swap austerity measures for policies aimed at jump-starting growth. Economic activity fell 0.48 percent in October, the eighth drop in 10 months, official data showed earlier on Thursday, dashing hopes of an imminent recovery despite a jump in confidence after the impeachment of Temer's leftist predecessor Dilma Rousseff. The sluggish recovery and corruption allegations threaten to derail Temer's austerity plan to plug a widening budget deficit that has cost the once-booming Brazil its investment grade credit rating. Temer's own political survival is threatened by accusations that he, members of his cabinet and his party's leaders, received under-the-table payments from engineering conglomerate Odebrecht. Brazil prosecutors hit ex-president Lula with more corruption charges By Brad Brooks SAO PAULO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Prosecutors on Thursday charged former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his wife and a former finance minister with more corruption charges in the investigation of graft at state-run oil company Petrobras. It is up to federal judge Sergio Moro to decide if the new charges will result in another trial for Lula, who is already accused in Moro's court in southern Brazil with separate corruption charges. A ruling on those charges is not expected before late January or early February. Lula, an extremely popular two-term president who left office in January 2011, faces another trial on graft charges in a Brasilia court, but a start date has not been set. Lula's lawyers have repeatedly said that he is innocent of all accusations. In an emailed statement Thursday night, lawyer Cristiano Martins called the latest charges "a work of fiction." In bringing the new charges, prosecutors said in a statement that Lula oversaw a scheme in which Latin America's biggest construction firm, Odebrecht, paid 75 million reais ($22.18 million) in bribes to win eight Petrobras contracts. Prosecutors said Lula orchestrated the political appointment of Petrobras executives who would carry out the kickback scheme, with the money being funneled back into the campaign coffers of Lula's Workers Party and its allies, including Brazil's current ruling party, the Democratic Movement Party. Lula's wife, Marisa, was also charged in the case with money laundering, while Lula's former finance minister, Antonio Palocci, was charged with corruption and money laundering. Both already face separate charges and trials in the Petrobras case. Prosecutors said part of the illicit money made its way to Lula and his wife and that they benefited by surreptitiously using Odebrecht money to purchase and renovate real estate. The so-called Car Wash investigation is the biggest graft probe yet carried out in Brazil. So far, 200 people have been charged and 81 have been convicted . The charges involve at least 6.4 billion reais in bribes. Marcelo Odebrecht, the former chief executive of his family's construction firm, who is serving over 19 years in prison after being found guilty on other Car Wash charges, was also hit with more corruption charges on Thursday. But he has turned state's witness, along with nearly 80 other executives from the firm, and their statements are expected to implicate more than 200 politicians. Odebrecht is expected to remain imprisoned until the end of 2017 and remain on probation for several years in exchange for his testimony. Tesco's former commercial director will not face charges over accounting scandal LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The former group commercial director of Tesco, Kevin Grace, will not face charges from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the accounting scandal that rocked Britain's biggest retailer in 2014, his lawyer said on Thursday. Stephen Pollard, partner at law firm WilmerHale, said he had been informed Grace would not face charges, declining to comment further. The SFO declined to comment beyond stating its more than two-years investigation into Tesco was continuing. Grace left Tesco in 2014 shortly after the scandal broke. Last month Philip Clarke, the former chief executive of Tesco, found out he would not face charges. In October, three former senior executives of Tesco accused of fraud and false accounting were told they would face trial next September. Christopher Bush, who was managing director of Tesco UK, Carl Rogberg, who was UK finance director, and John Scouler, who was UK food commercial director, were charged by the SFO in September with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting. The SFO said the alleged crimes occurred between Feb. 1 and Sept. 23, 2014. Tesco issued a statement to the Stock Exchange on Sept. 22, 2014, saying that during its final preparations for a results announcement it had identified a 250 million-pound ($311 million) overstatement of first-half profit, mainly due to booking commercial deals with suppliers too early. The discovery sent Tesco's shares tumbling and plunged the company into the worst crisis since Jack Cohen founded the business nearly 100 years ago. The profit overstatement, identified three weeks after Dave Lewis took over as CEO from Clarke, was later raised to 263 million pounds. Clarke and Grace not facing charges could have implications for the SFO deciding to prosecute the company itself. Breakthrough in Japan, Russia islands row eludes PM Abe, Putin By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Katya Golubkova TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up two days of talks on Friday, with numerous economic deals but no big breakthrough on a territorial row that has over-shadowed ties since World War Two. Putin was heading home with promises of economic cooperation after appearing to achieve what experts said was a key objective - easing international isolation when Russia faces Western condemnation over the destruction of eastern Aleppo in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Abe and Putin agreed to launch talks on joint economic activities on disputed islands at the centre of the territorial row as a step toward concluding a peace treaty formally ending World War Two, the two sides said in a joint statement. The islands in the Western Pacific, called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuriles in Russia, were seized by Soviet forces at the end of World War Two and 17,000 Japanese residents were forced to flee. The dispute over their sovereignty has prevented the two countries signing a peace treaty. Abe said he and Putin had taken "an important step" toward a peace treaty but concluding one would not be easy. "The issue won't be solved if each of us just make their own case," Abe said at a news conference with Putin. "We need to make efforts toward a breakthrough so that we don't disappoint the next generation. We need to set aside the past and create a win-win solution for both of us." Putin dismissed the notion that he was only interested in getting economic benefits from Japan. "If anyone thinks we're interested only in developing economic links and a peace deal is of secondary importance, that's not the case," he told the same news conference. "For me, the most important thing is to sign a peace agreement because that would create the conditions for long-term co-operation." "PUTIN GO HOME" As the two leaders held their second round of talks on Friday, right-wing activists in trucks mounted with loudspeakers circled the streets not far from the prime ministers' office, blaring "Return the islands" and "Putin Go Home". Abe has pledged to resolve the territorial dispute in the hope of leaving a significant diplomatic legacy and building better ties with Russia to counter a rising China. He had hoped the lure of economic cooperation for Russia's economy, hit by low oil prices and Western sanctions, would pave the path for significant progress on the dispute. Putin, however, would risk tarnishing his domestic image as a staunch defender of Russian sovereignty by compromising. Japanese opposition politicians were quick to criticise the talks. "How is this economic cooperation and these joint economic activities going to lead to a settlement of the islands issue?" said Ren Ho, head of the main opposition Democratic Party. "Concerns that economic cooperation will bilk Japan remain, and that no concrete way to make progress on the islands issue was found is really too bad," she added in a statement. Russian officials said the two sides had signed a total of 80 documents, including 68 on commercial matters, during Putin's visit, including private-sector deals. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Russian Direct Investment Fund signed an agreement to set up a $1 billion investment fund to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. But there was less than met the eye in some of the deals. Despite strong pressure from the Abe administration, companies remain wary of the risk of doing business in Russia, said a Japanese official involved in summit preparations. "Hence many of the agreements being announced are vague memorandums of understanding," he said. The two leaders agreed on Thursday, in talks at a hot spring resort in southwest Japan, on the importance of resuming security dialogue, a Japanese official said. Ministerial level security talks were halted after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014, and Western countries imposed sanctions in response. Japan has long insisted its sovereignty over all four islands be confirmed before a peace treaty is signed. But there have been signs it has been rethinking its stance, perhaps by reviving a formula called "two-plus-alpha", based partly on a 1956 joint declaration in which the Soviet Union agreed it would hand over the two smaller islands after a peace treaty. China wants 23 northern cities put on red alert for smog BEIJING, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Environmental authorities in China have advised 23 northern cities to issue red alerts, the highest possible air pollution warning, on Friday evening, against the "worst" smog the country has experienced since autumn, state media said. China issued its first ever red alert for smog in Beijing, the capital, last December, after adopting a colour-graded warning system in a crackdown on environmental degradation left by decades of breakneck economic growth. Officials in Beijing issued a red alert on Thursday after the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) warned of a smog build-up across China's north, saying the alert was expected to run until Dec 21. The ministry has also advised 22 more cities reeling under pollution to issue the red alert warning, the official China Daily said on Friday. Nine cities, including Jinan in the province of Shangdong were advised to issue the lower-status orange alert, Liu Bingjing, the ministry's head of air quality management, told the paper. The notification will be the third joint warning by city governments this month, Liu added. Regular episodes of smog blanketing northern China this year stem from a combination of local emissions, unfavourable weather and pollutants wafted in from elsewhere, Bai Qiuyong, head of China's Environmental Monitoring Center, told the paper. Environmental authorities in Hebei province, which borders capital city Beijing, asked for a level one emergency response from major cities in the region to begin from Friday, according to a post on its official Weibo account late on Thursday. The order requires the large number of heavy polluting industries in these cities, including in Tangshan, China's steel capital, to cut back or halt production until Wednesday. Red alerts are issued in Beijing when the air quality index, a measure of pollutants, is forecast to break 200 for more than four days in succession, surpass 300 for more than two days or overshoot 500 for at least 24 hours. At each level, the colour-graded warning system prescribes advisories for schools, hospitals and businesses, as well as possible curbs on traffic and construction. Thresholds for the issue of alerts vary among cities, as do the cautionary measures urged on local residents and businesses at each stage. High-flying Freeport CEO steers towards new Indonesia mining deal By Fergus Jensen JAKARTA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Chappy Hakim, a retired air force chief who says he knows next to nothing about mining, now heads Indonesia's biggest copper producer, entrusted to use his connections to guide it through regulatory uncertainty to a renewed contract for its mine. Picking another former military officer to lead the local unit of U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan underlines how pivotal political ties can be in Indonesia, where the firm got its start nearly 50 years ago helped by close relations to late autocratic President Suharto. At stake for Freeport is an $18 billion investment to expand its Grasberg mine - one of the world's biggest deposits of gold and copper - in the eastern Indonesian province of Papua. A government deadline in January to end ore exports from the country also threatens two-thirds of the mine's copper output. "Freeport is more politics than business," Hakim told a recent media briefing. "Right now we are working hard to negotiate with the government ... The political aspect has become very heavy here," said Hakim, who was appointed last month as Freeport Indonesia's new chief executive. Hakim, 69, a keen saxophonist who holds Indonesian skydiving records, first saw the area where Freeport's giant Papua mine is located from the pilot's seat of a C-130 Hercules in the 1970s. And while he may know little about mining and finance, Hakim said his experience leading the air force and later an air safety panel after a string of deadly plane crashes would help him with both human resource management and mine safety issues. Grasberg has had several fatal accidents that disrupted operations and strained union relations, and in 2013 a tunnel collapse killed 28 workers, raising worries about its underground expansion plans. (http://reut.rs/2hhmTiM) Hakim's appointment was made in consultation with the government, Freeport said, and comes as the company fights to win an extension on its mine beyond 2021. Freeport needs to sign off in late 2017 on the $18 billion plan to transition Grasberg from open pit to underground mining, and it wants the contract renewed before committing the money. "One of (Freeport's) priorities is clearly to have someone on board who supposedly has the ear of the government," said Bill Sullivan, a foreign legal counsel and expert on Indonesian mining issues. "DISPENSATIONS" NEEDED Freeport faces a narrowing window to make a new deal on taxes, royalties, divestment and a second smelter, before it develops what would be the world's biggest underground mine, Hakim said. Indonesia has given mixed signals on negotiations, however, and it's not clear if Freeport will be able to win a contract extension next year. Regulations stipulate contracts can be renewed only in the last two years before they expire, but Hakim said Freeport needed "several dispensations" to justify its investment. "We have no choice because we have spent so many billions of dollars on the contract ... and we'll be really devastated if we stop," he said. Hakim also noted that existing rules forbid Freeport from exporting copper concentrate after Jan. 12, 2017, part of an effort to transform Indonesia into a producer of finished goods from a supplier of raw materials. About a third of Freeport's daily 220,000 tonnes of copper ore from Grasberg goes to its domestic smelter in Gresik, East Java, with the rest exported as concentrate. Jakarta has said it may revise the deadline on metals processing, but nothing has been announced. Freeport, which employs 32,400 workers in Indonesia, has said it does not believe Jakarta will ban all exports from 2017 given the harm it could do to Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Poland - Factors to Watch Dec 16 Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 1 hour): DATA Statistics office to release November wages and employment data at 1300 GMT. GROWTH The aim of the ruling conservative party Law and Justice (PiS) for the next year is improving the economic growth, the party's leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski told Rzeczpospolita. He also said that Poland's economy has to grow by around 4 percent. PiS does not plan to increase taxes and wants to encourage businessmen to investments and innovation, he also said. PKN ORLEN Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen plans to invest 5.4 billion zlotys a year, mostly on development projects in 2017 and 2018, the company said in its new strategy released on Thursday evening. The company holds a news conference at 1000 GMT on Friday. MBANK Poland's financial regulator KNF has imposed an additional capital requirement on Polish mBank group related to its portfolio of foreign currency loans for households, the bank said late on Thursday. MERCER Advisory firm Mercer plans to hire 50 people in Warsaw by the end of 2016 on top of 500 employees it employs, Puls Biznesu daily said, quoting the company's managing director in Poland. MINING More than 800 miners protested on Thursday in the south of Poland against the government's plans to close some coal mines, Gazeta Wyborcza daily said. The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) won election last year on promises not to shut down any mines. ****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.**** You are here: Home On Tuesday afternoon at the delivery room of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital in Changsha, came a touching moment: A pregnant woman with unusual weight successfully delivered a baby with the help of 16 medical staff members. Medical staff members help the woman deliver the baby.[Photo: Sina Weibo] The woman, who weighed 140-kilograms with the baby, suffers from several diseases, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, making the delivery difficult. The 16-member team comprising obstetricians, anesthetists, pediatricians, midwives and nurses, spent two hours assisting the woman. This is the second time she has become a mother. One of the medical staff members was praised by internet users as "most beautiful angels in white" for he kept sucking out mucous from the newborn who had difficulty in breathing. Pakistan says children hurt, driver killed in Indian firing in Kashmir By Abu Arqam Naqash MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A Pakistani school bus driver was killed and several children were wounded on Friday in Indian firing along the frontier in the disputed Kashmir region, Pakistan said. "A shell landed near a school bus in Mohra village of Nakyal sector, leaving the driver dead and eight children wounded," official Sardar Zeeshan Nisar told Reuters by telephone from the area. The firing was a violation of a 2003 ceasefire, the Pakistani army's media wing said in a statement. "Pakistani troops effectively responded and targeted Indian posts from where fire was coming," it said. The Indian army had no immediate comment on the Pakistani report but a spokesman said Pakistani forces had fired across the Line of Control - the de facto border - and the Indian side had given a "befitting reply". The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India and claimed in entirety by both. The longtime foes have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 over Kashmir. Tension has risen in the region since a Sept. 18 attack on an Indian army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed 18 soldiers, an attack India blamed on Pakistan-based separatists. Firing across the Line of Control by both sides has increased since then, with dozens killed and wounded and each side blaming the other. PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - Dec 16 SOFIA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. -- The parliament approved a law on combating terrorism, which curtails citizen rights and allows the secret services to carry out arrests on suspected militants. (Trud, Sega, Duma) -- The education ministry and the software association signed an agreement to increase software education in the secondary schools, following a growing demand for IT specialists. (Trud, Sega, Duma) -- Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said a new government in the current parliament will make sense only to adopt new electoral system that will allow for majority vote. (Telegraph, Standart, 24 Chasa) Lufthansa pilots agree to mediated talks in pay dispute FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Lufthansa and German pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit have agreed to mediated talks to resolve a row over contracts dating back to 2012, averting the threat of further strikes for a few more weeks, the two parties said on Friday. Lufthansa has been embroiled in a series of separate disputes with its pilots and cabin crew staff over pay and conditions as management seeks to reduce costs to compete with budget airlines and more efficient long-haul carriers. The mediation process is to start in early January and be completed within the month, during which time the pilots will not call for further strikes, Lufthansa and VC said in a statement on Friday. "The negotiating table is the only place where we can find solutions that offer prospects for employees and for the company," said Bettina Volkens, Lufthansa's head of personnel. Lufthansa's pilots have walked out 15 times since early 2014, costing the carrier hundreds of millions of euros in lost profits. Most recently, they were on strike for six days in November, costing the airline a further 100 million euros ($104 million) in profits. The pilots have asked for an average annual pay increase of 3.7 percent over a five-year period back-dated to 2012, which is when their last collective bargaining contract with Lufthansa expired. The pilots say altogether these increases would amount to a rise of nearly 20 percent on current pay. Lufthansa has proposed an increase of 4.4 percent in two instalments in 2016 and 2017, plus a one-off payment worth 1.8 months' pay. CABIN CREW DISPUTE Separately, cabin crew union UFO said on Friday that three-way talks with Lufthansa's budget carrier Eurowings and fellow union Verdi had failed to reach an agreement. UFO has been trying to agree new contracts for staff at Eurowings for two years. But Verdi reached a separate agreement with the carrier earlier this month, which Eurowings wants to apply to all 450 cabin crew staff. Under the agreement with Verdi, flight attendants receive a retroactive pay increase of 2.5 percent from Oct. 1, followed by another 2.5 percent next year and 1.25 percent in 2018. "We have offered UFO the same agreement," Eurowings said on Friday. "We cannot have two different wage contracts with one group of workers," it added. Turkey to set up camp for Aleppo evacuees in Syria By Umit Ozdal CILVEGOZU, Turkey, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Turkey plans to set up a camp inside Syria to host people evacuated from the city of Aleppo but will continue to take the sick and wounded to Turkish hospitals, officials said on Friday. Two potential sites, around 3.5 km (2 miles) inside Syria, have been identified for a camp with the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, two senior officials told Reuters. "Work on the infrastructure for the camp will begin shortly," another official from the Turkish aid organisation IHH said by phone from inside Syria. The camp will be jointly set up by the Turkish Red Crescent, disaster agency AFAD and IHH. The IHH official said evacuees had so far largely found shelter with relatives in and around Syria's Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, but added that work to identify those with nowhere to go was under way. Some arrived on Friday at a clinic in Syria close to the Turkish border gate of Cilvegozu where they were tended to by Turkish aid workers, video footage obtained by Reuters showed. "We were bombed by a plane," said one man, his head and arm bandaged, lying on a bed hugging his young son. "All my family were killed and all I have left is him and a daughter," he said. He had been told his daughter had been brought to Turkey but did not know her condition or whereabouts. Turkey has taken in 55 wounded or sick evacuees, according to Hasan Aydinlik, head of an emergency response division of the Turkish Health Ministry. He told reporters at the Cilvegozu crossing that one of the wounded had died in hospital while four people, including a child, were in serious condition. The evacuation of the last opposition-held areas of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shi'ite Muslim villages being besieged by rebels. Turkey says that close to 8,000 people - rebels and civilians - have been evacuated under a ceasefire deal it brokered with Russia. Turkey is already sheltering around 2.7 million Syrian refugees. An aid official with Syrian NGO Shafak, working on the Aleppo evacuation, said he expected more people to head for the Turkish border as the villages west of Aleppo were now full. Engie may enter Brazil gas industry, expand in services By Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Engie SA could enter Brazil's natural gas industry through acquisitions as state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA retreats, the French utility's top executive in the country told Reuters. Paris-based Engie has held talks with Petrobras, as the Brazilian state oil giant is known, and is waiting for terms and conditions of potential asset sales in the sector, Mauricio Bahr, Engie's senior country officer in Brazil, said late on Thursday. Bahr added that Engie planned to expand quickly into services for decentralized power generation. "We are indeed interested in assets that might be put up for sale," he said. "Talking about Petrobras, for example, we are interested in entering natural gas, we are looking at gas infrastructure." Engie is Brazil's No. 2 power generator, with total capacity of about 10.2 gigawatts. The company has a 40 percent stake in Jirau, which is now fully operational after the last of its 50 turbines started working two weeks ago. Jirau was inaugurated on Thursday. The project is considered key to securing the power supply in industrial-rich southeastern Brazil, to where its energy is sent through a 2,400 km transmission line. Engie is not looking to take on a project as ambitious as Jirau in the near-term. The company is in a legal battle to avoid 2 billion reais ($597 million) in fines from Brazil's electricity regulator Aneel for delays in construction of the hydroelectric dam. The French utility believes it had no control over the causes of the delays - which included a revolt by some workers who set fire to workers' dorms. "Contracts such as the one for Jirau have to be changed in the future, so new investments can happen. Safety should not be responsibility of the investor, but of the state," Bahr said. Petrobras sold a large part of gas infrastructure assets to Brookfield Asset Management Inc in September. The company wants to shed $19.1 billion more in assets through 2018, including gas-fired power plants, terminals and pipelines. "I believe Petrobras will conduct a reorganization of these assets before selling them," Bahr said. Engie is also looking at expanding into services for companies that install solar panels to generate their own energy. It recently won a contract from Centrais Eletricas de Santa Catarina SA to install 1,000 panels mainly for factories and services firms in the Santa Catarina state. U.N. says it gets reports daily of killings and rapes in Myanmar GENEVA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations is getting daily reports of rapes and killings of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and independent monitors are being barred from investigating, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said in a statement that the government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, had taken a "short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous" approach to the crisis, risking grave long-term repercussions for the region. At least 86 people have been killed, according to state media, and the United Nations has estimated 27,000 members of the largely stateless Muslim Rohingya minority have fled across the border from Myanmar's Rakhine state into Bangladesh. "The repeated dismissal of the claims of serious human rights violations as fabrications, coupled with the failure to allow our independent monitors access to the worst affected areas in northern Rakhine, is highly insulting to the victims and an abdication of the Government's obligations under international human rights law," Zeid said in the statement. "If the authorities have nothing to hide, then why is there such reluctance to grant us access? Given the continued failure to grant us access, we can only fear the worst." U.N. human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the U.N. human rights office had submitted a formal request for access to the area, which had not yet been granted. Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said his colleagues in Bangladesh had spoken to more than 1,000 newly-arrived refugees in the past few weeks who gave accounts of houses being burned, targeting of civilians and traumatised women and children who had witnessed the killing of family members. UNHCR could not verify the accounts first-hand but it was extremely concerned and it urged the Myanmar authorities to investigate and the government of Bangladesh to give the refugees a safe haven, he said. Zeid said in June this year that crimes against humanity may have been committed and if the government did not handle the situation very carefully and address the grievances of the Rohingya minority, violence could ensue, Shamdasani said. Are the metals men right to rage against the machines? Andy Home By Andy Home LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - It's a debate that has raged in other parts of the financial universe for years. But it's only this year that the issue of high-frequency trading (HFT) has burst into acrimonious bloom in the closeted world that is the London Metal Exchange (LME). Mike Farmer, titular Lord and legendary lord of the copper market, pulled no punches when he addressed the great and the good of the metals market at the LME's annual black-tie dinner last month. High-frequency trading, "appears to have no other purpose than to make money from the trading of other participants by jumping ahead of them." It might even, Farmer said, "be described as front running." Whoa! That's illegal, isn't it? How could the LME tolerate that? And what is high-frequency trading anyway and how come it's become such a hot topic in the mundane old world of industrial metals trading? ROBOTIC VISION To understand HFT means seeing the market through robotic rather than human eyes. Take copper as an example. This is how we humans tend to see the market, expressed as daily price action: http://tmsnrt.rs/2gRe1kP We can add moving averages and draw trend lines to help us "see" better. We don't physically have to calculate the averages or actually "draw" our explanatory lines any more. A machine, ironically, does that for us with a few strokes of our computer keyboards. Now put on your robot glasses and look again. This is the copper market broken down into one second intervals over a 15-minute period: http://tmsnrt.rs/2hEErmK Looks very different doesn't it? But you're still not seeing fast enough. Try this snapshot of copper trades taken on Nov. 28 at 07:58 in the London morning over a 5-second period: http://tmsnrt.rs/2gM4ATM See the 13 lots (325 tonnes) traded within 10 milliseconds between 7:58:04:945 and 7:58:04:955? And the 9 lots (225 tonnes) traded within a single millisecond at 7:58:05:026? You're still not quite fast enough since the ticker machine only provides a three-decimal breakdown and you're only seeing the outcome of an even faster interplay of bids and offers. But you're getting there. That's HFT. STILL HUMAN Those last two graphics were taken from the LME's electronic Select trading feed. Remember that the LME still also trades over the phone and, outlandishly in this day and age, via open outcry. And since no-one has, yet at least, fielded an android to participate in the ring sessions, the human element of trading is still far stronger in this particular market than in others. The LME doesn't provide figures for what percentage of trading is conducted by high-frequency traders but it does for the ratio of volume traded electronically. Select accounted for an average of 40.8 percent of copper trading over the May-November period and only a subset of that would have been machine trading, let alone pure HFT. Other markets have higher robotic participation. "Automated trading" on the CME's copper contract, for example, represented 49.2 percent of volume over the Nov 2012-Oct 2014 period, according to a study by the CFTC. ("Automated trading in future markets," March 13, 2015). The LME, moreover, has refused to join the arms race for ever faster speed. Unlike other exchanges, it doesn't make money from co-hosting, which means charging participants for putting their servers right next to an exchange's matching engine. You can put your server in the same Interxion data centre in Shoreditch in London but for a high-frequency trader such "proximity hosting" represents a physical speed cap on signal times. And you can't go warp speed in terms of making bids and offers either. The LME has a 50-to-1 limit on order-to-trade volumes for machine quoters, defined as those submitting over 50,000 "order actions" in a trading day. SUBTERFUGE AND SPEED OK, there's still a lot of machine trading going on. But what are the robots actually up to? All sorts of things, it turns out. They can be arbitraging other markets, such as CME, foreign exchange, the VIX or any other financial instrument they're programmed to track. They can be trading momentum signals generated by other machines. They can now even be trading news headlines. Everything a human can do, just at much faster speeds with their robot eyes. Much of their work, though, is simply executing orders against other market-making programmes. And it's these last ones that really annoy the humans. The machines, to quote Lord Farmer, "have a nano-second advantage over other users and can jump in front of incoming orders in the market" with the effect that "the orders behind them buy at higher prices or sell at lower prices than would have otherwise been the case." This, to human eyes, looks like front-running. But it's not. Front-running, and there was no shortage of egregious examples in the pre-machine days, means a broker trading in front of his customer, particularly if that customer has a large order to place. In other words, the broker has information that only he knows and uses that edge to make some money for himself to the disadvantage of his own customer. HFT doesn't work like that. An algorithm doesn't know anything until it "sees" a bid or an offer in the market. Its edge is first and foremost its speed of reaction time. At the heart of this moral maze is the simple fact that the customer always wants to get the best bid or ask from a market-maker who also has to make money from the trade. That's always been the case. In the old days, traders such as Lord Farmer would have used subterfuge to disguise their intentions in the market. Had a trader announced to the LME ring that he was a buyer of 5,000 tonnes of copper, he would surely not have been surprised to find all offers to sell mysteriously evaporate. So he didn't. Electronic trading is no different. All that has changed is the way machines play poker with other machines. The tools are not just speed but also intelligence with both sides of the liquidity battle-ground evolving ever more sophisticated algos to read the other side's intention. But you need robotic eyes to see the game. PICK UP A PHONE? Machine trading came to the LME metals world as soon as the exchange turned on its Select system back at the turn of the century. And short of uninventing computers or prohibiting any sort of non-manual trading, it's going to be around until further notice. As one LME broker summed it up, complaining about automated trading is like the man using the telegraph complaining that the man with the telephone gets his market information faster. "Just buy a phone!" Of course developing your own machines and, even more critically, the knowledge to programme them, comes at a price. There again, if the metals men don't want to pay that price, they could always pick up the phone and call a broker to place their order. The LME still works like that. It's just you won't get the same fractional bid-ask spread from a human as you would a robot. Trading's like that. It's not free. And it never has been. 12-year old boy tried to detonate bomb at German Christmas market BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A 12-year old German-Iraqi boy tried to detonate a bomb at a Christmas market in the western town of Ludwigshafen last month and planted another explosive device near the town hall a couple of days later, German prosecutors said on Friday. Focus magazine cited security and judicial sources as saying the boy was "strongly radicalised" and apparently instructed by an unknown member of the militant group Islamic State. A spokesman at the Federal Public Prosecutor Office in Karlsruhe confirmed that officials were investigating the case but declined to comment on any possible Islamic State link. Nobody was hurt in either of the incidents. The boy, born in Ludwigshafen in 2004, is below the age of criminal responsibility, meaning no formal proceedings were launched against him, Public Prosecutor Hubert Stroeber said. The youth welfare office is taking care of the boy and the Federal Public Prosecutor Office is in charge of investigating whether there are any suspects linked to him, Stroeber added. He said the boy left a backpack containing a self-made nail bomb at the Christmas market on Nov. 26, but the device did not go off because the detonator apparently failed He then planted another explosive device near the town hall of Ludwigshafen on Dec. 5 but an "informant" called the police and specialists defused it, he said. The Focus magazine report said evidence pointed to the child having thought about travelling to Syria last summer to join militants. Eleven killed in attack on Burkina Faso military post OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Ten soldiers and a gendarme in northern Burkina Faso were killed on Friday in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a military post, the army said. Attacks in Burkina Faso were rare before a major strike by al Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital Ouagadougou killed 29 people in January. Islamic militants are active in Burkina Faso's northern neighbour Mali and Burkinabe authorities are concerned the long desert border between the two countries could become a transit point for militants. Friday's attack about 30 km (19 miles) from the Malian border began at around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) and was carried out "by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified," the army said in a statement. Tibetan leader urges Trump to confront China on rights By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile said on Friday he was encouraged by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tough stand on China and urged him to ditch backdoor diplomacy on furthering the Tibetan cause and be more confrontational. The United States and its European allies have sought to engage China over allegations of repression since Washington reached out to Beijing back in the 1970s, effectively driving the Tibetan issue out of public forums, Lobsang Sangay said. But that approach had not worked and human rights abuses had only worsened, the Harvard-educated legal scholar told Reuters in an interview. Beijing had grown even more assertive, from threatening neighbours over the South China Sea dispute to repressing dissent in Hong Kong, he said. "There is negligible or rather zero result as far as this 'quiet backroom dialogue' is concerned," Sangay said in the Tibetan bureau office in New Delhi. "It's time for an open discourse where we press the Chinese government. We are not saying put sanctions, but that we be forthright, be frank on what's going on in Tibet and in China in general and to raise the issue. "And publicly share what's going on what has happened, because we have to make the Chinese government accountable," he said in remarks ahead of the release of a report on what activists see as the erosion of Tibetans' ethnic and religious identity and the degradation of their environment. China denies accusations by exiles and rights groups of rights abuses in Tibetan parts of the country and insists it allows freedom of religion, blaming the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for promoting unrest. Trump has signalled a more "upfront and assertive policy" towards China, and Tibetans - who number about 6 million in their home region and 150,000 abroad - are waiting to see how it translates with regard to their struggle, Sangay said. Trump took a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this month and said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-held stance that Taiwan is part of "one China", triggering a diplomatic protest from China. Trump plans to nominate a long-standing friend of Beijing, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, as the next U.S. ambassador to China. But he is also considering John Bolton, a former Bush administration official who has urged a tougher line on Beijing, for the deputy job at the U.S. State Department, according to a source familiar with the matter. Sangay said Trump's "bold" statement on Taiwan had been consistent with what the U.S. president-elect had been saying for years and it was rooted in a realistic view of China. "If you really want to understand China, you have to know the Tibetan narrative. What happened to Tibet is vital to understanding what China is capable of. So the fact that he is indicating some realistic views about China, in that sense, it is a positive indication." Beijing denounces the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist who wants an independent Tibet. He denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and established the Central Tibetan Administration in the northern hill town of Dharamsala. SETTLEMENT Sangay said he hoped the United States and other democratic countries including Japan and India would lead an effort to call out China for its repressive policies in Tibet and press for a settlement. "We just think there has to be coordinated process from all like-minded countries on the issue of Tibet, and then press China to resolve the issues peacefully through dialogue." He said the Tibetan movement had not formally approached the Trump camp but would do so soon as the president-elect assembles his cabinet team. Sangay said Tibetans expected Trump to meet the Dalai Lama when he travels to the United States next year as had his predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday over Indian President Pranab Mukherjee meeting the Dalai Lama this month, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise. The Indian government had ignored China's "strong opposition and insisted" on arranging for the Dalai Lama to share the stage with Mukherjee, and meet him, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital. The number of people in China of working age is expected to shrink slightly to 958 million by 2030, the Family Planning Association has announced. Wang Peian, vice president of the FPA, said the country had 1.003 billion people of working age in 2015, which will gradually decline to 958 million in 2030 and 827 million in 2050. Although China still has a healthy labor force at this moment, the decreasing number of women of childbearing age means we should not wait any longer to fully implement the two-child policy, Wang said. There were 826 million people of working age in Western developed countries in 2015, thus, while boasting a huge population, Chinas overall labor productivity is just one eighth that of the developed countries, said Wang. The FPA will improve its family planning services, such as reproductive health consultation, Wang said, adding that the FPA will also pay special attention to protecting the rights and interests of the nations migrant population, and will provide health services to women and children in rural areas. Since January 1, all married couples have been allowed to have two children. This follows an earlier easing of the policy in 2013 allowing couples to have a second child if either parent was an only child. The latest change ended the one-child policy that had been in place since the late 1970s. Syrian arrested in Saudi Arabia over pro-Assad Facebook photo RIYADH, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Saudi police arrested a Syrian resident in Riyadh after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook praising the recapture of his home city of Aleppo by government forces, according to a report in al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday. A photo published with the report showed a man with his hand raised and his fingers pointed in a victory sign. His facial features were blurred to conceal his identity. The newspaper said the resident, indentified as being in his 40s, was accused of publishing statements related to the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia is a major regional backer of the rebel brigades fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The rebels were dealt a crippling blow this week when Syrian government forces recaptured Aleppo. Brazil police to question prominent pastor in mining graft probe By Pedro Fonseca and Guillermo Parra-Bernal RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police sought to question a prominent pastor and carried out arrest and search warrants across the country on Friday as part of an investigation into possible corruption involving 1.6 billion reais ($475 million) in excess mining royalties. Silas Malafaia, one of Brazil's most influential evangelical preachers, is accused of laundering money through church accounts. Police said the investigation, "Operation Timoteo," involved 16 searches and raids across 11 states, including 29 interrogations, four detention warrants, 12 arrests and the seizure of over 70 million reais ($21 million) in assets. The scheme, which the police said was run by an unnamed senior Mining and Energy Ministry official along with other public servants and law firms aimed to raise the value of royalties owed to municipal governments by mining companies. A person familiar with the probe said among those affected by the scheme was Vale SA , the world's top iron ore producer. Vale did not have an immediate comment. "Operation Timoteo" is the latest graft probe clouding the political climate in Brazil, where a larger corruption scandal involving state firms, contractors and hundreds of politicians. Former President Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in August, tried for years to get Congress to raise royalties, a move that regional governments endorsed but mining firms opposed. Municipalities get about 65 percent of mining royalties through the so-called CFEM tax every year. The probe began last year when a government ombudsman asked the police to investigate whether the tax records of the mining ministry official were consistent with his income. According to the police, the official might have earned at least 7 million reais from the scheme. Malafaia, a Rio de Janeiro-based Pentecostal pastor with over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, has written books that have sold in the millions and his sermons are broadcast around the globe. Malafaia was an outspoken opponent of Rousseff during her successful 2014 re-election campaign, urging his legion of followers to vote against her. The pastor took to Twitter on Friday to blast the police operation against him, saying that he is currently in Sao Paulo but received a phone call from authorities informing him that they had raided his house in Rio. Dutch PM: unsure if Ukraine compromise will be ratified before March 15 poll THE HAGUE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Friday he was confident parliament would approve a compromise he secured from other European Union leaders on an EU-Ukraine pact, but said he was unsure it would be ratified before a March 15 election. In an advisory referendum earlier this year, Dutch voters rejected the agreement, which aims to bolster ties between the EU and Ukraine. Rutte said the compromise - a legal document stating, among other things, that the treaty would not lead to Ukraine's EU accession - addressed voters' concerns adequately. Sliding in polls, Greece's Tsipras seeks pensioners' support By Karolina Tagaris and Renee Maltezou ATHENS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras seems determined to go down in history as a leader who tried to save Greece's most vulnerable from austerity. But the crowd of pensioners in Athens on Thursday night was cynical about his promise to placate them with a one-off Christmas bonus. "We are living in misery and we won't tolerate being fooled any more," said Stavros Bokias, 75, one of hundreds of elderly Greeks protesting against deep pension cuts over the years. Under Greece's latest bailout, Athens can spend more on social programmes if it exceeds its fiscal targets, provided it consults its creditors first. Earlier this year, Greek lawmakers approved a social justice bill providing health insurance to vulnerable citizens and offering jobs for the unemployed. But political experts say the bonus was calculated to garner public support ahead of a big showdown with Greece's emergency lenders, the European Union and International Monetary Fund. They were concerned that the bonus showed Athens was retreating from its commitment to fiscal reform and reacted by shelving the prospect of short-term debt relief. Trailing badly in opinion polls, Tsipras needs support of politically powerful pensioners to help him stage another big confrontation with the lenders at a critical juncture in his effort to resist pressure on Greece to adopt more austerity. "Tsipras has repeatedly said that 'Greece will exit the crisis with its people standing on their feet'," a government official told Reuters when asked to comment on the premier's strategy regarding the Christmas bonus announcement. "This payout is part of this policy which he is determined to implement." ELECTION SPECULATION Speaking in Berlin on Friday, Tsipras said Greece would return to growth in 2017 after years of recession, and that economic development should not just be measured by statistics. "We want it to heal the wounds of crisis and to alleviate all those who have over these difficult years made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," he said. But pensioners are having none of it. Almost a dozen pension cuts have pushed nearly half of Greece's elderly to below the poverty line with income of less than 665 euros a month. After rent, utility bills and health care, they barely make ends meet. "They are handing out crumbs compared to what they stole from us," Bokias said at the protest in central Athens as another demonstrator mocked the prime minister's populist gesture by handing out fake 50 euro notes. There is speculation among parliamentarians that Tsipras is prepared to call early elections next year. This would threaten the euro zone with further political uncertainty at a time when France, Germany and Italy are also on an election footing. His office has ruled out early elections but Tsipras has a history of resorting to the ballot box in big showdowns with lenders, most recently calling snap polls in September 2015 to consolidate his power and strengthen his hand in negotiations. Back then, he was riding high in opinion polls. Now, though, his leftist Syriza party is languishing more than 10 points behind conservative New Democracy and is widely viewed as having broken its promise to do away with austerity. Tsipras is eager to make a quick breakthrough with lenders next year, so that Greece can join other EU nations in joining the European Central Bank's quantitative easing programme from which is has been excluded, but he is being asked to first make more painful reforms. As encouragement, the EU and IMF granted short-term debt relief, but then Tsipras announced the bonus, called IMF technocrats 'fools' and warned lenders not to tell Greece what to do with its hard-earned budget surplus. Theodore Couloumbis, a political analyst, said elections next year were very likely and the government could be preparing the ground for a "heroic exit". "The government cannot go on. It's hanging by a thread," Couloumbis said. "Clearly it's to get a good rating in opinion polls ... He's stretching it because he can, at a time when Europe is being shaken." TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE Another government official said Tsipras was not thinking about a snap election but if forced to do so, the government would at least have paid out something to suffering pensioners. Greek pensions can still look generous on some measures, even after 11 cuts in the last six years. In 2014, four years into austerity, they accounted for 17 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in the European Union. That compared with 16.5 percent for Italy, 15.2 percent for France and 12.8 percent for Spain, according to Eurostat's latest data. Greece says the Christmas bonus, worth 300-500 euros each for its 1.3 million pensioners, does not breach the terms of its bailout. At a total cost of 617 million euros, it comes after the government exceeded its primary surplus target for 2016. But the hand-outs have so far failed to whip up any obvious increase in support for Tsipras among pensioners. Some have seen their monthly cheque fall between 40 and 50 percent in six years. For Nikiforos, a 76-year-old pensioner from the town of Thessaloniki, it is too little, too late. After 46 years of paying into a pension fund, he receives a monthly cheque of 436 euros while his living costs rise. This year, authorities scrapped a 230 euro top-up pension he received a month, and chopped an additional 50 euros from his main pension. Zimbabwe's Mugabe decries party indiscipline By MacDonald Dzirutwe MASVINGO, Zimbabwe, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accused some younger members of his ZANU-PF party on Friday of disrespect and indiscipline, acknowledging rumbles of discontent with his leadership but telling his critics they were in the minority. Even though the ruling party is preparing to re-endorse him as its 2018 presidential election candidate, the 92-year-old leader is facing unprecedented protests over falling living standards, high unemployment and corruption. Leaders of the war veterans association, which has supported Mugabe in previous elections, have boycotted the party's annual conference in the drought-stricken southern province of Masvingo, saying they no longer feel welcome. "There has been emerging into our party now a culture of indiscipline ... by the young ones who think that they can do what they want," said Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader and the only one Zimbabwe has known since independence from Britain in 1980. Addressing 7,000 party supporters, he attacked war veterans who earlier this year accused him of being a dictator. "It doesn't matter who you are, whether you are a former detainee or a war veteran, you should always know how things are done," Mugabe said, to applause. The president's advanced age and rumours about his health have prompted factions in ZANU-PF to start positioning themselves for a post-Mugabe era. "Others were saying 'we no longer want Mugabe'. So if you don't want him, what will you yourself do about it when the majority in the party want him?" he asked. Mugabe will be reconfirmed as the ZANU-PF presidential candidate for the next vote in 2018, his last under a charter adopted in 2013, according to the conference agenda. Germany arrests Turkish man suspected of spying for Turkey BERLIN, Dec 16 (Reuters) - German police have arrested a 31-year-old Turkish man who is suspected of providing information on Kurds living in Germany to Turkish intelligence agencies, the German federal prosecutor's office announced on Friday. The arrest could exacerbate tensions between NATO partners Germany and Turkey, which has accused Berlin of harboring militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - fighting a three-decade-old armed campaign for autonomy - and far-leftists of the DHKP-C, which has carried out attacks in Turkey. German officials reject that claim. The prosecutor's office said in a statement police had arrested the man, identified only by the initials M.S., in Hamburg on Thursday and searched his home. "The accused is strongly suspected of working for the Turkish intelligence agency and providing information about Kurds living in Germany, including their whereabouts, contacts and political activities," it said. The prosecutor's office had no immediate comment about the man's links to Ankara and how long he had been living in Germany. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticised Turkey's arrest of Kurdish opposition leaders last month, saying Ankara had a right to fight terrorism but could not use it to justify gagging opponents. Ties between the two NATO allies have been strained since the German parliament voted in June to declare the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide. The situation has deteriorated with growing German concerns about Turkey's mass arrests and suspensions since a failed July coup attempt. United States appeals against latest WTO Boeing subsidies ruling GENEVA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The United States appealed on Friday against a ruling on tax breaks for Boeing, the World Trade Organization said on its website, the latest step in a more than a decade-old transatlantic spat over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus. A panel of WTO adjudicators ruled last month that a tax break from Washington state to help U.S. planemaker Boeing develop its new 777X jetliner was a prohibited subsidy. France pushes U.N. Security Council action on Aleppo By Michelle Nichols and John Irish UNITED NATIONS/PARIS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - France said on Friday it is pushing for the United Nations Security Council to ensure the evacuation of Aleppo is coordinated by international observers, that humanitarian aid is allowed in to the Syrian city and that hospitals are protected. French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre outlined a draft resolution to the 15-member council after a briefing by U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said negotiations would begin on Friday. "We're hoping to vote over the weekend at least because of the extreme urgency," she told reporters. The evacuation from the last opposition-held areas of the city was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded the wounded should also be brought out of two Shi'ite villages besieged by rebel fighters. Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that while he had not yet seen a copy of the draft resolution, it appeared that Russia was already carrying out everything it described. "Now France comes in and says that they're actually on top of it all and they're showing the right way to do things on the ground," he said. "If it is a sensible initiative and we see it on paper, why not entertain this initiative." He said he wanted to see greater involvement of U.N. agencies in Aleppo, but dismissed the idea of deploying U.N. observers as it would "take weeks" when the International Committee for the Red Cross is already on the ground. Delattre and Power said U.N. officials and resources were already present in Syria. "The issue is that the regime, Russia and Iran and the militia they are backing aren't allowing U.N. people to reach civilians and then to be present at the sites where people are crossing from eastern Aleppo into other territory," Power said. Syrian ally Russia, which has provided military backing to President Bashar al-Assad's troops, has vetoed six Security Council resolutions on Syria since the conflict started in 2011. China joined Moscow in vetoing five resolutions. "If we have no consensus within the Security Council we would go for an emergency special session of the General Assembly," Delattre said. Under a 1950 resolution, an emergency special session can be called for the 193-member General Assembly to consider a matter "with a view to making appropriate recommendations to members for collective measures" if the Security Council fails to act. Twelve soldiers killed in attack on Burkina Faso army post OUAGADOUGOU, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A dozen soldiers were killed in northern Burkina Faso when unidentified gunmen attacked a military post near the border with Mali, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said on Friday, calling the assailants "forces of evil". Attacks in Burkina Faso were relatively rare before a major attack by al Qaeda-linked fighters on a hotel in the capital, Ouagadougou, that killed 29 people in January. "This attack demonstrates that the fight against terrorism will be without respite and also underscores the necessary decisions that must be taken to give confidence and vitality to our army," Kabore said. He said those killed were members of the army's special anti-terrorist group. The army had earlier said that 10 soldiers and one gendarme had been killed. Islamic militants are active in Burkina Faso's northern neighbour, Mali, and Burkinabe authorities are concerned the long desert border between the two countries could become a transit point for militants. Friday's attack about 30 km (19 miles) from the Malian border began around 5 a.m. (0500 GMT) and was carried out "by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified," the army said in its statement. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte told the United States on Saturday to prepare for repeal of an agreement on deployment of troops and equipment for exercises. He also declared that money given to the country by American anti-poverty groups isn't needed. Duterte, however, suggested relations could improve under President-elect Donald Trump. 'I like your mouth, it's like mine, yes Mr. President. We are similar and people with the same feathers flock together,' he said during a news conference after arriving back home after visiting Cambodia and Singapore. But returning his focus to the present US administration, which has criticized Duterte over reports of state-sanctioned street killings in his campaign against drugs, he delivered a different message. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he's prepared to repeal VFA, which allowed visiting American troops legal status in his country 'We do not need you,' Duterte said in a news conference after arriving from visits to Cambodia and Singapore. 'Prepare to leave the Philippines. Prepare for the eventual repeal or abrogation of the VFA.' The Visiting Forces Agreement, signed in 1998, accorded legal status to thousands of US troops who were rotated in the country for military exercises and humanitarian assistance operations. 'Bye, bye America and work on the protocols that will eventually move you out of the Philippines,' he said, adding that his decision would come 'any day soon' after reviewing another military deal, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Duterte said he doesn't need American money and can get it from China A US State Department spokesman, Justin Higgins, said officials had seen Duterte's statements, but the United States had 'not received any official requests from Philippine officials to alter any of our many issues of bilateral cooperation.' Duterte was visibly upset and vented his anger on Washington because of a decision by the board of the Millennium Challenge Corp, a US poverty reduction agency, to defer a vote on the re-selection of Manila for compact development due to human rights issues. 'We do not need the money. China said they will provide so many,' he said. 'The politics here in Southeast Asia is changing.' Manila has been getting fierce criticism from human rights activists over its state-sanctioned killings of suspected drug dealers Six months into the crackdown, 5,000 Filipinos, including police, suspected users, and suspected dealers involved in drugs have been killed Two suspected drug dealers, bound and with faces wrapped in packaging tape were found by a passerby and reported to police on November 17, 2016 in Pasay city, Philippines On Friday, Duterte said while in Singapore that when he was mayor of Davao City that he would ride the city streets on a motorbike 'looking for encounters to kill' drug pushers, according to Channel News Asia. White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the admission 'deeply troubling.' But Duterte remained unbowed, saying, 'It's not genocide, it's about crime. If you are fighting drug addicts and criminal, I can go as many as I want and for as long as there are drug pushers in the streets in my country... this campaign will go on until the last day of my term.' Duterte claimed that during a call with President-Elect Donald Trump, Trump approved of his method. 'He wishes me well, too, in my campaign, and he said that, well, we are doing it as a sovereign nation, the right way,' he said, according to the New York Times. 'I could sense a good rapport,' the Philippines leader said about Trump, according to CBS. 'He was wishing me success in my campaign on the drug problem. He understood the way we are handling it and he said that theres nothing wrong in protecting your country.' Since bike sharing swept major cities in China in 2016, parking bikes in hidden areas and vehicle damages have occurred frequently. A group of volunteers self-named "hunters," is using their efforts to try to protect bike sharing. Mobike parked at the Power Station of Art in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China.org.cn] In April 2016, Mobike, a bike-sharing startup was launched in major cities in China. To make bike sharing more convenient, Mobikes are not allowed to be parked in hidden areas such as residences or basements. Volunteers call the process of reporting the irregular bike usage as hunting. If a hunter sees that a Mobike user parked the bikes in hidden areas, the hunters locate the vehicles via an integrated GPS and return these bikes to proper locations. Users who have changed the locks or equipped the bike with children's safety seats for private use will be recorded and get a report in the Mobike app. Once the report is confirmed, the user's account will receive a 20-point deduction. According to rules for Mobike users, accounts under 80 points will be charged 100 yuan per half hour instead of the normal fee of 1 yuan per half hour. To some extent, they will be temporarily prohibited from using Mobikes. The hunters have set up 22 groups nationwide and communicate through Wechat. The groups,with less than 50 hunters, consist of people from all walks of life. Without any form of payment, who would bother to do that, you might say. Zhuang Ji, marketing manager of the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, has many reasons behind why he became the first hunter. Transportation has been a headache for Zhuang since the Power Station of Art moved to an area of urban sprawl in Shanghai, which is 1.5 km from the nearest subway station. To solve this problem, he did a lot of research while visiting art galleries in Paris and New York. When Mobike was launched, he was more than happy to tell his colleagues and visitors. Mobike is just what he has been looking for. He even spent 10 yuan everyday looking for bikes and bringing them to his museum for people to use. He also contacted Mobike to ask for more vehicles to be launched in that area. Zhuang never thought of irregular use when he found a Mobike with the QR codes torn off. "I was very angry," said Zhuang. "I have been doing my part to help more people share bikes, but someone is doing the opposite." Therefore, he made a decision to seek out and recover more irregularly parked bikes. He found five that day. Since then, he started to look for irregular use of Mobikes in his spare time. He found that sometimes the vehicles are parked out of specified areas and sometimes the locks were changed. Things did not go well in the beginning. Zhuang located Mobikes by GPS parked in residential areas, but the security guard did not let him in. "I have no other option than to call the police," said Zhuang. "After a few incidents, the security guards learned the rule to keep Mobikes out of residential areas." "What I am doing is just a drop in the ocean, but every one of us has a responsibility to smooth interpersonal relationships and help to make our lives better." Zhuang said. "It's not reporting these irregular bike usages that makes us happy, but the sound and sustainable bike-sharing." "Think about the next person who will use the Mobike," Zhuang said, adding that this is the first principal of sharing bikes. "I have no expectation that everybody acts according to the rules, but I do hope that everybody can take part in hunting." "China has seen rapid mobile Internet development in recent years. I feel proud of this invention," he said. He believes that Mobike is a gift that China brings to the world. Mobike has shown interest and recognition for the hunters' work. Zhuang has suggested that the company should hire paid hunters. Obama says China would not take change in US policy on Taiwan lightly By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday it was fine for President-elect Donald Trump to review Washington's "one-China" policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a shift could lead to significant consequences in the U.S. relationship with Beijing. "For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket," Obama told a news conference. "The idea of one China is at the heart of their conception as a nation and so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what ... the consequences are." China lodged a diplomatic protest earlier this month after Trump, a Republican, spoke by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan. The 10-minute telephone call was the first of its kind by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of "one China". China considers Taiwan a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary. Obama noted that, under the decades-old policy, China had recognized Taiwan was its own entity that did things its own way, while Taiwan had agreed that, with some autonomy, it would not declare independence. "That status quo, although not completely satisfactory to any of the parties involved, has kept the peace and allowed the Taiwanese to be a pretty successful ... economy and a people who have a high degree of self-determination," Obama said. The Democratic president said he had advised Trump that foreign policy had to be conducted in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way. "There's probably no bilateral relationship that carries more significance and ... where there's also the potential, if that relationship breaks down or goes into a full conflict mode, that everybody is worse off," he said of the U.S.-China ties. He said Beijing would not treat a departure from U.S. policy toward Taiwan lightly. "The Chinese will not treat that the way they'll treat some other issues. They won't even treat it the way they treat issues around the South China Sea, where we've had a lot of tensions," he said. Taiwan reiterated it was committed to keeping the status quo in its relations with China and in promoting peace and stability, and thanked Washington for deepening U.S.-Taiwan relations. While condemning the conduct of the Navy Commander who attacked a journalist covering a protest at the Hambantota Port last Saturday, Deputy Mass Media Minister Karunarathna Paranavithana said yesterday that the navy commander should have kept in mind the peoples mandate given to the government. We cannot approve of the conduct of and the language used by the Sri Lanka Navy Commander. The navy chief should have thought about the situation in the country and about the mandate given by the people to this government and that all these officials are under the peoples mandate, he said. We regret the harassment the journalist underwent at the hands of navy commander he said. He made this observation at a discussion under the theme, Is the media freedom carrying out attack and looking for media ethics? organised by the Young Journalists' Association, at the Government Information Department yesterday. However, the deputy minister also said that the Navy was bound by law to protect the port and the ships, and the Navy had been summoned there to release the ships. We could not have done that using the Police, he said. He said that, according to his understanding, the navy commander should be physically be present on such occasions. A number of media activists and senior journalists who participated in the discussion condemned the attack on the journalist by Navy Commander Ravindra Wijegunaratne and protested against the governments attempts to mislead the people by saying it was a hostile situation and the journalist had violated journalistic ethics. Chandana Sirimalwatte, Editor of Lanka newspaper said the country was not under martial law and condemned the conduct of the navy chief and other navy personnel. There is no difference between the way the military behaved in Rathupaswela under the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and how it behaved here, he said. When there was a trade union action, what right had the navy commander to come and attack the journalist who was reporting it? he asked. Why did the Government Information Department's Director General Ranga Kalansooriya forget to talk about whether what the government did was correct or not before talking about media ethics? the Lanka Editor asked. He also refuted Mr. Kalansooriya's allegation that the journalist had violated basic ethical practice when reporting a sensitive conflict situation. Before talking about media ethics we want to ask government what action it has taken with regard to the journalists who were killed under the previous regime, he said. There is no difference between the Mahinda Rajapaksa government and this government when comes to dealing with journalists, Sirimalwatte said. Dr. Ranga Kalansooiya, who attended the discussion, said that he condemned the attack on the journalist by the navy commander. Referring to his earlier statement about the violation of ethics by the journalist, Dr. Kalansooriya admitted that his statement could have been misunderstood. When I re-read (on the following day) the statement that I had issued, I felt it could have given a wrong impression. I regret it. I had no intention of condoning the attack,he said. He said there was a violation of an ethical code, but there were no written laws in this regard. There are no laws, but journalists are bound by agreements, he said. Though there were no specific written laws with regard to media ethics, the journalist who was attacked could be faulted for violating the code of ethics with regard to minimising harm to himself and his fraternity, he said. Meanwhile, Seetha Ranjani, the convener of the Free Media Movement and M. M. Ameen, the president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum strongly condemned the attack and insisted that the government give an assurance that such attacks would be stopped and journalists would be allowed to carry out their duties freely in future. (Susitha R. Fernando) VIdeo by Indika Sri Aravinda The Sri Lanka Police, the Justice Ministry and the Prisons Department will be the only state-owned institutions if the government continues to administer the country till 2020, the joint opposition said today. JO MP Dullas Alahapperuma told a media conference that the country's economic hubs would vanish if the government sells our national resources to foreign countries like the move to sell 80 per cent of the Hambantota Harbour to a Chinese company. During the tenure of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, the government annexed properties but the opposite is happening now, he said. Mr. Alahapperuma said the Yahapalana government was repeatedly breaking the promises it had made to the people. He said the government remained silent on the alleged assault on a journalist by the Navy Commander at the Hambantota harbour. If it had happened during the previous government, the attack may have been interpreted this as an order from Mr. Rajapaksa, Mr. Alahapperuma said. MP Keheliya Rambukwella said Sri Lanka would be transformed into a Chinese, Indian and American colony by 2020 considering what this government was doing. (Kalathma Jayawardhane) Video by Sanjeewa India has signed agreements with Sri Lanka, Finland, Spain and three other countr ies whereby airlines from those nations can operate unlimited number of flights to six Indian metro airports. Such pacts have also been inked with Jamaica, Guyana, and Czech Republic. Terming the pact as "Open Skies agreement as per National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) 2016", the Civil Aviation Ministry yesterday said the new arrangement would encourage connectivity and passenger travel between India and these countries. The pacts allow "unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai," it said in a release. New Air Service Agreements have also been signed with Jamaica and Guyana. These agreements were signed during the recently concluded International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2016 at Nassau, Bahamas. According to the release, India held negotiations with 17 countries and Memorandum of Understanding was signed with 12 countries at ICAN. Besides, India has re-negotiated traffic rights with Oman increasing the entitlements with 6,258 seats. With Saudi Arabia, India has agreed to increase the capacity by 8,000 seats per week, the release said. "Indian also agreed with Ghana to increase the present allocation of 2 frequencies to 7 frequencies per week to encourage connectivity between the two countries," it added. The ministry said negotiations were completed with 9 countries to enable the legal framework to make possible code shares between the airlines of two sides. "The negotiations have enabled domestic code shares with Czech Republic, Portugal and Malaysia, domestic and international code shares including third country airlines with Guyana...," the release said. Resolution of other issues relating to Air Services Agreement was also completed with Ghana, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, it added. (PTI) The National Freedom Front (NFF) today urged the government to immediately remove the Navy Commander from his post and launch an investigation to the incident where the Navy Commander had allegedly assaulted a journalist during the protest at the Hambantota Harbour. Addressing a media briefing, NFF Media Spokesman Mohammed Muzammil said the government has tactfully used the Navy Commander to cover up the selling of 80 per cent of the Hambantota Port to a Chinese company. The government has tarnished the reputation of the Sri Lanka Navy as well as the Navy Commander following this incident. At present the government has called for an investigation from the Navy Commander instead of removing him from his post, he said. He said it was evident from these incidents that the government was in need to make the journalist proved to be guilty whereas the Navy Commander would remain out of the blame. He said the NFF had decried the suppressive nature of the government. The government should have dealt with the protesting workers at the Hambantota Harbour in a more humane manner by arranging a discussion for them with the related authorities, he added. Meanwhile, the NFF urged the government to refrain from selling the 80 per cent of the Hambantota Harbour to a Chinese company and added that the government should offer an immediate solution to the issues of the workers at the Hambantota Harbour. (Kalathma Jayawardhane) Video by Buddhi As the premier professional body which promotes green constructions, the Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB), presented the coveted CIOB Green Mark award certification and plaque to NSBM University, the first-ever green university in the whole of South Asia. In adherence to the specifications of the government-owned Building and Construction Authority of Singapore, the CIOB honoured NSBM University situated in Homagama with this prestigious Green Mark certification. President Maithripala Sirisena recently presented the CIOB Green Mark certificate to NSBM University appraising and endorsing it as a Green University Town - at a ceremony in the presence of CIOB President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne. Expressing his views on this initiative, Karunaratne said, In the building industry, the latest innovative trend in the world is the construction of green buildings also known as green constructions or sustainable buildings. There is a multitude of benefits in green constructions. Amongst the key inherent advantages of green buildings are established to a longer life cycle, environmental friendly, conserve energy and directly benefits to human health, while improving productivity of the occupants. It is because of the wide ranging plus factors that the CIOB works vigorously towards the expansion of green constructions in Sri Lanka. The CIOB has initiated a series of programmes to achieve the objective of more green buildings. One of the key tasks in this process involves the inspection of large-scale green constructions in terms of compliance with accepted international standards and norms and awarding quality certification to those within the range of these global specifications. They are presented with the locally and internationally accepted CIOB Green Mark certificate. We obtain the technical support of the Singapore Governments Building and Construction Authority, for this purpose. The Ceylon Institute of Builders has already awarded the Green Mark certification to many leading Green buildings in the country. In the NSBM Green University inaugurated recently, all aspects of construction have been done completely in adherence to green specifications. We awarded the CIOB Green Mark certificate to this building complex after an inspection in terms of global benchmark quality standards. The NSBM University in Sri Lanka is the first-ever green university in the whole of South Asia. This institution is owned by the Sri Lankan government. As the premier body which awards Green Mark certification, we are happy that the NSBM University is a green building complex and that the CIOB as a leading green building accreditor in Sri Lanka, was able to recognize and honour this University Town. The CIOB initiated two prestigious award ceremonies annually with the core objective of giving a motivation to promote green building concept in Sri Lanka and also to drive them to achieve international benchmark quality standards. Qualifying green products and green institutions are awarded the CIOB Green Mark certificates at these biannual events. In addition, the CIOB also conducts advanced training courses on achieving global standards through green construction management for professionals of leading construction companies. The CIOB is, therefore, not only the leading, but also the pioneer organisation in awarding green constructions in keeping with international benchmark standards. In collaboration with the Building Economics and Management Research Unit (BEMRU), Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, the CIOB has been organising the World Construction Symposium in Sri Lanka for the past five years. The institute also plays a lead role in hosting the Construction Expo in Colombo annually. Taking Sri Lankas construction industry to the next level is the core objective of these programmes. State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene today refuted former President Mahinda Rajapakse's accusation that the navy was sent to sabotage the Hambantota protest and it was a deliberate act to tarnish the Navy's image. I completely refute former president Mahinda Rajapakse's accusation, State Minister Wijewardene said. He said that the Navy was deployed to the Hambantota port to secure and release two ships that were held captive by the protesters. The ships were of Japanese and Singaporean origin. When ships are held captive, that amounts to piracy and the navy has the right to use the appropriate force needed to secure the ships in such a situation, he said. He also said there was a genuine threat of sabotage not only to the two ships but also to the oil tanks situated near the port. The protesters had already damaged the gantry trains, tug boats, pilot boats and generators. The total cost of damages are more than Rs. 15 million, excluding the 400,000 US dollars we have to pay as damages for the ships, he said. Does the former President want Sri Lanka to be branded as a safe harbour for pirates like in Somalia?" he questioned. The reputation of Sri Lanka was at threat and the Navy's action protected the image of our country. This is all a political game played by the Joint Opposition. These employees were not at any point employed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), but were hired through a manpower company during the time of the former regime. If they are so concerned about these protesters why did they not employ them directly to the SLPA labour force at that time? Such actions and statements are not only disrespecting the navy but also creating a bad image of Sri Lanka to the rest of the world, the State Minister added. PARIS AFP Dec15, 2016 Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy moved closer to facing trial over a campaign funding scandal on Thursday when a bid to halt proceedings against one of the suspects in the case was rejected. The Paris appeal court threw out the request by the defence concerning the director of Sarkozys unsuccessful 2012 re-election campaign, Guillaume Lambert, who is one of 14 people in the prosecutions sights. Lawyers said the attempt to have the case against Lambert dropped was probably the last obstacle to the case going to trial, providing investigating magistrates follow prosecutors requests to proceed. In the most sensational case against him, Sarkozy was cleared in October 2013 of accepting campaign donations in 2007 from Frances richest woman, LOreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, when she was too frail to know what she was doing. RT.COM/15 Dec, 2016- Saudi Arabia will not tolerate any external interference in Yemen, King Salman has stated, as his forces continue to wage war against Houthi rebels, killing hundreds of civilians and leaving millions facing acute food shortages. We will not accept any interference in the internal affairs of Yemen, King Salman said in a televised address to the Shura Council on Wednesday, as quoted by AFP. Salman stated that his kingdom will not accept that neighbouring war-torn Yemen becomes a base or a point of passage for whatever state or party to menace the security or the stability of the kingdom and of the region. Colombo High Court Judge Sarojini Kusala Weearawardane today refused the request made by former health minister Tissa Aattanayake to travel to Australia between December 25 and January 13 for the purpose of visiting his daughter. He was earlier arrested, remanded and then released on bail in a case where he was charged with displaying a fraudulent document with the forged signatures of the then common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena and the then Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe during last years presidential election campaign. The Attorney General objected to the request made by Mr. Attanayake through a motion filed in the High Court on the basis that the case in which he is an accused had been fixed for March 20 to be heard on consecutive days. (Shehan Chamika Silva) Video by Courts Prasanna President-elect Donald Trump has decided to poke China in the eye. He has phoned Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, assuring her of Americas support. Yes, the US has always supported Taiwan but usually behind the scenes, apart from its arms supplies. It does not recognize it diplomatically. China was angry. Beijing is furious after Sundays news that Trump was reconsidering the USs long-held One China policy. When, last November, President Xi Jinping met Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwans then president and leader of the Kuomintang Party, I observed that if China continued to play its hand quietly it could, if it was shrewd, in the end win re-unification. But perhaps it will be over Trumps dead body. The leaders of the two parties, the Communists and the Kuomintang, the Republican claimants for power in China, hadnt met since 1945 during the aborted peace negotiations. A while later the Kuomintang, facing defeat from Mao Zedongs communist army, fled the mainland to Taiwan. Beijing has more than a thousand rockets aimed at Taiwan. The US supplies arms aplenty to Taiwan some of which need American cooperation and participation to be fired. Despite that China is capable of overwhelming the islands defences. In reality both sides need each other. Taiwan wouldnt be so comfortably off if it didnt have the Chinese market for its investments, a home for factories churning out the latest products designed by Taiwanese inventors and engineers and Chinese tourists from the mainland pouring in, not least, to look at the old Chinese artefacts that Maos Cultural Revolution destroyed at home but have been preserved in Taiwan. China would not have done so well over the past two decades if it hadnt had this Taiwanese input. Indeed, one could argue that it was the most important ingredient in Chinas technological success. For years US strategists have been saying this is the worlds most dangerous flash-point, one that could lead to a nuclear war with China. Presumably weighing these factors, Xi overrode his bureaucracys advice and made this historic reach out. President Ma, as pro-China as Taiwanese voters will permit, wanted to take a step that would leave his mark in history before he left office two months later. The opposition Democratic Progressive Party under Tsai Ing-wen swept to power. The DPP is critical of the idea of unification and contains within its ranks a strong human rights contingent which was responsible for Taiwan becoming a democracy and who thus showed that the Chinese can be democrats too. It should be said that when it comes down to it both parties are pro the status quo with one party leaning more towards China and one party leaning away. Simply put, Xis intention at this meeting was to underline that China is the senior partner but at the same time to emphasise it wants re-unification to happen peacefully, thus suggesting that for the time being China also respects the status quo. Trump should be careful not to rock this boat. What can be done to make resolving the dispute easier if Trump and Xi decided to continue on the old course? China should agree to initiate military confidence-building measures without any political preconditions. If the US significantly reduced the planned redeployment of 5,000 marines to its base at Guam, which China considers to be another hostile move, China could well agree to start talking. Second, China should remove its short-range missiles from within a radius of 1,000 kilometres from Taiwan. At present in a first strike they could knock out Taiwans air-force and navy. Admittedly the Chinese weapons could be quickly moved back but it would show goodwill and build confidence both between Taiwan and China and the US and China. Third, China should institutionalize a system for allowing more leeway in allowing Taiwan to become a member of international entities like the World Health Organisation. For its part the US should halt the sale of new weapons systems, indeed all arms transfers. The idea that the US maintains arms sales to an island off the coast of a nuclear-armed rising power is absurd. There never can be mutual deterrence. The arms are symbolic but profoundly irritating to Beijing. If these moves are made then China can be asked to renounce the use of force as a preliminary to negotiations leading to a peace treaty in which full autonomy is given to Taiwan. However, if re-unification ever comes it will have to be on better terms than Hong Kong received and the Taiwanese, in a stronger negotiating position than Hong Kong ever was, will only allow it when they see a good measure of democracy and human rights observance in the mainland. Progress is in the offing as an evolution of the present status quo. Only statesmanship can bring it about. Can Trump see that? Obviously not. A Sri Lankan investor Rienzi Edwards was charged by the US Justice Department in connection with a fraudulent high-yield investment scheme that resulted in the theft of over $50 million from investors in the United States and around the world, the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement. Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said: Edwards and his co-defendants allegedly concocted and carried out an audacious scam, promising investors exponential returns on investments they claimed were overseen by the New York Federal Reserve and backed by the US government. In reality, it was all a lie; there was no government-backed programme and no plan to invest, only an alleged plan to steal the investors money. According to the allegations contained in the Indictment: From at least June 2013 through August 2016, Rienzi Edwards, Michael Jacobs, Ruby Handler-Jacobs, F.K. Ho, Lawrence Lester and Rachel Gendreau orchestrated and executed a fraudulent high-yield investment programme known as the Cities Upliftment Programme, or CUP, which the defendants falsely told investors was operated by the New York Fed. The scheme was principally designed and operated by Edwards, with the assistance of Jacobs and Handler-Jacobs, and was marketed to investors around the world through brokers, including Ho, Lester, and Gendreau. The statement also said that, Michael Jacobs, Handler-Jacobs, Lester and Gendreau were arrested by the US law enforcement authorities. It also said that Edwards and Ho are currently at large. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. Arraignment is scheduled for December 20, 2016, in federal court in Manhattan. Edwards, 55, of Sri Lanka, Jacobs, 64, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Handler-Jacobs, 64, of Albuquerque, New Mexico are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conducting monetary transactions in unlawful funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to impersonate employees of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years; one count of impersonating employees of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of three years; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Meanwhile, online edition of our sister paper The Sunday Times quoting Rienzie Edwards said that he rejected accusations against him by the US Justice Department of involvement in swindling investors to the tune of over US$50 million. In the first place, no one has informed me from the US or the US embassy (here) of these charges. Furthermore I am an investment banker and advises clients (from many parts of the world). I dont make any investments, he told Times On-line in a telephone response in Colombo. Mr. Edwards said he didnt know the other accused, four of whom have been arrested. Accordingly, Rienzie had been previously under investigation in Sri Lanka by the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID). MANILA AFP Dec15, 2016 - The United States said Thursday it had withheld a major aid package to the Philippines because of significant concerns about the rule of law under President Rodrigo Duterte, days after he boasted about personally killing people. The announcement is one of the sharpest responses by the United States to Dutertes drug war, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives in less than six months. The US embassy said the Philippines had missed out on a second aid grant under the Millennium Challenge Corporation, after an initial five-year package worth more than $430 million expired in May. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, yesterday, asked whether the Sri Lanka Navy was asked to intervene in the recent protest at the Hambantota Harbour in order to tarnish the reputation of the Navy. Referring to the Navy Commander's alleged assault on a journalist who was there to cover the event, Mr. Rajapaksa said the Navy Commander was a skilful officer during the wartime and added that it was the first time that the armed forces had been ordered to intervene to control a protest in recent history according to his knowledge. Addressing the media at a workshop held in Colombo, the former president also said, There is no democracy in the country even though the government speaks highly of democracy. The Sri Lanka Navy was used for the first time to sabotage this protest of workers at the Hambantota Harbour. Such incidents are usually handled by the Police. He said he wondered who had instructed the Sri Lanka Navy to intervene to halt the protest. He said the duties connected to the armed forces could not be altered without the knowledge of the President. (Kalathma Jayawardhane) Video by Sanjeewa What does Patali know about politics that Harini doesnt know? Sri Lanka is going through great pains to get its economy in order after the On Nov. 9, 2016, Donald Trump was elected as the 45th U.S. president. His election will bring a range of uncertainty to the U.S. and international relations. Furthermore, his campaign promise, including America first, retrenching strategic resources and sharply adjusting domestic and international policies, makes people worry more about America's domestic and international policies in the future. Policy towards China will also be affected by the uncertainty; thus how to deal with Trump's future China policy becomes an urgent question China has to face right now. America's foreign policy-making is a decentralized system, in which the president is merely one influencing factor. There are three elements that might affect future U.S.-China policy during Trump's presidency: First is personnel, which includes Trump and his team's opinion, and American think tank and strategy researchers' discussions on U.S. future policy towards China. American think tanks' perspective on Sino-U.S. relations is still an important factor that can affect Trump's decision. Second is the institutional element, which includes the influence of U.S. parliament, administrative departments and interest groups on policy towards China. Separation of powers decides that U.S. policy towards China is a result of interaction between government departments, rather than Trump or his team's monopoly. Third is the international environment, which includes the influences of other great powers and third countries. Trump's future China policy agenda made its first appearance during the election campaign. Generally speaking, in Trump's governance layout, domestic affairs are prior to international ones, or even we could say international affairs have to serve domestic ones. Trump's future foreign policy may focus on the following trends: Emphasizing America as first in the Western world while narrowing America's global strategic scope, so as to reinforce its domestic interest; speeding up relationship reparations with Russia, so as to stabilize its strategic layout through U.S.-Russia strategic cooperation; containing a rising China to prevent it from being the world's super power and going beyond U.S.'s control; adjusting U.S.'s relations with its allies, so as to release some burden from its shoulder and let the allies bear more international responsibility; and fighting against Islamic and international terrorism. The above may set up Trump's global strategic framework, under which U.S. policy towards China will follow following directions: Firstly, Trump's future China policy will maintain the "engagement plus vigilance" path inherited from previous presidents. As a businessman, Trump may value more the maintaining and stabilizing of common interests, and enlarging of America's interest. Thus, engaging China will be the priority issue in Trump's future China policy. For communication style, Trump will stress more pragmatic problems rather than ritual contact. For competitive interest, Trump may challenge Chinese leaders directly and bring more friction and conflict to bilateral meetings. Secondly, Trump's future China strategy will focus on trade and exchange rate policies. During his campaign, Trump always connected China with problems on trade, employment and exchange rate topics. Most of his supporters belong to the middle class and unemployed groups, pushing Trump to deal with those problems first after coming to power. Third, Trump's future China policy will put geopolitical and security strategies in second place, in contrast to Obama's "rebalancing to Asia." Trump believed that the U.S. has taken more obligations than their allies, and hoped that its allies will bear more responsibility in future. According to Washington think tanks and strategic researchers, the U.S. currently could do little in relation to Taiwan and South China Sea issues, but should attach more importance to Northeast Asia, especially the Korean Peninsula. Fourth, Trump's future China policy will decrease America's participation in global governance. Putting America first as the priority, Trump will definitely pass the buck. On international issues, Trump may reduce America's involvement in topics, such as UN climate change, maintaining international peace, and global development. In regional areas, the U.S. will delay the TPP procedure, decrease participation in NATO, and narrow America's strategic defensive line, in order to solve domestic problems first. Fifth, Trump's future China policy will reduce pressure on human rights and value issues. Trump seems not to care about value issues, but pays more attention to immigration and integration of values in domestic society. Of course, Trump's future China policy will also be affected by China. What kinds of policies will the Chinese government take, and whether Chinese leaders could communicate smoothly with Trump's government will become a significant factor to the U.S. policy. How to deal with Trump as the U.S. president, and reduce bilateral conflicts caused by trade interests will become a headache question for Chinese leaders. Zhao Kejin is the deputy director and associate professor of the Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University, and a senior researcher at Charhar Institute. The article was translated by Lin Liyao. Its original unabridged version was published in Chinese . Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Jinshan Temple, also known as Golden Hill Temple, is located atop of Jinshan Hill in the center of Jinshan Park, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province. Built 1,600 years ago, the temple became well-known due to Emperor Kangxi's visits during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the temple has been involved in numerous popular folk legends throughout Chinese history. The Temple is in fact a structural complex comprising multiple temples and Buddhist halls. The temple initially gained popularity during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. The temple is visible from far away and it has become a symbol of the city. It attracts millions of visitors every year.[China.org.cn/VCG] Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms for various brands in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers women's apparel, such as casual wear, jeans, dresses, outerwear, lingerie, pajamas, and maternity clothes; men's apparel comprising casual and smart-casual T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, pants, and underwear; and skin care and cosmetic products, including cleansers, lotions, face and body creams, face masks, sunscreen, foundations, lipsticks, eye shadows, and other cosmetics-related items. It also provides shoes and bags, which comprises casual and formal shoes, purses, satchels, luggage, duffel bags, and wallets; handbags; apparel, gears and accessories, furnishings and decor, toys, and games for boys, girls, infants, and toddlers; sportswear, sports gear, and footwear for various sporting activities; home furnishings, such as bed and bath products, home decor, kitchen and tabletop items, and home appliances; and consumer electronic products. In addition, the company offers food and snacks, beverages, fresh produce, and pet goods; beauty products; and internet finance services, including consumer and supplier financing, and microcredit. Vipshop Holdings Limited provides its branded products through its vip.com and vipshop.com online platforms, as well as through its internet website and cellular phone application. Further, it offers warehousing, logistics, product procurement, research and development, technology development, and consulting services; software development and information technology support solutions; and supply chain services. Vipshop Holdings Limited was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, the People's Republic of China. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. engages in the exploration, development, and recovery of minerals and precious metals located primarily in Africa. It explores for platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, gold, rhodium, zinc, silver, germanium, and lead deposits. The company's projects include the Platreef project located in the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex; the Kipushi project located in Haut-Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo; and the Kamoa-Kakula project located within the Central African Copperbelt. It also holds a 100% interest in the Western Foreland exploration project covering an area of approximately 2,407 square kilometers located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company has a strategic partnership agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. to examine exploration, development, and acquisition of mineral projects, as well as production, smelting, and logistics opportunities in Africa. Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. was formerly known as Ivanplats Limited and changed its name to Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. in August 2013. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited. Read More The Timken Company designs, manufactures, and manages engineered bearings and power transmission products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Mobile Industries and Process Industries. The Mobile Industries segment offers a portfolio of bearings, seals, and lubrication devices and systems, as well as power transmission components, engineered chains, augers, belts, couplings, clutches, brakes, and related products and maintenance services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end-users of off-highway equipment for the agricultural, construction, mining, outdoor power equipment, and power sports markets; and on-highway vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks, as well as rail cars and locomotives. It also provides power transmission systems and flight-critical components for civil and military aircraft, which include bearings, rotor-head assemblies, helicopter transmission systems, turbine engine components, gears, and housings. This segment sells its parts through a network of authorized automotive and heavy-truck distributors to individual end-users, equipment owners, operators, and maintenance shops. The Process Industries segment provides industrial bearings and assemblies; power transmission components, such as gears and gearboxes; and linear motion products, couplings, seals, lubricants, chains, belts, and related products and services to OEMs and end-users in various industries. It also offers aftermarket sales and service needs through a network of authorized industrial distributors; and repair and service for bearings and gearboxes, as well as electric motor rewind, repair, and services to end-users. The company offers its products under the Timken, Philadelphia Gear, Drives, Cone Drive, Rollon, Lovejoy, Diamond, BEKA, and Groeneveld brands. The Timken Company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in North Canton, Ohio. Flash Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault on bilateral ties and the one-China principle. In the phone call, Wang said China, which views France as a significant strategic partner, is willing to work with it to make earnest efforts to respect and accommodate each other's core interests and to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, so as to promote the in-depth development of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership. Appreciating Ayrault's unequivocal position on the one-China principle in his recent remarks, Wang stressed that the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Wang said the one-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for other countries to develop their relations with China and that when it comes to this vital issue of right or wrong, no country can be an exception. Ayrault reiterated that the France-China relations are based on mutual trust and mutual benefit and that the one-China principle is related to international and regional peace and stability, to which France attaches great importance and will continue to play a positive role on the matter. The two sides also exchanged views on deepening cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. Trinity Industries, Inc. provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services. As of December 31, 2021, it had a fleet of 106,970 owned or leased railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. Trinity Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; and Run-off Property-Liability segments. The Allstate Protection segment offers private passenger auto and homeowners insurance; specialty auto products, including motorcycle, trailer, motor home, and off-road vehicle insurance; other personal lines products, such as renter, condominium, landlord, boat, umbrella, and manufactured home and stand-alone scheduled personal property; and commercial lines products under the Allstate and Encompass brand names. The Protection Services segment provides consumer product protection plans and related technical support for mobile phones, consumer electronics, furniture, and appliances; finance and insurance products, including vehicle service contracts, guaranteed asset protection waivers, road hazard tire and wheel, and paint and fabric protection; roadside assistance; device and mobile data collection services; data and analytic solutions using automotive telematics information; and identity protection services. This segment offers its products under various brands including Allstate Protection Plans, Allstate Dealer Services, Allstate Roadside Services, Arity, and Allstate Identity Protection. The Allstate Health and Benefits provides life, accident, critical illness, short-term disability, and other health insurance products. The Run-off Property-Liability offers property and casualty insurance. It sells its products through call centers, agencies, financial specialists, independent agents, brokers, wholesale partners, and affinity groups, as well as through online and mobile applications. The Allstate Corporation was founded in 1931 and is based in Northbrook, Illinois. The Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries. Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet. The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range. The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines. The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers. Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles. Deutsche Telekom AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. It offers fixed-network services, including voice and data communication services based on fixed-network and broadband technology; and sells terminal equipment and other hardware products, as well as services to resellers. The company also provides mobile voice and data services to consumers and business customers; sells mobile devices and other hardware products; and sells mobile services to resellers and to companies that purchases and markets network services to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators. In addition, it offers internet services; internet-based TV products and services; and information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions with an infrastructure of data centers and networks under the T-Systems brand, as well as call center services. The company has 242 million mobile customers and 22 million broadband customers, as well as 27 million fixed-network lines. Deutsche Telekom AG has a collaboration with VMware, Inc. on cloud-based open and intelligent virtual RAN platform to bring agility to radio access networks for existing LTE and future 5G networks; and partnership with Microsoft to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany. Embraer S.A. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aircrafts and systems in Brazil, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Brazil, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Commercial Aviation; Defense and Security; Executive Jets; Service & Support; and Other segments. The Commercial Aviation segment designs, develops, and manufactures a variety of commercial aircrafts. The Defense and Security segment engages in the research, development, production, modification, and support for military defense and security aircraft; and offers a range of products and integrated solutions that include radars and special space systems, as well as information and communications systems comprising command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. The Executive Jets segment develops, produces, and sells executive jets. It also leases Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 executive jets in the super midsize and large categories; Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 executive jets in the midlight and midsize categories; Phenom family executive jets in the entry jet and light jet categories; Lineage 1000, an ultra-large executive jet; and Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, disruptive executive jets in the midsize and super midsize categories. The Service & Support segment offers after-service solutions, support, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul services for commercial, executive, and defense aircrafts; provides aircraft components and engines; and supplies steel and composite aviation structures to various aircraft manufacturers. The Other segment is involved in the supply of fuel systems, structural parts, and mechanical and hydraulic systems; and production of agricultural crop-spraying aircraft. The company was formerly known as Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. and changed its name to Embraer S.A. in November 2010. Embraer S.A. was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, and internationally. The company operates through Reinsurance Operations and Insurance Operations segments. The Reinsurance Operations segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents in Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and property and casualty reinsurance and insurance coverages, including marine, aviation, surety, errors and omissions liability, directors' and officers' liability, medical malpractice, mortgage reinsurance, other specialty lines, accident and health, and workers' compensation products. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. Everest Re Group, Ltd. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Credit Management LLC, AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe Holdings S.a.r.l, AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Operations Inc., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund II GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund III GP LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund IV GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American International Group UK Limited, American International Realty LLC, American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A. en Liquidacion S.A., Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., C.A. de Seguros American International, Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Glatfelter Underwriting Services Inc., Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Illinois National Insurance Co., Inversiones Segucasai C.A., Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, Lexington Specialty Insurance Agency Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PCG 2019 Corporate Member Limited, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SAFG Capital LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., and Western World Insurance Company. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Becton, Dickinson and: Accuri Cytometers, Accuri Cytometers Inc., Alverix Inc, Alverix Inc., Atto Bioscience Inc, BD Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., BD Infection Prevention BV, BD Kiestra BV, BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, BD Rapid Diagnostic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., BD San Luis Potosi S.A. de C.V., BD Switzerland Sarl, BD Ventures LLC, BD West Africa Limited, BDX INO LLC, Bard (Thailand) Limited, Bard ASDI Inc., Bard Access Systems Inc., Bard Acquisition Sub Inc., Bard Australia Pty. Limited, Bard Benelux N.V., Bard Brachytherapy Inc., Bard Brasil Industria e Comercio de Produtos Para a Saude Ltda., Bard Canada Inc., Bard Chile S.p.A., Bard Czech Republic s.r.o., Bard Devices Inc., Bard Dublin ITC Limited, Bard EMEA Finance Center Sp.z o.o., Bard European Distribution Center N.V., Bard Finance B.V. & Co. KG., Bard Financial Services Ltd., Bard Finland OY, Bard France S.A.S., Bard Global Holdings I LLC, Bard Global Holdings II LLC, Bard Global Holdings III LLC, Bard Healthcare Inc., Bard Healthcare Science (Shanghai) Limited, Bard Hellas S.A., Bard Holding SAS, Bard Holdings Limited, Bard Holdings Netherlands B.V., Bard Hong Kong Limited, Bard IP Holdings Inc., Bard India Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bard International Holdings B.V., Bard International Inc., Bard Istanbul Healthcare Limited Company, Bard Korea Ltd., Bard Limited, Bard MRL Acquisition Corp., Bard Malaysia Healthcare Sdn. Bhd., Bard Medica SA, Bard Medical Devices (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical SA (Proprietary) Limited, Bard Mexico Realty S. de R.L. de C.V., Bard Norden AB, Bard Norway AS, Bard Pacific Health Care Company Ltd., Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Bard Poland Sp. z.o.o., Bard Productos Plasticos e Medicos Ltda., Bard Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Bard S.r.l., Bard Sdn. Bhd., Bard Shannon Limited, Bard Singapore Private Limited, Bard Sourcing Office Singapore Pte. Ltd., Bard Sweden AB, Bard UK Newco Limited, Bard de Espana S.A., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Management Limited, Becton Dickinson (Mauritius) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Pty) Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Thailand) Limited, Becton Dickinson A.G., Becton Dickinson A/S, Becton Dickinson Argentina S.R.L., Becton Dickinson Asia Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Asia Limited, Becton Dickinson Austria GmbH, Becton Dickinson Austria Holdings GmbH, Becton Dickinson B.V., Becton Dickinson B.V. Saudi Limited Company, Becton Dickinson Benelux N.V., Becton Dickinson Biosciences Systems and Reagents Inc., Becton Dickinson Canada Inc., Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd., Becton Dickinson Croatia d.o.o., Becton Dickinson Czechia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Dispensing Belgium BVBA, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Denmark A/S, Becton Dickinson Dispensing France SAS, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Norway, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Spain S.L.U., Becton Dickinson Dispensing UK Ltd., Becton Dickinson Distribution Center N.V., Becton Dickinson East Africa Ltd., Becton Dickinson Euro Finance Sarl, Becton Dickinson Europe Holdings S.A.S., Becton Dickinson France S.A.S., Becton Dickinson GSA Beteilgungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings I Inc., Becton Dickinson Global Holdings II LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings IV LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings V LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VIII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Services Centre Sdn. Bhd, Becton Dickinson GmbH, Becton Dickinson Guatemala S.A., Becton Dickinson Hellas S.A., Becton Dickinson Holdings Limited, Becton Dickinson Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Hungary Kft., Becton Dickinson India Private Limited, Becton Dickinson Industrias Cirurgicas Ltda., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy AB, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Holdings UK Limited, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc. S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy UK, Becton Dickinson Insulin Syringe Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings II Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings III Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Israel Ltd., Becton Dickinson Italia S.p.A., Becton Dickinson Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi, Becton Dickinson Korea Holding Inc., Becton Dickinson Korea Ltd., Becton Dickinson Ltd., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Global Holdings Sarl, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings II S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings III S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings V S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Malaysia Inc., Becton Dickinson Management GmbH & Co. KG, Becton Dickinson Matrex Holdings Inc., Becton Dickinson Medical (S) Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Products Pte. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Technology (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Global Holdings II C.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings II B.V., Becton Dickinson Norway AS, Becton Dickinson O.Y., Becton Dickinson Overseas Services Ltd., Becton Dickinson Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Becton Dickinson Penel Limited, Becton Dickinson Philippines Inc., Becton Dickinson Polska Sp.z.o.o., Becton Dickinson Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Becton Dickinson Pty. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Research Centre Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH, Becton Dickinson Rowa Italy Srl, Becton Dickinson S.A., Becton Dickinson Sample Collection GmbH, Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.L.P., Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.P., Becton Dickinson Sdn. Bhd., Becton Dickinson Slovakia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Sweden AB, Becton Dickinson Sweden Holdings AB, Becton Dickinson Switzerland Global Holdings SarL, Becton Dickinson Technology Campus India, Becton Dickinson U.K. Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing I Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing II Limited, Becton Dickinson Venezuela C.A., Becton Dickinson Venture LLC, Becton Dickinson Verwaltungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Vostok LLC, Becton Dickinson Worldwide Investments Sa.r.L., Becton Dickinson Zambia Limited, Becton Dickinson and Company Ltd., Becton Dickinson de Colombia Ltda., Becton Dickinson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson del Uruguay S.A., Bee IT Solutions, Benex Ltd., Biometric Imaging, Bridger Biomed Inc., C. R. Bard (Portugal) - Produtos e Artigos Medicos e Farmaceuticos, C. R. Bard Do Brasil Productos Medicos Ltda., C. R. Bard GmbH, C. R. Bard Inc., C. R. Bard Netherlands Sales B.V., C.R. Bard Inc, CME America LLC, CME Ltd., CME Medical (UK) Limited, CME UK (Holdings) Limited, CRISI Medical Systems, CRISI Medical Systems Inc., Caesarea Medical Electronics, Cardal II LLC, Care Fusion Development Private Limited, CareFusion (Barbados) SrL, CareFusion (Shanghai) Commercial and Trading Co. Limited, CareFusion 213 LLC, CareFusion 2200 Inc., CareFusion 2201 Inc., CareFusion 302 LLC, CareFusion 303 Inc., CareFusion Asia (HK) Limited, CareFusion Corporation, CareFusion Corporation., CareFusion D.R. 203 Ltd., CareFusion France 309 S.A.S., CareFusion Israel 330 Ltd., CareFusion Italy 312 S.p.A., CareFusion Manufacturing LLC, CareFusion Mexico 215 S.A. de C.V., CareFusion Netherlands 328 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 503 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 504 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands Financing 283 C.V., CareFusion Resources LLC, CareFusion S.A. 319 (Proprietary) Limited, CareFusion Solutions LLC, CareFusion U.K. 244 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 305 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 306 Limited, Carmel Pharma AB, Carmel Pharma Inc, Cato Software Solutions, Cell Analysis Systems Inc, Cellular Research, Cellular Research Inc., Clearstream Technologies Group Limited, Clearstream Technologies Limited, Clontech Laboratories Inc, Corporativo BD de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Critical Device Corporation, Cubex, Cytognos, Cytopeia Inc, DLD (Bermuda) Ltd., DVL Acquisition Sub Inc., Davol Inc., Davol International Limited, Davol Surgical Innovations S.A. de C.V., Difco Laboratories Incorporated, Distribuidora BD Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dutch American Manufacturers (D.A.M.) B.V., Dymax Corporation, Embo Medical Limited, Enturia de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Enturican Inc., FJ International Inc., FlowCardia Inc., FlowCardia LLC, FlowJo LLC, Franklin Lakes Enterprises L.L.C., GSL Solutions, Gamer Lasertechnik GmbH, GenCell Biosystems, GenCell Biosystems Ltd., GeneOhm Sciences Canada ULC, GeneOhm Sciences Inc, Gentest Corporation, Gesco International Inc., Gesco International LLC, Glentech Inc, HandyLab Inc, HandyLab Inc., IBD Holdings LLC, Iontophoretics Corporation, JoHome LLC, Kabushiki Kaisha Medicon (Medicon Inc.), Liberator Health and Education Services Inc., Liberator Health and Wellness Inc., Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., Liberator Medical Supply Inc., Limited Liability Company Bard Rus, Loma Vista Medical Inc., Loma Vista Medical LLC, Luther Medical Products Inc, Lutonix Inc., Med-Design Corporation, Med-Design Investment Holdings Inc., Med-Safe Systems Inc, Med-Safe Systems Inc., MedChem Products Inc., Medafor Inc., Medegen LLC, Medinservice.com Inc., Medivance Inc., NAT Diagnostics Inc., NAT Diagnostics Inc., NOW Medical Distribution Inc., NOW Medical Distribution LLC, Navarre Biomedical LLC, Navarre Biomedical Ltd., Neomend Inc., Nippon Becton Dickinson Company Ltd., Omega Biosystems Incorporated, P.R.C. (Isialys) Societe a responsabilitie limitee, PT Becton Dickinson Indonesia, PharMingen, PharMingen., Plasso Technology Ltd, PreAnalytiX GmbH, Pristine Access Technologies Inc., ProSeed Inc., Procesos para Esterilizacion S.A. de C.V., Productos Bard de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Productos Para el Cuidado de la Salud S.A. de C.V., Puls Medical Devices AS LC, PureWick Corporation, Roberts Laboratories Inc., Rochester Medical Corporation, Rochester Medical Ltd., Saf-T-Med Inc, Safety Syringes Inc., Scanwell Health Inc., Sendal S.L.U., SenoRx Inc., SenoRx LLC, Shield Healthcare Centers Inc., Sirigen Group Limited, Sirigen II Limited, Sirigen Inc., Sistemas Medicos ALARIS S.A. de C.V., Specialized Cooperative Corporation, Specialized Health Products Inc., Specialized Health Products International Inc., Specialized Health Products International LLC, Staged Diabetes Management LLC, Straub Medical AG, Straub Medical AG, Surgical Site Solutions Inc., TVA Medical Inc, TVA Medical Inc., Tepha Inc, Tepha Inc., Tissuemed Ltd., Tri-County Medical & Ostomy Supplies Inc., TriPath Imaging Inc., Tru-Fit Marketing Corporation, Vas-Cath Incorporated, Vascular Pathways Inc., Velano Vascular, Velano Vascular Inc., Venclose Inc., Venetec International Inc., Venetec International LLC, Visitec, Y-Med Inc., Y-Med LLC, and ZebraSci Inc.. Read More A Charlottesville police officer investigating the July slaying of Denzel O. Morton said in court Thursday that the 23-year-old was in no way involved with the conflict that may have killed him. Isaiah James Franklin, 23, was in Charlottesvilles General District Court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing in the case. Franklin was arrested in New Jersey four days after police responded to the 400 block of Earhart Street in the early morning hours of July 17, finding Morton with an apparent gunshot wound. He was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he died of his injuries. After Franklin was apprehended by police, he was charged with first-degree murder in Mortons death, as well as using a firearm in the commission of a felony and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. By the end of his hearing Thursday, a judge had dismissed Franklins weapon charges but certified the murder charge to a grand jury. Detective Lee Gibson, of the Charlottesville Police Department, testified during Franklins hearing that he was among the first officers to respond to the scene at Earhart Street, where he saw multiple outdoor cameras in place from businesses that surround the area. Evidence technicians recovered the footage from those cameras, some of which were shown to the judge and attorney in Thursdays hearing. Narrating the video, which was not shown to the public gallery, Gibson said that a crowd of people emerged onto Earhart Street before a figure which he identified as Franklin began shooting at the crowd. In the gunfire, Morton was struck and fell to the ground. Franklin fired eight to nine shots at the crowd before another man, identified by Gibson as Markwin Howard, returned fire at Franklin. Howard is facing his own charges of possessing a firearm as a felon, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and attempted malicious wounding, each of which were certified to a grand jury Thursday. Gibson said that, in the woods near the scene, he recovered an empty .40-caliber Hi-Point pistol, which may have been the weapon used in the slaying. Franklin is being represented by former Albemarle County prosecutor Denise Lunsford, who asked Gibson if he had learned from his investigation that Franklins mother had purchased her son a ticket to return to Charlottesville from New Jersey. Gibson said he had and that authorities got to Franklin before that ticket could be used. Gibson continued that, during the investigation, police uncovered evidence of a conflict between Franklin and Howard, as well as a third man identified as Danny Gonzalez. Howard and Gonzalez had apparently fired shots at an unarmed Franklin at some point before the fatal slaying, but there was no evidence of a conflict between Franklin and Morton. He added that there was no evidence that Morton was in any way involved with the disputes between Gonzalez, Howard and Franklin. A grand jury will take up Franklins case on Dec. 19. ROANOKE The pet store Santa with the sex offender record is behind bars while a probation officer sorts out what happened last weekend. Leonard Russell Kidd, 37, of Max Meadows, was designated by the state as a sexually violent predator. Sent to prison for abusing a 6-year-old boy in 2001, he also was confined for years at Virginia's behavioral rehabilitation center. As part of his conditional release in June, 2015, Kidd was supposed to get his probation officer's permission before going to events where he might encounter minor children, a report filed Wednesday in Wythe County Circuit Court said. That rule apparently was broken when Kidd took part in a Dec. 10 holiday event held by his employer, the Petco store in Wytheville. "Kidd did not receive approval from his supervising officer to attend a function playing Santa Claus at a pet store where minors could be present," the report from his probation officer said. On Friday, Kidd was listed as an inmate at the New River Valley Regional Jail, incarcerated on an emergency custody order obtained by his probation officer Mike Montgomery. Montgomery wrote in his report that he learned about Kidd's role in the holiday event from a Monday call from The Roanoke Times. Held at Petco stores across the country, the event was meant to raise money for local causes by charging families to have their pets pictures taken with Santa. Kidd later told Montgomery that he was just "a Santa prop" in the photos and had no contact with children, Montgomery's report to the court said. Kidd reported that "he did not think the situation through completely before agreeing to do the assignment," Montgomery wrote. Store manager Amber Carpenter also told the probation officer that Kidd was having pictures taken with pets, not children, and that she and other workers were present at all times, the report said. Petco responded to questions about Kidd by ending his employment Monday. Montgomery wrote in his report to the court that the Petco event had been held in a spot covered by the store's security cameras because of the possibility of dog bites. He wrote that he planned to review the store's footage to see if Kidd had contact with children. In his report, sent to Circuit Court Judge Joey Showalter, Montgomery recommended that Kidd continue his conditional release. What happens next is not entirely clear, a staffer at Wythe County Circuit Court said Friday. No court hearing on Kidd's status had been scheduled. Lisa Kinney, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Corrections who Montgomery this week referred questions to, did not reply immediately respond Friday to questions about the case. Kidd was convicted in 2002 in Wythe County of aggravated sexual battery and assaulting a police officer. In 2009, Kidd finished his prison sentence but authorities used Virginia's civil commitment process that allows some sex offenders to be confined longer. At annual hearings where a judge decided whether Kidd should be released, psychologists said that he had a mental abnormality that made it likely that he would offend again, according to news coverage in the Wytheville Enterprise. A conditional release plan filed with the court last year noted that Kidd had a history of mental illness and substance abuse and said that he may have been involved in the abuse of two other boys. But the report that Montgomery wrote this week said that before Kidd took on the Santa role, he had mostly complied with the rules of his release. He had missed three of the weekly sex offender treatment sessions that he is required to attend but had earned the highest possible participation score, the report said. He went to three AA meetings per week and drug screens had turned up nothing, the report said. The longtime director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service is stepping down to do more hands-on political work in Richmond. John P. Thomas, who has headed the center for 20 years, will leave at the end of the month to begin a new job with a political consulting firm called Decide Smart. Meredith Gunter, who was previously the outreach director for the centers Demographics Research Group, will serve as interim director as the center conducts a nationwide search for Thomas permanent successor. The center conducts research on Virginia and provides training for local officials, community leaders and members of the general public, according to its website. This year, the center released an analysis of news coverage during the 2013 gubernatorial race, an economic impact study of James Madison University and a study of millennial voters in Virginia. More information is available at coopercenter.org. LYNCHBURG Three candidates have about three weeks to convince voters of the 22nd Senate District they should replace Tom Garrett as he heads to Congress. While Lynchburg attorney Mark Peake, the Republican nominee, started running early this year, longtime law enforcement officer Ryant Washington, a Democrat, and engineering consultant Joseph Hines, an independent, are just getting started. The special election will be held Jan. 10, the day before the General Assembly goes into session. The GOP-leaning district runs west from Goochland County to include Amherst, Appomattox and part of Lynchburg. It also includes Fluvanna and Buckingham counties and a portion of Louisa County. Senate Republicans showed Thursday theyre not taking the seat for granted. The next three weeks are going to be just extraordinarily important. It will be easy for Virginians to miss this race because its going to be on Jan. 10th, and its an easy thing to miss, Sen. Steve Newman, R-Bedford County, said at a news conference in Lynchburg on Thursday. ... Our caucus clearly understands the importance of this. Long before Garrett even secured the 5th District Republican nomination, Peake was rounding up supporters. He believes the head start adds to his advantage. You cant throw together a credible campaign in a month and expect to win, Peake said. ... This is a very large district. Ive spent almost a year traveling the district end to end, corner to corner, meeting with anybody that would talk to me. That just multiplies. Washington started working the district after he was nominated by the Democratic Party at a convention Dec. 3, just days after the special election was announced. He has taken a leave of absence from his post as a policy adviser at the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to campaign full time, he said Thursday. The former four-term Fluvanna County sheriff plans to round up voters and donors throughout the district, he said Tuesday, speaking with Lynchburg-area Democrats at Charleys Restaurant. I dont know all the answers, but Im willing to get in there, dive in there and certainly learn. I feel that Im a quick learner. Theres some issues that Im familiar with ... but I believe as we continue to speak to individuals, to talk to stakeholders that are involved with the many issues, I think theres an opportunity to learn more, Washington said Tuesday. Hines, the independent candidate, grew up in Prince Edward County, where he still resides. He graduated with an engineering degree from North Carolina State University and earned an MBA from Duke University. Through Timmons Group, where he is principal and director of economic development, Hines works on industrial site development and international business recruitment across the country, he said. Improving economic opportunity for individuals will address other societal problems, he said. If we focus on that, I think we minimize the need for law enforcement or other professions where youre having to deal with issues associated with a society that doesnt have as much economic opportunity within it, Hines said. In a few days, Hines and volunteers gathered more than 600 signatures the requirement is 250 for petitions representing each locality in the district, he said. He said he believes the district and state Senate are ripe for independent representation and that his economic development experience and message will reach voters. We feel theres a very strong independent movement out there, and I think that was identified in this last presidential election, Hines said in a phone interview Thursday after attending the economic summit in Lynchburg. ... As we were circulating petitions, there were a lot of people who ... felt it was time for an independent to serve the district. Well see what todays settlement conference yields in the First Amendment case against Charlottesville City Council, but already the suit has borne fruit: Council has dropped one of its draconian regulations governing speakers rights at its meetings. Earlier this year, Albemarle County resident Joe Draego sued Council after his speaking time was cut short at a meeting in June. He was forcibly removed from chambers by two police officers after then lying on the floor in an act of civil disobedience. At the time, Council had a new rule one of many against group defamation. Mr. Draego had launched into a lecture against Muslims and Muslim immigration into Charlottesville, triggering the Councils censorship. Offensive speech has been the local theme of 2016 from the Wes Bellamy controversy, to the Doug Muir incident, to the protest over quoting Thomas Jefferson, and even to the debate over whether the citys Civil War statues express unpardonable offense and we can add Councils suppressive regulations to the list. Meanwhile, portions of the Draego incident parallel some of the truths inherent in other cases. Mr. Draegos speech was certainly offensive but thats not really the point. The point is whether or not he had a right to express his viewpoint. And under the U.S. Constitution, we maintain, he did have that right. The suit claimed that the rule was not content neutral, as has been held necessary in previous First Amendment rulings; that it was overbroad; and that it violated both the Virginia Constitution and the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In November, federal Judge Norman Moon agreed that the Councils regulation was unconstitutional, saying that it offends the First and 14th Amendments. He issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Council from enforcing the rule. Council instead said that it would drop the rule, rather than simply decline to enforce it. Victory won we hope. Previously, the city declined to say whether the elimination of the rule would be permanent. Mr. Draego also has asked the city for compensation for his former attorneys, and the city has argued that the lawsuit is a moot point and should be dismissed since the disputed rule no longer exists. Todays settlement meeting, ordered by the judge, may resolve these and other issues. But the issue of most import to the public is that of free speech. As long as members of the public agree in unanimity, without the least hint of controversy, the First Amendment isnt even really necessary. But what kind of a democracy would that be? The First Amendment is necessary when someone or some group tries to smother an opponents ability to speak out. And the more controversial, even offensive, that speech might be, the more important the amendment is. Freedom of speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most despicable views, said the great civil-rights defender Alan Dershowitz. It also means that the government cannot pick and choose which expressions to authorize and which to prevent. We hope City Council has learned that lesson. Gov. Terry McAuliffe today bowed to the new political reality created by the election of Donald J. Trump for president and for the first time did not propose expansion of Medicaid in the state budget. Citing the uncertainty created by Trumps election and the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, McAuliffe told legislators he had taken the fiscally prudent approach by leaving Medicaid expansion out of the two-year budget he proposed today. However, the governor said the budget would allow him to expand the program if the federal government enhances its share of matching funding after Oct. 1. With this language, if the ACA is repealed or Medicaid expansion is removed from the law, nothing will change in Virginia, he said. McAuliffe outlined a strategy for filling a revenue shortfall of $1.26 billion, which is $252 million less than estimated by a new forecast recommended recently by an advisory council that includes legislative leaders. The governor wants to further increase revenue by requiring out-of-state merchants with online distribution centers in Virginia to register as dealers and pay sales taxes. McAuliffe said he has identified $806 million in savings to close the remaining shortfall without cuts to public education and public safety. He exempted state police, juvenile justice and behavioral health from spending cuts of up to 7.5 percent. He did not include layoffs but instead proposed to restore almost $220,000 to the Library of Virginia that previously had been cut in this years budget and help avoid the planned layoffs of 15 library staff. Public colleges and universities will see cuts of 5 percent in their state funding, rather than the 7.5 percent reductions he had directed them to expect. CCC&TSPM of Inner Mongolia held two ordination ceremonies in this December by far. Altogether, six elders and five teachers were added to Christian churches in Inner Mongolia. According to the website of Inner Mongolia CCC&TSPM, there are currently over 500 registered Christian churches and gatherings in the entirety of the autonomous region, with over 300 anointed clergymen. The number of clergies is far from enough to meet the needs of the church ministries. In recent years, the CCC&TSPM of Inner Mongolia has strongly recommended the anointing of new clergy. On Nov 6, at the ordination ceremony in Ulan Hot church, 20 clergymen were anointed with 15 being promoted. According to a fellow worker of the CCC&TSPM of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, more clergy will be anointed in Baotou City by the end of 2016. Translated by: Grace Hubl Free Event Join the Humane Society of Greater Dayton as we partner with SICSA and the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center to find more animals homes this holiday season! Join the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, SICSA Pet Adoption Center and the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center to find more animals homes this holiday season! All 3 organizations will be coming together at the Dayton Mall for a special, one-day adoption event where we will have lots of dogs, puppies, cats and kittens available for adoption.The event will be held from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Special adoption fees apply for this event. Cats and kittens will be $25 if a qualifying survey is filled out, dogs will be $100, and puppies will be $150. With as many as 7.6 million homeless pets in the U.S., it is important everyone get involved to help save an orphaned animal this holiday season, said Nora Vondrell, Executive Director of SICSA. Were proud to be a part of this amazing campaign and are dedicated to placing orphaned pets in homes so they can experience a happy new life. We cant think of anything better than seeing these beautiful cats and dogs find their loving, forever families this holiday season. said Jessie Sullivan, Adoptions Manager. On Saturday, Community Conversations met at the Menomonie Public Library to discuss the concepts in Leonardo DiCaprios documentary Before the Flood about climate change. NASA explains that global climate change is caused by greenhouse gases trapped in the lower atmosphere. Chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. The primary activities affecting the amount and rate of climate change are the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use. In the last century, 1900-1999, the sea level has risen 6.7 inches. The rate of sea level rise is accelerating in the 21st century with the melting of glaciers and ice fields. This rise is effecting low-lying areas along the east coast of the United States with flooded roads, damaged cars and homes, loss of lawns and forests and compromised freshwater supply. There is a phenomenon of Sunny Day Flooding where sea water is flooding side walks and roads from drains in city streets. Miami Beach is installing new seawalls, valves and pumps and is raising road beds to avoid the problem. The city will be financing these improvements at the cost of $40 million. There will be no help from the state of Florida where Governor Rick Scott is a climate change denier. Island nations are going under water as sea level rises. In Kiribati, President Anote Tong has a long-term plan to relocate the people of his islands to New Zealand, Taiwan, Cuba and Fiji. He is focused on education and vocational training for these migrants and doesnt want the human rights of his citizens put at risk. The Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean where all land is less than six feet above sea level has been sending migrants to Hawaii, State of Washington, and Springdale, Ark. An issue that accelerates climate change is the burning of rain forests. Carbon is naturally stored in vegetation and trees. Burning these forests has released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Big business makes huge profits from the creation of palm oil plantations in Indonesia so that now 80 percent of that countrys rain forests are gone. In the Amazon River Basin, the forests are being burned to expand cattle ranches. Molecule by molecule, methane is a green house gas that has 23 times the global warming effect as compared with CO2. This gas comes from ruminates burping methane, thawing of the permafrost and leakage from natural gas systems and landfills. Livestock use 30 percent of the earths entire land surface. Agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of total green house gases worldwide, more than the whole transportation sector. Consider that the land required to produce 1 kilogram of meat produces 100 kilograms of potatoes. Solutions offered to slow climate change include a carbon tax to increase cost of using fossil fuels. Unfortunately, poor customers spend a greater proportion of their income on energy intensive goods and fuel than rich people and are effected to a greater extent by this tax. Alternative government policy to the carbon tax is a cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions can be traded and, in this policy, unlike the carbon tax, the quantity of emissions can be controlled. Other solutions are to develop non-fossil fuel energy sources: nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar and wave power. Conservation of energy in industry and households continues to be important with replacing windows, low energy light, and different heating systems. According to an article in the July 2016 edition of Union of Concerned Scientists points out that Texas is converting to solar power because of the decreased cost of solar technology. In Texas, existing power plants have no guarantees or privileged status. This deregulated market is moving rapidly to cut carbon emissions. The next Community Conversation will be a presentation by Jim Swanson titled An American Heritage, Public Lands in the U.S. Their History, Philosophy and Use on January 21, 2017, at the Menomonie Public Library from 1-3 PM. The public is welcome. Global scandal erupted last year when the US. Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests. San Francisco: A federal judge on Friday planned to hear whether Volkswagen, US regulators and attorneys for vehicle owners had reached a deal for the remaining 80,000 cars caught up in the company's emissions cheating scandal. US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco was set to get an update about the settlement talks. At issue is what to do with about 80,000 3-liter cars that spewed excess pollution after being programmed to cheat on emissions tests. Volkswagen attorney Robert Giuffra has said the company believes it can recall and fix the 3-liter vehicles without affecting their performance. The German automaker previously reached a deal for the other 475,000 polluting vehicles in the scandal. That settlement gives owners the option to have Volkswagen buy back their vehicles regardless of condition for the full trade-in price on Sept. 18, 2015, when the scandal broke, or pay for repairs. Regulators have not approved any fixes. Either way, Volkswagen also will pay owners $5,100 to $10,000 each, depending on the age of the car and whether the owner had it prior to Sept. 18 of last year. Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $10 billion compensating consumers. The settlement also includes $2.7 billion for unspecified environmental mitigation and $2 billion to promote zero-emissions vehicles. The global scandal erupted last year when the US Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests. Car owners and the US. Department of Justice sued. The software recognized when the cars were being tested on a treadmill and turned on pollution controls. The controls were turned off when the cars returned to the road. The EPA alleged the scheme let the cars spew up to 40 times the allowable limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans. The scandal has damaged Volkswagen's reputation and hurt its sales. The company has reached a separate $1.2 billion deal with its US. dealers and is still facing potentially billions more in fines and penalties and possible criminal charges. The judge previously postponed a Nov. 30 hearing about the 3-liter vehicles after former FBI Director Robert Mueller said additional time might lead to a resolution. Mueller is overseeing settlement discussions. New Delhi: Telecom major Vodafone today told the Delhi High Court that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recommendation to the Centre to impose Rs 1,050 crore penalty on it for not giving interconnectivity to Reliance Jio was an "arbitrary" decision. TRAI has recommended imposition of a fine of Rs 50 crore for each of the 21 circles of Vodafone, except in Jammu and Kashmir, coming to a total of Rs 1050 crore. Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva did not pass any orders after TRAI's lawyers sought time till December 19 to take instructions on the steps taken by the authority after it issued a show cause notice to Vodafone on September 27. Vodafone has claimed that the entire process adopted by TRAI was "arbitrary" as Reliance announced Jio offer on September 5-6 and had thereafter made payment for "augmentation of interconnection links" on September 25 after which there was a 90-day period to provide interconnectivity. Senior advocate Meet Malhotra and central government standing counsel Kirtiman Singh, appearing for TRAI, sought time for instructions after the court asked how the September 30 meeting of TRAI with all operators was held before expiry of 10 days given to Vodafone to reply to the show cause notice. "In these circumstances, how can even the findings be sustained," it asked and added that once a recommendation was made it could cloud judgement of decision-taking authority. Vodafone, represented by senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, contended that it had time till December end this year for providing interconnectivity to Jio and even before expiry of the period it has provided 10,000 connections. During arguments, Nayar said TRAI did not have the power to recommend imposition of penalty and it can only recommend revocation of licence for breach of licence conditions and sought setting aside of the recommendation. He argued that TRAI has the power to impose "financial disincentives" for breach of Quality of Service regulations and to ensure compliance of terms and conditions of licence. Vodafone has also said that no proper hearing was given to it by TRAI before issuance of recommendation of October 21. The court will hear the matter again on December 21. TRAI, in its recommendation to the DoT, had said it has found Vodafone to be non-compliant with licence conditions and service quality norms given the high rate of call failures and congestion at interconnect points for RJio. New Delhi: Pinning hopes on a slew of FDI reforms unveiled by the government in 2016, the government expects that the momentum of high FDI inflows will continue in the new year. FDI inflows in January-September jumped 21 per cent to USD 32.18 billion. "I am sure the momentum on FDI will continue. I think many of the areas where the ball is set rolling, you might see tangible results coming out in 2017," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told PTI. She said things are moving in key areas, including defence and medical devices. "I suppose by middle of 2017, you will get to see some developments in those (sectors) also because after the policy got opened up, particularly in sectors like defence and railway, it takes a while because they are large investments and they come in with technology," she said. The sectors that have attracted maximum FDI this year include services, computer hardware and software, telecom, automobile and trading. Mauritius is the top source for FDI for India, followed by Singapore, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands and the US. Aiming to create a conducive business climate in the country and attract investments, the government this year altered FDI caps in several sectors. It allowed 100 per cent inflows in civil aviation and food processing sectors while easing norms in defence and pharmaceuticals. It also tightened the local sourcing policy for single-brand retail trading, besides easing conditions in broadcasting carriage services, private security agencies and animal husbandry. In the defence sector, the policy has been changed to allow 100 per cent FDI by doing away with the condition of access to "state-of-the-art" technology, which has been modified to "modern or for other reasons", a move that will widen the scope of investment by foreign players. The new norms have also been made applicable to manufacturing of small arms and ammunitions covered under the Arms Act, 1959. In the case of private security agencies, FDI up to 49 per cent is now permitted under the automatic route and up to 74 per cent through the approval route. To promote manufacturing of food items, the government had also decided to permit 100 per cent FDI under the approval route for trading, including through e-commerce in respect of such products manufactured or produced in India. In a major move, the government also allowed 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce retailing. To provide amicable business environment in the country for investors, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced steps to improve ease of doing business. Mumbai: It seems New Year 2017 will bring along with it some sort of relief for the cash-starved populace that has spent most of its time in long queues for cash since demonetisation came into effect on November 8. On Friday, government announced that it will reconsider the ceiling on cash withdrawal that was imposed after the note ban decision was taken and consequently people ended up with less or almost no cash in their hand. Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa told countrys premier news agency PTI that the decision will most likely be taken on the day when the deadline for depositing Old High Denomination (OHD) currency notes comes to an end. The last day for depositing discarded Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes into bank accounts is December 30. The decision if implemented will help reduce peoples woes given the inconvenience they have faced in the aftermath of demonetisation that the government thinks would curb incidents of black money and prevent spread of fake currency notes. Presently, the government has fixed Rs 2,500 a day limit on withdrawal done through ATM card. On the other hand, withdrawal through cheque at banks was fixed at Rs 24,000 a week. Apart from that some special relaxations were also granted by government. Like a withdrawal of Rs 2.5 lakh was allowed for bearing marriage expenses. Trader community demanded through representations that they must be accorded larger withdrawal limit option. As a result, government allowed them to withdraw Rs 50,000 from current accounts. During demonetisation period, the total cash seizures amount to Rs 316 crore, of which new currency is above Rs 80 and jewellery seizure is Rs 76 crore -- making the total seizure worth Rs 393 crore. New Delhi: Income Tax department has issued around 3,000 notices to assess for unmatched deposits in bank accounts, while it has seized a total of Rs 393 crore in cash and jewellery over the past five weeks. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra said since the demonetisation announcement on November 8, it has come to its notice that people have been unscrupulously trying to convert their black money holdings in cash into white by depositing in bank accounts. "After the demonetisation, we collected information almost on a real time basis. Based on information screening we have conducted search and seizures in about 291 cases. We have carried out surveys in 295 cases. We have also issued around 3,000 notices on the basis of deposits in bank accounts," Chandra told reporters here. During this period, the total cash seizures amount to Rs 316 crore, of which new currency is above Rs 80 and jewellery seizure is Rs 76 crore -- making the total seizure worth Rs 393 crore. The admitted concealed income on the basis of these surveys is Rs 2,600 crore, he said. The common route for misuse include using cash for purchase of bullion, jewellery, back-dating of cash transaction, depositing cash in multiple accounts just below Rs 2.50 lakh, depositing cash in Jan Dhan, dormant and shell company accounts and use of cash for repayment of loans. Chandra said CBDT is collecting data of all bank accounts, and analysing this data with the existing Income Tax data. "So the assess should know that their deposits in bank accounts are being watched. We are examining whether it is explained money or not. Therefore they should come very very clean under this scheme which is the last window available for anyone," he said. Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said that within a month's time banks will accumulate PAN numbers of all account holders except for Jan Dhan accounts. He said in 12 cases of "unscrupulous conversion" of old notes into new currency, CBI has filed FIRs, while ED has filed 17 cases of money laundering. Ever since the cancellation of legal tender of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8, people have been queueing up at banks to deposit the now-defunct currencies. As per RBI data, over Rs 12.44 lakh crore worth of the scrapped currency has been deposited till December 10. As per estimates, there was Rs 15.44 lakh crore worth of high value currency in the system on November 8. Liberalising the sector to foreign re-insurers will break the monopoly of GIC Re. Kolkata: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) today said it expects foreign re-insurers which will get final clearance from the regulator to be operational in the country over the next six to nine months. "We are hopeful that global reinsurance companies which will get final clearance from the regulator to open their branches in India and will be operational in the next six to nine months, IRDA whole time member(finance & investments) V R Iyer said here today on the sidelines of CII organised InsureInd. "We have received seven applications from major foreign reinsurance companies including Llyods which have shown interest to open their branch offices in India. Applications from seven companies are in the different stages of consideration of the insurance regulator," she said. A foreign reinsurer has to clear three stages of licences from the insurance regulator to begin operations, Iyer added. Presently, state owned GIC Re is the only reinsurer operational in the country and foreign reinsurers have liaison office in India. Liberalising the sector to foreign re-insurers will break the monopoly of GIC Re. But government has now allowed minimum 10 per cent of the reinsurance business that an insurance company will buy has to go to the public sector. IRDA believes with the clearance to opening of branches of foreign reinsurance companies, domestic insurers will be able to undertake more risks and manage their capital more efficiently, she said. "In India, catastrophic and disaster risks products are not available. With foreign reinsurance companies coming to the country, insurers can become creators," Iyer added. Citing a consultant report, she said by 2025 the life insurance business is expected to touch USD 185 billion and non-life insurance to touch around USD 75 billion. Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd were trading 0.88 per cent higher at Rs 824.40 on BSE. New Delhi: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd(HUL) today said its subsidiary Pond's Exports Ltd will sell certain movable assets and inventory of its leather business to Hindustan Foods for an undisclosed sum. "Pond's Exports Ltd (PEL), a subsidiary of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, engaged in the business of manufacturing of leather products, has entered into an agreement with Hindustan Foods Ltd for sale of certain movable assets and inventory with respect to the leather business of PEL," Hindustan Unilever Ltd said in a BSE filing. Hindustan Foods said, "This marks the entry of Hindustan Foods Ltd in the leather shoes exports space with a global clientele". Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd were trading 0.88 per cent higher at Rs 824.40 on BSE. A referendum in 2017 appears to have been taken off the board in the Chippewa Falls School District. At its monthly meeting Thursday night, the School Board voted 6-1 to table the facilities resolution on the meeting agenda and schedule a board work session for a future date. That work session will likely be scheduled for early February, School Board President Amy Mason said. The boards next meeting is set for Jan. 26. With a Jan. 24 deadline looming for approving a referendum for the April 4 spring election, that would put the earliest voters could see another school referendum as April 2018. The board still has some unanswered questions, and they dont want to be too hasty to go to referendum again, Mason said, noting that members may want to mix-and-match items that were a part of both referendum questions that failed in last months election. Board member Pat Allen pointed out some things in the second question specifically needed to be looked at. Were going to get one shot at this for maybe 15 or 20 years, Allen said. It might mean that something out of the $61 million (referendum) comes out, and something from the $98 million (referendum) goes in it. There were critical needs in that $98 million that we just cannot ignore. The decision to go back and hammer out a proposal that would gain widespread board support came following the defeat of a motion that would have basically resurrected the first referendum question on the Nov. 8 ballot. Board member Staish Buchner moved to add a referendum not exceeding $60.58 million. That amount was determined by subtracting the $630,000 to purchase land for a new high school, which was included in last months $61.2 million referendum. This has to be done. We have to fix these schools, he said. Lets start with the elementaries. Buchners motion failed 5-2, with Dave Czech joining Buchner in voting for it, and Kathy Strecker, Pete Lehmann, Jennifer Heinz, Allen and Mason opposing it. Czech had made the original motion in August for the $61.2 million question, which included building a new Stillson Elementary School, improvements in Halmstad and Jim Falls elementaries, and repairs and renovations at other schools. That motion passed 4-3, with Lehmann, Allen and Strecker supporting it. Weve already had feedback from our voters, Lehmann said. Coming back this quickly with the same question without putting more information behind it is shortsighted. Buchner noted the referendum failed by a small margin 52-48 percent and she heard voters objected to including the land acquisition. But Heinz said assigning reasons as to why the referendum failed was nothing more than a guessing game. We have a duty to be making evidence-based decisions, Heinz said. What I keep hearing is speculation about what this referendum meant. The fact is we dont know exactly what that is. As much as it bothered Heinz to oppose a facilities proposal, she believed by delaying the board could come up with a plan that was supported by all seven of its members. The community has to understand we are committed to doing something about our schools, and we are committed to doing it sooner rather than later, she said. I dont like putting it off. But my bigger fear is to move forward. Its more important that we do it right, than do it this quickly. Czech did not share Heinz optimism that pushing it off would lead to a 7-0 vote for anything. Instead, he thought there would continue to be seven different ideas for what needed to be done. The public doesnt want us to sit on this and do nothing. If we say no tonight, were not doing anything until April 2018, Czech said, stating his initial $61.2 million motion was a compromise. It was never intended to solve all of our problems. Lehmann, who supported the question in August, said he wasnt sold on the idea that Stillsons structural flaws could not be repaired and the building had to be in effect condemned. Heinz said even if the plumbing could be lifted up to standard, the building did not meet the districts curriculum needs, a point Chad Trowbridge, the districts business manager, also made. He said all of the repairs added up to nearly $6 million. The reason why (replacing Stillson) was put on the ballot initially is this doesnt address the educational adequacy. That was another $6 million, he said. The architecture doesnt support that kind of expansion, which is why it was suggested to replace it. Bringing back the first referendum, Mason said, would not address important issues such as dead-end hallways, capacity issues at the middle school or safety concerns at Hillcrest. We need to look at those things as well, she said. Thats why Im reluctant to move forward with the recycled question. Strecker agreed bits and pieces of each question required more thorough examination. But the idea that anything was being hurried bothered Buchner. At the rate weve been going, if this board had been around when the Lord said let there be light, wed still be in the dark, Buchner said. Heinz insisted she did not want to kick everything down the road. We have a conservative district in the best sense of that word, that wants us to be smart and responsible with our tax dollars, she said. They want us to dig in a little deeper, want us to have more consensus. No consensus was forthcoming Thursday night, until Allen moved to send it back to a work session next year. Buchner was the lone board member to oppose that move. While they couldnt agree on a set plan, Strecker pointed out there was one 7-0 agreement. The one thing we all agree on is we want to do something, Strecker said. Mumbai: Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali feels it is auspicious that superstar Salman Khan has started the promotion of his forthcoming film starring Shah Rukh Khan. Salman recently took to Twitter to announce the release date and the first look of Shah Rukh's film with Imtiaz, tentatively titled 'The Ring'. When asked about it, Imtiaz told reporters, "Salman ji ka badappan hai ki unhone tweet kiya. Bohot khushi ki baat hai, shubh baat hai ki Salman ne shuruvaat ki hai publicity ki (It is Salman's greatness that he tweeted. It is a happy thing, auspicious that Salman has started the publicity)." The film is a first collaboration between Shah Rukh and Imtiaz. The 51-year-old 'Fan' star is said to be playing a tourist guide in the movie, which also stars Anushka Sharma. The 'Tamasha' director said a "little bit" of shooting is still left which they will complete here in India. He also said that "The Ring" is just a working title and the makers are searching for a suitable name. He was speaking at the special screening of 'Shor Se Shuruaat', an omnibus feature of mentored short films, around the central theme of noise. He has mentored the short film of Satish Raj Kasireddi, titled "Mia I'm". "The beauty of this film is that it is based in North East. It is that part of our country where for some reason we give less attention. We make less films there, we don't work as much with the people there," he said. "So, I am happy that Satish has made this film there, using their artistes and musicians," he added. Mumbai: Sanjay Dutt is not one to shy away from being unabashedly candid. Even recently, there were reports of the much adored actor ridiculing Ranbir Kapoor at a private party, over his goofeball image, iterating he needs to macho up if he is to play Sanjay in Rajkumar Hiranis biopic. At a Young FICCI Ladies Organisation's event, where he was accompanied by sister Priya Dutt and Pooja Bhatt, he revealed his motive behind possessing the AK-56 gun in 1993, which eventually would lead to his grueling incarceration at the Yeravada Jail. I love guns and I love hunting. I got into trouble for having a gun and at that time, there were riots going on. One of my producers asked me, 'Tujhe bandook chahiye?' Bandook sunn ke mere kaan khade ho gaye. I asked which gun? And he said AK-56. "I thought I would take it to Khandala, thoda chala vala ke phek dunga. I kept it in the car dicky and forgot about it and went to Mauritius. When Priya called me, asking about it, I told a friend to get rid of it. He got rid of it, but the poor guy is still in jail, a leading daily quoted him as saying. Sanjay, wholl make a grand comeback to movies along with Saiyami Kher in Omung Kumars Bhoomi, also spoke about his substance abuse and his subsequent painful yet adamant withdrawal, at the event. Mumbai: Hrithik Roshans Kaabil has been in the news since the launch of the trailer for its gripping content, clash with Shah Rukh Khans Raees and the songs that have been released recently. However, rumours started doing the rounds recently that popular streaming and production company Netflix were reportedly planning to sue the makers, claiming Kaabil has plagiarised from their show Daredevil. The company was reportedly miffed about the glaring similarities between the film and the show, as the protagonists in both of them are blind and the action sequences and colour schemes are also looking similar. Sanjay Gupta, the director of the film, however, slammed the similarities, It is a preposterous comparison because Hrithik is not a superhero in Kaabil. His character is that of a blind man who does what he does best. In Daredevil, the protagonist fights 30 people at a time. None of that is happening in Kaabil. If they sue us, well definitely fight back." However, the company has clarified the reports and said that they don't intend to take any such step and that they are looking into the source of the rumour. Mumbai: While actresses are always accused of indulging in catfights with their contemporaries, this photo of Kats and Anushka is a testimony to the fact that not all actresses let their competitive sides keep them from being real friends. Just recently, Kats, who is relatively new to the social media platform Facebook, posted a picture of them sharing a light moment. The witty actress captioned it: Anushka Sharma and me always seem to have fun on couches together. Anushka, who has recently wrapped up her upcoming project The Ring with director Imtiaz Ali, was quick to respond. The ADHM star said, Hahaha true! And there is more in store for you guys soon.. hint: koffee. Rumours of Kaif appearing on the famous celebrity chat show with former lover Salman Khan were doing the rounds. Although it is hard to digest but there were also reports of no Bollywood actor wanting to appear on the show with this pretty actress. But when the makers of KWK approached Anushka, she immediately said yes. After Sonam and Jacqueline, we think its Anushka and Katrina who are going to be film industrys new bffs. Sweet! Recently, when we met Vidya Balan, she mentioned about being unwell on the plane. Siddhath (husband) and I were on a holiday trip to Dubai when I started getting severe pain in my abdomen. I was diagnosed with stone problem and because I was running a very high temperature, we were left with no choice but to return to Mumbai as I was advised complete bed rest, informs Vidya Updating further, To my surprise when we came back to Mumbai and got it checked, the reports were all clear. Of course I was happy. The doctor mentioned that sometimes, the stones get passed through the urine and I guess thats what happened in my case. Thankfully I am hale and hearty again. Professionally though, I had to cancel some of my work. Well, its been a few years now that Vidya is married, so is she planning a baby soon? I dont believe in planning even my profession, blushes Vidya. Since all your fans are impatiently waiting to know, and now that you have taken to social media, like Kareena who has been so vocal about her pregnancy when the right time comes do share it with the fans at least! Mumbai: She may come from a family of Bollywood stars but Shweta Bachchan Nanda says she would be worried if her daughter Navya Naveli plans to be an actor. Shweta's father Amitabh Bachchan continues to be a megastar in Bollywood at the age 74 while her mother Jaya, brother Abhishek and sister-in-law Aishwarya Rai are prominent names in the industry. "I will be worried if if she plans to be an actor. I don't think it is as easy as it looks. You have to work extremely hard, especially if you are a woman. And I wonder if she has in her to bear with all of it." "Also, there is a lot of failure involved, which many people don't see. The failure is personal, your acting skills... The way you look on screen is slashed out in open." Shweta said. Navya has been under the spotlight recently, with her pictures doing the rounds on social media. According to Shweta, the right way to become an actor is to 'want and rightly prepare' for it like her mother, not 'stumble' into it like her father. "My mother was the eldest daughter in the family. She graduated and told his father about her ambition of becoming an actor. Soon she joined acting school, and was a great student. I feel this is the way to go about it. Not because you see this as an easy way out. Instant fame and money in this industry is a myth." she said at the launch of 'Standing on the Apple Box' by Aishwarya R Dhanush, daughter of superstar Rajinikanth. She has also written the foreword for the book. Shwetha likes to maintain a low profile, and is extremely protective about her daughter despite the constant spotlight. The 42-year-old mother of two recently wrote an open letter asking media to give her daughter her private life back. My children are no celebrities. Why smash them on internet for one reason or the other? Let them earn their attention on their own. It shouldnt be just because they are related to somebody, she said. To prevent news flashes about Navya from reaching her, the Bachchans do not have any Google alert for her. We have no Google alert for her, because it would be very upsetting for her to read these things. I didnt do anything for two years; thinking that it would only draw more attention towards it, she said. Shweta said the decision to keep her away from the attention is not driven by any gender bias as she would be equally protective of her son. Calling her family a home of women who are strong-headed and independent, Shweta said that everyone was free to to pursue their own dreams and hopes Navya does the same. My home is a home of women. Be it my grand-mother, mother, sister-in-law and me, we all are strong opinionated women. I am sure she will carry it forward, she says. Mumbai: Rajinikanth might be readying himself for the biggest film of his career, Shankars 2.0, also starring Akshay Kumar, but his most loved performance still remains 1995s Baasha. The film, inspired from a sequence from his own Hindi film, Hum, that had also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda, has had a glorious cult associated to it, since its release. A digitally re-mastered version of the film is in the making, with the makers going about it with much gusto. A trailer for the version has also been released, with two of the most iconic scenes from the film in it. The much loved star, whose trademark walk down the stairs plus the extremely popular dialogue, "Naan oru thadave sonna, nooru thadave sonna maadhiri (If I say something once, it's like I've said a hundred times)" also makes it to the trailer. , "A team from Prasad EFX is working on the visual effects and A.S. Laxmi Narayanan, who has worked on the sound for a host of movies, including the recent I and 24, is handling the sound department, Hindu quoted Thangaraj Veerappan, whos handling the films digitisation as saying. The film was originally to be released on the Thalaivars birthday, but has been postponed ever since. Well, the trailer is reason enough for the stars massive fan following to go berserk. Watch the trailer here: Rating: Director: Vishal Pandya Cast: Sharman Joshi, Sana Khan, Rajniesh Duggall and Gurmeet Choudhary Directed by Vishal Pandya, Wajah Tum Ho is one of those films which will leave you wondering what it was by the time you finish watching it. The film is a stale cocktail of lust, betrayal, revenge and vengeance. Barring Sharman Joshi, no one seems to be even trying to act. Wajah Tum Ho could have been a better film on cyber crime but by the time the film picks up pace, it is too late. The story begins with the mysterious murder of ACP and its telecast on the nations biggest television network Global Times Network (GTN). Kabir Deshmukh (Sharman Joshi), an honest Mumbai cop, starts his investigation and accuses Rahul Oberoi (Rajneish Duggall), CEO of GTN for the murder. Siya (Sana Khan), Rahuls legal advisor assures of his safety but Kabir is adamant about proving Rahul guilty in court. Lawyer Ranvir Bajaj (Gurmeet Choudhary helps Kabir in sending Rahul Oberoi behind bars. But is Rahul actually guilty of murdering ACP or is someone else using his channel to destroy him? This is what Wajah Tum Ho is all about. Despite the steamy sequences which have the characters clad in satin lingerie in the trailer, the film doesnt have a lot of skin show. Except for its abrupt songs, Wajah Tum Ho has nothing sleazy to offer. The film was wrongly marketed as erotica and the songs have been used a promotional tool to pull the audiences to the theatres. Zarine Khan (Mahi Ve) and Sherlyn Chopra (Dil Main Chupa Loonga) try enough to woo the viewers by undressing themselves but one cant help but laugh at the pointlessness of their actions in most of the scenes. Theres a scene in which Sana confronts Sherlyn and soon after the latter shows off her assets in a swimming pool which will make you cringe. The acting by the lead cast is a yawn fest. Just one-film-old Sana Khan, leaves you infuriated with her dreadful facial expressions. It also looks like Zarine Khan and Sherlyn Chopra (guest appearances) are sailing in the same boat. After debuting with Jai Ho opposite Salman Khan where she hardly acted, Sana seems to be way off the mark. Her glamorous dialogue delivery style especially in the intense scenes turns out to be comical. Gurmeet Choudhary and Rajneish Duggal are terrible. They really need to join some acting school. Sharman Joshi is the only saving grace in the film and somewhat lives up to expectations. There are unnecessary songs in the film which have no sync with the narrative of the story except the romantic songs featuring Sana and Gurmeet. Wajah Tum Ho has so many twists that after a while you start recollecting director Vishal Pandya's previous Hate Story franchise. The plot of Wajah Tum Ho is complex but the way it is executed is laughable. Once the film is on the verge of unfolding the truth, you are bound to feel that the film is a C-grade version of Hate Story franchise. Cinematography by Prakash Kutty is average and the film looks cheap to the core. The recreation of cult songs Pal Pal Dil Ke Pass and Aise Na Mujhe Tum Dekho will depress you. The reviewer feels that there is not a single Wajah to watch Wajah Tum Ho this weekend. Mumbai: Telugu star, Harshvardhan Rane who marked his Bollywood debut with Sanam Teri Kasam has been on cloud nine with all the appreciation flowing in to him. His Hindi debut not only garnered him nominations but also saw international fame. The actor who just got back from Russia where his debut film was screened, the actor has some special plans for his birthday. A close source reveals, Harsh is quite happy with the response of his debut film. The film got officially selected in many award functions and also bagged Bejoy Nambiars next south remake alongside Dhanush. The actor plans to have a quite and private birthday for the first time with his close friends in the outskirts of Mumbai. Harsh is fond of camping and has plans for safari on his birthday. On the work front, Harshvardhan is in talks with Russian film and he has liked the idea but still taking his sweet time to give his nod. New Delhi: Around 450 million people, which is half the world's population defecating in the open are in India, a top government official said today, but exuded confidence that the country will be free from this problem as Swachh Bharat Mission is becoming a "people's movement". "About 450 million people practice open defection in India, this is half of the world's population which are defecating in open. "We have long way to go and behavioural change is the way forward. With progress of the mission (SBM) so far, I am optimistic that the country will become open defection free," Centre's Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Parameswaran Iyer said. Speaking at the launch of Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks, an initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission with the help of Tata Trusts, he said this cadre of skilled young professionals will support district officials in achieving the objective of overall sanitation in their respective districts. Asserting that sanitation is of utmost importance for this country where 13 per cent children die due to diarrhoea, Iyer said SBM is high on the agenda of the Prime Minister and it is "taking shape of people's movement". Addressing the event, Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata said he is privileged to be part of this movement and added, "I am excited that these young professionals who are recruited as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks will get a chance to express themselves and to be part of this programme to making India cleaner." Complementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission, he said Tata Trust is committed in working with the government on this "visionary programme". Tata Trust will recruit and pay salaries of the 600 young professionals, who will work with the administration of respective district to spread awareness about sanitation and achieving the objectives of SBM. Thanking Tata for helping in the SBM, Union Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said more corporates should come forward and become part of this movement for clean India. Martin Treptow and Travis Hakes were on a mission to find all the family members buried at Tilden Lutheran Cemetery but two graves were missing. After some investigating, and landscaping, they finally found the two missing family members under an overgrown bush. The cemetery has about 40 people in it. 75% of its residents are relatives of Treptow and Hakes who are 4th cousins. Different countries have been bringing these laws time to time and these laws are in concern with human beings, but they are very weird according to a normal human tendency. (Photo: File Photo) The weird and bizarre sex rules around the world, which is introduced by their respective government have always troubled the people who dont intend but they are punished under such weird laws. Different countries have been bringing these laws time to time and these laws are in concern with human beings, but they are very weird according to a normal human tendency. Many of the laws can be traced back to now out-dated ordinances, but there are also some surprising modern entries like, Singapore: Standing naked in public place can lead to a punishable offence, which was introduced in 2009. This law created a big problem for a taxi driver who was fined for his neighbours spotting him for being naked in his own apartment and he was fined for 2,000. These weird laws are not only limited till humans, animals are also included in these laws like, Poland: Offenders found guilty of having sex with an animal three times can reportedly be shot. Peru: Another law like 1970s, the Peruvian government banned prison inmates from eating chilli sauce and hot spices because of fears they could arouse sexual desires, this shows that these laws also includes food which may be scientifically true but not practiced in everyday life. Birmingham: They also involve spirituality and God like it is against the law for a man and a woman to have sex on the steps of any church after the sun goes down, this shows that these weird laws which also involves God and is not practically true because nobody thinks of having sex on the doors of the church. Indonesia: It has also intruded personal life of people as according to Article 281 of national law, the maximum sentence for masturbation is 32 months imprisonment, this shows that it creates so many problem for people not only in the outside world, but also in personal life. These laws has created problems in peoples life in many ways and these are not even things that practically people thinking in daily lives. So introducing these laws doesnt benefits to anyone as they indirectly create problem in the lives and come under punishable acts. The family is unable to use the note (Photo: Twitter) Kannur: Numerous controversies have marked the governments decision to demonetise high denomination currency notes and introduce new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes, as the new notes have been subject to a lot of rumours ever since they came out. While first it was a chip inside the Rs 2000 notes that made news, rumours of the note losing colour followed as the government was caught off guard when it came to recalibrating ATMs for dispensing these new notes. Now images of a crumbling Rs 2000 note are doing the rounds on social media. The report from Keralas Kannur said that a woman who withdrew the note from a bank alleged that it started crumbling from the edges within hours. The womans son said that she had taken the money after standing in a queue for hours and now the family was unable to use it. Pictures of the note created a buzz on Twitter as soon as they hit the news, and netizens had a take on it. New Rs 2000 note crumbles within hours of withdrawal. Symbolic? #demonetization ( LT @pujamehra ) pic.twitter.com/IWq09TYrzA Vijay Sankaran (@vijaysankaran) December 15, 2016 NEW SECURITY FEATURE! The 2000 rupee note is designed to vanish after it crumbles into tiny dust particles.https://t.co/THtH2c1lC8 NarIndira Modi (@NarIndiraModi) December 15, 2016 While the truth in the matter can only be known later, the development raises concerns beyond social media. New Delhi: When 78-year-old Santosh Channan, a Delhi resident, was robbed at knife-point by a gang of four thieves on Thursday, she didn't expect them to agree to her request that they leave some cash for her daily expenses. Cash-starved due to demonetisation, Channan pleaded with her robbers to leave the only Rs 2000 note she had for her expenses when the burglars entered her house in the wee hours of Thursday. Surprisingly, one of the robbers pulled out a 100 rupee note from his purse and handed it to the old lady. Notably, almost Rs 2 lakh worth of jewellery were stolen, according to an Indian Express report. Confirming the incident, DCP (southeast) Romil Baniya said a case has been filed at the CR Park Police Station. Police sources also state forensic evidence has been gathered and that the robbers gained access through the drawing room. "First, they broke the glass windows, unlocked one of the doors from inside, cut through the wire mesh and finally barged in, said a police officer. Delhi: Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday paid tributes to those killed in the 1971 Liberation War by placing a wreath at the National Memorial, marking the 46th Victory Day. A contingent drawn from Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Air Force also presented arms on the occasion when bugles played the Last Post. Ministers, leader of the opposition in Parliament, state ministers, chiefs of the three services, members of parliament, freedom fighters, diplomats, representatives of different development partners and high civil and military officials, among others, were present at the ceremony. Victory Day marks the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent, sovereign country in 1971 and its secession as East Pakistan from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, when Pakistani occupation forces were defeated after a nine-month war. The Eastern Commander of Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, and his 93,000 soldiers surrendered to the allied forces of freedom fighters and Indian Army at Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka. One of the most violent wars of the 20th century, it witnessed large-scale atrocities, the exodus of 10 million refugees and the killing of three million people. According to UNHCR Global Trends report, 65.3 million people (1 out of 113), were displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution in 2015. (Photo: AFP/Representational Image) New Delhi: India is one of the most generous countries for refugees, ensuring safety and employment to the displaced people in the best of her capacity, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. Yasuko Shimizu, the chief of mission for UNHCR in India and the Maldives, who was awarded the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development 2015, said that the country has helped refugees by providing work permits and issuing long term visas. "India is one of the most generous countries for refugees. The country has given opportunities for such people to go for jobs by providing work permits. Although we give refugee cards to displaced people but the government here issues long term visas for them which is very helpful," Shimizu said. She said that the UNHCR has taken several initiatives in collaboration with governments and local bodies on ground, to address issues concerning proper education for children belonging to such communities. "Education is one of the most important issues for refugee families. We should have assistance for refugee children so that they can easily access education at local schools," she said. Shimizu, who has served in various capacities at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva and for many field operations in Afghanistan, Russia and Uganda, took up her current post in June 2016. According to UNHCR Global Trends report, 65.3 million people (1 out of 113), were displaced from their homes due to conflict and persecution in 2015. "Refugees are a result of political consequences in any country. We have been raising issues at the UN that humanitarian assistance cannot replace political concerns. "India has been tolerant with people of different backgrounds, ethnicity and cultures which is not the case with many other countries," she said. When asked about recent incidents of atrocities against African nationals in the capital city and the role of UNHCR during such incidents, Shimizu said, the lack of knowledge about culture in a different country sometimes creates problems. "The body keeps advocating with NGOs, police, university students on ground to sensitise people about the backgrounds and cultures refugees come from. It is important to see how individuals react to them in society. There needs to be an atmosphere where one can understand about the exchange of cultures. "It is not only the legal status that one should look at for refugees in other countries. Support to protect their life is also very important," she said. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Indira Gandhi rejected suggestions for demonetisation in 1971, saying she wanted to win elections, but that resulted in poor economic condition in the country. Alleging that Indira Gandhi sold out India by ignoring advice to demonetise, Prime Minister Modi said, "She told her finance minister Y.B. Chavan: are no more elections to be fought by Congress?" Stressing that the implementation of demonetisation policy was required in 1971, but it was implemented now, the Prime Minister, hitting out at the opposition at the BJP Parliamentary Party meet, said, "For the Congress, party is bigger than nation; but for us, the nation is above the party." As the nation observed Vijay Diwas today, offering respect to the soldiers, who laid down their lives during the 1971 India-Pakistan war that resulted in the birth of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said "The opposition in 1971 did not ask for a proof of the army's valour, but today's opposition does." Meanwhile, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari urged all leaders in the Rajya Sabha to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. Prime Minister Modi earlier on Friday urged the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure that corruption and black money is rooted out of the country. A delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. The Winter Session of Parliament has been a washout with both sides not permitting the other to speak. While the opposition accused the government of being insensitive to the common man, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dug up AgustaWestland matter to charge the Congress. Modi further criticised the opposition for demanding the proof of a Surgical Strike carried out by the Indian armed forces that dismantled seven terror launch pads across the border on September 28-29 as retaliation to the Uri terror attack. Stating that demonetisation is the first step to curb black money and corruption, but not the last, the Prime Minister said, "Corruption is our main target and it will not be long before normalcy returns after the 50-day period." He also thanked Chief Ministers of Odisha and Bihar for supporting demonetisation. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a meeting with BJP lawmakers and urged them to make digital economy 'a way of life' and attacked the Opposition for protesting the move to demonetise big notes. "Earlier, Opposition would join hands against govt over scams like 2G, Coalgate but now Opposition is united against govt's steps to curb blackmoney and corruption," Modi said at the meet. "For Congress, party is above the country but for BJP the country's interests are supreme," he added. Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been unsparing in his criticism of demonetisation, Modi said he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did "nothing" during his rule of 10 years. He also cited late Left stalwart Harkishan Singh Surjeet to support his government's action. "Earlier the ruling side, especially Congress, would commit scams like 2G, coal-gate, Bofors and the Opposition would then unite and fight against it on the principle of honesty. "But now the ruling side, the BJP-led NDA, has started a campaign again black money and corruption and opposition parties are standing against it," he said. Modi also noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, recalling that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting. "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress," he said. Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country," the PM said. On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes. The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. The incident took place on December 11, while the suspects were booked on Thursday, police said. No arrests have been made so far. (Photo: Representational Image) Thane: More than a dozen persons, including a Shiv Sena corporator from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) were booked on charges of disrupting a meeting of citizens to discuss development of slum colony. The incident took place on December 11, while the suspects were booked on Thursday, police said. No arrests have been made so far. The complaint by one Lizzy Chako said the corporator who also doubles up as a developer had in 2009 undertaken to develop the slum colony at Pokhran Road No II and give tenements to the occupants, but he failed to keep up his commitment. In this connection the affected persons had called a meeting to discuss the issue. The meeting was addressed by social worker Adv Darmyansingh Bist and one Madhu Acharya and the issues relating to the delay in redevelopment were being discussed. When the meeting was in progress the accused arrived at the meeting place and allegedly started disrupting the meeting by snatching away the mike from the hands of Adv Bist and also threw the chairs away, the complaint said. The accused also threatened the organisers not to hold any such meeting again else they would face serious consequences, the complaint stated. The accused also beat some people who were present for the meeting, it stated. Kochi: Kerala Governor P Sathasivam on Friday said there is no need to have a "different chair for a governor", pointing out that when he assumed charge, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the head of the state as 'His Excellency'. "No need to have a different chair for a Governor. It is not required. We are in a democratic country," he told media persons after inaugurating the golden jubilee annual day celebrations of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ernakulam Press Club. A different chair was arranged for the governor on the stage in which dignitaries including Lok Sabha MP and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee Chairman K V Thomas, Hybi Eden MLA and NSG Commando P V Manesh were present. In his address, Sathasivam reminded journalists that when he took the charge in 2014, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the governor as 'His Excellency'. "For information, the day I assumed the office as the governor of the state, I, through my officials in the Raj Bhavan, had clarified that there was no need to call His Excellency, either Mr or Honourable is sufficient," Sathasivam, former Chief Justice of India, said. He said this in response to Kerala Union of Working Journalist (KUWJ) chief Abdul Gafoor addressing him as "His Excellency" in his welcome speech. The function was organised by the Ernakulam Press Club. In 2012, when he assumed charge as President of India, Pranab Mukherjee had put in place a new protocol for greeting the President, replacing the salutation 'His Excellency' with 'Honourable President'. New Delhi: Opposition parties led by Congress will meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to apprise him of problems caused by demonetisation, and also on them "not being" allowed to speak in Parliament. At a meeting of Opposition held in the chamber of Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, representatives of various parties decided to raise with the President the problems of common man arising out of demonetisation. Opposition leaders said they will meet the President at 12.30 pm, and before that they will assemble near the Gandhi statue in Parliament. Leaders of various parties said the entire Opposition will meet the President to "complain" against the ruling party for "not allowing them" to speak in Parliament. The leaders said they were elected representatives of the country and had every right to speak in Parliament and it was "unconstitutional" not to allow them to speak in both Houses. Sources said it was also decided in the meeting to raise the plight of farmers and common people in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and demand a loan waiver for farmers. All parties decided that while Azad will raise the issue in Rajya Sabha, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge would raise the issue in Lok Sabha. Azad also gave an adjournment notice under Rule 267 for allowing a discussion on hardships faced by farmers due to demonetisation. Opposition leaders have been meeting every morning to decide on a united strategy in Parliament during the Winter Session, which has been a virtual washout. Representatives of Congress, Trinamool Congress, BSP, SP, JD-U, CPI, CPI-M, NCP, DMK and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) were present in today's meeting. Obama is 'Our Most Catholic of Presidents' Contact: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Bill Donohue comments on a remarkable claim about President Obama: On the December 15 edition of the "Axe Files" podcast, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told David Axelrod the following about President Barack Obama. "I think this is theour most Catholic of presidents. And I mean that by capital C Catholic, in what I see and what he does every day. It's not to say that he'sdoes everything entirely consistent with Catholic teaching. That's not the idea." We'll, yes that is the idea. When someone says that Obama is "our most Catholic of presidents," surely the record should speak for itself. Here are some of Obama's views and policies that McDonough needs to explain. In 2003, when Obama was an Illinois state senator, he led the fight to oppose a bill that would have mandated health care for a baby who survived an abortion, and he did so even after the bill explicitly said it would not imperil Roe v. Wade. The Catholic Church does not support infanticide. Before he was elected in 2008, he said he would sign a bill, the Freedom of Choice Act, that would have forced Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. One of the first executive orders Obama signed after being sworn in on January 20, 2009 was to overturn the Mexico City Policy that denied federal funding of private organizations that perform and promote abortions abroad. On January 29, 2009, Obama said he looked forward to restoring U.S. aid to the U.N. Population Fund that pays for abortion. Obama supports partial-birth abortion, the procedure where a baby who is 80 percent born has his head pierced with a scissors. In 2008, Obama said the biggest mistake he ever made was to side with the parents of Terry Schiavo: they petitioned a federal court to allow their daughter food and medicine needed to live. Obama reversed himself, thus siding with those who said, just "let her die." Obama sent his two daughters to private schools but opposed every school choice initiative that would allow poor parents to escape the public schools by enrolling in a private or parochial school. Obama opposed the Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Bill Clinton that allowed the states to determine what defines marriage, thus undercutting the traditional definition. Obama supports same-sex marriage. Obama opposes a display of the Ten Commandments on public property. Obama supports the intentional killing of embryos. Obama sought to appoint Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel. She cut her teeth as a lawyer working with the ACLU in the late 1980s trying to take away the tax exempt status of the Catholic Church. Obama appointed Harry Knox to his Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership program. He has a record of hate speech against the pope. Obama was the first president to welcome atheist leaders to the White House, some of whom are Catholic bashers. When Obama spoke at Georgetown University in April 2009, his staff insisted that all religious symbols in the room where he was to speak had to be covered with a drape. Obama's Heath and Human Services mandate, still pushed by the administration, says that Catholic institutions that hire and serve non-Catholics are no longer Catholic, and are therefore subject to government oversight. This includes the Little Sisters of the Poor. Obama fought U.S. bishops for yearsand is doing so nowtrying to force Catholic non-profits to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, contraception, and sterilization in their healthcare plans. Obama made sure that no grants went to Catholic programs that provide relief to the victims of human traffickingeven though the grant proposals received high scores from independent reviewerssimply because the Church's opposes abortion. I could go on, but the point is clear: If Obama is the "most Catholic of presidents," then why has he spent the last eight years sticking it to Catholics and the Catholic Church? Share Tweet New Delhi: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the "biggest tragedy of Indian politics" is that the parties which fought against graft and scams in previous Congress governments have now joined hands with it and are scuttling the Prime Minister's efforts to root out black money and corruption. "It is really pitiful that the opposition parties which fought Congress, at least some of them inside the house and outside it and in elections. They all have joined hands with Congress and are ready to work under its leadership," he said outside Parliament. Congress which, along with opposition parties including TMC, CPI(M), DMK, is actively campaigning against the note ban to highlight the problems people are facing due to it. Its vice-president Rahul Gandhi recently addressed the media flanked by opposition leaders including TMC MPs. "This is the biggest tragedy of Indian politics. You see Trinamool and CPI(M) working under the leadership of Congress. And parties like DMK and others, which have taken 'talaq' from Congress, also joined hands with it," he said. "Some people are saying we are with Congress, but we do not know what it is doing. We are not a party to this. This is laughable. How can you join the leader holding the press conference if you do not know what he is speaking about?" he asked. The minister said the Congress rule was "full of corruption. Scams and scandals, 2G, 3G, Commonwealth Games or the coal scam, all happened during the tenure of Congress-led governments. Some of the parties, which are now making common cause with Congress, also fought against this (graft). "What happened now? Do they think that Congress has transformed? Congress has become pure? They must answer to people," he said. Naidu said the rival parties are against Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he is fighting against corruption. "The bitterness among opposition parties against the prime minister is because he has struck at the very roots and foundation of corruption and black money. That is why many people are shaken. That is why different vested interests are reacting in different manners to scuttle this entire thing. They are trying to create panic among people by their disinformation campaign against the prime minister and the government," the BJP leader said. "This is ironic. Earlier, when opposition used to fight corruption, the ruling party would suppress their voice and never accept their demand for action or debate," Naidu said. "Today, the ruling party is fighting corruption and black money and some of the opposition parties are blocking the government's action. It appears they are fighting for the corrupt, who have been affected by demonetisation black money holders and terrorists, those indulging in women trafficking and drug trafficking. "The action of the prime minister, demonetisation or remonetisation whatever you call it, is aimed at attacking these forces," he said. He said the Opposition is welcome to give suggestions to improve the situation arising out of demonetisation, but "how do you find fault with the government's decision? This is a historic, radical bold decision taken by the PM. It is a fight against black money and corruption". "He started right from the day he took over as prime minister and then a series of steps followed. This is a major step toward fighting black money and corruption and it is ironic to see the government fighting corruption and the Opposition rallying behind those who are affected. "They all are worried because of the growing popularity of the prime minister, growing appeal of BJP in states. That I feel is the real reason these parties are supporting Congress. Otherwise, how can anyone justify this?" he asked. The minister lauded parties supporting demonetisation. "We appreciate the parties which have taken a principled stand like BJD and JD(U)," he said. New Delhi: A Rahul Gandhi-led Congress delegation met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to highlight the plight of farmers in the country and demanded a loan waiver for them. During the meeting, which came in the backdrop of Gandhi's fierce attack on the Prime Minister over demonetisation, top Congress leaders presented a memorandum to Modi on demands of farmers including loan waiver, reducing power bills to half and remunerative MSP for farm produce. The delegation included Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, deputy leaders in both Houses Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar. After the meeting, the Congress Vice President said that Modi heard them patiently but did not commit anything. "We, Congress party delegation, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the plight of farmers of this country. Every single day, a farmer is committing suicide in Punjab. Farmers are committing suicide all over the country. "The government has removed the import duty on wheat. This is a devastating blow. So we went to the Prime Minister to request him on behalf of farmers of this country to waive their loans," he told reporters. He said the Prime Minister accepted that the situation of farmers is serious but did not say anything on loan waiver. Sources said the Prime Minister gave the delegation a patient hearing and told Rahul Gandhi to "keep meeting him". Gandhi has been targeting the Prime Minister often, with his latest offensive being on demonetisation. He claimed on Wednesday that he had information about alleged "personal corruption" of the Prime Minister, but the BJP dismissed it as a "joke". Gandhi had raised the farmers issue during his recent Deoria to Delhi yatra in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. The Congress has collected over 2 crore "Kisan maang patras" from across Uttar Pradesh and over 34 lakh from Punjab which also goes to polls early next year. During Congress' yatra in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi said the farmers had put forward their three requests-- loan waiver, reducing the power bills to half and getting remunerative MSP for their produce. "We told Prime Minister that the way government had waived Rs 1,40,000 crore, the same way farmers' loan should be waived," he said, adding the delegation also raised the issue of plight of farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Mr Ansari who was yet to initiate proceedings, dropped the impeachment bid and closed the file as he found that the number of members seeking impeachment did not meet the norm. (Photo: PTI) Hyderabad: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has set aside a petition submitted by 61 MPs seeking impeachment proceedings against Hyderabad High Court senior judge Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy, after 21 signatories conveyed to him that they were misled by some leaders into signing it. These MPs told Mr Anasri that after an independent inquiry they found that the judges integrity and honesty could not be questioned. Mr Ansari who was yet to initiate proceedings, dropped the impeachment bid and closed the file as he found that the number of members seeking impeachment did not meet the norm. As per procedure, the signatures of a minimum of 50 members of the Rajya Sabha or 100 members of the Lok Sabha are required for impeachment proceedings to be initiated. Though the original petition had the signatures of 61 members, support fell below the required number after 21 MPs, mostly from the Congress, met Mr Ansari and conveyed to him both orally and in writing that they were withdrawing their names from the petition as they had been misled by somebody to support the original petition. According to sources, the 21 MPs have, again in a petition, conveyed to Mr Ansari that after realising the unimpeachable integrity and dedicated service to society through the institution of judiciary by Justice C.V. Nararjuna Reddy, they had decided to withdraw from the original petition. Following this, Mr Ansari decided to drop the initiation of proceedings. Asserting that it was always nation first for the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress and Opposition parties of safeguarding the interests of dishonest and corrupt people by stalling Parliament proceedings over demonetisation. New Delhi: Asserting that it was always nation first for the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Congress and Opposition parties of safeguarding the interests of dishonest and corrupt people by stalling Parliament proceedings over demonetisation. Citing a book that mentioned then Union finance minister Y.B. Chavan going to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1971 with the recommendation of a committee on demonetisation, where she was quoted asking Chavan whether there were no more elections to be fought by the Congress Party, Mr Modi said if the Congress had taken the right decision at the right time, the country would have been in a better position now. He claimed that late Communist leaders Jyotirmoy Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet were also in favour of demonetisation, and hit out at the Left parties for backing the Congress. Addressing the BJP parliamentary party on the last day of the Winter Session of Parliament, Mr Modi said that unlike in the past when the Opposition parties stalled the House over scams and in order to expose corruption, the Congress-led Opposition was doing it now as the government took steps to curb black money and corruption. The Prime Minister told party leaders they should fight to rid the country of corruption and black money with confidence and urged them to popularise the governments thrust on digital transactions as a way of life. Bengaluru: Is Pakistan playing spoiler in refusing to clear the paperwork that would allow National Geographics famous Afghan Girl Sharbat Gula from coming to Bengaluru for treatment? News of Dr Devi Shetty agreeing to treat the green-eyed Sharbat free of cost moved the Afghan embassy into hailing the hospitals gesture with a tweet that reads, Touched by Narayana, hospital in Bangalore offering the iconic Sharbat Gula free of cost treatment and hospitality for Hepatitis-C. But, the city-based Narayana Health City is sill waiting to receive her medical documents from the Afghan Embassy. With India coming into the picture and offering hope to the Afghan refugee, sources stress that Pakistan has thrown a spanner in the works, by not providing her medical documents to the embassy which would then send it to the hospital authorities. No news yet. We are still waiting for her medical records by the embassy who have informed us that even they are awaiting the same. It is very sad that when India has reached out to help Sharbat, the country (Pakistan) is having so many reservations. They just dont want India to get good press abroad. This whole Sharbat Gula issue has anyway got them a bad reputation and in no way, do they would want India to get that kind of good reputation. It is as simple as that. But let us see, says a highly placed source with the hospital, who said that once the Afghan mission in Delhi receives her papers and sends it to the hospital, it would not take more than a week for Sharbat to reach the city and start treatment. Jaipur: The Rajasthan Government has launched a subsidised meal scheme 'Annapurna Rasoi', in 12 cities on Thursday to provide food at nominal rates to the underprivileged. The scheme which was unveiled by state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje at Jaipur also had Urban Development and Housing minister Shrichand Kriplani, BJP state president Ashok Parnami and Mayor Ashok Lahoti present at the occasion. The scheme has initially been launched in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Bharatpur, Baran, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Jhalawar. It will be implemented in other cities within the next 6 months, Kriplani was quoted saying. Under the scheme, breakfast will cost Rs 5 and lunch/dinner at Rs 8 for the underprivileged. However, the actual cost of a breakfast is Rs 21.70 and Rs 23.70 for a lunch/dinner. The difference will be borne by the government said Manjeet Singh, principal secretary, Local Self Department. "The government will have to bear a financial burden of Rs 10 crore for 12 cities as the financial gap. This gap will be approximately 40 crore if the scheme covers all the urban areas of the state," he said. The meal will be cooked and served by trained staff in 80 special vans. MALAPPURAM: A 69-year-old man collapsed and died while waiting in a queue inside a bank branch in Tirur in the district on Thursday. P.P. Pareeth, father of additional public prosecutor P.P. Rauf, was rushed to Tirur District Hospital immediately after he fainted but was declared dead by doctors there. The incident occurred at the State Bank of India branch at Thazhepalam where he collapsed around 12 pm as he waited with a token in the queue since morning. Police said he died from a cardiac arrest and there was nothing unnatural. The bank officials have provided Mr Pareeth with a chair to sit after he showed uneasiness. For the last three days, the bank counters and ATMs in many parts of the districts were witnessing long queues. A majority of the ATMs remained out of cash. The traders had registered their protest against the authority's failure to supply banknotes proportionally in the district. The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti district committee has also decided to approach banking authorities to resolve the issue which has hit them badly. Hubballi: In a strange incident, a group of Aiyyappa devotees have been involved in nude worship to appease the God in Madakihonnalli village of Kalghatagi near here. The four youths are performing 'Bethhale Seve' (nude service) since the last four weeks. They claimed that the pooja will continue for 48 days before they visit Sabarimala temple in Kerala. But, this has angered many people in the village especially woman who oppose the practice and term it as a mere superstition that leaves them embarrassed. The four youth are staying in a mud hut in a corner of a field and have been performing various religious rituals including chanting. They hail from villages in Mundgod, Haliyal, Navalgund and Dharwad taluks. They have been eating food from clay pots and are sitting on a banana leaf throughout the day holding 'Rudrakshi' and chanting the name of God. The youth claimed that the practice is a religious ritual to pay obeisance to Lord Aiyappa and is not performed anywhere else. Giving a mythological touch to the practice, the devotees claimed Lord Aiyappa was found in a jungle in the same manner and hence, this ritual. Visakhapatnam: A mechanical engineering student from the city who was doing his MS in Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, allegedly drowned in a lake in the outskirts of Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon. V. Anudeep, 25, resident of Muralinagar, had completed his BTech from a private engineering college here. According to his friends and relatives here, Anudeep along with four friends had gone out on an outing in a forested area in Melbournes outskirts and ventured for a swim into the lake with two of his friends. Another friend was shooting a video. Though Anudeep was a good swimmer, he apparently went into deep water and drowned; the temperature was low and some ice pieces were floating on the water, it was said. His body was recovered after a couple of hours. We dont know what happened exactly but we lost our brother, who had gone Australia with many hopes, said his sister Anusha. Anudeeps friends in Australia informed his family that they tried to rescue him but in vain. Anudeeps father V. Krishnamurthy works with a public sector insurance company. Anudeeps family said he had gone to Australia in March 2016. He had come home in mid-June and returned to Australia in July. The family was trying to get his body back. We received information on Wednesday night and we are been trying to contact the embassy to see that the body is sent back to India by Saturday, a family member said. Sasikala Natarajan (left) is all set to be elevated in AIADMK, a move that Sasikala Pushpa is challenging. (Photo: PTI) Chennai: Expelled Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) parliamentarian Sasikala Pushpa said it would be wrong to nominate Sasikala Natrajan as the general secretary since she was expelled by late chief minister J Jayalalithaa for conspiring against her. "It would too wrong to nominate Sasikala Natrjan as the general secretary of the party. Because no where madam (Jayalalithaa) has mentioned her name. She has not even given her a councillor or an MLA seat. It shows that political life is not fit for her. She was earlier expelled by Amma for conspiring against her and trying to kill her," Pushpa said. By citing a by-law of the AIADMK, Pushpa said, "There is a rule in Class-30 sub clause-5 that a person being a primary member for five consecutive years can contest the elections. However, if this is implied, then, Sasikala is not fit to be the general secretary." Pushpa demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of Jayalalithaa "since the time she was admitted into the hospital, there was no transparency about the status of her health." "What happened to Jayalalithaa is something everybody is questioning. Even the cadres feel the same," she added. Sasikala said she has filed a case in the Madras High Court stating that the election of general secretary of the AAIDMK should be done in a democratic manner. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Thursday said Sasikala Natarajan, the confidante of Jayalalithaa, will be the party's next general secretary. "It is clear that Chinnamma (Sasikala) will be the next general secretary of the party," said AIADMK spokesperson C. Ponnaiyan. Alec Bradleys Fine & Rare, the companys annual ultra-premium limited edition cigar is back for the sixth consecutive year. This week the company announced that the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare 2016 will be the third release to utilize the HJ10-I blend. The cigar is officially being dubbed the Alec Bradley HJ10-I Third Issue and has is now en-route to retailers. The Fine & Rare is an annual release that has featured different blends and sizes, but one common denominator is that it contains ten tobaccos. The series made its debut in 2011 with the HJ10-I blend. The blend made a return with the 2013 release. The other years have utilized other blends containing ten tobaccos. The ten tobaccos in the HJ10-I Third Issue are aged 3 to 6 years. The filler contains seven tobaccos from Jalapa and Esteli, Nicaragua and the Trojes region of Honduras. A double binder consisting of a Trojes and Esteli leaf is also used. The cigar is finished with a proprietary corojo wrapper from Trojes. This years edition is in a 6 x 52 Toro format. The cigar is produced at the Raices Cubanas factory in Danli, Honduras. .The Alec Bradley Fine & Rare has been a holiday time release since its inception in 2011, said Alan Rubin, owner of Alec Bradley Cigar Company in a press release . After critical acclaim and popular demand, we felt that 2016 was the year to reintroduce the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare HJ10-I. Though the cigar is medium-to-full bodied, we blend for flavor; so its balanced, smooth and very approachable. The cigar utilizes similar banding (but with a different color scheme) to previous Fine & Rare iterations. The band contains the names of the rollers, production supervisor, and principals from Alec Bradley Cigars. The thing about a limited release is that its here and then its gone. We want to get the HJ10-I into the hands of smokers that both remember and love the cigar, as well as those who may not have had the opportunity to try it in the past. The holiday season is the perfect time to share cigars with friends and family or find some time for yourself to enjoy something special. The Fine & Rare HJ10-I will be there to take that experience and enjoyment to the next level, however you decide to partake, added Rubin. The Alec Bradley Fine & Rare HJ10-I Third Issue will be packaged in elegant ten count boxes with a total production of 2,000 boxes. Pricing is set at $16.00 per cigar. For completeness here is a look at the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare Series: At a glance, here is a look at the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare HJ10-I Third Issue: Blend Profile Wrapper: Honduras Trojes Corojo (Proprietary) Binder: Esteli Nicaragua; and Trojes, Honduras Filler: Seven Total Tobaccos: Nicaragua (Esteli, Jalapa), Honduras (Trojes) Country of Origin: Honduras (Fabrica de Tabacos Raices Cubanas S. de R.L) Vitolas Available The Alec Bradley Fine & Rare HJ10-I Third Issue is available in one size a 6 x 52 Toro. Photo Credits: Alec Bradley Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with a delegation of Congress leaders led by party vice president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Leaders of some opposition parties led by Congress met President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday, apprised him of the problems caused by demonetisation and complained that the government did not allow Parliament to function and "stifled" the opposition voice. While leaders of Trinamool Congress, RJD, JD(U) and AIUDF and some other parties joined the Congress-led delegation, NCP, DMK, Left parties, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party stayed away. The fissures in the opposition unity cropped up at the last minute after a Congress delegation met the Prime Minister separately in Parliament House on farmers' issues and demanded loan waiver for farmers. The delegation, led by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with a host of leaders from various opposition parties being part of it, later handed over a memorandum to the President. "We are extremely pained by this trampling of our democratic rights and the suppression of our right to present our views and make our voices heard in Parliament. We are deeply concerned that our parliamentary democratic system itself is under severe threat. "The demonetisation decision has brought about a disastrous situation in the nation. We beseech you, as the protector of the Constitution, to kindly intervene to save the people from economic disaster," the memorandum said. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the leaders apprised the President of the situation arising out of demonetisation and the problems being faced by them. "We told President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament and on problems faced by farmers, small traders. We wanted debate in Parliament but the government flouted all democratic values and blocked it," he said. Speaking on the manner in which the winter session of Parliament functioned, he said, "The government completely failed in running the proceedings in Parliament. Ministers holding placards did not allow Parliament to function." Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday batted for demonetisation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Assembly, saying the abnormal decision was taken in the interest of the nation and would work wonders in the coming days. He said demonetisation was a part of the scheme of things planned by Mr Modi to cleanse the system and build a corruption-free India. During a debate on demonetisation, Mr Rao said the PM had said that there would be problems and sought 50 days to resolve all issues on the first day itself. Every-one should wait till the deadline ends and support Mr Modi in his efforts to curb black money, fake currency and terrorism, he said. The CM intervened several times in the debate whenever Opposition parties criticised the NDA government at the Centre or Mr Modi, and cautioned them against making sweeping remarks against demonetisation as it did not fall under the states purview. He said the impact of demonetisation on the states revenues was not as bad as anticipated as the state had the advantage of having significant urban population, especially seven lakh IT employees, who do cashless transactions. He said the government would encourage cashless transactions. He urged Mr Modi not to stop with demonetisation but go for a total clean-up of all fields including political corruption. He sought government funding for political parties. When Leader of the Opposition K. Jana Reddy said demonetisation was ill-planned and irresponsible and MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi took potshots at Mr Modi, the Chief Minister intervened and asked all members to desist from criticising the Prime Minister or the Centre and confine themselves to giving suggestions on how to mitigate the problems caused by the demonetisation. The mikes of Mr Reddy and Mr Owaisi were switched off eight times; at one stage the MIM leader got so angry that he stormed into the podium along with MIM members and argued with the Speaker. The CM said the state economy normally had a cash circulation of Rs 70,000 crore. We got only Rs 19,000 crore in new currency and we have no option but to go for cashless transactions. We will take up a mass awareness programme after December 30 to enlighten people on the need for cashless transactions, Mr Rao added. The swearing-in of Portugals Antonio Guterres as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations on December 12 is an occasion to reflect on the leadership required in the world body in the face of mounting challenges. A welter of global crises awaits the new UN chief, who is assuming office when wars, forced displacement, climate change, human rights abuses and terrorism are touching record highs since the end of the Cold War in 1991. The very foundational ethos of the UN international cooperation to jointly tackle shared problems is in short supply. If ever there was a case for heroic leadership that can make a decisive intervention to save the planet, Mr Guterres could not have asked for a more critical juncture to take over the reins. The oft-cited question: Is the UN fit for purpose? has an important subset that rarely gets asked, Is the UNs new boss fit to turn the tide? Neglect of the issue of the suitability and performance of the Secretary-General owes to an unfortunate interpretation of this position as a bureaucratic rather than a political one. As the head of a gigantic organisation of over 44,000 employees, the Secretary-General does have to tend to innumerable administrative chores and calls. He has to indeed win and maintain the loyalty and trust of the UN system and its plethora of specialised agencies, councils and committees. But there are more vital qualities demanded from a Secretary-General charismatic personality, visionary role, risk-taking, path-breaking initiatives and solution-paving diplomacy. When the world is falling apart, we need bold statesmanship from the 38th floor of the UN headquarters in New York. Over the decades, the UN has been led mostly by glorified file-pushers and career-minded bureaucrats who did not think out-of-the-ordinary and lacked the courage or conviction to achieve extraordinary outcomes. Humouring the most powerful member states and staying on the right side of financial donors, while protecting UN employees and their privileges, have sadly marked the tenures of predecessors of Mr Guterres. These Secretary-Generals were content to keep the system happy rather than to meet the expectations of we the peoples, in whose name the UN was founded in 1945. Their approach was conservative, afraid of ruffling feathers, and plotting to ensure they get re-elected for a second five-year term after the first expired. Secretary-Generals often fail to deliver because the method of their selection itself is flawed and non-transparent. There is no dearth of worthy international personalities who can be radical at the helm of the UN, provided they are given a chance. But what has happened since inception is that the permanent members of the UN Security Council winnowed the field of prospective candidates to a narrow group of non-threatening types who will be docile and not trample upon any of their core interests. Instead of an open election where the entire UN General Assembly could vote or the citizens of all UN member states could have a say, the Secretary-General has been picked from an elite cohort known for its insider credentials and non-assertive nature. What can one get from such a cautiously filtered process if not a harmless bureaucrat who talks up morals and values but cannot remake international affairs? The classic example of this system-serving Secretary-General is the outgoing Ban Ki-moon of South Korea. A dull, uninspiring and diminutive figure who lasted two terms without venturing any out-of-the-box measures to stem the worsening tide of violent conflicts, economic despair and environmental destruction, Mr Ban was a phlegmatic invisible man who lacked the resolve to reform the UN as an institution or to manoeuvre in severe international crises to achieve fair settlements. When the world was in flames, all he did was issue statements, convene meetings and occasionally reprimand member states that were flouting international law behind closed doors. The shameful manner in which he refused for years to acknowledge obvious UN culpability for its Nepalese peacekeepers spreading cholera in Haiti, and his look of utter helplessness as carnage spread in Syria, are two examples of how there was absolutely no political strategy in his 10-year-long reign. His legacy will be to join the long list of forgettable Secretary-Generals who cumulatively contributed to the sinking credibility of the UN as a paralysed and dysfunctional entity which is not accountable to ordinary people. Will Mr Guterres be any different? The manner in which was chosen for the post was only marginally better than that of his forebears. Despite a worldwide campaign to break the glass ceiling and elect a woman as Secretary-General, the powers-that-be in the Security Council converged around yet another man. Candidates were a little more exposed this time around, issuing campaign manifestos and engaging in televised American-style debate. But the ones who competed were there due to a prior screening from above rather than due to a push from below. Mr Guterres, a former socialist Prime Minister of his country who has governed the UN refugee agency, does realise that he has to reconstruct relations between people and leaders in an age where public faith in the liberal establishment and global institutions has collapsed. He has also vowed a new and vigorous surge in diplomacy for peace which was missing under Mr Ban. But to implement these promises, he will have to fearlessly take on vested governmental and corporate interests that have rendered the UN toothless. The one and only illustrious Secretary-General who did that was Swedens Dag Hammarskjold (1953-1961). He showed character and creativity at the height of the Cold War by galvanising small member states in the General Assembly to bypass the stalemate in the Security Council, engaging in hyperactive personal diplomacy in war zones, and inventing the idea of peacekeeping missions. He took on both the superpowers and famously remarked: it is very easy to bow to the wish of a big power and another matter to resist it. Hammarskjold was assassinated for his proactive role in decolonisation and ending the proxy war in Congo. He paid the supreme price for being a true leader, but he was a giant who fought for dignity. Irrespective of how undemocratically Mr Guterres was anointed, he must look back at Hammarskjold and remember that there is room for innovation and transformation of the system if the Secretary-General exercises his leverage with guts and moral clarity. For the sake of the world, Mr Guterres should succeed. May Hammarskjolds spirit be with him. What a piece of work is man Stubborn as a mule Proud and egotistical Unfeelingly cruel In form bulging and paunchy And unfailingly raunchy, In action missing the toilet bowl In romance scoring an own goal In apprehension always Getting the wrong end of the stick, Sentimental to a fault But emotionally thick. From Joys of Self-abuse (Ed. by Bachchoo) An enduring puzzle of the history I was taught is the affair of the animal fat in the cartridges issued to the mercenaries of the East India Company. These sepoys, hired by the Company to fight other Indians, refused to bite the cartridges to activate them because the Hindus said they contained cow fat and the Muslims that they contained pigs. The refuseniks shot their officers and proceeded to seize the arms and ammunition stores of their regiments. Their mutiny was joined by the aggrieved monarchs of India and was subsequently labelled the First War of Independence (FWoI) by Indian historians who havent yet identified a Second. What is puzzling is why the sepoys who refused to bite the bullets in the morning used them to shoot their British officers, and their wives and children, in the afternoon. It may, of course, be that the mutineers had access to old weapons whose bullets werent taboo. Or it may be that the sepoys believed the Portian dictum from The Merchant of Venice which enjoins us to do a little wrong to do a great right and proceeded to bite the bullet to liberate their country from foreign rule. Karl Marx wrote that history repeats itself, first as tragedy and then as farce. The Indian Mutiny or the FWoI of 1857 certainly ended in slaughter on both sides and no independence. What it put paid to was the idea of a resuscitated Mughal Empire or, in fact, any kind of real monarchy in India, with the rajas and maharajas who remained being the licenced puppets or ceremonial accessories of the ensuing Raj. The first inklings of elected democracy took root and brought us to today. And now the farce. The Bank of England last month publicly issued a new 5 note. Now 5 sterling may be worth nearly `500, but it is the smallest denomination note of the United Kingdom. The new fiver wasnt issued as part of a demonetising strategy to flush out or to render worthless black money accumulated in peytis and khokas (which in Britain would be Samsonite leather suitcases and traditional soapboxes). No, the new fiver is a plastic rectangle which is water-proof, tear-proof, fire-proof and no doubt cant be digested if swallowed by animals or humans. It was invented by an Australian Polymer scientist and adopted by the Bank of England for durability. Soon after it was issued, someone discovered that the process of manufacture of the fivers involved using animal fat as an ingredient. Immediately several Hare Krishna temples and the Hindu Forum of Britain called variously for a ban on the notes, for a petition to the Bank of England for their withdrawal and for a plea to Hindus to refuse to handle them. Their protest was joined by vegetarians and vegans when the Bank of England confirmed that the polymer substance of the notes was made using a tiny bit of tallow which came from animal fats. There are, according to the last census, 800,000 Hindus and 1.2 million vegetarians in the UK. It is, as everyone knows, common practice to bite chunks of gold to verify its authenticity. As far as notes of pound sterling denominations are concerned, my local newsagent and grocery store owner, Mr Patel, told me that holding the translucent note up to the light would reveal whether there was a silver strip embedded in it. The real ones contain such a strip and the 20 counterfeit ones which are on sale for 6 each from shady individuals at a pub which I sometimes frequent, dont. Mr Patel assured me that there was no need to bite the notes or put them anywhere near ones mouth to ascertain whether they were genuine or not. I expect the same holds for the new fivers, so I enquired from Mr Patel, a practising Hindu, whether he would follow the Hindu temples call to refuse the notes. He was unhesitant in staunchly protesting that he couldnt see what the fuss was all about. The bank wasnt issuing them to eat! Of course, if I wanted to buy a newspaper from him and pay with a new fiver, he would accept it and give me the change. He also very usefully pointed out that the third shelf down the second aisle in that very shop contained soaps that very many people, known Hindus and unknown vegans, regularly bought. He was aware that these soaps contained the same tallow that people were now protesting against. He said rubbing the soap against your skin was much more intimate contact than passing a fiver through ones fingers. I think he had a point, or even two, but who am I to judge? My late grand-uncle, not even a Hindu, was a vegetarian and wouldnt even keep a leather wallet or wear leather shoes. He wore plastics and never stooped to enquire whether this plastic was made with any mix of animal fat. Nevertheless, in order to avoid a vegetarian mutiny or second war of offended sentiments, the bank has promised the protesters to look into ways of eliminating the animal tallow from the manufacture of the notes. At present the notes are graced with a portrait of Winston Churchill. Next year the bank has said they will be printed (minted?) with a picture of Jane Austen. In light of the above events I have now been moved to start a petition to have Churchill and Austen replaced by a portrait of Mangal Pandey, the martyr who fired the first shot of the err Mutiny. Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook confirmed it will not help the government build a Muslim registry. Social media giant Facebook has joined Twitter to say no to President-elect Donald Trump in his reported plan to reinstate a database of immigrants from Muslim- majority countries. Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook confirmed it will not help the government build a Muslim registry. The news comes as more tech workers speak out against policies floated by the Trump administration. "No one has asked us to build a Muslim registry, and of course we would not do so," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying by CNNMoney. Of the nine major tech giants, including Facebook, Apple and Google, only Twitter had earlier declined to help if Trump sought to create a national Muslim registry. Social media companies may not intend to create databases, but data brokers have long compiled information about how users browse the internet. A 2014 Federal Trade Commission report found that these companies can profile users by race, ethnicity and religious affiliation, among other characteristics. During his campaign, President-elect Trump proposed building a database of Muslims in the US. He later emphasised plans to look into deporting millions of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, hundreds of tech workers have signed another pledge, NeverAgain.tech, to never build a database of people based on race or religion. It also promises to advocate for ethical data collection within their companies, the report said. Earlier this week, 22 advocacy groups led by social change network CREDO sent letters to eight technology companies asking them to speak out against building a Muslim registry. Last month, top Democratic lawmakers and rights bodies have slammed Trump's reported plan to reinstate a database of immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) is a post-9/11 programme which required travellers to the US from specified Muslim-majority countries to immediately register with the federal government or face deportation. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, allegedly collected 59.8 billion yuan of funds from investors through fake investment projects Criminal prosecution of 26 people involved in China's biggest alleged online fraud - a nearly 60 billion yuan ($8.64 billion) case involving online peer-to-peer lender Ezubao - has started in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Ten individuals, along with Ezubao's parent companies Yucheng Holdings and Yucheng Global, are charged with fraudulent fund-raising, the news agency said. Sixteen other individuals face charges of illegally taking public deposits. Other charges include smuggling precious metals, illegal possession of weapons and undocumented border crossings, Xinhua said. Ezubao, once China's biggest P2P lending platform, allegedly collected 59.8 billion yuan of funds from investors through fake investment projects it advertised on its website and failed to repay 38 billion yuan. It collapsed in February, with executives saying the firm was "a complete Ponzi scheme", which used investor funds to support lavish lifestyles for its executives. The alleged scam has put the spotlight on risks in China's fast growing and loosely regulated wealth management product industry. The authorities have since August unveiled a slew of new regulations aimed at strengthening the online finance industry. More than 1,700 problematic P2P lending platforms will "have to exit" the market, a regulatory official said at the time. China's peer-to-peer industry has boomed in recent years. Outstanding P2P loans jumped 153.5 percent to 956 billion yuan by the end of September, a record high, according to a report by domestic industry portal P2P001. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Facebook on Thursday announced some steps it's taking to stop the spread of such "fake news" on its huge social network. The Pope has endorsed Donald Trump for president. A Washington, DC, pizzeria is a front for a child sex abuse ring. George Soros will "bring down" the US by funding "black hate groups." These are just some examples of viral stories circulated on social media recently that are completely untrue. Facebook on Thursday announced some steps it's taking to stop the spread of such "fake news" on its huge social network. This includes working with outside fact-checking organizations and drying up financial incentives to what it calls the "worst of the worst" spammers that traffic in made-up stories. But there are basic things news readers can do themselves to spot fake news. And if you want, you can report them to Facebook, which can flag stories for fact-checkers to evaluate. CHECK THE SOURCE Some hoax sites, designed to draw you in for advertising revenue, feature designs that resemble legitimate, well-known websites. Such "spoofing" can be quite effective - but there are often telltale signs to indicate their true nature. For example, you should be vary of articles on sites whose addresses, or URLs, that end in "com.co," writes Melissa Zimdars, a communications professor at Merrimack College whose own list of "fake news" sites went viral. (She has since taken it down and published a more general guide .) You can also check the website's "about" page, its list of contacts, and other stories and photos on it. Poke around a little; if things look less-than-official, you're probably on a spoof site. GRAMMAR AND EMOTIONS Random use of ALL CAPS? Lots of exclamation points? Does it make sense when you read it out loud? Can you imagine a TV newscaster reading it out loud? Is there something just off about it? Does it sound very angry, inflammatory, emotional? None of these are good signs. POKE AROUND FOR OTHER COVERAGE If a story is real and really big, you will likely (though not always) see some version of it from multiple sources. Is it on sites like ABC News, The Associated Press, the New York Times, or other places you have heard of? Is it featured in your local newspaper, the one printed on actual paper? Let's put it this way: If the pope actually endorsed Trump, you'd see it everywhere. SOURCES, SOURCES, SOURCES Anonymous sources can appear in legit as well as made-up news stories. But Googling the people who are named in a story is a good way to check whether the story itself is real. They might have a LinkedIn profile, or appear in other news stories, for example. Someone says they are a university professor? Google the name of the university. Is it a health study on a new cure for cancer? Look it up. ON FACEBOOK Facebook users often share articles without reading them. Don't be that person. Instead, click on the link and read the story before hitting the "share" button. If you believe a story someone shared is fake, you can post a comment, or report it to Facebook for outside fact-checking by clicking on the gray arrow on the upper right corner and selecting "report this post." You'll get an option for "It's a fake news story." Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Kerry vigorously defended US diplomatic efforts to end the war - all of which have been futile. (Photo: AP) Washington: US Secretary of State John Kerry accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government of carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo, where thousands on Thursday were evacuated under a ceasefire deal from the last rebel enclave in a city besieged by fighting for years. Kerry vigorously defended US diplomatic efforts to end the war - all of which have been futile - and in which Assad, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi'ite militias, has gained the upper hand in the latest turn of the nearly six-year-old conflict. Ultimately, Washington was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Syrian government and its allies mounted an assault to pin down the rebels in a steadily shrinking pocket of territory in eastern Aleppo, culminating in this week's ceasefire deal. "There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the indiscriminate and savage brutality against civilians shown by the regime and by its Russian and Iranian allies over the past few weeks, or indeed for the past five years," Kerry told a news briefing in Washington. "We are seeing the unleashing of a sectarian passion." He added, "The Assad regime is actually carrying out nothing short of a massacre." Kerry said the United States was seeking an immediate, verifiable and durable cessation of hostilities in Aleppo, and said it appeared that air strikes and shelling had stopped and that convoys were moving out. But there were also reports that a convoy of injured people had been fired on by Syrian government forces or their allies, he said. Activists and residents inside the remaining rebel enclave said this week that pro-government militias had summarily executed dozens of civilians. Russia has denied that its strikes had killed civilians in large numbers, and said this week that rebels were keeping people in east Aleppo as human shields. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this month that Russia would treat rebels who stay in east Aleppo as "terrorists." Little Leverage Kerry has repeatedly invested diplomatic capital into deals with Russia that would establish a ceasefire between Assad forces and anti-government rebels, only to have those deals largely ignored by Damascus and Moscow. In recent days, he has publicly expressed frustration with the complete failure of diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. Speaking in the waning weeks of the Obama administration, Kerry on Thursday reiterated long-standing US policy on Syria, and called on the international community to exert pressure on all parties to end the war. Five years of international efforts aimed at reaching a peace deal have failed to do so. Kerry has little leverage to influence the situation in Syria, former and current diplomats say, partly because of President Barack Obama's unwillingness to involve the United States heavily in Syria's war. The United States has provided some support to moderate rebels. "He just feels that the Russians and the Iranians are culpable and he wanted to make sure that's clear. At the same time, he also wants to say 'I am always willing to do more diplomacy,' which is kind of a ridiculous position," a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. "It's not going to get solved in the next (five) weeks. There is something about the Middle East that doesn't meet US schedules," the official added, alluding to the January 20 transfer of power from Obama to President-elect Donald Trump. Obama's caution, predicated on the goal of avoiding deeper military entanglements in the Middle East, has prompted criticism from officials in his administration, including dozens of American diplomats who wrote a leaked internal memo this year calling for more aggressive action against Assad, including military strikes. Assad has vowed to fight until he has regained full control of the country. The government's takeover of Aleppo, the most populous city in Syria before the war, would mark a major victory for him. Kerry did not elaborate on any influence or leverage the United States could use on Russia to persuade it to pressure Assad to negotiate with members of the Syrian opposition. New York: Donald Trump will support "greater friendship" between India and Pakistan, a prominent Indian-American industrialist said on Friday as he met the President-elect and discussed issues ranging from growing India-US trade to relations with China and Pakistan. Shalabh Kumar, founder and president of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), met Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Trump's daughter Ivanka and sons Don and Eric and other senior officials from the incoming Trump administration at the Trump Towers here yesterday. "It was a great meeting," Kumar told PTI after the nearly 25 minute meeting with Trump at his luxurious headquarters in Manhattan. Kumar, who played a leading role in mobilising Hindus for US Trump and has been appointed to the Transition Finance and Inauguration committee, said the Trump administration is "looking forward to having a great relationship with India". Kumar said during the meeting, they discussed about mechanisms for increasing trade between US and India. "We also talked about policies with respect to China and with respect to Pakistan and how India views them," Kumar said. Kumar added that Trump is "very well aware" that terrorism is a big concern for India and "he is also confident in a way that he could persuade Pakistan to do the right things and actually create a friendship between India and Pakistan. "His attitude is always that you can do it, you put your mind to it and do it in a business-like manner. So you can do that." Kumar further added that Trump will be "very straight" with Pakistan and if Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif focusses on development and education in his country, then even the RHC and the Trump administration is with Pakistan and will support it. Kumar said in the meeting they discussed that Pakistan needs to control terrorism and "the fact that if there was an opportunity to have greater friendship between India and Pakistan, he (Trump) will be for it. "If anything he (Trump) can do to foster friendship, he is a businessman and wherever through business he could help create peace and prosperity, he is all for that," Kumar said. The Indian-American industrialist said both sides also discussed plans for creating a million to two million new jobs in the US by increasing the trade between US and India. He noted that there is potential to increase bilateral trade from the 130 billion dollars a year currently to 300 billion dollars a year. Kumar said the issue of demonetisation also came up during the meeting that was also attended by Steven Mnuchin, Trump's pick for treasury secretary. "We also had Treasury Secretary-elect present throughout and he offered his views that they love the fact that (demonetisation) could take out corruption from India and India's economy could grow much higher at more than 10 per cent and double digit rates," Kumar said. U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and Russia's President President Vladimir Putin pose for members of the media before a bilateral meeting at the United Nations headquarters. President Barack Obama is promising that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia for its suspected meddling in America's election process, an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied.(Photo: AP) Washington: President Barack Obama on Friday said that the United States would retaliate for Russias efforts to influence the presidential election, asserting that we need to take action, and we will. The comments, in an interview with NPR, indicate that Mr Obama, in his remaining weeks in office, will pursue either economic sanctions against Russia or perhaps some kind of response in cyberspace. The President spoke as President-elect Donald Trump again refused to accept Moscows culpability, asking on Twitter why the administration had waited so long to act if Russia or some other entity had carried out cyberattacks. The White House strongly suggested before the election that Mr Obama would make use of sanctions authority for cyberattacks that he had given to himself by executive order. But he did not, in part out of concern that action before the election could lead to an escalated conflict. If Mr Obama invokes sanctions on Russian individuals or organisations, Mr Trump could reverse them. But that would be politically difficult, as his critics argue that he is blind to Russian behavior. On Friday, pressure grew on Mr Trump in Congress for him to acknowledge intelligence agencies conclusions that Russia was behind the hacking. But aides said that was impossible before the Electoral College convenes on Monday to formalise his victory. Mr Trump has said privately in recent days that he believes there are people in the CIA who are out to get him and are working to delegitimise his presidency, according to people briefed on the conversations. In September, meeting privately in China with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Mr Obama not only complained, the White House says, but also warned him of consequences. By arrangement with the New York Times Geraldton: An Australian woman was arrested for starving her three-month-old daughter to death and leaving her dead body to decompose in a shed. The incident took place in Western Australia's Geraldton city. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the accused identified as Tamara Louise Thompson, confessed that she failed to provide proper nourishment to her daughter, Destiny. The toddler's body was found in a mummified state in July last year. It was wrapped in a cloth, placed in a cardboard box. During the trial of the case, Thompson confessed to the murder and said that she did not want the baby as she was unplanned. She also told the court that the baby reminded her of her father, a meth dealer who had nothing to with the child as well as Thompson. Prosecutors said that Destiny was born six weeks premature and needed special attention. Instead, Thompson would leave her in a baby cot and keep a baby bottle filled with milk beside her. The court was also told that Thompson would never bother to ensure if Destiny drank the milk. Her neighbours told the investigators that they would often ask Thompson about the baby, but she would give them different stories every time and avoid further discussion. The incident came to light when Thompson's landlord inspected the house and discovered Destiny's corpse, leading to her arrest. After her arrest, Thompson told police officials about how relieved she felt after getting rid of Destiny. London: A 101-year-old man, thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history, was today found guilty of historical child sex offences. Jurors found Ralph Clarke from Erdington, Birmingham, guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls in the 1970s and 80s. He admitted nine charges relating to a young boy part-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Clarke told police he was "immune to feelings", the court heard. The former Royal Air Force serviceman, of Holly Lane, who was born in March 1915, sat impassively as the unanimous verdicts were delivered, the BBC reported. Judge Richard Bond said he needed to "ponder with care" the sentence and added: "The reality is that he's so old it's unlikely he'll be released back into the community." He said the public would be "horrified" if Clarke was not sent to prison. At the start of Clarke's trial, prosecutor Miranda Moore said the defendant was arrested after two of his victims walked into a police station in August last year. Detective Con Emma Fennon from West Midlands Police's historical sexual offences team described the crimes as "horrific offences" and said Clarke showed no remorse. When questioned on the merits of taking a 101-year-old man to court, she said: "The day that not prosecuting someone who hurts a child is not in the public interest, we may as well all pack up and go home." Con Fennon added that his age was "no defence to what he has done". She said: "The nature of what he did to his victims has robbed them of their childhood." Claire Nicholls from the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said for more than 40 years "Clarke thought he'd got away with his crimes". "However, due to the courage of the victims we were able to bring this defendant to justice," she said. His victims reported the offences to West Midlands Police in August last year after seeing Facebook posts celebrating Clarke's 100th birthday. Investigations revealed a catalogue of abuse spanning many years, the report said. Clarke admitted two counts of attempting to commit a serious sexual offence, two of indecency with a child and five indecent assaults on the boy. The retired lorry driver was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Monday. The screen shot posted by Fontanka showed the ad on popular website Avito.ru which seems to depict a grey-haired man reclining on a couch in a plaid shirt. (Representational Image) Saint Petersburg, Russia: A retired Russian man posting on Russia's popular classified ad website offered to serve other people's time in jail for some extra cash, the Saint Petersburg-based news website Fontanka said Thursday. The screen shot posted by Fontanka showed the ad on popular website Avito.ru which seems to depict a grey-haired man reclining on a couch in a plaid shirt. "Will serve your time in prison up to four years," the classified ad says. "Can take responsibility and give testimony." The note says the man would not take "cases including violence" or "petty cases" and only works on Russian territory. And what's his price for prison? "Regarding the tariffs: one day in prison is 3,000 rubles ($48)," the ad says. Rates are cheaper for penal colonies but higher for solitary confinement or transfers, which are notoriously tough. The ad however was quickly taken down, according to Fontanka. Passengers queue up for an express train to Gatwick Airport, running a reduced service as a result of a train strike, in Victoria rail station London. (Photo: AP) London: Trains on key commuter routes in southern England were cancelled for a third day Friday due to a bitter dispute affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. Talks aimed at averting the latest walkout by drivers broke down Thursday between Southern Rail, which runs trains from England's south coast to London, and union leaders. More than 2,000 services were halted in a 24-hour walkout which started at midnight and affects around 300,000 passengers, including those travelling to London's Gatwick airport. It was the thrid time this week that trains from major commuter destinations such as Brighton have ground to a halt, with around 1,000 drivers joining a 48-hour strike on Tuesday. The long-running dispute centres on plans for "driver-only operated trains" which mean guards would no longer be required to open and close train doors. Unions have raised concerns about safety and possible job losses, although the rail company says the changes will free up guards to help passengers on board. The government, which is responsible for awarding franchises to train operating companies, is under pressure to intervene following months of travel disruption and a series of walkouts that began in April. A spokesman for the Association of British Commuters, which staged a protest Thursday at London's Victoria station, said passengers had "suffered a year-long nightmare". "We have desperately called for government action and have been repeatedly ignored even while many of us have lost our jobs, or had to move house," he added. Transport minister Chris Grayling said he had offered to meet with union leaders if they called off strike action but lamented that "they have failed to come to the table without pre-conditions". Nick Brown, chief operating officer of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), Southern Rail's parent company, said he was "deeply disappointed" that talks aimed at averting the latest strike had failed, blaming unions for the "unjustified and unprecedented industrial action." A spokesman for train drivers' union Aslef said there was "no resolution in sight" and in turn accused the train operator of being "unwilling to end the misery of passengers". The shutdown has been described as the worst on Britain's railways since a series of strikes by signal workers in 1994. It comes as Britons gear up for a string of other strikes around Christmas, with postal workers and British Airways cabin crew expected to stage industrial action in the coming weeks. Residents gather near a green government bus for evacuating from eastern Aleppo, Syria on Thursday. (Photo: AP) Aleppo: The Syrian government on Friday suspended an operation to evacuate civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo, accusing the opposition of violating the deal, a security source said. An AFP correspondent heard gunfire and explosions in Ramussa, the government-held neighbourhood that evacuees had been passing through, and said buses and ambulances waiting to collect residents had left empty. "The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement," the security source told AFP. "The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo," state television said. Robert Mardini, regional head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, confirmed Friday that "regretfully, the operation was put on hold". "We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched and proceed in the right conditions," he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the suspension was a bid to pressure rebels to allow evacuations from two government-held villages under opposition siege. "Ahrar al-Sham and other rebel groups have prevented buses and ambulances from entering Fuaa and Kafraya, despite pledging to the Turks that they would let the evacuation go ahead," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. Abdel Rahman said pro-government fighters were also blocking the route out of the city in a bid to pressure rebels to allow the evacuation of Fuaa and Kafraya. The two Shiite-majority villages are in Idlib province, which is mostly controlled by rebel groups, and have been under siege since 2015. Syria's government and its ally Iran reportedly blocked initial implementation of the Aleppo evacuation on Wednesday until a deal to allow the injured and sick to leave the villages was agreed. The delicate operation to evacuate remaining civilians and fighters from east Aleppo began on Thursday afternoon and continued through the night. The Observatory said around 8,500 people had left the city, going to rebel-held territory in the west of the province. The army began an operation to recapture all of Aleppo in mid-November, and had overrun more than 90 percent of the former rebel bastion in the east of the city before the evacuations began. According to the new rules, a Saudi woman has to be between 30-55 years of age to marry a non-Saudi husband. (Photo: AFP/ Representational Image) Manama (Bahrain): Saudi Arabia has passed a new order to include a drug test with premarital medical check-ups for foreigners who wish to marry citizens of the Middle Eastern country. According to a report in Gulf News, this decision was taken after several families expressed worries about their relatives marrying a drug addict. Both the would-be groom and bride would have to undergo the test, said the report. A Saudi daily called Al Madinah reported on Thursday that all health ministry-owned hospitals and clinics have been instructed to include the drug test with premarital medical check ups. Families believe that the new decision will reduce drug addiction among young people and also the number of divorces. According to the new rules, a Saudi woman has to be between 30-55 years of age to marry a non-Saudi husband, whereas a Saudi man has to be between 40- 65 years of age to marry a non Saudi woman. A Saudi man intending to marry a foreigner should earn a minimum 3,000 Saudi riyals, own a house or apartment, and his to-be-bride should be at least 25 years of age, with age difference between the two not exceeding 30 years in any case. For Saudi women planning to marry a foreigner, the age difference between the two should not be more than 10 years. The only exception for the age limit is if she is physically handicapped or born to unknown parents. This rule was set up to ensure that Saudi women were not exploited, said the report. If the applicant is a divorcee, then at least two years should have passed following the separation before marrying a foreigner. If he wants the foreigner to be his second wife, then he should provide a certificate stating that his wife is unable to take up all her marital responsibilities, or is infertile, which has to be endorsed by the ministry of health. A non-Saudi man cannot marry a Saudi woman if he is already married or had earlier married a Saudi woman. He should not have been a member of the military in a foreign country, and should have a minimum monthly income of 5,000 Saudi riyals with a valid residence permit, said the report. He must provide a passport that has at least 12 months validity, to confirm his nationality from the country he hails from and a medical. He should also provide evidence that he has no criminal record both in his country and in Saudi Arabia. The applicant must sign a statement that his marriage with a foreigner does not necessarily mean that their spouse or their children would be granted Saudi citizenship. The new decision calls for a need to establish a committee to look into all applications by Saudis to take foreign spouses. According to the FIR, police booked about 3,000 people under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and blasphemy laws. (Photo: Videograb) Lahore: About 3,000 people have been booked by police in connection with the attack on the place of worship of the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan's Punjab province that resulted in the killing of two persons. The incident took place at Dulmiyal village of Chakwal district, some 275 km from Lahore, a few days ago. According to the FIR, police booked about 3,000 people under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and blasphemy laws. Some 70 suspects have been named in it, including members of Ahmadi community. Police claim to have arrested 31 suspects, 29 Muslims and two Ahmadis. The government has also imposed section 144 in Chakwal under which no gathering of four or more persons is allowed. The army and Rangers personnel have been deployed in the Dulmiyal village and other parts of the district to control the law and order situation. On December 12, clerics made an announcement from the village mosques asking the people not to allow Ahmadis to worship at their worship place, Baitulzikar as it was the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. According to the FIR, the mob which swelled to 3,000, surrounded the Ahmadi worship place and pelted stones on it. The guards present at the worship place opened fire on those trying to force their entry into the complex that resulted in the killing of a man. The Ahmadis claimed one of their persons was also got killed. Police later reached the spot and managed to disperse the crowd. Ahmadi community members in Dulmiyal have left the village because of security concerns, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan Punjab spokesman Amer Mahmood said. He said some 500 Ahmadi families were living in the village before the attack. "Most of them left the village for their relatives residences in the province," he said. Three clerics leading some 3,000 people in a procession had incited anti-Ahmadi sentiment and urging them to take over the Ahmadi place of worship, a police official said. Pakistan's parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, and they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists, who view them as heretics. They have also been taken to court on blasphemy charges. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post. (Photo: AP) Dhaka: Bangladesh on Friday celebrated the 44th anniversary of its victory against Pakistan in the liberation war with India's support. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths at the National Memorial at suburban Savar in a predawn ceremony with army bugles playing the last post while thousands followed them as the nation also bowed in gratitude to the 1971 martyrs and heroes. Hamid later joined as the chief guest a parade of armed forces and other state-owned organisations at a ceremony, also attended by the premier at the National Parade Square in the capital. Streets and buildings at the capital and other major cities were illuminated overnight of buildings in Dhaka and other major cities marked the anniversary. The premier last night hosted a reception in honour of 29 Indian and Russian war veterans, who fought for Bangladeshs 1971 independence from Pakistan. Retired lieutenant general G S Sihota led the Indian delegation at the function while Kozhurin Victor led the Russian veterans, who took part in sweeping mines at Chittagong Port after the country's independence. "Bangladesh will always remember your contributions," Hasina told the reception. The war in 1971 broke after the sudden crackdown at midnight past on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan by the Pakistani troops and ended on December 16. The same year Pakistan conceded defeat and unconditionally surrendered in Dhaka to the allied forces comprising the freedom fighters and the Indian soldiers. Officially three million people were killed during the nine-month long war. A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential gas and oil reserves in the South China Sea. (Photo: AP) Beijing: China said on Thursday that the deployment of weapons in the South China Sea had nothing to do with militarisation, calling the construction of defensive facilities normal. The comments came after images released by the US-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) showed a series of hexagonal structures on each of seven islets China constructed on uninhabitable rocks and reefs. The structures appear to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems (CIWS) designed to take out incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, the AMTI said. Speaking at a regular press briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists that he was not aware of the report, but said that islands in the South China Sea were the countrys inherent territory. To conduct construction on Chinas own territory and deploy necessary national defence facilities is quite normal, he said, adding that the deployment of defensive weapons had nothing to do with militarisation. Chinas defence ministry said on a verified social media account that the construction was mostly for civilian use, and that necessary military installations were for self-defence. If someone were flexing his muscles outside your door, wouldnt you get a slingshot ready? it wrote. Tensions in the strategic area have been brewing for years, with China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam making competing claims in waters with vital global shipping routes and what is believed to be significant oil and natural gas deposits. The Philippine foreign ministry said Manila was still independently verifying the AMTI report. If true, then it is a cause for serious concern because it tends to raise tension and undermine peace and stability in the region, spokesman Charles Jose told AFP. In a statement sent to AFP, Australias foreign minister Julie Bishop said that the building of artificial islands and possible militarisation was creating an environment of tension and mistrust in the region. Beijing: The "one China" principle is the basis for developing ties with China and no country can be an exception to this rule, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his French counterpart. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has upset China by speaking with the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and casting doubt on Washington's nearly four-decade policy of recognizing that Taiwan is part of "one China". Speaking with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Wang said the Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday. "The one-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for other countries to develop their relations with China and that when it comes to this vital issue of right or wrong, no country can be an exception," the statement cited Wang as saying. Wang said he appreciated Ayrault's clear stance on the "one China" issue. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. China considers Taiwan independence a red line issue. Pak PM Nawaz Sharif said in his message that Pakistan took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. (Photo: AP) Peshawar: Marking the second anniversary of the Peshawar army school carnage today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to take the war against militancy to its "logical conclusion" to ensure a peaceful and stable Pakistan for future generations. About 150 people, mostly school children, were killed when Taliban gunmen in army uniforms stormed the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar in 2014. Sharif said in his message that Pakistan took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the APS incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," he said. "I assure the nation that we will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for our future generations," he said. Sharif extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the martyred students and all those who became victims of the tragic incident. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stand by the mourning families," said the Prime Minister. He said December 16 reminds of the most painful tragedy of "our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies". "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school boys. We cannot forget the agony of this day," he said. A solemn memorial service was held here to mark the tragedy which was attended by families of the victims, politicians, military leadership and others. Moving scenes were also witnessed as several parents were seen crying on the occasion. Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa laid a wreath and offered prayers as he attended the memorial service. "We can never forget these children, I have photos of them in my office and keep looking at them periodically to remind me of our losses," he said later in a brief address. He said the armed forces were working hard to make the country safer. APS Principal Tahira Kazi recalled it was a difficult day for the country as everyone felt as though "we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy". Pakistan also stated that the Indian forces must respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit. (Photo: Representational Image) Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner and strongly condemned the alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van", carrying children, by Indian forces. Director General (South Asia and SAARC) Mohammad Faisal, summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh and "strongly condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations and targeting of a school van, on December 16, 2016" by the Indian forces on the LoC in Nikial sector, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement. It said that the alleged targeting of the school van resulted in the death of a civilian and injuries to four school children. "He (Faisal) stated that the deliberate targeting of civilians, villages and civilian transport and a school van is condemnable and contrary to human dignity as well as international human rights and humanitarian laws," the statement said. The Director General urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire understanding, investigate this incident and other incidents of ceasefire violations. He also stated that the Indian forces must respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop "targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC", the statement said. At least nine people were killed and seven others wounded late on November in cross-border fire that hit a passenger bus in the village of Nagdar in PoK. (Photo: Representational Image) Muzaffarabad: Pakistan on Friday accused India of hitting a school van in PoK, killing the driver and wounding eight school children. The incident occurred at Mohra village in Nakyal sector of PoK where officials said shelling by Indian troops was continuing. "A shell fired by Indian troops hit a school van at LoC (Line of Control) in Nakyal sector, The van driver has been martyred and eight children wounded," Zeeshan Haider, a senior government official told AFP. There was no immediate reaction from New Delhi. Nakyal lies on the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir region. Haider said the driver of the van, carrying pupils from a private school, was killed on the spot while the children, aged between 10 and 15 years, were taken to hospital amid heavy shelling. Muhammad Nasrullah Khan, a doctor in Nakyal hospital told AFP that the children had shrapnel injuries but their condition was not life threatening. Sardar Iftekhar, a police station house officer in Nakyal confirmed the incident and casualties and told AFP that the wounded children included five girls and three boys. At least nine people were killed and seven others wounded late on November in cross-border fire that hit a passenger bus in the village of Nagdar in PoK. Tensions in Kashmir reached dangerous levels in September, after India blamed Pakistani militants for a raid on an army base that killed 19 soldiers. India said it had responded by carrying out "surgical strikes" across the heavily militarised border, sparking a furious reaction from Islamabad, which denied the strikes took place. President Barack Obama has warned that the US will retaliate against Russia for launching cyberattacks during the presidential election after the White House accused senior-most Russian officials of direct involvement in hacking. The outgoing US president said he was waiting for a final report he has ordered into a range of Russian hacking attacks that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican candidate Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections. That we need to take action and we will," Obama told the National Public Radio in a interview. "At a time and a place of our own choosing. Some of it may be uh, explicit and publicised; some of it may not be," he said according to an excerpts of the interview released by NPR. The full interview would be aired on Friday, before leaving for his annual family vacation in Hawaii. "Um, but Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it," Obama said. Obama has ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of the hacking and report back to him before he leaves office on Inauguration Day January 20. Press Secretary Josh Earnest yesterday told reporters during the daily White House briefing that "Mr Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him, (and) hurting (Democrat Hillary) Clinton ... "These are all facts that are not in dispute." Earnest pointed out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find missing emails from Clinton's private server. Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilise our democracy," Earnest said. "That's not a joke." Earnest, without mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, also said "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorised these activities," repeating the words from an October US intelligence assessment. He also targeted the Left, accusing them of compromising with their ideology as he recalled comments of late communist leaders Jyotirmay Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet in support of demonetisation to hit out at them for siding with Congress. With the Winter Session turning out be a virtual washout following political impasse over demonetisation, Modi projected criticism of the decision by rival parties as an evidence of their support for the "dishonest and corrupt". In his address at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, he also attacked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had called demonetisation "organised plunder and legalised loot". Modi quoted his comments made in 1991 to say that he once used "language of threat" against tax evaders but his voice has completely changed now. "Why? Because he is worried about his party not country," Modi said of Singh. The Prime Minister also cited the Supreme Court's observations against the UPA government over lack of action against black money to make his point. "In our country, ruckus in Parliament or not letting it function had happened earlier too. It was a little longer this time. But there is an essential difference. Earlier, ruckus and disruptions happened because of massive scams and graft and the opposition would unite and fight on the principle of honesty. "This is the first time when treasury benches have taken a step against corruption and many in the Opposition have come together to support the dishonest," he said. Political values have fallen so much that opposition parties are brazenly speaking in favour of the dishonest, something that used to be done earlier secretively, he said. Amid reports that cotinuing hardships faced by the masses in withdrawing money from banks and ATMs have dented the early public support for the measure, Modi told party leaders that they have to fight to rid the country of corruption and black money with confidence. He asked them to popularise the government's thrust on digital transactions as a "way of life", saying those who are aware of the exercise should be made to use it. Noting that the Wanchoo Committee in 1971 had recommended demonetisation, he cited a book to say that when the then Finance Minister Y B Chavan went to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and supported the exercise, she asked, "Only one question. Are no elections to be fought by the Congress party?" "Tell me," Modi wondered, "if the party is bigger or the country," as he accused Congress of putting its interests before the country's. BJP puts the country's interests before the party's, he said. Painting Congress as a votary of corruption, he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force. Though Congress followed by the Left were at the receiving end of his scathing attack, the Prime Minister made few references to regional parties like SP, BSP and TMC which have been targeting him over the decision. Lamenting the lack of debate in Parliament, Modi said it would be good had the government's critics shown strength to start a discussion on merit. He also expressed gratitude to Odisha and Bihar chief ministers Navin Patnaik and Nitish Kumar for their "open support" to the demonetisation decision despite their ideological differences with BJP. The decision to declare Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes as invalid is an important step in his government's fight against black money but is not the final destination, he said. If the middle class is to be rid of exploitation and the poor to be restored their rights, then "courageous decisions" will have to be taken to remove black money and corruption, he added. His government, Modi asserted, will take action against benami transactions and then Congress will again shout that it is a "very hasty" decision. He told party MPs that it is their primary responsibility to push digital transactions and suggested that demonetisation was a part of the gamut of decisions he has planned in this regard to curb black money. "We do not think in parts. There is a full scale design. It is only that we show our cards gradually," he said, reiterating that people's woes will gradually begin to ease out after 50 days since demonetisation was announced. Facing criticism that a slew of measures taken by his government will give unbridled power to bureaucracy, he said he would not allow 'afsarshahi' (rule of bureaucrats) and has asked authorities to do no "postmortem" of people's transactions prior to November 8 when the note ban decision was taken as they shift to the digital mode. Referring to reward schemes announced by the government as "Christmas gift" to customers and traders shifting to online platforms, he asked party leaders to promote them. Quoting 'Chanakya Niti', he said light-heartedly that the money collected through unfair means goes waste in the 11th year, a reference to the UPA's 10-year-rule before he took office. On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes. The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. What should have been done in 1971 has been done now by his government, Modi said, alleging that the delay in launching demonetisation has caused a lot of damage to the country. Targeting the Left, he said when it joined hands with Congress in West Bengal, it seemed to be doing so to counter Mamata Banerjee but from the way it has behaved in Parliament it appears that its alliance with Congress was not only an electoral understanding. "It seems the Left has compromised its ideology. It has become detached from its ideology," he said. Accusing Congress of putting its interests above the country's, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tore into the Oppposition, saying unlike earlier when opposition parties stalled Parliament against scams, Congress- led parties are now doing so against government's steps to curb black money and corruption. Some employees of Microsoft and Amazon.com have joined their peers in Silicon Valley in pledging to never help US President-elect Donald Trump in his reported plan to register and create a database of all Muslim immigrants. A group of Silicon Valley technologists, engineers, designers and executives have co-signed an online pledge stating that they will refuse to participate in data collection that can be used to discriminate against Muslims in America. The "never again" pledge, which has drawn more than 1,300 signatures as of Thursday, invokes a history of genocides carried out, at times, with the cooperation of businesses in identifying victims, the Seattle Times reported. The signatories said they would "refuse to participate in the creation of databases of identifying information for the United States government to target individuals based on race, religion, or national origin." The open letter is a response to the election of Donald Trump, and particularly his campaign-season call for a mandatory registry of Muslims living in the US. In addition to dozens of people who identify themselves as employees of Microsoft or Amazon, signatories include employees of Google, Apple, IBM, Oracle, and a slate of other technology firms. Silicon Valley workers who signed the pledge promised to fight back or resign from their positions if their employers force them to conduct surveillance on minority communities or invade their constitutional rights to privacy. They also vow to ask their companies to minimise data collection and retention that could potentially be used to target minority communities. "We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration's proposed data collection policies," the pledge states. The pledge was released on Tuesday, one day before technology industry executive meeting of the high-ranking Silicon Valley executives like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Larry Page. The leadership of most of those companies has been silent on the petition and the issues around it. Facebook, which gathers a trove of personal information about its users in the service of selling targeted advertising, on Wednesday said in a statement that no one had asked the company to build a Muslim registry, "and of course we would not do so." In a statement, Microsoft yesterday said the company has "been clear about our values. We oppose discrimination and we wouldnt do any work to build of a registry of Muslim Americans." During his campaign, President-elect Trump proposed building a database of Muslims in the US. He later emphasised plans to look into deporting millions of illegal immigrants. The court said that important questions that need to be considered are whether the November 8 notification is ultra vires to the Section 26 (2) (power to demonetise) of the Reserve Bank of India Act. The second question it said is whether the demonetisation "falls foul of" Article 300A of the Constitution which says that no person shall be deprived of his/her property without a provision in law. The court said it needs to be examined whether the decision is unconstitutional violating Article 14 (equality before the law) and Article 19(1)(g) (freedom to practice profession and occupation) and whether the limit and restriction on withdrawal of "legitimate and taxed money" by the banks is violative of various fundamental rights. The bench said the fifth question that needs to be examined is whether the demonetisation move suffers from procedural lapse affecting the citizens' fundamental rights under Article 14 and 19. Further, the bench said it has to be examined whether the exercise carried under section 26 of the RBI Act suffered from excessive delegation of power to demonetise currency notes. It also included the question raised by the Attorney General as to what is the scope of judicial review in the matters of fiscal/economic policy for examination. The apex court said that the larger bench would also go into the issue raised by the Attorney General that can a poltical party file the public interest litigation as has been done in the case by CPI(M). The bench also said it has to be examined whether district cooperative banks have been discriminated against by denial of the permission to accept deposits and exchange the demonetised currency notes. The Supreme Court today refused to tinker with the move to do away with the use of now-defunct high-value currency notes for public utilities, in government hospitals and for rail tickets but referred to a Constitution Bench the issue of validity of the government's demonetisation decision.The apex court, which framed nine issues for adjudication by a five-judge Constitution Bench for authoritative pronouncement on the government's demonetisation decision, also refrained from making any amendment to the directive to limit weekly withdrawal at Rs 24,000. It hoped that the government will "fulfil this commitment" to the extent possible keeping in mind the "hardships and sufferings" faced by the general public.A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur, which declined to extend the exemptions on the demonetised currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500, left it to the judgement of the government to review it hoping that it would be responsible and sensitive in dealing with it."Whether the use of demonetised currency notes would be extended or not, it is on the government of the day as it is the best judge. We hope that the government would be responsible and sensitive in dealing with it," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.While examining the plea for passing directions to ease the inconvenience of the people on the contentions that banks were not allowing withdrawal of Rs 24,000 a week, the bench took note of the submissions of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that 50 days time of streamlining cash inflow has not been exhausted.It also took into account the submission of the government that 40 per cent of the demonetised currency has been replaced with the pumping of new currency notes of Rs 2000 and Rs 500. Taking this submissions on record, the bench said "no other directions can be given at this stage" and "we hope that the government will fulfil the commitment of Rs 24,000 withdrawal per week to the extent possible and review it periodically".The apex court also accepted the assurance given by the Attorney General that Rs 8,000 crore collected by district cooperative central banks (DCCBs) across the country between November 11 to 14 will be allowed to be exchanged with new currency notes as per the rules applicable to all banks.The government also got a relief as the bench stayed the proceedings on pleas challenging the November 8 demonetisation notification pending before different high courts and said that only apex court would hear them."We find it just and proper to order withdrawal of all the writ petitions in various high courts and all the matter will be heard by the Supreme Court. On all the transfer petitions, we are issuing notice and ordering stay of proceedings on writ petitions in various high courts."No other courts in the country shall entertain any writ petitions relating to the demonetisation issues. We make it clear that the petitioners in the high courts are free to intervene in the Supreme Court," the bench said.While holding that the challenge to November 8 notification was in the arena of "public importance" as complaints of inconvenience have been brought, it said there was a need for a direction for referring it to a larger bench for "authoritative pronouncement by five judges" and the Chief Justice will constitute a bench for the purpose. The research team used their model to forecast when and where aquifers around the world may reach their limits, or when water levels drop below the reach of modern pumps. Limits were considered "exceeded" when groundwater levels dropped below the pumping threshold for two consecutive years. The new study finds heavily irrigated regions in drier climates, such as the US High Plains, the Indus and Ganges basins, and portions of Argentina and Australia, face the greatest threat of depletion. Although the new study estimates the limits of global groundwater on a regional scale, scientists still lack complete data about aquifer structure and storage capacity to say exactly how much groundwater remains in individual aquifers, researchers said. "We don't know how much water there is, how fast we are depleting aquifers, or how long we can use this resource before devastating effects take place, like drying up of wells or rivers," de Graaf said. Excessive pumping of water for drinking and agriculture could deplete groundwater resources in parts of India, southern Europe and the US in the coming decades, a new research has warned. New modelling of the world's groundwater levels found that aquifers the soil or porous rocks that hold groundwater - in the Upper Ganges Basin area of India, southern Spain and Italy could be depleted between 2040 and 2060.In the US, aquifers in California's Central Valley, Tulare Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, could be depleted within the 2030s, researchers said. Aquifers in the southern High Plains, which supply groundwater to parts of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, could reach their limits between the 2050s and 2070s, they said. By 2050, as many as 1.8 billion people could live in areas where groundwater levels are fully or nearly depleted because of excessive pumping of groundwater for drinking and agriculture, according to Inge de Graaf, a hydrologist at the Colorado School of Mines in Colorado, US."While many aquifers remain productive, economically exploitable groundwater is already unattainable or will become so in the near future, especially in intensively irrigated areas in the drier regions of the world," said de Graaf. Knowing the limits of groundwater resources is imperative, as billions of gallons of groundwater are used daily for agriculture and drinking water worldwide, said de Graaf, who presented the findings at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.Previous studies used satellite data to show that several of the world's largest aquifers were nearing depletion. But this method can not be used to measure aquifer depletion on a smaller, regional scale, according to de Graaf. In the new research, de Graaf and colleagues from Utrecht University in the Netherlands used new data on aquifer structure, water withdrawals and interactions between groundwater and surrounding water to simulate groundwater depletion and recovery on a regional scale. China today took strong exception to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan during a children's summit, saying India must respect China's "core interests" to avoid "any disturbance" to the bilateral ties. "Recently in disregard of China's solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang told a media briefing here. "The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that," he said, replying to a question on the Dalai Lama's presence in the opening session of the 'Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit', organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi's Children's Foundation on December 10. "The Dalai Lama is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion," Geng said. The Chinese side firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him. "We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect China's core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship," Geng said. China routinely protests world leaders meetings with the Dalai Lama. This is the second time that China objected to the Dalai Lama's activities in India in recent months. Beijing objected in October this year to India's permission to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of southern Tibet. Early this month, China also objected to the visit of prominent Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Arunachal Pradesh, hoping that India would abide by consensus and refrain from taking any action that might complicate the boundary dispute. India also came under the criticism from Chinese official media over the Dalai Lama's visit to Mongolia following which Beijing was accused of imposing a blockade of the land-locked country. While China besides criticising Mongolia for permitting the Dalai Lama reportedly blocked movement along the Mongolia-China border, Beijing was also livid over the Mongolian Ambassador to India Gonchig Ganholds appeal to New Delhi to help Mongolia to deal with Chinas countermeasure against Ulaanbaatar. India has said Mongolia can avail the USD one billion aid, which one of the Chinese newspaper Global Times termed it as a bribe. An article in the daily also warned Mongolia that it is "politically harebrained" to ask for New Delhis support as it will further complicate bilateral ties. In an effort to prevent incidents of suicide on campuses, the HRD ministry will ask universities to establish local guardian systems for outstation students, while the Vice Chancellors would closely monitor the departmental issues. The ministry has decided to ask University Grants Commission (UGC) to circulate a list of twelve such recommendations for varsities following the Roopanwal commission report, which was set up to look into the circumstances behind scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide in the University of Hyderabad earlier this year. Significantly, the report and recommendations of the Roopanwal commission in this regard were tabled by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar in the Parliament yesterday. Justice (retd) A K Roopanwal had made six recommendations in the report, with the HRD ministry adding six of its own recommendations to the list. The measures suggested by the HRD ministry include a strong induction programme for better acclimatisation and establishing a local guardian system for outstation students. The ministry has held that grievances of students should be discussed and dispensed with on weekly basis and Vice Chancellors should hold monthly meetings. It also suggested remedial teaching for academically weak students while stating that deans should closely monitor department problems. The ministry has recommended that in case any serious issue is detected, it should be immediately brought to the notice of the Vice Chancellor. Universities have also been asked to select suitable student volunteers to act as mentors. Another key recommendation by the ministry includes an effective administration, supervision of hostels and strict compliance of hostel admission rules, so that only those students allotted hostel accommodation by the respective university stay in such facilities. The UGC will in the coming days circulate these recommendations, in addition to the ones made by Justice Roopanwal, to all central universities and monitor compliance. It is learnt that the Roopanwal commission had recommended measures like establishment of counselling centres, system of appeal for students in case there is an excess by the university, monitoring committees and Equal Opportunities cell. The Roopanwal Commission had also held that a Grievance Redressal Committee headed by an ombudsman as per the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations 2012, should be made effective. There had been a massive uproar over Rohith Vemula's suicide in February this year, with the Opposition attacking the government over the incident. The HRD ministry had then appointed the one man Roopanwal commission to look into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident and come up with measures to prevent and deal with such situations. The commission in its findings had also said that Vemula's 'Dalit' status could not be established. The family of the scholar had, however, maintained that he was a dalit. The Syrian government, flush with pivotal battlefield gains and bolstered by support from Iran and Russia, is finding itself the beneficiary of an evolving regional realignment spurred by the war in Syria. Egypt and Turkey, countries that were once vocal opponents of Syrias president, Bashar Assad, have, to varying degrees, softened their positions. Egypt, the regions most populous Sunni country and wary of Irans Shiite theocracy, has made its tacit, increasing support of the Syrian government public for the first time. And Turkey, a Sunni regional power, is reshaping the Syrian battlefield by edging closer to Russia and dampening its longtime support for rebels fighting Assad. The shifts come at a volatile time as countries in West Asia long aligned with the United States are hedging their bets and looking to Moscow for support as Russian intervention transforms the conflict in Syria. The manoeuvring comes as Russia asserts itself across the region to a degree not seen since Soviet times, partnering with an increasingly ambitious Iran. Long-standing US alliances with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are frayed, and face new uncertainty with the election of Donald Trump, whose foreign policy remains largely undefined, except for an avowed eagerness to shake things up. Egypt, which has seen its influence wane, is seeking allies and relevance wherever it can find them, even if that means shelving concerns about Iran. While Russias goal seems to be to expand its influence and pave the way for the international rehabilitation of Assads government, the scrambling of alliances remains in motion and the results unclear. The new relationships are messy, contradictory works in progress. In todays regional context, this tactical hedging by countries on multiple fronts is likely to continue and may accelerate under a Trump administration, said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Centre for American Progress in Washington. Egypt and Turkey both provide examples of hedging, testing realignments but not jumping in with both feet. Turkey has reached a potentially game-changing understanding with Russia in northern Syria slackening support for besieged rebels in the divided city of Aleppo in exchange for a sphere of influence along its border but continues to push the deals boundaries politically and militarily. And Egypt is diverging from its traditional allies in some ways, by splitting from Saudi Arabia on Syria; it remains financially dependent on the kingdom and hopes to mend fences with the US under Trump. Egypt, Katulis said, is seeking to signal that it has an independent perspective and position on the Syrian conflict and on regional policy, balancing the United States and Russia, not aligning entirely with either the Gulf Arab states or Iran. The emerging Sissi doctrine, named for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, said Michael Wahid Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a New York research institute, is rigid anti-Islamism and rigid anti-militancy and a very vocal support for nation states and sovereignty. Those positions are congruent with Assads. However, they diverge from those of Saudi Arabia, which has long been one of Egypts main financial lifelines, supplying aid worth tens of billions of dollars. El-Sissi is also increasingly wary of Turkey. He sees the recent defeat of a coup attempt against Erdogans Islamist government as the birth of a religious state in Europe, he told Katulis in July during a two-hour interview for a forthcoming report on US policy in Egypt. Yet, Katulis said, the Egyptian president also made clear that he remained suspicious of Irans Shiite brand of Islamism despite its alignment with Assad and opposition to Turkey in Syria. But for now, el-Sissi seems to be putting concerns about Iran on the back burner and focusing more on Sunni Islamist movements, which he sees as a bigger threat. And lending support to Syria helps a weakened Egypt evoke its glory days as the leader of Arab nationalism in the 1960s. El-Sissis emphasis on state sovereignty, supporting Arab states against insurgents, is also a major boon to the Syrian governments quest for legitimacy, said Kamal Alam, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and Levant Consultant for the Hoplite Group. Three years ago, Turkey and Egypt were prominent supporters of the Syrian rebellion, aligned with Saudi Arabia in what the Saudis saw as a geopolitical and sectarian struggle against Iran. Jordans role Today, both countries have tilted to different degrees away from Saudi Arabia and toward Russia, if not directly Iran. So has Jordan, another US ally and mostly Sunni country whose support for rebels had always been relatively lukewarm. All three seek to insulate themselves from the upheaval in Syria from refugees and migrants, from the Islamist militants like Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates that gained footholds within the insurgency they helped support, and from any possible popular revolt. The first to peel away was Egypt, in 2013, after el-Sissi, an army general, seized power from Mohammed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who had emphatically supported the Syrian revolt. Pro-government news media made it clear that the Egyptian stance on Syria had changed; Syrian refugees were even attacked on the streets. Even as an outcry arose over the intensive bombing of Aleppo this week, Egypt in an emergency Security Council meeting justified its decision not to support any side against the other. The statement was seen as a polite way of refusing to apologise for not hewing to the Saudi line. Turkey, too, has been unusually quiet on Aleppo. That, to many observers, confirms it has essentially agreed with Russia on a trade: Turkey allows rebel defeat in Aleppo, in exchange for Russias blessing of its incursion into Syria farther north to keep Kurdish militias away from its border. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey even submitted to public censure from Russia for declaring his country was still trying to topple Assad. After being asked for clarification by Moscow, Erdogan reversed himself, insisting that Turkeys goal in Syria was solely to fight terrorism. But the parameters of the Turkey-Russia deal remain murky and possibly undefined even between the parties, Hanna said, making for a volatile situation. Turkey entered Syria with a force of anti-Assad rebels to set up what it calls a safe zone along the border. But as they move farther south and east, the likelihood increases that they will come into conflict with Russian-backed government forces, or U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. Its a dangerous fault line, Hanna said. If you put anti-Assad rebels who have sublimated their goals to serve Turkish interests in very close proximity to regime forces, how much control does Turkey have over its proxies? The Syrian government is on the brink of re-taking control of all of Aleppo. This is an important victory. Aleppo is Syrias second largest city as well as its commercial and cultural capital. Although it did not witness mass protests that other Syrian cities saw at the start of the conflict, it was drawn in when opposition rebels took control of this city. Since 2012, Aleppo is divided between the government-controlled west Aleppo and the rebel-held eastern districts. The governments recapture of Aleppo was possible because of the robust aerial support it received from Russia and the ground troops provided by Iraq and Iran. With Aleppos recapture, the government now controls important rebel supply lines from Turkey. This is a significant turning point in the Syrian civil war. On the ground, the balance now tilts in favour of President Bashar al-Assad; the rebel forces have now lost every major city they controlled. It marks a rise in Russias fortunes in West Asia. Russian military intervention over the past year has given the Assad regime a new lease of life. With Aleppos recapture, the latter has consolidated control over the war ravaged country. Aleppos recapture by government forces has come at a great cost, however. Thousands of people were trapped in rebel-held areas and Russias relentless bombing of Aleppo, including its hospitals and schools, has left many dead; a third of those killed were children. The UN has said that the aerial bombing of Aleppo was probably a war crime. In her speech at the United Nations, US Ambassador Samantha Power blamed Syria and Russia for the humanitarian tragedy in Aleppo. There is no doubt that Assad and the Russians were extremely ruthless in their carpet bombing of Aleppo. Clearly, it was the taking of territory, not the freeing of humans, that directed their strategy. However, Power is selective in apportioning blame for the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Aleppo. She is conveniently overlooking the Wests arming and training of the anti-Assad fighters. It is their support that enabled the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State group to dominate the insurgency. Importantly, in the run-up to the recent escalation of the bombing of Aleppo, safe corridors were set up for residents wishing to leave. But rebels did not allow them to leave. Why did the West allow their proteges to block evacuation? While the government forces were busy with the assault on Aleppo, the IS group has retaken Palmyra. Assads victory in Aleppo does not mark the end of the war. Rebels from Aleppo have relocated to Idlib. The focus of fighting will now shift to Idlib. A day ahead of the fourth anniversary of Nirbhaya gang-rape, the national capital was shamed once again as a 20-year-old woman in south Delhi was offered a lift and raped in a car bearing a sticker of the home ministry. The driver of the car, owned by a man whose father works in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and lives in Kotla Mubarakpur, was arrested from a friends place in Moti Bagh, barely 100 metres from the spot where the victim last saw him and the vehicle, around 1.30 pm on Thursday. The vehicle, which was reportedly abandoned by driver Avneesh, was also seized from the spot. The brutal sexual assault on the woman, a job seeker from Noida, took place a few kilometres away from the Munirka bus stand, where Nirbhaya had boarded the bus on which she was gang-raped on December 16, 2012, in the presence of her male friend. Despite the nation-wide outrage over the Nirbhaya gang-rape and the subsequent toughening of laws, Delhi continues to see a high number of crimes against women. This year, 2,199 rape cases have already been registered. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ishwar Singh said, Once the womans rape was confirmed after medical test, we summoned the forensic team, which picked up nine forensic and biological samples from the vehicle. Sources said the womans mobile phone was also recovered from the vehicle. Police said the car had pulled over as the woman was seeking a lift to Noida on Wednesday night near AIIMS flyover bus stand around 9 pm. The driver offered to drop her in Noida and kept driving her around before molesting and raping her, an official said. She later managed to escape near Moti Bagh and sought help from a police on patrol and shared the vehicles number. During investigation, the owner of the car provided the details of the driver, who was in possession of the car when the crime took place, police said. With fidayeen (suicide) attacks by terrorists on the rise in Jammu and Kashmir, the state police have trained 200 special commandos to specifically deal with such assaults. The 200 commandos underwent rigorous training by experts of various agencies and former police officers at the Commando Training Centre (CTC) Lethpora in south Kashmirs Pulwama district. The commandos are currently part of counter-insurgency operations. These 200 special commandos are part of the anti-fidayeen squad of the J&K Police. We trained them to deal with the fidayeen, who take shelter in a building or security forces camp, said SSP Mehmood Chaudhary, also the principal of CTC Lethpora. The officer said that the commandos were also trained to clear the building occupied by the fidayeen, floor by floor. We also trained them to climb mountains and cross rivers by swimming and using a rope, the SSP said, adding that they are also trained to use scientific aid during criminal investigations and collect intelligence from the field. Since September 2013, the fidayeen have again started to hit defence establishments and other government buildings in the state, a trend similar to 1999-2002. Sources said that in the recent years, the battle hardened and a lot of militants have sneaked in to carry out the attacks. And after every hit, the governments preparations to ward off such attacks come into question. It was in this backdrop that the need to train special commandos in the police gained momentum, a source said. On February 20 this year, nine people, including three elite commandos of the army and two paramilitary personnel, lost their lives after three fidayeen stormed a multi-storey government building on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. In one of the worst causalities suffered by the army in peacetime operations, 19 troopers were killed and 18 injured as a group of fidayeen militants stormed a strategic military base in north Kashmirs Uri on September 18. In another deadly attack on November 29, seven soldiers, including two officers, were killed after the fidayeen stormed an army installation in Nagrota on the outskirts of Jammu city. According to official figures, since the Kargil war in 1999, 107 fidayeen attacks were carried out in the state. While 11 such attacks happened during the present NDA governments rule, 43 strikes were reported under the UPA-I and UPA-II regime. Nearly 53 attacks were carried out during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA governments tenure. A senior police officer told DH the fidayeen attacks are primarily carried out by militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad. The Kerala High Court on Friday called for the Centres intervention in formulating a codified law to govern divorce among Muslims. Justice A Muhamed Mustaque, while disposing of a batch of writ petitions in connection with triple talaq, observed that it was possible to have a common code at least for the marriage law in India. Pointing out that while parties could be permitted to marry in accordance with religious rites, the judge said there could be a common divorce law based on a ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage. Referring to the reforms effected in marriage and divorce laws in Muslim countries, the court observed that justice had become elusive for Muslim women in India not because of the religion they profess, but on account of lack of legal formalism resulting in immunity from law. Homogeneity needed The court also observed that marriage and divorce laws need homogeneity for sustenance of marriage as a social institution which is a priority of the state. The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday conducted simultaneous raids on the houses and offices of five officials in Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and Tumakuru. They were booked for possessing wealth beyond their known sources of income. The ACB is a watchdog the state government set up in March. L Bheema Nayak, Special Land Acquisition Officer, Karnataka Housing Board, arrested recently in connection with the suicide of his former driver Ramesh, was among the officials raided. The others are: T R Shivaramu, executive engineer, Public Works Department, National Highway Authority, Bengaluru; Shivalingappa, assistant engineer, Panchayat Raj Engineering Division, Kalaburagi; D Narasimhamurthy, range forest officer, Koratagere, Tumakuru District; and H M Shivaprasad, veterinary medical officer, Nelamangala, Bengaluru Rural district. On December 11, police had arrested Bheema Nayak following Ramesh Gowdas suicide. In his death note, the driver had alleged Nayak helped mining baron Janardhana Reddy launder Rs 100 crore. The sleuths recovered documents relating to residential sites, buildings, agricultural lands, vehicles, ornaments and bank accounts. Narasimhamurthys properties have been estimated to be around Rs 1.95 crore, while Shivaprasads around Rs 1.81 crore. Documents were recovered from Nayaks houses at Yelahanka New Town and Belagavi, and the houses of his brothers at Marenahalli in Ballari, and his office at Visvesvaraya Towers, Bengaluru. The sleuths seized documents from Shivaramus house at HSR Layout, Bengaluru, and his office at KR Circle, as also from a relatives house in Mysuru. Similarly, they said they had found incriminating documents from Shivalingappas house and office in Kalaburagi. The CBI has received partial responses from six countries to its Letters Rogatory (LR) to establish the money trail in the Rs 3,767-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal. The agency has received partial responses from the United Kingdom, Mauritius, Tunisia, Italy, the British Virgin Islands and Switzerland. Sources said responses from Singapore and the United Arab Emirates were still awaited, and efforts are on through diplomatic channels to obtain details from these countries. The case is being probed by a special investigation team headed by CBI director in-charge Rakesh Asthana. Last week, the CBI had arrested former Indian Air Force chief S P Tyagi, his cousin Sajeev Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the case involving the UK-based AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italian firm Finmeccanica, in which around Rs 462 crore was given as bribe. Agusta angle According to the CBI officials, the investigations brought to light undue favour shown to the AgustaWestland. In 2013, S P Tyagi and 12 others, including his cousins Sanjeev, Rajeev and Sandeep, were named in an FIR by the CBI on charges of cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy. The ED had also registered a money laundering case. According to the CBI, when Tyagi was in office, the air force with his approval conceded to reduce the service ceiling for the VVIP helicopters from 6,000 m to 4,500 m as mandatory, (although) it was vehemently opposing the same on the grounds of security constraints and other related reasons. In a boost to housing in small cities and towns, the Union Environment Ministry eased building norms, allowing municipalities and state authorities to accord green clearance. According to the new norms, for building projects with a built up area of 20,000-1,50,000 sq metres, green clearance may be obtained from the jurisdictional municipality along with the building plan approval. For projects with an area between 1.5 lakh to 3 lakh sq mt, the approval will come from the state environment authority. The changes, notified by the environment ministry last week, come 10 years after the central government brought large housing projects under the environment impact assessment net, necessitating approval from the green ministry. Ease of doing business Now there will be no need to come to Delhi to seek project clearances. It will boost ease of doing business. Only projects with a built up area of more than 3 lakh sq mt would require central approval, said Union Environment Minister Anil Dave. A cadre of qualified building auditors would be empanelled by the ministry to assess and certify the buildings. Green cell must It will be mandatory for urban local bodies to constitute an environment cell to appraise and monitor building projects and provide environment planning. The auditors would examine topography, natural drainage, water conservation, rain water harvesting, ground water recharge, waste management, energy usage, air quality and noise, green cover, top soil preservation and transport mode. The NDA government is aiming at a big jump in the housing sector as millions of Indians do not own a house. Earlier this year, a new law was enacted to regulate this sector. Sources in the Union Urban Development Ministry said between 2011 and 2015, new housing projects in the range of 2,349 to 4,488 were launched every year amounting to a total of 17,526 projects with an investment value of Rs 13.7 lakh crore in 27 cities, including 15 state capitals. The Opposition unity to fight the government on demonetisation crumbled on Friday with some parties accusing the Congress of one-upmanship and refused to join a delegation to meet President Pranab Mukherjee. The parties were upset over Rahul Gandhis meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition parties, which worked together to put the government on the mat on demonetisation, were ready to go to Rashtrapati Bhavan till Friday morning but the BSP, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK and the Left suddenly withdrew after a Rahul-led Congress delegation met Modi on farmers issue. While the Trinamool Congress, JD(U), RJD, RSP and the Kerala Congress went with the Congress to petition the way Parliament proceedings was conducted and against demonetisation, the other parties were upset at the way the Congress snubbed them. NCPs D P Tripathi was quick to dub the Congress move as one-upmanship at a time it was supposed to take the lead in strengthening the opposition ranks. SPs Amar Singh described it as natural arrogance of the Congress, which upset others. Though DMKs Tiruchi Siva wondered about the purpose of meeting the President, sources said the Dravidian party too was upset about the Congresss conduct. Many felt that the cause may be of importance but it was ill-timed. Sources in the CPM said its general secretary and MP Sitaram Yechury flew down from Kolkata to join the delegation but decided against it. Yechury said his party had plans to join the delegation but for some reason or other, did not join. All plans for a grand opposition plan stood in disarray as soon as the news of Rahul meeting Modi came. The SP and the BSP withdrew as they took exception to Rahuls meeting with Modi to raise UP farmers issue. Sources said BSP chief Mayawati was the first to object and decided to pull out of the delegation. She first discussed the issue with her partymen, including Satish Chandra Mishra. She spoke to SPs Naresh Aggarwal too, saying what the Congress did was not right. The NCP, Left and the DMK also backed the objections raised by Mayawati while JD(U)s Sharad Yadav decided to stick to the decision. Even parties, which accompanied the Congress, were not happy with the way it happened. Senior Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien said he told the BSP leaders after the meeting with Mukherjee that they had legitimate reasons to be upset. At least 12 fake accounts were detected by the Income Tax Department officials on Friday in east Delhis Krishna Nagar Branch of Axis Bank. Sources said the action was linked to the searches on Thursday in the Noida branch of the bank which revealed 20 fake accounts with Rs 60 crore stashed in them. The action comes at a time when a tea seller, Bano, in Gandhi Nagar Branch of Axis Bank found Rs 76 lakh in her bank account. But according to her son Shahrukh Khan, she hardly had Rs 2,400 in her account till a few days ago. He reported the matter to the police. The searches in Krishna Nagar were part of the operation of the Noida unit of the I-T department. A parallel raid was also conducted on the Connaught Place branch of the same bank on Thursday. Nearly 20 accounts of shell companies were found to have deposits worth Rs 60 crore. In most cases, the companies were registered in the names of labourers. The I-T department was able to trace these fake companies as black money evaders used multiple branches of Axis Bank for transactions, said an investigator. Some of the money found in these accounts is suspected to be linked to the sale of gold worth Rs 600 crore by a jeweller after demonetisation. In another incident, the family of a 40-year-old man claimed that he died waiting for money in a banks queue in East Delhis Geeta Colony. Narendra Singh collapsed in Punjab and Sindh Bank branch queue and died on way to hospital, the police said. The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that a high-powered committee comprising the prime minister, chief justice of India and the leader of the Opposition would meet by the month end to appoint a regular CBI director. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi denied before a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman that senior IPS officer R K Dutta was shifted from the CBI to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a mala fide manner. The bench asked advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing NGO Common Cause, to wait till the committee meets. The NGO has challenged the appointment of Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as acting director. The court posted the matter for January 17, while refusing to pass an interim direction. Bhushan claimed Dutta, who monitored the 2G and coal scam cases and also rendered his service to former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde, was moved to the MHA just days before the retirement of the then director Anil Sinha, in a move to accommodate Asthana. He also contended that Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer, was much junior to the officers in consideration for the top post in the CBI. The Environment Ministry on Friday released a set of draft rules to regulate pet shops doing brisk business. Once notified, the rules will make it mandatory for these shops to register with the state animal welfare boards. The shops will be inspected by a veterinarian and a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals before they are allowed to register. This is the first step, Environment Minister Anil Dave said, when asked whether the government was planning any steps to bring in price control measures in the pet business, which is currently unregulated with no checks and balance. The rules define space requirement for birds, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pig, hamster, rats and mice in the pet shop. It would be mandatory to maintain proper records of the sale, purchase, sickness and death of animals in the shop. Every pet shop owner is required to submit yearly reports to the state animal welfare board on the animals sold, traded, brokered, given away or exhibited. This is not the first attempt by the government to keep an eye on pet shops. In 2010, the ministry brought out another set of draft pet shop rules, which also had provisions on home visits by animal welfare board inspectors. However, the rules were never finalised as several stakeholders pointed out that they were too cumbersome to implement. For instance, the old rules had a licensing fee of Rs 5,000 and renewal charge of Rs 2,000 that has been done away with in the new draft. Also, the earlier idea of home inspection and obtaining a license from the municipality for keeping a pet are not there in the new rules. About the possibility of holding jallikattu in January, Dave said the Centre would decide its next course of action only after the Supreme Court passes its order. On January 8, the government issued a notification lifting the ban on jallikattu in Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions. This was challenged in the apex court by the Animal Welfare Board of India, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals and a Bengaluru-based NGO. The Tourism department has lined up special tour packages for delegates attending the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event in Bengaluru and interested in exploring the sights and sounds of Karnataka. Around 2,000 delegates mostly Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are expected to participate in the three-day event scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from January 7, 2017. The event is held every two years in an Indian city to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India. Minister of State for Tourism Priyank Kharge said his department would like to take the opportunity to organise special tours for delegates interested in visiting places of tourist interest in Karnataka. We have roped in Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation and the Jungle Lodges and Resorts to make the necessary arrangements. Special day-long tours to places near Bengaluru and longer duration tours will be offered, he said. There will be Bengaluru-circuit tours and heritage tour packages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the delegates on January 8. The 42nd annual cake show, organised in association with the National Consumer Fair, was inaugurated on Friday at St Joseph's Indian High School grounds. The big attraction this year is the London Tower Bridge, a 24X7 feet structure made entirely of sugar and weighing over 500 kg. Making the individual towers, suspension cables, and getting the Victorian Gothic style right took over 700 man hours. Sam Ramachandran, one of the cake artists, said, It took a lot of patience because everything has to be according to measurements. It is much like engineering. C Ramachandran, started the cake shows back in 1974 with a 14-foot model of the Eiffel tower. I learned the art of cake decoration in West Germany and England. I want this art to continue growing, he said. The 76-year-old has now handed over the cake show to students from the Institute of Baking and Cake Art. Sugar is seen in its best form as a Thanjavur painting of a female dancer, finely detailed with edible lace and jewellery. The creator, Purva Sadvilkar took special Thanjavur painting classes six months in advance to prepare for the final piece. Apoorva Bhargava and Khadijah Madar imagined the issue of demonetisation in icing- new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes blooming on a money tree atop an India-shaped mountain. Explaining the concept, Madar said, The rising sun behind the mountain shows that though people are struggling, they are hopeful about benefits of the move. The river flowing down is cleansing the system of black money. Staying true to the traditional method of cake decoration, Avril Pinto used only piping bags and nozzles to create intricate meshes and designs for her wedding cake. People prefer molds these days because they are precise but I wanted to show that it is possible to achieve perfection by hand as well, Avril said. Planning and executing the 25 kg cake took two months and the weather made matters worse. Royal icing is sensitive to moist weather. Because of the rains in the past week, the meshes became soft and dropped off. I had to redo most of it, she said. Actor Shankar Nag in icing, a two-storey dollhouse made of cookies, a Rajasthan wedding themed cake, a queen in a Victorian Gown, a book coming alive with tale of Jack and the Beanstalk are among the other attractions. The show will be open to the public from 11am to 9 pm every day till January 1, 2017. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will resume demolition of buildings on Monday to clear encroachments on storm- water drains in many parts of the city. Encroachments on drains in Mahadevapura, Yelahanka, Bommanahalli and Dasarahalli zones of the BBMP will be cleared during the drive. By December 24, the civic body aims to demolish 68 buildings and reclaim 92 vacant sites developed on drains. The reclaimed sites will be dug up for rebuilding the missing drains, BBMP chief engineer (stormwater drain division) Siddegowda told DH. Most of the buildings set to be demolished are in Ananthapura village, Yelahanka zone, and Hoysala Nagar in Vaddarapalya ward, Mahadevapura zone, he added. Sixty structures face demolition in Hoysala Nagar while four buildings will be brought down in Chokkasandra, Dasarahalli. A Skoda showroom in Singasandra village will also be pulled down. Of the 92 sites identified as encroaching on drains, 42 are in Attur ward, Yelahanka zone. On Friday, the BBMP took possession of 32 guntas of land in Yelahanka and dug up an 800-metre trench on it. The state government cracked down on encroachments on storm water drains following torrential rains on July 28 that caused flash floods in many parts of southern and southeastern Bengaluru, especially Madiwala and Electronics City. During the drive, the BBMP demolished a number of houses for being built on drains, though the owners claimed they had perfectly legitimate property documents. The BBMP stopped the encroachment clearance drive for sometime. It is now resuming it following strict instructions given by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a review meeting last week. Crackdown resumes By December 24, the BBMP aims to demolish 68 buildings and take over 92 vacant sites developed on stormwater drains. Most of the buildings are in Hoysala Nagar in Vaddarapalya ward. Most of the vacant sites are in Attur ward, Yelahanka. A software engineer in the city was reportedly cheated by a woman whom he was dating through Facebook, police said. Govind Sharma, a resident of Hulimavu, who works for a software company, met one Alisha through Facebook a few years ago. She claimed to be working for a private company in Dubai. They exchanged messages and phone numbers, and decided to get married. A few weeks ago, Alisha said she was returning to India and would meet him. A few days ago, she called him up, saying she was detained by customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi as she was carrying a large amount of foreign currency. She got an official to talk to Sharma, who told him that she would be let off only after she paid a fine of Rs 2.10 lakh. The official gave Sharma his bank account details and asked him to deposit the money immediately. Once he got the money, he would let off Alisha, he said. Sharma believed him and transferred the money. But when he tried to contact Alisha, her phone was switched off. He tried calling her later but she remained incommunicado. He realised he had been taken for a ride, and reported the matter to the Hulimavu police station. Police said that they were investigating the matter. Carmel Valley resident Annette Paquet has shared her passion for painting with the regions up-and-coming artists for decades. And though she planned on retiring this year, the 79-year-olds love of art pulled her back into teaching at San Diego Community College District for at least another year. I love the people, said Paquet, who turns 80 in February. Its wonderful to see so many of my students doing so well. Born in Brooklyn, Paquets love of art came about when she was a child. In high school, she received a scholarship to the Brooklyn Museum in New York, which she enjoyed visiting on the weekends. She remembered the strong oil and turpentine scents. That was it, she said. I wanted to go to art school, and I wanted to be a fine artist for the rest of my life. Paquet earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from New Yorks Pratt Institute and went on to Queens College for her graduate studies. Then a member of the Arts Students League in New York, Paquet devoted her early career to teaching art to children in New York. She worked with first, second and third graders in Long Island. It was just one year, she said. It was fun, but it wasnt for me. I wanted to really go into art. After living with her late husband in Florida, the pair relocated to the West Coast. The couple settled in what would become Carmel Valley 45 years ago. Ever since then, the painter has made a living by sharing her love of art with budding artists. Paquet served as an art teacher at MiraCosta College, San Diego Community College and a La Jolla art studio for years. Teaching was the next best thing, but teaching what I like and what I want do do, she said. And Ive been teaching ever since. Paquet used to teach several college courses at one time. Since semi-retiring from MiraCosta and the local studio about five years ago, she continues to teach two classes through San Diego Community College Districts San Diego Continuing Education program. She said she enjoys serving students who cannot afford to attend expensive art classes. Its fun to see so many people do so well even if they have never drawn or painted, she said. Watercolor artist Susan Wormsley was one of Paquets students for about six years. Annette brings tons of energy to every day and place she teaches, said Wormsley, who now serves as a board member of San Diego Watercolor Society, a nonprofit art organization that promotes the appreciation of and involvement in watermedia painting. Though she still dedicates much of her time to teaching, Paquet has always found time for creating. When Im not teaching I get out and practice what I preach, she said. For most of her life Paquet worked exclusively with oils. She has favored watercolors since taking a watercolor class at MiraCosta. Inspired by nature, she most enjoys painting landscapes, especially of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. The environment is so beautiful, Paquet said. Everything is just so exquisitely beautiful. Painting is like being one with nature. Paquets work is in collections across the United States. She has been exhibited locally in a variety of juried competitions. She has also held solo and group exhibitions, juried art shows and been featured in a variety of publications. Paquet has received a number of awards, including prizes from the San Diego Watercolor Society, where she has been a member for many years. Among her accomplishments, she was one of six citywide winners in the UltraStar San Diego Art Contest of 2010. Her enlarged winning painting is on permanent display at Cinepolis Del Mar. The longtime artist sometimes holds art shows out of her Carmel Valley home, where she has a studio. To inquire about a viewing, call 858-755-8378. To view her art, visit alpfineart.blogspot.com. An East County Indian band has labeled the theme of the 2017 San Diego County Fair, How the West was Fun, as extremely offensive, and called on the agency that operates the state-owned Del Mar Fairgrounds to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new theme and logo. Directors of the 22nd District Agricultural Association unanimously approved the theme for the 2017 fair and associated cowboy logo at their monthly meeting in October. But last month, the agency received a letter from Angela Elliott Santos, tribal chairwoman of the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, expressing her groups concerns. There was insufficient public review and participation in this decision. The logo is extremely offensive in light of the history and experience of genocide for the Kumeyaay Nation and other Native nations during the so-called settling of the west, Santos wrote. Fairgrounds CEO and General Manager Tim Fennell planned to meet with officials from the Southern California Tribal Chairmens Association, a consortium of 19 Indian tribes, on Tuesday morning, Dec. 20, to discuss concerns over the 2017 county fair theme and logo, said Fred Schenk, a member of the 22nd DAA board of directors, who sits on the agencys fair operations committee. He said the 22nd DAA is willing to make changes to address the issues raised in Santos letter. When I read that (letter), my reaction was, I want to make sure we dont disappoint any group that we respect and want to have come to the fair, said 22nd DAA board member Fred Schenk, who sits on the agencys fair operations committee. I want to work with anyone who feels that we didnt give adequate thought to the slogan. At a board of directors meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, officials had been planning to unveil a new fair website, but that rollout was delayed while the issue regarding the fair theme and logo is resolved. As of this week, the Western-themed logo and theme were prominently displayed on the website. Theres a new sheriff in town and its You, partner. Grab your cowboy hat, pull on your boots, and ride on over to this years San Diego County Fair as we celebrate the legendary rough-and-tumble Wild, Wild West, reads the intro copy. The 2017 fair runs from June 2 through July 4. The fair logo includes a cowboy rearing back on a horse, framed by cactuses. Each year, fair officials develop a theme and logo and related marketing materials. Recent themes have included Mad About the Fair, relating to Alice in Wonderland, and The Fab Fair, celebrating the Beatles and other British invasion bands. Schenk, who has served on the fair board on and off since 2003, could not recall a similar circumstance when the planned theme had offended a community group. The fair always includes an exhibit hall dedicated to the years theme, which is located near the entrance to the fairgrounds. Schenk said discussions had already been underway before the letter was received from the Manzanita band to include Native American history and culture in the themed exhibit. In light of the letter, Schenk said, it is understandable how the theme could be offensive to Native Americans. While he hasnt talked to the group, he said he can anticipate that for Native Americans, the period of the mid- to late 1800s wasnt fun. Santos did not immediately return phone messages from a reporter seeking comment by presstime. In her letter, she cited several books that chronicle the genocide that took place during the late 1800s in what is now the Western United States. One of the books was Murder State: Californias Native American Genocide, 1846-1873, by Brendan C. Lindsay. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Euro-American citizenry of California carried out mass genocide against the Native population of their state, using the processes and mechanisms of democracy to secure land and resources for themselves and their private interests. The murder, rape, and enslavement of thousands of Native people were legitimized by notions of democracyin this case mob rulethrough a discreetly organized and brutally effective series of petitions, referenda, town hall meetings, and votes at every level of California government, reads a description of the book, which was published by the University of Nebraska Press, on Amazon.com. Santos letter concluded, The Kumeyaay Nation is interested in working with the Del Mar Fair to meet their mission objective by developing educational and interpretive programs to accurately display the heritage of the Kumeyaay Nation for the general public. Schenk said he is confident the 22nd DAA can work with the Manzanita band to satisfy its concerns. Well work it out to make sure whatever slogan we have is one that will reflect well on the entire community in San Diego, all communities in San Diego. Thats our goal and thats what we will achieve, Schenk said. We want to make sure they feel welcome during the fair and well work with them to make sure they feel that way. All too rarely does a new film come along that is clearly destined to become a classic: a cinematic masterpiece that will withstand the test of time; an enduring film so well crafted that you will watch it again and again, each time to more fully explore its nuances and better appreciate its complex, intricately woven tapestry. Even more rarely is such a film an addition to an existing movie franchise. Star Wars fans rejoice! Rogue One: A STAR WARS Story is such a film. TIE fighter at the LA Auto Show (Jan Wagner / C 2016 Jan R. Wagner, AutoMatt ) This is the Star Wars film that audiences everywhere have been waiting for, hoping for and clamoring for. It is the first installment of what will hopefully become more new Star Wars films that George Lucas envisioned, as producer Kathleen Kennedy explained: The standalone movies, which can occur anyplace on the timeline, will introduce new characters and explore a wide variety of genres. With particular reference to director and mega-Star Wars fan Gareth Edwards, she said the great thing about the filmmakers were bringing in, is theyre all fans. They all have a deep emotional connection to Star Wars. ... Were looking for caretakers people who genuinely care and accept a responsibility around the franchise. X-wing starfighter (LA Auto Show press conference) (Jan Wagner / C 2016 Jan R. Wagner, AutoMatt ) At long last here is a new Star Wars film that brings back the wonder, awe, excitement, music, action and adventure of the original, enhanced with decades-newer visual effects some brand new and introduced by technological wizard John Knoll. A new process known as SolidTrak enables visual effects to be previewed in real time during production, thereby enhancing the interaction of the actors as they are being shot, in a way that was not possible with traditional green screen technology. Likewise, whereas spacecraft interiors with exterior views used to be shot against green screens so that exterior scenics could be added later, for this film a gigantic, wraparound LED screen was created, upon which exterior scenics were projected in real time. This subtly adds to the realism by enabling such things as reflections of laser bursts on the reflective surfaces of a pilots helmet. Pyrotechnics (LA Auto Show press conference) (Jan Wagner / C 2016 Jan R. Wagner, AutoMatt ) Rogue One: A STAR WARS Story takes us back long ago, to a time before the first Star Wars film was released. It pays homage to George Lucas original as it weaves together the story of the creation of the evil Galactic Empires Death Star the ultimate weapon and of heroic rebels who struggle against overwhelming odds as they seek its destruction. A new cast of characters is introduced, and several of the original characters return. One new droid named K2SO, and masterfully portrayed by Alan Tudyk conveys an endearing sense of wry humor. Costumes have been updated to withstand the scrutiny made possible by todays high-resolution display technologies, and yet they appear to be as you will remember them. For example, the original Imperial Stormtroopers uniforms used to use stickers to show details, whereas now the detail on the Stormtroopers uniforms is realistically three-dimensional. Futuristic spacecraft have long been the realm of science fiction, stimulating our collective imaginations and buoying our hopes for the future. Back in 1977, when the original Star Wars was released, it seemed at least possible, if not likely, that such spacecraft might actually come to exist within our lifetimes, as have many other amazing technological visions of future tech: hand-held communication and computational devices; autonomous (self-driving) and fuel cell vehicles; artificial limbs; rudimentary artificial intelligence; extreme miniaturization of complex electronic devices the list goes on and on. Space tourism and manned missions to Mars are on our horizon. In the meantime, not too long from now guests will be able to pilot the Star Wars Millennium Falcon at Disneyland. Construction is already well underway. Finely detailed models both miniature and life-sized in conjunction with sophisticated computer special effects, bring these wondrous spacecraft to life on the screen. The U-wing is a new ship created for Rogue One. It is described as a Huey helicopter version of an X-wing that can carry 12 people. Life-sized Star Wars models have recently been spotted in public places: from a towering TIE fighter in the Nissan exhibit at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show to an X-wing starfighter on Hollywood Boulevard for the Hollywood premiere of ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS Story. Audiences cheered right up to and including the very last, wonderful scene. For more information visit https://www.starwars.com/films/rogue-one. Join in the conversation. Send your comments and suggestions to AutoMatters@gmail.com. Copyright 2016 by Jan Wagner AutoMatters & More #467 By Sarah Kaplan 15 December 2016 SAN FRANCISCO (Washington Post) Activism wasnt originally on the agenda for Stephen Mullens, a meteorologist at the University of Oklahoma. Hed come to the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union the first major gathering of the worlds earth and climate scientists since the election of Donald Trump to do what one usually does at these sorts of conferences: meet with colleagues, browse posters, listen to panel discussions, wait in long lines for free coffee. But the dawn of what one researcher called the Trumpocene has everyone at AGU reckoning with their role in this new era. For Mullens, that meant attending his first-ever protest Tuesday. Standing in a crowd of fellow researchers, he listened as Beka Economopoulos, the director of the Natural History Museum, a mobile museum based in New York, implored them to get out of the labs and into the streets in response to the president-elects positions on climate change. The protest, organized by the activist group ClimateTruth.org and the Natural History Museum, drew several hundred people from the massive AGU conference happening a few blocks away. Some of the scientists donned white lab coats distributed by the organizers. Others held up signs that read Science is not a liberal conspiracy, Ice has no agenda it just melts and Protect science. A few looked nervous when a speaker led the crowd in a chant of Stand up. Fight back. But they gamely joined in. [more] Scientists prepare to fight for their work during the Trumpocene By Randy Showstack 14 December 2016 (Eos) Hundreds of people, many of them scientists, rallied in support of science yesterday in San Francisco just a few blocks from where the largest annual gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world was taking place. Rally organizers staged the event in the face of what they said are unprecedented threats to the sciences, particularly climate science. The demonstrators protested some of the likely appointees and potential policies of the incoming administration of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. This is a frightening moment. We have seen in the last few weeks how the reins of the federal government are being handed over to the fossil fuel industry, rally speaker Naomi Oreskes told the crowd that gathered for the lunchtime rally on a cloudy day. Oreskes is a professor of the history of science and an affiliated professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Harvard University. As she spoke in a small park on Mission Street in downtown San Francisco, nearby more than 20,000 scientists were attending the annual Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an international organization of Earth and space scientists and the publisher of Eos.org. Oreskes and other scientists on an impromptu stage donned lab coats while speaking to the protesters, many of whom wore AGU meeting badges. Some protesters held signs that read, Thou shalt not make Earth too warm, We love science, and Climate science not debatable, its life or death for civilization. Scientists have to stand up and be counted in whatever ways we can, Oreskes told Eos. She said that in the past, scientists have been reluctant to get involved in politics because wed like science and politics to be separate, but our science has been politicized by the right wing, by the climate deniers, by ExxonMobil, and we have to fight back against that. Within the past several days, Trump has announced his intention to nominate Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, a climate change skeptic, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. [more] Fearful of Trump, Hundreds in San Francisco Rally for Science By Sarah Emerson 13 December 2016 (Motherboard) With hope, exhaustion, and a fair bit of anger, dozens of scientists and climate experts met to protest the coming Trump Administration. An estimated 26,000 scientists met today at the American Geophysical Unions (AGU) annual conference in San Francisco, California. It was the first major gathering of climate experts since the election of Donald Trump, and the findings shared there were appropriately grim: Our planet is changingfor the worseand nowhere is this more apparent than the Arctic where rising temperatures, disappearing sea ice, and dwindling species populations are evidence of our collective inaction. [] We dont want to be here, Naomi Oreskes, an earth and planetary science professor at Harvard University, shouted to a crowd of several hundred people in San Franciscos Jessie Square. We want to be doing the work we were trained and educated to do, which is science. So dont get upset, dont get depressed. Get organized. [more] Climate Scientists Protest the Trump Administration in San Francisco [Expect these sorts of studies to stop when Scott Pruitt, longtime enemy of the EPA and Trumps selection to head the EPA, takes control. Des] By Patrick G. Lee 14 December 2016 (ProPublica) Starting in 2008, ProPublica published stories that found hydraulic fracking had damaged drinking water supplies across the country. The reporting examined how fracking in some cases had dislodged methane, which then seeped into water supplies. In other instances, the reporting showed that chemicals related to oil and gas production through fracking were winding up in drinking water, and that waste water resulting from fracking operations was contaminating water sources. Many environmentalists hailed the reporting. The gas drilling industry, for its part, pushed back, initially dismissing the accounts as anecdotal at best. This week, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its latest and most thorough report on frackings threat to drinking water, and its findings support ProPublicas reporting. The EPA report found evidence that fracking has contributed to drinking water contamination cases of impact in all stages of the process: water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing; spills during the management of hydraulic fracturing fluids and chemicals; injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids directly into groundwater resources; discharge of inadequately treated hydraulic fracturing wastewater to surface water resources; and disposal or storage of hydraulic fracturing wastewater in unlined pits, resulting in contamination of groundwater resources. In an interview, Amy Mall, a senior policy analyst at the National Resources Defense Council, said the EPAs report was welcome. Many of us have been working on this issue for many years, and industry has repeatedly said that there is no evidence that fracking has contaminated drinking water, Mall said. The EPA report comes a year after its initial set of findings set off fierce criticism by environmental advocates and health professionals. That report, issued in 2015, said the agency had found no evidence that fracking had led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources. Many accused the agency of pulling its punches and adding to confusion among the public. News organizations throughout the U.S. interpreted the EPAs language to mean it had concluded fracking did not pose a threat to water supplies and public health. The EPA said in its report this week that the sentence about the lack of evidence of systemic issues had been intentionally removed because the agencys scientists had concluded it could not be quantitatively supported. I think one of the concerns about the original document was that the EPA seemed to say that everything was fine, said Rob Jackson, a professor of earth-system science at Stanford University. Its important that we understand the ways and the cases where things have gone wrong, to keep them from happening elsewhere. The EPAs latest declaration comes as a Trump administration apparently hostile to almost any kind of regulation of fracking prepares to assume office. But those worried about frackings implications for the environment have long been discouraged by the lack of consistent and stringent state or federal regulation. Because state regulators have not fully investigated cases of drinking water contamination, and because federal regulators have been handcuffed by Congress into how much they can regulate, the science wasnt as robust as it should have been, said Mall, the analyst at NRDC. Its a pattern of, the rules are too weak, and the ones that are on the books arent enforced enough. The more significant impact of a Trump administration, however, may be in limiting the EPAs appetite for aggressive and continued study. The report issued this week was six years in the making, but made clear there was still much work to be done to better and more comprehensively determine frackings impact on the environment, chiefly water supplies. It was not possible to calculate or estimate the national frequency of impacts on drinking water resources from activities in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle or fully characterize the severity of impacts, the report said. The Trump administrations transition team did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment about its position on fracking and the EPAs final report. Trumps transition website promises to unleash an energy revolution and streamline the permitting process for all energy projects. It also says it will refocus the EPA on its core mission of ensuring clean air, and clean, safe drinking water for all Americans. Advocates for hydraulic fracturing argue that the final EPA report is not vastly different from the draft version. Anecdotal evidence about localized impacts does not disprove the central thesis, which is that there is no evidence of widespread or systemic impacts, said Scott Segal, a partner at Bracewell LLP who represents oil and gas developers. Theres a lot of exaggeration. Theres a lot of mischaracterization of the extent of contamination thats based on a desire to enhance recovery in tort liability lawsuits. [more] By Ed Yong 2 December 2016 (The Atlantic) In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned 19 common chemicals from common antibacterial washes, because manufacturers hadnt shown that they were safe in the long run, or any better than plain soap and water. In October, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated a rule forcing dozens of states to reduce levels of ozone and other air pollutants coming out of power plantsa move that would protect hundreds of millions of Americans from lung diseases. In the same month, the EPA and the United National Highway Traffic Safety Administration enacted a rule that limits the carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and tractors. In a few months, these regulations could vanish, along with over 100 others designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Americans. To an extent, regulations are necessary. Laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and many others have been instrumental in improving health, saving lives, and protecting the environment. These rules are multiplying. Their opponents argue that they limit businesses, stifle innovation, add red tape, and cost jobs. Their defenders say that they boost efficiency, create employment in new sectors, and are moral imperatives regardless of costs. It is clear where president-elect Donald Trump stands. The monstrosity that is the Federal Government with its pages and pages of rules and regulations has been a disaster for the American economy and job growth, he said during his campaign. Come January, he will have the power to take on that perceived monster. As has been widely reported, a Trump administration can easily repeal regulations that were enacted by federal agencies in the final months of the Obama administration. But with the help of a few key new bills that are currently making their way through Congress, he could also thwart the very infrastructure of science-based policy making, transforming it from a process thats merely frustrating into one thats also futile. [] The cumulative effect of these acts would be to gut the scientific foundation of many of our landmark health and public safety laws, like the Clean Air Act, says Michael Halpern, deputy director of the Center for Science and Democracy. Theyre not going after the laws directly but going after how the government can use science to fulfill those laws. [more] [Longtime Desdemona readers will recall the libricide against Canadian fisheries science by the Harper government in 2013 . Des] By Brady Dennis 13 December 2016 (Washington Post) Alarmed that decades of crucial climate measurements could vanish under a hostile Trump administration, scientists have begun a feverish attempt to copy reams of government data onto independent servers in hopes of safeguarding it from any political interference. The efforts include a guerrilla archiving event in Toronto, where experts will copy irreplaceable public data, meetings at the University of Pennsylvania focused on how to download as much federal data as possible in the coming weeks, and a collaboration of scientists and database experts who are compiling an online site to harbor scientific information. Something that seemed a little paranoid to me before all of a sudden seems potentially realistic, or at least something youd want to hedge against, said Nick Santos, an environmental researcher at the University of California at Davis, who over the weekend began copying government climate data onto a nongovernment server, where it will remain available to the public. Doing this can only be a good thing. Hopefully they leave everything in place. But if not, were planning for that. In recent weeks, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a growing list of Cabinet members who have questioned the overwhelming scientific consensus around global warming. His transition team at the Department of Energy has asked agency officials for names of employees and contractors who have participated in international climate talks and worked on the scientific basis for Obama administration-era regulations of carbon emissions. One Trump adviser suggested that NASA no longer should conduct climate research and instead should focus on space exploration. [ more ] Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump 14 December 2016 (CBC Radio) There are thousands of scientific studies that prove climate change is real. But U.S. scientists are worried about what might happen to the mountains of environmental data when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has very publicly denied climate change, takes office. One solution is to ask Canadian scientists to help them archive data from U.S. government servers. And now in Toronto, researchers will begin making backup copies of the data. Michelle Murphy, Director of the Technoscience Research Unit at the University of Toronto, tells As It Happens host Carol Off that this effort is badly needed. MICHELLE MURPHY: We see that theres an explicit mandate that they are putting forward of diminishing the potential of environmental and climate agencies and getting rid of difficult research and regulations that affect the key industries they are interested in. CAROL OFF: Whats going on in Toronto this weekend in collaboration with your American colleagues? MM: Were hosting something called the Guerilla Archiving event. We are working with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania library and at the Internet Archive, which is a non-profit that archives all of the Internet that has a project to archive government websites before the transition to the Trump presidency. And we are going to be feeding the web crawler of the Internet Archive to make sure that we are prioritizing websites and materials that are likely to be changed rapidly when the Trump presidency starts. Were also looking at data sets that might be vulnerable to becoming less publicly accessible and well be nominating those to be put into the Penn [University of Pennsylvania] repository. [more] 29 November 2016 (AFP) A mass bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef this year killed more corals than ever before, scientists said Tuesday, sounding the alarm over the delicate ecosystem. The 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) long reefthe worlds biggestsuffered its most severe bleaching in recorded history, due to warming sea temperatures during March and April, with the northern third bearing the brunt. Follow-up underwater surveys, backing earlier aerial studies, have revealed a 700-kilometre stretch of reefs in the less-accessible north lost two-thirds of shallow-water corals in the past eight to nine months. Most of the losses in 2016 have occurred in the northern, most-pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef, said Terry Hughes, head of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. This region escaped with minor damage in two earlier bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, but this time around it has been badly affected. Further south over the vast central and southern regions, including major tourist areas around Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands, there was a much lower toll. [ more ] Record coral kill-off on Great Barrier Reef 29 November 2016 (James Cook University) Scientists have confirmed the largest die-off of corals ever recorded on Australias Great Barrier Reef. The worst affected area, a 700 km swath of reefs in the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef has lost an average of 67% of its shallow-water corals in the past 8-9 months. Further south, over the vast central and southern regions of the Great Barrier Reef, the scientists were relieved to find a much lower death toll. Most of the losses in 2016 have occurred in the northern, most-pristine part of the Great Barrier Reef. This region escaped with minor damage in two earlier bleaching events in 1998 and 2002, but this time around it has been badly affected, says Professor Terry Hughes, Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies based at James Cook University, who undertook extensive aerial surveys at the height of the bleaching. The good news is the southern two-thirds of the Reef has escaped with minor damage. On average, 6% of bleached corals died in the central region in 2016, and only 1% in the south. The corals have now regained their vibrant colour, and these reefs are in good condition, says Professor Andrew Baird, also from the ARC Centre, who led teams of divers to re-survey the reefs in October and November. This is welcome news for our tourism industry, according to Craig Stephen, who manages one of the Great Barrier Reefs largest live-aboard tourist operations. Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef employs 70,000 people, and generates $5 billion in income each year. The patchiness of the bleaching means that we can still provide our customers with a world-class coral reef experience by taking them to reefs that are still in top condition. Another silver lining was revealed in the northern offshore corner of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, where the loss of coral was lower than the other northern reefs. We found a large corridor of reefs that escaped the most severe damage along the eastern edge of the continental shelf in the far north of the Great Barrier Reef, says Professor Hughes. We suspect these reefs are partially protected from heat stress by upwelling of cooler water from the Coral Sea. Scientists expect that the northern region will take at least 10-15 years to regain the lost corals, but they are concerned that a fourth bleaching event could happen sooner and interrupt the slow recovery. Contact Prof Terry Hughes Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Phone: +61 (0)400720164, +61 (0)7 4781 4000 (AEST) Email: Terry.Hughes@jcu.edu.au Professor Andrew Baird ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Phone: 0400 289 770 Email: andrew.baird@jcu.edu.au Dr Greg Torda ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Phone: 0410 289 156 or 07 4781 5241 Email: gergely.torda@jcu.edu.au Craig Stephen Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Phone: +61 (0)407 027 951 Email: cstephen@mikeball.com Kylie Simmonds Communications Manager Phone: 0428 785 895 Email: kylie.simmonds1@jcu.edu.au By May Wong 8 December 2016 (Stanford University) Parents often expect that their kids will have a good shot at making more money than they ever did. But young people entering the workforce today are far less likely to earn more than their parents when compared to children born two generations before them, according to a new study by Stanford researchers. The findings show that the fraction of kids earning more than their parents has fallen dramatically from 90 percent for kids born in the 1940s to 50 percent for kids born in the 1980s. Its basically a coin flip as to whether youll do better than your parents, said economics Professor Raj Chetty, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and one of the studys authors. One of the most comprehensive studies of intergenerational income mobility to date, the study used a combination of Census data and anonymized Internal Revenue Service records to measure the rate of absolute income mobility or the percentage of children who earned more than their parents for people born between 1940 and 1984. What emerged from the empirical analysis was an economic portrait of the fading American Dream, and growing inequality appeared to be the main cause for the steady decline. One of the defining features of the American Dream is the ideal that children have a higher standard of living than their parents, Chetty said. We assessed whether the U.S. is living up to this ideal, and found a steep decline in absolute mobility that likely has a lot to do with the anxiety and frustration many people are feeling, as reflected in the election. The paper was co-authored by David Grusky, a SIEPR senior fellow, sociology professor and director of the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality; Maximilian Hell, a sociology doctoral student at Stanford; Professor Nathaniel Hendren and doctoral student Robert Manduca, both of Harvard; and Jimmy Narang, a former SIEPR predoctoral fellow who is currently a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley. The study and more information about the teams research can be found on The Equality of Opportunity Project website run by Chetty and Hendren. The analytical framework The researchers constructed an analytical framework to compare childrens household incomes at age 30 with their parents household incomes at age 30 for each birth cohort at every income level, adjusting for inflation, taxes and transfers, as well as changes in household size. The findings pointed to a distinctive downward trend in absolute mobility that cut across all income levels, with the largest declines occurring for families in the middle class. The percentage of children earning more than their parents also fell in all 50 states, though the rate varied from state to state. A cluster of the largest declines was concentrated in the eastern Midwest, such as Michigan and Illinois. The increasingly tough odds were more pronounced for males. When directly comparing sons with their fathers incomes, the drop in absolute mobility was especially steep: Nearly all men born in 1940 were better off than their fathers, but for those born in 1984, that rate dropped to 41 percent. For daughters, the rate went from 43 percent to 26 percent for the same period. To gain insight behind the trends, researchers looked at surrounding macroeconomic factors and flushed out one main driver: growing inequality. Most of the decline was driven by a widening gap between rich and poor as opposed to the slowdown in the nations aggregate economic growth, or the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. The researchers compared the effects of declining growth and rising inequality by running their data through two simulated scenarios. One used higher GDP growth which expands the size of the economic pie and the other used a more broadly shared distribution of growth, where the slices of the pie are divided more evenly. When the economic growth rate was raised to the higher levels experienced in the 1940s and 1950s but the economic distribution mirrored todays highly uneven landscape, the estimated rate of absolute mobility rose to 62 percent. In contrast, when the economic growth rate was held at the low levels of 2 to 3 percent of recent decades, but the pieces of the economic pie were distributed more evenly as it was in the mid-20th century, then the fraction of children who ended up doing better than their parents climbed to 80 percent. That means the second hypothetical scenario reversed more than two-thirds of the decline between the 1940 and 1980 cohorts. The bottom line? The finding of this study implies that if we want to revive the American Dream of increasing living standards across generations, then well need policies that foster more broadly shared growth, Chetty said. But achieving those changes and sharing growth more evenly will be no small feat, as earlier groundbreaking studies by Chetty, Hendren and others on economic mobility and inequality have suggested, citing a complex web of reasons ranging from segregation and housing to education. This latest research comes as economic and political uncertainties have recently rattled the nation. Its sobering to see how sharp the decline has been over time, particularly since the odds were so much better for my parents, said Robert Fluegge, a 22-year-old predoctoral fellow at SIEPR who assisted in the research. I can see what my parents have been able to do for me, and its a bit scary to think that its a coin flip whether or not Ill be able to provide the same things for my kids in the future. Contact Robert Fluegge, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: robertfluegge@gmail.com Adam Gorlick, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: (650) 724-0614, agorlick@stanford.edu Africa's largest fibre network will be formed as Liquid Telecom buys South African converged network operator Neotel. The deal, valued at ZAR 6.55 billion (USD466m), has received unconditional approval from the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). This follows approval from South Africas Competition Commission in October 2016; the transaction will create the largest pan-African fibre network and B2B communications services provider. Liquid Telecoms partner, South African investment group Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), will own a 30% stake in Neotel. The combined network assets and service platforms will give Liquid Telecom reach across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, enabling it to offer access via a single connection to over 40,000km of cross border, national and metro fibre networks in 12 countries: Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with onwards connectivity to Lesotho, Somalia and Mozambique. Commenting on the approval, Nic Rudnick, Group CEO of Liquid Telecom, said: We are delighted to have received regulatory approval to complete this transaction. The combined companies will create an unparalleled footprint covering key markets across the continent.... We will be able to offer African companies the highest quality and most extensive connectivity on the continent. Albertinah Kekana, CEO of RBH, said: Our decision to partner with Liquid Telecom and Neotel is in-line with our diversification strategy which seeks to invest in high growth sectors. Together, we are well positioned to expand through telecommunications infrastructure and services sector in other key markets beyond South Africa. Speaking on behalf of Neotel, Non-Executive Director in Charge, Kennedy Memani, said: We welcome ICASAs approval of this transaction. Leveraging the strengths of Liquid Telecom, Neotels staff and customers will benefit from the stability, planned expansion and increased investments into the business. This will enable Neotel to reach its full potential in South Africa and across the African continent. Liquid Telecom will invest in Neotels products and services in order to support the rising demand for network services in South Africa and other African countries. Neotel will also benefit from Liquid Telecoms pan-African experience and technology leadership, helping to enhance systems and processes across its operations as well as drive profitability. The transaction will transform Liquid Telecoms presence in South Africa, where Liquid Telecoms growing base of corporate and enterprise customers will benefit from Neotels extended services portfolio and advanced network reach. The Neotel deal continues a period of accelerated growth for Liquid Telecom, which has combined strategic acquisitions, such as the recent joint venture in Botswana and the acquisition of Tanzanias leading ISP Raha, with ongoing investment in the rollout of fibre. Since its launch in 2006, Neotel has invested over ZAR 7 billion (USD477m) in infrastructure, deploying a nation-wide backbone fibre connecting the top 40 cities and towns in South Africa. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, includes two of Neotels Tier 3 designed state-of-the-art data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town, which offer a combined 1700 square metres of rack space. The facilities serve major carriers, ISPs, enterprises and international service providers, and will complement the East Africa Data Centre, which Liquid Telecom operates in Nairobi, Kenya. Neotel has fully redundant backhaul fibre to landing stations with access to all five of the international subsea cables serving South Africa (SAT-3, SAFE, SEACOM, EASSy and WACS). It is either an owner or landing partner on all these cable systems. Liquid Telecom also owns significant international subsea capacity, and is building its own subsea cable linking the east coast of Africa, Liquid Sea. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the slow release form of Synjardy. Synjardy is a drug used by people with type 2 diabetes in the UK as a twice daily single pill combination therapy to lower blood sugar levels. The new Synjardy XR is a combination of the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor empagliflozin (Jardiance) with a different and steadier formulation of metformin in a once-a-day treatment. Empagliflozin removes excess sugar through the urine by blocking its re-absorption in the kidney while metformin lowers glucose production by the liver. Metformin in combination with empagliflozin has been shown to decrease blood sugar levels and body weight, as well as lower blood pressure. The substitution of metformin for metformin XR reduces some of the uncomfortable intestinal side effects, such as gas and bloating, which some people may have trouble tolerating when on a standard metformin. The use of Synjardy XR is recommended, in the US, when the maximum dose of metformin alone, or metformin alongside other glucose-lowering products, does not suffice to adequately control blood sugar levels. The clinical trials that led to the FDA approval yielded positive results when Synjardy XR is used alone or in combination with a sulphonylurea for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. It is however not intended for that of type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. The most serious side effect from metformin in Synjardy XR is the build-up of lactic acid in the blood (Lactic acidosis), which is predominantly seen in people with kidney problems and can be life-threatening if left untreated. Other adverse effects include dehydration, low blood pressure and complications from high levels of ketones in the blood. Regular Synjardy, which is to be taken twice-daily, is already available in the UK in a range of different doses. If the extended release version of the drug, Synjardy XR, is approved on the NHS, it could provide a more convenient daily option for people with type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels. The government advisory flags Top Gun, Mpjinkie, Bdjunkie and Talking Frog as malware-ridden apps with ability to steal information The home ministry has issued a new security advisory asking Indian citizens to delete four applications from their mobile phones immediately. The advisory suggests these four apps are found to be overlaid with malware to steal sensitive data. The government advisory flags Top Gun, Mpjinkie, Bdjunkie and Talking Frog as malware-ridden apps with ability to steal information including bank details. The apps in question have been reportedly developed and released by Pakistani cyber criminals. Since the deadly terrorist attack on Pathankot air base, there have been increased cyber attacks and infiltration efforts to take control of servers and sub-systems. IBTimes reports that these apps have been flagged after finding issues with SmeshApp. The Indian Army also issued a statement advising users to unistall WeChat and Line, two of the popular messaging apps available on Android and iOS. Post demonetisation, a large number of Indian citizens have embraced mobile wallets and online transactions. With the security risk around these services, this advisory comes as a great safety tool. It is not always easy to stay safe online but it is always advisable to follow right measures and have right safety apps. Data breaches have been on a rise in the past few year. Yesterday Yahoo confirmed another data breach affecting over billion users while other services have been part of exploits at some or the other point in time. It is advised that users download some kind of security tool on their mobile device or an internet security software on desktop for advanced safety. At the end of each year, we at Digit take stock of the bygone 365 days in technology. Now, we are just a few days shy of calling it a new year and from some of the biggest stories, to the smartest gadgets, we have already recounted many glorious moments of 2016. But, not everything was hunky dory in the industry, riling up public opinion and putting the lense on some of the biggest names in tech. What caused dispute and who earned the wrath of critics? Here are 2016s biggest controversies in tech. The Facebook bias Facebook, everyones friendly neighborhood social media network, was accused of feeding biased information through newsfeeds and trending topics on the platform. The controversy erupted when a group of journalists from Tech blog, Gizmodo, alleged that the social network told them to suppress news related to conservative parties. This led to an eventual US Senate inquiry where Facebook was found using certain websites for feeding its news algorithms. Facebook eventually amended its algorithms and acknowledged possible isolated improper actions or unintentional bias. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Fiasco No tech tale of 2016 will be told without a mention of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 bust, or shall we say burst! Till date, there is no conclusive explanation as to why the Galaxy Note 7 batteries were exploding worldwide. Leading all the way up to a class action lawsuit, bricks of moolah from Samsungs pocket, and hundreds of disgruntled (or in many cases physically hurt) customers, the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco definitely earned a seat at the table with the most controversial tech stories of 2016. The company eventually recalled the device, which is currently in its last few remains. The Apple-FBI Clash Apple and FBI locked horns over privacy and security of iOS devices and sparked one of the biggest tech debates in 2016. The issue arose when FBI asked Apple to give it a peek into an iPhone that belonged to a terrorist involved in the San Bernardino case. Tim Cook took a firm stand for encryption and data security, warning of an eventual hole in user privacy for time to come. The FBI eventually hacked into the controversial iPhone 5C on its own accord and without Apples assistance. Did Apple win the battle and lose the war? The Twitter CEO expulsion No, not from the company, but from the microblogging platform itself. In a hilarious internal error Twitter deleted the account of its own CEO, Jack Dorsey, thereby also deleting his 3.9 million followers. The matter resulted in public outrage over accidental account deletions by Twitter, and it became the subject of a very sensational debate. Doseys account was later reinstated and his followers restored. Twitter may have managed to shove this controversy under the rug, but the company is now struggling to find buyers for its business. It is well known that Twitter is up for sale, but the the company has been tight-lipped about it. However, with potential buyers Disney and Salesforce backing out of the bids, it seems like Twitters declining popularity and low profits are to blame. The Samsung factory revelations Technology stalwart Samsung was accused of withholding information from its South Korean factory employees, about the hazardous effects of chemicals used in their chip and display manufacturing facilities. This information came to light with a supporting investigation conducted by the Associated Press. Workers in Samsungs South Korean factories reported numerous health problems due to chemicals used during various processes of manufacturing chipsets and displays and some even suffered loss of life. Turns out, Samsung had asked authorities not to disclose information on the chemicals used in its factories, stating trade secrets as a reason. Whatever happened to that investigation? The end of BlackBerry smartphones The underwhelming reception of the BlackBerry Priv was the last straw for BlackBerry, which announced that it will not be making smartphones anymore. Does this mean BlackBerry phones are dying? Well, not really. While the company may have said it will not make smartphones anymore, it also announced that third parties may manufacture BlackBerry branded phones, while the company concentrates on the software side of things. True to their word, the recently launched BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60, are manufactured by TCL, and have so far failed to make an impression, one that BlackBerry phones used to command back in the day. The forced Windows 10 upgrades When Microsoft decided to skip 9 and go to Windows 10, it was a controversy of its own. This year, the Redmond-based software company caused widespread dissention with its forced Windows 10 upgrades. With upgrade notifications the size of an entire desktop screen, Microsoft faced the wrath of its customers, who didnt appreciate this overwhelming push to switch over to the latest OS. The company even force-installed the update on a womans PC, resulting in a lawsuit and an eventual $10,000 settlement. The company mended matters by making it easier to decline Windows 10 updates and that was the end of this controversy. The Google EU antitrust case Google was, and continues to be, in a long drawn battle with the European Union and its antitrust charges. EU had previously accused the search giant of unfairly promoting its shopping services, and intentionally blocking out rival online search ad services. Now, 6 years from the time it was accused, Google has finally responded to the allegations, formally denying any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the EU has been building its case with more evidence. In a recent blogpost, Googles General Counsel wrote, "We never compromised the quality or relevance of the information we displayed. On the contrary, we improved it. That isn't 'favoring' - that's listening to our customers." It will be interesting to see how this plays out in 2017. The 251 rupee mistake Its what you made, when you booked the Rs. 251 ($3.7) smartphone, Freedom 251. No one could fathom how cheap this phone was, and that it was made by an Indian company, was all the more scintillating. So much so, that the price of the smartphone seemed too good to be true and resulted in an investigation from the Indian Department of Electronics & Information Technology. Somehow, Ringing Bells, the company behind the phone, managed to scrape through the controversy and even announced a second product, the Freedom TV. A fresh rumour of the company shutting shop also surfaced recently, but for now, Ringing Bells has denied any such plans. The Reliance Jio effect This year, Reliance Jio, the firebrand telecom entrant in India announced free unlimited voice calls for life along with free 1GB data per day. The deal crazy Indian lined up outside Jio stores, resorting to bribing and blackmailing, just to get that coveted SIM card. Giving incumbent telecom operators such as Airtel, Idea, Vodafone a run for their money, Jio fought a long drawn battle for fair competition, a war on mobile number portability and then some. Now, a few million call drops later, Jio continues its journey to the top thanks to a regulatory nod for its free-calling services and an extended free data offer. Will it be a Happy New Year for Jio? Lets wait and watch. The Security conundrum Lastly, 2016 proved to be a dark spot for cyber security. The year saw multiple large-scale hacks come to light. Q2 2016 saw a whopping 129% year-on-year increase in DDoS attacks and two of the biggest DDoS attacks in history happened this year, threatening the very foundation of the internet. Internet security and the security of Internet of Things devices is one of the biggest debates of 2016 and it surely doesnt show any signs of resolution just yet. Considering the way such attacks are frequenting, 2017 could see an all time high insecurity breaches. Social media site Facebook is taking its first concrete steps to combat the fake news phenomenon that has developed into a major issue in the United States and elsewhere since the presidential election. Various news headlines could be seen on Facebook, Twitter and other sites, which were blatantly falsified, potentially warping the opinion of readers on key issues. On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg's company revealed however that it would be collaborating with users and fact-checking organisations in order to flag hoax articles as soon as possible in order to minimise their influence. ABC News and The Associated Press are among the organisations which will assist in the fact-checking process. In a post on his personal Facebook page, Zuckerberg announced the changes were important as his company now takes on a greater responsibility in the news world. "While we don't write the news stories you read and share, we also recognize we're more than just a distributor of news," Zuckerberg wrote. "We're a new kind of platform for public discourse and that means we have a new kind of responsibility to enable people to have the most meaningful conversations, and to build a space where people can be informed." In the days following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election last month, Zuckerberg was quick to dismiss Facebook's role as a news distributor, but as the clamour surrounding fake articles becomes more significant, the company has had to adopt a different stance. "We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, so we're approaching this problem carefully," Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management, said in a another blog post. Beleaguered Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena was doing its level best on Friday to convince 40,000 retail investors of their rescue plan. The last-ditch bid for viability would see those investors convert their bonds into shares, with the bank warning them they could face bigger losses if they dont. Italys number three bank was facing a looming deadline of 31 December to raise 5bn in equity, without which it could be wound down - an event that could kick-start a much more painful banking crisis in the country. The Italian government had confirmed it would step in with cash to bail out the bank as a last resort, but that would see all investors - retail and institutional - sharing in the losses. Regulators at Consob had given the bank approval to extend the voluntary debt-to-equity offer to retail investors, who own junior debt totalling 2.1bn, from 16 to 21 December. Monte dei Paschi also warned investors that, should Rome truck in state cash, they may still be forced to convert their bonds but at worse conditions than those being offered now. Twenty states in the United States have filed lawsuits against a number of pharmaceutical companies over accusations of price fixing in the industry. Executives from Mayne Pharma, Mylan NV, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo Pharma, and Citron Pharma LLC are alleged to have propped up prices of generic versions of an antibiotic drug and a diabetes treatment drug. "Beginning as early as 2013, defendants Heritage, Mylan, and Mayne knowingly agreed to allocate and divide the market for the generic drug Doxy DR," the US Department of Justice said in a filing on Thursday. Shares in Mayne plunged as much as 24% on Friday as a result of the news that the Australian company was involved in the suits. The move is part of a wider attack on big pharma in the United States, with the practice of overcharging clients being heavily criticised by lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle in Washington. The charges were denied by both Myland Teva, while Heritage placed the blame in the direction of former executives, with the responsible parties having since left. "We believe that this is the tip of the iceberg," said the Attorney General of Connecticut George Jepsen, whose office is leading the case. "Price fixing in the generic industry is widespread and pervasive, and it involves many other drugs and a number of other companies." A Christmas market in Germany was the subject of an attempted bombing by a 12-year-old boy, German prosecutors said on Friday. It is reported that the attempted attack, as well as a previous incident involving the boy, was directed by Islamic State. Officials said that a first attack was attempted in the town of Ludwigshafen at the end of November, as a backpack with an explosive device was left in the town's popular market. The second device was placed near the city hall in the town on 5 December, before it was defused by specialists. The boy was born in the town and no proceedings were launched against him as he is under the German age of criminal responsibility. One of his parents is thought to be from Iraq. Focus magazine in Germany reported that security and judicial sources said the boy was "strongly radicalised" and apparently instructed by an unknown IS member. "A backpack included a glass container with a drilled hole, through which a wire was pulled. It was filled with explosive powder and prepared with nails," the magazine reported. Germany has been under alert from terrorist attacks since attacks were carried out in the country in July, with figures released indicating that 820 jihadis have left Germany for Syria and Iraq. European leaders held a meeting in Brussels on Thursday, after the departure of Theresa May , in order to formalise their plans for Brexit negotiations. The group of 27 leaders pledged that they would stick together during the process, which is expected to be initiated by the British government in March, despite a Supreme Court appeal gaining traction in recent weeks. May respected that EU leaders needed time to discuss their strategy ahead of the beginning of negotiations. "It's right that the other leaders prepare for those negotiations as we have been preparing," May said. The government has been at loggerheads with the bloc as many ministers have said that they will support bargaining for complete free market access, while that idea has been roundly rejected by European leaders. "Any agreement will have to be based on a balance of rights and obligations", they insisted, and British attempts to remain in the EU's single market will be rebuffed if it does not accept free immigration from the continent. Pressure is mounting on May's government as accusations rain down of divisions and a lack of realism in the Conservative government. Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Friday that access to the market via the World Trade Organisation would not be the most preferable option for the UK. "In my view, the WTO option would not be the most favoured outcome," Hammond said at an event in Seoul. "I hope that we would be able to agree with our European partners tariff-free access but on a reciprocal basis." A regulatory body has accused pharmaceutical Actavis UK of breaking competition law by hiking the price of a hormone replacement drug by 12,000% to the NHS. The Competition and Markets Authority provisionally ruled that Actavis hiked the price of 10mg hydrocortisone tablets by over 12,000% compared to its pharmaceutical peers before April 2008. By March this year, the price of a 10mg tablet soared from 70p in April 2008 to 88. The price of 20mg tablets also jumped by almost 9,500%. In total, rocketing hydrocortisone tablets cost the NHS about 70m in 2015, up from 522,000. Hydrocortisone treats people who do not produce enough steroid hormones such as those with Addisons disease. Andrew Groves, CMAs senior responsible officer, said: This is a lifesaving drug relied on by thousands of patients, which the NHS has no choice but to continue purchasing. We allege that the company has taken advantage of this situation and the removal of the drug from price regulation, leaving the NHS and ultimately the taxpayer footing the bill for the substantial price rises. He stressed that the CMAs findings are provisional and no conclusion should be drawn at this stage that there has in fact been any breach of competition law. He added: The CMA will carefully consider any representations of the parties under investigation before determining whether the law has been infringed. In August, Israels Teva Pharmaceutical Industries bought Actavis UK, in order to buy Actavis Generics from Allergan. It is currently trying to sell the company to Indias Intas Pharmaceuticals to comply with EU regulations. Teva said that competition from generic medicines saves the NHS 13.5bn per year, and Teva account for about 3.2bn of this saving. Although the pricing of the acquired Actavis product (Hydrocortisone) under investigation was never under Tevas effective control, Teva believes that intervention by the CMA in prices for generic medicines raises serious policy concerns regarding the roles of both the CMA and the Department of Health. On 7 December, the watchdog fined US drugmaker Pfizer a record 84.2m for increasing the price of an anti-epilepsy drug to the NHS, along with its distributor Flynn Pharma for 5.2m. Pfizer and Flynn hiked the price of phenytoin capsules by 2,600% from 2.83 to 67.50. In February, the CMA fined a number of pharmaceutical firms for a combined 45m for anti-competitive agreements in relation to the supply of anti-depressant drug paroxetine. Shares in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries were up 0.33% to 36.85 cents in pre-market trade. Monarch Airlines cautioned on Friday that its profit for the year is likely to be 35% lower due to a particularly tough trading environment. The company, which received a 165m lifeline from its majority shareholder Greybull Capital back in October that allowed it to retain its license to operate, said full-year earnings were set to drop to 48m in 2016 from 74m the year before. Still, Monarch sounded a more positive note about its outlook, saying it was well positioned to weather ongoing industry challenges and that new bookings for next summer were up 40% from the previous year. Chief executive Andrew Swaffield said: "The record investment in the business announced in October, enhanced marketing initiatives including our first TV advertising campaign in three years and continuing cost control means Monarch enters 2017 in a strong position." Defensive issues did best as yields on longer-term Gilts staged a partial retreat ahead of the weekend and after the previous session's sharp Fed-induced jump. Industrial Metals & Mining was again the top performer, with Big Oil not far behind after OPEC members, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, told customers they would cut supplies from January as part of the cartels deal to limit output. In parallel, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak told reporters that all Russian oil companies had acquiesced to a production cut. Goldman Sach's decision to boost its forecasts for the price of oil in 2017 probably also played a hand in the 2.3% bounce seen in Brent crude oil futures to $55.26. Pharma stock also found a bid as news that French drug giant Sanofi was in advanced talks to acquire Swiss biotech outfit Actelion helped sentiment across the sector. Tesco was the main drag in the Food and Drug space, while Micro Focus accounted for weakness in Software and Computer Services after analysts at UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and cut the price target to 2,350p from 2,420p, citing near-term risks. Top performing sectors so far today Industrial Metals & Mining 2,591.20 +2.10% Oil & Gas Producers 8,225.93 +1.32% Mobile Telecommunications 4,527.81 +1.02% Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,177.48 +0.93% Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 13,220.44 +0.82% Bottom performing sectors so far today Food & Drug Retailers 3,000.94 -1.48% Software & Computer Services 1,871.40 -1.19% Household Goods & Home Construction 15,537.90 -1.00% Mining 14,381.12 -0.65% Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,027.43 -0.64% Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. How J.T. Tuimoloau became Ohio State's next dominant defensive end A multifaceted skill set shaped by playing multiple sports and training with family set J.T. Tuimoloau to become Ohio State's next star defensive end. The Land Grant Universities, like the University of Nebraska are unique in that they have three purposes. We all know about a Universitys teaching and research purpose, but the third purpose is Extension. The Extension Division extends the research based information of the land grant system out to the people of all 50 states. In Nebraska there are 81 Extension Units serving the 93 counties. In short, Extension provides information and education to make the lives of Nebraskans better. The other unique aspect is that locally, we receive guidance from local citizens, selected by the County Board of Supervisors. This local Extension Board oversees office operation including making a local budget request, but more importantly, they provide input on programming. This year Milan Siefken and Mike Kaup, are the Board members that are finishing their service to Platte County citizens. They have been on the board for the past six years having served two terms each. They were regular attendees of meetings providing excellent advice and thought for Extension Programming in Platte County. If you see them, please thank them for their service. Mike Kaup even took on the unenviable task of being the Board Secretary which I appreciated a lot. Milan Siefen served on the building committee as we looked for a different office location. Starting in January, Shary Mueller and Glenda Steinsberger start terms. The Extension Staff is excited work with them and we thank them for volunteering to help guide the future programming of the office. The Extension Board meets on the second Tuesday of almost every month throughout the year. All citizens are invited to attend as it is a public meeting. If youd like more information about the details, please contact the office. For more information or assistance, please contact Allan Vyhnalek, Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Extension in Platte County. Phone: 402-563-4901 or e-mail AVYHNALEK2@unl.edu Subscriber content preview Q. Jurassic, Cretaceous, Pleistocene and now Holocene, which began some 12,000 years ago such epochs comprise a complex geologic time scale, characterizing how Earth evolved. But some scientists are beginning to wonder if the impact of humans on our planet calls for the naming of a new epoch the Anthropocene (anthropo meaning human). Why seriously consider it? A. Writing in Scientific American magazine, paleobiologist Jan Zalasiewicz describes a number of human geological signatures which will persist for eons. Since World War II we have extracted and purified enough aluminum to coat the entire U.S. in kitchen foil, with pure aluminum becoming part of modern sediment layers. Today the annual production of plastics is roughly equivalent to the total human body mass, and we've manufactured about a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of concrete for every square meter (about a square yard) of the earth's surface. Human-created smoke particles falling to the ground worldwide form a geologically lasting smoke signal. And astonishingly, humans shift more sediment than natural forces such as rivers and wind do. . . . 4G mobile phone coverage in the UK has been rated as being worse than that of Albania, Panama, Peru and Romania, with users able to connect less than half the time, a government infrastructure watchdog has found. The National Infrastructure Commission released a new report, which said the UK was being held back by poor mobile phone connectivity, as it called for an end to ''digital deserts'' in places that needed adequate signals such as rail routes, roads and city centres. Countries including the US and Japan already had data volumes four to five times higher than the UK, the report said. According to the commission, chaired by Andrew Adonis, the crossbench peer and former Labour minister, the government now needed to ensure that the next generation of 5G spectrum did not have the failures that dogged 4G coverage. ''Britain is 54th in the world for 4G coverage, and the typical user can only access 4G barely half the time,'' Adonis said. Adonis explained, ''Our 4G network is worse than Romania and Albania, Panama and Peru. Our roads and railways can feel like digital deserts and even our city centres are plagued by not spots where connectivity is impossible. ''That isn't just frustrating, it is increasingly holding British business back as more and more of our economy requires a connected workforce.'' Several countries that received UK aid also had better networks, including India and Indonesia, the National Infrastructure Commission found. It added that over 8,000 miles of the UK's A and B roads had no signal at all. In addition, the latest 4G signals needed to make full use of mobile internet services were available in only a fifth of homes outside Britain's major cities. In the report, the NIC said the market was failing consumers and called on ministers to stop the UK's further slide as the mobile industry moved on to super fast 5G technology the fifth generation of mobile internet networks. Adonis said that although the UK was "languishing in the digital slow lane", the rollout of 5G technology was an opportunity for the government to "start again". O Domhnaill resigns from Fianna Fail Donegal senator Brian O Domhnaill has resigned from the Fianna Fail parliamentary party and it is reported he has resigned from party in general. The senator was facing expulsion from the party in the new year following a damning report from the Standards in Public Office Commission. Following the publication of the report on Thursday, Senator O Domhnaill met with Fianna Fail chief whip Michael Moynihan and resigned the party whip. His case was then to be referred to the partys rules and procedures committee in the new year where the west Donegal senator faced being removed from the party, but RTE has reported that he has resigned from the party completely. A well-placed party source told the Donegal Democrat said that the intervention of the the rules and procedures committee would come because the behaviour of the senator as laid out in the report from the Standards Committee was conduct unbecoming of a member of the party. The Standards in Public Office Commission found that Senator Brian O Domhnaill contravened ethics legislation by submitting claims for travelling and subsistence expenses from Donegal County Council and Udaras na Gaeltachta. He was found to have made nine contraventions of ethics legislation relating to his attendance at events in Louth and Monaghan in 2006 when he was a member of Donegal County Council. He also made claims for attending meetings in Donegal for Udaras na Gaeltachta when he was supposed to be at events which he claimed for attendance at from the council. The claims for two events in Louth and one in Monaghan in March, April and May 2006 amounted to 1,792 from Donegal County Council and 160 from Udaras na Gaeltachta - a combined total of 1,952. The commission said it is not in a position to find that Senator O Domhnaill acted in good faith in relation to the contraventions. The report found that the senator believed that he was entitled to two subsistence payments and stated that he felt honestly that he was trying to serve the two purposes. Remember when Volvo announced it would join the V8 Supercars circus? The news came as a shock, partially is it was not what we expected from the Swedish marque, but also because it flew in the face of Volvo's corporate direction. The brand's vice president of powertrain engineering told Drive in 2013 months before the brand took to the V8 Supercar field it would only ever offer four-cylinder engines in the future, and that the new DriveE engine family will "turn V8 engines into dinosaurs". It was interesting timing, right as the brand's local arm threw its weight behind Australia's antiquated touring car category. Three years later, that dinosaur-crushing engine has arrived in the latest XC90 SUV, and Volvo pending a legal stoush with its partner team has raced in V8 Supercars for the last time. While the range-topping XC90 SUV was once powered by a sonorous Yamaha-tuned V8, the current generation peaks with a four-cylinder hybrid model that represents a more powerful and efficient choice. What you get The XC90 T8 Twin Engine sits at the top of Volvo's current range. Priced from $122,900 plus options and on-road costs, the plug-in hybrid XC90 T8 builds on cheaper models by blending a 2.0-litre petrol engine with electric augmentation that improves the performance, economy and range of Volvo's top model. The XC90 hybrid is now available in mid-range Inscription trim having only been available in top-spec R-Design spec for its first few months on sale. Standard kit for the Inscription includes a panoramic sunroof, Nappa leather upholstery and 20-inch wheels. Customers also get immaculate LED headlamps, three-zone climate control, a 12.3-inch digital driver display and 9-inch tablet-style central touchscreen, parking sensors and a reversing camera as part of an equipment list that, quite surprisingly, is missing a few luxury car essentials. Smart keys are paired with a powered tailgate as a $975 option, while Apple CarPlay connectivity costs $650, a digital radio is $500 and heated front seats are $650 we reckon that should all be standard on a flagship model priced well over $100,000. You even have to pay $50 for a bag to hold its charging cable. A traditional frontrunner for vehicle safety, Volvo gives you autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian detection systems, blind spot, rear collision and lane departure warning systems at no extra cost, but its IntelliSafe suite of extras including adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance and semi-autonomous Pilot Assist cost an extra $2600 across the range. Our test example was equipped with a $4000 driver support pack that includes Volvo's IntelliSafe systems as well as a 360-degree camera and head-up display unit a must for technophiles considering the brand's latest SUV. What's inside Regardless of what suspension is fitted to the car, there's a good chance that Volvo will sell plenty of XC90s to customers who haven't taken a test drive, such is the beauty of its design both inside and out. Finished in pearlescent white with diamond-cut alloy wheels, our test example cut a striking figure before you climb into a cabin home to soft-touch leather, blonde open-pore wood veneers and an illuminated crystal gear selector. It's a beautiful place to be, one that features excellent ergonomics and state-of-the-art tech including large digital driver displays that help free the cabin from clutter. The R-Design's front sport seats offer excellent ergonomic support, while Volvo's clever rear bench has pop-up booster seats for kids old enough to go without a child seat. It is clever stuff, and enough for the Volvo to rank among the best in the business for interior presentation, earning full points for its blend of thoughtfulness, execution and innovation. Under the bonnet You could say the same about the T8's engine. Plenty of people weren't sure about the brand's decision to only offer four-cylinder engines, dropping excellent five and six-cylinder inline motors as well as a range-topping V8 in favour of modular 2.0-litre architecture. I was one of them. A 2.0-litre engine shouldn't work well in a car this size, but it does thanks to the help of a turbocharger and supercharger that stuff plenty of air (and by extension, fuel) into the compact motor. This hybrid XC90 blends a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine that produces 235kW and 400Nm with a compact electric motor that contributes a further 65kW and 240Nm to the cause. Able to reach 100km/h in a spritely 5.6 seconds with a full battery charge, the XC90 offers brisk if not earth-shattering performance when accompanied by hybrid power that enables a top speed limited to 230km/h. Unsurprisingly for such a small engine, the combination can feel a little laggy or unresponsive at times, particularly when the hybrid's battery is depleted. Fully charged through a home power point, the XC90 offers a range of around 30 kilometres in a pure electric-only mode that doesn't engage the petrol engine. The machine returns an official fuel figure of 2.1L/100km when driven in an automatic hybrid mode that blends petrol and electric motoring, though buyers may struggle to match that in the real world. Driving the car for longer stints and occasionally in a hybrid performance setting that drained its battery, we returned closer to 8L/100km in less than ideal conditions for the model, which is still respectable for a 2.3-tonne SUV. The achievement doubles when you consider that the V8-powered flagship for the previous-generation XC90 used 13.3L/100km to produce 232kW and 440Nm, allowing it to reach 100km/h in 7.3 seconds. It's an impressive package, one that is relatively smooth and quiet, served well by an excellent eight-speed automatic transmission and clever all-wheel-drive system. How it drives There's no escaping the fact that this is a big car, weighing in 345 kilograms heavier than an equivalent petrol-powered XC90. It's not nearly as agile as German rivals such as the BMW X5 that represent more engaging options for enthusiast drivers. Feeling solid and well-planted in most circumstances, the XC90's driving behaviour reflects its character well, though the little petrol engine can feel quite strained at times something you could never say about the 3.0-litre, turbo-diesel V6 in Audi's outstanding Q7. I didn't get on well with the brake calibration of the hybrid XC90, which can be a little grabby as it tries to recuperate energy to top up its electric charge around town. The pedal feels a little over-assisted, responding to brisk brake applications with overly sharp retardation that requires a little more thought than most vehicles. It also feels a little brittle on the standard steel springs, making Volvo's $3760 optional air suspension another must-have for the XC90. The semi-autonomous systems fitted to our model were utterly brilliant on well-marked motorways or main roads such as Sydney's Southern Cross Drive, confidently staying within its lane and negotiating sweeping bends that do not require large amounts of steering input. Passengers unaccustomed to the latest semi-autonomous tech were amazed at the Volvo's ability to track along safely at highway speeds, only requiring a gentle brush of the steering wheel every 20 seconds or so to show the car you're not asleep behind the wheel. That said, its piloted-driving system was significantly less impressive on narrower suburban streets, where the SUV had a tendency to wander out of its lane, sometimes into the path of oncoming vehicles. While the technology is no doubt impressive, it's safe to say the fully self-driving car is a little further away than some people might expect. More impressive is the vehicle's queue assist system that can take over driving duties in grinding stop-start traffic. Using nearby vehicles as reference points, the XC90 will go, stop and steer itself in a manner that makes traffic jams much more relaxing than they ought to be. The downside is that you need the inner mastery of a monk to stop yourself reaching for your smartphone to get through emails, news or social media while the Volvo drives itself, as it's still illegal to use your handset while behind the wheel. Verdict Volvo has a fine flagship in its XC90, a beautifully presented technology leader that lights the way forward for the Swedish brand. While I love a V8 as much as the next petrolhead, the hybrid drivetrain in the T8 does an excellent job of offering V8-like performance with amazing efficiency that proves there is plenty of life in petrol yet, giving environmentally conscious buyers something to consider when choosing their next luxury SUV. Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription pricing and specifications Price: $120,900 plus on-road costs Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo and supercharged petrol, plus 65kW/240Nm electric motor Power: 235kW at 5700rpm, plus 65kW at 7000rpm Torque: 400Nm at 2200-4500rpm, plus 240Nm at 0-3000rpm Transmission: 8-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive Fuel use: 2.1L/100km Co-founded by two French expats, Maestrano is fast-becoming one of Australias great start-up success stories. Buoyed by its most lucrative capital raise to date, the cloud computing platform provider is chasing an audacious goal: an addressable market of 4 million SMEs worldwide by mid-2017. The brainchild of compatriots Stephane Ibos (CEO) and Arnaud Lachaume (CTO), Maestrano gathers leading business apps and consolidates them on a single, user-friendly platform. According to Ibos, while the USP is straightforward, the platform equips SMEs with business insights that have previously been hard to obtain or inaccessible. We bring the cloud to SMEs for real, he told Dynamic Business. Straight out of the box, SMEs can access a suite of purpose-built business solutions from the dashboard and they automatically share data (or talk to each other as most businesses would say) with built-in tuition and advanced business intelligence rounding out the experience. The platform saves SMEs time (no re-keying of data!) while providing them with a real-time, consolidated view of all aspects of their business. Maestrano isnt a light version of an enterprise offering either; rather, it was designed for SMEs and equips them with the sort of system large corporations have been paying millions of dollars for but at a fraction of the cost. We also empower our enterprise partners to go out to market rapidly with cloud platforms that help them better engage with their own SME clients. Being fully customisable, we integrate with our enterprise partners core systems. SMEs are falling behind on the cloud journey Launched in January 2014, Maestrano is described by Ibos as a marriage between his passion for business and strategy and Lachaumes passion for technology and engineering. The co-founders met at Telecom Paris one of the Grandes Ecoles of France in 2006, with Ibos moving Down Under shortly afterwards to work with Thales Australia, a primary contractor for the ADF. Remaining with the company for seven years, Ibos served in a variety of project management positions. In 2009, Lachaume relocated to Australia, where prior to a three-year stint with Macquarie Bank as an operations analyst he joined Thales Integration Business Unit, which was being overseen by Ibos. Working for a government contractor, Ibos and Lachaume came in contact with SMEs during the tendering process and witnessed, first-hand, the challenges they faced. We saw SMEs struggling not only with handling large or complex contracts, but also the daily management of their operations, resulting in the loss of significant, life-changing opportunities, Ibos said. While large corporations spend months and millions of dollars to get advanced, integrated systems, SMEs are falling behind on the cloud journey. Aside from being unfair, Arnaud and I knew this disparity was crippling businesses and, as a direct result, countries economies. We conceived the idea of an integrated platform of business applications to equip SMEs with the tools and systems that are increasingly important for success. It was always our intention to operate globally This idea, of course, became Maestrano. In the three years since launch, the company has grown from five staff in Surry Hills to a workforce of 40 employees plus 15 contractors, across six offices worldwide: two in the US, one in London, one in Dubai and one in Singapore with their headquarters in Sydneys CBD. Consequently, Maestrano has become, Ibos noted, a 24/7 operation: At any one point in time, our people are selling, developing and supporting customers. Crucially, the company boasts an enviable line up of enterprise partners including PwC, Injazat, Sage, Microsoft, Westcon and QuickBooks developer Intuit. Maestrano owes its rapid growth to a combination of factors, Ibos explained: Trust and strong support from our shareholders from day one has been absolutely essential, as has the commitment and work ethic of our team members everyone is incredibly smart and willing to go the extra mile at all times, not only to bring success to Maestrano but to our customers too. I should also point out that it was always our intention to create a global company we opened our first US office just six months after launching commercially and while this rapid geographical expansion came with some level of risk, it has helped facilitate subsequent growth spurts and expansion plans. Were on a journey from being great to life-changing To date, Maestrano has held three rounds of funding, each driven by a clear strategic objective. The proceeds from the initial round ($1m, December 2013) were used to build the core team, technology and offering prior to launch, while capital from the second ($2.4m, August 2014) was invested in expanding its global reach, including offices in the US, Dubai, Singapore and London. The most recent round, which closed in June, saw Maestrano raise a whopping $4 million, which is bankrolling a second wave of core products, with the aim being to accelerate the companys market penetration. Raising $7.4million in under three years is no small feat but Ibos doesnt lay claim to having the Recipe for the Perfect Pitch. Maestrano has resonated with investors due to our clear vision, he said. Ours is a continuing journey from offering SMEs a great experience to having a truly profound, life-changing impact on their businesses and our enterprise partners. Being frank with potential investors has also been crucial: weve never downplayed the challenges we face and we highlight when a plan is still a work in progress. Once we onboard investors, we strive to exceed their expectations in terms of what we deliver and our growth trajectory. Demonstrating that our leadership is reliable, serious and committed is of prime importance. At the end of the day, our investors deserve our utmost respect because we wouldnt be here without them. Australia is the best place to launch a start-up Despite Maestranos success in the investment stakes, Ibos is concerned by a funding gap in Australias start-up ecosystem. He explained, Raising seed funding is relatively easy compared with landing bigger investments around the $5m to $25m mark. Although a number of VCs have emerged in Australia, with a view to closing this gap, a lot still needs to be done to incentivise major investments in tech start-ups. Nevertheless, Ibos is adamant that Australia is the best place on Earth to launch a start-up. Not only is Australia the gateway to Asia, which is an amazingly vibrant market, it is a wonderful melting pot of cultures, meaning an entrepreneur can test an idea locally for a hint about how it will resonate globally, he said. Although the Australian start-up ecosystem is small, its populated by some truly creative, innovative people who are happy to lend a hand. Its no wonder that an increasing number of start-ups are being watched by American VCs theyre acutely aware of the great talent and ideas this country produces. Its an exciting place to be. Not withstanding Ibos deep admiration for the local start-up scene, his heritage begs the question: did the co-founders ever considered launching Maestrano in their native France? Weve always been a 100% Australian company but the idea of having a presence in France did cross our mind when we were looking to open a European office, Ibos said. It was quite a natural instinct for Arnaud and I to consider our motherland but the economic realities meant opening in the UK was the better strategic move. Still, were keeping an open mind when it comes to opportunities France isnt off the hook yet. The most exciting chapters of our story are yet to come Ibos said it has been forecast that around four million SMEs will be exposed, i.e. have access to, Maestranos technologies by July 2017. That said, the CEO isnt planning a mic drop just yet. For the time being, theres no other future for me other than Maestrano, he said. Although were proud of what we have achieved, were just getting started. While four million as an addressable market will be a huge milestone, for us, success is defined by millions more benefitting from our technologies. Were humbled by the journey ahead of us. Our storys still being written and Im certain the most exciting chapters are yet to come. Ibos identified two key cloud trends that SMEs stand to benefit from as the technology evolves: 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. Page Content The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is drafting an opinion on the "Action Plan on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030". The Rapporteur of the opinion, Adam Banaszak (PL/ECR), Member of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Assembly, together with his expert, Pawel Modrzynski, would be delighted to meet representatives of local and regional associations and other stakeholders for a consultation and an exchange of views on the relevant topics of this opinion. The consultation will take place on: 17 January 2017 between 11.00 and 12.30 At the premises of the European Committee of the Regions (Rue Belliard 99-101, B-1040 Brussels) Room JDE 70 The Rapporteur would be very keen to hear your views during the meeting. After a short introduction by the rapporteur, stakeholders will be invited to exchange views with the Rapporteur. To shape the debate, several questions have been listed: - What benefits would a more relevant EU involvement in disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies have for local and regional authorities? - What are the current challenges for LRA in setting up DRR strategies? - How could public-private partnerships in DRR look like? - Which additional data would be beneficial to LRAs for a better planning of DRR strategies? - Which role does the Sendai framework play for European cities and regions in planning their DRR strategies? In addition, if you have any position papers relevant to the subject, you are welcome to send them to us by e-mail using the addresses below. The meeting will be held in Polish and English with simultaneous interpretation, allowing you to speak in both languages. Please note that the Rapporteur's language is Polish. You can already register to participate in this debate to shape the Rapporteur's views. REGISTRATION HAS BEEN CLOSED For more information, please contact the NAT Commission secretariat at For more information, please contact the NAT Commission secretariat at nat@cor.europa.eu Please note that in order to reduce paper waste, the CoR will not provide paper copies of documents for the meeting. Council Leader Julian Bell says plan signals death-knell for emergency services Related Links Standing Room Only at Packed Hospitals Meeting ActonW3.com, ChiswickW4.com and EalingToday.co.uk Participate Comment on this story on the forum Ealing Council will be holding a public meeting next year in the ongoing battle over plans to 'downgrade' Ealing Hospital. Last week, the NHS published a 500million business case that sees blue-light ambulances, critical care and potentially all surgery removed from the hospital by 2022. The aim being to treat patients at or closer to home. A spokesperson for the North West Collaboration of Clinical Commissioning Groups (NWC CCGs said: "Our plan is to invest half a billion pounds into the healthcare system in north west London, with a significant amount going into Ealing hospital to ensure it delivers the care that is right for local people. "We expect the vast majority of services that are currently at Ealing to remain at the hospital with a local A&E." Ealing Council has been fervently opposed to hospital changes since they were first announced in June 2012. Under the NHS Shaping a Healthier Future programme Central Middlesex and Hammersmith hospitals A&Es have closed as has maternity and childrens A&E services at Ealing Hospital. There is widespread public opposition to the plans with numerous protests and marches across West London. Councillor Julian Bell, leader of Ealing Council said: Despite huge local opposition the NHS is hell bent on carrying out the biggest reconfiguration experiment in its history and using the people of Ealing as its guinea pigs. While we want investment in improved out-of-hospital and preventative care, we cannot support the closure of A&Es and the downgrading of Ealing and Charing Cross hospitals. This plan signals the death knell for emergency services in Ealing. It would leave our borough, which has a population the same size as Cardiff, without an A&E. This is not safe. To add insult to injury we have also learnt that the investment in the remaining site is being cut with the existing hospital getting a make do and mend refurbishment rather than the new hospital being promised. Councillor Hitesh Tailor, cabinet member for health and adult services, said: I would urge as many people as possible to attend our public meeting in February. The NHS belongs to all of us and we need to defend vital local health services - once they have gone they will be lost forever. Following the changes at Ealing the NHS would then do the same to Charing Cross Hospital helping it save 1.1billion over the next decade Last year Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham commissioned an independent inquiry led by Michael Mansfield QC that has provided a strong evidence base for why the proposals are wrong. Ealing Council has confirmed that it will hold a public meeting at Ealing Town Hall on Wednesday, 15 February 2017 at 7pm. Residents are invited to attend to find out more about what it means for local health services including those provided in hospitals as well as planned improvements to primary care. The council will then be responding to the NHS public consultation which is starting early in the new year. 15th December 2016 Stijn van Nieuwerburghs contribution to macroeconomics and finance Speech by Vitor Constancio, Vice-President of the ECB, at the ceremony marking the award of the German Bernacer Prize for Promoting Economic Research in Europe to Stijn van Nieuwerburgh, Madrid, 16 December 2016 I am delighted to be here today to celebrate with you the winner of the 2016 Bernacer Prize: Stijn van Nieuwerburgh, Professor of Finance at the New York University, Stern School of Business. Stijn is an outstanding scholar, researching at the interface between macroeconomics and finance, with a focus on the interdependencies between the real economy, asset pricing and the real estate market. His widely cited studies have been published in the leading international academic journals. Stijns intellectual endeavours have significantly broadened our understanding of various aspects of housing markets and financial stability, to name two examples. His research is of significant relevance to central bank policy. As I will show in a minute, some of Stijns innovative research has become a fundamental part of the newly established field of macroprudential policy. Macroprudential policy aims to safeguard the stability of the financial system as a whole by increasing its resilience and resisting the build-up of vulnerabilities that lead to systemic risk materialisation. Since the mid-1970s all episodes of banking crises in advanced economies, i.e., periods of systemic risk materialisation, were associated with housing busts that, of course, had costly implications for the macroeconomy.[1] These housing busts were preceded by protracted periods of systemic risk build-up inherent in ebullient house price cycles or even more broadly defined financial cycles underpinning the importance of monitoring joint cycles comprising credit and house prices.[2] Stijn van Nieuwerburghs research has helped to bring such issues to the fore. To put his contributions into context, note that these issues played no special role in macroeconomic models until the turn of the century. The Handbook of Macroeconomics, published in 1999, contained no references to housing.[3] It was not entirely absent from macroeconomic research but rather had a marginal role within the models. It wasnt until the housing boom in the first half of 2000 that housing became a focus of macroeconomic studies. Academics began to study the interaction of house prices and collateralised household borrowing with business cycles or monetary policy. They chose to explore how housing in its twin role as a consumption good and as a collateralisable asset influences asset pricing, portfolio and consumption-saving choices. But let me now give you some concrete examples of Stijn van Nieuwerburghs timely and significant research. Of the wide range of topics covered in his studies, I shall concentrate on housing markets and other sources of systemic risk, which are key inputs into macroprudential policy. Let me begin by referring to one of Stijns earliest research papers from 2005 on housing as a collateral good, published in the Journal of Finance. In this study, Stijn, together with Hanno Lustig, describes how housing can affect asset returns and may thus spread to other markets.[4] The authors explore the role of housing as a collateral asset in a model of limited commitment. When housing collateral is scarce, i.e., the ratio of housing wealth to human capital wealth is low, their model predicts that households are less keen to take on financial risks, and therefore demand a higher return for bearing these risks. Using US data, they show that a decrease in housing collateral is followed by higher future stock returns. Stijn and co-author thus highlight an important channel through which housing affects stock returns, namely through its role as a collateral asset. This result stresses the relevance of housing market surveillance because developments in these markets can have a broader impact on asset markets. With respect to the role of housing as a business cycle driver, a very significant piece of work is Stijns most recent research, forthcoming in the Journal of Political Economy and jointly written with Jack Favilukis and Sydney Ludvigson.[5] Stijn and co-authors study the impact of changes in housing collateral constraints as well as foreign capital inflows in a general equilibrium model. Housing provides utility to households but can be used as collateral in debt obligations. The authors find that financial market liberalisation, seen as an economy-wide relaxation of collateral constraints, such as lower down payments, can create a boom in house prices relative to housing fundamentals. This result has highly relevant policy implications. In fact, macroprudential policy aims to address excessive leverage through capital-based measures affecting banks balance sheets, but also through borrower-based measures, such as loan-to-value ratios, as suggested by Stijn and co-authors in this paper. They also highlight capital inflows that alongside lower collateral requirements have been one of the distinguishing features of the recent housing boom. With respect to the relative importance of inflows in explaining house price booms across countries, Stijn, together with Jack Favilukis, David Kohn and Sydney Ludvigson in a paper in 2013, empirically document that these played a rather small role in the US.[6] However, they stress that more research is needed on this issue and suggest that capital inflows may have played a more relevant role in the euro area. In fact, capital flowing from productive economies to relatively unproductive economies in combination with a relaxation of lending standards might have contributed to the house price booms in Ireland and Spain. From a policy perspective, this emphasises the need to take into account country specificities when addressing imbalances in housing markets. Credit standards, but also capital inflows, differ significantly across countries, as does, therefore, the optimal policy. Let me now turn to systemic risk more generally. Stijn, together with Bryan Kelly and Hanno Lustig, point to the issue that government guarantees may distort systemic risk indicators. In the American Economic Review this year, they show that pricing in US option markets implied that the price of insuring against a US financial sector stock market crash was low, relative to prices of insurance against individual banks stock price falls during the 2007-2009 financial crisis in the US.[7] Thus, a large amount of tail risk was actually missing from the cost of financial sector crash insurance during the crisis. In the presence of an implicit or explicit government guarantee, market crash insurance prices may even fall when the guarantee is more likely to be activated. Thus, a fall in crash insurance prices could be mistakenly interpreted as a reduced risk, exactly when systemic risk is rising. As anticipation of future government intervention is embedded in market prices, these do not reflect the true underlying tail risk thus leading to a mismeasurement of systemic risk, particularly for the methods that use market prices to build indicators of systemic risk. Stijn van Nieuwerburgh has made an important contribution to the widely debated topic of safe assets, following the massive fall in its supply in the aftermath of the crisis. The subsequent emergence of the euro area sovereign debt crisis led to government bonds in certain jurisdictions no longer being considered a safe asset. Stijn, along with Markus Brunnermeier and others propose a framework for a safe asset for the euro area. The proposal is to use a synthetic security build with sovereign debt of all countries and tranched, which, if created and accepted by the market, would provide a safer asset that banks could use to substitute sovereign debt of a particular country.[8] All the references I made illustrate how good research is the foundation of good policy. That is why the ECB dedicates significant resources to research, but also to its exchanges with academia. Last April, we held our first annual Macroprudential Policy and Research Conference which was, on this occasion, jointly organised with the IMF. In September, we also had our first annual Research Conference, which brings together senior researchers from a wide range of areas. Of course, there have been many other conferences and workshops held at the ECB since it was founded 18 years ago, but not on this scale. In addition to such events, which foster exchanges between distinguished scholars and the ECB, each year we give leading academics an opportunity to gain insights into the policymaking environment of the ECB through our Wim Duisenberg Research Fellowship Programme. For younger researchers we have established a Summer Research Graduate Programme enabling graduate scholars close to finishing their PhD to temporarily join our research department. Further, our Lamfalussy Fellowship encourages younger researchers to conduct high-quality research into the structure, integration and performance of the European financial system. But I hasten to add that the ECB, like the central banking community in general, relies for most of its research progress on brilliant scholars such as Stijn van Nieuwerburgh. I hope it has become evident from my remarks how timely and seminal Stijns intellectual pursuits have been. They mark significant contributions to the new field of macroprudential policy by emphasising the importance of housing markets and shedding light on its driving factors. From a policy perspective, Stijns research stresses the importance of borrower-based macroprudential measures and the role of capital inflows. This calls for proper co-ordination across European countries, which is embedded in European legislation. His academic work is notably relevant for the review of the EU macroprudential policy framework that is underway, carried out by the European Commission e.g. in what concerns the extension of the policy toolkit. On that note, I warmly congratulate you, Stijn, on winning the 2016 German Bernacer Prize for Promoting Economic Research in Europe. I am confident that you will make further important contributions in the years to come. The news yesterday that Bay City, MI charter school operator Dr. Steve Ingersoll had been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after being convicted on three counts of tax evasion and conspiracy should be sending shivers up Betsy DeVos spine today. Because while Dr. Ingersoll and Ms. DeVos may not know one another, the connections between them are numerous, significant, and absolutely chilling. As Ive written about previously, Dr. Ingersoll (hes an eye doctor, with no degrees in education), is the poster child for whats wrong with Michigans approach to regulation and oversight of the states charter schools Charter school proponents claim that charters offer options for parents who are disappointed in what their public schools provide, and this choice is about giving children better options. A recent story in the Detroit Free Press spins a soap opera style tale of nepotism, cronyism, crazy ideas about how children learn, bank fraud, and embezzlement. Michigans charter school industryand thats what it is, an industry; not an educational system, but rather a business model designed to steal public money and slip it into private bank accountsis wildly out of control, an unregulated Wild West playground for unscrupulous hucksters, quacks and charlatans who see our school system and our children as an untapped well-spring of profits. And the stream is flowing. Lets be clear: the charter school industry is not about kids, learning or choice. This unregulated explosion of charters is about money, and lots of it. This eye doctor funneled millions of taxpayer dollars into his private bank account. This was essentially a money laundering operation, not substantially different from how drug dealers set up a legitimate business, run it at a loss in order to turn dirty money into clean money, and then walk away when the heat gets too hot. [See: Breaking Bad.] Whats lost here is any discussion of Dr. Ingersolls innovative approach to learning, Integrated Visual Learning, which has to do with rapid eye movements. Heres a teachers account of IVL, and how it was used in Dr. Ingersolls school: His claims were/are at best a novelty in my opinion. If I recall correctly, students were initially given a screener to see how their eyes tracked on a page of text. This was done with a special machine and a pair of glasses hooked up to the machine. If their eyes didnt track from left to right (as in how a person reads a page of text) and from one line to the next in the correct zig zag pattern during reading, then they were considered to need therapy. Therapy was expensive and rarely covered by insurance. Whats missing here is any description of how children learn. How does this test help teachers adapt instruction? What happens when a childs eyes dont zig zag? Are they taught differently, or just not admitted to the school? Um, not so muchaccording to another teacher: There was NO room in the school specifically for IVL testing. There may have been equipment, but kids were never observed for vision. The IVL methods were taught to all kids, because Ingersoll made the staff do it; middle school and high school as well. Even the Special Education teachers had to teach it. which meant critical standards were not met. So while we dont know if Dr. Ingersoll knows anything about children, or learning, or schools, heres what we do know: 1. He stole our money. 2. He subjected our children to radical, untested teaching methods. 3. People like this should not be permitted to set foot in our schools, much less run them. To summarize, Dr. Ingersoll had no background in education, no experience as a teacher, and used the confluence of his position as a charter school advocate and operator, and Michigans near complete lack of charter school oversight, to embezzle millions of dollars of state tax revenues for his own personal gain. Dr. Ingersoll was entrusted to run a (nominally public) school in Northern Michigan, a responsibility he was utterly unqualified to be entrusted with, and abused that responsibility to subject children to radical, untested pedagogical strategies, while generating immense personal financial wealth in the process. What does any of this have to do with Betsy DeVos, one might wonder? Consider the following similarities between Dr. Ingersolls case and Ms. DeVos influence on Michigans education policy arena: How did Michigans charter school sector become so unregulated, and ripe for fraud and other financial hijinks? As it turns out, the DeVos family is almost entirely to blame for this disastrous situation: It became clear that Betsy and Dick DeVos were the major players in the negotiations to replace the Senate plan with a House version that carved out special protections for school choice and charter schools, even going so far as to freeze out a leading Republican senator and Detroits mayor from the deliberations: The role of donors and groups they fund has been so impactful in the ongoing Detroit Public Schools (DPS) debate that one lawmaker involved in the negotiations alleged this week that it was the only factor in a recent House vote. And some are even raising concerns about whos being given the chance to sway lawmakers on the matter. They note that the lead GOP senator on DPS and the mayor of Detroit requested but werent granted the opportunity to present to House Republicans in a closed-door caucus meeting. But the House GOP says that had to do with timing. According to campaign finance disclosures, six of the stakeholders trying to sway the future of education in Detroit and their relatives have given roughly $10 million over the last decade to sitting state lawmakers, their caucuses and their political parties. The contributions have touched just about everyone in the Legislature. The biggest donors have been members of the West Michigan-based DeVos family who are charter school proponents. Over the last 10 years, members of the family have given at least $6.1 million directly to the Michigan Republican Party, about $752,200 to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee and about $1.1 million to the House Republican Campaign Committee. And now, groups the DeVos family supports are urging lawmakers to safeguard charter schools and school choice in whatever DPS solution is reached. Its something House Republicans did when they voted on a package last week. Its crystal clear that had the DeVoses not been opposed to this, it would have had a different future, one source involved in the negotiations alleged. Like Dr. Ingersoll, Ms. DeVos is stunningly unqualified to be entrusted with a position managing public education, let alone as Secretary of Education. Neither Ingersoll or DeVos ever studied education. Neither has ever taught in a public school. Neither has ever studied public or education policy. Both of these persons have obtained their positions as education decision makers through using their personal power and wealth to influence the ways that schools in Michigan have been funded, managed, and operated. And, as a result, many children, families, and communities have suffered, and the publics trust in our educational institutions has been shaken. Dr. Ingersoll was charged with improperly accounting for millions of dollars in state tax revenues, and found guilty of failing to file tax returns between the years of 2012-15 (Ingersolls federal case focused on 2009, 2010 and 2011). With the building in foreclosure, the Madison Arts Campus of Bay City Academy was forced to close its doors, creating havoc for the schools students and their families as they scrambled to find new schools for their children to attend in the middle of the Fall semester. In what could be a parallel story line, the political action committee (PAC) founded by Ms. DeVos, All Children Matter, has been found to have violated Ohios campaign finance laws, and has refused to pay over $5.2 million in fines. As reported in Eclectablog, a coalition of Democratic US Senators have demanded that Ms. DeVos immediately pay these fines, which date back to 2008: The bipartisan Ohio Elections Commission unanimously found both the federal and Ohio All Children Matter PACs to have violated the states campaign finance laws and imposed fines of $5.2 million. An Ohio court subsequently upheld the fine and imposed additional late fees for failing to pay. Rather than pay the fines for violating the law, the All Children Matter PACs simply ceased operation and never paid the significant sum it owed to the state of Ohio. In addition to not paying her debts, Ms. DeVos also shares Dr. Ingersolls affection for closing schools. In her February 2016 editorial in the Detroit News, Ms. DeVos spoke with barely contained glee about the possibility of mass closings of Detroit Public Schools: Other potential reforms include improving early literacy; A-F letter grading that provides parents with meaningful information on school performance; aggressive intervention including closure of the states lowest performing traditional and charter schools This is not an educational policy position; it has nothing to do with children, teachers, schools, or learning. Its an opportunistic and immoral robber baron approach to businesssimilar to the vulture capitalism practiced by former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Bain Capital that left thousands of workers unemployed, and dozens of companies destroyed. Heres how it worked: (Romney) helped to create Bain Capital, a private equity firm that makes its money by buying functional US manufacturing and service firms and rendering them dysfunctional. Bain guts American companies, ripping out whatever parts are profitable and then tossing the workers aside. Bain forces cuts in wages, benefits and pensions. It outsources work. And it offshores productionharming American workers and communities and undermining American industries. This plan should sound frighteningly familiar, because its what Betsy DeVos has in store for Americas public schools: establish a false narrative that our public schools are failingthey are not. Graduation rates are at an all-time high, and the achievement gap is narrowing. render them dysfunctional gut the public schools, and convert what remains to privately-managed charters, while fabricating myths about dramatic school system turnarounds outsource the roles of classroom teachers by substituting technology (i.e., online and virtual schools) for teachers, and replacing experienced, qualified, and certified career teachers with unqualified, uncertified novices in our most under-resourced schools So, whats the takeaway here? If youre concerned about how Dr. Steve Ingersoll, a small town eye doctor with no experience in education, was somehow allowed to wreak so much havoc in one Northern Michigan community, you should be absolutely terrified about what Betsy DeVos, a well-connected West Michigan billionaire heiress and avowed critic of public education, could accomplish as our next Secretary of Education. Note: Thank you to Anita Senkowski for her helpful information and suggestions in the preparation of this post. 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Uruguay Sen. Carol Aviaga; Ignacio Zavaleta, Assembly of Territories Free of Fracking; Juliano Bueno de Araujo of 350.org; Argentina Congresswoman Alcira Argumedo; Nicole Oliveira of 350.org; and Juan Pablo Olsson of 350.org. COESUS / 350.org Latin America In a full room at the National Congress, the speakers were unanimous: There are no benefits that the fossil fuels industry can bring now or in the future. In the South of Argentina fracking has been polluting the water and the air, damaging the economy, harming peoples health and destroying the environment. Its wrecking a whole region and the only way to stop it starts by taking local action together. Victories against fracking are already coming from many places. In Brazil, for example, more than 200 cities have already prohibited fracking in their territories and the state of Parana has just placed a ban on this technique for the next 10 years. The conference in Argentina was the second event organized by the No Fracking Coalition Latin America, emphasizing the need and the will for alliance and collective actions throughout the continent. Participants expressed a shared regional concern for the preservation of the Guarani aquifer, exchanged experiences and vowed to unite forces across Latin America to prevent the expansion of hydraulic fracturing and foster a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy for all. Fracking tower in the midst of an apple orchard near the city of Allen, in the province of Neuquen. COESUS / 350.org Latin America There is still a lot more to do to make Argentina and Latin America fracking free, but the event showed that communities are organized, strong and keeping the pressure on this deadly industry. Fighting fracking is just one side of a major battle against the fossil fuel industry. During the last UN Climate Summit in Marrakech, more than 375 nongovernmental organizations delivered a letter to global leaders with an urgent yet simple new demand for climate action: no new fossil fuel development. With climate impacts hitting hard communities all over the world, and the recent announcement that 2016 is probably going to be the warmest year ever recorded and the potential carbon emissions from reserves in currently operating oil and gas fields alone, even with no coal, are enough to take the world beyond 1.5 C. Stopping mining, digging and investing in fossil fuels are fundamental steps to keep the planet from warming. Countries need to meet the promises they made to the whole world with the Paris climate agreementand that includes Argentina and Latin American countries. Following the conference, the coalition headed to Neuquen and Vaca Muerta, in the North of Patagonia, where the fracking industry is leaving its mark of great destruction. Fracking wells can be found right in the middle of natural reserves and fruit plantations. Fracking well by the Mari Menuco dam, in Argentinas Neuquen province. COESUS / 350.org Latin America In the words of the president of the fruit growers association in Allen, the apple and pear orchards of that region have become expendable, as the produce are no longer apt for export due to the contamination from the fracking wells that have been installed by their fields. If we want to keep the planet from warming 1.5 C there is no more room for fossil fuels in the energy mix. And we need to freeze any sort of fossil fuel investments if we want to prevent the devastating impacts of climate change. With an incoming presidential administration seemingly hostile towards action on climate change, local solutions are now more important than ever. With or without Donald Trumps help, the North Carolina municipality of Boone is calling on the whole stateand the United States at largeto encourage green jobs and transition to 100 percent clean energy across all energy sectors. Best piece yet on Trump's Interior pick, Zinke @EcoWatch https://t.co/Pj4JYW44g1 Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) December 16, 2016 The resolution was approved by a 5-0 vote by Boone Town Council on Thursday. This makes Boone the first town in the country to officially demand that the U.S. completely ditch fossil fuels to avoid climate catastrophe. The countrys total transition to clean energy is not as far-fetched as it seems. Boones resolution was inspired in part by the research of renewable energy expert Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, a Stanford University professor and cofounder of The Solutions Project, a state-by-state roadmap to convert the country to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. You might have heard of the project before. In fact, Jacobson stopped by David Lettermans late-night television show in 2013 to explain how the whole world, not just the U.S., can transition to renewables. Theres enough wind to power the entire world, for all purposes, around seven times over, Jacobson explained then. Solar, about 30 times over, in high-solar locations worldwide. Jacobson is an advisor for the North Carolina Climate Solutions Coalition which endorsed Boones resolution. Boone NC votes 5-0 to be first US town for 100% clean, renew energy ALL sectors @howarth_cornell @MichaelEMann @100isNow @ceasenews pic.twitter.com/N5pPtPpa4b Mark Z. Jacobson (@mzjacobson) December 16, 2016 This decision by Boone, North Carolina to commit to transitioning to 100 percent clean, renewable energy sets a great example for other towns and cities in the U.S. and around the world, Jacobson commented to EcoWatch. It is now established that such a transition is possible state by state and country by country. Last year, the Solutions Project team published a study explaining how each state in the country can replace fossil fuels by tapping into renewable resources available in each state such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and even small amounts of tidal and wave power. The authors found that converting the nations energy infrastructure into renewables is ideal because it helps fight climate change, saves lives by eliminating air pollution, creates jobs in the rapidly booming renewable energy sector and also stabilizes energy prices. North Carolinas roadmap to renewables. The Solutions Project The results of such a transition are the creation of more net long-term jobs than lost (2 million more if the U.S. converts), more stable energy prices (since wind and solar fuel costs are zero), lower overall energy costs, lower terrorism and grid blackout risk (because energy sources will be more decentralized), no more air pollution mortality from fossil fuels and a reduction in global warming, Jacobson explained. One reason Boone adopted its resolution is because North Carolina is a solar power all star. The Tar Heel state ranks third in the nation in installed solar capacity, with enough to power 260,000 homes. The states solar power industry employs some 6,000 people. In 2015, nearly $1.7 billion was invested on solar installations in the state. Not only that, the Atlantic coast state also has incredible offshore wind energy potential. Leading economists, policy experts, and business leaders conclude that transitioning to a clean energy economy available for all would create millions of green jobs nationally, improve our living standards, and boost economic growth in coming years, Boones resolution states. Boones resolution stresses that the states most disadvantaged populations are most affected by a warming planet, which is why action is needed. Low-income communities and communities of color in North Carolina and the United States are inordinately exposed to pollution, that causes serious health problems such as cancer and asthma, from fossil fuels, including the dirtiest coal-fired power plants which produce coal ash, are disproportionately located in communities of color, it reads. Unlike our president-elect and his top staff comprised of climate change deniers and fossil fuel puppets, Boones town council accepts that rising global average temperatures are primarily due to human-caused fossil fuels emissions and that 195 nations agreed during the Paris climate talks to hold global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius. Trump Taps Exxon's Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Confirms 'Support of Big Oil and Putin' https://t.co/OA47LMjMJ1 @OpenSecretsDC EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) December 13, 2016 Jacobson believes that the countrys transition to sustainable energy is possible but the main barriers are social and political rather than technical or economic. See North Carolinas storied solar wars, for example. Boone, however, as Jacobson said, has overcome many of the social and political barriers. Dr. Michael E. Mann, renowned climate scientist and fellow North Carolina Climate Solutions Coalition advisor, praised the towns vote. Daniel Boone was an early pioneer who explored our nations frontiers during its early history. So it seems fitting that a town named after him would serve as our next great American pioneer, boldly leading us into the frontier of a clean energy-driven economy, he told EcoWatch. Just when we really needed some good news in the climate change battle, I thank the people of Boone, North Carolina for providing some. By Adam Markham U.S. natural and cultural resourcesthe parks, landmarks and history of Americaare under assault from climate change. So it is troubling that Ryan Zinke, Donald Trumps pick to run the Department of the Interior (DOI), seems unsure whether climate change is a real problem or not. Just this week, in an interview with the LA Times Zinke said The climate is changing, I dont think you can deny that. But climate has always changed continuing that I dont think theres any question that man has had an influence but that what that influence is, exactly, is still under scrutiny. And in October 2014, Zinke said Its not a hoax, but its not proven science either https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/809159835698786304 for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. Congressman Zinke has the opportunity to further this vision in the service of us all, but to do so he must acknowledge the role of climate change and most of all, listen to the hundreds of dedicated scientists on the staff of the Department of Interior. In the past, Zinke has likened energy policy in a potentially changing climate to Russian roulette: If were playing Russian roulette you have a one in six chance of that chamber being loaded with a bullet and you spin it, and youve got to put it to your head, and squeeze the trigger. So even if theres a one in six chance even if its a chance of global warming and its a catastrophe, then I think you need to be prudent. The scientists whose work he will be overseeing at DOI can tell him, however, that theres more than just one bullet in the gun. Maybe its already fully loaded. The school year is coming to a close with federal, state and territory education ministers attending a COAG meeting to discuss a new funding agreement. The COAG meeting, held in Melbourne today, will provide state and territory education ministers with the chance to review and provide feedback on Federal Education Minister Simon Birminghams new funding agreement. In addition to an announcement on greater transparency for university admissions and child care reforms, News Corp reported that the talk is expected to cover Senator Birminghams proposal that states agree to certain conditions, including testing of Year 1 students, minimum school leaver standards, and better teacher training, in exchange for Commonwealth money. It is anticipated that NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli will continue to push the Commonwealth to fully fund the six-year Gonski agreement he struck with the previous Labor Federal Government. News Corp reports that Minister Piccoli believes the Commonwealths proposals largely mirror what NSW is already doing and hell lobby other states to introduce minimum entry standards for people who want to be teachers. Northern Territory Minister Eva Lawler has stressed the importance of all jurisdictions having a say on how the new funding arrangements are implemented, and said that geographic and demographic differences must be taken into consideration. She particularly highlighted the higher proportion of disadvantaged students in the NT. A new deal is expected to be finalised with state and territory leaders at their next COAG meeting, likely in April next year. By RT , Dec . 16 , 2016 The DNC and Podesta emails published by WikiLeaks came from a disgusted whistleblower, not from hackers, the whistleblower sites associate Craig Murray said, as US intelligence veterans question Washingtons version, which blames a Russian cyberattack. Neither of [the leaks] came from the Russians, Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan who is now a close associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, told The Daily Mail in an interview published on Wednesday. Changes to Albert Road plans after objections The site used to be home to Albert Road School. A further application to build a multi-purpose development on the site of the former Albert Road Primary School in Ramsey has been submitted. The plans have been altered following an objection from the town's Chamber of Commerce, which raised concerns over the addition of retail space. The organisation believed adding more shops to the area would harm those already operating in Ramsey. A local resident also submitted a letter of objection about the development, including concerns over the retail units. As a result, the application now includes units for commercial use rather than retail, meaning a variety of businesses, such as restaurants, could use the space. The plans also include space for a coffee shop, town houses and offices. The site has been used as a car park since the school closed in 2008. In July 2016, when the national media was gazing into the Dalit upsurge in Una taluk of Gir Somnath district, Gujarat, another relatively under-reported incident of Dalit assertion occurred in a colony called Babu Tola in Paroo block in Muzaffarpur district, Bihar. Two Dalit youths, Rajiv Paswan and Munna Paswan, allegedly attempted to steal a motorbike of a local Bhumihar. The two Paswans were thrashed by a mob and a member of the mob urinated into the mouth of one of the Paswans. Rajiv Paswans mother, Sunita Devi, lodged a first information report with the Paroo police against 11 persons, including Mukesh Thakur, the husband of the village sarpanch. The police arrested two of the 11 accused, and confirmed the thrashing of the two Dalits, while the allegation of urination was said to have not been substantiated. Meanwhile, the opposition parties in Bihar made it a big issue, using it as a stick with which to beat Nitish Kumars ruling government. The Union Minister and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president, Ram Vilas Paswan, visited the family of the two Dalit youths and demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Maharashtra witnessed the states dominant community, the Marathas, who form a third of its population, marching silently for a number of demands in September. The ostensible trigger was the brutal rape and murder of a Maratha girl by a Dalit youth in a village called Kopardi.1 The size of the crowds and the intensity of feeling, however, suggest that it is much more than a reaction to a single ugly incident. This mass movement is an outpouring of a deeper pool of discontent. The marches are truly unprecedented. Judging by the numbers, they have found universal appeal across the Maratha community. The poor are marching side by side with the rich. What is especially noteworthy is that young women and men are in the vanguard and the netas (leaders) have been consigned to the back rows. In fact, some of the marchers have claimed that this is a protest of the deprived against the privileged. The whole set-up, including the exemplary discipline they have displayed, is completely uncharacteristic of mass movements in India. However, the demands of the movement remain somewhat unclear. Normally, a mass movement begins to further a specific cause, its demands articulated at the outset. The Marathas, on the other hand, began marching first, their demands being voiced almost as afterthoughts. The three demands raised so far are: stop the abuse of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 legislate reservations for Marathas; and raise minimum support prices (MSPs). It isnt just a question of principles or ethics in a sense its a matter of aesthetics I think that revolution is a work that should be constantly improved; in fact, it is work of art. Fidel Castro (in Fidel and Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto) This year, Constitution Day became the latest front in one of the most hotly debated constitutional battles in our historythe tussle between the judiciary and executive over judicial appointments. Using the rather odd metaphor of constitutional Lakshman Rekhas, signifying the separation of powers between the two branches, senior leaders on both sides spent the day insinuating that the other had overstepped its bounds by trying to control appointments (Choudhary 2016). As has become a familiar pattern, the entire exchange centred merely on this, and there was little discussion of the boundaries that matter most to common people, who should presumably be the centre of all constitutional debatesboundaries that bar access to both information and justice. Such an absence of people-centred measures marks most of the exchanges between the judiciary and executive in the last year, ever since the former struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which the latter had proposed to replace the judicial collegium in making appointments. In the ensuing deadlock over pending high court appointments and finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which sets out criteria for judicial appointments, Supreme Court judges have repeatedly blamed the centre for overburdening courts by delaying appointments. This is even though an alarming number of seats have remained vacant across courts for years before the NJAC casea failure for which the judiciary is equally responsible. The centre, for its part, has blamed the high courts for delaying the appointments process and the MoP, while helpfully clarifying that it is not playing any blame game (Indian Express 2016). The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) under Javeed Alams chairmanship undertook an ambitious project of surveying and exploring the state of research in political science in India from 2003 till 2009. It is a bold departure from earlier surveys of research. Achin Vanaik is the general editor of this four-volume set, which addresses the Indian state, democracy, political thought and Indias engagement with the world. Vanaik in his introduction to the project lays down its distinctiveness in three ways. First, this survey contextualises the literature; second, future research directions are indicated; and finally, the personal stamp of the reviewers in terms of their personal preferences and positions are put forth. Vanaik sums up the general thrust of research in political sciences as surveyed in all the four volumes as the search for an Indian distinctiveness (p xiii). Of course, he qualifies this by stating that the Indian is not always to be seen as a mere synonym for the national. The other feature following from this search is the theoretical and conceptual breaks and innovations to produce a theory, which is also distinctively Indian. A critical engagement with Western categories has emerged out of this search, especially under the influence of post-positivist approaches. Lets be honest. Scientists, media commentators, and clergy are fooling themselves when they reassure you its a perfectly plausible view that God used evolution to create life. At the back of their mind, they must know theyre fooling themselves. Of course, one could develop a guided form of evolution that would be compatible with theism, but the mainstream evolutionary theory adopted by Darwinian biologists today specifically excludes that option. The arch-Darwinists see this clearly. The other day a prominent atheist biologist, Larry Moran of the University of Toronto, went over to the website of a Darwin-apologetics group, the National Center for Science Education, to chastise an NCSE spokesperson for implying a compatibility between faith and evolution. He asked, Really? You think its scientific to believe that theres something behind evolution even though theres no evidence to support, or even suggest, such a claim? And again, incredulously, Is it the official position of NCSE that science and religion are compatible? As far Im aware, he received no answer. Because there is none. Obviously there can be nobody, no intelligent being, behind a randomly driven material process that bears no evidence or indication of guidance or purpose. To think otherwise requires a powerful will deceive to yourself. A wide segment of the population is not deceived. That is why, as our colleague John West demonstrated with empirical rigor in the recent study Darwins Corrosive Idea, Darwinian theory has worked so effectively as a universal acid on traditional ideas about God and about mans place in the cosmos. (Download it here.) Compare just these two findings, reported in a survey we commissioned in 2016. On one hand: Nearly 7 in 10 atheists and more than 4 in 10 agnostics say that for them personally, unguided chemical evolution and Darwins mutation/natural selection mechanism have made the existence of God less likely. On the other: By contrast, 6 in 10 theists and more than 2 in 10 agnostics say the existence in nature of many things that are exquisitely designed and highly complex has made the existence of God more likely for them personally. On the question of Darwin versus design, a great deal hangs in the balance ultimate questions about our lives, their value and meaningfulness. Thats why today, I am asking you to support the work of Discovery Institute. Intelligent design is not a program of apologetics. ID is, instead, a no-holds-barred search for the truth about lifes origins. Thats why its so powerful, and so feared. However, the scientific results it returns are crucial to any convincing, objective account of man as a creature of God. At Evolution News, where Im privileged to serve as editor, our contributors dont write much about theology (unlike, interestingly, some of our atheist interlocutors). Instead, our scientists and scholars Stephen Meyer, Douglas Axe, Ann Gauger, Paul Nelson, Jonathan Wells, John West, along with other writers for this daily news source stick to the science. Everyone understands, however, whether youre an evolutionist or an intelligent design advocate, what follows from a dispiriting conclusion that life was not designed. Please take a moment now to consider your year-end giving and hit the red button above. We deeply appreciate your gift of any amount. First of all, obviously, because you allow us to advance our work of publishing and research, to reach the world, an ever-expanding audience that needs to know the truth about science that is otherwise being withheld from them: that biology and cosmology support the case for intelligent design. That work does not happen for free. But theres another reason we need every token of your support that is to keep us going in a world that is so hostile. Atheism, materialism, Darwinism call it what you will is a powerful force in our culture. Its an angry god, and thanks to the media, social and otherwise, we feel its wrath daily. Often in very personal ways, the attacks rain down on Discovery Institute. Your gift tells us that we have another friend out there, who supports our work, joins with it, and understands whats at stake. Thank you, my friend! Writing in the London Guardian, University of Warwick sociologist Steve Fuller takes note of last weeks Royal Society meeting and its exclusion of intelligent-design advocates: The Royal Society and British Academy recently held a high-profile interdisciplinary conference on New Trends in Evolutionary Biology. Officially, the event was open to the widest possible range of criticisms of the Neo-Darwinian synthesis. Yet the invitation did not extend to proponents of intelligent design theory who have publicized most of the same criticisms of the synthesis. It would seem that the paradigm shift demanded by advocates of intelligent design would have been a step too far. As Paul Nelson and I wrote the other day over at CNSNews, the conference confirmed what ID scholars (Stephen Meyer and others) have said for years: that biology is riven with debate over evolution, something that Darwins cheerleaders deny and paper over so the public wont notice. Fuller brings out another point, the irony that even as the meeting sought to air differences on Darwinism, albeit in a safe space hidden from prying eyes, it also silenced ID theorists who echo many of the criticisms of the orthodox synthesis advanced by participants in the conference. Fullers theme is what he calls post-truth (Science has always been a bit post-truth). He refers to the Kuhnian idea that scientific revolutions are sociological phenomena as much as, or more than, they are scientific ones: What makes Kuhns account of science post-truth is that truth is no longer the arbiter of legitimate power but rather the mask of legitimacy that is worn by everyone in pursuit of power. Truth is just one more albeit perhaps the most important resource in a power game without end. In this respect, science differs from politics only in that the masks of its players rarely drop. The explanation for what happens behind the masks lies in the work of the Italian political economist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), devotee of Machiavelli, admired by Mussolini and one of sociologys forgotten founders. Kuhn spent his formative years at Harvard in the late 1930s when the local kingmaker, biochemist Lawrence Henderson, not only taught the first history of science courses but also convened an interdisciplinary Pareto Circle to get the universitys rising stars acquainted with the person he regarded as Marxs only true rival. For Pareto, what passes for social order is the result of the interplay of two sorts of elites, which he called, following Machiavelli, lions and foxes. The lions acquire legitimacy from tradition, which in science is based on expertise rather than lineage or custom. Yet, like these earlier forms of legitimacy, expertise derives its authority from the cumulative weight of intergenerational experience. This is exactly what Kuhn meant by a paradigm in science a set of conventions by which knowledge builds in an orderly fashion to complete a certain world-view established by a founding figure say, Newton or Darwin. Each new piece of knowledge is anointed by a process of peer review. As in [Orwells] 1984, the lions normally dictate the historical narrative. But on the cutting room floor lies the activities of the other set of elites, the foxes. In todays politics of science, they are known by a variety of names, ranging from mavericks to social constructivists to pseudoscientists. Foxes are characterised by dissent and unrest, thriving in a world of openness and opportunity. The image of lions and foxes is spot on. The problem with the post-truth label, however, is that it seems to imply that neither lions nor foxes are really interested in finding out the truth, but rather in maintaining or obtaining power or prestige. But from the insight that science takes place against a largely unacknowledged backdrop of political striving, I dont think that necessarily follows. Lions have a strong personal stake in maintaining the status quo, but their tradition may nevertheless be a bearer of deep truth, or it may not; and they may sincerely care about that truth. By the same token, foxes have an interest in grabbing the limelight, but that doesnt mean they are mere cynical manipulators either. The sociological view, itself perhaps a shade too cynical in this instance, should be borne in mind. But it must not hide from view the possibility that a genuine quest for truth is going on before our eyes. Photo: James Shapiro, University of Chicago biologist, of Third Way fame. Im on Twitter. Follow me @d_klinghoffer. Thomas C. Oden, the distinguished United Methodist theologian and scholar, passed away December 8 at the age of 85. Oden is best known for his numerous theological works focusing on what he called paleo-orthodoxy. By that he meant a return to the teachings of classic Church thinkers such as Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great, and Thomas Aquinas. Oden saw clearly the cultural impact of naturalism, a philosophy that is, as he put it, morose in its intellectual foundation. In a recent interview with Southern Baptist theologian Albert Mohler, Oden identified Darwin along with Freud, Marx, Nietzsche as the key figures that everything else in modernity comes out of. So if those key figures are basically off-base, then the whole trajectory is off-base. Oden recognized that the off-base trajectory could lead to faulty thinking. That recognition was one reason he named advocacy of the theory of intelligent design, which rejects a presupposition of naturalism, as a movement that is becoming more and more plausible for more and more serious scientists. There is an irony here. This year the United Methodist Church denied Discovery Institutes application simply to have a table with information about ID at their General Conference, held this past April. For this, they earned our Censor of the Year award. As we noted, the move was due precisely to the kind of thinking, overawed by the prestige of naturalism, that Oden critiqued and challenged. Dr. Oden held the Henry Anson Buttz Chair of Theology at Drew University for 24 years, until his retirement in 2004, and remained as Professor Emeritus until his death. He also served on the Board of the Institute for Religion and Democracy, and was an Executive Editor at Christianity Today. Dr. Timothy George of the Beeson Divinity School in Alabama said of Oden that he was one of the most remarkable Christians of our time [who] has lived through, contributed to, and helped overthrow several revolutions. In his early career, Oden had accepted the premises of modernity and its naturalistic assumptions, and was following the course of the modern theologians, such as Rudolf Bultmann. But as he dug further into the writings of the early Church fathers, exploring what he later called African orthodoxy (arising in North Africa and only later imported to Europe), he began to realize that those assumptions were misguided and often led to conclusions twisted by political agendas rather than guided by priorities of accuracy and truth. These insights spurred Oden to challenge his own United Methodist denomination, as he saw the UMC following the same course he himself had rejected. Along with kindred spirits in the Church, he co-founded what became the Confessing Movement within the UMC. Among other things, the Confessing Movement was a clear call to the UMC to return to their orthodox roots in doctrine and theology. As a United Methodist myself, it seems to me that our Church would do well to heed Odens call. Photo: Barratts Chapel, Kent County, Delaware (1780), oldest Methodist Church in the U.S., by David Ames [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. colchar said: You asked the exact same question in the British section of the forum. Perhaps your friend should figure out where she wants to live. Sounds to me like she simply wants out of India and doesn't have any real desire to live in Canada. Click to expand... Oh Sorry! it didn't mean to sound like that but if she just wanted to be out of India then she would have applied in US, Australia and perhaps many any other countries.She showed me a desire to move to Canada which was her first option and kept UK as her second option, hence asked the same there as well to get any guidance from experienced people. I did not know that I am not allowed to ask like this. BTW she decided to make a move for her children's higher education.Thanks Kenya PCC Thanks. But I have already checked it. The issue is that do a PCC only for residents of Kenya and not for Visitors irrespective of their length of stay. By residents they mean a person who has a work permit or a dependent pass or student visa. If you are not a resident there is no way, they would do a PCC. I requested CID -Heaquarters in Kenya to give me in writing what they are suggesting and they refused to that as well. Moreover there website also does not work I tried to send a mail through their website and it did not go as well . I do not know what to do? Please guys help me! I do not want to lose the opportunity because of this rigidity of these guys The link EVHB sent you is from the government of Canada so the info there is right.You can check for your self because there are other things that will determine your eligibility age language ability,education, so you should do that yourself.by the way here is another link that might help you.www cic gc ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index aspuse dot instead of the spacesGood Luck ? This years event titledBaroque Pearls will feature the Houston Masterworks Chorus doing sections of Handels Messiah and Select Carols in a sing-along format.Johnstone, who teaches American Sign Language (ASL) through the non-profit organization, Be An Angel and some of her top students, will do the signing.This journey is four years in the making. Johnstone and Richard Tyler, a best selling author , entrepreneur and CEO of Richard Tyler International conceived of the ASL program, during a conversation over a cup of coffee at their local Starbucks, where they had met and become friends ten years earlier. Johnstone, a true Renaissance woman, is an accomplished entrepreneur, scientist, dancer and musician. Retired from her business career now, one of her many activities was teaching ASL, which she had studied and earned a degree in after she saw people signing and was struck by how the hand movements reminded her of dance, which she loved so much.Johnstone had decided to end her tenure where she had been teaching small groups of adults ASL and was not sure if she was going to pick up another class. Tyler then told Johnstone about Be An Angel Fund , a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children with multiple disabilities or profound deafness by providing equipment and services. Tyler had previously served as Chairman of the Board of the charity and is a current Advisory Board member. Be An Angel was founded in1986 in Houston, Texas after a concerned parent discovered the overwhelming requirements of special needs children and deaf children that were being taught along with Vanguard students at a special program at T.H. Rogers School . At the school to see her child, a Vanguard student, she saw a broken wheelchair in the hallway and asked about it. She was told the school didnt have the money to get it repaired. She wanted to help, and now over 30 years later, Be An Angel serves thousand of special needs and deaf children throughout Texas. Additionally, Be An Angel provides support to the House of Light Orphanage in the Dominican Republic, caring for more than 40 severe medically fragile children and supporting CAES School for the Deaf by providing hearing aids for over 75 children.Keep in mind that Be An Angels mission is to help deaf children, however after talking with Johnstone, Tyler reasoned that children would benefit if their parents, relatives and friends knew sign language and when those children grew up to be adults they would benefit if there were more people with which they could communicate. He and Johnstone decided to speak with Be An Angel Executive Director Marti Boone. She loved the idea, as did the Board of Directors.Be An Angels American Sign Language Program started with one 10 week ASL Beginner Course. Today, it consists of three separate courses, a beginner level, intermediate level and advanced level. Those wanting to take these classes do so for many reasons. Some, have deaf relatives or friends, some work with the public and want to be able to communicate with deaf individuals they encounter, some are losing their own hearing and others are simply interested in learning a beautiful language.It was initially thought that only a handful of people would join, perhaps eight or nine in that first course. That wasnt the case. As a matter of fact, the first course had so many people enroll that an assistant was needed to help Sheila work with the students. A maximum size class would generally be around twenty people. The first class had fifty students with a waiting list of over 200. When those students graduated some wanted to continue to learn so Sheila agreed to teach an Intermediate Level ASL program. Again, when that course ended some still wanted to continue, so Sheila decided to teach an Advanced Level course. In fact, the entire program is such a success that the Houston Chronicle has run four separate articles touting its community impact and popularity.There is also a soon-to-be released short film by Excellence Edge Films on the ASL program titled The Power of Words. The short film showcases some of the ASL graduates as they attended a recently held reunion in the very same Starbucks where Tyler and Johnstone first discussed the idea for the program. In the film, Richard Tyler discusses the origin of the program, which he underwrites. Tyler and Johnstone talk about how beneficial its been, not only with helping the deaf community but also the importance of Paying It Forward. In the concept of Paying It Forward, when someone does something nice for you or you have been blessed in life in some way, look for a way to pay that gift forward to someone else. Both Tyler and Johnstone are big believers in Paying It Forward. Because Johnstone volunteers her time and Tyler and his company, Richard Tyler International underwrite the classes and the Hope and Healing Center graciously donate the classroom space, the courses are free to the public. That even includes the final exam dinner for the ASL Advanced students, where they must use only sign language to communicate with the entire group, as well as effectively communicate with individuals that dont know sign language at the restaurant.That idea of Paying It Forward has grown. Students are now becoming teachers and using their newfound skills to help people they come into contact with in their daily lives. Now other organizations are starting to reach out to the ASL program, wanting a piece of the magic it brings to the community. Thats where the idea for having ASL in the choir came into play for this years Christmas performance with the Houston Masterworks Chorus at the Catholic Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Everyones hoping the ASL Choir presence draws an even larger crowd to this popular annual event, bringing in not only the deaf community but also those interested in seeing an ASL Choir.A variety of songs will be sung, however the main event will be Silent Night. For this rendition, the choir will sing while Johnstones ASL Choir signs along. Then the music stops and the Houston Masterworks Chorus joins in signing, all 130 members, who were taught by Johnstone how to sign this Christmas carol for the performance. It is at this moment, with absolute silence in the cathedral, when everyone in the audience will feel the experience similar to that of a deaf person.Johnstone says its been spectacular working with the Houston Masterworks Chorus and the experience is one she will treasure.Its so nice to have a relationship with people where we both feel equally blessed by this. We feel blessed that theyve asked us and they feel blessed that were going to do it.The event takes place on Monday, December 19th at 7:00 pm at Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart located at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway at San Jacinto in downtown Houston. For more information or to buy tickets please visit www.HoustonMasterworks.org For more information on Be An Angels American Sign Language Program , please visit www.BeAnAngel.org If you would like to view the Excellence Edge Film on the ASL program and Paying It Forward titled The Power of Words when it is released please visit www.Richard-Tyler.com/our-contact-information and send this message;###Contact:Richard Tyler International, Inc.RichardTyler.com Friday, December 16, 2016 Funeral Directors: As we stand at the threshold of 2017, check out the feedback Im getting from the public during my presentations on funeral planning and end-of-life issues. Lets take a look into the crystal ball and ponder funeral trends the industry will face in the New Year. Climbing Cremation Rates When I ask my audiences about their burial versus cremation preferences, at least two-thirds of the people choose cremation. The national average cremation rate has now surpassed 50% and continues to climb. If you dont already offer cremation services, your business will be left behind. Find out what you need to do to offer cremation services in your area. Cost Concerns The top questions asked at my presentations are, Where can I get the cheapest cremation in town? and Why are funerals so expensive? Cost concerns have been and will continue to be very important to consumers. With 75% of adults avoiding pre-need funeral planning, sticker shock sets in when they see current funeral costs at-need. Many will react by looking for the least expensive option. What will they find when they ask you about your services and prices, and how will you draw them into a conversation? Price Lists Online You already know the rules: the Federal Trade Commissions Funeral Rule requires you to provide your General Price List upon request, either in person or on the phone. But people are shopping online. Is your price list available when and where people are looking for funeral services and prices? The website www.Parting.com started a free zip code-searchable database of price lists, comparing local provider prices for traditional funerals, cremation memorial services, and direct cremations. Parting.com offers funeral directors a no-risk marketing option of pay-for-performance leads. When the site sends you a paying customer, only then would you pay a fee. Home and DIY Funerals The baby boomers brought natural childbirth home from the hospital. With this Silver Tsunami generation approaching their own mortality, you may see a growing interest in home after-death care and Do-It-Yourself funerals. The National Home Funeral Alliance, www.HomeFuneralAlliance.org, empowers families to care for their own dead by providing educational opportunities and connections to resources that promote environmentally sound and culturally nurturing death practices. Find ways to work with your local home funeral advocates to support this movement and you may get business you might not otherwise. Green/Natural Burial Along with a rise in home funerals, baby boomers also have increased interest in green/natural burials. You know when Dignity Memorial opens a Green Burial Council (GBC) certified cemetery, as they did with Cedar Lawns Funeral Home and Memorial Park in Redmond, Washington, this is a trend to embrace. The corporation sees that demand for natural options is outpacing its expectations. Learn more about what it takes to incorporate green burial and funeral practices into your services and become GBC-certified at www.GreenBurialCouncil.org. You can find plenty of cutting edge green burial products at Passages International. Nones Continue to Grow According to the Pew Research Center, the number of religious nones, those Americans who do not identify with a religious group, continues to grow. While nationwide surveys in the 1970s and 80s found that fewer than one in ten U.S. adults said they had no religious affiliation, fully 23% now describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular. Non-religious families will not be satisfied with a rent-a-minister officiating at a loved ones memorial service. You need to know your local certified funeral celebrants who can make the event all about the person who died. A meaningful, memorable good goodbye that leaves religion out of the proceedings will make a positive impression on the friends and relatives of the families you serve. Find local celebrants through www.InSightBooks.com and www.CelebrantInstitute.org. Online Funeral Products With growth in home/DIY funerals, members of the general public will be looking to the internet to purchase caskets, urns, cremation jewelry and other funeral products. Keep apprised of online options and be prepared to educate families about the pros and cons of outside purchases. Costco.com offers metal and wood caskets and urns in the funeral section of their website, with everything under $3,000. Amazon.com offers affordable urns and cremation jewelry. Perhaps by 2018, those items will be delivered by drone! Gail Rubin, CT, is a death educator who works with organizations to connect with Baby Boomers concerned about end-of-life issues. She uses humor and funny films to teach about end-of-life topics. Gail is a Certified Funeral Celebrant, a pioneer of the Death Cafe movement in the United States, and an informed advocate for pre-need funeral planning. Shes the author three books, including her latest, KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die. Download a free 50-point Executor Checklist PDF at www.AGoodGoodbye.com I was under the impression that we all agreed that government officials should do everything to eliminate both the reality and the appearance of acting for financial gain before, during and after holding public office. Apparently, that was naive of me. President-elect Donald Trump last week delayed his news conference about how he will separate himself from his business, although he has signaled an intention to turn his business over to his children in January. Wall Street Journal columnist Holman Jenkins wrote recently that any president is always conflicted and therefore maybe we should cut Trump some slack with respect to his and his familys business interests. As Trump declines to fully separate himself from the family business, Why not widen our tolerance a bit? asks Jenkins. Why not allow that Americans have the right to pick a business owner as President? Lets see how their choice plays out. No, lets not. People who make public policy should not have a private financial stake in the outcome or even the appearance of a stake in the outcome of their decisions. Trump shifting the businesses to his children does not solve this problem. Even if Trump family members arent seeking to profit from government ties, both critics and favor-seekers will assume thats the case. That assumption itself undermines basic good government. I understand Trump supporters view his business success as a kind of protection against financial corruption. After all, he and his children dont need the money. Personally, I like the idea of a wealthy executive in office who therefore should be immune to financial temptation. But thats not the point. People will still assume that policy isnt made with the publics interest foremost in mind. His critics will assume everyones on the take. Allies and favor-seekers will attempt to gain an advantage however they can. Is that great hotel site with water views in Costa Rica worth $50 million? Maybe selling to the Trump children for just $40 million gets an important meeting set up. Revisiting Dodd-Frank banking regulation? Im happy to review those financing terms for you, Mr. Trump Jr. What real estate mogul anywhere in the world wouldnt want to cut them a good deal? What bank wouldnt offer preferential terms? The widespread idea that people get rich off public service is an insidious termite nest, eating at and hollowing out the foundations of a republic. Successful generals in the late Roman republic generated extraordinary, corrupting wealth through their public offices. Latin American governments and Vladimir Putins Russia offer past and current examples of the corrupt practices and cynicism it engenders about government. This is not a lets see how their choice plays out situation. We already know how it plays out. Jane Jacobs in Systems of Survival: A Dialogue on the Moral Foundations of Commerce and Politics argued that a completely different set of moral codes defines how people in government should act versus how people in private enterprise should act. The two moral codes are each valid, and each work independently and properly in parallel when contained within their own system. The blending of the two moral systems, however, leads to criminal outcomes and a breakdown of societal trust. I read this about 20 years ago and havent seen a better explanation since. Government workers including the police and military, political candidates, elected officials and government employees are expected to not seek profits, to be obedient and disciplined, adhere to tradition, respect hierarchy, be loyal, take vengeance, dispense largess, show fortitude and treasure honor, among other things. Those moral codes make me picture an impressive old county courthouse, commanding a bit of awe. In a government and public service context, these moral precepts work best. People in business such as executives at a trading firm or technology startup, or even a barista at a busy coffee shop are expected to not use physical force, to collaborate easily with strangers, be competitive, use initiative and enterprise, be open to inventiveness and novelty, be efficient and thrifty, seek profits and encourage workers to challenge superiors if something is wrong. Im picturing an open floor plan marketing company with comic book-colored walls, glass conference rooms and the smell of caffeine. In a business context, those moral values work best. The point is not which code of conduct is morally superior but rather that each code is consistent and appropriate for the job at hand. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. The problem, Jacobs explained, is when you mix the two moral codes. The mixing leads to monstrosities. The Mafia, for example, is a for-profit business enterprise that employs moral codes from the government side, such as loyalty, largesse, honor and vengeance. Government officeholders, on the other side, slip into corruption when they adopt for-profit values such as seeking profit, and encouraging inventiveness and enterprise. Private armies and mercenaries are a special kind of mixed moral-code monstrosity, as is anytime we see politicians engaging in clear pay-to-play practices. What is moral and good in one context is not moral and good in the other. By no means does one party have a cleaner history than the other on this. According to biographer Robert Caro, Lyndon B. Johnson built an ill-gotten fortune through pressuring businesses in Texas to advertise with radio stations nominally owned by Lady Bird Johnson while LBJ served in Congress and the Senate. Technically (technically!) they werent his, but come on entrepreneurial activity in this context is obviously wrong. Al Gore reportedly left the vice presidency in 2000 with a $1.7 million net worth, which then grew to an estimated $200 million by 2012 through media, technology and solar investments. I have a hard time believing his business partners solely valued him for his business acumen rather than his government experience. The $240 million in income reportedly earned by the Clintons in their post-White House careers also disgusts me. They mixed the separate moral codes of business and government in a monstrous way, and they unfortunately set the stage for Trump to blow off calls to fully separate himself from his familys businesses. The point should not be forget it, because both sides do this. The point is, we should not be OK with the mixing of profit and public service, nor even the appearance of it. People will assume its happening with Trumps family. We cant do what Jenkins suggests and normalize it, accept it and see how their choice plays out. Accepting this kind of moral monstrosity moves the republic much close to the Russian and Latin American model, and thats not a good thing. Michael Taylor is a former Goldman Sachs bond salesman and writes the finance blog Bankers-Anonymous.com. mtaylor@cedarcrestcapital.com @Michael_Taylor This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The city of Corpus Christis more than 320,000 residents cant drink tap water due to what officials called an chemical back-flow incident that zeroed in on tanks at an asphalt facility in the citys large refining complex the latest trouble for a community plagued by problems with its water system. Residents rushed to buy bottled water, schools and businesses closed; and state emergency management officials and grocery stores trucked water to the Gulf Coast city. Corpus Christi has had multiple boil-water notices in recent years, but these warnings were more dire and instructed residents to use bottled water for everything from bathing to laundry. While local businesses rushed to blame Valero Energy Corp., the refiner pointed the finger at Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc. A Corpus Christi attorney filed a lawsuit Thursday against both Ergon and Valeros Corpus Christi refinery mere hours after the city issued its warning. The contamination warning sent panic throughout the city as water disappeared from the shelves in Corpus Christi and surrounding communities in the Coastal Bend region. The city closed it senior centers, recreation centers, gymnasiums and pools. San Antonio-based Valero, the nations largest refiner, said the problem was a backflow issue from Ergon and not its refineries. Neither company responded to questions, and the exact relationship between them is unclear. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality records list them both as affiliated with the asphalt terminal at 6746 Up River Road. Valero has two plants at its Bill Greehey refineries complex in Corpus Christi. The plants have a combined capacity of 325,000 barrels per day and are located along the Corpus Christi Ship Channel. Jackson, Miss.-based Ergon has a location in Corpus Christi near Valeros West Plant refinery. Its on property owned by Valero Marketing and Supply Co., according to the Nueces County Appraisal District. While we have been named in lawsuits, we are not the source of the contamination in question. We continue to believe this is a localized backflow issue from Ergon in the area of Valeros asphalt terminal, spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said in an email, adding that the company is cooperating with regulators and providing truckloads of bottled water to residents. Valero is offering its resources to assist in isolating the issue and helping to confirm the Citys water supply is safe. Attorney Bob Hilliard filed suit against Ergon, the refineries and several Valero subsidiaries on behalf of local businesses, including Anthonys Aveda Concept Salon that had to close because of the lack of water. The plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages. The leak first came to light Wednesday when workers at a refinery noticed a sheen to the water coming from its faucets, said Deanna McQueen, a Corpus Christi city spokeswoman. Resident Leslie Green woke up around 7:30 a.m. Thursday to a phone full of messages and two boys, 14 and 11, celebrating that school was canceled. This is the third water crisis in a year here, Green said. Its disgraceful. It shouldnt be happening. She said she threw on her clothes and raced out to try to find water without much luck, stopping at every convenience or grocery store she passed. Green drove to Sams Club about 90 minutes before it opened, but she estimated the line of cars waiting for the store to open stretched about two miles. So she skipped it. Green and her sons loaded up on apple juice and Gatorade instead, and she finally found water at an H-E-B that had received a fresh shipment. Every aisle was jammed with people in line for water. There are cops all over making sure there are no riots because the water apocalypse is coming, Green said. It was actually very orderly. Theres confusion about exactly what chemicals were involved. The citys legislative delegation on Thursday said the aromatic chemical indoline and hydrochloric acid, a corrosive mineral acid, may have been released. The city initially identified Indulin AA-86, an emulsifying agent for asphalt, as the main hazard. Its an amber liquid considered hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and can cause eye and skin burns and severe respiratory tract irritation, according to its chemical Material Safety Data Sheet. Up to 24 gallons of the chemical may have entered the water supply beginning Wednesday, city officials said. City Councilman Michael Hunter told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that its unlikely the chemicals are concentrated enough to do harm, but officials are taking every precaution that we can. Texas officials are aggressively monitoring the situation, calling on state health, emergency management and industry regulators to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts office. The Texas Department of Emergency Management is coordinating shipments of water to Corpus Christi in the meantime. Governor Abbotts top priority is a transparent response and the safety of Corpus Christi residents, and our office will continue to provide any and all support to remedy this situation as quickly as possible, the statement said. Resident Lisa Olivares, who lives about five blocks from the Corpus Christi Bay, said she first learned not to drink the water from a local TV news report around 2 a.m. Thursday. Since then, residents have vented their frustrations with their city government on social media, and the city council planned an emergency meeting Thursday night. We cant bathe, we cant do dishes, we cant wash clothes, Olivares said. Our city is not telling us anything. H-E-B spokeswoman Dya Campos said the San Antonio-based supermarket chain has been shipping bottles and gallons of water on 18-wheeler trucks to its 10 stores in Corpus Christi since Wednesday night. The company is also bringing in water tankers from around the region to provide clean water for its store operations, Campos said. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Corpus Christi customers are limited to three cases of water per purchase, Campos said. By putting a limit on case purchases, we can make sure all customers have access to the water they need throughout the day, Campos said. An anonymous donor also provided 27,000 cases of bottled water to be distributed to residents. The Port of Corpus Christi said it was complying with the notice to discontinue the use of tap water and is in touch with customers, but it has other water sources available. Port Corpus Christi continues to notify customers who may be using the Port facilities of the ban and will continue to keep customers aware and updated on the situation as we know more, the port said in a statement Thursday afternoon. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which enforces federal clean water rules, said its begun sampling the water supply in Corpus Christi to determine the extent of the problem, spokeswoman Andrea Morrow said in an email. Its not the first time the city has had trouble with its water supply. The TCEQ ordered residents to boil water after low levels of chlorine disinfectant and chlorine were found in the supply in May and September 2015, respectively. The May notice lasted two weeks and officials at the time said it was largely a precautionary measure taken after nitrogen-rich runoff from rain flowed into the water system, resulting in low chlorine disinfectant levels in the water supply. Boil-water notices were issued last year because of elevated levels of E. coli and another for low chlorine levels, the Caller-Times previously reported. The notices mirrored two others that were issued in 2007. City crews have worked to reconfigure some water mains to ensure that water keeps circulating and to prevent bacteria growth. But an overarching concern is an old water system where more than half of 225 miles of cast-iron pipe needs to be upgraded. Many of the pipes were installed in the 1950s and when they decay theyre prone to collapse or to slow water flow, allowing bacteria to fester. Civic leaders have expressed concern that recurring water advisories and warnings could cause long-term harm to the areas vibrant tourism business. jhiller@express-news.net Twitter: @Jennifer_Hiller Staff Writers Brendan Gibbons and Madalyn Mendoza and the Associated Press contributed to this article. Suspended San Antonio lawyer Todd Prins turned himself to U.S. Marshals at a Houston courthouse Thursday, a day after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Prins, 50, was held in civil contempt Wednesday after he failed to appear for a U.S Bankruptcy Court hearing to explain why he didnt turn over $2.4 million in proceeds from an Oct. 4 foreclosure sale as ordered. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm directed U.S. Marshals on Wednesday to take Prins into custody; Deputy U.S. Marshal Alfredo Perez in Houston said Prins voluntarily surrendered Thursday. Prins declined to tell the court what he did with the money at an emergency hearing after he surrendered, citing his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, according to a person who attended the proceeding by phone. The matter continued into the evening. Prins represented himself during the hearing. Prins is facing a myriad of legal issues in San Antonio. His law license was suspended Friday after a disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Texas accused him in a court filing of fabricating court documents and forging judges signatures. Prins has shut down his law practice. He also is mired in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in San Antonio. Last week, a Bexar County Probate judge ordered Prins arrest after he failed to show for a contempt hearing. He didnt comply with an order to turn over about $360,000 that belonged to a deceased client. Meanwhile, Prins has retained San Antonio criminal-defense lawyer Don Flanary. In a phone interview, Flanary said Prins is under a pending criminal investigation and intends to meet with the FBI and the U.S. attorneys office soon to try to get some of his legal issues resolved. Prins has not been charged with wrongdoing. He got himself into a mess, and hes trying to take responsibility, Flanary said. Obviously, there is something troubling going on and we want to get to the bottom of it, he added when asked what led to the actions that have landed Prins in trouble. There will be an appropriate time to explain his behavior. Flanary said his client didnt intend to defy the courts order to turn over the money. Prins was supposed to wire $2.4 million to a bankruptcy trustee by Monday, but he said he wasnt able to do so because authorities seized his account, according to a filing with the court. Prins told the court that he skipped Wednesdays hearing because he couldnt afford to pay for the travel as a result of the seizure. That assertion had no merit because Prins has hired criminal lawyers, Bohm wrote in his order Wednesday. A lawyer for Prins former client informed the court that the FBI told him that there was $800,000 missing from the account because it only held $1.6 million. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Bohm wrote: Prins needs to explain what he has done with the $800,000. pdanner@express-news.net Twitter: @AlamoPD For weeks, Facebook has faced questions about its role in spreading fake news. The intense scrutiny has caused internal divisions at the social network and has pushed Mark Zuckerberg, the companys chief executive, to say he was trying to find ways to combat the problem. In the companys most concerted effort to combat fake news, Facebook said Thursday it had begun introducing a series of experiments to keep misinformation and false articles from being disseminated across its site. The maneuvers the company is trying include one that makes it easier for its 1.8 billion members to report fake news. Facebook is also creating partnerships with outside fact-checking organizations to help it more clearly indicate when articles are false, as well as changing some ad practices to choke off the economics of fake news purveyors. Facebook is in a tricky position with these tests. The company has long regarded itself as a neutral place where people can freely post, read and view content, and it has said it does not want to be an arbiter of truth. But as the social networks reach and influence has grown, it has had to confront questions about its moral obligations and ethical standards in what it presents. Its experiments on curtailing fake news show that Facebook recognizes it has a deepening responsibility for what is on its site. But Facebook also has to tread cautiously in making changes, as the company is wary of opening itself up to claims of censorship. We really value giving people a voice, but we also believe we need to take responsibility for the spread of fake news on our platform, said Adam Mosseri, a Facebook vice president who is in charge of its News Feed, the companys method of distributing information to its global audience. He said the changes which, if successful, may be available to a wide audience are the results of many months of internal discussion about how to handle false news articles shared on the network. How much Facebooks moves will make a dent in fake news is unclear. The issue is not confined to the social network, with a vast ecosystem of false news creators who thrive on online advertising and who can use other social media and search engines to propagate their work. Google, Twitter and message boards such as 4chan and Reddit have all been criticized for being part of that chain. Still, Facebook has taken the most heat on fake news. The company has been under that spotlight since Nov. 8, when Donald Trump was elected the 45th president. Trumps unexpected win almost immediately spurred people to focus on whether Facebook influenced the electorate, especially with the rise of hyperpartisan sites on the network and numerous examples of misinformation, such as a false article about Pope Francis endorsing Trump for president that had been shared nearly 1 million times across the site. Zuckerberg has said he did not believe Facebook influenced the election result, calling it a pretty crazy idea. In an interview, Mosseri said Facebook did not believe its News Feed directly caused people to vote for a particular candidate, given that the magnitude of fake news across Facebook is one fraction of a percent of the content across the network. Facebook has made changes before to the way its News Feed works. In August, the company announced changes to marginalize what it considered clickbait, the sensational headlines that rarely live up to their promise. This year, Facebook also prioritized content shared by friends and family, a move that shook some publishers that rely on the social network for much of their traffic. The company is also constantly fine-tuning its algorithms to serve what its users most want to see, an effort to keep its audience returning regularly. This time, Facebook is making it easier to flag content that may be fake. Users can report a post they dislike in their feed, but when Facebook asks for a reason, the site presents them with a list of limited or vague options, including the cryptic I dont think it should be on Facebook. In Facebooks new experiment, users will have a choice to flag the post as fake news and have the option to message the friend who originally shared the piece to let them know the article is false. If an article receives enough flags as fake, it can be directed to a coalition of groups that would perform fact-checking, including Snopes, PolitiFact and ABC News, among others. Those groups will check the article and can mark it as a disputed piece, a designation that will be seen on Facebook. Disputed articles will ultimately appear lower in the News Feed. If users still decide to share disputed articles, they will receive pop-ups reminding them that the accuracy of the piece is in question. Facebook said it was casting a wide net to add more partners to its fact-checking coalition and may move outside of the United States with the initiative if early experiments go well. The company is also part of the First Draft Coalition, an effort with other technology and media companies including Twitter, Google, the New York Times and CNN, to combat the spread of fake news online. In another change to how News Feed works, articles that many users read but do not share will be ranked lower on peoples feeds. Mosseri said a low ratio of sharing an article after it has been read could be perceived as a negative signal, one that might reflect that the article was misleading or of poor quality. Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot. Facebook was inevitably going to have to curate the platform much more carefully, and this seems like a reasonably transparent method of intervention, said Emily Bell, director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. But the fake cat is already out of the imaginary bag, Bell added. If they didnt try and do something about it, next time around it could have far worse consequences. Facebook also plans to impede the economics of spreading fake articles across the network. Fake news purveyors generally make money when people click on the false articles and are directed to third-party websites, the majority of which are filled with dozens of low-cost ads. Facebook will scan those third-party links and check for things such as whether the page is 85 percent advertising content a dead giveaway for spam sites or to see whether a link masquerades as a different site, such as a fake version of the New York Times. Articles disputed by the fact-checking coalition will not be eligible to be inserted into Facebook ads, a tactic viral spammers have used to spread fake news quickly and gain more clicks to their websites. Facebook said in these early experiments it would deal with only fake news content and did not plan to flag opinion posts or other content that cannot be easily classified. Satirical sites such as The Onion, which often jabs at political subjects through tongue-in-cheek humor, will not be affected by the changes. Facebook must take something else into consideration: its bottom line. Any action taken to reduce viral content, even if it is fake news, could hurt the companys top priority of keeping its users engaged on the platform. People spend an average of more than 50 minutes of their day on Facebook, and the company wants that number to grow. Mosseri said he did not believe the tests would hurt Facebook. He emphasized that fake news continued to be a small amount of the content on its network and that fighting it would not be at odds with Facebooks business. But even if it was, Mosseri said, its our responsibility to take it seriously. Its been a busy year, even when you disregard all the political sturm und drang and look only at the beer world. The biggest global story was the merger of two brewing giants, Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors. The ultimate driver of this deal was to position the fused company as a power in areas of the world where the beer market is still growing, chiefly Asia and Africa. Antitrust regulators in China, Europe and the U.S. forced a somewhat larger than expected divestiture of associated brands, but nonetheless, theyre still really, really, big. In Texas, the legal battle over the crowler, the aluminum can form of a growler, continues. The TABC advised retailers that sealing the lid on a crowler can constitute packaging beer, which they maintain is the exclusive privilege of a beer manufacturer. Austins Cuvee Coffee, which sells but does not brew beer, poked the TABC bear by deliberately disregarding the prohibition on selling crowlers in order to provoke a court case. Shortening a lot of legalese into one sentence, the judges ruling and a subsequent appellate decision went Cuvees way. Nonetheless, the TABC hasnt given up, and is attempting to file exceptions to the ruling. In 2017 well find out how much more taxpayer money they are going to waste on attempting to stifle innovation in the beer industry. This was also the year that some brewers decided that looks are highly overrated. Breweries in the northeast, who are not often mistaken for industry trendsetters, entered the burgeoning India Pale Ale market with the New England IPA. The prototypical beer in that style favors new hop strains that give tropical fruit-like flavors, unlike the resiny, grapefruit-like varieties used in West Coast IPAs. Thanks to their aggressive dry hopping and conscious disregard for clarifying techniques, the New England IPAs finish with a murky, amber appearance. The flavors are good, even though theyre not very attractive in a glass. Maybe porcelain mugs will make a comeback in 2017. There were plenty of new breweries that opened in the United States this year to keep the flow of new beer trends coming. As of Nov. 30, the U.S. brewery count topped 5,000 for the first time ever. The rate of increase has slowed somewhat, but in most markets, that is probably due to a lack of inspired and qualified brewers wanting to take the plunge rather than a saturation in the industry. A few of those new arrivals are local. Mad Pecker Brewing Co. has been long in coming, but this year finally came together as a beer producing entity, the first in the citys Great Northwest area. Weathered Souls recently opened in the U.S. 281 and Bitters area with an impressive brewing system. Theyve got their work cut out for them in 2017 as they look for customers to keep their brewery busy. This year also saw progress for other brewing operations here still ripening on the vine. Kunstler Brewing at last found a name and a location after several false starts. It plans to bring more German-inspired beers to our city next year. Just to our east in Adkins, Cactus Land Brewing popped into existence, and expects to open in about a month with a diverse assortment of beers including a blonde, a spiced saison, a vanilla porter and a barrel-aged imperial stout. Heres looking forward to 2017. Markus Haas is the beer writer for the Express-News. Reach him at mhaas@express-news.net. Parents who provide booze or a place to imbibe for underage drinkers have been put on notice: Beginning next year, theyll face steep fines for contributing to whats been deemed a threat to public safety. The City Council unanimously approved a social host ordinance Thursday, which gives San Antonio police officers the ability to issue civil citations to adults legally responsible for property where underage drinking has occurred. The ordinance received backing from several local and national organizations, including National Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the National Parent Teacher Association and the Circles of San Antonio Community Coalition. As it stands now, officers who are called to a house party may arrest people or issue criminal citations. Its difficult, officials said, to criminally charge parents or property owners because of a high burden of proof required by the justice system. Abigail Moore, the executive director of the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, told the council that while its easy to issue a minor-in-possession citation, its exceptionally difficult to penalize the adults who allowed the alcohol to be consumed. Bexar County court records show, she said, that in the past five years, an average of about 72 adults have been charged for providing alcohol to minors. About 30 percent, or 22 people, on average, face convictions and fines of about $175, she said. Meanwhile, between 2012 and 2015, police issued about 2,700 alcohol-related citations to minors. In those infrequent cases where parents were arrested, theres a need to collect evidence and build cases while working through the judicial system. But with the civil citation, the threshold is lower, Councilman Rey Saldana said. Police Chief William McManus told the council that the citation also gives officers an alternative to arrest people who knowingly promote underage drinking. The first violation is a fine of up to $300, while subsequent violations could be as much as $500. If adults rack up several violations in a six-month period, they would also be liable for the cost of providing public-safety services, such as fire, EMS and police services. Tom Marino, a parent and advocate of the ordinance, told the council that underage drinking can lead to a litany of problems, including several high-risk behaviors, from unwanted pregnancies to drug use and property damage. Im here because Im passionate about the safety of our youth, he said. Underage drinking is a Texas-size problem. Others echoed Marinos concerns. Several women also told the council that underage drinking has led to sexual assault and date rapes. One woman told a harrowing story of her own rape that had occurred at a house party. When the woman told the parents at the house that it had happened, she said, they pushed her away and refused to believe it had happened. Mayor Ivy Taylor said that her daughter has just become a teenager and that shes yet to begin having conversations with her about alcohol. But the discussion on the dais Thursday made her think she needs to start down that road, she said. Saldana, who was the driving force behind the push for the new ordinance, said it would impact every area in the city. While I hate to admit that this wont 100 percent eliminate underage drinking, he said, it will significantly curb the ability for them to get alcohol. Parents will think twice about purchasing booze for teens who want to party at their houses, he said. Councilman Roberto Trevino, meanwhile, said that ordinance would place liability where it belongs on the adults. The ordinance takes effect March 1. McManus recommended the delayed implementation date so that the city could conduct some outreach and ensure residents know of the new law. jbaugh@express-news.net Twitter: @jbaugh District 10 Councilman Mike Gallagher, a retired Air Force colonel, announced during Thursdays City Council session that he wont seek a second full term in office. Gallagher was appointed to the position in 2014, when then-Councilman Carlton Soules left his 2013-15 term early to run for Bexar County judge. Gallagher won his first election for a full term in 2015. In the last few weeks, I have carefully weighed this very difficult decision. While I deeply respect my civic duty and the responsibility I have to the community that elected me, I must acknowledge how much time with our families is sacrificed when serving on Council, he said. I have five more months left in office and promise the community that I will continue to work as tirelessly as I have in the previous years to protect our neighborhoods before I go. Gallagher has decried the demands placed on public officials, including issuing warnings that forcing public servants whether elected or appointed to disclose too much personal financial information will keep good people from seeking office. In his announcement, Gallagher said hes worked to create smart regulations that keep residents safe, like safe exchange zones where people conducting a person-to-person sale generated on the internet can finish the in-person transaction in a police department parking lot. Gallagher also supported the citys hands-free ordinance that bans use of handheld portable electronics while driving. The councilman said he plans to stay on as an active member of the citys Charter Review Commission even after hes out of office. That commission plays an important role in how the citys guiding document might be amended by voters. Most recently, it decided how giving salaries to council members might be presented to voters, who approved the measure in 2015. Noting the amount of time council members spend doing their job and the far greater demand placed on the mayor Gallagher told Mayor Ivy Taylor that shes his hero. Most of us end up spending seven days a week attending special events, ceremonies, neighborhood get-togethers and numerous community meetings, in addition to our regular City Council meetings, he said. Mayor Taylor, youre my hero in this regard. You go to two or three more times the events than the rest of us on council. I deeply admire your leadership, enthusiasm and perseverance in meeting all of these obligations. Gallagher and Councilman Joe Krier have been among Taylors close allies on the council. Earlier this month, Krier announced that he too would not be seeking re-election to his District 9 seat on the North Side. That brings the balance of open council seats in the May 6 election to four. Besides Districts 9 and 10, there will be open seats in Districts 6 and 8. Ray Lopez is serving his fourth and final term in the District 6 seat while District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg is passing on a re-election bid for his seat to instead run against Taylor for the mayor. Krier said that while the council would have an opportunity to get maudlin next May, he would do so Thursday. It has been an honor to sit next to my much younger colleague, Col. Gallagher. I have benefited from his counsel and wisdom on more items than I can frankly remember or count, Krier said. And I will point out that although he is my much younger colleague, he is the only guy on this dais who has danced with Nancy Reagan, met Frank Sinatra and served in the White House of the United States under one of my heroes, President Reagan As Ive said previously, I will deeply miss this council and I will especially miss Mike Gallagher as my seatmate and my colleague. jbaugh@express-news.net Twitter: @jbaugh This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A $200,000 settlement was approved by the City Council on Thursday in response to a lawsuit that sought compensation for a woman injured in an April 2015 accident involving Mayor Ivy Taylors city-owned vehicle. The San Antonio Police Department acknowledged that Officer Peter Mark Knutson, 44, was driving the Lincoln Navigator 6 mph over the 30-mph speed limit. But the departments investigation determined that it was the driver of the Chrysler Sebring convertible, Jahson Arneaud, 20, who ran a red light. Sharlene Lewis filed the lawsuit seeking compensation for injuries to her daughter, Tomekia Baldwin, 18, who was a passenger in the Sebring when it was struck at East Houston and North Hackberry streets, according to the City Council agenda and previous reports. Lewis lawsuit argued that it was Taylors driver who ran the red light. Investigators used video from a VIA Metropolitan Transit bus that was approaching the intersection to determine the traffic light cycle and concluded that Taylors driver had a green light when he entered the intersection. Calls to the familys attorney, Thomas J. Henry, were not returned Thursday evening. Henry said previously that Baldwin suffered brain damage and was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Henry was critical of the police investigation, saying police should have called in an independent investigator. The results of the accident investigation were then given to the Texas Department of Public Safety for an independent, third-party review, according to previous reports. It was noted in the city agenda that it was in the best interest of the city to settle the matter to avoid the uncertainties and risks associated with litigation in a case of disputed damages. A section on the fiscal effect reads that $200,000 will be paid to Lewis and her attorney, funded in accordance with the adopted fiscal year 2017 liability fund budget. According to the agenda, settlements over $50,000 require council approval. It was noted that both parties reached the mutual agreement to settle Lewis claim, which would be payable from the self-insurance liability fund. City officials confirmed that there was an approval with the plaintiff but said they could not comment on any further litigation, including whether the decision was an acceptance of responsibility for the accident. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA A group of lawmakers, including Texas senators, have asked the Bureau of Prisons to put the brakes on a contract for 3,600 beds in private detention facilities that could result in closures of prisons in Texas. Theyre asking the Obama administration to hold off on granting the contract, which at one time was slated for more than 10,000 beds in seven states, including Texas. That number was reduced drastically this year after the Justice Department announced it would begin phasing out its use of private prison operators. The contract, which could be shared by several companies, would have been a renewal of existing agreements to operate prisons for the bureau. The reduced contract could result in the closure of some facilities. The letter was hailed by private prison company GEO Group, which employs about 1,500 people in Texas through BOP contracts, but was criticized by an Austin-based advocacy group as the latest effort to delay the contract until President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The Dec. 9 letter, signed by Texas Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, reads the national election this November and the recent surge in illegal immigration across our southern border has placed a renewed focus on BOPs needs to provide for the housing of undocumented and criminal aliens. Given the upcoming change in administrations, we believe it would be premature for the current administration to move forward with (the contract). The BOPs 13 privately run facilities are mostly what are called Criminal Alien Requirement prisons that hold immigrants who have been convicted of a federal offense. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts with private prison companies to operate a separate group of detention centers to hold those accused of violating the countrys immigration laws. There are four such BOP facilities in Texas, all in the western part of the state, that hold more than 10,000 inmates, according to a Justice Department Office of the Inspector General report released this year that was critical of the bureaus privately run prisons. Pablo Paez, a spokesman for GEO, which operates the largest of the Texas centers in Pecos and Big Spring, said that the decision to reduce the number of private prison beds was made by higher-ups at the Justice Department, not the Bureau of Prisons. He said the company supports Cornyns and the other lawmakers call to delay the contract. The bureau clearly believes it needs 10,800 beds and would have kept that amount were it not for the Justice Department's ideological decision that misunderstood the facts," Paez said. Criminal Alien Requirement facilities have for years garnered criticism from groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union that have said that they hold prisoners in subpar conditions. Last year, Management Training Corp. shuttered a prison it operated in Willacy County after inmates there rioted. The BOP said it couldnt comment on the contracting process because its being contested. GEO filed a protest last month, and the contract is on hold until thats resolved. Bob Libal, the executive director of the Austin-based advocacy group Grassroots Leadership, which has opposed private prisons, said the company is likely to lose its challenge. He wondered if the letter and the protest by GEO are part of a stalling technique in hopes that a Trump administration will award larger contracts. The Justice Departments decision to phase out private prisons was based not just on the problems identified but a declining inmate population, Libal said. Theyre trying to thwart the common-sense move that, if you dont need prison beds, you dont sign contracts with substandard prisons to continue to operate them, he said. jbuch@express-news.net Twitter: @jlbuch This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate San Antonios regional tolling agency is proposing to add toll lanes to the heavily congested section of Loop 1604 on the far North Side, from Bandera Road to Interstate 35. This would be the first toll project built in the city. The 22.8-mile project, still in the early stages of conception, could cost $882.2 million and would be built in two phases, according to plans reviewed Thursday by the Alamo Regional Mobility Authority. The first phase, from Bandera Road to Redland Road, including connectors to Interstate 10, would open in 2023. The second phase extends from Redland to I-35, including connectors to I-35, which is the focus of a separate expansion project. It would be ready in 2030. Two toll lanes would be added in each direction on 1604, for a total of four new lanes that would be tolled. The existing four lanes would remain free, as would the access roads. All were trying to do at this point is provide enough capacity so that the road is functional in 30 years, said Bexar County Director of Public Works Renee Green, whos operations manager for the mobility authority. An average of 144,300 vehicles travel this section of Loop 1604 every day, according to Greens presentation Thursday. But the corridor was built to handle 90,400 vehicles and already is 60 percent over capacity. Without expansion, the road will be 168 percent over capacity by 2045, with 242,400 vehicles driving on it each day, Green said. The toll fees have not yet been determined, but the financial proposal discussed Thursday assumed a market rate of 18 cents per mile for the toll lanes. The mobility authoritys board eventually would set the rate. Unlike most highway projects, which are operated and managed by TxDOT, the Alamo RMA would manage and run the 1604 toll lane project. The tolling agency would be responsible for these lanes operation and maintenance over time. You are talking about a very complex project, Green said. Not only do we have the construction of the road itself but basically, we have to create the toll operation. So thats going to take a little time. The connectors between I-10 and Loop 1604 currently are slated to be tolled but that could change, depending on a future Texas Department of Transportation analysis, she said. Officials with the mobility authority and Bexar County emphasized the financial, design and timeline details of the entire project could change as they do a more in-depth construction and financial study. How to pay for the project still is to be determined, but officials are looking at a combination of options, including toll revenue bonds, public subsidies and federal loans. The agency already has in hand $71.8 million in federal dollars to fund the toll lanes. Part of the money likely would come from TxDOT. To that end, the Alamo RMA board voted 6 to 1 Thursday in favor of a resolution to ask TxDOT for $65.3 million every year for five years beginning in fiscal 2019 to help fund the project. Board member Lou Miller cast the sole dissenting vote. The financial plan I heard presented is not viable, Miller said after the board meeting. There were just too many voodoo economics involved with it, to quote an old phrase. He said the plans assumed funding could be secured from multiple sources. Even in our financial advisers presentation, they were letting us know this is all hypothetical, Miller said. He also noted that Texas voters approved two propositions, one in 2014 and another last year, to increase funding for highways without raising taxes. So why are we now coming back and saying, OK, lets toll? he said. Miller said he would rather strongly encourage people to get on light rail instead of continuing to build more lanes. The resolution approved Thursday goes to the regions transportation planning body, the Alamo Metropolitan Planning Organization, in January. It is slated to go before the Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOTs governing body, in February. Although the San Antonio region received funding from the two statewide transportation propositions, its still not enough money to cover all of the transportation needs in the area, TxDOT San Antonio District Engineer Mario Jorge said. The statewide proposition dollars cant go to toll projects. If TxDOT were to use the proposition money to expand Loop 1604 without toll lanes, that would mean many other regional projects would not get done, Jorge said. The needs of our region are very, very significant, he said. No tolls, so far Local transportation authorities have been looking at the possibility of toll lanes on various highways in the city for the last several years. But one by one, those plans fell by the wayside in San Antonio, as public pressure against tolls remained fervent, political attitudes about tolls soured and voters approved the two statewide propositions to fund nontoll road projects. In May, the Texas Transportation Commission agreed to expand Interstate 10 and U.S. 281 on the North Side without toll lanes. Instead, both roads will be expanded with both general purpose lanes and high-occupancy vehicle lanes, the first ever in the city. HOV lanes are for transit vehicles, like public buses, and carpool vehicles ferrying more than one or two occupants. Previously, both had been slated to be toll projects. The MPO has said it will look to adding HOV lanes on other San Antonio roads. However, plans for toll lanes on Loop 1604 between Bandera Road and I-35 have remained in place in the MPOs long-term plans. San Antonio is now the only of the four largest cities in Texas without a toll project in the city limits. In a separate agenda item Thursday, RMA board members discussed pursuing various bills in the upcoming legislative sessions, which starts in January, including a $10 increase in the Bexar County vehicle registration fee. A $10 fee was added to fund road projects after legislation was passed in 2013. However, if Bexar County seeks to double the fee, and legislation is adopted to allow it, Bexar County voters would have to vote in favor in order to use it for road projects. The RMA also plans to support legislation that would authorize a private developer to build toll lanes on I-35 in San Antonio. Staff Writer Peggy OHare contributed to this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BROWNSVILLE When Heydi Guzman absolutely must run an errand, the local mother-to-be puts on a long-sleeve shirt and long pants, then applies a healthy dose of mosquito repellent. Otherwise she doesnt leave the house. Im afraid a mosquito will bite me, Guzman, 35, said. Im afraid of Zika. Such fear is now widespread in this border town at the southern tip of Texas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday advised pregnant women to rethink travel plans to Brownsville after five people tested positive for local transmission of the Zika virus. Earlier this year the CDC issued a similar travel warning in Miami-Dade County in Florida. The heightened concern comes days after five people from an undisclosed Brownsville neighborhood tested positive for Zika. First a woman, who hadn't traveled out of the country, was detected, then four additional cases were identified through door-to-door surveillance by the Cameron County Department of Health and Human Services. Brownsville authorities working with federal, state, and county health officials were quick to track the local virus, saying the scope of the problem is limited to a single neighborhood. However the CDC recommendation extends to all women of reproductive age and their sexual partners who live in or traveled to Brownsville on or after Oct. 29. For Brownsville residents, the CDC advisory is a startling acknowledgment that Zika has a foothold in this area of the border. Before the rash of Zika cases in Brownsville, others cases were related to travel, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Though Guzman, who is four months pregnant, admits to being uneasy about the health of her unborn child, she has heeded all Zika warnings, and taken care of herself accordingly, she said. Sometimes, when I watch the news, I get worried, Guzman said. Then I put myself in Gods hands, because it isnt healthy to be worried all the time either. Months before the first case of Zika was announced in Brownsville, physicians had been bracing for a possible cluster of locally transmitted Zika, informing pregnant women and their sex partners to take precautions. The Aedes aegypti mosquito which can carry the Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses is endemic to the Texas-Mexico border. But impoverished neighborhoods known as colonias sometimes lack the resources to protect against transmission. Roberto Diaz Gonzalez, an obstetrician-gynecologist with the Brownsville Community Health Center, said that since the cluster of Zika cases turned up, the clinic has been inundated with calls from people wanting to test themselves for the virus. People infected with Zika may suffer from fever, joint pain, a rash and red eyes, but many infected people show no symptoms. Pregnant women are most vulnerable because the virus can cause severe birth defects, especially a condition known as microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads. None of the women identified so far with Zika in Brownsville is pregnant. For his part, Diaz continues monitoring his patients with ultrasound, as he has done for months, but he reserves testing for Zika in cases that show signs of microcephaly and for women who say they will seek an abortion if a birth defect is found. Our position is that fear is not a reason to test for Zika, Diaz said. I dont have a cure or treatment to prevent microcephaly. Holly, 33, who declined to give her last name, said the cases of Zika definitely had her attention. The Brownsville resident is 15 weeks pregnant, yet on Thursday she ventured to the local mall with her 3-year-old son. At first I was a little nervous about it, I got all crazy, I thought about going up north with family for the whole pregnancy, but thats not reasonable, she said. She consulted with her doctor, and decided that if she followed the prescribed measures, that she could minimize the risk. I try to stay indoors, which is hard to do with a 3-year-old, she admitted, but you do what you can. Lilia Pena, 40, has been mostly unconcerned with the hysteria surrounding Zika since she became pregnant eight months ago. You put on repellent, what else is there to do? Pena said. Health authorities in Brownsville continue intensive vector control efforts and educational outreach, advising residents to use mosquito repellent, air conditioning and screens on windows and doors, and to drain standing water from backyards. Still, as long as temperatures are conducive to mosquito breeding, local health authorities have said they wouldnt be surprised if more cases are found. James Castillo of the Cameron County Health Authority said theres probably a low risk of Zika transmission even in the unidentified neighborhood. But with even a low risk, the public should be advised to take precautions, he said. anelsen@express-news.net Twitter: @amnelsen There are many factors damaging our politics these days. Gerrymandering and the obscene flow of fundraising money come to mind quickly for me. Some of these problems are beyond our control, but at least one of them could be cured by a simple change in mindset. We have to stop succumbing to selective outrage. I was reminded of this tendency earlier this week when we saw an orgy of social-media outrage over the fact that Brad Parscale, the local tech entrepreneur who served as digital director for Donald Trumps presidential campaign, played a website trick on the mayoral campaign of Ron Nirenberg. Parscale, a supporter of Mayor Ivy Taylor, purchased the domain name RonForSA.org, and used it to redirect Nirenberg supporters to Taylors website. Parscale is not a part of the Taylor campaign team (although her campaign did pay him $2,977 early this year for design work on her website), but many local progressives nonetheless saw the website maneuver as proof that the mayor is so ruthless shes willing to engage in dishonest, gutterball politics to keep her job. Personally, I dont care for Parscales brand of cybersquatting trickery. Even if its done in the name of magnifying your message by boosting traffic to your website, it feels bush league to me. I didnt like it when ex-Councilman Carlton Soules registered the domain name nelsonwolff.com (in anticipation of challenging Wolff for county judge) in 2013, or when a pro-Hillary Clinton hacker redirected Barack Obamas URL to Clintons presidential-campaign website in 2008. But Im not sure why people who are disgusted by Parscales ploy seem OK with the fact that Nirenberg basically did the same thing (but worse) in 2013. That year, Nirenbergs council campaign purchased the domain name rolandobriones.com, and used it build a website devoted to attacking Nirenbergs rival, Rolando Briones, as a liar. Keep in mind, this wasnt a loyal supporter going rogue (as Parscale did for Taylor). This was Nirenbergs actual campaign doing the deed. And it wasnt merely a tactic to send traffic to his own site. It was created to malign his rival. Obviously, the real issue for Taylor haters is the presence of Parscale, whose affiliation with Trump makes him toxic for many progressives. Thats understandable, but Parscale, as a rep for the TechBloc collective, also went to bat at City Hall for ride-hailing companies. Should we stop using Uber and Lyft because Parscale campaigned for them? The selective-outrage virus has infected every aspect of our politics, to the point where it has little to do with policy or principle and everything to do with tribal alliances. For example, we all heard Republicans make the case this year that Hillary Clinton was a criminal, because, as secretary of state, she put classified material at risk by using a private email server. I did not, however, hear a single member of the GOP complain over the past few weeks when Trump interviewed and seriously considered David Petraeus for secretary of state. Petraeus, as director of the CIA, didnt merely expose classified documents to the risk that that theyd end up in the wrong hands (as Clinton did). He willfully placed such documents in the wrong hands, when he gave them to his mistress. Then he lied to the FBI about it. Where are all those Lock him up chants about Petraeus that Im not hearing from Republicans? Of course, the hypocrisy goes both ways. Three weeks ago, Democratic loyalists rightly blasted Trump for tweeting that anyone who burns an American flag should be punished, possibly with a year in jail or loss of citizenship. Progressives saw the tweet as a perfect example of Trumps constitutional ignorance and authoritarian temperament. They did not, however, show similar concern during the recent presidential campaign over the fact that Hillary Clinton co-sponsored a Senate bill in 2005 that would have made it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine for burning an American flag. That same year, the New York Times accurately assessed Clintons proposal this way: Its hard to see this as anything but pandering. Outrage should be a righteous response to injustice, corruption or hypocrisy wherever it happens. It shouldnt be a political tool to employ in a knee-jerk fashion at convenient moments on selective targets. If we expend our outrage only in situations where it helps our political team, were not fighting hypocrisy. Were adding to it. ggarcia@express-news.net Twitter: @gilgamesh470 Ag chemical dealer meetings to provide timely updates Prepare for the 2023 growing season by attending one of the two Ag Chemical Dealer Update meetings presented by ISU. Two further Scottish councils have now confirmed a ban on sky lanterns and helium balloons, following calls from concerned farmers. At the end of October, NFU Scotland wrote to the 24 local authorities in Scotland which had yet to put a ban in place. It called for councillors to consider the untold damage sky lanterns can cause. And since then, the union has received a response from councillors from nine local authorities two of which, Inverclyde Council and Fife Council, have now put a ban in place. Edinburgh City Council is expected to discuss motions put forward by two of its councillors; whilst West Lothian Council is putting together a policy to go to Full Council in the New Year. These councils join eight other Scottish local authorities - Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Falkirk, Highland, Perth and Kinross and Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands - which have already banned the release of sky lanterns and/or helium balloons. 'We welcome the bans' The lanterns, which are constructed from paper with a wire or wooden frame and contain a lighted candle, are a proven fire risk and can be a danger to animals. They pose a fire hazard to standing crops, stacks of hay and straw, woodland and farm buildings. If they land within crops grown to feed livestock, the frames risk being ingested causing great harm to livestock. However, there are still 20 councils in Scotland which have yet to take appropriate action, and the Union is urging them to get on board and follow suit in putting in place a ban to protect our countryside. Twenty five councils in England have already banned sky lanterns, and the majority of Wales 22 local authorities. NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie, commented: "We welcome the bans that have been put in place by Inverclyde Council and Fife Council in recent weeks and thank the councillors for taking this forward following our correspondence. "However, there is still a lot of work to do yet, as 20 other authorities have yet to consider to do so. Sky lanterns are seemingly innocent devices, and are beautiful to look at, but they can cause untold damage as there is no control over where these burning structures of paper, metal and wood decide to land. "Across the UK, there have been many reports now of fires started by lanterns and harm to the health of livestock when lanterns have landed in farmers fields and been eaten. There is a further risk to stock when grass is cut and ensiled for winter feed, and the wire is chopped up and subsequently contained in hay or silage. "We applaud the action already taken against sky lanterns by the 12 Scottish local authorities in Scotland and we urge other councils to take their responsibilities as seriously. We also ask members of the public to avoid the use of lanterns, and to understand the risks that these can pose and call on the councils who havent put bans in place to consider doing so." 'A mass landing of 28 sky lanterns' Beef and arable farming couple Tony and Sue Robinson from Coolham, West Sussex experienced a mass landing of 28 sky lanterns on their farm in 2013 and are urging people not to release them. They believe they were lucky to escape a fire, given many sky lanterns had landed alight, scorching the ground around them. Sue Robinson said: All we want is for people to be aware of what could happen and we hope we will dissuade people from releasing sky lanterns. If this had happened three weeks earlier, during the dry weather, we could have had a major fire here as many lanterns landed in fields that were earlier growing corn. By the burn marks, many were still alight on landing. One landed yards from our supplies of winter straw and feed for the cattle. A farmer from Lincolnshire has said it is becoming 'increasingly harder' to hire seasonal staff to help on his farm since the Brexit result. Tim Casey from Coningsby, Lincolnshire told BBC Radio Lincolnshire he can see his business having 'acute problems' in finding workers which will present 'real problems' for the future. "In about three to five years I can see us starting to have some quite acute problems in finding workers and there are going to be some real problems in what we are able to do." Negative impacts on the flow of migrant labourers was seen as the pound devalued after the Brexit result with two employment agencies that bring Eastern Europeans to work on British farms saying they failed to fill 600 positions. Miss Capper said the message since the vote to leave is 'they were not welcome here.' "The agricultural industry has a decades-long history of delivering 98 per cent worker return rates. Seasonal labour is not tied up in the immigration argument and never should be, because people come here to work and go home again," she said. 'Seeing less numbers' During the Conservative Party conference, the farming industry told the government that it would struggle to survive without seasonal flow of labour from the continent. CLA President Ross Murray said workers from the EU and beyond play a "crucial role" in the rural economy. "In agriculture alone more than 30,000 permanent workers and an estimated 67,000 seasonal workers overseas help keep our shops and market stalls stocked with UK produce. Farms and other rural businesses need to know that after Brexit there will still be a flexible, skilled and secure workforce so they can plan for the future, invest in their businesses and secure or create jobs." Deputy of the National Farmers Union Minette Batters told the radio station the lack of workers is a big problem. She said: "We have already been seeing less numbers actually wanting to come to this country to do the work and that has been exacerbated since the referendum with people feeling that they are not welcome. Also with the exchange rate they are coming here and earning less money, so the problem has been fast tracked and that is why we are asking the government to stretch the net wider and to trial a global visa restricted scheme." A package of measures has been proposed to eradicate Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) from cattle that costs the Northern Irish taxpayer up to 30m a year, the measures include a badger cull. Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen has restated her commitment to drive forward the eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) from the cattle population in NI. The Minister was speaking in Belfast at the formal launch of the TB Strategic Partnership Groups (TBSPG) long-term strategy document on TB eradication. The TBSPG is a high-level advisory group established in 2014, chaired by Sean Hogan. The group was tasked with developing a strategy and implementation action plan to effect a progressive and sustained reduction of TB in the cattle population here, with a view to eventual eradication. Culling of badgers in areas with high levels of bovine tuberculosis (TB), introducing capped compensation for pedigree and non-pedigree TB reactors, changes to testing and requirements for better on-farm biosecurity have been recommended to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to tackle bovine TB in Northern Ireland. Agriculture Minister McIlveen has said she has heard first hand, from many farmers, of the economic and social impacts of a disease that has blighted the industry The TB Strategic Partnership Group has proposed up to 10 "intervention areas" where there is a high incidence of the disease. Each would equate to a circle with a radius of up to 3.7 miles (6km). The group have also recommended that compensation paid to farmers for non-pedigree TB reactor animals is capped at 1,500 and at 1,800 for pedigree animals. All pedigree animals will be given a 20% bonus on their standard commercial value as they stand meaning specific pedigree breeding lines would not be taken into account. Agriculture Minister McIlveen said: Since taking up my post, I have travelled extensively across Northern Ireland and have heard first hand, from many farmers, of the economic and social impacts of a disease that has blighted the industry for much too long. One of my key objectives is delivering a profitable farming industry and I am determined to do everything I can, in partnership with industry, to safeguard our 1billion plus livestock industry which depends significantly on exports." 'Costly and devastating' Seamus OKane, President of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Northern Ireland Branch, said vets welcome this 'strategic, integrated and fresh approach' to the eradication of the 'costly and devastating' disease from Northern Irelands livestock. We are particularly pleased to see an emphasis on an increased role for vets in practice. The strategy underlines timely and appropriate communication to ensure all stakeholders know their own role in the effort to make Northern Ireland bTB free, signalling the importance of closer cooperation between farmers, vets and government. We are pleased to see the strategy acknowledge the need to control the wildlife reservoir, and that culling, where necessary, will be considered as part of the integrated approach. We will look carefully at the detail of any proposed culls in the future. The continuing commitment to research and the strategic deployment of testing methods such as the gamma interferon test are also welcome announcements. We would emphasise that it is important that the gamma interferon test is used in a strategic way, that is targeted and defined by the epidemiology, particularly with the suggested cap on compensation. Overall, we agree with the integrated approach advocated by the TBSPGs proposed strategy and believe this is what is needed to achieve the long-term goal of TB eradication in Northern Ireland. Parliament welcomed a four-day National Sheep Association (NSA) exhibition, which was labelled an opportunity to highlight the role of sheep in upland and hill areas to an audience of MPs, Government officials and invited guests. NSA is working to circulate its specialist report 'Complementary role of sheep in upland and hill areas' to raise awareness of the wide range of public goods and services sheep farming in marginal areas of the UK provides. It is aimed to promote understanding among policy makers and opinion formers, with the aim of working towards a positive situation where farming, environment and societal needs can all thrive. The exhibition was situated in the Upper Waiting Hall of the House of Commons, providing an interactive display relating to the report. MPs and visitors could view a video summarising the report, as well as a display of items relating to the sheep industry, such as sheep management tools, lamb recipes, fleeces and skins. 'Many public goods that come from sheep' Phil Stocker, NSA Chief Executive, says: Parliament will have the potential to offer a level of influence we considered to be crucial when we planned this exhibition, even before the EU referendum. Now its importance is even greater, as we face farming policies being restructured in light of Brexit. We set out with the aim to convince decision makers of the unique contribution upland sheep farming provides and this report has formed the basis of many discussions around the importance of marginal areas, some of the UKs most iconic landscapes. The reception concluded this week, attended by a number of MPs, Peers, Government officials, stakeholder representatives and NSA sheep farming members. Two sheep farmers from opposite ends of the country shared their experiences. Thomas Carrick of Alston, Cumbria, spoke about the balance between sheep and environment on his family farm in the Pennines. He outlined the huge potential he saw in the industry, which was currently being stifled by over-prescriptive regulation. Helen Radmore of Yelverton, Devon, explained the many societal links of sheep farming, particularly its role in keeping rural communities alive where she lives in Dartmoor National Park. She described the importance of farming, environmental and rural schemes being led by farmers, to ensure they were suitable and effective. Mr George Eustice said sheep farming, particularly upland and hill farming, makes a 'special contribution' to the environment and society 'beyond food and wool production.' He said: This is an exciting time for the farming industry we have an opportunity to build policies that recognise the value of the public goods and services our farmers can bring. I look forward to working together with the NSA and wider farming industry to make the most of this opportunity to reshape our future agriculture policy. Pesticides are causing bees to lose their buzz which vibrates the flower and shakes out the pollen, according to a new study. Stirling University researchers have said bees exposed to neonicotinoids fail to learn how to buzz properly and in turn they fail to release the pollen from some flowers, such as those of crops like tomatoes and potatoes. A study this year found a link between oilseed rape crops grown from neonicotinoid-treated seed to the long-term decline in wild bee species across the English countryside. That research, led by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, examined changes in the occurrence of 62 wild bee species with oilseed rape cropping patterns across England between 1994 and 2011 - the time period spanning the introduction of wide-scale commercial use of neonicotinoids. The scientists found evidence suggesting that neonicotinoid use is linked to large-scale and long-term decline in wild bee species distributions and communities. 'Serious implications' Penelope Whitehorn of the University of Stirling in Scotland, who led the study in to the buzzing abilities being harmed by pesticides, said: "So bees produce a vibration or buzz to shake pollen out of these anthers like a pepper pot. "The bee lands on a flower, curls her body around the anther and grips the base with her mandibles. She then rapidly contracts the flight muscles to produce the vibration, without beating her wings. "The study adds to the now large body of evidence from lab and field-based studies that neonicotinoids reduce learning and memory in bees, impair their communication, foraging efficiency and immune systems and, crucially, reduce their reproductive success as well as the pollination services that they can provide." The researchers took two colonies of bumblebees and split them into three groups. One control group was not exposed to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, but the other two groups were exposed to the pesticide. It turned out that the bees in the control group learned how to buzz more pollen out but those in the other group did not improve at all. "The implication is the bees take less pollen back to the colonies and the colonies will be less successful, meaning there may be fewer pollinators overall," she said. "These chemicals do have serious implications for wild bee populations in agricultural landscapes but some, notably from the agrochemical industry, still promote their use." 'Horrifying' Emma Hockridge, head of policy for farming & land use at the Soil Association said results of recent research was 'horrifying.' "It adds to the strong and quickly growing body of overwhelming scientific evidence which points to the damaging impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinating insects, including bumblebees and honey bees," she said. "There are a range of methods which farmers can use which do not require the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. "Organic farmers use a system of production which has strong benefits for pollinator populations for example a meta-analysis from Oxford University showed on average, non-organic farms have 48% more species of pollinators than non-organic farms." A major new study has been launched to work out the true economic cost of coastal flooding and how farmland damaged by saltwater can be brought back into use to support Lincolnshires agricultural industry. The University of Lincoln study, delivered in collaboration with farmers operating in and around the Lincolnshire Wash, is funded with a grant of 72,000 from its the university's Research Investment Fund. The team of scientists and economists will consider the potential economic impact caused by coastal flooding, including the long-term effects of increased levels of soil salinity on agricultural land. This will include modelling future scenarios of potential sea level rises and resultant impact on soil salinity levels in Englands east coast. The results will be freely available and be used to engage policy stakeholders to provide an independent assessment of flood defence strategies and potential mitigation strategies in the Wash region of the county. 'Cannot be underestimated' Dr Gary Bosworth, a leading specialist in the resilience of rural economies, said the threat posed to British agriculture by climate change and rising sea levels 'cannot be underestimated.' He said: Three years ago storm surges breached some of the coastal defences along Englands east coast. Thankfully the damage to life and property was not comparable to earlier floods in 1953, but the hidden impact on the quality of our prime agricultural soils is still being felt by farmers today. One of the primary climate change forecasts is that sea levels may well rise and this, combined with potential changes in storm intensity, may increase flood risk. We hope by setting out the economic costs of saltwater contamination of farmland we can make the case for a greater policy focus on mitigation and adaptation strategies. We are also optimistic that we can offer practical solutions by improving scientific and industry understanding the most effective mitigation and adaptation measures. Coasting flooding of 1953 The East of England was struck by devastating coastal flooding from a huge storm tide on the night of 31st January 1953. More than 300 people were killed in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex with many more fatalities at sea and in the Netherlands. It is considered one of 20th century Europes worst natural disasters. The impact on the prime agricultural lands of Lincolnshire and the Eastern Counties was felt for decades after the floods receded, with around 160,000 acres of English farmland contaminated by saltwater. Three years ago (December 2013) the east of England experienced the most severe tidal surge since the 1953 flood with sea levels rising by almost six metres in places. More than 2,000 acres of farmland was flooded with some of the most serious breaches south of the Humber and around Boston. Dr Iain Gould said: Seawater inundation leaves residues of salts, such as sodium, on the soil high concentrations of which can damage soil structure for years. Although farmland can recover over time and various mitigation measures, in the worst cases, deep soil structure is so badly damaged farmland can be left unable to support commercially-viable production for sustained periods. British scientists have created a synthetic molecule that when applied to crops, has been shown to increase the size and starch content of wheat grains in the lab by up to 20 per cent. Scientists believe that this discovery can lead to people radically altering how they farm, not just wheat, but many different crops. By now developing new chemical methods based on an understanding of biology, the researchers suggest that farmers can secure food sources for the future. The new plant application,' developed by Rothamsted Research and Oxford University, could help to solve the issue of increasing food insecurity across the globe; 795 million people are undernourished and this years El Nino has shown how vulnerable many countries are to climate-induced drought. The application, based on controlling naturally-occurring sugars, also increases crop resilience to drought The results of the study were published today in Nature, which details the method based on using synthetic precursors of the sugar trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P); a first-of-its-kind strategy that used chemistry to modify how sugars are used by plants. Rothamsted Research identified this naturally occurring sugar as being crucial in controlling how wheat uses sucrose, the main fuel generated by photosynthesis. Sucrose is key to the development of wheat grains. They identified that the more T6P that is available to wheat grains as they grow, the greater the yield. Utilising the chemical expertise of Oxford Universitys Chemical Research Laboratory, a modified version of T6P that could be taken up by the plant and then released within the plant in sunlight was developed. This T6P precursor was added to a solution and then sprayed onto the plants, causing a pulse of T6P, which resulted in more sucrose being drawn into the grain to make starch. When tested in the lab, under controlled environmental conditions, this approach resulted in an increase in wheat grain size and yield of up to 20 per cent. The study also demonstrated that application of the precursor molecule could enhance plants ability to recover from drought, which could ultimately help farmers to overcome difficult seasons more easily in the future. 'Radically alter how we farm' Professor Ben Davis, Department of Chemistry, Oxford University said: The tests we conducted in the lab show real promise for a technique that, in the future, could radically alter how we farm not just wheat but many different crops. The Green Revolution in the 20th century was a period where more resilient, high-yield wheat varieties were created, an innovation that has been claimed to have helped save one billion lives. By now developing new chemical methods based on an understanding of biology, we can secure our food sources and add to this legacy. That way we can make sure as many people have access to enough food as possible and that the less fortunate can be rescued from unexpected hardship. The method has potential to increase yields across a wide number of crops, as T6P is present and performs the same function in all plants and crops. Dr Matthew Paul, Senior Scientist - Plant Biology and Crop Science, Rothamsted Research, adds: This study is a proof of concept, showing us that it is possible to influence how plants use the fuel they produce for agricultural benefit, both in terms of yield and also resilience to drier conditions. The next stage of work is to replicate this experiment as much as possible in the field in different environments, for which well need to understand how to scale up production of the T6P precursor and determine the effect that more variable conditions may have on results. Wheat plants were grown until each plant flowered, after which varying concentrations of T6P solution (between 0.1, and 10 mM) were added to different plants to assess the effect each concentration had on growth. The wheat was then sprayed with the solutions either on the ears or the whole plant at intervals of 5 days after the plants first flowered, with just one application sufficient to increase yield. The plants were then harvested once ripe, with the grains weighed and analysed for amount of starch and protein present. To test the responses to drought conditions, the plants were grown until just before the wheat plant developed its stem; it was then deprived of water for ten days, with T6P solutions being added on the 9th of these days. Plants were harvested after re-watering to assess biomass recovery after the drought period. The loss of fertile topsoil from agricultural fields is an economic problem for modern farmers. When runoff water washes topsoil from agricultural fields in areas with claypan soils under the topsoil, including parts of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas, farmers are often left with an exposed subsoil clay layer that creates difficult conditions for growing crops. Now, a study from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has found that switchgrass, which is a perennial plant and used commonly for biofuel, improves soil quality and can be grown on farms that have lost fertile topsoil. Stephen Anderson, the William A. Albrecht Distinguished Professor of Soil Science at MU, says that switchgrass may be a good option for farmers who have challenges with growing other crops, provided a good market is available for switchgrass. Once a farm loses its topsoil due to erosion, the soil recovers very slowly, Anderson said. Switchgrass can be grown efficiently on eroded claypan soils; farmers who have lost their topsoil may want to consider growing this hardy plant. Switchgrass can be harvested and sold as a biomass crop for ethanol production or as fuel for power plants. While demand depends on the current market for biomass crops, this could be an answer for these farmers who otherwise have challenges obtaining good economic returns growing grain crops on eroded land. For their study, Anderson and lead author Syaharudin Zaibon, a doctoral candidate at MU, examined farming plots with varying levels of topsoil, which were established in 2009. Each plot had varying amounts of topsoil ranging from extra topsoil to no topsoil. Corn, soybeans and switchgrass were grown on each plot, and after five years, the researchers examined the soil density and water permeability of each plot. They found that the switchgrass had improved the soil quality of the plots with little or no topsoil on which it grew. Claypan layers have lower water permeability, making it more difficult for plants to receive water and for farmers to obtain good economic returns from grain crops when the silt loam topsoil is lost from these areas, Anderson said. This lower permeability prevents oxygen and water from seeping into the eroded soil. We found that over a number of years, the switchgrass was able to increase, or improve, the water permeability into this eroded soil, leading to an 11 percent higher water saturation than the areas where corn and soybeans were grown. This study shows that not only can switchgrass grow in these eroded claypan soil areas, but it actually can improve the soil over time, potentially opening the door for better production of grain crops subsequently grown in those areas. Click here to see more... "When you see the new fabrics and the new products being developed for Merino wool - and it's not just wool, Merino is the name everyone wants - it gives you optimism," he said. The future of Fauquier Times now depends on community support. Your donation will help us continue to improve our journalism through in-depth local news coverage and expanded reader engagement. Support Funeral homes often submit obituaries to the newspaper as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we are happy to accept obituaries from family members. You may use the form linked below, or you may email Jeanne Cobert at jcobert@fauquier.com or call her at 540-270-4931. Go to form Where to eat and drink in the Fayetteville area this weekend By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman Although the coming weekend is a relatively quiet one in terms of major racing action, there are a few noteworthy races scheduled to be run, including the Winter Challenge Stakes at Los Alamitos, where California Chrome will enter the starting gate for the penultimate time in his remarkable career. Our handicapping attention this week will be on the Harlan's Holiday Stakes (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park, which has drawn a small but competitive field, and we'll also take a look at a few promising two-year-olds that either ran recently or will be running this weekend. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started! Harlan's Holiday Stakes (gr. III) A field of seven will contest this 8.5-furlong race at Gulfstream Park, including Keen Ice, who finished third in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) behind Arrogate and California Chrome. He could start as the favorite off that effort and his win over American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers Stakes (gr. I), but 8.5 furlongs might be a bit too short for this deep closer, and the speed-favoring nature of Gulfstream Park might not fit his running style. As a result, I view the Harlan's Holiday as a two-horse race between Stanford and Awesome Slew. The former is coming off a six-month layoff but was in good form earlier this year, finishing second in the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (gr. III) and Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II) before winning the Charles Town Classic (gr. II) by two lengths. Todd Pletcher does very well with horses returning from layoffs of 180 days or more (31% wins and a $2.00 ROI over the last five years) and has done particularly well with these horses at Gulfstream Park, where his win percentage jumps to 35%. Furthermore, Stanford looked excellent in a recent workout at Palm Beach Downs, easily getting the better of stablemate Madefromlucky before galloping-out in impressive fashion. From what I've seen, Stanford has always been a good workhorse, but his last breeze suggests that he's coming up to the Harlan's Holiday in good form and will be tough to beat. In addition, drawing post one should help him save ground with a short run to the first turn, and as a speed horse, he should be right in the mix as the field enters the abbreviated homestretch (this race will end at the sixteenth pole). Stanford's main pace challenge should come from Awesome Slew, a three-year-old facing older horses for the first time. Outside of a last-place finish in the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) over a sloppy track, Awesome Slew has never run a bad race and ran very well in the nine-furlong Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II) last time out, setting a solid pace before tiring late to finish fifth by 4 lengths. He finished best of the pacesetters that day and wasn't badly beaten by the late-running duo of Connect and Gun Runner, who came back to score Grade 1 victories against older horses last month. Awesome Slew is now cutting back slightly in distance and picks up the services of jockey Joel Rosario. While he might be at a slight disadvantage breaking outside of Stanford, he's shown the ability to rate just off the lead in the past, and if Stanford doesn't gun for the lead, Awesome Slew might very well be able to clear him and take the rail. He's almost certain to be overlooked in the wagering thanks to the trio of Pletcher runners, and at 5-1 or higher, I think he's worth a play. How about a Stanford/Awesome Slew exacta? I would also briefly like to mention Madefromlucky, who finished second in this race last. Like Stanford, he's coming off a long layoff, and while he didn't look as good as his stablemate in their workout together last week, Madefromlucky has never struck me as the strongest workhorse, at least compared to Stanford. He could be at a disadvantage trying to rally into a slow pace, but should have every chance to finish in the trifecta. Sugar Bowl Stakes The heavy favorite in this six-furlong sprint for two-year-olds is Running Mate, an unbeaten and unchallenged son of Creative Cause trained by Larry Jones. So impressive was Running Mate in his first two victories that he was included in the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool, closing at odds of 55-1. Needless to say, Running Mate has looked fantastic so far. In his debut going six furlongs at Delaware Park, he sprinted to the lead and ran six rivals off their feet to win by six lengths while closing the final furlong in a quick :11.81 seconds. He was just as eye-catching in a November 25th allowance race at Fair Grounds, once again sprinting away to win by 7 lengths while running the final two furlongs in :11.74 and :12.32. Even more exciting is that Running Mate has a very strong pedigree that suggests two turns won't be an issue; in fact, there's a chance that he will thrive at longer distances and relish the ten furlongs of the Kentucky Derby. Clearly Running Mate is the horse to beat in the Sugar Bowl Stakes, but I wouldn't underestimate the chances of Proforma. Trained by Mike Stidham, the son of Munnings finished third in his debut on November 4th at Churchill Downs, beaten 4 lengths by the future stakes winner Saint's Fan (see below). A bit more than three weeks later, Proforma returned to action in a six-furlong maiden race at Churchill Downs and rallied to win by a neck in the fast time of 1:10.07, closing the fifth furlong in about :11.60 and the final furlong in about :12 flat. As a closer, he could be at a tactical disadvantage against the speedy Running Mate, but the talent is there and I think he's a solid choice to round out the exacta or even pull off a minor upset. Now it's your turn! Who do you like in the weekend stakes races? A Few More 2yos to Watch Much of the attention last week was focused on Los Alamitos and Gulfstream Park, where a solid group of stakes races for two-year-olds were conducted and horses like Mastery, Tapwrit, and Fact Finding stamped themselves as names to watch on the Derby trail. But there were a couple other notable races that might have slipped by unnoticed, including the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes at Fair Grounds. A six-furlong race for Louisiana-breds isn't usually where you look to find Kentucky Derby contenders, but this year might prove to be an exception. The winner was Saint's Fan, a colt I profiled on Unlocking Winners a couple of weeks ago (click here to read.) The Dallas Stewart-trained runner had won his debut in impressive fashion at Churchill Downs and looked even better last Saturday; despite breaking slowly and spotting the field two lengths, he rallied smoothly on the turn to reach contention and then ran down the leader in the homestretch to win going away by two lengths. He was a bit green in the homestretch, but nevertheless showed a strong turn-of-foot, running the fifth furlong in about :11.60 and the final furlong in about :12.90 on his way to a final time of 1:10.74. (VIDEO) All told, I thought this was an exceptional performance from a lightly-raced colt that is bred to run longer. Saint's Fan is now 2-for-2 and is expected to target the January 21st LeComte Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds, where he will attempt two turns for the first time while facing the impressive Remington Springboard Mile winner Cool Arrow. Speaking of Cool Arrow, he had an overwhelming pace advantage on paper in Sunday's Remington Springboard Mile, and the race played out as expected when none of his eleven rivals challenged him for the lead. Cool Arrow found himself with a clear advantage through very slow fractions of :24.68, :49.79, and 1:14.54; needless to say, he accelerated his final quarter-mile in a quick :24.18 and left his rivals behind to win by 3 lengths. (VIDEO) The reason I mention this is because runner-up Totality ran a great race under the circumstances. Reserved toward the back of the pack early on, about four lengths off the pace, Totality matched strides with Cool Arrow through the final two furlongs and was the only horse in the race that didn't lose ground in the homestretch. With a better pace setup, he might have finished closer, and he could be a colt to watch from the powerful team of trainer Steve Asmussen and owner Winchell Thoroughbreds. One other race that caught my eye last week was Laurel Park's Maryland Juvenile Futurity for Maryland-bred or Maryland-sired two-year-olds. The winner was Greatbullsoffire, a son of Bullsbay that entered the race having won three of his five starts, including two stakes races. Coming off of a modest third-place finish in the Christopher Elser Memorial Stakes at Parx, Greatbullsoffire was sent off as only the third choice against seven rivals, but wound up cruising to victory like a 1-5 favorite. Visually, Greatbullsoffire looked fantastic. After settling in third behind fractions of :23.44 and :46.93, Greatbullsoffire moved up on the outside to take the lead and then powered away from the field with a sudden burst of speed. Striding away powerfully, Greatbullsoffire ran the third quarter-mile in about :24.10, then flew through a final furlong in :11.75 to leave his rivals six lengths behind, and his final time for seven furlongs was a quick 1:22.85. (VIDEO) Greatbullsoffire has shown steady improvement throughout the year, and his Maryland Juvenile Futurity effort was another step in the right direction. The field that he beat was respectable; the runner-up was the stakes-placed Todd Pletcher colt Bonus Points, and fourth-place finisher O Dionysus had beaten Greatbullsoffire in the Christopher Elser Memorial Stakes. For his victory, Greatbullsoffire received a solid Beyer speed figure of 83, and his pedigree (click here to view)--plus the way he finished on Saturday--suggests that he can handle longer distances. I'm looking forward to seeing how he progresses down the road! ***** J. Keeler Johnson (also known as "Keelerman") is a writer, blogger, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. He is the founder of the horse racing website www.theturfboard.com. Lets get rid of The Awful German Language! Mark Twain was right, its just too complicated. We may as well start in the heart of Germany: The Peoples Car factory of Wolfscastle. Well, why not, everybody else does it all the time to feel modern and its only consequent for Peoples Car (PC, formerly known as VW) as an international brand to do so as well. No, dear reader, no reason for panic. Normally we write here in high German but today we have to try another language because yesterday Peoples Car from Wolfscastle has declared that not only their managers have to use English fluently within the next five years but that English will become the language of the concern (Konzernsprache). What comes one to mind when one thinks about Volkswagen after 1945? He runs and runs and runs but that was the day before yesterday when the most popular car made by Volkswagen was called Beetle although it looked like a bug. Compared to that only yesterday happened a scandal with prostitutes and corruption and politicians who, as the Mirror wrote, have their fingers in this mess. When there are only Germans in the room Ok, but that was ten years ago, and in the meantime Mr Piech who owns the concern went on distance to his topmanager and soon afterwards the emission scandal came to light. Maybe it is because Volkswagen has so much to do with American lawyers and judges they decided to talk English now completely? Well, not really completely: When there are only Germans in the room they are allowed to talk German. The same is valid for Spanish at Seat, Czech at Skoda, Italian at Lamborghini and British English at Bentley. Mehr zum Thema 1/ We from the Feuilleton are keen to go with the times but a bit German Angst remains and so we would like to ask Karlheinz Blessing, the workers director who communicated the news: First of all please make sure your managers do not use the usual managerial Pidgin, avoid German nouns like compliance, asset, wording or commitment. When you really want to be smart try to repeat the success your Bavarian daughter Audi had when she claimed Vorsprung durch Technik. The whole world knows what is meant like the whole world uses words like Kindergarten, Lederhose oder Waldeinsamkeit. You have already damaged the good name Diesel this must never happen again. Hugh Jackman is encouraging people to urinate on Ryan Reynolds' Hollywood star. Hugh Jackman The Canadian actor received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week and Hugh, who enjoys a friendly rivalry with Ryan over their on-screen alter-egos, Deadpool (Reynolds) and Wolverine (Jackman), took to Instagram to make the cheeky suggestion. In a video, where he holds a Ryan mask over his face, Hugh can be heard saying: "You may remember me from such things as People magazine's 2010 Sexiest Man Alive or the 12th best DC Comics movie 'Green Lantern'. Who would have thought just three years after getting a star on Canada's Walk of Fame, I would be getting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame? "How could a guy who failed his high school drama class be this talented?" I have no answer for that. But to quote my favourite actor in the world, the great Australian Hugh Jackman, who, by the way, was People's Sexiest Man Alive way before me, Americans are the most generous country on the planet." "So, thank you, America, and feel free to urinate on my section of the sidewalk." Hugh captioned the video: "@VanCityReynolds asked me to post this 100 per cent real video by him on being honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame today (sic)." The cast of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' were "delighted" to have Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the show in London. Prince Harry The 32-year-old royal and the 35-year-old actress - who have been dating for around four months - were spotted out in the British capital's West End on Wednesday (14.12.16) and it was first believed they attended the musical 'Peter Pan Goes Wrong'. However, it has now been revealed that they went along to an evening performance of the award-winning adaptation of the Mark Haddon novel at the Gielgud Theatre. The official Twitter page for the theatre production wrote on Twitter: "We were delighted to welcome HRH Prince Harry to last night's performance at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End. (sic)" At the the time, a close pal of Harry's said: "Harry has said his privacy is important to him but they are clearly not afraid to be seen in public together. "They are clearly crazy about each other and have told friends they are very much in love. "As an actress, Meghan loves the theatre so this was an obvious date to go on." Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry will reportedly be spending the festive period with their own families with Harry heading to Sandringham and Meghan heading back to Toronto, Canada, to spend the holidays with her loved ones. And on Monday (12.12.16), the couple surprised staff when they paid a visit to Pines and Needles in Battersea Park, south London, and walked away with a 6ft Nordman fir Christmas tree. However, it seems it won't be enjoyed by both of them and will just sit at Harry's Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace. Buyers from the US and various European nations are looking for something special from India as they value handwork, fabric texturing, a soft feel, organic fibres, embroideries, metallic threads and foil printing that are difficult to find outside the country, according to Shades of India. However, price has become a major constraint on what can be done. Cotton and voile are the most preferred fabrics in the US, while silk, tussar, velvet and linen sell the most in Europe and East Asia, Mandeep Nagi, design director of Shades of India told Fibre2Fashion. When asked about how she plans to deal with rising prices, Nagi said that one method is to use a relatively less expensive fabric like linen-cotton and compensate with surface treatment that looks rich, but is less expensive. Buyers from the US and various European nations are looking for something special from India as they value handwork, fabric texturing, a soft feel, organic fibres, embroideries, metallic threads and foil printing that are difficult to find outside the country, according to Shades of India. However, price has become a major constraint on what can be done.# Shades of India sources all its fabrics from various regions in India to make authentic pieces for its national as well as international clientele. We source cotton from the south, silk from Bangalore, tussar silk from Baghalpore. We are always looking for new sources like hand weaves from Bengal or fine wool from Ladakh, added Nagi. Talking about her latest collection, she said, Nazraana is a story based on the traditions of Awadh the region rich in culture with its capital in Lucknow. Nazraana reflects the princely life of the court in the early 19th century, the beauty and independence of its women, the traditions of dance and music and the exquisite work found in its textiles. It was a centre of Indo-Persian culture that also absorbed influences from Europe. Besides fashion, Shades of India also deals in home furnishings and Nagi has found that Indians have become more conscious about their homes with changing times. Indians follow contemporary trends. They also want something that is brighter in colour than the naturals beloved in Europe and the US. But they are still uncertain how to combine colours, fabrics and textures. We specialise in providing that help. Interiors are now an important part of our business, continued Nagi. There has been lots of growth reflected in both, the new apartments and homes that have come up and in people making changes in their apartments. This growth will continue though on a bit of a roller coaster depending on the state of the economy and the money people feel they can spend, added Nagi while talking about the growth of the home furnishings market of India. The company recently launched a new brand called Neem by Shades of India in the US, which has received positive response in the country so far. Speaking about the expansion plans, she said, Our major markets in India are the metropolis. We want to expand into three or four more. We are also looking at strengthening our online presence. Abroad our major market is the US where we mainly pin our hopes on Neem by Shades of India. But we also have substantial private label work in the US much of it in garments. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India UK online fashion retailer Boohoo plc is acquiring a 66 per cent stake in fast fashion brand Pretty Little Thing (PLT) for a cash consideration of 3.3 million. PLT revenue soared by over 400 per cent year over year to 17.0 million in the fiscal ended February 29, 2016 and has already garnered revenue of 19.0 million in the six months to August 31, 2016.According to Boohoo, PLT is expected to achieve revenue growth in excess of 150 per cent in fiscal ended February 28, 2017, while broadly achieving EBITDA breakeven. UK online fashion retailer Boohoo plc is acquiring a 66 per cent stake in fast fashion brand Pretty Little Thing (PLT) for a cash consideration of 3.3 million. PLT revenue soared by over 400 per cent year over year to 17.0 million in the fiscal ended February 29, 2016 and has already garnered revenue of 19.0 million in the six months to August 31, 2016. # In the next fiscal, the online fashion retailer plans to review and invest in PLTs operations, including its warehousing, to ensure the brand is well positioned for the future.The 34 per cent retained by the existing PLT management will be subject to the management team remaining with PLT over the five-year period to February 28, 2022, while also achieving demanding revenue and EBITDA targets. (AR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India HERSHEY Donald Trumps barnstorming tour across the states that won him the White House continues to feature far more taunts of triumph than notes of healing after a bruising election. Thursdays rally in Hershey found the president-elect calling for the mostly white crowd to cheer for African-Americans who were smart to heed his message and therefore didnt come out to vote for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. That was the big thing, so thank you to the African-American community, Trump said. He also edged closer Thursday to completing his Cabinet, announcing his choice for interior secretary: Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who should fit smoothly into an administration favoring more energy drilling and less regulation. The president-elect who also found time to hit Twitter, playing media critic and then stating anew his doubts about charges that Russian hackers tried to disrupt the U.S. election boasted to the crowd that he captured a state that for many Republicans was the bride that got away. Everyone leaves Pennsylvania, Republicans, thinking they won Pennsylvania. And they never do. They just dont win Pennsylvania, said Trump. Pennsylvania had not gone for a Republican candidate since 1988. But the Trump campaign staff long thought that the state, rich in white working-class voters, would be receptive to his populist message and not be part of Clintons hoped-for firewall. Trump repeatedly campaigned in the state, drawing some of the largest and loudest crowds of the campaign. He won the state by less than 1 percentage point, giving him a vital 20 electoral college votes. The evening rally in Hershey also featured a nearly 20-minute recap of Trumps election night win with the crowd cheering as the president-elect slowly ticked off his victories state by state, mixing in rambling criticisms of incorrect pundits and politicians from both sides of the aisle. Trump earlier praised Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, as having built one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and public land issues. Zinke, 55, was an early supporter of the president-elect and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Montana in May. As with several other Cabinet selections, Zinke has advocated increased drilling and mining on public lands and has expressed skepticism about the urgency of climate change. House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the pick, saying Zinke has been an ardent supporter of all-of-the-above energy policies and responsible land management. But his nomination could have a ripple effect on control of the Senate, since Zinke now may forgo what was once a near-certain challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. The president-elect also tapped attorney Daniel Friedman, his adviser on Israeli affairs, to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Friedman, in a statement, said he would help fulfill Trumps promise to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Many Republican presidents have made a similar vow without success. Trump also added to his national security team by announcing the appointments of retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as chief of staff of the National Security Council and Monica Crowley, a Fox News analyst, as the organizations director of communications. Kellogg spent more than 35 years in the Army and, in 2003, oversaw the efforts to form the new Iraqi military after it was disbanded. Crowley and Fox ended their relationship on Thursday. Trump has two Cabinet selections yet to make though he also needs to fill out much of his White House staff. And he was busy on Twitter Thursday morning. He again cast doubt on U.S. intelligence assertions about Russia election hacking, writing: If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? That assertion is untrue. A month before the election, the Obama administration bluntly accused Russia of hacking American political sites and email accounts to interfere. Trump also tweeted, The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex when actually it isnt! His declaration came on the day he was supposed to hold a news conference, now postponed until January, to reveal how he plans to distance himself from his business. Aides said more time was needed to finalize the complicated arrangement. Trump supporters braved gusting wind and bitter cold to line up outside Giant Center several hours before the doors opened for his Thank You visit to central Pennsylvania. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, state governor of Niger has urged Indonesian investors to set up textile manufacturing plants in the West African country. While hosting Harry Purwanto, the Indonesia Ambassador to Niger in his office in Minna, the governor invited Indonesian firms to cash in on the availability of high-quality cotton in Niger. The governor said that Niger has abundant raw material and Indonesian companies, which produce fabrics known for their uniqueness, can leverage it and start producing textiles in the country, according to Niger media reports. Bello also said that the favourable business environment of Niger will ensure profitable returns for the Indonesian investors. The Niger governor also said that the country wants to partner with Indonesia to develop its SME sector. Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, state governor of Niger has urged Indonesian investors to set up textile manufacturing plants in the West African country. While hosting Harry Purwanto, the Indonesia Ambassador to Niger in his office in Minna, the governor invited Indonesian firms to cash in on the availability of high-quality cotton in Niger.# The Asian country also asked for land to set up an industrial park at Tegina in Rafi local government area for manufacturing products and Bello agreed to provide it. The Indonesian ambassador said that both countries have a lot in common and can benefit from their diplomatic relationship that has lasted over 50 years. (KD) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India The textile industry has expressed solidarity with the Centres goal to promote India as a cashless economy. Supporting the decision, representatives of the textile industry across the country are encouraging the workers to open bank accounts. As a result, salary payment will be done either through cheque or directly into their bank account. A majority of the workforce has already opened bank accounts, while others are in the process, said the representatives of the textile industry. The move to go digital is a good initiative by the government. However, it will take time for the workers to get accustomed to the new process. In Tamil Nadu, more than 60 per cent of the workers associated with the spinning industry already have bank account, Prabhu Damodaran, secretary of Indian Texpreneurs Federation told Fibre2Fashion. The textile industry has expressed solidarity with the Centre's goal to promote India as a cashless economy. Supporting the decision, representatives of the textile industry across the country are encouraging the workers to open bank accounts. As a result, salary payment will be done either through cheque or directly into their bank account.# Welcoming the move, he added, The workers are putting in efforts to understand and learn the functioning of banking and digital system. We have also been organising demonstration programmes for the workers. It will not be feasible for the workers to travel far to withdraw cash as majority of the textile industries are located on the outskirts, so we will be urging the government to install ATM kiosks in the premises itself, said Damodaran. Digitisation of payments will help in maintaining transparency. We are still in the course of opening bank accounts of the textile workers. Since many workers do not have a valid identity proof, the process is getting delayed. We are also helping the workers to download digital payment transfer applications on their cell phones, said Jitendra Vakharia, president of Federation of South Gujarat Textile Processing Association. This measure by the government will not only help in curbing corruption but will also ensure that the workers are getting their dues. It will also increase the scope of investment. They can withdraw money directly from the bank or from ATM, said Dilip Patel, president of All Gujarat Ginners Association. (RR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Driven by rebound in the average yield, which has more than offset lower acreage, the December report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated 2016/17 global cotton production at 104.2 million bales, an expansion of 8 per cent over the previous season. Improved weather conditions, also led to the growth in output of the global cotton crop.The global yield in 2016/17 is expected at 775 kg per hectare, which is above the five year average. Indias 2016/17 crop is forecast at 27.0 million bales, up 2 per cent from 2015/16, despite a 12 per cent decline in acreage as farmers seek alternative crops. Driven by rebound in the average yield, which has more than offset lower acreage, the December report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has estimated 2016/17 global cotton production at 104.2 million bales, an expansion of 8 per cent over the previous season. Improved weather conditions, also led to the growth in output of the global cotton crop.# However, the Chinese 2016/17 cotton production is anticipated to drop for the fourth consecutive season to 21.0 million bales, 1 million bales below 2015/16 and the smallest crop since 2000/01.In the same season, Pakistans cotton crop is estimated at around 8.3 million bales, a massive expansion of 18 per cent over the 2015/16 cotton crop. (AR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Actress-producer Dia Mirza says she wants to support entertaining, but meaningful cinema as a producer. Asked what kind of films she wants to back as a producer, Dia Mirza told IANS through an email from Mumbai, "Films that are entertaining yet not vacant." Shahrukh Khan Is A Coward & Beggar! Says Canadian Ex Minister Ujjal Dosanjh For Meeting Raj Thackery Dia, who will be attending the ET Smart Green Summit here on Friday, is not so active as an actress anymore. But she says she will be back on the silver screen soon. "We have a few scripts that are nearing completion and if all goes well, you could see me on the big screen sometime soon. If you want to see me even sooner, then all you have to do is fly to Iran where my movie 'Salaam Mumbai' has just released and by the grace of God, is doing remarkably well," she said. At the summit, she will engage in a conversation on Optimising Nature with Modern Urban Living. The former beauty queen is associated with several social causes, and genuinely believes "each one of us can make a difference". "I have been blessed with the access and opportunity to reach out to a wider cross section of society and I must not take that for granted. There are real heroes scattered all around the globe who's hearts beat for nature and causes that impact human life." Disha Patani Says Link-up Rumours Don't Bother Her As She Concentrates Only On Her Work! "All those unsung heroes and their efforts inspire me on a daily basis because they are the finest examples of citizens who are participating and playing an active role to shape our world and save it," Dia said. Sonam Kapoor To Marry Anand Ahuja In 2017? Rajavinte Makan, which released in the year 1986, was a big blockbuster. In fact, this particular movie earned Mohanlal the tag of a superstar. Vincent Gomas, the character portrayed by Mohanlal in the film, is among the most celebrated ones of Malayalam cinema. Earlier, there were reports that a remake of the film would happen soon. But, no further updates came on the same. Now, the big question is that whether the movie is still on the cards. According to a latest report by SouthLive, director of the Rajavinte Makan, Thampi Kannanthanam has confirmed that the project has not been dropped. The director stated that the project is still in consideration and nothing much about the project can be revealed now. There are certain reports doing the rounds that the film wil be a remake and won't be a sequel to the film. In fact, rumours were rife that Suresh Gopi will also be a part of the upcoming project. We have to wait and see whether he will be a part of the project or not. Rajavinte Makan, narrated the story of a don named Vincent Gomas. The film had its script written by Dennis Joseph. Apart from Mohanlal, the film also featured Suresh Gopi, Ratheesh, Ambika etc., in important roles. Karan Patel Karan Patel aka Raman Kumar Bhalla of Star Plus' soap opera Yeh Hai Mohobbatein is at the top of our list. The show recently completed 1000 episodes and we must say, as always Karan has always managed to deliver a powerful performance. Varun Kapoor The very charming Sanskar Maheshwari of Swaragini has been delivering some of his best performances till date on the show. No wonder, he has a huge fan following. The actor is known for his acting prowess and chemistry with co-star Helly Shah. The show is soon going off-air, but his performances will be remembered for sure. Shaheer Sheikh Shaheer had earlier won our hearts for his performances in the shows such as Navya and Mahabharat. But, he is widely appreciated for his role as Dev Dixit in Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi. The actor not only has a huge fan following in India, but also in countries such as Indonesia. Shabbir Ahluwalia Yes, we are talking about our very own rockstar Abhi of Kumkum Bhagya. The dashing actor even won the 'Best Actor Popular' award for his performance. Fans are eagerly awaiting Abhi and Pragya's performance in the show. Vivina Dsena This television hunk is being lauded by one and all for his electrifying performnace as the lovelorn Harman in the Colors' popular show, Shakti - Astitva Ehsaas Ki opposite Rubina Dialak. Sharad Malhotra The 'Banoo Mein Teri Dulhan' actor is back with a hiatus with Ekta Kapoor's Kasam - Tere Pyar Ki. He is playing the role of Rishi Singh Bedi in the show. Rishi's performance as a middle-aged man in his 40s has been well-received. The show recently completed 200 episodes. Nakuul Mehta The actor is back in action after a hitaus. His previous television outing was 'Pyar Ka Dard Hai'. He is currently playing the role of a shrewd and arrogant businessman Shivaay Singh Oberoi in Ishqbaaz. He is receiving accolades for his portrayal of Shivaay and chemistry with co-star Surbhi Chandna and he recently won Best Actor award at the AVTA Awards 2016. Kunal Jaisingh How can we forget the sensitive and honest Omkara of Ishqbaaz? Yes, Kunal's role of passionate artist Omkara has been lauded and the actor has a stupendous fan following within a short span of time and his fan base is steeply increasing everyday. Vikram Singh Chauhan Vikram is playing the role of Atharv in Star Plus' popular show, Jaana Na Dil Se Door. Currently, Atharv has lost his mental balance after getting beaten up Kailash's father and is behaving like a kid. His chemistry with co-star Shivani is being appreciated. Shashank Vyas The very good looking Shashank last vowed the audiences for his performance as Jagya in Balika Vadhu is back with a bang! His portrayal of Ravish, a sincere army officer has been given thumbs up from the audiences within a short span of time. Arjun Bijlani Television heart-throb Arjun last mesmerised the audiences as Rithik in Naagin. He is back in action with his latest offering, Pardes Mein Hai Mera Dil opposite Drashti Dhami. The show is just a month old. Arjun 's portrayal as a simple, kind-hearted and humourous Raghav Mehra is being very well-received. Namik Paul One simply cannot forget the the handsome hunk Namik Paul, who vowed the audiences with his flawless act of angry young man Shravan Malhotra in Ek Duje Ke Vaaste. His chemistry with co-star Nikita Dutta was the highlight of the show. Although the show has gone off-air, his performance won him accolades and fans are demanding a new season of the popular show. Endeavour Silver Corp NYSE: [stock symbol=EXK] recently announced that El Compas property and Terronera property based exploration drill programs discovered gold and silver mineralized zones on each properties. El Compas property & Terronera property are situated at in Zacatecas State & Jalisco State, Mexico, respectively. The gold and silver zones at each property are in the limit of identified epithermal quartz veins. Both the properties, reportedly offer high grade minerals. The company is, at present, going on with two economic studies, viz. pre-feasibility study (PFS) and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Terronera and El Compas property, respectively. The company aims to leverage th development projects into the production phase. El Compas property resources Endeavour Silver Corp announced that El Compas has two veins, namely, El Compas and El Orito, which have been explored already. Both these veins are sources of high quality, but small amounts of historic resources, as reported by the previous owner of the property. The company is yet to verify the resources and their historic connection. Endeavour Silver Corp said that it had drilled in Ana Camila vein, at about 550 metres from El Orito. It found that the mineralized zone with high grade resources was spread over 250 m in length and 100 m in depth. Terronera property resources The high grade mineralized zone of resources was also found at the Terronera property in La Luz vein. It is situated at 2,200 m from Terronera vein. This resource stretches at 300 m in length and 250 m in depth. The company gave its drilling highlights at both the properties in the official statement. The Exploration Vice President of company, Luis Castro said that the drill results have been positive and that both the sites had enormous exploration potential. There are prospects of finding new mineralized zones along with new veins. The company said that the drill programmes shall break at the middle of this month for Christmas. The drilling would begin again in January 2017 after they receive the final assays in 2016. Regulatory News: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement. UNITED COMPANY RUSAL PLC (Paris:RUSAL) (Paris:RUAL) (Incorporated under the laws of Jersey with limited liability) (Stock Code: 486) CHANGE OF DIRECTOR AND CHANGE TO THE COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE The Board of the Company is pleased to announce that Mr. Marco Musetti has been appointed as a non-executive Director with effect from 15 December 2016, and has also been appointed as a member of the Marketing Committee of the Company with effect from 15 December 2016. APPOINTMENT OF NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR The board (the "Board") of directors (the "Directors" and each a "Director") of United Company RUSAL Plc (the "Company") announces that SUAL Partners Limited, a substantial shareholder of the Company, proposed Mr. Marco Musetti ("Mr. Musetti") to be considered for nomination or recommendation as a non-executive Director pursuant to article 23.4 of the articles of association of the Company (the "Articles of Association"). The Board is pleased to announce that Mr. Musetti has, accordingly, been appointed as a non-executive Director of the Company with effect from 15 December 2016. Particulars of Mr. Musetti are set out below: Mr. Musetti, aged 47, has been a Senior Officer at Renova Management AG, an investment management company based in Zurich, Switzerland since 2007. He currently serves as Managing Director Investments of Renova Management AG. Mr. Musetti has also been serving as a member of the board of directors of Sulzer AG since 2011 and on the board of directors of Schmolz Bickenbach AG since 2013. Mr Musetti was a member of the board of directors of CIFC Corp. from January 2014 to November 2016. Mr. Musetti was COO and deputy CEO of Aluminium Silicon marketing (Sual Group) from 2000 to 2007, Head of Metals and Structured Finance Desk for Banque Cantonale Vaudoise from 1998 to 2000, and Deputy Head of Metals Desk for Banque Bruxelles Lambert from 1992 to 1998. Mr. Musetti holds a Master of Science in Accounting and Finance from London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, and a Major degree in Economics from University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Mr. Musetti will sign an appointment letter with the Company as a non-executive Director with effect from 15 December 2016. The length of service of Mr. Musetti as a non-executive Director will be determined in accordance with the Articles of Association. Mr. Musetti's appointment may be terminated by Mr. Musetti giving the Company one month's notice of termination and/or otherwise in accordance with the Articles of Association. As a non-executive Director, Mr. Musetti will be entitled to a fixed director's fee of 120,000 per annum, which is determined by the Board with reference to the performance of the Company, his duties and responsibilities and the prevailing market conditions. Mr. Musetti will also be entitled to 10,000 per annum as a member of each Board committee to which he may be appointed. As at the date of this announcement, Mr. Musetti was not interested or deemed to be interested in any shares or underlying shares of the Company or its associated corporations within the meaning of Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong). Save as disclosed above, as at the date of this announcement, Mr. Musetti is independent from and not related to any other Directors, senior management, substantial shareholders or controlling shareholders of the Company. Save as disclosed above, Mr. Musetti has not held any directorship in any publicly listed companies in the last three years or any other position with the Company or its subsidiaries. Save as disclosed above, there are no other matters relating to the appointment of Mr. Musetti that need to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company and there is no other information which is required to be disclosed pursuant to Rules 13.51(2)(h) to 13.51(2)(v) of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The Board would like to welcome Mr. Musetti as a non-executive Director. CHANGE TO THE COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE The Company announces that Mr. Marco Musetti, a non-executive Director, was appointed as a member of the Marketing Committee of the Company with effect from 15 December 2016. By Order of the Board of Directors of United Company RUSAL Plc Aby Wong Po Ying Company Secretary 16 December 2016 As at the date of this announcement, the executive Directors are Mr. Oleg Deripaska, Mr. Vladislav Soloviev and Mr. Siegfried Wolf, the non-executive Directors are Mr. Maxim Sokov, Mr. Dmitry Afanasiev, Mr. Ivan Glasenberg, Mr. Maksim Goldman, Ms. Gulzhan Moldazhanova, Mr. Daniel Lesin Wolfe, Ms. Olga Mashkovskaya, Ms. Ekaterina Nikitina and Mr. Marco Musetti, and the independent non-executive Directors are Mr. Matthias Warnig (Chairman), Mr. Philip Lader, Dr. Elsie Leung Oi-sie, Mr. Mark Garber, Mr. Dmitry Vasiliev and Mr. Bernard Zonneveld. All announcements and press releases published by the Company are available on its website under the links http://www.rusal.ru/en/investors/info.aspxhttp://rusal.ru/investors/info/moex/ and http://www.rusal.ru/en/press-center/press-releases.aspx, respectively. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215005858/en/ Contacts: United Company RUSAL Plc Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, will be later than usual this year. Hanukkah will start on Dec. 23 in the evening, so we will be celebrating Hanukkah from around Christmas to New Years Eve. We celebrate Hanukkah by lighting candles every evening for eight nights. The first evening/day, we light one candle, along with a shamash candle, which serves to light the other candles. Then the second evening, we light two candles, using the shamash. The third evening three candles, the fourth evening four candles, etc. Most Jews light candles in a beautiful nine-branched candle holder called a Hanukkiyah. Many call it a menorah, but actually Menorah refers properly to the seven-branched candle holder that was used in the original Temple in Jerusalem. The Hanukkiyah has one branch for each dayup to eight days, and then a ninth branch for the shamash candle, with which we light all the others. Each evening when we light the candles we say two blessings over them: Blessed art Thou, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us by Thy Commandments, and commanded us to light the Hanukkah Candles. Blessed art Thou, Ruler of the Universe, who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days in that time. On the first night we also add a third blessing, the Shecheyanu, that we say at many holidays and celebrations: Blessed art Thou, Ruler of the Universe, who has sustained us, and kept us alive and allowed us to reach this day. Hanukkah is a time when we light candles in the midst of the dying year, as the days grow shorter and darker. I am always reminded as we come into December that many religious traditions include bringing light to the darkness in the month that the days are shortest and the nights are longest. Christians bring light into their homes with candles and lights on trees and houses. Some people light yule logs to bring warmth and light at the winter solstice. African Americans created a beautiful Kwanza tradition of lighting candles that represent important values. This is something we should be celebrating how we all treasure the light and warmth in a month of darkness, as winter sets in. As Jews, we light our candles for eight nights to commemorate the great miracles that God did for our ancestors by delivering them from tyrants who would not let them worship as Jews. In the year 175 Before the Common Era (BCE), a Greek-Syrian king by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes, ruled the land of Israel and the Jews. He tried to wipe out the Jewish religion and replace it with Greek religion. He did not permit the Jews to perform their normal Temple service, to circumcise their sons, or to celebrate the Sabbath and Holidays, on the pain of death. Antiochus had a Statue of Zeus put into the Temple and sacrificed a pig in the temple, and expected the Jews to worship the Greek gods. Finally, a family of Jews, known as the Maccabees, started a rebellion against the rule of Antiochus. It was a long struggle, but finally in the year 164 BCE, the Jewish rebels overthrew Antiochus, and began to restore the Jewish worship in the land. One of the first things they did was to clean the Temple that had been profaned. When they were ready rededicate the Temple to God (Hanukkah means dedication) and to relight the Temple Menorah, they discovered that they didnt have enough kosher oil to last more than one day. It would take eight days to prepare new kosher oil. But they didnt wait; they lit the Menorah anyway and rededicated the Temple. One of the great miracles was that the one-day of oil lasted eight full days burning in the Menorah, until more kosher oil was ready. But an even greater miracle was that the Jews, under the leadership of Maccabees, were able to restore freedom of worship to the Jewish people. I think that this history lesson is especially important this year. Hanukkah is not about giving gifts and lighting candles, but it is about fighting for the right to worship according to our own lights. That is a right, guaranteed in our U.S. Constitution and for which many Americans of all faiths died, that many of us today fear will be lost in this country. The last year has been full of political rhetoric that scapegoated religious minorities, ethnic minorities, disabled persons and immigrants. There have been threats by the incoming administration that Muslims will be required to register, and families will be broken up and deported. Since the election, there have been threats against religious minorities in our area. We Jews have seen what this rhetoric leads to. The Holocaust started with similar words in Europe, and millions of religious and ethnic minorities were slaughtered. I hope and pray that we can prevent that horror from happening in this country. As we bring light into our homes in celebration in the next few weeks, we must all remember that there are people in this world who are not free to worship God as they believe they should, and people who are still oppressed by tyrants. There are also people, citizens of this country, who are now living in fear because they have been scapegoated by the incoming administrations political rhetoric. We are responsible to help them that is what all our religious faiths teach us. We are responsible to fight against the bigotry, racism, misogyny and discrimination all of us of all faiths are responsible! Every day of the year is a day on which we all need to work to bring freedom to those who are oppressed, both here and abroad. Let us work together to make this a world that is safe for all of us to live and worship. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/15/16 -- Monument Mining Limited (TSX VENTURE: MMY)(FRANKFURT: D7Q1) ("Monument" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results from its Annual General Meeting held on December 15, 2016 in Vancouver, B.C., which had a turnout in person or by proxy of just over 42% of its issued and outstanding shares. All of management's nominees for directors being Robert F. Baldock, Cathy Zhai, Zaidi Harun, Graham Dickson, and Michael John Kitney were approved by shareholders. All resolutions were approved as proposed by more than 98% of the shares voted. Robert Baldock, President and CEO commented, "I would like to take this opportunity to give my thanks to our shareholders for their continuing support. I would also like to thank the retiring two directors, who have served the Company, for their contribution toward building the Company." For more information on these matters, please refer to Monument's Information Circular, available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or visit our website at www.monumentmining.com. About Monument Monument Mining Limited (TSX VENTURE: MMY)(FRANKFURT: D7Q1) is an established Canadian gold producer that owns and operates the Selinsing Gold Mine in Malaysia. Its experienced management team is committed to growth and is advancing several exploration and development projects including the Mengapur Polymetallic Project, in Pahang State of Malaysia, and the Murchison Gold Projects comprising Burnakura, Gabanintha and Tuckanarra in the Murchison area of Western Australia. The Company employs approximately 240 people in both regions and is committed to the highest standards of environmental management, social responsibility, and health and safety for its employees and neighboring communities. The Company has also been seeking potential opportunities for larger resources in other countries. Robert F. Baldock, President and CEO Monument Mining Limited Suite 1580 -1100 Melville Street Vancouver, BC V6E 4A6 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION visit the company web site at www.monumentmining.com. "Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." Forward-Looking Statement This news release includes statements containing forward-looking information about Monument, its business and future plans ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are statements that involve expectations, plans, objectives or future events that are not historical facts and include the Company's plans with respect to its mineral projects and the timing and results of proposed programs and events referred to in this news release. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The forward-looking statements in this news release are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks and certain other factors include, without limitation: risks related to general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; uncertainties regarding the results of current exploration activities; uncertainties in the progress and timing of development activities; foreign operations risks; other risks inherent in the mining industry and other risks described in the management discussion and analysis of the Company and the technical reports on the Company's projects, all of which are available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Material factors and assumptions used to develop forward-looking statements in this news release include: expectations regarding the estimated cash cost per ounce of gold production and the estimated cash flows which may be generated from the operations, general economic factors and other factors that may be beyond the control of Monument; assumptions and expectations regarding the results of exploration on the Company's projects; assumptions regarding the future price of gold of other minerals; the timing and amount of estimated future production; the expected timing and results of development and exploration activities; costs of future activities; capital and operating expenditures; success of exploration activities; mining or processing issues; exchange rates; and all of the factors and assumptions described in the management discussion and analysis of the Company and the technical reports on the Company's projects, all of which are available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Contacts: Richard Cushing MMY Vancouver +1-604-638-1661 x102 rcushing@monumentmining.com Wolfgang Seybold Axino GmbH +49 711-82 09 7211 wolfgang.seybold@axino.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/15/16 -- Wataynikaneyap Power LP is pleased to announce that FortisOntario Inc. ("FortisOntario") through its parent company Fortis Inc. has agreed to increase its share in the ownership of the transmission company by acquiring the interest of Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES). As a result of this increased investment, FortisOntario's equity in the Limited Partnership will increase to 49%, while the 22 First Nations communities will continue to hold the remaining 51% interest. "This increase of our ownership of Wataynikaneyap Power LP demonstrates the solid commitment FortisOntario has to the success of this Project and to our partners," said Scott Hawkes, President of CEO of FortisOntario Inc., and President of Wataynikaneyap Power LP. "FortisOntario firmly believes in the mission and our collective mandate with First Nations to connect communities to the provincial electricity transmission system. Not only will this reduce reliance on high-cost diesel for power, but it will also serve as a platform for further infrastructure and socio-economic development in the North." RES has agreed to sell its holdings in the Limited Partnership to FortisOntario. RES will remain a strong developer, constructor, and operator in the Canadian renewable generation and energy storage sectors. "RES has made significant contributions to the Project to-date" said Hawkes. "As part of the short term transition plan, RES will remain a service provider to the project while Wataynikaneyap Power LP and Fortis implement resource options, including opportunities to utilize certain resources from the Fortis Group of companies." "We are very pleased that FortisOntario has shown continued commitment to Wataynikaneyap Power and to the important work that lies ahead in connecting out communities to the grid," said Margaret Kenequanash, Executive Director of Shibogama First Nation Council, and Chair of Wataynikaneyap Power. "This is a transformational project. Along with FortisOntario's participation, First Nations ownership will not only ensure responsible development of infrastructure in our traditional homelands, but it will maximize the health, safety, environmental, social and economic benefits for those First Nations communities that have been unable to provide adequate infrastructure and services to their people." "We are very proud of the progress that we have made with RES as a partner and we thank them for their tireless support," said Kenequanash. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval of the Ontario Energy Board. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. Wataynikaneyap Power is an unprecedented partnership of 22 First Nations who have joined together with FortisOntario to build 1,800 km of transmission lines. The project, currently forecasted to be $1.35 billion, includes the grid reinforcement to Pickle Lake, expanding the grid north of Pickle Lake, and Red Lake to connect remote First Nations communities. Earlier this year the Government of Ontario prioritized the Remote Connection Plan to connect participating First Nations communities, and designated Wataynikaneyap Power LP as the licensed transmitter to undertake the Project. In addition to the 17 communities that will now be connected, other communities can be expected to be connected to the grid in the near future. The connection of remote First Nation communities to clean electricity through transmission lines was identified in Ontario's 2013 Long Term Energy Plan. It is expected to save over $1 billion and is estimated to result in over 6.6 million tonnes of avoided CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to continued dialogue with First Nations communities with a vested interest in the project, Wataynikaneyap Power's next steps will be to apply to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) for Leave to Construct the project, as well as to complete all necessary environmental assessment work. Pending permitting, approvals, and a cost sharing agreement between the federal and provincial government, construction is expected to begin in 2018. About Wataynikaneyap Power: Wataynikaneyap Power is owned by 22 First Nations communities and FortisOntario. The partnership will develop new transmission facilities to connect remote First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario, currently powered by diesel generation, which has become financially unsustainable, environmentally risky, and inadequate to meet community needs. More information about Wataynikaneyap Power can be found at www.wataypower.ca. About FortisOntario: FortisOntario is an electric utility, which owns and operates Canadian Niagara Power Inc., Cornwall Street Railway, Light and Power Company Limited and Algoma Power Inc., serving a combined 65,000 customers. FortisOntario also owns regulated transmission assets with approximately 3,430 km of distribution and transmission lines. FortisOntario also holds a 10 per cent share in three other distribution utilities with a combined customer base of approximately 40,000. FortisOntario is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis Inc. ("Fortis") (TSX: FTS)(NYSE: FTS), with total assets of approximately CAD$47 billion and fiscal 2015 revenue of CAD$6.7 billion, serving more than 3 million customers across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. For more information, visit www.fortisinc.com, www.sedar.com, or www.sec.gov. About RES: Since 1997, RES has been providing development, engineering, construction, and operations services to the utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage markets across the Americas. The company has constructed more than 1,600 kilometers (km) of transmission lines, including the 344.4km MATL project, and over 9,000 MW of utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage projects, throughout the Americas. RES' corporate office in Canada is located in Montreal, Quebec with a regional office in Oakville, Ontario. For more information, visit www.res-group.com. Contacts: John Cutfeet Communications Officer Wataynikaneyap Power 807-738-0935 cutfeetj@hotmail.com Kristine Carmichael Director of Corporate and Customer Services FortisOntario Inc. 905-871-0330, extension 3209 kristine.carmichael@fortisontario.com Jeff Silverstein Sussex Strategy Group 416-879-4353 jsilverstein@sussex-strategy.com CHARLOTTE, NC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/15/16 -- An official request to the White House from Exodus Foundation.org has been made, asking President Obama to adopt the Exodus Coalition Plan before he leaves office in order to systematically commute the sentences of all non-violent and overcharged federal inmates. Developed by Rev. Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler, President, and founder of Exodus Foundation.org, the Exodus Coalition Plan establishes a new and fairer set of criteria for clemency. The press is invited to join Exodus Foundation.org in front of the White House on December 19th at 3 p.m. for a press conference during its ongoing vigil until President Obama's term ends. The official request states, "We applaud the work of the White House Office of Pardons and the Clemency Project 2014; yet, under the current guidelines, only 10% of commutation applications are actually approved. We would be remiss to ignore the harsh sentences of the 80,000 federal inmates left behind classified as nonviolent and likely thousands more who have been overcharged." The Exodus Coalition Plan was designed to assist President Obama and to strengthen his hand to do justice. "President Obama has an opportunity to correct the grossly unjust sentencing practices of the past 4 decades which have leveled American families of all backgrounds. As one of the nation's most highly-respected global leaders and advocates for change on the ground, Exodus Foundation.org is asking President Obama to add one more milestone and significant act of justice to his legacy by joining the ranks of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson who granted clemency to millions of confederate soldiers and sympathizers. If the Exodus Coalition Plan is adopted, there will be tens of thousands of families restored and lives repaired, saving our nation an estimated $21 billion in the next ten years." Dr. Madeline McClenney-Sadler. Additional stakeholders in what is called the "Time's Up -- Let Me Go!" initiative include scholars and experts in the field of Criminal Justice. They represent prestigious institutions and religious organizations that include the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, National Council of Churches, PICO-Live Free, Healing Communities USA, the National Progressive Baptist Association and the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative as well as representatives that are active on Capitol Hill. About Exodus Foundation.org Led by Dr. McClenney and successful formerly incarcerated persons on its governing board, Exodus Foundation.org is a Christian faith-based charity that serves people of all faiths or no faith at all. Dr. McClenney founded Exodus Foundation.org in 1999, and under her leadership, the Red Sea Crossings Mentoring and Scholarship Program was developed as an evidence-based re-entry mentoring program emphasizing 24 hours, culturally competent mentoring. Since 2008, 90% of Exodus mentees have remained out of jail or prison. Contact: Exodus Foundation.org Stephney Thomas 832 326 6171 iamstephriley@gmail.com A Mazda CX-3 comes off the line at Hofu Plant No.1 Corporate Communications Division Mazda Motor Corporation, Japan +81-3-3508-5056 [Tokyo] +81-82-282-5253 [Hiroshima] mailto: media@mazda.co.jp HIROSHIMA, Japan, Dec 16, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Mazda Motor Corporation announced today that the company began production of the Mazda CX-3 subcompact crossover SUV yesterday at Hofu Plant No.1 in Yamaguchi, Japan. The move strengthens the automaker's supply system for SUV vehicles, demand for which continues to grow globally.http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_MazdaCX31216.jpgA Mazda CX-3 comes off the line at Hofu Plant No.1Hofu Plant becomes the third production facility to manufacture the CX-3, following Ujina Plant No.1 (in Hiroshima), where production began in December 2014, and AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd., where production began in October last year.Domestic production of the CX-3 has until now been confined to Ujina Plant No.1, which also produces the Mazda CX-5 and Mazda CX-9. Moving a portion of CX-3 production to Hofu enhances the company's ability to supply these models and respond quickly and flexibly to growing demand for SUVs globally. Bringing CX-3 production online at Hofu went smoothly thanks to Mazda's Bundled Product Planning*1 and Common Architecture Concept(2) key components of the company's Monotsukuri Innovation initiatives in product planning and production.Mazda is aiming to create a flexible production system capable of producing up to 50 percent crossover vehicles as the company works to meet its global sales goal of 1.65 million units, as laid out in its Structural Reform Stage 2 medium-term business plan (covering the period from fiscal year ending (FYE) March 2017 through FYE March 2019)."We're aiming for a production system that gives us more flexibility in terms of plants and models, so we can get our cars to customers around the world as quickly as possible," said Masatoshi Maruyama, Managing Executive Officer in charge of global production. "Achieving this will help create a stronger foundation for our business."Mazda will continue its efforts to enrich people's lives through a variety of touchpoints, including high-quality vehicle production, and become a brand with which customers feel a strong emotional connection.(1) A planning method that looks at trends five to ten years ahead, identifies what products and technologies will be needed, and creates a comprehensive plan for all products to be sold during the period. Bundled Product Planning identifies what elements can be common to all vehicles and what elements need to be unique to each carline. The aim is to maximize the individual appeal of each model at the same time as creating common vehicle structures and manufacturing processes that enable the efficient manufacture of various future products.(2) Under the Common Architecture concept, the core characteristics of each component are common across all car lines regardless of segment or engine displacement. Parts for different models differ in size, but share the same design characteristics, making it possible to develop and produce a variety of products using the same processes.About MazdaMazda Motor Corporation (TSE: 7261) started manufacturing tools in 1929 and soon branched out into production of trucks for commercial use. In the early 1960s, Mazda launched its first passenger car models and began developing rotary engines. Still headquartered in Hiroshima in western Japan, Mazda today ranks as one of Japan's leading automakers, and exports cars to the United States and Europe for over 30 years. For more information, please visit www.mazda.comSource: MazdaContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Botosoft launches Botoseal, the world's most advanced document security solution.LONDON, 2016-12-16 09:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Botosoft Technologies, an award winning security solutions company, launched the world's most advanced anti-counterfeiting technology, Botoseal, at the 20th Annual Conference of the United Kingdom National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC). The event, held at Victoria Park Plaza, London, United Kingdom on November 21 and 22, 2016, had in attendance representatives from recruitment agencies, examination bodies, academia, assessment institutions and security agencies from across the world.Photos accompanying this announcement are available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/67f51f00-ff72-45b1-a66b-c387d 7a5755e and http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b0f8716a-9cda-42e0-84ad-4592f c6618e4."Botosoft Technologies prides itself on a culture of making life easy," said Agbeyo Tolulope, CEO of Botosoft Technologies. "The company recognizes that forgery is rampant because document verification is difficult; if verifications were made easy, forgery would be contained and eventually eradicated."With the prevailing problems associated with document security in organizations, Botosoft in collaboration with HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, has developed the world's most advanced document security solution called Botoseal, a solution with physical attributes and security features needed to develop and implement a successful document security strategy in any organization. The Botoseal solution comprises three interconnected modules of secure holographic seal, Smartsign application and Verifier application."Partnering with Botosoft on this innovative solution is a natural extension of HID Global's commitment to add trust to a wide range of new use cases. HID Trusted Tag Services, coupled with Botoseal, ensures the authenticity of legal documents to combat counterfeiting," said Mark Robinton, Director, Business Development & Strategic Innovation, Identification Technologies with HID Global. "This unique solution leverages the cryptographically secure NFC tags and HID Cloud Authentication from our HID Trusted Services offering to provide peace of mind to users seeking to validate the authenticity of documents."Botoseal replaces the conventional seal with a chip-embedded holographic seal, which offers unique security and physical attributes that prevent replication and hacking. This seal is tamper evident and provides absolute security on documents.Digital signatures are impossible to forge, as opposed to traditional ink on paper. Botoseal Smartsign application allows you to digitally sign paper documents, thereby protecting your document and also assuring the recipients of its genuineness. Leveraging on the NFC capabilities of smartphones, a tap of the phone on the document is all that is required to verify the document's authenticity.Botoseal Verifier application does not only seamlessly verify the authenticity of a document, but also gives the users access to tamper-evident digital copies of their document on the go. This solution offers a cost saving and efficient means of getting copies of paper documents, without the need for printers or photocopiers.With Document control, management, and issuance being core to every business, Botoseal also features a document management platform that allows users, through a unified dashboard, to set document issuance privileges within any organization, track the usage of a document and revoke access to its use as necessary.The introduction of Botoseal finally lays to rest the problem of document forgery, document doctoring, content alteration and signature falsification. It reverses the norm of easy forgery and difficult verification of document authenticity.Botoseal facilitates the secure signing and seamless verification of documents authenticity with the simple tap of a smart phone.A video accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7495f2cf-5c21-4909-8205-f1026 14e5f5eBotosealthe trust you need!About BotosoftWe support organizations with security solutions needed to drive up performance while they focus on their core business. We develop solutions that help solve challenging problems with the use of cutting edge technologies and have gone on to develop valuable solutions in the following areas: Brand Protection, Identity Management Systems, Government to Citizen Solution and Document Security. Yearly, our mobile identification and Verification system is used by Africa's foremost examination body. The West African Examinations Council securely verifies the identity of over 1.6 million students sitting for its examinations across 20 thousand locations annually. Through successful working relationships with our global partners, we have evolved to become an award-winning leader in security solutions. For more information, visit http://www.botosoft.com.The photos are also available at Newscom, www.newscom.com, and via AP PhotoExpress.Contact Agbeyo Tolulope CEO, Botosoft Technologies Agbeyo.tolulope@botosoft.net Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Joseph Hood, PR Manager Email: mhi-pr@mhi.co.jp Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168 Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860 Yokohama, Japan, Dec 16, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received an order from China Shenhua Guohua Power Co., Ltd. to supply gas turbine preventive detection services. The service is scheduled to begin in April 2017 for a gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plant supplying electricity to the Beijing area. The order was made through Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Dongfang Gas Turbine Co., Ltd. (MHIDF), a joint venture with the Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Dongfang Turbine Co., Ltd., which is also a technology licensee of MHPS.The detection services will be provided for the Shenhua Beijing Guohua Gas-fired Thermal Power Plant. The plant began commercial operations in 2015 and supplies 950 megawatt of electricity using two M701F gas turbines delivered by Dongfang Turbine. MHPS has also concluded a 12-year long-term service agreement (LTSA) with the plant through MHIDF.This order reflects MHPS's efforts to support the thermal power plant operations and will be the first digital solution provided to a GTCC power plant in China, where demand for operational flexibility has increased in recent years. The gas turbine preventive detection services will utilize MHPS's AI (artificial intelligence) technology, as well as advanced algorithms to identify the cause of an anomaly in advance, contributing to improved utilization rates. In addition, the service includes a function to propose appropriate countermeasures when anomalies become apparent.China Shenhua Guohua Power Co., Ltd. is engaged in the power generation business under the umbrella of Shenhua Group Corporation Limited, the world's largest coal company and the world's largest coal dealer. Established in 1999 with headquarters in Beijing, it is the sixth largest power generation group in China.MHPS's digital solutions are already installed and operational at a number of plants and are supporting power plant operations by improving the performance of equipment, avoiding unplanned outages, and enabling maintenance to be optimized based on advanced detection. The introduction of this detection service is part of the global expansion of MHPS's digital solutions. Together with Dongfang Turbine, MHPS has received orders for over 60 state-of-the-art gas turbines for power plants throughout China and plans to expand its operational support services using digital solutions to many power plants in the future. MHPS plans to open a monitoring center at MHIDF to prepare for this service expansion.Going forward MHPS will continue to contribute to the stable supply of electric power worldwide by expanding sales of highly efficient thermal power generation facilities and disseminating operational support services for power plants.About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.For more information, please visit the MHI Group website: http://www.mhi-global.com.For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: http://spectra.mhi.com.Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Contact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. 16 DECEMBER 2016 INTU PROPERTIES PLC DISPOSAL OF INTU BROMLEY Following the announcement on 25 October 2016, intu properties plc ('intu') has now completed the sale of its interest in the intu Bromley shopping centre to Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation ('APFC') for 177.9 million. As part of the transaction, APFC have also acquired Aviva's 21.475 per cent interest in the centre. London Borough of Bromley is retaining its 15 per cent interest and freehold of the centre, which will cease to be called intu Bromley. ENQUIRIES intu properties plc Susan Marsden Group Company Secretary +44 (0)207 887 7073 NOTES FOR EDITORS intu is the UK's leading owner, manager and developer of prime regional shopping centres with a growing presence in Spain. We are passionate about creating uniquely compelling experiences, in centre and online, that attract customers, delivering enhanced footfall, dwell time and loyalty. This helps our retailers flourish, driving occupancy and income growth. A FTSE 100 company, we own many of the UK's largest and most popular retail destinations, including nine of the top 20, with super regional centres such as intu Trafford Centre and intu Lakeside and vibrant city centre locations from Newcastle to Watford. We are focused on four strategic objectives: optimising the performance of our assets to provide attractive long term total property returns, delivering our UK development pipeline to add value to our portfolio, leveraging the strength of our brand and seizing the opportunity in Spain to create a business of scale. We are committed to our local communities and to operating with environmental responsibility. Our centres support over 119,000 jobs representing about 4% of the total UK retail workforce. Our success creates value for our retailers, investors and the communities we serve. PUNE,India, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides Market by Application (Personal Care, Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals, and Industrial & Others), and Region (Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to reach USD 913.4 Million by 2026, at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2016 to 2026. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 43 market data Tables and 56 Figures spread through122 Pages and in-depth TOC on"Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/caprylic-capric-triglyceride-market-177603475.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Growing usage of chemical lubricant as skin protector, especially in personal care and growing usage of caprylic/capric triglycerides in food & beverages as an ingredient are fueling the growth of caprylic/capric triglycerides market. This growth can be attributed to the increasing demand for caprylic/capric triglycerides in food & beverages, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and other industries worldwide. Food & beverages application segment is expected to lead the caprylic/capric triglycerides market by 2026 Based on application, the food & beverages application segment of the caprylic/capric triglycerides market is expected to account for a major share in 2016, followed by personal care, and industrial & other application segment. Growing usage of safe ingredients, especially in food & beverages and personal care is fueling the demand for caprylic/capric triglycerides. Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides is a trimester, which is available in form of liquid. Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, owing to its excellent properties of longer shelf life, less toxicity, and a safe ingredient, is widely preferred as an ingredient in food & beverages products. Make an Inquiry @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=177603475 The Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the caprylic/capric triglycerides market during the forecast period Asia-Pacific is estimated to account for the largest share of the Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides Market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. China is one of the major consumers of caprylic/capric triglycerides in the Asia-Pacific region. Growing usage of caprylic/capric triglycerides in food & beverages and personal care, increasing investments in industrial & other applications, growing economies, and increasing domestic consumption are anticipated to drive the demand for caprylic/capric triglycerides in the Asia-Pacific region. Major market players covered in this report are Croda International plc (U.K.), Oleon NV (Belgium), Ecogreen Oleochemicals (Singapore), Peter Cremer North America (U.S), IOI Oleo GmbH (Germany), KLK Oleo (Malaysia), Oxiteno (Brazil), and BERG + SCHMIDT GmbH & CO. (Germany). Purchase Report at https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Purchase/purchase_report1.asp?id=177603475 This report offers an overview of market trends, drivers, and barriers with respect to the caprylic/capric triglycerides market. It also provides a detailed overview of the market across five regions, namely, Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. The report categorizes the caprylic/capric triglycerides market on the basis of application and region. A detailed analysis of leading players, along with key growth strategies adopted by them, is also covered in this report. Browse Related Reports: Emollient Esters Market by Product (Isopropyl Myristate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Palmitate, Myristy l Myristate), by End-User (Skin Care, Hair Care, Cosmetics, Oral Care) & by Region - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/emollient-esters-market-139748611.html Oleochemicals Market by Type (Fatty Acid, Fatty Alcohol, Glycerin, and Others), by Application (Pharmaceutical & personal care, Food & beverages, Soaps & detergents, Polymers, and Others), by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World) - Trends and Forecasts to 2019 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/oleochemicals-market-235516809.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr.Rohan Markets and Markets 701 Pike Street Suite 2175, Seattle, WA 98101, United States Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SMITHVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, will make an announcement in support of manufacturing. MP Bittle will be available to answer questions from the media, following the announcement. Please note that all details are subject to change. All times are local. DATE: Friday, December 16, 2016 TIME: 10:00 a.m. - Tour 10:30 a.m. - Announcement (Please Note: Safety goggles and ear plugs, provided by Stanpac Inc., will be required for the tour.) PLACE: Stanpac Inc. 2790 Thompson Road Smithville, Ontario L0R 2A0 Contacts: Media Relations Office FedDev Ontario 416-954-6652 fdo.mediarel-relmedias.fdo@canada.ca Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - Augustine Ventures Inc. (CSE: WAW) ("Augustine") and Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSXV: RPX) ("Red Pine") are pleased to announce that Augustine has obtained an interim order (the "Interim Order") of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (the "Court") in connection with its proposed plan of arrangement with Red Pine pursuant to the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "Arrangement") previously announced in the joint press release of Augustine and Red Pine dated November 14, 2016 (the "Previous Press Release"). The Interim Order provides for, among other things, the holding of a special meeting of the shareholders of Augustine to be held at 2:00 p.m. on January 20, 2017 in Toronto, Canada to seek shareholder approval for the Arrangement (the "Meeting"). Pursuant to the Interim Order, Augustine has prepared an information circular in connection with the Meeting (the "Information Circular"). Augustine is relying on the "notice-and-access" provisions of applicable laws in sending the Information Circular and related proxy materials to its shareholders. Accordingly, although shareholders still receive the proxy or voting instruction forms in paper copy, the Information Circular will not be physically delivered. Instead, shareholders may access or download the Information Circular from the website https://noticeinsite.tsxtrust.com/AugustineVenturesAGSM2017 and may also access it under Augustine's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Registered or beneficial shareholders of Augustine may request that paper copies of the Information Circular be sent to them by postal delivery at no cost to them. Requests may be made up to one year from the date the Information Circular is posted on the website noted above. In order to receive a paper copy of the Information Circular, please call toll free at 1-866-600-5869. If you have questions concerning "notice-and-access", please call Augustine's registrar and transfer agent, TSX Trust Company, at 1-866-600-5869. As disclosed in the Previous Press Release, Augustine and Red Pine have entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement Agreement") dated November 14, 2016 pursuant to which Red Pine will acquire all of the outstanding securities of Augustine under the Arrangement, subject to the terms and conditions of the Arrangement Agreement. Upon completion of the Arrangement, Augustine will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Red Pine and Red Pine will carry on the business of the combined companies after changing its name to "Wawa Gold Inc." (or such other name as the Board of Directors of Red Pine may approve) and reorganizing its board of directors (referred to in this press release as the "Resulting Issuer"). Under the Arrangement Agreement, the parties have agreed that each Augustine common share will be exchanged for 0.76 Red Pine common shares (the "Exchange Ratio"). Pursuant to the Arrangement, the holders of common shares of Augustine outstanding at the time of completion of the Arrangement will receive Resulting Issuer common shares ("Resulting Issuer Shares") based on the Exchange Ratio and all of the currently outstanding warrants of Augustine will be exercisable pursuant to the terms of such warrants for common shares of the Resulting Issuer with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio. The parties have also agreed to amend the Arrangement Agreement to provide that the Augustine stock options will be treated in the same manner as the Augustine warrants and will be replaced with Red Pine stock options (rather than being cancelled or exercised as disclosed in the November 14, 2016 press release) exercisable for common shares of the Resulting Issuer with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio, subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V"). Red Pine currently has 108,371,818 common shares issued and outstanding, as well as 5,676,000 stock options and 34,506,801 common share purchase warrants (each of which is exercisable to acquire one common share of Red Pine). Prior to the closing of the Arrangement, Red Pine may conduct additional equity financings for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000. Since the date of the Previous Press Release, Augustine has issued 17,958,374 shares to Citabar LP, and as disclosed in its press release dated December 13, 2016 has closed a $5,000,000 private placement financing pursuant to which Augustine issued 5,000,000 units at a price of $0.10 per unit, with each such unit comprised of one common share of Augustine issued on a "flow-through" basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) and one common share purchase warrant. After these securities issuances, Augustine currently has 131,106,192 common shares issued and outstanding, as well as 62,340,883 common share purchase warrants (each of which is exercisable to acquire one common share of Augustine) and 10,900,000 stock options issued to officers, directors, employees and consultants of Augustine. It is expected that Red Pine will issue approximately 99,640,706 Resulting Issuer Shares to the holders of Augustine common shares under the Arrangement based on the Exchange Ratio and assuming that no other convertible securities of Augustine are exercised prior to the effectiveness of the Arrangement. The Augustine warrants and stock options outstanding after completion of the Arrangement will be exercisable for Resulting Issuer Shares in accordance with the terms of such warrants and stock options with the number of shares issuable and the exercise price adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio. Pursuant to the amendments to the Arrangement Agreement, Augustine has agreed that the total number of outstanding securities immediately prior to the effectiveness of the Arrangement will not exceed 209,197,075 on a fully diluted basis. The completion of the Arrangement is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of the requisite approval from Augustine's shareholders, a final order of the Court, final acceptance by the TSX-V, and certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. If all necessary approvals are obtained and the conditions to the completion of the Arrangement are satisfied or waived, it is currently anticipated that the Arrangement will be completed on or about January 26, 2017. The Arrangement cannot close until the required conditions are satisfied or waived, and there can be no assurance that the Arrangement will be completed as proposed or at all. Augustine shareholders are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the Information Circular, any information released or received with respect to the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Shareholders are encouraged to read the Information Circular, as well as other relevant documents available under the profiles of Augustine and Red Pine on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Trading in the securities of the Augustine and Red Pine should be considered highly speculative. Cautionary Statements Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation relating to the proposal to complete the Arrangement, including statements regarding the terms and conditions of the Arrangement and the description of the Wawa Gold Project. The information about Augustine contained in the press release has not been independently verified by Red Pine and vice versa. We use words such as "might", "will", "should", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar terminology to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Although each of Red Pine and Augustine believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because neither Red Pine nor Augustine can give any assurances that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements and forward-looking information depending on, among other things, the risks that the parties will not complete the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions, that the ultimate terms of the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions will differ from those currently contemplated, and that the Arrangement and/or other associated transactions will not be successfully completed for any reason (including the failure to obtain the required approvals or clearances from regulatory authorities). The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. Neither Red Pine nor Augustine undertakes any obligation to comment on analysis, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Red Pine, Augustine, their respective securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). The TSX-V and the CSE have in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Arrangement and have neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of securities in the United States. Further Information For further information, please contact: Augustine Ventures Inc. Robert (Bob) Dodds, President & CEO Tel: (416) 363-2528 bdodds@augustineventures.com Red Pine Exploration Inc. Quentin Yarie, President & CEO, Tel: (416) 364-7024 qyarie@redpineexp.com PUNE, India, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report "Cloud Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market by Type (Standard/Non-video and Video), Core Solution (Web Performance Optimization, Media Delivery, and Cloud Security), Adjacent Services, Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global CDN Market to grow from USD 1.81 Billion in 2016 to USD 6.23 Billion by 2021, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28.0%. 2015 has been considered as the base year, while the forecast period is 2016-2021. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 62 market data Tables and 56 Figures spread through 159 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Cloud Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cloud-content-delivery-network-cdn-market-208477558.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The Cloud CDN Market is growing rapidly owing to the rising volume of data consumption over the internet, increasing internet penetration in the emerging economies, and the proliferation of video and rich media content over social sites. Inquiry before Buying @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=208477558 Media delivery is expected to dominate the Cloud CDN Market in terms of core solutions The research study for global Cloud CDN Market encompasses analysis of the market on the basis of core solutions, which is further segmented on the basis of web-performance optimization, media delivery, and cloud security. The media delivery solution is growing majorly due to the rising number of internet users especially in the emerging economies. Video CDN is expected to hold the largest market share The global Cloud CDN Market type is segmented on the basis of standard/non-video and Video CDN. The video CDN market held the largest market share and is expected to maintain its dominance over the coming years. The growing trends in Video on Demand (VoD) services globally have led to rising popularity of video CDN across the globe. The North American Cloud CDN Market expected to be the most lucrative market in 2016 The research study encompasses regional market analysis for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America along with some of the major countries in the specific regions. North America evaluated majority of the regional market share in 2016 for the Cloud CDN Market, followed by Europe. Highest internet penetration, growing demand for uninterrupted content delivery, large geographical land mass with remotely located internet users are some of the major factors affecting the North American Cloud CDN Market to hold the largest share. However, the market growth in the developing regions can be attributed to the enhancements in technology. Buy now @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Purchase/purchase_report1.asp?id=208477558 Major vendors that offer cloud CDN solutions are: Akamai Technologies, Inc. (Cambridge, U.S.), Google, Inc. (California, U.S.), Level 3 Communications (Colorado, U.S.), Limelight Networks, Inc. (Arizona, U.S.), Alcatel - Lucent SA (France), Amazon Web Services, Inc. (Washington, U.S.), Internap Corporation (Georgia, U.S.), Ericsson (Sweden), Verizon Communications, Inc. (New York, U.S.), CDNetworks (Seoul, Korea), Tata Communications (Mumbai and Singapore), and Highwinds (Florida, U.S.). The key innovators identified are Cedexis (U.S.), Incapsula, Inc. (California, U.S.), Fastly, Inc. (U.S.), CacheFly (Chicago, U.S.), MaxCDN (U.S.), CloudFlare, Inc. (U.S.), and Conviva (California, U.S.). These vendors have adopted different types of organic and inorganic growth strategies such as new product launches, partnerships & collaborations, and mergers & acquisitions to expand their offerings in the Cloud CDN Market. Browse Related Reports Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) CDN Market by Type (Video and Non-Video Content), by Service (In-House and Manage Service), by End-User (SME, Large Enterprise and Residential Customers) - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/iptv-cdn-market-51977202.html Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market by Type (Standard/Non-video and Video), Core Solution (Web Performance Optimization, Media Delivery, and Cloud Security), Adjacent Services, Service Providers, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/content-delivery-networks-cdn-market-657.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets is the largest market research firm worldwide in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets 701 Pike Street, Suite 2175, Seattle, WA 98101, United States Tel: 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - BCGold Corp. (TSXV: BCG) ("BCGold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results of a spectral analysis study performed on grab and channel samples collected and previously reported at the Company's 100% owned Pucacorral property in central Peru (See BCGold News Releases dated November 15th, December 5th and December 8th, 2016). Recent developments in hyperspectral sensor technology allows for the discrimination of complex alteration assemblages associated with intrusive-related porphyry mineralizing systems. Geologists can use this information to develop 3-Dimensional alteration models and exploration vectors to the most prospective copper and gold mineralization "shells" of a porphyry system. Pucacorral spectral results confirm the presence of a large, zoned hydrothermal alteration imprint associated with porphyry-type mineralization in the central portion of the Pucacorral property. The presence of a distinct, high-temperature white-mica mineral assemblage (paragonite-muscovite) observed only at the lower-most, copper-rich Sairita breccia veins, provides further support this vein system is in close proximity to the porphyry centre. http://www.bcgoldcorp.com/all_images/Pucacorral-geology-3D-View.jpg. Alteration mineral assemblages corroborate BCGold's current understanding of the Pucacorral mineralized system and provide further exploration vectors to pinpoint the location of the mineralized porphyry center at Pucacorral. BCGold performed spectral analysis on 94 rock chip channel samples and 24 breccia/vein grab samples from the San Mateo and Sairita mines utilizing a spectrometer and aiSIRIS interpretation software at ALS Chemex. Pucacorral Porphyry System BCGold Corp. previously reported the discovery of a porphyry intrusive centre and copper porphyry-style alteration within an area measuring at least 1.5 kilometres by 1.5 kilometres at Pucacorral. BCGold mapped and sampled five previously mined polymetallic breccia veins at the San Mateo mine over a vertical range of 175 metres and found evidence of a vertical metal zonation within that range. This profile shows higher lead and zinc values at higher elevations, giving way to an increase in breccia-hosted copper mineralization (and grades) at depth. The Company is positioning to conduct I.P. and magnetic geophysical surveys to establish drill targets at Pucacorral in early 2017. Furthermore, BCGold expects to receive a NI43-101 technical report detailing Phase I exploration at Pucacorral which will be posted on the Company's website and SEDAR in early Q1-2017. Qualified Person Victor Jaramillo, M.Sc.A., P.Geo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved all technical and scientific information contained in this news release. Mr. Jaramillo is responsible for the company's Pucacorral project development. About BCGold BCGold is a Vancouver-based junior resource company that has been listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for 10 years, with a focus on copper and gold exploration in British Columbia, Yukon and more recently, Peru. The Company acquires prospective gold and copper-gold exploration properties considered to have significant mineral potential by staking, option or purchase agreements. The Company currently has a portfolio of 2 - 100% owned gold-copper-silver properties in Peru, 10 - 100% owned and 2 partially owned gold and copper-gold properties in B.C. and Yukon. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Brian P. Fowler, P. Geo. President & CEO For further information, please contact: Brian P. Fowler President & CEO 604-681-2626 www.bcgir@bcgoldcorp.com Gary A. Anderson Executive Chairman 604-857-2556 gwaa123@gmail.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures and exploration, development and production activities. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the timing and completion of contemplated financings, the actual use of proceeds, receipt of regulatory approvals and the timing and success of future exploration, development and production activities. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Ten Peaks Coffee Company Inc. ("Ten Peaks") (TSX: TPK) today declared a cash dividend of $0.0625 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The dividend will be an 'eligible dividend' for Canadian income tax purposes, and will be paid on January 16, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2016. Company Profile Ten Peaks is a publicly traded company that owns all of the interests of the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company Inc. (SWDCC), a premium green coffee decaffeinator located in Burnaby, BC. It also owns and operates Seaforth Supply Chain Solutions Inc. (Seaforth), a green coffee handling and storage business located in Metro Vancouver. About SWDCC SWDCC employs the proprietary SWISS WATER Process to decaffeinate green coffee without the use of chemicals, leveraging science-based systems and controls to produce coffee that is 99.9% caffeine free. The SWISS WATER Process is a 100% chemical free water process for coffee decaffeination, as well as the world's only consumer-branded decaffeination process. It is certified organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association. SWISS WATER Process decaffeinated green coffees are sold to many of North America's leading specialty roaster retailers, specialty coffee importers and commercial coffee roasters. SWDCC also sells coffees internationally through regional distributors. About Seaforth Seaforth provides a complete range of green coffee handling and storage services, including devanning coffee received from origin; inspecting, weighing and sampling coffees; and storing, handling and preparing green coffee for outbound shipments. Seaforth's warehouse and handling operation is certified organic by Ecocert Canada. Contacts: Ten Peaks Coffee Company Inc. Sherry Tryssenaar Chief Financial Officer 604.444.8780 stryssenaar@tenpeakscoffee.ca www.tenpeakscoffee.ca TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- AlarmForce Industries Inc. (TSX: AF) (AlarmForce or the Company) announced today that it has substantially completed its previously announced review and evaluation of the Company's revenue recognition policies for certain revenue generated from customer contracts after a customer had requested cancellation of services. As a result, the Company intends to restate its financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2015 and the first and second quarters of 2016 which will also incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments associated with each of fiscal 2013 and 2014 years. The aggregate amount of revenue that was incorrectly earned is not expected to exceed $3.5M (or about 1.75% of aggregate revenue) for those periods. This amount remains subject to audit. In order for the Company to become current with its filing obligations for its financial statements under applicable Canadian securities laws, the Company intends to file by January 30, 2017: -- Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016, which includes restated financial information for fiscal 2015, and related MD&A, which will incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments; and -- Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2016, which includes restated financial information for the third quarter of 2015, and related MD&A, which will incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments The Company today also provides an update on employment related tax audits including steps it will be undertaking to mitigate the risk of additional employment related reassessments and on its review of internal controls. Restatement Arising from Incorrectly Charged Monitoring Fees Subsequent to Requests for Cancellation As previously announced on August 24, 2016, after concluding a review of its residential subscription cancellation practice, the Company determined that it ought not to have continued charging monitoring fees in some jurisdictions for the period following certain residential customers' subscription cancellations until the equipment was returned. The Company also announced that, retroactive to August 1, 2013, residential customers who had been incorrectly charged monitoring fees subsequent to the cancellation date will be entitled to a refund of those charges plus interest. In order to determine which of the Company's residential customers had been impacted, the Company undertook a detailed examination of revenue recognition and cancellation policies and practices for the periods starting fiscal Q4 2013 for revenue generated from customer contracts after a customer had requested cancellation of services. That examination process required a review of individual customer contracts and detailed account information where it appeared that a request to cancel services was made. That review of past and current customer contracts has now been completed. Based on management's review, the Company announces that up to $3.5M of monitoring fee revenue in aggregate were incorrectly charged. This estimate is preliminary and may change as a result of additional work in the preparation of the Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016. In addition, there will be other items in the financial statements that will be impacted and restated by this review. At this stage, the final amounts of refunds to be paid will depend on, among other things, the following factors: -- The Company's ability to reach individuals who cancelled during that time frame, especially those who are at the onset of the review period; -- Whether or not individual subscribers who have previously cancelled and been contacted by the Company follow up with the Company to complete the required documentation The Company expects to be able to provide details of the number of affected residential contracts and the amount of restated revenue and expenses when it reports and files its Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016 and associated MD&A and its Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements and associated MD&A for the third quarter of fiscal 2016. As a result of such incorrectly charged monitoring fees and related matters, the Company's historical financial statements and related MD&A for the years ended October 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and the first and second quarters of 2016 should not be relied upon. In addition to the affected residential contracts, the Company will also provide some preliminary guidance on the impact of the changed contractual terms, and cancellation policy and practice, which may result in a higher level of customer attrition as well as additional costs being incurred in order to retain certain subscribers. It is currently estimated that the Company will be required to cancel up to 3,400 subscribers as at Q3 2016 for subscribers who should have been cancelled in prior periods. In addition, the change in cancellation practice and policy is estimated to have resulted in the cancellation of an incremental 2,600 customers in Q4 2016 which would historically have been incurred in a subsequent period. The Company has been responding to requests for refunds and will be contacting the remaining impacted customers through an outreach campaign where the focus will be locating impacted subscribers and validation of refund entitlement and payment instructions. The Company will be providing updated information in this regard on its website in January 2017. Update on Employment Related Tax Audits As previously announced, Florida tax authorities and Ontario employer health tax authorities have each taken the position that the Company's contract installers in those jurisdictions should have been classified as employees and have proposed to reassess the Company for taxes and penalties totalling approximately $0.5 million, which the Company is disputing. To mitigate the risk of further audits and possible reassessments, the Company has initiated discussions with certain tax authorities concerning the future classification of installers as employees or amending the current contractual relationship and recognition of the past classification of its installers as contractors. These discussions are ongoing. In general, tax authorities may audit as far back as three taxation years in the U.S. and four taxation years in Canada. If the Company were reassessed by all applicable provincial, state and federal tax authorities in Canada and the U.S. on the basis that installers should have been classified as employees, the total magnitude of all such reassessments (inclusive of interest and penalties) would be material. Once an estimate on the exposure is determined, the Company will take a charge in fiscal 2016 to provide for this potential liability. It is anticipated that this estimate will be made with the filing of the Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016. To the extent that the Company concludes that the best course of action would be converting the installers to employees going forward, this is likely to result in higher operating costs being incurred in maintaining this workforce. Specifically, the introduction of employment benefits and additional remittance requirements will result in the Company incurring an increase in costs of 15% or greater for installation personnel. Based on last year's complement of installers, on an annual basis it is estimated that this could represent an increase of $1.1M or greater. To the extent that the Company converts fewer installers then this amount may decrease. The Company believes that having a more captive installation network in our core markets will contribute to an enhanced customer experience and will improve overall business performance. The Company and the Board actively review capital allocation and dividend practices and the Company does not anticipate any change in dividend policy at this time. In addition, the Company believes that its current liquidity and cash flow is sufficient to fund the cost of this ongoing review and its expansion plans. Update on Independent Review of Internal Controls As announced in the Company's October 26, 2016 news release, an independent special committee has been undertaking an independent review of the Company's internal control environment. Independent legal and accounting advisors have been retained in connection with this review. The Company expects to provide an update on this review on January 30, 2017 with the filing of its Q3 and Fiscal 2016 financial statements. "The importance of this review and the comprehensive analysis completed to date speaks to the core values of our company and the determined direction in which our new management team is headed," said Graham Badun, CEO of AlarmForce. "We are in the customer service business and correcting this issue is paramount to our success. Today's update announcement on this process in no way impedes our progressive growth strategy that includes the recent re-launch of our brand and updated product technologies. The company believes its competitive position and debt free balance sheet gives us confidence we can navigate these issues and fund our growth strategy. " Status Update This status update is provided pursuant to the alternative information guidelines in National Policy 12-203 - Management Cease Trade Orders (NP 12-203), which require the Company to provide bi-weekly updates on its affairs until such time as the Company is current with its filing obligations under Canadian securities laws. In accordance with those requirements, the Company advises that except as disclosed herein: (i) there has not been any material changes to the information contained in our August 24, 2016, September 14, 2016, September 28, 2016, October 12, 2016, October 26, 2016, November 9, 2016, November 23, 2016 and December 7, 2016 news releases; (ii) there has not been any failure by the Company to fulfill its publicly disclosed intentions with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative information guidelines of NP 12-203; (iii) there are no subsequent specified defaults (actual or anticipated) within the meaning of NP 12-203; and (iv) there is no other material information concerning the Company and its affairs that has not been generally disclosed as of the date of this press release. About AlarmForce AlarmForce provides security alarm monitoring, personal emergency response monitoring, video surveillance and related services to residential and commercial subscribers throughout Canada and the United States. More information about AlarmForce's products and services can be found at alarmforce.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements or information (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", "potential", "continue" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained or referred to in this press release includes, but may not be limited to: the Company's intention to restate its financial statements for the year ended October 31 2015 and the first and second quarters of 2016 which will also incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments associated with each of fiscal 2013 and 2014 years; the Company's expectation that the aggregate amount of revenue that was incorrectly earned is not expected to exceed $3.5M (or about 1.75% of aggregate revenue) for those periods; the Company intention to file by January 30, 2017: (i) Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016, which includes restated financial information for fiscal 2015, and related MD&A which will incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments; and (ii) Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2016, which includes restated financial information for the third quarter of 2015, and related MD&A which will incorporate the cumulative impact of prior period adjustments; the Company's expectation that it will be able to provide details of the number of affected residential contracts and the amount of restated revenue and expenses when it reports and files its Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016 and associated MD&A and its Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and associated MD&A; the Company's intention to provide some preliminary guidance on the impact of the changed contractual terms and cancellation policy and practice, which is anticipated to result in a higher level of customer attrition as well as additional costs being incurred in order to retain certain subscribers; the Company's estimate that it will be required to cancel up to 3,400 subscribers as at Q3 2016 for subscribers who should have been cancelled in prior periods; the Company's estimate that the change in cancellation practice and policy resulted in the cancellation of an incremental 2,600 customers in Q4 2016 which would historically have been incurred in a subsequent period; the Company's intention to contact remaining impacted customers through an outreach campaign where the focus will be locating impacted subscribers and validation of refund entitlement and payment instructions and the Company's intention to updated information in this regard on its website in January 2017; the Company's expectation that if the Company were reassessed by all applicable provincial, state and federal tax authorities in Canada and the U.S. on the basis that installers should have been classified as employees, the total magnitude of all such reassessments (inclusive of interest and penalties) would be material; the Company's expectation that once an estimate on the employment and tax exposure is determined, it will take a charge in fiscal 2016 to provide for this potential liability; the Company's anticipation that an estimate of its employment and tax exposure will be made with the filing of its Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016; the Company's expectation that to the extent that the Company concludes that the best course of action would be converting the installers to employees going forward, that would likely result in higher operating costs being incurred in maintaining this workforce; the Company's expectation that the introduction of employment benefits and additional remittance requirements will result in the Company incurring an increase in costs of 15% or greater for installation personnel; the Company's and the Board's anticipation is that there will be no change in dividend policy at this time; the Company's expectation that its current liquidity and cash flow is sufficient to fund the cost of the ongoing review and its expansion plans; and the Company's expectation that it will provide an update on the independent special committee's review on January 30, 2017 with the filing of its Q3 and Fiscal 2016 financial statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of AlarmForce about future events based on information currently available to AlarmForce. In connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, AlarmForce has made assumptions about, among other things: no significant events occur outside of AlarmForce's normal course of business; that the Company ought not to have continued charging monitoring fees in some jurisdictions for the period following certain residential customers' subscription cancellations; the quantum of refunds to be made to customers; that the cancelled subscription revenue should not have been recognized; the impact of the changed contractual terms and cancellation policy and practice on subscribers; the impact of the proposed Employer Health Tax assessment by the Ontario Ministry of Finance, ongoing IRS audit and Florida payroll audit and other possible employment and tax exposure in connection with the classification of the Company's independent contractors, including the appropriate accounting treatment of taxes and other amounts that may be found to be owed by the Company. Although AlarmForce believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are made, are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements included in this press release, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which the forward-looking statements are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, liabilities and financial results in future periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: that the quantum of incorrectly charged monitoring feeds and refunds to be made to customers is significantly different than preliminarily determined; that the consumer law, tax and any other possible consequences relating to the Company's past and current treatment of cancellations is significantly different than preliminarily determined; the possibility that the preparation of the Audited Annual Consolidated Financial Statements for fiscal 2016 and its Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 and related MD&A takes longer than anticipated; the possibility that the impact of the proposed Employer Health Tax assessment by the Ontario Ministry of Finance, ongoing IRS audit and Florida payroll audit and other possible employment and tax exposure in connection with the classification of the Company's independent contractors, including the appropriate accounting treatment of taxes and other amounts that may be found to be owed by the Company is significantly different than preliminarily determined. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, AlarmForce disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Contacts: News Media: Hugh Mansfield (416) 599-0024 ext 237 (212) 370-5045 ext 237 hugh@mansfieldinc.com DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global CNG Compressors Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The report forecasts the global CNG compressors market to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% during the period 2016-2020. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. One of latest trends in the market is advances in CNG compressor technology. In a CNG fueling station, the gas flows from the distribution channel into the gas compressor and is stored in a storage facility from which it is later dispensed according to the requirement. With advances in technology, companies are developing compressors that give better efficiency, effectiveness, cost, and reliability. Clean Energy Fuel Corporation introduced the most advanced heavy-duty, non-lubricated compressors for the natural gas fuel market in 2016. These new compressors are standardized and the streamlined modular engineering aids in quicker delivery time, and makes them more reliable and cost efficient. They also offer ultra-low vibrations and noise. Proprietary heat management ensures that the heated air is not recirculated between compressors so that it provides consistent performance regardless of the number of compressors. According to the report, one of the primary drivers in the market is increase in use of NGVs. The benefits of low operating cost and the reduction in vehicular emissions have increased the adoption of NGVs in both passenger and commercial fleets. OEMs such as GM, Ford, Fiat, Volvo, and Audi offer light, medium, heavy vehicles, trains, and aircraft that are powered by natural gas. Car manufacturers such as GM and Ford have certified natural gas conversion systems, which can be installed without voiding the warranty, increasing their appeal to buyers. Key vendors: Atlas Copco Ariel Corporation BAUER Compressors Clean Energy Compression Ingersoll Rand Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Market landscape Part 06: Geographical segmentation Part 07: Market drivers Part 08: Market challenges Part 09: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 10: Market trends Part 11: Vendor landscape Part 12: Key vendor analysis Part 13: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6nqvg7/global_cng Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 LEIPZIG, Germany, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The German cultural metropolis of Leipzig is starting 2017 with top-class exhibitions. Europe's best airline, Turkish Airlines, flies fives times a week from Istanbul to Leipzig/Halle. Following on from the successful panorama "Great Barrier Reef", from 28 January 2017, Leipzig Panometer will take its visitors on another journey into the underwater world: the 360 panorama TITANIC deals with probably the biggest shipwreck of all time and shows the ocean giant now - 105 years after the disaster - on the floor of the Atlantic. The celebrated panorama artist Yadegar Asisi not only deals with the sinking of the luxury liner, but also the age-old issue of mankind's attempts to control nature. http://www.asisi.de The Museum of Fine Arts is experiencing a real colour storm with its special exhibition "Nolde and the Bridge" from 12 February to 18 June 2017. The young "Bridge" group of artists includes some of the most important exponents of expressionism and its members were fascinated by the works of the exceptional painter Emil Nolde. An almost two-year collaboration with Nolde, who was almost a generation older, starting in 1906, saw the introduction of modern art into Germany. For the first time, the Leipzig Museum is displaying this exciting chapter of German art history with an exhibition of 150 works including paintings, drawings and graphic prints. http://www.mdbk.de Contemporary art enthusiasts should definitely visit the Spinnerei in Leipzig. The walls of what was once the largest cotton mill in continental Europe now house eleven leading galleries and more than 100 studios. Three times a year - on 14 January, 29/30 April and 15/16 September 2017 - the Spinnerei invites visitors on a grand tour (http://www.spinnerei.de). From there is it worth taking a detour to the newly opened Kunstkraftwerk: For the German premiere of the installation "Hundertwasser Experience", the international artist group "Immersive Art Factory" led by the Italian artist Gianfranco Iannuzzi has turned the rooms of the former power station in the west of Leipzig into a vibrant, colourful and entrancing immersive Hundertwasser world. Up to 24 August 2017, visitors can literally immerse themselves in the works of the painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser thanks to large-scale video installations. http://www.kunstkraftwerk-leipzig.com 2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his theses on the church door. Leipzig is dedicating an extensive programme of events to this major Anniversary of the Reformation. The Saxon publishing city, and largest city in the Lutheran region of Central Germany, contributed significantly to the dissemination of Martin Luther's writings, and the Leipzig Debate in 1519 sealed Luther's break with the Catholic Church. A dozen special exhibitions at museums in Leipzig, including the Museum of Local History, the Museum of the Printing Arts, and the Museum of Fine Arts, illuminate the work of the reformer in Leipzig and the Leipzig region. Various events, themed tours, such as "Luther and Bach", and the "Kirchentag on the Way" church congress (25-28.5.2017) bring history to life in Leipzig. Information and travel offers:http://www.leipzig.travel Flight deals:http://www.turkishairlines.com Press contact:Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH, Ms Steffi Gretschel (Head of International PR Tourism), Tel. +493417104-300, s.gretschel@ltm-leipzig.de; http://www.leipzig.travel/photoarchives WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Two former executives of a generic drug company were charged by the Justice Department for their alleged roles in a scheme to artificially inflate the price of an antibiotic and diabetes medication. Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s former Chief Executive Jeffrey Glazer and former President Jason Malek have been charged with conspiring to fix prices with competitors. The charges are the first to be announced in an ongoing federal inquiry. They were named in separate, two-count felony cases related to the alleged scheme. The drugs involved in the scheme are doxycycline hyclate, the antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, and glyburide, the diabetes medication. The alleged conspiracy ran from as early as April 2013 to December 2015. It was reported that the cost of antibiotic doxcycline during the alleged conspiracy had skyrocketed from $20 for 500 tablets, to $1,845 between October 2013 and May 2014. Prosecutors filed the papers in federal court in Philadelphia as part of a broad antitrust investigation into price fixing in the generic drug industry. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder reportedly said, 'By entering into unlawful agreements to fix prices and allocate consumers, these two executives sought to enrich themselves at the expense of sick and vulnerable individuals who rely upon access to generic pharmaceuticals as a more affordable alternative to brand-name medicines.' Heritage had fired both Glazer and Malek in August following an internal investigation that revealed a variety of serious misconduct by them. In a statement, Heritage said that the company fully cooperates with all aspects of the Department of Justice's continuing investigation. The company recently initiated its own legal action against these two former executives. In November, Heritage sued them in federal court, accusing the men of looting tens of millions of dollars through wrongdoings from the company over seven years. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Digital Education Content Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The report forecasts the global digital education content market to grow at a CAGR of 8.35% during the period 2016-2020. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global digital education content market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated by the packaged and customized digital content offered by the vendors to the educational institutions.. The education industry globally has been extensively adopting online learning methodologies. The regular course curriculum followed in institutions consists of digital course content. Alongside, students are encouraged to access web-based resources of study materials for further references. Such courses are increasingly replacing traditional textbooks to cope with the digitalization of the education system. In the age of online education, institutions are adopting various teaching and learning methods, such as flipped classroom, blended learning, and virtual classrooms. Digital course content offers flexibility to be incorporated across all these methods. This is because it provides learning opportunities for any kind of learning methods. This enables faculty to incorporate various hybrid and unique learning and training methods. According to the report, with almost all schools and universities publishing standard and customized content digitally, there is a rush to develop virtual libraries to provide quality content to students for any grade and subject irrespective of the location. This is not done only to ensure continuity of knowledge sharing but also to significantly reduce the education content procurement costs for students and faculty. Unlike printed books, where students are required to purchase a book, virtual libraries archive content by topic, regional curriculum standards, and complexity levels. Key vendors: Adobe Systems Articulate Discovery Education Trivantis Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Market landscape Part 06: Market overview Part 07: Market segmentation by delivery format Part 08: Market segmentation by end-user Part 09: Geographical segmentation Part 10: Market drivers Part 11: Impact of drivers Part 12: Market challenges Part 13: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 14: Market trends Part 15: Vendor landscape Part 16: Key vendor analysis Part 17: Other prominent vendors Part 18: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/m7r63j/global_digital Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 LONDON, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While on a business trip in Miami, Institute Managing Partner Anton Kreil and Senior Trading Mentor Raj Malhotra had a chance meeting with a Soft Commodities Exporter that turned into a White Knight Food Delivery for 500 families in Venezuela. Followers of the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management may recall that in September this year, the Institute embarked on a North American Seminar Tour. Managing Partner Anton Kreil and Senior Trading Mentor Raj Malhotra presented in six cities across the U.S. and Canada teaching Retail Traders along the way. They presented in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Toronto and New York in under three weeks. Anton and Raj met some amazing people along the way and came away very satisfied that we helped change a lot of perspectives about Trading, Portfolio Management, Investing, Personal Finances and Wealth Management. As with all business trips, when key members of a team embark on such a journey the story rarely ends when they get back on the plane to fly back home. It is usually just the beginning of long term relationships with new clients and the Institute's new students that attend their seminars, going through their Online Educational Programs and completing Mentoring Programs with their Traders. However, on this Institute business trip something really special happened that just goes to show how a chance meeting can turn into something that no-one at the company ever expected. When the Institute presented in Miami, Anton Kreil and Raj Malhotra arrived at the Hotel Conference Room at 10am on September 10th. It was a sunny Saturday morning. They went through the motions, meeting their security team and point person and got the room set up for our presentation. Then, 45 minutes before the presentation, two brothers who live locally approached Anton Kreil outside the room. The younger brother worked in the Private Wealth Management division of a well-known U.S. Bank and wanted to attend the seminar and partake in the Institute's online educational programs to improve his Trading and Portfolio Management abilities to serve his clients better. The older brother Vitto Campuzano runs the family business as a supplier and exporter of US-grown and processed soft commodities such as rice, corn, wheat, and dry edible beans. Vitto was there to support his younger brother. Both brothers had bought VIP Tickets which included lunch with Anton and Raj and with other VIP Ticket holders, after the seminar. Anton and Raj finished up the seminar, stayed for a few hours afterwards answering all of the delegates' questions over a few beers then headed with the VIPs for lunch. It was a typical lunch to begin with. Five VIP delegates and intense discussions about views on Financial Markets, Trading, Portfolio Management, Risk Management, what the Institute teaches and how the Institute teaches its students. Half way through the lunch however the group were discussing intermittently about each and everyone's professions and businesses and Anton ended up having a lengthy discussion with Vitto. They discussed Vitto's food import and export business and how he concentrates on Soft Commodities and the inevitable discussions about Emerging Markets, dealing in countries with absence of Rule of Law etc. Risk Factors and Foreign Exchange Hedging played itself out and they began discussing the societal breakdown in Venezuela since Chavez and the famine that followed across the country. After discussing this Anton decided to approach the "Elephant in the Room" i.e. that Vitto was in a unique position to help people in Venezuela. He asked what he thought was the obvious question i.e. "Why don't you send down a container of food to Venezuela?" Vitto thought this was a great idea. He had been so wrapped up in work and family for the previous six months when the Venezuelan problems began flaring up that he hadn't had a moment to think. As a second generation, Cuban American he empathised, but simply hadn't got around to thinking about it properly. They discussed the logistics of how food would be shipped there and Vitto decided there and then that he would make it happen. On returning to Singapore, Anton contacted Vitto a month later for a progress report. Vitto updated him on the costs, logistics, viability to get the donation to Venezuela and the fact that the donation would feed 500 families in need. They ran through the numbers and it all stacked up. Anton told him he should absolutely go for it, pull the trigger and that once it is done he will feel great about having done it. A few weeks later the food was being shipped to Venezuela and after a total of 12 weeks after that chance meeting and discussion it arrived in port in Venezuela. The news came last week from Vitto that everything went according to plan and the donation had arrived at La Guaira Port in Venezuela. Arrangements were also made by Vitto and his local partners in Miami and Venezuela to photograph and document the process, so it could not be sabotaged in any way throughout its journey towards the city of Cagua, Venezuela. Anton Kreil Managing Partner of the Institute made the following comment on today's announcement: "I look back on this now and I'm genuinely stunned by how a chance meeting in Miami with Vitto so quickly materialized into action and how many people it has helped within such a short space of time. Vitto Campuzano and the staff at his family's company F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc. in Florida are the real definition of White Knights and true heroes." Accompanying photographs of the container shipment reaching Venezuela and the families that F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc. managed to reach and help are available as part of this release. Contacts: F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc: https://www.fgarciafoodexport.com/contact/ Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management: http://www.instutrade.com/contact-us/ Press Enquiries: richard.powell@presswire.com ENDS CULVER CITY, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- FlitWays (OTC PINK: FTWS), a Los Angeles-based ground travel technology company, today announced plans for their expansion into Southeast Asian markets. FlitWays Director of Growth, Zacky Hamraz, commented, "Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a major travel destination for both business and vacations, so FlitWays is thrilled to be expanding into a multitude of major Southeast Asian markets. Our flagship FlitWays Start and FlitWays Class vehicles will be available for use by all travelers going to Southeast Asia. This is continuing our on-going strategic international expansion plan." FlitWays will be immediately available in 26 major Southeast Asia cities (8 new countries) with more on the way, including: Singapore- Singapore Vietnam- Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Da Lat, Da Nang, Binh Dinh Laos- Luang Prabang, Vientiane Cambodia- Siem Reap, Phnom Penh Thailand- Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ko Samui Myanmar- Heho, Nyaung-U, Yangon, Mandalay Malaysia- Kuala Lumpur Phillipines- Manila, Cebu, Pampanga, Tagbilaran, Kalibo FlitWays plans to partner with corporations, travel agencies, and other travel suppliers operating in Southeast Asia. The goal is to make FlitWays ground transportation available to every traveler going to Southeast Asian markets. About FlitWays FlitWays, a Los Angeles-based travel technology company, offers Pre-Booked and On-Demand ground transportation in 170 cities around the world -- including rideshares, taxis, black cars, and airport shuttles. Currently servicing over 400 airports with a fleet of over 20,000 vehicles, FlitWays is there to handle all travel ride needs. FlitWays provides security and peace of mind for both business and private travelers with secure booking and all-inclusive rates. For additional information regarding FlitWays, visit www.FlitWays.com. Additional information regarding FlitWays Technology, Inc. can also be found in the Company's most recent filings with SEC at www.sec.gov and further Company press releases. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of FlitWays Technology Inc. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements," including, but not limited to; the proposed corporate name change; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements. Contact Information Hermosa Capital Management Inc. (310) 546-4600 ir@FlitWays.com Naturally, President Obama called for a review about Russia meddling with the 2016 election. Of course, theres no evidence backing Democrats original claim that the Russian government hacked the U.S. election, so now theyve reduced the charges to meddling, and hope no one, including electoral college voters, notice. Even the pro-Clinton Washington Post admitted that the alleged hackers were one step removed from the Russian government. They also acknowledged the possibility that Republicans got a pass because maybe their computers had better security. What we do know is that Russians did not force Democrats to write damning emails, nor did they coerce Hillary Clinton to set up a private server nor did they strong-arm hard-working Americans in the Rust Belt to come out in droves for Trump. There is no evidence that the Kremlin rigged voting machines or altered vote counts. However, we do know that an unidentified someone hacked Democrats emails which gave Americans the rare opportunity to peak behind the blinds to see the ugly things Democrats do when no one is watching. For some strange reason, Republicans got a pass. Therefore, the current Democrat freak-out is not about vote rigging or fraud, but that Democrats got to see what it feels like to be a Republican. So, while Democrats continue their tantrums, maybe the Trump administration will investigate the hacking of Georgia Secretary of States office computers which incidentally was not traced to Russia. Apparently, it was an inside-job by the Obama administrations Department of Homeland Security [DHS]. The office which manages Georgias elections claims it suffered 10 interestingly-timed cyberattacks on its network, traced back to U.S. Department of Homeland Security [DHS] addresses, reports WSB-TV in Georgia. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp told the television station the timing of some of the cyberattacks allegedly by DHS occurred when he testified before Congress about his opposition to the Obama administrations plan to classify state-run election systems as critical infrastructure. Kemp said other attacks coincided with big events like Georgias voter registration deadline, the SEC primary, the general primary, and the day before and after the presidential election. Kemp said DHS story keeps changing, so he sent a letter asking for President-elect Donald Trumps assistance after the response he received from DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson left him with more questions than answers. Its too bad Obama wasnt as interested in hacking as he was turning American values on their head. Maybe he could have prevented the huge breach in 2015 at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM], which stole just about anything an identity thief would like to know about 21.5 million veterans, civilians, federal employees and federal retirees alike. Hackers also stole 5.6 million sets of fingerprints, possibly leaving undercover agents dangerously compromised. But, apparently, all that is small potatoes now that Hillary lost, so Obama has suddenly sparked an interest in Russian meddling, asking that an investigation be completed before he leaves office. As if Obama is guiltfree when it comes to meddling. It seems the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations [PSI] found the Obama administration meddled with Israels elections when it gave taxpayer money to an organization that changed its name after the grant ran out, then used its resources to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Per the PSI press release: The State Department ignored warning signs and funded a politically active group in a politically sensitive environment with inadequate safeguards...U.S. taxpayer dollars were used to build a political infrastructure that was deployed...against a leader of our closest ally in the Middle East. American resources should be used to help our allies in the region, not undermine them. Maybe its time to clean our own house first? Actually, voters did. Therefore, propagating the farfetched misnomer that Russia hacked the 2016 presidential election to favor Trump, has nothing to do with hacking and everything to do with what happens when Democrats lose an election fair-and-square. Susan Stamper Brown lives in Alaska and writes about culture, politics and current events. Email her at writestamper@gmail.com. BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS, a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), and its subsidiary Usiminas Commercial Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the " Issuer "), announced today that they have extended the expiration date for the solicitation of consents (the " Consent Solicitation ") from holders of the Issuer's 7.25% Notes due 2018, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Company, and originally issued in the aggregate principal amount of US$400,000,000 (the " Notes ") (CUSIP: 91732BAA7; G93085AA9), which is being conducted pursuant to terms contained in the consent solicitation statement dated December 1, 2016 (the " Consent Solicitation Statement "). The Consent Solicitation is extended and will now be open for the receipt of consents until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on December23,2016 (the " Amended Consent Date "). All references in the Consent Solicitation Statement to the Consent Date shall now be deemed to be references to the Amended Consent Date. The Company is undertaking the Consent Solicitation to temporarily waive, until June 30, 2017, the Company's past noncompliance with the negative pledge covenant set forth in the indenture governing the Notes resulting from the perfection of security interests over the collateral granted to certain Brazilian bank lenders and debenture holders in the context of the renegotiation of the Company's indebtedness, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. Any holder of Notes who has previously delivered a consent pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement does not need to redeliver such consent or take any other action. Any holder of Notes who has not yet delivered a consent should follow the instructions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, and may use the previously distributed consent form for purposes of delivering its consent. Except as described in this press release, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged. Holders of the Notes are urged to review the Consent Solicitation Statement and the related consent form for the detailed terms of the Consent Solicitation and the procedures for providing consent. The Consent Solicitation is being made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Company may, in its sole discretion, terminate, further extend or amend the Consent Solicitation at any time, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. Questions concerning the terms of the Consent Solicitation should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (646) 855-8988 (collect). BofA Merrill Lynch is the Solicitation Agent for the Consent Solicitation (the " Solicitation Agent "). Requests for assistance in completing and delivering a consent form or requests for additional copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement, the consent form or other related documents should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the " Information Agent "), at (212) 269-5550 (collect) or (877) 478-5045 (toll-free) or in writing at 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10005. Important Notice This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Consent Solicitation Statement and related consent form. None of the Company, the Issuer, the Trustee, the Solicitation Agent, the Information Agent or the Tabulation Agent make any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should provide consents to the waiver pursuant to the Consent Solicitation. Holders of the Notes should not construe the contents of this press release, the Consent Solicitation Statement or any related materials as legal, business or tax advice. Each holder of the Notes should consult its own attorney, business advisor and tax advisor as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the Consent Solicitation. The Consent Solicitation is not being made to, and consents will not be accepted from or on behalf of, a holder of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Consent Solicitation or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, the Company and the Issuer may in their sole discretion take such action as they may deem necessary to lawfully make the Consent Solicitation in any such jurisdiction and to extend the Consent Solicitation to any holder of the Notes in such jurisdiction. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks and assumptions, since these statements include information concerning Usiminas' possible or assumed future plans and intentions, including the launching of an exchange offer, results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and Usiminas undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after it publishes this notice because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this notice might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Usiminas' actual results, plans and performance could differ substantially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. About Usiminas Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS is one of the largest Brazilian steelmakers, with complementary operations in the mining and logistics, capital goods, steelmaking and steel transformation industries. Usiminas is headquartered at Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011, Bairro Engenho Nogueira - Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.usiminas.com.br. Investor Relations Department-USIMINAS R. Prof. Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011 - 5 andar Bairro Engenho Nogueira - Belo Horizonte/MG ZIP Code 31310-260 Contact: Cristina Morgan Cavalcanti Head of Investor Relations-USIMINAS Phone: +55 (31) 3499-8856 Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global information technology, consulting, and business process services company, today announced that it has been positioned as a 'Leader' in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Application Testing Services, Worldwide 2016 for the third consecutive year. The report authored by Susanne Matson and Patrick J. Sullivan was published on 28 November 2016. In the market definition/description section of the research report, Gartner defines "Application Testing Services" as a comprehensive term used to capture all types of verification and validation services to support quality control and quality assurance (QA) of clients' applications. Verification assesses the technical behavior, and validation assesses the functional behavior of tested elements. The report evaluated 18 different software vendors on 15 criteria and placed Wipro in the 'Leaders' quadrant. The full report is available here. Hiral Chandrana, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Business Application Services, Wipro Limited said, "Wipro's positioning as a 'Leader' for the third consecutive year, is testament to our industry leading NextGen Quality Assurance (QA) offerings such as Digital Assurance, investments in state-of-the-art automation platforms such as AssureNXT and IntelliAssure, and a strong partner ecosystem. Our delivery excellence highlighted by rich end user experience and high performance, and faster time to market, helps our clients win in today's digital economy." Wipro's Testing Services practice is a pioneer in the industry, with a strong focus on quality engineering and assurance. Wipro's Cognitive Automation (IntelliAssure powered by Wipro HOLMES Artificial Intelligence Platform) and Hyper Automation (AssureNXT) powered platforms ensure that quality is engineered into every step of the software life cycle, leading to defect prevention rather than detection. Gartner Disclaimer Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About Wipro Limited Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO) is a leading information technology, consulting and business process services company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology." By combining digital strategy, customer centric design, advanced analytics and product engineering approach, Wipro helps its clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, strong commitment to sustainability and good corporate citizenship, Wipro has a dedicated workforce of over 170,000, serving clients across 6 continents. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com. Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005313/en/ Contacts: Wipro Limited Subhashini Pattabhiraman subhashini.pattabhiraman@wipro.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United Nations Secretary-General-designate, Antonio Guterres, has named three women to the organization's top key administration posts. Guterres Thursday announced that he will be appointing Amina J. Mohammed, Nigeria's Minister of Environment, as the UN deputy chief, on his assumption of office as the ninth chief of the global Organization in January. She also served as Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Secretary-General-designate also announced the appointment of Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as his Chief of Cabinet. He appointed Kyung-wha Kang of South Korea to the new role of Special Advisor on Policy. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - December 16, 2016) - Press Release Highlights: Integra Gold and Goldcorp to host DisruptMining innovation expo and "Shark-Tank" style live event on Sunday, March 5, 2017 Calling for Disruptors to pitch their disruptive technologies and business ideas to a panel of industry senior executives and a live audience of mining industry influencers and decision makers -- sign up at www.disruptmining.com All proceeds from the DisruptMining finale event will be donated to charities and will create scholarships designed to spur innovation in mining. GOLDCORP INC. (TSX: G) (NYSE: GG) and INTEGRA GOLD CORP. (TSX VENTURE: ICG) (OTCQX: ICGQF) are pleased to announce DisruptMining, a marquee event during the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada ("PDAC") conference that will showcase disruptive and exponential technologies with the potential to revolutionize the future of mineral exploration, mining and more. Integra and Goldcorp have partnered to present this unique initiative that will showcase disruptive ideas in front of a live audience of over 500 industry leaders and a "Shark-Tank" style panel of industry executives. The prize is up to $1 Million in investment for a proof of concept at one of Goldcorp's mines or investment in the winning technologies. All proceeds from the DisruptMining finale event will be donated to charities and will create scholarships designed to spur innovation in mining. Link to DisruptMining promo video: https://vimeo.com/195817154 "The mining industry is overdue for radical, disruptive innovation that drives value, enhances safe production and performance across every aspect of our business, from exploration through to reclamation and closure," said Todd White, Senior Vice President, Technical Services and Business Excellence at Goldcorp and board member of the Canadian Mining Innovation Council. "As an industry, we must collaborate to spur investment and accelerate the pace of innovation in order to stay competitive and deliver greater value to shareholders. Efficient, socially and environmentally responsible operations that deliver value for all of our stakeholders are simply good business and this event is designed as a catalyst to make that happen faster." "At last year's $1 Million Integra Gold Rush Challenge we challenged governments, mining companies and financiers to get off the sidelines and into the innovation game. This year, the industry has delivered," said Stephen de Jong, President and Chief Executive Officer, Integra Gold. "Together with Goldcorp and other mining and technology partners, DisruptMining will break down barriers and present innovative technologies set to radically disrupt exploration and mining in the years to come. Proceeds from this event will both support charities in the communities in which we operate as well as invest in the future of mining through a number of mining innovation focused scholarships." DisruptMining Innovation Expo On Sunday, March 5 th , 2017 the DisruptMining daytime innovation expo will showcase companies working with industry-changing technologies in order to present how the mining industry can foster, grow and attract investment focused on changing the path of natural resource exploration and extraction. "Shark-Tank" Style Live Finale Event The DisruptMining innovation expo will then transition into an evening gala where five Disruptors will pitch their disruptive ideas "Shark-Tank" style to a live audience. Five industry senior executives -- including Rob McEwen, one of the mining industry's original disruptors, must decide: Which big idea(s) will change the future of mining and mineral exploration? Call for Disruptors Any innovator interested in pitching their idea at DisruptMining are encouraged to submit an application via the submission portal found at www.disruptmining.com before 9:00pm PST on Wednesday, January 18, 2017. Applications are limited to four pages and must include a brief introduction to the idea and technology being pitched, along with an explanation of its potential impact on the mining industry. Multi-media usage is highly encouraged to complement submissions as well as introduce yourself. Attendees chosen to exhibit at the innovation expo, and the five finalists chosen to pitch at the DisruptMining live event will be notified by February 1, 2017. DisruptMining Timeline Wednesday, January 18, 2017: deadline for disruptors applications. Wednesday, February 1, 2017: selected disruptors notified. Sunday, March 5, 2017 1:00pm - 4:30pm: DisruptMining Innovation Expo. Sunday, March 5, 2017 5:00 pm - late: DisruptMining Live Event. For more information, to ask questions and full application details please visit www.disruptmining.com or email submissions@disruptmining.com. Tickets to DisruptMining For more information on attending DisruptMining please email tickets@disruptmining.com. About Goldcorp www.goldcorp.com Goldcorp is a senior gold producer focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production from a high-quality portfolio of mines. About Integra Gold Corp. www.integragold.com Integra Gold is a junior gold exploration company advancing projects in Val-d'Or, Quebec, one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world. The Company's primary focus is its high-grade Lamaque project. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute forward-looking statements, including the timing and completion of the DisruptMining expo and live finale. In making the forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company, including that the Company is able to execute the challenge in accordance with the terms described herein. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among others, those matters identified in its continuous disclosure filings, including its most recently filed MD&A. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. DisruptMining Inquiries: Mark Stockton 604-629-0891 E: mark@integragold.com DUBLIN, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Intravenous (IV) Solutions Market Analysis 2016 - Forecast to 2022" report to their offering. This analysis is one of the most accurate studies performed using the combinational analytical tools. The report contains up to date financial data derived from varied research sources to present unique and reliable analysis. Assessment of major trends with potential impact on the market during the next five years, including a deep dive analysis of market segmentation which comprises of sub markets, regional and country level analysis. The report provides a comprehensive outlook about the market share along with strategic recommendations based on the emerging segments. Annual estimations and forecasts are provided from the year 2013 to 2022 for each given segment and sub segments. Market data derived from the authenticated and reliable sources is subjected to validation from the industry experts. The report also analyzes the market by discussing market dynamics such as drivers, constraints, opportunities, threats, challenges and other market trends. Competitive landscaping provides the recent activities performed by the active players in the market. Activities such as product launch, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions and mergers, and other activities. This report provides: Market Sizing estimations and forecasts for 6 years across the given market segments. Identifying market dynamics. Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations. Regional and country level market analysis. Competitive landscaping of major market players. Company profiling covering the financials, recent activities and the future strategies. Companies Mentioned: Widatra Bhakti Vifor Pharma Terumo Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Omnicare JW Life Science Hospira Grifols Fresenius Kabi Claris Lifesciences Bioscrip Baxter B. Braun Melsungen Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Market Analysis 4 Porters Five Force Analysis 5 Intravenous (IV) Solutions Market by Nutrient 6 Intravenous (IV) Solutions Market by Type 7 Geographical Segmentation 8 Vendor Landscaping 9 Company Profiles For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hrwl9f/global Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - DNI Metals Inc. (CSE: DNI) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company"). DNI completes a Letter Of Intent "LOI", with Cougar Metals to develop DNI's Vohitsara, Madagascar Graphite Project. Cougar owns 8 drill rigs, and has competence to complete a 3,000m drilling program, a 1,000m trenching program, a NI 43-101 resource study, and a NI 43-101 PEA for DNI's Vohitsara Project. As per the LOI, this work should be completed by June 30, 2017. Summary of the $4.5 million potential. Cougar pays DNI Cash payments of A$300,000 Cougar pays Cash payment of U$150,000 (approx. C$196,000) to previous owner of the Vohitsara project (last payment owed by DNI) When Cougar completes the drilling/resource/PEA, (by June 30, 2017), Cougar will earn 49% of the Vohitsara project. DNI's board had set a budget of C$1.5 million to complete the drilling/resource/PEA. If DNI opts out of its first right, Cougar can purchase DNI's remaining 51% for AUD$2.5 million. The specific terms of the deal are below. Cougar's directors believe the greatest strength of the Toamasina Saprolitic Graphite Project lies in its ability to deliver a high quality product with a low cost base into an existing market. With over a century of supply history, coarse flake graphite concentrates from the Toamasina area of Madagascar are well known in the global end-user market and the Toamasina project is ideally suited to capitalize on this existing 'brand awareness'. It is expected that the Toamasina Saprolitic Graphite Project can be placed into production with modest capital costs and can cost effectively expand to meet the demand for its product. Vohitsara Saprolitic Graphite Project The Project is located in east central Madagascar, approximately 50 km south-southwest of the deep-water port city of Toamasina and approximately 50km North of Bass Metals' operating Loharano graphite mine. Location Map of Madgascsar Saprolitic Graphite Project VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global mobile cranes market is predicted to register a CAGR of 6.8 % over the next 10 years. A recent market analysis tabled by Future Market Insights titled "Mobile Cranes Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026" highlights some of the key aspects that will build a proper headway for the market during the forecast period. The global mobile cranes market growth is largely driven by increasing demand from utility companies, cargo handlers, and airport authorities. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161020/430874LOGO ) There are a gamut of mobile cranes available in the market. The all-terrain, rough terrain, truck-mounted, and crawlers are some of the most popular products used by maximum consumers of this evolving global market. The boost in safety and security arena has changed the face of global mobile cranes market. New wave of investment in several private and public sector construction projects is playing the role of a catalyst in the global mobile cranes market growth. The massive industrialisation around the world is also increasing the need for smart and high capacity lifting machines. This is opening new corridors of development for the global mobile cranes market. Apart from manufacturing companies, rental companies are also finding their foothold and spreading their services in the fast expanding global mobile cranes market. In the next few years the rental sector might earn an edge in the global mobile cranes market. The high maintenance cost of machines is diverting customers to rental service providers, who are on a massive revamp mode. They are adapting local regulations to penetrate deeper into the market. The stringent regulations rolled out by government authorities in Europe and North America are expected to impact the future growth of the global mobile cranes market. Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1979 Regional Analysis According to the report drafted by Future Market Insights, India, Brazil, China, UAE and Africa will create new opportunities for the global mobile cranes market. Apart from this the market is steadily expanding in the MEA, Latin America, APEJ, and Europe regions. APEJ is the largest market for mobile cranes and it is estimated to hold more than 50% of the global market share. The APEJ, Eastern Europe, and Latin America markets will record significant CAGRs of more than 6% within the assessment period. The massive growth of the wind power industry and emerging real estate industry will be beneficial for the expansion of the global mobile cranes market. Preview Analysis on Global Mobile Cranes Market segmentation By Type - Truck Cranes, All Terrain Cranes, Rough Terrain Cranes, Crawler Cranes and Others; By Application - Construction Industry, Oil & Gas Industry, Shipping & Port Building and Others: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mobile-cranes-market Segmentation Analysis All-terrain crane segment will dominate the future market behaviour of the global mobile cranes market. The report suggests that this segment will account for more than 25% of the market share of the global mobile cranes market. A large number of renewable energy projects spread across APEJ will hike the demand for advanced mobile cranes across this region and it will impact the overall growth of the construction industry segment. The construction industry segment is predicted to absorb more than 50% of the market revenue by the end of 2026. Speak with Analyst for any Report Related Quires: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1979 Vendor Insights This Future Market Insights report on the global mobile cranes market profiles some of the top companies leading the market growth. Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co., Ltd, XCMG Construction Machinery Co, Hitachi Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Crane Co., Ltd, The Manitowoc Company, Inc., KATO WORKS CO.,LTD., Sany Heavy Industry Co., Ltd, Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd., The Liebherr Group, Terex Corporation, Tadano Ltd. are some of the lion shareholders of the global mobile cranes market. These companies are focussing on rapid expansion and business re-strategising to meet the surging market demand. More From FMI's Cutting-edge Intelligence: Power Tools Market Forecast By Category - Power Tools and Hand Tools, By End-use sector-Industrial and Household; By Mode of Operation-Electric, Pneumatic & Others; By Region- North America , APEJ, Latin America , Western Europe , Eastern Europe , Middle East & Africa , Japan : http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/power-tools-market Aerial Work Platforms Market Segmentation By product type - Boom lifts (platform height, configuration, fuel type) Scissor lifts; By ownership - Rental service providers, End-use industries (Construction, Mining, Entertainment, Commercial, Manufacturing); By motive mechanism - Self-propelled, Manually propelled: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/aerial-work-platforms-market Heat Pumps Market Segmentation By Product Type - Ground Source Heat Pump, Air-air Heat Pump, Air-water Heat Pump, Hybrid Heat Pump; By Refrigerants - Hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC), Ammonia, CO2, Hydrocarbons; By Power Source - Electric, Others (Gas); By End User - Residential, Commercial, Industrial: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/heat-pumps-market About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights and an aerial view of the competitive framework and future market trends. Browse More Industrial Automation & Equipment devices Market Insights:http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/category/industrial-automation-equipment Contact Us 616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018, Valley Cottage, NY 10989, United States T: +1-347-918-3531 F: +1-845-579-5705 T (UK): + 44 (0) 20 7692 8790 Sales: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Press@futuremrketinsights.com Website: http://www.futuremarketinsights.com BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - Thursday, the US Government launched a new trade enforcement action against the Government of China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning China's administration of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for rice, wheat, and corn. The complaint filed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) charges that China's administration of its TRQs for these commodities breaches China's WTO commitments and undermines American farm exports. USTR said the United States is launching this trade enforcement challenge to hold China to its trade commitments and help level the playing field for American rice, wheat, and corn farmers. This is the 15th trade enforcement challenge the Obama Administration has launched against China at the WTO. 'Today's new challenge - as well as the steps we are taking to advance our case against China's excessive government support for rice, wheat, and corn - demonstrates again the Obama Administration's strong and continued commitment to enforcing the rules of global trade, and protecting the interests and livelihoods of American farmers,' said United States Trade Representative Michael Froman. 'China's TRQ policies breach their WTO commitments and limit opportunities for U.S. farmers to export competitively priced, high-quality grains to customers in China. The United States will aggressively pursue this challenge on behalf of American rice, wheat, and corn farmers,' he added. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that China's TRQs for these commodities were worth over $7 billion in 2015. If the TRQs had been fully used, China would have imported as much as $3.5 billion worth of additional crops last year alone. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON, ENGLAND -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- At a time when Europe is beginning to emerge from the peak of the 2011 debt crisis, a turning of the tables has taken place between China and the continent. After centuries of European imperialism in China, an increasing number of European companies are now falling into Chinese ownership. A special report in the latest issue of European CEO investigates this trend, and asks whether this poses a risk to both Europe's working culture and security in the region. Following a turbulent period of civil war, China largely isolated itself from the international economy in the 1940s. International investment had to be approved by the state, resulting in very little capital flowing in or out of the country. This changed in the 1970s, which propelled China on the path to become the titan of industry it is today. With this new wealth, it has made significant investments into Europe, while global markets have continued to struggle. Nonetheless, as the report in European CEO asks, what impact has this had on European companies? The shifting of control by some of Europe's biggest brands, like Volvo, Piraeus and Putzmeister, raises a number of questions. Human resources departments have struggled to hand over power to European managers, and security questions have been raised in regards the increasing influence of telecommunication firms like Huawei. Although the growth of Chinese investment in Europe signals that the country has finally caught up to the West in terms of wealth, long-term intentions remain unclear. Also in the latest issue of European CEO are features exploring the changing nature of Europe's relationship with corporate tax, Barcelona's grand plan to rethink the modern city and a look at what will be on the agenda at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos. For more coverage of the issues affecting business in Europe, the latest European CEO is available to read now in print and online. http://www.europeanceo.com/ World News Media is a leading publisher of quality financial and business magazines, enjoying a global distribution network that includes subscriber lists of the most prominent and senior decision-makers around the world, as well as comprehensive airport, hotel and conference site distribution. Contacts: World Finance Callum Glennen Editorial Department +44 (0)20 7553 4177 callum.glennen@wnmedia.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President-elect Donald Trump Thursday announced appointments to key leadership of the White House National Security Council. He selected Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Keith Kellogg as Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary of the country's top security advisory body. Dr. Monica Crowley was named Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the National Security Council. The function of the National Security Council (NSC) is to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. General Kellogg is a decorated veteran of the United States Army, serving from 1967 to 2003, including two tours during the Vietnam War, where he earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with 'V' device and Air Medal with 'V' device. From November 2003 to March 2004, Kellogg oversaw the efforts to form the new Iraqi military after it was disbanded, as well as the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure. Since retiring from the Army in 2003, General Kellogg has gone on to have a successful business career in the private sector. A renowned scholar who holds a Ph.D. in international relations, Dr. Crowley is a foreign affairs and political analyst for the Fox News Channel. She is also a New York Times bestselling author and a columnist and online opinion editor of The Washington Times. Dr. Crowley had served as Foreign Policy Assistant and Communications Director to former President Richard Nixon. She was named 'Woman of the Year' by the Clare Booth Luce Institute at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2010 and received the 'Excellence in Journalism Award' from the Women's National Republican Club in 2014. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Brexit word added in Oxford English Dictionary Published: December 16, 2016 The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially added word Brexit in it. It is among 1,500 new words added to the OED. The OED has defined word Brexit as the (proposed) withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, and the political process associated with it. Another popular new coinage is the word YouTubers was also added in OED. It has been defined as frequent user of the video-sharing website YouTube, especially someone who produces and appears in videos on the site. Background The word Brexit was used first after then Prime Minister David Cameron announced in 2013 that UK will hold a referendum on its EU membership. But it entered common parlance as campaigning Brexit intensified before citizen of Britain vote to leave EU in June 2016. The word Brexit has been developed from Grexit which describs a similar process in which Greece might leave the Eurozone. Grexit was added in OED, calling politics a fruitful area for new words. Month: Current Affairs - December, 2016 Topics: Brexit Education International Oxford Dictionary Latest E-Books Hexion Inc. ("Hexion" or the "Company") today announced plans to build a new European technology center in Kamp-Lintfort, Germany. The new facility will consolidate activities from several research and development facilities located in nearby Duisburg. The facility will be located at the Dieprahm Technology Park and includes an existing 1,400 square meter (15,000 square feet) building housing office and warehouse space, adjacent to which will be built a 1,600 square meter (17,200 square feet) new laboratory facility. "The new facility in Kamp-Lintfort will add additional capacity, increase opportunities for innovation, and stimulate growth," said Craig Morrison, Chairman, President and CEO. "By consolidating activities that had been decentralized, we will be able to better leverage diverse skill sets across multiple businesses and industry segments on behalf of our global customers. We have a strong track record of partnering with our customers and the new technology center will further accelerate our ability to collaborate with customers on new product development initiatives." The new facility will house research and development activities including the Transportation Research and Application Center (TRAC), which develops technology solutions to enable growth of composites for the automotive industry. The Kamp-Lintfort facility will also increase Hexion's process technology research and improve formulation development capabilities for coatings, civil engineering, aerospace composites and electrical casting applications. This new facility will complement Hexion's high-tech lab dedicated to wind energy applications in Esslingen Germany, which is housed within a high-capacity specialty epoxy resin blending facility. "We are looking forward to moving into a new research and development facility so that we can further support novel developments in strategic technologies, such as composites and water-borne coatings, and continue to foster an innovative culture," said Jody Bevilaqua, Chief Operating Officer. Modifications to the existing building and initial construction on the new facility are expected to begin immediately. The Company plans to complete the project in mid-2018. The new site at Dieprahm Technology Park is approximately 15 miles (24.2 km) from Hexion's existing facility in Duisburg. About the Company Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Inc. (formerly known as Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc.) is a global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion Inc. serves the global wood and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. Hexion Inc. is controlled by investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC. Additional information about Hexion Inc. and its products is available at www.hexion.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005410/en/ Contacts: Hexion Inc. Investors and Media: John Kompa, 614-225-2223 john.kompa@hexion.com ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- OREX EXPLORATION INC. ("Orex" or the "Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: OX)(FRANKFURT: O5D) held its annual and special meeting of shareholders on December 15.At this meeting, the shareholders approved the proposed slate of directors, re-appointed Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, Chartered Professional Accountants as auditors of Orex for the financial year ending on June 30, 2017, approved an amendment to the Corporation's stock option plan and approved a resolution authorizing the Board of Directors to change the name of the Corporation. At the Board meeting following the shareholders meeting, the Directors appointed Jonathan Fitzgerald as new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orex. Directors and Officers and Board Committees: The Directors of the Corporation are Marcel Faucher, Jean-Pierre Landry, Jacques Levesque, Claude Poulin, Robert Schafer, Jonathan Fitzgerald and Dany Cenac Robert. It is a first mandate for M. Fitzgerald and M. Cenac Robert. Jonathan Fitzgerald is a senior Managing Director in the Investment Banking Department of Gravitas Securities Inc. of Toronto. Previously Mr. Fitzgerald co-founded Stope Capital Advisors, Inc. where he undertook merchant banking transactions in the mining, energy and agriculture sectors. Mr. Fitzgerald has more than 25 years of investment banking experience in which he sourced and executed a wide variety of complex transactions across multiple industries. Mr. Fitzgerald served as the Interim-CEO of Harvest Wind Limited, a development stage wind turbine manufacturer based in Oregon and as a Board member and/or adviser to Boston Poly Corporation, Epcylon Technologies, DayStar Technologies, Hesat Acquisition Corp., iSense Corporation and Trustwater PLC. Mr. Fitzgerald received a B.A. with Distinction from Bowdoin College, a MSc. (Econ) from The London School of Economics and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Fitzgerald is a Canadian and British citizen and lives in Toronto, Ontario. Dany Cenac Robert is a specialist in sustainable motivation, training and the creation of sales forces. He is currently head of Promarket Network Inc. and serves on the board of directors of several companies in various fields such as management, human resources and general marketing. Following his B.B.A. degree and with a specialization in Entrepreneurship at HEC Montreal, he consulted with several emerging companies and SMEs. He also personally created or helped to create sales networks for national and international companies in telecommunication, healthcare/wellness, retail trade, banking and f travel sectors. As a certified trainer, he created various innovative approaches to increase team productivity and sales as well as the overall profitability. At the Board of Directors meeting which followed immediately the shareholders meeting: -- Jonathan Fitzgerald was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jacques Levesque, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Julie Godard, Secretary; -- Claude Poulin, Marcel Faucher and Jonathan Fitzgerald were appointed as members of the Audit Committee; and -- Jean-Pierre Landry, Dany Cenac Robert and Jonathan Fitzgerald were appointed as members of the Compensation Committee. Amendment to the Stock Option Plan and Grant of New Stock Options: The amendment to the Corporation's Stock Option Plan that was presented and approved by shareholders is to increase at 20,000,000 the maximum number of common shares that can be issued following the exercise of stock options. The amendment is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture. The Board of Directors has granted stock options to the new directors and CEO of the Corporation for a total of 3,000,000 stock options, at an exercise price of $0.05, expiring 5 years from the grant. Following this grant, the Corporation has 14,500,000 stock options issued and outstanding. Name Change: Shareholders have approved a special resolution which allows the Board of Directors to change the name of the Corporation. The name change will be discussed and approved by the Board in the following weeks and procedures will be undertaken to make it effective. More information will be provided in due course. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation service provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contacts: Orex Exploration Inc. Jacques Levesque, CFO Cell.: 1-514-239-9592 1-819-797-4354 orex@cablevision.qc.ca Orex Exploration Inc. Jonathan Fitzgerald, CEO 1-208-720-9676 WINNIPEG, MB--(Marketwired - December 16, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES 3D Signatures Inc. (TSX VENTURE: DXD) (the "Company" or "3DS") is pleased to announce that it has issued a total of 5,187,618 units (the "Units") pursuant to its previously announced brokered private placement (the "Private Placement"). The Units were sold at a price per Unit of $0.75, for total gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $3,890,714, which includes the partial exercise by the Agents (as defined below) of the over-allotment option. Each Unit issued pursuant to the Private Placement consists of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of $0.92 until December 16, 2018. In the event that, at any time after June 16, 2017, the closing price of the Company's Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") for a period of 20 consecutive trading days exceeds $1.35, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to that date that is 30 days following the date on which the Company sends notice to the holders of the Warrants of the new expiry date. The Private Placement was brokered by a syndicate of agents that was led by Haywood Securities Inc., and included Canaccord Genuity Corp. and Mackie Research Capital Corporation (together, the "Agents"). In connection with the Private Placement, the Company paid the Agents an aggregate cash commission of approximately $311,257, equal to eight per cent (8%) of the gross proceeds raised under the Private Placement. The Company also issued to the Agents 415,009 broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants"), equal to eight per cent (8%) of the Units sold pursuant to the Private Placement. Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.75 until December 16, 2018. The terms of the Private Placement allow for the issuance of an additional tranche of up to a maximum of 812,382 Units, subject to approval by the Exchange and compliance with the time limits prescribed in its policies. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement to fund clinical trials and for working capital and general corporate purposes. All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four month hold period expiring on April 17, 2017. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About 3DS 3DS (TSX VENTURE: DXD) is a personalized medicine company with a proprietary software platform based on the three-dimensional analysis chromosomal signatures. The technology is well developed and supported by 16 clinical studies on over 1,500 patients on 13 different cancers and Alzheimer's disease. Depending on the desired application, the technology can measure the stage of disease, rate of progression of disease, drug efficacy, and drug toxicity. The technology is designed to predict the course of disease and to personalize treatment for the individual patient. For more information, visit the Company's new website at http://www.3dsignatures.com. Forward-Looking Information This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward- looking statements. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as "will", "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. In particular, the statements in this news release with respect to the receipt of final approval of the Private Placement from the Exchange, the expected use of the proceeds from the Private Placement, the completion of a subsequent tranche of the Private Placement, the technology of the Company and the business of the Company are forward-looking information. Although 3DS believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Risk factors and assumptions that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking information include, among other things: the ability to obtain all required approvals; the state of the capital markets; market demand; technological changes that could impact the Company's existing products or the Company's ability to develop and commercialize future products; competition; existing governmental legislation and regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental legislation and regulations; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company's financial condition; the Company's ability to successfully maintain and enforce its intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; adverse results or unexpected delays in clinical trials; changes in legal, general economic and business conditions; and changes in the regulatory regime. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information, please contact: Hugh Rogers VP Corporate Finance 604-250-6162 investors@3dsignatures.com LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --The Government today released latest figures from this year's controversial badger cull. A total of 10,866 badgers were killed by Government contractors in what leading scientists, animal welfare groups and members of the public deem a pointless exercise in the attempt to eradicate Bovine Tb. This number falls just within this year's target of 9,847 to 14,213. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/450347/IFAW_Badgers.jpg The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) remains totally opposed to the needless killing and like many leading organisations were dismayed that despite overwhelming failure in previous years, this year the Government pressed ahead with their roll out plans, expanding the cull into an additional five counties alongside the previous culling areas of Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. Philip Mansbridge, UK Director of IFAW, said: "Once again the lives of countless native badgers are reduced to just a headline number and this year it amounts to a staggering 10,886 badgers pointlessly slaughtered, falling just within the Government's target for the year. The simple fact is though, that the Government targets are irrelevant; everyone knows that killing badgers can have no meaningful effect on the control of Bovine Tb (BTb) in the UK. Year on year, the Government remains determined to press ahead with this pointless cull regardless of the results or the wealth of scientific evidence that goes against this policy. As a nation we cannot sit by and let yet more of our native badgers be pointlessly killed." "If the Government truly cared about farmers' livelihoods they would stop making the badger a scapegoat for their previous failings in eradicating and managing Bovine Tb. It is a fact that if we killed every single badger in the UK we would still have BTb, so it's time to refocus the huge amount of money and resource involved in this mass slaughter of badgers each year and concentrate on practical solutions for better testing regimes, enhanced bio-security measures and stricter cattle movement controls." One of the key controversies of the badger cull methodology is that instead of reducing the prevalence of bovine TB, culling badgers could help to spread the disease further as elimination of badgers in one area simply results in others moving in to take over their territory, known as perturbation. The continued authorisation of the free shooting method of killing, despite initial Government reports deeming this inhumane, is also of deep concern. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) have been vocal on this issue and condemned this approach. The figures released today report that a total of 14 badgers were wounded and lost and 34 shots were fired but missed. However, it is worth noting that these figures are self-reported and also vary dramatically from region to region, suggesting either a varying quality of shooters or a varying quality of reporting. The Government policy on badger culling makes a mockery of due diligence and proper procedure, as it uses a procedure that has already clearly failed as justification to repeat activities which should be stopped. This proves this is not a science-led policy, but politically motivated and designed to secure support from powerful lobbies like the National Farmers Union (NFU) and rural voters. IFAW believes that the solution to the bovine TB crisis does not lie in targeting wildlife, but in working with the farming community and focusing directly with cattle, which caused the epidemic. IFAW has previously funded badger vaccination programmes in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset. The badger cull goes against the views of the overwhelming majority of the UK public who wish to see British wildlife protected. A Guardian newspaper poll found more than 90% of people opposed to such action. About International Fund for Animal Welfare Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook/IFAW and Twitter @action4ifaw Washington D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Deutsche Bank has agreed to settle charges that it misled clients about the performance of a core feature of its automated order router that primarily sent client orders to dark pools. The New York Attorney General's office today announced a parallel action, and Deutsche Bank agreed to admit wrongdoing and pay $18.5 million penalties to the SEC and NYAG for a total of $37 million. "Deutsche Bank claimed to be using ongoing data analysis to rank the dark pools best suited for customer orders when in reality its system failed to actually do this analysis. When broker-dealers tout their material products and methodologies, their statements must be accurate," said Andrew Ceresney, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. "Automated strategies for routing customer orders are a critically important part of the market," said Robert Cohen, Co-Chief of the Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit. "Broker-dealer customers expect to be told if a routing program like Deutsche Bank's does not function properly, relies on stale data, and routes millions of orders contrary to the described methodology." According to the SEC's order, Deutsche Bank made materially misleading statements and omissions concerning the Dark Pool Ranking Model feature of one of its order routers, known as SuperX+. The Dark Pool Ranking Model was intended to measure execution quality and liquidity of venues to which it sent orders. Deutsche Bank used the Dark Pool Ranking Model to determine which venues would receive orders and the sequence in which Deutsche Bank would send them. Deutsche Bank described this model in its disclosures to clients and potential clients as the "quantitative core" of SuperX+, stating that it "smartly routes and selects optimal pools of liquidity on an order by order basis." But the SEC's order finds that due to a coding error, Deutsche Bank updated the ranking model just once during a two-year period, causing at least two dark pools to receive inflated rankings and consequently millions of orders that SuperX+ would have sent elsewhere if the system was operating the way Deutsche Bank had described. The SEC's order also finds that Deutsche Bank manually overrode the rankings on certain occasions and manually assigned fill rates for new venues based on subjective judgment that that turned out to be inconsistent with the venues' actual performance. The SEC's order finds that Deutsche Bank violated Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Rule 301(b)(2) of Regulation ATS. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Marc E. Johnson, Ainsley Kerr, Mandy Sturmfelz, and Carolyn Welshhans of the Market Abuse Unit, and the case was supervised by Mr. Cohen. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the NYAG and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The SEC recently proposed rules to enhance order handling information available to customers from their broker-dealers, including details regarding how broker-dealers routed customer orders. The rules would require for the first time that broker-dealers disclose the handling of institutional orders to customers and expand the information included in existing retail order disclosures. IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Realty ONE Group -- a dynamic, full-service real estate brokerage and the nation's fastest-growing independent real estate brand -- is proud to have been honored with myriad recognitions over the past year. In addition to being awarded Top Workplaces by Orange County Register, the company's many real estate professionals and franchise owners have been recognized for their outstanding industry achievements and community involvement. These high-caliber entrepreneurs and team members are exemplary -- defining the authentic lifestyle brand that is blazing a trail and opening new doors, everyday. "We could not be more proud of this group of passionate and inspired individuals from our ONE Family," says Realty ONE Group founder and CEO Kuba Jewgieniew, who himself was named on Swanepoel's Power 200 list in top 20 most powerful leader in real estate for 2015/2016. "Since launching in 2005, we have witnessed so many hardworking men and women reach their greatest potential and it is truly an honor to work with them." For the second straight year, broker Greg McClure's Realty ONE Group Complete, with its central office in Sacramento, Calif., was awarded the Roseville Best of the Best Real Estate Company of 2016. McClure is joined by a stellar list of award winners, including Mark Sivek, broker and salesperson at Realty One Group in Henderson, Nev. and a member of the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS (GLVAR) board of directors, who was featured as a top real estate professional in the Nevada edition of Top Agent Magazine in August. Also from Realty ONE Group in Henderson, Shannon Fitzpatrick was listed in the top 50 of the nation's Top 100 Real Estate Agents by UpNest, a platform where home sellers and buyers can connect with top real estate professionals who compete for their business. Additionally, KC Cyga, the company's Scottsdale, Ariz. managing broker was named Broker of the Year by the Arizona School of Real Estate and Business. Congratulations also go out to each of the Realty ONE Group professionals listed as a 2016 "40 Under 40" by the Young Professionals Network (YPN) for outstanding volunteer work, charitable contributions and community involvement: Geoffrey Lavell - Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Hall of Fame Inductee Jillian Batchelor - Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Hall of Fame Inductee Mahshid Barghisavar - Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Hall of Fame Inductee Serena M. Heuser - Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Yared Rivera - Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Tiffany Carlson-Richison - Southeast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Kelley Norton - Scottsdale Area Association of REALTORS Mayra Petrone - Scottsdale Area Association of REALTORS Joseph Tropple - SouthEast Valley Regional Association of REALTORS Influencing and inciting industry change, Realty ONE Group has received awards and accolades from industry peers as well as nonprofit and government organizations. In August, the Orange County District Attorney's Office recognized Realty ONE Group and managing broker Ed Molina of the San Clemente branch for longstanding volunteering and invaluable contributions to OC GRIP (Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership), a nonprofit with more than 200 partners in 13 cities, including police departments, probation departments and more than 100 private businesses and nonprofit organizations. Senior Deputy District Attorney Susan J. Eckermann was on hand to award Molina Volunteer of the Year and present him with a Certificate of Appreciation for his dedication to youth involved in the OC Grip Summer camp, with the San Clemente office receiving a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition and California Legislature Assembly Certificate of Recognition. Molina was also named Volunteer of the Year by the Orange County Association of REALTOR (OCAR). "Together we have closed on more than 42,100 transactions, representing 14.5 billion in sales volume since the beginning of 2016," adds Jewgieniew, whose brand, which has been offering franchise opportunities since 2012, landed a spot on the 2016 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list, as well as the highly respected Franchise Times Top 200+ list. "It is a remarkable feat and a goal attained -- one which I have no doubt will be surpassed in 2017." To learn more about Realty ONE Group, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com. With media inquiries, please contact Brea Ballard at media@realtyonegroup.com About Realty ONE Group: Founded in 2005, Realty ONE Group is a dynamic, full-service lifestyle real estate brand, dedicated to empowering and advancing tomorrow's real estate professionals, today. Privately owned and 100 percent debt-free since day one, the real estate company has rapidly evolved, with more than 8,800 professionals, in 74 offices across 18 states. Realty ONE Group fosters a collaborative company culture where everyone matters and everyone has a voice. Its simple fee structure enables professionals to achieve greater success, faster. Ranked in the top one percent in the nation by REAL Trends, and landing a coveted spot on the Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Companies list for seven consecutive years, Realty ONE Group has been surging ahead, opening doors, and changing lives not only for its clients, but also for its real estate professionals and franchise owners. To learn more, visit www.RealtyONEGroup.com. MEDIA CONTACT Brea Ballard Realty ONE Group 949.596.7358 RealtyONE@beyondfifteen.com TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- PowerOne Capital Corp. (the "Acquiror"), announces that on December 15, 2016, the Acquiror and its joint actor Capital One Asset Management Limited (the "Joint Actor") acquired additional common shares (the "Shares") of Firm Capital American Realty Partners Corp. (the "Issuer"), pursuant to a rights offering to existing shareholders of the Issuer (the "Rights Offering"). The Acquiror exercised rights to acquire 7,015,448 Shares and the Joint Actor exercised rights to acquire 392,157 Shares. In connection with the Rights Offering, the Acquiror also acquired an additional 1,471,589 Shares pursuant to a stand-by purchase agreement entered among the Issuer and certain other stand-by purchasers. The Acquiror and the Joint Actor collectively acquired a total of 8,879,194 Shares, representing approximately 7.02% of the outstanding Shares on a partially diluted basis (assuming exercise of convertible securities held by the Acquiror and the Joint Actor only) as of December 15, 2016. Immediately prior to the transactions described above the Acquiror directly owned and controlled 7,015,448 Shares and the Joint Actor directly owned and controlled 392,157 Shares, along with convertible securities entitling the Joint Actor to acquire an additional 695,652 Shares, representing approximately 12.74% of the issued and outstanding Shares on a partially diluted basis (assuming exercise of convertible securities held by the Joint Actor only). Immediately following the transactions, the Acquiror and the Joint Actor directly owned and controlled an aggregate of 16,286,799 Shares, along with convertible securities entitling the Joint Actor to acquire an additional 695,652 Shares, representing approximately 13.42% of the issued and outstanding Shares on a partially diluted basis (assuming exercise of convertible securities held by the Joint Actor only). These securities were acquired for a purchase price of approximately CAD $0.21 per share and total consideration of approximately C$1,864,631. The securities were not acquired through the facilities of any stock exchange. The Shares were acquired for investment purposes, and the Acquiror and Joint Actor may, depending on market and other conditions, increase or decrease their beneficial ownership, control or direction over additional securities of the securities or otherwise. Neither the Acquiror nor the Joint Actor have any plans related to any of the matters in the enumerated list in Item 5.1 of Form 62-103F1. To obtain a copy of the report filed pursuant to applicable securities regulations in connection with the foregoing, please contact: Shaun Drake DSA Corporate Services Inc. Tel: 416-848-0107 Fax: 416-848-0790 sdrake@dsacorp.ca 82 Richmond Street East Suite 200 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1 Contacts: DSA Corporate Services Inc. Shaun Drake 416-848-0107 416-848-0790 (FAX) sdrake@dsacorp.ca Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DUBLIN, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Acrylic Processing Aid Market - Global Forecast to 2026" report to their offering. The global acrylic processing aid (APA) market was USD 645.4 Million in 2016, and is projected to reach USD 1,173.6 Million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 6.2% between 2016 and 2026. The increasing demand for APA based PVC in end-use applications drives the APA market. The APA market is classified on the basis of polymer type into polyvinylchloride (PVC) and others. PVC dominated the APA market, in 2015 and is projected to be the largest polymer type segment between 2016 and 2026. It provides flexibility which is helpful in making modern automobiles cost-effective, safe, and of high quality. It helps in reducing the weight of vehicles by the lightness of its components in comparison to other materials. PVC is also less expensive as compared to other plastics. The APA market is classified on the basis of fabrication into extrusion, injection molding, and others. Extrusion is expected to be the fastest-growing fabrication process segment of the APA market between 2016 and 2026. Extrusion is used to process high volume of plastics. The pellets, granules, flakes, or powders are fed into the extrusion machine and melted under high temperature (depending upon the type of plastic to be extruded). The APA market is segmented on the basis of end-use industry into building & construction, packaging, consumer goods, automotive, and others. The building & construction industry is expected to be the largest and fastest-growing end-use industry for APA between 2016 and 2026. The demand for APA in this industry is expected to increase mainly due to the increasing demand for strong, flexible, chemical & oil resistive, and cost-effective building & construction products such as, pipes, flooring, roofing, windows & doors, containers, trimboard, and others. The APA market is segmented on the basis of region into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa, and South America. Currently, Asia-Pacific is the largest market for APA. Asia-Pacific is also projected to be the fastest-growing market between 2016 and 2026. This growth is attributed to the rising demand for plastics of APA in this region. Companies Mentioned: 3M Company Akdeniz Kimya A.S. Arkema SA Basf SE Kaneka Corporation LG Chem Ltd. Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. Shandong Rike Chemicals Co., Ltd. Shandong Ruifeng Chemical Co. Ltd. The Dow Chemical Company Others... Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Industry Trends 7 APA Market, by Polymer Type 8 APA Market, by Fabrication Process 9 APA Market, by End-Use Industry 10 APA Market, by Region 11 Competitive Landscape 12 Company Profiles For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/ht9pv9/acrylic Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 JERUSALEM, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, December 18, Sir Geoffrey Robertson, QC will speak on "Genocide Denial and Armenia" at the Fried-Gal Colloquium, at the Hebrew UniversityFaculty of Law, Jerusalem, which hosts the Colloquium. The Colloquium is chaired by Visiting Professor Ruti Teitel, from New York Law School. Sir Geoffrey is a founder and head of Doughty Street Chambers, London, and is one of the world's leading human rights lawyers. Along with Barrister Amal Clooney, he recently represented Armenia at the European Court for Human Rights, and wrote the seminal book, An Inconvenient Genocide, Who Now Remembers the Armenians? Sir Geoffrey served as the first President of the UN's Special Court for Sierra Leone and headed human rights missions for Amnesty International and other leading human rights organizations. He represents high profile cases, including Julian Assange in extradition proceedings in the UK and is currently part of the defense team for former Brazilian President Lula. According to Julie Gal, the founder of the Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Initiative, "Sir Geoffrey Robertson has set the highest standardfor legal advocacy of human rights and we are enormously indebted to him for appearing before our students and faculty here in Jerusalem and sharing his deep knowledge and practical experience of human rights law. His leading role in fighting genocide denial, and on behalf of freedom of speech, including protecting sources of journalists and those of researchers in human rights organizations, is extremely relevant in today's world and impacts on us all. "We in Jerusalem are aware of our link to the horrific realities of genocide whether through the Holocaust or what is happening just beyond our borders today in Syria. Sir Geoffrey's insights have direct relevance to the topics our students study including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and issues of civil liberties." The Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Initiative includes colloquia, study tours to areas of past and presentconflict, research, and scholarships. It is funded by the Gal Foundation, New York. Netziv (Shemos 34:10) We need to explicate the manner of Divine Providence. There are two types which four. 1) there are two by means of ... My sefer Yad Moshe has been unavailable in seforim stores. However it was recently reprinted and shipped to New York There are two distrubu... Rashbam (Shemos 4:10): It is inconceivable that a prophet who spoke with G d face to face and received the Torah from Him should have a sp... Important!! email - yadmoshe@gmail.com Washington D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled cease-and-desist proceedings against the CEO of a Utah-based broker-dealer and two registered persons associated with the firm for causing the firm's violations of SEC market structure rules, and contested administrative and cease-and-desist proceeding against the firm for the alleged violations. The proceedings involve a former proprietary trader at Wilson-Davis & Co., a Utah-based broker-dealer, the firm's vice president/head trader, and the firm's CEO and chairman. Regulation SHO requires that, before a broker-dealer effects a short sale, the broker-dealer must "locate" a source of borrowable securities that can be delivered on the date that delivery is due. The rule includes a limited exception for short sales executed in connection with bona fide market making. From at least November 2011 to May 2013, Wilson-Davis relied on the bona-fide market making exception for all short sales by its proprietary trading group. This reliance was improper for certain Wilson-Davis trades because much of Wilson-Davis's proprietary trading activity was not, in fact, bona-fide market making. While improperly availing itself of the exception, Wilson-Davis engaged in numerous short sales in over-the counter equity securities, which violated Rule 203(b)(1) of Regulation SHO and resulted in improper trading profits. In addition, for its proprietary trading group, Wilson-Davis failed to: have controls and supervisory procedures as required by the Market Access Rule (Exchange Act Rule 15c3-5), which requires controls and supervisory procedures reasonably designed to manage the risks of having market access; or establish, document and maintain a system for regularly reviewing the effectiveness of the risk management controls and supervisory procedures as required by Exchange Act Rule 15c3-5(e). Wilson-Davis's CEO violated the certification requirement of the Market Access Rule because the certification was inadequate and he signed without being familiar with the rule, not knowing who at the firm was responsible for compliance with it nor making reasonable inquiries about the firm's annual review and the results of any such review. This is the first time that the SEC has charged the CEO of a broker-dealer with violating the CEO certification requirement of the Market Access Rule. "We allege that Wilson-Davis violated SEC rules that help ensure fair markets, including the rules for short sales and for market access," said Andrew J. Ceresney, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division. "Public confidence in our markets depends on careful compliance with these market structure rules." The SEC's order instituting a settled cease-and-desist proceeding against Anthony Kerrigone, the former proprietary trader at Wilson-Davis, finds that Kerrigone caused Wilson-Davis's violations of Rule 203(b)(1) of Regulation SHO. Kerrigone consented to the order without admitting or denying the findings and agreed to cease and desist from such violations and to pay disgorgement of $486,840, prejudgment interest of $63,160.50, and a penalty of $50,000. The SEC's order instituting a settled administrative proceeding against Byron Barkley, the head trader, and Paul Davis, the CEO, finds that Barkley caused Wilson-Davis's violations of Rule 203(b)(1) of Regulation SHO, Section 15(c) of the Exchange Act and Rule 15c3-5(b), (c) and (e) of the Market Access Rule, and Davis violated Exchange Act Rule 15c3-5(e)(2). Barkley consented to the order without admitting or denying the findings and agreed to cease and desist from such violations and pay disgorgement of $67,710.20, prejudgment interest of $8,977.83, and a penalty of $50,000. Davis consented to the order without admitting or denying the findings and agreed to cease and desist from such violations and to pay a penalty of $25,000. In the contested administrative and cease-and-desist proceeding against Wilson-Davis, the SEC Enforcement Division alleges that the firm willfully violated Rule 203(b)(1) of Regulation SHO, Section 15(c)(3) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 15c3-5(b), (c) and (e). The SEC's investigation was conducted by Jay A. Scoggins and Jeffrey E. Oraker of the Division of Enforcement's Market Abuse Unit in the Denver Regional Office, and supervised by Robert A. Cohen of the Market Abuse Unit. The examination that led to the investigation was conducted by Stephanie Fischer, Kenny Bossert, Lisa Byington and Denise Saxon of the Denver office. The litigation of the administrative proceeding against Wilson-Davis will be led by Danielle R. Voorhees. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Prism Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: PRS) ("Prism" or the "Company") announces that Oscar Ruiz Franco has tendered his resignation as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Board would like to thank Mr. Franco for his contributions to the Company and wishes him success in his future endeavours. In the interim, Scott M. Ross, a director and Corporate Secretary of the Company, will act as interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Ross will be working closely with the Board in finding a successor Chief Financial Officer. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRISM RESOURCES INC. Robert W Baxter President & CEO Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contacts: Robert (Bob) Baxter Prism Resources Inc. +1-778-928-1864 bbaxter@prismresourcesinc.com Scott Ross Prism Resources Inc. 604-803-4883 sross@prismresourcesinc.com Shareholder rights law firm Robbins Arroyo LLP announces that a class action complaint was filed against Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint is brought on behalf of all purchasers of Rio securities between March 16, 2012 and November 14, 2016, for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by Rio's officers and directors. Rio, a mining and metals company, finds, mines, and processes mineral resources. Rio has held a significant stake in the Simandou iron mine located in southern Guinea. View this information on the law firm's Shareholder Rights Blog: www.robbinsarroyo.com/shareholders-rights-blog/rio-tinto-plc Rio Accused of Violating Anti-Corruption Laws According to the complaint, Rio submitted a series of filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in which it detailed the importance of the Simandou project to the company. In its filings, Rio also elaborated on the company's compliance and business integrity, stating, "We operate within all relevant laws and regulations and are dedicated to open and transparent dealings with our stakeholders. Acting with integrity and being accountable for our actions are the foundations on which we do business." The complaint alleges, however, that Rio officials failed to disclose that the company violated anti-corruption laws in connection with its operations on the Simandou project, which in turn would expose the company to significant scrutiny and large fines. On November 9, 2016, Rio revealed that in August 2016, the company became aware of email correspondence from 2011 relating to contractual payments totaling $10.5 million made to a consultant for the Simandou project, and that the company had launched an investigation. Then, on November 14, 2016, Bloomberg News published an article reporting that Rio's investigation may take several years to resolve. On November 18, 2016, Bloomberg News reported that, according to Guinea's former mining minister, a Rio executive asked how big a bribe it would take to beat out a competitor for the Simandou project. Since news of Rio's wrongdoing became public, its American Depositary Shares declined by over 8% to close at $36.55 per share on November 18, 2016. Rio Shareholders Have Legal Options Concerned shareholders who would like more information about their rights and potential remedies can contact attorney Darnell R. Donahue at (800) 350-6003, DDonahue@robbinsarroyo.com, or via the shareholder information form on the firm's website. Robbins Arroyo LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits, and has helped its clients realize more than $1 billion of value for themselves and the companies in which they have invested. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005722/en/ Contacts: Robbins Arroyo LLP Darnell R. Donahue (619) 525-3990 or Toll Free (800) 350-6003 DDonahue@robbinsarroyo.com www.robbinsarroyo.com Regulatory News: The Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting of SoLocal Group (Paris:LOCAL) which met on 15 December 2016 has approved all the resolutions required for the implementation of the revised financial restructuring plan presented by the Company. As announced, the Board of Directors of the Company will meet in the coming weeks to decide on the appointment by way of cooptation of a Director and the appointment of a non voting member, both of them representing the creditors. However, the draft resolutions presented by shareholders including Mr. Benjamin Jayet and D&P Finance represented by Mr. Calmels, and not approved by the Board of Directors, have been rejected. The results of the vote on each of the resolutions will be online on the corporate website of SoLocal Group on Monday 19 December (http://solocalgroup.com). As envisaged, the financial restructuring plan having now been approved by the shareholders and creditors of SoLocal Group, the Company has presented at a hearing at the Commercial Court of Nanterre on 16 December 2016 a request of amendement for the plan de sauvegarde financiere acceleree in which the Company is engaged. The upcoming decision of the Commercial Court of Nanterre is the last prior approval necessary for the implementation of the plan. Futhermore the creditors of the ad hoc group acting in concert (funds managed or advised by Amber Capital UK Holdings Ltd, Monarch Alternative Capital (Europe) Ltd and Paulson Co., Inc.) indicated to have obtained the derogation from the Autorite des Marches Financiers to launch a takeover bid in the event of the acquisition of control of 30% of the Company's capital post Rights Issue. According to the estimated schedule, the operations of Rights Issue would be realised in Q1 2017. Jean-Pierre Remy, Chief Executive Officer of SoLocal Group declared: "The support provided by the shareholders to the financial restructuring plan gives now a new future to SoLocal Group and its 4,400 employees. Freed up from its debt burden, SoLocal Group has today a new room for maneuver to invest, accelerate its growth and develop innovative and creative communication solutions for its 500,000 clients. About SoLocal Group SoLocal Group, European leader in local online communication, reveals local know-how, and boosts local revenues of businesses. The Internet activities of the Group are structured around two business lines: Local Search and Digital Marketing. With Local Search, the Group offers digital services and solutions to clients which enable them to enhance their visibility and develop their local contacts. Thanks to its expertise, SoLocal Group earned the trust of some 530,000 clients of those services and over 2.2 billions of visits via its 4 flagship brands (PagesJaunes, Mappy, Ooreka and A Vendre A Louer) but also through its partnerships. With Digital Marketing, SoLocal Group creates and provides Internet users with the best local and customised content about professionals. With over 4,400 employees, including a salesforce of 1,900 local communication advisors specialised in five verticals (Home, Services, Retail, Health Public, BtoB) and Internationally (France, Spain, Austria, United Kingdom), the Group generated in 2015 revenues of 873 millions euros, of which 73% on Internet and ranks amongst the first European players in terms of Internet advertising revenues. SoLocal Group is listed on Euronext Paris (LOCAL). More information may be obtained at www.solocalgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161216005737/en/ Contacts: SoLocal Group Press Delphine Penalva, +33 (0)1 46 23 35 31 dpenalva@solocal.com or Edwige Druon, +33 (0)1 46 23 37 56 edruon@solocal.com or Alexandra Kunysz, +33 (0)1 46 23 47 45 akunysz@solocal.com or Investors Elsa Cardarelli, +33 (0)1 46 23 40 92 ecardarelli@solocal.com or Sebastien Nony, +33 (0) 1 46 23 49 03 snony@solocal.com SAINTE-ANNE-DES-MONTS, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament (Gaspesie-Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine), today announced that the Exploramer museum is receiving funding of $121,809 for its Mysteries under the Waves exhibition. Minister Lebouthillier made this announcement on behalf of the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage. This funding, provided by the Government of Canada through the Access to Heritage component of the Museums Assistance Program, will allow the organization to create this travelling exhibition and present it from June to October 2017. Mysteries under the Waves will then travel to a number of other Canadian museums. Quotes "The Gulf of St. Lawrence, its islands, its marine biology and its ecosystem are central to the lives of thousands of Canadians. On the eve of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the Government of Canada is proud to support this scientific exhibition, which highlights the unique character of this majestic and symbolic body of water." -The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage "With Mysteries under the Waves, visitors will discover the enigmatic world of the St. Lawrence and all its treasures. This travelling exhibition will undoubtedly raise the profile of Gaspesie and eastern Quebec across the country, thanks to Exploramer's museum expertise and the work of researchers from the Institut des Sciences de la mer at the Universite du Quebec a Rimouski, the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, the Centre de recherche sur les biotechnologies marines and the Merinov organization." -The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament (Gaspesie-Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine) "I would like to thank ministers Melanie Joly and Diane Lebouthillier for this announcement, which is extremely important for Exploramer. With Mysteries under the Waves, Exploramer has added a new element to its capabilities: the preparation and coordination of travelling exhibitions. Thanks to this funding, Exploramer's expertise in scientific museology, the work of eastern Quebec researchers and our beloved St. Lawrence River will be recognized in several Canadian museums." -Gilles Theriault, Chair of Exploramer's Board of Directors Quick Facts -- Exploramer, located on the Sainte-Anne-des-Monts quay in Gaspesie, has a mission is to raise public awareness of the St. Lawrence's marine ecosystem and its preservation. The centre provides scientific education activities through its museum, its aquarium park and sea excursions, among other initiatives. -- Mysteries under the Waves is an evolving, interactive and bilingual 125- m2 exhibition that uncovers some of the mysteries of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. -- The exhibition will evolve based on the findings of Exploramer's four scientific research centre partners in eastern Quebec. -- The organization will also conduct educational activities and performances in connection with the exhibition to introduce young people to scientific material. Associated Links Exploramer Museums Assistance Program - Access to Heritage Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Contacts: Pierre-Olivier Herbert Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage 819-997-7788 Media Relations Canadian Heritage 819-994-9101 1-866-569-6155 PCH.media-media.PCH@Canada.ca WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. ("Paramount" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: PZG) announces the results of the votes from its annual stockholder meeting which was held on December 14, 2016. There were 15,689,954 shares outstanding and entitled to vote at the meeting as of the record date of October 19, 2016, of which, 10,374,464 shares or 66.12% voted. The stockholders elected the following six individuals to Paramount's Board of Directors for a one year term expiring at the 2017 Annual General Meeting: David Smith, Glen Van Treek, John Carden, Christopher Reynolds, Eliseo Gonzalez-Urien and Pierre Pelletier. Detailed voting results of the election of directors were as follows: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Percentage Name of Nominee For Withheld Percentage For Withheld ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Smith 5,198,518 185,742 96.55 3.45 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glen Van Treek 5,249,354 134,906 97.49 2.51 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christopher Reynolds 5,290,844 93,416 98.27 1.73 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Carden 5,194,388 189,872 96.47 3.53 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eliseo Gonzalez- Urien 5,166,245 218,015 95.95 4.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pierre Pelletier 5,284,813 99,447 98.15 1.85 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were 4,990,204 broker non-votes. The stockholders ratified MNP LLP as our independent registered public accountants for the year ended June 30, 2017 with 10,000,403 voting 'for' (96.39%), 95,496 (0.92%) voting 'against' and 278,565 (2.69%) abstaining to vote. The Company's 2016 stock incentive and equity compensation plan was ratified by the stockholders with 5,043,206 voting 'for' (93.66%), 302,494 voting 'against' (5.62%), 38,560 (0.72%) abstaining to vote and 4,990,204 broker non-votes. About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount has an unusually high ratio of ounces of gold in mineral inventory to shares outstanding, providing its shareholders with exceptional leverage to the gold price. For our mineral inventory, click here. Paramount holds a 100% working interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which a PEA has been prepared and key permitting milestones accomplished. For the PEA, click here. Additionally, Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and realizing value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering into joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account. Contacts: Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. Carlo Buffone CFO 866-481-2233 Chris Theodossiou Director of Corporate Communications 866-481-2233 TORONTO, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- VENDOME RESOURCES CORP. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: VDR)(FRANKFURT: 9VR), is pleased to announce it has completed an initial tranche of a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Financing"). Pursuant to the Financing, the Company issued 2,004,936 "flow-through" shares ("FT Shares") at a price of $0.15 per share for gross proceeds of $300,740.40. The Company proposes to close a second tranche of the Financing in January, which will consist of up to 4,000,000 units at a price of $0.15 per unit for maximum proceeds of $600,000. Each unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant will entitle its holder to purchase one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.25 for a period of 18 months from the closing date of the private placement. There can be no assurance that the Offering will be completed, whether in whole or in part. All securities issued in connection with the Financing are subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company anticipates that the proceeds of the Financing will be used for exploration and working capital requirements. First Republic Capital Corporation ("First Republic") acted as the lead finder for the Financing. A cash fee was paid to finders representing 8% of the gross proceeds raised in the Financing. Additionally, finders received that number of compensation warrants ("Compensation Warrants") totaling 8% of the number of FT Shares sold pursuant to the Financing. The Compensation Warrants are exercisable at a price of $0.15 per shares for a period of 18 months after the closing of the Financing. First Republic was paid a corporate finance fee representing 2% of the gross proceeds raised in the Financing and that number of Compensation Warrants equaling 2% of the number of FT Shares sold in the Financing. Appointment of Corporate Secretary The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Shimmy Posen as Corporate Secretary. Mr. Posen is a lawyer at Garfinkle Biderman LLP, where he focuses on corporate finance, M&A and securities law. He acts for public and private companies, securities dealers and financial institutions on a number of public and private financings and commercial transactions. Mr. Posen holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from York University. Granting of Options In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that the Company has granted 100,000 incentive stock options to Mr. Posen. The options are exercisable at $0.20 per option for a period of 3 years from the date of grant and have no vesting conditions. The options are being issued under the terms of the Company's Stock Option Plans which were approved by shareholders at the Company's Annual General and Special Meeting on September 6, 2016. About Vendome: Vendome is a mineral exploration company located in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Our primary focus is to acquire "near-term production" exploration mining projects and existing producers. Vendome Resources Corp. is managed by an experienced team of mining professionals with extensive operating and financial experience. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VENDOME RESOURCES CORP. W. John Priestner, President and Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking information" including statements with respect to the future exploration performance of the Company. This forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements of the Company, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filing on SEDAR, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation, other than as required by law, to update any forward-looking information for any reason. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. Contacts: VENDOME RESOURCES CORP. W. John Priestner President and Chief Executive Officer info@vendomeresourcescorp.com OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today concludes six days of working meetings in Europe where she had the opportunity to meet and talk arts and culture with various stakeholders, including cultural organizations and Canadian artists and creators working abroad. A key feature of her discussions in Europe was how to adapt our cultural policies to an increasingly digital environment and expand into new markets. While in Berlin, Germany, Minister Joly met with a number of Canadian creators and artists working overseas, as well as key German stakeholders involved in culture. She also took part in a return ceremony of forcibly auctioned Nazi-era paintings organized by the Max and Iris Stern foundation, based in Montreal, and the Embassy of Canada to Germany. In Paris, France, Minister Joly participated in the Tenth ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Committee responsible for the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. She took part in a ministerial panel discussion on "Re-shaping digital policies for development"-a focus of the Minister, who recently concluded cross-Canada consultations on Canadian content in a digital world. While in Paris, Minister Joly also announced a contribution of $100,000 to UNESCO's International Fund for Cultural Diversity to promote cultural projects in developing countries. This confirms Canada's commitment to and leadership in implementing the 2005 UNESCO Convention. The Minister also reiterated Canada's desire to become a member of the Intergovernmental Committee tasked with its implementation. The Minister's trip ended in Brussels, where she continued to have exchanges with key stakeholders, particularly from the European Union, on topics related to arts and culture such as the common challenges and opportunities brought on by the digital shift. Quote "These discussions allow us to strengthen our relationships with key international partners. It is also a great opportunity to learn from different perspectives on the role of arts and culture as a driver for innovation and economic growth. I am glad to have met with passionate people who have the future of arts and culture at heart-especially in the context of a digital shift that knows no borders." - The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage Associated Links Max Stern Art Restitution Project Tenth ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Committee International Fund for Cultural Diversity Canadian Content in a Digital World Stay Connected Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr. Contacts: Pierre-Olivier Herbert Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage 819-997-7788 Media Relations Canadian Heritage 819-994-9101 1-866-569-6155 PCH.media-media.PCH@Canada.ca CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/16/16 -- Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX: SJR.B)(TSX: SJR.PR.A)(TSX: SJR.PR.B)(NYSE: SJR)(TSX VENTURE: SJR.A) (Shaw) announced today that its eligible shareholders who are residents of the United States can now enroll their Class A Participating Shares (Class A Shares) and Class B Non-Voting Participating Shares (Class B Shares) in its dividend reinvestment plan (Plan). Since its launch in 2008 the Plan was available only to shareholders who were residents of Canada. The Plan provides a convenient way for Plan participants to reinvest cash dividends paid on their Class A Shares and/or Class B Shares to purchase additional Class B Shares without brokerage commissions, fees or transaction costs. On each dividend payment date, cash dividends payable on a participant's Class A Shares and/or Class B Shares are paid by Shaw to CST Trust Company, Shaw's registrar and transfer agent which serves as agent under the plan (Plan Agent). The Plan Agent uses those funds (less any withholdings under applicable tax laws) to purchase Class B Shares. At Shaw's election, the Class B Shares purchased by the Plan Agent are either Class B Shares newly issued by Shaw (Treasury) or outstanding Class B Shares purchased through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Shaw currently elects to issue Class B Shares from Treasury at a 2% discount to the market price set in accordance with the terms of the Plan. Dividends to be reinvested under the Plan for participants who are not residents of Canada will be subject to withholdings under applicable tax laws and, accordingly, the amount reinvested under the Plan for those participants will be reduced by the amount of such withholdings. Information on the Plan can be obtained from the Plan Agent by accessing its website at www.canstockta.com. About Shaw Communications Inc. Shaw Communications Inc. is an enhanced connectivity provider. Our Consumer division serves consumers with broadband Internet, Shaw Go WiFi, video and digital phone. Our Wireless division provides wireless voice and data services through an expanding and improving mobile wireless network infrastructure. The Business Network Services division provides business customers with Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, video and fleet tracking services. The Business Infrastructure Services division, through ViaWest, provides hybrid IT solutions including colocation, cloud computing and security and compliance for North American enterprises. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (TSX: SJR.B)(TSX: SJR.PR.A)(TSX: SJR.PR.B)(NYSE: SJR)(TSX VENTURE: SJR.A). For more information, please visit www.shaw.ca. Contacts: Shaw Communications Inc. Investor Relations investor.relations@sjrb.ca www.shaw.ca 3024 : PM , 345 DUBLIN, Apr. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Research Report on China Ceramic Industry, 2017-2021" report to their offering. China is a world leading ceramic producer accounting for 50% to 70% of the total production volume in terms of ceramics for daily use, display art and building. China is a big ceramic producer with the largest output volume in the world, but it is not a powerful ceramic country. Chinese products are mainly middle and low-end ceramics whose prices are relatively low in international market. The price of products with the same type is only a fraction of that from powerful ceramic countries such as Italy and Spain. The output volume of ceramic tiles was 10.18 billion m2 declining by 0.5% YOY and that of sanitary wares exceeded 218 million increasing by 1.58% in China in 2015. Meanwhile, the export value of various building ceramics and sanitary ware products exceeded USD 21.1 billion increasing by 9.25% YOY. The export volume of ceramic products was 25.26 million tons with an export value of CNY 162.66 billion in China in 2015. At present, the export value of ceramic products increased yearly. On the one hand, the export volume of ceramics increased continuously with an increasing average unit price of ceramics. In recent years, the construction industry developed rapidly in Middle East areas. For example, Saudi Arabia invested USD 350 billion in the construction of large-scale projects as the largest project contracting market in Middle East area. In addition, import policies are relatively loose in Middle East area. For example, no other taxes exist apart from 5% of the import duty in United Arab Emirates. Therefore, some Chinese ceramic enterprises possess market opportunities such as the export value of CNY 270 million increasing by 20.4% YOY of ceramic products in Jingdezhen in 2015. On the other hand, various problems exist for ceramic exporters such as trade barriers and anti-dumping investigations in China. For example, Egypt General Administration of Standard and Quality Management issued new standard reporting on ceramic tiles requiring the implementation of Egypt standards on imported ceramic tile products in 2015. Key Topics Covered: 1 Basic Concepts of Ceramic Industry 2 Development Environment of Ceramic Industry in China, 2011-2015 2.1 Environment of Macro Economy 2.2 Policy Environment of Ceramic Industry in China, 2011-2016 2.3 Technology Environment of China Ceramic Industry 3 Development Status of China Ceramic Industry, 2011-2016 3.1 Analysis on Ceramic Supply in China, 2011-2016 3.2 Analysis on Demand for Ceramics in Chinese Market, 2011-2016 3.3 Analysis on Import and Export of Ceramics in China, 2013-2016 4 Competition Status of China Ceramic Industry, 2013-2016 4.1 Entry Barriers and Exit Barriers of the Industry 4.1.1 Barriers to Entry 4.1.2 Barriers to Exit 4.1.3 Access Conditions of the Industry 4.2 Competition Structure of China Ceramic Industry 5 Development Status of China Ceramic Sub-industries, 2011-2016 5.1 Brief Introduction of Ceramic Sub-industries 5.2 Sanitary Ceramic Manufacturing Industry 5.3 Special Ceramic Products 5.4 Daily Ceramic Products 5.5 Gardening, Display Art and Other Ceramic Products 5.6 Manufacture of Building Ceramics 6 Analysis on Key Enterprises in China Ceramic Industry, 2013-2016 6.1 NewPearl Ceramics Group 6.2 Foshan Gaoming Shuncheng Ceramic Co., Ltd. 6.3 Guangdong Ouya Ceramics Groups 6.4 Guangdong Hongwei Ceramic Industry Co., Ltd. 6.5 Guangdong Xin Zhong Yuan Ceramics Co., Ltd. 6.6 Guangdong Grifine Ceramics Co., Ltd. 6.7 Foshan Jinduo Ceramics Co., Ltd. 6.8 Guangdong Bohua Ceramics Co., Ltd. 6.9 Guangdong Sanfi Ceramics Group 6.10 Guangdong Huiya Ceramics Co., Ltd. 7 Prospect of China Ceramic Industry, 2017-2021 7.1 Analysis on Factors Influencing the Development of China Ceramic Industry, 2017-2021 7.2 Forecast on Supply of Ceramic Industry in China, 2017-2021 7.3 Prediction on Market Demand of China Ceramic Industry, 2017-2021 7.4 Discussion about Investment Opportunities of Ceramic Industry For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3dfw63/research_report Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 DUBLIN, Dec 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Speaker Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The report forecasts the global speakers market to grow at a CAGR of 19.73% during the period 2016-2020. The Global Speakers Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. One trend in the market is growing popularity of multi-room streaming. The introduction of networked audio systems means the reduction in expense, efforts, and time, as all audio devices are wirelessly connected with technologies such as AirPlay, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. These technologies separate a system's physical and logical connections, which means that a single network carries multiple channels, making it possible to make infrastructure changes relatively cheaply, quickly, and inexpensively. The growing trend of maintaining speakers in all rooms is expediting the growth of the speaker market. According to the report, one driver in the market is rise in number of smart homes. Many homes in developed nations such as the US and the UK are being remodeled to smart homes. A smart home consists of media and entertainment gadgets, consumer electronic devices, and other smart electronics that interact with each other through a home network. The demand for smart homes is driven by factors such as the go green policy, energy saving requirements, need for convenience, and connectivity between various devices. The demand for smart homes is also driven by government initiatives that promote smart homes for better living. Some of the solutions include the assistance of power line communication and the adoption of smart meters to conserve energy. Key Vendors: Beats Electronics Bose LG Electronics Samsung Electronics Sony Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Market landscape Part 06: Market segmentation by technology Part 07: Market segmentation by type Part 08: Buying criteria Part 09: Geographical segmentation Part 10: Key leading country Part 11: Market drivers Part 12: Impact of drivers Part 13: Market challenges Part 14: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 15: Market trends Part 16: Vendor landscape Part 17: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3p6swr/global_speaker Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Acousia Therapeutics, a Tubingen, Germany-based biotech company, closed a 2.5m funding round. The round was led by the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund with support from the KfW as well as the new shareholder Axxam SpA of Milan, Italy. In conjunction with the funding, Dr. Stefan Lohmer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Axxam, will join Acousia Therapeutics Board of Directors. The company intends to use the funds to finance research programs for the development of small molecules to treat sensorineural hearing loss and protecting sensory hair cells of the inner ear to prevent hearing loss in at-risk patients. To this end, Axxam will also transfer some therapeutic assets to the R&D programs of Acousia to generate clinical candidates to be developed subsequently to demonstrate clinical proof of concept. Led by Dr. Michael Bos, Chief Executive Officer, Acousia Therapeutics is dedicated to the identification of small molecules for innovative treatments of hearing loss. The new therapeutic approach will replace lost sensory hair cells, the key cells for hearing in the inner ear, by cellular regeneration originating from supporting cells. The company will develop drugs for local application, which will restore hearing in patients who have lost their hearing ability due to various reasons, e.g. noise trauma, treatment with ototoxic drugs or sudden deafness. In addition, this therapy will have the potential to treat the age-related decrease in hearing capacity. FinSMEs 16/12/2016 Flagship Ventures, a Cambridge, Mass.-based life sciences venture capital firm, closed its Special Opportunities Fund, at $285m. The new fund operates alongside Flagships most recent early-stage family of funds, Fund V, which totalled $585 and closed in 2015. This brings the total in active capital being deployed to $870m, and the overall funds managed by the firm to $1.75 billion. In addition to the close of the fund, Flagship Ventures has rebranded as Flagship Pioneering. The evolution of the name reflects the distinctive nature of its enterprise of systematically conceiving, creating, resourcing and growing first-in-category ventures to transform human health and sustainability. Originally conceived in 1999 by Noubar Afeyan, CEO, the firm adopted the name Flagship Ventures in 2002 and has created and developed more than 75 scientific ventures, resulting in $19 billion in aggregate value, 500+ issued patents, 50+ clinical trials and 16 IPOs. Team members fill the roles of scientific co-founders, early-stage entrepreneurial leaders and financiers of every venture the firm creates. The current output of Flagship-founded ventures stands at 6-8 per year. FinSMEs 16/12/2016 FlixBus, a European travel technology company, raised a growth funding round of undisclosed amount. Backers included Silver Lake and existing investors General Atlantic, Holtzbrinck Ventures and Daimler. The company intends to use the funds to further drive expansion plans. Founded in 2013, FlixBus is a provider of intercity bus travel haing served more than 60 million passengers since inception, through 100,000 daily connections to 1,000 destinations in 20 countries across Europe. Its e-commerce and technology platform enables the company to work effectively with its independent bus partners who operate the network while FlixBus focuses on network and capacity planning, quality management, and sales and marketing. The company currently works with more than 250 independent bus partners to offer a comprehensive network in Germany, France, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands, as well as cross-border services to countries including Scandinavia, Spain, and the UK. FinSMEs 16/12/2016 ideaForge, an Indian startup focused on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) solutions, received an investment from Infosys (NYSE: INFY). Infosys, a global provider of consulting, technology, outsourcing and next-generation services, made the commitment from its Innovation Fund. The amount of the deal which is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions was not disclosed. Led by Ankit Mehta, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, ideaForge has built an UAV solution featuring fully autonomous operation, fail-safe technology, high endurance, image intelligence with live feed, and support for complex payloads such as thermal and high-resolution imagery. The companys UAVs have been deployed by the Indian Armed Forces for surveillance, crowd monitoring and rescue operations, and offer a solution for commercial applications in verticals such as energy, utilities, telecom and agriculture. FinSMEs 16/12/2016 Memebox, a San Francisco, CA-based beauty brand, raised an additional $60M in a Series C extension round. Backers included Goodwater Capital, Altos Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Mousse Partners, Formation Group, Funders Club, Pear Ventures, Cota Capital and Janet Gurwitch. The round an extension of the $66M the company raised in its initial Series C brings the company to $160M raised since it was founded in 2012. The company intends to use the funds to improve the mobile shopping experience, develop a database of beauty ingredients and products, and build out its global operations for efficiency as the company grows its global presence. Led by CEO Hyungseok Dino Ha, Memebox leverages data collected from customers and its own research and development labs outside of Seoul, South Korea to test and develop its four in-house brands Bonvivant, Nooni, IM Meme and Pony Effect. A Y Combinator graduate, the company recently added Janet Gurwitch, partner at Castanea Partners and founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier, to the companys advisory board. Memebox has offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong and Singapore. FinSMEs 16/12/2016 BEIJING China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday after exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met President Pranab Mukherjee, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise.Mukherjee hosted the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Peace laureates at a conference on children's rights at the presidential palace on Sunday.Those who attended, and spoke, included Princess Charlene of Monaco and the former president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta.The Indian government had ignored China's "strong opposition and insisted" on arranging for the Dalai Lama to share the stage with Mukherjee, and meet him, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital. "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to this," he said, adding that the Dalai Lama used the guise of religion to engage in separatist activities and China opposed any form of official contacts with him. China wanted India to recognise the "anti-China, separatist essence of the Dalai Lama clique and take steps to banish the negative impact of this incident" to avoid disrupting ties between the Asian giants, Geng said.While the Dalai Lama has had private meetings with Indian leaders, Sunday's conference was the first public event, said the political head of the Tibetan government in exile based in the hill town of Dharamsala. "There are many European governments shying away from hosting His Holiness," he told Reuters. "Here you have the president of India hosting His Holiness. I think is a powerful message to the world, and particularly to Beijing." China regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist, though he says he merely seeks genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland Tibet, which Communist Chinese troops "peacefully liberated" in 1950.The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. China also expressed displeasure with India this month over the visit to a sensitive border region of another senior Tibetan religious figure, the Karmapa Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's third-most-senior monk, who fled into exile in India in 2000.India is home to a large exiled Tibetan community. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Stephen Jewkes and Silvia Aloisi | MILAN MILAN Troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) sought on Friday to convince 40,000 retail investors to take part in its last-ditch rescue plan, warning them they could face bigger losses if they did not convert their bonds into shares.Italy's third biggest bank has until the end of this month to raise 5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) in equity or face the risk of being wound down, potentially triggering a wider banking and political crisis in Italy.Should the privately-funded plan fail, the government is ready to step in with state money to keep the Siena-based bank in business, though such a move would require both retail and institutional investors to share in losses. Monte dei Paschi said on Friday market watchdog Consob had given the go-ahead to the extension of a voluntary debt-to-equity offer to retail investors owning 2.1 billion euros of its junior debt. The offer runs from December 16 to 21.The bank, noting there could be no certainty Rome would pump in public money, warned that any state aid could force bondholders to convert their securities on worse conditions than those of the lender's voluntary debt swap offer. Underscoring its vulnerability, the bank said on Friday deposits had fallen by 6 billion euros between September 30 and December 13. Outflows have totaled 2 billion euros since a December 4 referendum on constitutional reform which triggered the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, throwing the bank's rescue plan into disarray.With the clock ticking, the chances of the bank pulling off the fundraising look slim, and bankers and analysts say state intervention looks increasingly on the cards to help restore confidence.Sources close to the matter said on Thursday Italy was ready to inject 15 billion euros into the Tuscan lender and other weak banks. An emergency decree could be approved next week as soon as the results of Monte dei Paschi's debt swap and share sale are known.In its prospectus for the reopened debt swap offer, the bank said the European Central Bank had told it that under a negative stress-test scenario, the lender has "a 29-day time horizon in which it can meet its liquidity needs without resorting to new intervention." The stress-test scenario assumes a liquidity outflow of 10.3 billion euros within a month. Shares in the bank fell 3 percent by 1513 GMT. Besides the bond conversion, the bank's last attempt to avert state aid also envisages selling shares to cornerstone investors and on the market.However, a source close to the matter said on Thursday that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund - which bankers had said could invest 1 billion euros - had yet to make up its mind about whether to put money in the bank. "Qatar is still at the window," the source said.Following the political turmoil triggered by Renzi's resignation, JPMorgan and other investment banks that had made a preliminary commitment to underwrite the share sale walked out of the deal, citing adverse market conditions.Monte dei Paschi estimates the cost of its rescue deal, including fees paid to investment banks, at 558 million euros, it said in the prospectus published on Friday.The ECB last week rejected Monte dei Paschi's request for more time to raise the funds, saying a delay could trigger a further deterioration in the bank's liquidity and capital position, putting its survival at risk. (Editing by Adrian Croft) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Scott DiSavino | NEW YORK NEW YORK Oil rose on Friday, edging closer to new 17-month highs, as producers showed signs of adhering to a global deal to reduce output.Brent futures rose $1.07, or 2 percent, to $55.09 a barrel by 11:34 a.m. EST (1634 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 91 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $51.81 per barrel.That put both contracts on track to rise around 1 percent for the week, after easing less than 1 percent last week.Earlier on Friday, the premium of the Brent front-month contract over the same U.S. contract rose to $2.27 a barrel, putting it within a couple cents of its highest mark since August."The petroleum markets are extending their recovery from Thursday's low as some confidence in planned production cuts returns to the market," Tim Evans, Citi Futures' energy futures specialist, said in a note.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, its first such deal since 2008. Russia and other non-OPEC producers plan to cut about half as much. Those deals, clinched over the past two weeks, have boosted expectations that a two-year supply overhang will clear soon and prices remain near highs last seen in July 2015.Russia said on Friday that all of the country's oil companies, including top producer Rosneft, had agreed to reduce output.Other oil producers including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have notified customers that they will cut from January. "While the market will eventually need to see some evidence of an actual reduction in output, talk of production cuts and the notices of lower allocations sent to refiners are sufficient to support market sentiment for now," Citi's Evans said.The prospect of lower production led U.S. bank Goldman Sachs to raise its WTI price forecast for the second quarter of 2017 to $57.50 per barrel from $55.For Brent, Goldman expects prices between $55 and $60 per barrel after the first half of 2017. However, there are doubts about the willingness of other OPEC members to reduce output.Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, has signed new deals that will increase its sales to Asian customers such as China and India despite its commitment to reduce output by 210,000 bpd.Libya, which is allowed to ramp up production as part of the OPEC deal, is close to increasing output crimped by unrest after a group of oil guards said they reopened a long-blockaded pipeline linking some of the country's biggest oilfields. (Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Susan Thomas and Paul Simao) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. You know the country is hurting when even the prime minister's best friend turns against him. Actually, let me rephrase that the best friend is hurting, and so friendship be damned, hang it out to dry. Baba Ramdev has spoken out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's note ban, by hinting at a sinister conspiracy involving the banking sector, and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), saying that as much as Rs 3-5 lakh crores can be involved in this scandal. Ramdev has clearly shrugged off his long-time support for Modi, as he adds economic insight to his quiver of authoritative arrows. The yogi-turned businessman and ayurveda champion, as adept at being spiritual guru as he is selling edible oil, but is having a rough time with sales of his consumer products probably dropping. To add to his dismay is the Rs 11 lakh fine levied on him for misrepresentation in manufacture of his products in the Hardwar factories where the ingredients are falsely marked. Good reasons, don't you think, for Ramdev to get a bit teed off; so this man for all seasons now decides to interpret the downside of the demonetisation process. But, according to him, it isn't the prime minister who's the bad guy it's the banks, and they misled Modi with their chicanery and gave him the wrong idea of what could happen. They did not tell him, for example, that Patanjali branded items would not fly off the shelf, and if they don't do that with alacrity, then surely something is wrong with the killing of currency notes. But, whoa, wait just a minute. Why has it taken Ramdev all of 38 days to figure it all out and share his incandescent genius with us? How quickly people change when their bottom line is adversely affected. There is also another reason for this economic epiphany. Ramdev has probably been feeling left out of the loop at not getting his quota of media attention this past month or so. That anonymity irks, so why not make some outlandish announcement in the manner of a teaser trailer and say a lot without saying anything concrete. In one shot, he indicts Modi, then absolves Modi, then blames the banks, and finally tells us there is a seamier undisclosed dimension, even venturing to place a huge figure on it, although he doesn't tell us what exactly is going on. Now, is that fair? If Ramdev knows what this Rs 3-5 lakh crore hanky panky is all about, then why be cute about it? Come out and tell us the details, so we can decide if the banking sector plotted this grand larceny on the Indian people and took Modi for a ride. Yes, we know the banks are flush with cash. Where else would the money go. But that is not an indication of their being corrupt or in on the scheming. To play mind games and make provocative statements is not only uncharitable, it is also a cheap shot. You can certainly criticise the fallout from the ban on currency notes and have an opinion, but if you point your flinty little fingers in accusations and suggest more than obliquely that the underbelly is dirtier than we know, then you are duty bound to show us the dirt. Till you are ready to spill the beans, it's time to use your own toothpaste because you are just being foulmouthed. By Swagata Yadavar Pimpalgaon/Lasalgaon, Nashik (Maharashtra): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be happy with 26-year-old Deepak Patil, an onion farmer from the village of Valwadi in Malegaon Taluka, about 300 kilometres north of Mumbai, Indias commercial capital. Patil, dressed in a grey jacket, over his white shirt and jeans, said he has a bank account, a cell phone, and receives payment for his onion produce in cheque. But Patil, who sells his produce in Pimpalgaon, a market in Indias onion heartland, Maharashtraproducing a third of all onions in the countryis not happy with demonetisation, or notebandi as it is colloquially called, and does not believe he can go cashless. After 9 November, when Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes 86 percent by value of Indian currency in circulation were declared invalid, the government pushed for cashless transactions and digital payments. Patil with access to banking and a cell phone could, in theory, move to cashless transactions, but in reality there is no Internet access where he lives, the closest ATM is at least 25 kilometres away, the closest nationalised bank 15 kilometres away, and the government has currently placed restrictions on the district cooperative bank that hosts his account. Nashik district, which contains Lasalgaon and Pimpalgaon, two of Indias busiest onion markets, contributes 10.4 percent of Maharashtras gross state domestic product, the highest of any agricultural district in the state, according to this 2014 Economic Survey report Patils trials with the banking system, and the effect of demonetisation on the rural economy of Nashik, show how 800 million Indians, who depend on the rural economy, have been affected by the ban on notes over the last 35 days. Hours in queues at a bank, only Rs 2,000 in hand The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred the bank where Patils account isNashik District Central Cooperative Bank (NDCC), and all other district central cooperative banks (DCCBs)from exchanging defunct notes for Rs 100 notes or for new notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. Patil deposited Rs 21,000 by cheque in his NDCC account, hoping he could withdraw some money to pay labourers who work on his farm, repay lenders and buy groceriestransactions that still take place in cash. It takes more than two weeks for the cheque to be deposited, said Patil. All we can do till then is wait. Even when the money was deposited in his account, it was no easy feat to withdraw it. I have to stand in line at the bank from 10 am to 6 pm, and all I get is one Rs 2,000 note, said Patil, who doesnt have any other bank account. He needed Rs 4,500 to pay labourers and Rs 4,000 for the mini truck that carries his produce to the market in Pimpalgaon, 100 kilometres from his village. These days, he buys food on credit from the local grocer. Patil is one of many farmers who bank with district cooperative banks. As many as 371 such banks with over 140,000 branches across the country provide banking access to 2.5 million account holders, according to the 2015 annual report of the National Federation of State Cooperative Banks. Seventy percent of farmers in Nashik district have their accounts with NDCC, and many have no other account, said Shirish Kotwal, director and former chairman of NDCC. The RBI feared that district banks, which are not under the RBIs purview, could be used to route black money back into the system, the Indian Express reported in December 2016. Seventy two hours after the announcement to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, DCCBs reported deposits of old currency eight times that of nationalised banks. Patil, the only earning member in a family of six, does not own a vehicle, and chose the closest bank for an account. The closest nationalised bank is 15 kilometres from his village, the district cooperative bank 10 kilometres. Low rural Internet connectivity Like 83 percent of Indians who do not own a smartphone, Patil too does not have an Internet connection on his cell phone. So, even though he has a bank account, he cannot access Internet-based banking services. When asked if he has an ATM card, he laughed and said: The nearest ATM is 40 kilometres away (IndiaSpend found the closest was 25 kilometres away, but it is unclear if that worked). Onion prices halve, stressing rural economy Mini truck after truck of red onions entered Lasalgaon onion market, the largest in Asia, as a sense of gloom pervaded the air. Farmers huddled in corners as traders decided the price of onions at auctions. Ever since notebandi, the rates have decreased by half, Patil said. Onions, which were sold for Rs 1,000-1,200 per quintal (100 kg) in the weeks before notebandi, are now sold for Rs 600-700 per quintal. There were no auctions for ten days after demonetisation because of a lack of valid notes in the market. Onions stored in the market stayed unsold and when markets reopened, new produce flooded the market reducing onion prices. Farmers have no choice but to sell the red onion at whatever price it sells, as it does not last beyond 10 days, unlike the lighter coloured unhal onion that can be stored for three months. Madhavrao Thorat, another marginal farmer, has no time to spare to stand in the lines outside banks as he is sowing onions in his field, in the village of Devgaon, more than 200 km north of Mumbai. The nearest nationalised bank is eight kilometres away, and the nearest ATM 15 km away. He has not been able to pay his labourers because of a lack of cash. Excess produce due to good monsoon further reduces prices Prices have further fallen because of excessive onion production, a consequence of the good monsoon this year. A drop in prices particularly hits marginal and small farmers, who, like Patil, own less than two hectares, or 4.94 acres of land. These farmers own 78.6 percent of all land holdings in Maharashtra. Patil, who owns four acres of land which he farms with his brothers, has made a loss of Rs 30,000 because of low onion prices. Farming for small farmers like us has become unaffordable, he said. In 2015, onion farmers from districts around Nashik brought 0.4 million metric tonne of onions to the agricultural market in Lasalgoancalled an Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)between April and August. Onions brought rose 150 percent to 1 million metric tonne, over the same period in 2016, according to the Lasalgaon APMC. Lasalgaon Agricultural Produce Market Committee is Asias biggest onion market, and most Indian onion is exported from this market. Onions brought rose 150 percent to 1 million metric tonne, between April and August, 2016, compared to the same period last yearfurther reducing onion prices. There has also been enough production of onions in Haryana and Karnataka which has led to a further drop in demand and prices, said N S Vadhavne, an accountant at Lasalgaon APMC. I want to quit farming Profits from agriculture have been declining as costs have tripled over the last few years, IndiaSpend reported in March 2016. Coupled with a crash crunch due to demonetisation, and falling prices, Patil is ready to quit. Given a choice, I would like to find a job and migrate. Farming is a loss-making business, said Patil, who enrolled in college, but never completed his bachelor in arts degree. His wife has a diploma in education, but no job. Right now, I dont have a choice as I am supporting my younger brother, he said. But very soon, I will quit farming and look for another job. Yadavar is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit In a recently-held national seminar (14 December) on the status of defence industry in the country, which was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, some panelists did point out, cursorily though, the significance of India being granted the unique status by the United States as its 'Major Defence Partner' (MDP). The partnership, if pursued both in letter and spirit, will boost Prime Minister Narendra Modis 'Make in India programme in the defence sector so that India could not only become self-reliant in arms but also emerge as a major exporter of arms. However there remains the question of big if, upon which this analysis focuses. The MDP status to India needs to be seen against the backdrop of the development of the US military industrial complex (MIC). Incidentally, the term military-industrial-complex was coined in the US by then president Dwight Eisenhower during the Cold War to welcome the emergence of what is said the second era of the American MIC. During the first era, which lasted from 1787 to 1941, the defence sector in the United States consisted totally of the government-owned arsenals and shipyards. However, with the US participating in the Second World War, Franklin Roosevelt established the War Production Board by conscripting the major private industries, particularly those in the automobile sector, into wartime service. But after the war ended, not only did these private companies, such as Boeing and General Motors stay and consolidate their involvement in the military sector, they were also joined by others like AT&T, General Electric and IBM. One of the important features of this second era was that the Pentagon financed the private sector, which, in turn, created world class technologies that were for use by not only the military but also by ordinary citizens. One can cite in this regard the examples of drone, night vision goggles, GPS in cars, and most important, the internet. The end of the Cold War in the 1990s saw the emergence of the third era (and this prevails at the moment), whose important features are as follows. First, the industry shifted from diversified conglomerates and was managed by defence-only firms. Secondly, the contribution of the Pentagon, both financially and technologically, has been declining, thanks to the shrinking defence budgets. As a result, and this is the third feature, the American MICs are increasingly buying commercial technologies (either buying or giving these technology providers shares) such as cloud computing, cyber security, nanotechnology and even smart phones. Just see how Google acquired Boston Dynamics that had created BigDog, a four-legged robot that can support soldiers in rough terrain. However, these features are increasingly proving insufficient to sustain the US defence industry. Although it is courting commercial companies, it prefers the American ones. It is not globalising itself properly, shunning the option of co-producing products abroad with allies and friends the way the Japanese and Koreans are developing their technologies and manufacturing brands in foreign countries, from where they are exporting them to various parts of the world. Americas F-35 example, by distributing the burden of the development cost of the fifth generation fighter plane with some Nato allies, is said to be insufficient. No wonder William J Lynn III, a former US deputy secretary of defence argues for starting a new fourth era in which the Pentagon must take a more active role in recruiting outside companies, keeping in mind that their futures are inextricably intertwined. According to him, The United States has the opportunity to look beyond its borders to turn this fourth era to its advantage. Since the Second World War, the countrys technological advantages have protected its national security. To maintain that advantage, the United States must adapt to and ultimately embrace the trends that will come to define its future. Can India fit into this scheme of things, particularly when Modis much-repeated calls to 'Make in India' continue to remain in the headlines? The US thinks that India can. The MDP status is a logical conclusion of this trend. In essence, it paves the way for India to be treated at par with Americas closest allies Nato partners and countries with security treaties such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea on defence-related trade and technology transfer. In fact, the idea of the MDP was agreed upon during the summit meeting between Modi and President Barack Obama in June this year. Noting that the US-India defense relationship can be an anchor of stability and given the increasingly strengthened cooperation in defense, the United States hereby recognises India as a Major Defence Partner, the joint statement of the June meeting had stated. However, this accorded status to India by Obama required the subsequent Congressional approval as per the American laws. Although the House of Representatives endorsed the idea, the Senate sought more clarifications. It was not that the Senate was against granting the unique status to India; it was apparently not happy with the definition of major defence partner designation that had been left a little unclear and vague by the administration. Accordingly, the differences were reconciled and a separate section on 'Enhancing defense and security cooperation with India' (Section 1292) was added in The National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) 2017 (the US militarys budget for next year), which was passed by the House of Representatives first and then in the Senate. The NDAA, likely to be signed by Obama within a weeks time for legal enforcement, ensures the continuity of the MDP status to India under the future governments as well. Section 1292 of the NDAA asks the secretaries of defence and state to take steps necessary to recognise India as Americas major defence partner of the U.S. and asks the administration to designate an individual within the executive branch who has experience in defence acquisition and technology to reinforce and ensure, through inter-agency policy coordination, the success of the Framework for the US-India Defence Relationship; and to help resolve remaining issues impeding US-India defence trade, security cooperation, and co-production and co-development opportunities. It also calls for approval and facilitation of transfer of advanced technology, consistent with US conventional arms transfer policy, to support combined military planning with Indias military for missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-piracy, freedom of navigation, and maritime domain awareness missions, and to promote weapons systems interoperability. Further, it seeks collaboration with India to develop mutually agreeable mechanisms to verify the security of defence articles, defence services and related technology such as appropriate cyber security and end use monitoring arrangements consistent with US export control laws and policy. In fact, it asks the secretaries of defence and state to submit within 180 days of the passage of the Act to the Congressional Defence Committees and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives "a report on how the US is supporting its defence relationship with India". It was against this background that US defence secretary Ashton Carter visited India last week to meet Parrikar (their seventh interaction in the past two years). They finalised Indias designation as a 'Major Defence Partner' of the US. As the joint statement issued after their meeting (8 December) said, The designation as a Major Defence Partner is a status unique to India and institutionalises the progress made to facilitate defense trade and technology sharing with India to a level at par with that of the United States closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation into the future. In concrete terms what it means is that India now can get access to 99 percent of the US defence technologies as the export hurdle of high-tech US military hardware and technology to India is removed. India will also receive licence-free access to a wide range of dual-use technologies in conjunction with steps that India has committed to take to advance its export control objectives. The US government will inform the review of requests to export defence articles, defence services, or related technology to India under the Arms Export Control Act, and inform any regulatory and policy adjustments that may be appropriate. American officials say that the MDP status is in support of Indias 'Make in India' initiative towards the development of robust defence industries and their integration into the global supply chain. The United States will facilitate the export of goods and technologies for these industries through joint ventures, meaning thereby that the US is now more than willing to transform its defence cooperation with India from simply buying and selling to co-production, co-development, and freer exchange of technology. However, one has to become a little cautious with regard to actual progress of the India-US defence industrial partnership. When one talks of US investment in the Indian defence sector, it should be realised that the ability of the American government to be a source of investment is quite limited. It simply does not have enough investible reserves. Instead, the investible resources are in the US private sector, which, in turn, make their own judgments of where to invest, depending on the recipient countrys infrastructures, legal regime, administrative machinery, and above all broad political consensus on liberalisation of the economy. There is then another limiting factor of the present inabilities of Indias arms industries to absorb the technologies that foreign companies are prepared to transfer. It may be noted in this context that if India and France were not able to fructify the original Rafale MMRCA deal, it was due to as much monetary factor as the lack of absorptive capability for the licensed production of the Rafale. Unfortunately, the Modi government has a lot to do on all these fronts. Nagpur: After renaming Oshiwara, an upcoming railway station in the Western line of Mumbai suburban railway, to Ram Mandir, the Maharashtra BJP government on Friday passed a resolution to change the name of Elphinstone Road railway station to Prabhadevi. The details for change in name has been sent to the Ministry of Railways in Delhi. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had proposed to rename Elphinstone Road station to Prabhadevi. The proposal was was passed by an all party MLA resolution in the state assembly. Various political parties have demanded that the names of three Mumbai suburban railway stations be also changed. They are Dadar railway station to Chaityabhumi, Grant Road railway station to August Kranti and Charni Road railway station to Gaondevi. Speaking about the change in name of Elphinstone Road railway station, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "The residents of Worli and Prabhadevi and our partner Shiv Sena had been demanding for a long time to change the name from Elphinstone Road to Prabhadevi. This change was also approved by the state assembly and we will send the proposal to the central government." But this is not the only change in name, the state government has introduced in recent times. The new suburban station between Jogeshwari and Goregaon was to be proposed as Oshiwara in November. But suddenly before the proposal, its name was changed to Ram Mandir. Fadnavis had given a go-ahead to the name change proposal. In fact, last week, the BJP-led government in Maharashtra has added the "Maharaj" word in the names of Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Now, CST will be known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) whereas the Mumbai international airport will be known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The name changed proposal and adding of the "Maharaj" word was unanimously approved by the state assembly. Fadnavis said that the demand for adding the word Maharaj was pending so long. So, the cabinet gave a green signal and passed the Maharaj word unanimously in the state assembly. However, the opposition parties have called the decision to modify the names purely political and aimed at attracting Maratha Voters. "The community has organised more than 40 morchas over the last four months seeking reservation, but the Fadnavis government has only been giving assurances," Congress MLA Nitesh Rane said. "The Maharaj is our god and the BJP could not gain from adding only the word, Maharaj, in the name. The BJP government is doing vote bank politics ahead of upcoming Municipal Council and Civic polls, scheduled next year," added Rane. Situated on the Western Railway line, Elphinstone Road station was named after Lord Elphinstone, who was the governor of Bombay between 1853 to 1860. The Mumbai international airport was earlier known as Sahar International Airport and renamed to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in 1999, whereas the government had renamed the Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996. The 24th Annual St. Francois County Shop With a Cop program has grown each year but this year's event will be the largest yet. Approximately 460 kids came through Farmington Walmart Thursday morning to shop with law enforcement. A makeup event will be held at 1 p.m. Dec. 22 at Desloge Walmart for about 75 eligible children unable to make it Thursday. Each year hundreds of less fortunate children are treated to a $100 shopping spree called Shop With a Cop a program of the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department made possible by the community's generous donations and many volunteers. There were more than 100 men and women in uniform from the St. Francois County Sheriffs Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of Corrections, Missouri Department of Conservation, various police municipalities from around the county, the 911 center, EMS, fire departments and recruits from the Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy. To start the morning, each child participating in the program were treated to a donut or cookie and a carton of milk or juice and they were then checked in and assigned an officer, followed by a special greeting from Santa Claus himself along with Superman and Catwoman who were handing out coloring books. Shop With a Cop Coordinator Lora Henson said the event was a success and they had a lot of officers turn out. She said they had firefighters step up to help this year. We had an awesome turnout and the line was a little bit slow to start off with, but other than that it was a great kick-off, so it was good, said Henson. I think there was a lot more law enforcement out here and even with that most of them went through the line three or four times rather than just one time. Henson believes the helpers enjoyed the chance to shop with several different kids and interact with them. So I think they enjoyed it as well, said Henson. We ran out of officers at one point to take the kids shopping, so we had to wait for them and we had kids lined up out the door. This year was a little bit bigger than what it has been, but we still pulled it off and it was a great success. St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock said they had a lot of kids come up and give them hugs and thank yous throughout the day. It has been fantastic and everything went very smooth, said Bullock. This is 24 years and it worked like a well-oiled machine. The officers are getting used to it and we change things that dont work so its working better. Bullock said by the time they are done next week they will have helped more than 550 kids this holiday season. Its just wonderful, said Bullock. Its hard to tell how many officers were out here this year, but they were all here and walking around. We had superheroes here, Catwoman and Superman. These kids have had a ball and I think the officers have too. Bullock said the Ferguson chief of police came down to see the program in action and he was able to watch how it all works. They are in very bad need of some community relations between the people and officers up there, said Bullock. He has asked if we could maybe come up and assist him in getting the program started up there. We have agreed to do that. Missouri Department of Corrections Officer Charles Allgier came out for his first time to shop with the kids, but what made it so special was that he was once that kid shopping with an officer. I cant remember how old I was, but if I had to guess, Id say I was 10 or 12 years old when I shopped with a cop, said Allgier. When I was a kid, I was thrilled I could go shopping with a cop and get that $100 worth of toys. To a kid, that is a lot and now that I am a lot of older and saw this was an option for us, I wanted to see that excitement and see the kids thrilled to get toys. Allgier works for the prison and is in the military. He said any way he can help out and give back to the community, he will do it. My memory of when I did this, of what I think it was, I see the same excitement in these kids' eyes as what I think I had, said Allgier. Its awesome to give back to the community and I hope to do this each year. Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Dustin Reed said one of the kids he took shopping came with a shopping list. He wanted to buy gifts for his family then whatever was left he would get something for himself. North County student Ben Mosley, 12, said he picked out a robe and blanket for his mom and walkie-talkies and a little plushy for his sister and a Five Nights at Freddys doll, Foxy, for a girl who is his friend. Mosley got himself a slinky and a Nerf Strata-bow with the remaining money. Ben is a great kid, the first thing he did was he had a list when he came and he had pre-scouted Walmart, said Reed. He went to Walmart and looked at everything and found what he wanted and he wanted to put the needs of everybody else before him, which is a great tribute for a little guy to have, especially a growing young man. Every once in a while we will see something like this, but Ben is a special kid and he wanted to do that for his family first, said Reed. The Shop With a Cop program, a lot of kids do that, but it is always nice and refreshing to see a young man growing up and doing that. Dustin Price, 11, also a North County student, was much like Mosley and spent most of his money on gifts for his family. He said the only thing in the cart he got for himself was a pair of jeans. I have a friend who has a dog and he doesnt have enough food to feed the dog or anything, said Price. He walks his dog with a ball of yarn, so I decided to get him a collar, a leash and a dog toy. Walmart Store Manager Mark Westbrooks said they have been doing this for so long its has become a routine. The associates set it all up and they get the donuts and milk donated by vendors. It goes very smoothly and I am pretty pleased with everything, said Westbrooks. Its a great thing to see the kids and I believe it was a record year for what they raised. That means they can provide a Christmas to a lot of kids who maybe wouldnt have had Christmas, so that is a great thing. Former Shop With a Cop President Rod Harris said if it wasnt for Walmart and the sheriff they couldnt have the event at all. We really need to thank Walmart for putting up with the crowd of almost 500 kids in one morning and doing such a great job, said Harris. Westbrooks added there are former store associates who come back just to volunteer their time for this event and they all take a lot of pride in the program. They come out just to do this and volunteer their time for this, said Westbrooks. It really affects them and that is a good thing. Harris added that corporate Walmart wouldn't have to do a thing, but they donate money each year to the program. This year Farmington Walmart donated $3,000 and the Desloge Walmart donated $1,000. We are the biggest program in the United States and that is something to say right here, said Harris. Farmington Correctional Center CERT Team and K9 unit member Justin Allgier said he was taking a little girl around who was maybe four or five years old and he name was Allegra. She brought me a Christmas card, said Justin. She asked me for my name and she borrowed my ink pen and wrote my name on the top of it. It says 'Seasons greetings. I am wishing you a very merry Christmas and I hope you get everything you want for Christmas.' Justin said the card had a picture of a Christmas tree and bell. "I wanted to share that with everyone. It was very thoughtful for her to do that. I have been doing this for four years and this was a first for me, said Justin. It was kind of neat that she thought ahead. I am going to keep this forever. The blind ambition of senior-most Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Ramakrishna Dhavalikar, popularly known as Sudin Dhavalikar, to become Goa chief minister, has landed the regional party into a political mess just months before the fast approaching assembly polls. Sudin enjoys total support of his brother Pandurang Dhavalikar, who like him prefers his alias Deepak to go with his surname. Deepak also happens to be the MGP president. The Dhavalikar brothers were unceremoniously dumped by the incumbent Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar from his council of ministers on 12 December. Sudin has long cherished the dream of becoming the third Goa chief minister from the MGP ranks after founders Dayanand Bandodkar and Shashikala Kakodkar, the first and second chief ministers of the coastal south-western state. The father and daughter duo together ruled Goa, Daman and Diu, as the state was known after its liberation from the colonial Portuguese rule in 1961, for close to 11 years as chief ministers. Their rule was interrupted briefly when Goa witnessed first of the five spells of Presidents rule so far between December 1966 and April 1967. MGPs grip over Goa ended in April 1979. Since then it has witnessed a constant decline in its fortunes. MGP was part of Goas ruling coalition with two out of its three state lawmakers being cabinet ministers till Dhavalikar brothers were sacked. They were part of the provincial government even though its pre-poll alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won the simple majority on its own after winning 21 out of 28 seats it contested in the 2012 assembly elections. Goa assembly consists of 40 lawmakers. MGP had moved closest to forming the government yet again in 1994 when it emerged as the second largest party in a hung Goa assembly with 12 seats behind 18 of the Congress party. MGP had managed supports of three independents and the Churchill Alemao-led UDGP which had also won three seats. BJP with four seats, however, was then accused of backstabbing MGP as it refused to be part of the post-poll coalition. MGP still holds the grudge against BJP which paved the way for formation of the minority Congress party government under Pratap Singh Rane. The Rane government subsequently acquired majority through one of the many political horse-trading Goa had become notorious for. In this case, four MGP lawmakers led by Dr. Wilfred Mesquita bolted away to join the Congress party, giving it the majority. Sudin Dhavalikar, who held the meaty portfolios of public works department, transport and river navigation, had let the cat out of the bag a year ago when he revealed his ambition of becoming the next Goa chief minister. I have 10 years more in active politics. Is it wrong to have ambitions of becoming chief minister? Sudin, who turned 60 in November this year, was quoted talking to local media in an interview. In the same interview, he had suggested that come what may, MGP would contest 26 seats, which obviously was not possible in the company of the big brother BJP. For the past one year, Dhavalikars have been accused of working towards fulfilling their cherished ambition of getting Sudins name added to the list of a dozen politicians who have held the chief ministers post. They started by demanding removal of Laxmikant Parsekar as chief minister as a precondition for continuing with the alliance, being fully aware that a national party like BJP cannot be dictated by the whims of a small regional outfit. Of late they started firing barbs almost on a daily basis, leading to their ouster, which they wanted and even publicly welcomed. However, since then MGP is finding itself caught in confusion. It has said that its alliance with BJP would continue till the model code of conduct (announcement of poll schedule by the Election Commission) comes into force, which could still be little over a month away. MGP probably has been looking to buy some time to see how the BJP reacts. BJP, after refusing to remove its lacklustre chief minister Parsekar, has said that only two MGP ministers, who had expressed loss of faith in their chief minister, was removed while the alliance with the MGP is still on. BJP has also made it clear that MGP has to blink first and come to the negotiation table. It may amount to MGP contesting just seven or eight seats, considering BJP has set for itself the lofty target of winning 27 seats in the upcoming polls. Realising that MGP is caught in a state of indecisiveness, Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), a breakaway party with roots in BJPs ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has given MGP deadline till the weekend to decide on alliance. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of former federal minister Sharad Pawar also appears to be dragging its feet after initially expressing interest in contesting Goa elections with the MGP. Former chief minister Churchill Alemao, who ruled Goa for merely 18 days in 1990, has threatened to quit NCP is it joins hands with a communal MGP. Alemao had joined NCP recently. Facing political isolation of its own making, MGP may be left with little choice but to go back to the BJP with heads bowed down and putting aside Sudins chief ministerial dreams, or face prospects of ignominy considering its limited pockets of strength in the state now. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe By Sanjeev Miglani | NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The head of the Tibetan government-in-exile said on Friday he was encouraged by U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps tough stand on China and urged him to ditch backdoor diplomacy on furthering the Tibetan cause and be more confrontational.The United States and its European allies have sought to engage China over allegations of repression since Washington reached out to Beijing back in the 1970s, effectively driving the Tibetan issue out of public forums, Lobsang Sangay said.But that approach had not worked and human rights abuses had only worsened, the Harvard-educated legal scholar told Reuters in an interview. Beijing had grown even more assertive, from threatening neighbours over the South China Sea dispute to repressing dissent in Hong Kong, he said."There is negligible or rather zero result as far as this 'quiet backroom dialogue' is concerned," Sangay said in the Tibetan bureau office in New Delhi. "It's time for an open discourse where we press the Chinese government. We are not saying put sanctions, but that we be forthright, be frank on what's going on in Tibet and in China in general and to raise the issue. "And publicly share what's going on what has happened, because we have to make the Chinese government accountable," he said in remarks ahead of the release of a report on what activists see as the erosion of Tibetans' ethnic and religious identity and the degradation of their environment.China denies accusations by exiles and rights groups of rights abuses in Tibetan parts of the country and insists it allows freedom of religion, blaming the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for promoting unrest.Trump has signalled a more "upfront and assertive policy" towards China, and Tibetans - who number about 6 million in their home region and 150,000 abroad - are waiting to see how it translates with regard to their struggle, Sangay said. Trump took a phone call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this month and said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-held stance that Taiwan is part of "one China", triggering a diplomatic protest from China. Trump plans to nominate a long-standing friend of Beijing, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, as the next U.S. ambassador to China. But he is also considering John Bolton, a former Bush administration official who has urged a tougher line on Beijing, for the deputy job at the U.S. State Department, according to a source familiar with the matter.Sangay said Trump's "bold" statement on Taiwan had been consistent with what the U.S. president-elect had been saying for years and it was rooted in a realistic view of China."If you really want to understand China, you have to know the Tibetan narrative. What happened to Tibet is vital to understanding what China is capable of. So the fact that he is indicating some realistic views about China, in that sense, it is a positive indication." Beijing denounces the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist who wants an independent Tibet. He denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and established the Central Tibetan Administration in the northern hill town of Dharamsala.SETTLEMENT Sangay said he hoped the United States and other democratic countries including Japan and India would lead an effort to call out China for its repressive policies in Tibet and press for a settlement. "We just think there has to be coordinated process from all like-minded countries on the issue of Tibet, and then press China to resolve the issues peacefully through dialogue."He said the Tibetan movement had not formally approached the Trump camp but would do so soon as the president-elect assembles his cabinet team. Sangay said Tibetans expected Trump to meet the Dalai Lama when he travels to the United States next year as had his predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.China expressed dissatisfaction on Friday over Indian President Pranab Mukherjee meeting the Dalai Lama this month, saying it hoped India would recognise the Nobel Peace Prize winning monk as a separatist in religious guise.The Indian government had ignored China's "strong opposition and insisted" on arranging for the Dalai Lama to share the stage with Mukherjee, and meet him, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in the Chinese capital.Sangay said the first public meeting between the Indian president and the Dalai Lama sent a powerful message to the rest of the world and to Beijing. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Robert Birsel) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Karolina Tagaris and Renee Maltezou | ATHENS ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras seems determined to go down in history as a leader who tried to save Greece's most vulnerable from austerity. But the crowd of pensioners in Athens on Thursday night was cynical about his promise to placate them with a one-off Christmas bonus."We are living in misery and we won't tolerate being fooled any more," said Stavros Bokias, 75, one of hundreds of elderly Greeks protesting against deep pension cuts over the years.Under Greece's latest bailout, Athens can spend more on social programmes if it exceeds its fiscal targets, provided it consults its creditors first. Earlier this year, Greek lawmakers approved a social justice bill providing health insurance to vulnerable citizens and offering jobs for the unemployed.But political experts say the bonus was calculated to garner public support ahead of a big showdown with Greece's emergency lenders, the European Union and International Monetary Fund.They were concerned that the bonus showed Athens was retreating from its commitment to fiscal reform and reacted by shelving the prospect of short-term debt relief. Trailing badly in opinion polls, Tsipras needs support of politically powerful pensioners to help him stage another big confrontation with the lenders at a critical juncture in his effort to resist pressure on Greece to adopt more austerity. "Tsipras has repeatedly said that 'Greece will exit the crisis with its people standing on their feet'," a government official told Reuters when asked to comment on the premier's strategy regarding the Christmas bonus announcement."This payout is part of this policy which he is determined to implement."ELECTION SPECULATION Speaking in Berlin on Friday, Tsipras said Greece would return to growth in 2017 after years of recession, and that economic development should not just be measured by statistics."We want it to heal the wounds of crisis and to alleviate all those who have over these difficult years made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," he said.But pensioners are having none of it. Almost a dozen pension cuts have pushed nearly half of Greece's elderly to below the poverty line with income of less than 665 euros a month. After rent, utility bills and health care, they barely make ends meet."They are handing out crumbs compared to what they stole from us," Bokias said at the protest in central Athens as another demonstrator mocked the prime minister's populist gesture by handing out fake 50 euro notes.There is speculation among parliamentarians that Tsipras is prepared to call early elections next year. This would threaten the euro zone with further political uncertainty at a time when France, Germany and Italy are also on an election footing.His office has ruled out early elections but Tsipras has a history of resorting to the ballot box in big showdowns with lenders, most recently calling snap polls in September 2015 to consolidate his power and strengthen his hand in negotiations. Back then, he was riding high in opinion polls. Now, though, his leftist Syriza party is languishing more than 10 points behind conservative New Democracy and is widely viewed as having broken its promise to do away with austerity.Tsipras is eager to make a quick breakthrough with lenders next year, so that Greece can join other EU nations in joining the European Central Bank's quantitative easing programme from which is has been excluded, but he is being asked to first make more painful reforms.As encouragement, the EU and IMF granted short-term debt relief, but then Tsipras announced the bonus, called IMF technocrats 'fools' and warned lenders not to tell Greece what to do with its hard-earned budget surplus. Theodore Couloumbis, a political analyst, said elections next year were very likely and the government could be preparing the ground for a "heroic exit"."The government cannot go on. It's hanging by a thread," Couloumbis said. "Clearly it's to get a good rating in opinion polls ... He's stretching it because he can, at a time when Europe is being shaken." TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE Another government official said Tsipras was not thinking about a snap election but if forced to do so, the government would at least have paid out something to suffering pensioners. Greek pensions can still look generous on some measures, even after 11 cuts in the last six years. In 2014, four years into austerity, they accounted for 17 percent of gross domestic product, the highest in the European Union. That compared with 16.5 percent for Italy, 15.2 percent for France and 12.8 percent for Spain, according to Eurostat's latest data.Greece says the Christmas bonus, worth 300-500 euros each for its 1.3 million pensioners, does not breach the terms of its bailout. At a total cost of 617 million euros, it comes after the government exceeded its primary surplus target for 2016.But the hand-outs have so far failed to whip up any obvious increase in support for Tsipras among pensioners. Some have seen their monthly cheque fall between 40 and 50 percent in six years.For Nikiforos, a 76-year-old pensioner from the town of Thessaloniki, it is too little, too late.After 46 years of paying into a pension fund, he receives a monthly cheque of 436 euros while his living costs rise. This year, authorities scrapped a 230 euro top-up pension he received a month, and chopped an additional 50 euros from his main pension."They want us to beg, but we still have our dignity," he said. (Additional reporting by Theodora Arvanitidou and Angeliki Koutantou; Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Anna Willard) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By James Oliphant and Emily Stephenson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON With more than 20 nominees now selected, Donald Trumps cabinet appears much like the president-elect himself: mostly older, white males, many of them wealthy, who see themselves as risk-takers and deal-makers and prize action over deliberation. Trump, who says Washington is "broken" and controlled by special interests, has largely eschewed technocrats with long government experience. Instead, he has built a team of bosses.Trump's roster of agency heads and advisers conspicuously lacks intellectuals, lawyers, and academics of the sort sought by some past presidents. In their place are titans of business and finance from the likes of Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and no fewer than three retired generals in key positions.Many of them are people used to getting their way but will now have a boss to answer to - Trump - while navigating the sometimes frustrating and sprawling bureaucracy of the U.S. government. The incoming Trump administration is poised to undo as much of President Barack Obama's accomplishments as possible, while also attempting to advance a conservative policy agenda in areas such as taxes and healthcare.A former senior U.S. official who knows Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO who is Trump's nominee for secretary of state, and Marine General James Mattis, Trump's pick for defense secretary, predicted a massive clash of egos in the cabinet.Tillerson and Mattis are accustomed to dominating whatever space they find themselves in, and that probably will now include the Situation Room and even the Oval Office.Trump's transition team has said the cabinet is intended to be a mix of experienced Washington hands and newcomers. But former presidents who brought in outside blood have at times seen political neophytes make costly errors, experts said.Of the 21 cabinet members and White House advisers chosen to date by Trump, 16 are white men. There are four women, none of whom hold what might be considered a top-tier agency post. There is one African-American, one Asian-American and one Indian-American. There are no Hispanics. Like the real-estate magnate who chose them, several have no government experience. Others have been hostile toward the agencies they will lead if the U.S. Senate confirms them early next year. Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said Trump is building a cabinet in his own image: blunt-talkers with real-world experience."Surrounding yourself with military guys and money guys sends a certain message," Zelizer said. "A certain kind of cutthroat aggressive dealmaker is how [Trump] imagines himself to be." Obama, who leaves office in January, relied on experienced hands to form his cabinet in 2008. He named his rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, as his secretary of state. Robert Gates, who served the previous administration, remained at the Pentagon, and Obama made longtime Justice Department official Eric Holder attorney general.Some of Trump's picks do have similar experience, and he has packed his on-the-ground transition teams at various agencies with government veterans and ex-lobbyists, a Reuters review found earlier this month. NEW CHALLENGES The newcomers to Washington will rise to the administrative challenge, said those who know them. Republican Representative Tom Price, Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is "decisive by nature," said fellow Republican lawmaker Tom Cole. He credited Price's career as a surgeon, which is also the former profession of Ben Carson, Trump's choice for secretary of housing and urban development.Carson, said Henry Brem, a neurosurgeon who worked with Carson at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, has a "cool head" and is unafraid to give strong opinions. "Hes a gentleman, he speaks his mind, he has great ideas and nobody in the world intimidates him.Rick Perry, Trump's choice for energy secretary, served three terms as governor of Texas and had to "balance a very conservative and increasingly ideological grassroots (support base) with a very influential business community," said James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin."Whether he can do that do that in a bureaucratic setting, in an environment as competitive as a cabinet with a lot of obviously large egos, I think is another question," Henson said.Several of Trump's picks have never held any sort of government post and have little, if any, background in policy-making, including Tillerson, Treasury nominee Steven Mnuchin, a Goldman Sachs alumnus, Commerce pick Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, and Gary Cohn, the Goldman Sachs executive who would chair Trumps economic council.In 2008, Mnuchin purchased IndyMac, a lender that failed during the financial crisis and helped transform it into OneWest, now a thriving retail bank in southern California. Kevin Kelly, a managing partner at Recon Capital Partners, an investment firm in Stamford, Connecticut, said that kind of real-world savvy could make government more effective. Those with high-level corporate experience are used to having to please shareholders, board members, employees, and the community, Kelly said. "It takes a very precise and dedicated person to deliver across those constituencies."TOO MUCH DISRUPTION? The outsider approach hasn't always worked. In 2001, President George W. Bushs treasury secretary, Paul ONeill, the former chief executive of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc, rattled markets with a series of careless remarks that seemed to herald economic policy shifts that differed with the White House's stance. He ultimately was fired. "Management of large, public agencies is really difficult and requires bringing in experienced and knowledgeable people and working in ways that doesn't alienate people," said Thomas Mann, an expert on governance at the Brookings Institution. Anthony Scaramucci, an adviser to the Trump transition, has acknowledged that too much inexperience could be harmful to Trump's young administration."Washington is a very healthy immunological system," he said. "You'll see a full-blown organ rejection if you put too many status-quo disruptors in Washington." (Reporting by James Oliphant and Emily Stephenson; Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner, Roberta Rampton, Phillip Stewart, John Walcott, Susan Cornwell, Ernest Scheyder, editing by Ross Colvin) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Xiaomi introduced its 20000mAh Mi power bank in China last November, which was launched in India earlier this year. Today Xiaomi has unveiled a new version of 20000mAh Mi power bank with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and two-way fast charging support. It has the same ABS plastic body for a better grip, but it is slightly thicker at 23.9mm, but it measures 135.567.6mm, making it slightly more compact than the predecessor. It offers dual 5.1V / 3.6A output when two devices are connected, and supports 5V/2.4A-9V/2A-12V/1.5A with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 when using single port. It also has fast charging support for charging the power bank. The new 20000mAh Mi Power Bank is priced at 149 Chinese Yuan (Rs. 1450 / US$ 21 approx.), same as the predecessor and goes on sale on December 19th. Xiaomi has not announced any plans regarding the global roll out. Source Residents in outlying parts of Corpus Christi late Thursday were given the all-clear from city officials to resume using tap water, after a man-made contamination this week polluted their water supply. The largest section in the middle of the Texas community, however, was still urged to refrain from using their own water until further notice, according to the Associated Press. One Corpus Christi resident told FOXBusiness.com that he had to travel over 90 miles to get clean water. "My 80-year-old mother didn't have any bottled water," said Farley Frazier, a local who works in pharmaceuticals. "It's a real nuisance more than anything else. You have no water to do anything. I can't even go to the gym because I have no place to take a shower. Ergon Asphalt and Emulsions Inc., the asphalt company blamed for contaminating the supply, said in a statement late Thursday night that it has been in contact with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and was "working cooperatively to provide all information to ensure state officials can remedy the situation as quickly as possible." Unfortunately, Frazier isn't alone. In fact, he joins hundreds of thousands of other Americans across the country who have faced similar tap water crises this year. "These type of contamination events happen every day in the United States and go unreported almost all the time. What happened in Corpus Christi is only known because the company self-reported it," said Scott Smith, chief technology officer & investigator at Water Defense, a non-profit that has combatted water contaminations throughout the country, most notably working hand-in-hand with Flint, Michigan residents. Flint has been the poster child for U.S. tap water disasters. The citys water supply became contaminated with lead in April 2014 after switching its drinking source from Lake Huron to Flint River water. The state's Department of Environment Quality failed to add corrosion control chemicals, which caused lead to leach [should this say leak?] from pipes, joints and fixtures. Although Flint has since switched back to Detroit water and some researchers say the lead levels have drastically reduced, many residents are still afraid to drink the water. "Right now, we're worried about bacteria," Laura MacIntyre, a Flint resident and adjunct lecturer at the University of Michigan at Flint, told FOXBusiness.com. "Every day is something different. My water is sometimes brown, and sometimes, it's yellow. It's just not okay." Melissa Mays, another Flint resident, told FOXBusiness.com that only 500 lead pipes have been replaced out of the 29,000 plus lines that need to go. A state official says they're working on getting the pipes replaced as quickly as they can based on permitting and contracting." This week, computer scientists at the University of Michigan teamed up with Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to launch the MyWater-Flint app and website, which provide residents with up-to-date information on their water situation. A series of elevated lead in tap water stories have also popped up in Jackson, Missouri this year. Around 22% of homes exceeded federal levels of lead in June of 2015 but no warnings were issued until January of 2016, according to government tests. Earlier this month, the Hoosick Falls, N.Y. Village Board reached a settlement with Honeywell International (NYSE:HON) and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics after the two companies were identified as the most likely sources of the villages polluted water. A man-made chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which is used to make household products like non-stick coatings and heat-resistant wiring, was reportedly detected in 2014, but again the public wasn't notified until 2015, and federal and state officials didn't take action until January of 2016. The same thing happened in Charleston, West Virginia, where hundreds of thousands of residents will receive up to $151 million in compensation from West Virginia American Water Co. and Eastman Chemical Co. after their water was polluted by a chemical spill. Earlier this week, USA Today reported on the results from its own investigation into the U.S. tap water crisis, and the publication found that four million Americans get water from small operators who skipped required tests or did not conduct the tests properly. "Not only are we finding disturbing amounts of pharmaceuticals in the nation's water supply, but bacteria in tap water can grow from one to millions, even billions, in hours if untreated," Dr. Ronald Russell, M.A., Ph.D., told FOXBusiness.com. Russell is an advisor for PuriBloc, a water filtration start-up that created a GoPure pod capsule, which he says can filter water even on the go. Russell adds most filters today don't fully protect people from pollution and bacteria. Our mission with the GoPure pod is to give the world peace of mind that the water theyre drinking is healthy and clean. Image source: United Technologies. What happened United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) gave its 2017 outlook presentation and updated investors on development of its strategic objectives. A more detailed analysis of the outlook will follow, but for now let's focus on the headline and segmental numbers. Management begun by reaffirming its 2016 guidance for EPS of $6.55 to $6.60, sales of $57 billion to $58 billion, and full-year organic sales growth of 2% to 3%, so no surprises there. However, the 2017 guidance was slightly disappointing. The headline numbers: Full-year guidance for adjusted EPS in the range of $6.30 to $6.60 straddles the analyst consensus for $6.58. Organic sales growth of 2% to 4%. The EPS outlook is obviously a bit concerning, but then again United Technologies is beginning to build a reputation for underpromising and overdelivering. After all, in December 2015 management forecast $6.30 to $6.60 in EPS for 2016, only to end up with the current outlook for $6.55 to $6.60. Will it do exactly the same in 2017? Turning to the segmental outlook, there was a slight surprise. As readers may already be awarethe company is in transition mode in three of its four segments (Otis, Pratt & Whitney, and UTC aerospace systems) whereby short-term pain is being taken in order to lay the groundwork for long-term earnings and cash flow generation. In that sense, the operating profit outlook for those segments wasn't a surprise. However, it was the outlook for the remaining segment (climate, controls, and security) that was slightly surprising. Segment Organic Sales Change Adjusted Operating Profit Change (ex-FX) Otis Up low single digit ($100 million to $50 million) Climate, controls, and security Up low single digit $150 million to $200 million Pratt & Whitney Up high single digit ($325 million to $275 million) UTC aerospace systems Up low single digit $25 million to $75 million Data source: United Technologies Investor Presentation. It's good to see aerospace systemsback to meaningful earnings growth, and the near-term headwinds at Pratt & Whitney and Otis are well known, but CEO Greg Hayes said he had a "question mark" on growth at climate, controls and systems. Indeed, rival heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) company Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) expects mid-single-digit growthin North America going forward, a growth rate not matched by United Technologies' forecast for low-single-digit growth in Americas commercial HVAC. Does it matter? Yes and no. Clearly, the EPS outlook is a bit disappointing, as is the sales forecast for climate, controls, and security. On the other hand, Otis is forecast to grow volume in 2017 (in line with aims to increase long-term service revenue), aerospace systems is starting to overcome headwinds created by (initially at least) lower-margin sales on newer aircraft, and the key to Pratt & Whitney in 2017 is actually the successful ramp in production. All told, a mixed outlook, but United Technologies remains an attractive value proposition. 10 stocks we like better than United Technologies When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and United Technologies wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. Click here to learn about these picks! *Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016 Lee Samaha has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Earlier this week, Yahoo reported that more than one billion user accounts were compromised and data stolen in a hack by an unauthorized third party in August 2013, in an incident likely distinct from the data breach the company disclosed this past September in which personal information of half a billion of its users was stolen. This data breach is evidence of the fact that hackers are growing bolder and getting increasingly creative. And while news of Yahoo or LinkedIn security breaches immediately makes the headlines, media is by no means the only industry under threat from hackers. Some of the most dangerous forms of cyber-attacks are those that target critical infrastructure such as oil and gas facilities, or nuclear plants. If one of these attacks were to succeed, it would not only be catastrophic for the environment, it would severely compromise governments and national security. The oil and gas industry is well aware of potential threats, and is rising up to tackle cyber security issues by creating joint programs and initiatives. But it is the critical importance of oil and gas infrastructure that makes some governments unwilling to share information and join a global fight against cyber crime. In addition, experts say that technology alone is not the easy fix that cyber security needs: boosting security can come only by raising awareness among personnel, especially in countries in the Middle East. It was in the Middle East that the worst hack ever seen was perpetrated back in 2012. And the attack was against one of the biggest oil companies in the world, Saudi Aramco. It wiped 35,000 computers in hours, and Aramco was forced to use fax machines and typewriters. In a matter of hours, Saudi Aramcos ability to supply 10 percent of the worlds oil was put at risk. Related: U.S. Solar Boom Continues: 1MW Installed Every 32 Minutes Thankfully, oil production did not sufferthat timebut the entire computer-assisted corporate business was belly up. A couple of weeks ago, Saudi Arabian institutions were targeted in a cyber-attack once again, with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) serving as one of the targets. Before the latest cyber-attack on Saudi institutions, PwC said in a report from March this year: This Could Be The Biggest Winner From OPEC'S Production Cut This small oil company has recently developed a technology that could completely transform the oil industry for the better. Click here to read more Technology isnt the answer on its own: Middle Eastern companies can have a greater tendency to believe they can fix cyber issues by buying a technological fix. But that needs to be supported by a parallel investment in awareness and training - less than 20 percent have a strong awareness program, for example. Its not only the Middle East that has been the target of cybercrimes. In August 2014, the Norwegian oil industry a vital part of the countrys economy and state revenues came under attack. National Security Authority Norway said that 50 companies in the oil sector were hacked and 250 more were warned to check their systems, in one of the biggest hacks in Norways history. Oil major Statoil was reportedly a target of that attack. More recently, advisory and risk management company DNV GL has set up a Joint Industry Project (JIP) together with A/S Norske Shell, Statoil, Lundin, Siemens, Honeywell, ABB, Emerson, and Kongsberg Maritime, to develop the best practices in addressing cyber threats. Related: After Agreeing To Cut, Is OPECs No.2 Going Rogue? Governments as well are acting to prevent cyber threats as much as possible. For example, the UKs National Cyber Security Strategy for the next five years includes strengthening the defense of critical national infrastructure sectors such as energy and transport, underpinned by US$2.374 billion (1.9 billion British pounds) of transformational investment, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said upon launching the strategy in October this year. As for the entire global oil and gas security market, Wise Guy Reports said in a report on Wednesday that the market was valued at US$25.68 billion in 2015 and was estimated to grow annually by 5.01 percent to reach US$32.79 billion by 2020. The report said that oil and gas are essential global commodities, and oil is the worlds foremost commercial energy source. Even if oil is currently trading at half the price it did in 2014, industry experts warn that low prices should not make companies lower their guard. Lower oil price does not mean lower risk, William Rothe, vice president of enterprise systems for Hess Corp, told E&P Magazines Velda Addison last month. This article was provided courtesy of Oilprice.com. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. FAQ - New Privacy Policy Oil rose on Friday, edging closer to new 17-month highs, as producers showed signs of adhering to a global deal to reduce output. Brent futures rose $1.07, or 2 percent, to $55.09 a barrel by 11:34 a.m. EST (1634 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 91 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $51.81 per barrel. That put both contracts on track to rise around 1 percent for the week, after easing less than 1 percent last week. Earlier on Friday, the premium of the Brent front-month contract over the same U.S. contract rose to $2.27 a barrel, putting it within a couple cents of its highest mark since August. "The petroleum markets are extending their recovery from Thursday's low as some confidence in planned production cuts returns to the market," Tim Evans, Citi Futures' energy futures specialist, said in a note. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, its first such deal since 2008. Russia and other non-OPEC producers plan to cut about half as much. Those deals, clinched over the past two weeks, have boosted expectations that a two-year supply overhang will clear soon and prices remain near highs last seen in July 2015. Russia said on Friday that all of the country's oil companies, including top producer Rosneft, had agreed to reduce output. Other oil producers including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have notified customers that they will cut from January. "While the market will eventually need to see some evidence of an actual reduction in output, talk of production cuts and the notices of lower allocations sent to refiners are sufficient to support market sentiment for now," Citi's Evans said. The prospect of lower production led U.S. bank Goldman Sachs to raise its WTI price forecast for the second quarter of 2017 to $57.50 per barrel from $55. For Brent, Goldman expects prices between $55 and $60 per barrel after the first half of 2017. However, there are doubts about the willingness of other OPEC members to reduce output. Iraq, OPEC's second-biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, has signed new deals that will increase its sales to Asian customers such as China and India despite its commitment to reduce output by 210,000 bpd. Libya, which is allowed to ramp up production as part of the OPEC deal, is close to increasing output crimped by unrest after a group of oil guards said they reopened a long-blockaded pipeline linking some of the country's biggest oilfields. (By Scott DiSavino; Additional reporting by Karolin Schaps in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Susan Thomas and Paul Simao) Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc , under pressure from activist investor William Ackman, named four new board members on Friday, paving the way for a reunion of sorts between its chief executive officer and a former top executive at McDonald's, which once owned the burrito chain. Matthew Paull, a former McDonald's Corp chief financial officer, will join the Chipotle board along with media executives Paul Cappuccio and Robin Hickenlooper, and Ali Namvar, a partner at Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Ackman is Chipotle's largest single investor with a nearly 10 percent stake. Shares in Denver-based Chipotle jumped 2.2 percent to $390.66, a boost for Ackman as he tries to pare losses in his investment portfolio which has been battered for the second straight year by its investment in Valeant . Ackman sought to end the company's co-CEO management and replace some long-serving directors with fresh blood, according to people familiar with his thinking. The company addressed some of those issues this week when it announced the departure of Chipotle co-CEO and director Monty Moran. Paull is an adviser to Ackman's $11.5 billion hedge fund and is considered one of his go-to candidate for board seats. He has taken board spots as Ackman's representative at Air Products and Chemicals Inc and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd . Both of the investments have performed well for Pershing Square. Namvar is one of Ackman's senior investment staff and has been instrumental in other consumer goods investments but has never served on a board. Cappuccio is executive vice president at Time Warner Inc and Hickenlooper is senior vice president of corporate development at media company Liberty Global Plc . Hickenlooper, who is married to the governor of Colorado, will become the second woman on Chipotle's 12-member board. "We are pleased that Chipotle has taken the important step of refreshing its board," Ackman said in a statement. Paull was McDonald's CFO 2001 to 2008 and is credited with making a major contribution during a four-year turnaround. Paull and Steve Ells, who founded Chipotle and was named sole CEO this week, worked together under the McDonald's umbrella until 2006, when the burger giant spun off the burrito chain. Other Chipotle investors are agitating for a deep overhaul to get the companys business back on track after a string of food safety stumbles that bruised sales and its reputation. CtW Investment Group, one of Chipotle's smallest but most vocal investors, urged Ackman this week to use his muscle to convince Ells to step down as board chairman and replace at least two sitting directors with independent board members. Chipotle's board has been criticized for being too entrenched and loyal to management. Five of the eight existing directors have served more than 18 years. CtW and Institutional Shareholder Services, an influential proxy advisory group, got together earlier this year to call for the replacement of Patrick Flynn, chairman of the nominating and governance committee and a former executive at McDonald's. They have blamed Flynn for failing to freshen the board's skill set to keep pace with the company's size and complexity. CtW also targeted the removal of director Darlene Friedman, who has been on the board for more than two decades, while ISS recommended moving off Albert Baldocchi. Flynn, Friedman and Baldocchi were all re-elected last May. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; Additional reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Jeffrey Benkoe) Volkswagen AG has agreed to pay just over $200 million to offset emissions from about 80,000 3.0 liter diesel U.S. vehicles, a person briefed on the settlement told Reuters. The agreement is expected to be announced as early as Friday, and is in addition to $2.7 billion that VW previously agreed to pay to offset emissions from about 475,000 2.0 liter diesel vehicles. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Friday delayed a hearing until later in the day so negotiations can continue over reaching a final resolution on the 3.0 liter vehicles. A sticking point over a comprehensive deal has been how much VW will agree to offer owners in compensation for getting vehicles repaired or selling them back. Talks among Volkswagen, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and lawyers for the suing owners have gone on for weeks. Reuters reported on Nov. 15 that Volkswagen had reached agreement with U.S. regulators for a mix of buybacks and fixes for the 80,000 polluting Audi, Porsche and VW 3.0-liter vehicles. The agreement includes a buy-back offer for about 20,000 older Audi and VW SUVs and a software fix for 60,000 newer Porsche, Audi and VW cars and SUVs, the sources said. A separate, more complex fix is expected to be offered for the older vehicles. With the $200 million to offset 3.0 liter emissions, Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to $16.7 billion to resolve U.S. diesel emissions cheating allegations. Volkswagen is also expected to face billions in fines as part of a separate potential settlement with the Justice Department to resolve an ongoing criminal investigation and a civil suit alleging civil violations of the Clean Air Act. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Dan Grebler) That could be one rocky confirmation hearing. President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly considering actor Sylvester Stallone to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Trump has not officially offered Stallone the position but the Daily Mail reports the actor could be "positively disposed to the idea." A Trump rep told us, "No decision has been made here yet." An RNC rep added, "They are old friends and the President-elect thinks very highly of him, but no decisions have been made regarding this position." A rep for Stallone had no comment. More: Scott Baio claims Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer's wife attacked him over Trump Stallone and the President-elect have a history. Trump's campaign launched a web ad that featured a speech from Stallone's 2006 "Rocky Balboa." The actor told Variety in January "I love Donald Trump." Stallone also compared Trump to a "great Dickensian character." He said he had considered running for public office himself but changed his mind five minutes later when he "came to my senses." More: 'House's' Lisa Edelstein implies Alan Thicke died to avoid Trump Big names from several industries been lining up at the Trump Tower in New York city to talk about possible posts in the new administration. Artist Jane Chu currently chairs the NEA, which has an annual budget of $150 million. Which is about what a big-budget Stallone-type action thriller is going for these days. This week, Mel Gibson earned a Golden Globe nomination for Hacksaw Ridge, but experts say that doesnt mean Hollywood has completely forgive the actors past bad behavior. Film critic Marshall Fine said Gibson's work is honor-worthy but his personal image has still suffered irreparable damage. The nomination means the work is worthy, not that Mel is forgiven. I screened it at a series I host just as I would screen films by Roman Polanski or Woody Allen or Charlie Chaplin. You don't have to embrace the artist to embrace the art. In 2006, the actor was arrested for drunk driving and made anti-Semitic remarks to the arresting officer which were all caught on tape. He apologized but Hollywood quickly began to shun him and his film Apocalypto during the subsequent award season. In the years that followed Gibson was surrounded by controversy that included a headline-making interview during which he slammed a reporter who asked him about the 2006 incident and a recorded profane rant against his ex Oksana Grigorieva. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, told FOX411 Gibsons past behavior won't be forgotten. To say that Gibson carries a lot of baggage is an understatement and given his tumultuous past with regard to his personal life and controversial views the fact that Hacksaw Ridge is being recognized as a piece of great cinema proves that ultimately it's about the work, not the man himself. Gibson scored his first Golden Globe nominations with Hacksaw Ridge since 2001. The film got nods for best director, best drama and best actor (Andrew Garfield). Hacksaw Ridge has raked in more than $60 million after six weeks and over $23 million overseas. Dergarabedian suggests Gibson use the positive response to "Hacksaw Ridge" to jump start his career. This is a key turning point for Gibson who should take this momentum and run with it by continuing to make great movies and leaving the controversy at home," he said. Scott Mendelson, a Forbes contributor who recently wrote an article on Gibson, said Gibson will have to work hard for a real comeback since movie-going audiences have shifted since his heyday. "Mel Gibson was a movie star in an age where an A-list actor could get audiences to come out to theaters for an original movie that looked appealing mostly because said actor was on the poster," he said. "The kind of movies that made Mel Gibson into a top-tier movie star barely get made at the studio level." Kim Kardashian is back on Instagram kind of. The Keeping Up With the Kardashian star has made her return to the social network after months away with some very racy Christmas-themed pictures on the official Kimoji account. Posing in front of a Christmas tree, a woman presumed to be Kim, shakes her famous assets in black and red underwear. It comes as Kims husband Kanye West has been seen in public for the first time since his psychotic breakdown amid Kim insiders revealing she is conflicted over their marriage. The rapper, 39, was seen in SoHo, New York, with his newly bleached hair, looking far more relaxed and healthy than he has in recent weeks, however according to a close friend of 36-year-old Kim, she is feeling overwhelmed following his breakdown last month. RELATED: Kim Kardashian explains her nipple-baring sheer looks While the reality star denied that their marriage was in trouble, a friend alleges to MailOnline that she will be making a decision regarding her relationship over the holidays and that she wont discuss the situation with Kanye until he has fully recovered. Its just been a very difficult time for her, said the source. Referring to October when Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, they continued: She wasnt even recovered from the ordeal she had been through and then he [Kanye] goes crazy and takes all the attention off of her. RELATED: Kim Kardashian reportedly 'wants a divorce' She has two kids at home and she is really upset because now she also has to deal with him. Hes been at the Bel Air house with a staff of nurses and doctors and shes just been staying at her moms. This story was first published in The Sun. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Michelle Obama recently sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview that was previewed on CBS This Morning Friday in which she said following the election of President-elect Donald Trump, Americans now know what "not having hope feels like." The show aired a clip of the sit-down that included a portion where the First Lady discusses the Presidential election. Winfrey asks Obama, Your husbands administration was all about hope. Do you think that this administration achieved that? Obama responded by commenting on the most recent election. Yes, I do. Because we feel the difference now, she says. See now we are feeling what not having hope feels like, you know. Hope is necessary. It is a necessary concept. She said her husband believed in that concept wholeheartedly. Obama added, What do you give your kids if you cant give them hope? Winfreys entire interview with the First Lady airs Monday evening on CBS and again on OWN on Dec. 21. Just two weeks before his inauguration in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump is set to be deposed in his ongoing legal battle with chef Jose Andres. The Spanish-born chef was originally slated to open a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel in the nations capital, but pulled out of the project before the hotel's opening following controversial comments made by the president-elect about Mexican immigrants while on the campaign trail. In August 2015, Trump sued Andres' company ThinkFood Group for breach of contract, seeking $10 million. The chef has since countersued. On Tuesday, Andres proposed a new idea, tweeting directly at Trump to seek an amicable end to the ongoing squabble while also doing some good. "Can we end our lawsuits and we donate $ to a Veterans NGO to celebrate?" the chef tweeted. "Why keep litigating? Let's both of us win.." The tweet has since been liked over 400 times. As of Wednesday morning, Trump had not responded to Andres. FAMED NEW YORK CITY SUSHI RESTAURANT NAKAZAWA JOINING TRUMP'S DC HOTEL In June, the president-elect was deposed in a similar lawsuit against Food Network star Geoffrey Zakarian. The Armenian-American chef had planned to open a restaurant, The National, at the Old Post Office building-turned-hotel in the nation's capital. Zakarian also pulled out of the project citing Trumps comments about immigrants. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A former Boston Teamsters official who intimidated the staff and crew of the "Top Chef" cooking competition show while it was filming in Boston in 2014 will serve six months of house arrest. Mark Harrington, one of five Teamsters indicted for attemped extortion of the hit Bravo show, was sentenced Thursday in federal court to two years of probation, including home confinement, and must pay more than $24,000 in restitution. 'TOP CHEF' FACING BACKLASH FOR FILMING EPISODE AT HISTORIC PLANTATION The 62-year-old Harrington pleaded guilty in September to an attempted extortion charge under a deal with prosecutors. Five members of Local 25 were indicted last year. The indictment said they demanded union members be hired as drivers and then threatened and harassed the crew for the show's non-union production company. In 2014, Harrington was one of about a dozen members of the Teamsters Local 25 who set up a picket line outside the Steel & Rye in Milton, outside of Boston, where the show was filming. HOW MUCH DID GUY FIERI MAKE LAST YEAR? The group were accused of yelling profanities and racial and homophobic slurs at host Padma Lakshmi and the crew during filming at a restaurant. Are DeploraBall organizers acting deplorably, or did a nightclub renege on their contract after pressure from anti-Trumpers? A Washington, D.C.-area nightclub says it has received threatening calls and comments online after choosing not to host an inauguration party organized by Donald Trump supporters called the "DeploraBall." Jack Posobiec, the special projects director of Citizens for Trump, contacted Clarendon Ballroom last week and obtained a contract from the venue detailing specifics for the event, which was supposed to take place Jan. 19. The venue asked for $32,000 to rent the space. Before the document was countersigned, however, Posobiec and fellow party organizer Mike Cernovich, a self-described "American nationalist" and cofounder of Trump voter movement called MAGA3X, started selling tickets for the event through Eventbrite. The party, Cernovich says, was meant to be a thank you to all the MAGA3X supportersand a celebration of the groups success in turning out votes for Trump. DC PIZZERIA EXTENDS STAND WITH COMET EVENT AFTER SHOOTING Clarendon Ballroom was publicly listed as the event location. We were supposed to sign the contact Monday, so we thought Why not just start selling the tickets now? Cernovich told FoxNews.com. We never anticipated there would be an issue. By Sunday evening, all 500 available tickets had been sold. @druek We do not have a contract with ANYONE for this date! News to us! Clarendon Ballroom (@CBallroom) December 13, 2016 But on Tuesday, when people started Tweeting at the nightclub about the pro-Trump event, Clarendon Ballrooms official account repeatedly denied it was in talks to host the DeploraBall. We do not have a contract with ANYONE for this date! News to us! the account tweeted. Cernovich told FoxNews.com he believes the venues owners were pressured to back down from Clinton supporters and people who oppose the President-elect. Yes they were being truthful in that there was no signed contract but its duplicitous to pretend as if they had no idea when Jack had been emailing with them, Cernovich told FoxNews.com. In every email message, his signature clearly says Citizens for Trump. Here is proposal from @CBallroom for Deploraball. They are refusing to honor the proposal, won't host event. pic.twitter.com/Udvh0c4e1H Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) December 13, 2016 He posted a picture of venues contract and a proposal detailing catering costs. Now, after Clarendon Ballroom has repeatedly stated they will not be hosting the event, they say they have been overwhelmed by menacing phone calls. Venue employees have since contacted the police. In a statement posted to Facebook Thursday night, Clarendon Ballroom said the event did not fall through because of political pressure but venue owners told the Washington Post that they were "upset that Citizens For Trump started selling tickets before asking for a contract," and "were also concerned by the views of some of the guests listed online." Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed to FoxNews.com that police are "aware of the harassing phone calls received by the Clarendon Ballroom" but that "there are no credible threats" at this time. They are working with venue management to monitor the situation. Cernovich says he believes the venue is overblowing the extent of the alleged harrassment. People have gone to jail for faking these kinds of accusations," he said. "I would encourage them not to fabricate threats. RESTAURANT INDUSTRY DIVIDED OVER TRUMPS PROPOSED POLICIES The DeploraBall headliner now says event organizers have been in contact with other D.C.-area venues and they are now expecting at least 1,000 people. The group says all original ticket purchases will be honored. Clarendon Ballrooms operations director Adrianne Freshman, who acknowledged speaking with DeploraBall party organizers and sending a contract to NBC 4, declined to speak with FoxNews.com directly. A representative for Clarendon Ballroom was not immediately available. Brazilian doctors are using the skin of a tropical fish to treat burn victims in a pioneering new therapy that is significantly reducing the trauma suffered by survivors. Its the first time in medical history that researchers have used the skin of an aquatic animal as a Band-Aid to treat lesions. When a gas cooker canister exploded in an accident at Maria Ines Candido da Silvas workplace, causing second degree burns to her arms, neck and some of her face, doctors offered an alternative therapy to the conventional ointment-based one: to dress her wounds with the skin of a Tilapia fish. Maria Ines, 36, who worked as a waitress in the Casa Velha restaurant in Russas, north east Brazil, said: The explosion left me with horrific injuries. I was in absolute agony and desperate for anything to ease my suffering. When doctors suggested putting fish skin on my wounds I found the idea really strange. But I jumped at the chance because they said it would be far less painful than the normal treatment and easier to manage. Click for more from the Sun. After the 2008 election, I wrote that if Latinos continue to turn out at the same rate, there may never be another Republican president. Not unless the GOP becomes a much different party than it has been since 2005-2006. That was when a wave of anti-immigration vitriol swept over the party faithful, driving it to abandon the inclusive, pragmatic and compassionate policies of George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Even reformers like Senator John McCain reversed themselves, turning from big-tent Republicans into paranoid Xenophobes driven to make illegal immigration the center-piece of their domestic agenda. Fueled by talk radio, the GOP and particularly what became its Tea Party wing promoted visions of a brown tsunami of Latinos breaking over our southern border to steal our jobs and rape our women. The anti-immigration hysteria was never based on fact. It was as much a product of post 9/11/01 fear of foreigners as it was a harsh over-reaction to the massive demographic changes within the United States. Latinos were becoming the nations largest minority, approaching fifty million people, many of them youngsters born in the United States. Rather than appeal to these new Americans based on shared conservative values like patriotism, marriage, service, faith, and entrepreneurial spirit, Republicans seemed to vie with each other over which could present views that were more unpleasant to Latinos. Even after a surge in Latino voting in 2010 saved the Senate for the Democrats by helping defeat Meg Whitman in California and Sharron Angle in Nevada, still the GOP dug in its heels. And during this election cycle Mr. Nice Guy Mitt Romney led the anti-immigrant mob. During the primary campaign, he crippled the candidacies of Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry by portraying them as weak on the undocumented. All Speaker Gingrich wanted to do was to allow for a statute of limitations after which a long-term undocumented immigrant could find a path to legitimacy. All Governor Perry wanted to do was provide in-state tuition for young students brought here innocently by their parents. Mr. Romney excoriated both rivals as weak; appeasers who would grant amnesty to law-breakers. Conveniently ignoring facts like the dramatic decline in illegal immigration, and the federal statistics showing the relative lawfulness of the undocumented, he thundered about the need to create conditions so draconian that 12 million of them would self-deport. In the process, the governor helped cast a pall over the entire Latino population, legal and illegal alike. It wasnt enough that he had Florida senator Marco Rubio at his side, or that his son Craig had learned Spanish while a missionary in Chile. Those gestures were seen as window dressing by a community more interested in deeds. For example, when President Obama finally got around to doing something about the immigration issue, ordering a modified DREAM Act that allowed for a moratorium on the deportation of those innocent students brought here by their parents, Governor Romney promised that if elected he would veto any such legislation. He drafted Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State who wrote Arizonas harsh SB1070 show me your papers law to be his immigration guru. He embraced Kobachs 2012 GOP party platform that allowed only enforcement and deportation as solutions to the problem of immigration. And in the process, he sealed his own political doom. More than 12 million citizen Latinos showed up to vote yesterday, a 26 percent increase over 2008. The Romney camp spoke of its ambition to win well more than the meager 31 percent of the Latino vote scored by John McCain in 2008. Their goal was 38 percent. They failed miserably. Between 75 percent-79 percent of Latinos voted for President Barack Obama; 21 percent-25 percent for Mitt Romney. Even in Marco Rubios Florida, where Latinos were 15 percent of total voters, exit surveys indicate that as many as 68 percent voted for President Obama. And remember, George W. Bush won a majority of Latino votes in 2004. In another crucial swing state Colorado, 11 percent of all voters were Latino and they voted for the president by a 50-point margin. When he won in 2008 in large measure because of the Latino vote, I dubbed Barack Obama our first Latino president. He has been re-elected by that same community. Now it is time for the GOP to join him and Democrats in coming to grips with an issue that requires compassion and pragmatism as much as vigilance and border enforcement. Otherwise, Republicans will never elect another president. After Tuesdays presidential election, Latinos now enjoy a new status as power players in U.S. politics. President Obama defeated Mitt Romney in large measure because he won 71 percent of the Latino vote, in a year when Latinos made American history by reaching a landmark 10 percent of the nations voters. According to exit polls, Mitt Romney lost their vote to Obama by 44 points, 71 percent to 27 percent. This is an unprecedented margin of defeat for Republicans among the fastest growing segment of American voters, Latinos. It is a scream for hard-line conservatives to reconsider their stand on immigration reform and Arizonas new law giving police the right to ask anyone for their immigration papers. One Republican who understood this early on was the man Mitt Romney almost picked as his vice presidential running mate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio. If I had to pick one quote that perfectly captures why the Republicans lost the Latino vote in Tuesdays election so decisively, I would pick something Senator Rubio told to me in an exclusive interview for Fox News Latino this past April. When I asked Rubio why the GOPs economic message didnt seem to be resonating with Latinos who faced disproportionately high levels of unemployment, poverty and foreclosure during the Obama presidency, the Freshman Tea Party Senator told me candidly Its very hard to make the economic argument to people who think you want to deport their grandmother. It is far from clear that having Rubio as the vice presidential nominee would have stopped Romney from losing the Latino vote. But if Rubios advice been heeded and had Republicans been more quick to embrace his alternative DREAM Act proposal, they would not have had such a decisive loss could have been averted. President Obama delivered a similar message when he told the Des Moines Register just before the election: A big reason I will win a second term is because the Republican nominee and Republican Party have so alienated the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, the Latino community. For the first time in U.S. history, the Latino vote can plausibly claim to be nationally decisive, Stanford University professor Gary Segura said on Election Night. Professor Segura calculates the Latino vote provided Obama with 5.4 percent of his margin over Romney essentially delivering a victory in the popular vote for him. Segura also calculates that if Romney had garnered just 35 percent of the Latino vote, he could have won the election. In Florida, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada there is no question, based on exit poll surveys, that Latinos made the difference for the President. Latinos increased their percentage of the electorate from 9 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in this race. In Florida, for example, the number of Hispanics in the state grew by nearly 200,000 in the last four years. Nationwide, four million more registered Latino voters have been added to the polls in the last four years. In 2008 Latino voters nationwide gave Obama 67 percent of their vote and they upped that in this election to 71 percent. The first step for the GOP is to avoid falling into the trap of thinking of the Latino vote as monolithic. According to the 2010 census, the U.S. Hispanic population is comprised of 63 percent Mexicans, 9.2 Puerto Ricans, 3.5 Cubans like Rubio and 3.3 Salvadorans. Aside from Rubio, the only prominent national Republican Latino figures are Governors Susana Martinez of New Mexico and Brian Sandoval of Nevada both of whom delivered powerful speeches at the GOP convention in Tampa. Senator-elect Ted Cruz of Texas is another strong candidate to lead GOP outreach to Hispanics. The Democrats also have a deep bench of charismatic Latino officials. They include the 2012 DNC keynote speaker, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosia, Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez and California Congressman and Democratic Conference Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra. And the Democrats are glad to point out that the far right of the GOP has not been welcoming to Hispanics. During the GOP primaries, for example, Romney pushed to impress conservatives by calling for self-deportation of illegal immigrants. He seemed to be harsh with the immigrant community to prove his conservative credentials to the conservative base of the party. Romney even pledged to veto the DREAM Act which provided citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants who enroll in college or enlist in the military. He called the Arizona papers please anti-illegal immigration law, SB 1070, a model for the nation. Romney made a conscious decision to align himself with the nations most vocal exponents of tough immigration policies. Having Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former California Gov. Pete Wilson and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach squarely in his corner was enough to keep many Latinos away. Latinos got tremendous attention this election cycle because their numbers had simply grown too large to ignore. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the U.S. Hispanic Population is now over 50 million strong. If the GOP continues down this path, it will cease to be an electorally viable political party. They need to start listening to Sen. Rubio. So how does a President with historically high unemployment, a vastly unpopular domestic policy record, no plan for a second term and an electorate that believes the country is on the wrong track win a second term and win decisively? A year ago, pollsters Doug Schoen and Pat Caddell co-authored an editorial for The Wall Street Journal in which they opined that President Obama could only win reelection by running the most negative campaign in history, and that the political damage following such a campaign would leave him unable to govern in a second term. It was one of the boldest predictions of the election season and it was right. No sooner had Mitt Romney secured the Republican nomination than Team Obama hit him with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of negative advertisements casting Romney as, as Haley Barbour put it, a wealthy plutocrat married to a known equestrian. The Obama blitzkrieg defined Mitt Romney before he could define himself. And despite an inspired first debate performance, he never recovered. According to the Obama campaign, Mitt Romney was a corporate raider and a vulture capitalist, and he was coming after your contraception. And then Obama had the gall in his acceptance speech to tell his supporters that they voted against politics as usual. In the same speech, Obama said he was looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties and sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together. His first-term record doesnt suggest that hell keep the first promise. Does anybody really believe hell keep the second? Even as he celebrated, Obama was well aware that the nation is more deeply divided than it was when he got here. Obama is now the only President in history to be elected to a second term with fewer popular votes than he won in his first term, and just the second to be elected to a second term with fewer electoral votes than he won in his first term (the other was Woodrow Wilson in 1916). 2012 was not a wave election like 2010. While hundreds of millions of dollars worth of negative ads beat back Mitt Romney in swing states and dragged down Republicans at all levels of the ballot, the House of Representatives is still firmly in Republican control. Yes, the demographics are shifting. The Republican Party has work to do, particularly in terms of making inroads with the Hispanic community and women. But 2012 is not evidence of the sort of permanent realignment in favor of the Democrats that James Carville predicted in the aftermath of Obamas 2008 victory. Already, the Republican Party has more Hispanic statewide elected officials than the Democrats. We gained one more when Hispanic Republican Ted Cruz won a Texas senate seat in overwhelming victory Tuesday night. He joins a deep bench of up-and-coming minority Republican leaders including Marco Rubio, Susana Martinez, Brian Sandoval, Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal. The Republican Party is in better shape for the future than it might seem in the aftermath of a big night for the Democrats. We were beat back in 2012 by a negative assault from an entrenched incumbent, but Obama is a President who only pays lip service to bipartisanship, and whose sole justification for a second term was an ad hominem onslaught on his opponent. Americas partisan divide is now so wide that it may be beyond Obamas political skills to bridge. The President will reap more partisan gridlock from his decidedly negative reelection campaign. And in 2014, Republicans will reap control of the Senate and in 2016, the Presidency. Make no mistake about it, America turned a corner last night. For the first time in a very long time, there is hope in at least some precincts of this deeply divided country that we now have a way to deal with the yawning political chasm that has for the past four years made this country nearly ungovernable. No, Im not suggesting that a chastened Republican Party -which not only saw its presidential standard-bearer go down in stinging defeat, but also saw its most extreme Senate candidates in traditionally GOP enclaves like Indiana and even Missouri rejected- will suddenly have an epiphany and realize that it has to begin to struggle back to the center if it hopes to remain a national party and not a club made up of regional cranks that gets its intellectual heft from the likes of Donald Trump. There are already voices on the right arguing that Romney was not a real conservative, that he was a closet moderate Seamus McGraw And Im not suggesting that Barack Obama, who last night became only the fourth Democrat in the past century to win a second full term joining Woodrow Wilson, FDR and Bill Clinton will at last be able to claim a mandate to quell the unrest that will continue to roil a divided Congress and at last make good on his promise to bring hope and change to Washington. Im not even talking about the notion that, if nothing else, the election of 2012 made clear that there is a newly empowered electorate far more diverse than it has ever been, with women and especially Latino voters who helped deliver states like Colorado, Nevada, and even Virginia to Obama that will at last force our elected officials to realize that the complexion of the country has changed. Im not implying that the GOP, which has lost five of the last six popular elections, in part because of its hard rightward drift on issues ranging from womens health to immigration issues, has seen the error of its ways and at last understands that it really does ignore the fastest growing demographic in the country at its peril. In the wake of last nights historic election, there is, alas, little evidence that any of those things will happen any time soon. The makeup of the Senate in January will not be significantly different than it was yesterday. Yes, there are now more women than ever in the upper house one in five members will now be women. And it remains under Democratic control. But those Democratic senators are likely to be no more able to gird themselves against gridlock and the worst excesses of the filibuster than they have been for the last two years. The House remains firmly under Republican control, and as the country now wakes up to the realization that it is now careening toward the fiscal cliff, it also must realize that in the end, nothing in the architecture of inaction really changed, despite the historic nature of the election. But at least in two states, voters took up the challenge and showed the rest of us the way forward. Im talking, of course, about Colorado and the state of Washington, where patriotic and farsighted citizens, recognizing the Groundhog Day nature of last nights election, convincingly passed measures that will give us the one tool well all need to get through another four years of paralyzing partisanship. They legalized the recreational use of marijuana, effectively saying, roll a blunt, kick back and wait until the profound cultural and demographic changes that became apparent last night truly take hold and change the calculus of elections. Its going to take a while. In the wake of the Republicans stinging defeat, there has been no significant talk on that side to suggest that their rightward lurch through the primaries -on everything from how to handle Iran to how to fairly deal with the children of undocumented aliens- has alienated voters. There is no sign that their intransigence on anything that Obama supported in the past will wane in the next term. Instead, there are already rumblings that the loss was the result of a lack of partisan purity. There are already voices on the right arguing that Romney was not a real conservative, that despite his efforts to paint himself as a severely conservative candidate, he was a closet moderate and that the voters sussed that out and rejected him. Theres no evidence to support that contention. In fact, exit polls seemed to make it pretty clear that voters were categorically rejecting some of the more extreme policies of the GOP. But when youre a faith-based party, things like hard numbers from poll-takers are no impediment. And so, even as the nation tries to walk off the worst effects of one of the most bitterly contested and most harshly partisan elections in recent memory, there are already voices on the right fighting the impulse among some Republicans to return the party to its center-right roots, to cultivate a Chris Christie or a more moderate Marco Rubio. The diehards are demanding that the partys next candidate for president hail from the dwindling white, male, archly conservative quadrant of the Republican universe: a Rick Santorum, perhaps a Rick Perry. That would be a recipe for another electoral disaster of course, especially in a country that made it abundantly clear last night that its demographics are changing and that reliably Republican states are in danger -a country where even Texas could soon become a swing state thanks to the emerging power of Latino voters. But that wont stop them from trying. In fact, the race for 2016 unofficially begins today, and as the GOP braces for one more lurch to the right, the rest of us are going to have to hunker down and find a way to cope with it all. Colorado and Washington showed us how best to do that. Sit back on the couch, roll a fat one and wait for the next four years to pass. Next January, Barack Obama will take the oath as President of the United States for the second time. I congratulate the President for running an effective campaign that attracted broad-based support, including from within the Hispanic community. In spite of the fact that President Obama failed on his 2008 promise to deliver immigration reform, over 70 percent of Hispanics voted for his reelection. The Des Moines Register recently reported that, when discussing second term objectives, President Obama said, The second thing Im confident well get done next year is immigration reform. By their votes, the Hispanic community has granted the President a second opportunity to prove he can be a man of his word. The challenge is daunting because of the political stalemate in Washington. No President can be successful without help from Congress. Today, many believe Congress is dysfunctional, that it is an institution as divided as our country. Our framers established a system of checks and balances to guard against tyranny. Although it was never intended that our government function as efficiently as private enterprise, today very little is accomplished because of partisanship. I hope more Republicans open their eyes and acknowledge finally the reality of the changing demographics Alberto Gonzales Effective policy on difficult issues like immigration requires accommodation by both Democrats and Republicans. We all must understand that no one will get everything they want. Even a conservative like Ronald Reagan understood the importance of compromise on immigration policy. During the campaign, Governor Mitt Romney described President Obama as the most partisan President in history. Close to as many Americans voted against the President as for him. I do not agree with many of the Presidents policies. However, I know many of the challenges faced by my community cannot be met without the leadership of the President. Although I do not believe the federal government is the answer to many of our problems, I do believe in the power of the presidency to inspire, to lead, and to help create an environment where children can succeed and achieve the American dream. In the weeks and months to come, Republicans will engage in some serious soul searching. I hope more Republicans open their eyes and acknowledge finally the reality of the changing demographics. President George W. Bush received 44 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2004. Governor Romney received just 27 percent. Thousands upon thousands of Hispanics each year turn 18. If Republicans cannot attract more Hispanic voters, then the Republican Party is doomed to more elections like 2012. In the meantime, there is much work to do. President Obama is our President, and he will need a partner to do the peoples work. A true partnership requires communication and compromise. For the sake of our country, I hope we can find common ground. The people have spoken and it is time for our President to lead. For Gov. Luis Fortuno, the end came at the hands of his own party, his inability to convey his manifesto and a tin ear to what was reality outside the walls of La Fortaleza. Fortuno and the cupola of the party suffered a shattering blow on Nov. 6. Puerto Rican voters went to the polls to oust the NPP from office, a vote more in retaliation against the administrations policies and sense of entitlement, rather than an electoral mandate to PDPs Alejandro Garcia Padilla. [Fortuno's] inability to take charge of his own party and control the sharks within it led the country to question his leadership and his capacity to govern Susanne Ramirez de Arellano The outcome was a clear rejection of a misunderstood strategy modeled on Reaganomics deep cuts to government bureaucracy, tax reductions, a mounted challenge to unionism and control of government growth. It was also a repudiation of the perception of prepotency on the part of the governor and members of his party and his administration. The people didnt understand the decisions the governor took and why, said Antonio Sagardia, ex Minister of Justice for the Fortuno administration. They identified them as decisions taken to favor an economic elite and not the people as a whole or the country, he said. A Republican vision of government for an island with half the GDP of the nations poorest state, Mississippi, was more than a tough sell at the best of times, and these measures were implemented during a harsh economic climate. What made it worse was the ineffectual and at times uncaring manner in which these measures were taken and how the reasons behind them were communicated or not to the people Fortuno was perceived by many - including many non-party fanatics - as being uncaring about the impact his financial austerity program had on those who suffered most from it, said Roger Maldonado, a lawyer who practices on the island and mainland. Nor did it help that that his administrations such is life words said by a top Fortuno appointee in a public forum - became the let them eat cake of his administration. He certainly made a poor public relations effort in selling the program before, during, and after its implementation, he added. Herein lies the Achilles heel of the Fortuno administration how he executed his policies and governance and the manner in which Puerto Rico perceived it. The latter was not helped by staunch political adversaries lodged in the heart of his own party, such as former president Thomas Rivera Schatz, nicknamed The White Shark, and former mayor of San Juan, Jorge Santini, known as el guapeton de barrio, who openly flaunted their contempt of the governor. If you want to understand who really cost Fortuno the election, then look no further than top members of his own party, Sagardia said. They either publicly went against his decisions or kept him locked up in an ivory tower, telling him that all was well, he added. His inability to take charge of his own party and control the sharks within it led the country to question his leadership and his capacity to govern. Fortuno is thought to have allowed and would likely continue to allow the sharks within his party, starting with Rivera Schatz, to control an agenda for the benefit of a well-connected few and to the detriment of many, Maldonado said. Some do give him the benefit of the doubt and state that history will cast Fortuno in a different light. He tried to experiment with being a different governor, doing what was needed, notwithstanding the political cost, said Sagardia, He always said that he was not a career politician. He came to do what was right and decided to take the tough decisions, he said. In an interview with FoxNewsLatino earlier this year, Fortuno was almost prescient about what the future held. I came into office to do what was correct, not to see what was politically expedient to get re-elected, he said. Especially in the day and age that we are living in, that is required of elected officials. And if it just so happens that you dont get re-elected, so be it, as long as you are doing the right thing, he added. In what could prove a pyrrhic victory, Garcia Padilla should hear the lesson that sometimes doing the right thing is not enough. The day after the election a friend posted on my Facebook page, the Latino Vote unfrigginbelievable. Shes right. Many factors contributed to President Obamas re-election. But few are as important as the Latino vote. Hispanics made up 10 percent of the U.S. electorate this year doubling in the past 16 years. The number of Latino voters rose to more than 12 million from 11.4 million in 2008. With 75 percent of Hispanics voting for Obama, according to Latino Decisions study, they accounted for about 15 percent of Obamas total nationally and substantially more in swing states like Colorado, Nevada and most likely Florida. Hispanic voters not only handed re-election to the president, they helped determine the winner in close U.S. Senate races across the country. When a candidate disparagingly talks about illegals, tread carefully because you can be talking about our mamas Viviana Hurtado As I predicted, 2012 would not only be the year that Latino voters emerged as a political force, but marks the beginning of a political trend that is shaping the direction of our country as this voting bloc grows in size and prominence. By 2050, the Hispanic population is expected to nearly double, accounting for as much as 29 percent of the total U.S. population. Each month, 50,000 Latinos turn 18 and are eligible to vote. What does growing Latino political power mean for America, and for our community? First, it means that from this point forward, candidates and political parties will need to articulate policies that appeal to us but are not that different from those geared toward mainstream Americans. We are deeply concerned about jobs, economic growth, education, healthcare and the other building blocks of the American Dream. But make no mistake, immigration matters. With many of us being part of mixed-immigration-status families, neighborhoods, and parishes, when a candidate disparagingly talks about illegals, tread carefully because you can be talking about our mamas. Or you just sound like a mean bully that picks on the smallest kid in the school yard. Second, we will be watching to make sure the actions of those we helped elect match their rhetoric. You cannot make a promise, not fulfill it, yet deport people in record numbers, including abuelas. You also cant eat lechon on the campaign trail pretending to be down with La Raza, yet praise the most anti-immigrant and anti-Latino laws in the country, their authors, and enforcers. The road to the White House goes, not just through the barrio and the bodega, but classrooms, since 25 percent of public school students nationwide is Hispanic, and our nursing homes, as our population ages. The seeds of political participation were planted in 2012 but will need to be watered, nurtured, at times weeded for it to take root and flourish, making our great democracy even greater. The work has just begun --for Latinos, since our civic involvement cant drop off; for Republicans, who can seize this opportunity after a total flameout to rebuild; and for the President, who is now tasked with the burden of making good on a promise that is four years overdue. As the country marches forward to a new, more diverse electorate, Arizona sputters and spirals toward political backwardness and crisis. In view of the possibility that hundreds of thousands of votes may not be counted by local and state authorities, I joined groups in Arizona and across the country that are mobilizing in the streets and online against forces that appear ready and willing to hold on to power, and to do so at the expense of Latino and other disenfranchised voters. As an Arizona voter its my responsibility to guarantee that all of our votes are counted. As of Thursday, according to the Arizona Secretary of State, there were 631,274 ballots yet to be counted. This is shameful. Arizona authorities must immediately resolve this crisis by first counting every vote, and then reforming Arizona's broken electoral system so that the rights of Arizona citizens can be restored. In order to appreciate the magnitude of the crisis in Arizona, we must remember that overall voter turnout in Arizona in 2008 was 2 million, with 1.5 million votes in Maricopa County alone. Yet, as of their most recent statements, state officials are reporting that only 1.5 million votes were cast in the entire state. This low vote count likely means that thousands of Arizona votes are unaccounted for, especially when we consider that record-breaking numbers of Latinos voted in this election. With at least 3 key races still undecided, including one U.S. Senate seat, one U.S. House seat, and the race to replace or re-elect controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Arizona has a lot riding on an accurate count of all votes. Yet, the consequences of this electoral crisis go far beyond just one election in Arizona and encompass more than just Latinos. Right now, the Supreme Court is preparing to hear conservative challenges to the Voting Rights Act (VRA). What has happened in Arizona stands as a symbol of the threat to all voters posed by the return of Jim Crow and the rise of Juan Crow: voter ID laws, long lines, provisional ballots and other actions running contrary to the spirit and letter of the Voting Rights Act. Arizona may signal a larger move to push the country back to a time before the VRA, a time of devastating discrimination-and a time we cannot and will not return to. The slogans seen and heard at at our protests, including todays protest say it all: MY RIGHTS ARE NOT PROVISIONAL and PROVISIONAL BALLOTS= PERMANENT FRAUD and chants of Count our votes, count our votes! Presente and its members in Arizona have joined a coalition of dozens of local, regional and national organizations sounding the emergency alert about the threat to democracy in Arizona and, possibly, the entire country. Right now, Latino and other voters in Maricopa County continue their protests against Recorder Helen Purcell and Secretary of State Ken Bennett, demanding that they count hundreds of thousands of provisional and early ballots from areas with large Latino populations which may not otherwise be counted. We are talking with these voters, and helping tell their stories. Our efforts have yielded a partial victory as votes are starting to be counted. But many votes remain, and with authorities saying the task won't be completed until next week and Republican operatives trying to disqualify our votes, we will continue to be vigilant and active as our democracy depends on it. Hearing Arizona's Republican Secretary of State Ken Bennett say, "If you are not voting in the precinct where your voter registration applies, then your ballot does not count," give us even greater cause for alarm. Such statements show a willingness to allow thousands of Latino and other voters to be disenfranchised, in a state that saw Latino residents get robocalls telling them to vote in the wrong precincts and where official information in Spanish provided voters with the wrong election date. Against such blatant attempts to disenfranchise Latino voters, we will continue to take action, demanding that Purcell and Bennett perform their duties, stop their stalling and count all votes. We will call on federal authorities to investigate and take action, providing full relief to Americans who simply want to exercise their constitutional right to vote. During the recently concluded U.S. presidential campaign, many Latin American journalists and academics asked why Latin America was hardly mentioned. Although Gov. Romney did mention the region in each of the three debates, the question deserves a more complete answer. This region is far too important to the U.S. to be ignored so widely by U.S. political leaders. Why is it? One of the many reasons is that Latin America does not present its best face to the world and is therefore not taken seriously. The image of these countries that Americans too often see is that of a caricature: that of a clownish demagogue, or a boisterous caudillo dressed in the combat fatigues he might have worn had he ever seen combat; or of an incessant talker in enamored with the sound of his or her voice; and in some cases someone who combines many of the above characteristics. Fearful voters do not always make the best choices. Sometimes they need a little help from friends that live in countries with a free press. Otto Reich Seldom do serious, wise, or even honest faces symbolize the rich continent to our South. Is it any wonder then, that senior policy-makers in the U.S. Government have difficulty focusing on this region? It is especially hard when those policy-makers have access to information that documents the abuse of power, moral degradation and illicit enrichment in which many foreign leaders engage. When U.S. audiences watch the occasional television report about this region, or read press accounts, which are the Latin American faces that stare back? Frequently, those of an emaciated Fidel Castro of Cuba; a garrulous Hugo Chavez of Venezuela; an eccentric Evo Morales of Bolivia; a rabid Rafael Correa of Ecuador; and a devious Cristina Kirchner of Argentina. Those come to mind, at least to the few observers that even know what those characters look like. Besides being dishonest and dangerous (for example, all the above preside over rampantly corrupt governments and some have close ties with Iran, regional terrorist groups or organized crime) these rulers have something else in common: they were all originally elected in votes that were relatively free and fair. We must ask how is it possible that otherwise intelligent constituencies choose so poorly? One reason is that they lack in balanced information about their candidates and leaders. In Latin America the press is frequently afraid of reporting negative material about powerful people running for office (for good reason, since scores of honest reporters have been and continue to be killed while investigating wrongdoing). This well-founded media fear may result in the election of yet another candidate with a disturbing past: Yani Rosenthal Hidalgo, a candidate for President in the Liberal Party primaries in Honduras. Rosenthal was Minister of the Presidency (a kind of Super Cabinet Secretary and Presidential fixer) under a previous elected schemer, Mel Zelaya, who was removed from office in 2009 for violating the Constitution, by a unanimous vote of the Supreme Court of Honduras. Zelayas acolyte, Mr Rosenthal, apparently intends to take Zelayas place. If Mr. Rosenthals political background is insufficient to disqualify him from office, his illicit business activities should. Mr. Rosenthal is the scion of what is alleged to be the richest family in Honduras. The family conglomerate, Grupo Continental, owns some of the leading companies in Honduras: banks, insurance, engineering and construction, newspapers, television, cable TV, cement alligator skins, coffee growing, free zone assembly plants, food packing, sugar, residential developments, bananas, cattle and sheep breeding and cacao, among others. The family, especially Yani, is the object of pending judicial charges and investigations that run practically the entire gamut of their business activities. For example: Since 2007, the Rosenthal telecommunications firm Cable Color has been accused by Honduran and international authorities of illegal use of its telephone lines for grey traffic. Grey traffic is the false reporting of international long distance calls as domestic calls, thus avoiding additional charges associated with international calls, such as payment for the use of underwater cables, of international taxes paid to the foreign governments where the calls originate or terminate, etc. In Honduras, international traffic is controlled by the public telephone company, Hondutel, which is or would be if were operated honestly and efficiently the single largest source of revenue to the state. In 2007 then-President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya, whom Yani Rosenthal was serving as Cabinet Minister at the time, appointed the First Ladys nephew, Marcelo Chimirri, as General Manager of Hondutel. Chimirri so looted Hondutels treasury that he was indicted for corruption and abuse of power and eventually arrested (but only after his uncle and protector Zelaya was removed from office, of course). Even in a country with a long history of high-level corruption, Chimirri and Zelayas avarice was unprecedented. In order to hide the plundering of Hondutel through the use of grey traffic by companies owned by their allies such as the Rosenthals, Chimirri and Zelaya designed a cynical smoke screen reminiscent of the famous order round up the usual suspects in the movie Casablanca. To divert attention from the real culprits while making it appear that they were enforcing the law, Zelayas associates ordered Hondutel officials to raid the offices of over 50 small telecom companies that most often were not, and in some cases were, involved in grey traffic, confiscated their equipment and arbitrarily detained their executives. These firms had very few telephone lines, and none even approximated the hundreds of lines of Cable Color. Yet, Cable Colors offices were never raided. The reason was obvious; Chimirri, Zelaya and Yani knew the real culprit in the diversion of Hondutel profits was Yanis own company, Cable Color. That company still owes Hondutel the local currency equivalent of $259,044 for the use of submarine telephone cables. This figure is a pittance, however, in relation to the $5 Million per month half its earnings - that Hondutels income dropped under Chimirris management because of the grey traffic scheme. There are many Rosenthal companies that owe the Honduran treasury for fines. For example, Cementos del Norte (cement) owes $1,770,269. The Rosenthal newspaper firm, Editorial Honduras, owes $4,046,330 that it refuses to pay to the government. A pending lawsuit accuses members of the Board of Banco Continental and members of the board of the Rosenthal newspaper Tiempo (Editorial Honduras) of the crime of infidencia, or using the newspaper to publish confidential information to the detriment of official investigations of the National Banking and Insurance Commission. Moreover, the newspapers labor union has complained that the Rosenthals refuse to pay their labor obligations (equivalent to employees benefits in the U.S.). Those are just some examples. A more comprehensive list of transgressions, corruption and abuse of power by the Rosenthal family, whose heir now seeks Honduras top office, is too long for a newspaper article. The reason I am writing this article is because I was asked to do so by some honest persons I know in Honduras. When I inquired why they did not do so themselves, they frankly admitted that they are afraid. They point to cases such as a murder in 2007 of a telephone company owner, Alejandro Laprade, that threatened to blow the whistle on the Hondutel grey traffic scheme, from which the Rosenthal family prospered, but which in turn focused the attention of the country on out-of-control Zelaya corruption and led to his downfall. Fearful voters do not always make the best choices. Sometimes they need a little help from friends that live in countries with a free press. I met General David Petraeus on a dusty, oppressively hot day outside of Baghdad in March 2003. Our forces had invaded Iraq and were swiftly closing on Saddams capital city. Husseins once vaunted army was collapsing, but there was sporadic resistance, snipers and so forth, and the oppressive heat remained a formidable enemy, making any physical activity, including war fighting arduous. In its rapid advance, elements of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division had taken control of a suburban villa owned by one of Saddams cousins. The villa was abandoned and the swimming pool dry when the troopers secured the property for use as a command and control post in preparation for the big push into Baghdad. Petraeus is the last officer I would ever suspect would get snagged in the classic honey trap Geraldo Rivera The high ranking Hussein relative whose home had become our headquarters was long gone, but his fully fueled personal helicopter was still sitting in his backyard, where it had been quickly disabled by our invading forces. Once the scene was secure, my brother Craig, producer/photographer Greg Hart and I asked the staff sergeant leading the platoon we accompanied where should we crash. He told us to take the master bedroom in the villa to avoid his troops squabbling over the relatively deluxe accommodations. We gratefully accepted, our disappointment that the water was not flowing more than overcome by our discovery that the Hussein owner had left his bedroom liquor cabinet fully stocked. About a half hour after the property had been secured, General Petraeus arrived unannounced with a small coterie of officers. Although he had marched step for step with his troops over a hundred miles of bad road, Petraeus looked like he had just stepped off the parade ground at Fort Campbell. With half a buzz on, Craig, Greg and I hustled out to form a ragged receiving line for the already hugely respected commander. As we stood by the dry swimming pool waiting for the general to reach us, he stopped short and looked at a disheveled, unshaven enlisted man whose uniform tunic was awry and coated with dust. He looked the trooper up and down and said something like you look out of uniform, trooper. The dust-caked young soldier said something about having marched across the desert and Petraeus replied quietly, but firmly something on the order of I know, Ive marched it too, and the kid said yes sir, and excused himself to get cleaned up and organized. Although I have since seen the general in action throughout Iraq and Afghanistan as he climbed the ranks from two-star to three to four, that moment with the unkempt trooper on that dusty afternoon outside Baghdad is the defining moment. This is a soldiers soldier; a complete fighting machine whose modest physical packaging holds a warrior as complete as Eisenhower or Napoleon. Jump-cut to the sordid scandal involving the biographer, bombshell Army reserve officer Paula Broadwell and her cat fight for the generals attention with voluptuous Tampa socialite Jill Kelley. To say I was shocked and stunned that the generals general had fallen prey to the same old, same old as the rest of us mortals is a profound understatement. The last time I was so utterly shocked and aghast was when I heard Princess Diana was dead in a car crash in Paris in 1998. Petraeus is the last officer I would ever suspect would get snagged in the classic honey trap. He is the man, after all, who stood up the Iraqi Army so it could defend itself. He is the man who quelled the Sunni insurgency. He is the man who engineered the surge. He is the man who saved Americas collective ass in Iraq. He is the man many thought would be the ideal Republican candidate for president in 2012, way more macho than the former governor of Massachusetts. And after forsaking that opportunity to cash in his political chips, he is the man called on by President Obama to abandon the rewards of successful war-fighting to rush to Afghanistan, the graveyard of armies to save his nations interests once again. Now he is exposed as an adulterer; a cheat; a lonely old man who like so many other men far from home succumbed to the charms of an attractive, ambitious, adoring, accomplished young woman. But it hasnt changed my opinion of the basic man. His is an age-old personal tragedy with which General Petraeus and his wife Holly must grapple. But to those who suggest that this otherwise noble warrior would, as CIA Director, alter his sworn testimony about Benghazi because he feared the Obama administration would expose his affair, I say, you should have been there that hot, dusty day outside Baghdad in 2003. He didnt lie. It didnt happen. The various Benghazi-Gate investigations will expose our adventure in Libya as woefully under-funded and unprepared. It might show the Obama administration was willfully blind to the severity of Islamist hatred in the post-Gaddafi era. It might show that the administration sent out U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as a sacrificial lamb to spin public opinion to fit a desired narrative. It will not show that this patriot lied to anyone but his spouse. Which is bad enough. But as Rep. Michael Conway (R-Tx) a member of the House Intelligence Committee said about Fridays hearing with the disgraced former CIA Director, We are all sinners. A post-election to-do list for the administration and Congress Television commercials are back to pitching deodorant and dishwasher detergent instead of trashing politicians with out-of-context quotes and embarrassing pictures while ominous music plays in the background, so that means the election must be over. But now the real work begins. Congress is back in Washington in a lame duck session to stare down the prospects of going over the fiscal cliff, which is a dangerous cocktail of big tax hikes and drastic spending cuts that could send an already soft U.S. economy back into a recession. Those of us on the border are watching closely to get a sense of how our issues are going to figure into the next Congress and what priority level theyll take in the administration. So heres a post-election to-do list straight from the border for the president and Congress: Avoid Sequestration Sequestration is the fancy word for steep, government-wide spending cuts, and its a major component of the fiscal cliff. Anyone familiar with our countrys debt and deficit situation might, at first blush, think sequestration sounds like a good idea. After all, our government spends more than it takes in. But sequestration cuts with an axe, not a scalpel. These cuts would be so severe that they could hurt the economy, lead to job losses and cut into core government functions. According to a report by the Office of Management and Budget, the number of Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, Customs and Border Patrol agents, correctional officers, and federal prosecutors would be slashed. We cant afford for CBP to get hit by the oncoming sequestration train. An agency that in fiscal year 2010 facilitated $2 trillion worth of trade is too vital to our countrys economic health to be subject to such indiscriminate cuts. But wait, what about the guys in green our Border Patrol Agents, just last year we added hundreds to their numbers, and more still needs to be done, cuts to this would present a huge step in the wrong direction especially where there is already talk about immigration reform emanating from the House side. Congress and the president need to avert this crisis straight away. Theres no time for political posturing on this one. Ill Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours With the election in our rearview mirror, congressional leadership is sending up smoke signals that 2013 might be the year to make real progress on immigration reform. The elements of a reform package will likely include border security, workplace enforcement, visa reform and some attempt to seriously confront how to handle the millions of undocumented immigrants already in this country. One BIG issue that I have not heard of as of late is how we will confront the documentation of exiting legitimate border crossers (those with I-94s and Border Crossing Cards) as they head back home through those same ports. This will present the largest hurdle of them all. According to my conversations with CBP and others, nearly 45% of the undocumented people in our country actually came over legally.and stayed! There is no way of have true reform unless we address the back door that is wide open. Can anyone say US-EXIT? Because border security will likely figure prominently in the immigration discussion, its incumbent upon those of us who understand the border to help educate those whose image of the border and what happens at a port of entry is more fiction than fact. But I also hope that the president and Congress dont play the old Washington game of heaping criticism on one sides reform proposal without proposing one of their own. Leaders of both parties in the House and Senate and the president need to put on the table their guiding principles and goals for a reformed immigration system and begin a substantive debate. The window for action will close quickly. Shuffling the Deck With the president about to begin his second term, new cabinet officials will soon come on the scene. Theres rumor that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will move on to another post. That would leave DHS in search of a new secretary and CBP still without a Senate-confirmed commissioner, something that has eluded President Obama for his entire four years in office. If we can make an early Christmas wish, it would be that the president names individuals to these posts who not only can pass muster with the Senate, but who understand that trade and security must go hand and hand and need not be at odds with one another. Get it on the calendar All of these issues are percolating as Mexicos new president-elect, Enrique Pena Nieto, eyes his December 1 inauguration. I hope President Obama invites his new counterpart in Mexico to Washington in early 2013 and sends a clear message to business and market watchers that our two countries are committed to working together to foster a mutually beneficial relationship across our shared border that reflects how intertwined our economies are. That would make for a happy New Year. Last Tuesday was the Latino electorates coming out party. For the first time, Latino voters were the deciding factor in a presidential race; support from over 70 percent of Latino voters, comprising over 10 percent of the electorate, gave President Obama the edge he needed to win. Now the Beltway is abuzz with talk of immigration reform in 2013, as some conservatives come to their senses about the need to compromise. But, while voters wait eagerly for a much-needed federal solution to materialize, they should look to the local level for a model, and a harbinger, of what is to come. They need look no further than Suffolk County, New York, which just passed the first pro-immigrant policy in the country since Tuesdays election. For years, immigration reform has become a bad word in Washington, because, as in Suffolk County, restrictionists hijacked the national debate by taking advantage of popular fears of demographic change D. Altschuler and T. Oshiro Last Wednesday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone signed Executive Order 10, which guarantees translation and interpretation services to limited-English proficient (LEP) residents in county government offices. In superstorm Sandys aftermath, the county adopted this policy to ensure effective communication with residents in all agencies from police precincts to social service and health centers. This measure mirrors similar policies in New York State and New York City, but it makes Suffolk County among the countrys first suburban counties with a comprehensive language access solution. Executive Order 10 exemplifies efficient, responsive governance, but it would have been unthinkable only a year ago. Under prior County Executive Steve Levy, myriad policy proposals targeted undocumented immigrants and fostered what the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) deemed a climate of fear. In 2008, Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero paid the ultimate price in this xenophonobic atmosphere he was murdered by a gang of marauding teenagers who sought out Latinos to attack. How did Suffolk County move so quickly from being an anti-immigrant haven to passing one of the countrys first suburban language access policies? One key reason: the Latino vote. Suffolk, like much of the United States, has become much more diverse, with immigrants now comprising over 15 percent of its population. At first, this growth produced xenophobia, which irresponsible politicians fueled and capitalized on. But, increasingly, those immigrants have become voters. In the past two election cycles, our organizations the Long Island Civic Engagement Table and Make the Road New York and allies have been a major part of this, providing naturalization assistance, registering 4,500 new voters, and mobilizing approximately 40,000 voters. First, in 2011 the countys new electoral bloc contributed to the victory of a new leader, Steve Bellone, who had promised to support and value them. Last week, Latino voters appeared to play an important role in the closely contested re-election of Rep. Tim Bishop. Politicians have taken note. No longer do we hear the same anti-immigrant appeals from years past even one of Mr. Levys former acolytes backed away from his previous positions. Meanwhile, the new County Executive has expressed his commitment to embracing diversity and preventing discrimination in all forms, while working with our organizations and allies to pass substantive policy. The result: a new climate where responsible leaders working with community organizations can forge effective policy that promotes immigrant integration. Executive Order 10 signals a transition from the days of scapegoating immigrants to a new era of forging policy to make government services more accessible to 120,000 LEP Suffolk residents, improving public safety and government efficiency for all. Suffolk County may well be a bellwether for the nation. For years, immigration reform has become a bad word in Washington, because, as in Suffolk County, restrictionists hijacked the national debate by taking advantage of popular fears of demographic change. But just as community organizations and labor unions have worked to expand and mobilize thousands of Latino and immigrant voters in Suffolk, national allies have mobilized millions nationwide. And just as Suffolk politicians have woken up Latino voters power, so too are certain notorious restrictionists, including Rep. John Boehner and Sean Hannity. With the recent presidential election providing the ultimate demographic reality check, comprehensive immigration reform is possible for the first time in years. With politicians across the political spectrum wide awake to Latino and immigrant voters electoral power, America has the opportunity to do at the national level what Suffolk has just done at the county level: craft substantive policy that helps immigrants, makes government more accessible, and makes us all safer. Comprehensive immigration reform is the only choice. Our country needs a permanent solution that enables eleven million undocumented immigrants to emerge from the shadows and recognizes their humanity and economic contributions. And we need to revamp our immigration system to attract workers in sectors ranging from information technology to agriculture. Without this, immigrant communities and the economy will suffer. Following Tuesdays historic election, the President and Congress must heed the Latino electorate and work together to forge a comprehensive immigration solution. In America as in Suffolk County, a rapidly changing electorate means that immigration issues should no longer be a political third rail. Instead, politicians must adopt a new approach to immigrant communitiescharacterized by welcoming and respectthat is not just good policy, but good politics. Daniel Altschuler is the Coordinator of the Long Island Civic Engagement Table. Theo Oshiro is the Deputy Director of Make the Road New York. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino What happens when you elect a community organizer with no executive experience to the most powerful political office in the world? The experiment has been playing out for four years and will play out for four more, with disastrous results for the prestige of the presidency. Obama has quietly amassed a list of foreign policy gaffes so long it would make Joe Biden blush. Take for instance his recent trip to Burma. For fifty years, Burma has been ruled by a military junta that renamed the country Myanmar. In 2010, the junta held the countrys first elections, widely denounced as fraudulent by the international community. Most senior offices, including the presidency, were won by generals. Obama showed that he just wasnt up to the job during the first four years. Judging by his trip to Burma, he still isnt David Laska Standing next to the Burmese president, Obama referred to his host country as Myanmar, an ostensibly innocuous slip of the tongue that in reality comforted a military government that has been slow on human rights reform and alarmed the democratic opposition. Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor scrambled to assure the Associated Press that the U.S. government position is still Burma. Burmese democrats werent comforted when they had their chance for face time with the president. Obama repeatedly and unmistakably mispronounced the name of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader and human rights icon who spent 15 years under house arrest before her release in 2010. The trouble with first impressions is that you only get one. On the first presidential trip to Burma in history, Obama looked unprepared and unprofessional. His first term has been marred with many similar missteps: In Latin America, personal and economic freedom is under assault by a violent anti-American gang of Bolivarians led by Venezuelas Hugo Chavez. At President Obama's meeting with the heads of South American countries in 2009, Chavez gifted Obama a book assailing the United States for, as the title read, the Pillage of a Continent. Obama politely posed for a photograph with Chavez, shook his hand, and accepted the gift. Obamas act of legitimizing a dictator aside, its tradition for heads of state to exchange gifts upon their first meeting. When President Obama met then-British PM Gordon Brown for the first time in March 2009, Mr. Brown greeted him with a pen holder made with wood from the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet, the sister ship of the HMS Resolute, the ship from which the Oval Office desk was carved. Obama returned the favor with - drum roll please - a 25 DVD set of American movies. But none of Obamas savvy diplomats realized that American DVDs dont work on British DVD players. A month later, Obamas chance for redemption came when he met Great Britains Queen Elizabeth and was greeted with a silver-framed signed photograph of the Queen with the Duke of Edinburgh. Apparently, he didnt learn from his mistake. He gave the Queen an iPod. In February 2010, Obama hosted the Dalai Lama at the White House. Following the meeting, the Presidents men ushered His Holiness out a back door right past a large pile of White House garbage that had been accumulating for days. In October 2011, leaked diplomatic cables revealed that the Japanese government nixed the idea of Obama visiting Hiroshima, site of one of the nuclear bomb attacks that ended the Second World War, and apologizing for the action. Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka reported to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the Japanese government felt the idea of President Obama visiting Hiroshima to apologize for the atomic bombing during World War II is a non-starter. Such diplomatic faux pas by George W. Bush would no doubt have sparked peals of outrage and ridicule back home. Theres little doubt that the Obama foreign policy has been immensely successful for those who covet the opinions of the cultural elite in Western Europe. But in the eyes of those who matter, the millions of people around the world struggling to break the chains of totalitarianism and establish fledgling democracies, the prestige of the presidency has been stuck in a downward spiral. Many on the left think that the characterization of the United States as a shining city on a hill, as a beacon for freedom and democracy, is quaint and outdated. It isnt. But it in order to succeed, it must be personified in a strong president. Obama showed that he just wasnt up to the job during the first four years. Judging by his trip to Burma, he still isnt. Growing up the son of a Puerto Rican Catholic father and a Jewish mother was often theologically confusing. But the confusion ended when it came to Israel. Zionist to the core, I would die for the Jewish homeland. Like most Jews of a certain age, the notion of a world without an impregnable fortress/sanctuary for the often victimized Jewish race is intolerable. Never again. But that doesnt mean I think the Israel can do whatever it feels appropriate under the banner of self-defense. Five Israelis have been killed by hostile action in the current round of fighting. As of this writing 141 Palestinians are also dead, about half of them civilians, including babies. That is more than 25 to 1, Palestinian to Israeli dead. That fact curdles the blood of even us Zionists. The warring parties can seize the opportunity to move toward the two-state solution; two sovereign nations: Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace Geraldo There are, of course, extenuating circumstances that somewhat explain the uneven suffering. The gangsters of Hamas who rule Gaza have become expert in placing their rocket launchers in the midst of civilians. They are racketeers who specialize in provoking a violent Israeli response and then running away to leave helpless civilians to pay the butchers bill. Additionally, the Israelis have done more than any force in the history of modern warfare to mitigate collateral damage. In a good way, they are the baddest of the bad. Thousands of their smartest bombs seek out specific Hamas militants in specific apartment buildings with jaw-dropping accuracy most often sparing the innocent. Further, the Israelis are bending over backward to minimize civilian casualties. Aside from precisely targeting their attacks, they are dropping leaflets, even emailing and sending text messages to area residents warning them to steer clear if they are in close proximity to Hamas facilities and personnel. Still, Gaza isnt much bigger than Philadelphia, about 140 square miles. Since half the Strip is rural, the populated areas are densely packed with 1.7 million people. Going after specific targets in crowded Gaza, is like going after specific targets in downtown Brooklyn. Inevitably Palestinian kids get killed and that feels Un-Jewish. Yet, what is Israel to do? No nation can tolerate wanton rocket attacks terrorizing its people. There was a bomb tossed onto an Israeli bus just today. Israelis deserve security and domestic tranquility. But if fairness is still possible after all the bloodshed and bitterness of the last 65 years, so do the Palestinians. What is the Palestinian kid whose whole life has been spent under Israeli occupation to do? What would you do? Would you join Hamas or some other militant organization if your whole life had been spent surrounded and blockaded by Israel; your travel, your educational and economic options severely restricted? Now Secretary Hillary Clinton is in the region trying to be an honest broker between the parties. We have standing with both sides. We have funded Israelis superbly effective Iron Dome anti-missile system, and provide the nation with more military assistance than we do any other on earth. Palestinians too look to us as the only credible intermediary with sufficient leverage with all the parties to bring all to the negotiating table. At worse, the cycle of violence that started eight days ago when Israel assassinated the Hamas militia chieftain becomes just another violent chapter in a 14-century-old fight. But there is another possibility, however slim. The warring parties can seize the opportunity to move toward the two-state solution; two sovereign nations: Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace. That has been Americas specifically stated foreign policy since President George W. Bush. President Barack Obama has adopted the policy. And Secretary Clinton restated it as our ultimate goal in talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday in Jerusalem. Making Palestine independent wont automatically eradicate terroristic threats to Israel. There will still be those who seek the destruction of the Jewish State. But it would not meaningfully aggravate Israels peril. Perhaps law-abiding Palestinians would treat the militants more as criminals and terrorists than as heroes. Most of the people in Gaza already despise Hamas. The move toward the two-state solution would be the fulfillment of the national dream of an occupied people. It would remove the worlds biggest gripe against Israel. And it is the right thing, the Jewish thing to do. On a Sunday morning talk show last weekend, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina criticized Mitt Romneys post-election gift comments and offered some advice to the Republican Party regarding its lurch to the right on immigration policy and its thumping by Latino voters: When youre in a hole, stop digging. He [Romney] keeps digging. Increasingly, Kobach, like Romney, finds himself isolated within the Republican Party Frank Sharry Added Sen. Graham, The Hispanic community, 71 percent voted for President Obama, and theyre all disappointed in President Obama But they voted for him because hes a lesser of two evils. Self-deportation being pushed by Mitt Romney hurts our chances. Were in a death spiral with Hispanic voters because of rhetoric around immigration. And candidate Romney and the primary dug the hole deeper. So how did Romney come to embrace the radical self-deportation strategy that Sen. Graham referenced? In fact, the main man behind it was Kris Kobach, an immigration advisor to Romney and the lead author of the Republican National Conventions policy platform. Kobach is one of the leading proponents of the ugly idea that if you make life miserable enough for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in America, they will pick up and self-deport. Kobach also is the legal architect of the radical Arizona and Alabama show me your papers laws. Despite being the elected Secretary of State in Kansas, Kobach seems to spend a great deal of his time outside of the state pushing his unpopular and controversial policies. Just recently, for example, he filed a lawsuit against President Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to protect young immigrants who call themselves DREAMers. The DACA program is extremely popular with Latino voters and very popular with all voters a nationwide Election Day poll by Democratic polling firm Lake Research Partners and Republican firm The Tarrance Group found that Latinos support DACA by a massive 77 percent-14 percent margin while the whole electorate supports the policy by a 57 percent-26 percent margin. Mr. Kobach had a bad day several weeks ago, as his radical immigration stances helped to sink Romneys candidacy. Across the country, Latino voters preferred President Obama over Romney by a whopping 75 percent-23 percent margin, according to an election eve poll from impreMedia/Latino Decisions. The same poll also found that Romneys hard-line immigration policy stances such as self-deportation were a major factor in Latino voters vote choice. The poll found that 57 percent of Latino voters said Romneys immigration positions made them less enthusiastic about Romney, versus only 7 percent of Latinos who said it made them more enthusiastic about Romneys candidacy. Even as the election results were rolling in, many pundits were highlighting that Romneys embrace of Kobachs immigration vision was one of Romneys most damaging campaign blunders. On Tuesday, Mr. Kobach had another bad day. DREAMers from across the country traveled to Kansas, calling on Kobach to drop his lawsuit against DREAMers and to stop using his office to launch attacks on immigrants. When asked for a reaction to the DREAMer protesters, Kobach described the groups demands as insane. He also showed his true colors in a comment he made to the Associated Press, saying The audacity of these illegal aliens is amazingIllegal means illegal, and that's a very simple concept to understand and yet they want me to ignore the fact that the law has meaning in Kansas." Increasingly, Kobach, like Romney, finds himself isolated within the Republican Party. GOP elected officials across the country, party strategists, and conservative activists are agreeing with Sen. Graham and are now calling for a new approach to immigration reform one that embraces a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, rather than the nationwide purge championed by Mr. Kobach. Unfortunately, it seems like Kobach has neither gotten the memo nor recognized that voters, both Latino and the vast majority of all Americans, soundly reject his anti-immigrant extremism. Its an important and positive development that many in the Republican Party have made it clear they are ready to jettison the nativist strand of the Party, embodied by Kris Kobach. But they should know that the Kobach vision on immigration will continue to define the Republican Party unless and until the GOP rejects his influence and actively works to pass the type of sensible immigration reform Americans want and deserve. Frank Sharry is the founder and Executive Director of Americas Voice Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino President Obama's meeting with Mexico's president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto seemed a bit like a high school homecoming coronation: two "pretty" people --both with unremarkable records when it comes to Latin America-- putting on a great show. President Obama's intentions seem genuine, but good intentions are not enough. He recently pointed out that there have been times when the United States took this region for granted. He's right. In fact, historically, the record is even worse, with past administrations creating or conspiring with unsavory caudillos at the expense of citizens. Lower crime statistics and a boom in manufacturing is [Pena Nieto's] starting place, but it will quickly turn to his demise if he governs as other PRI leaders have in the past Rick Sanchez President Obama, who rarely mentions Mexico as a partner in his policy speeches, and not once in any of his debates, must change both the vehement rhetoric, as well as U.S. trade policy and regulations when it comes to Mexico. Why? Because even though recent studies show that 65 percent of Americans view Mexico as "a dangerous and unstable country," it is now the world's 13th biggest economy and ranks 11th in buying power, according to the World Trade Organization. And though the drumbeat from the U.S. media is incessantly negative, indicators for 2012 show Mexico is actually on the rise with crime down and trade and manufacturing way up. Who knew, right? Mexico is an enormous opportunity --one that President Obama needs to understand, appreciate, and act on accordingly. It's his bully pulpit moment, and he must not disappoint. As for Pena Nieto, he too has much work to do, first and foremost because of his party affiliation. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) ran Mexico through most of the 20th century, but their governing method can best be described in a single word: corrupt. He's being given a good hand and shouldn't blow it. He will lead a country with a booming manufacturing base. If you use a Blackberry, chances are it was made in Mexico. If you drive a Cadillac, a Ford, Chevy or Toyota, same. Oh, and the flat screen TV where you get your negative, non-fact based stories about Mexico, where it was made? You guessed it... Mexico. More jobs in Mexico means fewer Mexicans crossing the border. The so-called immigration crisis, often apoplectically described as a "wave" by some on the far right is actually now more like a trickle. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, border crossings are down to the lowest levels since the Nixon era. All of this is impressive, but for Pena Nieto it's not about where the country is as much as where it's going. Lower crime statistics and a boom in manufacturing is his starting place, but it will quickly turn to his demise if he governs as other PRI leaders have in the past. He must lead as he campaigned: as a populist. And that means he must tackle both the cartel leaders and the oligarchs who control Mexico's telecoms, media, construction and food industries. He must force competition both in private industry, as well as in the state run energy monopolies that run Mexico's vast oil and gas reserves. The two C's of cronyism and corruption by which the PRI has come to be known should and must be replaced by cooperation and compassion for the people of Mexico, not just the big wigs. This is Pena Nieto's own bully pulpit moment, and he must not disappoint. Both leaders should begin by reworking their Free Trade Agreement. "It must be re-launched and re-founded," says Florida International University professor and author Eduardo Gamarra. "It is the oldest of the FTAs and simply put, it needs to be modernized and brought up to date for the sake of both sides." U.S.-Mexico relations are at a stage that could result in inconceivable promise to the citizens of both nations. It's up to President's Obama and Pena Nieto to make this more than a high school homecoming scene, and to seize the significant opportunity before them. What does it say about the GOPs outreach to the Latino community that the two distinguished members who finally bucked their partys noxious anti-immigration sentiment have only days left in their Senate careers? Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona have represented their border states since Bill Clinton was president. The senior female Republican, Senator Hutchison, assumed office in June 1993. The powerful Minority Whip, Senator Kyl, has served since 1994 and his distinguished Senate tenure was preceded by eight years in the House. Mitt Romney thought he could win 38 percent of Latinos by campaigning with Senator Marco Rubio on Calle Ocho in Miamis Little Havana? Really? Geraldo Rivera Both have been otherwise fine legislators, moderate conservatives influential and fair-minded; but neither has done much since mid-Bush to alleviate the plight of the nations 11 million undocumented immigrants; many of whom reside in or pass through their respective states. Put another way, no two senators could top their familiarity with the issue of the undocumented yet neither has made any history when it comes to the 11 million. Now retiring and immune to any primary competitors from the right, they are pathfinders for the GOPs belated outreach to the 71 percent of Latinos who rejected their presidential candidates self-poisoning rhetoric on immigration. Governor Romney called the DREAM Act a handout; he harshly attacked President Obamas choice of the first Latina Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor who grew up in my Aunt Ana's building in The Bronx, and he enthusiastically endorsed for re-election Rep. Steve King (R-Io), who likened illegal immigration to a slow moving holocaust and a slow moving terrorist attack. And Mitt Romney thought he could win 38 percent of Latinos by campaigning with Senator Marco Rubio on Calle Ocho in Miamis Little Havana? Really? Not a shy man, I have preached since writing HisPanic in 2008 that the Republican Party would destroy itself if it didnt rein in the Tea Party and xenophobic others who spewed the anti-immigrant hatred that permeated cable news. Sure it rated, and yes it reflected the prevailing and no doubt sincere sentiments of many, but it was factually one-sided, corrosive, divisive and it turned off 71 percent of citizen Latinos who decided on November 6th that enough sloppy language, stereotypical portrayals and SB1070s was enough. In 2008, after the first Latino-elected president Barack Obama, I said that if the GOP didnt change and Latinos continued to vote at the same rate there may never be another Republican president. After the 2012 election, Larry Sabato of the University Of Virginia Center for Politics said similarly, Either the Republicans begin to attract more Hispanics and Latinosor they are headed the way of the dodo. So what about the outreach to Latinos, the bill just offered up by retiring senators Hutchison and Kyl? It is not bad. Called the "Achieve Act it allows immigrant children brought here by their parents to get green cards. There is no clear path to citizenship, so it is sort of DREAM Act-lite. Too bad it wasnt proposed earlier in the careers of the esteemed representatives who are calling it a day in Washington and by the party they so loyally represented. On December 1st, Enrique Pena Nieto will be sworn in as President of Mexico, thus assuming command of a country with which the United States has one of the most important yet challenging relationships in the world. What kind of president will he be? The answer to that question is key to determining whether the U.S. and Mexico can together resolve the many problems, and seize the opportunities, facing both countries, including: migration; money, weapons and human smuggling; drug trafficking, kidnapping and other organized crime; terrorism; pollution; water and energy cooperation; commerce, industry, finance; and many others. Failure to address the bilateral issues with Mexico is not an option. For example, 20 million people legally cross the 2,000-mile border each year, the most crossings over one international border. The two countries must facilitate the lawful passages while simultaneously preventing boundary violations by terrorists and criminals. This concern is real: terrorists have been caught on both sides (as well as on the U.S.-Canada border) because it is the easiest form of entry into the U.S. With the rest of the world in such potentially dangerous turmoil, we need a stable, cooperative Mexico, as Mexico needs us to pursue an attentive and intelligent policy beyond our southern border Otto J. Reich and William Perry Moreover, Mexico is the second largest trading partner of the US; one billion dollars of merchandise moves each and every day between the two countries. The prosperity of many U.S. states, not only those along the border, is now tied to the Mexican economy, and vice versa. Decades ago Mexico ceased to fit the caricature of the sleepy peasant under a sombrero resting against a cactus, if it ever did. After nearly 20 years of free trade with the U.S., Mexico is now the 12th biggest global economic power, with a fast-growing and educated middle class that looks to the U.S. for technology, goods, services and inspiration, even if this latter is often left unsaid. In spite of the closeness demonstrated by the shared bonds of geography, economy, ethnicity and modern challenges, relations with Mexico have been some of the most antagonistic in U.S. history, boiling over from diplomatic quarrels to wars or armed incursions. Whereas Americans forget past enmities rather quickly (witness the U.S. reconstruction of Germany, Italy and Japan immediately after defeating them in WWII), Latin cultures retain memories longer, especially those of real or perceived offenses or injuries. Mexicans memorialize the loss of much of their original territory to the expanding United States in the mid-1800s, even to the point of permitting that recollection, a century later, to block offers of cooperation by the U.S. To work in tandem with the Pena Nieto government is a challenge for any American Administration. The Obama team would be well advised to examine the political party that Pena Nieto rode to power, the Revolutionary Institutional Party, or PRI in its Spanish acronym, and its recent history. About one century ago, the winners of the Mexican Revolution established the PRI as their political vehicle; it was decidedly leftist and nationalistic by the standards of that era. The leaders of the Revolution created an essentially one-party state that carried out a far-reaching program of land reform, public education and organization of labor. But the state, through the PRI, controlled the voters far more than they controlled it. PRI Presidents were selected by the heads of the Party, elected with virtually no opposition, and ruled effectively unconstrained by the federal Constitution, the Courts, or the largely rubber-stamp Congress. To keep power in the hands of the PRI and the Revolutionary Family of civil institutions that revolved around it, however, and to preclude long-term dictatorship by a single individual, Presidents were restricted to one, six-year term. As Mexicos population and economy developed over many decades, and PRI governments became less revolutionary and more corrupt, the old system proved increasingly inadequate. Attempting to mend its faltering, largely statist economy during the 1980s, PRI Presidents began making concessions to popular pressures for more genuine democratic rule. Thus, the opposition Partido Accion Nacional (Spanish for National Action Party, or PAN) emerged as a serious electoral contender to the PRI from the right (winning the first non-PRI governorship since the Revolution in 1989) and the Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD) from the left. This process of transition culminated in the landmark presidential election of 2000 with the election of the PANs Vicente Fox (peacefully, and with great credit due to outgoing PRI President Ernesto Zedillo, who resisted the PRIs pressure to intervene dishonorably on behalf of his partys nominee). But the PRI remained divided between its modern, or reformist, wing and the old guard (also known as dinosaur) faction. In the subsequent 2006 presidential contest, the PRI experienced a humiliating third-place finish well behind both the PRDs leftist Manuel Lopez Obrador and the triumphant Felipe Calderon, Mexicos second consecutive President from the PAN. After 12 years in office, with a struggling economy and the tragic consequences of an overdue but bloody and seemingly endless war on drug-traffickers, it was unlikely any PAN candidate could have won in 2012. The PRD, presently fractured by Lopez Obradors erratic conduct since his 2006 defeat, had no chance either. Conversely, the candidate of the PRI, the young, articulate, Enrique Pena Nieto, benefited from a charming personality and a reasonable political platform. Since he was the Governor of a state known for traditional, underhanded, PRI practices, however, the key question remains to what degree his administration will reflect the partys Jurassic political past or, alternatively, what a new PRI may have learned about modern requirements of politics, domestic policy and international relations after twelve years in the wilderness. Some observers fear that the old PRI may respond to the current drug war by cutting back on costly law enforcement efforts in order to produce less violence and improve the international image of a country now known for decapitated bodies hanging from highway bridges. It is said that before the current drug war, associated with the outgoing Calderon Administration, the PRI governments in Mexico City had a tacit understanding with the gangs in exchange for not attacking them: the traffickers could continue their illicit activities as long as they did not purposely kill civilians, only each other, maintained a low profile, and remained within regional geographic boundaries no conspicuous gang violence was allowed. A similar concern could be expressed with respect to efforts of the outgoing Calderon government to cleanse and modernize Mexicos courts, police and prison system. An old-style PRI might lean toward populism, rather than continue to streamline the state bureaucracy and encourage new growth in productive activity by national and foreign investors. It might also be suspected of tending toward authoritarianism on the part of the President, and of corruption both financial and electoral. It could be prone to bombastic expressions of nationalist sentiments (in part to hide its domestic sins) on sensitive and important issues like immigration and energy policy rather than open to prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation with its neighbors most particularly the United States. Fortunately, incoming President Pena Nieto has professed the modern, reformist view on all points. He states that Mexico must win its mortal struggle with the violent drug mafias, perfect the mechanisms of governmental authority and government and proceed with sound (read: free market) economic policies. Moreover, he seems to understand the need for close cooperation with the United States in all these regards, as well as on the aforementioned bilateral issues that confront our two countries. Based on his pronouncements, on his inauguration we should proceed to take President Pena Nieto at his word and congratulate the Mexican people on another peaceful transition, the result of which may prove as important as that of the year 2000. Democracy presupposes periodic exchanges of executive power between or among political parties. The PRI may well emerge as a functional and ethically legitimate center-left alternative to the PAN. This is especially true at a time when, with the rest of the world in such potentially dangerous turmoil, we need a stable, cooperative Mexico, as Mexico needs us to pursue an attentive and intelligent policy beyond our southern border. But only time will tell. As an old sage for whom both authors of this piece worked once remarked in another context: Trust, but verify. Otto J. Reich and William Perry are former officials of the US State Department and National Security Council. They hold advanced degrees in Latin American Studies, and work as consultants to US and foreign corporations in Latin America. Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino One cannot credibly make the case that President Obama is a president incapable of doing big things. After all, he staked his first term on passing a sweeping overhaul of the nations health care system. He got it done, and he won reelection. So its almost baffling that his administration, in light of achieving something so momentous, has been unable to get a Senate-confirmed Customs and Border Protection commissioner in place. Dont get me wrong: getting nominees through the tough confirmation process has never been a slam-dunk. (You might recall Bill Clintons well documented first-term struggles to get an attorney general in place.) But CBP commissioner is a post well under-the-radar for most Americans, rarely sparking much public debate. That doesnt mean, though, that the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee can be easily charmed, as the president found out with his nomination of Alan Bersin back in 2009, which I supported and was an outstanding pick! After the presidents first choice for commissioner saw his recess appointment end without a Senate vote, he couldnt have done better than in the naming of David Aguilar to take over as the acting CBP commissioner. Aguilar has an almost perfect resume for the job. A former national chief of the Border Patrol, he knows the issue of border security better than anyone, but he has never sought to make trade facilitation take a backseat to security. His desire to engage the whole of the trade community, from the manufacturing point of origin to shipping to destination, in shaping a business-friendly customs environment has been just what the doctor ordered during a time when an enforcement-only approach could have been devastating to businesses struggling in a soft economy. But with the president now scoping out his second term, chatter in Washington has turned to who the president will tap to make another attempt at getting through the confirmation process to helm CBP. But its not just President Obama whos mulling a new customs head. New Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will also soon appoint a new head of that countrys chief trade-processing agency, Aduanas. Pena Nieto, fresh off a trip to Washington, D.C. where he visited with President Obama and lawmakers, including South Texas Representatives Henry Cuellar and Ruben Hinojosa, and who visited in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, indicated that border issues and trade enhancement will be priority issues for his administration. If Presidents Obama and Pena Nieto were sharing notes on what their want ad for new customs directors should say, Id recommend that border experience be at the top of the list. Though the David Aguilars of the world dont come along too often, both presidents should seek out individuals who can easily grasp the unique nature of the border regions, their challenges and their opportunities. Both presidents can help advance their countries economic and security interests by stressing to their appointees that failure to engage in constant inter-agency communication with their respective counterparts at CBP, Aduanas and the Canadian Border Services Agency is not an option. Silos wont do anything to promote the collaboration across borders that is so desperately needed to help do away with redundant processes that do little more than slow down the flow of legitimate trade and travel across our shared borders. To that end, the new customs heads should seek ways to encourage increased participation in the alphabet soup of trusted shipper programs like C-TPAT (U.S. CBPs Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism), PIP (Canadas Partners in Protection) and NEEC (Mexicos Nuevo Esquema de Empresas Certificadas, or New Scheme for Certified Companies) to help deliver expedited service to participating companies at the ports of entry. Mutual recognition of each of the NAFTA partners programs will help to boost participation and cut down redundancies, all with an eye toward learning more about companies supply chains to aid inspection agencies ability to know exactly what is coming through the ports, process that trade quickly, and to so while protecting companies proprietary information. The trade community needs the presidents to name border champions, individuals willing to make our borders areas of bold innovation on items like clearing cargo for entry to its country of destination from its country of origin, public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure and boost staffing levels, and shared facilities. A commitment to improved ports of entry results in an immediate return on investment as those cars, trucks and pedestrians waiting in line can more quickly enter into commerce and economic activity. Whoever takes over these important positions will likely face questions over their qualifications to tackle border security challenges, and rightly so. But heres hoping that they also make clear their commitment to grow jobs and increase North American competiveness by working together to make the NAFTA borders both highly secure and highly efficient. Mexico has a new president; over the weekend Enrique Pena Nieto was sworn in. Next January 20th, Barak Hussein Obama will be sworn in for his second and last term as president of the United States. A new era begins for the two neighboring countries, Mexico and the United States. My eyes became wide open when word got out that the one-on-one meeting between President-Elect Pena Nieto and President Obama would only last 15 minutes. This was hardly a great sign of a friendly neighborly meeting. Of course everyone in the communication offices of the two parties scrambled to explain; yet there was an unsettling feeling this was not a great start. If in fact this was just a meet and greet meeting where the two parties would shake hands, take a photo, exchange pleasantries and promise to have a real conversation about the real issues facing the two countries later on, then I hope it was worth for our neighbor to the south the tremendous logistical effort and expense such a trip entailed Negotiating is a tough and arduous task; it is not for the faint of heart, and maybe that is why the President doesnt seem interested in reaching out Rosario Marin, Former U.S. Treasurer If the relationship between Mexico and the United States is to be strengthened, I hope the next meeting happens immediately after President Obama gets sworn-in. And both parties can have serious discussions which lead to meaningful decisions about trade, immigration and border security just to name a few. Juxtapose that with the over-an-hour meeting that took place between President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney just two days after that 15-minute meeting. I understand the president had made a promise to meet with the governor during his election night speech, but seriously, what could the Governor do for the President now? For that matter, what could the Governor do for the country? Dont take me wrong; he is an honorable man and one I was proud to support, but it is going to be a long time before he commands the listening ears of Americans. I am all too familiar with the scheduling challenges of the President, but I do wonder what his priorities are. Why hasnt the President met with Speaker John Boehner, or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Congressman Eric Cantor or even Paul Ryan? Wouldnt it make more sense to meet with the elected representatives and hash out a compromise to prevent going down the fiscal cliff? Negotiating is a tough and arduous task; it is not for the faint of heart, and maybe that is why the President doesnt seem interested in reaching out to them, but that is what a real leader does. It seems to me that it would be far more productive and effective to sit down with them and develop a blueprint for a plan to deal with our most pressing fiscal issues. Mr. President you were reelected, you are the leader of this country and of the free world. Take the lead now; otherwise you will in fact take us all down the cliff. How does the looming fiscal cliff, which threatens to raise taxes on just about everyone and reduce essential services, impact Latinas? Given that Latinas have barely been mentioned in the media firestorm about the looming budget crisis, its not surprising many of us arent thinking of this as one of our issues. But the stakes for Latinas and their families are disproportionately enormous. Congressional Republicans oppose higher taxes on our wealthiest and instead seek to lower the deficit by eliminating the kinds of services that are critical to Latino families Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas Many Latinas already face a fiscal cliff, living month to month with no safety net. This includes families across the income spectrum, from poor to middle class families, who are just one mishap away from financial collapse, whether it be a job layoff or a sick child or the mundane roadblocks like a pricey car repair that means some months the ends just dont meet. In fact, studies show that Latino families that self-define as middle class in reality have fewer financial resources than white families who consider themselves middle class. It is families like these, those at most risk of economic collapse, that will be most impacted by a fiscal cliff that raises taxes and eliminates essential services. It will be families like those of Paula, a volunteer with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in South Texas. Paula is a busy mother who supports her four children, ages 2 to 18, including a son in college. Right, now Paula is the sole breadwinner for her family as her partner pursues a degree in math education. After losing her full-time job of four years, she now works two part-time jobs to take care of her family, juggling her own college schedule, too. Families like hers cant afford even small tax increases or to lose access to important services. Even a small push could send Paulas family, and many more like it, over the cliff. Lets be clear: Politicians built this fiscal cliff over a decade of partisan gridlock, and, having constructed this crisis, they are now debating whether and how to push us off the edge. If politicians dont make any changes in the coming weeks, everyone will end up paying more in taxes but it will be the middle class and the poor that will fall most deeply into despair as the take home in our paychecks plummets and Congress slashes social services for the most needy. But politicians have the power to disassemble the hardship cliff they built. If Congress takes action and President Obamas plan prevails, those with an income less than $250,000 a year will not be impacted in their paychecks, and many vital social services will remain intact. The fiscal cliff cuts will hit those who can least afford it the hardest. More Latino children already live in poverty compared to children of any other racial or ethnic group, yet their parents will bring home less pay for the same work when taxes rise. Low and middle-income families will see the child tax credit plummet from $1,000 per child to $500 per child. And those who remain unemployed will lose their long-term unemployment benefits, which is certain to push even more families further into poverty. Overall income status has deteriorated for Latinos over the past decade, and we are more likely to fall into the lower class --and less likely to rise into the upper class-- than either whites or blacks, according to the Pew Research Center. Make no mistake: Latino families are in the bull's eye of this budget battle. Its unconscionable that our leaders are focused on partisan bickering while families are threatened with economic hardship. The impact of demanding more taxes in exchange for fewer services will be significant for years to come. For example, in the wake of new reports showing record numbers of Latino youth attending and graduating from college, the tax credit for low- and middle-income parents who are paying college tuition will be slashed. That means fewer kids in need will get a college education. And essential programs will be reduced or eliminated. From HIV prevention to education, every investment in our communities is at risk. As it stands today, the White House and Congressional Democrats favor a plan that reduces the national deficit by combining higher taxes on Americas top 2 percent and some spending cuts, which will need to be closely monitored. But the plan preserves key tax credits for those most at need. Congressional Republicans oppose higher taxes on our wealthiest and instead seek to lower the deficit by eliminating the kinds of services that are critical to Latino families. For Latinas, who already face a disproportionate number of barriers to accessing quality health care, including reproductive care, the Republican plan is nothing but bad news. The same lawmakers that have spent a good deal of energy trying to slash access to reproductive health care services and safety net programs for the poor will be deciding how to slash spending on essential services. Latinas are the backbones of their families and communities, often caring for many loved ones beyond their immediate families. Being pushed off the fiscal cliff will cause serious harm to Latinas. Latinos have the highest poverty rate of any demographic group more than half of us live close to or below the poverty line, and imposing higher taxes could push many of us across it and into poverty. As the leader of a national reproductive health care organization, I know that far too often poverty and negative health outcomes, like higher rates of unintended pregnancy and inability to access life-saving cancer screenings, are inextricably linked. Pushing more Latinas into poverty means pushing more Latinas away from quality health care, including crucial reproductive care. President Obamas detailed plan will prevent tax increases for Latinas who cant afford them, while preserving important programs and reduce the deficit without placing additional burdens on Latinas. The bill to enact his plan has been passed by the Senate. Ill be contacting my representative in Congress to urge them to pass the bill as well, so it can become law. Ill be telling my representative, No tire a las Latinas! I hope youll join me in ensuring our community remains grounded and a sensible tax plan is passed, so all of our families can thrive. In 2011, a judge in Ecuador condemned ChevronTexaco to pay a staggering $18.2 billion in environmental damages to a group of Ecuadorian citizens. That ruling, though fraudulent to its core, is now seeping across international borders and making waves in places like Canada, and most recently, Argentina. As a result, the Republic of Ecuador is fast on its way to becoming known as a country where the judicial system can be used as an extortion tool against international corporations. The decades-long case that culminated in the fraudulent ruling has been hailed by some as a victory of the little people against big oil: Texaco (which was later bought by Chevron) was accused by local citizens, organized by trial lawyers, of causing environmental harm during its oil production operations in a portion of the Ecuadorian Amazon. As evidence, the Ecuadorian judge relied on a highly incriminating report that became the basis of his ruling. Even a cursory analysis of this litigation shows it to be a significant case of corruption perpetrated by U.S. based trial lawyers and involving judges, pseudo experts, mercenary consultants, members of the Rafael Correa government (including Correa himself), and venal Ecuadorian and U.S. lawyers, all trying to raid the companys pockets. In their latest attempt to get rich at ChevronTexacos expense the plaintiffs succeeded in freezing Chevrons assets in Argentina in what is a clear demonstration of the strong political undercurrents of this case. While the plaintiffs and their trial lawyers led by Steve Donziger continue to base their case on fraudulent claims and argue that the company must pay, the facts demonstrate a mega extortion scandal against ChevronTexaco. When Texaco left the country in 1992, the Ecuadorian government gave the company a full release, recognizing that the company had fulfilled all its environmental obligations in a satisfactory manner. For the past 20 years, state-owned oil company Petro Ecuador has operated in the region, leaving in its wake one of the worst environmental records in Latin America. It, not ChevronTexaco, is the obvious responsible party for whatever environmental damages took places during this period. Still, the action is solely directed against the international corporation having plenty of money. Moreover, the report the judge relied on in Ecuador, was produced by an independent expert named Richard Stalin Cabrera. But not only was Cabrera not qualified to produce the report, the end result was full of errors and misstatements. Later, it was found out that a group of advisers not Cabrera were paid by the plaintiffs legal team to draft a report in their favor. Video footage from the documentary Crude, reveal candid meetings discussing how the plaintiffs would write the report for Cabrera to sign. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa also intervened publicly many times during the trial to side with the plaintiffs. Correa singled out ChevronTexaco on national TV several times, even referring to their lawyers as vende patria (sold to foreign interests), who for a fistful of dollars are capable of selling their souls, their country. Just this week, the media has reported that President Correa has raised the issue with Argentine President Fernandez, as courts there look at the issue The fraud in this case is clear in outtakes ChevronTexaco was able to obtain from Crude, which was financed and coordinated by the plaintiffs. The videos show Donziger dismissing the Ecuadorean court system as corrupt and joking about assassinating an Ecuadorean judge or at least making him fear he will be assassinated. He also says that Ecuadorean judges make decisions on what they fear the most, not based on what the laws dictate, suggesting the need to intimidate them with marches and protests. At another points in the video, Donziger talks about needing to create your own facts. Outtakes from Crude also show members of Donzigers legal team conspiring to form a private army to be used to control the court, to pressure the court. At one point, a member of Donzigers team can be seen asking if the footage could later be subpoenaed, saying I just want you to know thatits illegal to conspire to break the law. The evidence of fraud led a prominent legal firm from Philadelphia - Kohn, Swift & Graf - to withdraw from the case (reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, December 23, 2010) after financing the plaintiffs and contributing to the production of the documentary. The Inquirer adds that Kohn severed relations with Donziger and the case, when charges of ethical improprieties [by the plaintiffs] began to emerge. In spite of the mounting evidence of high-level corruption and the fact that seven U.S. federal courts have already made fraud findings related to the plaintiffs, they continue efforts to collect the $18.2 billion judgment. And now, they have set their sights on seizing ChevronTexaco's assets in other Latin American countries. Some leftist regimes in Latin America (such as Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela and Bolivia) have labeled international business, particularly private oil companies, as enemies, making these countries prime targets for such fraudulent lawsuits against foreign companies. Their message to the international business community is loud and clear: No need to invest here. But in the end, its not the governments or the businesses that lose out; its the people in Latin America who are shut out of free enterprise and the rule of law, a chance for a better quality of life and the security that comes with the rule of law. Market volatility, a plummet in disposable income and considerable job losses are some of the consequences that threaten to beset the American public, we are told, if Congress fails to stave off the fiscal calamity set to detonate on January 2, 2013. The posturing by elected leadership on both sides of the political divide seems intractable and it appears there will be no avoiding it. But dont worry, that is highly unlikely to happen. After all, given the colossal size of our government, what is a trillion here and a trillion there? Not surprisingly, proposals introduced by both sides thus far range from very disappointing to slightly less disappointing. If Republicans are serious about the being the party of fiscal responsibility, its time to make a stand and put your money where your mouth is Daniel Garza Thats because both sides have offered up inadequate plans proposing only nominal reductions in the projected increases to governments rate of growth - the presidents proposal being by far the more laughable of the two opening round proposals. While Obama has clearly signaled hes comfortable foregoing any pretenses he is actually interested in fulfilling any promises to reduce spending, the Republicans have been increasingly gesturing they may give up altogether on the fight to hold the line on increasing tax rates. In either case, by refusing to recognize that the real fiscal cliff is our sky-high national debt and the pending entitlement crisis, the real losers are future generations of Americans who will be forced to endure a fiscal reckoning in just a few short years. Its not about bad guys versus good guys, mind you, its much more tragic than that. Its about an absence of bold leadership. Sadly, the negotiations under way have despairingly become yet another contrivance to distract the American electorate with heated rhetoric and high-minded sloganeering meant to show the members of one party care more for the middle class than those of the other party. The thing is, even though both sides may feel equally convicted to do what is right on behalf of the American taxpayer, neither is fully acting without political self-interest here. Both sides know entitlement programs and tax law need massive reform to assure sustainability, but have failed once and again to advance specific legislation detailing exactly what those reforms should be. Thats because both sides, ultimately, are reminded incessantly by interest groups and high paid consultants to say yes to more and more spending if they desire re-election. Millions of individual Americans demanding government cure every social ill under the sun have been just as complicit. It is, regrettably, the obscene norm of our electoral system. In their zeal to appease the varied interests groups responsible for financing their successful election victories, both sides have yet to propose real reforms, real spending cuts and real solutions that will put us back on track towards fiscal and entitlement sustainability. In his interview with Bloomberg TV, President Barack Obama said, We're going to have to see the rates on the top two percent go up and we're not going to be able to get a deal without it." While Speaker of the House John Boehner, indicated that we have got to cut spending, and that it is appropriate to put revenues on the table. Both President Obama and House Speaker Boehner have put forward economic packages that are considered starting points in negotiations, but does anyone remember past discussions of four dollars in spending cuts to every dollar in tax revenues? Well, the president's stated proposal calls for $1.6 trillion in new tax revenue and a measly $600 billion in spending cuts to the growth of government. That is a dollar in spending cuts and four dollars in tax revenues. If you listen, both sides are presuming fiscal responsibility, but they are still only talking about reducing the rate of government spending. Its not nearly enough, and its irresponsible. Real leadership requires one to accept responsibility and make the tough decisions, but neither side is tackling the root cause of whats been driving our economy to the brink: runaway government spending, and the unsustainability of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The reality is that each one of these programs is going bankrupt if we do nothing. We already know this Administration will not do it, but the refusal of Congress to propose real cuts in spending and make current tax rates permanent has been generating troublesome uncertainty in the markets and in the investment community for some time now. I predict continued stalling will also begin to dramatically impact hiring and entrepreneurial decisions, and credit agencies to weigh in with real threats of further downgrading. Thats because real sustainable jobs come from Americans who have ideas and are willing to risk capital and work hard in order to bring those ideas to market. The problem with raising taxes on the rich is that half of them are small business owners. The best thing we can do to encourage these entrepreneurs is to lower taxes, reduce regulations and stop creating uncertainty in the free market system. History has shown that governments who make real cuts in spending achieve a quicker economic recovery, but every indication thus far points to the inevitability of Americans facing increases in tax revenues and a continuation of failed big government policies that have only served to increase the national debt by 50 percent since Obama took office in 2009. The awful truth is this culture of spending in Washington has rendered us no longer able to pay our bills, balance spending with current revenues, or service our existing debt without borrowing and printing more and more money. The unavoidable effect of this has been an increasingly perilous devaluation of our money - the consequences of which we will not be able to undo for a long time to come. Americans will then know what scarcity truly feels like. Until the president and Congress solve the fiscal problems of this country by reining in runaway spending, seriously address the massive debt we have incurred, and the Federal Reserve turns off the printing machines, we are all acting dishonestly and self-indulgent by continuing to steal from future generations. The worst is yet to come. Even if both sides settle on negotiations to avoid this fiscal cliff prior to deadline there is another path that we must address that will eventually put us over the edge; a debt that has grown 82 percent in comparison to a feeble economy that has only grown by 16 percent. The numbers dont lie. Consider $20.5 trillion in Social Security and $42.8 trillion in Medicare liabilities and you begin to realize the fiscal cliff is just the beginning of our problems. When will enough be enough? Mexican Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata is famous for having said, I would rather die standing than live on my knees. Similarly, I suggest if Republicans are serious about the being the party of fiscal responsibility, its time to make a stand and put your money where your mouth is. If they are convinced they will lose the battle against a tax and spend president, then why not lose big and at least offer up bold reforms and real cuts in government budget instead of bowing out? After all, lest you forget, Americans elected you to lead in Congress precisely because of your promise to take a stand against fiscal wastefulness. With the announcement that he must undergo a further round of urgent cancer surgery in Cuba, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has once again forced many of his supporters to begin a conversation many would rather avoid: what will a post-Chavez Venezuela look like? But while Chavez has played a predominant role in Venezuelan politics for more than 14 years, answering this question requires us to look to Venezuela before Chavez. Those historically at the bottom of Venezuelan society are more organized, more conscious, and more rebellious than ever before George Ciccariello-Maher Long before Chavez was elected, the movements that would eventually bring him to power were struggling, as they had for decades, against an exclusionary two-party system that became more violent and corrupt as time wore on. When Carlos Andres Perez ran a bait-and-switch electoral campaign in 1988, promising to resist the IMF austerity measures known as the Washington Consensus only to immediately implement these in early 1989, a breaking point was reached. Venezuelans rebelled, rioted, looted, and burned for nearly a week. It was this rebellion, known as the Caracazo, that prompted Chavez to attempt a coup on Feb. 4 of 1992 with the support of the same popular movements, and it was this coup that eventually led to his election in 1998. Since his election, Venezuela has been fundamentally transformed. Poverty has been cut in half and extreme poverty by three-quarters, education and health care once reserved for the wealthy are now freely available to all Venezuelans. More important than these considerable improvements in social welfare, however, are the political transformations that have taken place in Venezuelan society. When Chavez was elected, the infamous two-party system disintegrated, and Venezuela has slowly but surely become a more democratic place. According to the Latinobarometro poll, Venezuelans have more faith in democracy than any other country in Latin America: no small feat in a place where democracy was at one time equivalent to corruption. With institutions like the communal councils, moreover, local institutions of directly democratic decision-making, Venezuela is attempting to combat the endemic corruption of a petro-state by decentralizing and rethinking power from below. What does this all mean for Venezuela after Chavez? Given recent history, in which sudden and unforeseeable ruptures have radically transformed what is possible, it would be a fools errand to make firm predictions. By naming former foreign minister and current vice president Nicolas Maduro as his eventual successor, Chavez has made it clear that he values above all the stability of the Venezuelan revolutionary process. Maduro, a former union leader and bus driver, is known above all for his loyalty and moderation. But as a successor to Chavez, Maduro raises as many questions as he provides answers: will he break toward more conservative elements of the Chavista movement (headed by Diosdado Cabello and his supporters in the military), or will he move left, for example by naming Elias Jaua (known for his radical past and relationship with social movements) as his vice president? By simply naming a successor, however, Chavez has not guaranteed the continuity of the revolution. While Chavez won re-election in October handily (by 11 percent), his margin of victory has decreased over the years, and it remains to be seen whether the notably uncharismatic Maduro will be able to galvanize the Venezuelan masses that have been the bedrock of Chavezs support base. If the anti-Chavez opposition, which is currently clamoring for an immediate election within 30 days, manages to win at the polls, what comes next is anyones guess, up to and including the possibility of a civil war. But Chavezs disappearance from Venezuelan politics will not remove the reason that put him there in the first place. Those historically at the bottom of Venezuelan society are more organized, more conscious, and more rebellious than ever before, and any attempt to return to the past, to enforce neoliberal reforms and austerity measures, will be vigorously resisted. Ann Coulter is either dopey or a Democrat masquerading as a conservative to kill the Republican Party. I dont care that she is a relentless self-promoter or a provocateur or even a cottage industry churning controversy because it takes one to know one; and Ive known/loved/hated/booked/boycotted her on and off since first putting her on television fifteen years ago. But what she has done with her recent wildly inaccurate, insulting and inflammatory column about Hispanic immigrants in America is ensure that if her position is widely attributed to or reflects significantly GOP misperceptions about Latinos, there will never be another Republican president. Before I get to her America Nears El Tipping Pointo column that generated more Latino American ire and ink than the antics of Chavez, Castro, JLo or Alex Rodriquez, let me give you some numeros, beginning with the wake-up call, Obama 71 percent; Romney 28 percent. Twelve point five million self-described Latinos voted in the 2012 elections. The polling organization Latino Decisions estimated that the group gave Obama a net gain of 5.4 percent of all popular votes. Since Obama won the overall popular vote by about 2.8 percent, Latino voters were decisive. "For the first time in history, the share of the national popular vote margin is smaller than the Latino vote margin," said New Jersey Democrat Senator Bob Menendez confirming that Barack Obama is the first Latino-elected president. Flash forward 20 years and assume that the still expanding Latino population votes at the same rate as black and white Americans do today. According to the highly regarded Pew Hispanic survey, that would mean twice as many Latino voters could be casting ballots in 2032 as did in 2012. Thus 25 million Latinos will be voting in 2032; 25 million times Obamas 71 percent equals 17.75 million for the future Democrat (Chelsea Clinton or Malia Obama?); 25 million times Romneys 28 percent equals 7 million for the future Republican (Craig Romney or George P. Bush?) 17.5 million votes minus 7 million votes equals a net Latino vote margin for the 2032 Democratic candidate of 10,750,000; an insurmountable margin. My argument has been that the GOP must change its noxious and insulting rhetoric toward undocumented immigrants and by extension the larger Latino community if it hopes to survive in the Brave New American Demographics of the 21st Century. Conversely, Anns mocking El Tipping Pointo column essentially argues, "why bother trying to moderate tone and policy since Hispanics will always be Democrats anyway?" And insofar as the majority American impression of Latino immigrants as hard-working folk with family values, the bold blonde states baldly, Maybe at first, but not after coming here, having illegitimate children and going on welfare. Wednesday, one of the GOPs most significant Latino outreach groups, Cafe Con Leche Republicans, demanded an apology. "Hatred of minorities and immigrants is not a conservative value," their letter stated. "If Abe Lincoln or Ronald Reagan could read your latest column, they would turn over in their graves. You obviously know nothing about the Latino vote, and your repeated and shrill rhetoric against Latinos are a major reason that so many conservative Latinos hold their nose and vote Democrat." Latino voters are not automatic Democrats. Former Texas governor and 43rd president of the United States George W. Bush won over 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004 compared to Romneys 28 percent. Assuming he adopts his uncles enlightened attitude on cross-border life, Spanish-speaking George P. Bush, whose mom is Latina, could do even better in 2032. Similarly, Anns slander about going on welfare is belied by the facts. As a Wall Street Journal editorial said after the 2012 vote, Illegal aliens arent eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other federal entitlements. But even those low-income immigrants who are eligible for public assistance sign up at lower rates than their native counterparts. The Journal editorial added, Over the past decade, the states experiencing the fastest immigrant population growth have not been traditional gateways like New York and California. Latino newcomers have been flocking to Arkansas, Tennessee, Utah, Alabama, Mississippi, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and the Carolinasstates that are among the stingiest for public benefits. And as the GOP devours the chances of its young prospective candidates, the Journal says, One irony is that Republicans obsessed with illegal immigration havent noticed that the problem is going away, thanks in part to a more secure border but mostly due to slower economic growth. The worse part about Anns glib insults is how she dishonors the struggles and sacrifices of people who risked everything to come here to work in kitchens, fields, sweat shops, poultry processing or meat packing jobs that citizens have shunned for decades. There are slices of America where scarcely a baby is cared for, a dish washed or a lawn mowed but by a hard-working, religious and otherwise law-abiding undocumented Latino immigrant striver. I understand saying things for effect, but not slander. It happened again. As the horrible elementary school shooting story out of Newtown, Connecticut unfolded on Friday, journalists raced to be the first in providing details. They inundated every platform (television, radio, digital) with wave after wave of information. The problem is that it was misinformation. News organizations first reported the alleged shooter as 24 year old Ryan Lanza.wrong. Police say it was younger brother Adam. Howard Kurtz, the Daily Beast and Newsweeks Washington bureau chief writes, While fragmentary reports after a mass shooting are often marked by errors, it is difficult to imagine a worse blunder than identifying the wrong man as the killer." Journalists said Lanza shot his mother at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.wrong. Investigators say she was shot and killed at her home. Early reports stated that Lanza had killed his father in Hoboken, NJ.wrong. The elder Lanza is alive and does not live in New Jersey. Those are just a few of the examples of the poor journalism displayed moments, minutes and hours after the incident. The glaring errors are the outcome of an impatient media culture that too often steps on the gas when it should put on the brakes. The mistakes were done by the same journalists who often criticize bloggers and other citizen journalists of spewing erroneous information. Traditional media often cites their proper training, editorial filters and experience in preventing blunders from happening. Well, they surely were not on display on Friday. This is not the first time (and certainly not the last) that media organizations are inaccurate in their reporting. In the Aurora movie theater shooting this summer, ABC News' Brian Ross suggested that the suspect might be affiliated with the Colorado Tea Party. That was a mistake that Ben Sherwood, president of ABC News, later said he hoped his news organization would learn from. In the 2011 shooting of then congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford near Tucson, Arizona there were conflicting reports about whether or not she was alive. National Public Radio (NPR) was among the first to report that Gifford had died. It was a mistake that took an emotional toll on Giffords family members. As I heard the rapid information on the radio and saw it on television - I heard the voice of one of my first mentors: First be right, then be first. I was 25 years old when he explained to me that the product of any news organization is content. He taught me that journalists must jealously guard their brands credibility and integrity because once you lose the communitys trustits nearly impossible to get it back. Almost 20 years later, as I have my whole career I heard that voice when earlier this month, information on Twitter revealed there was a shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility. I was in the control room overseeing the morning edition of SportsCenter. As in all breaking news stories, information was coming in fast. It was difficult to decipher all of it. To the credit of all of my ESPN colleagues, we exercised restraint. While we had access to images and reports about the crime we did not present it to our audience until we felt sure that the information was accurate. I could read and hear (from other news organizations) that the alleged gunman was linebacker Jovan Belcher, but did not go with that information on the air because our news editors couldnt confirm it. Pete Dougherty of Sports Media recognized ESPNs show of restraint, ESPNews reported the story when it broke and continued to update viewers, but did not identify the player as linebacker Jovan Belcher even though numerous Internet reports did until police released the name." Journalists eager to be the first to report the elementary school shooting in Newtown Connecticut failed in not only sharing correct information, but also remembering that it is the responsibility of journalists to provide clarity and comfort in such chaotic, frightening moments. As vice president of news at the Telemundo television station serving the New York City metropolitan area, I would often engage my team in conversations about ensuring our reporting was always fair and accurate. I would tell them to keep to these three practices: - Be sincere with the audience about what you know and dont know. They understand that it is a breaking news situation and that you dont have all of the information at your command. - Be patient and wait. Dont report information that you cannot confirm with several other sources. Never report what others report, only what you can. - Be accountable for what you report. Mistakes will happen because of the nature of breaking news stories...just make sure to own up to it and correct the information. It is my sincere hope that in the aftermath of this latest terrible crime, news managers across the country are having similar conversations with their teams. Our job is to inform, empower, defend and protect the community we serve.not to add more panic and confusion. Senate Republican's Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona both retiring in January along with Senator John McCain of Arizona recently unveiled their version of a pathway to legalization for undocumented youth, a watered-down version of the DREAM Act. They refer to it as the ACHIEVE Act. The ACHIEVE Act notably lacks a path to citizenship and contains in no way a permanent solution to our current broken immigration system. The GOP legislation is in fact similar to what President Obama administratively addressed earlier this year as a stop-gap measure deterring deportation of DREAM Act-eligible youths, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). President Obama has insisted DACA was in no way a solution to our broken system, but a humane and rational step in the right direction. The ACHIEVE Act does nothing new to lift the shadows of deportation and alleviate the fears that keep members of our immigrant community relegated to a less-than-equal, permanent second-class, membership of society. Senator Kyl's assertion that current paths available would remain unchanged is a disastrous suggestion to our DREAM-eligible youths like us who identify as LGBTQ. Not only are we relegated to a shadow underground society, but lack any opportunity to adjust our status through marriage to the loved ones we have committed ourselves to. Due to the Defense of Marriage, federal benefits are not extended to same-sex couples, forbidding any immigration benefits to our LGBT immigrant community. Our own Florida senator, Marco Rubio, has recently insisted that the best path toward fixing our broken immigration system is through piece-meal measures. However, we all know Senator Rubio would push for the ACHIEVE Act, not the DREAM Act. His aspiration to pursue a so-called humane solution is nothing but a perpetual limbo status for a generation of young people in this country. Even worse, it would keep LGBT DREAMers like us from ever becoming U.S. citizens simply because of our sexual orientation. Skeptics have said that Republicans only evolved on immigration because Romney captured just 27 percent of the Latino electorate in 2012, which is significantly lower than Senator McCain in 2008 and President Bush in 2004. However, Latino voters have greater aspirations for a more equal United States. Our community values families and our desire to keep familial bonds intact explains why 59 percent of Latino voters supported marriage equality in 2012. Organizations such as the National Council of La Raza and the League of Latin American Citizens have endorsed same-sex marriage; and United We DREAM, the largest undocumented youth network in the country, endorsed the full inclusion of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters into our society. As Floridians directly affected by this issue we expect Senator Marco Rubio to lead by finding a permanent solution for DREAMers and our families. The ACHIEVE Act should not be the baseline for this new round of immigration reform conversations. It does not extend more rights to DREAM Act eligible youth who have benefited from DACA and it discriminates against LGBTQ youth who cannot be sponsored for immigration purposes by their spouses. The exclusion of our LGBTQ people is inhumane but also a strategic mistake for the Republican Party. The Latino community will not be duped by half-fast measures that dont address the system of unfair immigration laws and any attempt to exclude our LGBTQ people. Its a beautiful thing, hand-carved out of tiger-eye maple that I painstakingly finished over several weeks and polished to a high gloss. The brass is like old gold. The barrel, browned and aged by hand, is the color of chestnuts. It feels right in my hand, and I suppose thats only natural since I made it myself, fashioning it out of pieces I inherited from my father when he died. Its one of three guns I own, all of them hunting weapons, all of them used and used often for that purpose. But this one is special to me. Maybe thats because, in some ways, it is a tangible link to my father, to my past, to my traditions. There are comparatively few hunters, I believe, who feel the need to stalk deer using high-powered assault-style weapons Seamus McGraw All the same, I would gladly break it apart, burn the stock and melt the barrel if I thought for a moment that doing so would prevent one more atrocity like the savage, insane slaughter of innocents that took place last Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Yes, Im a gun owner and an avid hunter. Im also a father of four children, the youngest of whom is just a year older than many of the babies massacred in their first-grade classrooms. And maybe its because I am all three of those things, a gun owner, a hunter and a father, that this massacre hit me so hard. Im 54 years old. Ive lived through a number of national calamities, but never before not during Sandy or Katrina or 9/11 or the assassinations that rocked this nation through my childhood in the 1960s, have I been brought to tears by any of them. Until now. Never has one hurt, angered or motivated me as much. Maybe its because I am who I am that I feel a special obligation to speak out now, at last, to demand that this country finally adopt reasonable and effective gun control laws, that we restore the assault weapons ban and that we bring an end to these atrocities. In fact, in a nation where such violence has become all too common, it may be that only people like me can make a difference. It may be that it is up to us, people who use and respect weapons, to build momentum for the kind of changes that we need to make to, if not prevent another Sandy Hook or Columbine, another mass slaying in a movie theater or mall, at least make them a bit less likely. It may be that the time has come for people like me to stand up and say that the National Rifle Association, the powerful lobbying arm of the gun manufacturers, does not represent me. Of course neither does New York City Mayor and noted gun control advocate Michael Bloomberg. I agree with Mayor Bloomberg that there has been a tragic abdication of leadership on the part of our elected officials, from the lower reaches of our state governments to the White House, up to and including our current president, who only now seems to recognize just how much we lost when we allowed the assault weapons ban to lapse eight years and thousands of innocent lives ago. But I also realize that in a nation that has been so thoroughly fractured by special interests, where rural Americans like me have been pitted against urban and suburban Americans in a fake culture war, that all the good intentions of the mayor of New York City or a progressive U.S. senator from California will not be anywhere near enough to move the needle toward responsible gun legislation. As much as I respect Mayor Bloomberg, having as point man in this debate a guy who has also launched a life-and-death struggle over 32-ounce Slurpees is unlikely to win many hearts and minds in the heartland. No, if this nation is going to do whats necessary, its going to require responsible gun owners to stand up and say enough. The truth is, there are comparatively few hunters, I believe, who feel the need to stalk deer using high-powered assault-style weapons, and most, if you asked them, would tell you that if you need a 30-round clip to bring down a 160-pound buck, you shouldnt be hunting in the first place. Now, it is certainly true, as the president said in his moving speech at Sunday nights vigil in Newtown, that the issue of gun violence is complex, that no single law or package of laws is going to eradicate it. It is an issue that is fraught politically, sociologically and even psychologically. We are a culture that has become inured to violence, and one that has become accustomed to ignoring serious challenges. The truth is, many responsible gun owners in this country recognize that fact. We realize, in the Newtown case for example, that reasonable laws, while not a panacea, would have made a difference. There is nothing in any of the reporting thus far in this case that suggests, for example that Nancy Lanza was anything other than a perfectly law-biding citizen. And there is therefore no reason to believe that had the .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle and the extended magazines she owned still been covered under the assault weapons ban, she would have obtained them, or kept them where Adam Lanza could get them. Furthermore, there is nothing in any of the reporting to date that suggests that Adam Lanza, as disturbed as he apparently was, would have obtained them otherwise. I could make a similar argument in several of the other high-profile shootings recently. I won't. Instead, I'll just say that in this one singular case, a reasonable assault weapons ban, like the one we used to have, would likely have spared most if not all 26 of those lives, that most of those 20 babies would still be alive for Christmas. As a gun owner and an avid hunter, even one of those lives would be enough for me to forgo my supposedly inalienable right to own an assault rifle and an extended magazine. The term fiscal cliff has been used often in the past several weeks to describe the predicted hit that the economy will take if a budget deal isnt reached by January 2, 2013, which is when tax cuts expire and deep spending cuts go into effect. Economists agree that going off the fiscal cliff will more than likely result in a double dip recession, a hike in unemployment, and the halting of any economic progress made in the last couple of years. But what does this all mean to the average American? What does it mean to working-class Latino families who are simply trying to make ends meet? Recently, Fernando, a staff member from CASA de Maryland, an NCLR Affiliate organization, had a unique opportunity to discuss the issue at a small luncheon with Vice President Joe Biden. He told the Vice President his concern over how the fiscal cliff will affect his middle-class family. Fernandos wife was recently laid off and the family is struggling on his income alone to support their sons, one of whom is in college and one of whom is about to graduate from high school. Fernando did his own calculations and estimated that his taxes would go up by $210 per month, or nearly $3,000 per year. Not only would this tax hike put an additional strain on the familys already tight finances, it would also put the brakes on Fernandos eldest sons dreams. This young man, who is set to graduate this spring with a bachelors degree in biology, is postponing his goal of pursuing an advanced degree because he is unsure of his economic prospects if the economy takes a nosedive. For a family already in a precarious financial position, the fiscal cliff is truly worrisome. Our economic recovery is fragile. Raising taxes on working and middle-class families is the wrong approach. Fernando and his son arent alone there are millions of Americans who will take a major financial hit or put their dreams on hold if the senators and representatives we elected this past November fail to reach a deal. On average, Americans will have to pay $2,000 more in taxes. Two weeks ago, NCLR hosted a national call with leaders from our Affiliate Network. More than 700 individuals signed up to participate. Following the call, they texted their stories and shared what falling off the fiscal cliff would mean to them. You can read more of their stories here. Hispanic voters sent President Obama back to the White House with a clear message: build a stronger economy where hard work is rewarded, families have a chance to join the middle class, and the sick and hungry are cared for. The fiscal cliff presents an opportunity for the President and Congress to show their commitment to the voters who elected them. They should work to raise revenue from those who can afford it and protect safety net benefits for our nations most vulnerable. I cut my teeth as a cop beat reporter in the 1980's during the heyday of the "Cocaine Cowboys," an era of both infamous and unspeakable crime and violence in Miami. I've covered killings some that occurred for money and some for vengeance. I've seen families tortured and children slain. Some cops I knew never came home. In 30 years of covering news, I've seen lots of gore, but never anything quite like what happened Friday night in Connecticut. The country is tired of senseless tragedies. They want action. There's an urgency and momentum. Rick Sanchez In Spanish, we have a way of describing the worst crimes such as Friday night's massacre of 20 first graders, six teachers and a mother. The saying is "solamente para ver la sangre correr." The words convey the senselessness of this crime in a way that English cannot. It means killing "just for the sake of watching the blood flow." This is the type of crime that incenses us, but it's the "why" that most confounds us. And as reporters, whether experienced, or even hardened and callous, we too feel the sadness, the anger, the outrage and the frustration. We are frustrated by the weapon, a semi-automatic rifle with 30 rounds in the magazine, frustrated by the laws that allow it be readily purchased and frustrated by a school that, even with security measures, seems only too easy to break into. Most frustrating of all though are the new details about the killer's mental condition. Adam Lanza suffered from a severe personality disorder which, according to his own mother, "was getting worse." Friends say Lanza was becoming, "impossible to control." In fact, more than one family friend is quoted as saying it was so bad, he was incapable of feeling pain. One anonymous source familiar with the situation told the N.Y. Daily News that Adam's mother Nancy was getting more and more worried about her son. He said, Nancy told me he was burning himself with a lighter. In the ankles or arms or something. It was like he was trying to feel something. There are also reports that Nancy Lanza warned her son's babysitter to "never turn you back on him." What does that tell us? What should it tell us? More importantly, what should it have told her? To be sure, the vast majority of persons with personality disorders are not murderers. And the same can be said, of course, for those diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, which is allegedly what afflicted Adam Lanza. But experts warn parents about the potential link between Asperger's and violence. The number one ranked website for parents who's children have Asperger's is called MyAspergersChild.com. Here is how they answer a mother's question regarding anger and violent behavior: "Kids (and adults) with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism are prone to frustration, anger and sometimes violence. The rapidity and intensity of anger, often in response to a relatively trivial event, can be extreme. When feeling angry, the child with Asperger's does not appear to be able to pause and think of alternative strategies to resolve the situation. There is often an instantaneous physical response without careful thought. When the anger is intense, the youngster with Asperger's may be in a blind rage and unable to see the signals indicating that it would be appropriate to stop." While hardly an excuse for his heinous and monstrous behavior, the above response does give us a somewhat clearer picture of the severely jumbled and chaotic mind of Adam Lanza. It also makes us even more acutely critical of the folly in allowing him access to such an arsenal of weapons. If Democrats, Republicans and President Obama are really interested in more than merely arguing about gun control for a spell and then doing nothing (which is the norm after incidents like this one), they must act decisively and act now. The country is tired of senseless tragedies. They want action. There's an urgency and momentum. Part of what must take place is a debate on gun control. But that's only part of the solution. Let's not neglect what may have been the source of the problem for both of the latest mass shootings in the U.S. Like Adam Lanza, accused Aurora Colorado Shooter James Holmes suffered from mental illness before his "Dark Night" theater rampage back in July. According to his lawyer, he "was not able to get the help he needed." Autism and Asperger's syndrome are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the likelihood of a child being diagnosed with either or both has increased more than 20 percent in the last five years. Yet mental health experts say our present health care system, including the so-called "Obamacare" provisions, short-shrift the problem. They point out that most mental health provisions of Obamacare don't kick in until 2014. And some experts also fear that higher out-of-pocket costs and cheaper medications will cause many sufferers of Autism and Asperger's syndrome to get worse. Debating the availability of guns without also debating availability of mental healthcare and resources won't get us far. Maybe it's time that we as a country offer help to the mentally ill, make it available at no cost to those in need, before it's too late. We can't afford not to. After all, given a chance to pitch in and pay for Holmes or Lanza's care knowing what we now know who among us would say no? President Obama said Wednesday that while he and Speaker Boehner are closer together than the public arguments seem on a deal to avert the fiscal cliff, their biggest sticking point is the amount by which taxes will go up on the wealthiest Americans. Obamas tax the rich! lament is tired, and his abiding focus on that goal is puzzling for a simple reason: no amount of increased taxation on wealthy Americans will solve our nations fiscal woes. It wont even make a dent. Candidate Obama summarily dismissed an almost universally agreed upon tenet of taxation in favor of his nebulous notion of fairness; it should be no surprise that President Obama is doing the same. David Laska In a quixotic quest to see the rich pay their fair share, the President has proposed an almost comically modest incremental tax rate hike of 3.6 percent (from 36 percent to 39.6 percent) for earnings above $250,000. This is, and has always been, a political rather than an economic plan: the numbers dont add up because the rich dont earn enough to pay for all of Obamas spending. The federal government ran an average annual deficit during Obamas first term of $1.3 trillion. In order for the debt to stabilize, tax revenues would have to be raised by at least this much. An increase in the marginal rate by 3.6 percent amounts to roughly $40 billion in new tax revenue a big sum, but not in the context of a $1.3 trillion deficit. Put another way, $40 billion would slow the growth in the deficit by approximately nine days. So, if a 3.6 percent rate hike is enacted on January 1, 2013, by January 9th, we will back where we started. Even if we consider a higher incremental tax rate hike, the math doesnt work, because the tax base above $250,000 is only $1 trillion. In order to increase government revenue by $1.3 trillion on a tax base of $1 trillion, the top tax rate would have to be more than 100 percent - hardly a viable solution. Even if the federal government confiscated all of the income all of it from the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, the resulting increase in revenue would only be enough to run the government for about a month. The conclusion is simple: unless the president has a plan for either cutting spending or increasing the number of wealthy Americans, the budget simply cannot be balanced by taxing the rich. The result will either be a tax on the middle class or a debt balance that continues to grow. The Presidents insistence upon higher tax rate for the wealthy made sense during the campaign, when he rode a wave of divisive class warfare rhetoric to a 60 percent vote share amongst those making under $50,000 per year. But while a call for increased tax rates on the wealthy was good politics, it remains terrible policy. So why does the President continue to bang the tax the rich! drum? The best answer might lie all the way back in 2008, when ABC's Charlie Gibson pressed Obama on his pledge to raise taxes on capital gains despite the fact that, as Gibson put it, history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up." Obama's answer spoke volumes: "Well, Charlie, what Ive said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness." So there you have it. Never mind history or economics, the wealthy have too much money, and that isnt fair. Candidate Obama summarily dismissed an almost universally agreed upon tenet of taxation in favor of his nebulous notion of fairness; it should be no surprise that President Obama is doing the same. And as Obama eschews compromise in favor of fairness, our debt increases, our deficit grows and the fiscal cliff draws ever nearer. When critics accuse The New York Times of cherry-picking news coverage, my eyes glaze over. Editors there and elsewhere make choices that are usually defensible, even if not absolutely objective. Similarly, when critics howl about how Mexico abuses Americans in its justice system, my instinctive reaction is to wonder what terrible crime the accused actually committed. In our highly-charged, partisan and ideological world, they are both easy targets so I tend to give both Mexico and The New York Times the benefit of the doubt. My reservations noted, in the case of Jon Hammar, the 27-year old former combat Marine in a raw jail in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, I am satisfied that both the Republic and the newspaper of record have abused or ignored the civil rights of a prisoner who should have been sent home with a slap on the wrist. As far as I know, the facts of the Hammar case are uncontested. He brought a shotgun on a summer surfing vacation into Mexico, declared it both on the U.S. side of the border in Brownsville, Texas, and when he reached Mexican customs on the Matamoros side of the line. Admittedly, it was a dumb thing to do. In the wake of Fast and Furious, Mexican authorities are hyper-angry over the flood of heavy weapons from the U.S. into the hands of the drug cartels that represent an existential threat to their democracy. But Hammars .410 shotgun is hardly a heavy weapon. His defenders say it comes off the pages of an old Sears Roebuck catalog, and should be considered a semi-harmless antique. I dont buy that, but the gun is the smallest bore shotgun popularly available; it is often the first gun kids are given by their hunter dads and is commonly used to shoot birds or small critters. I used one to shoot a squirrel out of a nest in the Belmont Lake State Park on Long Island in the summer of 1960 and was so traumatized by the assassination I gave up hunting. In a shootout with the bandits of the Matamoros cartel, it would be laughably inadequate; sort of like the famous line from The Untouchables about bringing a knife to a gun fight. So yes, he was dumb to bring it into a nation engaged in the hyper-violent generational fight of its life. Still, sensitive national pride duly recognized, given the obvious difference between Hammars .410 bird gun and say the Holmes/Lanza .223 Bushmaster AR-15 machine guns that have sold-out at Walmarts around America, or the heavy-gauge weapons unleashed on Mexico by the ATF office in Arizona during the botched Fast and Furious gun walking operation, an apology by the otherwise law-abiding former Marine, followed by a reprimand, fine, and a one-way walk back to Brownsville should have sufficed. Instead he is in a prison where a photo shows him handcuffed to his bunk. What the hell is that about? Ive been in Mexican prisons up and down the country over the last four plus decades covering the Republics various dramas. Never have I seen anyone handcuffed to his bunk. In fact, Mexicos rough, low-rent prisons tend to be more open and relaxed than our own. Conjugal visits are common; well connected inmates often make their own dining arrangements, and if you dont try to split or if your drug gang isnt at war with another drug gang in the same facility, you do your time, pay your bribes and when the time comes you go home. The picture of Hammar chained to his bunk looks wildly punitive and contrary to international law, which brings me to The New York Times. Ive searched for stories of the Hammar incarceration, but have found zero coverage of the Marines plight. Even with the involvement of several prominent Congressional Republicans I have not seen a mention of Hammar in the NYT. If he was, say, an American college kid or poet or teacher on vacation and the same melancholy fate befell him I can not imagine so juicy a human interest story being ignored. Now the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., a fine man named Arturo Sarukhan says Hammar must go to trial. In prison since August 13, that trial is scheduled for January 17; although in a late development, a Matamoros city judge indicated that he might accelerate the process and hear the Marines case today, Friday December 21st. Thank goodness for small favors. The accelerated proceeding means that if acquitted (as he should be) he will not miss the Christmas holidays with his family. Technically, however, if convicted on the weapons he faces up to 15 years behind bars without possibility for bond or parole. If that disaster befalls Hammar, his case will be a rallying point fueling the notion that Mexico is dysfunctional or hypocritical. Mr. Ambassador, what is the point? The always tender but crucial bilateral relations between our two great nations require sense and sensibility. At a time when the president of the United States has promised finally to attend the contentious issues of immigration affecting millions of Mexicans and their citizen American relatives why allow this case to give fodder to your political enemies? Hes not a drug bandit and hes not responsible for Fast and Furious. He served his nation in Iraq and Afghanistan and he was going surfing to ease his post-traumatic stress disorder. His fine parents, Olivia a magazine publisher and Jon a soft ware engineer are fraught with anxiety. Mr. Ambassador, urge your promising new president Enrique Pena Nieto not to pick a fight where everybody loses. Advise him to take the high road. Send Hammar home. A Marine veteran chained to a bed in one of Mexicos most notorious prisons will be home for Christmas. A Mexican judge in Matamoros ordered the immediate release of Jon Hammar Friday morning. He had been detained August 13 for bringing a .410 antique shotgun over the border while en route to a surfing trip. He and a friend, who was also detained but released after three days, were travelling on a 1972 refurbished Winnebago motor home. The Mexican court ruled that Hammar, who served seven years in Iraq and Afghanistan and who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, had no criminal intent to bring the antique 60-year-old rifle across the border and had his constitutional rights violated. "I am on pins and needles," Olivia Hammar, the mother, said early Friday before the announcement. "I have heard that we would hear this morning and I know they are an hour early, but I have been up since 4:30 ... Just waiting to hear." Hammar's father Jon was on route from South Florida to meet his son. He said that after spending four months in a prison his son is not ready for a flight, so together they will drive back home in time for Christmas. The news of the release ends a four-month ordeal for the Hammar family, who was subjected to extortion calls from jailed cartel members and the pain of seeing their son chained to a bed in the administrative offices of the Matamoros State prison. A photo of Hammar in jail was anonymously emailed to his parents Sunday night. We are so very grateful with all of the people that have been working on his release, said Hammar's close friend, Jessica Fernandez. Our voices were heard. Hammar and his fellow Marine friend, Ian Mcdonough, both 27 years old, were held back in August on federal charges of possessing a weapon reserved for military use. Hammar and his family said the gun was his great grandfather's antique Sears & Roebuck shotgun and was properly declared to U.S. border agents. Hammar said that, when instructed, he declared the weapon with Mexican customs agents. And yet both he and his friend were arrested. Hammar garnered national attention thanks to the Free Jon Hammar Facebook group and an online White House petition, which accumulated over 26,000 signatures. His release came just days after the Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan sent a letter to the Hammar family and Rep. Illeana Ros Lehtinen (R-Fla) reiterating that Hammar would remain in detention for the duration of his trial" on January 17. In the letter, the ambassador noted Hammar's military service but reiterated Mexico's "very stringent gun control laws" particularly "as a result of the weapons illicitly purchased in the U.S. and then trafficked into Mexico." Rep. Ros Lehtinen, the chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) led the push in Washington D.C. in demanding Hammar's release. Sen. Nelson exhorted Mexico to release Hammar. No American should be in a Mexican jail for five months without being able to have his case in front of a judge, Nelson said in a statement. Were grateful; this is a good Christmas present. For four months, the Hammars insisted the .410 shotgun was not illegal and pointed to a letter sent to them from the Secretary of Defense in Mexico dated August 24 that assured the Hammar family the antique shotgun is not a weapon used by the Mexican military. Outrage over Hammar's arrest also grew in Mexico especially after a group of 14,000 businessmen expressed their concern in a letter written early this week over strained relations between neighboring countries that could have ultimately hurt Mexico's tourism industry. "It's a big relief for us at the border," said Gerardo Acevedo Danache, Vice President of CANACO and the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Matamoros. "We are neighbors, we dont need this kind of situation and it shows we can work things out." Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino What urgency? Clearly there is no need to worry about going into the so-called fiscal cliff. Congress and the President seem completely fine with no agreement on how to deal with the tax increases and the spending cuts that supposedly are taking place at the beginning of the year. Were they lying to us when they agreed to the cuts back in 2011 or are they lying to us now? Rosario Marin, Former U.S. Treasurer Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke claimed during a congressional hearing that failure to reach an agreement would be catastrophic to our economy; hence, the now famous fiscal cliff analogy. So, maybe they have something up their sleeves and the cuts will actually not take place. Maybe they will employ some accounting gimmicks and they will be able to delay their implementation. Or maybe they just really dont care. According to the President everyone should drink eggnog, eat some cookies and enjoy the holidays. He said this with a big smile as he was leaving for Hawaii for his annual Christmas vacation with this family. I always find it amusing to contrast how government vs. corporate America handles their challenges. In the corporate world, there would be no eggnog, no cookies and much less a vacation. You stay put until the job is done, period. Seriously, it appears to me that we must have been sold a bag of goods. The problem is that we dont know when they were lying to us. Were they lying to us when they agreed to the cuts back in 2011 or are they lying to us now? Lets go back to 2011 when, as part of the deal to increase the debt limit, which also took a do-or-die urgency, they agreed to these tax increases and program cuts to become effective on January 1, 2013, if no agreement was reached by the end of 2012. What they in fact did was just kick the ball to the following year, and created another opportunity for another so-called emergency. This seems to be the perpetual way of Washington. Now the President is expecting Republicans to increase taxes on people making more than $250,000 while only agreeing to half of the spending cuts he had originally suggested and in addition he wants total control over increases to the debt limit. There seems to be no real leadership to deal with the fiscal problems our country is facing. Let me be clear, they are real. We face another downgrade to our credit rating, which will only exacerbate our borrowing ability and increase the cost of that borrowing. We need to get our spending under control. We elected Congress and the President to get that job done. Forgotten are the 23 million people still unemployed in America; they need a job and our economy cannot rebound if we dont have our house in order. But contrary to Congress and the President, I am doubtful the unemployed will be happy drinking their eggnog and having some cookies. The last days of 2012 are upon us. For those of us who are border watchers, that means familiarizing ourselves with a new slate of players who will be impacting trade and border security in the next Congress. Whether because of redistricting or election wins, there will be lots of new faces in 2013. California In California, longtime Congressman Bob Filner departs for San Diegos City Hall, where he is now that citys mayor after serving 10 terms in the U.S. House. Now representing the district that runs from the southern part of San Diego County along the border east to the state line is former state senator Juan Vargas. In a nod to the new congressmans border district, he was recently appointed to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Vargas will join fellow San Diego County freshman Rep.-elect Scott Peters in Washington. Peters is a former San Diego Port commissioner who will represent the North County area once served by Rep. Brian Bilbray. Arizona Moving to the east, there is one change to note in Arizonas border region. While Rep. Raul Grijalva will continue to represent San Luis and Nogales and Rep. Ron Barber will represent Douglas, there is a new congressman on the northern edges of Yuma County due to redistricting. Rep. Paul Gosar is now representing a huge new district that spans most of the western part of the state along the Colorado River and includes parts of Yuma County. A member of the House Oversight Committees subcommittee with jurisdiction over Homeland Security, Rep. Gosar has been a vocal critic of the Department of Justices handling of the Fast and Furious border gun running operation. From a statewide perspective, Rep. Jeff Flake moves to the Senate, replacing the retiring Sen. Jon Kyl. Kyl leaves big shoes to fill, but Flake is a committed voice for trade and has been a leader on immigration reform. Expect him to make an easy transition to the Senate. New Mexico Rep. Steve Pearce will continue to be New Mexicos border region representative. Theres a new face in the Senate, though, as Martin Heinrich moves from his Albuquerque-area House seat over to the Senate, replacing the retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman. New Mexico has seen the most turnover of border Senate seats, with Sen. Tom Udall taking his seat in that chamber after winning the 2008 fall election when former Sen. Pete Domenici retired. Texas The Lone Star State saw the most upheaval in its border delegation following the fall elections. In El Paso, Beto ORourke won a seat in the House after dispatching longtime Rep. Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary. ORourke was recently named to the House Homeland Security Committee, a good fit for a new congressman who, as a candidate, stressed the need for El Paso to expand its trade opportunities. Further to the east in the sprawling district from the far edges of El Paso County all the way to San Antonio, former state legislator Pete Gallego will be heading to Washington. Gallego was named to the House Armed Services Committee. Heading over to where the border meets the sea, Filemon Vela will represent the Brownsville-area district after redistricting saw Rep. Blake Farentholds district move north to be more Corpus Christi-centric. Vela will serve on the House Agriculture Committee. Statewide, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison bids farewell to the Capitol after a distinguished career full of accomplishments for border communities. Filling her seat is Ted Cruz, who received national acclaim for his speech over the summer during the Republican National Convention and will be one to watch on the 2016 national stage. These new faces along the U.S.-Mexico border as well as a new U.S.-Canada border district congressman from Minnesota, Rep. Rick Nolan, who defeated an emerging voice for border trade in Rep. Chip Cravaack, will inject their new ideas into the old challenges facing the border. Will these new players put security before trade, or will they work to advance policies that acknowledge trades importance to the countrys fiscal health and North Americas overall competitiveness? With a government-sequester looming that could severely hobble border agencies and damage the U.S. economy, new thinking and a willingness to work across political lines will be welcomed by border advocates. A Texas school district learned a very important lesson Thursday: dont mess with Charlie Brown, dont mess with the Baby Jesus and dont mess with the Lone Star States Merry Christmas law. Judge Jack Jones issued a temporary restraining order against the Killeen Independent School District. The district had backed a principals decision to remove a Christmas poster that referenced a poignant scene in the beloved holiday cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Click here for a FREE subscription to Todds newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives! Dedra Shannon, an aide in Patterson Middle Schools nurses office, created the door-length poster - featuring Linus, a scrawny tree, and dialogue explaining the true meaning of Christmas. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord. Thats what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown, Linus said. Dedra Shannons poster was well-received among the staff and students but a few days later she was told by the principal that the decorations had to come down because non-Christian students might be offended or feel uncomfortable. Read the full story at ToddStarnes.com. Editor's note: The following excerpt is from "Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates" by Brian Kilmeade now available in paperback. Commodore Edward Preble, commander of the USS Constitution, had spent much of the summer of 1804 dealing with heavy seas of the Tripoli coast where he tried to maintain his blockade. He had been hand-picked by President Thomas Jefferson because of his reputation as a leader who would take initiative and press for his countrys bests intereststwo traits that were necessary in the tense political climate of the early 1800s. The tension between the Barbary nations of Northern Africa and the United States had come to a boiling point in early August of 1804, leading to a battle now known as the Second Battle of Tripoli Harbor. With a new assortment of ships at his command, Preble had new worries. He knew the schooners accompanying him, the Vixen and Nautilus, were seaworthy, as were the two brigs Argus and Syren, which had been blockading the harbor for many weeks. But he couldnt be so sure about the six gunboats and the two mortar boats on loan. Preble had reached an understanding to borrow these boats, along with some men to sail them, but he worried whether the flat- bottomed harbor craft could withstand the weather of the open sea. Somehow, though, they had, and now he would put them to the test. He knew that a larger fate than his own was riding on this battle; before he had set sail for the Tripoli coast, the USS Philadelphia had been taken over by Tripoli pirates, its crew of over 300 men enslaved, and eventually rendered almost unrecognizable. The United States needed to send a message to the pirates that they werent going to stand for these transgressions anymore. With the weather clear at last, Preble surveyed his enemy from the deck of the Constitution. Through his spyglass he counted 115 guns mounted on the citys fortifications. These cannons were supplemented by nineteen gunboats and several small corsairs, all sheltered behind the long line of rocks that, like an immense, submerged stone wall, stood between the American armada in the open sea and the protected harbor. The combined repower of the American and allied ships 132 guns and 2 mortars was more or less equal to the Tripolitan guns, but the range of most of Prebles short- barreled cannonades was limited. Still, Preble felt confident that he and his men could make [Bashaw Yusuf Qaramanlis] old walls rattle about his ears. All he needed was the opportunity. Then, at noon on August 3, Preble finally saw his chance to engage the enemy. He observed from his station two miles out to sea that enemy gunboats were coming out from behind the stony barrier reef, leaving them exposed in the open water. He ordered the signal hoisted: Prepare for battle. With his entire flotilla within hearing distance of his hailing trumpet, the commodore issued his final orders. The brigs and schooners, with the gunboats in tow, were to sail halfway to the stone barrier. From there the gunboats would head for the shore while the four larger ships remained in deeper waters. The bombing ships would take a position west of the town. The Constitution would follow the smaller boats toward the harbor and, on Prebles signal, the ring would begin. By two oclock, the gunboats were under their own power, advancing on the harbor with sails and oars. At two- thirty, the flagship raised a blue flag, followed by a yellow and blue one, and the third and last, red and blue. This was the signal for the battle to begin, and the Constitution, followed by the brigs and schooners, sailed for the harbor. Fifteen minutes later, the first mortars boomed. Rather than cannonballs, the ships guns launched hollow projectiles, packed with charges of gunpowder. Flying in a high arc into the city, some exploded in midair, scattering deadly shrapnel in all directions. The Tripolitans fired back and the American gunboats responded in kind. The Constitution, now within a mile of Tripolis batteries, opened fire with its long guns. The fortress batteries were silenced as the gunners took shelter from the Constitutions broadsides, though, as the big ship sailed past, the Tripolitans resumed firing. There it was gunboat-to-gunboat and man-to-man. Within the fortress walls, the American captives could hear little beyond the rumble of guns. On the streets of Tripoli, the townspeople ran for their guns in a scene of excited disorder. At last, the bashaw was getting the full-fledged war he had seemed so keen on provoking for the last three years. The American gunboats, although outnumbered nineteen to six, bore down on the enemys boats. Young Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, captaining one gunboat and accompanied by four other gunboats the sixth lagged behind fired at two Tripolitan boats at point- blank range until they retreated behind the line of rocks that protected the inner harbor. Sailing off to find other prey, Decaturs boat, followed by the gunboat commanded by his younger brother James and two other gunboats, headed for a line of five Tripolitan boats moored at the mouth of the harbors western passage. After a round of American canister shot and musketry, those boats also pulled back into the harbor. The little American squadron advanced next on a division of nine enemy vessels to the east. None of these fired as Decatur and his men sailed straight at them, looking to get close enough to board. The Americans wished to turn the Tripolitan tactic back upon them, leaping aboard the enemy vessels and fighting hand-to-hand with pistol, saber, pike, and tomahawk. This tactic did not favor the Americans, as a typical two- dozen- man U.S. Navy crew would be met by up to fifty men aboard a Tripolitan ship. But the numbers didnt daunt Decatur: I always thought we could lick them their own way and give them two to one. Not long after three oclock, he had a chance to prove his confidence. The gunboats closed on the enemy, firing barrage after barrage of round shot. As the Americans neared the westernmost Tripolitan vessel, the enemy red their pistols but, before they could reload, the Americans clambered from gunwale to gunwale and leapt onto their decks. Within ten bloody minutes, Decaturs nineteen men had killed sixteen Tripolitans, wounded fifteen others, and taken the remaining five prisoners. Decatur personally lowered the Tripolitan flag. Meanwhile, Lieutenant James Decatur, Stephens brother, aimed for the largest of the Tripolitan gunboats and softened up the enemy with intense fire. As his gunboat closed and James Decatur and his men were poised to board, the Tripolitan captain, with a large portion of his crew already dead or wounded by musket and canister fire, ordered his colors struck in surrender. By four- thirty Preble, noting a change in the wind, signaled his ships to retire from the action. Within fifteen minutes, all his vessels were out of range of the Tripolitan guns. Though another lieutenant suffered severe saber wounds, James Decatur was the only American casualty, killed by a Tripolitan captain. Just eleven men were wounded, and the man who was injured attempting to defend Decatur, Daniel Frazier, recovered from his wounds. An exact enemy casualty count was unknown, but the dead numbered at least fifty, the wounded perhaps double that. Though a good day for Preble, this had been far from an absolute victory. More than exploding mortar shells and a few dead pirates would be required to persuade the bashaw to consider peace. In April 1805, Jefferson the Navy and the Marine made an attack on the ground, as memorialized in the Marine Corps hymn: From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli, we fight our countrys battles in the air on land and sea. By September of the same year, a treaty ending the conflict with Tripoli was made, allowing American shipping to flow freely again. More importantly, this war showed the world that the United States wasnt just a young, weak countryit was now a major force to be reckoned with. This holiday season, give the gift of "THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: The Forgotten War That Changed American History." Reprinted from THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: The Forgotten War That Changed American History by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger with permission of Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright (c) Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger, 2015, 2016. The mainstream media are suddenly concerned about fake news. It used to be that phony stories were easy to spot. They usually focused on space aliens or mysterious creatures found wandering deep in the woods. My personal favorite in this genre was a 1992 story in the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News that claimed the bones of Adam and Eve had been discovered in Colorado. A leading archaeologist was quoted, presumably to add credence to the fake story. In the internet age, things once thought incredible have taken on credibility. From spam email that claims someone in Nigeria wants to send you money, if you send them some first, to politicians engaging in behavior that only sounds true if you happen to hate the politician and believe he (or she) is capable of anything. It has become a lot easier to fool some of the people all of the time. A recent fake news story claimed Hillary Clinton was involved in a child sex ring run out of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant. It prompted a deranged man with a gun to fire shots inside the place in hopes of liberating the enslaved children. A definition might help sort out what is fake and what is real. Fake is anything made to appear otherwise than it actually is. If that is the standard by which falsehoods are discerned, the mainstream media have been faking news for decades. Recall the reporting on ObamaCare and claims by the president that if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor, and if you like your health insurance plan you can keep that, too. ObamaCare will save money, the president said. The media reported it all as fact and blamed him not at all when his misstatements proved untrue. Now theres the story that the Russians interfered with the presidential election, something FBI Director James Comey refused to say in an October press appearance. Considering the medias history of anti-Republican biases, does this sound fake to you? Space does not allow a chronicling of the numerous examples of false, misleading and biased stories favoring liberal Democrats and their preferred issues. A Google search will reveal many more. In a post-election column, New York Times public editor, Liz Spayd, referred to a memo from the newspapers executive editor and publisher promising to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism. That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences What were they doing pre-election? As Spayd noted, they also used the occasion to congratulate themselves on their swift, agile and creative coverage on election night, and they praised their journalism as fair to both candidates and unflinching in its scrutiny. Never mind that so much of their coverage and the TV stories that follow the Times lead on whats news labeled supporters of Donald Trump as uneducated, racist, sexist and homophobic, among other smears. There was no apology for any of this. Praising itself for journalistic integrity is like an administration investigating itself for wrongdoing. The Times would never approve of that, nor should it. Picking up on this self-congratulatory theme, the co-editor-in-chief of Variety, Claudia Eller, wrote that the show business publication, which leaned heavily in favor of Hillary Clintons presidential candidacy and regularly trashed Donald Trump, pledged to (continue) our tradition of presenting balanced reporting that reflects multiple points of view... If only. In the end, it matters less what the mainstream media think of themselves than what news consumers think. A September 2016 Gallup poll found that public trust in journalists had hit a new low. In other industries, that would prompt serious self-examination and conversations with people who arent buying what the company is selling. Only journalists sit on such a high mountain of self-regard that any challenge to their honesty and fairness is dismissed as the publics problem. Such an attitude can only produce more fake news that serves neither journalism, nor the public. The election of Donald Trump marks the third great effort to break free from Franklin Roosevelts New Deal system that has dominated American government for more than 80 years. The first effort to overturn this bureaucratic establishment was Ronald Reagan in 1980. The second was the Contract with America in 1994, which resulted in the first Republican majority in the House in 40 years. As I argued in my speech at the Heritage Foundation this week, the third great effort is the movement that Donald Trump now leads. In all three cases, the elites were contemptuous, the polls were wrong, the propaganda media was relentlessly hostile, and the American people threw out the establishment and the Left to their great shock. In the first two waves--Reagan in the 1980s and the Republican Revolution of the 1990s---the insurgents accomplished a great deal in a short time but the left-wing, bureaucratic establishment outlasted the popular surge and the old order took back power. The Trump surge is larger, deeper, and more energetic than the first two waves. It really began in 2010, and although it was undermined by an anti-populist, unaggressive presidential campaign in 2012, it grew stronger again in 2014 and 2016. At its core this movement is about the American people reasserting control over an arrogant and corrupt political establishment that is both failing and failing to be held accountable. The Trump surge has the potential to profoundly shift government and society from the New Deal-era big government, bureaucratic, redistributive model to an America based once again on decentralized power, work, optimism, and the effort of individuals, communities, and small groups. Movements of big change require many activists, but they tend to be built around one personality: George Washington in the American Revolution, Andrew Jackson in the first era of populism, and FDR in establishing big government. If Trumpism succeeds in replacing the 80-year-old bureaucratic model of government, there is no question who will be the defining figure. Donald Trump is the only person ever to become president of the United States without first holding public office or having served in the military. In this respect, he is by definition unique and worthy of study. He has an extraordinary combination of energy, business experience, drive, optimism and courage that make him the best chance in a lifetime to reinvent government. These qualities are also reflected in President-elect Trumps cabinet, which the press derides for having real world experience, business acumen, energy, toughness, and records of accomplishment that make them unusual cabinet nominees. So far, the president-elect has nominated one of Americas greatest retired generals for Secretary of Defense, the CEO of the worlds largest company as Secretary of State, a woman who has spent her life fighting for school choice as Secretary of Education, and a world-class pediatric neurosurgeon who grew up in poverty and speaks with moral authority on the crisis of our inner cities as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. These are extraordinarily impressive people who understand how to achieve things in the real world. The press, which has been consistently wrong about everything this year, would like to brand them as unqualified radicals. That they are far more likely to bring change to Washington than the typical establishment cabinet should be obvious to most Americans--and it is exactly why Donald Trump was elected. These nominees must understand, however, that they are on the front lines of the fight for change. The Departments and agencies they lead will seek to absorb them and outlast them. That is why it is so important that this new leadership is backed by a movement--millions of Americans who will help them and also hold them accountable. To protect Americans against fake news, Facebook will now use filters so that only reputable articles can appear at the top of users trending news stories. And Facebook is going to media fact checkers for help (initially ABC News, The Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Politifact and Snopes). But guess what? These fact checkers have their own biases usually the same liberal biases that we see in the rest of the mainstream media. Before the 1990s, the mainstream media had a monopoly on the news. Then came the rise of talk radio, Fox News, and the internet. This was a wonderful thing for freedom of information. Facebook has already faced a scandal for having filtered out stories on conservative topics from conservative sites. But to get an idea of how bias also affects fact checkers, just consider a few evaluations from Politifact. "Were the highest taxed nation in the world. Our businesses pay more taxes than any businesses in the world. Thats why companies are leaving. Donald Trump on "Meet the Press" on May 8, 2016 Donald Trump was clearly talking about tax rates for businesses. But in rating the claim as False, Politifact focuses on total federal tax burden as a share of GDP. Trump was correct that the U.S. has the world's highest corporate income tax rate (combined federal and state). In 2016, that rate was 38.9 percent France came in second with 34.4 percent. But Politifact conveniently overlooks state taxes, which are really what put the U.S. over the top compared to so many other countries. On November 9, California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom claimed that his states gun control laws were responsible for a "56 percent decline in the gun murder rate" since the 1990s. Politifact rated this statement as only "mostly true, but only because the drop in murders was even greater than 56 percent between 1993 and 2014. Bizarrely, Politifact didnt question the claim that this drop was due to Californias gun control laws. Pete Wilson, who was the Republican governor from 1991 to 1999, did very little on gun control. Probably the only significant new regulation was the 1994 California Gun Free School Zone law, but this didn't even forbid permit holders from carrying on school property. The major gun regulations only started after Democrat Gray Davis took office in 1999. During the first five years of the period Politifact studied when there was little change in gun laws, gun murders fell by 54 percent, over 80 percent the total 67 percent drop between 1993 and 2014. Politifact ignores all of the other major crime legislation that was enacted by the Republican governor. For instance, California passed the 1994 Three Strikes law, which doubled the penalty for a second felony if the first one was serious or violent. A third felony carried a prison sentence of 25 years to life. Much research showed that significantly higher criminal penalties likely played a role in reducing crime rates. Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Donald Trump on Monday, October 17th, 2016 in a tweet Politifact didnt just say that this claim was false, they deemed it worth the designation: Liar, Liar Pants on Fire. While the term large scale fraud might be in the eye of the beholder, voter fraud in 2008 gave Al Franken the Senatorship in Minnesota and even control of entire state legislatures have been determined (e.g., the Pennsylvania state Senate in 1994). From California to Pennsylvania to Virginia to Indiana, many thousands of illegal aliens, dead people, and just non-existent ones were caught being registered to vote just a month or so before November election. A 2014 study published in the journal Electoral Studies used survey data to estimate that 6.4 percent of the nations non-citizens voted in 2008 that would be over a million votes. Another 2012 study from the Pew Center on the States estimated that one out of every eight voter registrations is inaccurate, out-of-date or duplicate, 2.8 million people are registered in more than one state, and 1.8 million registered voters are dead. In an undercover video, a New York City Board of Elections member was recently caught complaining about the amount of voter fraud created by New York City mayor Bill de Blasios decision to give out ID cards without checking recipients identities. A similar problem exists in other states, such as California, where illegal aliens are given drivers licenses and nothing to verify citizenship during voter registration. To say that vote fraud isnt common is itself a pretty absurd claim. Compare two statements evaluated by Politifact earlier this year. "Ninety percent of Americans want our background check system strengthened and expanded to cover more gun sales. Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy in a July 27th, 2016 speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia "Everywhere that we have more citizens carrying guns, crime is less. Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick on NBC's "Meet the Press", January 3rd, 2016 (Focusing on the part of his statement discussed in the our ruling section) Politifact deemed Murphys statement as True and Patricks as Mostly False. In assessing Patricks statement, they noted one pro-carry study by myself but several others that claimed that concealed carry had no effect on crime. I was interviewed by Politifact in their evaluation of Patricks statement and provided them with a long list of studies, but this list was ignored. Politifact characterized my peer-reviewed research as "a disputed study by a gun rights advocate and indicated that the other research was conducted by academics. Nowhere was it mentioned that the vast majority of research found benefits from concealed carry. Now take Murphys statement about 90 percent of Americans wanting stronger, expanded background checks. Some polls dont show anything even close to 80 to 90 percent support for background checks on private transfers of guns. Some even show overall opposition to laws. Yet, even better than polls, three states have had ballot initiatives on expanded background checks and none have been close to 80 percent. In 2014, an initiative in Washington state passed with 59 percent of the vote., Maines 2016 initiative was defeated by 8 percent, and Nevadas passed this year with less than 50.5% of the vote. And who knows if any of them would have passed if not for funding from Michael Bloomberg, who thoroughly outspent opponents of the initiatives by upwards of 50-to-1. -- Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, fact checkers continually defended Hillary Clinton from claims that she wanted the Supreme Court to reverse itself and allow complete gun bans. But the reasoning was always strained. Fact checkers just argued that Clinton wasnt trying to revise the Constitution. But the real concern was the impact that Clinton would have on the Supreme Court and its interpretation of the Second Amendment. The bias here could include dozens of additional examples. Facebook will also be relying on fact-checking by ABC News, Factcheck.org, and the Associated Press. Yet all have shown similar left-wing bias (here, here, and here). There is a way to deal with these supposedly dangerous fake news stories. Simply nip them in the bud by explaining why they're wrong. Unable to deal with the truth, however, liberals are again resorting to attempts at censorship. Enough is enough. It's time for the coddled left to stop trying to undermine President-elect Donald Trump and admit the fact that he won fair and square. Since election night, the left has been plotting to try and prevent Trump from actually occupying the Oval Office. Remember the recount attempts? That was such a complete disaster that Trump actually ended up getting more votes in Wisconsin. Now the Democrats are pushing this Russian hacking story, but it is a total failure because it's not based on concrete evidence or any new information or fact. But Democrats can't let it go. Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him and hurting Secretary Clinton's campaign, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said this week. ASSANGE: LEAK SOURCE NOT RUSSIA Let's break this down. Earnest would obviously not be making that claim without the approval of his boss, President Obama. So you have the outgoing president of the United States now actively trying to delegitimize his successor. And that's not the only tactic that the Democrats are deploying. They're plotting basically what amounts to a political coup, trying to undermine our democracy and create a constitutional crisis all because their corrupt candidate lost and you didn't vote for her. On Monday, members of the Electoral College will meet to officially cast their ballots for president and vice president. The alt-radical left is doing everything it can to try and convince these electors not to do their job and not vote for Donald Trump. And not surprisingly, Hollywood liberals are throwing their support behind this very radical idea to create a constitutional crisis. Republican members of the Electoral College, this message is for you, said Martin Sheen in a recent Hollywood TV campaign featuring an ensemble of elitist thespians stooping down to educate voters and pressure electors. As you know, our Founding Fathers built the Electoral College to safeguard the American people from the dangers of a demagogue and to ensure that the presidency only goes to someone who is to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. An eminent degree, someone who is highly qualified for the job, chimed in Debra Messing. The Electoral College was created specifically to prevent an unfit candidate from becoming president, James Cromwell stated. It even gets worse. We've recently learned that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are directly tied to this plan. Now, the DailyCaller is reporting that a public relations firm that represents some of these "faithless electors" was co-founded by former White House adviser Van Jones. He now, by the way, works at the "Clinton News Network," CNN. The company is reportedly filled with board members who have worked for President Obama and Clinton's campaign in the past. The alt-radical left also is using extreme tactics to try and influence these electors, including threats of violence. Consider what's been happening to one Michigan Electoral College voter. I've been inundated with hundreds and hundreds of letters to my house, Facebook messages, and some of those messages were death threats, said Mike Banerian. I've had people threatening to put a bullet in the back of my mouth, people saying to throw myself in front of a bus, sending me pictures of a noose, saying if I don't do the right thing that they'll get me. Ever since Clinton lost, President Obama has been floating the idea that Russia could have influenced the election. But back in October, he was actually mocking Donald Trump for raising concerns. Take a look. The larger point that I want to emphasize here is that there is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even -- you could even rig America's elections, Obama said. And so I'd advise Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes. So why won't the Democrats listen to their own advice and criticism on this issue? Because they don't care about you, the people they think are irredeemable, the basket of deplorables. The left only cares about people who live in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and of course, the swamp known as Washington, D.C. Middle America might as well not even exist. Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity, airing Dec. 15, 2016 Benjamin Collins Benjamin Collins is a decorated U.S. Army Special Forces veteran (Green Beret) who completed multiple combat rotations in support of the Global War on Terrorism. As an expert on national security and foreign policy matters Collins is a regular guest on Fox News as well as a frequent radio show expert on US radio stations from Arizona to NYC and the BBC World Service. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, hailed for years as the darling of the liberal left, lately has found herself at odds with her own party and confounding followers with positions that have, at times, seemingly put her out of step with the base. The Massachusetts Democrat, known for championing progressive causes like Wall Street reform and minimum wage hikes, is still refining her political brand while leaving open whether shell eye a 2020 run. She took heat, however, for splitting with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats this month by withdrawing support on a sweeping $6.3 billion health care bill she helped write. The 21st Century Cures Act passed easily in the Senate in early December and was signed by President Obama in a high-profile ceremony Tuesday. It increases funding for disease research and the opioid addiction fight, and reforms the way drugs and medical devices are reviewed and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. It also provides funding for the presidents Precision Medicine Initiative and Vice President Joe Bidens Cancer Moonshot, as well as millions for Alzheimers research. Warren spoke against the bill. She argued the newest version of the nearly 900-page legislation had been overtaken by greedy pharmaceutical companies and didnt do enough to push down drug prices. She admonished fellow Democrats during a floor speech and told them the vote was an early test of the partys ability to stand up to Republicans. She got more direct on Twitter, advising members of her own party: Show some spine & fight back. Warren faced pressure for her position from advocates, reportedly including the Association for Behavioral Healthcare and the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery. The bill passed 94-5. Warren opposed (though so did liberal icon Bernie Sanders). While some of her supporters say she was too combative during the 21st Century Cures Act debate, others faulted her for not speaking up sooner on a separate controversy: the Standing Rock/Dakota Access Pipeline fight. Since August, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and thousands of others have been protesting the 1,200-mile, four-state pipeline built to carry oil from western North Dakota to Illinois. Those who oppose the pipeline say it will hurt the environment and is on ancient burial grounds. Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the pipeline, says no sites have been disturbed. Warren stayed mum for months. When she finally issued a statement several months later, shortly before the Army Corps blocked the route, she faced a burst of online trolling from the cause. Youre about 10 months late to the party. Youre a phony. Stop acting like you care, one person wrote on her Facebook page. Another chimed in, Waiting until the last minute to say or do anything, just like you did in the primary. Youre not a leader. Youre pathetic. Warren indeed was hit with a similar backlash on social media after she endorsed presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over Sen. Sanders during the Democratic primaries. When Warren tried to pivot at the time and update her Facebook page with details on her push for family leave, the section garnered more than 1,000 comments almost all of them about her not supporting Sanders. Jennifer Lawless, a government professor at American University, called the pushback unfair. When you look at the overall arc of the primary campaign, she was not a Bernie Sanders supporter who reneged her support, Lawless told FoxNews.com. She has never compromised any of her views leading up to the endorsement. Lawless also was quick to note that Sanders himself got behind Clinton. The Democrats did it beautifully, she said. It didnt necessarily work out in the end but they were unified. Warrens office did not respond to requests for comment for this article. More recently, Warren raised eyebrows for her PAC contributing $5,000 to Louisiana Democrat Foster Campbells Senate campaign. Campbell, who ran as a conservative Democrat, pitched himself as pro-Second Amendment and pro-life two positions that put him at odds with Warren. In the end, Campbell lost to Republican John Kennedy. Michael Traugott, political science professor at the University of Michigan, and Lawless described Warrens support of Campbell as smart political strategy. One of the basic elements of good politics is some give and take, Traugott said. Under some circumstances, she is willing to wait and evaluate different dimensions. Lawless added, Democrats did not win the seats [in Congress] they thought they would be able to win. Despite policy differences, she said, Campbell would have been one more person voting for Democratic legislation. Warren also committed somewhat of a gaffe in sending a message to her 2.5 million Facebook followers condemning President-elect Donald Trump for packing his economic team with Wall Street fat cats. She called out hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, who runs Kase Capital, and said the Trump presidency would be a bonanza for the Whitney Tilsons of the world. The problem is Tilson opposed Trumps White House run. Hes also a Democrat who helped start Teach for America. And he donated to Warrens campaign. The U.S. will "take action" against Russia for alleged cyberattacks on Democratic officials, President Obama warned Thursday, hours after his spokesman claimed that President-elect Donald Trump "obviously knew" about the breaches and leaks that critics say propelled him to victory in last month's election. The tough talk from Obama came in an interview scheduled to air on National Public Radio Friday. It followed complaints of Republican lawmakers that federal authorities refuse to brief them on investigations into Russia's role in leaking tensof thousands of damaging emails from top Clinton campaign officials. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action," Obama said. "And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be." Earlier Thursday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters during the daily White House briefing that "Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him, [and] hurting [Democrat Hillary] Clinton ... "These are all facts that are not in dispute." Earnest pointed out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find missing emails from Clinton's private server. Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy," Earnest said. "That's not a joke." Earnest, without mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, also said "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," repeating the words from an October U.S. intelligence assessment. Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, connected the dots further, saying it was Putin who was responsible for the Russian government's actions. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," Rhodes said on MSNBC. Trump fired back Thursday evening, calling Earnest "foolish" during a "Thank You" rally in Hershey, Pa. "I don't know if he's talking to President Obama," Trump said of Earnest, without addressing the hacking controversy directly. "You know, having the right press secretary's so important. Because he is so bad, the way he delivers a message ... The president is very positive, but he's not positive. And I mean, maybe he's getting his orders from somebody else? Does that make sense? Could that be possible?" The White House officials' comments only escalate the feud between Trump allies and Democratic figures over Russia's alleged hacking. U.S. intelligence officials have linked the hacking to Russia's intelligence agency and its military intelligence division. Moscow has denied all accusations that it orchestrated the hacking of email accounts of Democratic Party officials and Clinton's campaign chief, John Podesta, and then leaked them to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. But lawmakers seeking a briefing this week on potential conflicts in the record about Russia's role were rebuffed, fueling GOP concerns on Capitol Hill about what the intelligence says. U.S. officials have not contended that Trump would have been defeated by Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russia's assistance. Nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote-counting. The Kremlin flatly rejected the claim of Putin's involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it Thursday as "laughable nonsense." The dispute over Russia's role is fueling an increasingly public spat between Obama's White House and Trump's team that is threatening to spoil the delicate truce that Obama and Trump have forged since Election Day. Although the president and president-elect have avoided criticizing each other publicly since Trump's win, their aides have been more openly antagonistic. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior transition adviser, said it was "breathtaking" and irresponsible that the White House had suggested Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. Trump and his supporters insist the Democrats' outrage about Russia is really an attempt to undermine the validity of his election victory. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a Trump ally, called it "disgraceful" as he spoke to reporters amassed in Trump Tower after meeting with the president-elect. "Right now, certain elements of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain politicians are really doing the work of the Russians," King said. There has been no specific, persuasive evidence shared publicly about the extent of Putin's role or knowledge of the hackings. That lack of proof undercuts Democrats' strategy to portray Putin's involvement as irrefutable evidence of a directed Russian government plot to undermine America's democratic system. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Republican faithless elector, who made headlines across the country when he wrote a blistering op-ed pledging not to vote for President-elect Trump in the Electoral College, is now under scrutiny himself after his claim to have been a firefighter on 9/11 has been questioned by a local news outlet. Christopher Suprun, a Republican elector in Texas, wrote a piece for the New York Times on Dec. 5 called Why I Will Not Cast My Electoral Vote for Donald Trump. In it, Suprun cites his past as a firefighter on 9/11 as one of the reasons for not voting for Donald Trump on Dec. 19, despite Texas voting comfortably for Trump on Nov. 8. Fifteen years ago, as a firefighter, I was part of the response to the Sept. 11 attacks against our nation. That attack and this years election may seem unrelated, but for me the relationship becomes clearer every day, Suprun wrote. In the piece, he calls on fellow Republican electors to vote their conscience and deny Trump the 270 votes he needs to win the White House, and to back a Republican alternative such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has publicly distanced himself from such efforts. The election of the next president is not yet a done deal. Electors of conscience can still do the right thing for the good of the country. Presidential electors have the legal right and a constitutional duty to vote their conscience, Suprun wrote. I pray my fellow electors will do their job and join with me in discovering who that person should be. Yet, as the move to deny Trump the 270 votes has gained momentum and media coverage, Supruns past has come under scrutiny. Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA reported that Supruns LinkedIn page claims that he was part of Manassas Fire Department in Sept. 2001, but found that he was not part of that Fire Dept. until October, and cited an anonymous first responder who knew Suprun, who contradicted his claims. He claimed to be a first responder with the Manassas Park Fire Department on September 11, 2001 and personally told us stories 'I was fighting fire that day at the Pentagon.' No, I was on a medic unit that day at the Pentagon and you make a phone call to Manassas Park and you find out that he wasn't even employed there until October 2001," the source told the outlet. Even if Suprun had been hired by Manassas Park before 9/11, the fire chief there told WFAA that they did not respond to the Pentagon that fateful day. "Its no different than stolen valor for the military, the source told WFAA. Suprun responded to the allegations in a statement Friday: Youre right, I wasnt in New York on 9-11, he said [although WFAA did not make such a claim.] I was a part of the response to the Pentagon attacks, as a member of the Dale City fire department in northern Virginia. He explained further in response to a question at an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. That story exhibits a reckless disregard for the truth. I never claimed to be a first responder on 9-11 with the Manassas Park Fire Dept. I was a volunteer firefighter at the time for the Dale City Fire Dept. when I responded to the attacks at the Pentagon, he said. Supruns claim is backed up in part by a story in Philly.com in 2012, which reported on a talk Suprun gave for the Never Forget foundation. In that, Philly.com reports him claiming in that talk that he was indeed part of the Dale City Volunteer Fire Department. However, that account does not present him as a firefighter, as he claims to be in his Times op-ed and his Reddit answer, but as a volunteer paramedic. His account does not have him fighting fires, but administering first aid in a nearby parking lot, before being deployed to a recreation center, where he treated first responders. Follow up questions to Supruns agent seeking to clarify his role that were also not returned. However, the The Dale City Volunteer Fire Department confirmed Friday that Suprun was an active member in good standing from July 2000 to June 2002. The department said no member was on duty the morning of the terror attacks in which the nearby Pentagon was struck by a high-jacked, commercial U.S. jet. So nobody in the department could have taken part of the initial response. However, members were involved in the response later in the day, the department also said. The 9-11 issue is not the only question WFAA raised in regards to Supruns record. On his LinkedIn profile, Suprun says he is presently a paramedic with Freedom EMS in Dallas, but WFAA reports that no such company exists. A spokeswoman for Air Methods ambulance service, where Suprun's LinkedIn also claims he works, told the outlet he is not employed there either. Electors make their decision on Dec. 19. Suprun is so far the only elector to publicly express his intent to change his vote from Trump. It would take 37 votes to deny Trump the votes needed, which would then send the question to the House of Representatives. Trump would likely still win among the Republican-heavy legislature, but rogue electors hope that by presenting a moderate Republican, they can convince them to snatch the White House away from the billionaire. Determined to hold around two dozen Senate seats in 2018, Democrats will use the coming series of confirmation hearings to try to distinguish themselves from President-elect Donald Trump's billionaire nominees and convince working-class voters who elected him that he's not on their side. While Democrats have little leverage to stop the Republican's picks in the Senate, they still plan a fight. To highlight what they say is the hypocrisy of Trump's campaign promise to be a champion for the economically struggling little guy, they'll focus on the nominees' wealth, ties to Wall Street and willingness to privatize Medicare, among other issues. In some cases, they'll seek to drag out the process by demanding more information and ensuring a full airing of potential conflicts of interest. "We're going to give each of them a thorough examination to determine whether they'll actually stand up for workers against the special interests or rig the system even more," said incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, echoing some of Trump's own campaign rhetoric. Democrats gave up their ability to block Trump's nominees in 2013, when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid changed Senate rules and reduced the number of votes needed to end filibusters. Now in the majority, Republicans can confirm the nominees along partisan lines. The limits of the Democratic minority have already been tested, as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who will be the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the new session, has repeatedly asked Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley for more time to review documents ahead of Jan. 10-11 hearings for Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's choice for attorney general. Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has declined to delay the hearings. Still, Democrats are hoping a populist message will resonate outside of Washington, where in the 2018 elections the party faces multiple tough races in deep red states full of white, working-class voters who overwhelmingly supported Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton this year. Democrats are defending 23 seats, including in states such as North Dakota, Montana, Indiana and West Virginia that went overwhelmingly for Trump and also in once traditional Democratic states that flipped, like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Much of their focus will be on the wealthy business executives whom Trump has tapped for his Cabinet -- notably Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs executive picked to head the Treasury Department. On Friday, Democrats launched a website asking people who had been impacted by foreclosure practices connected to Mnuchin to share their stories. OneWest, a bank formerly owned by a group of investors headed by Mnuchin, foreclosed thousands of properties in the aftermath of the housing crisis. Other wealthy executives chosen by Trump include Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for Commerce. To head the Labor Department, Trump turned to Andrew Puzder, the head of fast food chain CKE Restaurants Holdings who has drawn the ire of labor leaders. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination whose populist message resonated in some Republican-leaning states, has criticized almost all of Trump's picks, saying they signal he will do the opposite of what he told voters during the campaign. "That is not the type of change that Donald Trump promised to bring to Washington -- that is hypocrisy at its worst," Sanders said of Mnuchin's nomination in a joint statement with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. On policy, Democrats will highlight the fault lines between the nominee and Trump. Georgia Rep. Tom Price, the president-elect's choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, strongly favors privatizing Medicare, arguing that a voucher system is necessary to ensure its long-term solvency. But Trump repeatedly promised his supporters he wouldn't cut entitlements like Medicare and Social Security. But Democrats won't fight Trump on every nominee. Many senators up for re-election in 2018 from Trump states say they will pick their battles carefully. "I think I'll be supporting some of his nominees, I don't think there's any doubt about that," said Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who faces re-election in a state Trump won by 20 percentage points over Clinton. Tester said he'd support nominees whom he believes know rural America and "understand what's going on in my neck of the woods." West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, another Democrat up in 2018 and a former governor, says he plans to be generally supportive of Trump's nominees because he believes an executive should have to answer for his own staff. That is, he said, "unless there's just something scathing coming out that I don't know about." Unlike liberal stalwarts Sanders and Warren, the more moderate Senate Democrats are likely to focus their criticism more narrowly. And because Democratic support isn't necessary to confirm Trump's nominees, the senators are freer to pick and choose. Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, for example, have expressed concerns about particular nominees. Both are up in 2018. Donnelly said he will oppose Price because of potential cuts to Medicare. Heitkamp said she has concerns about Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma's attorney general and a frequent critic of environmental regulations and the agency he is tapped to lead. Heitkamp is concerned that Pruitt won't support corn-based ethanol fuel, which is big business in North Dakota. "If we're going to have an EPA administrator who understands rural America, that means they also have to understand the needs of farmers and want to support those farmers," she said. The members of the Electoral College will meet on Monday to decide the 45th president of the United States and, for the second time in less than 20 years, they will do so amid a controversy over the results of Novembers general election. While President-elect Donald Trump picked up 306 electoral votes on Election Day well over the 270 needed to clinch the election Democratic challenger Hillary Clintons lead in the popular has risen to 2.8 million over Trump as the last remaining postal votes are counted. This disparity along with claims by so-called faithless electors that they wont vote for Trump has made an already confusing electoral process even more convoluted. To help readers understand the process and whats at stake, FoxNews.com has prepared a cheat sheet about the Electoral College. The Electoral College Who are the members of the Electoral College: There are 538 electors representing the nation's 435 Representatives, 100 Senators and three non-voting representatives from Washington D.C. Electors cannot be federal officials and are usually chosen by the winning candidates political party among the party faithful. All states, with the exception of Maine and Nebraska, have chosen electors on a "winner-take-all" basis since the 1880s, but there is no federal law requiring the electors to vote for the candidate who won their state. What does the Electoral College Process look like: The process begins after Novembers general election, when state governors prepare a Certificate of Ascertainment that lists all of the presidential candidates, their respective electors, who won the state and which electors will represent the state at the meeting of the electors in December. At the meeting, the electors cast their votes for president and vice president on separate ballots, with the votes recorded on a Certificate of Vote. The states Certificates of Vote is then sent to Congress as well as the National Archives where votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Why does the U.S. have an Electoral College: The Electoral College was basically started as a compromise by the drafters of the Constitution as some wanted Congress to choose the president, while others wanted direct election by the people. The beneficiaries of the Electoral College in the nascent days of the United States were the southern slave states which were concerned that the countrys more populous industrial centers would dominate less populous rural regions. Where does the Electoral College meet: There is no Electoral College campus. There are no dorm rooms that house the electors or frat parties for them to go to on weekends. Instead electors meet in their respective state capitals to cast their votes for president and vice president. When does the Electoral College meet: Electors always meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December. While the procedures vary slightly state by state, the basic process: reading of Certificate of Ascertainment, attendance, choosing a chairman, choosing tellers, voting, collecting and sorting the votes before placing them in special mahogany boxes to be sent to Congress. The Faithless Elector While the Electoral College vote is normally just a procedural step that gets overshadowed by the President-elects cabinet choices (the exception being 2000, with George W. Bush, Al Gore and the Florida recount), this year with Clinton winning the popular vote and the divisiveness of the election, there have been a number of electors who have said they might not cast their vote for the candidate who won their state. Adding to the concerns of these faithless electors are assertions by the Obama administration that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials' email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election to help Trump's campaign. When news broke late last week of the CIA's conclusion that Russia likely sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of Trump, Pell and nine other electors all but one of them Democrats quickly crafted and published an unprecedented letter to U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper demanding a briefing. Their letter, now with dozens of signatures, described the Electoral College as a deliberative body whose members have more than an "empty or formalistic task" to summarily cast their votes. Despite Harvard professor and former Democratic presidential candidate - Larry Lessig's claims earlier this week that 20 Republican Electoral College voters are considering flipping to vote against Donald Trump, a survey of electors taken by The Associated Press appears to suggest that theres very little likelihood of derailing Trump's presidency in the Electoral College. Only 19 of the 44 times the Electoral College has met have there been any faithless electors and most of those involved only one elector. The most faithless electors ever came in 1832 when 30 electors from Pennsylvania refused to support the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Martin Van Buren and two National Republican Party electors from the state of Maryland refused to vote for presidential candidate Henry Clay and instead abstained. Despite the loss of 30 votes, Martin Van Buren was elected as the vice president and Andrew Jackson president after receiving over 75 percent of the electoral votes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Obama, in a freewheeling final press conference of the year, blasted Syria for trying to slaughter its way to legitimacy," Russia for meddling in the U.S. elections, and even some Donald Trump supporters, who he said would make "Ronald Reagan roll over in his grave for warming to Vladimir Putin. Though he had strong words for Russia, Obama stopped short of saying Putin himself orchestrated the Russian hacking of U.S. political sites during the election but he did say it was done at the highest levels of the Kremlin. He says he will let the public decide whether there were rogue high-level Russian officials acting without Putin's knowledge. Obama also urged Trump to back a bipartisan investigation into the matter. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said in his year-end news conference. The president said he had warned Putin there would be serious consequences it he did not "cut it out," through Obama did not specify the extent or timing of any U.S. retaliation. Democrat Hillary Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference. She said Thursday night, "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." Obama did not publicly support that theory Friday. He did, however, chide the media for that he called an "obsession" with the flood of hacked Democratic emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. In the wide ranging press conference, Obama rejected the notion that the dispute over the origin of the hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Trump. Despite fiercely criticizing each other during the election, Obama and Trump have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Obama said of Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." Trump's election has upended the Democratic Party, which expected to not only win the White House but also carry the Senate. Instead, the party finds itself out of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. In a moment of self-reflection, Obama acknowledged that he had not been able to transfer his own popularity and electoral success to other sin his party. "It is not something that I've been able to transfer to candidates in midterms or build a sustaining organization around," Obama said. "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." Separately, Obama blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in their stronghold of Aleppo. Obama strongly condemned the actions of the Syrian regime, declaring it could not slaughter its way to legitimacy and calling for an international observer force in Aleppo. The world shall not be fooled, and the world will not forget, Obama said. Obama began his press conference by touting his achievements from his time in office, noting that the unemployment rate has decreased and higher rates of insured people under his healthcare overhaul. Obama said he was leaving the country "stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started." Following Fridays press conference, Obama departed for his annual family vacation in Hawaii. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Russian hackers attacked the unclassified email system used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in August 2015, a former top military officer confirmed to Fox News late Thursday. "Our unclassified network was attacked by a very sophisticated attacker who operated with astonishing speed and skill," said retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the breach. "Not an amateur." The cyberattack targeting the upper echelons of the military was first reported by CBS News. The report comes amid an ongoing furor over cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, which the intelligence community believes was carried out by Russian-sponsored hackers. The report said the hackers seized Dempsey's computer credentials, along with those of hundreds of military officers, after a so-called phishing email was opened by a member of the Joint Staff, which employes approximately 3,500 uniformed and civilian personnel. Eventually, the entire email system had to be shut down. The attack had no intelligence value, since it targeted the unclassified email system. However, it did force the Pentagon to spend two weeks replacing vital computer hardware and software. The attack was believed to be retaliation for economic sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report. One of the most infamous weapons in science-fiction movie history is the Death Star, a moon-size planet destroyer from the "Star Wars" universe. In the upcoming movie "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," a band of renegades tries to steal the plans for the Death Star from the evil Empire, in order to ultimately destroy the spherical death machine. Does the Death Star lie completely in the realm of fiction, or could such a thing ever be constructed in real life? In 2012, more than 25,000 people signed a petition asking the U.S. government to construct its own Death Star. The White House (as it is bound to do when petitions receive a certain number of signatures) considered the application and penned a discouraging but tongue-in-cheek response among the concerns cited in the rejection letter were the cost of such a project, and the fact that a single, small spacecraft was apparently enough to destroy it (a significant flaw for such a massive project). But it turns out that the biggest obstacles aren't just money or rebel spacecraft, but physics. Here are some opinions from experts Space.com consulted on why it would or would not be possible to build a real Death Star. [Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in Picture] Rod Pyle, author of the book " Blueprint for a Battlestar: Serious Scientific Explanations Behind Sci-Fi's Greatest Inventions " (Sterling, 2016) If constructing the International Space Station was hard, the Death Star's complications dwarf that. Pyle says estimates indicate it would take 830,000 years of Earth's current steel output to create enough metal for the hull of the superstructure alone. Rocket launches to send all that metal and other building materials to space would "pollute the atmosphere to the point that anyone left who could use the Death Star would have to live on it Earth would be uninhabitable," Pyle said. The cost is also difficult to bear: $850 quadrillion, according to the White House's response to the online petition, which is many times the U.S. national debt of about $20 trillion. "The best way to build a Death Star would likely be to mine asteroids and possibly the moon for metals, print the massive parts, and then transport them to the neighborhood of the Earth or whatever planet you want to destroy," he said. But even then, there are problems, he added. The Death Star is at most 100 miles in diameter, and would not be able to survive long in low Earth orbit. Although small objects can remain in low orbit around the Earth for hundreds of years with no propulsion, an object that large would fall out of orbit more quickly and crash into the surface. Putting it into a higher orbit is possible but would require a "prohibitive" amount of rocket fuel, Pyle said. In "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope," the Death Star's lasers are used to blow up the planet Alderaan, which is similar in size to Earth. But even the most advanced current military lasers would have trouble changing the flight path of an intercontinental ballistic missile as it careened towards Earth, he said. "Of course, in 'Star Wars,' they used 'hypermatter' to power the Death Star," he added, "so who knows what might be possible with this new and improved source of destructive power?" Raychelle Burks, assistant chemistry professor at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas In 2015, the American Chemical Society released a video about the Death Star's laser , featuring Burks. In the video, Burks (who wasn't available for an interview before this article's deadline) explains that the most powerful laser beam on Earth is a 2-petawatt (2 quadrillion watts) beam constructed in Japan. The Death Star would require roughly a million billion times more power to blow up a planet, she said in the video. "In producing all that energy, you would produce a lot of heat like enough heat to melt the Death Star," Burks said. If that's not discouraging enough, Burks pointed to the famous "Star Wars" scenes where several lasers from the Death Star all converge into a point, somehow combine and amplify, and then strike a doomed planet with a single beam. "Light doesn't do that," she said. "The individual beams would just pass by each other and keep going in their own directions." [Endor's End: How the 'Star Wars' Death Star Wiped Out the Ewoks After All] Brooks Peck, curator at the EMP Museum in Seattle Although generating enough metal to build a Death Star would be "bonkers," technically speaking, it would be possible, Peck said. But there would need to be a huge space industry infrastructure to support it, including the ability to launch many more rockets than we can today, and asteroid mining. Another consideration regarding the massive construction project is that the builders of the Death Star would be exposed to harmful ionizing radiation from space because they would be outside Earth's protective atmosphere and magnetic field, Peck said. He thinks the Empire would take two approaches to solving the problem: either shield the builders inside rock and water masses, or just let the workers die young of cancer. "This is a Death Star, after all. It's got a reputation to maintain," he joked. Because a superlaser would not work as a means to destroy planets, Peck suggested using a "bullet of sufficient mass" to blow up planets. The science-fiction term for such an object is a "relativistic kinetic kill vehicle," which Peck admitted does not have the same snappy ring as "Death Star." But as ugly as the name sounds, the concept would work: A large enough object moving at even a fraction of the speed of light could blow up the planet once it collided. Still, Peck said it would be best for an advanced civilization to focus its energy on other things. "I hope, strongly, that a civilization that can command the resources and energy needed to create something like a Death Star would be smart enough and wise enough to turn its attention to more beneficial causes," he said. "Imagine what else we could achieve through an effort on that scale. We could create a utopia for everyone." Brian Muirhead, chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Muirhead is an experienced space engineer who was responsible for designing, developing, testing and launching the Mars Pathfinder rover that successfully landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. He also held senior positions for the Deep Impact Mission (which successfully crashed into a comet) and the Mars Curiosity mission (which landed on Mars in 2012 and is still going) during their development. Today, he is working on the Asteroid Redirect Mission, an initiative that will attempt to bring as much as 20 tons of a carbonaceous asteroid to the moon's orbit, for astronauts to explore. Asteroids would be a helpful resource in the construction of a Death Star, Muirhead added. A Death Star would require raw materials, and asteroids could provide that . Using asteroids as a source of raw materials would also reduce the need to launch rockets from Earth, he said. Even the manufacturing facilities on the asteroid could be at least partially created via in-space 3D printing (a technology that is used today on the International Space Station, he added). "Given launch costs today, I did a simple calculation ... and the cost savings might be of the order of the total economic output of today's Earth for around a billion years (a huge and not very realistic number)," he said. "The alternative is to build huge factories at large asteroids (like Ceres, which is about 950 km [590 miles] in diameter) and use its materials and save the launch costs." Muirhead added that the laser on the Death Star is a technical problem, as it would likely require an output many times that of our sun, "an extraordinary amount of energy," he said. Still, he can't wait to see the new "Star Wars" movie. "As a spacecraft designer, I'm very much looking forward to 'Rogue One' and maybe getting a look at those plans," he said. Philip Lubin, physics professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara Various experts who were consulted for this story told Space.com that there are some real-world aerospace technologies that are similar to those used in the Death Star, including nuclear weapons and chemical lasers. One of those technologies is the DE-STAR (Directed Energy System for Targeting of Asteroids and Exploration) concept, which could be used to stop incoming asteroids and comets coming toward Earth and threatening our planet. Lubin is one of the scientists currently working on DE-STAR. The concept (which is very much on the drawing board) would take the sun's energy and convert it into a phased array of laser beams to target incoming objects and vaporize them, or alter their orbit to get them away from Earth and possibly throw them into the sun. There are different proposed sizes of DE-STAR. A 330-foot version could alter comet or asteroid orbits, while a 6-mile version would have enough energy to blow up a 1,600-foot asteroid once a year, Lubin said. (Lubin's group has also proposed a way to do fast interstellar travel using directed lasers. That concept, called DEEP-IN (Directed Energy for Relativistic Interstellar Missions), has Phase 2 funding from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program that funds far-out concepts.) But don't worry about planetary security. "We have no current plans to vaporize planets," Lubin said, joking that he thought about it and concluded it is not a fundable idea. "The system we are working on can be used for planetary defense against asteroids and comets ... It works quite well for that as well as for relativistic propulsion, if we can master the required technology." Original article on Space.com . A spider with a fantastic appearance straight out of the world of "Harry Potter" has been discovered in the Indian state of Karnataka. With a distinctive pointy body, the little brownish spider looks just like the sorting hat, and the scientists who found it have named it Eriovixia gryffindori. The arachnids scientific name is in honor of the wizard Godric Gryffindor, who first possessed the old hat that sorts the students into one of the four houses at the Hogwarts school. The three scientists behind the discovery Javed Ahmed, Rajashree Khalap, and Sumukha J. N.-- gushed about it whimsically in the Indian Journal of Arachnology when describing where the name came from. PLAGUE STRIKES 6 CATS IN IDAHO This uniquely shaped spider derives its name from the fabulous, sentient magical artifact, the sorting hat, owned by the (fictitious) medieval wizard Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and stemming from the powerful imagination of Ms. J. K. Rowling, wordsmith extraordinaire, as presented in her beloved series of books, featuring everyones favorite boy-wizard, Harry Potter, the authors write in the study. An ode from the authors, for magic lost, and found, in an effort to draw attention to the fascinating, but oft overlooked world of invertebrates, and their secret lives. Ahmed, the first author on the study, took to Twitter to announce the magical discovery. Eriovixia gryffindori; our new species named after the sorting hat from @jk_rowling books Kudos to my brilliant coauthor @INDogProject pic.twitter.com/L8U0aeXdak Javed Ahmed (@curiocritters) December 10, 2016 And J.K. Rowling herself, the creator of the series, even tweeted about it, saying that she was truly honoured! The spiders appearance reportedly helps it look like not the sorting hat, but a leaf, thus serving as camouflage. There is one rule about elves in Iceland: Dont laugh about the elves in Iceland. More than half the population of this island nation of 300,000 people is deadly serious in their beliefs about elvesmagical small folk who live amongst us and occasionally lend a helpful hand to human beings. I didnt actually believe in their belief until I traveled to Iceland and conducted my own unscientific poll of local folk, from cab drivers to waiters to politicians and businessmen. Yes. If you ask almost anyone in Iceland to tell you about elves you'll get an earful. Either their sister has seen one or an elf helped their Uncle Siggy change a flat tire in the Highlands about a decade ago. There are even stories of the government consulting elf experts before re-routing highways for fear of destroying elf habitation. Don't even get Icelanders started on trolls. According to local experts elves are typically invisible to most humans. They range in size between 10 and 80 centimeters (or up to 31 inches). There are 13 different species and they prefer to live in rocky places near running water. Even though we dont know anything about them, they know everything about us. As a visitor to Iceland you can be schooled about elves by just about anyone, but there are also opportunities to receive a real elfin education while exploring the country. Elf School Dont try to seek out the Icelandic Elf School online. Even walking into the main tourism office in Reykjavik earns you only confused stares. Just take a $12 cab ride a bit outside the city center directly to 31 Sidumuli on the second floor of a strip mall. The school starts at approximately 3 pm every Friday and typically lasts between three and four hours. The founder and dean of the elf school is historian and spiritual advisor Magnus Skarphedinsson, a Viking of a man partial to plaid flannel and a well-kept beard. During the three to four hours of class Mr. Skarphedinsson will relay all of his personal knowledge of elves, gnomes, dwarves, fairies and spirits that he has obtained through personal interviews with more than 700 eyewitnesses. I started thirty years ago collecting all possible and impossible information about elves and hidden people in Iceland, Skarphedinsson told me during my visit to the school. The elves do tend to help people. They make abnormally good friends and I have heard many, many accounts of them saving people by giving starving people food and sick people medicine. All students in the school receive a study book in English, German or Swedish and a diploma confirming they completed the course in Elf Studies. Does the school teach fact or fiction? It doesnt matter. Skarphedinsson is so earnest and so certain that his knowledge of elves and the magical world is not only extensive but accurate that you wont regret spending an afternoon listening to his tales. Elf Trekking Mountain Guides is one of the many groups offering adventure trekking tours all over the island but three of their trips in particular lead the more open-minded traveler through elf territories with expert guides. The Viknasloir, or Hiking at the End of the World trek is a 5-day trek through the mountains and small bays of the North East. The Kingdom of Volcanoes and Glaciers, is a 5-day trip through Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall, the Skaftafell part of Vatnajokull National Park, the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and the famous Laki volcano. Both trips are led by experienced guides who take visitors through some of the magical places linked to elves. Not having the better part of a week to spare I took Mountain Guides Essential Iceland Super Jeep Tour through Kaldidalur, Langjokull Glacier and the Lava Caves. My guide, Reynir Jonsson (reynir@Fjallasport.is) pointed out all the places where the elves live. Elves are generally just nice. Theyre good with kids and they dont do anything to harm anyone unless someone harms their homes, Jonsson said. He explained that he thinks the Icelanders belief in elves is a holdover from the days before the Enlightenment. We were so far away from the rest of Europe that we kept believing in magic, he said. Elf Walking Tour For 11 years Sigurbjorg Karlsdottir, known better as Sibby, has been giving story-telling walks around Hafnarfjordur, a port town right outside of Reykjavik and the capital of Icelands hidden worlds. For 3900 kronus ($38 dollars), for 11 years. Her 90 minute walks take visitors to elfin hot spots (creeks, rocks, boulders and waterfalls) around Hafnarfjordur as Sibby tells tales of famous elf sightings. Visitors who wish to book a tour with Sibby can email her at sibbak@simnet.is. Its an insight into Icelandic folklore and stories from people who have had their own experience with the hidden folk, Sibby told me. An eighth-grader suspended after pranking a classmate with a bag of oregano following a lecture on the dangers of marijuana has a civil liberties group in his corner, but officials at his North Carolina school aren't backing down. The boy was booted from his school for 55 days for the stunt at Cuthbertson Middle School in Waxhaw, N.C. School officials cite the district's policy manual, which says a student can get a 10-day suspension for "possessing illegal or counterfeit drugs and "misuse of chemical/material (organic or otherwise) that causes or is purported to cause a hallucinogenic/mind altering effect." A longer suspension can be imposed if officials determine a student's conduct "demonstrates a willful violation" of school policies. "It was just a joke," the mother of the boy, who is not being identified because of his age, told FoxNews.com in an exclusive interview. "He's embarrassed that it's turned into such a big issue. He's actually said he doesn't know why he did it. But he didn't have an illegal substance to begin with." Luan Ingram, a spokeswoman for Union County Public Schools, confirmed to FoxNews.com that the matter was handled according to its student discipline policy, but declined additional comment. In a letter to Union County Public Schools officials, the Virginia-based Rutherford Institute called the suspension a "gross overreaction" to a childish prank and said it may be a violation of the boy's constitutional rights. "We want the record cleaned up so this doesn't track him for the rest of his life," John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, told FoxNews.com. Immediately after the incident last month, in which the boy passed the bag of seasoning to a pal a day after their health class discussed marijuana, the boy received a 10-day suspension. On Feb. 1, school officials notified the boy's family that he had been recommended for another 45 days of suspension. Their appeal of the additional term was denied this week, and the boy is attending a school for at-risk students until he is eligible to return to Cuthbertson on March 29. While Ingram refused to discuss whether the boy has had prior disciplinary issues, his distraught mom said he's never been in serious trouble. He has been punished for minor infractions, she said, including chewing gum on the bus and roughhousing on school grounds. "Nothing serious, all kid's stuff," she said, adding that this is the first time he's been suspended. Whitehead said oregano cannot be considered a "counterfeit or synthetic drug" since the term is not defined in the district's policy manual and doesn't fit the statutory definition in state statutes. That violates the kid's due process rights, Whitehead said. Whitehead noted recent North Carolina legislation requires local school boards to minimize use of long-term suspensions and expulsions to violations deemed to threaten safety of students, staff, or school visitors or threaten to substantially disrupt the educational environment. "Your school district would be hard-pressed to demonstrate that [the boy's] conduct either threatened the safety of the school community or substantially disrupted the school environment," Whitehead's letter to the school district stated. Police and retailers are pushing back against a report claiming that theft of Tide laundry detergent is on the rise nationwide and that some cities are devising special task forces to crack down on the alleged phenomenon. The Daily, an iPad publication, reported Monday that authorities from New York to Oregon are combating a new wave of Tide theft at popular retail stores, like CVS and Walmart. The story quickly spread virally across the Internet, and was even the subject of a segment Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." While police acknowledge that name-brand household items are commonly swiped from store shelves, authorities in at least two states referenced by the publication say they have not seen a specific rise in stolen Tide detergent. Lt. Matt Swenke of the West St. Paul Police Department in Minnesota described laundry detergent as a "needed commodity" much like baby formula and toilet paper that he said is often a target for shoplifters looking to profit by reselling the items to privately-owned retail stores. He referenced one case of a man suspected of stealing $25,000 worth of Tide detergent from a Walmart in West St. Paul over a 15-month period. He said the man, identified as 53-year-old Patrick Costanzo, was seen on surveillance video stocking up his shopping cart with various items, including Tide, and walking out of the store without paying. But, Swenke said, "We havent noticed anything in terms of this being a rising problem." He said of the five major retailers in the West St. Paul area, only one store Walmart came forward to police about thousands of dollars of missing Tide inventory believed to have been taken by Costanzo. "As of yet, we have not been contacted by any of our larger retail establishments," Swenke told FoxNews.com. "I dont know any other jurisdictions in Minnesota that have had that volume." Authorities in Kentucky also backed away from the claim that Tide theft is on the rise. Lt. Shannon Smith of the Somerset Police Department recalled a case from 2011 in which three individuals were charged with shoplifting from Cincinnati-based Kroger stores as well as from a local Walmart. Smith says the alleged shoplifters made off with several items, including Tide detergent, and then sold them on the black market to small, privately-owned stores. "People are stealing to resell the items to other less professional retail establishments," he said. Smith and other law enforcement officials acknowledge that name-brand goods, like Tide, are easily converted to cash on the black market. A $20 shoplifted bottle of Tide, for instance, could be sold illegally for $10 more than the sale of a lesser-known, generic brand. "Tide is highly recognizable," former FBI Special Agent Brad Garrett told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Tuesday. "It's very difficult to trace and it's easily resold." "Its the demand that the retail establishments are putting out there on the black market that drives this whole thing, added Smith. They can demand more money at the point of sale for a bottle of Tide than they can for a generic brand," he said, though he stressed that Tide theft, in particular, is no more widespread in the Somerset area than theft of other popular household items. Retailers, meanwhile, also are denying reports of a new spike in stolen Tide products. "We are not experiencing a 'wave' of Tide thefts," CVS/pharmacy public relations director Mike DeAngelis wrote in email to FoxNews.com. "In a few markets, we've placed security devices on Tide bottles that will trigger an alarm if a shoplifter tries to remove it from the store without paying," DeAngelis said. "However, theft of Tide is not a new issue in the retail industry." The Daily had no comment on the story. The Daily and FoxNews.com are both owned by News Corporation. Police have arrested a second man for allegedly stabbing a worshipper near a Simi Valley mosque. The Daily News of Los Angeles reports (http://bit.ly/2hzy9HO) that 26-year-old Marco De La Cruz was arrested Thursday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, making criminal threats and civil rights and parole violations. It's unclear whether he has a lawyer. Police say he's a gang member with an extensive criminal record and a neighbor of 29-year-old John Matteson. Matteson was arrested earlier and has pleaded not guilty to making criminal threats and other charges with hate-crime enhancements. Police say the two men approached a group of people who'd just left the mosque late Saturday night and yelled slurs at them, prompting a fight during which one worshipper was stabbed. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 The federal government is committing to at least another 20 years of use of a huge Colorado River dam that officials call crucial to states in the West, but that critics say is unstable and should be removed. "Politics belong out of this, because water is life," said U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell at a conference of key water managers in Las Vegas. She signed an agreement that allows the federal Bureau of Reclamation to manage Glen Canyon Dam and the Lake Powell reservoir in Arizona through 2036. The agreement "provides certainty and predictability to those that use water and power from the dam," Jewell said, while also providing environmental protection for fish and wildlife in the Grand Canyon, through which the dam sends water to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. Critics call Glen Canyon Dam obsolete and Lake Powell too porous and wasteful to keep operating in a basin. Glen Canyon Dam, completed in 1964 near Page, Arizona, is the second-tallest concrete-arch dam in the United States, behind Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. But while Hoover Dam is anchored in solid volcano-baked basalt, Glen Canyon Dam spans a gorge lined with Navajo sandstone that critics compare with hardened sand dunes. "Lake Powell is evaporating and seeping hundreds of thousands of acre-feet per year that are completely lost to the (Colorado River) system," said Gary Wockner, executive director of the Denver-based group Save the Colorado. He called Jewell's decision "an extraordinary waste." "In order to keep the lake level high enough to keep electric turbines spinning, they're going to have to buy massive amounts of water from farmers in Colorado and Utah," Wockner said. Glen Canyon has eight hydroelectric turbine generators that the Bureau of Reclamation says produce about 5 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power per year for distribution by the Western Area Power Administration to Nebraska and six of seven Colorado River basin states. Jewell told reporters the agreement received five years of study about economic, technical, social and environmental factors, and was supported by states, the National Parks Conservation Association, Western Area Power Administration, the Navajo Nation and six other tribes, Grand Canyon river rafting groups and the public. She said the so-called Long-term Experimental and Management Plan won't change water allocations for the basin states Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming or Mexico. But drought might. Jewell spoke several times of a 50-50 chance that a drought declaration will be made next August, forcing cuts in water deliveries beginning in January 2018 to Arizona and Nevada. Under various treaties, regulations, statutes and agreements including the Colorado River Compact of 1922, the seven states are promised a share of about 15 million acre-feet of water the river was projected to take in annually from rainfall and snowmelt. Drought has cut that figure, and officials acknowledge the available supply today falls short of promised amounts. Anne Castle, a former assistant Interior Department Interior secretary who spent years working on Colorado River issues, called the decision that Jewell signed important for the West. She said revenue from power produced at the dam pay for endangered species, environmental management and reclamation programs. About a dozen officers fired at a teenager who's accused of shooting at patrol cars during a chase and hitting a sheriff's deputy with a stolen car, a suburban New Orleans sheriff's spokesman said. Two Gretna police officers and about 10 Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies fired at Ray John Brown, 17, of New Orleans, Thursday night, Col. John Fortunato of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said Friday. Fortunato said Brown, who was wanted in New Orleans on a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon, is black. He told The Associated Press he did not know the race of the deputies. Gretna police did not immediately respond to a telephone message. Authorities told news outlets the officer is being treated for an injured leg and Brown for a bullet wound in the stomach. Their conditions Friday were not immediately available, but officials have said neither injury is life-threatening. Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson said Brown's car hit his officer as it plowed through a barricade. The chase started after officers spotted a Kia Optima that had been reported stolen Dec. 3, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand. The driver refused to stop and led officers on a chase. During the pursuit, the fleeing driver fired gunshots at two patrol cars, Normand said. The pursuit entered the city of Gretna, a few miles south of New Orleans across the Mississippi River, where officers set up a barricade. The car went through the roadblock and hit the Gretna officer, Lawson said. Finally the car drove onto a sidewalk and into the front yard of a home. Brown ran but was found under a raised house. John Saltzman, who was working in the attic of a nearby building when the gunfire broke out Thursday night, said he heard scores of shots. "I stopped counting at 65 rounds," he told NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune (http://bit.ly/2hVMbQp). "I'm former law enforcement so I know what that sounds like." A University of Alabama student has died more than a year after he was shot in the head during a Florida vacation. Al.com reports (http://bit.ly/2hW3RLZ ) 23-year-old Rivers Starkey died Thursday at a hospital in his hometown of Florence. He was first hospitalized in Pensacola, Florida, and then at Shepherd Center in Atlanta before being moved to Florence. His father, Trey Starkey, said the family was "proud to know that Rivers has had such an impact on so many lives." Rivers Starkey traveled to Navarre, Florida, on a holiday break in October 2015. He was at the home of a friend's uncle, John Marshall Fitzgerald, when an argument broke out. Fitzgerald got a pistol and demanded Starkey and his nephew leave. He shot Starkey several times, later testifying Starkey tried to grab the gun. A jury recently acquitted Fitzgerald of attempted murder charges, finding he acted in self-defense. Members of the nation's largest atheist group are celebrating a victory in Shelton, Connecticut, where they're displaying a message this Christmas season that claims God doesn't exist and religion "enslaves minds." MISSISSIPPI LAW TAKES SIDES IN RELIGIOUS DEBATE, PLAINTIFFS CLAIM The Freedom From Religion Foundation said its members were originally denied permission last year to display their banner in Huntington Park because city officials said their message saying there is no God or Heaven would be "offensive to many." But after FFRF filed a lawsuit in March, the members have since been allowed to display their red and green banner featuring an anti-Christian and anti-religion message. The group says it's seeking equal representation, and argues that if others are allowed to put up a nativity scene in a public space, atheist messages should also be permitted. "We'd prefer to keep public parks and government buildings free from religious divisiveness," said FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. "But if a devotional nativity display is allowed, there must be 'room at the inn' for all points of view, including irreverence and freethought." The message reads in full: "At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." Click Here to Read the Full Story at ChristianPost.com A repeat felon arrested in the shooting that left a 61-year-old police officer in critical condition north of Seattle was ordered held on $1 million bail Friday, officials said. VIDEO: BODY CAMERA CAPTURES SHOOTING OF GEORGIA POLICE OFFICERS Ernesto Lee Rivas, 44, was taken into custody overnight following an hour-long standoff at a home in Mount Vernon, during which he repeatedly fired at officers, the Washington State Patrol said. Hostage negotiators spent several hours communicating with him. Two other people were also arrested, but authorities did not immediately release details about their involvement in the case. FIRST LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER FACING FEDERAL TERRORISM CHARGES IS INDICTED The wounded officer was shot when he responded to the home for a report of another shooting Thursday evening, in which the victim was grazed by a bullet. The identity of the officer, who has about 30 years of service, was expected to be released Friday afternoon. The wounded officer was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital before being transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg. A judge ordered Rivas held in lieu of $1 million bail, the Seattle Times reported. It was not immediately clear if Rivas has obtained an attorney. Court and Washington State Patrol records show that Rivas is 44 and has eight felonies on his record, including unlawful possession of a firearm in 2011 and unlawful imprisonment in 1998. He was subject to a domestic violence protection order last year after the mother of his child accused him of stalking her at work. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Keith Leary told reporters earlier the 61-year-old Mount Vernon officer had been wounded Thursday evening while responding to the call about a shooting victim and a suspect began shooting from a house. Leary said the victim from the initial call was grazed by a bullet and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. It wasn't immediately known if the two shootings were connected, Leary said. The neighborhood in Mount Vernon, about 60 miles north of Seattle, was closed by police while officers and a SWAT team were attempting to negotiate. The shooting comes less than a month after a Tacoma police officer was killed responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Reginald "Jake" Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot Nov. 30. The suspected gunman was killed by a sheriff's marksman, ending an 11-hour standoff. Skagit Valley College said Thursday night that because of police activity the Mount Vernon campus was in lockdown and closed. The school tweeted "everyone get inside and stay inside." Fox News' Michael Setsuda and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted the first U.S. law enforcement officer to face federal terrorism charges, after prosecutors said he bought nearly $250 worth of gift cards for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State. MILWAUKEE EX-COP CHARGED IN DEADLY SHOOTING THAT SPARKED RIOTS Nicholas Young, a 37-year-old former patrol officer with the D.C. region's transit police, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice. According to an FBI affidavit, the officer from Virginia bought the gift cards that he intended for ISIS to use to buy mobile messaging apps in July. Young actually gave the codes for the gift cards to an undercover FBI agent, the affidavit said. MASS RESIGNATIONS LEAVE INDIANA TOWN WITHOUT ANY POLICE Young also sent a text to the undercover officer's phone in 2014 making it appear to the FBI that the officer had left the U.S. to go on vacation in Turkey, even though Young thought the officer had left to join the terrorist group, according to the feds. If convicted, Young could face up to 60 years in prison. He had worked for the police department for 13 years before he was fired in August. Young, meanwhile, sued Alexandria, Va., Sheriff Dana Lawhorne in September, asserting that his mental health was suffering in jail and he "could see himself dying soon," WRC reported. "Sheriff Lawhorne has monitored Mr. Youngs situation since the day he arrived and he has corresponded with Mr. Youngs family and his attorney on numerous occasions," the sheriff's office responded. Young had been under surveillance since 2010, and he traveled to Libya at least once in 2011, where he said he joined rebel forces seeking to oust dictator Muammar Qaddafi, the affidavit said. He traveled with body armor, a Kevlar helmet and other military-style items. Young was deeply paranoid about law enforcement spying on him, often taking out the battery of his cellphone when he wanted to go somewhere and talk, the document said. On Jan. 24, 2011, an undercover officer said Young told the officer he once aimed an AK-47-style rifle out of a window at his home, scanning for law enforcement he believed was watching him. On another occasion, he grew angry that the FBI talked to his family and co-workers and said he wanted to find the FBI agent and kidnap and torture her. The undercover officer said he "doubted that Young seriously intended to act upon those words," according to the affidavit. As police searched Young's townhome in Fairfax, neighbor Dina Ahmad described him as standoffish and said he had occasional run-ins with the homeowners' association over his cluttered front lawn. He often worked on his car at late hours, and the car was adorned with anti-Israel bumper stickers, she said. "We knew something was weird about him," Ahmad said. "You just kind of got that creepy vibe off of him." Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Young posed no threat to the Metro system, and nowhere in the affidavit does it mention the subway and bus system for the nation's capital. "Obviously, the allegations in this case are profoundly disturbing. They're disturbing to me, and they're disturbing to everyone who wears the uniform," Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement. FBI spokesman Andrew Ames confirmed that Young was the first law enforcement officer to be charged under the federal government's terrorism law. Investigators said that in their years of monitoring Young, his purchase of the gift cards was the first action that crossed the line to where he could be charged with a crime, and they moved to arrest him as soon as it occurred. As he was under surveillance, though, Young frequently made alarming comments, according to the affidavit. During one conversation with an undercover officer, Young said if he was ever betrayed by someone, "that person's head would be in a cinderblock at the bottom of" a lake. In March 2015, he raised suspicion when he brought a large amount of ammunition, AK-47s and a pistol to an off-duty weapons training event organized by another Metro officer. Young said he owned even more weapons, according to the affidavit. He also praised the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks at the Bataclan music hall and elsewhere, as well as the earlier Charlie Hebdo attacks, the document said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Hot off their trip to Miami Art Basel, Cuban-born photographer Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte and his partner and art director, Humberto Tico Torres, are thrilled about the many new portraits theyre adding to their existing permanent collection at the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Currently, the two have 18 limited edition portraits from their Cuba Out of Cuba series and what the National Portrait Gallery calls the iconic photograph of Celia Cruz , Yo soy de Cuba la voz - Guantanamera! from the cover of their book, Presenting Celia Cruz. We had Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Nuyorican portraits, but there is this whole impulse of documenting ones own community and Alexis and Ticos work systematically honors the Cuban- American community, Associate Curator of Latino Art and History at the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, Taina B. Caragol, told Fox News.com. Caragol says including Rodriguez-Duartes and Torres portraits in the gallery is meaningful because shes intent on making sure the collection reflects the multicultural richness of the U.S., and because of the quality of their work. They have a wonderful collaborative relationship that creates beautiful photographs, she said. They work at the intersection of fashion and portraiture and conjure a special mix of artificeThrough this collection people will see the range of contributions Cuban-Americans have made to this society. Rodriguez-Duarte and Torres began the Cuba Out of Cuba portrait series in 1994 after they were commissioned for a shoot for Art & Antiques magazine featuring Cuban artists living in the United States. They have been working together for nearly 34 years. The two got their start in the 80s working with photographer Bruce Weber on the Obsession perfume campaign for designer Calvin Klein. That campaign really put South Beach and Miami on the map," Torres told Fox News.com. "Weber was a pioneer and he was the person who encouraged us to expand on the idea of shooting Cuban-Americans, Rodriguez-Duarte said. The two say they realized Cuban culture in the U.S. was dying with their grandparents, as their families all wanted to assimilate as quickly as they could. Their work documenting Cuban-American icons started when they were living in London, and saw a poster while on their way to a Celia Cruz performance. We tracked her down and someone put her on the phone. She invited us to a press conference, and then to her hotel room for tea and biscuits. We considered her la reina (the queen) of Cuba, and here we were having tea with her, Tico said. A judge has ordered that a 13-year-old boy charged in the accidental shooting death of a 13-year-old acquaintance in Detroit be referred for a competency evaluation. The prosecutor's office says a pre-trial hearing was held Friday for the teen. He is charged as a juvenile with manslaughter and careless discharge of a weapon causing death. His 58-year-old grandmother is charged with involuntary manslaughter, child abuse and felony firearm. Emarjae Watkins was out of school because of a snow day when he was shot in the back. Authorities have said Lise Cox was at work. Prosecutors say she failed to properly store her gun and was aware that her grandsons knew where to find it. She faces a probable cause hearing Thursday in district court. Los Angeles prosecutors say a TV anchor arrested on suspicion of stealing a pair of headphones at Los Angeles International Airport will not face criminal charges if she completes a diversion program. The city attorney's office said Friday Lu Parker agreed to participate in the program, which is offered to people without a criminal record. The KTLA-TV anchor, whose full name is Frances Louise Parker, was arrested last month in connection with the theft. Authorities say the headphones' owner was an off-duty Los Angeles police detective. KTLA had said it was a misunderstanding. Prosecutors say details about Parker's participation in the program are confidential. Parker is the 1994 winner of the Miss USA pageant and a one-time girlfriend of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Latest on a police officer shot in Mount Vernon (all times local): 9:50 p.m. Officials say a Mount Vernon police officer who was shot has been taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg told The Associated Press Thursday night than an officer in his early 60s had been shot in the head. Gregg says he was in the early stages of assessment at about 9:50 p.m. Multiple news outlets were reporting that a suspect was barricaded in a Mount Vernon residence and that officers and a SWAT team were attempting to negotiate. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis tweeted that the scene was still active. No further details were immediately available. ___ 8:45 p.m. Authorities say a police officer has been shot and wounded about 60 miles north of Seattle in Mount Vernon. The Skagit Valley Herald (https://goo.gl/Sll463 ) reports a Mount Vernon police officer was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital for injuries related to a gunshot wound Thursday night. Mount Vernon Fire Chief Bryan Brice told the newspaper he didn't know the condition of the officer. Mount Vernon police Lt. Chris Cammock said police had few details to immediately release about the shooting but that the area around LaVenture Road and Fir Street has been closed by police. Skagit Valley College was tweeting Thursday night that because of police activity the Mount Vernon campus was in lockdown. The school tweeted "everyone get inside and stay inside." next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 The Hells Angels at their clubhouse in Manhattan's East Village aren't considered horrible neighbors as long as you don't mess with the motorcycles parked outside. A man from upstate New York learned that lesson the hard way earlier this week after he tried to move one of the orange traffic cones the bikers used to hold curbside parking spots. He ended up hospitalized with a gunshot wound, setting off the latest clash between police and the motorcycle club. The secretive group has frustrated police by refusing to help identify the shooter. This week, officers swept in and removed the cones, along with an unapproved bench and planters on the sidewalk outside the club's front door. A lawyer for the Hells Angels says they just want to be left alone. Police are searching for a prisoner who assaulted a deputy and escaped custody at a North Carolina hospital Wednesday night. POLICE OFFICER IN WASHINGTON STATE SHOT; SUSPECT IN CUSTODY Edward Moore, 39, escaped custody around 6:30 p.m. when he assaulted the deputy, took his Taser and fled the hospital, WNCN reports. He was at the facility to receive an undisclosed treatment. Moore was an inmate of the CCSO Detention Center for bank robberies. He is EXTREMELY dangerous. Call 911 with any info or 483-TIPS https://t.co/Y59CCRWdia Fayetteville Police (@FayettevillePD) December 15, 2016 During the escape, he stole a van from a woman who was at the hospital with her father. I was unloading him, got him in a wheelchair and when I stood up, turned to take him inside the inmate ran out with a weapon pointed at us, yelling, ran around my vehicle and got in and took off, said Naloni William. I was wondering what was going to happen to my dad. Hes already sick. Thats my daddy. You know, whos going to get hurt? Whats gonna happen next? Moore, who was in jail for robbing several banks, is considered to be dangerous. Deputies later found Williams vehicle with the Taser inside on Fresno Drive off Santa Fe Drive in Fayetteville. Click for more from Fox 8. Police said 20 people went to area hospitals after a Friday morning crash on the northeast side involving a pair of Lawrence Township, Ind., school buses. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS HURT AFTER SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SWERVES TO AVOID DEER The crash happened on northbound Shadeland Avenue south of Fall Creek Parkway. Lawrence North High School students were on the buses when they crashed into each other. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, according to IMPD. Twenty people went to area hospitals, including both drivers, who complained of back pain. Lawrence Township Schools said students went to St. Vincent, IU Health Methodist, Eskenazi and Community Hospital North to be checked out as a precaution. School administrators were at the hospitals with students. The school contacted parents to let them know about the crash. Lawrence Township also called all families in the district to inform them of the crash. Click for more from Fox 59. Corrupt and gorging itself at the trough of Algeria's vast oil wealth that's how most Algerians privately view the elites running the country. Yet few have been willing to say so publicly, until now. New corruption scandals are shining a new spotlight on state oil company Sonatrach, which jointly with BP and Norway's Statoil runs the desert gas plant that was the scene of a bloody hostage standoff in January. A recent anguished public plea by a former Sonatrach official shocked Algerians and raised hopes that the leadership will try to clean up the oil and gas sector in Africa's largest country. There's plenty at stake: Algeria is also one of the continent's richest countries, as the No. 3 supplier of natural gas to Europe, with $190 billion in reserves, up $8 billion in the last year alone. The Feb. 18 letter by former Sonatrach vice president Hocine Malti in the French-language Algerian daily El Watan broke the silence around the company. Addressing the shadowy leader of Algeria's intelligence service, it asks if he is really serious about investigating new bribery scandals involving Sonatrach and Italian and Canadian companies. When Italian prosecutors in January announced an investigation into oil company ENI and subsidiary SAIPEM for allegedly paying 197 million ($256.1 million) in bribes to secure an 11 billion contract with Sonatrach, it provoked a firestorm in the Algerian media, until the North African country's justice system finally announced its own inquiry Feb. 10. Malti, author of the "Secret History of Algerian Oil," scoffed that Algerian authorities were only following the lead of international investigators and wondered if Mohammed "Tewfik" Mediene, the feared head of the Department of Research and Security, would allow the real sources of corruption to be tried in court. "Is it too much to dream that some of your fellow generals, certain ministers or corrupt businessmen members of the pyramid that you are on top of members of this fraternity, might also end up in front of justice?" he asked in the letter. "Or will it be like always, just the small fry are targeted by this new investigation?" "Will we have to continue to listen for news from the Milan prosecutor to know the sad reality of our country, to discover how certain people, whom you know quite well, people you have come across in your long professional career, have gorged themselves on millions of dollars and euros of the country's oil revenues?" he added. The response to the letter was swift. Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi promised that once an investigation was complete "we will take all necessary measures" against those harming the interests of the nation. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who rarely appears in public, said in a written statement, "these revelations provoke our disgust and condemnation, but I trust the justice system of our country to bring clarity to the web of accusations and discover who is responsible." Malti told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in France that he wrote the letter partly out of anger that Algeria had to rely on foreign prosecutors to reveal the extent of its own corruption and addressed it to the head of intelligence to shock people. "It made a lot of noise because with this letter, I broke a taboo," he said. "The head of the DRS is an unapproachable figure in Algeria, at times we can't even pronounce (say) his name." It is not the first time the state-owned hydrocarbon company, which provides Algeria with 97 percent of its hard currency earnings, has been enmeshed in scandal. In 2010, its head, three of its vice presidents and the minister of energy were all fired in a corruption investigation run by Mediene's intelligence agency. However, rather than restore faith in the country's corruption-fighting mechanism, the 2010 purge was widely seen as a chance to settle scores between the DRS and Bouteflika, since most of those fired were his close associates. Algeria ranks 105 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2012 corruption index, and the occasional corruption investigation often just seems to be how the elites settle their scores, such as a string of revelations about prominent politicians in November, which observers said were linked to next year's presidential elections. "I realize that people might be shocked by what is happening at Sonatrach these scandals are terrible and we condemn them as individual acts," Sonatrach head Abdelhamid Zerguine said on the radio Sunday, the anniversary of Algeria's 1971 nationalization of its oil industry from the French. He promised to fight further corruption "with utmost vigor," even while denying it was systemic. The scale of the scandals is staggering. Nearly 200 million ($260 million) was paid out by the Italians, according to the Milan prosecutor. ENI has pledged full cooperation with prosecutors in their investigations. Meanwhile, according to a joint investigation by Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper and an Italian business paper published Feb. 22, Canadian company SNC-Lavalin paid a series of bribes of its own to secure a $1 billion engineering contract. Company spokeswoman Lilly Nguyen responded to queries about the case saying "to the best of our knowledge, SNC-Lavalin is not specifically under investigation in the Sonatrach matter." With commissions on deals like this going to the highest levels of power, the Algerian press rarely reports about it until the subject is broached by the foreign media. Malti, who was there at the founding of Sonatrach in 1963, estimated that the country was losing between $3 and 6 billion annually to corruption in the oil sector alone. "If a judge says that an inquiry has opened or even a minister promises to take measures against 'people working against Algeria's interests,' I don't believe them," Mohammed Saidj, a professor of international relations at Algiers University, told the AP. "It's just words to appease a public opinion shocked when it hears about the corruption and billions of dollars stolen by high-level political and military officials, including those close to the president." The chances of this situation changing are dim, considering how much the country relies on a single company. In a chapter on Sonatrach in the 2012 book "Oil and Governance," John Entelis, an Algeria expert at New York's Fordham University, described the importance of a company established just a year after Algeria won its independence from France, and wrote, "Algeria's governing elite rely upon Sonatrach for revenue from which they gain power, patronage, and privileges." Entelis told AP that the letter in El Watan shows that Algerians are increasingly able to complain about this system, even if that won't necessarily change things. "This is the heart of the Algerian political system Sonatrach, the DRS, civil society in the form of ... willingness to make these things public. Some say this is what enables it to maintain itself instead of collapse," he said. ___ Paul Schemm reported from Rabat, Morocco. Associated Press writer Karim Kebir contributed to this report from Algiers, Algeria. At least 100 American citizens trapped for months on two U.S. bases inside Kuwait are now free to leave their posts without the threat of being detained and jailed by local police, a source on one of the bases told FoxNews.com. Kuwaiti authorities unjustly issued warrants for the arrest of the Americans, who worked as Arabic translators for U.S. Defense contractor, Global Linguist Solutions, after their employer ended a lucrative deal with its sponsoring Kuwaiti subcontractor, Al Shora International General Trading & Contracting, and signed on with another company. When the contract ended Feb. 17, Al Shora refused to transfer the employees' visas to the new Kuwaiti subcontractor and falsely accused the Americans of being "runaways and absconders," Charles Tolleson, president of Global Linguist Solutions, told FoxNews.com last month. His company has barred workers from leaving the bases since May 31 to protect them from arrest and imprisonment. Following FoxNews.com's June 18 report on the ordeal, the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait as well as the U.S. and Kuwaiti armies intervened in the matter. According to an American who was trapped at Camp Buehring, "We are now moving free and safe." "We already started the process last week to be totally free and safe to leave the country," said the source, who spoke to FoxNews.com on condition of anonymity. The State Department was not immediately available for comment when contacted Wednesday. U.S. Rep Jason Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who had previously reached out to sources on the base, said he was "relieved this issue looks to be working itself out." "Its always concerning anytime Americans are stuck overseas," Chaffetz said Wednesday. The source said a meeting was held June 21 with the linguists and representatives from GLS, the U.S. Embassy, and the U.S. and Kuwaiti armies. The owner of Al Shora, identified as Riham Al Jawly, also attended the meeting, "Riham delivered a long speech and expressed her readiness to assist in resolving the problem," the source said. "She explained her side of the story, and she promised to start as soon as possible processing all of us to clear and release us from the Al Shora sponsorship. She expressed her willingness in canceling the warrant of arrest, clear our names in all ministries, and removing the ban." Sources told FoxNews.com Al Shora's managing director is the sister-in-law of the Kuwaiti prime minister. One of the Americans trapped on the base claimed the woman "cancelled all of our visas here, so we became illegal," after Global Linguist Solutions terminated its contract with Al Shora. Camp Buehring is in the Kuwaiti desert, about 25 miles south of the Iraqi border. Other employees of Global Linguistics were similarly stuck at Camp Arifjan, another U.S. Army base inside Kuwait. Al Shora had demanded $22 million from Global Linguistics in order to transfer the employees' visas to the new company, Kuwaiti Resources House, sources said. Under Kuwaiti law, foreigners cannot work in the country unless they are under the sponsorship of a private Kuwaiti company. After his company re-bid its contract several months ago and opted to chose the new Kuwaiti company, "Al Shora basically embarked on a campaign to destroy my company," Tolleson said. At least three of the linguists had reportedly spent seven days in a crowded, filthy jail after being caught outside their base. Majdi Abdulghani was detained by police May 9, as he prepared to board a plane on an approved trip to Jordan to visit his sick mother, according to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, which first reported on the contract dispute. Abdulghan spent seven days in jail before being flown back to the U.S. Two Christian pastors from South Sudan who traveled north to Sudan and were arrested on charges of spying could face the death penalty when their trial begins next week, according to their attorneys. Im fearful that they will execute these pastors for practicing their faith." David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA Yat Michael Ruot and Peter Yein Reith, both Presbyterian pastors from the breakaway Christian nation of South Sudan, are being held by Sudans National Intelligence and Security Services on charges of undermining the constitution and espionage. Their supporters say their arrest and pending trial is just the latest effort by the militant Islamist government in Khartoum to stamp out Christianity. Im fearful that they will execute these pastors for practicing their faith, said David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, a group dedicated to advocating for the victims of Christian persecution. The pair also was charged with inciting organized groups and offending Islamic beliefs, which call for imprisonment. The trial was set to begin Tuesday, but was postponed to May 31. Ruot, who is from Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, was arrested Dec. 21 after he delivered a Sunday sermon in Omdurman, a Sudanese city across the Nile from Khartoum. Reith, who, like Ruot, is from the Presbyterian Evangelical Church, was arrested Jan. 11 when he was called in by security services and taken into custody. His supporters believe his arrest was prompted by a letter he wrote to the Office of Religious Affairs in Khartoum inquiring about Ruot. Their whereabouts where unknown for months following arrest, which is in violation of international human rights laws. But a month ago, they were taken from Khartoums police station to a detention center, according to Ruots wife. Charges were secretly filed against them in March, according to attorneys. Sudan ranked No. 6 on Open Doors 2015 World Watch List of 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution, moving up from the No. 11 spot in 2014. Last year, the case of Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian woman imprisoned in Khartoum with her child while pregnant, garnered international attention from media and advocacy groups. Ibrahim was sentenced to death for apostasy for converting from Islam to Christianity, but as a result of much international pressure on her case, she was released and permitted to travel to the U.S. Sudans NISS intelligence forces are led by hard-line Islamists who beat, intimidate and arrest the countrys Christians. The pastors families have been waiting with no information about their incarceration or trial. We are still worried about their detention, Ruots wife told a Christian advocacy group. Let us continue to pray for them so that God can help them to be released. Marginalization of Christians has dramatically increased since the secession of South Sudan in July 2011. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, a hard-liner, vowed to make Sudan a fully Islamic state operating under the strictest interpretation of Sharia Law, acknowledging only the Muslim religion and the Arabic language. The Sudanese Minister of Guidance and Endowments made a declaration in April 2013 that no new licenses would be approved for building or establishing new churches in Sudan. NISS officials have demanded $12,000 from the Church for the release of the pastors, according to sources close to the case. Local church leaders said they are fearful to pay this amount, prompting the NISS to arrest other Christians in order to make the same monetary demands. Things are getting more and more difficult in Sudan for Christians, Curry said. This case in particular, we feel the charges are trumped up. These are just good citizens practicing their Christian faith, but the Sudanese government is using any tactic they can to push Christianity out of the market place and out of daily life, and unfortunately they are having some success, according to Curry. As of 2012, Sudan has deported Christians from foreign countries and demolished church buildings to show Christians they will not tolerate the practice or spread of Christianity within the country. Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department as of 1999, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended the country remain on the list in its 2015 report. Last year, the Sudanese government destroyed several Christian churches in the capital of Khartoum and in Omdurman and has not allowed any new ones to be built. Billionaire George Soros has been slammed by politicians in his native country Hungary for his pro-illegal immigration stance during a historic refugee crisis in the region. Soros, who was born in the country and lived there until his late teen years, has been vocal with his support to take in these asylum speakers and provide them with a head start in the form of $16,800 annually for two years. Soros wrote an op-ed in The Financial Times excoriating the European Union, which "failed to act collectively" and forced countries to take matters "into their own hands." "[Soros] keeps bombarding the international public with his earth-shattering plans, quite obviously, in the name of true selflessness which he has manifested in so many ways in the countries where his activities have resulted in sovereign default in the past 30 years," Hungarian Minister Janos Lazar, who currently heads Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office, said at a press conference earlier this month. "[Soros] keeps bombarding the international public with his earth-shattering plans, quite obviously, in the name of true selflessness which he has manifested in so many ways in the countries where his activities have resulted in sovereign default in the past 30 years," Hungarian official In 1992, Soros bet $10 billion against the value of the British pound. When the currency collapse known as "Black Wednesday" came, Soros made an estimated $1 billion and became known as "the man who broke the Bank of England." In 2009, the Hungarian government fined him $2.2 million for attempting to manipulate the stock of Hungary's largest bank. In a long-running case, a French court convicted Soros in 2002 for insider trading in the late 1980s, but the Hungary-born investor appealed, arguing that the French law on insider trading at the time was too ambiguous to find him guilty. In 2011, a European court upheld the conviction. A recent opinion poll sponsored by the Budapest think tank Republikon found that just 19 percent believe Hungary has a duty to take in refugees, while 66 percent deem them a threat and should not be let in. The Ipsos survey of 2,000 people, published Aug. 27 as the Keleti camp was growing, had a margin of error below 3 percentage points. Hungary's leaders have been criticized for their tough stance on immigration. The findings reflect a country where ethnic minorities barely exist outside Budapest and right-wing beliefs dominate in small towns that strongly support the ultranationalist Jobbik party. Government billboards warn the newcomers to respect the country's laws and culture, but the signs all are in Hungarian, which virtually none of them can read. Then again, it's hard to find one intending to stay in Hungary anyway. "The government says they don't want immigrants here and they can't take our jobs away," said satirist Gergely Kovacs, a 35-year-old graphic designer. "But the truth is that nobody wants to come here. Every immigrant would spend just three days here if we kept the borders open. There's no need to hate them because they're leaving as quickly as possible." The 85-year-old hedge fund manager has a net worth of $24.2 billion, according to Forbes.com, which makes him the 19th wealthiest person in U.S. and second among hedge fund managers. The most recent filing shows Soros Fund Management holds stakes in 263 companies with a total value of nearly $11 billion. The Associated Press contributed to this report next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 Honduras is rolling out a plan to halve child migration to the U.S. and overall poverty over the next five years, President Juan Orlando Hernandez said in an interview with Fox News Latino. Dubbed Honduras 2020, it seeks to generate 600,000 jobs and sharply boost exports by expanding and adding value to the key textiles, manufacturing, tourism, and business services sectors. The development plan was partly drafted by global consultant McKinsey. Roughly 100,000 children and teenagers arrived to the U.S. from Central America's impoverished "Northern Triangle" comprising Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala between 2013 and 2015, Hernandez said. But he said his administration is succeeding in tackling the problem, with the number of Honduran children traveling to the U.S. via Mexico falling in the past two years. He did not, however, provide precise statistics. "While we have lowered [child immigration] the most in Central America in the past two years, our goal is to reduce the 2014 numbers by 90 percent, Hernandez told FNL on the sidelines of an event to inaugurate a new renewable electricity plant by Honduras Green Power Group. [Since 2014] more children have arrived from El Salvador and Guatemala," he said. Honduras is cooperating with the U.S.' Northern Triangle Alliance for Prosperity Plan to cut Central American migration by generating jobs, improving security and developing the Honduran, El Salvador and Guatemalan economies. Apart from the U.S.'s commitment to invest $750 million annually, Honduras will commit $950 million annually to the program, Hernandez said. Under the $14 billion development scheme, Tegucigalpa will subsidize the construction of 10,000 houses annually for textile and manufacturing workers, something President Hernandez noted will help pare migration. "One of the things I like the most about the 2020 plan is the job generation component because that is the main reason why people go to the U.S.," he said. "On top of that, we are going to give people a home and that will give them financial heritage and root them." Yet Casa Alianza, a non-governmental organization that aids the youngsters in their journey to the United States, is skeptical about what the new plan will actually achieve. "I don't think migration will fall 50 percent," said Guadalupe Ruelas, executive director of Casa Alianza. "The job creation numbers could be for part-time positions that won't last and investor remain wary about investing in Honduras. We still have the same problems that feed migration: no jobs, extreme poverty, no opportunities and huge insecurity and crime." He also said Hernandez's views on migration "don't match the statistics," since children and adult migration are not falling. According to Ruelas, 18,000 children are expected to travel to the U.S. this year, up from 17,000 last year and 16,500 in 2013. He also noted that the ratio of Honduran children arriving with adults has increased to 20 per family from 5 in 2010. Ruelas said 25 percent travel alone and are usually ages 12 to 18 while 25 percent journey with their parents. Another 50 percent are smuggled through coyotes. He said overall, 60,000 Hondurans emigrate to the U.S. each year, with roughly 50 percent deported. But Hernandez insisted the Honduras 2020 plan will work. He said the number of indigent people in the nation will fall by 50 percent as 600,000 people join the formal workforce in a country where 70 percent hold informal jobs. "All these people will be new consumers," Fernandez said, adding an expected increase in value-added (VAT) tax proceeds will help fund new social programs. "We are going to take 3 percent of the 12 percent to 15 percent VAT." Those funds will then be used to enlarge the country's two main social programs (which invest roughly $280 million a year) Better Life and Better Families and Bono Vida Mejor, which helps families improve living conditions and people start small businesses respectively, Hernandez noted. Tegucigalpa also plans to double the number of people receiving social security benefits by in five years, which Hernandez said has not seen a significant boost in five decades. "In five years, we are going to do what wasn't done in 50," Hernandez claimed. ISIS has taken possession of three Russian surface-to-air missile launchers outside of Palmyra, Syria after retaking the ancient city last weekend, two U.S. defense officials told Fox News Thursday. ISIS REPORTEDLY MANUFACTURING ARMS ON INDUSTRIAL SCALE The officials said the SA-3 launchers contain four missiles each. The 60s-era Soviet missile launcher has a maximum range of 15 miles and can strike aircraft flying at over 60,000 feet in the air. It was not immediately clear whether ISIS knew how to use the military technology. ISIS retook Palmyra over the weekend after Syrian regime troops escaped in a hurry, leaving behind a trove of weapons. A spokesman for Russia's Ministry of Defense said Thursday that an insignificant number of weapons had been taken by the terror group. "Anything they seized poses a threat to the coalition, Army Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend told reporters Wednesday. ALEPPO CEASE-FIRE COLLAPSES, THREATENING EVACUATION PLANS Townsend said ISIS took Palmyra when Russia and Syria took their eyes off the ball. He emphasized that if the Russians don't take out the weapons seized by ISIS, we will. In the meantime, Townsend said he would let the Russians sort that out since Palmyra is in western Syria, where the Russians and Syrian regime routinely carry out strikes. Townsend would not go into specifics about the possibility that ISIS had in its possession some air defense equipment. He said complicating matters was that it was difficult to tell Syrian government and Russian forces from ISIS fighters there. Townsend agreed with special envoy Brett McGurks estimation that 12,000-15,000 ISIS fighters remained in Iraq and Syria. Its ballpark close enough, he said. The lieutenant general said ISIS fighters in Raqqa still have the ability to plot and cast into motion attacks on the West and thats a great concern to us. Townsend added that three ISIS leaders killed in a drone strike last week were actively plotting attacks against the West. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A 101-year-old man in Britain has been convicted of sexual offenses against children, becoming country's oldest prison inmate. A jury on Friday found Ralph Clarke guilty of 21 counts of indecency and indecent assault on two girls in the 1970s and '80s. The former truck driver had admitted nine other charges against a boy. Clarke was taken from Birmingham Crown Court in central England to prison to await sentencing on Monday. Judge Richard Bond said Clarke was facing a prison term and it would be "amazing" if he lived long enough to be released. Emma Fennon, a detective with West Midlands Police, said some might question prosecuting a 101-year-old. But she said "those he assaulted had to live with the suffering he inflicted on them for decades." A 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy radicalized by the Islamic State is accused of planning to set off a nail bomb at a Christmas market in Germany, according to reports Friday. The German-born son of Iraqi parents tried to set off the device at the Christmas market in the southern city of Ludwigshafen on Nov. 26 , and again outside city hall on Dec. 5, security sources told Focus magazine. The boy, who was not named, tried to carry out the attack after being heavily religiously radicalized by an unknown agent of the ISIS terror group, Focus reported, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The boy, who has been taken into youth detention with his parents' consent, apparently had turned rapidly to Islamic extremism, the Associated Press reported. "This shows how quickly the radicalization of a young person, a child, can take place," Stephan Meyer, parliamentary spokesman on security issues for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc, told the AP, while confirming details of the report. In the Dec. 5 attempt, a passer-by spotted the backpack containing the device and reported it to authorities. Inside they found a glass jar packed with material from firecrackers and with nails taped to it, Focus reported. Police said the device would have burned but would not have exploded. Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, would not comment on details of the case but said it was a "startling case to everyone, and I think the proper response is to investigate it thoroughly." German federal prosecutors did not return calls seeking comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A founder of a whistleblowing website has been charged with three felonies after being arrested in Tanzania amid protests from human rights groups. JamiiForums co-founder Maxence Melo appeared before Dar es Salaam's Kisutu Resident Magistrate on Friday. He denied charges of operating and operating a website not registered in Tanzania, obstructing police in an investigation and failure to comply with a police order. Melo was arrested Wednesday. Authorities had attempted to force him to reveal identities of the contributors to his website. Melo's lawyer, Benedict Ishabakaki, says "we will fight until justice is served." Human rights groups have expressed dissatisfaction with the government of President John Magufuli on freedom of expression and other issues. The six non-voting delegates who will represent the FARC rebel group in the Colombian Congress under the peace agreement signed last month went to the offices of the National Electoral Council on Thursday to formally inscribe the group Voices of Peace and Reconciliation as a political movement. Registration is the first step toward becoming a legal political party. The peace accord anticipates that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will evolve into a party and field candidates in the 2018 general elections. "We wanted to assume the difficult yet reassuring task of contributing to the conditions for the transformation of the FARC," delegate Imelda Daza said during the registration. Daza is one of the few survivors of the Union Patriotica, which the FARC launched in 1985 amid an earlier, ultimately failed peace process. More than 4,000 members of the UP party were slaughtered by right-wing paramilitaries. The aim of Voices of Peace and Reconciliation will be to promote the creation of a party following the complete disarmament and demobilization of the guerrillas, the FARC and the office of Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace said in a joint statement. The Voices movement does not include any active members of the FARC, according to the statement. Daza and the five other congressional delegates are "citizens who will participate exclusively in the debate of bills on constitutional or legal reforms for the implementation of the final peace accord," the statement said. "To a great extent," delegate Jairo Rivera said, Voices of Peace and Reconciliation "is a transitory grouping pending the emergence of the political movement of the FARC." Once the FARC has laid down all it weapons, Voices will have the option of becoming a political party, electoral council chairman Alexander Vega said. After nine months in the crossfire between Donald Trump and the many Mexicans who felt offended by his campaigns rhetoric, the U.S. expats who call Mexico home were hoping November 8 would put an end to the wave of anti-American sentiment felt across the country. One million American citizens reside south of the border the highest density of U.S. expatriates anywhere in the world and many have expressed fears that the current surge of antipathy, physical threats and vandalism resulting from local anger at Trumps election, will make their new lives in Mexico unendurable. It was horrifying, I had people in tears in front of me, terrified for their livelihoods, said Barbara Franco, who runs the non-profit American Benevolent Society, a 150-year-old organization that offers help to U.S. citizens throughout Mexico. Mexicans are very scared of what a Trump presidency means for their country, and those fears are easily turned into prejudice. Mexicans have been quick to ridicule Trump since his appearance on the political scene. Childrens parties have hammered at Trump-shaped pinatas, donkeys have been dressed up as the property magnate during town festivals and protest marches across the country followed Trumps surprise election victory. When I first introduce myself to Mexicans, I almost immediately tell them I voted for Hillary, said Larry Pihl, a regional chairman of Democrats Abroad in Guadalajara. As American expats we want to distance ourselves as much as possible from Donald Trump. Americans have always been very difficult neighbors [to Mexico], and those of us who live here are emissaries of our culture, he told Fox News. Trump based an entire campaign on insulting a place we now call home, and its vital to make it clear that we share Mexicos outrage. Larrys organization Democrats Abroad, an official overseas wing of the party, held voter registration drives throughout Mexico prior to November in an attempt to galvanize the overseas vote, and says that the overriding sensation following election night was one of shellshock. Many Mexicans see all Americans as representative of Trumps ideology, no matter how we voted, he said. I have many good friendships here, but you cant keep apologizing for something you didnt do. Yet for Trump voters living in Mexico, the reality of having cast their ballot for the property magnate is far worse than frosty looks and cold shoulders. Im getting the hell out of Mexico as soon as my lease is up in January, said Jefferson OKysen, a Trump voter who currently considers himself the most unpopular man in San Miguel de Allende. I was dancing in the streets after on election night, but I had to put a stop to that to avoid bad confrontations. Originally from California, OKysen moved abroad seven years ago and says San Miguel de Allende, where the town council declared Trump persona non grata in September, is no longer a place where he feels safe talking openly about his political views. They think Trumps the devil down here, and Ive learned the hard way to keep my mouth shut and try to avoid the topic, he told Fox News. I could handle a few dirty looks, but it makes people very angry and Ive been in some very nasty situations. Ive gotta get out of this town, he said. A popular spot for the younger American expat crowd, Dan Defosseys Pinche Gringo BBQ in Mexico City held sold-out events for the presidential debates and election night, the last of which turned sour when the pro-Hillary crowd began to realize the implications of a Trump presidency for Mexico. We had people crying throughout the joint when they realized what was happening, said Dan, who watched the countrys peso lose 10 per cent of its value overnight. It was a very nervous few days following the result. The founder of Pinche Gringo - a common phrase used to express frustration with Freakin Gringos - Dans close friends advised him to change the name of his business for fear of vandalism and retributions. I refused to do it, he told Fox News. Mexicans think Americans are cultureless loudmouths, and the name comes with a spirit of humility that aims to bring people together. His decision appears to have paid off. Pinche Gringo BBQ held a Thanksgiving celebration at the end of last month, which was attracted over 1,000 diners, most of whom were Mexicans eager to experience the American holiday tradition for the first time. Mexicans dont tend to judge people based on their political beliefs like we do up north, he said. In the U.S. youre either Democrat or Republican, but in Mexico thats not so important. As for the manager of the American Benevolent Society, Barbara Franco expects expat Americans fears in Mexico to subside with time. The truth is that as expats, we are as disconnected from the current political climate in America as the Mexicans we live alongside, she told Fox News. None of us could understand the result, but we dont live the lives of average Americans down here. I see Donald Trump in the White House the same way I saw moving to Mexico in the first place, she said. We will have to learn to live with it. German authorities have arrested a 31-year-old Turkish citizen suspected of spying on Kurds in Germany. Federal prosecutors say the man identified only as M.S. was arrested Thursday in Hamburg and his premises were searched. In a statement Friday, prosecutors said the man is suspected of providing Turkey's intelligence agency with locations, contacts and political activities of Kurds and Kurdish establishments in Germany. Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British envoy in Tehran after the U.K. accused Iran of playing a role in the "suffering" of the people of Syria's Aleppo. The semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that the foreign ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi, says Iran's foreign ministry has told the U.K. charge d'affaires in Tehran that Iran's policy is to establish peace in Syria and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of that country. On Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summoned the Iranian and Russian ambassadors to convey his profound concern over their countries' role in the suffering of Aleppo's residents. Ghasemi also said Iranian officials stressed the need for the British government to cut off any assistance or support to terrorist groups. next Image 1 of 3 prev next Image 2 of 3 prev Image 3 of 3 A lawyer for impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye says the Constitutional Court should restore her powers because there's not enough evidence to justify her unseating. Lee Joong-hwan and other members of Park's legal team on Friday submitted a written statement to the court explaining why the case should be decided in her favor. The statement is needed for the court to determine the schedule for its review of the impeachment, which could take up to six months. Lawmakers last week voted to impeach Park, suspending her powers until the court rules whether to formally remove her from office or reinstate her. She has been accused of colluding with a longtime confidante to extort money and favors from companies and allowing her friend to manipulate state affairs. Park denies it. China's first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its first live-fire exercise, the Defense Ministry has announced. CHINA BUILDS UP WEAPONS ON SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLANDS, REPORT FINDS Dozens of ships and aircraft took part in the exercise "a few days ago" in the Bohai Sea in eastern China to test weapon performance and training levels, according to a statement posted Thursday on the ministry's website. China said last month that its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was ready to engage in combat, marking a milestone for a navy that has invested heavily in its ability to project power far from China's shores. PHILIPPINES WON'T CONFRONT CHINA ON WEAPONS IN DISPUTED SEA The carrier, destroyers and frigates carried out exercises covering air interception, sea-based attacks and air-defense as well as reconnaissance, early warning and anti-missile systems. China-developed J-15 fighters carried live ammunition and performed strike exercises, the ministry said. Footage on state broadcaster China Central Television showed fighters launching missiles and hitting targets, and one pilot wore a helmet with "SHOOT IT" written in English across the top. The Liaoning was commissioned in 2013 after being purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago. China hasn't described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce China's increasingly assertive claims over almost all of the South China Sea, which is home to key shipping lanes, rich fishing grounds and a potential wealth of mineral resources. Five other governments claim the maritime space either in part or in whole, and the Philippines and Vietnam in particular have sought assistance from the U.S. and others in beefing up their ability to resist China, including its construction of seven islands by piling sand atop coral reefs. The U.S. State Department is looking to end ISIS once and for all. The agency announced Friday that it will raise the bounty for Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, more than doubling the amount that has been offered since 2011. ISIS MANUFACTURING ARMS ON INDUSTRIAL SCALE, REPORT FINDS Protecting the homeland and the American people is our top counterterrorism priority, and just as we have intensified our efforts against ISIL, we are increasing the means available to us to gain information on their leadership and bring them to justice, reads a statement State Department officials provided to Fox News Channel, using the administration's term for the terrorist group. Under the departments Rewards for Justice Program, the bounty will be increased from $11 million to $25 million for any information that leads to the location, arrest and/or conviction of Al-Baghadi. CAUGHT ON VIDEO: COALITIONDESTROYS ISIS TANKS, ARTILLERY NEAR PALMYRA The original reward was posted in October 2011, before ISIS came to promimence, when the State Department first designated the terror group leader as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The new bounty, $25 million, is the same amount offered for Osama bin Laden in 2011, but no one ever cashed in after bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by a team of Navy SEALs in May of that year. The State Department also said in the statement that ISIS, under Al-Baghdadi, has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East as well as the brutal murders of numerous civilians from Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, among other countries. The increase in the reward comes as ISIS finds itself cornered by coalition forces in Mosul, its last major stronghold in Iraq. Since the assault on Mosul began, rumors about Al-Baghdadi have swirled. In October, reports surfaced that the self-proclaimed "caliph" had been poisoned, only to release a message of encouragement to his soldiers a month later. It has also been previously reported that Al-Baghdadi has been holed up in Mosul since the U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive began and has been increasingly paranoid and refuses to sleep without a suicide vest. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Friday she favors a French-drafted U.N. resolution calling for independent international monitors to oversee the evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters from war-torn Aleppo. But Russia's ambassador was not as quick to embrace the plan, saying "it takes weeks to deploy observers." The comments by Samantha Power and Vitaly Churkin to reporters came after a closed-door Security Council meeting called by France on the Syrian government takeover of eastern Aleppo, which had been a rebel stronghold in the civil war since 2012. Power said the council could vote this weekend on the resolution, but an emergency special session of the General Assembly is possible if the council reaches a stalemate. "The least that Russia can do is ensure that monitors are there," Power said. "Surely that is not too much to ask." Churkin, whose country has been an ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad in his war against opposition fighters, opposed that idea of a General Assembly emergency session, saying he didn't see "what useful purpose" it would serve. He said the most urgent task in Syria now is to end all military activities and resume negotiations between the government and opposition. The Russian ambassador told the Security Council during an open meeting on Middle East affairs earlier Friday that "Damascus has more than once confirmed its readiness to take part in these negotiations." Evacuations from eastern Aleppo sealed the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold and marked a watershed moment in the country's civil war, now in its sixth year. An overnight evacuation effort stalled after an eruption of gunfire raised fears that a peaceful surrender of the opposition enclave could fall apart with thousands of people believed to be still inside. Earlier, outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. stands ready to help rescue as many people as possible even as the overnight rescue operation had to be suspended. Speaking to reporters during his final news conference at U.N. headquarters, Ban called the war in Syria "heart-breaking for me." He said thousands of people had been evacuated from eastern Aleppo overnight with the help of U.N. agencies, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, including 194 patients who were moved into hospitals in other parts of Syria and Turkey. "I feel very much regret we had to stop this operation at this time," he said. Power said humanitarian affairs chief Stephen O'Brien addressed the Security Council during its closed meeting and he described a nightmarish situation on the ground in eastern Aleppo. "People are freezing, hungry and still being bombarded," she said. She said a cease-fire needed to be "up and running again." New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully told Security Council members that the council has so far been unable to meet its responsibilities of removing civilians and providing humanitarian aid to the city. "Unless that is going to change, it is our view that an emergency special session of the General Assembly is an appropriate next step," he said. Dippin Dots and Doc Popcorn Plan to Nearly Double the Number of Co-Branded Franchises in 2017 Current Franchisees Were Recognized for their Success at the Companies First Annual Co-Branded Conference and Awards Ceremony December 16, 2016 // Franchising.com // PADUCAH, Ky. Dippin Dots, the leading maker of flash-frozen beaded ice cream and frozen treats, and its sister brand Doc Popcorn, the world's largest franchisor of fresh-popped popcorn, held their first ever co-branded annual franchisee conference at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The conference convened Dippin Dots and Doc Popcorn franchisees from around the country to network, share best practices and celebrate the years successes. Co-branding locations is our primary strategy for growth in high foot traffic spaces such as malls. We continue to see increased interest in our co-branded locations and expect this trend to continue in 2017, said Scott Fischer, president and CEO of Dippin Dots, LLC. Bringing together the franchisees, who are really the heart of these two brands, at this years annual conference made for a powerful opportunity to learn, share and celebrate Doc Popcorn and Dippin Dots collective and individual successes. There are 16 co-branded locations currently operating in the U.S. As a result of the sweet and savory success of these locations, Dippin Dots and Doc Popcorn expect to open 10 to 15 new co-branded locations in the coming year. Franchisees with co-branded locations have seen success with minimal additional square footage by offering a variety of products appealing to customers all year round. Our customers have embraced our co-branded locations and enjoy having the option for sweet ice cream or more savory popcorn, said Doc Popcorn co-founder Rob Israel. Were not in the popcorn business; were in the business of creating smiles, and thats exactly what our franchisees do every day. As part of the annual franchisee conference, Dippin Dots and Doc Popcorn recognize franchisees from around the country for their hard work. The Founders Awards are the most prestigious awards announced at the conference. They are earned by the franchisees that best represent the values of Doc Popcorn and Dippin Dots and exemplify the model that other franchisees should look to for guidance. This year, Doc Popcorn franchisee Denise McCaskill of Houston and Dippin Dots franchisees Kim and Carl Michael of Sandoval, Illinois each received Founders Awards. Kim and Carl Michael have been with Dippin Dots for more than 20 years. They have built their successful franchise business with respect and integrity, treating everyone as they would want to be treated. Denise McCaskill has been an exemplary Doc Popcorn brand ambassador since 2009. Colleagues say she embodies the companys spirit of customer service and, through her friendliness, mentorship and integrity, she truly exemplifies what Doc Popcorn is all about. It is a great honor to work with franchisees such as Denise McCaskill and Kim and Carl Michael who, through hard work and positivity, truly represent the iconic Doc Popcorn and Dippin Dots brands, said Steve Rothenstein, senior director of franchising at Dippin Dots, LLC. We congratulate all of our franchisees on a successful year and we look forward to expanding and continuing our collective success next year. About Dippin Dots Dippin Dots has produced and distributed its flash-frozen tiny beads of ice cream, yogurt, sherbet and flavored ice products since 1988. Made at the companys production facility in Paducah, Kentucky, Dippin Dots distributes its unique frozen products in all 50 states and 11 countries through its franchised and direct distribution network. For more information, including franchise opportunities, please visit www.dippindots.com. About Doc Popcorn Using whole grain kernels, proprietary flavor blends and other high-quality ingredients, Doc Popcorn handcrafts a wide variety of fresh-popped specialty flavors of popcorn including gluten-free and nut-free options. Doc Popcorn started franchising in 2009 and has since been recognized as one of the hottest snack franchises in the country. Entrepreneur Magazine consistently ranks Doc Popcorn among the Top Food Franchises, Top Mobile Franchises, Top Franchises Under $50,000, and placed the company in the top half of its Franchise 500, a highly-regarded list in the franchise industry. For more information, please visit www.docpopcorn.com. SOURCE Dippin Dots Contact: Billie Stuber 270-415-3255 bilstu@dippindots.com ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors gave out annual awards and appointed new directors at its Changing of the Guard Installation Dinner last week. Incoming president Linda Fosdick of Dockside Realty and her leadership team were installed by the Honorable Susan Whitlock. Along with Fosdick, the 2017 leadership team is: president-elect Kevin McGrath of Long & Foster Real EstateFredericksburg; vice president Arlene Mason of Coldwell Banker Carriage House; secretary Mark Geslock of Century 21 Redwood; treasurer Drew Fristoe of Coldwell Banker Elite; and directors Chip Taylor of Century 21 Battlefield, Pam Kuper of Century 21 New Millennium, Sandy Pearce of Coldwell Banker Elite, Laura Fangman of Nest Realty Group, Carrie Danko of 1st Choice Better Homes and Land, LC, and Ben Keddie, Coldwell Banker Commercial. Immediate past president, Christine Singhass with Carolines Realty, will serve on the board of directors. Several awards were also given out, including: Affiliate of the Year to Sonia Kuppert of STA Title & Escrow; Silver Circle Awards to Richard Ballenger Jr. of Century 21 Battlefield Real Estate; Teresa Fugett of Re/Max Allegiance, Virginia Lukstat of Lake Anna Island Realty, Danna Milddleton of Coldwell Banker Elite, and Mary Ellen Reed of The Real Estate Market Place; REALTOR Emeritus status given to Gayle Elliott of Coldwell Banker Elite and John Cheadle of Service Realty; Good Neighbor Awards to Mary Ann Bechtold of Coldwell Banker Elite and Pam Kuper of Century 21 New Millennium; a Spirit Award presented to Cindy LeBrun of Coldwell Banker Elite; and the Raising the Bar Award given to Kevin McGrath of Long & Foster Real EstateFredericksburg. New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone. The top academic officer at the University of Mary Washington will step down from his position, effective immediately. In an email to the campus Thursday evening, UMW President Troy Paino said Provost Jonathan Levin will be reassigned as a tenured professor in the department of English, linguistics, and communication for the fall 2017 term. Painos email said Levins reassignment was a mutual decision as they concluded that it will be in the best long-term interest of the University that I take the opportunity now to begin establishing my own academic leadership team. I want to thank Dr. Levin for his dedicated service to the University over the past three and one-half years as provost and to wish him well in his new role, Paino said via email. Nina Mikhalevsky, professor of philosophy and interim dean of the College of Education, will assume the role of acting provost. At UMW, the provost is responsible for oversight of all academic programs, academic planning and budgets and faculty matters. Levin was selected for the post in 2013 after a nationwide search. He came to UMW from Drew University in New Jersey, where he had been the dean of the College of Liberal Arts since 2008. Before working at Drew University, he was the dean of humanities at Purchase College in New York. He taught literature there during his time as dean, and previously taught literature at Columbia and Fordham universities. Paino said he will share more information about his vision and plans for the future of UMW at the All University Assembly on Jan. 19, at 4 p.m., in George Washington Halls Dodd Auditorium. The former general manager of a Stafford County automotive business has been accused of stealing more than $60,000 from the company, police said. Andy Joseph Costa, 40, of Woodford was recently indicted by a Stafford grand jury on 14 felony counts of embezzlement. According to Stafford Sheriffs spokeswoman M.C. Morris Moncure, the owners of Kaz Automotive on Garrisonville Road in North Stafford contacted the Sheriffs Office on July 18. The owners reported that they believed that an employee was stealing from the business. Detective E.L. McCullough conducted a lengthy investigation that Moncure said led to charges that allege Costa had been taking money from the company since 2014 in various ways. The accusations included waiving charges for certain customers, providing large discounts to friends and family members, pocketing cash payments and exchanging repair work for food and gifts. McCulloughs investigation included reviewing hundreds of documents and interviewing customers and current and former employees, Moncure said. A trial for Costa is scheduled for Feb. 28 in Stafford Circuit Court.Keith Epps: 540/374-5404 A former Stafford County resident who is serving seven life sentences in Montana has been returned to the area to be tried in connection with a series of pipe bombings here in 2012. Laurence Alan Stewart II, 29, is accused of setting off homemade bombs on Oct. 30, 2012, at the Stafford homes of a county detective and an ex-fiance and at a Fredericksburg residence where a Stafford deputy used to live. Both law-enforcement officers were involved in prior cases involving Stewart. Court records show that he was transferred to the Rappahannock Regional Jail Wednesday and a preliminary hearing has been set for March 24 in Stafford General District Court. Stewart is charged in Stafford with attempted capital murder, two counts of using a weapon for acts of terror, arson and three misdemeanor offenses. Local authorities launched a nationwide manhunt for Stewart following the 2012 bombing spree, which didnt cause any injuries. Stewart was apprehended the next day after Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Joe DeJong stopped him while monitoring motorists speeds outside Stanford, Mont. According to court records, DeJong took Stewarts license to his patrol car and learned that he was wanted in Virginia. While DeJong was waiting for backup, Stewart sped away. Stewart is accused of tossing a number of pipe bombs at officers during the extended pursuit. None of the officers were hurt, but several reported feeling their cruisers shake and/or being struck by shrapnel. A Montana jury in 2013 convicted Stewart of seven counts of attempted deliberate homicide and sentenced him to seven life sentences without the possibility of parole. Stewarts appeals were rejected. Stafford Commonwealths Attorney Eric Olsen said earlier this year that he would extradite Stewart to Virginia even though hes expected to spend the rest of his life in a Montana prison. Olsen said Stewart deserved to stand trial for his crimes hes accused of commiting here. Prosecutors have six months to try Stewart here. Regardless of the outcome of any trial, he will be returned to Montana once the trial here is over. Stewart also has pending charges in Fredericksburg, including attempted capital murder and arson. City Commonwealths Attorney LaBravia Jenkins said Friday that she had not decided whether to have Stewart tried in the city. One look at Nathan Ostrums YouTube channel shows its been a big year for the Stafford High School senior. Hes waiting to hear good news about college admissions. Hes working on fitness, detailing his gym routines and nutrition. But most significantly, the 17-year-old transgender student has now spent nine months in hormone replacement therapy, and his videos describe his transition and experiences along the way. So when the student editor of the high school yearbook asked him for an interview early in the school year, to include him in a set of profiles of noteworthy students, he was excited to share his story. With my videos, I wanted to kind of like show them, show people that follow me, whats actually happening and know that theyre not alone, Nathan said in a telephone interview with The Free LanceStar. His father was present during the call. Theres so many trans kids at Stafford, he said. I dont want to leave behind the people that are just a year younger than me. I want to do the most I can possibly do to make the future somewhat OK or better for them. But Nathan, who is in the schools journalism class, said he heard this week that his profile had been spiked by the schools principal, Joseph Lewis. Nathan said when he asked school staff about it, they told him the principal didnt want the profiles to reflect difficult subjects, and didnt want Nathan to regret the profile in the future if he changes his mind. He said he didnt want something controversial, he wanted it to be lighthearted, Nathan said staff members told him. Schools spokeswoman Sherrie Johnson said Lewis was not available for comment Thursday. Stafford County Public Schools prides itself on providing a non-discriminatory environment for students and staff. The school division recognizes and values diversity of culture and thought treating ourselves and others with honor and dignity, she said in an emailed statement. We are gathering information concerning the issue. Nathan also did a different interview with another member of the journalism class, who included quotations from him in a school newspaper editorial about unisex restrooms. It was published last month. State and national debates over which school bathrooms transgender students can use came home to Stafford in the 2014-15 school year. A then-Hartwood elementary school fourth-grader who was born male but identifies as a female was instructed to use a staff or boys restroom. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a similar case involving a student in Gloucester County. Nathan said staff told him this week that the newspaper editorial was a compromisebut he didnt know that before, he said. He turned to YouTube to express his feelings, as hes done in the past. But hes heard a lot more about this video than most of the others, he said. Ive been making YouTube videos for a really long time. This is just, like, another one of my videos. Its just documenting my life and this is one that kind of took off more than I expected, he said. Nathan and his father, Scott Ostrum, appreciate the reception hes had at school during his transition to male, saying it has been more supportive and positive than they anticipated. And they said they have some sympathy for the principals position. But for them, this is one more hazy area of transgender students rights, creating opportunities for limitations and emphasis on difference. I can certainly understand why [the principal] doesnt want the controversy, said Scott Ostrum, who graduated from Stafford himself and had two other children go through the school. Its a hard job, being principal. You hear every parents heartache every day." I understand where Nates coming from, too, he continued. What Nate brings to the table is exposing these kids and parents to something theyve never known about before now. Id never heard about it. Citing suicide rates among trangender youth, Scott Ostrum said the stakes are too high to ignore. About four in 10 transgender people attempt suicidealmost 10 times the 4.6 percent suicide-attempt rate in the general population. Thats according to a 2014 report from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Williams Institute of UCLA. So while the father and son said they appreciate the acceptance Nathan has experienced personally, they know not every transgender individual is so lucky. And they feel issues of transgender identity can be kicked only so far down the road. It would be great to have a change in attitude. It would be great for the state of Virginia to change their attitude about the whole bathroom issue, Scott Ostrum said. Nathan said his goal is not to criticize his principal. I think he is a good guy and I dont think he deserves to be disrespected, Nathan said. Nathans problem, he said, is with the system and the way everyone, from the School Board down to the teachers, seems to try to avoid deciding what to do with trangender students. Theyve been dodging the question of, like, whats going to happen, he said. Congress seems likely to open an investigation to determine whether Russia tried in any way to influence the November election. The CIA and the National Security Agency both claim that Russia is guilty of cyber-attacks during the campaign in an effort to help Donald Trump get elected. There is even talk now that Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the program. While a full-scale investigation on this matter may, on the surface, seem appropriate, the big question is what does the United States do if we find that the Russians were hacking into our systemas they probably were? Do we send planes over the Bering Strait and bomb Moscow? Do we unleash our nuclear missiles against the big red dog that was digging in our computer systems? The answer, of course, is neither. We cant start World War III because Russia was doing to us what Id bet dollars to doughnuts we are doing to them. It is called foreign espionage and the United States and Russia have been playing this game since the end of World War IIor even before. Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell stated Monday that, The Russians are not our friends. Did the Kentucky lawmaker just come to that conclusion? I was taught that when I was in the fourth grade and learned to duck and cover because officials feared that one day Russian missiles would be bearing down on Washington. If we can prove that the Russians were hacking into our systems, the best we can do is cut back on the number of bushels of wheat we sell to Putin and Co. or come up with some similar slap on the wrist. As I have said before, the United States has attempted to influence any number of foreign elections since World War II, including trying to depose the president of Egypt. We want someone in power who will be friendly toward us and we have done whatever was deemed necessary to make that happen. Does anyone think that if Washington could do something to get Putin out of office it wouldnt? One look at the man will tell you he is a snake in the grass and we would love to have someone less volatile as the top man in the Kremlin. The Russians feel the same way about us. They want someone in the White House they feel they can manipulate, someone without backbone. If Russia thinks Donald Trump is their man I have a feeling they are very much mistaken. Trump is a manipulator, not a manipulatee. He listens to no one and is willing to pick a fight with anyone. Putin will be his friend only so long as The Donald finds the Russian president useful. So maybe we just ought to forget about using taxpayer dollars to investigate whether the Russians tried to influence our election. Chances are really good that they did. If so, did that influence have any effect on the election? Id give you lottery odds it didnt. The folks I know who voted for Trump would drop an A-bomb on Moscow this afternoon without batting an eye. They are members of the old guard who were brought up to hate Russians. They are the folks who have carry permits in case the Russians invade. So unless we are prepared to go to war to defend our honor, lets not waste time and money on a Congressional investigation. If the CIAthe mother of all hackerssays the Russians did it, lets assume they did it. There are two things we should understand here. First, the United States and Russia have been spying on one another since the Cold War began and this interaction is not likely to stop in the near future. Second, as long as we put every bit of information on the Internet, the more hackersfrom Russia, China and other countriesare going to try to get into our systems to steal secrets and create havoc. The World Wide Web is the door to our house and some crook is always going to look under the doormat to find a key to get inside. Occasionally one will be found. If we dont accept that fact, we should just throw our computers away. And other countries such as Russia and China need to understand that while theyre looking for our key, were looking for theirs. If you ever read MAD Magazine, you know thats the way espionage works. Catalpa District Supervisor Sue Hansohn told those assembled Friday for the long-awaited opening of Culpepers western outer loop road that she always figured it would be a cold day in hell when the project was finished. It is uncertain what the temperature was in Hades, but it was a frigid afternoon in Culpeper as county and Virginia Department of Transportation officials gathered in 28-degree weather for the ceremonial ribbon-cutting. Almost two decades after Hansohn and former Supervisors John Coates and Steve Nixon began fighting to get the second leg of Culpepers proposed western bypass, Hansohn took her first drive on the highway she thought might never get built. County Administrator John Egertson reminded those in attendance that this project first appeared on county maps in 1999. In 2006, at the height of Culpepers building boom, with commuter traffic clogging every northern artery, Hansohn convinced the Board of Supervisors to begin using VDOT revenue-sharing funds to finance the western outer look, which will now become an addition of Ira Hoffman Lane. The first location hearing was held in September 2008, with the initial design hearing occurring three years later. By 2014, with about $15 million in the pot, (about $700,000 from the town of Culpeper), supervisors thought there was enough money to get the four-lane highway built, based on VDOT estimates. Then in March, three months before the project was supposed to go out for bids, VDOT discovered that engineers had underestimated costs by as much as $3 million. By May, that miscalculation had risen to about $8 million ($23 million total), with bridges over Balds Run and Harlows Branch being the major culprits. Following more than a year of re-engineering efforts, the project finally went out for bids in November 2015, but, in an effort to contain costs, contractors were allowed to bid on the project as both a two-lane and four-lane highway. General Excavation of Warrenton was awarded the contract on its bid of $11.5 million to build only two lanes. A roadbedincluding bridge culvertsfor two more lanes would be graded, but not completed. The total cost of the 1.95-mile highway was $17.1 million. Completion of the outer loop, which connects U.S. 29 Business (via the original section of Ira Hoffman Lane) with U.S. 522 (the Sperryville Pike), comes some 11 months ahead of schedule. Construction began in early January and only a late January blizzard slowed the project for two weeks. Were it not for a large outcropping of granite near Harlows Branch that required blasting, the road may have been opened even sooner. The eastern end, at the junction of State Route 729, was completed in July and a traffic switch was made there on July 22. The western end, from the Sperryville Pike to Saint Jamesons Road, was opened a few weeks later. The new configuration at the east end has Route 729 ending with a stop sign at the new road. The western outer loop was built to help reroute Northern Virginia commuter traffic around Culpeper to the several large subdivisions that were built on the west side of town during the 1997-2007 building boom. A final leg of the bypass, which may be two decades away, would link U.S. 522 with U.S. 29 near the Culpeper Agricultural Enterprises. Maria Kristina Sergio (R) and Julius Lacanilao, the recruiters of M. J. Veloso Maria Kristina Sergios travel records revealed that she went abroad five times in 2008, 14 times in 2009, nine times in 2010 and twice in 2011. MANILA Lawyers of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina on death row in Indonesia, said one of her recruiters appears to be a frequent traveler based on government data from 2008 to 2011 which were presented at the hearing today, Dec. 15, before a Nueva Ecija court. Maria Kristina Sergio, whom Mary Janes family has charged with qualified human trafficking in person, illegal recruitment, and estafa, travelled abroad 30 times in a span of three years, as shown by records from the Bureau of Immigration (BI). Kinda frequent flyer for someone who claims to be indigent and purportedly cannot afford the services of private counsel. It is a ruse to complete her contrived defense, Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL) said in his Facebook post. The NUPL is representing Mary Jane and her family in the case against accused Sergio and her live-in partner Julius Lacanilao. Both are also facing charges of large-scale syndicated illegal recruitment filed by three women who surfaced at the height of the campaign to save Mary Jane from the gallows. NUPL secretary general Ephraim Cortez said BI records verifier Angelito Lopez took the witness stand and who presented Sergios travel records, which revealed that she went abroad five times in 2008, 14 times in 2009, nine times in 2010 and twice in 2011. Cortez added that the defense lawyers from the Public Attorneys Office tried to block the presentation of the travel record, insofar as the travels made prior to April 21, 2010 are concerned, arguing these are not relevant but the court agreed to the presentation of Sergios travel record. Mary Janes former husband Michael Candelaria also took the witness stand today for the continuation of his direct-examination and cross-examination. Cortez said Candelaria stood his ground despite attempts of the defense counsel to discredit his credibility and testimony and survived cross examination unscathed. $400 Last Nov. 10, Candelaria first took the witness stand and narrated how Mary Jane was recruited by Sergio and Lacanilao and that they paid the couple P20,000 ($400). He said he brought Mary Jane to the bus station after they handed the money to the accused. Apart from Candelaria, other members of Mary Janes family, including her sister Maritess Laurente and mother Celia Veloso, had already taken the witness stand. As far as the NUPL is concerned, the only remaining material witness in the charges filed against the accused is that of Mary Janes. Mary Jane Veloso, a victim of human trafficking Sto. Domingo Regional Trial Court Branch 88, which is presided over by Judge Anarica Castillo Reyes, has already granted the prosecutions motion to allow deposition by written interrogatories in order to secure Mary Janes testimony. This will be conducted by the Philippine consul, in accordance with the Rules of Court in the Philippines. Sto. Domingo Regional Trial Court Branch 88, which is presided over by Judge Anarica Castillo Reyes, has already granted the prosecutions motion to allow deposition by written interrogatories in order to secure Mary Janes testimony. This will be conducted by the Philippine consul, in accordance with the Rules of Court in the Philippines. The same court has denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the lawyers of the accused. Defense lawyers also filed a motion to defer the filing of their comment on the written interrogatories submitted by prosecution as they intent to file a Petition for Certiorari before the Court of Appeals. In the hearing today, the prosecution lawyers were given five days to file its comment or opposition to the new motion filed by the defense. The written interrogatories would be the first time for Mary Jane to tell about her ordeal, as the Indonesian justice system did not allow such. She remains in prison in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, almost two years since her scheduled execution was stayed at dawn of April 29, 2015 amid national and international outcry about her being a victim of human trafficking. The case is again set for hearing on Feb. 23, March 9, April 27, May 18 and June 22. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: blutalat.com , Jonas Alpasan, December 15, 2016 Electoral College could shift election Members of the Electoral College will cast their votes for the next president on Monday. The winner will then officially be the president-elect. The Founding Fathers had serious concerns about the collective wisdom of the common man and devised the Electoral College as a safety valve. Most members of todays Electoral College are men and women with considerable political experience in their communities, districts and states. They represent the wisdom derived from experience. If ever there has been a time for cooler, wiser and experienced heads to prevail and the Electoral College safety valve to be used, our nation is there! Republican electors, who have seen their party hijacked, have an opportunity to tell the world that the Republican Party is not driven by religious fear, hatred and disrespect for women and all who are different. I respectfully request that readers go the change.org website and sign the petition asking that Hillary Clinton be elected. If there is no clear winner, the election could then go to the House of Representatives where wiser counsel might save the United States from the extremism our German friends experienced in 19301945. If you believe that it cant happen here, ask West Coast JapaneseAmericans, West Virginia coal miners bombed and machine-gunned in 1920 by the U.S. Army Air Force, Cherokee Indians unconstitutionally removed to Oklahoma by Andrew Jackson, women who did not get to vote until 1920 and minorities who still cannot find fairness in our courts and schools, and for whom job opportunities are limited! I hope that the nation and the concept of a free people governed by principles of honesty, fair play and integrity last for thousands of years. We are not there yet! We dont need another roadblock or a wall to achieving the country envisioned by the Founding Fathers. May God save the U.S.A., along with the help of a few conscientious Republican electors! Henry B. Odom III King George Memphis Firm Launches Line of Electric Standby Generators Buckeye Power Systems LLC, an electric standby generator solutions company based in Memphis, Tennessee, launched a wide range of electric standby generators. The company offers a variety of air- and liquid-cooled models, as well as a large selection of transfer switches. -- Buckeye Power Systems LLC, an electric standby generator solutions company based in Memphis, Tennessee, launched a diverse range of electric standby generators including air- and liquid-cooled, diesel and portable options. Featured brands include a full line of products from Cummins Power Generation and Generac Power Systems. More information is available at http://buckeyepowersystems.com. Back-up power solutions are necessary especially in areas where the electric power grid is weak, resulting in more frequent power outages. Regions where extreme weather phenomena are frequent are especially prone to power outages, and residents living in such areas are always looking for reliable electric standby generators. Buckeye Power Systems LLC is a Memphis electric standby generator solutions company launching a variety of automatic standby generators, from large liquid-cooled models to smaller, air-cooled and portable options. The Memphis company offers cost-effective, air-cooled standby generators with a capacity of up to 22 KW. The larger air-cooled models are powerful enough to run a 5-ton air conditioner, plus house lights and receptacles. David Richey, President of Buckeye Power Systems, recommends the Cummins RS20A for homeowners looking to power a single air conditioning compressor and other house circuits. "The Cummins RS20A provides optimum performance and is, in fact, the quietest air-cooled generator on the market," Richey said, adding, "It's also an affordable solution." Buckeye Power Systems also offers liquid-cooled generators, with models ranging in size from 22kW to 125kW. Liquid-cooled generators are more costly than air-cooled generators and are suitable for long term outages lasting days or weeks. The Memphis company also provides diesel generators up to 125kW and higher. Larger industrial generators are also available for special order. Finally, Buckeye Power Systems also provides portable generator solutions for homeowners and small businesses looking for a more cost-effective solution. These generators range in power up to 17,500 watts and have built in gasoline tanks. Larger commercial towable generators can operate in a range of voltages and the easy towing capabilities allow contractors to quickly deliver portable power to customers. The company offers free shipping to anywhere in the lower 48-states and no sales tax (except in Tennessee). David Richey encourages customers to telephone Buckeye Power Systems for additional discounts from advertised pricing. "Manufacturers set minimum advertised prices (MAP)," Richey said, "but we offer additional discounts when customers call. We also offer tips on generator sizing and installation tips." Interested parties can find more information by visiting the above-mentioned link. For more information, please visit http://buckeyepowersystems.com Contact Info: Name: David Richey Email: david@buckeyepowersystems.com Organization: Buckeye Power Systems, LLC Address: 1245 Big Orange Rd., Cordova, 38018 United States Phone: (901) 379-8097 Release ID: 154957 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Change of Address Online Receives Remarkable Feedback For Streamlined Process There's no doubt at all moving can be one of life's more stressful experiences. The good news is that a new service, Change of Address Online, is offering significant help by delivering moving assistance including finding movers, changing utilities and updating moving addresses and more. -- Experts agree, moving can be one of the greatest causes of anxiety a person or family can experience. One of the causes of this great stress is making sure a long list of responsibilities are complete, like mail is forwarded properly, a quality moving company is hired, utilities are switched off at the old address and switched on at the new home. Just one mix up can cause substantial headaches and frustration. Answering the call for help in this area is the online service https://www.change-of-address-online.com who offer, for a one time fee, professional help in a long list of areas needed to have a successful move, like dealing with USPS requirements to make sure mail isn't lost, coordinating affairs with the utilities and banks, suggesting and working with the right moving company, sorting things out with the DMV and much more. The company recently celebrated the positive feedback they have received from diverse customers across the entire country. "We saw a real need that needed to be filled and knew we could deliver great value to our clients," commented a spokesperson from Change of Address Online. "We couldn't be more pleased with the response to our services." According to the company, they only charge a one time fee of $20 for their services, which many would consider a small price to pay to both free up time and remove worries on one hand and to be much more likely to avoid moving administrative complications on the other. Customer feedback continues to be positive across the board. Michelle S., from Boston, recently said in a five star review, "This is the second time I've moved in three years. As a single mom it's a major stress and my first move was a disaster. This time around I used Change of Address Online and things went much more smoothly. Fully recommended and worth at least three times what they charge." For more information be sure to visit https://www.change-of-address-online.com/addresschange/changeofaddress/. For more information, please visit https://change-of-address-online.com Contact Info: Name: Matthew Man Organization: Change of Address Online Address: 1335 main st, Cincinnati , 45202 United States Release ID: 155079 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) IC Media Direct - Connect With Industry Leaders At Affiliate Summit East 2016 IC Media Direct was delighted to bring first-class advice and tips on effective reputation management to affiliates and merchants at the renowned conference. -- Renowned global leader in online reputation management and a public relations powerhouse, IC Media Direct joined other companies, industry leaders, and influencers at Affiliate Summit East 2016 to share invaluable market insights with participants and hear their views on most trending issues nationwide and internationally. The annual conference and tradeshow took place July 31 through August 2 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York and brought together over 5,000 marketers, vendors, networks and media outlets. Team at IC Media Direct spoke on the importance of building an unparalleled online brand for businesses and individuals and tackled some of the forward-thinking strategies ICMD utilizes for successful content marketing. Established in 2003, Affiliate Summit Inc. has a proven track record in managing highly successful marketing projects and delivering numerous insightful events, educational sessions, and tradeshows. With combined experience of more than 30 years in affiliate marketing, founders of the company Shawn Collins and Missy Ward believe in the power of interpersonal networking and information exchange in today's fast-paced digital world. Their landmark events create an invaluable learning and sharing environment for thought leaders, start-ups, merchants, and vendors to discuss new opportunities for effective business development and digital innovations. With an established expertise in providing state-of-the art solutions to customers who aim to showcase their brand online in the best light, IC Media Direct was delighted to bring first-class advice and tips on effective reputation management to affiliates and merchants at the renowned conference. Experts at IC Media Direct reinforced confidence in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and emphasized the need for every brand to regularly put out content and use technological advancement to develop and maintain captivating online presence. This year's edition of Affiliate Summit featured a collection of keynotes from most influential and thought-provoking public figures in the field of digital platforms and marketing. Speaker Scott Stratten, a social media and relationship marketing expert, President of Un-Marketing and the author of four best-selling business books, is one of "America's 10 Marketing Gurus", according to Business Review USA. The final and concluding day of Affiliate Summit East 2016 saw an SEO keynote panel, featuring Bruce Clay (President of Bruce Clay, Inc.), Duane Forrester (VP at Bruce Clay, Inc.), and Stephan Spencer (Co-Author of The Art of SEO). Founded in 1996, IC Media Direct is an award-winning PR and online reputation management company, dedicated to brand repair for customers across the globe. Its cutting-edge technological solutions and highly competitive and unmatched online reputation packages have vastly improved the Internet presence of numerous businesses, professional athletes, politicians, fortune top 500 CEOs, celebrities, among many others. Major marketing conferences and events frequently benefit from IC Media Direct's participation and sponsorships, including Affiliate Summit, Leadscon, SES, and ad:tech conferences. ICMediaDirect - PR and Marketing News: http://icmediadirectnews.com IC Media Direct -- Reputation Management -- Addresses Online Marketing Trends for 2016: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ic-media-direct-reputation-management-054119771.html Icmediadirect.com - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ICMediaDirectOnline For more information, please visit http://www.ICMediaDirect.com Contact Info: Name: ICMD Email: pr@icmediadirect.com Organization: ICMediaDirect.com Phone: 800-595-0821 Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QHOeY8qAM Source: http://marketersmedia.com/ic-media-direct-connect-with-industry-leaders-at-affiliate-summit-east-2016/153443 Release ID: 153443 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Electric Aircrafts Market Global Market Expected to Grow at 4.5% CAGR by 2022 Global Electric Aircraft Market is accounted for $18.35 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $24.9 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. -- Electric Aircrafts Industry Global Electric Aircraft Market is accounted for $18.35 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $24.9 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. Increasing number of airline passengers, raise in aircraft deliveries, printed electronics and smart skin are the key factors driving the market growth. However, regulatory issues and Macro-Economic shocks are restraining the market. Need for more electric engines is the major opportunity for vendors in electric aircraft market. Reliability of electrical systems in thermal management and optimization in electrical systems are the major challenges being faced by the vendors. For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/electric-aircrafts-global-market-outlook-2015-2022 In 2015, North America accounted for the highest market share as compared to other regions. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR and is anticipated to command the highest market share by the year 2022. Some of the key players in the market include Honeywell International, Boeing, Raytheon, Thales Group, Bombardier, Airbus, Zodiac Aerospace, United Technologies, Safran, Alatus Ukraine, Electric Aircraft Corporation and Flying motorcycle Samson Motorworks Aircraft Type Covered: o Large body o Wide body aircraft o Narrow body Applications Covered: o Military o Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) o Commercial Try Sample Report @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/electric-aircrafts-global-market-outlook-2015-2022 What our report offers: - Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments - Market share analysis of the top industry players - Strategic recommendations for the new entrants - Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets - Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations) - Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations - Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends - Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments - Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements Table of content 1 Executive Summary 2 Preface 2.1 Abstract 2.2 Stake Holders 2.3 Research Scope 2.4 Research Methodology 2.4.1 Data Mining 2.4.2 Data Analysis 2.4.3 Data Validation 2.4.4 Research Approach 2.5 Research Sources 2.5.1 Primary Research Sources 2.5.2 Secondary Research Sources 2.5.3 Assumptions 3 Market Trend Analysis 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Drivers 3.3 Restraints 3.4 Opportunities 3.5 Threats 3.6 Product Analysis 3.7 Application Analysis 3.9 Emerging Markets 4 Porters Five Force Analysis 4.1 Bargaining power of suppliers 4.2 Bargaining power of buyers 4.3 Threat of substitutes 4.4 Threat of new entrants 4.5 Competitive rivalry 5 Global Electric Aircraft Market, By Aircraft Type 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Large body 5.3 Wide body aircraft 5.4 Narrow body 6 Global Electric Aircraft Market, By Application 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Military 6.3 UAV-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 6.4 Commercial 7 Global Electric Aircraft Market, By Geography 7.1 North America 7.1.1 US 7.1.2 Canada 7.1.3 Mexico 7.2 Europe 7.2.1 Germany 7.2.2 France 7.2.3 Italy 7.2.4 UK 7.2.5 Spain 7.2.6 Rest of Europe 7.3 Asia Pacific 7.3.1 Japan 7.3.2 China 7.3.3 India 7.3.4 Australia 7.3.5 New Zealand 7.3.7 Rest of Asia Pacific 7.4 Rest of the World 7.4.1 Middle East 7.4.2 Brazil 7.4.3 Argentina 7.4.4 South Africa 7.4.5 Egypt 8 Key Developments 8.1 Agreements, Partnerships, Collaborations and Joint Ventures 8.2 Acquisitions & Mergers 8.3 New Product Launch 8.4 Expansions 8.5 Other Key Strategies 9 Company Profiling 9.1 Honeywell International 9.2 Boeing 9.3 Raytheon 9.4 Thales Group 9.5 Bombardier 9.6 Airbus 9.7 Zodiac Aerospace 9.8 United Technologies 9.9 Safran 9.10 Greenwing 9.11 Alatus Ukraine 9.12 Electric Aircraft Corporation 9.13 Flying motorcycle Samson Motorworks Buy Now @ https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=339105 About Us Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. Contact Us: Norah Trent +1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349 Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym For more information, please visit https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/339105-electric-aircrafts-global-market-outlook-2015-2022 Contact Info: Name: NORAH TRENT Organization: WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTD Source: http://marketersmedia.com/electric-aircrafts-market-global-market-expected-to-grow-at-4-5-cagr-by-2022/155130 Release ID: 155130 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Adding Financial Literacy In The Classroom Debt experts, Hoyes Michalos, have published a new podcast. The podcast talks about the inclusion of financial literacy in grade 10 career studies in Ontario's high schools and a petition launched by Toronto Youth Cabinet member, Prakash Amarasooriya. -- Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., personal finance and debt experts, are one of many people tackling the topic of financial literacy. It's something Hoyes Michalos covers regularly on their podcast Debt Free in 30, including a recent episode featuring a member of the Toronto Youth Cabinet Prakash Amarasooriya. Prakash Amarasooriya launched a petition to urge the Ontario Ministry of Education to bolster their Grade 10 career studies course with vital basic financial skills. Within less than one month, the petition had been signed by nearly 900 people. With that much support within such a short period of time, the question that resonates is does financial literacy belong in high schools? Amarasooriya thinks so. "Every day I would notice people coming into the bank and living in this kind of what I call a cycle of poverty. They would be living in their overdraft credit card advances and just paying off interest every month and just the bare minimum payments." An Investor Education Fund study found that 9 in 10 high school students have at least one financial product. The study revealed that the number of students who thought that financial literacy should be taught increased from 57%-69% between 2009 and 2016. The same study found that 1 in 4 do not feel their schools are doing an adequate job in teaching financial literacy. Hoyes Michalos meets with individuals every day who find themselves in financial trouble, sometimes due to poor use of credit. The podcast addresses the question that with so many young people using financial products, how can they be expected to succeed financially without the education to do so? "I think the most important skill when it comes to financial literacy is critical thinking, being able to think critically about the repercussions of their financial choices" says Doug Hoyes, Licensed Insolvency Trustee and show host. The petition launched by Prakash proposed changes to the grade 10 careers course to include topics on how to budget, mortgages, down payments and amortization periods. They would also include learning about decisions involved in leasing, financing and buying a car. Adding financial literacy into an existing course is "the path of least resistance" says Amarasooriya. For more information please visit: http://hoyes.com/blog/financial-literacy-ontarios-curriculum. About Hoyes, Michalos & Associates, Inc. Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., a consumer proposal and licensed insolvency trustee firm with offices throughout Toronto and Ontario, helps people in financial difficulty. Further information is available at www.hoyes.com Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. 8 King Street East Suite 812 (8th floor) Toronto, Ontario (416) 815-7515 Principal Office: 607 King Street West, Suite 204 Kitchener, Ontario (519) 747-0660 For more information, please visit http://www.hoyes.com/toronto-bankruptcy-trustees/ Contact Info: Name: Doug Hoyes, CPA, Licensed Insolvency Trustee Email: doug@hoyes.com Organization: Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. Address: 607 King Street West, Suite 204 Kitchener, Ontario Canada Phone: +18667470660 Release ID: 155365 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in the streets of Manila Representative Teddy Brawner Baguilat of the Lone District here said the reimposition of the death penalty is "a backward step without moral necessity," and urged the public to join the call to stop hasty moves by the House of Representatives in reviving the law. Baguilat cited the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' firm stand that the abolition of the death penalty by the 1986 Constitution was "a very big step toward a practical recognition of the dignity of every human being created in the image and likeness of God, and the value of human life from its conception to its natural end." "Thus to reimpose the death penalty would mean a backward step without moral necessity," he said. In 2006, the capital punishment was suspended by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with the support of a Congress noted to be overwhelmingly supportive of the tenet that life has value. Baguilat, a member of the opposition bloc in Congress known as the "Magnificent 7," said the Constitution requires that there must be a compelling reason to reimpose the death penalty but that he finds "none." He added that the better move today is to strengthen the justice system to make sure that justice is served quickly and that real criminals will go to jail. "As it is, everybody is saying that the justice system is flawed. We need more reform to avoid wrongful convictions. Without reforms, the poor will again bear the consequence of the weakness and inconsistency in the application of the criminal justice system," the lawmaker said. According to Baguilat, the plan to railroad passage of the death penalty is a grave cause for concern considering that it had already been established that imposing the capital punishment would not deter proliferation of crime. "We need to strengthen [the justice system]first to make a more lasting impact on criminality. I have never believed in legislating this ultimate retribution," he said, adding that there is no credible data showing that the death penalty is a crime deterrent. "That is why I am again appealing to my colleagues in Congress to not rush into passing such a bill and instead allow extensive and intelligent discussion," Baguilat said. Apparently as part of the campaign against illegal drugs and criminality, the House majority led by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez remained resolute in immediately passing a law that will bring back the death penalty. President Rodrigo Duterte has consistently said that he wanted the death penalty law as part of the package of measures to stop the proliferation of drugs and criminality. "I have always said that I am supportive of the President's campaign against drugs and criminality. But there is the right way to do it and reimposing the death penalty, which will violate our international commitments, is not the right way," Baguilat pointed out. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: Manila Times, December 15, 2016 Uh OH...... Not so fast Mr Holder A California GOP lawmaker is challenging the hiring of former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder to fight the Trump administration, saying it may violate the California Constitution. Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has asked the California Attorney Generals office to investigate whether legislative Democrats ran afoul of the law by retaining Mr. Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, for $25,000 per month to do a job that can be performed by state employees. Mr. Holder was hired last week by the California legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, as outside counsel to provide advice on our efforts to resist any attempts to roll back the progress California has made on issues such as climate change to immigration. But Mr. Kiley cited a court ruling that said the state Constitution forbids hiring outside consultants for roles that can be carried out adequately and competently by those in the civil service, including work defending California against federal actions. In light of these facts, I respectfully ask your legal opinion as to whether the 1,592 attorneys and legal staff at the State Attorney Generals Office can perform adequately and competently the legal services for which Covington & Burling has been retained by the Legislature, said the Republican Kiley in his letter. A dairy farming couple has been awarded 1.75m for misrepresentations and multiple tenancy breaches by their landlord, the Crown Estate. Fifth-generation dairy farmers Ian and Judith Wakley moved their business and family from Aberdeen to Somerset to take on a Crown Estate farm tenancy in 2007. Oliver Radley-Gardner, a lawyer representing the Wakleys, told the High Court in Bristol that on arrival the Wakleys found Staple Park Farm in Somerset beset by equipment problems and other difficulties, contrary to assurances by the Crown Estate. See also: Government blamed for Scots farm evictions Mr and Mrs Wakley were persuaded to take on the tenancy of Staple Park Farm after being told that the farm parlour and the slurry/dirty water storage and disposal were right up to date, said Mr Radley-Gardner. In addition, they were told the farm had an effective freshwater supply and distribution system. But none of these statements turned out to be true, he added. Furthermore, silage on the farm, which the Wakleys had had to purchase when they took over and was said to be of a high quality turned out to be contaminated with wire, which caused cattle to become seriously ill and die. Despite repeated requests, Mr Radley-Gardner said the Crown Estate was unwilling to repair the equipment or remedy the problems. Huge losses Instead the landlord sought to blame Mr and Mrs Wakley, he added, saying that they were incompetent farmers. The Wakleys suffered huge losses and were eventually unable to pay their rent. The Crown Estate started possession proceedings, which the Wakleys were able to defend only with assistance from their insurers and the NFU Legal Assistance Scheme. Following legal proceedings, initiated by the landlord, a judge ruled in favour of the farming couple on Thursday (15 December) after a three-and-a-half year legal battle. In his ruling, the judge, Recorder David Blunt QC, found that The Crown Estate had misrepresented the condition and productive capacity of the farm. Judge Blunt held that the misrepresentations initiated an insidious chain of events, which ended with [the Wakleys] entering into the [farm business tenancy]. Tenancy obligations The judge also found the Crown Estate in breach of landlords repairing and other tenancy obligations and rejected the notion that the Wakleys were incompetent farmers. I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, and find as a fact, that the problem with the herd and of the run-down condition of the farm were not the consequence of incompetence on the part of the Wakleys (ie, their not knowing how to farm properly). They were the consequence of the problems they encountered. In other words, the losses sustained on the farm were sustained in spite of the Wakleys exercising all reasonable endeavours to overcome those problems. I am entirely satisfied and find as a fact that the Wakleys neither were at any time, nor are, incompetent farmers. Following the judgment, Miles Farren, a partner at agricultural solicitors Michelmores, which represented the Wakleys, said they would rebuild their dairy herd and continue to farm at Staple Farm Park. A spokesperson for The Crown Estate said: We are of course disappointed with the outcome of this litigation. We will now consider the further legal recourse that is available to us and, in light of that, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time. At least one driver has died following anasty winter mix of rain, sleet and ice that slammed into the mid-valley on Wednesday. The conditions snarled traffic and caused multiple traffic crashes. Two avalanches were reported on Highway 20 near Santiam Pass. A single-vehicle critical-injury rollover crash closed Springhill Drive near N.W. Winn Drive Wednesday afternoon. The accident is believed to have been caused by an icy road surface. According to a Benton County Sheriff's Office news release, Barbara Mulkey, 58, of Albany, was driving northbound on Springhill Road, just north of N.W. Winn Drive, in a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. She lost control around a corner, went across the roadway and collided with a ditch. The Jeep rolled and came to rest on its roof facing north in the southbound lane. Medics from the Albany Fire Department extricated Mulkey, who had suffered critical injuries, and transported her to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis by ambulance. Mulkey was pronounced dead Friday morning, according to Benton County Sheriff's Office. The Benton County Multi-Agency Traffic Collision Investigation team also responded. The roadway was closed for about two hours. Deputies are investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. David Iverson at 541-766-6858. A rollover was reported on Oakville Road on Wednesday afternoon, and two more accidents occurred on Interstate 5 north of Albany. Multiple crashes were reported in the mid-valley through the evening. Two avalanches about 30 minutes apart Wednesday afternoon closed Highway 20 about two miles west of the Santiam Pass, according to the Oregon State Police. The first avalanche was reported about 2:30 p.m., and a second event was reported in the same area about 30 minutes later. It was unknown if the event caused any damage to vehicles. No injuries have been reported. The Oregon Department of Transportations TripCheck cameras noted that the Santiam Pass was snowy and cold, with temperatures as low as 10 degrees Wednesday afternoon. Some areas of the Cascades were expected to see as many as 13 inches of snow. Snow chains or traction tires were required. ODOT has imposed a chain requirement on Interstate 5 from Albany to Portland. Linn County Roadmaster Darrin Lane described Wednesdays weather in the mid-valley as Yucky really yucky. With temperatures bouncing around 32 degrees, the mid-valley experienced everything from rain to freezing rain to snow. So far, the weather has behaved as forecast over the last couple days, Lane said. The weather folks predicted snow and freezing rain in the valley tapering off later in the day and then maybe freezing again later in the day. Lane said his staff was on alert and had sanding trucks, plows and dicer units in place. About 2:30 p.m., crews were watching the higher elevations in the Scio area, but rain was continuing and snow had yet to fall. Retired school teacher Mary Betts, who lives on Whiskey Butte between Sweet Home and Cascadia, said there had been a light dusting of snow Wednesday morning she described it as being like powdered sugar but the rest of the day it only rained. Several mid-valley schools either cancelled classes entirely, or sent students home early. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, school districts in Corvallis, Philomath, Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home had announced they would be closed on Thursday. Linn-Benton Community College will also be closed Thursday. The Linn Benton Loop Express bus canceled its Thursday service. State offices said they would open at noon Thursday. (For an updated list, see www.democratherald.com.) The Fairview Mennonite Church at 35100 Goltra Road S.E. cancelled its Wednesday evening Christmas Pageant performance, but it will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday. Christmas Storybook Land also cancelled its Wednesday evening showing. The Linn Benton Loop Express bus has cancelled its Thursday service. The Linn County Courthouse as well as all other departments are closed, except for the Sheriff's Office, Road Department and Linn County Health Services office, which opens at 10 a.m. State offices Lebanon opened its warming shelter at the Lebanon Soup Kitchen, 170 East Grant, due to frigid temperatures, expected to fall to the mid-20s overnight. The shelter is coordinated by the Lebanon Police Department and the Warming Shelter Team. It will be open until 7 a.m. Thursday. Snacks, warm beverages and mats and blankets are provided. Shelter volunteers said donations of good used blankets, socks, gloves and coats are still needed. They can be dropped off at the Lebanon Police Department or the Lebanon Soup Kitchen. For more information, call Dala Johnson at 541-258-4339. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 20 percent chance of snow showers in the mid-valley on Thursday, with the temperature dropping to 23 at night. Fridays weather is expected to be partly cloudy with an overnight low about 20 degrees, warming up to 33 by mid-day. Cool weather is expected to continue through the weekend, with a low of 27 on Saturday and 33 on Sunday. Daytime temperatures are expected to climb to the low 40s. South Park Season 21 Release Date, News & Update: Season 22, 23 Confirmed; The Boys Will Be Back! "South Park" season 20 has just ended but it was already reported that they've just renewed their contract. What is more interesting is that not only "South Park" season 21 is confirmed and will air in September 2017, but also seasons 22 and 23, which gives the sitcom a sure spot in our list until 2019. Show creators and voice artists Trey Parker and Matt Stone expressed their gratitude towards the success of the animated television sitcom. The two of them solidified their intent to continue the show after the confirmation of "South Park" season 21 and in addition, the latest three seasons that will be airing through 2019. The series originated from a pair of animated shorts titled "The Spirit of Christmas," and the first episode of South Park originally aired on August 13, 1997 on Comedy Central. And now that 'South Park' Season 21 is about to unfold, we will be expecting another season full of crude language and dark, surreal humor that criticize a wide range of topics. The story revolves around four boys-Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick-and their bizarre adventures in and around the eponymous Colorado town. According to GameNGuide the confirmation of "South Park" season 21 would only mean that we are going to expect more craziness from these boys from Colorado. Fans still want to know if Cartman will be able to score with Heidi, as their love triangle with Butters is going to another level. A lot of fans were saddened by the finale of the show as reported by The Guardian, thinking that it would be the last season and episode they'll get from South Park. But the recent announcement of the release of "South Park" season 21 is an advance Christmas gift for everyone. Comedy Central announced that there is still more to come and confirmed that the boys will be back on its Season 21 and has set a contract to keep the show through its 23rd season. South Park's contract was just up to its season 20, but the creators and directors Trey Parker and Matt Stone had the contract renewed in 2015. The said release date of "South Park" season 21 will be released around September 2017. Some of the fans were hoping that it could be released earlier than the said date. Comedy Central will soon release further updates. Microsofts Cortana News & Updates: Amazon Echo & Google Home Competitor Will Launch On 2017; Cortana Integration To Other Products Available Soon Google Home and Amazon Echo are one of the most popular voice-activated speakers nowadays. And now it's time for Microsoft company to build their own version. Presenting the upcoming speaker device with Cortana personal built-in coming in 2017. Microsoft company has released a teaser video featuring their all-new voice-activated speaker with Cortana personal built-in that would be considered as Google Home and Amazon Echo competitor. In the teaser, the upcoming voice-activated speaker was described as cylindrical speaker device that uses the Cortana AI command. Like Google Home and Amazon echo, Microsoft speaker device also has blue circle on top indicating that the assistant is working. In addition, the audio company, Harman Kardon, is set to be the first device makers to market the voice-activated wireless speaker. The upcoming Microsoft voice-activated speaker will not only use for playing music, but it will also have two-way audio communications for Skype, calendar, and emails. This voice-activated speaker will give a great use for OEMS who will use the Microsoft's voice assistant device. On the other hand, Microsoft company will also open their Cortana virtual assistant to third-party hardware makers. MacRumors stated that Microsoft's plan approaches the two software kits. The first one will be the Skills Kit that developers can use to build apps that can be controlled using Cortana voice commands. The second kit will be the Cortana Devices SDK that allows the third-party hardware manufacturers to use the voice-activated AI to new devices. Aside from Alexa and Apple's Siri, step by step, Cortana is making its own hit as Microsoft confirmed their plan to develop a HomeHub feature for Windows 10 PCs. The Redmond company is planning for Cortana Integration to their appliances like toasters, thermostats, fridges and Internet Of Things (IoT) devices. It will be connected to the upcoming update of Microsoft's Windows 10 Creator's update that includes the use of Cortana in its products. "Wake On Voice from Modern Stand" and "Far-field Voice" are part of the said update. 'Vivo' Development News and Updates: Lin Manuel-Miranda set to Star in Sony 2020 Animated Musical Currently, Pulitzer-Prize winner and "Hamilton" creator and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda has his hands full. Miranda is involved a number of new Disney projects, the first of which is another animated feature with Byron Howard, the co-director of "Zootopia". The "Hamilton" star is also set to appear in "Mary Poppins Returns" with Colin Firth, Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep. Along with these projects, Lin-Manuel Miranda is also to be involved as well in the live action version of "The Little Mermaid". According to Deadline, Sony has settled with a December 18 2020 opening for this project. "Vivo" is the story of a capuchin monkey who embarks on a journey from Havana to Florida in search of freedom. The movie will undoubtedly be chock-full musical sequences and new catchy tunes. Miranda has already written eleven songs for the animated film. "Vivo" is written by Manuel's collaborator in "In The Heights", Quara Alegria Hudes. The pair had developed the story and the songs previously with DreamWorks but was shelved for some time. After the success of "Hamilton" the project was revived and put in fast track. "Vivo" will be directed by "The Croods" director Kirk De Micco. Set to direct "The Croods 2" previously, the sequel to the hit animated caveman movie was cancelled by Dreamworks just last month. This put De Micco in a good place to ride along the trend and direct Lin-Manuel Miranda's new movie. As for the songs, the "Hamilton" writer and actor has finished writing the songs but will have to go through the different adjustments as time goes by right up until its release. What do you think about Lin-Manuel Miranda and the new animated musical "Vivo"? Please let us know in the comments section. DICE Summit Hall of Fame Latest News & Updates: 'Fallout 4' & 'Skyrim' Director Inducted Into Gaming Hall of Fame in 2017, More Details Here! Bethesda Studio's creative director Todd Howard has won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 at the DICE Awards gaming event and the same award in March at the annual Game Developers Choice Awards. Now, he is inducted into gaming Hall of Fame at the 20th DICE Summit in Feb. 23, 2017 at the Mandalay Convention Center in Las Vegas. According to GameSpot, Todd Howard, who directed "Skyrim" and "Fallout 4" is the Academy of Interactive Arts & Science' Hall of Fame's 22nd inductee. Mike Fischer, AIAS president said in a statement that Howard made them reassess the player-game bond and spread the possibility of storytelling in their ways and means. "I know that many of us in the industry have spent countless hours enthralled in the vast, open worlds that Todd has created," he added. During Todd Howard's college years, he literally asked Bethesda to fill him in for a job where he officially began working for the company in 1994, reports Venture Beat. His first credit at the company is "The Terminator: Future Shock." He also designed "The Elder Scrolls II - Daggerfall" (1996). He then became the project lead for "The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard" (1998) before he continued with "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind," " Skyrim" and "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" franchises. Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines will be presenting Howard with the DICE award at the show. He said that Howard's contribution in the gaming industry as well as his influence on his studio and their company has been genuinely exceptional. He also added that Howard's name deserves to be with the other 21 inductees of the AIAS Hall of Fame as the best of the best. Meanwhile, the previous AIAS Hall of Fame recipients include Greg Zeschuk (2011), Ray Muzyka (2011), Tim Sweeney (2012), Dan and Sam Houser (2014, Leslie Benzies (2014) and Hideo Kojima (2016). Jennifer Lawrence Admitted Having Taken A Bit Of Alcohol For Her Intimate Scene With Chris Pratt At 'Passengers' Almost everyone loved Jennifer Lawrence being the "Mockingjay" in the Hunger Games. It can be that until now, her fans cannot still get rid of her image being the bravest heroine the said movie series. However, it's time to see her in a different image, in a different perspective. "Passengers" had given Lawrence the time to show off what she has still got to perform or act. Now, with Chris Pratt on her side, surely this won't be a boring movie. But, these recent news showed how their romance scene of their latest movie had earned mixed reactions not only from their fans, but also to those normal movie goers who are not fantards of particular artists. Now, Pratt has something to say on this. At a statement of him featured on a specific report from Dailymail, he insisted that it's his big challenge to make that intimate scene not awkward for the both of them. Also as well as not to worsen the possible discomfort that they may have felt during its shooting. Moreover, Chris Pratt told that what's crucial in acting such scene is the capability of an actor to set aside personal emotions, and completely become another person like leaving Chris Pratt and become Jim Preston. Of course, Jennifer Lawrence won't miss any chance of not expressing her thoughts about it. At the same site, she said that the really intended to take advantage of her nervousness, with a bit of an alcohol to drink, just to make her perform the intimate scene without flaws. Indeed, it is very unlikely for a Lawrence be seen "making love" with a man on screen. But, the proof that this duo is not feeling discomfort to one another, is when they were being interviewed at a particular radio. Independent UK had detailed that they even teased each other, especially the intimate scene. The Lebanon City Council met Wednesday night in spite of bad weather in order to discuss how the city would collect taxes on marijuana. City Manager Gary Marks explained the meeting was urgent because Thursday was the deadline to apply for an intergovernmental agreement that will allow the Oregon Department of Revenue to act as a city's tax collector for retail sales of marijuana. Marks said that he highly recommended entering into the agreement, and saw little downside to it. "It may take 90 days to collect money, but I don't think that's a big deal," he said. Marks explained that while he was city manager in Ketchum, Idaho, the city had to collect a local sales tax, while the state also collected a sales tax. Marks found that the state was better at collecting tax revenue than the city. Councilors passed the resolution on a 4-0 vote, authorizing the city manager to enter into that agreement with the Department of Revenue. Community development manager Walt Wendolowski gave an update about how the city plans to set policies for establishing retail marijuana stores. There are already policies in place for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in Lebanon, he said, "And we anticipate (retail) will be very similar to medical." However, Wendolowski admitted that he had not gotten too far on establishing rules yet. City councilor Rebecca Grizzle said the city should copy what other communities are doing to set those restrictions. Wendolowski responded that in city government, issues like this "always steal from the best." The city council also voted to repeal its ban on recreational marijuana, including producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers, after residents voted in November to end the restriction by a wide margin. City attorney Tre Kennedy said repealing the ban was mostly a housekeeping measure, and said the removal of the ban would take effect in 30 days, which will allow city staff time to work on regulations for retail sales. Platinum Wireless Headset for PS4 Will be Released in January For Only $160, Featuring 3D Surround Sound For Mobile, PlayStation VR & PS4 Sony has just announced in its PlayStation Blog post that its $160 Platinum wireless headset will be released in Jan. 12, 2017. It was revealed that using the 3D audio technology of Sony, its newest Platinum wireless headset could feature a 7.1 virtual surround sound. It is bundled with a 3.5mm audio cable that allows the premium headset to work with mobile devices and PlayStation VR. But, it is worth noting that users could use the wireless adapter of the PS4 to experience the Platinum wireless headset of Sony. It was also announced that the first game to add support for 3D audio will be "Unchartered 4: A Thief's End". This will be made possible when a patch will be launched by Naughty Dog. Furthermore, it was announced that "Days Gone", "MLB The Show 17" and "Unchartered: The Lost Legacy" will support it. According to Engadget, the Platinum wireless headset is intended for mobile users, PlayStation VR and PS4. Just like the Gold model, the premium headset supports 7.1 virtual surround sound and it has microphones capable of noise cancelling. However, it is worth noting that that the surround sound effect is just the same with a regular PS4 console. Currently, there are still no PS4 games that support 3D audio. But, it was announced that a patch will be released by Naughty Dog soon that will allow the support of 3D audio. According to a report in Gamespot, Director Neil Druckmann said that advances are always appreciated through pictures for a long time from generation to generation. But, the demand for audio quality has also been growing in leaps and bounds. The $160 Platinum wireless headset is supposed to be launched in holiday 2016, but it subsequently declared that it will be delayed to 2017. The price of the premium headset will be $200 CAD in Canada. Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date, Specs and Updates: New Update on Galaxy Note 7 to Brick Phone to Avoid Battery Explosions To avoid any more incidents of exploding batteries, an upcoming update for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will already brick the handset. Though the tech giant has already ordered a recall, there were still some customers who failed to surrender their devices. Bricking update The new update which is set to come in the United States on Dec. 19 will stop all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 handsets from working as mobile phones. They will be rendered useless so problems like overheating and explosion won't be an issue. When issues about exploding devices came to light, Samsung immediately ordered sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 be stopped. They advised customers not to use the smartphone then ordered a recall. Consumer safety However, despite repeated reminders and even offers of incentives, there were still some individuals who did not surrender their phones. "Consumer safety remains our highest priority and we've had overwhelming participation in the U.S. Note 7 Refund and Exchange Program so far, with more than 93 per cent of all recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices returned," an earlier statement from Samsung read. Thus, Samsung was prompted to just brick all units still out with customers so these won't cause any harm on others. The company has assured consumers that it will not risk the safety of more individuals just because some choose not to heed their call. Specs and features When it comes out next year, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is thought to have a foldable design. Many are already looking forward on how the company will incorporate this but rumors imply that the display panels could face outward. Instead of the usual home button at the bottom of the screen, Samsung could replace this with a touch-sensitive option. This will save space on the screen which could be allotted for more features. What are the other features you expect from the Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Orange Is The New Black Season 5 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Netflix Looking For New Network To Offload Series? "Orange is the New Black" may be one of the critically acclaimed TV series of the year given its compelling storyline and intriguing characters. Despite the show's confirmed Season 5 extension, latest speculations hinted that Netflix may be looking for a new network who can take on the series. "Orange is the New Black" Season 4 finale shocked many viewers with a story development that featured a riot following Poussey's (Samira Wiley) death. With Litchfield prisoners furious over the incident, Daya (Dascha Polanco) took matters into her own hands and aimed at gun at correctional officer Humphrey's (Michael Torpey) head. Given Humphrey's previous abusive actions, Daya's fellow inmates only observed the incident hoping that she will indeed pull the trigger. Following the Netflix show's suspenseful Season 4 ending, many fans have been eagerly awaiting for the series' return to the small screens. Several reports have indicated that "Orange is the New Black" Season 5 has already started filming activities. However, there are rumors that the Netflix production may move to another network. Speculations pointed to Netflix potentially selling the said series to bigger networks. HBO is said to be one of the interested buyers, as well as the CW. Moreover, some of the cast members have allegedly become frustrated with the way that Netflix has been handling the show's Season 5 extension. Rumors even indicated that Laura Prepon who portrays Alex and Taylor Schilling who plays Piper are unhappy with the said network. At this time, it is unclear whether Netflix is looking for a new home for "Orange is the New Black." Neither the network nor the series' showrunners and cast members have commented on the rumors. Meanwhile, "Orange is the New Black" may have lost a fan-favorite character when Poussey died in Season 4. However, story speculations indicated that another character may also die in Season 5 namely Brook Soso (Kimiko Glenn). Given her suicidal tendencies, the said character may decide to take her own life as part of a storyline to depict the effects of mental illness inside prisons. "Orange is the New Black" Season 5 is expected to premiere in summer 2017. Relive some of the moments from Season 4 below: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date, Specs, News & Update: Phablet Set for a February Release With Galaxy S8? Display Features Revealed Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has already been reported to arrive in early 2017 alongside the new Samsung Galaxy S8. Despite the lack of solid information with regard to its development and release date, several industry observers have already made their prediction as to what consumers can expect once the device comes out in the market. Although it has been speculated that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will arrive with impressive specs and features, consumers might be surprised to know that the flagship phablet will carry a lower price than expected. According to the report, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be available in the market for less than $800, which is pretty cheap considering its amazing specs. It will certainly arrive cheaper than the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S8, and fans are now wondering how the South Korean tech company will improve its safety feature. Samsung has recently been involved in a critical controversy when several users of its newly released Samsung Galaxy Note 7 reported of an explosion during charging. The company has since recalled the device and is planning to release an update to completely disable the handset. According to reports, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will come out as the redeeming factor since its disappointing Galaxy Note 7 roll out. According to Trusted Reviews, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will most likely arrive with the same large screen as its predecessor. The publication suggests that the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will carry a 5.7-inch screen with an amazing display resolution. There are speculations saying that the entry level of the upcoming handset will have full 2K support, while the high-end model is capable of supporting 4K resolution. Aside from the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rumored powerful specs under the hood, nothing has been reported yet in terms of development. However, Samsung is expected to make an official announcement early next year, leading up to its February release. One Punch Man Season 2 Air Date, Spoilers, News & Update: Genos Takes Advantage Of Saitamas Vulnerability, Partners With Lord Boros? Avid "One Punch Man" fans have been looking forward to the anime's return to the small screens with Season 2. Latest spoiler news hinted of Genos' transformation from Saitama's sidekick to his enemy after a misunderstanding ruined their friendship. When the "One Punch Man" Season 2 extension was confirmed in September, many speculations about the new season's storyline surfaced. Some of the rumors pointed to Saitama meeting both new and old enemies including Lord Boros. Other storyline speculations for "One Punch Man" Season 2 indicated that the anime's protagonist will become a different person who is very vulnerable given his loss in power. Despite having defeated Lord Boros in Season 1 of the anime, the said villain will return in Season 2 to try and defeat Saitama while he is in a weakened state. However, several reports teased that apart from Lord Boros, Saitama may have to face Genos in the battle. As a sidekick to the hero, Genos may become frustrated with Saitama and a misunderstanding between the two characters will ensue. The rift between Saitama and Genos may potentially push the sidekick to consider a partnership with Lord Boros. With Genos' powers and Lord Boros' plans, the unexpected tandem will prove to be very challenging for Saitama in "One Punch Man" Season 2. Aside from a potential battle with Genos, several reports also mentioned of another villain who will join forces with Lord Boros namely Metal Bat. Rumored to have stronger powers and abilities, Saitama may need to come up with a different strategy in defeating the said villain. Meanwhile, several fans of the anime series are also expecting to see an interesting love story in "One Punch Man" Season 2. Involving Saitama and two sisters, the anime's protagonist might get involved in a love triangle between Tatsumaki and Fubuki. "One Punch Man" Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2017. Watch Saitama and Genos fight below: Deadpool sequel back on track post-Tim Miller departure, To start production in 2017 After Tim Miller's departure, "Deadpool 2" is back on track and will reportedly start production in 2017. The sequel is definitely happening given the surprising box-office performance of the first "Deadpool" movie despite the surprising departure of director Tim Miller. Replacing him is "John Wick" director David Leitch, Omega Underground reported. Miller's departure had inevitable consequences for the sequel. For one, the development and the production resulted with some delays. It was rumored that Miller's decision to step down was due to creative differences with lead star Ryan Reynolds. Miller reportedly wanted to feature a new "X-Men" ensemble alongside Deadpool, which would entail a significantly costly production that the first film. To clarify, Miller spoke up about the issue and said that he actually wanted to do the same thing as the first movie. He went to say that in his mind, Kyle Chandler "is not going to be Cable." As for Reynolds, the actor reportedly wanted to follow the format of the first film that predominantly featured Deadpool albeit with a help from supporting casts. This gets the support of producer Simon Kinberg who has already affirmed his commitment to creating a low-key sequel similar to the first film, Screen Rant reported. Meanwhile, the script for the sequel has already been finished but given the change of plans for "Deadpool 2," writers Reese and Wernick will have some tweaks to do. The production date is tagged sometime in June, this gives enough room for any adjustment or alteration brought about by Miller's departure. Additionally, this should also be a good time to get Leitch up to speed with the latest developments. Microsoft Surface Devices Rumored For 2017 Microsoft has always been one of the most anticipated brands in the tech world. When the company started releasing Surface labeled devices, they hyped the masses up even more. It is pretty undeniable that even though Microsoft hasn't really been at the top when it comes to smartphones, people can't deny how successful its Surface line is. The latest edition of the Surface Pro which was released 2015 is one big hit. In fact, the company didn't follow up on it this year and it's probably because the Surface Pro 4 is topnotch enough to still be competitive one year later. With that said, it's safe to say that fans can't wait to see what's in store for them from the Surface line next year. Here are some of the rumors about next year's Surface devices. Microsoft Surface Pro 5 The Surface Pro 5 is expected to finally unveil next year. It has been rumored that this tablet 2-in-1 will be powered by Kaby Lake and has a fully improved Surface Pen. Additionally, a 4K screen and USB ports can also be expected. Microsoft Surface Book 2 This year, Microsoft only unveiled a revamped Surface Book instead of a Surface Book 2. With that said, next year might already be the right time to release a totally brand new edition of the Surface Book. Right now, the only rumor that has been heard about it is that it would also have a 4K resolution and Kaby Lake CPU. It should have an improved build too. The first release may have not been the best when it comes to balance. Microsoft Surface Phone The Surface Phone is still a big uncertainty. The company hasn't talked about it yet and the only reason it is being talked about is because of rumors and unofficial leaks. Nevertheless, it was said that the Surface Phone will have a PC-level processor and topnotch specs. Xbox One S Latest News & Update: Offering Deep Discounts This Holiday Season; To Outperform PS4? This holiday season, Microsoft is giving a perfect treat for its loyal customers as it will be giving discount. It's one way of saying that customers who have missed the Black Friday,Cyber Monday, and Green Monday deals, still have a chance to get Microsoft's latestconsole, the Xbox One S. It can be remembered that Xbox One S along with PS4 have dominated the market when it comes to customer sales in the previous years but are still selling like hotcakes these days. These two consoles are still the undisputed leader of the console gaming universe. Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox One S bundles will be offering a lesser $50 through Christmas. According to News Xbox the deals are available to retailers including at Amazon, GameStop, Target, Best Buy, Walmart and Microsoft Stores. Considering the $300 price tag on PS4 and Xbox One S, I really think the Switch ought to cost $250. WIN NEW PS4 NOW! (@giveawayplayboo) December 1, 2016 It shall be available from December 11 up until December 24. However, The Verge also confirms that Sony is also offering the same discount for PlayStation 4. Hence, the price of the PS4 shall now be $249 as Xbox One S consoles. PS4 Slim 500GB Uncharted 4 Bundle, which is regularly at $300, is also offered for $250 at Walmart, B&H Photo, Best Buy, and Amazon. GameStop has also the same deal but only offers a $25 less. But gamers mustn't expect to find a "brand new PS4 Pro in stores for the same low price." Sony's console update for 2016 is expected to be slight expensive, which is always the case when it comes to brand new hardware releases. Until then, customers will have to choose the perfect bundle and will have to plan carefully on what to do with the extra $50 that they may be saving. They could get a game or perhaps an extra controller. $249 bundles include consoles of 500GB , while a $299 price will give customers a 1TB of the storage. 'Miss Universe' 2016 News & Update: Steve Harvey Back To Hosting Despite Last Year's Fail Steve Harvey is getting a shot at redemption. The comedian is slated to host the upcoming "Miss Universe" 2016. "Miss Universe" 2015 did not go that well as Steve Harvey made a mistake - a huge one to be exact. The host mistakenly called out Miss Columbia Ariadna Gutierrez as the winner of last year's prestige pageant. It turns out, Gutierrez was only a runner-up and the "Miss Universe" 2015 crown belongs to Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wutrzbach. Harvey was quick to apologize, though. He then declared Wurtzbach as "Miss Universe" 2015. The staggered expressions from the contestants were very visible as the camera panned. Paulina Vega, the then reigning title-holder, lifted the crown off of Gutierrez's head and placed it on Wurtzbach's head. A loud boo was also heard coming from the audience watching "Miss Universe" 2015 live. The telecast was even cut for a moment. The show later returned with Harvey returning to the stage. He apologizing again, asking the audience not to "hold it against" the "Miss Universe" 2015 contestants. He also showed the cue card that he was holding to completely take the blame for what had happened. Harvey made everyone cringe that time. By the way, that awkward "Miss Universe" 2015 moment was not only witnessed by the audience in the venue. Not to mention, it was broadcasted live around the world. A month later after the flinching "Miss Universe" incident, he invited the two winners on a separate episode of his show to personally apologize. Despite that, Harvey is trying his hand at hosting "Miss Universe" for the second time around, Variety reports. Fans are hoping he will not make the same mistake anymore. Alongside him, model Ashley Graham will be the backstage host. "Miss Universe" 2016 is slated to air live from the Philippines on Sunday, January 29 at 7 PM ET. And just like last year, it will be aired on FOX. Microsoft Updates: Cortana And Skype Changes For 2017 Microsoft has revealed a couple of information that will affect their Skype platform and Cortana as well. The company from Redmond has been reportedly developing their virtual assistant to integrate with smart appliances in a smart home. They also have teased an update which allows Cortana to setup meetings for the user. They have also announced that their popular software is getting talking bots sometime in 2017. Cortana is about to get busy as Microsoft gradually upgrades their software with their "Calendar.help" project. It is one of their latest attempts to further improve the personal virtual assistant with more features. Gadgets 360 reports that the project is a combination of different software from Microsoft Research, Cortana, Microsoft Outlook and Genee. The latter is an AI that handles scheduling, which was acquired by the company last August. Additionally, Skype is also getting updates next year. They have confirmed that some of their partners will feature talking bots to enrich consumer interaction. The upcoming update aims to enhance how users schedule meetings with their people. Cortana will need information about the length of the meeting, the scheduled time and the location. A representative from their Calendar.help team explains that after sending the email, "Cortana looks at your calendar" in order to identify the time when the user is available for that particular day. The virtual assistant will then contact the invitees "to propose times," it will handle the all communication with them and even "follows up with attendees if they don't respond within 48 hours." Microsoft's update to Skype focuses on the consumers communicating with some of its partners like Expedia.com. The bots will reportedly send "rich media cards, adding the capability to bring video, audio and GIFs into chat conversations." The Skype team also emphasized that the new features will allow "more engaging experiences" for their users. The team also expressed their excitement for 2017 and what it means for their software. Hopefully users can expect a future update where Cortana is also integrated with Skype. A few inches of snow in the mid-Willamette Valley on Wednesday and a layer of ice that formed underneath shut down much of Linn and Benton counties on Thursday. Area schools, including Oregon State University and Linn-Benton Community College, and many government offices and services were closed on Thursday, and traffic was light throughout the area. While children enjoyed sledding, building snowmen and other activities in the wintry weather, the Oregon Department of Transportation warned of black ice and slick roadways throughout the Willamette Valley, Coast Range and Cascades on Thursday morning. Overpasses, where ice can accumulate more easily, proved especially treacherous for motorists in the Albany area on Thursday night. At about 6:40 p.m., a Ford F-250 pickup headed westbound lost control on the Highway 34 overpass near Tangent, rammed head-on into the south guardrail and flipped end-over-end, said Oregon State Police Trooper Justin Oxenrider. The rig slid 70 to 100 feet down an embankment, he added, and it came to rest on its top in between Highway 34 and Union Pacific Railroad tracks. A boy in a backseat of the truck suffered a laceration to his head, but the driver and his daughter, who were in the front, appeared shaken but unharmed. They nevertheless were being evaluated by medical personnel due to the nature of the crash. The driver, a Newport man, was travelling about 50 to 55 mph. It must have hit ice of some sort, Oxenrider said. Speed is a factor, as well. A second crash or crashes, involving at least two vehicles, happened shortly before 8 p.m. on the Pacific Boulevard overpass near downtown Albany. One of the vehicles apparently hit a guardrail on the north side of the overpass. With the thermometer dipping to 30 degrees by that point, the overpass was covered with a thin sheet of ice. Several motorists spun their tires accidentally as they passed the SUV and pickup that had crashed. Those hazardous road conditions might continue throughout the weekend and some schools had already announced Thursday night of closures or late starts for Friday. Albany, Lebanon, Jefferson, Scio and Santiam Canyon schools, as well as the Albany Christian School, will be closed on Friday. Linn-Benton Community College and Oregon State University will both have late 10 a.m. starts at their campuses. The National Weather Service called for lows in the 20s during the night on Thursday through Sunday, and the high temperatures during the day were only expected to reach the mid-30s. While Friday is predicted to be sunny, there is a 20 percent chance of snow showers on Saturday, a chance of rain and snow on Saturday night, and a chance of rain and snow before 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the NWS. On Monday theres a slight chance of rain and temperatures are expected to climb to 40 degrees, with a low of 36 on Monday night. Some businesses in the area and the Mid-Willamette Family YMCA and other locations in Linn County also were shut down for the day or closed early due to the weather. Christmas Storybook Land also was shuttered, but it was scheduled to be open with extended hours on Friday, its last day at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center. For more information, see the event's Facebook page. Marilyn Smith, city of Albany spokeswoman, said she hadnt heard of any serious problems that occurred because of the snow and ice on Thursday. We have reduced some services as a result of the weather, because we want people to stay home and stay safe, she said. Albany City Hall was scheduled to close at noon, for example, libraries were shut down and the Albany Senior Center Holiday Meal was postponed to Friday. But unlike in previous decades, many city workers were able to telecommute rather than brave slippery roads or take a personal day off. Thats a lot easier to do than when I first started working here. It was nearly impossible, Smith said. Crews from all four of the Linn County Road Department maintenance districts were busy sanding, applying deicer and plowing roads until about 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Roadmaster Darrin Lane. They got back to work about 3 a.m., Lane said. We had numerous trees down all night long. Lane said most of the downed tree issues were in the Lebanon, Scio and Sweet Home areas. Lane said his plan was to make sure the roads were in good condition for Thursday evening commuters and then determine the next game plan depending on whether more ice and snow fell overnight. Avalanches A trio of avalanches about two miles west of the Cascades summit on Highway 20 did not cause any damage to vehicles, but it did stop traffic for several hours starting about 3 p.m. Wednesday. We got hammered in all directions, said Lou Torres, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Torres said avalanches are unusual on Highway 20, but they usually dont happen until later in the winter. Torres said the area around Hogg Rock received about two feet of snow in recent days. He said the first avalanche occurred about 3:15 p.m., was about 100 feet long and covered both lanes of travel. We had to shut down traffic until we could get a snow blower and a couple big plows and sanders from our Santiam Junction maintenance shop, Torres said. Torres said the crews got the site clean up and opened by 5:15 p.m., another slide came down in the same area. We had to do the work all over again, he said. We got both lanes back open by 10:30 p.m. Fortunately, no lives were threatened, Torres said, although a few vehicles were stopped near the avalanches. He said the snowfall has dissipated and crews are continuing to monitor the area, plowing and sanding as needed. Of course, if you are traveling over the pass, be sure to take tire chains and know how to install them, he said. Linn County Sheriff Bruce Riley said a couple of deputies assisted ODOT at the avalanche site near the Santiam Pass. There were about 20 cars stuck up there, he said. Overall, we didnt have any major issues, although I-5 was a parking lot Wednesday night. Power outages At one point Wednesday evening more than 2,525 homes in the Sweet Home, Brownsville, Harrisburg, Lebanon and Scio areas were without electricity, according to Pacific Power spokesman Tom Gauntt. Gauntt said all of the incidents were ice-related, mostly associated with ice weighing down tree limbs causing them to fall onto power lines. Thursday morning, 500 customers in the Coburg area remained without power. Early Thursday night, an electrical outage hit about 250 customers in Harrisburg and the surrounding area, according to Consumers Power Inc.'s website. 'Descendants 2' Release Date, Latest News and Updates: Harry Hook Actor Challenged with Role; Cast and Plot Details With "Descendants 2" coming next year, not only the fans are excited for the release but also cast members of the fantasy movie. More magical characters and storylines are expected for the sequel. Excited for role British actor Thomas Doherty has expressed his excitement for being able to play the role of Captain Hook's son, Harry Hook. The 21-year-old claimed that he was challenged with playing something that is extremely different from his own personality. "I arguably play the most evil character of them all...It's just that you get to bring such a different energy to set, because the character is so different from yourself," Doherty noted. "So when you get on set and get in costume you really can immerse yourself." Release date and teaser Disney earlier announced that "Descendants 2" will premiere in summer next year. A sneak peak on the second movie showed Dove Cameron saying that the sequel is better and way more fun than the first one. For her part, actress Sofia Carson explained that the movie will explore where the characters came from as it is an integral part of who they really are. The story of "Descendants 2" revolves on the lives of the children of four Disney villains -- Maleficent's daughter Mal, Snow White's Evil Queen's daughter Evie, Aladdin's Jafar's son Jay and Cruella de Vil's little boy, Carlos. All four characters decode to travel to the Kingdom of Auradon from the Isle of the Lost so they can start brand new lives. Global popularity It has been two years since the Disney hit film "Descendants" was released and fans of the original movie have long been waiting for a sequel. The first release gained worldwide popularity and had high rating even in Belgium, Portugal, South Africa, Italy and Spain, among others. Hawaii Five-0 Season 7 Episode 11 Air Date, Latest News & Update: Why Is Sara Kidnapped? 'Snatch Back' Episode Thrilling Spoiler Here! In the airing of "Hawaii Five-0" Season 7 Episode 11, the fans will see what happened to (Daniel Dae Kim) Chin's niece, Sara. Apparently, she's kidnapped! And, no one knows yet why. Now, the next airing will tackle about her disappearance. But, before it, the reason for it will be explored thoroughly as well as the other spoilers included. What happened with Sara? That's everyone's question as well. According to the latest news, Chin became really worried about her, soon he finds that she's in a grave situation in Mexico. The "Hawaii Five-0" Season 7 Episode 11 lead man discovers that his niece was kidnapped, and the reason is still unknown. In a report, it highlights that the incident is only a trap. Seemingly, the unidentified captor has a long standing grudge with Chin; alongside they haven't really asked anything yet in return for Sara's release. So, there's quite a chance that they aren't really after her. On the other hand, another update tells about the possibility of Chin's impending life danger in the next episode. Surely, he will not let anything happen to his loved one. Taking note, Chin has been a father figure for Sara for the longest time in "Hawaii Five-0" Season 7. Therefore, the abductor may have seen it as a chance to get back on him through his niece. In one interview, Daniel Dae Kim discussed the big effect of the kidnapping in his character's life. He even actually said, "as distraught as he was at the death of his wife, but it's slightly different." "Hawaii Five-0" Season 7 Episode 11 airing on Dec. 16 will really be explosive! The fans will also see Chin in more danger next time. There's a massive chance that he may narrowly escape death this time. GTA 6 Release Date, News & Update: Game Announcement in 2017 Confirmed? Rockstar Focusing on Sequel After Red Dead Redemption 2 "GTA 6" has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now, and despite the lack of official information coming from game developer Rockstar Games, fans and critics are positive that it will arrive in the next few years. Now, new reports have emerged suggesting that Rockstar along with its parent company, Take-Two interactive, is planning for a big "Grand Theft Auto 6" announcement in 2017. Although nothing is set in stone yet, rumors are rife that the company will release a teaser material of "GTA 6" sometime next year. According to the report, although the announcement will come sooner than expected, "Grand Theft Auto 6" will not be released until 2020. Apparently, the Rockstar Games is planning to release several more fresh contents for the current "GTA 5" installment. Aside from "GTA Online" the company is said to have shifted its focus on the development of "Red Dead Redemption 2," which is expected to be launched in 2017. The development of "GTA 6" might not happen in three years as Rockstar is also expected to create several DLCs for the upcoming open world western action-adventure video game. Nonetheless, players are confident that "Grand Theft Auto 6" will come out soon with better gameplay and storyline than the current installment. Meanwhile, in another report by Game N Guide, "GTA 6" might be set in London. However, there are other popular cities around the world that are being considered including Moscow, Hong Kong, Bogota, Tokyo, Paris, among others. "Grand Theft Auto 6" is also rumored to feature a female character, which is said to be played by the actress, Eva Mendes. As of the moment, "GTA 6" has continued to be a favorite subject of numerous rumors and speculations all over the Internet. Despite the fact that it has yet to be announced, "Grand Theft Auto 6" has continued to make headlines. Stay tuned for more news and updates about the development and release of "GTA 6" or "Grand Theft Auto 6." Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Latest News & Update: Microsoft Laptop Release Delayed To Make Way For Surface Phone In 2017 Microsoft is one of the most anticipated brands in the tech industry and when the tech giant released Surface labeled laptops, it helped Microsoft reach an even higher feat. Recently, Microsoft had many contributions in the industry and with the year nearly ending, some of the company's enthusiasts have been wondering why the tech giant hasn't released the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 yet. Why Microsoft Surface Pro 5 hasn't been released yet According to reports, Microsoft cancelled the release of Microsoft Surface Pro 5 on October to make way for another flagship: Surface Studio and Studio Book i7. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release cancellation was also decided to avoid stealing the spotlight of the said devices. Moreover, the Microsoft Surface Phone is also slated to be unveiled in 2017 and looks like the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 release will be pushed back once again. Microsoft is looking to dominate the smartphone industry with the Surface Phone as the said handheld will feature the Continuum that allows its users to transform the flagship into a personal computer. Meanwhile, recent speculations points out that Microsoft Surface Pro 5 will be released next year in one of the tech events Microsoft has been a part of, namely the Consumer Electronics Show and the Mobile World Congress. There is also a possibility that Microsoft will debut the Surface Pro 5 on the Microsoft Build Conference, where the company is geared to release the new OS in the said event. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is speculated to be a 2-in-1 device that is both a tablet and a laptop with a 4K display screen and USB ports. The Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is also rumored to be powered by the Kaby Lake processor and features a fully improvised Surface Pen. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Latest News & Update: Meghan Wasn't Invited To Palaces Christmas? Couple Snapped Together In Public For The First Time Prince Harry and his girlfriend, "Suits" actress Meghan Markle, will be spending the holidays apart. Following their brief reunion this week in London, the two will reportedly be separated once again, with Markle returning to Toronto and Prince Harry joining his family for their traditional Christmas gathering at Sandringham. Despite having dated Prince Harry for the last several months, Meghan Markle will reportedly not be invited to spend Christmas with the royal family at the Queen's private Norfolk home this year. The Sun notes that an invitation to Christmas at Sandringham is only extended to those who have already married into the royal family. According to the outlet, the Duchess of Cambridge, who dated Prince William for almost an entire decade before they wed in 2011, wasn't even invited to the annual affair until she had married the prince. She was reportedly not invited in 2010 even though she and Prince William were already engaged at the time. Instead of spending Christmas with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle will instead fly back to Toronto before heading to Los Angeles, where she will spend the holidays with her own family. Despite having to spend Christmas so far away from each other, a source told The Sun that the British prince and the American actress won't be apart for long. "They're hoping to go on holiday together in the New Year," the informant said. This week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were photographed together for the first time as they took in the sights along London's Piccadilly Road on their way to see a play in the city's West End. The two were walking hand-in-hand and were showing their affection for each other publicly. They had reportedly come from Harry's Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace, where they had been staying since the "Suits" star arrived in London on Monday, Dec. 12. Prior to this outing, the two had been spotted getting a Christmas tree together at the Pines and Needles store in Battersea Park. "You could have heard a pin drop -- or a needle -- when Prince Harry and Meghan walked into the store," Sam Lyle, the store's co-owner, told The Sun. "They were completely charming together and blissfully unaware that our jaws had hit the floor." The agreement comes about two months after Project Roomkey, which provided motel rooms for homless folks, ended. By every account, Lisa Richard of Pioneer School in Lebanon is more than deserving of the Milken Educator Award that she won this week. Richard, who teaches the third grade, was the only Oregon teacher this year to receive one of the Milken awards, which often are referred to as the "Oscars of teaching." She became the first Linn County teacher to win the honor. Recipients are sought out by the Milken Family Foundation, which sponsors the award; in other words, you cannot nominate someone for the award, which comes with $25,000 cash. So, it came as a complete surprise to Richard on Tuesday when she learned, at a school assembly, that she had won the award. She's in rare company: Only about 35 or so teachers get the award every school year. It was not a surprise to students or parents who know the 48-year-old Richard when she announced at least one of the plans for the cash: "I think there's going to be a really good field trip happening in third grade," she said. In Richard's classroom, students have studied important figures in American history by dressing in costume, memorizing biographies and presenting their own living "wax museum." Classroom families gather for pizza parties in the summer. For the Lebanon Community School District, Richard helps with new teacher induction and mentoring. When Richard learned last year many of her students had never gone camping, she and her fellow teacher, Colleen Floro, organized parents and put on an end-of-year "camping" trip for an afternoon on the school lawn, complete with tents and s'mores. It makes for an inspiring story about an inspiring teacher. Here's something else that's inspiring about Richard: She's a former dropout who didn't get a lot of support during her high school years. She didn't earn a GED until she was 27. She began pursuing a teaching career only after several years as a stay-at-home mom and day care operator. As she trained for and launched what has become a very successful teaching career, earning bachelor's and master's degrees, she has been driven by the desire to make sure that no student under her watch falls, unnoticed, to the wayside. The motto of the Milken Educator Awards is "The Future Belongs to the Educated," and that's true. But there's something else about the power of education, and it's highlighted again by Richard's story: We sometimes tend to forget the sheer power that education has to transform lives. Lisa Richard transformed herself, learned about her passion for teaching, through education: by buckling down and earning her GED, by earning her college degrees, at a time when she was working to raise a family as well. And part of the magic of education in the hands of creative teachers is that it's contagious: Teachers have the power every day to transform other lives as well. That's part of the reason why these awards are given out in a school assembly packed with kids. Jane Foley, senior vice president of the Milken Family Foundation, was on hand at the assembly at Pioneer this week, and made a reference to that when she encouraged the children in the audience to tell their parents about the event and to find other teachers to thank. "We know some of them will go home tonight and say, 'I'm going to be a teacher just like Miss Richard,'" Foley said. And that's how the power of education, the power held by one good teacher, can shape generations. "All I want to do is inspire," Richard said, "and somebody noticed." Long before the Milken Family Foundation noticed, lots of other people did as well. (mm) Sorry, kids, if your school has been closed because of icy roads anytime so far this winter, you're likely looking at makeup days. Lebanon has already chosen one: Students will be in school June 9 to make up for the Dec. 8 closure. No word yet on this week's closures. Other mid-valley districts are still looking at their options, but because of a shift in state rules, those options have changed. The state used to allow school districts up to 14 hours they could write off for bad weather. That changed this school year, when the factors that count as "instructional time" changed to eliminate hours when schools are closed. The rule change was part of an overall revision of what constitutes instructional time, said Peter Rudy, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Education. It was adopted in January 2015, became effective that July and is in place for the first time this school year. Oregon requires districts to provide a certain number of instructional hours for students each year, a total that varies depending on whether they are in elementary, middle or high school. Because school time is measured in hours, not days, districts can choose to operate on four-day weeks or offer early release as long as the remaining days are long enough to make the required total. Also, if necessary, they can close for bad weather but if they're tight on time, the state no longer offers that 14-hour safety net. "If a schools closure would result in the district not offering the required minimum number of instructional time then the school district would be required to add hours of instruction to the school year," Rudy said. "The other option for the district would be to seek a waiver from the state board of the requirement." In the mid-valley, most districts have at least some flexibility built into their schedules and could accommodate a day or so of rotten weather. But some administrations say makeup days are just a given because their priority is having children in class. The Jefferson School District is one of those, with a policy requiring weather closure days to be added to the end of the school year. Superintendent Kent Klewitz said this week that's the plan so far. Greater Albany Public Schools usually taps Presidents Day as its first makeup, although nothing has been scheduled yet because a clause in the employee contract calls for the district to first consult with its labor associations, district officials said. In Corvallis, the school calendar has six potential weather makeup days: Presidents Day and the week of June 19. "Due to this weeks additional potential weather, the decision about which makeup dates will be used will likely be announced to parents in January," said Brenda Downum, the district's communications coordinator. Scio already built one late start day and one cancellation into its calendar this year, but the district is looking into how it will deal with additional snow days. The National Weather Service is expecting mostly clear skies Friday with daytime temperatures in the mid-30s. By next week, forecasters say, rain is in the outlook. More ice may be on the way this winter, but whether it leads to any more closures is almost impossible to predict. School districts take multiple factors into account before calling off classes, from what forecasters are saying to actual early-morning road conditions, said Ryan Noss, superintendent of the Corvallis School District. Noss said the district also considers the number of teenage drivers trying to get to high school and children waiting for buses along the sides of roads. He said he also stays in touch with other superintendents in the region as decisions are made. First and foremost, we are always considering student safety, Noss said. ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation. RASPBERRY (razbere) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer. We hereby deliver: ROSES to Doris Johnston, for many years the face of Pacific Power in the mid-valley, who is retiring after a 45-year career with the company. Johnston is an Albany native, but it's not at all unusual to see her at events in Corvallis or throughout Benton County, and not always on company business: She has been a frequent mid-valley volunteer and is among the relatively few people who have served on the boards of both the Corvallis and Albany chambers of commerce. We share the assessment of Janet Steele, the head of the Albany chamber, who noted that it often seemed that there must be more than one Doris Johnston out there, considering a punishing schedule that often had her racing from one side of the mid-valley to the other. Here's hoping that the singular Johnston enjoys her well-deserved retirement. ROSES to Lisa Richard, a third-grade teacher at Lebanon's Pioneer School, who this week was named one of the winners of a Milken Educator Award often described as the Oscar of teaching. By every account, Richard is an inspirational teacher who is more than deserving of the award. Richard's personal story is particularly inspiring: She was a high school dropout who didn't earn her GED until she was 27 and discovered a passion for teaching as she pursued her bachelor's and master's degrees. We often talk about the power of education to transform lives. Richard offers a splendid example of that, and now she's returning the favor to her young charges. RASPBERRIES to those of you who have allowed this stretch of bad weather to disrupt your plans to make your annual purchase of See's Candies from the Lions Club sale. Our source with the club reported this week that sales of this annual fundraiser are down by two-thirds. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's not too late. The sale is continuing in the building that we like to call the Gazette-Times Plaza, but it's better known as the Kings Circle Shopping Center. (The actual address is 1925 N.W. Circle Blvd., just a bit west of the G-T's offices.) ROSES to those city councilors, in Corvallis and elsewhere through the mid-valley, who are wrapping up their terms of service this month. In Corvallis, four councilors (Mike Beilstein, Joel Hirsch, Zach Baker and Frank Hann) are leaving the council. Although we occasionally take issue with council actions, we have a deep respect for anyone who chooses to assume the duties of a councilor. Certainly in Corvallis, serving on the City Council amounts to an unusually demanding part-time job, assuming that your part-time job pays bupkis. So, councilors, thanks for your service and do something fun with your newly free evenings. ROSES to Oregon state Rep. David Gomberg and everyone else involved in placing a pair of signs at the ends of U.S. Highway 20. At ceremonies last week, the signs were dedicated in Newport and in Boston. The sign in Newport says, in part, "Boston MA, 3,365 miles." Gomberg grew up in Sacramento, where the entrance to U.S. 50 boasts a sign reporting that Ocean Park, Maryland is a mere 3,073 miles away. Gomberg reasoned that the starting points of Highway 20 deserved similar signs, especially since the distance involved is longer. (A bit of trivia: The work on Highway 20 in the Eddyville area actually shortens the highway by some six miles, but this great American road trip remains the longest in the country, and the only one that goes through two cities named Albany.) (mm) Help deliver Thanksgiving To the Editor: Since 1996, our family has coordinated a program in which we provide the fixings for families in need to make their own Thanksgiving dinner and deliver full... Vote for future To the Editor: Newday has endorsed Kathy Hochul and Chuck Schumer. If that doesn't frighten everyone, it should. They will continue wasteful spending (therefore our taxes will have... Cart before the horse To the Editor: On page 8 of last weeks Garden City News, a submission by the St. Pauls Committee appears in which the Committee criticizes FDEM for failing to appear... 5 minutes to midnight To the Editor: It Is 5 Minutes To 12. The coming mid-term election on November 8th is of utmost importance and may change our country make-up for ever. Thus, you... Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Following sexual assaults : Cologne police searching for possible serial offender Cologne Cologne police are using photos from a surveillance camera to search for a man who is suspected of attacking at least ten women over a period of several years. The suspect is thought to be around 20 to 30-years-old and is accused of sexual harassment and two cases of rape. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Police report that the incidents show clear parallels with regard to the crime scenes and victims. The description of the perpetrator is also similar in all of the cases. The Cologne police have set up an investigative unit and is exploring possible connections to other sex crimes. The crime scenes were in the following areas of Cologne: Neustadt-Sud, Altstadt-Sud, Sulz, Lindenthal und Klettenberg. Nearly all the victims were young female students who were attacked on their way home at night or early in the morning. After evaluating all the cases, investigators are certain that the serial offender follows his victims, observing them and only attacking them shortly before they reach their apartments. According to descriptions, the suspect is likely German. After the attack on a 23-year-old Cologne woman in the Sulz district on November 20, police picked up a trail. At about 4:40 am, a dark-haired man attacked the woman on Joseph-Stelzmann-Strae from behind and grabbed her in an intimate area. When she screamed, the man let her go. Investigations revealed that the offender got out of the Line 9 tram at the Lindenburg stop, which is where the woman got out. He then followed her. The man in the photo is about 1.75 meters tall and about 20 to 30-years-old. He is slim and wearing glasses. On November 20, he was wearing a black hooded jacket and trousers. Cologne police are looking for witnesses who can provide information about the identity or location of the man. Reflections and Rants from the Entreprenerd, Dan Hanson - the Great Lakes Geek United Nations : New Global Campaign Center in Bonn Bonn Its the newest member of the United Nations in Bonn and it will help make the city on the Rhine a hub for sustainability. A sneak preview was given of the new Global Campaign Center. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Bonn is big on sustainability and on Thursday, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Campaign gave a glimpse behind the scenes of its new Global Campaign Center in Haus Carstanjen. Since the center moved in, it has become very colorful. There are 17 bright colors on posters, panels, walls and on a wheel, the symbol of the UN campaign. Each color represents one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. An interactive tour highlighted the Campaigns work, showing a virtual reality film, a survey which will keep track of progress made on the SDGs, and other features. The new center should help boost the UN in Bonn as a hub of global sustainability, and is supported by the German federal government. At the new center, UN employees see themselves as in touch - within reach of all citizens. Virtual reality is also key - you can enter a street scene in Liberia after the Ebola epidemic or get to know residents of the Gaza strip. People should be able to see why the development goals are important and how the worlds problems actually look like. Mitchell Toomey is Global Director of the UN SDG Campaign and he struck a positive chord about Bonn and Germany, The establishment of the Global Campaign Center in Bonn is testament to Germanys unwavering commitment to the SDGs, and the international quality of Bonn as a UN city and a sustainability hub. The Campaign is focused on inspiring citizens to become engaged and involved in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals, bringing them closer to the people and decision-makers. Toomey took visitors into the Campaigns own TV studio, where news will be produced for the whole world. He said Germanys time zone in central Europe was advantageous for real-time communication because contacts could be reached in many countries. It was very different in New York, he remarked. Dr. Gerd Muller, Germanys Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development said he was pleased that the UN chose to put the Campaign Center in Bonn. There are now 1,100 UN staff working in Bonn, from where the UN SDG Action Campaign will spread the ideas of the Agenda for Sustainable Development around the globe. The Global Campaign Center can be assured of strong support for its work from the German government, he commented. The Campaign is scheduled to run until the year 2030. With that in mind, visitors were invited to write down their wishes for 2030 and hang them on a Christmas tree at the center. One German text read, I wish that...that nobody will starve...by 2030. Other wishes were water for everyone, peace and education. Currently, there are 19 UN organizations in Bonn; the SDG Action Campaign is the newest member. An official public announcement about the new UN organization will be made at the World Congress Center Bonn (WCCB) on March 1 - 3. We know Missouri is chock full of caves and gives a great underground area (this one in Kansas City) for storing things under ideal storage conditions, but perhaps an ancient man in this region also realized the potential underground. In fact, there were claims of having found a city of giants from olden times in the Moberly, Missouri area. This story begins with newspaper articles and a rash of excited storytelling. It ends many decades later with people proclaiming a hoax. Somewhere in between we hear a story told of a supposed underground find 360 feet down while mining. The find may or may not have existed, but the details described, eerily match those of other time periods and finds by people of a culture that was most unusually advanced. Evening Chronicle April 8, 1885: The Most Startling Discovery of the Age Made by Citizens of Moberly, Randolph County, Mo. While Sinking a Shaft for Coal Mining. A Veritable Pompeii 360 Feet Below the Earth's Surface Containing Unquestionable Evidence of Human Habitation. Statuary, Utensils, Table, Skilled Masonry, Etc., Attest a Remote But Advanced Age of Civilization. A Human Skeleton of Mammoth Size Discovered. A County Recorder, City Marshall and Other Prominent Citizens Pay a Visit to the Wonderful Subterranean City. MOBERLY, MO., April 8. - A singular development has been made in this community within a few days that baffles the theories of scientists and experience of delvers in the earth. Several years ago, Mr. Tim Collins opened a shaft in the northeastern part of this city for the purpose of securing coal, and with the expectation of reaching a six-foot vein of bituminous matter believed to underlie all this section of country. In fact, it has been penetrated in some portions of the county, but its dip is so irregular that it is mere guess work as to the depth at which it may be reached. Mr. Collins is an experienced and skillful miner and so strong was his faith that he exhausted all his means in the prosecution of the work. The hole in the ground stood for a long time, when Briton A. Hill, of your city, was induced to take in interest in the shaft and supplied the means to still farther prospect for the black diamonds. But the hole got deeper and deeper without exposing the anticipated wealth, and finally Mr. Hill refused to further pursue the seemly hopeless search. Mr. Collins, however, is not a man to be intimidated by adverse circumstances. Parties living in Sedalia were interested in the matter and supplied the funds necessary to go deeper into the earth to lay bare the golden stratum. In the meantime the shaft had filled to the depth of 150 feet with water, and new and expensive machinery had to be employed to exhaust the water and allow the borers to go down after the coveted wealth. All this took time and money, both of which were very precious to Tim Collins. He struck several veins of bituminous coal, but the particular vein had not been reached. A short time ago, he again began operations and finally reached a stratum of semi-liquid bitumen, which became more and more inspissated as the miners went into the bowls of the earth. This bitumen, or naphtha, or asphaltum - for your correspondent is not sufficiently versed in geology to give it a technical title - did not continue through any considerable depth, but encouraged the proprietor of the enterprise to go ahead, and he did it with the most remarkable success. After reaching the depth of 360 feet the workmen struck igneous matter of basaltic formation, so hard and firm that the picks and other instruments employed to be useless until still further hardened. This difficulty was finally overcome and the work was prosecuted with more than ordinary vigor. Saturday morning Mr. Collins came into the city under a high state of excitement and announced to some of his personal friends that he had found a buried city at a depth of 360 feet below the surface of the earth. Of course, his friends laughed at his apparent delusion, and thought the long strain upon his mental and physical energies had distorted his reason. But, keeping the subject as quiet as possible, he invited his friends to visit his mine and verify his statements. Accordingly a small company, consisting of Charles F. Campbell, a prominent real estate dealer; R. A. Wilson, also a real estate dealer and experienced operator of coal mines; Gid. Morehouse, a practical miner of long and successful experience; David Coates, city recorder; George Keating, city marshal; George M. Barrett, a merchant of Topeka, Kas.; Grafton Gorcy, an old printer, and your correspondent, set 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon to visit the mine and descend into the shaft. At the appointed time the company was on hand and the descent began. It is useless to describe to anyone who has ever descended into a mine, the nausea, the foul, damp, disagreeable odor and the sense of "goneness" experienced by those who dwell on the surface when for the first time they go down to those Cyclopean deeps. It is sufficient to say that the party arrived in safety at the bottom of the shaft. But here a scene awaited them that they had certainly not anticipated. The apparent lava crust at the bottom of the mine had been broken in only one place, and this was barely sufficient to admit the body of one man at a time. The most adventurous hesitated before going to a new world or rather what seemed to be the womb of our upper world. But with characteristic courage, and stimulated by the remarkable stories Mr. Collins had told, Mr. Gid. Morehouse, the experienced miner, began the further descent. The others waited for orders from below. Soon it was announced, from a depth which seems to be greater than which we had traveled, that the adventurer was not only safe, but that, like the queen of Sheba who inspecting the wonders of Solomons magnificence, the half had not been revealed. In less than an hour our party of nine, including Mr. Collins, had safely descended into a LITERAL WORLD OF WONDERS. Here were evidences of a remote but advanced civilization, such as may well cause the scientific to wonder. Of course our explorations were brief, as we could not have anticipated the discovery we were so fortunate as to make, and our feelings of awe almost paralyzed our curiosity. The place in which we found ourselves, as well as we could judge by the dim and flickering light of the miners lamps, seemed to be a chamber of indeterminable extent, possibly fifty feet below the bottom of the mine, we had entered, with an irregularly arched roof and putting obstructions here and there. When these obstructions view closely examined they proved to be walls that had evidently been constructed by the labor of human hands, and were not a product of any violent volcanic action. Symmetry was observed, and skill could everywhere be seen. The party became enthusiastic, and though it seemed as if we had descended to the very charnel house of long buried ages, the more curious could not be restrained from following the bent of their inclinations and exploring this VAST CAVERN of indescribable and awe inspiring wonders. Though a little timid and by no means included to break the monotony of that entombed silence, your correspondent was forced to penetrate the gloomy void and behold things that to him were absolutely beyond his belief had he not witnessed them with his own eyes that were neither sleeping not deceived. Near the floor to which all of us had descended was a wall of massive stone and somewhat rude but intelligent masonry. These walls were of bala limestone, dark colored hard and firm texture and capable of withstanding immense pressure. Fragments of them were chipped off and brought to the surface. The stone was not unlike the blue limestone found on the surface in this immediate neighborhood. Evidently tools of fine quality had been used in preparing the blocks for the walls, as their surface showed that they had been roughly dressed before being placed in position. These blocks are of irregular, triangular, and even oval, but they were put there by the skill of those who understood the art of masonry. Moving along by this wall the party in a short time came to an open space which on close inspection proved to be the entrance to a WIDE AULA OR HALL of the building we had just been inspecting. Before we had been picking our way over irregular places in the floor, over fragments of stone and what appeared to be a street covered with asphaltum or other similar substance. But when we entered the hall the floor was smooth and within a few feet from the entrance there was not even an obstruction of dust. We marched slowly and cautiously along this hall till another opening presented itself on out left and we filed in. Here was the very DISCOVERY OF DISCOVERIES. A large room, probably 65 by 100 feet in extent, showed itself dimly by the light of our tapers. It was about 20 or 25 feet from floor to ceiling, and had evidently been lighted from the top, though there were openings in the walls where, from appearances, great oaken blinds or doors had once been. These doors had rotted, and only small portions of them remained, small bits of which we chipped off with our knives as souvenirs of our visit. Further examination showed that this room had been used as a workshop but mechanics who had been at work long before Hurams artificers hewed the architecture for Solomons temple. On each side near the walls, and also in the center, were found tables or benches where they had fashioned the work of their hands. These benches were of stone, and there were but few evidences of the character of work done. The wood that had been employed was damp, rotten and so covered with mold as to be almost indistinguishable in shape, and when touched, crumbled to dust. Tools were found on the benches, the handles of which had long since rotted away. But the tools themselves were in a good state of preservation and show that they were fashioned by master mechanics. A number of them were brought to the surface and are now exposed to the gaze of the curious. While the main body of our party were examining this room, Mr. Charles Campbell, carried away his enthusiasm, had been exploring still farther and found another room of similar dimensions and made a discovery that in his excited state of mind, CAME NEAR CAUSING HIS DEATH. It was a room partially fitted with specimens of antique art, small statuettes and larger statues met his gaze on every hand, and it was touching one of these, which fell with a loud crash, that he imperiled his safety. But he had had made a discovery which was worth a life to have made, though the accident extinguished his lamp. The noise of the falling statue and the frantic cries of Mr. Campbell caught the sensitive ears of the party, all of whom went to his assistance. On approaching the door he warned the man to be cautious as there was danger of accidents from the same cause he experienced. But the party entered the room and here were found NUMEROUS FIGURES IN STONE and a species of bronze. The latter is not like that used in the present day, but is a combination of metals, of which perhaps tin was the smallest ingredient, as it is devoid of luster. Several of the smaller images, some of them exceedingly grotesque in form, were secured by the party. All of the figures were fashioned by workmen who understood the use of the implements they used, and on consultation that the room had been used as a store house for the gods of the strange people who made and worshipped them. But the most peculiar and exciting discovery of the day had yet to be made. The members of the party had paid little or no attention to the passage of time, their curiosity and interest increasing as some wonder was developed. An enthusiastic archaeologist would scarcely have thought that we had already been in THE SUBTERRANEAN CITY for several hours, and that, like the foolish virgins, we had neglected to provide sufficient oil to keep our lamps trimmed and burning for a very extensive survey of this newly found world. A discussion in the party showed that we were approaching midnight, but still none of us were anxious to go above till we had more than satisfied ourselves that our senses were not deceiving us, and that we were in our own persons actually and undoubtedly processed of tools, implements and images made ages ago by an unknown and prehistoric race. But the flickering of some of the lamps warned us that our visit could not be prolonged with safety, and it was decided to ascend to the open air. On leaving the room, or hall, we had been visiting for some time, each man with tools, implements, images and other specimens of our great discovery, led by Mr. Morehouse, who has for many years been accustomed to thread the narrow passages of deep mines, one of the party, Mr. George Barrett, who had wandered somewhat from the balance of the company, used an exclamation of surprise that immediately brought the others to his side. And surely we could not have made a more important discovery, or one that could have been more satisfactory. It was a SKELETON OF A HUMAN BEING lying beside a stone fountain. The fountain was located in what was evidently a large court or very wide street, and from it a stream of water flowed into a large stone basin and thence into an aqueduct the length and termination of which we had not the time or opportunity to explore. Some of the party, who had the curiosity and the thirst to test the purity of this water, drank a small quantity and pronounced it very sweet and nice but strongly impregnated with limestone. But the curiosity was the skeleton and over this a long consultation was held, some of the lamps having been extinguished to provide against the possible contingency of being left in the dark. Mr. Morehouse, who had a tape line with him measured the bones of the leg. The femur measured four and a half feet, and the tibia four feet and three inches, showing that the creature, when alive, must have been endowed with both muscular power and quick action. The head bones had in two places separated, the sagittal and the coronal suturis having been destroyed. The party judged, from the best information to be obtained on so a short time, that the skeleton is about three times as large as that of an average man, but they were afraid to attempt its removal this morning with the poor appliances at hand. Consequently it was left where found, to be removed at the earliest hour that the work can be done. The implements found embrace BRONZE AND FLINT KNIVES, stone and granite hammers, metallic saws of rude workmanship but proved metal, and others of a similar character. They are not so highly polished nor so accurately made as those now finished by our best mechanics, but they show skill and an evidence of advanced civilization that are positively wonderful. While delighted at the wonders encountered we were notified by certain unmistakable indications that we must go above or that we were likely to be left in this city of the dead, as its inhabitants were ages ago. Accordingly, we began the ascent, carrying with us the unquestionable evidences of the wonders we had found, one of them bring the ulna of the left arm of the skeleton found. We reached the surface of the earth at 6 oclock this morning, having been entombed thirteen hours, but with a knowledge of facts that reach back in history cycles or eons. * St. Louis, Mo. Evening Chronicle April 9, 1885 FURTHER STARTLING DEVELOPMENTS FROM MOBERLY CONCERNING THE DISCOVERY OF THE HIDDEN CITY. A SECOND EXPEDITION PAY THE PLACE A VISIT AND ENCOUNTER PETRIFIED HUMAN BEINGS, IDOLS, MEDICINE MORTARS, BATTLE AXES, SCIMITARS, ETC., ETC. A LOST RIVER SIMILAR TO THAT IN MAMMOTH CAVE. A COMMISSION OF GEOLOGISTS WILL INVESTIGATE. Moberly, Mo., April 9., - [Special] Further developments concerning the relics of antiquitous times discovered in the great Tom Collins coal shaft have been made. As yet the explorers of this ancient subterranean abode are at a loss to discover what race of people occupied this buried city, which probably dates back to time immemorial. The names of the parties comprising the second exploring expedition of this wonderful underground former habitation were representative citizens of Moberly, among them being Messrs. Chas. McGowen, George Conway, L. B. Forney, C. A. Bridges, and others. In a day or two it is stated, a commission of geologists will be here, who will give the place a thorough investigation and endeavor to enlighten the minds of the doubting and disbelieving. The latest and most important discovery is the life-size petrifaction of pure stone, consisting of a mother mounted upon a rudely constructed chair nursing an infant at her breast. Next to this comes an object in the shape of a man, kneeling in prayer, worshipping a three-headed idol similar to that of the ancient God Isis, which is so prominently mentioned in Peter Parleys Universal History. As we proceeded farther we found a small stream coursing through the cave similar to that of Lost river, so prominently noted in the great Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Besides these formidable wonders, there are to be found all manner of relics, such as battle-axes, pikes, tomahawks, scimitars, etc. There are also to be found objects which indicate that civilizations existed at some remote period. They comprise chairs of stones, medicine mortars, relics of an ancient grist-mill, and other articles too numerous to note. The whole affair has set the community ablaze with excitement and various speculations exist regarding the wonderful discoveries made. Of course it all reads and sounds like a story pertaining to mythology, but truth is might and will prevail, and the doubtful individual had only to call, when he can be shown the wonderful underground objects described above. * Conclusion A few days later, a retraction was printed, questioning the character of Mr. Hill and proclaiming no association to the citizens of the area. It would seem likely that excited citizens were contacting them for information and it became apparent they may have a "gold rush" sensational event about to happen to their town. It's not unusual for newspapers to retract stories when they have enough pressure on them. The question becomes, why even print such a detailed and lengthy posting about a find if they knew it would draw attention to the town and its possible sleeping city beneath? Someone in charge had to find the story to be both compelling and valid. It's too far out from 1885 to know whether this story was true or not, but I have "bolded" the statements that jive with other reported cave finds around the country. These kinds of consistencies are rather intriguing (1909 Grand Canyon, 1930s Death Valley finds). As, this find was done before those time periods and stories, so could not have been influenced by these other supposed finds that people continue to question also. Let's remember, though, that an entire religion was based on gold plates supposedly dug up on a farm - Church of Latter Day Saints. Article Protecting the worlds oceans an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs. I Will Beat You White Witch - Nigerian Lady Destroys Bank In UK For Taking Her Money - Vid nametalkam at 16-12-2016 08:36 AM (5 years ago) (m) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmTxJJ1SIjQ Never joke with a Nigerian woman's money especially in the harsh economy of recession! This Benin woman is having none of it, though the money the bank charged her was a mere 20, in this current economy every pounds, penny, Naira and kobo counts - see her dramatic reaction below: Post Reply I specialize in investigative reportage across several subject matter and sectors but mainly focus on metro events and investigation. Do leave your thoughts and opinion on my reports to let me know what you think about them. Thank you Posted: at 16-12-2016 08:36 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero chukkychukky at 16-12-2016 08:55 AM (5 years ago) (m) ppl wey dey uk too stingy e dey hard before dem send money home Joramentity aka chukkychukky Posted: at 16-12-2016 08:55 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac ppl wey dey uk too stingy e dey hard before dem send money home Reply james987 at 16-12-2016 09:00 AM (5 years ago) (m) Give her back her money abeg Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:00 AM (5 years ago) | Hero Give her back her money abeg Reply chimexcel at 16-12-2016 09:05 AM (5 years ago) (m) Economy Harsh Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:05 AM (5 years ago) | Upcoming Economy Harsh Reply concentrate at 16-12-2016 09:25 AM (5 years ago) (m) let them give her the money they took. simple. Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:25 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac let them give her the money they took. simple. Reply gogoman at 16-12-2016 09:29 AM (5 years ago) (m) Quote from: chukkychukky on 16-12-2016 08:55 AM ppl wey dey uk too stingy e dey hard before dem send money home and you no stingy? how many people have u send common fowl too this xmas Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:29 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero and you no stingy? how many people have u send common fowl too this xmas Reply jeroba1 at 16-12-2016 09:45 AM (5 years ago) (m) I beg no joke with 9ja women money. Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:45 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac I beg no joke with 9ja women money. Reply emytex74 at 16-12-2016 09:56 AM (5 years ago) (m) No be small things oooo the woman dey vex Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:56 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac No be small things oooothe woman dey vex Reply willyking at 16-12-2016 10:47 AM (5 years ago) (m) Quote from: gogoman on 16-12-2016 09:29 AM and you no stingy? how many people have u send common fowl too this xmas na true una too stingy jor, people wey dey hide food if their friend dey come visite. Posted: at 16-12-2016 10:47 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac na true una too stingy jor, people wey dey hide food if their friend dey come visite. Reply Raphkomo at 16-12-2016 10:51 AM (5 years ago) (m) hahahaha UK people sha Posted: at 16-12-2016 10:51 AM (5 years ago) | Upcoming hahahaha UK people sha Reply freethinker at 16-12-2016 11:16 AM (5 years ago) (m) BENIN GIRLS ARE UNDER INFLENCE OF IDOLS THEY WORSHIP, SHAME THIS IS NOT A WAY TO GO ABOUT IT Posted: at 16-12-2016 11:16 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac BENIN GIRLS ARE UNDER INFLENCE OF IDOLS THEY WORSHIP, SHAMETHIS IS NOT A WAY TO GO ABOUT IT Reply clarajancita at 16-12-2016 11:30 AM (5 years ago) (f) Press play to watch this Nigerian woman rain abuses and threats at some Halifax Bank staff over ATM issues. , just watch the video below! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9o3Bcyg72Y&feature=youtu.be I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 16-12-2016 11:30 AM (5 years ago) | Hero Press play to watch this Nigerian woman rain abuses and threats at some Halifax Bank staff over ATM issues. , just watch the video below! Reply concentrate at 16-12-2016 11:42 AM (5 years ago) (m) this report is becoming contradictory. was it that her money got stuck in the ATM machine or she got excessively charged? Posted: at 16-12-2016 11:42 AM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac this report is becoming contradictory. was it that her money got stuck in the ATM machine or she got excessively charged? Reply Haso112 at 16-12-2016 01:31 PM (5 years ago) (m) Quote from: freethinker on 16-12-2016 11:16 AM BENIN GIRLS ARE UNDER INFLENCE OF IDOLS THEY WORSHIP, SHAME THIS IS NOT A WAY TO GO ABOUT IT YOUR STUPIDITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS.... A PITY...!!! Posted: at 16-12-2016 01:31 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac YOUR STUPIDITY KNOWS NO BOUNDS.... A PITY...!!! Reply Deltaboy1 at 16-12-2016 01:42 PM (5 years ago) (m) edo things Posted: at 16-12-2016 01:42 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac edo things Reply kison at 16-12-2016 04:51 PM (5 years ago) (m) Posted: at 16-12-2016 04:51 PM (5 years ago) | Hero Reply gogoman at 16-12-2016 05:12 PM (5 years ago) (m) Quote from: willyking on 16-12-2016 10:47 AM na true una too stingy jor, people wey dey hide food if their friend dey come visite. come visit me for london i go host Posted: at 16-12-2016 05:12 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero come visit me for london i go host Reply kacylee at 16-12-2016 07:37 PM (5 years ago) (f) hahahaha, that one wants to show african muscles I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 16-12-2016 07:37 PM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero hahahaha, that one wants to show african muscles Reply tommy70 at 16-12-2016 09:03 PM (5 years ago) (m) Posted: at 16-12-2016 09:03 PM (5 years ago) | Gistmaniac Reply Xiaomi Launches New 20,000mAh Mi Power Bank with Quick Charge Support News oi -Samden Sherpa The new version of Xiaomi's 20000mAh Mi power bank comes with extensive support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and two-way fast charging support. While Xiaomi, the Chinese electronics company had already introduced its 20,000mAh Mi power bank last November in China, and earlier this year in India, today the company has again unveiled a new version of 20000mAh Mi power bank with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 and two-way fast charging support. LG Reveals its Two Most Exciting 4K HDR Monitors Well as per the report from fonearena, design-wise the new power bank has the same ABS plastic body for a better grip. However, the power bank is slightly thicker at 23.9mm, and measures 135.567.6mm, making it slightly more compact than the predecessor. What's more, the power bank offers dual 5.1V / 3.6A output when two devices are connected, and supports 5V/2.4A-9V/2A-12V/1.5A with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 when using a single port. Swipe Elite Max Launched in India with 4GB RAM at Rs. 10,999 In addition, the 20,000mAh power bank has fast charging support for charging the power bank. This means you can charge the device faster that any normal power banks available in the market. As for the pricing of the device, it is set at 149 Chinese Yuan which is approximately Rs. 1450 / $21. Interestingly, the price is same as the predecessor and the power bank will go on sale from December 19th onwards. On the other hand, Xiaomi has not announced any plans regarding the global roll out. Click Here for New Smartphones Best Online Deals Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Over 1 Billion Yahoo Accounts Hacked, Here's How to Protect Your Account From Data Breach Features oi -Sneha 1 billion Yahoo accounts hacked, reveals the company itself. Yahoo recently disclosed that a group of cyber hackers had scooped into their email system and hacked 1 billion email accounts in 2013. In a statement to the media, Yahoo asserted that the hackers had recorded user's personal information, and the company is clueless on the hackers identity, and what happened to the recorded information. The California-based internet pioneer lost over 6 percent shares after the data breach incident was revealed early this week. A Senior Research Scientist of Comodo, Kenneth Geers states, "Yahoo should know that it is an invaluable target for cybercrime syndicates and nation-states and invest the resources in protecting its data accordingly. The use of vulnerable MD5 hashes suggests that Yahoo was not paying sufficient attention to security." SEE ALSO: Top 10 Android smartphones with 1GB RAM Under Rs 5,000 As per reports, the hackers had recorded almost all the personal information of the 1 billion users including their name, contact numbers, and even their passwords, which are said to be encrypted with easily broken form of security. The incident is the largest known data breach in the history. Commenting on the hacking incident, Kenneth Geers states, "This is a hack of strategic scale, conducted with a high level of anonymity; those two factors combined could mean that this is a foreign intelligence service seeking the information solely for its signals intelligence value. SEE ALSO: Smartphone Displays Explained: OLED vs LCD vs AMOLED One way to test that hypothesis is to try and find out if the stolen information has been used for cybercrime; that, however, is no guarantee because leaking some information could be a deceptive tactic on the part of the attacker." Yahoo also revealed that credit cards and bank account details have not been affected, however, the data breach incident did include unencrypted security questions. SEE ALSO: New Mid-Range Motorola Smartphone With Android 7.0 Nougat to Hit the Stores Soon, Confirms FCC To mitigate the damage, Yahoo is in the process to alert the affected customers to change their passwords and security questions and answers, and review their accounts for any suspicious activity. The company also recommends users to avoid using similar passwords for all social media accounts, and not to click on any link and download attachments that they receive from any suspicious email ids. Click Here for New Smartphones Best Online Deals Best Mobiles in India Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Renders Surfaced Online Suggest a Complete Bezel-less Screen, Dual Rear Camera Features oi -Chakri Kudikala The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 might feature 100 percent screen-to-body ratio. Two months ago, Xiaomi, at an event in China unveiled the concept phone- the Xiaomi Mi Mix with an insane 91.3 screen-to-body ratio. After all, it's a concept phone, and the limited availability of the product says it all. However, we thought that Xiaomi won't release a successor to the Mi Mix, but our thoughts were wrong. Days after the Mi Mix launch, a new Mi Mix Nano popped online heading for the CES 2017 release. However, the company officially ruled out that out saying there's no Mi Mix Nano in the making. SEE ALSO: Top 10 Android Apps for December 2016 And again, we are back to our first thought that Mi Mix will be the last phone of its kind, but now again another leak popped online showing the renders of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2. The leaked renders suggest that the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 will retain the same 6.4-inch from its predecessor, but this time around, there will be a 2K resolution. The Mi Mix was a disappointment with its 1080p screen. Previous rumors surfaced online suggested that the Mi Mix 2 will come with a dual rear camera on board, but today's render images revealed only single camera at the back. Apart from these details, the Mi Mix 2 is expected to arrive with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the display itself and will run Android Nougat based MIUI 9 out-of-the-box. So, these are just rumors, and we suggest you take them with a pinch of salt. Source Click Here for New Smartphones Best Online Deals Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Is Nokia India's top 4G LTE Network Vendor? News oi -Samden Sherpa Nokia India head Sanjay Malik confirms that the company is now India's top 4G LTE network vendor. As per the reports that have been circulating around, Nokia, the Finnish multinational communications and information technology company has claimed that it is now India's top 4G LTE vendor, having bagged 120 contracts from telecom operators so far in 2016. Nokia currently leads the market with maximum share, besides leading the VoLTE market with almost 100 percent market share. Flipkart Teases OnePlus 3 on Sale Under Rs. 20,000; What's This? Carl Pei Asks Sachin Bansal In an interaction with the Economic Times, Nokia's new India head, Sanjay Malik stated that the company has reached number one in LTE (4G) market on the basis of all deals that concluded before and after the spectrum auction. While most of the deals have already been done, Malik declared that Nokia attained the number one spot in terms of circles and the number of base stations that was going to be rolled out in the days to come. Currently, 4G LTE services are being offered by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Telenor, Reliance Communications and Aircel in India. On the 4G front, Nokia has bagged deals from the big Telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, and Idea Cellular. On the other hand, Nokia, which competes with the likes of Ericsson, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE in the telecom network market, has claimed to have bagged deals double as compared to last year. Netflix Partners With Shah Rukh Khan's Production House: Here's Everything To Know Moreover, Malik focusing on the Indian market said that Nokia has seen the majority of telcos' investing in both coverage and capacity. Making it more clear, he said that it was also not only about 4G and building a seamless broadband experience, but it was about telcos adopting IoT as well. Now, as Telcos were looking to optimize their cost of operations to keep it at a minimum, Malik expressed that Nokia's portfolio was most suitable and went beyond mobility into optics, IP, and fixed networks, along with applications and software. He added that Nokia's deals with the existing service providers will be growing with IP, optics, and fixed networks requirements. Click Here for New Smartphones Best Online Deals Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Overall, Double XL is a well-made film that might be liked by gentry in all shapes, sizes, and age too. By the way, do not miss the interval!! Intelligence department solves Marine Corps biggest problems US Marine Corps News By Sgt. Terry Brady | December 15, 2016 Marines with Headquarters Marine Corps Intelligence department gave a live demonstration of new technologies Dec. 9, as part of the Marine Corps Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise Accelerator program. "The accelerator program is focused mainly on software and IT-related problems," said Jennifer Edgin, the Chief Technology Officer with HQMC intelligence department and the lead for MCISRE accelerator program. "The Marines identified a problem during the first week and they broke that problem down into a specifically scoped problem statement that we can develop into a software application that can be deployed at the end of 12 weeks." The demonstration is the culmination of more than 12 weeks of conceptualizing, designing and testing by intelligence Marines who worked on solutions to some of the Marine Corps greater intelligence problems after identifying them at a tech design meeting earlier this year. "The first week was the design concept week, where [they started working on] a problem that was identified at the TDM [tech design meeting]," said Edgin. "When the Marines got together they broke it down and compared it with some data we have about how we're currently operating." The team reached out to Marines in the intelligence community to validate the importance of the problem and came up with a design for a software application they wanted to build, according to Edgin. "They came to Quantico the first week to brief the director of intelligence about the plan," said Edgin. "They worked remotely while performing their job during weeks two to 11 and they came back here this week to put the final touches on their software product and outbrief the director for a release decision." The product of the program, currently known as Helios, is a web-based program designed to show the production process of individual requests for information, or RFI. "We've identified there's a gap between key role players within the community such as the receiving of an RFI from an RFI manager's perspective and [we are] trying to bring the RFI and production manager of that product together to show the production cycle the customer can see visually without going through the chain or multiple phone calls," said Staff Sgt. Brenton Spriggs, an intelligence analyst and team member with the accelerator team. The data gathered from the application allows those within the intelligence community to share where the RFI is in the production process, so that customers, analysts and managers are constantly informed during the stages of the production process. "Helios is pulling metadata from a currently existing tool in our community, which is the RFI manager's tool," said Spriggs. "We're uploading it into it's own application and for the first time we're giving it a platform for the production managers to lay out their steps and give the customers a time they can expect it and where it's at in production. "We're creating Helios to open up and dig deep into these production processes and bring metadata to the table to show future standardizations for how we're going to produce in the future to save time." After the demonstration, a panel led by Brig. Gen. William Seely III, the Director of Intelligence at Headquarters Marine Corps, evaluated and approved the product for future development and testing. "This is a great opportunity for the Marine Corps because it takes to heart the commandant's objective about innovation and we're taking that right to its limits," said Seely. "Part of that innovation is not just an idea that we have but never execute. Now we're taking ideas and concepts and linking Marines with developers and develop this product and prove that this is viable." The next evolution of the project will be testing with a limited user evaluation, which will allow Marines to test the program and give feedback. "Marines have always been innovators and this holds true to our reputation as not just a premiere fighting force but emphasizes that we're [innovators] and critical thinkers and we can change the way business is done," said Seely. " Today is about the process to cultivate gathering ideas and turning ideas into innovation." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Military Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Dec. 15, 2016 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack and fighter aircraft conducted five strikes in Syria: -- Near Raqqa, a strike damaged six canal bridges and a minor water control network. -- Near Ayn Isa, two strikes engaged a tactical unit, destroyed a fighting position and damaged four supply routes. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, two strikes destroyed seven oil tanker trucks, two oil wellheads and an oil workover rig. Strikes in Iraq Bomber and fighter aircraft conducted two strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government, engaging an ISIL tactical unit, destroying a fighting position and suppressing 11 ISIL tactical units and 13 mortar teams. Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike. Part of Operation Inherent Resolve The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Carter: Coalition Must Stay Focused on Counter-ISIL Campaign By Shannon Collins DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2016 While the coalition is collapsing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's control over Mosul and Raqqa, it must stay focused on the continued execution of the campaign plan into 2017, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today in opening remarks at a meeting in London of defense ministers participating in the campaign to defeat ISIL. Carter and U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon each also stressed that the coalition must remain engaged militarily. "We need to continue to counter not only the foreign fighters trying to escape ISIL, but also ISIL's attempts to relocate and reinvent itself," Carter said. "Destroying the fact and idea that there can be an Islamic state based on this ideology will help us in several ways to destroy ISIL's external operations ambitions." He added, "To do so, both the United States and the coalition must remain engaged militarily. And in Iraq in particular, we must be prepared to provide sustained assistance to the Iraqi security forces to consolidate security over the rest of the country, and to carry on our work to train, equip and support local police, border guards, and other forces to hold areas cleared from ISIL -- as always, in partnership with the Iraqi government." Beyond security, there will be towns to rebuild, services to re-establish and communities to restore, Carter said, which is why the international community's stabilization and governance efforts must not lag behind the military campaign. "We have a vital role across our coalition that is going to demand greater operational coordination, greater intelligence and information sharing and greater alignment of weapons, and I hope by the end of our conference today, we will have agreed that a military approach for 2017 to build on the real progress that has already been made," Fallon said. Making Progress The defense secretary's travels in the past week included stops in Iraq and Kurdistan to discuss the latest operational results with leaders there and to thank coalition and U.S. service members for their efforts. "I met with some of the brave Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga who have been engaged in the tough fight to take Mosul," he said. "And after being in Iraq, I see that while this complex mission will take time to accomplish, I was encouraged during my visit that this operation is proceeding according to the plan, and I'm confident that ISIL's days in Mosul are numbered." Simultaneously, in Syria, Carter said, "We're now helping tens of thousands of local, capable, motivated forces to isolate and systematically envelope Raqqa, from which they are only 15 miles away." The secretary said the U.S. took additional actions to accelerate its efforts by adding 200 additional U.S. forces to Syria to join the 300 U.S. Special Operations forces already there. Fallon said it's worth noting that "thanks to the immense efforts of the Iraqi fighters and the Kurdish fighters, supported by our armed forces, [ISIL] is now being pushed out of Iraq. It controls less than 10 percent of Iraqi territory; 11 former [ISIL] strongholds have fallen and a million Iraqis are now being able to return to their homes." In Syria, the U.K. defense secretary said ISIL has lost a quarter of the territory it once held, and more than 25,000 of its fighters have been estimated to have been killed. "In 2017, we look to finish that job and bring greater safety and security not just to Iraq but to all our citizens," he added. Defeating ISIL The U.S. and the coalition are combating ISIL everywhere they emerge around the world and they must continue to do so, Carter said. "We've been doing so successfully in Libya and also in Afghanistan," he said. "Destroying ISIL's parent tumor in Iraq and Syria and combating its metastases are critical to destroying both the fact and the idea that there can be an Islamic state based on ISIL's barbaric ideology." These efforts are critical to stopping plots against the nations of the coalition, "which is the most important objective, for our people, of our campaign," Carter said. Working with intelligence, homeland security and law enforcement partners, coalition forces are conducting operations to gather intelligence with a particular focus on destroying ISIL's external operations network, the defense secretary said. As a result, he said, "We've not only killed the chief of ISIL's external operations, we've also taken out dozens of its external plotters -- including three last week in Raqqa who were directly involved in attacks and the plotting of attacks against our European allies." Carter added, "The counter-ISIL coalition has been decisive and effective, with over a third of the forces coming from non-U.S. partners. We all came together, deliberately, as a coalition to defeat ISIL, and today, I look forward to discussing how the coalition will continue to endure, to work together, to contribute together and to operate together to make sure ISIL's defeat is lasting." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ISIL 'Failing,' Defense Leaders Say After London Meeting By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2016 The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is failing, and the campaign to defeat the terror group in Iraq and Syria is on track, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said in London today. The two men addressed the media following a meeting of the counter-ISIL coalition. "[ISIL] is now failing," Fallon said. "It controls less than 10 percent of Iraq. It's lost more than a quarter of land it once held in Syria. Its supply of recruits has dried up and more than 25,000 [ISIL] fighters have now been killed." Indigenous forces are fighting the terror group in Mosul and are closing the vise around Raqqa -- the capital of ISIS's so-called caliphate. Campaign Plan Carter said the counter-ISIL campaign plan is working. The strategy, he said, calls for destroying ISIL in Iraq and Syria, going after the group in other areas where it has metastasized and stopping its ability to conduct attacks like the ones that hit Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, California. Carter, Fallon and 13 other defense ministers reviewed the campaign plan and discussed ways to accelerate it during their meeting. "Thanks to the determination and the courage of our local partners in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, as well as the contributions made by service members from across our coalition and the leadership of the countries represented here today, our campaign has continually accelerated the execution of the campaign, simultaneously pressuring ISIL from all directions and across all domains," Carter said. The defense secretary said that many nations suggested ways to speed the campaign and many pledged additional resources -- including the United Kingdom. The Future It is not enough, Carter said, to defeat ISIL in Iraq and Syria. The group, he said, cannot be allowed to reconstitute itself. "As ISIL attempts to relocate or reinvent itself, it's critical to ensure the Iraqi security forces and our local partners in Syria have the training and enabling they need to continue to address this threat in whatever form it takes, so that they can provide lasting security long after ISIL is defeated," the defense secretary said. The military aspect must be accompanied by political, economic and diplomatic efforts in the region, he said. Strategic Approach Carter emphasized that putting indigenous forces in the lead in Iraq and Syria is working. "As we look to the future of our campaign, there's clear value in our strategic approach of enabling local forces to seize and hold territory rather than attempting to substitute for them," he said. "This approach has not only been effective -- it's also sustainable, the defense secretary said. "And it will be necessary to continue this kind of cooperation with our local partners." The strategy not only wins the war, Carter said, but, "it also wins the peace." Carter said he will share lessons-learned with his successor. "Among my recommendations will be the need for the United States to remain actively engaged as leader of this coalition to ensure that we deliver ISIL a lasting defeat and continue to protect our homelands," the defense secretary said. "Our coalition can, and I'm confident we will, finish this job together." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Tactical Ground System sees first test in 20 years By Capt. Edward E. Lee, Jr., Army Operational Test Command Public Affairs December 15, 2016 FORT CARSON, Colorado -- Military operational testers recently conducted the first operational test of the Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) system in 20 years. JTAGS is an early warning system that communicates with the Air Force's Space Based Infrared System, which counters enemy tactical missiles targeted at U.S. forces or U.S. coalition partners. The system that underwent the recent testing was a new version of the system. The testing lasted 22 days. Unlike the current version, the new JTAGS system will not be stored in mobile shelters, but will operate out of unit operations centers. It will provide real time alert information to forces on the ground to facilitate force protection efforts, active/passive defense operations, and attack operations. Prior to the test, Sgt. 1st Class James Harris and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Gross, experienced JTAGS operators from Fort Carson's 1st Space Brigade, shared their knowledge of unit-level procedures, ensuring the test unit Soldiers were proficient on the new system "The crews were subjected to hours and hours of fast-paced scenarios that pushed their operational abilities to the max," Harris said. Data gathered during the testing will inform future material release decisions, according to Brian Hesselberth, the lead military test plans analyst with the Air Defense Artillery Test Division, Fires Test Directorate, Army Operational Test Command (OTC) at Fort Bliss, Texas. During testing, the OTC Test Directorate out of Fort Bliss, Texas, worked alongside 10 Soldiers assigned to Test Detachment, 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery (ADA), 30th ADA Brigade from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. "This system is an essential piece in defending our Nation and its allies from a protection standpoint," said Spc. Andrew Franco, 30th ADA primary JTAGS Operator. With help from the ADA Soldiers, who quickly learned the new system and how to apply it in JTAGS operations, OTC collected all necessary performance data to support the Army decision criteria. ----- As the Army's only independent operational tester, the Army Operational Test Command tests and assesses Army, joint, and multi-service war fighting systems in realistic operational environments, using typical Soldiers to determine whether the systems are effective, suitable, and survivable. OTC is required by public law to test major systems before they are fielded to its ultimate customer -- the American Soldier. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Release No. NR-445-16 December 15, 2016 Readout of Secretary Carter's meeting with Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Isik Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Isik today on the sidelines of the counter-ISIL Defense Ministerial in London. The secretary thanked Minister Isik for his participation in the ministerial and for Turkey's significant contributions to the counter-ISIL campaign, especially Operation Euphrates Shield and its efforts to close its borders to ISIL. Both leaders reaffirmed their unyielding resolve to deal ISIL a lasting defeat, discussing a range of practical cooperative efforts that will accelerate the fight. The secretary also strongly condemned the Dec. 10 PKK attack on Turkish police and citizens and offered condolences on behalf of the Department of Defense for the tragic loss of life. Secretary Carter vowed the United States will continue to stand with Turkey to combat PKK, ISIL and terrorism in all its forms. The secretary and the minister agreed on the need for the two NATO allies to continue their full range of bilateral defense activities and to look for ways to further strengthen defense cooperation in the future. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1031240/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Department of Defense Press Operations News Transcript Presenter: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter; U.K. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon December 15, 2016 Joint Press Conference with Secretary Carter and Secretary Fallon in London, England DEFENCE SECRETARY MICHAEL FALLON: Well, good afternoon, everybody. It's been a privilege to welcome here today ministers from Iraq and 13 other countries in the counter-Daesh coalition, but also to have Secretary Carter here on his final overseas visit. Today's meeting focused on three key areas. First, we reviewed our progress in the military campaign. Daesh is now failing. It controls less than 10 percent of the Iraqi territory. It's lost more than a quarter of land it once held in Syria. Its supply of recruits has dried up. And more than 25,000 Daesh fighters have now been killed. As we speak, our coalition forces are supporting brave Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops in their duty of liberatingMosul. I'm proud of the part the United Kingdom is playing. More than 70 percent of our airstrikes have been focused around Mosul. And we've struck more than 380 targets. At the same time, we've trained and continue to train more than 31,000 Iraqi and Peshmerga troops. Our forces from 22 Engineer Regiment are building up the infrastructure at Al-Assad airbase in Iraq. And today I am announcing an extension of their deployment by six months. We also spoke today about the campaign in Syria, where the second front opened up towards Raqqa last week. Syrian Democratic Forces begun their advance, ably supported by coalition and RAF fighter jets. As the fall of Aleppo shows, solving the crisis in Syria ultimately means a political settlement. So we continue to work with the moderate opposition and the United Nations, and we urge the regime and its backers, including Russia, to end their destructive military tactics and to return to the negotiating table. Second, we discussed our plans to build long-term stability in Iraq. Once Mosul is liberated, the focus will not just be on providing humanitarian help to the population, resettling thousands of refugees, defusing Daesh explosives, but also in establishing -- assisting the Iraqi government in establishing the apparatus that ensures that all ethnic and religious groups can feel secure in the future. Finally today, we looked at preventing the dispersal of foreign fighters. We need no reminding in Western Europe of the threats these terrorists pose. We've recently seen appalling attacks on the streets of Turkey and of Egypt. In the last three years, our police and security services have disrupted 12 plots here in the United Kingdom, all either linked to or inspired by Daesh. And that is why the coalition needs to do even more to share its intelligence insight. Finding that material is the first step. We must then work together to track down the terrorists and bring them to justice. Earlier I mentioned that this is Defense Secretary Carter's last overseas visit. So I would like to end by thanking him for all he has done to inject impetus into the coalition and to tighten the ties between our two great nations. I've always appreciated his wisdom and advice. Today we signed an agreement to further cement his legacy. Secretary Carter has long championed the regeneration of U.K. carrier strike capability, even enabling our pilots to fly F-35 off U.S. carriers. Now, we've agreed to return the favor, so that by 2021, U.S. F-35Bs will operate from our Queen Elizabeth carriers in turn. So, we're strengthening our special relationship, looking forward to unprecedented levels of interoperability and cooperation, and thus ensuring that Secretary Carter's tenure ends on a high. [SEC. Carter]: Thank you. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER: Thank you, Michael, for those kind words and also for hosting today's counter-ISIL ministerial. Given the special relationship between our two countries, it's fitting that I've been on a two-week trip around the world visiting troops -- American troops that are literally all around the world. It's fitting, in view of our special relationship, that my last stop should be one of America's most enduring and loyal, powerful and influential friends and allies, namely the United Kingdom. And I'll have more to say shortly about our historic partnership. But let me begin with the counter-ISIL campaign. It was this time last year that I first described the coalition military campaign plan to defeat ISIL. And it was a few weeks later when defense ministers from the leading military contributors met for the first time in Paris, to include, importantly, Michael. And the plan, you'll recall, called for first destroying ISIL's -- the ISIL cancer's parent tumor in Iraq and Syria; second, its metastases around the world; and third, its external operations and attempts to conduct attacks in our countries. And today, it's no accident that a year later Iraqi forces are on the way to retaking Mosul, and our local partners in Syria are marching toward Raqqa. The coalition military campaign plan we laid out last January has been on track and proceeding just as we envisioned. And today's ministerial provided an opportunity to review the results of our ongoing operations, to discuss what more we can all to do enable capable, motivated, local forces, and to ensure that the certain defeat of ISIL is a lasting defeat. First, as Secretary Fallon mentioned, we discussed the results we're seeing in Iraq and Syria. Thanks to the determination and the courage of our local partners in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, as well as the contributions made by service members from across our coalition and the leadership of the countries represented here today, our campaign has continually accelerated the execution of the campaign, simultaneously pressuring ISIL from all directions and across all domains. And next, as we have throughout this campaign, we discussed ways each of our country can -- countries can do even more to accelerate ISIL's defeat, because the sooner we defeat ISIL in Iraq and Syria, the safer all of us in our homelands will be. I was pleased to hear around the table today a number of coalition countries announce additional military contributions that they'll be making to accelerate the campaign. And that's why we also talked about significant steps we're taking to destroy ISIL's metastases around the world and also to dismantle ISIL's external operations network, killing key leaders, plotters and facilitators of attacks, destroying their bases of operations and cutting off their resources to ensure that we protect our homelands and our people. Building on the principles we endorsed in Paris this October, we also discussed how to further fulfill our commitment to the necessity to sustain the coalition beyond the defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria. As ISIL attempts to relocate or reinvent itself, it's critical to ensure the Iraqi security forces and our local partners in Syria have the training and enabling they need to continue to address this threat in whatever form it takes, so that they can provide lasting security long after ISIL is defeated. In concert with the international community's stabilization, humanitarian and governance efforts -- which is why I frequently said, and my colleagues in these meetings have frequently said, we must not allow the rest of the campaign to lag too far behind the military campaign -- our enduring commitments are crucial to ensuring that once the coalition wins the battle, it also wins the peace. That's also one of the key lessons that -- lessons learned that I shared today. For example, as we look to the future of our campaign, there's clear value in our strategic approach of enabling local forces to seize and hold territory rather than attempting to substitute for them. This approach has not only been effective, it's also sustainable. And it'll be necessary to continue this kind of cooperation with our local partners. As you know, we're undergoing a presidential transition in America right now. And as I did today with my counterparts, I will share my lessons learned with my successor at the appropriate time, detailing the logic of our campaign plan and the strategic approach, and how we're seeing results on the ground. And among my recommendations will be the need for the United States to remain actively engaged as leader of this coalition, to ensure that we deliver ISIL a lasting defeat and continue to protect our homelands. Our coalition can, and I'm confident we will, finish this job together. Now, Secretary Fallon noted the two of us had a very productive meeting this morning, where we discussed our growing -- ever-growing bilateral defense partnership and signed, as he noted, an important agreement on the future of U.S.-U.K. aircraft carrier cooperation. This will enable U.S. Marine Corps F-35 stealth fighters to join the first operational deployment of the U.K.'s Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in 2021. It's one example of many that illustrates how our alliance benefits the security of both our nations as we do more and more together. Now I want to close by thanking my friend, Secretary Michael Fallon; for his leadership, his vision and his unwavering commitment to our special relationship. From deterring Russian aggression against our NATO allies in Europe to combating ISIL in Iraq and Syria, Great Britain is an important leader and partner in dealing with the many complex challenges facing our nations. The United States is proud to stand together with the United Kingdom to defend out values, to protect our homelands, to make a better world for our children today, tomorrow, long into the future. Michael, thank you. SEC. FALLON: Thank you. Now we've time for some questions. I'm going to start with our -- our host, Larisa Brown. Q: Thank you. I'm just going to say, given the chaos in Aleppo and the fact that the U.S. led coalition has been -- unable to save the people there, what do you both see as being the future for President Assad? Thank you. SEC. FALLON: Do you wanna start? SEC. CARTER: (Off mic.) SEC. FALLON: Well, we don't see a future of President Assad in Syria. Even if he defeats the opposition in Aleppo, there is no victory in bombing hospitals and restricting humanitarian aid and ending up in a country that you only control 40 percent of and is, you know, half destroyed with millions dispersed and hundreds of thousands killed. That is no victory. We don't see a future for Syria with President Assad. On the contrary, we continue to work for a political settlement in Syria that is genuinely pluralist, that can involve all sectors of Syria society, but not Assad himself. SEC. CARTER: I entirely concur with that. That it -- and I'll just repeat the -- this tragedy reflects an incredible brutality on the part of the regime, and also their backers, including Russia as Michael noted. And willingness to suspend anything like the rules that we apply to ourselves when we conduct military operations. And Michael's right, the political transition is the only way that the suffering -- the Syrian people can finally be brought to an end. But the -- the standard of brutality employed, it's just one point that's worth making as we talk about our counter-ISIL campaign, stands in stark contrast to the way we conduct ourselves in Iraq and Syria. SEC. FALLON: Okay. David Welna, NPR? Where's David? SEC. CARTER: David's right there and his microphone is right over there. David? Q: Secretary Carter, were you able to give your colleagues any assurances that there will be continuity after January 20th in the U.S. approach to fighting Islamic State? And Secretary Fallon, the U.S. has a president-elect who has denigrated and even ridiculed the Obama administration's approach to fighting Daesh, as you call (inaudible). Do you have any confidence that the U.S. will remain the leader of this coalition once Donald Trump is sworn in as president? SEC. CARTER: I'll take the first part. I -- I -- I can't give assurances. I can't speak for the next administration, David. However, I do have confidence in the future of the coalition campaign. It's logical. It makes sense. And therefore, I expect that -- that logic will recommend itself to the future leadership of the United States (even as it has ?) recommended itself to the current leadership of the United States. It reflects our common values and the determination of our people to protect themselves and to defeat an evil organization like ISIL. It's worth noting that it is a coalition approach; that the coalition makes up a -- just to take one metric -- a third of the force that is operating in Iraq. And that's a good thing. But I also would say -- and I will say to my successor, when he or she -- I believe it's going to be a he, but in our system they need to get confirmed -- I expect he will be -- that we'll have the -- I expect that they'll have the same attitude that we do and that is shared by the group in this room today, which is we're constantly looking for ways to accelerate the campaign. We look for opportunities we've seized opportunities every time we've found one. And I expect that that desire to accelerate will perceive -- will persist also because it makes sense. SEC. FALLON: I think my answer to you would be, on the first point, is to aim off the campaign rhetoric and look at what the new administration actually does. We're dealing here with a global threat from Daesh, a threat that isn't just present in Iraq and Syria, but is present in Western Europe. It's hit Paris. It's hit Brussels. It's present in the Far East. And -- and hit California. This is a global threat, and I have no doubt that the next U.S. administration will step up to its traditional role of global leadership. Secondly, of course, we already have the appointment of General James Mattis, who is well known to us here; a former NATO commander. And I have no doubt, too, that he will be ready for the -- ready to continue to lead the campaign coalition. Now, one more from the home team. Anybody from home? Anybody else from home? (Ally Bunker ?). Q: Thank you. A question to each of you if I may. Firstly, Secretary Carter as the visitor. The reports coming out of the United States in the last couple of hours suggesting that President Putin himself was directly behind the hacking of the U.S. elections. Do you believe that to be true? And defence secretary, you spoke in your opening remarks about the support that you're giving to the Syrian rebels to help them recapture Raqqa. It's very possible, though, in time they will face their own challenge from Syrian government forces as President Assad seeks to regain control of the whole of Syria. If that was the case, would you continue to back them? Or would you turn away and watch on in the way that you've done with Aleppo? SEC. CARTER: Well, with respect to your first question, I'm not the person to address an intelligence matter and I can't address that. Here, I will say this. The -- President Obama has directed a review of this matter. I think that the integrity of an electoral system in a democracy should be of concern for all Americans. And since I'm in Europe, here we call this kind of activity and this kind of threat in the NATO context hybrid warfare. And here, societies also, we have been working with them to fortify themselves against this kind of thing which -- this kind of danger, which we saw -- we've seen in other countries in Europe. And -- and hybrid warfare generally speaking, we saw in spades in Ukraine. SEC. FALLON: The threat to the west that we've been dealing with for the last two-and-a-half years comes from Daesh. Daesh is headquartered in Raqqa and we have to deal with Raqqa. And that is why the coalition today welcomed the opening up of that second front at the end of last week and the movement to isolate Raqqa that will precede its encirclement and its eventual liberation. Daesh has to be defeated, whatever the future holds for Syria. President Assad, if he survives, will only control 40 percent of Syria. We have to deal with the threat to this country, to Western Europe, and to the values that we hold in common. Now, let me call (Ryan Braun ?). Where is (Ryan Braun ?)? Q: Hello, thank you. First, to Secretary Fallon, are you at all concerned that if the integrity of the coalition -- the solidarity of the coalition should individual members decide to cooperate with the Assad regime or would the Russians backers in attacking terrorists. You discussed a brutality that was on display in Aleppo. Are you concerned that individual the members might seek to exit the coalition if someone decided to pursue such cooperation? And Secretary Carter, for you sir, was there ever a military solution to relieving the suffering at Aleppo, whether providing humanitarian relief or -- or any other kind of military solution? Thank you. SEC. FALLON: Well, on the first, I mean this is a -- a coalition, the major contributors to the campaign, that has grown more solid at every meeting we've held over the last couple of years. And then absolutely, no indication that it might fracture, on the contrary, we work together. We're making different contributions to the campaign, but we heard again today, a number of countries stepping up doing even more and offering to plug various capability gaps in the coalition. So I don't think we've ever been as more united as we are today. SEC. CARTER: I -- I'd just repeat what Michael said about Syria. The only way to end the civil war and therefore end the violence, is a political path in which the -- there is a transition which includes the very people who are being brutalized in Aleppo and other parts of Syria. And what we have said to the regime, but very importantly, to Russia from the very beginning, is that's the only way there's ever going to be peace. They came in -- the Russians came in, I'll remind you, to Syria. Seeing that they were there to promote precisely that political transition and they haven't done that. And they also said, they were coming in to fight ISIL, they haven't done that, either. SEC. FALLON: Okay we'll take a couple more. Home team first, (Kim ?)? Q: So, Michael, you specifically mentioned the Syrian Democratic Forces opening the second front in Raqqa. Now, the Syrian Democratic Forces are Arabic and Kurdish, but Kurdish led. They have got YPG connections, which is not to the liking of many Sunni Arab rebels. Are we to assume that the rebels that -- opposition fighters that British forces will be training will be then working with the SDF effectively under Kurdish control? SEC. FALLON: No, I think that would be wrong assumption. This is predominately the force that is now moving and moving fairly steadily towards Raqqa is a predominately Arab force. We estimate -- I think our generals estimate between over 70 percent Arab force, and the Turkish and Iraqi ministers were with us today and they are content with that. They understand exactly what that force is doing. When it comes to our own training of moderate opposition in Syria, of course we've been very careful to ensure in any of that training, that they are properly vetted first. SEC. CARTER: No, you said it exactly right and we're -- we're -- we are very transparent about this with all parties. We try to address everyone's concerns, and so far we have been able to do that. But we need to do we need to do, which is we have plots being hatched in Raqqa against our own countries and that we have to stop that. SEC. FALLON: Now, the U.S. side, I don't know who you are, but why not have a go? Q: (inaudible) -- from Kuwait Television, we would like to ask about the future of the coalition. Mr. Donald Trump said he prefer to deal with Assad instead of any of the opposition. Can you confirm you will -- you will continue to work with the United States if Donald Trump deal with Bashar al Assad? SEC. CARTER: I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand. SEC. FALLON: The question is -- Q: The question is -- SEC. FALLON: This is a hypothetical question. If the new president decides to work with Assad, would the coalition stay with it? SEC. CARTER: Can you answer a hypothetical question? SEC. FALLON: I think that's too hypothetical. It doesn't sound to me very likely. Now, home team, a less hypothetical question, perhaps? Go for it. Q: (inaudible) -- Channel 4 News. What kind of cooperation to both of you, do you have with the Russians in terms of intelligence sharing in combating ISIS at moment? And I'm afraid this is tending towards the hypothetical, do you anticipate that changing and -- with the incoming administration? And is all the talk then of holding Russia to account for war crimes pretty much a moot point, if you now -- if the incoming administration will work much more closely with the Russians? SEC. CARTER: Well, I'm not going to try to once again tell you -- I cannot speak for the incoming administration. But, I think our interests are our interests, and where they align with Russia's interest, we have worked with them. For example, our interactions with them in matters of if Syria militarily has been to make sure that we deconflicted our operations. We're fighting ISIL as we said we would, and we're going to do, and we need to do. And they're participating in the Syrian civil war in a -- a -- a brutal and unhelpful way, rather than doing what they were supposed to do. But we, very professionally, behave in that very specific way. Also, even with Russia, the United States opposes terrorism in other countries. And so if we learn of something that would assist Russia in protecting its own people, we do that that has gone on since the Cold War and after the Cold War ended. And so these kinds of professional interactions will continue, but and we -- should we work with Russia where our interests align. But where our interests don't align, we can't. SEC. FALLON: I mean Russia has not been dealing with Daesh in Syria. They've been prolonging the civil war and, you know, it's precisely because they've been trying to crush the rebels in Aleppo that you can see, they let -- they let Daesh come back into Palmyra, for example, because all the effort was up in Aleppo. So we're not aligned. I don't know how much time you've got, but can you take another one? SEC. CARTER: Sure. SEC. FALLON: Right, it's the U.S. turn, isn't it? Yes? United States? Q: (Off mic.) please, a question regarding humanitarian aid delivery. It was mentioned several times by western leaders that Russians, Syria are preventing aid getting to those who need it. Is any aid currently being delivered, has the situation changed in any way? Because we have heard from some officials in Russia saying they're waiting for this aid to come. And secondly, if I may, regarding the operation wrapping up in Eastern Aleppo with civilians and rebels being evacuated, would you assess that operation as a success in any way in relation to Nusra and combating terrorism in Syria? Thank you, very much. SEC. FALLON: Well, on the first point, we've been trying to get food and medicines and other humanitarian aid into Aleppo since the summer. And we've had absolutely zero cooperation from Russia. On the contrary, we've seen aid convoys attacked and we've seen hospitals bombed and a barbaric attitude to the plight of civilians in Aleppo. The second question, perhaps Ash, you're wanting to take? SEC. CARTER: I think it was pretty much along the same lines; I don't have any extra information to give you on that subject than you have. I'll just second what Michael said, which is the international community, the United Nations have been trying to get humanitarian aid in. And there's no reason why it can't be done, but it hasn't been done because the regime and the Russians have not permitted it to be done. SEC. FALLON: (Off mic.) that in our review of military operations today, we were able to see the very clear distinction, even in two similar urban operations between the care that Iraqi forces are taking in Mosul to minimize civilian casualties with a carelessness and indifference of the Russian attacks on Eastern Aleppo. Now, home team. You're home team, sir? Q: Yes, I am. SEC. FALLON: Off you go. Q: (Inaudible) from (inaudible) News. You talk about progress in the fight against IS, but given what is happening in Aleppo as we speak, will your legacies in Syria in a broader sense be remembered as having been failures and perhaps shameful failures at that? SEC. FALLON: Well, there's nothing shameful about defeating Daesh. Daesh has terrorized the Syria population just as it's terrorized the Iraqi cities that it's now being thrown out of. So we are bringing relief to these cities. We are liberating some 12 -- 11 cities in Iraq so far, Mosul we hope in the new year and Raqqa after Manbij and other cities in Syria. There's nothing shameful about that. On the contrary. Q: But Aleppo. SEC. FALLON: Aleppo -- Aleppo is a tragedy of Russia's making. But that is not going to distract us from our central purpose, which is to degrade and then defeat Daesh. Which in the end, is a menace, a menace to the world as well as to the people of Iraq and Syria. (Off mic.) SEC. CARTER: I can't improve upon that answer. SEC. FALLON: Okay. Thank you very much. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1031547/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO concludes successful counter-piracy mission NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 15 Dec. 2016 NATO formally ended its operation Ocean Shield in the waters off the coast of Somalia on Thursday (15 December 2016), bringing the curtain down on one of NATO's most successful ever operations. NATO ships and aircraft have patrolled the seas off the Horn of Africa since 2009 as part of a broad international effort including the European Union's Operation Atalanta to combat maritime piracy. Ocean Shield has helped to significantly reduce piracy in the region meaning NATO has been able to declare the mission has achieved its objectives. At the height of the crisis, pirates were seizing dozens of ships each year, with a knock-on economic cost estimated to be in the billions of euros annually. Crews taken hostage were often held for months or years. Since May 2012, thanks to maritime patrols, armed guards aboard ships and a range of other defensive measures, not a single commercial vessel has been captured. "Operation Ocean Shield has been a great success making an essential contribution to combatting piracy in the seas off Somalia and therefore keeping one of the world's most important waterways safe and secure," said NATO Spokesperson Oana Lungescu. "While the operation officially concludes today, NATO will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in the region and stands ready to restart our patrols should they be needed." Ocean Shield has helped to prevent or disrupt hundreds of pirate attacks. Many pirates were detained during the mission and prosecuted by national authorities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Doorstep statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the European Council on Security and Defence NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 15 Dec. 2016 (As delivered) Good afternoon, It's a pleasure to be back and to meet with the European Council and to address the importance of cooperation between the European Union and NATO. And closer cooperation between the European Union and NATO has always been important, but it is even more important now for several reasons. First, because we face new security threats. We see terrorism, hybrid threats, cyber-attacks. And a combination of military and non-military means of aggressions creates new challenges both for the European Union and for NATO. And neither the European Union nor NATO has all the tools to address these threats. But together, we can be a formidable force. And therefore I welcome very much that together with High Representative Federica Mogherini , we were able to agree last week on more than 40 concrete measures on how to strengthen the cooperation between the European Union and NATO. On cyber, on maritime, on hybrid, on exercises, and in many other areas. This is a concrete follow-up of the declaration I signed with Presidents Juncker and Tusk this summer in July. The second reason why stronger NATO-EU cooperation is so important is the fact that the European Union is now stepping up its efforts to strengthen the European defence. And I welcome that. More European defence capabilities, more defence spending in Europe, stronger European industrial base for the defence industry, will strengthen the European Union. It will strengthen Europe and it will strengthen NATO. But we have to make sure that we avoid duplication. We must complement each other, not compete with each other. That would be like competing with ourselves, if the European Union and NATO start to compete. And that makes no sense. And the third reason why NATO-EU cooperation is so important is the importance of the transatlantic bond. In times of uncertainty like we see now, we need strong institutions. We need institutions that build the partnership between Europe and North America. And NATO is there and we need fairer burden sharing and we need increased defence spending among European Allies and we see that that is now taking place. So I look forward to meet the European Council and European leaders and to address these issues together with them, because stronger NATO-EU cooperation is as important as ever. QUESTION ZDF: NATO Russia Council? SECRETARY GENERAL: The NATO-Russia Council is an important platform for dialogue and I have invited the members of the NATO-Russia Council for a meeting on Monday. We will meet at ambassadorial level and we will meet at NATO headquarters. We will discuss topics of relevance for European security, importantly Ukraine, and the NATO-Russia Council is a platform for dialogue. We have suspended practical cooperation with Russia after the annexation of Crimea but we have maintained open channels for political dialogue, because when tensions run high as today it is even more important to have a direct dialogue with Russia. QUESTION NOS: Secretary General, our Prime Minister Mark Rutte, he holds a very important piece of the geopolitical puzzle in his hands, don't you think? SECRETARY GENERAL: Well, if you refer to the discussion about the relationship between Ukraine und the European Union, that's for the European Union to decide, but what I can say is that NATO cooperates very closely with Ukraine. Ukraine is an important partner for NATO, and for NATO it is an absolute fundamental principal that every nation has the right to decide its own path including what security arrangements or alliances it wants to be part of. So, whether Ukraine is going to become a member of NATO or not is up to Ukraine and the members of NATO to decide. No one has the right to veto such a process. No one has the right to intervene in such a process. The focus of Ukraine now is reform, is to modernize its defence and security institutions and NATO is supporting those efforts with practical and political support and we will continue to do so. QUESTION KUNA: What's happening in Aleppo? SECRETARY GENERAL: The situation in Aleppo and Syria is very fluid, and what we see now is a horrendous humanitarian catastrophe. We see the killing of civilians, we see suffering and we see that innocent people are trapped in parts of Aleppo. So, the focus of the whole international community has to be on how can we ensure full respect for a ceasefire, a sustainable ceasefire. How can we ensure safe evacuation of civilians and how can we ensure to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in Aleppo. This is the focus of all NATO Allies today. NATO and NATO Allies strongly support all the efforts of the UN to make this happen, both the ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and of course the evacuation of civilians. And this will be the first step to a more lasting sustainable political solution to the conflict in Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address USS Mustin (DDG 89) Arrives in Cam Ranh International Port Navy News Service Story Number: NNS161215-02 Release Date: 12/15/2016 8:00:00 AM From USS Mustin (DDG 89) Public Affairs CAM RANH INTERNATIONAL PORT, Vietnam (NNS) -- The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) arrived in Cam Ranh International Port today for a routine technical stop that highlights the strong historic, community, and military connections between Vietnam and the United States. During the stop, sailors from the USS Mustin will have a chance to meet with people from Nha Trang to share U.S. culture through sporting events. U.S. sailors will also learn about Vietnam through local cultural activities. "Mustin's Sailors are excited to contribute to our partnership with Vietnam, knowing how important our relationship is to our mutual interests in peace, stability, and adherence to a rules-based international order. And of course, we're really looking forward to experiencing Vietnam's renowned hospitality, and exploring the great city of Nha Trang," said Cmdr. Thane Clare, commanding officer of Mustin. "The USS Mustin's stop in Cam Ranh International Port is an example of the depth of our comprehensive partnership and the importance of strengthening our civilian and military ties," said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius. USS Mustin, on patrol from Yokosuka, Japan, sails with a crew of 300 sailors and routinely operates throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US completes upgrading NATO base in Estonia Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:42PM The US military has completed a $11.2 million project to upgrade an Estonian military base belonging to the North Atlantic treaty Organization (NATO), amid ongoing tensions between the US-led military alliance and Russia. Washington spent the money on building new sniper and machine-gun shooting ranges, maintenance facilities and a train loading area at the Tapa army base, which is located 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the Estonian capital of Tallinn and is controlled by the US military. Major General John Gronski said Thursday that the facelift at the Tapa army base symbolized NATO's "strength and resolve" in the Baltic region. The upgrade was part of Washington's commitment to NATO's growing deployments of weapons and troops to its eastern frontier with Russia. The base has been used by American forces for training purposes and will host 800 British infantry and 300 French troops next year. NATO had announced in July that it would deploy, on a rotational basis, four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic statesEstonia, Latvia and Lithuaniato deter what it referred to as "any Russian incursion." NATO has stepped up its military buildup near Russia's western borders since it suspended all ties with Moscow in April 2014 after Crimea re-integrated into the Russian Federation following a referendum in the Black Sea peninsula. Russia, which is wary of the increased presence of NATO troops close to its borders, has pledged to respond accordingly to any threats posed by the Western alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Moscow would take adequate measures to counter NATO's increasingly "aggressive rhetoric." The ties became further unfriendly over the crisis in Syria, where Russia has been conducting an air campaign at the request of the Syrian government to fight Daesh since September 30, 2015. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia leader in Japan to discuss ties, peace deal on islands row Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 3:7PM Russian President Vladimir Putin is on an official visit to Japan to discuss bilateral issues, including a territorial dispute between the two countries which has lingered on since the end of World War II. On Thursday, Putin met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's in the southwestern city Nagato, where the pair held talks on their decades-long dispute on four Moscow-controlled islands in the Pacific, to which they have overlapping claims, among other issues of bilateral significance. The row over the southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, has prevented the two neighbors from deepening their strategic relations for some 70 years. Moscow and Tokyo have long been seeking a peace agreement which would officially put an end the two countries' wartime hostilities. The four islands were seized by the ex-Soviet Union in the final year of World War II. Japan says the Soviet Union took the islands illegally. Moscow, however, cites the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, which abolished Japan's sovereignty over the islands, describing Tokyo's claims as unfounded. Following the talks, Abe said his talks with Putin were, for the most part, focused on the territorial dispute. "We had in-depth discussions on a peace treaty," Abe told reporters. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said that his side is offering to restart talks on a security agreement among their foreign and defense ministers. Discussions on the topic were suspended after Crimea separated from Ukraine and rejoined Russia in a 2014 referendum, causing Western sanctions. "The prime minister has reacted positively, so we hope such a decision will be taken," Lavrov said as the two leaders continued their one-on-one talks. Meanwhile, media reported the two sides will also likely sign deals in the areas of energy and health. Kremlin economic aide Yuri Ushakov said separately that the two sides would issue a statement about possible joint economic activity on the disputed islands on Friday. Over the decades, the two sides have at times floated the idea of joint economic activity on the islands, but they have failed to figure out how to do so without undercutting either side's claim to sovereignty. Lavrov said Abe and Putin also reviewed the conflict in Syria as well as the impact of US military presence in Asia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemeni forces pound Saudi positions with artillery shells Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:54AM The Yemeni army and allied fighters from the Popular Committees have attacked two military bases inside Saudi Arabia, killing at least one Saudi soldier and injuring scores of others. One of the artillery attacks was launched against Saudi positions in Makhrooq in Najran in which one soldier was killed and three military vehicles were destroyed, Yemen's al-Masirah TV network reported Thursday. According to the report, scores of Saudi troops were seen fleeing their positions when they came under the Yemeni attack. Yemeni fighters further targeted yet another Saudi military base in Najran with artillery shells, blowing up a huge depot of armaments. The attacks were conducted in retaliation for persisting Saudi airstrikes against the war-ravaged Yemen. The development came two days after Saudi warplanes pounded the Yemeni province of Sana'a for several hours in an unprecedented wave of airstrikes against the country over the past months. The fighter bombers carried out as many as 25 back-to-back airstrikes against various districts of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, according to local media reports. More than 11,400 Yemenis, including women and children, have been killed in the course of the Saudi military aggression against neighboring Yemen since March 2015. This is while international right groups have repeatedly condemned Riyadh over its onslaught against Yemen. They have also warned of a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished country. The Saudi campaign was launched with the aim of reinstating Yemen's former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Hadi, a loyal Riyadh ally, resigned last year and fled to the Saudi capital. He later returned to the country's port city of Aden. Hadi has rejected a United Nations peace roadmap, saying the initiative favors Ansarullah, a Houthi movement which has been defending the country against the Saudi invasion. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Colombia gives free pardon to 110 FARC rebels Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:56AM The Colombian government has pardoned 110 members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) group as part of a landmark deal between Bogota and the rebel group. The country's Minister of Justice and Law Jorge Londono made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that some "300 pardons could be granted in all." According to the minister, all the pardons, along with an amnesty law currently before the Colombian Congress, only applies to "political crimes" and do not include more major offenses such as killings, rape and torture. All pardons must also be reviewed by a judge before taking effect, Londono further explained. He said some 5,500 government troops, police officers, and other provincial agents, who are currently behind bars for the conflict-linked crimes, could also be discharged from prison providing that they had committed minor crimes. Dismissed for rejecting peace FARC currently has some 5,700 fighters under its command and some 4,500 of its members are also behind bars across Colombia. On late Tuesday, the FARC leaders said in a statement that they had dismissed five of the group's commanders for refusing to demobilize and join the peace process with Bogota. "This decision is motivated by their recent conduct, which contradicts our political-military line. We call on all combatants who have been tricked into this futureless path to distance themselves from this mistaken decision taken by their commanders," the statement further read. It was the second time some FARC figures were engaging in dissent. Back in July, another commander along with a number of his fighters abandoned the group in protest at the peace deal, which will see the rebel group disarm and transform into a political faction. Bogota is concerned that such rebel dissenters would continue the lucrative illegal business of coca-growing and cocaine-smuggling and has promised tough treatment. "Those who declare themselves dissidents from the FARC, or who become bandits, are declared high-value targets for the armed forces," Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos has warned. Bogota and the FARC rebels first reached a deal to end their armed conflict on September 26. That deal, which had taken some four years to negotiate, was, however, rejected unexpectedly by a razor-thin margin in a referendum on October 2, with opponents saying that it was too lenient on the rebels. The two sides then re-launched talks to modify the deal to the satisfaction of the opponents. A final version, a 310-page document, was signed on November 24 and won unanimous approval by both the Senate and the lower house of Congress in late November and early December, finally ending 52 years of deadly violence. It was not put to a referendum again. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for "his resolute efforts" to put an end to the civil war in country, which has claimed the lives of at least 260,000 people, left some 60,000 missing and displaced seven million others, according to official figures. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Strategic Swedish Island Likely To Reject Russian Request For Harbor Space December 15, 2016 Officials on the strategic Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea said they likely will turn down a Russian request to rent harbor space out of concern it could harm the country's security. Russian energy giant Gazprom wants to store pipes on the island for the Nord Stream 2 undersea natural-gas pipeline, which will run from Russia to Germany. An official decision on whether to rent space in the ports of Slite on Gotland and Karlshamn on the mainland is due on December 15. Gazprom and the European Union, which imports one-third of its natural gas from Russia, agreed last year on the pipeline to run parallel to an existing pipeline for Nord Stream 1. Recently, however, there has been growing opposition to the project amid hesitancy to make Europe more dependent on Russian energy. Gotland is considered of strategic importance for military control of the Baltic Sea. In September, Sweden stationed permanent troops on Gotland, in what the nonaligned country said was a signal to Russia following its increased military activity in the region and aggression against Ukraine. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/strategic-swedish- island-gotland-turn-down-russian-gazprom-request- harbor-space/28177333.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No Breakthrough Apparent On Island Dispute As Putin, Abe Meet In Japan December 15, 2016 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have discussed possible joint economic projects on an island chain both countries claim, but no breakthrough was reported in the territorial dispute that has poisoned ties since World War II. The dispute over the islands seized by Soviet forces at the end of the war has hobbled relations ever since, preventing Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war. Russia calls the four islands the Southern Kuriles; Japan calls them the Northern Territories. Abe said on December 15 that he and Putin had "in-depth discussions" on a peace treaty during talks at a hot-springs resort in the Japanese city of Nagato. He said the two leaders also discussed possible joint economic projects on the disputed islands. Top Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Putin and Abe agreed to order experts from both countries to start "detailed consultations" on joint economic activities on the islands. Asked whether these activities will be based on Russian legislation, Ushakov said, "Of course, since it is Russia's territory." Russian officials have frequently urged Japan to focus on trade tries and investment in Russia rather than seeking to regain sovereignty over the islands. The Russian and Japanese leaders will continue their talks in Tokyo on December 16. Putin is on his first official visit to a Group of Seven (G7) economic power since Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 and the G7 countries imposed sanctions on Moscow. Lingering tensions over the islands have prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war. Abe has pledged to resolve the territorial dispute, in hopes of leaving a diplomatic legacy. But resolving the dispute carries risks for Putin, who does not want to tarnish his reputation at home for being a staunch defender of Russian sovereignty. Putin told the Yomiuri newspaper this week that the goal of a peace treaty would be harder to achieve if Russia remained subject to Japanese sanctions. But Japan has ruled out undermining Western sanctions on Russia that were imposed over its aggression in Ukraine. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and TASS Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/putin-abe-seek- progress-kurile-islands-dispute-two- day-summit-japan/28177358.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Leaders Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Brexit At 'Minefield' Summit RFE/RL December 15, 2016 BRUSSELS -- EU heads of state and government met in Brussels on December 15 for a one-day summit to discuss what a senior EU official called a "minefield" of issues faced by the European Union. The EU leaders are expected to prolong sanctions against Moscow over its interference in Ukraine for another six months, through July 31. They were also discussing a special statement Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is trying to secure in the hope that it will enable the Netherlands to ratify an agreement on EU-Ukraine political and trade ties despite its rejection by Dutch voters in an April referendum. The Netherlands, the only EU member state that has not yet ratified the deal, wants a statement clarifying that the pact does not put Ukraine on the path to EU membership and addressing other concerns held by Dutch voters. "Failure of the ratification would be a huge defeat for the EU, Ukraine [and] a victory for Russia," the news agency AFP quoted an unidentified senior EU official as saying. Rutte said he was "moderately optimistic" of the prospects for agreement on the statement and said that scuppering the chances for ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement "would be the biggest present ever we could give to Vladimir Putin." "We are not in a position where we can afford to make such gifts to Putin and we must stick together against him," Rutte said on his way into the summit. Then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's November 2013 decision not to sign an EU Association Agreement, under pressure from Moscow, ignited the Euromaidan protests that pushed him from power in February 2014. Russia then seized control of Crimea from Ukraine and backed separatists in a war against Kyiv's forces that has killed more than 9,750 people since April 2014 and persists despite a European-brokered cease-fire and settlement deal. The EU reached ageement on the pact with Ukraine again in 2014, after Russia's seizure of Crimea and the start of the war in eastern Ukraine. "We are treading on a minefield. There are so many issues on the agenda that still can go wrong," the EU official said ahead of the summit. On Syria, the EU leaders are expected to strongly condemn the assault on eastern Aleppo by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and their allies, including Russia. Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate seen as the front-runner in the French presidential election next spring, said in Brussels that Western dipomacy has failed in Syria and suggested the way to end the more than five-year-old Syria war would be talks, including those reponsible for war crimes. "I told European leaders that what we are forced to concede today is that Western diplomacy and in particular European diplomacy has failed," Fillon, a former prime minister, told reporters after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of European centre-right parties in Brussels. He dismissed the option of a U.S. military intervention and said, "The other option is a strong European diplomatic initiative to bring around the table all those who can stop this conflict including those who have committed war crimes today." The EU leaders were to hold an informal working dinner, without British Prime Minister Theresa May, to discuss how to handle Britain's departure from the bloc. The one-day summit, reduced from the usual two days, comes in the final month of a tough year for the 28-country bloc during which it has faced challenges to unity such as the Dutch referendum and the Brexit vote in June. May has promised to trigger the two-year process for Britain's exit from the EU by the end of March 2017. While EU leaders are expected to prolong the sanctions against Russia for six months with little debate, officials and observers say it may be much harder for backers of the sanctions to forge unity the next time they come up for expiration. That is in part due to the impending exit of Britain, which has supported the measures, as well as opposition to the sanctions in some other countries and unceratinty about the U.S. stance after President-elect Donald Trump -- who has vowed to seek improved relations with Russia -- takes office in January. With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak, dpa, AFP, and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/european- union-ukraine-summit-syria-russia -sanctions/28177579.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European Parliament Vote Brings Georgia, Ukraine Closer To Visa-Free EU Travel Rikard Jozwiak December 15, 2016 BRUSSELS -- A December 15 vote in the European Parliament has brought the goal of visa-free travel to EU Schengen Zone countries one big step closer to reality for citizens of Ukraine and Georgia. The parliament approved a mechanism that would allow for the suspension of visa-free regimes with Ukraine and Georgia under certain circumstances once they are in place. The vote was 485 to 132, with 21 abstentions. The EU lawmakers are now set to vote on the visa liberalization itself for Georgia in January, and it is possible that they will vote on Ukraine in February. The actual visa-free regimes for both countries will kick in when the suspension mechanism is legally adopted and published in the EU's official journal, which requires translation and other work that is expected to take up to eight weeks. Both the EU member states and the European Parliament gave the green light for free movement for Ukrainian and Georgian citizens earlier this autumn, but struggled to agree on the suspension-mechanism text that had to be in place before granting visa liberalization. A compromise was struck last week that will give both individual EU member states and the European Parliament a say in suspending the visa-free regime if the rules are violated. Visa requirements can be reintroduced temporarily if there is a surge of citizens from a non-EU country like Ukraine or Georgia staying irregularly in EU territory or if nationals from that country are deemed to pose a security threat. They can also be reintroduced if there is a rise in unfounded asylum applications or a lack of cooperation on returning migrants. Ukraine and Georgia are seeking greater integration with the West but have been frustrated with the pace of EU moves to bring them closer. Both former Soviet republics have faced military aggression from Russia in recent years, as well as other efforts by Moscow to increase its influence. The EU Schengen Area countries are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/european- parliament-visa-free-travel-georgia- ukraine-travel/28178124.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Demonstrates NATO Reliability Improving Tapa Base Infrastructure Sputnik News 23:20 15.12.2016 The United States proved that Estonia can rely on its NATO allies by contributing to the construction of the infrastructure facilities at the military base located in the Estonian city of Tapa, according to Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Indrek Sirel. TALLINN (Sputnik) The United States proved that Estonia can rely on its NATO allies by contributing to the construction of the infrastructure facilities at the military base located in the Estonian city of Tapa, Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Indrek Sirel said Thursday. "US investments in Tapa show that the presence of our allies is stable and reliable. The new infrastructure facilities will improve the conditions for training units of the US troops, the capacities for storing and maintenance of the military equipment," Sirel said at the ceremonial handover of the facilities to the Estonian Defense Forces. Among the infrastructure projects, implemented by the US military, are construction of a shooting range, renovating of a railway station and facilities for the storage and maintenance of military equipment. Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, especially in Eastern European countries neighboring Russia, using Moscow's alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict as a pretext. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup on Russia's borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power. At the NATO July summit in Warsaw, it was decided that the military alliance would send multinational battalions to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland at the request of these countries. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Beijing: We Are Reading Slingshot in South China Sea Sputnik News 23:20 15.12.2016(updated 00:06 16.12.2016) China's buildup of military infrastructure in the Spratly islands, reported Wednesday by a US think tank citing satellite images, was later defended by officials in Beijing as a part of "necessary" defense measures. "If someone makes a show of force at your front door, would you not ready your slingshot?" the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The maritime region, providing access to key trade ports in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and the Philippines must not fall under the control of a single regional player, US Admiral Harry Harris recently said in a speech. The US "will not allow" China's projection of military might to bully others in the "shared domain," he said. The US has pushed for the South China Sea to remain under the auspices of freedom of navigation rules, and has sent patrol ships within China's recently-claimed boundaries on four occasions. When asked about a recent Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) report showing a buildup of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, Chinese foreign ministry official Geng Shuang told Reuters he "did not understand" the controversy. The construction of missile facilities and territorial defense posts on Chinese land is "completely normal," he noted. If such activities are considered efforts to project military strength, he countered, "then what is the sailing of fleets in the South China Sea," referring to US military vessels conducting freedom of navigation patrols. But while China is publicly downplaying construction efforts, "building giant anti-aircraft gun and [close-in weapons systems] emplacements" is militarization aimed at preparing for future conflict, Greg Poling, director at AMTI, told Reuters. Regional players remain wary of calling the actions bonafide militarization. Philippines' Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana claimed his country was still verifying reports, and Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop referred to the situation as only "possible" militarization, according to a statement. Still, if the AMTI report is accurate, it would pose a "big concern" to the Philippines and the international community at large, Lorenzana said. "It would mean that the Chinese are militarizing the area," he said, "which is not good." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Serbia Could Receive Six Russian MiG-29 Jets in March 2017 Prime Minister Sputnik News 19:45 15.12.2016 Serbia may receive six Russian MiG-29 fighter jets in March of 2017, the country's Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said Thursday. BELGRADE (Sputnik) He also said the agreement on the delivery of MiG-29 jets could be signed in Moscow on December 21 at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. "We expect them to be here already in March," Vucic said, as quoted by the Tanjug news agency. In November, Media reported that Moscow had expressed readiness to deliver six MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Serbia if Belgrade covered jet fighters' repair costs, which amounted to some $50 million. The question of the delivery of military equipment was reportedly discussed behind closed doors during the 15th intergovernmental committee meeting on the trade-economic and technical-scientific cooperation in the Russian city of Suzdal. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Serbia Buys Russian Weapons to Respond to Potential Security Challenge Sputnik News 16:18 15.12.2016(updated 16:47 15.12.2016) Serbia is buying Russian weapons and military equipment in order to be capable of responding to security challenges and ensuring stability, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Ljubisa Dikovic told Sputnik. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Last month, media reported that Moscow had expressed readiness to deliver six MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Serbia if Belgrade covered jet fighters' repair costs, which amount to some $50 million. The question of the delivery of military equipment was reportedly discussed behind closed doors during the 15th intergovernmental committee meeting on the trade-economic and technical-scientific cooperation in the Russian city of Suzdal. "This [Russian] weapons and military equipment from our point of view are the most necessary for the Serbian Armed Forces so that [Belgrade] responds to potential challenges linked to security of Serbian citizens," he said adding that Serbia cooperated with Russia in the military sphere on most favorable terms. Dikovic also dismissed the allegations that Serbia is building up its military capabilities as it was preparing for a war. "The Serbian Armed Forces pose no threat to anybody everything we are doing, we are doing to satisfy our needs to ensure our security and stability," the chief of staff said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin, Abe Agree to Restore Frozen Military Contacts - Lavrov Sputnik News 13:35 15.12.2016(updated 16:30 15.12.2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have agreed to restore frozen military contacts, as well as contacts in the 2+2 format, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "Today, it has been agreed that it is necessary to restore other mechanisms of our bilateral dialogue, which had been frozen in recent years. I mean military contacts and 2+2 format talks," the Russian foreign minister said, commenting talks between Putin and Abe. Despite special relatons between Japan and the US, Moscow and Tokyo are interested in "close cooperation" in the region, Lavrov said. "Despite special relations between Japan and the US based on their military-political alliance since 1960 year, Russia and Japan are interested to closely cooperate in formats which exist in the Asia-Pacific region to solve security issues." According to Lavrov, Putin and Abe discussed the issues of air defense and US presence in the Asia Pacific region, as well as North Korea's threats. He said that US' boosting of military presence in the Asia-Pacific region is "disproportional" to the threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear program. The US uses the alleged North Korea's threat "as a pretext to boost modern arms here [in the Asia Pacific region]", Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister also said that Japanese authorities "have begun to better understand" Russia's concerns and both countries are interested in cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. "The Russian president spoke in details about the US air defense systems and their [US authorities'] aspiration to create one more missile deployment area here in north-east Asia, which we consider to be a part of the US global offensive combat system in addition to the air defense system in Europe, the Mediterranean Sea and now in Alaska," Lavrov said. Lavrov also said that Putin and Abe exchanged opinions on the Syrian conflict settlement and the situation in Ukraine, adding that Russia's and Japan's stances "almost coincide." He also said that Putin and Abe discussed the preparation for negotiations on the peace treaty in a one-to-one format. Japan and Russia never signed a permanent peace treaty after World War II due to a disagreement over four islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan the Northern Territories, encompassing Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Montenegro Fails to Meet NATO Membership Criteria - Russian Foreign Ministry Sputnik News 12:30 15.12.2016 According to the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department head, Montenegro does not meet the criteria to become a NATO member. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Montenegro does not meet the criteria of NATO membership, it is laughable to speak of it as a country which can contribute to the alliance's security, Andrei Kelin, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department told Sputnik. "NATO is being dragged into NATO at an accelerated and strengthened rate. Montenegro does not meet in any way the criteria of membership in the alliance, which were developed in the past Speaking of Montenegro, which has armed forces of less than 2,000 people and its economy is in deplorable state, as a country which could bring some extra value to NATO security is just laughable," Kelin said. Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Europe, especially in Eastern European countries neighboring Russia, using Moscow's alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict as a pretext. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims, warning NATO that the military buildup on Russia's borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Update: air strikes against Daesh 15 December 2016 British forces have continued to conduct air operations in the fight against Daesh Latest update - Monday 12 December Typhoons destroyed an explosives factory and weapons store north-east of Bayji. - Wednesday 14 December Tornados scored a direct hit through solid cloud cover on a Daesh position whilst supporting Iraqi troops in eastern Mosul. Detail Intelligence analysis identified a set of buildings some miles north-east of Bayji, where Daesh were storing weapons and manufacturing explosives. A pair of Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager tanker, were tasked to attack the site on Monday 12 December. Our aircraft used three Paveway IV guided bombs against different buildings within the compound, and successfully destroyed each of these targets. Operations to liberate Mosul continue, with Iraqi troops carefully clearing terrorists from areas in the east of the city. On Wednesday 14 December, a unit encountered significant resistance from a group of Daesh fortified in a building. RAF Tornado GR4s were overhead, but unable to see the target due to thick cloud cover. Nevertheless, very careful coordination with the ground forces, who were very close to the terrorist strongpoint, allowed the Tornados to deliver a precision strike through the cloud cover with a Paveway IV which the Iraqi troops reported scored a direct hit on the building and eliminated the threat they faced. Other RAF aircraft have continued to fly reconnaissance missions over both Syria and Iraq, with Airseeker and Sentinel surveillance platforms gathering vital intelligence on Daesh activity in recent days. Hercules transports have also continued their essential work, supporting the large British military training teams which are constantly working with coalition partners to help improve the capabilities of the Iraqi forces so that they are even better equipped to defeat the terrorists. Previous air strikes Tuesday 1 November: Tornados patrolled north of Mosul where they supported advancing Kurdish forces. A Paveway IV guided bomb destroyed a Daesh heavy machine-gun position when it opened fire on the Peshmerga, while an Enhanced Paveway II demolished a building in which a light machine-gun was sited. Meanwhile, to the south-east of the city, a Reaper provided further close air support to Iraqi troops. It conducted Hellfire attacks on a mortar team who were spotted firing, and two groups of terrorists, including individuals with rocket-propelled grenades. The Reaper also directed a successful coalition air attack onto a number of terrorists defending a trench network. Wednesday 2 November: A combination of Typhoon and Tornado aircraft patrolled to the east of the city. Some distance to the south-east, they used a Paveway IV guided bomb to destroy a building from which a terrorist mortar team was operating. They then flew north to eliminate a sniper position with a second Paveway. Thursday 3 November: Tornados struck two further targets north-east of Mosul. A Paveway IV destroyed a building from which Daesh extremists were firing on advancing ground forces, while a Brimstone missile accounted for a terrorist vehicle. South-east of the city, a Reaper flew overwatch for Iraqi troops as they pressed forwards. The Reaper's crew used all four of its Hellfire missiles against a mortar team seen firing from amidst trees, and three groups of terrorists as they fired on the Iraqis with rocket-propelled grenades, as well as attempting to set fire to piles of tyres to create a smokescreen. The Reaper was also able to provide surveillance support to two air strikes by coalition aircraft which destroyed a fortified position and an armed truck. Friday 4 November: Reaper operations continued south-east of Mosul, with our aircraft directing a successful coalition air attack onto its target, a weapons dump, and using one of its own Hellfires to engage a group of terrorists on foot. Two Tornados struck close air support targets inside eastern Mosul itself, using Brimstone missiles to destroy an armed vehicle and a large truck-bomb. A Paveway also hit a group of terrorists which another coalition aircraft had been carefully tracking as they manoeuvred towards Iraqi troops. A second Tornado flight supported Iraqi operations elsewhere in the country, and north-east of Mosul used Paveway IV and Enhanced Paveway II bombs to destroy a cave occupied by Daesh in the hills above Bayji, as well as a nearby stock of equipment. Saturday 5 November: Three Hellfire attacks were launched by a Reaper near Mosul, against a truck-bomb, a mortar and a rocket-propelled grenade team. The Reaper also assisted in a coalition strike against a second mortar. On Sunday 6 November, Paveway IV-armed Typhoons bombed a terrorist group in the Tigris valley south of Mosul, while Tornados used a Brimstone missile to destroy an armoured personnel carrier inside the city. On the outskirts, a Reaper tracked a terrorist driving a truck-bomb towards Iraqi troops, but the truck exploded prematurely as it drove over rough ground, negating any need for the Reaper to fire at it. The Reaper instead used its Hellfires against a truck being loaded with spare weapons, a recoilless anti-tank gun, a rocket-propelled grenade team and an armed truck. Monday 7 November: A Typhoon mission armed with Paveway IV guided bombs destroyed a stockpile of rocket and mortar equipment to the north of Bayji, and a Reaper conducting armed reconnaissance near Raqqah struck a Daesh vehicle with a Hellfire missile. Near Mosul, a Reaper provided close air support to Iraqi forces. Daesh fighters were observed firing a recoilless anti-tank gun at the Iraqi troops, then loading the weapon into a vehicle. As the vehicle pulled away, it was destroyed by a Hellfire. The Reaper's crew then used a further three Hellfires, which have a very low risk of collateral damage, in successful attacks on groups of extremists as they engaged in street fighting with the Iraqi troops. Tuesday 8 November: Reaper operations in the area continued, with our aircraft conducting three further Hellfire attacks on terrorist fighters, as well as providing targeting support to a coalition air strike which destroyed a mortar team. To the north-east of Mosul, a pair of Typhoon FGR4s used Paveway IVs to destroy seven Daesh positions. Wednesday 9 November: A Reaper spotted an armoured vehicle firing on Iraqi troops on the outskirts of Mosul, and destroyed it with a Hellfire. Thursday 10 November: A Reaper provided overwatch to Iraqi troops engaged in street fighting at Abasi in northern Iraq. Its crew used Hellfire missiles against two groups of terrorists, including a light machine-gun team. In Mosul itself, a mortar was spotted in an area of heavily wooded parkland. It was destroyed by a Paveway IV guided bomb from a Typhoon flight. North of the city, Tornados used a Brimstone missile to kill several terrorists as they manoeuvred along a street. Friday 11 November: A pair of Typhoons patrolled over Syria, supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces north of Raqqa. Another coalition aircraft was able to identify a Daesh armoured vehicle well concealed under trees, and was able to direct the Typhoon onto the target, which was duly destroyed with a Paveway IV. Meanwhile, south of Mosul, Tornados used another Paveway IV to demolish a terrorist strongpoint on the banks of the Tigris. Saturday 12 November: A Reaper maintained surveillance around Mosul. As well as supporting a coalition air strike that eliminated a recoilless anti-tank gun team, our aircraft used three Hellfire missiles against a mortar and two groups of terrorists engaged in combat with Iraqi troops. Sunday 13 November: Typhoons again operated north of Raqqa and were able to destroy an anti-aircraft gun near Thulth Khunayz. Some miles to the north-east of Mosul, Tornados used a Paveway IV to collapse a tunnel system, while closer to the city, a Hellfire from a Reaper destroyed a large weapon mounted on the rear of a lorry. The Reaper then used a GBU-12 laser guided bomb to attack successfully both a buried weapons cache and a nearby terrorist vehicle. Monday 14 November: Royal Air Force Typhoons provided close air support to Iraqi forces as they fought to liberate the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. A group of terrorists were spotted repositioning in open country some distance north of Nimrud, and successfully struck with a Paveway IV guided bomb. To the north of Mosul, a Reaper provided similar close support to Kurdish troops, in particular hunting for Daesh mortars. The Reaper's crew successfully located two such weapons. One was subsequently destroyed by coalition jets guided onto the target by the Reaper, the second was struck using one of the Reaper's own Hellfire missiles. Tuesday 15 November: A Reaper maintained patrols over Mosul and a further terrorist mortar team was silenced by a Hellfire missile. Tornados and Typhoons meanwhile maintained pressure on Daesh elsewhere in Iraq. The Tornados used a Paveway IV to bomb a terrorist bunker south of Haditha Lake, while the Typhoons destroyed a Daesh-held building to the west of Kirkuk. Wednesday 16 November: The Typhoons operated in the same area using Paveway IVs against two more terrorist occupied buildings some 20 miles west of Kirkuk. A Reaper also continued to keep watch over eastern Mosul, where it successfully hunted down and killed two Daesh mortar teams, and supported a coalition fast jet attack that accounted for a third, vehicle-borne, mortar. Two Typhoons, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, were tasked on Thursday 17 November to deal with a group of buildings which Daesh had heavily booby-trapped with large improvised explosive devices in the path of the SDF's offensive north of Raqqa. Direct hits safely demolished all four target buildings, setting off large secondary explosions. Over Iraq the same day, two pairs of Tornados provided close air support over northern and western parts of the country. North-east of Tall Afar, one mission used a Paveway IV against a terrorist mortar position, while in the west, the other flight used an Enhanced Paveway II to bomb a bunker located in the countryside north-east of Rawah. On Friday 18 November, a Reaper supported Iraqi troops as they fought to liberate the village of Umarkan, south of Mosul. The Reaper's crew observed a group of Daesh fighters retreating into a building. Having checked that there were no indications of any civilians in the area, the Reaper was able to direct a successful coalition air strike onto the target. Our aircraft then used two of its own Hellfire missiles to kill a group of terrorists as they manoeuvred in the open, and to destroy a vehicle carrying a mortar. In Mosul itself, a Typhoon flight used four Paveway IVs to destroy a weapons stockpile in a large isolated building on the western bank of the Tigris. A second pair of Typhoons meanwhile continued to support the SDF north of Raqqa. Working closely with a coalition surveillance aircraft, the Typhoons were able to destroy a terrorist strongpoint with a Paveway IV despite the SDF being very near the target. The Typhoons then used another Paveway IV against an artillery piece concealed in trees some ten miles north of Raqqa. Tornados saw further action over Mosul on Sunday 20 November. On the southern edge of the city, to the east of Mosul airfield, an artillery piece had been spotted hidden amongst woodland. A Paveway IV was nevertheless successfully directed onto the target, and secondary explosions suggest ammunition was destroyed along with the gun itself. Monday 21 November: A Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft provided close air support to an Iraqi unit as it pressed towards Mosul from the south-east of the city. The Reaper's crew tracked a group of terrorists who had been observed firing at the Iraqi troops and, when it was safe to do so, successfully engaged them with a Hellfire missile. Our aircraft then gave targeting and surveillance assistance to two coalition air strikes on larger groups of extremists, before carrying out two further attacks of its own with Hellfires against yet more Daesh militants. Tuesday 22 November, a combined formation of two Typhoons and a Tornado conducted armed reconnaissance over the desert of western Iraq. A number of heavily-armed terrorists were reported to be encamped some 35 miles from Haditha. Their location was confirmed by the RAF flight, which then delivered a very effective attack with Paveway IV guided bombs. The following day, a Reaper was again in action south-east of Mosul. Most of its mission was devoted to hunting terrorist heavy weapons teams and conducting very patient surveillance to ensure there were no civilians at risk in the area. The Reaper directly supported one coalition air attack on an armed vehicle, and used three of its own Hellfires to destroy two Daesh mortars and a recoilless anti-tank gun which had all been observed when they attempted to engage the advancing Iraqi units. Meanwhile, south-west of Mosul, a Typhoon flight used a Paveway IV against a terrorist heavy machine-gun position. Thursday 24 November: RAF aircraft have also continued to provide reconnaissance and strike support to the Syrian Democratic Forces as they push towards Raqqa. As part of this, a pair of Paveway-armed Typhoons destroyed a Daesh strongpoint located some 15 miles north of the city. Friday 25 November: RAF and Coalition aircraft continue to support Iraqi forces as they press further into eastern Mosul, as the urban operating environment becomes increasingly congested and challenging. Tornados dealt with a particularly challenging target in eastern Mosul a Daesh mortar hidden in trees next to a busy road. The Tornados used a Brimstone missile, which has a small warhead and a very precise targeting system, to strike the target accurately whilst limiting as far as possible the risk to the passing traffic. The Tornados then hit a second target, using a Paveway IV to destroy a workshop in south-eastern Mosul which was producing truck-bombs. Sunday 27 November: Three Tornado and Typhoon flights conducted attacks in Mosul. One Tornado mission used Enhanced Paveway II and Paveway IV bombs to neutralise a large fortified building in northern Mosul, while a second Tornado flight conducted Brimstone attacks which destroyed two engineering vehicles, used by Daesh to construct defensive positions. In fields on the southern outskirts of the city, Typhoons caught a large group of terrorists setting up a mortar which they had just unloaded from a truck. A direct hit from a Paveway IV destroyed the mortar, killed the terrorists and damaged the truck. The Typhoons then destroyed a second mortar nearby. Monday 28 November: With Iraqi troops methodically clearing Daesh extremists from key locations around Mosul, a Royal Air Force Reaper worked with other coalition aircraft to provide close air support. The Reaper used its surveillance sensors to identify a number of terrorists and then provided targeting guidance which allowed two successful coalition attacks to be delivered. A pair of terrorists were subsequently tracked as they moved at high speed on a motorcycle to a new position, and were killed by a direct hit from one of the Reaper's Hellfire missiles. The Reaper then spotted in turn three Daesh mortars as they opened fire: one was destroyed by a coalition aircraft, one was silenced by artillery fire, and the third was struck by the Reaper itself, using a GBU-12 guided bomb. To the south, near Bayji, Typhoon FGR4s meanwhile used a Paveway IV to destroy a Daesh-held building. The Typhoons then headed west to Anbar province, where they employed a further Paveway to collapse the entrance to a terrorist tunnel network beneath a hillside south of Rawah. Tuesday 29 November: Reaper operations around Mosul continued. A group of terrorists engaged in a firefight with Iraqi forces were struck with a Hellfire. Again, the Reaper proved a deadly hunter of Daesh mortar teams; a Hellfire destroyed one, and the aircraft's reconnaissance work allowed two more to be targeted by artillery fire and coalition aircraft. Some ten miles west of Mosul, Tornado GR4s scored a direct hit with a Brimstone missile on one of the few tanks operated by Daesh, while to the south-west, near Qayyarah, Typhoons bombed a weapons stockpile. Saturday 3 December: Very bad weather, including violent thunderstorms, seriously hampered air operations for several days. However, conditions improved sufficiently for a Reaper to resume operations over Mosul. It conducted one attack, using a Hellfire, against a mortar, and was able to alert other coalition forces to the location of a large number of civilians potentially at risk in the area. Sunday 4 December: Another Reaper continued to provide close air support to the Iraqi forces as they engaged in intensive street fighting around Mosul. The Reaper's crew twice exploited the accuracy and small warhead of their Hellfire missiles to strike Daesh terrorists engaged in close combat with Iraqi troops, and also gave surveillance support to four successful attacks by coalition aircraft on heavily defended buildings, including one where a group of suicide bombers had mustered. Meanwhile, two flights of Tornados prosecuted Daesh targets in Syria: one pair joined other coalition aircraft in an attack on a large weapons factory which intelligence had established was being operated by Daesh some 15 miles west of Raqqah. The Tornados dropped three Enhanced Paveway II bombs which scored direct hits on their targets. In eastern Syria, the second Tornado flight used a pair of Paveway IV bombs to destroy a terrorist headquarters, plus an associated vehicle, located some 25 miles north-east of At Tibni. Monday 5 December: With Iraqi forces continuing to clear Daesh positions in eastern Mosul, a Royal Air Force Reaper flew overwatch for the operation. It performed an important role in tracking the movements of civilian refugees through the area, allowing coalition attacks to be halted or delayed as necessary. The Reaper also identified a group of Daesh fighters who were subsequently struck by Coalition fast jets. The Reaper's crew then spotted a heavy machine-gun firing on Iraqi troops, and destroyed it with a Hellfire missile. Wednesday 7 December: A pair of Typhoons, armed with Paveway IV guided bombs, and supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, attacked a Daesh bunker dug into the hills some 25 miles north-west of Haditha. After the attack, smoke rose from the tunnel entrances some distance away, proving that the strike was successful. A second pair of Typhoons operated north of Mosul, where they used a Paveway IV to destroy a Daesh-held building. Meanwhile, a Reaper continued close air support over eastern Mosul. An armoured truck was tracked as Daesh fighters attempted to hide it in a vehicle shelter, allowing it to be destroyed by coalition jets. The Reaper then conducted three attacks using its own Hellfires against groups of extremists engaged in close combat with the advancing Iraqi troops. Thursday 8 December: Tornados and a Reaper patrolled over Mosul. The Tornados were able to use the small, highly accurate Brimstone missile to dispose safely of an armoured personnel carrier positioned close to a hospital in the south of the city. Meanwhile, the Reaper hunted targets in the city centre, using three Hellfire missiles to pick off groups of extremists caught moving in the open. Friday 9 December: Another Reaper enjoyed similar success, when it also operated over central Mosul. It conducted three Hellfire attacks against Daesh fighters, including some armed with rocket-propelled grenades, and a mortar team that was spotted as it opened fire. In the east of the city, Typhoons assisted Iraqi forces as they fought a Daesh group holding a building at the end of a street. Particular care was taken in planning the air attack, as the Iraqi troops were very close to the target, but our aircrew were able to score a direct hit with a Paveway IV, which destroyed the building and removed the threat to the ground forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Beginning of the end for Daesh as Coalition opens second front 15 December 2016 Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has closed today's ministerial in London by reaffirming the UK and Coalition's resolve to defeat Daesh. The terrorist organisation is under pressure in both Iraq and Syria, with the Syrian Democratic Forces recently opening up a second front around Raqqa. Daesh have lost 11 cities to Iraqi forces this year, and now hold less than 10% of territory in Iraq. On the margins of the ministerial meeting, Sir Michael also deepened UK and US defence cooperation by signing an agreement with US Defense Secretary Ash Carter to allow US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft to fly from the UK's new Queen Elizabeth class carrier. Planning will be advanced to allow US jets to deploy alongside our own Lightning aircraft in HMS Queen Elizabeth during her planned first operational deployment in 2021. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: "As Britain's pre-eminent operational partner, including in our current fight against Daesh, the inter-operability of British and American forces is crucial." "Having British and US F35s alongside each other aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth on its first operational tour, will further cement our close defence ties as Britain steps up internationally." "Britain and America's longstanding defence and intelligence sharing epitomises the special relationship that helps keeps both our nations safer and more secure." The announcement will allow UK and US personnel to work even closer together on operations, exercises and training, developing the skills they need for carrier strike operations. UK pilots, engineers and deck handlers are currently operating from US Navy carriers, already working on these skills, which will be important for when it comes to deploy the new British carriers. Following the meeting, the Defence Secretary announced that he has agreed to surge the number data recovery experts available to exploit data and technical equipment recovered from Daesh as they are beaten or flee Mosul. The information gleaned will help the Coalition win the battle on the ground, better understand Daesh's structure and leadership, track UK fighters, and help build the case to prosecute those involved in committing atrocities. Sir Michael also confirmed an extension by six months of a deployment of a squadron of Royal Engineers, currently helping to build up the training facility at Al Asad airbase in Iraq. The UK has helped to train over 31,000 Iraqi and Kurdish forces, with trainers based at Al Asad playing an important role in developing the Iraqi forces ability to counter-Daesh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens of Afghans Return Home After Being Deported From Germany By Ayaz Gul December 15, 2016 More than 30 Afghans returned home Thursday after their applications for asylum were rejected by Germany. The young men are the first of an estimated 12,000 Afghans the German government plans to forcibly send back to Afghanistan under a bilateral agreement. German officials say the migrants have been issued deportation orders and another flight is expected to return more Afghan asylum seekers early next month. The Afghan migrants who arrived at Kabul airport aboard a chartered plane were carrying few belongings. They expressed disappointment over their eviction after living in Germany for years. They returned to Afghanistan where security has deteriorated since December 2014 when most international forces withdrew from the country, encouraging the Taliban to step up attacks and seize territory. One returnee, Ali Madad Nasir, said he had been living in Germany for three years. He said that four German police officers entered his home early in the morning while he was asleep and arrested him. "I didn't have a chance to take my clothes, cell phone and laptop - all left behind," Nasiri told the Reuters news agency. Thousands of Afghans joined asylum seekers from conflict-hit Middle Eastern countries and elsewhere entering Europe since 2015. Officials in Germany say Afghans were the second biggest group of asylum seekers in Germany in 2016, after Syrians. Earlier this week, around two dozen Afghans also returned home from Norway and Sweden after they were denied asylum. The Afghan government, which is struggling to develop the national economy, has vowed to help returnees resettle, though critics are skeptical about the pledges, citing corruption and internal political rivalries. Protests The agreement between Afghanistan and Germany has also sparked street demonstrations, with protesters complaining much of Afghanistan is still not safe and returnees could face reprisals. "Everyone loves his country. I also love my country, but what should I do here?" said Mati Ullah, 22, who was part of the group of deportees who arrived on Thursday. "Do I have to go and join the Taliban or Daesh?" he asked. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State terrorist group. The U.S. military estimates that the Taliban control or contest one third of Afghan territory. Islamic State militants also have stepped up their efforts to extend their influence in the country. "The national mood in Afghanistan is at a record low, and Afghans are pessimistic because of insecurity, corruption, and rising unemployment and slow job growth," according to the annual survey by the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation released earlier this month. The United Nations says that more than 1.1 million Afghans were already on the move in Afghanistan in 2016. A U.N. spokeswoman, Danielle Moylan, told VOA the population includes 525,000 people internally displaced by the conflict this year and 613,000 Afghan refugees who have returned home from neighboring Pakistan. "The numbers are far beyond what U.N. agencies anticipated this year, particularly concerning the returns from Pakistan, and as such, the humanitarian community collectively is under significant pressure to ensure the most vulnerable families are assisted, particularly before the cold winter season begins," she said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gambian President-Elect Says Jammeh Should Accept Defeat By VOA News December 15, 2016 The winner of Gambia's presidential election says efforts by incumbent Yahya Jammeh to toss out the results are illegal. Adama Barrow told VOA's French-to-Africa service that Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years, does not have the authority to cancel the election. "He does not have those powers and whatever he is doing is illegal and let him accept defeat," Barrow said in the interview Wednesday. "He called me to say that we have the best election in the world and he should stick to that." Barrow said he met with West African leaders who also met with Jammeh on Tuesday and told them, "I am the president-elect and Yahya Jammeh is the outgoing president. He accepted defeat, congratulated me, and turned around and said he has annulled the election." On Tuesday, the security forces took over the offices of Gambia's electoral commission, the same day members of the ruling party asked the country's Supreme Court to void the election results. Barrow told VOA that the head of the Gambian Armed Forces called and congratulated him after the election, but still lacks government protection. "I am still concerned about my security," he said. "I am using my local security, the security I was using during the campaign." Barrow, running as the main opposition candidate, defeated Jammeh in the December 1 election by a margin of 45 to 36 percent, according to the electoral commission. Afterward, state media broadcast a phone call in which President Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory," praised the election as "transparent" and said, "Allah is telling me my time is up." A week later, Jammeh rejected the results and said he wants to see a new election. Jammeh, 51, has ruled the tiny West African nation since taking power in a 1994 military coup. He won four subsequent elections that critics said were neither free nor fair, and once said he could rule Gambia for "a billion years." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address V-22 Osprey The V-22 has had at least nine hull-loss accidents resulting in at least 36 fatalities. On 06 August 2017 a V-22 Osprey crashed off Australias coast. Twenty-three personnel were quickly rescued following the incident involving a MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, the primary assault support aircraft for the Marines. But three marines remain missing despite a search operation supported by aircraft and ships. The US Marine Corps later called off search and rescue efforts for three missing service members Operations have now shifted to recovery efforts. The next-of-kin for the three missing Marines have been notified, US Marines based in Japan said in a statement. As the sea state permits, recovery efforts will be conducted to further search, assess and survey the area, in coordination and with assistance from the Australian Defence Force. The Marines said the recovery and salvage operations could take several months to complete, while the cause of the incident was currently being investigated. Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga expressed anger over a crash on Saturday of a US military Osprey transport plane off the coast of Australia. The particular aircraft had been deployed at the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. Onaga said the crash is no surprise. Onaga said investigations by the US military are not reliable, and that the Japanese government is unable to make any comments regarding their procedures. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera asked the US military to refrain from flying Ospreys in Japan until more information on a recent accident involving the aircraft becomes available. Despite his request, an Osprey took off from the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa on the morning of 07 August 2017. Onodera met the Deputy Commander of US Forces in Japan, Major General Charles Chiarotti, at the Defense Ministry. He told the deputy commander that there are still concerns over the safety of the aircraft. He said he will continue to seek the US military's refrainment from flying Ospreys and ask it to give maximum consideration to safety. The deputy commander reportedly explained that the Osprey flight was conducted after its safety was confirmed and as it was judged necessary in operational terms. Japan-US joint drills involving 6 Ospreys were scheduled to start in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Thursday 10 August 2017. Onodera told reporters that after the cause of the accident is determined, Japan and the United States would discuss whether to use the Ospreys in the drills. The unfavorable safety reputaton of the Osprey dates back to the testing period between 1991 and 2000, when Ospreys crashed four times in non-combat operations, causing 30 fatalities. Since then, the Osprey safety record has been no worse than other comparable aircraft. The Marine Corps aviation safety records and standards are publicly available at the Naval Safety Center website. The mishap rate that the Marine Corps has used publicly for the MV-22 follows Naval Safety Center standards that are applied universally across all type/model/series in the Navy and Marine Corps inventory. Those records bear out that the MV-22 has the lowest Class A flight mishap rate of any tactical rotorcraft in the Marine Corps fleet over the 10 years 2001-2011. The Marine Corps does not include CV-22 mishap rates when talking about the MV-22 Osprey. Since achieving IOC in 2007, by late 2011 the MV-22 had made 3 deployments to Iraq, 4 deployments with Marine Expeditionary Units, and is currently on the fourth deployment to Afghanistan. During those deployments it has flown over 18,000 hours in combat, carried over 129,000 personnel and over 5.7 million pounds of cargo. Losses 11 June 1991 -- An Osprey crashed three minutes into its maiden demonstration flight at a Boeing helicopter flight test center in Wilmington, DE. There were no serious injuries in the crash, which was blamed on gyro wiring problems. Two crew members safely ejected, and the aircraft was badly damaged the accident. 20 July 1992 -- Seven crewmembers lost their lives when a prototype of the V-22 Osprey fell into waters off the Quantico, VA, Marine Corps Air Station. The crash occurred after an engine caught fire as the aircraft was completing a 700-mile non-stop flight from Eglin Air Force Base. mechanical failure was found to have triggered a fire that disabled an engine. The identified design deficiencies were corrected and incorporated in all production aircraft. 08 April 2000 -- An MV-22 crashed during a noncombatant evacuation evaluation mission. The crash claimed 19 lives -- the deadliest air disaster for the Marines since 22 died in a helicopter crash in 1989. The Osprey was one of four flying from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz. It crashed at Marana Airport near Tucson. The mishap aircraft was one of five production aircraft delivered to the Marine Corps for operational use. Officials said that an examination of data did not indicate any mechanical or software failures. In the last seconds of its flight, the mishap aircraft was in a high rate of descent at a relatively low forward airspeed. These characteristics can lead to a condition known as power settling (or vortex ring state) which can result in a loss of lift on the rotor system. Power settling is a phenomenon common to helicopter flight. The primary cause of the crash was the pilot descended too quickly -- 250 percent the acceptable rate. 11 December 2000 -- An MV-22 Osprey crashed in North Carolina during a night training mission. Four Marines were killed when the MV-22 crashed in a remote wooded area about 10 miles outside Jacksonville. The crash was the fourth accident involving the tilt-rotor aircraft since 1991. The Navy and Marine Corps grounded all MV-22 Osprey flights until further notice. The accident investigation concluded that a leak in a chafed hydraulic line, coupled with a software glitch, had caused the crash. The software problem contributed to the aircraft going out of control, rather than compensating for the hydraulic leak. Following the two crashes in 2000, the Navy restructured the V-22 program. New, improved aircraft capabilities were incorporated in block upgrades. The Block A aircraft was intended for use in a training unit; this configuration incorporated modifications to address recommendations from the two mishap investigations and DOT&Es earlier report. Some capabilities were re-designated as threshold requirements for future MV-22 Block B aircraft. MV-22 Block B was the first configuration procured for deployment and underwent additional testing. On 09 April 2011 a CV-22B aircraft, tail number (T/N)06-0031, crashed near Qalat, Afghanistan, in the first combat loss of a V-22. The CV-22B impacted the ground atapproximately 75 knots ground speed (KGS) at approximately 0039L during a mission toinfiltrate a team near Qalat, Afghanistan. The Mishap Pilot (MP), Mishap Flight Engineer (MFE) and two passengers were killed in the mishap. The Mishap Copilot (MCP), while still strapped into his seat, fell out of the aircraft, sustaining injuries to his spine and leg. The flight engineer in the rear of the aircraft, serving as the Mishap Tail Scanner (MTS), suffered life threatening injuries to his arm, spine, and legs. The remaining 14 passengers sustained various degrees of injuries. The aircraft was severely damaged. The loss was valued at $87,000,000.00 for the aircraft and $142,911.36 in crew equipment and ammunition. The investigation ruled out multiple causes including: enemy action, brownout, vortex ring state, mid-air collision, loss of hydraulic system, electricalfailure, drive shaft failure, swashplate actuator mount failure, flight control failure, thrust control-lever (TCL) rigging, avionics failure, and crew physiological events. A preponderanceof the evidence indicated that ten factors substantially contributed to this mishap: Inadequate weather planning; Poorly executed low visibility approach (LVA); Tailwind; Challenging visual environment; Task saturation; Distraction; Negative transfer [inapropriate previously learned behavior]; Pressing [pushing beyond reasonable limits]; Unanticipated high rate of descent; Engine power loss [one or both of the engines was degraded below acceptable standards]. On 11 April 2012 two 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Marines died and two were severely injured when an MV-22 Osprey crashed in a Royal Moroccan military training area southwest of Agadir, Morocco, while participating in bilateral Exercise African Lion. On 13 June 2012 a CV-22 aircraft assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing crashed at approximately 6:45 p.m. on the Eglin Range, north of Navarre, Florida. Five crew were injured and taken to local area hospitals. Two crew members were taken by ambulance, while the other 3 were taken via air. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known. The mishap occurred during a routine training mission. One of the tilt-rotor aircraft in Okinawa ditched on a reef near the island's coast and was badly damaged on 13 December 2016. The US military says trouble that led to a water emergency landing of an Osprey aircraft off Okinawa Island on Tuesday occurred during midair refueling training. The chief of US forces in Okinawa says the pilot of an Osprey decided to land the aircraft in the sea after a propeller was damaged during a midair refueling exercise. Lieutenant General Lawrence Nicholson said the Osprey was conducting refueling training with a KC130 tanker 30 kilometers off the main island of Okinawa. A propeller blade was damaged after it came into contact with a refueling hose from the tanker. He said the aircraft became unstable and the pilot chose the emergency landing to avoid flying over residential areas near the Kadena or Futenma air bases. Nicholson said the US rules out mechanical failure as a cause, but he said Osprey flights in Okinawa will be suspended until safety checks are done. Nicholson said the pilot should be commended for avoiding potential harm to local residents. The aircraft belongs to the US Marine Corps Futenma air station in Ginowan, also in Okinawa. It ditched in shallow water about one kilometer east of Nago City at around 9:30 PM on Tuesday, local time. All five US crewmembers on the craft were rescued. Two were injured. But the Osprey's fuselage and wings were badly damaged. The US military told Japan's Defense Ministry that the craft was conducting in-flight refueling training with a KC130 tanker. Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada met the governor of Okinawa following an accident involving a US military Osprey transport aircraft in the prefecture. Governor Takeshi Onaga filed a strong protest over the accident. Onaga said it's very shocking that his anxieties about Ospreys, which he had insisted should not be deployed in Okinawa, have become a reality. He called for suspending their flights immediately and rescinding their deployment in the prefecture. Inada said the defense ministry will collect and disclose all information about the incident, which occurred near a residential area. News that another US Osprey aircraft also had trouble on the night of 13 December 2016 added to the concern of Okinawa residents. An Osprey's landing gear system failed and the aircraft reportedly conducted a belly-landing at the US Marine Corps Futenma air station. The aircraft was engaged in rescue work linked to the damaged Osprey. A US raid against al-Qaida in Yemen left one American service member dead. The US military raid on the militant Islamist group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula compound in Yemen early in the morning on 29 January 2017 that killed a US service member and injured three others yielded valuable intelligence, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters 30 January 2017. Similar site exploitation operations in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq have produced information about terrorist planner logistics, recruiting and financing efforts, Davis noted. Three service members' injuries occurred when an Osprey MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft made a hard landing during an operation to evacuate other wounded Americans [this part of the story is a bit garbled]. The "hard landing" is consistent with either a brownout problem with dust kicked up by the V-22, or the Vortex Ring State (VRS) that had been so problematic earlier in the program's history. Davis said that the inoperable Osprey was subsequently destroyed in place by a US airstrike. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump knew about Russia hacks: White House Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 3:43PM US President-elect Donald Trump knew well before the November 8 presidential election that Russia was behind hacking attacks against some Democratic organizations, according to the White House. Speaking on Wednesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest also claimed that Trump knew Moscow was trying to damage the campaign of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. "There's ample evidence that was known long before the election and in most cases long before October about the Trump campaign and Russia everything from the Republican nominee himself calling on Russia to hack his opponent," Earnest said. The New York businessman has repeatedly accused Clinton of not telling the truth about using a personal email server to exchange potentially sensitive emails during her tenure as the secretary of state. During the campaign, Trump "sarcastically" invited Russian hackers to infiltrate Clinton's email and reveal her secrets. "It might be an indication that he was obviously aware and concluded, based on whatever facts or sources he had available to him, that Russia was involved and their involvement was having a negative impact on his opponent's campaign," Earnest added. In the final weeks before the Election Day, thousands of hacked emails belonging to Clinton's top aide John Podesta were released to the media, revealing dark secrets about her. Before that, hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had exposed an insider attempt within the party to undermine Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in favor of Clinton. US intelligence officials claimed back then that hackers sponsored by Moscow were trying to affect the outcome of the election. "It was obvious to those who were covering the race that the hack-and-leak strategy that had been operationalized was not being equally applied to the two parties and to the two campaigns," Earnest said Wednesday. "There's one side that was bearing the brunt of that strategy and another side that was clearly benefiting from it." Although President Barack Obama and his administration firmly believe that Russia was indeed trying to intervene, Trump himself rejects the notion, accusing the outgoing president of politicizing the issue. The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the charges on several occasions, saying the allegations were indicated an infighting among US intelligence bodies. US intelligence officials believe with "a high level of confidence" that Putin became involved in hacking during the American election campaign as part of a "vendetta" against Clinton, NBC News reported on Wednesday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Daesh cell busted in Moscow, members arrested Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 1:40PM Russia has busted a major cell of the Daesh terrorist group in the capital, Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday that four members of the terror cell, who were preparing a series of attacks in Moscow, had been arrested earlier in the day during raids by security forces. "The militants were preparing the terrorist attacks on direct orders of a Turkey-based emissary" of Daesh, who has been put on an international wanted list by Tajikistan, the statement said, without elaborating on the identity of the Tajik suspect in question. The FSB said the four detained members of the terrorist group were citizens of Tajikistan and Moldova, adding that they were "planning to carry out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks in Moscow using powerful homemade explosive devices." The operation began early on Thursday with Russian special forces cordoning off a block of apartments in southern Moscow. Firearms, ammunition and homemade explosive devices were recovered from the apartments, where the suspects had been living. The FSB said its forces also managed to seize "a large amount of explosive blend material for making a high-energy explosive device." Russia has been a target of Daesh attacks since the country's military began a campaign in Syria in late September 2015 to assist the Arab country in the fight against terrorism at the official request of the Damascus government. Russia said before the beginning of the attacks that the military campaign was also aimed at blocking the return of its nationals who have been fighting along the ranks of militant groups in Syria over the past years. The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday stressed the threat posed to Russia's security by the nationals involved in Syria's militancy, saying more than 2,000 militants from Russia and other former Soviet republics had been killed in Syria last year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin 'personally involved' in US election hack, NBC News claims Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:26AM President Vladimir Putin was "personally involved" in a covert Russian effort to intervene in the 2016 US presidential election, NBC News has claimed, citing two unnamed American intelligence officials. US intelligence officials believe with "a high level of confidence" that Putin became involved in hacking during the American election campaign as part of a "vendetta" against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, NBC News reported on Wednesday. The anonymous officials, purportedly having direct access to the information, told the news network that Putin personally instructed how material hacked from US Democratic lawmakers was leaked and otherwise used. The officials argued that the Russian president was not only seeking a "vendetta" against Clinton but also wanted to expose massive corruption in American politics and to "split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the US to be a credible global leader anymore." In 2011, Clinton then US secretary of state publicly challenged the integrity of the Russian parliamentary elections, and reportedly attempted to incite street protests against the government of Putin. The American officials claimed that the Russian leader has never forgiven Clinton over these anti-Russian moves. Last week, The Washington Post reported a "secret CIA assessment" that Russia intervened in the November 8 election to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump win the White House. President Barack Obama ordered the intelligence community to fully review Russia's cyber attacks during the presidential campaign and wants a report before he leaves office in January. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday Trump said Democrats were behind news reports on intelligence assessments that Russian hackers had intervened to help Trump defeat his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the election. Trump challenged whether the CIA was behind the reports that indicated Moscow had sought to boost his prospects in the election. Meanwhile, the office overseeing all 17 US spy agencies has not embraced the CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump win the race. According to a Reuters report published on Tuesday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) has not endorsed the CIA's findings because of a lack of conclusive evidence that Russia carried out cyber attacks to boost Trump's chances against Clinton. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Dismisses Report Putin Was Involved In U.S. Election Meddling December 15, 2016 Russian officials have dismissed an NBC News report that said U.S. intelligence officials believe with a "high level of confidence" that President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. Presidential election. Citing two senior officials, NBC News reported that new intelligence "shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from [U.S.] Democrats was leaked and otherwise used." The NBC report came as controversy over evidence of Russian interference grew after a CIA assessment that Moscow's aim was to help Republican Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election, which Trump won. Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on December 15 that the Kremlin considers the report "funny nonsense," state news agency RIA reported. He added: "Funny nonsense can have no basis." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the report "stupidity." "I was simply stunned when I saw this news on the television screen," another state news agency, TASS, quoted Lavrov as saying. "The stupidityof such an effort to convince anybody of this is obvious, in my view." The NBC News report said the intelligence came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies. It cited a high-level intelligence source as saying that what began as a "vendetta" for Putin against Clinton turned into an effort to portray U.S. politics as corrupt and to "split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the U.S. to be a credible global leader." Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/russia- dismisses-report-u-s-meddling- putin/28178436.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Republican Senator Graham Says Russia Hacked His Campaign December 15, 2016 A senior U.S. Republican senator took issue with President-elect Donald Trump on Russian interference in the U.S. elections and disclosed that Moscow had hacked his campaign. Senator Lindsey Graham told CNN on December 14 that the FBI informed him three months before the November 8 elections that his accounts were breached. Trump has rejected conclusions by the CIA and FBI that Russians hacked and then leaked Democratic National Committee e-mails and other documents that damaged the campaign of his opponent Hillary Clinton. But Graham told CNN: "I do believe the Russians hacked into the DNC. I do believe they hacked into [Clinton campaign chairman John] Podesta's e-mail account. They hacked into my campaign account. I do believe all the information released publicly hurt Clinton, didn't hurt Trump." Graham said he didn't think the leaks changed the outcome of the election, which he said Clinton would have lost anyway because she was not an "agent of change." Graham is among the top Republicans who have called for retaliation against alleged Russian meddling in the election. "My goal is to put on President Trump's desk crippling sanctions against Russia. They need to pay a price," he said on Twitter. Based on reporting by CNN and AFP Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/us-republican -senator-graham-says-russia-hacked- his-campaign/28177339.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reports Claiming Putin Interfered in US Election 'Funny Nonsense' - Kremlin Sputnik News 14:51 15.12.2016(updated 14:55 15.12.2016) The Kremlin considers media reports claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin personally interfered in the US presidential election "funny nonsense," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier on Thursday, NBC reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in hacking the US election. "[We consider it] a funny nonsense. This funny nonsense is not based on anything," Peskov told reporters commenting on the reports. In October, Washington accused Moscow of having hacked email servers of US citizens and organizations following numerous media reports about the attacks of Russian hackers on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), among other organizations. Moscow denied the accusations, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that the US allegations were "nonsense." The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did not support CIA assumptions that Russian hackers had contributed to the victory of Donald Trump in the November 8 presidential elections. According to the ODNI, the CIA was unable to prove the assumptions. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's FSB Prevents Series of Terror Attacks in Moscow Planned by Daesh Sputnik News 12:58 15.12.2016(updated 13:16 15.12.2016) The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has prevented series of terrorist attacks in Moscow planned by Daesh terrorists group. According to the FSB, the attacks were planned by a senior Daesh commander in Turkey who had been put on an international wanted list by Tajik authorities. "The activity of a terrorist cell consisting of citizens of Tajikistan and a citizen of Moldova, who planned to commit a series of resonant terrorist attacks in Moscow using improvised explosive devices of high capacity, has been terminated," the FSB said. Four members of the terrorist group have been detained on Thursday. Improvised explosive devices, firearms and a "significant amount of explosive material to develop explosives of high capacity" have been found and seized from the suspected terrorists. Earlier in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with senior officers and prosecutors that the FSB prevented 10 terrorist attacks in the first 10 months of 2016. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Report: Islamist Terrorism Is Long-term Threat at Home, Abroad By Cecily Hilleary December 15, 2016 Islamist terrorism will never be fully eradicated, and the threat to the U.S. homeland is real: These are among the sobering conclusions of a new U.S. Institute of Peace study that traces the origins and evolution of Salafist jihadism, a phenomenon it says blindsided the U.S. in September 2001. "The Jihad Threat: ISIS, Al Qaida and Beyond," authored by 20 experts from across the political spectrum, traces the evolution of Sala since it first emerged in the 1970s, focusing on repressive regimes, to the 1990s, when it turned its attention to the West. It argues that the only effective solution to Islamist terrorism will be one that addresses the factors that spawned it and continue to feed it. Poverty, unemployment and social injustice are important drivers of terrorism, leading populations to increasingly turn to religion as a solution, the study authors said. Factors in violence Pre-existing political, military and sectarian violence, along with military intervention by non-Muslim foreign armies, have set the tone for the extreme violence making global headlines, the report says. "There is a large and growing population of disenchanted, disenfranchised Sunnis who are increasingly deciding to turn to force of arms as a way to pursue their grievances, rather than trusting in and working through existing political systems," said Jennifer Cafarella, lead intelligence planner at the Institute for the Study of War and one of the report's co-authors. As this population grows more angry, so, too, does the ability of Salafi jihadist groups to recruit and channel their anger through violence against both state structures and the West, Cafarella said. The report focuses primarily on the Islamic State terrorist group and al-Qaida, whose ultimate goals are similar but whose methodologies differ significantly: IS is described as urgent and forceful, while al-Qaida is "strategic and deliberate." "Al-Qaida, like ISIS, seeks to establish a global caliphate," said co-author Garrett Nada, a program specialist at USIP's Center for Middle East & Africa. "But al-Qaida views this as more of a long-term goal. It is on track to continue its more gradualist approach by embedding locally and establishing credibility on the ground in multiple countries." The more it answers the needs of local populations, the deeper the partnership grows. While al-Qaida has lost top leaders and appears to have been eclipsed by the new Islamic State "caliphate," the report makes clear that it has not lost influence. IS's brutality has enabled al-Qaida to sell itself to local populations as the "moderate" alternative. "IS and al-Qaida enhance each other, not intentionally, but as a product of what they are doing, which is to champion the defensive Sunni narrative," Cafarella said. The report predicts that both will continue to evolve ideologically and strategically. The groups may not be able to sustain themselves at current levels, but they are highly adaptable, and the West should avoid complacency. IS could opt to retreat into the desert, only to emerge stronger than ever. And al-Qaida's imagination "knows no limits." Defanging ideology Terrorists have historically worked to bait their enemies into "costly, messy, deadly and, in the long term, ineffective military confrontations," the report said. It cautions that "eliminating an extremist group physically does not defang its ideology or change the underlying circumstances that allowed the group to gain traction in the first place." The authors urge the U.S. to collaborate against terrorism with international partners and legitimate local political groups, being mindful of public opinion at home and abroad. And it recommends that whatever its response, U.S. counterterrorism policy should address the needs of local populations. "The first and most effective strategy would be to provide a credible alternative to populations and fighters who are considering joining one of these groups," Cafarella said. She cited the example of the IS stronghold of Raqqa, where the U.S. is working with the Syrian-Kurdish YPG, whom the mainly Arab local population may not trust. "We have to get our partnerships right. We can't just work with local actors on the ground just because they are effective militarily," she said. Extremism is also driven in part by sectarian tension, and the report says U.S. policy should balance Sunni and Shi'ite interests, so as not to make one sect feel more vulnerable. Re-examine priorities Study authors also suggest the U.S. should re-examine its priorities. "We focus on ISIS without tackling the other wars that are going on in the region," Cafarella said, using an acronym for Islamic State. "That hasn't been working," she said, because many in the region are more concerned about the civil war pitting Syrian rebel groups against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. And, as USIP's Nada points out, one of the biggest challenges ahead will be deciding the fate of captured fighters. "For decades, prisons in the region have been known incubators of extremism," said Nada, pointing out that some prominent terrorist leaders, including IS "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, are veterans of U.S. detention centers. "States need to think more strategically about who they detain and how former fighters should be reintegrated if they are to be released." The war against Salafist jihadists is going to be fought over decades, not just years, the study warns, and the fighters may end up always being one step ahead of the West. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Galileo begins serving the globe 15 December 2016 Europe's own Galileo satellite navigation system has begun operating, with the satellites in space delivering positioning, navigation and timing information to users around the globe. Today, the European Commission, owner of the system, formally announced the start of Galileo Initial Services, the first step towards full operational capability. Further launches will continue to build the satellite constellation, which will gradually improve the system performance and availability worldwide. ESA has overseen the design and deployment of Galileo on behalf of the Commission, with system operations and service provision due to be entrusted to the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency next year. After five years of launches there are now 18 satellites in orbit. The most recent four, launched last month, are undergoing testing ahead of joining the constellation next spring. The full Galileo constellation will consist of 24 satellites plus orbital spares, intended to prevent any interruption in service. ESA Director general Jan Woerner noted, "For ESA, this is a very important moment in the programme. We know that the performance of the system is excellent. "The announcement of Initial Services is the recognition that the effort, time and money invested by ESA and the Commission has succeeded, that the work of our engineers and other staff has paid off, that European industry can be proud of having delivered this fantastic system." Paul Verhoef, ESA's Director of the Galileo Programme and Navigation-related Activities, added, "Today's announcement marks the transition from a test system to one that is operational. We are proud to be a partner in the Galileo programme. "Still, much work remains to be done. The entire constellation needs to be deployed, the ground infrastructure needs to be completed and the overall system needs to be tested and verified. "In addition, together with the Commission we have started work on the second generation, and this is likely to be a long but rewarding adventure." Initial Services Galileo is now providing three service types, the availability of which will continue to be improved. The Open Service is a free mass-market service for users with enabled chipsets in, for instance, smartphones and car navigation systems. Fully interoperable with GPS, combined coverage will deliver more accurate and reliable positioning for users. Galileo's Public Regulated Service is an encrypted, robust service for government-authorised users such as civil protection, fire brigades and the police. The Search and Rescue Service is Europe's contribution to the long-running CospasSarsat international emergency beacon location. The time between someone locating a distress beacon when lost at sea or in the wilderness will be reduced from up to three hours to just 10 minutes, with its location determined to within 5 km, rather than the previous 10 km. Finding your way Like all satnav systems, Galileo operations rely on the extremely precise measurement of time around 10 billionths of a second on average. Because all electromagnetic waves, including radio, travel at a fixed speed just under 30 cm each billionth of a second the time it takes for Galileo signals to reach a user receiver yields distance measurements. All the receiver has to do is multiply the travel time by the speed of light. A minimum of four satellites must be visible to pinpoint position: one each to fix latitude, longitude and altitude, with another to ensure synchronised timings. More satellites provide a greater level of service coverage and precision. The public will begin benefiting as Galileo-capable devices enter the marketplace: 17 companies, representing more than 95% of global supply, now produce Galileo-ready chips. 'Galileo System Time' is set to become an important utility in its own right, essential for synchronising worldwide banking, power and data networks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No Changes Expected in US Plans to Deploy Anti-Ballistic Missiles in South Korea Sputnik News 22:17 15.12.2016 The deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system by the United States in South Korea is expected to proceed despite the recent impeachment of South Korea's president, according to White House spokesperson Josh Earnest. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) The deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system by the United States in South Korea is expected to proceed despite the recent impeachment of South Korea's president, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said in a briefing on Thursday. "I'm not aware of any change in plans for the deployment of this anti-ballistic missile battery in South Korea based on some of the political turmoil that we've seen in the Republic of Korea," Earnest stated. In July, Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea's Seongju County amid growing tensions spurred by North Korea's ballistic and nuclear tests. On December 9, South Korea's parliament voted in favor of removing President Park Geun-hye from office as the president was at the center of a scandal around "secret adviser" Choi Soon-sil, who is said to have pressured the county's biggest corporations and extorted money from them for her non-commercial funds abroad. Earnest also noted that he hoped the US commitment to South Korea would not change even when President-elect Trump takes office on January 20. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Galileo Navigation Satellite System After 17 years and numerous setbacks and budget boosts, Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system went live 15 December 2016. At that time, 18 of the planned 30 satellites were already in orbit. The European Union's promise to enhance localization services was became reality with the successful launch of four more satellites of the bloc's prestige Galileo project. An Ariane 5 ES rocket carried four satellites, each weighing 738 kilograms, into orbit. Never before had an Ariane 5 rocket delivered so many - and such heavy - satellites at once. As this was the 75th launch of an Ariane 5, this rocket type now surpassed the number of launches of its predecessor, Ariane 4. All of the previous 14 Galileo satellites had been launched by Soyuz rockets. Initial services, free to users worldwide, will be available only on smartphones and navigation units already fitted with Galileo-compatible microchips. The new system is designed to deliver more precise data for private and commercial users than the current US Global Positioning System (GPS) does. Galileo will increase geo-localization precision tenfold. Galileo is one of the prestige projects of the European Union. In contrast to the US GPS system, which is 20 years older, Galileo is civilian-controlled. Therefore, Galileo offers its private and commercial users the whole spectrum of precision navigation that is technically possible. Using GPS, private users can navigate with a precision of up to 15 meters (m). Galileo offers a precision of up to 4m for its fully open service. Commercial users and official government services can even receive a precision of a few centimeters. This is important, for example, for fully or partially automated planes, cars or ships. By 2018 Galileo should be fully operational, with at least 24 satellites in place. That is the threshold the system must reach before it can deliver a complete service. The high precision offered by Galileo was one of the reasons why the Pentagon opposed the system in the first place. There were fears that adversaries of NATO or of other allies could use it for military purposes. However, engineers have found a solution to that problem: should a serious crisis arise, the military can jam a certain part of the broadcasting spectrum. This would cut off civilian use, but still retain the functions that are reserved for allied military purposes. The EU never appears more as a collection of squabbling parochial interests than with the very same big projects it makes possible. Everything from the failure of the PPP to expensive unnecessary redundancies, such as multiple control centers, are a demonstration of the difficulty of forming and carrying out consensus projects among EU members and their national champions. Being built at a cost of 20 billion, Galileo aims to provide a guaranteed global positioning service for EU nations in order to ensure independence from existing systems, including the United States GPS (operating since 1994) and Russias GLONASS (in civilian use since 2007). In October 2011 the first two European Galileo satellites were launched, with another two scheduled for this month. The first Galileo signals will be available by the end of the year, and the complete Galileo constellation of 27 satellites is set to be fully operational by 2020. Both Galileo and GNSS.asia are managed by the European Commission Directorate General (ECDG) for Enterprise and Industry, ensuring that they are under civilian control and will be used primarily for civilian purposes. Although the ESA Navsat concept dated back to the 1980's, the proposed project received relatively little attention and even less financial support. The preliminary Navsat system called for 18 satellites: 12 in highly elliptical orbits and 6 in geostationary orbits. By mid-1993 ESA was examining plans for a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for the express purpose of avoiding European dependency on the US GPS and the Russian GLONASS networks. However, behind the scenes activities were aimed at finding an acceptable sponsor and operator other than ESA, perhaps the European Commission or INMARSAT. In 1998, the European Union decided to pursue its own satellite navigation system, known as Galileo. In early 2002 the European Union (EU) decided to fund the development of Galileo. A great deal of preliminary scientific work had already been accomplished. Several factors influenced the decision to develop Galileo, the primary one being that GPS is a U.S. military asset that can be degraded for civilian use on order of the U.S. Government (as is the Russian satellite navigation system GLONASS). Disruption of either system might leave European users without their primary navigation system at a critical time. In contrast, Galileo will be under civilian control and dedicated primarily to civilian use. It is important to note that since GPS has been operational, civilian uses are proliferating far more rapidly than anticipated, to the point that GPS planners are developing new frequencies and enhancements to GPS for civilian use (WAAS and LAAS), SA has been turned off (as of May 1, 2000), and the cost and size of receivers have plummeted. The central component will be the global constellation of 30 satellites (27 usable and three spares), distributed over three planes inclined 56 degrees to the equator. Within each plane, one satellite is an active spare, able to be moved to any of the other satellite positions within its plane, for replacement of a failed satellite. The orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) are at an altitude of 23,616 km (about 12,750 nm). While US GPS satellites are only launched one at a time, Galileo satellites are being designed with new miniaturization techniques that will allow several to be launched on the same rocket, a far more cost-efficient way to place them in orbit and maintain the constellation. Several constellations were studied for optimisation of the space segment. The retained constellation is based exclusively on satellites in MEO orbit, which ensures a uniform performance both in terms of accuracy and availability, and which offers greater robustness in crippled mode (satellite failure). The GALILEO satellite constellation is furthermore well suited for high latitude countries [ based on Scandinavian participation] and offers an improved visibility in towns and cities, while at the same time being less onerous. The EGNOS program made significant improvements to the services offered in Europe by the GPS and Glonass satellite constellations. EGNOS, which has been developed since 1993, increases the number of GPS signals, applies a differential correction and adds an integrity message. EGNOS represents the first step in the European Satellite Navigation Strategy that leads to Galileo, the future European global satellite navigation system. Galileo will be compatible with EGNOS and will bring about even further improvements in customisation, safety and reliability of services. EGNOS was developed under a Tripartite Group whose members are the European Space Agency, the European Commission and EUROCONTROL, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. EGNOS development was funded by ESA, the EC and Air Traffic Service Providers of EU Member States, while ESA has been responsible for the development and technical qualification of the system. A wide range of GALILEO receivers will be available providing the various types of satellite radio navigation services on offer, whether or not combined with other functions. In addition, the technological potential will lead to a high degree of integration of these functions (standard "microchips" tailored to a specific function). The development and validation phase (2002 2005) covers the detailed definition and subsequent manufacture of the various system components: satellites, ground components, user receivers. This validation will require the putting into orbit of prototype satellites from 2005 and the creation of a minimal terrestrial infrastructure. It will allow the necessary adjustments to be made to the ground sector with a view to its global deployment and the launching, if necessary, of operational prototypes manufactured in parallel. During this phase it will also be possible to develop the receivers and local elements and to verify the frequency allocation conditions imposed by the International Telecommunication Union. The first experimental satellite, part of the so-called Galileo System Test Bed (GSTB) was launched on 28 December 2005. The objective of this experimental satellite is to characterize the critical technologies, which are already under development under ESA contracts. Thereafter up to four operational satellites will be launched in the timeframe 2005-2006 to validate the basic Galileo space and related ground segment. Once this In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase has been completed, the remaining satellites will be installed to reach the Full Operational Capability (FOC) in 2008. The constellation deployment phase will consist in gradually putting all the operational satellites into orbit from 2006 and in ensuring the full deployment of the ground infrastructure so as to be able to offer an operational service from 2008 onwards. GALILEO has been designed and developed as a non-military application, while nonetheless incorporating all the necessary protective security features. Unlike GPS, which was essentially designed for military use, GALILEO therefore provides, for some of the services offered, a very high level of continuity required by modern business, in particular with regard to contractual responsibility. It is based on the same technology as GPS and provides a similar - and possibly higher - degree of precision, thanks to the structure of the constellation of satellites and the ground-based control and management systems planned. In addition, unlike GPS, it will be possible to receive GALILEO in towns and in regions located in extreme latitudes. GALILEO is more reliable than GPS, as it includes a signal "integrity message" informing the user immediately of any errors. Galileo will provide an important feature for civilian use that GPS does not: integrity monitoring. Currently, a civilian GPS user receives no indication that his unit is not receiving proper satellite signals, there being no provision for such notification in the code. However, Galileo will provide such a signal, alerting the user that the system is operating improperly. Galileo specifications called for it to provide precision to within one meter. But GPS only provides a signal with 20 meter accuracy. Some of the civilian service applications offered by the system require great precision, such as applications in an urban environment, emergency calls using the European number 112, the guidance of aircraft and guidance assistance for the blind. Of the five services now proposed for Galileo, Public Regulated Service (PRS) is intended for use by police, emergency workers, and national security services. Like other major European projects such as the Airbus or Ariane, GALILEO is a technological advance likely to revolutionise society in the same way that the mobile phone has done in recent years while also heralding the development of a new generation of universal services. The European Councils at Cologne, Feira, Nice, Stockholm, Laeken and Barcelona all emphasised the strategic importance of the GALILEO program. In road and rail transport, for example, it will make it possible to predict and manage journey times, or, thanks to automated vehicle guidance systems, help reduce traffic jams and cut the number of road accidents. However, although transport by road, rail, air and sea is the example most frequently quoted, satellite radionavigation is also increasingly of benefit to fisheries and agriculture, oil prospecting, defence and civil protection activities, building and public works, etc. In the field of telecommunications, allied with other new technologies such as GSM or UMTS, GALILEO will increase the potential to provide positioning information as well as to provide combined services of a very high level. The role played by satellite global positioning systems is set to grow considerably. The real impact of satellite global positioning on society and industrial development, as is the case for all major technical innovations, will become clear only gradually, even though many practical applications are already possible. While there is no question but that the future of guidance systems involves satellite radionavigation, there are sectors other than the transport sector which are already dependent on this new technology, even if they are not aware of the fact. This is true of the financial sector when it comes to determining the exact time of bank transactions. Some analysts regard satellite radionavigation as an invention that is as significant in its way as that of the watch: in the same way that no one nowadays can ignore the time of day, in the future no one will be able to do without knowing their precise location. After it begins service in 2008, EU officials expect Galileo to generate as much as 9 billion ($11 billion) a year in revenues and create 100,000 jobs. Initial there were some concerns that the Galileo signal might interfere with planned GPS signal upgrades and make it more difficult for the United States to deny precise positioning capability to an enemy in a war zone. Europes plans proceeded apace, eliciting a warning on 02 February 2004 from Charles Ries, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, that failure to find a compromise would be highly corrosive to the transatlantic relationship. The US was particularly concerned by the "M Code Overlay" issue. Under the draft plan put forth by the European Commission (EC), one of the signals for the Public Regulated Service (PRS) would either directly overlay or straddle the new military M Code centered at 1227.6 MHz. The US position was that it was unacceptable for Galileo to overlap the spectrum reserved by GPS system for battlefield applications. The M Code allows US commanders to jam GPS signals to enemies within a radius of 100 to 200 kilometers. The new military (M-code) signal was developed to be spectrally separated from civil signals. The US military had concerns that the Galileo system would put at risk programmed military enhancements to GPS. Without spectral separation, security is weakened. The US wanted to be able to jam Galileo signal in wartime, but the PRS signal at the M-code spectrum cannot be jammed without also jamming the M-code. By February 2004 the US and the EU agreed upon a common open signal definition. The agreed upon signal is a split spectrum BOC (Binary Offset Carrier) 1,1 in lieu of the previously discussed BOC (1.5,1.5) and the BOC(2,2) signal structures which created the "M Code Overlay" issue. On June 26, 2004 the United States and the European Union reached an agreement covering the US Global Positioning System, and Europe's planned Galileo system. The Agreement on the Promotion, Provision, and Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related Applications protects Allied security interests, while paving the way for an eventual doubling of satellites that will broadcast a common civil signal worldwide. The agreement ensures that Galileo's signals will not harm the navigation warfare capabilities of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization military forces. By 2007 the Galileo satellite navigation project was proceeding under its new EU funding mechanism, albeit well behind schedule. Officials expressed frustration at the Byzantine web of EU politics and blatant promotion of contracts for national champions by EU member states, often resulting in expensive redundancies. EADS-Astrium would like to see closer cooperation with U.S. industry on the project, cooperation which has been limited to date due to an attempt to keep the program all European. The Galileo story offers a textbook illustration of the challenges of carrying-out EU projects while satisfying the parochial demands of member states. At least $1.48 billion in public funds has already been spent on the project. Of the remaining $3.5 billion needed to complete the project, $2.4 billion will come from "excess" EU agriculture funds and the rest from EU research, transport and administration budgets. As the main contributor of EU agriculture funds, Germany would have been reimbursed for a large share of those excess funds. On 30 November 2007, EU governments agreed to jointly complete the development of Galileo, with the European Commission setting a December 31 deadline for final approval of the program. Spain was the lone holdout this time, over the location of ground stations. In seeking unanimity, the EU subsequently won Spain's approval with a deal that left open the possibility that a ground station planned for Spain to monitor emergency services on Galileo channels may in the future be made into a full ground control station if Spain pays for the upgrade. The original plans for Galileo only called for two ground control stations: one near Munich and another near Rome. Our EADS contacts confided that even the Rome station was an expensive redundancy, being fully-manned around the clock simply as a "backup" facility in the wake of Italian demands. Assuming the project proceeds as planned, full deployment of 30 satellites should occur by 2013. Only one of Galileo's satellites had been launched thus far, in December 2005. The second satellite missed its launch date toward the end of 2006 after it short-circuited during final testing. The European Commission drafted contracting rules to ensure both large and small companies across the EU would benefit from Galileo. The rules divide Galileo contracts into six segments covering various stages of the project. No single company can be the prime contractor for more than two segments, and prime contractors are obliged to hand over 40 percent of the order value to subcontractors. Our EADS contacts explained that one key change resulting from the new financing model is the way contracts are apportioned. Under the PPP, the European Space Agency (ESA) was responsible for financing and apportioning Galileo-related contracts. The contracts were divided among ESA members according to their contributions to the ESA - while the process was relatively transparent, it was at times complicated (for instance, EADS having to find sub-contractors in small ESA member states like Finland). However, with direct EU funding, contracts would be apportioned by Brussels and administered by the ESA without a direct relationship to contributions from member states -- in theory, a big contributor country like Germany might not get a single contract. While expressing the hope that contracts will be fairly divided, our interlocutors were clearly concerned about the potential for the political manipulation of contracting decisions in Brussels by EU member states. By 2009, Galileo, the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), was in the midst of a 3.4 billion euro identity crisis as political advocates downplay Galileo's advertised role as a pillar of Europe's national security and instead spotlight the system,s civil and economic benefits to the EU. However, industry uniformly saw no civil need for Galileo, emphasizing that their position, navigation, and timing (PNT) requirements are already being met by the US Global Positioning System (GPS). In reality, Galileo's primary importance to the EU is twofold: first, to achieve GNSS independence as a national security measure; and second, to prevent the failure of the EU's largest-ever technical project. It would be politically difficult for the EU to admit this publicly, as the system has always been billed as a non-military civil system and is now being funded by European Community and European Space Agency (ESA) funds. Galileo entered its final phase - Full Operational Capability (FOC) - and with the 3.4 billion euro for this phase's completion in place, the program is, for the time being, in a stable economic position and seemingly unaffected by the financial crisis. However, recent budget and schedule overruns in Galileo's In-Orbit Validation (IOV) phase (the current phase) and delays awarding the FOC phase contracts left the program with absolutely no schedule or budgetary breathing room. Renegotiation of Galileo's IOV phase caused a 358 million euro cost overrun which was eating up a large portion of Galileo's 428 million euro contingency reserve. The inflexible European Parliament-imposed 3.4 billion euro FOC budget and hard 2013 deadline for Galileo completion were looking increasingly unattainable and led some in Galileo circles to suggest a "Galileo-light" version that would offer fewer services and signals in an effort to salvage the program should schedule and budgetary restrictions prove too great to overcome. To this suggestion, Fotis Karamitsos, European Commission (EC) Director-General for Energy and Transport, replied that this would be a mistake and said "in these times of economic crisis we must deliver all Galileo services and signals" and he emphasized their importance to the European downstream applications market. Galileo's Public Regulated Service (PRS) and Commercial Service (CS) are under distress due to lower than expected customer demand and the lack of a robust legal framework. PRS faces additional challenges regarding the mechanics of PRS under civilian control, given that the military is the primary end-user. Particularly important, a frequency overlay between Galileo and China's COMPASS system could degrade localized PRS use if COMPASS signals were jammed by a malicious entity. PRS is an encrypted signal designed to be resistant to interference and malicious jamming and is intended for use by European governmental agencies, including the military (primary) and law-enforcement. CS offers two encrypted signals aimed at market applications in a pay-for service arrangement. Galileo officials were hopeful that the income resulting from its CS will help recapture at least some of Galileo's operational and development costs. The resounding theme from industry was that they are not anticipating a strong demand for Galileo services. Their view is that as far as navigation and location services go, GPS fills the bill. Over 99% of GNSS devices sold today only incorporate GPS's L1 signal for the simple reason that it gives users what they need and keeps costs down. The race is over in mobile phone and GPS won - the GPS L1 signal will remain the paramount signal in the future. The trend in chip manufacturing is to integrate more services on one chip (Blue Tooth, WiFi, L1, FM), not more GNSS signals. There is a small market for increased GNSS integration, particularly in urban areas, but which signal to integrate would be a function of associated hardware cost. Systems like Japan's QZSS regional GNSS and Russia's Glonass are good candidates because the increase in hardware complexity is not significant. However, integration of the Galileo signal would drive hardware costs up by a factor of eight - something not appealing to industry or consumers. Galileo's identify crises was perhaps best summed up by Giuseppe Viriglio, ESA Director of Telecommunications and Navigation, when he stated, "I am afraid that we are building a Ferrari to transport fish - this is not good for the Ferrari nor the fish." Viriglio added, "Galileo is being delivered with the assumption that PRS is a real benefit to the user community, but in my mind there is no market (for PRS)." Viriglio said that because the open market is not asking for Galileo, he personally asked the EU Commission to definitively demonstrate a way that Galileo can be a "real value" to the user community. Galileo had hit the political point of no return but despite all of the budgetary, technical, and schedule obstacles it faces, the EU will probably keep the Galileo train rolling for the time being. Politically, the Galileo program was in a real bind, given the fact that Galileo was always billed as a civilian-only system, yet the only customers championing its completion are from the European military and defense sector. This begged the question: was the EU ready to come clean and simply admit that Galileo is required for national security? The other three major GNSS providers--GPS, Glonass, and COMPASS make no qualms about this and freely admit that these systems are first and foremost for national security. Galileo, the EU satellite navigation program (the European "GPS") and Copernicus, the EU Earth monitoring program, were in decisive phases in 2014. With the launch of six additional Galileo satellites, Europeans would soon be able to enjoy their own satellite navigation system. The progress in both European space programs - Galileo and Copernicus - was announced 28 January 2014 by Vice President Antonio Tajani following a meeting with Jean Jacques Dordain, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the CEOs of five main companies involved: Arianespace, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, OHB and Airbus Space and Defence. As a result of the meeting, all five companies and the ESA expressed their strong commitment to the launch of additional satellites for the two space programs in 2014, as communicated to Vice President Antonio Tajani by the Director General of the European Space Agency. This could allow initial Galileo services to be available, subject to finalising all technical issues, at the end of 2014/beginning of 2015. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Brazil's former president faces new corruption charges Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:46PM Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been confronted with fresh allegations of criminal charges linked to the massive embezzlement scheme at state-owned Petrobras oil company. Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused Lula of taking bribes from the construction giant Odebrecht in the forms of an apartment and land on which to build his Lula Institute think tank in Sao Paulo. Lula "is accused of practicing the crimes of passive corruption and money laundering," the federal prosecutors' service said in a statement. His wife, also, is accused of money laundering. There was no immediate reaction from Lula to the new charges. The Workers' Party founder is already facing earlier charges of corruption and money laundering. He is also on trial for "obstruction of justice. A judge will now have to decide whether Lula should appear in the court on the latest charges as well. Business guru Marcelo Odebrecht, and eight others, have been named alongside Lula in the latest charges, in which prosecutors allege a total of 75 million reais ($22.1 million) in bribes linked to eight Petrobras contracts. Odebrecht's construction company is a major player in the massive embezzlement and bribery scheme at Petrobras. Odebrecht has already been convicted on earlier charges and received a sentence to 19 years in prison. However, he and nearly 80 other executives from his company are currently cooperating with prosecutors in a plea bargain to get reduced sentences. The once hugely popular leftist leader Lula has been described by prosecutors as the "mastermind" of the Petrobras embezzlement scheme. Dozens of politicians have been implicated in the scheme to line their own pockets and boost party campaign funds in exchange for facilitating inflated government contracts related to Petrobras. The current president, Michel Temer, is among those being implicated in the scheme, according to Brazilian media reports. Lula's successor Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office earlier this year. Despite being the target of several criminal charges and numerous court trials, Lula has said he is willing to run for office again in 2018. Polls show that if he participates he would be a frontrunner in the presidential election; however, he lacks the high ratings he enjoyed during his 2003-2010 tenure. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's high sea military drills are routine: spokesperson People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:01, December 15, 2016 Recent drills conducted by the Chinese Air Force on the high seas are regular, routine military activities, an air force spokesperson said Thursday. The overflight is about the mission and responsibility of the Chinese Air Force, and is legitimate, reasonable and justified, spokesperson Shen Jinke said, responding to media reports that warplanes of the Chinese Air Force flew over the South China Sea, Bashi Channel and Miyako Strait. The Chinese Air Force has dealt with various disturbance and tested its blue water war capabilities since it started carying out routine drills on the high seas two years ago, the spokesperson said. Shen said the Chinese Air Force is a strategic military force, and its strategic power should match with its national interests. The Air Force will continue to conduct regular high sea drills and further improve its capabilities in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, Shen added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese sovereignty not a bargaining chip: China's envoy to US Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:26AM China says matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity are non-negotiable, in yet another reaction to comments by US President-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested his administration-in-waiting may want to tie the recognition of Chinese sovereignty on Taiwan to economic and political concessions from Beijing. "Basic norms of international relations should be observed, not ignored, certainly not be seen as something you can trade off," said Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the US, while speaking to the executives of top American companies on Wednesday. "And indeed, national sovereignty and territorial integrity are not bargaining chips. Absolutely not. I hope everybody would understand that," Cui added, in a thinly-veiled message to Trump. The Chinese ambassador stressed, however, that Beijing and Washington needed to work to strengthen their relationship, saying, "The political foundation of China-US relations should not be undermined. It should be preserved." In controversial remarks made to Fox News on Sunday, Trump had said he did not feel "bound by a 'One China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade." The "One China" policy refers to the recognition by other countries of Chinese sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. The US adopted the policy in 1979 and has since been maintaining only unofficial ties with Taiwan. However, Trump earlier took a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, making a major break from US diplomatic protocol and angering China. While tacitly adversarial, Sino-US relations have generally been stable. Trump's openly hostile rhetoric, however, risks alienating Beijing. The Trump drama involving Taiwan has set off a string of stern reactions from China, Ambassador Cui's being only the latest. On Wednesday, a Chinese official warned that a change in the United States' adherence to the "One China" policy would harm bilateral ties between Beijing and Washington. "If this basis is interfered with or damaged, then the healthy, stable development of China-US relations is out of the question, and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait will be seriously impacted," said spokesman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office An Fengshan. During his election campaign, Trump also consistently lambasted China, drumming up headlines with his pledges to slap 45-percent tariffs on imported Chinese goods and to label the country a currency manipulator on his first day in office. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Warns US Against Treating Chinese Sovereignty as 'Bargaining Chip' Sputnik News 16:23 15.12.2016(updated 16:26 15.12.2016) China's Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has issued a firm warning to Washington against jeopardizing the bilateral relations between the countries, specifically referring to US President-elect Donald Trump's recent comments about the US "one China" policy. MOSCOW (Sputnik) On Sunday, US President-elect Donald Trump said he would not be bound by the US "one China" policy regarding relations with Taiwan. Beijing regards Taiwan as its breakaway territory. "Basic norms of international relations should be observed, not ignored. Certainly not something you can trade off. Indeed, national sovereignty and territorial integrity are not bargaining chips. Absolutely not," Cui said, as quoted by the CCTV broadcaster. According to the broadcaster, the ambassador said that the Chinese Foreign Ministry would not let the diplomatic shift of Trump's statement go without consequence. Tensions between the United States and China arose when following the election last month, Trump held a phone conversation with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. The US One China policy, upheld by Washington since 1972, recognizes China and Taiwan as one nation. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement of the North Atlantic Council on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 15 Dec. 2016 Press Release (2016) 184 Issued on 15 Dec. 2016 Today the North Atlantic Council has met to discuss the actions of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. We have invited our partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea to join us in deliberating. Based on our consultations and our growing concern for the matter, the North Atlantic Council issues this statement. The North Atlantic Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the continued development by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, and its inflammatory and threatening rhetoric. We are deeply concerned by the persistent, provocative and destabilizing behaviour of the DPRK, particularly in 2016, and strongly condemn the DPRK's nuclear tests of 6 January and 9 September, and its numerous tests of ballistic missiles and ballistic missile technology in 2016. North Korea's actions are in direct violation of its international legal obligations including relevant UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Resolutions, and are contrary to its own commitments. They seriously undermine regional stability, defy the non-proliferation regime rooted in the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), jeopardize the prospects for lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula and pose an increasing threat to international peace and security. We welcome the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2321 by the UN Security Council, co-sponsored by 50 UN Member States on 30 November. It is essential that the international community rigorously implement UNSCR 2321, 2270 and all other relevant Security Council resolutions, as well as remain prepared to strengthen its responses to the DPRK's provocations to include consideration of further international sanctions and pressure, if necessary. We welcome the commitment of many partners, including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Union, to adopt further measures that will contribute to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. As previously stated at the 2016 Warsaw Summit and during our discussions with the Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Yun in October, we confirm our commitment to lasting peace and achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner. To that end, we urge the DPRK to refrain from further provocative acts. It must abide by its obligations under all relevant UN Security Council resolutions; recommit to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and comply with its Comprehensive Nuclear Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); live up to its commitments in the September 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks; abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner; and engage in credible and authentic talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Australia, Japan, Montenegro, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea associate themselves with this statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Restricted India Tenders for AESA Radars for Home Grown Combat Jet Sputnik News 19:27 15.12.2016 Currently, Indian Air Force does not have any fighters that have new age AESA radar. However, Jaguar's DARIN III version are being equipped with AESA radar by Israel's ELTA. New Delhi (Sputnik) India has issued a global tender for the purchase of about 100 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for its 83 home-assembled light combat aircraft Tejas MK 1. The tender was issued on Wednesday to limited global firms from Russia, France, Israel and the USA. "[A] limited tender was floated by the Aviation Research and Design Centre on Wednesday to five global aviation technology firms and a sixth one is being considered. These firms are from Russia, France, Israel and the US," a highly placed source of Hindustan Aeronautics ltd (HAL) told Sputnik. Aviation Research and Design Centre is one of the 10 R & D centers of HAL, manufacturer of Tejas MK 1. Sources said the company has approached two firms from France and one each from Russia, Israel and the US. "A sixth will also be there but we have not yet decided," says the source but that company may be the Swedish firm SAAB. However, it is not clear whether the radar will be manufactured in India or fully imported in ready-to-install mode. India's Defense Research Development Organization has been locally developing AESA at a cost of $ 67 million since January 2012. It is likely to be completed by May 2019 after a delay of three years. Home-developed AESA radars will be fitted on upgraded version of Tejas MK 2. India announced its first LCA Tejas squadron on in July with two LCA initial operational configuration (IOC) series production aircraft. A further 18 IOC configured aircraft are planned for induction by 2018-19. This will be followed by 20 more aircraft in the final operation configuration (FOC) standard, which are planned for induction from year 2019. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address India Gears Up for Final Trial of Nuke Capable ICBM Sputnik News 17:27 15.12.2016 The first three versions of the Agni missile were basically developed keeping in view of Pakistan's nuclear capability. But Agni IV and Agni V missiles have much larger ranges to deter any threat from China. New Delhi (Sputnik) A day after Christmas, Indian scientists will anxiously await the final trial results of the country's most lethal inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM). Sources told Sputnik that the final trial of 'Agni V' ballistic missile is scheduled for December 26 from the Abdul Kalam Island test facility off the eastern coast of India. The test series constituted three canister-based launches in January 2015. The flights were in open configuration and had validated the missile's parameters. "The launch from a canister, integrated with a sophisticated launcher, was in a deliverable configuration that enables launch of the missile within a very short time as compared to an open launch. It also has advantages of higher reliability, longer shelf-life, less maintenance and enhanced mobility," said the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Sources say that a high level team including the DRDO Chief and Directors of Advanced Systems Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat visited the trial site on Wednesday. After this canister based trial, the missile will enter into user trial. The 17-meter, two-meter wide, three-stage solid-fueled missile is expected to boost India's nuclear deterrence capability. The 50-ton Agni V can carry a payload of 3,300 pounds and is capable of hitting targets over a distance of 5,500-5,800 kilometer. Its range can cover most parts of China, Europe and parts of Africa. Indian scientists have also been working on multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRV) in order to ensure a credible second strike capability. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obama lets Iran sanctions renew without his signature ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Thu / 15 December 2016 / 15:03 TEHRAN (ISNA) - The U.S. President Barack Obama has declined to sign a bill renewing existing sanctions against Iran, but allowed the legislation to become law. The US Senate passed a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) on December 1, sending the measure to the White House for Obama to sign into law, Los Angeles Time reported. The House of Representatives voted 419 to 1 last month to reauthorize ISA, which was first introduced in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry based on accusations that Tehran was pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Under the US Constitution, the president has 10 days after Congress passes legislation to sign it, reject it or do nothing. The White House had said that the US president was expected to sign the bill into law, but Obama did not approve the measure as the Wednesday midnight deadline passed. In a statement late on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president had decided to allow the legislation to become law without his signature. "The administration has, and continues to use, all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions" lifted as part of the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries, Earnest said. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran sanctions bill becomes law without Obama signature Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:26AM US President Barack Obama has declined to sign a bill renewing existing sanctions against Iran, but allowed the legislation to become law, in an apparent effort to alleviate the Islamic Republic's concerns that Washington is backtracking on the nuclear agreement. The US Senate passed a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) on December 1, sending the measure to the White House for Obama to sign into law. The House of Representatives voted 419 to 1 last month to reauthorize ISA, which was first introduced in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry based on accusations that Tehran was pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Under the US Constitution, the president has 10 days after Congress passes legislation to sign it, reject it or do nothing. The White House had said that the US president was expected to sign the bill into law, but Obama did not approve the measure as the Wednesday midnight deadline passed. In a statement late on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president had decided to allow the legislation to become law without his signature. "The administration has, and continues to use, all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions" lifted as part of the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries, Earnest said. Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France as well as Germany reached a landmark nuclear agreement last year, under which Tehran agreed to limit some aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions. The two sides began implementing the deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on January 16. However, members of Congress said they wanted ISA to be extended for another decade to send a strong signal that any US president would have the ability to "snap back" sanctions on Iran. "This administration has made clear that an extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, while unnecessary, is entirely consistent with our commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Earnest said. "Consistent with this longstanding position, the extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is becoming law without the president's signature," he added. "Ensuring the continued implementation of the JCPOA is a top strategic objective for the United States and for our allies and partners around the world," the Earnest statement said. Iran had vowed to respond strongly if the sanctions were renewed, saying they violate the nuclear deal between Iran and the 5+1 group. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran had warned that the approval of the ISA would amount to a breach of the nuclear deal. The Obama administration has expressed reservations about the utility of the legislation, yet American lawmakers argued that renewing the law was critical to maintaining pressure on Iran, claiming that Iran would be unaffected by the renewal, as long as it continues honoring the nuclear deal. US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday he had told Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that "to ensure maximum clarity," the State Department had issued new, redundant waivers exempting Iran from sanctions lifted under the nuclear agreement. "Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act does not affect in any way the scope of the sanctions relief Iran is receiving under the deal or the ability of companies to do business in Iran consistent with the JCPOA," Kerry argued. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Congress Faces 'Grave Consequences' if Iran Deal Terminated White House Sputnik News 22:14 15.12.2016 Congress will have to deal with serious repercussions if lawmakers choose to upend the Iran nuclear deal, according to White House spokesman Josh Earnest. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) Congress will have to deal with serious repercussions if lawmakers choose to upend the Iran nuclear deal, White House spokesman Josh Earnest warned at a briefing Thursday. "This is a message that if the United States Congress blows up the deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, they will have to deal with the grave consequences that ensue," Earnest told reporters. Legislation currently under consideration in Congress would "blow up the deal," the spokesman charged. He said the only reason President Barack Obama didn't veto an extension of the Iran Sanctions Act on Wednesday is that the law comports with US commitments under the Iran nuclear deal. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate approved a 10-year extension of the sanctions law, which affects Iranian development of ballistic missiles and other weapons. In July 2015, Iran and the so-called P5+1 group the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany signed an agreement to maintain the nonmilitary nature of Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement by Secretary Kerry on Renewing Waivers Related to Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act Press Statement John Kerry Secretary of State Washington, DC December 15, 2016 Ensuring the continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is a top strategic objective for the United States and for our allies and partners around the world. The JCPOA makes our nation, and the entire world, safer by verifiably ensuring Iran cannot develop a nuclear weapon. This administration has made it clear that an extension of the Iran Sanctions Act is not necessary either to address activity outside the scope of the JCPOA or to snap back sanctions in the event Iran should significantly fail to perform its nuclear commitments. Even if ISA were to have lapsed, we would continue to have all the authorities we need in place to address those issues. At the same time, we have also been clear that the extension of this law is entirely consistent with our commitments in the JCPOA. Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act does not affect in any way the scope of the sanctions relief Iran is receiving under the deal or the ability of companies to do business in Iran consistent with the JCPOA. The Iran Sanctions Act was in place at the time the JCPOA was negotiated and has remained so throughout the deal's implementation. The administration continues to have all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions, with or without the extension of ISA. I will continue to exercise those authorities, as we committed to do in the JCPOA and have done since Implementation Day almost one year ago. I have communicated to Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and to our P5+1 counterparts that while the existing waivers are unaffected by the extension of ISA's sunset and do not need to be renewed at this time, I have done so today to ensure maximum clarity and convey to all stakeholders that the United States will continue to uphold our commitments under the JCPOA. As I have said before, we are committed to doing our part to ensure that the JCPOA is working for all participants and that the Iranian people feel the appropriate benefits of the deal in order to enhance its long-term viability. As long as Iran adheres to its commitments under the JCPOA, we remain steadfastly committed to maintaining ours as well. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Post-Impeachment South Korean Presidential Race Begins By Brian Padden December 15, 2016 A major South Korean opposition leader declared his intention to run for president on Thursday, if Park Geun-hye's impeachment is upheld in court, and promised to modify some of her hard-line policies on North Korea. Speaking to journalists at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club, Moon Jae-in, a leader of the Democratic Party, South Korea's leading opposition party, said it would be his "great honor" to run as a candidate in the next presidential election. The 63-year-old progressive leader was chief of staff for President Roh Moo-hyun, who reportedly clashed with the Bush administration in the 2000s over his pro-engagement policies toward North Korea. Moon currently leads a prospective field of likely South Korean presidential candidates with a 24 percent approval rating, compared to current U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who is second in the polls with a 19.5 percent rating. The Democratic Party leader is the first contender to declare for the presidency following the December 9 impeachment of Park by the South Korean National Assembly. The stunning and sudden collapse of Park's presidency was caused by allegations that she colluded with her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to force Korean conglomerates to donate nearly $65 million to two dubious foundations. Choi is also being investigated for funneling foundation funds and lucrative side contracts to herself and her friends. The Constitutional Court is reviewing the impeachment motion, a process that can take up to six months. If the court affirms, a new presidential election will be scheduled within two months of the ruling. North Korea Moon said that Park's policies of exclusively using "pressure and coercion" to force the North to give up its nuclear weapons have been a "total failure." He said Seoul needs to pursue a more flexible approach to deal with Pyongyang. "We need [to] have two tracks of measures here. We need to be able to apply some pressure on North Korea, and on the other hand we should also start some discussions and dialogue with North Korea," Moon said. The Democratic Party leader also wants to put on hold the U.S. THAAD missile defense shield that China has denounced as a threatening escalation of American military power in the region. Park, he said, moved too quickly and confrontationally to make this controversial decision. "She should have found a way to diplomatically persuade the concerns of China and Russia, who are worried about the deployment of THAAD in Korea," he said. Moon said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, if it was agreed that the nuclear issue would be on the agenda, and that he would support a deal to freeze the North's current nuclear capabilities, with the understanding that dismantling the nuclear program is the long term goal. U.S. alliance Moon emphasized his support for maintaining the close diplomatic relations and strong military alliance with the U.S. that was fostered under Park, but does not think his more conciliatory approach to North Korea will negatively impact the relationship. On the uncertainly over how President-elect Donald Trump will deal with the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Moon said he expects the strong bi-partisan support in the U.S. Congress for South Korea to continue under Trump. Japan On relations with Japan, Moon wants to renegotiate the 2015 "Comfort Women" deal in which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered "apologies and remorse" for the thousands of Korean women who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese military during both WWII and Japan's colonization of Asia. Tokyo also agreed to donate more than $8 million to the surviving Korean victims. Some of the surviving Comfort Women and supporters in South Korea denounced the apology as informal and insufficient, and rejected informal donation instead of formal compensation for war crimes. "What Japan needs to do in regards to Comfort Women issues is to recognize fully it's legal responsibility and make an official apology. We don't need money," he said. Japan has long maintained that all compensation obligations were legally settled in a 1965 diplomatic treaty normalizing relations between Japan and South Korea. In the 2015 settlement both the South Korean and Japanese government agreed to end the official dispute over the Comfort Women "fully and irreversibly." Youmi Kim contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia's Defense Spending Ensures Stable Security Situation - Prime Minister Sputnik News 12:57 15.12.2016(updated 13:24 15.12.2016) The security and defense situation in Russia is stable thanks to the state's defense spending, among other things, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) In 2015, the Russian national defense spending had a record growth of the post-soviet time, surpassing 28 percent. "When we speak about the growth of government spending on defense, we realize that it is not only for the Defense Ministry and servicemen, but also for the development of the entire country, ensuring its security and defense capability," Medvedev told Russian television channels, commenting on the growth of state defense spending. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Will Respond if NATO Establishes Military Group in Black Sea Sputnik News 12:23 15.12.2016(updated 14:54 15.12.2016) Russia will give an adequate response to the strengthening of NATO's military infrastructure near its borders, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department told Sputnik Thursday. "The bolstering of NATO military infrastructure near Russia's borders will continue and we will respond to it appropriately," Andrei Kelin said. He added that NATO's policy would barely change after US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, however it was very difficult to predict the details of his presidency at the moment. "That's why even if taking into consideration the new US president taking the office, I think that there are no grounds to consider that the decisions [to strengthen NATO's presence in Eastern Europe and in the Black Sea], which are surely confrontational, which imply pressure on Russia, will not be implemented. They will be implemented, NATO's bureaucracy will not allow not to implement them," the diplomat added. NATO's measures aimed at building up its military presence in Europe has a direct impact on Russia's national security, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department told Sputnik. "If we look at the process of the Alliance bolstering its military infrastructure and strengthening of military presence at its eastern flank, it is clear that all these measures directly affect our national security and it will be natural for us to take them into consideration during our defense planning," Andrei Kelin said. He added that Russia would implement proportionate measures to enhance its security in response to new threats from NATO. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address As Many as 99% of ICBMs of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces in Combat Readiness Sputnik News 12:15 15.12.2016(updated 12:17 15.12.2016) The are some 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, 99 percent of which are in the state of combat readiness, the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) said Thursday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) He also said that Russia's Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) will do combat patrolling in new regions in 2017, including the European part of the country. "It is necessary to stress that RVSN will explore new regions of combat patrolling within the framework of exercises in 2017," Col. Gen. Sergey Karakayev told reporters. "At present, the RVSN group comprises some 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads of various power classes. [ As many as] 99 percent of missile launchers are in the state of combat readiness." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Extends Sanctions on Russia By Luis Ramirez December 15, 2016 European Union leaders meeting Thursday in Brussels agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, EU officials said. The one-day summit, which ran late into the evening, capped a turbulent year for the 28-member group as questions loom over the integrity and future of the organization. The decision to extend sanctions on Russia came as no surprise. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said this week that they would support extending sanctions in light of Russia's failure to abide by the Minsk agreements on Ukraine. The decision, to be announced officially in the next few days, came despite growing pressure among investors and energy interests in Europe, including within Germany itself, for sanctions to be rolled back. Analysts said the poor momentum for continued actions to punish Russia had been spurred on by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's stated willingness to work more closely with Russia to resolve conflicts and combat terrorism. Analysts had said the EU would be unlikely to announce any new sanctions against Moscow over Syria, but EU leaders Thursday strongly condemned the Syrian government's Russian-backed assault on parts of Aleppo and called for a halt to the violence. "I have been talking constantly to Russia, and Russia makes commitments that it is not keeping. Now it is time for us to conclude a cease-fire," Hollande told reporters. British exit Among the top challenges looming over the gathering in Brussels was Britain's decision last June to leave the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May was not invited to attend a dinner late Thursday, where an informal discussion on Brexit was on the agenda. May's exclusion from the dinner was one of the first visible signs of the reality that Britain, the EU's second-largest economy, will soon no longer be a part of the bloc. In a statement, May's spokesman downplayed what some observers interpreted as a slight against the British leader. "The fact there is a meeting of the 27 reflects that we are leaving the European Union and, as we embark on that process, we have been very clear that while the U.K. needs to prepare for the negotiations, so, too, do the EU 27. Obviously, a meeting in that format on Thursday evening will give them an opportunity to discuss their approach," the spokesman said. A contentious issue at this meeting was the Netherlands' stance on Ukraine. Dutch voters in April turned down an agreement between the EU and Ukraine to strengthen political and economic ties between Brussels and Kyiv, a deal that many interpret as a first step toward EU membership. EU leaders approved a statement reassuring Dutch voters that the deal would not lead to EU membership for Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bomb blast leaves 4 people dead in Syria's Homs Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:49PM A bomb explosion has rocked Syria's western city of Homs, killing four people and injuring others. State television said in a breaking news alert that a bomb exploded close to a Red Cross center in the Zahraa district on Thursday. "Four civilians were killed and several others wounded, some of them seriously," it added. The mainly Alawite Zahraa neighborhood has witnessed regular blasts since 2011, when the conflict broke out in Syria. Back in September, an explosion at the entrance to the same district left four people dead. Another double bomb attack, which was claimed by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, also killed 57 people in the Zahraa neighborhood in February. The Syrian government controls all but one district in the city of Homs, as well as much of the surrounding province with the same name. The ancient city of Palmyra, also situated in Homs Province, fell to Daesh last week. It was the second time that terrorists seized the city as it was occupied for some 10 months before its liberation in March. The Syrian forces are conducting operations to drive foreign-backed militants out of Palmyra. In a Wednesday interview with the Russian TV channels, Russia 24 and NTV, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the attack on Palmyra was aimed at undermining the importance of the Aleppo liberation. He also vowed Palmyra's recapture, saying, "In the end, as we liberated Palmyra in the past, we will liberate it again. It was under Daesh control and the Syrian army, with Russian support, liberated it. We will do that gain." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Assad congratulates nation on Aleppo liberation Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 1:29PM Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has offered felicitations to the Arab nation on the liberation of Aleppo city from foreign-backed militants amid an ongoing mission to take out the remaining armed men and civilians from the embattled northwestern city. In a video posted on the Syrian presidency's official social media accounts, Assad said the "liberation" was "history in the making and worthy of more than the word 'congratulations'." "What is happening today is the writing of a history written by every Syrian citizen. The writing did not start today, it started six years ago when the crisis and war started against Syria," he added. "I think that after the liberation of Aleppo we'll talk about the situation as ... before the liberation of Aleppo and after the liberation of Aleppo," he said. The message comes amid reports that a convoy of some two dozen vehicles came out of Aleppo's al-Amiriyah district and crossed into the government-held Ramussa en route to the remaining militant-held territory in Aleppo Province's west. A Syrian official source said almost 1,000 people had left eastern Aleppo in the first convoy, comprising women, children and the wounded. Later in the day, a second convoy of 15 buses left the countryside for government-held parts, according to Syrian state television. He said 951 people, including 200 militants and 108 wounded made up the convoy. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 21 buses and 19 ambulances carrying civilians and wounded have left eastern Aleppo. Russia's Defense ministry also announced that the first bus convoy meant to evacuate terrorists was leaving Aleppo's east. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that efforts had started to pull out some 200 wounded people as part of a ceasefire deal. Newly-released drone footage showed buses and ambulances moving into the besieged areas of the city. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the evacuation of 5,000 militants and their family members from eastern Aleppo has begun, the TASS news agency reported. An unnamed Russian military official said the evacuations would be carried out through a 21-kilometer-long humanitarian corridor. Aleppo battle 'almost finished' On Thursday, Russian Lieutenant-General Viktor Poznikhir told a news briefing on Syrian state television that the Aleppo battle has nearly come to an end. The Russian official added that around 3,000 militants had left Aleppo since August, and that 108,000 civilians had been moved to safe parts of the city. Separately, the UN Syria humanitarian advisor said most of the evacuees will go to Idlib Province and others may opt to go to neighboring Turkey. Jan Egeland further estimated that the number of those who have recently fled eastern Aleppo stands at 50,000. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," he added. Elsewhere, the governor of Syria's Hama Province told the official SANA news agency that vehicles were en route to Fua'a and Kafraya, two government-held villages under militant siege in Idlib Province, to evacuate sick and wounded residents. "Twenty-nine buses and ambulances, and medical teams, have been sent to Fua'a and Kafraya to evacuate humanitarian cases and a number of families," Mohamed al-Hazouri said. The mission in the two villages also come as part of the ceasefire deal to evacuate eastern Aleppo. Moreover, an unnamed Syrian source said that buses and ambulances were moving from the Qalaat al-Madiq area of Hama Province towards the two villages, adding that "1,200 injured and sick people and their families will be evacuated." The Syrian so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the evacuees from the besieged villages were expected to be taken to government-held Latakia Province. Militant rockets hit govt.-controlled part of Aleppo Meanwhile, Syrian state-run Ikhbariya television reported that terrorists had shelled a government-controlled part of Aleppo with rocket fire. The Syrian army soldiers and their allies have recently dealt heavy blows to militants in Aleppo, with Syrian state TV saying that the Damascus forces are now in control of 99 percent of the strategic city. The Syrian troops are supported by a Russia aerial campaign against terrorists. Russia's RIA news agency quoted the Defense Ministry as saying that more than 2,000 militants from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have been killed in Syria in the past year. First convoy of evacuees reach al-Rashideen town Later on Thursday, Syrian state television reported that the first convoy of evacuees from militant-held areas of eastern Aleppo had reached the town of al-Rashideen, which is still under control of militants. "Red Crescent vehicles carrying the wounded have arrived, and the wounded will be transferred to... nearby hospitals for treatment," said Ahmad al-Dbis, who heads the unit of doctors and other volunteers coordinating the evacuation of wounded people, AFP reported. Moscow vows peaceful evacuations Meanwhile, the UN Syria humanitarian advisor said Thursday that Moscow has pledged a pause in anti-terror military operations in Idlib as those militants evacuated from Aleppo are on the way to a militant-held zone of the province. "Russians and others assure us that there will be a pause in the fighting... when we assist the evacuation," Egeland said. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on an official visit to Japan, has also promised cooperation with other countries on the Syria issue, AFP quoted a Japanese senior government as saying. Larijani: Aleppo win heralds more victories On Thursday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani offered felicitations to his Syrian counterpart, Hadiyeh Khalaf Abbas, as well as the Arab nation and government on the victories in Aleppo. The top Iranian parliamentarian described the triumph as a "critical juncture" in the Arab nation's fight against Takfiri terror groups and their foreign sponsors. "This achievement would undoubtedly serve as a prelude to greater victories against terrorism and extremism in the region," Larijani said. Hezbollah lauds Aleppo victory The Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement hailed the Syrian army's victory over terrorists in Aleppo. Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah described Aleppo's recapture as a "critical accomplishment," saying the "achievement exposed the size of the international conspiracy to divide Syria at the expense of the Syrian people." Aleppo triumph draws Saudi ire Irked by Syria's recapture of Aleppo, the Saudi ambassador to Egypt and the kingdom's permanent representative to the Arab League, reiterated his country's support for militants fighting against the Damascus government. Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Qattan said on Thursday that Riyadh will continue to shore up the militants until the administration of President Assad is ousted. Qattan also called for an emergency UN meeting over the situation in Aleppo. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Steve Israel, flanked by Steve Horsford & John Ewing, 2 politicians whose careers he ruined Last week we talked about the experience recent congressional candidate-- and long-time North Carolina Democratic political operative-- Thomas Mills had when trying to deal with an imperious DCCC. Much of what the DCCC is crying about what went wrong for them this year are the things Mills was running on-- emphasizing rural working class issues; infrastructure, schools, jobs... a Marshall Plan to "connect small towns and counties to economic centers with pavement and rail as well as with fiber and cell towers." DCCC response: not interested. Yesterday Mario Solis-Marich reiterated his own experience trying to solicit help from the DCCC for a Latina candidate in defeating a crackpot Orange County Republican extremist, Bob Dornan. He wrote that the DCCC was dismissive and told him Latinos don't vote; go away . He did go away-- and his candidate beat Dornan while the DCCC sat watching, jaws agape, stunned. Solis-Marich's point, though, was that that is standard DCCC operating procedure and that they never learn-- not even when they have a Latino as the head of the committee! His story, he wrote, "is one that is experienced over and over again by consultants from African American and Latino communities every congressional election campaign cycle." The current insular state of the DCCC (aka the building) should be no surprise to anyone. The nature of any insular organization is to become more so. The one thing that may come as a surprise to those mainstream political consultants who have suddenly found themselves outside the ever tightening DCCC circle this cycle is that it can get worse. The out-in-the-cold consultants only need ask their Latino and African American counterparts if they want an indication of how chilly it can get outside of 433 Capitol St. Latino and African American Democratic consultants have had the now derided outsider experience for as long as any of us can remember. Just two years ago an independent group, Power Pac, conducted an analysis on the spending patterns at the DCCC and found that the organization that champions affirmative action at the policy level in Congress falls below the standards of vendor diversity met by most big box retailers. Progressives in DC dont need to fly to the Silicon Valley to find a corporate culture that just cant seem to find diverse partnerships. They can walk to one from any Capitol Hill office. The DCCC has continually rejected offers from minority consultants to work with them and innovate the messages and manner they use to reach African American and Latino communities. While the internal excuses are that the vendors fall below the standards of those in their current stable, the committee has done little to nothing to develop minority consultants they are willing to work with. The organization also suffers from real systemic problems in the bidding process that stymie diversity and are not in line with its own mission. One example is that the bidding process used by the national organization does not consider state-by-state political and economic differences. This lack of adaptability has created a situation where vendors from states with more progressive minimum wage policies are forced to compete without any special consideration against vendors from states with conservative minimum wage policies. The outcome is to penalize vendors who pay better wages to their employees, which is contrary to the basic philosophy of the Democratic party itself. There is no no doubt that the DCCC must do better. Currently more and more Latinos are choosing to register as voters with no party preference in states where a serious investment of political and real capital could create a path to congressional relevancy by Democrats. This is not a short-term game. It is a mid-term play that if not taken can lead to all Democrats being left out in the cold. Sinema-- terrible If you're a regular reader here, you already know that we're not fans of identity politics. We hate everything about what EMILY's List, for example, has turned into but there's little doubt in my mind that if candidates were supported based on the quality of their ideas and strength of their character, at least half the members of Congress would be women-- maybe much more. As for the racial component, the DCCC didn't involve itself in the open seat races in CA-44 or CA-46 this year, CA-46, ironically, being the seat Solis-Marich's story was based on. One of the best candidates elected to Congress from anywhere in the country was a small-town mayor who took on Exxon-Mobil when they tried drilling off her city's beaches and she beat them. That was Nanette Barragan and her opponent was one of the bought-and-sold Exxon state legislators. Nanette's a woman and Nanette's a Latina and I'm sure there were people who voted for her because of those qualities. But it's her character, her vision and her experience that saw her peers elect her first freshman class co-president and then regional Democratic caucus whip for Southen California. Down the road in CA-46, Lou Correa is also Hispanic, but he's too busy on K Street trying to line up a flow of the kinds of bribes he got when he was in Sacramento to be worried about being part of a team to stand up for progressive values the way Nanette is. Correa, who immediately joined the Blue Dogs and New Dems and who is likely to quickly distinguish himself as the worst Democrat in Congress-- as he managed to be in Sacramento when he served in the legislature-- is what happens when identity politics goes awry. Congress-- and the Democratic Party-- are filled with garbage politicians: men, women, white, black, Hispanic, gay, straight. In fact-- and this is literal-- among Dems, the very best voting record in Congress is held by a gay Democrat, Mark Pocan (98.95) and the very worst one is also held by a gay Democrat, Kyrsten Sinema (36.63). Syrian govt. soldiers make gains in eastern Aleppo neighborhood Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:12AM Syrian troops have made fresh advances in an eastern neighborhood of Aleppo as part of their offensive to drive out the last remnants of foreign-backed militants from the city. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces had won back half of the Sukkari district, which was among the last areas in Aleppo remaining under the control of terrorists. Syria's state-run television network said government forces are now in control of 99 percent of Aleppo, with militants cornered into a small slither of land. Hundreds of foreign-backed militants have laid down arms in Aleppo since Tuesday, and almost 6,000 civilians have left militant-held districts. Militant evacuation back on track Reports on Thursday said a new agreement has been reached for the evacuation of militants from the last pocket of territory they control in Aleppo. State television said at least 4,000 rebels and their families will be evacuated from the last militant-held districts of Aleppo. Thursday's announcement came after the ceasefire deal, mediated by Ankara and Moscow, unraveled amid fighting the previous day. A source close the government with knowledge of the negotiations said the army "will receive the names of all evacuees," as part of the deal. The source also said the agreement would involve the evacuation of sick and wounded residents of Fuaa and Kafraya, two government-held villages in Idlib province that are besieged by terrorists. The UN Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) said it has received reports that Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and Saudi-backed Ahrar al-Sham terrorists are preventing civilians from leaving east Aleppo. The COI said it had received "allegations of opposition groups preventing civilians from leaving as well as opposition fighters embedding themselves within the civilian population, thus heightening the risk to civilians of being killed or injured." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also said he hoped militants in eastern Aleppo end resistance in the next 2 to 3 days. "I hope that the situation in Aleppo will be resolved in two to three days. [Russia] has created humanitarian corridors [in Aleppo] that have been and are being used by tens of thousands of civilians," he said on Wednesday. The top Russian diplomat added that assurances of safety have been given to militants, who renounce violence, and corridors have also been organized for their safe passage from Aleppo. Also on Wednesday, Syrian army forces launched an operation against a militant position in al-Rastan city in the central province of Homs, killing 17 terrorists and destroying two pick-up trucks. Scores of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terrorists were also killed as army units targeted their gatherings in the Dara'a al-Balad district of the southwestern city of Dara'a, located about 90 kilometers south of Damascus, as well as the town of al-Yadoda. The conflict in Syria, which flared up in March 2011, has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 people, according to an estimate by UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN: Militants using civilians as human shield in Aleppo Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 12:11AM The UN's Commission of Inquiry for Syria (COI) says it has received reports that militants in Syria's Aleppo are preventing civilians from leaving the city and are using them as human shields. The COI released a statement on Wednesday, saying it had received "allegations of opposition groups preventing civilians from leaving as well as opposition fighters embedding themselves within the civilian population, thus heightening the risk to civilians of being killed or injured." The statement noted that the Takfiri Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, and Saudi-backed Ahrar al-Sham terrorists were mostly obstructing civilians' passage from the city. Syrian state TV reports that the Damascus forces are now in control of 99 percent of Aleppo, with militants having surrendered most of their remaining territory. Hundreds of foreign-backed militants have laid down arms in Aleppo in the past 24 hours. Almost 6,000 civilians have also left militant-held districts of the northwestern Syrian city over the past day. Three civilians killed in militant shelling Meanwhile, Aleppo University Hospital was overwhelmed with wounded civilians, including large numbers of children, as militant shelling continued in the city's residential areas. Three people were killed and at least 45 more were injured after militants attacked several neighborhoods in the city. 'Turkey, Russia, Iran to hold Syria meeting' On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara, Moscow and Tehran are set to hold a meeting over resolving the crisis in Syria on December 27. "We are striving to secure a ceasefire throughout the country and for negotiations for a political solution to start," said Cavusoglu. "In this sense, at the end of the month, on December 27 in Moscow, we will hold a tripartite meeting with Turkey, Russia and Iran," he added. Since March 2011, Syria has been hit by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the UN have put the death toll from the Syria conflict at more than 300,000 and 400,000, respectively. This is while the UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan Says 1,150 Evacuated From Rebel-Held Aleppo So Far RFE/RL December 15, 2016 An operation to evacuate a rebel-held neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo began on December 15 under a truce deal brokered by Turkey and Russia. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on December 15 that at least 1,150 civilians and wounded people had been evacuated from eastern Aleppo by nightfall. Syrian state television and activists confirmed that convoys of buses were carrying evacuees from eastern Aleppo to opposition-controlled territory west of the city. The World Health Organization's representative in Syria, Elizabeth Hoff, confirmed that her United Nations organization was involved in organizing the convoys. Syrian state media reported earlier that the evacuation plan called for 4,000 rebels and their families to be evacuated from the remaining rebel-held part of Aleppo as part of the cease-fire deal. Syria's ally Russia said Syrian authorities guaranteed the safety of rebels and their families who will be evacuated. Rebel fighters and civilians had been due to leave eastern Aleppo on December 14, but an earlier truce brokered by Russia and Turkey collapsed. Despite the successful launch of the evacuation operation, French President Francois Hollande criticized Russia for its role in the siege of eastern Aleppo, saying that Moscow had broken a promise to aid trapped civilians. "Russia makes commitments that it is not keeping," Hollande said as he arrived in Brussels for a summit of European Union leaders. "There's a moment where you have to answer with action." Francois Fillon, the conservative candidate seeking to succeed Hollande after a French presidential election next spring, said in Brussels that Western diplomacy has failed in Syria and suggested the way to end the bloodshed would be talks including those responsible for war crimes. "I told European leaders that what we are forced to concede today is that Western diplomacy and in particular European diplomacy has failed," Fillon, a former prime minister, told reporters after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of European center-right parties in Brussels, where an EU summit was also held. He dismissed the option of a U.S. military intervention and said, "The other option is a strong European diplomatic initiative to bring around the table all those who can stop this conflict including those who have committed war crimes today." 'War Crimes' The UN human rights chief said on December 14 that Assad's government and its allies in the war, Russia and Iran, probably committed war crimes by bombing civilians who were hoping to be evacuated from eastern Aleppo when a previous truce deal collapsed. Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein said that "the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and their allies on an area packed with civilians is almost certainly a violation of international law and most likely constitutes war crimes." He also said the Syrian government "has a clear responsibility to ensure its people are safe, and is palpably failing to take this opportunity to do so." Last week, Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution pushed by Western powers and calling for a seven-day truce in Aleppo, Syria's most populous city before the war. Rebels had controlled the eastern part of Aleppo since 2012, but government forces have recaptured most of it in recent weeks. Russia has given Assad crucial military and diplomatic backing throughout the conflict, which began with a forceful government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 and erupted into a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people. Moscow helped turn the tide of the war in the government's favor with a major campaign of air strikes that began in September 2015 and which Western governments say has mainly targeted rebels rather than Islamic State militants. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and dpa Source: http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-rohani -celebrates-syrian-takeover-aleppo-victory- against-united-states-/28177233.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan: Over 1,100 Civilians Leave Eastern Aleppo on First Day of Evacuation Sputnik News 22:40 15.12.2016 More than 1,100 civilians have been evacuated from Syria's Aleppo, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ANKARA (Sputnik) More than 1,100 civilians have been evacuated from Syria's Aleppo to the northwestern city of Idlib on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "Today 1,150 civilians were evacuated from Aleppo, including sick and injured," Erdogan said at a press conference in Ankara as quoted by the NTV television channel. He expressed hope that the next time there would be no obstacles so that women, children and injured people could move to Idlib and receive aid as quick as possible. Earlier in the day, the Russian reconciliation center said it was preparing in collaboration with the Syrian authorities to evacuate militants and their families out of the eastern Aleppo in accordance with Russian President Vladimir Putin's order. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, three convoys with evacuees have already left the city. Over the recent months, Aleppo became a major battleground in Syria with the government troops seeking to liberate the city divided into the western part held by the government and the eastern part controlled by the militants. The Russian reconciliation center said Wednesday only 1 square mile of the city's territory was still under the militants' control. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reservists to Join Army for Protection of Safe Areas in Syria Sputnik News 21:14 15.12.2016 A number of reservists will join the Syrian army to protect the safe areas without participating in fights, a source familiar with the matter told Sputnik on Thursday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, the Russian General Staff said that the Syrian army and popular militia were finalizing the operation on the liberation of Syria's eastern Aleppo from terrorists, pushing the militants from a total of 105 neighborhoods. "A batch of names will be notified to join the army as reservists in order to protect the safe areas, but they will not take part in combats on the frontline," the source said. Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting Syrian opposition groups striving to overthrow the president. Damascus is also fighting numerous extremist and terrorist groups such as the Jabhat Fatah al Sham and the Islamic State, both outlawed in Russia. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 Syrians have died since the beginning of the conflict. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army, Russian Jets Stop Further Terrorists' Advance in Palmyra Sputnik News 17:24 15.12.2016(updated 20:48 15.12.2016) The Russian General Staff said that the Syrian army supported by Russian warplanes stopped further terrorists' advance in Palmyra. Multiple attacks by Daesh terrorists on Palmyra have been repelled, General Staff said. The main fighting takes place near the T4 military airfield and the city of Tiyas. The first deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff Viktor Poznikhir also said that the situation in the Syrian ancient city has stabilized due to the Syrian army's operation with Russia's aerial support. Moreover, Russia is helping Damascus to launch a counteroffensive. "The Syrian troops supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces gace stabilized the situation near the city of Palmyra. Multiple attacks by Daesh militants have been repelled. The main front line is located near the city of Tiyas and T4 airfield. The Russian Federation is helping the Syrian leadership in organizing a counteroffensive on Palmyra," Lt. Gen. Poznikhir said. On Sunday, Daesh recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra in the Homs province. According to various sources, the number of terrorists that took part in the storming of the city reached 5,000 including hundreds of suicide bombers and dozens of armored vehicles. According to the Homs governor, the government forces managed to evacuate some 80 percent of city's civilian population. Earlier, Syrian President Bashar Assad vowed that the Syrian army will retake Palmyra after liberating Aleppo. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN invited to monitor and assist fresh evacuation efforts under way in warravaged Aleppo 15 December 2016 The United Nations was today invited to monitor and assist in the renewed effort to evacuate thousands of sick and wounded civilians and opposition fighters from the remaining rebel-held districts of Syria's war-ravaged city of Aleppo, a senior UN humanitarian envoy announced today. Following today's meeting in Geneva of the Humanitarian Access Task Force of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), Jan Egeland, the UN Senior Adviser on Syria, detailed the UN's three-pronged evacuation plan, a plan he hoped would be "the start of a last and successful attempt of evacuations." The plan includes medical evacuations for the wounded and sick, evacuations for vulnerable civilians, and evacuations of fighters. The agreement was not made on behalf of the UN, but rather through direct talks of the various parties to the Syrian war, he explained. The UN will monitor the evacuations with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Representatives from all organizations are ready to accompany those being evacuated from eastern Aleppo, Idlib, and elsewhere all the way to Turkey and into Turkey, should that be their final destination. According to Mr. Egeland, Russia will also monitor the situation and ensure that the evacuations that follow are "swift, [non-bureaucratic] and non-intrusive" and that those being evacuated would be guaranteed safety. "We all feel strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a 'black chapter' in the history of international relations. It took 4,000 years to build Aleppo, hundreds of generations, yet one generation managed to tear it down in four years. Aleppo, for three thousand years, gave to the world civilization and world civilization was not there to assist the people of Aleppo when they needed us the most." The UN estimates that some 50,000 people have been displaced from east Aleppo, most of who have been assisted through UN relief efforts, but that many remain without humanitarian protection because the UN is unable to move freely in the area. The Organization now has access to relief camps, but conditions are very difficult: space limitations require two families, or 10 to 12 people, to stay together in each room. Mr. Egeland regretted that the UN had not been able to be present when civilians most needed help and noted that some 700,000 people remain in 15 besieged areas beyond east Aleppo. "All of the parties on the ground are guilty of blocking access for international humanitarian workers. I cannot recall a war where this has been such an acute problem in the last generation," he said. Meanwhile, the UN continues to receive reports from al-Waer, Homs, Foua, Kefraya, Madaya, and Shia, where people are prevented from evacuating. Mr. Egeland affirmed the UN's refusal to give up but reiterated that because it has been denied access, it has been unable to bear witness to "atrocities that we know have been committed by all sides in this horrific war, including in east Aleppo." As the UN has not been party to the negotiations, the priority remains to assist civilians. UN vehicles as well as ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) ambulances are ready to respond to people as they are evacuated, but some have had difficulty gaining access due to checkpoints enforced by the Syrian Government. The ISSG has established respective taskforces on humanitarian aid delivery and a wider ceasefire. They have been meeting separately since early this year on a way forward in the crisis. Russia and the United States are the co-chairs of the taskforces and the ISSG, which also comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Assad Hails 'Liberation of Aleppo' as Historic By VOA News December 15, 2016 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday said that history would be made with what he referred to as the "liberation of Aleppo." "What is happening today is the writing of a history written by every Syrian citizen. The writing did not start today. It started six years ago when the crisis and war started against Syria," Assad said in a video posted to his official Twitter account. Assad likened his government's recapture of Aleppo to other historical events, including the birth of Jesus Christ and the fall of the Soviet Union, and said history would be permanently altered. "History is not the same before and after ... I think after liberating Aleppo we will say that not only the Syrian situation, but also the regional and international situation, is different," he said. Assad's comments came after ambulances and green government buses began evacuating wounded and other civilians from the last rebel-held areas of Aleppo on Thursday as part of a new cease-fire expected to last three days. Evacuation attempts had been halted a day earlier due to heavy fighting. The long line of buses and ambulances headed out of besieged eastern Aleppo and into government-held territory before eventually making it to another rebel-held part of the province. The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society said the first evacuees reached the safe zone Thursday afternoon. "Red Crescent vehicles carrying the wounded have arrived, and the wounded will be transferred to ... nearby hospitals for treatment," said Ahmad al-Dbis, who leads the doctors and other volunteers involved in the evacuation. According to the World Health Organization, 21 buses and 19 ambulances were involved in the evacuation. "We saw women and small children on the buses and some men. They were not full. Everything went very smoothly. It was very calm," Elizabeth Hoff, the WHO representative in Syria, told the Reuters news agency. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country is also prepared to accept evacuees from Aleppo. Erdogan, in a televised address Thursday, said Turkey will accept "children, elders, those who are really in difficult conditions." U.N. humanitarian envoy Jan Egeland told reporters he hoped to see the start of a "last and successful attempt" at evacuations from eastern Aleppo, which opposition fighters seized in 2012. He said the operation included medical evacuations of wounded and sick people, other vulnerable civilians, and the rebel fighters. Most of them were bound for Idlib, while others may opt to go to Turkey. More violence was reported early Thursday, with activists and local medical officials saying pro-government forces fired on an ambulance that tried to leave rebel-held territory, wounding at least three people. The final departure of rebels from Aleppo would mark a major victory for Assad. His forces have been pressing a Russia-backed military campaign that accelerated in recent weeks as they captured more and more territory from the opposition. Years of fighting and a government siege have left much of the city in rubble and drawn alarm from the international community and aid groups worried about the thousands of people in need of food and medical attention. Specter of 'war crimes' France called for another emergency session of the U.N. Security Council Thursday to discuss the situation in Aleppo. The purpose of the meeting, according to a letter sent from France to the security council president, is to address "the imperative need to ensure full, immediate, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access and guarantee the evacuation of all civilians in proper conditions." The U.N. body held an emergency meeting earlier this week in which Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon urged the 15-member countries to "do all we can to stop the carnage." U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson publicly called out Russian and Iranian ambassadors after holding separate meetings with the two diplomats, saying they failed to protect civilians in Aleppo and broke international law by failing to allow aid into the city. "They deserve no credit for the fact that an evacuation appears to be underway today. Having inflicted such suffering on the people of eastern Aleppo, Iran and Russia cannot expect praise for allowing some people to escape at the final hour," he said in a statement after the meetings. U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Raad al-Hussein said the resumption of fighting early Wednesday was appalling, and that "the resumption of extremely heavy bombardment by the Syrian government forces and their allies on an area packed with civilians ... most likely constitutes war crimes." Zeid demanded that the Syrian government provide medical aid to Aleppo residents wounded during the bombardment, as required by international law, and said, "The way this deal was dangled in front of this battered and beleaguered population -- causing them to hope they might indeed live to see another day -- and then snatched away just half a day later is also outrageously cruel." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that collects reports about the prolonged civil war, said there were "very intense clashes on every front line," both in rebel-held and government-controlled parts of the city. Casualties were reported on both sides. Genesis of cease-fire Members of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group told the French news agency the new cease-fire deal was reached through negotiations between the Russian military and the Turkish Red Crescent Society. Other reports said Iran, another major supporter of the Assad regime, held up the new cease-fire agreement until it had assurances that evacuations from Aleppo would be carried out simultaneously with the rescue of wounded people in two Shi'ite villages under siege by rebel forces. Abdul Salaam Abdul Razak, a military spokesman for the Nureddin al-Zinki group, said evacuations from the villages in Idlib province were confirmed late Wednesday, assuring the exodus from eastern Aleppo could begin at dawn Thursday. An official of another rebel group, Jabha Shamiya, told Reuters about 1,000 wounded people were expected to leave Aleppo first, and that the entire evacuation could be completed within three days. Trading blame U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at a news conference Thursday chided the Russians for failing to fulfill their stated goal for entering Syria, which was to help in the political transition, and said "a political path" is the only solution that will end the violence in Aleppo. "The Russians came in I'll remind you to Syria saying that they were there to promote precisely that political transition. And they haven't done that. And they also said they were coming in to fight ISIL (Islamic State) and they haven't done that either," Carter said. Russia blamed the rebels for breaking the cease-fire early Wednesday, allegedly by attacking Syrian government positions. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was Syrian government forces who began the attack. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry by phone Wednesday afternoon that the Syrian government was willing to provide a safe exit for civilians and rebel fighters, but the rebels refused to adhere to the cease-fire, according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry. Russian and U.S. diplomats have been gathered in Geneva for several days, discussing a long-term peace deal for Aleppo, but by Thursday morning those conversations had broken down, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. "They have been suspended," Ryabkov reportedly told Russian state news agency TASS. The discussions between the two countries' diplomats had been ongoing since Sunday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan to strengthen ties with U.S, Japan, regional partners: Tsai ROC Central News Agency 2016/12/15 18:46:46 Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () said on Thursday that Taiwan will continue to deepen relations with the United States, Japan and regional partners as it works to promote "across-the-board" cooperation. President Tsai said Taiwan "firmly upholds peace" and has both the will and ability to make a positive contribution to the international community, promote regional peace, stability and world prosperity along with the United States, Japan and other regional partners. Tsai made the remarks when receiving foreign participants from the Taiwan-U.S-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue Conference, an annual event co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taipei-based Prospect Foundation, Washington-based Center for a New American Security and Tokyo-based Institute for International Policy Studies. The key themes discussed were international cooperation on non-traditional security, the outlook for economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region and maritime security in East Asia. Participants included Japanese parliamentarian Keisuke Suzuki and Wendy Sherman, a former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs. (By Sophia Yeh and Lilian Wu) enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address HRW accuses Turkey of 'silencing' media in post-coup crackdown Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 11:12AM Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Turkish government of silencing independent media in an attempt to block scrutiny or criticism of Ankara's large-scale crackdown on dissidents following an abortive July 15 military coup. The New York-based rights group said in a report on Thursday that Turkey's "assault" on critical journalism had accelerated after the putsch and that journalists had described the atmosphere in which they work as "stifling." The watchdog said some 140 media outlets and 29 publishing houses had been shut down since mid-July under post-coup emergency decrees, leaving over 2,500 journalists and media workers without jobs. Accusing Ankara of using the criminal justice system as a tool against the media, the HRW also said the government in Turkey interfered with editorial independence and forced outlets to dismiss critical journalists. "Keeping 148 journalists and media workers in jail and closing down 169 media and publishing outlets under the state of emergency shows how Turkey is deliberately flouting basic principles of human rights and rule of law central to democracy," said Hugh Williamson, the Europe and Central Asia director at the HRW. The Thursday report was based on interviews with 61 journalists, editors, lawyers, and press freedom activists as well as on reviews of court documents. It came after another report by the non-governmental media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) earlier this week, which said Turkey had become the "world's biggest prison for the media profession." The coup began when a faction of the Turkish military declared it was in control of the country. The rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and helicopters and clashed with police and people on the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. Between 200 and 300 people were killed on both sides in the attempted coup d'etat. The state of emergency was first imposed a few days after the putsch bid. It was renewed for another three months in October. Emergency decrees have since extended the period of police detention without judicial review from four to 30 days and allowed the authorities to deny detainees access to lawyers for up to five days. The government in Ankara has launched a sweeping crackdown on those believed to have played a role in the failed coup. It has arrested over 35,000 people and sacked over 100,000 others over suspected links with Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric that Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup attempt. Gulen rejects the charge. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address It was a shock to the Clinton Machine when Bernie beat her in the March 16 Michigan's primary. Bernie took 595,222 votes (49.8%) to Hillary's 576,795 (48.3%). He won 73 of Michigan's 83 counties but she won big in the rich suburbs and the in Detroit. He beat her in all the little working class counties no one outside of Michigan ever heard of-- Cheboygan, Muskegon, Ingham, Eaton, Monroe, Kent, Benzie, Marquette, Jackson, St. Clair, Barry, Livingston, Allegan, Washtenaw, Charlevoix, Kalamazoo... He even beat her in Clinton County (55.8-42.1%). The Clinton Machine blames everyone and everything for Hillary's loss-- FBI Director Comey, Vladimir Putin, sexism, media bias-- except themselves... and ADA. (Bill Clinton is smart enough to blame ADA and he did all along but no one listened to him. We'll get to ADA in a minute.) Wednesday morning Edward-Isaac Dovere did a deep dive into the loss in Michiagn-- a 10,704 seat loss that cost her 16 electoral votes. When the SEIU figured out she was toast in Iowa--which she went on to lose 795,923 (51.8%) to 650,790 (42.2%)-- they decided to put their efforts into Michigan. Clinton campaign headquarters freaked. Dovere: "Turn that bus around, the Clinton team ordered SEIU. Those volunteers needed to stay in Iowa to fool Donald Trump into competing there, not drive to Michigan, where the Democrats models projected a 5-point win through the morning of Election Day." When he said "the Democrat's models projected," he meant Ada. Ada ran the show. "Michigan organizers were shocked. It was the latest case of Brooklyn ignoring on-the-ground intel and pleas for help in a race that they felt slipping away at the end. 'They believed they were more experienced, which they were. They believed they were smarter, which they werent,' said Donnie Fowler, who was consulting for the Democratic National Committee during the final months of the campaign. 'They believed they had better information, which they didnt.'" Odd... no one's talking about Ada. Instead Dovere reminds his readers that "Trump won the state despite getting 30,000 fewer votes than George W. Bush did when he lost it in 2004." [H]eartbroken and frustrated in-state battleground operatives worry that a lesson being missed is a simple one: Get the basics of campaigning right. Clinton never even stopped by a United Auto Workers union hall in Michigan, though a person involved with the campaign noted bitterly that the UAW flaked on GOTV commitments in the final days, and that AFSCME never even made any, despite months of appeals. The anecdotes are different but the narrative is the same across battlegrounds, where Democratic operatives lament a one-size-fits-all approach drawn entirely from pre-selected data-- operatives spit out the model, the model, as they complain about it-- guiding Mooks decisions on field, television, everything else. Thats the same data operation, of course, that predicted Clinton would win the Iowa caucuses by 6 percentage points (she scraped by with two-tenths of a point), and that predicted shed beat Bernie Sanders in Michigan (he won by 1.5 points). Ive never seen a campaign like this, said Virgie Rollins, a Democratic National Committee member and longtime political hand in Michigan who described months of failed attempts to get attention to the collapse she was watching unfold in slow-motion among women and African-American millennials. Rollins, the chair emeritus of the Michigan Democratic Womens Caucus, said requests into Brooklyn for surrogates to come talk to her group were never answered. When they held their events anyway, she said, they also got no response to requests for a little money to help cover costs. Rollins doesnt need a recount to understand why Clinton lost the state. When you dont reach out to community folk and reach out to precinct campaigns and district organizations that know where the votes are, then youre going to have problems, she said. ...Michigan operatives relay stories like one about an older woman in Flint who showed up at a Clinton campaign office, asking for a lawn sign and offering to canvass, being told these were not scientifically significant ways of increasing the vote, and leaving, never to return. A crew of building trade workers showed up at another office looking to canvass, but, confused after being told there was no literature to hand out like in most campaigns, also left and never looked back. Theres this illusion that the Clinton campaign had a ground game. The deal is that the Clinton campaign could have had a ground game, said a former Obama operative in Michigan. They had people in the states who were willing to do stuff. But they didnt provide people anything to do until GOTV. The only metric that people involved in the operations say they ever heard headquarters interested in was how many volunteer shifts had been signed up-- though the volunteers were never given the now-standard handheld devices to input the responses they got in the field, and Brooklyn mandated that they not worry about data entry. Operatives watched packets of real-time voter information piled up in bins at the coordinated campaign headquarters. The sheets were updated only when they got ripped, or soaked with coffee. Existing packets with notes from the volunteers, including highlighting how much Trump inclination there was among some of the white male union members the Clinton campaign was sure would be with her, were tossed in the garbage. The Brooklyn command believed that television and limited direct mail and digital efforts were the only way to win over voters, people familiar with the thinking at headquarters said. Guided by polls that showed the Midwestern states safer, the campaign spent, according to one internal estimate, about 3 percent as much in Michigan and Wisconsin as it spent in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. Most voters in Michigan didnt see a television ad until the final week. Most importantly, multiple operatives said, the Clinton campaign dismissed whats known as in-person persuasion-- no one was knocking on doors trying to drum up support for the Democratic nominee, which also meant no one was hearing directly from voters aside from voters theyd already assumed were likely Clinton voters, no one tracking how feelings about the race and the candidates were evolving. This left no information to check the polling models against-- which might have, for example, showed the campaign that some of the white male union members they had expected to be likely Clinton voters actually veering toward Trump-- and no early warning system that the race was turning against them in ways that their daily tracking polls werent picking up. People involved in the Michigan campaign still cant understand why Brooklyn stayed so sure of the numbers in a state that it also had projected Clinton would win in the primary. ...Brooklyns theory from the start was that 2016 was going to be a purely base turnout election. Efforts were focused on voter registration and then, in the final weeks, turning out voters identified as Clintons, without confirmation that they were. Marshall, at Mooks direction, had designed a plan that until the final weeks was built around holding Pennsylvania and winning just one more state-- electoral math that would have denied Trump the presidency on the reasonable assumption Michigan and Wisconsin were Clintons. There was a logic guided by data, they say. ...On the morning of Election Day, internal Clinton campaign numbers had her winning Michigan by 5 points. By 1 p.m., an aide on the ground called headquarters; the voter turnout tracking system theyd built themselves in defiance of orders-- Brooklyn had told operatives in the state they didnt care about those numbers, and specifically told them not to use any resources to get them-- showed urban precincts down 25 percent. Maybe they should get worried, the Michigan operatives said. Nope, they were told. She was going to win by 5. All Brooklyns data said so. Kiev agrees to release 15 imprisoned pro-Russia forces Iran Press TV Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:19PM The Ukrainian government has agreed to release over two dozen prisoners it captured during the fighting in the country's east in an effort to set the stage for prisoner swap with the pro-Russia forces active in the restive region. "Ukraine is handing over 15 people on a list of 228 people... in order to unblock the process of freeing the hostages," lawmaker Iryna Gerashchenko, who oversees humanitarian issues at truce talks, told reporters on Thursday. Some of the 15 are seriously ill or elderly, and six of them are women, she said. "This is a gesture of humanism and goodwill," she later said in a Facebook post, adding that Kiev demanded the release of all prisoners held by pro-Russians in the country's east. Ukraine claims more than a hundred servicemen are being held by pro-Moscow forces in the mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. The last prisoner swap between Ukraine and pro-Russia forces took place in September when two government forces were exchanged for four pro-Russia forces. Gerashchenko further said the prisoners will return home ahead of the next round of peace talks, which are scheduled to resume in the Belorussian capital of Minsk next week. The peace talks aim to bring an end to the conflict which has claimed some 10,000 lives since 2014. Donetsk and Lugansk have been the scene of deadly clashes since the Ukrainian army launched its military operations in April 2014 to crush protests there. The Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine demand greater autonomy from Kiev. Kiev and its Western allies claim Moscow is the fueling the crisis in eastern Ukraine, but the Kremlin rejects the accusation. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU Deal Aims for Closer Ties With Ukraine By VOA News December 15, 2016 European Union leaders on Thursday agreed to a compromise with representatives from the Netherlands that will allow increased cooperation and trade with Ukraine. The Netherlands is the only country that has not ratified a so-called association agreement between the EU and Ukraine that would help the country achieve closer relations with the West. In 2014, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power after he tried to do away with the deal and massive amounts of protesters took to the streets in opposition to his actions, which were seen as a way to more closely align Ukraine with Russia. In response to the removal of Yanukovych, Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula and supported a separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine, which has so far killed almost 10,000 people. Russia 'an increasing risk' Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters prior to the EU meeting it is imperative that the Netherlands now ratify the agreement as a way to combat increasing Russian influence in Europe. "Russia is an increasing risk, look what happened in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, and rockets being placed between Poland and Lithuania. You cannot, as the Netherlands ... break this unity. That is why I'm so motivated to get this done," he said. Rutte now will put the agreement up for a vote by lawmakers in the Dutch parliament. Dutch voters voted to block the agreement during a referendum vote in April 2015, but if lawmakers agree to enact the compromise it would override that vote. Sanctions against Russia to continue EU leaders also agreed Thursday to extend economic sanctions against Russia as punishment for the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The sanctions will extend for another six months into mid-2017. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address December 2016 by NordVPN 2016 has been the toughest year ever in online security, with multiple big-scale hacks throughout the year. To name just a few famous incidents of this year, over 100 million LinkedIn and 360 million MySpace accounts were breached , 15 million Iranian users of Telegram messaging app got their accounts hacked into, $80 million dollars were stolen by hackers from Bangladesh Bank, and U.S. Democratic Party systems were hacked into during the election. Most recently, Yahoo reported its biggest hack in history with over 1 billion accounts compromised. If big organizations with sophisticated security systems can be broken into, what about any ordinary iPhone user? All digital devices, if unprotected, become one of the easiest data breach targets for an average hacker. By hacking into iOS or any other device, criminals are able to access personal bank account data, credit card passwords, name, address, social media accounts and so on. In 2016, over a billion of personal records got accessed illegally. When someones identity is stolen, their money could be taken off their checking account or credit card at any time. Worst of all, most victims of identity theft are left to take care of the debts incurred, and to deal with a ruined credit. So how can users protect themselves and what will be the hottest security apps for iOS in 2017? Signal is an encrypted messaging and voice calling app that provides end-to-end encryption to secure all communications. The app can also verify the identity of people one is messaging with and the integrity of the channel they are using. When texting with non-Signal users, one has an option to invite them to an encrypted conversation via Signal. Tor Messenger is as an encrypted messenger created by the makers of Tor, the worlds most popular encrypted Internet browser, synonymous with the dark web. Tor Messenger is a cross-platform chat app that is secure by default and sends all messages over Tor Network. The app supports a good number of transport networks, such as IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Yahoo, and others, and enables Off-The-Record (OTR) messaging - a safe and encrypted way to have private conversations - over Tors network of computers for greater anonymity. NordVPN (Virtual Private Network provider) is a must-have encryption app. A VPN encrypts the data shared across the Internet, and is the best security mechanism to ensure the Internet traffic remains confidential. NordVPN has a reputation of focusing on security and having a zero logs policy, is fast and easy to use. The developers at NordVPN have launched a powerful new VPN app for iPhone that is also intuitive and good-looking. The new iOS app re-routes and encrypts all Internet traffic making the connection private and secured while using top of the line security protocol IKEv2/IPsec. Norton Identity Safe gives you freedom from remembering passwords: it saves all user names and passwords on iPhone and iPad and syncs them across devices. Secure passwords can be created within the app. The app also allow for faster checkout as fill ins forms with the users bank information. The ZeroEmail App is a self-learning email app created to organize the inbox by relevance or importance. It has an original card-style format that allows for single swiping, making it quite fast and easy. Zero does not store messages and personal information on remote servers, meaning it all stays on the phone, so its perfect for those who dont believe in storing their information on a cloud. Keeply is a spy-level app for an average user. It stores a users private moments and data - pins, credit cards, notes, photos and videos - right on the phone. Keeplys provides a Fake Pin feature, which is alternate password that the user can give to their nosy friends or family - when they enter it, the app shows an empty application. Face-down Lock, on the other hand, causes Keeply to close immediately when its placed face down. It can also take a photo of anyone who enters a wrong pin into the phone. Best of all: nothing ever leaves the phone. Secret Calculator is another app for storing users private photos, videos, notes, contacts and other sensitive data behind an innocent-looking calculator app. Avira Mobile Security is a must to find a lost phone or to make sure the phone hasnt been compromised. It also scans address book to make sure if all contacts are safe, checks OS to ensure the system is updated, uses location tracking on up to 5 devices and more. LockItUp app allows to simply lock a PC or Mac from anywhere by using iPhone. Its all cloud-based, so theres no need to be on the same Wi-Fi or network for it to work. The app runs in the background quietly and consumes very little CPU. Best Phone Security Pro is an app that will ring an alarm as soon as someone unauthorized touches the device. The user can choose the lock option: Touch ID, pattern lock or passcode lock. You can even record your own alarm sound. Its becoming increasingly important to make sure that all digital devices, whether used privately or by company, are as secure as possible. Just as we protect our homes with locks and security systems, fielding potential intruders, we should make sure our devices are also properly protected especially because these days, most of the valuable information is stored online. Besides security and privacy apps, everyone should use common sense when sharing information on their devices, encrypt when using public Wi-Fi and always use strong passwords. Alan Burkitt-Gray speaks to Don MacNeil, chief operating officer of GTT, about its company restructuring after coming out of Chapter 11 and its strategic roadmap for the next 12 months. The day will consist of a series of 6 high-level conferences addressing issues relating to renewable energy and just transition. A fire caused by unattended cooking damaged a home and displaced residents on Paxton Street Thursday morning. The Danville Fire Department was dispatched for a house fire at 1254 Paxton St. at 8:51 a.m., Battalion Chief Brian K. Alderson said in a news release. The occupant reported a fire in the kitchen, and arriving firefighters found moderate smoke conditions upon entering the house. The fire was located in the cabinets over the stove top. It was quickly controlled and did not extend beyond the cabinets, according to Alderson. Damage to the kitchen was moderate with light smoke damage throughout the house. There were no injuries. The occupant and her daughter will stay with family until repairs are made to the house. Unattended cooking kitchen fires are the No. 1 cause of house fires in Danville and the United States, according to a fire department news release. The fire department responded with three engines, a ladder and three support vehicles; 16 personnel were on scene for 90 minutes. The Danville Police Department., Danville Life Saving Crew and Danville Water & Gas assisted on the scene. CHATHAM Pittsylvania County Circuit Court Judge James Reynolds said being a police officer is a job people shy away and run away from. For 25 years, David Miller Frizzell worked as an officer with the Reidsville, North Carolina, Police Department. But last October, Frizzell drunkenly staggered, aimed and fired multiple shots at Pittsylvania County sheriffs deputy Jason Woods. On Thursday, Reynolds upheld a Pittsylvania County jurys recommended sentence of 23 years in prison for the 52-year-old Frizzell. Frizzell was convicted on Sept. 22 of attempted capital murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. While Pittsylvania County Commonwealths Attorney Bryan Haskins made his final argument, a family member of Frizzells stood up to leave. As she left the courtroom, she was heard saying there was no evidence Frizzell shot his weapon. You shot the gun, she told Woods, who was sitting on the last row. During his statement to the court, Frizzell said I dont believe justice was served. He said he did not know Woods by his first name and had no reason or any motive to shoot the deputy. The idea that I had any malice toward Woods is inaccurate, Frizzell said. On the evening of Oct. 30, 2015, Frizzell and his girlfriend, Juanita Haley, were in a white Nissan Xterra that was seen driving recklessly near Mosco Road in Axton. Frizzell was sitting in the passenger seat when Woods conducted a traffic stop on their vehicle. I was not aware of what happened that night, Frizzell said. He had been heavily drinking. I do not know if I fired shots at the deputy, he said in court. The evidence was that you did fire, Reynolds said, adding that Frizzell emptied the pistol. Woods was not shot during the incident. Frizzell was injured, suffering a gunshot wound to his leg. John Light, Frizzells attorney, said the jury thoroughly explored all options for Frizzells conviction, and came back with the minimum sentence. Light said the jury wouldve considered a lower sentence had they been allowed by law. Frizzell is a good man, and presented close friends and family members testimony as evidence of that. Jimmy Hutchins, a recently retired Reidsville police officer, said Frizzell was a professional at all times. The facts of the case were extremely inconsistent with the man he knows, Hutchins said. Denise Frizzell testified her older brother was extremely proud of being a police officer. She noted how 10 members of his family were in the courtroom on Thursday morning. They were visibly shaken when Reynolds upheld the jurys recommended sentence. DENVER; December 15, 2016 - Intrepid Potash Inc. (NYSE:IPI) ("Intrepid") today announced it has engaged Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. ("Cantor Fitzgerald") to assist in assessing potential strategic alternatives available to Intrepid. "Cantor Fitzgerald brings to the table significant mining and minerals experience and a global full-service investment banking suite that can assist us throughout the process of evaluating our alternatives and pursuing a thoughtful path forward," said Bob Jornayvaz, Intrepid's Executive Chairman, President and CEO. "We look forward to working with the experienced Cantor Fitzgerald team as we prudently evaluate the strategic alternatives available to us." Intrepid had previously agreed with its noteholders, pursuant to the terms of an Amended and Restated Note Purchase Agreement, dated October 31, 2016, to engage a nationally recognized investment bank to assess, evaluate and assist in pursuing potential strategic alternatives available to Intrepid, as determined to be appropriate by Intrepid. These potential strategic alternatives could include, but are not limited to, continuing its current operating plan, equity offerings or balance sheet restructurings, merger and acquisition opportunities, partnership or joint venture opportunities, entering into new or complementary businesses or a sale of Intrepid or some or all of Intrepid's assets. There can be no assurance that this evaluation will result in any transaction. Intrepid has not set a timetable for the completion of the strategic review process and does not intend to discuss or disclose further developments related to its evaluation unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific action or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate. About Intrepid Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) is the only U.S. producer of muriate of potash and supplied approximately 9% of the country's annual consumption in 2015. Potash is applied as an essential nutrient for healthy crop development, utilized in several industrial applications and used as an ingredient in animal feed. Intrepid also produces a specialty fertilizer, Trio, which delivers three key nutrients, potassium, magnesium, and sulfate, in a single particle. Intrepid serves diverse customers in markets where a logistical advantage exists; and is a leader in the utilization of solar evaporation production, one of the lowest cost, environmentally friendly production methods for potash. After the idling of its West mine in July 2016, Intrepid's production comes from three solar solution potash facilities and one conventional underground Trio mine. Intrepid routinely posts important information, including information about upcoming investor presentations and press releases, on its website under the Investor Relations tab. Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll on the Intrepid website, www.intrepidpotash.com to receive automatic email alerts or Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings. Forward-looking Statements This document contains forward-looking statements - that is, statements about future, not past, events. The forward-looking statements in this document relate to our engagement of an investment bank to assist in assessing potential strategic alternatives. These statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are uncertain. The particular uncertainties that could cause Intrepid's actual results to be materially different from its forward-looking statements include the following: the Company's evaluation and assessment of potential strategic alternatives and any possible outcomes of that assessment; the Company's ability to consummate any strategic transaction on favorable terms or at all; the Company's ability to comply with the revised terms of its senior notes and its revolving credit facility, including the covenants in each agreement, to avoid a default under those agreements; the Company's ability to successfully execute on its plans to transition the Company's sales model after the idling of the West facility and the transitioning of the East facility to Trio -only production; -only production; adverse impacts to the Company's business as a result of its independent auditor having expressed substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern due to the existence of a material uncertainty; changes in the price, demand, or supply of potash or Trio /langbeinite; /langbeinite; the costs of, and the Company's ability to successfully construct, commission, and execute, any of its strategic projects; declines or changes in agricultural production or fertilizer application rates; further write-downs of the carrying value of the Company's assets, including inventories; circumstances that disrupt or limit the Company's production, including operational difficulties or variances, geological or geotechnical variances, equipment failures, environmental hazards, and other unexpected events or problems; changes in the Company's reserve estimates; currency fluctuations; adverse changes in economic conditions or credit markets; the impact of governmental regulations, including environmental and mining regulations, the enforcement of those regulations, and governmental policy changes; adverse weather events, including events affecting precipitation and evaporation rates at the Company's solar solution mines; increased labor costs or difficulties in hiring and retaining qualified employees and contractors, including workers with mining, mineral processing, or construction expertise; changes in the prices of raw materials, including chemicals, natural gas, and power; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain any necessary governmental permits or leases relating to current or future operations; declines in the use of potash products by oil and gas companies in their drilling operations; interruptions in rail or truck transportation services, or fluctuations in the costs of these services; the Company's inability to fund necessary capital investments; and the other risks, uncertainties, and assumptions described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for the Company's management to predict all risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements the Company may make. All information in this document speaks as of the date of this release. New information or events after that date may cause our forward-looking statements in this document to change. We undertake no duty to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to conform the statements to actual results or to reflect new information or future events. Contact: Brian Frantz, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer Phone: 303-996-3023 Email: brian.frantz@intrepidpotash.com This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Intrepid Potash Inc. via Globenewswire Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 16, 2016) - DNI Metals Inc. (CSE: DNI) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company"). DNI completes a Letter Of Intent "LOI", with Cougar Metals to develop DNI's Vohitsara, Madagascar Graphite Project. Cougar owns 8 drill rigs, and has competence to complete a 3,000m drilling program, a 1,000m trenching program, a NI 43-101 resource study, and a NI 43-101 PEA for DNI's Vohitsara Project. As per the LOI, this work should be completed by June 30, 2017. Summary of the $4.5 million potential. Cougar pays DNI Cash payments of A$300,000 Cougar pays Cash payment of U$150,000 (approx. C$196,000) to previous owner of the Vohitsara project (last payment owed by DNI) When Cougar completes the drilling/resource/PEA, (by June 30, 2017), Cougar will earn 49% of the Vohitsara project. DNI's board had set a budget of C$1.5 million to complete the drilling/resource/PEA. If DNI opts out of its first right, Cougar can purchase DNI's remaining 51% for AUD$2.5 million. The specific terms of the deal are below. Cougar's directors believe the greatest strength of the Toamasina Saprolitic Graphite Project lies in its ability to deliver a high quality product with a low cost base into an existing market. With over a century of supply history, coarse flake graphite concentrates from the Toamasina area of Madagascar are well known in the global end-user market and the Toamasina project is ideally suited to capitalize on this existing 'brand awareness'. It is expected that the Toamasina Saprolitic Graphite Project can be placed into production with modest capital costs and can cost effectively expand to meet the demand for its product. Vohitsara Saprolitic Graphite Project The Project is located in east central Madagascar, approximately 50 km south-southwest of the deep-water port city of Toamasina and approximately 50km North of Bass Metals' operating Loharano graphite mine. Location Map of Madgascsar Saprolitic Graphite Project To view an enhanced version of the Location Map of Madgascsar Saprolitic Graphite Project, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1803/24136_a1481896076869_35.jpg Mineralisation has been identified over a combined 3km strike length from visual examination of near surface samples (< 1m from surface). The mineralisation follows a distinct ridge in the area varying in elevation from 40m to 110m AMSL. Access to the initial area of interest is by way of a 1.8km unsealed track leading from the main highway between the port city of Toamasina and the country's capital Antananarivo. The turn off is located 55km by road from the port city of Toamasina. Toamasina is the largest port in the country and is considered the commercial capital of Madagascar. The city and port have been developed extensively since 2008 by major infrastructure investment on the part of Sherritt; who with its partners, have developed the U$8.0Billion Ambatovy HPAL lateritic nickel-cobalt mine 200km inland from Toamasina. Mineralisation has been mapped along a 3km ridge within the project area. Small pits less than 2m in depth were dug to inspect for mineralisation, which is easily identified visually on account of the high % content of large flake graphite. This confirms the potential of the project to host a long-life / low-cost mining operation. Mineralisation most often occurs on topographic highs and generally within 1m of surface; significantly reducing costs associated with pre-stripping for mining. The Toamasina Lateritic Graphite Project is particularly well located, with access being just 55km from the major port city of Toamasina via a sealed road. This proximity to a port and the infrastructure of a major city, will result in significantly lower construction and operating costs than would otherwise be the case. Work to Date Madagascar has supplied high quality graphite for the international market for over 100 years. In particular, the Toamasina-Brickaville belt; in which the Vohitsara project is centrally located, is well known for the high purity and larger flake-size distribution of its graphite concentrates. The Project area has been subjected to historical artisanal mining in the period between WW2 and 1960 (end of French colonial rule). Visual estimates from site inspection and anecdotal reports from indigenous personnel put this production at just under 100,000T of material. A trenching and limited surface sampling and test pitting program was conducted on the Toamasina Project in 2015, with 4 trenches located within the identified corridor of mineralisation. Trenches were targeted from field observation in conjunction with man-portable ground EM and magnetics along cut lines (using GPS control). Results are shown in Table 1 following: Table 1: Sampling & assay data from the main trend at the Graphite Project: Cannot view this image of Table 1: Sampling & assay data from the main trend at the Graphite Project? Please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1803/24136_a1481896077213_27.jpg Flake Size distribution: Initial screening testwork performed on selected grab and trench samples from the project area returned very encouraging results as shown in Table 2 below: The graphitic carbon content is that of a simple concentration of graphite prior to any secondary upgrading (re-grinding) of the graphite material. Table 2: Summary of initial screening test work on Toamasina Project graphite flake To view an enhanced version of Table 2: Summary of initial screening test work on Toamasina Project graphite flake, please visit: http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1803/24136_a1481896077369_87.jpg Terms Payment of AUD $100,000 that was been received by DNI. Subject to the preparation of a Definitive Agreement Payment of AUD$200,000 by March 15, 2016 or within 10 days of Cougar raising AUD$500,000. Complete a drilling program, a resource study and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in accordance with NI 43-101 by June 30, 2017 Cougar to make payment on behalf of the vendor of USD 150,000 on June 12, 2017 unless Cougar has withdrawn from the agreement by April 12, 2017. Upon the conclusion of the PEA one of the four following scenarios will eventuate A 50/50 Joint Venture shall be formed should DNI secure offtake agreements allowing the construction of a 10,000 tpa plant failing which Cougar shall acquire 100% of the Project by payment of AUD 2.5M to the vendor failing which The Vendor shall acquire Cougar's interest by payment to Cougar of AUD 2.5M or Cougar shall retain a 49% interest in the project. A LOI has been executed between Cougar and DNI.The key the terms of the LOI are:A formal agreement will be prepared to document the terms of the LOI. Cougar Metals The Company also operates a mineral drilling business in Brazil providing surface diamond, reverse circulation and RAB drilling services to the Brazilian mineral resource industry. The Company currently operates a fleet of 9 rigs. In August 2016, Cougar executed a LOI to acquire an 85% interest in the Ceara Lithium Project, located in north-eastern Brazil. The Project comprises 35 tenements (granted and applications) with an area of ~60,000Ha covering the historical lithium mining centre at Solonopole and an area encompassing the Cristal pegmatite swarm. In addition, Cougar holds an option to acquire a 51% undivided interest in the Shoal Lake Gold East Project, located in the Shoal Lake region of Ontario, Canada; an area containing a number of past gold producers and significant exploration results. Work on the Project is suspended pending the Project vendor complying with arbitration orders. In Australia, the Company holds the laterite nickel and cobalt mineral rights to the Pyke Hill prospect located 40km east of the Murrin Murrin Nickel operations in Western Australia. The prospect contains a Measured and Indicated Resources of 14.7mt @ 0.9% Ni and 0.06% Co. (March 2008). Brian Howlett has resigned as interim CFO, to pursue other opportunities. Dan Weir will take the position as interim CFO, until a replacement has been found. DNI would like to thank Brian for all his support, and wish him well in his future endeavors. DNI Canadian Securities Exchange DG7N Frankfurt DMNKF - OTC Issued: 39,724,204 For further information, contact: DNI Metals Inc. Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195 DanWeir@dnimetals.com Also visit www.dnimetals.com We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement may include forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&As, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website. At the recent Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, Ministerial meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaffirmed that "[w]e advance the security and prosperity of our citizens when we advance the timeless principles that are at the heart of the OSCE." These principles include democratic governance and the rule of law, anti-corruption, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every state, the dignity of each individual, and an unflinching stand against anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Christian bigotry and intolerance of any kind. The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine and the Russian occupation of Crimea are of particular concern. It is in the interest of all to end the suffering and the stalemate, and that is why the United States continues to support France and Germany in their efforts as mediators within the Normandy format. The United States strongly backs the Trilateral Contact Group of the OSCE, Ukraine, and Russia and renews its call for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. At the same time, Russias ongoing aggression in eastern Ukraine and occupation of Crimea must not obscure the longer-term challenge that Ukraine is tackling: the task of building a healthy democracy. And the fight against corruption and for reform is what the people of Ukraine rightly recognize as the decisive battlefield. "Their determination to live in a democratic society governed by the rule of law," said Secretary Kerry, "demands our support." There are other conflicts in the OSCE that still fester, including between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in Moldova and Georgia. In too many places in the OSCE region, there has been a rise of authoritarian thinking, accompanied by backsliding on human rights, restrictions on independent media, a spike in acts of intolerance and hate crimes. "Bigotry, repression, and the silencing of dissent cannot become the new normal for any of us," said Secretary Kerry. "Every chip away at the fundamentals of freedom is actually an ugly building block in the road to tyranny." A free press, religious liberty, political openness, transparency in governance, and a flourishing civil society are the signs of a thriving nation. When people and institutions are denied these rights, the OSCE will continue to speak out. VANCOUVER, Dec. 16, 2016 - Mirasol Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: MRZ, OTCPK: MRZLF "Mirasol") is pleased to announce additional encouraging intersections of Au+Ag mineralization from Phase II drilling of the Curahue Trend at Mirasol's Claudia project in Santa Cruz Province Argentina. Exploration is being managed by Mirasol's Joint Venture partner Cerro Vanguardia S.A. (CVSA, 92.5 % owned by AngloGold Ashanti, the controlling shareholder, and 7.5 % by Fomicruz S.E., the Santa Cruz provincial mining company), which owns and operates the adjacent multi-million ounce Cerro Vanguardia Au+Ag mine. Seven reverse circulation (RC) holes and 21 diamond drill core (DDH) holes totaling 3,886 metres have been completed, constituting the Phase II drilling within the "Io" Vein Trend, a campaign which complements Phase I drill results reported in July this year (see news release July 26, 2016). The "Io" Trend is a 2 km long zone of epithermal veining and is one of six such trends (including Europa, Sinope, Callisto, Ganymede and Themisto) that define the 15 km long Curahue prospect, which is one of a number of Au+Ag prospects identified within the large Claudia project (Figure 1). The phase II drilling at "Io" Trend (Table 1) intersected Au+Ag mineralization along a 2.2 km portion of the "Io" vein zone suggesting the presence of a large precious metal system at the prospect. As with the Phase I drill results (Table 2), the better grades and mineralized widths for the Phase II drilling are concentrated at the northwest end of the "Io" Vein Zone (Figure 2), defining a 600 m long body of mineralization. Preliminary interpretations of the shape of the body suggests mineralization remains open to the northwest and southeast. Assay results from Phase II drilling (Table 1) show 0.6 to 1.8 m wide zones of higher-grade Au+Ag within a broader zone of lower-grade mineralization that ranges in width from a few metres to a maximum true width of up to 60 m wide. Au+Ag mineralization reports to a large zone of mapped and drill-intersected low sulphidation epithermal veins and veinlet halos. The mineralization shows variable Ag:Au ratios but is often silver-dominant with Ag:Au ratios in some intersections exceeding 1,000:1. To assist in visualizing the Au+Ag assay results, they are presented as both Au and Ag assays and as an AuEq60* (Au equivalent) value. Selected higher grade intervals from the Phase II drilling include: 0.6m at 11.72 g/t Au and 1,224 g/t Ag (0.6m at 32.13 g/t AuEq60) 1.0m at 5.59 g/t Au and 199 g/t Ag (1.0m at 8.92 g/t AuEq60) 0.6m at 1.48 g/t Au and 1,448 g/t Ag (0.6m at 25.62 g/t AuEq60) Selected broader intervals of lower grades, at 0.3 g/t AuEq60 cut off include: 16.3m at 0.75 g/t Au and 75.9 g/t Ag (16.3m at 2.01 g/t AuEq60) Including 2.2m at 2.89 g/t Au and 135.8 g/t Ag (2.2m at 5.15 g/t AuEq60) Including 2.2m at 2.89 g/t Au and 135.8 g/t Ag (2.2m at 5.15 g/t AuEq60) 15.9 m at 0.52 g/t Au and 77.2 g/t Ag (15.9 m at 1.81 g/t AuEq60) Including 3.9m at 1.90 g/t Au and 166.3 g/t Ag (3.9m at 4.67 g/t AuEq60) Including 3.9m at 1.90 g/t Au and 166.3 g/t Ag (3.9m at 4.67 g/t AuEq60) 9.3m at 1.40 g/t Au and 134.6 g/t Ag (9.3 m at 3.65 g/t g/t AuEq60) including 3.0m at 3.16 g/t Au and 332.6 g/t Ag (3.0m at 8.71 g/t AuEq60) Mirasol's preliminary cross section interpretations (Figures 3 and 4) shows a "pinch and swell" shape to the mineralized zone, typical of epithermal veins. These mineralized shoots within the vein zone, can develop both along strike and down-plunge depending upon the sense of movement (displacement) along the vein-controlling structure. At "Io" the mineralized zone can be unusually wide reaching interpreted maximum widths of up to 60 m. Mineralization starts within a few metres of surface, as bedrock is covered by thin, unconsolidated post-mineral gravel cover, and has been tested to depths of 135 m below surface. The preliminary interpretation of the "Io" Zone suggests the mineralized body may dip at between 60 and 80 degrees to the southwest. The daylighting nature, broad width and interpreted cross sectional form to the "Io" mineralization could make portions of the "Io" Zone mineralization favourable for open-pit bulk minable extraction techniques used at the Cerro Vanguardia Mine. CVSA has commenced a preliminary "back of the envelope" evaluation of the "Io" Trend mineralization to determine the grade and tones of mineralization outlined by exploration to date. CVSA has informed Mirasol that since the start of the JV through the end of September 2016 that it had spent US$1.82 million, against the US$5 million required to earn 51% in the project, and had completed 7,526 m of drilling of at Claudia since start of drilling in May 2016. CVSA also informed that it has been allocated its 2017 exploration budget for the CVSA-Claudia JV and plans to start the next round of drilling in March 2017. CVSA and Mirasol are collaborating to design PIMA alteration studies, geophysical programs and to select drill targets for the 2017 program to optimally test the Europa and Themisto trends at the Curahue prospect, as well as the Celine and Rio Seco prospects where Mirasol's previous exploration has identified Au+Ag mineralization. The Claudia CVSA Joint Venture is targeting Au+Ag mineralization that could be mined and processed through CVSA facilities located 28 km over flat terrain to the north of Curahue, through Claudia project and CVSA claims. The objective is to identify higher-grade material that could be trucked to the mill and / or lower-grade ore suitable for on site heap-leaching, which could be rapidly brought into production using the established Cerro Vanguardia mine infrastructure. Stephen Nano, President and CEO of Mirasol, has approved the technical content of this news release and is a Qualified Person under NI 43 -101. Additional Explanatory Notes * AuEq60 is the sum of the value of gold and silver in a given interval represented as a gold equivalent g/t value calculated via the formula : Au assay in g/t + (silver assay in g/t 60) Quality Assurance/Quality Control of the Claudia exploration program: Under the terms of the Claudia-CVSA Agreement, all exploration is managed by CVSA. All previous exploration on the projects was supervised by Mirasol CEO Stephen C. Nano, who is the Qualified Person under NI 43-101. All information generated from the Claudia-CVSA Joint Venture program is reviewed by Mirasol prior to release. The technical interpretations presented here are those of Mirasol Resources Ltd. CVSA applies industry standard exploration methodologies and techniques. All geochemical rock and drill samples are collected under the supervision of CVSA's geologists in accordance with industry practice. Geochemical assays are obtained and reported under a quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. Reverse circulation samples are collected at the drill rig either with a dry or a wet hydraulic splitter and diamond core samples are a 50% split of HQ core. All samples are collected on 0.5, 1 and 2m intervals decided upon by the site geologist. The reverse circulation samples and selected diamond core samples are split into two samples at the CVSA mine laboratory where one split is assayed by the mine laboratory for quick turnaround of results to provide feedback for the program. The other split and remaining diamond core samples are dispatched to an ISO 9001:2000-accredited laboratory in Argentina for analysis. CVSA supplied to Mirasol the independent accredited laboratory analysis results only and these are reported here. Au is assayed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Ag is assayed by a multi-acid digest with an ICP finish and results > 200 ppm were reassayed by 50g Gravimetric method. Assay results from drill samples may be higher, lower or similar to results obtained from surface samples due to surficial oxidation and enrichment processes or due to natural geological grade variations in the primary mineralization. Forward Looking Statements: The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Mirasol disclaims any obligations to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contact Mirasol Resources Ltd. Stephen Nano, President and CEO or John Toporowski, Manager of Investor Relations Tel: +1 (604) 602-9989 Email: contact@mirasolresources.com www.mirasolresources.com The Elko Daily Free Press is counting down the days until marijuana is legal in Nevada by answering questions concerning the law. Q: Will Nevadas tourism industry embrace recreational marijuana? A: Its too early to tell what if anything the Nevada Commission on Tourism will do to promote the recreational marijuana market. Cannabis-friendly states seem to be taking a wait-and-see policy when it comes to marketing recreational or medical marijuana. Part of the caution comes from the drug remaining illegal under the federal government. Oregon, Washington and Alaska are gathering information on the industry to see if people are traveling to the states for the drug or if it is an incidental factor, according to an article in The Cannabist. Colorado is the only recreational weed state to put resources toward studying the interplay of legalization and tourism, stated John Kagia, executive vice president of industry analytics for New Frontier Data, a Washington, D.C.-based cannabis data analysis firm, in The Cannabist article. Elko Convention and Visitors Authority Executive Director Don Newman said he and his staff havent even discussed it. I dont think we at this point would want to reach out and promote, he said. I think we would rather evaluate where things go. I think theres that conflict of federal versus state. I dont think its something that we would promote initially. Newman said his office would probably wait on leadership from the state before any marketing is done on the budding industry. Its something to keep an eye on, but no plans in the immediate future, he said. Despite most states not promoting the marijuana industry, a website called Pot Guide helps tourists locate dispensaries, 420 Friendly Lodging, and explains different strains. The site also has lists of marijuana tours, events, activities and social lounges. The only state that has lists for dispensaries, lodging and events is Colorado, but the site states coming soon for weed friendly lodging in Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Other sites, such as Kush Tourism, list marijuana-friendly hotels in Washington and Oregon and medical-marijuana friendly hotels in California. Nevada has a 420 Tours in Las Vegas, which takes people to medical marijuana dispensaries. People with out-of-state medical marijuana cards can legally buy the drug in Nevada. Anyone with questions about marijuana becoming legal should email news@elkodaily.com. Will legal pot boost Nevada ELKO A California man was allegedly found to be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine. According to a report from the Elko Combined Narcotics Unit, David Dunlap, 53, of Woodland was arrested Wednesday in the Elko County Jail on a charge of trafficking a controlled substance. The report indicated that the Elko Combined Narcotics Unit, along with the Carlin Police Department, conducted a month-long narcotics investigation which resulted in a vehicle search on West Idaho Street. When officers were combing the vehicle they discovered 147.69 grams of methamphetamine, the weight of an average size apple, along with narcotic paraphernalia. According to tweaker.com, this amount could be sold for around $12,800 on the street. Dunlap was arrested for one count of trafficking a controlled substance. His bail was listed at $250,000. Former Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown was charged Thursday with first-degree reckless homicide in the fatal on-duty shooting of Sylville Smith, which sparked riots in Sherman Park in August.The homicide charge against Heaggan-Brown is only the second filed against an on-duty Milwaukee police officer in modern history.The criminal complaint says Heaggan-Brown's first shot hit Smith in the arm as Smith threw a gun over a fence.The second shot, which hit Smith in the chest, was fired after Smith tossed the gun and fell to the ground, his hands near his head.Smith's mother, Mildred Haynes, said she is happy with the decision but thinks the charges should have been more severe."He shot him in the arm and shot him again in the chest...To me, he shot to kill," she said.If convicted, Heaggan-Brown faces a maximum possible penalty of 60 years in prison.Heaggan-Brown has said he and his partner were patrolling in the 3200 block of N. 44th St. about 3 p.m. Aug. 13 when he saw a car with an out-of-state license plate and a person leaning into the passenger window of the car.Heaggan-Brown said those actions were consistent with drug activity, based on his prior training, so he stopped his squad car to investigate.When he stopped the squad car, Smith got out of the driver's seat and ran.According to the criminal complaint, the officers' body camera footage captured what happened next:Heaggan-Brown and another officer gave chase. Smith slipped and fell, then got up, with a gun in his hand. Smith turned his upper body toward the officers. Smith then threw gun over a fence into a nearby yard as the first shot was fired.The probe into Smith's death was led by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation in compliance with a 2014 state law that requires a team of at least two investigators from an outside agency to lead investigations of officer-involved deaths.State investigators sent their reports and accompanying evidence, including body-camera footage, to Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm in September.Haynes said she saw the video about a month ago that her attorney notified her a couple of days ago that prosecutors planned to charge Heaggan-Brown with homicide.She said she hopes he will be convicted and ultimately serve life in prison.In Milwaukee, the last on-duty homicide to result in charges stemmed from the fatal shooting of Daniel Bell, 22, in 1958.More than 20 years after Bell's death, in 1979, one of the officers involved came forward and said his partner, Thomas Grady, shot Bell in the back of the neck at close range, then planted a knife in his right hand. His partner also said Grady used racial slurs both before and after pulling the trigger.The only other homicide charge against a police officer resulted from an off-duty incident. Officer Alfonzo Glover shot Wilbert Prado eight times after a traffic altercation in 2005. An inquest jury cleared the officer, but then-District Attorney E. Michael McCann charged Glover with first-degree intentional homicide. Hours after he was charged, Glover killed himself.in October, a Brown Deer officer was charged with shooting a man in the back after he had been pulled off a Milwaukee County bus. The man survived, but lost part of his lung.Charges against officers involved in on-duty shootings are filed so rarely in part because officers are authorized to use deadly force if they reasonably believe someone poses a threat to officers or to the public."Under our system, the police are not required to be shot at or to be attacked before they can defend their lives or the lives of other people," said Eugene O'Donnell, professor of law and police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.In October, Heaggan-Brown was charged in a sexual assault and prostitution case, accused of raping an intoxicated man one day after shooting Smith, and was fired from the Police Department less than two weeks later.Officer in Sherman Park shooting fired in sexual assault case Description GIS - December 16, 2016: The Mauritius National Assembly crossed another landmark in its history with the live broadcasting on 15 December 2016 of the proceedings of the House. The 15th of December 2016 will always be remembered as another major step in reinforcing parliamentary democracy in our country said the Speaker, Mrs Maya Hanoomanjee, in an announcement made in the National Assembly yesterday. This new venture, she recalled started with the introduction of a motion by the Prime Minister on 28 April 2015 to appoint a Select Committee to consider the live broadcasting of the proceedings of the House and matters ancillary thereto. The Select Committee was appointed on 5 May 2015 and produced its report which was tabled and subsequently adopted on October 2015. According to the Speaker the live broadcasting of the proceedings of the National Assembly is an ICT project which requires interfacing with different existing systems to ensure compatibility and workability and which involves the integration of a multitude of state-of-the-art technology, platforms as well as skills and expertise. The required legal framework had to be put in place to enable the live broadcasting of the proceedings of the House. The Standing Orders have been amended to make provision for the setting of a Broadcasting Committee which was chaired by Minister of Public Infrastructure and land Transport, Mr Nando Bodha. We are today writing a new page in the history of our parliamentary democracy. Indeed, the time has come for live broadcasting of the proceedings of the House. Conscious of the political maturity of our citizens, I am sure that live broadcasting is the best we could offer to them. More importantly in allowing real time transmission to the citizens, live broadcasting will certainly improve the perception of the public of the Proceedings of the House, said Mrs Hanoomanjee in her concluding remarks. Pending the full implementation of the project in March 2017 the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation will continue the coverage of the proceedings of the National Assembly. (TNS) A tax system engineered for the 20th century might be one reason Alabama's state revenue is growing slowly in the 21st.Officials with the Department of Revenue told the Joint Committee on Budget Reform Wednesday that the states sales tax and many other traditional sources of revenue including taxes on phones were in decline because the state wasnt keeping up with technology shifts.Joe Garrett, deputy commissioner of the Department of Revenue, said legislators will have to think about restructuring the states tax structure to better reflect the online and digital economy.We used to tax about two-thirds of the economy in the sales tax, Garrett said. Today we tax one-third of our economy.The committee, established by resolution during the special session, is charged with studying the growing gap between General Fund revenues and expenses and propose ideas.The budget, which provides money for most noneducation programs in the state, gets its funds from three dozen sources, most of which post flat growth year to year. Expenses in many state programs, including Medicaid and Corrections, continue to rise, but legislators have been unwilling or unable to approve new revenues for the fund or transfer existing ones.Members of the committee said last month they intend to meet through 2017 to look at the issues dogging the budget. The committee will present a preliminary report to legislators in February.The committee will consider many options , including biennial budgeting; elimination of the large number of earmarks for state revenues and reviews of tax credits extended by the state.Clinton Carter, the State Finance Director, who also made presentations to the committee Wednesday, said early requests for the 2018 budgets appear to be the same story (and) a different year, with the Education Trust Fund budget funded mainly by income and sales taxes doing well and the General Fund likely to face a shortfall.Were definitely getting to the point where most of the low-hanging fruit is gone, he said.Revenue officials said that was due in part to the structure of the sales tax, a large part of state revenues and, unlike income or property taxes, a revenue source one that legislators can change with a bill. Where the state reaped two dollars of sales tax in the 1960s for every dollar of income tax, today Alabama collects just 66 cents of sales tax for every dollar of income tax.Other states are dealing with the same issue, Garrett said, but Alabamas restrictive tax system makes it difficult for the state to address.We are now leaning very heavily on the income tax, he said. There are low property taxes, and our sales tax base is eroding.Other taxes are in decline as well. While taxes on landline phones peaked in 2003, mobile phone taxes peaked in 2009 at $108 million a year, but fell to $50 million this year, in part because the federal government does not allow states to tax data. In addition, fees for state business licenses have not changed since 1935.Wal-Mart opens a store; they buy a license, it costs a dollar, he said.The state has established a voluntary sales tax remittance program for online retailers; those participating in it receive a two percent discount on an eight percent sales tax. Mike Gamble, the department secretary for the Department of Revenue, said that had brought in $5.8 million to the state in October.Gamble also suggested legislators review caps on payments by certain business entities and review tax credits granted.Tax credits are popular things but at end of the day, they become essentially grants to entities out there, he said. As policymakers, you have to know what the return is and how effective they are, because it does affect our tax base.Carter, who presented before the Department of Revenue, said his department was floating several ideas to save money, including allowing state agencies to keep 80 percent of money leftover at the end of the year and remitting the rest to the state; offering voluntary retirement incentives and possibly offering future retirees their pensions in the form of a lump sum payment. Carter stressed that the suggestions were just ideas, and did not have the endorsement of Gov. Robert Bentley.The Legislature returns on Feb. 7. Bentley will offer his budget proposals in the State of the State address that evening. The Legislature has the final word on the budgets. (TNS) A coalition of local leaders has launched a project to improve digital infrastructure in Monroe County. East Stroudsburg University, the Monroe 2030 Action Team and Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corporation have partnered for the Monroe County $1,000 Gigabit Project.The group plans to bring affordable high-speed internet to the area. The project had its public launch Tuesday with a Broadband Rally at ESU Innovation Center.University President Marcia Welsh opened the rally by citing figures from the Monroe County Economic Scorecard. The university's Business and Economic Research Group publishes a scorecard each year. The report compares data from eight counties with statewide averages to provide a snapshot of local economic climate. Welsh called this year's numbers disappointing."Monroe County wages are only 76 percent of the state average and have grown least of the neighboring counties," she said.Average earnings per job in 2016 grew 2.7 percent across the commonwealth. Out of eight counties in northeast Pennsylvania, Monroe showed the least growth - just .7 percent - this year, the Scorecard report shows."Already 120 cities elsewhere are called 'gigabit cities," said State Senator Mario Scavello (R-40). "We must invest in and develop our infrastructure.'"Gigabit internet refers to broadband networks capable of transferring one billion units - or "bits" - of information in a single second. The title "gigabit city" denotes an area where buyers can purchase gigabit internet service at annual cost of $1,000 or less."If you buy communication services in bulk, you get a better discount than if you bought them individually," said Kevin Dellicker, President of Dellicker Strategies a technology consultant."One area where we do have gigabit status is in the school districts," said Dellicker. "Almost all school districts are paying about that much or less for internet service."Network improvements could bring more than faster browsing speeds. Project supporters say higher capacity broadband can have measurable - and life-changing - implications.Dellicker mentioned a hospital radiology center with a machine that could look through a body in small, detailed sections."I asked them how it was improving their work, and they said, 'we've been dialing it down because our broadband gets clogged up sending it to the hospital.' They couldn't even get full use the equipment they purchased for millions of dollars."Dellicker referenced another of his firm's projects, the New Jersey Digital Readiness for Learning and Assessment Project-Broadband Component. The New Jersey Department of Education in 2014 hired Dellicker to help the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey improve broadband access at K-12 schools. Dellicker said the initiative cut broadband costs by 74 percent, saving the schools $109 million."That number - $109 million - might look like a success," he said. "Savings are good, but they aren't compelling. You could also say that 350 teachers stayed in the classroom because of those savings - that is compelling."Rapid advances in technology will push developers into areas that keep pace, said Kevin McElligott, president of The Fortress Initiative and CEO of The Fortress Academy and York Exponential. He said that once the industry speeds up, local economies won't be able to catch up."Experts predict that in the next decade, a third of the population will be unemployable," he said, "not unemployed - unemployable. I can't stress this enough: this is not about competition - it's about survival."Kelly Lewis, president of Lewis Strategic and a former Pennsylvania Representative, alluded to county milestones in closing remarks."Your ancestors and predecessors brought Route 80 through Monroe County," said Lewis. "We did it for Route 80 and we can do it for this highway."Project organizers have scheduled monthly meetings through May. With support from community leaders, Lewis promised to put a plan into action by the final meeting."If you get us what we need," he said, "I will bring you affordable gigabit internet by May."Monroe County $1,000 Gigabit Project leaders will meet next on Jan. 13 at the ESU Innovation Center. Lets go for it, said Sacramento, Calif., Mayor Darrell Steinberg. Lets be on the cutting edge. Let's be the center of innovation around renewable energy, electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles.At the beginning of just his second day on the job, Steinberg announced to members of state, local and the federal government a new coalition that is inviting all autonomous vehicle manufacturers to use a dedicated part of the city as an open-sourced platform for all level 5 autonomous vehicles full automation in which the car that can handle all driving tasks and go anywhere without human help. The coalition consists of Sacramento-area public figures and local businesses, and its sole mission is to bring AV manufacturers to the area.Historically, we have looked to other cities for best practices," Steinberg said. "No more. We can no longer be afraid to take risks, and we must create the best practices.Citing the plan to transform the downtown area into a testing space for fully automated vehicles, Steinberg mentioned the citys plans to make infrastructure smarter by adding in communication technologies.Flanked onstage by a steam-powered locomotive and a DeLorean DMC-12 (a.k.a. thecar sans flux capacitor), Steinberg declared that Sacramento will serve as a demonstration city for innovative technology. The project will be funded in part by $10 million Innovation and Growth Fund monies.This move is not just about bringing fantastic technology to the city. Its about real people, said Steinberg. By testing here in Sacramento, we will be on the forefront of ensuring this technology will benefit everyday working people. It's about the 85-year-old man getting to his dialysis appointment. It's about the working mother getting her kids to school on time.Creating equity through new technology developments is imperative to the state capital.Steinberg, along with Congresswoman Doris Matsui and State Sen. Richard Pan, told automakers that Sacramento is ready to go. The city, Matsui said, is home to a burgeoning innovation economy. Not only does AV technology have the opportunity to benefit public safety, but it also can increase mobility for the elderly and disabled communities.Citing her positions on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Communications & Technology, Matsui assured attendees that her federal colleagues will understand what Sacramento is doing. We are ready," she said, "and we are able to take up the challenge."Stating that nobody knows what will happen at the federal level when it comes to transportation, Matsui also assured attendees that Sacramento is united. By engaging all levels of the government, the city is committed to collaboration and posseses the political will necessary to help test and develop AV technology through public-private partnerships.The test area would include highways and surface streets, the combination of which is cruicial in testing level 5 autonomy.For Pan, Sacramento is the perfect place to test autonomous vehicles. The city has a range of environments, it is not too big and not too small, and all levels of the government are on the same page. The city was recently chosen , along with 15 other cities and counties, by Sidewalk Labs and Transportation for America, to help tackle urban mobility challenges.The city is looking to take advantage of its position and ties to both the state legislature and the DMV. Uber announced that it was deploying its driverless cars in San Francisco , and almost immediately was told to cease driverless operations by the state agency The coalition is hoping to avoid those regulatory hiccups. Additionally, the city has planned on applying for the U.S. Department of Transportations Proving Grounds program . If designation is granted, the city will be able to closely work with the federal Department of Transportation, and access insights and data related to the safe testing of driverless vehicles.The Sacramento coalition is taking requests for parties interested in testing autonomous vehicles at sacav.org Major U.S. data breaches 1. Yahoo, more than 1 billion accounts (2013) 2. Yahoo, at least 500 million accounts (2014) 3. FriendFinder Network, 412 million (2016) 4. MySpace, 360 million (2016) Source: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (TNS) Yahoo said Wednesday that information from more than 1 billion customer accounts was stolen by an unauthorized third party in August 2013, a separate hacking incident twice as large as the 2014 one disclosed earlier this year.It is probably the largest such breach to have occurred in the U.S., according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which tracks data breaches.The information may have included names, email addresses, phone numbers and birth dates, the company said. In addition, some encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers, as well as jumbled-up passwords, were stolen. Yahoo does not believe credit card or bank account information was taken.We have not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft, Bob Lord, Yahoos chief information security officer, said in a blog post With Yahoo disclosing two major breaches in a relatively short period of time, it indicates there is something wrong with the way they secure personal data, said Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.The announcement will further complicate the intended sale of Yahoo to Verizon. The proposed $4.83 billion deal is already in jeopardy after Yahoo revealed in September, two months after the deal was announced, that information from at least 500 million of its accounts in late 2014 had been stolen. Verizons attorney has said that the 2014 breach may amount to what Wall Street regulators refer to as a material event which could leave the door open for Verizon to renegotiate the deal.Verizon said in a statement Wednesday that it will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation.We will review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions, the statement said.Yahoo did not disclose how many users have accounts with the company, but in the past it has said that more than 1 billion users access its properties, which include popular sites such as Yahoo Sports, News and Tumblr. It is possible that users could have more than a single account on the platform. Nonetheless, a billion is an enormous number.Its really bad news if youre somebody who has a Yahoo account, said Jan Dawson, chief analyst with consulting firm Jackdaw, adding, You would expect an online service company to do a better job of protecting your account data.Some accounts could have been affected by both mega-breaches.In the latest disclosed breach, information taken from some of the accounts include unencrypted security questions and answers, which could leave users even more vulnerable to attacks. If the consumer were to use the same security answers on other websites, a hacker could simply use that information to change the consumers password, said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum.If you are a hacker, the answer to your security questions are like gold, Dixon said.Yahoo has said that its 2014 breach of at least 500 million user accounts could have involved a state-sponsored actor, meaning someone acting on behalf of a nation. The company also disclosed on Wednesday that it believes an unauthorized third party also accessed the companys proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies, and that some of those actions have been linked to the same state-sponsored actor in the 2014 data breach. Cookies are a tool that allows the website and a computer to save information, such as a user name, password or address, so it doesnt need to be re-entered.Yahoo said it is requiring its users affected by the 2013 breach to change their passwords. The company said it also invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers as well as the forged cookies."We continuously enhance our safeguards and systems that detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts," Lord said in his blog post.More than 150,000 U.S. government and military employees are among the victims of the newly disclosed breach. They had given their official government accounts to Yahoo in case they were ever locked out of their e-mail, and it raises the possibility that foreign intelligence services could identify employees and hack their personal and work accounts.The questions will mount for Verizon. The two companies had recently come close to an agreement on Yahoos liability on the 2014 breach when information on the 2013 breach emerged, according to the Wall Street Journal , citing unnamed sources.Given this is the second surprise for Verizon, I wouldnt be surprised if Verizon just pulls out, said Patrick Moorhead, president of Moor Insights and Strategy. The risk is just so high at this point.If Verizon were to pull out, Moorhead believes other companies will still be willing to buy Yahoo, an Internet pioneer that has struggled to find relevance against strong competitors like Google. Earlier this year, as Yahoo had explored a sale, dozens of potential suitors emerged , according to the company.Yahoo on Wednesday said it is moving forward with the Verizon deal.We are confident in Yahoos value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon, Yahoo said in statement.It remains to be seen whether this data breach causes Yahoo users to flee. Some might, but since data breaches have become more common, this latest disclosure is unlikely to make a serious dent in Yahoos user base, said Travis Smith, senior security researcher for Tripwire, which makes security software.Since users are desensitized to data breaches, I dont think there is going to be a mass exodus, Smith said.Yahoo stock declined slightly in after hours trading.Bloomberg News contributed to this report. (TNS) ATLANTA Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp on Wednesday asked President-elect Donald Trump to investigate the Department of Homeland Securitys apparent attempt to access his offices computer system.In a letter to Trump, Kemp asked that the president-elect to act once he is sworn in to office in January. Kemp said he is not satisfied with the response from current DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson.Since contacting DHS with these concerns, we have collaborated with the agency and provided extensive, additional information, Kemp wrote. Last night I received a letter from Secretary Johnson which lacked any specific information as to the attacks intent or origin despite the fact that many questions remain unanswered.Kemps office detected what he called a large attack on our system in November. His staff was able to trace the breach to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS has denied it tried to break through the states computer firewall.An agency spokesman declined comment Wednesday. But in the letter Johnson sent Kemp on Monday, the Homeland Security secretary said they traced the computer in question to a contractor at its Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick.Johnson said the contractor is not part of the departments cyber security team.He told us that he accessed your website as part of his normal job duties at FLETEC to determine whether incoming FLETEC contractors and new employees had a certain type of professional license a service that, as I understand it, your website provides to the general public, Johnson wrote, noting that their analysis showed it was normal Microsoft Internet Explorer interaction by the contractors computer with your website.Kemp is not convinced.The scenario DHS has proposed has still not been verified by Microsoft, Kemp wrote Johnson late Tuesday. There are still many questions regarding the origin and intent of this attack that remain unanswered.Kemp, a potential Republican candidate for governor in 2018, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that DHSs explanations keep changing and that Kemps own information technology staff cannot replicate what the feds say happened.Its almost like theyre making it out to be that this is some sort of false positive, Kemp said. And we just have all these questions that havent been answered. The best way to get those answers was to ask the new administration to look at it.Federal officials seem to think the situation is resolved, Kemp said, but he is not ready to move on.Georgians are asking me about it, he said. We need to get to the bottom of it. And theyre acting like they already have. I need some proof.Steve Akridge, owner of BorderHawk LLC, an Atlanta-based cyber security company, questions Johnsons explanation.The concept of an Internet Explorer guy doing a search on the secretary of States website giving signs that youre being scanned, trying to break into that machine I would find that very hard to believe, Akridge, who was the state of Georgias first chief information security officer in 1999, said.But, Akridge said it is also difficult to know for sure without more information.In his letter to Trump, Kemp also said his staff uncovered other attempts to break his systems firewall. They detected 10 separate scans of Georgias elections systems between Feb. 2 and Nov. 15, all traced back to DHS. Many occurred suspiciously close to other events, Kemp said, including the day he testified against Homeland Security before a congressional committee and Election Day.Kemp publicly questioned alarms raised by federal officials before the presidential election over the issue of election security.Georgia was one of two states that did not accept federal help to secure its election systems, after the FBIs cyber division warned states in August that it was investigating hacking incidents in two states believed to be Arizona and Illinois.A month later, state officials said Georgia was not among the states that had voter registration systems targeted in recent months by hackers. That claim came after FBI Director James Comey told House Judiciary Committee members that his agency had detected a variety of scanning activities related to election systems in the United States.Kemp said Wednesday that the agencys outside cyber security vendor only alerted them to the Nov. 15 incident because it was a more serious event. Once the incident was traced to DHS, the office found the nine earlier incidents that were not considered to be as serious.We get 2,000 low level pings, hits, scans whatever you want to call them on our network, a week, Kemp said. We have four or five of those that will get tagged for whatever reason that are higher level. There is something about them that the network security provider kicks back to us. Normally we run those down, theres a good explanation for it, we dismiss it we move on.The Nov. 15 event was different, he said. It got tagged, but nobody could easily explain what was happening, which is why it rose to my level and it really got on our radar when we figured out the IP address. Its only because of that we would go back and look at these lower level ones. Dec. 14 Nikolas James Harrelson, 26, pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 72 months in prison, suspended on conditions of the court, including paying $3,863 in restitution to Gold Dust West. Dec. 13 Albert Louis Yava, 36, pleaded guilty to attempted trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance, and was sentenced to a total of 96 months in prison, suspended on conditions including completion of Drug Court and abstaining from alcohol, and serving 207 days in jail with credit for 207 days served. Blaine Dixon Devaul, 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 47 days in jail, with credit for 47 days served. Riley Scott Bawcom, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 364 days in jail, suspended on conditions including serving 20 days in jail with credit for two days served, abstaining from alcohol and gambling, and completing a counseling program. Janyce Danielle Ricci, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended on conditions including serving four days in jail with credit for four days served, abstaining from alcohol and gambling, and completing a six-month program at the Salvation Army in Las Vegas. Jorge Antonio Galaviz-Fuentes, 27, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sale and was sentenced to 38 months in prison, suspended on conditions including abstaining from alcohol and gambling, and obtaining a substance abuse evaluation. ELKO Cancer patients, senior citizens, disabled people and children throughout Elko County will benefit from the generosity of the community since five charities received money from the annual Festival of Trees. Elko Convention and Visitors Authority handed out $6,000 checks to each of the five nonprofits Wednesday that were charity partners for this years event. The partners are The Terrace at Ruby View, Family Resource Centers of Northeastern Nevada, Nevada Outdoor School Elko, Elko Cancer Network and Ruby Mountain Resource Center. This event is successful because of the Elko community the time and effort that goes into the trees that are donated to the outpouring of support that people come in and actually bid on the trees, ECVA Events Coordinator Kandiss Fallowfield said. That combined effort is what makes this event successful, so wed like to thank the Elko community. Elko Cancer Network Secretary Debbie Anderson and Treasurer Stefanie Covert said the nonprofit has been in the area since February. We collect donations and the donations go to assist cancer patients and families in Elko who need help with resources, Anderson said. We provide lodging and gas cards. Sometimes they can apply to pay for oncology and treatment bills that they cant afford. We try to connect them with resources. Any Elko County resident who is being treated for cancer can apply for the funds. Elko Cancer Network is at 2003 Errecart Blvd. and can be contacted at 748-4673. Kerry Aguirre, executive director of The Terrace at Ruby View Elkos senior and active lifestyle center, said the money will help fund the meals delivered to home-bound senior citizens in the Elko area. The senior center has served the area for 34 years. Theres a long line of the community supporting the center programs, she said. All ages are welcome at the senior center for lunch, but the Division of Aging grant funds the meal to those 60 and older for a suggested donation of $3 in house or $3.50 on the route. Aguirre said no one is turned away. The senior center is at 1795 Ruby View Drive. We have just under 60 people registered on the program, she said. We deliver to around 52 each day, Monday through Friday. Anyone who needs meals home delivered can call the senior center office at 738-3030. Aguirre said the delivery service is more than just providing food to seniors, it also can be the only social interaction they have each day. We know the person in the home looks forward to the meal but also looks forward to the conversation, she said. It gives us a chance to check on them too. Family Resource Center Executive Director Judy Andreson said the Festival of Trees money is earmarked for warm clothing for children the organization works with at the center. We see a lot of WIC (Women, Infants and Children) clients, she said. Its a nutrition education and food supplement program, so theres a lot of young children. In that program its pregnant women and children up to age 5. The people who use the WIC program are low-income families, but the program doesnt assist with funding outside of nutrition. The center has several programs that help more than low-income families. Anyone can go into the center to ask for help. If the Family Resource Center doesnt have a program to help they know who does. The center is at 331 Seventh St. in Elko and can be reached at 753-7352. In our last fiscal year we assisted 16,000 individuals, which is more than half of the population of Spring Creek and Elko combined, Andreson said. The Nevada Outdoor School expanded from Winnemucca into Elko County. An Elko office opened in May. The organization will use the donation to fund summer excursions, field trips and classroom lessons to youth and families in Northern Nevada. Jackie Lucero will be the new director of programming with the group and said Nevada Outdoor School is a way to get people outside. Environmental education, in my opinion, gives you a perspective of the bigger picture, where you fit in, in the whole big scheme of things, she said. Environmental education programs often teach communication and teamwork skills, which are essential. Nevada Outdoor School is at 723 Railroad St. in Elko and can be reached at 777-4545. Ruby Mountain Resource Center Executive Director Rebecca Hepworth said the funds will help pay for improvements with two projects. The most important of the two involves installing an HVAC system in the food warehouse. The center has a food pantry that is used through referrals from Family Resource Center and emergency food for families that cant be helped by FISH. The disabled people at the center came up with the idea for the food warehouse as a way to give back to the community. Hepworth said the warehouse doesnt have heating or cooling and canned goods dont do well going through extreme temperature changes and people also dont work well in extreme conditions. The other project is a possibility of putting in a new storage building for the donations to the thrift store. Ruby Mountain Resource Center is a job training site for people with disabilities, she said. Thats very important. Were not just a thrift store. She said every person has abilities that can allow them to contribute to the community. Its my job to help them find those abilities, Hepworth said. Ruby Mountain Resource Center is at 806 River St. in Elko and can be contacted at 738-8360. Besides helping charities, Fallowfield said she received suggestions from those who participate in the event each year. They wanted us to let them know the next years theme before Christmas was over because then they could take advantage of the after Christmas sales and gather their things for next year, she said. Next years theme is Enchanted Forest. Letter: Thanks for supporting Festival of Trees Editor: On behalf of the community partners: Elko Family Resource Center, Elko Cancer Network, Nevada Outdoor School, Ruby Mountain Resource and The Terrace at Ruby View, Elkos Senior and Active Lifestyle Center, Thank You to the many people who contributed to the huge success of this years Festival of Trees fundraiser. The event was set up and managed professionally, the contributors and artists poured their hearts and creative thoughts into every amazing entry, and the community who bid on the items were incredibly generous. We are honored to receive the proceeds from the 2016 Festival of Trees event and are grateful to all who contributed in one way or another. It truly is a wonderful life! Happy Holidays. Kerry Aguirre Executive Director The Terrace at Ruby View The Waterford, MI School District introduced 10 new school buses fueled by propane autogas into its fleet this week, joining almost 30 other school districts in the state to operate Blue Bird Vision Propane buses. Propane is an economical alternative fuel that will allow the school district to save money in maintenance and fuel costs, and to reduce its carbon footprint. Each bus is fitted with propane fuel systems manufactured by ROUSH CleanTech, a division of ROUSH Enterprises based in Livonia. Equipped with Ford Motor Companys 6.8L V10 engines, the buses emit 80 % fewer smog-producing hydrocarbons and virtually eliminate particulate matter when compared with diesel. The fleet of propane autogas buses will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by about 10,000 pounds and particulate matter by about 315 pounds each year compared with the diesel buses they replaced. These ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas fuel systems are Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board certified. Since 2010, ROUSH CleanTech has deployed almost 14,000 propane autogas vehicles to fleets across America. Of those, more than half are school buses. About Waterford School District: Waterford School District is a pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade public school district serving the communities of Independence, Waterford, West Bloomfield and White Lake in Michigan. Edward O. Lewis, 93, passed away Dec. 7, 2016 at Sage View Care Center. He was a lifelong resident of Green River. He was born Dec. 10, 1922 in Rock Springs and was the son of Clarence Lewis and Alida Carlson Lewis. Lewis attended schools in Green River and was a 1940 Green River High School graduate. He married Alvera L. Oberruter Lewis in Green River Nov. 20, 1946. She preceded him in death March 28, 2015. Lewis was a United States Army Veteran serving in World War II from 1940-1944. While he was in the military, he was a military police officer He was employed by Mountain Fuel Supply Company later Questar Gas as a manager. He was employed for more than 50 years and retired in 1995. Lewis was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Fraternal Order of Eagles No. 2350. He was one of the founders of Flaming Gorge Days in Green River. He was a member of the Immaculate Conception Church. His interests included spending time with family at their cabin. Survivors include one son, Paul Lewis; one daughter, Janice Lewis; one grandson, Scott Lewis; one great grandson, Jake Lewis, all of Green River. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, one brother, Herb Lewis and one sister, Ruth Stine. Cremation will take place and a mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Thursday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Green River. Inurnment will be in the Riverview Cemetery at the Columbarium. A vigil service with rosary will be recited at 6 p.m., Wednesday at the church. Friends may call at the church on Wednesday from 4-6 p.m., and on Thursday morning at the church until time of services. Condolences may be left at Vase Funeral Home. Lester Roy Johnson, 79, of Rock Springs, passed away Dec. 1, 2016 at his home. A longtime resident of Rock Springs, Johnson died following a lengthy illness. He was born July 17, 1937 in Ronan, Mont., the son of Lester Roy and Marjorie Estep Johnson. Johnson attended schools in Charlo, Mont. He married Mary Lou Johnson in Des Moines, Iowa and they were married for many years. She preceded him in death. Johnson was a United States Air Force Veteran. He served during peacetime. He was employed for many years at the Jim Bridger Power Plant as a Boilermaker and retired in 2002. His interests were fishing, hunting and skeet shooting. He was an avid outdoorsman. Survivors include two brothers, Walter E. Johnson and wife Diane of Polson, Mont., and Bill Johnson and wife Yolanda of Burlington, Wash.; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Jim. Cremation has taken place and there are no services at his request. Condolences may be left at Vase Funeral Home. Mark Owen Thompson, 77, of Rock Springs, passed away Nov. 30, 2016 at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County following a week long illness. A resident of Rock Springs for the past 10 years and former resident of Fort Bridger, and Washington, D.C. He was born in Washington, D.C., June 30, 1939, the son of Herbert O. Thompson and Margaret M. Sullivan Thompson. Thompson attended schools in Washington, D.C., and earned his pharmacist degree from the University of Wyoming. He married Josie Thompson in 1980 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Thompson was a member of the Holy Spirit Catholic Communtiy. His interest included reaching, traveling and watching television. He was employed by Hilltop Pharmacy for many years as a pharmacist. Survivors include his wife and one sister, Eileen Richardson. Cremation will take place and no services will be held per his request. Condolences may be left at Vase Funeral Home. The CIA recently concluded Russia likely had a hand in making sure Donald Trump got elected, according to reports from The Washington Post. The above sentence should worry any patriotic American, regardless of what side of the political spectrum they lean. The idea a foreign nation would attempt to influence the electoral process should be concerning in itself, but when the foreign nation in question is one the United States has had a rocky relationship with, one can only question how it wasnt dealt with sooner.p g; Russia stands to gain a lot with Trump as President. Already, the incoming administrations choice of Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, as Secretary of State brings with it a face friendly to Moscow. With Trumps previous statements regarding NATO and other ideas friendly to a Russian political agenda, it comes as no surprise Russia would want Trump as President. It isnt just Russia either. A report in Newsweek Tuesday, the government in Turkey is using Trumps business relationships as leverage for support from the United States. Turkey recently arrested a businessman, Barbatos Muratoglu, who has close ties to Trump. Newsweek alleges this was done to leverage extradition from the U.S. of an Imam (a person who leads prayers at a mosque), Fethullah Gulen, for allegedly masterminding a coup against the Turkish government earlier this year, a charge Gulen denies. Trump and his children receive payments for having a pair of buildings in Istanbul bearing the Trump name, which the Muratoglu had a hand in. If what Newsweek alleges is true, Turkey may have found a way to force Trump to accede to their demand. Donald Trump won the election fairly, regardless of the influence Russia attempted to exert during the election. However, Trumps international business ties may result in situations where his business interests, despite being officially dissolved, may come into play and potentially influence foreign policy decisions. What would the U.S. stand to gain from decisions primarily influenced to benefit Trumps family and his buddies? Those of us living in Wyoming may be far removed from the international political scene, but its important to remember decisions made in Washington, D.C., Moscow or any other political hub can influence life in the Cowboy State. Were waiting for our economic fortunes to change, but decisions made elsewhere can cause that change to be potentially postposed if someone close to Trump stands to benefit from a deal that could hurt Wyoming. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Chants beseeching new Greenwich Office Park owner John Fareri to return the jobs of 11 janitorial staff members filled the frosty air Thursday afternoon. Around 20 supporters, including those who lost their jobs and political and union officials, bundled up to brave the frigid weather. They gathered at the entrance of Greenwich Office Park on Weaver Street to protest the recent actions of Fareri against members of 32BJ Service Employees International Union. In November, Fareri Associates, a Greenwich-based real-estate investment and construction company, bought the nine buildings of Class-A office space that comprises Greenwich Office Park. Fareri is the president of the company. Protestors, many aided by a translator, gave brief speeches decrying Fareris firing of 11 employees who worked cleaning the office park. State Rep. Terry Adams, D-Stamford, and a representative from the office of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., also attended in support of the union members. Additionally, protestors held up signs saying, John Fareri under investigation, to cars driving past, some of which honked in support. On Nov. 4, Rosalia Bravo and 10 of her co-workers were told by a supervisor of their janitorial staff that they were fired and needed to leave immediately, Bravo said in an interview interpreted by Frank Soults, senior communications associate for the union. Many of them had worked there for 10 years or more. Yet, There was no explanation, Bravo said. The workers turned in their keys and left. Bravo and some of her colleagues, including Yolanda Revilla, returned days later looking for work, regardless of the pay or benefits. Bravo got a job that paid $4 less an hour than her previous salary and without benefits. Others, like Revilla, didnt get any work. On Nov. 30, a supervisor asked Bravo if she was one of the workers whod been fired originally. She was fired for a second time after saying she had been. Fareri Associates did not return requests for comment. The workers have presented a petition to Fareri Associates and an attorney has contacted the company on behalf of the union members numerous times, Soults said. So far, theres been no response. A handful of the workers have also testified before the National Labor Relations Board for an investigation into whether Fareris actions were legal. By law, (Fareri) has to negotiate with the union, and he didnt, Adams said in an interview. Maybe he doesnt know the lawbut Im out here supporting the workers to get their jobs back. Both Bravo and Revilla moved to the United States from Peru in the early 2000s, looking for a better life. Both live in Port Chester, N.Y., and have worked several jobs in the service industry. Revilla has two small children to care for, and she plans to continue efforts to get her job back so she can support them, she said. MBennett@hearstmediact.com, 203-625-4411; Twitter @Macaela_ The parents of a sick child who are being investigated for a charity fraud had been planning to flee the country, telephone records show. Wiretaps of conversations between Fernando Blanco and his wife Marga Garau show Blanco was considering escape just hours before the Catalan police located and arrested him on December 7 in La Seu dUrgell. Nadias mother speaks on the phone at the courthouse in La Seu d'Urgell. ATLAS If you feel that you can do it a week from now, Ill put myself on the line, Ill go get you and well get out of here, Blanco told his wife, according to audio records obtained by Spanish television show Espejo Publico just one of the programs that the couple had earlier been on to ask viewers to donate money for their daughter Nadia Nerea. The parents did not hold a job or have any business activities Blanco is heard advising his wife to delete all WhatsApp messages from him, and assuring her that the escape plan will go well: If I set up a meeting with you nobody will find out, much less through an encrypted phone. Nadias mother expresses fear at the questions she would have to face if her husband suddenly left the country by himself. Blanco admits that he is nervous as well. My stomach is killing me, I can barely breathe, he tells his wife. Where will I go [] Lets see how the night goes and then well see. Rare disease Eleven-year-old Nadia suffers from the rare disease trichothiodystrophy (TTD), which can delay development and cause intellectual disability. But doctors who have treated her suggest that her condition is not nearly as serious as her parents who talked about imminent death led others to believe. Since 2008, Blanco and Garau have been organizing charity drives, allegedly to pay for cutting-edge medical treatment. The investigation now shows that the couple collected 918,000 over this period of time, only a fraction of which has been used for Nadias medical therapy. EL PAIS and two other media outlets uncovered the fraud shortly after the latest donation drive, which raised 153,000 in just four days through a television and social media campaign. Fernando Blanco and his daughter Nadia Nerea. ATLAS Fernando Blanco had been claiming that he and Nadia had already traveled to Guatemala, India, Panama, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Finland, Cuba, Chile and even a cave in Afghanistan to hire the best specialists in the world. But he never produced a shred of evidence to back his claims. The investigation shows that between 2012 and 2016, Nadias parents spent a total of 295 on medication for her. In the meantime, a search of the family home produced a collection of luxury watches valued at 50,000. The rent on their expensive home was being paid by the charitable foundation that they set up to manage the donations. Investigators have concluded that Blanco and Garau were living off the donations, as they did not hold a job or have any business activities. Blanco has a history of fraud and has served prison terms for swindling his employers. English version by Susana Urra. It has been revealed that many American households are creating mounting levels of debt, as income fails to keep up with spending. According to a new report, which collates data from the Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average outstanding credit card balance per household is now $16,061. The last time credit card debt was this high was in 2008. In 2002, the average household debt, when taking mortgages into account, was $88,063. This has now soared to $132,529. The figure is unsurprising when the cost of living is taken into account - this has increased by 30 percent during the same period. Income levels have grown by only 28 percent, and that two percent discrepancy has affected many families. To bridge the gap between expenses and income, many Americans have turned to credit cards. This is one of the costliest forms of borrowing, however, with the average interest on credit card debt currently at 18.76 percent, resulting in around $1,292 of interest being paid by families every year. There is some good news, though: Education costs no longer outpace income, having increased by just 26 percent since 2003. Although student loan debt has rocketed by 186 percent over the last ten years, growth has now begun to slow. Between September 2015 and the same month in 2016, growth increased by only 6 percent - the lowest figure since 2003. Find out quickly at what rate you can refinance your student loan. With Americans having vast amounts of debt to handle, it is more important than ever to keep an eye on personal finances, money management, and debt repayment. Doing this could save large amounts in credit card fees and interest costs. If you want to settle outstanding debts for less than what you owe, try our debt settlement tool. If you want more credit, check out MoneyTips' list of credit card offers. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH Armed with $95, 22 third-graders from Carmel Academy poured off a school bus at Learning Express Toy Store in Rye to shop. The pairs of students circled the store, pointing out toys for children of all genders and ages. A couple hours later, when the toys were collected in the third grade classroom, the result was overwhelming. On Thursday, the mountain of toys was sent to Sunrise Day Camp, a program in New York for children with cancer or their siblings. This is the third year Carmel Academy students have sent holiday gifts to the camp. This year, students, teachers and community members raised more than $1,000 to purchase toys for the children in need. While I was shopping, I felt like I was on Cloud Nine because I was helping someone who is sick and probably bored, wrote third-grader Arielle Scligmann in a reflection paper. Now I feel amazing for doing something so great. Carmels third grade has been donating toys to various organizations in December for the past six years. Third-grade teacher Robin Shainberg and her co-teacher began the project as way to bring their money unit into the real world, she said. For 20 days, Carmel third graders read for 20 minutes each night. Their parents agree to pay the students $1 for every night that they read for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 days, most students bring in $20, mostly in coins, to put toward buying toys for the Sunrise campers. Some students also contributed from their allowances. Many teachers and community members also donated to the project. On Tuesday, the students counted all the money they had raised, practicing their mental math skills, Shainberg said. The students also had to use mental math while shopping Wednesday for their toys, so they did not exceed their $95 dollar budget, and while paying for the toys. Shainberg and her new co-teacher Gina Perl said the project combines reading, math and the idea of mitzvah, or doing good for others while expecting nothing in return. It really combines our general studies and Jewish studies units of school, said Shainberg. At the start of the project, Shainberg and Perl discussed with students how, in some families, paying for medical expenses can make it very difficult to buy gifts at the holidays. This started as a conversation of wants and needs... We talked about how some children their needs are taking over their wants, said Shainberg. This is a way that we found that we could help. The teachers said that while shopping, the children were able to put aside their own desire and think about what the Sunrise campers might want. For a child to go into a toy store and not look for themselves, its really hard, said Shainberg. They really wanted to do the most good they could. Shainberg chose Sunrise Day Camp as the recipient for their giving because a former Carmel Academy teacher, Jeremy Levin, is the camps director. I know that they are going somewhere meaningful, said Shainberg. The campers will receive the holiday gifts at their camp reunion this weekend. The reunion is not a holiday party, so the gifts will be an unexpected treat, Shainberg said. Levin said that the gifts will make a big difference to the 125 campers who will receive them on Sunday. There are so many reasons why this project is so special and so important, said Levin. First, our campers and their families, including their siblings, have all gone or are going through a difficult time. With medical expenses eating away and the families' disposable income, gifts become more difficult to prioritize. Second, we want our campers to feel special and loved and this is a way for us to show them. Shainberg and Perl said that the project is one that stays with students long after third grade. Its such an incredible experience, said Perl. emunson@hearstmediact.com; @emiliemunson This year marks 72nd commemoration of the Battle of The Bulge, a ferocious and devastating attack by the Nazi Germans on primarily American troops that began on December 16, 1944 across Belgium, Luxembourg and France. The battle was a desperate attempt by the Germans to rapidly and decisively turn the Allied advance into a retreat to the Atlantic. While unsuccessful, the surprise Nazi German offensive and the uncoordinated initial Allied response offers several critical business lessons during this time of unprecedented political change and tepid economic growth. In late 1944, the Nazi Germans were in full retreat in Eastern Europe against the advancing Soviet Union (Russia) and the Allies (United States, United Kingdom, and Canada) in the West. The Nazi strategic answer to this vise of attacks was an unexpected, but sharp and powerful attack in the West to drive the Allies back to the D-Day invasion beaches, freeing the Nazis to turn their armies on the Soviet Union. The results of these attacks were a fleeting success in the West that lasted a few weeks, not months as the Nazis hoped, and did nothing to forestall the eventual success of the Allies and the Soviet Union by May of 1945. Still, the initial Nazi tactical success in this offensive contains elements of critical learnings that can be directly applied to todays business environment. Related: Taking Command: The Crew Is Only as Good as the Captain 1. The best intelligence comes from the front. The predominant intelligence message of the American higher headquarters in early December 1944 was that the Nazi Germans were in static defensive positions and were expected to be that way for months. Contrary to the opinion of generals and headquarters staffs, frontline combat units heard from local people that German units were preparing for an attack. American units also captured several junior ranking German soldiers who also told of preparations for a major attack. No one in the higher American headquarters accepted or put together the consistent story that the Germans were preparing for a major attack. The business lesson is executive teams must constantly be open to listening and hearing things that may go against their own beliefs and experiences. Listening to the front lines and then assembling those messages into a consistent story often times leads to the best competitive insight. 2. Assume the competition will take the most dangerous course. American commanders had dismissed the local ground intelligence that pointed to a different conclusion on the Nazi German actions than what they thought likely. American commanders had also dismissed the combat skills, tactics, strategy and morale of the German forces. How can the Germans fight back when they have been in full retreat? American commanders asked. The business lesson is that you must never underestimate the skills, passion and commitment of your competition. Indeed, the safe approach to the competition is to expect them to do what will become the most damaging to your position. In this way, planning and expecting your competition to take the most dangerous path will ensure that you anticipate and plan how to defeat the competition at their most dangerous. Competitors are planning just like you. When you plan for the competition to be at their best, you will rarely be surprised. Related: 10 Lessons from America's Greatest Military Leaders 3. The key to success is logistics, not tactics. Logistics drives military success in battle. For both the Nazi Germans and the Allies, it was the logistics of fuel, ammunition, spare parts, replacement troops, food, water and medical supplies that ultimately decided that military actions on the battlefield. The German attackers quickly lost their military advantage when the weather cleared to allow for Allied attacks on the vulnerable German logistical supplies. For the Allies, the African-American logistical unit, the Red Ball Express, played a key role to supply Pattons counterattacking tank units with fuel and ammunition, the two most vital military supplies. Ultimately, the Allies' logistics and unequaled combat power from both the ground and the air defeated the German attack. The business lesson is that you can have great products and great strategy, but those need to be fully supported with quality manufacturing, great customer service and the ability to fix and repair critical customer issues. 4. In the face of adversity leadership needs humor and humility. In the early days after the devastating destruction and retreat following the German surprise attack, grim faced Allied commanders met to discuss the situation and next steps. Patton, alone among the senior commanders, expressed his passion and aggressive leadership that they should aggressively attack, not just defend. After American forces in Bastogne were surrounded and cut off by the Germans, they demanded the American commander, Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, surrender his position. McAuliffe famously responded Nuts! which both confused and infuriated the German attackers. Throughout the battle, American leaders from sergeants to generals used combinations of humor, humility, initiative, bravery and leadership by example to calm, inspire and direct their forces from determined defense to a determined counter-attack and eventual victory. The business lesson is that humor and humility are powerful tools of leadership to inspire teams when morale is low and the situation dire. Indeed, the worse the business situation, the greater importance of leadership humor and humility. Related: How Military Service Made These Veterans Better Entrepreneurs 5. Superior technology with inferior strategy will not carry the day. When they Nazi Germans attacked they revealed some of their latest weapons. They possessed new tanks, new infantry weapons, and new tactics to make tanks and infantry attack faster. Even with these great new weapons, they were unable to create a victory in the battle even though they had initial success because their overall concept was deeply flawed and lacked sufficient logistical support. The business lesson is that even if you have one great product, but your company strategy does not reflect the needs of customers, the strength of your competition, then it is unlikely to succeed in the marketplace. Understanding that great intelligence comes from those closest to the battle, assuming your competitor can chose a dangerous course of action, knowing that supporting your product is as importance as designing it, realizing the vital importance of humble leadership, and knowing superior technology alone is unlikely to win the day are the critical business lessons from the Battle of the Bulge. Remembering the sacrifice of the soldiers who turned around a desperate battlefield situation and won during a cold and snowy period in late 1944 is a great way to remember the military veterans of World War II. A better way to remember is to learn the lessons of the Battle of the Bulge and apply those lessons to your business. Related: Business Lessons From The Battle of The Bulge The 7 Business Lessons You Should Learn by 30 Don't Commit These 7 Party Fouls Inspired by 'Office Christmas Party' Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved The speaker of the Catalan assembly, Carme Forcadell, on Friday defended the regional chambers right to foster debates about independence. If people on the streets can talk about independence, why should deputies not be able to? she asked at the Catalonia Superior Court of Justice (TSJC). Carme Forcadell walking out of court on Friday. A. GARCIA Forcadell, a supporter of the independence drive in the northeastern region, is being investigated for disobedience after allowing the Catalan assembly to vote on the conclusions of a study about a new constituent process for Catalonia, despite a ban on such a move by Spains Constitutional Court. In a half-hour court appearance, Forcadell answered questions from her lawyer, but not from the judge or the prosecutors. Forcadell is not the first Catalan official to face court action over the separatist drive I had a duty to protect the deputies inviolability, just like you have the obligation to protect mine, she told the judge and the prosecutors. Forcadell said that, in her opinion, the Constitutional Court had not expressly prohibited either the parliamentary debate or the vote that took place on July 27 regarding the possibility of a new legal framework for an independent Catalan state. The speaker also insisted that the vote had not been planned, but was decided on that same day following a request by the moderate nationalists of Junts pel Si and their more radical partner CUP. She said that her position does not give her the power to prevent a debate requested by the deputies. Forcadell also denied that a legal report left on her desk that day represented a clear warning that the vote should not be held. Artur Mas (c) faces charges for organizing a 2014 referendum on independence. Albert Garcia At a rowdy debate in the regional parliament on July 27, the pro-independence Junts pel Si (Together for Yes) coalition and the far-left Popular United Candidacy (CUP) garnered support for the creation of a unilateral mechanism to activate a Constituent Assembly" that would draft a Catalan Constitution after the region disconnects with the laws of the Spanish state by passing disconnection laws. The vote builds on a landmark motion passed by the Catalan parliament to start breaking away from Spain. Court action Forcadell is not the first Catalan official to face court action over the separatist drive. Former regional premier Artur Mas and two top aides were charged with disobedience for organizing an informal referendum on independence on November 9, 2014. The central government of the conservative Popular Party (PP) and Catalonias nationalist authorities have been at odds for years over the independence drive, which Mas put into high gear at the height of the economic crisis. The battle has moved to the courts, where Catalan officials at the local, provincial and regional level have faced action for issues such as flying the unofficial independence flag from town halls. English version by Susana Urra. Need a stiff drink to handle this news. Dont get too comfortable with that 99-cent martini, because the plethora of $1 happy-hour drink specials at New York bars that seem too good to be true probably are, according to the State Liquor Authority. Watering holes around town have started rolling out eye-popping deals as a way of luring in the more and more elusive after-work crowd Playa Bettys on the Upper West Side does shot-size versions of its signature frozen Paloma for a buck during happy hour, Harlem bar RDV Rendezvous sells a full-size version of its take on the Moscow mule for $1, and the Worlds 50 Best Bars No. 34 spot Dante is doing a martini in Greenwich Village with either Plymouth or Absolut for 99 cents, tax included. Todays Wall Street Journal is the bearer of bad news, though. It reports that, hypothetically speaking, amazing deals like this are a legal no-go. Two-for-ones are okay, as are half-priced specials, but the states liquor laws, which traditionally err on the side of draconian and puritanical, pretty much dont allow anything else. No free drinks, no unlimited specials, nothing discounted by more than 50 percent, and no other deals that in the judgment of the Authority, are attempts to circumvent the law, because the state takes its job to keep people from enjoying themselves too much at the end of the workday very seriously. The good news is the exact wording may leave a little wiggle room; an SLA rep tells the Journal exceptions to the law might apply, like if a bar were discounting a drink thats smaller than the standard offering, that sort of deal could pass muster. But then he adds ominously, Wed have to look and see. Say a prayer to the cocktail gods, or else Jell-O shots might once again be all a single gets you. These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Looks like the Nougat update for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, which is currently being beta tested by the South Korean company, will soon be rolled out to the general public. That's because the update has moved into the carrier testing stage. Specifically, Vodafone Australia has updated their website to reflect that the update is under testing. While there's no mention of the exact Nougat version that's being tested by the carrier, we know that both Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will skip Android 7.0 and jump straight to version 7.1. Also, there's currently no official word on exactly when the public roll out will begin, although given that carriers have already started testing the update, we expect that to happen sooner than later. Via In today's episode number 'who's still counting' of the Galaxy S8 rumor saga, it is suggested that a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor will make it to the next-gen Samsung flagship. The reason cited is that in initial testing of the fingerprint sensor embedded in the display has proven inaccurate, and a dedicated sensor is still needed. Why, what's wrong with the Home button, you ask? There will be no Home 'button', strictly speaking, as multiple sources have already stated, and the entire front of the phone will be mostly display. That's why when Synaptics (a Samsung component supplier) announced earlier this week the industry-first optical fingerprint scanner, everyone expected the S8 to mark its debut. Well, this source says 'no'. Samsung Galaxy S7 Additionally, the Galaxy S8 will come with the iris recognition tech from the ill-fated Note7 that uses a dedicated camera for the purpose, unlike the LG Innotek implementation where the two are fitted in a single module. Iris recognition, however, is still not as popular as fingerprint scanning, so let's not be too courageous by getting rid of the latter just yet, Samsung must have thought. We'll file this in the 'plausible' category, but obviously there's no way of knowing for sure just yet. Source | Via In the countdown to his January inauguration as US President, Donald Trump will be deposed in his legal dispute against Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andres, who pulled out of a project to launch a Hispanic restaurant in Trumps ritzy new Washington hotel that opened in October. Judge Jennifer A. Di Toro denied a request from Trumps lawyers to cancel his testimony on the grounds of his busy schedule as president elect or to limit its duration, which could be up to seven hours. Trump with his wife and children at the inauguration of his Washington hotel in October. Evan Vucci (AP) More information Donald Trump tendra que declarar en enero por su litigio con el chef Jose Andres However, she ruled the deposition could take place at the politicians New York Trump Tower and not in the legal offices of the Washington-based law firm, as would normally be the case. Trump and confirmed Democrat Jose Andres, who trained under famed Spanish chef Ferran Adria, have been involved in a legal dispute since 2015, when the chef turned his back on a contract to open a gourmet restaurant in the US president-elects five-star Trump International Washington D.C. hotel, following attacks made by the then-Republican candidate on Mexican immigrants. Andres subsequently explained that this was not so much an act of protest as one of common sense since many of his workers and customers are potentially of Hispanic origin. Spanish chef Jose Andres trained under Ferran Adria at the El Bulli restaurant. The hotel and casino tycoon filed a lawsuit against Andres in August 2015 in which he demanded $10 million damages for breach of contract. Andres hit back with a counter claim for $8 million to cover the costs incurred when embarking on the project as well as lost profits. The judges decision that Trump should appear in court regardless of his new responsibilities came the day after Andres had offered Trump the chance to settle their spat out of court. Mr. @realDonaldTrump. Can we end our lawsuits and we donate $ to a Veterans NGO to celebrate? Why keep litigating? Lets both of us win, he wrote on his Twitter account. This is just one of the numerous litigation cases Trump has pending. According to USA Today, at the end of October the president elect had 75 of the 4,000-plus lawsuits brought against either him or his businesses still pending resolution. But being the most powerful man in the world leaves no time for legal squabbles and, after being voted in on November 8, Trump reversed his never settle stance and forked out $25 million to end a fraud case filed against Trump University, an institution that has since closed. English version by Heather Galloway. Login or sign up to follow actresses, movies & dramas and get specific updates and news Login Sign Up New Ad-free Subscriber Login Email Password Password Username Your E-mail will only be used to retrieve a lost password. Stay logged in Help Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby. 04:21, 3 NOV 2022 In a year marked by cases that highlight the vulnerable state of Chilean children under state care, the brutal murder of a 13-year-old orphan has disturbed Chilean society and opened a debate about why state agencies are failing to protect children. The Temuco courthouse seeing the case. More information Torturan y asesinan a un nino chileno de 13 anos por una violacion inexistente Four adults from the city of Temuco, 700 kilometers south of Santiago, have been arrested for allegedly torturing a boy whom they thought had sexually abused a five-year old girl. The girl was the daughter of two of the suspects. However, forensic evidence shows no indication that she was raped, according to prosecutors. The prosecutor, Roberto Garrido, told the court that the girls father, along with a friend, suspected that his daughter had been abused on Sunday afternoon and went looking for the boy he thought was responsible for the crime. Garrido said the two suspects found the boy and took him to a slum dwelling, where they tied him to a chair and beat him for 12 hours. With pain, and I would almost say with shame, weve seen occasions where Chilean institutions were not up to the task President Michelle Bachelet According to the prosecution, as reported by the newspaper Austral, the girls mother and the owner of the home came by later, and the mother slashed the boys face with scissors. On early Monday morning, the couple strangled the boy using a pillow and a cloth bag. An examination was carried out on the daughter of two of the suspects, which determined that she did not exhibit any genital lesions compatible with rape, said Garrido as he presented his case in court. The suspects attempted to hide the boys body, but a witness alerted the police, the court heard. According to the investigation the boy had been under state care since 2014. Earlier this year he was living in a home offered by Chiles child protection agency, SENAME, which he later abandoned. President Michelle Bachelet has spoken out about the vulnerability of state wards. Jesus Avalo SENAME has come under fire recently for failing to protect the countrys most vulnerable children. In October, Chile admitted to the death of 865 minors under state custody between 2005 and June of 2016. With pain, and I would almost say with shame, weve seen occasions where Chilean institutions were not up to the task, which is what happened with those children whose rights were violated, said Chiles president, Michelle Bachelet, earlier this week. The alleged murder also opens the debate about mob justice, which is a social reality in a number of South and Central American countries. English version by Alyssa McMurtry. Preparing for Duty: State Policy Options to Sustain Military Installations by Jennifer Schultz, NCSL, December, 2016 With Support from the U.S. Department of Defense Executive Summary Roughly 1.3 million people currently serve in the U.S. armed forces, 22 million more are veterans and 420 military installations exist in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. U.S. military operations touch every state in some way, and state legislatures are playing an increasingly substantial role in military issues. Military installationswhich may also be referred to as bases, camps, posts, stations, yards or centers are facilities that sustain the presence of U.S. forces at home and abroad. Installations located within the United States and its territories are used to train and deploy troops, maintain weapons systems and care for the wounded. Installations also support military service members and their families by providing housing, health care, child care and on-base education. The Department of Defense (DoD) contributes billions of dollars each year to state economies through the operation of military installations. The impact of this spending is felt across the state, in salaries and benefits paid to military personnel and retirees, defense contracts and tax revenues. Recent events such as the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, federal budget cuts and potential rounds of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) have contributed to uncertainty over the future role and sustainability of military installations. State legislatures are critical in managing relations between the military and surrounding communities, especially in regard to issues related to military base or mission change, growing local development and incompatible land uses that may threaten the militarys ability to operate effectively. This reportproduced by NCSL with support from the DoD Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations and Environment)highlights the impact of the military on state economies and provides state policy options to support military-community cooperation and address land use challenges that may arise as the buffer between military and civilian areas narrows. The strategies presented in the report are intended to help states secure the future of their military installations and ensure that communities continue to benefit from the jobs and business opportunities the military provides. Topics covered include: Military advisory bodies. Commanders councils. Funding and financing programs to enhance the value of military installations. Enhanced communication with the military on proposed land use changes. Compatible land use requirements. Protecting land around a military installation for agriculture or other purposes. Energy development compatibility with the military mission. Reducing light pollution. Limiting noise impacts from military activities. Real estate disclosure. Shared services agreements. HAWAII (pg 15) Hawaii is home to the U.S. Pacific Command, as well as the worlds largest multi-dimensional testing and training range. Over 67,000 military personnel live in Honolulu County alone, and the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce reported that military activities directly or indirectly generated over 102,000 jobs and $14.7 billion in economic impact in 2013. NOTE: Hawaii had the second largest military spending as a percent of its GDP at 9.8 percent (pg 2) On Oahus picturesque North Shore, the state of Hawaii helped the Army and several partnersincluding private resorts, land trusts and local governmentcome to an agreement that permanently protects productive farmland previously slated for residential development. This development would have seriously compromised the Armys ability to fully utilize the Kahuku Training Area and several key flight paths. Using funds earmarked from the state real estate conveyance tax, Hawaii contributed $1.5 million towards the protection of this key parcel, which will remain in agricultural use in perpetuity. At Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the state has furthered its commitment to encroachment mitigation through an agreement to manage protected agricultural lands for continued production. This agreement allowed the state to protect pineapple fields formerly owned by the Dole Food Company from development that would have impeded the Navys state-of-the-art satellite communications system. Now these fields will remain as working lands managed by the states Agribusiness Development Corporation. read FULL REPORT Fishery Council Sends Letters to Obama on Impacts of Marine National Monuments (15 Dec. 2016) News Release from WESPAC HONOLULU (15 Dec. 2016) The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is hopeful that when President Obama arrives in Honolulu tomorrow, he will acknowledge the $100 million commercial fishing industry in Hawaii and the impacts on that fishery by his expansions of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (MNM) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and the Pacific Remote Islands MNM, which includes nearby Johnston Atoll. The value of the Hawaii longline fishery is excess of $300 million when factoring in retail markets and support industries and their employees. The National Marine Fisheries Services Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center has reported that the expanded Papahanuamokueakea MNM may account for a potential loss of about 2.5 million pounds per year of tuna and other pelagic species worth on average $8 million, more than $9 million in fishery support businesses (e.g., fuel, gear, ice, etc.), $4.2 million in household income and $0.5 million in tax revenue and affect more than 100 jobs. The impact will be much greater on fishermen who historically utilized the US waters around the NWHI as their primary fishing grounds as well as smaller boats that are restricted in their range. Given these economic impacts, the Council believes that prohibiting commercial fishing in this area should be phased in. On Dec. 1, 2016, the Council sent its fifth letter to Obama about its concerns with the NWHI MNM expansion and a sixth letter about the impacts of the three other marine national monuments that have been proclaimed in the US Pacific Islands. The Rose Atoll, Pacific Remote Islands and Marianas Trench MNMs impact the fisheries of not only Hawaii but also American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as well as local and US mainland seafood consumers. The Obama administration has not responded to any of the Councils previous four letters, which were sent over the past nine months. Presidential proclamations through the Antiquities Act have banned commercial fishing in 61 percent of US waters around the Hawaiian Islands and have placed 51 percent of US waters around the US Pacific Islands under MNM designation. The Antiquities Act requires that monuments be proclaimed for the smallest size needed for conservation of resources of scientific and cultural interest. Obama has invoked future climate change impacts on biodiversity as one of the primary reasons for the presidential action in his proclamations expanding the NWHI and Pacific Remote Islands MNMs. Climate change impacts occur over much larger areas than contained in any marine monument. The Council believes climate change impacts will not be mitigated by prohibiting the commercial catch of a well-managed and enforced US fishery in discrete areas of US waters. Furthermore, the Council has repeatedly questioned the use of the Antiquities Act for marine conservation of tuna, billfish and other highly migratory species, which move well beyond the monument boundaries. The Antiquities Act process circumvents the National Environmental Policy Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, both of which require environmental, social and economic analysis and public input, notes Council Executive Director Kitty M. Simonds. Prior to the expansion of the NWHI monument, which spans an area four times the size of Texas, about 10 percent of the fishing effort of the Hawaii longline fleet were in these monument waters. Another 10 percent were in the US waters around nearby Johnston Atoll, which Obama closed to fishing when he expanded the Pacific Remote Islands MNM in 2014. The push for the monuments was driven not by popular demand but by a Washington, DC-based environmental organization, the Pew Environment Group, which has had the ear of successive presidents, explains Council Chair Edwin Ebisui Jr. A Pew funded study estimated that the Marianas Trench MNM would result in $10 million per year in direct spending, $5million per year in tax and the creation of 400 jobs. Needless to say, neither Guam nor the CNMI has seen any economic benefits from the monument. After seven years a monument management plan has not been completed by NOAA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Now there is talk about overlaying the monument status with a National Marine Sanctuary designation. While the local governments have received no economic benefit from the monuments, NOAA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service have been receiving $3 million per year for monument management, notes the Councils letter about the Marianas Trench, Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll MNMs. At the same time, the US Coast Guard and NOAA Office of Law Enforcement have not received additional funds or assets to increase patrols of the monument waters.. The Council was established by Congress in 1976 and has authority over fisheries seaward of state/territory waters in the US Pacific Islands pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Act. For more information and to download the letters, go to www.wpcouncil.org, email info@wpcouncil.org or phone (808) 522-8220. Letter to Obama on Papahanaumokuakea Letter to Obama on Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench and Pacific Remote Islands MNM Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council: Secretary of Commerce appointees from nominees selected by American Samoa, CNMI, Guam and Hawai`i governors: Edwin Ebisui Jr. (Hawaii) (chair); Michael Duenas, Guam Fishermens Cooperative Association (Guam) (vice chair); John Gourley, Micronesian Environmental Services (CNMI) (vice chair); Christinna Lutu-Sanchez, commercial fisherman (American Samoa) (vice chair); McGrew Rice, commercial and charter fisherman (Hawaii) (vice chair); Michael Goto, United Fishing Agency (Hawaii); Dean Sensui, film producer (Hawaii); Archie Solai, StarKist (American Samoa). Designated state officials: Suzanne Case, Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources; Ruth Matagi-Tofiga, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources; Richard Seman, CNMI Department of Lands and Natural Resources; Matt Sablan, Guam Department of Agriculture. Designated federal officials: Matthew Brown, USFWS; Michael Brakke, US Department of State; RADM Vincent B. Atkins, USCG 14th District; and Michael Tosatto, NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office Dec 7: Statewide Meetings Being Held on NWHI Marine Monument Fishing Regulations CB: Wespac Still Pushing Obama To Lift Marine Monuments Fishing Ban ording to research conducted by the University of Georgia, workers hired through job-referral networks such as friends or social acquaintances can perpetuate a culture of inequality within the workplace.Employees hired through these networks tend to keep their jobs longer, said lead researcher Ian Schmutte, assistant professor of economics at the University of Georgia (Atlanta), suggesting that this is one way to improve matches between firms and jobseekers.Referrals lead to better jobs, where both sides are happier and the jobs last longer. For firms, it's more profitable because they don't incur the cost of turnover. For employees, there is some evidence those hired through referrals earn higher wages."However, if recruiters use this network too often, diversity in the workplace may suffer as they tend to hire people who look and act like current employees.He said that while networks exist to address problems in the labour market and addresses intangible issues about the referrals work ethics, this also means that recruiters are relying on social networks, which tend to be constructed on the basis of social and economic hierarchies that can be based on historic patterns of racial or class stratification.As a result, they can perpetuate inequality or have an 'old boys club' character to them. So referral networks can be both efficiency enhancing and also lead to particular types of inequalities, he said.In his study, How do social networks affect labour markets?, Schmutte found that organisations are increasingly relying on job-referral networks despite the availability of other forms of recruitment.In spite of the fact that there are lots of other ways to get information about people, firms are increasingly utilising job-referral networks, he said.That means they're important. But it's hard to quantify how much they're enhancing efficiency versus how much they're increasing inequality."He added that the research is still in its early phase and would need further studying in order to fully understand the consequences of firms encouraging or limiting the use of social networks to recruit new hires, reported Science Daily.How do social networks affect labour markets? was published in the latest edition of IZA World of Labor. NCGOP Release In an effort to point out the blatant hypocrisy of Democrats and their allies, today the NCGOP called on Roy Cooper, legislative Democrats, and their protesting allies to condemn the long history of Democrat partisan power grabs to limit Republican power following elections. History matters, and Democrats should explain should explain and condemn these actions that are still relevant today, said Dallas Woodhouse, NCGOP Executive Director. BACKGROUND Governor ELECT Jim Hunts Christmas massacre that forced firings/resignations before he even took office. Then Democrats in the General Assembly passed a law allowing Hunt to fire all state workers that were hired during the previous five years including teachers, janitors, and road workers. As described by Wayne Grimsley, in the biography James B. Hunt, a North Carolina Progressive: In Jim Hunts Christmas massacre, the Governor Elect forced resignations of Republicans before Hunt even took office. Later the Democrat General Assembly forced all Republicans of all boards and committees, and passed a law allowing the governor to fire any rank-and-file state employee who was hired during the previous five years. Democrat Chairwoman Betty McCain called for the firing of Republican culprits. Hunts special assistant Joe Pell defended the governors spoils system saying the game of politics as far as I know is still played on the basis of to the victor goes the spoils. Read full text: http://nc.gop/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/JamesBHunt.png The stripping of Republican Governor Jim Martins hiring authority by Democrats. The stripping of all power belonging to duly elected Lieutenant Governor Jim Gardner. Lawmakers stripped the office of its ability to appoint Senate committees in the 1980s when Republican Jim Gardner found himself presiding over a chamber controlled by Democrats Read full text: http://www.wral.com/candidates-for-lieutenant-governor-offer-stark-contrast-/11644670/#pqp5iU0u0Re6HFKK.99 Roy Cooper packing the Supreme Court in 2000 North Carolina Republicans had been gaining ground in state judicial races. They had won a majority on the state supreme court in 1998. The court of appeals, then 10-2 Democratic, was up for grabs in 2000. Five Democratic-held seats four with incumbent and one an open seat after retirement had drawn GOP contenders. If Republicans managed to win four of the five, theyd take control. Democrats were then firmly in charge of the legislature as well as governors mansion. They decided in the summer of 2000 to create three new judgeships on the court of appeals, broadening it to 15 members, with Gov. Jim Hunt then authorized to fill them with Democrats who wouldnt have to stand for election until 2004. No matter how the 2000 elections would turn out, in other words, Democrats would have guaranteed control of the court of appeals for four more years. There was a court caseabout this issue. Guess who was involved in defending it? Newly elected attorney general Roy Cooper, who also helped pass the law allowing the court-packing in the first place. Read full text: http://www.americanlens.com/2016/11/21/nc-democrats-court-packing/ Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Under the leadership of the current Government, Finland is beginning to be seen as a country that is difficult to recognise as your own, they write. Finland is turning its back to those in need while a major humanitarian crisis is unfolding at the external borders of the European Union, Anna-Maja Henriksson, the chairperson of the Swedish People's Party, and Ville Niinisto, the chairperson of the Green League, state in an op-ed piece for Suomen Kuvalehti . The Government of Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre) has continued to introduce amendments to its asylum policy, the opposition leaders point out. The Aliens Act has been revised piece by piece in a way that warrants the question: Are we about to abandon our international human rights obligations, they state. Henriksson and Niinisto estimate that the legal protection of asylum seekers is being systematically taken apart in Finland. The Government is breaking families apart by setting such high administrative and economic obstacles that they would also be insurmountable for most Finns, they say. Unlike many other countries in Western Europe, Finland is turning down the majority of asylum applications from Iraqis. People targeted in severe persecutions are sent back to Iraq, outside their home regions, although there are no guarantees of their safety, Henriksson and Niinisto write. Our Finland is a legal state that does not turn its back to those in need. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh U.S. marshals, county SWAT team arrest man in Mills River The U.S. Marshals Service and members of the Henderson County Sheriffs Office SWAT team on Thursday chased down and arrested a man in Mills River after he jumped out a rear window of a house when the law officers arrived to serve an arrest warrant. Related Stories Keith Anthony Middleton was wanted by the Collier County (Fla.) Sheriffs Office for robbery with the use of a firearm on Feb. 17. The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force of the US Marshals Service,contacted the Violent Offender Task Force, in Asheville after investigators suspected that Middleton had fled to western North Carolina. Working closely with the Henderson County Sheriffs Office, the marshals followed up on numerous leads, which eventually led to 226 Knoll Ridge Road in Mills River. While they were trying to serve the warrant, Middleton jumped out a rear window and ran. Law officers caught him and arrested him. He was jailed under a $450,000 bond in Henderson County. Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders Google Ad PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT Google Ad The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo, where thousands were evacuated from the last rebel bastion in a city besieged for years. Kerry, speaking at a news briefing, said the United States was seeking an immediate, verifiable, and durable cessation of hostilities in Aleppo, and said it appeared that air strikes and shelling had stopped and that convoys were moving out. But there were also reports that a convoy of injured people had been fired on by Syrian government forces and their allies, Kerry said. Activists and residents inside the remaining rebel enclave said this week that pro-government militias had summarily executed dozens of civilians. "There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the indiscriminate and savage brutality against civilians shown by the regime and by its Russian and Iranian allies over the past few weeks, or indeed over the past five years," Kerry said. "We are seeing the unleashing of a sectarian passion. "The Assad regime is actually carrying out nothing short of a massacre." Meanwhile, an operation to evacuate thousands of civilians and fighters from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo began yesterday, part of a ceasefire deal that would end years of fighting for the city and mark a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A convoy of ambulances and buses with nearly 1,000 people aboard drove out of the devastated rebel-held area of Aleppo, which was besieged and bombarded for months by Syrian government forces, a Reuters reporter on the scene said. Women cried out in celebration as the buses passed through a government-held area, and some waved the Syrian flag. Assad said in a video statement the taking of Aleppo was a historic moment. Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher in the rebel zone, said most people were happy to leave safely, but said some are angry to be leaving "their city". Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from pro-government fighters, who injured three people, a rescue service spokesman said. Evacuation "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said UN adviser Jan Egeland. The once-flourishing economic centre with its renowned ancient sites has been pulverised during the war which has killed more than 300,000 people, created the world's worst refugee crisis and allowed for the rise of Islamic State. Turkey is considering establishing a camp in Syria for civilians being evacuated from Aleppo and the number of people brought out of the city could reach 100,000, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said. A senior Russian general, Viktor Poznikhir, said the Syrian army had almost finished its operations in Aleppo but the war is far from over, with insurgents retaining their rural stronghold of Idlib province, and the jihadist IS group holding swathes of the east and recapturing Palmyra this week. The Red Cross said close to 1,000 civilians and 26 wounded, including several children, were evacuated, a total it expected to double by day's end. Rebels and their families would be taken towards Idlib, a city in north-western Syria which is outside government control, Russia said. A 21-year-old man was savagely beaten across the face and head with a claw hammer as he slept in his bed. The victim is a very close associate of gangland murder victim Alan McNally, who was shot dead in a north Dublin pub in 2012. The young man, who has refused to make a complaint to gardai, lost multiple teeth and suffered horrific facial injuries in the attack. Gardai from Finglas were called to the incident at around 9am on Sunday and the victim was rushed to Blanchardstown's Connolly Hospital. It is understood that the young man knew his attacker and has since been released from hospital after spending a number of days receiving treatment. His suspected attacker was briefly detained by Irishtown gardai for an unrelated matter over the weekend. No arrests or charges are expected in the case despite the horrific nature of the claw hammer attack. The incident unfolded at the Barry Close estate in Finglas, which is also the location of a 'drugs superstore', which gardai have raided numerous times this year. Vicious The suspected attacker is linked to these drug dealers, according to sources. He is part of a gang linked to a property that has been raided about six times this year by local drugs squad officers. Sources say that all types of drugs - ranging from heroin to crack cocaine - are being sold by the vicious mob. They are not suspects in the Alan McNally murder case and the assault is not linked to that, according to sources. Meanwhile, a garda investigation is continuing into the murder of the assault victim's close associate, Alan McNally. Alan, from Cappagh Avenue, was killed on February 2, 2012, after he was shot multiple times while drinking in the Cappagh House pub in Finglas. The father of three sons - the youngest of whom was six at the time - had only recently been released from prison after serving five-and-a-half years for possession of 200,000-worth of heroin. Having been at the bar all day, McNally had texted a friend to say he was about to leave when he was attacked shortly after 1.10am. No one has ever been charged but gardai are following a definite line of enquiry in the murder case. A 64-year-old father-of-three who was attacked while out walking his dogs near his Co Dublin home died of blunt force trauma, an inquest into his death heard. Conservationist Michael McCoy of Ballinascorney Upper, Brittas, Co Dublin was found dead at Blackhill Forest in the Dublin Mountains on September 30, 2016. Mr McCoy was formally identified using DNA, Dublin Coroner's Court heard. The man's wife Catriona McCoy and their three daughters Sarah, Suzanne and Rachel were visibly upset as the cause of death was read out at the inquest. Trauma The post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Linda Mulligan found the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Mr McCoy left his home early on the morning of September 29 2016 intending to walk his two Boxer dogs in the hills around his home. The alarm was raised when he failed to return home and a comprehensive search of the area commenced. Mr McCoy's body was found on a forest track at around 5.30am the following day. One of his Boxer dogs, Sophie, stayed with his body until mountain rescue services arrived at the wooded forest track. The family launched an online campaign and offered a reward for the second Boxer dog, Fia who remained missing. The second dog's remains were found a month later. Detective Inspector John Walsh of Tallaght Garda Station confirmed the remains were formally identified after DNA was assessed by a forensic scientist. Condolences A file has been prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and criminal proceedings are being contemplated, DI Walsh told the court. He applied to the coroner for a six-month adjournment pending a decision from the DPP. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane adjourned the inquest until June 15, 2017 and extended her condolences to the family on their tragic loss. Mr McCoy ran the Dublin and Wicklow Conservation Group and had campaigned against a string of building developments in Dublin and Wicklow. Hundreds turned out at his funeral to pay their last respects at St. Maelruain's Church in Tallaght. John Kelly outside his Dundrum house with his Christmas lights A Dublin home has become a beacon of festive cheer to help raise funds for charity. John Kelly (61) and his wife Ann have illuminated their house with a dazzling array of Christmas lights which has attracted large numbers. "It's been great. Cars keep coming all the time to see it all," said a delighted John. For 10 years, the couple have created a magnificent spectacle each Christmas that draws crowds to their home in Mulvey Park in Dundrum. This year, the two charities that are benefiting from donations left by visitors are the Laura Lynn Foundation, which provides hospice care for children, and the Irish Cancer Society to fund medical research. "It's great to help out a good cause. People have been very generous over the years," said John, who has passed on thousands of euro in charity donations collected over the years. It is not only Rudolph and other festive characters who are delighting the children this year. Homer Simpson, Rupert the Bear, and a rotund Snowman are all there too. Santa Each year, more than 100 children arrive to meet Santa Claus in person at the house and he's back again on Sunday. John is part of a hard-working and enterprising Dublin family involved in newspaper sales in the city for generations. He joined the family business in the 1960s and remembers selling the Herald for just one old penny. Hollywood actor Patrick Bergin has said he still has women coming up to him explaining how they left their husbands after seeing Sleeping with the Enemy. He starred opposite Julia Roberts in the 1991 blockbuster hit about a violent husband whose wife stages her own death. He said he's "very proud" of his part in the film, as it shone a light on the issue of domestic violence. "It's an iconic film - I dare say it would be in the top 100 films of all time because of its subject matter and the simplicity and intensity," he told the Herald. Insight "It's shown every week on television somewhere. "People really do identify with it and I've had women come up to me and say they've left their husbands having seen that. "It gives an insight into domestic violence and the threat of it because, although he only hits her once, a lot of women live under the threat of their male counterparts. "That's a huge subject matter. So I think of it as a work of art. "Any kind of movie can raise important subject matters and people can talk about it and discuss it - it's a good thing." He has now returned to his Dublin roots and taken on a role in Red Rock, playing the part of Jim Tierney, the grandfather of Detective Rory Walsh (Chris Newman), entering the show next April. He grew up in Drimnagh, near where the show is shot, and said it was nice to return to his childhood home. Civil Contract addresses questions to Serzh Sargsyan and Seyran Ohanyan (video) There is no need to label political processes, perhaps the most important to hold fair elections. When preparing for elections we should pay attention to their organization and process, prevent electoral fraud and vote rigging, Republican lawmaker Artak Davtyan said on December 16. He says the October 2 elections in Gyumri and Vanadzor cities show that if you are well prepared for elections, you will get the desired result. The results of elections held in the atmosphere of mutual trust can put an end to hostile relations. Speaking about the return of [former defense minister] Seyran Ohanyan to politics, the HHK lawmaker said Opposition figures should not be perceived as enemies. It is not correct to say that the authorities are patriotic while the opposition is not. The Republican lawmaker does not view any of the political forces in the political arena as their enemy. We have competitors, but not rivals, Mr. Davtyan said. Alen Simonyan, a member of the Civil Contract party, also spoke about the return of Gagik Tsarukyan and Seyran Ohanyan. I want to address my question to Serzh Sargsyan: Do you want to turn our homeland into a circus? And I also want to ask a question to Seyran Ohanyan, Will your four-storey house in Vahakni Residential Community be used as pre-election headquarters? Angela Khachatryan from the Free Democrats Party said in turn that only politicians should get involved in politics. Candidates with no legislative history not uncommon Maryland's candidates for governor do not have long legislative records. Wes Moore has none at all. Analysis shows that is not uncommon. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are vowing to challenge a limit on U.S. defense aid for Israel that President Barack Obama included in the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations. The agreementreached in Septemberguarantees Israel $38 billion in aid over 10 years, but it also states that if Congress increases the aid, Israel is obliged to return the extra funds. U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Texas), Randy Weber (R-Ariz.), and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday at Agudath Israel of Americas annual legislative luncheon in New York City that the restriction is unconstitutional because it would interfere with the ability of Congress to fulfill its mandate as a co-equal branch of the federal government. Engel vowed to fight every step of the way to bring about the revocation of the aid limit. U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), speaking at the same event, said that the aid restriction conflicts with the Constitution in spirit if not in letter because Congress has a right to respond to emergency situations, and we will not give up that right. As an example, Jeffries said that if Israel is attacked, it might require extra aid to defend itself. Congress, he said, should be able to take action in such circumstances. More Jewish Democrats oppose Ellison Another topic addressed by several of the speakers at the luncheon was the bid by Minnesotas U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). A number of Jewish leaders have expressed concern that Ellison would turn the Democratic Party away from Israel. Speaking with JNS.org at the Agudath Israel event, two more Jewish Democratic officeholders stated their opposition to Ellisons candidacy. The Minnesota lawmaker has come under fire for his past association with Nation of Islam movement leader Louis Farrakhan, publicly claiming in 1995 that Farrakhan is not an anti-Semite. Additionally, Ellison has urged increased U.S. pressure on Israel and has voted against funding Israels Iron Dome missile defense system. New Yorks Rep. Engel, the ranking Democratic member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told JNS.org that he opposes Ellisons candidacy because we need a full-time chairman for the DNC, not a member of Congress who would only be able to devote part of his time to the job. Asked whether his opposition to Ellison is also based on Ellisons record concerning Israel, Engel replied, My positions on Israel are well known, my focus is on having a full-time chair for the party. New York State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) said that he, too, opposes Ellisons bid because of the importance of having someone who can devote himself full-time to rebuilding the Democratic Party. Weprin said he is aware of the statements about Israel that have been attributed to Ellison, and if they are accurate, that would be a cause for concern. Weprin added that he is troubled by the positions that [2016 presidential candidate] Sen. Bernie Sanders took on Israel, and I know that Sanders nominated Congressman Ellison to the Democratic convention resolutions committee in order to try to get those positions in the platform. The statements by Engel and Weprin against Ellisons possible party chairmanship echo the sentiments of New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who told JNS.org earlier this month that if Israel has to depend on support from the Ellisons of the world, it would be in serious trouble. FBI official: Palestinian terror tactics adopted in U.S. attacks William Sweeney, Jr., assistant director of the FBIs New York Division, said at the luncheon that the Palestinian terrorist tactic of grabbing whatever you can to carry out an attack, whether a bulldozer or a kitchen knife is being adopted by terrorists within the U.S. Citing the attack at the Ohio State University campus this week by a Somali Muslim, Sweeney said that attacks by homegrown violent extremists are simpler, aimed at more diverse targets, and carried out by younger attackers. Sweeney said that the threat of terrorism on American soil has become more serious in the past year, with some of the attacks being carried out by teenagers, who often are not in contact with terrorists overseas, unlike during previous periods. HICKORY With temperatures dipping below freezing in recent days, the Hickory Fire Fighters Association stepped up this week to bring Christmas early by giving away nearly 100 new coats to students in need. The coats were distributed to schools in the Hickory Public Schools system as part of the national Operation Warm program. We wanted to make the most direct impact in our community as possible because as firefighters we go into these houses and we see these poor conditions, Hickory Fire Fighters Association (HFFA) president Rich Jenkins said, during the presentation of 20 coats at Oakwood Elementary. They heard about Operation Warm from their state-level association. After speaking with them, we decided it would be the best bet to help our community out, Jenkins said. Operation Warm started in 1998 in Pennsylvania when Dick Sanford encountered a group of children coatless huddled at a bus stop on a cold December morning, according to operationwarm.org. He and his local Rotary would go on to purchase 58 coats for local children living in poverty. Since then, the program has gone national, giving away millions of new winter coats in communities across the country. The HFFA raised the money for the coats from a raffle for a leather fire helmet and from donations. Operation Warm then took those funds and purchased the new coats for the association to hand out. And some of these kids never get anything new, so its pretty tremendous to see their faces when they get their new coat, Jenkins said. The coats were distributed among Jenkins, Viewmont, Longview and Oakwood elementary schools as well as Northview and Grandview middle schools. I wish we could give a coat to everybody, not just children, Jenkins said. This is just our first year and we hope to continue this year after year and try to donate stuff throughout the year. Oakwood Elementary counselor Dena Nigrelli sees the HFFAs help as a reminder to the public of the needs many families in Hickory have. We do a lot of different collections at Christmas time. The kids collect for Cops for Tots and for other organizations, so they are used to being ambassadors for the rest of the community, to help the community, Nigrelli said. In this case, it was the community helping us, which is great. We work really hard with all of our kids to be accepting of all people and of all differences and we try not to see poverty in our school but to treat everybody the same. This gives the children an opportunity to help out others. Nigrelli added the donation was also a tremendous message of support from the community. What I tell the various organizations like the (Hickory Fire Fighters Association) and the churches that help us is that when were able to reach out to families and give them the help they need during the holidays, it makes them more willing to work with us, Nigrelli said. They call us back and they trust us moreit helps build our relationships with the families in our communities. Jenkins reached out to Hickory Public Schools director of student services Angela Simmons to start organizing the coat give-away. She immediately saw the value of Operation Warm. A lot of times we do see kids, especially when it starts to get cold like this, coming to school in short sleeves and not being warm and having to stand out at the bus stops early in the morning, Simmons said. Its just heartwarming for all of the schools to see the kids are going to be warm and toasty at their bus stops or walking to school. Its also a valuable teaching moment for the students. They get to see that other people care no matter what their economic status is, Simmons said. It also gives them a sense of knowing to give back as well. Once they receive then they need to remember this later on in life and then give back when theyve become successful. LINCOLNTON Lincolnton Police arrested six men on charges of solicitation of a minor by computer for unlawful sexual activity after two months of online sex predator stings conducted by detectives, according to a press release from the Lincolnton Police Department (LPD). Scott Philip Brule, 49, of Dallas, N.C., was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing and one misdemeanor count of disseminating obscene material to a minor. He was issued a $20,000 secured bond. Roger Wayne Collins, 53, of Fort Mill, S.C., was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing. He was issued a $50,000 secured bond. Caleb Leslie Disorda, 28, of Vale, was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing. He was issued a $30,000 secured bond. Christopher William Lowe, 42, of Stanley, was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing. He was issued an $ 80,000 secured bond. James Silas Ritter III, 48, of Indian Trail, was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing. He was issued a $70,000 secured bond. John Dixon Woods, 51, of China Grove, was charged with one felony count of soliciting a minor by a computer for unlawful sexual activity and appearing and one misdemeanor count of disseminating obscene material to a minor. He was issued a $50,000 secured bond. According to the release, detectives posed as minors on social media sites and communicated with suspects. LPD Lt. Jason Munday said in the release that the detectives work hard to gather significant evidence for the District Attorneys Office to use against suspects. The goal of these operations is to protect our children. This type of proactive approach will hopefully make some potential offenders think twice about setting up arrangements to meet a child, Munday said. If these operations prevent one child from being abused then it is successful. LPD charged 21 suspects in online sex predator stings in 2016. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ Cultural festivals at Delhi University (DU) are something which every student looks forward to. Endless music and dancing, impressive cash prizes, big celebrity namesDU fests are usually the works. However, this year conceptualising the fests has become a monumental task, owing to the demonetisation-induced cash crunch. Usually, by now we would have at least 30% of our work sorted but this year we arent anywhere close to arranging sponsors for out fest, says Sachin Saipawar, Student Union president, Kirori Mal College. In fact,our regular sponsors havent even responded to our requests yet. Another problem is locking in smaller vendors, as all transactions happen in cashas Arshad Muhammad, treasurer, student union, St Stephens College points out. The situation is so bad that this year, getting our college sweatshirts got delayed by three weeks as people didnt have enough money to pay their staff, he adds. We had hoped to raise at least 25% of 1.5 crore we are aiming for by now. The situation has become so worrisome that even the teachers are sympathising with us. - Bharatendu Verma, SRCC Generally, the budget of these fests go up every year, but this the students union and volunteers are finding it tough to meet even half the expected budget. Bharatendu Verma, president, students union, Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), says, A lot of team members have gone into the field to pitch to restaurants and other businesses but there has been no conversions. We had hoped to raise at least 25% of 1.5 crore we are aiming for by now. The situation has become so worrisome that even the teachers are sympathising with us. As of now, getting banks to sponsor our events also appears impossible as theyre busy changing notes. - Hindu College, student union member As most college unions are grappling with the situation, some are trying to think of ways to nail a big sponsorship. Since most colleges are facing similar issues, were looking for smarter ways to modify our pitch so that the proposal appeals to our sponsors and our conversion rates go up, says a Hindu College student union member. As of now, getting banks to sponsor our events also appears impossible as theyre busy changing notes. The cash crunch may affect cash prizes and the scale of several fests. (Waseem Gashroo/HT Photo) In fact, the prize money budget has also been slashed drastically. Generally, getting a celebrity is the big attraction. And a fest is considered as big only as the celebrities you get. So, we will have to slash the prize money, says Neha, SRCC. However, this idea hasnt gone down well with many.. We are organising a cultural fest. If the prize money of cultural competition is slashed for a celebrity who will only attract unruly crowds, why even organise a fest, rues Rahul, a dram soc member. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In the spring of 1965, the great art scholar Roy C. Craven wrote a short paper chronicling the Indian art scene as it existed in the 1960s. Craven noted how the newly independent country was trying to move away from art works depicting national pride to a new critical sensibility, where international movements like Abstractionism were embraced, but in a peculiarly Indian context. Craven chronicled a slew of artists, obscure then, but regarded as titans now, like M.F. Husain and Vasudeo Gaitonde. Among these names, he incorporated another artist from the 1960s, who, though he has remained under-represented in Indian art exhibitions, is slowly gaining prominence as one of the most original artistic voices. The man is Jeram Patel. Jeram Patel was born in Gujarat in 1930. He studied art at the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai, then travelled to England and France in 1957-59 and later to Japan in 1961. These travels refined his artistic sensibilities. Craven notes that Jeram Patel speaks very softly. One must listen carefully, not just because the voice is quiet but because the thoughts expressed are complex. Jeram is a thoughtful man with a sense of humour. And his works are like the man. Cravens description of this great artist stands in sharp contrast to painter and photographer Richard Bartholomews more famous one, describing Patel as a lone wolf. When Patel passed away on January 18, his colleague and one of the members of the Group 1890, which Jeram helped found in the 1960s, Gulammohammed Sheikh, wrote in his obituary that Patel was a reticent man, tormented, burning with an inner fire and almost always tense, sometimes to the point of being aggressive. These somewhat conflicting views have, however, one thing in common. They all highlight one very important aspect of Jeram Patels works: interiority. This work of crow quill and ink on handmade paper is part of Patels acclaimed Hospital Series. (Courtesy: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art ) Whether its his famous Hospital Series, or his iconic black strokes on canvas, with, at times, only a hint of colour lurking underneath the monstrosity of the monochrome, they all reveal Patels fascination with the hidden, the interior. And this interior is, many a time, not a pleasant place. In Patels hands, the space of the interior, becomes a theatre of violence. Gradually, Patel began focusing on large black strokes and his signature style of using a blowtorch on wood to create intricate patterns. These large strokes on canvas almost give the impression of a Rorschach ink blot. when seen from a distance, they appear as if to move from one canvas to the other, as if what we are witnessing is not painting, but drama. We can almost sense the primeval idea of violence and savagery that Patel was driving at, a violence that lurks underneath a calm exterior. In the 1900s, the great anthropologist Sir James Fraser, noted in his book, The Golden Bough, how every great civilisation hides within its rational self, a primeval devotion to savagery. Looking at Patels mighty oeuvre, it feels as if he was enacting that on canvas and on wood. Roobina Kharode, director and chief curator, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, which is presently showcasing Patels first-ever retrospective, remembers him from her time at the M.S. University of Baroda, as being aloof, someone who always stayed in his world. I found Patel to be someone who was not receptive to the outside world, inaccessible, withdrawn, a man who was content straying unto himself, she reminisces. However, the complexity of Patel is illustrated in a curious anecdote that Kharode recounts. Around 2006, when she was curating an exhibition for the Delhi Art Gallery, on the theme of the line, she had written a letter to Patel asking him to share his famous Hospital Series. After that letter, I received no reply, and I thought he didnt want to respond. But then one day, he arrived in Delhi himself, carrying a suitcase that contained his works, and he walked up to me and offered them, telling me that since I wanted them for the exhibition, I should have them. Just like that. This Untitled work - made by torching wood - is an example of how Patel would use the blowtorch like a brush on the body of the wood. The process often lasted an hour. (Courtesy: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art ) For the Kiran Nadar Museum, the retrospective on Jeram Patel forms the last part of the trilogy on the Group 1890, to which Jeram belonged. They had earlier held exhibitions on the works of Nasreen Mohamedi and Himmat Shah, two of Patels colleagues from the 1890. In September, 2014, the museum bought 230 of Patels art works for a whopping six crores. Around 180 of these works are on display at the museum. While the group of the Bombay Progressives, comprising of such luminaries like M.F. Husain and S.H. Raza, dominated the Indian art world, the Group 1890 gave a quiet challenge to their dominance. The group held their first, and last exhibition together, at the Lalit Kala Academy Gallery in 1963, which was inaugurated by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. The groups catalogue essay was written by the great writer, Octavio Paz, who was then the Ambassador of Mexico to India. In reality, 1890 was the house number of Jayant Pandya, one of the groups members and a very close friend of Jeram Patel. Sheikh notes in his obituary of Patel and published in Art India, of how Patel would use the blowtorch like a brush on the body of the wood, through the whole act it looked as though his hand was groping the surface of the wood with a finger of fire. The ritual lasted over an hour. When he had burnt enough, the wood, denuded of its outer shell looked transformed into a dark beauty. For Sheikh, the violence in the works of Patel stemmed primarily from the violence he saw in the 1960s and the 1970s. In his later works, one can see Patel taking his existential rage to a newer, more sublime level, in works on wood that dealt with beautiful labyrinthine patterns, but from where escape is futile. Artist Jeram Patel at an art exhibition named at Delhi Art Gallery in Hauz Khan, New Delhi. Patel passed away on January 18, 2016. He was 86 years old. (India Today Group/Getty Images) Sheikh notes that Patel was married and had a son, but that he was estranged from his family from early on. Before he died, Patel bequeathed his entire work and his property to his caretaker, Dahya Marwadi, a curious detail that highlights both his iconoclastic nature, and the loneliness he must have felt during the last years of his life. Looking at the photographs of his younger self, one can is almost taken in by the sheer magnetism, the raw charm and the animal spirit that these photos exude. Its the same spirit that now hangs, as lonesome as the man, over his art works. The writer is a doctoral fellow in the Dept. of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, and a freelance journalist. He writes on culture. What: Jeram Patel (1930-2016) A Retrospective Where: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, DLF South Court Mall, Saket, New Delhi Nearest metro station: Malviya Nagar When: Till 20 December, 10.30 am to 6.30 pm (closed on Monday) The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has directed the chief wildlife warden of Madhya Pradesh to carry out an inquiry into the death of a white tigress at the Zoological Park and Rescue Centre at Mukundpur in Satna district. The CZA issued the direction based on a complaint, which alleged that the white tigress named Radha died due to the alleged negligence of zoo management. Radha, who had suffered severe injuries after she was attacked by a tiger inside the zoo last month, succumbed to her injuries on December 6. Following her death, Ajay Dubey, a tiger conservationist and board member of Transparency International (India), had written a letter to the CZA alleging negligence of zoo authorities. The CZA has asked the states Wild Life Warden to conduct an inquiry into the death of the tigress, Ajay Dubey told PTI after getting a copy of the letter. Safari at this Zoological Park and Rescue Centre is being used for commercial purposes, which has caused harm to the tigress and other animals, he added. Read: False claims, inaccuracies in MPs story on white tigers The CZA has sought an inquiry by a team comprising a former zoo manager and the veterinarian and also directed the state forest authorities to treat this matter as urgent. It has sought the reply of zoo management on the nine various points raised by Dubey in his complaint. The tigress was brought to Mukundpur from Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and she was housed with a Royal Bengal tiger (named Nakul) for mating purpose, which resulted in a fight, Dubey said in the complaint. This was an attempt of forcible mating in the absence of expertise and proper facilities at Mukundpurs Zoological Park and Rescue Centre, he said adding that the tigress died due to the negligence of zoo management. The tigress had stopped eating three days prior to her death, he added. The management of Mukundpur Park had not taken necessary permission from the CZA before shifting of the tiger from one enclosure to another, he alleged. Narmada Bachao activist Medha Patkar on Friday criticised the Narmada Sewa Yatra, alleging that the MP government has digressed from the agenda of the programme and has made money out of it. The government does not even have the right to even talk about saving Narmada and do such programmes. It is the government that has ruined the river by permitting sand mining and inviting thermal projects near its banks, Patkar said. Stop intrusion of industrial corridors and mining to save Narmada The government, with its various moves, is trying to convert Narmada into a lake. If the intrusion of industrial corridors and mining is not stopped, Narmada will soon vanish, she said. The government has stopped considering making dams on Narmada. It is now launching schemes like the Narmada pipeline to fool farmers and tribal people. No farmer or tribal will benefit from any of the schemes, she said. Bhopal-based environmentalist Subhash C Pandey spoke at length on the alleged lack of research by the government. Building a pathway on Narmada will harm areas ecosystem According to reports, the government is planning to make an eight-metre pathway on Narmada besides planting fruit-bearing trees on its banks. Little do the ministers know and understand that building a pathway on the Narmada will harm the ecosystem of the area. Also, the aquatic life will be disturbed, he said. They have plans for planting fruit-bearing trees in a lush wild forest, which is an irrational thought. They will cut wild trees that help balance the ecosystem and plant smaller trees bearing lemons and pomegranates. Then, these trees would require pesticides and insecticides, which will again destruct the river water. Any environment expert would know that deep-rooted big wild trees are necessary on river banks to prevent the soil erosion, which fruit bearing trees would not be able to do, he said. The MP health department has planned to take measures to keep a check on the nourishment of mothers and infants, after several cases of malnourishment-related deaths were reported from Sheopur, Rewa and Satna districts over the past few months. Steps are also being taken to reduce the infant mortality rate in Madhya Pradesh, health minister Rustam Singh told HT. We have seen the condition of infants in Madhya Pradesh and have realised that regular measures can help us to keep track of what children and their mother are facing in remote districts. The Sheopur cases have been a lesson, said Singh. According to the minister, a squad from the health department will visit the infants house 10 days after it is born to check on his/her health and nourishment. The squad will also check if the mother is getting the required supplements or not. After the preliminary check up, the squad will do a follow-up visit two months later, followed by a final check up four months later. If the infant requires treatment, the health department will bear the cost. These measures will be applicable in all districts of the state. This will not only help us to check malnutrition but will also help us diagnose other diseases. Infant mortality will be reduced through this step, Singh said. According to the National Family Health Survey 4.51 infants die in MP per 1000 births one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country. The state also has the second highest under-five mortality rate, according to a recent release of the Sample Research Survey-2014. Recent cases of malnutrition-related deaths December 12: Three girls between the ages 2 and 3 years died of malnutrition in Satna district within 24 hours October 14: Rewa district reported at least four malnutrition deaths over a period of three months September/ October : An estimated 116 infants died in Sheopur district over a period of 5 months, the government only confirmed 21 deaths Anyone who speaks before an audience of Indians about their countrys foreign policy faces a standard question list. Why do we not use overwhelming military force to punish Pakistan after a terrorist attack? How close can we get to the United States given their record of playing footsie with our enemies? Does it make sense to say India will never use nuclear weapons first? Shivshankar Menon, among our most cerebral diplomatic practitioners, attempts to answer these and other questions by providing case histories of New Delhis decision-making regarding a number of foreign policy problems. He interweaves sadly too few personal anecdotes in each narrative and, intermittently, ponders the nature of Indian foreign policy. The opening chapter is on China, the country he knows the best and the one that happens to be Indias greatest strategic challenge. There is an excellent description of the years of twists and turns in the bilateral push-and-shove over the border and how late Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao decided to target an administrative management of the border rather than seek a political solution. Indias strategy against a much stronger opponent, Menon writes, has been diplomatic effortsfocused on convincing China that any misadventure would result in embarrassment and pain to that country and would frustrate the leaderships political goals. Worryingly, this is not as easy it once was. One reason is that with both India and China rising in power, their relative sense of negotiating strength is perpetually changing. More recently it is Chinas silence or ambivalence about the rise of India that poses a puzzle and a challenge. Beijing is more open in its support for Pakistan, more public in acting against Indias interests elsewhere in the world and generally a lot more difficult to handle. However, Menon argues, it is not clear why this shift has taken place though he speculates, somewhat unconvincingly given Beijings overall bolshiness across Asia, that the Indo-US nuclear deal could have played a role. The labyrinthine nuclear negotiation with the US is used to inspect the changed landscape of Indo-US relations. Critics of the deal and the closeness to the US in general point to a trail of broken promises by Washington, particularly in the nuclear field. The nuclear deal was marked by some fudging on both sides. Ultimately, New Delhi knew it could never stop Washington from ripping apart its written pledges if it felt it necessary some time in the future. The real answer was that US commercial, strategic and other interests once enmeshed in the Indian programme, would ensure continuity, argues Menon. When dealing with superpowers, context is everything. A presumable desire for brevity means the nuclear deal chapter is incomplete: it ignores the crucial role of the Indian-American community and the benefits of the end of dual-use technology sanctions. He claims the Indias nuclear liability law simply reflected existing norms. This was clearly not the case as its passage led to the shutdown of Indias decades-old domestic nuclear component industry for several years. Shivshankar Menon at his South Block office in New Delhi after he took charge as Foreign Secretary on September 1, 2006. (Sunil Saxena/HT Photo) Nothing from across the borders seizes the average Indian mind more than the antics of Pakistan. After dissecting the decision to not militarily respond to the 26/11 attack on Mumbai, Menon argues Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the right decision not to respond. While he believes future Indian governments will not be so restrained, the arguments he puts forward to support Singhs decision largely still hold true. There is only gloom and doom when it comes to Indias western neighbour. Pakistans steady slide into incoherence, its disintegration into multiple power centers, and the diminishing writ of the state also means that support for cross-border terrorism could actually grow in the future, he writes. Indian policymakers and diplomats must be prepared for the long struggle to continue without decisive military solutions, and set ourselves modest political goals in this struggle. Temporary silencing the cross-border terrorists is the best we can hope for Islamabad will remain the dark ballast to Indias global rise. Indias involvement in the Sri Lankan civil war was New Delhis most traumatic overseas adventure. It led to thousands of Indian deaths including that of the prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, most responsible for Indias entanglement. Given the important lessons India should be deriving from this war, the chapter on the Lankan war is less than satisfying. One still gets a sense of a New Delhi outmanoeuvred by a wily Sinhala leadership when it sent in the troops. There is no discussion on how Indian foreign policy should navigate an overseas crisis which elicits strong state-level political passions. Menon concludes the civil wars level of bloodshed was probably unavoidable and was an example of poor options and minimax foreign policy decisions decisions aimed at minimizing the harm to ones own interest while maximizing the gain. Shivshankar Menon (then Foreign Secretary) with Pranab Mukherjee (then in charge of External Affairs) at the joint press conference of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in New Delhi on 05 December 2008. (Vipin Kumar/HT) Given ill-informed commentary questioning Indias no-first-use nuclear doctrine, Menon provides a clinically rational exposition as to why this is the only doctrine that makes sense for India. Nuclear weapons, he points out, are primarily political weapons, the currency of power in the nuclear age, rather than effective war-fighting weapons. Indias nuclear arsenal exists to ensure the country is not blackmailed by another nuclear actor, not to give it blackmailing abilities. Assured retaliation combined with a no first use policy also means that it is not the number of nuclear weapons that India or its adversaries possess that matters. What matters is Indias ability to inflict unacceptable damage in retaliatory strike or strikes. He summarises it in one line: first strike equals aggression, no-first-use equals deterrence. Read more: Why India didnt attack Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks - An excerpt from Choices Amid all these tales of policy, Menon tries to define and defend an Indian way of foreign policy. New Delhis global actions are marked by boldness in conception, allied with caution in implementation but this does not amount to a culture of restraint as some critics have argued. He says India is not a status quo power but wants to modify though not overthrow the existing world order. He criticizes the Modi government for being marked by much activity and energetic projection but without a conceptual framework. Like everyone else, Menon says Indias engagement with the world suffers from capacity. The Indo-US nuclear deal was a herculean diplomatic task but it sapped New Delhis resources. If India wishes to be taken seriously by the world as a power, our diplomatic machine should be able to work three or four such issues at any one time. We are not there yet In what is turning out to be a daily affair, industrialist Nusli Wadia, an independent director on board of Tata Chemicals, on Thursday shot off a letter to shareholders of the company, raising concerns about continued losses. An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) has been called on December 23 to, among other things, remove Wadia as director. Contesting the move, his letter highlights serious business lapses that he said have inflated the debt of the company to over 8,695 crore in 10 years. Tata Chemicals is one of the oldest companies of the Tata Group and has had a chequered, 77-year history, born during tumultuous years; it was listed in 1939. During the last 10 years mainly due to various acquisitions the consolidated debt of your company went up from 1,827 crore to 8,695 crore. This included the funding required for other joint ventures and subsidiaries. The total impairment of all the various investments made is approximately 2,000 crore, Wadia said his letter. I had raised my serious concerns over the years for providing continuing financial resources of the company toward the overseas business and assets, which were continuously under performing and incurring substantial losses. Pointing at the 2005 acquisition of the Brunner Mond Group, Wadia said there were apprehensions in a section of the board on the proposed acquisition that also had soda ash business operations in UK, Kenya and the Netherlands at a cost of around 800 crore. Concerns about international businesses were first flagged by former chairman Cyrus Mistry who is also sought to be removed as director via the EGMs in his letter to the board of Tata Sons. Indian banks have issued new currency notes worth Rs 4.61-lakh crore in the month through December 10, logging a pace that will not help the government replenish much of the cash it pulled out of the economy by December 30. During the same period banned bills of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 returned by the people amounted to Rs 12.44-lakh crore, the latest Reserve Bank of India data on demonetisation showed. The total cash pulled out of circulation by the government was about Rs 14-lakh crore. Banks have issued a total of 21.8 billion pieces of notes till December 10. Of these, 20.1 billion pieces were of Rs 10, 20, 50 and 100s, and 1.7 billion of Rs 2000 and Rs 500. The jargon killer: Demonetisation Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared on November 8 that the existing 500- and 1000-rupee notes (86% of Indias currency in circulation) would be replaced with the aim of fighting corruption. He said the notes were being stripped of their status as legal tender, a process that is known as demonetisation. The governments shock recall of 500-and 1000-rupee bank bills on November 8 has unleashed a severe cash crisis and resulted in long, chaotic queues at bank and ATMs. Given that money is short in supply, banks have been virtually rationing it. The crux of the problem is change, specifically the Rs 500 note, which the RBIs four presses cannot, currently, print in adequate number. An extrapolation of 2016 RBI data on the capacity of Indian printing presses and currency distribution indicates that, at current levels, Prime Minister Narendra Modis 50-day deadline to replenish currency stocks will not be met. If this image of a Dec 13 @RBI_India statement posted by @Jamewils is to b believed, then we need to worry a lot more about #DeMonetisation. pic.twitter.com/S6nrNxxFFy rajesh mahapatra (@rajeshmahapatra) December 16, 2016 PM Modis 50-Day deadline for re-monetisation set to fail: Heres why If the government wants to introduce Rs 9-lakh crore or 35% less money than it recalled it will take up to May 2017, and if it wants to reintroduce the entire Rs 14-lakh crore that it withdrew, that could take up to August 2017, shows an analysis by data mining firm IndiaSpend. An HT analysis also shows it will take the RBI at least four months to print the required new notes and several weeks more to get them into the system. Heres the math we did for you The Rs 500 bill is the most popular currency as it is highly fungible across transactions. But while the government says it has released enough currency notes into the system, many feel otherwise. About 68% of respondents to a poll by LocalCircles, a citizen engagement platform, said they had not yet received a Rs 500 note. Rs 500 bills were circulated on a small scale by the RBI in the week after demonetisation. Volumes were increased in late November even as more of the highest denomination Rs 2000 bills were printed. He was trained in painting, tailoring and cooking during his three-year stay at north Delhis Majnu Ka Tila shelter home. But for the 22-year-old man- the juvenile of the Dec 16 gang rape, who was found guilty of raping and killing the 23-year-old physiotherapist on December 16, 2012- cooking was always an art he wanted to master. A year after he walked free, he is far away from the national capital, earning a living cooking at a dhaba in south India. Authorities do not want to disclose his location fearing a threat to his life. After his release on December 20, 2015, he was kept with an NGO for a few days. Later, the NGO rehabilitated him to the southern part of the country. He is currently working at a roadside eatery, said an officer, who was part of his rehabilitation programme. The officer said that not many are aware of his background. He was 11 when he fled home, 240 km from Delhi. His elder sister single-handedly fends for the family of six ailing mother, younger siblings and bedridden father. The family still lives in the same village. After leaving home, he came to Delhi to earn money and got in touch with Ram Singh and the other accused. He used to clean the bus in which the physiotherapist student was raped on December 16, and they would give him food in return. On that night too, they asked him to accompany them. During his time at the shelter, he used to call his mother often, said an official. Read| Silence wont bring change, must talk about rape: mother of Dec 16 victim A number of welfare officers and a counsellor, who spoke to him at the correction home, told HT that he was the most disciplined inmate. They say soon after coming to the shelter, he turned religious. He grew a beard and started offering namaz five times a day. Initially, he was kept away from the other inmates. But during the last year of his stay, he shared the dormitory with a high court blast accused. This led many to believe that he was radicalised. So he was shifted to a separate room. He had little interest in studies and the only thing he learnt was to write his name. Cooking is his passion and he was always there to give a final touch to dishes prepared by the staff. Inmates often demanded food cooked by him, the officer added. Read| Do not take the blame on yourself, dont break: A rape survivors letter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Its not easy to predict what the victory of Donald Trump, the first ever United States president with no prior government or military service, will mean for the rest of the world. But a few points are already clear. Here are four. Trans-Atlantic ties, already under serious strain in recent years, are in deep trouble. Consider German chancellor Angela Merkels public congratulations for Trump following his victory: Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom, and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political views. I offer the next president of the United States close cooperation on the basis of these values. In other words, Mr Trump, renounce half of what you said as a candidate, and well get along fine. Read | Make America great again: Its over to Donald Trump Merkel has good reason to doubt Trumps commitment to trans-Atlantic values, given the encouragement he has provided for xenophobic anti-EU populists in Britain, France, Italy, and nearly every other country in Europe. In addition, Trumps consistently conciliatory comments toward Putins Russia frighten many in eastern and central Europe, and they leave all Nato members wondering whether Trump remains committed to the alliance and its goals. In the Pacific, the outlook is more mixed. Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Malaysia are already more actively courting China. More broadly, US alliances with countries like Japan, South Korea, India and Australia are based at least as much on shared security and commercial interests as on democratic values. Chinas expansion is their common concern. Trumps campaign rhetoric and the composition of his White House team suggest hell take a harder line toward Beijing than any US president in half a century. Read | India should cautiously welcome Trumps views on One China policy Japans Shinzo Abe rightly sees opportunity in Trumps triumph, and he has moved quickly to build a strong relationship. Trumps call for allies to do more to defend themselves will generate stress in Tokyo and Seoul, but it plays well with Abes drive to expand Japans military mandate, and Trumps friendlier approach to Putin leaves more space for Abe to engage Russia in hopes of reclaiming island territories lost during World War II. The key Asian flashpoint in coming years looks to be North Korea, which has made significant progress toward a military capacity that directly threatens the US mainland. This will also help keep US ties with Japan and South Korea strong even if Trump pressures these allies to pay higher costs for US guarantees. Of course, its relations between Washington and Beijing that will bear closest scrutiny. Even here there is hope for improvement. Trump may press hard on trade, investment and currency issues. His criticisms may inflame Chinese hawks. But Chinas leaders know hes much less likely to push them on human rights questions and political reform than any of his recent predecessors, and a more transactional approach to the relationship will suit President Xi Jinping just fine. Read | Why a Trump presidency is bad news for the US and world In West Asia, the first impact of Trumps commercial approach to relationships is to speed the erosion of US ties with traditional Gulf allies, particularly Saudi Arabia. The shale revolution in the US leaves the US less dependent on the region for energy, and Trump has no reason to rebuild already damaged ties with governments that supported Hillary Clintons candidacy and criticised his comments on Islam and terrorism. Nor will it boost Riyadhs confidence that Trump, aware that multilateral sanctions cant be restored, will probably edge away from promises to tear up the Iran nuclear deal. Even if Trump does shred the deal, ties with Gulf allies will still suffer, because Trumps friendly approach to Putin, an ally of Iran and Syrias Bashar al-Assad, will only make matters worse. In this way, Trumps victory will intensify the Riyadh-Tehran rivalry, the source of much of the regions turmoil as the increasingly insecure Saudis become more aggressive in fighting Iran by proxy. Finally, Trumps effect on Latin America is less obvious for a region that was already drifting away from the dominance of the Left. There is one key exception. The main direct impact will be the boost Trumps influence provides for Mexicos political Left and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in particular. Trumps victory, his insults toward Mexican migrants, his pledge to build a border wall and force Mexico to pay for it, his threat, sincere or not, to impose high tariffs on Mexican goods entering the US and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, and his promises to expel millions of Mexicans living illegally in the United States have transformed US relations with its southern neighbour. Read | India has a relative advantage with respect to Trump Mexicos current government will have to offer Trump concessions on many issues since the country sends 80% of its exports and draws 60% of its imports from the United States. Lopez Obrador, a talented populist, is already building support for a 2018 presidential run by criticising the governments weakness in the face of pressure from an American president widely despised across Mexico. Ian Bremmer is president, Eurasia Group and author of Superpower: Three Choices for Americas Role in the World The views expressed are personal SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON D-for Donald Trump; D-for Demonetisation and D for Disruption. The Alphabet of the year 2016 self-selected itself; as did the word. Disruptive ideas defined the year gone by, throwing up an unexpected American President and back home a decision that one politician (who wants to remain unnamed) calls the single most dramatic change in our part of the world since Partition. As hyperbolic as that claim may be, the truth is that very few of us can predict the scale and depth of change -- and havoc -- Notebandi may bring. For the past month, like millions of Indians who have no special expertise in economics, I have tried to wrap my head around the currency purge. These are the commonsensical questions I have -- yes, you may even say D -- for Dumb -- that I have still found no good or convincing answers to. Read: Demonetisation woes: HTs photo of old man crying in a bank touches a raw nerve Was chocking black money the main goal of this demonetisation? While the government has continuously shifted goal posts on the actual aim of wiping out 86% of Indias currency -- and is now emphasizing digital payments more than netting the big sharks -- at least initially the decision was pitched as a surgical strike on corruption. However, given that only an estimated 6% of Indias black money -- certainly less than 10% is the consensus -- is in cash, why is this pain worth the gain? If most tainted or hoarded money has already been channeled into gold, real estate, swiss banks and other tax havens, isnt the primary hardship to those who in fact do pay their taxes or dont even earn enough to qualify as the real targets of an anti-corruption program? Read: SC refuses to pass interim order on demonetisation, restrains HCs from hearing petitions If there is greater chance of black money being hoarded in higher currency notes -- the logic for targeting the 500 and 1000 notes -- then why print the 2000 rupee note? By your own stated logic, wouldnt the higher denomination notes restart the same cycle all over again -- as is already evident in the series of cash seizures where much of the money hoarded has been found in new notes? RSS ideologue S. Gurumurthy, believed to be in the inside loop on all demonetisation decisions, has already said his personal view is that even 2000 rupee notes should be phased out, arguing that they are an interim arrangement to meet the demand-supply mismatch. Hasnt Demonetization created an elaborate opportunity for money laundering -- and enabled more corruption instead of less? Either that or the government grossly miscalculated the black money in circulation in 500 and 1000 rupee notes. Take a look at the latest numbers. The RBI confirms that 12. 44 lakh crores (of nearly 15 lakh crores which is the monetary value of the now-banned notes) is already back in bank deposits since the November 8th announcement. In other words, the governments hope of a black money windfall that could have been transferred to welfare schemes has been belied. And if all of this money is not white and depositers have conned the system, is the taxman now going to scrutinize every single transaction to scan for discrepancies? Similarly, a gigantic 37,000 crores surge in Jan Dhan accounts since the notes ban declaration underlines how many of Indias poor are probably being used as vehicles by their employers or by other touts -- to take a commission -- and whitewash the rest of the money with colours of legitimacy. Economists like Jagdish Bhagwati have contentiously argued that this should be seen as a redistribution of wealth which will have an expansionary impact; the Prime Minister himself has in a RobinHood-esque manner urged the poor to keep the money that is being funneled through them. But this militates against the bombastic claim of ending corruption; in fact its just another de-facto amnesty for those who have evaded taxes while leaving law abiding citizens standing in serpentine ATM queues. Finally, what happened to the Modi motto of Minimum Government; Maximum Governance? Those who argued that the 2014 victory would usher in a modern right of center economics must concede they were wrong. Not just is the Prime Minister not a privatizer (focusing instead on increasing efficiency of public sector units), his demonetisation decision has given the State overweening powers of the kind not seen in years. In some ways, this phase could well be the return of Raid Raj; where an Income Tax officer will now prowl about in your bedroom and bank locker to determine whether you -- as an unmarried, single woman -- have more gold than you should! Philosophically what disturbs me about demonetisation is the State having so much say in how tax-paying citizens access their own money. Yes, our strata of upper-middle class Indians can survive on plastic and are not suffering like those who earn (legitimately by the way) in cash -- the flower seller, the daily wage labourer, the railway coolie; the farm tiller; the bindi-maker; the neighbourhood plumber; the golgappa man down the road -- but even we have the right to worry about what sweeping powers to the tax authorities may mean for an India that was meant to minimise the intrusion of the State in our daily lives. Read: Demonetisation worse than natural calamity for poor: Former FM Chidambaram Another D often used to prefix the political style of Narendra Modi is Dynamism. His supporters point to Demonetisation as another instance of his audacious capacity for risk-taking. The political consequences of his decision are as yet unknown. Cleverly positioned as a moment of rare enforced quality when the rich had to line up with the poor, the move initially appeared to draw widespread approval. But the entrenched inequities were never really going to be impacted by Notebandi. When a mining baron spends 100 crores on a wedding and a drivers suicide note claims the money was laundered and you contrast that with a municipal corporation worker who queues up for his rationed quota of 2.5 lakh to marry his daughter -- you wonder -- Demonetisation - To what end? And at what cost? Barkha Dutt is consulting editor, NDTV, and founding member, Ideas Collective. The views expressed are personal. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The great truth about social media, it used to be said, was that it provided an alternative to mainstream media. Traditional media were almost pathologically biased against the BJP, or so went conventional rightwing lore, and, therefore, social media would right a historical wrong and open up a democratic space with ordinary citizens driving the narrative. There is much that is wrong with old media. Paid news, where advertisers purchase news space, for instance. But the alternative narrative seldom, if ever, dwells on this. Instead, a vast spin factory that straddles geography, language, gender and, now, even ideology has come together to obscure the meaning of truth. Read: Running away from the trolls Just this past one week, a hacker called Legion accessed the social media accounts of two senior journalists. The story now making the rounds is that one of them had emailed an off-record conversation with Apollo management about the possible cause of J. Jayalalithaas death: Wrongly prescribed diabetes medicine. If true, it has larger implications, as details of the ailment that led to the Tamil Nadu chief ministers death have never been revealed. Rumour, fact or innuendo? The journalist, news organisation and hospital arent talking, so its hard to tell. The same week, faking news on demonetisation swung wildly from GPS-enabled Rs 2,000 notes to reports of bank lockers allowed to be opened only in the presence of income tax officers with thousands of retired officers being roped in. It doesnt help that the governments own demonetisation narrative keeps shifting from black money, counterfeit notes and terrorism to cashless society, or, well, not exactly cashless but nearly cashless. Read: Inactive BJP not digitally smart despite PM Modis social media push In a post-truth world, facts are less-than-sacred. The political narrative is decidedly emotional. In Goa, voice choking with emotion, Modi speaks of how he left my home and everything for the country. In Delhi, Rahul Gandhi promises an earthquake when he reveals the truth about Modis personal corruption in Parliament. The abdication of truth to emotion has, shamefully, crossed into some television news channels where national interest often trumps the first journalistic rule of presenting facts. Taking its cues from social media, many old media channels now assume that it is against the national interest to question human rights in Kashmir, report on demonetisations pain, allow a Pakistani studio guest to speak without interjection, question a court order on the mandatory singing of the national anthem, probe any army action. Arnab Goswamis new TV venture is reportedly, and unsurprisingly, to be called Republic. To this mix of social media, traditional media, emotion and politics, add a fifth dimension -- monitoring. Algorithms on Facebook, Google and Twitter track consumer preferences. A great deal has already been written about media bubbles and how we receive and forward views that reinforce the way we think, moving further away from an alternative point of view. Social media enable members of such groups to strengthen each others beliefs, by shutting out contradictory information, and to take collective action, notes The Economist in a September article, Yes Id Lie to You. Read: Face of Congress ad faces social media fury The decline of media credibility in large parts justified -- and the rise of social media comes at a time when technology in India is booming with 684 million unique mobile users, 370 million of whom access the internet. Each one is a potential news outlet, each one with the power to disseminate facts, spin or just rant. In a post-truth world, we dont even need words; jokes, cartoons and memes will all do nicely. As old media struggles to keep up and adopt many of social medias tactics, especially its appeal to emotion, we find that both can spin, both can have agendas. Only traditional media remains (somewhat) accountable. All of us with smartphones are now publishers of our own stories on social media, consuming, sharing, forwarding often to groups that think and feel like us. The truth must be out there, somewhere. But when we have a yarn to spin, does it really matter? Namita Bhandare is gender editor, Mint The views expressed are personal @namitabhandare SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Just ahead of the Punjab assembly polls, the Delhi government will start repairing colonies where families of the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims live. In July, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to begin work, but the project was on hold due to lack of funds. Sources said the urban development department did not clear funds for the project. As the election is nearing, the DUSIB has been asked to start repair work using available funds. We have invited tenders for repair work in colony in west Delhis Tilak Nagar. It will cost Rs 70-80 lakh, which we can give. The rest of the work will be taken up next month, when we get funds from the revised estimates of the budget, said a DUSIB official. Read More: AAP desperately seeking Punjab Urban development minister Satyendar Jain told HT the department was asked to start repair work and that the funds would be released soon. Politicians have been promising repair work for a long time. But common areas such as public parks in Tilak Vihar (in Tilak Nagar) have never been properly built or repaired. Instead, these have become a dumping ground for malba and garbage, said Lalu Singh, a steel fixer. DUSIB said it would not repair the houses if it they are damaged from the inside. The common areas will be repaired and stairs and approach area will be renovated. The situation of these colonies is bad. Last year, we had carried out works using funds from the MLA-LAD pool. But that was limited. Now, since we have special funds, apart from stairs, we will paint the house and repair the roof, said Tilak Nagar MLA, Jarnail Singh. The locality has the largest colony of the riot victims. Read More: Special probe team to reopen 75 cases of 1984 anti-Sikh riots The decision to repair the flats in eight localities was taken in July after it was reported that the common facilities required immediate fixing. Repair work will be carried out in Tilak Vihar, Garhi, Raghubir Nagar, Sangam Park, Jahangir Puri, GT Road Shahdara, Kalkaji and Madipur, which are spread across the city. Delhi government will provide funds and the initial estimate is R 10 crore. DUSIB has completed the process of surveying these colonies and said that most of them are in a bad shape. If you thought a traffic cop would not be interested in artistic pursuits, you might have to think again. Brajesh Verman, IPS Officer, working as Additional Commissioner of Police Traffic, Delhi Police, breaks the stereotype with his dextrous wooden artwork. Verman prefers to use wood in his artwork, as he feels it reflects his state of mind. Verman, who is gearing up for his exhibition titled Lakdi Jal Koyla Bhaye, says, These works are the outcome of a phase in my life when I was troubled, lonely and struggling to survive. I chose wood instead of other materials because it reflected my own state of mind. I have made it aesthetic by using various colours and media such as gold, aluminum and silver. But I have tried to keep the surface intact. I havent smoothened the texture of the wood much, to convey the unpleasant side of life. Verman has been pursuing art since childhood, but took a break while preparing for the Union Public Service Commission examinations. He says, Its my hobby to do artwork on wood, it keeps me positive. I stopped practising while preparing for the exams but resumed it few years later. In 1993, I joined art appreciation course at National Modern Gallery of Art, New Delhi. For Verman, art helps him to build a bright side of life. After completing his course from the art institute, Verman came up with several solo exhibitions in India and abroad. He was honoured with National Award of Lalit Kala Akademi, for the year 1994-1995. And thats not all. This cop has even authored a book, a Hindi novel Vishwamitra. His artistic expression also helps him solve cases better. He says, Being a policeman, we live in a dark world, but the artistic works help us build a brighter side of life. I observe and solve my cases from different angles. WHAT: Lakdi Jal Koyla Bhaye, a wood work exhibition WHERE: Alliance Francaise, New Delhi WHEN: Dec 17 to 22 TIMINGS: 11am to 7pm NEAREST METRO STATION: Khan Market on the Violet Line SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Eight residents of Delhi write open letters discussing sexual abuse and rape. In Part 4, a rape survivor addresses other fighters like her. Dear fighters, I am addressing you as a fighter and not as a victim because you do not deserve that tag. I still remember the night of December 5, 2014, very clearly in my head. The night I was attacked, not just physically but mentally and emotionally by an Uber driver. When I recall that night, it still gives me goosebumps. At times I feel vulnerable and overexposed but I take a deep breath and toss those thoughts out. My only solace is that I stood strong and fought this battle to ensure the man who invaded my private space and violated it to mortify me, was put behind bars. That night, I was going through mixed emotions. I was numb, helpless and disoriented. The next minute, I was angry. Very angry. The incident, however, did not break me. I wanted that man, who dared to assault me, arrested. I was one of the most vociferous protesters after the December 16, 2012 gang rape. Being on the outside, I never thought I would ever be subjected to rape. I was one of the most vociferous protesters during the outrage after the December 16, 2012 gang rape. Being on the outside, I never thought I would ever be subjected to rape. When I was, I was raging and it strengthened my desire to get justice. But despite the outrage, nothing changed, may be because the police werent doing enough or the women being raped didnt wish to come forward and do something about it. First of all, what happened to you was not your fault. Do not take the blame on yourself. God forbid, but anyone can be in the situation I was in. When in trouble, maintain your sanity. The incident can be emotionally taxing but first you need to react in a sane and controlled manner to save your life. Instead of panicking, maintain your mental balance and stay strong. It is you who will have to fight it out. Be conscious enough to note the appearance of the rapist, his clothes, vehicle, or anything that would help identify him. Remember that evidence is very important in a rape case. This can only happen, if you look at rape like any other crime. Be assured that the incident has in no way destroyed the honour of your family. Instead of collapsing, rise and channelise all your energy and strength to make sure that the accused lands in jail and is punished. The incident should make you furious rather than break you. Immediately make a PCR call, if you do not have your phone, take assistance from a passerby, but be brave enough to report the matter without feeling humiliated. Do not keep quiet fearing that your parents, neighbours or relatives will look at you differently. They may try to stop you from approaching the police fearing social boycott, which sadly is a reality in our country, but you should remain strong and put your foot down. If you do not complain, you are not only letting a rapist go free but also encouraging him to commit the crime again. In my case, the police found out the accused was a sex maniac and had raped several women but only two came forward to file a complaint. Why did the other women choose to let him go? Why did they encourage him to go out and target other women? Had the others complained he would not have had the guts to attack me... Also, understand that rape may be the most awful and harrowing experience of your life, but is not the end of the world. It has not made you an untouchable or someone who no one would wish to marry. You may feel low on self-confidence and depressed but that feeling should be treated like an illness and cured. Life henceforth has not been easy. I still get nightmares, my heart still beats faster than usual when I step out in the dark but I have learnt that confronting your fears is a big part of the healing process post rape. Even if you decide to report the assault, it is not going to be an easy journey. There will be many obstacles. Right from when you go to the police station, where they may not treat you with utmost sensitivity, to the hospital where you will be taken to for a medical examination and looked down upon, and the court, where the defence lawyer may question your character and blame the assault on your conduct. But you have to be strong and confident. The police may ask you questions that make you uncomfortable, but try and cooperate. For them it is just any other case. Tell them everything that happened, in detail. They will surely cooperate and understand your pain. Be assured that in these cases, senior officers, at least in Delhi, monitor even the slightest development. I still get nightmares...but I have learnt that confronting your fears is a big part of the healing process post rape. After the complaint is filed and the case is registered, it is time to move to court and the hearing will never let you forget what happened to you. They will ask you to repeat and recall that time repeatedly. But again, take it as a fight to restore your self-confidence. The defence lawyers will try to break you emotionally and their questions may blow your self-confidence but stand resolute. Do not succumb to pressure. Lastly, a suggestion to my friends. Always be alert when you step out of the house. Let your parents know when you take a cab or an auto. Note down their registration numbers before starting the ride. If the taxi driver requests to take another passenger along, just refuse. If he takes you through an unknown route, question him. If the way is unlit, refuse to go on that road. Always take the way that is known to you or switch on the GPS while travelling. If you are feeling sleepy in the car, engage yourself in an activity. Call someonefor women who travel on foot, always ask someone to accompany you. Do everything possible to punish the person who dared to touch you without your consent and tried to shatter you as an individual. A survivor The 27-year-old writer now works with a multi-national company as a director. She is married and settled in the United States of America. Next in the series: A policeman writes an open letter to other cops. On the night of December 16, 2012, when a young woman was brutally gang raped by six men in a bus in and left to die, the moment was described as one that would change Delhis attitude towards womens safety. But, four years later, the situation has only worsened. Data shows that rape continues to top the citys heinous crime figures, with at least one case registered every four hours. Incidents of rape in Delhi have steadily increased since the incident, rising from 706 in 2012 to 2199 in 2016. Police attribute this to more women coming forward to lodge complaints after the 2012 incident. But, at the same time, the conviction rate for rape has dropped dramatically. In 2012, the police had secured a 49.25% conviction in rape cases, which fell to 35.69% in 2013 and 34.5% in 2014. Last year, the conviction rate was a mere 29.37%. Not only in percentage terms, there has been a drop even in absolute numbers over the last two years from 747 out of 2166 cases in 2014 to 645 out of 2199 in 2015. All this, in spite of a series of reforms put in place since 2012, and six fast-track courts set up to handle rape cases. Massive protests at India Gate and across the country in 2012 sparked off gender sensitisation classes for 40,792 Delhi cops till date and launched Operation Nirbheek, in which police visited girls from more than 5000 schools to speak to them about safety. Over 1.83 lakh girls were also trained in self defence. But stories of sexual assault and rape continue to haunt Delhi. This December 13, a 15-year-old girl was gang raped by four men in south east Delhis Jamia Nagar. The four men had also videotaped the act and blackmailed the teenager. In September, a 3-year-old was brutally raped by her uncle and burnt with cigarettes at their house in Govindpuri. Read | Four years on, juvenile of Dec 16 gang rape now cooking at a roadside eatery Senior police officers say most rapes cannot be prevented because they happen in confined environments by those known to the victims. Out of the 2199 rape cases last year, 295 cases were those of incest, friends and family friends were involved in 816 cases and neighbours in 345 cases. Figures make us look bad but rape is not a law-and-order problem in Delhi. It is a social problem, said a senior officer, who asked not to be named.It is not possible to go inside every house. These days, we register every case, even when we suspect the allegations do not add up. Let the courts deal with it. But, at the same time, the lack of proper deterrents is ensuring that Delhi continues to fight a losing battle against rape. Rishikant, who runs the NGO Shakti Vahini, says one needs to compare the investigation of December 16 gang rape case against the other cases reported everyday. If police can investigate every case like they did in the 2012 gang rape, things will improve. It was one of the best investigations in rape cases. The magistrate went to hospital to record the young womans statement. Police collected scientific evidence. Even the DNA test of the teeth marks was conducted and used as evidence, he says. If only we have such meticulous investigation in every case, conviction figures will increase, there will be fear of the law. Read | The girl who was raped: How the system breaks survivors SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Supreme Court rapped Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay on Friday, for filing multiple petitions in public interest, wondering if his party was financing him from doing political activism in court. Is this the job that BJP has given you? Is BJP financing you to carry campaign for party in courts, a bench headed by chief justice TS THakur asked him Upadhyay, while dismissing his petition demanding a uniform liquor policy. Warning him against using the judicial forum for political gain, the bench said : We dont want to encourage practice of political activist trying to use courts. You have become a professional PIL activist and we see you everyday filing PIL. Its your party which is in power at Centre so why dont you approach the government for your grievances, the Supreme Court told him. It said if Upadhyay was the BJP spokesperson then why he was filing PIL at the drop of a hat. Why are you doing this? You use your connection and go to your ministers get things you want. Dont make it (filing PIL) a ritual. It brings down the credibility, the bench said. The court reminded him of his objection to senior advocate Kapil Sibal arguing the petitions against demonetisation. You said he is a political person and you are yourself from the BJP. On December 16, 2012, Delhi was forced to start a long-overdue conversation about womens safety. Over the years, however, rape figures continue to soar and new incidents keep getting reported. The discussion seems to have stopped. Four years later, as we urge to Delhi to talk about rape, its important to recall what happened that fateful night when a 23-year-old braveheart was brutally assaulted on a moving bus in Munirka in south Delhi and left to die on the side of the road. With December 16 hogging the headlines, people marched on to the streets, forcing the administration to act swiftly and punish the culprits. The lives of several people involved in the incident changed forever. The incident also forced India to change its rape laws and opt for more stringent measures through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. It has been a year-and-half but the memory of that day still comes back to haunt her in the most unexpected of moments. The smallest of changes in her surroundings make her jumpy. A glass falls and she wakes up from deep slumber. A few knocks at the door during odd hours are enough to make heart palpitate. Any stray desire to go out to listen to music is sternly banished. Life for this 19-year-old changed in May last year -- she was raped by a neighbour when she stepped out to fetch water. Since then, her parents have turned her life upside down, forcing her to quit her studies and banning any visits to her friends houses. But she says she has embraced the change. It is for my good. I have already let my parents down, she adds. Her friends remember her as a strong-spirited person but now she appears meek and submissive. Experts say such change isnt uncommon in rape survivors, for whom the actual crime is often the beginning of a harrowing experience that involves a hostile family, lascivious police investigators and insensitive court proceedings. In many cases, the woman is left feeling a feeble shadow of their former selves, courtesy the very institutions designed to protect them. Experts say the family which is often the first respondent in rape cases in India ends up blaming the victim, especially because sexuality is connected to honour. In most cases, the women are beaten black and blue for inviting assault. Since they are already in shock, the parents reaction breaks her. The person withdraws from reality, says counsellor Rajat Mitra. They may be watching TV for hours but would register nothing. Psychologists explain that sexual assault victims start feeling diminished and under-confident because of intrusive court and police interrogation. The struggle starts from the time she is taken for a medical examination and is addressed as the rape wali ladki by hospital staff. Rape wali ladki ko doosre kamre main bithao. Rape wali ladki ko andar bhejo thee words force her to identify herself with rape. For people, it is daily routine, but this treatement breaks the woman completely, Mitra says. After the December 16, 2012 gang rape case, Delhi Police introduced gender sensitisation courses to train officers to be sensitive towards female complainants and not refuse registration of an FIR. This also encouraged more women to step forward and file complaints. In 2012, only 706 cases were reported while in 2013, the cases shot to 1636 and in 2015, 2199 cases were reported. The rise in cases of rape is not because more incidents are occurring, but because more women are coming forward to report them. This is because we hold regular gender sensitisation courses for our teams to teach them how to deal with women complainants, says special commissioner of police, crime, Taj Hassan. A lot, however, still needs to be done, explains Mitra. Gender sensitisation is not just about telling staff to deal with rape survivors in a sensitive way. They need to be taught what being sensitive means. There should also be special courses on how to record statements and ask questions. Proceedings in court are often the biggest hurdle that a rape victim has to face in her quest for justice. The 19-year-old is no exception. She is restless because her court visit is coming up. She fears being subjected to uncomfortable questions before her parents. Her fears arent unfounded. A recent study said rape victims are made to recall their ordeal more than 17 times during the course of the legal proceedings first before parents, then police, magistrate, lawyer and the saga goes on. If a woman is unable to recall the incident, it is seen as reluctance or an inconsistent statement by the police and the judicial system, which may go against her. But experts warn that mere inconsistency does not mean the woman is lying because 90% of rape victims withdraw into a shell but this doesnt translate to them trying to concealing information. They may even change their statement because many are emotionally unstable that influences their mental health too, Mitra says. In most cases defense lawyers take advantage of the emotional instability and vulnerability of the victim. They put them under pressure and in many cases they succumb. The courts should take note of this behavior, he adds. The victim, in India, sadly not just has to deal with her family, police and courts but also the media. In many cases, rape incidents become sensational media stories and trigger political interest. Prominent leaders make a beeline to visit the house of the victim and the media camps outside their house, defeating the purpose of concealing their identity. Everyone in the neighbourhood knows where the girl who was raped lives. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS A case of sexual violence has to be investigated by a woman cop If you are uncomfortable going to the police station to register a complaint, the officer is bound to come to your residence to record the statement No officer can force you to come to the police station after sun down for any clarification whatsoever. Any police officer who refuses to register a case or record your statement is liable to be prosecuted You cannot be subjected to a medical test/ examination against your will. If you do not wish to undergo an examination, you may refuse it It is a very sad situation. There is already so much stigma attached to rape that the girl will never be able to forget what happened with her. The people wont let her. On top of it, the insensitive media and politicians make the situation worse, gender expert Kalpana Viswanath says. We should work to make the law on concealing a victims identity more effective. Till now, it has been made a joke. Counselling is mandated for victims but in many cases it doesnt help either. On an average, a victim should receive counseling sessions twice a week for a year but in reality, they get not more than three sessions only for a month, after which they are forgotten. Counselling means helping a person to get control of themselves. Most police reports write that the victim was hale and hearty after two sessions, which is never the case. If a woman is not howling does not mean she is fine. She is traumatised and hence is silent, Mitra says. This is part of the HT series, #LetsTalkAboutRape. Join the conversation and tell @htTweets what you think using the hashtag. The series features illustrations by Liza Donnelly, a celebrated New York-based cartoonist and writer best known for her work in The New Yorker Magazine. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Haryana forest department will organise a day-long bird watching festival in Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon on December 24. The region is witnessing a large influx of birds and over 300 species have been spotted in and around Gurgaon by the wildlife department from August till December 12 this year. This makes Gurgaon one of the most bird-rich districts in Delhi-NCR. With winter setting in, the variety of birdlife is expected to rise further due to the arrival of a large number of migratory bird species. The forest department wants to use this opportunity to raise awareness about biodiversity and conservation in the region. We are going to send invitations to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and bird watchers for this event. The festival will be held from 8am till 4:30pm on December 24, said MD Sinha, conservator of forests, Gurgaon. Schoolchildren from Gurgaon, Faridabad and Jhajjar will also be invited. The Haryana forest department and members of the Bombay Natural History Society, an NGO engaged in conservation and biodiversity research, will also showcase a presentation on the 320-acre Sultanpur National Park. The festival aims to make people spend more time with nature. Although the city is made of concrete walls, it still has space for nature to flourish. Our motive is to save whatever little is left in the region, said Sinha. The festival will engage people in conserving biodiversity and help them understand more about nature , said Shyam Sunder Kaushik, wildlife officer, Gurgaon. When asked about Sultanpur as the venue for the festival, Sinha said, Sultanpur Lake helps recharge water in the region and has been attracting birds for the last few decades. It acts as a perfect example of biodiversity. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A group of activists staged a demonstration in the city to mark the fourth anniversary of December 16 Delhi gangrape that shook the conscience of an entire nation in 2012. The protest organised at Gaushala ground near Sadar bazaar sought justice for a four-and-a-half-year old local girl who was raped and killed last month on Sohna Road. Later, the police detained a few of the protesters for disturbing public order and being part of an unlawful assembly. The protesters had planned to take out a march followed by a demonstration near office of the commissioner of police, but this was foiled by the police. A four-and-a-half-year old girl, the daughter of a slum dweller family, was found raped and killed on Sohna road on November 30. The victim had gone missing three days before her body was discovered by the police on a vacant plot near Omaxe Mall on Sohna Road. A case of kidnapping and penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and murder under the IPC was lodged against the unknown accused at Sadar police station. An SIT is working on the case. We will nab the accused soon, a police officer said. Twenty-two days on, the police are yet to make any substantial headway in the case. The police should arrest the accused at the earliest and ensure justice is delivered to the poor family, social activist Nirmal Yadav said. This indicates the failure of the police in curtailing crime in the city, said Rituraj, another activist. Some of the activists were detained by Civil Lines police. The formalities of lodging a case are underway, the officer said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 78-year-old retired army man, who stirred the conscience of a country reeling under a cash crunch after being photographed crying in a bank queue, refused all assistance despite offers pouring in on Friday. Instead, Nand Lal a veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war -- wanted bank authorities to let him withdraw his legitimate pension without further hassle. I get pension. I do not want anyone elses money, he said. I dont want alms, let me withdraw my money. A photograph of Lal sobbing after losing his spot outside a Gurgaon bank was published in HT on Wednesday and went viral, with thousands sympathising with the ex-soldier who stood in a line for three days without success. Shortly afterwards, people from all cross sections of society -- including his relatives -- started visiting his rented room in Bhim Nagar to lend him money. I dont want alms, let me withdraw my money. Among the first visitors was Col (retd) Ajit Singh Rana, the president of Delhi and Haryana chapter of Tri Services Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association (TSEWA), a pan India body helping ex-servicemen, widows and their children. I came to know about the plight of a soldier after getting an email from a friend in England. I am glad to find that the bank has given him the money, Rana said. Rana confirmed that Nand Lal had joined army as a naik during 1971 war and retired in 1991 after a two-decade long service. This photo of Nand Lal crying after missing his spot at the State Bank of Indias New Colony branch in Gurgaon went viral on Twitter. (Praveen Kumar/HT Photo) Read: A retired armyman in tears: Face of Indias cash crunch woes talks of heartbreak Lal was among millions of people who have lined up outside banks to withdraw money after the governments shock recall of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes a month ago. But a widespread cash crunch has ensured that many people have returned home without money, fuelling anger and distress. Among his relatives, Lals nephew Fakir Chand, who lives in Gurgaon, also came down to check on his uncle. He gets pension and his daughter sends him enough money. He is not short of money. We are here to take good care of him, he said. While refusing the offers, Nand Lal kept on asking why he couldnt withdraw his pension. Raghuveer Singh Meena, the manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in New Colony where the picture was clicked, said that they have already given him Rs 10,000 and Rs 5000. We will help him in whatever way possible, he said. Many asked him to provide his bank account details for online transfer of money, only to be turned down. Lal who became the face of demonetisation blues, lives alone in a dingy 10x10-foot room, blocks away from the home that he once owned. His adopted daughter, Manju lives in Faridabad after he married her off about 15 years ago. I have been asking him to stay with us. But he wants to stay there only, she said. Lal shifted to Gurgaon from Pakistan during Partition. His wife, neighbours said, died three decades ago after which he adopted a daughter. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Haryana government has reserved the post of mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) for a woman candidate from the scheduled caste (SC) category. Apart from Gurgaon, the state has also reserved the mayoral post for women in three more municipal corporations in the state. While the post is reserved for a woman from the scheduled caste (SC) category in Gurgaon, the post in Panipat has been reserved for a woman candidate from a backward caste (BC) category. Ambala and Karnal will have women mayors from the general category. The municipal corporations of Hisar, Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Sonepat and Panchkula are open to all. Four mayoral seats have been reserved for women in Haryana. Gurgaon is reserved for the SC category, Panipat for the BC category, and Ambala and Karnal for women from the general category. The decision to reserve a seat is taken on the basis of population and other social considerations. If a woman mayor is elected in Gurgaon, it will be a great step for social, economic and political empowerment of women, said Kavita Jain, Haryanas minister for urban local bodies. The reservation for mayoral posts was decided after the urban local bodies department held a draw in Chandigarh on Thursday as per provisions of Section 11(6) of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. The draw is to be held after every decennial census. An official of the department said the mayors post in the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad has been reserved for an SC candidate. The election to the Faridabad civic body will be held on January 8. The MCG is slated to go to polls in March following directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court on December 8 that elections should be held within three months. The court had directed that all formalities for elections should be completed in the next two months, and polls held within a month thereafter. The tenure of MCG councillors ended on June 21, 2015, but elections were not held because of a delay in delimitation of wards. The corporation was formed in 2008, and the first election was held in 2010. The elections in 2017 would be the second in the history of the MCG. The six-member committee for delimitation had submitted its report to the MCG this Tuesday. It has recommended that Gurgaon retain 35 wards. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON About 100 Chinese firms took part in a Make in India business forum organised on Friday by the Indian Consulate of Shanghai at Gaoyou town to attract investments. The Make in India Business Forum focusing on the investment opportunities available in India for Chinese entrepreneurs was organised at Gaoyou, a county-level industrial hub. Nearly 100 local companies from Gaoyou from sectors like photovoltaic cells, textile, garments and textile machinery, electrical appliances, renewable energy and real estate and construction participated at the seminar, a press release by the consulate said. During the investment forum, consul general Prakash Gupta made presentations about the policy incentives available to foreign investors in each of the above sectors and assured Gaoyou companies of necessary facilitation in their investment plans for India. Ruling Communist Party of Chinas Gou Feng Cheng, who is secretary of Gaoyou, also interacted with the Consul General and it was decided that Gaoyou leaders would be heading a high level investors delegation on a visit to India next year, the release said. Yangzhou city, under which Gaoyou is located, had hosted a large scale business forum and an India Week in September. The India Week celebrations included an Indian film festival, food festival, art exhibition and a cultural performance. The Make in India seminar was a follow-up to deepening engagement with Yangzhou city, which continues to be a key focus partner for the Indian Consulate in Shanghai for 2016, the release said. A Kerala court on Friday found 13 RSS activists guilty in the April 2008 murder of a local CPI(M) worker. Additional sessions court judge TK Unnimol will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Saturday. According to the prosecution, the accused -- 16 men armed with swords, iron rods and other weapons -- attacked Vishnu at Kaithamukku and killed him. While one accused died in 2008, another was acquitted by the court on Friday and one is at large. Charges against the accused include that of murder, conspiracy and unlawful assembly. Nine-year-old Rizwana Begum was at a cabinet meeting on the morning of December 6. Last year, the fourth-standard student of Khatbinshai School in Cuttack was appointed welfare minister of the student cabinet. Shes been a vocal advocate of her fellow students rights since. Like most students at the government-run primary school, Rizwana comes from a low-income colony with a large population of Muslims. Forty-two of the schools 50 students are Muslims. Twelve of them are girls. Its a better ratio than the one we used to see six or seven years ago, says Rajashree Mahapatra, the principal, as she goes over the notebook of Nazia Sanam, a first-standard student who looks anxious about the performance at the math assignment. Read | Big data to cameras: How technology is empowering Muslim women Mahapatra attributes this upswing in the number of Muslim girls to the execution of the Right to Education. She equally credits the dedicated efforts of local NGOs such as the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in enabling the community to claim their rights under the act. The other reason some of the government schools have a larger proportion of Muslims and Dalits, according to Mahapatra and others, is that most children from poor caste Hindu families go to Saraswati Shishu Mandirs, a chain of schools run by the RSS across the country. Among other things, the BMMA works towards understanding and ameliorating the marginalization of Muslim community and Muslim women. Khatbinshai primary school in Cuttack where the enrolment of Muslim girls has gone up in the past few years. (Snigdha Poonam/HT Photo) The Centre has been testing the waters to abolish triple talaq and establish a uniform civil code. While the BMMA backs a ban on triple talaq, the Muslim Personal Law Board is equally opposed to the governments moves. But despite a passionate espousal of the interests of Muslim women, neither the government nor its ideological allies have taken any steps towards more obvious ways of their empowerment such as education. The politics though, hasnt held back Muslims women from classrooms. The government is still holding on to the survey of Sachar Committee that came out with the data that 66.6% of Muslim women can read and write. They didnt ask the women what they can read and what they can write. If they had, most women would have said they can read the Quran and they can write some Urdu. The problem is that documents detailing their state entitlement happen to be in English or vernacular languages. So most Muslim women are left in the lurch, said Farhat Amin, the Orissa coordinator for the BMMA. One of the principal ways in which the organization gets more Muslim girls in classrooms is by getting parents involved with the affairs at the schools. Earlier, Amin said, the schools used to be unwilling to elect Muslim and Dalit parents as members of the school monitoring committees by citing excuses, saying these people will not be able to speak at meetings, file applications. But they have been proven wrong. Jugna Begum of Diwan Bazaar, another Muslim-majority locality in Cuttack, has been a member of a local school monitoring committee since 2007. She has also been an RTE activist for two years now. When the homemaker first decided to become involved with school enrolments, hers was the rare family in the area to send their daughter to high school. Currently most of their daughters are in high school or college. When I go home to home to persuade the parents to let their daughters continue studies, I tell them, the world is changing, you have to change with it, she said, pointing at a row of houses outside her window. Read | Triple talaq is neither constitutional nor a Quranic form of divorce Her daughter, Sapna Begum, is now training to become a teacher. The 18-year-olds most prized possession is a computer her father, a butcher, gave her as a present on her last birthday. Its placed under a pink cover on a table in a room she shares with her two siblings. There is nothing I liked more than to study. I feel I am the luckiest girl in the world to be allowed that freedom. Noorjahan Bibi, an RTE justice worker, says she is working hard to provide better facilities to the students. (Snigdha Poonam/HT Photo) In another house in Diwan Bazaar, Noorjahan Bibi, another RTE justice worker, tells me about the changes shes achieved as an education activist. I have got schools to give kids better food as midday meal, arrange for carpets in the classrooms, fix the lights. The one shes proudest of is having pushed 12 children in her colony to go to school. If a man is educated, his family will be financially secure. If a woman is educated, she will make sure generations of women who follow her in the family will also be educated, says 26-year-old Raheema AV, one of the eight young Muslim women selected by Delhi-based Zakat foundation for a fully-funded training for the civil services examination. Launched in 2007, the fellowship programme is meant to confront the glaring lack of Muslims in positions of state authority. There are 1100 seats in UPSC, so going by their numbers at least 170 Muslims should make it every year, but only 34 do on an average. No more than six are women, said Syed Zafar Mahmood, the foundations president. Ten Muslim women have made it to the civil service over the eight years of the programme. Its been three months since Raheema travelled from Mallapuram in Tamil Nadu to Delhi with her husband. I have already changed so muchmy viewpoints, my personality, the way I look at the world. Two things drove 24-year-old Fathima Nadackal from coastal Kerala to take the qualifying test for the fellowship. Growing up, I saw every girl in the community get married the moment she was out of high school. I wanted to break the pattern by any means. I also wanted at least one girl in my town to say that she wanted to follow my path. Nadackal has seen to both already. In 2014, Sana Akhtar from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh was one of the two Zakat foundation fellows to make it to the civil service. I asked Akhtar, currently an IAS officer in West Bengal, what she considers her biggest achievement. The idea is that anyone can do it. Its our own insecurity that holds us back. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Separatists, who have been spearheading an agitation since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, called for a strike again on Friday throwing life off gear in the Kashmir Valley. After two days of normalcy, offices, shops and business establishments in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, remained shut, and public transport was sparse, officials said. The effect was limited as it was a public holiday in the strife-torn state, they added. Other districts of the Valley also reported shutdown after the strike call, officials said. On Wednesday, the separatist camp, comprising leaders of both factions of the Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, had scaled down the protest calendar from five days a week to two days. They have extended the protest calendar till the end of this month and have asked people to shut shops, businesses on Fridays and Saturdays. Last month on November 20, the Valley had gained a degree of normalcy after 133 days of unrest, which claimed 91 lives, as separatist leaders called off their strike for the weekend. Around 450 million people, which is half the worlds population defecating in the open are in India, a top government official said on Friday, but exuded confidence that the country will be free from this problem as Swachh Bharat Mission is becoming a peoples movement. About 450 million people practice open defection in India, this is half of the worlds population which are defecating in open. We have long way to go and behavioural change is the way forward. With progress of the mission (SBM) so far, I am optimistic that the country will become open defection free, Centres drinking water and sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer said. Read | Swachh Bharat battles rural Indias belief that open defecation is better Speaking at the launch of Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks, an initiative under Swachh Bharat Mission with the help of Tata Trusts, he said this cadre of skilled young professionals will support district officials in achieving the objective of overall sanitation in their respective districts. Asserting that sanitation is of utmost importance for this country where 13% children die due to diarrhoea, Iyer said SBM is high on the agenda of the Prime Minister and it is taking shape of peoples movement. Addressing the event, Tata Trust chairman Ratan Tata said he is privileged to be part of this movement and added, I am excited that these young professionals who are recruited as Zila Swachh Bharat Preraks will get a chance to express themselves and to be part of this programme to making India cleaner. Complementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Swachh Bharat Mission, he said Tata Trust is committed in working with the government on this visionary programme. Tata Trust will recruit and pay salaries of the 600 young professionals, who will work with the administration of respective district to spread awareness about sanitation and achieving the objectives of SBM. Thanking Tata for helping in the SBM, Union rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar said more corporates should come forward and become part of this movement for clean India. Also read | Lack of toilets: Our women are forced to go out in the open The Narendra Modi government on Friday defended its decision to curtail the tenure of senior IPS officer RK Dutta at CBI before the Supreme Court, saying it was done in accordance with the law and the process to appoint a new director for the agency had already begun. Responding to a petition challenging senior Gujarat-cadre police officer Rakesh Asthanas nomination as interim director, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi told the court that there was no malafide intention in the appointment Read | Supreme Court asks govt to explain Asthanas appointment as interim CBI chief A government affidavit filed later in the day hinted at the possibility of Asthana taking over as the CBI top boss, an apprehension the petitioner NGO Common Cause expressed during the hearing. I state and submit that it is a consistent practice followed in the CBI to give charge of the post of Director, CBI, to an officer who will work as an acting director, read the affidavit. On Duttas new assignment, Rohatgi said he was heading a sensitive post in the ministry of home affairs where he will be coordinating between all intelligence agencies. The new department headed by him was one of the several steps the government has taken to combat terrorism, he told the bench. Duttas exit from the probe agency was done in pursuance of section 4C of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act and was approved by a special committee. The provision empowers the government to extend or curtail the tenure of a CBI officer. Asthana, an IPS officer of 1984-batch, was elevated as CBIs additional director on December 2 when its special director RK Dutta, who was reportedly among the frontrunners for the top post, was shifted to the home ministry as a special secretary. Rohatgi told the bench that for appointing a full time director, the Chief Justice of India-led high-level committee will convene a meeting by December end. The committee also comprises the Prime Minister and leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha. Read | CBI may get a new director before the start of the new year The meeting could not take place due to unavoidable circumstances like the on-going parliament session, advancement of presentation of budget and several pressing and complex issues like combating menace of black money, matters of national and border security, Rohatgi said when the bench sought to know why the meeting wasnt convened prior to the last directors retirement date. The bench then fixed January 17 to hear the petition, saying it would like to wait for the outcome of the meeting. Petitioners counsel Prashant Bhushan argued the government should not consider Asthana for the CBI directors post because he was not eligible as per a SC judgement. To this Rohatgi said that the government was aware of the judgement and would not take any decision in contravention to the ruling. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansaris terse comment that peace prevailed only when obituaries were read in the House summed up the tumultuous winter session of Parliament that concluded Friday as a near washout. Noisy scenes in the Upper House, where both the Opposition and the ruling side held up proceedings through the session, often trooping into the well of the House, elicited a sharp response from Ansari. ...Regular and continuous disruptions characterised the session, he said. Read | Winter session ends: Govt, Oppn take demonetisation row outside Parliament Like President Pranab Mukherjee who expressed concern over the disruption in Parliament, Ansari asked both sides to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House when Ansari made the comment. In the Lok Sabha where interruption and disorder dominated the house proceedings throughout the 21 sittings, speaker Sumitra Mahajan expressed concern over the impression that the members were conveying to people at large. Pointing out that the disruption led to the loss of over 91 hours, she said: This is not a good thing for all of us and this maligns our image in the eyes of people. Read | Introspect on distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation: Ansari Barring the passage of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016, as many as 10 other Bills could not be taken up for consideration, including the Maternity Benefits Bill, 2016 that if passed, it would have increased maternity leave for women from 23 weeks to 26 weeks; and the HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 that aims to provide for prevention and control of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment ) Bill, 2015, providing a mechanism for receiving and inquiring into public interest disclosures against acts of corruption, misuse of power or discretion, or criminal offences by public servants was also not taken up. With the crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill pending, there is speculation that at least one House may not be prorogued and Parliament may be reconvened for a brief special session to take up the bill. Read more | Feel like resigning, says Advani after another day of Parliament disruption China on Friday took strong exception to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lamas meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during a childrens summit, saying India must respect Chinas core interests to avoid any disturbance to the bilateral ties. Recently in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang told a media briefing. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that, he said, replying to a question on the Dalai Lamas presence in the opening session of the Laureates and Leaders for Children Summit, organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthis Childrens Foundation on December 10. The Dalai Lama is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion, Geng said. The Chinese side firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him. We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect Chinas core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship, Geng said. China routinely protests world leaders meetings with the Dalai Lama. This is the second time that China objected to the Dalai Lamas activities in India in recent months. Beijing objected in October this year to Indias permission to the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of southern Tibet. Early this month, China also objected to the visit of prominent Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Arunachal Pradesh, hoping that India would abide by consensus and refrain from taking any action that might complicate the boundary dispute. India also came under the criticism from Chinese official media over the Dalai Lamas visit to Mongolia following which Beijing was accused of imposing a blockade of the land-locked country. Beijing was also livid over the appeal to India by Mongolian Ambassador to India Gonchig Ganhold, asking New Delhi to help Mongolia to deal with Chinas countermeasure against Ulaanbaatar. India has said Mongolia can avail the one billion dollar aid, which one of the Chinese newspaper Global Times termed it as a bribe. An article in the daily also warned Mongolia that it is politically harebrained to ask for New Delhis support as it will further complicate bilateral ties. As part of its UberSHAAN initiative, Global cab-hailing app company Uber on Friday urged ex-servicemen in India to avail entrepreneurship opportunities with the company as driver partners. To recognise and provide post-retirement economic opportunities to ex-servicemen, Uber has partnered with Ministry of Defence to facilitate interested personnel join the Uber platform as driver entrepreneurs. UBERSHAAN programme is all about empowering these individuals to support their families and provide an opportunity for people to get to know Indias veterans better, Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick told reporters here. Kalanick also felicitated some drivers for their extraordinary service to the country. UberSHAAN initiative was launched in partnership with Maruti and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in September this year for creating livelihood opportunities for one million people by 2018. Under the initiative, the San Francisco-based giant will provide access to skill development and driver training to the unskilled. The company will also help trained drivers receive commercial licenses, vehicle financing and leasing solutions. The announcement came after the company celebrated its third anniversary in India this year. For Uber, India is the largest market outside of the US and accounts for 12% of all Uber trips globally. Uber has also announced the launch of motor-bike taxis in Hyderabad from next month. Hyderabad will be the third city in India, after Bengaluru and Gurgram to get the two-wheeler taxi service called uberMoto. This year, the company launched Uber in two new cities -- Lucknow and Ludhiana -- and expanded uberPOOL to four new cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai. It also launched its two-wheeler taxi service UberMoto in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Hyderabad. Uber has set up Asias first engineering centre in Bengaluru adding over 500 employees, making Uber India stronger than its competitors. Read more | Ubers Kalanick rules out merger with Ola, says in for the long haul Rahul Gandhis meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand a farm loan waiver the first since the Congress vice-president accused him of personal corruption split the Opposition as the winter session of Parliament came to a close on Friday. The Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left, the DMK and the Nationalist Congress Party didnt join the Congress-led delegation that met President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to submit a memorandum, accusing the government of not allowing them to discuss its decision to recall 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in Parliament. The Congress, along with 15 opposition parties, stalled proceedings in Parliament for most of the month-long session, demanding that the PM be present during the debate on demonetisation and reply to it. In the Lok Sabha, they wanted the debate under rules that entail voting, only to relent last week. The Trinamool Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (United), and the All India United Democratic Front were part of the delegation that went to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Read | Winter session ends: Govt, Oppn take demonetisation row outside Parliament Sources said a number of opposition parties decided to drop out at the last moment as they were not happy with Rahul Gandhis unilateral decision to meet the PM when they had stood with the Congress in stalling proceedings in Parliament. You cannot stall Parliament for a month demanding the PMs presence and then go to meet the PM even before it is adjourned sine die. You didnt find it proper to consult us, said an NCP leader. Congress leaders, however, claimed that the party was campaigning in UP, Punjab and other states over farm loan waiver and so there was nothing wrong in going to the PM with this demand. For the record, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, From day 1, we have been against going to the President but for the sake of opposition unity, we didnt oppose. We want to go to the people. The President cannot help much in this issue. Samajwadi Partys Kiranmay Nanda offered a similar explanation, saying that his party would take it to the people in UP elections. Milna julna bana rahna chahiye (lets keep meeting), said Modi to senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad when the delegation got up to leave after the meeting. Dil nahin to haath to milayenge (we will shake hands even if there is no meeting of hearts), reposted Azads colleague Mallikarjun Kharge. Read | Keep meeting me, says Modi as Rahul takes Cong delegation to him They presented a memorandum to Modi on demands of farmers, including loan waiver, halving power bills and remunerative minimum support price for farm produce. Farmers are committing suicide all over the country The government has removed the import duty on wheat. This is a devastating blow. So we went to the prime minister to request him on behalf of farmers of this country to waive their loans, said Rahul Gandhi. He said that the PM conceded that the situation was serious but did not say anything on the loan waiver. The principal opposition party accused the government of breaking all morals of democracy. The government is entirely responsible for this. We presented a memorandum to the President of India. We told the President that we wanted a discussion on demonetisation in Parliament on the problems faced by farmers, small traders etc., but the government did not allow, Kharge said as the Congress-led delegation emerged out of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Although there were fissures in the opposition camp on Friday, sources said that efforts were on to forge opposition unity in taking the demonetisation issue to the people by holding joint dharnas and demonstrations. Also read | Winter session washout? No likely solution to Oppn, govt impasse in Parliament Business has been slow at the Thakkar Bappa Colony shoe manufacturing hub in eastern Mumbai since the Indian government withdrew high-value bank notes last month in an attempt to curb tax evasion and counterfeit currency. Orders to the numerous shoemakers lining the slums narrow streets have almost dried up due to a dearth of bank notes in circulation, say the businesses which mainly rely on cash transactions. Yet while factory owners complain of a slump in profits and a dip in productivity, child rights activists say demonetisation drive has a silver-lining: it has stemmed the steady stream of children trafficked here to stitch shoes. Children came from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan to work here, said Sugandha Patade from the charity Pratham which rescues and rehabilitates child workers in the area. In the last month, no new child workers have come and those who were working here have been sent back to their villages as there are no orders for them to work on. Police agree the cash crunch could be hitting traffickers who buy and sell children for labour, but say more detailed analysis is required before they can make a direct link. India has almost 6 million child workers, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), but activists say this is a gross underestimate. More than half are employed in agriculture and more than a quarter in manufacturing - embroidering clothes, weaving carpets or making match sticks. Children also work in restaurants, shops and hotels and as domestic workers. The children - mostly from poor rural areas - are taken to cities by gangs who sell them into bonded labour, force them into sex work or hire them out to unscrupulous employers. In many cases, they are unpaid. ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE The shock currency move, announced on November 8 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aims to bring billions of dollars worth of unaccounted wealth which people are hoarding, or black money, into the mainstream economy and curb corruption. High denomination 500- and 1,000-rupee bank notes have ceased to be legal tender for transactions and can only be exchanged at banks for smaller notes or the newly introduced 2,000-rupee note. Banks are meant to alert the Reserve Bank of India and tax authorities of any unusually large sums being exchanged which may be the product of illicit activities. There is no study on the impact of banning high denomination notes on child labour, but some childrens groups say they have anecdotal evidence of its repercussions in areas such as Mumbai, Delhi and other urban centres. Child rights activist and Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, who has welcomed the demonetisation policy, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that human trafficking and child labour were among the largest sources of black money. His own charity - Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), or Save the Childhood Movement - has reported fewer children in areas where there are small-scale factories and placement-agencies which often traffick girls and women for domestic work. These days, they dont frequently see transportation of children by traffickers in these areas and they are not able to operate so easily because they cannot use the black money which funded their illicit businesses before, said Satyarthi. BBA has for example found no cases of girls being trafficked at three popular railway stations in the northeast state of Assam over the last two months, compared to a monthly average of six before the demonetisation policy. In Uttar Pradesh, the charity Safe Society says five children were rescued in the last month from the town of Gorakhpur, against a monthly average of 15 to 20. But Satyarthi warned that child labour would persist unless human trafficking is addressed in the impoverished areas where the children are taken from. This means punishing offenders, providing protection on the ground such as introducing social welfare programmes for the poor, raising awareness on trafficking and child labour, and providing good quality education, he said. A 19-year-old, who fashioned himself as Dawood Ibrahim, and his illegal gun supplier were arrested by police in southwest Delhi on Friday. Jatin was arrested from Kapashera area after a trap was laid to nab him with 22-year-old Rahul, police said. Three desi kattas (locally-made guns) and live rounds were also recovered during the arrest. The teen, who uploaded photos of Dawood and pistols to his Facebook profile, created the social media account under the name Bhai Jatin Baniya. His personal descriptions read Dawood at Crime City and Only Boss Secret. Jatin had got in to an altercation with some boys about eight months ago, following which he procured the desi katta from Rahul, said deputy commissioner of police (southwest), Surender Kumar. Police were alerted to Jatin after a police mitra reported about him flaunting his weapon, Kumar said, adding Jatin had confessed to procuring the weapon illegally with Rahuls help. The governments demonetisation drive is a firebomb directed at the honest people, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said in Goa on Friday. Yeh surgical strike nahi thi yeh Hindustan ke imaandar logon pe firebombing thi, Gandhi said at a rally in Margao. The impact of firebombing was far worse than the atom bomb. Narendra Modi has done similar firebombing through demonetisation and burnt entire India, he said. The scrapping of high-value banknotes has targeted the poor, Gandhi said, adding that the drive has destroyed the cash economy of India. He accused the Centre of terming unreturned money from rich people as non-performing assets. One per cent super-rich people usurped Rs 8 lakh crore from Indias banks. When they didnt return money, you (Centre) called it non-performing asset, Gandhi said. Gandhi claimed that the demonetisation exercise will snatch money from the poor and give it to the rich. In Modijis cashless economy, 5-6% cash will magically disappear from every transaction and those 1% super-rich ppl will get it, Gandhi said. He said total 50 Indian families have the maximum wealth of the country. However, he pledged full support to the NDA government if it wants to remove corruption from the country. The Congress vice-president, however, didnt divulge details on the personal corruption of the PM he had threatened to reveal recently.. On Wednesday the Congress vice-president had alleged that he knew about personal corruption by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was terrified of the information. But he gave no detail. The BJP-led NDA called Gandhis claims as baseless, with minister for state for home, Kiren Rijiju, calling it the biggest joke of the year. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said on Thursday the Congress leader is bound by law to report such explosive information to either police or court. .... not doing so carries a punishment of three years, he added. A Gandhi-led Congress delegation met Modi on Friday to highlight the plight of farmers in the country and demanded a loan waiver for them. Sources said the Prime Minister gave the delegation a patient hearing and told Gandhi to keep meeting him. However, the meeting ended up splitting the Opposition as the winter session of Parliament came to a close on Friday. The Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Left, the DMK and the Nationalist Congress Party didnt join the Congress-led delegation that met President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to submit a memorandum, accusing the government of not allowing them to discuss its decision to recall 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in Parliament. (with inputs from PTI) More than five weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 rupee notes that triggered nationwide uproar, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday came out with a statement wholeheartedly supporting the decision. Reacting officially for the first time, KCR made a statement to this effect on the floor of the state assembly which assembled for the winter session. The Telangana government wholeheartedly supports the measure (of the NDA government) taken in the interests of the nation, he said during a short discussion on effects of demonetisation in the assembly. He said the Prime Minister had taken this decision for eliminating black money, preventing the circulation of counterfeit currency, eradicating political corruption, tackling terrorism and extremism and thereby building a corruption free India. The Telangana chief minister suggested that the Centre initiate many more steps towards elimination of all forms of black money. Black money held in the form of diamonds, gold, shares and foreign currency and the black money generation through crony capitalism and flow of black money into the country through money laundering from British Virgin Islands, Mauritius, Singapore should be regulated effectively, he said. Admitting the demonetisation had caused difficulties and inconvenience to the people, KCR said his government was constantly holding discussions with the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to minimise hardship to the people. We have written a series of letters to the Centre and the RBI Governor to supply enough currency to meet the requirements for the state. We have asked about Rs 5,000 crore in currency notes of small denomination for meeting the requirement of the State, he said. He said the state government was closely monitoring the situation arising from the demonetisation of high value currency notes and has put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the economy of the State does not get derailed. Immediate steps have been taken to encourage cashless transactions. The assessments made by the Central Government institutions indicate that Telangana State stands first in the country in the number of cashless transactions. On a pilot basis, the State Government is making all out efforts to make Siddipet Assembly Constituency cashless. Already, Ibrahimpur village of this constituency has been converted into a cashless village, he said. The state government has constituted a cabinet subcommittee to recommend policy measures for cashless transactions. To speed up the implementation, a task force has also been specially formed. The government will shortly launch TS Wallet to aid cashless transactions further and taking all necessary measures to promoting digital payments, the chief minister added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NITI Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Friday said that the government had long-term plans to impose a cess on cash transaction in order to encourage digital transactions. Addressing the annual general meeting of FICCI, Kant said that the all modes of digital transactions had witnessed manifold increase since the demonetisation decision, announced on November 8. Earlier, there was a charge of 1.5-2% on digital transaction when its volume was low. However, its volume has increased now. Since November 8 it has gone up by 316% for RuPay, 271% for e-wallets, 119% for UPI, 1,202% for USSD and 95% for POS (Point of Sale). Now, volume of digital transaction has increased, so charges on it will be low. The Merchant Discount rate (MDR) should fall, he said. The government has already provided 11 different incentives (to encourage digital transactions). In the long term, the government has intention to make cash handling more expensive and digital transaction extremely cheap. There would be no charge on digital transaction while there will be cess on cash transaction. This is how economy will move if you want to push digital transaction. He emphasised that digitisation was necessary for the country to become a $10 trillion economy and sustain a 7.5% growth as it cannot afford to have a parallel economy generated by high level of cash transactions. Kant said that the cash shortage that induced due to demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes was to be ended by mid-January next year. He added that the government was going to spend Rs 340 crore in next few months time to promote digital transaction. Various incentive schemes were announced to promote digital payments such as Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi Dhan Vyapari Yojna, he said, while assuring that the merchants would not be harassed by tax official by way of scrutiny of the previous years of books of accounts. Kant said about 30 crore people in the country without mobile connections will be able to do digital transaction using Aadhaar and thumb impression. He gave example of ration shops in Jharkhand, which use the Aadhaar enabled payment system. The government announced on Friday details of a more stringent income declaration scheme, a last chance for tax evaders who will have to cough up 50% of their unaccounted-for wealth in tax. The scheme called the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) was announced last month and will be operational between December 17 and March 31 next year. Read: Tax exemptions to political parties subject to conditions: Govt This is the last chance for people to come cleanwe urge people to avail the schemewe dont want any kind of inspector raj on people, revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said. A person will have to pay 30% tax on the undisclosed income, a penalty of 10% on the income and a surcharge of 33% on the tax paid. Highlights The government has announced details of a stringent income declaration scheme for tax evaders who will have to cough up 50% of their unaccounted-for wealth in tax A person will have to pay 30% tax on the undisclosed income, a penalty of 10% on the income and a surcharge of 33% on the tax paid Another 25% of the remaining undisclosed amount will have to be deposited in a bank for four years without interest Read: SC refuses to pass interim order on demonetisation, restrains HCs from hearing petitions For example, if Rs 100 is the unaccounted-for wealth, the tax will be Rs 30, the penalty Rs 10 and another Rs 9.9 the surcharge. Roughly, a person will be paying 50% of their wealth to the government. Another 25% of the remaining undisclosed amount will have to be deposited in a bank for four years without interest. Beginning tomorrow (Saturday), most banks will have challans to be filled for depositing tax for availing the PMGKY schemeonly after payment of 50% tax and parking 25% of the remaining undisclosed amount for a period of four years, a person can avail the PMGKY scheme, said Adhia. He also said that political parties were exempt from income tax scrutiny but if the money was deposited in an individuals account, it may be under the scanner. The PMGKY is a tougher version of a similar income declaration scheme that ran between June and September this year. In that scheme, people had to pay 45% of their undisclosed wealth as tax but didnt have to pay the levy upfront or put money for a lock-in period. Read: Too few Rs 500 banknotes: RBI numbers show long months of cash pain ahead Adhia said the tax department had detailed information on peoples income and they would face strict action if caught after the closure of the scheme on March 31. Adhia said the identity of those availing the scheme would be kept confidential and there would be no prosecution and penalty. However, they would not enjoy immunity from other laws, including the Prevention of Money Laundering Act or Narcotics Act, among others. Recovering illegal or undisclosed wealth has been a priority for the government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi swept to power in 2014 on a promise to uncover black money. Last month, the Centre recalled Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes in a shock move aimed at stamping out illegal cash from the economy. We have information regarding how much deposits have come in dormant accounts, (zero-balance) Jan Dhan accounts, urban co-operative banks, how much repayment of loans have been made in cash, RTGS transfers, withdrawal and hence the income tax department has been successful on raids, Adhia said. Read | Depositing cash? Declare and pay 50% tax on unaccounted money In a bid to get information about black money hoarders, the government also set up a special cell and created an email address -- blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in -- where anybody can provide relevant information, Adhia said. He said the department would scrutinise peoples data in a non-intrusive manner so that the fear of inspector raj is removed from the minds of people. Professional agencies, he added, will be engaged to do a detailed analysis of all deposits that come into the banks till December 30. Sushil Chandra, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, said the IT department made a total seizure of Rs 393 crore since the scrapping of high-value currency on November 8, out of which 316 crore was in cash. Jewellery of Rs 76 crore and a sum of Rs 80 crore has been seized by the department, Chandra said. He added that admitted concealed income stood at Rs 2,600 crore. We have conducted searches and seizures in about 291 cases and carried out surveys in 295 cases, he said. Also read | Just 1% of the Indian population paid taxes in 2012-13: Govt data SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON India criticised the lack of collective will for a long-pending global convention on terrorism and called for its urgent adoption, asserting that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-state actors constitutes one of the biggest threats to world peace. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery to non-state actors continues to constitute one of the biggest and most serious threats to international peace and security today, Indias deputy permanent representative to the UN, ambassador Tanmaya Lal, said at a Security Council debate proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) by non-State Actors in New York on Thursday. He said as a victim of terrorism for over three decades, India is cognizant of the catastrophic dangers that the transfer of WMDs to non-State actors and terrorists could entail. As we continue efforts to achieve universal adherence and reporting to these instruments, we must not forget the urgent task of closing out negotiations on a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN, which has been under discussion since 1996. Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to world peace since 1945, he said. Lal emphasised that it is imperative the international community comes together to eliminate the risks related to sensitive materials and technologies falling into the hands of terrorists and non-State actors. He said meeting new proliferation challenges requires new approaches for evolving a more cooperative and consensual international security order that effectively addresses genuine proliferation concerns and differentiates between responsible States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realisation of its objectives. He pointed out that India is committed to maintaining effective law-based controls to prevent the transfer of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist activities and to maintain effective domestic controls to prevent WMD proliferation. India has over the years enacted effective laws and regulations and has institutionalised an array of administrative mechanisms to prohibit WMD access to non-State actors and terrorists, he said. Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday expressed strong displeasure over regular and continuous disruptions during the winter session and asked members to introspect as he adjourned the House sine die. The prohibition in the rules about shouting slogans, displaying posters and obstructing proceedings by leaving their assigned places was consistently ignored by all sections of the House. Peace prevailed only when obituaries were read, Ansari said while addressing the house, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present. Ansari said both sides must introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation. The month-long winter session was a virtual washout as opposition parties and the government clashed primarily over the Centres decision to recall of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes. Both parties have claimed that its the other side that is not allowing a debate in Parliament. The belligerent Opposition wanted Modi to speak in the House on demonetisation, a surprise move that has left millions of people lining up at banks and ATM kiosks for more than a month. For his part, the Prime Minister has accused the Opposition of not letting him speak in the House. The confrontation overshadowed Parliaments legislative business, including passage of key social and financial reforms bills. The Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is in a minority, could only pass the disabilities bill on December 14 and initiate a discussion on demonetisation when the session began on November 16. The House could not take up business as both sides disrupted the proceedings. The Lok Sabha has been able to use 15% of the allotted time, against the Rajya Sabhas 19%. This is a sharp fall from the previous session in which the two Houses spent 101% and 96% of their time. Ansari made the scathing comment on the disruptions by members who trooped into the well of the House, raising slogans. He also underlined that the disruptions did not allow members to seek accountability of the executive through questions and discussions on matters of public interest. I had fervently hoped that I would not have to repeat what I said at the conclusion of the 221st session in December 2013. My hope stands belied, Ansari said. The rap from the vice-president came a week after President Pranab Mukherjee criticised lawmakers for stalling proceedings in the winter session over the governments decision to ban the two high-value banknotes. For demonstration, you can choose any other places. But for Gods sake, do your job. You are meant to transact business. You are meant to devote your time for exercising the authority of members, particularly Lok Sabha members over money and finance, Mukherjee had said. The majority never participates in disruptions. Only the minority comes to the well, shouts slogans, stops proceeding and creates a situation, he said. The repeated disruptions also frustrated BJP veteran LK Advani, who said he felt like resigning. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Using footage from the crime scene, Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday identified the armed men who robbed a bank in South Kashmir as militants from the banned outfit, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The militants had struck a Jammu and Kashmir Bank branch in Ratnipora area in Pulwama on Thursday, looting around Rs 10 lakh of which around Rs 16,000 was in demonetised notes and the rest in new currency. The crime was caught on the banks CCTV surveillance, which showed the gunmen roughing up people. From analysing the CCTV footage, we have been able to clearly identify the three militants involved in the robbery... (They are part of) a module of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and have been active for a year now, superintendent of police, Pulwama, Rayees Mohammad Bhat told Hindustan Times. The module comprises of three militants -- two foreigners named Abu Ali and Abu Ismail, and a local militant named Arif Dar, Bhat added. Police said Abu Ali and Arif Dar had entered the bank while two others had waited outside. This was the third incident of bank robbery in the Valley after the demonetisation move and Bhat said the same LeT module has been behind all of them. Read | After demonetisation, banks and ATMs become soft targets for thieves On November 21, suspected militants robbed a bank in Chrar-e-Sharief area of central Kashmirs Budgam district and escaped with nearly Rs 14 lakh cash. Days later, Pulwama police arrested five workers of the LeT who helped the militants in the robbery. Police had then said the conspiracy of robbing the bank was hatched and masterminded by Arif Dar, Abu Ali and Abu Ismail. On December 8, four militants looted a branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank at Arihal in Pulwama district and fired several rounds before fleeing with nearly Rs 14 lakh. Asked about why there were repeated attacks on banks in Kashmir after demonetisation, Bhat said that it was because of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. The SP said militant were taking to looting banks because demonetisation had forced a cash crunch. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON His first two wives ran away and live separately now. The third and fourth died mysteriously, while the fifth wife was found in a pool of blood in the courtyard of her much-married husbands home on Tuesday night. Ramchandra Patar, a 51-year-old from Jharkhands East Singhbhum district who alternates between farmhand and seasonal labourer to earn his living, allegedly killed his fifth wife Khairi as he was planning to marry the sixth time. Before police arrested the man on charges of beating and strangulating Khairi in Asti village on Wednesday, little was known about his past crimes, though fellow villagers always suspected him to be a killer. Patars three wives had died unnatural deaths over the past three years. He had married 35-year-old Khairi of Odisha six months ago. Villagers told us that he beat her to death on Tuesday night after an argument. They alleged that he had killed his two other wives earlier, but he denied the charges. He said they were punch-drunk and injured themselves to death, said Ajit Kumar Vimal, the Musaboni deputy superintendent of police. Patar managed to evade the law earlier because there was no complaint regarding the deaths of his third and fourth wives. But this time, police arrested him as there were several injury marks on Khairis body, Vimal said. A case has been lodged against Patar on the basis of a complaint from his mother-in-law, Gauri Mahakud, who had accused him of murdering her daughter. Khairi had gone to Burdwan for job couple of months ago and returned to Asti on Saturday. On Tuesday night he strangled her to death, Gauri alleged in her complaint. Patar denied the charge and said Khairi drank too much alcohol on Tuesday night, lost her balance and fell on her head. Head injuries and the cold weather led to her death, he told police. Villagers didnt agree with Patars account. They said the couple used to fight often as Patar was planning to marry for the sixth time. His first wife, Dasobala, lives at one end of the village with her two children. Second wife Bharati lives separately in Ghatsila, her hometown. Villagers accused him of killing third wife Fulmoni in 2014. Fourth wife Pramila died of burns in 2015, but no one could say why no police investigation was carried out. (With inputs from Probal Sanatani in Ghatsila) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Kerala court on Friday sentenced Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, prime accused in the sensational solar scam, to three years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each. However, the judicial magistrate court in Perumbavoor acquitted actor Shalu Menon and her mother in what was the first verdict in the case. This is the first among 33 cases pertaining to the solar scam that surfaced when Nair and Radhakrishnan were arrested in 2013 on charges of cheating numerous investors who paid money for solar panels. Saritha and Radhakrishnan cheated many with the help of some staff members of former chief minister Oommen Chandy. Chandy later sacked three of his employees and the public relations director for allegedly helping the couple. In the first case, both were found guilty of cheating a businessman P Sajjad who invested Rs 40 lakh in the solar firm. Sajjad said in his complaint that the couple introduced themselves as RB Nair and Lakshmi Nair and accepted Rs 40 lakh in two instalments to set up a solar power plant and windmill in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. When the plant failed to take off, he filed a complaint and both were arrested. Soon, many approached the police saying they were also cheated in a similar fashion. While Nair is out on bail, Radhakrishnan is in jail on charges of murdering his first wife, Reshmi. Last year, a court had sentenced both to 6 years in jail in another cheating case. During the investigation, it was found that Biju had faked a recommendation letter of the then CM to impress gullible investors and bag business orders. Though solar scam was not a big embezzlement in terms of money with Rs 12 crore involved, many big personalities were dragged into it. Saritha had even accused Chandy and some of his cabinet colleagues of sexually exploiting her. The scam was a major reason for the Congress-led UDFs drubbing in the April assembly election. A judicial commission is now probing the scam. MDMK General Secretary Vaiko on Friday staged a protest here urging the Centre to take steps to ensure that Sri Lanka did not make amendments to its maritime law that could affect the lives of Tamil fishermen crossing maritime borders for fishing. More than 500 people belonging to the fishing community besides Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (MDMK) volunteers took part in the protest led by Vaiko. Slogans were raised asking the Centre to act against the proposed Sri Lankan move. Lives of fishermen would be destroyed if the Sri Lankan legislation is enacted. They will have to pay fines up to Rs 7 crore, the MDMK supremo said during the demonstration. The agitators also sought the governments to take steps to protect the rights of the Indian fishermen. In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in New Delhi, MDMK chief urged him to use diplomatic channels to ensure the Sri Lankan government does not add tough penal provisions to a 1979 law that could affect the lives of Tamil fishermen crossing maritime borders. The Sri Lankan government is mulling imposing fines as high as 150 million rupees on Indian fishermen poaching in the countrys waters, a senior Sri Lanka government official had said recently. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress and Left parties on Friday for opposing his governments move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes move, dubbing it as a war against black money. For the BJP and the NDA, the country is bigger than party. For the Congress, party is more important than the country, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar quoted Modi as saying. Asking the BJPs MPs to go cashless, Modi pointed out how in 2012, the Supreme Court asked the UPA government to constitute a special investigating team on black money, but it did nothing for the next three years. Read: Read my lips Ive information on PM Modis corruption: Rahul Gandhi They did nothing. But our first decision after coming to power was to form an SIT, Kumar quoted Modi as saying at the BJPs parliamentary party meeting on the last day of the winter session of Parliament. Left MP Jyotirmay Basu had once favoured demonetisation. But today, see what the communists are doing, Modi said, taking potshots at the CPI(M), a vocal critic of demonetisation. Parliament logjam The winter session of Parliament, which began on November 16, is headed for a whitewash as the Opposition and government continue to lock horns over the November 8 demonetisation move. Both parties have been claiming that its the other side that is not allowing a debate in Parliament. Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. The demonetisation move triggered a washout of Parliaments winter session, making it the worst performing session for the BJP. Read: Drive against black money, corruption high on my agenda: PM Modi Modi underlined that the BJP and its NDA partners have started a war against the black money, while the Opposition parties are standing on the opposite side of this war. Modis address to party MPs comes on a day when Opposition leaders will go to President Pranab Mukherjee to protest against demonetisation and the governments alleged high-handedness in running Parliament. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who earlier levelled corruption charges against Modi, also met him as part of a delegation to highlight farmers plight in Uttar Pradesh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Narendra Modi-led government broke the principles of democracy, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said on Friday after Opposition parties met President Pranab Mukherjee over not being allowed to speak in Parliament, and to discuss the demonetisation move. Leaders of various parties earlier said the entire Opposition was meeting the President to complain against the ruling party. The government did not cooperate with our attempts for a discussion in Parliament; it broke the principles of democracy, Kharge said after the meeting with the President. Opposition leaders have been meeting every morning to decide on a united strategy in Parliament during the winter session, which has been a virtual washout. At a parliamentary party meeting of the BJP, Prime Minister Narendera Modi attacked the Opposition over Parliament logjam, saying unlike earlier, when Opposition parties stalled the House against scams, Congress-led parties are now doing so against the governments steps to curb black money and corruption. The Rajya Sabha was on Friday adjourned sine die even as Chairman Hamid Ansari expressed strong displeasure over regular disruptions by all sections of the House during the session and asked the members to introspect. Read: After corruption barb at PM, Rahul meets Modi over UP farmers loan issue Soon after the laying of papers, Ansari adjourned the House sine die. Modi was present in the House. The 241st session of Rajya Sabha, which had commenced on November 16, was a near washout as Opposition members disrupted proceedings mainly over the demonetisation issue. In his closing remarks, Ansari said he had fervently hoped that he would not have to repeat what he had said at the conclusion of the 221st session in December 2013, but My hopes stand belied. Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly defended on Friday demonetisation move, a decision he said should have been taken in 1971 when Indira Gandhi was heading the government. We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971, Modi told BJP MPs, lashing out at the Congress for not taking effective measures to curb black money in the country. The Prime Minister referred to former bureaucrat Madhav Godboles book in which he has recorded how then home minister YB Chavan had recommended demonetisation to curb ill-gotten and hidden wealth. Godbole says in the book that Gandhi replied saying are no more elections to be fought by the Congress? Chavan got the message and the recommendation was (dropped), Modi said. This was in 1971 when everybody recommended this. Had it (demonetisation) been done in 1971, the nation wouldnt have been in this situation today. Modi spoke outside Parliament on the last day of the winter session that was washed away by bedlam over the spiking of the high value currency notes which has caused an unprecedented cash shortage in the country. The recording of the Prime Ministers speech was broadcast hours after he addressed the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. He said the Congress had put the party ahead of the nation but the BJP follows nation first ideology. Modi also took a dig at Leftists for opposing the governments November 8 decision to scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. The Communists have compromised their ideology by aligning with the Congress, he sad and recalled how the late veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu had famously said that Indira Gandhi survives on black money. The government (of the Congress) is of the black money, by the black money and for the black money, Modi said, referring to Basus remarks. Read| Congress puts party above nation: PM Narendra Modi defends demonetisation A Maoist was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said. The skirmish took place this morning in the forest of Metapal village under Gangaloor police station when a joint team of security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv told PTI. A composite squad of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Group (DRG) had launched the operation in the interiors of Gangaloor, around 450 kms away from the state capital, he said. When the party was advancing through Metapal forest, they came under heavy fire from Maoists that led to a gun-battle between both the sides, the SP said. However, the ultras soon fled from the spot. During the search conducted later, body of a rebel and a 12-bore gun were recovered from the spot, the SP said adding that the identity of the deceased Maoist was being ascertained. On Thursday, two coammnder-rank ultras, one of them carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, were killed in a gun-battle with security forces in Bijapur. Kerala governor P Sathasivam on Friday said that there is no need to have a different chair for a governor, pointing out that when he assumed charge, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the head of the state as His Excellency. No need to have a different chair for a Governor. It is not required. We are in a democratic country, he told mediapersons after inaugurating the golden jubilee annual day celebrations of the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Ernakulam Press Club. A different chair was arranged for the governor on the stage in which dignitaries including Lok Sabha MP and Parliaments public accounts committee chairman K V Thomas, Hybi Eden MLA and NSG Commando P V Manesh were present. In his address, Sathasivam reminded journalists that when he took the charge in 2014, he had dispensed with the colonial era legacy of everybody addressing the governor as His Excellency. For information, the day I assumed the office as the governor of the state, I, through my officials in the Raj Bhavan, had clarified that there was no need to call His Excellency...either Mr or Honourable is sufficient, Sathasivam, former Chief Justice of India, said. He said this in response to Kerala Union of Working Journalist (KUWJ) chief Abdul Gafoor addressing him as His Excellency in his welcome speech. The function was organised by the Ernakulam Press Club. In 2012, when he assumed charge as President of India, Pranab Mukherjee had put in place a new protocol for greeting the President, replacing the salutation His Excellency with Honourable President. Tax officials will not examine old records of small traders and factory owners should they go digital with their business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, seeking to allay fears of harassment among a chunk of the BJPs traditional voters. Modis comments came after the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and several BJP lawmakers warned the party leadership this week that the cash crunch following the recall of high-value banknotes could harm the partys prospects in next years assembly polls. RSS is the BJPs ideological fount. Also, an internal survey on medium and small scale industry by an RSS affiliate showed that nearly 70% of respondents complained their business was hurting from the scrapping of 500-and 1000-rupee notes. Highlights Tax officials will not examine old records of small traders and factory owners should they go digital with their business, PM said His omments came after concerns the cash crunch after demonetisation could harm the partys prospects in assembly polls Attacking the Congress, Modi also narrated how in 1971 then PM Indira Gandhi refused to scrap high-value banknotes Read: Keep meeting me, says Modi as Rahul takes Cong delegation to him Some traders think after going digital they will register higher turnover. And then tax people will come and say, if in December you have done business of Rs 2 lakhs then why did you show just Rs20,000 turnover in July, Modi said at the BJPs parliamentary party meet. I have told officials not to do post-mortem of old records. Otherwise, you cant bring anyone into the mainstream. Modi said factory owners also pay many workers in cash to hide their scale of operations and avoid legal hassles. I have told labour ministry no records before 8 November will be reopened. This officershahi will not be done. We want to make people free from officershahi. The Prime Minister refuted allegations that demonetisation was done without homework. We make full plans. We dont act piece meal. Lekin patta dheere dheere kholte hain, he said. He added that someday bank loans will be secured in six minutes, just on the basis of a businesss digital records. Attacking the Congress for opposing demonetisation, Modi narrated how in 1971 then PM Indira Gandhi refused to scrap high-value banknotes for fear of losing elections. Speaking for the first time after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi accused him of personal corruption, Modi said, The root of the problem is that for the Congress, the party is more important than the country. But for the BJP, it is the other way around. In 1971, Modi said, the Wanchoo committee had recommended demonetisation. Senior IAS officer Madhav Godbole has written in his book when finance minister YB Chavan told Indira Gandhi about the proposal and that it should be accepted, Indiraji asked, Are no more elections to be fought by the Congress party? Read: Rahuls meeting with PM Modi splits Oppn as winter session ends Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel hit back at Modi. From (former President) Rajendra Babu to (Prime Ministers) Indiraji to Dr Singh, we have been consistent in opposing note ban. Those in habit of U-turns should read history properly, he tweeted. Modi also invoked the 1971 Indo-Pak war to counter the Oppositions criticism against the armys surgical strike on militant bases in PoK on September 29. On this day in 1971, Indian army made Pak army bite the dust in Bangladesh. No one asked for proof from them. And now, soldiers are asked to submit proof, he said. The government on Friday told the Lok Sabha that new design bank notes in other denominations would be introduced in the future. The Diplomatic Missions have written to convey their appreciation for the governments recent effort to make economy more transparent and as a move that will also have a positive impact on FDI, minister of state for finance, Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The bank notes in the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 with new design have recently been introduced. New design bank notes in other denomination will be introduced in due course, he said while replying to a question on whether the government proposes to print new currency notes of Rs 20 and Rs 50. Since the announcement of cancellation of legal tender of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on November 8, the RBI has introduced new 500 and 2,000 rupee notes in the system. RBI and the banks have been advised to step up the supply of cash to the public. The availability of cash and issuance of cash to bank branches and post offices on a daily basis is being constantly monitored and necessary rebalancing is bring done for more efficient allocation of banknotes of requisite denominations between different areas, Meghwal said. He said government has taken various steps to ameliorate the inconvenience caused to the public. In a separate reply to question on whether demonetisation has adversely affected the economy of the country, Meghwal said overall economic growth is dependent on many factors, including rate of capital formation and savings, availability of infrastructure, efficiency of resource allocation, money supply and the degree of financial development. It is difficult to pin-point the impact of demonetisation on the economy via its impact on the aforesaid factors, he added. Meghwal, further said that about Rs 370 crore of cash and jewellery has been seized by the Income tax department since the cancellation of the legal tender character of the high denomination bank notes and total undisclosed income admitted before the department is more than Rs 2,500 crore. Close coordination is being maintained with other enforcement agencies for action against the offenders as an on-going process which include searches, surveys, enquiries, tax assessment, levy of penalties and filing of prosecution complaints in criminal courts, he said. Eight-month-old Pakistani infant Rayan has become the youngest bone marrow donor in India by donating healthy bone marrow stem cells to his elder sister, who underwent successful transplant at a hospital in Bengaluru. The two-and-a-half-year-old Zeenia, hailing from Sahiwal in Pakistan, was suffering from Hemaphagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease in which bone marrow produces some abnormal cells which eat away the normal cells, resulting in high fever, low blood counts, liver and spleen enlargement, doctors said. Calling it a potentially life threatening disorder, doctors said the only cure for this condition was bone marrow transplant. Zeenia was also diagnosed to have partial albinism since birth as well, they added. After we diagnosed the girl was suffering from HLH, we discovered that her brother was Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match for her, said Dr Sunil Bhat, Senior Consultant and Head of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Narayana Health City hospital. As the donor is just eight months old to collect the adequate dosage, he was required to undergo the donation process twice at a gap of only few weeks, Dr Bhat said. By using small marrow extraction needles and with the assistance of a team of anaesthetists and other members, we have successfully extracted enough marrow which helped cure Zeenia. Rayan has not only saved his sister, he also has the unique distinction of being the youngest marrow donor in India, he added. Doctors said the procedure was conducted in October, and Zeenia is cured of her deadly disease and ready to leave for Pakistan to lead a normal life. They have advised her parents about certain follow-ups that Zeenia needs to undergo after going back home. The doctors also said Rayan was doing exceptionally well and fine. Zeenia had earlier undergone treatment at an armed forces hospital in Rawalpindi. Stating that there was general fear factor when they landed in India, Zeenias father Zia Ulla said his daughter was now fine and recovering. From the time we landed following immigration I would say it was a very pleasant surprise ... everyone was very fine and friendly, he said. Expressing similar sentiments, Zeenias mother Farzeen said it was very difficult for them to decide on bone marrow donation from her eight-month old son. Obviously both children are important for us. When we got to know that they are match siblings and it was a promising option, we decided to take risk, she said. After a brief spate of disruptions over demonetisation, the Lok Sabha functioned smoothly to facilitate passage of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on the last day of winter session on Friday. Parliament had witnessed disruptions through the month-long winter session as the Opposition-government deadlock over demonetisation refused to abate. Most of the action, however, spilled outside Parliament on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed the Congress and Left parties for opposing demonetisation and said that for Congress, the party is above the nation. The Opposition counter attacked by submitting a memorandum to the PM, demanding loan waivers for debt-ridden farmers. It also blamed the government for flouting democratic values and blocking the debate on note ban in Parliament. The Centres claim that note ban has hit black money holders in the country is widely contested by the Opposition, who say the governments move to scrap Rs 500/1000 notes has hit poor the hardest. Live updates: 2:15pm: After a sombre statement on disruptions, LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ends winter session after all parties buried acrimony to provide a smooth passage to a bill that empowers people with disabilities. 2:10pm: The motion is adopted. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016 is passed in Lok Sabha. 1:55pm: Lok Sabha votes on amendments in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. 1:10pm: Members of the Opposition delegation that visited the President unanimously blame the Centre for repeated disruptions during the winter session, in a press conference on Friday. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says they parties wanted a debate in Parliament on demonetisation but the government flouted all democratic values and blocked it We even agreed that discussion may happen without applying the rule. Ultimately, we stand with the poorest of the poor, with the common man of the country,adds TMCs Sudip Bandyopadhyay after taking the mantle. We told President that we wanted a discussion on #Demonitization in Parl, on problems faced by farmers,small traders etc: Mallikarjun Kharge pic.twitter.com/I6bLUuDP7l ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 12:55pm: While all parties agree to facilitate passage of the Persons with Disabilities Bill, SP, BSP decide to stay away from joint Opposition delegation that will be meeting the President to discuss demonetisation and Parliament logjam. 12:35pm: Lawmaker Dr Manoj Rajoria requests the government to alter the word disabilities to special abilities in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, which was passed in Rajya Sabha earlier this month. The bill aims to secure and enhance the rights and entitlements of disabled persons, and stipulating up to two-year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs 5 lakh for discrimination. The bill replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. 12:25pm: The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2016, has been taken for consideration in the Lower House. In a rare show of support, INC whip in Lok Sabha KC Venugopal says the entire Opposition is in agreement with the government to pass this bill. 12:20pm: Opposition leaders arrive at Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet President Pranab Mukherjee for discussing demonetisation and its impact on lower economic class. 12:15pm: TV channels report that opposition parties Bahujan Samajwadi Party and SP are miffed with Rahul for holding a meeting with the Prime Minister. 12pm: Lok Sabha convenes after a brief adjournment. Sumitra Mahajan says she has disallowed all adjournment motions. Papers are laid on the table. 11:50am: We asked the Prime Minister to waive farmers loans at the earliest... The PM agreed that the farmers condition was grave but he did not talk about loan waivers: Rahul Gandhi gives details about his meeting with Modi. 11:30am: Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the responsibility to run Parliament belongs to the ruling party and the governments actions in the last three days were not desirable. 11:15am: Rajya Sabha chairman and vice-president Hamid Ansari reads out his closing statement before adjourning the Upper House sine die. I had fervently hoped that I would not have to repeat what I said at the conclusion of the 221st session in Dec 2013. My hope stands belied. Regular and continuous disruptions signify this session... The rules about displaying placards and shouting slogans were ignored by all sections of the House. Peace prevailed only when obituaries were read out. The Rajya Sabha is adjourned sine die. 11:10am: We met the PM over problems faced by farmers, loans, suicides and the MSP issue. The Prime Minister has promised to look into the matter, Capt Amarinder Singh tells ANI. Opposition leaders meeting PM Modi, in New Delhi. (Picture courtesy: PMO) 11:05am: Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourns Lok Sabha till noon amid uproar over note ban. 11am: Parliamentary proceedings begin amid protests against demonetisation in the Lok Sabha.Papers are being laid out in the Rajya Sabha with relative ease. 10:55am: A delegation of Congress MPs led by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi submits a memorandum to the Prime Minister at his Parliament House office, demanding loan waivers for debt-ridden UP farmers. 10:45am: Prime Minister Narendra Modi slams Opposition for protesting against note ban. We have to move ahead with those supporting us in our fight against black money... Today, when we have started a movement to tackle black money, the Opposition is creating hurdles. For the Congress, the party interest is above the nation. Earlier, the Opposition would join hands against the government over scams like 2G, Coalgate but now the Opposition is united against the govts steps to curb black money and corruption, the PM said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah at the BJP meet on Friday. (Arun Sharma/HT Photo) 10:15am: As the BJP holds its party meeting, opposition leaders meet simultaneously in Parliament. 9:55am: BJP parliamentary meet begins, reports ANI. Senior party leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Venkaiah Naidu are present at the meeting. 9:35am: Prime Minister Modi arrives for the BJP parliamentary meet. (With input from agencies) Read | A retired armyman in tears: Face of Indias cash crunch woes talks of heartbreak Days after Jayalalithaas death, expelled AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Sasikala Pushpa on Friday sought an interim injunction from the Madras high court to restrain the ruling party from appointing the former chief ministers aide Sasikala as party general secretary. Against the background of a chorus by partymen in support of Sasikala, called Chinnamma by her partymen, the plea against her election to the top party post was vehemently opposed by senior counsel B Kumar representing the ruling party when the matter came up before Justice K Kalyanasundaram. AIADMK called Sasikala Pushpas plea vindictive, stating that she did not challenge her expulsion from AIADMK. Ruling party advocate said she had no locus standi to plead in an internal party matter. Pushpas lawyer and senior counsel KM Vijayan argued that AIADMKs order expelling his client was not served on her till date. He affirmed that she had locus standi in the matter, she continued to represent AIADMK and notice may have been sent (only) to the Secretary, Rajya Sabha. Referring to reports in the media that few party members wanted Sasikala to assume the post of AIADMK General Secretary, the petition against Chinnammas elevation said she was given partys primary membership in March 2012. While Sasikala has completed only four and a half years as a primary member, the AIADMK bye-laws had an eligibility norm stipulating a primary membership for five continuous years to become General Secretary, it was submitted. The petitioner sought an interim injunction restraining the AIADMK from appointing Sasikala to the top post unlawfully and arbitrarily. Vijayan also contended that AIADMK bye-law of Section 20 (2) says that the General Secretary should be selected by all the primary members of all party units. He further submitted that AIADMK proposed to amend the party bye-laws to facilitate appointment of Sasikala as General Secretary. Assuming that the rule of continuous five year membership was amended, still the basic structure for selection of General Secretary by all primary members of all party units cannot be amended. Also, as per the Societies Registration Act, a minimum of 21 days notice has to be served on the members for attending the General Council whereas in this case no notice was served. A prominent city-based jeweller is under the scanner of Income Tax department after it deposited Rs 60 crore in bank account shortly after the demonetisation of high value bills was announced last month, an official said on Thursday. The jeweller had deposited Rs 60 crore in bank account after the demonetisation exercise was announced on November 8, and when the investigation was done it was found that they (jeweller) were backdating and inflating the sales, said an IT official on a condition of anonymity. While giving the instance of inflating of sale, he said the jewellery shop was showing the price of diamond at Rs 4 to 5 lakh per carat. Post demonetisation, the store was showing the price of diamonds at Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh per carat and at this price, best diamonds are found in the world and they are generally not found in India, he said. According to the official, there are other jewellers in the city, who are also under the scrutiny for back dating and inflating the sales. Immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 8, the jewellers had kept the shops open late in night, facilitating customers to get rid of their stashed old currency by selling gold at premium. A delegation of Congress MPs, led by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to press for their demand for loan waiver for debt-ridden farmers in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The delegation comprised leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, partys leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh and other MPs from UP and Punjab. The UP and Punjab units of the main opposition party collected more than 2.5 crore application forms for loan waiver in the past three months during Gandhis farmer outreach programme in the two states. The Congress plans to hand over these forms to the government. Why loan waivers? More than half the countrys farming households are in debt, owing banks and moneylenders hundreds of crores of rupees, despite numerous loan write-offs by successive governments. Political leaders have often promised to waive farmers loan repayments. But critics say underlying reasons for the farmers chronic indebtedness have not been addressed. During the meeting, which is the first time that Gandhi met Modi on any issue, they also submitted a memorandum on the subject. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said, This government has waived off loans of Rs 1.40 lakh crore to corporates. So we urged the government to waive off the loans of the farmers as well. Met the PM on the plight of our farmers;urged Govt to waive loans of farmers &provide relief to them at the earliesthttps://t.co/c8dl12eucC Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) December 16, 2016 Gandhis programme was aimed at striking a chord with the community that is disillusioned with the political class for its failure to address the problems of the agriculture sector. His 26-day Kisan Yatra in Uttar Pradesh and the 10-day farmers outreach in Punjab primarily focused on three major demands loan waiver, increased minimum support price (MSP) and reduction in their power bills by 50%. The BJP-led NDA government has faced flak for its handling of the agrarian crisis with the Congress alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to keep his poll promise to beleaguered farmers. Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Prime Minister of siding with the corporate sector and ignoring the farmers. The Congress also cites the National Crime Record Bureau figures to corner the Modi government over farmers suicides. The meeting comes in the midst of a bitter war of words between the Congress and the BJP on the demonetisation issue with Gandhi alleging he has information about the personal corruption by the PM. The Congress V-P has also alleged that the ruling side did not allow him to speak on the note ban issue in the Lok Sabha as it was scared of him. If they allow me to speak then you will see what an earthquake will come, he had warned. Later in the day, Gandhi will also lead a delegation of opposition leaders to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to register their protest against Modis demonetisation move and the severe hardships it has unleashed on the citizens. This is the second time that the Opposition leaders are meeting the President over the notes ban move. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will lead a delegation of Opposition leaders to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to register their protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation move and the severe hardships it has unleashed on the citizens. This is the second time that the Opposition leaders are meeting the President over the notes ban move. On November 16, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee led a march of the Opposition leaders to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand an immediate rollback of the Prime Ministers November 8 decision to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. Banerjee was accompanied by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah besides leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, BJPs ally Shiv Sena and Hardik Patels new party. Though the Shiv Sena did not demand a rollback, it sought an extension of the deadline for accepting old currency notes. However, the Congress, and the Left had then stayed away from the march. Prior to this, a delegation of Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will meet the Prime Minister to press for their demand for loan waiver for debt-ridden farmers. The meeting of the delegation, led by leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, with Modi comes two days after the Congress received more than 2.5 crore loan waiver application forms from farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The Congress plans to hand over those forms to the central government. Jammat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed on Friday said he considers home minister Rajnath Singhs remarks that Pakistan would be splintered into 10 if it failed to quell terrorism as a declaration of war. We consider Rajnaths statement as declaration of war and accept the challenge. We dont accept ceasefire line as Line of Control (LoC), he said while addressing a rally in Nasser Bagh Lahore. He warned the government not to give clean chit to alleged Indian spy Kalbhushan. We warn the government not give clean chit to Kalbhushan. Rather it must expose Indias evil designs in Pakistan, he said. Saeed said that Rajnath talked about breaking Pakistan but Sartaj Aziz remained silent. I want to tell India that it is not the Pakistan of 1971. Today Pakistan is a nuclear weapon state and the biggest power of Muslim world. Addressing a Martyrs Day function in Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh had on Sunday said, Pakistan came into existence after India got divided on religious lines but it could not keep itself united. In 1971, it got split into two and, if it does not mend its ways, it will get splintered into 10 pieces and India will have no role in it. The Reserve Bank of India said it will shortly issue Rs 500 notes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) series with the inset letter E in both the number panels. The notes will have Swachh Bharat logo printed on the reverse of the banknote. Some of the captioned banknotes will have an additional character * (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number, RBI said. Packets containing these notes will have 100 pieces as usual but not in serial order. To facilitate easy identification of note packets containing star notes, the bands on such packets will clearly indicate the presence of these notes in the packet. Star banknotes in Rs 500 denomination are being issued for the first time. Star banknotes in the denomination of Rs 10, 20, 50 and 100 are already in circulation. In a serially numbered packet, banknotes with any defect, detected at the printing stage, are replaced at the note printing presses by banknotes having the same number so that the sequence of the packet is maintained. As part of its efforts to benchmark procedures against international best practices as also for cost effectiveness at printing presses, RBI had adopted star series numbering system for replacement of the defectively printed banknotes. Meanwhile, the RBI said foreign citizens will be allowed to exchange foreign exchange for Indian currency notes up to a limit of Rs 5,000 per week till December 31. Earlier, the facility was available till December 15, 2016. Read more | Too few Rs 500 banknotes: RBI numbers show long months of cash pain ahead An abandoned stone quarry in Rajasthans Tonk district is keeping the police on their toes. Thousands of villagers from far and wide had descended on the site partly filled with rain water after some locals reported finding some 4th and 5th century gold coins, prompting the police to clamp prohibitory orders and mount a round-the-clock vigil. A massive hunt has also been launched to retrieve the coins following the veritable gold rush. Every day for the past week, loudspeakers mounted on police vehicles have been going round Janakipura and adjoining areas blaring out advice for villagers to return the coins. The locals have all but memorised the messages by now. Sabhi gram vasiyo ko soochit kiya jata hai (this is to inform all villagers), the police have been telling over their crackling loudspeakers, adding that strict action will follow if the villagers do not comply. The coins, the police say, are precious. After two of them were recovered from a jeweller on December 7, the police got in touch with the Jaipur branch of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which sent two archaeologists to determine the value of the coins. Their finding has been startling. Two types of coins belonging to the times of Samudragupta (335-380AD) and Kumaragupta I (414-485 AD) have been found at Janakipura site. I have given my report to Rajasthans superintending archaeologist Anil Tiwari, said Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, one of the two archaeologists. Samudragupta was the fourth ruler of the Gupta empire and the son of Chandragupta whose kingdom extended from Nepal and Punjab in the north to Kanchipuram in the south. Kumaragupta was the son of Chandragupta II and ruled the empire for long. The ASI team suspects that someone could have possibly buried the treasure near the quarry. The last time a similar treasure pertaining to the Gupta period had been found was in 1946 when 1,821 coins were recovered from a site in Bayana town. That the coins are invaluable has sent the police into a tizzy. Prem Singh Nathawat, the station house officer of Diggi police station, believes the villagers have taken away nearly 2,000 coins from the quarry. Trust me, I will recover each and every one of them. I am due for retirement after a year, but I want my boys to be rewarded and given promotions, he added. Preeti Jain, the district superintendent of police, said the villagers need to return the coins as they were government property. We will book cases against those who dont return them, she said. Five personnel from the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary are now standing guard at the quarry to discourage villagers from further scouring for coins, as police teams raid surrounding villages. In the past week, they have recovered nine coins. But some locals insist the police action has come late, much after the horse has bolted. They say the gold rush began sometime in October and continued for two months. Thousands of people converged and local traders even set up tea and food stalls to make a quick buck. Such frenetic activity could not have gone unnoticed, but for the complicity of the police, alleged a villager. However, Sube Singh Yadav, Tonks district collector, insisted the gold rush was brought to his notice only recently and said local officials had been instructed to maintain law and order. With the administration on alert, locals from 10 nearby villages have decided to lie low. Though littered with discarded food and footwear left by the crowd that melted away, the quarry is quiet for now. But the villagers say the gold rush is not over. It has just been interrupted, many of them said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Supreme Court refused on Friday to interfere with the demonetisation drive, but framed nine questions for the Narendra Modi government and referred them to a five-judge constitution bench. Also, it declined to direct the government to fix a cash withdrawal limit for people and extend the timeframe for the use of demonetised 500- and 1,000-rupee notes to pay hospital bills or book railway tickets. The old notes could be used for certain public utilities till Thursday. We recommend the government to fulfill is commitment with regard to the notification on withdrawal limit, a bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said. Read: Demonetisation woes: HTs photo of old man crying in a bank touches a raw nerve The government had fixed Rs 24,000 as the weekly withdrawal limit for a person. Acting on petitions challenging the decision to scrap the two high-value notes, the top court asked the government to respond to nine questions referred to a constitution bench. Besides, it restrained high courts from hearing petitions on demonetisation, saying only the top court will hear them. It gave no relief to district co-operative banks that were not allowed to collect scrapped notes. The governments surprise move to recall 86% of cash in circulation triggered an unprecedented notes crunch, leaving millions of people lining up at banks and ATM kiosks for more than a month. Read: Demonetisation has killed 100 people, alleges Mamata New notes with a total value of Rs 5 lakh crore were infused into the system, but the money was way short to meet the demand of a cash-driven economy. The court had wondered if bank officials pocketed the new notes. So your five lakh crore has gone this way. You are not able to secure it? the bench asked on Thursday after attorney general Mukul Rohatgi pointed to fraud by certain bank officials. The court reminded the attorney general that people were unable to withdraw the promised amount of Rs 24,000 but some people are getting crores in new notes. How is somebody able to get so much money? it asked him. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The government said on Friday that political parties depositing old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes in their accounts will be exempt from income tax provided the donations taken are below Rs 20,000 per individual and properly documented. Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said the government is not tinkering with the tax exemption available to political parties and they are free to deposit the scrapped notes in their bank accounts. But these deposits will, however, be subject to the condition that individual donations taken in cash do not exceed Rs 20,000 and are properly documented with full identity of the donor. A single donation of above Rs 20,000 as per the existing law has to be done through cheque or bank draft, he said. Besides, farmers who are exempted from paying tax on agriculture income will need to furnish a self-declaration that their earnings are less than Rs 2.5 lakh in a year to make bank deposits without PAN. Read: Govt asks tax cheats to come clean by March, releases mail id for black money tip-offs For those unable to do that, furnishing PAN will be required, Adhia said. He said deposits in bank accounts of political parties are not to be taxed. If it is a deposit in the account of a political party, they are exempt. But if it is deposited in individuals account then that information will come into our radar. If the individual is putting money in his own account, then we will get information, he told reporters in New Delhi. Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 grants exemption from tax to political parties in respect of their income. This income could be from house property, other sources, capital gains and income by way of voluntary contributions received from any person. These categories of income qualify for exemption without any monetary or other limit and the income so exempted is would not even be included in the total income of the political party for the purpose of assessment. However, the tax exemption is applicable only if the political party keeps and maintain such books and other documents of the income and the accounts are audited by a chartered accountant. Asked if PAN will be mandatory for deposits made by agriculturalist, he said: A farmer has to give self declaration in Form 60 where he has to declare that his income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh. If he files Form 60, then PAN is not required. Those who are not able to give declaration, they have to give PAN. Adhia said the tax authorities will not unnecessarily chase deposits of less than Rs 2.5 lakh. We will not go unnecessarily after those with Rs 2.5 lakh deposits. But where we find people have tried to misuse the provision by putting in multiple accounts in different banks (we will go after them), he said. Adhia said within one/two months time banks will accumulate PAN numbers of all existing account holders except for Jan Dhan/BSBD account. After the shock demonetisation announcement on November 8, the government allowed junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to be deposited in bank accounts. Read | No post-mortem of records of small traders, factories before note ban: PM Modi For individuals and companies holding unaccounted cash, it has offered new tax evasion amnesty scheme wherein 50% tax will be charged on declarations and quarter of the total sum be parked in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years. Parliament will meet one last time this year on Friday with prospects of a complete washout looming large over one of the most acrimonious sessions in recent times. Ahead of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings commencing, a delegation of opposition leaders led by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will meet President Pranab Mukherjee to protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modis demonetisation move and the severe hardships it has unleashed on the people. The delegation will include leaders of 14 opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Left. This is the second time the opposition parties will meet Mukherjee over spiking of the high-denomination currency notes. Prior to this, a delegation of Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will meet the Prime Minister to press for their demand for loan waiver for debt-ridden farmers. The meeting of the delegation, led by Rahul Gandhi, comes two days after the Congress received more than 2.5 crore loan waiver application forms from farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. The Congress plans to hand over those forms to the central government. The month-long winter session has been a virtual washout as opposition parties and the government clashed primarily over the recall of 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes. On Wednesday, the BJP and its allies blocked the Oppositions offer in the Lok Sabha for an unconditional debate on the demonetisation drive. Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar opted, instead, to rake up the AgustaWestland helicopter scam that was discussed threadbare in Parliament two sessions ago. In the Rajya Sabha, that assembled after a four-day gap, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad stood up to speak about farmers facing difficulties because of the cash crunch. But NDA parliamentarians, led by junior parliamentary affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, shouted him down. This is the first time in the history of India after Independence that it is the ruling party that does not allow the House to work, Azad said. Ruling lawmakers disrupted the Lok Sabha last Thursday and Friday when Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi wanted to speak on the governments decision to scrap the two high-value notes. Read | As it happened: Parliament closer to a washout, deadlock over note ban continues The repeated disruptions have frustrated even BJP veteran LK Advani, who said he felt like resigning. The Congress vice-president has accused Modi of corruption and alleged that the government was not allowing him to speak in Parliament because he is terrified. The belligerent Opposition wants Modi to speak in the House on demonetisation, a surprise move that has left millions of people lining up at banks and ATM kiosks for more than a month. For his part, the Prime Minister has accused the Opposition of not allowing him to speak in the House. The confrontation overshadowed Parliaments legislative business, including passage of key social and financial reforms bills. The Lok Sabha, where the NDA enjoys a brute majority with more than 330 parliamentarians, has managed to pass two bills this session. The Rajya Sabha, where the NDA is in a minority, passed a single legislation. The Lower House has been able to use 15% of the allotted time, against the Rajya Sabhas 19%. This is a sharp fall from the previous session in which the two Houses spent 101% and 96% of their time. This could go down in history as the worst session since 2010. In the 2010 session, the BJP-led Opposition stalled proceedings to demand a joint parliamentary panel on the 2G spectrum allocation scam. Three years later, the BJP again led repeated disruptions over alleged scams in coal block allocation. (With agency inputs) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The United Nations is getting daily reports of rapes and killings of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and independent monitors are being barred from investigating, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday. UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al Hussein said in a statement that the government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, had taken a short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous approach to the crisis, risking grave long-term repercussions for the region. At least 86 people have been killed, according to state media, and the United Nations has estimated 27,000 members of the largely stateless Muslim Rohingya minority have fled across the border from Myanmars Rakhine state into Bangladesh. The repeated dismissal of the claims of serious human rights violations as fabrications, coupled with the failure to allow our independent monitors access to the worst affected areas in northern Rakhine, is highly insulting to the victims and an abdication of the Governments obligations under international human rights law, Zeid said in the statement. If the authorities have nothing to hide, then why is there such reluctance to grant us access? Given the continued failure to grant us access, we can only fear the worst. UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the U.N. human rights office had submitted a formal request for access to the area, which had not yet been granted. Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said more than 1,000 refugees had arrived in Bangladesh in the past few weeks, bringing accounts of houses being burned, targeting of civilians and traumatised women and children who had witnessed the killing of family members. UNHCR could not verify the accounts first-hand but it was extremely concerned and it urged the Myanmar authorities to investigate and the government of Bangladesh to give the refugees a safe haven, he said. Zeid said in June this year that crimes against humanity may have been committed and if the government did not handle the situation very carefully and address the grievances of the Rohingya minority, violence could ensue, Shamdasani said. Unfortunately this is exactly what has happened in the past couple of months, she added. We are worried that this is going to get further out of hand. This is perfect breeding ground for violent extremists. Late Bharat Ratna Utsad Bismillah Khans relative went missing on Friday and a complaint was filed with the Cantt Railway station in Varanasi, officials said. The daughter-in-law of Khans elder brother went missing from the platform while she was waiting for a train along with her family members. 55-year-old Munnawar Jahan, daughter-in-law of Shamsuddin Khan, had gone to the railway station to catch a train for Sivan in Bihar to attend a marriage function. Earlier this month, five of Khans shehnai, four of which were made of silver, had gone missing from his son Kazim Hussains home following which an FIR was registered. Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday ruled out an alliance with any party for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Mulayam said his party would go alone and retain power in the countrys most populous state. Though the SP chief is averse to any tie-up with the Congress, his son and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has maintained that if the two parties form an alliance, they will win more than 300 of the total 403 seats. Read | Congress-Samajwadi Party must form an alliance for UP polls: Congress leaders For his part, Akhilesh insists that the final call on the alliance proposal will be taken by his father. The talks between the two parties are stuck on seat-sharing. While the Congress has been demanding 120-130 seats, the Samajwadi Party is unwilling to concede more than 60. Akhilesh may contest from Bundelkhand Meanwhile, the UP chief minister said some people had suggested that he should contest the assembly elections from a constituency in Bundelkhand region and he would present the proposal to his father. He said he was open to contesting for a Lower House seat in the forthcoming polls. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday that he will soon name the next Indian Army and Indian Air Force chiefs. He was speaking after paying tributes at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Vijay Diwas which marks the military triumph over Pakistan in 1971 which led to the creation of Bangladesh. The defence minister, however, did not give a timeline for naming the new chiefs. Asked whether the line of succession might be broken in the appointment of the next army chief, Parrikar said cryptically: Line of succession is decided by the people. The Indian Army chief, General Dalbir Singh, and the Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, are both set to retire on December 31. A file with nominations for the new chiefs is with the Prime Ministers Office, and a formal announcement is expected after parliaments winter session concludes on Friday, sources said. The sources also added that the Eastern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi; the Southern Army Commander, Lt. Gen. PM Hariz and the army vice chief, Lt Gen Bipin Rawat are in the fray to succeed Gen. Dalbir Singh. Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, a Kargil war veteran, and the IAF vice chief is in the fray for the top job. Talking about the significance of December 16, Parrikar said it was a day when India achieved a decisive victory. I dont have to stress on the importance of this great day. This is the day when we achieved a decisive victory and created a new country, he said. On the next canisterised test for Agni V missile, the minister said he would not like to comment much on it and said: Testing goes on, I will not comment much. We have achieved 100 percent success in all the tests this year. Major Anita Kumari, 36, serving with the Army Supply Corps at Bari Brahmana, 15 km from Jammu, was found dead with a bullet wound in the head at her house on Thursday night. Major Kumari, who belongs to Udaipur village in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, used her personal weapon and shot herself in the right temple. We found her body in her residential quarter at 8.50 pm on Thursday, a defence source said. Bari-Brahmana station house officer Yashpal Singh said, Circumstantial evidence suggests it to be a case of suicide. Her room was bolted from inside. We recovered a pistol from the crime scene. Her domestic help informed the police after the officer did not open the door despite repeated knocks. We have also seized a diary, a wallet, a weapon that perhaps was used for the first time, live cartridges but couldnt find purchase bill of the weapon, he added. The officer said that the officer was the wife of Kumar Anubhav, who is an engineer and lives in Anand Vihar in New Delhi. Sources said the couple had estranged relations. The body was taken to the Government Medical College in Jammu for post-mortem, and later handed over to her cousin. Police also recovered an empty bottle of vodka from her room. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON High drama was witnessed on the last day of the Indore Municipal Corporations general session on Thursday as the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP exchanged war of words over the alleged high-handedness by civic officials during Swachhta Abhiyan. The Leader of Opposition in the IMC, Fauziya Sheikh Aleem, alleged that the officials of the BJP-ruled municipal body were mercilessly beating the people found defecating in open. Aleem cited an instance where the corporation staff had razed the hutments of some labourers near the Indore railway station after they were found defecating in open. Besides imposing fines on open defecators, the corporation is using highhanded approach to achieve their Swachhta Abhiyan targets, Aleem said, adding that the IMC should first build public toilets at every junction in the city and then they can punish the violators. Replying to the accusations, BJP corporators said the labourers had encroached upon government land and were defecating in open, so they were asked to use night shelters instead of staying out in open. Mayor in Council (MiC) member Balram Verma said, The penalty imposed on open defecators is minimum and it creates a sense of fear among violators. This punishment is sending strong messages in the society. Tigress Jamunas escape from its enclosure twice in a fortnight at Indore Zoo also sparked a debate on whether the zoo was efficient enough to hold the wild animals and whether it was safe for the visitors. The opposition also termed the collection of user charges towards door-to-door garbage collection as unfair, saying people were already paying several kinds of taxes. The opposition listed several suggestions to improve Indores ranking in Swacchta Survey that is expected to take place in January next year. For the efficient execution of door-to-door garbage collection, Rau MLA Jitu Patwari suggested that the routes of the garbage tipper vehicles should be planned so that they consume less diesel and reach maximum number of households. The opposition also blamed the Speaker, Ajay Singh Naruka, of bias towards ruling party and raised slogans against him. The meeting was disrupted a few times when Congress corporators demanded detailed discussions on each topic. However, a majority of the proposals were passed without much discussion on the basis of majority in the House. City Mayor Malini Gaud announced that different competitions such as painting, debates will be organised on the topic Clean Indore from December 16 to 31. Fake note case records in Bengal for the six-month period between May and October reveal that North 24-Parganas has emerged as a close second behind Malda in the circulation of counterfeit currency. Also, the CID has detected the first counterfeit Rs 50 notes from the state in Kharibari and Danton. Malda is recognised as the hub of counterfeit currency of the country, accounting for more than half of the fake notes that are introduced in the nation. Different police stations in North 24-Parganas registered 31 Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) cases during the six-month window. Murshidabad police stations registered 24 cases. Malda topped the list with 45. Burdwan was the fourth with 16 cases. A few years ago, North 24-Parganas was not prominent on the fake note map at all. According to Reserve Bank records, 5,21,155 counterfeit notes with face value of Rs 2.16 crore were seized in 2011-12. On the basis of data obtained from different central and state agencies, RBI found that over 80% of these notes came in through Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts. All these districts Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24-Parganas share a border with Bangladesh. HT has accessed the data prepared by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Among the findings that surprised them the most were counterfeit notes of Rs 50, the first such find in Bengal. On May 3, the police found the first fake Rs 50 note with Merry Soren at Kharibari police station in Darjeeling district. On August 20, fake Rs 50 and Rs 100 currency notes were found at Dantan police station area in East Midnapore. Hasera Khatoon was arrested with a fake Rs 100 note and two fake Rs 50 notes. Usually, fake currencies are found in the higher denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. One of the avowed targets of the Prime Minister was to strike at the FICN rackets by banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. In North 24-Parganas, FICNs were seized in areas such as Jagaddal, Belghoria, Noapara, Naihati, Basirhat, Baduria, Swarupnagar, Habra, Gaighata, Bongaon, Barasat and Baduria. In Burdwan, FICN face value of Rs 1,81,300 have been seized from Kulti, Durgapur, Hirapur, Galsi, Jamuria, Burdwan and Asansol. In Malda, FICN was seized mainly in the established hubs of Kaliachak, Baishnabnagar, Chanchol, Englishbazar and Malda. Reserve Bank of India and income tax authorities have already alerted banks about the fake notes that could be deposited in banks after demonetisation. The banks were asked to install CCTV at the cash counter to identify the persons depositing cash. The banks were also asked to install FICN scanner in the bank to identify the FICN notes. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At a time serpentine queues outside banks and ATMs on one hand and the wave of I-T raids throwing up crores worth of black money stash on the other represent the two extremes of the fallout of the shock recall of high-value banknotes, the sex workers of Kolkata are bidding to get savvy telling fakes from original currency notes. Home to Indias and South East Asias largest red light area, Sonagachi would soon be witness to sex workers being trained to spot fake notes. Sex workers have always been deemed the most gullible and vulnerable when it comes to pushing fake notes into circulation. While they lack the knowledge or awareness to spot fakes, they are also least likely to go to cops if paid with counterfeit currency. Often, some are too drunk to care. However, with the big bang demonetisation being seen as a war on black money and counterfeiting, the Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee, an organisation for sex workers, has asked its Usha Multipurpose Co-operative Society (co-operative bank for sex workers) to tailor a training course aimed at helping them differentiate between original and fake notes. The co-operative bank for sex workers is believed to be the only one of its kind in Asia. Weve planned to launch a training programme for sex workers to help them identify fake notes. Red light areas are considered the prime spots for channelling counterfeit currency and these hapless girls dont go to the police fearing harassment, Bharati Dey, secretary of Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee, told HT. The sex workers draw plenty of random clients in a days shift and most cant be traced even if found to have solicited sex with counterfeit currency. In 2011, we held training camps for sex workers to tell real notes from fakes. However, since the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have been pulled out and new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes introduced, we felt its time they underwent fresh training, Dey said. Even a conservative estimate pegs the number of sex workers at Sonagachi at over 11,000 (not including those underage or living illegally). The Committee has over 30,000 registered members across the state. Weve planned to launch the programme sometime in January or February. Weve already had currency identification machines installed at our clinics apart from holding outreach programmes (for sex workers). Well make them aware of the security features in the new currency notes. Many of our members are coming forward, asking to be trained, Santanu Chatterjee, finance manager of the co-operative bank, told HT. There are 29,772 sex workers throughout Bengal who are members of the co-operative. DMSC plans to even go beyond Sonagachi and to other red lights areas including in Bowbazar and Kalighat with the training. Officials and volunteers would reach out to sex workers are teach them the various security features of the new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes. Sex workers including those in Sonagachi are among the hardest hit after demonetisation, with drop in clientele following the cash crunch. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LA LA LAND Direction: Damien Chazelle Actors: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone Rating: 5 / 5 This delightful extravaganza revives the big-screen musical and how. Damien Chazelles third feature (after Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, and the multiple Oscar-winning Whiplash) is a joyous paean to the City of Angels and the razzle-dazzle of Hollywoods halcyon era. La La Land evokes the bittersweet fables of the late French auteur Jacques Demy. There are echoes also of some of Jean-Luc Godards 1960s improvisational romps, like A Woman is a Woman, Band of Outsiders and Contempt. Writer-director Chazelle pulls out all the stops to capture the feel of true love and the inevitable obstacles which thwart the potential happiness of young lovers. In this case, he (Ryan Gosling) is a dedicated jazz pianist reduced to tinkling out Christmas standards in dive bars. And she (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress whose career is yet to take off. John Legend plays a successful mainstream jazz performer who recruits Gosling. Their romance plays out against the colourful backdrop of familiar LA locations, from a studio back lot to the hillside overlooking the city and the Griffith Observatory. At once original and retro, the film opens with a show-stopping set piece. Vehicles are stuck bumper to bumper in a gridlock on the freeway. A woman driver (played by Indian-origin danseuse Reshma Gajjar) steps out and breaks into an impromptu ditty. Scores of motorists join in, in a dizzying, single-take rendition of Another day of sun. Throughout, the music score by Justin Hurwitz and the lyricist team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul is toe-tapping. Combined with the widescreen cinematography of Linus Sandgren and the exuberant dance choreography by Mandy Moore, this nimble confection measures up to, if not outclasses, the old-school musicals it sets out to celebrate. Correctly abstaining from a happily-ever-after resolution, the transcendent what-if epilogue nevertheless elicits tears of joy. (Credit) As the realities of life begin to impinge on the couples relationship, in one particularly hard-hitting scene reminiscent of the war of words between husband and wife (Brigitte Bardot-Michel Piccoli) in Godards Contempt (1963), the jazzman and his fiance split up. Then again, while traipsing around an outdoor film set, the frustrated musician bemoans that producers nowadays worship everything and value nothing, a caustic put-down that wouldnt have been out of place in Billy Wilders Sunset Boulevard (1950). Correctly abstaining from a happily-ever-after resolution, the transcendent what-if epilogue nevertheless elicits tears of joy. While Gosling deploys his trademark tousled charm, the standout performance is by the effervescent Stone. La La Land just makes you fall in love with the movies all over again. Watch the trailer for La La Land here ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop La La Land Director - Damien Chazelle Cast - Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone Rating - 5/5 They say the world is dying. They say movies are dead. And they say movie musicals are definitely dead. But there is a cure to this savagery; there is an antidote to this absurdity. It is a movie. It is a musical. It is a musical about movies. Its called La La Land and it is here to save your life. But it wont come to you. You must go to it. You have been wronged far too often, I know; the movies have wronged us all. They have stood us up, left us alone on rainy curbs, but you must put your faith in them, one last time, if only to restore it. You must run to La La Land. It is the story of two dreamers, lost in the City of Stars. He is an aspiring jazz pianist, and she, a hopeful actor with posters of Ingrid Bergman on her wall. Their paths cross, again and again and again in a montage of expertly choreographed numbers as they navigate the magic realism of La La Land, and struggle with their hopes and dreams in a city that can be as stifling as it is inspiring. Save for a major upset, La La Land will win the Academy Award for Best Picture in February 2017 not because it should but because it absolutely must. From its euphoric opening number, set on a Los Angeles freeway, to its final, melancholic moments, inside a jazz club; there is not a single moment, not a single glint in the eye, a single smile, a single swish of the dress that doesnt completely envelope you with its irrepressible charm. Itll sweep you off your feet, and for 2 hours, itll make you fall in love with the movies again. It might even have the power to single-handedly revive the dying theatre-going experience. It may not be able to save the musical, but for as long as it exists as long as movies exist it will ensure that the respect this genre deserves is given to it, even as it takes its last bow, and limps off the stage, having danced to the bitter end. And for as long as every Friday brings with it new attractions at the local theatre, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone will be remembered as one of the most iconic romantic couples in Hollywood history, just like Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, or, keeping with the musical theme, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Theres something enchanting about watching Ryan Goslings face, isnt there... bathed in the neon of a Los Angeles night, and dripping in the magic hour twilight of its days. With more classics on his CV than most actors can manage in five-decade-long careers, can there be any doubt now that Ryan Gosling is a movie star in the league of Brando, De Niro, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant? I pity the person who walks away from this film, and its two central performances, not having been utterly astounded by its brilliance. But who do we kneel before? Shot by Linus Sandgren in Cinemascope (!), and on film (!), so beautifully that you could blindly pick any frame of La La Land, and frame it on your wall - its almost as if the camera is dancing with them. Los Angeles has never looked so good, and neither have its many iconic, cinematic locations that the movie twists and twirls between. Griffith Observatory, Angels Flight, Chateau Marmont Theyre all venerable old movie characters now. It was good to see them again. But director Damien Chazelle, that champion of cinema In times like these, when most people prefer staying at home, has given us a reason to march to the theatres once again. You could always watch La La Land on your mobile phone or laptop, but to experience it on the biggest screen possible is an opportunity not to be missed. And on IMAX, it was overwhelming. There was applause, there were groans, there was laughter. And there were tears. Chazelle is leading the fight to preserve the magic of the movies. His previous film Whiplash was my favourite of 2014. La La Land is one of my favourites of all time. Depending on how life has treated you, its final moments will be either devastating or irrecoverably shattering. Its one of the finest sequences ever put on film. But now, it is time to wait, it is time to consume mediocrity that will surely kill us one day. But this time we wait with renewed faith. Perhaps itll be another year till something as great as this comes around. Perhaps itll be two. Perhaps well be waiting all our lives. But at least now, we know that it is coming. There is hope yet. The movies are alive. You are alive. Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @NaaharRohan ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Director: Gareth Edwards Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen Rating: 4/5 For its legions of devotees, Rogue One, the first in a series of planned spinoffs around the Star Wars movies, will be exactly the film we wished for filled with adventure, a motley crew of ragged heroes, rickety droids, grand spectacle and the one theme that binds this immense universe together: Hope. But at this point, after 7 episodes and numerous, seemingly endless adaptations that are unavoidable to anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain, we must ask ourselves this: Are newcomers even welcome to the galaxy far, far away anymore? Or have the last ships boarded, have they jumped into hyperspace, leaving the uninitiated behind? The answer, of course, is no. Star Wars is for everyone; every boy or girl who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if there are other worlds out there. Its for every kid who has ever pretended to be a hero, saving the day, with his friends by his side. Star Wars belongs to us now. And Rogue One takes us back to where it began. For those familiar with the series chronology, you will know how this story ends. You will know that before there was hope, there was a rebellion a rebellion for which many lives were sacrificed. A weapon has been created by the Imperial forces, a weapon more powerful than any ever created. And it must be destroyed - probably with the help of a princess, her brother, and a scallywag with a spaceship. But thats a story for another film. This one instead, is about the small group of rebels whose act of bravery made Luke Skywalkers war possible. Its about a new crew - the original crew before Han Solo and Chewy and the Millennium Falcon, before R2 and C-3PO. Its the story of the crew that must infiltrate the Imperial base, and steal the plans which will help the rebellion in their fight against the tyrants. Our hero this time, Jyn Erso, like many Star Wars heroes before her, comes with daddy issues. She is a blank canvas, with a vague backstory and indecisive motivations. And that, unfortunately, is this films one major flaw. While the crew, as a unit, is tremendous, the individual characters feel more like placeholders, mere pawns in a grander story. It really does feel like substantial chunks were taken out of the film, especially from its opening act the most important one - which hurries through several character introductions, barely pausing for breath. And because of this, since his attempts at creating drama, especially out of the father-daughter story fail, most of the burden falls on director Gareth Edwards treatment of the spectacle. And there, he succeeds. He has made a World War II movie, with its feet splashing about in the muck, its weapons and vehicles rusty with age, and its soldiers eyes filled with doom and emptiness. Its a fresh new direction for the space opera series, shot in dirty handheld by DP Greig Fraser. Edwards, who brought a sense of Spielbergian scale to his Godzilla movie, and his debut Monsters, brings the same sense of wonder to Star Wars, his camera looking up in awe at the immensity of the Star Destroyers and AT-ATs, dwarfing our rag-tag crew. By his side, along with Fraser, is the composer Michael Giacchino. The John Williams is strong with him, what more can I say. It was wonderful to see his name go up at the end, in that iconic blue font that once read George Lucas, and more recently, JJ Abrams. But as we finish, I return to the thought that I began with. Will all the fan service fall flat? Will all those cameos, the return of characters we all love, some that we know of (Vaders back!) and some we do not Will it mean anything to a young kid discovering Star Wars for the first time? There is no way for us to know. After all, there was always a first time, even for us. We must trust this series, a series that made us fall in love with scruffy-looking nerf herders, trigger happy fuzzballs and pessimistic droids. We must trust the Force. May it be with you all. Watch the Rogue One trailer here Follow @htshowbiz for more The author tweets @NaaharRohan ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop The Elphinstone Road railway station may soon be called Prabhadevi, and the word Maharaj may be added to the names of Mumbais airport and the central railways terminus. On Friday, the Maharashtra Assembly unanimously passed a resolution that made these recommendations to the Central government. The resolution was moved by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the Assembly and got the support of all parties. The state needs the Central governments nod as both the airport and railways fall under it. The Mumbai airport is called Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, while the central railways Mumbai terminus is called the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The states ministers said they want the word Maharaj added to these names as the Maratha warrior king should be given respect when his name is mentioned. The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly hereby recommends to the Central Government to rename the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, read the resolution. The same resolution also recommended that the Centre to allows changing the name of the Central Railways terminus as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and rename the Elphinstone Road railway station on the western line as Prabhadevi station. The station had been named after Lord Elphinstone who was the governor of Bombay from 1853 to 1860. The state wants it to be named after Prabhadevi, a deity in the locality near Dadar. An area in Dadar is also called Prabhadevi, named after this deity The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena alliances initiative to name and rename transport hubs is seen as an attempt to please the Marathi speaking population ahead of the civic polls in Mumbai, Thane and other cities in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Just this month, the new station at Oshiwara on the Western line was named Ram Mandir station. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ending the practice of politicians posting and transferring police officers at will, and the constitution of a police complaints authority were the two major topics discussed at a meeting on police reforms in Mahim on Thursday, attended by about 100 citizens and activists. At the meeting, former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, 84, representing Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), said, Today the police are accountable to their political masters and not the public. Politicians want to post and transfer officers, because of which corruption has gone through the roof. There will be no relief until the power of transfer is taken away from politicians. Maja Daruwala of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) also said politicians control over the police force needs to be reduced. The State Security Commission (SSC) was created for that reason (to end political interference) but its composition has been subverted and it is not being convened. Dolphy D Souza, convener of Police Reforms Watch, said that setting up a Police Complaints Authority was crucial. The most important reform required is implementation of PCA so the common man can report inaction or wrong action of local police. Today if a policeman does not take action or takes the wrong action, a common man has to go to his higher-ups, who are part of the same system. So the PCA is required for fair action. Retired assistant commissioner of police Avinash Tupe said there was plenty of scope to improve the training of police and for including law graduates in the force. After discussing several police-related issues, the activists took suggestions from citizens on how to improving policing in the city. Many said they appreciated the eight-hour shifts for policemen initiated by police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar. Others said interactions between the people and their local police would help. The Supreme Court had a decade ago ordered all states to set up independent bodies to look into complaints against the police. In October, HT reported that acting advocate general Rohit Deo told the Bombay high court that the first PCA in Maharashtra would start functioning soon. However, no time frame was set for its implementation, and there was no word on how many such authorities would be set up across the state and by when. Once set up, you will be able to approach your local police complaints authority to register complaints against the police in cases of custodial torture, harassment or other types of abuse of power, as well as police inaction. Read Soon, 8-hour shifts for constables in all police stations in Mumbai What happens to a car left out of gear on a slope? It moves with the force of gravity, right? Not on this hill in the heart of Mumbai. Leave a car on this flyover just ahead of the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) near Seepz and it is pulled backward, against the force of gravity. Called a gravity hill, such mystery spots are found at several places around the world. While most of them are publicised tourist attractions some even with an entry fee what lies here on this busy suburban road, which thousands take to work every day, is one of Mumbais hidden gems, right under our noses, unexplored, but not unexplained. So what makes the car roll up the slope of a hill? Do these mystery spots really defy the laws of physics? To find out, HT set out to see the phenomenon in action. We landed at the spot early in the morning, set up our cameras and asked our driver to let the car take over. He switched to neutral transmission and left the brakes free not for a moment believing what we said would happen. And then, it did. The driver changes to neutral transmission to see if the car will actually start rolling upward. (Pratik Chorge/HT photo) The car started rolling back up the slope in good speed and we stared with our mouths agape. What seems like some supernatural occurrence, however, can be explained as a glitch in human perception, scientists said. The so called Magnetic Hill is a fairly common observation caused by an optical illusion. A car in neutral on a slight downhill slope appears to go uphill and the reason for this illusion is that the layout of the land obstructs the horizon, explains Dr Lekha Nair, professor at the department of physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. So its nature tricking our brains into believing something? Yes. Without a flat horizon, judging the slope of a surface is difficult, as a reliable reference is missing. The alignment of the road with the slope and the background can give the illusion that there is an upward slope, while it is actually downward, Nair said. If you are in the mood for a quirky science experiment, one way to prove the slope is actually downhill is to use a long spirit level . Or, use your cars GPS to prove theres nothing wrong with gravity. (Pratik Chorge/HT photo) So your car looks like it is getting mysteriously dragged up, but all it is doing is going with the force of gravity. Another study at the Pennsylvania State University has a similar explanation. It says the illusion is created by the position of trees and slopes around the spot or a curvy horizon line that blend to trick the eye. If you are in the mood for a quirky science experiment, one way to prove the slope is actually downhill is to use a long spirit level a sealed glass tube almost completely filled with water. When placed flat on the ground, the side with the bubble will indicate the higher elevation. Or, you can also use the GPS in your car to measure altitude to get the true elevation above sea level, Nair said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day after the Mumbai police seized Rs10.10 crore in old and new currency from three employees of the Vaidyanath Urban Co-operative bank, the case was referred to the income-tax (I-T) department on Friday. The bank has stated that the money belonged to the customers and that it was being transferred from one branch to other. Following the seizure, the police has asked the officials of the bank to provide the details of the amount seized. The case was then referred to the I-T department for further investigations. The department is likely to check the banks documents and is enquiring about the cash deposits made by people. The banks website refers to late senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath Munde as its inspiration and his daughter BJP MP Pritam Munde as one of the directors. The details of cash transferred from one branch to another is available in our register, said Vinod Kharche, general manager of the bank, adding that the money belongs to the customers. On Thursday night at Chedda Nagar junction, traffic policemen intercepted a car, in which the cash was stuffed in gunny bags. The police were suspicious as banks transfer huge cash via guarded vehicles. The bank said that after the Centre decided to demonetise old notes of Rs500, Rs1,000 on November 8, various customers deposited their money. Further, the money was collected from the deposits in savings, current accounts and other routine bank transactions. The nationalised banks near Parli Vaijnath refused to accept the old notes, after which the bank had sent Rs25 crore in cash on November 17 to their Ghatkopar branch so that it can be later deposited in banks. They had deposited Rs15 crore in a bank in the city, while the remaining cash of Rs 10 crore, which was intercepted was supposed to be taken to their Pimpri-Chinchwad branch for depositing in another bank, according to officials from the bank. The Rs10 lakh in new Rs2,000 notes was meant for paying customers in Pune. Like other banks, this is a part of a a routine transaction, said Kharche. The entire sum has been insured, the bank officials claimed. Read Rs 1.40 crore in new notes seized in Mumbai, three detained The general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday passed a proposal to set up the citys second Doppler radar at the Veravali water supply reservoir. The civic body will provide land to the Indian Meterological Department (IMD) to set it up. The proposal was passed after the Bombay High Court (HC) slammed the civic body for its lethargic approach in finalizing a site for the radar, used in meteorology. According to the proposal, a 30X30m will be provided to the IMD on lease with a one-time payment of Rs2.23 crore. After this, the IMD will have to pay Rs900 per year for the next 30 years. The proposal says that the HC had, in September, asked the civic body to finalise the site in the next 10 weeks. The first Doppler radar was installed atop a building in Colaba. Civic commissioner Ajoy Mehta was summoned by the HC for failing to comply with an earlier court order to finalise the site. In a hearing held earlier this week, the HC expressed its surprise when the BMC said that the general body could not pass the proposal in its December 8 meeting as it was adjourned due to AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaas death. The HC asked if the corporators had gone to Tamil Nadu to mourn. Civic officials said that even if space was allotted, it had to follow the due process of presenting it to the improvements committee followed by the general body of 227 corporators. In an earlier interaction with HT, KS Hoslikar, deputy director general of the IMD, said, The second radar will complement the first one as the city cannot depend on just one radar in cases of severe weather conditions. The functionalities of both will be similar. For the second radar, the IMD also wanted a location that did not have many high-rise buildings in the vicinity. The Doppler radar, along with the existing one, will help get real time forecasting for thunderstorms, mapping precipitation of monsoon clouds, its rain carrying capacity, and speed. READ MORE Mumbai Doppler radar site allotment one step away: BMC to Bombay HC Bombay HC anger prompts BMC to clear second Doppler radar site . SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a major reprieve for Poonam Bhagat, who is engaged in a legal battle with her estranged husband, industrialist Jaidev Shroff, the Bombay high court on Friday restrained the Khar police from taking any steps on three complaints registered with them against the 48-year-old socialite. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Girish Kulkarni also stayed a non-bailable warrant issued against her by a magistrate court, purportedly at Shroffs instance. The magistrate court should not have proceeded with the matter at all, especially when this court (the high court) had sought the record and proceedings of the case (based on Shroffs complaint that Poonam tried to poison him), said the bench while staying the non-bailable warrant. This is something very shocking, the bench said, adding, We will have to deal with the magistrate on the administrative side. The comments on the conduct of the magistrate came after Bhagats counsel, senior advocate Amit Desai, pointed out that after the high court called for record and proceedings of the case, a magistrate, who was holding charge of the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM), advanced hearing of the case, took up the matter urgently on Thursday, and issued a non-bailable warrant against the petitioner (Bhagat). Desai further pointed out that summons was first issued calling upon a person to be present in court. The second step was issuance of a bailable warrant, if he or she failed to be present. A non-bailable warrant was issued as the last resort. Here, admittedly, no summons is issued to the petitioner (Bhagat), but a non-bailable warrant was directly issued for her arrest. The conduct of the magistrate is completely contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court as regards issuance of non-bailable warrants, the bench said expressing anguish over the high-handed approach of the magistrate in issuing a non-bailable warrant against Bhagat. The bench has now directed the registrar (Judicial-I), high court, to enquire into the entire episode relating to the additional chief metropolitan magistrates court advancing the date for hearing the case, which was originally scheduled for February 10, but was abruptly listed for hearing on December 15, and the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against the 48-year-old socialite. The registrar has been ordered to submit his report by January 16. The judges were also irked with the over-zealousness shown by some officers attached to Khar police station in investigating the three offences registered against Bhagat. They termed the police action smacked of high-handedness. The court was hearing a petition filed by the 48-year-old socialite seeking transfer of three criminal cases registered against her with Khar police station either to the crime branch or any other independent agency. In her petition Bhagat alleged that officers attached to the Khar police station were totally biased against her and were favouring her estranged husband for extraneous reasons and consideration, even going to the extent of creating false records. READ MORE HC relief for Poonam Bhagat FIR against socialite at Khar police station Balabhai Nanavati Hospital of Vile Parle suspended a resident doctor on Friday after he was arrested in connection with a sexual abuse case that was filed against him at Santacruz police station. A week back, 28-year-old woman filed a case of sexual abuse against Dr Kalyan Siodia, under Section 376 (d) of the Indian Penal Code. According to the complaint, Dr Siodia,a resident doctor at the hospital who was training to be a cardiologist, had touched the victim inappropriately about six months back when she was admitted to the hospital. Officials from the hospital said that the arrest of the doctor on Wednesday came as a shock to them as the incident had taken place six months back. As a part of the procedure, we constituted a committee for internal investigations. It will soon meet and look up the evidence before them and submit their report, said the official. He added that the hospital had a zero tolerance policy towards such incidents and any indecent behaviour is subjected to immediate action. Dr Rajendra Patankar, CEO of the hospital, refused to comment saying that the matter was subjudice. The victim was admitted to the hospital on June 5, after an overdose of sleeping pills. The doctor, on pretext of examining her, allegedly touched her inappropriately and continued to ask for sexual favours for months, following which she decided to file a complaint. Dr Siodia, who was remanded in judicial custody, continues to be locked up in Authur Road prison. READ MORE Why must girls keep quiet, not protest, sacrifice? A teachers letter on rape At a time when the entire country is reeling under demonetisation, a businessman from Ulwe has purchased a Rs4.28-crore Lamborghini from Italy. The high-end car was brought to the deputy road and transport office in Panvel for registration on Thursday. The car has been booked in the name of Babaji Shivram Clearing and Carriers Pvt. Ltd, Dronagiri. The RTO will earn a tax of Rs86 lakh from the car, sources said. Anand Patil, deputy RTO, Panvel said, We are in a process of registering the car. We are verifying details, as it is an imported car. All the formalities will be cleared within a few days. Read Auto sales take a beating following demonetisation Honda Cars sales slip by 20-30% after demonetisation SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON At a time when medical aspirants are still confused about the curriculum for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017, the possibility that the state government will include deemed medical institutes in the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Education Institutes (Regulation of admission and fees) has brought much cheer amongst the students. While the amended Act has already been approved in the lower house late on Thursday night, all eyes are now on the upper house (Vidhan Parishad) expecting it to clear the same today in Nagpur. Our appeal was aimed at governing the deemed institutes as over the years we have received numerous complaints from students and parents about being misled by these institutes as they called for admission policies and fees on a whim. This amended law means all medical deemed institutes will be under our watch, said Dr Pravin Shingare director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER). He added that once the law get the final nod from the government, admissions to all medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) seats will have to be conducted via the Common Admission Process (CAP) rounds conducted by the state Common Entrance Test (CET) cell. This will ensure all students go through only a single window process for admissions in 2017, added Shingare. In April 2016, the Supreme Court had ordered for all state conducted CETs for medical admissions to be replaced with NEET, to bring about uniformity in the process and save students from appearing for separate tests to get through different institutes. While admissions to government-run medical and dental institutes in the state were still on in Maharashtra, an Ahmednagar-based deemed institute, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences filed a writ petition in Bombay high court, seeking relief from centralised admissions process conducted by the state CET cell. Two days later, three other deemed institutes filed similar but separate petitions, using their independent status granted to them by the University Grants Commission (UGC). While the HC gave the permission to deemed institutes to conduct their own admissions, DMER filed a review petition in SC to overrule the HC order and eventually got the permission to fill remaining vacant seats in deemed institutes according to CAP. Even as the state government is rejoicing the decision, it seems like institutes are gearing up to seek judicial help in this matter. Ours is a 25 year old institute, where for 24 years not a single seat went vacant. However, after the state government took over admissions, they couldnt finish the process in time and we have been left with many vacant seats in the BDS course. Whats the use of our deemed status if the government wants to control our admissions process? asked an official from Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences. He added that while they will wait until the amended law is cleared by the upper house at Nagpur today, they will be ready to fight tooth and nail for their case to be heard in the court. We will fight for our rights, even if it means going all the way to the SC, said the spokesperson of a Nashik-based dental institute. Read Maharashtra govt scraps CET for medical admissions Parents of medical aspirants seek more clarity on entrance test SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Three days after the Mumbai police procession at Mahim Fair violated both Bombay high court (HC) orders and noise rules, a HC bench instructed anti-noise petitioners to file a contempt petition against the state government on the issue by next Friday. During the last hearing on December 3, the HC had warned the state that contempt notices will be issued to officers responsible to monitor noise pollution violations after they failed to take action in a number of cases. HT had reported on December 14 that at this years Mahim Fair, a 10-day annual festival, the sandal (procession) carried out by the police, near Mahim police station, a Silence Zone, was at 117.3 decibels (dB), as loud as a machine drilling a rock. The reading was the second noisiest since 2013. During Eid-e-Milad this year, the highest noise level was observed opposite JJ Hospital, near Mumbai Central, a Silence Zone, at 111.5 dB, found NGO Awaaz Foundation. On Friday, as anti-noise activists from Awaaz Foundation tendered an affidavit in the HC regarding violations by processions on Eid-e-Milad and Day 1 of Mahim Fair, a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Anuja Prabhudessai directed the former to file a fresh contempt petition against the state for their inaction to deal with noise pollution complaints. The next date of hearing is December 23. An elaborate order by the same court from earlier this year, not only banned the use of loudspeakers at Silence Zones but even the use of drums, blowing horns, trumpets and playing of any music using sound amplifiers, which was violated during Mahim Fair and Eid-e-Milad this year. The state government also prayed to the court on Friday to give them more time to form a special council and implement previous HC orders to tackle noise pollution cases but the court rejected the plea. The HC was hearing a petition filed by several anti-noise activists, including Awaaz Foundations petition to tackle noise during various religious festivals, Mahim Fair and integration of noise mapping in the Development Plan for Mumbai. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 24-year old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering a 65-year-old senior citizen on December 11 in Kandivli. Police said robbery appears to be the intention behind the crime. The deceased Devendra Doshi a stock broker was found with his throat slit inside his fourth floor flat in Pratik building on Mathuradas Road in Kandivli west on Sunday. He hails from Rajkot, Gujarat. Ashok Dudhe, Mumbai Police spokesperson, said, The arrested accused is known to Doshi. So he allowed him in. We have learnt that robbery was the motive as he stole money and gold. We are trying to recover it. Initially, the police did not suspect robbery as nothing in the house was ransacked or looked missing. They however received information on the accused who was nabbed from Borivli east in wee hours of Friday. He will be produced in a magistrate court on Friday. Doshi worked from home and had separated from his wife 15 years back. His sons lived separately as well. Read Taxi driver kidnapped, assaulted and robbed by 4 people Polish couple robbed by two near Haji Ali The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has proposed setting up of Nagpur Mumbai Super Communication Expressway Company Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Companies Act, 1956, for the ambitious Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway project. According to MSRDC officials, creation of an SPV is essential for a project that is estimated to cost Rs46,000 crore. The proposal to create an SPV will be placed before the MSRDC board for its approval on Friday. Confirming the development, Kiran Kurundkar, joint managing director, MSRDC said, There was a strong case for the creation of an SPV for such a huge project. The proposed SPV will ensure financial discipline and it also would create confidence amongst prospective investors. The corporation plans to raise Rs 26,750 crore from a multilateral agency and domestic market for the 710-km Expressway and an SPV will facilitate in borrowing funds, the MSRDC official said. Kurundkar explained that if a special purpose vehicle is not created then the revenue that would come in from the project would go in to the common kitty of MSRDC and get mixed up. With an SPV, whatever revenue comes in, it will only remain with the company. And the SPV can ensure that all the revenue out of the project can be escrowed to the non-redemption account of the SPV, he added. MSRDC, which will hold majority stake in the SPV, is expecting revenue of over Rs 1,000 crore annually from the project once it is operational. Another official added that the revenue would be used to repay the loan from that and for the maintenance of the expressway. Out of the Rs 26,750 crore, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is expected to fund Rs 13,750 crore for the project, while MSRDC has roped in SBI caps to raise the remaining funds. According to an MSRDC official, out of the total project cost of Rs 46,000 crore, around Rs 24,000 crore is required for civil construction, while the rest is required for land acquisition, development of nodes, contingencies and financial charges, utility shifting, etc. The project, which will pass through the most backward districts and 30 tehsils, will also have 24 development nodes or prosperity hubs, which include truck terminuses, commercial sites, knowledge city, IT industries, manufacturing units, etc. Senior MSRDC officials added that the corporation is expected to get possession of 60% of the required land along the proposed route by February-end. Though, officials are claiming to float construction bids by March 2017, the crucial detailed project report is not expected to come in before May 2017. Read Fadnavis terms Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway game-changer Maha govt to auction its land to build roads and dams SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dream project, the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway, is in controversy following allegations of land purchase from farmers by several serving and retired bureaucrats along the proposed road. Large-scale purchases were made eyeing lucrative compensation package offered by the government and also the increase in land prices once the project is ready, it is alleged. The farmers were not aware of the compensation package when the land was being bought. Further, they were also not aware of the cost the land will fetch after the project is ready. As such, those privy to the information about the project bought land on a large scale, Shetkari Sangharsh Samitian outfit of farmers in Thane district-- and Shiv Sena legislators have alleged. The Sena legislators staged protests outside the assembly on Friday demanding strict action against those who have been misusing their official position for personal gains. Fadnavis has assured a probe into the allegations after the issue was raised in the Assembly by Nationalist Congress Party legislator Jayant Patil. Vinayak Pawar, president of the Shetkari Sangharsh Samiti, which represents farmers in Shahpur in Thane district, whose land is being acquired for the expressway, said he has written to Fadnavis on December 8, pointing out how several serving and retired officers of the government who have bought land in the vicinity of the proposed expressway. The names include relatives of some key bureaucrats and retired chief secretaries of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik, too, has written to the CM, seeking a probe by the anti-corruption bureau and income tax authorities. Eyeing the lucrative compensation package being offered by the government, some people privy to the information bought huge tracts of land from farmers for peanuts, alleged Sarnaik. The project, titled Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, will cover a distance of 710-km and connect 10 districts including regional headquarters of four regions. According to the state government, the expressway will reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur to about ten hours from the current 16 to 18 hours. It will have 22 nodes, or prosperity hubs including agro-industry hubs, truck terminuses, manufacturing areas and knowledge city. Fadnavis aims to complete the expressway by October 2019. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the implementing agency for the project, will need 8,520 hectares in 10 districts for the project. The government will give land owners the choice of either land acquisition through land pooling, where owners will receive compensation as well as a portion of the developed land, so they can avail of benefits of price appreciation brought by the expressway, or through a one-time compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act. Read more: Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway project hits the road SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Following criticism over shoddy pothole repairs, the civic body wants to ensure that contractors also work during the monsoon, for which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started making provisions nearly six months in advance. The civic body received no bidder for pothole repair work despite issuing tender notices twice during this monsoon. As a result, it has now decided to club pre-monsoon work along with pothole repairs for next year.The civic body issued tenders worth Rs81 crore to appoint contractors early this week. Further, the civic body will be focusing on repairing bad road patches at around 455 locations as part of pre-monsoon work. This list of bad patches was drafted by the zonal deputy municipal commissioners and ward officers on the instruction of civic chief Ajoy Mehta. Civic officials said that this will help provide the citizens with better roads, next monsoon. The civic body had given out Rs7 crore contracts each to the seven zones in the city for the 2016 pre-monsoon work. The civic body had issued tenders, which did not receive response for pothole filling and had to be carried out eventually by the pre-monsoon contractors and ward level labourers. This was then included as unforeseen work. However, if the sources are to be believed, this took place after the road scam was unearthed leading to action against six road contractors. In a bid to avoid a similar situation in 2017, the civic body decided to tie in the contractors for both the jobs. A senior road department official on request of anonymity said, This was decided so that the contractors dont have a reason to back out. We will make sure the pothole repair is also carried out by appointed contractors instead of civic labourers. READ MORE Mumbai to use digital tools to supervise engineering work, curb corruption After road scam, Mumbai civic body to monitor work in wards SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A 48-year-old police inspector from Bandra-Kurla Complex police station suffered injuries on his face and head after being allegedly assaulted by a gang of eight in Bandra (East) while he was providing security along with other police officials for Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) demolition drive on Thursday. While five have been arrested, others are at large. According to the BKC police, the incident took place at around 1 pm in Bharat Nagar slum in Bandra. The MMRDA team had reached the spot to carry out a demolition drive against encroachments and a police team from BKC police station was providing security cover to them. However, a gang of eight persons protested and one of them assaulted police inspector Rajeev Whaval with an iron rod. Whaval suffered four stitches to his head and an injury to his face. Other than him, other police officers too were manhandled, including a lady constable. He has been admitted to the Guru Nanak hospital and is being treated for his injuries. An FIR has been registered under relevant IPC sections for rioting and assaulting an on-duty public servant. The five accused including three women have been remanded to police custody till December 19 by a magistrates court on Friday. Read Traffic cop attacked at Khar dies after 9 days in hospital HT SPECIAL: Court acquits man accused of attack on Mumbai traffic cop The state government is considering setting up a separate authority to handle the affairs of Mumbais cooperative housing societies. Replying to a debate on a bill to amend the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh said there was a need to separate cooperative housing societies from other cooperative bodies. The government is mulling creating a separate authority for affairs such as elections, Deshmukh said, while responding to issues raised by legislators who pointed out holding elections and auditing accounts of the housing societies has become tedious. Here lies the problem: all cooperative bodies, including cooperative housing societies, are governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. To ensure transparency in their functioning and to prevent malpractices, the state made it mandatory for societies to audit their accounts every year, by firms empanelled by it. It has also made it mandatory to hold elections of the management committee every three years. While these rules help check malpractices in cooperative sugar factories or banks, for housing societies, complying with so many rules is often difficult, legislators said. There are 22,000 housing societies in Mumbai and it is not possible for residents who are members to take out the time to comply with the governments rules. The state should consider diluting certain provisions, demanded Mumbai legislator Ashish Shelar. Shelar said there should be provisions so that the procedure of holding elections and auditing accounts becomes easier for housing societies. The government is also studying how to protect the interests of particular castes or religions who have come together to form cooperative housing societies, Deshmukh said, in response to a demand by Shelar. Shelar had pointed out the members of Christian and Parsi communities are under pressure to change their bylaws to allow people from other communities to become members in some parts of Mumbai. Following discussions, the Assembly passed the bill that has a provision to allow cost accountants to audit accounts of co-op bodies. The bill was passed to amend the section 81 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act 1960 under which every cooperative society has to audit its accounts at least once in the financial year and within four months from the end of the financial year. The accounts are supposed to be audited by an auditor or auditing firm from a panel prepared by the Registrar and approved by the state government. However, each auditor is not supposed to handle audits of more than twenty coop societies in a year. Since the number of empanelled auditors is not sufficient considering the vast number of cooperative societies in the state, the government has included cost accountants to the list of auditors, on the lines of similar provisions made by neighbouring Karnataka state. READ MORE Mum-Nagpur Expressway: CM Fadnavis dream project in land-grab controversy SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As the country grapples with demonetisation question, the Archaeology and Geology exhibition held at the Kalina campus of Mumbai University, for the first time, has exhibited demonetised notes from all across the globe. The exhibition, organised by Centre for Extra-mural Studies and Instucen Trust, in an ensemble of art and architecture in all its forms. The collection was created by Sanjay Joshi, an expert in study of numismatics and archaeology. There were many countries which have implemented demonetisation before, barring ours in 1978 by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai (who scrapped Rs500, Rs1,000, Rs5,000 and Rs10,000 banknotes), said Joshi while adding, Technically, ours is re-monetisation of Rs 500 notes and demonetisation of Rs 1,000 notes. Demonetisation means to stop the currency totally. Old Pakistani 100-rupee note which seized to be legal tender on December 1 of this year. (HT Photo) The biggest attraction in the note exhibition was Venezuelan note which will stop being legal tender from December 16 of this year. The best part about the ban is that the whole country is given only 72 hours to exchange their currencies. We got 50 days and people are spewing venom, Joshi added. The South American country will ban its 100-Bolivare note. Other nations who implemented notes ban Zimbabwe (100 dollars in 2015) Turkey (1,000,000 Lira in 2008) Angola (1,000,000 Old Kwanza in 1999) Azerbaijan (1,000 Manat in 2015) Congo (5 Zaire note in 1998) Pakistan (Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 on December 1, 2016) Sanjay Joshi, in his 30 years of collection, has notes and coins of 193 countries and does exhibitions across the world. Enthusiasts were awestruck at the collection dumbstruck of Indias legacy depicted in coins and notes. We didnt know anything about even our country and discover that our neighbours demonetised their note just some days back. It is very fascinating to know, Aditi Shirname, a student and an enthusiast. Turkish currency 1,000,000 Lira got demonetised in 2008. (HT Photo) Demonetisation around the globe Where: Zimbabwe Why: To stem inflation that had eroded the value of its dollar What happened: The countrys President Robert Mugabe issued edicts to ban inflation that had led to printing of a trillion dollar note. Where: Ghana Why: To tackle tax evasion and excess liquidity that made people invest in physical assets which hit the economy. What happened: The economy collapsed and the government had to ditch the 50 cedis note Where: Nigeria Why: A change in government in 1984 led to a new currency and banning of old notes. What happened: Steep inflation crimped the ability to adapt to the change in the currency and the economy suffered. Where: Pakistan Why: The neighbouring country will phase out old notes by this year end to bring in new designs. What happened: The exercise has been done in a gradual manner with citizens given more than a years time. Where: North Korea Why: In 2010, the government erased two zeros from the face value of old currencies to prevent black market. What happened: The measure impacted the fragile controlled economy and there were countrywide shortages of food. Where: Soviet Union Why: During the reforms programme in 1991, then President Mikhail Gorbachev ordered the withdrawal of large denomination bills to curtail black market. What happened: It sparked mass protests, triggered a coup and brought down his government. Where: Myanmar Why: Again black market was cited as the reason to demonetize 80% of the value of the money. What happened: Economic disruption and mass protests Where: Australia Why: To stop counterfeiting, the country became the first to issue plastic currency notes. What happened: It did not impact the economy as the move just replaced paper currency with plastic. Apart from demonetised notes, there were coins that dated back to 300 BC to as new as 2011 CE and notes minted during Indo-Portuguese and Indo-British times. These coins and notes are a huge part of our history. Even coins had importance during that particular time, said Parimal Modak, another student who came for the exhibition. There was a coin smaller than a button, inscribed in Arabic. Had we not come here, we would have remained oblivious to some great information. This helped me understand demonetisation better, he added. The exhibition will be continued every day till December 18 from 10am to 7pm. Read Modi second PM to scrap high-value notes, first to introduce Rs 2000 note PM Modi a tyrant who has caused havoc: Owaisi on demonetisation Paytm means Pay to Modi: Rahul hits out at govt over demonetisation Bihar CM Nitish Kumar supports Modis demonetisation drive, disappoints allies Nepal, Bhutan in touch with India over demonetisation By next year, you may not need to go through a tout or an agent to get your car registration done, whether its for driving license or vehicle registration. By early 2017, the motor vehicle department is looking to migrate to an advanced web-based system VAHAN 4.0 and SARATHI 4.0 for all its documents that will enable you to make cashless transactions on the internet. The systems will be used for vehicle registration and driving licenses, at all 50 RTOs in the state, before February end. Once this system is in place, people can book appointment for driving licence and make online payment. Similarly, one need not visit RTO for applying for papers for transfer of vehicle or paying tax of the vehicle. A senior official of the department said they were working hard to achieve the target of this migration to the advanced system by February 2017. Developed by National Informatics Center (NIC),VAHAN and SARATHI systems have been used for vehicle registration and issuing driving licenses since 2007. Two RTO offices in Mumbai Tardeo and Wadala migrated to upgraded version of VAHAN this week, after about one-month-long successful trial of the system at Vashi and Aurangbad RTOs. After trials at the Kolhapur RTO, transport department is ready for implementing new version of SARATHI at other RTOs in the state. Sources said that it will first be implemented at Wadala and Panvel RTOs. Within next couple of weeks, we will switch to advanced version of SARATHI, said a senior RTO official. Currently, for getting driving license or transferring new vehicle, people have to rely on agents or touts due to tedious procedure at RTO offices. RTO officers saying that new system will make the procedure easy like at passport offices. According to officials, the only challenge they are likely to face is 10mbps broadband connectivity, without which the system cannot perform properly. State owned telecom operators Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have so far not provided 10mbps connectivity at 29 RTOs. The transport officials are trying their luck with both the telecom operators and NIC for this. Read Demonetisation blues: Fewer vehicles registered in Mumbai in November With new software, motorists can now expect faster vehicle registrations SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The number of deaths among children and infants in the state is on the decline and a task force of three government departments has been set up by the government to look into various ways to prevent the deaths, women and child development minister Pankaja Munde said on Thursday. The task force will look at measures to stop migration of tribals and make available employment opportunities for them. A Jachcha Bachcha Yojna scheme will be implemented on the lines of Tamil Nadu to take care of infants in tribal area, Munde announced in the state assembly. She was replying to a debate on malnutrition deaths among children in states tribal areas. As many as 84 legislators from across the parties had raised the issue in the Assembly by way of a calling-attention notice. About 8,000 children had died of malnutrition during April to August in 2016, they pointed out and wanted to know what steps the government was taking to prevent this. Munde was silent on why the malnutrition deaths were on the rise, but insisted that the number of child deaths was on the decline in Maharashtra. She also said the deaths of children and infant were not only because of malnutrition but also some other reasons such as infection. According to 2014 figures, infant mortality rate in India was 39 per thousand while in Maharashtra, it was 22. The infant mortality rate in Maharashtra has been on decline, she said. In 2016-17, during the period between April to August 2016, 9563 children deaths were reported. Of them, the number of infant deaths was 7,868 and child deaths was 1695. This number was less than the previous year, 2015-16, when 21,985 children deaths were reported. Of them, 17,944 were infants and 4041 were children, she said. For the first time, the state government has appointed a task force of three departments handling the issuewomen and child development, public health and tribal development. A consolidated plan to tackle malnutrition is being made which the task force will implement,she said. For years, lack of coordination between various government departments has been a major reason for inadequate efforts on part of the government to tackle malnutrition among tribals. Munde also said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has cleared a nutrition policy for the state which will prove useful while handling malnutrition. Further, the state government will start village child development centres (VCDC) for which a government resolution is expected in a couple of days, she added. The government has also identified 40 tribal blocks for concentrated efforts against malnutrition. Narhari Zirwal, a tribal legislator from north Maharashtra, pointed out migration for employment and poor availability of drinking water were responsible for malnutrition deaths of children. READ: Maharashtra tribals dont eat wheat, barter it for salt, oil, says study SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The tree authority meeting held at the BMC on Thursday saw the Shiv Sena and BJP tussle over the hacking of trees to make way for the construction of Metro corridors. Nearly, 1,100 trees were to be cut and about 1,400 trees were to be planted, according to the proposal charted for the development of Metro line III (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) and Metro Line 2 A from DN Nagar to Dahisar. However, sources told HT that the Sena refused to play ball and put on hold approvals for 40 per cent of this proposal. The proposal put up by the MMRDA to the tree authority for Metro Lines stated that over 5,000 trees were on the the site, of which over 2,500 trees would not be disturbed, 1,400 trees would be transplanted but 1,100 trees would have to be cut. Civic officials present in the meeting said that about 60% of the trees to be cut and the ones to be transplanted was approved and the rest will now be discussed after the site visit. A civic official who did not wish to named, said, There were about 21 proposals for the development of the Metro rail that required tree cutting and transplantation. The tree authority members cleared 60 per cent of the proposal and about five proposals have been put on hold, which makes for the rest. The members approved the proposals where lesser number of trees was involved but these five proposals involved cutting between 100 and 200 trees. Niranjan Shetty, a tree authority committee member, said, Each proposal has to go through a proper procedure before being tabled in front of the committee and site visit is one of the parameters. When the site visit takes place, none of the members are available and then they want to keep the proposal on hold by giving excuses. Trushna Vishwasrao, leader of House and Sena corporator, said, We will take a call only after we know the details of the site and also where the trees will be planted after cutting. READ MORE Mumbai Metro and MTHL: Grand plans for launch, but no funds SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Protest art on the walls and a song of political satire welcomed American feminist, activist and author Angela Davis to KC College, Churchgate, on Friday. The 72-year-old took the stage in a hall packed with students, faculty and people who had come just to hear her deliver the eighth Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Lecture, titled Black Lives, Dalit Lives: Histories and Solidarities. Among those present was marketing executive Rahul Sharma, 29. Angela Davis has been an idol for years, he said. She is an inspiration for todays youth when it comes to expressing yourself freely and standing up for the things that matter. Tracing links between the African-American fight for equal rights in the US and the similar fight for Dalit rights across India, Davis began her talk by discussing how one of the most noteworthy developments in recent years was that women were finally being recognised as leaders of social movements. After decades of being the backbone of civil rights movements, women have finally come to the forefront in the US, she said. The Black Lives Matters movement initiated by three African-American women in 2012 as a response to the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida received widespread support despite not having a single male charismatic leader, Davis added. In India, The All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch was done the same, touring India and then North America last year to address the issue of caste-based violence against women. They are finding a common ground with movements like Black Lives Matter. We can learn from our Dalit sisters about linking casteism with patriarchy, Davis said. However, we cannot romanticise leaderlessness, the activist added. Several spontaneous protests will not culminate in change. There has to be consensus-building, mobilisation, organisation and a sense of community. Talk of community led her to the subject of the new political dispensation in the US. This [Donald Trumps impending presidency] calls for a struggle like never before in the country, Davis said. We can only rely on radical activism to protest against the conservative and restrictive future that he has described. We need feminist solidarity across national borders for a movement as important as this. Read Arresting domestic abusers does not reduce cases of violence US: Black Lives Matter protests continue despite backlash over Dallas shooting Protests continue across US over police killings of black men SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a major setback to the proposed solid waste management plant (SWMP) at Dundahera near NH-24 in Ghaziabad, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday quashed the environmental clearance issued for the project. NGT also cancelled the no-objection certificate (NoC) issued by the Uttar Pradesh pollution control board. The tribunal gave its directions over a petition filed by Tarun Bharat Chauhan, a resident of Crossings Republik Township, which has come up near the proposed site of the plant in Ghaziabad. The tribunal laid down four vital points with regard to the project. 1. The EC granted on April 24, 2013, is quashed and set aside. 2. By permanent prohibitory injunction, we restrain the respondent number four (Ghaziabad municipal corporation) from dumping municipal waste at the site in question. 3. By mandatory injunction, respondent number four to remove all the municipal waste dumped at the site within a period of six weeks. 4. The no-objection certificate dated 23.11.2009 granted by the Utter Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, is hereby quashed and set aside (sic), the tribunal said in its order. The tribunal came down heavily on the municipal corporation for infringement of rights of the citizens residing in the area and not protecting the environment. Therefore, we have reached a conclusion that the MSW management plant cannot be established on the site concerned as per the rules and manual; it is not suitable at all for the said purpose and keeping in view the fact that lakhs of people are residing in the buildings that have been raised on the land meant for residential use and the layout plans of which have been duly approved by GDA, the tribunal further stated. The petitioner is a resident of Crossings Republik township, which is adjacent to the proposed site. We had been fighting for the removal of the proposed site from the vicinity of the township. Homebuyers have invested large sums of money in buying flats and would have to live in unhygienic conditions if the plant is constructed here, Chauhan said. The decision has come as a big relief, he said. In his petition, Chauhan had requested the tribunal to restrain the respondents from constructing the solid waste plant at Dundahera and choose another site for the purpose. He had further contended that other respondents ministry of environment & forests and ministry of finance must not disburse grants to the Ghaziabad municipal corporation for construction of the plant. He had also contented that the NoC issued for the project by UP pollution control board, another respondent in the case, be cancelled. The city still lacks a solid waste management site. Nearly 1,000 metric tonnes of daily solid waste is disposed of by the municipal corporation at a temporary landfill site in Pratap Vihar. The city was among the two cities, the other being Bareilly, which were chosen in 2005-06 to have an SWMP facility. The cities were chosen as as both have airfields and an SWMP could help avoid bird hits. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Contracted sanitation workers who were protesting for ten days demanding direct transfer of salaries to their accounts ended their strike on Friday after Noida authority officials promised to address their demands. Saumya Srivastava, the deputy chief executive officer of the Noida authority, along with other officials met the workers who had gathered at the Noida stadium in Sector 21A. Sanitation workers staged a sit-in at the Sector 21A stadium. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO) The main reason for the protest was that the Noida authority should pay us our monthly wages directly, instead of making payment through private agencies. We have been refusing payment by private agencies as they charge a 2.5% commission on our salary. The DCEO and other officials promised to seek permission from the UP government to pay us directly. We ended the stir on the basis of their assurances, Chaman Singh of Asthae Karmchari (contractual workers) Sangharsh Samiti said. Workers are paid from 8,000-18,500 monthly by private contractors, who a charge 2.5% commission. Now we hope that the commission charged can be done away with, Santosh Devi, a sweeper, said. Protesting workers had locked the Noida authoritys Sector 39 office gate in the morning. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO) Around 4,200-4,600 workers are hired on a contract basis by various private agencies. They are employed in various departments of Noida authority sanitation, water, sewer, horticulture etc. The workers were also demanding permanent jobs, priority to contracted workers in the governments affordable houses and health benefits. The DCEO gave us a letter in which they have sought permission from the UP government to pay us our salary directly. Also, the officials assured to address all our demands by following procedures. We trust that our demands will be accepted. Therefore, we called off our protest. We will get back to work in evening, Shiv Kumar, a contracted worker, said. Garbage on sector 27/28 main road near district hospital. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO) Protesting workers had locked the Noida authoritys Sector 39 office gate in the morning. Police arrived on the spot and dispersed the workers around 12 noon. Around 400 workers had also gathered at the Sector 21A stadium. Water cannon, fire tender and police were deployed outside the Noida authoritys main administrative building in Sector 6, where workers were expected to register a strong protest. I met the workers at the Noida stadium. I have written to the UP government seeking permission to accept their demands. The city will be cleaned as workers have resumed work, Srivastava said. For the last ten days, workers had stopped collecting municipal waste, cleaning roads and transporting waste from residential areas to landfill sites. The city was turned into an unhygienic milieu over this period. Garbage was also strewn onto the road in front of the Sector 24 government hospital, posing health risks to patients. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Probably no one, least of all in India, could have predicted that the existing uneasy equilibrium in Asia could be upset by one phone call. But, that is exactly what happened when United States-elect Donald Trump spoke Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. How this situation evolves has immense import for India as a State as well as the well-being of its citizens. Trump has ratcheted this uncertainty by questioning the validity of the One China policy. I dont know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade, Trump recently told Fox News. Read | Angry Beijing criticises Trumps One China remarks China, which had initially responded with moderation to the news about the Trump-Tsai Ing-wen phone call, the first such contact since 1979, responded vigorously to Trump questioning the One China policy. Describing the One China policy as the bedrock of US-China relations, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, We urge the incoming US administration and its leaders to fully recognise the sensitivity of the Taiwan question [and] to properly deal with Taiwan-related matters in a prudent manner so as not to disrupt or damage the overall interests of the bilateral relationship. This testy exchange has sparked off inevitable speculation about the future of the US-China relationship, undoubtedly the most important relationship of the early 21st century. Read | China blames Taiwan for presidents petty phone call with Trump Trump appears to believe that China has risen in recent times by taking undue advantage of the existing international world order underpinned by the US as well as of the relative US decline. He believes that China has gained more economically and strategically than the US from their bilateral relationship. Therefore, to Make America Great Again he seeks to renegotiate US ties with China, primarily on the economic front. Taiwan, the questioning of the One China policy are chips that Trump is throwing into the pot hoping to up the ante and force China to the negotiation table. To take the edge off his provocative statements, he has appointed as ambassador to China, the governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad, who has long-standing ties with Chinas leader Xi Jingping. Trump scents a deal and appears confident that he will be able to cut one. Equally, he should recognise how closely the two countries are intertwined and the negative global effect of any significant disruption. Read | China says no country can be exception to one China policy Trump also appears to instinctively understand that US-China ties do not exist in a vacuum. The US will renegotiate its ties with several other East Asian powers, among them, Japan, South Korea, and others. His demand that they contribute more towards their security cannot but worry China. Asian countries that feel threatened by Chinas rise strengthening themselves militarily and forming a loose entente around the US could effectively balance Chinas rise. Herein lies Trumps understanding of the special role Russia has to play not only in the fight against Islamic State, but in setting up an effective balance of powers in the world, particularly Asia. Russia and Japan agreeing to restore military contacts is probably a precursor of events to come. This explains Trumps desire to improve relations with Russia, despite neocon and liberal interventionist opposition in Washington. Whether Trump will succeed in containing Chinas ambitions and reasserting US dominance depends on a variety of factors that are not all under his control. Chinas ability to protect its interests should also not be underestimated. Read | Invade and reunite Taiwan by force: Chinese state media Where does that leave India? In principle, India should not have any contradiction with the US improving relations with Russia, a militarily stronger Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, and efforts to reduce the tensions associated with Chinas rise. As long as negotiations between the US and China do not see the emergence of a G2, India should probably cautiously welcome it. It should simultaneously strengthen its ties with all the major global powers, including the US, Russia, China, and Japan. But, most importantly, India should understand from Trumps approach that no one is going to pull Indias chestnuts out of the fire for it. India will have to do develop its own strength to do that successfully. Nandan Unnikrishnan is senior fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi The views expressed are personal Sometimes the sun rises on days that are fated to change the course of history. August 31, 1995, was one such day. Beant Singh, 73, the chief minister of Punjab, was on his way out from office in the secretariat in Chandigarh, barely a stones throw from his official residence, when he was killed by a human bomb in an assassination plan meticulously executed by the separatist group Babbar Khalsa International. His two grandsons, 22-year-old Gurkirat Singh and 20-year-old Ravneet Singh Bittu, were on the second floor of the secretariat building. The shell-shocked brothers who had seen their grandfather minutes before he died were rushed out by the security, fearing more blasts. Beant Singhs officer on special duty, former bureaucrat Devinder Singh Saroya, who was among the first to reach the spot, says several bodies were strewn around (17 others had died in the blast). He could recognise Beant Singhs body only from the thin kada he wore on his wrist. END OF MILITANCY Credited with ending two decades of Khalistani militancy in Punjab, Beant Singh paid the ultimate price for taking an unambiguous stand. Before him, politicians had either hobnobbed with militants or sat on the fence biding their time. His murder not just changed Punjabs political horizon but brought in its wake a political resolve to not let militancy to rear its ugly head again in the state, says historian M Rajivlochan. Beant Singhs story was carried forward by his eldest son, Tej Parkash, who was chosen as cabinet minister immediately after his fathers death. Later, he won from the familys traditional seat Payal several times before handing over the baton to his son, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, in 2012. Kotli is now MLA from Khanna as Payal was declared reserved for Scheduled Castes. Beant Singhs youngest child, daughter Gurkanwal Kaur, remained the Congress women wings state chief for almost a decade from 1997. She too won the familys alternative seat, Jalandhar Cantt, and was made a cabinet minister in Capt Amarinder Singhs government (2002-2007). However, she lost in 2007 and was not given the ticket in 2012. I have been dealt with very unfairly by the Congress, she says bitterly. While the brother-sister duo got catapulted into politics after their fathers tragic death, it was their brother Swaranjit Singh who was being groomed to be a politician from a young age. But he died in 1985 in an accident and none of the other siblings was encouraged to join politics. Swaranjit Singhs son, Ravneet Bittu, caught the eye of Rahul Gandhi. The strapping young man became the first elected president of Punjab Youth Congress in 2008. He was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha a year later from Anandpur Sahib and from Ludhiana in 2014. Times have changed and the shade of Beant Singhs legacy too has transformed. Gurkanwal, Kotli and Bittu were united in favouring clemency for Balwant Singh Rajoana, the militant who waited to strike as the alternative human bomb that day. Rajoana was sentenced to death but his execution was stayed in 2012 following clemency appeals filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). A FAMILY OF SOLDIERS Beant Singh was the first in his family of armymen to enter politics. His father Hazura Singh retired as a captain in the British army. Originally from Bilaspur, a village, a few kilometres away from Kotli where they settled later (both in Doraha tehsil of Ludhiana), the family shifted to what is now Pakistan. Born in 1922, Beant Singh graduated from Government College, Lahore, and joined the army, like his two elder brothers. He had barely served for 2-3 years when the family moved to Kotli after Partition, where we were allotted land equal to what we owned in Pakistan, relates Tej Parkash Singh. Beant Singh started his political journey as Bilaspurs sarpanch in 1959 and went on to get elected as the Payal MLA a decade years later. He would have become MLA in 1962 but the constituency he had nurtured, Payal, was reserved and my father supported a close associate Lt Bhag Singh (retd) who won, adds Tej Parkash. In 1967, the seat was declared general but the Congress ticket went to stalwart Gian Singh Rarewala. Beant Singh got the ticket from Akali Dal (Sant) but lost to Rarewala. STEELED FOR SUCCESS In 1969, in the mid-term polls he won the seat as an independent candidate defeating Rarewala who had then contested as the Akali Dal candidate. After this, the tireless politician was unstoppable. His hard work made him rise so high in life. He taught his children too that they will not get anything on a platter because of his position, adds Tej Prakash. Beant Singhs grandsons, Khanna MLA Gurkeerat Singh Kotli (left) and Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu.. (Gurminder Singh/HT Photo) We used to see our mother in the kitchen cooking 70-80 rotis every day. Anyone who came to meet my father did not return without having food in the house. She too chose to dress only in white like my father; such was the dedication to him and the Congress. But women of the house were kept away from real politics, adds Gurkanwal. The politician brother and sister saw a straining of relations when Tej Parkash was removed as minister and Gurkanwal brought in by Amarinder in his cabinet. The differences lasted only for a brief period, she explains. Beant Singhs middle son Sukhwant took care of the land and the constituency where he remained sarpanch, market committee head and even the Ludhiana zila parishad chairman. He died last month. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pakistans double-Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has hailed the new legislation outlawing the crime of honour killings as a turning point in the long-battle on violence against women, as she sets her sights on conquering her countrys silver screen. The filmmaker cast a spotlight on the issue with her documentary A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness -- which bagged an Academy Award earlier this year. It is very good in the case of honour killing we finally have a legislation that is stronger, she says In October, Pakistans government passed legislation aimed at closing loopholes that allowed the perpetrators of such killings, often relatives of the victim, to walk free after they are pardoned by another member of their family. Now a pardon can only save a killer from the death penalty, but not from life imprisonment. Pakistan's double-Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy has hailed new legislation outlawing the crime of "honour killings" as a turning point in the long-battle on violence against women, as she sets her sights on conquering her country's silver screen. (AFP) Critics contend that loopholes in the new law remain. For instance, if a killer claims a motive other than honour to justify their act, the blood money pardon law may still apply. There are around 1000 honour killings per year in Pakistan, but Chinoy remains hopeful the tide is shifting, especially in the wake of widespread revulsion over the murder of a social-media starlet by her brother. It is not going to end tomorrow, but at least the process has started to send the men into jail who kill under the pretext of honour, she tells AFP ahead of the premiere of her new animated film 3 Bahadur part two (Three brave warriors), which follows three children superheroes. If her pride is evident, it is unsurprising -- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif originally announced the bill following a screening in the capital of Chinoys Oscar-winning film. Primarily known for her award-winning documentaries, Chinoy is now branching out into fiction to help revive Pakistans long-moribund film industry. (AFP) Many observers believe the weight of international pressure was a catalyst in the governments decision to move a bill that was initially tabled three years ago. Another turning point for Chinoy was the murder of social media starlet Qandeel Baloch -- who shot to fame for her provocative selfies and videos that were praised by fans for daring to challenge the countrys strict social norms on how women should conduct themselves. In July, Baloch was strangled by her brother who later said he had found her intolerable -- but the police took the rare step of making themselves complainants in the case so the family could not invoke the law of pardon even if they were pressured into doing so. Chinoy explained: That sent a very strong message to the people of the country. Primarily known for her award-winning documentaries, Chinoy is now branching out into fiction to help revive Pakistans long-moribund film industry. Pakistans cinemas are dominated by Bollywood imports, but her first foray into fiction -- which was also Pakistans first animated feature film, earned $650,000 when it was released last year. Chinoys work is not to everyones liking -- much like teen activist Malala Yousafzai, she is routinely vilified in some quarters for daring to bare the countrys dirty laundry. (AFP) I believe first and foremost, I am a story teller so it doesnt matter whether I am telling a story through making a documentary film or through animation, she said. The upcoming sequel also highlights social evils in Pakistani society, from corruption to the so-called water mafia which siphon off Karachis water to supply to sell to poor residents at exorbitant rates. Chinoys work is not to everyones liking -- much like teen activist Malala Yousafzai, she is routinely vilified in some quarters for daring to bare the countrys dirty laundry. Anybody who works at holding a mirror to the society or talking about the difficult issues that pushes the envelop, there is always blowback. I have stopped picking up my phone directly, and thats the wiser thing to avoid threatening calls, she said. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop A 101-year-old man, thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history, was on Friday found guilty of historical child sex offences. Jurors found Ralph Clarke from Erdington, Birmingham, guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls in the 1970s and 80s. He admitted nine charges relating to a young boy part-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Clarke told police he was immune to feelings, the court heard. The former Royal Air Force serviceman, of Holly Lane, who was born in March 1915, sat impassively as the unanimous verdicts were delivered, the BBC reported. Judge Richard Bond said he needed to ponder with care the sentence and added: The reality is that hes so old its unlikely hell be released back into the community. He said the public would be horrified if Clarke was not sent to prison. At the start of Clarkes trial, prosecutor Miranda Moore said the defendant was arrested after two of his victims walked into a police station in August last year. Detective Con Emma Fennon from West Midlands Polices historical sexual offences team described the crimes as horrific offences and said Clarke showed no remorse. When questioned on the merits of taking a 101-year-old man to court, she said: The day that not prosecuting someone who hurts a child is not in the public interest, we may as well all pack up and go home. Con Fennon added that his age was no defence to what he has done. She said: The nature of what he did to his victims has robbed them of their childhood. Claire Nicholls from the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said for more than 40 years Clarke thought hed got away with his crimes. However, due to the courage of the victims we were able to bring this defendant to justice, she said. His victims reported the offences to West Midlands Police in August last year after seeing Facebook posts celebrating Clarkes 100th birthday. Investigations revealed a catalogue of abuse spanning many years, the report said. Clarke admitted two counts of attempting to commit a serious sexual offence, two of indecency with a child and five indecent assaults on the boy. The retired lorry driver was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Monday. A 12-year old German-Iraqi boy suspected of having links to extremist group Islamic State (IS) tried to blow up a bomb at a Christmas market in the western town of Ludwigshafen, German magazine Focus reported on Friday, citing security and judicial sources. The boy, born in the same town in 2004, was strongly radicalised and apparently instructed by an unknown IS member, Focus reported. The suspect put down a backpack containing a self-made nail bomb at the Christmas market on Nov. 26, but the device did not go off because the detonator failed, it said. A market visitor called the police after finding the backpack and specialists defused the device, the report said. Police identified and arrested the boy, who is now in a youth detention centre, the report said, adding that the Federal Public Prosecutor had taken over investigations on the charge of a serious act of violent subversion. A spokesman at the Federal Public Prosecutor Office in Karlsruhe was not immediately available for comment. Around 50,000 people, the majority civilians, were still trapped in eastern Aleppo even as an evacuation deal was under way, the UN peace envoy for Syria and French foreign minister said on Thursday. There are 50,000 people, including 40,000 civilians unfortunate enough to live in that part of the city. The rest are fighters, numbering between 1,500 and 5,000, and their families, the UNs Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Paris, alongside Frances Jean-Marc Ayrault. Turkey had earlier said 80,000 to 100,000 civilians were likely still trapped in eastern Aleppo. Our priority is for our UN colleagues to be present with the people (who have been evacuated) and that the fighters be respected under the terms of this deal, De Mistura said. Under the terms of the evacuation agreement negotiated by regime backer Russia and rebel supporter Turkey, the people currently being evacuated from eastern Aleppo will be taken to the northwestern province of Idlib, an opposition bastion. We dont know what will happen in Idlib. If there is no political agreement and a ceasefire, Idlib will become the next Aleppo, De Mistura said. Ayrault meanwhile repeated Frances call for the deployment, as quickly as possible, of UN observers, of all UN personnel who are already on the ground, and who can be deployed in the coming hours. A UN Security Council meeting requested by France, and which is expected to take place on Friday, will specifically examine the deployment of observers in order to ensure there are no abuses, no acts of revenge, and that the civilian population is protected. He added: This can be done extremely quickly. Ayrault meanwhile urged a ceasefire for the whole country and for a return to negotiations. Hundreds of people were evacuated from eastern Aleppo on Thursday, after a devastating month-long regime offensive carried out with the backing of Russian war planes. The Syrian government suspended the evacuation of civilians and fighters from the last rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Friday, leaving thousands of people trapped and uncertain of their fate. The deal was put on hold shortly after President Vladimir Putin said Russia was actively negotiating with the opposition and seeking a nationwide ceasefire. The delicate operation to bring the last civilians and rebels out of east Aleppo began on Thursday and had continued through the night, with thousands of people leaving in buses and ambulances. But on Friday morning it was abruptly suspended, with the government accusing rebels of violating the terms of the deal brokered by its key ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey. The evacuation operation has been suspended because the militants failed to respect the conditions of the agreement, a security source told AFP. State television said: The terrorist groups violated the agreement and tried to smuggle heavy weapons and hostages from east Aleppo. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has supervised the evacuation, confirmed regretfully, the operation was put on hold. We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched and proceed in the right conditions, its regional head Robert Mardini said on Twitter. The opposition accused the government of suspending the operation in a bid to secure the evacuation of residents from two villages under rebel siege. The regime and its militias... stopped the evacuation operation in another attempt to involve Fuaa and Kafraya, said Yasser al-Youssef of the Nureddin al-Zinki rebel group. Fuaa and Kafraya are Shiite-majority villages in Idlib province that have been under rebel siege since 2015. The government and its other main ally Iran have reportedly sought to add an evacuation of civilians from the villages to the terms of the deal for Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, also said the suspension appeared to be related to the two villages. It said pro-government fighters were blocking the road out of Aleppo that the evacuation convoy had been using. The evacuation of the last pocket of rebel territory in Aleppo began on Thursday under a deal brokered by Russia and Turkey. The operation had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday, but was delayed over government objections, including over Fuaa and Kafraya. Clashes resumed for several hours before the deal was revived, and on Thursday afternoon buses and ambulances began transporting evacuees to rebel territory in the west of Aleppo province. The evacuations ran through the night, with people leaving in private vehicles as well the green government buses and ambulances that initially transported residents and rebels. Initially, evacuees were leaving via a single convoy that travelled back and forth between Aleppo and the west of the province. But overnight, the vehicles began returning individually to collect more evacuees as soon as they had dropped off their passengers. The Observatory estimated some 8,500 people had left before the operation was suspended, including around 3,000 rebel fighters. Syrian state media reported a figure of around 8,000. Ahmad al-Dbis, a doctor helping coordinate the evacuation of the wounded, said at least 500 evacuees had wounds or illnesses requiring medical attention. From a gathering point near the town of Khan al-Aasal, people were travelling further west, heading either to camps for the displaced or to stay with relatives or friends. The departures began a month to the day after government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo and secure the regimes biggest victory in more than five years of conflict. In a video message to Syrians on Thursday, President Bashar al-Assad said the liberation of Aleppo was history in the making. But US Secretary of State John Kerry said what had already happened in the city was unconscionable, raising concerns for the tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo. The UN Security Council will meet later on Friday to discuss a French call for international observers to monitor the evacuation and ensure aid deliveries. The UN estimated around 250,000 people were living in rebel east Aleppo when the government assault began in mid-November, although officials have since acknowledged that figure might have been incorrect. As the army advanced, tens of thousands of people crossed to parts of the city held by either the government or Kurdish forces. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday that perhaps 50,000 people remained in the last rebel-held districts, 40,000 of them civilians. The evacuations have been emotional for departing residents who were desperate for relief after months of bombardment and siege but tearful at the prospect of potentially permanent exile. In the dust on the window of one of the buses departing Thursday someone had traced: One day we will return. The scene was heart-breaking, said ICRC Syria head Marianne Gasser. People are faced with impossible choices. You see their eyes filled with sadness. More than 310,000 people have been killed since the conflict began with anti-government protests in 2011, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict, which saw a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. Putin said on Friday that Moscow was negotiating with the rebels through Turkish mediators. The next step (after Aleppo) will be to reach agreement on a complete ceasefire across all of Syria, he said. He added that the parties were proposing fresh peace talks, possibly in Kazakhstan. Hillary Clinton has attributed her loss in the US presidential election to Russian meddling, which she said was an attack against our country by President Vladimir Putin, and the note from FBI director James Comey about new evidence regarding her emails. This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country, she told donors about the hacking of the computer network of the Democratic National Party by Russian hackers, according to The New York Times. We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation. Taking a somewhat similar line, President Barack Obama has said the United State will be retaliating at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. US intelligence has in recent days concluded the hacking was not only carried out by Russia, which handed over the stolen data to WikiLeaks, but with the intention to undermine Clinton and help Donald Trump win the presidency. There are reports that Putin was personally involved. And Clinton agreed. She told donors the hackings were the result of Putins personal beef against her, over her criticism of his partys victory in the 2011 parliamentary elections, which she had said were rigged. Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election, Clinton said. About FBI director Comeys letter to congress just days before election about new evidence found in connection with the investigation of her use of a private email server, Clinton said it damaged her in closely contested swing states. Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey, she added. Comey had followed up the letter with another one, saying investigators had found nothing to reopen the probe, which he had announced closed months ago, but the damage had been done, apparently. The fall of Aleppo has unleashed a mixture of outrage and impotence in the West, in which fury at the relentless carnage has mingled with guilt over the failure to stop it. Even the European public -- who marched in the millions over the siege of Sarajevo or against the Iraq War -- stayed at home as the Russian-backed Syrian regime smashed the countrys second largest city. The relentless offensive began mid-November, drawing condemnation from Washington to London to Berlin, but nothing else. In an emotional appeal on Tuesday, the US envoy to the United Nations, Samantha Power, asked President Bashar al-Assad, and his backers Russia and Iran: Are you truly incapable of shame? #Aleppo is joining Rwanda and Srebrenica as defining historical events that embody evil. #Assad, #Russia, #Iran know no shame. Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) December 13, 2016 But beyond waging a war of words, the West has been unable to halt the onslaught. Air and ground strikes have killed hundreds of civilians and left hundreds of thousands without homes, food and water. Read | Syrians tweet last message to the world in final moments of Aleppo battle At a European Union summit on Thursday, a visibly dismayed Chancellor Angela Merkel accused the Syria regime and its Russian and Iranian backers of war crimes, noting that the attacks were targeted at civilians, at hospitals. And on a visit to Berlin earlier this week, French President Francois Hollande too admitted that we waited too long to get a political plan. The Financial Times noted that having stood by last year as Moscow intervened to save Mr Assads tyrannical regime, the West has ceded influence over subsequent events. Germanys Sueddeutsche Zeitung was also scathing, saying that at best, the EU resembles the well-meaning but limited rescue worker. At worst it is playing the role of the shocked observer. Desperate for solidarity But even beyond the corridors of power, public mobilisation has also been lacklustre over the Syrian conflict that has evolved from anti-Assad protests into a multi-front war that has killed more than 312,000. The image of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdis lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach brought home the desperation of millions of refugees fleeing from the war-torn country. Yet that interest has not focused on the root causes of the exodus. Even in Germany, which has taken in hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, protests have not really taken off. Mohammad Abu Hajar, a Syrian refugee in Germany, voiced both anger and desperation at the publics apparent indifference. Most of our protests here in Berlin are composed of an absolute majority of Syrians. We feel left behind, he told AFP, after the latest demonstration he organised this week attracted only dozens. It is not only me who is angry we are talking millions of people, not only angry but also desperate for any kind of solidarity, he said. Western governments... show so much solidarity with Syrian refugees but nothing against the reasons why they became refugees, an attitude that we cannot understand, he added. Read | Evacuations gain pace as rebels, civilians leave war-ravaged Aleppo Merkel herself had said she was shocked to see hundreds of thousands of Germans hitting the streets to demonstrate against free trade deals but virtually no protests against the bloodletting in Syria. There is something wrong there, she said. Berlin-based swimmer Yusra Mardini, who was a member of Team Refugee at this years Olympics Games, agreed with the German leader. But if Im gonna watch every day whats happening in Syria, Im going to go and cry every day in my room...The problem is that I cant do anything about it and thats making me feel bad, she said. It was only in the Bosnian capital where a protest gathered thousands this week. We survived Sarajevo, and we know what that is, we cant remain silent, said Mujo Agonic of the 43-month siege of the city in the 1990s by Serb forces that claimed 10,000 lives, including that of her eight-year-old daughter. Londons iconic Big Ben will close its doors to visitors on Friday under a 29 million-pound renovation project that will last three years. The work, which will begin early in the new year will involve repairs to the clocks hands, mechanism and pendulum. The Big Ben bell, after which the Palace of Westminsters Elizabeth Tower is more commonly known, will fall silent to allow the work to take place. It will be the first time the historic monument has been silent since 2007, the BBC reported. A rainbow is seen behind the Big Ben clock tower, at the Houses of Parliament in central London, Britain, on October 16, 2016. (Reuters) After the final tours have taken place, the erection of scaffolding will begin early in 2017 and is expected to take four to six months to complete. Parliamentary officials said the mechanism of the clock was in a chronic state, with fears that it may fail if work is not carried out urgently. There are also concerns that the fabric of the tower itself is reaching an acute condition. A lift will be installed and the 157-year-old tower will be upgraded to bring it into line with modern health and safety standards. The lift will provide greater access for disabled people who are unable to climb the towers 334 steps. It is more than 30 years since the last significant conservation work took place on Big Ben, between 1983 and 1985. Clock faces will be covered, although at least one will remain visible at any time, and bells will toll for important events such as New Years Eve and Remembrance Day. Parents of children killed when Taliban gunmen overran a Pakistan school gathered Friday to mark the second anniversary of the attack -- the countrys worst ever extremist outrage. More than 150 people -- mostly students -- perished when heavily-armed men raced through the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, firing indiscriminately. We cant forget those children, Pakistans newly appointed military chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa told the gathering. The aim of todays function is to recall how much blood was spilled. The wound is very deep and its complete healing is impossible. At a memorial in the school, smartly dressed military officers presented a salute in tribute to the students and staff who died. In the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of which Peshawar is capital, speaker Asad Qaiser lit candles in the presence of cabinet members and lawmakers. The Taliban have said they carried out the attack, in which all nine gunmen died, in retaliation for an army offensive on extremists in the tribal areas. Authorities have released very few details about their investigation, despite hanging at least four people said to be involved in the attack. The attack hardened public opinion against extremism and prompted a military-led crackdown that led to a drop in the number of deaths linked to extremist violence. Chinas embassy in Indonesia has expressed alarm at media reports accusing China of using a biological weapon against Indonesia, after four Chinese nationals were arrested for planting imported chili seeds contaminated with a bacteria. The headlines splashed across Indonesian media have sparked a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment on social media in a country with a history of simmering resentment towards its giant neighbour and a minority ethnic Chinese community. Indonesian authorities said the imported chili seeds confiscated on a farm about 60 km south of the capital, Jakarta, contained the bacteria erwinia chrysanthemi, which is harmless to humans but can cause failure in crops. It was the first time the bacteria had been detected in Indonesia, state-owned Antara news agency quoted the head of the countrys quarantine body as saying. Indonesians are among the most avid users of social media in the world, and conspiracy theories about the intentions of the four Chinese nationals running the farm quickly spread. Havent people realised that Chinese attacks on this country are real in many ways. From drugs, illegal workers, now chili bacteria, said a Twitter user with the handle @BoengParno. Authorities burned the chili seeds and destroyed the crop sowed by the Chinese men and 30 Indonesian workers on a leased plot of land near the city of Bogor. The Chinese embassy said in a statement accusations of a plot to use biological weapons to destroy the economy of Indonesia carried no basis in facts and were very worrying. We hope that the bilateral relations and friendship between the people of China and Indonesia will not be affected by this matter, it said. Indonesias maritime affairs minister Luhut Panjaitan criticised some of the outbursts on social media. Whether its true or not, some people over react, he said. Oh, the Chinese invade Indonesia. Come on. This is the problem with social media ... Without checking, they just spread the rumours. Indonesia has suffered bouts of anti-Chinese and anti-communist sentiment over its history, and recently. President Joko Widodo was falsely identified as having ethnic Chinese ancestry and being an agent of influence for Beijing during a 2014 election campaign he narrowly won. There has also been a recent spike on social media of hostility over Chinas territorial ambitions in the South China Sea as well during the re-election campaign of Jakarta governor Basuki Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian. Hundreds of thousands of Indonesians attended rallies in the past six weeks denouncing Purnama, who is facing trial for blasphemy after criticising people who had cited the Quran to argue that Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims. On average, ethnic Chinese are far wealthier than other groups in Indonesia and stereotypes persist that they are less patriotic than other Indonesians. During riots after the fall of President Suharto in May 1998, ethnic Chinese were targeted, making up a disproportionate number of the 1,000 people who were killed in the violence. China said on Friday it was strongly dissatisfied with a meeting between President Pranab Mukherjee and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and pointed out that New Delhi was disrespecting one of Beijings core interests. The Indian foreign ministry, however, said the Dalai Lama was a revered spiritual leader and it was a non-political event. Mukherjee met the Dalai Lama at the inaugural session of the first Laureates and Leaders for Children summit held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi over the past weekend. Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and former Australian prime minister Julia Gilliard also attended the event. It was the first meeting in decades between a serving Indian president and the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since 1959. China has called the Dalai Lama a wolf in sheeps clothing and accused him of fomenting separatism in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and inciting self-immolations. It invariably reacts angrily whenever the Tibetan leader meets leaders and officials of other countries. Beijing surprisingly reacted almost a week after the meeting, though the reaction was sharply worded by foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang. Recently in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian presidential palace (and) participation in the event with the Indian President and (then) meeting President Mukherjee, Geng told a regular news briefing. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that. The Dalai Lama is in political exile and has long been engaged in anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion. China firmly opposes to any form of contact between officials of the other countries with him. Geng indicated the meeting hurt one of Chinas core interests about TAR remaining part of the country. We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect Chinas core interest and major concerns, he said. China expects India to take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident so was to avoid any disturbance to the China-India relationship, Geng added. In New Delhi, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said: India has a consistent position. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a respected and revered spiritual leader. It was a non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children. New Delhi would have expected a strong reaction from Beijing. But that India went ahead with the unprecedented at least in recent years meeting could mean that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is opting for seemingly bolder diplomacy with China. In late October, China objected to a planned visit by the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, saying it would damage bilateral ties with India and amount to New Delhi breaching political commitment on the boundary question. Beijings sharp reaction came after it became known that the Dalai Lama could visit Arunachal Pradesh in early 2017 at the invitation of the states chief minister Pema Khandu. Chian claims the northeastern state. After the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia earlier this month, Geng Shuang told the country to stick to its commitment to Tibet-related issues for maintaining the sound development of bilateral ties... The Dalai Lama is a political refugee who has long been engaged in activities to split China and alienate Tibet from China in the name of religion. Geng added: China resolutely opposes the Dalai Lama visiting any countryWe also stand firmly against all forms of contacts between officials from any country and the Dalai Lama. (With inputs from HTC, Delhi) Chinas military has carried out its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighters in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea, state media said. Chinas growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the United States criticising its militarization of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation. No other country has claims in Chinas busy waterway of the Bohai Sea, but the drills come amid new tension over self-ruled Taiwan, following US President-elect Donald Trumps recent telephone call with the islands president that upset Beijing. A Chinese J-15 fighter jet preparing to take off from the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier during military drills in the Bohai Sea, off China's northeast coast. (AFP Photo) Ten vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday. This is the first time an aircraft carrier squadron has performed drills with live ammunition and real troops, it said. Chinas Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated, CCTV said. It broadcast images of fighter jets taking off from the carrier, firing missiles and destroying a target at sea. Chinese J-15 fighter jets waiting on the deck of the Liaoning aircraft carrier. (AFP Photo) The Liaoning has participated in previous military exercises, including some in the South China Sea, but the country is still years off from perfecting carrier operations similar to those the United States has practiced for decades. A jet from China's aircraft carrier Liaoning is seen during live-ammunition drill recently in the waters of the Bohai Sea in northern China. (AP Photo) On Wednesday, a US think tank said China had been installing anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on artificial islands in the South China Sea, prompting China to defend its right to install military hardware there. Chinas exercises aim to test the equipment and troop training levels, an unidentified navy official told the official China News Service. In this May 2012 file photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning cruises for a test in the sea. (AP) Last December the Defence Ministry confirmed China was building a second aircraft carrier to go with the existing vessel, but its launch date is unclear. China keeps its aircraft carrier programme a state secret, and CCTV blurred images showing the cockpit instrument panel of one aircraft involved in the Bohai Sea drills. Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years, the Pentagon said in a report last year. Chinas successful operation of the Liaoning is the first step in what state media and some military experts believe will be the deployment of domestically built carriers by 2020. A pilot from China's aircraft carrier Liaoning is seen during live-ammunition drill recently in the waters of the Bohai Sea in northern China. (AP Photo) The one China principle is the basis for developing ties with China and no country can be an exception to this rule, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his French counterpart. US President-elect Donald Trump has upset China by speaking with the president of self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its own, and casting doubt on Washingtons nearly four-decade policy of recognising that Taiwan is part of one China. Speaking with French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Wang said the Taiwan issue concerns Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinas foreign ministry said late on Thursday. The one-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for other countries to develop their relations with China and that when it comes to this vital issue of right or wrong, no country can be an exception, the statement cited Wang as saying. Wang said he appreciated Ayraults clear stance on the one China issue. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. China considers Taiwan independence a red line issue. Responding to appeals by the Indian community to make it possible to deposit demonetised rupees in Indian banks based in the United Kingdom, the Bank of England said it had no objection but expected banks to prevent money-laundering. The large Indian community in Britain wants to deposit the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes in Indian banks based here instead of travelling to India to deposit them. Several representations have been made to the Indian high commission and the Reserve Bank of India. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, said in a letter to senior Labour MP Keith Vaz that the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had no objection to UK-based Indian banks accepting the Indian currencies. Whether it will be possible to deposit or exchange high-value Indian rupee banknotes at Indian banks in the UK is a matter for the Indian governmentOf course, the FCA would expect that these banks apply robust anti-money laundering controls, to ensure that they are not used to facilitate financial crime, Carney wrote. The FCA said it had no objection to the Indian banks accepting rupees providing they have the necessary prior consent from the relevant Indian authorities. The PRA too confirmed there were no regulatory obstacles to the banks dealing with the demonetised currencies. Most of the Indian currencies with the community are amounts retained during visits to India. Vaz said: Mark Carney has gone the extra mile to ensure members of the Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom may be able to exchange their Indian currency in the UK, following the bold decision to demonetise certain rupee denominations. The Indian government is now free to enable currency to be exchanged in the UK, and avoid the deep concern currently being faced by many members of the British Indian community, who may not be able to travel to India by the deadline, he added. Senior Labour MP Virendra Sharma, whose constituency of Ealing Southall has a large population of Indian origin, told Hindustan Times: The demonetisation has caused significant inconvenience and hardship for many thousands of Indian citizens and NRIs not based in India. The Indian government has not put in place enough safeguards to ensure that people with legitimate savings they have worked hard for are not left worse off. Some Indian banks with branches in the UK are State of Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Syndicate Bank and the Union Bank of India. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON US president-elect Donald Trump slammed White House press secretary Josh Earnest by describing him as a foolish guy who delivers a positive message that sounds bad. This foolish guy, Josh Earnest, I dont know, Trump told thousands of his supporters in Hershey, Pennsylvania. You know, having the right press secretary is so important because hes so bad the way he delivers a message. He can deliver a positive message and it sounds bad. He could say ladies and gentlemen, today we have totally defeated ISIS, and it wouldnt sound good, OK? Trump said, referring to an acronym for the Islamic State. He then said that Earnest is taking orders from someone else. Maybe he is getting his orders from somebody else? the president-elect said hours after Earnest at his daily news conference said that Trump knew that the Russian alleged hacking and interference in general elections was helping him and hurting his rival Hillary Clintons campaign. It is just a fact -- you all have it on tape -- that the Republican nominee for president was encouraging Russia to hack his opponent, because he believed that would help his campaign. It is not a controversial statement. Im not trying to be argumentative. But I am trying to acknowledge a basic fact, the White House press secretary told reporters at his daily news conference. I recognise that the defence from the Trump campaign is that he was joking. I dont think anybody at the White House thinks its funny that an adversary of the US engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilise our democracy. Thats not a joke. Nobody at the White House thought it was a joke. Nobody in the intelligence community thought it was a joke, he said. Im not aware that any members of Congress in either party that was briefed on this matter multiple times dating back to the summer thought it was a joke. Evacuations of rebel fighters and civilians including wounded from the last opposition-held areas of Syrias Aleppo gathered pace early on Friday under a ceasefire that would see the government retake the city, monitors and a rebel official said. There was no sign, however, of evacuations from two villages besieged by rebels in neighbouring Idlib province, which were expected to be included in the deal. At least 6,000 people had left rebel-held Aleppo in several convoys of buses and ambulances since Thursday, when the evacuations began, Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. The number included some 900 wounded, both fighters and civilians, he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the total number was closer to 8,000, including some 3,000 fighters and more than 300 wounded. A statement from the pro-Damascus military alliance that includes Hezbollah said more than 8,000 had left in 10 convoys. The number of buses being used had doubled to about 50, Malahifji said, suggesting the speed of evacuations was increasing. There are a lot of buses now, Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas of control in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their territory in a matter of weeks. The ceasefire deal, brokered by Damascus ally Moscow and rebel backers Turkey earlier in the week, initially broke down on Wednesday as fighting resumed and Iran reportedly introduced a new demand for the evacuation of two Shia-majority villages in Idlib. Thousands are expected to evacuate the villages, Foua and Kefraya, which have long been besieged by insurgents in the mostly rebel-held province. It was unclear why the evacuations had not yet begun, but a convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. Americans appear to have got themselves four-and-a-half Trumps for the price of one, as president-elects adult children continue to sit in on his meetings, interview aspirants for the cabinet, and prepare for roles in the administration. Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump, the three children, and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law, drew more attention at the president-elects meeting with Silicon Valley leaders on Wednesday than his deputy-elect Mike Pence. There are reports that suggest the First Ladys office, a political institution built by compelling and powerful personalities such as Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, may turn into the First Familys office. Thats just talk for now, but as speculation swirls about the extent to which the Trump children will play a role in the new administration, so does concern about the influence of his business interests on his presidency. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are said to be looking around for a house in DC in anticipation, as the speculation goes, they may join the administration in some capacity, paid or pro bono. Kushner especially, who has emerged as one of Trumps most trusted advisers. A real estate tycoon like his father-in-law, Kushner has been a crucial bridge to the powerful Jewish community being one of them himself. Trumps sons, Don and Eric, are expected to focus on running the sprawling family business whose largest presence outside the US is in India, but their continued involvement in their fathers official duties has raised doubts about their influence. Read More: India is doing great and no one is talking about it: Donald Trump Don Jr, for instance, helped his father pick Congressman Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, as the nominee for the cabinet post of interior secretary the Trump scion had once touted himself a candidate in a lighter vein, citing his interest in outdoors. Ivanka and Kushner had joined the president-elect in his first meeting with a foreign leader, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, that had first raised questions about the familys role in the incoming administration, and they have continued. And given the possibility that Melania may not be a keen White House player sticking with her minimalist role in the campaign, Ivanka has emerged as the real power in the east wing, the family quarters of the White House. She has started already, calling lawmakers to push her child care reform legislation. And Ivanka is expected to play a larger role in the administration, with the distinct possibility of a coveted office or a cubicle in the crowded executive wing. Asked about their role in the administration, Kellyanne Conway, former Trump campaign manager and now adviser, said, I think that we would benefit tremendously by having them inside the administration if in fact that can happen. Ivanka is incredibly committed to women in the workplace, women in the economy, women entrepreneurs. She has had a wonderful platform during the campaign. Certainly she and her father announced our childcare plan. Read More: PepsiCos Indra Nooyi joins Donald Trumps team of economic advisers For the first time, an Indian-American woman has been elected as the new mayor of the key Californian city of Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters. Savita Vaidhyanathan, an MBA who worked as a high school Math teacher and an officer in a commercial bank as well as in non-profit management, was sworn in last week in a ceremony attended by her mother who had flown in from India. This is definitely a very momentous moment in my life, Vaidhyanathan told a packed house at community hall in Cupertino, The Mercury News reported. Two days after taking charge, she issued her first proclamation as the Cupertino Mayor in education. Savita is the first Indian-American Mayor of Cupertino, which according to Forbes is one of the most educated small towns in the country with local public schools ranking highly. According to her campaign website, Savita has been a Cupertino resident for over 19 years and has been deeply involved in several community activities in the city. Ive had several congratulatory messages saying that Im the first woman mayor of Indian-origin, said Savita. Yes, I do take a lot of pride and prestige in that, but I do want to thank the residents of the city of Cupertino thatvoted me in not looking at ethnicity at all. Thank you for your trust in me, and maybe we did break that silicon ceiling and put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling, she said. Lawyers for embattled South Korean President Park Geun-hye struck a defiant note on Friday, saying a parliamentary vote to impeach her had no legal basis and should be overturned by the Constitutional Court. Park was indicted in a December 9 vote by a wider-than-expected 234-56 margin, setting the stage for her to become the countrys first democratically elected leader to be ejected from office. We see no grounds for impeachment and it should be struck down, Lee Joong-hwan, a former prosecutor who is part of the team representing Park, told reporters gathered at the court building where the fate of her presidency will be decided. Her lawyers also said that it was unlikely that Park would appear before the court when it begins to hear the case. The court could take up to 180 days to reach a decision. Park, 64, whose father ruled the country for 18 years after seizing power in a 1961 coup, is accused of colluding with long-time friend Choi Soon-sil, who has been indicted and is in custody, to pressure big businesses to make contributions to non-profit foundations backing presidential initiatives. Park, who is serving a single five-year term that is due to end in February 2018, has denied wrongdoing but apologised for carelessness in her ties with Choi. She has refused widespread calls to resign immediately, despite huge weekly protests and parliaments overwhelming vote for impeachment, fuelling concern the political crisis could drag on for months. But her lawyer said her legal team was looking to move quickly. We want a quick process and will not request to delay it, Lee said. Although stripped of her presidential powers, which are being wielded by the prime minister, Park retains her title and her official residence. She has presidential immunity while in office, but risks facing prosecution upon her departure. Earlier on Friday, an official in the presidential Blue House said parliamentary investigators would not get access to her official residence, citing national security. They cant come inside, a Blue House official told reporters, declining to be identified. We havent changed our stance on that. We are in talks regarding where to meet, and what to do, if parliaments special committee wants to hold an inspection. The Blue House official also denied allegations it had ordered South Koreas intelligence agency to spy on judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Blue House has never spied on anybody and its something that should not happen, the official said of the allegations, made by a former media executive during a televised parliamentary hearing on Thursday. On Friday, Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the special prosecutor in the case, told reporters the team would keep looking for legal grounds allowing it to enter the Blue House. The special prosecutors office has said it wants to search the offices of former Blue House officials who have been indicted in the case. Lufthansa and German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit have agreed to mediated talks to resolve a row over contracts dating back to 2012, averting the threat of further strikes for a few more weeks, the two parties said on Friday. Lufthansa has been embroiled in a series of separate disputes with its pilots and cabin crew staff over pay and conditions as management seeks to reduce costs to compete with budget airlines and more efficient long-haul carriers. The mediation process is to start in early January and be completed within the month, during which time the pilots will not call for further strikes, Lufthansa and VC said in a statement on Friday. The negotiating table is the only place where we can find solutions that offer prospects for employees and for the company, said Bettina Volkens, Lufthansas head of personnel. Lufthansas pilots have walked out 15 times since early 2014, costing the carrier hundreds of millions of euros in lost profits. Most recently, they were on strike for six days in November, costing the airline a further 100 million euros ($104 million) in profits. The pilots have asked for an average annual pay increase of 3.7 percent over a five-year period back-dated to 2012, which is when their last collective bargaining contract with Lufthansa expired. The pilots say altogether these increases would amount to a rise of nearly 20 percent on current pay. Lufthansa has proposed an increase of 4.4 percent in two instalments in 2016 and 2017, plus a one-off payment worth 1.8 months pay. CABIN CREW DISPUTE Separately, cabin crew union UFO said on Friday that three-way talks with Lufthansas budget carrier Eurowings and fellow union Verdi had failed to reach an agreement. UFO has been trying to agree new contracts for staff at Eurowings for two years. But Verdi reached a separate agreement with the carrier earlier this month, which Eurowings wants to apply to all 450 cabin crew staff. Under the agreement with Verdi, flight attendants receive a retroactive pay increase of 2.5 percent from Oct. 1, followed by another 2.5 percent next year and 1.25 percent in 2018. We have offered UFO the same agreement, Eurowings said on Friday. We cannot have two different wage contracts with one group of workers, it added. Lufthansa wants Eurowings to become Europes third largest point-to-point carrier. It announced on Friday it was leasing 38 planes and their crew from ailing rival Air Berlin from February and this week struck a deal for a full takeover of Brussels Airlines. ($1 = 0.9584 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Peter Maushagen; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Mexican authorities and scientists are scrambling to save the worlds smallest porpoise, the vaquita marina, from extinction, capturing illegal ghost fishing nets while hoping to make specimens reproduce in captivity. The environment ministry said Thursday that the navy, conservation groups and fishermen removed 103 nets between October 10 and December 7 in the upper Gulf of California. World Wildlife Fund describes vaquita as the worlds most rare marine mammal. The vaquitas population has dropped under 60 despite the governments deployment of navy ships in April 2015 to prevent illegal fishing with nets that accidentally ensnare the porpoise. Three drones joined the campaign in July, armed with high-resolution cameras to spot illegal activities in the Gulf area also known as the Sea of Cortez. The vaquita has died in gillnets used to illegally catch a large fish known as the totoaba, which is also endangered. Fishermen capture the totoaba for its swim bladder, which is dried and sold to smugglers, who then ship them to China, where it can for tens of thousands of dollars on the black market and is eaten in soup. Of the 103 nets removed during 21 days, 24 were between 80 and 500 meters long and meant to catch totoaba, shark and other fish. A local fishing organization, the World Wildlife Fund, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the navy participated in the removal of ghost nets in an area covering 11,814 kilometers (7,340 miles). The goal of this ambitious program, which the authorities plan to continue in an uninterrupted manner, is to eliminate abandoned fishing nets and prevent the vaquita marina from being accidentally trapped in them, the environment ministry said. The porpoises population dropped from 200 in 2012 to fewer than 100 in 2014 and some 60 in late 2015, according to the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA), a global group of scientists. At this pace, conservationists fear that the vaquita will be extinct by 2022. Extinction or salvation Despite the governments efforts, the population continues to drop, CIRVA co-chairman Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho told AFP. We now have less than 60. In the spring CIRVA and the government, along with the best veterinarians and biologists in the world, will try to capture the elusive and shy vaquitas. The hope is to make them reproduce in captivity in the Gulf, with the utmost care, he said. Capturing them is a very difficult decision. It implies risks, but it wont be rushed, Rojas-Bracho said. In any sign of stress, we will let them be free. Known as the panda of the sea because of the dark rings around its eyes, the 1.5-meter (five-foot) cetacean has rarely been seen alive. If scientists succeed, it would be the first time that a vaquita is caught alive. Some conservationists have warned against trying to capture it, fearing they could die. We dont know what will happen, Rojas-Bracho said. But we hope that it can be the difference between its extinction and its salvation. A man jumped to his death from the third floor of a shelter for migrant workers in a Paris suburb, following an apparent arson attack that left several injured, police said on Friday. The fire caused panic at the six-storey building in the wealthy western suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, prompting two people to jump out of a window, Eric Moulin, a spokesman for the fire service, said. The police initially said 14 people were injured, three seriously, but later confirmed one death, and said two people were seriously injured. A spokesman for the residents, Bakary Cissoko, said the victim was a Malian man in his forties, who jumped from the third floor into a courtyard. He arrived in the shelter about four years ago, Cissoko said. A police source said the fire, which damaged the entrance area and a storage room but did not spread to the rooms, appears to be criminal in nature. Traces of fuel and lighter fluid were found at the scene. The home, which consists of two buildings, is run by the Coallia charity, which specialises in social housing. On its website Coallia said the home, which also runs training programmes for migrants, has 328 beds. In the past few months there have been several attacks on migrant shelters in France, mostly targeting centres for asylum seekers relocated from makeshift camps and squats in the northern port of Calais or Paris. But there had been no injuries or fatalities in those attacks. On Friday, authorities cleared another of the migrant camps that keep sprouting up in or around Paris. Around 300 migrants -- mostly Afghans, Sudanese or Eritreans -- had been living in the tented camp in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. The settlement was situated a few hundred metres from a new refugee transit centre set up by Paris city authorities to take asylum-seekers off the streets. The centre only has space for 400 people at a time. A senior Palestinian official warned US President-elect Donald Trump Friday that keeping his word and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem would destroy prospects of a peace process with Israel. Jerusalem was a final-status issue to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation Saeb Erekat told journalists, and making a decision on it now will be the destruction of the peace process. Erekats remarks came a day after Trump announced his decision to nominate David Friedman, a supporter of Israeli settlements who said he looked forward to working for peace from the US embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Friedmans nomination was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his rightwing government. Erekat warned of the potential outcome of moving the embassy and a change in the longstanding position of the US that considers the settlements as illegal. I look David Friedman and Trump in the eye and tell them -- if you were to take these steps of moving the embassy and annexing settlements in the West Bank, you are sending this region down the path of something that I call chaos, lawlessness and extremism, he said. Pushed on whether he thought Trump would indeed move the embassy and allow the annexation of West Bank settlements, Erekat said: I dont think they will do it. The United States at the end of the day is a country of institutions, and they are guided by their national interests, he said. Using a case study of the Maasai Mara National Reserve and other conservancies in Kenya, experts at the University of Oxford have devised a most robust method that can be immediately used to count Asiatic lions in India. Accurate estimates are crucial to conservation success. The new method has a combination of approaches used so far, and sheds new light on uncertain attempts that make it notoriously difficult to estimate the number of lions in Africa and elsewhere. The method, published in the journal Conservation Biology, was devised by Arjun Gopalaswamy and Nic Elliot of the department of zoology at Oxford. It adapts methodologies that have successfully been used by scientists to count other big cats, such as tigers and cheetahs. Gopalaswamy said: Good estimates of big cat abundance can only be obtained when a rigorous field method is combined with a tailor-made statistical method. This study demonstrates the power of such a combined approach. Think of it this way: a survey might reveal there are 200 identified lions, but it will tell you nothing about how many were missed and where. Our method crucially corrects for this problem that existed in previous methods by estimating density at a very fine scale so that we can produce a map to show which areas have high or low density. He added, What's more, because we identify individuals, in time we will be able to estimate vital rates such as survival, additions to the population, and mortality for different demographics. As such, I can see this methodology being immediately applicable to count Asiatic lions in India. The new survey, which circumvents previous problems by using a spatially explicit approach, involved five field teams systematically searching the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies for lions. They carefully logged their search effort during the 90-day survey and drove just under 8,400 km while searching for lions. By taking close-up, high-resolution photographs of individual lions, researchers were able to log their unique whisker spots. A total of 203 lions were identified within the 2,400-square-kilometre survey area. The data was analysed with powerful computers, using a tailor-made Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture model that corrects for the bias that some lions may not have been identified during the survey. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON President Barack Obama has said the US will retaliate against Russia for meddling in this years elections as his successor-elect Donald Trump continued to both question and mock reports of the hackings that were allegedly meant to help him win. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections . . we need to take action, Obama said in an interview to NPR, a radio station, on Thursday. And we will at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be. In response to the threat, Kremlins spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said, It is necessary to either stop talking about it, or finally produce some evidence. Otherwise, it all begins to look quite unseemly. Obama gave no timelines, but he has only four weeks left in office, unless he wants to leave it to Trump to follow up on his threat, which looks unlikely as the president-elect has been dismissive about the hackings, and called them ridiculous. He has argued, in tweets and public remarks and leaked private conversations, that, one, these allegations have surfaced only because he won, and two, this is an attempt to delegitimise his election, a line that his aides have also pushed in recent days. Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that the head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate? Trump wrote in a tweet on Friday morning, referring to a hacked email released by WikiLeaks. On Thursday, Trump had falsely claimed, also on Twitter, that the White House did nothing earlier about the hacking, when it actually had. The intelligence community had issued a statement in October accusing Russia of engineering the hackings. Also, according to White House officials, Obama personally warned President Vladimir Putin of consequences in a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in China in September. The US intelligence community had then blamed Russia for hacking the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee, and passing on the stolen data emails and documents to WikiLeaks, which released them in tranches. It was believed then the hackings were meant to discredit the US election process. But after the election, the CIA told lawmakers it had evidence to conclude the hackings were intended to undermine Clinton and help Trump win the presidency. Among other things, the hackers had been curiously selective. Computer networks of both the Democratic and Republican parties were hacked but only data stolen from the Democrats was released. They held on to the other lot. The US intelligence is now accusing Putin of personal involvement in the hacking as vendetta against Clinton, who as secretary of state had been extremely critical of his partys victory in the 2011 parliamentary elections. An inquiry commission set up by Pakistans Supreme Court has criticised the government for failing to ban terror groups and accused interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of meeting a cleric who heads three proscribed groups and conceding to his demands. In a scathing indictment of efforts by the government and Khan to counter terror groups, the commission said the interior minister had displayed little sense of ministerial responsibility and inexplicably delayed in proscribing terrorist organisations. The panel comprising Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa, set up to probe a suicide attack at Quettas Civil Hospital on August 8 that killed 74 people, said in its report that Khan had denied his meeting with Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi the head of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat even though it was widely reported by the media with photographs. Highlights An inquiry commission set up by Pakistans Supreme Court has criticised the government for failing to ban terror groups It accused interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of meeting a cleric who heads three proscribed groups The commission also said the government should enforce the Anti-Terrorism Act and terrorist groups must be proscribed and not allowed to hold meetings Khan met Ludhianvi at the Punjab House an official guesthouse of Punjab province in Islamabad on October 21 to listen to the clerics demands. According to media reports, Khan conceded several of these demands, such as issuing national ID cards to leaders of the banned groups. The report, posted on the Supreme Courts website, pointed out that Ludhianvi was named as the head of the groups by the interior ministrys list of proscribed organisations. The commission also accused Khan of convening only one meeting of the executive committee of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority in more than three-and-a-half years, violating the decisions of NACTA and having not proscribed a well-known terrorist organisation. The Ministry of Interior is without clear leadership and direction; consequently, it is confused about its role in combating terrorism. The Ministrys National Security Internal Policy is not being implemented, the report said. The National Action Plan, which Pakistan framed to counter terrorism after some 150 people were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in December 2014, was not a plan in any structured or meaningful way, nor has its goals been accordingly monitored or implemented, the report added. Proscribed organisations continue their illegal activities and new terrorist organisations are proscribed after long delays. Some terrorist organisations have still not been proscribed or prosecuted, even when their statements acknowledging terrorist attacks are broadcasted and printed, it said. The commission also said the government should enforce the Anti-Terrorism Act and terrorist groups must be proscribed and not allowed to hold meetings. The report was largely devoted to the need for action against the Jamaat ul Ahrar and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Almi, which were linked to the attack on Quettas Civil Hospital, but a number of anti-India groups active in Pakistan such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawah have not been banned by authorities. Pakistan summoned Indias deputy high commissioner in Islamabad on Friday to protest against the death of a man in what it said was unprovoked ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. The Foreign Office condemned the targeting of a school van in Nikial sector of the LoC that it said resulted in the death of a civilian and injuries to four children. Media reports said the dead man was the driver of the vehicle. There was no immediate word on the incident from the Indian side. The Indian Army earlier said it had responded to firing from the Pakistani side. The director general (South Asia), Mohammad Faisal, summoned Indias deputy high commissioner JP Singh to protest against the incident. Faisal said the targeting of civilians, villages and civilian transport and a school van is condemnable and contrary to human dignity, according to a statement from the Foreign Office. Faisal said the Indian side should respect the 2003 ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir and investigate Fridays incident as well as other incidents of ceasefire violations. Indian forces should respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit, stop targeting the villages and civilians and maintain peace on the LoC, he added. The two sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce on the LoC following a flare-up in tensions after the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani in July and a string of terror attacks on Indian military facilities in Kashmir. Read | India launches offensive; Pakistan says 11 civilians, 3 soldiers killed in shelling The Philippine foreign secretary said on Friday his country wont take any steps against China in response to reports it apparently has installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its new artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea. Foreign secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said that while the United States and other countries might take actions to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed waters, the Philippines will not take any steps that would reignite tensions. When asked if the Philippine foreign affairs department plans to issue any statement or ask China to clarify, Yasay said, We want to make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal. He was referring to a disputed fishing area off the Philippines northwestern coast where tensions recently eased when Chinese coast guard ships allowed Filipinos to fish after blocking them from the area for years. Chinas change of tact came after president Rodrigo Duterte met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing in October. Once-hostile ties with China have improved under Duterte, who has reached out to China and Russia while taking a hostile stance toward the US government, which has criticized his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. Read | Beijing installs weapons systems in South China Sea, says US think tank The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US security think tank, said in a report late Wednesday that China appears to have installed anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems designed to guard against missile attack on its seven newly created islands in the disputed sea. Yasay said in a news conference in Singapore, where he and other officials are accompanying Duterte on a visit, that there is nothing that we can do about that now, whether or not it is being done for purposes of further militarizing these facilities that they have put up. We cannot stop China at this point in time and say, Do not put that up. We will continue to pursue peaceful means at which all of these can be prevented, he said. His remarks differed from defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who expressed concerns over the CSIS report and said the government was attempting to verify it. If true, it is a big concern for us and the international community who uses the South China Sea lanes for trade, Lorenzana said Thursday. It would mean that the Chinese are militarizing the area, which is not good. Also read | Manila says will not help US on patrols in South China Sea Pope Francis turns 80 on Saturday with no sign of slowing down in his drive to reshape the Catholic church to reflect his own vision of compassion and humility. Three years and nine months after his election, the first pope from the Americas continues to set a relentless pace as he reaches a milestone at which cardinals are ushered into semi-retirement. Francis has not ruled out following the historic example of his predecessor Benedict XVI, who retired, exhausted, in 2013. But there is no suggestion that could happen soon. Like almost every other day of his papacy, Saturday will be a working day for the holiday-phobic Francis: morning mass with cardinals followed by meetings with the Maltese president and a top Vatican official. In the cerebral Benedicts place, Francis has brought an upbeat Latin tempo, a strong work ethic and the asceticism of a Jesuit missionary to the role of leading the worlds largest church. Children sit with people dressed as clowns on the stage near Pope Francis during a special audience with patients and employees of the Vatican-owned pediatric hospital of Bambino Gesu, in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican on Dec 15. (AP Photo) This will be the fourth birthday the former bishop of Buenos Aires has celebrated in the modest St Marthas boarding house he has made his home inside the Vaticans walls. The worlds 1.2 billion Catholics are, by now, used to the face Francis displays to the world. More often than not it is one lit up by a crinkly-eyed, double-chinned smile, at official audiences and meet-and-greets where he displays his ease with people from all walks of life. There are signs of fatigue, natural for a man of his age who lost part of a lung in his youth, and the occasional grimace bears witness to the sciatic pain that is a near constant companion. Sometimes his features darken, usually indicating he is addressing issues dear to his heart: Europes indifference to migrants drowning in the Mediterranean, the humiliation of the poor or, most recently, the destructive power of agri-business. Read| Pope extends power to forgive abortion to all Roman Catholic priests Abortions absolved Born into a family of Italian heritage on December 16, 1936, Jorge Bergoglio became the 266th pope when he was elected on March 13, 2013. From the off he seemed like a man in a hurry. Several times he has implied he does not think he will be around for long. He said he wanted a poor church, for the poor. And more broadly his mission has been to recast the church as a compassionate institution, one that seeks to help believers with daily difficulties. His first Jubilee year was dedicated to the theme of mercy, a quality Francis believes should be at the core of the churchs work, rather than reflexes of condemnation and judgement. Faced with opposition, in the hierarchy and on the ground in the developing world, Francis has arguably made little headway in reshaping Catholic teaching. On vexed issues such as cohabitation and attitudes to homosexual or divorced believers in the church, reviews have ended with ambiguous conclusions that infuriated conservatives and disappointed radicals. But the mood music has undeniably changed. Who am I to judge? Francis asked when asked for his views on homosexuality, long seen as a disorder by the church. The love of God, which can look into the heart of each person and see the deepest desire hidden there, must take primacy over all else. Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 15, 2016 Authorisation to priests to absolve women who confess to having had abortions, a Jubilee initiative, has been extended indefinitely. Read| Church respects but cannot admit gays into Catholic priesthood, says Vatican Church is field hospital Bishops can now grant remarried divorcees communion on a case-by-case basis. And the church recognises that cohabiting couples might legitimately be prevented from marrying because of financial barriers. Francis has also recognised the erotic dimension of love as a gift from God, while simultaneously trying to move Catholicism away from its obsession with sex. And, by agreeing to examine the role of female deacons in early Christianity, some see Francis as having opened a door to the possibility of women clergy. Pragmatic reformer rather than revolutionary, is a common assessment of the soon-to-be octogenarian. For him, the church is a field hospital, not a customs barrier, says Italian Vatican expert Marco Politi. But he has not touched doctrine. He is not a progressive in that sense. Marco Tosatti, another Vatican watcher, says Francis has sown a lot of confusion inside the church. Hes a journalists pope. Hes given the church a friendlier, lighter image. But summer sales do not attract new customers. The traditional Protestant churches tried adapting to the modern world and look at them: theres nobody left. Politi says conservatives are biding their time. The goal is not a coup but to lay the groundwork for the eventual successor. Like the Tea Party that spent its time sabotaging Obama and found it was worthwhile when Trump was elected. Russian hackers seized control last year of the unclassified email system used by the US militarys Joint Chiefs of Staff, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing an interview with then Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey. Dempsey, who did not appear on camera, said he was alerted to the August 2015 attack by an early morning phone call from the director of the National Security Agency, Admiral Mike Rogers, according to CBS. The email system is used by the Pentagons Joint Staff, an organisation of some 3,500 military officers and civilians who work for the chairman. The hackers seized the passwords and electronic signatures used by Dempsey, an army general who retired in September 2015, and hundreds of other senior officers to sign on to the network, according to CBS. The only way to stop the attack was to take the network down, CBS said. The attack, which US officials now blame on Russia, was not spying, but a full-on assault whose only apparent purpose was to cause damage and force the Pentagon to replace both hardware and software, which took about two weeks to accomplish, according to CBS. The motive for the attack was believed to be Russian anger at economic sanctions orchestrated by the Obama administration in response to Russian President Vladimir Putins annexation of Crimea and interference in Ukraine, CBS said. The Pentagon declined to comment. US officials have accused Putin of supervising his intelligence agencies hacking of the US presidential election in an effort to help Republican Donald Trump. Russian officials have denied accusations of interference in the November 8 election won by Trump. Scotland Yard on Friday dropped an investigation into allegations against senior Labour MP Keith Vaz, who was at the centre of a tabloid sting operation in September that showed him talking about drugs in the company of male prostitutes. Vaz, 59, had resigned as chairman of the influential Home Affairs Committee of Parliament in the wake of the sting operation by Sunday Mirror. The Metropolitan Police Service's Special Enquiry Team began an assessment process to see "what criminal offences - if any - may have been committed" by Vaz, in response to a letter asking it to look into the matter when reports of the sting operation were published. On Friday, a spokesman for the force said: "Following that assessment, which included obtaining early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, the MPS started an investigation in November. "During the investigation new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS, following which the MPS has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged." The parliamentary standards commissioner had also announced an inquiry into Vazs alleged breach of paragraphs 10 and 16 of the MPs Code of Conduct, but it was suspended pending outcome of the police investigation. As the police investigation has been dropped, it is likely the inquiry by the standards commissioner will also be closed. Vaz was elected member of the parliaments Justice Committee in early November. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Saudi police arrested a Syrian resident in Riyadh after he posted a photo of himself on Facebook praising the recapture of his home city of Aleppo by government forces, according to a report in al-Riyadh newspaper on Friday. A photo published with the report showed a man with his hand raised and his fingers pointed in a victory sign. His facial features were blurred to conceal his identity. The newspaper said the resident, indentified as being in his 40s, was accused of publishing statements related to the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia is a major regional backer of the rebel brigades fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The rebels were dealt a crippling blow this week when Syrian government forces recaptured Aleppo. Public expressions of dissent are considered criminal offences in the conservative Islamic kingdom, which has jailed people both for physical protests and for online statements. Edging closer to completing his Cabinet, President-elect Donald Trump announced his choice of Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary Thursday, picking a man who should fit smoothly into an administration favouring more energy drilling and less regulation. In the evening, he was to embark on his latest campaign victory lap, this time to Pennsylvania, which he wrested from decades in the Democratic column. He also found time to hit Twitter, playing media critic and then stating anew his doubts about charges that Russia hackers tried to disrupt the U.S. election. Trump praised Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, as having built one of the strongest track records on championing regulatory relief, forest management, responsible energy development and public land issues. Zinke, 55, was an early supporter of the president-elect and publicly expressed his interest in a Cabinet post when Trump visited Montana in May. As with several other Cabinet selections, Zinke has advocated increased drilling and mining on public lands and has expressed skepticism about the urgency of climate change. He attracted attention in the 2014 campaign for calling Hillary Clinton the Antichrist. House Speaker Paul Ryan praised the pick, saying Zinke has been an ardent supporter of all-of-the-above energy policies and responsible land management. But his nomination could have a ripple effect on control of the Senate, since Zinke now may forgo what was once a near-certain challenge to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018. One of Zinkes backers was Land Tawney, head of sportsmens group Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, and a friend of Donald Trump Jr. Tawney also has ties to Tester and volunteered for a pro-Tester super PAC a few years ago. But in an interview, Tawney denied a Politico report that his support for Zinke had anything to do with sidelining him from the Senate race. I think there are some folks who dont like the pick of Zinke for that position, and that theyre trying to politicize this to change that, and I think thats absolutely ridiculous, said Tawney. He said a focus on preserving public lands led him to oppose other potential nominees, including Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers. Trump has two Cabinet selections yet to make though he also needs to fill out much of his White House staff. After a day of meetings at Trump Tower, which includes immigration hardliner Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and some members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Trump was to travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania for a rally. Pennsylvania had not gone for a Republican candidate since 1988. But the Trump campaign staff long thought that the state, rich in white working-class voters, would be receptive to his populist message and not be part of Clintons hoped-for firewall. Trump repeatedly campaigned there and won the state by less than 1 percentage point, giving him a vital 20 electoral college votes. The president-elect was busy on Twitter Thursday morning. He again cast doubt on U.S. intelligence assertions about Russia election hacking, writing If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? That assertion is untrue. A month before the election, the Obama administration bluntly accused Russia of hacking American political sites and email accounts to interfere. Trump has repeatedly said hed like to improve ties with Russia, a hope that has been echoed in Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday lauded Trumps Cabinet selections as people with no anti-Russian stereotypes. Medvedev said in a televised interview that Moscow is glad Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson has been chosen as secretary of state, describing him as someone with pragmatic thinking. The Kremlin has cheered Trumps victory although some Russian officials have recently said they are not expecting relations between Russia and the U.S., which were battered after Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, to improve overnight. Trump also tweeted, The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex - when actually it isnt! His declaration came on the day he was supposed to hold a news conference, now postponed til January, to reveal how he plans to distance himself from his business. Aides said more time was needed to finalize the complicated arrangement. Read| Trump to name ExxonMobil chief Tillerson as secretary of state: Reports President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named David M Friedman, a lawyer who identifies with hardliners in Israel and stands in opposition to decades-long US policies with regard to that country, as his nominee for ambassador to Israel. Friedman questions the two-state solution, which the US supports, backs new Israeli settlements in West Bank, which his country opposes, and said in a statement issued by the Trump team about his announcement that he looks forward to working from the American embassy in Jerusalem. Except, the US embassy is in Tel Aviv, as are missions from India and other countries. Trump has promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which is currently claimed as capital by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. The stated American policy so far has been to settle these conflicting claims through negotiations as part of a peace deal. Asked about the timeline for the relocation, a Trump aide told reporters on Friday that there isnt one yet. Many US politicians running for the White House promise to shift the embassy to Jerusalem but tend to go along with the stated position once elected. Trump could change that, as has been indicated by aides after his election. Friedman is known for aligning with the hardliners in Israel and has said, according to The New York Times, that it wont be illegal for Israel to annex the occupied portions of the West Bank. He has compared those who oppose it to Jews who helped the Nazis during the Holocaust. Turkey will set up a camp in Syria to host people evacuated from the city of Aleppo but will continue to take in the sick and wounded to its own hospitals, Turkish officials said on Friday. Two potential sites, around 3.5 km (2.2 miles) inside Syria, have been identified for a camp with the capacity to host up to 80,000 people, two senior officials told Reuters. Work on the infrastructure for the camp will begin shortly, a separate official from Turkish aid organisation IHH said by phone from inside Syria. The camp will be jointly set up by the Turkish Red Crescent, disaster agency AFAD and IHH. The IHH official said evacuees had so far largely found shelter with relatives in and around Syrias Idlib province, southwest of Aleppo, but that work to identify those with nowhere to go was underway. Turkey has taken in 55 wounded and sick evacuees, according to Hasan Aydinlik, head of an emergency response division of Turkeys health ministry. He told reporters at the Cilvegozu border crossing that one of the wounded had died in hospital while three including a young child were in serious condition. Close to 8,000 people -- rebel fighters and civilians -- have been evacuated from the last rebel-held areas of Aleppo under a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey that would see the Syrian government retake the city. Turkey is already sheltering around 2.7 million Syrian refugees. Officials said Ankara was working to increase the number of buses used for the evacuation to speed up the process. An aid official with Syrian NGO Shafak, working inside Syria on the Aleppo evacuation, said he expected more people to come towards the Turkish border on Friday as the villages in the countryside west of Aleppo were full. Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas of control in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their territory. The US agency charged with ensuring that voting machines meet security standards was itself penetrated by a hacker after the November elections, according to a security firm working with law enforcement on the matter. The security firm, Recorded Future, was monitoring underground electronic markets where hackers buy and sell wares and discovered someone offering log-on credentials for access to computers at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, company executives said. Posing as a potential buyer, the researchers engaged in a conversation with the hacker, said Levi Gundert, vice president of intelligence at the company, and Andrei Barysevich, director of advanced collection. Eventually they discovered that the Russian-speaking hacker had obtained the credentials of more than 100 people at the election commission after exploiting a common database vulnerability, the researchers said. The hacker was trying to sell information about the vulnerability to a Middle Eastern government for several thousand dollars, but the researchers alerted law enforcement and said Thursday that the hole had been patched. The Election Assistance Commission said in a statement late Thursday that it had become aware of a potential intrusion and was working with federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the potential breach and its effects. The FBI is currently conducting an ongoing criminal investigation, the statement added. The election commission certifies voting systems and develops standards for technical guidelines and best practices for election officials across the country. The researchers said the hacker had an unusual business model, scanning for ways to break into all manner of businesses and other entities and then moving rapidly to sell that access, rather than stealing the data himself. We dont think he actually works for any government or is super sophisticated, Barysevich said. In the case of the election commission, the hacker used methods including an SQL injection, a well known and preventable flaw, obtaining a list of user names and obfuscated passwords, which he was then able to crack. Though much of the commissions work is public, the hacker gained access to non-public reports on flaws in voting machines. In theory, someone could have used knowledge of such flaws to attack specific machines, said Matt Blaze, an electronic voting expert and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The researchers were confident that the hacker moved to sell his access soon after getting it, meaning that he was not inside the system before election day. The US voting process is decentralized and there were no reports of widespread fraud in November. The Election Assistance Commission was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and is led by presidential appointees. Coalition aircraft have destroyed heavy weaponry seized by Islamic State jihadists when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from regime forces over the weekend, officials said on Friday. The strikes on Thursday destroyed an air defense artillery system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two IS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles, the coalition said in a statement. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who commands the US-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria, had said Wednesday that the jihadists possibly had air-defense equipment -- potentially posing a risk to coalition aircraft. Basically, anything they (IS) seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will, Townsend said. Thursdays attack took place near the Tiyas military airfield near Palmyra, northeast of the fabled city along a highway. IS overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after being expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. IS had initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics. The Pentagon and coalition partners have accused Moscow and Damascus of taking their eyes off Palmyra to focus on bombing the former rebel bastion of Aleppo. The United States has more than doubled its reward for information leading to the location, arrest, or conviction of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), or simply the IS. The US increased the reward from $10 million to $25 million, the highest bounty on offer. It is also the same amount offered for the arrests of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafeez Saeed and Sirajuddin Haqqani of the Haqqani Network each carry a reward of $ 10 million. Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, US state department said. The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate. Also read | ISIS leadership dwindling, territory shrinking, says US Yemens humanitarian catastrophe is set to worsen as the war has ruined the economy and is stopping food supplies getting through, driving the country to the brink of famine, the top UN aid official in the country told Reuters. Throughout the whole of this country kids are dying, said Jamie McGoldrick. UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen. Nearly two years of war between a Saudi-led Arab coalition and Houthi movement has left more than half of Yemens 28 million people food insecure, with 7 million of them enduring hunger, according to the United Nations. In the latest setback, Yemens biggest traders have stopped new wheat imports due to a crisis at the central bank, documents seen by Reuters show. Already, eight out of 10 children are stunted by malnutrition and every 10 minutes a child dies due to preventable diseases, UN agency figures show. To scrape by, several families often rely on one salary-earner, and child marriage is increasing, with girls married off at the age of 15 on average, and often younger. Almost half of Yemens 22 governorates are already officially rated as being in an emergency food situation. (Agency File Photo) The UN estimates that 18.8 million people need some form of humanitarian aid but it struggles to deliver supplies, partly because of the war and partly due to a lack of funding. The disruption of wheat shipments will exacerbate the problem. We know that early next year we will face significant problems, said McGoldrick, who described the economy as shredded. Almost half of Yemens 22 governorates are already officially rated as being in an emergency food situation, he said. That is four on a five-point scale, where five is famine. I know there are some worrying developments and the deterioration weve seen in the economy and the health services and the ability to supply food would only give us an estimate that things are going to get much worse, McGoldrick said. The UN has been conducting a new food assessment in preparation for a new humanitarian appeal in 2017, when it will ask donors for life-saving help for 8 million people. But a famine may still not be officially declared. Technically these things are easily measured but in reality using the F-word is something that very few people will use because its so emotive. I would say its not likely to happen, my personal view. Famine means more than two people dying per day for every 10,000 in the population, or about 5,500 deaths per day across a country of Yemens size, according to a Reuters calculation. The current emergency across much of Yemen still means 1-2 deaths per 10,000, suggesting thousands may die of hunger every day. Read more | US halts some Saudi arms sales over Yemen deaths concerns IM STANDING ON A SMALL HILL COVERED IN WILD THYME regularly pruned by feral goats that wander down from nearby mountains. Spread below, the scrubby olive-green expanse of Cretes Maleme airfield stretches to the distant sea. I drove to this rural hillside from Chania, a seaside town on the northwest hem of the largest of the Greek islands. Its harbor is home to a jumble of lively cafes that serve dishes cooked in local virgin olive oil. I am here to attend a three-day commemoration of the Battle of Crete, which began 75 years earlier on this very dayMay 20. This is Hill 107; from here our Allied troops shot down many planes, says native-born Giorgos Milonakis, whose father was 10 years old when the battle started. Milonakiss eyes glint in the midday sun as he squints down at the German War Cemetery, where the graves of thousands of enemy soldiers stud the surface. Far below us, fields and olive groves slumber in the hot sun, much as they did that May morning in 1941 when the Nazis launched Operation Mercury, a massive airborne assault that dropped some 7,000 German paratroopers around Maleme and Chania. The success of the mission was vital to the Germans; whoever controlled Crete had easy access to the Suez Canalthe shortest route for conveying supplies to North Africa. German occupation of Crete would also prevent British bombers from flying from there to attack the Romanian oil fields that fueled the Nazi war machine. The Battle of Crete had a number of significant firsts. It was the first large-scale German airborne offensive. It was also the first time the Allies had, thanks to intercepted Enigma transmissions, advance notice of a major German offensiveone the Allies failed to adequately exploit, but recognized as a heads-up for the future. And it was the first time a civilian population massively resisted a German advance. The German chief of military intelligence, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, had believed that the Cretansrenowned for their republican and anti-monarchist stancewould welcome their German liberators with open arms. Instead they met the paratroopers with fierce opposition. Armed with antique rifles, daggers, and even pitchforks, they took up arms alongside Allied troops from Greece, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. As a result, the invasion of Crete took longer than Germany had expected. Though Allied troops began to retreat just a week later, Cretan resistance fighters continued their assault on enemy troops, forcing Hitler to send reinforcements. The next day, I arrive at a flag-raising ceremony at Chanias Firkas Fortress, a seventeenth-century stronghold located at the entrance of the citys harbor. A handful of veterans, some in wheelchairs, watch as the ensigns of the four countries that helped defend Crete are slowly raised above the fortress walls. To further preserve the memory of this event, the locals have created a Battle of Crete exhibit housed within the fortress. Amid ancient amphorae and remnants from 400 years ago, when the Republic of Venice colonized Crete, there are rooms full of battle memorabilia, including German parachutes, newspaper headlines, cigarette packets, and photos of resistance fighters. One of them shows a group of local men waiting to be executed. The Germans murdered them for helping the Allies, someone behind me murmurs. Despite Cretes strong resistance, Maleme airfield fell to the Germans on May 21 and, after failed attempts to retake it, Allied troops began retreating to the south coast for evacuation on May 27. The exhausted men withdrew over rocky ground while members of the New Zealand 28th (Maori) Battalion, along with Australian 2/7th Battalions C and D Companies, established a defensive line to buy time for the retreating soldiers. Later in the day, I meet Marshall Cook, a Maori and member of the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF), a military unit made up of settlers and Maoristhe indigenous people of New Zealand. Cook is here to pay his respects to a relative who, along with other troops in the defensive line, lost his life charging the Germans. The 28th (Maori) Battalion stepped up and ripped into our traditional Haka war cry. Cook tells me. They used it to psych themselves up for the charge. They were up against some horrendous odds tearing off into the olive groves in face of the oncoming German attack. Following the ceremony, a drive through the warren of Chanias backstreets takes me out to Souda Bay, a natural harbor just outside town and home to the British Commonwealth War Cemetery, where 1,500 servicemen who lost their lives in the battle are buried. Many of them are Maoris. There, Jack Rudolpf, a Maori cultural adviser to the NZDF, tells me that the warlike Maori feltand still feelat ease with the locals. We owe them a lot of thanks, he says, because some of our soldiers who were left behind wouldnt have made it home without them. Approximately 16,000 evacuated Allied troops eventually reached Egypt by ship. The majority of these embarked between May 28 and June 1 from the southern harbor of Sfakia, where I arrive after a two-hour drive the next day. Coasting along the curvy roads, I imagine how hard it must have been for the retreating men to hide from gunfire on these rocky hillsides. More than 5,000 Allied troops and thousands of Greeks remained behind in Sfakia hiding in caves, but surviving for a time thanks to the help of Cretan villagers and resistance fightersmany of whom German troops later massacred. Although German forces fought against a defiant populace during the entire Greek campaign of April to June 1941, resistance was strongest in Crete, where Germany took the most casualties. Out of about 22,000 German troops who fought to capture Cretethose in the initial paratroop assault and the several thousand mountain troops who later landed by seamore than 4,500 Germans were killed. Nazi leadership deeply felt those losses and, for the remainder of the war, never attempted another large airborne operation. Luftwaffe general Kurt Student, who headed the invasion, later wrote that Crete conjures up bitter memories. I miscalculated when I proposed the operation and my mistakes caused not only the loss of very many paratroopers, whom I looked upon as my sons, but in the long run led to the demise of the German airborne arm I had created. The tiny fishing port of Sfakia looks much the same as it did in photos from 75 years ago. Seated in a cafe on the waterfront where I am surrounded by Cretes starkly beautiful landscapes and proud people, it is easy to understand why they had fought so fiercely. This story was originally published in the January/February 2017 issue of World War II magazine. Subscribe here. Kate Middleton and Prince William might announce their split in near future. Rumor has it that the alleged third party got herself involved in the royal couple's complex marital life. The Duke of Cambridge reportedly has admitted to cheating. There are reports claiming that Prince William has confessed of cheating and naturally, the Duchess of Cambridge is unhappy to hear it. Recent reports also claim that Kate and William are no longer living together. Allegedly, they are just being forced by their royal duties to attend public events together but, unfortunately, seems like the flame is gone. Previous reports speculate that Queen Elizabeth may be largely involved in the decision to keep the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge apart. Her Majesty has intentionally been giving them royal commitments away from each other to further tear the royal couple down. Allegedly, Kate Middleton is complaining about the set up while Prince William is fine with it. It seems that the distance has forced Prince William to find love in somewhere else. On the other hand, Princess Kate allegedly has been feeling less loved and wronged by the Queen. It's not hard to conclude that all that alleged problems could possibly contribute to the impending Kate Middleton and Prince William divorce. There are reports claiming that Queen Elizabeth is pushing for the divorce to be realized soon. She is reportedly very disappointed with the Duchess of Cambridge's lack of adherence to royal duties. Kate Middleton recently canceled a royal appointment and that fueled further rumors about the impending divorce. Prince William, on the other side, continues to attend to his commitments as his grandmother has reportedly been demanding from him to man up after making the cheating confession. Kate Middleton and Prince William are expected to announce their divorce soon. The Duke of Cambridge is also expected to reveal the truth behind the split. Yet, admitting to the public that he cheated could cost him the respect of the people worldwide. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin are said to be heading for a divorce after rumors of cheating and betrayals ruin the said marriage. And with the latest report, the actor is rumored to have cheated and betrayed his wife who is a renowned Human Rights lawyer. As claimed by InTouch Weekly magazine, Clooney have betrayed Alamuddin because of cheating scandals and lies. Well, the report substantiated that Clooney had several affairs with Hollywood actresses and non-celebrities. This infuriated the stunning lawyer and she felt that she had enough already in this relationship. Amal Alamuddin feels the need to split from George Clooney so she thinks of divorce as the solution to end the short-lived marriage. It can be recalled that the couple has been reported to have been fighting a lot due to baby and pregnancy issues. Amal consults George regarding her interest to get pregnant already in which the actor approved at first but he later withdrew from what he said. Bottomline, George Clooney doesn't want Amal Alamuddin to get pregnant, but why? No reasons have been revealed as to why George doesn't want to have a child with Amal. Even after their wedding people are already expecting Amal to get pregnant until this speculation escalated online. So after the baby issues, George Clooney is entangled with the cheating scandal rumors. At the start of their relationship even after their wedding, does this mean that he is not after all true to his feelings with Amal even if people already considered them as the perfect match? Well, even Clooney's friends could attest and could say that he already found the right woman through Alamuddin. People should know that before Clooney married Amal, he was considered as one of Hollywood's bachelors and it is just but normal that until now, many still has that secret desire to marry Clooney in the future. Perhaps, the actor just took advantage of this, without forgetting of course his timeless and good looks. George Clooney already found a perfect woman in Amal Alamuddin when they got married but with all the rumors spreading now about the couple, it seems like that would shatter. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Russia hits the Obama administration for insinuating that it had a hand in breaching into the US computer security system to influence the result of the 2013 US Presidential Elections. The reaction came after a CNN report quoted President Barrack Obama saying that there is a foreign government who marred the integrity of the 2016 US elections. "We need to take actions, and we will at a time and place of our choosing," the report quoted Obama as saying. Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the allegations of Obama has no basis, and the out-going President must stop his tirades against the Russian government. They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise, it all begins to look unseemly," Peskov said as quoted by CNN. Obama vowed to take action against Russia after the US intelligence confirmed that the government of President Vladimir Putin has rigged the result of the recent elections. The US intelligence community said that the operation in hacking into the Democratic Party server was carried out with a sophisticated hacking tool and the nature of the operation pointed towards Moscow. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits. Tuesday, October 25, 4:30 7 p.m. Orr Area EMS Open House Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798. Orr Fire Hall 4540 Lake St., Orr Tuesday, October 25, 12 6 p.m. Essentia Health Job Fair Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org. 901 9th St. N., Virginia Hospitality Net today Sign up to our free daily newsletter, TBILISI / BRUSSELS -- The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the most dynamic hotel groups worldwide and a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, is proud to announce the signing of the first Radisson RED in Georgia. The new build city center stand-alone hotel will be located in the heart of the city on Chavchavadze Street. The Radisson RED Chavchavadze, Tbilisi is expected to open its doors in mid-2019, and will feature around 100 rooms. Elie Younes, Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer of The Rezidor Hotel Group said: "Eastern Europe is a very promising market for travel and tourism, and Georgia has one of the fastest growing tourism rates in the region. We are delighted to further diversify our contemporary offer in Tbilisi and bring our award-winning lifestyle select brand Radisson RED to the city. Radisson RED appeals to the ageless millennial mindset, is inspired by art, music and fashion, and breaks the traditional hotel model. We strongly believe that the Radisson RED Chavchavadze, Tbilisi will take the Georgian hospitality scene to a new level." "We are delighted and confident to partner with The Rezidor Hotel Group and to bring the first Radisson RED to Georgia. Rezidor is one of the strongest and most innovative hospitality leaders in EMEA. With the award-winning launch of Radisson RED in Brussels earlier this year, they have once again proven their capacity to operate successful brands and hotels internationally," added George Gedevanishvili, Project Manager for LLC Commerce Group. The Radisson RED Chavchavadze, Tbilisi will cater for business and leisure travelers and will feature a restaurant with an outdoor terrace and rooftop bar. The hotel will be ideally located in the prime city center, on one of the main avenues named after the writer Ilia Chavchavadze. The Radisson RED Chavchavadze, Tbilisi will be managed and operated by The Rezidor Hotel Group. About Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel groups with nine distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development in 120 countries. The Group's overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos. The Radisson Hotel Group portfolio includes Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels. Radisson Rewards is our international rewards program that delivers unique and personalized ways to create memorable moments that matter to our guests. Radisson Rewards offers an exceptional experience for our guests, meeting planners, and travel agents at over 550 hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Radisson Meetings provides tailored solutions for any event or meeting, including hybrid solutions placing guests and their needs at the heart of its offer. Radisson Meetings is built around three strong service commitments: Personal, Professional and Memorable, while delivering on the brilliant basics and being uniquely 100% Carbon Neutral. The health and safety of guests and team members remain a top priority for Radisson Hotel Group. All properties across the Group's portfolio are subject to stringent health and safety requirements, as outlined in the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol. More than 100,000 team members work at Radisson Hotel Group and at the hotels licensed to operate in its systems. For more information, visit our corporate website. Or connect with Radisson Hotels on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Lucie Cardona Corporate Communications & PR Leader Radisson Hotel Group It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home On December 9, 2016, President Obama signed the Continuing Resolution passed by Congress to extend funding of the federal government until April 28, 2017, by which time it is expected that Congress will have approved a budget for the full fiscal year. EB-5 Regional Center program also extended to April 28, 2017 As with several prior budget extensions, the Continuing Resolution included an extension of the EB-5 programs Regional Center provisions, validating expectations of industry experts. This means that developers who followed our advice to get in line with their projects last fall (when some concerns over EB-5 renewal were raised) have either raised their EB-5 capital by now or should have plenty of time to do so before the current extension signed by President Obama runs out next April. Why NOW may be the best time for developers to start EB-5 financing Developers who followed our advice last fall have been well served. On August 16, 2016, we published a blog article entitled Why NOW may be the best time for developers to start EB-5 financing. We feel the same way today. In our earlier article, we warned that there is always some uncertainty in predicting what Congress will do. However, all people that we know who are knowledgeable about the EB-5 program and the political environment believe that EB-5 will be renewed and continued in a viable form. Some developers are uncomfortable with the uncertainty created by short-term legislative sunsets on the extensions, and on accepting predictions that Congress will continue the program we have maintained since 1992 almost 25 years. These developers want to wait until everything has settled down and has more certainty. We believe the wait and see approach is a mistake for many developers particularly those who are ready to start construction now. Here is why: Nominal cost. The cost is relatively nominal to clear certain preliminary hurdles, to evaluate availability of EB-5 financing, identify a regional center funding source, and even negotiate a preliminary term sheet. The small cost of completing these preliminaries early should be greatly outweighed by the benefits. Be at the front of the line. If you have a project that is ready to start construction (or very close), you want to be at the head of the wave of new EB-5 projects coming into the pipeline for marketing to immigrant investors. You want to identify and sign up the best regional center you can get to optimize the size, cost, timing and certainty of your EB-5 capital. Avoid the traffic jam. The early bird will tie up the best lenders and terms. The top regional centers have good capacity, but we expect their bandwidth to be filled quickly after the final EB-5 legislation is adopted as many hundreds of developers create a massive traffic jam on the road to EB-5 funding. Given the timing of U.S. holidays and the Chinese New Year, the strategy of starting now on EB-5 financing might mean that you can close your EB-5 funding many months earlier than with the wait and see strategy. What should you do now? We may not know all the details of how this will turn out, but the odds are overwhelming that the EB-5 program will be continued in a viable form. EB-5 is an important and proven source of new development financing that creates new U.S. jobs. Developers who want to take advantage of EB-5 funding should get started now (at least with evaluation). We have a lot of practical experience in helping our developer clients raise EB-5 funding. As of now, our JMBM EB-5 Financing group has closed more than $1 billion of EB-5 financing for our clients, and sourced more than $700 million for their projects. If you would like some help to evaluate whether EB-5 could work for you, or what strategy is best for you, then give us a call. There is no cost for an initial discussion. Jim Butler, +1-310-201-3526 or jbutler@jmbm.com David Sudeck, +1-310-201-3518 or dsudeck@jmbm.com This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. We've done more than $60 billion of hotel transactions and have developed innovative solutions to help investors be successful in bidding for hotel acquisitions, and helping investors and lenders to unlock value from troubled hotel transactions. Who's your hotel lawyer? Choice Hotels Announces Development Agreement for Greece First hotel expected to open in Athens in summer 2017 Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) announced today it has signed a multi-unit development agreement with GVK Enterprises, a hospitality management and development firm, to introduce and establish a hotel portfolio in Greece. Choice anticipates the first property under the agreement will open by the summer of 2017 under the Comfort brand flag in Athens, and four additional properties will be developed on the Greek mainland and islands under the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands. "We are thrilled to be expanding our European portfolio to Greece, an important travel and tourism destination that has shown signs of strong recovery and positive forecasts," said Mark Pearce, senior vice president, international division, Choice Hotels. "Choice wants to support and participate in this recovery and we have every confidence that our brands will thrive in such a dynamic market." "I'm delighted to work with Choice Hotels and bring their Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands to the Greek capital and islands. We look forward to helping Choice develop a portfolio of hotels that will appeal to international travelers visiting Greece for either business or pleasure. We are extremely proud to be able to bring Choice to a land filled with so much history and culture. Greece has always been one of the most popular tourism destinations and we look forward to sharing the food, hospitality and beaches with the rest of the world through the millions of guests of the Choice family," said George Kontos, President, GVK Enterprises. This agreement follows several other EMEA market portfolio expansions that Choice has announced in 2016. In April, the company announced it had signed an agreement to deliver approximately 25 hotels and 8,000 rooms in UAE and Saudi Arabia by 2021. Other deals signed include establishing multiple hotels in Belgium and the co-branding of 19 properties in Germany, Austria and Hungaryunder the Comfort and Quality brands. Choice recently launched its upscale Ascend Hotel Collection brand in the UK and France, with Turkey to follow in 2017. Amnesty International is not banned from any primary schools in the Waterford district despite a letter being circulated that appears to claim otherwise, the Catholic Church diocese of Waterford and Lismore has insisted today. A letter circulated to the primary schools from a diocesan advisor, Catechetics Director, Sr Antoinette Dilworth, stated that primary schools are coming under increasing pressure to ban Amnesty International from addressing their pupils, given the organisation's support for the liberation [sic] of Ireland's abortion laws. The letter which was sent out to approximately 99 schools under the patron of the Bishop of Waterford, at the start of the last term but is only being publicly revealed today also stated that any group campaigning for the legalisation of abortion, which is completely contrary to the Catholic ethos, does not have the right to visit a school and attempt to gain support for their cause". However, the Catechetics Director, Sr Antoinette Dilworth today insisted that the letter was merely just to alert schools of their responsibilities and that the human rights group is not banned from schools in the diocese. The clarification has been welcomed by Amnesty International. James Arthur, The Weeknd, and of course, Mariah Carey have topped the list as well. The single, "Rockabye" by Clean Bandit, has been on the charts for eight weeks, and at number one for five weeks with no sign of slowing down. It only took the song three weeks to make it to the top of the charts, and it has held on to the number one spot ever since. Only time will tell if Clean Bandit's success on the charts will continue. Also in the top five are "Starboy," by The Weeknd feat. Daft Punk, and James Arthur's "Say You Won't Let Go," which has been on the charts for fourteen weeks. The only track in the top five that has outlasted "Say You Won't Let Go," is "Sexual," by Neiked, having been in the charts for the past nineteen weeks. While it may have not made the top five, it is that time of the year again, so you guessed it, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You," has jumped from number ten to number 6 this week. An Irish companys cheerful little product is receiving some major international exposure thanks to Kourney Kardashian. The reality TV star posted a photo of a lovely festive looking miniature door from the Irish Fairy Door Company to her Snapchat. Dear Mason, Happy birthday! Love, the Tooth Fairy, the mother-of-three wrote. Look what just happened! Kourtney Kardashian just featured one of OUR fairy doors on her Snapchat story!! And breathe... the Irish Fairy Door Company said on their Facebook page. The Irish companys director, Niamh Sherwin Barry has described the public endorsement as a dream come true. This time last year we sent three doors to Kourtney for her children and two to her sister Kim, but we weren't sure whether they got them because of the number of people products have to go through before they reach the celebrity, she told the Irish Independent's website today. "So I was in the gym this morning and my friend text me saying I needed to go on Snapchat immediately. I didn't even have Snapchat, so I made an account and nearly fell over when I saw that Kourtney had shared our doors. It's a total dream come true. Money can't buy it. Gucci Mane, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Elbow & Whenyoung are among the supporting cast! Were equal parts happy and sad as we bring you the final Free Music Friday of 2016, a year that has been blighted by the loss of so many of our musical legends, but lit up by the new generation of artists following in their wake. We kick off on a seasonal note with this handsome offering from Picture This. Feck all that X Factor baloney, make Jimmy and Ryan the Irish Xmas No. 1! Richard Thompson has a name your price Acoustic Classics Volume 1 sampler, which includes amazing renditions of I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight and 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Advertisement Another of our favourite Free Music Friday things this week is an early years Best Of from Michael Stipes bezzie, Viv Chesnutt, which celebrates the vinyl re-release of his first four albums. Were loving the look of Beep: A Documentary History Of Game Sound, which goes all the way back to the pinging of Victorian penny arcades, and includes contributions from people involved with such mega-games as Halo, Tomb Raider, Jurassic Park: Operation and Assassins Creed III: Liberation. The accompanying soundtrack is tasty too. Beep (Original Score) by Leonard J. Paul Bountiful as ever, American NPR treats us to Tiny Desk Concerts from Gucci Mane and awesome Sudanese outfit Alsarah & The Nubatones who will blow your ears and minds equally. Advertisement Its a Free Music Friday howaya! to Danielle Duval, a Toronto native whos already big news at home thanks to her T.Rex, LCD Soundsystem and Blondie-inspired glam-ery. Those of a trad disposition will love Hibernia, a 15-tracker from former Celtic Woman fiddler and proud Tipperary woman Mairead Nesbitt. Advertisement Clap Your Hands Say Yeah preview their Fireproof album due in February, indie kids! with the maraca-shaking Fireproof. This weeks eye candy includes hot new vids from DJ Shadow, Bastille, Lady Gaga, Slaves and Elbow. Advertisement Its not even Crimbo yet, but already Free Music Fridays thoughts have turned to 2017 and the delights it will undoubtedly bring. Here are a small handful of the acts certain to be gracing our New Year pages. The fresh-faced hopefuls in question hail from Cobh, Limerick, the Ukraine and Noo Yawk. And thats your Free Music Friday lot for not just the week but, sniff, the year. Thanks to everybody whos clicked on, sent us links and generally made us feel very loved in 2016. Happy Christmas all, and keep bombarding @stuartclark66 with tunes and vids. The Rocky and Rambo star has reportedly been offered a key role in the arts ahead of The Donald's inauguration in January. The Daily Mail has reported that none other than Alister Sylvester Stallone has been courted for the role of Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts by the US President Elect. If rumours are to believed, then Sly would head an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. Long considered a supporter of the Republican Party, having backed John McCains presidential run in 2008, Stallone's popular character Rambo was a favourite of former Republican President Ronald Reagan who, according to the LA Times in 1985, joked that the movie Rambo: First Blood Part II gave him an idea about how to handle a hostage crisis if he is faced with another one. Advertisement Stallone wouldn't be the first of the 80s action legends to land a political career, his Planet Hollywood business partner Arnold Schwarzenegger served as Governor of California and Arnie's Predator costar, WWE legend Jesse Ventura, was elected Governor of Minnesota in 2009. Earlier this year Stallone spoke to Vanity Fair about his prospective new employer: I love Donald Trump, he said. Hes a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I dont know how that translateshe let out a laughto running the world. A Dallas federal judge has approved a $40 million payment by accounting firm BDO USA to settle claims brought by thousands of investors who lost money in R. Allen Stanford's Ponzi scheme. U.S. District Judge David Godbey gave his blessing to the deal despite some defrauded investors lodging objections, arguing that the settlement amount is inadequate and that BDO isn't being sufficiently penalized. "While the court notes the objectors' argument that the settlement amount represents a small fraction of the investors' losses, the court also gives weight to the fact that this amount was not settled in a vacuum," Godbey wrote in his Wednesday ruling. "Under the circumstances present here, $40 million is a fair settlement amount." BDO reached the settlement with lawyers for the receiver appointed to recover money lost in the $7 billion international fraud scheme and attorneys for about 20,000 investors. Release from claims BDO agreed to the payment in return for a release of all claims against it arising from its relationship with Stanford. A BDO spokesman previously said it never audited Stanford International Bank, "the entity where Robert Allen Stanford committed fraud." Rather, the spokesman said that BDO audited an affiliated company and that its financial statements were not alleged to have contained any material misstatements. Stanford is serving a 110-year sentence for the fraud. In 2012, a Houston jury found him guilty of mail and wire fraud in the sale of certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank. In 2013, he was ordered to disgorge more than $6.7 billion in a lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'Cozy relationship' The suit against BDO alleged it had a "cozy relationship" with Stanford Financial Group, "steeped in conflicts of interest and requiring ongoing deceptive and duplicitous manipulation of the facts to enable the Ponzi scheme." Claims against BDO included audit malpractice and aiding and abetting a fraudulent scheme. The plaintiffs' attorneys filed the case on a contingency basis and will receive 25 percent of the settlement, or $10 million. How much each investor will get depends on the size of the investment, but the average award will be about $1,500. "The lawsuit was originally seeking actual damages of $10.7 billion and the proposed settlement of $40 million is less than one-half of 1 percent," an Aruba resident wrote the court in July. "How is this possible? And why are the attorneys accepting such meager amounts." The writer urged the court to obtain "significant settlements for Stanford's victims who are still suffering from this horrible ordeal." Those objecting to the settlement represented 1 percent of all investors, said lawyer Edward Valdespino, part of the team representing investors. The judge indicated that the settlement will be paid by BDO's insurance. "The insurance funds' availability was conceivably the most reliable source of collectible funds," Godbey said. "If the amount sought in litigation exceeded the available insurance amount, it is reasonable to conclude that the excess amount would be more difficult to collect, thus reducing the benefit of not settling." The judge also weighed the costs associated with further litigation and the "strengths and weaknesses" of the claims against BDO before approving the settlement. "The degree to which the amount obtained punishes (BDO's) conduct through an out-of-pocket cost is not a persuasive factor in that analysis," Godbey added. The $40 million payment is the first "significant settlement" for victims after six years, Valdespino said in May when the settlement was disclosed. He added there are numerous other lawsuits against various parties that remain pending. "It sets a precedent for the victims to be able to settle with other defendants," he said. Houston will host the so-called Olympics of the oil and gas sector in 2020 when the World Petroleum Congress comes to the Bayou City. Houston beat out Vancouver to bring the international energy event to the United States for the first time since 1987 - when Houston last played host. The World Petroleum Congress takes place every three years and attracts delegates and top energy executives from more than 70 nations. Houston lost out in its two previous bids against Moscow and Istanbul, which will host in July 2017. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner traveled to Bahrain for the vote and jokingly compared the bid to his three times running for mayor. The World Petroleum Council selected Houston over Vancouver on a 25-10 vote Thursday. Turner emphasized Houston's oil and gas stronghold, as well as the city's diversity - its population speaks 140 different languages and about 25 percent of Houstonians are foreign born. "People come from all over the globe to take advantage of what Houston has to offer," Turner said before the vote. Houston tourism and economic officials are projecting the December 2020 event will attract at least 10,000 people - many top-level energy executives and national oil ministers - and create a local economic impact of $60 million to $80 million during a typically slow time of the year for tourism and conventions. Galen Cobb, chairman of the U.S. WPC Bid Committee and vice president of Halliburton in Houston, touted the Olympics comparison because of the event's international flair and schedule of running every few years. However, unlike the Olympics, Houston already has the infrastructure in place and won't have to build new facilities. "We're overdue," Cobb said in a phone interview from Bahrain. "This is the upper echelon of the oil and gas industry that only meets every three years." The World Petroleum Congress at George R. Brown Convention Center is the second-largest convention event in Houston for the year only behind the annual Offshore Technology Conference at NRG Park. OTC can draw 100,000 people a year, but less than 70,000 in 2016 during the oil bust. The first World Petroleum Congress was 1933 in London and the only other time it's been in the U.S. other than Houston was 1959 in New York. Just London and Moscow have hosted twice. Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau President Mike Waterman estimates the event will create about 45,000 daily hotel room bookings in Houston over four or five days. The World Petroleum Congress is great for attracting companies to Houston and allowing Houston-based energy companies to develop more international partnerships and projects, said Bob Pertierra, chief economic development officer for the Greater Houston Partnership. "The long-term effect of positioning Houston as the energy capital of the world is symbolic and elevates the brand of Houston globally," Pertierra said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Holocaust Museum of Houston is opening its first bilingual English-Spanish exhibition, showcasing the history of a guest-workers program that allowed the United States to maintain its agricultural production during World War II but at high human costs for the Mexican labor, particularly in Texas. The exhibition, entitled "Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964," continues through May 14. Bracero, which means arms or labor force in Spanish, is the popular name given to the Emergency Farm Labor Program between the countries, signed in 1942. It allowed U.S. employers to contract Mexican labor for agriculture and railroad jobs through the program to replace American workers moving to other, better-paid industries that were booming during World War II. The exhibit was originally organized and presented by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and has been presented in several cities across the country. It features 15 freestanding banners highlighting photographs by Leonard Nadel, a photographer who documented the harsh conditions of bracero workers in 1956 to expose employers' violations and improve their living conditions, the museum indicated. More Information 'Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964' Where: The Holocaust Museum's Central Gallery at the Morgan Family Center, 5401 Caroline When: Through May 14 Information: 713-942-8000; hmh.org See More Collapse With the exhibit, "We wanted the public to know more about this program, the men that worked in agriculture during those times and how it shaped the policy and the social landscape in the United States," said Steve Velasquez, an associate curator at the Museum of American History. The Holocaust Museum added local elements to the exhibit, including short documentaries about braceros and their descendants from Houston. Connecting to present "This story is not taught in our schools," said Michelle Tovar, who's in charge of the museum's Spanish outreach and Latin American initiatives. She added that the exhibit "allows people to understand and make connections between our current and past histories as it shows the discrimination and the prejudices that these men went through during that period." Although Mexico and the U.S. signed an agreement establishing decent payment and working and living conditions, they were violated by employers nationwide, particularly in Texas. Initially, Mexico decided its nationals were not going to be sent as braceros to Texas; the state had a bad reputation for its treatment of Mexicans already working there as undocumented laborers. So Texas didn't participate in the program until 1948, six years after it started in California and the rest of the country. Jesus Jessy Esparza, a professor of history at Texas Southern University, says bracero workers were "overworked, underpaid and were viewed as threats to the society." These workers were frequently accused of being a burden on the economy, Esparza said, and were even viewed as potential spies during wartime. At the end of the program, in 1964, a U.S. initiative called Operation Wetback deported millions of braceros who were still under contract or had overstayed their work periods. The Holocaust Museum is particularly relevant, Esparza said, "when we see this kind of trend happening today in the country." Esparza, along with three students from the TSU DigitalStory program, has produced short documentaries about local braceros and their families for the museum's oral history program. Staff at Montrose establishment Anvil Bar & Refuge are making it clear that they will refuse service to anyone who violates their strict policy against "derogatory" or "offensive rhetoric." After an incident involving Houston Chronicle food critic Alison Cook Wednesday, customers at Anvil, 1424 Westheimer, were presumably asked to leave. Cook says she was on the bar patio Wednesday at 8 p.m. for roughly 10 minutes when she heard a patron use the word "c--t." CLOSED: Houston bars & restaurants to bid farewell in 2016 "I didn't say anything, just looked at him, pretty sure my eyes had widened and perhaps my jaw had gone slack. He said to me, 'I'm trying to bring that word back,'" Cook recalls. "I was so astonished that I turned, picked up my handbag, and walked off the porch toward my car, leaving my drink half-finished. I never said a word, just too flummoxed and desperate to get out of there." Cook said that the group included about a half dozen people, and that she "just wanted out," so she retreated to her car. Soon after, she returned to Anvil because she wanted to report the incident with the staff. "I thought about what he had said, and the way the word "c--t" had been weaponized during the campaign, and how he had doubled down on it rather than shrugging it off with a 'sorry,'" she recalls. "I decided to go into the bar and report the incident." MAJOR OPENING: Hugo Ortega unveils inspiration for Xochi Cook says the staff was receptive to her complaint and "handled it beautifully." "As I drove off, I saw the group of guys walking east on Westheimer. They'd been kicked out," she said. "I tweeted about it because I had been so upset, and because the Anvil folks had done something about it. I really admire their recently posted zero-tolerance policy about use of degrading language." Anvil owner Bobby Heugel wrote a letter detailing his bar's strict policy. It reads, in part: "Under no circumstance will any derogatory, disrespectful, or offensive rhetoric towards members of our staff or other patrons be tolerated, especially if those remarks are made in reference to another's race, gender, sexual orientation, religious or non-religious views, or cultural identity. Should you unintentionally offend someone in this manner, we expect that you will immediately apologize. Should you intentionally violate this policy, we will ask you to leave the premises immediately." It goes on to say the policy is "not an attempt to limit political conversations." He adds that he wants his bars to be places where patrons can "politely engage one another's views, and expand their understanding of the various needs and concerns we each have." Heugel adds, in the letter, that this is how they have always operated their bars. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Rame and Russell Hruska stand on a concrete slab over a koi pond in their front yard, explaining the details of their surroundings. An elaborate system collects rainwater - there's an underground storage tank with 1,500 gallons of it - and a bog, filled with philodendrons and other plants, keeps the water filtered and crystal clear. Near the front door are foxtail ferns and society garlic, and across the way is a line of narrow sweetgum trees they hope will soon be in full fall color. The orange-and-white goldfish dart back and forth in the water, but, as the Hruskas tell it, their two sons aren't interested. "They say they want pets with lungs," Russell Hruska said. Back inside, the Hruskas - together they own Intexure Architects, located next door - talk about the home they have dubbed the Tripartite House. "The first floor looks outward, to the community and the street," Rame Hruska explained. "The second floor looks inward, focusing on privacy; and the third floor focuses upward, to the sky." Like other homes of modern design, their Tripartite House is a combination of boxes and planes, inside and out. Their palette of materials reflects nature, and thoughtfully placed windows bring in natural light and beautiful views. Set in Museum Park, within walking distance of Hermann Park, the house is part of a double block of modern homes the Hruskas designed and built. "This area of town is truly the heart of where to be," Russell Hruska said. Theirs was one of the later homes to go up, and the couple and their two young sons lived in space above their studio and offices that they built in 2006. As their business took up more space there, the Hruskas downsized, until the four of them were living in just 650 square feet, or as Russell Hruska called it: "Tokyo style." The couple, whose sons are 4 and 8 years old, has been married 17 years. The University of Houston grads met at a "Blueprint Ball" held by its School of Architecture. He was there as an alumnus and was dateless. She was volunteering at the dance and was at UH earning a master's degree in architecture. He noticed her but knew she was a student and thought she'd be too young. When he learned she was a graduate student, his shyness faded away. Russell Hruska is a fourth-generation Houstonian and is fully invested in UH. He's on the alumnae board now and is past president of the School of Architecture alumnae board. Living just five minutes from campus, the couple attends most sporting events there. 'Highly curated' space Early in their marriage, each move to a new home somehow ended up with the couple having less space rather than more. When they were in what little living space was left at Intexure, they called it a "highly curated" environment, buying only what they needed and keeping it organized and tidy. "We experienced what it meant to live in a small space and having every detail planned. We edited what we had to fit in that space," Rame Hruska said. "We have an amazing amount of storage now, but we took that lesson forward in a way that's effective for what we need, not just accumulating stuff. It's about having the right amount of space in the right place." A year ago, they moved into their current 4,400-square-foot home, in a neighborhood that's a mix of new and old - some homes there date to the 1920s. Their Tripartite House is a culmination of the best of both of their skills. They designed it together, but Russell was in charge of construction and Rame took control of interior design. Its palette is neutral, a mix of steel, concrete, wood and natural stone tile. There are more elegant parts, such as Poggenpohl cabinetry that opens upward with a light touch and Hansgrohe plumbing fixtures that sparkle like bathroom jewelry. In various parts of the house, including a prominent place in the living room, wood was used as forms for pouring a concrete wall. So its faux bois look is actually a natural impression, or memory, of the wood. Raw steel surrounds a fireplace, and a steel support beam was left bare as a reminder of the authenticity of building materials in modern homes. Their living room blends into the dining area and kitchen in one fell swoop, with lighting, rugs and a partition wall as visual identification that they've moved from one space to another. Future needs in mind More personal space is on the second floor, with bedrooms and bathrooms as well as a media room and play space in between. A toy table in the center is flanked by a tall bookcase with sliding doors. For their older son, the space also has become a place to do homework. Someday this room will be a library, and that cabinet, currently filled with crates of toys, will be lined with books for grown-ups. The media room is filled with scrunchy Michel Ducaroy seating, but the Hruskas imagine that, as their boys get older, it will become a game room. Though bedroom spaces are simple and pared down, the accompanying bathroom spaces are more luxurious. The boys' bedrooms are mirrors of each other: One is blue with a little green, the other is green with a little blue. And each has his own full bathroom. (They won't be little boys forever.) A bamboo-lined balcony looks into the master bathroom, where modern faucets and sloped sinks are their own work of art. A curvy tub sits in front of a gleaming glass-tile wall. The fun stuff Their home's third story comes in two parts, both meant for fun. A secret staircase - tap a second-floor wall and it opens right up - leads to a room filled with light from a skylight. Initially it was a room where Rame Hruska made jewelry, but as her sons' needs changed, they took it over. This is where they keep their vast Lego collection, and no one minds if they're less than tidy. The other section is accessible from another, visible, staircase that leads to a media room that can transition to a bedroom if needed. For now, it's a place where they hold parties, as it opens to a rooftop patio where they've hosted 90 people or more for a dinner party. From this space, they can watch Fourth of July fireworks or the evening swarm of bats that fly out from under the Waugh Drive bridge. There's patio space on the ground floor, too, and a concrete fire pit they use when the weather cools down. Their older son recently celebrated a birthday, and the backyard was filled with his pals, their parents and a few others who just wanted to join the fun. The Hruskas had rented a projector to show "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" on the side of their home, 30 feet tall and 40 feet wide. "It was really like being at a drive-in," Rame Hruska said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Doctors in Baton Rouge said Nick Tullier would never recover. The Louisiana sheriff's deputy had survived a bullet to the head one of six officers shot in 10 minutes by a gunman this summer but the damage to his brain appeared irreversible. Tullier, physicians said, would likely spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state. Eyes open, staring at the ceiling, never to regain consciousness. His family didn't believe that, and last month they brought him to TIRR Memorial Hermann, one of the nation's premier rehabilitation centers. Doctors here offered a different outlook. Within a few days, they determined that, not only was it possible Tullier could recover, but that he was already conscious and had been for weeks. For his loved ones, it was as if Tullier, 41, had been brought back to life. "A miracle," his father, James Tullier called it this week. Such stories are routine at TIRR, said Dr. Sunil Kothari, director of the hospital's disorders of consciousness program and a professor of rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine. They hear it all the time, he said, a variation of the same line: "But, the doctors told us this could never happen." That's what makes TIRR one of the best in the country at treating critical brain injuries: The ability to accurately diagnose a patient's level of consciousness. It's a rapidly developing science, Kothari said, one that isn't yet applied at most hospitals across the country. He estimates four out of every five patients arriving at TIRR who've been diagnosed as vegetative are actually awake and aware but unable to communicate. Just five or 10 years ago, he said, even TIRR's highly trained physicians might not have noticed the subtle cues a flicker in the eye, a subtle head movement that can signal that a patient is awake. On Tullier's second day at the rehab hospital, his therapists got him up and out of bed and soon found that, while upright, he could move his head slightly forward and to the side and quickly went to work teaching him to control the motions to answer questions. Forward meant, "Yes." To the side meant, "No." Within hours, he was communicating. Turns out, his family was right: He really had been listening for weeks as they sat at his bedside in Baton Rouge, talking and praying with him. He even knew they'd taken him to Texas. Now, with help, Tullier gets dressed and out of bed everyday for the beginning stages of what will likely be years of physical therapy, said Julie Welch, rehabilitation manager for the brain injury and stroke programs at TIRR Memorial Hermann, describing the process of stirring consciousness as "somewhat of a fine art." TIRR has helped a number of high-profile patients over the years, including U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who came for physical therapy after she was shot in the head in 2011. Less attention, though, has been paid to the hospital's disorders of consciousness program. Each year, the hospital sees about 50 patients like Tullier, said Katherine O'Brien, a clinical neuropsychologist. She recalled a recent patient who'd spent a year at a nursing home, thought to be in a permanent vegetative state, after being crushed under a car. His wife brought him to TIRR and discovered that he'd been conscious all along. "It happens all the time," O'Brien said. But even they were surprised by how quickly Tullier has progressed in so little time. "Nick is doing remarkably well," Kothari said, considering all that he'd been through. "We had no hope," James Tullier said. "Nick wasn't supposed to survive one day, two days, five days. And now, look at all he's accomplished." The gunman who shot him, 29-year-old Gavin Long, ambushed and shot five other officers in Baton Rouge on July 17, killing three of them, before police gunned him down. Tullier was shot in the head and abdomen. His brain was further damaged in the aftermath by a lack of blood flow, as paramedics repeatedly restarted his heart. Despite his incredible progress, there's no telling whether he'll recover further. Some patients "hit a wall," Kothari said, and never recover beyond a state of minimal consciousness. Others recover so completely, he said, they eventually return to work. Tullier seems determined to get better. Without fail during physical therapy, when staff ask if he wants to keep going, Tullier leans his head forward, signaling "Yes." Dad isn't surprised. His boy has always been a fighter, he said. He thought back to a decade ago, when his son crashed into a car on his police motorcycle, sending him flying 60 feet through the air and crashing into pavement. His son recovered from those injuries; he'll recover from these, he said. "You want to know who's strong? Nick," said James Tullier, wearing a green T-shirt with the hashtag "#tullierstrong. "He's got that will power. It's in his head. He's the fighter. He's the strong one." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Facebook.com/Galveston County Sheriffs Office Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Show More Show Less An inmate who escaped from Galveston County Jail while taking out the trash on Monday is back in police custody. According to the Madison County Sheriff's, Dominic Potter was taken into custody at around noon on Friday. Madisonville Police Department received a call of a man on foot acting suspicious at the Buc-ees store. Officers confirmed that the man was Potter. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate When Houston police officers shot and killed an armed man standing in a street intersection this summer, officers' body cameras taped the incident - but the recordings didn't start until after the man had been shot. The video released to the public didn't convince skeptics that police were telling the truth about the man allegedly pointing his gun at the officers. And critics questioned whether the department's homicide division could investigate the officer-related shooting death objectively. After just two weeks on the job, Art Acevedo, Houston's new police chief, is calling for two major changes in department policy to improve transparency. He wants body cameras to start recording automatically when police officers exit their vehicles, and he plans to create a specialized unit this spring that will investigate officer-related shootings and alleged wrongdoing by police. "To me the relationship between a police department and a community starts with legitimacy," Acevedo told the Houston Chronicle this week. "Cameras and the way we investigate officer-involved shootings is absolutely the most important aspect of what we do to build that legitimacy and to build that trust. That's why I'm starting there." Both proposals drew praise from local civil rights groups, though some activists said the investigation of police shootings shouldn't be left to their fellow officers. An official with the Houston Police Officers Union expressed tentative support for Acevedo's plan to establish a special investigations unit, so long as the department's top detectives are assigned to it. "Any time our officers use deadly force, we want our best investigators on that case," said Joe Gamaldi, the group's second vice president. Under increasing scrutiny The police chief's proposals come at a time when HPD is under increasing scrutiny over police shootings. In a federal lawsuit, the father of an unarmed mentally ill man who was shot and killed by an HPD officer broadly challenges the department's internal review process and argues that officials have established a custom of condoning lethal force by ruling all intentional shootings - more than 150 incidents since 2010, according to HPD statistics - to be justified "even when officers' statements conflict with other evidence or independent witness accounts." This summer's shooting of Alva Braziel was one of the most recent cases. Police say he pointed a gun at two officers who found him in the middle of the street about midnight, but the officers did not activate their body cameras until after they had already fired the shots that killed him. His widow, Nikki Braziel, said in July that the video recording "did not show (him) waving a gun or pointing a gun." She said she believes the shooting was unnecessary. Automatically activated body cameras could help prevent situations like the Braziel case in which critical moments are not captured on video. Acevedo said they also would simplify things for police. "When an officer turns a corner and they see a person being shot or assaulted or stabbed, the last thing they should be worrying about is hitting a button," he said. Along with the camera policy, Acevedo said he plans to change how the department handles officer-involved shootings and other criminal investigations of police. "Hopefully by the end of the first quarter, we'll be establishing a special investigations unit that will be handling officer-involved shootings and officer-involved criminal allegations," Acevedo said. At a meeting Thursday, the chief said he hopes the new unit will launch in April as part of a larger reorganization. Currently, officer-involved shootings are investigated by three entities: HPD's homicide and internal affairs units, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The new unit, whose members Acevedo says he will "hand-select," would investigate officer-involved shootings, taking the place of homicide detectives. "It's a matter of prioritizing their limited bandwidth," Acevedo said, noting that each year homicide investigators get about 45 officer-involved shootings added to their load of 300 or so murder cases. Cost concerns Philip Hilder, a member of the city's Independent Police Oversight Board and a former federal prosecutor, said he thought a specialized unit would be more effective and "create the independence that is sorely needed." But Randall Kallinen, a civil rights attorney, said investigations still lack credibility so long as it's "the police investigating the police." Acevedo has the authority to create the new unit, but funding and contracting for the automatically activated cameras may prove challenging. Brenda Stardig, who chairs the City Council's public safety committee, said she's always favored body cameras but is concerned about the pricetag. The council approved a $3.4 million contract with body-camera company Watchguard in November 2015. The total cost for the 4,100 cameras - the first wave of which was deployed in April - is pegged at $8 million for the first five years, including expenses for data storage. The new chief is researching the additional cost of acquiring automatically activated body cameras and determining whether those the city has already purchased could be modified, HPD spokesman John Cannon said. Civil rights advocates expressed support for the chief's proposals. "In a couple of shootings in Houston, we haven't had recordings because the police officer forgot to turn on the body cam," said James Matthew Douglas, the NAACP Houston president and also interim dean of Texas Southern University's law school. Matthew Simpson, a senior policy strategist with ACLU of Texas, said he worked with Acevedo on a similar proposal in Austin - implementation has been held up by a purchasing dispute - and added that research shows both officers and civilians have fewer complaints when body cameras are present. Acevedo was previously the police chief of Austin. Gamaldi, with the officers' union, also expressed concerns about additional costs. "Though we don't oppose anything that makes it easier for our officers to turn their body cameras on, we do believe this may be a knee-jerk reaction to recent events and that once our officers have more time with the equipment, it will become second nature to turn their cameras on," he said. "The estimated cost to outfit the department with automatic triggers is well over $1 million, and we believe that money would be much better spent on manpower and vehicles." Building trust Even if the change happens, Kallinen said the automatic recordings would not automatically improve transparency. "If no one ever sees it, what's ever done about it?" he said. "The system is no good if the public cannot access it." Police departments nationwide have been navigating uncharted waters when deciding if or when to release such videos, which can be used against the city in civil lawsuits. Last year, then-Houston Police Chief Charles A. McClelland said that Texas law only allows for videos to be released after a shooting has been fully adjudicated. Acevedo said he aims to build more trust between police and the community, including with critics and skeptics. "I think our relationship is good," Acevedo said. "But a relationship, just like any marriage, is work. You cannot take it for granted." St. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report. AUSTIN -- A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new state rule that requires fetal remains resulting from an abortion or miscarriage be buried or cremated regardless of the length of gestation or the woman's wishes. The temporary restraining order by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks will prevent the Texas Department of State Health Services from imposing the requirement that abortion rights advocates labeled an unconstitutional barrier to abortion and an unnecessary burden on women who choose to have one. "The rule is intended to send a message to the Supreme Court that Texas is going to defy them and it's to send a message to women that the state's ideology is more important than women's liberty," said David Brown, senior staff attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a national abortion rights advocacy organization that sued the state to block the rule. Officials at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission set the new rule to go into effect Dec. 19, requiring for the first time that fetal remains from an abortion, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy be treated differently from other human waste and be disposed of via cremation or burial. The state initially argued the rule ensures the dignity of human life and later justified the new disposal methods as an effort to protect the public from disease. Sparks expressed skepticism of the state's position from the start of the hearing, often cutting off the state's attorney who argued the new rule would ensure the dignity of the fetus. The judge repeatedly remarked on the state's timing in proposing the rule less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down major provisions of Texas' restrictive abortion law last summer. "That just happened to be four days after the Supreme Court" decision, he said, which "makes this Scotch-Irish boy a little bit curious." Citing a heavy workload, the judge told the Houston Chronicle before the hearing he did not expect to rule from the bench Thursday, saying, "I can't imagine having an inspiration of how to rule in these regulations." Sparks issued the temporary restraining order after the state's lawyers refused at the end of the hearing to agree to hold off enforcement of the rule for three weeks until the court could hear and rule on the case. He said he could not recall a time when the state refused such a request by the court, then grimaced at the state's attorneys and said, "I'll remember it." Sparks said he is interested in hearing more about how the new rule will affect women and abortion clinics. He said he also wants the state to explain the public health benefit it cites to validate the change in how fetal tissue is disposed of. The new rules adopted by the state apply to fetal remains collected at health centers, including hospitals and abortion clinics. It does not apply to abortions or miscarriages that occur at home or outside a facility. More than nine of 10 reported abortions in Texas were performed during the first trimester, according to 2014 data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Within those first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus ranges from the size of a poppy seed to roughly the size of a lime. Currently, the remains are treated as other medical waste and incinerated, buried or disposed of in a sanitary landfill or ground up and washed down a sanitary sewer. The new rule would limit disposal to cremation and burial. The Center for Reproductive Rights sued the state Monday on behalf of several Texas abortion providers. The organization contends that requiring health centers provide for the burial or cremation of fetal remains is intended to decrease access to abortion by driving up the cost and to shame women. According to Brown, all but one of the 19 abortion clinics in the state dispose of fetal remains by incineration followed by disposal in sanitary landfills. The other opts for a steam disinfectant and also disposes of the remains in a sanitary landfill. He called the state's argument "dubious" that the limited number of vendors that can perform the cremation and burial needed in the state. The lack of vendors will force clinics and women to contract with funeral homes that can charge up to $2,000 for services, Brown said. Lawyers defending the state said holding up the new rule does not constitute an emergency, as required for a temporary restraining order. Gov. Greg Abbott takes credit for pushing for the fetal burial rule, saying the regulation would preserve the dignity of life. He said he began talking to the Department of State Health Services about instituting the new rule months before the U.S. Supreme Court decision. The rule first emerged in the Texas Register on July 1, days after the U.S. Supreme Court shot down major provisions of Texas' 2013 abortion law as medically unnecessary barriers to the procedure. The court struck requirements that abortion clinics adhere to costly standards of ambulatory surgical centers and require physicians who perform abortions to obtain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The justices also said new restrictions must have a public health benefit. The state conducted a series of public hearings and collected about 35,000 public comments on the new rule. After proposing the rule as one to honor human life, the Texas Department of State Health Services added language to clarify the rule was intended as a public health measure to help prevent the spread of disease. In court, however, Texas Department of State Health Services attorney John Langley called public health "a side issue" to providing for the dignity of the fetus. "Just don't put it in the place where you put the trash," Langley said. "Respectfully, your honor, I don't see what's wrong with it." The parties will return to court Jan. 3 for two days of oral arguments. The judge said he expects to decide before Jan. 6 whether to let the rule go into effect. AUSTIN - A state district judge on Thursday ordered a "Charlie Brown Christmas" decoration at a Killeen school restored after a principal ordered it taken down over a biblical message that educators said could be offensive. The effect of the ruling by Judge Jack Jones could be short-lived. Classes end for the year at noon Friday. Following an hourlong hearing, Jones ruled that the door display featuring the "Peanuts" character Linus and his explanation of why Christmas matters, should be put back up with an added label: "Ms. Shannon's holiday message," according to officials who were present at the hearing. Nurse's aide Dedra Shannon had put up the display on her office door at Patterson Middle School on Dec. 5, and the principal two days later ordered it removed because it contained a version of the biblical message that Linus had spoken in the classic show. School officials insisted the display violated state law, specifically Texas' so-called "Merry Christmas Law," because it encouraged adherence to a particular religion. That law was enacted in 2013 to allow references to the annual holiday in schools and government offices, and to curb what supporters at the time called a "War on Christmas." Legal challenges regarding Christmas displays in recent years have become an annual rite for state officials, who have gone to court over Nativity scenes and Christmas trees on public property, and to overturn prohibitions on references to Christmas at some school districts. "Our employees are free to celebrate the Christmas and holiday season in the manner of their choosing," the district said in a statement at the time the controversy erupted. "However, employees are not permitted to impose their personal beliefs on students. The display in question was a six-foot-plus tall door decoration in the main hallway of the school building, and included a reference to a Bible verse covering much of the door. Upon review, it is clear that this display was not in keeping with the Merry Christmas Bill ... which requires that a display not encourage adherence to a particular religion." AG sued over 'censorship' Despite protests from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and community activists that the decision smacked of being "politically correct," the Killeen school board on Tuesday upheld the removal of the decoration by a 6-1 vote. Paxton intervened in a suit against the district Thursday, seeking a restraining order to allow the display to go back up on Friday, the last day of school this semester. In his ruling, the judge said that adding the disclaimer to the display would clear up any perceived endorsement of religion by the district. In his filing, Paxton characterized the removal as "censorship" and asked the judge to allow the display to be put back up. "Contrary to the decision of KISD, the inclusion of Bible verses or religious messages on student or teacher-sponsored holiday decorations does not violate Texas law," the filing in Bell County district court stated. "To the contrary, Texas law prohibits KISD from expressing hostility toward religious messages, and it also specifically encourages school districts to take a more inclusive approach to religious and secular celebrations." Shannon had put up a homemade decoration on her office door depicting the Peanuts character Linus saying, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." Linus made the comment after being asked if anyone knew what Christmas is all about. Killeen school officials had no immediate comment on the judge's ruling. Meaning of religious freedom "Religious discrimination toward Christians has become a holiday tradition of sorts among certain groups," Paxton said in a statement after the judge's decision. "I am glad to see that the court broke through the left's rhetorical fog and recognized that a commitment to diversity means protecting everyone's individual religious expression." Supporters of the display claimed victory. "Nothing says 'Merry Christmas' like a court victory for religious freedom in December in public schools," said Jonathan Saenz, Shannon's attorney and president of Texas Values, a conservative group that advocates for traditional family values. "Ms. Shannon is a brave and faithful woman that we are honored to represent. This scenario is exactly why the Merry Christmas law was written- to protect teachers, staff, and students in their expression of the Christmas season." Saenz filed the suit that Paxton intervened in. A spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Texas, which has cautioned against bringing religious celebrations into schools, was less enthusiastic. "The point is that you don't want to make some children feel excluded because of their religion," said Terri Burke, the Houston-based executive director of the ACLU in Texas. "We need to be respectful of the children, whether they are Jewish or Muslim or Christian or atheist, not put them in a position of feeling left out." At least Gov. Greg Abbott didn't hold his press conference this week at the door of a women's restroom, a pistol in one hand and a Bible in the other, the skirted-woman restroom symbol prominent on the wall behind him. Actually, we're expecting some such stunt from the lieutenant governor, Houston's own Dan Patrick, as we get closer to the opening of the 2017 legislative session. Abbott on Tuesday adopted a wait-and-see approach to Patrick's signature legislation, his so-called Women's Privacy Act prohibiting transgender people from using the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity. Abbott's more measured perspective - one he seems to share with House Speaker Joe Straus - is what passes for progressive politics in our fervid-red Lone Star State. The governor listed "four pillars" that will guide his assessment of legislation: freedom, economic opportunity, educational advancement, and safety and security. His own obeisance to the ideologues during his wide-ranging discussion came, not surprisingly, in the form of the hoary shibboleth: "I want to see tax cuts." Tax reform, yes, particularly reform of the ineffectual business franchise tax and the energy margins tax, but at a time when the state faces long-neglected needs and skimpier-than-usual resources, mostly because of lower oil and gas prices, tax cuts should be far down the governor's list of priorities. The governor said - again, not surprisingly - that he supports a review of property tax relief, but if he's truly interested in easing the property-tax burden, he has a relatively simple fix: He could insist that big business pay its fair share to meet the needs of this state. Instead of tax cuts or transgender bathroom bills or a host of other blood pressure-spiking issues - more guns, less abortion - Abbott could legitimately declare the coming session "the year of the child." A host of major issues lawmakers should be addressing during the 140-day session directly affect the well-being of Texas youngsters. The big one, of course, involves reforming how we finance our schools in the wake of a court ruling that the system we rely on now is legal, but barely. Lawmakers need to fix school finance, but that's certainly not the only child-centric concern demanding attention. Lawmakers need to overhaul the state's alarmingly inadequate child protective services, find ways of making college more affordable, increase resources we allocate to pre-kindergarten, make sure that families with children who need special education get the assistance they need, protect the state's health insurance program for children (CHIP) from further cuts and provide greater Texans young and not-so-young access to workforce training. Those efforts are what wise and sensible Texans - call them old-fashioned conservative Texans, if you will - recognize as investments. They're investments in our children, investments in our state, investments in our shared future. Incredulous Regarding "Distraught parents plead for kids' special ed" (Wednesday, Page A1), the story notes the sad, shameful cap on the several thousand Texas public school students who cannot get the help they desperately need from specially focused training and classwork. Contemptibly, Texas ranks last, lowest in per-child special ed spending. And that shame is far from our GOP state legislators' only outrage against public school children and their parents. First, consider that pre-kindergarten 3 and 4, kindergarten and first grade are the most important four years in everyone's education! It is in those first years that children build and adopt the habits and groundwork of language that informs and shapes their learning from kindergarten through graduate school - or not, if omitted! Nevertheless, our state legislators refuse to make pre-K 3 and 4 available in all schools. And two years ago they did direct harm to all 5 million-plus Texas public school students through their stop on class size limits! The special ed cap indefensibly injures thousands. The denial of pre-K 3 and 4 and class size limits hurt millions. But all these offenses accomplish what our legislators clearly consider their chief duty in Austin - cutting taxes! Bart Busker, Houston Strict guidelines Regarding "Abbott floats school choice as solution to special ed frustration" (Chron.com), vouchers take money away from public schools where I believe is the best place for my child with a disability. The money needs to stay in public schools. I am counting on the Department of Education to help the TEA (Texas Education Agency) address and fix special education in Texas. Not only have thousands of children been left out of special education in Texas, the state hasn't been following any sort of federal guidelines as entitled to our kids through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) law. Jane Friou, via Facebook Fourth estate Thank you so much for continuing to bring us in-depth coverage of the special education crisis in Texas. Every time I read another article or column on this issue I am struck by the power of rigorous journalism. Your incisive reporting has gotten the attention of the U.S. Department of Education. That's a major coup! Perhaps there really is hope for justice for these vulnerable children. In this age of "fake news," news "aggregators" and contempt for the news media expressed at the highest levels of our incoming presidency, quality journalism will be more important than ever. Anne E. Geyer, Houston The Missouri Department of Conservation has approved turkey and deer hunting seasons for 2017. At its Dec. 16 meeting in Jefferson City, the commission approved recommendations from the Missouri Department of Conservation. The dates are: SPRING TURKEY HUNTING Youth: April 8-9. Regular season: April 17 May 7. FALL TURKEY HUNTING Archery: Sept. 15 Nov. 10 and Nov. 22 through Jan. 15, 2018. Firearms: Oct. 1-31. FALL DEER HUNTING Archery: Sept. 15 Nov. 10 and Nov. 22 through Jan. 15, 2018. Early youth firearms: Oct. 28-29. Firearms: Nov. 11-21. Late youth firearms: Nov. 24-26. Firearms anterless: Dec. 1-3. Firearms alternative methods: Dec. 23 Jan. 2, 2018. Details on hunting regulations, harvest limits, allowed methods, required permits and other related information will be available in the departments 2017 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet and the 2017 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet. Both will be available before the related seasons where permits are sold. For more information on deer and turkey hunting as well as other outdoor opportunities, visit mdc.mo.gov and click on Hunting/Trapping on the homepage. Ten students from Dr. Kathy Morrisons American Democracy and Citizenship (PLS 101) classes at Missouri State University-West Plains saw democracy in action first hand when they served as deputy clerks and election judges in area counties during the Nov. 8 General Election. Through this service-learning project, which Morrison has offered to her political science students during election years since 2006, participants gained a better understanding of the countrys election process through the various tasks they were assigned, including directing voters to the proper check-in lines at the polls, helping voters fill out change-of-address forms, reminding voters to have their IDs ready, and in some instances, counting ballots. This has been an extremely successful project, Morrison said. It not only benefits the individual student, but also our county clerks by providing workers at the polls on election day. Any time we can get our students out of the classroom and into an actual experience with government, it is a positive. To participate, students had to be registered voters and in good standing as citizens. They also had to submit a resume of their work, school or other experience along with a brief essay explaining why they wanted to be selected for the project. Those selected then attended election orientation training at the county clerks office to learn the nuts and bolts of the election process. Following the election, participants submitted a two to three page essay to Morrison describing their experience at the polls to earn 30 public service points in their class. This is serious business, and doing a good job matters, Morrison said. In the past, our students have been so effective in their work at the polls that the polling judges have specifically asked for them to come back the next election cycle and serve again. This is service learning at its most effective level in that it provides both a real service to our community and also to our students by allowing them to participate officially in the most important institution of our democracy elections. Howell County Clerk Dennis VonAllmen agreed, calling the program a win-win situation for all parties involved. In large elections in the large polling locations, the students are very beneficial. If we did not have them, we would be out in the community trying to find individuals to fill these roles, he said. For the Nov. 8 election, over 65 percent of the 27,007 registered voters in Howell County cast ballots, he said. The main focus of what we ask these students to do is to help us in facilitating people through the lines, he said. When you have a large precinct, just a few seconds can make a huge difference in moving the line along. Seven of the 10 students who participated Nov. 8 worked in the larger precincts for Howell County: Shelby Collins, Vanzant; Ciara Hogsett, Willow Springs; Dustin Winslow and Alexandra Waggoner, both of West Plains; and Misty Dickerson, Brittany Farias and Kelly Alcorn, all of Mountain View. Six of the students assisted at the polls, while one served as an election judge, VonAllmen said. I think the students enjoy it, he said. Its a long day, but the feedback weve received has been very positive. Theyve not seen the election process up close like this before. For Collins, a first time voter and poll worker on Nov. 8, the experience was eye opening. When I first walked in, I thought, Oh my! she said. I wasnt sure how it worked. But I thought it was very well organized and professional. It gave me a better idea of the process. Collins worked in Howell 1 precinct at the First Church of God in West Plains. She said she greeted voters and directed them to the correct line to pick up their ballots. She also helped some voters insert ballots correctly in the counting machine and, for 20 to 30 voters, assisted them with filling out the name change and/or change-of-address forms. I helped some who hadnt voted in a long time, she said. I really enjoyed it and would definitely do it again. The people were very friendly and professional. As a first time voter, Collins said she thought it was interesting the ballot did not include all of the information for the statewide constitutional amendments. You really need to be informed on those issues before entering the polls, she said. The remaining three students who participated in the project worked in other counties. Thomas Pointer, a dual credit student at Gainesville High School, worked at the Ozark County Clerks office; Katelyn Townsend, Nixa, served in Christian County; and Tosha Gransee, West Plains, worked in Oregon County. Pointer, who also voted in his first election Nov. 8, said he arrived at the Ozark County Clerks office shortly before the polls closed and helped take down the voting booths, collect ballots and data from all of the precincts, and count absentee ballots and votes cast for write-in candidates. It was much more interesting and exciting than I thought it would be, he said. While many of the write-in votes werent counted because they werent official write-in candidates, it was interesting to see so many who were dissatisfied with their choices. Also, seeing the high percentage of voters casting ballots made me hopeful for the future. Over 60 percent of Ozark Countys registered voters cast ballots, he added. Theres a lot that goes on after the polls close that I didnt know about, he said. All of the write-in votes are counted by hand, which took up a significant portion of my time, and all of the absentee ballots had to be opened and run through the machine. Building up to the election, I heard a lot about rigged elections. Being there assured me its not rigged or hacked and that American democracy is working. Thats exactly the type of knowledge Morrison hopes her students gain from the experience. It increases their value for our democracy because they have seen how it works and how very careful and fair our elections are at both recording and tallying votes and reporting totals to the Missouri Secretary of State, she said. This experience helps students take their place in our democracy, to feel ownership and responsibility for it. They know their vote counts because they have participated in the process by which they are counted. Morrison also hopes it generates a lifelong participation in the democratic process. The future of our democracy will be secure only if the younger generations step up and do their part, she said. I hope all of them will someday run for public office and that their enthusiasm for the political process spreads to their families and communities. They should never believe that our votes do not count, because they have seen that they do. An online exclusive is an article or story that does not run in the print edition of the Houston Herald. Typically 2-3 are posted online every Wednesday morning. Its another feature designed for users who purchase full web access from the Herald. Click here to subscribe for print, digital or both. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. A Canadian beauty pageant queen is getting another shot at the Miss World title after she was barred entry to China to compete in last years finals. Miss World Canada Anastasia Lin, 26, was denied a visa by the Chinese government but was never given a reason. At the time, she believed it was connected to her criticism of human rights abuses in China. Advertisement Because she could not represent Canada last year, Lin has held onto the title of Miss World Canada and is currently in Washington, D.C. for this year's finals. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that officials with the pageant which is sponsored by Chinese corporations were trying to muzzle her. However, Lin spoke to The Huffington Post Canada on Thursday and clarified those reports. Im free to speak whatever I want to speak, she said in a phone interview. She pointed out that Wednesday was the first day media could speak with all pageant contestants, not just her. Advertisement Lin said she was even excused from participating in Miss World rehearsals despite it being a contractual obligation that evening to attend the U.S. premiere of her film, The Bleeding Edge. Directed by Peabody Award-winning director Leon Lee, the film focuses on forced government-run organ harvesting programs in China. It was financed with Canadian provincial and federal tax credits. 'She is a free person' Julia Morley, CEO of the London-based Miss World Organization, told The Hollywood Reporter earlier that she did not block Lin from attending the premiere. She is a free person to do exactly what she wishes to do, she said. In the email statement obtained by HuffPost Canada, Morley repeated she has no wish to stop contestants from doing what they want to do. She added, However Ms. Lin did sign and agree at the beginning of the contest to say she would attend all our functions and rehearsals until after the final show. Advertisement In a previous HuffPost interview, Lin said her advocacy work began after her mother gave her reading materials about Falun Gong, a banned spiritual movement in China since 1999. Its followers have been arrested and tortured. Awareness campaigns in North America often feature practitioners meditating in front of posters showing alleged abuse of Falun Gong members. Its been interesting. Its been difficult. I have grown a lot. Lin, who became a Canadian citizen after leaving China as a teen, said her pageant titles have given her an irresistible platform to draw attention to her native countrys human rights record. But the journey hasnt been a particularly easy one. Its been interesting. Its been difficult. I have grown a lot, she said, adding shes looking forward to working on her acting career after the Miss World pageant finals on Sunday. Advertisement With previous files Also on HuffPost A B.C. man has been arrested on a peace bond under the suspicion that he might commit an act of terrorism. Khalid Ahmed Ibrahim, 39, caused a "fear of terrorism" on December 8, according to documents obtained by Vice News. Advertisement A peace bond is essentially a type of restraining order. It can impose conditions on a person such as prohibiting them from leaving the country, forcing them to surrender any weapons they own and not allowing them to access the internet. Ibrahim's bail conditions include that he must live with his mother, not leave B.C., not possess knives or alcohol, maintain a 6 p.m. curfew, not access the internet and attend counselling, Vice reported. Police have sought 19 peace bonds since last year When Canada's anti-terrorism bill passed last year, it made it easier to apply a peace bond than to charge or convict a suspect. Since then, police have sought 19 terrorism peace bonds from the courts, according to the National Post. Advertisement Some legal experts fear these peace bonds make it easier to arrest and impose conditions on people who haven't committed any crimes. "In particular, we're concerned that by doing this, we're normalizing these exceptional powers, and the case hasn't been made that they're needed," Sukanya Pillay, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, told CBC News. "... we're concerned that by doing this, we're normalizing these exceptional powers, and the case hasn't been made that they're needed." Aaron Driver was perhaps the most well-known subject of a terrorism peace bond. The Ontario man was killed in a police confrontation when he set off an explosive device in Strathroy, Ont. in August. At the time, he was under a peace bond that prohibited him from using a computer or cell phone. Ibrahim's peace bond is pending. He is set to appear in provincial court in New Westminster, B.C. on Dec. 20. Advertisement Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost The Obama family's final official holiday card is lovely, and some of the credit goes to our prime minister. The photo featured on this year's card, taken by the White House's official photographer Pete Souza, was captured on Justin Trudeau's request. Advertisement Souza shared the story behind the photo on Instagram Thursday. "A couple of months ago, the Social Office came to me and said they were thinking of using a family photo for this year's White House holiday card. So I thought of Justin Trudeau," he wrote. The photo was taken in March, the night the Obamas hosted Trudeau for a state dinner in Washington. While America's first family had already snapped a few photos before Trudeau arrived, the prime minister insisted on just a few more as they hung out inside the White House's Truman Balcony. Souza obliged to be polite little did he know the photo would end up on their card. Advertisement While most people are loving this year's card, others aren't too pleased with the family's decision to omit the word Christmas again. Several conservative politicians slammed the family for not acknowledging the Christian holiday, and opting for a more inclusive "Happy Holidays" message. You can't please everyone. But the card will probably put a smile on Obama's bro, and our prime minister's face. Follow The Huffington Post Canada on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also on HuffPost One of the greatest perks to being president of the United States is perhaps the ability to recycle the same joke even if your audience has heard it time and time again. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a Montreal radio station on Friday that Barack Obama is guilty of such brazen comedic crimes. Advertisement Ive been to a couple dinners at the White House now and Obama always uses the same joke and its always very, very funny, Trudeau said. Hes like, I hope you enjoy dinner, Ive been cooking all day. Funny guy, the 44th president of the United States. Obama hosted Trudeau for a state dinner in March the first time a U.S. president has done so for a sitting Canadian prime minister in 19 years. The menu, inspired by the anticipation of spring, was a nod to the special relationship between the two countries. Advertisement Trudeau also told CHOM 97.7 hosts Terry DiMonte and Heather Backman more about the phone call he gave to president-elect Donald Trump upon news of his win. The prime minister admitted there was a brief hesitation whether his office should call Trump before it was decided, Of course we should. He and the president-elect talked about being knocked around by the media, Trudeau said. The prime minister quipped its an experience hes had for years and its also the little bit of common ground he has with Trump. Also on HuffPost In a teenage world of snaps and texts, there are certain words that stick out in the pack. When it came to the slang word department in 2016, teens recycled words, came up with new definitions and used plenty of emojis to describe them. And while we can't capture all the popular words this year, some do deserve honourable mention. "The dab," a popular dance craze made even more trendy after rapper Migos' "Look At My Dab," instantly became a meme this year and last. Advertisement Phrases and memes like "damn Daniel," were also popular. But 2016 in general has been quite the rocky year, even in the world of words. In November, Dictionary.com announced "xenophobia" as their word of the year, following events like the Brexit vote, police violence against people of colour, and the U.S. presidential election. The Brexit vote and U.S. election also lead to the Oxford Dictionary's word of the year: post-truth. A jovial Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped by a Montreal radio station on Friday and called referenda bad things to happen. Trudeau recalled a conversation he had with former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi about Brexit and consequently David Camerons resignation. The comments to Renzi were made before Italy held a vote on proposed changes to the countrys constitution and parliamentary system. Advertisement Can you not do the referendum?" Trudeau recalled saying to Renzi. "Referendums are bad things to happen." He added popular votes give people a chance to lash out at institutions and they might. Renzi resigned earlier this month after suffering a stunning referendum defeat. A neutered Italian senate and increased power for prime ministers were among the changes proposed. Trudeaus comments come on the heels of a political flap involving his democratic institutions minister Maryam Monsef and the governments handling of the electoral reform file. Advertisement Monsef made headlines after she mocked an all-party electoral reform committees report for failing to suggest a specific model to replace the current voting system. She later expressed deep regrets for her response, apologizing to committee members for using the House of Commons floor to rebuff months of their work. The committee reviewed alternative systems including ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting and online voting. It recommended the government design a new proportional representation system and hold a national referendum to gauge Canadians' opinion on it. During the 2015 election campaign, Trudeau promised that years election would be the last under the current first-past-the-post system. Canadians are seemingly more open to the idea of a referendum on electoral reform than the government. Documents released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show Canadians have been sending messages to the prime minister since the summer on the matter a majority urging him to hold a federal referendum to change how Canadians vote. Advertisement The prime minister has previously hinted at his dislike of referenda. Speaking to students at the University of Ottawa in April, Trudeau joked the current system obviously benefitted him. He warned taking matters to a popular vote are laborious undertakings and the result may be counterproductive. Many of the people who propose that absolutely we need a referendum, well, they know that the fact is that referendums are a pretty good way of not getting any electoral reform, he said at the time. With files from Althia Raj and The Canadian Press Also on HuffPost Bloomberg via Getty Images Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, pauses during the Japan-Russia Business Dialogue in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, Dec. 16, 2016. Putin said Friday that his nation's tussle with Japan over the sovereignty of disputed islands must come to an end, and agreed with Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, to start talks on a special system for economic cooperation in the area. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images Fake news is an issue that is getting a lot of traction these days, and it should be. While fake news has been a minor annoyance for years, during the recent U.S. election, fake news became big news. A friend recently said something that made me stop and think: "Trump's victory showed me how full of shit the right is. Aleppo has shown me how full of shit the left is". Advertisement Now that the election is all but over, fake news seems to be back in full swing, swaying public opinion about Syria. As the horrors in the news cycle mount, I have seen several videos and stories in the last 24 hours calling into question the legitimacy of the news out of Aleppo. There are several popular narratives: "civilian activists" on social media are western plants, the White Helmets are terrorists, Al-Qaeda or ISIS, backed by The West that are killing civilians, and that the Assad regime, backed by a benevolent Russia are just trying to stop militants who the USA has decided to back in order to topple Assad. I even saw one video by a supposed "Independent Canadian Journalist" who "self-funded" a trip to Syria out of the goodness of her heart and somehow was allowed total freedom to roam the country. She reports that USA, NATO and even Western International Aid NGO's are complicit in the bombing and gassing of hospitals. Naming several mainstream western media institutions, she in fact decries "Western fake news" as feeding false narratives about Russia and Assad to their populace, and covering up atrocities. Advertisement I'm not saying there isn't bias, or that there is no Western propaganda. I'm not even saying that the west didn't make some morally questionable decisions in Syria -- but that's beside the point. It took me 30 seconds to discover that this independent journalist, testifying in front of a UN backdrop, is in fact a correspondent for RT. It is will known that RT is the mouthpeice of the Kremlin. Virtually every video or story that slams Western media and NGO's in relation to Syria that I have seen, less than 2 minutes of research has led back to Russia. I'm not saying they are behind all fake news, (although their presence is ubiquitous and their tactics are sophisticated) but with Syria, like the US election, it is case in point. Russia and the Assad family go way back. Most of Assad's generals are trained in Moscow, and Syria buys billions in weapons from Russia. Most importantly, Assad is one of Russia's only allies in a Middle East largely controlled by NATO. Russia has a base in Tartus which provides Russia their only access to the Mediterranean Sea. If Assad falls, Russia could stand to lose significant influence and holdings in the region. "The slow demise of independent journalism and a culture of anti-intellectualism have made conditions ripe for the rise of fake news and propaganda." During this election in the USA it is now well-established that Russia influenced the election -- and not just by hacking the DNC. Fake news was everywhere; all kinds of conspiracy theories that served one purpose: to knock the American public's feet out from under them and make them doubt their own institutions; most importantly, the Fifth Estate. Democracy is underpinned by governing through informed consent of the masses. A strong and independent media is a nation's window into the affairs of the nation. Currently too many westerners cannot tell an opinion piece (like this one) from true investigative journalism. Attention spans are too short for long investigative pieces, and forget taking 2 minutes to check a source! The slow demise of independent journalism and a culture of anti-intellectualism have made conditions ripe for the rise of fake news and propaganda. A people who do not know what, or who to believe are relatively easy to control. So, what is Putin up to? Some connections are becoming clear. Trump just appointed Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state. Tillerson and Putin had billions in oil deals that were scuppered by Obama's sanctions. In this past US election, Trump ran a campaign based on lies and promises he is unlikely to be able to keep, and all the while Russia was gaslighting the American people. Advertisement Russia's investment in fake news has clearly helped destabilize the world's most powerful democracy, and installed Putin's puppet as president. Now they are arguing black is white in Syria; obfuscating atrocities like gassing hospitals and executing families with the aim of turning Westerners against their own governments. Even if Putin's aims are simpler than global hegemony, I'd say his investment has paid off. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Omar Sanadiki / Reuters A member of forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad attempts to erect the Syrian national flag at the Umayyad mosque, in the government-controlled area of Aleppo, during a media tour, Syria December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki "'Does this road lead to Aleppo?' Your answer can be 'yes' or 'no.' Your opinion doesn't make it so. Consult a map before you go!" The question in this poem was first posed by the 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi. If we were to ask a similar question about Aleppo today, we might phrase it like this: "Have we, the international community, used a good map to help not only Aleppo, but all of Syria?" The answer is in the question: Certainly no! Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, we have witnessed an endless series of diplomatic and political debacles, giving rise to an armed struggle that has pitted not only world powers like Russia and China against the U.S. and select countries in the EU, but also regional powers like Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar against Iran and the Syrian government. Advertisement The Syrian people, who in the early months of 2011 sought only freedom and dignity, have found themselves caught between the barbarism of terrorist groups and the brutality of the Syrian regime. It's a Kafkaesque image, but it reflects reality. Let us accept it and deal with it. Whether as deceptive strategy or through "sincere ignorance" -- to borrow Martin Luther King's expression -- certain commentators, analysts and even politicians choose to blame international law by saddling it with all of the atrocities committed in this conflict. Ladies and gentlemen, international law is neither Darth Vader nor a Good Samaritan. It is simply a set of rules that the international community has developed over the course of history. The tragic situation in Aleppo can become an opportunity for Canada to reclaim its international position as a respected broker of peace. We do not need new rules to end the Syrian conflict and save the besieged populations in Aleppo and elsewhere. It is enough to read -- and appreciate -- the careful work of the drafters of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols of 1977. It suffices to read the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to be convinced that the acts perpetrated in Syria fall within the jurisdiction of this Court and that the perpetrators of these serious crimes can be prosecuted. Advertisement If there is anyone to blame, it is -- and can only be -- the governments implicated in this internationalized conflict (even though some persist in referring to this as a civil war!!). Those who support the armed groups, both militarily and logistically, and those who oppose the international justice system investigating the atrocities and crimes perpetrated in this conflict are all to blame. Today the world needs a voice of reason. Canada can be that voice! The tragic situation in Aleppo can become an opportunity for Canada to reclaim its international position as a respected broker of peace. It was Winston Churchill who said "an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." The world expects much from Canada, more so since the election of the Trudeau government. Canada has the opportunity to propose a road map for this conflict by fostering dialogue, not only between the Iranians and the Russians on one side and the Americans and Turks on the other, but also between the moderate Syrian opposition (such as the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change, the Law-Citizenship-Rights Movement, or some members of Syrian National Coalition), which has been marginalized by Arab oil-monarchies for ideological reason, and the Syrian regime. In a speech given at the University of Ottawa, on March 29, 2016, the Honorable Stephane Dion -- defending the need maintain dialogue with the Russians and the Iranians -- said that "mediation efforts, conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction" are Canada's main objectives. It's time to walk the talk. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook Also on HuffPost: Advertisement The alt-right may soon have their Emperor in the White House, but before they got political to help force Donald Trump into the presidency, the movement was largely focused on fomenting culture wars. So it's hardly a "Luke, I am your father" surprise twist that the alt-right is now targeting "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (which, by the way, is really, really good.) Advertisement It's hardly a "Luke, I am your father" surprise twist that the alt-right is now targeting "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" The alt-right is really a loosely affiliated collection of movements opposing what they call "identity politics" but which are actually called civil rights. What unites them is the feeling that society's longstanding straight, white male supremacy is being threatened by the scourge of equality. This has sparked what CNN political commentator Van Jones famously dubbed a "whitelash" to efforts that are aiming to increase racial, gender, sexual orientation and ethnic diversity. We've seen this with video games, comic books, Netflix and now it's come to a galaxy far, far away. Advertisement The alt-right attacks began long before anyone had seen "Rogue One," with a call for a #DumpStarWars boycott because there weren't enough white dudes in the film and it starred a...woman! Back in April when the first trailer dropped, so did a flood of tweets complaining about Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso as the lead character. WTF is up with Rogue One - another WOMAN as a lead actor? Why are they forcing SJW bullshit down our throats? Roy Fokker (@RoyFokker1) April 7, 2016 When another trailer dropped in August, neo-Nazi alt-right sites ramped up their attacks. The Daily Stormer began calling the movie's multicultural cast a form of "white genocide" while InfoStormer dubbed it "nothing but a Jew masturbation fantasy of anti-White hate. Nearly all of the major characters are non-Whites and the main character is an empowered White female." Advertisement But they added: "This film should be boycotted." Now it seems odd for this to be the reason why these Nazis are suddenly mad about a film series that is so much of an anti-Nazi allegory that George Lucas literally called the bad guys "Storm Troopers" but here we are. The cast is indeed diverse and, spoiler alert, they're all iconic in their roles. Alongside Jones' rebel leader are Mexican actor Diego Luna's Rebel captain, Cassian Andorby; African-American icon Forest Whitaker's radicalized Rebel leader, Saw Gerrera; British Muslim actor Riz Ahmed's Imperial defector, Bodhi Rook; and Chinese stars Jiang Wen playing bad-ass insurgent Baze Malbus and Donnie Yen as blind warrior monk Chirrut Imwe. The cast is indeed diverse and, spoiler alert, they're all iconic in their roles. Anyway, the boycott idea soon migrated from Nazi websites to Trump supporters who launched a #DumpStarWars campaign after the election in response to screenwriters Chris Weitz and Gary Whitta, who respectively tweeted "Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization" and "Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women." The tweets were deleted, but Weitz left up this image of the Rebel symbol with a safety pin through it, a symbol of support for marginalized people that began after the Brexit vote and had a resurgence after Trump's election. Advertisement Star Wars against hate. Spread it. pic.twitter.com/Dtf5uqpxba -- Chris Weitz (@chrisweitz) November 11, 2016 . Now the idea that a 40-year-old film series which has always featured a band of upstart rebels battling an authoritarian dictator is about Trump says a lot more about his supporters than it does about the "Star Wars" franchise. Nonetheless, they got triggered by a movie they had not yet seen and made up claims that it was changed to bash Trump. Star Wars writers rewrote and reshot Rogue One to add in Anti Trump scenes calling him a racist. Disgusting.#DumpStarWars Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) December 8, 2016 Which made them easy to mock. We should all #DumpStarWars! As this picture proves, it's full of anti-Trump propaganda. pic.twitter.com/OiBaCsdSxf Donald Trump's Diary (@Donalds_Diary) December 9, 2016 Advertisement Imagine seeing your KKK-endorsed candidate win the presidency then feeling offended cos a children's film thinks Nazis are bad #DumpStarWars Tauriq Moosa (@tauriqmoosa) December 9, 2016 Thing is, if they want to align with the evil empire and the dark side because "Star Wars" films are no longer safe spaces for them, may the force be with them. They actually tried to do the same thing for "Star Wars Episode XII: The Force Awakens" because it starred Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn, and that movie only made a little over $2 billion. I'm betting that this female-led movie full of scrappy multicultural rebels triumphs over the bad guys in real life, too. As Trump might tweet: Sad! So we'll see how "Rogue One" does, but I'm betting that this female-led movie full of scrappy multicultural rebels triumphs over the bad guys in real life, too. Advertisement Rogue One: A Star Wars Story See Gallery Recently, my Ahmadi former student in Calgary tagged me in a Facebook post. He expressed his frustration at yet another Ahmadi mosque targeted by a frenzied mob in the Pakistani city of Chakwal. He looks up to me as a big brother. Naturally, whenever he feels let down by a country he loves deeply, he asserts his brotherly right and reaches out for me. This incident falls in the long list of persecution and daily oppression of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. Recently, some Ahmadis were also arrested for espousing their beliefs in the city of Rabwah. These tensions flared up as the Pakistani government decided to recognize Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam, who was sidelined for being an Ahmadi. Imagine being persecuted by law for practicing your faith in schools, offices and public spaces. My former student told me that his office colleagues had stopped having lunch with him when they found out about his Ahmadi beliefs. Such social ostracism only throws a minority community into the closet. Advertisement LGBTQ persons understand this closet very well. They know the burden of hiding as an invisible minority. They understand what it means to live under the threat of being effaced on the basis of beliefs or orientation. They are well acquainted with hatred that not only wreaks oppression but also blames one for inviting that oppression. It is in recognizing our common struggles inspite of our differences that we fully affirm our common humanity. Indeed, as activists describe, all oppression is connected. It is for this reason minority groups must proactively express solidarity with one another. This means that the LGBTQ community, the Ahmadis and their intersection can and must unite in the face of hatred. On an individual basis, I cannot stem the tide of oppression against Ahmadis. I cannot tell my former student that this persecution will end in the near future. As is, clerics have announced that they would attack the Chakwal mosque again this Friday, December the 16th, the same day when the Taliban killed 132 school children in Peshawar in 2014. We can, however, sign online petitions, donate to causes, write letters to politicians, and raise awareness amongst our respective communities. We can host inter-community and intra-community events to bring people together on the basis of our common humanity. Advertisement Some are even asking the Canadian government to probe a Canadian citizen for his alleged involvement in raising funds in Canada and using them to orchestrate the Chakwal mosque attack. On my part, I can tell my former student that my old shoulder will always be there for him to lean on. Some years ago I suggested that he leave Pakistan. In the wake of the Chakwal mosque attack I told him that no amount of Ahmadi persecution would satisfy the blood lust of those who will not rest until the last Ahmadi is wiped out off Pakistan. I told him that such goons and the many who remain silent in the face of oppression have forfeited their God given critical faculties to popular ideologues. They talk about Palestine and Kashmir when their own house is rife with zulm (oppression). I told my former student that since supremacism does not respond to reason but power, we must be prepared to be much stronger. Through this blog and the following signatures, I would also like to tell him that he is not alone. Many LGBTQ friends will stand by him and his community, including his former teacher. Advertisement Jamila Tharp, Unitarian Universalist Community Minister, Imam - Muslims for Progressive Values Kelly Wentworth, Secretary - Muslims for Progressive Values, President - MPV Atlanta Frank Testin, Dignity Canada Dignite Imam Daayiee Abdullah - President and Chair, MECCA Institute Larry Derkach, Executive Director, Jewish Family Services Edmonton Doug Feltis Gil Charest John Allenson Gordon Nore Nabil Ahmad Khan Imtiaz Popat Hadi Hussain Steven Townsend Michael Phair Rev. Liz-Carter Morgan Rev. James Ravenscroft Rev. Dr. Nancy Steeves Dr. Dawn Waring Dr. Junaid Jahangir npix via Getty Images Cannabis Plant (Photo of Dr. Mac Burnham-Courtesy Ontario Brain Institute) As marijuana marches towards legalization in Canada, researchers are digging ever deeper into its potential therapeutic benefits. For people suffering from epilepsy it could mean reaching back to the wisdom of the ancients to deliver a modern form of relief. Advertisement For thousands of years, cannabis has been known to have anticonvulsant properties. It was used in both ancient China and India, and then much later during Victorian times in Europe. In the 20th Century, researchers started to narrow down the source of the benefits, extracting a chemical from marijuana called cannabidiol (CBD), which unlike THC will not make you high, but which has shown promise in reducing seizures. But in the 1980s, research virtually stopped. Some wonder whether it was a casualty of the Reagan Administration's War on Drugs. Researchers wishing to conduct studies of cannabis were frustrated by legal obstacles to access. A neuroscientist in San Francisco named Catherine Jacobson pushed hard to break down the barriers. Dr. Jacobson also happened to be the mother of a boy who suffered terribly from drug-resistant epilepsy. Having heard about cannabidiol, she took matters into her own hand--working in her garage to develop an extract, which she administered to her son and which gave him relief. Advertisement In a blog, she wrote passionately about her frustrations: "As a mother, I am furious that the federal government has discouraged research into these potentially life-saving therapies for years by restricting clinical research. As a scientist, I decry the federal government for interfering with scientific freedom." Dr. Jacobson was one of many parents and patient advocates who campaigned for cannabidiol studies. But now the legal landscape is shifting. As more jurisdictions legalize marijuana use, CBD is drawing more attention as a possible therapy for forms of epilepsy that resist other drug treatments. Leading an important study is Dr. Mac Burnham, Co-Director of EpLink - The Epilepsy Research Program of the Ontario Brain Institute. 'What we propose to do really needs to be done," he said in an interview. "There is a compound out there that could improve the lives of some people--and not being used because doctors don't have enough information on effective dosing and safety to prescribe it." Other recent studies have started to build the case for CBD. GW Pharmaceuticals, a British drug company, did a clinical trial with children suffering from Dravet Syndrome--a rare condition that not only causes seizures, but developmental disabilities. The study found that children treated with a CBD-based drug saw a media reduction of about 39 per cent in the convulsive seizures they suffered every month, compared with a 13 per cent reduction among those receiving a placebo. Those are significant results. Advertisement Dr. Burnham says the GW study may lead to the production of a drug that may be expensive and potentially only be helpful for a very select group--children suffering from rare forms of epilepsy. His research project takes a broader focus--the roughly one-third of people with epilepsy for whom medications are ineffective in completely stopping seizures. He is launching a clinical study that will examine the use of CBD on adults. All the recent trials have been with children. It will be a controlled, double blind trial. All participants will continue with their current medication. Half the group will be also given cannabidiol while the other half will get a placebo. Neither the doctors not the patients will know who is getting what. Dr. Burnham is interested in discovering whether a simple extract of CBD can be effective, which is important because it would be much cheaper than a synthetic drug developed by a pharmaceutical company. He also wants to determine a therapeutic dosage because he is hearing from neurologists that they do not want to use CBD, fearing that they do not know enough about it and needing reassurance that it is safe. His team plans to use low dosages, then gradually escalate them to about 1400 milligrams - looking at whether a dose within this range can safely reduce seizures. CBD will be administered in the form of an oil. Advertisement "We don't expect it to be a magic bullet that could end seizures but could be as good as any of the anticonvulsives that have been released in the last 20 years," he said. The project will be run out of Toronto Western Hospital and the London Health Sciences Centre. It is planned to begin in 2017, with results to be published about two years later. MarcBruxelle via Getty Images Quitting smoking - male hand crushing cigarette In countries such as Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, measures aimed at reducing smoking and tobacco use are on the primary docket. Chief in each government's arsenal is a requirement that cigarette and tobacco products be subject to plain packaging, with all cigarette logos and designs excluded and graphic warnings taking up all space. That's caused a lot of panic at Big Tobacco. Advertisement Passing this initiative in Canada is a top priority for Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, outlined in Minister of Health Jane Philpott's mandate letter from last year, and for good reason. It's estimated that as much as 20 percent of Canadian teens currently smoke. Trudeau wants plain packaging regulations across Canadian stores just like Australia and the United Kingdom. All indications point to this being at the top of the government's agenda once they reconvene in 2017. Reducing teen smoking, as mentioned on the Canadian Lung Association's website, is a goal we should all share. It's a noble goal. But in the age of technological innovation which has spawned smoke-free vaporizers, and other alternatives, why would the Canadian government put all its eggs in the plain packaged basket? Does it work and could it work for young Canadians? Advertisement Looking to Australia, Canadian health authorities would be remiss to find any claims of mass rejection of tobacco products. The evidence actually points in the other direction. A look at the surveys after Australia's plain packaging scheme shows attitudes on the policy are quite clear. The cigarette packs with no labeling are ugly and turn young people off to smoking. But somehow, despite that fact, youth smoking has gone up. Before plain packaging was introduced in late 2012, the smoking rates among 12-24 year olds were going down from 16 per cent to 12 per cent, according to the Cancer Institute of New South Wales. That is a good thing we can all celebrate. However, once plain cigarette packs hit the shelves in 2013, smoking rates for the same age group went back up to 16 per cent. Does that mean that not doing anything would have actually caused less people to smoke? At least in Australia, it's not certain. Another study on teen smoking in the state of Victoria reveals the same. Before plain packaging was introduced, youth smoking in 2001 was at 16.1 percent. It fell to 14.7 percent once plain packaging came into effect, but rose up to 15.4 percent in 2013. Advertisement It seems the legislation nudged young Aussies to smoke more, perhaps upsetting the downward trend that was already happening. "Plain packaging won't reduce smoking, no matter how much the government tries. But market alternatives could achieve this without government intervention." While the survey results may have shown that plain packaged cigarettes were less appealing to young people, it didn't dissuade them from actually smoking less. That's concerning. Such evidence may require the Canadian government to call an audible: Plain packaging doesn't work as it is claimed to, and something else must be done. The market, rather than government, has created an alternative in electronic cigarettes, surely not all produced by Big Tobacco. In fact, most e-cigarette companies compete directly against Big Tobacco. Advertisement In the U.S. and Canada, thousands of mom and pop vape shops are popping up around urban centers, and there's reason to think these devices could be more successful than legislation in getting smokers to quit. A 2014 article in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety points to e-cigarettes as a useful combatant in the fight against smoking. "Currently available evidence indicates that electronic cigarettes are by far a less harmful alternative to smoking and significant health benefits are expected in smokers who switch from tobacco to electronic cigarettes," claim the authors. "There is no tobacco and no combustion involved in EC use; therefore, regular vapers may avoid several harmful toxic chemicals that are typically present in the smoke of tobacco cigarettes." That being said, governments and public health groups aren't yet keen on e-cigarettes. The American FDA has cracked down on vaping shops. Last week, the U.S. Surgeon General called e-cigarettes a "major public health concern." But not all public health officials are ready to slam down e-cigarettes. In April of this year, the Royal College of Physicians adopted this message as a health recommendation. Advertisement "This is the first genuinely new way of helping people stop smoking that has come along in decades," John Britton, director of the U.K. Center for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, told the New York Times. With such a body of evidence, it's time the Canadian government heeds the warnings from both Australia and the United Kingdom. Plain packaging won't reduce smoking, no matter how much the government tries. But market alternatives could achieve this without government intervention. Won't you take a hit, Mr. Trudeau? Yael Ossowski is a Canadian journalist and senior development officer at Students For Liberty Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook According to sources in Aleppo a third convoy was being prepared to depart on Thursday, the total number reaching over 4000 evacuees, only 5% of the estimated 80,000 to leave. Whilst a gruesome and bloody genocide ensues, to which we continue to painfully bare witness to, on Twitter, #Youth4Aleppo held a demonstration at 10 downing street, in London earlier this week, I was hopeful. In a matter of hours of organising, hundreds of activists were pulled together. Around 9pm in the winter darkness, over a thousand humans gathered outside the Syrian embassy for the second demonstration on the same night. To hear footage from reporter and film-maker Bilal Abdul Kareem, a courageous voice and drive for listeners globally from Aleppo, the message was light. He called out: "if Aleppo is important to you, then you have to understand Aleppo is happening all over Syria, if you want to make a difference, women and men are dying under missiles every single day and you have to be willing to say enough is enough and rally your leaders", calling protestors to,"be engaged, be active, if you don't you will fall into the narrative". On a microscopic level, I introduce Darren Emerson, the innovative Director, Filmmaker and founder of VR City, who simulated a 360 virtual reality film named, 'Invisible' depicting life in the detention UK immigrant system: "through the true voices of peoples experiences". The film can be seen via headsets that, "you can't turn away from", for audiences to experience and momentarily feel what it is to be deported in today's world, transported through 360 surround visuals generated by glare and head movement. With the nature of the UK Immigration detention centres, likened to high-security prisons, they are positioned in hidden locations, with limited access "you would not find it unless you were looking". The film which will be posted on the New York Times app this Monday 19th December, features three parts: coming to the UK claiming asylum, lack of information on what will happen as they sit behind bars with no access to internet, and the self-harm and suicide from mental scars of being held for an indefinite amount of time. Darren comments: "people easily make distinctions between good and bad immigrants, they may leave the detention centres eventually but the centre never leaves them." Unfortunately, this heinous narrative has circulated around our media spheres, for far too long. Tainting the name of Syrian asylum seekers finding an alternative to the horrors they face at home. Contributing to the apathy felt in the west today, generated by monstrous images of denied refugees. Advertisement Darren recalls: "there was a great part at the end of the film where a small protest takes place, some people present felt proud and empowered whilst others felt saddened by how small the group protesting was," An accurate representation of the split in consensus here. He says: "awareness through film, will create more public pressure". Where virtual reality is a "slightly different language of story-telling, immersed in something that feels quite metaphysical, you connect in a way you wouldn't get to through normal mediums." To reiterate, there are already many articles and informative pieces, outlining what we can do here in the west, specifically the UK. Which if everyone committed to, would undeniably be difficult to ignore. Fatima an activist and student based in London who attended the protest on Tuesday said on Twitter: "I believe everyone is capable of doing something, but we convince ourselves that it's in the hands of the international community, despite the fact that they have failed Syria over and over again". In humanity, there is a simple but powerful rule, It takes one intrepid individual to change a point of view and bring about a new idea, it takes one more individual to join that person to create a movement, a couple more and you have a revolution. Each of us in our own unique, creative, numerical, sporting, theatrical, medicinal, astrophysical way can help with talent and ideas. We are lead to remember the timeless quote, 'I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples'. Ranya Alakraa a Syrian activist based in London said: Advertisement "we mustn't let people forget like we forgot the Houla massacre or the chemical attacks in Ghouta". Matt Crossick/Matt Crossick Last week, we conducted two online discussion groups to explore the Brexit-related views of senior decision-makers in small businesses (with 1-50 employees) and medium sized organisations (250-999 employees). Participants were chosen from a spread of different industries, sectors, and views of Brexit - both in terms of how they voted and how they think the result has affected their business. Small businesses (1-50 staff) It was clear that small businesses had, to varying extents, been affected the result of the vote. Participants felt that the outcome of the referendum had created uncertainty and that this uncertainty had led to a slow-down in custom. Advertisement Perhaps as a result of this, there was a strong desire to set the wheels of Brexit in motion, even among those who voted Remain. They felt that Article 50 should be triggered as soon as possible, as they thought that providing some certainty about timescales might help the markets to recover. This sense of uncertainty also seems to have resulted in many of them to exploring other avenues in order to keep their businesses successful. For example, those who feel business closer to home has dried up are reaching out to markets further afield, in anticipation of Brexit impacting trade with the EU. I have changed our focus and am looking to the rest of the x number of billion people who don't reside in the EU - Male, Leave, 55 Yorks For others there is a sense that a 'staggered' approach to Brexit may provide an opportunity to plan strategically for the future. When we asked participants if they had foregone marketing or publicity activities since June, many said the opposite was true and that they were actually ramping-up this activity - speculating to accumulate in an uncertain business landscape. Advertisement With this in mind, when the group talked about the next two years, they painted a more optimistic picture for their business. For some - particularly Leave voters - the most difficult period of readjustment was already out of the way. Once they know what Brexit will look like and when it will happen, they look forward to the future. I work throughout Europe. My favourite comment was off a German "it looks like you Brits are going to liberate Europe for a third time" - Male, leave, 44, North West But despite this mild optimism, no one believed that small businesses are Brexit-proof. Being able to adapt was paramount, both in terms of what they offer to customers and what new markets offer to them. ...we have had to be very careful with the pricing of some of our services as the majority of our clients do at least some business with the EU - Male, Remain, 31, London In discussing the ideal form of Brexit there was a lack of consensus and opinion was, curiously, not necessarily split by voting behaviour. Some Leave voters talked about a personal preference for a 'hard' Brexit - with no access to the single market and being out of the customs union. However, they conceded that a 'softer' Brexit, with access to the single market, may be beneficial for their business. Advertisement Medium-sized businesses (250-999 staff) Amongst senior decision-makers in medium sized businesses, there was also a desire to get on with Brexit. There was a feeling - even amongst those who voted Remain - that the uncertainty around Brexit was destructive and that clarity around timings and arrangements for leaving the EU would temper some of this. There was limited appetite for a fresh general election, delaying invoking Article 50, or anything that might have an impact on the UK's inevitable departure from the EU. However, there was measured support for parliamentary involvement when it comes to the terms of the negotiation. The decision-makers had a sense that companies of this size are more resilient than smaller companies, and better able to absorb any impact on orders or revenue. Many admitted that they have postponed decisions on investments and pay and bonuses until either next year or even further into the future - when they hoped there would be more certainty around Britain's trading status and our relationship with Europe. Internally we are cutting back but externally saying everything will be OK. I hear a lot of similar preparatory steps being taken elsewhere. Hiring freeze is a clear impact on the ground and CAPEX has ground to a halt." - Male, Remain, 49, Scotland While medium sized businesses share anxiety about the sense of uncertainty, where they differed from decision makers in small business is that many felt that a Brexit 'crunch' had not yet hit their organisations. This group believed it may not be until next year that it does so and that the two years before Brexit (2017-19) were likely to be more economically perilous than the six months since the referendum vote. Advertisement All the businesses I deal with are moving much more cautiously and keeping plans low-key. Major investments in R&D and things like that are an only-if-we-must - Male, Remain, 72, East Decision-makers in medium-sized businesses did not feel that their organisations had sufficiently recovered yet from the last economic downturn. Many reported a long-term hangover from the recession, implementing pay freezes and still acting cautiously, particularly when it comes to recruitment. For some, streamlining resources to help maximise their staff's potential was preferred to hiring new staff. But there was equally an indication that Brexit is providing medium-sized companies with an excuse to be less competitive with pay. Overheads may increase slightly as the cost of IT imports has rising in recent months. Recruitment costs may actually fall as we can get away with paying less in this climate. - Male, Remain, 35, West Mids As with small business owners, there was no consensus over the preferred type of Brexit. Some Remain voters advocated a 'hard' Brexit as they believed "playing hardball" would make the UK look resolute as we sit at the negotiation table. Advertisement I think a hard Brexit will show to the world that we are a strong country. There will be more investments and more companies wanting to invest here, therefore it can only help the country and us. - Female, Leave, 40, London The future This month I was invited by the European Commission to speak on a scientific panel at the conference Non-Animal Approaches - The Way Forward. The event was organised as part of the EU's response to the citizen's initiative 'Stop Vivisection,' which presented more than one million supporting signatures from across the EU to the European Commission in May 2015, calling for an end to animal experiments. At face value, this conference was ideal for me. My scientific career has been dedicated to developing practical tools for studying and developing treatments for human disease without harming animals. I am not alone in this. Recent decades have seen enormous strides in the development of non-animal technologies. These tools are known to be more relevant and predictive than ineffective, harmful animal research. Animal research certainly fails animals, in terms of the distress and suffering caused, and just as importantly, animal research often fails people, too, in terms of the slow, unproductive route to useful treatments. More than 90 percent of drugs that have passed animal trials for safety and efficacy are not successful in treating the human disease for which they are intended. Advertisement There are clearly issues on the "translation" of results from other species to humans, but there are also issues with the conduct and reporting of much of the animal research. For example, more than 80 percent of studies using animals demonstrate bias in their choice of experimental groups, such as the choice of animals for a particular study. Animal research has a huge gender bias; eight out of ten experiments only use male animals. This occurs even for diseases which are more prevalent in women, and it should go without saying that modelling female diseases with male animals does not make any sense. Given the rampant selection bias that pervades so much research using animals: 1.Millions of animals are experimentally manipulated, operated on, treated with test compounds and otherwise harmed, stressed and distressed to no appreciable result; 2.Less than 20 percent of published animal research is discriminating, rigorous and trustworthy. There are guidelines on the reporting of animal experiments that aim to improve the quality of science, and which could in theory lead to a reduction in animal use. However, whilst the guidelines are endorsed by more than 300 scientific publications, uptake has been slow. Some funding bodies require their use, yet animal researchers have no legal obligation to adopt the guidelines before being granted permission to use animals. Issues of biased reporting, skewed results, and ultimately the waste of millions of animals' lives, remain. Surely we can all agree that replacement of animals in testing and research is morally, ethically and scientifically the only way forward. A recent market research poll, commissioned by the UK's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, indicates that more than a quarter of UK citizens would support an outright ban of the use of animals in research. In November this year, a publication in the scientific journal Drug Discovery Today used expert analysis of five human disease areas to show that animal models have failed to provide answers or treatments for any of them. This paper calls for a transition away from failing animal models towards human-relevant methods. Advertisement Unfortunately, rather than focus on a future of non-animal solutions, the conference I attended last week spent entirely too much time trying to fix the broken wheel of animal experimentation. The well-substantiated findings that research using animals is 1) failing, 2) frequently unreliable, and 3) often does not generate reproducible results, were acknowledged; however, solutions proposed tended to focus on propping up the failing system, rather than accepting the fact that a fundamental shift in paradigm back to human biology is what's truly needed. The inescapable truth is that attempting to model human diseases in non-human animals will always be problematic, and can delay progress in finding much-needed cures. And most importantly, these proposals miss the opportunity to stop throwing good resources after the bad, to focus on a transition away from the failing animal models and toward a future of effective cures. Animal replacement remains the most promising way forward. The UK published its delivery plan to reduce animals in research in 2014, whilst earlier this year the Netherlands opened discussions about phasing-out animal testing by 2025. Enormous investments have been made in developing more promising solutions, including EUToxRisk to find non-animal solutions for chemical safety assessment. In the US, a joint investment by the National Institutes of Health and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is building mini-organs and linking them together in a system they are calling "human-on-a-chip." These are the types of investments that will bring light to the future of medicine and environmental safety. The final report of the European Commission conference is yet to be published. We hope that the key replacement message will not be lost, and that we will see acknowledgement of the fact that animals do not model human disease and that the more we invest scarce public health resources in these failing animal models, the further we get from understanding human disease mechanisms. Transitioning away from failing animal models to human-based approaches to develop medicines for human disease must become the central thread of 21st century research. ASSOCIATED PRESS Christmas is the most anticipated time of the year; it's a time for celebrations and spending time with your loved ones. Amongst all the excitement however, unexpected hazards can occur with more than 80,000 people a year needing hospital treatment for injuries such as falls and cuts during the festive period.* Leading first aid charity St John Ambulance will be out in the community throughout Christmas providing first aid at events across the country. Advertisement St John Ambulance is committed to keeping people safe at events and teaching the public life saving skills. First aid is such a simple skill, but it has an incredible impact. We want everyone to learn these life saving skills as they can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved. To date our volunteers have dedicated over 1 million hours to saving lives in their communities. Over the festive period they will be delivering care to people in need of first aid around the country; either responding to call outs over the celebratory period or working at events in local communities. Our volunteers take on a number of different roles to support the public and the NHS: Community First Responders (CFR) Community First Responders are usually the first to arrive on the scene in an accident. They are trained to assess the situation, provide immediate first aid if needed and establish the patient's medical history. Sometimes they can simply be a very vital second pair of hands to an ambulance crew when they arrive. Cycle responders At large events, such as the New Year's fireworks display cycle responders are essential in ensuring people in need receive first aid quickly. Cycle responders are treatment centres that can ride straight to the patient. As a mobile resource, they can quickly pass through crowds and obstacles to reach those that need help. Advertisement First aider Our first aiders are on hand to provide vital first aid to the community at events. Anyone can become a first aider and be part of a team that helps to save lives. Our volunteers will be out at various events across the country over the holidays including; Lord Mayor's Fireworks Display along the River Thames, we will be setting up a Trust Temporary Minor Injuries Unit (TMIU) in Birmingham City Centre, a Care Facility in Cambridge and numerous other events. The key aim of our volunteers at these events is to provide onsite treatment to individuals who may need it. First aid advice Fewer than 1 in 10 have the skills needed to save life and you don't have to be a St John Ambulance volunteer to know how to look after your friends over the holidays. Just knowing the most basic skills will give you the confidence to help a family member, friend or someone in the community when they need it most. Here are some simple but life saving advice for treating injuries that can occur over the Christmas period. The recovery positon Over indulging on alcohol with family, friends or colleagues over Christmas is not uncommon. However, there are many dangers that surround this and you may need to know how to put someone in the recovery position if they become unresponsive. Advertisement If someone is unresponsive and breathing then you need to turn them onto their side and into the recovery position, to keep their airway open so they can still breathe. What you need to do Kneel down next to them on the floor. Place their arm nearest you at a right angle to their body, with their palm facing upwards. Take their other arm and place it across their chest so the back of their hand is against their cheek nearest you, and hold it there With your other hand, lift their far knee and pull it up until their foot is flat on the floor. Carefully pull on their bent knee and roll them towards you. Tilt their head back, gently tilt their chin forward and make sure that their airway will stay open and clear. If you think they could have a spinal injury, you must try to keep their neck straight and only move them if you have to, to keep their airway open. If you have a helper, one person should keep the head steady while the other person turns the casualty on to their side. Advertisement Dehydration Celebrating with loved ones during the festive period often means that people tend to consume more alcohol. There is a danger that they may become dehydrated; dehydration happens when someone loses more fluid than they take into their body and alcohol definitely is a culprit of that. If you or someone else has had too much to drink, you can become very dehydrated the next day. You may experience headaches or light headedness, dry mouth, eyes or lips, or they may be suffering from muscle cramps. What you need to do Help them sit down and give them plenty of fluid Give them water and/or oral rehydration solution to drink, if you can get some. If they have cramps, tell them to rest. Help them stretch and massage their muscles. If they still feel unwell, tell them to seek medical advice straight away. For more first aid advice visit www.sja.org.uk/festivefirstaid Ahmadi Muslims will host prayers across the UK today in solidarity with the victims of the Punjab mosque attack which left one dead and the Ahmadi community fearing for their safety. Politicians and Ahmadiyya Muslims will gather at London's Baitul Futuh Mosque at 1 pm today in a public display of respect and solidarity with the Punjab Ahmadiyya community. Relatives of Malik Khalid Javaid who died of a heart attack during the Punjab attack will join the gathering at Britain's biggest mosque this afternoon. The Ahmadiyya community are asking others to join them to condemn extremism at Friday prayers in mosques throughout Britain. Advertisement Rafiq Hayat, National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said: "The Chakwal attack was an orchestrated and pre-planned campaign by sympathisers of Khatme Nabuwwat. This group has branches in the UK and is linked to hate-mongering in this country. "The attack followed the first ever attack by the Pakistan authorities on our headquarters in Rabwah under the guise of anti-terror laws - despite no evidence of any violence by our community in the history of our existence - where four Ahmadis were arbitrarily arrested and have been tortured in custody. "Extremists are being given free rein in Pakistan and one must not forget that this has implications in Britain. There is heightened concern about radicalisation in the UK. "We express our absolute shock and outrage at the continuing targeting and attacks upon minorities in Pakistan. Pakistan's draconian blasphemy laws and religious apartheid allows fundamentalists to peddle their hate and whip up attacks upon minorities. Ahmadiyya, along with Shias and Christians and Hindus are often attacked thus. Advertisement bernardbodo via Getty Images Bestival's decision to pack up its fancy dress box and move to Dorset is bad news for the Isle of Wight. There's no point sugarcoating it. A few residents will enjoy the quiet but most people saw the benefits of a world class festival outside of the summer season. It's bad news economically but it's a big loss culturally too. Organisers seemed to make a real effort to include local artists and organisations onstage. For an unknown local artist, even an 11am slot in front of a few hungover revellers was a coup. Advertisement I wish Bestival all the best, I really do, but I still believe the Isle of Wight offers more quirky festivals per square mile than anywhere outside of London. There are still two massive festivals, of course. Over the last 15 years the Isle of Wight Festival has attracted Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Queen, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, REM, The Strokes...you get the idea. In 2017, Rod Stewart and Arcade Fire will be added to the list. In recent years the Isle of Wight Festival has also become a much more rounded festival with curiosities and sideshows sprawling into the adjacent fields rather than just a couple of stages to gawp at. And then there's Cowes Week, the world's largest yachting regatta of its kind with 8500 sailors who race around the Solent in August. It also attracts 90,000 other visitors - most of whom know nothing about sailing but happily turn up their collars and enjoy the Pimms and parties. Advertisement Bubbling under are a dozen smaller festivals on the Isle of Wight which are gradually growing in reputation and popularity. I doubt any of them will ever grow as big as Bestival's peak but several have the potential to grow and they have a charming vibe which it's hard to maintain once you reach a certain size. There are several specialist music festivals, including Rhythmtree, which was originally a celebration of the didgeridoo, presumably until someone realised that it was perhaps a little too niche. There's another one for jazz fans, a folk and blues festival, a 1980s retro weekend and one themed around VW campervans. The Island's festival with perhaps the biggest potential to grow is VFringe, which takes the free-for-all spirit of the Edinburgh Festival and thrusts it into the pretty Victorian seaside resort of Ventnor. I'm especially fond of it because it was started by a group of local youngsters during a recent cultural renaissance in the town, rather than by an events company with a money-making agenda. There's also a literary festival, a festival celebrating the Isle of Wight's love of garlic, a walking festival, a vintage sailing festival and (inexplicably) a Scottish themed festival. The Isle of Wight is also home to the UK's oldest carnival (in Ryde) which was once visited by Queen Victoria. I like to imagine she sat on the back of a tractor surrounded by lightbulbs waving unenthusiastically at the crowds, although history is a little sketchy on the facts. Advertisement So, farewell Bestival, enjoy your mainland life, I hope the giant glitterball will fit on the ferry. Co-Author: Sarah Zafar- Lifestylist, Humanitarian & Social Activist Internet of Things (IoT) has been predicted to become more popular for many years, especially in various business aspects, as one of them was discussed in the previous blog. However, the emergence of IoT has been held back by many issues - Is it the cost? No it's the lifestyle, as illustrated by the co-author. Technology can be a double edged sword. Your use or misuse determines it. However, in today's era we see more of its misapplication than its use. Like it or not, technology has bound us, and members of Generations Y and Z don't contemplate life without it. But, the rest left aside, what's more alarming is the decline in the most sacred units of the society; the family, loved ones and everyone in our surroundings. Advertisement Are we responsible for this? If yes, then why? Because we are letting it happen. When was the last time you put those devices aside and had quality time with your family or closed ones? Can't remember? The last time you sat with your children and asked them what's happening around in school or who's been bullying them. A study shows that bullying in school can cause changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. Remember the time your wife was telling you about her first magazine that finally got published, but you missed out the spark in her eyes. May be you weren't really paying attention while surfing things online You see, the moment you get connected to your gadgets and IoT devices, that same moment you disconnect with the people around you who are actually closer. Reality is that we spend more time on our phones and other digital gadgets than we spend with our loved ones. It's like they have become the air that we breathe in; we walk and sleep with them, eat and play with them to the extent that we have forgotten to spend time face-to-face with people. Advertisement According to Sherry Turkle, a renowned media scholar, we live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection and eventually we expect more from technology than we do from each other. To quote her: "Over the past 15 years, I've studied technologies of mobile communication and I've interviewed hundreds and hundreds of people, young and old, about their plugged in lives. And what I've found is that our little devices, those little devices in our pockets, are so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are. Some of the things we do now with our devices are things that, only a few years ago, we would have found odd or disturbing, but they've quickly come to seem familiar, just how we do things." Let's disconnect to reconnect before it's too late. Create no technology times and zones in your homes, and teach your children the values of family bonding. Add value to your relationships by giving them your love and emotions and not just through the emoji's in your texts. Because people may forget what you said or what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel. Yellow-tailed woolly monkeys are among the rarest animals on earth. For eons they have frolicked and flourished in the lush forests of South and Central America. But like so many other organisms, they don't seem to be able to adapt to the degraded and contracting environment human beings have left with them. As their habitat is steadily compromised, they slowly disappear. Today this remarkable creature is threatened with extinction. The yellow-tailed woolly monkey is indicative of so many species that face obliteration during these troubled days, a period scientists are now calling the "Sixth Extinction". Since the dinosaurs were pushed off the stage by cataclysmic changes wrought by a meteor, the world hasn't seen such massive loss in wildlife. In many ways, we Homo sapiens, with our gospels of progress and proliferation, have become a force of destruction. The situation is so grave that it often leaves good people, who care deeply about the planet, with a certain sort of paralysis. Advertisement The truth is that the yellow-tailed woolly monkey's future has not yet been settled. Trend does not need to be destiny. Humans also have the ability to project ahead; work together; be compassionate; heal; restore; and choose between good and evil. That's why I find significant consolation in a new ecological initiative that allows every person on the planet to help save endangered species by purchasing the lands they call home.... starting with yellow-tailed woolly monkeys. For about a year a new organization: "This is My Earth" (TiME) - has introduced crowdsourcing to help buy habitats in so-called ecological hotspots. Nearly half of the planet's species live on 2.3% of the planet's surface. Frequently, these lands are owned by private individuals who are very happy to sell them to environmentalists, rather than turn them into farms, houses and strip malls. This is not a new idea. For years, wonderful organizations like the Nature Conservancy have been doing critical work saving habitats. But the traditional way that civil society purchases sensitive lands leaves little room for normal folks, without significant philanthropic muscle to lend a hand, much less participate in decision making. TiME is designed entirely differently. Membership can be purchased for as little as one Euro in order to enable poor communities, school children, and people in developing countries a voice. A scientific committee of leading ecologists from around the globe vets proposed sites. Those where local capacity to manage a conservation area is confirmed and the ecological benefits deemed sufficient become candidates for support. Then TiME members from all over the world read about them, vote on-line (one vote for all regardless of donation size) for their preferred option to preserve and crowdfunding provides the cash. Advertisement Sometimes democracy actually works. When the votes were tallied up this year - the site chosen to be most critically in need of protection is the El Toro forest in the Amazonas region of Peru. It turns out that this remote region may be the only place in the world where the population of yellow-tailed woolly monkeys is increasing - indeed the depleted numbers there grew about 30% in recent years. The problem is that the magical rainforest where the monkeys live is privately owned. And the incentive to develop is relentless. Luckily, this is a problem that is easily solved. The local chapter of Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC), working with the adjacent community have arranged for a land purchase. Now all that remains is to raise an additional 25,000 dollars from the public and the habitat can be set aside for future generations --of humans -- and more importantly yellow-tailed woolly monkeys. Indeed, Indiegogo's new non-profit platform "Generosity" makes this sort of campaign relatively simple. [The national anthem is being played at a movie theater located in a shopping mall in southern New Delhi, India, on Dec. 14. The audience are standing up for the national anthem./ Photographed by Jeong In-seo] By Jeong In-seo, New Delhi correspondent, AsiaToday - Filmgoers are being arrested and beaten for refusing to comply with a supreme court order to stand for the national anthem at cinemas. I visited a movie theater in the southern part of New Delhi on Sunday. Most of the seats were empty when I entered the cinema hall. According to a movie theater official, the number of moviegoers on weekdays has decreased significantly since the currency reform. The film was screened with 130 out of 160 seats being empty. Advertisement Just before the beginning of the film, the audience got up from their seats when a message appeared on the screen informing that the national anthem was going to be played. The anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was played in the cinema soon. A man sang the anthem loudly. When the national anthem was over, the movie began. [A message announcing that the national anthem will be played appears on the screen before the film is screened./ Photographed by Jeong In-seo] During the interval time, I had a chance to interview the man who sang the national anthem loudly. Rabin Kumar, 34, came to the cinema with his family. He said, "I'm proud to sing the national anthem. I fully agree with the court's decision." He added, "It's wrong not to stand up when we sing for the anthem. What kind of country would allow people sing the national anthem while being seated? Not standing up is an insult to the country." Gudu Singh, a 23-year-old IT company worker, said he goes to movie once a week. He said, "We have been singing the national anthem every day since elementary school and we have been always doing it on our legs. Even elementary school students know they have to stand up while singing for the national anthem. It's hard to understand that standing is infringing on freedom and religion. We need to know where we live in." Advertisement After the film ended, I asked people outside the movie theater. Ayushi Rina, 21, said, "People might dislike the court's order, but everything is for ourselves." But not everyone thinks positively about the issue. One audience who asked for anonymity said, "Cinemas playing the national anthem itself is ridiculous. You should sing the national anthem with your heart. But this way, you don't sing with your heart. It's not the right way to punish people for simply not standing up. It will only create resistance." There are opposing voices in the political world. Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAM) chief and Delhi chief minister, revealed, "The Supreme Court is behaving like dictator. We strongly oppose Supreme Court's order to play national anthem at cinema halls." [Three audiences were threatened by other audiences for not standing while the national anthem was being played at a movie theater in Tamil Nadu, India./ Source: a screenshot of YouTube] Previously, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday that twelve people were arrested for not standing while the national anthem was being played at a film festival in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state. The 12 people, most of them in their 20s, reportedly rejected the request of the police officers and the organizers of the festival to stand up. They were released on bail. Advertisement Flickr After weeks of internal deliberation, President-elect Donald Trump officially announced that former Marine General James N. Mattis will be his nominee to lead the Defense Department. Gen. Mattis was never really in question for the position; through his Twitter account and his public statements to the media, Trump had nothing but positive things to say about the man who helped direct Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, a battle that was accompanied by the most intense urban combat for the Marines since the Vietnam War. While Gen. Mattis oversaw all U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia for three years, a difficult mission to say the least, ensuring the gigantic bureaucracy known as the Pentagon is operating smoothly will be significantly more challenging. Assuming Congress grants the necessary waiver for him to serve as Defense Secretary after his long career in the military, Mattis will step into the Pentagon as the juggler responsible for fulfilling a variety of tasks -- dealing with lawmakers; safeguarding the resources for the department's readiness accounts; counseling the president on defense matters during National Security Council meetings; building a positive relationship with other national security agencies and departments; and preparing for all contingencies the U.S. military may need to confront in the future. Advertisement Being the Secretary of Defense is an arduous and grim responsibility, particularly during a time of war (current active U.S. military operations span at least seven countries). But Secretary-in-waiting Mattis has a wealth of history from his predecessors that he can use to prevent committing mistakes that have plagued some of his predecessors. 1. Working with Congress ain't easy: Being Defense Secretary not only means being an advocate for the troops in the field and the employees in the department, but also being a cheerleader for the department's priorities. But none of those priorities, programs, or reforms can happen without cooperation from the men and women in Congress who authorize and appropriate funds. A poor relationship with Congress, especially with members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees who oversee the Pentagon and authorize what programs the department can implement every single year, is a guarantee that a Defense Secretary's tenure will end quickly. An adversarial relationship with the department's legislative overseers can often mark the difference between a successful tenure and a rocky one. Fortunately for Mattis, he is highly regarded on Capitol Hill. Sen. John McCain, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, described Mattis as "one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops." Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, is equally effusive in his praise of the former general: "It is clear that General Mattis is a respected Marine and strategic thinker who served with honor and distinction." It is incumbent upon Mattis, if indeed he is confirmed to his post, to use those personal relationships in order to push through needed reforms in how the Pentagon does business. Advertisement 2. Speaking about reforms: Defense Secretaries across administrations have attempted to convince Congress that the Pentagon needs to begin shuttering or downgrading bases across the country that either have no military value, don't match up to the current composition and size of the U.S. Armed Forces, and are draining resources from more important parts of the department's budget. Since 2005, Congress has prohibited a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) through annual authorization bills. This year is no different; included in the National Defense Authorization Act conference report that was just negotiated, the Armed Services Committees included a provision that forbids any money from being used towards even studying the closing of infrastructure the Pentagon believes is unneeded and wasteful. In an April 2016 letter to the Armed Services panels, Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work wrote that a Pentagon study estimated the department's needs and ends simply didn't match up. "Absent another BRAC round," the study assessed, "the Department will continue to operate some of its installations sub-optimally as other efficiency measures, changing force structure, and technology reduce the number of missions and personnel." The Pentagon calculates that shedding unused and unneeded defense infrastructure would save the Pentagon $2 billion a year, money that could be transferred to other areas of the department's budget to boost readiness after a decade and a half of continuous war. As a military man with decades of experience as a wartime commander, Mattis has the credibility and prestige to advocate for this ultimate reform on Capitol Hill. 3. Don't overextend America's military: Much of Mattis's tenure at the Defense Department will of course be determined by the type of national security policy that President-Elect Trump will formulate in the weeks and months to come. Trump's aversion to the regime change and nation-building missions of the past is a good omen for realists who have long argued overthrowing government's the U.S. finds unsavory does not advance America's vital national interests -- particularly when Washington is unprepared for the governance and security void and his left holding most of the war-related costs. As is too often the case, regime change missions packaged as quick and easy military victories (i.e. Iraq 2003 and Libya 2011) either degenerated into occupations that lasted far too long or fomented sectarian and civil conflict that destroyed the possibility of a democratic transition. Advertisement As the top defense official in the president's ear, Mattis has a unique opportunity to drill home the message that overextension of the U.S. military -- using military power to solve national security crises that can only be resolved politically by the combatants themselves -- will effect the health and capacity of the joint force long into the future. The startling destruction of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city and one of its most storied, is shocking and sad to see. The human suffering would be enough to mourn. But there's also a tragic and probably irreversible social annihilation going on. Aleppo was the last city in the last Middle East where tolerance was a vital virtue. For centuries, Aleppo stood out as a city where Muslims, Christians and Jews could live together, even well into the 20th Century. As an oasis of broadmindedness, Aleppo was a place in the roster of other such urban gems in the Middle East where different ethnicities and religions famously coexisted, where life was urbane and hospitable. Others included Alexandria and Cairo, Beirut and Baghdad. Advertisement But Nasser Arabized Egypt in the 1950s and early 60s, and the Jews and foreigners fled, as well as Lebanese and Syrians who had flocked to Egypt to escape Ottoman oppression and Europeans, too. Jews were driven out in most other places over time. Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war bloodily entrenched divisions among Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and Christians. Baghdad, comatose under deadening Baathist rule was then battered by the US-led invasion in 2003 and has been cut up into ethnically cleansed neighborhoods of fearful Sunnis, Shiites and shrinking numbers of Christians and Kurds. It is impossible to imagine an atmosphere of coexistence restored to Aleppo after so much death and destruction. It certainly didn't happen in Sarajevo, whose easy-going multi-ethnic makeup died in Bosnia's civil war. Nor in Nicosia, following the 1974 Turkish-Greek conflict when Cyprus was sliced in two. Hope that Arab and Jewish populations of Jerusalem can coexist without barbed wire and fear is a distant illusion. Neither side in the Syria conflict seems to care much. Bashar al-Assad, whose Russian and Iranian backed army currently has the upper hand in the war, has been indifferent to the destruction of eastern parts of the city. His air force randomly dropped barrel bombs to flatten ancient and modern buildings. Advertisement Ironically, he destroyed one of his few development achievements. Before the war, he and his wife patronized Aleppo and worked out a redevelopment plan with a German institution to rehabilitate the historic Old City. The Aga Khan was paying for renovation of the Citadel, the fortress that dominates Aleppo's heights on a hill that has been fortified since the time of Alexander the Great. Entrepreneurs renovated palaces into hotels. Lemon trees flowered in courtyards. Residents supplied with German loans rehabilitated the houses in labyrinthine alleys and the famous bazaar was alive with commerce. The rebels, dominated by Salafi jihadists, also care little about the physical destruction of the city nor the rending of its social fabric. Their narrow interpretation of Islam promotes the persecution of minorities and the regimentation of Sunni Muslims into sheep to follow imagined 7th Century norms. All of this is foreign to Aleppo. They are supported by Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Obama has done much lamenting, but not much else. Aleppo was long considered a key prize in the conflict and Assad's reconquest suggests he is winning. In 2011, Aleppo was slow to join the revolt against him. Early peaceful demonstrators marched and chanted, "No Bashar...Syria is longing for freedom." Violence soon overtook the peaceful protests. Bashar, whose co-religionists in the Allawite Islamic sect dominate the security services, shot down opponents, all of whom he labeled terrorists. Fundamentalist guerrillas and terrorist groups, the most effective opposition fighting force, shouted not just for Assad's ouster, but for the herding of "Christians to Beirut, Allawites to the grave." I had visited Aleppo nine months before Arab Spring and was charmed, as so many visitors over the centuries had been, by the openness of its people, their pride in the city's past and their urbane hospitality. In 2010, Aleppans would regain its place as a great trading city, as it once was back when it was the western terminus of the Silk Road. In retrospect, ominous signs of unrest to come were already visible. The pile up of displaced destitute farmers and herders camped in the city's outskirts. They had been deprived of livelihood by a five year drought to which the government paid little attention. Textile mills were closing because Syrian cotton fabric could not compete with textiles from China, even though shipped from a great distance. Whispers of corruption and the concentration of wealth among Assad's inner circle drew sighs of resignation. Advertisement Still, revolt seemed far off. Aleppo's traditional music, centered on the oud, an Arabic lute, echoed through the bazaar. Sumptuous meals were served in merchants' clubs, and hosts would gently tell a guest that Lebanese food, celebrated worldwide, is really Syrian cuisine and the best of that is in Aleppo. Citizens boasted, too, of the tradition of tolerance. One quoted from King Faisal, emir of Iraq after World War I who said, after visiting Aleppo, "The Arabs were Arabs before Moses and Jesus and Mohammed. All religions enjoin brotherhood on earth. Anyone who sows discord between Muslim, Christian and Jew is not an Arab." Can such a long history of tolerance be crushed? Back in the 16th Century, when Suleiman the Magnificent ruled the Ottoman Empire, a story circulated that, when advised he should to expel Jews from Aleppo because they were moneylenders, he refused. Suleiman lectured the accusers and suggested his empire was "a pot of flowers of diverse colors" whose different hues glorify the other blossoms. It was the same for his subjects, he went on. "I have in my dominions under me, as Turks, Moors, Greeks, etc... "I think it is convenient that all have been here until now. And may they be kept and tolerated still for the future." Rex W. Tillerson, C.E.O of Exxon Mobil, will face tough questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State. The Committee will carefully examine Tillerson's track record. There are several concerns, such as Exxon Mobils's business in Iraq and its ties to Russia. Critics question whether Exxon Mobil's business with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) conformed to US law and policy. The KRG and Exxon Mobil signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) to develop six exploration blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 18, 2011. Though Baghdad objected, Article 115 of Iraq's constitution explicitly allows KRG ownership of fields developed after 2003. Critics also claim the deal accelerated Iraq's fragmentation. To the contrary. Some of the blocks fell within disputed areas in Nineveh Province, requiring dialogue between the KRG and Baghdad. The KRG and Iraqi troops are today fighting side-by-side to liberate Mosul from ISIS. Advertisement Exxon Mobil's business with Russia is more complicated. Some US Senators, including prominent Republicans, believe that Rex Tillerson is too chummy with Vladimir Putin. Tillerson accepted Russia's "medal of friendship" award. Tillerson opposed US sanctions, imposed after Russia illegally occupied Crimea in 2014. US national interests were not Tillerson's concern. He was focused on the bottom line and shareholder earnings. Sanctions shut down Exxon Mobil's gas exploration on Sakhalin Island and offshore in the Okhotsk Sea, costing billions. Tillerson affirmed, "My guiding principle is making money." He runs a $385 billion diversified company with operations in more than 50 countries and 83,700 employees. Can his business acumen be applied in diplomacy? Exxon Mobil has a large internal intelligence operation. Was its agency simply gathering information, or manipulating events in service of business-friendly regimes? Will Tillerson pro-actively protect the rules-based international order? Will he discern false friends? His friendly relations with Vladimir Putin will be under a microscope. Advertisement Can Tillerson confront Russia's aggression in Ukraine? Will he negotiate sustainable peace in Syria through power-sharing? What about the mass jailing of journalists in Turkey? Will the US turn a blind eye to extra-judicial killings in the Philippines? What will be the balance between climate change and commercial interests? Where does pragmatism end and moral clarity begin? The confirmation hearing will be an opportunity for Tillerson, on behalf of the Trump administration, to articulate policies not megaphone positions. As Secretary of State, Tillerson will be challenged to give coherence to Trump's mercurial foreign policy. Above all, Tillerson must show that he is beholden to no foreign power or corporate interest. America must come first in any negotiation. Dear Mr. Trump, Congratulations! You won! You proved that every Democrat, every other Republican, every pollster, and all left-leaning journalists were wrong. You made your point and it was a good one. You pointed out in your uniquely politically incorrect way the flaws that were right in front of our faces: Hillary is crooked, the Clinton dynasty is corrupt, Jeb is low energy, Marco is well, "little," Carly is unattractive, the left-wing media is completely biased, pollsters and intellectuals are too stupid to see your genius, Mexican immigrants are bringing drugs into the country, Muslims are terrorists, hardworking Americans need jobs, and elections are rigged. There is probably some small kernel of truth in all of those claims, which demonstrates the genius of your pointed remarks. Thank you for exposing the ugly underbelly of American politics. Republicans are thrilled that after eight long, frustrating years, they have the White House...and a majority in both houses of Congress!! You are now in a position to "Make America Great Again!" So, take your victory tour and enjoy it!! Then take the next brave step: QUIT WHILE YOU ARE AHEAD. I'm serious. You are a brilliant businessman and showman extraordinaire! You have clearly proved that and humiliated every naysayer who didn't think you would make it past the primaries (myself included). Now is the time to politely decline the elected office and allow Mike Pence to step up to the presidency. In order to protect your well-deserved brand and preserve your hard-earned billions for your family, I urge you to step aside. Save yourself from the agony of constantly choosing between your business interests and the interests of the American people writ large. Believe me, we are an ungrateful lot and impossible to please. All we want are safety and security, good jobs, good health care, good education, no government regulations, government safety nets, and not to pay for any of it. Piece of cake, right? Advertisement Initially, I had written several long paragraphs giving you good reasons for NOT actually becoming POTUS. But, upon further reflection, I realized that would probably not hold your attention. So, instead, let me put it to you in a more entertaining way. With my compliments to David Letterman, I offer, TOP TEN REASONS WHY DONALD TRUMP SHOULD NOT WANT TO BE PRESIDENT: 10. AS POTUS, you are elected to be a PUBLIC SERVANT. Yeah, I am sure you are familiar with servants... as in having them. But I am pretty sure that you never aspired to be one. So, good luck with that! Somehow, I don't think it will come naturally. 9. As POTUS, you are the PUBLIC SERVANT of ALL AMERICANS. Yeah, that includes the 65,788,583 legal American citizens who did NOT vote for you and probably don't like you all that much. Yeah, you are our bitch, too! Advertisement 8. As POTUS, you are supposed to attend the daily intelligence briefings. They're boring! Even worse, you might have to actually do something about Syria, Iran, Iraq, and other tiny countries that you have never even heard of. Do you have a good maps app? 7. As POTUS, you are going to have to give up your interest in that pretty new hotel right down the street from the White House. As of January 20th, you will be in violation of your own lease... by both parties, i.e, you and you. Ouch! 6. As POTUS, you cannot have your children working in the White House and owning and controlling your business interests. There are no arms long enough to keep your business interests at "arms-length" and it appears your tiny little hands are having trouble grasping that. 5. As POTUS, you cannot just "create a wall" between yourself and your businesses. Nobody believes that. Is it like the wall you're supposed to build on the U.S./Mexican border? How's that coming along? 4. As POTUS, Ivanka cannot be working in the White House and selling her various clothing and accessories around the world (made in China, by the way). If I were a competitor of Ivanka's in the clothing business, I would be screaming about unfair trade practices. Hmmm, where have I heard that phrase? Advertisement 3. As POTUS, you will have to divest yourself from your business interests. But you like business! You're good at it! Why would you want to give all that up while your brand is at its peak? Quit this public servant nonsense and cash in on all the free advertising of the last 18 months! 2. As the 45th POTUS, you have to follow Barack Obama. Yeah! He has a 59% approval rating and there was not a single scandal surrounding him or his family in 8 years in the White House! He is grace-under-pressure personified! The coolest cat ever! Do you really want to follow that? And finally, the number one reason why you should NOT take the oath of office on January 20th... drum roll, please... 1. YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You were as shocked as the rest of us that you won. (Well, maybe not AS shocked.) But, admit it. You didn't think you were going to win and actually have to give up your businesses and move to the White House (ugh!). You are not prepared for this. You were preparing for your next big media conglomerate enterprise reality show whatever. So, please go do that! It will be more fun! Pence can run the country and you can sit in your gold tower and tweet against your enemies and take pot shots at the government. Play to your strengths and keep making big league business deals. Leave the governing to all the poor shmucks who can't make it in the real world and have to be public servants instead. Advertisement Respectfully, Candidate Donald Trump did the seeming impossible: get elected president while speaking truths that shocked establishment policymakers. Such as criticizing the defense dole for South Korea, one of Washington, D.C.'s, most sacred sacred cows. However, as his swearing in nears, he is being strongly pressed to abandon his contrarian views. During the campaign Trump accurately diagnosed the problem of nominal allies becoming costly dependents. He declared: "We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself." Of that there should be no doubt. He further explained: "We have 28,000 soldiers on the line in South Korea between the madman and them." Also true. Moreover, "We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this." He's right: it doesn't benefit America to pay for the defense of nations able to defend themselves. Advertisement Alas, Trump fell short when discussing the solution. He argued: "They have to protect themselves or they have to pay us." The U.S. shouldn't hire out its military like a mercenary force. Rather, Washington should turn over defense responsibilities to one of the world's wealthier nations. Serious, mature countries should protect their own people, rather than beg others to do so. However, after being elected Trump appeared to be going on his own apology tour, calling South Korean President Park Geun-hye to promise that America would be "steadfast and strong" with the Republic of Korea. Policy advisers Alexander Gray and Peter Navarro wrote that "Trump will simply pragmatically, and respectfully discuss with Tokyo and Seoul additional ways for those governments to support a presence all involved agree is vital." If true, then the president-elect will be effectively declaring preemptive surrender. South Koreans interpreted the forgoing to mean that the good times will continue: no need to worry their own people by matching North Korea's military efforts. Indeed, Seoul plans to do whatever is necessary to save its defense subsidies. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se assured South Koreans that "the government will make various efforts so the South Korea-U.S. alliance that has successfully developed over the past 60 years will continue to move forward without faltering despite the change in the U.S. leadership." If the ROK succeeds in its efforts, it will be apparent that The Donald is not nearly as tough as he likes to portray. "Draining the swamp" will take work, and nowhere is the swamp more impermeable than Washington's foreign policy community. There is a convenient consensus from liberal interventionist to neoconservative that the U.S. must micro-manage the world, using force whenever necessary to impose America's will even when the stakes are minimal. As a result American lives and wealth have been squandered around the globe. President Trump must take on this conventional wisdom, and the various factions which hold it--what President Barack Obama termed "the Blob" in Washington. Advertisement South Korea would be a good place to start. The U.S. is in the South because it has always been in the South, or almost. American forces arrived in the Korean peninsula after Japan's surrender in August 1945, when the U.S. and Soviet Union occupied the-then Japanese colony south and north, respectively. In 1948 the ROK and Democratic People's Republic of Korea were established, backed by their respective patrons. The North invaded in June 1950. The U.S. entered the war to defend the ROK. As allied forces neared the DPRK's border with China, the latter intervened to prevent Pyongyang's defeat. The conflict went on until July 1953, when an armistice was signed. But peace was never formally made. And the U.S. still has nearly 29,000 troops stationed in the South which act as a tripwire to ensure American involvement in any new war. And the ROK always wants an increased commitment. It recently requested that the U.S. station "strategic weapons," such as the B-1, B-2, and B-52 bombers in South Korea. In its early years the South remained an economic and political wreck, vulnerable to renewed attack by Pyongyang, still led by Kim Il-sung, who launched the earlier conflict. Moreover, the U.S.S.R. and People's Republic of China continued to back the DPRK. However, the world has changed dramatically. In the 1960s South Korea took off economically, soon passing the collectivist North. Democracy arrived in the ROK in 1989, when the South's last military junta passed into history. With the end of the Cold War Pyongyang lost its most important allies: both Moscow and Beijing recognized Seoul, and neither would back the DPRK in another aggressive war today. The South possesses roughly twice the population and 40 times the GDP of North Korea. South Korea is an industrial power. Seoul enjoys the international connections of a first rate state. Although the ROK's military is smaller than that of the North, the South's equipment and training are far superior. Only in quantity is Seoul's armed forces inferior and there is no artifact of geography which prevents the ROK from doing more. Rather, South Korea has no reason to invest more on territorial defense when the world's greatest military power is prepared to intervene on its behalf. Advertisement Washington turned defense into welfare. Nations such as the South act like Ronald Reagan's famous "welfare queens," profiting from Americans' generosity. Trump's campaign remarks caused much wailing in Seoul, worried that it might have to contribute more than the roughly $900 million provided as "host nation support," about 40 percent of the total. However, the greater cost to the U.S. is that for raising, equipping, and maintaining military units made necessary by additional force commitments. Americans fully bear this burden. Even worse is the risk of being dragged into an unnecessary war. There's no persuasive reason for the U.S. to continue protecting populous and prosperous allies. With the end of the Cold War, the Korean peninsula lacks any significant security relevance to America. A second Korean War would be horrid, of course, but would not threaten the U.S. in any way. Loss of a mid-size trading partner cannot justify a permanent garrison let alone willingness to risk full-scale conflict. Many American policymakers see the ROK as necessary to contain China, but South Koreans are unwilling to play that role. They want to be defended against Beijing, if necessary, but not to join a Sino-American war--say over Taiwan--and become a permanent enemy of the PRC. Anyway, if the U.S. and China come to blows, ground troops in Korea would have no useful role to play. Finally, some have justified America's military presence as necessary to prevent war, proliferation, pestilence, and most every other evil known to man from descending upon the region. No doubt, U.S. defense guarantees do discourage some potential conflicts. However, America's role also encourages allies to behave irresponsibly, forcing Washington to try to dissuade nations such as the ROK from doing what they perceive to be in their national interest. Moreover, the military tripwire ensures U.S. involvement in any conflict even if not in America's interest. In East Asia it is in no party's interest to go to war, and the region doesn't appear to teeter on the edge of chaos. Indeed, it is in everyone's interest to promote stability even in America's absence. And if the result is an arms race, mostly by friendly states seeking to balance against the PRC, why is this cause for U.S. concern? Better to have friends and allies do more, rather than relying on America's willingness to come in. Washington officials forget that alliances are a means to an end, U.S. security, not an end in themselves. Advertisement Would an American departure cause South Korea and Japan to go nuclear? Virtually no one believes that Pyongyang can be persuaded to yield its nuclear arsenal, and the latest sanctions resolution adopted by the UN Security Council will have no more impact than those approved in the past. The North is likely to slowly but steadily expand its nuclear arsenal. Washington could maintain its nuclear umbrella while withdrawing its conventional forces. But there is something worse than the possibility of friendly democratic states building nuclear arsenals, and that is getting in the middle of a nuclear exchange over stakes of minimal importance to the U.S. Nonproliferation is a worthy objective, but America would be safer if it withdrew from a potentially unstable region in which only the "bad guys" have nukes. In short, Washington should engage in burden-shedding, not burden-sharing. Candidate Trump suggested that the ROK pay America for the latter's defense services. However, the U.S. armed forces should not be rented out like mercenaries. South Korea is able to defend itself. It should do so. Of course, it would take some time for the South to adapt its forces and policies to changing U.S. strategy. But the incoming administration should begin the process by setting the end point: no more security guarantee, no more tripwire garrison. The replacement would be an agreement for cooperation as equals on issues of mutual interest. The goal should be responsible internationalism rather than either isolation or intervention. President Park said that President-elect Trump promised to work with Seoul "to protect against the instability in North Korea." The best way to do that would be to push the ROK to take the steps necessary to deter and if necessary defeat a North Korean attack. But South Korea will do so only when forced to do so. Which means after Washington kicks the South off of America's defense dole. Co-Authored by Ellen Offner, Principal, Offner Consulting, LLC, health care strategy and program development. We never should've given the women the vote: you start with the vote and they want more. Equal access to education, equal jobs, and now they have the audacity to believe they can define beauty. Women's beauty has been men's purview for years and now, can you believe, older women with wrinkles with bumps and lumps are entering beauty contests and making one of the qualifications inner beauty and achievement as they did in the beauty contest for women of a certain age, "Never Too Old for a Tiara." This last bastion of male privilege must remain. The Barbie doll is the only, and I repeat only, version of female beauty we want to entertain. I mean that's a fantasy. Who wants to deal with reality like a woman with the strength to overcome cancer? Who wants to think about cancer in the first place? All of the women with talent, compassion, and understanding. We want a blank slate on which we can write our own hopes and dreams. Advertisement First there were the famous calendar girls from Leeds, England, each one representing a month. Ten years after their original best-selling nude calendar, these Calendar Girls from Leeds, England, have released a second edition to raise money for leukemia research. Their first exhibition, which came about after Miss August's husband died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, inspired the film Calendar Girls. In an era when the President-elect of the United States believes that "making America great again" translates into freedom for men to engage in locker-room talk and behavior with complete impunity, we see powerful older women presenting themselves as vigorous, beautiful representatives of the female population. Women have the power to make America truly great again. Hillary Clinton, who captured 2.5 million more popular votes than her opponent, and is two years younger than her opponent, in regard to beauty, is a model for all women but perhaps especially for those of us with wrinkles, bulges, manmade knees, and hips with joints made of metal and plastic, as well as thinning hair and eyebrows. Mr. Trump alleged that Hillary lacked stamina while he accosted reluctant women while married to his statuesque Melania, a former model. Though Hillary outshone her opponent in the debates he carried the vote despite insulting almost every constituency in the country. Women are using a more subtle tactic. Competence. Whether you voted for Hillary or for Trump, collectively we want many of the same things. We women have something in common. We have power. Let's use it to ensure we get health care for our whole bodies including our vaginas, uteri and ovaries. (See what we mean you give those women an inch and they take a mile, mentioning the unmentionable. In scientific words (instead of locker room jargon), we all want help with our caregiving responsibilities, while we want men to assume their share of the work. Advertisement Just in case you need a reminder that racism is not dead, James Baldwin, the intellectual, civil rights activist and renowned author, has left behind some biting and enlightening words about the subject. (Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures) Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924. He moved to Paris around 1950, eventually taking up residence in the south of France. At some point in his self-imposed exile, he came to the conclusion that he had to turn his attention back to his home country. Baldwin: "I could no longer sit around Paris discussing America. I had to come and pay my dues." Baldwin started his book, Remember This House, in 1979. The manuscript focused on the lives, views and assassinations of his three friends and colleagues, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. But by the time of his death he had only completed 30 pages Advertisement Director Raoul Peck (Lumumba) took those few, initial pieces of Baldwin's non-fiction tome and developed them into a searing documentary that examines the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s making them very relevant today in this age of Black Lives Matter. Peck assembles archival footage, photographs and contentious TV clips (particularly the fledgling The Dick Cavett Show where discussions of the state of the "Negro" got heated). He adds in modern day camera feeds of demonstrators angry over police shootings. The results are a blistering indictment of race relations both old and new. Voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson verbalize passages from Baldwin notes. You hear the author chide oppressors, confront Hollywood and challenge the American government. His words recount the personal relationships and mutual respect he had with the iconic civil rights legends Medgar, Malcolm and Martin, effectively humanizing these political/social deities. He candidly explores their differences and similarities. He reveals the absolute despair he felt each time he heard that one of them had been killed. His ruminations glow with a truth that is timeless. Raoul Peck and editor Alexandra Strauss have masterfully fulfilled the arduous and artful task of pulling all the pieces of Baldwin's contemplations together and forming a fiery narrative that makes audiences recalibrate their feelings about race in America. The musical score by Aleksey Aygi adds a piqued sense of urgency and gravitas. Advertisement Medgar Evers was killed on June 12, 1963. Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968. James Baldwin died of stomach cancer on December 1, 1987. Together, collectively, they left behind a tremendous social/political legacy that finds its due respect in this very powerful and enlightening documentary. In 93 thought-provoking minutes, I Am Not Your Negro poignantly connects the past to the present--with no apologies. As we go forward, movies guide us. They give us directions. They motivate us. They provide rest stops, comic relief and flashbacks to the past. And they reassure us that we will thrive. It's a perfect time to reflect on the most inspiring films, performances and artistic achievements of this last year. Check out the best in film in 2016. (Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, A24, Amazon Studios, Roadside Attractions) Advertisement Best Films Arrival -- (***1/2) Director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners), creates a compelling sci-fi movie, based on Eric Heisserer's thoughtful, feminist screenplay. Aliens arrive in massive floating pods in 12 locations around the world. A linguist (Amy Adams) tries to communicate with them and save humanity. Jeremy Renner and Forrest Whitaker co-star in a film filled with suspense, dread and brain-numbing science. The Birth of a Nation -- (****) An uncompromising retelling of the country's most heralded slave rebellion. Actor-turned-director Nate Parker assembles a stellar cast and tech crew that takes viewers back to when Nat Turner led a revolt in Southampton County, Virginia, in the 1800s. Brutal. Uplifting. Informative. Haunting. Gritty performances and superb ensemble acting. Deadpool -- (***1/2) Actor Ryan Reynolds turns a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick into biting satire that he hurls like a dagger. And director Tim Miller, an animator, creative director and visual effects artist, who marks his feature film debut, orchestrates the madness like a wizard on crystal meth. The petulant mutate and his hijinks are the brilliant concoction of Marvel Comics. Fences - (***1/2) Opening up a play just enough to make it a viable film is not an easy task. It helps if Denzel Washington, the lead in August Wilson's Tony Award-winning Broadway play, is the movie's director and reprises his role. A father tries to hold his family together during the 1950s and the strife, friction and daunting social issues are amplified on the silver screen. Washington and Viola Davis, as the wife, excel. Advertisement I, Daniel Blake - (***1/2) Working hard most of your life then becoming disabled and broke is not a pretty picture even in socialist-leaning England. That's the hypothesis of British director Ken Loach and his writing partner Paul Laverty. Their film tracks a weary carpenter, perfectly played by Dave Johns, who can't navigate the welfare system in the town of Newcastle and drifts into despair. So poignant, so touching. Jackie -- (****) It must have been two weeks of pure hell. That's the blueprint Noah Oppenheim provides in his woeful screenplay that follows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (Natalie Portman) as she deals with the aftershock of JFK's assassination. Chilean director Pablo Larrain (Neruda) perfectly manages a skillful tech crew. Portman's performance shines brighter than a diamond. The Jungle Book - (***1/2) With a dazzling array of CGI technology, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man), screenwriter Justin Marks, a top notch tech crew and the brilliant voices of Lupita Nyong'o, Giancarlo Esposito, Ben Kingsley and others craft together the ultimate kids' fantasy/adventure film. Mowgli (Neel Sethi), a man-cub raised by wolves, is tasked with protecting the pack and lucky viewers get to watch. Loving -- (***1/2) Kudos to writer/director Jeff Nichols (Mud) for retelling the true-life story of a black woman (Ruth Negga, World War Z) and a white man (Joel Edgerton, The Gift) who married and were jailed for it in Virginia, in 1958. His approach is low-key and natural: few theatrics, lots of personal drama. The subtle performances by Negga and Edgerton are filled with grace. Manchester by the Sea -- (***1/2) Dealing with a death in the family is so much harder when you're a hopeless alcoholic (Casey Affleck, who is brilliant) who's divorced and running away from a tragedy. Screenwriter/director Kenneth Lonergan meticulously sets the blue-collar characters in motion, giving them everyday dialogue that unearths hurt and feelings that run deeper than the sea. Advertisement Moonlight -- (***) Writer/director Barry Jenkins teams up with writer Tarell McCraney to tell a story about sexual repression and ambiguity through the eyes of a young, overly passive and emotionally abused gay boy who becomes a distressed teen and then a circumspect young man in inner city Miami. Mahershala Ali as a warm-hearted drug dealer and father figure steals every scene. Artfully directed and photographed. Best Directors Barry Jenkins = Moonlight Pablo Larrain = Jackie Nate Parker = The Birth of a Nation Denis Villeneuve = Arrival Kenneth Lonergan = Manchester by the Sea Best First Films Birth of a Nation = Nate Parker Krisha = Trey Edward Shults Deadpool = Tim Miller Southside With You = Richard Tanne The Edge of Seventeen = Kelly Fremon Craig Best Foreign Language Films Land of Mine, The Salesman, Neruda, The Handmaiden, Elle Best Documentaries 13th, I Am Not Your Negro, Gleason, Presenting Princess Shaw, Miss Sharon Jones! Best Actors Denzel Washington = Fences Casey Affleck = Manchester by the Sea Dave Johns = I, Daniel Blake Ryan Reynolds = Deadpool Ethan Hawke = Born to Be Blue Best Actresses Natalie Portman = Jackie Amy Adams = Arrival Ruth Negga = Loving Jessica Chastain = Miss Sloane Rachel Weisz = Denial Advertisement Best Supporting Actors Mahershala Ali = Moonlight Ben Foster = Hell or High Water Michael Shannon = Nocturnal Animals Stephen Henderson = Fences Gil Birmingham = Hell or High Water Best Supporting Actresses Aja Naomi King = The Birth of a Nation Viola Davis = Fences Michelle Williams = Manchester by the Sea Nicole Kidman = Lion Carmen Ejogo = Born to Be Blue Best Screenplays Manchester by the Sea = Kenneth Lonergan The Birth of a Nation = Nate Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin Deadpool = Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick Miss Sloane = Jonathan Perera Remember = Benjamin August Best Cinematography Arrival = Bradford Young The Birth of a Nation = Elliot Davis Nocturnal Animals = Seamus McGarvey Moonlight = James Laxton Jackie = Stephane Fontaine Best Animation/CGI The Jungle Book, The Secret Life of Pets, Zootopia, Sausage Party, Finding Dory Great Films Being 17, Bleed for This, Born to Be Blue, Denial, Eye in the Sky, Free State of Jones, Hands of Stone, Hidden Figures, Indignation, La La Land, Lion, Love & Friendship, Miss Sloane, Queen of Katwe, 20th Century Women Advertisement Worst Movies Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Certain Women, The Dressmaker, The Girl on the Train, The Legend of Tarzan, The Lobster, Nina, Snowden, Suicide Squad Scotch or bourbon whiskey (or whisky) being poured into a glass with dramatic studio lighting and a black background. This post originally appeared on FredMinnick.com. Sign up for Fred Minnick's free drinks newsletter. In the past year, we've seen big spirits companies gobble up smaller whiskey brands. The latest is Seattle's Westland Distillery, which last week announced it sold to Remy Martin for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2010, Westland embodied the Pacific Northwest spirit. Founders Emerson Lamb and Matt Hoffman were smart, different and innovative. They reminded me of other bright Seattle minds who invented the cell phone and built computers that changed the world. Advertisement What Westland did in six years is amazing. They implemented an American peat bog, helped establish Oregon oak barrels and worked with Washington State University to create new breeds of barley. Their ideas were fresh, raw and pure. Many of us not only believed their hype, we rooted for them to succeed. I made the mistake of believing them when the owners said they'd remain independent. They sold. And there's nothing wrong with that. Most business plans have buyout rationale, and I hope Remy paid Westland handsomely. But as an enthusiast, I want to support truly independent distilleries. If they keep selling, we will lose the bravado and innovation that comes with craft whiskey. And no brand was more magical than Westland. Their independence is gone. No matter what happens to the existing staff and facilities, Westland is now Remy's, who will do what they want. I hope they continue the path Lamb and Hoffman set them on and further study American peat, barley and wood. But they will do what's best for their business. The one positive is Remy owns Mount Gay, a rum distillery that's been left in the hands of the Barbados locals and not drastically interfered with. So, there's hope new ownership will respect Westland's young heritage. Advertisement As for the independence in American whiskey, well, cherish it while you can, because history shows that the successful brands will be purchased. (In Bourbon, you can study the period in which the Big Four purchased smaller brands and found themselves under federal investigations.) No doubt, this strategy has already helped Angel's Envy, who sold to Bacardi; George Remus, recently acquired by MGP Ingredients; and High West, which received $160 million from Constellation Brands. Others have sold for less and more in the past few years. Our greatest independent American whiskey-only distillery left is Willett in Bardstown, Ky. (Heaven Hill is technically an independent family-owned company, but they're in a league of their own and make more than whiskey.) Willett remains all in the family. Let's hope it stays that way. If Willett sold, whiskey geeks around the world will need Prozac. By Anna Bengel Slavery is a key part of Jewish identity. The central narrative of Jewish faith is being enslaved in ancient Egypt; it is the story the Jewish community tells on Passover, every Sabbath, and during daily prayers. The book of Exodus recounts the miracle of Moses parting the Red Sea, the defiance of the Pharaoh's daughter, the actions of the faithful who risked their lives to help those in bondage: the collaborative effort of people who, guided by God, helped liberate the Jews. The Torah instructs: "Love the stranger, for you were a stranger in the land of Egypt." To Rabbi Debra Orenstein, this means it is not enough simply to honor the past and be grateful. "You have to go out and help someone else be free." Advertisement "I free slaves because I am a Jew and it is my spiritual commandment," she says. "How could we as a civilization stand for these kinds of atrocities to still go on? Failing to speak up is not acceptable." A Shared Responsibility At Orenstein's synagogue, Congregation B'nai Israel, in Emerson, New Jersey, fighting modern slavery is an essential message. Orenstein is a seventh-generation rabbi, an alumna of the first class at her seminary to include women, and a fervent supporter of Free the Slaves. She is driven by a sense of mutual obligation; the shared history of slavery grounds and defines the Jewish faith. "I care from both sides. I care about the individual slaves who are suffering due to our inaction, and I care that the Jewish community be relevant and compassionate." Orenstein believes freeing slaves should come naturally to Jews--so she seeks to mobilize every Jewish person to advocate for freedom. Four years ago, Orenstein was asked to write a sample sermon on human trafficking for the rabbinical assembly. It was the time of High Holidays: Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. These profound holy days are essential parts of Jewish life and character. "The High Holidays are the time we talk about introspection, forgiveness, repentance, very personal sins, and personal redemption." To prepare her remarks, Orenstein read A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery, by Benjamin Skinner, and Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, by FTS Co-founder Kevin Bales. She was generally aware of modern slavery, but she did not understand the enormous scope of the crisis. She at once grasped, in human terms, an issue she had considered only theoretically. "From that moment on, I felt I didn't have a choice but to make this a big priority." Advertisement Many Rabbis will address a social issue once and move on to another one. Orenstein continued to preach about slavery all year, and she spoke again on slavery during the next High Holidays--and every High Holidays since for four years running. It is a duty she does not take lightly; the tragedy of slavery is heavy. Yet she carries out her spiritual calling with a sense of hope. She knows from her faith that collective action can free slaves. Everything Is Connected Orenstein's mission is to make slavery relevant in the daily lives of Jews. She helps people see modern slavery through the lenses of history and faith. During Passover, Jewish people are already thinking deeply about slavery; the eight-day spring festival commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites. Yet it is a challenge to integrate tradition and innovation. Passover customs include time-honored family recipes, melodies, and rituals. "At the same time, you're not really telling the story unless you're telling it in a new way," Orenstein says. "How are you more aware of slavery and freedom? That has to grow and change. If it doesn't change from year to year, the holiday hasn't been effective." Free the Slaves has launched an initiative to galvanize a renewed Jewish movement against slavery. The Passover Project, an FTS collaboration with a group of Jewish rabbis led by Orenstein, raises money and awareness through myriad outreach and educational ventures. Any Jewish organization--synagogues, schools, publishing houses--is welcome. There is no minimum donation or commitment. The Passover Project offers guides for teaching slavery. Flyers detail how to incorporate modern slavery into each special aspect of the holiday, from Dayenu to the Seder plate. To observe Passover, people buy chocolate, new clothes, hostess gifts, and special desserts; these traditions bestow an opportunity to talk about fair trade and labor practices. Orenstein offers families new ideas for their Seders that involve modern slavery in the Biblical conventions of the past. Passover coupons, in beautiful calligraphy, include information on how to support Free the Slaves. Advertisement "Slavery is such a common evil," Orenstein says. "We're not thinking about it; it's not in front of us every moment." People struggle to feel the pain and immediacy of slavery; engaging the issue in sacred Jewish occasions makes its reality resonate. High Holidays, Passover, Shabbat: these moments are direct links between the old and the new. The Jewish past holds slavery, suffering, and, finally, emancipation. The present is a reflection of the past--and the future holds freedom. Coming Full Circle Orenstein chose Free the Slaves as her primary charity for our community-based approach. We help communities help themselves by empowering people to stay free within the circumstances of their unique culture. Free people then, in turn, spread the powerful message of freedom to others. Orenstein' activism connects the ancient to the contemporary--Jewish ancestors to future generations. Young people often have an emotional and spiritual instinct to help those who are enslaved. After Orenstein became an abolitionist, her children followed. Her daughter, Hannah, sells her old clothes online to raise money for FTS; her son, Emmett, runs the Fashion Freedom website. Their choice of charity helps everyone involved. "Most charities only help one side," Hannah says. "It's just not fun for the people who are giving. Getting clothes is always fun. This helps both sides." Emmett encourages his peers to turn a hobby into a good deed: "Other people should try to do similar things because it will be fun and help others." People of the Jewish faith are bonded to slavery through history, but modern slavery transcends time and faith. Orenstein has a vision: One day she will meet someone who will say to her, "I used to be a slave, and through FTS I am no longer a slave, and I am working to free others." The Everyday Work to Free Slaves Orenstein is determined to transform Jewish values into action and inspire people to get involved. She teaches children of her synagogue how modern slavery relates to sacred rituals. We light candles, she explains, to symbolize the journey from darkness to light: from enslavement to freedom. She speaks intensely, and often, with her congregation. Her commitment has moved many to discover their own passion for freeing slaves. Advertisement One winter a woman told Orenstein she had done a quick calculation in her mind while sitting in the service. All the money she spends on presents, chachkas, decorations, and special foods during Hanukah alone was enough to free a slave. The woman made a decision on the spot--she would tell her children they would not be getting so many gifts. The family would instead help save a human being. "That's the present they gave to each other that year," Orenstein says. "That's the present we can all give to each other." Festivities end; holidays come to a close. An ordinary day arrives. This is the time to care, Orenstein teaches. Love the stranger; love the slave. Orenstein asks the Jewish community, and the whole human family, to care about slaves at all times. The responsibility is shared; everyone is connected. There must be no break in the continuum, no forgotten slaves. Facing and fighting modern slavery is part of Orenstein's spiritual growth and fulfillment. She believes people of the Jewish faith should be at the forefront of freeing slaves. "That's my aspiration: to have every Jew sign on spiritually to the conviction that it is our obligation to end human slavery. Every day is a good day to help free slaves. As long as people are suffering, we need to be working every day." The leader of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota is asking the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to consider human rights violations against water protectors as it deliberates on the potential impact of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Cheyenne River Sioux Chairman, Harold Frazier, released a video statement and letter to Larry Roberts, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior for Indian Affairs, and Tracey Toulou of the Office of Tribal Justice to address abuses committed by the State of North Dakota and agents of the DAPL. The Texas company, Energy Transfer Partners, Inc., is the parent company of the pipeline. *Breaking News*Chairman Harold Fraizer finally address abuses committed by the State of North Dakota and DAPL mercenaries. @actarticulated pic.twitter.com/Nsl7h62YMb CRS Tribe (@Officialcrst1) December 15, 2016 Frazier notes that on November 20, 2016 members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe were among those attacked with water cannons in sub-freezing temperatures, and shot with rubber bullets, bean-bags, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades. Independent journalists and tribal members have videos that corroborate these actions near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. "It is hard for me to put into words how difficult it has been for me, as Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, to watch as members of my Tribe have suffered humiliating and painful abuses, both physical and spiritual, at the hands of North Dakota and DAPL. I am the duly-elected leader of a sovereign nation, entrusted with protecting and providing for my people, and yet there appears to be nothing that I can do when private aggressors and agents of another government assault my people without any legal or moral justification. I have to stand back and watch it happen," Frazier said in a press statement. Advertisement Chairman Fraizier wants federal law enforcement, especially in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate all of the abuses committed during the November 20 event and "refer potential defendants for charges to be filed by the appropriate authorities." On November 28, the Water Protectors Legal Collective (WPLC) filed a class action lawsuit against Morton County, the Morton County Sheriff and other law enforcement agencies for use of excessive force against Water Protectors. Dundon v. Kirchmeier seeks damages and injunctive relief for injuries and curtailment of First and Fourth Amendment rights.The case will resume hearings on January 13,2017 in the U.S.District Court of North Dakota, with Judge Charles S. Miller, Jr presiding. REFILE - FIXING TYPO A soldier salutes as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrives to take part during the change of command for the new Armed Forces chief at a military camp in Quezon city, Metro Manila, December 7, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro For the past six months, the Philippines has waged a brutal, bloody war against people who use drugs, people who sell drugs, and people who are simply assumed to be doing either. This war on the country's most vulnerable citizens has been undertaken at the behest of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte who, upon assuming office in June, made a public call for police and citizens alike to execute people who use or sell drugs. To date, over 6,000 people have been executed in Duterte's egregious war. A further 840,000 drug users have turned themselves in to authorities in the hope of protection, yet, as last week's harrowing New York Times photo essay on the Philippines highlighted, not even those that turn themselves in are spared from murder. Advertisement Initially, the United States, which boasts of a historic partnership with the Philippines, was silent about the tragedy unfolding in the country. However, in recent weeks, the U.S. government has become more vocal in its opposition to the gross human rights violations associated with Duterte's war on drugs. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said in a press briefing that "we're very concerned--deeply concerned, I would say--about reports of extrajudicial killings of individuals suspected to have been involved in drug activity in the Philippines." After impassioned statements by Senators Patrick Leahy and Benjamin Cardin about the gravity of the situation in the Philippines, the State Department vowed to redirect $9 million in aid away from Philippine counternarcotics training. Last month, the U.S. halted planned sales of over 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines after Senator Cardin vowed to block the sale. Today, the United States announced that it will defer economic aid to the Philippines because Duterte has shown no signs of restraint or of reversing his inhumane drug war. Molly Koscina, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines said that the decision was taken due to "significant concerns around the rule of law and civil liberties in the Philippines." Neither the U.S. or Philippine government has clarified the size of the grant, but officials said it was lower than the previous aid package of $434 million. Koscina said that they would continue "to monitor unfolding events" in the Philippines to determine whether the country becomes eligible for funding in the future but that a country "must demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in its people and economic freedom" to receive funding. Advertisement The move by the U.S. government to make aid and weapons sales conditional on respect for human rights is a good step in the right direction and is symbolically important in demonstrating that the U.S. will not stand for widespread abuses in the name of the war on drugs. The U.S. should continue to halt drug war aid to the Philippines and to other countries around the world, including those that violate due process and rule of law in their counternarcotic efforts by militarizing the drug war or by imposing capital punishment for drug offenses. However, it is gravely concerning that our president-elect is showing signs of deviating from the U.S.'s recent criticism of Duterte's war on drugs. Earlier this month, Donald Trump wished Duterte well in his anti-drug campaign and said that Duterte was going about it in "the right way," before inviting Duterte to the White House. Trump's support for Duterte's war is appalling. This is a man who has boasted of personally executing criminal suspects when he was mayor of Davao City, threatened to kill human rights defenders who attempt to intervene in his drug war, and has likened himself to Hitler, vowing to "slaughter three million drug addicts." He needs to be brought to trial for crimes against humanity, not praised by the future president of the United States. Hannah Hetzer is Senior International Policy Manager at the Drug Policy Alliance. Mexico's pledge to establish four new marine protected areas, made at the ongoing UN biodiversity conference in Cancun, Mexico, has boosted efforts to protect the global ocean, further advancing commitments made in the Promise of Sydney at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 - Trevor Sandwith, Director of IUCN's Global Protected Areas Programme, writes from Cancun. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced the pledge to establish three new marine Biosphere Reserves that will conserve important habitats in both the Pacific and Caribbean, including large parts of the Meso-American Barrier Reef and deep water zones in the Gulf of Mexico, at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13). The pledge will increase marine protection in Mexico to 23%, more than double the 10% target. In 2010, governments adopted a target of protecting 10% of the global ocean by 2020 - both in territorial waters and the high seas - during CBD COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan. Commitments such as these by Mexico boost our hopes of achieving this target. Advertisement Three months ago, protection of the global ocean stood at 4.1%, while marine protected areas within territorial waters had just surpassed 10.2%, as revealed by the Protected Planet Report 2016 launched at the IUCN Congress in Hawai'i. Major announcements in the intervening months have pushed these numbers even higher so that by 1 December, the protection of the global ocean had exceeded 5% for the first time, and marine protected areas within territorial waters had reached 12.7%, according to the December update of the Protected Planet Report, jointly presented by UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring Centre and IUCN in Cancun. Mexico's new pledge will take this even higher and challenge world leaders to make further efforts. "We must protect and conserve biodiversity because it contributes to the survival and development of communities" - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto It is certainly leadership that makes the difference. In Sydney at the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014, 14 governments made commitments towards enhancing ocean protection as a part of the Promise of Sydney. These included pledges by several small island states, reinventing themselves in the process as 'large ocean states'. Advertisement For example, Palau pledged to restrict commercial fisheries in its entire 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone while the Comores committed to protecting 7% of all marine and coastal ecosystems, among many others. Significantly, several of these countries made the case for embedding the conservation of coastal and marine systems at the heart of their economic development strategies. Their commitments were regarded as essential investments in sustaining livelihoods and opportunities into the future. This argument was not limited to small island states. Several other countries such as South Africa pledged to expand protection over the next decade to ensure environmental sustainability, as marine protected areas deliver ecosystem services which underpin South African livelihoods, food security and the ecotourism industry. These are in effect very clear examples of 'mainstreaming' biodiversity and protected areas into development processes, a key theme and ambition of the UN biodiversity conference in Cancun. The arguments for enhanced marine and coastal protection being made on this journey from Sydney through Hawai'i to Cancun are compelling cases demonstrating mutual benefits to be achieved for both biodiversity and sustainability. As President Pena Nieto stressed as he announced Mexico's pledge: "We must protect and conserve biodiversity because it contributes to the survival and development of communities. Thirty-two million tourists visit Mexico each year, to enjoy its natural wonders, including coral reefs and landscapes. These must be conserved and continue to attract visitors in the future. Our challenge is to protect the environment and achieve social inclusion. We must see conserving biodiversity as a strategy for development." Advertisement Effective protected areas not only conserve biodiversity, but contribute towards human health and well-being, disaster-risk reduction, food security, water resources, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and even to enhanced peace and security. But they cannot achieve this if they are "paper parks". They must work in practice and achieve their promised outcomes for biodiversity conservation and social justice and equity. To this end, the CBD COP13 also welcomed IUCN's new Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas, an international standard for certifying what constitutes success for protected areas. Based on just 17 criteria that reflect sound planning and design, equitable governance, and effective management, the IUCN Green List provides an independently assured measure of whether these new protected areas will live up to their promise over time. It enables a diagnosis of potential gaps, and permits clear monitoring of the return on investment in protected areas and an assessment of their contribution to overall conservation targets and outcomes for sustainability. Dear Friends - I am gay, and I am afraid. This past weekend, as I was I stepping out of my car, a man driving past yelled at me. I did not hear all that he said - I immediately got back into my car and locked the doors - but here is a part of his message: "You and your fucking cunt wife..." I was alone. It was the middle of the day in an upscale business section of the city. And this man felt it was within his rights to attack me. "Rights" are the key here. I'm not sure how many think about this, but until 16 months ago, 33 million gay Americans including myself did not have equal rights under the law. Most of us still live without protection against discrimination in employment and housing. But the marriage equality ruling by the Supreme Court conveyed 2,500 rights to me and 33 million other gay Americans should we choose to get married. For me, that ruling did more. It made me safer. Before the ruling, not only was I legally a second class citizen, but I was perceived as one. To cause me harm was to face fewer consequences than people might face if they attacked a 'real' American. I speak from experience. Prior to the marriage equality ruling by the Supreme Court, I was raped by two different self-identified "Christian" men who, while each was raping me, called me various names - dyke, cunt - and told me it was their duty and their right to 'straighten me out.' For the past year and a half, I have thought that world was behind me. And then, a week ago, Donald Trump was elected President. In the seven days since the election, he has selected individuals with dangerous attitudes - on record - toward gay Americans for key administrative posts. Mike Pence, Vice-President elect and now in charge of the transition team, supports gay conversion therapy, as does Ken Blackwell, who is being considered for a cabinet seat in the administration. I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with gay conversion therapy, but, the American Psychological Association has identified conversion techniques including: "Inducing nausea, vomiting, or paralysis while showing the patient homoerotic images; providing electric shocks; having the individual snap an elastic band around the wrist when aroused by same-sex erotic images or thoughts; using shame to create aversion to same-sex attractions; orgasmic reconditioning; and satiation therapy. Other techniques include trying to make patients' behavior more stereotypically feminine or masculine, teaching heterosexual dating skills, using hypnosis to try to redirect desires and arousal, and other techniques" (https://www.apa.org/.../lg.../resources/therapeutic-response.pdf). TV Review- Jackie K Cooper "Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life" (Netflix) For years I have avoided watching "Gilmore Girls". All through its original run I dismissed it as something I wouldn't enjoy and something I had no interest in whatsoever. But then along came "Parenthood" and I became fascinated by Lauren Graham. I found her to be an enchanting actress and a bright personality in real life. She was the main reason I watched every episode of that show during its too short run. So when I heard she was doing an "update" of "Gilmore Girls" my interest was piqued. Here was a chance to see Graham again. I hesitated for a few weeks but then I plunged into it and bingewatched all four ninety minute episodes of the revival of "Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life". It wasn't bad, and Graham was very, very good. For those of you who are in my boat and didn't know anything about these characters before this show, Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore, mother of Rory (Alexis Bledel) and daughter of Emily (Kelly Bishop). In the ten years since the series ended Lorelai's father Richard (Edward Herrmann) has died, and Rory has moved on to pursue a career in writing. Lorelai lives with Luke (Scott Patterson) and runs a bed and breakfast in her home town of Stars Hollow. Advertisement "Gilmore Girls" is a very quirky show and the quirks were not things I overall enjoyed. You have members of the community who are eccentric to say the least. One man has a pet pig that he is constantly walking, another is the obsessive compulsive mayor of the town who is forever dreaming up ludicrous schemes to bring more money into Stars Hollow. Some of the wide range of community participants and leaders are fun but others fall flat. Perhaps if you were a regular follower of the old show these people had made themselves endearing there. For newcomers they are just odd. Then there are the celebrity appearances. True life notable chefs turn up in Lorelai's kitchen at the inn, Carole King becomes a member of the community testing ideas for a musical revue, Mae Whitman and Jason Ritter of "Parenthood" have cameos. There are also other assorted appearances of people from the past shows such as Melissa McCarthy and Milo Ventimiglia. Where I came to enjoy "Gilmore Girls" was in the more serious moments. I ached for Lorelai when she was trying to establish a connection with her mother, and felt real pangs of sadness when Rory shared a moment with her father. I was touched by the love story of Lorelai and Luke, and dismayed by the relationship between Rory and long time lover Logan (Matt Czuchry). There are a lot of negatives in "Gilmore Girls" for me, but the overall strength of the relationships displayed won me over. By the end of the fourth episode I was hooked and would like for there to be more stories of Stars Hollow in the future. I may not be the biggest fan of the show but I am a true fan of that Graham girl. Advertisement "Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life" is available on Netflix now. Much has been written about the state of the environmental movement in the wake of the presidential election. Much like the parallel conversations about the political makeup of America, some poignant themes have surfaced: the message of environmentalism is too exclusionary, and many people do not rank the environment as a top tier concern. Both of those issues are difficult for a passionate environmentalist to acknowledge. Being more inclusive of other viewpoints often means compromising on central tenets of what we understand environmentalism to be. But if the community of active environmentalists is going to grow, some hardline positions need to be softened to include a broader range of concerns and priorities. Advertisement Likewise, the message of the environmental movement is failing to win support in many demographics. In the 2016 election, the environment was not a top 10 issue for candidates or voters according to almost every poll. That is almost exclusively because the environmental movement in America has been co opted by a larger political establishment. It is difficult to evangelize the environment when it is perceived as a divisive political tool propped up by liberal elites. So how do conservationists chart a way forward in Trump's America? These are three important steps that must be taken: 1. Practical Conservation Environmentalism needs to go back to the grassroots level. Whether Trump pulls out of the Paris Agreement or not, the air campaign of high level politics is likely to be a difficult one for the next four years. But during periods of political setbacks, successful movements get busy rebuilding their base. The environmental movement is typified by its academic and political arms, but individuals on the grassroots level feel very little connection to the cause. Without a personal connection, individuals will never be "environmental voters". People vote based on national security because they feel like it affects their lives. People vote based on social issues like gay marriage and women's health because it affects their lives. And while the environment does affect everyone's lives, it can feel like a very distant issue, certainly further away than growing numbers of homeless people and the skyrocketing cost of living. Advertisement One immediate solution is to empower people to act on their environmental convictions. If you believe the environment is in danger and want to help, you will be hard pressed to find an outlet that empowers you to live differently. Sure, you can join the Sierra Club and plan to buy a more fuel efficient car one day. But day to day, how can you become engaged in the cause? For the environmental movement, this is not a question of politics, but of culture. When you empower people to act on their convictions, you elevate your cause to a place of cultural importance. For that reason, I applaud Instagram accounts that share practical conservation tips and websites that share valuable eco-conscious consumer information. 2. Micro Messaging The conservative echo chambers (and there are liberal ones too, of course) have painted the changing environment as a natural course of global warming and cooling. In other words, the changes we are seeing are normal, not man made. Environmental messaging needs to do a better job of connecting the dots on a micro level. Right now the message is all about the billions and trillions of tons of carbon emissions being emitted all over the globe, but in small towns throughout the American Midwest, the air seems as fresh as it ever has. That is why messaging has to get down to the micro level. It needs to be made clear that hurricanes that regularly wipe out modern cities and do billions of dollars in damage are not normal. Neither are forest fires in Alabama and North Carolina that engulf millions of acres. Droughts in California that last for more than five years are not normal. These are personal experiences that people can relate to and feel. The environmental message needs to place people within the changing environment and cast a vision for how bad things have already become. 3. Less Doomsday If you were to watch Leonardo DiCaprio's Before the Flood as someone who does not believe that a man made climate catastrophe is happening, you would have your worst fears about the liberal establishment confirmed. The film demonizes industry, exalts every kind of regulation, and idolizes the environment with a religious fervor that makes many people uncomfortable. Advertisement People who are not convinced of the message of climate change perceive doomsday messages about global extinction to be lies propagated by a liberal conspiracy. It sounds like an attempt to control people through fear mongering. So the message needs to adjust. The message certainly needs to continue explaining the dire course we are on, but it should do a better job of explaining what the future looks like if we adopt environmentally-sound policies, technologies, and personal habits. We can lower our footprints without losing jobs, deficit spending, and losing our economic and security standing in the world. In fact, if the United States is to be the leader of the free world, it must also be the leader in creating the new world. A vision of hope and of a modern economy run on sustainable, renewable energy is a winning message. The Brooklyn Historical Society hosted a panel discussion on November 29, 2016 on Aging and Ageism, bringing together a distinguished panel that included Ashton Applewhite, author of the book, This Chair Rocks, John Leland of The New York Times, Dr. Veronica LoFaso, Director of Geriatric Medical Education at New York - Presbyterian Hospital/Weil Cornell Medical Center, and our own Dr. Ellen Cole, co-creator of 70Candles! Paula Span of The New York Times was the moderator. Although it was a very rainy New York evening, the enthusiastic cross-generational audience filled the auditorium. At question time, many hands were raised. There was an excitement in the air--perhaps signifying the realization that by 2020, 35 percent of the population will be age 50 or older. Or that the first of the baby boomers turn 70 this year, and they are a force to be reckoned with. Ellen, the oldest panel member at age 75, shared several of her personal experiences with ageism. In a recent medical visit for strep throat, for example, the intake nurse assumed she was retired. "Absolutely not," she replied, for she continues to work full-time as a psychology professor, feels at the top of her game, and, at least right now, hasn't the slightest interest in cutting back. And the fact is that nearly 20 percent of Americans 65 and older are now working, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 75-year-olds, labor-force participation has risen from 9% in 2000 to 14% today. Part of this increase is likely due to financial concerns, but certainly part to what has been called "the increased propensity to work." Advertisement Other examples were given, in particular, of microaggressions of ageism--things people say and do, often with no intent to be disrespectful, that imply a bias against older people and can cause distress and hurt. Panelists agreed, for example, that "adorable," "cute," and "sweetheart," are not terms of respect and may be condescending and infantilizing when used to describe older adults. A prime time for unwitting insults, they agreed, is at birthdays. It is not a compliment to describe an older person as "80 years young," or to say, often enthusiastically, "Wow, you don't look that old," or "Did you just turn 39 (wink, wink)?" Ellen recalled, for example, hearing on the radio that Florence Henderson, the "upbeat Mom of 'The Brady Bunch,' died on Nov. 25, 2016 dies at 82 years young." One panel member opposed the idea of publications, for example newspaper stories, mentioning a person's age. Ellen and others felt otherwise. They believe there is no reason not to be proud of being whatever age you are. What better way to dispel myths surrounding old than to be open rather than secretive or coy about the number of years one has lived. An audience member said she did not want prospective employers to know her age, fearing she wouldn't be hired (in spite of anti-discrimination law). The panel agreed this is a reality, but until old people speak up about their age, this prejudice is unlikely to change. Ellen advised, "Old people, come out of the closet." There was a lively conversation about current trends for later-age living arrangements, including aging-in-place, a variety of innovative multigenerational living situations (e.g., college students being offered free room and board in an assisted living community), and so on. One panelist made the compelling point that it is often younger people devising what they think would be best for the elders. To him that seemed backwards. First ask the elders what they want! The panel agreed there is no cookie-cutter answer to what works best for everyone. The much-hyped phrase "farm to table" has become so empty of meaning that when you come upon the real thing, you can still be amazed at the idea. For while all food has to come from some farm or body of water, most restaurants only pay lip service to the commitment to obtain the finest provender from the most local purveyors. Sandy and Angela Baldanza (below) have not wavered in that search, a path that began, ironically, in the fashion industry, where the couple met (he had his own label, she worked at Bloomingdale's). They left all that behind to open Baldanza for breakfast, lunch and dinner to a very faithful and appreciative clientele who are assured that everything on the changing menu is as fresh, organic and well-sourced as possible, always at a very fair price. Indeed, their Americana Menu, served Wednesday and Thursday is fixed price at $28 for three courses. Of course, they do take-out, too, and New Canaanites in their Range Rovers pull up to the curb to collect their evening meal. Baldanza's has even launched a range of soups they call Soup Kitchen for sale at Walter Stewart's Market, with two percent of sales going to the Connecticut Food Bank. The restaurant is small, L-shaped, with a bar behind which the Baldanza's son Alex works as bartender. It's a comfortable, if slightly cramped, spot but it can get very loud when it fills up at night, and midday seems to be a prime time for ladies to lunch. It is highly likely Sandy will be coming to your table throughout the night to check on every detail, and be aware that asking him a question about his culinary philosophy may elicit a very, very long answer. His passion for what he does is more than palpable. The a la carte menu is ambitious for such a small kitchen, but almost everything I tasted along with three friends showed remarkable consistency of taste and preparation. Hand-cut tuna with Himalayan salt, skinny French fries, lamb's lettuce and cilantro ($18) is similar to other versions around the area, but Baldanza's tuna has deep flavor, and cutting it to order makes a huge difference, while the lamb's lettuce and cilantro add additional savory notes. Buffalo mozzarella--so often a hit or miss item--is here impeccably creamy with the right pliant texture, served with organic tomatoes, a strawberry balsamic, and--surprise!--New Canaan olive oil ($15). A light lentil soup was absolutely delicious, full of vegetable flavors ($8). Crispy fried calamari with lemon garlic aioli and roasted tomato sauce ($16) was not so special. There are several pastas--the Baldanzas are Italian-Americans--including very good butternut squash-stuffed ravioli glossed with sage and brown butter ($24) and ricotta gnocchi, slightly too firm, with a rich sauce of tomato fillets ($24). Freshly made pappardelle comes in a fine meat sauce with freshly made ricotta ($24), while fragrant saffron risotto is melded with Gulf shrimp and asparagus, both a tad overcooked that evening, rendering the shrimp without flavor ($28). Everything the Baldanzas make evokes the idea of comfort food, and what could be more comforting than crispy Parmesan-crusted organic chicken with kale, wild mushrooms and mashed sweet potato ($27), one of the best dishes on the menu? The same goes for a juicy double-cut pork chop, grilled and served with pan-roasted asparagus and wonderful mashed potatoes ($36). Whatever local fish is the best in that day's market gets a treatment of parmesan crust similar to the chicken, with sauteed spinach and lovely, silky beurre blanc ($28), while a snowy white Maine halibut with risotto, wild arugula and a citrus wine sauce ($32) takes a delicate hand to render so flawlessly. Sandy Baldanza raved about his wife's carrot cake for good reason. This old classic, lost in culinary hippie history after overkill in 1970s, shows what a wonderful American idea it is to combine carrots, spices and cream cheese to such wonderful effect. The creme brulee was all it should be--crackling golden caramel crust and creamy, vanilla-rich center. A bowl of autumn berries and cream was as charming an idea for a simple dessert as you'll find. Key lime pie was all right, but not a winner in its category. This being a small place, there's no room for a huge wine list, but the selection of whites, most under $40, is a good one, though the red wine list could use amplification. Nine wines are offered by the glass, all at a very reasonable $10. There are also a dozen craft beers. sad girl sitting and thinking in the classroom I am a high school teacher in North Carolina and 2016 has been a hell of a year. This is less a proclamation than it is an obvious statement, but the ups and downs of this election season have been deeply felt in classrooms across the country. Durham, where I teach, is no different; the pendulum swing of living in a swing state that chose Trump forces a lot of evaluation. We have waited as Governor Pat McCrory refused to concede until finally doing so nearly a month after the election. There was a KKK rally nearby this weekend. Anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-black sentiment has spread. It's exhausting. As the election steamrolled through the first semester, one of the topics that arose was the role of teachers in a highly politicized election. Often, teachers are criticized if they involve elections or share their point of view. To be sure, teachers should refrain from trying to indoctrinate any student to mirror their own beliefs. But that doesn't mean teachers are apolitical. In fact, there is no such thing. As educator and activist Jose Vilson once said, "Politics are at play in classrooms. Everything from the number and composition of students in our classrooms to the adults who end up in front of them and the buildings they're situated in are political positions." I believe that what teachers choose to teach and not teach are political decisions. When we choose to follow a Eurocentric perspective, we have made a political choice. When we teach about Thanksgiving without acknowledging indigenous people's true history, we have made a political choice. When a student says "that's gay" and we ignore him, we made a political choice. The truth is that teaching is an incredibly political act. Advertisement It is also a microcosm of the American political experience, and how it is entrenched with small choices. A "nice" teacher who teaches books with negative stereotypes about black men that makes her black male students feel unsafe is actually not so nice. Just because a school says it is anti-bullying doesn't make it so. Much like the adage a nice guy who yells at a waiter isn't actually nice, this election has brought to light the truth that what we don't do and don't say is just as important as what we do. Naomi Shulman wrote a powerful piece for NPR where she said, "Nice people made the best Nazis. Or so I have been told. My mother...spent her childhood in Nazi Germany surrounded by nice people who refused to make waves. When things got ugly, the people my mother lived alongside chose not to focus on 'politics,' instead busying themselves with happier things. They were lovely, kind people who turned their heads as their neighbors were dragged away." As Trump's election becomes startlingly normalized, resisting everyday prejudice becomes more important than ever. As a white person, I also realize that the burden for calling out and calling in rests even more in the white community, the demographic that largely elected Trump. As hate crimes spiral out of control and manifest in terrifying ways in school, the need to speak against injustice is necessary. Advertisement Recently Joanna and Chip Gaines of HGTV's "Fixer Upper" made news when a Buzzfeed article announced they attended an anti-gay church. The article, called by some a "hit piece", went into detail about sermons the pastor Jimmy Seibert gave about the gay community. In it, he reacted to the Supreme Court decision for marriage equality by scrapping his intended sermon to remind his congregation of more than 3,500 people that gay marriage is not biblical, being gay is a choice, and it is the Christian duty to bring gay people away from homosexuality. This, the pastor proclaimed, was part of their church's mission to be loving. Some people insist Christians are being persecuted and argue, "Why don't you go after Muslims since their beliefs are against homosexuality, too?" To that point, I believe deeply that this should matter to anyone attending a place of worship using their religious texts to justify discrimination. Many religions are, in fact, gay-friendly, according to the Pew Research Center. But please don't suggest that a powerful Christian megachurch is treated the same as a Muslim place of worship in this country. Making that comparison ignores the power structures in our country, and we need to make those invisible power structures visible. And as Shakespeare wrote in "The Merchant of Venice": "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose." Many people argue that it's none of our business. But it is my business and yours if thousands of people are supporting the idea that gay people are somehow deviants, or that they should undergo a conversion therapy, which has been discredited. In fact, conversion therapy is dangerous, the opposite of that loving and empathetic model the pastor claims. Over 25 states have introduced legislation against conversion therapy. The Human Rights Campaign cites, "broader research clearly demonstrates the significant harm that societal prejudice and family rejection has on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, particularly youth...Every major medical and mental health organization in the United States has issued a statement condemning the use of conversion therapy." I disagree that the Gaineses have not made a public statement. When they continued attending the church, their actions stated the bigotry wasn't a deal breaker. When they gave a very public interview with the pastor, they threw their support behind him. Actions speak louder than words. And this is why I believe we should keep talking about them and their church. Because too often we don't realize how our actions or silences condone behaviors, we end up making those around us feel unsafe and unloved. Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and freedom of religion are indeed essential tenets of American values. But those freedoms entail you can enjoy them without fear of jail or harm. They do not guarantee a lack of consequences. Words have power, silences have weight, and people deserve to be held to that. We cannot pretend like American Christian values are private yet persecuted; this election revealed for the umpteenth time the true power wielded by the Christian right. What you believe at home is one thing, but when discriminatory beliefs lead to laws and attacking civil rights, it is time for public discourse. Donald Trump has already begun surrounding himself with anti-gay cabinet members and advisors, such as infamously anti-gay Mike Pence as Vice-President elect. The anti-gay beliefs that perhaps began in church dealing with marriage spread easily to workplace discrimination. Here in North Carolina we have been traumatized by the introduction of HB2, which allows for discrimination based on sexual orientation, among others, in many public spheres. It has cost our state billions of dollars. Advertisement In the end, we must deal with the consequences of our words and silences. As a teacher, daily I pause from the lesson plan to address something students have said or heard. Because I know what they are truly asking, or what the students listening are wondering, is "Can I trust you? Will you speak up for me?" Martti Ahtisaari is the former President of Finland and an internationally recognized mediator and peacebuilder. In 2008 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lead role in bringing independence to Namibia, Serbia's withdrawal from Kosovo, the decommissioning of weapons in Northern Ireland and autonomy for Aceh in Indonesia. Upon leaving office of the President in 2000, he founded Crisis Management Initiative, an international NGO specialising in conflict resolution and development issues. He has received numerous awards and decorations including, UNESCO Peace Prize, an Honorary Officer in the Order of Australia and Order of the Companions of Oliver Tambo (Supreme Companion) by South Africa. Ahtisaari is a graduate from the University of Oulu, Finland and holds 19 honorary doctorates from universities all over the world. Lan Anh Vu sat down with Ahtisaari to learn more about his thoughts and experiences on resolving conflict and building peace gained over five decades. As told to Lan Anh Vu My Early YearsI was born in Vyborg, a city on the isthmus of Karelia, which was then still a part of Finland. We lost Vyborg when the Soviet Union attacked my country. Along with 400, 000 Karelians, I also became an eternally displaced person in the rest of Finland. With my mother, I moved from one household to another before we settled in Kuopio. This challenging and tumultuous childhood experience strengthened and significantly contributed to my commitment of working towards conflict resolution and led me to work in the United Nations. Here, over a period of 30 years, I served under five Secretary-Generals of the United Nations. Advertisement Early on, I started my career as a teacher and traveled to Pakistan, living in Karachi from 1960 to 1963. In 1965, I joined Finland's foreign ministry, and eight years later I became Finland's Ambassador to Tanzania, with additional accreditation to Somalia, Zambia, and Mozambique. In 1977, I was appointed the United Nations Commissioner for Namibia and the following year I became the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Namibia and I oversaw the country's transition to independence in 1990. After the UNTAG mission for Namibia's independence, I continued as the UN Under-Secretary General before returning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki. I then consciously decided to get responsibly involved in politics. At that time, people in Finland were fed up with the traditional political system. I ran successfully for President and was in the office from 1994 - 2000. Upon leaving the office of President, I founded the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), a non-governmental organization committed to helping the international community practice through effective preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, and post-conflict state building. Since leaving the office of President, I have continued to focus on conflict resolution and chair the CMI. ChallengesMy career in peace meditation began in Namibia where significantly I contributed toward the country gaining independence. This experience has had an important influence on my conflict resolution work. My United Nation's Namibia involvement was from 1977 to 1990. The peacemaking process was simple, but it took 13 years of negotiations between the South West Africa People's Organization, a Namibian guerrilla movement, and South Africa, which at the time had an all-white apartheid government that annexed Namibia after World War II. It took very long time to negotiate, but my mediation team and I were determined to not give up before Namibia would win independence. Eventually, South Africa accepted Namibian independence in 1990. What impressed me most during my years in Africa was the enormous capability of Africans to forgive. I believe that despite the inevitability of conflicts, all conflicts can be resolved and majorly they are caused by human beings. Advertisement Lessons LearnedPeace can never be achieved by one single person. You are highly mistaken if you think that you can do all the negotiation process on your own. This is a misconception and you cannot get it all done yourself, therefore you always need best possible mediation teams. For ideal mediation teams which can address and amicably resolve any nature of the conflict, you need to choose competent people, those you can trust to make an effective and peaceful result oriented team. In addition, you also need to support and empower your colleagues. For instance, I give an amazing amount of autonomy to my team on how to perform duties. When you try to dictate and define exactly what the team should do step by step, then you risk missing out on lots of opportunities. The Art of NegotiationI believe that an effective mediator can come from any walk of life. A mediator with a diverse background can be culturally different, but if he/she has a result oriented technique, and systematically thinks through the conflict resolution process then he/she can make a good mediator. I don't think anyone can claim to be neutral, therefore I prefer to be an honest broker. People who approach me for mediation needs, therefore know that I am a man with integrity. For me, it is important that all the negotiating parties know who I am, what I stand for, and where I draw the red line. Moreover, I also think that it's important to have no dependencies in my life so that I can honestly and openly work with each party towards finding a solution to the conflict. As a mediator, you must know how and where to lead the conflict resolution or negotiation process. Sometimes you have to be very harsh on both parties, as you have to convince both the parties to adopt a solution if we want the process to go forward. You have to act like a good advisor for both parties, which is never easy. Moreover, in the negotiation process, you are invariably disliked by one, then the other and eventually by both the parties. This is because as a mediator you have to insist on the issues, not particularly liked by both the parties. However, it has been observed that with time both the parties realize that the mediator is right in insisting because otherwise, it won't be possible to reach a mutually acceptable solution for conflict resolution. In 2005, when I was asked to lead the process that would clarify the status of Kosovo. I proposed immediately to constitute a Contact Group for following the events unfurling in Kosovo, in depth. The Contact Group consisted of representatives from the US, UK, France, Russia, Italy, and Germany. I proposed to have a meeting with them, during their London Visit in 2006. And all the representatives agreed well before that they would constitute the Contact Group members, and to ensure a fast and efficient resolution I personally corresponded through private messages to highlight main issues so that Serbia and Kosovo would know what I was planning to do. Subsequently, in the London meeting, I went through the key themes with the Contact Group members. After the meeting in London, the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Washington to meet with the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. However the situation had changed, Russia didn't want my plan to go through Security Council. Subsequently, after years of negotiations, Kosovo and Serbia declared independence in February 2008. Advertisement Success of the Negotiation ProcessWhen it comes to the success of the negotiation process, the main issues of a peace agreement must be specifically and properly addressed. It is also imperative that the signed agreement is implemented and therefore, the implementation process requires to be carried out by competent people. The parameters of truth and reconciliation are very important to achieve real peace and should be central to any negotiation process. Moreover, scaling up a process to reach national level takes time, and therefore in the interim reconciliation at the local level should be encouraged and thoroughly pursued. Advice for Young PeopleThey should utilize all the possibilities that are given to them, and be open to opportunity. I also recommend learning as many languages as possible, because multiple language knowledge is an invaluable asset. For those interested in peace meditation, I would tell them to look up the case studies available online as they can be utilized to develop a better understanding of the process. This interview has been condensed and edited. I avoided it on the big screen for two reasons: I was a huge fan of the Charlton Heston version and I'd read enough reviews panning it to believe it wasn't worth my time. Well, I was surprised when I got it from Netflix. Let's get one thing out of the way first: William Wyler's Ben Hur isn't Hitchcock. It's dramatic and exciting, visually stunning, but it's not a work of genius. But even if it were, so what? The new film isn't a remake so much as a retelling of the 1880 novel. The two set pieces in the 2016 version, the sea battle and the chariot race, are spectacular and horrifying, much more violent than in the 1959 film, but not in a prurient way. Advertisement More intriguing, though, is the story line. There's no time spent in Rome. Judah isn't adopted by anyone. In a clever twist, the Hur family has adopted a Roman orphan--Messala--whose grandfather was one of the Senators who assassinated Julius Caesar. He lives under the burden of family shame and it motivates everything he does throughout the film. It's gorgeous to look at, both in real scenery, the CGI, the costumes, and the handsome leads. Is it an epic? No. It's more of an intense historical family drama--and it succeeds beautifully on those grounds. It's heartbreaking when it needs to be, dazzling ditto. Give it a chance. We finally got a Whole Foods Market in our little area of Pennsylvania. Finally. Even though I live in the birthplace of Organic in America, and Whole Foods was launched in 1980, it took 36 years for it to find it's way into my regular food shopping range. As you can imagine, since I cook from Scratch a LOT, I am a very serious food shopper. It's not unusual for me to shop at three stores in one day. And a farmers' market too if I can. But there is always one place I go first, and that's a little Mom and Pop place called Healthy Alternatives. It's unassuming to the uninitiated...a neon sign in a strip mall. Smaller than a vintage McDonald's. Smaller than the cheese section at a fancy Whole Foods Market. But its heart is big. They have one small produce section. But every single thing in that produce section is 100 percent organic and often local. More important, everything in that produce aisle is impeccably fresh and delicious. I don't have to sort through all the signs to figure out what is organic or conventional or whatever other designation exists these days. I don't have to feel like a second-class citizen sorting through remnants (one of my local grocers always has huge empty spots in the organic section, even though it's the size of the other sections). Healthy Alternatives has other stuff too. All the important stuff. And a small but MIGHTY vitamin and personal care section with a resident expert who can help you with almost any situation. She knows her stuff! And you will often find her patiently helping and explaining herbs and supplements to people who have clearly come to Healthy Alternatives because they have finally realized they need to take their health into their own hands and find their own solutions. Alternatives, if you will. Advertisement It's not unusual to find the whole family working at the store, including the grandkids hanging out up front while their mom cooks in the delicious cafe, Santosha. So I was worried about how they would survive with a Whole Foods Market opening up about a mile away. And I confess, I checked it out. I bought stuff. But for me, nothing compares to the produce I can find at Healthy Alternatives...except maybe a farmers' market at the height of summer. I am grateful to Whole Foods Market for changing the whole food shopping experience for everyone, and for inspiring stores like Wegman's that fill the gap and sell organic produce and products. But I'm still starting out at Healthy Alternatives to support my local small businesses. Then heading over to Whole Foods Market and Wegman's for the other stuff. Support your local small businesses. Support the Mom and Pop family businesses. Support true quality and real organic food. Support the healthy alternatives in your town. And stop by the original Healthy Alternatives in Trexlertown, PA, if you want to see for yourself what the good stuff looks and tastes like. When Marie Desil, a home care nurse with my agency, Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), recently took on the case of Doris*, an elderly woman with heart failure, she immediately set to work explaining to Doris and her family how to take her medications properly and manage her symptoms--advice that included limiting Doris' sodium and fluid intake and reporting any sudden weight gain. But Marie's nursing care didn't stop there. "After discussing with Doris and her family the importance of an annual flu shot, I got the okay from her doctor to administer the vaccine on my next visit," she says. "And I'll also be giving her a pneumonia vaccination." In addition, they discussed the importance of overall nutrition, good hygiene, and social interaction, including enrolling and securing transportation to a nearby senior center with help of a VNSNY social worker. "I explained that just sitting at home all day isn't good for her, because it can contribute to depression as well as physical and mental decline," notes Marie. If depression, anxiety or other behavioral health conditions appear to be affecting a patient, Marie also has the option of calling in one of our behavioral health nurses for an assessment and referral to additional care as needed. Similarly, if a patient has poorly controlled diabetes, she can make a referral to one of our diabetes nurse specialists. "I think of myself as a public health nurse," adds Marie, "because I'm not just coming into the patient's home to monitor and manage a specific illness--I'm there to care for the whole patient." Advertisement This period during National Influenza Vaccination Week, which began on December 4, is a perfect time to reflect on how America's thousands of home care agencies, including my organization, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, are playing a central and growing role in advancing public health issues like vaccinations, safe home environments, healthy lifestyle choices and community support networks. There's been a strong push in recent years to integrate public health more closely into America's clinical medical system--a goal that is supported by such organizations as the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians. While primary care physicians are often mentioned as key players in this effort, in practice, the health professionals who are often best positioned to advance public health in the community are home care nurses, social workers, rehabilitation therapists and other home health agency staff. There are number of reasons for this, starting with the regular, one-on-one sessions that home care professionals spend with patients and their families. These in-home encounters provide the time and opportunity to raise potentially sensitive issues like vaccinations and hygiene in a context of trust and connection. And because home care professionals also have the benefit of seeing patients in their daily environment, they can address topics like nutrition and socialization in a practical, real-life way. On top of that, today's home health care delivery models embody a robust care coordination component, which means that agency staff are continually following up to ensure that the recommendations of their visiting home care clinicians are being implemented. The same holds true for long-term health plans that are administered by home care agencies, including our own VNSNY CHOICE managed care plans. Advertisement There's yet another reason why home care agencies are now taking the lead in public health, and that has to do with the unique role our organizations play in the communities that we serve. Many home care agencies have been in business for decades or more (VNSNY, for example. is about to reach our 125th anniversary). This longtime presence results in deep ties with the residents and community organizations in the neighborhoods where we work--connections that even the most involved local medical centers and physician practices are hard pressed to match. Examples of public health collaborations that are supported by these home care-community relationships include: Vaccination clinics. Besides encouraging and administering vaccinations for individual adult patients, home care agencies also have a long history of hosting vaccination clinics that give community residents access to various vaccinations. VNSNY has frequently sponsored free flu and shingles vaccinations for New York City seniors, while other home care programs have offered these and other vaccinations for conditions ranging from pneumonia to meningitis to hepatitis A and B at sites around the country Services to retirement communities. Home care agencies also have forged links with retirement communities across America. These include formal retirement residential centers, which typically cultivate ongoing relationships with local home care agencies that in turn provide various personal care services to their residents, as well as government sponsored retirement networks like naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs)--apartment complexes and neighborhoods that are home to a large number of senior citizens, where home care agencies step in to provide a range of health care management and support services. VNSNY administers one such NORC ourselves, in Manhattan's Chinatown district, and has relationships with several others. Advertisement In addition, U.S. home care agencies are playing important roles in linking community residents to mental health and substance abuse treatment, ongoing care for chronic medical conditions, wellness education, and patient and caregiver support groups, all aimed at helping individuals become self-sufficient at managing their health, while avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations. Taken together, these many contributions add up to one inescapable truth: At a time when there is a growing emphasis on finding cost-effective ways to help the American public stay as healthy as possible, home care is emerging as an increasingly important part of the solution. Today, the Earth got a little hotter, and a little more crowded. And the chances of Donald Trump's family and fortune surviving climate change are small, dwindling daily and irreversibly. Saving BUB, Beautiful Unique Biodiversity, as in these ant mimicking south American treehoppers, is another reason to preserve carbon storing forests. Credit Gernot Kunz at treehoppers.insectmuseum.org Forests: the cheapest way to store carbon Breaking Up the Amazon Rainforest destroys a significant carbon storage spot for the planet. Source Brazil National Institute for Space Research Advertisement OO Amazon Deforestation Increasing When The Planet Can Least Afford It - according to new satellite data. OO How Big Banks Are Putting Rain Forests In Peril by helping agricultural powerhouses in Indonesia expand their plantation empires. When we harm forests, we harm ourselves. * * WE'RE LOSING CONTROL OVER CLIMATE CHANGE Credit Jim Morin, Miami Herald MEH: At most, dramatically cutting fossil fuel emissions will slow the pace and magnitude of climate change. But even that is compromised if enough human-induced climate change occurs to start avalanching, self-reinforcing, feedback cycles that generate global warming INDEPENDENT of human activity. You are in control until you push the rock that starts the avalanche. Advertisement The following might be one of those cycles we've started. OO Soil Carbon Emissions Are Kicking In say scientists, as warming soil releases yet more climate-changing gases that will further global warming - and the release of yet more of those gases, independent of burning fossil fuels. Related Headline: OO Arctic Soils To Release A Lot Of Carbon - Far More Than Local Plants Can Absorb - Soils worldwide will contribute vast new quantities of carbon to the atmosphere, especially in permafrost areas, a new study finds. * * FIXING CLIMATE CHANGE @@ A Simple And Smart Way To Fix Climate Change given by Dan Miller in 2014 at a Ted talk suggests a way to profit as we tackle climate change, by finally charging those who sell and use fossil fuels - and distributing the revenues back to all of us. The strategy is sure to speed transition to clean renewable energy. What's not to like? Check it out! Advertisement * * WHERE CLIMATE CHANGE IS DESTROYING AMERICA Sandwiched Between Melting Tundra and Sea this town will ultimately be destroyed by ever more intense coastal storms and flooding. Credit Josh Haner at the New York Times OO Alaska: Climate Change Eats At US Towns That Can't Afford To Move-- A Ticking Time Bomb - Takeaways: Climate is warming twice as fast in Alaska than in the lower 48; No sea ice means many (dozens) coastal towns are being eroded away, While melting tundra at their backs threaten flooding. <> Alaska is suffering from lack of oil revenues, And can't afford the expense of village relocations. Announcing intent to move can cost villages needed funding. <> A somber scenario is building: catastrophic evacuation When towns are flooded as they wash away in storms. ** MASSIVE FOREST DIE-OFF Two Atop An Ancient Tree Threatened by Climate Change and surrounded by younger dead trees, already fallen victims from California's drought, dramatically worsened by climate change. Screen capture of a Novus Select Video @@ Each Tree Has its Own Destiny - with a likely grim ending under climate change, as does this 1000s yr old sequoia face in drought ridden California; note the dead trees that surround it in the final half minute, as the camera rises above it. OO Drought Kills 100+ Million Trees, Imperils Millions More, Including The Ancient Giant Sequoia - Takeaways: California's drought has killed 102 million trees since 2011; 62 million of those have died in 2016 alone. CA's forests generate fundamental ecosystem services: by creating healthy watersheds, providing wildlife habitat, and storing atmospheric carbon, and they're dying at unprecedented rates. Forest Present - Dead Forest Future? This aerial overview of Sequoia National Park shows drought damage that presages even further destruction from drought; the reddest trees are severely drought stressed. Credit Carnegie Airborne Observatory Even giant sequoias are showing disturbing signs of stress, With their crowns withering away, and many already dead. * * SINKING SOUTH FLORIDA: THE BEGINNING @@ The Perfect Tide: Sea Level and the Future of South Florida OO Trump's Climate Denial Presidency Will Speed The Drowning Of South Florida and the ensuing disaster of its economy. The great ice sheets are unstable, ice melt is speeding up, and deniers will soon be in charge. What could go wrong? Advertisement * * TRUMP TRUMPED BY CLIMATE CHANGE Playing Loser Already Trump's appointments will cost the US jobs, as the US fails to lead on addressing climate change via accelerating a transition to clean energy. Fossil fuels are SUCH losers! OO Through Trump's Climate Change Denial, We're Ceding Global Leadership To China and we stand to lose economically and politically. OO Climate Change Denial Will Be 'Default Position' Of White House says Trump's chief of staff. OO There's More Than One Way To Destroy The Planet: Trump Has A Lot To Learn About Climate Change OO Trump's Folly: A Government Of Exxon By Exxon For Exxon As he appoints Rex Tillerson Exxon CEO as his secretary of state: "From an Attorney General who sought to suppress Department of Justice inquiries into Exxon to an EPA head who tried to head off state-level Exxon investigations, to putting Exxon's own CEO [Rex Tillerson] in charge of the country's foreign affairs, Trump is creating a government OF Exxon BY Exxon FOR Exxon." OO Trump's Cabinet Appointees Show Dangerous Disregard For Climate Science OO Trump Rollback Of Obama Climate Agenda May Prove Challenging The Koch Warriors Against Solar Power will have powerful influence in the Trump cabal. Credit Victor Juhasz at the RollingStone OO Trump Brings Koch Network's Anti-Green-Energy Stance from the fringe to the center of power. OO Trump's Energy Policy Advisors: Climate Change Skeptics, Fossil Fuel Funded Lobbyists from FF funded thinktanks. Advertisement Trump Blinds NASA's Eyes To Facts of Climate Change by appointing an unqualified person to lead the NASA team. Photo Source NASA OO Global Warming Research In Danger As Trump Appoints Climate Skeptic To NASA Team OO NASA Should Focus On Its First Mission: Earth, The Final Frontier Ice Has No Agenda, It Just Melts was one of the signs held by scientists standing up for science. Over 1,000 Americans stood with them. Source Facebook OO Scientists Stand Up For Science, Protest Trump Appointment to a crowd of 1,000 or more recently in San Francisco. OO 800 Climate Scientists Warn Trump Presidency Could Be Defined By "Denial And Disaster" and urged him to admit that climate change is real and to take specific steps to address it. OO Trump Could Face The 'Biggest Trial Of The Century' - By Kids, Over Climate Change - a surprising climate lawsuit filed by young people is gaining traction. Advertisement More Children Will Sicken Under Trump - as regulations in the Clean Power Plan that cut toxic pollution are dropped. Source EarthJustice.org OO How Trump Is Likely To Poison You - by repealing recent regulations,which include reducing air pollutants that sicken and damage the lungs of many Americans yearly. Takeaways: The Congressional Review Act can repeal Regulations from any independent agency (eg, EPA, FDA) Within 60 days of their creation Via Congressional and presidential approval. AND it prevents similar future rules - Unless specifically instructed by Congress. OO Want To Know Why Trump Will Struggle To Save The Coal Industry? Look At Michigan where 8 large coal plants will close by 2030, whether Obama's climate policies are repealed or not. OO Trump Supports 'Clean Coal' - But Does It Really Have A Future? if you need to use energy to store it underground, the net energy you get out of coal becomes too expensive for storage to be widely used. OO Dear Ivanka Trump: Save The Planet From Your Dad - something that is important to your future, and your kids. Advertisement OO Trump Can't Make Coal Great Again -- But Could Slow The Rise Of Renewables Long-term market forces will keep miners from getting their jobs back. If Trump slows renewables in a futile attempt to salvage coal, he could also prevent retraining miners for clean tech jobs. * * CLIMATE LEADERSHIP realclearenergy.org OO Obama Administration Denies Final Easement For Pipeline but Trump is likely to reverse that. * * MELTDOWN OO NASA Photo Reveals A Startling 300-Foot-Wide Rift In Antarctic Ice Shelf The breakup of the massive Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica is getting closer and will eventually produce an iceberg the size of Delaware prowling the Southern Ocean, according to new NASA data. Daily Climate Editor Peter Dykstra: "NASA's Earth Science work is possibly the only reason we know about this. President Trump has suggested that NASA won't be funded to do things like this anymore." OO Odd Rifts In Antarctic Ice Could Mean 'Sayonara, Glacier' Unusual rifts in the middle of the ice shelf of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier could herald a new mechanism for the glacier's collapse. * * GOOD CLEAN NEWS OO Fossil Fuel Divestment Of Assets Reaches $5 Trillion Globally - with nearly 700 institutions and 60,000 individuals across 76 countries having committed to divest from fossil fuel companies, doubling the value of assets represented in the last 15 months. Advertisement Pension funds and insurance companies now represent the largest sectors committing to divestment, reflecting increased financial and fiduciary risks of holding fossil fuels in an ever hotter world. OO EU Declares War On Energy Waste And Coal Subsidies In New Climate Package - It will phase out coal subsidies and cut its energy use by 30% before the end of the next decade, under a major clean energy package. It will create measures to cut electricity bills, boost renewable energies and limit use of unsustainable bioenergies. OO South Pacific Island Ditches Fossil Fuels To Run Entirely On Solar Power Source winddaily.com OO First U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Begins Production OO Texas Wind Power Blows Away Old Record For Wind Generation the second time in less than two weeks that November wind gusts produced record-breaking power from the state's wind farms. OO For European Wind Industry, Offshore Projects Are Booming OO US Utilities Are Losing The Battle Against Solar Energy - residential solar power companies are winning the policy war against utilities, which will open a larger and larger market across the country. OO More US Utilities Are Pursuing Microgrid Projects OO Illinois: Clean Energy Advocates Praise Passage Of Major Energy Bill that expands renewable energy development. Advertisement * * SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS Misery in the Twister's Aftermath Credit Charlie Riedel at Associated Press OO Extreme Tornado Outbreaks Are Becoming Even More Extreme and frequent, with the most extreme ones rising fastest in frequency. As the air heats up, it creates more instability that creates more extreme tornadoes - but there's a lot more research needed to understand how this factor dominates others. OO New Orleans To Have One Of The Highest Levels Of Sea Level Rise Globally says a new study. The Southeast Lights Up Source www.wsj.com OO Drought In Tennessee Fuels 'Apocalyptic' Wildfire OO The US Southeast Is Burning: Wildfires Feast On Hot, Dry Regions At least 15 major fires are scorching the drought-plagued region. InsideClimate News. OO Fires And Drought Cook Tennessee - A State Represented By Climate Deniers even as climate change intensified the extreme weather there. Climate Change CostsSource NOAA OO World Cities Seek $375 Billion To Fight Climate Change OO Cotton Crops Accelerate Chinese Desertification Being a very water intensive crop, it stresses an increasingly scarce resource, made scarcer with climate change. Advertisement All Dried Up - one of the Bolivian dams supplying water to its capital city. Credit David Mercado at Reuters OO Bolivians Face Historic Drought, And Global Warming Could Be Worsening It three reservoirs that supply its largest city, La Paz, are almost entirely dried up. OO Mining Projects, Big Plantations, Booming Populations, Mean Bolivia's Drought Hurts More * * GOOD IDEAS A Sioux Pipeline Protester Source www.thegazette.com OO Build A 'Pipeline Purgatory' At The Local Level is the goal of activists. Takeaways: Activists have already gotten laws passed in Georgia and North Carolina Limiting the use of eminent domain for pipeline construction. Another strategy is to ensnare projects in unending litigation. Restricting pipelines can restrict using new sources of natural gas. Forestalling natural gas pipelines gives time for Cost competitive clean energy to develop and expand. OO How Chinas Climate Revolution Can Stop Global Warming with a new cap-and-trade market in China that could set a global example. OO Cashing In On Climate Change - When Investing - The economy can be only as healthy as the planet that houses it. Pushing for transparency on sustainability issues, and asking money managers to consider climate change, is really the purest form of self-interest. Advertisement Massive Methane Generator - cows are significant sources of climate changing methane emissions. Source opensourcevegan.com OO California Targets Dairy Cows To Combat Global Warming - their climate changing emissions, specifically. OO EPA's Failure To Regulate Factory Farm Pollution Draws New Scrutiny over its failure to adequately measure potentially toxic air emissions from the nation's factory farms. OO Permanently Ban Oil Drilling Along The West Coast Growing the Green to halt the Sahara spread. Source www.greenbeltmovement.org OO Sahel Countries In Race Against Time To Regreen Africa's Spreading Desert - which decades ago were covered with forests, crops and grasslands. These can be restored - a significant chunk of them by 2030 - agriculture experts say. * * NATURAL REPERCUSSIONS What Once Was, But Has Disappeared throughout much of the Great Barrier Reef. OO Australia's Great Barrier Reef Suffered Its Worst Die-Off On Record during the past two years, with an average of 67 % of corals in one area declared dead, scientists said recently. Advertisement OO Great Barrier Reef Progress Report: Water Quality Must Improve - Efforts to curb tree clearing have failed, the government admits. Noted toxicologist Pete Myers: "A common ingredient of sunscreen, oxybenzone, can harm reefs at levels beneath 100 parts per trillion. Efforts to improve water quality over the Great Barrier Reef must address this." OO Jellyfish, An Inadequate Seafood, Are Starting To Dominate The Sea as climate change and other human induced effects are clearing out their major competitors, fish. * * SPEAKING OUT Solar Is Safer - both on and off the battlefield, a big reason why the military, including the US Navy, invests in it. Source popularmilitary.com OO Renewable Energy Polls Extremely Well Among Trump Voters says a new survey. And they want politicians to support it, too. Advertisement OO Climate Change Will Stir 'Unimaginable' Refugee Crisis, Says Military Unchecked global warming is greatest threat to 21st-century security, where mass migration could be 'new normal,' say senior military. OO Electricity From Coal Should Be Phased Out In Australia says a new Australian Senate report, citing economic factors as the primary drivers. OO Pope Urges World Leaders Not To Hobble Climate Change Pact OO Pope Francis: "Never Been Such A Clear Need For Science" To Protect The Planet OO Why Climate Scientists Are Taking Fact-Checking Into Their Own Hands as they challenge a series of news reports last week that suggest record-high temperatures are the result of the weather phenomenon El Nino, not climate change. Note: El Nino moves existing heat and water around the planet; climate change is the result of global warming, which adds more heat to the planet. This is not rocket science, folks. * * WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Advertisement @@ Climate Change 101: Why Care? What You Need to Know - Bill Nye tells it all in five minutes amid graphic, dynamic, engaging, compelling imagery. Check it Out! * * FOSSIL FUEL FOLLIES OO Obama's Dirty Secret: The Fossil Fuel Projects The US Littered Around The World - Through the Export-Import Bank, the Obama administration has spent nearly $34 billion on dirty energy plants in countries from India to Australia to South Africa. OO How Obama's Climate Change Legacy Is Weakened By US Investment In Dirty Fuel The Two Scourges of Fossil Fuels: Global Warming and Toxic Pollution OO The Coal Disconnect: If We Should Not Burn It, Why Sell It? Especially if we're so concerned about the fuel's greenhouse gas emissions and effect on human health. OO Coal Keeps Firm Grip On Germany Even As Renewables Flourish OO Despite Climate Change Vow, China Pushes To Dig More Coal Artwork: Credit Beejoir, modified OO Niger Ogoni King: Shell Oil Is Killing My People He hopes to sue Shell in the UK for polluting his tribal land. OO Australia Is Blowing Its Carbon Budget projections reveal. * * CLUELESS CLIMATE LEADERSHIP What Kind of Leader Wants More of This? Or wants to ship it to the rest of the world? Credit Todd Korol at Reuters Advertisement OO Justin Trudeau Approves Oil Pipeline Expansion In Canada OO Trudeau's CO2 Scorecard - A Dirty Update * * If we do not live sustainably, Our children will die inhumanely. @@ Myth vs Truth: The Huge Value of Contraception is an incisive, heartfelt recognition of the value of contraception by Sarah Brown, CEO, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Unintended Pregnancy Costs US Taxpayers: Unintended Pregnancies Cost US Taxypayers Nearly $11 Billion Yearly -the Guttmacher Institute Teen Childbearing Alone Cost US Taxpayers $9+ Billion In 2010 And the costs of raising a child usually ensures decades, if not a life, of poverty for its mother. - US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WHAT YOU CAN DO Help prevent unintended pregnancies in your community: publicize where women can access affordable contraception. They can go here to find locations: And there are many more actions you can do, right here. * * * SOLAR KEEPS SAILING OO India Holds The Crown For World's Largest Solar PV Project--For Now At one point, workers were installing 40,000 panels per day in three shifts--up to 11 megawatts per day. Advertisement Check it out here, right now! * * * WHY WE SHOULD ACT NOW: RISING RISKS Daily Climate Change: Global Map of Unusual Temperatures, Dec 15, 2016 Source cci-reanalyzer.org How unusual has the weather been? No one event is "caused" by climate change, but global warming, which is predicted to increase unusual, extreme weather, is having a daily effect on weather, worldwide. Looking above at recent temperature anomalies, much of the mainland US is experiencing colder than normal temperatures: like a rubber band, the Arctic jet stream usually keeps Arctic cold in place. But as the hotter Arctic starts coming closer to more southern temperatures, that rubber band loosens, allowing Arctic air to penetrate far south into the US and sit there. Another effect of global warming. Meanwhile, Alaska, much of the US west, and waters surrounding the US continue to be hotter than normal: the eastern Pacific warm spot continues and so does the drought in California, despite recent rains in the SF bay area. Much of the areas surrounding the North Pole are experiencing much warmer than normal temperatures - not good news for our Arctic thermal shield of ice. Hotter than usual temperatures continue to dominate human habitats. * * * There is, of course, much more news on the consequences and solutions to climate change. To get it, check out this annotated resource list I've compiled, "Climate Change News Resources," at Wordpress.com here. For more information on the science of climate change, its consequences and solutions you can view my annotated list of online information resources here. To help you understand just what science does and does NOT do, check this out! Every day is Earth Day, folks, as I was reminded by this wild flower I photographed one spring. Making the U.S. a global clean energy leader will ensure a heck of a lot more jobs, and a clean, safe future. If you'd like to join the increasing numbers of people who want to TELL Congress that they will vote for clean energy candidates you can do so here. It's our way of letting Congress know there's a strong clean energy voting bloc out there. For more detailed summaries of the above and other climate change items, audio podcasts and texts are freely available. Of the many resources displacedor at least changedby the rise of the Internet and the transition to all things digital, one item is as relevant today as it has been well before the emergence of the Web. I refer to that document of indispensable worthto employers and employees alikeknown as a resume: A means of conveying a person's skills and qualifications, in addition to that individual's experience and expertise. That fact, according to this writer for Forbes, is critical for job seekers: "The 'one-size fits all' approach won't cut it in a marketplace of increasingly specialized needs. So plan on having several versions of your resume adjusted for the different jobs you are applying for. Include ways you can make an immediate contribution to the organization that reflects the homework you should be doing about the organization you're applying to. Make sure that youand at least one other person you trustcarefully review your resume and adjust it to contain the keywords that recruiters will be searching for." This recommendation is important for several reasons, starting with the need to pair qualified applicants with the ability to search for jobs in a multitude of industries. The success of that enterprise depends, again, on the nature of one's resumeits quality and depth, its resonant construction and its compelling content. As this piece in the New York Times, which references the work of Susan Ireland, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Resume, demonstrates: Advertisement "Be concise in the job-objective or summary part of the resume, which comes after your name and contact information. If you are seeking a position similar to one you have held, simply state your professional title, Ms. Ireland said (for example, user interface architect). Otherwise, indicate the job you want next or emphasize the skills that the job involves." "Tweak your resume when necessary. Be sensitive to wording differences among industries. For example, banks have customers, while libraries have patrons and hospitals have patients, Ms. Ireland said." It is this emphasis on strengthening a resume that will more effectively capture the attention of HR executives and hiring committees. The value of such an asset is incalculable, given its ability to generate responses and inspire offers from businesses large and small. Consider, too, the following advice from the Albany Business Journal: "Your experience is what your potential employer is most interested in. List your most recent employer first, and then work backward. Be sure that the name of the employer, your dates of employment and your responsibilities are clearly listed. The description of your job duties should have high impact. It should not simply read like a job description. Your writing should emphasize results, not just responsibilities." Advertisement This week, in response to President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks for Departments of State, Energy, and Interior, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, mayors from Canada, Europe, Latin America and Australia sent a sharply worded letter to mayors of American cities, noting that climate action "cannot take a sabbatical and wait another four years". Protesting Trump's plans to "eviscerate the country's environmental protections", mayors from Oslo, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Sydney and Vancouver - all members of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance - sent the letter of support to fellow alliance members in the U.S., specifically the mayors of Boston, Boulder, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The letter pulled no punches, citing that Trump was abdicating responsibility in protecting Americans and, on the Paris climate agreement, "unraveling the diplomatic thread that weaves together one of the most important international agreements ever". Advertisement The missive by the mayors came in the wake of Trump's pick of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for State Department, former Texas Governor Rick Perry for Energy Department, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke for Interior and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt for EPA. The international mayors, leaders themselves in the global fight against climate change, took issue with Trump's first 100 days, fearing that "he will do everything he can to dramatically expand the production of shale, oil, natural gas and coal; lift roadblocks to fossil fuel pipeline expansion projects like Keystone Pipeline; and cancel billions in payments for climate change programs", noting that Trump's "cabinet picks are reflective of this regressive commitment". "President-elect Trump has picked a fellow climate science denier to lead the EPA, an oil tycoon to head the State Department, an enthusiastic fossil fuel extractor as Energy Secretary, and gas pipeline supporter Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary," said Johanna Partin, director of the alliance, in a statement accompanying the letter. "These appointments are illustrative of how many steps back America is already starting to take," she said. Referencing Trump's campaign slogan, the mayors suggested that the work of "making America great" is really about "ensuring that its people are healthy and happy, its economies and environments are thriving, and its security is sound". Advertisement The way to do that, the mayors continued, is to "put people - not fossil fuels - at the center of our economies". Here's the full text of their letter: Dear Mayors of Leading U.S. Cities: We, as some of the Canadian, European, Latin American and Australian mayors of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, write this letter to express our strong support and solidarity with you as you work to aggressively fight climate change and improve the health and well-being of your communities and your local economies. The recent U.S. election makes clear that you--America's leading cities--are even more essential to accelerating climate action in the United States. Climate action cannot take a sabbatical and wait another four years or another election cycle for more aggressive action. America's president-elect has made it clear that he plans to eviscerate the country's environmental protections, including plans to cut emissions at coal-fired power plants, one of the most egregious carbon footprints in one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters. President-elect Trump has stated that in his first 100 days he will do everything he can to dramatically expand the production of shale, oil, natural gas and coal; lift roadblocks to fossil fuel pipeline expansion projects like Keystone Pipeline; and cancel billions in payments for climate change programs. His cabinet picks are reflective of this regressive commitment. The international community gathered last month at COP 22 in Morocco to plan for low-emissions solutions and pathways. Countries like Canada, Germany, Mexico and others unveiled their plans to achieve the Paris Agreement in their countries, while president-elect Trump began unraveling the diplomatic thread that weaves together one of the most important international agreements ever. We see climate change as a core issue of national interest and a key driver in the march toward a cleaner and more equitable future. Clean energy employment grew 12 times faster than overall job creation in the U.S. in 2015, and this trend is growing. Business leaders understand this. This is why you, the mayors of America's leading cities, must continue to be at the forefront of climate action in the U.S. going forward. This is increasingly important as your new national leadership abdicates responsibility for protecting Americans and the world from fossil fuel impacts to our people's health, our economies, and our environment. Since cities are responsible for nearly three-quarters of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions, and the majority of the world's population lives in cities, cities are the right places to focus. You have already stepped up to demonstrate this leadership -- your cities are already showing that you can accomplish what national leaders such as President-elect Trump refuse to touch. Leading cities, like the cities of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance, are moving as fast as possible toward more livable, sustainable cities, irrespective of national government support or lack thereof. Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, Japan, December 16, 2016. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool It is very likely now that Donald Trump will be inaugurated as president of the United States on Jan. 20, in no small part because of the direct intervention in and manipulation of the American electoral process by Vladimir Putin, Russia's strongman who rose to power as a ruthless agent of the KGB, the former Soviet Union's secret police. As we all know, The Washington Post and The New York Times recently reported just how deeply Russian hackers invaded the computers of the Democratic Party, a move intended to confuse voters with leaked excerpts of emails and other documents and thus throw a monkey wrench into the election. Now The Post reports that the CIA believes the Russian meddling was deliberately intended to help sway the vote in Trump's favor. And NBC News says it was Putin himself who "personally directed" those leaks. Advertisement Why did he do this? For one thing, according to Michael McFaul, the former American ambassador to Russia, Putin has a thing about Hillary Clinton. "He has had a vendetta against Hillary Clinton that has been known for a long time because of what she said about his elections back in the parliamentary elections of 2011," McFaul told NBC News (Clinton had questioned the integrity of the Russian elections). But more important, McFaul continued, "He wants to discredit American democracy and make us weaker in terms of leading the liberal democratic order. And most certainly he likes President-elect Trump's views on Russia." All of which, apparently, now has helped land us in the worst political fix since the Civil War, an electronic invasion that former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson says he believes could be "the largest intelligence coup since the cracking of the Enigma code during World War II." Yes, we know some of this remains speculation. Yes, we know Democrats would like to point attention away from some bad, self-inflicted mistakes the Clinton campaign made, mistakes that hurt it on Election Day. That they failed to realize the depth of the anger in the American heartland didn't help. And neither did the FBI/James Comey intrusion. Yes, we know the documents handed to WikiLeaks from the Clinton campaign and the DNC were real (although it's worth noting that as The Times reports, some documents leaked from George Soros' Open Society Foundation "turned out to have been altered [apparently by the hackers] to make it appear as if the foundation was financing Russian opposition members.") Advertisement Yes, we know that despite all the Russia news, Republican efforts to suppress the vote are ongoing and a huge concern from which we cannot be distracted -- and which must be addressed as well. And yes, we know the United States has consistently intervened in and sabotaged elections in other countries, actively working to install leaders who would kowtow to the interests of our government and American corporate interests. But none of this negates the greatest implication of Putin's ability to influence the election of a fellow authoritarian and would-be strongman to the presidency of the United States. It is, in the words of former acting CIA Director Michael Morell, who briefed George W. Bush on 9/11 but supported Hillary Clinton this year, "an attack on our very democracy. It's an attack on who we are as a people. A foreign government messing around in our elections is, I think, an existential threat to our way of life. To me, and this is to me not an overstatement, this is the political equivalent of 9/11." Nancy LeTourneau notes at Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog, "To understand what is happening here, it is important to reject the old Cold War frame about a contest between capitalism and communism. Russia has long since ceased to be a country built on the teachings of Karl Marx and has evolved into a right-wing ethno-nationalist plutocracy." As circumstantial as some of the evidence may seem, we must not forget that these anti-democratic tactics are something that Vladimir Putin has attempted not only in the United States but also in a lot of other places. He is the "standard-bearer and patron" of extremist politics, Daniel Benaim and Perry Camack wrote in The New Republic this past March, and "has paired his brand of hyper-macho contempt for liberalism with active support for radical parties in Europe." Now he has brought his brand to America and found a kindred salesman in Donald Trump. Advertisement Did Trump or members of his staff know what was going on? Probably. Remember that Trump's first campaign manager, Paul Manafort -- the "King of K Street" lobbyists -- had pro-Russian factions as clients; his name with multimillion amounts beside it was found in a log of financial transactions after he had helped Putin's friends in the Ukraine. When word began to spread of these ties, Manafort left the campaign. He is now back in Trump's graces and, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, positioned to reap the harvest of his relationship with Trump and his merry band of crony capitalists. It could be most revealing to hear what Manafort would say, under oath, about his intercession between Trump and Putin. And just how extensive are our president-elect's ties to Russian oligarchs? How much does he owe Russian banks? Now we may know more exactly why Trump has refused to release his tax returns; they could be full of clues about his foreign creditors. We'd learn more if he'd divest his business interests, too, but he won't. We do know that Trump's son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets... We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." And there's more to come as Putin and Trump mix and mingle Russian oligarchs with American plutocrats. What happens now? How do we confront this crisis of a president-elect who may owe his victory partly to the stealth of his Russian doppelganger? How do we get to the bottom of this before it is too late and a very unstable, egomaniacal and vindictive Donald Trump is handed control of the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, the US Army and Navy and Air Force, the Departments of State and Homeland Security, the IRS and every regulatory agency of the US government? Who from within will challenge him then? President Obama has ordered a full report from the intelligence community before he leaves office. A bipartisan commission like the 9/11 investigation could become the public watchdog, certainly more so than proposed House and Senate committee investigations which Trump loyalists in the GOP might publicly support but certainly attempt to stymie. Maybe, as Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) has suggested, the vote of the Electoral College on Monday could be delayed. In a tweet, he wrote, "I believe that Electors should be given all information relevant to this interference before they make their decisions and before they cast their votes," and told The Washington Post, "If we don't act early, and soon, we run the risk of having an illegitimate president. That's not good for Donald Trump and not good for America." Advertisement Not likely to happen, we know. But listen well. Not only does this increasingly seem like yet another step in Putin's worldwide subversion of liberal democratic beliefs and Trump's desire to enrich his family and cronies by surrounding himself with multimillionaires and billionaires known for their predatory appetites; it is one more step to a planet dominated by international oligarchs and kleptocrats, part and parcel of a "huge con job," as Nancy LeTourneau writes. The Trump campaign "convinced a lot of Americans that they are a populist movement on behalf of the American worker when in reality it is all about an attempt to improve the fortunes on the very global elite they rail against." If that means hooking up with Putin and authoritarianism, she concludes, Trump's people believe that's not a problem. Just look at the appointment of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, a man who's been a happy business partner of Putin's Russia -- and other totalitarian regimes -- for years. He has shaken the bloody hand of just about every despot whose power rests on the black gold beneath their subjects' feet, and it doesn't seem to keep him awake at night. He's made it clear: His only interest is making money. So don't be surprised if one day soon you hear talk from the White House of something very like that golden oldie of World War II, a non-aggression pact -- this one to divide up the world's natural resources. Highway sign illustrating the concept of 'Hope is just around the corner,' or 'this way for Hope' There's a man who lives in the country outside of Danville who doesn't have a car. I see him sometimes walking into town to the grocery store or library, so I've been stopping to give him a ride. Ministers love doing this, because it gives us a captive audience. So I've been giving him rides, but he's starting to drive me crazy because he's a few biscuits short of a breakfast religion-wise. Except now I feel I have to stop for him since he knows my car and I don't want to hurt his feelings by not stopping. The other day I went to the library and there he was. He came over to me and said, "What do you think of the book of Revelation?" By the way he asked, I knew he thought it was the most important book in the Bible, and that he really didn't care what I thought about it, he just wanted the opportunity to tell me what he thought about it. Advertisement But I told him I thought the Book of Revelation, like all apocalyptic literature, was written during a time of intense persecution and dangerous bitter division, when the people of faith had lost hope and needed to support and strengthen one another. So that culture's storytellers got to work telling and writing epic stories, many of them battle stories of good vs. evil, and the ultimate triumph of God and good. I even quoted, from memory mind you, a portion of the 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation. "Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. God will dwell with them; She will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." I was preaching, right there in the Danville Public Library. He said ,"So you don't think the Book of Revelation is about America and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump?" I said, "Let me explain something. The author of the book of Revelation believed the world was flat, conceived of no world beyond Rome, had never heard of America, so was certainly unfamiliar with the American political landscape. It was a story written to give hope to first-century Christians, though we today can certainly be encouraged by its proclamation of hope in the ultimate power of good." Advertisement He said, "I've been reading it. I think the world is going to end next week." He was very serious. But then he went to the reference desk to ask about a book. The librarian looked it up on her computer and said, "It's been checked out and won't be returned for another two weeks." He said, "That's fine. I can wait." No one has the courage of their convictions anymore. So are we living in the end times? I don't think so. In fact, I think just the opposite is true. I believe we are living in the start times, the birth times. I believe the challenges and divisions and rancor of these days are the birth pains of a new nation, and eventually a new world. I believe we are in the death throes of an old way of living with one another, and are entering a new way of life with each other. And that old way of living is putting up a fight. It has, metaphorically and literally, its water cannons and attack dogs and rubber bullets and concussion grenades and it is putting up a fight. Because it knows a new way of life is coming and that old way is frightened. Just like Rome was frightened when God raised up a new community around Jesus, and people were being drawn to that way, encouraged and empowered by that way. And all Rome could do, with its vast army and political reach, was watch, helpless, while its people slipped away one by one to join the new way. So that's what the Book of Revelation is about. We're not living in the end times. We're living in the start times. Something new is being born, and we're feeling the birth pains. This will be no easy delivery. A friend of mine had a baby in the car on the way to the hospital. Her infant came that quickly. But this won't be like that. The dwelling of God that is being born in these start times isn't going to happen by next week. We're going to be walking the floors, helping this new life along. This is a big baby. It's so big, it may not even arrive in our lifetimes, in fact, it probably won't. But make no mistake, it's coming. We're living in the start times. Advertisement How do we live in the start times? We know how to live in the end times. We've read the books and seen the movies. We get all suspicious and afraid, so go buy a gun and store up a bunch of food and water, and buy big stout locks for our doors, then barricade ourselves in the basement, and don't let anyone in. That's how we live in the end times. But how do we live in the start times? We do just the opposite. We beat our guns into ploughshares. We share our food, share our water, open our doors, and make everyone our friend. That's how we give birth to the dwelling of God. When we live in the start times, when we're assisting with the delivery of the dwelling of God among us, we remember to laugh, to poke a little fun, at ourselves, and every now and then at our leaders. It will either keep them humble and make them better leaders, or it will drive them crazy and they'll abdicate their thrones. Either way, we win. When we live in the start times, we remember that when God was painting humanity, he used the full palate of colors. So we treat all people, all races, as God's artwork and delight in them. We live as God created us to live, with dignity, with compassion, with a high regard for creation, with an unflinching dedication to liberty and justice for all. When we live in the start times, we remember that fear, anger, and greed were weapons of the old ways of living, but in this new way of being we will live with hope, forgiveness, and generosity. Isn't it exciting to be living in the start times! Whenever something new is being born, when something is still in its embryonic state, God raises up prophets to let us know the community she envisions. Those prophets are often folks whose ancestors suffered greatly at the hands of the old way, because those are the people hungering for a new way of being. Advertisement So it was the poet Maya Angelou who captured the character of these start times when she said, "We are all at once both a composition and a composer. We have the ability not only to compose the future of our own lives, but to help compose the future of everyone around us and the communities in which we live." Dear Electors of The Electoral College. Most erroneously believe that there is a "team" or a "Fail Safe" or "checks and balances" or some elaborate process before a nuclear weapon, or any military attack, can be launched. There isn't. President Trump will have sole, unilateral, exclusive and immediate ability to launch a nuclear or other military strike and no one can stop him. Please consider this as you cast your sacred vote on December 19. 1. POLITICO: What Exactly Would It Mean to Have Trump's Finger on the Nuclear Button?A nuclear launch expert plays out the various scenarios. June 11, 2016 Bruce G. Blair, a former Minuteman missile-launch officer and research scholar at Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security: Advertisement "With a single phone call, the commander in chief has virtually unlimited power to rain down nuclear weapons on any adversarial regime and country at any time . . . There is no advice and consent by the Senate. There is no second-guessing by the Supreme Court . . . If he were president, Donald Trump--who likes to say he doesn't spend a lot of time conferring with others ("My primary consultant is myself," he declared in March)--would be free to launch a civilization-ending nuclear war on his own any time he chose." 2. THE WASHINGTON POST: No one can stop President Trump from using nuclear weapons. That's by design. December 1, 2016 "No one can stop President Trump from using nuclear weapons" 3. THE NEW YORK TIMES: Debate Over Trump's Fitness Raises Issue of Checks on Nuclear Power, August 4, 2016 "There's no veto once the president has ordered a strike," said Franklin C. Miller, a nuclear specialist who held White House and Defense Department posts for 31 years before leaving government service in 2005. "The president and only the president has the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons." Advertisement 4. FACTCHECK.org: Clinton and Nuclear Launch Times, October 26, 2016 "About five minutes may elapse from the president's decision until intercontinental ballistic missiles blast out of their silos, and about fifteen minutes until submarine missiles shoot out of their tubes." . . . "We estimate that the United States deploys approximately 920 warheads on alert, split almost evenly between intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs)," the U.N. report said. 5. BLOOMBERG.com: To Launch a Nuclear Strike, Clinton or Trump Would Follow These Steps. September 7, 2016 "The commander-in-chief's power is clear: He or she has sole authority to use nuclear weapons." 6. BUSINESS INSIDER: What Exactly Would It Mean to Have Trump's Finger on the Nuclear Button?A nuclear launch expert plays out the various scenarios. September 20, 2016 "Missiles could be in the air within a window as small as 15 minutes. Congress could do nothing to stop the decision if it were made in haste." 7. The HEAVY.com: Can Donald Trump Start a Nuclear War? 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know, December 10, 2016 Advertisement Nativity figurines. You either love Christmas or you hate it, or you do both at different times. The playwright George Bernard Shaw clearly hated it. He wrote, "Christmas is forced upon a reluctant and disgusted nation by the shopkeepers and the press; on its own merits it would wither and shrivel in the fiery breath of universal hatred." Christopher Hitchens was another Christmas-hater. He referred to it as a "moral and aesthetic nightmare." His ambition was "to write an anti-Christmas column that becomes fiercer every year ..." James S. Henry wrote that "the Grinch has it right," and called Christmas "a short-run-oriented economic experiment that has been tried and found wanting." Advertisement Christmas is brought up on the same charges annually: greed, corruption, misappropriation of funds, and contributing to the delinquency of minors. And Christmas is annually found guilty in the court of public appeal, not just by intellectuals and atheists but by our neighbors and friends who sit down the pew from us. They say, "I can't wait until Christmas is over. The whole thing is just insane." If I were the public defender assigned to represent Christmas, I would begin my defense by admitting that a crime has taken place. Shaw was not wrong: The corporate shopkeepers have bullied and lied and coerced people into misappropriation of funds. Monies that should have been used to save for college or pay taxes have been spent on ridiculous and transitory Christmas gifts that will be forgotten or lost before Easter. I'll even agree with Hitchens. For many people, Christmas is a moral nightmare. When the Black Friday gang tramples and swears and engages in hand to hand combat in order to get Tickle-Me-Elmo for their two-year-olds, the moral universe has turned upside-down. I will not deny the fact that these crimes and moral outrages have taken place. But I will deny that Christmas was the perpetrator. This has clearly been a case of mistaken identity. Advertisement Christmas bears no responsibility for the secular frenzy that takes place each December. It is not the Spirit of Christmas but the spirit of greed that stirs up the ravenous appetite for more and bigger gifts. It is not the Spirit of Christmas that causes mini-van driving moms to bust jaws over some Walmart door-buster. Christmas has never forced people - or even invited them - into the feverish pursuit of holiday perfection that characterizes December in America. It is not Christmas that does these things, but an imposter. Christmas was and still is the celebration of the birth of the savior God sent humanity. Christmas is like the commemoration of D-Day in France: a grateful celebration of a rescue. But this invasion took place in Bethlehem not Normandy, and liberation came through a baby not an army. We celebrate Christmas because it marks the beginning (from our perspective, not God's) of the most remarkable and costly rescue effort in history. Jesus was born, it will be remembered, to "save his people from their sins" and bring them peace with God. The birth of Jesus is the promise of liberation. Christmas, like D-Day, was an opening volley. There would be pushback and various campaigns. There would be allies and adversaries and, in the end, a decisive battle. But Christmas remains the watershed moment that marks not only the liberation of humanity but of all creation. Imagine what it would be like if the commercialization of Christmas were to infect the annual celebration of D-Day. Try to envision the French and U.S. presidents, the crown prince of England and dignitaries from all over the world gathered at the American cemetery in Normandy. While the Archbishop of Rouen says an invocation, hawkers peddle souvenirs? People ring bells and ask for money. Raffle tickets are circulated. Crowds gather not to remember D-Day but to buy worthless trinkets and vote on the best decorated veteran. Advertisement The city of Chicago is planting millions of trees and "greening" its alleys to mop up stormwater and reduce the urban "heat island" effect, while the City of Hoboken, New Jersey - which took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy's impact in 2012 - is restoring marshes and turning vacant land into a "resiliency park" that will mop up at least one million gallons of floodwater. Both cities are featured in a working paper called Roadmap to Support Local Climate Resilience, which grew out of October's Rising Tides Summit in New Hampshire, where 36 mayors from cities in 18 of the 23 coastal US states gathered with federal disaster relief officials to chart a course towards resilience in the age of climate change. The mayors came from across the political spectrum - nearly half, 17, were Republicans, while 16 were Democrats, and three were Independents - but all agreed that sea levels were rising because of man-made climate change, and that nature-based "green" infrastructure - such as mangroves for coastal protection and wetlands for flood management - is part of the solution. Advertisement Unfortunately, they also identified a massive funding gap, and this was before the election of Donald Trump as President opened a perceived leadership gap as well. "We need either the state - which doesn't want to get involved because the governor doesn't believe in sea-level rise - or the federal government to come up with funds," said James C. Cason (R), Mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, during a media call arranged by the World Resources Institute (WRI), publisher of the Roadmap paper. "As people come through our redevelopment process, we require them to consider green infrastructure," said Dawn Zimmer (D), Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, who tapped the federal Environmental Protection Agency to fund its resiliency park. "We're encouraging it as people go through our planning boards and our zoning boards, but we're also looking at ways that we can incentivize it and make it happen across the board." "Several cities are embedding nature-based solutions into their resiliency planning," said C. Forbes Tompkins, who compiled the report for the World Resource Institute. "But they don't know where the funding is going to come from." Advertisement Some cities have begun tapping their water fees to develop green infrastructure. Philadelphia, for example, funnels sewage fees into programs that turn concrete "gray" infrastructure into absorbent systems that better handle water runoff, while Denver puts its water fees into forest conservation to keep the surrounding watershed healthy. New research shows a growing willingness on the part of cities and even the private sector to invest in such initiatives worldwide, and may offer insight into challenges faced by coastal cities. Alliances for Green Infrastructure: State of Watershed Investment 2016 Report Webinar $25 Billion For Watershed Investment In a separate report called Alliances for Green Infrastructure: State of Watershed Investment 2016, also released today, Forest Trends' Ecosystem Marketplace looks strictly at investments in watershed protection or enhancement which involve a clear transaction of payments in exchange for ecological services. Such programs appear to work best when a clear environmental benefit can be translated into a clear economic benefit. The "buyers" and "sellers" vary from place to place, and can involve a government paying landholders a direct subsidy to reward good land stewardship practices, or it could be a beverage company paying local farmers near its water source to reduce their pesticide use, alleviating the need for costly on-site water treatment. Or it might look like multiple water users - for instance, a city government, the local water utility, and companies - paying into a "water fund" for greater impact. Advertisement Once considered obscure, such programs have now matured to the point that, when asked to identify the biggest barriers to "scaling up" watershed investments, only 11% of program administrators reported having a difficult time securing demand (e.g., finding willing "buyers"). "A lot of programs are telling us that capacity is an issue: things like managing funds and identifying project sites, demonstrating benefits to stakeholders and potential buyers," said Genevieve Bennett, lead author of the Ecosystem Marketplace report, during a launch webinar this week. "In this space there's a common wisdom that the constraint is money - that people aren't willing to pay for green infrastructure," Bennett explained. "But one of the things we saw this year...is that there actually is quite a lot of finance waiting in the wings for green infrastructure. At minimum, it's hundreds of millions of dollars, and it might be much higher." Bennett said there's a clear need for more "shovel-ready projects" that are prepared to accept that funding. Speaking at the same event, Daniel Shemie, Director of Strategy for Water Funds within The Nature Conservancy's Global Water team, agreed that while it's tempting to diagnose a lack of finance as the biggest constraint for programs, the real bottleneck is capacity. Advertisement "It's a little counterintuitive," he said. "You would think that at the very top of operating programs you'd say 'money, money, money.' But once you're in a program, your challenge is much more around implementation. It's always a temptation to think that, 'well, if we only had money,' but there are major challenges in implementing large, landscape-scale investment." When Barack Obama first ran for president, he was derided by those on the right for the work he did as a community organizer. They criticized him for going door-to-door listening to people's concerns, and coming up with a plan of action to help them improve their communities. They said it was not the kind of early-career work that would prepare someone for the highest office in the land. And yet, of that time, President Obama said it was "the best education I ever had, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School." In just a few weeks we will be saying goodbye to President Obama and watching a man who is his polar opposite -- in policy, temperament, and character -- assume his place in office. And the Jewish community must follow the example Obama set if we want to succeed in the fight against Donald Trump and his message of hate and exclusion. We need to empower millions of everyday people to make change, but we aren't starting from scratch. Before Election Day, Bend the Arc Jewish Action was actively engaging and growing a grassroots base to help defeat Donald Trump for over a year. In fact, we were the first Jewish organization to mount a large scale effort against his platform of hatred and bigotry by starting the "We've Seen This Before" campaign. We organized protests and held vigils against Trump's divisive rhetoric targeting Muslims, immigrants, women, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups. We called out the antisemitism and white nationalism spread by some of his supporters, which included messages to our volunteers that photoshopped images of their faces into images of gas ovens. And we worked hard to get voters in swing states out to the polls to defeat him, sending hundreds of volunteers to knock on over 22,000 doors. Advertisement While we did not achieve our larger goal, we learned a powerful truth - that we, as Jews, are made for this. The Jewish people, and Jewish tradition itself, were designed for survival and social transformation. We are the people who have fought empires for religious freedom, whose central story is one of liberation from bondage, who have fought Goliaths with slingshots - and won. We are the descendants of the huddled masses, the tempest tossed, yearning to breathe free. We are made for this. And we must resist. Our experience over the past year shows that it is possible to organize Jews at the grassroots level to unite in political action and fight back in a ways that haven't been seen since the 1960s and 1970s. We saw thousands of people take action with us who had never taken political action before. And in the weeks since the election, tens of thousands more have signed up with our organization and other Jewish groups, looking for a way to make a difference in this new reality. So we intend to build upon our grassroots organizing like never before, and we invite the full breadth of the Jewish community to join us in the extension of our campaign. We will use Trump's election as a rallying cry to mobilize Jews in partnership with other targeted communities to join together in fighting against his hateful and dangerous agenda. In fact, right now Jews and Muslims are working together with national progressive organizations to deliver 1 million signatures to the president-elect to protest the appointment of Stephen Bannon, who has a long history of promoting antisemitism and white nationalism, as his senior counselor and chief strategist in the White House. Advertisement Over the next four years, we will take to the streets and we will work in the halls of power to fight against any attempt by the government to wrongfully abridge people's safety, liberty, or dignity. We will stand in solidarity with Muslim communities, immigrants, people of color and women to speak out against hateful proposals and against the already rising tide of hate crimes. Where we can, we will advocate for policies at all levels of government that will mitigate the damage Trump and his allies seek to inflict. We also plan to learn from and leverage the success of our voter turnout program in states like Nevada to build support for the Congressional candidates who can change the balance of power in Washington. We will coordinate work between our local organized groups and our Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC to secure electoral victories across the country for those prepared to fight back against Trump and advance a progressive agenda. As a community, Jews must face this new reality and mount a collective response that matches the moment. In the coming weeks, Bend the Arc will be presenting a detailed proposal of how the Jewish community can collectively plan a bold, pro-active and coordinated Jewish response to what will surely be a difficult few years. The election of Donald Trump is a tectonic event in American history. We will not sit idly by and wait for the worst outcomes, nor will we allow ourselves to be tested and silently acquiesce. We will get through this time by answering hatred with blazing love, and injustice with moral clarity, as our deepest values as Jews and as Americans demand. As President Obama made clear, it is from organizing and these face-to-face conversations that we will learn and achieve the most. We call on our fellow Jews -- and all those who seek to preserve the foundations of a democratic society -- to stand together in this fight. Advertisement For the holidays and to delight the reader with the pleasures of magical kingdoms, Princes and Princesses, and fantastical journeys, I offer the following fairy tale, excerpted from my coming novel. In the book, an orchestra violinist is telling his little son a bedtime story. The wonderful illustrations are by my friend Sandi Goodwin. -TW Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "The Prince looks at the blue sky and the intense blue of the sea. This is the most beautiful island, perhaps the most beautiful island in the whole of the Mediterranean. He is there looking at his island, the palm trees, and the market with all the fresh fruit, melons, grapes, and pears, and pineapples, and the delicious prepared food laid out on long tables for people to buy. There are rice dishes, all types of meats, fresh fish, lobsters, and shrimps which you like to eat as well." The boy smiles and puts his fingers in his mouth. He is quite still and listening. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "Then the Prince sees her. She is in the distance but he recognizes her even though he has never seen her before. He knows her because she is someone he has been looking for. She has a magical aura and she notices that he is looking at her but she moves away in the dense tangle of the crowd." Advertisement "Why didn't she want to meet the Prince?" "Well, we are about to find out." "The Prince is overcome with his desire to meet this girl and rushes into the crowd, which parts before him, bowing like wheat in the wind. But he cannot find her and he returns to his Palace feeling unhappy. Later that day he decides to walk to his private beach and swim. He loves to do this and he is a good and strong swimmer. He can even dive into the water from a rock. The water is cool and delicious and it changes his mood so that he feels as though he is a fish playing in the waves with all the other fish. He dives from his rock and splashes into the sea. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "His mother sees him from the Palace window and smiles at her son. She notices a girl walking on the beach approaching her son. 'Now how on earth did she get here when we have all those Palace guards,' she wonders? It is not someone she knows and the Prince has not seen her yet. The girl walks to where the Prince is swimming, steps out of her small dress, and dives into the water. She disappears for a few seconds and then reappears near the Prince who does not see her but instead seems to stop in the water looking up into the sky. The Queen decides to come down to the water to understand exactly what is happening so she leaves the window and walks quickly through the Palace and out of the main gates to the sea. She comes to the place where the Prince is swimming but cannot see the girl. So she calls to her son and he swims over." Where is the girl? asks the Queen. What girl? says the Prince. She was here and she swam out to you. But I saw no one! "The Queen looks very puzzled because she is certain of what she has seen. The Prince is also troubled and from the Queen's description can only think that it is the same girl he saw that morning in the market. They return to the Palace and the Prince goes to his rooms to bathe and to dress in fresh clothes but he can only think of the girl. That night he has no appetite for dinner and decides to walk into the town. Advertisement Sandi Goodwin, used with permission Eventually he finds himself at the farthest end of the long road that stretches from his Palace to the bay where the fishermen moor their boats and mend their nets and gather their catch from the sea. He approaches one of the boats and touches its wooden frame made coarse and seasoned by its many years out in the rough ocean. The Prince loves the sea at night because you can hear it on a calm day sing its quiet song to the sand. It seems to stroke the sand trying to send it to sleep. But the sand wants to know what the sea has been doing since its life is so exciting and it is able to travel to all the ends of the earth. The sand has a boring life and never gets to travel. The sea tells its tales and the sand takes in the sound and the salty water. The Prince listens too and imagines that he can understand everything the sea is saying. The moon high above him is at its largest and brightest and its light allows him to see the full curve of the bay and all the fishing boats. He walks slowly and only then becomes aware that there is someone walking with him. He stops and looks but there is no one. So he walks on but again can feel and hear the soft sounds of other feet matching his exactly." Isn't this the most perfect night? He asks. Yes, it is and it's because of the light. The moon and the sea have decided to play with each other and they have made me invisible in the process. "It is a girl's voice and it sounds like the sea speaking." But where are you? Just here at your elbow. I am looking at you now and you are very beautiful. I have never seen such beauty before. I can hear your voice but I cannot see your form. If you want to see me then you must pick up a shell and let the light from the moon reflect on the mother of pearl. Its light will find me and you shall see me for the second time. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "The Prince quickly finds a shell. It is as large at his hand and the mother of pearl on the inside is perfect and round and unblemished. The shell picks up the light from the moon and its light darkly sparkles sending out messages to the sea and sand. And at that moment the girl appears to the Prince. She is smiling. Her long hair falls to her shoulders and the Prince sees that she is quite naked. Perhaps because of the moon and the shell he thinks that her skin color is exactly the same as the mother of pearl. He has never seen such a color on a person before and he touches the girl on her shoulder. She is warm and dry. She touches his shoulder with her fingers too.... Advertisement "They smile at one another." Would you like to eat something? "The Prince until this moment was not the slightest bit hungry. Now he feels that he could eat a whole fish. Yes I would love that. Then come with me and we will find our dinner together. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "She takes his hand and leads him down the beach. His clothes fall away at her touch and they both walk into the water still holding hands. The light from the moon plays with the sea and it attracts fish from the very depths to visit the surface and enjoy its gentle warmth. "The girl dives beneath the waves and the Prince follows her. He has never seen anyone swim like this before. She is as fast as a dolphin and can hold her breath longer than a whale. He sees her dive, spiraling down into the darkness of the sea only to return a few minutes later holding a fish. It is still alive and is happy and content with being held by the girl. It doesn't struggle and almost seems to swim pulling the girl along. The Prince follows as she swims towards the beach where she stands with the fish in her hands. The fish is as still as a stone but not at all afraid." I will ask him if he would consent to be our dinner tonight. "The Prince says nothing and only stands and watches her, mesmerized by her quality of speech and her manner of being in the world. She whispers a song to the fish and then points to a fire just behind them, which the Prince had not noticed until that very second." Your clothes are here but let me dress in your shirt. I love to wear clothes when I eat. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "The girl takes the fish to the fire, cleans it gently with her fingers and then places it in banana leaves from the side of the beach and puts it in the hottest part of the flames. Soon it is cooked and it gives off a smell of the leaves, the strong flesh and the smoke of the fire." Advertisement Please you must eat first. Eat with your fingers and taste the immense joy that this noble fish has given to us with its life. "And it is true the Prince has never tasted a fish as good as this before. It reminds him of many things: his mother's cooking when he was very small, the taste of shells when you place them in your mouth, memories of happiness playing in the surf with his favorite servant Ahmed. She then eats and the food graces her lips and then disappears. A little drops on her legs and she scoops this up and places it in his mouth. He devours it like a shark. The meat from the fish seems to continue until they have eaten their fill and then they laugh and lie back on the sand looking at the moon, which seems now almost as bright as the sun." Have you ever been to the moon and then looked down on the oceans and the seas of the world that it controls? No of course not. No one has ever been to the moon. That is impossible. I have been there many times. Would you like to come with me? "The Prince is speechless." Come it is not very far. We can see it already after all. Just look up until the moon is the only thing you can see and then hold my hand and close your eyes. Sandi Goodwin, used with permission "The Prince does her bidding. He had no idea that the moon could be this big and he was relieved when he closed his eyes and felt her hand in his. But he can still see the moon even with his eyes closed. Then he can see the moon reflected in all the oceans of the world and from the greatest height. His toes touch the sand of the moon and he is looking at the girl who was still holding his hand and not looking at him but at the world above them. Is he dreaming, he thinks? Don't ask questions says the girl who is inside his head now, making him forget about practical and silly considerations that bind our feet to the earth and clay. So he forgets his questions and his earthly thoughts and like the fish that she caught with her tiny hands is led by her to watch the world and smile at its excessive beauty. Then after what feels like a lifetime he finds himself on the beach again but the girl is nowhere to be seen. All he has is a huge shell with the largest expanse of mother of pearl he has ever seen and his pantaloons ballooning in the gentle wind. His shirt has gone. Advertisement "He stands for some time feeling the warm sea air on his body with his mind awash with the most extraordinary images. His mind is not thinking. It is feeling without questions and touching a part of his soul he has never known before. Outstretched arm with a gun. Black shadow on natural wooden background, with space for text or image. Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that took the lives of 20 beautiful children and six inspiring educators. Last night, to honor their memory and rededicate ourselves to stopping the epidemic of gun violence that takes the lives of over 30,000 people in our country each year and injures tens of thousands more, I joined family members, advocates, faith leaders, and elected officials at the Vigil for Victims of Violence at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington. We sang, danced, held each other tightly, and shared stories of loss, heartbreak, and wounds that will never heal, as well as of love, courage, and resilience. It was especially moving because their stories illustrated the ties that bind us to a club to which nobody wants to belong. Advertisement I didn't have the strength to share my personal story last night as I had done there one year ago, but after listening to others very bravely do so, I found the courage to share mine again today. I come to the issue of gun violence not just as a Senior Advisor to President Obama, but also, sadly, as a granddaughter with first-hand experience. My grandfather was an avid hunter and owned several guns. He practiced dentistry in an office in the basement of his home here in D.C. Forty-five years ago, two burglars broke into his office in search of opiates. They threatened my grandfather with what turned out to be a toy gun. In an attempt to scare away the burglars, my grandfather pulled out one of his guns. They grabbed his gun, then shot and killed him. I respect my grandfather's right to own his guns and his desire to try to protect himself, but I am haunted by the question of how many more years would he have lived had he not pulled out his gun? It is understandable to want to purchase a gun to protect oneself, but I'll never forget my grandfather's example - that we are not always safer just because we own a gun. Of course, those who have experienced the loss of loved ones from gun violence know you never forget where you were, and what you were doing, when it happened. We all learn to cope with a lifelong pain in our own deeply personal ways. I am so encouraged by the many who unselfishly channel their pain to try to end gun violence and save other families from experiencing their grief. As I reminded those at the vigil last night, I remain hopeful because although our politics have remained disappointingly stuck in Congress, I do believe there is growing grassroots momentum thanks to groups such as the Newtown Foundation, the Brady Campaign, Everytown, Americans for Responsible Solutions, Sandy Hook Promise, and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, among many others, who are all organizing across the country and sharing the stories that are changing hearts. Advertisement First, A Salutation to Hanuman Hanuman, the "monkey grammarian" of Octavio Paz's book by the same name, stands beautifully in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. His eyes look sparkling and alive, his face reveals the enunciation of a word, wonderful and pleasing no doubt, and his body is alert and his finger is raised. Hanuman is making a point, obviously, and he looks so delighted in the act of speaking (to his beloved Ramayya and Sitamma possibly), that we can only wonder at the beauty of the thoughts that must be in his mind. When I picture Hanuman it is often in depictions of his physical prowess and accomplishment, in flight usually, with the mountain in his palm. But this Hanuman, embodiment of the perfect word, kind Hanuman, impeccable Hanuman, the friend who appears and wins Rama over with the perfection of his speech, this is how I will now think of and adore him when I write, speak, and indeed, think of him. Along with this speaking Hanuman, there are many other treasures on display at the exhibit; painting scrolls with vivid Jatayus, elegantly beautiful and divine Sitas, towering stone Ramas and Hanumans, and numerous pop culture nods as well. Projectors played loops of Doordarshan type Ramayanas, as well as Southeast Asian dance drama. It was a good museum experience. But then, we might ask the question that critics of colonialism and cultural appropriation have asked many times before: it is art, sure, but is it just art? Advertisement Just who is speaking for this living tradition here? Is it anyone close to having a sense of the fact that this tradition for many of us is indeed life itself? We name our children for Rama and Sita and confront our fears and illnesses with the name of Hanuman. We measure our pains and triumphs by the ordeals and deeds of our gods. We have lived and died for them, from Hampi to Ayodhya. And, for the most part, we have not killed, harmed, or even hated in return. We have pushed ourselves enough to preserve and protect our meanings, and even that we often concede, when we walk into the university classroom, the literary festival, and sadly, yes, the museum. A people who have absorbed desecration and a commitment to mere survival will not see more, instantly at least. But more, there certainly is. Tales of Power Consider the ways in which the "Rama Epic" is presented. That the title of the epic is punctuated with some sort of a literary hobby-kit is obvious enough: "Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe." Would four non-English names, a simple Rama, Sita, Hanuman and Ravana be too taxing for the museum-goer to see and learn? We don't go to the Uffizi in Florence and find words saying "martyr," "child-killer" or "father-eater" for their mythological characters. We are expected to just know their names. But why, in this day and age, in cool San Francisco at that, do the gatekeepers of the Ramayana tradition, somehow think that it is their mediation, their expertise and authority, that should be foregrounded? I doubt that anything would have been lost in the Rama exhibit for immersing visitors into its world, our world, simply. Yet, from the giant banners that greet the visitor from the top of the museum announcing "Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe" to the relentless use of words like "character, action, setting, plot" and the like, what we are being invited into is not a humbling, honest and direct observation of a tremendous cultural phenomenon but a subjugation into the colonizer's gaze instead. Advertisement Consider the main description of the exhibit on the website: "Bloody battles, passionate romance and a shape-shifting monkey warrior... discover and be thrilled by one of the world's greatest works of literature." Someone must have been munching some imaginary popcorn with that sort of attitude. And interestingly, another exhibit there is titled "The Goddess: Images of Power," and tells us that the "goddesses of Asia range from bloodthirsty destroyers to heroic warriors," and at best "benevolent wish-granters." But that one word a billion people and more know their Goddesses by is absent: Mother. One comforts one's self that most of the Indian tourists there will just say "Ammavaru" or "Durga Ma" when they see her (and contrary to academic myth, thinking of her as a mother in no way reduces our capacity to be in awe of her feminine and some might say feminist power). The museum states that there are 135 art works on display in the Rama exhibit. On occasion, the texts introducing them add, in addition to the usual art and literature terminology, a word or two like "sacred" or "divinity." One might be tempted to think that perhaps that is all the sacred deserves, a passing acknowledgment ("the story... is also, for many, a sacred tradition"). And the language of the presentation is not necessarily disrespectful, or outlandish (no theories about the "side-hero" secretly having "sexual tension" with the "heroine" while the "hero" chases a deer in the manner of an alternative historian of the Hindus). Well-meaning families who come to see the exhibit with their parents and grandparents visiting from India would probably not be too puzzled by the politely scholarly tone even. And yet, there is that very real and obvious odor of orientalism and cultural appropriation, and unlike the old days, this time it is so finessed you will need to be a propaganda expert to realize you are being marketed to, and marketed down to, just like those at the wrong end of the old civilizing missions did. Advertisement The danger of the museum discourse is that it is not inaccurate. It is inadequate. And perhaps, even if that limitation is not nominally intentional, it is in its professionalism and use of privilege very deliberate indeed. There is a formidable stone statue of Rama from Vijayanagar on display. His left arm with the bow, and a large part of the left side of his body are missing. There are other artefacts too with signs of mutilation and savagery. There is no mention anywhere of the cause. On the other hand, in another part of the museum, a charming painting by M.F. Hussain is used as an occasion to express genteel puzzlement at how some Hindus could have ever got upset with him. The Silenced Chisel The act of reducing Rama to the Ramayana and the Ramayana to literature is not innocent. On the one hand, the self-relativizing distance of seeing one's beloved deities as character-prototypes ("ally" et al) is perhaps educational in its own way. A certain sort of mythologist might like it. Yoked to some bhakti, it might even hold some ethical-pedagogical water. It has its place. In India, with temples and with people who live by them still (the subaltern billion whose devotion, whose Hindu devotion, somehow vanishes from accounts about them by those who speak for them in academia, unfortunately), the proliferation of elite-driven Pop Po-Mo Hinduism doesn't still have a monopoly on the narrative. Pop Po-Mo might persuade its elite base, and some aspirational secularists, but the bodies of grandmothers and grandfathers and gurus and TV gurus in the vernacular are all there, for good and for bad. In America, though, that discourse holds a fanatical monopoly. Its products are everywhere. In classrooms, in the media, in the museum in the way in which our gods are presented, and in the finely curated reading the museum bookstore has to offer. One definition of culture, one definition of kitsch, one ring to rule them all... Advertisement What then might a museum and its expert advisors do? Is there a better way of presenting (or representing) Rama and his world to the museum audience in a way that is true to those who live in its world still? Surely, the choices are not simply between a sterile, objectifying outsider's museum gaze and the insider's supposedly blind and "religious" kind of "faith" in his "idols." Both are inventions and both must be overcome. It is telling that there is not one photograph of an actual temple of Rama in India in the exhibit, let alone photos of devotees or devotion. There is a nod to the fact that Ramayana is a "living tradition" but that is not what life or tradition really means is it? To the grand narrator in his or her postmodern purview, the "living tradition" of the Ramayana only means that anyone (in his or her charmed circles) can say whatever they want about it, apparently. They can "do politics" around it, mostly based on a baseless colonial-racist theory about light and dark skinned people which falls apart before the reality of complexions in any temple but they do politics, sure. They will even burn Rama's effigy and claim Ravana as the good guy in their war against Brahmanical-Aryan hegemony (another matter that Ravanabrahma as we called him was seen as a Brahmin by some of us). No, that's not a "living tradition" in the sense that Rama's India sees it at all. What is a living tradition? For one thing, it is right there all around the Asian Art Museum too. Drive a few miles South or East from there in the Bay Area and you have one of the largest clusters of living Hindu temples in North America, and of course, one of the largest and most eclectic collections of Hindu Americans living here as well. Does the museum so much as acknowledge the existence of this world? That the same Rama and Hanuman who stand here in the museum, some of them mutilated, missing an arm or ornament, are also right there in the temples, alive to those who behold them, alive not only in their hearts and "beliefs" but visibly, palpably so in the practices that herald their existence day after day as well? And even in talking about the past, do we not have an obligation to truthfully recognize a few things at least about who the people who breathed shape and meaning into these "artefacts" were? Were the ancient people of Vijayanagara mere consumers of "Rama-literature"? Or "art," in the museum sense, or South Asianness in the postmodern sense perhaps? I am reminded of a panel I was on in a literature festival a few months ago where a fellow panelist insisted that Rama and Krishna were fictional characters. I do not know if people build temples and conduct elaborate ceremonies for Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter. And I seriously doubt that the devotees at Vithala or Hazara Rama or Yantrodharaka were going there to be amused or even distracted. Advertisement No. They were the ancestors of the same people who live all around your circle of privilege in the museum, even now. I do not know what right the custodians of "art" have to take Rama out of his world that brazenly. But having sought to secularize what was actually not even really "religious" in the Western sense at all, they have forgotten everything, even the artists who live in this world of Rama and Sita and Hanuman in ways that the theorists don't quite know how to represent it appears. And it is not too difficult at all. In the Satyanarayana Swami temple in Milpitas (far closer to the museum by the way than Cambridge, Massachusetts from where expert speakers came), a descendant of the Sthapati family teaches children and adults about the rules of traditional sculpture in small, inexpensive classes every weekend. His ancestors built the temples, the loot from which now adorns museums. He is right here in the Bay Area, helping to build temples and a love of their beauty to children, without forgetting the precision, the knowledge and the sanctity which makes up this world. Does the museum, or shall I say, "Museum," even know he exists? Would it invite him to speak, along with all the academic experts and professional "story-tellers" it has lined up on the weekends? Could we hear the music of Tyagayya or Purandara Dasa or the words of Tulasidas there perhaps? Is anything being done to help visitors connect the dots between artefact, music, memory, and the future, and I mean the future beyond the fantasy-art world? Exit In the textual sarcophagus that is the museum, I did not see myself. I did not see my family, my past, or my future (or maybe I saw that future and did not like it at all). I saw only the inevitability of endless appropriation, erasure, silencing, denial, and ultimately cultural destruction, all the things that precisely the nice people who put together shows like this would believe that they want to avoid. Even as the museum preserves objects perfectly, it renders them lost to generations of children and grandchildren. They may be smart enough to recognize racism and supremacism when they see it, but are unequipped to fight it still by generations of parents and grandparents who were too busy working in post-McAulay India to have figured out how to enshrine and express what it was they felt, who they were before their Rama, just right, just so, just enough for the future of their civilization to know it too. Advertisement You walk out, and in the museum bookstore you see more of the same, the highly learned and credentialed academic books on Hinduism and South Asia, the same old colonizer's gaze, now recast into a mercenary subaltern premise, promising to liberate Hitler's victims, Aryan Invasion (aka Migration) victims, the real and unreal all mixed up, all dolled up and going nowhere close to the heart of the soul that Hanuman, with his brilliant thought steeped in friendship and perfection, seems to want you to go. Lovely books at the store, handsome university-press interventions into the meaning of everything in South Asia. But I missed the presence of the footpath book-stalls of the sort you see outside temples in India. One or two selections from there in the museum store would have been nice. Wednesday's meeting between President-elect Trump and executives from numerous software and technology companies has been reported with great fanfare. Rather than the tense exchange that many pundits predicted, the sit-down provided an opportunity for a constructive conversation. This is a welcome development, and it points to a real opportunity for government and industry to work together to help bolster the $1 trillion impact that the software industry has all across the US economy. Here are some ways we can work toward that goal: The president-elect and software companies can help grow jobs in the United States by focusing on efforts to bolster STEM education and improve training programs. The incoming administration can also ensure that the path forward on trade ensures a level playing field in the digital space. Across the administration's developing agenda - from efforts to make reduce government waste and improve services to projects to update infrastructure - software and software companies can offer real expertise and improvements. Reno Commission puts liquor by drink without food sales on 2023 ballot Hutchinson board acts quickly to respond to brewery's dilemma, but vote is more than a year away. Naftogaz Ukrainy does not intend in the current winter to buy natural gas from Gazprom without signing an additional agreement to the contract for its sale and purchase, head of the state holding Andriy Kobolev has said. "If the Russian colleagues do not accept the standard terms of the contract [do not sign the additional agreement that is traditional in recent years] by the end of winter, we are unlikely to buy gas from them," he said at a press conference in Kyiv. As reported, Naftogaz insists that in addition to providing a favorable price offer it is necessary to sign an additional agreement with the abolition of the "take or pay" rule for the period of gas purchases in accordance with the holding's prepayment. In addition, the document should clearly define the points of gas delivery to Ukraine to prevent its supply to the uncontrolled territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The price of gas under the contract between Russia's Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy is now is $178-183 per 1,000 cubic meters, while from the first quarter of 2017 it will rise to $200-210 per 1,000 cubic meters. Mountain View, CA-based Hippo, a provider of smart home insurance, has raised $14 million in a Series A round to support its product development and marketing for its 2017 official launch.The funding was headed by venture capital firm Horizon Ventures, and participated in by RPM Ventures, Propel Venture Partners, GGV Capital and Pipeline Capital, as well as several fintech investors and entrepreneurs.In a statement, Hippo said it aims to disrupt the industry by providing home insurance that is fast and simple to purchase online, has more transparent coverage suitable for todays modern lifestyles, and by being available at lower prices by going directly to consumers.Assaf Wand, Hippo CEO, said: We took everything thats wrong with the current state of home insurance - the confusing forms, the outdated policy terms, the agent as middleman - and fixed it.The home insurance industry hasnt changed in decades and no longer reflects modern lifestyles. Today, many homeowners do not fully understand what their policies entail or what coverage they really need. Policies still cover old school items like pewter bowls, stock certificates and furs, but only provide $2,000 of coverage for home electronics. At Hippo, we make sure modern homeowners are fully covered through our online, transparent, and affordable policies.Also backing Hippos upcoming official launch are several fintech veterans, including Mark Lefanowicz, CEO, Ethos Lending; Pete Flint, founder, Trulia & Board of Directors, Zillow Group; Warren Hogarth, former partner, Sequoia; Jacob Gibson, founder, NerdWallet; Matt Humphrey, CEO, LendingHome; Josh Stech founding partner, LendingHome; Louis Beryl, founder & CEO, Earnest; Ramtin Naimi, general partner, Abstract Ventures; Soo Boon Koh, managing partner, iGlobe Partners; and Christopher Hill, founder & chairman, PerkSpot.Frances Kang of Horizons Ventures had this to say about Hippos entry to the home insurance market: The insurance ecosystem has been overdue for innovation and disruption. In the days of technology, convenience and accountability, home insurance still isnt easily available online, is overly complicated and requires people to go through agents.We believe Hippo will be a force to reconstruct the home insurance market, providing more transparency, efficiency, cost-savings, and more importantly, peace of mind to consumers.What do you make of these controversial comments? Do you believe home insurance is in need of such a revamp and that the agent as middleman is part of what is wrong? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. The federal government extended the deadline for enrolment into the health insurance exchanges provided for by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).From the original December 15 deadline, enrollees can sign up for coverage until January 1 next year, according to a report by the Washington Post.This is the second consecutive year in which the deadline has been extended.The decision to extend the enrolment is a result of interest from an extraordinary volume of consumers, ACA Health Insurance Marketplace chief executive Kevin Counihan was quoted as saying by the publication.Around 4 million people have signed up for health plans on the marketplaces as of the start of this week, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Obama administration forecast enrolment to hit 11 million in 2017. Gazprom is appealing the decision of the Kyiv Economic Court, which recognized the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine's fining the Russian company UAH 172 billion ($6.5 billion at the current exchange rate) as legal. According to the information of the Sudova Vlada Ukrainy (Judicial Authority of Ukraine) portal, the appeal was submitted on December 15. At the same time, the press service of the Kyiv Economic Court of Appeals told Interfax-Ukraine that such an appeal has not yet been registered in their system. Earlier the Kyiv Economic Court fully met the legal demands of the antimonopoly committee against Gazprom about the forced collection of a UAH 172 billion fine from the company. The official exchange rate on December 16 was UAH 26.3/$1. The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air will expand its fleet in Kyiv, the second plane will be acquired in August 2017. According to company communications director Tamara Valua, the company from August will also launch flights from Kyiv to Copenhagen and Nuremberg. In addition, from August the airline will increase the frequency of flights to Budapest (to daily), Dortmund, Munich and Bratislava (to four per week) and to Cologne and Hamburg (to three per week). The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has decided to withdraw the banking license of Artem-Bank (Kyiv) under a proposal of the Individuals Deposit Guarantee Fund and liquidate the bank, the regulator has reported on its website. Decision No. 492-rsh was made on December 15, 2016. As reported, the Deposit Guarantee Fund introduced temporary administration to the bank on November 16 for the period until December 15. The NBU declared Artem-Bank insolvent on November 15. The NBU said that problems with servicing the bank's loan portfolio in the amount of UAH 385 million, which was 80% non-performing, led to the loss of its liquidity from the beginning of November. As a result, the bank failed to fulfill its obligations to customers. As of November 8, 2016 the total amount of Artem-Bank's outstanding transactions for customers exceeded UAH 20.2 million, or 5.3% of its liabilities. In addition, due to additional formation of reserves as of October 1 the bank's capital became negative (as of October 25 "minus" UAH 185.2 million), which led to the violation of prudential regulations and limits of the open currency position. The NBU said that 94% of depositors (2,411) of Artem-Bank will receive their deposits in full from the Deposit Guarantee Fund. The total guaranteed sum to be refunded as of November 8 was UAH 177.2 million. The bank ranked 82nd among 100 operating banks as of October 1, 2016, in terms of total assets worth UAH 318.5 million, according to the NBU. The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee has fined Tedis Ukraine (earlier Megapolis-Ukraine), a large tobacco distributor in Ukraine, some UAH 431.2 million. The press service of the committee reported that a fine of UAH 429.307 million was accrued for violation of legislation when the company set the prices at the level that could not have been set if competition on the cigarette distribution market existed. UAH 1.893 million was accrued for violation of legislation when the company partially refused selling goods and there were no other alternative sources to buy the goods. Since August 2016, the committee heard over 30 applications and petitions from Tedis Ukraine LLC. As reported, in April 2015 the Antimonopoly Committee recommended Megapolis-Ukraine LLC to stick to competition rules in supplies of cigarettes to retail outlets, in particular, when setting the markup. The committee also recommended four key Ukrainian cigarette manufacturers Philip Morris Ukraine, JT International Ukraine, Imperial Tobacco Production Ukraine and Tobacco Company B.A.T.-Pryluky to refrain from actions of inactivity aimed at restricting access of other tobacco companies to the market. In August 2016 the committee finished a probe into the situation on the wholesale tobacco market. The committee said that the number of cigarette distributors should be increased. Antimonopoly Committee Head Yuriy Terentiev said that Tedis Ukraine links four largest tobacco producers with 40-50 wholesale entities and 80,000 retailers. Tedis Ukraine created in 2011 as Megapolis-Ukraine was renamed Tedis Ukraine LLC in May 2016. Japanese condiment manufacturer Ajinomotos acquisition of a 33.33% stake in Promasidor from an Africa-focused private equity fund is an example of a successful exit by a financial investor. The deal, which saw Tana Africa Capital dispose of its 25% stake in one of the continents largest food companies, was preceded by a competitive auction process also involving PepsiCo. The Rose family, which founded Promasidor, sold down a further 8.33% stake. This time they were seeking a strategic partner rather than a financial one. 2016 has been a particularly busy year for South African corporates 2016 has been a particularly busy year for South African corporates A key concern for financial investors, particularly in emerging markets, is the viability of an ultimate exit, said Rob Cant, partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Dubai who advised Ajinomoto. So this is another great example of a financial investor, having helped the asset grow, running a successful exit process. The share purchase agreement valued South Africa-based Promasidor, with operations in 36 countries across Africa, at approximately $1.5 billion. Valuations that high on the continent are usually reserved for mining or oil and gas firms for a consumer goods company, its unprecedented. Large auctions are still relatively unusual in Africa, certainly competitive ones. That really shows the desirability of the asset, said Cant. Its also unusual for a home grown consumer business to have operations in quite so many different markets across the continent, which helped support the valuation. The tie-up is the latest of a number of high profile, high-value consumer deals in the region this year. The combination in October of AB InBev and South African SABMiller, Coca Colas purchase of a stake in Nigerian drinks firm Chi, and now Ajinomoto/Promasidor suggest multinationals in mature markets are now looking to Africa and its growing middle class for growth. South African Steinhoffs proposed acquisition of Shoprite, Africas largest retailer, was also announced yesterday. "Large auctions are still relatively unusual in Africa, certainly competitive ones" Even as recently as the beginning of this year many corporates were redirecting their attentions back to their home markets. But as the once safe havens of the US and Europe look less stable on a political level and oil prices stabilise, Africas basic fundamentals meanwhile remain the same, this is a trend likely to continue for the foreseeable future. According to Linklaters, this year has seen the introduction of a new type of investor in African assets. Recently more traditional fund investors, such as domestic and foreign sovereign wealth funds, insurers and pension funds, seem to have an increased appetite for investment in Africa-focused funds, said Linklaters partner Jonathan de-Lance Holmes. He added that as these traditional investors are typically interested in a particular type of asset like healthcare, infrastructure and natural resources, fund managers are increasingly establishing more sector-specific funds. DEAL PROTECTIONS Signing and closing happened simultaneously so there was no need for deal protections. TERMINATION RIGHTS For the same reason, there were no termination rights afforded to either parties. FINANCING Ajinomoto paid all cash from its balance sheet for the 33.33% stake in Promasidor. CONDITIONS Because of the simultaneous sign and close, there were no conditions. REPS/WARRANTIES This information is confidential. ANTITRUST/MERGER CONTROL Pre-merger analysis found there to be no antitrust concerns, largely because Ajinomoto was only acquiring a minority stake in a market it didnt yet have a presence in. Tear sheet Ajinomotos $530 million acquisition of a 33.33% stake in Promasidor from the founding Rose family and Tana Africa Capital closed on November 8. Freshfields advised Ajinomoto and Mcdermott Will & Emery advised Promasidor. Nomura was financial advisor to Promasidor and Goldman Sachs to Ajinomoto. Local counsel included Udo Udoma & Belo Osagie in Nigeria, ENS in Ghana and South Africa, Vieira de Almeida in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bourabiat Associes in Algeria. See also African PE opportunities to grow Local insight is key to African opportunities Africa PE must seize platform strategies Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The mayors of five of the worlds major cities have written a desperate plea to their counterparts in the United States, urging them to ignore Donald Trumps climate science denial and press ahead with steps to tackle global warming. Urban areas are responsible for about 75 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, so cities can make a significant contribution if they choose to do so. The US President-elect has described climate change as a hoax and packed his Cabinet with people who have a track record of scepticism and denial about climate change. The cities Oslo, Rio de Janeiro, Stockholm, Sydney and Vancouver are members of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA), which wants to cut emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050. Its membership already includes a number of US cities, such as New York, Washington DC and San Francisco, as well as the likes of London, Berlin and Yokohama in Japan. Johanna Partin, director of the CNCA, said: The US election makes clear that sub-national actors especially cities are Americas only hope now in terms of climate action. President-elect Trump has picked a fellow climate science denier to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, an oil tycoon to head the State Department, an enthusiastic fossil fuel extractor as Energy Secretary, and gas pipeline supporter Ryan Zinke as Interior Secretary. These appointments are illustrative of how many steps back America is already starting to take. Climate policy cannot take a sabbatical and wait another four years or another election cycle for more aggressive action. In the letter, the five mayors Raymond Johansen of Oslo, Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro, Karin Wanngard of Stockholm, Clover Moore of Sydney and Gregor Robertson of Vancouver were unequivocal about the threat posed by the Trump presidency. Americas President-elect has made it clear that he plans to eviscerate the countrys environmental protections, including plans to cut emissions at coal-fired power plants, one of the most egregious carbon footprints in one of the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitters, they wrote to the mayors of eight US cities, including Boston, Boulder in Colorado, Minneapolis and Seattle. President-elect Trump has stated that in his first 100 days he will do everything he can to dramatically expand the production of shale, oil, natural gas and coal; lift roadblocks to fossil fuel pipeline expansion projects like Keystone Pipeline; and cancel billions in payments for climate change programs. We see climate change as a core issue of national interest, and a key driver of the march toward a cleaner and more equitable future. They pointed out that the number of jobs in renewable energy was growing rapidly with employment in the sector increasing 12 times faster than the general economy. Business leaders understand this, the mayors said. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan This is why you, the mayors of Americas leading cities, must continue to be at the forefront of climate action in the US going forward. This is increasingly important as your new national leadership abdicates responsibility for protecting Americans and the world from fossil fuel impacts to our peoples health, our economies, and our environment. And they pointed to other benefits from ditching oil, coal and gas beyond preventing dangerous climate change and creating new jobs. Life gets better, cleaner, healthier, and more efficient as we embrace a clean energy future, work to eliminate dirty emissions, and put people not fossil fuels at the centre of our economies, the mayors said. Climate change: It's "game over" for planet earth They even pinched Mr Trumps favourite slogan. Making America great is about ensuring that its people are healthy and happy, its economies and environments are thriving, and its security is sound. We pledge to support you as you continue to do this. We hope the Trump administration will support you, Americas leading cities, in your efforts. However if they do not, we, as fellow leading climate action cities, will stand by you to help in whatever ways we can. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Fashion designer Veronica DSouza believes that dignity not charity is the way to pull people from poverty. That is why she founded Carcel - the clothing company which enlists the help of Peruvian women in prison. The Danish fashion brand based in the capital of Copenhagen was just an idea on a Kickstarter page in April 2016. Since then, DSouza and her team have raised over 351,950 Danish Krone (40,000). And in early December the idea came to life as production started at the Cusco prison in the Peruvian Andes, just days after they were nominated for a crowd-funding award. The women at the prison (who are unnamed to protect their identities) voluntarily sign up to work for between six to eight hours a day and a fair wage, in a country where the number of women in prison has risen by 100 per cent in the past 15 years. The firm believes this model helps both the women involved, and gives consumers an alternative to clothes made in sweatshops. Carcel clothing - in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel clothing - in pictures A woman who works in the Peruvian prison, who asked not to be named. Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel sweaters are made using baby alpaca wool. Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel clothing - in pictures Carcel Prior to launching Carcel, DSouza worked Kenya to roll out reusable Ruby menstrual cups. After visiting a womens prison, she realised that poverty was a major factor of incarceration and learned this was a pattern repeated the world over and decided to take action. I believe in dignity, and in aspirational solutions, DSouza told The Independent. Thats why Carcel is not set-up as a charity but a social business. We want our customers to get the best quality in extraordinary design, made by women in prison." "People should buy the clothes because they love them, not to pity the women behind bars," she stresses. "To do this, weve looked at places in the world where the best and most exclusive materials come from that also have high rates of poverty related crime for women. Peru is such a country with its fantastic tradition for the exclusive Alpaca wool as well as high rates of female incarceration due to drug trafficking out of needs." To make the business sustainable and appealing to customers, the jumpers are made from 100 per cent baby alpaca wool, and cost between $125 (100) to $250 (250). Next, DSouza hopes to work with women in Indian and the organic silk industry. Asked how the brand ensures that the women are not being exploited, D'Souza explains that she and her team met with the president of the Peruvian prison system, who granted her access to visit institutions across the country. "I have been very positively surprised by the atmosphere inside the prison, and the relationships between staff and inmates," she says, adding that a production manager is on site each day to oversee the six to eight-hour working day. But her work has just begun, says D'Souza. And while this project has been a success for Carcel, in six months time it will become clear how the project is helping the women, and their families, too. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Japanese banks have told the Government they will begin moving operations to the EU within six months unless the Government can provide clarity on the UKs access to the single market. Banks including Nomura and Daiwa Capital Markets, which employ thousands of people in Britain, reportedly held a frank meeting with the City minister Simon Kirby and international trade minister Mark Garnier on 1 December. According to the Financial Times, one senior Japanese finance executive said it would be better for our EU-based customers to have an alternative hub. Ministers have met with top Japanese bank bosses, who reiterated fears about the potential negative impact of Brexit on their UK businesses and urged clarity from the Government about its plans. The Chancellor Philip Hammond has himself conceded on a trip to Japan this week that: Its fairly binary for them: they either have access to their markets or they dont have access. "If they have full access to the markets from London they can continue operating as now. If they dont, they will have to restructure the way their operations address the European market. Labour MP claims it's 'highly probable' Russia interfered with Brexit referendum I've been seeking to cement the UK-Japanese bilateral relationship, Hammond told reporters in Japan this week. Japan is Britain's second-most-important foreign direct investor after the United States. Japanese banks employ 5,000 people, mostly in London, with insurers and other financial groups employing many thousands more. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Japanese firms, like their US counterparts, have demanded confirmation that passporting would be maintained after the split, an assurance that Mr Hammond simply cannot give at present. Passporting allows EU firms to sell their services across the EUs 31 nations while only being subject to one set of regulations. Without confirmation, the exodus will reportedly begin in mid-2017. Mr Hammond is hoping to secure a transitional deal which will ensure a smooth and orderly Brexit rather than a cliff edge in 2019, when the two-year negotiation period will end. Without such a deal, firms face a mountain of rule changes and regulatory uncertainty. In September the Japanese government issued an unprecedented warning that the countrys firms would move their headquarters out of Britain if EU laws cease to be applicable. Japanese firms employ around 140,000 people in the UK, with Nomura bank, Hitachi and carmakers Honda, Nissan and Toyota all having major bases in the country. On Wednesday, it was revealed that 40 per cent of US firms with UK bases said they are considering moving to the EU because of uncertainty over Brexit. The Ukroboronprom State Concern seeks to have tighter cooperation with Ukrainian Defense Ministry under the UKRARPA defense innovation development platform project initiated by the concern. Ukroboronprom Head Roman Romanov told reporters in Kyiv on Friday that recently the UKRARPA project was presented to the Defense Ministry and the General Staff. The project was approved by military. It was decided to create an ad hoc group to work on the implementation of cooperation under the project, he said. The UKRARPA has been presented to the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, representatives of defense industry, Romanov said. As reported, the initiative to create the platform meeting modern trends of global defense industry was announced by Ukroboronprom Head Roman Romanov at the 13th Arms and Security 2016 in Kyiv in October. UKRARPA would unite designers, start-ups, investment funds and military servicemen. The platform would help to concentrate progressive scientific ideas, investment and a mechanism for exchanging and protecting technologies. At present Ukroboronprom is holding talks to start cooperation with U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In August 2016 Anthony Tether who headed DARPA in 2001-2009 became an advisor of Ukroboronprom. Tether will consult the concern on development of the Ukrainian defense and industrial complex and promotion of the Ukrainian defense products on foreign markets. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The government of Cuba has proposed resolving a Cold War-era debt by paying the Czech Republic in rum, a trademark Cuban commodity. Michal Zurovec, a spokesman for the Czech finance ministry, said that Cuban authorities have proposed to pay back $276m (222m) to the Czech Republic from the time both countries were part of the communist bloc. If the offer is accepted, the central European nation would have rum reserves to last over a century. The Czechs imported rum from Cuba worth over $2 m last year, according to the Czech Statistics Office. While Prague was open to the idea of the trade, Mr Zurovic said it would still prefer the debt was a least partly paid in cash. In total, Cubas external government debt is about $24.7bn, or about 31 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product, according to estimates by Moodys. Pernod Ricard's Havana Club is the fifth-largest rum brand in the world, with almost 4 million cases sold in 20122013 across 120 countries. France and Germany are among the biggest markets for the Cuban rum brand. Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Show all 20 1 /20 Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man rides his modified bicycle past a vintage American car in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A taxi sits parked by Ancon Beach waiting for returning bathers in Trinidad Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Afrocuban carnival group "Los componedores de batea" performing in the streets of La Habana Vieja Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Pastel colours for an ice-cream place and a vintage American car in Cienfuegos after sunset Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man on the phone in a bookshop in Old Havana (Habana Vieja) selling books and displaying propaganda poster of the Cuban Revolution Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Street Musicians in Santiago De Cuba Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man works to repair his classic American car after it broke down along the Prado, a wide avenue that runs from Parque Central to the Malecon seafront highway, in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Members of the 'Ladies in White,' a group founded by the partners and relatives of jailed dissidents that regularly protests against the Cuban government, demonstrate on the streets of Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Street vegetables vendor in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba The sun setting through the palm trees and creates long shadows on the pool deck at this resort in Cuba Varadero Rex Pictures of everyday life in Cuba General view of a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A girls plays on a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Girls walk past graffiti art along the Paseo de Marti, the wide boulevard that runs through the heart of the historic Old Havana neighborhood in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A woman smokes her Havana cigar Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba A man harvests tobacco leaves for drying at a tobacco drying house on a co-op plantation in Pinar del Rio Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Men play chess on a street in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Locals take part in a gay parade in Havana Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Scene of the Memories Paraiso Azul resort in Santa Maria Key Getty Images Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Beach on the Bay of Pigs, Zapata Peninsula Pictures of everyday life in Cuba Divers swimming above coral reef in Caribbean Sea Rex In the past, North Korea offered to repay its $10m (8m) debt in products made with ginseng. In 1993, Russia offered New Zealand Mig Fighter jets, tanks and nuclear submarine in an attempt to wipe out the $100m debt it owed New Zealand for imports of its dairy product. Additional reporting by AP For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} On the day President-elect Donald Trump had pledged to clarify how his companies would run during his term in the White House, his strategy to avoid conflicts of interest looks more confusing than ever. On Tuesday, Trump said his sons would run his company, building what he says is a clear wall between his private business and public power. On Wednesday, his children had seats at the table of one of his biggest policy meetings yet, attended by the countrys top tech-industry elites and Trump Cabinet nominees. Also around the table: bottles of Trump Natural Spring Water, the president-elects water brand. The episode bolstered a growing confusion over how Trump would separate his complex web of business interests from his job in the Oval Office, a central focus for many who have worried that Trumps entanglements could steer his policy and presidency. Recommended Trump faces impeachment if new conflicts of interest bill passed Top Democrats say they intend to target this vulnerability for Trump in the march to his inauguration and beyond. Democratic senators including Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Thursday morning that they would introduce a bill next month requiring the president to disclose and divest financial holdings that post conflicts of interest, mimicking a law that already binds most public officials. This is bigger than our president-elect. This is bigger than this moment, said Democtratic Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, during a forum at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. This is about our democracy and the laws that go with it. Trump tweeted two weeks ago that he would hold a major news conference in New York on 15 December to give more details on his plans. But this week, his representatives said that conference, and any ensuing clarity, would have to wait until an undetermined date next month. Trump has offered no other details in the days since, save for a few vague tweets. Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Thursday morning that the president-elect obviously has a great number of businesses, a great number of properties and developments that he has put together, and quite frankly that takes time as he transitions away from being the leader of this very successful company. The priority here is to make sure we get it right, Miller added. If that takes a little more time, I think the American people understand that. Trump, meanwhile, said the transition wouldnt be that difficult. He tweeted on Thursday morning, The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex when actually it isnt! Kellyanne Conway says Donald Trumps team found 'an exception' in anti-nepotism law Government officials and Trumps antagonists have offered sometimes conflicting views on whether Trump has overstepped the boundaries allowed for a president-elect who also holds a lucrative financial stake in a luxury hotel owned by the federal government. Congressional Democrats said on Wednesday that officials with the General Services Administration had determined Trump must surrender his stake in Washingtons Trump International Hotel before entering office. But that agency said later that it would wait until the full circumstances surrounding the President-elects business arrangements have been finalized before making a determination. In the vacuum of solid details from Trump, many have scrambled to divine exactly how the president-elect intends to separate from his private fortune, if at all. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Trump said he would turn down billions of dollars of deals during his presidency to dodge potential conflicts. Trump added that he had already turned down seven deals with one big player. He said he turned down those lucrative arrangements out of personal desire, not because of legal requirements. Im not going to be doing deals at all, he said. I have the right to do it. I just dont want to do it. There are no conflict-of-interest laws that would force the president to sell off his business interests. But the president must still abide by laws against bribery, fraud and corruption, as well as a constitutional ban against accepting payments from a foreign power, upheld by threat of impeachment. Harvard law professor says '30' GOP electors ready to block Trump win Trump tweeted late last month that it was visually important that the president show no business conflicts. In a series of late-night tweets Monday, Trump said he would leave his businesses before the 20 January inauguration to be managed by executives and his two adult sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. No new deals, he added, would be done during his time in office. But those stipulations may not solve the core problem. If Trump gives his children corporate management responsibilities but still partially owns the businesses, he will have a financial stake that could influence his presidential decision-making, former White House ethics advisers said. Business experts also wonder how Trump could promise no new deals for a business that has depended on routine dealmaking both in large measure, such as signing new real estate partnerships or sealing branding agreements, as well as everyday deals, including hiring employees and refinancing debts. Some government officials weighed in. Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub, whose agency advises public officials on how to avoid conflicts, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Senator Thomas Carper that a President should conduct himself as if he were bound by financial conflict-of-interest laws. Transferring operational control of a company to ones children would not constitute the establishment of a qualified blind trust, nor would it eliminate conflicts of interest, Shaub wrote. President Donald Trump life in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 President Donald Trump life in pictures President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump poses in a rocking chair once used by President John F. Kennedy at his New York City residence Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump with his new bride Marla Maples after their wedding at the Plaza hotel in New York Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Celina Midelfart watch the match between Conchita Martinez and Amanda Coetzer during U.S. Open. She was the date whom Donald Trump was with when he met his current wife Melania at a party in 1996 Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas serving as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, speaks to Donald Trump and Melania Knauss on the starting grid at the Daytona International Speedwa Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump talks with his former wife Ivana Trump during the men's final at the U.S. Open Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and his friend Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive at the New York premiere of Star Wars Episode : 'The Phantom Menace,' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump talks with host Larry King. Trump told King that he was moving toward a possible bid for the United States presidency with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump answers questions as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura looks on in Brooklyn Park. Trump said on Friday he 'very well might' make a run for president under the Reform Party banner but had not made a final decision Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump makes a face at a friend as he sits next to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso before the start of the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama City Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Entrepreneur Donald Trump is greeted by a Marilyn Monroe character look-a-alike, as he arrives at Universal Studios Hollywood to attend the an open casting call for his NBC television network reality series 'The Apprentice.' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Simon Cowell present an Emmy during the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Megan Mullally perform at the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump, poses with his children, son Donald Trump, Jr., and daughters Tiffany and Ivanka Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump told Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner on Tuesday she would be given a second chance after reported misbehavior Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump holds a replica of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as his wife Melania holds their son Barron in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. property mogul Donald Trump stands next to a bagpiper during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland Reuters As advisers debated possible ethical issues, a potential Trump conflict played out in real time this week 5,000 miles south of Washington. Trump Hotels said on Tuesday that it would remove its brand name and stop operating a luxury hotel in Rio de Janeiro, where Brazilian prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the propertys investments. The Trump Hotel Rio de Janeiro is owned by a Brazilian development firm whose former chief executive is the grandson of the last president under the countrys 1964-1985 military dictatorship. The Trump company, which has no financial stake in the project, said it was not involved in the investigation. The firm said it was backing out because of construction delays and differences with the developers vision. Trumps company also terminated a licensing deal with the developers of a stalled hotel project in Azerbaijan, said Trump Organization executive vice president Alan Garten on Thursday. The project, he said, had missed various development milestones, though Garten would not elaborate. Trump invested no money in the project but has made millions of dollars through selling his name to the project in recent years. Construction on the Trump International Hotel & Tower in the oil-rich nations capital of Baku froze last year following an economic crash. Trumps partner in that project was a billionaire tied to a repressive regime accused of corruption, human-rights abuse and attacks on free speech, according to the State Department and human-rights groups. When a Washington Post reporter earlier this year told Garten about criticism of Trumps partner, Anar Mammadov, including how he made his fortune, Garten said then, These are things that are going to have to be discussed. Requests for comment from Mammadov were not immediately returned. Garten said on Thursday that the Baku deal was terminated as part of a housecleaning because it seems like the right time. What didnt affect the termination, he added, was Trumps upcoming presidency or growing calls for Trump to divest his business interests overseas. The company, Garten said, had also recently cancelled a third foreign licensing deal for a potential hotel complex in Rio de Janeiro. The Trump Organizations biggest decisions have historically been guided by Trump himself. But Garten said the president-elect did not weigh in on the deals. Mr. Trump is focused on building his Cabinet. Hes focusing on the affairs of the country and improving things for all Americans, Garten said. Hes not involved in these decisions. It was not his determination. Many of the entanglements are playing out much closer to home. On Wednesday, Trump invited some of the giants of American tech Amazon chief executive and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, Apples Tim Cook, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg to the 25th floor of Trump Tower, where he told them, Were going to be there for you. They listened a few chairs down from three of Trumps children, Eric, Ivanka and Don Jr., the latter of whom tweeted afterward: Honored to have sat in on this meeting. The most impressive group of minds Ive seen assembled all looking to fight for America and US jobs. Shortly afterward, congressional Democrats said Thursday morning they would take up a presidential-conflicts bill when the Senate reconvenes next month. The bill would also force presidential appointees to avoid matters touched by the presidents financial conflicts that could come before their agencies. Congressional Republicans have been far more muted on the issue, spelling potential doom for the bill in the Senate they control. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), chairman of the House Oversight Committee who said last month that Trump needs to instill the confidence that hes more than arms length away, has not yet responded to Democrats urging to investigate Trumps potential conflicts. President-elect Trumps financial entanglements are unprecedented in American history, and the American people are still waiting to hear what steps he will take before January 20th to guard against conflicts of interest and corruption in his Administration, Senator Richard Durbin said in a statement Thursday. Just this week, the President-elect cancelled a scheduled announcement about severing his business ties, taking time instead to meet with Kanye West, Durbin added. The American people deserve to know that their President is putting the United States interests before his own, his familys, or that of any foreign government. Washington Post For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Pharmaceutical company Actavis has been accused of overcharging the NHS by raising the price of hydrocortisone tablets by more than 12,000 per cent over the course of eight years. Hydrocortisone tablets are used by people with adrenal insufficiency, a life-threatening condition where their adrenal glands do not produce enough natural steroid hormones. Around 943,000 packets of the tablets were distributed over the last year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the pharmaceutical company has broken competition law by charging excessive and unfair prices. Actavis raised prices for 10mg hydrocortisone tablets from 79p in April 2008 to 88 per pack by March 2016. Actavis also increased the price of 20mg hydrocortisone tablets by nearly 9,500 per cent compared to the previous branded price, equating to charges to the NHS of 102.74 per pack by March 2016, when it had previously paid 1.07 for the branded drug. This means between 2008 and 2015, the NHS's spend on the drug rose from 522,000 to 70m. Andrew Groves, CMA senior responsible officer said: This is a lifesaving drug relied on by thousands of patients, which the NHS has no choice but to continue purchasing. We allege that the company has taken advantage of this situation and the removal of the drug from price regulation, leaving the NHS and ultimately the taxpayer footing the bill for the substantial price rises. The CMA said the current findings against Actavis were provisional and that it was too early to conclude there had been a breach of competition law. The CMA will carefully consider any representations of the parties under investigation before determining whether the law has been infringed, Mr Groves said. Actavis, formerly known as Auden Mckenzie, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The competition watchdog has been clamping down on drugs companies for overcharging the NHS. Earlier this month, drug firms Pfizer and Flynn Pharma have been fined nearly 90m by the UKs competition watchdog for unfair pricing to the NHS after hiking up the cost of an anti-epilepsy drug by up to 2,600 per cent. Biggest business scandals in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Biggest business scandals in pictures Biggest business scandals in pictures Volkswagen emissions scandal VW admitted to rigging its US emission tests so that diesel-powered cars would looks like they were emitting less nitrous oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and contribute to respiratory diseases. Around 11 million cars worldwide were affected. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals Martin Shkreli became known as the most hated man in the world after his drug company, Turing, increased the price of a 62-year-old drug that treated HIV patients by 5,000% to $750 a pill. He was charged with illegally taking stock from Retrophin, a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. Shkreli, who maintains he is innocent, and says there is little evidence of fraud because his investors didn't lose money. Biggest business scandals in pictures Panama Papers: Millions of leaked documents expose how worlds rich and powerful hid money - April 2016 Millions of confidential documents have been leaked from one of the worlds most secretive law firms, exposing how the rich and powerful have hidden their money. Dictators and other heads of state have been accused of laundering money, avoiding sanctions and evading tax, according to the unprecedented cache of papers that show the inner workings of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which is based in Panama. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Google's tax avoidance Google reached a deal with the HM Revenue and Customs to pay back 130 million in so-called back-taxes that have been due since 2005. George Osborne championed the deal as a major success. But European MEPs have since called for the Chancellor to appear in front of the committee on tax rulings to explain the tax deal. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures UK to crack down on bank money laundering after reports of 65bn Russian scam, City minister says - March 2017 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has vowed that the Government will crack down on money laundering practices, after several of the UK's biggest banks were accused of processing money from a Russian scam, believed to involve up to $80bn (65bn). Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former HBOS bankers convicted of bribery and fraud over 245m loan scam - February 2017 Two former HBOS bankers were among six people found guilty of bribery and fraud that cost customers and shareholders hundreds of millions of pounds, the BBC reports. Lynden Scourfield, 54, a manager at HBOS, forced struggling clients to use the services of his friends David Mills, 60, and Michael Bancroft, 73. In return, the two businessmen arranged sex parties, cash and lavish gifts. On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Christine Lagarde faces court over 340m Bernard Tapie payment - July 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, must stand trial in France over a payment of 403 million (now 340m, then 290m) to tycoon Bernard Tapie, a France's highest appeals court has ruled. The court rejected Ms Lagarde's appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial over allegations of negligence in her handling of the affair. Ms Lagarde could risk a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if convicted. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures HSBC senior manager arrested in FX rigging investigation at JFK airport in New York - July 2016 A senior executive at HSBC has been arrested at New York's JFK airport for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to rig currency benchmarks, according to reports. Mark Johnson, global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday. He will appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bloomberg said. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Former PwC employees found guilty in 'Luxleaks' tax scandal - June 2016 Two ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers staffers were found guilty in Luxembourg of stealing confidential tax files that helped unleash a global scandal over generous fiscal deals for hundreds of international companies. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet face suspended sentences of 12 months and 9 months and were ordered to pay fines of 1,500 (1,230) and 1,000 (822) for their role in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal. Despite the minimal sentences, the ruling was described by Deltours lawyer as shocking and a terrible anomaly. The ruling puts on guard future whistle-blowers, Deltour told reporters.The LuxLeaks revelations sped beyond Luxembourg, causing European Union regulators to expand a tax-subsidy probe and propose new laws to fight corporate tax dodging, while EU lawmakers created a special committee to probe fiscal deals across the 28-nation bloc. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Goldman Sachs dealmakers lavished Libyan officials with prostitutes to win contract - June 2016 A former Goldman Sachs dealmaker trying to persuade Gadaffi-era Libya to invest $1 billion with the investment bank procured prostitutes and invited Libyan officials to lavish parties in the hope of winning the business, the High Court heard on Monday June 13.The Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs for inappropriately coercing its naive staff into giving its sovereign wealth fund cash to the bank to invest in products they did not understand. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. The company founder said that workers were paid less than the statutory minimum because of bottlenecks at security in an admission that could result in sanctions from HMRC. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Mitsubishi admits improper fuel tests - April 2016 Mitsubishi has admitted to using false fuel methods dating back to 1991. The scale of the scandal is only just coming to light after it was revealed in April that data was falsified in the testing of four types of cars, including two Nissan cars. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Quindell, the scandal-ridden insurance firm Quindell was once a darling of AIM but its share price fell in April 2014 when its accounting practices were attacked in a stinging research note by US short seller Gotham City. In August the group was forced to disclose that the 107 million pre-tax profit it had reported for 2013 was incorrect, and it had in fact suffered a 64million loss. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Toshiba Accounting Scandal The boss of Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, resigned in disgrace in the wake of one of the countrys biggest ever accounting scandals. His exit came two months after the company revealed that it was investigating accounting irregularities. An independent investigatory panel said that Toshibas management had inflated its reported profits by up to 152 billion yen (780m) between 2008 and 2014. Biggest business scandals in pictures FIFA Corruption Scandal Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since the summer of 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty Pfizer was handed a record 84.2m fine, while Flynn Pharma was asked to pay 5.2m for breaking competition law. Philip Marsden of the CMA said: The companies deliberately exploited the opportunity offered by de-branding to hike up the price for a drug which is relied upon by many thousands of patients. These extraordinary price rises have cost the NHS and the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds. The watchdog has ordered both companies to drop their prices. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn has backed the Young and Homeless Helpline, while claiming the social cleansing of London was adding to the pressures on young people struggling to find somewhere to live. Delivering his outspoken comments while visiting a hostel run by the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint, the Labour leader said young people in the capital were among those hardest hit by what he described as the de-housing of those in social need. Condemning a growing shortage of affordable housing, Mr Corbyn told The Independent: In London there is always a competition between expensive commercial development and the need for the provision of good quality social housing, [but] it seems to me more imbalanced than ever now. We are seeing, therefore, a de-housing of those in social need in central London. We are seeing social cleansing of central London, because our local authorities are not equipped with the funds and powers to deal with the housing needs of their communities. Such pressure, he said, was one of the reasons why the Young and Homeless Helpline, being campaigned for by Centrepoint and The Independent, was so needed. The helpline will assist many of the 150,000 16 to 25-year-olds seeking help with homelessness in the UK every year, and seek to address a situation where, Centrepoint estimates, up to one in three young people are turned away unaided by English councils. The Government has previously stated that it has invested 500million to tackle homelessness and that homelessness among 16 to 24-year-olds has fallen by 17 per cent since 2010. Recommended I did my GCSEs while homeless and sleeping on night buses But Mr Corbyns backing of the Young and Homeless Helpline came two days after the Labour party unveiled a plan to eradicate street sleeping, pledging to ensure that 4,000 additional housing association homes were earmarked for rough sleepers. Mr Corbyn said his experiences of trying to help desperate young homeless people in his Islington North constituency had also convinced him of the need for what will be the first nationwide helpline offering advice to young people facing homelessness. I absolutely back the homeless helpline campaign, he said. As a London MP I do get young people turning up at the constituency office in this situation. Sometimes they are totally desperate. They dont know who to turn to or where to go. This phoneline will be very, very useful, a very good idea. Urging as many Independent readers as possible to donate to the homeless helpline appeal, he added: Of course, it is about proper [Government] funding, but it is also about everybody saying: Lets not pass by on the other side. End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Show all 14 1 /14 End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Manchester End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Manchester End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Jon Savage End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Colin Hattersley Photography End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Colin Hattersley Photography End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Colin Hattersley Photography End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Colin Hattersley Photography End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Edinburgh Colin Hattersley Photography End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Eden Project, Cornwall End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Eden Project, Cornwall End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Sheffield James Rothwell End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Norwich End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Cardiff End Youth Homelessness Sleep Out 2016 Cardiff Describing how he also met and tried to counsel the young people he saw sleeping rough on the streets of his constituency, Mr Corbyn said he feared young lives were being blighted and a wealth of young talent was being lost to the nation. How many potentially brilliant engineers of tomorrow are sleeping on the streets? He asked. How many doctors? How many nurses? Its not just a shame its a crying waste of talent. Corbyn with volunteer workers bagging up products donated by beauty companies to be given as Christmas presents for Centrepoint residents (John Stillwell/PA Wire) He added: If young people are homeless, they are getting into bad health, with no education: you are losing them. Saying this should no longer be happening, he said: We are one of the richest countries in the world. We have the resources to do so many things. Earlier Mr Corbyn, a vegetarian since the age of 20, had helped a group of current and former Centrepoint residents cook chickpea burgers during one of the charitys healthy living classes. Displaying conspicuous enthusiasm for cooking the vegetarian food, Mr Corbyn suggested adding more salt to the burger mix and cayenne pepper, which, he said, would be nice because its not so strong. When handed a knife to chop sweet potatoes, however, the Labour leader warned the attendant throng of photographers: I dont want to be accused of using an offensive weapon. The session ended with Mr Corbyn inviting some of the Centrepoint residents to visit him in Parliament in the new year. Mr Corbyn praised how the charity, which achieves positive outcomes with 90 per cent of the young people it helps, taught life skills that will help ex-residents stay out of homelessness. He said it was also vital that helpline could stay operational long after its planned February launch. Mr Corbyn said: Those taking on the running of the helpline are taking on a massive responsibility. They will be dealing with sometimes very desperate young people. They have got to see it through. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Amanda Knox has written an essay exploring how and why false confessions are extracted from innocent women after a nine-year ordeal that saw her convicted and acquitted of murder. If you Google Who is Amanda Knox, the first two commonly asked questions after this are What did Amanda Knox really do? and Who really killed Meredith. Knox, now a journalist, will forever be synonymous with the epithet 'Foxy Knoxy', given to her by the media during one of the most sensational murder trials of the decade, a year after being exonerated by Italys highest court. Knox's essay for Broadly examines how gender roles can affect the outcome of interrogations, focusing on women who are wrongly accused of abusing or murdering children. Knox explores how these women could be manipulated by investigators into thinking they are assisting in the investigation of their child, when they are actually being shifted into the position of perpetrator. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Show all 14 1 /14 Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 House of Cards - Season Four - 4 March Last time we were in Frank Underwoods White House things werent looking to great for the President, his first Lady having just walked out on him. What will happen next in the critically acclaimed show is anyones guess. Netflix Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Daredevil - Season Two - 18 March Back in Hells Kitchen things were seemingly getting better. Kingpin is in prison and the crime syndicates should have dispersed - for the meantime at least. Unfortunately for Matt Murdoch, theres a new anti-hero in town: The Punisher. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Flaked - 11 March According to Netflix, Flaked is set in the insular world of Venice, California. It follows the serio-comic story of a self-appointed 'guru' who falls for the object of his best friends fascination. Soon the tangled web of half-truths and semi-b******* that underpins his all-important image and sobriety begins to unravel. Arnett plays Chip, a man doing his honest best to stay one step ahead of his own lies. Netflix Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt - Season Two - 15 April Following the story of 29-year-old Kimmy Schmidt on her journey through New York, season two is set to start right where the last left us. The Tina Fey created sitcom has already been renewed for a third season, so you know this one has to be good. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Ranch - 1 April A comedy starring Ashton Kutcher. Based on a failed semi-pro footballer who returns home to a Colorado ranch. It also has some of the producers from Two and a Half Men behind it, which just happens to be one of the most successful shows of all time. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Marseille - 5 May Netflixs first French language original is a tale of power, corruption and redemption. Sounding like it could very well be the next Narcos. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Grace and Frankie - Season Two - 6 May The tale of a retired cosmetics mogul and a hippie art teacher living together was a hit across the world, especially in the US. Starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, the show has already been renewed for a third season. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Orange is the New Black - Season Four - 17 June Another Netflix powerhouse, Orange is the New Black will see us returning to Litchfield Penitentiary. Prepare for more Piper, Alex and Red come June. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Stranger Things - 15 July Eight-episode series starring Winona Ryder that follows a small community as they look for a young boy who has seemingly vanished. It all sounds quite scary. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Get Down - August 12th "Told through the lives and music of a ragtag crew of South Bronx teens, The Get Down is a mythic saga of the transformation of 1970s New York City. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, this is sure to be as stylish as anything hes done before. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 The Crown - Spring Starring Doctor Who actor Matt Smith, the period drama reveals the political rivalries and romance behind Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the 2nd half of the 20th century." Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Luke Cage - Fall 2016 First appearing alongside Jessica Jones in her Netflix series, Luke Cage will pic up the pieces, seeing Cage come to terms with his super-strength and impenetrable skin. It is unknown whether Kathryn. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 Narcos - Season 2 - Fall 2016 Its back. The Netflix series hyped to match Breaking Bad was an astounding success around the world, apparently watched more than Game of Thrones. Well find out what happens to Pablo Escabar now he doesnt have the protection of all his men. Netflix Inc. Netflix originals to look forward to in 2016 A Series of Unfortunate Events - Fall 2016 Netflix is set to revisit the much-loved childrens novel, putting Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf in a show that looks so much creepier than the 2004 film. Not much else is known - i.e. casting - but Lemony Snicket is on board as executive producer, so get excited. Knox was a 20-year-old student from Seattle on a gap year in Italy when she suddenly found herself hauled into an Italian interrogation room and accused of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also charged with murder. Both were convicted, then acquitted, then convicted and finally acquitted for good after stunning flaws in the investigation which led to their convictions were unearthed. Knox argues women are particularly vulnerable in an interrogation room because patriarchal social structures encourage women to comply with authority. We are all of us social animals, conditioned to please and comply with authority figuressuch as police officers. But compliance and suggestibility aren't hardwired traits: We're taught them, writes Knox. Women are raised under a different social incentive structure than men, where attitudes of compliance and deference to authority are more encouraged. This finds its most damning realisation in the interrogation room, a situation designed to amplify the absolute control and authority of investigatorsan experience I know only too well. Recommended Amanda Knox documentary shows how the media coverage affected the case Knox examines the confession made by Melissa Calusinski, a 22-year-old woman with low IQ who was convicted of the murder of a toddler. Calusinski was questioned for nine hours and repeatedly denied harming him. Eventually, she confessed to hitting his head on the floor and she was convicted of his murder. A psychologist testified at trial that Calusinski was highly suggestible. Calusinski's case has now been taken on by Kathleen Zellner, the US lawyer who is also representing the subject of Netflixs Making a Murderer documentary, Steven Avery. She continues to protest her innocence from prison, where she is serving a 31-year sentence, but her requests for a new trial have been denied. What hasn't been discussed is whether Calusinski's gender had anything to do with it," Knox continues. "According to the National Registry of Exonerations, women represent 11 per cent of exonerees involving a false confession compared to nine percent of exonerations overall. This may suggest that women are slightly more likely to be convicted of a crime they did not commit based on a false confession. Amanda Knox Netflix Trailer Knox alleged she was held for hours by her interrogators, beaten and not provided access to a lawyer. After, she wrongly named her former boss as a suspect but later said she named him "in confusion and under pressure". She does not address her own interrogation in her essay. Knox appeared in a Netflix documentary about her own trial to demonstrate what it means to be wrongfully convicted. There remains the fact that I'm in a unique position as an exoneree, she told Good Morning America. Once an exoneree always an exoneree. I can't go back to my life that I had before, and neither can the other exonerees that are out there. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Bob Geldof has unleashed a blistering attack on the European Union - saying it does not work. One of the highest-profile celebrity pro-EU campaigners during the Brexit referendum, he said Brussels needs a radical overhaul quickly. Speaking before an audience of students in Dublin, Geldof also predicted a European war within a generation or two as the West lurches towards nationalism and populism. Europe needs reform - it is sclerotic, he told Trinity College Dublin's Law Society, which awarded him its Praeses Elit medal for his contribution to music and the greater good. People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015. The whole system is constipated. It needs a laxative to clear it out. Geldof said half of Europe is desperately unhappy. It doesn't function, he said. It is ignoring the wishes of European citizens. What worked for six (member states) doesn't work for 28. One of the most outlandish stunts of the in/out referendum campaign was the clash of Geldof and Ukip leader Nigel Farage aboard flotillas on the Thames. But the Irish rocker, who was knighted by the Queen, said he met his arch-opponent and key Leave campaigner Mr Farage earlier this week at a party and shook his hand. He is an immensely dedicated populist ... You have to hand it to the guy, he said. However, he insisted Brexit remains part and parcel of a reactionary movement galvanising the planet that is really, really dangerous. England - that place that represented openness and tolerance, when I couldn't find it here (in Ireland) seems to be closing down, he said. It is increasingly less comfortable for me, and others who think like me, being there. The UK was resiling from the 21st century, he said. Geldof said the countries in the West are being reduced to economically competing states - and in that scenario countries go to war at a scratch. I think we will go to war - possibly within a generation, possibly two. I really think that, he said. A thuggish, predatory Russia being led by a brute was already invading Europe as we speak, he added. The poverty campaigner urged students to stop venting their spleen on social media - which he said was just cyber-wanking -and get involved in protest and activism. Asked about criticism of the lyrics of his Do They Know It's Christmas song - one of the best-selling of all time - he said: My response is I don't give a f***, adding it has so far raised a couple of million pounds for Africa. Press Association For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Over on Quora, more than 100 people have answered the question "What are the common traits of highly intelligent people?" Some users claim to know from personal experience (so humble); others are just taking an educated guess. As it turns out, many users gave answers that researchers would agree with. We pulled eleven of the most intriguing Quora responses and explained the science behind them. Here's what we learned. 1. They're highly adaptable Several Quora users noted that intelligent people are flexible and able to thrive in different settings. As Donna F Hammett writes, intelligent people adapt by "showing what can be done regardless of the complications or restrictions placed upon them." Recent psychological research supports this idea. Intelligence depends on being able to change your own behaviors in order to cope more effectively with your environment, or make changes to the environment you're in. 2. They understand how much they don't know The smartest folks are able to admit when they aren't familiar with a particular concept. As Jim Winer writes, intelligent people "are not afraid to say: 'I don't know.' If they don't know it, they can learn it." Winer's observation is backed up by a classic study by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, which found that the less intelligent you are, the more you overestimate your cognitive abilities. In one experiment, for example, students who'd scored in the lowest quartile on a test adapted from the LSAT overestimated the number of questions they'd gotten right by nearly 50%. Meanwhile, those who'd scored in the top quartile slightly underestimated how many questions they'd gotten right. 3. They have insatiable curiosity Albert Einstein reportedly said, "I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious." Or, as Keyzurbur Alas puts it, "intelligent people let themselves become fascinated by things others take for granted." Research published in 2016 suggests that there's a link between childhood intelligence and openness to experience which encompasses intellectual curiosity in adulthood. Scientists followed thousands of people born in the UK for 50 years and learned that 11-year-olds who'd scored higher on an IQ test turned out to be more open to experience at 50. 4. They're open-minded Smart people don't close themselves off to new ideas or opportunities. Hammett writes that intelligent people are "willing to accept and consider other views with value and broad-mindedness," and that they are "open to alternative solutions." Psychologists say that open-minded people those who seek out alternate viewpoints and weigh the evidence fairly tend to score higher on the SAT and on intelligence tests. At the same time, smart people are careful about which ideas and perspectives they adopt. "An intelligent mind has a strong aversion to accepting things on face value and therefore withholds belief until presented with ample evidence," says Alas. 59 per cent of parents surveyed admitted their child knew more about science than they did (REX Features) 5. They like their own company Dipankar Trehan points out that highly intelligent people tend to be "very individualistic." Interestingly, recent research suggests that smarter people tend to derive less satisfaction than most people do from socializing with friends. 6. They have high self-control Zoher Ali writes that smart people are able to overcome impulsiveness by "planning, clarifying goals, exploring alternative strategies and considering consequences before [they] begin." Scientists have found a link between self-control and intelligence. In one 2009 study, participants had to choose between two financial rewards: a smaller payout immediately or a larger payout at a later date. Results showed that participants who chose the larger payout at a later date i.e., those who had more self-control generally scored higher on intelligence tests. The researchers behind that study say that one area of the brain the anterior prefrontal cortex might play a role in helping people solve tough problems and demonstrate self-control while working toward goals. 7. They're really funny Advita Bihani points out that highly intelligent people tend to have a great sense of humor. Scientists agree. One study found that people who wrote funnier cartoon captions scored higher on measures of verbal intelligence. Another study found that professional comedians scored higher than average on measures of verbal intelligence. 8. They're sensitive to other people's experiences Smart people can "almost feel what someone is thinking/feeling," says one Quora user. Some psychologists argue that empathy, being attuned to the needs and feelings of others and acting in a way that is sensitive to those needs, is a core component of emotional intelligence. Emotionally-intelligent individuals are typically very interested in talking to new people and learning more about them. 9. They can connect seemingly unrelated concepts Several Quora users suggested that smart people are able to see patterns where others can't. That's because they can draw parallels between seemingly disparate ideas. As April Astoria notes: "You think there's no relation between sashimi and watermelon? You'd be wrong. Both are typically eaten raw and cold." Interestingly, journalist Charles Duhigg argues that making these kinds of connections is a hallmark of creativity (which, depending on who you ask, can be closely linked to intelligence). Duhigg studied the process through which Disney developed their hit movie "Frozen" and concluded that the movie only seems clever and original because it "takes old ideas and pushes them together in new ways." The committee said sex education in schools was inadequate (Getty) 10. They procrastinate a lot Mahesh Garkoti says smart people are likely to procrastinate on quotidian tasks, mainly because they're working on things that are more important. That's an interesting proposition but some scientists would say that smart people procrastinate even on work they find meaningful. Wharton psychologist Adam Grant suggests that procrastination is key to innovation, and that Steve Jobs used it strategically. As Grant told Business Insider's Rachel Gillett, "The time Steve Jobs was putting things off and noodling on possibilities was time well spent in letting more divergent ideas come to the table, as opposed to diving right in with the most conventional, the most obvious, the most familiar." 11. They contemplate the big questions According to Ram Kumar, intelligent individuals "wonder a lot about [the] universe and meaning of life." What's more, Kumar writes, "they always [ask] what's the point of everything?" That existential confusion may be one reason why smart people are more likely to be anxious. As David Wilson reported in Slate, intelligent people may be better equipped to consider situations from a range of angles, meaning they're always aware of the possibility that things will go awry. Perhaps their anxiety also stems from the fact that they consider a given experience and wonder: Why bother going through it in the first place? Read more: This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed How Uber became the world's most valuable startup These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A conspiracy theorist vomited two litres of black liquid before he died, an inquest has heard. Max Spiers death caused widespread suspicion among his friends and family, who said he had been investigating some dark things. The 39-year-old, from Canterbury, was complaining of illness before he was found dead in Warsaw, Poland on 16 July. He had been due to speak at a conference. Recommended The long list of conspiracy theories Donald Trump has pushed in 2016 Despite not performing a post mortem, an investigation by the Polish authorities found Mr Spiers died of natural causes a verdict met with dismay by his family and colleagues in the conspiracy community. In October, The Independent revealed that the Foreign Office would not be investigating the death. They said the procedure was the responsibility of the Polish authorities. However, an inquest was opened in Canterbury after a British post mortem was unable to establish a cause of death. Mr Spiers became ill with a high temperature and was weak, said coroners investigations officer Caroline ODonnell, according to the Kentish Gazette. The following day, Mr Spiers vomited two litres of black fluid. Obama the antichrist? Global warming a myth? Lizard people controlling the world? Conspiracy theory research reveals bizarre beliefs prevalent in US Show all 14 1 /14 Obama the antichrist? Global warming a myth? Lizard people controlling the world? Conspiracy theory research reveals bizarre beliefs prevalent in US Obama the antichrist? Global warming a myth? Lizard people controlling the world? Conspiracy theory research reveals bizarre beliefs prevalent in US conspiracy.jpg Obama the antichrist? Global warming a myth? Lizard people controlling the world? Conspiracy theory research reveals bizarre beliefs prevalent in US Moon-landing.jpg Getty Obama the antichrist? Global warming a myth? Lizard people controlling the world? 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Conspiracy theory research reveals bizarre beliefs prevalent in US climate-change.jpg Getty Images Ms ODonnell added that the friend he was staying with called a doctor who tried to revive him but later pronounced him dead. The coroner, Alan Blunsdon, said he was awaiting a report from the Polish authorities and was hoping for funding to run forensic tests on Mr Spiers phone and computer. His mother, Vanessa Bates, has been pushing for a thorough investigation into her son's death, and has reached out to another prominent conspiracy theorist, David Icke, for help. Two days before he died, Max Spiers allegedly told her: "Your boy's in trouble. If anything happens to me, investigate." Ms Bates, 63, told the Daily Mail that when she was given her dead son's laptop computer, it had been wiped, adding to her suspicions. Mr Spiers had made a career out of investigating UFOs and alleged cover-ups. Ms Bates said he had recently moved on to investigating politicians, business people, and celebrities. The inquest was adjourned and will be continued in February 2017. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} While Donald Trump capitalised on national anger to secure his election victory, Barack Obamas message throughout two successful presidential campaigns was always one of hope. But Michelle Obama says the world is now coming to understand what not having hope feels like. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the outgoing First Lady expressed concern for the next generation who face growing up in a turbulent political and global landscape. Now we are feeling what not having hope feels like, Ms Obama told Winfrey. Hope is necessary; its a necessary concept, and Barack didn't just talk about hope because he thought it was just a nice slogan to get votes. He and I and so many believe - what else do you have if you dont have hope? What do you give your kids if you cant give them hope?" Ms Obama said it is important to have someone in the White House who can maintain a sense of stability. People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015. Having a grown-up in the White House, who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil, hey, its going to be ok.. all of this is important for our kids to stay focused and feel like their work isnt in vain, that their lives arent in vain. What do we do if we dont have hope? Ms Obama's unflinching speeches became the high point of the general election. While campaigning for Hillary Clinton, she would tackle sexism, racial inequality and aggression head on. She made a pointed decision never to address Mr Trump by name when she challenged him in speeches. In a particularly eviscerating speech, Ms Obama took the then Republican nominee to task at a campaign rally for Ms Clinton over the lewd remarks he made about grabbing women by the p***y. And while Mr Trumps campaigns will be remembered for chants of lock her up! Drain the swamp! and CNN sucks!, Mr Obamas galvanising fired up, ready to go! was the chant that came to define a moment and underscore a mood in America at the time. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Another Russian warship has been escorted through the English Channel by the Royal Navy during continued tensions between Moscow and London. The Yaroslav Mudry, a frigate from the Baltic Fleet, sailed through the narrow passage returning to its home port just days after a Russian destroyer passed through. Neither ship is believed to have entered British territorial waters but fell within the UKs area of interest while being monitored by Nato states on its journey. It arrived two months after Russia was accused of posturing by sailing a fleet of ships headed by the Admiral Kuznetzov destroyer through the Channel on their way to Syria. Russian warships move through English Channel under Royal Navy watch Vladimir Putins support for Bashar al-Assad in the countrys civil war has worsened tensions with the West, which were already damaged by Russias alleged intervention in the Ukrainian conflict and the annexation of Crimea. The EU has extended sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, as Nato continues to raise concern about military deployments and exercises near members borders. Recommended Russian warships chase away Nato submarine in Mediterranean The HMS Sutherland, a British frigate, and a Merlin helicopter monitored the Yaroslav Mudry from when it entered the English Channel. The Royal Navy said the Neustrashimy-class frigate has recently been operating in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean before sailing across to the Caribbean to visit Cuba and Trinidad. It had a close encounter with American naval ships in the Mediterranean in June. Russia and the US blamed each other for the incident. The Russian Defence Ministry said a US destroyer made a dangerous approach as the Yaroslav Mudry was cruising steadily, but a US official said the Russian warship had carried out unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvres crossing the American vessels stern and refusing to maintain a safe distance. The Royal Navy said French and Dutch warships were also following the Yaroslav Mudry, which will be monitored by Nato members as its journey continued. MiG-29 crashes near Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier after 'technical issues' (Reuters) Commander Trish Kohn, Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland, said: This is just one example of the many activities undertaken by the Royal Navy in safeguarding the United Kingdoms waters. The HMS Sutherland previously monitored the Vice Admiral Kulakov, a Russian destroyer, as it returned to Russia from the Eastern Mediterranean earlier this month. Sailors remain at a respectful distance, the Navy said, keeping watch using binoculars and using radar to track course and speed. The same tactics were used on its departure with the fleet headed by the Admiral Kuznetzov in October, which was loaded with fighter jets, reconnaissance and combat helicopters and cruise missiles bound for Syria. Britain was among Nato members voicing opposition to the deployment and the expected use of the weapons to attack rebel areas of Aleppo, which have now been defeated after an assault seeing Syria and its allies accused of war crimes. Boris Johnson has summoned Russian ambassador to the Foreign Office to tell him Moscow deserves no credit for the evacuation of civilians from the shattered Syrian city. The Foreign Secretary expressed deep concern at reports of civilians being executed, ambulances being shot at and disappearances carried out by pro-Assad forces former opposition districts of Aleppo. Thirty-nine attacks on Ukrainian army positions were observed in the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) zone in eastern Ukraine, mostly in the Mariupol sector, over the past day, the ATO staff said. In the Mariupol sector, the hostiles fired 120mm and 82mm mortars on Talakivka and Shyrokyne, small arms, heavy machineguns and grenade launchers were used against Bohdanivka, Hnutove, Pavlopil, Vodiane, Shyrokyne, Maryinka, Novotroyitske, Talakivka and Starohnativka, weapons of an infantry combat vehicle fired on Vodiane, and snipers were active in Novotroyitske and Hnutove, the staff said on Friday morning. Grenade launchers and small arms were fired on Luhanske and Avdiyivka in the Donetsk sector, the report said. In the Luhansk sector, the same types of armaments were used against Stanytsia Luhanska, Bohuslavske, Katerynivka, Staryi Aidar and Novozvanivka. An armed personnel carrier repeatedly attacked Novo-Oleksandrivka, the report said. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Footage of the first time that a rare deep-sea shark was caught on camera has finally been released almost six-years after it was taken. Little is known about the Ghost Shark, also known as a Chimaera, which lives around a-mile-and-a-half beneath the ocean's surface. But it has been established that its reproductive organs are situated on its head, although scientists say it is unclear why. "A little bit of dumb luck" led to the film being captured, Dave Ebert, program director for the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories told the National Geographic magazine, which published the footage. He added that it was taken by a remotedly operated vehicle piloted by geologists who weren't even looking for sharks. But the creature, which are rarely seen by humans because of the extreme depths they inhabit, had swum up to the camera as they filmed off the coasts of Hawaii and California. It is believed to be a pointy nose blue chimaera, that is usually only found in the waters of Australasia. This was the first time it was spotted in the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike well-known shark species, such as Great Whites and Hammerheads, chimaeras dont have hundreds of sharp teeth. Instead, they target much smaller, bottom feeding prey, and crush them using the mineral plates they have instead of teeth. The worlds best shark diving locations Show all 10 1 /10 The worlds best shark diving locations The worlds best shark diving locations Australia There are many shark species which can be sighted off the coast of Australia, including great white sharks, grey nurse sharks and reef sharks, but Ningaloo Reef on the western side of the country offers the chance for you to get in the water with the worlds biggest fish, the whaleshark (pictured). From April to July, these massive creatures can be reliably found near the surface, gulping down huge mouthfuls of microscopic food, and this is when you can snorkel with the behemoths. The worlds best shark diving locations Great Britain The good old UK has its own world-class shark encounter, and not just any shark, but the second-largest in the world - and best of all, you dont even have to be a diver to see them! In the summer months, huge basking sharks (pictured) appear off the coast of Cornwall and around the Isle of Man, feeding on plankton at the surface, offering a close encounter to snorkellers. The worlds best shark diving locations Mexico Mexico has several shark-diving spots up its sleeve. Guadalupe Island, which sits 150 miles west of the Baja Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the ultimate location to cage-dive with great white sharks (pictured), blessed as it is with clear blue waters and plentiful food sources. On the other side of the country, in the waters off Playa del Carmen in Cancun, you can dive with migrating female bull sharks between November and March. The worlds best shark diving locations The Bahamas The Bahamas is known as the shark-diving capital of the world, mainly due to the fact that Caribbean reef sharks (pictured) can be regularly sighted in the deep waters off the scattered islands, but more recently two specific areas have become a Mecca for shark divers. Tiger Beach, off the west coast of Grand Bahama, is a prime site all year round for - you guessed it - tiger sharks, which cruise in the shallow waters over an immense sandbank and will come extremely close to divers, while off Bimini, a similar sandbank is home to immense great hammerhead sharks in February. The worlds best shark diving locations Egypt The Egyptian Red Sea is home to several species of shark, including grey reef, scalloped hammerhead, silvertip and even the odd whaleshark or tiger, but one of its most-majestic inhabitants is the oceanic whitetip (pictured). This highly distinctive shark, with its vast, rounded pectoral fins resembling airplane wings, can often be sighted off the offshore marine park islands of The Brothers, Daedalous and Elphinstone in the winter months, though they have been seen all year round. The worlds best shark diving locations South Africa Mention South Africa and sharks and people immediately think great white sharks, but this country offers far more than just the opportunity to cage-dive with the ultimate apex predator off Dyer Island and Geyser Rock near Gansbaai. You can also get in among packs of blacktip sharks (pictured) and ragged tooth sharks off the KwaZulu-Natal coast on the eastern side of the continent, and of course, from May to July, this is a prime location to sample the Sardine Run, when billions of sardines migrate northwards and attract hundreds of sharks, not to mention whales, dolphins and other predators Getty Images The worlds best shark diving locations Cuba Bull sharks (pictured) are one of the most-feared of all shark species, mainly because they prey in the shallows, around estuaries and even miles upstream in rivers, which means they are more likely to come into contact with humans. However, off Santa Lucia on Cubas northeastern shore, between August and February, divers can view these awesome predators at close range, as a local dive centre routinely hand-feeds them with scraps of fish. Getty Creative The worlds best shark diving locations Canary Islands, Spain The Canary Islands, a sun-and-sand tourist hotspot, might seem an unlikely place for shark diving, but there is a species of shark that resides in these waters. The angel shark (pictured) is a placid, bottom-dwelling animal that closely resembles a ray at first glance. Growing up to two-and-a-half metres in length, they are hard to spot, often lying camouflaged on the seabed. The worlds best shark diving locations Galapagos Islands, Ecuador The world-famous Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands sitting astride the Equator some 575 miles from the Ecuador coastline, have been in the top five best dive destinations on the planet ever since liveaboards started visiting here. Divers can expect up close and personal encounters with scalloped hammerhead sharks (pictured), Galapagos sharks, and even mighty whalesharks. The worlds best shark diving locations Cocos Islands, Costa Rica The remote Cocos Islands - they lie some 340 miles off the coast of Costa Rica - are a magnet for divers seeking some serious shark action. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Cocos boasts various species of shark in its waters, but is most renowned for its massive shoals of scalloped hammerheads and whitetip reef sharks (pictured). Although they are rarely seen, the shark wasn't at all camera shy, Mr Ebert said. Its almost a little comical, he said. It would come up and bounce its nose off the lens and swim around and come back. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Muslim woman has been dragged along the pavement by her hijab in a horrific Islamophobic attack in London. The Metropolitan Police said two white teenagers launched the unprovoked assault in Chingford as she walked down a popular shopping street. Witnesses said the attackers attempted to rip the womans hijab off, pulling her down to the ground before fleeing the scene at around 8.30pm on Wednesday. Recommended Most Brits believe hate crime has got worse since the EU referendum A waiter at a nearby Turkish restaurant said they saw her struggling into a chair outside on their terrace. We thought she was a customer so went out to ask what she would like, but she was shaking and crying - she said she was attacked, he told The Independent. They tried to take off her headscarf and she was dragged down and along the floor. We had to help her to walk to get her inside. The man, who did not want to be identified, said the victim was distressed as she waited for a response to her 999 call inside the restaurant. Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell Ive never heard of anything like this around here, he added. Whoever attacked her might have other connections with other people, we dont know. Paramedics from the London Ambulance Service were called to treat the victim for her injuries and took her to hospital. Monitors have reported a rise in hate crime allegations across the UK following the EU referendum, against minority groups including Muslims, Jews, immigrants and the LGBT community. Figures released by the National Police Chief's Council showed reported incidents soared by 58 per cent in the week following the vote for Brexit and levels have remained high ever since. Tell Mama, an anti-Islamophobia group, called the latest incident "horrific" and said women were being disproportionately targeted in attacks on Muslims. "For years data collected by us has shown that visible Muslim women are the ones most targeted for street based anti-Muslim hatred," a spokesperson said. Donald Trump blamed for stoking Islamophobia after imam and assistant shot dead "And that most of the perpetrators are male, ahead between 13-35. Anti-Muslim hate at a street level must be seen as male on female abuse." A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said it was committed to tackling hate crime "in all its forms", working with Tell Mama as well as the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST) for anti-Semitic incidents. "The service has long since recognised the impact of hate crime on communities and the hidden nature of this crime, which remains largely under-reported," he added. "Positive action is taken to investigate all hate crime allegations, support victims and their families and bring perpetrators to justice." Police are appealing for witnesses to the assault in Old Church Road, Chingford, on 14 December. No arrests have been made. The suspects are described as two white males, aged 17 to 19. They were wearing all black clothing Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. Hate crimes can also be reported online to the Metropolitan Police here. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Check-in staff and baggage handlers will begin a strike at 18 leading UK airports on the busiest day of the festive season: next Friday, 23 December. Ground staff working for handling company Swissport are involved in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. They intend to stop work on 23 December and Christmas Eve. Their union, Unite, says the workers have not had a pay rise since 2014. Members voted 63:37 to reject a three-year pay deal that, the union argues, is barely keeping pace with inflation. Linked changes include freezing overtime payments. Recommended Airline and rail strikes cause uncertainty for Christmas getaways Unites national officer for civil air transport, Oliver Richardson, said: Our members are only taking this industrial action as a last resort in a bid to reach a fair settlement. We appreciate that this is a very busy time of year at the UKs airports and thats why we are calling for the company to engage in constructive talks under the auspices of Acas to resolve this dispute. Research by The Independent shows that it will be the busiest day of the festive season at many UK airports where Swissport operates, including Manchester, Stansted and Luton. The strike could also affect Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds/Bradford. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty Recent past strikes involving ground staff have had limited effect, with managers covering the duties. Starting on the same day, pilots working for Virgin Atlantic will begin a work-to-rule. The Professional Pilots Union (PPU), which represents most of the airliness 900 pilots, voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action. They say they will work strictly to contract, which could involve refusing to be flexible in the event of disruption. Pilots can exercise considerable discretion on working hours when weather or other factors intervene. Virgin Atlantic said it expects flights to operate as normal. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain will be less safe after leaving the EU unless integral EU security arrangements and law enforcement databases are retained or adequately replaced, a Lords report has warned. Peers highlighted that arrangements currently in place to maintain security cooperation between the UK and other EU member states were mission-critical for Britains law enforcement agencies. Senior figures in policing and counter-terrorism have highlighted the role played in the work by the European Arrest Warrant, the Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) and Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency. A report from the Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee stated: The arrangements currently in place to facilitate police and security cooperation between the United Kingdom and other members of the European Union are mission-critical for the UK's law enforcement agencies. The committee said its findings pointed to a real risk that any new arrangements put in place by way of replacement when the UK left the EU would be sub-optimal relative to present arrangements, leaving the people of the United Kingdom less safe. Access to EU law enforcement databases and data-sharing platforms was integral to day to day policing up and down the country, according to the findings. It warned that if the UK lost access to them on leaving the bloc, information that could currently be sourced in seconds or hours could take days or weeks to retrieve. This would deliver an abrupt shock to UK policing and pose a risk to the safety of the public, the report warned. The paper outlined that Britain and other EU member states shared a strong mutual interest in ensuring there was no reduction in the level of safety and security afforded to their citizens post-Brexit. However peers cautioned against assuming that because there is a shared interest in a positive outcome, negotiations will unfold smoothly. Baroness Prashar, chair of the committee, said: Protecting the lives of its citizens is the first duty of government and should be the overriding consideration during Brexit negotiations. "Without access to these vital EU tools or credible substitutes, we would be seriously harming the capability of our law enforcement agencies to fight crime and keep the public safe. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Considering how instrumental the UK has been in shaping EU cooperation on police and security matters we hope the EU acknowledges the vital contribution we have and can continue to make. Policing Minister Brandon Lewis told the Press Association: The UK is leaving the EU, but co-operation on law enforcement and security with our European and global allies remains a priority for the Government. We will do what is necessary to keep people safe and we are working, alongside policing and security partners, to explore options for co-operation arrangements once the UK has left the EU. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Inmates have spoken of their terror after hundreds of prisoners took over four wings at Birmingham prison, in what has been described as the worst disorder of its kind since the 1990 Strangeways riot in Manchester. Two wings were sealed off after a disturbance broke out at about 9am, but G4S, which runs the prison, said it has now spread to another two wings. It has called in a specialist "Tornado" team plus dog units to contain the disorder. The private security firm said the Prison Service had taken over the response due to the scale of the incident. Speaking through his solicitor, one prisoner on the jail's G wing, known as the protected wing for inmates accused or convicted of sex offences, said: "We're terrified". He added that other prisoners had been trying to get onto the wing and they feared they might be attacked. The prison has been in lockdown all day, and specially-trained riot prison officers have been sent in to try to regain control of the jail, which is in the Winson Green area of the city. As dusk fell, fires started to burn, and the sounds of men cheering, smashing, banging and firecrackers, could be heard from behind the high perimeter wall. Meanwhile, there is a heavy police presence around the outside of the sprawling jail complex, which sits in the middle of a busy residential and industrial area. The incident started in N and P wings, which normally house about 250 prisoners. The inmates at the heart of the disturbance have gained access to administration offices in those two wings. After reports a member of staff had been assaulted, it is understood that all workers have been accounted for. Reports of fires inside the building could not be confirmed. Paramedics were called to the prison shortly after 12.30pm but a West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman could not give details of any patients or injuries. Prison affairs academic and blogger Alex Cavendish claimed the disorder was "probably [the] most serious riot in a B category prison since Strangeways went up" in 1990. He said an "inside informant" had told him the trouble started with lights being broken and inmates controlling fire hoses. Fire engines outside HMP Birmingham where a disturbance has occured (PA wire) "The officers were then, as they are instructed to do, trying to get as many prisoners locked in their cells as possible to contain it," he said. "While one of the officers was putting a prisoner in the cell he was threatened with what appeared to be a used syringe." Mr Cavendish explained that while this officer was distracted by the threat, "another inmate came up behind, snatched the keys from his belt and snapped the security chain". Prisoners have also destroyed records held in an administration office, he claimed. Most of the prison population was out on activities when the disturbance began and are now back in their cells. A G4S spokesman said: "We continue to respond to an ongoing incident at HMP Birmingham which began just after 9am this morning. Our teams withdrew following a disturbance and sealed two wings, which include some administrative offices. The disturbance has since spread to two further wings. He added that "all staff have been accounted for." Additional officers have arrived on site and we have deployed canine units within the prison. West Midlands Police helicopter is also in attendance," he said. We are working with colleagues across the service to bring this disturbance to a safe conclusion. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said the disturbances at the Birmingham jail are "hugely concerning". "This is only the latest in a number of disturbances across the prison estate," the Labour MP said. "The Justice Secretary is failing to get this crisis under control." West Midlands Police said its officers were stationed outside the prison, formerly called Winson Green, for reassurance purposes. A witness who works near the prison said: "There's people in and out. All we see is fire engines, ambulances and police cars outside. There's a helicopter hovering above." The Victorian prison was built in 1849 and houses nearly 1,500 inmates. It is also where alleged mass murderer Fred West hanged himself in 1995. In July 2014 HMP Birmingham was found to be "making good progress" after being categorised as a failing prison "for many years" previously, according to HM Inspectorate of Prisons. It was "calm and ordered" and "most prisoners generally felt safe". Inspectors added that "relationships between staff and prisoners were good and much improved from previous inspections". Despite good work, however, the prevalence of illegal drugs "remained stubbornly high", they said. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As the destruction of Aleppo continues, a new report by Oxfam reveals the UK has taken just 18 per cent of its fair share of Syrian refugees while Canada tops the table of wealthy nations after welcoming 248 per cent of its share. When the amount of refugees it has resettled is compared to the size of its economy, the UK languishes far behind Canada, with Norway second on 144 per cent, Germany third with 117 per cent, followed by Australia (95 per cent), Iceland (59 per cent) and Finland (56 per cent). The UK ranks twelfth in the league of the worlds 28 wealthiest nations after resettling just 4414 refugees. To achieve what Oxfam considers to be its fair share, it should have offered sanctuary to 25,056 people since the crisis began. Former Prime Minister David Cameron controversially said in 2015 that UK citizens might fear a swarm of people if the country relaxed its policy on resettlement, but pledged last September that the UK would take in 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. The UK ranks ahead of the USA which Oxfam finds has taken in just ten per cent of its fair share. The report expresses concern that resettlement in the US could fall still lower, after President Elect Donald Trump pledged not to allow Syrian refugees into the country during his election campaign. Less than three per cent of the ten million displaced people of Syria have arrived in rich countries through resettlement programmes, according to the report, which calls on these nations to redouble their efforts, and to ensure that ten per cent of the Syrian refugee population is rehoused by 2017. The vast majority of the five million people who have fled Syria are stuck in camps in neighbouring countries including Greece, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan. There are believed to be more than seven million Syrians displaced but still in their homeland. Of the 28 countries which the report considers as wealthy, seven have resettled no Syrian refugees at all including Russia, Japan, South Korea, Portugal, Slovakia, Poland and Greece although hundreds of thousands of refugees are currently in Greek holding camps. (Oxfam (Oxfam) Many UK politicians have called on the Government to do more to resettle Syrian refugees, with particular pleas for unaccompanied children from the camps to be allowed in, as agreed under the Dubs amendment. The report expresses fears that the groundswell of public sympathy towards refugees which followed the publication of the photograph of drowned toddler Alan Kurdi, has fallen away with concerns about immigration gathering momentum across Europe. Oxfam makes a series of recommendations to achieve the target of resettling ten per cent of the displaced population by 2017 but the report stresses it is vital that there is political will in order to overcome xenophobia and a growing hostility to refugees in some countries. Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Show all 7 1 /7 Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The Solidarity With Refugees group said Saturdays protest aimed to show our Government and the world that Britain is ready to welcome more refugees. Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis People march through central London as they take part in a protest rally organised by Solidarity with Refugees in a bid to urge the Government to take more action on the migrant crisis Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The protest comes days before world leaders meet to discuss crisis at UN General Assembly Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Demonstrators made their way from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Marchers chanted refugees are welcome here and waved banners reading no-one is illegal and lets help people Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The march was supported by charities and groups including the Red Cross, Asylum Aid, Save the Children, Hope Not Hate, Oxfam and the UN Refugee Agency Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis In the wake of Alans death, David Cameron pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the coming five years but there have been additional calls to re-home those who have already reached Europe, as well as asylum seekers coming from other conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan Rex Features It said: Government officials should be transparent and open to the complexities of resettling refugees, while also countering the discourse of fear and xenophobia at all times. Political leaders should make statements in support of refugees, and actively challenge the myths that surround people who are in need of protection. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} MPs have voted to pass a bill to improve domestic violence support services and provision in the UK. The bill has now passed its second reading and will be sent to committee for further consideration, before it can receive a third reading by MPs and then become law. MPs backed the bill by 135 votes for, and just 2 against. During the vote in parliament earlier today, anti-feminism MP Philip Davies attempted to block the bill by speaking for over an hour against it. Campaigners said that while he spoke, survivors of domestic violence who were present in the gallery above the chamber, stood up and turned their backs in protest. MP Eilidh Whiteford, who introduced the bill, accused Mr Davies of acting "like a panto villain". Philip Davies MP says a domestic violence treaty is sexist against men Mr Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire, said the bill was too focused on women's rights and did not do enough to address men's rights. He said the bill was therefore "sexist" and "discriminatory" against men. He was one of just two MPs who voted against the bill. The second was David Nuttall, Conservative MP for Bury North. While Mr Davies spoke to criticise the bill, survivors of domestic violence who were watching in the gallery above stood up and turned their backs to him in protest. An open letter published by The Independent prior to the vote, was signed by UN Women's Ambassador Emma Watson, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas. The private members bill was brought by SNP MP Eilidh Whiteford and called on the Government to commit to a timetable of ratifying the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty which has been described as the "gold standard" of legislation for gender-based violence. The Government agreed to ratify the Convention in 2012, but has failed to do so in the intervening four years. MPs are trying to force the Government to commit to fully ratifying and implementing it. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty Ratifying the Convention would mean support for domestic violence victims would be more robust. Survivors of abuse would be legally entitled to specialist support services such as refuges, counselling, and a 24-hour helpline for support. Age-appropriate education would also be implemented in schools to help pupils spot signs of abuse and seek help. Gender-based violence can include female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and domestic or sexual abuse, as well as physical, emotional or sexual violence or harm. While it primarily affects women and girls, it can also affect men, boys and non-binary people. On average, two women are killed by their current or former partner in England and Wales every week. It is estimated that 7.7 per cent of all women and 4.4 per cent of all men suffer from domestic violence at some point in their lives. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Over 10,000 badgers have been killed in the last three months in a dramatic expansion of the Governments badger cull, according to the latest figures. Defra figures show 10,886 badgers were put down in 10 zones across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset, in the three months from September 2016. The latest animal killings mark a significant expansion of previous culls, bringing the total death toll since the operation started in 2013 to 14,829. The latest round of killing took place between 29 August and 18 October and killed animals by a combination of shooting and so-called cage traps. Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said on Friday that the Government was taking strong action to deliver a long-term plan to eradicate Bovine TB, which affects cattle and which the Government blames on badgers. The Government is proposing to continue with the killings. On Friday it launched a consultation on its plans to continue shootings in order to stabilise the now reduced badger population. Claire Bass, Director for Humane Society International/UK however said the numbers of slaughtered creatures were shocking and grim. There is no evidence that shooting badgers reduces TB in cattle, in fact the vast majority of scientists agree that this approach actually increases the risk of spreading the disease, she said. Shooting thousands of badgers, the majority of whom will not even have TB, is a costly distraction from the real solution to TB in cattle. The truth is, they could wipe out every badger in England, and farmers would still be dealing with TB in cattle: its a disease of cattle, primarily spread by cattle, and its cattle-focussed control measures that will stop it. This enormous cull is completely at odds with public attitudes; across the country as people smile at a Christmas TV commercial with beloved badgers bouncing happily on a trampoline, in reality the government has sanctioned large-scale badgercide. Since dismissing its own independent assessment panel, the government has avoided formal scrutiny and transparency, which is wholly inappropriate for venture costing millions of pounds of taxpayers money. If were truly a nation of animal lovers, and if we want to lay claim to a role as world leaders in animal welfare, this cruel and pointless cull must stop. Andrea Leadsom leaves 10 Downing Street where she was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Getty) The minister Ms Leadsom claimed there was broad scientific consensus that badgers are implicated in the spread of TB to cattle in the high risk area of England. There has however in fact been some scientific and veterinary opposition to the cull, including from embers of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. The strategy continues to deliver results. Next year we will apply for Officially TB free status in the Low Risk Area of the country where there is no significant TB in wildlife, Ms Leadsom said. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 The alley cat, Nayan Khanolkar, INDIA Winner, Urban At night, in the Aarey Milk Colony in a suburb of Mumbai bordering Sanjay Gandhi National Park, leopards slip ghost-like through the maze of alleys, looking for food (especially stray dogs). The Warli people living in the area respect the big cats. Positioning his flashes to mimic the alleys usual lighting and his camera so that a passing cat would not dominate the frame, he finally after four months got the shot he wanted. With a fleeting look of enquiry in the direction of the camera click, a leopard went about its business alongside peoples homes. Nayan hopes that those living in Mumbais new high-rise developments now impinging on the park will learn from the Warli how to coexist with the original inhabitants of the land. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Star player, Luis Javier Sandoval, MEXICO Winner, Impressions As soon as Luis slipped into the water, the curious young California sea lions came over for a better look. He had arrived the night before at the island of Espiritu Santo in the Gulf of California, sleeping aboard his boat so that he would be ready to dive at sunrise. He had in mind a picture that needed warm light, a slow shutter speed and friendly subjects. One of the pups dived down, swimming gracefully with its strong fore-flippers (sea lions are also remarkably agile on land, since they can control each of their hind flippers independently). It grabbed a starfish from the bottom and started throwing it to Luis. Angling his camera up towards the dawn light just as the pup offered him the starfish and another youngster slipped by close to the rocks he created his artistic impression of the sea lions playful nature. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 The sand canvas, Rudi Sebastian, GERMANY Winner, Details The pristine white sand of Brazils Lencois Maranhenses National Park offers a blank canvas to the rain. In the dry season, sand from the coast is blown by powerful Atlantic winds as far as 50 kilometres (30 miles) inland, sculpting a vast expanse of crescent-shaped dunes up to 40 metres (130 feet) high. With the onset of the rains, the magic begins. An impermeable layer beneath the sand allows water to collect in the dune valleys, forming thousands of transient lagoons, some more than 90 metres (295 feet) long. Bacteria and algae tint the clear water in countless shades of green and blue, while streams carrying sediment from the distant rainforest make their mark with browns and blacks. Patterns appear as the water evaporates, leaving behind organic remains. Shooting almost vertically down from a small aircraft with the door removed, avoiding perspective or scale, he created his striking image. A few weeks later, the scene had evaporated. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Snapper party, Tony Wu, USA Winner, Underwater For several days each month (in tandem with the full moon), thousands of twospot red snappers gather to spawn around Palau in the western Pacific Ocean. On this occasion, with perfect anticipation, he managed to capture a dynamic arc of spawning fish amid clouds of eggs in the oblique morning light. Still obsessed by the dynamics and magnitude of this natural wonder, he will be returning to Palau next April to witness once again the spectacular snapper party. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Eviction attempt, Ganesh H Shankar, INDIA Winner, Birds These Indian rose-ringed parakeets were not happy. They had returned to their roosting and nesting hole high up in a tree in Indias Keoladeo National Park (also known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) to find that a Bengal monitor lizard had taken up residence. They would then harass it when it tried to come out to bask. This went on for two days. But the action only lasted a couple of seconds at a time and was fast-moving. These Indian birds are highly adaptable, and escaped captive parakeets have founded populations in many countries. In Europe, where they are known as ring-necked parakeets, they are accused of competing for nest holes with some native species, such as nuthatches, and even bats, but in turn, other birds such as starlings are quite capable of evicting the parakeets from their nest holes. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 The moon and the crow, Gideon Knight, UK Winner, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 A crow in a tree in a park: a common enough scene. It was one that Gideon had seen many times near his home in Londons Valentines Park, which he visits regularly to take photographs. Positioning himself on a slope opposite, he tried to capture the perfect composition. But the crow kept moving along the branch and turning its head away, and so getting a silhouette of it with the moon in the frame meant Gideon had to keep moving, too. Then, just as the light was about to fade beyond the point that photography was possible, his wish came true, and an ordinary London scene turned into something magical. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Requiem for an owl, Mats Andersson, SWEDEN Winner, Black and White Every day in early spring, Mats walked in the forest near his home in Bashult, southern Sweden, enjoying the company of a pair of Eurasian pygmy owls until the night he found one of them lying dead on the forest floor. Pygmy owls, with their distinctive rounded heads and lack of ear tufts, are the smallest owls in Europe, barely 19 centimetres (7 inches) long, though with large feet that enable them to carry prey almost as big as themselves. He found this owl dead, too, and suspects that it and its mate may have been killed by one of the larger owls in the forest, not for food but because, in the breeding season, it didnt tolerate other birds of prey in its territory. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 The pangolin pit, Paul Hilton, UK/AUSTRALIA Winner, The Wildlife Photojournalist Award: Single image Nothing prepared Paul for what he saw: some 4,000 defrosting pangolins (5 tons) from one of the largest seizures of the animals on record. These Asian victims, mostly Sunda pangolins, were part of a huge seizure a joint operation between Indonesias police and the World Conservation Society found hidden in a shipping container behind a facade of frozen fish, ready for export from the major port of Belawan in Sumatra. The dead pangolins were driven to a specially dug pit and then incinerated. The live ones were taken north and released in the rainforest. Wildlife crime is big business, says Paul. It will stop only when the demand stops. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Wind composition, Valter Binotto, ITALY Winner, Plants and Fungi With every gust of wind, showers of pollen were released, lit up by the winter sunshine. The hazel tree was near Valters home in northern Italy, and to create the dark background, he positioned himself to backlight the flowers. Hazel has both male and female flowers on the same tree, though the pollen must be transferred between trees for fertilization. And now recent research suggests that bees may also play a role. The catkins are an important source of pollen for early bees and have a beefriendly structure, while the red colour of the female flowers may entice insects to land on them. The hardest part was capturing the female flowers motionless while the catkins were moving, explains Valter. I searched for flowers on a short branch that was more stable. Using a long exposure to capture the pollens flight and a reflector to highlight the catkins, he took many pictures before the wind finally delivered the composition he had in mind. The 10 winners of Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 Entwined lives, Tim Laman, USA Winner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 A young male orangutan makes the 30-metre (100-foot) climb up the thickest root of the strangler fig that has entwined itself around a tree emerging high above the canopy. The backdrop is the rich rainforest of the Gunung Palung National Park, in West Kalimantan, one of the few protected orangutan strongholds in Indonesian Borneo. He had to do three days of climbing up and down himself, by rope, to place in position several GoPro cameras that he could trigger remotely to give him a chance of not only a wide angle view of the forest below but also a view of the orangutans face from above. This shot was the one he had long visualized, looking down on the orangutan within its forest home. This will boost trade opportunities and mean some herds require less regular TB testing, reducing costs for farmers and taxpayers. Bovine TB remains the greatest animal health threat to the UK. Dealing with the disease is costing the taxpayer over 100 million each year. Last year alone over 28,000 cattle had to be slaughtered in England to control the disease, causing devastation and distress for hard-working farmers and rural communities. The Government is taking strong action to deliver a long-term plan to eradicate the disease and protect the future of our dairy and beef industries. The comprehensive strategy includes strengthening cattle testing and movement controls, improving biosecurity on farm and when trading, and badger control in areas where TB is rife. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Children are being left at risk of harm because of the Governments failure to credibly improve child protection services, an influential committee of MPs has warned. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which has been holding an inquiry into the child protection system, and has conclude that progress on improving the services had been too slow. Five and a half years ago the Munro Report, set up by then Education Secretary Michael Gove, called for the system to be overhauled in light of a number of high-profile failures. Recommended New law will let councils opt out of child protection rules But in a new report released on Friday, the cross-party committee accused ministers of complacency and urged the Department for Education to publish detailed plans to re-make the system. The inquiry concluded that the Government still had no credible plan to improve services and grow a quality social work force despite less than a quarter of services being good by Ofsted inspectors. The committee said this state of affairs was by no standards an improvement. It called on the Department to set out detailed plans, including a timetable and resources, for how it will work with local authorities to transform services to get reforms back on track, it said. Government complacency over improving children's services must end now, said Meg Hillier, the committees chair. There are nearly 800,000 children in need of help or protection every year children who for far too long have been let down by the support available. There is much at stake here and by the spring I will expect the Department for Education to provide us with clear plans to drive the improvements that are woefully overdue. Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, said she had previously raised concerns about a lack of improvement and that there were huge disparities between areas. It is critical that every child in the country is properly protected from harm there should be no room for complacency. No childs safety should be dependent on a postcode lottery of spending and provision. I have previously raised concerns about the lack of progress in improving protection for children in many parts of the country and we need to see drastic and rapid improvement. Although authorities are facing challenges such as increased referrals, excellent performance ought still to be possible in every area. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty There needs to be far more emphasis on learning and implementing lessons from the best performing authorities. The huge disparities in average social work spend per child do not correlate with local authority performance, so part of the solution must lie in spending money more wisely. A Department for Education spokesperson said: We have a relentless focus on keeping children safe, and it is wrong to suggest otherwise. This year we published plans to deliver excellent children's social care across the country, and through new legislation are further strengthening protection for the most vulnerable children and transforming the support available to them. We take tough action where councils are failing children, stepping in to make sure improvement plans are taken forward as a matter of urgency. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Metropolitan Police has closed its investigation into Labour MP Keith Vaz, which it launched in November after reports about his private life in the press. Mr Vaz, 59, stepped down as chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee after allegations that he paid two men for sex while his committee reviewed laws on sex work. It was reported by the Sunday Mirror newspaper that the MP had a conversation about cocaine with one of the escorts in which he said he did not want to use the drug but that he would pay for it for another man at a later date. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service however said on Friday: During the investigation new information was received and additional advice obtained from the CPS, following which the MPS has made the decision to close the investigation with no person being charged. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen had contacted the police asking for Mr Vaz to be investigated for misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to supply controlled substances. Following this, an investigation was launched on 10 November. A separate investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, the House of Commons sleaze watchdog is still on-going into the MP. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters UK news in pictures 27 October 2022 98-year-old D-Day Veteran Bernard Morgan, whose story is among those featured on the giant poppy wall, during the launch of The Royal British Legion 2022 Poppy Appeal, at Hay's Galleria in central London PA UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty A spokesperson for Mr Vaz said: The Metropolitan Police Service has informed us that they have decided 'not to proceed any further' with their investigation arising from reports in the Sunday Mirror and The Mirror and that the investigation is 'now closed'. This investigation followed the complaint made to them by Andrew Bridgen, the Conservative Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire." Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman will pay a working visit to Belgium on Monday, December 19, 2016, the official website of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has said. The visit program includes the participation of the Ukrainian government in the third meeting of the Ukraine-EU Association, separate meetings with European Council President Donald Tusk and other leaders of the EU institutions. In addition, during a visit to Brussels, Groysman is scheduled to participate in the high-level conference dedicated to the reform of the Ukrainian energy sector. "According to the results of the Ukraine-EU Association Council meeting, signing of a number of bilateral documents is envisaged," the Ukrainian government said. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The general secretary of Britains biggest trade union has called for restrictions on the free movement of people moving between Britain and the European Union to work. Len McCluskey, who is seeking re-election to his post in a contest to be held next year, said at the launch of his campaign that there should be safeguards against a competitive race-to-the-bottom. Unions understand that workers have always done best when the labour supply is controlled and communities are stable. While we must reject any form of racism, and help refugees fleeing war, we must also listen to the concerns of working people, he wrote in an article for the Huffington Post website. They understand that the free movement of labour means downward pressure on wages, in some sectors at least. Thats why I have called for new safeguards that would ensure any employer recruiting from abroad must be covered by a proper union or collective bargaining agreement, stopping companies cutting costs by slashing workers wages and transforming a race-to-the-bottom culture into a rate-for-the-job society. The plans echo a call last month by Clive Lewis, the shadow business secretary and an ally of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who suggested that employers recruiting from abroad should have to be a member of a trade union. Labour, whose biggest single donor is Unite, is split on the issue of freedom of movement, with Mr Corbyn and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott supportive of its continuation and some MPs critical of it. Mr McCluskey said in a campaign video that Brexit had to be good for workers, and pledged to fight for a better deal. In all the talk of hard and soft [Brexit], of market access and so on, workers need to know that someone is looking out for them, he said. We are putting protecting jobs, as at Nissan, and workers rights at the top of the agenda but that work is just starting. We cant let the City and the CBI settle our economic future without hearing from working people. Second, the emergence of the gig economy the age-old problem of a casual labour market, now reaching epic proportions in Britain. That millions of workers have no security and few rights is a blight on British society. The trade union challenge is to offer these workers the same protections as we do to those in better-established industries. Brexit racism and the fightback Show all 9 1 /9 Brexit racism and the fightback Brexit racism and the fightback Demonstrators protest against an increase in post-ref racism at London's March for Europe in July 2016 PA Brexit racism and the fightback These cards were found near a school in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, the day after the EU referendum Twitter/@howgilb Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback Romford, Essex, June 25 @diamondgeezer Brexit racism and the fightback A worker at this Romanian food shop was asleep upstairs at the time of this arson attack in Norwich on July 8, but escaped unharmed. Hundreds later participated in a love bombing rally outside the shop to express their opposition to racism and their support of the shop owners. JustGiving/Helen Linehan Brexit racism and the fightback This neo-Nazi sticker was spotted in Glasgow on June 26 Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback But after news emerged of neo-Nazi stickers appearing in Glasgow, some in the city struck back with slogans of their own. Courtesy of Eoin Palmer Brexit racism and the fightback Getty Brexit racism and the fightback More signs began to appear in some parts of the UK, created by people who wanted to show their opposition to post-referendum racism Courtesy of Bernadette Russell Unite will be in the forefront of legal and political campaigns to end the abuses of the flexible labour market. At the Scottish National Party conference earlier this autumn Frances OGrady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, suggested that trade unions should be represented in Brexit negotiations in order to ensure that any settlement was good for workers. Mr McCluskey was elected as general secretary in 2013. The more moderate, Labour-aligned candidate for the trade unions leadership, he beat far left-backed candidate Jerry Hicks in the contest by 64 per cent to 35 per cent. This article has been updated to reflect Len McCluskey's article published this morning Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May said I think Id better leave now to other EU leaders, to break an embarrassing silence when they refused to discuss Brexit in front of her. A witness said the Prime Minister made the remark after trying to push for a quick agreement on the future rights of British citizens in the EU, and vice-versa, at the Brussels summit. It led to an awkward impasse, because the rest of the EU has demanded the right to exclude Britain when they discuss their side of the Brexit negotiations. They have also insisted there will be no negotiations without notification meaning they must await the triggering of the Article 50 exit clause, at the start of next year. It was a difficult moment for diplomatic etiquette, one leaders aide told The Times newspaper. I think Id better leave now, she said. She was very polite, but it was a bit embarrassing, he added. The episode came after footage, when Ms May arrived in Brussels, showed her standing isolated and alone while other leaders greeted each other warmly. The other 27 leaders were due to hold an informal discussion without Ms May, to discuss their approach to the Brexit talks with, she said, her blessing. Theresa May refuses to comment on suggestions Brexit deal will take 10 years In the end, after talks on migration and Syria overran by more than three hours, Ms May did give a Brexit update and appealed for a quick decision on expat rights. Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, said: She would like to have the question of UK citizens living in Europe and European citizens living in the UK dealt with in the early part of discussions that take place. Mr Kenny then added: There was no response. The EUs refusal to discuss the issue until after Article 50 has been invoked has prompted growing calls for Britain to guarantee EU citizens right unilaterally. But Ms May has refused to act, insisting to do so might give less leverage over the future rights of the one million British expats. At the late night meeting after the Prime Minister left for her RAF plane back to Britain - the EU leaders spent just 20 minutes discussing Brexit. They devoted far more time to the consequences of Dutch voters rejecting a landmark association agreement with Ukraine, in a recent referendum. Other pressing issues included the refugee crisis and ceasefire violations in Eastern Ukraine, talks that dragged on late into the night. On Brexit, Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said the EU leaders had reconfirmed our principles including that single market membership requires accepting free movement of people. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Downing Street has rejected suggestions that Britain will face a 50 billion divorce bill from the European Union arguing that the figure has not yet been decided. Theresa Mays official spokesperson said negotiations had not yet begun and that a figure on what the UK might pay as part of any settlement does not actually exist. It was widely reported this week that Britain could face a hefty one-off bill for Brexit a payment that could eat into the supposed budget savings promised by Leave campaigners. European Commission chief negotiator Michel Barnier and other EU diplomats are reported to have mentioned the figure to EU leaders during a tour of EU capitals. The ballpark number is understood to represent outstanding liabilities from the UK to the EU that will need to be cleared up after Britain leaves the bloc. The sum is believed to include the obligation for the UK to pay into the EU Budget until the end of 2020, as well as pensions liabilities and payments linked to loan guarantees. Separately, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have also both acknowledged that the UK could make payments to Brussels for access to Europes markets. Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty Negotiations have not begun and so that figure does not actually exist, the Prime Ministers official spokesperson said at a briefing on Friday. As was set out last night by my colleagues in Brussels, that is one of a range of issues that will have to be dealt with. The outcome of those negotiations will be something for the future. Theresa May refuses to comment on suggestions Brexit deal will take 10 years Downing Street had previously only said that liabilities would be one of the issues that will be for discussion in Brexit talks. Ms May cancelled her planned Brussels press conference late on Thursday night after talks with other EU leaders ran later than expected. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Chiles economic minister has apologised for accepting an inflatable sex doll at an industry dinner. Luis Cespedes received the gift from Roberto Fantuzzi, the head of the Chilean exporters association at an annual industry dinner on Tuesday night. The naked doll, which has a hole where its genitals would be, had a note taped over its mouth that read to stimulate the economy. The prank sparked a massive backlash online and from people in government. The minister, who laughed when he accepted the present, apologized two days later and said the doll was unexpected. Mr Fantuzzi, who gave the gift, said on Twitter: I have wife, daughter and granddaughters. The intention was never to generate violence against women. As calls grow for Mr Fantuzzis resignation, the exporters association, Asexma, will meet on Friday to discuss his future. Chiles first female president, Michelle Bachelet, said the men showed disrespect for women. The fight for women's respect has been an essential principle for my government, she said in a tweet. What happened in the Asexma dinner cannot be tolerated. In a 2015 survey, 96 per cent of Chilean women said they saw the country as macho, and 80 per cent of men thought the same. Almost half of the participants said they had discriminated against a woman at some point in their lives. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump's pick as ambassador to Israel has described Jewish Americans who advocate a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as "far worse" than those who policed their fellow Jews in Nazi concentration camps. Bankruptcy lawyer David Freidman made the comments in a column in which he also accused President Barack Obama of "blatant anti-semitism" for allegedly failing to condemn what he said were stabbing murders of Jews by Islamic radicals. Mr Trump's team named Mr Friedman as ambassador on Thursday evening. In a statement the President-elect said he was "long-time friend and trusted advisor" who would be "be a tremendous asset to our country". In his column, published on israelnationalnews.com earlier this year, Mr Friedman attacked the moderate Jewish lobby group J Street. He wrote: "Are J Street supporters really as bad as kapos? The answer, actually, is no. "They are far worse than kapos Jews who turned in their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps. Donald Trump's controversial cabinet "The kapos faced extraordinary cruelty and who knows what any of us would have done under those circumstances to save a loved one? "But J Street? They are just smug advocates of Israels destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas its hard to imagine anyone worse." J Street's president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, tweeted: "Trump's pick of Friedman for Israel Amb is anathema to values that underlie US-Israel relationship. We'll fight this with all we've got." The organisation said: "This nomination is reckless, putting America's reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk." Following his appointment Mr Friedman said: "I am deeply honored and humbled by the confidence placed in me by President-elect Trump. "I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem." The US embassy is in Tel Aviv because of diplomatic reasons relating to Jerusalem's significance in all three major Abrahamic faiths, though there is a consular office in the city. Mr Trump said: "His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. "Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad." Recommended Donald Trump attacks Vanity Fair after magazine slates Trump Grill Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to Republican and Democratic administrations, said Friedman's nomination "was designed to send a signal that there will be significant break in tone, style and perhaps substance from the Obama administration" in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Presidential candidates have in the past promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and then reneged, deciding ultimately that the city's status should first be resolved by parties to the conflict. In early December, Mr Obama renewed the presidential waiver, signed by every US president for the past two decades, against moving America's embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. It effectively means any action by Mr Trump would be delayed until at least June. Additional reporting from Reuters Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Intelligence have backed a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the presidential election to help Donald Trump win, according to US officials. Director of the FBI James Comey and director of the National Intelligence James Clappers support for the CIAs conclusion suggests the leaders of the three agencies are in agreement on Russian intentions, counter to suggestions that the FBI disagreed with the CIA. CIA Director John Brennan reportedly said in a message to the agencys workforce: Earlier this week, I met separately with (Director) FBI James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election. The three of us also agree that our organisations, along with others, need to focus on completing the thorough review of this issue that has been directed by President Obama and which is being led by the DNI. The CIA said on Friday it had evidence that showed a link between the hacking of Hillary Clinton's emails and Russia, while officials from multiple agencies found connections between the Kremlin and Wikileaks. Mr Trump and his transition team dismissed the findings, while John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, even claimed the hack might have been a false-flag operation. President Barack Obama said he hopes the President-elect will make sure U.S. doesn't have potential foreign influence in elections. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has apparently suggested that Russian hacking of the election is fine because of the information that was found. Mr Trump has been repeatedly criticised for failing to condemn any potential hacking of the US election process by other states. Reports from within the White House have suggested that intelligence agencies believe Russia and other governments helped influence the results of the election through cyber weapons. Now the President-elect has suggested that Democrats are unhappy with the hacking because it revealed unfortunate facts about Ms Clinton. President Donald Trump life in pictures Show all 16 1 /16 President Donald Trump life in pictures President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump poses in a rocking chair once used by President John F. Kennedy at his New York City residence Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump with his new bride Marla Maples after their wedding at the Plaza hotel in New York Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Celina Midelfart watch the match between Conchita Martinez and Amanda Coetzer during U.S. Open. She was the date whom Donald Trump was with when he met his current wife Melania at a party in 1996 Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas serving as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, speaks to Donald Trump and Melania Knauss on the starting grid at the Daytona International Speedwa Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Developer Donald Trump talks with his former wife Ivana Trump during the men's final at the U.S. Open Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and his friend Melania Knauss pose for photographers as they arrive at the New York premiere of Star Wars Episode : 'The Phantom Menace,' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump talks with host Larry King. Trump told King that he was moving toward a possible bid for the United States presidency with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump answers questions as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura looks on in Brooklyn Park. Trump said on Friday he 'very well might' make a run for president under the Reform Party banner but had not made a final decision Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump makes a face at a friend as he sits next to Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso before the start of the 2003 Miss Universe pageant in Panama City Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Entrepreneur Donald Trump is greeted by a Marilyn Monroe character look-a-alike, as he arrives at Universal Studios Hollywood to attend the an open casting call for his NBC television network reality series 'The Apprentice.' Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Simon Cowell present an Emmy during the 56th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump and Megan Mullally perform at the 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump, poses with his children, son Donald Trump, Jr., and daughters Tiffany and Ivanka Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Billionaire Donald Trump told Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner on Tuesday she would be given a second chance after reported misbehavior Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures Donald Trump holds a replica of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as his wife Melania holds their son Barron in Los Angeles Reuters President Donald Trump life in pictures U.S. property mogul Donald Trump stands next to a bagpiper during a media event on the sand dunes of the Menie estate, the site for Trump's proposed golf resort, near Aberdeen, north east Scotland Reuters Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate? he tweeted. Recommended Obama vows to take action against Russia for alleged cyber hack The message was a reference to hacked emails that were made public my WikiLeaks, and which showed that a top official in the Democratic National Committee had told Hillary Clintons campaign about a question that would be asked during one of the primary meetings. The President-elect appeared to suggest that the Democrats were only protesting against the role of the Russian state in the election which some have claimed affected the result because of those embarrassing admissions, or that the hacking should be permitted because of the information it revealed. He also looked to be attempting to deflect criticism of his refusal to condemn the hacking by passing further blame onto Hillary Clinton. Mr Trump has in the past suggested either that the hacking was kept quiet by the White House, or that it had been concocted as a way of delegitimising his win. Both tweets apparently ignored the fact that many spoke out about hacking before voting had begun and before it became clear that Donald Trump had won. In the Presidential debates, Hillary Clinton had made reference to the fact that Russia appeared to be interfering with the election by hacking emails and making them public. Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trumps pick for senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council said president Barack Obama lied about his race and it was "the biggest con she had ever seen". Fox News host Monica Crowley has been selected by the transition team, and will serve under retired army general Michael Flynn, who said fear of Muslims was "rational" and that Islam was a "cancer". Ms Crowley will also join previous Fox News employee KT McFarland, who was appointed deputy national security adviser. Ms McFarland said that not discriminating against Muslims is "getting us killed" and there is a "war on against western civilisation". Recommended Michelle Obama said birther rumours were hurtful and deceitful Ms Crowley worked at Fox news since 1998 as a "political and international affairs analyst", according to her bio, and was foreign policy assistant to former president Richard Nixon. When she guest hosted Laura Ingrahams radio show in June 2008, she accused Mr Obama of lying that he was an African American. Referring to a widelt debunked argument which she said she had not verified or researched, she agreed with a caller to the show that the president was only "6 per cent African American". "And yet, this guy is campaigning as black and painting anybody who dares to criticize him as a racist. I mean that isit is the biggest con I think I've ever seen," she said. She was citing the so-called investigation of Kenneth Lamb, who said he went to Kenya and studied government records, "proving" that Mr Obama was an Arab-American. 'All of Donald Trump's political activity stems back to 'racist birther lie' Mr Obamas opponents, who often cite his three names to draw attention to his mixed race background, rarely cite the three names of Hillary Rodham Clinton or Donald John Trump. "Well Barack Hussein Obama can certainly go from being a black panther to a Norman Rockwell painting in the blink of an eye, can't he?" asked Ms Crowley on the radio show. The president was born in Hawaii. His mother was a white American, his father a black Kenyan. Yet his critics, including Mr Trump, espoused a conspiracy birther theory that he was born in Africa. Mr Trump only formally denounced the conspiracy theory two months before the election, and incorrectly accused Ms Clinton of starting the rumour instead. Ms Crowley said the birth certificate issue plaguing Mr Obama was worth considering given his polices were "un-American" and it "feeds into this idea that somehow, fair or not, Obama is not one of us." Mr Trumps spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Ms Crowley would replace Mr Obamas current US deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, Ben Rhodes, who is a key government staffer and has the chance to shape policy. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trumps pick for energy secretary is a paid board member of Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the company building the disputed Dakota Access Pipeline. Former Texas governor Rick Perry, who competed on reality television show Dancing with the Stars, has held a position with the Texas-based energy company for two years. ETP is currently building a multi-billion dollar oil and gas pipeline across the US, cutting through several states and, until recently, threatened the water supply and burial grounds of a Native American reservation. Mr Perry joined the board in February 2015, shortly after he stepped down as governor. In 2015, according to ETP filings, he was paid $236,820, as reported by Mother Jones. Recommended Trump picks climate change denier Rick Perry as Energy Secretary After months of protests over the pipeline, with police using pepper spray and water cannons, protesters scored a victory when the US army corps of engineers refused to issue a permit required by ETP to build the pipeline under a reservoir near the Sioux tribes reservation. The victory, however, may be short lived. Not only is the incoming energy secretary an advocate of the pipeline, but so is the overall Trump administration. Mr Perrys department would not have a formal role in approving the pipeline, but he would have an important voice in the government. Mr Trumps key "America First" policy promises to lift restrictions from the energy industry and to bring back manufacturing jobs to the country, which would indicate his intention to let the pipeline go ahead. Mr Perrys apparent conflicts of interest with ETP - even as he launched his own presidential campaign - were overlooked amid a wider web of entanglements involving Mr Trump. ETP could not be immediately contacted for comment. CEO Kelcy Warren funneled $6 million into supporting Mr Perry via a Super PAC, and Mr Warren was official campaign finance chairman. Mr Warren was partially refunded as Mr Perry did not spend all of the money before he left the presidential race last September. Mr Perry, who was longstanding governor of the Lone Star State between 2000 and 2015, was the first Republican presidential candidate to quit the race. It was his second run for president after he briefly led the polls in 2012. His famous gaffe during a television debate in 2011 was when he failed to remember the name of the third government agency he pledged to abolish if he was president. It was the energy department. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Officials in 24 states have urged US President-elect Donald Trump to kill the centrepiece of President Barack Obama's strategy to combat climate change and shut down coal-fired power plants. The coalition requested the incoming Republican government undo the Clean Power Plan enacted by the current Democratic administration. The law was designed to lower carbon emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels. 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan The Supreme Court has ordered a delay in implementation until legal challenges to the regulation are completed. The group, headed by Patrick Morrisey and Ken Paxton, the attorney generals of West Virginia and Texas, suggests Congress take action to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from drafting similar regulations in the future. The order should explain that it is the administration's view that the (Clean Power Plan) is unlawful and that EPA lacks authority to enforce it. The executive order is necessary to send an immediate and strong message to states and regulated entities that the administration will not enforce the rule, according to Mr Morrisey. Mr Trump's potential cabinet is filling with nominees from top fossil fuel-producing states. He tapped Oklahoma attorney general Scott Pruitt, an ardent opponent of Mr Obama's measures to curb climate change, to run the Environmental Protection Agency and Rick Perry, a climate skeptic and former governor of Texas, to head the Department of Energy. Mr Trump has promised to revive oil and gas drilling and coal mining by cutting back on federal regulations. He also has said he would pull the United States out of a global deal to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, which an overwhelming number of scientists say contribute to changes to the climate that are leading to sea level rise, droughts and more frequent violent storms. Copyright Reuters U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden supports the decision by the Ukrainian side to turn over 15 prisoners from a list of representatives of various districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and hopes Russia and pro-Russia militants will react to the goodwill gesture. "The VP expressed his support for the decision of Ukrainian officials to unilaterally free 15 individuals with the hope Russia and pro-Russia militants will respond in kind It is a gesture of goodwill and will give an impulse to the exchange of prisoners foreseen in the Minsk agreements," the U.S. White House said on Friday following talks between Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. According to the White House, the interlocutors confirmed resolute support for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements and underlined the necessity of full ceasefire and ensuring the complete access of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for monitoring the withdrawal of forces along the disengagement line. The leaders agreed sanctions against Russia must remain in place until Russia fully complies with its obligations under the Minsk agreements. In addition, Biden expressed the hope that the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will be ratified in the near future and Ukrainians will soon receive visa-free status in Europe. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump was urged in a meeting to launch a large-scale, surveillance program of Muslims that was similar to those in New York after the 9/11 attacks and that was found to be likely illegal. New Yorks Seaford Representative Peter King, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, met Mr Trump in Manhattan and encouraged the same warrantless surveillance that was adopted and then scrapped by the NYPD. "The main issues I discussed were what we have to do to have the Justice Department and the FBI be more leaning-forward when it comes to investigating Islamic terrorism," he told reporters at Trump Tower after the 45-minute meeting with the president-elect. Recommended Silicon Valley tech workers pledge not to build Trump Muslim registry "I suggested a program similar to what Commissioner Kelly did here in New York, and that we cant worry about political correctness," he added, as reported by Newsday. Mr King did not say how Mr Trump had reacted. The American Civil Liberties Union along with other groups have called the proposal discriminatory and unjustified. The inspector general for the NYPD found in a report, published 23 August 2016, that the surveillance program adopted post-9/11 repeatedly broke rules on intelligence gathering. Millions of Muslims take part in mass march despite Isis presence But after an 18-year-old Somali student at Ohio State University sent 11 people to hospital last month and was shot dead by police, Mr King called for increased surveillance of the Somali community. His proposal is not far from what the president-elect has already suggested, including making Muslims sign a "registry" and temporarily banning them from entering the US. His allies would likely agree with Mr King. Former house speaker and Trump ally Newt Gingrich also suggested deporting any Muslims who abide by Shariah law. Mr Trumps incoming defense secretary, retired general Michael Flynn, has described Islam as a "cancer" and that fear of Muslims was "rational". Mr King was accompanied to Trump Tower by Suffolk County Republican chairman John Jay LaValle, and both men stumped for Mr Trump and acted as his surrogate on television interviews. Surveying Mr King's twitter account, a good proportion of his tweets in recent months were focused on terrorism, shootings and murders. He has called the New York Times a "biased, out of touch, liberal rag". Mr King disagreed with black athlete Colin Kaepernick kneeling in protest of police violence while his team sang the national anthem, calling it "wrong". He also pointed to the so-called "hypocrisy and false narrative" of Black Lives Matter, a national movement which exposed police brutality against people of colour. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has called on a crowd of his supporters to cheer black people who did not vote in the US presidential election. The President-elect told a predominantly white crown in Hershey, Pennsylvania, that African-Americans were smart to stay at home on Election Day and not vote for Hillary Clinton. Mr Trump said: We did great with the African-American community. So good. Remember the famous line, cause Id talk about crime, Id talk about lack of education and Id talk about no jobs. And Id say What the hell do you have to lose, right? Its true. And theyre smart and they picked up on it like you dont believe, and you know what else, they didnt come out to vote for Hillary, they didnt come out. And that was the big so thank you to the African-American community. The businessman had previously used a rally in Michigan to thank African-Americans who did not vote in the election, suggesting they were almost as good as those who backed him. Exit polls suggest Mr Trump had the support of just eight per cent of black Americans compared to 88 per cent for his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton. Despite this, Mrs Clinton won a smaller proportion of votes from ethnic minorities, including African-Americans, than Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. The current President was backed by 93 per cent of black Americans in 2012. World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty Mr Trump used his latest victory rally to thank Pennsylvania voters who helped him win the state for the Republicans for the first time since 1988. He said: Everybody leaves Pennsylvania thinking they won Pennsylvania and every time they lose by a lot. This was a landslide victory, Mr Trump said of his election win despite Ms Clinton winning the popular vote by 2.8 million votes. The President-elect also reiterated many of the populist pledges he made during the election campaign, including promising to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He said: Were going to build the wall, dont worry about it, adding immigration constituted one of the greatest public safety threats. The billionaire businessman also suggested anybody else a normal person would not have attracted the crowds he has during his victory tour. Mr Trump is currently on "thank you tour" of the states that delivered him victory in the 8 November election. He has already visited Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Louisiana and Wisconsin and will conclude the tour with trips to Florida and Alabama. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A congressman has called for the electoral college vote to be delayed so electors can receive an intelligence briefing on the extent of Russias involvement before they vote for the president. His call joins dozens of electoral members who are demanding a briefing, just three days before they vote for the next president. Virginias Democratic representative Don Beyer said the 538 electors must be briefed to make an informed decision. "Recent, credible intelligence reports suggest a concerted effort by a foreign power to interfere in the outcome" of the election, Mr Beyer said on twitter. Recommended Celebrities make video urging Electoral College not to vote Trump "I believe that Electors should be given all information relevant to this interference before they make their decisions and before they cast their votes. "Congress must take whatever action is necessary to protect the integrity of our democracy. I call on the leaders of Congress to delay the date of the vote for the Electoral College until an intelligence briefing has been given to each Elector." His call adds to a growing number of electoral voters - 70 and counting - who want to receive a briefing. None of them have security clearances which means their request to receive classified information is unlikely to be granted. World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Show all 29 1 /29 World reaction to President Trump: In pictures World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures London, England Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty Images World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mosul , Iraq Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Manila, Philippines AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures New Delhi, India Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Karachi, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kabul, Afghanistan AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem. Israel Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Moscow, Russia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Seoul, South Korea AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Lagos, Nigeria AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Peshawar, Pakistan EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jakarta, Indonesia Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Hyderabad, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Kolkata, India AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia Getty World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Sydney, Australia AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Aleppo, Syria Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico AP World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Reuters World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Jerusalem, Israel EPA World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Baghdad, Iraq Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Tokyo, Japan Rex World reaction to President Trump: In pictures Mexico City, Mexico Getty An open letter, addressed to James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, and signed by 70 electoral college voters, demanded to know from intelligence sources about the ties between the incoming president and his allies to Russia. "The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations," the open letter reads. "We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States." The first signature is Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the house of representatives. Hans Noel, associate professor of politics at Georgetown University, told The Independent that it was "technically possible" to delay the electoral college decision. He said it was unlikely, however. Women go on strike against Donald Trump Show all 7 1 /7 Women go on strike against Donald Trump Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images "Congress would have to act to delay the vote. A majority is needed, and Congress is led by Republicans," he said. "Its unlikely Republicans would go through all that work to possibly end up not electing their candidate." As for the 70 college members who signed the letter, most of them are Democrat and have pledged to vote for Hillary Clinton, so if they broke ranks, Ms Clinton would simply end up with fewer electoral votes than before. Mr Trump, who has 306 votes, is likely to lose just one from Texas. "Its still possible some Republicans are keeping quiet, but I dont see a lot of evidence they will change their minds," said Mr Noel. The news comes as president Barack Obama has vowed to take retaliatory action against Russian president Vladimir Putin for allegedly personally authorising the hack of the Democratic National Committee emails over the summer and giving the information to WikiLeaks. Barack Obama: US will act on election hacking by Russia Mr Obama said some of the measures would be explicit and publicised, while some of it would be subtle. He did not give any more details to National Public Radio or say when the measures would start. The CIA concluded that Russians had acted to help Mr Trump win, while the FBI was accused of sitting on top of "explosive" information regarding Russian interference. Neither intelligence agencies nor Mr Obama have shared concrete proof of the hack in public, which has emboldened the majority of Republicans to stay silent and for their leader to dismiss the news. Mr Trump called the claims "ridiculous" and the Kremlin has flatly denied the accusations of undermining the US democracy. Hillary Clinton has now won more than 2.8 million votes in the popular count over her rival Mr Trump, according to the Cook Political Report, prompting California senator Barbara Boxer to file a bill to scrap the electoral college system which she described as "outdated" and "undemocratic". A small group of faithless electors, called the Hamilton Electors, have vowed to break ranks and stage a protest vote by choosing another, more moderate, Republican. Only one Republican elector from Texas, Chris Surprun, said he would not vote for Mr Trump. Out of the 538 electors - a majority of 270 is needed - the action of a small group is unlikely to swing the tide of the election. Mr Trump's victory would only come into question once at least 37 electors break their pledge. If Mr Trump gets less than 270 votes, the final result is decided by the House, which is also led by Republicans. The final steps to Mr Trump entering the White House come on Monday when the electoral college voters convene to rubber stamp his appointment, and on 20 January, on inauguration day. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Republican electors are being swamped with pleas to buck tradition and cast ballots for someone else at meetings across the country on Monday that are on course to ratify Trump as the winner. Interviews with more than 330 electors from both parties found little appetite for a revolt. Whether they like Trump or not, and some plainly don't, scores of the Republicans chosen to cast votes in the state-capital meetings told AP they feel bound by history, duty, party loyalty or the law to rubber-stamp their state's results and make him president. Appeals numbering in the tens of thousands drowning inboxes, ringing cellphones, stuffing home and office mailboxes with actual handwritten letters have not swayed them. The interviews found widespread Democratic aggravation with the electoral process but little expectation that the rush of anti-Trump maneuvering can stop him. For that to happen, Republican-appointed electors would have to stage an unprecedented defection. Still, people going to the typically ho-hum electoral gatherings have been drawn into the rough and tumble of campaign-season politics. Republicans are being beseeched to revolt in a torrent of lobbying, centered on the arguments that Clinton won the popular vote and that Trump is unsuited to the presidency. Most of it is falling on deaf ears, but it has also led to some acquaintances being made across the great political divide. "Let me give you the total as of right now: 48,324 emails about my role as an elector," said Brian Westrate, a small-business owner and GOP district chairman in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. "I have a Twitter debate with a former porn star from California asking me to change my vote. It's been fascinating." Similarly deluged, Republican elector Hector Maldonado, a Missouri National Guardsman, has taken the time to console one correspondent, a single mother and Air Force veteran who is beside herself with worry about what a Trump presidency will mean. "Everything's going to be OK," he said he told her. "I know you're scared, but don't worry. Everything's going to be OK. And I know that it will be." Maldonado, a Mexican immigrant and medical-equipment seller in Sullivan, Missouri, backed Ted Cruz in the primaries but will cast his vote for Trump with conviction. "I took an oath once to become a U.S. citizen," he said, "and on Aug. 14, 1995, that was the first oath that I've taken to support the U.S. Constitution. A year later I took the oath again, to support the duties of being an officer in the U.S. Army. This was the third oath that I've taken to execute what I promised to do." Recommended Electoral College members demand information on Russian relations Even a leader of the anti-Trump effort, Bret Chiafalo of Everett, Washington, calls it a "losing bet" but one he says the republic's founders would want him to make. "I believe that Donald Trump is a unique danger to our country and the Founding Fathers put the Electoral College in place to, among other things, stop that from happening," said Chiafalo, 38, an Xbox network engineer who backed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. It takes 270 electoral votes to make a president. Despite losing the national popular vote, Trump won enough states to total 306 electoral votes. He would need to see three dozen fall away for him to lose his majority. Only one Republican elector told AP he won't vote for Trump. Over the sweep of history, so-called faithless electors those who vote for someone other than their state's popular-vote winner have been exceptionally rare. Nashville attorney Tom Lawless, who chose Marco Rubio in the primaries, described his vow to cast his electoral vote for Trump in blunt terms. "Hell will freeze and we will be skating on the lava before I change," he said. "He won the state and I've pledged and gave my word that that's what I would do. And I won't break it." Nor will Jim Skaggs, 78, a developer from Bowling Green, Kentucky, despite deep concern about Trump. "His personality worries me," Skaggs said. "He is not open-minded." Skaggs knew Trump's father through the construction business, met the son in his 20s, and "I wasn't impressed." "I hope he is far better than I think he is," Skaggs said. Even so, "I fully intend to vote for Donald Trump," he said. "I think it's a duty." State law and practices vary for electors, but even in states where electors don't take an oath to vote a certain way or don't face legal ramifications for stepping out of line, the heavy expectation is for them to ratify the results. As much as they don't want Trump in office, some Democrats are as reluctant as Republicans to go rogue. "We lost the election," said John Padilla of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Democratic ward chairman. "That's how elections are and you shake hands with your opponent and you get on with what you have to do and support your candidate." Yet Democratic electors, stung by losing an election to a Republican who trails Clinton by more than 2.6 million votes nationwide, spoke strongly in the interviews in favor of overhauling or throwing out the electoral system. Republican electors generally supported it, reasoning that it provides a counterweight to political dominance by coastal states with huge, and largely Democratic, populations, like California and New York. Chiafalo is a co-founder of the Hamilton Electors, a group formed to steer other electors from both parties to a third candidate. "We've stated from Day 1 this is a long shot, this is a Hail Mary," he said. But if the effort fails, it won't be from lack of trying. Most of the pleas to reject Trump are coordinated, automated, professionally generated and, for those reasons, none too persuasive. "We got a stack of letters from idiots," said Republican elector Edward Robson, 86, a Phoenix, Arizona, homebuilder. Fellow elector Carole Joyce, 72, a state committeewoman in Phoenix and retired public health nurse, was more charitable. "They've caused me great distress on my computer, that's for sure," she said. "I average anywhere from a thousand to 3,000 emails a day. And I'm getting inundated in my regular mailbox out front anywhere from 17 to 35 letters a day coming from Washington state, Oregon, all around the country. Hand-written, some of them five or six pages long, quoting me the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, asking me again out of desperation not to vote for Donald Trump. US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 US Presidential election: key moments in pictures US Presidential election: key moments in pictures The 2005 Access Hollywood video which showed Mr Trump bragging to Billy Bush Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Hillary Clinton and her health concerns Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Hillary Clinton and her health concerns Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Mr Trump suggests gun-supporters could kill Hillary Clinton to prevent her from picking the supreme court justices Reuters US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Melania Trump plagiarises Michelle Obamas speech Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Mr Trump said that judge Gonzalo Curiel would not be able to rule fairly, as he was of Mexican heritage United States Federal Court/AP US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Donald Trump anxious over securing black vote Reuters US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Hillary Clinton and concerns about securing black vote Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Pope Francis Questions Donald Trump's Christianity Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Donald Trump and his relentless remarks against Mexican people Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures Donald Trump and the sexual assault allegations Getty US Presidential election: key moments in pictures FBI director announced that there would be no charges for Hillary Clinton amid email scandal Getty "And that's their right," she said. "I've had nothing threatening, I'm happy to say. The election is over. They need to move on." AP Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Hillary Clinton has blamed the alleged Russian cyber attack and FBI director James Comey for losing the presidential election. Speaking to campaign donors in New York on Thursday evening, she said Russian president Vladimir Putins hack of the Democratic National Committee emails were "an attack against our country" and as a result of "personal beef" against her. Ms Clinton said the 2011 parliamentary elections in Russia were "rigged" and that the Russians wanted to "undermine" US democracy. Recommended Calls grow to delay electoral vote as 70 members want Russia briefing "Putin publicly blamed me for the outpouring of outrage by his own people, and that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," Ms Clinton said. These were Ms Clinton's first remarks on Russia since the CIA concluded that Russia had sought to manipulate the 2016 election to boost Donald Trump. The FBI was accused, in contrast, with sitting on top of "explosive" information about Russia and the election. It was also one of her first speeches in public since the 8 November election: since then she has mostly been spotted around her home town in upstate New York, walking her dogs with husband Bill Clinton and visiting the local book store. Trump: Clinton may be 'most corrupt person ever to seek presidency' "Make no mistake, as the press is finally catching up to the facts, which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign," she added. "This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country. We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation." She also told the group, which paid more than $1 billion towards her campaign, that FBI director James Comeys letter to a group of Republicans, alerting them to new emails that were pertinent to the then-closed investigation of Ms Clintons alleged misuse of her personal email server, also cost her several swing states. Former ambassador to Russia: Putin wanted 'revenge' against Clinton "Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from director Comey," she said, as reported by the New York Times. After Mr Comey sent the letter, reigniting the debate over Ms Clinton's emails, the investigation was closed again, days before the election. President Barack Obama has vowed to take retaliatory measures upon Russia both subtle and explicit action, he said but has not elaborated what the measures are or when they will start. Barack Obama: US will act on election hacking by Russia White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Mr Trump "obviously" was aware of the help from Russia during the campaign, and that Mr Putin was behind the attack. Mr Trump said the claims were "ridiculous" and questioned why Mr Obama was only talking about Russia now, after he had won the election. The White House named Russia as a prime suspect in the cyber hack as far back as October, a month after Mr Obama said he spoke about the issue to Mr Putin directly at the G20 meeting in China. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka has reportedly been calling elected government officials to discuss child care policy. Ms Trump has been playing a key role in her fathers presidential transition team and has joined in meetings with world leaders, despite holding no elected position. It has now emerged that she has been calling members of the US Congress to talk to them about issues she is passionate about. Ms Trump had been meeting with members of the Ways and Means committee, the House of Representatives group responsible for taxation, and other Congress representatives, particularly women, a source in the transition team told CNN. Ms Trump has been making calls to politicians since her fathers election victory to talk about child care provisions according to Sarah Chamberlain, the founder of the center right Republican Main Street Partnership, organistaion. She told the Independent Journal Review, that Ms Trump has been lobbying strongly on child support issues and working mothers. Kellyanne Conway says Donald Trumps team found 'an exception' in anti-nepotism law I think shes hoping to [play a large role in the administration]. It did come out shes gonna have an office in the East Wing and actually I think shes gonna be a great addition. I think she was a huge help in getting her father elected, she said. Ms Trump has also come under scrutiny for featuring as a prize in a charity auction for the Eric Trump Foundation, which belongs to another one of the President-elects children. The bid for a coffee date was won, at a price of nearly 50,000, by Ozan Ozkural, a London based investment manager with links to Turkey. He was clear that he bid to gain access to Ms Trump as a political figure for the benefit of his private interests. The nature of my business, we talk to a lot of different governments, a lot of politicians and lawmakers across the world, Mr Ozkural told the New York Times. You end up getting a better sense of what the modus operandi will be. Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} "I hope we enlighten you of what the real story and evidence is all about regarding this fake, fake birth certificate." In Phoenix, Maricopa country sheriff Joe Arpaio gathered around 40 journalists and members of the public to make his big announcement. President Barack Obamas birth certificate was a forged document, he said, and his five years investigation would be turned over to congress and federal government so they could take action. Recommended Michelle Obama said birther rumours were hurtful and deceitful On a powerpoint, accompanied by Mike Zullo, a member of the nonprofit arm of the sheriff office full of volunteers, he spent 50 minutes outlining nine points of forgery that the document was a fake. Mr Zullo added the evidence was "clear and convincing proof" that the certification was a "fraudulently manufactured document". The repeat performance was relived twice in 2012 at similar press conference events. It was posted by Mr Obama on whitehouse.gov on 27 April 2011 in a bid to quell the conspiracy theory that the president was not a natural-born US citizen. His critics insisted he was an Arab-American and not African-American, a rumour started online in 2008, and that he was only using his status as an African-American to call his critics "racist". According to Mr Arpaio and Mr Zullo, sections of a womans birth certificate in Hawaii were copied and pasted onto the presidents. A fake news reporter located a 95-year-old woman during a 10-day trip to Hawaii, who might have written coding on the copy of the presidents birth certificate, they said. She allegedly told the "reporter" that the numbers on the birth certificate were inconsistent with the time and place of Mr Obama's birth, as reported by USA Today. The shifting but consistently racist debate around the first black presidents birth has evolved from disputing the fact that he was born in Hawaii to disputing the authenticity of his birth certificate. Mr Zullo said he just wanted to "clear" the president. "It didnt work out that way," he said. The results of the investigation come three months after Mr Trump first formally denounced the birther theory, telling a rally: "President Obama was born in the United States. Period." Mr Trump himself had previously pushed the conspiracy theory, but then blamed the theory on Hillary Clinton two months before he was elected president. Mr Obama told the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation: "I dont know about you guys, but I am so relieved that the whole birther thing is over. I mean, ISIL, North Korea, poverty, climate change none of those things weighed on my mind like the validity of my birth certificate." Although Mr Arpaio and his team may be among the last public servants to espouse the birther theory, there are others coming into Mr Trumps cabinet who believed in it and may do so still. One example is Monica Crowley, a Fox News host and Mr Trumps national security security pick, serving under retired general Michael Flynn, who told a 2008 radio show that Mr Obama lied about his race and it was "the biggest con [she] had ever seen." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man who spent more than three decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit is fighting to up his compensation after receiving just $75. Lawrence McKinney, now 60, of Memphis, Tennessee, spent 31 years in prison after he was wrongly convicted of raping a woman and stealing her television in 1978. He was sentenced to 115 years in prison - 100 years for the rape and 15 years for the theft. He was released in 2009 after new DNA evidence found that he was not even on the scene. Mr McKinney could be eligible for up to $1 million in compensation - the maximum - if the states parole board hears his exoneration case, which they have declined to do twice already. Recommended Trump still insists wrongfully convicted Central Park Five are guilty Mr McKinney was issued just $75 upon his release in July 2009. "I dont have no life, all my life was taken away," he told CBS News. His lawyer, Jack Lowery, said his client had suffered enough and justice would not be served via receiving compensation alone. Mr McKinneys attempt to be exonerated has been mired in red tape, although his record has been cleared. In September, the seven members of the Tennessee parole board voted unanimously to deny hearing his exoneration case. The final word comes down to Republican governor Bill Haslam. Mr Haslams press secretary, Jennifer Donnals, told The Tennessean that Mr Haslam received an executive clemency application on 21 November. She said the governors office is carrying out a review of Mr McKinneys application with the boards recommendation, which is confidential. The governor can choose to agree or disagree with the boards recommendation, or he can choose not to act. If his case is approved, he will have the chance to clear his name. One member on the parole board, Patsy Bruce, said she was still not sure he was innocent and voted against his exoneration. It is the second time Mr McKinney has applied to be exonerated. Shortly after his release, the board voted against hearing his case and the then governor Phil Bredesen did not act on the application. The Tennessee Board of Claims has only paid out exoneration claims twice since 2003. Mr McKinney works at the Immanuel Baptist Church with the aim of becoming a preacher. One of his advocates is Republican state representative Mark Pody. Being exonerated would put me on a standard with everyone else in society. I didnt get a chance to build a career or buy a home. I lost all my 20s, 30s and 40s, but Im a servant of the Lord and any blessing I get I just want for my wife, he told The Tennessean. A Change.org petition calling for his exoneration has reached more than 10,000 signatures. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} McDonalds is launching its own home delivery service in three Florida markets next month thanks to a partnership with UberEats. Beginning late January 2017, the fast food restaurant will begin testing its delivery option at nearly 200 restaurants in Orlando, Tampa, and Miami in the new year. Just like Ubers flagship mobile application, users will be able to track the progress and delivery progress of their order. Customers will be able to use the UberEats website or mobile application to have their orders delivered by Uber drivers. This is another sign of McDonalds getting with the times to become more accessible to its customers. Earlier this year, the fast food chain added self-order kiosks to more than 500 restaurants across the states. Theyre also planning on integrating the kiosks at locations in Chicago and Boston. Last year, McDonalds first tested home delivery in New York City with Postmates, a third-party delivery service based in San Francisco, who are official partners with Chilis, Chipotle, and Panda Express. The company plans to launch their own mobile app for customers in 2017. According to CNBC, similar chains like Starbucks, Dominos, and Taco Bell have all seen a spike in sales numbers because of mobile apps that offer order-to-pay options. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Barack Obama has vowed to take action against Russia for its apparent interference in the US presidential election. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing, Mr Obama told National Public Radio. He confirmed he had spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin about the hacking, and said his counterpart was aware that the US would seek retaliatory action, some of it explicit and publicised; some of it may not be. Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it, Mr Obama said. Mr Obama last spoke directly with Mr Putin at the G20 meeting in China. The month after, the White House named Russia as the prime suspect for the hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails over the summer. White House press secretary Josh Earnest declined to say on Thursday whether the US had begun retaliatory measures. He only said the President had deemed a proportional response was appropriate following CIA information that Russia had aimed to help Donald Trump win the election. President Obama on allegations of Russian hacking and interference in the US election The Kremlin has flatly denied any interference in the election, and neither intelligence agencies in the US nor the White House have publicly shared concrete evidence of Russian manipulation. Mr Trump called the claims ridiculous and questioned why the White House had only taken action after he had won the election. White House suggests Trump benefited from Russia hacking Mr Earnest also said on Thursday it was obvious that the Russians acted to help the Republican win, and Mr Trump was obviously aware of their help. Mr Trump lashed out at Mr Earnest during his thank you tour in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday evening, saying the press secretary always managed to turn a positive message into a negative one. He did not mention Russia directly. He [Earnest] could say, ladies and gentleman we have totally defeated Isis and it wouldnt sound good, alright? Mr Trump said. Two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and John McCain, have called for a bipartisan inquiry into Russias involvement. It could be us next, said Mr Graham, referring to the fact that Russia could turn against the Republican party next time. Batkivschyna faction will not initiate the issue of depriving MP Nadia Savchenko of deputy's mandate in the Verkhovna Rada, the faction leader Yulia Tymoshenko has said. "Now she has her own way, and she has the right to go her own way. Batkivschyna party will not initiate the deprivation of Nadia Savchenko of deputy's mandate because people cast votes for her and she has the right to work in the Verkhovna Rada," Tymoshenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. Faction leader said that if they had had an opportunity to go back in time, the Batkivschyna party would nevertheless have included Nadia Savchenko in the electoral list, because "then we needed to rescue Ukraine's patriot from prison of the occupying country." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Russian hackers penetrated the highest levels of the US military by seizing the email system used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff by using a phishing message, their former head has revealed. General Martin Dempsey said it took the intruders just an hour to take over the unclassified email system used by the Pentagon's Joint Staff after a phishing email was opened by one of the 3,500 workers in the section. They seized the log-in credentials of hundreds of senior officers including General Dempsey, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President's advisers on military matters, he told CBS News. The email was one of four forwarded from at west coast US university, which had itself received some 30,000 such messages. The Joint Chiefs are senior officers from the branches of the US military who advise the president and defence secretary. General Dempsey said the hackers, now believed to be Russian, moved with "alarming speed" during the attack in August 2015. The Pentagon was forced to take down the entire network to stop the hack. Replacing damaged computer hardware and software took two weeks. The apparent reason for the cyber-assault was the imposition of economic sanctions on Russia, coordinated by the US, following Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea, it was reported. General Dempsey stepped down in September 2015 after serving two terms as chairman. President Barack Obama vowed to take action against Russia for its apparent interference in the US presidential election. He said he had spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin about the hacking, and said his counterpart was aware that the US would seek retaliatory action, some of it "explicit and publicised; some of it may not be. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} After 17 US intelligence agencies accused Russia of interfering with the presidential election, Electoral College members are rethinking their support of Donald Trump. Some of those electors, along with the lawyers who are defending them, are now receiving a barrage of death and rape threats from Trump supporters. Lawrence Lessig, whose group provides free legal support to electors, told reporters on Thursday that his group, the Electors Trust, has spent $20,000 to provide security for its lawyers because of the aforementioned threats. "That's a very serious problem," he said of the harassment. "It's easy to type a threat of violence on the internet or send an email with a threat of violence, so who knows how strong they are." He also told Politico that at least 20 Republicans contacted his group admitting that they are open to defying Trump and becoming faithless electors. There are 538 members of the Electoral College306 Republicans and 232 Democratswho will cast their official vote on Monday, December 19. At least 37 Republicans would need to vote against Trump to change the outcome of Novembers election. Chris Suprun, a Dallas paramedic who previously supported the Trump campaign, is the only Republican to announce his plans to vote against the president-elect because hes unfit to serve as the commander in chief. The worst thing that Ive received in the mail, from a threat perspective, was a threat to rape my wife and daughters before they kill me, he recently told ABC News. I saw someone who was more interested in his own power than he was in our institutions. President Trump protests Show all 20 1 /20 President Trump protests President Trump protests Patrons hold a sign as people march by while protesting the election of Republican Donald Trump as the president of the United States in downtown Los Angeles, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators rally following the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States, in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators march following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests Thousands of protesters rallied across the United States expressing shock and anger over Donald Trump's election, vowing to oppose divisive views they say helped the Republican billionaire win the presidency AFP/Getty Images President Trump protests Demonstrators protest outside the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois Getty President Trump protests A police officer aims a launcher after demonstrators threw projectiles toward a line of officers during a demonstration in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests An officer examines a vandalized police vehicle as demonstrators riot in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators take over the Hollywood 101 Freeway just north of Los Angeles City Hall in protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests A woman holds up a sign reading 'Trump you are an Idiot' as demonstrators gather during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump outside the City Hall building in Los Angeles, California EPA President Trump protests A masked demonstrator gestures toward a police line during a demonstration in Oakland, California Reuters President Trump protests Demonstrators protest against the election of Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States, near the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada Reuters President Trump protests Musician Lagy Gaga stages a protest against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on a sanitation truck outside Trump Tower in New York City Getty President Trump protests A woman yells as she takes part in a protest against President-elect Donald Trump in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests A man dressed in red-white-and-blue sits on the curb during a protest against President-elect Donald Trump in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against President-elect Donald Trumpin Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood AP President Trump protests University of California, Davis students protest on campus in Davis, California, U.S. following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States Reuters President Trump protests An Oakland police officer checks out damage after a window was broken by protesters at a car dealership in downtown Oakland, Calif AP President Trump protests A protester faces a police line in downtown Oakland, Calif AP President Trump protests President-elect Donald Trumpis victory set off multiple protests AP President Trump protests A fire burns during protests in Oakland, Calif AP When the Associated Press informally polled the Electoral College, only one elector said they would actually cast their vote against Trump. Still, according to a poll conducted by CBS News, more Americans think the popular vote should choose the president instead of the Electoral College. If this was the case, Hillary Clinton would be the next commander-in-chief as her popular vote count has surpassed 2.8 million, beating the president-elect by the largest margin in history. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A woman who was burned alive by her former partner has spoken out about her evil attacker and urged other women in abusive relationships to seek help. Judy Malinowski, 33, was doused in petrol and set alight by Michael Slager in August 2015 at a petrol station in Gahanna, Ohio. She has been in hospital ever since. The extent of her injuries was so severe that she was unable to face her attacker in court. Instead she testified remotely from her hospital bed. Recommended Men like me should fight to end violence against women After claiming the fire was an accident, Slager, 41, pled no contest to charges of assault, aggravated arson and possession of criminal tools. A no contest please allows a defendant to admit to the facts of the case without admitting guilt. It prevents the plea from being used against in any later civil or criminal proceeding and allows the opportunity for appeal at a later date. Slager was sentenced to a maximum of 11 years in prison earlier this week, the Columbus Dispatch reported. However, the conviction could be upgraded to murder if Ms Malinowski, a cancer survivor, dies from her injuries, which doctors suspect is possible. She has severe burns over 90 per cent of her body and lost facial features, her ears and some of her fingers. Large wounds on her back and buttocks have failed to heal and remain open, while Ms Malinowski is immobile and cannot breathe without the help of a ventilator. Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Show all 19 1 /19 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Afghanistan Recommendation: I urge the Government of Afghanistan to adopt legislative reforms to ensure that sexual violence offences are not conflated with adultery or morality crimes and to establish infrastructure for the delivery of protection, health and le gal services to survivors. I call on the Ministry of the Interior to accelerate efforts to integrate women into the Afghan National Police, thereby enhancing its outreach and its capacity to address sexual and gender-based violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Central African Republic Recommendation: I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communique of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Colombia Recommendation: I commend the Government of Colombia for the progress made to date and its collaboration with the United Nations, including through the visit of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in March 2015. I encourage the authorities to implement Law 1719 and continue to prosecute cases of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure that survivors receive justice and receive reparations. Conflict-related sexual violence should continue to be addressed in the Havana peace talks, as well as in the resulting accords and transitional justice mechanisms. Particular attention should be paid to groups that face additional barriers to justice such as ethnic minorities, women in rural areas, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and women abused within the ranks of armed groups. I encourage the Government to scale up its protection measures and share its good practices with other conflict-affected countries Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Congo Recommendation: I urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure full implementation of the armed forces action plan against sexual violence, to systematically bring perpetrators to justice and to deliver reparations to victims, including payment of outstanding compensation awards. I call on donors and the United Nations system to support the Government in its efforts and to pay increased attention to neglected areas, including unregulated mining regions Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Iraq Recommendation: I commend the Government of Iraq for its national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and urge its swift implementation, including by training its security forces to ensur e respect for womens rights. Programmes to support the social reintegration of women and girls released from captivity by ISIL are urgently needed, as is community-based medical and psychological care. The capacity of the United Nations system should be enhanced through the deployment of Womens Protection Advisers or equivalent specialists Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Libya Recommendation: I urge the national authorities in Libya to implement Decree No. 119 and Resolution 904 of 2014 to ensure redress for all victims, including those affected by the current conflict, through the establishment of multisectoral services and the adoption of legislation to categorically prohibit sexual violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Mali Recommendation: I urge the Government of Mali, with support from United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers so that services can reach remote areas. I further call on all parties to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in the inter-Malian dialogue and that perpetrators of sexual violence do not benefit from amnesty or early release Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Myanmar Recommendation: I urge the Government of Myanmar to continue with its reform agenda and, in the process, take practical and timely actions to protect and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and to ensure that security personnel accused of such crimes are prosecuted. Sexual violence should be an element in all ceasefire and peace negotiations, excluded from the scope of amnesty provisions and addressed in transitional justice processes. It is critical that women be able to participate consistently in and influence these processes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Somalia Recommendation: I reiterate my call to the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the commitments made under the joint communique of 7 May 2013 and its national action plan to combat sexual violence in conflict, including specific plans for the army and the police. I encourage the adoption of a sexual offences bill as a matter of priority Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life South Sudan Recommendation: I urge the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to adopt action plans to implement the commitments made under their respective communiques. I call upon the Government of South Sudan to address the negative impact of customary law on womens rights and to reflect international human rights standards in national law. I also encourage the African Union to make public and act upon the report of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sudan (Darfur) Recommendation: I call upon the Government of the Sudan to grant the United Nations and its humanitarian partners unfettered access for monitoring and the provision of assistance to people in need in Darfur. Given that there has been grave concern over sexual violence in Darfur for more than a decade, I encourage the Government to engage with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to develop a framework of cooperation to address the issue comprehensively Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Syria Recommendation: I acknowledge the Governments invitation to my Special Representative to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and call upon the authorities, in the context of such a visit, to agree on specific measures to prevent sexual violence, including by members of the security forces. I condemn the use of sexual violence by ISIL and all other parties listed in the annex to the present report and call on them to cease such violations immediately and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Yemen Recommendation: I urge the authorities in Yemen to undertake legislative reform as a basis for addressing impunity for sexual violence, ensuring the provision of services for survivors and aligning the minimum legal age of marriage with international standards. I further call on the authorities to engage with local community and faithbased leaders to address sexual and gender-based violence and discriminatory social norms Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Bosnia and Herzegovina Recommendation: I urge the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize legislation and policies so that the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to reparations are consistently recognized and to allocate a specific budget for this purpose. I further call upon the authorities to protect and support survivors participating in judicial proceedings through, inter alia, referrals to free legal aid, psychosocial and health services, as well as economic empowerment programmes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Ivory Coast Recommendation: I urge the Government of Cote dIvoire to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy to combat gender-based violence and the action plan for FRCI, and call on the international community to support these efforts. It is critical to accelerate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and strengthen law enforcement to ensure that ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the transport sector do not pose a risk to women and girls who are reliant on those services. The Government and the international community must provide monitoring and awareness-raising to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of sexual violence in the context of the presidential elections to be held in October 2015 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Liberia Recommendation: I call on the Government of Liberia to continue its critical efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence including through the United Nations-Government of Liberia Joint Programme, and in the context of recovery from the Ebola virus epidemic Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nepal Recommendation: I encourage the Government to ensure that survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are recognized under the law as conflict victims, which will enable them to access services, judicial remedies and reparations. I further call on all parties involved in the transitional justice process to ensure that the rights and needs o f survivors of sexual violence are addressed in institutional reforms and that these crimes are excluded from amnesties and statutes of limitations Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sri Lanka Recommendation: I call upon the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of sexual violence, including against national armed and security forces, and to provide multisectoral services for survivors, including reparations and economic empowerment programmes for women at risk, including war widows and female heads of household Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nigeria Recommendation: I encourage the Government to implement its national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to ensure that womens protection concerns are mainstreamed throughout its security operations. I also call upon the authorities to guarantee security in and around internally displaced persons camps and to extend medical and psychosocial services to high-risk areas I never knew that a human being could be so evil, Ms Malinowski told the NBC4i. TV station. He just stood there and did nothing. She added: There were days I told myself I cant live like this. No one should have to live like this. Because I was in so much pain. Ms Malinowskis advice for other women in abusive relationships was to get helprun. Her mother, Bonnie Bowes, added: She wants everyone to know, shes keeps telling me mum, tell them verbal abuse is the start of physical abuse. The family are now campaigning to implement Judys Law, legislation designed to maximise prison time for people convicted of aggravated arson. "Judy has a life sentence," Ms Bowes told the court, according to the Dispatch. "Her children have a life sentence." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Police in Washington have said they have issued a permit for the Women's March on Washington, a demonstration planned for the day after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The Metropolitan Police Department said it has issued a permit for the January 21 march to start near the US Capitol. Organisers have said they will march down Independence Avenue, and police said the march is scheduled to disperse at Constitution Avenue near the Washington Monument. But Cassady Fendlay, a spokeswoman for the march, said the route is not finalized, nor is the location where it will end. Police said that on their application, march organizers estimated 200,000 participants. Organisers initially hoped to rally at the Lincoln Memorial and other spaces, but those plans conflicted with other groups and inauguration events. The Washington Post reported that Janaye Ingram, the head of logistics for the Women's March on Washington, said last week that the group still has a pending application for a permit for various locations that, like the Lincoln Memorial, are under the purview of the National Park Service. Ingram said the group has not rescinded its application but is no longer interested in rallying in front of the Lincoln Memorial. A National Park Service list of permit requests shows the group was also interested in space at the Washington Monument. About 20 groups have applied for permits to demonstrate on National Park Service land on or around the January 20 inauguration date. National Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst said the agency is waiting for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which has priority, to make decisions about what space it will use before issuing permits for certain locations. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Burma's military has unleashed a wave of violence against the country's minority Rohingya community, according to allegations a new report by Human Rights Watch. The group claims villages had been burned to the ground and thousands of Rohingya Muslims forced to flee their homes in the countrys Rakhine State after attacks allegedly by state soliders. Satellite images reportedly reveal at least 1,500 buildings have been destroyed in arson attacks since early October, and the charity said the violence coincided with military activity in the area in October and November. Other incidents of building destruction reportedly took place after government forces came under attack in nearby villages. Brad Adams, Human Rights Watchs Asia Director, said: The new findings refute the Burmese military and governments claims that Rohingya militants were responsible for burning down their own villages. The satellite imagery and eyewitness interviews clearly point the finger at the military for setting these buildings ablaze. Satellite images reportedly showed Burmese security forces at a guard station directly next to the village of Wa Peik, which was gradually burned to the ground ofer the course of a month. Homeless and helpless: The Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine state Show all 2 1 /2 Homeless and helpless: The Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine state Homeless and helpless: The Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine state pg-38-homelesss-getty.jpg Getty Images Homeless and helpless: The Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine state pg-38-homelesss-2.jpg Mr Adams said: Its difficult to believe that militants burned down over 300 buildings in Wa Peik over a one-month period while Burmese security forces stood there and watched. Burmese government officials have been caught out by this satellite imagery, and it's time they recognise their continued denials lack credibility. Human Rights Watch said it had interviewed Rohingya refugees who described witnessing Burmese soldiers setting builings alight. One, referred to as Abdul, said: "I saw the army setting fire to the village and aiming and firing at people" with guns and grenade launches. The Burmese government has denied being responsible for the attacks, instead suggesting the Rohingya had set fire to their own homes. One army general, Min Aung Hlaing, was quoted by The Irrawaddy as suggesting some did so in hope of getting a new home. Rohingya Muslims fleeing Burma recall the horrors they left The Government used a press conference in November to strongly refute the suggestion its troops were responsible for burning down homes in Rakhine State. It said a team sent to investigate the reports had found around 200 buildings burned down much fewer than suggested by human rights charities - and concluded the damage was caused by attackers, not by the Tatmadaw [state forces]. Around 30,000 people are believed to have been displaced since violence erupted in October after up to 500 Rohingya people attacked police outposts, but international agencies say they have been denied access to the refugees. Human Rights Watch demanded Burma's rulers immediately allow charities, media and human rights monitors access to the area. Rohingya Muslims are a heavily persecuted minority in Burma. The Burmese government insists they are illegal immigrants and denies them citizenship rights. Royingya are subjected to strict laws restricting their movement, employment, marriages, and how many children they can have. Hopes of a new era of human rights were raised in 2015 when pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as Burma's leader in the countrys first ever openly contested election but she has since been accused of ignoring persecution of the Rohingya. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Pentagon says a Chinese warship has seized a US Navy underwater drone collecting unclassified data in international waters in the South China Sea. The incident has prompted a formal demarche from the United States and a demand for its return. It is the first such seizure in recent memory and took took place on 15 December northwest of Subic Bay, just as the USNS Bowditch an oceanographic survey ship was about to retrieve the unmaned underwater vehicle (UUV), a US official told Reuters. Recommended US stealth jets to Australia in response to South China Sea tension The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea, the official said. Its a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water that it was US property. Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the US is asking for the drones return. The incident is likely to fray the already tense relations between US and China. Beijing was angered by President-elect Donald Trumps decision to talk by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this month, and by his later comments that he did not feel bound by a One China policy regarding the status of Taiwan - a protocol that the US has followed for decades. Captain Davis said a civilian US Navy ship operated by the militarys Sealift Command was recovering two of the unmanned gliders about 50 miles northwest of Subic Bay near the Philippines when the Chinese ship approached and took one of the small vessels. He says the Chinese ship acknowledged radio messages from the US ship, but did not respond to demands the glider be returned. The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it. It is ours. Its clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again, said Captain Davis The seized underwater drone was part of an unclassified programme to collect oceanographic data, including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, according to a US official. Such data can help inform US military sonar data. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The incident will add to concerns about Chinas growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a US security think tank, said in a report late on Wednesday that China appears to have installed anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems designed to guard against missile attack on its seven newly-created islands in the sea. On Thursday the US Pacific fleet said it was ready to confront China should it continue to pursue overreaching maritime claims in the sea, with a number of other countries in the region also seeing areas of the sea as part of their territory. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at CSIS, told the Associated Press that the seizure of the glider appeared to occur inside the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, not China, and appeared to be a violation of international law. She said China was likely sending a signal to Mr Trumps incoming administration because of his comments about Taiwan. After those comments, Chinese government spokesman An Fengshan said breaching the One China principle will seriously affect peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and undermine relations between Beijing and Washington. Under the One China policy, the US has long recognised Beijing as Chinas government and maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan, a former Japanese colony which broke from the Chinese mainland in 1949. US law requires the government to ensure that the island has the ability to defend itself and to treat all threats to it as issues of national concern. My guess is this is not the act of a rogue commander on a Chinese navy ship. We have seen tight control by (Chinese President) Xi Jinping over the military. Im more inclined to see it as a deliberate act and as a signal, Ms Glaser said. She said China would want Mr Trump to understand before he is sworn in that the United States can't challenge Chinas core interests with impunity. President Barack Obama said on Friday it was appropriate for Mr Trump to take a fresh look at US policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned the idea that Taiwan is part of one China is central to China's view of itself as a nation. If you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through whatever the consequences are, Mr Obama told a news conference, noting Beijing's reaction could be very significant. The news of the capture of the drone came as the Philippine foreign secretary said his country wont take any steps against China in response to the reports on its alleged anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons in the disputed Sea. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jnr said on Friday that while the US and other countries might take actions to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed waters, the Philippines will not take any steps that would reignite tensions. When asked if the Philippine foreign affairs department plans to issue any statement or ask China to clarify, Mr Yasay said, We want to make sure that there will be no further actions that will heighten the tensions between the two countries, particularly in the Scarborough Shoal. Chinese government 'seriously concerned' by Trump stance on Taiwan He was referring to a disputed fishing area off the Philippines northwestern coast where tensions recently eased after Chinese coast guard ships allowed Filipinos to fish after blocking them from the area for years. Chinas change of tack came after President Rodrigo Duterte met Mr Jinping in Beijing in October. Once-hostile ties with China have improved under Mr Duterte, who has reached out to China and Russia while taking a hostile stance toward the US government, which has criticised his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs. Mr Yasay said in a news conference in Singapore, where he and other officials are accompanying Mr Duterte on a visit, that there is nothing that we can do about that now, whether or not it is being done for purposes of further militarising these facilities that they have put up. We cannot stop China at this point in time and say Do not put that up. We will continue to pursue peaceful means at which all of these can be prevented, he said. His remarks differed from Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who expressed concerns over the CSIS report and said the government was attempting to verify it. If true, it is a big concern for us and the international community who uses the South China Sea lanes for trade, Mr Lorenzana said on Thursday. It would mean that the Chinese are militarising the area, which is not good. Agencies contributed to this report For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A 12-year-old boy has attempted to bomb a Christmas market and town hall in Germany under the possible direction of Isis. Officials say the child tried to launch the first attack in Ludwigshafen on 26 November, leaving a rucksack containing a homemade nail bomb at the towns popular festive market. But it did not explode and days later, he allegedly made a second attempt by planting a device in a bush by the town hall and shopping centre. The boy allegedly attempted to bomb the Rathaus-Centre in Ludwigshafen, which houses a shopping centre and the town hall (EPA) A passer-by called police about the suspicious bag on 5 December and detectives found what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. It was composed of a jar filled with powder and a wire, with nails taped around the outside. Security sources told Focus magazine the boy had been radicalised and was abetted or instructed by an unidentified member of Isis. He reportedly planned to join the group in Syria over the summer. The group frequently advertises the use of child soldiers and suicide bombers in its propaganda, as well as indoctrinating the children of foreign fighters to become the group's "next generation". Rheinpfalz Police said the boy's device contained pyrotechnic material believed to have been extracted from fireworks and sparklers. Tests revealed that the mixture was combustible but not explosive, a statement said. There was no danger to the surrounding buildings. Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Show all 9 1 /9 Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Policemen outside Rouen's cathedral during the funeral of Jacques Hamel, the priest who was killed in a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy on 26 July during a hostage-taking claimed by Islamic State group Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two jihadists, both 19, slit Hamel's throat while he was celebrating mass in an attack that shocked France as well as the Catholic Church Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Muslims place flowers and hold a minute of silence in front of the church if Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, western France, where French priest Jacques Hamel was killed on 26 July Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Two people hold each other by the new makeshift memorial in Nice, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Bastille Day attack at the Promenade des Anglais Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the truck attack that killed 84 people in Nice on France's national holiday. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, 31, smashed a 19-tonne truck into a packed crowd of people in the Riviera city celebrating Bastille Day Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police work at a site where a Syrian migrant set off an explosive device in Ansbach, southern Germany, on 25 July, killing himself and wounding a dozen others Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis A Syrian migrant set off an explosion at a bar in southern Germany that killed himself and wounded a dozen others in the third attack to hit Bavaria in a week. The 27-year-old, who had spent a stint in a psychiatric facility, had intended to target a music festival in the city of Ansbach but was turned away because he did not have a ticket Friebe/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis Police officers walk along train tracks in Wuerzburg southern Germany on 19 July, a day after a man attacked train passengers with an axe. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the man, an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage Daniel Roland/AFP/Getty Images Terrorism in 2016: Terror attacks in Europe claimed by Isis German police killed a teenage assailant after he attacked passengers on a train in Wuerzburg, southerg Germany with an axe and a knife on 18 July, seriously wounding three people Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/AFP/Getty Images The suspect, a 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy from Ludwigshafen who was born in Germany in 2004, has not been publicly named by authorities. Hubert Strober, from the Frankenthal public prosecutors office, told The Independent no criminal proceedings could be launched as the boy is under Germanys age of criminal responsibility. He declined to comment on reports the boy had been instructed by Isis, adding: The federal public prosecutor (GBA) is investigating his motives. A spokesperson for the GBA confirmed it was investigating a nail bomb found in Ludwigshafen but said he could give no further information while the inquiry continued. The boy has been taken into the care of the state youth welfare office while investigators attempt to trace any associates who may have been linked to the plot. Germany has been on high alert since it was hit by two terror attacks carried out by Isis supporters in July, with other plots subsequently uncovered. According to figures released in May by intelligence services, 820 jihadis have left Germany for Syria and Iraq, with a third known to have returned, 140 killed and 420 remaining abroad. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Italians may no longer have to promise fidelity in their wedding vows if a new bill to remove the clause from marriage contracts is approved. Some politicians are pushing for the amendment to Italy's Civil Code because it no longer represents marriage in the modern day, they say. Its the legacy of an outdated and antiquated vision of marriage, family and the duties and rights between spouses," said Senator Laura Cantini, one of those behind the amendment. To support their case, senators cited a previous ruling from Italys top court, which made it illegal for judges to place the blame for separation "on the mere failure to observe the duty of fidelity". The ruling meant that partners now have to prove the infidelity led to an irreconcilable breakdown of the marriage. The new bill was proposed to Italys Senate last year and is now being considered by its Judiciary Committee. "Until not long ago, only the fidelity of the woman was sufficient to guarantee the 'legitimacy' of children," it states. It also argues that there should be no place in law for legislation against sex, saying fidelity should be thought of in terms of trust and respect. The clause on fidelity was omitted from Italys Civil Unions bill, passed earlier in the year, provoking a furious backlash from the Lesbian Gay Bisxeual and Transgender (LGTB) community who felt the bill did not give them complete parity with heterosexual couples. According to one 2015 poll, 45 per cent of Italians have cheated on their partners, one of the highest European scores, along with France and Germany. The same poll found 36 per cent of Brits had been unfaithful. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A young mother died after she fell into a tank of molten chocolate at the sweet factory where she worked. Svetlana Rosalina, 24, was killed by rotating blades after falling in to the tank at the Sergiev-Posad confectionary plant near Moscow. According to local reports, the incident occured as Ms Rosalina was attempting to retrieve her mobile phone from the vat, and was unable to escape in time. In another account of her death, Ms Rosalina was said to have fallen in while emptying a sack of ingredients into the mixer. The girl was dragged in when she was trying to empty a sack. "She was minced, only her legs were left", the source reportedly told local media. She leaves behind her husband Vladimir and two children under five years old. A local resident said she saw police cars and a hearse drive into the factorys grounds on the evening of the accident. A young woman died at the confectionery plant in Fedortsovo. I live here and can see the plant out of my window, she told Mail Online. "At 6pm there were police cars and a hearse. People are saying that she dropped her phone in the tank and tried to get it but was dragged in there. Witnesses say that only her legs were sticking out. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Police in Moscow confirmed they had launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms Rosalina's death. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Russia will expand nuclear missile patrols near its borders with Europe as it develops its military to respond to increasing threats in 2017, senior commanders have announced. Gen Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of General Staff and the deputy defence minister, told foreign military attaches Russia would pay particular attention to keeping our strategic nuclear forces at a level that would ensure the containment of aggression against Russia and its allies, meeting the parameters under the treaty on strategic offensive arms. He said Russia would continue increasing the capacity of its aerospace defence system and push ahead with expansion in the Arctic, according to a translation by the state-owned Russia Today website. Gen Gerasimov said the government views expanded presence of Natos forces near the Russian border as a challenge to Russian security and would adequately respond to emerging security threats, including others from North Korea, Afghanistan and instability in the Middle East and North Africa. Russian warships move through English Channel under Royal Navy watch Another senior commander announced that Russia is planning to expand mobile missile patrols near its borders with Europe in 2017. Col Gen Sergei Karakaev, commander of Russias strategic missile forces, said pontoon technology meant portable nuclear weapons could overcome practically any water obstacle to move to new areas, according to a translation by the BBC. He claimed the missiles had a global reach and enormous destructive power, adding: In the current geopolitical situation, the Strategic Nuclear Forces are the guarantor of the security of the Russian Federation and its allies, as well as the independence of its foreign and domestic policy. Both Russia and Nato have launched high-profile military manoeuvres near the countrys border with European nations in recent months amid high tensions over the Ukrainian war and annexation of Crimea. Nato launched its largest military exercise in Poland since the Cold War earlier this year, while Russia deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles two months ago in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland and Lithuania. Vladimir Putin said the move was necessary to combat Nato threats. We are concerned by Nato decision making, the Russian President said. We have, therefore, to take countermeasures, which means to target with our missile systems the facilities that in our opinion start posing a threat to us. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: Ukraine crisis In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis People shout slogans during a pro Russian rally at a central square in Donetsk. Pro Russian activists continued to gather on Saturday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, as Russia was reported to be reinforcing its military presence in Crimea. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis In the same pro Russian rally, demonstrators show their support. Ukraine's ambassador to Russia and a deputy Russian foreign minister held a "cordial" meeting on Saturday, Moscow said, without giving details of any discussion of Russian-occupied Crimea. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Crimean ethnic tatars stand on the roadside as Russian troops move towards to Simferopol in the settlement of Kok-Asan, some 70 kilometres from Simferopol in Crimea. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Russian troops stand on a roadside in the settlement of Opytnoye, some 70 kilometres from Simferopol. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Armed members of the first unit of a pro-Russian armed force, dubbed the "military forces of the autonomous republic of Crimea" march before the swearing-in ceremony in Simferopol, Ukraine. Some 30 men armed with automatic weapons and another 20 or so unarmed, were sworn in at a park in front of an eternal flame to those killed in World War II. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis A group of Cossacks march past a statue of Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin in Simferopol as tensions in the area continue to rise. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis An armed member of the first unit of a pro-Russian armed force, dubbed the "military forces of the autonomous republic of Crimea" signs the oath during the swearing-in ceremony in Simferopol, In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Ukrainian soldiers load their armed personnel carriers (APCs) into boxcars in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Pro-Kremlin militia fired warning shots as unarmed foreign observers tried to enter Crimea on the 8th. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis An abandoned naval ship sunk by the Russian navy to block the entrance is seen in the Crimean port of Yevpatorya on March 8th. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Ukrainian sailors stand guard on top of the Ukrainian navy ship at the Crimean port of Yevpatorya. In pictures: Ukraine crisis Ukraine crisis Crimea's pro-Moscow leader Sergei Aksyonov speaks to the media in Simferopol on the 8th March. He has defended a decision to hold a referendum on whether the region should join Russia, saying on Saturday that "no one" could cancel the voting. Meanwhile, the chief of Russias General Staff has described claims Russian military manoeuvres also pose a threat as groundless. Ahead of planned talks between the two parties on Monday, Natos Secretary-General said military and non-military means of aggression were challenging the military alliance and the EU. Jens Stoltenberg said the two blocs were increasing cooperation on cyber attacks, maritime defence and military exercises. Recommended Hillary Clinton blames Russia hack and FBI director for election loss Hailing the upcoming Nato-Russia Council meeting, he added: When tensions run high as today it is even more important to have a direct dialogue with Russia. Nato suspended cooperation with the Kremlin over the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has published satellite images appearing to show the presence of Russian troops and weapons in eastern Ukraine. Hacked emails seen by the BBC also appear to show Vladislav Surkov, one of Mr Putins closest aides, drawing up budgets for pro-Russian republics in eastern Ukraine, as well as a plan for Moscow to provide fuel for the separatists during shortages. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied formenting or supporting separatist rebels, who shot down a Malaysia Airlines plane using a missile system supplied from Russia, killing all 298 people on board. Germany and France have led efforts to implement a peace deal agreed in Minsk but there has been no end to the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, which has killed more than 10,000 people since it erupted in 2014. EU leaders have decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia over the ongoing Ukrainian conflict until mid-2017, with some wanting a longer timespan over fears Donald Trump would ease pressure on Moscow. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said the extension was agreed based on the current situation rather than attempts to anticipate what the new American President might do. It is the latest round of EU and US sanctions to be imposed on Russia over the war, targeting the defence, energy and financial sectors. Japan has always supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and insists on maintaining sanctions against the Russian Federation and Ukraine, the country also sees opportunities for investment, Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi has said. "Japan would like to see stable Ukraine both in economical and political spheres, because Japan does not want to be limited to economic assistance. We are interested in developing relations in the private sector of our bilateral relations. Japan is the economic leader for today, that is why we see opportunities for investments in Ukraine," Sumi said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday. The ambassador also noted existence of a common "Russian factor" for the two states. "We also have some disagreements with Russia regarding the territory. And it remains an important factor both for Ukraine and Japan, so both countries are interested in the discussion of the "Russian factor," the diplomat said. Sumi stressed continued support of territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Ukrainian state by Japan, as well as the importance of maintaining sanctions. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The siesta in Spain could soon be a thing of the past after a renewed effort by ministers to push the countrys clocks back one hour to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The Spanish government has announced plans to align its time zone with Britain in the hope of boosting its citizens productivity. Currently, Spaniards are generally obliged to take lunch breaks of two or three hours during the working day, in which some take a siesta, but then do not finish work until 7 or 8pm. But the countrys labour minister Fatima Banez on Monday announced a range of proposals that would change the way Spaniards work, including bringing the end of the working day forward to 6pm, as it is in most other European countries. Ms Banez told the Spanish parliament: We want our workdays to finish at six o'clock and to achieve this we will work towards striking a deal with representatives from both companies and trade unions." She added that the centre-right government was working with opposition parties to change the time zone to GMT. While the proposals have not yet been approved by parliament, Spain's minority centre-right government is likely to get the support of the smaller Citizens party and the opposition Socialists to back the time change, meaning it is likely to be carried out. It is not the first time such proposals have been put forward in Spain. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced moves to cut the working day by two hours and bring an end to the traditional siesta, scrapping the traditional extended midday break. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Madrid was originally in the GMT zone, along with Britain and Portugal, until dictator General Franco moved the clocks forward by one hour to align Spain with Nazi Germany in 1942. As a result, Spaniards have long worked longer hours and finished later than in other European countries, which campaigners claim puts Spaniards in a state of permanent jet lag because the countrys clocks dont align with when the sun rises and sets, leading to longer working days. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Secretary of State John Kerry rebuked the Syrian Assad regime for carrying out nothing short of a massacre in Aleppo, as tens of thousands of civilians were held in the recent siege of the rebel stronghold. Mr Kerry called for an immediate, verifiable, and durable cessation of hostilities and urged both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian leaders to participate in direct negotiations with the United Nations in Geneva. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for the indiscriminate and savage brutality against civilians shows by the regime and by its russian and iranian allies over the past few weeks and, indeed, over the past five years, he said at a press briefing on Thursday. Mr Assad appeared on Syrian state television earlier in the day to proclaim victory and celebrate what he referred to as the liberation of Aleppo. He said by defeating terrorists was history in the making. Non-combatant activists recorded their harrowing accounts and shared over social media, including Twitter and WhatsApp. We spoke to the last activists in Aleppo. They're waiting to die We are [given] only two deadly choices: Death or displacement. Both of them are heartbreaking, said English teacher Abdulkafi Alhamdo in a tweet at dawn. Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Show all 12 1 /12 Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man crosses a street in Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A vendor sits inside an antique shop in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors walk inside Aleppo's Umayyad mosque, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk inside the Khan al-Shounah market, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man walks past shops in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk along an alley in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors tour Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A general view shows the Old City of Aleppo as seen from Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk near Aleppo's Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower, Syria October 6, 2010 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man stands inside Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Another activists stuck in east Aleppo wrote on WhatsApp: Anyone who knows anything about the Assad regime should know what to expect. Death will be a wish for those captured and deemed [to be] opposition, [whether] military or civil. Following a Wednesday night ceasefire agreement, prompting an evacuation of fighters and civilians. However, the first fleets of buses have only been able to transport a few hundred, and a significant evacuation could take a number of days. Mr Kerry said that the stabilisation of Aleppo is top priority. That must occur if officials expect to carry out meaningful peace negotiations. Provided we are able to stabilise the situation in Aleppo, he said, it is essential that we move forward at the earliest possible moment with a Syrian-led political process aimed at ending the war and transitioning to a new, more representative government. And without that meaningful transition of power, in which the voices of the Syrian people are heard, the opposition will continue to fight, terrorists will continue to be drawn to the country, and millions of Syrians will continue to be forced to flee from their homes." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Up to 8,000 people managed to leave the last rebel neighbourhoods of wartorn Aleppo overnight before the fragile ceasefire appeared to collapse on Friday morning. The bitter battle for control of the citys eastern neighbourhoods is still not over as a truce hastily brokered on Wednesday night faltered amid accusations of gunfire at a checkpoint from both rebels and the Syrian government. Evacuations have been suspended, but it is not clear how long for. A World Heath Organisation spokesperson said that their staff had been told to vacate the city, taking ambulances and buses with them. Several thousand of people have been waiting since daybreak in the cold for updates on whether they'll be allowed to leave. The last batch of people who managed to board the convoys of green buses from rebel enclaves left in the early hours of Friday, some posting video messages as they went - but what awaits them is not neccessarily much better. Standing in the rubble of what used to be a school, pharmacist and activist Modar Sheko sent a video showing the chaos as crowds of people waited for transport. This is the last day in our beloved city, he said in a Whatsapp message. A message a few hours later confirmed that he had made it to neighbouring Idlib province. It's heartbreaking to send the last message from the neighborhood I used to live, report from and work from, journalist Zouhir al Shimale said in a tweeted video. He was later made to return to the city after the evacuations were halted. Some residents graffitied messages such as we will return on walls and buildings and burned their belongings, rather than leave them for Syrian President Bashar al-Assads troops and allied militias. Those who have arrived safely, assisted by Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers, have been settling in schools and mosques, teams on the ground said, but the speed of developments in the crisis has left Idlib unprepared to deal with newcomers. Many are in need of urgent healthcare after spending 100 days without access to adequate medicine and food, and the freezing winter conditions make shelter a pressing priority. Aleppo citizen sends last message before leaving for Idlib The UN says as many as 50,000 fighters and civilians remain in east Aleppo, but figures are difficult to verify. Thousands of people have died since Mr Assad announced a new Russian-backed campaign to retake besieged areas of the city in September, and the air and ground assault intensified two weeks ago. While the ceasefire deal - the second this week after a Turkish and Russian brokered truce broke down on Wednesday - brought a temporary respite for those who have managed to get out, aid organisations have warned that the ordeal for people leaving Aleppo is far from over. Rural Idlib province - the buses destination - is mostly controlled by rebel factions at odds with each other, including extremist groups such as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which is linked to al-Qaeda. In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters The area has also seen intense bombing in the last few months - which is likely to intensify. One senior European diplomat told the Associated Press last week that people had the choice of surviving for a few weeks in Idlib or dying in Aleppo. For the Russians its simple. Place [the rebels] all in Idlib and then they have all their rotten eggs in one basket, the source added. President Assad has hailed the liberation of Aleppo, which is his biggest victory so far in the six-year-old civil war. In October, he said Aleppo would be "the springboard... to liberate other areas from terrorists" - a term the Syrian government uses to describe all rebels. The United Nations Security Council is set to meet for more emergency discussions on the situation in Aleppo later on Friday. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Evacuations of rebels and civilians out of the last pockets of resistance in east Aleppo have stalled following reports of both rebel and Syrian government violations of Wednesdays ceasefire. Parallel evacuations of the wounded from Foua and Kefraya, two pro-government Shia villages less than a mile apart, which are under siege by rebels in Idlib province, were part of the deals terms the second to be struck this week as President Bashar al-Assads forces close in on Aleppos remaining opposition neighbourhoods. The second truce appeared to be collapsing on Friday after Syrian and Hezbollah media channels reported that fighters from both Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and the Jaish al-Fatah coalition which have ties to al-Qaeda - had blocked the agreed evacuation of the wounded from the villages. Reports have emerged of government-allied Shia militias holding 20 cars of civilians leaving Aleppo en route to Idlib hostage in retaliation. Rebel sources say Iran is now pushing for a full evacuation of the two villages, which Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS) and other groups had not agreed to, further complicating efforts to resurrect the deal. Several reports on Friday suggest that rebel groups were not in sync on how to proceed, with JFS in particular blocking the evacuations of the pro-government villages. Reports that the deal had been resurrected have not been confirmed. Foua and Kefraya, home to around 20,000 people, have not received as much media attention as other places engulfed in the Syrian crisis, such as the much bigger town of Madaya. In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters A series of suicide bombings, kidnappings and shelling had forced government troops to retreat from the area in March 2015, leaving the two villages surrounded by mostly Islamist forces. The reciprocal four towns agreement saw the sieges temporarily lifted on rebel-held Madaya and Zabadani and pro-government Foua and Kefraya in January, allowing the UN to deliver desperately-needed aid to the towns. However, the deal broke down in October, and conditions in all four settlements have since deteriorated, with food, fuel and medicine stocks depleting as winter sets in. Israeli man starts charity to get injured Syrians to Israel for medical treatment Siege Watchs latest report states that the situation in Foua and Kefraya has managed to stay relatively stable thanks to government air drops. In Madaya, some aid was allowed in in November, but no fuel for heating, leading to the death of six children from cold, activists inside the city say. In the last week, Foua and Kefraya have been targeted by Islamist rockets and Madaya has been hit by Hezbollah shelling in a bloody tit-for-tat in which civilians continue to suffer. Approximately one million people in Syria live under siege conditions, Siege Watch says. A proportion of that number are trapped in the northern city of Deir ez Zour by Isis, a handful by other rebels, and the majority live under regime blockades. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Five years after Barack Obama announced that that "war in Iraq ends this month, at least 5,000 American military personnel are currently stationed in the middle eastern country. Following the president's decree, the last US troops withdrew a week before the Christmas of 2011. But after Isis gained significant territory in the country three years later, the US was forced to put boots back on the ground. Although many are presented as advisors to the Iraqi forces, US military personnel are reportedly able to call in air-strikes and artillery fire, as well as influencing troop movements on the ground. The number of US troops has increased in recent months in anticipation of an attempt to seize the city of Mosul from Isis. The city in nothern Iraq is the group's last major stronghold in the country. The US has ploughed $10bn (8bn) into the intervention since it returned to the country to fight the terror group and outgoing US secretary of defense Ash Carter said earlier in this month that it was certainly possible that Mosul could fall before Donald Trump enters the White House on 20 January. But the deputy commander of the US coalition in the region, Major General Rupert Jones, has called for patience, saying more time was needed to minimise the danger to civilians. However, the President-elect has expressed impatience with that strategy and promised to eliminate the group quickly when he takes office. He said that he would attack the militants harder than his predecessor, by bombing the shit out of em. But according to the Pentagon, the US has carried out over 7,000, or three quarters, of the airstrikes in the country. Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Show all 10 1 /10 Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian prepares for the first Sunday Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christian soldiers attend the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State in Qaraqosh Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian soldier holds his weapon during the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis An Iraqi Christian soldier lights a candle Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi priests hold the first Sunday mass Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Iraqi Christians celebrate liberation from Isis Reuters Between the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 until the end of 2011, around one million US military personnel were deployed in the country. The conflict claimed the lives of 4,486 and more than 32,000 were wounded. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died during the invasion and subsequent war, though estimates of the true total vary. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Hamas now has a real army with which to fight Israel and has increased its manufacture of missiles to prepare for conflict, a senior official has claimed. Fathi Hammad, former interior minister at the Islamist group, said Hamas had developed to a point where the group was able to sell our missiles to Arab countries and generate a sustainable income. Hamas has made a resolute decision to remain steadfast and wage Jihad as the only means to liberate Palestine, Mr Hammad told Al-Aqsa TV. Gaza was liberated under the watch of Hamas, through the Jihad of Hamas. The Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam units have become a real army... this army has its own industry. We are now ready to sell our missiles to Arab countries. These are advanced missiles. We are prepared to sell them [to Arab countries], so that they will launch them against the Jews, not for infighting among themselves. Mr Hammad advised that the group should not cooperate with any settlement deal with the Jewish state, as the date of an international peace conference in Paris approaches. In October, Israels defence minister said any future hostilities between the Jewish state and Hamas in Gaza was likely to be the last, because we will completely destroy them. Hamas won local elections in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and took control of the area in June 2007. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Local elections in Gaza and the West Bank that were expected earlier this year have been suspended several times after disagreements between Hamas and the Fatah party. Hamas are widely expected to make gains in the West Bank if elections are held in the near future. In September, a senior European Court of Justice advisor recommended that Hamas be removed from the EUs terror blacklist. The United States has urged the maintenance of sanctions on Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and has fought Israel for three decades For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Saudi Arabia is launching a programme to inoculate children against Westernisation, atheism, liberalism and secularism. They were listed as threats to ideological security, ahead of the danger from extremist groups including Isis and al-Qaeda and sectarianism. The education ministrys plans were announced in the Makkah newspaper, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said, sparking a storm of debate and an Arabic hashtag translated as Liberalism is a dangerous group on Twitter. Saudi Arabia arrests teenage YouTube star over 'enticing' videos with female American blogger It follows another government project announced in March 2015 to protect schoolboys and schoolgirls from deviant behaviour by enforcing religious and moral values. Saudi critics labelled the latest initiative danger to security and a disaster for religious freedom and intellectual debate in Saudi Arabia. Have you ever heard of a liberal who committed murder? Or of a secularist who blew himself up? Nadine al-Budair asked on Twitter, while columnists at other Saudi newspapers accused the government of seeking to prevent free thought and prioritising a witch-hunt against liberals over the real terror threat from Isis and al-Qaeda. Saudi Arabias constitution enshrines Sunni Islam as the foundation for its governance and law, opening with the clause: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion; God's Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, God's prayers and peace be upon him, are its constitution. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty It states that Saudis must be brought up on the basis of Islamic faith and that the state will accordingly strive to maintain the countrys Arab and Islamic values and protect Islam. The constitution stipulates that education will aim at instilling the Islamic faith in the younger generation and mould children to be useful in society. Human rights organisations have long raised alarm over Saudi Arabias repression of liberal thought with prosecutions and arrests, including the imprisonment and lashing of secular blogger Raif Badawi. Human Rights Watchs 2016 world report said the states adherence to the fundamentalist Wahhabist branch of Sunni Islam generates wide-ranging constraints on freedom of religion. It does not tolerate public worship by non-Muslims and systematically discriminates against Islamic religious minorities, including Shias and Ismailis Immorality laws are additionally used to crack down on pro-LGBT, feminist and reformist writing and social media posts, while "blasphemy" is a capital offence. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The nightmare scenario of radioactive material being released from nuclear power stations using a cyber attack is being attempted by terrorist groups, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) has warned. Jan Eliasson told the UN Security Council vicious non-state groups were making efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and warned: These weapons are increasingly accessible. A hacking attack on a nuclear power plant would be a nightmare scenario, he added. Terrorist groups such as Isis and al-Qaeda are known to have sought access to WMDs and it was reported earlier this year that Isis operatives in Belgium had been following a scientist who worked at a nuclear power station, with the hope of using him to gain access to the plant. Technological advances such as 3D printing, the increasing use of drones and the possibility of cyber-attacks have potentially made it easier for them to acquire deadly weapons. Preventing a WMD attack by a non-state actor will be a long-term challenge that requires long-term responses, Mr Eliasson said. The UN meeting focused on how to prevent extremist groups getting hold of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. It concluded with members approving a resolution to strengthen the work of the council committee that monitors how countries are preventing terrorist groups from acquiring or using WMDs. Dr Patricia Lewis, Research Director of the International Security Department at Chatham House, told The Independent a cyber-attack on a nuclear power station was a real risk. She said: Theres an idea that the systems are protectedand that is a myth. Every system has vulnerabilities. We are seriously straying into what sounds like science fiction but isnt. We are there now. She added: This isnt just imagined this is already going on. The new nuclear power stations in UK Show all 4 1 /4 The new nuclear power stations in UK The new nuclear power stations in UK 260428.bin Getty Images The new nuclear power stations in UK 260429.bin Reuters The new nuclear power stations in UK 260430.bin Getty Images The new nuclear power stations in UK 260432.bin Getty Images Several attacks on nuclear power plants have already taken place. In 2009 it was reported that an attack on an Iranian facility had hit its nuclear enrichment programme. Plants in South Korea and Germany have also been subjects of cyber-attacks. While these have been on a relatively small scale, a bigger attack could cause devastation. Dr Lewis warned the worst case cyber-attack could potentially cause a Fukushima-style scenario a reference to the Japanase nuclear plant where three reactors went into meltdown in 2011 after tsunami damage. She said: It is probably beyond the capabilities of a non-state armed group but it may be very possible for a state to do that. Energy companies really need to understand the threat better [because] they dont yet. There are things going on that we dont fully understand. US draws up battle plan to stave off digital attack cyberstrikes Show all 2 1 /2 US draws up battle plan to stave off digital attack cyberstrikes US draws up battle plan to stave off digital attack cyberstrikes tech.jpg US draws up battle plan to stave off digital attack cyberstrikes cyber.jpg PA Wire Experts fear attacks targeted at nuclear power stations could be extended to nuclear weapons facilities. Dr Lewis said: When it comes to nuclear weapons the consequences are far higher. Even if the probabilities are lower, the risk is huge. Attacks on power stations are a threat not just because of the immediate danger of a radioactive leak but because they could be aimed at shutting down the energy grid, therefore wreaking economic havoc and risking public disorder, she added. Cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants can take different forms. Some are aimed at obtaining data about the way the plant works or information on personnel at the facility, while others are ransom attacks in which companies are threatened with attack unless they give the hackers money. Hacks can be used to uncover secret information about the layout and structure of nuclear reactors that could help plan a physical attack, potentially involving an insider at the plant, or a drone. Drones have previously been spotted flying over nuclear power stations, with their origin and controllers remaining a mystery. Inside Story - Should N Korea's nuclear ambitions concern the world? Such is the increasing frequency of cyber-attacks that some experts have concluded succesful hacks are inevitable and argue companies should focus more on planning to contain the damage when they do occur. Dr Lewis said: We need a different type of approach to cyber-security one that doesnt imagine that you can completely defend against attacks. What were trying to do is introduce a culture where youexpect the attacks and build in resilience so that when they come it doesnt really have much effect. Beyza Unal, a nuclear weapons expert at Chatham House, said one problem was private energy companies fearing that sharing details of cyber-attacks would hurt them commercially and reputationally and therefore staying silent about attacks against them, making it difficult to develop shared defences. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Nine weeks after he announced an 11th-hour rescue package that allowed his airline to keep flying, the boss of Monarch says the future lies with flying more people at lower fares. Andrew Swaffield told The Independent: Weve re-based ourselves now to a world where we see lower prices but with higher volumes. Over the past year, Monarch has been hit by a series of issues. In November 2015, the Foreign Office banned UK airlines from flying to Sharm el Sheikh, which was a key destination for Monarch. During the first half of 2016, as the security situation in Turkey deteriorated, rival airlines shifted capacity to Spain and Portugal depressing fares in one of Monarchs key markets. And the plunge in sterling after the EU referendum further dented the airlines prospects. The unique combination of terrorism and the fall in the value of the pound made it particularly challenging for us as a British airline, said Mr Swaffield. We take nearly all of our revenue in pounds and a lot of our costs go out in dollars and euros. We pay for aircraft leases and fuel in dollars and things like navigation and ground handling in euros. So we get no revenue benefit from a decline in the pound but we get a big cost increase. By late September the Civil Aviation Authority was sufficiently concerned about Monarchs finances to set up a shadow airline. The CAA chartered planes and deployed them to Mediterranean airports to mimic Monarch's schedule in case the airline stopped flying. In October, the majority owner, Greybull Capital, injected 165m in additional funding to keep the airline flying. Mr Swaffield said that Monarchs profits are likely to fall by one-third this year compared with 2015, but that new bookings for summer 2017 are 40 per cent higher than a year earlier. Yes it has been challenging but I guess Im pretty pleased to be sitting here today with a profitable result in difficult circumstances. Profits are expected to decline from 74m to 48, representing about 8 per passenger flown in 2016. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} What would you think was the most popular air route in the world? New York to LA? London to Paris? Beijing to Shanghai? Chances are your first guess wasn't the domestic from Seoul to Jeju, the capital of Jejudo island in South Korea. Last year saw over 11 million people make the trip between the two cities the next busiest air route, Tokyo to Sapporo, didn't even come close with just under eight million passengers. South Korean domestic flights from Seoul to Jeju are so popular that you can board one every 15 minutes. According to Google, there are around 200 flights that make the journey in either direction every day. So why? What's drawing absurd numbers of Koreans to this mysterious island? First of all, it's not just Koreans that can't resist the lure of Jejudo in 2014, Chinese travel giant Ctrip announced that Jeju was behind the spike in Chinese tourists visiting the Republic of Korea. Republic of Korea / Flickr (Republic of Korea / Flickr) The Chinese, in particular, are flocking to the island because of its visa-free entry requirements and abundance of casinos (which are banned in China). Most of the tourism, however, is domestic. Jeju is often touted as the "Hawaii of South Korea," and honeymooners and holidaymakers come here by the bucket/plane load to bask in Jeju's natural beauty. According to locals, though, Jeju has a dark side. In 1948, an uprising led by communist sympathisers was violently repressed by the Korean government and US military. 30,000 islanders died and many more were subject to atrocities due to the uprising. Today, many people arrive under the umbrella of "dark tourism" to experience the harrowing history of the island via places like the 4.3 Peace Park memorial. These pictures offer at look at why Jeju welcomes millions of visitors every year, whatever their intention: The world's most popular plane journey, from Seoul to Jeju (the capital of Jejudo island in South Korea), takes just under an hour. You can buy tickets for around 120 each way. (Google Maps (Google Maps) According to the Republic of Korea's official Flickr page, Jejudo is "a special self-governing province ... the only special autonomous province of Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island." This means the island retains a level of autonomy hence why almost every country in the world is allowed a temporary visit, visa-free. In 2011, Jeju was named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Jeju Island (Republic of Korea / Flickr) Its defining physical characteristic is certainly the Hallasan volcano. At 1,950 metres, it's South Korea's highest peak. (Republic of Korea / Flickr (Republic of Korea / Flickr) The crater lake atop Hellasan is named 'Baengnokdam,' meaning 'white deer lake.' Legend has it that wizards descended from heaven to play with the white deer that drank there. (Republic of Korea / Flickr (Republic of Korea / Flickr) Thanks to the island's volcanic origins, its core is interspersed with weaving tubes formed by ancient lava, which can now be accessed as an excursion. (Republic of Korea / Flickr (Republic of Korea / Flickr) Jejudo island is home to Haenyo mermaids freedivers that risk life and limb to catch oysters and other creatures lurking on the sea bed. The so-called 'sea women' hold their breath for two minutes, diving to depths of 65 metres with no equipment. It's also the site of a bizarre theme park named 'Love Land." The park runs sex education films and features 140 sculptures representing humans in various sexual positions. Read more: This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed How Uber became the world's most valuable startup These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe Read the original article on Business Insider UK. 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter. KYIV. Dec 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) The owner of additional liability company ZhL (Zhytomyrski Lasoschi), Ihor Boiko, intends in January to file a lawsuit to international arbitration to restore his rights to Zhytomyr confectionery factory. "We have almost completed the evaluation of all the losses and are preparing to file documents against Ukraine to international arbitration. We have been working on this since February this year, the documents will be ready for submission in January," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine. According to him, currently Zhytomyr confectionery factory does not work. One of the factory lines is packaging Christmas gifts for Konti. Boiko noted now the factory is controlled by the group of Serhiy Pashynsky and Serhiy Tyschenko. "When we left the factory a year ago, we left raw materials and finished products worth more than $10 million there. With all their administrative resources, they failed to cancel the court ruling, confirming that 97.5% of the plant belongs to me," the businessman said. As reported, the conflict between Yuriy Leschynsky (CJSC Zhytomyrski Lasoschi) and Ihor Boiko (additional liability company ZhL) for ownership of the factory has been lasting since 2010. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} It has just become more dangerous to be a foreign correspondent reporting on the civil war in Syria. This is because the jihadis holding power in east Aleppo were able to exclude Western journalists, who would be abducted and very likely killed if they went there, and replace them as news sources with highly partisan local activists who cannot escape being under jihadi control. The foreign media has allowed through naivety or self-interest people who could only operate with the permission of al-Qaeda-type groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Ahrar al-Sham to dominate the news agenda. The precedent set in Aleppo means that participants in any future conflict will have an interest in deterring foreign journalists who might report objectively. By kidnapping and killing them, it is easy to create a vacuum of information that is in great demand and will, in future, be supplied by informants sympathetic to or at the mercy of the very same people (in this case the jihadi rulers of east Aleppo) who have kept out the foreign journalists. Killing or abducting the latter turns out to have been a smart move by the jihadis because it enabled them to establish substantial control of news reaching the outside world. This is bad news for any independent journalist entering their territory and threatening their monopoly of information. There was always a glaring contradiction at the heart of the position of the international media: on the one hand it was impossibly dangerous for foreign journalists to enter opposition-held areas of Syria, but at the same time independent activists were apparently allowed to operate freely by some of the most violent and merciless movements on earth. The threat to Western reporters was very real: James Foley had been ritually beheaded on 8 August 2014 and Steven Sotloff a few days later, though long before then foreign journalists who entered insurgent-controlled zones were in great danger. Aleppo citizen films last message before leaving city But the threat was just as great for a local persons living under insurgent rule who criticised their actions or ideas. This is made clear by an Amnesty International report published in July this year entitled Torture Was My Punishment. Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme of Amnesty International, says that in these areas civilians live in constant fear of being abducted if they criticise the conduct of armed groups in power or fail to abide by the strict rules some have imposed. Any genuinely independent journalists or activists are targeted, according to the report. Speaking of Jabhat al-Nusra (which has renamed itself Jabhat Fatah al-Sham and was formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda), a 24-year-old media activist called Issa said they are in control of what we can and cannot say. You either agree with their social rules and policies or you disappear. What follows after such an abduction is made clear by a political activist called Ibrahim who in 2015 organised a peaceful protest in support of the 2011 uprising. Such independent action was evidently unacceptable to Nusra who kidnapped him. He says: I was taken to the torture room. They placed me in the shabeh position, hanging me from the ceiling from my wrists so that my toes were off the ground. Then they started beating me with cables all over my body after the shabeh they used the dulab (tyre) technique. They folded my body and forced me to go inside a tyre and then started beating me with wooden sticks. Bassel, a lawyer in Idlib, said: I was happy to be free from the Syrian governments unjust rule, but now the situation is worse. He criticised Nusra on Facebook and was immediately detained. Amnesty says the main armed opposition groups are equally severe on anybody differing from them. There was a period in 2011 and 2012 when there were genuinely independent opposition activists operating inside Syria, but as the jihadis took over these brave people were forced to flee abroad, fell silent or were dead. In August 2013, I appeared on the same television programme as Razan Zaitouneh, a renowned human rights lawyer and founder of the Violations Documentation Centre which recorded crimes and atrocities. She was speaking by Skype from the opposition stronghold of Douma in north east Damascus where I had been the previous year, but it had become too risky for me to visit. Zaitouneh was describing the sarin poison gas attack that had killed so many people in rebel-held districts of Damascus and denouncing the Syrian government for carrying it out. She was an advocate for the non-jihadi Syrian opposition, but she also criticised the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam movement that controlled Douma. On 8 December, its gunmen broke into her office and seized her and her husband Wael Hamada, and two civil rights activists: Samira al-Khalili, a lawyer, and Nazem al-Hamadi, a poet. None of the four have been seen since and are very likely dead. Aleppo children beg to be rescued in heartbreaking video from bombed out Syrian city It was convenient for the international media to broadcast the videos and Skype interviews from east Aleppo as if they had been given as freely as in Copenhagen or Edinburgh. To do otherwise would have damaged the credibility of the graphic and compelling material in which the speakers looked frightened, and with good reason, and there was the crackle of gunfire and the boom of exploding shells. None of this was necessarily fake but there were many omissions. There was no sign of the 8,000 to 10,000 armed fighters whom the UN estimated to have been in east Aleppo. In fact, I cannot recall seeing anybody with a gun or manning a fortified position in these heart-rending films. The only visible inhabitants of Aleppo are unarmed civilians, in complete contrast to Mosul where the Iraqi armed forces are battling thousands of Isis gunmen who are using the civilian population as human shields. Recommended Americans are in denial about Donald Trump It would be simple-minded to believe that this very appealing and professional PR for the Syrian armed opposition is all their own work. Foreign governments play a fairly open role in funding and training opposition media specialists. One journalist of partly Syrian extraction in Beirut told me how he had been offered $17,000 a month to work for just such an opposition media PR project backed by the British government. The dominance of propaganda over news in coverage of the war in Syria has many negative consequences. It is a genuine civil war and the exclusive focus of on the atrocities committed by the Syrian armed forces on an unarmed civilian population gives a skewed picture of what is happening. These atrocities are often true and the UN says that 82 civilians may have been summarily executed in east Aleppo last month. But, bad though this is, it is a gross exaggeration to compare what has happened in Aleppo to genocide in Rwanda in 1994 or the massacre in Srebrenica the following year. Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Show all 12 1 /12 Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man crosses a street in Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A vendor sits inside an antique shop in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, December 12, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A view shows part of Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors walk inside Aleppo's Umayyad mosque, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk inside the Khan al-Shounah market, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man walks past shops in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk along an alley in al-Jdeideh neighbourhood, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Visitors tour Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A general view shows the Old City of Aleppo as seen from Aleppo's historic citadel, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War People walk near Aleppo's Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower, Syria October 6, 2010 Reuters Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War Aleppo before the Syrian Civil War A man stands inside Aleppo's historic citadel, overlooking Aleppo city, Syria December 11, 2009 Reuters There is nothing wrong or surprising about the Syrian opposition demonising its enemies and hiding negative news about itself. The Iraqi opposition did the same thing in 2003 and the Libyan opposition in 2011. What is much more culpable is the way in which the Western media has allowed itself to become a conduit for propaganda for one side in this savage conflict. They have done so by rebranding it as authentic partisan information they cannot check, produced by people living under the authority of jihadi movements that tortures or kills any critic or dissenter. News organisations have ended up being spoon-fed by jihadis and their sympathisers who make it impossible for independent observers to visit areas they control. By regurgitating information from such tainted sources, the media gives al-Qaeda type groups every incentive to go on killing and abducting journalists in order to create and benefit from a news vacuum they can fill themselves. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} European political leaders met in Brussels yesterday for the final summit of one of the most difficult ever years for the EU. The agenda had a significant Russian and Ukrainian theme and EU sanctions against Moscow were extended for a further six months, including curbs on access to international financing, and restrictions on defence and energy cooperation. Correspondingly, the EUs future relationship with Ukraine was also discussed following European Commission President Jean Claude Junckers announcement last month that the EU will grant Ukrainians visa-free travel across the continent by the end of 2016. While Brussels would now like to see stronger political, economic and trade ties with Ukraine getting EU associate status the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte won a concession that this does not automatically confer military assistance from European countries in the future for Kiev, nor that it will necessarily accede to become a full member of the EU in the future. These issues are key for Rutte, whose coalition government could lose power in Marchs elections, since the Netherlands is still haunted by the MH17 disaster in which 196 Dutch citizens died when an aircraft was shot down over Ukraine. In April, the Dutch populace voted two-to-one, in a low-turnout referendum, that the government should not sign into law the EU-Ukraine treaty which has been ratified by the other 27 member states, and Rutte had threatened to scotch the deal unless he secured yesterdays concessions. Recommended The West cannot take responsibility for the tragedy of Aleppo On the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht deal, widely seen as one of the high moments of European integration, Brexit was also on yesterdays agenda. Although UK Prime Minister Theresa May attended the summit, she was not invited to the evening discussions when the UKs pending exit of the EU was the key topic of conversation. With May having re-stated that she wants before end-March to trigger Article 50, the mechanism for formal exit negotiations to begin between the United Kingdom and the EU, yesterdays discussion helped set the agenda for what could be a very important European summit meeting in Malta in February. The tone between the sides appears to have, recently, hardened and the European Commissions chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has indicated that any deal must now be done in 18 months, rather than two years, to leave enough time for the European Parliament, the United Kingdom, and the 27 EU member states to approve any settlement. What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit One of Britains great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the worlds leading international financial centre. Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael OLeary Ryanair boss says UK will be screwed by EU in Brexit trade deals: I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how the world will want to trade with us. The world will want to screw you that's what happens in trade talks, he said. They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: I am absolutely serene about the judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyds chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London will suffer as result of the EU referendum: I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and thats happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been less stormy than many expected following the shock referendum result: For nowthe economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction Getty As well as the UK exit deal, the EU is also mapping out how it best moves forward post-the UKs referendum in the context of what could be another complex election year with national ballots in The Netherlands, France and Germany. This is a potentially divisive agenda for the remaining 27 states, but one area where there is consensus is enhancing security and border protection to emphasise the resilience and integrity of the continuing EU project. EU security policy has come under intensified focus with recent terrorist atrocities on the continent; the ongoing migration crisis; and also Russias assertive posture; and Tusk has said that people expect that the EU...will again be a guarantor of stability, security and protection. Moreover, there is also an added political window of opportunity to move forward on this agenda with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, having launched in June a new global strategy on foreign and security policy, which helped trigger a discussion at yesterdays summit about what Europe can potentially now do to aid citizens in and around Aleppo in Syria. Several leading politicians have already called for a new, Twenty First Century European security pact. This highlights that a carefully crafted package of measures, including greater EU intelligence cooperation and strengthening Europes border force, could secure significant political traction, and, more controversially, the EU Commission also put forward a draft European Defence Action plan that proposes greater European military cooperation post-Brexit. Beyond this, however, there is much more disagreement on the EUs best way forward. Some senior decision-makers, including Juncker, favour a stronger integrationist response in select areas, but recognise the sensitivities of this, especially given the key upcoming 2017 national ballots. Other policymakers, including Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Chair of the Eurogroup of Finance Ministers, have argued for caution, asserting that if the negative outcome of the UK referendum should be interpreted as a vote against Europe, it doesnt make sense in my view to respond immediately by asking for more Europe in the form of a new, potentially grand integration schemes. This Dutch scepticism of the wisdom of further integration is echoed in the French and German Governments given the significant potential for popular backlash against such moves ahead of the 2017 national elections there. In Paris, for instance, there is concern that further controversial EU initiatives could provide a fillip to the far-right National Fronts Marine Le Pen. She is currently riding high in opinion polls and has promised a referendum on French membership of the EU if she is elected the countrys president in May. Taken overall, EU political leaders are still scrambling to come to terms with the Brexit vote which will continue to set the political weather across the continent for months to come. Decisions taken in coming months, including on the security front, will define the longer-term political and economic character of the EU in the face of the divisions still remaining about how best to respond to what could be the unions most significant ever setback. Andrew Hammond is an Associate at LSE IDEAS (the Centre for International Affairs, Diplomacy and Strategy) at the London School of Economics Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} On Tuesday morning, I scanned the radio channels in my New York hotel room and landed on WNYC, Americas most popular liberal public radio station. The format was recognisable news, discussions and listener phone-ins but there was something else that felt oddly familiar too. A female caller was talking over a crackly line about next Mondays electoral college vote. It was her hope that 37 of the 306 electors would go rogue and cast a ballot to stop Donald Trump from entering the White House. Then it clicked: the sound of denial that was what was making me feel so at home. There has to be another referendum, Maybe we can stay in the EEA?, The referendum wasnt binding, and most recently, Parliament has a right to vote on Brexit have been the refrains for the past six months from the Remain camp, and its comforting to know that were not alone. The Never Trumpers are also refusing to accept the oncoming political tumult, and Monday is being held up as Americas last chance to return to sanity. Women go on strike against Donald Trump Show all 7 1 /7 Women go on strike against Donald Trump Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump Protestors march during a demonstration against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump near Trump Tower in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 12, 2016. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Women go on strike against Donald Trump People rally as part of a nationwide protest against US President-elect Donald Trump outside of Trump Tower on December 12, 2016 in New York. Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images At the grassroots level, groups are organising mass protests: 4.8 million people have put their name to a petition to encourage electors to make Hillary Clinton president, and the Hamilton Electors are putting pressure on electors to vote for a GOP compromise candidate. Larry Lessig, a Harvard Law professor from the Electors Trust, has been offering pro bono legal advice to Republicans considering becoming "faithless electors". They too, are also taking the battle into the courts to fight what they see as a democratic deficit. Two members of the Hamilton Electors have filed a lawsuit challenging the Colorado state law that requires them to vote for the candidate who won the popular vote, believing instead that electors should be able to cast a ballot with their conscience to stop an unfit candidate from becoming president. Recommended Trump might not care about climate change but he will be forced to The Never Trumpers feel that democracy is being impeded by an electoral system that has created an outcome out of line with the popular vote. Ironically, the very mechanism they are advocating for was originally created by the democracy-wary founding fathers, who wished to design a system in which the majority vote could be overruled in cases where as Alexander Hamilton aptly put it a candidate won over the masses with talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity. Here in the UK, the Supreme Court is deliberating, for a second time, over the triggering of Article 50, which starts the process of leaving the European Union. The hope is that the British public, through their MPs in Parliament, will be granted a say in when and how rights conferred to them under European citizenship will be taken away. Trump: Clinton may be 'most corrupt person ever to seek presidency' In both cases, success as it is defined by these groups is unlikely. Trump won't be prevented from moving into the White House; there is little chance that Parliament will, in the end, reject Article 50. On both sides of the Atlantic, Trump supporters and the Brexiteers will claim their opposers are nothing more than sore losers, wasting their valuable time and national resources. But denial is healthy. Drawing attention to broken political processes is good for the body politic. Id hope that, if the outcome had been the other way around, they too would have put up legal and political resistance. If Trump and Brexit were an expression of voters wishing to take back control of their destinies, then pressure groups like Hamiliton Electors and the Peoples Challenge are doing just the same. Maybe thats something we can all agree on. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The footage of Theresa May turning friendlessly to look for someone to talk to in Brussels on Thursday night was worth thousands of words on the effects of Britains vote to leave the European Union. So we need to expend no more words now on the disadvantages of cutting ourselves off from the biggest free-trade area in the world. Let us instead praise David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, for his honesty in his evidence to the EU Select Committee this week. He repeatedly answered questions by saying, I dont know. This contradicts the mythology of lesser practitioners of the art of politics, who hold that a leader should never admit to falling short of omniscience. Mr Davis understands that, on the contrary, a frank acceptance of the limits of his knowledge enhances his reputation, especially among those who voted to remain in the EU and who are more suspicious of him. Most striking was his confession that he did not know whether serving notice of our departure under Article 50 was revocable. The irreversibility of Article 50 has been one of the central points of agreement in the case before the Supreme Court about Parliaments role in triggering it, but here was a cabinet minister admitting that the law was unclear but that, politically, it would be very, very difficult to revoke. This cuts through the sterile legal argument to the political reality beneath: if a sovereign people can decide in a referendum to leave the EU, it follows that they must be able to change their minds once the implications of that decision have become clearer. Mr Davis does not want to admit it, but he is at least honest enough to contemplate the possibility. It may be, as he suggests, unlikely that the British people will decide in 2019, by a sufficiently emphatic margin, that they do not like the look of life outside the EU. But it is welcome that he is prepared to concede the possibility. Just as it was welcome that Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, said earlier this week that all thoughtful politicians favoured striking a transitional deal with the EU to smooth the shock of Brexit. The emerging consensus is that it could take as long as 10 years to negotiate the terms of our departure. Sir Ivan Rogers, Britains ambassador to the EU, warned the Prime Minister in October that the talks could last a decade. When his comments were leaked on Thursday, they were brushed aside as merely the reporting by a diplomat of the views of many of the other 27 governments of the EU. But that makes the assessment more forceful rather than less the whole point of this negotiation is that it has two sides. A transitional deal in effect postponing some of the full rigours of non-membership of the EU appears logical. The only question is whether the EU 27 would grant us any of the benefits of membership temporarily. Let us hope so. One of the few incentives we can offer them is to point out that the longer the process takes, the more likely it is that it could be reversed. Most of our European partners do not want to see us go, and if the process takes 10 years two things may happen. One is that the costs of leaving will become clearer. The other is that the EU itself will change. Who knows if the euro will survive that long? Who knows if the rules on free movement of people currently sacrosanct might prove amendable after all? Seen in that historical perspective, Ms Mays handling of the Brexit pre-negotiations seems somewhat naive. She has implied that she will halt immigration from the EU and remove Britain altogether from the jurisdiction of the European Court the moment we leave in 2019. Neither seems realistic, but it is welcome that two of her most senior ministers, Mr Davis and Mr Hammond, have a better grasp of the complexities and timescale of the operation to sever a relationship that has been built up over nearly half a century. Some migrant children in Ireland are not able to pursue a full life because of a lack of clarity over their immigration status, it is claimed Ireland's immigration system is having a devastating impact on children forced to flee to the country, campaigners say. An investigation into the state of services for immigrant children has flagged shortcomings that prevent them from leading a full life. The Immigrant Council has called for a new agency to be set up to specifically deal with youngsters coming into the country. Brian Killoran, chief executive of the Immigrant Council, said young people could not participate fully in Irish life because there was no clarity over their immigration status. "Our report highlights the desperate need for the creation of a specific agency or contact point that will take responsibility for providing specialised information and legal support, where needed, on immigration to children and other key stakeholders," he said. The report includes case studies of dozens of children living in uncertainty in Ireland. It found migrant children in State care are at a particular disadvantage because they do not live with their parents on whom their immigration status depends. This means they lack certainty about their own immigration status and the resulting confusion means some get education and housing supports that others in identical situations do not, says the Immigration Council. "We are calling on the Government and associated State agencies to recognise the devastating impact that the information vacuum is having on children who have faced enough difficulties already in their short lives," Mr Killoran said. The maker of the Pink Panther wafer biscuit has announced that almost 100 jobs will be cut as the firm collapses into administration. Almost 100 jobs have been lost at the UK-based Rivington Biscuit company, which has appointed FRP Advisory to oversee the process. "Rivington Biscuits experienced particularly challenging trading conditions over the past year, resulting in significant pressure on profit margins and cash flow," FRP said in a statement. Almost 100 jobs have been lost after Rivington Biscuits collapsed into administration, blaming the fall in the value of sterling in the wake of the Brexit vote. Read More "The problems were compounded by the sharp decline in the value of the pound against the euro. The company was left with no viable alternative other than to seek the protection of administration while a long-term solution can be explored." Some 99 staff will be made redundant at Rivington, where 123 workers are currently employed. The remaining staff will remain at the firm while a buyer for the business is sought. Russell Cash, partner at FRP Advisory, has said: "A sustained deterioration in trading conditions and significant additional pricing costs since the summer following the sharp fall in the value of the pound, left the business facing unsustainable cash-flow pressure. "Rivington Biscuits continues to trade through administration but with a reduced staff base in order to fulfil current orders into the New Year." Additional reporting from PA London-based finance houses will start taking decisions about relocating, potentially to Ireland, in the first half of next year, according to the Central Bank. An increasing number of global insurers are "considering seeking a new authorisation in Ireland, particularly to locate their headquarters for European business in Ireland rather than the UK", the Central Bank said in its annual Macro Financial Review. The Review, launched by Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery, includes the clearest signal yet from the Regulator that Brexit is having a definite effect on the financial services landscape. Overall, the Central Bank thinks the UK decision to leave the European Union poses more risks than benefits to Ireland. But, according to the bank's director of credit institutions Ed Sibley, discussions with insurers considering a new authorisation in Ireland are becoming more concrete, after earlier "fact- finding" inquiries. Under EU passporting rules financial service firms can trade through the union from a single location but UK firms fear losing that access. Yesterday, the Financial Times said Dublin was on a short-list of destinations that could house insurance market Lloyd's of London new European offices. The iconic insurance market is synonymous with the London financial district, but is exploring the viability of five European locations, including Dublin, to house part of its operations to after Brexit. In its Review of the economy, the Central Bank warns that Ireland's economy faces "downside risks" due to the country's vulnerability to domestic and external shocks, high public and private debt, as well as Brexit. It also warns that any future problems in IFSC-type funds activity could pose a reputational risk to Ireland even though the direct risks to the economy are minor - a factor likely to also be true of any step up in the level of international financial services activity post-Brexit. The Central Bank said that it expects growth for this year to hit 4.5pc slowing to 3.5pc in 2017, which is in line with forecasts from other agencies. How the proposed student accommodation on a 2.5 acre site on Mill Street, Dublin 8, might look after redevelopment by Global Student Accommodation (GSA) and The Creedon Group. International student accommodation specialists, GSA, have been given the green light by An Bord Pleanala to proceed with the development of 571 student rooms and associated retail space on Brunswick Street in Dublin city centre. The approval follows GSAs recent refurbishment of the 101-bedroom Broadstone Hall in Dublins north inner city. It represents the latest element of the companys wider plans to invest 250m in student accommodation in the capital over the next five years. Apart from Brunswick Street and Broadstone Hall, GSA is working with joint venture partner Harrison Street Real Estate Capital to introduce the 400-bedroom New Mill, in Mill Street, Dublin 8 and the 491-bedroom Kavanagh Court in Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 to the market in 2017. Elsewhere, Green REIT announced yesterday that it has signed a lease agreement with an international business services provider for the entire of its newly-developed 32,000 sq ft office building at 32 Molesworth Street in Dublin 2. The agreement is for 20 years, with breaks in years 10 and 15, and with a rent per square foot of 51.70 and is Green REITs first letting of one of its new office developments. Commenting on the letting of 32 Molesworth Street, Green REITs development director, Paul Culhane said the company looked forward to securing tenants for its three other office developments in Dublin, all of which he added were going to plan. Block H in Central Park in Dublins south suburbs, is due for completion by year end, Mr Culhane noted. Green REIT also announced that it has exchanged contracts to pay 12.25m for approximately 164 acres of land adjacent to its holding at Horizon Logistics Park at Dublin Airport. The acquisition, which is expected to be completed before the end of 2016, brings the companys total land holding at Horizon Logistics Park to approximately 264 acres. While Goodbody senior real estate analyst Colm Lauder said the price paid for the land was almost 25pc above the 10m quoted by agents Knight Frank, he noted the draft development plan for the area proposes rezoning to general employment, opening the site to a myriad of uses, including the creation of the landmark business park north of Dublin city. Valued in the region of 250m, Burlington Plaza is one of Project Tolka's most significant assets US investment firm Colony Capital is set to acquire Nama's 1.5bn Project Tolka loan portfolio, having seen off rival bids from Madison International Realty and Lone Star, the Irish Independent can reveal. The Project Tolka loans are mainly linked to developments connected to developers John Flynn, Paddy Kelly, and the Dublin-based McCormack family, who control the property investment vehicle Alanis. Among the portfolio's most significant assets is the Burlington Plaza office complex on Dublin's Burlington Road. With an estimated value of 250m, it has high-profile tenants including Sky Ireland, Amazon and Bank of Ireland. Other valuable assets tied to Project Tolka include the Clarion Hotel in Dublin's Liffey Valley, the Belfield headquarters of betting giants Paddy Power, and the former Harcourt Street children's hospital, which is occupied by Dublin law firm BCM Hanby Wallace. It is understood loans linked to the four-star Carton House Hotel developed by Paddy Kelly was removed by Nama from the portfolio to be sold separately. Nama's aim of delivering on its target of building 20,000 new homes by 2020 also saw it strip out a number of major residential assets from Project Tolka. Included in these are a 68-acre site in Bray, Co Wicklow, and lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin. The agency also secured a 10-acre site in Bray for the development of two new schools. Project Tolka's purchaser, Colony Capital, is already established in the Irish market. The LA-based firm is financing several major Dublin commercial property projects, including the Vertium Building on the Burlington Road and the 300m Spencer Place in the IFSC, both of which are being developed by Johnny Ronan's RGRE. A spokesman for Nama declined to comment on the sale of Project Tolka last night. The sale process was run for Nama by Eastdil Secured, part of Wells Fargo Bank. The Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin city centre has been sold to a Singapore-listed real estate company for 55.1m. The off-market transaction which was handled by agents JLL, was announced in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange this morning by the hotels purchasers, the Ascott Limited. The deal represents something of a coup for JLL, coming as it does within days of the firms brokering of the sale of the 26-bedroom Trinity Lodge, also in Dublin city centre, for over 7m to another Singapore-headquartered hotel group, Unlisted Collection. Commenting this morning on its acquisition of the Temple Bar Hotel, Ascotts CEO, Mr Lee Chee Koon noted that Irelands pro-business environment had attracted some of the worlds biggest companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and LinkedIn to establish their European headquarters in Dublin. Mr Lee said: Ireland is also used as a launch pad to the European Union by many US companies and the US is amongst Ascotts top source markets globally. Ascotts entry into Ireland will cater to this rising demand for accommodation by corporate and leisure travellers. The acquisition will boost Ascotts 1.2 billion portfolio in Europe and bring us closer to our target of 10,000 units in the region by 2020. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Capitaland Ltd, the Ascott Limited currently has over 29,000 serviced residence units in major cities across the America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as over 22,000 units which are under development. The companys portfolio spans more than 100 cities across 28 countries. It is proposed that milk processors and the Department of Agriculture will cover, in part or fully, the costs of a new Johne's Eradication Programme proposed for the dairy sector. The new disease eradication scheme is set to be launched to prevent the dairy industry from a 'BSE-style' disaster hitting the 1.7bn sales of annual infant milk formula. There is a growing body of data linking Johne's with the debilitating Crohn's disease in humans, as the spread of Johne's in national cattle herds continues to rise. Veterinary experts believe that up to 20pc of Irish herds - in both beef and dairy - are carrying the disease. Globally, it may be closer to 50pc in intensive dairy regions. On farm visit Among the key outcomes of the consultation process for the new programme, FarmIreland.ie has learned, is a proposed herd health monitoring visit, conducted by a trained veterinary practitioner, local to the farm. The proposed visit would incorporate elements, such as general calf health management and farm biosecurity. It is proposed that Animal Health Ireland will be responsible for the initial design of the proposed herd health monitoring visit, working through the Technical Working Groups for Johnes, CalfCare and Biosecurity. It is understood a critical principle of the design process is that the additional interventions to address calf health and biosecurity contribute to, rather than weaken, the existing Johnes control measures. Part of this process could involve the development of a personal herd health rating to assist farmers to chart their progress. It is proposed that the cost of delivery of the farm herd health visit to dairy herds would be met fully or in part by the milk processors. Testing In view of the fact that the annual testing of eligible animals forms part of internationally credible control programmes for Johnes, it is proposed that the programme retains the requirement to test all eligible animals at individual herd level for a number of years. Testing would be carried out until the risk of the disease being present in a participating herd can be established with reasonable confidence. It is also proposed that the current monitoring of cull cows for brucellosis be extended to Johnes. Documents seen by FarmIreland show that this due to the fact that Johnes may be present in farmers herds without their knowledge. In herds in which the cull cow monitor indicates the presence of the disease, the farmer would be notified of this fact, and invited to engage with the structured programme. It is proposed that the costs of relevant Johne's Disease testing, carried out in association with the annual herd Tb test would be met, in full or in part, by the Department, for a period of time sufficient to allow participating farmers establish their JD status with a reasonable degree of certainty. Culling The document sets out that in line with the increased focus on biosecurity in this proposal, the active resolution of test positive animals will be more strongly promoted. The retention of PI animals on farmers has been a key issue under the BVD eradication programme. I recently received a phone call from a young farmer looking at the option of converting from drystock farming into dairying. However, he only had 40ac around the yard and he wasn't sure if he had sufficient scale for the project to be financially viable. I arranged to call out to the farmer's place later in the week to assess the land quality, facilities and to complete a five-year business plan to assess how realistic his ambition was. The land quality was good, free-draining soil and while old permanent pasture dominated, all fields contained reasonable levels of ryegrass and little weeds. There were little or no farm roadways present. There was a beef slatted shed alongside an old cubicle house which could have been upgraded easily to accommodate 30 cows. A new milking parlour and dairy were required. The farmer's main motivation for converting to dairying was that his current system of farming was not delivering a profit. His system of farming at present involves purchasing weanlings and carrying them through to fattening. He also works off farm. We completed a business plan at the kitchen table and after much discussion we decided that a gradual increase in stock numbers was probably the most prudent way to approach the conversion. This way the debt levels could be kept relatively low. It was decided that he should purchase 30 cows to start with and we budgeted 45,000 to do this. The construction of the parlour, dairy, purchase of a second hand 10-unit machine and second hand bulk tank were all costed and he is confident that he can complete all works for a further 45,000. This left the farmer with an initial start-up cost of 90,000, all of which has to be borrowed. If this amount was borrowed over seven years at 4.5pc interest then this would lead to an annual repayment of 15,000 approximately. The sale of existing stock will be used to construct a new 20-cow cubicle house in 2017. I have summarised what the farmer's five-year cashflow plan looks like. In the plan we made a number of assumptions: milk price of 30c/l; we used the profit monitor average costs; we put output per cow starting at 5,000 litres (400kg milk solids) and rising to 6,000 litres (500kg milk solids); cow numbers are 30 in 2017, 40 in 2018 and 50 every year thereafter. There are a few points to be noted. The farmer only has 15ac outside of the milking block that used mostly to cut silage from. Therefore, he has decided to buy in replacements from one source annually. A whitehead or Angus bull will run with the herd, with all calves sold. The targeted output per cow is high, but the budget allocated to purchase cows is generous and John is confident of hitting these targets. Capital allowances and bank interest are looking after the tax bill until 2020, when it starts to climb. So is it feasible to run a 50-cow dairy herd in Ireland in 2017? The farmer will not draw any income from the farm for the first three years. For the following four years he will earn an income of 6,000-8,000 annually. When the loan is fully paid off after seven years, there will be a further 15,000 available as drawings. Coupled with this, he intends spending 10,000 annually for three on reseeding and roadways which should be sufficient to reseed the entire farm and provide adequate roadways. When this work is complete this 10,000 will also be available for drawings. However, the tax bill will also be higher at this stage. We have also taken a worse case scenario regarding culling and purchasing replacements and hopefully the reality is that this bill be much lower in practice. By 2024, there is potential for John to be making a pre-tax income of 35,000. But by then he will have spent 7 years working for a relatively modest income. Is this enough reward for a person who will be milking cows early in the morning before heading off to the day job and repeating the exercise late in the evening when he returns home? Read More Joe Kelleher is a Teagasc advisor based in Newcastle West, Co Limerick Irish dairy farmers have maintained or increased their competitiveness since the abolition of milk quotas in April 2015 but farmers are still a long way from making the most of grassland. Pat Dillon from Moorepark Research Centre told last week's Teagasc National Dairy Conference that production costs have been reduced on Irish farms due to the greater output, but further gains "are still to be obtained in grass utilisation on dairy farms" which will deliver significant financial benefits to producers. "The large increase in milk production in Ireland forecasted with the abolition of milk quotas has materialised. This has been associated with an increase in herd size as well as an increase in milk yields per cow," he said. "In the first year after milk production abolition milk production increased by almost 19pc in Ireland, while the increase in the EU 28 was 4.2pc, in USA 2.4pc but deceased by 1.5pc in New Zealand," he added. He pointed out that the corresponding increase in demand over the period had been lower than predicted due to the lower than expected demand from China, low oil prices and Russia remaining largely out of the market. "This provided the perfect storm in terms of global dairy commodity prices with milk prices bottoming out in June 2016, before significant correction to the supply-demand imbalance in the second half," he said. He stressed that "minimising costs should be an important objective" and if Ireland is to secure a greater share of the world market in the future competitiveness of the sector will be crucial. "In the future dairy farmers will be required to develop systems of milk production capable of delivering sustainable returns within a volatile milk price scenario," Dillon pointed out. "In Ireland this will be best achieved through the development of low cost grass base systems of milk production," he said. He said that direct costs had dropped from 16.2c/l in 2013 to 12.7c/l last year and fixed costs were down from 11.3c/l to 9.7c/l. Latest data shows that Irish farmers had the lowest cash costs as percentage of output in the EU at 77pc compared to France at 83pc, Netherlands 92pc; Germany 99pc; and Denmark 120pc. However, the Irish advantage deteriorated when imputed costs were taken into consideration with the economic benefit of a grass-based Irish system reduced by the imputed charge for owned land and labour. "It could be said that whilst milk prices and margins have been relatively depressed in Ireland over the last 24 months, it must be recognised that dairy farmers in Ireland were fortunate that the outcome was not worse," Dillon maintained. "Weather and exchange rate movements were favourable," he explained. "This meant that the reduction in profitability at farm level was a lot less than potentially possible based on market conditions," he concluded. I'm a hospital porter during the day. I work in the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar. It's a very busy time of the year, the cold weather brings in lots of sick patients. My job means I often work on a week on/week off type rota. That gives me the freedom to indulge in farming and machinery, which are two other big interests of mine. I'm what they call a part-time farmer. I keep a flock of sheep these days and I've always been interested in machinery, especially vintage machinery. Thinking back, my interest probably stemmed from my grandfather on my father's side, who was a farmer, and my uncle on my mother's side, the well-known agricultural contractor John Salley who is based on the Kildare Meath border. John runs Fleet of John Deere and JCB Fastrac tractors as well as a Claas Jaguar harvester and a Krone Big M mower. When I was a kid he used a Fleet of Ford tractors and that's what really sparked my interest in vintage and machinery. I'm a member of the Fingal Vintage Club. I'm happy to say I have a few classic Fords myself, including a Pre force 3000 Super Dexta and Ford 6600, which was previously owned by former World ploughing champions John and Eamon Tracey. I'm in good company. Expand Close Damian McDermott (right) and Oliver Ennis / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Damian McDermott (right) and Oliver Ennis You have to go back to May to see where my adventure to Germany came about. My friend Oliver Ennis and I decided to go to the FTMTA Grassland and Muck show in Gurteen College. It was our second or third time going; it's a good show and the live demonstrations are always worth seeing. Anyway, as we were walking into the show we saw everyone coming away from the Krone stand with these buckets with the Krone logo on them. They were all over the place, anyone who was there would have seen them. We went over to the stand to see what all the commotion was about. It turns out Farmhand, the Krone distributors in Ireland, were running a competition and if you entered you got a free bucket. We jotted down our details and enjoyed the rest of the day, buckets in hand. Lo and behold about a week later I'm back in the hospital at work and I get a phone call from Farmhand's marketing manager, Steven Scrivener, to tell me I won the competition for a trip to Krone factory in Germany for two people. I was shocked and amazed, I thought it was a joke at first because I'd never won anything before! I brought my friend Oliver because he has a good interest in machinery as well, and he was with me when we entered the competition. The trip was on October 26 and 27. We flew from Dublin to Dussledorf. There were a few others on the trip too; a few of the Grassmen lads were on it, I think they're making a new DVD. Sinead and Stephen Scrivener from Farmhand were with us as well. When we landed in Dussledorf we were met by Krone and drove about an hour north to our hotel in Spelle, close to the factory. Once there we met Bernard Krone, the head man of the company. He sat down and spoke to us. My impression is that he is a gentleman who knows Ireland quite well. We were treated to lunch, and after that we were given a brilliant tour of the Krone production plant in Spelle. It's a huge factory spread over about 40 hectares with I think around 600 people working there. I had been looking forward to it, it was my first time visiting a factory of that type. We got to see the various production stages of all of the well-known Krone products like the Big X, the Big M and the wagons. We saw everything from the initial plate welding stages to the finished chassis. That night we went out for dinner and relaxed, tired but happy. The next day we got a tour of a huge nearby John Deere dealership that is actually owned by Bernard Krone's daughter. They sell around 400 tractors a year. This is a massive premises with a huge shed that contains lots of second hand tractors and self-propelled harvesters. I was like a child in a sweet shop! We also got to tour an agricultural museum beside the Krone factory. It was a fabulous trip, and I would like to say thanks to Farmhand for their hospitality and to Krone Germany for a few unforgettable days. Farmers are food producers - no farmers, no food. Our farmers produce food to EU standards, determined by scientists. Those scientists dictate a range of criteria about which most people know little or nothing. Some of the criteria are self-explanatory - toxic, not approved, maximum residue level, minimum pre-harvest interval, acceptable daily dose. Those standards provide use with assurances that our food is safe but they come at a substantial cost to farmers. Non-EU farmers do not produce food to those standards. Some of the feedstuffs we import for our animals are grown specifically for animal consumption; others such as distiller grains, beet and citrus pulp, soya hulls, maize gluten and rapeseed meal are by-products left after manufacturing other materials. Imports do not undergo the same rigorous traceability and testing as home grown products. With the introduction of End of Waste Regulations - any by-product that was not required as part of the manufacturing process was defined as waste. Waste was not managed to the standards required for animal feedstuffs. Europe continues to import poorly regulated feedstuffs for animals. Those animals will in turn be consumed by Europeans. Ireland imports approximately three million tonnes of animal feed each year, with half of it coming from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ukraine and the United States. In 2014 over 1.2 million tonnes of maize GM products and soya were imported for animal feed. An estimated 90pc of imported products from North and South America are derived from genetically modified crops. These imports are considered essential for us to meet the current protein requirements in animal feedstuffs. All GM food or feed for import to EU countries must be authorised and if it contains more that 0.9pc GM it must be labelled accordingly. With more and more GM traits are being introduced it is becoming increasing difficult to ensure that all imports consist of EU authorised materials. EU consumers are reported to concerned about the use of many new technologies used for food production and about the risk of pesticide residues in food. Objections to GM are based on considerations other than science. But price still appears to be the main determinant when it comes to feedstuff and food purchase. The use of GM has reduced production costs for countries exporting feedstuffs to the EU. Farmer have increased yields, improved quality, lowered pesticide costs and are producing crops on land that in the past was unsuitable for production. We are currently denied those opportunities. If we cannot compete with production costs we will not be able to compete with price. If we cannot compete on price we will be forced out of business. We allowed ourselves to be pushed out of sugar beet production. Our land suffered, our supplies suffered, our margins were eroded and the skills we had are now only a memory. If we allow ourselves to be pushed out of cereal crop production the consequences will be severe for the entire farming community. We will probably continue to purchase what appear to be Irish cereal products, just as we still buy 'Suicre'. Irish farmers will never be able to achieve the economies of scale of the main cereal producing areas of the world. Our unpredictable weather forces us to make larger investments in machinery and our land costs are excessive. Assuming that the future for the Irish cereal industry lies with achieving higher yields we need to be allowed to get access to GM varieties. Before doing so we need to be sure that our produce will meet consumer acceptance and that the use of GM will not tarnish our green image. There is a need for a strong educational campaign so the consumers are aware of the fact that if they want to be GM-free the first step is to avoid purchasing all foods that are not guaranteed GM-free. They need to be aware that most meat is produced from animals that have consumed GM feedstuffs and if they want to avoid this they must opt for meat that is guaranteed GM-free. Irish farmers will gladly continue to produce cereals and meat that are totally GM free, but they will have to be paid for doing so. If the consumer does not want to pay, let us move on, let use us GM and restore viability to the cereal sector. PJ Phelan is a tillage advisor based in Tipperary and is a member of the ACA and ITCA An Irish drinks firm are gearing up for the relaunch of a wine that was first created over 150 years ago. Babco are set to release a small batch of authentic Vin Mariani, which was first created by Angelo Mariani in Paris in 1863. Customers in Amsterdam, Seoul, Sydney, London and Dublin will have access to the alcoholic blend of Bordeaux and Peruvian Coca leaf - a development of the concoction that was banned some 102 years ago. Originally marketed as a digestif, an aperitif, and a general cure-all, Vin Mariani became a huge hit across Europe and America when it first came to market. Efforts to essentially copycat the product proved successful for John S. Pemberton in the 1880s who initially developed Pembertons French Wine Coca. But when prohibition came into force in Atlanta - around the same time - Pemberton came under pressure to create a non-alcoholic version and Coca Cola (still containing the ingredient cocaine) was born. When the drug was officially banned in 1914, Vin Mariani was taken off the market and was out of business. But Angelo's secrets - believed to have died with him - have been revealed by experts using documents from the late 1800s and advanced modern pharmacopeia techniques. Babco CEO Mark Wilson describes Vin Mariani as a wine which is rich dark ruby red in colour, with deep lush honeyed fruit flavours, racy acidity and an earthy aroma that has an elegant, powerful and smooth finish". "Vin Mariani is a remarkable homage to the craft of wine fortification and should be enjoyed neat, chilled, with ice or as a perfect partner when mixed with cola," he said. "It is amazing that the release of the brand after 153 years is on trend again as a vital ingredient to create super premium wine cocktail recipes both vintage and contemporary. Established in 1998, Babco develops alcohol beverages and spirits with brands such as Agwa de Bolivia, Mickey Finn and Bad Angel. Here are the main business stories from this morning's papers: Irish Independent * London-based finance houses will start taking decisions about relocating, potentially to Ireland, in the first half of next year, according to the Central Bank. An increasing number of global insurers are "considering seeking a new authorisation in Ireland, particularly to locate their headquarters for European business in Ireland rather than the UK", the Central Bank said in its annual Macro Financial Review. The Review, launched by Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery, includes the clearest signal yet from the Regulator that Brexit is having a definite effect on the financial services landscape. Overall, the Central Bank thinks the UK decision to leave the European Union poses more risks than benefits to Ireland. * The country's motor insurers all remained loss-making in the first half of 2016, according to the Central Bank. The stark figures are a signal that there is little hope of relief for customers who have suffered massive insurance premium hikes over the past year. * The number of Ulster Bank customers due to get refunds and compensation for being overcharged when they lost tracker mortgages may rise, the bank said. It is estimated that about 2,000 Ulster Bank mortgage customers are due to be restored to low-cost tracker rates and be refunded overcharged interest, but the bank said this number may rise. The Irish Times * A 4pc cap on rent increases in Dublin and Cork is set to be introduced next year after Fianna Fail withdrew the majority of its objections to the plan. Housing minister Simon Coveney published the plan to help tackle surging rents in "high pressure zones" in both Dublin and Cork. * The Central Bank believes UK companies that are affected by Brexit will have decided where they will relocate to in the first half of next year. Director of credit institutions Ed Sibley said further deliberation on jurisdiction is expected in the opening quarters of 2017. * Dublin firm the Irish Fairy Door Company received a bumper Christmas boost after its product was endorsed by Kourtney Kardashian on social media. Ms Kardashian, who has 86 million social media followers, posted online about her son losing a tooth and put a picture of one of the doors with his name on it online. Irish Examiner * Brexit is just a number of risks facing the Irish banking sector despite the fact the immediate fallout of the referendum was less severe than expected, Central Bank deputy director Sharon Donnery has said. Ms Donnery said the immediate effect from Brexit on the Eurozone economy had been relatively muted so far. * New routes between Cork and the US may have a negative effect on Shannon airport, the chief operating officer of Aer Lingus has said. Mike Rytter said new routes provided by Norwegian Air between Cork and the US are unlikely to have a major effect on Dublin but may hit business at Shannon. (Xinhua) 20:47, December 15, 2016 BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Auto sales and output in China, the world's biggest auto market, continued to expand during the first 11 months, hitting an all-time high. From January to November, about 25 million cars were sold in China, up 14.1 percent year on year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Vehicle production rose 14.3 percent from a year ago to top 25 million units. New energy vehicles remained popular, with both output and sales more than double last year's. The continued growth may be due to tax reductions for smaller cars and booming demand for SUVs, backed by signs of a stabilizing economy. The country's motor insurers all remained loss-making in the first half of 2016, according to the Central Bank. The stark figures are a signal that there is little hope of relief for customers who have suffered massive insurance premium hikes over the past year. The figures are included in the Central Bank of Ireland's 'Macro-Financial Review of 2016', a round up by Dame Street of a range of issues affecting the Irish economy. Looking at the insurance sector, Central Bank deputy governor Sharon Donnery said the domestic non-life insurance industry continues to experience operating challenges - including all of the country's motor insurers suffering losses. "All the domestically focused, high-impact, non-life firms reported underwriting losses in the first half of 2016, albeit at lower levels than in the same period of 2015. "Those losses are mainly concentrated in the motor insurance market," she said. The losses were not enough to raise a question mark over the stability of any insurer, the report said. "The overall solvency position of the non-life sector remains high." That at least should be a relief to customers who have suffered in recent years from the fallout of crisis-hit insurers at home - such as Quinn Insurance and RSA - and abroad, including Malta-regulated Setanta and Gibraltar-based Enterprise Insurance. Prices In a report earlier this year, rating agency S&P said it thought Irish motor premiums would come close to their peak by the end of next year. Prices were rising at a rate of 40pc at one stage during the summer. Although that rate has slowed, they are still up by about 25pc in the past year, according to Central Statistics Office figures. In some cases drivers are seeing premiums more than double when they renew their cover. In its wider review of the economy, the Central Bank said that Ireland faced "downside risks" due to the country's vulnerability to domestic and external shocks, high public and private debt, as well as Brexit. The Central Bank said it expected growth for this year to hit 4.5pc, slowing to 3.5pc in 2017, which is in line with forecasts from other agencies. Though slowing, those rates are still likely to be among the highest in Europe. Living along the Luas green line will cost you more in rent - but the red line and Dart can also add a premium to housing bills. The average monthly rent for a property close to a Dart station is 1,530 - and renters on average pay 1,422 to live near one of the new Luas green line extension stops. The average rent on the Luas red line is the lowest of the two combined rail networks, at 1,357. But tenants can still pay a hefty 1,920 per month to live close to the Spencer Dock stop. The findings are contained in a new report from property website Daft.ie, which only last week linked higher prices for homebuyers with proximity to public transport. It is clear that those in the rental market also pay a premium to live near Dublin's transport links. Martin Clancy from Daft.ie said: "What is interesting is that while the Luas green line has the most expensive average rents overall, both Luas red line and the Dart have stations or stops that command highest premiums." These stops are concentrated around the docklands and IFSC area, which is in demand with young urban professionals, as well as upmarket suburbs along the coastal Dart line. The figures used in the report are average rents for two-bed apartments, with more than 16,000 properties sampled between January and November. The report's author, economist Ronan Lyons, said the Government should pay attention to the strong link between infrastructure and property values, and even use the property tax to invest in transport. "The figures released today highlight the value of rail infrastructure," he said. "With the imminent opening of the Luas Cross-City extension, there are now 125 different rail stations in the Greater Dublin area. "So this report also shows the value in looking around and seeing if there are areas that offer good access to work and other amenities but at a lower cost. "For policymakers, the fundamental question remains how best to link upswing in properties and the money invested in rail. A good property tax system can make that connection." Royal Bank of Scotland is seeking to sell a smaller chunk of its Williams & Glyn unit after failing to draw any offers for the entire operation, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The UK government, which owns 72pc of RBS, is seeking European Union approval for the sale of a smaller version of the unit at the bank's request, according to two people who asked not to be identified because the details are private. RBS hasn't received any bids that comply with its EU mandate to divest all of the business, one of the people said. The prospect of seeking concessions for RBS comes as British Prime Minister Theresa May prepares to trigger Britain's exit from the EU in a move that will spark at least two years of political wrangling. The bank had already put the government on a collision course with the trading bloc after revealing it would miss an EU deadline to sell Williams & Glyn by the end of 2017. RBS has drawn interest in the 314-branch consumer unit from firms including Spain's Banco Santander and CYBG, which operates Britain's Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks and is headed by former AIB boss David Duffy. No bidder is willing to buy six of Williams & Glyn's NatWest outlets in Scotland, said the person with knowledge of the matter. CYBG has also asked RBS to remove business customers that have more than 25m in revenue from the disposal because they are tougher to transfer, a separate person added. European Competition authorities demanded the sale of the unit as a result of the bank's 45.5bn bailout at the height of the financial crisis. Analysts think RBS will probably remove some assets from the sale, to get it away. (Bloomberg) Hollywood actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has reached out to an Irish fan who is battling cancer. The pro-wrestler-turned-actor takes full advantage of being famous by supporting good causes and reaching out to fans. His Instagram account is filled with videos of him doing random acts of kindness and basically being an absolute gent. On Thursday the 44-year-old sent recorded a video message for an Irish fan who is battling Stage Four cancer. Tommy Hanley, brother of former GAA and current Aussie Rules player Pearce Hanley, is a massive fan of The Rock and word of his illness reached the Hollywood star. The Rock shared his video on Instagram in which he wished the Mayo teenager well and shared some advice. "Tommy, you're 15 years old and I'm talking to you, buddy. You're in Ireland. You're a massive fan of mine and I appreciate that, I think it's so cool and so inspiring. You also have stage four cancer, and you're in the fight of your life," Johnson said. "I'm told I have to remind you to eat to give you strength. You have to rest to give you strength. I'm told you have family coming in from Miami, Brisbane and London who are going to be by your side during the holidays. "I was also told that at 11 months old, you were a foster child and this family took you in, and just last week, you wanted to change your name from O'Connor to Hanley, in honour of this family. In honour of your family. "So I'm pulling for you man, I appreciate you being a fan, happy holidays and merry Christmas Tommy, stay strong," he said. In the caption accompanying the video, the actor wrote: "I already know so much about you and can tell you're an awesome, honorable and strong young man. Make sure you eat up dude and get your rest. Those two things are gonna help you stay strong during this fight. Johnson signed off in the caption as "Uncle Rock aka Dwanta Claus". Ireland's entrant for Eurovision 2017 has been revealed. Brendan Murray will represent Ireland at the singing competition in Kiev, Ukraine, it was announced on The Late Late Show tonight. Brendan has been a member of boy band Hometown since he was 17, and has toured the UK and Ireland with the band to support acts including Olly Murs, McBusted and The Vamps. "I'm honoured and excited to be representing Ireland in Kiev in the biggest music competition in the world," said the Galway native. We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference "I'm really looking forward to it. I was born in 1996, the last time Ireland won, so I hope that will bring me luck! But most of all I'm really exited about finding a great song that I can take to the Eurovision stage and give it my all." Brendan's manager Louis Walsh is now looking for the song that Brendan will perform, and has asked Irish songwriters to submit their work. Brendan is perfect for Eurovision, he has a distinctive voice and a look that I think will really appeal to audiences across Europe," said Louis. "I want to find the best song for Brendan to perform on that Eurovision stage. Im going to use my own contacts in the business and I want to hear songs from Irish songwriters or songwriters abroad until I find the best song. I wont rest until I do! Louis, along with a panel appointed by RTE, will select the song, and it will be performed by Brendan on The Late Late Show in early 2017. The closing date for submissions is Monday January 16th. Visit www.rte.ie/eurovision for more information. A woman who was almost three times the legal limit when she knocked down a mother of two leaving her with a brain injury has had her jail term cut on appeal. Jayne Kearney (27), of Foxborough Downs, Lucan, Dublin, had pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Blathnaid Molloy and driving while intoxicated at City West on March 8, 2014. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment by Judge Martin Nolan on January 12, 2015. Kearney had the final nine months of her three year term suspended today following an appeal. Giving judgment, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan said Kearney had been attending a fund raising event at Citywest Hotel on the night in question. The injured party, Ms Molloy, and her husband had been attending the same event though they did not know each other. Kearney intended to stay in the hotel that evening but had a falling out with her boyfriend and, as a result of this, decided to go home. As she was driving from the hotel she knocked the injured party down and failed to remain at the scene. Kearney, a trainee hairdresser, had a number of previous convictions for speeding and one for driving without insurance. She herself lost a younger brother in 2008 as a result of a road traffic accident. The Court of Appeal did not regard the three year sentence as inappropriate but that the judge fell into error by failing to at least give consideration to suspending part of her sentence with a view to incentivising rehabilitation, Mr Justice Sheehan said. The evidence before the sentencing judge provided strong grounds for optimism that such an incentive would be availed of, if provided, the judge said. In addition to the material before the Circuit Court, the Court of Appeal received an excellent reference form the Governor of the Dochas Centre. Mr Justice Sheehan, who sat with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the court would suspended the final nine months of her sentence. She was required to enter into a good behaviour bond and she undertook to be so bound. Gardai show off items seized in the Donal Billings case, including a gun with bullets, two phones and a homemade bomb. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins A man who put an incendiary device on a Dublin-bound passenger bus and made bomb threats during the State visit of Queen Elizabeth five years ago has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years. Donal Billings (66) was found guilty last month by the three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court of the unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park on May 16, 2011. Expand Close Donal Billings. Pic Collins Courts. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donal Billings. Pic Collins Courts. Speaking after the sentencing yesterday, Detective Inspector Pat Finlay, of Longford garda station, said the investigation showed the challenges gardai face in relation to individuals intent on disrupting State visits. Billings was further convicted of knowingly making false reports tending to show that an offence had been committed. He was found guilty of making a false report within the State on May 16, 2011, that bombs had been placed at Busaras in Dublin and at Sinn Fein's headquarters. He was also convicted of making a false report on May 18 that two mortars were set for Dublin Castle, and with making a false report on May 20 that two bombs had been placed in the toilets at Cork Airport. At the time, Queen Elizabeth was visiting the country. At yesterday's sentence hearing, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, with Judge Martin Nolan and Judge Cormac Dunne, said that Billings was "perfectly entitled to hold a low opinion" of Queen Elizabeth and her visit to Ireland but "not entitled to express such an opinion by engaging in criminality". On May 16, 2011, a call was made to Longford garda station. The caller said there was a bomb on a Dublin-bound Corduff Travel passenger bus, a second bomb on a bus at Busaras and at Sinn Fein headquarters in Dublin. The Corduff Travel bus was stopped on Station Road, Maynooth, and searched by gardai, who found a suspicious object, comprising gunpowder and a two-litre bottle of petrol, in the luggage compartment. Mr Justice Hunt said that Billings, with an address at St Bridget's Court, Drumlish, Co Longford, had placed a highly dangerous explosive on a public transport vehicle containing an innocent driver and many passengers. This was an "outrageous, highly irresponsible and dangerous act", the judge said. After finding the bomb, gardai also searched the Sinn Fein offices in Dublin and another bus. Nothing was found. A further call was made on May 18, threatening two mortars were set at Dublin Castle for 8pm that day. The time and place coincided with a State banquet in the castle for Queen Elizabeth. The caller said: "This is for the queen of blood and war of Iraq." Searches were carried out, but nothing was found. The Garda investigation had begun three days earlier, focussing initially on the phone number used to make the calls. The caller was using an 086 number, the Sim card for which, gardai discovered, was bought in an O2 shop in Longford on May 16. Further information was generated through analysis of mobile phone records and CCTV. The investigations led to Billings being identified as a suspect. A surveillance operation was put in place and on May 20, Billings was followed from his home in Drumlish to a car park in Longford. His car was searched and the Sim card for the 086 phone number was found. On the packaging of the Sim card there was Longford garda station's phone number, the registration number of the Corduff bus and the Irish words 'Cor dubh'. Gardai also found a bottle of petrol and a makeshift funnel. Billings (pictured) has two previous convictions, from Northern Ireland in 1973, for possession of explosives. Speaking after the sentencing outside the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Detective Inspector Finlay said: "This investigation highlights the challenges that An Garda Siochana is facing, and particularly in relation to this one, when you had an individual who was capable and intent on causing disruption to a State visit." A wheelchair user exposed himself to a woman on a Dublin bus after touching her buttocks during a journey in the west of the city, it has been alleged. James Callaghan (53) is accused of sexually assaulting the passenger after engaging her in conversation in the incident. The case against him was adjourned when he appeared at Blanchardstown District Court. Mr Callaghan, with an address at Decies Road, Ballyfermot, is charged with one count of sexual assault on the woman, who is in her late teens. The incident is alleged to have happened on February 1, 2016. Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan handed evidence of the defendants arrest, charge and caution in to court by certificate. At first, the accused did not come forward in the courtroom when his case was called. The judge had said he did not require defendants to come to the dock for health and safety reasons as the court was full. The judge asked: Is this gentleman present? He would want to be. Defence solicitor Simon Fleming then told the court he was representing Mr Callaghan, who was at the side of the courtroom. Sgt Callaghan said the DPP was directing summary disposal of the case at district court level, subject to the judge accepting jurisdiction to deal with it. Outlining the prosecutions case, she said it was alleged the defendant was on the number 40 bus on the Neilstown Road when he engaged the alleged victim in conversation. She was a young female who was a passenger on the bus. He proceeded to touch her on the buttocks and expose his penis to her, Sgt Callaghan alleged. Judge McHugh accepted jurisdiction after hearing the summary of the allegations. Sgt Callaghan told the judge there was CCTV evidence available from the bus. Mr Fleming applied for free legal aid on the accuseds behalf, telling the judge Mr Callaghan was in receipt of disability allowance. Judge McHugh granted this and adjourned the case to a date next month. The defendant, who remained silent during the proceedings, has not indicated how he intends to plead to the charge. He was remanded on continuing bail. The charge against the accused is under Section 2 of the Criminal Law (Rape) Amendment Act 1990. An Offaly doctor cleared of the manslaughter of her profoundly disabled daughter by giving her too much sedative has said she was "traumatised" by the criminal proceedings, describing her daughter as "my little bird with a broken wing". The GP Bernadette Scully was charged with unlawfully killing 11-year-old Emily Barut at their home at Emvale, Bachelors Walk, Tullamore. It was alleged that she killed her by an act of gross negligence involving the administration of an excessive quantity of chloral hydrate on Saturday September 15th, 2012. The 58-year-old had pleaded not guilty and went on trial at the Central Criminal Court two weeks ago. She has since released a statement which follows in full: "I could not have gotten through this this difficult time without the love and support of my partner Andrius, his lovely daughter Kotryna and my precious mother and devoted brothers and sisters. "We would like to thank Mr Justice Mc Carthy, the Jury,the court officials,our Legal Team Mr Ken Fogarty SC, Mr Ger Groark Barrister ,Mrs Christine Traynor,Barrister, Miss Patricia Cronin ,Criminal Solicitor,and Miss Joahanna Mc Gowan Family Solicitor and Gardai for their support in guiding us through this difficult process. "I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the care and sensitivity shown to Emily and myself by the Paramedics and staff at Tullamore Regional Hospital particularly within the Intensive Care Unit, at the time of Emily's tragic death 4 yrs ago and also Dr Seamus O Ceallaigh Dr Richard Booth and the staff at St Patrick's Hospital for their care and support in helping me to recover from these events. "I have been very humbled by the kindness and support offered to me and my family by friends,neighbours,former patients, the staff at my surgery, the people of Tullamore, Edenderry and surrounding areas,and the complete strangers who have taken the time to send messages,cards, flowers , Mass Bouquets and letters. Your positive energy has helped me and my family enormously in surviving the past 4 years and in particular during the course of the trial. "As I said in my evidence Emily was my little bird with a broken wing whom I loved, cared for and protected. Our struggle is mirrored in the lives of so many people in similar situations in Ireland. Like me,very many parents and Carers of children who are disabled, struggle on a daily basis to get access to services and support systems which are very often simply not there. "Four years ago I was in a very dark place and felt I had no reason to live after Emily had passed. I understand what it is like to be in that place but with the help and support of family, friends and particularly the excellent professional support I received at St Patrick's Hospital I found the strength to go on. "To anyone with mental health difficulties or who has gone to that dark place of considering self- harm I would plead with you to reach out to even one person and say how you feel and get the help you need. "I respect the need to investigate Emily's death but the past 4 years have been a living hell for me and my family. I have not only lost my beloved Emily but was unable to attend her funeral. "I haven't yet had the opportunity to properly grieve for her or celebrate her precious life. These proceedings have left me traumatised and emotionally,physically and mentally exhausted. I would therefore respectfully request privacy for myself and my family and I request that there be no further press or media intrusion into our lives." Earlier, the jury had reached their unanimous verdict after deliberating for four hours and two minutes. As the foreman said: "not guilty," a tiny smile of relief formed on Dr Scully's face and her sisters burst into tears. Dr Scully sat still, appearing almost stunned and then sighed deeply. The jury were excused and were excused from jury service and as they left the court room, one of Dr Scully's sisters waved, mouthing "thank you." Judge Patrick McCarthy told them that it was "inappropriate" to make gestures towards the jury. Tears streamed down the face of Dr Scully as she and her family left the courtroom. Well wishers came up and shook her hand and she thanked them all. She also thanked the media and her sister thanked for the way they had treated the case "with dignity." Emily had microcephaly, severe epilepsy and couldnt speak or move. Shed been in pain for the last eight days of her life, having had a medical procedure to replace the tube into her stomach, through which she received fluids and medication. Dr Scully said, in earlier evidence, she had administered chloral hydrate when her daughter became upset at 2am and 6am that day. She said her daughter then had a massive fit after 11am and she administered more. She said she had given more than double in those nine hours that she had ever previously given in 24 hours. She told gardai she knew she had given too much. Emily died and Dr Scully tried to take her own life twice, the second time by overdosing on medication for which she had written a prescription in her elderly mothers name. She had sent her partner to fill the prescription, its purpose unkown to him. He found Emily dead and Dr Scully unconscious that evening. Laboratory tests showed that Emilys blood contained 10 times the therapeutic levels of the chloral hydrates metabolite and a post-mortem exam found she had died from chloral hydrate intoxication. The State Pathologist said that, potentially, those levels were fatal. However, Professor Marie Cassidy said she had suffered a seizure six to eight hours before her death and that any of her illnesses could have contributed. She also said that she had been at risk of a potentially fatal seizure at any time. The State argued that the chloral hydrate was a substantial cause of death. It did not have to prove it to be the only cause. Tara Burns SC, prosecuting, said it wasnt in doubt that Dr Scully loved her daughter very much and cared for her to the highest level. What this case is about is the events of a specific day when chloral hydrate was administered, she said, noting the levels Dr Scully had said she had given. Any reasonable person in the situation Dr Scully was in, a doctor, would have realised that administering that level of chloral hydrate carried a high degree of risk of causing a substantial risk of injury to her daughter, she said, outlining the prosecution case. Dr Scullys legal team argued that there was a clear indication in the post-mortem results of the possibility of a terminal seizure and Kenneth Fogarty SC said that the traumatic event that had led to the maladministration alleged was indeed a massive seizure after 11 oclock. He said it was clear that the only reason a person would administer more chloral hydrate was if the initial dose was not achieving the desired result. He pointed out that other anticonvulsant medications had life-threatening effects on Emily. He also noted that nobody had a formula to equate the amount of chloral hydrate taken into a body with the amount of its metabolite that would be found in the blood. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy told the jury that it had to be satisfied that the accused had failed to observe the ordinary and necessary care expected of her to the point that she was negligent in a very high degree. That negligence must have brought a very high degree of risk of substantial personal injury to others. He said it did not matter what the accused womans state of mind was. He said that, in the case of a doctor, she could follow general and approved medical practice, unless obviously defective. She could depart from that practice unless it involved something no similarly qualified expert exercising care would do. He reminded the jury of the evidence of a retired consultant paediatrician, who was also a member of the Advisory Committee for Human Medicines, the national body that decides if drugs are safe and effective. Dr Kevin Connolly had been asked about the high doses of chloral hydrate Dr Scully said she had given her daughter in a short timeframe. He referred to people, who metabolise drugs at different rates to most people in clinical trials. If Emily was one of those outliers, and it had been found she required more frequent or higher doses, then this was appropriate, he said. He explained that Emilys body might have been able to handle an increasing dose up to a certain point but then became overwhelmed. That can happen, that the body can only take so much and then its too much, he said. The seven women and five men began considering their verdict on Thursday morning. They returned to court with their unanimous verdict of not guilty following four hours and two minutes of deliberations. Gasps were heard in court following the announcement by the registrar of the verdict. Dr Scully acknowledged her family members, some of whom began weeping. The judge thanked the jury and discharged the members before moving onto other cases. Dr Scully and her family embraced each other before leaving the court, outside which wellwishers gathered to congratulate her. More to follow (Xinhua) 08:48, December 16, 2016 South Korea's frontrunner in presidential polls on Thursday made out his case that the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in his country must be delayed to allow the next government to review it. Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition Minjoo Party, told foreign correspondents in Seoul that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) installation issue must be postponed to let next administration to reconsider it. The frontrunner in recent presidential surveys said the THAAD deployment is a matter having gains and losses from the perspective of national security of South Korea. The Park Geun-hye administration, Moon said, failed to go through the process of finding a public consensus in the U.S. anti-missile battery installation, while refraining from making diplomatic efforts on China and Russia. Seoul and Washington abruptly announced their agreement in July to deploy one THAAD battery in southeast South Korea by the end of next year. Commander of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea indicated the installation within the second half of 2017. China and Russia have expressed strong oppositions to the U.S. missile defense battery that can peer into territories of the two countries. South Korea, which had maintained a position of so-called "three Nos" meaning no proposal, no negotiation and no decision, declared the deployment as a bolt from the blue. Moon, the runner-up to President Park in the 2012 election, said it is not appropriate to continue to push the THAAD installation in current situations that the president is impeached and the prime minister serves as acting president. President Park was impeached last Friday by 234 to 56 in the 300-seat National Assembly, suspending her from office immediately. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn assumed temporary presidential power until the constitutional court rules on it up to 180 days. "It is desirable for next administration to make a rational decision (on THAAD deployment) after sufficient efforts to find public consensus and diplomatic efforts (on neighboring countries)," said Moon. Moon has maintained first place in presidential polls for the seventh consecutive week at 24.0 percent, up 0.9 percentage points from the previous week. An Veterinarian who glassed an accountant in a city centre cocktail bar, leaving him with lifelong scarring, has received a suspended prison sentence. Stephen McGrath (25) smashed a glass into Mark Relihan's face in a row over whether there was enough space on a bench they were both sitting on. Suspending a three year prison sentence for two years Judge Petria McDonnell said that she accepted that McGrath's remorse and apology to the victim were genuine. She also imposed 200 hours of community service. McGrath of Carmarthen in Wales, but originally from Tullamore, Co Offaly, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of assault causing harm on September 6, 2015 in No Name Bar on Fade Street, Dublin. During a hearing of the case last October Mr Relihan confronted McGrath over his injuries. After reading his victim impact statement he turned to his attacker and held up a picture of his facial injuries and said: This is what you've done to me. You see this? This is what you ran away from. McGrath confronted Relihan over whether there was enough space on a bench they were both sitting on. McGrath said he would give Mr Relihan ten seconds to move and began counting down. Mr Relihan looked at his friends and said Is this guy for real? before McGrath smashed a glass into his face. Fragments from the glass also hit another man, Shane O'Riordan, who was standing nearby. Mr Relihan was taken to hospital where he required 17 stitches to his face. Mr O'Riordan suffered minor cuts and was treated at the scene. Mr Relihan told the court his life had been impacted forever by the unprovoked, cruel, inhumane act. He has already had some plastic surgery and said he would likely require more. He said he may have to have fat extracted from his torso to fill in a cavity in his face which was caused by the attack. Judge McDonnell told the victim the cavity looked more like a dimple but said she understood the effect it had on him. McGrath was in Dublin while on a trip home from Wales where he works in a veterinary practice treating farm animals. The victim, who works in an accountancy firm, said his professional reputation was left in tatters following the attack due to his facial scarring. He said he was a different person mentally and physically and sometimes had to leave social situations due to anxiety. I need to see he pays a price for his actions so I can move on, Mr Relihan said. I wonder how many people have to end up injured and even dead for this to be taken seriously. Garda Barry Keegan told prosecuting counsel, Monika Leech BL, that McGrath was in the bar with a large group of trainee and newly-qualified vets when the assault took place. McGrath left the area afterwards but was identified by Gda Keegan. When the garda contacted him that weekend, McGrath said he was in Tullamore watching a hurling match. The garda went to Tullamore only to discover McGrath was still in Dublin. He was arrested and interviewed during which he admitted the attack and said he was sorry. Defence counsel, Justin McQuade BL, said his client had 10,000 for Mr Relihan as a token of his remorse. Mr Relihan does not want the money and is planning on taking a civil case, the court heard. Counsel said the attack was the stuff of nightmares and he had been instructed to publicly apologise to the victim. He called evidence from McGrath's sister, who said he lost his mother at a very young age in a traffic accident. Mr McQuade appealed for leniency and said McGrath could be kicked out of the veterinarian's professional body because of the case. Garda officers found to have interfered with or obstructed legitimate whistleblower claims should be demoted or dismissed, TDs and Senators have said. The recommendation is contained in a report by the Oireachtas Justice Committee. Committee chairman Sinn Fein's Caoimhghin O Caolain noted the "outstanding work" of the majority of gardai, but said the service had been "mired in controversy", in particular due to whistleblower allegations. He said public confidence in gardai must be "restored and maintained by having the very highest standards of oversight and accountability". The report stated that the role played by whistleblowers needed to be "acknowledged and commended". It said dismissal of anyone obstructing genuine claims should take place "in the most serious cases". Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald's spokesman said the proposed sanctions were only one of the report's recommendations and they would be "carefully considered". Garda management previously introduced a Protected Disclosures Policy and Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan has repeatedly said whistleblowers would be taken seriously. The committee report said extending power to watchdog GSOC to investigate former gardai should be considered. It also noted 20pc of issues GSOC dealt with were minor complaints like alleged rudeness and suggested these could more efficiently be dealt with by Garda line management. The report said the commencement of the Policing Authority's role in appointing senior gardai should be "completed without delay". It said the Garda Inspectorate should have the power to make unannounced visits to Garda stations. Committee member Fianna Fail's Jack Chambers said the recommendations, if implemented, would bring "future clarity on the role, focus and oversight functions of each of the agencies". Joe McCann, a 25-year-old bricklayer, is hitting the headlines again today. Here is everything you need to know about the young man who was killed by British paratroopers in 1972: Joe McCann, a 25-year-old bricklayer, was killed by British Paratroopers in disputed circumstances on April 15, 1972, in the Markets area of Belfast. He was the most prominent of the Official IRA known to have taken part in a number of killings and gun attacks, including a failed attempt to murder of Unionist politician, John Taylor. At his inquest British soldiers said they had expected him to be armed. But he was not carrying any weapon. Prior to his death he had topped the RUCs most-wanted list was sent by IRA commanders to Dublin for his own safety. An Official IRA ceasefire was called six weeks after his death. Republicans have always disputed claims that his death was a set-up because he opposed a ceasefire. His funeral was one of the biggest ever seen in Belfast with a cortege which stretched for a mile. In an unlikely tribute Loyalist UVF leader, Gusty Spence wrote to his widow saying: I salute your husband as an honourable and brave soldier. The letter was related to an incident where McCann is said to have brokered the release of UVF men detained by the OIRA. Already notorious during his lifetime, in death his legend grew. Up to five people died violently in disturbances in the days following his death. A poster depicting him armed and in silhouette became one of the Troubles iconic image and he was celebrated in a song still widely sung in nationalist circles. Prosecutions Two former soldiers are to be prosecuted for the murder of Official IRA's John Joseph McCann, the public prosecution service has confirmed. McCann, one of the Official IRA's most prominent activists, was shot by soldiers in disputed circumstances in 1972. Three years ago, a report by the now-defunct Historical Enquiries Team (HET) concluded the killing was not justified. Two former paratroopers cooperated with the HET's investigation and believed the matter to be closed. However, they were later told that files were passed to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for consideration. On Friday the PPS announced it was to prosecute two former soldiers. In a statment, it said: Following a careful consideration of all the available evidence it has been decided to prosecute two men for the offence of murder. The charge relates to the death of Mr John Joseph McCann who was shot by an army patrol in Joy Street, Belfast on Saturday April 15, 1972. The two defendants in the case are surviving members of the army patrol which shot Mr McCann. A third member of the patrol who also fired at Mr McCann died in the intervening years. At present these individuals are not being named and are identified as Soldier A and Soldier C. The decision to prosecute is the outcome of a review which was undertaken after the case was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland in March 2014. The decision was reached following an objective and impartial application of the Test for Prosecution that was conducted in accordance with the Code for Prosecutors and with the benefit of advice from senior counsel. McCann (24) was commander of the Official IRA's third Belfast battalion. His unit's seizure of Inglis bakery in the Markets area during internment became part of republican folklore. In February 1972, McCann was involved in the attempted assassination of Ulster Unionist politician John Taylor. He was regarded by the security forces as a dangerous terrorist. McCann was shot by soldiers in disputed circumstances in Joy Street in the Markets area, close to his home, on April 15, 1972. The original RUC investigation in this case was conducted in 1972 and subsequently a decision, based on the evidence then available, was taken not to prosecute any individual. In March 2014 the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, following a request for a fresh inquest, referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions and this resulted in a formal review of the case. Gardai have decided not to seek the renewal of freezing orders on a 20m fund linked to former shareholders in Russian oil firm Yukos. The move comes after a court decided last week to overturn a similar order made in respect of a different Irish-based fund, worth 100m, owned by former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The 20m is said to belong to businessman Platon Lebedev and five others, all former associates of Mr Khodorkovsky. Both men spent time in prison in Russia for embezzlement and money laundering, but the charges were widely regarded as politically motivated. Mr Khodorkovsky is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's foremost critics. Gardai had been renewing freezing orders on both funds every 28 days since March 2011 as they conducted an investigation to ascertain if the assets were connected to money laundering. But Judge Timothy Lucey ruled last week that gardai had not shown there were reasonable grounds for maintaining the order in respect of Mr Khodorkovsy's fund. Afterwards, Sean Gillane SC, for Saffery Champness, the trustee of both funds, asked the judge that his ruling should also apply to the money in the second trust. While Judge Lucey did not extend the ruling to the second trust, gardai did not seek to renew the freezing order yesterday when it was due to lapse. It means Mr Lebedev and his associates can get access to the fund. Hospitals struggling to cope with the winter trolley crisis may be hit with a one-day work stoppage within weeks. The action could trigger in early February, bringing chaos to services, following a vote by 90pc of nurses for industrial action. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is protesting at the failure of hospitals to recruit and retain staff, leading to major shortages on wards and emergency departments. The resounding ballot result was announced as doctors warned flu rates here are on the rise - claiming the first recorded death of a patient from the virus so far this winter. The action may kick-off in early February with a once-off one-day work stoppage. The nurses would then begin a phased action starting with a work-to-rule. This will severely affect services and close beds as the nurses refuse to be redeployed from one part of the hospital to another to plug critical staff shortages. The next phase will escalate to a series of one-day work stoppages. "We are looking for round-table talks, including the HSE and the Health Department, next week or the first week in January," said Dave Hughes, INMO deputy general secretary, last night. The union is writing directly to Health Minister Simon Harris and HSE chief Tony O'Brien calling for the urgent talks, with an independent chair if necessary, to agree a set of measures to address the recruitment and retention crisis. He said these must include matching the offers by some private hospitals, which can see a 6,000 cash incentive to take up a post. It would also include paid-for additional training courses and full-time jobs, not three-month contracts. "Our members have suffered eight years of staff shortages, excessive workloads and having their voice, and professional judgment, ignored by the system which is fixated on budgets and targets and certainly not on patients and quality of care," INMO president Martina Harkin-Kelly said. The executive council of the union will meet on January 17 to review progress and, depending on the outcome this, it could serve notice for industrial action within 21 days. "While I understand that our service faces serious challenges on recruitment and retention, industrial action is not the solution. It will not reduce the patients on trolleys," Mr Harris said last night. Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone said the scheme would help bring stability to the lives of young children affected by crisis. Photo: Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography Dublin homeless children under the age of five will receive 25 hours of free childcare per week and a free meal every day under a new Government plan. Children's Minister Katherine Zappone announced the 8.25m scheme yesterday. Out of the 2,110 children experiencing homelessness, a total of 850 have been identified as eligible for the scheme. Childcare facilities will be offered 110 a week for each child they accommodate. The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, said that while the roll-out of free childcare was progress it was "not a permanent solution". He also expressed concern that the plan "excludes children who are homeless outside of Dublin". "Just because there are fewer children experiencing homelessness outside of Dublin does not mean they suffer any less," he added. Some charity groups also warned that the plan could put increasing pressure on childcare and education facilities. Early Childhood Ireland said that 110 for the services "appears low", adding that a tiered system for age groups should be considered given that care for babies was more expensive than for older children. CEO Teresa Heeney said: "On initial glance, the capitation level appears low at 110 for 25 hours weekly including meals daily. "What we would expect with an age range from zero to five years old is a tiered approach for such a scheme, which must reflect the different cost of providing services across the age groups in line with the higher ratios of carer to child for babies, versus toddlers, versus four-year-olds." There are also concerns over whether childcare facilities will be able to cater for the hundreds of new youngsters by next month. Focus Ireland director of services Catherine Maher admitted that there was "absolutely" going to be more pressure on childcare facilities. "I think there is going to be more demand on some of the services," she said. However, Ms Maher said she thought most facilities "will be able to resolve it in some way" and praised the new plan. The Stay-At-Home Parents Association was more critical and said it was "outrageous" to think formal childcare was a solution to homelessness. The association said the real issue was the "lack of a safe homes and the severe economic stress that families are under". The Children's Rights Alliance described the plan as a "stopgap solution" but commended Ms Zappone for her work. "While this is a welcome stopgap, ultimately, the State must provide secure, affordable accommodation for children and families in their own communities," it said. Ms Zappone came under fire from stay-at-home mothers after this year's Budget, which saw the introduction of large subsidies for childcare for low-income earners. The minister said: "In addition to assisting parents, it is my hope that the steps we are taking will bring stability to the lives of the very youngest affected by the crisis. "We will give them a place where they can play and learn in comfort and security - where they can form friendships and develop." The scheme will be rolled out in January across Dublin which has 85pc of the homeless children in Ireland. It will subsequently be delivered nationwide. One homeless mother, Claire, attended the launch in Government Buildings yesterday. She said anything that benefited parents and children living in emergency accommodation was "amazing". Claire's own children are aged six and 12, which means they cannot benefit from the initiative. Spider-Man curtains and a pair of small shoes hang in the window of a property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovered. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP A property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovere. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP Sinead Higgins seemed to have had the world at her feet. A fully qualified nurse, she had recently retrained as a lawyer and was working for a medical negligence company as a legal adviser. Expand Close Sinead Higgins with her son Oisin O'Driscoll / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinead Higgins with her son Oisin O'Driscoll Mother to beautiful son Oisin O'Driscoll (7), she had moved from her home in Westport, Co Mayo, to pursue a successful career in London over a decade ago. It is understood she was not in a relationship with Oisin's father at the time of her death. The 37-year-old proudly posted photos of Oisin's achievements in life on her social media accounts - including a video of his seventh birthday just 10 weeks ago, when he received a Superman-themed birthday card and thanked his mother. However, tragedy was just around the corner. Her own family in Mayo has suffered much in recent years. Expand Close Flowers and a message left outside the house. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flowers and a message left outside the house. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP Sinead, one of 10 children, lost her father Thomas Higgins (68) to cancer in August 2014, while her brother Cathal (19) was killed in a motorcycle crash in May, 2004. Cathal died just months after he was the pallbearer at the funeral of local girl Aisling McGing (18), who was his date at his debs ball. The future looks very Sinead Higgins (@Sineadhiggy) December 9, 2016 Sinead's mother Mary still lives in the family home in Arderry, but it is understood that the remaining siblings are scattered in various places around the globe, including Sinead's brothers Des, Barna, Micheal, David, Donal and Fintan, and sisters Gina, Deirdre and Sharon. Discovery Expand Close A property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovere. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovere. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP The bodies of Sinead Higgins and her seven-year-old son Oisin were discovered after police forced their way into a house in London. Officers were called to a house in The Fairway, Ruislip, west London, at around 10.50am on Wednesday over welfare concerns for the Co Mayo woman and her son. Expand Close Sinead Higgins. Picture: Twitter / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinead Higgins. Picture: Twitter The bodies of Ms Higgins (37) and the young boy were discovered inside, the Metropolitan Police said. Formal identification has yet to take place. Police do not believe that there was a third party involved. Expand Close Spider-Man curtains and a pair of small shoes hang in the window of a property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovered. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Spider-Man curtains and a pair of small shoes hang in the window of a property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovered. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP Residents told the Evening Standard that Ms Higgins had been living in London for two years. Detective inspector Dave Bolton, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "The investigation is at a very early stage but inquiries so far lead us to believe there is a likelihood that the tragic events that led to the deaths do not involve a third party. "We are appealing to anyone who has any information to come and speak with us." Neighbour Barbara Lonnon told the Evening Standard that she had spoken to the mother about a month ago. She said: "She kept herself to herself but we'd speak if we saw each other on the street. "She was Irish and had lived here for two years. I met her in her first summer here." Ms Lonnon added: "She was Irish originally and all her family were there. "I never really spoke to her son Oisin, he was seven and ran around like little boys do. He was a friendly chap and its so sad his life has been cut short." A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place at Fulham mortuary today. The community of Aughagower in Westport has been reeling in shock over news of the deaths. Ms Higgins mother Mary, still lives in the family home in Arderry, but its understood that the remaining siblings are scattered in various places around the globe, including Sineads brothers Des, Barna, Micheal, David, Donal, Fintan and sisters Gina, Deirdre and Sharon. Its desperate. Everyone is shocked, the neighbour told Independent.ie. If you have been affected by issues in this article, you can free-phone the Samaritans on 116 123. Pieta House can be contacted on 1800 247 247. For more information on Pieta House and its services visit www.pieta.ie. By refusing to offer any substantial compromise on his plan during negotiations with Fianna Fail, Mr Coveney took a huge political risk but senior party sources were last night claiming 'a major victory'. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins Housing Minister Simon Coveney has catapulted himself back to the forefront of the Fine Gael leadership race after facing down Fianna Fail to secure the passing of his rent strategy. By refusing to offer any substantial compromise on his plan during negotiations with Fianna Fail, Mr Coveney took a huge political risk but senior party sources were last night claiming "a major victory". The long-awaited plan, which includes a rent cap limiting price increases to 4pc annually in Dublin and Cork city, is expected to be approved by the Dail today. It comes after a tense 48 hours that saw the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael-led minority Government test its 'confidence and supply' arrangement to the limit. Eventually, Micheal Martin's party backed down completely on their demand that the cap be halved to 2pc, and accepted that commuter-belt towns and other cities will not be immediately designated as 'Rent Pressure Zones' (RPZs). Instead, Mr Coveney committed to prioritising research on whether parts of Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Louth and the cities of Waterford, Limerick and Galway should become RPZs in the new year. "We will make decisions on the basis of independent analysis and data through the Residential Tenancies Board. I think that is the only credible and legally sound way to do it," Mr Coveney said. Fianna Fail's housing spokesman Barry Cowen accepted they had "not achieved everything we sought", but claimed credit for the "immediate examination of the market conditions" in these areas. Read more: Stakes high in a game of chicken where isolated Coveney simply couldn't flinch before Fianna Fail Read more: Angry scenes in the Dail but FG and FF are to try make a new deal on rent However, senior sources in Fianna Fail last night said that they were outfoxed by the Government on this issue. The win for Fine Gael is being viewed by TDs and ministers as the "first real time" that they have stood up to Fianna Fail since forming a minority government in May. Mr Coveney had initially faced resistance from within his own party, including Finance Minister Michael Noonan, whose department objected to any intervention in the market. At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting his leadership rival Leo Varadkar criticised Mr Coveney for a lack of consultation prior to the plan's publication. "We've got a good outcome. Nobody said it was going to be easy but we're in a good place now," a source close to the Housing Minister said. Supporters of Mr Varadkar pointed to the fact that they went head-to-head with Fine Gael over social welfare payments during the budget negotiations but conceded that Mr Coveney had "a good day". Two other Fine Gael Cabinet ministers told the Irish Independent they were "delighted" with Mr Coveney's performance. However, Mr Coveney's legislation did hit a technical hitch last night that dominated much of the Dail debate. Sinn Fein housing spokesman Eoin O Broin found a flaw in the text of the draft law which meant that people who had benefitted from a two-year rent freeze under the previous law, could find themselves open to a double-rent increase of 8pc in total in the first year of the new rent control regime. Amid much protestations from the Opposition benches the minister admitted there was a "mistake". "I think my intentions were clear here," Mr Coveney said. However, the error led to calls for more time to securitise the rest of the legislation for unintended consequences. The minister also rejected Opposition assertions that by allowing annual 4pc rises, the Government was effectively handing landlords a guaranteed 12pc over the next three years. "It is not accurate to say that everybody will be asked to pay a 12pc increase or 12.25pc increase, if it is compounded, in rent," he said. (Xinhua) 10:52, December 16, 2016 California Governor Jerry Brown, nicknamed "Gov. Moonbeam", has said his state was "ready to fight" President-elect Donald Trump on climate change if the new administration tries to ditch policies that combat global warming. "If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We are going to collect that data," Brown said to loud applause during a heated speech at the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, recalling the "Governor Moonbeam" nickname he earned in the 1970s thanks to his push for a state satellite. Brown seized on comments from a top Trump adviser, who said the incoming administration plans to eliminate NASA's earth science programs, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The Governor promised to continue climate research even if the Trump administration tries to interfere. "We've got the scientists, we've got the lawyers and we're ready to fight," Brown said. Global warming has caused sea levels to increase by 3.2 millimeters per year, threatening infrastructure and ecosystems, according to a new report published in Science, which called for more research into adaptations to sea-level increases, and for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. However, Trump, who called climate change a "hoax," has been a long-term skeptic of climate change. During his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to withdraw the United Statesfrom the Paris Agreement, which was inked in December, 2015 and came into force last week. The agreement, signed by more than 180 countries, aimed to hold increases in the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, by pledging to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The President-elect said Sunday that "nobody really knows" whether climate change is real and that he is "studying" whether the United States should withdraw from the global warming agreement struck in Paris a year ago. Trump recently has selected a number of cabinet officials who question the science of global warming, including former Texas Governor Rick Perry as Energy Secretary. And referring to Perry, Brown reminded everyone of California's advantages over Texas when it comes to renewable energy. "We've got more sun than you've got oil," he said. In the United States, scientific research on climate change is mainly funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Department of Energy (DOE), Huang Xianglei, an associate professor from the Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan, told Xinhua. The budgets of NASA, NSF, NOAA and DOE are set by Congress, while individual program officers within these agencies decide how funds are divided based on peer reviews from within the scientific community. This means that while the new president may take a personal stance against climate change, "it is too early to tell how the new administration would and could steer the direction of climate-change research," Huang said. First Minister Arlene Foster has refused to say whether she would push for any kind of special status for Northern Ireland following Brexit. Photo: PA Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has called on First Minister Arlene Foster to "step aside" to allow an investigation into a controversial green energy scheme. Mr McGuinness said he told her over the phone he was seriously concerned about allegations around the eco-friendly initiative that has left Stormont facing an estimated 400 (476m) million overspend. The credibility of Northern Ireland's peace-building power-sharing political institutions is being "undermined" by the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme row, he said. "This includes allegations from a former Democratic Unionist Party minister that there was corruption," he said. Mr McGuinness said he told Ms Foster that taxpayers' money has been wasted in this scheme, which needs to be retrieved, and the only way to establish the truth, and rebuild trust in the power-sharing executive, is to set up a fully independent investigation. "In addition, I also said that, in the public interest, she should stand aside from the role as First Minister while that investigation is under way and at least until an initial assessment had been concluded into the veracity of all the allegations," he added. "That is what I would do if I was in this situation. "I asked the First Minister to take the time and consider this suggestion carefully." The "cash for ash" controversy escalated on Thursday when former DUP economy minister Jonathan Bell broke ranks to level a series of explosive claims against Ms Foster and party advisers. Street protests have also emerged calling on First Minister Arlene Foster to resign. The small scale demonstrations in Belfast and Londonderry were organised by left wing political party People Before Profit. Between 200 to 300 people attended the event in Belfast, with fewer than 100 in Derry. They waved placards demanding the DUP leader's resignation for her role in the botched Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. The protest at the front of Belfast City Hall was attended by a variety of socialist and republican activists. Staged yards from the city's outdoor Christmas market, shoppers and festive revellers watched as the vocal collection of demonstrators chanted "Foster Out". Here are the 10 things you need to know: 1. What was the "cash for ash" scheme? The project was designed to encourage businesses to switch from burning fossil fuels to wood biomass heating. The Renewable Heating Incentive was supposed to help businesses mitigate the costs of running eco-friendly boilers actually ended up paying out more than the cost of the fuel - so the more people burned, the more public money they earned. Some applicants were found to heat buildings on an industrial scale just to make money. Unlike a similar scheme in Britain, no cap was initially put on the payments. It has been revealed that after civil servants urged for the closure of the scheme in June 2015 until a tiered system was introduced in November, there was a spike in applications. It has left taxpayers with a bill critics claim could reach 400m (470m). 2. Foster has denied Bell's claims The DUP leader has strenuously denied his claims and has accused the former Enterprise Minister of acting aggressively towards her in a stormy meeting. She claimed that he was making the allegations to mask his own failings over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. 3. A judge-led inquiry has been called for The Strangford DUP MLA, who seems set to be imminently expelled from the party, said that civil service documents would support his account. He called for a judge-led public inquiry into the affair. 4. Mr Bell revealed he initially refused Foster's instructions In an extraordinary interview with broadcaster Stephen Nolan, Mr Bell said that matters between himself and Mrs Foster came to a head during a stormy meeting earlier this year after he had been informed that she wanted to keep the catastrophic scheme open for another two weeks. He said that he initially refused her instruction. And a tit-for-tat argument followed... 5. Bell: There was a 'hostile' atmosphere "I was ordered to appear in front of the First Minister ... in the strongest terms both in volume and in force Arlene Foster as First Minister overruled me and told me to keep the scheme open," he told the BBC. "She was highly agitated and angry because I had been refusing the whole way for the last period and telling them I wasn't going to do this." He said there was a "hostile" atmosphere of "fear". He added: "She (came) walking in and shouted at me that I would keep this scheme open." 6. Foster: He stood over me in 'an aggressive way' Mrs Foster strenuously denied Mr Bell's claims. She claimed that he was the one acting aggressively in the meeting - something which she alleged was a character trait. "He will try to portray himself in a particular way this evening, but plenty of people know what Jonathan Bell is like," she stated. Regarding the meeting, she said: "He was very aggressive with me and I have a witness on how he spoke to me. "He used his physical bulk to stand over me in quite an aggressive way. The Jonathan Bell that appears on your programme is not Jonathan Bell that would be familiar to many of his political colleagues and many of his civil servants who worked in his department and many in the business community." 7. Claims delay was Bell who kept scheme open Mrs Foster alleged that Mr Bell was the one who delayed keeping the high tariffed scheme in place. "I am bemused as to why he would leave it open for such a period of time," she said. The DUP leader denied that she or her predecessor, Peter Robinson, tried to keep the high tariffs running. "He (Mr Bell) took the decision to leave it open for that period of time," she said. 8. Claims no evidence DUP special advisers influenced Bell Foster said there was no evidence that DUP special advisers (Spads) tried to influence Mr Bell and claimed that was a "distraction" being put forward by him. The Spads accused of seeking to delay the tariff change have also rejected Mr Bell's claims. 9. Claims that attempts were made to remove name from reports Bell has alleged that DUP advisers attempted to remove her name from documents linked to the catastrophic scheme. Mrs Foster said that if papers were altered "it wasn't on my say-so". Mr Bell said that DUP spads, Timothy Johnston and Andrew Crawford "were not allowing this scheme to be closed" as costs were spiralling out of control in autumn 2015. He claimed that an email trail existed to prove attempts to alter official documents and that this was revealed to him by a senior civil servant in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 10. Last (but not least) - more contradicting evidence Bell has said that the two most senior civil servants in that department were prepared to put evidence of the alleged interference "formally on the record in an inquiry". Mr Johnston and Dr Crawford categorically denied Mr Bell's allegations and said they never sought to keep the RHI scheme open against his wishes. They maintained that their roles were simply "to offer advice" and not to "influence any decision". Bell has said he put his concerns in writing to Foster, deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, and the party chairman, Lord Morrow. Another Spad Andrew Crawford of the Finance Department, who had previously worked with Mrs Foster in Enterprise, also denied seeking to keep the RHI open at the higher tariff against the minster's wishes. Another two DUP Spads - Richard Bullick, and the recently-resigned Stephen Brimstone - both denied seeing any heated exchange between the Mr Bell and Mrs Foster. Senior civil servants Andrew McCormick and Chris Stewart did not respond to requests for comment. Artists impression of the centre in the Robinson family home in Ballina Arts Minister Heather Humphreys has defended her Department's decision to approve 2m in funding for a controversial centre to mark former President Mary Robinson's legacy. The original plan to house a Mary Robinson Presidential Library in her childhood home stalled after Ms Robinson decided to donate her archive to NUI Galway instead. Expand Close The Robinson family home in Ballina / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Robinson family home in Ballina A number of other options for the project in Ballina, Co Mayo - estimated to cost up to 8m - are being considered with a decision due in March. Ms Humphreys faced questions about her Department's plan to contribute 2m to the project during an appearance at the Oireachtas Arts and Rural Affairs committee. Its chairman Peadar Toibin raised a series of concerns about the Ballina project saying it had been "bogged down in difficulties" in relation to its financing. He said there were questions regarding the proposed price of the building as well as its poor condition which would cost hundreds of thousands to renovate. Expand Close Former President Mary Robinson. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Former President Mary Robinson. Photo: Frank McGrath He claimed Mayo County Council had entered into "a blank cheque situation" and asked if Ms Humphreys' department had conducted a due diligence exercise before deciding to grant 2m to the project. Due diligence Ms Humphreys said the County Council is the project promoter and the department did not consider it necessary to conduct a due diligence exercise for that reason. She said the Department assessed the project and a grant was approved under a standard set of funding conditions. She said companies and institutions including Wexford Opera House, and applications by the Druid and Gate Theatre had been granted funding in a similar way. Read more: Eilis O'Hanlon: Why throw money at a President who was in such a hurry to leave? Ms Humphreys said she visited Ballina and believed it was a good location for the Mary Robinson Centre and that it is an opportunity to locate such a facility outside the main cities. Mr Toibin remarked that he was "amazed" the department "would put up 2m for a project and not do a due diligence." Ms Humphreys replied, saying that: "There's nothing to hide here" and that the process to decide to grant the funds was "normal". She said that Mayo County Council will have to ensure that the plans are in compliance with spending rules set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. "My department will be satisfying itself that project is in compliance with the relevant requirements of the [Public Expenditure] code before releasing any funding to Mayo County Council," Ms Humphreys added. She added that there are "checks and balances" in the Department and insisted the project "Absolutely fitted the criteria for funding". The family of a teacher who has been missing for two days are hoping for her safe return as a major air and sea search continues. Mother-of-one Catherine Johnston from east Belfast disappeared on Tuesday and her car was later found at Ballintoy Harbour on the Antrim coast. The 39-year-old science teacher's husband Tim, who is understood to work in computers, and their three-year-old son James were yesterday being comforted at their home by relatives. A source close to the family said: "We are all just waiting for news and hoping that we find her as soon as possible." Expand Close Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston with her husband Tim and James / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston with her husband Tim and James Mrs Johnston, who teaches at Hazelwood College and is also Head of Year 10 pupils, was described in glowing terms by the principal and hailed as "a shining star". Kathleen O'Hare said that pupils at the school were informed of her disappearance at yesterday morning's assembly, during which prayers were said for her. "She was head of year 12 last year and they got the best results ever in our 30 years of existence, so that's how shining a star she is," added Ms O'Hare. Mrs Johnston, who had been off work ill in the last few days, had moved to east Belfast from her previous home in Dundonald, where she had lived for more than a decade. Expand Close Rescue crews use drones and powerful searchlights in a bid to find missing teacher Catherine Johnston / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rescue crews use drones and powerful searchlights in a bid to find missing teacher Catherine Johnston Yesterday her former neighbours, who described her as a "lovely, lovely girl", said they got to know her well shortly after her young son was born. Sandra Lindsay told how Catherine used to visit her regularly when she was living in the area and she said they developed a friendship. Her husband David added: "We gave her our grandson Josh's bike for James last Christmas because he didn't need it anymore." Initial searches were suspended in the early hours of yesterday due to poor light. The search operation involving police and Coastguard is concentrated around the Dunseverick Castle and Carrick-a-rede areas. Expand Close Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Missing schoolteacher Catherine Johnston Mrs Johnston is described as being approximately 5ft 9in tall, of average build and with light brown shoulder-length hair. Inspector Sammy McConnell said: "A white Seat Leon car, which we believe Catherine was driving, has been found in the Ballintoy Harbour area. "There is currently a joint police and Coastguard search under way. "I would appeal to anyone who saw this white Seat Leon car travelling between Belfast and the north coast or anyone who has any information to contact police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference 889 13/12/16." Josie McShane, who owns the family-run Sheep Island Hostel in Ballintoy, said they only learned that Mrs Johnston was missing when police knocked on their door to ask if she had checked in. "The search lights in the early hours of yesterday morning lit up the whole area as if it was daytime," she added. There have been a number of tragedies at Ballintoy Harbour in recent years. The body of father-of-two George Jamieson, who was a well-known figure in the area, was recovered from a car last Christmas Eve. The 61-year-old construction worker had recently returned to the Co Antrim town after working in England. In 2008 a car belonging to Robin Wilson (74) and his 73-year-old wife Margaret, from Newtownabbey, was found abandoned near the end of the pier, with the keys inside the vehicle, along with money and personal items. At the time Mrs Wilson's brother Francis Clayton said he believed the sea had taken them. However, the bodies of the pensioners were never found despite extensive searches along the coastline. Sinead Higgins and her son Oisin ODriscoll were found dead in a house in Ruislip in London Detectives are investigating the death of a young Irish mother and her seven-year-old son in London. Police were called to a house in The Fairway, Ruislip, in west London, at about 10.50am on Wednesday amid concerns for the welfare of the mother, identified as Sinead Higgins, originally from Aughagower, Westport, Co Mayo. Expand Close The house on The Fairway, Ruislip, west London where the bodies of Sinead Higgins and Oisin ODriscoll were discovered. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The house on The Fairway, Ruislip, west London where the bodies of Sinead Higgins and Oisin ODriscoll were discovered. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP After forcing their way into the home, they found the bodies of Ms Higgins - believed to be 37 years old - and her son Oisin O'Driscoll (7) inside, according to the Metropolitan Police. It was hoped a post mortem due to take place at the nearby Fulham mortuary today would shed some light on the tragedy. Investigation However, police said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths last night. Expand Close A pair of small shoes are pictured in a window of the property. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A pair of small shoes are pictured in a window of the property. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP "The investigation is at a very early stage but inquiries so far lead us to believe there is a likelihood that the tragic events that led to the deaths do not involve a third party," Detective Inspector Dave Bolton of the Homicide and Major Crime Command unit said. The Higgins family in Mayo are well known and respected locally. Ms Higgins was one of 10 children. Her father Thomas Higgins passed away two years ago and her brother Cathal was killed in a road crash in 2004. Her mother Mary still lives at the family home in Arderry. Ms Higgins was a qualified nurse who moved to the UK 11 years ago and recently retrained as a lawyer. Meanwhile, residents of Aughagower were in shock over news of the deaths. Read more: Homicide detectives not looking for anyone else after Irish mother and son (7) found dead in home A neighbour said Ms Higgins's death and that of her son was the latest in a string of tragedies to hit the Higgins family, who were local farmers and ran a fencing business. "It's desperate. Everyone is shocked," a neighbour said to the Irish Independent. Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who knew Tom Higgins well as chairman of the local Fine Gael club, had visited him in hospital after he fell ill and attended his funeral. Speaking in Brussels last night, Kenny told the Irish Independent news of Ms Higgins death had left him reeling. "I know that family very well," he said. "When I got that message here in Brussels I have to say it went through me. When you know people so well ...a tragedy like this, it leaves you in a state of understanding that people face difficulties that you might never contemplate." Local Mayo county councillor Michael Holmes (Ind), who is a distant relative of Mary Higgins, said he too was shocked and saddened to hear the news. Neighbours in the quiet suburb of west London said they believed Ms Higgins had been living in the area for the past two years. Yesterday afternoon, a man and a woman left flowers on the doorstep of the house with a message that read "My best friend. I'll miss you". Neighbour Barbara Lonnon told the 'Evening Standard' newspaper that the last time she had spoken to Ms Higgins was about a month ago. "She kept herself to herself but we'd speak if we saw each other on the street," she said. "She was Irish and had lived here for two years. I met her in her first summer here. "I never really spoke to her son Oisin, he was seven and ran around like little boys do. He was a friendly chap and it's so sad his life has been cut short." Forensic teams and London Ambulance Service were first spotted at the house on Wednesday. It's understood the next of kin have been informed of the deaths and police said they were being treated as unexplained. NORTHERN Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster over-ruled her own minister from immediately shutting down a renewable energy scheme which could cost the Northern Ireland tax-payer an estimated 400m (476m), it was claimed last night. Mrs Foster's former ministerial colleague, Jonathan Bell, made a series of explosive allegations to the BBC and said that Mrs Foster should apologise to the people of Northern Ireland for her handling of the 'Cash for Ash' scandal. Here are the 10 things you need to know: 1. What was the "cash for ash" scheme? The project was designed to encourage businesses to switch from burning fossil fuels to wood biomass heating. The Renewable Heating Incentive was supposed to help businesses mitigate the costs of running eco-friendly boilers actually ended up paying out more than the cost of the fuel - so the more people burned, the more public money they earned. Some applicants were found to heat buildings on an industrial scale just to make money. Unlike a similar scheme in Britain, no cap was initially put on the payments. It has been revealed that after civil servants urged for the closure of the scheme in June 2015 until a tiered system was introduced in November, there was a spike in applications. It has left taxpayers with a bill critics claim could reach 400m (470m). 2. Foster has denied Bell's claims The DUP leader has strenuously denied his claims and has accused the former Enterprise Minister of acting aggressively towards her in a stormy meeting. She claimed that he was making the allegations to mask his own failings over the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. 3. A judge-led inquiry has been called for The Strangford DUP MLA, who seems set to be imminently expelled from the party, said that civil service documents would support his account. He called for a judge-led public inquiry into the affair. 4. Mr Bell revealed he initially refused Foster's instructions In an extraordinary interview with broadcaster Stephen Nolan, Mr Bell said that matters between himself and Mrs Foster came to a head during a stormy meeting earlier this year after he had been informed that she wanted to keep the catastrophic scheme open for another two weeks. He said that he initially refused her instruction. And a tit-for-tat argument followed... 5. Bell: There was a 'hostile' atmosphere "I was ordered to appear in front of the First Minister ... in the strongest terms both in volume and in force Arlene Foster as First Minister overruled me and told me to keep the scheme open," he told the BBC. "She was highly agitated and angry because I had been refusing the whole way for the last period and telling them I wasn't going to do this." He said there was a "hostile" atmosphere of "fear". He added: "She (came) walking in and shouted at me that I would keep this scheme open." 6. Foster: He stood over me in 'an aggressive way' Mrs Foster strenuously denied Mr Bell's claims. She claimed that he was the one acting aggressively in the meeting - something which she alleged was a character trait. "He will try to portray himself in a particular way this evening, but plenty of people know what Jonathan Bell is like," she stated. Regarding the meeting, she said: "He was very aggressive with me and I have a witness on how he spoke to me. "He used his physical bulk to stand over me in quite an aggressive way. The Jonathan Bell that appears on your programme is not Jonathan Bell that would be familiar to many of his political colleagues and many of his civil servants who worked in his department and many in the business community." 7. Claims delay was Bell who kept scheme open Mrs Foster alleged that Mr Bell was the one who delayed keeping the high tariffed scheme in place. "I am bemused as to why he would leave it open for such a period of time," she said. The DUP leader denied that she or her predecessor, Peter Robinson, tried to keep the high tariffs running. "He (Mr Bell) took the decision to leave it open for that period of time," she said. 8. Claims no evidence DUP special advisers influenced Bell Foster said there was no evidence that DUP special advisers (Spads) tried to influence Mr Bell and claimed that was a "distraction" being put forward by him. The Spads accused of seeking to delay the tariff change have also rejected Mr Bell's claims. 9. Claims that attempts were made to remove name from reports Bell has alleged that DUP advisers attempted to remove her name from documents linked to the catastrophic scheme. Mrs Foster said that if papers were altered "it wasn't on my say-so". Mr Bell said that DUP spads, Timothy Johnston and Andrew Crawford "were not allowing this scheme to be closed" as costs were spiralling out of control in autumn 2015. He claimed that an email trail existed to prove attempts to alter official documents and that this was revealed to him by a senior civil servant in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. 10. Last (but not least) - more contradicting evidence Bell has said that the two most senior civil servants in that department were prepared to put evidence of the alleged interference "formally on the record in an inquiry". Mr Johnston and Dr Crawford categorically denied Mr Bell's allegations and said they never sought to keep the RHI scheme open against his wishes. They maintained that their roles were simply "to offer advice" and not to "influence any decision". Bell has said he put his concerns in writing to Foster, deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, and the party chairman, Lord Morrow. Another Spad Andrew Crawford of the Finance Department, who had previously worked with Mrs Foster in Enterprise, also denied seeking to keep the RHI open at the higher tariff against the minster's wishes. Another two DUP Spads - Richard Bullick, and the recently-resigned Stephen Brimstone - both denied seeing any heated exchange between the Mr Bell and Mrs Foster. Senior civil servants Andrew McCormick and Chris Stewart did not respond to requests for comment. People protest outside Leinster House about the increase in homelessness on the first anniversary of the death of Jonathan Corrie in 2015. Photo: Arthur Carron It is now two years since Jonathan Corrie was found dead in a doorway near Leinster House. The incident caused much hand-wringing over the homelessness problem in Ireland. There was a call for more hostel beds. But then we discovered that Mr Corrie had been offered a bed in a hostel by homelessness services several times and refused it. As more information came to light, it turned out that Mr Corrie's big problem was drug addiction. The other day, the Health Research Board produced figures for the number of drug-related deaths during the period 2004-2014. In 2014, there were 697 such deaths. Bit by bit, Ireland is liberalising its approach to illegal drugs. The Government has said it will not oppose a bill aimed at permitting the use of 'medical cannabis', and active consideration is being given to injecting rooms for heroin users. No proper national debate is taking place on either of these issues. Have authoritative voices been sought out who would critique the cannabis proposal? Do we know whether or not the medical benefits of cannabis can be reproduced by other means, by drugs that are not seen as 'gateways' to other drugs? Is permitting the medical use of cannabis the slippery slope to permitting cannabis use, full stop? In a submission to the Oireachtas Justice Committee last year, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA), in a submission concerning proposals to liberalise drug policy along the line of Portugal, said: "While there appears to be an international desire among enthusiasts of liberalisation of drugs policy to view the decriminalisation approach adopted by Portugal as an unqualified success, there are very divergent views on its impact." It said that cannabis use among Portuguese teenagers had doubled since decriminalisation in 1995, while in Ireland it has halved where it remains criminalised. Heroin-related deaths in Portugal have dropped since heroin was decriminalised, but is this the sole reason? What about other drug-related deaths? The IHCA also said in its submission: "We are very concerned that much of the public discussion on this topic in Ireland has been profoundly unbalanced, with positive experiences of other countries being greatly exaggerated and adverse consequences being ignored." The public discussion is still "profoundly unbalanced". The figures produced by the Health Research Board this week should give us further pause. Many people probably believe that most drug-related deaths in Ireland are heroin-related. That is emphatically not the case. Out of the 697 drug-related deaths here in 2014, 90 were mostly due to heroin, roughly an eighth of the total. If we look at deaths that were purely due to drug-poisoning (354 in total), the percentage caused mainly by heroin rises to a quarter. Non-poisoning drug-related deaths in 2014 totalled 343. A quarter were by hanging. Many more were the result of cardiac problems, liver disease and so on. Drug abuse takes its horrible and inevitable toll. Returning to the deaths by drug-poisoning, prescription drugs are implicated in three-out-of-four deaths. Diazepam, better known as Valium, was a major culprit, as was methadone, a heroin-substitute. Alcohol was implicated in a third of all the deaths by poisoning. Consider the implications of this. While we are being distracted by debates about injecting rooms, we are losing sight of the much bigger picture, which is to say the sheer number of deaths caused by legal drugs and alcohol. Most addicts who die by poisoning die because they have used several drugs at the same time, and, again, most of these are legally available. A heroin-related death appears to be rarely due to heroin only. So, should Valium be prescribed less often? Should methadone be prescribed less often? There are around 10,000 people in Ireland taking methadone, an incredible total. Is this saving lives? Even though many deaths involved methadone, maybe things would be even worse if it wasn't prescribed. On the other hand, if you go back to 2004, there were 'only' 40 deaths that mainly involved methadone, compared with 98 two years ago. The number of mainly heroin-related deaths has gone from 29 to 90. So one figure has more than doubled and the other has trebled. Injecting room advocates will insist that a dozen fewer heroin-related deaths per year (say) would justify going down this road. Maybe, but it would also be another step towards wider cultural acceptance of heroin. The much better way to go is quite obvious; do a lot more to help people break their reliance on legal and illegal drugs, including alcohol. While there are 10,000 people taking methadone, and 20,000 using heroin (the two figures often overlap), there are a pitiful 200 or so 'detox' beds in the country, many of them run by Sr Consilio and Cuan Mhuire. Far less is spent by the State on those treatment places than on methadone. That is immoral and indefensible. The fact is that injecting rooms will hardly put a dent in the number of drug-related deaths in this country each year. If we're sincere about tackling the problem, we need far more treatment places. But I doubt if we are really that sincere about it. Instead, we'll go for headline-grabbing quasi-solutions like injecting rooms because it looks radical and edgy. So there was Samantha Power doing her 'shame' bit in the UN. "Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin, that just creeps you out a little bit?" America's ambassador to the UN asked the Russians and Syrians and Iranians. She spoke of Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica "and, now, Aleppo". Odd, that. For when Samantha talked about "barbarism against civilians" in Aleppo, I remembered climbing over the dead Palestinian civilians massacred at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in Beirut in 1982, slaughtered by Israel's Lebanese militia friends while the Israeli army - Washington's most powerful ally in the Middle East - watched. But Samantha didn't mention them. Not enough dead Palestinians, perhaps? Only 1,700 killed, including women and children. Halabja was up to 5,000 dead. But Sabra and Chatila certainly 'creeped me out' at the time. And then I recalled the monstrous American invasion of Iraq. Perhaps half-a-million dead. It's one of the statistics for Rwanda's dead. Certainly far more than Srebrenica's 9,000 dead. And I can tell you that Iraq's half-million dead 'creeped me out' rather a lot, not to mention the torture and murders in the CIA's interrogation centres in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq. It also 'creeped me out' to learn that the US president used to send innocent prisoners off to be interrogated in - Assad's Syria! Yes, they were sent by Washington to be questioned in what Samantha now calls Syria's "gulags". Funny old world. Samantha, God bless her, didn't mention Gaza, where quite a lot of Palestinian children have been killed by the Israelis. Nor Yemen, where America's head-chopping allies are now dissing the Shiites and have killed almost 4,000 civilians. Nor the mass killings by Isil in Mosul. Nor - most oddly of all - did Samantha mention 9/11. Here, surely, was an international crime against humanity worthy of mention in Samantha's roll call of shame - 3,996 innocent dead. A must-be, you'd think, for throwing at the Syrians and the Russkis and the Iranians. But no. For there's a wee bit of a problem there, isn't there? Because the 9/11 bloodbath was carried out by al-Qa'ida. And al-Qa'ida in Syria has changed its name to al-Nusra and then to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and - well, it's al-Sham (alias Nusra, alias al-Qa'ida) that's been fighting against the Syrian regime in eastern Aleppo. A bit difficult, you see, for Samantha to express her horror over the most terrifying attack on her country in recent history - talk about "barbarism against civilians" - when the very criminal 'jihadi' organisation which committed this outrage is, yes, in eastern Aleppo fighting against the Syrian army. So Samantha has to throw the dead of 9/11 into the trash bin in order to tell us how 'creeped out' al-Qa'ida's enemies should be at their behaviour in Aleppo. Out, too, go the Christians murdered or deported by Isil in Mosul, those Yazidis subject to Isil 'ethnic cleansing' - a subject in which Samantha was quite an expert when it was taking place in Bosnia. In fact, Isil simply gets deleted from Samantha's narrative. They get, in effect, a clean bill of health. And we journos are going along with all this. When was the last time you read of Isil's catastrophic return to the Syrian city of Palmyra - surely a victory for those we are supposed to be defeating in Mosul? And some of the Palmyra attackers actually came from Mosul! How did they do that when Mosul is surrounded by the Iraqi army and their allies and all those American 'advisers'? And for that matter, when was the last time you heard about Mosul, surrounded by a government army trying to smash its way into the city against its 'jihadi' defenders - with even more civilians besieged than in Aleppo? So here we go again on the familiar semantic trail down which all critics of Syria's enemies (and America) must tramp. Yup, Bashar al-Assad is a dictator, his elections a farce, his militias killers, his army ruthless, his prisons so barbarous that Washington sent its captives there for a bit of brutal interrogation. I have actually seen an account of one such session in which the Syrian interrogators concluded that the guy sent over from the US was completely innocent. But seriously, if we were all so 'creeped out' - like Samantha - then we would, would we not, have intervened militarily in Syria (despite the Russians) and come to the rescue of the Syrian opposition? But there's another odd element to our Western outrage - and the clue lies in Samantha Power's choice of atrocities. For the gassing of Halabja's Kurds was committed by Saddam Hussein's air force, who were Arabs. And the Rwandan genocide was committed by Rwandans. And the Srebrenica massacres were committed by Slobodan Milosevic's militias who were Serbs. We may have 'stood idly by', as the saying goes - it, is after all, what we are doing and going to do over Aleppo - but neither we nor our allies actually committed these atrocities. Samantha stayed on safe ground, didn't she? And this is what we in Europe are doing. The French president and the British parliament - where the former chancellor George Osborne did his 'woe is me' bit - all lamented that they had done absolutely nothing about the suffering of Aleppo. And didn't intend to do anything; hence all the empty seats at the Westminster debate. ( Independent News Service) Undated handout photo issued by People Magazine of the Amber Heard appearing to have a bruised eye and cut lip which she claims were the result of Johnny Depp's abuse. People/PA Wire Actors Amber Heard (L) and Johnny Depp attend the "Black Mass" Boston special screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre on September 15, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images for Warner Brothers) Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attend the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) US actress Amber Heard arrives with US actor Johnny Depp for the screening of the movie "The Danish Girl" presented in competition at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival Actress Amber Heard has accused Johnny Depp of missing the court deadline to hand over her $7 million divorce settlement. The former couple struck a deal to end its bitter three-month divorce battle in August after Heard accused Depp of verbally and physically abusing her throughout their 15-month marriage. The 30-year-old subsequently announced plans to split the money he agreed to hand over equally between two charities - the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) domestic violence unit and the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles - but last month, it was revealed organisation officials had yet to receive any cash after an initial $200,000 cheque, which was sent directly by the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. Heard's attorney, Pierce O'Donnell, claimed the paperwork set to finalise the divorce was due to be signed by both parties by 4 December, allowing the rest of the money to be paid to the charities, but it appears there has been a hold up in the legal process. Expand Close Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorced with a 7m settlement / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Johnny Depp and Amber Heard divorced with a 7m settlement On Wednesday, The Danish Girl star filed a Request for Order at Los Angeles Superior Court, and asked a judge to ensure the agreement is enforced. In the documents, obtained by People, Heard's attorney alleges Depp has ignored the court-ordered payment deadline, as well as other mandates regarding the division of personal property, the shipment of belongings from his island home in the Bahamas, and the transfer of a Range Rover into the actress' name, among other issues. Heard also wants Depp to pay her legal fees of $35,435 in full. The stars' divorce settlement required Depp to hand over the remainder of the $7 million over the next 12 months, with Heard expected to complete the transfer of cash to her chosen charities by the end of 2018. Expand Close Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attend the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard attend the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images) Depp's representative has yet to comment on the latest development in the former couple's divorce. The Apprentice hopeful Jessica Cunningham, one of the final five candidates. The contest for Lord Sugar's 250,000 investment will be a battle between cakes and novelty gifts after three more Apprentice candidates were dispatched of. The business magnate fired online fashion entrepreneur Jessica Cunningham, 29, after being unsure about her plans to pay television celebrities to wear her brand of clothes. Also exiting after eleven weeks of gruelling challenges were children's clothes company owner Frances Bishop, 25, and Grainne McCoy, 31, who runs her own make-up studio. Cake company owner Alana Spencer, 24, and novelty gift business owner, Courtney Wood, 29, will compete for Lord Sugar's investment in Sunday night's finale. Cunningham told the Press Association she was "gutted" to be leaving the show but said she had "absolutely loved" the 11 weeks of competition. "It has been the best experience of my life to date, except from having children," she said. "I think everyone has got to see the real Jessica - I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing but I am happy with how I have come across." The self-described "female version of Jim Carrey", added that she was "overwhelmed with everyone's support". The five candidates were interrogated by business experts Claude Littmer, Mike Souter, Linda Plant and Claudine Collins on Thursday's episode. They were then called into the boardroom where Lord Sugar quickly dispatched of McCoy, telling her he "just can't see" the concept of her business. Video of the Day He praised Cunningham's personality and "great sales ability" but told her the business plan was "a very, very risky idea". Lord Sugar took the unusual step of confirming to Spencer she would be in the show's final before turning to Wood and Bishop. He told the pair it was a "tough" decision, before firing Bishop who had lost eight of the 10 tasks during the series. Bishop told the Press Association that being eliminated so close to the final had "summed up" her experience. "It was so close. It could have gone either way I think. He spent a long time debating between us, perhaps on a different day it could have been another outcome," she said. McCoy said she regretted not having her business plan "up to scratch" but added she still believed in becoming "the next Gok Wan in the make-up world". In Sunday's finale Spencer and Wood will be joined by a number of their former Apprentice colleagues as they are tasked with launching their business by creating a brand and unveiling their campaign. They will pitch their plans to 200 industry experts including Lord Sugar before learning of their fate in the boardroom. :: The Apprentice Final airs at 9pm on Sunday December 18. Carrier-based J-15 fighters prepare to take off from aircraft carrier Liaoning in a drill in the Bohai Sea. Photos by Mo Xiaoliang / for China Daily China recently carried out the first live-fire exercise for its aircraft carrier battle group in the Bohai Sea, the People's Liberation Army Navy said on Thursday night. Dozens of ships and aircraft from the CNS Liaoning carrier battle group and the North Sea Fleet took part in the massive exercise. They fired more than 10 air-to-air, anti-ship and air defense missiles, the PLA Navy said in a statement. It did not disclose the exact time of the exercise. The Liaoning performed various drills with several destroyers and frigates, involving scenarios such as reconnaissance, aircraft interception, sea strikes as well as missile defense. Multiple groups of J-15 carrier-borne fighter jets used air-to-air and anti-ship missiles to hit targets during the exercise, according to the Navy. The statement also quoted chiefs of the Navy's training bureau as saying that the event was planned as part of the aircraft carrier's training schedule and aimed at verifying capabilities of personnel and weapons. Crew members train as cold winds sweep the carrier deck. Photos by Zhang Kai / for China Daily Videos of the Liaoning's J-15 fighters firing missiles were broadcast on China Central Television, the first time images of J-15 live-fire exercises have been shown to the public. Rear Admiral Chen Yueqi, commander of the Liaoning carrier battle group, said the exercise is a "milestone" for the unit. "It enabled us to explore how to organize a carrier battle group exercise and to test the training levels of our sailors and pilots. It can also boost the battle groups efforts to become combat ready as early as possible," he told CCTV. Commander Xu Ying, chief of a J-15 squadron that participated in the event, was quoted by the State broadcaster as saying that through the exercise, pilots improved their use of tactics and weapons and enhanced confidence in their equipment. Missiles are fired by J-15 fighters. Photos provided to China Daily Though the Navy did not disclose components of the carrier battle group, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China Daily that he thinks the battle group would have three Type 052C or Type 052D destroyers, both of which have advanced vertical-launch missile systems and cutting-edge air defense radar, three Type 054A frigates, one replenishment ship and one attack submarine. "The recent exercise is really a landmark for the carrier battle group because it means the group's ships and aircraft have achieved a high level of integration and cooperation and that the unit is closer to gaining combat readiness," Zhang said. "Next, the group would focus on honing its air defense and counter-submarine capabilities." Wu Peixin, an aviation industry observer in Beijing, said the news indicates that the J-15 fighter force has obtained initial operational capability. "The J-15 is as mighty as the United States' F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. It is capable of carrying out multiple operations such as fleet air defense and anti-ship strikes," he said. The Liaoning was commissioned in the PLA Navy in September 2012 in Dalian, Liaoning province. Its battle group took shape in December 2013, when the carrier and several escort vessels, including two guided missile destroyers, two guided missile frigates and an attack submarine took part in a long-range formation drill in the South China Sea. Former Eggheads star CJ de Mooi has claimed the arrest warrant issued against him over an alleged killing appears to have been based on a bogus Wikipedia entry. In an online video, the professional quizzer hit out at the Dutch authorities for a "complete cock-up" after they allegedly made a string of factual errors when they published a list of accusations. He accused them and the press of misquoting him, as well as getting his name and date of birth wrong. Prosecutors failed in an attempt to extradite him to the Netherlands on a European Arrest Warrant earlier this year over a claim in his book that he punched an armed man and threw him into an Amsterdam canal in 1988. The ex-BBC quiz show panellist also confirmed he was going to be suing the Dutch authorities. He said: "This warrant seems to have been issued because of what I said and wrote in my autobiography - they claim in my autobiography I wrote that I killed a man, I left him for dead, I knocked him unconscious. "I didn't. Nowhere in my book does it say that, if you please just read the book, all it says is a guy came up behind me with a knife and tried to mug me and the words in the autobiography are: 'I half-punched, half-pushed him into a canal and walked away', that is all it says. "This warrant and a lot of the press and a lot of the police investigation seems to have been because of what somebody else wrote about me on Wikipedia - literally. "The warrant and the press coverage states my real name as Joseph Connagh, it has never been that in my life, it states my date of birth as the sixth of November, it isn't. "It states a lot of personal information about me that is completely wrong - somebody wrote this about me on Wikipedia and this warrant has just picked it up and said: 'Oh this must be true, we will go after him'." Video of the Day He added: "I can't say too much because I'm taking my own legal action, obviously I'm suing." The Dutch prosecutors' office was unavailable for comment when contacted. During the eight-minute YouTube video, de Mooi reflects on his "horrible" year, which he said began with a discontinued accusation of sexual assault, the loss of his role on the BBC show and 11 months without earning money. Matt Terry was crowned the winner of the reality show on Sunday X Factor champion Matt Terry and One Direction star Louis Tomlinson have both missed hitting the top spot in the charts this week as Clean Bandit continue to reign supreme with their hit single Rockabye. Terry, who was crowned the winner of the reality show on Sunday, debuted on the Official Singles Chart at number three with his Ed Sheeran-penned track When Christmas Comes Around. However, the reality TV contestant's song had just five full days of sales rather than the usual seven due to the single being released after his TV win. Tomlinson's debut solo effort with Steve Aoki, Just Hold On, was also released later than usual - on Saturday after a performance on The X Factor - and debuted at number two. Just Hold On was released days after the death of his mother Johannah Deakin at 43. Both Terry and Tomlinson's singles still have a chance to reach the Christmas number one spot, though. The race for the coveted festive chart position begins today and the winner will be revealed on Friday December 23. Clean Bandit's Rockabye, a collaboration with Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, fended off the hotly-tipped new releases to top the charts for the sixth consecutive week. The rest of the top five is made up with The Weeknd's Starboy at number four and Human by Rag'n'Bone Man at number five. Over on the Official Albums Chart, Alfie Boe and Michael Ball's collaborative album Together has finally achieved number one status after five weeks in the top five. It marks the first UK number one album for Boe and the first number one album for Ball in more than 20 years. Ball told OfficialCharts.com: "This is absolutely fantastic. It just goes to show that you never, ever know what is around the corner in this business. Video of the Day "We didn't expect this. It is just unbelievable." Boe added: "A huge thanks to everyone who bought the album. Our hearts go out to you all for Christmas. "We hope we entertain you with the album for Christmas and lots of love to everyone." Last week's chart-toppers the Rolling Stones have slipped into second place with Blue & Lonesome, with Little Mix's Glory Days at number three, Elvis Presley's The Wonder Of You at number four and Olly Murs in fifth place with 24 Hrs . Diplomats sought to salvage the evacuation of eastern Aleppo after it stalled on Friday amid recriminations on both sides in Syria's civil war. It raised fears the ceasefire could collapse with thousands still desperate to escape the rebel enclave. The Aleppo evacuation was suspended after a report of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The Syrian government pulled out its buses that since Thursday had been ferrying out people from the ancient city that has suffered under intense bombardment, fierce battles and a prolonged siege. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience," said UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell." The halt also appeared to be linked to a separate deal to remove thousands of people from the government-held Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya that are under siege by the rebels. The Syrian government says those evacuations and the one in eastern Aleppo must be done simultaneously, but the rebels say there is no connection. The foreign minister of Turkey, a main backer of the rebels, said he was talking to his counterpart in Iran, a top ally of the Syrian government, to try to resume the evacuation. A closed emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was held on the crisis in Aleppo. The ceasefire and evacuation marked the end of the rebels' most important stronghold in the five-year-old civil war. The suspension demonstrated the fragility of the ceasefire deal, in which civilians and fighters in the few remaining areas of the rebel enclave were to be taken to opposition-held territory nearby. In announcing the suspension, Syrian state TV said rebels were trying to smuggle out captives who had been seized in the enclave after ferocious battles with troops supporting president Bashar Assad. Several opposition activists said Syrian troops shot and killed four people in one bus, but the incident could not be independently confirmed. The Lebanon-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV broadcast images of the government buses apparently returning evacuees to eastern Aleppo after the road was closed. Al-Manar TV, the media arm of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group that supports Assad, said Syrian government supporters had closed the road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded from Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. Syrian state media said rebels shelled a road that was supposed to be used by people leaving the villages. But the opposition's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hezbollah fighters backed by Assad ally Iran had cut the road to protest at a lack of progress in the evacuations. Buses that arrived at a collection point in the Hama countryside to pick up evacuees from the villages waited for hours to no avail. Later, two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks said the fighters besieging the villages, including the al Qaida-linked Fatah al-Sham Front, had agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the villages. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called Iranian Presidential Deputy Ishak Cihangiri and told him he was ready to co-operate with Tehran on the evacuation issue. Reports differed on how many people remain in the Aleppo enclave, ranging from 15,000 to 40,000 civilians, along with an estimated 6,000 fighters. There were also contradictory reports on the number of evacuees. Syrian state TV put it at more than 9,000, the Syrian state news agency said 8,079 opposition fighters and their families have left, and Russia, a key Assad ally, said over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500, were taken out. More than 2,700 children have been evacuated in the past 24 hours, including the sick, wounded and those without their parents, Unicef said. Hundreds of other vulnerable children, including orphans, remain trapped, it added. "We are extremely concerned about their fate. If these children are not evacuated urgently, they could die," Unicef said in a statement. There are still "high numbers of women and infants, children under five, that need to get out," added Elizabeth Hoff, Syrian representative for the World Health Organisation, speaking from western Aleppo. During Thursday night's evacuation, Pawel Krzysiek of the International Committee of the Red Cross told The Associated Press he could sense "fear, desperation (and) anxiety" among those waiting to escape. The civilians - including children and the elderly, the wounded and the sick - were out in the cold, "burning the plastic, trying to get some sort of heat to warm themselves", said Krzysiek, who is still in Aleppo. "It's the people leaving their house behind, their lives behind. It is very often they are facing impossible choices and this all occurs at the very individual level and it is difficult to compare with anything else," he said. "This is what the people are going through with their families, their relatives. This is really something very personal for them. I have seen sadness. I have seen really sadness in the people eyes. Heartbreaking sadness, broken lives, heartbreaking stories," Krzysiek added. Before the operation was suspended Friday, four convoys of ambulances and buses left Aleppo, Syrian state TV said, noting that some evacuees used their own vehicles. Also on Friday, Syrian state media reported that a seven-year-old girl wearing a belt of explosives walked into a police station in the capital Damascus, and her bomb was triggered by remote control, killing her and wounding a policeman. In Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new peace initiative, saying he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were working to set up talks between Damascus and the opposition. Mr Putin said they would take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Bassma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee, Syria's main opposition group, told the AP that her group supports the call for resumed peace talks but it wants them to take place under UN auspices and that it does not believe Astana was "the appropriate place". Several rounds of UN-mediated indirect peace talks this year in Geneva were suspended with no progress. AP Paul Merton next to a handbag after former education secretary Nicky Morgan pulled out of filming the BBC satirical panel show Have I Got News For You (BBC/PA) A former cabinet minister at the centre of a spat over the Prime Minister's 1,000 leather trousers has been replaced by a handbag on tonight's episode of Have I Got News For You. Former education secretary Nicky Morgan has been embroiled in the so-called "trousergate" row since she criticised the PM's decision to wear the 995 trousers during a photo shoot for a newspaper. Tory MPs backing the PM have pointed to the fact that Mrs Morgan has a designer Mulberry handbag which retails for some 950. The Tory MP for Loughborough pulled out of filming the satirical panel show on Wednesday due to "unforeseen circumstances", an agent for the programme's production company previously said. Photographs of the BBC production show a brown leather handbag placed next to panellist Paul Merton in her place and Mrs Morgan tweeted: "I'd have donated the original bag if asked - it would have better lines than me." Sources close to the 44-year-old are reported to have said the bag in question is more than a decade old and was a gift. Mrs Morgan, who Theresa May sacked as education secretary when she took over in Downing Street, expressed doubt over the PM's decision to wear the Amanda Wakeley-designed "bitter chocolate" trousers for the photographs. The move forced Mrs May to deny she was out of touch and prompted a top aide to bar Mrs Morgan from a No 10 meeting on Brexit. Mrs Morgan had been booked to appear on the show, the last in the current series, since September alongside host Gary Lineker and comedian Jon Richardson. A spokeswoman for Hat Trick Productions said: "After Nicky Morgan pulled out of this week's edition of the satirical panel show Have I Got News For You it was decided, in light of her spat with Downing Street over expensive leather goods, to replace her with a handbag." Gunmen have shot and killed a local radio station's chief in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province Gunmen have shot and killed a local radio station's chief in Afghanistan's eastern Logar province, officials have said. Salim Salleh, the provincial governor's spokesman, said that two masked attackers opened fire on Mohammad Nasir Mudaser's car as he was driving back home from work. They then pulled him out and killed him. The attack happened on Thursday afternoon in the province's Mohammad Agha district, where Mr Mudaser ran the local radio station called Paygham Mili since 2002. The station's news anchor, Mohammad Zubair Helham, said the killing is "sad news" for all five journalists employed at the station, but that "it will not stop our radio programme". The station broadcasts six days a week from 5pm to 10pm. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Turkey and Brussels have been at odds about Ankara's security crackdown since the failed coup in July The European Union is seeking a summit meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first half of next year to discuss the testy relations between the two. As the 28-nation bloc's summit in Brussels ended, EU president Donald Tusk said he was given "a mandate" to set up a meeting with Turkey over the next months. The EU and Turkey have a deal under which Turkey moves to stem the flow of migrants into Europe in return for billions of euros to take care of them there. But Turkey and Brussels have been at loggerheads about Turkey's security crackdown since a failed coup in July. Mr Tusk's office said that the meeting would probably be held after a regular EU summit in March. Earlier this week, EU countries expressed deep concern about Turkey's crackdown but stopped short of officially freezing membership talks with the country - a move that is favoured by Austria. German chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the migrant deal's main architects, stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open. "I don't think threats are the right answer," she said. While EU members do not currently plan to open any new chapters in the long-running membership negotiations "everyone was aware that even if we have very critical remarks to make about some developments in Turkey, Turkey is our neighbour and we want to keep talking in the spirit of neighbourhood," Mrs Merkel said. Her Austrian counterpart Christian Kern reiterated his country's position that "there is no question of EU accession for Turkey", but stressed that "Turkey is an important partner in dealing with the migration question, from a security policy point of view ... but also from an economic point of view". AP Spider-Man curtains and a pair of small shoes hang in the window of a property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovered. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP A property on The Fairway in Ruislip where the bodies of a woman and a boy were discovere. Photo credit: Ben Cawthra/LNP Detectives investigating the deaths of an Irish mother and her son are satisfied that their deaths are "consistent with a murder suicide". However a post-mortem on the bodies of Sinead Higgins, aged 37, and her son Oisin O'Driscoll (7) has failed to establish the exact cause of death. Expand Close Flowers and a message left outside the house. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Flowers and a message left outside the house. Photo: Ben Cawthra/LNP The pair were discovered dead at their home in Ruislip, West London on Wednesday after concerns were raised for their welfare. In a statement, released this evening, the London Metropolitan police confirmed that an autopsy was carried out at Uxbridge Mortuary. "Cause of deaths was inconclusive. Officers await further toxicology tests," the statement confirmed. "Following the post-mortem examinations, detectives are satisfied that the deaths are consistent with a murder and a suicide. "At this stage, nobody else is sought in connection with the two deaths." Mayo native Sinead seemed to have had the world at her feet. A fully qualified nurse, she had recently retrained as a lawyer and was working for a medical negligence company as a legal adviser. She had moved from her home in Westport, Co Mayo, to pursue a successful career in London over a decade ago. It is understood she was not in a relationship with Oisin's father at the time of her death. Expand Close Sinead Higgins. Picture: Twitter / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sinead Higgins. Picture: Twitter Sinead proudly posted photos of Oisin's achievements in life on her social media accounts - including a video of his seventh birthday just 10 weeks ago, when he received a Superman-themed birthday card and thanked his mother. However, tragedy was just around the corner. Her own family in Mayo has suffered much in recent years. Sinead, one of 10 children, lost her father Thomas Higgins (68) to cancer in August 2014, while her brother Cathal (19) was killed in a motorcycle crash in May, 2004. Cathal died just months after he was the pallbearer at the funeral of local girl Aisling McGing (18), who was his date at his debs ball. Sinead's mother Mary still lives in the family home in Arderry, but it is understood that the remaining siblings are scattered in various places around the globe, including Sinead's brothers Des, Barna, Micheal, David, Donal and Fintan, and sisters Gina, Deirdre and Sharon. Discovery The bodies of Sinead Higgins and her seven-year-old son Oisin were discovered after police forced their way into a house in London. Officers were called to a house in The Fairway, Ruislip, west London, at around 10.50am on Wednesday over welfare concerns for the Co Mayo woman and her son. The bodies of Sinead and the young boy were discovered inside, the Metropolitan Police said. Residents told the Evening Standard that Ms Higgins had been living in London for two years. Detective inspector Dave Bolton, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "The investigation is at a very early stage but inquiries so far lead us to believe there is a likelihood that the tragic events that led to the deaths do not involve a third party. "We are appealing to anyone who has any information to come and speak with us." Neighbour Barbara Lonnon told the Evening Standard that she had spoken to the mother about a month ago. She said: "She kept herself to herself but we'd speak if we saw each other on the street. "She was Irish and had lived here for two years. I met her in her first summer here." Ms Lonnon added: "She was Irish originally and all her family were there. "I never really spoke to her son Oisin, he was seven and ran around like little boys do. He was a friendly chap and its so sad his life has been cut short." A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place at Fulham mortuary today. The community of Aughagower in Westport has been reeling in shock over news of the deaths. Ms Higgins mother Mary, still lives in the family home in Arderry, but its understood that the remaining siblings are scattered in various places around the globe, including Sineads brothers Des, Barna, Micheal, David, Donal, Fintan and sisters Gina, Deirdre and Sharon. Its desperate. Everyone is shocked, the neighbour told Independent.ie. If you have been affected by issues in this article, you can free-phone the Samaritans on 116 123. Pieta House can be contacted on 1800 247 247. For more information on Pieta House and its services visit www.pieta.ie. Vladimir Putin personally directed elements of the Russian hack of the US election as part of a "vendetta" against Hillary Clinton, according to a new report from NBC News. Intelligence officials said they had a "high level of confidence" that the Russian president took charge of how material stolen from the Democrats would be leaked.The officials said they had compelling evidence that Mr Putin was involved, and that the operation could not have gone forward without authorisation from the most senior leaders within the Kremlin. One official said Mr Putin was motivated both by a "vendetta" against Ms Clinton, and also hoped to undermine faith in the US political system among America's partners. Mr Putin hoped to "split off key American allies by creating the image that [other countries] couldn't depend on the US to be a credible global leader anymore," the source said. CIA officials had previously said their assessment was that Russia intervened in the election in order to help Republican Donald Trump. Mr Trump has called that conclusion "ridiculous", and insisted that there was "no evidence" tying Russia to the hack despite assurances to the contrary from all 17 American intelligence agencies. Both Democratic and Republican officials have called for an investigation into Russia's role in the hack, and some have expressed concerns over Mr Trump's defence of Russia. Rex Tillerson, the president-elect's nominee for secretary of state, had close links to Russia as CEO of Exxon Mobile, and personally received an award from Mr Putin. Mr Trump has taken an antagonistic stance with the US intelligence agencies, and has been receiving intelligence briefings far less frequently than his predecessors in the White House. ( Daily Telegraph, London) (Global Times) 15:28, December 16, 2016 Governments in Northeast China are going to great pains to create new jobs as the country is pushing ahead with its plan to cut industrial overcapacity. In Tonghua, in the south of Jilin province, a coal mine with an annual output of 210,000 tons and owned by Shansonggang Mining Industry Group was shut down in August due to continuous losses and declining resources. "The mine had to resettle 1,077 workers," Sun Tao, the former head of this mine, told the Global Times on Wednesday. The mine is owned by Jilin Provincial Coal Industry Group Co, the largest coal producer in the province. The company produced nearly 90 percent of the total coal in the province in 2015 but recorded a debt ratio of 79.2 percent. To tackle the capacity glut, the group targets at reducing the annual capacity of 15.03 million tons from 2016 to 2018, which accounts for 53.6 percent of its total production. A major focus this year amid the shutdown of its coal mines is the resettlement of workers, said Liu Dantong, the vice director of mining business at the group. "We encourage rechanneling workers to other sites in order to prevent massive layoffs," he told the Global Times on Wednesday. For example, the group established a poultry farm two decades ago as a side business, Liu added. "When the coal market boomed, we paid less attention to this farm, but it offers jobs opportunities to some coal workers as the coal industry declines," he said. Jilin Province, which reported a GDP growth of 6.9 percent for the first three quarters, has reached its target of reducing coal production capacity by 16.37 million tons, and it will slash another 6.17 million tons in 2017, an official document obtained by the Global Times on Wednesday showed. A man pushes a cart with a woman lying on it as vehicles wait to evacuate people from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo. Photo: Reuters In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, residents gather near green government buses for evacuation from eastern Aleppo. Photo: AP In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows residents gather near green government buses and a number of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent ambulances, for evacuating from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: SANA via AP This image released by the Thiqa News Agency, shows civilians, some flashing victory signs, inside a bus that is evacuating people from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Thiqa News via AP Evacuees from rebel-held east Aleppo, arrive to the town of al-Rashideen, which is held by insurgents. Photo: Reuters A wounded boy sits inside an ambulance in the rebel-held al-Amiriyah neighbourhood of Aleppo yesterday as civilians waited to be evacuated to a government-controlled area on the southern outskirts of the city. Photo: AFP/Getty Images An operation to evacuate thousands of civilians and fighters from the last rebel bastion in Aleppo got under way yesterday, part of a ceasefire deal that promises to end years of fighting for the city and marks a major victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the evacuation of around 200 wounded people had started. A convoy of 10 ambulances and at least 17 green buses with nearly 1,000 people on board drove from the Ramousah district next to the rebel-held area of Aleppo, which was besieged for months by Syrian government forces, a Reuters reporter on the scene said. Rebel officials have said that civilians who wish to leave will also be able to do so as part of the ceasefire and evacuation deal. Women howled in celebration as the buses passed through a government-held area, and some waved the Syrian flag. Earlier, ambulances trying to evacuate people came under fire from fighters loyal to the Syrian government, who killed one person and injured three others, a rescue service spokesman said. Expand Close A Syrian man carrying an elderly woman to a bus for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Thiqa News via AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Syrian man carrying an elderly woman to a bus for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Thiqa News via AP "[Pro-government fighters] fired at us and at ambulance vehicles and those people opening up the road," the spokesman told Reuters. A Reuters witness in nearby government-held territory heard a burst of gunfire that lasted several minutes. "Thousands of people are in need of evacuation, but the first and most urgent thing is wounded, sick and children, including orphans," said Jan Egeland, the UN humanitarian adviser for Syria. Columns of black smoke could be seen rising from the rebel-held area, where residents hoping to depart were burning personal belongings they did not want to leave for government forces to loot. "Outside every building you see a small fire, papers, women's clothes," one resident told Reuters. Russian soldiers were preparing to lead rebels out of Aleppo, the defence ministry in Moscow said. Syria had guaranteed the safety of rebels and their families, who would be taken toward Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria. Russia would use drones to monitor how rebels and their families were transported along a humanitarian corridor, the ministry said. Expand Close Residents gather near a green government bus for evacuating from eastern Aleppo. Photo: SANA via AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Residents gather near a green government bus for evacuating from eastern Aleppo. Photo: SANA via AP Read more: A truce brokered by Russia, Mr Assad's most powerful ally, and opposition backer Turkey on Tuesday broke down following renewed fighting on Wednesday and the evacuation did not take place then as planned. An official from the Jabha Shamiya rebel group said a new truce came into effect at 2.30am (0.30 GMT) yesterday. Shortly before the new deal was announced, clashes raged in Aleppo. Government forces made a new advance in Sukkari - one of a handful of districts still held by rebels - and brought half of the neighbourhood under their control, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. The Russian defence ministry said - before the report of the government forces' advance in Sukkari - that the rebels controlled an enclave of only 2.5 square km. France's ambassador to the United Nations said international observers should monitor the safe evacuation of civilians and fighters from the war-torn city. Francois Delattre told reporters yesterday that his country was working with Germany to call for a UN Security Council briefing on the matter. "We consider, more than ever in these very dark days in Aleppo, that it's critically important to have international observers under the surveillance of the UN," he added. Meanwhile residents of Sarajevo, many of whom survived the brutal 44-month siege of the city in the 1990s, yesterday took to the streets to stand in solidarity with the people of Aleppo. Hundreds attended a rally in the Bosnian capital that recalled their own suffering at the hands of ethnic Serb forces to voice their outrage at the suffering of Syrians in Aleppo. "I am here today to raise my voice against all war crimes, equally those that were committed here 20 years ago and those that are now being committed in Syria," said Smirna Kulenovic, a Bosnian student who was born in a hospital that was targeted by mortar fire 22 years ago. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Residents gather near a green government bus for evacuating from eastern Aleppo. Photo: SANA via AP A man pushes a cart with a woman lying on it as vehicles wait to evacuate people from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo. Photo: Reuters In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows residents gather near green government buses and a number of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent ambulances, for evacuating from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: SANA via AP This image released by the Thiqa News Agency, shows civilians, some flashing victory signs, inside a bus that is evacuating people from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Thiqa News via AP A Syrian man carrying an elderly woman to a bus for evacuation from eastern Aleppo, Syria. Photo: Thiqa News via AP Evacuees from rebel-held east Aleppo, arrive to the town of al-Rashideen, which is held by insurgents. Photo: Reuters British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson conveyed his "profound concern" to Russia and Iran yesterday over their role in the "suffering" of the people of Aleppo, as the first convoys of evacuees rumbled out of the city. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Moscow and Tehran, hailed the "liberation" of the city as up to 2,000 people were transported to opposition areas in neighbouring Idlib province. Mr Johnson summoned the Russian and Iranian ambassadors in separate meetings to express his concern over their military involvement, saying their leaders "cannot expect praise for allowing some people to escape at the final hour". He said in a statement: "Both Russia and Iran have failed to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, specifically by failing to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians during the months when eastern Aleppo was besieged. They deserve no credit for the fact that an evacuation appears to be under way today." Michael Fallon, the British Defence Secretary, earlier said the crisis in Aleppo was "a tragedy of Russia's making". While many residents and rebel fighters lamented leaving their homes, Mr Assad proclaimed the city's "liberation" as "history in the making", for which he congratulated the Syrian people. Expand Close In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, residents gather near green government buses for evacuation from eastern Aleppo. Photo: AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, residents gather near green government buses for evacuation from eastern Aleppo. Photo: AP But the government's victory, aided by its ally Russia, does not mark the end of the Syrian war. Mr Assad must still wrest more than half of the country, Idlib, Daraa and several other cities from a panoply of armed groups including the US and UK-backed Free Syrian Army, al-Qa'ida and Isil, and cope with an international community growing more opposed to his rule by the day. Yesterday Mr Fallon reiterated the UK and US position that Mr Assad could not continue to rule Syria. He said: "We don't see a future for President Assad in Syria." ( Daily Telegraph, London) Relatives and friends of one of the victims hug Traces of explosives have been found on the bodies from an EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean in May killing 66 people, raising the possibility of a terror attack on board. Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said a criminal investigation would now begin into the disaster, which was expected to look into the possibility of a bomb being planted on board. "Forensic investigations have found traces of explosives on some human remains from the victims of the incident," a statement from the investigation committee said. Data from the Airbus A320's black boxes previously suggested a fire just behind the flight deck, with indications of heat and thick black smoke. Voice recordings reportedly revealed a pilot attempted to put out a blaze, but the transcript has not been made public and the cause remains unclear. Seven minutes before contact was lost with the plane as it flew from Paris to Cairo, a sequence of automated 'ACARS' messages indicated multiple threats on board. The first message, sent at 2.26am Cairo time, read: 'ANTI ICE R WINDOW', indicating a problem with the heater for the co-pilot's window. Six more messages followed in the next three minutes - two over window sensors and two mentioning smoke. One detector was in a toilet behind the flight deck and the second in the avionics bay beneath the cockpit. While the smoke detectors were intended to indicate fire, they could also be triggered by condensation of the kind that occurred in the event of sudden decompression. The final two messages, sent within seconds of each other at 2.29am, read 'AUTO FLT FCU 2 FAULT' and 'F/CTL SEC 3 FAULT', indicating problems with the autopilot and the flight control system respectively. Four minutes later, the aircraft's transponder made its last broadcast. The crew did not make a distress call and radar data suggested the plane veered sharply before hitting the water. French authorities said there was no evidence the disaster was terror-related following an initial manslaughter investigation in June. Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, from the prosecutor's office, said findings could change if new evidence emerged. No group claimed responsibility for the crash, which came seven months after a Russian passenger jet was downed by Isil over the Sinai Peninsula. Militants are believed to have planted a bomb in the hold before its departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, detonating it to kill 226 people on board. ( Independent News Service) US president Barack Obama warned that America will "take action at a time and place of our choosing" over Vladimir Putin's hacking of the US election. In a dramatic escalation of the hacking row Mr Obama told National Public Radio: "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections we need to take action. "And we will. At a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicised. Some of it may not be." He added: "Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this because I spoke to him directly about it." Mr Obama was referring to a "candid and blunt" meeting with the Russian president at the G20 summit in China in September. On Thursday Mr Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest confirmed the White House believed Mr Putin was behind the hacking, saying it was "pretty obvious". The hacking of the Democratic National Committee's emails, and those of Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta, led to embarrassing revelations for Mrs Clinton. Mr Obama was careful not to say he believed the Kremlin had wanted to help Donald Trump into the White House. But he told NPR: "There are still a whole range of assessments taking place among the intelligence agencies. And so when I receive a final report it will give us a comprehensive and best guess as to those motivations." However, he said the Russian hacking had created "more problems for the Clinton campaign than it had for the Trump campaign". He added: "Elections can always turn out differently. You never know which factors are going to make a difference. But I have no doubt that it had some impact, just based on the coverage." Ben Rhodes, Mr Obama's deputy national security adviser, said: "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it." A US intelligence official said: "Putin believed Trump would be much friendlier to Russia, especially on the matter of economic sanctions. "If anything, given his background as a KGB officer, Putin has a much tighter grip on all Russian intelligence operations, civilian and military, foreign and domestic, than any democratic leader does." In a more wide ranging attack on Mr Putin in the NPR interview Mr Obama said: "This is somebody, the former head of the KGB, who is responsible for crushing democracy in Russia, muzzling the press, throwing political dissidents in jail, countering American efforts to expand freedom at every turn, and is currently making decisions that's leading to a slaughter in Syria." Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] A Muslim student appeared in a New York court on Thursday to admit to inventing a story that she was harassed by Donald Trump supporters on the subway. Yasmin Seweid, 18, told police that a group of drunken white men yelled Donald Trump! at her, and called her a terrorist. She wrote an emotional Facebook post, saying it had been dehumanizing, and provided police with a description of the suspects. Inconsistencies in the tale were put down to trauma. But then, last week, her strict Muslim parents reported that she had disappeared from her home only to reappear the following day. Questioned by the police, she broke down and admitted that she had made the story up to cover for being out late with her friends. Her parents, it emerged, also disapproved of her boyfriend. She had numerous opportunities to admit nothing happened, and she kept sticking by her story, a police source said. Seweids father, Syeed, 55, said he did not know why his daughter made up the story. I have no idea, he said. Shes the one that can speak for herself. Seweid appeared in court with her head shaved - an act of punishment allegedly carried out by her family. She faces a year in prison for false reporting. But Albert Cahn, a lawyer for the New York Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said her case should not reduce concerns over legitimate claims of bias and harassment against Muslims. Were very disturbed by these distressing developments, but we hope that they do not detract from the numerous reports coming from the Muslim community, he said. Clearly this has been a trying time for her and her family. We hope that they receive all possible support in this moving forward. We still believe that anti-Muslim attacks are under reported. Police statistics show that reported hate crimes in the city more than doubled last month with more than 43 cases, compared with just 20 in November 2015. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] US president Barack Obama has vowed America will take action on Russian hacking (AP) Barack Obama has strongly suggested Russia president Vladimir Putin knew about the email hacking that rocked the US presidential race and urged Donald Trump to back a bipartisan investigation. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Mr Obama said in his year-ending news conference. The US president said he had warned Mr Putin there would be serious consequences if he did not "cut it out," though Mr Obama did not specify the extent or timing of any US retaliation for the hacking, which many Democrats believe contributed to Mr Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton. Mr Obama also expressed bewilderment over Republican lawmakers and voters alike who now say they approve of Mr Putin, declaring that "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave". Mr Trump has dismissed recent talk about hacking and the election as "ridiculous". Mrs Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference with the US election, saying: "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." Mr Obama did not publicly support that theory on Friday but he criticised the media for what he called an "obsession" with the flood of hacked Democratic emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. US intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Mr Trump have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. Separately, Mr Obama has blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in their stronghold of Aleppo. Mr Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He said that while military options short of invasion were tempting, it was "impossible to do this on the cheap". He pinned the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Syrian president Bashar Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said as he addressed reporters from the White House briefing room shortly before leaving on his annual Christmas vacation to Hawaii. The news conference lasted about an hour and a half, longer than usual. The president is ending his eighth year in office with his own popularity on the rise, though Mr Trump's election is expected to unwind many of his policies. He is leaving his successor a stronger economy than he inherited but also the intractable conflict in Syria and troubling issue of whether Russia was meddling in the US election to back Mr Trump. US intelligence agencies have concluded with "high confidence" that Russia interfered in the election on Mr Trump's behalf. The president-elect has disputed that conclusion, setting up a potential confrontation with lawmakers in both parties. The president rejected any notion that the dispute over the origin of the hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Mr Trump. Despite fiercely criticising each other during the election, the pair have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Mr Obama said of Mr Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." AP A lawyer for impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye has said the country's Constitutional Court should restore her powers because there is not enough evidence to justify ousting her. The comments came a week after South Korea's opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Ms Park over a corruption scandal which saw millions of people take to the streets in protest. The impeachment suspended her powers until the court rules whether to formally remove her from office or reinstate her. Prosecutors have said Ms Park colluded with a longtime confidante to extort money and favours from the country's largest companies and allowed her friend to manipulate state affairs from the shadows. But Ms Park's lawyer, Lee Joong-hwan, said the politicians' "porous" arguments would not hold up in court because they lacked evidence. He did not specify which part of the allegations he saw as without backing, but said Ms Park's lawyers could only acknowledge as true an "extremely small part" of what was in the impeachment motion. "There's no reason to support her impeachment, so it should be rejected," he said. "It's hard to acknowledge that (Park) violated the constitution, and (allegations) of her law violations aren't backed by evidence." Mr Lee and two other members of Ms Park's legal team talked to reporters after they submitted a written statement to the court explaining why the case should be decided in the president's favour. The statement is needed for the court to determine the schedule of the impeachment review, which could take up to six months. The court is expected to soon order Ms Park's lawyers to submit in writing their plans to prove the claims made in the statement filed on Friday and a list of evidence they plan to use before setting up hearing dates. Mr Lee said Ms Park's legal team also submitted a complaint over the court's request to prosecutors to provide their investigation records for the review. He said that retrieving such records would violate an article in the constitution which prohibits the court from requesting records of cases that are part of a criminal investigation, prosecution and trial. AP The hearing involves what to do with some 80,000 3-litre VW cars which spewed excess pollution after being programmed to cheat on emissions tests A federal judge in the US is due to hear whether Volkswagen, American regulators and lawyers for vehicle owners have reached a deal over the remaining 80,000 cars caught up in the company's emissions scandal. US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco is set to get an update about the settlement talks. At issue is what to do with some 80,000 3-litre cars which spewed excess pollution after being programmed to cheat on emissions tests. Volkswagen lawyer Robert Giuffra has said the company believes it can recall and fix the vehicles without affecting their performance. The German car giant previously reached a deal over the other 475,000 polluting vehicles in the scandal. That settlement gives owners the option to have Volkswagen buy back their vehicles regardless of condition for the full trade-in price on September 18 2015, when the scandal broke, or pay for repairs. Regulators have not approved any fixes. Either way, Volkswagen also will pay owners 5,100-10,000 US dollars (4,000-8,000) each, depending on the age of the car and whether the owner had it prior to September 18 last year. Volkswagen has agreed to spend up to 10 billion US dollars (8 billion) compensating consumers. The settlement also includes 2.7 billion US dollars (2.2 billion) for unspecified environmental mitigation and 2 billion US dollars (1.6 billion) to promote zero-emissions vehicles. The global scandal erupted last year when the US Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had fitted many of its cars with software to fool emissions tests. Car owners and the US Department of Justice sued. The software recognised when the cars were being tested on a treadmill and turned on pollution controls. The controls were turned off when the cars returned to the road. The EPA alleged the scheme let the cars spew up to 40 times the allowable limit of nitrogen oxide, which can cause respiratory problems in humans. The scandal has damaged Volkswagen's reputation and hurt its sales. The company has reached a separate 1.2 billion US billion (1 billion) deal with its US dealers and is still facing potentially billions more in fines and penalties and possible criminal charges. The judge previously postponed a November 30 hearing about the 3-litre vehicles after former FBI director Robert Mueller said additional time might lead to a resolution. Mr Mueller is overseeing settlement discussions. AP (File photo) When it comes to overseas consumption by Chinese buyers, Louis Vuitton is not the only popular "LV." The LV abbreviation spells "donkey" in pinyin, and Chinese consumers are increasingly interested in real donkeys as well as LV bags. Donkeys imported from overseas already account for some 20 percent of the total products at Donge E jiao, one of the largest companies dealing E Jiao, or donkey-hide gelatin, according to the companys president Qin Yufeng. Meanwhile, the number of donkeys imported from Nepal to China saw a great increase in 2016, already close to 80,000 before the year's end. At the same time, in Burkina Faso, some 45,000 donkeys were slaughtered within six months, Guancha.cn reported. China needs about 4 million donkeys each year to satisfy market demand, as the nations annual E Jiao production is estimated at more than 5,000 tons. However, the actual supply is only around 1.8 million, the Xinhua News Agency reported. E Jiao is gelatin obtained from donkey skin through a process of soaking and stewing. It is often used in Chinese medicines to treat bleeding, dizziness, insomnia and coughing. (File photo of E Jiao) For Donge E Jiao alone, the company needs over 1 million donkey skins every year, but the supply always falls short, the companys managers admitted in an interview with Beijing Youth Daily. We began to see in 2000 that the drop in donkeys would affect our operation one day. We therefore set up 20 donkey farms in China, but even so we cannot guarantee a sufficient supply, said Zhang Xiaoyang, general manager of a Donge E Jiao affiliate. National data on livestock shows a sharp drop of donkey numbers in China. They have declined to about 5 million from 11 million in the 1990s. The number is still declining at a rate of over 3 percent, according to Beijing Youth Daily. The use of modern farming machines have left donkeys without a job in rural areas, and the previously low demand for E Jiao and donkey meat convinced many farmers to quit raising the animal, the article added. It is increasingly hard to find employees from the acquisitions department, because they spend more and more time looking for donkeys across China. The difficulties have been mounting, as the number of donkey drops every year. It requires trips to several areas to meet the company demand, an anonymous employee with the company was quoted as saying. This shortage has also led to a price hike for E Jiao in China. The latest increase, which marked the 16th in the past decade, brought pure donkey-hide gelatin to 10,000 RMB per kilogram, Beijing Youth Daily noted. With machines roaring, more than 10,000 workers were busy finishing their last tasks constructing the venue of the 18th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. Every year, in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, the city of Harbin hosts the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, featuring massive ice and snow sculptures. More than 1 million visitors are anticipated this year. [File photo] Tourism authorities in Sichuan province have fined a tour guide for tricking visitors into buying monkey insurance. The guide, surnamed Liu, was fined 2,000 RMB after he tacked 15 RMB onto 27 tourists cable car fees on Mount Emei, which is famous for its snub-nose monkeys. The monkeys have a reputation for attacking visitors to get food. According to officials at the tourist spot, they offer official 5-RMB accident insurance, which is recommended but not required for visitors. The guide made up a separate fake insurance, and failed to give back tourists receipts in time. The incident soon went viral online. Instead of focusing on the guides punishment, however, many netizens wished for real monkey insurance to protect visitors from the violent creatures. According to a report released by the National Tourism Administration in 2014, monkey attacks have become a main source of dissatisfaction with Mount Emei tourists. I actually wish local authorities would launch monkey insurance to protect visitors. I have been to Mount Emei several times. The monkeys there are quite fearless and violent. They may scratch or even bite you if you dont offer them food, a netizen wrote. Monkeys in scenic spots around China have indeed caused many problems. In April, Wen Mao, the chairman of a famous Chinese food company, died after being struck by a falling rock pushed by a monkey at a nature park in Henan province. (File photo) A recent survey on environmental protection found that about 85 percent of respondents across China said they care about water resources, air quality and climate change, yet a seminar on Dec. 15 warned that the public may not be so willing to translate their concerns into action. According to the survey, released on Dec. 15, only 1.58 percent of over 200,000 respondents nationwide said they are very satisfied with environmental conditions in China, while 62.69 percent said they are relatively or largely discontent. Some 85 percent said they care about the protection and utilization of water resources, as well as about water quality and climate change. Eighty percent also expressed concern about industrial and life waste. However, experts addressing the seminar said most people are significantly less dedicated to environmental protection than the results of the survey show. While people are familiar with words such as "energy-saving" and "innovation" when it comes to environmental protection, they do not always realize that environmentally-friendly measures demand sacrifice in daily life. So the real question is, are we willing to shoulder the higher cost and pay for a better environment? wondered Miao Ren, a researcher with the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission. Echoing Miao, Wen Jiajun, an expert with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, raised the example of fuel tax, as a recent increase has been denounced by many. The tax increase could help impose more taxes on polluters and get people to take public transportation instead of driving which is no less convenient in China than it is in the West. However, these suggestions are rejected by large swaths of the public every time they are proposed, Wen said. Miao pointed out that people prefer to take responsive action to deal with existing pollution rather than preemptive measures to stop it from forming in the first place. The latter method, however, is more economical for individuals and society as a whole. When it comes to air pollution in particular, about 80 percent attribute the problem primarily to car emissions, while over 66 percent blame industrial waste. Even so, 23.92 percent of respondents said they most often travel by car. With regards to practical actions for saving energy, some 70 percent said they had purchased or would be willing to purchase more advanced home appliances that consume less energy. Over 55 percent of respondents said they had or would acquire energy-saving cars. The survey was jointly developed by Beijing-based Phoenix International think tank and leading specialty chemical company Evonik. An effective medicine always tastes bitter. The cure to environmental problems is sure to make us uncomfortable to say the least. We need to remember that, Liu Daizong, program director of China Transport at the World Resources Institute, told the seminar. (Xinhua) 19:25, December 16, 2016 MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday donated 10 tons of rice seeds to Philippine farmers to rebuild their lives in the wake of the most recent typhoons in the northern Philippines. This is the fourth time China donates rice seeds to help Philippines' typhoon victims. The Chinese Embassy in Manila, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, donated 10 metric tons of Longping LP 205 hybrid rice seeds to Aurora Province which was ravaged by the typhoons of Karen and Haima. "As a country prone to typhoon-related disasters each year, China feels for our Filipino friends in Aurora and our thoughts are always with those families most affected by the tropical storms," Zhao Jianhua, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, said at the donation ceremony. "Please stay assured, in such difficult times, a helping hand is all that the Chinese government and people have to render," he added. Gerardo Noveras, governor of Aurora, lauded China's prompt response after he submitted a plea for help to the Chinese Embassy. "I thought I would have to wait for a year for the help to arrive. I never imagined it has arrived so quickly," Noveras said at the ceremony. He pointed out that the seeds arrived just in time for plantation, adding that the timely help will meet the urgent needs of the farmers. After the donation ceremony, agricultural experts also provided a training session for the farmers on how to cultivate the donated rice seeds. Typhoons Haima and Karen hit the northern part of the Philippines in October, destroying houses, tearing roofs off schools and ripping giant trees out of the ground. The cost of damage to agriculture in areas affected by Typhoon Haima has been 10.2 billion pesos (200 million U.S. dollars) with the rice sub-sector sustaining the most damage, the country's Department of Agriculture has reported. (Xinhua) 19:35, December 16, 2016 MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines Coast Guard(PCG) and the China Coast Guard (CCG) agreed to strengthen cooperation and mutual trust in certain maritime issues, according to a joint statement released on Friday in Manila. The PCG and CCG held the first meeting on Thursday and Friday in Manila, discussing the establishment of the Joint Coast Guard Committee (JCGC) as the initial cooperation platform for both sides. The statement said the JCGC, once established, will serve as a venue for both Coast Guards to strengthen mutual trust, deepen confidence, intensify communications and exchange, enhance friendly cooperation based on equality, reciprocity, and consensus. Both sides had a friendly exchange of views on the establishment of the JCGC, including the principles of the organizational structure, terms of references, and operational procedures, the statement said. The two sides also explored possible programs of maritime cooperation, including combating drug trafficking and other maritime crimes, marine environmental protection, maritime search and rescue, and capacity-building in related areas. During the meeting, the two sides had a substantial discussion on an interim arrangement for a proposed hotline communication. It was also agreed to convene the second organizational meeting and the inaugural meeting of the JCGC in February 2017 in Philippines. Single-digit reduction in NBS rates The revised NBS rates for ensuing Rabi season have been announced by the Government of India. New rates have not seen much steeper cuts as was widely anticipated; therefore, positive for complex (NPKs) fertilizer companies. This brings much comfort to the domestic complex fertilizer companies as a steeper cut would have entailed higher inventory losses. 03 Nov 2022 11:10 AM October 2022 auto sales: PV and CV segments continue to impress Underlying demand trend has stayed strong for PV and CV segments. Analysts at IIFL Securities estimate October 2022 wholesale dispatches in PV, MHCV and LCV segments to have grown 30%, 24% and 14% YoY, respectively. They expect the above segments to clock 25-35% volume growth in FY23. 02 Nov 2022 11:43 AM Initial signs of moderation in API cost pressures: IIFL Securities High raw-material inflation, elevated freight expenses, and normalization in marketing spends have impacted margins of Indian pharma players over the past 12 months. However, some of these API/RM cost pressures have started abating in Q3CY22. Cipla, Sun, JB Pharma and Torrent remain IIFL Securities top-picks in the pharma sector owing to lowest risk to IIFL Securities margin and earnings estimates for these companies. 01 Nov 2022 10:53 AM Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 31 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, said Azerbaijans Defense Ministry Dec. 16. The Azerbaijani army positions located in the Alibayli village of the Tovuz district were shelled from the Armenian army positions located in the Aygepar village of the Berd district of Armenia. Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were also shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Shuraabad village of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz and Ashagi Seyidahmedli villages of the Fuzuli district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights of the Goranboy, Tartar, Khojavand, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Anakhanum Khidayatova Trend: The visit of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Azerbaijan is not likely to change the interstate relationship since it is already really cooperative, Brenda Shaffer, a visiting researcher at Georgetown Universitys Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (CERES), a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center, told Trend. The PMs visit is important for Israelis as it shows that the whole Muslim world is not against Israel, according to her. I took my children to Azerbaijan and Turkey many times as kids. I didnt want them to grow up in fear of Muslims because fear often becomes hate, she said. Shaffer added that there is a limited conflict in Israel, but it is not with the whole Muslim world. Apart from that, she also mentioned Hanukkah celebration, organized in the US jointly with the Embassy of Azerbaijan and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which was held in a hotel owned by the newly elected US President Donald Trump. The celebratory event was boycotted by some Jewish organizations. She said she was excited to see at the event Maen Rashid Areikat, a Palestinian diplomat and present chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization delegation in Washington DC. Shaffer noted that it is not common that the Palestinian diplomat attends events with the American Jewish community, and that he came to event thanks to the sponsorship of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was able to play a role as a bridge between Jews and Palestinians and this is important, she added. The Native American Coalition hosted a "listening session" for tribal leaders and others in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The meeting took place at the Hillsdale College Kirby Center, near the U.S. Capitol. It was organized by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Cherokee Nation who chairs the coalition for Republican president-elect Donald Trump , and was attended by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation , as well as several representatives of the incoming administration's greatgain.gov transition team. "Was impressed with their desire to learn about the issues facing Indian Country," Gavin Clarkson, a professor and member of the Choctaw Nation , wrote afterward on Facebook. Photos posted on Facebook by New Mexico Rep. Sharon Clahchischilliage (R), a member of the Navajo Nation , show an extremely packed room at the center. According to Politico, which first reported on the meeting, so many people turned out that an overflow room had to be opened. Among those who can be seen at the meeting were Navajo Nation Council Speaker LoRenzo Bates, Chairman JoDe Goudy of the Yakama Nation , Jacqueline Pata of the National Congress of American Indians and Carlyle Begay , a Navajo citizen who has said he will be working for Trump in the White House . Kevin Allis, a member of the Forest County Potawatomi Community and the founder of a Washington lobbying firm , also attended. Writing on Facebook, Allis said those who spoke to the coalition were "voicing important Native focused policy priorities the incoming administration and Congress must address." The meeting came a day before Trump announced Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Montana) as his pick to lead the Interior Department . The position, along with the leader of the Bureau of Indian Affairs , are the most significant when it comes to Indian issues Trump has not yet said who he plans to nominate as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Read More on the Story: Trump team reaches out to Native Americans (Politico 12/16) Join the Conversation Related Stories 1. SLB and Padmavati have brought Deepika and Ranveer closer. Here's how. Twitter According to a Mid-Day report, SLB has reportedly asked Ranveer and Deepika to move closer to Film City in Goregaon for Padmavati. Whether it's celebrating their sons', Hrehaan and Hridhaan, birthdays or taking part in family festivities, they have always done so gracefully. The estranged couple was seen outside a Mumbai restaurant where they met for a dinner date with kids. 3. After a series of controversies,'Comedy Nights Bachao' is finally going off air And now, a DNA report claims that due to dipping TRPs and bad press, the makers had to take a tough decision of going off the air. 4. Sona Mohapatra slams IIT-Bombay for asking her to get a man so that she could perform This was Indore a day ago. Tonight we play Noida! #SonaLive #MusicRun #PicOfTheDay by Himmat Sodhi A photo posted by Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) on Dec 9, 2016 at 5:11am PST Accusing the institute of being a cesspool of mediocrity', Sona Mahapatra wrote about not being permitted to perform 'solo'. 5. Twitter slams rapper Badshah for giving a twist to Rahman's Humma Humma I liked Badshah more when it was just a masala. (@krazyfrog) December 15, 2016 Twitter is not at all happy with the latest version of Humma Humma and slams Badshah for ruining the song. Conversation about sexual consent has slowly been picking pace both in India and the world. Unlike rape, consent is not completely black and white its essentially a big blob of grey. Is it rape? Is it different from rape? When the lack of consent leads to forced sexual intercourse, it instantaneously becomes rape a criminal offence. When the Standford University swimmer forced himself on the unconscious 23-year-old woman, that was rape and there are no two ways about it. She was blacked out, hence had no say in the matter and he took advantage of her vulnerability and raped her. The chatter around sexual consent is relatively new and what it essentially says is that the absence of no does not, in any which way, mean yes. Consent by its very definition means the permission to do something or give agreement for something. So when you have neither said yes or no, the former cannot be naturally assumed. Consent requires communication and respect, most importantly. Often people find themselves in situations where they feel coerced to partake in something they might not want to and so find themselves at a grey crossroads. Here we've outlined five cases for the next time you're caught in a corridor of uncertainty: 1. You're at a bar flirting with s/he with a drink in your hand It's a Friday and you find yourself at a bar, releasing the week-long stress with a drink. Standing next to you is someone - man or woman - you find attractive and you strike up a conversation that begins with talking to cheeky flirting and eventually to gentle touching. This does not mean that you must go home and culminate the conversation with sex. Flirting and touch does not need to end in sex. Aastha Mittal ALSO READ: Woman Explains Difference Between Rape And Consensual Sex Through $5 Bill 2. You've been dating your boy/girlfriend for a few weeks or a few months now and sex hasn't happened yet Aastha Mittal If you find yourself having some naughty fun with your partner at home and you're not ready to have sex, say no. And your partner must take that as a no, rather than a "come on baby, I want you". You've said all you need to say: No. 3. You're at a party and a couple of drinks down. As is the person you've been dancing and having fun with... ...and you begin to kiss your friend. Both of you are pretty drunk. The kissing continues and the stripping begins. Subsequently, your memory has been blurred by alcohol and you're not sure what happened but you're sure the sex happened. Did you give your consent to sex, or didn't you? 4. You and your partner have been engaging in oral sex but haven't yet led your relationship to vaginal intercourse... Aastha Mittal And you ask your partner to take the relationship to the next level. S/he agrees, although reluctantly, and during the process you can feel that s/he is no longer enjoying the sex and his/her body becomes stiff, but you continue because it's apparently normal and you're having a great time. When you're involved in a relationship of any sort and at any stage, it's very important to respect and be aware. Pick up on signs if there has been any change in feeling because his/her body language will change. 5. You're travelling and meet someone you're attracted to and you know s/he feels the same The initial attraction leads to kissing. Then the fondling begins and you're uncomfortable. You don't want the fondling. Just because you said yes to kissing, know that you need not oblige to fondling or more. Aastha Mittal ALSO READ: Powerful Photos Show The Harsh Reality Of Sexual Assault These five situations are only five of the many one may come across. Through these five pointers, it's important to understand that there is a huge difference between rape and consent. In rape, there is no yes whatsoever. However, the different shades of grey creep into consent because it might have begun with a yes. We need to slowly move away from the idea that sexual assault only happens in a dark alley through a psychopathic individual who's out to hurt. It can happen at a party with a stranger, with your long-term boy/girlfriend behind closed doors as well as in a marriage. Since it was published on Tuesday, a picture of a 80-year-old man crying after losing his spot in a bank queue has came to symbolise the abject suffering of the common Indian. The man, who was at the bank to withdraw two thousand rupees from his account couldn't access his meagre life savings, no matter how desperately he needs it. Indiatimes exclusively spoke to the man who still can't get his own money. He also ticks all the boxes of being nationalistic - he's retired from the Indian Army, doesn't live in an unconnected village but in Gurgaon, India's millennium city. Twitter Nand Lal, (80), an ex-serviceman had gone to bank on Tuesday and it wasn't his first visit. "I had been trying for the last four days, but I couldn't get money. At last, when my turn came, they told me that I will get only 10,000, but I required more money since I had to pay my maid and rent. But they didn't give me the money and I broke down," said Nand Lal who lives in Old Gurgaon's Bhim Nagar area in a rented 8X10 room. Nand Lal lives alone. He has an adopted daughter who's happily married and lives in Faridabad. "We came to India in 1947 after partition from Dera Ghazi Khan in Pakistan's Punjab. I joined military and retired in 1991. We didn't have any kids, therefore, I adopted one girl child and educated her. Now, she is happily married and lives in Faridabad," added Lal. Lal says that his daughter calls him to stay at her home, but he doesn't want it because it is not his custom. "She often comes and takes me to her home. But I always come back. I don't like living there. One reason is that living at daughter's house is quite embarrassing, second, she doesn't allow me to smoke," added Lal, who gets Rs 10,000 from his daughter every month apart from Rs 8,000 as pension from the government. Lal, who has the hearing disorder doesn't get you in one go. One has to repeat his or her sentences again and again. When asked why did he want more money after he got Rs 10,000, he said, "I have Rs 45,000 in my account and I wanted to withdraw the whole amount. Though, I don't have many expenses after giving my rent which is Rs 3,000 and paying my maid who takes Rs 6500, I want my money with me and I don't know why shouldn't I get my money." Neighbours of Nand Lal are curious about his sudden shot to fame and whenever somebody asks for house number 446, they start asking questions. "He's an old guy, and I don't know why he wants to have so much money. His money is safe in the bank but he doesn't understand that. Since he's old and unable to take care of him, his maid takes advantage and keeps taking extra money for him," said Fakeer Chand, his neighbour. Though, Nand Lal now has paid his rent, he still wants to withdraw his money. December 16 registered Delhi's name in crime records for one of the most brutal rapes anywhere in the world. Nirbhaya, the victim later came to be remembered as, was mercilessly injured after being gang raped in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident, not only left the entire country shocked, it brought together people cutting across caste, class, religion and political ideologies to speak in one voice, that is, to seek justice for the victim - who was battling for her life - and demand stringent laws against this heinous crime. Things seem to have remained much the same as the number of incidents did not come down in the following years. India reported 24,923 rapes in 2012, 33, 707 in 2013, 36,735 in 2014 and 34,651 in 2015. The number of reported rapes drastically increased just the year after Nirbhaya united people to fight against the countrys biggest evil and the figures increased year on year, until they dipped slightly in 2015. Four years on from that night, India, it seems, is standing where it was that night when Nirbhaya boarded that bus where she would be raped by five men. AP Soon after then Congress government announced the 'Nirbhaya Fund' in its 2013 budget with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crores. The fund was expected to support initiatives by the government and NGOs working towards creating a safer and empowered environment for women in India. Now a parliamentary standing committee has criticised the government for the slow implementation of schemes proposed by the fund. The Standing Committee on Human Resource Development has asked The Women and Child Development Ministry to act with a sense of urgency because of the ever increasing crimes against women on a daily basis across the country. TOI According to National Crime Records Bureau data, one woman is raped every 22 minutes in India and only one in four accused in the crime is convicted. The pace of implementation of the schemes envisaged under the Nirbhaya Fund is going at a very slow rate. Incidents of violence against women are increasing with every passing minute and the funds meant to tackle this problem remain idle. No concrete steps have been taken up by the authorities concerned to deal with this situation and most part of scheme is still at the planning stage. Indiatimes Some of major schemes approved for implementation under the fund include: 1. Introduction of SOS button in phones, which would be used by the PCR (Police Control Room) to trace distress calls. It was initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs in consultation with the Ministry of Information Technology and was proposed to be launched in 157 cities in two phases and has an expected outlay of Rs. 1000 crore. 2. A pilot scheme of setting up an SOS alert system in trains in central and western zones through a railway helpline. 3. Installation of CCTV cameras and GPS in public transport in 32 towns each with a population of over one million. The scheme proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has a budget of Rs. 1700 crores. 4. Setting up of Nirbhaya centres near government hospital in every district as first point access for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The scheme is proposed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development with an expected budget of Rs 244 crores. 5. Victim compensation fund for rehabilitation of victims of acid attacks. 6. Programme named Shubh for mapping vulnerabilities and identifying areas and categories of women who need special protection measures such as women in prostitution or widowed women. Former member and founder of Women Power Connect, Kanta Singh, told Indiatimes, For two years, not even a penny was spent because the government wasnt clear of its proposed initiatives. Two years later, the fund received more funding, 2000 crores to be precise. In 2015, the Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the scheme to create a one stop crisis centre for women to report sexual assault and violent crimes against them. BCCL Although the government has started building a few centres across the country and some are already active, for example in MP, women, Kanta says, largely dont have a single point of contact to report crime. If a woman is beaten up at home by her husband, she doesnt know where to go and where does she go? Also only creating one centre in every state defeats the schemes purpose to make a crisis centre as accessible as possible for women. Immense red tape during the process of implementation has led to extremely slow progress of the aims set out by the fund. Kanta says that India has not been able to bring womens safety issue at the centre of the country and governments thought process. Womens concerns are treated like charity issues. There is still a general apathy towards these problems violence is still largely considered a family and personal problem and its not been magnified into the entire countrys problem," she said. 'Lack of toilets leading to rise in rape cases' A new study by researchers at The University of Michigan has revealed that women in India without process access to toilets are more likely to experience sexual violence. One of the researchers, Approva Jadhav, said, Open defecation places women at uniquely higher risk of type of sexual violence: non-partner. homegrown Their findings revealed that it was twice as likely for women without access to household toilets to face sexual violence than women with such access and suggested that improvement of infrastructure and access to toilets would provide a safer environment for women. It said, Women who use open defecation sites such as open fields or the side of a railway track are twice as likely to get raped when compared with women using a home toilet. grview There is a lack of urgency in the air when it comes to the safety of women, when it should be on top and high priority list for the government. The Committee recommended that the Women and Child Development Ministry should treat this matter with a great sense of urgency as the reality paints a very gloomy picture. Katan says that people in position of authority and duty bearers need to understand that it is their responsibility to ensure the safety of women. She also urges women to put pressure on the government and demand action. Its a long road ahead for women and one that requires money less, and will more importantly. The tribal-dominated Gumudumaha village in Kandhamal district, which made headlines in July after five villagers including a child were allegedly killed in firing by security forces, is abuzz with activities for economic growth of the region. The Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Baliguda, has taken up banana plantation on 20-acres of land with the involvement of 67-odd families of the village. The agency will also dig up wells to provide water for irrigation. "We have decided to take up banana plantation in the village. We will dig eight wells for irrigation purpose and also to mitigate water shortage in the village," said Ramesh Chandra Behera, project director ITDA Baliguda. Behera said around Rs 14 lakh would be spent on the project. "The economic condition of the tribal people of the village is likely to somehow change with the cultivation of banana," he added. Five innocent people had died in the alleged exchange of fires in the village on July 8 near the village. Besides state politicians, senior bureaucrats and police officials visited the village on the aftermath of the incident. The government had faced criticism from different quarters, including opposition parties, civil societies and rights activists due to the lack of infrastructure facilities like drinking water, communication, healthcare in the village. Even as the Parliament logjam continues over demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit back at Congress over what he called "party's double standards when it comes to the fight against black money." Addressing party lawmakers on Friday, PM Modi said digital economy should be a way of life "as it will be transparent and effective." BCCL/ File Union minister Anant Kumar who addressed the media after the meeting said the PM urged party MPs to reach out to the people in their respective constituencies on the matter of demonetisation. PM Modi reportedly told the gathering that "unlike before, the ruling party today is fighting corruption and black money and unlike before, the opposition parties are not." ANI Modi also reportedly said that for the BJP and the NDA, the country is bigger than the party. "For the ruling BJP and NDA, the country is above the party, but it was the opposite for the Congress when it was in power. For it, the party was bigger than the country," Modi reportedly said. ANI The crucial meeting of the party came amid the likely washout of the winter session of the parliament due to the opposition's protest over demonetisation. ANI Meanwhile, a Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi, is expected to meet the PM later today over loan waiver for farmers. The participation of other opposition parties is not clear yet. Ratan Tata, interim chairman of Tata Sons, said that contrary to media reports, he has no plans to step down as chairman of Tata Trusts "at this point in time." Tata Trusts, which control 66% in Tata Sons, is the holding company of the $108-billion Tata Group. Reuters Tata said the Trusts are undertaking many initiatives that had "national impact and he is looking forward to continuing his involvement with these initiatives" in the Trusts. "He was however keen that a process should be in place for a smooth succession at an appropriate time," said a press release from Tata Sons. Media reports earlier said Tata Trusts has asked an external consultant to advise it on the selection process for a new chairman, which could be completed by the middle of next year. Reuters "The reference to the media discussion with some Trustees relate to the process being put in place for the leadership succession in the Trusts in the future, to enable an ordered and smooth transition of leadership," the press release said. In October, Tata Sons removed Cyrus Mistry as its chairman. Ratan Tata came back to take over as the company's interim chairman for four months. A selection committee has been formed to find a successor to Tata in four months. Mumbai Police detained three men after they seized Rs 10.10 crore from their car that was intercepted late on Wednesday. BCCL The police said that the men were detained after their car was searched. A search of the car resulted in the seizure of cash amounting to Rs 10.10 crore. Of the total amount, 10 lakhs were in the new Rs 2,000 notes while the remaining 10 crore was in old notes Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, a police source said. The men however have told the police that they belong to a bank from Chinchwad in Pune and were simply transporting the cash to the bank's branch in Ghatkopar. BCCL The source added, The men claim that the cash belongs to Vaidyanath Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. One of the men also claims to be the manager of the branch in Chinchwad. Ashok Dudhe, deputy commissioner of police and PRO of the Mumbai police, confirmed the incident and said that the police were in the process of verifying the detained mens claims. We will also seek help from Income Tax Department in this matter, Dudhe said. The one-man judicial commission, which investigated the deadly terrorist attack in in Pakistan's Quetta in August has criticised the Nawaz Sharif government for its monumental failure to combat terrorism in the country. AFP The judicial commission, Justice Qazi Faez Isa has submitted its finding reports to the Supreme Court. The commission, which took 56 days to finalise the report, asked the state, which has receded in the face of those spreading hatred and murder, to re-exert itself. The report highlights the interior ministrys reluctance to take action against terror outfits and delays on its parts to proscribe militant outfits. AP Proscribed organisations continue their illegal activities and new terrorist organisations are proscribed after long delays. Some terrorist organisations have still not been proscribed or prosecuted, even when their statements acknowledging terrorist attacks are broadcast and printed. It also pointed out the failure in enforcing the Anti-Terrorism Act and recommended that the National Action Plan should be made into a proper plan, with clear goals, a comprehensive monitoring mechanism, and periodic reviewing. AFP The commission was set up to inquire the terror attack in Quetta earlier this year in which at least 74 people, mostly lawyers, were killed when a hospital came under attack by terrorists. Details added (first version posted on 10:57) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Margarita Popova on Dec. 16. The head of state said relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria were at a very high level at the level of friendship and partnership. President Ilham Aliyev underlined the importance of Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova`s visit to Azerbaijan, and recalled their last meeting. The head of state expressed hope that the visit of the Bulgarian Vice President will be successful and contribute to strengthening relations between the two countries. Bulgarian Vice President Margarita Popova said there are good opportunities for developing relations between the two countries in various areas, including in legal and cultural fields. She said the application of transparent governance, including ASAN xidmt service in Azerbaijan causes great interest in Bulgaria, adding her country attaches great importance to cooperation in this area. They discussed the expansion of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria ties in energy, legal, cultural and other areas, as well as mutual experience exchange. Residents of Americas Massachusetts were a happy crop on Thursday because marijuana was officially legalised, allowing people 21 and over to possess, grow and use limited amounts of recreational pot. Katheirne Hitt/Flickr To celebrate this joyful occasion, a small group of pot lovers gathered outside Bostons State House and gave away free portions of the leafy drug to passerby if they were willing to indulge. However, it will be at least another year before the drug can be legally sold by licensed retailers in the state. Supporters of the legalization fear that officials might seek changes to the law or delay its full implementation over the coming months. Unsplash Massachusetts is now the first American state on the east coast where recreational marijuana is legal. Other states that have legalised pot includes, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Alaska. Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. Details added (first version posted on 10:56) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Defense Minister of Georgia Levan Izoria on Dec. 16. Levan Izoria described the fact that he is paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan is the manifestation of close relations between the two countries. He paid tribute to national leader Heydar Aliyev who played an important role in the development of Azerbaijan-Georgia bilateral cooperation. Saying Georgia will continue supporting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Levan Izoria thanked the Azerbaijani government for backing Georgia's territorial integrity. The Georgian defense minister hailed the importance of a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying the dispute must be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Levan Izoria expressed his confidence that the strategic partnership relations between the two countries will further develop. President Ilham Aliyev said the Georgian defense minister's paying his first official visit to Azerbaijan is a good sign of bilateral relations between the two countries, and praised the successful development of strategic friendly ties in a variety of fields, including security. President Ilham Aliyev highlighted Azerbaijan's constant support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pointing to Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the head of state noted that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have repeatedly declared the unacceptability of the status quo and the need for changing it. He said that this should form the basis for the conflict settlement. President Ilham Aliyev expressed hope that cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries will successfully continue. Why Are the Media Taking the CIAs Hacking Claims at Face Value? Despite the CIAs uninspiring record for the past 70 years, the media are defending the agency for all its worth. By James Carden December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Nation " - I n 1977, Carl Bernstein published an expose of a CIA program known as Operation Mockingbird, a covert program involving, according to Bernstein, more than 400 American journalists who in the past 25 years have secretly carried out assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency. Bernstein found that in many instances CIA documents revealed that journalists were engaged to perform tasks for the CIA with the consent of the managements of Americas leading news organizations. Fast-forward to December 2016, and one can see that there isnt much need for a covert government program these days. The recent raft of unverified, anonymously sourced and circumstantial stories alleging that the Russian government interfered in the US presidential election with the aim of electing Republican Donald J. Trump shows that today too much of the media is all too happy to do overtly what the CIA had it once paid it to do covertly: regurgitate the claims of the spy agency and attack the credibility of those who question it. On Friday, December 9, The Washington Post, fresh from publishing a front-page story that promoted a McCarthyite blacklist, published a piece that claimed that the CIA concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency. The Post also claimed that Intelligence agencies have identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked e-mails, including those of John Podesta. That same day, The New York Times reported that the Russians hacked the Republican National Committees computer systems in addition to their attacks on Democratic organizations, but did not release whatever information they gleaned from the Republican networks. The implication being that the Russians released the DNC e-mails to hurt Clinton, but held off on releasing the RNC e-mails in order to protect Trump. The bombshell reportsand Trumps quick dismissal of them as ridiculoushave dominated the news cycle in the days since their publication. The current fight between Trump and the CIA is of potentially of historic consequence. Never before has the intelligence establishment shown so much hostility to a newly elected president. Never before has a president shown so little deference to the CIA. And while the battle between Trump and the CIA continues to play out publicly, there remains the very real need for the public disclosure of as much evidence as possible, given the severe ramifications a successful foreign intervention in a US election would have on American democracy. A Slam Dunk? While Trumps sin in committing an act of lese majeste against the CIA has been treated as a grave transgression in the eyes of the media, serious questions remain over the veracity of the CIAs finding. After all, several aspects of the Times and Post reports that actually undermine the dominant narrative of Russian interference are often carefully cropped out of the mainstream medias portrayal of the controversy. For example, The Washington Post noted, almost as an aside, that intelligence agencies do not have specific intelligence showing officials in the Kremlin directing the identified individuals to pass the Democratic emails to WikiLeaks, while the Times reported that the RNC had issued a statement denying that it had been hacked. Indeed, the FBI has yet to make a determination on whether the RNC was hacked, something that the RNC itself denies. The lack of clarity over whether or not the Russian government hacked the RNC is a critical part of the story, since the CIAs secret assessment that alleged that the Russians interfered in the election in order to elect Trump was, according to a US official who spoke to Reuters this week, based on the fact that Russian entities hacked both Democrats and Republicans and only the Democratic information was leaked. Meanwhile, much of the media has ignored the rather salient fact that the FBI is by no means in agreement with the anonymous and secret CIA assessment that Russia interfered with the election in order to help elect Donald Trump. Nor, for that matter, is the Office of the Director for National Intelligence (ODNI), which has declined to endorse the CIA report. This is perhaps less surprising than it first might seem, considering that as recently as November 17 ODNI Director James Clapper testified before the House Intelligence Committee and acknowledged that as far as the WikiLeaks connection, the evidence there is not as strong and we dont have good insight into the sequencing of the releases or when the data may have been provided. Indeed, evidence of a connection between the Russian government and the hackers that are believed to have stolen the DNC/John Podesta e-mails remains illusory. Cyber-security expert Jeffrey Carr has observed that there is ZERO technical evidence to connect those Russian-speaking hackers to the GRU, FSB, SVR, or any other Russian government department. The very real possibility that non-state actors carried out the hack of the DNC has been conspicuously absent from the mainstream narrative of Russian interference. And so, while the Russian government certainly could have been behind the DNC/Podesta e-mail hack, the possibility that it originated elsewhere should not be so easily dismissed. After all, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has repeatedly denied that Russia was the source of the DNC/Podesta emails, while a former British ambassador who is close to Assange has said the source of the e-mails is an insider. Its a leak, not a hack. But that hasnt prevented the media from treating the anonymous, unverified claims of both The Washington Post and The New York Times, both based on a CIA secret assessment, as gospel. Media Rushes to Defend The CIA Last weekend, the influential Sunday morning talk shows took Trump to task for his dismissal of the CIAs secret assessment. An incredulous George Stephanopoulos asked incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus: How is a President Trump going to work with intelligence agencies if he doesnt trust their work? I want to know, Stephanopoulos demanded, why President-elect Trump doesnt believe the conclusions of 17 intelligence agencies. On Face the Nation, Time magazines Michael Duffy said the CIAs finding was deeply disturbing because it means that Russia attacked the United States. Duffy also expressed shock that Trump has drawn a fairly dark cloud over his relationship with the intelligence community on whom he will rely and need as president. And over at NBCs Meet the Press, moderator Chuck Todd warned viewers that the issue of Russian interference is not about the results of the election, its about a hostile foreign government trying to influence our election. Todd thought it remarkable that Donald Trump decided to side with a foreign government over our own chief intelligence agency. Donald Trump, he concluded, has declared war on the intelligence community. The respected liberal columnist E.J. Dionne also sprung to the defense of the CIAs honor in his column for The Washington Post on Monday. When The Post revealed the CIAs conclusions about Russia, Dionne opined, Trumps response was to insult the CIA. Still more alarming to Dionne, is that Trump would have the audacity to happily trash our own CIA. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, December 13, liberal stalwart Keith Olbermann went much further. In a commentary for GQ he warned that the nation and all of our freedoms hang by a thread. And the military apparatus of this country is about to be handed over to scum who are beholden to scum, Russian scum. He then tweeted his considered belief that If @realDonaldTrump will ignore CIA to listen instead to Russians, its treason. The working assumption here seems to be that the job of the president (and apparently of media outlets like CNN and The Washington Post) is to stand, salute, and never question Langley. In Langley We Trust? The high-profile anchors and analysts on CNN, CBS, ABC, and NBC who have cited the work of The Washington Post and The New York Times seem to have come down with a bad case of historical amnesia. The CIA, in their telling, is a bulwark of American democracy, not a largely unaccountable, out-of-control behemoth that has often sought to subvert press freedom at home and undermine democratic norms abroad. The columnists, anchors, and commentators who rushed to condemn Trump for not showing due deference to the CIA seem to be unaware that, throughout its history, the agency has been the target of far more astute and credible critics than the president-elect. In his memoir Present at the Creation, Trumans Secretary of State Dean Acheson wrote that about the CIA, I had the gravest forebodings. Acheson wrote that he had warned the President that as set up neither he, the National Security Council, nor anyone else would be in a position to know what it was doing or to control it. Following the Bay of Pigs fiasco, President John F. Kennedy expressed his desire to to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds. The late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan twice introduced bills, in 1991 and 1995, to abolish the agency and move its functions to the State Department which, as the journalist John Judis has observed, is what Acheson and his predecessor, George Marshall, had advocated. A democracy, it is true, cannot function if its elections are the target of outside powers which seek to influence it. To see what a corrosive effect outside powers can have on democratic processes, one need look no further than the 1996 Russian presidential election, in which Americans like the regime-change theorist Michael McFaul (who was later to become US Ambassador to Russia from 201214) interfered in order to keep the widely unpopular Boris Yeltsin in power against the wishes of the Russian people. For its part, the CIA has a long history of overthrowing sovereign governments the world over. According to the historian William Blum, the CIA has (1) attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, most of which were democratically-elected, (2) attempted to suppress a populist or nationalist movement in 20 countries, (3) grossly interfered in democratic elections in at least 30 countries, (4) dropped bombs on the people of more than 30 countries, (5) attempted to assassinate more than 50 foreign leaders. Perhaps if it was doing the job of intelligence gathering rather than obsessively plotting regime change, the CIA would have amassed a record worthy of the establishment medias incessant fawning. But alas. Consulting the CIAs historical record, one is confronted by a laundry list of failures, which includes missing both the break-up of the Soviet Union (during the 1980s a CIA deputy director by the name of Bob Gates called the USSR a despotism that works) and the 9/11 attacks. In the years following 9/11, the CIA has been caught flat-footed by, among other things, the lack of WMD in Iraq (2003); the Iraqi insurgency (2003); the Arab Spring (2010); the rise of ISIS (2013); and the Ukrainian civil war (2014). More recently, CIA Director John Brennan made false statements before Congress over the CIAs hacking into the computers of Congressional staffers. And yet, despite its uninspiring record of the past 70 years, the media has driven itself into a self-righteous frenzy over what it perceives to be President-elect Trumps grave show of disrespect to the CIA. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy. Hypocrisy of Russia-Did-It Stories Is Hard to Stomach By Janine Jackson December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " FAIR " - It is, of course, worth knowing what involvement any other country might have had in the US election, but elite medias consumption with the Russia-did-it storyline so far is discouraging to say the least. The Intercept s Sam Biddle (12/14/16) has a breakdown of what public evidence there is that Russia was behind hacks of DNC email accounts. He concludes that while its plausible that Russians or even Russia was involved, its a very long way from proven, different agencies dispute it, all the sources were reading are anonymous and the assessments themselves are secret. It should go without saying that the repercussions of such an accusation are serious. As Biddle writes: What were looking at now is the distinct possibility that the United States will consider military retaliation (digital or otherwise) against Russia, based on nothing but private sector consultants and secret intelligence agency notes. If you care about the country enough to be angry at the prospect of election-meddling, you should be terrified of the prospect of military tensions with Russia based on hidden evidence. Apart from the slipperiness between the possible and the proven, the gap between the confidence of the headlines and the caution buried deep inside, its weird to see media skip over the storys center: that the alleged meddling consisted of revealing true information about the Democratic Party and Clinton campaign. As journalist Bob Parry (Consortium News, 11/18/16) notes, a sort of hysteria in official Washington is now clumsily conflating such realif embarrassingnews with the phenomenon of fake news, though reporting has tracked that phenomenon not to the Kremlin but to Millennials in Macedonia, for example, who figured out how to make money with crazy click-bait stories. But in back of it all, what makes the umbrage of elite media so hard to stomach is the hypocrisy. This is, after all, the same elite media that supports outsider-induced regime change anywhere and everywhere they see an official enemy, from Iraq to Honduras to Libya to Syriaand wait, whats this? A cover from Time magazine (7/15/96): a chipper Boris Yeltsin holding an American flag, and the line Yanks to the Rescue! The Secret Story of How American Advisers Helped Yeltsin Win. You can make one law for me, another for thee your credo, but you cant be too surprised when others are unimpressed. Whatever story there is to be told about Russia and the 2016 election, corporate media have squandered the credibility it would take to tell it. Ah, So Putin Didnt Hack Those Emails After All By Mike Whitney December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Counterpunch " - The neocon-driven propaganda campaign to prevent president-elect Donald Trump from taking office took an unexpected turn on Thursday when CBS posted an article claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the alleged hacking of the DNC. According to the report: American intelligence officials say they are convinced that Russian hacking of our presidential election was approved by President Vladimir Putin. Sources confirm to CBS News they believe Putin was aware of attacks that began in July of last year. An official investigation is still going on. But this is the first time the hacking that plagued the Democratic National Committee until Election Day has been linked to Putin, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues. The hacks were so widespread and sustained over such a long period of time that U.S. Intelligence sources say it could not have been carried out without the knowledge of senior levels of the Kremlin. CBS News has learned that investigators believe the initial cyberattack involved thousands of malicious emails aimed at the U.S. government, military and political organizations. (Vladimir Putin likely gave go-ahead for U.S. cyberattack, intelligence officials say, CBS News) As is true with earlier reports on the same topic, CBS fails to provide the names of any of its U.S. intelligence sources, any corroborating evidence to support its allegations, or any proof that its speculative stitching together of isolated facts produce an accurate account of what actually took place. No where in the entire hysterical narrative, do the authors mention the fact that neither the DNC nor the Podesta emails were hacked by a hostile foreign power, but leaked from within the DNC itself or by agents operating at the NSA. The most probable explanation for the alleged cyber intrusion is that the emails were given to WikiLeaks by a disgruntled employee operating in the Hillary campaign who was so sickened by the lies and corruption that he decided to blow the whistle. Is that so hard to believe? Needless to say, this logical storyline doesnt jibe with the CIA-MSM-Podesta version of events which requires a charge of foreign espionage to overturn the election and implement its treasonous plan for regime change in Washington. According to the Daily Mail, Craig Murray, who is the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan and associate of Julian Assange, flew to Washington, D.C. for emails.He claims he had a clandestine hand-off near American University with one of the email sources. Murray said the leakers motivation was disgust at the corruption of the Clinton Foundation and the tilting of the primary election playing field against Bernie Sanders Murray says: The source had legal access to the information. The documents came from inside leaks, not hacks. Regardless of whether the Russians hacked into the DNC, the documents Wikileaks published did not come from that, Murray insists. . Murray said he was speaking out due to claims from intelligence officials that Wikileaks was given the documents by Russian hackers as part of an effort to help Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election. I dont understand why the CIA would say the information came from Russian hackers when they must know that isnt true, he said. Regardless of whether the Russians hacked into the DNC, the documents Wikileaks published did not come from that. (EXCLUSIVE: Ex-British ambassador who is now a WikiLeaks operative claims Russia did NOT provide Clinton emails, Daily Mail) As of Thursday, none of the major media have covered or investigated Murrays claims which should be expected since it essentially proves that the MSM fairytale-version of events is pure bunkum. By the way, theres an excellent article at Consortium News by 6 Intelligence agency veterans titled US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims that challenges the absurd Russia hacking claim and attributes the cyber incident to leaking. Heres a short blurb from the piece that helps to clarify a few important points: All signs point to leaking, not hacking. If hacking were involved, the National Security Agency would know it and know both sender and recipient. In short, since leaking requires physically removing data on a thumb drive, for example NSA is able to identify both the sender and recipient when hacking is involved.The bottom line is that the NSA would know where and how any hacked emails from the DNC, HRC or any other servers were routed through the network The various ways in which usually anonymous spokespeople for U.S. intelligence agencies are equivocating saying things like our best guess or our opinion or our estimate etc. shows that the emails alleged to have been hacked cannot be traced across the network. Given NSAs extensive trace capability, we conclude that DNC and HRC servers alleged to have been hacked were, in fact, not hacked. The evidence that should be there is absent; otherwise, it would surely be brought forward, since this could be done without any danger to sources and methods. Thus, we conclude that the emails were leaked by an insider as was the case with Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Such an insider could be anyone in a government department or agency with access to NSA databases, or perhaps someone within the DNC. (US Intel Vets Dispute Russia Hacking Claims, Consortium News) Bottom line: Leaked not hacked. Thus, the MSM Putin did it version = Bullshit. Heres more on Murrays eyewitness account of his contact with the whistleblower. This is from an exchange that took place on Tuesday in an interview between Murray and author David Swanson. David Swanson When you say youve met the leaker; was that of the DNC emails or the Podesta emails? Craig Murray I cannot give too much detail on thatbut I have met one of the people involved. The person is American and not connected to Russia at all.(Julien Assange has confirmed that the leaker was not Russian) David Swanson Your claim is not that the Russians would never hack into a computer, right? Your claim is that you know who did this and it isnt Russia? Craig Murray Right, I was involved in handling top secret material myself for over 20 years, and all the spy services spy on each other all the time. So the Russians could have done this, but they didnt. I happen to know that they didnt. In both the Podesta and the DNC emails came from sources that are not Russian, but were American inside sources. And that could be inside the organization itself or it could be American agencies that are monitoring peoples communications.Inside the DNC or inside the NSA. (Talk Nation Radio: Craig Murray: Russia Didnt Do It) So, the hacking story has nothing to do with hacking and nothing to do with Russia. Its just another attempt by establishment elites to distort the facts in order to subvert the democratic process and overturn the election results. Isnt that what this is really all about, regime change in the USA? You bet it is. This charade has Hillarys bloody fingerprints all over it. Join the debate on Facebook Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy. The "Elite" Coup Of 2016 By Moon Of Alabama December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " Moon Of Alabama " - There is an "elite" coup attempt underway against the U.S. President-elect Trump. The coup is orchestrated by the camp of Hillary Clinton in association with the CIA and neoconservative powers in Congress. The plan is to use the CIA's "Russia made Trump the winner" nonsense to swing the electoral college against him. The case would then be bumped up to Congress. Major neocon and warmonger parts of the Republicans could then move the presidency to Clinton or, if that fails, put Trump's vice president-elect Mike Pence onto the throne. The regular bipartisan war business, which a Trump presidency threatens to interrupt, could continue. Should the coup succeed violent insurrections in the United States are likely to ensue with unpredictable consequences. The above theses are thus far only a general outlay. No general plan has been published. The scheme though is pretty obvious by now. However, the following contains some speculation. The priority aim is to deny Trump the presidency. He is too independent and a danger for several power centers within the ruling U.S. power circles. The selection of Tillerson as new Secretary of State only reinforces this (Prediction: Bolton will not get the Deputy position.) Tillerson is for profitable stability, not for regime change adventures. The institutional Trump enemies are: The CIA which has become the Central Assassination Agency under the Bush and Obama administrations. Huge parts of its budgets depend on a continuation of the war on Syria and the drone assassination campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. Trump's more isolationist policies would likely end these campaigns and the related budget troughs. The weapons industry which could lose its enormous sales to its major customers in the Persian Gulf should a President Trump reduce U.S. interference in the Middle East and elsewhere. The neoconservatives and Likudniks who want the U.S. as Israel's weapon to strong arm the Middle East to the Zionists' benefit. The general war hawks, military and "humanitarian interventionists" to whom any reduction of the U.S. role as primary power in the world is anathema to their believes. The current CIA director Brennan, a leading figure of the CIA torture program and Obama consigliere, is in the Clinton/anti-Trump camp. The former CIA heads Hayden and Panetta are public Clinton supporters as is torturer king and former CIA deputy director Michael Morell. It is thereby no wonder that the CIA is leading the anti-Russian campaign. Its task now is to implant the idea in the U.S. public that Russian intervention skewed the U.S. election towards Trump. The purpose is the delegitimization of the Trump victory in the eyes of the media and public but even more so in the eyes of the electors within the electoral college. The CIA is heavily supported by the same mainstream media that pushed for Clinton during the election. (These are, not by chance, also the same media that pushed the CIA's earlier "Saddam's Weapon of Mass Destruction" campaign.) The Democratic partisan and Harvard law Professor Lawrence Lessig is pushing the electors and offers them free personal legal support. He says the electoral college vote is now close. Could 37 Republican electors, put there by voters in their states to vote for Trump, be convinced to move from electing Trump to abstain or vote for someone else, Trump would miss the needed 270 votes. The whole election of the president would then by kicked up to the House of Representatives. Should the electors vote for Trump there is still a possibility that members of the House and the Senate could officially question that vote and cause delays or Congressional probes and legal challenges. Here are the detailed general proceedings and specifics for the electoral college as explained by the National Archives and Records Administration. Though neoconservatives have no genuine support within the U.S. electorate they have a strong hold on significant parts of Congress and the relevant MSM commentariat. Many leading neoconservatives and war hawks like Robert Kagan, Max Boot and the Washington Post editorial board came out for Clinton during the campaign. Clinton even ran campaign advertisements with Republican Congress luminaries like Lindsay Graham, Sasse and Flake. The House and the Senate majority may well be on the anti-Trump side if push comes to shove. But whatever the outcome there surely would be intense legal challenges and I expect the case to go up to the Supreme Court. As an alternative to legal shenanigans Trump's inauguration could be delayed by Obama's order to the intelligence community to create a formal review of Russian intervention in the election by January 20. That is not by chance the official inauguration date! The selling point: By ordering a full review of allegations of Russian into the 2016 election process, President Barack Obama is essentially asking the IC to make an analytical judgment about the validity of the election that will place Trump in the Oval Office. A "compromise" in Congress could be to wait for the Intelligence Community's analysis and then discuss it before certifying Trump as president. That would end up with no result as National Intelligence Estimates are notoriously vague. Meanwhile the Vice President-elect would sit in as acting President: If the President-elect fails to qualify before inauguration, Section 3 of the 20th Amendment states that the Vice President-elect will act as President until such a time as a President has qualified. If the congressional or legal process around the Trump election gets delayed, that may be a state for a long time. The ruling Washington blob or borg could well live with an acting President Pence while Trump would have no official say in any government business. (Could Clinton then become acting VP or qualify as the new president?) The media intervention on the anti-Trump side is heavy. But first keep in mind that there is no public evidence, ZERO, that Russia indeed had anything to do with the DNC or Podesta or other leaks and the publication of emails by various outlets like Wikileaks. Craig Murray assures us that he knows that these were not hacks but insider leaks and that he knows the leaker(s). Indeed he now tells us that the emails were handed over to him during a visits in Washington. Former intelligence officials including the technically very knowledgeable former NSA official William Binney concur that the hacking story is false. All we have heard or seen so far are hearsay rumors and allegations of evidence. To me as experienced IT professional the case is technically laughable just as Murray explains here. If the claimed hacks occurred at all the alleged methods were so common that anybody could have done these. There is not even one claimed fact yet that is technically halfway acceptable as evidence that "Russia did it". But still the NYT runs a big package of pieces telling us that "Russia did it" based on the non-factual CIA rumors and unprofessional IT assertions by Crowdstrike, the self-promoting IT security company the DNC hired and paid. Before that the Washington Post published major claims of Russian interference by anonymous officials. NBC News now tops that with "intelligence officials" saying Putin himself ran the hacking campaign. Authors of the story are the long time insider hacks Bill Arkin and Ken Dilanian known for clearing his stories with the CIA before publishing. The next story will tells us that Vladimir Valdimirovich himself was punching the keyboard. Many news outlets and editorials follow these "leads". Part of the scheme the Clinton campaign has worked out was explained by a former opposition research consultant to the Democratic National Council, the Ukrainian-American Alexandra (aka Andrea) Chalupa, in this thread: Andrea Chalupa @AndreaChalupa Dec 11 1.) Electoral College meets Dec. 19. If Electors ignore #StateOfEmergency we're in, & Trump gets elected, we can stop him Jan. 6 in Congress 2.) If any objections to Electoral College vote are made, they must be submitted in writing, signed by at least 1 House member & 1 Senator 3.) If objections are presented, House & Senate withdraw to their chambers to consider their merits under procedures set out in federal law. ... Editorials and op-eds in the major papers are pushing the scheme along. Just for example from a long list A.J. Dionne in the Washington Post: The CIAs finding that Russia actively intervened in our election to make Trump president is an excellent reason for the electors to consider whether they should exercise their independent power. At the very least, they should be briefed on what the CIA knows, and in particular on whether there is any evidence that Trump or his lieutenants were engaged with Russia during the campaign. The New York Times editorial laments about Trump ridiculing the CIA fairy tales it promotes. Many people who have voted for Trump would be disgusted and outraged if or when Trump will be denied his office. Many of them are armed and would protest. Violence is ensured should the coup succeed. Trump selected four former generals to joins his cabinet and staff. Should the troubles escalate we might be roughly in for a scenario as laid out in the 1992 military paper: The Origins of the American Military Coup of 2012 (pdf) by Charles J. Dunlap. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy. Samantha Power Forgot to Mention The Massacres Done in America's Name When Samantha talked about barbarism against civilians in Aleppo, I remembered climbing over the dead Palestinian civilians massacred at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in Beirut in 1982, slaughtered by Israels Lebanese militia friends while the Israeli army Washingtons most powerful ally in the Middle East watched By Robert Fisk December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent " - So there was Samantha Power doing her shame bit in the UN. Is there no act of barbarism against civilians, no execution of a child that gets under your skin, that just creeps you out a little bit?, Americas ambassador to the UN asked the Russians and Syrians and Iranians. She spoke of Halabja, Rwanda, Srebrenica and, now, Aleppo. Odd, that. For when Samantha talked about barbarism against civilians in Aleppo, I remembered climbing over the dead Palestinian civilians massacred at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in Beirut in 1982, slaughtered by Israels Lebanese militia friends while the Israeli army Washingtons most powerful ally in the Middle East watched. But Samantha didnt mention them. Not enough dead Palestinians, perhaps? Only 1,700 killed, including women and children. Halabja was up to 5,000 dead. But Sabra and Chatila certainly creeped me out at the time. And then I recalled the monstrous American invasion of Iraq. Perhaps half a million dead. Its one of the statistics for Rwandas dead. Certainly far more than Srebrenicas 9,000 dead. And I can tell you that Iraqs half million dead creeped me out rather a lot, not to mention the torture and murders in the CIAs interrogation centres in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq. It also creeped me out to learn that the US president used to send innocent prisoners off to be interrogated in... Assads Syria! Yes, they were sent by Washington to be questioned in what Samantha now calls Syrias Gulags. Funny old world. Samantha, God bless her, didnt mention Gaza, where quite a lot of Palestinian children have been killed by the Israelis. Nor Yemen, where Americas head-chopping allies are now dissing the Shiites and have killed almost 4,000 civilians. Nor the mass killings by Isis in Mosul. Nor most oddly of all did Samantha mention 9/11. Here, surely, was an international crime against humanity worthy of mention in Samanthas roll call of shame. 3,996 innocent dead. A must-be, youd think, for throwing at the Syrians and the Russkis and the Iranians. But no. For theres a wee bit of a problem there, isnt there? Because the 9/11 bloodbath was carried out by al-Qaeda. And al-Qaeda in Syria has changed its name to al-Nusra and then to Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and well, its al-Sham (alias Nusra, alias al-Qaeda) thats been fighting against the Syrian regime in eastern Aleppo. A bit difficult, you see, for Samantha to express her horror over the most terrifying attack on her country in recent history talk about barbarism against civilians when the very criminal jihadi organisation which committed this outrage is, yes, in eastern Aleppo fighting against the Syrian army. So Samantha has to throw the dead of 9/11 into the trash bin in order to tell us how creeped out al-Qaedas enemies should be at their behaviour in Aleppo. Out, too, go the Christians murdered or deported by Isis in Mosul, those Yazidis subject to Isis ethnic cleansing a subject of which Samantha was quite an expert when it was taking place in Bosnia. In fact, Isis simply gets deleted from Samanthas narrative. They get, in effect, a clean bill of health. And we journos are going along with all this. What was the last time you read of Isis catastrophic return to the Syrian city of Palmyra last week surely a victory for those we are supposed to be defeating in Mosul? And some of the Palmyra attackers actually came from Mosul! How did they do that when Mosul is surrounded by the Iraqi army and their allies and all those American advisers? And for that matter, what was the last time you heard about Mosul, surrounded by a government army trying to smash its way into the city against its jihadi defenders with even more civilians besieged than in Aleppo? So here we go again on the familiar semantic trail down which all critics of Syrias enemies (and America) must tramp. Yup, Bashar is a dictator, his elections a farce, his militias killers, his army ruthless, his prisons so barbarous that Washington sent its captives there for a bit of brutal interrogation. I have actually seen an account of one such session in which the Syrian interrogators concluded that the guy sent over from the US was completely innocent. But seriously, if we were all so creeped out like Samantha then we would, would we not, have intervened militarily in Syria (despite the Russians) and come to the rescue of the Syrian opposition? But theres another odd element to our western outrage and the clue lies in Samantha Powers choice of atrocities. For the gassing of Halabjas Kurds was committed by Saddams air force, who were Arabs. And the Rwandan genocide was commited by Rwandans. And the Srebrenica massacres were committed by Milosevics militias who were Serbs. We may have stood idly by, as the saying goes it, is after all, what we are doing and going to do over Aleppo but neither we nor our allies actually committed these atrocities. Samantha stayed on safe ground, didnt she? And this is what we in Europe are doing. The French president and the British parliament where the former Chancellor George Osborne did his woe is me bit all lamented that they had done absolutely nothing about the suffering of Aleppo. And didnt intend to do anything; hence all the empty seats at the Westminster debate. And I think I know why because this is one of the very few times when our fingers are not bathed in the blood of the Middle East. For once, neither we nor our allies except for the lads from al-Nusra who are supported by Qatar and our other Gulf chums but who are the good guys in all this are guilty of anything more than indifference. Which was exactly the same problem at Halabja, Rwanda and Srebrenica. We didnt do it, guv. It wasnt us this time. So shame upon the Syrians and the Russkis and the Iranians. Creeps you out just a little bit, doesnt it? The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Information Clearing House editorial policy. While Decrying Massacre in Aleppo, US Steps up Bloodshed in Mosul By Bill Van Auken December 16, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " WSWS " - Even as columns of green buses were ferrying the last of the Western-backed Islamist rebels out of eastern Aleppo Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry took the podium at a State Department press conference to describe the situation in the northern Syrian city as unconscionable and to denounce the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out nothing short of a massacre. Kerrys denunciations, which extended to Syrias allies, Russia and Iran, expressed the growing anger and desperation within US ruling circles and Washingtons military and intelligence apparatus over the debacle of the five-year-old regime change operation in Syria. With the driving out of Aleppo of the Al Qaeda-linked militias that have been armed and funded by the CIA, the so-called rebels have lost their last foothold in a major urban area, and the prospects of these proxy forces toppling Assad have largely evaporated. Kerry was reduced to demanding a cessation of hostilities in Aleppo under conditions in which a cease-fire brokered between Russia and Turkeywith no apparent prior notification of, much less participation by, Washingtonappeared to be holding on Thursday as the orderly evacuation of both rebels and civilians proceeded. Kerry vowed, The fall of Aleppo, should it happen, does not end the war. It will continue. The statement amounted to a threat, under conditions in which the Obama administration recently issued a waiver of the US Arms Export Control Act to allow the CIA to funnel in more weapons to irregular forces in Syria. Even with these arms, however, it is difficult to see how the rebels can regain the offensive. The hypocrisy of the US denunciations of the brutal methods employed by the Syrian government and its allies in eastern Aleppo has been underscored by the unfolding of a similarly savage siege being directed by the Pentagon against the far larger urban population of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city. As many as 1.5 million people still live in that metropolitan area, which the Iraqi army surrendered to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in June 2014. With the US-backed offensive against Mosul now nearly two months old, conditions for the citys residents are growing increasingly desperate, while the number of civilians killed continues to mount. Scattered reports from media in the region provide a glimpse of the carnage unfolding in Mosul. Turkeys Anadolu news agency reported that an entire family of nine was wiped out on Tuesday in a US drone missile strike against a house in Mosuls al-Falah district. Nine family members were killed in the attack, an Iraqi police officer told the agency. And The New Arab (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed) reported Thursday: At least 40 civilians have been killed including women and children and dozens of others injured in air raids and artillery fire in the east of the Islamic State group [IS] bastion of Mosul, local and medical sources have said. The civilians were killed early on Wednesday with many of the injured still trapped under rubble... While similar accounts of human suffering in Aleppo have received non-stop coverage in the Western media amid official denunciations of Syria and Russia, reports of the slaughter in Mosul have been effectively blacked out. Instead, what reports there are concentrate on the terrorization of the local population by ISIS, which is described as preventing civilians from leaving besieged districts so as to use them as human shields, employing identically brutal tactics as those used by the Western-backed rebels against the civilian population in Aleppo, whose plight was blamed entirely upon the Syrian government. Appearing at a joint news conference with US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the Qayara air base earlier this week, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top US commander in Iraq, estimated that the US-backed forces had killed or badly wounded over 2,000 ISIS fighters since the launching of the offensive on October 17. No such estimates have been offered as to the number of civilians who have been killed, but given the tactics that are being employed, using special forces units to call in airstrikes and artillery and tank fire against houses in urban neighborhoods believed to be occupied by ISIS fighters, it is inevitable that more civilians are dying than combatants. The UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in the week ending on December 11 alone, 685 civilians were wounded by the fighting. This figure is only a fraction of the real toll, given that victims inside areas still under ISIS control are not recorded by the agency. Doctors and nurses in the city are working under impossible conditions, without access to medicine, clean bandages and even water and electricity, which have been cut off to most of the city as a result of airstrikes. The government has reported that 100,000 people have been displaced by the siege, including at least 35,000 children. Preparations are reportedly being made for 500,000 civilians to be ultimately driven out of the city. With winter weather having set in, temperatures are falling below freezing under conditions in which the population is left without the ability to heat or light their homes, and those who have fled are living in tents. Food supplies, meanwhile, are running low, with prices soaring. In the end, the assault on Mosul may claim more victims through exposure, starvation and disease than by means of bombs and bullets. Despite the barbaric conditions that have been inflicted by this siege, which is backed by US and allied airpower as well as an army of 10,000 US and NATO troops and military contractors, no one in the West is talking about war crimes, much less advocating a ceasefire in Mosul, as they are in Aleppo. In their brutal siege against the Iraqi city, the US and allied imperialists are asserting their interests and hegemony, while in Aleppo, they confront a stunning setback in their attempt to pursue the same interests by other means, using CIA-armed and Al Qaeda-affiliated proxy forces. That is what determines the stark contrast in the medias reaction to these two human catastrophes unfolding barely 300 miles apart. Details added (first version posted on 17:06) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order December 16 with the aim of speeding up search and rescue efforts in the Caspian Sea where oilfield workers went missing yesterday after a part of an oil platform collapsed caused by high winds. Under the order, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, State Oil Company and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company are instructed to speed up search and rescue efforts. The Cabinet of Ministers is instructed to provide financial and other necessary assistance for the families of those who died in the incident. The State Oil Company is instructed to determine serviceability of the oil gathering station of the No 3 oil and gas production department of SOCARs AzNeft Production Union and estimate damage caused to the facility. The president also instructed the State Oil Company to review security at all its facilities and installations. Under the order, the Prosecutor Generals Office must launch an immediate investigation into the cause of the incident. A 12-year-old boy who has not yet been identified has been taken into police custody. German authorities say he attempted to blow up a market in Ludwigshafen town. In two separate incidemts, police say he left explosives in a rucksack in November which failed to detonate. A few days later, he planted an explosive device near a town hall. A concerned individual alerted the police just in time and a tragedy was averted. It is unclear if the boy has links to the Islamic State terror group and although he remains in police custody, he will not be charged to court. Under German law, he is under the age of criminal accountability. Google has just released its 2016 most searched-for songs. Beyonce, who we earlier reported as the most Googled music star of 2016 also takes the top position for her hit song Formation. The pop diva beat Princes Purple Rain to be the most Google-searched song of 2016. Completing the top five were Rae Sremmurds Black Beatles, Desiigners Panda and Drakes One Dance. Also in the top ten most Googled songs were Adeles Hello, released in 2015, and Mike Posners surprise hit I Took A Pill In Ibiza. See the most Googled songs of 2016 list: 1. Beyonce Formation 2. Prince Purple Rain 3. Rae Sremmurd Black Beatles 4. Desiigner Panda 5. Drake One Dance 6. DNCE Cake by the Ocean 7. Adele Hello 8. Ruth B Lost Boy 9. Disturbed Sound of Silence 10. Mike Posner I Took a Pill in Ibiza The Finance Ministry of Czech Republic has revealed that Cuba has offered an unusual way of repaying its Cold War-era debt its trademark rum. Finance Ministry spokesman Michal Zurovec said on Thursday that Cuban authorities have proposed to pay back US$276 million to the Czech Republic from the time both countries were part of the communist bloc. If that proposal becomes a reality, the Czech would have enough Cuban rum for well over a century. According to the Czech Statistics Office, the Czechs imported rum from Cuba worth over US$2 million last year. Zurovec says that the Czechs would still prefer the debt was at least partly paid in cash. This isnt the first time countries have offered to pay their debt in absurd ways. In the past, North Korea wanted to repay its US$10-million debt with products made with ginseng. Governor of Ekiti State Ayodele Fayose stormed a Zenith Bank branch in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday to withdraw N5 million from his accounts which were unfrozen following an order from a Federal High Court. The accounts were frozen on June 21 over suspicion that the money found in them was proceeds of financial crime. A court had ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commision (EFCC) to freeze the two accounts belonging to the governor, but a suit was filed on June 26 challenging the order. The anti-graft agency is said to not have followed due process. Fayose arrived the bank premises located on Onigari-Secretariat Road junction in the state capital, and was there between 1:20 p.m. and 3: 20 p.m. on Thursday. He served the copies of the court judgement ordering EFCC and Zenith Bank to immediately unfreeze the accounts on the branch manager, Mojeed Adekunle to effect the withdrawal. Adekunle told the governor that his bank had received a copy of the judgement and would obey the order. Thereafter, the process to release the cash began after Fayose submitted a cheque already written. He then later emerged with two black cellophane bags containing the N5 million he withdrew from the accounts. While Fayose was inside, a large crowd of residents milled around the bank while some customers were temporarily denied entry by bank security officials before they were later allowed in. Mobile and regular policemen and outriders and journalists who accompanied Fayose stood outside the bank and their presence attracted residents attention. Speaking with journalists after he had collected his cash, Fayose accused the EFCC of rascality. He said: I came to the bank after serving them with the court order and I made up my mind that I wont leave the bank until my money is given to me. And the bank has done the needful by giving me part of the money confirming that they have obeyed the court order. I want to thank Nigerians and my supporters for believing in our cause that Nigerians should not be oppressed. The rascality of EFCC must stop. And I want to thank the EFCC for obeying the court order. The ongoing shift from offline retail to eCommerce in Nigeria and Africa at large, brings with it, unique opportunities and challenges. Sadly, certain obstructions can serve as bottlenecks that stifle growth and slow down the much needed rapid development Africans desperately need. One of such challenges is the problem of logistics, distribution and package delivery. As much as the e-commerce market has grown, and it has grown a lot over the last 3 years, customers still decry average(at best)customer service and poor logistics services provided by e-commerce stores and retail outlets taking advantage of the internet to engage consumers. Though admittedly the situation has slowly improved over the years, experts and stakeholders all agree that there is still much to be done. Of course, the retail businesses are not totally to blame, as they suffer from massive infrastructural deficit, lack of buyers trust, bad road networks amongst other things.This is where we at Metro Africa Express (MAX) have carved a niche for ourselves. MAX has been solving the delivery problem effectively for a year now and is ready to apply that wealth of expertise in providing best-in-class last mile delivery to the online food ordering space. Food delivery poses a unique problem as it is a highly time-sensitive enterprise. You had better deliver the food on time or not at all. With the proliferation of mobile technology, ordering food or anything for that matter has never been easier and more convenient.With better mobile apps, more distribution channels, and ubiquity of the internet, deliveries in anybody can place an order and get their food with just a few swipes and clicks. MAX Eats is here to make that process even more seamless, with deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes.We can make bold claims like this because since we kicked off operations, we have successfully cut the average delivery time for non-food items from 4 days to 3 hours. Software is a key driver of the new gig economy, as such, we can boast of one of the most secure, best designed and easy-to-use eCommerce mobile apps in Africa MAX Eats, plus a network of professional dispatch riders. An inalienable truth is that Nigerians love great food, from continental traditional dishes to more urban delicacies, and you can include a plethora of foreign cuisine and even more. There has never been a better time to be a foodie. At MAX Eats, we are building an exciting community of unabashed food lovers. We are glad to formally unveil MAX Eats, the dedicated food delivery platform from Metro Africa Express. The MAX Eats app is available for download on ios and Android Sign up now and get great discounts from an impressive array of delicacies from your favorite restaurants and eateries. Weve partnered with top class restaurants such as The Place, Shawarma Express, Tasty Fried Chicken, 01 Shawarma, Pattaya Oriental and a host of others.We accept payments online and will refund you in the highly unlikely event of a failed delivery. MAX Eats delivers in as fast as 30 minutes! Nigerian newspaper headlines December 16, 2016. Punch The Presidency on Thursday said President Muhammadu Buhari would consider both sides of the matter in the case of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, who was on Wednesday recommended for sack by the Senate. Vanguard The Federal Government, yesterday, launched an information application called, Federal Government of Nigeria Information App (FGN IAPP) in Abuja. Guardian Farmers in Zagga district of Bagudo Local Government Area in Kebbi State have decried the persistent destruction of their farm produce by cattle breeders. Thisday The new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday announced the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary-General. Leadership The federal government yesterday confirmed the discovery of crude oil in Borno State, North East Nigeria, thus raising the hope of the region joining the league of oil producing areas in the not-too-distant time. Premium Times The Senate on Thursday hit back at the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, after he dismissed the legislative body as saying balderdash over the call for his removal and prosecution. The Sun Exxonmobil has sacked about 150 Nigerian workers in what its management described as a regular evaluation of its operation as part of a disciplined management process. National Mirror Nigeria currently loses an estimated N10 billion annually to the wanton hosting of Internet content abroad by public and private organisations in the country. The Nation The All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday that an audio recording where Rivers State Governor Nyeson Wike was allegedly threatening to kill electoral officers has confirmed its earlier fears about plots by the governor and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to achieve victory through sinister means during the Rivers legislative rerun elections. The Nigerian Senate announced on Tuesday that the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu would not be confirmed. Magu, who was named acting chairman in November 2015 after Lamordes exit had his name sent to the Senate for confirmation in July. In surprising fashion, the Senate kicked against his confirmation, citing a security report which accused Magus of extravagance unbecoming of a public officer. An excerpt of the security report, which has now been made public reads Magu is currently occupying a residence rented for N40M at N20M per annum. This accommodation was not paid for from the commissions finances, but by one Umar Mohammed, air commodore retired, a questionable businessman who has subsequently been arrested by the secret service. For the furnishing of the residence, Magu enlisted the Federal Capital Development Authority to award a contract to Africa Energy, a company owned by the same Mohammed, to furnish the residence at the cost of N43M. Investigations show that the acting EFCC chairman regularly embarked on official and private trips through a private jet owned by Mohammed. In one of such trips, Magu flew to Maiduguri alongside Mohammed with a bank MD who was being investigated by the EFCC over complicity in funds allegedly stolen by the immediate past petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke. Furthermore, the EFCC boss has so far maintained a high profile lifestyle. This is exemplified by his preference for first class air travels. On 24 June, 2016, he flew Emirate airlines first class to Saudi Arabia to perform lesser hajj at the cost of N2.9M. This is in spite of Mr. Presidents directive to all public servants to fly economy class. Magu has fostered a beneficial relationship with Mohammed who by his confession approaches clients for possible exploitation, favours and associated returns. The insistence of the Senate to reject Magus appointment is the latest blow to President Buharis much-vaunted fight against corruption. It comes just days after the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal was indicted by a Senate committee in a misappropriation of funds for the North East. A US state policeman was arrested on Friday after authorities found out he was pulling women over to ask them on dates, The Associated Press reports. New Jersey state police were alerted to officer Marquice Prathers activity after several women complained. The 37-year-old allegedly turned off his wireless microphones after targeting women between the ages of 20 and 35, and asking them for their phone numbers during stops. He is being charged with falsifying and tampering with public records to cover up his behaviour. He has also been suspended without pay. The trooper joined the police force in 2013 and makes an annual salary of $60,749, state payroll records showed. A conviction on the third-degree charge carries a sentence of three to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000 and fourth-degree carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Prathers attorney said he will plead not guilty. Two sales representatives with the West Coast Fisheries Limited, Oluwaseun Olatunji and Oladapo Fasan, are cooling their heels at the X-Squad of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, for the alleged theft of 1,730 cartons of fish. The two men allegedly conspired with the companys driver, one Kayode, to steal the tinned fish at the companys warehouse in the Ilupeju area of Lagos. PUNCH Metro learnt that the men had on several occasions overloaded their delivery van and always shared the money made from the excess cartons. However, a security man in the warehouse was said to have called the attention of the companys management to the disappearance of 600 cartons. The administrative manager of the company, Samuel Laraiyetan, said external auditors were subsequently invited to the company. He said, The security man discovered that on November 9 and 15, about 600 cartons of the tinned fish got missing. Based on that suspicion, we invited external auditors and they conducted proper checks and discovered that a total of 1,730 cartons had been stolen. We then reported to the police. We told the police that we suspected the sales representatives and the driver. He put the cost of the stolen goods at over N10m. Our correspondent was told that while Olatunji and Fasan were arrested, Kayode fled and his whereabouts had yet to be known. Olatunji, 30, an indigene of Sagamu, Ogun State, who reportedly dropped out of the National Open University due to financial constraints, said Kayode was the brains behind the theft. He explained that the group made about N4m from the fraud, saying he was given N1.2m which he used to buy a car. He said, I have worked with the company for two years. I was employed as a sales representative and I was on a salary of N35,000 per month. The companys driver, Kayode, called us and said we could make more money if we took extra cartons during our loading and we could sell those cartons and pocket the money. He said he would manipulate the invoice to cover up our tracks. We bought into the idea after we saw how he successfully manipulated the invoice. Our mode of operation is to take excess goods, which we sell to the companys customers at the normal price. We then share the profit among ourselves. We made about N4m and the driver said since he was the originator, he would take the lions share. He took N1.5m, and gave me N1.2m, which I used to buy a car. I am ashamed of myself. Thirty-eight-year-old Fasan said he was pushed into the act by poverty, adding that he needed money to cater to his sick mother. He said, I was studying Business Administration at the Lagos State University, but I dropped out in 200 level due to financial challenges. I have worked with this company for 12 years and I never knew this was how the journey would end for me. But it is not true we took 1,730 cartons of fish. We stole the cartons on two occasions. The first time, we took 300 cartons and we took another 300 cartons the second time. I was paid N1.2m from the proceed, which I used to buy a Honda car for N750,000. The rest I used to take care of my mum, who was sick. One of the alleged receivers of the goods, identified only as Chukwuma, said he was unaware that the goods were stolen, adding that he bought the goods at the normal rate of N6,000 per carton. He said he had done nothing wrong as the men were duly introduced to him by the company as their representatives. And they have never given me a discount, he added. The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said investigations were ongoing. She said, We have made contact with the management of the company to return to them the recovered stolen goods. The suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigations. Efforts are on to apprehend the fleeing driver. Source: Punch Details added (first version posted on 12:03) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Governor of Astrakhan Region of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhilkin. During the meeting, a diploma of Honorary Professor of Astrakhan State University was presented to the president. Zhilkin thanked President Aliyev for supporting the establishment of high-level cooperation between Astrakhan Region and Azerbaijan. He hailed the activity of the Azerbaijani diaspora in several areas in Astrakhan, including in economic and social ones, as fruitful and reliable. Zhilkin said next year will mark the 300th jubilee of Astrakhan governorate. He invited President Aliyev to jubilee events, adding they will be honored, if the Azerbaijani president attends these ceremonies. The governor said Astrakhan citizens have special sympathy for Azerbaijan. Zhilkin described the erection of a statue of national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev and the construction of a park around the statue as a wonderful gift to Astrakhan. It is already a tradition that newly married couples visit the park and lay flowers at the statue of the national leader, he added. The governor said a school and a kindergarten built through support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation are also beautiful examples of friendship. Zhilkin pointed to activation of the Azerbaijani business in Astrakhan, saying high esteem and respect lie at the heart of cooperation. He said several companies of Azerbaijan and Astrakhan established business relations, adding it is planned to construct an Azerbaijani business center in Astrakhan. President Aliyev said that historically Astrakhan and Baku have had close ties. President Aliyev said that when he was in Astrakhan he was impressed with positive changes, land improvement work in the city, implementation of infrastructure projects, and protection of historical monuments. The president congratulated the Astrakhan governor on this occasion. President Aliyev thanked him for warm attitude to Azerbaijanis in Astrakhan, adding that they feel themselves at home in this city. President Aliyev touched upon cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia. The president said Azerbaijans first trade representative office abroad will open in Moscow in the near future, adding that such trade and business offices will also open in various Russian regions, including in Astrakhan. The president expressed confidence that this will accelerate import and export processes between the two countries. Acting Rector of Astrakhan State University Alexander Lunov announced the decision of the Scientific Council of the university to name President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev Honorary Professor for his outstanding contribution to the development of Azerbaijani-Russian ties in the field of education. The diploma and robe of Honorary Professor were presented to the president. President Aliyev said he is proud to receive honorary professorship of the university, and expressed his gratitude for this decision. The president touched upon close cooperation with Russia in educational area, adding that branches of Russias two influential higher education institutions Lomonosov Moscow State University and Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University opened and operate in Azerbaijan at his initiative. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan attaches great importance to education, noting that cooperation in this area brings the two nations closer to each other. Lesaffre makes two acquisitions As part of its ongoing expansion strategy in sourdoughs and baking ingredients market in Western Europe, Lesaffre has made two recent acquisitions: LFI Tollblend in the United Kingdom and Tecno Bakery in Spain. As part of its ongoing expansion strategy in sourdoughs and baking ingredients market in Western Europe, Lesaffre has made two recent acquisitions: LFI Tollblend in the United Kingdom and Tecno Bakery in Spain. We aim to offer an innovative range of bread ingredients and sourdough products alongside with our yeast in response to the various requirements facing our industrial and crafts customers, said Vincent Saingier, General Manager of Lesaffre Western Europe Baking Region. LFI Tollblend is based in Worcester (United Kingdom) and produces ingredient mixes for the baking and processed foods sectors and which has a gluten-free production capability. It employs 35 people, most of who work in production. Lesaffre is already present in the United Kingdom through DCL Yeast and Fermex and can now look forward to widening its bakery offering, said Mike Abraham, General Manager of Lesaffre UK & Ireland. Tecno Bakery is located in Barcelona, Spain. Specialising in the production of enzyme-based improvers and correctors for flour-milling, the company employs 15 people and has a manufacturing unit and a laboratory. Lesaffrehas been present in Spain since 1991 with a yeast plant based in Valladolid employing 120 people. Lesaffre welcomes these acquisitions in two countries, United Kingdom and Spain, where we have been present for many years, said Antoine Baule, Lesaffre CEO. Those are entirely in line with our strategic development objectives in the baking industry and will enable us to expand and strengthen our offer to our customers in terms of improvers and technical assistance for baking. Hawkish Conference Monica Kingsley - 21 minutes ago S&P 500 was indeed sluggish into the FOMC only to welcome the statement and then the presser came, with acentuated hawkishness that did sink not only stocks, but also bonds and real assets. The encouraging... Germany urges western Balkan leaders to resolve conflicts AP - 40 minutes ago German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told leaders of six Balkan countries that aspire to join the European Union that it is high time to overcome regional conflicts and stand together as Russia wages... $SPX : 3,733.20 (-0.70%) $DOWI : 31,955.07 (-0.60%) $IUXX : 10,772.90 (-1.22%) AgMaster Report 11/03/2022 The PRICE Futures Group - 1 hour ago JAN BEANS Surprise! Surprise! Out of all the crazy, tumultuous news this week, Jan Beans have emerged as the improbable upside leader! A mkt previously under wraps due to a record forecast out of... Rough Landing The PRICE Futures Group - 1 hour ago Fed Chairman Jerome Powel almost got through his FMOC press conference without tanking oil prices but one of his last answers caused a sharp drop in stocks and oil. The Fed raised rates by 0.75 percentage... Is Microsoft giving in to the bears? A Wyckoff analysis Trade Precise - 1 hour ago Microsoft price had several Wyckoff sign of weakness and inability to rally up since December 2021, both suggesting distribution. If the price is unable to stay above that, it will likely break down to... MSFT : 216.61 (-1.59%) A new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security finds that a 2012 initiative to automatically enroll workers into retirement plans has substantially increased the number of people saving for retirement. Not long ago, the British government grappled with a problem that has long bedeviled U.S. leaders as well: Half of British households have nearly no retirement savings or investments. But unlike the U.S., the U.K. enacted an aggressive effort to expand retirement savings among members of its workforce. So, how successful has that effort been? According to The United Kingdoms New Retirement Savings Program, a report issued this month by the National Institute on Retirement Security evaluating the results of a national retirement scheme enacted in October 2012 in the U.K., the program has significantly boosted the overall number of people saving for retirement. Four years into the automatic enrollment program, nearly 300,000 employers have enrolled close to 6 million people in the scheme. Whats more, retention is high once employees are automatically enrolled, the report notes. But whereas the program represents a big step in the right direction, it isnt perfect, the researchers found. NIRS, a nonprofit research institute focused on retirement security, found that the program does not offer workers enough transparency around fees, and the maximum savings rate allowed by the scheme is not sufficient to provide financial security in retirement. The NIRS report offered a detailed examination of the British retirement savings program, known as auto enrollment. A total of 9 million new private sector savers are ultimately expected to participate in the program when the first round of mandatory enrollments is completed in 2018. The British program created its own government-sponsored entity, the National Employment Savings Trust, or NEST, that any employer can use to enroll its employees if a private sector vendor isnt desired or suitable. NEST, which holds the majority of the new savings, offers a 50-basis-point, all-in fee, with target datestyle funds that can be tweaked by NEST according to market conditions. And, unlike participants in U.S. defined contribution plans, U.K. auto-enrollment employees generally are not allowed to borrow money from their accounts, ensuring that their savings are more likely to compound and grow unimpeded. In terms of savings rates, in the U.K. program employers currently contribute 1 percent of assets, while their employees put in 0.8 percent. By 2019 the goal is for employees to contribute 4 percent and employers to contribute 3 percent, with the government kicking in an additional 1 percent, for an 8 percent total. One of the biggest criticisms of U.K. auto-enrollment is that contributions will cap at 8 percent, believed to be an insufficient savings rate to fund retirement. However, there is the possibility of raising this ceiling at a future date. Another complaint is that plan providers do not reveal fees on their own web sites, which are capped by law at 75 basis points, or 0.75 percent. Some providers, such as NOW: Pensions, managed by ATP, the national Danish pension fund, have kept all-in fees to only 30 basis points. The NIRS report reiterates the need for increased savings among the U.S. workforce: The median amount of retirement savings for all households is only $2,500; for near-retirement households its $14,500. Piecemeal efforts have been made to expand savings, including the U.S. version of 401(k) auto-enrollment at only some employers that offer plans, and the creation of a government-sponsored plan called myRA in which assets are held in Treasury bills and transferred to a private sector Roth IRA when the account reaches $15,000. None of these endeavors are helpful for workers at the many employers that do not offer a retirement plan. The NIRS report notes the current efforts by various U.S. states, including Oregon, California and Illinois, to sponsor their own private sector retirement plans for state residents not offered one in their workplace. If the U.S. were to follow in the footsteps of the U.K., these programs could be expanded on a national basis, requiring auto-enrollment and mandatory contributions. Without mandates, access to payroll savings programs or mandatory employee contributions, which remain controversial, American workers will likely lag behind workers in the U.K. when it comes to retirement security, the reports authors write. A famous, former Bay of Fundy ferry now lies shipwrecked off the coast of Panama, without any insurance to help take it out of the water.The 54-meter long MV Grand Manan was purchased in 2011 from Coastal Transport by Austrian Fritz Breckner, to be operated in Panama. The ship was renamed the San Blas Ferry to reflect this.Breckner told CBC News that he had purchased the ship for $200,000, hoping to offer an expanded car and passenger service to and fro between Panama and Colombia."I really was lucky to get it," Breckner said. "When I bought it, it was an absolute gift, it was an absolute great boat in very good shape; very nice machinery. It was my first boat of this size and my last."He shared that he had invested about $800,000 in his ferry business, but Panamas government refused to issue him the necessary permits. Thus, Breckner ended up living on the ship while looking for other ways to put it to good use.The day when Breckner would find another use for the San Blas would never come, as the ship met its untimely endironically while towing another of Breckners ships, which also ran aground.On July 17, while towing the 16-metre catamaran ferry Jaqueline, the former MV Grand Manan sustained severe damage."As I was getting close, my left engine stalled," Breckner recounted. "I wanted to do a right turn, and without the left engine I can't do a right turn on this boat. So I had to wait three-and-a-half minutes until the mechanic got the engine started again but the seas we had were pushing the boat on the rocks."Thankfully, there were no injuries, but the ferry now rests on the very rocks it ran aground on, with its engines and generator completely submerged in water. Breckner also confirmed that the boats hull was grievously breached.The iconic boat will likely remain where it is for years to come, as Breckner admitted that he has no insurance on it."I lost this year, in total, three boats," he said. "Two because of the stupidity of my captain and myself and one because of the stupidity of my lawyer." She may have been dubbed Santa Clauss wife, but Doris Diamond Payne has left countless jewellery store owners saying anything but Ho ho ho at her actions.The career criminal has travelled the world swiping millions of dollars worth of jewels from New York to Montecarlo.Despite serving time in jail in several states and apparently swearing off crime, the white-haired, elegant octogenarian cannot seem to kick old habits, the Daily Mail reported.Most recently, Payne was arrested this week for shoplifting a $1,995 diamond necklace in her back pocket.One modus operandi she employed in 2013 was a line about receiving a $25,000 insurance payout.Payne walked into El Paseo Jewellers in Palm Desert California and staff were immediately taken by the articulate but frail old lady who said she wanted to spend the insurance cash on a present for herself.The salespeople fussed around her, helping her to try on gem-encrusted necklaces and rings and, when her hip began playing up, finding her a chair to rest her legs.After making arrangements to complete her purchase of a diamond and white gold pinkie ring the next day, staff members helped her hobble to the door.It wasnt until hours later that they realised the $22,500 ring was still on her finger.Payne sold the ring to a nearby pawnshop for just $800 where, as part of the sale, she had to give her thumbprint, which is what eventually tipped off authorities.In 2014, she was sentenced to spend two years in jail and two years under mandatory supervision after the judge took pity on her age and ill health.After an early release, she was at it again, this time for pocketing a pair of $690 earrings from a Saks Fifth Avenue department store in Atlanta.Perhaps the judge in that case should have listened to the one from the previous case who sentenced her to the maximum jail term possible for the crime.You wont stop, Judge Frank Brown told her at the time.Thats the problem here Shes a thief. Shes charming. Santa Clauss wife, thats who she is.Payne herself admits she has no regrets about stealing, only about getting caught.The public has a longheld fascination for Payne, who was the subject of a 2013 documentary about her life, and Jewelers Security Alliance president John J Kennedy admits she is in a league of her own in the pantheon of jewel thieves.Its extraordinarily rare for a criminal to have that lengthy of a career, Kennedy said.Usually they either stop because they have enough money and they dont want the risk anymore, or theyre dead.He said people often asked him about her, due to being fascinated or even amused by the elderly woman committing so many thefts.Were all laughing, but its not funny, he said.She goes in and she takes product from people, and it causes a lot of grief for people.I have long said that she is a career criminal, and I doubt if she has any interest whatsoever in stopping, he said.When youre that age and youre still doing it, youre not about to stop. The Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC) has announced changes to its board following their annual general meeting.Two new board members have joined, Simon Lightbody of Steadfast and Rhys Mills of Solution, while three others were returned to their positons.The returning members are Heath Amber, of Millennium , Emily Walker of Axis and Linda King of Sterling. William Legge , general manager of UAC, told Insurance Business that the additions of Mills and Lightbody bring unique experience to the board of the industry body.They bring a breadth of experience that we currently dont have, Legge said.You have two different perspectives coming in which really offer our membership the capability to represent every single sphere that we have within our organisation.Mills, who founded Solution in 2010, said that he is honoured and humbled to join the UAC board as it plays a significant role in the future of the industry.I think the underwriting agency space represents a significant part of the insurance industry in Australia now. It is a growing area and I think it is important to have the UAC in place to bring us together and help represent our common interests, Mills told Insurance Business.It has been a busy year for the UAC. QBE was announced as a new strategic partner, following the withdrawal of Vero , and the most successful set of expos were held both in Australia and New Zealand to date.Legge confirmed that the industry body plans to up its number of expos next year, with planned stops in regional New South Wales and Wellington on the agenda, as the organisation looks to review its practices over the coming year.We are taking stock of where we are, Legge continued.The main thing we are trying to do is involve a younger group. Not necessarily at the board level because that isnt what they want to do but get them involved in the UAC, get those thought patterns going.By doing that, we are involving a completely different strata of people in our organisation and making them part of the organisation at an early stage rather than a directorial level.Mills will serve a one year term whilst Amber, Walker, Lightbody and King will serve for two years. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: Azerbaijans and Georgias defense ministries signed a cooperation plan for 2017, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Dec. 16. The document was signed by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov and his Georgian counterpart Levan Izoria. Minister Hasanov hailed high level strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Georgia, saying this is of vital importance not only in terms of ensuring development of the two countries, but also in terms of ensuring security in the whole region. Hasanov said he is hopeful that the cooperation plan will further promote the development of the relations. He pointed out the fact that Armenia is the main threat to regional stability and security. Hasanov noted that Armenia is supporting separatism at the state level. Izoria said Georgia is ready to join Azerbaijan-Turkey military exercises next year. The ministers discussed prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijans and Georgias defense ministries in military, military education and military medicine areas. South African insurer Youi has been fined over $300,000 in the Auckland District Court after pleading guilty to 15 charges of misleading customers.The charges were brought by the Commerce Commission, whose lawyer Alysha McClintock said some people calling the company for a quote were asked for their bank information and invoiced for a policy instead, TVNZ reported.They were actively misleading people as to what they were doing, she said.Some people then would have trouble trying to cancel the unwanted policy.McClintock said 15 representative charges had been laid but the actual level of offending was unclear, the report said.It simply cant be said how many times this occurred.Youis lawyer Oliver Meech said the company deeply regretted the behaviour that had occurred.Todays appearance follows the $100,000 fine Youi received by the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) for misconduct two months ago.The company had set aside $350,000 to cover the potential costs of todays fine, according to their annual financial statements.Following the sentencing, Youi released a statement saying it had publicly apologised and had taken steps to restructure systems, processes and employee incentives to improve customer service.It had also fully refunded all customers to whom policies were inappropriately issued from July 2014 (when the company started trading in New Zealand) to date.The number of customers affected was less than 0.2% of policies issued for the same period, it said.CEO Danie Matthee said Youi was looking forward to continuing to provide much needed competition in the New Zealand market.While this behaviour was never condoned by the company, we have acknowledged that errors were made and that even one error of this nature was too many, Matthee said.We cooperated fully with the Commerce Commission which acknowledged our cooperation, remorse and remedial steps.We are confident that our restructured systems and processes mean the issues wont happen again.He said the companys focus was now to continue to grow its New Zealand business and provide awesome service to its 50,000 plus customers, thousands of whom had had their say and posted feedback on the Youi Wall.We are also committed to the almost 400 Kiwis we employ locally, and the broader insurance market where Youi provides much needed product differentiation and price competition, he said. Having spent nearly three decades crusading for relaxed marijuana laws in Massachusetts, Bill Downing is greeting the states new recreational marijuana law with a mix of satisfaction and trepidation. The voter-approved measure took effect on Thursday, making it legal for adults to possess, grow and use limited amounts of pot. I am both celebrating and worrying that the law might not be implemented properly, said Downing, member liaison for the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition. The concerns of Downing and other activists stem from public statements by Democratic legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker promising a review and possible changes to the ballot measure, which passed last month by a margin of more than 240,000 votes out of nearly 3.8 million total votes cast. The only limitation is how willing they are to tread on the will of their constituents, said Downing of lawmakers. Massachusetts is the first U.S. state on the eastern seaboard where recreational marijuana is legal, though Maine will soon follow if a recount upholds passage of a ballot measure there. The Massachusetts law allows adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot outside the home, up to 10 ounces inside the home and grow up to a dozen marijuana plants per household. But as it will be at least a year before licensed pot shops are allowed to open, recreational users still have little choice but to buy the drug from illegal dealers. The wishes of the voters will be respected, pledged Baker, who strongly opposed legalization. But he defended efforts that may lead to revisions. It was a 6,000 word ballot question written by the recreational marijuana industry for the recreational marijuana industry, said Baker, who spoke to The Associated Press from a trade mission in Israel. So I expect the Legislature will want to deal with things like potency, home rule. What are going to be the rules about where you can locate (retail) facilities and what local control does local government have about that? One possibility, Baker said, was extending regulatory deadlines in the law by six months, which could push the start of commercial marijuana sales into mid-2018. In an eight-page memo sent Wednesday to police departments in Massachusetts, Secretary of Public Safety Daniel Bennett said implementation of recreational marijuana will create a complex web of different rules, that law enforcement must navigate. Within certain limits, the new law authorizes some conduct that had previously been prohibited. Beyond those limits, however, possession, cultivation and distribution of marijuana remain illegal under state law, wrote Bennett. For his part, Downing plans to join other legalization advocates outside the Statehouse on Thursday to celebrate the law formally taking effect. As consumption of marijuana in public places remains illegal, he has no plans to use pot at the rally but would not be shocked if others did as an act of civil disobedience. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Massachusetts Cannabis A former gunpowder plant owner imprisoned over a deadly 2010 explosion in New Hampshire has agreed to surrender some money to the federal government in a separate wire fraud case in Maine. Craig Sanborn, of Maidstone, Vermont, is serving a 10- to 20-year sentence for manslaughter and negligent homicide in connection with the explosion at his Black Mag gunpowder plant in Colebrook that killed two workers. In Maine, he was convicted in 2014 of stealing $300,000 in grant money relating to a munitions plant he ran in Brownville in the mid-2000s. He was sentenced to 28 months in that case, after he completes his New Hampshire sentence. He was also ordered to pay back over $307,000 in restitution and fines. The Caledonian Record reports federal documents say the 67-year-old Sanborn agreed last week to surrender at least a portion of that money to the federal government. The amount, $65,000, is in mutual funds held in IRA accounts. Federal prosecutors say Sanborn, between November 2005 and January 2008, submitted $300,000 worth of false invoices to Brownville officials for materials and services he never purchased in connection to the plant. The money came from a federal grant. Prosecutors received authorization from a judge in May to start to recoup the lost money. They have filed additional paperwork to get more money from Sanborns bank and retirement accounts. In the gunpowder plant case, the New Hampshire Supreme Court last year rejected Sanborns appeal that challenged the jury selection, evidence, verdict and sentence. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Maine New Hampshire Allianz SE, Europes largest insurer, is in discussions with Assicurazioni Generali SpA as it weighs a bid for the companys French operations, according to people familiar with the matter. Allianz executives are uncertain whether a combination with the French insurance business would be approved by regulators, and the companies may not reach a deal, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Spokesmen for Allianz and Generali declined to comment. France accounts for about 15 percent of Generalis gross written premiums, making it the companys third-largest market after Italy and Germany. A purchase of the unit would add more than 11 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in premiums to Allianzs business, bringing it closer to the top three insurers in France. Chief Executive Officer Oliver Baete, who took the top post last year, has said hell consider acquisitions to help boost profit. Generali rose as much as 5.2 percent to the highest in more than 10 months in Milan. The shares were up 2.7 percent at 12:47 p.m. The stock is the worst performer in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Insurance Index this year, with a decline of 14 percent. Allianz rose 0.5 percent in Frankfurt. Antitrust Issues We are a bit skeptical about a possible sale of the French business, as Generali is a top player in that market and a successful turnaround has just been completed, Mediobanca SpA analyst Gianluca Ferrari said in a report. There might be some antitrust issues for Allianz, considering that the German insurer is a major player in France. A person close to the situation told Reuters on Friday that Generali doesnt plan to leave France. European insurers are struggling to maintain earnings growth as investment returns fall and competition pressures prices. Generali, Italys biggest insurer, has said it will exit less-profitable businesses to increase efficiency and mitigate risks. The company has said it plans to generate 1 billion euros from disposals and lower operating costs by 200 million euros in its mature markets by 2019. The disposal plan doesnt envisage exiting France, Giuseppe Mapelli, an analyst at Equita Sim SpA in Milan, wrote in a note to clients. An eventual sale of the French operations would have positive consequences the insurers Solvency II capital ratios, he added. Paying a Premium Generali France, with about 7,600 employees, has close to 5 percent market share in both the life and non-life segments, according to the insurers website. Allianz is currently the fourth largest property and casualty insurer in the country and No. 8 in life and health, according to an investor presentation earlier this year. Allianz CEO Baete has set a target to increase earnings per share by an average of 5 percent a year by 2018. He is also selling less profitable operations and investing in technology to boost earnings, but has said hell consider acquisitions to help meet the targets. The insurer has until the end of the year to spend 2.5 billion euros left in its acquisitions budget or the company will have to return the funds to shareholders through a buyback. He told investors last month that the insurer remained extremely disciplined on M&A over the past 18 months as it hasnt seen the quality assets coming around at the proper prices. But he also made clear that Allianz would be ready to pay a premium if it found the right fit. That might mean in some situations where we really believe we are going to get to a totally different strategic standpoint by closing a gap in a region, getting to a leading position in some of our markets, we are going to pay a premium, maybe even a larger one, he said. With assistance from Oliver Suess, Katherine Chiglinsky and Sonia Sirletti. Topics Carriers Europe Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc. Allianz France Insurance broker HUB International announced the promotions of four executives in the Midwest region that become effective on Jan. 1. Neil Hughes, current president of HUB International Midwest, will assume the role as president of HUB Internationals U.S. North Region, covering the Midwest, Colorado and Mountain States divisions. Hughes new role includes setting the overarching client support and sales strategy for the North region. Hughes has been with HUB for over 18 years, and has a proven track record of strong leadership and advancing company initiatives. Lerone Sidberry, current president of employee benefits for the North and Central regions of HUB, will succeed Hughes as president of the Midwest division. Sidberry has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. He will lead the executive team and drive continued growth in all lines of business. Michael Booth, currently HUB Midwests executive vice president of employee benefits, has been promoted to chief sales officer. In his new role as CSO, he will continue to oversee all producers, as well as operations of ihouse, HUBs HRIS consulting practice, and HUB Philanthropic Solutions. Seth Hopkins, previously vice president and Midwest regional marketing manager for a large international insurance company, will move into the role of HUB Midwests chief marketing officer and property/casualty practice leader. Hopkins will manage all market and trading partner relationships, as well as service and operations for the property/casualty group. Source: HUB International Baby, its cold outside. And guess what? Climate change could make it even colder. Decembers a great time to talk about climate change and global warming its cold and blustery across many parts of the U.S., and theres even a bit of a chill in places like sunny Southern California. Talking about global warming right now is sort of like yearning for a double-scoop ice cream cone dripping down your hand on a hot July day. Refreshing. However, the consensus that a warming planet will lead us down a path of heatwaves, drought and more powerful storms, may be overly simplistic in the eyes of one scientist, at least. Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at AER, a Verisk Analytics business, believes things arent so simple. He says that along with a warmer world, climate change may bring us more severe cold spells and more snow in certain areas. Clearly Cohen is going against the grain of conventional thinking. His assertion is based on his own findings that the Arctic may have a greater influence on the planets weather than is previously believed. I believe the Arctic is important in our weather, so I do consider that theres a possibility, under the correct conditions, of an increase in extreme or severe winter weather, Cohen said. So, wait a minute, we can expect more cold weather because of climate change? Before anyone cues the climate debate, Cohen is quick to add that his findings do not conflict with climate scientists who say the world is warming. Nothing in my papers or my ideas argues that the Earth shouldnt continue to warm, he said. In his recent paper, An observational analysis: Tropical relative to Arctic influence on midlatitude weather in the era of Arctic amplification, Cohen argues that areas of the Eastern U.S., Europe and East Asia may be affected by warming in the Arctic. The effect of that warming is more cold, and possibly more snow, in these areas during winter. Climate science has long held that the Tropics exert the greatest influence on Earths climate system because they are the warmest, largest and most energetic region on the planet. Climate change may produce more severe weather and a hotter planet, but temperature variations will be less severe, according to scientific consensus. All the conventional wisdom in the field has been about how were going to get this muted swing in temperature, Cohen said. In other words, a warming world, and a warming Arctic, should mean warmer weather and fewer cold extremes. But in his paper, Cohen shows that since 1990 to present weve gotten more extreme temperature swings. Fuzzy logic applied to these perplexing swings includes the explanation that the Arctic air mass has just moved south. I think its overly simplistic to attribute cold extremes to some air mass that just moved from the Arctic into the midlatitude regions, Cohen said. Getting away from simplicity far, far away he described a dynamic coupling occurring with the polar vortex, which he said tends to weaken with accelerated Arctic warming. Its not just a pure thermodynamic argument, but its a dynamic argument for these cold extremes, he said. Because of the worlds recent climate shifts, were experiencing a weather whiplash, or a series of extreme weather events worldwide, according to Cohen. Feeling a bit lost? The Eastern U.S. in the winter is sprung upon by the polar vortex an upper level low-pressure area, beneath which lies a large mass of cold arctic air thats positioned near the Earths poles. A warming of the Arctic region can actually lead to a disruption of the polar vortex, like a dam bottled up over the Arctic just waiting to break, as Cohen explains it. As Arctic warming increasingly disrupts the polar vortex, it begins to wobble, and the cold air in that dam spills out over lower latitudes, he said. Think of the jet stream flowing west to east (with cold air to the north and warm to the south), where this is very little mixing of air masses. This disruption essentially causes meandering, sending the jet stream on a north-south excursion. So theres much more mixing of air mass, Cohen said. On the face of it, the thought that a warmer Arctic will bring colder weather to certain areas is counterintuitive. Cold air comes from the Arctic, so if you warm the Arctic then there should be less cold. If your bank accounts robbed, youre not going to be able to take more money out of the ATM, Cohen said. But a warming Arctic can actually lead to this counterintuitive result. That result is definitely counterintuitive in the world of weather forecasters. The Tropics and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, are almost exclusively relied upon for seasonal forecasting. It is a less frequently considered and more controversial idea that Arctic variability is influencing midlatitude weather. However, since the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Arctic has undergone rapid warming, referred to as Arctic amplification, which has coincided with an increase in extreme weather, according to Cohens paper. Analysis of observed trends in hemispheric circulation over the period of (Arctic amplification) more closely resembles variability associated with Arctic boundary forcings than with tropical forcing, an abstract of Cohens paper states. Furthermore, analysis of intraseasonal temperature variability shows that the cooling in midlatitude winter temperatures has been accompanied by an increase in temperature variability and not a decrease, popularly referred to as weather whiplash.' Over this Arctic amplification period, climate extremes have even included cold air outbreaks and heavy snowfalls, most recently in North America and also in Eurasia over the past two decades, according to the paper. These cold midlatitude winters have puzzled scientists. Cohens research merely attempts to help solve the puzzle by putting the Arctic into the picture. The scientific community really has just focused on the Tropics. Cohen said. I think you expand that view and bring in the Arctic. The Arctic can also be influencing the weather here in the midlatitudes. He added, Only if you include the Arctic does (this cooling trend) become reasonable. Cohen said his goal isnt to provide commentary on whether the climate is changing he believes it is, although hes been accused of being both a climate change denier and a climate change apologist. Hes just doing his job. Im just trying to get a better understanding of what to anticipate during the coming winter, he said. Past columns: Topics USA Climate Change Corpus Christi, a Texas Gulf Coast city, is warning its 320,000 residents not to use tap water because it might be contaminated with petroleum-based chemicals, prompting a rush on bottled water and the closure of local schools. City officials said in a statement late on Dec. 14 that a back-flow incident in an industrial area earlier that day may have caused the chemicals to seep into the water. The statement did not identify the chemicals or the plant from where they originated. The issues of safe drinking water and eroding infrastructure have gained widespread attention in recent years due to the crisis in Flint, Michigan, where lead pipes contaminated the water supply after the city switched from a metropolitan Detroit system to improperly treated Flint River water in 2014. City councilman Michael Hunter told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that its unlikely the chemicals infecting the citys supply are concentrated enough to do harm, but that officials must take every precaution that we can to make sure that everybody is safe. Hunter said a local company reported that the water coming from faucets at its plant had a sheen, but he did not identify that company or the nature of its business. Hunter described the possible contaminants as two petroleum-based chemicals. City officials warned in a statement that, Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants, or letting the water stand will not make the water safe. Schools were closed on Dec. 15 and the warning prompted long lines to form at grocery stores, with people pushing carts filled with packages of bottled water. At least two large retailers, H-E-B and Wal-Mart, have contacted their shipping centers to have more water sent to the city. The warning is the latest for a city beset by problems with its drinking water. In May, officials issued their third boil-water advisory in a year. That notice lasted two weeks and officials at the time said it was largely a precautionary measure taken after nitrogen-rich runoff from rain flowed into the water system, resulting in low chlorine disinfectant levels in the water supply. Boil-water notices were issued last year because of elevated levels of E. coli and another for low chlorine levels, the Caller-Times previously reported. The notices mirrored two others that were issued in 2007. City crews have worked to reconfigure some water mains to ensure that water keeps circulating and to prevent bacteria growth. But an overarching concern is an old water system where more than half of 225 miles of cast-iron pipe needs to be upgraded. Many of the pipes were installed in the 1950s and when they decay theyre prone to collapse or to slow water flow, allowing bacteria to fester. Civic leaders have expressed concern that recurring water advisories and warnings could cause long-term harm to the areas vibrant tourism business. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Energy Oil Gas Chemicals Recognizing the complex nature of keeping up with rules promulgated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workers compensation insurer, Texas Mutual, has provided guidance on one of OSHAs newest rules: Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses. The rule includes two components: anti-retaliation, which went into effect Dec. 1, 2016, and electronic injury and illness reporting, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2017. OSHA reasons that the anti-retaliation component must be put in place first, because it is necessary so that employees will provide accurate data under the reporting component. The anti-retaliation component includes three provisions: Employers must inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation. Employers can fulfill this obligation by posting the Job Safety and Health Its The Law poster. OSHA also recommends employers make it clear in their employee handbooks and new employee orientation materials that employees have the right to report workplace injuries. An employers procedure for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses must be reasonable and must not deter or discourage employees from reporting. For example, procedures that do not allow a reasonable amount of time for an employee to realize they have suffered a work-related injury or illness could violate this provision. An employer may not retaliate against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses. OSHA cites three types of policies that could be considered retaliatory under this provision: disciplinary policies, drug-testing policies and incentive policies. The rule does not prohibit an employer from disciplining employees for violating legitimate safety rules, even if that employee was injured as a result of the violation. The rule does, however, prohibit retaliatory, adverse action against an employee as a result of reporting a work-related injury or illness. Examples include suspension, harassment, reassignment and termination. The rule does not prohibit employee safety incentive policies, but it does prohibit incentive programs that deter or discourage an employee from reporting an injury or illness. Incentive programs should encourage safe work practices and promote worker participation in safety-related activities. The new rule does not prohibit post-accident drug testing, but it does stipulate that if an injury or illness is very unlikely to have been caused by employee drug use, or if the method of drug testing doesnt identify impairment but only use at some point in the recent past, a drug test might inappropriately deter reporting. For example, it would likely not be reasonable to drug test an employee who reports a bee sting, a repetitive strain injury or an injury caused by a falling object. If an employer conducts drug testing to comply with the requirements of a state or federal law or regulation, the employers motive would not be retaliatory, and testing would not be prohibited. The electronic injury and illness reporting component requires certain employers to electronically submit the injury and illness information they are already required to keep under OSHA regulations. OSHA designed this component to increase accountability and prevent injuries. As stated above, the electronic submission requirements take effect January 1, 2017, but OSHA will phase them in over time. For more information about the Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses rule, see OSHAs fact sheet and list of frequently asked questions. If you still have questions about the rule, contact your local OSHA office or the Occupational Safety and Health Consultation program. Hill is vice president of safety and information services for Texas Mutual Insurance Company. Topics Texas Workers' Compensation Drugs Louisiana Department of Insurance Chief Actuary Rich Piazza has been awarded the Robert Dineen Award for Outstanding Service and Contribution to the State Regulation of Insurance by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The award honors a staff member of an insurance department who has made a significant contribution to state regulation of insurance while exhibiting an attitude and performing activities fostering the advancement of the insurance regulatory profession. While Rich certainly meets any objective requirements for the Robert Dineen Award, he has a unique skill set that one rarely comes across and has set a high bar for talent and professionalism, said Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon. He served as our chief actuary through recovery from the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, guiding Louisiana and the Gulf Coast through uncharted territory. His acumen and insight helped Louisianas property insurance market not only recover but expand. Piazza is the first Louisiana regulator to receive this prestigious honor. He started working at the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) in 1992 and is responsible for actuarial analysis for all lines of insurance. Over the course of his career with the LDI he has presented actuarial data and analysis to the general public, the Louisiana Legislature and industry groups. He has also contributed to the work of the NAIC through various committees, task forces and subgroups and added value to NAIC statistical products. Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance Topics Legislation Louisiana An executive order issued by Louisianas governor that was aimed at protecting the rights of LGBT people in state government was thrown out on Dec. 14 by a judge who said the governor exceeded his authority. State District Judge Todd Hernandez ruled that Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards anti-discrimination order is unconstitutional because it seeks to create or expand state law. The order prohibited discrimination in government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The decision delivered a significant victory to Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry, who filed the lawsuit challenging the LGBT-rights order. Landry praised the ruling and said his challenge was aimed at upholding the checks and balances on executive authority as established in our state constitution. Edwards said he plans to appeal. He said his order, which contains an exception for contractors that are religious organizations, is a statement that Louisiana doesnt discriminate. With great respect for the role of the Louisiana Legislature, we continue to believe that discrimination is not a Louisiana value and that we are best served as a state when employment decisions are based solely on an individuals qualifications and job performance, the governor said in a statement. Landry said the order tried to establish a new protected class of people that doesnt exist in law and that lawmakers refused to add. He accused the governor of executive overreach. After efforts to advance his extreme agenda failed by large bipartisan majorities in the Legislature, John Bel Edwards took it upon himself to replace the peoples will with his own. Fortunately for the families and businesses in our state, the court ruled today that the governors executive fiat will not fly in Louisiana, Landry said in a statement. Hernandez agreed with Landrys interpretation and blocked enforcement of the anti-discrimination order, writing in his ruling that it was an unlawful usurp of the constitutional authority vested only in the legislative branch of government. Landry is seen as a potential challenger to Edwards in the 2019 governors race, and the two men, both in their first terms, have repeatedly clashed over issues of authority and finances since they took office in January. Since Edwards issued his order in April, Landry has blocked dozens of legal services contracts that contain the anti-discrimination language. According to court testimony, as many as 100 contracts for state agencies and boards to pay outside lawyers are stalled, and the Edwards administration refused to transfer $18 million to the attorney generals office because Landry refuses to include the executive order language in the agreement. It appears those stalemates can end with the anti-discrimination language stripped from the contracts and agreements. Edwards said he respects the courts decision and will abide by it while we vigorously pursue an appeal. As part of the lawsuit, Edwards asked the judge to spell out the boundaries of Landrys authority, to declare that the governors constitutional role trumps the attorney generals position and to limit Landrys role in reviewing the legal services contracts. The governor got a mixed response from the judge. Hernandez wrote that the constitution appears to give the governor superiority over the attorney general within the executive branch. But he would not make what he called a what if decision on whether the attorney general has a superior role to the governor in a legal dispute. Hernandez also said Landrys office has the right to use its discretion in approving legal services contracts. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Louisiana Details added (first version posted on 16:14) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by US Transportation Commander, General Darren McDew December 16. The president expressed confidence that the visit of McDew to Azerbaijan will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense, especially with the Transportation Command. The president highlighted good history of this collaboration. President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan has close contacts and cooperation with the US Transportation Command, and stressed importance of the visit of McDew in terms of reviewing the work done and discussing future plans. The president said that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner on all fronts, including the transport sphere. President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijani servicemen were one of the first contributors to peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, where they have served for 15 years. The president described it as a vital part of Azerbaijan-US and Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation. Touching upon his participation in the NATO Summit on Afghanistan, the president underlined the necessity of continuing cooperation in this area. President Aliyev said Azerbaijan and Afghanistan have maintained very successful cooperation in recent years. The president noted that the Afghan president has visited Azerbaijan twice and they have held meetings, adding very good business relations were established between the two countries. McDew stressed that Azerbaijan is a very important country from a strategic point of view. He thanked President Aliyev for strong cooperation, underlining it is of great importance not only to his country, but all to countries supporting Afghanistan. McDew extended gratitude of the commander of Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan to President Aliyev for the contribution of the Azerbaijani servicemen and their professional services. Before McCarty announced his decision to leave office, he initiated dialogue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the National Flood Insurance Programs rate making. Citing the fact that the flood insurance rates Floridians pay are the highest in the nation, McCarty said the rates are unfairly discriminatory. Florida accounts for 37 percent of the NFIPs policies, mainly because of a requirement by lenders that residents have flood insurance, but McCarty said the state has paid out far more than what we have gotten in return, and pays disproportionately higher rates than the rest of the country. Florida faces a significant flooding and storm surge risk. According to CoreLogics 2016 storm surge report, Florida ranks first in the country with 2.7 million homes at risk to storm surge flooding. The state has worked on developing a more substantial private flood insurance market so residents can adequately address their risk at more affordable premiums. Legislation enacted by the state in 2014 that streamlines the process for private insurers to offer flood coverage has led to a growing private market. This year, companies like Tower Hill and Assurant launched private flood options. HCI Insurance started a flood company called TypTap that only writes standalone admitted flood coverage. Whats Next Industry experts say until FEMA provides its ratemaking data Florida cannot establish a competitive private market. These carriers have to get reinsurance but they need the data from the NFIP to do so, FAIRs Handerhan said. We need that data for the industry to develop. FEMA has declined to provide the data citing privacy concerns for its policyholders as the main reason, but critics have dismissed that answer saying there are ways to give the data without releasing personally identifiable information. At an OIR industry conference in October, Roy Wright, head of the NFIP and deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation at FEMA, said the program has failed to put customers first. According to the website Floridapolitics.com, Wright said the NFIP has focused on the companies and lost track of the 5.1 million policyholders were here to serve. How that translates into addressing Floridas high flood insurance rates remains to be seen, but Floridapolitics.com noted Wright said he has initiated a thorough review of the NFIPs operations, which has so far found that rates change without sufficient explanation to policyholders. Florida State Sen. Jeff Brandes announced in early December he will file a bill to fund flood mitigation efforts in the 2017 session, according to Floridapolitics.com. The website reported that Brandes said the legislation would create a matching grant program, in part through the states Land Acquisition Trust Fund, for local projects (that) reduce flood risks and acquire conservation land for the purpose of mitigating flood risk, Brandes office said in a statement. The goal, Brandes said, is to help residents lower their insurance premiums through flood preparation and mitigation projects. In a statement to Insurance Journal, Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier said OIR will keep working with FEMA and private insurers to ease the flood insurance burden on residents. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation remains committed to fostering the development of a private flood insurance market to provide options and choice for Floridians, Altmaier said. To that end, we are continuing to work collaboratively with other state insurance regulators and the NFIP to evaluate available data and identify barriers to the facilitation of a private flood insurance market. Related: Topics Florida Legislation Flood Market A worker is fighting one of Mississippis largest industries in a skirmish over who can be sued when employees suffer on-the-job injuries. The Mississippi Supreme Court Tuesday heard arguments in a suit by Quindon Thomas against Chevron USA. Thomas was working for American Plant Services, which provided contract workers at Chevrons Pascagoula refinery, when he was severely burned in 2012. A Chevron employee opened a valve, releasing hot water, steam and coke onto Thomas. Typically, the bargain struck under workers compensation is that employers will pay when workers are injured and the employees, in turn, cant sue over their injuries. But this case could allow contract employees to collect workers compensation, plus sue the ultimate business owner. Many manufacturers now depend on contract workers in day-to-day operations. Business groups, which have sought to cut down on lawsuits, and trial lawyers, who have largely lost those fights, are closely watching the case. It was argued before a court where large sums have been spent by both sides to elect justices in recent years. The Mississippi Economic Council the states chamber of commerce filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Chevrons behalf, while the Mississippi Association of Justice, a trial lawyers group, intervened on behalf of Thomas. Thomas sued Chevron, and the California-based oil giant responded that it should be immune from being sued because it had bought the workers compensation insurance that covered APS workers and paid more than $1 million in care and benefits to Thomas after he was injured. Jackson County Circuit Judge Robert Krebs agreed with Chevrons argument and dismissed the case. But lawyer James Reeves said Thomas should be able to sue Chevron for having dangerous conditions. He argued that its well-settled state law that a general contractor on construction projects gets immunity. But he said no property owner gets immunity, even one who hires contract workers to operate part of a facility on an ongoing basis. They are attempting clearly to restrict the rights of Mr. Thomas, Reeves told the court. Chevron, though, argues that the court should construe the law as broadly as possible. Lawyer Patrick Buchanan said that because Chevron had a contract with the owner of American Plant Services, it should be considered a general contractor under the law, and qualify for immunity. Were not asking the court to change the law or overrule precedent thats already out there, Buchanan said. What we are asking the court to do is broadly interpret the law. Topics Lawsuits Workers' Compensation Mississippi Uber is riding its self-driving cars into a legal showdown with California regulators. The ridesharing company is refusing to obey demands by the states Department of Motor Vehicles that it immediately stop picking up San Francisco passengers in self-driving cars. Hours after Uber launched a self-driving service Wednesday morning with a handful of Volvo luxury SUVs, the DMV sent the company a letter saying the move was illegal because the cars did not have a special permit the department requires for putting autonomous vehicles on public roads. As of late this week, the Volvos distinctive in look with sensors protruding from their tops were still roaming San Franciscos streets. The company did not respond to a request for comment about the states legal threat. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action, DMV Chief Counsel Brian Soublet wrote the company. He referenced the possibility of taking Uber to court. Uber knew about the DMVs permit requirement but argues that its cars do not meet the states definition of an autonomous vehicle because they need a person behind the wheel to monitor and intervene if needed. Parsing the definition of an autonomous vehicle is in line with Ubers history of testing legal boundaries. During its meteoric rise into a multibillion dollar company, Uber has argued with authorities in California and around the world about issues including driver criminal background checks and whether those drivers should be treated as contractors ineligible for employee benefits. As the two sides planned to meet Thursday, both seemed dug into opposing positions. The argument centers around whether the cars tricked out with sensors so they can steer, accelerate and brake, and even decide to change lanes are, legally speaking, autonomous vehicles. The company argues that its cars arent covered by the permit requirement, which says an autonomous vehicle requires a permit if it can drive itself without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person. According to Anthony Levandowski, the leader of Ubers self-driving program, Ubers cars arent advanced enough to drive themselves without human monitoring. Therefore, he said, the Volvos are not autonomous and do not require a permit. California has issued permits to 20 companies for tests of autonomous vehicles on public roads, mostly traditional automakers and tech companies. Getting a permit for prototype testing is part of legal language negotiated between the state and industry, and DMV lawyer Soublet argued in an interview that the permit process helps maintain public confidence that the technology is safe. Dont start doing this stuff. Apply for the permit. Follow the rules, Soublet said of Uber. To receive a permit, a company must show proof of insurance, pay a $150 fee and agree that a human driver can take control of the vehicle. Operating without a permit arguably gives Uber a competitive advantage. Companies with one must report to the state all crashes and every instance in which a person takes control during testing. All that information is public. Uber is sending another message to California: Other places want us if you dont. In a blog post Tuesday, Levandowski warned that complex rules and requirements could have the unintended consequence of slowing innovation and named several places outside California he characterized as being pro technology. The launch in San Francisco, the city where Uber is headquartered, expanded a deployment of self-driving cars the company started in Pittsburgh in September. The testing lets everyday people experience the cars as Uber works to identify glitches before expanding the technologys use in San Francisco and elsewhere. The company wouldnt say the exact number of cars, calling it a handful. The cars have an Uber employee behind the wheel to take over should the technology fail. Users of the app may be matched with a self-driving car but can opt out if they prefer a human driver. Self-driven rides cost the same as ordinary ones. Ubers fleet of Volvo XC90s arent the first self-driving cars on San Francisco streets several other companies visit regularly with test prototypes, though none offers public rides. Once testing is complete, the ultimate vision is to sell to the public technology that supporters argue will save thousands of lives because it doesnt drink, text, fall asleep or take dangerous risks. Pritchard reported from Los Angeles. Related: Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Auto Tech Personal Auto After a successful staging last May, the Asia Tax Awards will be held once again on Thursday May 4 2017, at the Goodwood Park Hotel in Singapore. See this coverage of the Asia Tax Awards 2016. Submissions are open now and close on Monday January 23. Entry, which is free, is by submission only. Please read this explanation of the categories and methodology. The entry forms are hyperlinked below. The firm awards will be presented in these categories: National tax, transfer pricing and litigation and disputes firms of the year in 18 jurisdictions: Australia; Cambodia (no transfer pricing award) China; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Myanmar (no transfer pricing award); New Zealand; Pakistan (no transfer pricing award); Philippines; Singapore; South Korea; Sri Lanka (no transfer pricing award); Taiwan; Thailand and Vietnam Asia Tax Firm of the Year (no separate submission form - award will be judged according to the national submissions) Asia Transfer Pricing Firm of the Year (no separate submission form - award will be judged according to the national submissions) Asia Tax Litigation and Disputes Firm of the Year (no separate submission form - award will be judged according to the national submissions) There are separate submission forms for these regional awards: The ceremony will include one award for company tax departments: To win they must compose a 500-word description of their objectives for the 2016 calendar year and how they were achieved, highlighting areas where the work done by the team made a significant impact on the overall goals of the company. Individuals The four individual awards cover: Please send all entries by email, using the forms hyperlinked here, to Ralph Cunningham, who is also your editorial contact for the awards. Methodology Between January and February 2017, companies, law firms, tax advisers, accountants and other tax service providers from the jurisdictions mentioned above can submit three examples of their best work for consideration for the national tax, transfer pricing, and litigation and disputes awards. The awards will be judged according to: Size (Not conclusive, though it does indicate what a tax team is capable of taking on) Innovation (Did the advice the firm gave show something more than the straightforward answer that is commonly used?) Complexity (Did the matter address tax issues that were out of the ordinary and what ingenuity did the firm show to solve them?) Impact (What impact did the advice have on the taxpayer? For example, did it help them take over their biggest rival? Issue equity and debt in a particular market for the first time? Win an unprecedented judgement in court? The sports betting industry rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars each year, thanks to a loophole in the law against gambling. While there are several different fantasy sports sites out there, two startups have capitalized on the growing number of sports fans looking for a quick and easy way to get involved with fantasy leagues by introducing short-term fantasy sports. Here we explore these two fantasy sports companiesFanDuel, and DraftKingsand how they're doing. Key Takeaways Fantasy sports allow users to create teams made up of real players from a professional sport and play against other users. FanDuel and DraftKings are the largest fantasy sports companies in the United States. Both companies make money through fees, advertising, and partnerships with other companies in the sports industry. Acquisitions may be a huge part of the future of fantasy sports. Legislative hurdles prevent fantasy sports from being legal in all 50 states. What Is Fantasy Sports? You've probably heard of fantasy sports, but do you know what it is? Contrary to what you may think, fantasy sports have nothing to do with leprechauns and rainbows. In fantasy sports, users create their teams made up of real players of a professional sport like football or basketball. Players may be from existing leagues such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, or even college teams. Two of the most commonly played fantasy sports in the United States today are baseball and football. Once they've selected their teams, users can play against others for a chosen amount of time, whether that's a single day or for the entire season. Team players receive a number of points for certain performance indicators like tackles in a football game or blocked shots in hockey. Ultimately, their points compete with either their friends in a private league or against strangers in a public league via the fantasy sports operator. Users can also trade or draft players to help boost their teams' statistics in the league. FanDuel and DraftKings: A Brief Overview FanDuel Established in 2009, FanDuel is one of the largest fantasy sports sites in the United States. The company is based in New York City and has more than 1,000 employees. According to the company's website, FanDuel has more than 12 million registered users. FanDuel is owned by the holding company Flutter Entertainment, an Irish bookkeeper based in Dublin. Flutter Entertainment is traded on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of $16.5 billion. DraftKings DraftKings is one of the country's most popular fantasy sports services. Founded in 2012 in Boston, the company employs more than 3,400 people located in six countries. As of December 2021, the company reported approximately 7.3 million cumulative unique paid users across its daily fantasy sports, Sportsbook, and iGaming services. The company has raised $719.4 million in capital through several financing rounds between 2012 and 2020. In April 2020, the company went public through a reverse merger involving SBTech and Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., a public company that ceased trading. After the merger, DraftKings began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol DKNG. The deal was valued at $3.3 billion. Revolutionizing Fantasy Sports Leagues FanDuel and DraftKings took the long-term commitment out of fantasy sports by paving the way for users to participate in short-term fantasy sports on a much wider scale. The option to participate during any given day disrupted an already lucrative industry. The structure takes away the risk of choosing a bad team and getting stuck with players all season. For fans who love the game, its a chance to relive the entire season all over again, every day. FanDuel and DraftKings lead the industry in one-day fantasy football leagues. Users play for real money in contests starting at a $0.01 commitment. There are no associated subscription fees, which allows both services to continue to grow at a fast pace. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700, or visit ncpgambling.org/chat to chat with a helpline specialist. How Do FanDuel and DraftKing Make Money? The bandwidth required to take on extreme traffic spikes during prime sports hours can be a very hefty cost. This means both FanDuel and DraftKings need to generate a significant amount of revenue. So how do they do that? Advertising. Remember, to make money, companies need to spend on marketing. DraftKings spent $981 million on marketing and sales in 2021, nearly double the spending of the previous year. FanDuel spent a billion in six months. For 2021, DraftKings reported $1.296 billion in revenue, while FanDuel reported $1.9 billion. Both companies make money off player entrance fees. For instance, DraftKings may collect 10% from users who pay for league buy-ins. So, for every $1 paid by a user, the company takes 10 cents as its share. The remaining 90 cents from each user is placed into the pool, which is paid out to the winner at the end. The companies also make money in other ways as well. Selling ads on their sites and partnering with other big names like NBC, Sports Illustrated, Comcast, and Sporting News also brings in revenue. Professional leagues see tremendous potential to engage existing fans and acquire new ones. The Future of Fantasy Sports Just like any other industry, acquisitions play a big part in the fantasy sports world. FanDuel was acquired in mid-2018 by Irish company Paddy Power Betfair, now known as Flutter Entertainment. FanDuel operates as a U.S. subsidiary of the parent company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. At one point, FanDuel and DraftKings tried to merge into a single entity, but the merger was terminated because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) claimed the new company would become a monopoly with a combined 90% of the U.S. DFS market. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 ruled that fantasy sports were games of skill rather than games of chance like online poker, thus making them legal. Legislative and Legal Battles Fantasy sports still have a lot of legislative and legal hurdles to overcome. Most fantasy sports are considered games of skill, while Internet casino games are deemed games of chance. While the latter is illegal in most states under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, fantasy sports are exempt. Despite this loophole, many regulators continue to challenge these sites. FanDuels website states that its legal to play fantasy contests as long as you are a Canadian or American over the age of 18 in most states. Both FanDuel and DraftKings are allowed in the majority of states. But there are still a handful of states that ban these sites including: Hawaii Idaho Montana Nevada Washington In 2017, FanDuel and DraftKings each paid $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit with the Attorney General's office in Massachusetts. The settlement was the result of an investigation into allegations that both companies were involved in deceptive and unfair practices. The state's top lawyer didn't elaborate on the exact nature of the charges. Where Is Draftkings Legal? Sports betting is currently legal in 30 states and Washington D.C. However, DraftKings is only live in 17 of them. The states where DraftKings is live are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. How Do You Withdraw Money From FanDuel or DraftKings? Both DraftKings and FanDuel allow players to withdraw their winnings in several ways, including wire transfers, prepaid cards, online banking, PayPal, and even old-fashioned checks. In addition, FanDuel allows withdrawals through Venmo, and DraftKings users can make withdrawals in person at the Cage at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. What Is the Minimum Age for Gambling on DraftKings or FanDuel? Both FanDuel and DraftKings require players to reach the minimum age for sports gambling in their jurisdiction. Some states, such as Nebraska or Alabama, require players to be at least 19 years old. Others (Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and Massachusetts) require players to be over 21. In every other state players must be at least 18. The Bottom Line Fantasy sports are a huge, lucrative business that makes companies like FanDuel and DraftKings millions of dollars in revenue each year, much of which is derived from fees, advertising, and partnerships. Although digital fantasy sports are not considered gambling, these companies still have a lot of obstacles before they become fully legal in all 50 states. Top News - Investor Idea A Boat-full of Potential - Renewed Interest in the Cruise Industry Bolsters Luxury Markets (OTC: MASN) (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) (NYSE: RCL) (NYSE: NCLH) Vancouver, Kelowna, Delta, BC - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering luxury goods and cruise ship stocks releases a special report featuring Maison Luxe, Inc. (OTC: MASN), a company that offers luxury retail consumer items. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents. Top Health and Wellness News - Investor Idea Health and Wellness Stock News - Endexx (OTCBB: EDXC) Secures $3.8M Order for Non-Nicotine Vape Product HYLA from Italy CAVE CREEK, Az. - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Endexx Corporation (OTCBB:EDXC), a provider of innovative, plant-based, and sustainable health and skincare products, today announces it has secured a new $3.8 million USD order for its newly acquired, non-nicotine based vape product, HYLA from customers in Italy. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire Details added (first version posted on 17:04) Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Rogozin Dec. 16. The president noted that bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have always been characterized by high level cooperation, friendship and mutual understanding. President Aliyev said these relations successfully develop based on traditions of close collaboration in various areas, including in political, economic, trade and energy ones. The president touched upon the activity of the Joint Intergovernmental Economic Commission, saying todays session of the commission in Baku featured constructive and successful discussion on the issues of cooperation. The president said Azerbaijan is interested in strengthening relations with Russia. President Aliyev added that bilateral ties have been developing at a more rapid pace recently, which is evidenced by regular meetings of the Azerbaijani and Russian presidents. The president described the fact that the president of the Russian Federation has paid three visits to Azerbaijan in the last three years as manifestation of high level relations. Rogozin thanked President Aliyev for kind words. He stressed the importance of regularly holding sessions of the Joint Intergovernmental Economic Commission. Rogozin said the commission contributes to the development of cooperation in economic, trade, scientific, technical and cultural fields, adding that it has grown into a body that efficiently addresses these issues. The deputy prime minister said Azerbaijani-Russian ties already cover new areas, opening new opportunities for cooperation in high technologies. The issues concerning prospects of cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation were discussed during the meeting. Leading internet of things event highlights the impact IoT is having on companies of all types Norwalk, CTDecember 15, 2016TMC and Crossfire Media today announced the IoT Enterprise Operations Track at IoT Evolution Conference and Expo being held February 7-10, 2017 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. IoT Evolution Expo has evolved to become the leading educational and networking forum for the enterprise looking to understand how to develop and implement IoT solutions that drive measurable results and business transformation. The event will feature a robust exhibit floor, powerful keynotes, case studies, live demos, unique sessions, special events, networking opportunities and much more. From insurance companies to manufacturing, the IoT's impact on companies of all types is astounding. In order to derive the full benefit of the IoT, companies must be positioned to plan, develop and implement solutions. This track will identify and discuss the enterprise opportunity and where IoT will have the most impact. There will also be significant discussion on how to ensure efficient execution of IoT implementations.Managing the customer experience, improving operations and monitoring critical systems are all managed differently in different organizations. At the core though, IoT provides a common capability for operations to utilize and maximize the impact for the Enterprise. While many companies have checked off the "We use IoT" box, the full benefit of IoT is yet to be felt in operations, said Carl Ford, CEO, Crossfire Media, executive director of content, IoT Evolution. We invite the COO and his team to learn at IoT Evolution how we can make their workflow benefit from sensor connectivity.Sessions and speakers include: Keynotes Include:o Lisa Peterson, Gogo Business Aviationo Dr. Richard Soley, Object Management Group & Industrial Internet Consortiumo Fred Yentz, Telito John Horn, Ingenuo Marc Zionts, Numerexo Alex Brisbourne, KOREo Maciej Kranz, Ciscoo Mary Beth Hall, Verizon Wirelesso Gary Davis, Intel Security Managing an IoT Business is difficult. Is there a way to Simplify It?o Dan McDuffie, IoT Strategies MVNOs Every Enterprise is Global SIMs, ESIMs and IoT Opportunitieso Dave Kjendal, Seneto Wayne Stargardt, Numerexo Karl Weaver, Oasis Smart SIM Remote Monitoring and Management Patients, Physicians and Hospitalso Ravi Srivatsav, NTT Innovation Institute Inc. (NTTi3) Asset Managemento Shu Gan, Numerexo Marcus McCarthy, Trimble IoT: The Internet of Tankso Sridhar Ramachandran, Numerex What is Up with this CAT 0, and all These Other CATs?o Andy Germano, BEC Technologieso Angel Mercedes, Sierra Wirelesso Doug Wilson, VerizonTo view the full IoT Evolution Expo agenda click here . Speakers are updated daily.IoT Evolution Expo is supported by super sponsor Telit, diamond sponsors KORE, Numerex, platinum sponsors Eurotech, Sprint, Yokogawa, gold sponsors, Ingenu, HARMAN, Verizon, corporate sponsors, Cradlepoint, Gemalto, Tellient, Senet, Sequans and track sponsor Coris. Registration for IoT Evolution Expo is now open. For more information, contact Frank Coppola at 203-852-6800 x131. For media registration, contact Jessica Seabrook . Companies interested in exhibiting, sponsorship or advertising packages should contact Matthew Gleeson at 203.852.6800 ext. 145.For the latest IoT Evolution Expo news, updates and information, follow the event on Twitter at @IoTEvolution Global buyers rely on TMCs content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers.TMCs Marketplaces: Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases. In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. Publications, Display Advertising and Newsletters bolster brand reputations. Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. Comprehensive Event and Road Show Management Services help companies meet potential clients and generate leads face-to-face.For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com About Crossfire Media Crossfire Media is an integrated marketing company with a core focus on future trends in technology. We service communities of interest with conferences, tradeshows, webinars and newsletters. Crossfire Media has a partnership with Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) to produce events and websites related to disruptive technologies. Crossfire Media is a division of Crossfire Consulting, a full service Information Technology company based in New York. Media and Analyst Contact: Jessica Seabrook Marketing Director 203.852.6800 ext.170 [email protected] Edited by Ken Briodagh If you've been in the sports arena for a while, you know that some aspects of these arenas are beginning to show their age- a Update 2.30pm: The funeral Mass of Aidan O'Driscoll has taken place. Earlier: Dissident republican Aidan O'Driscoll will be laid to rest today. The former Real IRA chief was killed in Blackpool, Co Cork last week. A murder investigation is continuing and Gardai are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Funeral mass will be celebrated in Saint Oliver's Church, Ballyvolane this afternoon with burial in Saint Catherine's Cemetery, Kilcully. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 17 Trend: A foundation stone has been laid for Azerbaijan Business Center in Astrakhan, Russia. Governor of Astrakhan region Alexander Zhilkin and the Azerbaijani President`s Assistant for Public and Political Affairs Ali Hasanov attended the ceremony. Prior to the ceremony they discussed prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Astrakhan. They highlighted joint projects, and described the construction of Azerbaijan Business Center as a sign of fruitful cooperation. Then the groundbreaking ceremony took place. Alexander Zhilkin, Ali Hasanov and members of the Azerbaijani delegation first put flowers at a statue of national leader Heydar Aliyev in the park named after the great leader. In his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony, Zhilkin said a series of humanitarian projects have been held in Astrakhan, involving the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and Baku`s Narimanov District Executive Authority. Ali Hasanov said the agreement on construction of Azerbaijan Business Center was signed at Azerbaijan-Russia Interregional Forum in Baku early November. He said the project was initiated by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. In the coming week, many of Irelands diaspora will return home for the Christmas break to visit family and friends. For some of those returning there will be discussions around the possibility of making the move home more permanent. While some might be concerned about access to housing, schools, and levels of personal taxation, seeing these as barriers to making the move, at Morgan McKinley we are seeing more and more opportunities for those wishing to return to work and live in Ireland. 2016 has been a year of great political change both at home and abroad, but it is true that with great change comes great opportunity. Brexit, as predicted, is already influencing hiring forecasts and the skills sets required by employers but in a positive way. Morgan McKinleys recent employment monitor noted that in legal, accounting, and professional services there is a ramping up of activity as companies prepare to work with organisations which may be facing regulatory and legal change post Brexit. In the wake of Brexit, many companies in the indigenous sector are seeking to reduce their reliance on the UK market. They are now focused on diversifying into new markets and attracting global customers. Professionals who have digital skills and who have international experience are highly prized by these fast growing companies where digital marketing is critical to their expansion plans. These skills have long been desired by multinational employers in Ireland and that they are now also being sought by Irish companies means more choice in terms of the type of jobs available and a wider spread of job locations for those wanting to return to Ireland but not wishing to relocate to Dublin. The continued success of IDA Ireland in attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland is creating some fantastic job opportunities. A feature of the 2016 announcements has been the spread of investment across the regions. As a result, the opportunities for those returning to Ireland are no longer confined to major urban areas. The continued growth of research and development activity within the engineering, pharmaceutical, and technology sectors is also helping to drive recruitment in these areas and we expect this to continue throughout 2017. For anyone coming home this Christmas and wanting to explore the opportunities to make the move permanent, make an appointment to meet with a specialist recruitment consultancy such as Morgan McKinley while you are home. A lot of hiring managers will be putting a business plan in place for the coming year and considering their hiring budgets and needs for 2017. Its a great time to get yourself on their radar before the many other candidates come the new year. www.morganmckinley.ie Speaking at the recent opening of the companys first Dublin office, which will employ 400 staff, Voxpro co-founder and CEO Dan Kiely said the firm has taken full ownership of its Mahon headquarters and will have the capacity to add 400 extra jobs there over the next 12 months. The company, which provides outsourcing services in the areas of customer services, technical support and sales solutions to global brands like Google and AirBnB, already employs more than 1,500 people in Cork. The 400 Dublin jobs, due to come on stream over the next 18 months, will boost its Irish workforce to almost 2,000 and its global staff numbers to 3,000. Trainee firefigher Cian McNally was in McDonalds, Grafton St, with friends, when James Thornton, aged 25, hit him on the head with a chair, leaving him with a wound requiring 10 stitches. Thornton later said he had not meant to hit Mr McNally and was targeting his friend because he looked like a little faggot. He told gardai: I meant to hit his friend, his inner nature disgusted me, and that he didnt like this persons body language. Thornton of Marlborough St, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to Mr McNally on June 9, 2016. His defence counsel said the attack was totally unprovoked and referenced a report handed into court which said Thornton was under a drug-induced psychosis at the time. Thornton said he had taken heroin that morning. Judge Martin Nolan said this was the likely explanation for the attack. He said it seemed there was no reason for it other than Thornton had taken an intense, irrational dislike to the victims friend. The judge noted Thornton has been in custody for five months awaiting sentencing and said he did not deserve an immediate custodial term. He sentenced him to three years, suspended in full. Prosecuting counsel Dara Hayes said the Thornton was restrained by security guards after the attack. The victim said he remembered Thornton apologising to him as he was being pulled past. Mr McNally had a large cut above his eye which remained but had faded with time. He said his main worry at the time was that he was starting training with Dublin Fire Brigade the following week. He has now completed his training. Thornton was co-operative on arrest. His defence counsel said Thornton was in foster care as a child and started taking head shop drugs in his teens. He moved onto ecstasy, then heroin. He said he was not an addict but was probably going down that road. Counsel said he was homeless at the time which likely exacerbated the situation. She said he had the support of his family. Speaking before an audience of students in Dublin, Geldof also predicted a European war within a generation or two, as the West lurches towards nationalism and populism. Europe needs reform it is sclerotic, he told Trinity College Dublins Law Society, which awarded him its Praeses Elit medal for his contribution to music and the greater good. The whole system is constipated. It needs a laxative to clear it out. Geldof said half of Europe is desperately unhappy. It doesnt function, he said. It is ignoring the wishes of European citizens. What worked for six [member states] doesnt work for 28. One of the most outlandish stunts of the in/out referendum campaign was the clash of Geldof and Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, aboard flotillas on the Thames. Geldof said he met Leave campaigner Farage earlier this week, at a party, and shook his hand. He is an immensely dedicated populist ... You have to hand it to the guy, he said. However, he said Brexit is part of a reactionary movement galvanising the planet that is really, really dangerous. England, that place that represented openness and tolerance, when I couldnt find it here [in Ireland] seems to be closing down, he said. It is increasingly less comfortable for me, and others who think like me, being there. The UK was resiling from the 21st century, he said. Geldof said the countries in the West are being reduced to economically competing states, and in that scenario countries go to war at a scratch. I think we will go to war, possibly within a generation, possibly two. I really think that, he said. A thuggish, predatory Russia being led by a brute was already invading Europe as we speak, Geldof said. David Casey, aged 21, from Coolock in Dublin, and his cousin Michael Casey, aged 33, from Clonlong Halting Site in Limerick, both pleaded guilty at Limerick Circuit Court last September to carrying out the burglary at the home of Limerick bachelor, John ODonoghue, aged 62. Prior to breaking into Mr ODonoghues home at Toomaline, Doon, the Caseys and an unnamed third man who drove them carried out break-ins at homes in the nearby Cappamore area on August 27, 2015. Sergeant Michael Reidy, who led the investigation, said that on the afternoon of the crime, Mr ODonoghue and his sister Christina went to Tipperary town to do some shopping. They arrived home around 2pm and saw a black Renault Laguna on the other side of the road with a man in it. They noticed the front gate was slightly open, although they had closed it when they left. Mr ODonoghue approached a side door and noticed part of it had been broken. Christina told him to be careful as they suspected burglars were still inside. The man in the car started honking the horn to alert his two accomplices inside. Mr ODonoghue picked up a shovel from a shed. As he stood near the door, Christina saw he was becoming unwell and he collapsed in the yard. She tried to assist him and called on the two intruders to come out and help. They ignored her and ran off through the fields. Judge Tom ODonnell yesterday jailed both Caseys to three and a half years, with the sentences backdated to the date of the crime, when they were taken into custody. A separate two-year sentence for another attempted burglary is to run concurrently. This means that, with remission, the two Caseys will be due out within 16 months. Judge ODonnell said both men had shown remorse and had written to the ODonoghue family expressing their regret at what occurred. He noted that Michael Casey has been a model prisoner and that David Casey had a difficult family background. Aggravating factors were the loss of life and pre-meditated nature of the crime in which easy targets in rural areas were burgled, violating homes. A probation report said both were at high risk of reoffending within a year. Mr ODonoghues family have condemned the leniency of the sentence and are calling on the DPP to bring the matter to the Court of Appeal. After the sentencing hearing, a spokesperson for the ODonoghue family said: We feel the sentence is lenient given the circumstances and we are disappointed the two-year sentences were not made consecutive rather than concurrent, given the premeditated nature of the crime. Appealing the sentence is a matter for the DPP and we would hope she would consider and appeal the sentence. The court heard the Caseys fled through fields after coming out a window, taking with them a gold watch, cash in sterling and dollars, and a car key. They were arrested near Franeys Cross, over 2km from Mr ODonoghues home, having been tracked down by gardai Bill Collins and Elaine ODonovan. Sgt Reidy said it was an organised crime and the Laguna was bought the day before on DoneDeal. The modus operandi of the Caseys and the third man, referred to as Mr X, was to drive around rural areas. One would act as a lookout selecting houses to break into, selecting older houses and cottages as they were less likely to have security devices fitted. When they would move in on a house, one man would remain in the car and the other two would break in. If anybody approached, the lookout man would beep the horn. Sgt Bill Collins, who was in the area, came to the scene and also tried to revive Mr ODonoghue who was pronounced dead at the scene. In a report, Marie Cassidy, the State pathologist said the cause of death, heart failure, was linked to the burglary. Dr Cassidy told the court that while Mr ODonoghue had a significant level of heart disease, there was a close association between the incident and his fatal collapse. In a victim impact statement, Mr ODonoghues niece Angela Denning said they had lost a kind, clever, talented, and witty man: A happy home is now missing something that, unlike stolen possessions, can never be replaced. Ms Denning said: Words cant describe the impact of this break-in on our family. After a burglary everyone loses their sense of security and feels more vulnerable; they add extra locks; get a dog; and live in fear that it might happen again. My parents used to worry about me because I live in Dublin, now I wake at night worrying about the safety of my parents and members of my family. Crunch talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail concluded yesterday with the latter agreeing to allow the Governments rent control measures to pass through the Dail. Rent rises will be capped in four Dublin areas and Cork City, possibly by next week, when measures go through the Seanad and are signed by the President. Areas around Cork City, Meath, Kildare, Louth, and Wicklow, will be prioritised to be assessed as rent pressure zones, as will the cities of Galway, Limerick, and Waterford. Fine Gael officials yesterday viewed the agreement as a significant victory for Housing Minister Simon Coveney. At one stage on Wednesday he and Taoiseach Enda Kenny had threatened to withdraw the rent predictability measures altogether unless Fianna Fail supported them. Face-to-face talks between Mr Coveney and Barry Cowen, Fianna Fails housing spokesman, broke down that night while debate on the issue in the Dail was stalled yesterday. Following further talks, which saw Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin intervene and meet with Mr Coveney, a deal was agreed. Simon Coveney It was agreed the Government would ensure the Residential Tenancies Board assesses other areas as rent pressure zones in the New Year. Fianna Fail had been pushing for extra areas to be immediately designated. Rents rises will now be capped at 4% a year over three years up until 2019 in zones that meet two criteria: Where annual rents rose at least 7% in four of the last six quarters; and where rent increases have been above the national average. Speaking in the Dail after the deal was agreed, Mr Coveney confirmed he would prioritise other areas for assessment but they would have to meet criteria. He said he could be in a position when the Residential Tenancies Board data comes back to make a decision on some areas by mid-January. Mr Cowen, in a statement, said his party had not achieved everything it sought, but as a result of its intervention, there will now be an immediate examination of eight other areas: Our research suggests that this will benefit 150,000 households in the first instance and a further 100,000 from next month. Donal Billings, aged 66, of St Bridgets Court, Drumlish, Co Longford, was last month found guilty by the three judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court of the unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park on May 16, 2011. Speaking after the sentencing yesterday, Detective Inspector Pat Finlay, of Longford Garda Station, said the investigation shows the challenges gardai face in relation to individuals intent on disrupting State visits. Billings was further convicted of four offences, under the Criminal Law Act of 1976, of knowingly making false reports tending to show an offence had been committed. He was found guilty of making a false report within the State on May 16, 2011, that bombs had been placed at Busaras in Dublin and at Sinn Feins headquarters. He was convicted of making a false report on May 18 that two mortars were set for Dublin Castle, and with making a false report on May 20 that two bombs had been placed in the toilets at Cork Airport. At the time, the Queen was visiting the country. Mr Justice Tony Huntsaid Billings was perfectly entitled to hold a low opinion of the Queen and her visit to Ireland, but not entitled to express such an opinion by engaging in criminality. Donal Billings was jailed for eight-and-a-half years. On May 16, 2011, a call was made to Longford Garda Station. The caller said there was a bomb on a Dublin-bound Corduff bus, a second bomb on a bus at Busaras, and a third bomb at Sinn Fein headquarters in Dublin. The Corduff travel bus was stopped on Station Rd, Maynooth, and searched by gardai, who found a suspicious object, comprised of gunpowder and a two-litre bottle of petrol, in the luggage compartment. Mr Justice Hunt said Billings had placed a highly dangerous explosive on a public transport vehicle containing an innocent driver and many passengers. This was an outrageous, highly irresponsible, and dangerous act that recklessly exposed passengers, staff, and members of the emergency services to very significant risk of serious injury or death, said the judge. The bomb was intended to give credence to further hoax calls Billings planned to make, said the judge. After finding the bomb on the Corduff bus, gardai also searched the Sinn Fein offices in Dublin and another bus. Nothing was found. A further call was made on May 18, threatening that two mortars were set at Dublin Castle for 8pm that day. The time and place coincided with a State banquet in the castle for the Queen. The caller said: Im a member of the Republican Brotherhood, Squad A. Two mortars are set for Dublin Castle at 8pm. This is for the queen of blood and war of Iraq. Searches were carried out but nothing was found. A third call, made at 3.15pm on May 20, claimed there were two bombs at Cork Airport, where the Queen was due to fly out. Nothing was found in a search. Billings has two previous convictions, from Northern Ireland in 1973, for possession of explosives. Mr Justice Hunt said mitigating factors included his contribution to the smooth running of the trial and his age. In addition to the eight-and-a-half-year sentence for the explosives offence, Billings was sentenced to one, two, three, and four years, respectively, for each of the threatening phone calls. The sentences are to run concurrently and were backdated to September 17. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: A two-day seminar on Regional Session for Practical Advice is underway at Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC) on December 16. The workshop is organized with support of the Ministries of Education, Economy and Communication and Higher Technologies and initiative of Russian Venture Company and Global Venture Alliance fund. The Director of UNEC International School of Economics Anar Rzayev delivered the information about the start-up projects of Innovative Business Incubator and Technology Transfer Center. Leading trainer Maksim Kisiloyov made a speech on Leadership and Teamwork for Innovative Start-up. He spoke about the functions of the leader and especially emphasized the leaders role in this environment. The speaker explained the methods of assessment of leaders and collection of the team in the example of successful start- up companies. The difference of the group gathered for start-up company from the team, features of the leader in the group and the team and the stages of the formation of the team were welcomed by the participants. He revealed the roles in a team in accordance with Belbs and Abezs theories. Speaking about a leaders ability to communicate, Kisilyov explained effective communication techniques with any type of audience, principles and technologies to be persuasive and the ways of non- financial motivation of the teams. He revealed the appointment of the main members of the team and secrets to improve their motivation. He also explained the ways to motivate start-up, mentor, employee and investor. The speaker shared his knowledge of a system of indicators to encourage the team, connection of strategy, achieving the goal and motivation, including the balance of financial and non- financial motivation. The scientific seminar completed after the debates. The participants noted the workshop would play an important role in promoting knowledge and skills on innovative entrepreneurial activity. The priest also rejected what he called the futility of violence. Before a packed St Olivers Church in Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork City, parish priest Fr John ODonovan quoted Leo Tolstoy and referred to a Charlie Brown comic strip as he outlined how, in both life and death, Jesus had held out his hand to Aidan ODriscoll. Mourners at the church in Dublin Hill included fiancee Marion Ryan, his mother Nuala, his sisters Nicola and Ciara, and his brother Mark. All played central roles in a respectful ceremony, with Fr ODonovan stressing the sacredness of human life following the brutal killing of the 37-year-old in nearby Blackpool last week. The native of Glenheights Park in Ballyvolane had been convicted in June 2005 of membership of the Real IRA, only for the conviction to be quashed three years later. Gardai are hunting his killers but, yesterday, the focus turned to the victim, described as a family and community man. Many years ago, as a young priest in west Belfast, I said the funeral Mass of a young man who died as a result of a shooting, said Fr ODonovan. Looking back over those years, I remember the great loss of that young man and the pain, hurt, loneliness, and the grief it caused to those who loved him; the futility of violence in all its shapes and forms; but especially the loss of human life and the pain it leaves behind. The years have passed by since that funeral but with the shooting of Aidan last Wednesday [week], those feelings that I experienced many years ago re-emerge with his death, and that is the sacredness of human life the hurt, pain, and emptiness that it causes to those who loved Aidan in this life. Aidan ODonovan: Shot dead in Blackpool last week. Today, we reach out to God with his loved ones in this Mass and we pray to the Lord to welcome Aidan onto the shores of eternity. At the beginning of every Mass, we ask the Lord to forgive our sins, our faults, and our failings, and we ask him for the strength to do better in the future. As we offer up this Mass for Aidan, we ask the Lord to forgive any faults or failings that he may have had during his life on this earth as now we begin our Mass for him. Later in his homily, Fr ODonovan said: Since the death of Aidan, a lot of words have been written and a lot of words have been spoken about him, so here today, with his loved ones and his extended family gathered around him in this sacred place and space for this community of Ballyvolane, we commend him to the love, the gentleness, and forgiveness of God Our Father, when one day we will ask the same for ourselves. We remember that, in death, it is not a door into the dark, it is a dark door into the light, and for Aidan and for his father Martin, and baby brother Joseph who have gone before him, for them and for Aidan we pray for their eternal rest and peace with God. Fr ODonovan then referred to a worrisome Charlie Brown, fretting about growing up and feeling insecure, prompting his friend Lucy to reach over and say hold my hand, Charlie Brown. Mourners at the funeral of murder victim Aidan ODriscoll, held at St Olivers Church, Dublin Hill, Cork, yesterday. During our lives, and during the life of Aidan, I believe Jesus always has his hand out, said the priest Today, for Aidan, we remember the words Jesus, remember me. We remember that Jesus is always holding out that hand of love, friendship, and forgiveness for all of us here today. We remember that he was always holding out his hand for Aidan during his life on this earth with the invitation: Hold my hand, Aidan ODriscoll. The Offaly GP is charged with unlawfully killing 11-year-old Emily Barut at their home, at Emvale, Bachelors Walk, Tullamore. Its alleged that she killed her by an act of gross negligence, involving the administration of an excessive quantity of chloral hydrate, on Saturday, September 15, 2012. The 58-year-old has pleaded not guilty, and went on trial at the Central Criminal Court two weeks ago. Ms Barut had microcephaly, and severe epilepsy, and couldnt speak or move. Ms Scully said she had administered chloral hydrate when her daughter became upset, at 2am, and 6am, that day. She said her daughter then had a massive fit, after 11am, and she administered more. Conservationist Michael McCoy, of Ballinascorney Upper, Brittas, was found dead at Blackhill Forest in the Dublin Mountains on September 30. He was formally identified using DNA, Dublin Coroners Court heard. His wife, Catriona McCoy, and their three daughters, Sarah, Suzanne, and Rachel, were visibly upset as the cause of death was read out at the inquest into his death. The postmortem carried out by Dr Linda Mulligan found the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Mr McCoy left his home early on the morning of September 29 intending to walk his two boxer dogs in the hills around his home. The alarm was raised when he failed to return a comprehensive search of the area commenced. Mr McCoys body was found on a forest track at around 5.30am the following day. One of his dogs, Sophie, stayed with his body until mountain rescue services arrived at the track. The family launched an online campaign and offered a reward for the second dog, Fia, who remained missing. The dogs remains were found a month later. Detective Inspector John Walsh of Tallaght Garda Station confirmed the remains were formally identified after DNA was assessed by a forensic scientist. A file has been prepared for the DPP and criminal proceedings are being contemplated, he told the coroners court. Det Insp Walsh applied to the coroner for a six-month adjournment pending a decision from the DPP. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane adjourned the inquest until June 15 and extended her condolences to the family on their loss. The internal review looked at chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchiectasis. The situation in the Mater came to light as a result of the National Office of Clinical Audits (NOCA) first report from the National Audit of Hospital Mortality (NAHM), which was published yesterday. One hospital (Mater) had a standardised mortality rate (SMR) above the upper control limit in 2015, meaning that this SMR was higher than could be explained by chance, read the audit report. As a result of this finding the hospital undertook its own review. An internal review of deaths has not provided a de?nitive explanation, neither has it raised any immediate concerns. It has, however, raised questions for further consideration, said Gordon Dunne, CEO of the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. Dr Brian Creedon, chairman of NAHMs governance committee said yesterday, the fact that the Mater was above the upper control limit, did not necessarily reflect on the care in the hospital. Rather than saying thats an issue of care in that hospital, its important that you go back and that hospital looks at its data. If its data is inaccurate then that may explain why that signal is there, Dr Creedon explained. In the response given by Mater CEO, he said that palliative care was not necessarily related. In exploring the data, we have concluded in general that the inclusion of palliative care-associated mortality has not signi?cantly contributed to this change in mortality rate, he said. The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland said it received more than 40 complaints regarding two adverts by the Carphone Warehouse, one featuring a picture of a denim jacket with a badge pinned beneath the collar that read: Were pro-choice. The second featured a picture of a baby with the caption what makes a family?, with the options Mum & Mum, Mum & Dad, Dad & Dad, and the slogan were pro-choice. Both adverts featured the slogan: The only place you get to choose your network, phone, and plan. A third ad with a pro-choice slogan featured a picture of a person with short hair and glasses, and the caption: What do you see? with the options Guy, Girl, and Me. The ASAI said the complainants found the ads to be highly offensive in light of the ongoing debate around the eighth amendment and that it trivialised a very sensitive topic, while the third advert was said to be extremely offensive to transgender people. Complaints against all three ads were upheld. The latest report from the ASAI shows that 25 advertisements were found to have been in breach of its code on grounds relating to misleading advertising, decency and propriety, health and beauty, and alcohol advertising. The ads complained of related to the internet, brochure, press, outdoor, social media, print, and radio. The ASAI upheld three complaints against Eir. A member of the public said Eirs claim that it provides superfast broadband was misleading as there was no qualification offered or any mention of average speeds. The complainant said his average speed was 25Mb, which is well short of the 100Mbs advertised for some of the bundles offered. It was one of two complaints which the ASAI upheld against Eir after the company failed to respond to the grievances raised. The second complaint to which Eir failed to respond regarded an ad in which the company claimed its broadband had absolutely no usage limits. The complainant said the terms and conditions, which were accessed via a link at the end of the webpage advertising the deal, stated that broadband deals with unlimited usage are subject to a fair usage policy of 1TB [one terabyte] per month. The standoff would only make families struggling with rents stress more, claimed some TDs, as Housing Minister Simon Coveney withdrew the Bill. Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald came under attack in the Dail during Leaders questions while talks between the two parties were ongoing outside the chamber. In chaotic moments during the closing week before the Dails Christmas break, TDs accused the Fine Gael government of hitting tenants with rent hikes. Sinn Feins Mary Lou McDonald said that the antics of Fine Gael, and its colleagues in Fianna Fail had made matters worse for the housing crisis: Fine Gael has added to those families stress, to their anxiety and to their worry. Fine Gael has done nothing to alleviate the fear of renters. She said the best way to help renters would be to link rent increases to CPI or inflation: It was the view of the cross-party Dail Committee on Housing and Homelessness, including its Fine Gael and Fianna Fail members. It is a position widely supported by tenancy advocacy organisations, by homeless charities, by housing policy experts. Minister Fitzgerald defended the measures, claiming there was also a need to protect supply. The Government rent plan involves 4% rent rise caps and some areas being designated rent pressures zones. But talks broke down on Wednesday, amid Fianna Fail demands for other areas beyond Dublin and Cork city to be declared zones. AAA-PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett was critical, saying: The only certainty the Government is offering is the certainty of unaffordable rents, more evictions and exorbitant, extortionate profits for landlords. How the hell is somebody on average earnings or, God forbid, on less than average earnings in south Dublin to pay even the existing average rent of 2,280 per month for a three-bedroom house? Then the Minister thinks it is acceptable to increase the rent by 12%. Gerard Ward, aged 43, of Glenma, Croom, Co Limerick, was jailed at Limerick Circuit Court yesterday for four years for threatening to kill the driver with a knife. He got a further consecutive two-year sentence for attempting to rob a briefcase from a businessman walking on OConnell St, Limerick. That crime was carried out when Ward was out on bail for the attack on the taxi driver man. Ward pleaded guilty to both crimes. Garda Tom Flavin said Ward flagged down a taxi, in Limerick, at around 11.30pm on January 25, 2013, and asked to be driven to Croom. He told the taxi driver he had no money and would pay him when he got home, as his mother would have the money. Ward insisted the taxi travel on secondary roads, instead of the motorway. They travelled to an isolated country road and Ward became aggressive. On producing a knife, he demanded the drivers takings. He ordered the driver out of the car, told him to take off his pants, and said he would kill him, his wife, and his children. Ward took some cash and two mobile phones. He also hit the car with an iron bar and ordered the taxi driver to drive him towards Croom, before getting out and disappearing into the night. The taxi driver was concerned because his identity picture and name were visible on the dashboard and he was afraid Ward would come after him. With the help of CCTV, gardai tracked down Ward, who had previous convictions in this country and in Wales. In a victim impact statement, the taxi driver told how he still suffered psychologically and emotionally. He no longer felt comfortable working at night and this had caused him financial loss. While out out on bail, along with another man, Ward accosted a man who was walking along OConnell Street and demanded his briefcase. Ward had a knife. The man ran off and Ward was arrested shortly after. Judge Tom ODonnell said the taximan had been subjected to a frightening ordeal on an isolated road. The weapons were uncovered as part of a planned search of a house at Chestnut Drive, Cluain Ard, Cobh, where the three men who are in their mid 30s to early 50s were arrested. Gardai say the investigations that led to the arrests were existing operations, and were not directly linked to the inquiry into the murder of dissident republican Aidan ODriscoll, who was shot dead in Blackpool, Cork last week and whose funeral was held yesterday. Lawrence ONeill, who lives in Dublin and is an attorney in the US, told the court he hopes to have the money for Adriano Fusco, from Johnstown, Co Kildare, over the next few days but has also asked that he be given until December 29 to do so. Mr ONeill appeared in person after Mr Justice Tony OConnor last week ordered he be brought before the court to explain why he should not be committed to prison for contempt of an earlier court order to pay the money. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Ilhama Isabalayeva Trend: Azerbaijan has invited French investors to develop tourism zones in the country. Sevda Mammadaliyeva, Azerbaijani deputy minister of culture and tourism, has proposed to attract French investors for development of tourism and recreation areas in the country. Mammadaliyeva made this proposal while addressing the eighth meeting of the Azerbaijani-French intergovernmental commission, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend. The deputy minister said that provisions of the Strategic Road Map on the development of specialized tourism industry in Azerbaijan, approved by the decree of the Azerbaijani president, will contribute to Azerbaijans cooperation with other countries, including France, in the tourism sphere. During the meeting, prospects of the two countries relations in the tourism sphere were discussed and the importance to intensify relations between the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) and Azerbaijani associations and companies was noted. Meanwhile, the necessity to study Frances experience for developing agrarian and other types of tourism in Azerbaijan was highlighted. Moreover, during the meeting, the importance of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan Tourism and Management University and Institute for Research and Advanced Studies in Tourism (IREST) of the Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris, , cooperation on personnel training in various directions of the tourism sphere, cooperation on investments in hotel construction sphere between Azerbaijans Gilan Holdign and Frances Accor Group was noted. I asked my cleaning lady if shed waitress for my Christmas drinks thingy next week. There was a slight misunderstanding, and now she thinks Ive invited her as a guest. Do you think shed notice if I asked her to put on a maids outfit and walk around with a tray of finger food? Claire, Douglas Road, shell be serving the cream of Cork. Isnt that a cheap sherry? My posh cousin had a similar problem. She texted her maid, asking if she would be available for her daughters christening. The cleaner turned up with her family and a present for the baby. My posh cousin said she could stay as long as she pretended to be the Duchess of Warsaw. The cleaner said shes from Slovakia, not Poland. My posh cousin said she finds it hard to differentiate between anyone from east of Youghal. The cleaner said thats a huge insult. I suppose nobody wants to be mistaken for someone from Waterford. Like totally, hi there. My boyfriend is bringing me home for Christmas to see his parents, they live on a farm just outside Macroom. Is that like even a place? And will they take to a gorgeous, rich bubbly Dublin 4 girl like me? Clara, Sandymount, I totally own three Mini Coopers. I partially own a BMW. (I just love these new car leasing deals.) Macroom is the string-of-misery town we use to slow down the Kerry crowd heading for Cork. Theyd be in a fierce rush for a bit of civilisation. My guess is a farmer outside Macroom will greet you in the same way as he would a visit from the Revenue. Lets just say theyd have strong views on the national question in that part of Cork. And while I hate judging people I havent met, my guess is you sound extremely English. You also probably think thats a compliment. Howre oo goin on? Herself is after falling in with some do-gooders below in Bantry. Anyway, didnt she arrive home the other night and say shed signed me up as Santa at a fund-raising yoke for homeless sheepdogs. Thats going to be a long afternoon. Could you recommend an odourless drink that might help ease the pain? Din Dan Donie, the auld vodka gives me heartburn. It gave me a socially awkward disease. The less we say about that, the better. Except I still get funny looks in Kinsale. Vodka doesnt work as a drink on the sly anyway, it just gives off a vague aura of stale booze. People would say Santa smells like the bus in from Coachford. Why dont you do what every other Santa in the country does? Put four pints down your throat and half a bottle of Old Spice on your face. Ho Ho Ho, says you, full of festive cheer. And Heineken. Cmere, the boss at work is after losing her marbles and inviting us out to her mansion in Blackrock for Christmas drinks. Do you think it will be awkward? Dowcha Donie, Blackpool, she even said we can call her Monica, for one night only. Ill let you in on a secret. Monica has just been on the Christmas party season course I give to senior managers in Cork, called How to Feign Interest in Norries. The two main modules are Pretending You Drink Beamish and Letting It Go When They Say I Do Be. I also train them not to mention they went to Scoil Mhuire or Pres every five minutes. (That part of the course can take up to two days.) My guess is the party will end before midnight. Monica told me she has contract cleaners coming at 9am the next morning to clear out the pong of Norry before Christmas. Hey, Im going to spend a week with the team in our Cork office, because you guys love to party. Im totally looking forward to this thing called The Twelve Pubs. Is it as awesome as it sounds? Laura, San Francisco. It is. Particularly if your lifetime ambition is to have a 21-year-old guy from Thurles puke in your lap and shout I still think Im going to score with ya! In which case, Ive finally found someone who has had a worse time on Tinder than myself. I have this tradition at work. Its called the One Pub of Christmas. I get a spot by the fire in the pub at lunch time on the Friday before Christmas. I make eyes at the young fella in IT so hell keep going up to get the bevvies. I tell him not to get his hopes up, nothing is going to happen. He replies, that what you said last year. The cheek of him. American presidential transitions are perilous times. One tradition of creating continuity is for commanders-in-chief in waiting to be briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency. Some presidents-elect cant get enough of the top-secret stuff. Some half-listen as they gear up in great haste to take office. Until now, none has disdained the secret briefs, denigrated the CIA, and declared, in the words of Donald J Trump, Im, like, a smart person declining to hear almost everything and anything the spies have to say. This willful ignorance has no real precedent. It may well be that Trump really doesnt want to know about Russia hacking the 2016 election, an epochal event that he doesnt believe actually happened. He may think he that he doesnt need to know more about North Koreas nukes, Syrias army and the fall of Aleppo, or the correlation of forces in the Middle East. He may spend the next five weeks or the next four years saying, in effect, my minds made up, dont confuse me with facts. But he could learn a lot by reading up about the CIAs opening the kingdom of secrets for prospective presidents over the past 40 years. In 1976, the director of Central Intelligence George HW Bush prepared to fly down to Plains, Georgia, to brief Jimmy Carter. Getting there was half the problem for the worlds premier intelligence service. The CIAs Gulfstream jet couldnt make a landing on the sod airstrip in Plains. A quick call to the Pentagon gleaned the information that Bush would have to helicopter in to Peterson Field, but the CIAs navigators couldnt find it on the map. They called down to Plains. They were directed to Petersons field a peanut farmers plot on the edge of town. What Bush gave Carter wasnt brief. It was a six-hour tour of the world the Soviet Union, China, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, and more. Carter wanted to know about Americas strategic nuclear arsenal and its spy satellites. He sought a day-long follow-up. Eight CIA experts joined Bush and Carter in Plains two weeks later for a deeper dive. And in a final meeting on November 19, 1976, Bush revealed two really deep secrets. One was that a number of foreign leaders, including King Hussein of Jordan, were on the CIAs payroll. The other was that Bush wanted to stay on at the CIA. If I had agreed to that, Carter said years later, he never would have become president. A very different scene unfolded when the CIAs briefers met Ronald Reagan at Wexford, a sumptuous Virginia estate once owned by John and Jackie Kennedy, in 1980. Reagan gave them an hour: 15 minutes on Saddam Hussein, 15 minutes on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 15 minutes on the Saudis, and 15 minutes on Iran. Members of Reagans entourage ran in and out of the room like characters in a screwball comedy. The hour went by quickly. Then, in late 1988 and early 1989, came Bush 41s turn to be briefed. He had loved his year as director of Central Intelligence the CIA must have seemed to him like his Yale fraternity Skull and Bones, but with a billion-dollar budget. Before and after his inauguration, he soaked up daily briefs and wanted more the raw intelligence underlying them, direct reports from CIA station chiefs overseas, spy-satellite imagery. However, the CIA couldnt deliver insight or foresight on the fate of its main enemy, the Soviet Union. It had no idea in January 1989 that a tidal wave of history was about to break upon us, said Bob Gates, who ran the CIA for Bush 41 and the Pentagon under Bush 43 and Barack Obama. In December 1992, Bill Clinton had few profound ideas about Americas strategic interests after the Cold War. His CIA briefers drove over to the Arkansas governors mansion in Little Rock from their rooms at a $38.50-a-night Comfort Inn, but they drove back wondering whether the president-elect cared much about what they said. He chose a new CIA director, Jim Woolsey; they met exactly twice during the next two years. I didnt have a bad relationship with the president, Woolsey reflected. I just didnt have one at all. Things were very different eight years later. Alarms flashed red: al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, loomed large. Clinton had grave fears; so did CIA director George Tenet. After the Supreme Court declared Bush 43 the victor in December 2000, both men warned him about the group. The president and the president-elect met alone for two hours in Crawford, Texas. Clinton remembers telling him: Your biggest threat is bin Laden. Bush swore he never heard that. The question remains whether Bush was listening. By contrast, Barack Obama paid attention to his CIA briefers while a howling recession pounded the US at the end of 2008. Does the CIA have the president-elects ear? Does he believe what he hears? Does Trump truly disbelieve that Russia wants to disrupt democracies? The dilemma that will face American intelligence in the Trump administration was defined long ago by Richard Helms, who ran the CIA under presidents Johnson and Nixon. If we are not believed, Helms said, we have no purpose. Tim Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter. His books include Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA This has been the year that Oxford dictionaries declared post-truth to be its international word of the year. Its hard to argue with the logic of that decision. But, equally, this was the year when we had so much hard truth to swallow. After what feels like 12 months of wall-to- wall negativity, 2017 cant arrive a moment too soon. Sometimes the different arms of the dictionary publishers in the UK and the US opt for different choices but this year there was no doubt on either side what they felt would reflect the passing year in language. It was a million miles away from last years choice of the face with tears of joy emoji. Well, this year that emoji face has had its little cutie mouth well and truly upended. In fact, the inherent cuteness of those darn emojis mean that not one of the myriad available could ever adequately reflect the seeming malevolence of what has gone on in the past 12 months, plus the sort of repercussions those events will have for years to come. Apart from the obvious Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US president this was also the year that brought us the deaths of cultural icons David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, and Muhammad Ali. It brought the truck attack in Nice, the Zika virus, and those horrible scenes from the Calais jungle camp, especially those involving unaccompanied children. The suffering that has been endured by the children in Syria becomes even more intractable and simply defies belief. A child in Syria It also seems to have been a particularly humourless year. That made me enjoy all the more the attempt by the hugely popular but much maligned UK singer James Blunt at much-needed humour earlier this week on Twitter. If you thought 2016 was bad Im releasing an album in 2017, he tweeted. Oh the nostalgia of looking back at the words chosen by the Oxford dictionaries in previous years, such as unfriend or carbon neutral. What innocent times they were! Those words are beautifully benevolent when we look at what this year has thrown up. Looking back, it feels like we were the passengers on the Titanic blithely sailing on towards the iceberg, not realising what lay ahead. So, in the era of Donald Trump and Brexit, we have post-truth as our go-to word; defined by the dictionary as an adjective relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. As it happens, the use of the term post-truth increased by around 2,000% in 2016 compared to last year. No surprise, either, that another contender for the title was alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right and defined as an ideological grouping associated with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints, characterised by a rejection of mainstream politics and by the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content. It was a year which was dominated by highly charged and horrible political and social discourse. It was a particularly depressing year to be a journalist. Weve already taken nearly a decade of a battering, newspapers in particular. For the pro-Brexit crowd and the Trump supporters, the mainstream media was seen as part of the Establishment and in on the conspiracy. Yet journalists are now being blamed for not getting the real facts out when, as the Oxford Dictionarys choice shows facts were frequently seen as irrelevant, unless, of course, they are facts that appeared on your Facebook feed. Then they are sacred. Unsurprisingly, Brexiteer was also in the running for the Oxford crown, along with non-political terms including coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, which also somewhat incredibly became a legitimate thing in 2016, with creepy clowns and killer clowns popping up everywhere. Thrown in amongst all this fear and horribleness was hygge, the Danish concept of cosiness. Hygge is a lovely idea, and its nice to see a word in there without any negative connotations but, in truth, after the year weve had, were looking at more than open fires and cosy reindeer rugs to cure us. Its likely that prescription drugs are more on target. Doctors have surely taken to offering the advice stay away from current affairs and stay off social media to anxious patients feeling overwhelmed by international events. For patients with blood pressure problems, The medics should add to that advice: Unfollow Donald Trump on Twitter. Its still easy to recall the acute shock of waking to the news in June that Britain had voted to leave the EU. In retrospect, though, the depth of feeling at that event seems like a minor emotional upset in comparison to Donald Trumps election win, which brought on an almost fully fledged panic attack on a night of frantic channel-swapping on the television, and panicked refreshing of social media pages in an effort to find someone with authority who was going to utter the reassurance that what was happening before our eyes was really not. But if ever there was a case of daylight reinforcing a horrible reality, this was it. The contrasting emotion was the immense relief felt upon hearing that Angela Merkel was going to run for a fourth term in Germany next year. Clearly one of the object lessons of 2016 was that no election result is a foregone conclusion, but my instinctive reaction was the comfort of believing that Merkel will indeed be elected and there will then be at least one responsible adult on the global stage. Now, with Brexit on one side of us and Trump on the other, the fragility of our position could not be more cruelly exposed. The UK government, thus far, has inspired zero confidence that it has the remotest clue how best to proceed with its Brexit. What has become abundantly clear, though, is that we are no priority of theirs and, to quote a colourfully spoken Mayo friend of mine, we will get plenty of the hind tit when it comes to the negotiations with the EU. Nor will Trump be likely to give us much sympathy when it comes to US companies based here and the issue of corporate tax. With everything else that has gone on, it is easy to almost forget that we actually had a general election this year and one that delivered a result which was historic in its own way. When compared with the lunacy outside our borders, the seemingly endless delay in forming our own Government seems vaguely endearing and, most importantly, on the right side of sane. Those who we traditionally look to politically have effectively lost their marbles. In contrast, the Irish voter seems well in line for a certificate of sanity when compared with neighbouring citizens in the UK and the US. For their part our politicians have soldiered on. We may sneer at the fragility of the arrangement and some of the antics we have witnessed in the Dail but simply holding it together, and managing to pass a budget, in the year that was, is something that is worth admiring. Given all that is going on around us, 2017 is not necessarily going to be an easy year, but surely it has to be an improvement on what has just gone before. With everything else that has gone on, it is easy to forget we actually had a general election this year In Person Telenor CEO Looks Ahead to Companys Burma Business Strategy Inside a Telenor store. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Norways Telenor serves about 18 million customers across Burma with voice and data services, competing with Qatars Ooredoo and state-owned MPT. About 64 percent of Telenors customers are active data users. Recently, The Irrawaddy spoke with Telenors Burma chief executive officer Lars Erik Tellmann to gain some insight into the industrys current situation and Telenors plans for next year. How are you preparing for the new telecom company that will be partly public and partly owned by Vietnams Viettelsupposedly the final telecom company in Burma? First of all, this was never a surprise for us; this will be the fourth operator [in Burma]. It was expected. Weve had plans since the beginning as to how we would run in the market. Outside of that, we will see any competition entering the market as healthy. We know that competition drives innovation and new ideas, and makes us become better. We welcome competition, and its healthy to initiate performance in terms of our development. How we will prepare for the fourth operator? I cant tell you exactly, but of course we have plans, as we always do. We are able to please our customers in the best way possible. We still have the happiest customers, and this is the best way to prepare for our competitors. There is a third party that is doing a survey for ussurveying 5,000 customersso we get results different areas to see how were doing and to promote whats best for customers. Last year, we had the highest survey results among the three operators. We want customers to love us, not just like us. We are always looking at how we create products. If we continue this, its the best protection for us from any kind of competition. Will Telenor expand its investments next year? Yes, I see many people talking about what they will invest. But thats the future. I can say that Telenor has made investments and already used US$1.5 billion in the two years we have been in operation here and in the three years since we came to this country. What we will use in the future will depend on how the market develops, but we will definitely invest more. Could you explain the rumors that Telenor will withdraw its investment and leave Burma? A lot of people are confused about this. We have already invested $1.5 billion here, and we have not sent back any of this as profit. No money has been repatriated from Burma. All of our money has been reinvested to create better products and to help roll out our network. Thats a choice weve made, that we want to invest more. What about Telenors future plans to expand the mobile money business? Wave money is still in the early stages and more investment is going to take place from the company, for sure. Is the mobile money business a good investment here? We think that, in the long term, it is a business. Look around you. In this society, few people have access to a bank account. We believe that access to a bank account to transfer money, and to conduct payments, is important. Its something that should be available to more people than its currently available to now. Thats why we can use a digital platform much more efficiently. If you want to do it the traditional way, you have to build a physical bank. Our service is unique because it combines mobile technology, so we can reach more people. How much of Burmas population can Telenor cover right now? Our goal is to cover 90 percent of the population by the end of the year. What are the major challenges to reaching this goal? Some of the greatest challenges are employment issues and the inability to roll out in ethnic areas where conflict makes it difficult to build. Some areas also lack infrastructure, which also makes it difficult. To date, weve invested $1.5 billion, and we anticipate continuing to spend money to improve our coverage and quality and roll out real 4G services. We launched 4G services in Naypyidaw and will expand to a few more cities soon. Theres no reason for cities like Yangon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw not to have networks as modern as other developed cities. Burma Israel Urged to Suspend Military Shipment to Burma Min Aung Hlaing toured a naval base and defense manufacturers in Israel in Sept. 2015 during a goodwill tour alongside senior military brass. Human rights activists and lawyers in Israel have urged the Ministry of Defense to nullify or suspend a military shipment ordered by the Burma Army, stating that the country still commits human rights abuses against minority groups. They wrote to Racheli Chen, head of the Israeli Ministry of Defenses export control department, and called for a review of all defense export licenses purchased by the Burma Army under the authority granted to her in Clause 9 of the 2007 law on defense export control. It is surprising that the State of Israel, while struggling for continued sanctions against Iran, has no qualms about ignoring the US and EU sanctions against Burma for the most severe crimes being committed there, read the letter dated Dec. 11. It stated that the Burma Army still wages war with ethnic minorities in northern and eastern Burma, while also committing serious human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslim minority in western Burma. Eitay Mack, a human rights attorney in Jerusalem told The Irrawaddy, The military hardware hasnt shipped yet [to Burma]. We want to stop it. We hope that we can do something by using our authority. During his visit to Israel last September, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing along with military officials from Burmas Air Force and Navy toured Elbit Systems, an Israel-based defense manufacturing company. They also toured an Israeli naval base, the countrys Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv and a memorial to fallen soldiers in the Gaza Strip. Reports and pictures of the trip were revealed on the Burma Army chiefs Facebook, saying that he had spoken with Israeli representatives about purchasing military equipment and training. The activists letter also said that despite the positive transition in Burma, the Burma Army and its officials continue to retain control. Representatives of the junta are assured 25 percent of the seats in parliament, which reserves them the right to veto any reform measures. The military also continues to control three key ministries: defense, border affairs and home affairs. The letter stated that Burma Army forces and related militias continue to arrest, torture and murder ethnic and religious minorities, opposition and human rights activists, farmers opposed to dispossession of their land, journalists and students. This is both a violation of international law, and of basic human morality, read the letter. According to various reports, Israel has maintained defense ties with the Burmese junta for decades, even if not continuously. Last June, the head of Israels defense export department Gen Michel Ben Baruch visited Burma and met with leaders of the Burma Army. Burma Man Files Defamation Case After Activists Accuse Him of Land Grabbing Members of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society stand in front of the courthouse in Mawlamyine, Mon State. / 88 Generation Peace and Open Society / Facebook RANGOON A Mon State man accused of land grabbing has filed a defamation case against land rights activists from the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, alleging that he was misrepresented in a 2015 publication by the organization. The report, entitled Farmland and Tears of National Brethren: Assessment and Recommendations, details land disputes in Burmas seven states. It names U Yan Lin Aung, of Thanbyuzayat, Mon State, as reportedly having partnered with state authorities to confiscate 174 acres of land from 14 farmers in Ye Township. Ma Nu Nu Aung, a member of the 88 Generations agricultural economy committee, which works to help farmers reclaim confiscated land, told The Irrawaddy that U Yan Lin Aung filed the defamation complaint with the Mawlamyine Divisional Court. The plaintiff alleges that Ma Nu Nu Aung and other two members, Ko Tun Myint Aung and Ko Myo Thant, insulted him. U Yan Lin Aung has asked for 50 million (US$36,794) kyats in compensation, Ma Nu Nu Aung said. The 88 Generation members were summoned to a court hearing on Thursday. The court has not yet decided whether to accept the case and the next hearing will be held on Dec 28. Ma Nu Nu Aung said that the October 2015 report was based on complaints sent by farmers to the organizations agricultural economy committee. Organization members then made field visits to investigate the complaints and found that they held up to scrutiny. We published the book as an attempt to let the government know more widely about the issues of land grabs and land disputes, in order to solve the problems that are faced by farmers, she said, adding that the information cited in the report was true. Burma Members of Parliament to Study Chinese Language MPs at a parliamentary event. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYIDAW Citizens shouldnt be surprised if Burmas lawmakers are heard greeting each other with Ni Hao! or saying Xie Xie! next year: nearly 100 members of Parliament have enrolled in a Chinese language course slated to start in 2017. The language classes will be the first for many parliamentarians; the program is supported by the Chinese Embassy in Rangoon and the Chinese Consulate in Mandalay. There was no such course for the previous Parliament, one that was dominated by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and which had close ties with China. Knowing Chinese will help us understand China and vice versa, Dr. Kyaw Than Tun, who is organizing the Chinese proficiency training, told The Irrawaddy. It will also facilitate cultural exchange and cooperation between our two countries. The language training is aimed at facilitating improved bilateral relations. The Chinese class will be conducted inside Parliament, and certificates will be given to students upon completion of the course. There may also be the potential for cultural visits to China, said Dr. Kyaw Than Tun, who is also the chairman of Myanmar Association of China Alumni. It is not a bad idea to learn Chinese since China is our neighbor and also a superpower, said Dr. Kyaw Than Tun, adding that instructors from the University of Foreign Languages in Rangoon would teach the lawmakers. As the current session of Parliament will end Dec. 21, lawmakers hope to start the Chinese course when the next session begins early in 2017. I have enrolled because I think its always good to know a language, said Lower House lawmaker U Aung Hlaing Win of Mingaladon Township. And it is also partly because my lawmaker friends will also attend it. And I think it is better to be taught by native speakers rather than Burmese instructors. Dr. Hla Moe, secretary of the parliamentary rights committee, also expressed his support for a Chinese language course. Those who are interested in languages should attend it. Chinese is one of the official languages of the UN. And we will be able to learn their culture and literature, he said. Since the NLD government came to power in 2016, some lawmakers have also studied an English proficiency course that was organized with assistance from the UN. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Select Journalists to be Granted Access to MaungdawAccompanied by Govt Officials Trip Maungdaw Photo 1: Displaced Rohingya Muslims at a camp in Arakan States Maungdaw Township. / Moe Myint / The Irrawaddy RANGOON The Burmese government will allow 13 independent journalists from both international and local media outlets to join a guided visit to Arakan States Maungdaw Township on Dec. 20, according to the Ministry of Informations Deputy Permanent Secretary U Myo Myint Maung. Maungdaw has been off limits to journalists since armed clashes began in October between militants and government security forces. U Myo Myint Maung said that appropriate persons would be invited on the three-day trip, but declined to comment on the exact number of local and foreign journalists, or to name the organizations that would receive invitations. He emphasized that the selection process had not yet been completed. When The Irrawaddy asked about the selection criteria in determining the trips participants, the deputy permanent secretary responded that a government teamwhose members are not knownwould conclude who is suitable. He said that the Ministry of Information would arrange the trip and that government officials would accompany the journalists to villages in Maungdaw where international rights groups have accused Burmese security forces of committing abuses against civilians, including arson, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence. The Irrawaddy pointed out that the government has been criticized for not giving the green light to media to investigate these allegations independently. I would like to ask you: who ordered that the media be barred [from going]? Has the government? U Myo Myint Maung said, adding, That might be for your safety, because you already visited there. In late November, The Irrawaddy spent a week in Maungdaw Township, but authorities refused to allow access to villages including Dar Gyee Zar, Zin Paing Nyar, Kyet Yoe Pyin, Gwa Zon, and U Shint Kya. Since the army began clearance operations in Maungdaw to search for those involved in Oct. 9 attacks on border police outposts, journalists have been restricted from entering the township. Maungdawbased reporters told The Irrawaddy on Friday that although the government currently allows them to travel to some places in the area, access is still restricted concerning areas where the military is active. Journalists were also prohibited from accompanying the Kofi Annan-led Arakan State Advisory Commission on the delegations second trip to the region in November. When contacted by The Irrawaddy about the proposed media trip to Maungdaw, Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htayalso secretary of the State Counselors Office Information Committeedid not comment and instructed the reporter to speak directly to the Ministry of Information. Burma US Special Ambassador on Human Trafficking Visits Burma Ambassador-at-large to combat human trafficking Susan Coppedge at the US Embassy in Rangoon last week. / US Embassy RANGOON The United States ambassador-at-large to combat human trafficking spent two days in Rangoon and Naypyidaw last week meeting with government officials, NGOs, and international organizations. Ambassador Susan Coppedge said the purpose of the trip was to learn about progress and discuss challenges in Burmas efforts to combat human trafficking, commonly defined as the illegal movement of people for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. The ambassadors visit came a few months after Burma slipped to the lowest level on a US-led ranking of countries on their efforts to combat trafficking, and just ahead of the approval by Parliament this week of Burmas ratification of the Asean Convention against Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP). In July, Burma was downgraded to Tier 3 on the latest annual global Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which assessed the countrys performance in 2015. The downgrade was automatic after Burma was judged as having failed to demonstrate sufficient efforts to combat trafficking last year, after spending a period of four years on a Tier 2 watch list. In response to the July report, the new government said it was stepping up efforts to protect migrant workers and victims of trafficking and forced labor. The protection of victims was a major challenge for anti-trafficking efforts globally, Coppedge said. One of the messages I carry with me is the non-criminalization of victims, she told The Irrawaddy. Its very hard for law enforcement, when they encounter someone who may have broken immigration laws or laws against prostitution, to stop and look at that person as a potential victim of crimes. She added, Its very important to screen vulnerable individuals, particularly migrants, or people in prostitution, women, and children to see what the true nature of the activity is there and whether they were compelled to engage in it. Labor trafficking is increasing in Southeast Asia and globally and was receiving increased attention from her office at the US Department of State, Coppedge said. The 2016 TIP report stated that Burma remained a significant source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor in fishing, manufacturing, and other industries abroad, while women and children are subjected to sex trafficking both at home and abroad. Forced labor was still a major issue inside the country, the report said, noting that the Burma Armys self-reliance policy in conflict areas continues to make adults and children vulnerable to the practice. Although the Army had taken steps in recent years to reduce the recruitment of child soldiers, children were still recruited into the military and child deserters remained subject to arrest, it said. People displaced by conflict in Arakan, Kachin, and northern Shan States were at increased risk of trafficking, according to the report. It urged the Burma government to take increased action on trafficking on around seventeen different fronts, including increasing prosecutions and jail time for offenders and improving services for victims. During 2015, the previous government reported prosecuting and convicting 168 traffickers, up around 15 percent from 143 the year before. Many cases that reached court concerned the forced marriages of Burmese women to Chinese men in northern border areas. Sex trafficking cases have accounted for a large proportion of anti-trafficking prosecutions since Burma formed an Anti-Trafficking-in-Persons Division within the police force in 2004 and introduced an anti-trafficking law in 2005. International organizations including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and an Australia-funded regional project have provided anti-trafficking trainings and other support to the police division and to members of Burmas criminal justice system over a period of around ten years. In 2015, the US Department of States Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking provided US$700,000 to World Vision in Burma for training and support to police, judges, prosecutors, and case managers to improve victim-centered investigations and prosecutions. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in the US is also supporting training for prosecutors and law enforcement this year. It is providing $800,000 to the UNODC in support of Border Liaison Officers along Burmas borders with China, Laos, Bangladesh, and Thailand for a program that aims to increase the capacity of frontline law enforcement officials to identify, address, and combat transnational crime, specifically trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. Direct support and services for the victims of trafficking in Burma remains extremely low, and the lack of a protection system means many trafficking victims decline to cooperate on prosecutions. This is the same worldwide. Its a really challenging area, and we certainly recommend that victim services be supported here in Myanmar and that more money be put into victim services, Coppedge said. Part of the recent US funding for combating trafficking in Burma is to build capacity among civil society and networks so there will be a referral system in place for victims, she said. Myanmar has institutions set up, and procedures set up, but it now needs the funding to put those into action, both with respect to prosecution and victim services, Coppedge added. Another barrier to combating trafficking in Burma is corruption, the TIP report noted. Corruption and impunity remained pervasive in Burma and hindered the enforcement of human trafficking laws. Individuals with alleged ties to high level officials reportedly pressured trafficking victims not to seek legal redress against traffickers, it said. Coppedge said that corruption was a problem and an impediment to fighting trafficking globally. In Burma, her office was working to enhance coordination among international donors, evaluate programs, and conduct research and evaluation to identify hot spots and which programs are effective. The new government has stated that one of its general policy priorities is to combat corruption. In its response to the latest TIP report in July, the government also drew attention to a wider context, saying it was particularly working to alleviate poverty, a primary breeder of conditions that lead to human trafficking. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Azad Hasanli Trend: The Azerbaijani Parliament passed the bill "On the Criterion of Need for 2017" at a plenary session Dec. 16. The criterion of need, used to set the amount of targeted social assistance, will amount to 116 manats in 2017. Earlier, Azerbaijani Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said the criterion of need increased by 10.5 percent compared to the preliminary expectations. Azerbaijan switched to a targeted social assistance system in 2006. The amount of the targeted social assistance is set based on difference between the criterion of need and the income per family member. The families whose income per person is below this criterion receive the targeted social assistance. The criterion of need was set at 105 manats in 2016. (1.7525 manats = $1 on Dec. 16) Friday, December 16th, 2016 (12:59 pm) - Score 2,109 The national telecoms regulator has today proposed a series of options for how a new legally-binding 10Mbps broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) could be rolled out across the United Kingdom by 2020, but its expensive and the final decision is down to the Government. According to todays other Connected Nations 2016 report from Ofcom, around 8% of UK premises (2.4 million) in 2015 were unable to receive broadband speeds faster than 10Mbps, but thanks to on-going improvements this has now dropped to 5% (1.4 million premises) and those may fall within the Governments planned Universal Service Obligation (USO). However its widely expected that fixed line superfast broadband (24Mbps+) connections should be able to reach 97-98% of premises by 2019 (its 91% today), which leaves around 3% of homes and businesses to suffer from slower connectivity (this usually reflects remote rural areas, although some urban locations will also fall into the same category). Catering for the final 3% by delivering truly universal fixed line superfast broadband coverage would be very expensive and so the cash-strapped Government has instead proposed a USO to fill the gap, which promises an affordable connection that can deliver Internet speeds of at least 10Mbps (Megabits per second). In fairness a legally-binding USO, which has to be supported by legislation through the new Digital Economy Bill 2016-17, is a significantly tougher pledge than the 24Mbps+ superfast target that is merely a non-binding commitment. Indeed other EU countries that have adopted such a USO do not go as far (e.g. Spain, Belgium and Croatia use 1Mbps, while Finland opted for 2Mbps and Malta is on 4Mbps). Earlier this year Ofcom were handed the task of examining the various technical options for service delivery of the USO (here) and the regulator has today proposed a mix of solutions. But first its important to understand how the existing and incredibly out-of-date USO works. The Existing USO The current USO is delivered exclusively via fixed line connections and only requires KCOM (Hull only) or Openreach (BT) to deliver, following the reasonable request of any End-user (i.e. demand-led), a telephone service that includes the ability to offer data rates that are sufficient to permit functional internet access (here); this can easily be met by a slow dial-up connection. On top of that the USO also sets a cost threshold of 3,400 (i.e. how much BT or KCOM must commit to ensure they deliver the service to an end-user). In practice most households will only ever pay a small connection charge to BT or KCOM of up to around 130 for a new service, but some premises may actually cost more than 3,400 to connect and at that point the end-user themselves could become liable for hefty Excess Construction Charges (ECC). As ever the main challenge with any USO is one of cost. Put another way, if the USO had no cost cap then somebody could build a small house on top of a mountain and expect the responsible operator to connect them up for almost nothing, even if it might cost the operator hundreds of thousands of pounds to do so. This would not be viable. Ofcoms original indicative estimate for the cost of the existing USO to BT is said to be around 50-70m, although they also suggested that the benefits equated to about 60m. As a result the current USO approach is not believed to place an undue financial burden on BT or KCOM, but jumping to a 10Mbps USO via fixed lines could be a much more expensive upgrade. The New 10Mbps USO Proposals Ofcom believes that a speed of 10Mbps+ would be sufficient to meet the current needs of a typical household, but they recognise that different people and businesses need different things and so the regulator has chosen to provide advice based on a range of technical specifications (see below). Ofcoms USO Scenarios Scenario 1: a standard broadband service, characterised only by a 10Mbit/s download speed; Scenario 2: a more highly specified standard broadband service, adding upload speed (1Mbit/s), latency (medium response time), maximum sharing between customers (a contention ratio of 50:1), and a defined data cap based on current usage profiles (100GB per month); and Scenario 3: a superfast broadband service, with download speeds of 30Mbit/s, upload of 6Mbit/s, latency (fast response times), a committed information rate of 10Mbps and unlimited usage. Ofcom also views it as being reasonable to assume that implementation of the USO could start from the end of 2017. At that point, a smaller number of premises might require intervention to deliver decent broadband. Given a late 2017 start, the regulator suggests that the total USO cost is estimated to be between 1bn to deliver a standard broadband service to 1.1 million premises (scenario 1) and 1.7bn to deliver superfast broadband to 1.9 million premises (scenario 2). This is considerably more than the current USO, but the scale of the problem will also shrink with time thanks to the on-going BDUK deployment etc. The cost-per-premises of delivering decent broadband to the very hardest-to-reach premises could also be very high. Premises in the final 1% have an average cost that ranges from 2,780 per connection for standard broadband to 3,350 for superfast broadband. Meanwhile those in the final 0.5% can cost between 4,460 and 5,100. However the cost of serving the most expensive premises is estimated to be around 45,000 in all three of our scenarios and as a result Ofcom suggests that a Reasonable Cost Threshold (RCT) be introduced to limit the upper bound of the costs. We expected this proposal, particularly as the current USO already has something similar (see above). Ofcom estimates that a reasonable cost threshold of 5,000 per connection would leave between 30,000 and 38,000 premises left unserved in the standard broadband and superfast broadband scenarios respectively. On the other hand this would reduce estimated costs by 280m for standard broadband to 320m for superfast broadband. Alternatively, if, the policy was designed to cover 99.5% of UK premises, then 140,000 premises would remain unserved and potential costs would be reduced by 500m for standard broadband to 570m for superfast broadband. This offers a good indication of just how much difference a small change can make when looking at the final 1% or so of UK premises, which is why inferior Satellite is so attractive as a quick-fix. ISP Support and USO Technology One big problem for the USO is that hardly any ISPs, other than BT and KCOM (Hull) in their respective markets, actually want to take part and its easy to see why from just looking at the costs and legal responsibility of it all. Ofcom notes that no mobile or fixed wireless providers have come forward for designation as a USP to date and there is unlikely to be competition to deliver a broadband USO across the whole of the UK. The next problem after this is technology choice and Ofcom notes that one technology will be not be suitable for all circumstances. On this front its noted that FTTC and FTTP based technologies would both be able to deliver the USO in all scenarios, even if FTTP is probably too expensive for the vast majority of areas, while Fixed Wireless and Mobile Broadband would work well for Scenario 1 + 2 and Satellite may only partially work for Scenario 1, but not Scenario 2 and 3 due to capacity and latency issues etc. Adopting Satellite into the USO, while perhaps inevitable for some extremely remote properties, may not go down well as many people do not want an inferior connection that cannot deliver low latency performance (necessary for most online multiplayer games and other cloud computing apps) or offer a flexible and affordable unlimited usage allowance. At present we know that Openreach (BT) are investigating the possibility of using Long Reach VDSL (FTTC) and normal FTTC to solve a big part of the USO problem (here), although LR-VDSL has plenty of challenges (details) and one of those is the need to withdraw existing ADSL services. The latter is a big headache for ISPs, particularly in those few areas where LLU providers may be present. Never the less Ofcoms report seems to favour a mix of technologies, albeit one dominated by FTTC based solutions and thats hardly a surprise given that BT is the major player, has a lot of the necessary infrastructure already in the ground and has also made a commitment to support the USO without any further public funding (here). Other Points Ofcoms document proposes that the USO should include a Social Tariff for those who may otherwise struggle to afford a 10Mbps capable broadband connection, although they admit that more work is required on how this is delivered to ensure effective targeting at those most in need. As such the tariff idea is not fleshed out. The regulator also supports the view that any USO should be reviewed every few years and adapted as speed / technology improves, which is actually a point that was originally put forward by the Governments initial consultation. This is important because a 10Mbps USO might fill the gap if it existed today, but by 2020 it will already be starting to look slow. Ofcom states that it may also be necessary to introduce mechanisms to ensure investment in commercial networks is not undermined, which reflects the fact that the related upgrades could make it even harder for rivals to build their own alternative networks. The regulator suggests that such restrictions could be set by policy choices and any USO would need clear eligibility criteria to determine who can access it in order to reduce the risk of overbuild of competitive networks. Such criteria must also be easy for consumers to understand. Finally, the regulator may need to setup a special Universal Service Fund to help manage the USO costs and recovery, but theyd first need to consult on the specific design. Another big question mark is whether the USO should be truly universal (i.e. anybody in the UK can benefit) or if it should only apply to those deemed to be eligible (e.g. those living in a known sub-10Mbps area). James Blessing, Chair of the ISPA UK, said: As an industry, we understand the frustrations of those who still receive slow speeds. Our members have worked hard to reduce the number of premises with speeds of less than 10Mbps from 15% in 2014 to 5% today. However, reaching the final 5% requires significant additional investment, so ISPA supports a USO that sets out basic specifications around download and upload speed, contention and other technical details, whilst keeping the overall cost low. Ofcoms research demonstrates that even a basic USO comes with significant costs of up to 1.1 billion that could result in household bills rising by 20. Potential impacts on competition could have further impacts on consumer bills so we will work with Government to ensure that the USO is cost effective and supports the competitive broadband market in the UK. Given the clear socio-economic benefits of broadband and increase in government services delivered online, Government should consider the use of public funding as well as a levy on industry. We call on Government and Ofcom to look again at ways to increase opportunities for as wide a range of providers as possible to help deliver the USO. There is a large array of ISPs delivering connectivity using fixed, wireless, satellite and hybrid solutions in hard to reach to areas and it would be a shame if their expertise was not utilised in helping deliver universality. At this stage Ofcom does not attempt to set a chosen path and instead leaves the big decisions up to the Government. As a side note the regulator is also examining the prospect of a USO for Mobile Networks. While todays CEOs typically dont understand technology and where its heading, tomorrows CEOs will need to master how technology can be used strategically to accomplish business differentiation. And CIOs, who are better equipped to understand the art of the possible, are ideally positioned to do that. Thats the assessment of Kevin Niblock, president and COO of Software AG North America. In an interview earlier this week, Niblock explained where hes coming from: Its interesting from my perspective, in that I still see us helping companies understand how to use their architecture strategically to accomplish business differentiation. Understanding that is critical to being able to build the technologies and the differentiation that companies are going to need in the future, and so I do see that the CIO is perfectly positioned for that. But Ill also say that with a caveat: I dont know what percentage it is, but I do feel that theres a large percentage of CIOs who have a seat at the table now, and they understand the business and where the business is going, and do a really good job of blending their understanding of technology and creating creative solutions for how to use it to solve business problems. But then theres the percentage that are still kind of the keep the lights on CIO thats not overly strategic, and might be reporting under a CFO or something where theyre viewed more as an expense vs. a strategic part of the business. A lot of those CIOs were the guys that got SAP or Oracle deployed, or have the certain skill set to manage the IT structure, but arent really viewed as strategic differentiators. I put Niblock on the spot a bit by asking him if CIOs are better equipped to assume the CEO role than COOs are. Niblock, a COO himself, admirably took the question in stride: Well, I think theyre better equipped to understand the art of the possible, because it seems like most of the strategic differentiation in the future is going to be technology-driven, whether its embedded technology in their own products or how to use technology to communicate better in their own customer base, or even their own employees. Now, these are my humble opinions, so bear with me, but I feel like the ERP world did so well from a software perspective because CEOs typically have business degrees. Generally and Im grossly generalizing they understood order to cash, they understood financials, they understood the value of tying financials and MRP together and the whole kind of panacea that ERP created, because they had business degrees. I think typically, CEOs dont understand technology, and they dont understand where technology is going and how instrumental its going to be to use data in motion, and how to leverage the Big Data concepts of understanding data at rest, and the patterns in the data, and how to use it in the future. Those are going to be the key skill sets that the next CEOs will need. I dont know where the up-and-coming CEOs get that if its not having a [background in IT]. I havent been looking at any MBA programs in a while, so I dont know how many of them have a technology bent to them. But it seems pretty clear to me that technology is going to be the differentiator for these companies, if you just look at the number of Fortune 1000 companies that dropped off the list in the last few years. Its a challenging time. According to his LinkedIn profile, in his position as president and COO of Software AG North America, Niblock is responsible for accelerating adoption of the worlds first Digital Business Platform. But the fact is, his degree is in economics and business, and he was a sales guy at Parametric Technology and TIBCO for 20 years before joining Software AG last year. So based on his own argument, he wouldnt be the best-equipped guy to be responsible for accelerating adoption of the worlds first digital business platform. When I raised that point, Niblock said it was fair to go there: To be honest with you, before I got to TIBCO close to 10 years ago now, I dont think I would have been very well equipped. I would have really understood the sales and marketing and operational side, but I wouldnt have understood technology enough because I was focused mostly on the mechanical engineering side of things. Being at TIBCO and Software AG has really been a massive education for me, because I kind of started from scratch and Im now 10 years into seeing how this type of technology affects companies. Im kind of in the unique position where I get to see this in hundreds of accounts and hundreds of CIO meetings and conversations at my level, and Id like to think that thats probably the best business school learnings you could ever have. But thats because Im in the software field, and I get to understand this at all these hundreds of CIO meetings, whereas I dont think the CIOs have enough opportunities to learn as much or as fast as I did. A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant. 5 Tips for Managing a Multi-Generational Workforce I have a hunch that your to-do list is growing by the hour as we head into 2017, and I have an even stronger hunch that reviewing and updating the employee handbook hasnt made it to the list. As much as I hate to say it, youd be well-advised to add it. I drew that conclusion after a recent interview with Rob Wilson, president of Employco USA, a human resources outsourcing firm in Westmont, Illinois. Wilson makes a compelling argument around the importance of the executive team including the CIO taking the time to ensure that the employee handbook is everything it needs to be. Wilson highlighted the areas that IT execs need to focus on as they carry out this exercise: For the CIOs, one of the bigger areas for them would be electronic use what your policy is on social media usage, as well as computer technology usage in the workplace. All of that has to be spelled out: Is it okay for people to be streaming movies at their desks? Whats your cell phone usage policy? Are they company phones or are they individual phones, and whats the protocol for usage of each? In some companies, people use their own cell phones, and in other cases, youre supplying them. There is a big difference between the two, and how you use them, and what the rules should be. Social media usage is a particularly hot topic, Wilson said: You used to hear that people are checking Facebook eight to 10 times a day, but now youre hearing studies where people are checking it up to 80 times per day, whether theyre at their desk using your computer, or using their own cell phones or iPads. Putting out a policy that governs usage, including what can be posted, is essential. Not everybody is a happy employee, but you need to set some boundaries if someone is posting anything about the business. If they post, My boss is an asshole, I think theyre crossing a line. There are a variety of things you want to look at here, like your confidentiality policy. Wilson went on to highlight how there are some elements related to gender policies that companies tend to overlook: My uncle is moving into a retirement center, and I found his 1961 handbook from a large national, now international, corporation. Its like reading something out of Mad Men. Every page of the book has something that you cant do today. Its not just discrimination of age and race, but now you have transgenders and transsexuals. References to he and she have to come out of your handbook. Simple things like, Womens skirts must be knee-length, need to be changed to, If you wear a skirt, it must be knee-length. And, Women cant wear black nail polish needs to be changed to, something like, Black nail polish is prohibited. You have to take the gender out of it. Substance abuse is another topic that requires a fresh look, Wilson said, regardless of what type of business youre in: Whether youre a newspaper or you have employees who drive a fork lift at a trade show, the use of medical marijuana needs to be addressed. It may be legal, but you need to cover it in your handbook because its no different than having a prescription for Vicodin. If youre on Vicodin, you shouldnt be operating a forklift, or posting things if youre in a clerical job. Finally, Wilson cautioned that it might seem like the employee handbook was recently updated, but thats typically not the case at all: We just looked at a municipality and a business association, and both said, Oh, ours is up to date. Well, one hadnt been updated since 2011. You would think the world hasnt changed that much in five years, but it has. The other one was just a few years old, and we still found pages with issues that needed to be updated. Over the last four years under the current Administration, there have been so many changes with the Department of Labor that you really need to review it every year. A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant. How Hadoop Is Being Used for Business Operations Today One of the reasons that business intelligence (BI) applications were not as widely employed as generally expected was the simple fact that they were generally difficult to set up. IT organizations would have to pull data from a data warehouse into a local sever and then configure a BI application to interact with that data. Any time an end user wanted to look at a different data set, the whole process would need to start over. Now its becoming more common to run BI applications natively against data sources such as Hadoop. Arcadia Data takes that concept a step further with an update to its Arcadia Enterprise BI software, announced this week, that adds support for other data sources such as Apache Solr and the S3 cloud storage service from Amazon Web Services (AWS). In addition to running natively on Hadoop, Arcadia Enterprise provides SQL support that can be used to query relational databases and S3 alongside data stored in Hadoop. Priyank Patel, chief product officer for Arcadia Data, says regardless of the data source, end users now expect to be able to interrogate massive amounts of raw data at will. Instead of requiring IT organizations to build a separate data mart, Arcadia Enterprise is designed from the ground up to run natively on Big Data repositories such as Hadoop. That approach, says Patel, makes it possible to generate both historical and real-time analytics using the same core BI application to access data both inside and out of Hadoop. We can run in a hybrid environment, says Patel. Other new features in Arcadia Enterprise 3.3 include Arcadia Smart Acceleration tools that enable end users to identify the metrics that are most important to them. The application then makes recommendations relating to how best to visualize those metrics. Also included is support for micro-segmentation analysis and enhancements to integration with third-party mapping tools. As massive amounts of data routinely become available to end users, theres no doubt that new BI tools that provide optimal access to multiple data sources will be required. But the real upside of all those data sources is that BI applications themselves will be more widely employed to make more informed business decisions. Save Netflix is impeccably doing a great job following the premiere of Making a Murderer. The documentary follows the controversial case of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey that led to their wrongful conviction of rape and murder of photographer Teresa Halbach. The giant streaming companys intensive research on the turn of events and their powerful exposure of the big revelations in and out of prison are crucial contributors in the forthcoming freedom of the accused subjects. Brendan Dassey To Be Released This Friday Interestingly, Dassey is scheduled to be freed from several years of imprisonment according to latest reports. A source confirmed that Dassey is going to be released no later than Friday night after a judge turned down the state's appeal to block his discharge. It is said that the state of Wisconsin recently filed a motion to keep Dassey in prison while the appeal for his dismissal is not yet final. The judge vehemently denied the state's motion, saying that the prosecutors were merely replicating the same claims the court had already refused. This is one great news to Dassey, his family and his supporters. Finally, hell switch back to a place where he really belongs that will nurture his full potentials - the outside world. Did The Cops Plant The Evidence Against Steven Avery? Meanwhile, Steven Averys delayed exit from prison is believed to be caused by many factors. The outdated methods of evidence testing is one and as latest reports have it, lawyers Jerry Buting and Dean Strang suspected four sheriff's at Manitowoc County of being involved in an evidence-fabrication scheme against Avery, pretrial court transcripts show. Two were detectives James Lenk and Dave Remiker. The others were then-Sheriff Ken Petersen and Sgt. Andrew Colborn. "In most of these evidence-planting cases, it's one or two guys," Buting said in an interview. "The whole idea that it would need to take almost the whole department is not borne out by the history of planting in other law enforcement cases that have been documented," he added. Records show that between 2005 and 2012, 169 cases of police officials around the country were found guilty of evidence tampering crimes, 34 of them were involved in violent crimes such as homicides. Should the allegations against the sheriffs prove true, Averys chances of embracing his normal life outside of cells will be higher than ever. To recall, a legal agreement will start anytime soon that will conduct an independent scientific testing on several relevant evidence. Kathleen Zellner, Averys attorney, who specializes in wrongful convictions appreciated the signed agreement and described the legal action of the judge as "helpful in expediting these tests." A 1996 blood sample of Avery, a spare key of Halbach's car found in Avery's bedroom, and the swab from the hood latch of Halbach's vehicle that generated a DNA profile for Avery are the pieces of evidence that will be tested. These steps are helpful in his release. Even his former legal counsel were notably excited on his acquittal. According to Buting, Probably over 100 scientists all over the world between the two of us contacted us [after the documentary] and said Hey, you know theres new tests you can do. Some of it was just, oh our ability to detect (chemical preservative) EDTA, chemical tests have been refined but some of the more interesting ones were these scientists with things like radiocarbon dating and DNA ageing where you can actually look at somebodys sample of blood maybe a month or a year ago and distinguish it from their blood right now. Strang emphasized that the new techniques can prove that the blood found in the victim's car may pre-date the murder. "If it turns out that the blood in the Toyota is older than the car itself is 10 years older than the time at which it's found... then that's also good at getting us to the truth and it also will mean not only a new trial I think for Steven Avery but the likelihood that he walks free. Avery is hoping that his fate will be same as Dassey. Who knows, the court will overturn his conviction? Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Azerbaijan completes work on the preparation of the legal base for a free trade zone (FTZ) to be created in Baku International Sea Trade Port, the ports Director General Taleh Ziyadov told reporters Dec. 16 in Baku. The proposals on the legal regime will soon be presented to the government. At the same time, the work continues on the preparation of the feasibility study that will also be completed by the end of 2016. I suppose it will be discussed at the forthcoming session of the parliament, he said. Ziyadov also touched upon competition noting that this is a normal process. "In the past, large cities located on the Great Silk Road competed with one another. However, each city has its own specific feature. I believe that this will give impetus to the development of cargo transportation in the region. The right policy pursued by Azerbaijan will turn Baku into the main hub of the region," he added. Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree March 17, 2016, on measures to create a free trade zone type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Bakus Garadagh District. Scientists and health experts alike have long been perplexed about the cure that can gradually eliminate HIV and AIDS viruses. In their latest research, Nigerian scientists and researchers at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia state have recently made a breakthrough discovery when they found the solution for the dreaded HIV/AIDS disease. With their discovery using nanotechnology, experts claim that that the disease may potentially soon be eradicated. Nanotechnology: The Cure For HIV? According to reports revealed by Yibada, it was found that the study was spearheaded by Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, who is a renowned professor of Veterinary Medicine. The researchers believe that such cure is unique in itself, for it utilizes nanotechnology to create a so-called nanomedication. In conducting their study, Ezeibe highlighted the importance of size in order to fully combat HIV and AIDS. Nigerian national newspaper, It has been reported that HIV could be as small as 110nm that is why it may easily cross physiological barriers. Researchers explain that the nanoparticles of HIV make it easier for the infection to hide in cells of the brain, bone marrow and testes. Having such case, existing antiretroviral medicines with bigger molecules are having a hard time reaching such portion of the body where HIV nanoparticles may hide. However, as per NAIJ, although Ezeibe spoke with journalists and lamented the lukewarm attitude of Nigeria's health authorities to his discovery, he reveals that since 2014 when he was given the national patent right, the government had not done anything about commercializing the discovery. The Professor further adds that the medicine that he had discovered to have antiretroviral properties had been in use. On the other hand, Ezeibe and his team has highly emphasized that since Aluminum-magnesium Silicate (AMS) molecular platelets (nanoparticles) are smaller (0.96nm) than HIV, the nanoparticles cross physiological barriers to act on all body cells. However, experts believe that with the newly presented discovery coming from Nigeria, interest among the medical doctors and experts worldwide was aroused. Ultimately, this research breakthrough is seen as a great potential stop of the mortality of HIV and AIDS, which according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) statistical data already took 1.1 million lives in 2015. We all love startup tech companies. Most of them offer services and technology that we could only find in books and in movies. Carvana, a startup tech company, just opened a vending machine that dispenses cars. Yes, cars can now be bought in the same manner as you but Pepsi or a bag of chips. Not The First, But The Biggest Car Vending Machine The Carvana coin-operated vending machine was first launched in November of 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia, and later opened the fist fully automated car vending machine in Nashville, Tennessee last year. Customers can choose and buy their cars online to pick up the next day. A Carvana branded coin is given on the day of pick-up, which in turn the customer can insert in the vending machines slot to pick up the car. Everything Is Big In Texas Quote Inspired The Facility The west Houston coin-operated vending machine is located at the Katy freeway and is just west of Beltway 8. The all glass structure holds 30 vehicles with four delivery bays. The facility, or vending machine, is three stories taller than the machine located in Nashville. The founder and CEO of Carvana, Ernie Garcia, said that they received a ton of positive feedback from their Nashville site that they were compelled to share the experience with other states. Garcia stated "As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, so our first Car Vending Machine in the state had to reflect that mantra. We're incredibly excited to show just how fun and stress-free buying a car can be with Carvana." The company truly brings a unique and fun way of buying cars online. This innovation keeps purchasing cars hassle-free. Avoiding car dealerships that are only concerned in making a profit can save precious time, and the purchase processing gives the customers the freedom to choose for themselves. Consumers can only hope that their location can have this same fun facility, at least for now. A new round of DNA testing is planned to hopefully solve 20-year-old murder JonBenet Ramsey, according to Colorado investigators and the district attorney's office. Prosecutors are looking into using new testing technology to review DNA evidence in the unsolved 1996 murder. The decision comes after Boulder Daily Camera and 9News analyzed lab results linked to the 6-year-olds murder that uncovered flaws while testing DNA evidence. Colorado Authorities To Re-Examine The DNA Of JonBenet Ramsey Murder Investigation DNA is an area of forensic science that is really changing month-to-month and as a result when you had test that was done five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, you want to make sure that youre checking back in and using the latest techniques on the things that are tested, DA Stan Garnett told ABC News. We have an obligation on every case to make sure that were doing up to the date analysis so that the evidentiary of the case is thorough and as sound as possible, Garnett continued. Were going to do that in Ramsey as well. On Tuesday, DA Garnett and Boulder Police Chief Greg Testa officially announced the re-examine that they will do on the DNA of the said case. In the new round of testing, as reported by Daily News, investigators would use new crime labs and forensic procedures that may help their further investigation along with the other pending cold cases. JonBenet's body was discovered battered and strangled in her family's Boulder, Colorado, basement the morning after Christmas back in 1996. And no one has been officially charged in the murder case. The original DNA tests performed on the matter found in JonBenet's underwear, pointed to an intruder as the culprit, clearing JonBenet's father, John, and her brother, Burke, whose innocence has been heavily questioned over the years. But the media investigation postulates that a mixture of DNA may have been tested. It would make the phantom suspect less unknown than non-existent. "We should be doing all reasonable testing that we can do, and we will be," said Garnett. What Is DNA? DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a persons body has the same DNA. The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people. DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). A rare winter snow storm brought Portland to a halt, with thousands of vehicles barely able to move on main highways. According to a report, commuters began leaving work early on Wednesday, hoping to beat the storm. But they quickly found themselves on streets that were clogged with traffic that was inching along on snow-slick streets. Rare Snow Storm Causes Traffic, Stranded People And Multiple Accidents In Portland According to ABC News, abandoned vehicles littered streets in the Portland area Thursday, a day after a rare snow storm brought Oregon's largest city to a halt. The National Weather Service said commuters should be prepared for snow-covered streets Thursday morning and possibly some more snow, but no real accumulation. "We might get to barely above freezing but it would only be for an hour or two," meteorologist Colby Neuman said. "The snow that we have in Portland is going to stick around for the next couple of days." Kimberly Wrolstad, a netizen, had been stuck on Interstate 5 heading to Tigard for about 90 minutes on Wednesday afternoon. "It's frustrating," she said. "I don't know what's going on. I don't know if there are accidents. I know some of the trucks are having difficulties." Some drivers in Portland took to twitter to voice their frustrations about the clogged traffic. "I've been stuck in snow traffic for over an hour & maps says it's going to take 2 more hours to get home," Twitter user Cortney wrote on Wednesday amid the snow storm. The Culprit: Snow Storm Snow storms are storms where large amounts of snow fall. Two inches (5 cm) of snow is enough to create serious disruptions to traffic and school transport because of the difficulty to drive and maneuver the school buses on slick roads. This is particularly true in places where snowfall is not typical but heavy accumulating snowfalls can occur. In places where snowfall is typical, such small snowfalls are rarely disruptive, because of effective snow and ice removal by municipalities, increased use of four-wheel drive and snow tires and drivers being more used to winter conditions. A massive snowstorm with strong winds and other conditions meeting certain criteria is known as a blizzard. Large snowstorms could be quite dangerous: a 6 in (15 cm) snowstorm will make some unplowed roads impassable, and it is possible for automobiles to get stuck in the snow. Snowstorms exceeding 12 in (30 cm) especially in southern or generally warm climates will cave the roofs of some homes and cause the loss of electricity. Standing dead trees can also be brought down by the weight of the snow, especially if it is wet or very dense. A new drug which is misleadingly marketed as "fake pot" triggered a "zombie" outbreak in a New York City neighborhood. Investigators say that the drug that caused the outbreak last summer is more potent than the real marijuana. Synthetic Drug Caused Brooklyn's "Zombie" Outbreak Emergency Technicians were called to a mass casualty situation in Brooklyn last summer. They reported multiple people at the scene near a subway station on on Myrtle Avenue and Broadway, on the border of Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant, "all of whom had a degree of altered mental status that was described by bystanders as 'zombielike,'" a report in the The New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday. The Drug Is Sold As Incense And Smoked Like Marijuana The drug is known as an herbal "incense" and is sold as "AK-47 24 Karat Gold", more generically known as K2 or Spice. They are smoked like marijuana and don't become known to authorities until the people who take them suffer their ill effects. This drug is 85 times as potent as the main agent in plant-grown marijuana, THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, according to lab tests. Researchers in California say that they have found a quicker method to identify designer drugs similar to the one that caused the "zombie" outbreak on a Brooklyn. This could help officials quickly outlaw the synthetic drug and police officials to get it off the street. The method involves developing a catalog of potential drugs before they hit the black market. Senior author Roy Gerona of the University of California, San Francisco said: "The way to respond to designer drug intoxication requires a totally different approach that may not necessarily be available to ordinary clinical labs." Synthetic drugs are created and distributed so quickly and it can take two to six months to identify a new chemical. Since 2014, more than 200 such compounds have been identified, and most of them came from from laboratories in China or Southeast Asia. The morning of December 15, a rocket fired from a jet plane was launched by the NASA's latest Earth-observing duty. The new mission of NASA is to set an 8-satellite quest to study Earth's hurricanes like never before. The plane carrying the satellites took off shortly after sunrise Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA Sets 8 Satellites To Examine Hurricanes From Space The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) mission will use radio signals to measure possible hurricanes, that is between 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south. CYGNSS launched into orbit on an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket at 8:35 a.m. EST (13:35 GMT) after being flown into launch position by the L-1011 Stargazer carrier plane. An hour later, the co-pilot pushed the button that released the Pegasus rocket and attached satellites from the belly of the plane, 39,000 feet above the Atlantic and 100 miles east of Daytona Beach. According to Phys Org, the $157 million CYGNSS, is meant to improve hurricane forecasting. The satellites have GPS navigation receivers to frequently measure the surface roughness of oceans, enabling scientists to calculate wind speed and storm intensity. Unlike weather satellites already in orbit, these spacecraft can peer through rain swirling in a hurricane, all the way into the eye, or core. "It looked beautiful," NASA launch manager Tim Dunn said after the successful flight. The rocket and satellites fared just as expected, "We're very excited," he added. Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) Launch As reported by Space, the launch of CYGNSS was delayed since Monday, December 12, when a hydraulic pump glitch prevented a first launch attempt. The need for a spacecraft flight software patch also delayed plans for a Wednesday launch try, NASA officials said. But apparently, it was worth the wait. The eight satellites made a smooth trip into orbit and ended up exactly where the mission's science team hoped. The launch was rescheduled various times after Monday's issue. The faulty hydraulic system was not for the L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft itself, but for the system that allows the Pegasus XL rocket to release from the aircraft. That system was not meeting its prescribed pressures, which suggested a problem with the hydraulic pump. The weather also complicated the launch with pilots flying around, under and over a lot of precipitation and bad clouds, said Dunn. Men are sometimes mocked by women who fall ill of the 'man flu' and call them weaklings. Actually, a gender-biased flu exists, and it hits hard on men than women, a new research shows. Women Are A 'More Valuable Host' Scientists found that some bugs are really more deadly in men because women are a "more valuable host". Some viruses adapt to cause less severe disease and lower mortality rates in the female species so they can be passed on to their children during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. Royal Holloway University of London researchers say that women provide an additional route to infect more people. This could also explain why women who suffer from a heavy cold recover more quickly and why some viruses are more vicious in men than women and children. Dr Francisco Ubeda, biologist and author of the study, said: "Viruses may be evolving to be less dangerous to women, looking to preserve the female population. The reason these illnesses are less virulent in women is the virus wants to be passed from mother to child, either through breastfeeding, or just through giving birth." Death Rate Due To Infectious Diseases Is Higher In Men Than Women During the study, Dr Ubeda and co-author Professor Vincent Jansen used "mathematical modelling to show natural selection favours viruses that have a lower rate of fatality in women, if the virus can be passed from person to person and from mother to child." They found that mortality due to infectious diseases is higher in men than women. Previous research already showed that men suffer more from high temperatures more when they have a flu, compared to women. "It is entirely probable this sex-specific virulent behaviour is happening to many other pathogens causing diseases. It is an excellent example of what evolutionary analysis can do for medicine," the researchers concluded. Pretty hurts. A 37-year old woman had to have her leg amputated due to blisters caused by wearing five-inch heels at a Christmas party. She Wore Her New Heels For Hours, Even If They Were Pinching Lorraine Burnett loves to go out and party in high heels, but she never expected the new one that she bought especially for a 2008 Christmas party would cost her her leg. She attended a party in her home town of Dunfermline, Scotland, dancing all night, even if the heels were pinching. When she got home, she noticed a painful blister on her left foot, Evening Telegraph reported. "Being a carer, I knew what I needed to do - just clean it and dress it," Burnett said. "But after a week, it was so painful so I went to the doctors and was prescribed antibiotics. I really thought they would help as it just seemed like a bad wound." She was soon unable to walk properly and had to cut back duties at work. Two years later, she had suffered repeated infections which won't go away. She got devastating news from her doctors that there was nothing else they could do and her lower leg would have to be amputated. Burnett Suspects Her Diabetes May Have Played A Role In November 2010, Burnett underwent a five-hour-long surgery to remove her lower leg. The process affected her daily life, saying, "I had to give up my job, which was heartbreaking. I couldn't believe how much my life has changed over a couple of years. I'd gone from someone who liked to go out all the time - a real party girl who enjoyed the good life - to pretty completely housebound." Burnett also said that she suspects her Type 2 diabetes may have played a role in the repeat infections that caused the amputation of her leg. She hopes to raise funds for a new, realistic and more comfortable leg via her GoFundMe page. Another huge controversy is surrounding the President-elect Donald Trump since the White House press secretary Josh Earnest assured that he was aware of the hacking campaign made by Russian hackers to the Democratic Party and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and that the President-elect took advantage of it. Trump Encouraged The Russian Hackers It was reported that Earnest explained there was evidence shared before the presidential election about the Trump campaign in Russia, and that the clearer proof was the republican nominee himself called out the nation to hack his political rival. For Earnest and the White House, this was an indication that Trump knew that Russia was somehow involved and that their actions was having a damaging impact on his opponents, which was the reason why he encouraged the hackers to keep committing their operation. Regarding these assertions, the White House press secretary remembered during a press conference on 14 December the episode in which Donald Trump asserted that the Russian hackers would be "rewarded mightily" if they locate 30,000 "missing" mails from Hillary Clintons personal server. Also, Earnest explained that even when theres still some debate about the hackers real intentions, it was pretty clear which was the consequences of their actions. The White House Didn't Act Slow According to CNN, regarding the fact that the White House didn't give an immediate response to the hackers issue, Earnest explained President Obama didn't act slowly. He needed the complete review of the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies before making the information public, considering how inappropriate would have been if the White House made a rush statement about the situation. As it was reported in a previous article, Julian Assanges confidante and former U.K. ambassador for Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, confessed that he knew the people who made the hackings, and they were insiders. According to his words, it was impossible that Russian were behind these acts, since this was an operation that could only be made by people who are close to the target. The Chinese smartphones have started to dominate the global market within a couple of years. With mobile devices that have been characterized for offering almost the same as the ones of the greatest brands, but at such a cheap price that it's almost irrational not to buy them. Next year is likely to be the best moment for these phones since many of them are expected to arrive at the U.S. market and conquer new customers. The highly-anticipated Chinese smartphones are the Xiaomi Mi 6, the Oppo Find 9 and the OnePlus 4. Heres what we know so far about these devices. Xiaomi Mi 6: One Of The Best Upcoming Chinese Smartphones Rather than other companies, Xiaomi is the well-known for always delivering back to back quality smartphones at a much affordable price than any other manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, or even Sony. One of the best examples is the Mi 5, which has been endorsed unanimously thanks to incredible specs and features that makes this phone a great alternative if you dont want to spend $1000 or more. Given this fact, the company is now betting everything on the Xiaomi Mi 6, which could become such an amazing phone that the Chinese manufacturer could even beat Chinas giant Huawei and become the smartphone giant in Asias first economy. Although the price remains unknown, its expected to be released in March. According to the rumors that have been said so far, the Xiaomi Mi 6 could probably be equipped with a full metallic body, a Qualcomm Deka core Snapdragon 835 processor, 4G VoLTE network support, QHD 2K Super AMOLED display of 5.2-inches, Snapdragon chipset, and 6GB RAM DDR4 so you can roll without troubles. Also, its highly expected that the Xiaomi will offer a 16MP & 12MP Dual Rear Camera and 13MP front-facing camera, an Advance LTE 4G Dual SIM, Health-related sensors, Fingerprint sensor, a Storage of 256GB inside memory, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and an incredible 5000 mAh non-removable battery. OnePlus 4: One Of The Most Anticipated Chinese Smartphones Because Of Its Predecessor The OnePlus 3 was such an unexpected success for the smartphone manufacturer that it was impossible to imagine that people will be expecting the new handset just like the greatest flagships to be released by the most powerful brands. This phone got to the point of being considered as a flagship killer, and the OnePlus 4 is expected to end up having a better label since this is a mobile device that could offer the most outstanding specs and features with an affordable price. So far, it has been rumored that the OnePlus 4 would have a 21MP rear camera with dual-tone LED flash, OIS, Laser AF and 4K video recording support, a 5-inch Full HD Display (19201080 pixels), 64GB/128GB internal memory, Android 7.0 Nougat based on Oxygen OS, a Quad-Core 64-bit Snapdragon 835 processor, and 6GB/8GB LPDDR4 RAM. Also, the OnePlus 4 could offer an 8-megapixel front Camera, Dual SIM, a Fingerprint sensor, Adreno 530 GPU, 4G LTE with VoLTE, Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac dual-band (MIMO), NFC, GPS, and USB Type-C, Although it remains what will end up being the price of this smartphone, it has been reported that it could cost around $400, and it will be release next year summer. Oppo Find 9: The Big Surprise Among Chinese Smartphones No one could blame you if you never heard about this brand since it has been overshadowed by other famous companies as Huawei and Xiaomi. However, Oppo could be considered as the most successful smartphone manufacturer in China so far. Dont get me wrong, is not that Oppos sales are bigger than the other brands, is just that this company sold over 100 percent more mobile devices in Q3 of this year than they did in the same period in 2015. The most incredible detail about this fact is that this company managed to this without releasing the Oppo Find 9, which is its premium flagship. Although many believe that this has been a strategy to earn the maximum number of sales with it, the truth is that this smartphone have been rumored for a long time, and its release date has changed more times than you can imagine. Naturally, the expectations around this phone are overwhelmingly high, and it has been rumored that the Oppo Find 9 would sport a 5.5-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED Display, 6 GB RAM, a Fingerprint sensor, 64GB of inbuilt memory, fast charging support, a Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor, a 21 MP Exmor rear camera and 8 MP front camera. Apparently, the Oppo Find 9 will be finally released in March 2017, and its price could be around $395. Sweden's strategic Baltic Sea island of Gotland has turned down a Russian request to rent harbor space after the government warned it could harm the Scandinavian country's defense and political interests, ABC News reported. In an 11-0 vote, Gotland's technical board declined Dec.15 to allow Russia's energy giant Gazprom to store pipes in the Slite harbor for an undersea natural gas pipeline that will run from Russia to Germany called Nord Stream 2. "It was with mixed emotions, because we had been working on this deal in which we believe would lift the community," Tommy Gardell, head of the island's technical board, told The Associated Press. He said the deal involved $1.6 million a year in rent. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist had said earlier that renting out harbor space on Gotland would "negatively affect Sweden's defense and political interests." The Huawei mate 9 is the new phablet from the Chinese brand. The manufacturer has great expectations and goals for this phone, going so far as to say it's competing against both the S7 edge and the iPhone 7 Plus. Huawei also hopes to draw customers Samsung lost with the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Selling at a rather competitive price for its technical specifications (699 euros), the Huawei Mate 9 is one of this season's best smartphones. Here are three reasons why you should consider buying it over iPhone 8 next year. An Exceptional battery life Its predecessor had a great reputation for its hardware, and gladly, the Mate 9 is no exception. The most recent Huawei baby has a 4000 mAh battery, which is capable of supporting a full day of intensive use. If you are a more mild user, it's possible to get at least a couple of battery life out of the device. It Has Superb Camera With the P9, Huawei introduced its partnership with Leica, the iconic camera manufacturer. Huawei also enjoyed the perks its new dual sensor system. Moreover, The Mate 9 is an opportunity for Huawei to go even further in its performance. You'll be able to find an 8-megapixel color sensor. Sporting a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. The result is really exceptional. One Of The Most Powerful Smartphones You Can Get Inside the Huawei Mate 9, you'll find the latest HiSilicon processor, from Huawei's ancillary, specifically the Kirin 960 with 6GB of RAM. This SoC has a standard octa-core Cortex-A53 which works well at a maximum frequency of 1.8 GHz and more significantly, the new ARM octa-core Cortex-A73 that runs at a maximum frequency of 2.4 GHz. According to the company, this processor gives an automatic learning algorithm, which assures a fast and flawless experience even after 18 months of continuous use or so. As for graphics, you'll no longer be left behind with the Vulkan compatible Mali G71 MP8 chip. Rumors are saying that Apple might release a new iPhone which will be called as the iPhone 8. On the other hand, Samsung is also rumored to release a new Android smartphone next year which will be called as Galaxy S8. 2017 will be, indeed, a very competitive year for both Samsung and Apple. The Apple iPhone 8 As reported by Express, Apple is expected to include wireless charging in the new iPhone 8. The company also rumored to struck a deal with wireless charging company Energous, which developed a wire-free charging solution dubbed WattUp RF capable of charging devices from up to four meters away (15-feet). The operating system will be iOS 11 which can be upgraded up to iOS 11.3.2. Additional to that, according to MacRumors, 2017 will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and Apple has something major planned to celebrate the occasion. Apple iPhone 8 will have an OLED display, faster A11 processor, full glass body, a camera and touch ID integrated into the display. It is also rumored that Apple will not include a home button. With Its New Features, Samsung Galaxy S8 Will Be Surely Beat Apple iPhone 8 The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be seen on 2017. And it will be packed with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 835 processor and the South Korean tech giant's Exynos CPU. The Galaxy S8 smartphone is expected to feature an upgraded digital assistant, which is based on AI features developed by the Viv Labs, a UK-based company that the South Korean tech company purchased in October, Bloomberg reported. In addition, as mentioned by Fortune, a new screen design rumors are swirling that Samsung will deliver a better camera, more powerful components, and wireless charging in the Galaxy S8. Rather than offer a traditional design with a screen on the front and a bezel all around, the Galaxy S8s entire face could be a glass screen. The new Samsung smartphone is expected to be announced next spring. With all the said features of both Apple iPhone 8 and Samsung Galaxy S8, do you think Android smartphone will make it to the topmost? The latest cybersecurity scandal related to the leak of one billion of Yahoo passwords is a nightmare for the company and its users. Latest Yahoo Data Leak Yahoo disclosed this week on its company blog its second massive security breach in two months. After Yahoo's disclosure, Verizon executives find themselves in a delicate position, according to Time. The first Yahoo data breach affected 500 million accounts and it was considered at the time as the largest corporate hack in history. The latest breach announced by Yahoo this week involved one billion accounts. Both incidents took place years ago, but were only recently announced. Since Verizon made a $4.8 billion offer to buy Yahoo's online operations, the company's stock had been steadily trading above $40 a share. However, since the news surrounding the latest hack, Yahoo stock plunged 6 percent on Thursday, Dec. 15. Fortune reported that, according to a statement made by the White House, the FBI is investigating the hack. New York's Attorney General announced that he will also investigate the data breach. Possible Consequences Of The Yahoo Hack Bloomberg reported that among the data leak's victims are over 150,000 federal workers, including former diplomats, NSA, CIA and FBI employees. Especially if government e-mail addresses identifies an account owner as affiliated with the government or military, this information could be used in various spear-phishing campaigns. According to Ars Technica, the hack took place in August 2013. Bob Lord, Yahoo's chief information security officer, said that evidence of the data breach was given to Yahoo by "law enforcement officials." Security experts believe that the data was in circulation in underground marketplaces in one form or another and used actively by Internet criminal rings for diverse purposes. The data exposed included the name, personal details, birth date, additional e-mail addresses and phone numbers in some cases. Such detailed information within the Yahoo accounts could be easily used to identify and target individuals in a number of ways. The danger associated with the information being in the hands of cybercriminals is very high. Hackers could be using the stolen data for targeted attacks. A major hazard is posed by just the Yahoo passwords alone. They were barely obscured by an MD5 hash, but the strength of the hash key is a major factor for the security of those passwords. Security experts believe that many of the weaker passwords in the exposed accounts could have been cracked easily. Many MD5 hashes can be easily cracked by online available hacking tools, such as the MD5 Decrypter available on the website hashkiller.co.uk. Richard Henderson, global security strategist at end-point security software provider Absolute Software said that the one billion broken password hashes could provide significant means for attackers attempting to get access to other accounts of the same target. And what is very unsettling about the breach is the fact that it took years for Yahoo to discover this major data leak, as well as the fact that forensic experts and Yahoo still do not know the means by which this compromise occurred. The Apple Pencil may finally be used on iPhones. Patently Apple spotted a patent describing an Apple Pencil that will work on an iPhone. The Apple Pencil was released on Nov. 11, 2015 but only worked on iPad Pro tablets. The patent seems to confirm what Apple CEO Tim Cook said during an interview back in Sept. that hinted on the possible iPhone support for the Pencil. "If you've ever seen what can be created with that pencil on an iPad or an iPhone, it's really unbelievable." According to 9to5Mac, Apple is also working on adding more uses or widening the range of the Apple Pencil. Some of the patents were concerned with the Apple Pencil being used on apps such as Messages, Mail and Safari. A patent involving Apple devices having dual sim capabilities seem to confirm rumors that the giant tech company is planning on penetrating China and its huge market. A report by Phone Arena mentions that the rumor has been around since before iPhone 7 was launched. The patent in question describes a device with two separate antennas for two different sims. This technology is not new. The iPhone 8 is expected to be a game changer as its release coincides with the smartphone line's 10th year anniversary. A number of rumors have already been floated regarding its features such as the Touch ID sensor, all-glass front, wireless charging, 3D lens camera, and curved screen. The patent saying that the Apple Pencil will now work on the iPhone is another bit of good news. However, as with all previous patents of the company, it does not necessarily mean that a certain technology will find its way in a physical marketed device. Fans of Apple may need to wait til the iPhone 8's release before knowing if there will be a dual sim version and if the Apple Pencil will really work on the device. Next year's competition between Apple's iPhone 8 and Samsung's Galaxy S8 is looking to be the likes of a Godzilla vs. King Kong battle in the smartphone industry. Samsung is looking forwards towards reestablishing its image and regain some lost market shares from its Galaxy Note 7 issue. Apple, on the other end, is looking to get its mojo back on track with yet another major smartphone refresh. Release dates Samsung's Galaxy S8 has been speculated to roll out in either March or April 2017. It has also been rumored to feature a bezel-less, edge-to-edge display, as well as being home button-less. Apple's upcoming flagship iPhone 8, which is due out in the fall of next year, is rumored to have both of those features as well. Other similar features The iPhone 8 is said to be featuring a curved glass front and back along with a metal band along the rim. If proven true, that would definitely be a revolutionary design change after three iterations of the same smartphone. Both the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 8 are speculated to use OLED displays instead of the traditional liquid crystal display (LCD) screens. OLED screens are thinner yet more power efficient, and boast richer, vivid colors than LCD displays. Galaxy S8 to feature AI similar to Apple's A very own personal voice assistant will also be featured for the Samsung Galaxy S8 in its upcoming release next year. The said feature also marks the very first for Samsung to be working on. Samsung will feature an advanced Artificial Intelligence for the Samsung Galaxy S8 that will come with two personalities, including a male AI assistant named Bixby and a female version named Kestra. The Similarities With all things said, it's pretty clear to see that both upcoming flagship phones will likely be similar towards a lot of fields. The only thing that would break them apart is the buyer's own personal preference and whether they are more used to iOS or Android phones. David Rossi (Joe Mantegna) will get a special birthday present from a person from the past when "Criminal Minds" season 12 returns in January for episode 4. It's no other than Thomas "Tommy" Yates (Adam Nelson), a serial killer who appeared in "Criminal Minds" season 7, episode 22 titled "Profiling 101." The official synopsis for "Criminal Minds" season 12, episode 9 reveals Rossi will receive a phone call from his serial killer nemesis, Tommy Yates also known as "The Womb Raider." Workaholic Rossi is doing a lecture on Profiling Course on his birthday when Yates calls him to reveal the location of his latest victim. Yates is one of the criminals with the most number of victims in the series. He claimed to have killed 101 victims in 17 years over the West Coast. He targets women with high-risk or low-risk lifestyles. He alternates his targets from women with low risk to high risk lifestyles for unknown reason. He is currently in jail so it's up for the BAU agents to solve how he got his hands on another victim. Maybe it's a flashback or it could also be that he got away. "Profiling 101" ended as Rossi visited Yates in prison. Yates gave him his own version of birthday card, a note with a name of his victim with the note "Happy birthday. Love, Tommy," before singing him an eerie birthday song. Meanwhile, previous spoilers revealed that Jane Lynch is set to appear as Spencer Reid's (Matthew Gray Gubler) mother in the upcoming episodes of "Criminal Minds." In the midseason finale, Reid received a phone call from his mother and it was reported that later episodes will reveal the past of Mrs. Reid. "Criminal Minds" season 12, episode 9 titled "Profiling 202" is written by Virgil Williams, the same writer who wrote "Profiling 101," and directed by Rob Bailey. The episode will air on Jan. 4, at 9 p.m. ET on CBS "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 is not set to return until Jan. 19 but the latest table read reveals that the upcoming episode will put Arizona inside a maximum security prison. The activity does not seem to be too troublesome but there might be more complications than what most viewers will expect from this episode. "Grey's Anatomy" Season 13, Episode 10 Spoilers The cliffhanger on "Grey's Anatomy" winter break made more fans curious about what they can expect from the show once it returns in January. Reliable sources reveal that the newest episode of ABC's medical drama will put Arizona in a difficult position as she is going to prison. Luckily, she will only be tending to an inmate, not serving time. Arizona gets a highly irregular assignment and to complete it, she needs to make her way to a maximum security prison. One of the most dangerous inmates needs medical attention and it will be hard to put the prisoner in a regular hospital. Speaking of prisons, Alex could find himself in a holding cell after attacking De Luca. The hints from the winter finale seem to imply that Alex will not go to jail. Aside from Arizona's trip to prison, it seems that everyone is safe from serving time, at least for now. "Grey's Anatomy" Season 13 News: Arizona's Prison Stint Jessica Capshaw, who plays the role of Arizona, teased that the experience was "kind of creepy" but at the same time, it was "provocative and exciting." Capshaw also relayed that the actresses who were involved in the shoot were "super terrified," as they were all at a prison. Meanwhile, her character might also be facing something similar and what is going to happen in the upcoming episode could also leave her feeling so much fear. "Grey's Anatomy" season 13, episode 10 will air on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Sony has begun the roll out of Android 7.0 Nougat for its smartphones. As the Japanese company, had announced in August, the update is now progressively rolling out to Xperia series smartphones. Check out below if your Sony phone is ready to run Android Nougat update. Android 7.0 Nougat Update: Sony Xperia X, X Compact Sony has now begun Android 7.0 Nougat update roll out for Sony Xperia X (F5121). The Xperia X Dual (F5122) and Xperia X Compact (F5321) smartphones. New features are ready to use. Android 7.0 Nougat Update: Sony Xperia XZ The most latest Sony flagship, the Xperia XZ started getting Android 7.0 Nougat update at the start of this month. As per to XDA Developers update that weighs 1 GB is seeding to first set of countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Russia, and Turkey. Aside from Nougat update, it has also brought improvements to the camera app and also with the Stamina mode. Android 7.0 Nougat Update: Sony Xperia X Performance Sony had begun the Xperia Beta Program exclusively for Xperia X Performance way back in August to try the pre-launch beta edition of Android 7.0 Nougat. The first Nougat beta build for Xperia X Performance with the model number F8131 was made available at the first week of November. By the end of November, the update with build number 39.2.A.0.327 was made available to Sony Xperia X Performance (F8131) and also with Xperia X Performance Dual (F8132). With this, it became the first Sony smartphone to get Android Nougat update. Android 7.0 Nougat Update: Sony Xperia XA, XA Ultra The two smartphones are only on the waiting list of Xperia X smartphones that are yet to get Android N upgrade. Rumors are rounding up that these phones will be updated to Android Nougat next year. Well, hopefully soon. Android 7.0 Nougat Update For Older Sony Smartphones The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia Z5, and their dual SIM variants. The Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+ handsets are expected to receive Nougat in the first or second quarter of 2017. Sadly, Android 7.0 Nougat update is unlikely to run older flagship smartphones. Those phones that are powered by Snapdragon 800 or 801 chipsets. The reason is because that Qualcomm will not be rolling out graphics drivers for smartphones which run SD 800 and 801 chipsets. Moreover, Sony smartphones Xperia Z3, Z3v, Z3 Compact, Z2, Z1, Z1 Compact, Z Ultra featuring SD 801 and 800 chipsets will not be upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat as well. Faraday Future may seem to have missed on paying their debts. And by some, we mean a lot, like "millions of dollars" lot. It seems that the startup tech company may have bitten more than they can chew when they decided to rival successful companies such as Tesla Motors in manufacturing cars. Although the company has a multitude of detractors, there are still some that believe in the company and continue to give them hope and support. $7 Million Dollars Behind For Just One Supplier One of Faraday Futures major supplier, Futuris, has just sued the tech company over an alleged $10 million dollars in debt. Futuris stated that Faraday Future is more than 30days late for a $7 million dollar payment. Although many do not know Futuris, the company develops interior and seating components for Chinese manufacturers and major car brands like Ford, Toyota, and General Motors. Debts, Debts, And More Debts Faraday Future is also suffering from a second lawsuit that involves a warehouse owner in Southern California. The owner sued Faraday Future over a $100 thousand dollar claim of missed payments. If that is not yet enough, several reports from October also mentions that the company is already more than $46 million dollars behind in making construction payments to contractor AECOM. According to Buzzfeed News, they have received information from ex-employees and several documents that have been acquired which authenticate claims of more than $300 million dollars in debt, most coming from missed payments. There Is Still Hope, And Supporters Fortunately for Faraday Future, they still have major backers and supporters with big names. One notable supporter is Nevada's own governor, Brian Sandoval. The governor issued a statement earlier this month that directly points to the state treasurer, Dan Schwartz, who is a major detractor of Faraday Future. "It's unclear whether or not the Treasurer has read the legislation or understands the agreement between Nevada and Faraday Future, but the state and taxpayers are fully protected should Faraday not meet its $1 billion investment," said Sandoval during the speech on December 1. Clash Between Government Officials Arise In an earlier conversation with the state treasurer, Schwartz stated, "I think Mr. Jia built a bridge too far," pertaining to Jia Yueting, Faraday Future's primary investor. Sandoval countered that statement and said, "We fully vetted the project, its financing, and pursued the opportunity. The state continues to communicate with Faraday and the company has spent more than $100 million in development related to the site, which includes payments to local businesses and contractors." These are strong words from the governor and people who voted him can only hope that he is true to his words in supporting the tech company. Faraday Future Needs To Prove If They Are Worth Keeping Faraday Future reiterated that the factory will be built, cars would be produced, and all the bills will be paid. However, that statement is still failing to give the boost of confidence that its supporters need. Thankfully, Faraday Future have men such as Governor Sandoval to give hope to the company, they can simply repay that by giving it all they have, and of course, pay their dues. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.16 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $400 million loan to help expand the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, one of the largest in Indonesia, said the message posted on ADBs website. Deputy Director General for ADB private sector operations, Christopher Thieme has said that expanding the Tangguh LNG facility is crucial for Indonesia to meet its increasing energy demand. The expansion project will increase government revenues while helping Indonesia meet its growing energy demand and energy security goals. Tangguh helps in the development of a lower carbon energy mix for the country by selling 75 percent of the new LNG production to the national power utility to fuel existing and planned gas fired power plants. The project will help accelerate economic development in Papua Barat province by employing local Papuans at the LNG production site, both during and post-construction phase, and promoting livelihood programs to accelerate local economic growth. During the OPEC meeting held in Vienna Nov.30, Indonesia decided to suspend its membership in the cartel. OPEC spokesmen said Indonesia could return to the cartel in the future. The BlackBerry smartphone is dead: Long live the BlackBerry smartphone. A week after it officially pulled out of the smartphone market, BlackBerry has agreed to license its brand to handset manufacturer TCL. The Chinese company will make and market future BlackBerry handsets worldwide except for India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, where BlackBerry has already struck local licensing deals. This is hardly new territory for TCL, which manufactured BlackBerry's last two handsets, the Android-based DTEK50 and DTEK60. BlackBerry has taken a more direct route out of the handset manufacturing business than Nokia, another of the marquee phone brands of the early years of this century. When Nokia sold its smartphone business to Microsoft, it also gave that company the right to use the Nokia brand for a transitional period. When Nokia got its name back earlier this year, it promptly granted a 10-year license to HMD Global, a Finnish company, to use its name on new phones. Nokia and BlackBerry both failed to keep up with changes in the mobile market, Nokia belatedly realizing the importance of touch in smartphones then betting on the wrong operating system, and BlackBerry recognizing, too late, that its OS, although more secure than Android, could never compete without the support of app developers. Unsurprisingly, both HMD and TCL are now betting on Android rather than BlackBerry OS or Windows Phone. TCL has form when it comes to resurrecting other companies' brands. It bought the smartphone business that once belonged to French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel, and says it is now the number four phone brand in North America. It is on track to ship around 70 million phones this year, well over half of them smartphones. BlackBerry isn't just going to sit back and cash TCS's royalty checks. While it is handing over responsibility for design, manufacturing, marketing and supporting the phones to TCL, it will continue to develop its suite of security software and services for use in future phones. TCL is keeping quiet about what comes after the DTEK50 and DTEK60 for now: It will announce its plans in the next few months. Today A few showers early with bright sunshine by the afternoon. High 69F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph. Tonight Clear skies. Low 46F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Tomorrow Mostly sunny skies. High 72F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Elena Kosolapova Trend: On Dec. 16, the people of Kazakhstan celebrate the countrys main national holiday Independence Day. This year Kazakhstan marks the 25th anniversary of its independence. The countrys President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a constitutional law On State Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Dec. 16, 1991. Traditionally, various ceremonial events are held in the country on this day. On the eve of the Independence Day, the Kazakh Senate approved a bill on an amnesty for about 30,000 convicts and people held in pretrial detention. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Dalga Khatinoglu Trend: Iran has inaugurated a new platform at the Phase 21 of South Pars gas field, thus adding 28 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of gas to the production, SHANA reports. "The production capacity of South Pars has reached 515 mcm/d," Alireza Ebadi, the managing director of South Pars phases 20 and 21, said. During the last fiscal year, the nominal production capacity of South Pars stood at 430 mcm/d. Iran plans to launch the platform of Phase 20 with 28 mcm/d of output capacity in the coming weeks as well. The phases 20 and 21 are a joint project aimed at producing 56 mcm/d of gas, 77 barrels per day of gas condensate, one million tons of propane and butane per year, as well as the same amount of ethane. Iran inaugurated the second platform of Phase 18 on December 6, adding 14 mcm/d of gas to the production level. The phases 17 and 18 are a joint project with 43 mcm/d of output. Iran plans to install the second platform at the Phase 17 to make the project fully operational with 56 mcm/d of output capacity in winter. Iran plans to increase the gas production level at South Pars to 530 mcm/d by March 2017. Irans total gas output is also planned to reach about 830 mcm/d. Fans of "Arrow" would just have to wait because the CW announced that Arrow Season 5 Episode 10 will not air until Jan. 25, 2017. Following the reveal on "Arrow's" midseason finale that Billy (Tyler Ritter), Felicitys (Emily Bett Rickards) boyfriend was killed by her ex-lover Oliver (Stephen Amell), who thought of Oliver as Prometheus. Due to Billys death, Oliver was left devastated enough to believe Prometheuss words that whoever he has in contact with, dies. Also, speculations by Inquisitr suggest that Felicity will turn to a dark avenue, choosing whether she would act on revenge to Oliver for Billys death. Wendy Mericle, show's frontrunner told TV Line that Billys death would indeed give them an opportunity to explore Felicitys dark side in the chase for the masked man, Prometheus. One thing Felicity is not going to do, I can tell you for sure, is to blame Oliver. She recognizes the manipulations that have led to this situation. Her heart is broken in that last moment for Oliver and for Malone and for herself, Wendy added. As fans know, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) was stabbed and fans last saw her lying in the hospital in "Arrow" Season 4. In the mid-season finale, Oliver, upon entering his Arrow cave, saw Laurel waiting for him and left him in shock. This led to the question whether Laurel is alive or what fans had seen was just her doppelganger. With people knowing that the Black Canary plays a prominent figure alongside Arrow, Arnell teased that People dont just come back from the dead. Obviously, there will be some sort of vetting process [to determine if its really her]. We delve into that when we come back in the New Year. Blasting News said that the most intriguing spoiler for the upcoming season would be the introduction of Lexa Dong who will play Talia al Ghul, Ra al Ghul's other daughter. She is described as an elite warrior who will be a middle player that doesnt pick a side. Talia would be definitely a character to watch out for next episode. "Arrows" next years Season 5 Episode 10 entitled Who Are You would delve into the questions yet to be answered regarding the gang. Game of Thrones is halfway done filming season 7, and the series will have a lot of surprises in store for fans when it returns to HBO next year. Over the past few weeks, several photos and spoilers have leaked from the set in Spain, and now, the latest leaks indicate that there will be another big alliance between two leaders and that three characters are going to go on a walk of shame in one of the episodes of the next installment. Watchers on the Wall shared some very telling photos taken by Spanish media outlet HOY in Caceres on Thursday from the set of "Game of Thrones." The photos show extras in costume holding baskets of vegetables and standing on either side of the cobblestone street. Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) is seen wearing a black costume while riding a horse and he appears to be leading a procession of sorts. Tied to the horse and walking behind him is his niece Yara (Gemma Whelan), who has a cut on her face. The other photos show the Sand Snakes, Ellaria (Indira Varma) and Tyrene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers), who also appear to have been captured by Euron. It was said that the setting is Kings Landing, and based on the expressions on the townsfolks faces, it appears as though the trio are being mocked as they go on what looks like another walk of shame on Game of Thrones. It can be recalled that in "Game of Thrones" season 5 finale, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) was forced to do the Walk of Atonement after she confessed to adultery with her cousin Lancel (Eugene Simon). She was stripped and shorn and made to walk the streets of Kings Landing while Septa Unella (Hannah Waddingham) accompanied her, chanting Shame! while ringing a bell. In the new leaked photos, all the ladies got to keep their clothing, and though this is less humiliating, they cannot escape the peoples mockery as they get pelted with vegetables during the long walk. WoW predicts that Euron will form an alliance with Cersei in "Game of Thrones" season 7 and will pledge his Iron Fleet to her, offering the same deal that Theon (Alfie Allen) and Yara wanted to offer Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). To prove that he can help the Queen of the South, he will attack his niece and nephew while theyre at sea, and capture the Dornish at the behest of Cersei. It was said that Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Nymeria (Jessica Henwick) will die during the sea battle, while Theon manages to escape his uncle. Next season will be the first of the last two installments of the series, as it was previously reported that Game of Thrones will be ending after its eighth season on HBO. However, the networks CEO, Richard Plepler, said that theres a possible future for the GOT franchise. The executive told The Hollywood Reporter that conversations are ongoing regarding a spinoff series. Apart from the new walk of shame, earlier leaks indicate that there will be a massive battle scene involving Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and the wights in "Game of Thrones" season 7, as previously reported by Jobs & Hire. An official return date has yet to be announced by HBO. Game of Thrones season 7 premieres in summer 2017 on HBO. Google Nexus 7 2016 is one of the most anticipated gadgets this year. But amid rumors of specs and features, there is still no official confirmation from Google regarding the new Nexus 7 tablet. With news of setbacks in its development, is Google Nexus 7 tablet ever coming out? Well, there is still time. Google Nexus 7 tablet has long been rumored to be released by the end of this year. Popular leaker Evan Blass shared on Twitter a few months' back that a new Google tablet, built by Huawei, is on-track for the release by end of 2016. "Google's Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year," he wrote. Google's Huawei-built 7-inch tablet, with 4GB RAM, on track for release before the end of the year. Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 5, 2016 Unfortunately, before Google could even confirm that, news emerged that the upcoming Google Nexus 7 tablet has faced delays after Huawei backed out from producing it. As Jobs & Hire previously learned, Huawei and Google failed to agree on terms. According to reports, Google wants to keep the branding of the new Nexus 7 tablet exclusive. Industry observers suggest the new tablet could be called Pixel Pro or Pixel 7, which is line with the recently released Pixel X and Pixel XL smartphones. On one hand, Huawei wants its brand to be incorporated as it strives to go beyond being just a contractor for the gadget. Despite the lack of official and legit information other than Evan Blass' leaks, there are still rumors crawling in the grapevine regarding the anticipated Google Nexus 7 tablet. Its specs include a 7-inch Quad-HD (2560x1440) pressure-sensitive display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and Adreno 530 GPU. It has a 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage with a microSD slot that can support up to 2TB of memory, via PC Advisor. Google Nexus 7 2016, which is expected to feature a 13MP rear camera, is also rumored to be the first device to run Andromeda OS. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Annual value of Irans garment market stands at $15 billion, but the domestic companies have only 35 percent share in that, Mohammad Javad Sedghamiz, the director of Research Department of Tehran Garment Union told ISNA Dec. 16. He said the countrys garment export capacity is estimated at $12 billion a year, but the figure stands at $70 million. He said that the local companies should at least supply 70 percent of domestic market, but they dont. Earlier, the head of Association of Iran Textile Industries, Mohammad Moravvej Hosseini, said that only 30 percent of Irans textile industrys capacity is active. Moravvej Hosseini further said that only 30 percent of Irans garment import comes through legal channels, adding that the remaining amount is smuggled into the country. Fifth Harmony star Lauren Jauregui failed her Brazilian fans when she was arrested at a Washington, D.C., airport for possessing marijuana. Missing a show because of a drug bust must have been such a let down for the fans of Fifth Harmony. The Porterville Recorder Online reported that the Fifth Harmony star was stopped and searched at the Dulles International Airport because she had marijuana. Jauregui was told to appear in court and explain her possession of the substance. Despite Jauregui's absence, Fifth Harmony still continued their Brazil show. Perez Hilton reported that the judge only gave Jauregui a citation. The lenient treatment must be one of the perks of being part of a successful and popular group like Fifth Harmony. Fans sorely missed Jauregui at the Fifth Harmony Brazil show. Even though the Fifth Harmony star was not there, they still chanted and called for her. It must have been painful for the Fifth Harmony star to miss all the adoration. Jobs & Hire previously reported that Harry Styles is one of the supporters of Fifth Harmony. The Daily Mail reported that Fifth Harmony's Jauregui told fans that she felt bad for not being able to perform at the group's Brazil concert. She expressed appreciation for the support of her fans. The 20-year-old Fifth Harmony star did not talk about the weed possession. However, she released a tweet that she was not really arrested but only given a citation. It seems that after the issue, Fifth Harmony will be able to perform as per their schedule. Any future scheduled or performance or activities is expected to go as plan now that the marijuana issue concerning Fifth Harmony's Jauregui has been cleared. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. The controversial Wachovia pick-a-pay mortgage product inherited by Wells Fargo & Co. has drawn the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, adding to the list of financial products targeted by regulators. Wells Fargo bought a collapsing Wachovia for $13.3 billion in October 2008, with much of Wachovias financial decline coming from tens of billions of losses related to its loan portfolio. The pick-a-pay portfolio that Wachovia acquired in its 2006 purchase of Golden West Financial Corp. at the height of the housing bubble was considered risky by analysts because it gave borrowers unconventional options on the size of their payments. That included an option for minimum payments that did not cover monthly interest and did not reduce the principal. The correspondence between the SEC and Richard Levy, the banks controller, occurred in September and October, Reuters reported Wednesday. The SEC asked Wells how it is valuing the loans, particularly as it measures borrower credit score and loan-to-value. Levy responded with a list of tables on loan performance and value. Given that Wells Fargo is the nations top mortgage lender, loan performance is a key metric of how analysts and investors view the bank. Wells Fargo spokesman Josh Dunn said the SEC has stated it has completed its review. The agency could not be reached for comment Thursday. The bank provided Levys Oct. 7 response to the SEC . The overall purchased credit-impaired loan amount was at $18.3 million as of June 30, 2016, down from $26.7 billion at the end of 2013. Levy said its lending models show some homeowners that have chosen a pick-a-pay loan have limited ability to refinance their loans despite the recent improvement in house prices. However, he said there is an increasing number of homeowners with the product who have a loan-to-value percentage of less than 80 percent, which is a key refinancing inflection point. (Having) observed continued elevated prepayments in third quarter 2016, we believe these borrowers now have more opportunity to refinance their loans. As of Sept. 30, Wells Fargo reported an adjusted total unpaid principal balance of pick-a-pay loans of $21.4 billion, down from $61 billion in October 2008 when Wells Fargo bought Wachovia for $13.3 billion. The unpaid balance related to loans under option payment terms was 14 percent of the pick-a-pay portfolio, compared with 51 percent in October 2008. Wachovia began marketing in 2006 pick-a-pay loans companywide as a mainstream mortgage product after the Golden West purchase. By the end of 2007, Wachovia held $120 billion of pick-a-pay mortgages and $50 billion of traditional mortgages. There were more than $60 billion in pick-a-pay loans in California, along with $12 billion in Florida, two of the hardest-hit states in foreclosures from 2007 to 2010. In Wachovias final year, it had nearly $34 billion in losses through Sept. 30, 2008 among the largest fiscal year losses in corporate America history. The losses wiped out nearly all the profits the bank has earned from when First Union Corp. bought it in 2001. Wachovia took a write-down of $18.7 billion in the third quarter of 2008, much of which came from its retail and small-business unit. The value of the pick-a-pay assets were the most prominent factor in the write-down because they were considered overvalued compared with the market value, or what Wells Fargo was willing to pay. According to a 2008 class-action lawsuit by former Wachovia shareholders, pick-a-pay loans were routinely made without verifying borrower income or ability to pay, further increasing risk, and were among the most likely to default. The suit alleged Wachovia repeatedly misled investors by making false statements about the stability and profitability of the pick-a-pay mortgage loan portfolio, and by concealing the number of loans that were defaulting. In August 2011, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $590 million to settle the lawsuit. The bank said the settlement did not constitute an admission by Wells Fargo of liability, or any violation of law by Wachovia. Reuters reported that several analysts, including at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Credit Suisse, have questioned whether Wells Fargos earnings are supported by underlying business growth or accounting maneuvers. Wells Fargo said in its third-quarter 2016 report that the option adjustable-rate mortgage portfolio, which includes the existing pick-a-pay loans, has been reduced significantly as a result of our modification activities (that removed many pick-a-pay options) and customers exercising their option to convert to fixed payments. Federal regulators disclosed Tuesday that Wells Fargo was the only national U.S. bank that did not convince regulators it could go bankrupt without causing a major market disruption. On Sept. 8, Wells Fargo agreed to pay a combined $185 million in fines to resolve regulatory complaints regarding 2.1 million fraudulent customer checking and credit-card accounts. The boards independent directors are conducting an investigation into the scandal that dates back to at least 2009. John Stumpf stepped down Oct. 12 after he served nearly seven years as chairman and nine years as chief executive. Besides the SEC, the U.S. Justice Department, state attorneys general offices and at least two congressional committees are conducting inquiries into the scandal. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Justice Department has charged a US citizen with $1 billion conspiracy to evade Iran sanctions. Kenneth Zong, 77, of Anchorage Alaska, was named as the sole defendant in the 47-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), unlawful provision of services to Iran, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering, the official website of the US Justice Department said Dec. 15. The announcement was made by US Attorney Karen L. Loeffler for the District of Alaska. The indictment alleges that at an undetermined time, Zong left Alaska for Seoul, South Korea, and operated businesses there. From January 2011 through at least April 2014, Zong and four co-conspirators three Iranian nationals and one US citizen allegedly conspired to evade the prohibitions of IEEPA and Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) by engaging in false, fictitious and fraudulent transactions which were designed to unlawfully convert and remove Iranian owned funds, equivalent to approximately $1 billion, the report said. These funds were held in controlled Korean bank accounts and converted into more easily tradeable currencies, such as dollars and/or euros, by defrauding the Korean regulators into thinking the transactions were legitimate. Zong is charged with transferring those currencies to more than 10 countries around the world, including the US, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy. Zong received payment for these acts from the Iranian nationals in an amount from $10 million to $17 million, said the Justice Department. RALEIGH - Gov. Pat McCrory needed little time to sign into law Friday one of two controversial Republican-sponsored bills that strips some powers from the executive branch. The General Assembly's website shows that McCrory signed SB 4 moments after it gained concurrence in the Senate following a 62-27 approval along party lines in the House. House Bill 17 was approved today by a 24-13 vote in the Senate. The House quickly concurred and sent the bill to McCrory, who has received it but not taken action as of 3:50 p.m. Neither McCrory or his office has made a public or social media comment about signing SB 4. It is possible he may be waiting for final approval of HB 17 before making a public comment. However, his quick decision on SB 4 took away what may have been the last piece of suspense and unfinished business to his contentious four-year term. Former Govs. Jim Hunt and Jim Martin expressed concerns Thursday about SB 4 and House Bill 17 regarding the removal of some governor authority. Several Democrats restated their viewpoint that the fourth special session was called in an unconstitutional manner. The Senate passed SB 4 by a 30-16 margin. SB 4 makes significant changes to the state and county elections boards, and would return the state Supreme Court to partisan races. The bill also would combine the state elections board with the campaign finance, lobbying and ethics commissions into one state agency. Gov.-elect Roy Cooper weighed in on both bills Thursday, which Republican legislative leaders have acknowledged are aimed at having them become state law before Cooper takes office Jan. 1. Regardless of whether any of this legislation passes, I will use all of our tools, and we have a lot, to lead this state in the right direction, Cooper said. If I believe that laws passed by the legislature hurt working families and are unconstitutional, they will see me in court, and they dont have a very good track record there. The nearly two-hour debate on SB 4 was interrupted by another round of public protest in the House gallery. Protesters also halted the Senate debate on HB 17, yelling "shame" on the legislators. House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, ordered the gallery cleared during the debate on whether to make the state Supreme Court races partisan again. At lease 20 individuals were arrested by state capital police and taken away in plastic handcuffs. The House approved HB 17 by a 70-36 margin. House Bill 17 would: Alter how the UNC Board of Trustees and state Board of Education members are appointed, taking authority away from the executive branch; Require the advice and consent of the Senate for governor appointments as state department heads; and Reduce the number of exempted state employees from 1,500 back to 300 the same level as in the months before Gov. Pat McCrory was elected. A Senate amendment would raise the number to 400. A third controversial bill, House Bill 3, which focuses on a broad range of regulatory reform, did not advance out of committee. Rep. Larry Hall, D-Durham, said the two chambers could not reach enough compromise for action. Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said Wednesday that the justification for the bills comes from the General Assembly looking to reassert its constitutional authority in areas that may have been previously delegated to the executive branch. Lewis said Friday he is proud of the expanded elections boards that it brings bipartisanship to the boards. If the question is important enough for these quasi-judicial boards to act, there should be bipartisan support for the action, Lewis said. He said having the legislature appoint half of the state and county boards is appropriate given that branch is the branch closest to the people. There is no hidden dagger in this, Lewis said when discussing the combination of the state board with three commissions or that Republicans would have the chairman of the state and county boards in even election years. Lewis said he did not believe having an even number on the state and county elections boards would lead to stalemate and gridlock in issues such as the legal challenges to the Durham County ballots in the governors race Rep. Justin Burr, R-Stanly, said the reason that Democrats are protesting making the state Supreme Court partisan is that they realize more N.C. voters have supported Republican appeals court judges than Democrat. Rep. Larry Hall, D-Durham, said it is clear that the majority of North Carolinians did not request this fourth special session and drastic changes to the elections and court systems. At some point, were going to have to give up some of our power back to the power, Hall said. We are responsible to the people, and not the people responsible to us. Rep. William Richardson, D-Cumberland, said that appearances matter in terms of how the legislature is being perceived statewide and nationally. We woke up this morning with our legislature as national news and newspapers and editorials across the state, and not in a good way," Richardson. Cooper says legal actions are options Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, and a cosponsor of SB 4, said Thursday that restoring partisan affiliation to Supreme Court races clarifies to voters the party and political persuasion of the justices, as it is now for the state Appeals Court. Rucho has said the legislation in SB 4 represents unfinished business for him before he retires from the legislature. Some political analysts have said it is possible that Mike Morgan, a registered Democrat, defeated incumbent justice Bob Edmunds, a registered Republican, because Morgans name was listed first on the ballot. Morgan won several right-leaning rural counties in the election. In the state Court of Appeals races, the candidates were identified by party with Republicans listed first. I dont think Gov. McCrory would have done this and I dont think Gov. Cooper would have done this when it comes to combining the state elections board with the three commissions, Sen. Tommy Tucker, R-Union, said Thursday when asked about the timing of the legislation. Mitch Kokai, a policy analyst with Libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation, said the actions being taken by the Republican-controlled legislature may be constitutional since multiple sections of the constitution permit the General Assembly to make major changes in the way state government agencies operate. Its unlikely that this idea would be considered at any other time than during the transition from one governors administration to another. Democratic legislators say SB 4 is an effort to take away Democrats ability to govern through state and county elections boards, earned through Coopers victory. Currently, the party of the governor holds a 3-2 majority on the state elections board and a 2-1 majority on county boards. SB 4 would expand the state board to eight (four Democrats and four Republicans) and county board to four (two Democrats and two Republicans). It also would give the legislature half of the appointments in each case. Bob Hall, president of Democracy NC, said that by combining the underfinanced, overworked State Board of Elections with the lobbyist regulation office and ethics commission into one agency, it will collapse under the burden of its workload, with oversight falling even further behind and an expanded opportunity for partisan gridlock in lobbying, ethics and campaign finance regulation. Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., D-Durham, said Thursday it is clear and transparent that the decision to call for the fourth session is to undercut the power and authority of the governor elect before he can take office Jan. 1. It is a power grab to circumvent the will of the people and what voters were investing in with Roy Cooper as the next governor. If Gov. McCrory had won re-election, do you think we would be here now with this legislation? I think not. If this was so important, why wasnt it addressed during his four years as governor? Unprecedented According to the state Democratic Party, the most egregious piece of legislation is the attempt to make 1,200 McCrory appointees as career state employees with as little as 12 months on the job. The legislature is trying to violate the will of the people by declaring that Gov.-elect Cooper will only be able to declare 300 state employees exempt, state Democratic Party spokesman Jamal Little said Wednesday. The language in HB 17 that would require the consent of the Senate for the governors state department chief appointments is an unprecedented infringement on the discretion given to North Carolinas governors to pick their own cabinets, Little said. HB 17 also would remove the governor from the appointment process for the state universities, reducing the trustee boards to 13 members eight appointed by the UNC Board of Governors and two each by the House speaker and Senate president pro tem; and the student body president in an ex officio manner. It would take away the governors two appointees to each universitys board. Rep. William Richardson, D-Cleveland, said Thursday the pace of debate on HB 17 was moving too fast to give the legislation the proper public scrutiny that it would receive during a full session. Given that the legislature is under the scrutiny of the federal courts, to move forward with this legislation, that takes away powers from the governor, is just bad policy. Cooper said that while most people might think that this is a partisan power grab, but it is really more ominous. Cooper said the attempt to control governor appointments of state department heads represents a push for more corporate tax cuts and loopholes paid for by tax increases on the middle class and on small businesses ... to weaken protections for air and water and an attempt to hurt renewable energy ... to hurt public health by trying to stop Medicaid expansion and expansion of mental health. We dont look good to our people here in North Carolina, or to the rest of the country when laws are passed hastily, with little discussion, in the middle of the night, Cooper said. Witness the disaster of House Bill 2, which was passed in the same way. This has got to stop. Rep. Chris Sgro, D-Guilford, raised Thursday the specter of transgender restroom House Bill 2 in raising concerns about the accelerated pace of debating SB 4 and HB 17, giving cause for unintended consequences. And as you know so well, there were unintended consequences with another rushed bill, and the state is still paying the price from that bill. The city of Winston-Salem has officially renamed Maple Street between 16th and 17th streets for Earline Parmon, a former state senator and Forsyth County commissioner who died in March at age 72. About 50 people, including several of Parmons family members, gathered for the ceremony Thursday in a field near the intersection of 16th Street and the newly christened Parmon Drive (formerly Maple Street) in the citys northwestern section near the 16th Street bridge over U.S. 52. The ceremony lasted about 15 minutes as attendees endured 36-degree weather with a wind chill of 27. Mayor Allen Joines described Parmon as a person who had a huge impact on Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. We will never forget Sen. Parmon and all of the work shes done here, Joines said. U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, D-12th, told the audience that Parmon ended her working career as Adams director of outreach. Parmon, Adams said, was her friend and prayer partner. She cared about the little people, and she worked on their behalf, Adams said of Parmon. Im so grateful that I had the privilege and the opportunity to work with her. Parmon, a Democrat and Forsyth Countys first black state senator, was elected to the N.C. Senate in 2012 after serving as a representative in the N.C. House for 10 years. Before that, she served 12 years as a Forsyth County commissioner. Parmon resigned her Senate seat in January 2015 to serve on Adams staff. Parmon, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., graduated from Winston-Salem State University. She founded LIFT Academy, which operated from 1982 to 2001. While in the General Assembly, she pushed for education funding, compensation for victims of the states eugenics program and the Racial Justice Act. In 2008, she established the Earline Parmon Scholarship Fund for WSSU to inspire young people to complete their college education, a city document says. The states Racial Justice Act, passed in 2009, allowed defendants on death row to challenge their sentences if they believed race played a significant role in their case. The Republican-led General Assembly repealed the law in 2013. After Thursdays ceremony, Tracy Parmon Ingram, Parmons daughter, said her mother would have been humbled that the city named a street in her honor. She would say whatever she did she did for the people, Ingram said. And she did what she did for the Lord. D.D. Adams, who represents the North Ward on the Winston-Salem City Council, described Parmon as one of her mentors. I will remember her in my heart and my spirit, Adams said. She was a giant of a woman. She has left an indelible mark. Derwin Montgomery, who represents the East Ward on the city council, said many city residents are grateful to Parmon for her work in the community. She lived her life as a bridge builder, Montgomery said. There are people who are walking across those bridges that she built. Tehran, Iran, December 15 By Mehdi Sepahvand Trend: The Islamic Republic of Iran has been hosting refugees for almost four decades, Sivanka Dhanapala, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Iran told Trend. "The Islamic Republic of Iran generously hosts one of the largest and most protracted refugee situations in the world. Estimates from the Government of Iran indicate that 951,142 Afghan refugees and 28,268 Iraqi refugees reside in Iran, in addition to 620,000 Afghans who hold Afghan passports and Iranian visas. The government also estimates that there are approximately 1.5-2 million undocumented Afghans also living in Iran," Mr. Dhanapala said. UNHCR Iran, in close partnership with the Government of Iran, works under the umbrella of a regional multi-year strategy known as the Solutions Strategy for Afghan refugees (SSAR) in an effort to find durable solutions for the countrys very large population of refugees. According to the UNHCR Representative in Iran, activities revolve around increasing access to basic services in the areas of Health, Education, Livelihoods, including community-based and community-led activities. The SSAR particularly focuses on youth empowerment through education, skills training and livelihoods support, and recognizes the importance of durable solutions, advocacy, and coordination of refugee assistance with partners. "Health, Education and Livelihoods, with a particular focus on youth are the key target areas. In regards to Education and Health in particular, over the past two years Iran has been exemplary in the initiatives it has taken towards increasing refugees access to these services during their stay in Iran," he noted. In May 2015, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a decree to the Ministry of Education allowing all Afghan children of school age, regardless of documentation status, to attend primary and secondary school education, resulting in over 350,000 Afghan and Iraqi children being enrolled in the 2015-2016 school year. In addition, all refugees of school-age are now exempt from paying costly refugee-specific tuition fees (USD $70-90 per child), which encourages even vulnerable and economically challenged families to send their children to school. Regarding health, Mr. Dhanapala said the Islamic Republic of Iran has set a global precedent by including all refugees into its Universal Public Health Insurance scheme (UPHI), which allows all registered Afghan and Iraqi refugees to take advantage of health insurance coverage similar to that of Iranian nationals. The initiative between the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) of the Ministry of Interior, and the Iranian Health Insurance Organization (IHIO Salamat) is supported by UNHCR and enables all registered refugees residing in Iran to have access to the insurance. Rolled out for the first time in 2016, the second cycle of the UPHI offers refugees the opportunity to access a comprehensive health insurance package for both hospitalization services and para-clinical care, which includes medical assistance such as radiology, medicine, and doctors visits. Mr. Dhanapala explains, "During this second cycle, with UNHCRs financial support 142,000 identified vulnerable refugees are able to benefit from an exemption of enrolment fees, while other non-vulnerable refugees have an opportunity to access the insurance scheme, similar to the costs that Iranian nationals pay for their health insurance." "The implementation of the UPHI provides a significant protection dividend and plays an essential role in enhancing refugees social security and resilience status. It is anticipated that the second phase will evidence further progress in alleviating the challenges refugees are facing in meeting their medical needs, and will further improve refugees access to affordable healthcare." On the refugees aspirations to migrate to Europe, the Representative said, "Unfortunately many Afghans face a very difficult economic and security situation in Afghanistan, one which is not showing positive signs of improvement. Like many other refugees, some Afghan refugees are also attracted by the prospect of a better life in Europe, and are not necessarily deterred by the often treacherous and dangerous journeys they must typically undertake." A significant number of Afghans arriving in Europe have either used Iran as a transit country, or to a lesser extent, have come directly from Iran. UNHCR monitoring data reports that just over 20% of new arrivals by sea who arrived in Greece in 2015 were Afghan nationals; the second largest group after Syrians. Although displacement still continues from both Afghanistan and Iran, the number of Afghans arriving in to the Mediterranean has subsided this year - Afghans now account for 13% of new arrivals in 2016. WASHINGTON Indianas Thomas R. Marshall, who was Americas vice president 100 years ago, voiced he plucked it from a Hoosier humorist one of the few long-remembered utterances to issue from that office: What this country needs is a good 5-cent cigar, which would be $1.11 in todays currency. A century later, what the country needs is a $12 12-ounce cup of coffee. Or so Howard Schultz thinks. Betting against the man who built Starbucks to a market capitalization of $86 billion is imprudent. Today, you cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a Starbucks store. There are 25,000 in 75 countries, with another 12,000 due by 2021, so Starbucks is not an elusive or exclusive experience. This poses a problem peculiar to affluent societies, and an opportunity. Seattle, where the original Starbucks was opened in 1971, now has a Starbucks Roastery where customers can turn a cup of small-batch coffee into an experience Starbucks sells experiences as much as coffee of both conspicuous consumption and conspicuous connoisseurship. Bloomberg reports that for a pittance, aka $10, skinflints will be able to buy a cold-brew coffee, which presumably is an excellent thing, infused with nitrogen gas, which sounds like an acquired taste. Many existing Starbucks are located to capture foot traffic in malls and shopping centers, which have been losing customers to online shopping. The original 30 Roasteries Reuters says they will be ultra-premium, not mere tacky premium will be destinations where people will go to linger. So, by 2021, when there will be more normal Starbucks than McDonalds, the few Starbucks Roasteries scattered from New York to Shanghai will be Starbucks entry into the positional economy. Very pricey coffee is just a fresh-brewed variation on the familiar phenomenon of positional goods. They are necessarily, inherently enjoyments for the few. They exist because, particularly in the upper reaches of affluent societies, it is not love that makes the world go round, it is a compound of envy and pretentiousness. Four decades ago, the economist Fred Hirsch distinguished between the material economy and the positional economy. Once a society has satisfied basic material needs (food, shelter, clothing), it turns yesterdays luxuries (cars, air conditioning, college educations) into necessities. Because these are mass-market commodities, such material prosperity is a leveling, egalitarian force. Positional competition is emphatically not. In the competition for an elite education or an exclusive vacation spot, one persons success is necessarily a loss for many other persons because positional goods cannot be expanded indefinitely. Of course, Starbucks Roasteries could be expanded by the thousands, but this would make the experience banal and drain the stores of their positional power. After elementary needs food, shelter, clothing are satisfied, consumption nevertheless continues, indeed it intensifies because desires are potentially infinite. People compare themselves to their neighbors, envy their neighbors advantages, and strive to vault ahead in the envy-ostentation sweepstakes. The political equality of democratic societies leaves ample room for, and incites, social inequalities, which are coveted because they counter the leveling forces of mass affluence. Furthermore, as inherited privilege has been replaced by social rationality Napoleons careers open to talents, a meritocracy based on skills and education there is a residual human urge for irrational distinction. Such as savoring a $12 cup not just for the let us stipulate divine flavor but for the sheer fun of showing that you can and that your palate is so refined that merely very good coffee would be excruciating. In any American city large enough to sustain a social ecosystem of snobbery, there is a magazine to guide fastidious consumers to the five best craft breweries or the five best artisanal cheese shops. Heaven forefend that anyone should have to settle for the sixth best. For discerning tipplers, there are artisanal ice cubes. In San Francisco, The Mill, a cafe and bakery, offers artisanal toast for $4 a slice. It is to die for, say the cognoscenti. Where will the positional economy end? It wont. Stanford professor Francis Fukuyama notes that it is a peculiarity of human beings that they desire some things not for themselves but because they are desired by other human beings. Hamsters have more sense. This characteristic of our species the quest for recognition by distinguishing oneself from others provides limitless marketing possibilities because for many wealthy people, the chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches. So wrote Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations, published in the resonant year of 1776. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei agreed on Dec.16 to pardon or reduce the sentences of 1,231 people, the official website of Supreme Leader reported, in honor of the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. Khamenei pardoned and eased the sentences of 878 people last year as well. Earlier in June, Minister of Justice, Mostafa Pourmohammadi said that Iran's prison population has decreased by 3.7 percent the last year compared to the preceding year. The number of prisoners in Iran stood at 217,851 in the last Iranian year, which ended on March 21, he told Mehr news agency reported on June 21. About 9.8 million case records were submitted in Iran's judiciary last year, Pourmohammadi said, adding that 6.2 million cases out of this figure were sent to the courts and 3.6 million were directed to the dispute resolution councils. The minister went on to add that Iran's judiciary has 91,524 employees; of that amount some 11,642 are judges and judicial externs. Reddit Email 0 Shares TeleSur | The U.S. president-elect choose David Friedman, who runs a group supporting ultra-right Jewish settlers in Palestine, as his ambassador to Israel. President-elect Donald Trump will nominate far-right bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel as Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post, a step that could reverse decades of U.S. foreign policy on the issue of Jerusalem and spark outrage in the Muslim world. The U.S. embassy has been located in Tel Aviv for more than 68 years but during the presidential campaign, Trump vowed to move it to Jerusalem, a move almost certain to provoke a reaction from Muslims around the world. (Friedman) has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East, Trump said in a statement issued by his team. The United States and other world powers do not regard Jerusalem as Israels capital and in addition to the U.S. embassy, other nations embassies are in Tel Aviv, as they do not recognize Israels annexation of Arab East Jerusalem following its capture in the 1967 Middle East war. One of the thorniest issues is resolving the rival Israeli and Palestinian demands for Jerusalems future. Palestinians regard the ancient city which contains sites sacred to the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths as the future capital of a separate state. Friedman said in the statement that he would work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Friedman is considered far-right on many issues, including the construction of illegal Jewish settlements in Palestine, and has advocated for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Based on statements he has issued and columns he has penned, Friedman is positioned on the far right of the Israeli political map more hardline in his views than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli left-leaning newspaper Haaretz said in an article on his appointment. Friedman, who advised Trump on foreign policy in Israel and Palestine during the campaign and is his real estate lawyer, told AFP in October that in his view settlements are not illegal and that he believed Trump agrees with him. Friedman is also the president of the American Friends in Beit El Yeshive, an organization that supports projects in the ultra-conservative settlement of Beit El which is built on private Palestinian land without Israeli government approval. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal. J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group based in Washington, said it was vehemently opposed to Friedmans nomination. As someone who has been a leading American friend of the settlement movement, who lacks any diplomatic or policy credentials Friedman should be beyond the pale for senators considering who should represent the United States in Israel, it said in a statement. This nomination is reckless, putting Americas reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk, the statement said. In early December, Obama renewed the presidential waiver, signed by every U.S. president for the past two decades, against moving the U.S.s embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. It effectively means any action by Trump would be delayed until at least June. Via TeleSur - Related video added by Juan Cole: Wochit Politics: Will Trump Keep His Promise To Move The U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem? Reddit Email 0 Shares By Michael T. Klare | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | Scroll through Donald Trumps campaign promises or listen to his speeches and you could easily conclude that his energy policy consists of little more than a wish list drawn up by the major fossil fuel companies: lift environmental restrictions on oil and natural gas extraction, build the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, open more federal lands to drilling, withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, kill Obamas Clean Power Plan, revive the coal mining industry, and so on and so forth ad infinitum. In fact, many of his proposals have simply been lifted straight from the talking points of top energy industry officials and their lavishly financed allies in Congress. If, however, you take a closer look at this morass of pro-carbon proposals, an obvious, if as yet unnoted, contradiction quickly becomes apparent. Were all Trumps policies to be enacted and the appointment of the climate-change denier and industry-friendly attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests the attempt will be made not all segments of the energy industry will flourish. Instead, many fossil fuel companies will be annihilated, thanks to the rock-bottom fuel prices produced by a colossal oversupply of oil, coal, and natural gas. Indeed, stop thinking of Trumps energy policy as primarily aimed at helping the fossil fuel companies (although some will surely benefit). Think of it instead as a nostalgic compulsion aimed at restoring a long-vanished America in which coal plants, steel mills, and gas-guzzling automobiles were the designated indicators of progress, while concern over pollution let alone climate change was yet to be an issue. If you want confirmation that such a devastating version of nostalgia makes up the heart and soul of Trumps energy agenda, dont focus on his specific proposals or any particular combination of them. Look instead at his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state and former Governor Rick Perry from oil-soaked Texas as his secretary of energy, not to mention the carbon-embracing fervor that ran through his campaign statements and positions. According to his election campaign website, his top priority will be to unleash Americas $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves. In doing so, it affirmed, Trump would open onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate [the] moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits. In the process, any rule or regulation that stands in the way of exploiting these reserves will be obliterated. If all of Trumps proposals are enacted, U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will soar, wiping out the declines of recent years and significantly increasing the pace of global warming. Given that other major GHG emitters, especially India and China, will feel less obliged to abide by their Paris commitments if the U.S. heads down that path, its almost certain that atmospheric warming will soar beyond the 2 degree Celsius rise over pre-industrial levels that scientists consider the maximum the planet can absorb without suffering catastrophic repercussions. And if, as promised, Trump also repeals a whole raft of environmental regulations and essentially dismantles the Environmental Protection Agency, much of the progress made over recent years in improving our air and water quality will simply be wiped away, and the skies over our cities and suburbs will once again turn gray with smog and toxic pollutants of all sorts. Eliminating All Constraints on Carbon Extraction To fully appreciate the dark, essentially delusional nature of Trumps energy nostalgia, lets start by reviewing his proposals. Aside from assorted tweets and one-liners, two speeches before energy groups represent the most elaborate expression of his views: the first was given on May 26th at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota, to groups largely focused on extracting oil from shale through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Bakken shale oil formation; the second on September 22nd addressed the Marcellus Shale Coalition in Pittsburgh, a group of Pennsylvania gas frackers. At both events, Trumps comments were designed to curry favor with this segment of the industry by promising the repeal of any regulations that stood in the way of accelerated drilling. But that was just a start for the then-candidate. He went on to lay out an America-first energy plan designed to eliminate virtually every impediment to the exploitation of oil, gas, and coal anywhere in the country or in its surrounding waters, ensuring Americas abiding status as the worlds leading producer of fossil fuels. Much of this, Trump promised in Bismarck, would be set in motion in the first 100 days of his presidency. Among other steps, he pledged to: * Cancel Americas commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs * Lift any existing moratoriums on energy production in federal areas * Ask TransCanada to renew its permit application to build the Keystone Pipeline * Revoke policies that impose unwarranted restrictions on new drilling technologies * Save the coal industry The specifics of how all this might happen were not provided either by the candidate or, later, by his transition team. Nevertheless, the main thrust of his approach couldnt be clearer: abolish all regulations and presidential directives that stand in the way of unrestrained fossil fuel extraction, including commitments made by President Obama in December 2015 under the Paris Climate Agreement. These would include, in particular, the EPAs Clean Power Plan, with its promise to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired plants, along with mandated improvements in automotive fuel efficiency standards, requiring major manufacturers to achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon in all new cars by 2025. As these constitute the heart of Americas intended nationally determined contributions to the 2015 accord, they will undoubtedly be early targets for a Trump presidency and will represent a functional withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, even if an actual withdrawal isnt instantly possible. Just how quickly Trump will move on such promises, and with what degree of success, cannot be foreseen. However, because so many of the measures adopted by the Obama administration to address climate change were enacted as presidential directives or rules promulgated by the EPA a strategy adopted to circumvent opposition from climate skeptics in the Republican-controlled House and Senate Trump will be in a position to impose a number of his own priorities simply by issuing new executive orders nullifying Obamas. Some of his goals will, however, be far harder to achieve. In particular, it will prove difficult indeed to save the coal industry if Americas electrical utilities retain their preference for cheap natural gas. Ignoring Market Realities This last point speaks to a major contradiction in the Trump energy plan. Seeking to boost the extraction of every carbon-based energy source inevitably spells doom for segments of the industry incapable of competing in the low-price environment of a supply-dominated Trumpian energy marketplace. Take the competition between coal and natural gas in powering Americas electrical plants. As a result of the widespread deployment of fracking technology in the nations prolific shale fields, the U.S. gas output has skyrocketed in recent years, jumping from 18.1 trillion cubic feet in 2005 to 27.1 trillion in 2015. With so much additional gas on the market, prices have naturally declined a boon for the electrical utility companies, which have converted many of their plants from coal to gas-combustion in order to benefit from the low prices. More than anything else, this is responsible for the decline of coal use, with total consumption dropping by 10% in 2015 alone. In his speech to the Marcellus Coalition, Trump promised to facilitate the expanded output of both fuels. In particular, he pledged to eliminate federal regulations that, he claimed, remain a major restriction to shale production. (Presumably, this was a reference to Obama administration measures aimed at reducing the excessive leakage of methane, a major greenhouse gas, from fracking operations on federal lands.) At the same time, he vowed to end the war on coal and the war on miners. As Trump imagines the situation, that war on coal is a White House-orchestrated drive to suppress its production and consumption through excessive regulation, especially the Clean Power Plan. But while that plan, if ever fully put into operation, would result in the accelerated decommissioning of existing coal plants, the real war against coal is being conducted by the very frackers Trump seeks to unleash. By encouraging the unrestrained production of natural gas, he will ensure continued low gas prices and so a depressed market for coal. A similar contradiction lies at the heart of Trumps approach to oil: rather than seeking to bolster core segments of the industry, he favors a supersaturated market approach that will end up hurting many domestic producers. Right now, in fact, the single biggest impediment to oil company growth and profitability is the low price environment brought on by a global glut of crude itself largely a consequence of the explosion of shale oil production in the United States. With more petroleum entering the market all the time and insufficient world demand to soak it up, prices have remained at depressed levels for more than two years, severely affecting fracking operations as well. Many U.S. frackers, including some in the Bakken formation, have found themselves forced to suspend operations or declare bankruptcy because each new barrel of fracked oil costs more to produce than it can be sold for. Trumps approach to this predicament pump out as much oil as possible here and in Canada is potentially disastrous, even in energy industry terms. He has, for instance, threatened to open up yet more federal lands, onshore and off, for yet more oil drilling, including presumably areas previously protected on environmental grounds like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the seabeds off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In addition, the construction of pipelines like the embattled one in North Dakota and other infrastructure needed to bring these added resources to market will clearly be approved and facilitated. In theory, this drown-us-in-oil approach should help achieve a much-trumpeted energy independence for the United States, but under the circumstances, it will surely prove a calamity of the first order. And such a fantasy version of a future energy market will only grow yet more tumultuous thanks to Trumps urge to help ensure the survival of that particularly carbon-dirty form of oil production, Canadas tar sands industry. Not surprisingly, that industry, too, is under enormous pressure from low oil prices, as tar sands are far more costly to produce than conventional oil. At the moment, adequate pipeline capacity is also lacking for the delivery of their thick, carbon-heavy crude to refineries on the American Gulf Coast where they can be processed into gasoline and other commercial products. So heres yet one more Trumpian irony to come: by favoring construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, Trump would throw yet another monkey wrench into his own planning. Sending such a life preserver to the Canadian industry allowing it to better compete with American crude would be another strike against his own America-first energy plan. Seeking the Underlying Rationale In other words, Trumps plan will undoubtedly prove to be an enigma wrapped in a conundrum inside a roiling set of contradictions. Although it appears to offer boom times for every segment of the fossil fuel industry, only carbon as a whole will benefit, while many individual companies and sectors of the market will suffer. What could possibly be the motivation for such a bizarre and planet-enflaming outcome? To some degree, no doubt, it comes, at least in part, from the president-elects deep and abiding nostalgia for the fast-growing (and largely regulation-free) America of the 1950s. When Trump was growing up, the United States was on an extraordinary expansionist drive and its output of basic goods, including oil, coal, and steel, was swelling by the day. The countrys major industries were heavily unionized; the suburbs were booming; apartment buildings were going up all over the borough of Queens in New York City where Trump got his start; cars were rolling off the assembly lines in what was then anything but the Rust Belt; and refineries and coal plants were pouring out the massive amounts of energy needed to make it all happen. Having grown up in the Bronx, just across Long Island Sound from Trumps home borough, I can still remember the New York of that era: giant smokestacks belching out thick smoke on every horizon and highways jammed with cars adding to the miasma, but also to that sense of explosive growth. Builders and automobile manufacturers didnt have to seriously worry about regulations back then, and certainly not about environmental ones, which made life for them so much simpler. Its that carbon-drenched era to which Trump dreams of returning, even if its already clear enough that the only conceivable kind of dream that can ever come from his set of policies will be a nightmare of the first order, with temperatures exceeding all records, coastal cities regularly under water, our forests in flame and our farmlands turned to dust. And dont forget one other factor: Trumps vindictiveness in this case, not just toward his Democratic opponent in the recent election campaign but toward those who voted against him. The Donald is well aware that most Americans who care about climate change and are in favor of a rapid transformation to a green energy America did not vote for him, including prominent figures in Hollywood and Silicon Valley who contributed lavishly to Hillary Clintons coffers on the promise that the country would be transformed into a clean energy superpower. Given his well-known penchant for attacking anyone who frustrates his ambitions or speaks negatively of him, and his urge to punish greens by, among other things, obliterating every measure adopted by President Obama to speed the utilization of renewable energy, expect him to rip the EPA apart and do his best to shred any obstacles to fossil fuel exploitation. If that means hastening the incineration of the planet, so be it. He either doesnt care (since at 70 he wont live to see it happen), truly doesnt believe in the science, or doesnt think it will hurt his companys business interests over the next few decades. One other factor has to be added into this witchs brew: magical thinking. Like so many leaders of recent times, he seems to equate mastery over oil in particular, and fossil fuels in general, with mastery over the world. In this, he shares a common outlook with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on harnessing Russias oil and gas reserves in order to restore the countrys global power, and with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, said to be Trumps top choice for Secretary of State and a long-term business partner of the Putin regime. For these and other politicians and tycoons and, of course, were talking almost exclusively about men here the possession of giant oil reserves is thought to bestow a kind of manly vigor. Think of it as the national equivalent of Viagra. Back in 2002, Robert Ebel of the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the matter succinctly: Oil fuels more than automobiles and airplanes. Oil fuels military power, national treasuries, and international politics [It is] a determinant of well being, national security, and international power for those who possess [it] and the converse for those who do not. Trump seems to have fully absorbed this line of thinking. American energy dominance will be declared a strategic economic and foreign policy goal of the United States, he declared at the Williston forum in May. We will become, and stay, totally independent of any need to import energy from the OPEC cartel or any nations hostile to our interests. He seems firmly convinced that the accelerated extraction of oil and other carbon-based fuels will make America great again. This is delusional, but as president he will undoubtedly be able to make enough of his energy program happen to achieve both short term and long term energy mayhem. He wont actually be able to reverse the global shift to renewable energy now under way or leverage increased American fossil fuel production to achieve significant foreign policy advantages. What his efforts are, however, likely to ensure is the surrender of American technological leadership in green energy to countries like China and Germany, already racing ahead in the development of renewable systems. And in the process, he will also guarantee that all of us are going to experience yet more extreme climate events. He will never recreate the dreamy America of his memory or return us to the steamy economic cauldron of the post-World War II period, but he may succeed in restoring the smoggy skies and poisoned rivers that so characterized that era and, as an added bonus, bring planetary climate disaster in his wake. His slogan should be: Make America Smoggy Again. Michael T. Klare, a TomDispatch regular, is a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and the author, most recently, of The Race for Whats Left. A documentary movie version of his book Blood and Oil is available from the Media Education Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @mklare1. Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World. Copyright 2016 Michael T. Klare Via Tomdispatch.com US President-elect Donald Trumps transition team said in a statement that he nominated attorney David Friedman to become his ambassador to Israel, Sputnik reported. President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday announced the nomination of Mr. David Friedman to serve as the United States Ambassador to Israel, the release stated on Thursday. Friedman is a renowned attorney, the release explained, and was Trumps principal advisors on the US-Israel relationship during the presidential campaign. Friedman will be replacing outgoing Ambassador Daniel Shapiro. Earlier Thursday, Trump nominated retired US Army lieutenant general Keith Kellogg and conservative commentator Monica Crowley to posts on the National Security Council. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday rejected a challenge [opinion, PDF] to Californias 10-day waiting period for purchasing a gun. California law [text, PDF] requires a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases, even after obtaining a permit and passing a background check. A federal judge struck down [JURIST report] the law in 2014, ruling that the law was unconstitutional and violated the Second Amendment [text] rights of gun owners who had passed a background check and have a permit. In reversing that decision, the appeals court held: Because we agree with the State that the 10-day waiting period is a reasonable safety precaution for all purchasers of firearms and need not be suspended once a purchaser has been approved, we reverse the district courts judgment. We do not need to decide whether the regulation is sufficiently longstanding to be presumed lawful. Applying intermediate scrutiny analysis, we hold that the law does not violate the Second Amendment rights of these Plaintiffs, because the ten day wait is a reasonable precaution for the purchase of a second or third weapon, as well as for a first purchase. A lawyer for the gun rights groups that challenged the law said they are still reviewing [WSJ report] the courts decision. Gun control and the Second Amendment continue to be controversial topics across the US. In September the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] restored [JURIST report] gun ownership rights of individuals convicted of minor crimes. Earlier that month the New Jersey Second Amendment Society filed [JURIST report] a lawsuit against the states Attorney General in New Jerseys district court alleging the states stun gun ban is unconstitutional. In June the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that a state law conviction on reckless domestic assault is sufficient to bar possession of a firearm under federal law. Earlier in June Hawaii Governor David Ige signed a bill [JURIST report] requiring gun owners to be listed on an FBI database, notifying police if a Hawaii citizen is arrested in another state and providing a continuous criminal record check on those individuals seeking to possess a firearm. Also in June the US Supreme Court denied certiorari [JURIST report] in two separate cases challenging bans on assault-style weapons. The court denied the appeals without comment, letting stand lower court rulings that had upheld the bans [JURIST report] as constitutional. In response to the mass killing in Orlando in June, the UNs top human rights official urged [JURIST report] the US to increase its gun control measures. The Ninth Circuit [official website] held [JURIST report] in June that the right to carry a concealed gun is not within Second Amendment right to bear arms. A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Texas [official website] on Thursday temporarily blocked [order, PDF] new Texas regulations [text, PDF] that would require the burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains. The new regulations, approved last week by the Texas Department of State Health Services [official website], were set to take effect December 19 but were challenged [JURIST report] earlier this week by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [advocacy website], which claimed that they placed an undue burden on women seeking abortions. Judge Sam Sparks blocked enforcement of the regulations until at least January 6 and ordered a hearing for January 3. The US Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a controversial Texas abortion law in June. The court ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-3 in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt [SCOTUSblog materials] that HB2 [text], which imposed certain requirements on abortion clinics and doctors, created an undue burden on access to abortion, and was therefore unconstitutional. A bill renewing US sanctions against Iran for another 10 years because law Thursday without President Barack Obamas [official website] signature. Obama has commented that the act [HR 6297] will not affect the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) [text] signed in July 2015 [JURIST backgrounder], under which world powers agreed to lift international sanctions against Iran in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program [JURIST report]. The language in the nuclear agreement makes it unclear whether the US renewing the Iran sanctions act but keeping the nuclear ones suspended amounts to a violation of the JCPOA. John Earnest, White House Press Secretary, stated [press release] Thursday that: Extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, which was in place at the time the JCPOA was negotiated and remains so today, does not affect in any way our ability to fulfil our commitments in the JCPOA. The Administration has, and continues to use, all of the necessary authorities to waive the relevant sanctions, to enforce those that are outside the scope of the JCPOA, and to reimpose sanctions if necessary in the event that Iran should fail to perform its commitments under the JCPOA. In response to renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the US of breaching the nuclear agreement and has ordered the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organisation to plan the development of nuclear-powered ships. The US House in November approved [JURIST report] extending sanctions against Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported [text, PDF] as recently as September that Iran had successfully maintained a stockpile of heavy water below the threshold. The Iran nuclear agreement was reached [JURIST report] in July 2015 after 20 months of negotiations. Iran has repeatedly claimed [JURIST report] that it has a right to nuclear technology and that its aims are peaceful. Nissan in Brazil has shown a concept vehicle powered by a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) that it claims is a green technology breakthrough. During the inauguration of Renova Bio 2030 program, in the Brazilian capital, Nissan presented the car at the Presidential Palace and showed it to the Brazilian President, Michel Temer. The SOFC concept is run via bioethanol electric power and delivers a driving autonomy of over 600 km. The new system features an e-Bio Fuel Cell with a power generator powered by a SOFC. This new technology leverages the reaction of various fuels with oxygen, including ethanol and natural gas, to produce highly efficient electricity. In this latest development of zero emission technology, the prototype with e-Bio Fuel Cell is fuelled 100 percent with ethanol to charge a 24kWh battery. Nissan will conduct field tests on public roads in Brazil, using the prototype. Research and development of the e-Bio Fuel Cell was announced by Nissan in June. The engine can run 100 percent with ethanol or water mixed with ethanol. Its carbon-neutral emissions are as clean as the atmosphere, it is claimed, which will be part of the natural carbon cycle. In the future, the e-Bio Fuel Cell will become even more eco-friendly, with the possibility of using ethanol mixed with water, easier and safer to handle than other fuels all this without needing to create a new infrastructure, said Francois Dossa, president of Nissan Brazil. Existing infrastructure Bioethanol fuels come mainly from sugarcane and corn. They are widely available in countries of North and South America, which have established infrastructure. Due to the easy availability of ethanol and the low combustibility of mixed water to ethanol, the system is not dependent or constrained by the existing charging infrastructure, making it easy to market. In the future, people will only need to stop by small retail stores to buy fuel, Nissan says. NEWSLETTER Sign up Tick the boxes of the newsletters you would like to receive. Just Drinks Daily News The top stories of the day delivered to you every weekday. Just Drinks Weekly News A weekly roundup of the latest news and analysis, sent every Monday. Just Drinks Magazine The industry's most comprehensive news and information delivered every quarter Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: Turkey is providing assistance in the evacuation of militants from Syrias Aleppo to save the lives of civilians, Sputnik quoted Russias President Vladimir Putin as saying Dec. 16. Putin was addressing a news conference Dec. 16 during his visit to Japan. Judging by the situation in Aleppo at the moment, what is happening is exactly what we agreed on, including [the deal] with the president of Turkey during his visit to St. Petersburg, the president said. When we agreed that Turkey would provide every assistance in the evacuation of militants who are ready to lay down their weapons in Aleppo, first of all, [we agreed] to save the lives of civilians, Putin added. Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 16 Trend: The Russian government approved the draft law on ratification of the agreement with Turkey on the implementation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, the Cabinet said, Sputnik reports. According to a press release on the Cabinet's website, the government decided at a meeting on Dec. 15 to approve the draft federal law on ratification of the agreement between Russia and Turkey on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project and to send the document to the State Duma. On October 10, Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea. The annual capacity of each leg is estimated to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019. Steve Mirsky The Aragon region of Spain is filled with castles, cathedrals, monasteries, and UNESCO World Heritage sites dotting the Pyrenees foothills and the bustling city of Zaragoza. In addition to being a major cultural and agricultural powerhouse, Aragon's vineyards are renowned not only for their Tempranillo but for increasing Garnacha's popularity. This is the land where Garnacha cultivation began in Roman times yet was under siege by market forces until the 1990s when Aragon vineyards banded together forming the five Designations of Origin (DOs) of Somontano, Campo de Borja, Carinena, Calatayud and Terra Alta. Tired of watching French vintners growing their namesake heritage grapes for prestigious labels like Gigondas, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and Vacqueyras, they developed a plan to reclaim their heritage. First DO members had to resist the temptation to uproot their gnarled heritage vines ranging in age from 40 to over 100 years that each yielded, on average, a measly two pounds of grapes. This was particularly challenging since farmers were being offered EU subsidies to rip them out to raise more profitable crops like almonds, olives, avocados, and other more market-oriented grapes. Next, members determined that many of the inferiorities plaguing their Garnachas, like quick oxidation and mediocre flavors, resulted from their grapes being a commodity rather than specialty heirlooms showcasing their unique, richly-concentrated expressions. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com Most importantly, winery owners needed to rediscover and capitalize on what actually makes Aragon's terroir the most difficult, yet commensurately rewarding. Soils here are unforgiving and difficult to cultivate, littered with chunks of slate or carpeted in round stones. But it is through this adversity that stressed vine roots reach deeper into the mineral rich detritus year after year for scarce, yet vital moisture. Today, a new generation of winemakers are now adopting modern cultivation techniques, experimenting with fermentation, and improving barrel selections while reconnecting with ancient practices like preserving old vines, as well as hand harvesting and sorting. Many of these Garnacha varietals are now unblended, standing on their own from the following Aragon DOs with distinct character and flavor expressions. Heres a look at five wine regions and a look at their terroir and techniques that make them so unique. Photo Credit: Steve Mirsky Calatayud Located a little over 55 miles southwest of Zaragoza, Calatayuds (established in 1990) wineries have adopted the latest in weather data tracking and GPS mapping technology to determine the best grapes based on color, structure, minerality and ageability. A mix of privately-owned vineyards as well as cooperatives, Calatayud wineries are now turning heads with some unique Garnacha labels like Punta y Coma and Las Rocas de San Alejandro. Extreme weather conditions and patchworks of rusty red and yellowish clay sands, are sometimes evident in the same vineyard due to the erratic nature of glacial deposits from thousands of years ago. The south facing foothills, just over 3,000 feet above sea level on the Moncayo range, provide an extra special growing environment overlooking the River Ebro. Watered by a complex hydro-geological network of various tributaries like the Jalon and Jiloca that feed the River Ebro, over 55 percent of red wine production here is from vines more than 50 years old. Weather that's dry and windy with threats of frost during autumn produces sweet velveteen ripeness prominently figuring in 100 percent Garnachas from Altovinium and Bodegas y Vinedos del Jalon Alto Las Pizarras Collection. Photo Credit: Denominacion de origen Campo de Borja Campo de Borja Campo de Borjas viticulture has monastic roots dating back to 1145. Established in 1980, today this DO is best known for rich and intensely-fruity reds as well as rosados (roses) blended with Macabeo and Chardonnay. The small percentage of Garnacha whites they do produce are refreshingly light with delicate floral aromas. Almost half of their 12,355 Garnacha-producing vines are between 30 and 50 years old. Farmer-owned cooperative wineries play a key role here promoting excellent quality and availability. Altitude and climate shapes the dramatic extremes of long hot summers and cold winters tempered by the Ebro River and Dry Ciero winds. Growing in sandy earth over limestone and ferrous clay that's stony and well drained translate into a powerfully elegant tasting experience. Lately, Campo de Borja has been turning heads for easy-drinking Garnachas Centenaria's Coto de Hayas and their more concentrated, new French oaked Fagus with a minerality that enables structural and aromatic complexity. The Campo de Borja Wine Museum in the Cistercian Monastery of Veruela makes a great starting point for exploring this DO's eight centuries of wine making. Following their wine route exposes you to well established vineyards as well as small, family-run wine presses and historical wine cellars. Along the way, you're sure to revel in Romanesque cathedrals and monasteries as well as the distinct Modejo Arabic brickwork and glazed ceramic tiling most prominently evident on bell towers and village squares dotting the region. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com Carinena Although the region's namesake Carinena grape is still planted in close to 55 percent of the vineyards here, Garnacha has lately surpassed it in popularity. Established in 1932, Carinena is the oldest, largest, and most diverse DO in the Aragon region with vineyards ranging from family-owned plots to quality-obsessed cooperatives. Varying elevations produce dramatic swings in temperature promoting even ripening and flavor development. Soils are defined by four types of Miocine clay, the most common being iron laced rusty limestone, and bleached-out white from slate and granite layered on rocky subsoils. Throughout the vineyards, chunks of broken rock and multicolored stones shape the minerality that produces crisp, fruit-forward rose sans the malolactic fermentation made by Paniza's. It also produces dense and powerful reds that undergo carbonic maceration unencumbered by harsh tannins like Beso de Vino. Unlike the other DOs, winemaking is the primary industry in Carinena making it number six in export volume among all of Spain's wine regions. This high volume has actually yielded better quality production. The 42 kilometer Ruta de Vino is the best way to experience the wide range of Carinena Garnacha vineyards with the spectacular Sierra de Algairen mountain range as a backdrop. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com Somontano Translated to mean, under the mountains, Somontano is situated about 35 miles south of the French border, and is the northeastern-most DO established in 1984. Vineyards are situated on foothills of the central Pyrenees, where high elevations and extreme temperature fluctuations along with reddish soils packed with sandstone and clay help vines retain higher acidity. Warm days and cool nights prevail thanks to the Pyrenees Mountains blocking northerly winds. As may be expected due to geographic proximity, Somontano Garnachas most closely resemble those from France with lower alcohol, freshness, and salinity. Both red and white, like those produced by Pirineos and La Miranda de Secastilla, are elegant with a complex intensity. Red plum and cherry fruit is matched with vanilla and toasty oak of new barrels. Secondary flavors figuring prominently on the palate include chocolate, licorice, coffee, spice, herbs and black olive. The Somontano's Wine Route takes the hassle out of not only exploring the more than 30 vineyards here but also highlights its unprecedented natural beauty and wide range of first-rate artistic and cultural heritage. Cave paintings, medieval towns, Romanesque chapels, Gothic churches, Baroque temples, and ancient fortifications await exploration. In Babastro, The Tourist Information Center doubles as DO Somontano headquarters featuring interactive displays and a wine space with a cutting-edge tasting room. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com Terra Alta Terra Altas DO wine production took root during Roman times but first legal documentation dates back to Las Costums dOrta from 1296 and Las Costums de Miravet in 1319. Due to its geographical isolation, wines were only made for local consumption up until recently. Many vineyards look out over the River Ebre and Tarragona below, a scene that once inspired a young Pablo Picasso. Pre-coastal limestone mountain ranges, holm oak and white pine trees, and soil worked for centuries with almond and olive groves make it equally inspiring for Garnacha. Vineyards are concentrated on plateaus and the valley floor benefiting from abundant sunshine as well as convergent winds bringing cold from the north and humidity from the south with severe cold and a danger of late frosts in the spring. Promoting white Garnachas, to this day only accounting for a fraction of Spain's total Garnacha output, cooperatives flourished here starting in the 1920s with an oxidized amber blanc. It wasn't until establishing their DO in 1984, that longstanding cooperatives began cultivating both native and international varietals. The Terra Alta now produces 30 percent of the world's Garnacha, 100 percent of which are monovarietals displaying unique punctuations of juicy acidity, creamy texture, and bright flavors particularly in Clos Dalian's Crianza and Blanca. Minerality derived from the terroir's chalky limestone belies citrus, peach, lemon, and honeysuckle. Reds like Cellar Batea's Tipicitat exude a mineral streak with a concentration of raspberry and cherry fruit. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on "all parties and the international community to abide by" the Turkey-brokered truce in Aleppo, Anadolu reported. On his official Twitter account, Erdogan wrote Friday: "The Turkey-brokered truce in Aleppo and the continuation of evacuations is the only hope left for innocent people. I urge all parties and the international community to abide by the truce agreement and support the implementation of the evacuation process. The people of Aleppo are not alone. We will do everything in our power to save innocent lives." His message came in Turkish, English, and Arabic. Under a ceasefire agreement secured Tuesday by Turkey and Russia, civilians trapped in eastern Aleppo will be allowed to go to the opposition-held city of Idlib. At least 7,500 civilians have so far left eastern Aleppo in convoys for safe areas in Idlib, according to Syrian opposition group officials. However, reports also arrived that the regime and pro-regime terrorists violated the truce. Song Ji Hyo has been identified as the cast member with the most number of wins in 'Running Man' for the month of July. (Photo : Facebook/Running Man) "Running Man" is currently under fire as members Kim Jong Kook, Song Jihyo claimed that producers blind-sided them that they will no longer be included in the reformatting of the show. According to new rumors surfacing online, it seems that the producers of the SBS variety program "fired" Kim Jong Kook and Son Jihyo in order to make way for an all-comedian cast. Learning from the success of MBC' "Infinity Challenge" and KBS' "2 Days, 1 Night," both shows have comedians as their main cast. Advertisement While Kim Jong Kook and Son Jihyo are the aces of games, they do not bring much of the laughs because of their serious image unlike the remaining cast Yoo Jae Suk, Haha, Lee Kwangsoo, and Ji Suk Jin. Reports emerged that producers tapped Kang Ho Dong to be a cast in the show. However, the MC declined due to the ongoing controversy. His agency said that he does not want his joining the show to affect him negatively. Moreover, Kang Ho Dong is close with Kim Jong Kook, Yoo Jae Suk, and Haha after the three worked on "X-Man". It is unknown who will replace the old cast. Kim Jong Kook and Song Jihyo revealed that the cast of the show have been in talks with the producers for a possible reformat due to the poor ratings of the show. However, they were not informed that they will leave the show, until recently. It seems that Kang Gary's departure from the show in October has been a turning point for them. For almost seven years of being together, the seven members became really close with each other. "Running Man" has undergone reformatting to keep up with the trend. The show has a huge following internationally, especially in China. However, despite its popularity abroad, the show suffers low ratings in South Korea in its timeslot. The show is battling with KBS's "2 Days, 1 Night". The World Premiere Of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' (Photo : Getty Images) Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan shines as the blind monk Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which premiered on Dec. 15, Thursday. The 53-year-old actor disclosed that he almost did not accept the role when it was offered to him because it would mean he had to leave Hong Kong and be away from his kids for months. It took him a few months to decide before he accepted the offer, but now on a hindsight, Donnie Yen does not regret the decision, South China Morning Post reported. Advertisement Donnie Yen, who starred in Ip Man 3, said that he suggested to the producers of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to make Chirrut Imwe blind so the character would have some distinctive characteristics. He said the character being blind is consistent with the story. He explained that since Chirrut Imwe is a fighter who uses martial arts, the character being blind is consistent with the movies story. Martial arts, according to Donnie Yen, is about feeling with ones heart, and if a person is blind, he has to feel things with his heart. Although Chirrut Imwe is considered the best fighter in the movie, he had difficulty fighting blind since he could still see a little through the foggy contact lenses he used. When you have to play a blind person and you can see, its very difficult to do because you have visual illusions, the actor admitted. To convince himself that the surroundings around him was black, before each take, Donnie Yen closed his eyes and then opened it again to try and replicate the sensation. It was the hardest part of the shoot, he said. Besides Donnie Yen, another Chinese actor played the soldier Baze Malbus. The actor was Jiang Wen, an actor and director who starred with Donnie Yen in the 2011 movie The Lost Bladesman. According to Deadline, Rogue One: A Star Wars Movie would likely earn $30 million box-office receipt on preview night, or 47 percent lower than the record $57 million earned by Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. But it is still the second-best opening day ever for a December exhibition. The movie cost $200 million to produce and it is expected to earn on its worldwide opening weekend between $250 million and $300 million, Marketwatch reported. 'Goblin' Korean drama showcases love line between Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun (Photo : YouTube/DramaFever) "Goblin" is currently under fire despite its success as some netizens said that the show is promoting pedophilia to viewers. According to All Kpop, while some netizens find the story or plot really refreshing in comparison with other Kdramas, they are concerned about the Lolita premise of the show. With just four episodes currently aired, some fans are expressing concern on Gong Yoo and Kim Go Eun characters. Advertisement Kim Go Eun plays the role of a high school student, which is a minor, while Gong Yoo's goblin character is portrayed by an adult male in his 30s. Some people directly posted comments on show's official website hoping that the writer will reconsider the love line between the two. Some of the audience said that it is uncomfortable to watch some of the scenes of the two and to hear some of the lines of a young girl to an adult male such as: "Let's have babies and live happily" and "What type of women do you like? Wifely? Sexy? Professional? Should I change everyday?" Pedophilia or even May-December affairs are a big deal for South Korea that remained orthodox and conservative on certain issues. Idols that had Lolita concepts in the past have been criticized by netizens. "Goblin" shot up to the top of the charts and dethroned other Korean dramas like "The Legend Of The Blue Sea" and "Descendants Of The Sun" that star Hallyu actors Lee Min Ho and Song Joong Ki, respectively. Not only that "Goblin" has surpassed "The Legend Of The Blue Sea," it shockingly doubled its rating score. This means that it also overtook Park Bo Gum's "Moonlight Drawn By Clouds" and "Reply 1988" and Song Joong Ki's "Descendants Of The Sun". Gong Yoo's popularity is thanks to his hit movie "Train To Busan". The movie has garnered acclaim from various countries worldwide and bagged a Hollywood remake. His role of being the hero in the film catapulted his celebrity status. Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation Blue Diamond Gala - Arrivals (Photo : Getty Images) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has offered the post of chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts to Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone. The actor is said to be interested in the position but is still thinking about it. The agency is a federal organization which disburses funds for large creative projects. Stallone, a box-office drawer with his franchise movies First Blood and Rocky, supported the presidential bid of John McCain in 2008 against Barack Obama, but is not a registered Republican, Daily Mail reported. Advertisement The perception, however, is that Trump would be hostile to the arts. But his offer of the position to Sylvester Stallone an A-lister indicates that a Trump presidency would provide the arts a shot in the arm that it needs. The 70-year-old actor once described Trump as bigger than life, New York Post reported. Hes a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I dont know how that translates to running the world, Variety quoted Stallone. When Stallone told his wife that he plans to follow the footsteps of fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger who was known as the Terminator and became governor of California his wife asked Stallone, Are you crazy? The National Endowment for the Arts, established in 1965, is currently headed by Jane Chu, a philanthropist and artist. The agency has a budget of around $146.2 million, run by a 14-man board. The agency used to have its office in the Old Post Office Building, but it was torn down for the construction of the Trump Hotel. In September, Stallone was hit with a death hoax rumor. His dead body was allegedly discovered by his housekeeper, but it turned out the CNN video allegedly showing the actor was about the death of Sage, Stallones son, in 2012. UPDATE: This is not the first time Maryo Lindsey has been in trouble. In 2013, Lindsey had a loaded gun and marijuana in his football bag that was on a school bus for Dunkerton High School. In 2014 at the age of 18, a judge sentenced Lindsey to five years in prison. One of the charges included a felon possessing a handgun. Because a judge did not set a mandatory minimum sentence, and because of good behavior, the Black Hawk County attorney says Lindsey got out of prison early. -- UPDATE: In the early morning hours Friday, the Waterloo Police Tactical Unit made two arrests: Maryo D. Lindsey, 21, and Aundrey Frequel Roberts Jr. 23, both from Waterloo. Waterloo Police say they found several shell casings at the scene and after talking with witnesses, a vehicle and suspect description was obtained. Lindsey is charged with going armed with intent, willful bodily injury, carrying Weapons, possesion of weapons by a felon, and intimidation with a weapon. Roberts Jr. is charged with willful bodily injury, and intimidation with a weapon. -- A 9-year-old boy was shot and wounded in Waterloo Thursday night, according to police. Officers said the boy was shot in the hip area and his injuries are not life-threatening. It happened just before 8 p.m. in the 1200 block of West Mullan Avenue. Investigators said several shots hit a town home, with one going through a window and hitting the boy. Police say it's possible this was a drive by shooting, but don't know who the target was. Officers said they do not yet have any suspects and have not made any arrests. Stay with KCRG-TV9 for more information as it becomes available. Immigrant Families Celebrate Thanksgiving In Connecticut (Photo : Getty Images) The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has placed a half-naked woman on a big plate on a Liverpool street. The giant plate, which includes peas, carrots, Brussels sprouts, gravy and utensils, is part of PETAs push for a meatless Christmas in a campaign titled Try to relate to whos on your plate go vegan. Advertisement PETA made the display so the public would feel the pain and terror turkeys go through on Christmas as the animal is served on the dinner table. Its Go Vegan campaign seeks to encourage people not to purchase meat for the Christmas season in 2016, Mirror reported. By excluding animals from their plates, people would extend the holiday spirit of peace and goodwill, Elisa Allen, PETA director said. She recommended that people instead buy mock meat where there is a large array available. Its easier than ever to enjoy a festive meal packed with all the flavour but none of the cruelty of meat, Allen said. Besides not eating meat, PETA is also asking people not to purchase pets such as cats and dogs for Christmas and give it as presents. The animal rights group pointed out that taking care of an animal requires a lifetime commitment. PETA added that compared to non-living gifts, which could be returned, exchanged or forgotten, animals should not be adopted on impulse. Caring for an animal is a 15-year (or more) commitment, and those who are given as gifts to unprepared recipients are often discarded once the novelty wears off, PETA said in a statement. PETA noted that its shelters are full with homeless animals. Many of these were family pets surrendered by the former owners when they lost interest in the animal. Jason Baker, PETA vice president of international campaigns, said, People who aren't ready to adopt but want to share a little Christmas cheer with homeless animals this holiday season can donate dog and cat food, toys, bedding, or other items to their local animal shelter. OMAHA Catholic Health Initiatives, parent of CHI Health Good Samaritan, one of Kearneys two hospitals, has failed to reach a deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska, which means policyholders face an array of questions about where they can receive their heath care and how theyll pay for it. The impasse occurred because BCBS claims CHI Healths Nebraska hospitals are charging up to 30 percent more than other Nebraska facilities, while CHI Health claims that BCBS wants to maintain and lower costs without regard for quality health care. Here are some answers to questions you may have about searching for a new family physician or other health care provider. Q: How many doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners are involved in this? A: About 800 are employed by CHI Health and about 600 are independent but have used CHI Healths UniNet (an entity that handles contracts, credentials and other details for CHI) to contract with Blue Cross. Blue Cross says that as of Friday, 330 of the independent providers have pulled their Blue Cross contracts out of UniNet in order to remain in network with Blue Cross. Q: Are there any groups of patients who will be allowed to stay in network because of their condition? A: Yes. This comes under Blue Cross continuity of care provision. Those with the Nebraska card who are affected by this include patients being treated for cancer, those undergoing dialysis, women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy or having high-risk pregnancies, those under care for mental health, those being treated for HIV and AIDS, and some others. They will be allowed to remain in network for a short duration, which varies by condition. Some Nebraska employees have Blue Cross coverage from other states, though, and their continuity of care provisions might differ. UniNet says patients already are having a hard time getting good information about this. Blue Cross says its working with other Blue Cross plans and their members to make this element work more smoothly. Q: Are Medicare patients entangled in this? A: No. Q: How many patients might be affected? A: Blue Cross says about 70,000 people in the metro area have used a CHI provider in the past 18 months. Statewide, including Omaha, 130,000 have done so. Q: How do I know if my doctor is involved? A: Blue Cross regularly updates its list of physicians and other medical providers who are in Blue Crosss network. Blue Cross has a members help line at 844-286-0855 and a website, nebraskablue.com/update. To get the most up-to-date information, it might be best to call your doctors office. Q: How do I begin looking for a new doctor? A: See if your existing doctor will make recommendations. Talk to your family and friends about their doctors. Use the internet. Many practices have websites that include physicians biographies. The state has a website where you can see if any disciplinary action has been taken against a providers license: //www.nebraska.gov/LISSearch/search.cgi Q: Then what? A: Call potential new doctors offices to get more information. Ask if theyre accepting new patients and how long it takes for a new patient to get a first appointment. Ask if they accept your insurance, if theyre in network with Blue Cross, what their hours are and what hospitals the doctor uses. Ask if the doctor performs tasks that are important to you, such as putting casts on fractures, stitching gashes, X-raying bones, doing lab work. Consider whether the clinic is close enough to your home or workplace for your satisfaction. Q: What about my medical records? A: If youre moving to a new doctor, ask your original clinic to ship them to your new doctor. In some cases this can be done electronically. Some doctors still use paper records, or they may have an electronic system that doesnt communicate with your new doctors system. Either way, most experts say, it shouldnt take long to get your record to your new doctor. Rarely is there a fee for this and if there is, Blue Cross has pledged to reimburse patients for that cost. But if you have an appointment with a new doctor, make sure you have your medication list, surgical history, medical history, recent lab results and family medical history with you in case the new doctor doesnt have your records yet or hasnt had a chance to review them. Q: What if I leave my old doctor and a settlement is reached? Can I move back to my old doctor? Will that be a hassle? A: You can move back to your old doctor, and it shouldnt be much of a hassle. And the good news is that your old doctor will have retained a copy of your medical records. Q: What if I need a prescription refilled and I dont have a new doctor yet? A: Your old doctor can refill it. But if you need to see your doctor or require a blood draw to continue on a medication, remember that youll pay out-of-network for those services with your old doctor. Q: If my new doctor is an in-network Blue Cross provider, is it guaranteed that I would be referred to in-network specialists and in-network hospitals? A: Not necessarily. This is another area where youll need to be proactive. Ask those questions. Q: What are some numbers and websites that might help me look for a new doctor or get more information on this dispute? A: Blue Crosss contact information is found above. Sources: Dr. Robert Wergin and the American Academy of Family Physicians; Dr. Joann Schaefer, chief medical officer, Blue Cross; Dr. Hank Sakowski, medical director, UniNet; Dr. Harris Frankel, chief medical officer, the Nebraska Medical Center; Shelley Baldwin, executive director of primary care, the Nebraska Medical Center; Todd Grages, Methodist Physicians Clinic president; Stacy Roberts, clinic manager, Methodist Physicians Clinic HealthWest; Carol Wang, executive director, Metro Omaha Medical Society. LINCOLN Nebraska needs to pursue a two-generation approach to help break the cycle of poverty, according to a new legislative report. State Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln said the state has focused on programs for adults and on programs for children but rarely on programs that tie the two together. Programming that addresses the needs of both is needed to interrupt generations of poverty, because children cant thrive in homes where parents struggle financially, and parents cant succeed if their children arent doing well, Campbell said. Were above the national average in terms of the percentage of people in poverty, which should be a red flag to policymakers that we need to address this in an in-depth manner, she said. The report, released Thursday, was written by Elice Hubbert, Health and Human Services Committee clerk, and was the result of a 15-month study by the Intergenerational Poverty Task Force. The task force, established under a bill by Omaha Sen. Heath Mello in 2015, was charged with examining and reporting on the status and effectiveness of programs addressing those affected by poverty over decades, particularly children. The task force is made up of an executive committee of lawmakers as well as leaders from key state agencies and advocacy groups, including the Center for People in Need, Community Action of Nebraska and Legal Aid of Nebraska. Mello modeled the effort after similar steps taken in Colorado and Utah. He said it aims to help low-income working people. About 18 percent of Nebraska families with children under the age of 5 were in poverty last year, U.S. Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey show. That number grew to about 38 percent when considering households headed by a single woman. And African-American and Hispanic families in Nebraska had higher rates of poverty each about 25 percent than similar families nationwide. Mello called the report the most intense analysis of poverty in Nebraska in modern time. It includes a list of recommendations to help decrease poverty in the state. They are: Develop a data system to track generational poverty, and support policy and program development. Continue the Intergenerational Poverty Task Force, which is set to expire at the end of the year but could continue if the Legislature acted next year. Increase collaboration between state agencies to provide more effective resources. Use a two-generation approach when designing programs to improve the lives of children and families. All are in an effort to address the most daunting problems faced by low-income people, according to the report. They include ensuring that parents have access to good jobs and the skills to get and keep them, financial stability and the ability to acquire assets, and high-quality early childhood education. The two-generation approach isnt new. An early example is the federal Head Start program, launched in 1965, which is intended to prepare children for school while assessing family needs and making referrals. Mello said a comprehensive data system would help the state be more outcomes-based going forward. You cant make informed decisions and you cant reform programs to make them more comprehensive and more evidence-based without having the data, he said. Mello and Campbell, both of whom are outgoing senators, said the recommendations dont necessarily call for creating new programs, but urge lawmakers to more effectively use existing ones. One such Nebraska program is the Step Up to Quality ranking system, which was sponsored by Campbell and passed in 2013. OMAHA -- Two Westside High School students will be charged with disturbing the peace and lewd conduct after mixing their semen into frosting and serving it to their home ec teacher. The charges, both misdemeanors, will be filed in juvenile court Friday morning, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine. Dec. 8, the 14-year-old boys went to a school bathroom, masturbated into containers and then mixed their semen with frosting meant for turnovers, a law enforcement official has said. Three students planned the act, authorities said, but only two went through with it. The boys served the tainted turnovers to their home economics teacher, who was doing a quality-control taste test. The teacher realized something was wrong, and another student later approached her after overhearing the boys discuss their plot. Two students told school administrators about the act. School officials are not disclosing how they are disciplining the boys. No state law specifically covers the act of bodily fluids forced on a person, though there are laws against spitting on police officers. Kleine said he anticipates discussion among law enforcement officials and state legislators on whether Nebraska needs a specific law to deal with such behavior. "We think obviously there should be consequences for this kind of behavior," Kleine said. "Teachers should be protected." Juvenile court judges can decide the consequences for youths whose cases are referred to the court. Kleine said prosecutors consulted with the teacher, who told them she understood why they were filing those charges. "She was very appreciative that we were moving forward," Kleine said. Sunday night, Westside Superintendent Blane McCann sent a letter to parents concerning the "disturbing incident." Please understand the complexity of this for all involved, and know district leadership and Board of Education members are in constant discussions to determine the best course of action," he wrote. "Protecting privacy rights, and keeping all of our students, families and staff members safe, is paramount to us at Westside Community Schools." A petition circulating online asking officials to expel the students has received more than 6,000 signatures. Did you know that Nebraska led the nation in resettling the most refugees per capita in 2015? As our great state promotes economy, access to jobs in meat packing plants and hospitality, refugees see Nebraska as a great place to call home. According to a Pew Research Center analysis from the U.S. State Departments Refugee Processing Center and the U.S. Census Bureau, between October 2015 and September 2016, 1,441 refugees settled in Nebraska. Approximately 90 percent of refugees choose Nebraska as it reunites them with family. Central Health Center continues its mission in providing quality services to those who are uninsured, under insured, undocumented and the insured. Helping those become active members of the community and assisting with the economy requires individuals to be in good physical and mental health. Central Health Center, Inc. is proud to announce that effective Jan. 1, 2017, we will begin providing vaccinations and physicals for new refugees located in central Nebraska through a contract received by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. With a broad understanding that refugees come with many questions and needs, while the stressors of living in a another country, Central Health Center is cognizant about those barriers through developing partnerships with the Hall County Housing Authority to provide onsite social service and housing assistance and partnering with Justice For Our Neighbors to provide legal assistance in completing appropriate paperwork to ensure safety for all Nebraskans. These services will assist refugees in obtaining the necessary programming at one location, while promoting affordable preventative health care and necessary mental health services. These services promote community involvement and investment while reducing costs on our health care system. Kelloggs Executive MBA Programs sees surge in growth marked by various global partnerships 12/16/2016 - Kelloggs Executive MBA program has experienced a surge of growth in the past several years, marked by rising enrollment, an innovative curriculum and a record-high number of women in one of its global partnerships.In 2016 alone, Kellogg rolled out several new courses within the EMBA program to reflect students evolving interests particularly focused on global experience and entrepreneurship.One of the key success factors in the EMBA program is our ability to present courses that both impart knowledge, but also have applicability to working professionals they want to be able to take what theyve been exposed to over the weekend and apply it on Monday, said Greg Hanifee , Associate Dean of Kellogg's Executive MBA Global Network. To that end, were listening both to the students in terms of what they feel is needed to keep them ahead, and also to the faculty as it relates to what theyre researching.One of the newest offerings in the EMBA program is Growth Strategy Practicum, a capstone course taught by Linda Darragh that allows students to partner with early growth-stage companies facing a specific problem, whether its launching a new product or entering a new market. The class teaches students tools and techniques to translate these problems into opportunities of leading a business to the next level.For a working professional audience, relevancy and applicability have a high priority in their curriculum, said Hanifee. We feel our new courses focus on presenting cutting-edge concepts to our students that allow them to internalize and then apply.In addition to this course, Kellogg is also offering two hybrid elective courses, which will comprise a mixture of online and face-to-face learning. In International Finance with Sergio Rebelo and Strategic Brand Management with Alexander Chernev , students will complete a portion of the coursework prior to arriving on campus. These courses will deepen their global connectivity by having face-to-face instruction over three days in the students choice of Toronto or Dusseldorf.The EMBA program has also expanded its global reach through emerging markets/experiential learning courses being offered in both India and Africa. TechVenture India , which will be taught by Mohan Sawhney during the Spring 2017 term, is an innovative experiential learning course that gives students an opportunity to dive deep into the intersection between technology and emerging markets and study in the most prominent Indian technology cluster in Bangalore.Offered during the Winter 2017 term, Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) Social Impact , taught by Tasha Seitz , is designed to give students an introduction to the unique opportunities and challenges of designing and analyzing business models that create positive societal or environmental impact. Students will have the opportunity to look in-depth at the social challenges and market opportunities in East Africa, and the class will travel to Kigali, Rwanda and Nairobi, Kenya to conduct field research and interviews as well as meet leading social impact organizations.The EMBA program at Kellogg is also preparing to celebrate its 20th year of partnership with three of its five global partners in 2017: Kellogg-Recanati Graduate School of Business, Kellogg-Hong Kong University of Science and Technology School of Business and Management, and Kellogg-WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management.These partnerships underscore Kelloggs commitment to exposing students to a breadth of global business dynamics and to a diverse group of peers. The Kellogg-Schulich School of Business at York University program, for example, recently enrolled a class with a record 42 percent women.The success of the global network comes from a key leadership trait that we try to instill in all of our students that we also try to live by in our work the ability to build trust, said Hanifee. That trust is exhibited amongst all the business schools involved and is core to how we work with each other. Its also present in how we partner with our students in their learning journey, not simply a transactional relationship; and how the amazing faculty we work with understand the audience and deliver unparalleled education.Through these enhancements, Kellogg continues to provide its EMBA students with access to world-renowned professional faculty, an alumni network with more than 60,000 graduates worldwide and diverse global business experience. FILE - In this Friday Dec. 9, 2016 file photo, flowers and notes left by well-wishers are displayed outside Comet Ping Pong, the pizza restaurant in Washington. There's at least a slice of good news for a pizza restaurant in the nation's capital that has been the target of fake news stories linking it to a child sex trafficking ring. In almost a week since an armed man arrived at Comet Ping Pong to investigate the conspiracy, neighbors and patrons have responded by bringing homemade signs, flowers and their pizza-purchasing power to the store. (AP Photo/Jessica Gresko, File) Glenmore residents will have to wait until 2018 before their fire hall, currently staffed by volunteers, is converted to a full-service fire hall able to accommodate full-time firefighters. Man and child trying to escape Aleppo crackdown (Photo : Twitter) WW3 may happen anytime soon if Aleppo crisis will escalate creating tensions between US and Russia, Iran, and Syria. The world is silently watching as Eastern part of Aleppo is being burned down to ashes by pro-government forces. As Russia declared that pro-Syrian government has reportedly taken control of Aleppo after four years of fierce battle against rebel forces, evacuation of innocent victims of war is underway, but it is a difficult process as reports claimed that military is gunning down people on street, including women and children. Advertisement For more than a year, pro-government with support from Russia and Iran put a siege on Aleppo trapping the rebel forces with civilians cutting off their supplies on food. Even humanitarian support was cut off. What the pro-Assad forces is doing is against International Law, but they did it since it is an effective strategy to thwart the rebels. The United States can easily break the siege for humanitarian, but it may put a strain on the international relationship of the country with Syria, Iran, and Russia. This may trigger a new world war between two nuclear powers - US and Russia. People move among the empty buildings for they will be found by either forces and will become another casualty of the ongoing bloody civil war. With the recent victory, a deal to evacuate the people has been reached, but the United Nations claimed that civilians were being gunned down by pro-government forces for any record of insurgency. However, some people fear that mistaken identity will be at play and they will be executed right then. People cry for help via social media saying that they may die today. Bana Alabed's Twitter account has become the front and center of trending tweets. The account claims that she is seven years old. The description in the account stated that the account is managed by Bana's mom, Fatemah, and most of the tweets were penned by her. The mother and daughter shared their day-to-day situation amidst the war in Aleppo. They sometimes share photos and updates on the bombings at their doorstep. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Canada's finance minister is calling provincial demands for bigger federal health transfers "out of the realm" of anything Ottawa would consider as the federation appears headed for a showdown next week over the future of health funding. Finance Minister Bill Morneau stands during question period in the House of Commons, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa in a November 23, 2016, file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick 'Running Man' is a long-running SBS variety program in South Korea. (Photo : YouTube/SBS Running Man) "Running Man" showrunners are currently facing several controversies following the shocking exit of Song Ji Hyo and Kim Jong Kook. With various reports hinting of the variety program's impending cancellation, SBS called for an emergency meeting with the show's cast members. News of Song and Kim's impending departure from "Running Man" shocked many fans given the way that SBS handled the two South Korean celebrities' exit. Several reports claimed that the two cast members were blindsided with SBS' decision to let them go. Advertisement Kim only received notice of his impending exit through a phone conversation while Song learned of her departure from "Running Man" through news headlines. Given the way that the two stars were advised of their removal from the variety series, many fans became angry on the insensitive way that SBS handled the situation. Song and Kim's fellow cast members Yoo Jae Suk, Ji Suk Jin, Haha and Lee Kwang Soo have remained silent about the issue. However, the controversial exit of their fellow cast members was said to have shocked and disappointed the four South Korean celebrities. With the various rumors surrounding "Running Man," SBS set up an emergency meeting with the show's cast members on Dec. 16, Friday. An SBS representative told Korean news outlet Asiae that the show's cast, including outgoing members Song and Kim, and the "Running Man" producing director have entered discussions to identify the best way to address the many controversies. However, the show's future direction and new format have yet to be finalized. Rumors about the variety program's potential cancellation are also untrue, according to the SBS representative. In other news, "Running Man" showrunners recently apologized to Song and Kim for failing to manage the communication and exit plan for the two South Korean stars. In a statement, as obtained by All Kpop, producers expressed their remorse over the situation and conveyed their apologies to the two cast members, including the show's avid viewers. Meanwhile, former cast member Gary showed his support for Song and Kim through a touching Instagram message. Uploading a photo of himself with the two stars, he praised both celebrities for their hard work as "Running Man" members for over six years. Running Man debuted on July 2010. Watch a clip of some of the funny moments from the SBS variety program below: Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 vs Mi Pad 2 (Photo : Twitter / XiaomiSS) Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 leaked photos and specifications indicate that it will be unveiled on Dec. 30. It will be coming out to replace Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. Here is a comparison of the rumored specifications, features and pricing of Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 with that of Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 vs Mi Pad 2: Design and Display The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 measures 5.22 mm in thickness and weighs 322 grams. It is packed with a 7.9-inch display that offers a resolution of 1,536 x 2,048 pixels. Advertisement On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is expected to come with a larger display of 9.7 inches. Since it is a larger device, its thickness is rumored to have increased to 6.1 mm. It is expected to weigh 380 grams. The display is expected to support a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels. Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 vs Mi Pad 2: Chipset, RAM and Storage The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 has intel Atom X5-Z8500 chipset along with Intel HD graphics under its hood. The processor is supported by 2 GB of RAM. It comes in two storage versions of 16 GB and 64 GB. Intel's 7th generation Core M3-7Y30 processor coupled with Intel HD graphics 615 is expected to power the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 along with 8 GB of RAM. It is expected to arrive higher internal storage variants of 128 GB and 256 GB. Like Mi Pad 2, the Mi Pad 3 is unlikely to feature a microSD storage support. Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 vs Mi Pad 2: Camera, Software, and Other Features The Mi Pad 2 has an 8-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. It was launched with Android 5.1 Lollipop flavored MIUI 7 OS. It does not feature a fingerprint scanner. Xiaomi had released Mi Pad 2 in two versions. The 16 GB and 64 GB models run on Android 5.1 MIUI 7 and there is another 64 GB model that only runs on Windows 10. The Mi Pad 3 is expected to feature an upgraded 16-megapixel camera with dual tone LED flash on its rear side. The front camera is also upgraded to 8-megapixel. It expected to house a fingerprint reader. Like its predecessor, the Mi Pad 3 is also going to include a USB Type-C port. It is pegged to run on Windows 10, GSM Arena reported. However, there is no confirmation on whether an Android variant will be also made available. The Mi Pad 3 will also come with an optional accessory - a keyboard dock that can be attached to the tablet. The specs of Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 along with Windows 10 suggest that it is built for serious work. Hence, the company may not launch an Android version. Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 vs Mi Pad 2: Battery and Price A 6,190 mAh battery enabled with fast charging feature powers the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. On the other side, the Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is pegged to include a mammoth 8,290 mAh battery, Gizmo China reported. The 16 GB and 64 GB Mi Pad 2 running on Android were priced at Yuan 999 ($144) and Yuan 1,299 ($187) at launch. The Windows 10 Mi Pad 2 was also priced at Yuan 1,299 ($187) at launch. The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 was unveiled in November 2015. The 128 GB Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 is expected to cost Yuan 1,999 ($288) whereas its 256 GB variant is speculated to cost Yuan 2,299 ($330). The additional keyboard accessory is rumored to be priced at Yuan 99 ($14). The Xiaomi Mi Pad 3 launch date is speculated as Dec. 30. Here is the review of XIaomi Mi Pad 2; 116 Shares Share Her voice cracked with strain. I could imagine the woman at the other end of the line shaking, overcome with remorse about the hospital where her husband had had esophageal surgery. Might he still be alive, she asked me, if they had chosen a different hospital? The couple had initially planned to have the procedure done at a well-known medical center, but when she went online to do her homework, she discovered that the hospitals patient safety scores were poor. Another hospital in her community had stronger patient safety ratings, so they decided to have the procedure there. It made sense. Why wouldnt they go to a safer hospital? What she didnt know was that multiple studies over several decades have shown outcomes are better when procedures are handled by surgeons and hospitals with higher volumes, and while the well-known hospital had performed the procedure her husband needed many times during the previous year, the hospital they chose had done one. That information was neither publicly available nor discussed with the couple. The patients wife also hadnt realized that the accuracy of some patient safety ratings can be poor, in large part because they use data from Medicare billing rather than clinical documentation. These are not distinctions average consumers can be expected to know. Initially, the surgery seemed to go well. But two days later, the man developed a rapid heart rate, shortness of breath and dangerously low blood pressure. A breathing tube had to be inserted. The cause was a leak where the surgeon had sutured the esophagus. After a long stay, the patient was transferred to a different hospital, where he later died. The widow called me because her husbands tragedy was similar to one I wrote about in 2012 in which a woman died in my ICU after an unsuccessful esophageal resection at a nearby hospital that had done exactly one such procedure during the previous year. Why, the widow wanted to know, is information on patient volumes still not broadly available? A stunningly large number of high-risk surgeries are performed by hospitals that individually do hardly any. In a study of cancer procedures in California, 63 percent of hospitals performing esophageal surgery and 48 percent of those performing bladder surgery did just one or two a year. And a high-volume hospital within 50 miles was available for about 70 percent of these cases. In 2015, U.S. News reporter Steve Sternberg examined the volume-outcome connection in several common procedures. Among his findings: At hospitals with ultra-low volumes, knee-replacement patients had twice the national average risk of death. For hip replacement patients, the risk was 77 percent higher. What should we do? Last year, prompted by Sternbergs reporting, three health systems Johns Hopkins Health System, University of Michigan Health System and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center made the Volume Pledge. We all agreed to require our surgeons and hospitals to meet modest minimums for each of 10 procedures for example, 40 lung resections per hospital and 50 knee replacements per hospital in the past year. The announcement produced strong reactions and healthy dialogue within the health care community. Critics pointed out that the pledge might work for large health systems or academic medical centers, but not in a rural area where patients may be hundreds of miles from a high-volume hospital. And some surgeons argued that volume is a poor surrogate for outcomes we should report mortality instead. This may sound great in theory, but its not practical scientifically. It would take decades to collect enough cases for a precise mortality estimate at a hospital that does one or two cases of a given procedure a year. The debate over the Volume Pledge will continue to simmer. Yet in encouraging health systems to adopt it, we may have created a distraction from the fundamental and patient-centered issue that is more important: When patients are considering a surgeon and a hospital for a procedure, they are entitled to know how many the surgeon and hospital have performed. Armed with this data, and in dialogue with their surgeon, family, and others, they can make informed decisions. Hospitals could make their volumes transparent. At Johns Hopkins, we have been working to make hospital-level volume data public. We are starting by posting volumes for the ten surgeries on our Volume Pledge list on a web page where we share a variety of patient safety and quality performance measures. We hope to post by early December for Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Center in Baltimore and to add our three community hospitals Howard County General Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital and Suburban Hospital at a later date. We will also add more procedures over time. If patients are to have ready access to this information for all hospitals, this effort also must be led by those who issue ratings, rankings, and scorecards for health care quality. No doubt there are challenges in making this data transparent on a broad scale. The field would need to agree on a taxonomy of surgeries so hospitals volumes can be compared apples to apples. For example, lung surgery might include different operations. Which ones require similar technical skills, and which can we group together? Professional societies could help play a role in making these decisions. Some may argue that patients may misinterpret the numbers, or not know how to evaluate them. How do you weigh the risk of going to a hospital that has performed 20 esophageal surgeries (which puts them in the lowest 25 percent of all hospitals) the previous year versus another that has done 40? But lets not overcomplicate things. The benefit to patients is not in selecting the hospital that has done 20 cases of a procedure versus another thats done 19. It is in avoiding, if possible, hospitals that rarely do it at all. If hospitals arent ready to impose a Volume Pledge, there is no good excuse for all of us not to take a Volume Transparency Pledge. Patients deserve to know the numbers. Peter Pronovost is an anesthesiologist and director, Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. He blogs at Voices for Safer Care. This article originally appeared in U.S. News & World Report. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 54 Shares Share The Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare, has come under sharp criticism. Now, with the nomination of Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) for secretary of health and human services, there are concerns about whether it will be repealed or changed. Price, a physician, has been a long-time critic of the law and has devised proposals of his own to replace it. While Price may have alternative proposals that may be easier to pass in Congress, it is important to understand that the challenges associated with health care reforms are more than just a political battle. The ACA has been blamed for rising deductibles for people who do not receive subsidies and narrow networks. Critics want to blame the law for every flaw in our health care system. This is an inaccurate way to view the law, which has provided coverage for nearly 20 million people. Most recently, critics of the law have cited an increase in visits to emergency rooms over the last three years as an example of a failure of the law. Insuring people and providing them care in a doctors office was supposed to cut down on visits, and therefore costs, or so the thinking went. Critics cite the increase as proof that the law has failed. We are not political scientists and have no comments on the policy changes that are almost certain in the near future. However, as researchers studying health care delivery and emergency department (ED) care, we think it is important to draw attention to some of the findings that may need a holistic approach to solving health care issues. As our nation grapples with how best to provide health care, it is also important to keep in mind that our health care system has problems beyond Obamacare. A shortage of primary care doctors and nurses is just one of the serious issues that need attention. Based on our experiences, we also believe it is important for policymakers to know the facts and not rely on emotions and preconceived notions about ACA, and we will explain why. The supply-and-demand side of health care systems The Washington Post recently reported the surge in ED volumes across several states. The article also noted that the supporters of the ACA are disappointed that the spike, which was first reported two years ago, is not temporary. While the spike may be real, there could be other factors driving the increases in ED volumes for an extended period (we refer to this as the demand side of the health care equation). Our concern is that conclusions derived from just looking at the increased usage of ED may not be thorough unless we understand the supply and quality side of the health care equation. Our overall message is simple: Policy changes on the ACA based on volume spikes (demand side) may not solve the root cause of the health care access problem in the United States. The solution to health care problems, on the contrary, involves high-quality access through other forms of health delivery systems and improving the supply side of health care. We will better explain the results from recent studies that found increased ED visits after ACA. Basic science: Correlation is not causation For instance, Dresden and colleagues study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine find that the average monthly ED visit in state of Illinois increased by 5.7 percent after ACA implementation. The same study finds that the total number of uninsured visits decreased, but this number is relatively small compared to the increases in ED use by Medicaid and private insured beneficiaries. Another study, based on Oregons Medicaid expansion program, found that ED visits increased by 40 percent in the first 15 months of the program. While the surges in volumes are well-documented, increases in ED volumes are not a measure of ED operations quality or the efficiency of health care delivered. In fact, the most common operations and quality metrics to measure ED efficiencies used by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) across hospitals are: Median time from ED arrival to ED discharge Admit decision times to ED departure times ED-patient left without being seen Patient satisfaction Door to diagnostic evaluation time ED mortality rates As the above two studies conclude, it is quite possible that with the advent of the ACA, patients who did not have medical coverage in the past may have visited the ED due to the lack of access to primary care. As a result, one plausible theory is that though the ED volumes may have increased post-ACA, the severity of patients illness visiting ED may have decreased. As a result, some of these metrics may have improved post-ACA. A second study suggested this, in showing that the number of hospitalizations did not change, despite increases in ED volumes. On the other hand, it is also quite possible that the patients who never sought medical care pre-ACA are seeking care through EDs, which could adversely impact the above metrics. It is also equally possible that the newly insured ACA patients may see ED as a step-up in quality from urgent care clinics and hence are crowding the system. A deeper issue: Shortage of primary care doctors Finally, it is also important to account for any changes to the delivery of care in the ED itself that are not currently considered in these publications. For instance, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests a 76 percent increase in free-standing emergency departments (FSEDs) between 2008-2015 that did not exist earlier. So, an increase in patient ED visits could also be due to the increase in access of new EDs that did not exist in the past. Essentially, merely looking at demand side (just the ED volumes) and concluding that the ACA has increased health care costs may not be valid. It is important to get into these micro details before evaluating the benefits. Evaluating the benefits from ACA requires us to also look at the supply side (i.e., resources available for patients) as well as the quality of the care provided. One of the founding principles of ACA is that this surge in demand is handled through preventive care access in the form of family medicine or primary care appointments, and other wellness appointments. For years, a similar shortage of nurses has been reported, according to a study by Buerhaus and colleagues from Vanderbilt University.When looking at the supply side of the health care delivery equation, we find that there is minimal change to this part of the equation, which may be the root cause of the problem. A study by the Association of American Medical Colleges finds severe physician shortages in the near future. The report suggests that demand for physicians continues to grow faster than supply, leading to a projected shortfall between 46,100 and 90,400 physicians by 2025. As the new administration decides what to do to tweak or repeal the ACA, it needs to keep in mind that a growing insured population without adequate health care delivery options will exacerbate ED crowding. It also will reduce ED efficiency, quality of care and the overall quality of life of the patient. We believe that fixing the supply side of the delivery equation by creating more opportunities to provide care would be a meaningful approach to fixing this health care crisis instead of denying insurance. Clearly ED volumes (demand side) continue to rise despite or because of the ACA so that EDs remain an important safety net. The challenge is improving the supply side regarding unscheduled or unplanned care in a way that improves both access and quality. Aravind Chandrasekaran is an associate professor, operations and healthcare and Daniel Martin is a professor of emergency medicine and internal medicine, both at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Sony Android 7.0 Nougat update: Xperia X, XZ, X Performance, X Compact gets Android N; When is it coming to Xperia XA, XA Ultra, Z5, Z4 Tablet, Z3+ ? Andorid 7.0 Nougat (Photo : YouTube / Android) Sony has started the roll out of Android 7.0 Nougat for its smartphones. As the Japanese company, had confirmed in August, the update is now gradually rolling out to Xperia series smartphones. Sony Xperia X, X Compact Android 7.0 Nougat Update Sony has now started Android 7.0 Nougat update roll out for Sony Xperia X (F5121), Xperia X Dual (F5122) and Xperia X Compact (F5321) smartphones. The update carries the build number 34.2.A.0.266. The list of countries that will receive the update include Australia, Latin America, Middle East, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, and Vietnam, Xperia Blog reported. Advertisement Sony Xperia XZ Android 7.0 Nougat Update The most recent Sony flagship, the Xperia XZ started receiving Android 7.0 Nougat update at the start of this month. According to XDA Developers update that weighs 1 GB is seeding to initial set of countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Russia and Turkey. Apart from Nougat update, it has also brought enhancements to the camera app and Stamina mode. Sony Xperia X Performance Android 7.0 Nougat Update Sony had started the Xperia Beta Program exclusively for Xperia X Performance in August to try the pre-release beta edition of Android 7.0 Nougat. The first Nougat beta build for Xperia X Performance with model number F8131 was made available at the beginning of November. At the end of November, the update with build number 39.2.A.0.327 was made available to Sony Xperia X Performance (F8131) and Xperia X Performance Dual (F8132). By this, it became the first Sony smartphone to get Nougat update. Sony Xperia XA, XA Ultra Android 7.0 Nougat Update The two smartphones are the only remaining Xperia X smartphones that are yet to get Android N upgrade. Speculations are rife that these phones will be updated to Android N in Q1 2017. Android 7.0 Nougat Update for older flagship smartphones from Sony The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia Z5 and their dual SIM variants, Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z4 Tablet and Xperia Z3+ smartphones are expected to receive Nougat in the first or second quarter of 2017. Android 7.0 Nougat update is unlikely to come to older flagship smartphones that are powered by Snapdragon 800 or 801 chipsets. The reason behind it is that Qualcomm will not be releasing graphics drivers for smartphones running on SD 800 and 801 chipsets. Hence, Sony smartphones Xperia Z3, Z3v, Z3 Compact, Z2, Z1, Z1 Compact, Z Ultra that feature SD 801 and 800 chipsets will not be upgraded to Android 7.0 Nougat. Here are the best features of Android 7.0 Nougat: A man in jail who had been facing five felony counts for Aggravated Sexual Assault on a Child has died. Federico Reyes, 39, committed suicide at the Webb County Jail on Thursday night. The Sheriff's Department say he found a time in between cell checks. Reyes was found at 7:54 pm, and had been held at the Webb County Jail since November 15. Reyes was being housed separate from the other inmates in a segregated cell. The Sheriff's Department says they check cells every 30 minutes to look in on the inmates. Acting between those checks, they report Reyes used his uniform to hang himself. According to authorities, there had not been any prior indication of his intentions. "He never reported to us that he wanted to commit suicide," says Chief Federico Garza. "We don't have any indication in the medical forms that he filled out, and the interview that he had or that he told our officers that he wanted to commit suicide." Reyes was found by officers who initiated CPR until EMS units arrived. He was pronounced dead at the hospital an hour later, at 8:42 pm. The investigation continues, despite Reyes' death. The Police Department says they will continue working to identify victims in what they have called one of the worst cases they have seen. According to the Sheriff's Department, this is the only case of an inmate committing suicide while in jail this year. The microscopic fluorescence image reveals structures printed onto the biode-gradable coating for test purposes. (Photo: KIT) Medical implants often carry surface substrates that release active substances or to which biomolecules or cells can adhere better. However, degradable gas-phase coatings for degradable implants, such as surgical suture materials or scaffolds for tissue culturing, have been lacking so far. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology now present a polymer coating that is degraded in the body together with its carrier. (DOI:10.1002/ange.201609307) Our new degradable polymer films might be applied for functionalization and coating of surfaces in biosciences, medicine, or food packaging, says Professor Joerg Lahann, Co-Director of the Institute of Functional Interfaces of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Together with an international team, he produced polymer films with functional groups as anchor sites for fluorescent dyes or biomolecules. For the first time, the researchers present a CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method to produce biodegradable polymers. Via special side groups, biomolecules or active substances can be attached. This opens up new potentials for e.g. coating biodegradable implants. Polymerization by chemical vapor deposition is a simple and widely used method to modify surfaces, by means of which also complex and irregular carrier substrates can be coated homogeneously with polymers. In CVD polymerization, the initial compounds are evaporated, activated at high temperature, and deposited onto surfaces, where they polymerize. However, so far it has been possible to coat permanent implants only. Coating has been impossible for materials that are to be degraded after fulfilling their tasks, such as surgical suture materials, systems for the controlled release of substances, stents releasing medical substances or scaffolds for culturing tissue. Biodegradable coatings could not be produced by CVD. Now, this gap is closed, as scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, USA), and Northwestern Polytechnical University (Xian, China) for the first time synthesized a CVD polymer with a degradable backbone. The team applied co-polymerization of two special monomer types: The para-cyclophanes usually used for this method were combined with cyclic ketene acetals. While classical polymers on the basis of para-cyclophanes are linked by carbon-carbon bonds exclusively, ketene acetal is repositioned during polymerization, such that ester bonds (e.g. bonds between carbon and oxygen atoms) are formed in the polymer backbone. Ester bonds can be cleaved in aqueous medium. The degradation rate depends on the ratio of both monomer types and on the side groups of the monomers, Lahann explains. Polar side groups make the polymer film less water-repellent and accelerate degradation, as water can enter more easily. In this way, the degradation rate can be adapted to application. Using cell cultures, the researchers already demonstrated that neither the polymer nor its degradation products are toxic. Xie, F., Deng, X., Kratzer, D., Cheng, K. C. K., Friedmann, C., Qi, S., Solorio, L. and Lahann, J. (2016), Backbone-Degradable Polymers Prepared by Chemical Vapor Deposition. Angew. Chem. DOI:10.1002/ange.201609307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ange.201609307 Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. Leibniz Prize winner Britta Nestler. (Photo: S. Gottisheim/KIT) Professor Britta Nestler of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is granted the 2017 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize by the German Research Foundation (DFG). With this highest endowed German science prize in the amount of EUR 2.5 million, DFG honors the mathematician and physicist for her research into computer-aided materials modeling. Professor Britta Nestler most successfully conducts interdisciplinary computer-aided materials research and is among the top scientists in her discipline, says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. In 2001, she was Germanys youngest professor and since then has been granted a number of prizes, including the State Research Award of Baden-Wurttemberg in 2007. She very much deserves the Leibniz Prize and we are proud of Britta Nestler. The career of Britta Nestler is a success story, says Professor Oliver Kraft, KIT Vice President for Research. She is an excellent and highly committed scientist, who has largely influenced her discipline in Germany. I am very pleased that she now receives the most important research prize in Germany. This once again reflects our scientists strength in research. Congratulations to Britta Nestler. How does the microstructure of a material develop during production, i.e. during casting or rolling of sheet metal? Which influence does heat or mechanical loading have on the service life of e.g. power plant boilers or solar facilities? To answer these questions, Britta Nestler studies the microstructures of materials by means of computer-aided simulations. She combines expertise in materials science and software technology and develops realistic three-dimensional models of materials based on multiscaled and multiphysical approaches. Theoretical findings obtained from microstructure modeling on supercomputers are incorporated in close-to-practice research projects together with industry, among others to improve brake disks, corrosion prognoses, and medical diagnostics. Her studies, among others, focus on the structure of crystals, fabrication processes, porous media, crack propagation, or phase transition between the liquid and solid when alloys solidify. As a materials researcher, she cooperates with geologists to analyze e.g. the formation of grain structures in rock and helps better understand the processes of geological history and use of geothermal energy. In cooperation with energy researchers, she develops foam structures within integrated phase change materials for use in latent heat storage systems. Britte Nestler About the Person Since 2010, Britta Nestler has been conducting research and teaching at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where she is member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Applied Materials. In addition, she was appointed Director of the Computational Materials Science and Engineering Department of the Institute of Materials and Processes of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HsKA) in 2008. In the same year, she established the Steinbeis Transfer Center Materials Simulation and Process Optimization that is also headed by her. Since 2001, Nestler has been professor of HsKA. Before, she spent several research periods abroad and also worked in industry. Britta Nestler has four children. In 2000, Britta Nestler was conferred her doctorate by RWTH Aachen University, where she previously received her diplomas in physics and mathematics. As a third subject, she studied pedagogics. Among the prizes she received so far is the State Award for Applied Research (2007) of the Baden-Wurttemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts. Together with the Department of Informatics of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, she received the State Teaching Award (2009). In addition, Nestler was granted the Research Prize of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences in 2014, the Materials Science and Technology Prize of the Federal of European Materials Societies (FEMS) in 2004, and the Richard von Mises Prize of the Society for Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (GAMM) in 2002. Since 2010, Nestler has succeeded in acquiring funding for research and education in the amount of more than EUR 5.5 million. Apart from Britta Nestler, seven scientists of KIT have been granted the Leibniz Prize by DFG so far. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize Since 1986, the Leibniz Prize has been awarded annually by DFG. It was established to honor outstanding scientists for research in all areas of science. The prize money in the amount of about EUR 2.5 million can be spent by the winners according to their own ideas and without bureaucratic expenditure for their scientific work within a period of up to seven years. This year, the Leibniz Prize goes to ten scientists. So far, 348 researchers have won the Prize that is considered one of the most important science awards worldwide. Seven Leibniz Prize winners were awarded the Nobel Prize afterwards. The Leibniz Prizes will be handed over on March 15, 2017 in Berlin. Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Finance auctioned 12 billion yuan ($1.73 billion) of three-month bills and 10 billion yuan of six-month bills in the interbank market on Friday at average yields of 2.8991 percent and 2.9565 percent respectively, traders said. The yield on the auction's three-month bills came in above Thursday's benchmark secondary market yield of 2.6742 percent. . The yield on six-month bills at the auction was also above the previous day's benchmark secondary market yield of 2.7160 percent for six-month government bills . For stories on Chinese debt issues, click on . ($1 = 6.9460 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Singapore Nov exports unexpectedly jump as shipments to China, EU surge SINGAPORE, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Singapore's exports unexpectedly jumped in November from a year earlier, helped by an rise in shipments to the European Union and China, official data showed on Friday. Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) last month rose 11.5 percent from a year earlier, the trade agency International Singapore (IE Singapore) said in a statement. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for a contraction of 3.0 percent. On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports soared 13.1 percent in November, IE Singapore said, well ahead of the median forecast of 0.5 percent growth. (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. kitco news HANOI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0245 GMT. Dec 16 Dec 15 USD/VND mid-point 22,144 22,135 USD/VND interbank 22,740/22,750 22,700/22,780 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 35.45/36.07 35.80/36.42 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank quotes are indicative bid/ask prices. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co, the gold manufacturer. Interbank offered rates are indicative, quoted from market sources. For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom) HANOI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0414 GMT. Dec 16 Dec 15 USD/VND mid-point 22,144 22,135 USD/VND interbank 22,753/22,758 22,700/22,780 USD/VND unofficial 23,260/23,300 23,270/23,320 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 35.42/36.04 35.80/36.42 Interbank offered rates Overnight 4.7-5.4 4.7-5.4 1 week 4.8-5.4 4.8-5.4 1 month 5.0-5.4 5.0-5.4 3 months 5.0-5.3 5.0-5.3 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co. For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on . For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier) Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) says it expects the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia to produce 130,000 to 160,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold in concentrates during 2017, which would be down from the current year. Open-pit operations are expected to mine in Phase 6, as well as continued stripping of Phase 4. In addition, stockpiled ore will be processed. The lower guidance than 2016 is primarily due to approximately one-quarter less copper head grade and approximately one-half less gold head grade, the company says. In the companys third-quarter earnings report, officials said Turquoise Hill expects to achieve the higher end of its 2016 annual guidance of 175,000 to 195,000 tonnes of copper and 255,000 to 285,000 ounces of gold. Meanwhile, operating cash costs for 2017 are expected to be approximately $720 million, a reduction from 2016, reflecting cost improvements and less logistics costs due to decreased production, the company says. Cash capital expenditures for 2017 are expected to be approximately $100 million for open-pit operations and $825 million to $925 million for underground development. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Todd White Appointed Chief Operating Officer Of Goldcorp. Goldcorp. Inc. (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) announces that Todd White has been named chief operating officer and executive vice president, succeeding George Burns, who will be leaving the company to become president and chief executive officer at Eldorado Gold Corp. White is currently senior vice president, technical services and business excellence, and will assume his new role on Jan. 1. White has over two decades of experience in the mining sector. Prior to joining Goldcorp in 2014, he was senior vice president for South America at Newmont Mining Corp. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Argonaut Gold Denied Environmental Permit For San Antonio Project Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX: AR) reports that the Mexican Environmental Authority has denied an environmental impact assessment for the San Antonio project in Baja California Sur, Mexico. SEMARNAT wants additional information regarding potential identification, description and impacts to the environment; more details on construction, operation and closure plans for the project; and more information about the impact on the local aquifer, Argonaut reports. The company says this information is readily available and it has the ability to respond swiftly. Meanwhile, Argonaut is evaluating potential alternatives. "We will review the factors that led to this decision and determine a path to move this project forward, says Pete Dougherty, president and chief executive officer. San Antonio is a project that can have significant benefits to the local and regional economy and also provide important positive impacts to the environment.We continue to believe that San Antonio remains one of the best undeveloped projects in the sector and we will continue to seek ways to unlock the benefits and value of this project for the local communities and for our shareholders." By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Agnico Eagle Reports Fatal Accident At Kittila Mine Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM, TSX: AEM) reports that an employee of a local contractor was killed in an underground accident at the Kittila mine in northern Finland on Thursday. An investigation is under way initiated and Agnico says it is working with the local authorities to determine the exact cause of the incident. On behalf of Agnico Eagle, we want to extend our sincere condolences and sympathy to the family and friends of our colleague, says Ingmar Haga, vice president of Agnico Eagle Finland Oy. The Kittila mine is a 4,000 tonne-per-day operation that produced approximately 180,000 ounces of gold in 2015. The mine employs approximately 900 people. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Thomas Laws Appointed CEO Of Santa Fe Gold Corp. Thomas Laws has been named president and chief executive officer of Santa Fe Gold Corp. (OTCBB: SFEG) a U.S.-based mining and exploration company with an emphasis on gold, silver, copper and other metals and owner of multiple claims. By selecting only the very highest-grade, quality and prospective deposits, we are laying the groundwork for a sustainable mining operation well into the future, and that is our mission, Laws says. He is a metallurgist and mining analyst with over 40 years of experience in the mining industry. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Germany's Allianz is in talks with Assicurazioni Generali as it weighs a bid for the company's French operations, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Executives at Allianz, Europe's largest insurer, are uncertain that a combination with the French insurance business would be approved by regulators, and the companies may not reach a deal, one of the people told Bloomberg. France accounts for about 15 percent of Generali's gross written premiums, its third-largest market after Italy and Germany. Generali and Allianz declined to comment on the report. Shares in Generali jumped nearly 6 percent to 14.91 euros in early trade, to their highest level since January. Allianz's stock was down 0.5 percent at 155.95 euros at 0917 GMT. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan; additional reporting by Kathrin Jones in Frankfurt and Gianluca Semeraro in Milan; editing by Jason Neely) (Kitco News) - Eldorado Gold Corp. (TSX: ELD; NYSE: EGO) will have a new president and chief executive officer after its annual general meeting in April, with Paul Wright retiring and George Burns moving over from Goldcorp to succeed him, Eldorado announced Friday. Paul Wright George Burns Eldorado has mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Brazil. In its third-quarter earnings report, Eldorado listed 2015 gold-production guidance of 495,000 ounces. Burns is currently executive vice president and chief operating officer of Goldcorp Inc. He will also join Eldorado's board of directors. Wright will remain on the board, becoming chairman, the company said. Robert Gilmore will move from chairman to vice chairman and independent lead director. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Eldorado over 17 years, a period of intense activity through which we succeeded in creating a truly leading international gold company, Wright said. The quality of our global team and their relentless commitment to success have been integral to our growth, and I am proud to have been part of this team. Wright joined Eldorado in 1996 as vice president for mining, before being appointed president and CEO in October 1999. Burns was appointed his current COO position at Goldcorp in August 2012. He has over 30 years of experience in the mineral sector, including executive, operations, development and engineering leadership roles in gold, copper and coal operations. By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com Follow @KitcoNewsNOW OSLO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The average price of Norwegian farmed salmon could hit a new record next week in a volatile trade ahead of the Christmas holidays, industry sources told Reuters on Friday. This week, average prices rose to 74-75 Norwegian crowns amid strong demand and lack of supply. "Some people talk about 100 crowns ($11.5) per kilo. That's too much. We assume 75 crowns per kilo for the smallest fish of 2-3 kilo next week and up to 85 crowns for the biggest fish above 6 kilo," said a producer who declined to be named. An exporter, also he unnamed, indicated a price of above 80 crowns for fish of 3-6 kilo next week, which are the main sizes, and 90 crowns or more for bigger ones. "Because of the high prices, it's actually very quiet. I fear that there will be a backlash," the exporter said. Prices have been volatile this year and hit a record in July above 80 crowns per kilo. Prices then proceeded to fall to just above 50 crowns before turning higher. Production costs in Norway have risen sharply in recent years to around 30-31 crowns per kilo on average. Norway is the world's top salmon exporter, with leading producers including Marine Harvest, Salmar , Leroy Seafood , Grieg Seafood and Norway Royal Salmon . Companies and analysts have predicted that the global supply of salmon will fall by 6-7 percent in 2016 due to declining production in Norway as well as in Chile, the world's second largest producer. ($1 = 8.6779 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord, editing by Jussi Rosendahl) Ugandan shilling steady due to slowing dollar demand KAMPALA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was little-changed on Friday due to slowing dollar demand from sectors like manufacturing, traders said. At 0924 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,585/3,595, compared with Thursday's close of 3,590/3,600. UGX Spot Rate..... Ugandan Shilling Money Guide.... Calculated Cross Rates.......... Deposits..................... Deposits & Forwards............. Uganda Equities Guide....... Uganda All Share Index........ Shilling background ..... Ugandan Debt Guide............ All Uganda Bonds............. Uganda T-Bills.............. Uganda Benchmark............. Central Bank ................ Ugandan Contributor Index.... Uganda Coffee Prices....... (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. kitco news * Japan's FY16/17 steel output seen at 105.5 mln T vs 104.23 mln in FY15/16 * FY17/18 steel output expected to rise from 105.5 mln T * Solid auto and construction demand to bolster 17/18 steel output (Adds details and quotes) By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japan's crude steel output in the financial year that starts next April is likely to rise from around 105.5 million tonnes in the current year, helped by solid demand in automobile and construction segments, an industry body said on Friday. The projection comes as a bright spot to Japan, where there have been signs of a fragile economic recovery, though the outlook for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's drive to reinstate the economy remains cloudy. Earlier this week, a closely watched central bank survey showed big Japanese manufacturers' sentiment improved for the first time in six quarters to hit a one-year high, as falls in the yen and a pick-up in overseas growth brightened Japan's economic prospects. "Steel output is expected to grow next financial year as domestic demand will pick up on the back of increased output by automakers and other manufacturers," Kosei Shindo, the chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, told a news conference. "Higher construction demand to be driven by the government's supplementary budget, along with the Tokyo Olympics-related projects, will also lent support," he said, without giving specific growth rate projection for the crude steel production. Japan's parliament approved in October a $32 billion extra budget for this fiscal year that will help fund an economic stimulus package. Shindo, also president of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp , said Japan's biggest steelmaker expects coking coal prices to stay at high levels of around $285 per tonne for a while. Nippon Steel said earlier this week it has agreed with Glencore Plc and Teck Resources Ltd on a coking coal price for the January-March quarter of 2017 at $285 a tonne, up 43 percent from the previous quarter. "Spot coking coal prices have come down a bit after we had set a term contract price for the next quarter as expectations for even higher prices have receded," Shindo told a news conference. "But we need to be prepared to see coking coal prices staying at high levels for a while," he added. The price of steelmaking coal has nearly quadrupled over the past year as China cut production and reduced output at some mines. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Aaron Sheldrick and Tom Hogue) (Adds quote, details, background) LJUBLJANA, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Slovenia has reached a deal with public sector trade unions under which the public sector wage bill will increase by 3.8 percent in 2017, the Ministry of Public Administration told Reuters on Friday. It said the deal is due to be signed later on Friday. The finance ministry told Reuters the deal will not change the government's plan to narrow the budget deficit to 1.7 percent of economic output next year from 2.2 percent in 2016. "The main step forward was made in improving the condition of the worst-paid public servants," the ministry said in a statement. The will not endanger sustainability of the public finances, it said. The government expects the economy to expand by 2.9 percent in 2017 versus 2.3 percent this year. Export-oriented Slovenia, which narrowly avoided having to accept an international bailout for its banks in 2013, returned to growth in 2014. Favourable economic conditions have led public sector trade unions to demand higher wages. (Reporting By Marja Novak; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Stuff reports: The Problem Gambling Foundation will likely lose major government contracts again after the Court of Appeal ruled in the Ministry of Healths favour. The foundation was snubbed for several major government contracts for provision of problem gambling services in 2014. It was awarded just two minor contracts for specialised services. The foundation challenged the decision in the High Court and won judicial review in 2015. In the months since it has remained the primary provider of problem gambling services. The Ministry of Health took that decision to the Court of Appeal, who on Friday ruled in their favour. Associate Health Minster Peter Dunne welcomed the decision as a vindication of the governments tender process. Frankly, a lot of time and resources have been wasted through the judicial review process initiated by the Problem Gambling Foundation, which could have otherwise been far more effectively utilised, Dunne said in a statement. I said at the time that I thought that the Ministry had undertaken a robust, independent, peer reviewed process and the Court of Appeals decision affirms this, says Mr Dunne. Reviewed by Jung Sun-hee Cover of "Inca Woman" Choi Yearn-Hong's latest poetry book, "Inca Woman," became the first recipient of the Yoon Dong-ju Poetry Award last month at Dongkuk University . "Inca Woman is a collection of poems about Choi's travels to Peru, Brazil, Alaska, England, Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, Spain, Morocco and China, as well as to Jeju, Ullungdo and Hansando Islands . In the short prelude to this poetry book, Choi confessed that he has pursued travel after retiring from a long teaching career, and his travel experiences have been the inspiration for many of his poems. Visiting foreign countries and cities, meeting and seeing different people while listening to different languages made him live . While the language barrier prevented him from full comprehension, he experienced each native language akin to listening to a poetry reading. Here is his poem "Inca Woman" in his own English translation. "Inca Woman" Two long braids Hung on her back, and A little baby was pouched like a kangaroo Or embroidered sweaters were pouched On her back Virtuous eyes, sun-tanned dark skin: My cousin She was walking all day on the streets of Cusco in order to sell one or two sweaters made of Alpaca wool. She was slowly walking all day like a llama who used to carry the burden over the Andes mountain years ago. Choi believes in simplicity. However, I believe there is much more depth to his poems, if one used one's imagination . I have read each one of his poetry books "Chongupsa" ("Poetry of Chongup Woman"), "Hankook Haeng" ("Going to Korea"), "Young" ("Love Songs"), "Arumdaun Sumsori" ("Sound of Beautiful Breathing") and "Hayan Mokwha Ggori Sasum" ("White Cotton-tailed Deer") and some of his poetry books in English published in India and the United States. He has been consistent in presenting aesthetic values in his poetry and his love of his home country. His mother, someone who sacrificed her life for his and whom he still misses dearly, has been the key theme in his poetry. Even in "Inca Woman," I see a Peruvian mother who is sacrificing her life for her children, eking by trying to sell even just one Alpaca wool sweater all day. Choi is a warm person. His eyes see life with tenderness. I discovered one short poem of his about a fellow Korean poet, Jeong Ho-seung, who visited him in the Washington area last year for a special lecture and poetry reading about the globalization of Korean literature at the Korean Cultural Center. "Mr. Jeong Ho-seung- Seeing Him Off at the Dulles Airport" Mr. Jeong Ho-seung may not need the title of a poet. Mr. Jeong Ho-seung is a good human being without any title. My friends in town wanted to shake hands with him. My friends in town wanted to take a photo with him. My friends in town wanted to take a long trip with him. He was kind to them and to the woman who whispered to his ears, "I am so lonely* and therefore I need you!" I saw a saint from his back when he was heading to the airplane. I saw pre-dawn darkness before the sunrise from his back. He was walking to the airplane, as if he was walking into the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains. Mr. Jeong is a poet himself, who wrote, "Because you are lonely, you are a human being." "Inca Woman" is a book of 60 poems that makes his readers feel warm about the people and things around him, from "Copenhagen's Bicycle" to "A Girl Washing My Feet." In the former poem, he admired the eco-friendly lifestyle in Copenhagen, from the wind-powered energy, to the popularity of bicycles in Denmark's capital city. In the latter, he was sympathetic to the Chinese girl who washed his feet after his long walk on the Great Wall in Beijing. He was ashamed of using a teenage girl's labor, and he gave her a $10 tip. Sympathy, compassion and empathy are the key elements of this book, and that is why I love his poetry and recommend this book to all poetry lovers. Choi has made significant strides as a Korean-American poet in Washington, D.C. Upon invitation from U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, he has conducted readings at the U.S. Library of Congress in April 1994 and later on the centennial anniversary of Korean immigrants' first landing in Hawaii in 2003. Furthermore, he has published four poetry books in English in the United States. More than anything else, he is a long-time contributor to The Korea Times. Dr. Jung is an English literature lecturer at Ewha Woman's University. President Park Geun-hye, center, takes a photo with U.S. President Barack Obama and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. / Yonhap By Park Si-soo Koreans scratched their heads when President Park Geun-hye was missing from a ceremonial group photo of leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, which were released on Friday afternoon (local time). The presidential office explained why: the photo was taken when Park was in the toilet. French President Francois Hollande also was missing, for reasons unknown. Chung Wa Dae officials said Sunday the photo was scheduled to be taken during a 15-minute coffee break between the morning and afternoon session. But the time was curtailed because the morning session had ended later than expected. To begin the afternoon session as planned, the photo time was rescheduled till when the morning session ended. President Park Geun-hye, center, takes a photo with U.S. President Barack Obama and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte after the afternoon session of the the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on April 2. / Korea Times file By Park Si-soo Why was President Park Geun-hye so sensitive about a toilet's cleanness? With the impeached leader the only person to know the answer, there are allegations her "exorbitant" attachment to a bacteria-free toilet led to a diplomat blunder early this year. Park missed a ceremonial group photo of state leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April. Back then, the government said Park was in the toilet during the photo shoot, not knowing the event was rescheduled for the summit's smooth progress. But the explanation was missing details, according to Rep. Kim Kyung-jin of the minor opposition People's Party. The lawmaker said Park "deliberately" missed the photo event to use the toilet at her hotel room, instead of the public restroom next to the meeting venue. "Park walked away from the meeting room all of a sudden when the meeting was under way," the lawmaker said, based on information he secured from unidentified sources. "Later, it turned out that she left the venue to travel to her hotel to use the toilet at her room. She didn't want to use the public one." Leaders of South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party resigned en masse said on Friday amid a growing factional feud over the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The members of the Supreme Council, mostly pro-Park figures, earlier promised to step down next week but advanced the action after their like-minded four-term lawmaker was elected as its new floor leader earlier in the day. After their resignation the new whip, Rep. Chung Woo-taik, is expected to take over as interim leader. Park dissenters in Saenuri have demanded that Park loyalists, including Saenuri chief Lee Jung-hyun, must step down in response to the impeachment. (Yonhap) A man who forced his girlfriend to have a tattoo after suspecting she had an affair has been sentenced to three years' jail. / Courtesy of Twitter By Lee Han-soo A man in his 40s was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting his girlfriend and forcing her to have "From now on, I will only love this guy" tattooed on her buttocks after suspecting she had an affair. Seoul Central District Court sentenced the man to three years in prison and to 120 hours in an anti-sexual harassment program. "The nature of the crime committed by the offender is not light," the court said in a ruling statement. "The victim is not only in great physical but also emotional pain after receiving harsh sexual harassment." Other crimes the man committed included taking naked photos of the woman and threatening to release them on the Internet. The offender also received 31 million won ($26,175) in the process of blackmailing her. By Yi Whan-woo Cheong Wa Dae has denied an allegation that it conducted illegal surveillance on Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Seung-tae and other judges under the Park Geun-hye administration. "The suspicion is groundless," a Park aide told reporters on condition of anonymity, Friday. "The presidential office has never spied on anyone, and has no intention to do so." The allegation was raised by Cho Han-gyu, a former president of the Segye Ilbo, during a National Assembly hearing on the influence-peddling scandal surrounding Park and her confidant Choi Soon-sil, Thursday. However, opposition parties called for a thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible, saying the case, if true, is a serious violation of the Constitution. They called into the Park administration's commitment to the principle of separation of power. "This is a grave violation of the Constitution and Park deserves to be impeached multiple times if the suspicion turns out to be true," main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae said during the party's Supreme Council meeting. The allegation came as Park awaits the Constitutional Court's decision after the National Assembly approved an impeachment motion against her on Dec. 9. By Jung Min-ho Hwang Kyo-ahn Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is now in charge of state affairs following the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye last week, has been accused of abusing his authority in 2014 to influence the investigation into the sinking of the Sewol ferry. Hwang, who was serving as minister of justice at that time, impeded the prosecution's attempt to investigate Kim Kyung-il, the captain of the first Coast Guard boat sent to rescue passengers, to protect the government from being held accountable for the accident, the local daily Hankyoreh reported Friday. Sources from the prosecution told the newspaper that, due to the ministry's interference, it took them nearly two months to investigate maritime police despite their obvious errors. The rescue team's ineffectiveness at the critical time was one of the main factors blamed for the tragedy, which took 304 lives on April 16, 2014. "For many reasons, it was difficult to form an investigation team in the first place," a source said. "The ministry's cooperativeness for the investigation was highly questionable." Sources said the ministry pressured the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office, which led the investigation, to stop investigating the captain, who failed to broadcast an evacuation order through his boat's loudspeakers and made no effort to induce passengers to abandon ship. According to sources, the ministry was concerned that punishing him could direct the public anger at those higher up in the government. But the prosecution pushed ahead, and Kim was sentenced to three years in prison by the Supreme Court last year for professional negligence and making false reports. Many of the prosecutors who led the investigation, however, were later demoted to other posts regarded as less important. Byun Chan-woo, head of the prosecutor's office, and Lee Do-sik, another senior prosecutor there, left the prosecution. Opposition lawmakers immediately reacted to the fresh revelations, urging Park Young-soo, the special prosecutor appointed to investigate the Choi Soon-sil scandal, to look into them as well. "The special prosecutor should conduct a thorough investigation to find out whether Hwang influenced the Sewol probe," said Rep. Keum Tae-sup, spokesman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). In a press release on Friday, Hwang denied all allegations. The ministry echoed his denial. Referring to what sources described as "interferences," the ministry claimed they were just a normal part of work processes. It also insisted the personnel transfer was made according to the rules and their performances. Under the Park administration, Hwang served as justice minister from March 2013 to June 2015 before taking the prime minister position. He has been in charge of state affairs since President Park was impeached by the National Assembly on Nov. 9. Activists hold posters questioning the constitutionality of police conscription, during a recent anti-Park Geun-hye protest in Seoul. / Courtesy of Center for Military Human Rights Korea Use of policemen at protests illegal By Choi Ha-young Where there are rallies, there are always groups of police officers wearing yellow uniforms. Some are professional, while others are conscripts in their 20s, doing their mandatory military service. The auxiliary officers and the professional ones both deal with protesters. Police officially say the police conscripts are supposed to stay behind the professional ones at rallies. But they are inevitably mixed in the confusion. They mainly maintain order, but when demonstrations have turned violent, they have had clashes with protesters, involving pushing and beating. Lim Tae-hoon, head of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK), has pointed out the legal problems of the duty. "Police conscripts' duties must be limited to assistant jobs for public security," Lim said Wednesday. The law's ambiguity makes their mobilization at rallies possible out of their duty, Lim said. The law defines their duty as"assistant jobs" to police, but no details are stipulated. "According to the Constitution, laws and enforcement ordinances should specify duties as much as possible," he said. "Not making detailed rules is in violation of the Constitution." Because the drafted young men lack experience and training for dealing with protests, this can cause accidents, Lim said. In the recent anti-Park rallies, auxiliary policemen were mixed with professional ones to stop protesters approaching Cheong Wa Dae. When tensions between police and protesters escalated at the Nov. 5 rally in Seoul, a police conscript collapsed from a panic attack. "Then, nobody from the police side managed the emergency," said CMHRK activist Kim Hyung-nam, who witnessed the scene. "A citizen moved him into Gyeongbokgung Station for shelter." A former police conscript surnamed Oh, 22, said it was difficult to control his mind in front of aggressive protesters. "Despite the rules that auxiliary policemen stay in the back, I often had to stand in the front row," said Oh, who now volunteers for CMHRK after finishing his duty in September. "We were given no proper education about what we had to do, but were just ordered to stand there." In the recent anti-President rallies, the CMHRK staged campaigns to raise awareness of the problem of the police conscription system, distributing stickers reading "It is unconstitutional to mobilize conscripted policemen at rallies!" On Dec. 9, they handed out 5,000 stickers in an hour. The center has also filed petitions with the National Human Rights Commission about rights abuse of police conscripts, with nine incumbent officers joining on condition of hiding their identities. Lim suggests auxiliary officers work in patrol divisions, as stipulated in the law for the assistant job or the police. In the case of conscripted firefighters, they work at fire stations to support the professional ones, with their duties stipulated in detail by the related law. "Like most advanced countries, the police should concentrate on protecting key facilities and arresting wrongdoers in rallies, instead of restricting protesters," Lim said. "Then, there would be no need to mobilize conscripted young people to the rallies." He hopes to file a constitutional appeal on the issue, but that requires "incumbent" conscripted policemen as petitioners. And it may be difficult for incumbent officers to come forward because they would face disadvantages in their remaining mandatory service. "That's the reason for our campaign, to encourage someone to come forward," Lim said. Lawyer Lee Jung-hwan, left, a member of President Park Geun-hye's defense team, submits a written statement to the Constitutional Court, Friday. The team claimed the court should nullify the National Assembly's impeachment of Park because she did not commit any serious wrongdoings deserving of impeachment. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon By Yi Whan-woo President Park Geun-hye's defense team promised a tough legal battle to nullify the National Assembly's impeachment of Park in a written statement submitted to the Constitutional Court, Friday. Her defense team denied all 13 allegations five constitutional violations and eight legal offenses as claimed by the opposition-led National Assembly in an impeach motion passed on Dec. 9. Park stated her case through the 24-page document submitted in line with the Friday deadline set by the court. It will determine whether to endorse the National Assembly's motion over a corruption scandal surrounding Park and her confidant Choi Soon-sil within 180 days of her impeachment. "There's no reason for the President to be impeached," the delegation said during a press conference after turning in Park's statement. "She did not violate the Constitution or law in any manner and the document is intended to show the National Assembly made the wrong decision. We'll thoroughly deal all facts and juridical relations concerning her impeachment." The statement, however, did not provide details in backing up Park's arguments, according to the legal sources. They also said there are no-high profile lawyers defending Park. Chung Woo-taik, left, a loyalist of President Park Geun-hye, shakes hands with Saenuri Party's Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun after he was elected as floor leader of the ruling party at the National Assembly, Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han Park loyalist Chung elected as Saenuri floor leader By Rachel Lee Chung Woo-taik, a loyalist of President Park Geun-hye, was elected floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party, Friday, adding fuel to the party's anti-Park faction's move to break away. Chung, a four-term lawmaker, received 62 votes to beat the rival faction's candidate, Rep. Na Kyung-won, who garnered 55 votes. As Chung's running mate, Rep. Lee Eun-jae will become the party's chief policymaker. Chung's win will accelerate the deepening power struggle between the opposing factions following Parks' impeachment last week. Analysts say lawmakers of the rival faction may leave the party en masse to create a new conservative party. The struggle for party control has intensified, with each faction demanding the other leave the party. They have been at loggerheads over how to reform the party hit hard by the corruption scandal involving the impeached Park. The dissenters continued their offensive against Park loyalists leading the party, denouncing them for refusing to take responsibility for the corruption scandal involving the President, saying they were her "slaves," not "political partners." Criticizing the loyalist faction for refusing to reform, former party chairman Kim Moo-sung expressed his intent to leave the party, Tuesday, and create a new one in an attempt to salvage the conservative bloc. Later in the day, the party's Chairman Rep. Lee Jung-hyun and other pro-Park members of the decision-making Supreme Council resigned from the posts to help Chung set up an interim leadership, which will control the party until its new leader is elected. The loyalist faction had dominated the party for years. After the election, Friday, the new floor leader vowed to "solve and stabilize the very difficult political situation now by looking after national security, the economy and the livelihoods of the people, which represent the conservative party." He also said he was determined to "prevent the progressive leftists from taking power through constitutional reforms." Mentioning the saying "united we stand, divided we fall," Chung called for the party members to cooperate and stay with the party, assuring that the conservatives could lead the government again if the party remains undivided and strives for unity and innovation while seeking the public's forgiveness following the President's impeachment. Chung became the minister of oceans and fisheries in 2001 and governor of North Chungcheong Province in 2006. Rep. Chung Jin-suk resigned, Monday, as floor leader took responsibility for Park's impeachment. The impeachment motion was passed by 234 votes to 56 with overwhelming support in the 300-member Assembly, Friday. Saenuri's anti-Park faction, composed of some 40 lawmakers, played a crucial role for the passage given that 172 opposition and independent lawmakers voted for the motion unanimously. This drew a severe backlash from loyalists who had encouraged Park to resign voluntarily in April to ensure an orderly transition of power. The interim leaders are expected to head the party until the next party caucus slated for Jan. 21. A South Korean diplomat stationed in a Latin American country is suspected of sexually harassing two teenage girls there, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. The diplomat, who handles cultural affairs at an embassy, allegedly made improper physical contact with a girl presumed to be 14 years old in September when he taught Korean to her, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry declined to reveal the name of country or the details of his identity, saying that it suspended the diplomat's duties. He is also suspected of sexually harassing another teenage girl early this month, which was captured by a local broadcaster's candid camera, it added. The first victim is known to have reported her case to the TV station. Seoul's foreign ministry said it plans to summon him for a probe and, if the charge is confirmed, he will be punished. "All factual grounds have not been clarified yet. But if his charge is confirmed, a criminal investigation will proceed under relevant Korean law," a ministry official said. A diplomat has immunity in the country of sojourn, but the ministry said that it will cooperate with local police if they open an investigation. (Yonhap) By Chung Hyun-chae The eighth mass protest against President Park Geun-hye on Saturday is expected to include a march to the prime minister's official residence and the Constitutional Court of Korea, both in Bukchon, central Seoul, to oust the acting president, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, and show support for Park's impeachment. "We urge the Constitutional Court to make a ruling on the presidential impeachment as soon as possible to minimize disorder in state affairs," the rally's organizers said. "We also call for President Park's immediate resignation and an early presidential election to minimize the administrative vacuum." The main part of the protest will begin at 5 p.m. at Gwanghwamun Square. University students will start gathering at 2 p.m. According to the organizers, the march will begin at 6:30 p.m. heading toward a 100-meter point from the perimeter of Cheong Wa Dae as well as to the prime minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong and the Constitutional Court of Korea in Jae-dong. Meanwhile, about 30 pro-Park groups, including Park Sa Mo (literally meaning people who love Park), will continue their protests near the Constitutional Court on Saturday. Park Sa Mo and other conservative groups have been holding protests near the court since early December. They also plan to conduct a signature-collecting campaign to overturn President Park's impeachment. According to the weather agency, cold weather in Seoul will have a break on Saturday, with temperatures ranging from minus 1 to 8 degrees Celsius. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Thursday ways to support Libya in solving its political crisis with Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya Martin Kobler, following an official conference on the situation in Cairo this week. Cairo hosted a conference on Libya Monday through Wednesday this week, with leading officials and representatives from the country's numerous factions. The conference concluded with a declaration of principles and five proposed amendments to the 2015 UN-brokered agreement, which aims to create a unity government in the North African country. In an official statement on Thursday, the foreign ministry said that Shoukry presented these conclusions to Kobler, stressing that all of Libya's factions should be engaged in the dialogue. Kobler hailed Cairo's efforts to help resolve the conflict in the war-torn North African state, highlighting Egypt's key role in pushing the process forward. The declaration of principles to be respected in Libya's transition included the preservation of a united Libyan territory, support for national institutions, non-interference by foreign bodies, and the maintenance of a civil state. Libyan participants called on the Libyan National Dialogue Commission and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to hold a meeting within two weeks to discuss the conference proposals and possible solutions to end the country's political crisis. Search Keywords: Short link: By Park Si-soo A North Korean submarine exploded while on a training mission in April, killing all crew members on board, according to a Japanese newspaper. Citing unidentified sources, Tokyo Web reported on Thursday that the submarine was "broken into two parts" after an explosion while navigating in North Korea's territorial waters. The exact cause was unknown and North Korean media outlets have remained silent over the accident, it said. "The youngest crew member was just 19," the daily reported. "His mother collapsed after being informed of her son's death, a scene observed by her neighbors." It is unknown which mission the doomed submarine was on. But some experts here cautiously suggested that the accident could have happened during the test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The North has increased efforts to complete its development of SLBM to defend itself better from intensifying international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. In the latest provocation, the reclusive state test fired a SLBM early this month, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK. By Oh Young-jin One charge that President Park Geun-hye is automatically guilty of without the agreement of six judges out of nine at the Constitutional Court is the damage done to the credibility of women as leaders. For that alone, Park may deserve more than the penalty she would get if all charges against her are proven. The entire nation is currently enraged by Park's "weird" acts sharing her presidential powers with her "blood sister" and imitating her dictatorial father, Park Chung-hee, in the extortion of big businesses. Also enthralling the people is the sense of achievement that weeks of peaceful candlelit protests have brought down a corrupt leader. That has helped women, and men as well, avoid confronting the havoc Park has wreaked on the good name of women for now. Some have already whispered about it. Park's allure as a candidate conspicuously included her being a woman. In the lead-up to her election four short years ago, the prospect of having the first female president ahead of the United States and Japan certainly pulled on the heartstrings with a sense of pride. Now, few people want to remember or talk about it. When the issue is raised, there is a reaction that it is still premature. Then comes an expected line of defense: Corruption is not just Park's problem but one that transcends genders. Both men and women will say that what has happened are the flaws of an individual, so generalizing them as a gender issue is incorrect and unfair. Gender can be as touchy a subject as race; the cause for both issues being the domination of one over the other. In Korea, male chauvinism is part of a tradition that is still very much alive when statistics about women's representation ratios in politics and business, to name a few, are often dismal. Park's presidency was a good chance to start a large scale correction. Opposition parties and financial policymakers of South Korea held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss measures to tackle growing uncertainties over the economy after President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and other senior officials discussed mounting household debt and growing external complexities surrounding Asia's fourth largest economy during the meeting with policy officials from the Democratic Party and the splinter People's Party. Sources said the meeting was arranged at the request of the opposition bloc. The ruling Saenuri Party was excluded from the consultation as the opposition has shunned its leadership dominated by Park loyalists. The National Assembly voted to impeach Park on Friday. Amid growing factional fighting, Saenuri policy chief Rep. Kim Gwang-lim stepped down from the post this week. (Yonhap) By Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu Turkey, located between Europe and Asia, faces several conflicts due to recent political tension. Its geographical location provides significant opportunities as well as vital threats. The current Turkish government is trying to eliminate dangers and puts forth great efforts to create sustainable security in the region. But it seems that neither the European Union nor the U.S. is interested in Turkey's efforts which are still hosting up to 3 million Syrian migrants. Today Turkish officials are discussing plans for what will come after its normalization process with Russia. Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan mentioned the willingness of Turkey to be part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) instead of the European Union. According to analysts, his words have different meanings. Actually, Turkey as a part of Europe, wants to share a trump card against the EU in the case of a failed migration deal. Turkey's Westernization process has a deep historical background since the 18th century. So relations with the European continent have always been an integral part of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey took very big advantages from the EU's reform packages especially from economic and social aspects. The current AK Party government has been a successful practitioner of those reforms since 2002. But today the region in which Turkey is located is in chaos and the regional countries bear responsibilities to deal with the struggle against terrorism and migration issues. Turkey is a leading country which is hosting up to 3 million Syrian refugees, after receiving hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees. The EU has promised to provide economic assistance to Turkey in addition to some facilities such as visa liberalization. Ankara has waited for a long time but still there is no concrete answer from the EU without blaming Turkey's policies in the region. The EU is a beneficial organization for Turkey, especially for its economy. Turkey has shown its serious determination since 2002 and established a special ministry for EU Affairs. There is no doubt about Turkey's willingness to work with others. Today there are some problems, naturally. But it seems the two sides will come to an agreement to ease the process soon. This is just a temporary problematic process. On the other hand, Turkey mentioned a possible partnership with the SCO. Turkey is able to create a multidimensional relationship with different regional organizations since it is a country which is between Europe and Asia. But according to analysts, the SCO is not seen as a beneficial organization like the EU is, especially on political and economic issues. Ankara can benefit from the SCO just on security and energy. Because this axis, where Moscow and Beijing are dominant players, is a really different direction for today's Turkey. Interests, ideas, benefits, and expectations are totally dissimilar. No one can imagine that Turkey might agree with the desires of China on the Uyghur issue and of Russia on the Crimea and Nagorno-Karabakh problems as well as the Syrian case. At the same time, Turkey's relationship with that region is not effective, unlike Russia and China. Organizational structure is also not suitable to follow that way for Westernized Turkey. Russian officials already announced that Turkey should leave NATO. Turkey was linked to the EU and NATO under the steady commercial and military agreements. There is no answer for how to realize this partnership with the SCO from Ankara officials. But I think that Turkey just plans to create an effective relationship with the dominant regional organizations and criticize the EU role to consolidate available ties. The writer is a Turkish Journalist in Seoul. Write to oztarsu@gmail.com. Lotte Group has started a bold initiative to promote a family-friendly corporate culture. Lotte will be the first conglomerate to mandate paternity leave for all male employees next year. It will also pay 100 percent of their salary for the first month of their leave. This was the highlight of Lotte's plan to help new parents which were announced during the Way of Women forum Wednesday. Starting next year, a male worker must take one month or longer off work after the birth of his child. Lotte will also expand childcare leave for women, extending the current one-year leave to two years. Paternity leave was adopted in Korea in 2007, but many new dads have refused to apply for it due to reduced pay. Also Korean men still feel uneasy about leaving work for an extended period for fear of what their boss may think and other possible career disadvantages. Last year, men accounted for only 7.4 percent of workers taking childcare leave, which is considerably lower compared to European countries. Lotte's paid paternity leave is a laudable family-first policy that all companies across Korea should duplicate, particularly the big conglomerates that can set an example for the rest of the business sector. It is also a practical way to get fathers more involved in childcare, which is no longer just the mother's job as many of them also work to make ends meet. One of the reasons for Korea's severely low birthrate is the old-fashioned corporate culture that is not conducive to starting a family. Koreans work some of the longest hours among OECD countries and even women still face prejudice and discrimination for taking maternity leave. Korean companies should actively implement measures to assist new moms and dads, such as adopting flexible work hours and work-at-home programs and expanding paid childcare leave. This will help corporate competitiveness in the long run and contribute to improving Korea's waning birthrate. Odette Saleh Mikhail, a 70-year-old victim of the Sunday Cairo church bombing, died on Friday at Demerdash Hospital after succumbing to her injuries Egypts health ministry announced on Friday that the death toll from Sunday's St. Peter and St. Paul Church bombing in Cairo has risen to 26 after a 70-year-old woman who was caught in the blast died of her injuries, state news agency MENA reported. Odette Saleh Mikhail died on Friday at Cairo's Demerdash Hospital. Health minister advisor Sherif Wadie said that the number of injured victims who remain hospitalised stands at 23, three of whom remain in critical condition. The initial death toll from the suicide attack was 23, mostly women, with 49 people injured. The death toll rose to 25 by Monday. Sunday's church bombing is one of the bloodiest attacks on churches in Egypt in years. The explosion caused severe damage to parts of the church building. The Egyptian government declared three days of mourning after the attack. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing in a statement issued on SITE intelligence group on Tuesday, bragging that it killed 80 "crusaders" in the suicide operation. Egypts authorities has battling an Islamist insurgency in North Sinai for several years, mostly against Islamic State affiliate Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, who regularly carry out deadly attacks against army and police personnel. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's interior ministry said that the suspected mastermind behind the Sunday attack on church in Cairo had travelled to Qatar in 2015, where he met and conspired with members of the Muslim Brotherhood Egypts foreign ministry called on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Friday to accurately read the Egyptian stance towards Sundays church bombing, which left 26 people dead and more 40 injured. The foreign ministrys statement came in response to a statement by the GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani on Thursday where he expressed the GCC's displeasure at a Monday statement by the Egyptian interior ministry which inserted the name of Qatar in the details of the "heinous crime." "We were hoping that the GCC secretary-generals statement would reflect an accurate reading of the Egyptian stance, the foreign ministry statement read. The only official statement issued by the [Egyptian] interior ministry about the attack included verified and accurate information about the terrorist involved in the attack, and his recent moves outside Egypt," the statement added. Al Zayani warned against "haste in releasing accusatory statements, which could negatively affect the close ties between the GCC and Egypt," and urged the countries to communicate through official channels before releasing any statements. Al Zayani also stated that GCC countries have condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Egypt in its war against terrorism, saying that Egypt's security is important to the security of the GCC countries. The foreign ministry statement expressed appreciation for the support and solidarity reflected in Al Zayanis statements but insisted that the relations between Egypt and other Arab countries should stay strong and immune, and not to be exposed to shocks or suspicions due to inaccurate reading of the situations. On Monday, Egyptian authorities accused the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation of involvement in Sundays bombing of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Cairo, which left 26 dead and more than 40 injured. Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement broadcast on state TV that the suspected mastermind behind the attack, Mohab Moustafa El-Sayed Kassem, had travelled to Qatar in 2015, where he met and conspired with members of the Muslim Brotherhood residing in the Gulf country. Qatars foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Doha rejects having its name mentioned in connection with the bombing. The Qatari foreign ministry confirmed that Kassem had legally visited Qatar in December last year, but denied any wrongdoing on the part of the Qatari government towards Egypt. The Qatari statement added that Doha has strongly condemned and denounced the terrorist attack. The Egyptian statement said that Kassem returned from Qatar to carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt with full financial and logistical assistance from the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt-Qatar relations have witnessed tensions since the 2013 ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who had close relations with the Qatari government. Cairo has accused Doha of harbouring fugitive leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who have been convicted on various criminal charges in Egyptian courts. Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in late 2013. The Islamic State militant group claimed on Tuesday responsibility for the bombing in a statement published on its affiliated news outlet AMAQ. Search Keywords: Short link: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would now pursue talks on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria. Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Japan, Putin said that he had agreed with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to hold peace talks on Syria in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Those talks would be in addition to United Nations brokered talks that have been taking place intermittently in Geneva, Putin told reporters. Search Keywords: Short link: Missouri is adding three new state parks totaling more than 8,000 acres. Gov. Jay Nixon said Friday that they were purchased for about $15 million. Money came from a settlement with lead mining companies. Some state park funds set aside for land acquisitions also were used for two of the parks. The largest park is Oregon County's Eleven Point State Park. The more than 4,000-acre park near Alton includes six miles of river frontage. Bryant Creek State Park is in Douglas County near the Ozark County line. The nearly 3,000-acre park has pine and oak forests and bluffs by Bryant Creek. Ozark Mountain State Park is northwest of Branson. It's about 1,000 acres and includes grassy ridges and hills known as knobs. (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) News release from Governor's Office Missourians are gaining three new state parks in southern Missouri that will have some of the states most distinctive natural landscapes and features on their more than 8,000 acres, Gov. Jay Nixon announced today. The addition of Eleven Point State Park in Oregon County, Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County and Ozark Mountain State Park in Taney County will bring the total number of state parks in Missouri to 91. These new state parks ensure that we can protect and preserve these valuable natural landscapes for generations to come, Gov. Nixon said. At a time when other states are closing or even selling state parks or charging day use fees, we are expanding our system of state parks to offer more opportunities for Missourians to experience the outdoors, at no admission cost. The new parks include: Ozark Mountain State Park, with 1,011 acres, features an open, grassy, flower-filled landscape of ridges and hills, known locally as knobs. The property is located in Taney County, northwest of Branson along Highway 465. Bryant Creek State Park, with 2,917 acres, consists of thick oak and pine forests and nearly two miles of river hills and bluffs along Bryant Creek. The property is located in Douglas County, near the Ozark County line approximately 22 miles southeast of Ava. Eleven Point State Park, with 4,167 acres, includes six miles of direct river frontage on the Eleven Point River, a nationally protected river corridor. The property is located in Oregon County approximately 45 miles east of West Plains, near Alton. These new parks were acquired to fill natural history gaps that were not previously represented in the state park system, said Bill Bryan, director of Missouri State Parks. For more than 20 years, the park system has been looking to add properties with these unique natural features for the public to enjoy. The new park lands were selected based on goals identified in the 1992 Missouri State Park and Historic Site System Expansion Plan, which was developed following a nearly five-year process of public meetings, research and staff input. In 2004, Missouri State Parks also completed Missing Masterpieces: A Survey About Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites. The extensive survey gathered public input regarding the standards the division uses to evaluate potential new areas for their worthiness to become new Missouri state parks. Plans for development of the properties and future use are in the preliminary stages. Early development will focus on natural resource stewardship. The park system will hold a series of events to allow members of the public to see the properties and provide feedback on park planning. The first of these events will be guided hikes on the property. They will take place at: Ozark Mountain State Park in Taney County from 2-4 p.m. on Jan. 6. Eleven Point State Park in Oregon County from 1-4 p.m. on Jan. 7. Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County from noon-2 p.m. on Jan. 8. For information on where these hikes will begin, contact Missouri State Parks at (573) 751-0761 or moparks@dnr.mo.gov. For those who cannot attend the hikes, a presentation and opportunity to provide feedback will also be available online at mostateparks.com beginning on Jan 6. The state park system purchased the Eleven Point State Park for $8 million, Bryant Creek State Park for $4 million and Ozark Mountain State Park for $2.8 million. Money for the purchases came from settlements reached with mining companies that had operated in the state. The purchase of Ozark Mountain State Park and Bryant Creek State Park also included some state park funds designated for land acquisitions. In 2015, a record 19.2 million people visited Missouri state parks and trails. Gov. Nixon expects to release attendance figures for 2016 in the next few days. Last week, Missouri reported the Fiscal Year 2016 annual impact report by Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, showed Missouri welcomed 41.7 million visitors, a 3.2 percent increase over the previous record of 40.4 million in FY 2015. Overall, the tourism had a $16.5 billion impact in Missouri in FY 2016. Evacuations of rebel fighters and civilians including wounded from the last opposition-held areas of Syria's Aleppo gathered pace early on Friday under a ceasefire that would see the government retake the city, monitors and a rebel official said. There was no sign, however, of evacuations from two villages besieged by rebels in neighbouring Idlib province, which were expected to be included in the deal. At least 6,000 people had left rebel-held Aleppo in several convoys of buses and ambulances since Thursday, when the evacuations began, Zakaria Malahifji, a Turkey-based official in the Fastaqim rebel group told Reuters. The number included some 900 wounded, both fighters and civilians, he said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the total number was closer to 8,000, including some 3,000 fighters and more than 300 wounded. A statement from the pro-Damascus military alliance that includes Hezbollah said more than 8,000 had left in 10 convoys. The number of buses being used had doubled to about 50, Malahifji said, suggesting the speed of evacuations was increasing. "There are a lot of buses now," Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said. Aleppo had been divided between government and rebel areas of control in the nearly six-year civil war, but a lightning advance by the Syrian army and its allies that began in mid-November saw the insurgents lose most of their territory in a matter of weeks. The ceasefire deal, brokered by Damascus ally Moscow and rebel backers Turkey earlier in the week, initially broke down on Wednesday as fighting resumed and Iran reportedly introduced a new demand for the evacuation of two Shi'ite-majority villages in Idlib. Thousands are expected to evacuate the villages, Foua and Kefraya, which have long been besieged by insurgents in the mostly rebel-held province. It was unclear why the evacuations had not yet begun, but a convoy set off to evacuate the villages on Thursday, Syrian state media said. Search Keywords: Short link: Fellow Gambians: We are a group of concerned Gambian professionals mostly living or working abroad. Although we each sign this statement in our individual capacities, we are united in our love for the Gambia our homeland, by our commitment to legitimacy, respect for the rule of law, and the pre-eminence of the democratic will of our people. In that regard, we unequivocally condemn the attempt by outgoing president Yahya Jammeh to annul the results of the 1 December elections by which the majority of the Gambian electorate expressed a clear and unambiguous desire for change by voting for Mr. Adama Barrow, the candidate of the coalition of opposition parties. President Jammehs statement constitutes a blatant disregard for, and an attempt to subvert the democratic will of the Gambian people. It is yet another manifestation of his contempt for the Gambian constitution which clearly envisages a peaceful transfer of power to the winner of democratic elections. The December 1 elections were free, fair, transparent and credible by all international standards. They reflect the will of the Gambian people to elect Adama Barrow as President and put an end to tyranny, abuse of power and human rights violations over the past two decades. As private citizens with a stake in the future of our country, we call on outgoing President Jammeh to reverse his statement, place the interest of the Gambia and her people above his self-interest, and oversee a peaceful and orderly transition of power to President-elect Adama Barrow. We congratulate the law-abiding citizens of the Gambia for exercising their democratic rights in a peaceful manner and call on them to continue to jealously safeguard their constitutional rights and democratic choice. In that regard, we invite all civil and public servants, members of the security forces, university and school students, professional associations of lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants, business persons, NGOs, Muslim, Christian and other religious denominations, as well as private businesses to peacefully resist President Jammehs attempt to subvert their democratic will. In particular, we wish to remind our brothers and sisters in uniform of their solemn obligation to show fidelity to the Constitution, and to serve and defend the Gambia and her people without regard to political affiliation. Anyone who uses violence against the peaceful citizens of The Gambia will be held individually accountable for their actions. We call on Gambians to stay at home and refrain from going to work or school until such time that outgoing President Jammeh reverses his decision and peacefully hands over power to President-elect Barrow. Finally, we take this opportunity to express appreciation to the governments of Senegal and the United States of America, member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations for the support and solidarity they have shown to Gambians since outgoing President Jammeh chose to impose this undesirable crisis on our peace-loving people. We call on them to take all necessary measures under sub-regional and regional arrangements, as well as international law, to restore democracy and the rule of law to the Gambia by ensuring that the results of the 1 December elections are fully respected by all Parties. We have no doubt that the Gambian people shall overcome this latest affront to their dignity and sovereignty. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Doha has also rejected Egypt's publication of statements which linked the terrorist attack to Muslim Brotherhood members residing in Qatar The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has rejected Egypt's statements which linked Qatara GCC member stateto 11 December's church bombing in Cairo, describing these accusations as unacceptable, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported Thursday. In a statement, Secretary-General of the GCC Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani warned against "haste in releasing accusatory statements, which could negatively affect the close ties between the GCC and Egypt," urging the countries to communicate through official channels before releasing any statements. On Monday, Egyptian authorities accused the banned Muslim Brotherhood organisation of involvement in Sundays bombing of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Cairo, which left 25 dead and more than 40 injured. Egypt's interior ministry said in a statement broadcast on state TV that the suspected mastermind behind the attack, Mohab Moustafa El-Sayed Kassem, had travelled to Qatar in 2015, where he met and conspired with members of the Muslim Brotherhood residing in the Gulf country. Qatars foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Doha rejects having its name mentioned in connection with the bombing. The Qatari foreign ministry confirmed that Kassem had legally visited Qatar in December last year, but denied any wrongdoing on the part of the Qatari government towards Egypt. The Qatari statement added that Doha has strongly condemned and denounced the terrorist attack. The Egyptian statement said that Kassem returned from Qatar to carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt with full financial and logistical assistance from the Brotherhood. The Islamic State militant group claimed on Tuesday responsibility for the bombing in a statement published on its affiliated news outlet AMAQ. Egypt-Qatar relations have witnessed tensions since the 2013 ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a who had close relations with the Qatari government. Cairo has accused Doha of harbouring fugitive leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who have been convicted on various criminal charges in Egyptian courts. Egypt designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group in 2013. Search Keywords: Short link: Historic ties of north Meck span throughout region Though the north Mecklenburg area didnt see significant population growth until a few decades ago, its rich history dates back to the Revolutionary War. That was the basis of... An easier-than-expected first mammogram experience HUNTERSVILLE Scheduling a cancer screening probably ranks somewhere on your to-do list between "clean out the garage" and "donate those clothes that don't fit." Sure, you'll get to it at... The fall of Aleppo was a defeat for US President Barack Obama's administration, which failed to broker a ceasefire in Syria's civil war, but may prove to be an opening for Donald Trump, who wants to change course with Moscow. The victory for Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed forces helps secure his grip on power just as the Republican president-elect prepares to swear off regime change and drop support for Syrian rebel forces. Trump, a brash foreign policy novice who takes office on January 20, has already said he wants to reset relations with Vladimir Putin's Russia and to work with Moscow against jihadist threats. He has also called into question the limited US backing for some of the rebels ranged against Assad, insisting Washington has "no idea" who it is dealing with and is better off without them. "We will stop looking to topple regimes and overthrow governments, folks," Trump told a victory rally in Ohio this month, complaining that US wars in the Middle East have cost $6 trillion. "Our goal is stability, not chaos," he said, in a nod to the fighting unleashed in Libya, Iraq, Yemen and Syria since the Arab Spring revolts. "We will partner with any nation that is willing to join us in the effort to defeat ISIS and radical Islamic terrorists," he added, a clear call for closer cooperation with Russia. America has been here before. Before the Arab Spring revolts, Washington aligned itself with strongmen, preferring stability over the promise of often Islamist-backed popular movements. But in a June 2009 landmark speech in Cairo addressed to the Muslim world, Obama -- while vowing to fight violent extremism -- stood up for the region's struggling democrats. "Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away," he warned the region's authoritarian leaders, many of whom have since been ousted, unlike Syria's tenacious and brutal Assad. The great hopes reflected in and fed by the Cairo speech have now largely been dashed. Libya and Yemen are in chaos, Egypt has slid back into autocracy and Syria is a bloodbath. America could walk away, but it has unfinished business with the Islamic State group, an Islamist faction with global ambitions holding a so-called "caliphate" in eastern Syria and northern Iraq. After early stunning victories against hapless government forces, the jihadists have been rolled back in Iraq by US-backed local troops and in Syria by militias with US training and support. Trump campaigned boasting that he had a quicker plan to "bomb the shit" out of the group -- and this now appears to be coalescing as a de facto alliance with Russia in Syria. And, despite the difference in rhetoric between the outgoing and incoming administrations, the groundwork for such cooperation has already been laid by Obama's outgoing secretary of state. On September 9, John Kerry met his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva and signed an agreement to create a so-called "Joint Implementation Center," or JIC. If a ceasefire were to take hold in the civil war, Kerry said, "we will see the United States and Russia taking coordinated steps to isolate and defeat the terrorist groups." The JIC deal quickly fell apart amid anger after Russia bombed a UN aid convoy and US-led coalition warplanes accidentally hit a Syrian military unit, but Trump and Putin could now revive it. US officials, European diplomats and expert observers now expect Assad to consolidate his control of the populous west of Syria with the help of Russia, Iran and Iran-backed militias. Meanwhile, in a de facto division of the country into areas of responsibility, local militias with US special forces backing and air support will fight the IS group in the eastern desert. "The real question is what the relationship will be with Russia, I think," Andrew Tabler, author of "In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria," told AFP. Assad now has fewer than 25,000 mobile troops which can be deployed away from their defensive positions, said Tabler, a fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Therefore, rather than taking the fight east to the Islamic State, Assad is likely to turn his attention to the northern city of Idlib, where rebels are already under Russian bombardment. "The first issue the Trump administration will look at will be to examine the possibility of implementing the Joint Implementation Group," Tabler said. And Trump seems no less willing than Kerry to work with Russia. His nominee to replace Kerry as secretary of state is ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson, a veteran oilman with close Russian ties who was awarded a medal of friendship by Putin himself. One sticking point in Syria may be Washington's covert support -- separate from the avowed anti-IS fight -- for some of the rebel factions battling Assad, forces that have been bombed by Russia. "This nominally is being pursued with the idea of overturning the Assad regime but it's primarily intelligence gathering and periodically putting pressure on the regime," Tabler told AFP. "If they cut it off, and Trump has said he might, then you'd lose a lot of that intelligence." After that, the last sticking point may be Iran. While Trump's rhetoric and his cabinet roster suggest sympathy for Russia's role in Syria, nominees such as future defense secretary retired general James Mattis are staunch foes of Iran. Assad may owe his survival, in part, to Russia's warplanes, but he is also dependent on the manpower provided by Iranian-trained and funded militia fights from Iraq, Lebanon and beyond. Search Keywords: Short link: Sri Lanka said that it supports the establishment of a Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) in 2017, within the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) and to elevate the dialogue on LAWS to a State driven formal process. Addressing the 5th Review Conference of the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) on Monday (12th December) Mrs. Mafusa Lafir, Second Secretary of the Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva and Sri Lankas delegate to the Session said that despite the assurance given by many key countries that fully autonomous weapons would not be developed, given precursors for such weapons are already in existence, the international community has raised legitimate concerns that failure to take pre-emptive actions at this point carries the risk of such weapons being developed in the future. She further added that this particular concern of the international community provides the rationale behind the call for a pre-emptive ban on LAWS, before these weapons change the current nature of conflicts by removing the human control from the command and operation of weapons. She further said that a GGE could be mandated to discuss issues such as the definition of LAWS, understanding on existing systems to agree on the limits need to be set regarding the autonomy in weapons, and to address the challenges of compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). During the session, Sri Lanka also stressed that the GGEshould also engage on securing the rights for States to continue to have unhindered access to the dual use autonomous technology for peaceful purposes, given the benefits it could offer for the mankind. A call for an establishment of a GGE was a result of the recommendation made by the Informal Meeting of Experts held in April 2016, for which the mandate was given by the 2015 Meeting of High Contracting Parties to the CCW presided by Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka in Geneva. LAWS also commonly known as 'Killer Robots', is being broadly categorized as an emerging type of autonomous technology with potential use in lethal weapons systems, that will once activated, have the ability to select, engage, and use force at targets, without any human intervention. Following three years of informal expert meetings on LAWS and a dedicated session at the 2015 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW, States and civil society called for a formal discussion on LAWS within the framework of the CCW, to establish pre-emptive action on development and deployment of these weapons systems, with a future prospect for a legally binding protocol to the CCW. Earlier on Monday (12th December), Ms. Shashika Somaratne, Charge d'Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva, opened the 5th Review Conference of the CCW, on behalf of the Chairperson of the 2015 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the CCW, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinhaand handed over the presidency to Ambassador Tehmina Janjua of Pakistan. The Review Conference is being held from 12 16 December 2016 in Geneva. The CCW restricts or prohibits conventional weapons that have been deemed excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects. Review Conferences of the CCW is being held every five years, to review the implementation of the Convention as well as to make decisions to strengthen it, taking into account the developments in the field of conventional weapons. The ongoing 5thReview Conference is expected to make decision by consensus to establish a GGE on LAWS for 2017. Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Geneva 13thDecember 2016 The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary Read more PRESS RELEASE Some Preliminary Results of the First Day of the Two-Day Putin-Abe Summit Dec. 15, 2016 (EIRNS)Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin have concluded their first days summit meeting in Nagato. Tomorrow, the two will meet in Tokyo. The outcome of the first days meeting reported through Russian and Japanese authorities, indicates that a number of steps have been taken to bring the two countries closer together. Technically, they are still at war since the erstwhile Soviet Union refused to sign the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty, which guaranteed Japans independence and territorial integrity and the terms under which Japan was re-admitted into the international community. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told assembled reporters: "Today it was agreed that other mechanisms of our bilateral dialog that remained stalled over the past few years must be activated. This applies to two-plus-two contacts between the diplomats and military," TASS reported. "President Putin has suggested resuming this procedure, along with regular meetings between the chiefs of general staffs. The Japanese Prime Ministers response was positive. I do hope that such a decision will be made at a certain point." The two leaders also discussed the Syrian situation. On Russian concerns over Obamas "missile defense" program in Europe and in Asia, Lavrov told reporters that the issue was discussed earlier in the day, and "we have got an impression that the Japanese colleagues now understand better Russias concerns to this respect," Tass reported. In addition to these outcomes, the Russian Presidential Envoy to Russias Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, who is also in Japan, told journalists Russia and Japan have signed a deal to establish a joint investment fund. We signed a memorandum on creating a joint investment platform. Such funds help to set a better stage for investment, Trutnev said, according to Sputnik. Dec. 15, 2016 (EIRNS)In a commentary on President-elect Donald Trumps announcement that he will launch a $1 trillion crash program to develop American infrastructure, China Daily recalls the offer made by Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou for mutual global cooperation on the problem of steel overcapacity, saying that Trumps intention goes in the right direction: "China is willing to work with the United States to resolve the global steel overcapacity issue. Trump has said he would push for $1 trillion spending on infrastructure construction in the next 10 years that would include building and repairing highways, bridges, airports, schools and hospitals. Since the U.S. cannot produce enough steel to meet that sort of demand, it can buy some of the steel needed from China. This will not only ease the worlds steel overproduction pressure, but also boost the economic recovery of the U.S. and other countries. "Besides, the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road) is expected to strengthen connectivity and infrastructure construction among countries along the routes and thus boost global steel demands. "Hopefully, the U.S. and other steel-producing countries will abandon their prejudices toward China and try to sincerely resolve the global steel overproduction issue. Only when more countries make coordinated decisions and strengthen their policy communications, can they eliminate steel overcapacity and achieve win-win results." Russia's defence ministry on Friday announced it has finished evacuating rebels and their family members from Syria's Aleppo, with only "radical and intransigent" militants left inside. "The (Russian) operation... to evacuate rebels and members of their families from eastern districts of Aleppo is complete," it said in a statement. "Militant groups of radical and intransigent gangs who are shooting at Syrian troops are left in some neighbourhoods." Search Keywords: Short link: Books are slow food. It generally takes two years, two hardworking years, to cook up a book from idea to publication. Some writers can go faster those who publish a book a year (or more) are working at top speed while others write much more slowly, ruminating and reworking and false-starting for a decade or more. By the time we readers get them, books are self-contained objects, narratives that have evolved outside of the relentless news cycle and Twitter chatter. More than any other medium, books give us deep, rich stories that stand apart from the hubbub. Except sometimes, that years-long process winds up being right in the center of the conversation. Which brings us to these, the 10 most important books of 2016. No matter when they started or how long they took, they touched on something that was essential this year, and will be essential when we look back at it from 2017 and beyond. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Advertisement Pick your metaphor: Grand slam, EGOT, Royal flush. Whiteheads novel The Underground Railroad the story of a young womans escape from slavery via an imaginary railroad that brings her to different, imperfect versions of America was a success on every level. Its publication date was moved up by a month so Oprah could pick it for her popular book club; it also won the National Book Award for fiction. Reviewing it for The Times, critic-at-large Rebecca Carroll wrote that the book is a fiercely salient reckoning of what it means, has meant and continues to mean to be black in America. Whitehead, who was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2002, told Terry Gross on Fresh Air that he was reluctant to immerse myself in the history of slavery; it took him 16 years to write. Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher This swift book is the exception to the rule. Kranish and Fisher worked like lightning to get Trump Revealed to print while he was a presidential candidate (it was published in late August, a month after the Republican convention). The writers turned the reporting of their fellow Washington Post reporters into a detailed, researched story of Trump that included 20 hours of face-to-face interviews with the man himself. As we look ahead to a Trump administration that appears particularly disinclined toward transparency, this book is all the more valuable in understanding how Trump, our president-elect, has behaved in the past as a manager, businessman and private person. Evicted by Matthew Desmond Desmond moved to a trailer park in Milwaukee in 2008 known for its substandard conditions to begin gathering stories of eviction; later, he moved into a run-down apartment complex. He follows eight families struggling to get by while paying more than 70% of their incomes for housing, falling behind, being evicted, trying again. Desmond, now a Harvard professor, has a close-up empathy that makes the book lasting. The housing crisis for families like these is not over; there may be another landlord, like one Desmond tracked, who will evict a single mother and her children two days before Christmas this year. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon Yoons sophomore novel was a National Book Award finalist for young peoples literature. Its told from two main points of view: Daniel, a poetry-loving Korean American teenager whose parents want him to be a doctor, and Natasha, a student who hopes to be a scientist and is trying to prevent her family from being deported back to Jamaica. The swift, romantic story follows the threads of these two teens lives and those they intersect with over the course of a day. This book for young adults is full of intelligence, understanding and hope. Shrill by Lindy West At 34, West came of age as a writer in the full light of the Internet, a young feminist speaking out against fat-shaming publicly addressing her colleague at the Stranger, Dan Savage and writing about periods and rape jokes at Jezebel the Guardian. On This American Life, she chased down an Internet troll that had been stalking her. These pieces are collected here, along with her thoughts about how vital it is for young women to raise their voices: the book is subtitled notes from a loud woman. The White Donkey by Maximilian Uriarte It was 2010 when Uriarte, a lance corporal in the Marine Corps, created the online comic Terminal Lance, which swiftly developed a fan base. Using some of the same characters, he created a more serious and involved graphic novel, The White Donkey, based on his 2007 deployment in Iraq. First self-published by Uriarte with a Kickstarter campaign that raised eight times its original goal, the graphic novel was then picked up by Little, Brown and released to a wider audience ready to see Fallujah through the eyes and (digital) pen of someone who was there. City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the Worlds Largest Refugee Camp by Ben Rawlence According to the UNHCR, there are more than 65 million people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced. The worlds largest refugee camp, Dadaab in northern Kenya, is the temporary-turned-permanent home to as many as 600,000 people. Thats where Rawlence, a former researcher for Human Rights Watch, spent five months for this book. City of Thorns is as much about the rest of us as it is about the refugees it describes, Jill Leovy wrote in our review. It evolves into a meditation on the war on terror, the European refugee crisis, and corruption in the developing world without ever releasing its tight focus on Dadaab. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen One of our biggest rock stars, Springsteen has written a new canon of rock songs that deeply integrate his own desire, trouble and longing with the larger story of America. This memoir, the first from the 67-year-old, tells of his Catholic upbringing, his youthful ambitions, his adult convictions and his deep commitment to social justice. In our review, Randy Lewis writes, What emerges unequivocally is his almost singled-minded devotion not to scoring hits, or finding fame and fortune, but to creating a body of music that matters. Frantumaglia by Elena Ferrante Ferrante, the Italian author of the internationally bestselling Neapolitan novels, is a phantom, a pseudonym. Frantumaglia is an autobiographical assemblage of writings, sharing some of her history (possibly fabricated) and explaining that she wants to remain unknown because of the burdens put on female writers. Weeks before the books American release, a European journalist claimed to have discovered Ferrantes true identity, raising questions of who needs to know what about whom. For those who like fiction, the idea of crafting a character who is the stand-in for the novelist is more interesting than poking into a publishers financial records. Frantumaglia is the real accomplishment. Swing Time by Zadie Smith Smith is one of todays literary lights, and her novel has the flow of Fred and Ginger in Swing Time, the movie that gives this novel its name. Its about two young, mixed-race dancers growing up in England; the friends push and pull against each other as they deal with class, ambition and race. One becomes the assistant to a starlet, adding the complications of fame and its absence, threaded through with shifting senses of belonging. Its precision is thrilling even as it grows into a book-length meditation on cultural appropriation, played out on a celebrity-besotted global stage, writes our reviewer Karen Long, calling it a multilayered tour-de-force. ALSO B.J. Novak is writing another book with no pictures The most important moment in books of 2016: The death of Harper Lee Trumps boast that he could shoot somebody tops Yale list of 2016s notable quotations Mylan, which showered itself in infamy by jacking up the price of its EpiPen, a potentially life-saving epinephrine injector, by 500% over less than a decade, announced Friday that it is finally bringing out a promised generic version of the device for $300 per two-pack. That compares with more than $600 for the branded package. Some news reports described this as a more than 50% discount. Thats incredibly misleading, which is exactly what Mylan hoped. In fact, the device will still cost three times as much as it did when Mylan acquired the rights in 2007. This for a product that delivers a dose of a generic drug that Mylan played no role in developing. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has been a dogged critic of pharmaceutical profiteering, had the right take on Mylans announcement. This isnt a discount, he tweeted. Its a PR move. Advertisement Mylan also said it would offer a $25 discount on the co-pays for buyers with health insurance, and a savings card good for a discount of up to $300 on deductible or co-pay expenses for the branded EpiPen, which still lists for more than $600. That offer is good only until Dec. 31, according to the company. This isnt a discount. Its a PR move. Sen. Bernie Sanders, on Mylans announcement of a generic EpiPen In the companys announcement Friday its CEO, Heather Bresch, tried to portray these steps as altruistic breakthroughs. Calling its strategy decisive, she said, This unprecedented action, along with the enhancements we made to our patient access programs, will help patients and provide substantial savings to payors. The truth is that Mylan is pedaling as fast as it can to swim out from under a tide of negative publicity resulting from ethically dubious corporate behavior that had brought Breschthe daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.--before congressional investigative committees to explain her pricing policies. As one sign of its noxious habits, the company agreed to pay $465 million in October to settle allegations that it systematically ripped off Medicaid by claiming its branded EpiPen was a generic medical device. That allowed it to pay a smaller rebate to Medicaid than would have been required if the EpiPen were properly classified as a branded product. And as we reported in August, the company is also a tax dodger: Mylan is a leading exploiter of the maneuver known as inversion, in which a U.S. company cuts its tax bill by acquiring a foreign firm and moving its tax domicile to the acquired companys homeland in 2014 it acquired an overseas generic drug company and reincorporated in the Netherlands, that firms home. As in all inversions, nothing else changed: Mylans operational headquarters remained in Pennsylvania, and its main workforce didnt relocate. At one point, Mylan even appealed to U.S. antitrust officials to help it block a takeover bid from an Israeli company. But the inversion deal did allow the firm to cut its U.S. tax bill. Still, most of the bad PR arose from Mylans pricing of the EpiPen. The device is carried by children and others with severe allergies, for whom it can deliver a crucial shot of epinephrine to keep their airways open until emergency medical help can arrive. The device was priced at about $100 for a two-pack when the rights were acquired by Mylan. The company promptly instituted a relentless string of increases, while successfully lobbying for a law providing federal subsidies for public schools that stocked the device. The EpiPen eventually became Mylans single most important product, accounting for $1 billion of its $7.7 billion in sales in 2014 and of its $9.4 billion in sales in 2015, according to corporate financial statements. In appearances on Capitol Hill this year after EpiPen pricing became a cause celebre, Bresch tried to wear the hair shirt, claiming that the cost of business and the intricacies of Americas healthcare system left Mylan with little choice but to charge more than $600 for its two-packs. She told a House committee in September that Mylan is spending approximately $1.2 billion on R&D and manufacturing facilities. The statistic conflated research and development and manufacturing; in fact Mylan spent $672 million on R&D in 2015, and fully $2.2 billion on marketing and administrative overhead. Judging from its most recent quarterly report, the company is on pace this year to spend about $830 million on R&D and $2.4 billion on marketing and overhead, while its net sales may exceed $10 billion. Bresch also asserted that rebates, fees and other expenses cut Mylans profit on each EpiPen to a mere $50. Plainly none of those factors prevented Mylan from capitulating to pressure and bringing out a $300 package of generics, which it says will be available on shelves next week. The company says the product will be indistinguishable from the branded version except for the absence of EpiPen from the label. As for the patient assistance programs, such discounts are typically marketing schemes dressed up as altruism, as we reported last year. They increase demand and provide public-relations benefits, while concealing the true price of a product charged to commercial insurers and public healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. By reducing consumer discontent over drug prices, they allow the drug companies to keep charging more. Thats why its illegal to offer such manufacturer-sponsored discounts to Medicare and Medicaid enrolleesthey fall under federal anti-kickback laws. Mylan undoubtedly will heavily promote its EpiPen initiatives as testaments to its devotion to consumer welfare, seeking plaudits for its public spirit and sympathy for its sacrifice. It doesnt deserve them. Dont fall for the pitch. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. Media mogul Sumner Redstone will no longer hold a voting role on Viacom Inc.s board of directors after the companys annual meeting in February, according to a regulatory filing. Redstone will still serve as chairman emeritus, but will step down from the Viacom board. Redstone, who has been in deteriorating health, is 93. The Redstone family still controls nearly 80% of the voting interest in Viacom through its movie theater chain and investment vehicle, National Amusements Inc. Advertisement In a filing Friday morning, Viacom said that following our Annual Meeting, Mr. Redstone will continue to participate in meetings of the Board in a non-voting role. The New York media company said in a statement that it is indebted to Sumner Redstone for his decades of extraordinary leadership. Our directors are grateful for his continued dedication to the company and his contributions as Chairman Emeritus. Redstone assumed the role of chairman emeritus in February after serving as Viacoms executive chairman since 2006. Redstone acquired Viacom in the late 1980s after a takeover battle with a management-led investor group. At the time, Viacom owned five television and eight radio stations, as well as a number of cable networks such as Nickelodeon and MTV networks. In 2000, Redstone merged the company with CBS to build a media empire. The two companies split in 2006. Disclosure of the board shift comes one day after Redstones former girlfriend Sydney Holland filed a lawsuit against Redstones daughter Shari and some of his nursing staff, alleging that Shari recruited nurses to spy on the couple and report back to her on their activities. The lawsuit alleges that Shari Redstone sought to gain an advantage in her plan to oust Sydney (and her daughter) from Redstones life and will, and to entrench herself in a position to succeed him in his businesses. Hollands lawsuit is similar to that of another former Redstone girlfriend, Manuela Herzer, who alleged that Shari Redstone tried to push Herzer away from Redstone. samantha.masunaga@latimes.com For more business news, follow me @smasunaga ALSO Redstones scrap proposed CBS-Viacom merger, unnerving investors Sumner Redstone ex-girlfriend Sydney Holland seeks half interest in $20-million mansion Fox News hires a new human resources chief in response to sexual harassment claims Social media app Flipagram has entertained acquisition offers from a Chinese media company and Snapchat maker Snap Inc. in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. Flipagram, which enables users to compile photos and videos into slideshows backed with music and special effects, is among the most popular image-editing apps. But the Los Angeles start-up hasnt been able to find a way to generate significant revenue, let alone profits. It has raised more than $70 million from venture capitalists and holds licensing agreements with major music companies. As recently as May, Chief Executive Farhad Mohit said investors wanted him to focus on adding users instead of making money. The company touted 40 million registered users at the time. But the tide appeared to turn in the early fall, when Flipagram cut several positions and began exploring a sale. Advertisement Now, Chinas Bytedance has emerged as a front-runner to buy Flipagram, said a person not allowed to speak publicly about the matter. Technology news publication Recode reported the interest on Thursday. Bytedances top service is Toutiao, a personalized news portal that the company has said is read by more than 60 million people a day. Employees have described Toutiao as the BuzzFeed of China. It has raised well over $100 million from investors. Financiers include Sequoia, also a big stakeholder in Flipagram, and Digital Sky Technologies, also an investor in Snap. Bytedance has a growing business development team in Los Angeles and has been pitching multimillion-dollar licensing deals to bring short online shows from the West to China. Flipagram could give Bytedance a way to gather user-generated news content and footholds in mobile and the West. Snap, which has used acquisitions as a key source of new technology, could benefit from Flipagrams creative tools, including digital paints that automatically light up to the beat of music. Snap declined to comment on whether its still in the running for Flipagram. Bytedance couldnt be reached for comment, and Flipagram declined to address what it called rumor and speculation. paresh.dave@latimes.com / PGP Twitter: @peard33 ALSO Snapchat comes around to embrace group chat California adopts nations first energy-efficiency rules for computers That holiday gift exchange Facebook post is technically an illegal scam Yahoos disclosure this week that more than 1 billion accounts may have been compromised in the largest hack ever has raised new doubts about telecommunications giant Verizons pending acquisition of the struggling tech company. Verizon agreed to buy Yahoo for $4.83 billion in July, but it appeared interested in renegotiating the price after the Sunnyvale, Calif., company revealed in September that it was the victim of a data breach affecting some 500 million user accounts. News on Wednesday of the larger breach, which is believed to be unrelated to the previous hack, could mean a further price reduction or even the cancellation of the entire deal, analysts said. Verizon hasnt signaled that it wants to walk away from the deal, but that hasnt entirely eased investor concerns. Advertisement Yahoo shares dropped nearly 5% to $38.45 on Thursday, the day after the company disclosed the hack. As of publication time, Yahoo was trading at $38.59. It is a big drop that signals investors dont expect the Verizon deal to close at its original price, if at all, said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. The question is whether Yahoo can close the deal by offering a price adjustment, Gordon said. Other options include Yahoos agreement to use its own funds to cover any legal liability, he said. A Yahoo spokesman said the company continues to work toward closing the deal early next year. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment. For Verizon, the two security breaches could raise concerns about Yahoos legal liability, its overall commitment to security and tarnished reputation, experts said. Those worries may be assuaged by the fact the intrusions do not appear to have compromised customers financial data, and the unlikelihood of a mass defection of users because many customers consider switching email providers tedious. Still, its likely that Verizon will seek to lower its purchase price to adjust to Yahoos flagging condition, according to Neil A. Doshi, a senior Internet analyst at Mizuho Securities. Companies generally lose between zero and 5% of their market capitalization after a data breach, Doshi said. That Yahoos market capitalization has dipped further than that range falling as much as 6% before rebounding slightly suggests that the blowback from this breach may outpace past hacks, Doshi said. melissa.etehad@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad ALSO Mylan launches cheaper version of EpiPen allergy treatment Amazon drivers say they are pushed to the limit as holiday deliveries reach a frenzy California adds 13,600 jobs in November, helping inch down the unemployment rate As you peruse year-end punditry for something anything to elucidate 2016, you will inevitably be burdened with the claim that this was not, as the media led us to believe it would be, the year of the woman in America. Yes it was! For a pivotal 2016 moment in classical music and the broader arts world look to the appointment last month of Debora L. Spar as the first female president of Lincoln Center in New York, ensuring that our countrys three great performing arts centers will be run by women. Two years ago Deborah F. Rutter became the first female president of Kennedy Center in Washington. Last year Rachel Moore took over the Music Center of Los Angeles. Once Spar moves down Broadway some 50 blocks from Barnard College, where she has been president since 2008, women will preside over a large and influential swath of performing arts. That means for the second time in two years, I am devoting a year-end consideration to womens role in classical music. In the case of L.A., Moore is hardly the first woman ruling the Music Center, which was founded by Dorothy Buffum Chandler, then-wife of the Los Angeles Times publisher. The 50th anniversary of the Music Centers Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the end of 2014 was occasion in these pages to look back on the crucial role women have played, and continue to play, in the history of classical music in Los Angeles. Advertisement Now the rest of the country and select parts of the world seem to be catching up. This has been a good year for female conductors. Mirga Grazinyte-Tylas appointment as music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England made the front page of the London Times. Prima Donna was the theme of the Lucerne Festivals focus on female composers and conductors this summer, and it wasnt as condescending as it might sound. Women in some parts of Switzerland didnt get to vote until the 1970s. We will need time to know just what will happen at the centers Lincoln, Kennedy and Music. There is much work to be done. All three leaders have arrived at a campus with major infrastructure needs, huge fundraising challenges and, most important of all, a desperate demand for artistic vision. All three new presidents get my vote. Rutter at Kennedy Center has been in her post the longest and consequently has the most to show, although the performing arts world moves slowly. A musician who previously headed the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony and Chicago Symphony, she has, not surprisingly, put much of her public attention on the troubled National Symphony and appointed an excellent new music director, Gianandrea Noseda, who begins next season. No one knows what cultural Washington will be like in a Trump administration, but it will be womens chance to make a difference in its classical music scene, which in the last couple of years has become even more feminist than in Los Angeles. Francesca Zambello is breathing new life into Washington National Opera (a Kennedy Center resident company); Jenny Bilfield has made Washington Performing Arts one of the liveliest presenting organizations in the country. At the beginning of the year, Moore, a former dancer with and head of American Ballet Theatre, told The Times that her priorities included a major renovation of the Music Center plaza, making it an audience-friendly meeting place, along with the creation of an Edinburgh-like summer festival. While she has remained somewhat under the radar, Moore reaffirmed in remarks to Gail Eichenthal on KUSC-FM that those projects are very much in the works. But first, Moore has sought to catch the attention of millennials with late-night events throughout the campus for the downtown crowd, and that seems to be working. There is nothing like eager young people coming to the Music Center for the first time to encourage the county Board of Supervisors to pony up investments in the county facility. Lurking, however, is the elephant in the room: the long-needed renovation of the half-century-old Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Lincoln Center in New York, to put it bluntly, is a mess. Even the recent Diller Scofidio + Renfro redo is already starting to look a little bland. But remodeling some of its public areas, and the questionable refit of Alice Tully Hall, was never going to do much to vitalize the performing arts center. The two most prominent companies, the Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic, are struggling for audiences, cash and relevance. The last president resigned after questions about a relationship with a staff member whom he promoted. That departure leaves Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic to raise upwards of half a billion dollars for the renovation of David Geffen Hall, after getting only $100 million from Geffen for the naming rights (and needing $15 million to pay the family of Avery Fisher, for whom the hall had been named). Spar inherits that problem plus the new Geffen renovation team selected a year ago, the fashionable Heatherwick Studio and the more conservative Diamond Schmitt Architects. Designs were promised this year and havent yet been made public. The halls main need is acoustic, but that so far has been the last thing on Lincoln Centers mind. It in no way, shape or form wants something as exciting or democratic or acoustically involving as a vineyard-style hall, like Walt Disney Concert Hall and pretty much all the best halls of the last three decades. But there is hope. Spar appears to be an especially savvy pick. An academic with diplomatic and business experience, a graduate and former professor of the Harvard Business School, she also has a background in dance. The Lincoln Center board no doubt was impressed by Spars fundraising ability at Barnard. Im impressed by the latest of her several books, Wonder Woman: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection, a discerning post-feminist evaluation of the role of women in todays society, the expectations for them and the ones they have for themselves. If anyone can be the savior of Lincoln Center (and Im not sure any can be), Spar just may be the one. The last lesson of 2016 is that with Deborah Rutter, Debora Spar and the Los Angeles Philharmonics Deborah Borda, who is the most successful arts manager in the country, you now know what to name a baby girl you would like to see become president. mark.swed@latimes.com Al Pacino will star in a production of Dotson Raders God Looked Away at the Pasadena Playhouse in February, the theater said Friday. The Oscar winner is no stranger to theater, having performed in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway shows and earning two Tony Awards, but its rare for the actor, 76, to bring his stage talents west. Pacino starred in a 2006 L.A. run of Salome at the Wadsworth Theatre, but God Looked Away marks the first time he will be part of a production developed and staged entirely in the Los Angeles area. Robert Allan Ackerman, who directed Pacino in Salome, will again work with the actor for this new production. Advertisement Pacinos costar will be Judith Light of the streaming series Transparent and a frequent stage actor. God Looked Away looks into the life and career of playwright, screenwriter and novelist Tennessee Williams. The production is apt for Pasadena, as Williams premiered two works at the playhouse early in his career. The play will be the first production in the Pasadena theaters PlayWorks play development program. The playhouse is about to enter its 100th year, and I cant think of a better way to kick off the celebration than with the expansion of our new works program beginning with this new development production and these extraordinary artists, Danny Feldman, the playhouses producing artistic director, said in a statement. This summer the Playhouse announced that Feldman would succeed Sheldon Epps, who led the playhouse for two decades. Feldman comes to Los Angeles from New York, where he was the executive director of the Labryinth Theater Company, whose members have included Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz. Performances begin Feb. 8 and run until March 19. makeda.easter@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @makedaeaster ALSO 2016 was a stellar year for women in theater, and yet Cinderella hits the stage with pop songs, Morgan Fairchild, Disney stars and a bit of Glee Misty Copeland and American Ballet Theatre deliver a dazzling Nutcracker in Costa Mesa Carrie Fisher on Princess Leia: Shes like a superhero (Robert Carter / For The Times) Actress and writer Carrie Fisher has died after suffering a cardiac episode during a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23. Prior to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fisher spoke to The Times about the film, Princess Leia and her Star Wars legacy. Below is an excerpt from a story originally published on Dec. 4, 2015. Fisher would know what it takes to make a lasting legacy in this franchise. The first few precious moments of A New Hope follow the angry revolutionary pulling together a contingency plan to smuggle spy documents off a spaceship. Unafraid of being taken hostage by the nefarious Empire, Princess Leia blasts the invading Imperial Stormtroopers. Leia shoots first. In captivity, Leia proceeds to throw some truly galactic shade: Darth Vader, only you could be so bold, Gov. Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vaders leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board, and the classic, Arent you a little short for a Stormtrooper? While Han Solo shirks responsibility and Luke Skywalker fumbles around with his evolving, boyish perception of the hero, Leia gets things done. When her own rescue goes awry, she grabs the blaster herself and finds a way out. Shes not just a princess but a radical fighting for freedom under a tyrannical empire. She had contempt for and worked with men, and I liked that, Fisher says. There was something human about her. It showed that she could do whatever she needed to do, and if she could do that, then everybody could do it. People identified with her. Shes like a superhero. Kennedy, who took over the reins for Lucas in 2012, agrees. When Princess Leia hit the scene in 1977 she was a pretty formidable character. I give George [Lucas] a huge amount of credit, she says. Leia really held her own. We used that as kind of a touchstone for why it was so important to have a strong female character and hopefully many more strong female characters in the Star Wars universe. The new film reintroduces Leia 30 years after the war. Shes no longer a princess but a general. And shes still very much in command still walking and talking, Fisher says. She doesnt have any mortal wounds or disease. But, she warns, things have happened that have been difficult. Fisher was mum on the rest of her characters details but didnt mind sharing a moment of nostalgia she felt on the set of the new film: Youre so self-conscious, youre exhausted before you get out of your trailer. I was in my trailer in the back and I heard Harrison. I recognized how his boots sound, and I heard him say, Is Carrie here? That was funny. That was like were back on Star Wars campus. In response to this reporters surprise that the actress who brought to life Princess Leia general of the new resistance was self-conscious, Fisher let out a guffaw. I think everyone thinks the same way, only [some] people pretend better. Im going to do badly this time. I look like .... The new people are better. What am I going to do? My hair looks bad again. Fisher may still get nervous, but that doesnt change her legacy. Nor did it stop her tenacious response about the recent kerfuffle over her characters notorious bikini. A frustrated father in Deptford, Pa., went viral in a Fox 29 report over a Target store selling Princess Leia action figure toys dressed in the divisive slave Leia ensemble (a metal two-piece the character was forced to wear while prisoner to character Jabba the Hutt). The man was perturbed it was being sold in the toy aisle and flustered over how he was going to explain the toys chain to his daughters. How about telling his daughter that the character is wearing that outfit not because shes chosen to wear it. Shes been forced to wear it, Fisher advises. Shes a prisoner of a giant testicle who has a lot of saliva going on and she does not want to wear that thing and its ultimately that chain, which youre now indicating is some sort of accessory to S&M, that is used to kill the giant saliva testicle. Thats asinine. Truly the contempt for the scruffy-looking nerf-herders of the world is very much alive and well in Fisher. Read More The evacuation of the last rebel-held pocket of territory in Aleppo has been "suspended" but is not over, a Syrian military source told AFP on Friday. The source said there had been a "suspension" of the operations but that "they are not finished," after the Russian defence ministry said the evacuation had been completed. Search Keywords: Short link: When director David Frankel approached Helen Mirren about Collateral Beauty, in theaters Dec. 16, he said, Helen, I want you to play death. It was a simple statement about a complex role, which arrives in a holiday film that deals with grief and human connection in a unique way. At first, though, Mirren hesitated. I wasnt thrilled, the 71-year-old actress admits, sitting down to tea at the Luxe hotel in Los Angeles. The first thing I did was to look at the images of death online. Page after page of hooded creatures with skulls, carrying scythes, or scary creatures with blood dripping off their hands. They were horror pictures. I thought, Thats not me. But then Mirren came across an image of a bluebird, which in certain South American cultures is a representation of death. I thought, Thats lovely, she says. Nearby hotel guests are staring in recognition of Mirren, who has established herself as one of Hollywoods most revered actors since getting her start on the London stage in the late 60s. The blue is of the eternity of the ocean, the eternity of the sky, she adds. That was much more the death that I wanted to personify. Advertisement To be fair, Mirren doesnt exactly play death. She plays an aging East Village actress named Brigitte who, in turn, is hired to play the personification of death. This death appears to Will Smiths character wearing a blue feather boa after he pens a letter to death following the loss of his daughter to cancer. Mirren is one of three personifications who help him cope with his grief and reconnect with the humanity around him time, love and death. Its about the beauty that can come out of incredible hardship and pain, Mirren reflects. Its a very difficult concept to struggle with because you dont want to negate or underestimate peoples suffering because there is huge suffering in the world. But I do believe that there is, in the crassest possible way, a silver lining. I thought a film that investigates and tries to reveal that fact was very interesting. The way in which the way the story is told is very strange and imaginative. When I [read] it I thought, Wow I dont know if this will ever work, but theres something really truthful in this story. Mirrens role in Collateral Beauty is a far cry from her other recent onscreen characters. She played a stoic military colonel in Eye in the Sky, columnist Hedda Hopper in Trumbo and signed on to host IFCs comedy series Documentary Now! She doesnt care to repeat herself and she believes that there is no direct correlation between her roles. I do try to do things that shake it up a bit, she notes. The whole fun in what I do for a living is to explore so many different completely different and unconnected characters. Thats the absolute fun in what I do. Mirren is so interested in challenging perceptions and trying new things that she petitioned to get herself cast in next years Fate of the Furious, which will be the franchises first edition without Paul Walker. Mirren spent one day on set in Atlanta shooting her scenes and loved every minute of it. I zoomed in and I did two scenes and I zoomed out again, says Mirren, who once appeared on Top Gear simply because she wanted to race around their test track. I had the best time. It was fantastic. I just had this desire to do Fast 8. Ive been lobbying for a while. Begging really. Ive always loved car driving stuff to do in films. I very foolishly pride myself on my driving. If you glance at Mirrens filmography it seems as though the award-winning actress, who is currently shooting Disneys The Nutcracker in London, has breezed through good role after good role. Shes consistently found interesting parts in an industry not known for giving women especially those over the age of 40 complex roles. But if you ask Mirren, she constantly wonders whether shell keep working. Ive been amazingly lucky, she says. And who knows how long it will go on for. I said in a talk once that all actors think of themselves as basically out of work because theyre always facing unemployment. Brad Pitt said, Well, I dont feel like that. He was right, incidentally: Hell never be unemployed. But for me its not so much Will there be another role? Because there probably will be. But will it be something I want to do? Will anything ever come again that I want to do thats exciting? She adds, Thats been the story of my life, jealously looking at what other people are doing. I wish I could do that! I wish I was as good as that! I think thats slightly the nature of our job. Or maybe Im the only one who feels like that. I dont know. Ive gotten used to that feeling because Ive had it my whole bloody life. The reality is that good work is few and far between. Especially in movies. For Frankel, who directed Mirren for the first time in Collateral Beauty, having someone like her on set helped production tremendously. He found that the rest of the cast, particularly the younger actors, pushed themselves harder when Mirren was around. Whats fantastic about great actors and Ive been really lucky to work with a lot of iconic performers is that they tend to be the easiest to direct, says Frankel, who has The Devil Wears Prada and Marley and Me under his belt. Helens been knighted and won every award you can win, so now its about doing the best work she can do. Theres this extra bonus where they pull the best work out of everybody around them. Everybody wants to be very prepared. Theyre going to work with Helen Mirren and they want to be at the top of their game. Mirren felt particularly close to Collateral Beauty, partly because she spends a lot of time thinking about how different people connect. She has a tattoo on her hand, which she got when only gay sailors and Hells Angels got tattoos, that represents an understanding of the opposite. Its a reminder that difference exists and that you can connect through that difference. Shes grappling with that idea in the wake of the U.S. election, during which Mirren spoke out adamantly about Donald Trump, and she hopes that strength will come from the result. Life is always a struggle, she muses. We have to remember that its not just about the last 10 years or the next 10 years. Its about the last 10 million years and the next 10 million years. Its not just about us in the moment. For her, the message of Collateral Beauty is that we cant remove ourselves from humanity simply because were in pain. That its the connections, especially the unexpected ones, that heal us. Its an individual journey that we all have to make, Mirren says. I dont think the film is making any lectures on that. But it is trying to say that were all on this journey together. I always say, You either die young or you get old. Theres nothing in between. I think the film is just saying you should allow yourself to be a part of the human race and the human journey. She smiles and adds, Dont cut yourself off from that. Movie recommendations from critics Kenneth Turan, Justin Chang and other reviewers. Click title for full review. Arrival Amy Adams stars in this elegant, involving science-fiction drama that is simultaneously old and new, revisiting many alien-invasion conventions but with unexpected intelligence, visual style and heart. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13. The Eagle Huntress A portrait of a 13-year-old Kazakh girl from Mongolia who defies eons of tradition by learning to hunt with fierce golden eagles is a documentary so satisfying it makes you feel good about feeling good. (Kenneth Turan) G. Advertisement The Edge of Seventeen Hailee Steinfeld gives a superb performance as a high-school misfit in Kelly Fremon Craigs disarmingly smart teen dramedy, the rare coming-of-age picture that feels less like a retread than a renewal. (Justin Chang) R. Elle Paul Verhoevens brilliantly booby-trapped thriller starring Isabelle Huppert is a gripping whodunit, a tour de force of psychological suspense and a wickedly droll comedy of manners. (Justin Chang) R. The Handmaiden The most absorbing feature in years from the South Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) is a teasingly witty and elegant puzzle-box of a thriller about two women (played by Kim Tae-ri and Kim Min-hee) pursuing their destinies in 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea. (Justin Chang) NR. Jackie Star Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy and director Pablo Larrain brilliantly pull back the curtain on one of the most public of private lives. (Kenneth Turan) R. La La Land Starring a well-paired Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, writer-director Damien Chazelles tuneful tribute to classic movie musicals is often stronger in concept than execution, but its lovely and transporting all the same. (Justin Chang) PG-13. Loving Beautifully acted by Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton, this involving, socially conscious Jeff Nichols drama shows the personal lives of the interracial couple whose marriage led to the 1967 Supreme Court ruling that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13. Manchester by the Sea Powerful, emotional filmmaking that leaves a scar, Kenneth Lonergans drama starring Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams is both heartbreaking and heartening, a film that just wallops you with its honesty, its authenticity and its access to despair. (Kenneth Turan) R. Moonlight Superb filmmaking and an exceptional level of emotional honesty universalizes a very specific coming-of-age experience, that of a gay black man growing from child to adult starting in 1980s Miamis crack cocaine epidemic years. (Kenneth Turan) R. Neruda Pablo Larrains intoxicating puzzle of a movie is less a straightforward biopic of the great Chilean poet (played by Luis Gnecco) than a rigorous and imaginative investigation of his inner world. (Justin Chang) R. Things to Come The great Isabelle Huppert and director Mia Hansen-Love combine for a film about a woman newly on her own. Its quiet satisfactions very much sneak up on you. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13 See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour New series I loved in 2016: 13 shows in 10 items, in no particular order. Baskets (FX) / Atlanta (FX) Zach Galifianakis and Donald Glover find themselves back home and struggling in these personal, downbeat, guardedly hopeful, suddenly beautiful comedies. Louie Anderson, as Galifianakis mother, is the first series big surprise and revelation; Brian Tyree Henry, as Glovers rapper cousin, the latters. Insecure (HBO) Issa Rae plays a woman stuck in place, grappling with love, friendship, work and identity in and around Inglewood. As above: personal, guardedly hopeful and suddenly beautiful, and a little bit downbeat. Advertisement Better Things (FX) Pamela Adlon raising daughters in Hollywood, with love, exasperation and attitude. Stranger Things (Netflix) This dual-worlds, science-gone-too-far serial, set in the 1980s, is allusive nearly to a fault. But its fully itself in the end, raised to another level by some fine performances, none more crucial or uncanny than that of Millie Bobby Brown as a little girl raised with a number for a name, on whose shoulders the whole business rests. Crash Course: Philosophy (YouTube) Vlogger Hank Green helps you learn to think in this sprightly but substantial romp through the history and forms of inward- and outward-looking reflection. Only when you challenge your understanding of how some people view the world can you decide for yourself if theirs is a view worth having. Just what you might need now. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS) The new American moment has brought out the best in a host of talk and topical comedians. But with her punk stand and speed, her unapologetic partisan rage, Bee is a warrior queen, the leader of the pack. The Good Place (NBC) Ted Danson, Kristen Bell and William Jackson Harper bend the rules of heaven in an afterlife comedy made in the old NBC Thursday night spirit. When I say old, I mean last year, before Parks and Recreation split. Berlin Station (Epix) Sleek but not slick contemporary, continental, no-nonsense spy thriller features Richard Armitage, Michelle Forbes and Rhys Ifans as American agents looking to plug a leak in chilly, new-Cold War Germany. From earlier this year, when the CIA still counted. Lady Dynamite (Netflix)/ Dice (Showtime) Comics in straitened circumstances. Maria Bamford is the star of Lady Dynamite, a bipolar surrealist farce set in three mental states. Dice is Andrew Dice Clay, more complicated than you might remember him, scuffling in Las Vegas, with dry support from Natasha Leggero and Kevin Corrigan. Easy (Netflix)/ High Maintenance (HBO) Serial anthologies that move through tangentially linked sets of characters and share a sympathetic view of human difference and frailty. Easy, from indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg, centers on Chicago creative types; High Maintenance, set in New York, has pot delivery as its spine. robert.lloyd@latimes.com Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd ALSO In The Good Place, Kristen Bell is a troublemaker in the afterlife Donald Glovers new FX series, Atlanta, is a beautifully played comedy of place and character Spy thriller Berlin Station deftly balances character and plot Andrew Dice Clay is flawed, fearful and much more likable in Dice Your next Netflix binge: Maria Bamfords inventive and intimate Lady Dynamite Entertainment year in review 2016 Whats in season: Known for their loose, easy-peeling skins, mandarin oranges are one of the sweeter offerings of winter, and the fruit is generally in season from late fall through early spring. Tangerines were one of the first varieties of mandarins imported to the United States, arriving from Tangier, Morocco. Today, other popular varieties include red-orange clementines and small Japanese Satsumas, as well as large Dekopon and tiny Ojai pixies. What to cook: While varieties vary slightly in flavor, mandarins are generally known for their sweet-tangy notes and make a perfect winter snack simply eaten out of hand. Peel the fruit and use the slices to lend bright color and flavor to salads, or juice the fruit and use as a base for marinades, sorbets, ice creams and jams. And remember to save the peel and add the zest to cocktails or baked goods. Whats on the horizon: Fennel, normally in season from late winter through early spring, is just beginning to show up. Advertisement OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH CREME FRAICHE AND CANDIED TANGERINES Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes | Serves 12 Note: From Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin. CANDIED TANGERINES 1/2 vanilla bean 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 6 tangerines, peeled and separated into double segments 1. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use a paring knife to scrape the seeds and pulp of one-half of the bean into a medium saucepan. Add half of the vanilla pod, the sugar and the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 2. Meanwhile, remove the large white veins, or pith, from the tangerine segments. 3. Reduce the heat to low and add the tangerines to the syrup. Simmer the fruit until the tangerines look a little puffy and shiny, 3 to 5 minutes. 4. Strain the mixture over a bowl and discard the vanilla pod. Return the liquid to the pan and reduce over medium-high heat until its slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. 5. Allow the syrup to cool completely and gently stir in the tangerines. CAKE AND ASSEMBLY 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup fine couscous 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup brandy 3 extra-large eggs 6 extra-large egg yolks 1 cup sugar 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup creme fraiche Candied tangerines 1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 10-inch round cake pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil. 2. Sift the flour and baking powder together and then stir in the couscous and salt. Combine 1 cup olive oil and the brandy in a small bowl. 3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, yolks and sugar on high speed for 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer and alternate folding in the dry and wet ingredients, a third at a time. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Tap the pan on the counter three times to remove any air bubbles. 4. Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. The cake should be golden brown and spring back slightly when you touch the center. Cool the cake on a rack for at least 15 minutes. 5. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the cream and creme fraiche together to soft peaks. 6. Cut slices from the cake and place them on dessert plates. Spoon some of the candied tangerines and syrup over each piece and dollop with the whipped cream. Each serving: 530 calories; 6 grams protein; 53 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 32 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 244 mg. cholesterol; 187 mg. sodium. ALSO Our top 5 cookies of 2016 Try this diner-style roast beef hash recipe for dinner tonight Cauliflower is officially in season. Here are some of our favorite recipes I dont think you can find them all on Google, but this is probably the 12th or 13th time I have been assigned to write a year-end tamale piece, and for almost all of them I have made the rounds of more or less the same Boyle Heights tamaleros before declaring once again that Juanitos is definitively the best. This weekend is when you need to order many of the areas best tamales if you want to pick them up on Christmas Eve. Such decisions are not to be taken lightly. Juanitos supremacy is also not to be taken lightly. Advertisement A New York chef I know has her husband pack a couple dozen every time he flies out from Los Angeles. They are the tamales I miss when I happen to be out of town for the holidays. The smack, the funk, the slippery, corn-thickened red chile, taste like Christmas, even in the middle of July. But I was determined to do a different kind of tamale essay this year, so I gathered my family on a weekend morning and drove to Tamales Lilianas, a fragrant restaurant near El Mercado, to begin a tamale crawl I was planning to try a red-chile tamale at each of half a dozen places. We ordered a few tamales, but my wife was distracted by the menudo; and my son wanted an enchilada plate; and green chile tamales, cheese-drenched rajas tamales and sweet elote tamales somehow found their way onto the table; I eyed the Zacatecas-style peanut mole, and suddenly we werent hungry anymore. Tamale crawls demand a kind of discipline we clearly didnt have. The next morning I thought it might be a good idea to include tamales from other regions of Mexico the banana-leaf-wrapped mole tamales from Guelaguetza are especially good, as are the super-rich banana-leaf-wrapped Yucatecan tamales from both Chichen Itza in the La Paloma complex near USC and La Flor de Yucatan a short drive away. I dreamed of the Taiwanese zongzi, the bamboo-leaf-wrapped pyramidal mounds of pork-stuffed sticky rice that are so good at Four Sea Restaurant in San Gabriel, or the sweeter, Shanghai-style zongzi at Dean Sin World in Monterey Park. I considered the Thai bamboo wraps stuffed with sticky rice and banana that occasionally show up at Sapp Coffee Shop, or the delicious hor ab, banana-leaf-steamed catfish curry at Night + Market Song. I contemplated the tasty central Vietnamese banh nam at Kim Hoa Hue. I also thought about the fancy, loose tamales stuffed with pork neck at Broken Spanish, and the deconstructed tamales you see sometimes at La Casita Mexicana. And I decided they didnt count holidays are about tradition, and in my family, in which my mother-in-law still drags the kids to see Too Many Tamales at the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts and lugs home armfuls of tamales from La Mascota Bakery every year, anything that isnt a red-chile pork tamale is pretty much beside the point. We have the rest of the year to discuss the appropriateness of mixiotes and hor mok. Monica Acosta packs some fresh tamales for the customers who line up early in the morning to purchase Christmas tamales at Tamales Lilianas Restaurant in Los Angeles. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times ) Did I make the usual rounds once again? I did. By this time, my truck can practically guide itself along the six-stop trail from Juanitos to La Mascota. I stood behind burly MTA workers scarfing 8 a.m. carnitas burritos at Los Cinco Puntos, women carting basins of masa preparada, tamale dough, at La Indiana, and skinny teens waiting for huevos divorciados at Lilianas. I paused to observe the guys at Uruapan nixtamal-izing vast tubs of corn. I marveled once again at the tamale-stuffed sandwiches at La Mascota. And when I broke out the tamales back at The Times Test Kitchen, nobody was quite surprised by what they tasted. The dense, stubby tamales from Los Cinco Puntos were slightly greasy, with a forward flavor of toasted chile and cumin a masculine tamale, if you want to look at it a certain way a tamale you could probably fire out of a gun. Lilianas tamales were pudding-like, delicate, with a slightly perfumey aroma of corn. The ones from La Indiana were surprisingly spicy, thick and moist, almost like the Platonic version of the tamales you may have grown up eating in non-Mexican parts of the world. Uruapans tamales were pleasant if unremarkable; La Mascotas tamales were balanced if a little stodgy, with an instantly recognizable smack. I would be happy eating any of them, with a mug of champurrado, a ladle of my mother-in-laws chile rojo and a discreet heap of beans. I am probably going to be eating La Mascota this year. But as always, I will be aware that I am not eating tamales from Juanitos: masa shaped into thin, sturdy layers around a rather impressive amount of filling, and steamed in broth rather than the customary water. An extra, bouncier layer, insulated from the body of the tamale by an extra few inches of corn husk, displays the round flavor of the masa in a surprisingly different way. Chile oozes stickily. Fingers are burned. Each bite is more delicious than the next. Jonathan Golds six-stop tamale trail: Juanitos, 4214 E. Floral Drive, East Los Angeles, (323) 268-2365 Los Cinco Puntos, 3300 E. Cesar E Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 261-4084 La Indiana, 1142 S Indiana St., East Los Angeles, (323) 262-4682 Tamales Lilianas, 3448 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, (323) 780-0839. Carniceria Uruapan, 2100 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 265-2474 La Mascota, 2715 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 263-5513 ALSO Jonathan Golds 10 best dishes of 2016 Jonathan Gold finds strong flavors and a splendid bar at Heres Looking at You in Koreatown Jonathan Gold didnt expect a Nick Erven vegan restaurant, but it might be L.A.'s best vegan dining Meeting for the first time since the U.S. presidential election, European Union members agreed Thursday to increase their spending on defense. President-elect Donald Trumps friendly overtures to an expansionist Russia and his statements casting doubt on his commitment to the NATO alliance have sent shudders through Europe. The agreement to boost national defense budgets was widely seen as a response to the election and fears that the U.S. may become a less dependable ally. Advertisement Europeans must take greater responsibility for their security, EU leaders wrote in a briefing document after the summit. During his campaign, Trump said the U.S. was carrying too much of the burden of maintaining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The treaty recommends that each members defense spending be at least 2% of its gross domestic product, a threshold met only by the United States, Greece, Britain, Estonia and Poland. Under the agreement reached Thursday, all 28 EU members even the six that are not part of NATO promised to meet that standard. If they follow through, defense spending in Europe will increase dramatically. We need to tighten up our defense structures in NATO and with NATO, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Concern about defense centered on Russian aggression. At the summit, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande pushed for the EU to impose new economic sanctions against Russia, which along with Syrian government forces carried out the devastating bombing of Aleppo. We have a situation here where the [Syrian] regime through the use of brutal violence and with the help of Russia has gained the upper hand, Merkel told reporters. But she failed to convince other leaders, even after an emotional meeting with the mayor of east Aleppo, who pleaded with the politicians to help Syrian civilians. I am not calling on countries to go to war, the mayor, Brita Hagi Hasan, told reporters before the meeting. But more than words are needed to save civilians. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents the leaders of EU member countries, said the U.S. presidential election threw uncertainty into the decision over sanctions because of Trumps warmer attitude toward Russia. We have to wait for the formal declarations of the new president, Tusk said. Separately, the leaders agreed to a six-month extension of sanctions that were already in place against Russia for its military actions in Ukraine. The EU first imposed those sanctions after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over a rebel-held part of Ukraine in 2014. The summit came at the end of a year that rattled mainstay politicians across Europe as the continents struggle with immigration has increased support for far-right populist parties and British voters approved the so-called Brexit referendum to leave the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May attended the summit but was excluded from a dinner where the leaders of the remaining 27 EU countries discussed how they will coordinate Britains exit from the bloc. Stupp is a special correspondent. ALSO Chinese who first glimpsed American culture through Alan Thicke mourn his death Syrias Assad hails the liberation of Aleppo as evacuations begin from devastated city A top Danish chef plans to open a $600-per-diner pop-up in Mexico, and its already fully booked The tragic chain of events began early Monday morning when Bakersfield police received a 911 call saying a man had menaced two women with a gun. Authorities arrived in the southwest Bakersfield neighborhood and came across Francisco Serna, 73, who was walking out of his home across the street from police. The woman immediately pointed and identified Serna as the threatening man. Police said Serna refused an officers orders to take his hands out of his pocket. The officer eventually fired seven rounds, striking him five times, according to a coroners report. Advertisement When authorities searched Sernas body, they did not find a weapon. Instead, they recovered a dark, faux wood crucifix. Family members later revealed Serna was suffering from the early stages of dementia. The shooting has sparked anger and grief in Bakersfield and beyond and prompted calls for a federal investigation into the shooting. Lyle Martin, who was recently named Bakersfields police chief, said police are aware of how deeply Sernas death has shaken the city. This is a very tragic incident for their family, for this community as a whole and for the Police Department, he said. He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets. Rogelio Serna Sernas death is the latest in a series of high-profile incidents of police killing unarmed people this year across the United States. The case also comes at a time when law enforcement agencies are trying to improve the way they handle incidents involving those with mental illness or impairments. Bakersfield police had visited Sernas home eight times before Mondays shooting, and half of the visits were false burglary alarms, a police spokesman said. His son, Rogelio Serna, told The Times that his father would become confused and activate a medical alarm, triggering the arrival of police. Francisco Serna had shown signs of dementia since 2015 and occasionally experienced delusions, his son said. His symptoms seemed more pronounced in the last month, his son recalled. About eight hours before the shooting, a neighbor told police that Serna was banging on the neighbors door and windows. The man said Serna grabbed his hand, then tried to drag him outside and challenged him to a fight, police said. The neighbor said Serna also kept a hand in his pocket and acted as though he had a gun, although the neighbor never actually saw a weapon, police said. Family members said they believe the shooting could have been avoided. With community groups, they called for better police training, greater transparency and broader diversity in the department. It is difficult to accept that our dads life ended so brutally, abruptly and with such excessive violence, a family statement said. We felt our dad was stolen from us at a time our family should be celebrating the holidays, birthdays and making happy family memories. Serna had worked at a cotton gin in McFarland, Calif., for years and retired in the early to mid-2000s, his son said. Rogelio Serna said his parents moved to Bakersfield about eight years ago, leaving the town of Wasco so they could be closer to their children. The elder Serna lived with his wife and one of his daughters. My dad did not own a gun. He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life, Rogelio Serna said. He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets. At a vigil Tuesday night, family spokeswoman Cyndi Imperial said Sernas relatives had requested an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. They have also asked the California attorney general to appoint an independent investigator in the matter. The episode began at 12:35 a.m., when a woman arrived at her home in the 7900 block of Silver Birch Avenue the same block where Serna lived and began removing items from a friends vehicle, the chief said. Serna approached the woman, stood behind her and questioned her about the neighborhood. She told police he was acting strange. He then asked her if he could get inside her vehicle, the chief said. During the exchange, Serna had one hand in his pocket, Martin said. The woman told police that she saw a black- or brown-handled object in his jacket and that she believed it was a firearm. That object may have been the crucifix later recovered by authorities. The womans friend opened the cars back door and allowed Serna to look inside. As the woman ran inside her home and told her husband to call police, her friend drove off. The husband told a 911 dispatcher that a man outside had a revolver and had brandished the weapon, the chief said. Two police officers responded just after 12:40 a.m. As officers and the couple stood outside, the woman spotted Serna exiting his home across the street. Martin said she pointed toward Serna, and said, Thats him. The couple rushed inside their home and closed their doors. The officers took cover. Serna kept both hands in his jacket and continued walking toward police as they ordered him to stop and show his hands, Martin said. Serna ignored the officers commands and walked toward Officer Reagan Selman. When Serna was 15 to 20 feet away, Selman fired seven rounds at Serna, he said. Martin said Selman made that decision as Serna moved toward him. Serna was struck and fell in the driveway. No lower levels of force were attempted by any officer, Martin said. Serna never lunged or threatened officers, he said. Martin said 20 to 30 seconds had elapsed between the woman identifying Serna and the officer firing the first shot. By then, five more officers had responded and saw the shooting. None of the other officers fired any rounds, Martin said. See the most-read stories in Local News this hour In the aftermath of the shooting, Sernas family was prevented from seeing and comforting their mother for 14 hours as police investigated, according to Imperial. Family who asked to see their mother was told ... that if they crossed the police line they would be arrested, she said. The family said police prevented Sernas wife and daughter from checking on him even when they asked to be allowed to be next to him just to hold his hand. Details were withheld from the Serna family and they learned from social media and the 5 oclock news that their dad had passed away, Imperial added. Selman and the six other officers were placed on routine administrative leave. Selman joined the force in July 2015. It was his first police shooting. This is a tragedy, Martin told reporters. This is a very delicate situation. Click here for a Spanish version of this story ALSO Major storms barrel into California: Every field is a big lake Ex-owner of dog that had 42-pound tumor is charged with animal cruelty Robert Dursts lawyers challenge evidence and accuse prosecutor of deceptive jailhouse interview Two Navy contractors have been charged in connection with separate bomb hoaxes reported at San Diego Naval Base and an adjacent shipyard earlier this year. The scrawled threats, two in a string of at least 25 since November 2015, shut down the ships and piers where they were found. In the first case, Joshua Rice, 26, is accused of reporting to security personnel that he spotted the word bomb written inside a portable toilet near three vessels docked at a San Diego Naval Base pier on May 17. Advertisement Prosecutors say Rice knew there was no threat. He was a contractor for American Marine, a ship repair company. In an unrelated instance on Sept. 24, Roberto Rubio, 22, is suspected of writing 9-24-16 400 bomb on an interior wall of the guided missile cruiser Cowpens, which was undergoing work at BAE Systems shipyard. According to the U.S. attorneys office, Rubio then told another contractor about the threat that he knew was fake. Rubio was a BAE Systems-contracted welder. Both Rice and Rubio were arrested Wednesday. Gunnar Newquist, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in San Diego, told the Union-Tribune in June that the motive behind the hoaxes likely was to get time off or burden a boss or co-worker. After a threat is reported, naval security officers and bomb-sniffing dogs sweep the area until it is deemed safe. Navy officials have said the hours-long process halts ship repair work and has the potential to impact Navy readiness. Everyone should know that making false bomb threats is taken very seriously by federal law enforcement, and it is a felony offense, U.S. Atty. Laura Duffy said in a statement. This is not a legal or smart way of getting out of work. Hernandez writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com ALSO Rain closes major route to LAX, triples traffic crashes on L.A. area freeways and prompts river rescue KTLA news anchor Lu Parker will not be charged with theft if she completes diversion program, officials say Scott Baio says he was assaulted by the wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer because he supports Trump The drought -plagued state was slammed with rainstorms Thursday night, with Northern California hit particularly hard. In Southern California, rains started moving in Thursday afternoon. The storm is expected to drop 1 to 3 inches of rain by Friday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Sirard said. The weather service issued a flash flood watch for the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains and foothill communities in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys. But the situation in Northern California was more dramatic, with one small town in the North Bay Area receiving nearly 7 inches of rain over the last 24-hour period, forecasters said. Flash flood warnings are in effect for southern Sonoma County and northern Marin County. The remote town of Venado, west of Healdsburg, was hit the hardest as the storm moved from the North Bay into San Francisco and the Central Coast. Some creeks in those counties are over flood stages, and other areas are poised to get a good soaking later Thursday. We are expecting some enhanced activity later Thursday in the Santa Cruz Mountains and possibly the Santa Lucia Mountains and Monterey County, National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Strudley said. The storm could soak the region with as much as 2 inches of rain throughout Thursday in San Francisco and the East Bay. Double that amount is expected in parts of the South and North Bay. Strudley said that by midday Friday, the storm should work out its way out of the Bay Area and the Central Coast. California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said drivers should take it slow to avoid driving through standing water and losing control. My biggest suggestion right now is slow down and have patience, Barclay said Thursday while in Marin. Its going to take longer than normal to get home tonight, dont rush. In Healdsburg, antique dealer Greg Sheldon said driving conditions were difficult. Some of our streets are flooded here. I had 2 feet of water in one of my lanes, said Sheldon, who works at Antique Harvest. Theres just tons of water coming off, the ground is so saturated right now. Every field is a big lake. Chris Daniels, who also works in Healdsburg and lives nearby in Windsor, said she is worried about getting home Thursday night. I have a creek behind my house. Its just about ready to go over our road, she said. Im just hoping I can get back into my house. The storm is adding to an already soggy past few months. Forecasters say San Franciscos 12 days of rain in October were the most in that month in more than a century. San Francisco received 2.43 inches of precipitation in October, which was more than double the total from a year earlier. South of San Francisco in the city of Pacifica, leaders are set to raze a neglected apartment that is at risk of crumbling due to coastal erosion. Over the weekend a massive sinkhole opened near the building following rains and king tides. Workers pumped sand and concrete into the hole, which closed access to a popular beach and caused concerns about recurring erosion due to heavy rains and high waves. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning and flash flood watch for Thursday through Friday for the Yosemite region. Flooding will occur on the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. Two to 4 inches of rain are forecast Thursday through Friday, with some areas receiving as much as 6 inches. Roads will be closed in and out of the valley. Elsewhere, trees dried by drought could be downed by the wind and the rain, leading to possible power outages. In the Sierra Nevada, winds are gusting to nearly 100 mph over the ridge tops, downing power lines in the Reno area and slowing traffic ahead of a major winter storm off the Pacific. A winter storm warning remains in effect through 4 a.m. Friday around Lake Tahoe, where 1 to 3 feet of snow is expected at the upper elevations. Flood watches and warnings have been issued for many streams and rivers along the Nevada-California border. In Southern California, mud flows are possible when it rains more than two-tenths of an inch in 15 minutes, and the incoming storm is expected to drop rain at a significantly higher clip than that, Sirard said. Downtown and the coast will get at least a half inch of rain, he said. It will also be windy, Sirard added. In the Antelope Valley, gusts may reach 60 mph Thursday night, while much of the rest of the Southland will see winds of 15 to 25 mph, according to Sirard. Snow levels could drop to 4,000 feet along Glendora Ridge Road in the San Gabriel Mountains. Glendora Ridge Road from Glendora Mountain Road to Mt. Baldy Road will be closed at 4 p.m. Thursday. The stretch of road will reopen Monday after the snow and debris have been cleared. The storm is expected to last all day Thursday and dissipate by Friday afternoon. ALSO Police killing of unarmed, 73-year-old grandfather sparks anger, anguish Ex-owner of dog that had 42-pound tumor is charged with animal cruelty Robert Durst's lawyers challenge evidence and accuse prosecutor of 'deceptive' jailhouse interview Eleven Burkina Faso soldiers were killed Friday in what local authorities said was the biggest ever jihadist attack on the army, at a base near the restive border with Mali. "We lost 11 of our men in the attack this morning in Nassoumbou ... the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated" against the army, the high commissioner of Soum province, Mohamed Dah, told AFP by phone. Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the base some 30 kilometres from the Burkina-Mali border, he added. "They were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles," he added. A security source who asked not to be named said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black flags. The army, which said in a statement that the Nassoumbou base had been attacked in the morning, said it had sent reinforcements. "We have launched a hunt and a more detailed toll with be provided," a security source said. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. This is the second direct attack against the Burkina army since jihadist assailants surfaced in the country in early 2015, mostly staging attacks in the north near the borders of Mali and Niger. But in January this year, three jihadists left 30 people dead and 71 injured in an attack in the heart of the capital, Ouagadougou. The army has, since 2012, had an anti-terrorist battalion deployed along the country's long border with Mali, an area which is frequently subjected to attacks and kidnappings. Search Keywords: Short link: Robert Durst has said hes eager to let a Los Angeles jury decide whether he killed his friend and confidant Susan Berman, but a brewing legal battle may impede the start of any trial. Attorneys for Durst filed court papers Thursday that challenge some of the evidence against the eccentric millionaire and offer a clearer glimpse into their defense. They argue that the high-profile murder case was rushed by an HBO miniseries and tainted by an improper jailhouse interrogation by a veteran Los Angeles County prosecutor. The filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court comes more than a month after Durst, 73, arrived in Southern California for what is expected to be a sensational trial over the death of Berman in 2000 at her Benedict Canyon cottage. Advertisement In his first court appearance in November, Durst sat in a wheelchair and pleaded not guilty, telling the judge, I did not kill Susan Berman. He remains in custody at L.A. County Jail. Durst, the scion of a prominent Manhattan real estate family, has for years generated fascination that climaxed in a 2015 miniseries on HBO, The Jinx. The six-part documentary series explored the disappearance of his wife, the death of Berman and his acquittal of murder charges in the slaying of a neighbor in Texas. It came to a dramatic finale with footage of Durst muttering into a microphone during a bathroom break: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course. The final episodes revelation was compounded by what happened off-camera. On the eve of the episodes March 15, 2015, airing, authorities arrested Durst in New Orleans, where he had been staying in a hotel under a fake name. He had marijuana, a .38-caliber revolver, more than $40,000 in cash and a mask, according to court papers. The next morning before court, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. John Lewin questioned Durst for about two hours without defense attorneys present, they say. The interrogation by Lewin was improper and deceptive, Dursts lawyers said. They said their client was frail, afraid and quite disoriented, according to court papers. Lewin countered that Durst intelligently and voluntarily agreed to the interview, according to a declaration filed Dec. 5. Dursts attorneys mounted their challenges to the evidence in response to a request by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office for a judge to appoint a special monitor to evaluate evidence that may contain materials restricted by attorney-client privilege. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Wednesday. The evidence in question comes from three sources: Dursts New Orleans hotel room, his Houston home and the Hudson Valley, N.Y., home of a close family friend. Prosecutors say the evidence was lawfully seized but that out of an abundance of caution, a judge should appoint an independent monitor to separate materials covered by attorney-client privilege. Defense lawyers disagree, saying the search in New Orleans was illegal an argument previously shot down by a federal judge overseeing a related weapons case against Durst. As in so many elements connected to the case, The Jinx and its director, Andrew Jarecki, crop up. Investigators want to examine roughly 60 boxes of personal papers involving Durst family legal disputes that were stored in the Hudson Valley basement of friend Susan Giordano. Prosecutors contend that Durst allowed Jareckis crew to rifle through the material to find a deposition of Dursts brother, Douglas Durst, and scan various materials for The Jinx, thus waiving any claim to attorney-client privilege. Jarecki submitted a declaration to prosecutors, describing how Giordano allowed him and his crew into her home with Dursts blessing. Prosecutors say Durst reiterated that blessing in his jailhouse interview. Why did you give them that stuff? Lewin, the prosecutor asked, according to a partial transcript of the questioning in court papers. Durst replied: I wanted them to see the whole thing. I couldnt, uh, get them to see me as an acceptable human being if I was covering things up. Defense lawyers say Jarecki was only authorized to locate a DVD of Dursts brothers deposition. The court filings by prosecutors and defense attorneys also provide glimpses into the years-long investigation, which has been led by LAPD Det. Gevork Shamlyan since 2012. One report from New York State Police notes how six weeks before Dursts arrest, L.A. prosecutors and detectives conducted a series of interviews with neighbors and friends of Durst and wife Kathleen Durst, who has been missing since 1982. The same report says a contractor at Dursts former South Salem, N.Y., home found a 19-inch saw behind a wall in the residence after Durst had moved out. According to the report from 2016, the saw was secured in a long-term evidence vault while New York authorities discussed additional forensic tests. matt.hamilton@latimes.com ALSO Major storms barrel into California: Every field is a big lake Police killing of unarmed, 73-year-old grandfather sparks anger, anguish Ex-owner of dog that had 42-pound tumor is charged with animal cruelty KTLA news anchor Lu Parker will not face criminal charges in connection with the theft of a pair of headphones at Los Angeles International Airport if she successfully completes a diversion program, the Los Angeles City Attorneys office said Friday. The anchor, whose legal name is Frances Louise Parker, was arrested at the airport in November and booked on suspicion of petty theft after pocketing the headphones during a security screening, police said. Parker, 48, of West Hollywood, agreed to participate in the city attorneys Neighborhood Justice Program, a pre-filing diversion program, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for City Attorney Mike Feuer. Advertisement In such cases, details about participation and the outcome of a case are considered confidential, Mateljan said. The diversion program is a way to avoid going to court, of being convicted or pleading guilty, and of having a criminal record, according to the city attorneys office. Participants appear before a panel of community members, where they discuss the alleged crime, why it was committed and the harm it caused. The panelists then decide the appropriate actions by the accused, such as doing community service, writing an apology letter, paying restitution or taking classes. The incident involving Parker occurred Nov. 2, when a passenger walking through the Transportation Security Administration screening area in Terminal 6 noticed a personal belonging was missing, said Officer Robert Pedregon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Airport Police, at the time. (KTLA said in a statement that the situation was the result of a misunderstanding.) When officers arrived at the screening area, the passenger told them what had happened and asked to perform a private persons arrest, Pedregon said. Such an arrest is usually made when no on-duty officer witnessed the offense. Security video showed the incident and a potential suspect, authorities said. According to KTLA, Parker was going through the security line and noticed that a pair of earbud headphones had been left behind. She picked them up intending to return them to the owner whom she had been speaking with while in line to clear TSA, KTLA said in a statement. But Parker couldnt find the owner, so she boarded her flight, according to the station. She was removed from a flight and arrested, authorities said. Parker was traveling to visit her father who was ill, according to the news station. Parker is a former Miss USA, a onetime girlfriend of former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a well-known animal rights advocate. hailey.branson@latimes.com Twitter: @haileybranson matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno ALSO Man fatally shot by L.A. County sheriffs deputy in Hacienda Heights Rain closes major route to LAX, triples traffic crashes on L.A. area freeways and prompts river rescue Scott Baio says he was assaulted by the wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer because he supports Trump Development fights in Los Angeles are typically local skirmishes Hollywood businesses suing over a new apartment tower or Venice homeowners pushing back against a planned Abbot Kinney hotel. But the latest battle over real estate development is a citywide fight. In March, Los Angeles voters will weigh in on Measure S, a ballot initiative that would temporarily halt the construction of some large-scale development. With the 2017 election looming, opponents and supporters are making their cases to voters. Advertisement The latest salvo came Thursday when the opponents of Measure S released a report stating the measure would cost the city both tax revenue and construction jobs. A report by Beacon Economics estimates the city would lose $70 million per year in sales, property and other taxes. About 12,000 jobs many in the construction industry would be lost each year. Surrounded by construction workers Thursday at a Van Nuys job-training facility, Ron Miller, executive secretary of the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, warned of job losses if voters back Measure S. The construction group is part of the Coalition to Protect L.A. Neighborhoods and Jobs, which includes unions, business leaders and homeless advocates fighting Measure S. This isnt a game, Miller said. Measure S punishes real families. Later in the day, Jill Stewart, campaign director of Coalition to Preserve L.A., which is behind Measure S, called the Beacon report completely false, and said it contained ginned up numbers. Sparking emotions on both sides, and highlighting longstanding tensions over real estate construction across Los Angeles, the ballot measure will decide at least for two years the future of the citys development. Called the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative by supporters, Measure S would place a two-year moratorium on the construction of projects needing variances, zone changes, or some other exemptions to the citys planning rules. Supporters say the measure will stop the type of large-scale development thats worsening traffic, driving up real estate prices and ruining the character of L.A.s neighborhoods. Opponents argue the measure will hurt the local economy. Beacons study, which was paid for by opponents of Measure S, found that limiting new housing would raise prices and rents, said Beacons executive director of research, Robert Kleinhenz. This measure absolutely goes in the wrong direction, Kleinhenz said. The report projects that at least 2,100 apartment or condominium units will not be built if Measure S passes. Developers will often seek variances for taller buildings, which typically offer more expensive apartments or condominiums. Kleinhenz said that if those high-end units arent built, wealthy buyers will cannibalize middle-class housing, leading to a lack of moderately priced properties. Measure S is led by the Coalition to Preserve L.A., which is largely funded by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Supporters argue that the citys planning process unfairly favors deep-pocketed developers, who influence politicians with campaign contributions and obtain building variances that otherwise wouldnt be approved. They argue that spot-zoning where development decisions are made on a case-by-case basis results in out-of-scale development. Stewart disputed the Beacon study, saying her groups analysis of the citys permitting system found that the Measure S moratorium would affect just 5% of real estate projects. If voters back the initiative, the economy will be better off, Stewart said. Youll have a City Council thats forced to look at its planning and at its infrastructure. No city succeeds well when it ignores its infrastructure. Thursdays economic report is the latest example of disagreement between the two groups. Opponents of Measure S held an October news conference to argue that the moratorium would hurt city efforts to building housing for the homeless. Stewart maintains the measure would allow housing for homeless Angelenos in residential and commercial zones. The Coalition to Preserve L.A. has raised more than $1.4 million to support Measure S, according to filings made in September with the city. Nearly all of that money has come from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The Coalition to Protect L.A. Neighborhoods and Jobs has raised at least $975,000, with major funding coming from two developers. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will campaign against Measure S in the coming months because hes concerned it threatens the citys economic progress, his political consultant Bill Carrick said Thursday. The mayor said earlier this year he would seek to head off the ballot measure by meeting with the Coalition to Preserve L.A. to find a compromise. Conversations didnt go anywhere, Carrick said, adding, The group is committed to the ballot measure. dakota.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @dakotacdsmith Poseidon Water hopes to help quench Orange Countys thirst, but first the companys proposed desalination project must slake a thirst of its own. Thats why Poseidon has long eyed a coastal power plant that has, for more than a half-century, sucked up seawater to cool its massive generators. The AES Huntington Beach Generating Stations giant smokestacks and steam boilers will be gone in a few years, replaced under state orders by a smaller plant that uses air, rather than the ocean, to keep from overheating. Advertisement But if Poseidon has its way, the $1-billion desalter it wants to build next door will simply take over use of the power stations old intake pipe, which reaches roughly a quarter-mile into the ocean and is big enough for a tractor-trailer to drive through. Whether regulators allow Poseidon to do that will be the first major test of new state rules designed to minimize desalinations toll on the barely visible organisms that give life to the sea but would perish just as surely in the guts of a water purification plant as they do in the power station. For all of desalinations reputation as an inexhaustible, drought-proof supply of H2O ... the state hasnt rushed to build coastal desalters. It will also measure the political influence of a company that over the years has spent more than $1.6 million on lobbying and campaign contributions while seeking approval to build the nations two largest sea-to-drinking-water operations on Southern California shores. Susan McCabe, one of the states top coastal lobbyists, has long represented Poseidon, which was acquired last year by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners of Boston, a publicly traded company that owns and operates infrastructure facilities on four continents. According to commission filings, McCabe has privately discussed the Huntington Beach proposal with many of the state coastal commissioners who will along with the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board determine its fate. Poseidon also hired Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as legal counsel a few years ago about the same time that Kathleen Brown joined the law firm as a partner overseeing government and regulatory work. A former state treasurer, Brown is Gov. Jerry Browns sister. She is listed as a Poseidon representative on a 2015 California Coastal Commission filing. Records from the California secretary of states office show that since 2000, the company has spent roughly $1.3 million lobbying the State Water Resources Control Board and the state Legislature on desalination matters. It contributed another $324,000 to state and local political action committees and candidates. Among Poseidons beneficiaries is Jerry Brown, who received a total of $38,500 for his gubernatorial, attorney general and ballot-measure campaigns. The governor appoints all members of the state and regional water boards as well as four coastal commissioners. Poseidon has donated a total of $8,900 to Democratic state Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego, who appointed two coastal commissioners while Assembly speaker in 2014-2015. The company gave $1,000 to state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, which also appoints commissioners. The Huntington Beach project is not in either of their districts. But late last year when Poseidon was pushing to go before the Coastal Commission in 2016 both legislative leaders wrote official, similarly worded letters to commission Chairman Steve Kinsey backing the proposal. Poseidon boasted of the support in a news release. And to make sure Charles Lester, who was then the commissions executive director, didnt miss Atkins letter, a commission staffer emailed him and others reviewing the proposal a copy with a subject line that read: Speaker of Assembly letter supporting desal project. (The Times obtained the email under a Public Records Act request.) De Leons office said in a statement that the Senate leader was pleased to join a broad and diverse group of business and labor organizations, elected officials and environmental leaders in supporting this project as a safe, economically-sound solution to historic drought conditions. Serving on Rules Committee is not and should not be a disqualification from taking positions on issues of critical regional importance. In an interview, Atkins said she did not personally discuss the Poseidon proposal with coastal commissioners and based her support of the Huntington Beach project on San Diego Countys success in tapping the sea for drinking water. My concern is with other parts of the state being able to do what weve done in San Diego, said Atkins, who also backed a Poseidon project in Carlsbad. In December 2015, that northern San Diego County plant started producing 50 million gallons a day of purified seawater. Under the new state requirements, however, the similarly sized Huntington Beach project will face a higher hurdle when it goes before the regional board and Coastal Commission next year. Critics also question whether it is really needed in an area that has more water sources than the San Diego region. For all of desalinations reputation as an inexhaustible, drought-proof supply of H2O in chronically water-stressed California, the state hasnt rushed to build coastal desalters for several reasons: They gobble energy, harm the marine environment and produce some of the most expensive drinking water available, most experts who study such issues say. The rules adopted last year by the state water board focus on two areas of ecological concern: how desalination plants pull seawater rich with massive quantities of algae, plankton, fish eggs and larvae from the Pacific, and how they dispose of the brine twice as salty as the ocean left over from the desalination process. Citing damage to the marine food chain, the board barred the type of open-pipe intakes Poseidon proposes for Huntington Beach the same method used at many big ocean desalters around the world. Instead, the board directed desalination plants to install wells offshore or on the beach or another type of subsurface intake that the state says would naturally filter out marine organisms. But there is a loophole, which Poseidon is trying mightily to swim through: If regulators find those methods arent feasible for technical or economic reasons, they can approve open-ocean pipes on a case-by-case basis. This is going to be the test, said Joe Geever, a former program manager for the Surfrider Foundation, a coastal protection group. With more than a dozen seawater desalination operations proposed along the coast, allowing Huntington Beach to use the old power plant pipe would just throw open the doors to open-ocean intakes, Geever argued. When Poseidon first proposed the Huntington Beach and Carlsbad projects in 1998, the company had a simple strategy: build next to existing power stations so the desalters could tap the power plants cooling discharges for source water and brine dilution. That would save infrastructure costs and, by avoiding the need for new intakes, lessen environmental concerns. The site of the proposed Poseidon desalinization project, which will be located next to the AES Huntington Beach Generating Station. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times ) But in the ensuing years, pressure grew in California to end ocean cooling by coastal power stations that were swallowing billions of gallons of seawater a day, killing an average of several million fish and more than 19 billion fish larvae annually, according to state estimates. One intake pipe off the Los Angeles coast even sucked in a scuba diver, who managed to survive. In 2010, the state water board ordered Californias 19 seaside energy plants to phase out what is known as once-through-cooling. Six have done so. AES Southland, which owns the Huntington Beach station, has until 2020 to replace its hulking 1950s complex with a more efficient, air-cooled generating facility. That means there will be no more cooling water for Poseidon to tap. So the company wants to use AES original intake pipe to draw 106 million gallons a day from the ocean. Then, after the seawater is scrubbed by energy-intensive reverse osmosis filtration, 50 million gallons a day of leftover brine would be poured back into the Pacific using the power plants old, offshore discharge pipe. In essence, opponents say, Poseidon wants California to let the budding desalination industry do what the state is forcing the energy industry at a cost of billions of dollars to stop doing. This is using a pipe from the 1960s, and the state board worked long and hard to force the power industry to stop using it, said Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network, an environmental group. Poseidon has known this is coming forever. They deliberately and stubbornly did not adjust their plan. In 2013, the Coastal Commission staff recommended approval of the Huntington Beach proposal with a condition the company hated: Instead of using the power stations intake pipe, Poseidon would have to build an offshore, subsurface intake called an infiltration gallery. Under that design in use at only one, much smaller plant in Japan contractors would excavate about 25 acres of the offshore seabed and install a grid of perforated collection pipes beneath layers of sand and gravel. Seawater, but not marine organisms, would seep through the sand, supplying a main pipe connected to the desalination complex. Poseidon fought the recommendation, echoing the power industrys arguments that the toll of open-ocean intakes is negligible compared with the teeming microscopic life that populates coastal waters. It further argued that such a system had never been used on a large scale, would require years of disruptive offshore construction next to a popular state beach and would kill the project with ballooning costs. Last year, an independent science panel convened by the Coastal Commission partly agreed. The advisory group concluded that while it was technically possible to build an offshore infiltration gallery at Huntington Beach, doing so would add at least $1 billion to project costs and make the product water so expensive nobody would buy it. Poseidon, for its part, has agreed to install fine-mesh screens to keep fish out of the intake pipe. It also says it will attach diffusing equipment to the end of the outfall to prevent the dense brine effluent from falling to the ocean floor in a deadly mass. Coastal Commission scientists say an open intake at that location would slurp up plankton, fish larvae and other organisms floating within 50 miles, including from state-designated marine protected areas. The amount would vary, ranging from less than 1% for some species to as much as 9% for others. Youre reducing the amount of food in the system and hurting biological productivity, said Tom Luster, a senior environmental scientist at the commission. Another potential stumbling block for Poseidon is the cost of the desalinated water, which the advisory panel puts at about $1,900 an acre-foot with open-pipe intakes roughly twice the current price of treated imported water. (An acre-foot is typically enough to supply two households for a year.) If subsurface intakes are required, the panel concluded the acre-foot price would rocket up nearly 80%. It would definitely make the project much too costly, and we would not participate at that point, said Michael Markus, general manager of the Orange County Water District, which last year approved a nonbinding agreement with Poseidon to buy the water, most of which the agency would probably use to recharge the regional aquifer. Meanwhile, one of Markus biggest customers is questioning whether the region needs the Poseidon supplies at either price. Conservation is driving down demand at the same time there are plans to expand Orange Countys long-standing program of replenishing the groundwater basin with highly treated wastewater. You can stack up some really easy projects that are being contemplated and all of a sudden we dont see a need for this project at all, said Paul Cook, general manager of the Irvine Ranch Water District. Still, the Pacific beckons. Weve always said we feel seawater desalination would become a part of anyones water portfolio, Markus said. bettina.boxall@latimes.com Twitter: @boxall MORE LOCAL NEWS Major storms barrel into California: Every field is a big lake Federal authorities to investigate O.C. district attorney over jailhouse informants Pacifica to demolish yet another apartment complex on crumbling bluff Earthquakes shake Sonoma County, Mammoth Lakes and Central Coast Actor Scott Baio contends he was assaulted by the wife of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith over his support of President-elect Donald Trump. Authorities are now investigating, and Baios wife is coming to his defense. TMZ reported Thursday that Baio filed a police report over the Saturday incident in Thousand Oaks, and the Ventura County Sheriffs Office is investigating. TMZ says Baio told law enforcement that Nancy Mack confronted him at an event he was attending with his daughter. The report says Baio told investigators that Mack attacked him by grabbing him under his arms and shaking and pushing him. Advertisement Renee Baio repeated those claims on Twitter and also posted a picture of Mack taken from video she says she has of the incident. Scott Baio also shared his wifes tweets. Mack didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. ALSO Rain triples traffic crashes on L.A. County freeways and strands people in San Gabriel River Robert Dursts lawyers challenge evidence and accuse prosecutor of deceptive jailhouse interview Police killing of unarmed, 73-year-old grandfather sparks anger, anguish No honeymoon, then. North Carolinas incoming Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, threatened legal action Thursday after Republican lawmakers, in a surprise move, moved to strip power away from political branches and boards about to be taken over by Democrats. The GOP move happened Wednesday night, as state legislators gathered for a special session to approve relief funds for victims of Hurricane Matthew. After the funding was approved, Republican lawmakers launched a second special session and introduced bills that would limit the gains made by Democrats in November. One proposal would require Coopers Cabinet nominees to be approved by the Republican-dominated state Senate. Another would eliminate the governors ability to appoint trustees for the states university system. Advertisement Yet another would require more cases to be heard by the states Republican-controlled appellate court before going to the states Supreme Court, where Democratic justices just gained a 4-3 majority. Republican lawmakers also proposed to diminish the power the governors party to influence the political makeup of county election boards, where Democrats had stood to gain seats because of the election results. Most people might think its a partisan power grab, but it is really more ominous, Cooper, the states attorney general, said at a news conference Thursday. Cooper, who beat Republican incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory by just 0.2% of the vote, said his agenda on education, business and the environment could be unduly threatened if McCrory enacts the bills into law. We dont look good to our people here in North Carolina or to the rest of the country when laws are passed hastily, with little discussion, in the middle of the night, Cooper said. The race between McCrory and Cooper was unusually bitter, and McCrory finally conceded defeat Dec. 5, nearly a month after election day. Its unclear whether he intends to sign the new legislation. The GOPs election losses in North Carolina were an anomaly in a year when Democrats lost power across much of the country. Although Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump carried the battleground state, political observers suggest voters went against North Carolina Republicans for passing the nations first law limiting transgender bathroom use. That law, HB 2, had also been a product of Republican lawmakers efforts to consolidate the Legislatures power, during another special session where legislation was passed with little input from Democrats. During those deliberations, in March, Republicans had wanted to exert stronger control over the states more liberal cities. Republicans formulated HB 2 in part to block the city of Charlotte (and any other North Carolina city in the future) from enforcing a new municipal law that established nondiscrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents. Among the provisions of HB 2 was a requirement that transgender people use government-owned bathrooms that matched the genders on their birth certificates, which many transgender people said would place them in greater danger of harassment or assault. The policy immediately drew protests and lawsuits from liberal advocacy groups, plus boycotts from corporations and organizations. But Republican lawmakers, backed by McCrory, did not relent. Cooper, as attorney general, opposed the law, and his race against McCrory was so close that it took weeks after the election to settle. The final results: 2,309,157 votes for Cooper, 2,298,880 votes for McCrory a margin of 10,277. The Legislature, however, remained Republican-held, and Democratic lawmakers said they were caught off guard by Wednesday nights second special session. Evidently that has been planned by the Republicans for the last several weeks, maybe months, behind closed doors. We certainly were not aware of it, Democratic state Sen. Jane W. Smith said at a news conference, where she called the moves completely a partisan power grab. On Thursday, left-leaning protesters flooded the Capitol in Raleigh holding signs that said, SAY NO TO POWER GRABS, RESPECT OUR VOTE and SHAME. Republican state Rep. David Lewis, chairman of the House Rules Committee, told reporters, You will see the General Assembly look to reassert its constitutional authority in areas that may have been previously delegated to the executive branch, according to the Charlotte Observer. GOP lawmakers are going to work to establish that we are going to continue to be a relevant party in governing this state, Lewis added. The Republican Partys state chairman, Robin Hayes, said in a statement that the proposals to split election boards between Republicans and Democrats was necessary to remove the hyper-partisanship out of our elections administration in order to solve future election concerns in a bipartisan manner. Under current law, the boards have three members, with two from the governors party and one from the other party. Some Democrats and liberal groups have said they think the special session was unconstitutional, including Derick Smith, the political action chairman of the North Carolina chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. For them to introduce 25 bills on one day, in a special session and not inform anyone on the other side of the aisle or the citizens, is nothing but tyranny, Smith said at a NAACP news conference. North Carolina needs to take heed, the citizens need to reject this. This is not a democracy at all. Email: matt.pearce@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @mattdpearce Democrats draw sharper battle lines in tug of war over party leadership By Chris Megerian Even as Democrats try to move past last years defeats, their internal fault lines show signs of deepening in the campaign for the partys leadership. The latest evidence came Wednesday when former Vice President Joe Biden endorsed Thomas E. Perez, who served as President Obamas Labor secretary, to chair the Democratic National Committee. We have a lot of good people vying for this important job, Biden said in a statement. But I do think for this moment and in this time, Tom Perez is our best bet to help bring the party back. The endorsement was seen as more evidence that key members of the recently departed Obama administration were backing Perez. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) with Sen. Bernie Sanders. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) It was followed by a statement from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont reiterating his support for Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), another leading candidate in the race. Although Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary, he has continued to try to pull Democrats to the left, and he has emphasized the need to create a grass-roots party. Obama left office with strong poll numbers, but under his watch, Democrats lost power not only in Washington but in states around the country, something Sanders and his allies have stressed in the fight over the party chairmanship. The question is simple: Do we stay with a failed status-quo approach or do we go forward with a fundamental restructuring of the Democratic Party? Sanders said. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Border Patrol chief is abruptly out after being brought in as a reformer By Brian Bennett The chief of the Border Patrol will leave his post at the end of the month, likely the result of a change in direction by the Trump administration and a reflection of the new power of the agencys union. Mark Morgan, the agencys head, was hired from the FBI in June to reform the force after a series of corruption allegations and problems with excessive force. He will leave the Border Patrol abruptly after seven months on the job, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Morgans departure was first reported by the Associated Press. Morgan spent 20 years at the FBI and was first brought to Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrols parent agency, in 2014 to overhaul its internal affairs division. After a subsequent stint running the FBIs training academy, he started the top job at the Border Patrol in June. The Border Patrols union had opposed Morgans appointment, preferring a candidate who had risen through the ranks of the agency. The union endorsed President Trump in the election, breaking with its practice of remaining neutral in elections. News of Morgans departure comes a day after Trump announced he would build a border wall and hire 5,000 more Border Patrol agents, bringing the total force to 26,000. Trump said the Border Patrol union would have a lot of clout in department decisions. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump was silent on new U.S. sanctions against Russia, but he praises Putins response By Michael A. Memoli After President Obama on Thursday announced retaliatory measures against the Russian government for what the U.S. has concluded were efforts to interfere in the election, President-elect Donald Trumps response was terse and dismissive, saying it was time to move on to bigger and better things. But after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that he would not respond in kind to the U.S. actions preferring to wait until the new administration takes office Trump weighed in with high praise. Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2016 Trumps tweet did not appear to be off the cuff. As if to underscore his sentiment, Trump affixed the tweet to the top of his Twitter feed. And he posted an Instagram photo shortly after, quoting himself. View Instagram post Trumps effusive words were particularly striking given the bipartisan view of Putin as more adversary than ally. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said they supported the Obama administrations move to expel Russian diplomats and block access to two properties owned by its government. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is expected to call a hearing on Russias cyber activities when the new Congress convenes next week. A Trump transition spokesman was asked earlier Friday whether Trump had spoken or planned to speak with Putin before his inauguration. The priority right now is for the president[-elect] to get an update next week from the intelligence community, Sean Spicer said. Trumps praise did get tacit approval from some quarters. The Russian embassy in Washington retweeted it. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Most popular White House petitions included requests to label a hate group and deport Justin Bieber By Colleen Shalby Over the past five years, Americans have produced and signed nearly 5,000 petitions through the White Houses We the People site. How could we ever forget the effort to get the Obama administration on board with building a Death Star? Some, like that one and a petition to deport Justin Bieber, resulted only in conversation. But others made an impact. The Pew Research Center analyzed the petitions in a recent report. They ranged from serious, like an effort to ban gay conversion therapy at a state level that led the president in 2015 to support states bans, to playful. A request for Obama to appear on a previously unvisited talk show, for example, prompted him to appear on Real Time with Bill Maher in January 2016. In 2015, 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin requested a meeting with the first black president, something she never thought shed live to see. Her petition garnered only 19 signatures. But it nonetheless resulted in one of first couples most memorable meetings, this dance party: The petitioning system, launched in 2011, was part of Obamas open-government initiative. The most common topics for petitioning included healthcare, veterans issues and requests to honor individuals, such as Yogi Berra, and create or officially recognize holidays, like Talk Like a Pirate Day. While not every petition made a change or elicited a response from the White House, many captured a momentary pulse of the nation. Here are the five most popular: Legally recognize the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group, posted Dec. 14, 2012; 367,180 signatures. Establish justice and prevent a great catastrophe, posted April 4, 2016; 331,914 signatures. File charges against the 47 U.S. senators in violation of the Logan Act in attempting to undermine a nuclear agreement, posted March 9, 2015; gained 322,117 signatures. Ask President Obama to appear on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher, posted Jan. 15, 2016; 314,226 signatures. Deport Justin Bieber and revoke his green card, posted Jan. 23, 2014; 273,698 signatures. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obama slaps Russia with sanctions for meddling in the U.S. election By Christi Parsons In the most sweeping retaliation against Russia in decades, President Obama slapped the country with new penalties Thursday for meddling in the U.S. presidential election, kicking out dozens of suspected spies and imposing banking restrictions on five people and four organizations the administration says were involved. All Americans should be alarmed by Russias actions, Obama said in a statement. Such activities have consequences. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print How Trump and an Obamacare rollback could affect the growing gig economy By Chicago Tribune Gabby Golub of Chicago does chalkboard art for bars and restaurants in addition to driving for Lyft and working part time at her old high school. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune) A growing share of the U.S. workforce is reyling on alternative work arrangements, which include on-demand gigs through online platforms like Lyft or Uber as well as work through temporary help agencies, freelance assignments and independent contracts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of these so-called contingent workers next year, its first since 2005, helping policymakers understand the size and makeup of a workforce not covered by many labor protections or privy to the benefits that come with a traditional employer relationship. Whether policy will catch up to the labor shifts is a question experts will watch in 2017. A major conversation point has been how to develop portable benefits that give gig economy workers access to retirement plans, unemployment insurance and paid sick leave even as they move from job to job. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump touts plans by Sprint and OneWeb to create 8,000 U.S. jobs By Jim Puzzanghera (Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images) President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday touted plans by telecom company Sprint and technology start-up OneWeb to hire a total of 8,000 workers in the U.S. in what he said was very good news for the economy. He appeared to be highlighting previously made jobs announcements. OneWeb, which is building a network of satellites to deliver high-speed Internet access, said on Dec. 19 that it expected to create nearly 3,000 jobs in the U.S. over the next four years after securing $1.2 billion in funding, mostly from Japans SoftBank Group Corp. And the head of SoftBank, which owns Sprint, said on Dec. 6 that the company had agreed to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and create 50,000 jobs here. The announcement by SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son came after he met with Trump at Trump Tower in New York City. Trump touted it that day. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, Trump said Sprint was going to be bringing 5,000 jobs back to the United States. They have taken them from other countries. They are bringing them back to the United States, Trump said. Sprint, though, said in a statement that the jobs would be a mixture of new positions and others that were reinstated. It wasnt clear whether those jobs were part of the 50,000 that were mentioned earlier in the month at Trump Tower. We are excited to work with President-Elect Trump and his administration to do our part to drive economic growth and create jobs in the U.S., said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. We believe it is critical for business and government to partner together to create more job opportunities in the U.S. and ensure prosperity for all Americans. Trump also said the OneWeb hiring is very exciting. OneWeb did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 3:25 p.m.: This story was updated with comment from Sprint. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Kerry offers fierce defense of Obamas support for Israel, urges resumption of Mideast peace talks By Laura King Secretary of State John Kerry outlines his proposals for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Zach Gibson / Getty Images) With President-elect Donald Trump tweeting from the sidelines, Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Wednesday outlined broad principles for reviving the moribund Israel-Palestinian peace process -- calls that quickly ignited a new burst of Israeli anger against the Obama administration. Kerrys lengthy and impassioned address, delivered at the State Department, marked the latest chapter in an unusually bitter public clash between the United States and Israel -- and the even more extraordinary spectacle of a president-elect again inserting himself into a sensitive diplomatic matter before taking office. In a speech lasting more than an hour, Kerry appealed for a hiatus in Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, called on Palestinian leaders to explicitly denounce terrorist attacks against Israelis, and warned repeatedly that the prospects for a two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state existing side-by-side, were in jeopardy. We cannot in good conscience do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping away, he said. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former California lieutenant governor will meet with Trump to discuss running Agriculture department By Michael A. Memoli Abel Maldonado. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times) President-elect Donald Trump is considering former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado to lead the Agriculture department, a move that would bring greater diversity to the Republicans Cabinet. Maldonado will meet with Trump on Wednesday at his Palm Beach, Fla., estate. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer noted that Maldonado, owner of Runway Vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, comes from three generations of farmers and has strong roots in the agriculture industry of California. Trump will also meet with Dr. Elsa Murano, the former president of Texas A&M University and a former Agriculture undersecretary for food safety, in connection to the post, one of the few Cabinet positions yet unfilled. Maldonado, 49, was once considered to be the kind of Republican who could break through the partys struggle to attract widespread Latino support. A Santa Barbara County farmer whose parents were Mexican farmworker immigrants, he served as mayor of Santa Maria before being elected to the state Assembly in 1998. Perhaps Maldonados most notable political moment came when he worked with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to force Democrats to embrace the top-two primary system for California during negotiations on the state budget crisis in 2009. Schwarzenegger rewarded Maldonado with the appointment to the then-vacant post of lieutenant governor in 2010. But Maldonados role in helping push the nonpartisan primary system made him a pariah among many conservative Republicans, and he failed in subsequent races for Congress in 2012 and a brief flirtation with a run for governor in 2014. If nominated and confirmed, Maldonado would be the sole Latino in Trumps Cabinet. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump attacks Obama over Israel just ahead of Kerrys speech on the Mideast By Michael A. Memoli The detente between President Obama and President-elect Donald Trump, as both aimed to portray a smooth transition of power, appears in jeopardy. Trump condemned the Obama administrations foreign policy on Wednesday, tweeting he was doing his best to overlook inflammatory Obama moves, while engaging in 1990s-style sarcasm. Doing my best to disregard the many inflammatory President O statements and roadblocks.Thought it was going to be a smooth transition - NOT! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 Last week, Obama decided to have the U.S. abstain from a United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity, which allowed the measure to pass. The vote angered Israeli leaders, who accused senior U.S. officials of complicity in drafting the resolution, a claim disputed by the U.S. We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but....... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2016 Trumps postings came just before Secretary of State John F. Kerry delivered a major address on U.S. foreign policy that included a rebuttal to Israeli government criticisms of the Obama administration. Trumps statement of support for Israel was welcomed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long had a tense relationship with Obama. President-elect Trump, thank you for your warm friendship and your clear-cut support for Israel! @IvankaTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr https://t.co/lURPimG0wS Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 28, 2016 Trump transition spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that the president-elects tweets speak for themselves, very clearly. He also stressed that White House officials have been helpful and generous with their time, at least in terms of the mechanics of the transition. In a brief statement to reporters Wednesday night, Trump said he had a general conversation with Obama during the day. Very, very nice, was how the president-elect described the chat, which he said Obama initiated. A White House spokesman confirmed the call and characterized it as positive. When asked whether he thinks the U.S. should exit the U.N., Trump repeated his earlier comments that the global body is not living up to its potential. When do you see the United Nations solving problems? he asked. They dont, they cause problems, so if it lives up to its potential its a great thing, if it doesnt its a waste of time. The U.N. seemed to respond to Trump on Monday, in a message pinned to the top of its Twitter feed: Here's a list of 10 ways the UN makes a difference in the lives of millions every day. See what else we do: https://t.co/MGT7G5uPFL pic.twitter.com/nMxHV0rvkf United Nations (@UN) December 26, 2016 Times staff writer Christi Parsons in Honolulu contributed to this report. 5:10 p.m.: This story was updated with White House comment. 2:45 p.m.: This story was updated with Trumps comments. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement John Kerry, tireless in his diplomatic efforts, often came up empty-handed By Tracy Wilkinson John F. Kerry is nothing if not indefatigable, traveling to all corners of the world as Americas top diplomat over the last four years. But as he prepares to leave office, he confronts a mixed legacy: a handful of successes coupled with searing defeats, especially in the Middle East. His inability to halt the carnage in Syria, or to block Russias growing influence, ranks as the most serious blot on his record. But he also got nowhere trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian standoff, or to stop Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, from bombing civilians in Yemen. Kerrys greatest success was the historic accord to curtail Irans nuclear development program and a landmark climate change treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print At Pearl Harbor, Obama says we must resist the urge to demonize those who are different By Christi Parsons Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Obama. (Marco Garcia / Associated Press) President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scattered petals together on the waters of Pearl Harbor on Tuesday in a symbolic act aimed at laying to rest the enmity of the Japanese attack 75 years ago that drew the U.S. into World War II. In a moment consumed with history, both leaders were fixed on the future. They expressed concern that the lessons of the war might be forgotten amid a shifting world order and the anti-internationalist sentiment that has swept over politics around the globe, most notably with the ascendance of President-elect Donald Trump. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obama and Japans Abe to visit Pearl Harbor amid renewed talk of nuclear concerns By Christi Parsons Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu on Monday. (AFP/Getty Images) President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are scheduled to honor the war dead at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday, marking the 75th anniversary of the attack that thrust the U.S. into World War II. The visit was planned as a coda to Obamas visit to Hiroshima in May, where Abe hosted him as the first sitting president to visit the site where the U.S. dropped one of two nuclear bombs in 1945 to end the war, the only instances of nuclear attacks in history. But the visit has taken on a new meaning. President-elect Donald Trump reawakened old fears of a nuclear arms race last week by declaring his commitment to strengthen and expand U.S. nuclear capability. In his remarks at Pearl Harbor, Obama will have an opportunity to address those renewed anxieties and to lay out the dangers of an arms race. Obama has fought to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to secure existing caches. The visit is meant to highlight the strength of the relationship between the U.S. and Japan, an administration official said. Several Japanese prime ministers before Abe have visited the Pearl Harbor site. But Abe is the first to go to the memorial at the resting place of the battleship Arizona, where 1,177 American military personnel died in the Japanese aerial attack on Dec. 7, 1941. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Will the Feds Janet Yellen take away the punch bowl after Trump takes office? By Don Lee After three years of almost single-handedly juicing up the slow-growing economy, Janet L. Yellen and the Federal Reserve should be looking at easier days ahead. Yellen, in what will probably be her last full year as Fed chair, may finally get help from somewhere else in Washington. Tax cuts and infrastructure spending planned by President-elect Donald Trump, if backed by the Republican-controlled Congress, would lighten the load for a Fed whose easy-money policies have been the primary economic support for the nation. She is already breathing easier on the Feds employment mandate; the jobless rate has fallen to a nine-year low of 4.6%. Inflation, too, is under control and, by all accounts, creeping toward the central banks optimal level of 2%. And yet, Yellen may come under as much economic and political pressure as ever, on both the Feds policy and the independence of the institution. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Obama says he could have beaten Trump By Tracy Wilkinson (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press) President Obama says he could have defeated Donald Trump in last months election by recapturing the same vision of hope that twice carried him to the presidency. Obama also was mildly critical of the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saying her campaign didnt do enough to get her message out. The remarks were notable because Obama has been careful since the election to avoid criticizing Trump, or to deliver a post-mortem on Clintons failed bid. Obama spoke in a wide-ranging interview with former senior advisor and now CNN commentator David Axelrod for the Democratic political operatives Axe Files podcast. The interview was released by CNN on Monday. You know, I am confident in this vision because Im confident that if I -- if I had run again and articulated it, I think I couldve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it, Obama said. His comments were part of a wider discussion of what he called ugly sentiments of racism and xenophobia that surfaced during the 2016 campaign. Obama repeated his assertion that Clinton faced a double standard as a woman, which put her at a disadvantage. But he also said a kind of complacency set in that made the Clinton campaign too cautious and thus unable to get its message out sufficiently. If you think youre winning, then you have a tendency, just like in sports, maybe to play it safer, Obama said. During the interview, Obama also spoke of his family, the strength hed gotten from wife Michelle and the improbability of his own political career. And the president said the spirit that his candidacy originally inspired, especially among young people, was never snuffed out despite the last eight years of turmoil. The idealism and the dedication stayed with the staff and got us through some really hard times, he said. Trump later responded to the remarks on Twitter. UPDATE 2:07 p.m.: This article was updated with Trumps response. This article was originally published at 12:28 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obama personally authorized U.S. abstention from U.N. vote on Israeli settlements By Michael A. Memoli President Obama personally directed Friday that the U.S. abstain from a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity, seeing the escalation of settlement building as an increasing threat to the viability of a two-state solution to the regions problems. Ahead of the expected vote, Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii, convened a discussion Thursday with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other top national security officials. The vote was postponed, but U.S. officials continued to monitor discussions over the Egyptian-authored resolution until Friday. Obama spoke with national security advisor Susan Rice on Friday to issue his final decision. President-elect Donald Trumps intervention in the discussions, which included a conversation with Egypts president Thursday that preceded the delay in the planned vote, did not affect Obamas calculations, deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters.. Theres one president at a time, he said. The decision to allow the resolution to pass, rather than cast a veto to block it is consistent with long-standing, bipartisan U.S. policy opposing Israeli settlement activity, Rhodes said. One of the administrations great concerns was that such activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has accelerated significantly since 2011, when the U.S. last vetoed a comparable resolution. U.S. officials also have been concerned about continued incitements of violence by Palestinians, and Rhodes said the resolution voted on Friday included greater balance to reflect that than past resolutions. Weve been very concerned that these accelerating trends are putting the very viability of the two-state solution at risk, Rhodes said. In that context, we therefore thought that we could not in good conscience veto a resolution that expressed concerns about the very trends that are eroding the foundation for a two-state solution. He also underscored what he called Obamas iron-clad commitment to Israel and its security, noting that the administration recently concluded a major military assistance package. The U.S. did not vote for the resolution because of continued concerns about the United Nations as a venue for Middle East peace discussions, Rhodes said. He also responded to what he called strident comments of Israeli officials criticizing the U.S. move. It seems like the Israeli government wants the conversation to be about anything other than the settlement activity, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump team seeks to ease fears on womens programs at State Department By Tracy Wilkinson ( Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Donald Trumps transition team said Friday its requests to the State Department for details on positions and funding for global womens programs were part of an effort to ensure and protect gender equality. The statement appeared to be an attempt to allay concerns that Trump might seek to cancel or roll back gender-focused programs at the State Department following a request by the transition team on Wednesday for information about them. Most were created or championed by Trumps campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, when she served as secretary of State during President Obamas first term. The transition team statement Friday did not outline Trumps plans for the programs, which seek to promote equality, education and vocational training for women around the world as well as combat gender-based violence. President-elect Trump will ensure the rights of women across the world are valued and protected, the statement said. To help fulfill this promise, the transition team inquired about existing programs at the State Department that helps [sic] foster gender equality, ends gender-based violence, and promotes economic and political participation finding ways to improve them. The statement said the inquiry was one of hundreds of requests it sent to federal departments as part of the transition effort. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump team asks State Department for details on programs aimed at helping women By Tracy Wilkinson Donald Trumps transition team has asked the State Department for details on programs aimed at benefiting women around the world, including identifying staff members who worked to reduce gender-based violence and promote women in the workplace. In an email sent to numerous State Department offices Wednesday, the president-elects transition team asked for urgent response to its inquiries about gender-related staffing, programming and funding. Many of the programs were begun or were championed by Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of State during President Obamas first term and who lost to Trump in November. The unusual request to the State Department follows a similar email to the Department of Energy. There the transition team asked for names of staff members who had worked on efforts to combat climate change, which Trump has dismissed as a hoax. Several Obama administration officials called that query chilling. The Trump team withdrew the request after it was widely criticized. The latest email suggests the incoming Trump administration will attempt to roll back some of the State Departments most innovative programs and may seek to penalize people who worked on them. People are freaked out, said a senior State Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly. The email asked the State Department to deliver issue papers from bureaus and offices (one paper max per bureau/office) outlining existing programs and activities to promote gender equality, such as ending gender-based violence, promoting womens participation in economic and political spheres, entrepreneurship, etc. It said the issue papers should note jobs whose primary functions are to promote such issues, as well as money allocated for those activities and programs in fiscal year 2017. While at State, Clinton made womens issues a top priority. An office was created to deal exclusively with global womens issues, and money was allocated for programs that promote education of girls, train women in marketable skills and offer microloans. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump taps seasoned Republican operative Sean Spicer as White House press secretary By Lisa Mascaro President-elect Donald Trump named Sean Spicer as his new press secretary, tapping a seasoned Republican operative as the public face of the new White House. Spicer, a top Republican National Committee strategist who brought a measure of establishment Washington to Trumps operation, is known for his combative but engaging approach to communications. He will likely take over the press podium as the top spokesman at the incoming White House. Two other veterans of the Trump campaigns press operation also will get White House jobs: Jason Miller, who had been Trumps communications chief after moving from the campaign of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, will stay in that role as communications director at the White House. Hope Hicks, who was Trumps spokesperson on the campaign trail and one of his earliest campaign aides, will be assistant to the president and director of strategic communications, and Dan Scavino will serve as director of social media. Sean, Hope, Jason and Dan have been key members of my team during the campaign and transition. I am excited they will be leading the team that will communicate my agenda that will Make America Great Again, Trump said in a statement. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Obama eliminates post-9/11 registry for foreigners, making it harder for Trump to restart it By Brian Bennett (Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images) The Obama administration is taking apart a controversial, dormant national registry program that tracked visitors from countries with active terrorist groups for several years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A final rule eliminating the program will be published in the federal register on Friday. The move would make it more difficult for President-elect Donald Trump to revive the registry, which hasnt been used since 2011. The Department of Homeland Security determined it was ineffective and didnt improve security. Civil rights advocates have long said the program was discriminatory. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to track Muslims coming to the U.S. and require them to register. He later changed his stance to say he would bar people from countries with a record of Islamist extremism. Trumps policy advisors have been looking closely at ways to jump start the registry, called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, after he takes office at the end of January. With the program being officially dismantled on Friday, Trumps team would have to issue new federal rules to restart it, a process that could take several months and would require a period for soliciting comments from the public, which likely would be contentious. The Trump transition team is preparing several executive actions for the incoming president, Trump spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Thursday morning when asked about Obama dismantling the registry. Stopping radical Islamic terrorists from entering the U.S. is of paramount importance, Miller said. He didnt say directly if Trump would rebuild the visitor registry. The American people strongly support tough measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of our country, and President-elect Trump has made clear that we will suspend admissions of those from countries with high terrorism rates and apply a strict vetting procedure for those seeking entry in order to protect American lives, he said. When asked on Wednesday if he would set up a registry for Muslims or impose a ban on Muslim immigrants in the wake of the truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, Trump said simply: You know my plans. Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have demanded in recent weeks that Obama dismantle the registry. Theyve cited a 2012 inspector general report that said Homeland Security databases collecting traveler fingerprints, flight manifests and intelligence information on foreigners are more effective at preventing terrorist attacks. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) praised the Homeland Security Departments decision to strip away dead-letter regulations no longer in use. These regulations symbolized an ineffective program based on religious and ethnic profiling, rather than individualized suspicion a program based on fear, rather than reason, Leahy said in a statement. That has no place in this great country, under any administration. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump is unwinding some foreign deals but many potential conflicts remain By Joseph Tanfani The Trump hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, would be among the finest in the world, Donald Trump promised two years ago, another example of our involvement in only the best global development projects. But the dream of a world-class Trump Baku died this month, with Trump saying he was backing out of the deal because of delays and blown deadlines caused by the developer, a 34-year-old with close family connections to the countrys government. The demise of Trump Baku is not an isolated decision. With his inauguration less than a month away, President-elect Trumps company has pulled out of a few international business deals that might have created especially sticky conflicts and controversies for his administration. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump names UC Irvine professor and fierce China critic to new White House Trade Council By Don Lee Peter Navarro, left, and China expert Gordon Chang attend a screening of Death By China, the film adaptation of Navarros book, in New York in 2012. (Andy Kropa / Getty Images) President-elect Donald Trump, signaling that he intends to follow through on his tough talk on trade, is establishing a new White House-based trade council to be headed by a vehement critic of Chinas economic policies. Trump on Wednesday named Peter Navarro, a Harvard-trained business professor at UC Irvine, as director of trade and industrial policy and head of the newly created White House National Trade Council. The move sends a strong message: The Trump administration will take a much more aggressive posture to shrink the nations large trade deficit and combat what the president-elect and Navarro believe are forces behind Americas manufacturing woes unfair and mercantilist practices on the part of China and other trading partners. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print The issue of race has hung over Sen. Jeff Sessions like a shadow. Heres why By Del Quentin Wilber (Scott Olson / AFP/Getty Images) Jeff Sessions uneasy history with race can be traced back to the long, winding country roads that cut through the pine forests and farm land in this deep corner of the Deep South. As a boy, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III began each day before dawn, boarding a segregated bus to his all-white school. En route he and his classmates passed the bus ferrying black students in the opposite direction. The day ended when he sat down to dinner each night with his father, an avowed segregationist until the end of his life. Reflecting on those years, Sessions acknowledged recently that he knew back then that segregation was morally wrong and regretted standing by passively as civil rights leaders in the 1960s struggled and died in the fight for equality. I should have stepped forward more and been a leader and more positive force, Sessions said in February while participating in a ceremony honoring the Selma foot soldiers. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Kellyanne Conway will join Trump in the White House By Evan Halper (Gerald Herber / Associated Press) Donald Trump has named his media-savvy campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, to advise him in the White House in the role of counselor, his transition team announced early Thursday morning. The move comes after Conway sought to put to rest speculation that she would continue to serve as the public face of the Trump team. But the new job is sure to keep her profile high. Conway will will work with senior leadership to effectively message and execute the administrations legislative priorities and actions, according to a statement from the Trump transition team. Kellyanne Conway has been a trusted advisor and strategist who played a crucial role in my victory, Trump said in the statement. She is a tireless and tenacious advocate of my agenda and has amazing insights on how to effectively communicate our message. The appointment would boost diversity in a Trump inner circle made up mostly of older white men. It also sets up another potentially competing power center on a White House staff that already will have several, including Reince Priebus, the chief of staff; Stephen K. Bannon, the chief strategist; and Stephen Miller, the policy chief. Conway had previously turned down other proposals for White House jobs, telling reporters late last month that she did not want to spend long hours away from her children. At that point, Conway said she thought she could best help Trump by forming an outside organization to support his policies. But that role appears to have gone to Brad Parscale, who ran Trumps online operations during the campaign. Conway joined Trumps campaign during the summer when it was beset with infighting and disarray. She is widely credited with helping bring message discipline and professionalism to an operation in desperate need of it. In the run-up to the election and the weeks that followed, Conway was a ubiquitous presence on cable news networks, capably moving through her talking points in tough interview settings often on the firing line and held to account for the exaggerations and incendiary remarks Trump was prone to make on the campaign trail and Twitter. I am humbled and honored to play a role in helping transform the movement he has led into a real agenda of action and results, Conway said in the statement. She is the founder and owner of the Polling Company, inc./WomanTrend, a GOP firm that has been advising candidates for two decades. Trump has not yet chosen a press secretary. But he is believed to be considering several candidates. Sean Spicer, former communications chief of the Republican Party who has served in a spokesman role for Trump through the transition, has been a prominent possibility, although Trump reportedly has considered several women, including conservative talk radio star Laura Ingraham and Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump Hotel employees in Las Vegas get a union contract By Kurtis Lee (Mike Nelson / Getty Images) Its owned by President-elect Donald Trump and is among a handful of hotels on the Las Vegas Strip to not be unionized. But that will change soon. For more than a year, Trump and his staff at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas have fought efforts by employees and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 to negotiate a contract. But a four-year contract announced by the union on Wednesday will offer Trump employees annual wage increases, a pension and family healthcare, among other benefits. In Nevada, the culinary union is the states largest and most powerful, representing nearly 55,000 workers who serve cocktails and prepare food at hotels throughout the state. A majority of the unions members are Latino. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Wait! Dont cancel that Air Force One order just yet By Evan Halper Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016 After Donald Trump scolded Boeing earlier this month for the escalating cost of building a new Air Force One, the companys CEO projected confidence that Trump wouldnt be following through with his threat to cancel order! The two men met together at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said they spoke about a range of issues. The Air Force One project, which Trump complained would cost taxpayers more than $4 billion, invariably arose. Were going to get it done for less than that, and were committed to working together to make sure that happens, Muilenberg said. The company had previously noted that the project did not yet have a firm price tag. I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company. This is a business thats important to us. We work on Air Force One because its important to our country, and were going to make sure that he gets the best capability and that its done affordably, Muilenberg added. He called the conversation terrific and Trump a good man who is doing the right thing. The presidential aircraft remains a long way from takeoff a new plane wont be ready for use in the next four years. Even if Trump is reelected, he might not get to use the plane, as the earliest projected date for completion is 2024. Boeing is currently doing early development work on the plane a modified 747 that will likely be outfitted with such gadgetry as top-secret communications equipment, countermeasures to foil missile attacks, and aerial refueling capability that would enable it to remain airborne for days at a time if necessary. The timing of delivery was among the topics that came up at Trumps meeting with the Boeing CEO. Thats what were going to work on together, Muilenberg said. We have an active 747 production line, and were eager to get started on the program. We havent actually started the build of the airplane yet, but once we finalize the requirements and make sure that its affordable, well launch on building the aircraft. Weve got a hot production line and were ready to go. The government actually has two planes outfitted to serve as Air Force One, which is the designation given to whichever plane is carrying the president. The current planes, which were put into service during the Reagan administration, are nearing the end of their design life. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Fierce China critic and UC Irvine professor to head Trumps new trade council By Don Lee (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times) President-elect Donald Trump is establishing a new White House-based trade office that will be headed by a UC Irvine professor known for his fierce criticisms of Chinese trade and economic practices. In appointing Peter Navarro as director of trade and industrial policy and the head of the new National Trade Council inside the White House, Trump is signaling that he wants to follow through on his tough campaign rhetoric in which he blamed the Chinese for the large U.S. trade deficit and manufacturing woes. During the campaign,Trump threatened to slap a 45% tariff on Chinese imports. Navarro, a Harvard-trained economist who advised Trump during the campaign, is the author of the book Death by China: Confronting the Dragon a Global Call to Action. Trump endorsed the 2011 book as well as Navarros film version of the polemical work. I read one of Peters books on Americas trade problems years ago and was impressed by the clarity of his arguments and thoroughness of his research, Trump said Wednesday in a statement announcing the appointment. He will fulfill an essential role in my administration as a trade advisor. Trump said the new trade office would develop policies to shrink the nations trade deficit and curb the off-shoring of jobs, as well as to lead initiatives such as the Buy America, Hire America program. Navarro, in a statement, said he would be honored to serve Trump and the nation and to advise on policies to re-balance our trade, rebuild our industrial base, and restore Americas comprehensive national power by making America great again. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump stops the drain the swamp talk as new alligators emerge By Evan Halper Newt Gingrich. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press) It made for a great slogan during the campaign, but now that hes won, Donald Trump is finding that maybe he doesnt actually want to drain the swamp. In fact, the alligators seem to be doing quite well. Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski on Wednesday boasted about his access and proximity to Trump in announcing a new consulting firm he plans to open with former Trump campaign advisor Barry Bennett. The firms offices will be one block from the White House. Clients who pony up what are sure to be hefty fees for the firms services are being assured by Lewandowski in his marketing materials that he turned down multiple opportunities within the administration so he can serve them. The pitch implies Lewandowski will remain a de facto surrogate for Trump with all the access that implies as he bills those seeking to influence the Trump administration for his services. So perhaps the time is ripe for Trump to stop using the drain the swamp phrase. And that is what Trump has decided to do, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who describes himself as an outside advisor to the president-elect. Im told he now just disclaims that, Gingrich said in an interview on National Public Radio, referring to the slogan Trump used in the final phase of his campaign to crystallize his promise to cleanse Washington of insiders and self-dealers. He now says it was cute, but he doesnt want to use it anymore, Gingrich said, adding that perhaps all this swamp draining talk isnt presidential. Hes in a different role now and maybe he feels that as president, as the next president of the United States, that he should be marginally more dignified than talking about alligators in swamps, Gingrich said. I personally have, as a sense of humor, like the alligator and swamp language, he added. I think it vividly illustrates the problem, because all the people in this city who are the alligators are going to hate the swamp being drained. And theres going to be constant fighting over it. But, you know, he is my leader, and if he decides to drop the swamp and the alligator, I will drop the swamp and the alligator. Lewandowski, for his part, made no mention of swamps or alligators in announcing his new consulting firm would be open for business. Proud to launch our new venture today to support @realDonaldTrump achieve his agenda in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/ZEot6IrvJ4 Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) December 21, 2016 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Death penalty in steep decline, but not in Los Angeles County By David Savage Lonnie Franklin Jr. was tried and convicted of 10 counts of murder. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles County and the state of California again recorded the most new death sentences this year, amid a sharp decline across the nation in both executions and new death sentences. Judges and juries in Los Angeles County imposed a death sentence on four murderers during 2016, including Lonnie Franklin Jr., the so-called Grim Sleeper, who was convicted of killing 10 women. No other county had more than one death sentence, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since 2010, Los Angeles County has recorded 36 new death sentences, more than any county in the nation. This year marked the first time in more than 40 years where no state recorded 10 or more new death sentences, the group said in its year-end report. California had the most with nine, followed by Ohio (five), Texas (four), Alabama (three) and Florida (two). California has by far the nations largest death row, with 750 condemned inmates, but it has not carried out an execution in the past decade. Overall, the report documented the steep decline for capital punishment over the past two decades. The number of new death sentences had fallen by 90%, from 315 in 1996 to only 30 this year. And the number of executions has fallen from a high of 98 in 1999 to 20 this year. Georgia (nine) and Texas (seven) accounted for most of the executions. The only other states to put inmates to death were Alabama (two), Missouri (one) and Florida (one). Robert Dunham, the groups executive director, says the nation is clearly turning away from capital punishment. Whether its concerns about innocence, costs and discrimination, availability of life without parole as a safe alternative, or the questionable way in which states are attempting to carry out executions, the public grows increasingly uncomfortable with the death penalty each year, he said. But his report noted that Californias voters, by a 53%-47% margin, rejected a ballot measure to abolish the death penalty, and narrowly approved a measure, by a 51%-49% margin, to limit appeals and expedite executions. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement New survey finds less optimistic Democrats seeking many paths to their future success By Cathleen Decker (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) Since Hillary Clintons November defeat, Democrats have squabbled over how to return to prominence. Should they continue to court ascendant voter groups in the country, such as women, minorities and young people? Or should they turn to those who have long been in their camp but abandoned the party nominee this year, such as rural and non-college-educated voters. The answer, according to a Pew Research poll published Tuesday: Democrats want to walk both paths, simultaneously. The poll asked Democrats and Republicans whether their parties had spent too much, too little or just the right amount of time meeting the interests and concerns of specific groups of voters. Among Democrats, 64% said the party had spent too little time talking to rural voters, and 58% said the same about non-college voters. Almost two-thirds of Democrats said low-income voters had not gotten enough of the partys attention, and 58% said middle-class voters had been ignored to some extent. But Democratic voters did not want to let up on the partys outreach to its stronger supporters this year. About half said that the concerns of women and African American voters had gotten too little attention, while 43% said the same about Latinos. In the case of women, African Americans, Latinos, low-income voters, rural residents and younger voters, Democrats were substantially more likely than Republicans to say their party had not put enough emphasis on the groups concerns. The poll suggested far more confidence by Republicans than Democrats in their partys current positioning. Much of that may simply be the flood of confidence that accompanies a presidential victory. When the pollsters asked before the election about their view of their party, 61% of Republicans said they were optimistic, as did 77% of Democrats about their own party. After the election those figures reversed, with 79% of Republicans optimistic compared with 61% of Democrats. A key to Trumps success also was evident in the poll: a chameleon-like ability to make the different ideological groups in the party think he was one of them. Almost 3 in 5 conservatives said that Trumps views were conservative. And among moderates, 52% said that Trumps ideology was a mix of conservative and liberal, echoing their own posture. But queries about the new presidents impact on his party drew sharply partisan responses. More than two-thirds of all voters said that Trump had forced major changes on his party. Yet 72% of Democrats cast those changes as bad ones, while 83% of Republicans cast the changes as good ones. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print The artist and the senator: One built a desert masterpiece, the other a Nevada legacy By Lisa Mascaro When Sen. Harry Reid heard about a reclusive artist building a massive land sculpture across desolate acres in the Nevada desert, he knew they should meet. Its not just that Reid enjoys eccentrics and fighters, which he does. Michael Heizer had found an unusual way to express the majesty and artistry of the same lonely Nevada landscape that formed Reids childhood, when he would escape the dismal, rugged conditions of tiny Searchlight to play in the deserts hidden springs and abandoned fortresses. Both men discovered in Nevada what many outsiders miss. Far from seeing a nuclear wasteland, a dumping site or even a playground for gamblers, they drew inspiration from Nevadas quiet beauty. Heizer created an American masterpiece a milelong complex of dirt, rock and cement rising from the desert floor like modern-day pyramids or the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. For Reid, his appreciation for Nevadas unique landscape became a cornerstone of one of the most lasting yet less-familiar pieces of his political legacy. Read More Artist Michael Heizer and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) speak in the Capitol. (Lisa Mascaro / Los Angeles Times) Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print With 304 votes, electoral college seals Donald Trumps election as president despite more desertions than ever By Michael Finnegan They convened amid unusual scrutiny, widespread protests and rafts of speculation about efforts to alter the outcome, but, in the end, the nations 538 presidential electors mostly stuck to the script Monday, formally sealing Donald Trumps victory with 304 votes in the electoral college, well above what he needed to capture the White House. After all the efforts to lobby Republican electors to desert Trump, only two did a pair from Texas, one of whom voted for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul and the other for Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Indeed, instead of an uprising against Trump, the days voting was punctuated more by small, but persistent, gestures of Democratic discontent with Hillary Clinton. A handful of electors deserted her and a few more tried to, but were deterred by state faithless elector laws. Some of the Democratic dissenters were supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who lost the primaries to Clinton but galvanized the partys left wing. Others were backers of an abortive effort that had tried to recruit Democrats and Republicans to unite behind a third candidate other than Clinton or Trump. In the end, seven electors voted for a person other than the candidate who won their states the largest number of electoral college desertions in a presidential contest in U.S. history, eclipsing a record set in 1808. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As electoral college meetings end in Hawaii, Bernie Sanders gets a vote that will stick By Michael A. Memoli David Mulinix, Hawaii elector who voted for Sanders, said Clinton wasn't qualified. Also said @POTUS wasn't progressive, but "conservative" pic.twitter.com/miCnZ6PzXI Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) December 20, 2016 The last of the 50 states gave Bernie Sanders his first electoral college vote that counted. Hillary Clinton received three of the states four electoral votes after winning 60% of the popular vote here last month. But one elector, David Mulinix, said he cast his vote for the Vermont senator because he was the most qualified candidate. They can call me faithless, but the point is if we dont think someones qualified and Hillary Clinton I do not feel is qualified, he said. Hawaiis electors are chosen by the major parties at their state conventions. Mulinix said he joined the party only this election cycle to support Sanders, who he said would have been elected president had he been the Democratic nominee. He had previously told the Associated Press he would cast his vote for Clinton, but said he changed his mind at the last minute. She did not lose the vote to Russian hackers; she lost the vote right there at the convention, he said, referring to the Democratic National Convention, where he said Sanders backers were treated unfairly. They robbed us, and the millennials know it. Mulinix, who, like his fellow electors, wore a lei made of green jade flowers, arrived for the vote with a list of candidates who had received votes in other electoral college meetings across the country. He was aware that an elector in Maine had tried to vote for Sanders but that his vote had been invalidated. An election official said the vote for Sanders here would count. The brief proceedings here in a nondescript conference room on the state Capitols third floor began with another elector, John Bickel, asking whether there was any penalty for electors who cast their ballots for someone other than the winner of the statewide vote. He said later that he had asked because he suspected someone might stray. The electoral college is outdated. If any election has proved the electoral college is outdated, its this one, Bickel said. Dolly Strazar, another elector and the vice chair of the state Democratic Party, said she had long supported the electoral college because it ensured some degree of competition between large states and small ones like Hawaii. It really seems in our times, its thoroughly outdated, she said. Janice Bond, the fourth elector, said she would have voted for Sanders but did not believe she was able to. She also expressed regret that President Obama, who was born in Hawaii and is vacationing here with his family, did not attend the meeting. To have him be on our island and not show face was disappointing, she said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement No fireworks as Nevada electors cast votes for Clinton By David Montero Nevadas six electors cast their votes for Hillary Clinton on Monday afternoon in Carson City, reflecting her victory in the swing state despite losing the overall electoral college vote to President-elect Donald Trump. Clinton won Nevada by almost 3 points over Trump, and the swing state was one of her few bright spots on election day. The six electors five from northern Nevada and one from Las Vegas cast their ballots before about 75 people who had packed into the Old Assembly Chambers of the state Capitol. A few brought signs in support of Clinton, and there was some applause when the votes were cast. It all took place in less than a half-hour. No fireworks, said Wayne Thorley, deputy secretary of state for elections. He said about 40 people showed up in front of the state Capitol in the morning in sub-freezing temperatures to also show support for Clinton. Thorley said he hadnt anticipated a lot of controversy as the electors were required to sign a pledge before voting that said they wouldnt deviate from Nevadas Nov. 8 election results. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print In solemn ceremony, California electors cast votes for Hillary Clinton By Melanie Mason Casting my electoral vote for President and Vice President of the United States of .... https://t.co/jI2FGFCrVg pic.twitter.com/qufSJUM5WF Susan Eggman (@SusanEggman) December 19, 2016 In a proceeding long on formalities and short on speeches, Californias 55 electors cast their vote for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday, a ceremony that coincided almost exactly with Republican Donald Trump clinching the national electoral college win. Contrasting with the spirited protests outside the state Capitol, the mood in the state Assembly chambers was muted, even a bit glum, as electors, tapped by the states Democratic establishment, convened to cast their votes for Clinton. California, which overwhelmingly backed Clinton in the presidential contest, requires all 55 electors to back the states winner. Todays solemnity and formality reminds us that in our nation, American greatness and American independence, rests on a foundation of law, said Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Cordova), who presided over the event. As written ballots were distributed, the room was completely silent, save for the clicking of camera shutters. Just moments before voting began, Trump, Clintons rival, had secured the electoral college win, with Texas, Californias perennial rival, putting him over the top. His victory went unacknowledged in the ceremony. Among the electors were current elected officials, such as Assemblywomen Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton and Shirley Weber of San Diego. Others included Christine Pelosi, daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Laphonza Butler, leader of the powerful labor union SEIU in California. Electors did not make individual speeches during the main ceremony, and Trumps name was hardly mentioned. But there were subtle references to the rancorous political season: Rev. Bob Oshita, the Assembly chaplain and former reverend of the Sacramento Buddhist Church, urged leaders to engage in calming self-reflection in an opening prayer. The tone grew considerably sharper at the end of the gathering, when Pelosi offered a motion calling for an investigation into Russian efforts to influence the election outcome. I move that as an Electoral College, we do not normalize this election. We do not accept Russian interference in our election, Pelosi said. Her motion was adopted by electors, with applause. View Twitter post This post was updated at 3:32 p.m. with comments from Christine Pelosi. It was originally published at 3:12 p.m. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print All of Floridas electoral votes go to Trump By Gray Rohrer Floridas electors applaud as the vote for Donald Trump is announced at the state Capitol in Tallahassee on Monday. (Steve Cannon / Associated Press) Donald Trump officially won all 29 of Floridas electoral college votes on Monday during a ceremony held at the Capitol in Tallahassee, despite pleas from protesters to electors to change their vote at the last minute. About 100 protesters gathered outside the Florida Senate chambers before the vote, chanting love trumps hate and flip the vote and holding signs that read Vote Your Conscience, Dont Make Russia Great Again! The electors, made up of Republican Party of Florida members and high-ranking elected officials like state Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, Senate President Joe Negron and state party chairman Blaise Ingoglia, did their best to ignore the protesters. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim was a Trump nemesis. Now the president-elect says hes wonderful By Evan Halper Donald Trump has decided that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, one of his favorite villains during the presidential election, might not be so bad after all. Hes even wonderful, Trump now says. The two dined together Saturday at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, after which Trump had only nice things to say about Slim, according to a report in the Washington Post. Trump described the interaction with his erstwhile nemesis as a lovely dinner with a wonderful man. This is not how Trump talked about Slim, one of the worlds richest men, during the election. The Mexican billionaire was a regular target of the then-GOP nominee because of his large ownership stake in the New York Times. Add to that Slims generous contributions to the Clinton Foundation and his citizenship in the country Trump reveled in attacking, and he made for good fodder at Trump rallies. When Trump objected to the New York Times coverage of his campaign and its reporting on the allegations by multiple women of past inappropriate sexual advances by Trump he alleged it was all part of a conspiracy cooked up by Slim. Trump called the outlets reporters corporate lobbyists for Carlos Slim and for Hillary Clinton. The New York Times called Trumps charges a fabrication, saying Slim had never inserted himself in editorial decision making there. And Trump offered no evidence to the contrary. A spokesman for Slim said at the time the two had never met, and the Mexican businessman had no interest in involving himself in the U.S. election. Now theyve met. The takeaway from the meeting, though, is murky. Maybe it indicates Trump is softening his posture toward Mexico or maybe it just indicates billionaires enjoy the company of other billionaires. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Meet the California electors By Liam Dillon Among the electors are Janine Bera, the wife of Rep. Ami Bera of Elk Grove; Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and chairwoman of the state partys womens caucus; Eileen Feinstein Mariano, granddaughter of Sen. Dianne Feinstein; and Olivia Reyes-Becerra, daughter of Rep. Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles. State Assemblywomen Susan Eggman of Stockton and Shirley Weber of San Diego, former state Sen. Christine Kehoe of San Diego, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez and Laphonza Butler, president of the Service Employees International Union chapter that represents home care employees, also are on the list. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Three Washington state Democratic electors vote for Gen. Colin Powell, one for Faith Spotted Eagle By Rick Anderson (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press) Despite a statute binding the 12 members of the electoral college to vote for the winner of the states 2016 presidential election popular vote, four Washington electors made history and risked a $1,000 fine by voting for someone else Monday. But it wasnt Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton, supported by 57% of the states voters, wound up with eight of the 12 electoral votes at a session held in the State Capitol building here. Gen. Colin Powell received three votes. And Faith Spotted Eagle, an elder of the Yankton Sioux, received one. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Colorado elector says he was oppressed by state law into voting for Clinton By David Kelly In Denver, all nine electors voted for Hillary Clinton, after one was replaced for casting his ballot for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich instead. A boisterous crowd packed the state Capitol and booed when elector Michael Baca was dismissed and another sworn in to take his place. Vote your conscience! someone cried. The new elector voted for Clinton. Hecklers screamed Resign! Resign! at Secretary of State Wayne Williams after he shooed Bacas lawyer off the podium. Suspense had been building for weeks over how the electors would vote. Two courts blocked their attempts to vote for someone other than Clinton. State law here says electors must support the candidate who won the popular vote. On Sunday night they went to court again, this time asking a judge to reject a new oath drawn up by the secretary of state requiring electors to pledge to support the winner of the popular vote. Their motion was denied. As they waited, the crowd sang This Land is Your Land and America the Beautiful. But once the electors filed in, it was over quickly. Elector Robert Nemanich said he was oppressed by state law into voting for Clinton and would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. He did not elaborate. Lance Armstrong, 68, stood outside with an American flag. Im glad some of the electors made a point today, he said. Any point is better than none. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump officially gets 270th electoral vote, sealing his election as president By Julie Westfall Donald Trump has obtained the required 270 electoral votes to become president. Although electors in dozens of states still have to vote, the electoral balloting in Texas put Trump over the majority threshold, according to a state-by-state tally by the Associated Press. Thirty-six of the states electors voted for Trump, one for John Kasich and one for Ron Paul. The next, and last, official step in the electoral process is for Congress to count the votes. Under the procedure set out by the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, that formal process is scheduled for Jan. 6. Some anti-Trump activists had hoped against hope that they could persuade electors in states that voted for Trump to defect, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Electors are nearly all party loyalists. Additionally, they faced more than two centuries of tradition and, in some states, legal obligations that called for them to cast their ballots according to which candidate won the popular vote in their states. No defectors have ever changed the result of a presidential election. Four electors today successfully defected in Washington state. Instead of voting for Hillary Clinton, who won the states popular vote, three electors voted for former secretary of State Colin Powell and one voted for Faith Spotted Eagle, an environmental activist. Electors in two other states who tried to vote against the states winner were replaced with alternates. There may be additional defections in the remaining states, but since Trump now has a majority of the electoral votes, those would not be enough to change the result. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Emotions high in Maryland as electors unanimously vote for Clinton By Erin Cox (Erin Cox/Baltimore Sun) As Marylands 10 electors unanimously cast votes for Democrat Hillary Clinton for president Monday, several said they were privileged to vote for the countys first female presidential nominee. Outside, hundreds of anti-Trump protesters cheered as the solemn ceremony unfolded on live-stream television. A state delegate, who had the ceremonial task of handing the electors votes to another official, wept while executing her duty. This is an emotional moment for many, many women in this country and in this state, said Del. Maggie McIntosh, a Baltimore Democrat. She added later: I guess I didnt cry enough on Nov. 8. Marylands electors were bound by state law to vote for the winner of Marylands popular vote, which Clinton secured with more than 60% of the ballots cast. About 100 protesters who had been chanting and singing around the historic State House grounds for at least four hours before the vote said they came in solidarity with protesters in Republican state capitols, pleading with electors not to endorse President-elect Donald Trump. This is appalling and unacceptable, and Im hoping the Republicans, in particular, rise above and do the right thing, said Cheryl Kreiser, a retired teacher from the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring. For an hour every day for the last 21 days, Kreiser has protested Trumps win on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was the only way I could cope with the disappointment, she said. Marylands Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who wrote in his fathers name rather than vote for Trump on election day, opened Marylands 58th electoral college meeting but left the room before electors were sworn in. Each elector had been appointed by the Maryland Democratic Party state chair, Bruce Poole, who reminded the crowd the United States is not a direct democracy ruled by the popular vote. A lot of people lose sight of the fact that were a republic. Were not a democracy, Poole said. The whole idea was that the president would not be chosen just by the whims of the moment, but instead there would be an opportunity for people who were thoughtful, who had judgment, who had integrity to take a step back from the moment of emotion and consider what would be in the best interest of the country. Here is "the old book" where Maryland has recorded its Electoral College electors every year since 1789. pic.twitter.com/GlsaJd3F3X Erin Cox (@ErinatThePost) December 19, 2016 Before he introduced Marylands electors, Poole lamented the state of political discourse in the country. We live in the age of information. It is not necessarily the age of wisdom or age of judgment, he said. People on both sides, on all sides, make decisions at the snap of a finger. Maryland was both the model for creating the electoral college and the first state in the country to vote to bypass it. Framers modeled todays system after the way the Maryland House of Delegates selected Maryland senators, a process the state later abandoned after it was considered undemocratic, according to a history of the electoral college written by staff at the Maryland Board of Elections. Hogan noted the state is one of six to have participated every year since 1789. In 2007, Maryland was the first state to vote to sign the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, a promise designed to award the electoral college to the winner of the national popular vote. It required enough states to comprise 270 votes to sign on for it to take effect. So far, only 10 states including California with a combined 165 votes have signed the compact. The president of Marylands electors, Courtney Watson, also co-chaired Clintons campaign in Maryland. She said she thought changes to the electoral college should be considered and described Monday as a poignant moment for Maryland residents. Its a very emotional time, she said. Many of us have worked long and hard, and for the first woman candidate. The point, though, is that people are still moved and even more engaged. And thats what I find promising for our future and the future of women. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi and California elector, demands to know the truth about Russian influence By Jazmine Ulloa Elector @sfpelosi: We won't stand down. #caleg pic.twitter.com/4cM3cE4Wb6 Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 19, 2016 California elector Christine Pelosi on Monday told crowds gathered outside the Capitol that she has been part of a chorus of people demanding to know the truth about Russian interference in the November presidential election. Pelosi, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis daughter, is leading 10 other electors in a call for an intelligence briefing on Russian influence. Shouting into a microphone Monday, she said Russian hackers aim to turn the American people against each other and had marginalized her and others for speaking out. They trespass on servers, she said. They receive stolen emails. They pump out stories that day after day focus on scandal rather than policy, rather than talking about climate and immigration and human rights. Californias meeting of electors is about to get underway in the state Capitol. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print After prayer for national unity, Georgia electors vote for Trump By Jenny Jarvie Outside the Georgia Capitol today, some may have held a flicker of hope that a GOP elector would refuse to cast a ballot for Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States. Yet among the inner circle of Republicans who gathered inside the cozy, wood-paneled Senate chamber, there was little doubt about what would unfold. One by one, all 16 electors - dressed in formal business suits and red dresses, bow ties and blazers -- cast their ballots for the contentious Republican candidate. It was a short ceremony, with little opportunity for disruption. Security guards prevented the public from entering the chamber, cordoning off the hallway outside the room with a red rope and locking the main door before proceedings began. The electors chosen by Georgias Republican Party included well-connected attorneys and real estate agents, a high school teacher and a farmer. As they waited for the gathering to begin, many snapped selfies and waved at loved ones above in the upper gallery. After a call to order by the Georgia Republican Party chair, the electors bowed their heads, and Rachel Little, an elector and grass-roots Republican organizer, delivered an invocation. Lord, we know we are a divided country right now, she said. We pray that you will unite us. We pray that [those who oppose Trump] will see our conservatism lived out in a gracious way. In a short speech, Gov. Nathan Deal hit out at activists who had bombarded electors with emails, letters and phone calls in an effort to sway their votes. You have been the subject of harassment by those who perhaps are not as dedicated to the proposition of what this body is supposed to do as they are agitated by the fact that the people didnt do what they wanted them to do. I have every confidence you will not succumb to that, Deal told the electors. My words to you: Do your job. Shortly before the electors cast their ballots, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who represents Georgias 11th District, took to the podium to present a short history of the electoral college. Our founders actually despised the idea of democracy because mob rule often results in a decision made out of pure emotion, Loudermilk told the electors, after referencing the noise of protesters outside. It does not result in good government. In fact, our founders often cited the historic trial of Jesus as how mob rule does not work. The electoral college was devised to protect the integrity of government, Loudermilk said. To protect those who live in the rural areas of America, those who work, those who are part of the farming communities and part of the industrial communities, those who live and work every day, that their interests are protected as well of those who make their living on Wall Street. For a moment earlier this year, there was an inkling of a Republican revolt against Trump in Georgia. In August, Baoky Vu, a GOP elector based in Decatur, Ga., admitted he might not cast his ballot for Trump if he won. Within hours, however, he was forced to resign. Trump went on to win 51% of Georgias popular vote. On Monday, Vu did not show up at the Capitol, and he was formally replaced by a solid Trump backer, John Padgett, the chairman of the Georgia Republican party. There seems little chance that Georgia legislators might vote to overhaul the electoral college. Earlier this year, Republican legislators authored two bipartisan pieces of legislation in Georgias House and Senate that would have made Georgias electoral votes based solely on the outcome of the national popular vote. Yet both bills stalled, and Republicans say there is little momentum to revive the debate. The system prevents the tyranny of the majority, said Kirk Shook, an elector who is a high school teacher in rural Oconee County. He scoffed at those who, since the election, had sought to overhaul the electoral college system. Theres all this weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, Shook said of those who opposed Trumps win. And rightly so. Theres going to be a Republican president, a Republican Congress and a Republican Supreme Court. With the stroke of a pen, 90 percent of what Obama considered his legacy will be gone. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Four Washington state electors defect from Clinton; one chooses Faith Spotted Eagle instead By Associated Press (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press) Four members of the electoral college in Washington state cast their votes for a candidate other than Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won the states popular vote. Its the first time in four decades the states electors have broken from the popular vote for president. Washingtons 12 electors met Monday afternoon in the state Capitol to complete the constitutional formality. Clinton got eight votes while other candidates got the remaining four. Elector Bret Chiafalo, who earlier in the day said he planned to vote for Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said that he ultimately changed his vote to former Secretary of State Colin Powell after conversations with other Washington electors. The exact breakdown of the other four votes wasnt immediately known, although at least one vote was cast for Faith Spotted Eagle. In last months election, Republican Donald Trump won 306 electoral votes to Clintons 232, though Clintons tally will now be lower. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win. The last time an elector broke from the popular vote in Washington was in 1976, when Mike Padden, who is currently a Republican state senator, voted for Ronald Reagan instead of Gerald Ford, who had won the state. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Hundreds protest the electoral college at Capitol building in Sacramento By Jazmine Ulloa Protesters are now chanting, "hey hey ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go" pic.twitter.com/4nNyTMroI5 Marcus Yam (@yamphoto) December 19, 2016 Cheers and chants of U.S.A and Keep him out filled the air Monday, as dozens of protestors gathered outside the California Capitol in a last ditch attempt to sway the electoral college from voting for president-elect Donald Trump. Speakers called Trump a celebrity and authoritarian unfit for the presidency. And they urged Congress to do away with the electoral college process, which they described as an outdated and broken system susceptible to foreign influence and manipulation. This is a secret system of voting where we are not allowed to see where the votes are actually coming from or how they are counted, Brent Turner, with the movement organization Democracy Spring, shouted into a microphone. John Franco, 52, says the electoral college is an outdated system that can be manipulated with or without hackers. #caleg pic.twitter.com/fs2L2W2HKp Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 19, 2016 John Franco, a 52-year-old business owner visiting Sacramento from New Orleans, said he came to the demonstration with his family to protest that secret process. We dont feel a system that can be manipulated represents the interests of the people who voted for Hillary Clinton, he said. Rochelle Towers was among hundreds to protest at the CA Capitol today: "I'll take any shot that there is. #caleg https://t.co/QcOhWklrpx pic.twitter.com/mtx76NjdEW Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) December 20, 2016 Rochelle Towers, 68, said she drove in from Oakland in an attempt to persuade the electoral college from voting for Trump. She said she would not have to live through a lot of what its decision would set in motion. But my children and grandchildren will, she said. Even though this is a real long shot, Ill take any shot that there is. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Colorado elector removed after refusing to vote for Clinton By David Kelly A new elector is sworn in in Colorado after one refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. (David Kelly / Los Angeles Times) Eight of nine Colorado electors have voted for Hillary Clinton. One elector, Michael Baca, refused to vote for Clinton and was immediately replaced with an alternate, who was sworn in on the spot. As the crowd jeered, the new elector promptly voted for Clinton. Shouts of Resign! followed Secretary of State Wayne Williams announcement of the results. Protesters at the state capitol in Colorado. (David Kelly/Los Angeles Times) Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Electors say they have been barraged with emails By Nigel Duara View Twitter post Arizona elector J. Foster Morgan said he had received several letters protesting the election of Donald Trump, but experienced nothing on the scale of some his fellow Arizona electors whose email addresses were distributed to protest lists. They heard the worst thing imaginable, Morgan said. I just got a few letters. Despite protests outside the meeting, Morgan said, the vote went fine. Eleven votes for Donald Trump. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democratic electors in Minnesota and Maine try to vote for Bernie Sanders By Associated Press (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) A second elector this one in Minnesota has refused to cast a vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton in Mondays electoral college tally. It wasnt immediately clear why Muhammad Abdurrahman didnt vote for Clinton, but he was a delegate for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention. The electors are pledged to cast Minnesotas 10 electoral votes for Clinton since she won the state. Abdurrahman was immediately replaced by an alternate who later voted for Clinton. Earlier in the day, a so-called faithless elector in Maine cast his vote for Sanders, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Clinton. David Bright said on his Facebook page that he cast his vote for Sanders because voting for Clinton would not have helped her win. But he ultimately voted for Clinton on a second vote after being ruled out of order. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Utah voting goes off without incident six for Trump By David Montero A protest sign outside the gathering of Utah electors (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press) Despite chants of vote your conscience and the whole world is watching from more than 100 protesters, Utahs six electors cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump today in Salt Lake City. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox announced the official results within minutes of the votes being cast, but he was drowned out by jeers of Shame on you by the protesters. I hope you know this is what our country is all about, Cox said. I hope all of us here are sincerely grateful we live in a country where we have the opportunity to express ourselves. The six electors -- two small-business owners, a custom metal worker, a farmer, a Brigham Young University professor and a Republican activist -- quickly introduced themselves before casting their ballots. The votes were largely a formality, as the state requires electors to vote for the winner. Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by getting 45%t of the vote. He also withstood a challenge from Evan McMullin, who garnered 21% in what was largely a protest vote from those, many of them Mormons, who felt uncomfortable casting a ballot for Trump. Cox said the turnout for this years electoral vote was a far cry from 2012, when four people and one camera crew showed up. Im a big fan of the electoral college, Cox said to the restless crowd. You dont have to boo me now. You can boo me later. About 200 protesters and Trump supporters arrived in the rotunda of the state Capitol about three hours before the votes were cast shortly after noon. The room where the votes were cast was too small to accommodate everyone, and the fire marshal sought to limit occupancy to about 130 people. Interest was high, and the vote even drew Hawthorn Elementary School students, who helped lead the room in the Pledge of Allegiance. Cox thanked them for coming and told them they were getting an experience youll never forget. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Clinton elector balks in Minnesota One of 10 Minnesota electors has decided not cast a vote, Muhammad Abdurrahan. An alternate is now being sworn in. #ElectoralCollege pic.twitter.com/4eN1PIrZdO Dylan Wohlenhaus (@DylanWohlenhaus) December 19, 2016 In Minnesota, where the 10 electors had all pledged their votes to Hillary Clinton, one of them refused to go through with it. Elector Muhammad Abdurrahman opted not to vote. He was replaced by an alternate, who cast a vote for Clinton. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement As Pennsylvania went unanimously for Trump, a voice from the back: Thank you By Steve Esack Electors sworn in in Pennsylvania (Matt Rourke/Associated Press) In Pennsylvanias capital of Harrisburg, the states 20 electoral college voters selected Trump today in a ceremony marked by traditional pomp and bellowing protests. Trump won the popular vote in Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes the first Republican presidential candidate to do so since 1988. It earned him the states 20 electoral college votes. When the result was announced shortly before 1 p.m. inside the gilded, ornate House chamber, protesters jeered and supporters cheered. Shame on you, a womans voice called down from the public balcony. Thank you, a male voters voice responded back from the floor. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print How some electors have reacted to all the mail from voters Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Protesters outside Florida Senate chambers: Trump is dangerous By Gray Rohrer Protesters gather outside the Florida Senate chambers ahead of the electoral college voting ceremony. (Gray Rohrer / Orlando Sentinel) A group of about 100 protesters huddled outside the Florida Senate chambers Monday morning as Floridas 29 electors prepared to cast their votes for Donald Trump in the formal electoral eollege vote ceremony later in the day. The protesters held signs that read You can fix this, keep America free, What would Hamilton do? and Electors: Protect Us, Trump is Dangerous, pleading for electors to change their minds and not vote for Trump, who beat Hillary Clinton by 112,911 votes in Florida, about 1.2%t of all votes cast in the state. Tallahassee resident Bonnie McCluskey held a sign reading Send it to the House. If enough electors across the country do not vote for Trump, hell fall short of the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency, sending the matter to the U.S. House. The reason Im here is because I dont trust [Trump]) and I think he will harm the United States, McCluskey said. My grandmothers were suffragettes; their ancestors were willing to be traitors to the British crown to create this democracy and I dont want to see it end. And that sounds awfully dramatic but thats how Im feeling. She said that part of the reason she doesnt trust Trump is because he didnt pay a company she worked for that did promotional videos for his buildings in 1998. They were basically given the opportunity to take 10 percent or go to court. Back then I didnt realize that was his business plan, McCluskey said. I didnt make the deal with him I was just one of the people who saw a company go bankrupt. Despite the pleas from protesters, all of Floridas electors are expected to vote for Trump. Some, such as Florida Senate President Joe Negron, have posted pictures of hundreds of letters theyve received asking them to change their vote but declaring theyll be voting for the Republican candidate. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Colorado electors make last-ditch plea to switch votes By David Kelly Crowds await the electoral college vote at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (David Kelly / For The Times) Colorado electors are trying a last-chance legal appeal to avoid voting for Hillary Clinton, and instead vote for an alternative candidate to replace Donald Trump. A week ago, a district court judge told them they had to vote for Clinton, who won the popular vote in Colorado. A few days ago, a federal appeals court upheld that decision. But just hours before the vote today, two electors filed suit to stop the Colorado secretary of state from requiring them to swear to vote for the candidate supported by the electorate. Their effort is part of a loose national scheme to defeat Trump by persuading Republican electors to join with Democrats, such as those in Colorado, and coalesce around an alternative candidate. There has been no decision so far. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Chants of Shame! erupt as Wisconsin electors cast ballots for Trump By Bill Ruthhart Demonstrators erupt after Wisconsin's 10 presidential electors cast their #ElectoralCollege ballots for Republican Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/A0GrASaIbY Bill Ruthhart (@BillRuthhart) December 19, 2016 Wisconsins 10 presidential electors unanimously cast their ballots for Republican Donald Trump as expected Wednesday, but the vote still drew chants of Shame from dozens of demonstrators who had pleaded for them to back away from the president-elect. The typically procedural vote in a fourth-floor conference room in the Wisconsin State Capitol was anything but routine as about 150 protesters greeted the 10 electors with signs pleading for them to vote your conscience not your pledge. In a short 15-minute meeting, the electors quickly cast their ballots for Trump. They did not address the controversial nature of the election and no speeches were made before the LA 90: The feds look at Orange Countys jail scandal Federal officials are investigating the Orange County district attorneys office. Coalition aircraft have destroyed heavy weaponry seized by Islamic State (IS) militants when they retook the Syrian city of Palmyra from regime forces over the weekend, officials said Friday. The strikes on Thursday destroyed an air defense artillery system, 14 tanks, three artillery systems, two IS-held buildings and two tactical vehicles, the coalition said in a statement. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who commands the US-led coalition bombing IS in Iraq and Syria, had said Wednesday that the Islamist militants "possibly" had air-defense equipment -- potentially posing a risk to coalition aircraft. "Basically, anything they (IS) seize poses a threat to the coalition, but we can manage those threats and we will," Townsend said. Thursday's attack took place near the Tiyas military airfield near Palmyra, northeast of the fabled city along a highway. IS overran Palmyra on Sunday, nine months after being expelled by Russian air strikes and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. IS had initially seized Palmyra in May 2015 and went on to blow up UNESCO-listed Roman-era temples and loot ancient relics. The Pentagon and coalition partners have accused Moscow and Damascus of taking their eyes off Palmyra to focus on bombing the former rebel bastion of Aleppo. Search Keywords: Short link: On Monday, 538 presidential electors will meet in their home states and Washington, D.C., in what is traditionally a formalistic footnote to the outcome of the November election. But some passionate opponents of Donald J. Trump are beseeching the electors to try to block Trumps path to the White House. Its not going to happen. More to the point, it shouldnt happen. Trump is profoundly problematic as a potential president unfit, inexperienced, irresponsible, just for starters which is why this editorial page strenuously opposed his election. He trails Hillary Clinton by almost 3 million votes nationwide, which makes a mockery of his claim of a popular mandate and underscores the need for a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college and provide for the election of the president by a national popular vote. Highly disturbing evidence that Russian intelligence agencies intervened to help Trump and hurt Clinton casts a serious shadow over Trumps victory, even if it was only one of many factors in the outcome. Advertisement The 2016 election wasnt conducted on the principle that the winner of the popular vote would become president. But none of these considerations justifies upending the expectations of voters, Democratic as well as Republican, who chose these electors expecting them to support the nominee of their respective parties. A statement by a group called Defend Democracy, modeled after the Declaration of Independence, echoes the American colonists indictment of King George III by accusing Trump of a long train of abuses and usurpations including defending torture, inspiring hate crimes and demonstrating an incomprehension of our humanity, dignity and rights. Those are fair characterizations of Trumps ugly campaign rhetoric; alas, not enough voters in key states were similarly outraged. The authors of the petition, who believe that the electoral college should reject Trump, are correct that Alexander Hamilton, writing in the Federalist Papers, saw the electors as exercising independent judgment and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation. That point is also made in a YouTube video plea to Republican electors from Martin Sheen, who played a fictional president on The West Wing. Sheen says: Our founding fathers built the electoral college to safeguard the American people from the dangers of a demagogue and to ensure that the presidency only goes to someone who is to an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. The problem with this argument is that the college hasnt existed as Hamilton understood it for more than 150 years. Rather than being chosen by state legislatures and directed to exercise independent judgment, electors are chosen by the voters from party slates and are expected to support the party nominee. Only a few faithless electors in recent history have violated that understanding. Although most constitutional scholars agree that electors are free under the U.S. Constitution to cast their votes as they please, 29 states and the District of Columbia have statutes that seek to bind electors, sometimes with threats of fines or criminal penalties. And they are generally expected to do the same in the other 21 states. This page believes that the electoral college is anachronistic and that the system should be changed so that the winner of the popular vote becomes president. Thats why we have supported both a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an arrangement in which states pledge to award all their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. (California has joined the compact, but it wont go into effect until its joined by enough states to comprise a majority of the electoral vote.) But for better or worse we think for worse the 2016 election wasnt conducted on the principle that the winner of the popular vote would become president. Both Clinton and Trump competed (and tailored their campaign strategies) to win electoral votes in what amounted to 51 separate statewide contests. They knew the rules from the start and it is too late now to change those rules without creating a free-for-all that would wreak havoc on the existing system. Any effort to claw back the election from Trump now would create a serious constitutional crisis. Had Clinton won more electoral votes even if she finished second in the popular vote her supporters would have proclaimed victory and vociferously condemned any attempt to incite the electoral college to keep her out of the White House. Trump wasnt our choice, and the prospect of him as president is deeply worrisome. But those who are trying to foment a revolt in the electoral college should focus their energies instead on preparing to oppose Trumps policies after he takes office. MORE FROM OPINION Trumps team: Outsiders, maybe; populists, no Trumps shameful incuriosity about Russian meddling With Trump vowing to increase offshore drilling, Obama should try to prevent future oil and gas exploration Few things define California to the rest of the world like its coast, from the sandy beaches of Southern California to the stunning vistas of Big Sur and the rugged north coast. Nearly 50 years ago, the state got a taste of how damaging an offshore oil spill can be when 3 million gallons of crude gushed into the sea near Santa Barbara, an ecological disaster that coated 35 miles of coastline. Other, smaller leaks here in California, as well as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, reinforced the conclusion that offshore drilling is too environmentally risky for the reward of yet more climate-changing fossil fuels heading to market. Thats why Gov. Jerry Brown echoing a request by Democratic senators from the West Coast, including Californians Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein asked President Obama this week to use his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban new drilling in federal waters off the West Coast. Thats a sound idea. Not only is the beauty of the coast imperiled by drilling, but so is the clean coast economy, an estimated $44-billion, 650,000 job industry rooted in tourism, commercial and recreational fishing, leisure boating and other activities not tied to pumping oil from beneath the sea. The world needs to ratchet back both production and use of oil if it is to stave off catastrophic climate change. Obama should go further and ban drilling in federal waters in the Arctic and off the Atlantic coast (which some Democratic senators, mostly from the East Coast, have called for). The administration recently adopted its 2017-2022 plan for offshore energy development, which would allow new leases in 10 areas of the Gulf of Mexico, and another lease in Alaskas Cook Inlet. But allowing any additional wells ramps up the risk spills at sea are exceedingly more difficult to clean up than on land, and the oil they unleash spreads with the currents. The U.S. should move away from offshore drilling, which accounts for about 16% of U.S. production. Global warming is real, and human use of fossil fuels is largely responsible for it. The world needs to ratchet back both production and use of oil if it is to stave off catastrophic climate change. Allowing new drilling in the open ocean is not the way to get there. Obama ought to view an outright ban on new drilling in federal waters as a defensive maneuver. President-elect Donald J. Trump has pledged to increase domestic oil and gas production, including more offshore drilling and leases on federal lands. His cabinet-level selections, which include a mix of climate change-skeptics and people with deep oil-industry ties, suggest this is an area in which he will try to deliver as promised. That would be disastrous for the environment, and by invoking the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ban new offshore wells, Obama could at least make it exceedingly difficult for Trump to let the oil companies loose on the seas. Supporters of the effort refer to it as a permanent ban, but permanence in this context is not a sure thing. The act says the president may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf. One might assume that anything one president can do unilaterally, another president can undo. But the law has no clear mechanism for reopening withdrawn lands for drilling. No president has tried to do so since the law was enacted in 1953, and environmentalists say such an effort by Trump would be met with legal challenges that would likely outlive his presidency. Its worth the effort, and the fight. Off-shore drilling, no matter the protestations of safety by oil companies and drillers, exposes oceans and coastlines to significant and expensive potential harm. And as the world experiences faster-than-anticipated climate change, its foolhardy to exacerbate the problem by expanding opportunities for drilling for oil and gas, particularly in a high-risk manner. Yes, the world needs oil, but it also needs to transition away from it. And the United States needs to protect its coastlines from dangerous oil spills. While the federal government doesnt have much sway on drilling in state waters Alaska has a number of active platforms within three miles of shore it does have control over the exploitation of federal waters. Obama should impose a ban on future drilling there, even if it will be left to the environmental activists to make sure it sticks. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook The electoral college ought to have been struck from the Constitution or invalidated by the Supreme Court long ago. Donald Trumps electoral college victory despite Hillary Clintons lead of more than 2.5 million in the popular vote is only the latest proof that its the wrong way to choose a president. As a practical matter, we cant depend on a constitutional amendment to eliminate the electoral college. Amendments require ratification by three-quarters of the states, and enough small states think they benefit from the system that an amendment would never pass. Instead, its up to the Supreme Court and a properly framed lawsuit to do away with a system that not only never functioned as the framers intended but blatantly violates the courts one person, one vote principle. Article 2 of the Constitution sets up the electoral college. It assigns votes to states by the size of their congressional delegation: Each state gets two electors just as they get two senators in addition to those apportioned by population. The result weights the outcome in such a way that electoral votes cast by the most populous states are worth a fraction of those cast by smallest states: One Wyoming electoral college vote represents 143,000 people; the ratio is 1:500,000 for California. Advertisement The mechanics of the electoral college are the product of a morally corrupt decision to placate slave states in the agrarian South. Plaintiffs in a legal challenge could be voters in any of the most populous states. They could correctly argue that their votes are being systematically undervalued in presidential elections, and that existing amendments to the Constitution override Article 2. The mechanics of the electoral college are the product of a morally corrupt decision to placate slave states in the agrarian South. At the Constitutional Convention, Pennsylvanias James Wilson proposed direct election of the president, but he was shot down by the slave-owning Virginian James Madison. The Souths nonvoting slaves would have counted for nothing in a popular-vote system. But slaves increased the political clout of the South because the Constitutions three-fifths clause each slave was deemed to be worth three-fifths of a person counted them for apportionment in the House of Representatives. The same math was applied to the electoral college, which extended that clout to the presidency. Before the Constitution was ratified, Alexander Hamilton sold the electoral college to voters in Federalist No. 68 as a collective, deliberative body, a means of checking the passions of majority rule. But no electoral college has ever met in that manner. The president and vice president arent determined, as Hamilton envisioned, by men capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation. Today, electors names dont appear on most states ballots; voters know nothing of their capabilities. The parties choose slates, and the slates follow the popular vote. The 157 electors who through history have deviated from this norm arent praised for their deliberations but criticized as faithless. A state can punish such electors after the fact, according to a 1952 high court ruling; it cant prevent them from voting as they see fit. (This has led some to hope fantastically that enough electors will defect this year to deny Trump the presidency.) Even if the electoral college functioned as Hamilton envisioned, it still would be illegitimate. Its basic architecture flouts the principle that has defined elections for every other public office in the United States for the last 50 years: one person, one vote. The Supreme Court established the principle in 1964, when it ruled that states cannot unevenly weight votes in choosing their officeholders. The 8-1 decision struck down a Georgia scheme that, much like the electoral college, gave voters in less-populated rural counties significantly greater power than voters in urban counties. Justice William O. Douglas acknowledged the fact that the Georgia system was similar to what was set up in Article 2, but he still concluded that the impulse was unconstitutional and un-American. The conception of political equality from the Declaration of Independence, to Lincolns Gettysburg Address, to the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Nineteenth Amendments can mean only one thing one person, one vote, he wrote. With an appropriate challenge in the high court, that precedent ought to topple the electoral college. Plaintiffs could also argue that the electoral college violates the equal protection principle now recognized as implicit in the Fifth Amendments due process clause. Still, the college has its supporters. They fall back on a political defense. In a pure popular-vote system, they warn that candidates would pay no attention to the least populous states. But its not as if Wyomings voters are getting a lot of attention now. Supporters also enlist another argument whatever its quirks, the system usually follows the will of the people and sends the national popular vote-winner to the White House. But if thats the desired result, why not simply choose the president and vice president through direct election? The electoral college is enshrined in the Constitution, but that doesnt necessarily make it constitutional. The framers knew times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in nullifying anti-sodomy laws in Lawrence vs. Texas. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom. Kenneth Jost has written the annual series Supreme Court Yearbook since 1993. His blog is Jost on Justice. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION How to cure the electoral college The electoral college shouldnt veto Trumps election The town that white supremacist Richard Spencer calls home With Trump vowing to increase offshore drilling, Obama should try to prevent future oil and gas exploration UPDATES: Dec. 18: This article was updated to clarify the argument plaintiffs could use before the Supreme Court. All right-thinking people and certainly all Democrats are outraged by the way North Carolinas Republican Legislature is trying to reduce the authority of the governors office now that a Democrat is about to occupy it. As the L.A. Times Matt Pearce reported: North Carolinas incoming Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, threatened legal action Thursday after Republican lawmakers, in a surprise move, moved to strip power away from political branches and boards about to be taken over by Democrats. Advertisement The GOP move happened Wednesday night, as state legislators gathered for a special session to approve relief funds for victims of Hurricane Matthew. After the funding was approved, Republican lawmakers launched a second special session and introduced bills that would limit the gains made by Democrats in November. Boo, hiss. This certainly looks like an unprincipled partisan power play. But then I came to this explanation of some of the Republicans anti-Cooper initiatives: One proposal would require Coopers Cabinet nominees to be approved by the Republican-dominated state Senate. Another would eliminate the governors ability to appoint trustees for the states university system. Wait, arent those fairly common though not universal aspects of a system of checks and balances? Lots of states, including California, require Senate confirmation for some important gubernatorial appointments. Meanwhile, at the national level, Democrats in the U.S. Senate are sharpening their knives as they prepare for confirmation hearings for some of President-elect Donald Trumps more in-your-face nominees. Most good-government types including, I suspect, a lot of Democrats screaming bloody murder about the power play in North Carolina agree with the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board that Senate confirmation of key executive branch appointees is an important safeguard because these officials are not just creatures of the president (or governor). As we editorialized this week about confirmation hearings for Trumps nominees: [Trump is] entitled to deference from the Senate in forming his administration. But senators must also insist that Cabinet officials are qualified for their positions and that they will enforce laws passed by Congress. There is no requirement that state governments perfectly replicate the stricture of the federal government. The Constitution says that the United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, but it doesnt dictate a particular blueprint. States can have unicameral or bicameral legislatures and relatively strong or weak governors. Still, I would argue that Senate confirmation for key executive branch officials is a practice the states including North Carolina should emulate. I know: The Republicans in North Carolina have a mean partisan motive for their reforms and were perfectly happy to give the governor a wide berth when he was a member of their own party. Im not defending them. But perhaps with at least some of their changes, they are guilty of what T.S. Eliot called the greatest treason to do the right deed for the wrong reason. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Just a few short months ago, the Democratic Party was licking its chops at the prospect of Hillary Clinton in the White House, Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate, and a Republican Party dissolving into soul-searching anguish after losing a shot at an open White House by nominating Donald J. Trump whose ascension exposed an existential political/cultural divide within the GOP. And now we have the exact opposite situation a Democratic Party shut out of national power as it does its own bit of soul-searching, a process that will play out in the fight for a new chair to replace Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-Fla.), whose fall from party grace last summer over comments revealed in hacked emails now looks, in retrospect, like it was an unrecognized omen. The problem for the Democrats is that the tide is moving against them. Clinton won the popular vote, as we all know, but Trump ginned up enough support in a handful of battleground states to win the electoral college a turn of events that surprised even him. Advertisement Clintons 65.8 million votes were less than the 69.5 million that Barack Obama won in 2008 the last time there was a presidential race without an incumbent running and slightly less than the 65.9 million that he received in his 2012 reelection. And thats despite increases in the pool of eligible voters from 213.3 million in 2008, to 222.5 million in 2012, to 231.6 million this year a 9% expansion of eligible voters. So as the national pool of voters grew, votes for Democratic presidential candidates declined. But national voter support for the GOP candidates has increased. Trump won more votes nationally (63 million) than Mitt Romney in 2012 (with 60.9 million), and than Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008 (with 59.9 million). Yes, its the electoral college that ultimately matters, and this year, that was Clintons to lose which she did for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, though, she and the Democratic Party were unable to turn around that erosion in support particularly in crucial states such as Michigan, where Clinton received fewer votes than Obama did four years ago. Massive turnouts in California are nice for the national numbers, but that is essentially running up the score in a game you already won. What Clinton needed was more effective work in Michigan and other battleground states. But the key to the 2016 results lies in class, gender and racial splits. Clinton had much less support among white men than did Obama, and picked up smaller percentages of the African American and Latino vote. While Clinton prevailed among voters with college educations, Trump cleaned up with those without a college degree, which was, as Pew Research noted, by far the widest gap in support among college graduates and non-college graduates in exit polls dating back to 1980. The Democrats need to focus on expanding the partys appeal to those who have spurned it. So who will the Democrats pick to fix that? Rep. Keith Ellison, a progressive from Minnesota who made history as the first Muslim elected to Congress, was the early favorite (and backed by Bernie Sanders), but Labor Secretary Tom Perez has also jumped in, with the support of Obama and others in the administration. (There are a handful of other candidates, but none has picked up much traction.) Both contenders, interestingly are from the progressive part of the party. Perez, the son of Dominican immigrants, grew up in blue-collar Buffalo, N.Y., is pro-union, and headed up the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division before Obama tapped him to run the Labor Department. Perezs election would send a strong signal to the nations growing Latino population and reassure labor. Electing Ellison, who is black, would send a similar message to African American and Muslim voters, and could give the party a poignant figure to put up against whatever Trump winds up doing with his campaign pledges to target Muslims for tighter security scrutiny. And both Perez and Ellison, a Detroit native who moved to Minneapolis to attend law school, are seen as capable organizers, the kind of skill that will be necessary to rebuild the party. But the Democrats need to focus on expanding the partys appeal to those who have spurned it people with lesser educations, particularly white males while energizing (and not losing) their traditional supporters. Can Perez or Ellison put together a game plan to do that? Thats the question. If the next couple of years play out the way many on the left fear they will attacks on civil liberties, dismantling of environmental protections, repeal of the Affordable Care Act, undercutting public education, rollbacks of Wall Street regulations the Trump administration could provide the Democrats with a golden opportunity. The party just needs to find a way to not squander it by continuing with the same visions, organizational strategies and policies that so many voters have greeted with yawns. scott.martelle@latimes.com Twitter: @smartelle President Obama handed out a few lumps of coal at his pre-Christmas press conference. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) found himself relegated by Obama to the ranks of other aspirants for the Democratic Party national chairmanship while the president sang the praises of outgoing Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. Critics of the presidents Syria policy who had hoped Obama would express a smidgen of regret for the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo were also disappointed. His story is that he had no good options in Syria short of a large-scale military intervention that could have become a quagmire. And hes sticking to it. Advertisement The Hillary Clinton campaign was subjected to a nostalgia trip in which Obama recalled how profitably he campaigned for the U.S. Senate with downstate Illinois voters going to fish fries and sitting in VFW halls and talking to farmers. He was invoking the demographic with which Clinton is widely thought to have under-performed. (I never would have called them deplorables, you could hear Obama thinking.) Then there were the Democrats who were hoping the president would endorse the notion that Russian hacking of Democratic email accounts which he all but blamed on Vladimir Putin prevented a free and fair election. He stopped short of blessing that fairly radical idea, and defined a rigged election in narrow terms of tampering with voting machines. But perhaps the most disappointed viewers of the press conference were bitter-end opponents of Trump who have been campaigning for the electoral college to go rogue and deny Trump the presidency, a campaign in which former critics of the college now venerate that institutions Hamiltonian, elitist origins. Obama declined to tell the electors what to do when they vote Monday, saying: Im not going to wade into that issue. He wouldnt even give opponents of the electoral college a consolation prize by denouncing the system that will put Trump in the White House despite his having lost the popular vote. Playing professor, Obama noted that the college is a vestige of an earlier period in American history when the authority of the states loomed larger in the U.S. constitutional system than it does now. He also noted that the U.S. Senate, in which every state had equal representation regardless of population, is predicated on the same political theory. If anything, Obama seemed to imply that if Clinton had gotten her act together, no one would be talking about the electoral college. There are some structures in our political system as envisioned by the founders that sometimes are going to disadvantage Democrats, he said. But the truth of the matter is is that if we have a strong message, if were speaking to what the American people care about, typically, the popular vote and the electoral college vote will align. Dont amend the Constitution, Obama seemed to be saying, just run good campaigns, the way I did. Oh, and Merry Christmas. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: With the Los Angeles Police Department already commanding about half the citys budget, an additional $8 million to redress police misconduct seems a bitter pill for taxpayers to swallow. I suggest a remedy for the City Council to consider, though its not my idea. (L.A. to pay more than $8 million to settle lawsuits over deadly shootings by LAPD, Dec. 13) Organizations with established roots in communities of color that suffer the brunt of excessive police violence and understand the problem have been talking about such a solution for at least two years. What those communities really need are jobs, intervention specialists and programs for youth. They dont need over-policing, which leads too easily to harassment, or a police force reflecting white supremacist values (irrespective of a police officers race). The Youth Justice Coalition has calculated that just 1% of the money spent on law enforcement in Los Angeles County would fund 25,000 youth jobs, 50 youth centers and 500 full-time community intervention workers. Why not give it a try? Advertisement Regardless of money the city spends on policing, the LAPD continues to fail at breaking cycles of violence, including its own excessive use of force. And in reality, thats not the LAPDs expertise. Karen Hilfman, Los Angeles Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Dealing with global warming is a monumental challenge under any administration, but having serious climate deniers at the helm will make it that much more difficult for America. (Despite Trump, theres still hope for the climate a year after Paris, editorial, Dec. 12) Worldwide, this is not really about science; its about money and power. Those who gain financially from the fossil-fuel industry spend millions to maintain the status quo and create confusion. Leaders who sincerely want to do their part and serve their people struggle with how to provide the energy needed to run their countries in what may be a long transitional period. It is clear that not everyone is pulling in the same direction. If we were, all the resources now being used to foil the effort could make the transition so much quicker and less painful for us all. Advertisement Addressing climate change is not optional. If our politicians and corporations dont get that, we the people must rally en masse. Lynne Girdlestone, Newhall .. To the editor: As someone who has spent many sleepless nights thinking about the election, I appreciate the cautious optimism of The Times editorial. In a world where someone with contempt for knowledge can challenge scientific facts and trust that a large portion of the public will believe him, one wonders if even the law of gravity is safe. But losing the executive branch as an ally in the battle against global warming might be just the challenge we need. The advent, this year, of an affordable electric vehicle with a 240-mile driving range leaves us no excuse for inaction on climate change. Perhaps daily reminders that our next president is unwilling to address the worlds most pressing problem will spur us to take matters into our own hands and exchange our current carbon dioxide spewing vehicles for a cleaner alternative. Walter H. Piper, Irvine Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: Doyle McManus paints a disturbing picture of the love affair between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Donald Trump. (Vladimir Putins modest investment in cyberspying? Its paying off, big league, Opinion, Dec. 14) Events of the past couple of years have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Putin is bent on restoring Russias domination of eastern Europe, boosting its influence in the Middle East and weakening the power of the U.S. and western Europe, and he apparently has no qualms about using dirty tricks. When interviewed in Austria last April, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called Putin a smart but truly evil man. I hope Trump will soon realize that despite Putins flattery, his true opinion of our president-elect is quite contemptuous: He likely views Trump as his most useful idiot. Advertisement Ted Carmely, Sherman Oaks .. To the editor: In reading McManus list of items that Russia wants from the United States, it appears that these things are also in our interest. Imagine if we were to strive for the opposite, which would mean: - We refuse to recognize Russia as a great power, seeking to keep its people in a humiliated state. - We maintain, and even expand, the presence of NATO on Russias western border. - We maintain sanctions stemming from Russias actions in Ukraine. These are well meaning, but they serve only to provoke belligerence. - We refuse to cooperate with Russia in the battle against Islamic State and seek to topple Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Assad may be a nasty strongman, but we have seen what toppling the dictators in Libya and Iraq has done. - We continue with our plans to put missiles in eastern Europe, right at Russias doorstep. We objected to missiles in Cuba, did we not? - We refuse to join with Russia on talks pertaining to cyber warfare. It seems that Trump, in acknowledging Russia and our common interests, is moving to reduce tensions. Edwin Tucker, Glendale .. To the editor: The airing out of evidence that Russia hacked both the Democratic and Republican parties and leaked documents to favor Trump is alarming on multiple levels. That members of Congress refused to air these concerns prior to the election because it would hurt their chances reflects great cynicism; that Trump encouraged it over the summer suggests foreknowledge; and worst of all, that there are still unreleased documents on the Republican Party suggests that potential leaks can be held over its members as they assume control of Congress and the White House. Investigations into Russian hacking must step beyond narrow party interests. If our elected representatives are motivated by doing whats right for the country, they will fear nothing that comes out of a resolution of this mess. They will go after the truth wherever it leads them. David Zingmond, Los Angeles Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Gov. Jerry Brown had to pick an attorney general faster than he expected (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The phone call that Gov. Jerry Brown made on Wednesday night was unusual. A governor who marches to his own methodical timetable for decisions was having his hand forced by the politics of Capitol Hill, and the job of California attorney general hung in the balance. In the end, Brown got the man he wanted: Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles). But it was Becerras effort to make a big career move that complicated things. In interviews with advisers to the governor and those close to Becerra, a portrait emerged of two veteran politicians who have mutual admiration but dont really know each other very well. In fact, the 12-term congressman plans to spend part of this weekend meeting with Brown in Sacramento. It was Becerras angling for an unexpectedly open high-profile post leading Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee that sparked the circumspect governor into action. Nancy McFadden, the governors top staffer, decided she did not want to be attorney general. (Robert Durell / For The Times) In Sacramento, those close to the governor said that the list of potential replacements for Kamala Harris was short, much shorter than the ones circulated by political watchers. Advisers confirmed that either First Lady Anne Gust Brown or the governors top aide, Nancy McFadden, could have had the job if they had wanted it. Neither did, perhaps knowing the importance being placed on picking someone who would be willing to run for a full term in the job in 2018 (though Becerra declined to talk about future plans when asked on Thursday). Becerra, on the other hand, intrigued the governor. Not only did he have the right credentials -- a former deputy attorney general, former state legislator, veteran member of Congress -- but advisers said the governor also valued diversity. And the chance to select the states first Latino attorney general was important. While few jobs are as important to Brown, himself a former attorney general, the leading contender never came in for an in-person interview. Becerra, who grew up in Sacramento, had been in town just before election day to stump for the reelection of Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove). He met with McFadden on that visit, but not the governor. And so the two men, who had no deep personal relationship, made the big decision long distance. When they talked, McFadden said in an interview, the man matched the resume. Becerra had been looking for somewhere to land. Out of places to move in House leadership and nearing the limit on how much longer he could lead the House Democratic Caucus, the vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton had spent the last year campaigning for her across the country with hopes it might lead to a new position. Clintons loss Nov. 8 put an end to that speculation, and for a while Becerras next move didnt seem clear. Surprise news Tuesday afternoon that the ranking Democrat on Ways and Means, Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) would not seek the position again led Beccera to quickly announce his plans to seek the position and lobby colleagues to back him. Levin quickly endorsed Becerra over Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Richie Neal, who had sought the job before. Word of Becerras effort quickly reached the state Capitol and the governors inner circle sprang into action. Perhaps fewer than a half dozen people knew of Browns decision until news began to spread early Thursday morning. Becerra called the offer sudden and said with Congress in session he hadnt even had a chance to talk with Brown about the job in person. It went very quickly when it started to move, he said. I was as stunned as you probably were and others were. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Syrian parties to resume the evacuation of civilians from Aleppo after the operations were suspended. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell," Ban said in his final press conference before he steps down as UN chief on December 31. Search Keywords: Short link: Four years ago, in the hours after Colorado became one of the first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, Gov. John Hickenlooper sounded a cautionary, if humorous, note: Dont break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly. State voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, and Hickenlooper found himself wrestling with how to implement a law he had opposed. For the record: An earlier version of this article made it appear as though consuming edible marijuana caused the deaths of a few children. Now, with other states passing similar measures, the Democrat has settled into an unexpected role a kind of marijuana counselor to his peers. Governors call him up, he said, to ask for advice on pot. Advertisement You dont get to choose what your legacy is, he said. In the weeks before Californians voted to legalize recreational cannabis last month, Gov. Jerry Brown called Hickenlooper for consultation. Like Hickenlooper, Brown did not endorse the effort. Hickenlooper, who owned a brewery in downtown Denver before entering politics in 2003, said he usually gives the same, specific advice: Focus on marijuana-infused brownies, gummy candies and lollipops. Its counsel hes doled out to governors from states such as Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada, which joined California this year in legalizing pot. We didnt regulate edibles strongly enough at first, Hickenlooper said in an interview this week at a gathering in Coronado of the Western Governors Assn. He cited a spike in emergency room visits by kids who had eaten marijuana products and two cases in which young adults who had reportedly consumed marijuana edibles died one after shooting himself and the other after jumping off a hotel balcony. In recent years, with Hickenlooper at the helm, the state launched an extensive ad campaign about the dangers marijuana poses to kids and teenagers, and lawmakers have passed measures requiring that labels of edibles be stamped to show they contain pot. Still, the risks for children are high, according to a July report published by physicians at Childrens Hospital Colorado that showed an increase in emergency room visits for kids under 9 who ingested pot after recreational shops opened. Ingestion of edible products continues to be a major source of marijuana exposures in children and poses a unique problem because no other drug is infused into a palatable and appetizing form, wrote Dr. Sam Wang, a physician at Childrens Hospital Colorado and the lead author of the report. Sam Kamin, a professor of marijuana law and policy at the University of Denver, worked on a task force commissioned by Hickenlooper in 2013 to implement the legalization of marijuana. You look at what he was handed and hes really embraced it, Kamin said of the governor. This has really been cutting-edge and everyone is learning on the fly. And that learning is still happening. Last year, Colorado pot retailers raked in $996 million in sales and turned over more than $135 million in taxes and fees to the state, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue. Retail sales of marijuana in the state are taxed at 10%, while the regular sales tax is 2.9%. And thats an area, Hickenlooper said, that could still use some tweaking. One of our goals is to get the taxing level right, he said, noting that if retail taxes are too high, black market sales will continue. This will help our goal, which is to drive drug dealers out of the marijuana business completely. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has regularly consulted his neighbor to the east about marijuana legalization. But, unlike liberal Colorado, Herberts more conservative state is now focused on the merits of medicinal marijuana. The state has considered allowing medicinal marijuana through ballot measures and the Legislature, but both efforts faltered. Herbert said at a news conference that although governors must work to implement the will of the voters, we need to have some leadership out of Washington, D.C., that puts us on a solid footing. Hickenlooper agrees. Wed love to make it easier to do banking, he said, referring to the quandary that marijuana dispensaries face on a daily basis. Federal law prohibits banks from taking money from dispensaries selling pot, leading to an all-cash business and persistent fears among employees of violent crime. Under federal law, marijuana is still viewed as a Schedule I drug the same classification as heroin. The Obama administration hasnt endorsed legalization, but as several states have gone down that path, its mostly taken a hands-off approach. Hickenlooper has called on Congress to pass legislation that halts federal regulators from penalizing financial institutions for serving the marijuana industry a move that would benefit legal weed businesses in the eight states where its now allowed for recreational use and the more than two dozen more where its allowed for medicinal purposes. Id love to have an allowance to have state-chartered banks be able to not risk their charter when they bank marijuana, Hickenlooper said. The banking conundrum is one of many now faced by Californians as the state works to implement legal marijuana sales. Theres lots of conflicts, Brown told reporters at the meeting here, adding, I think over time things converge to the mean and things will look a lot smoother down the road. While Hickenlooper has called on reforms and help from Washington, everyone does not believe the governor has done well when it comes to legal marijuana. Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Denver-based Marijuana Policy Project, a group dedicated to ending cannabis prohibition nationwide, said Hickenloopers administration successfully implemented an effective new law, but he tends to sell it short when discussing it publicly. As a former brewpub owner, the governor surely appreciates the benefits of replacing prohibition with regulation. Yet he holds marijuana to a much higher standard than alcohol, despite it being far less harmful to the consumer and to society, Tvert said. The topic of marijuana follows Hickenlooper everywhere. At the governors meeting, between panel discussions on healthcare and the relationship between federal and state governments, he fielded an array of questions from reporters about pot and what other states can learn from Colorados experience. (Of the governors in attendance, only Brown and Hickenlooper represented states where voters have approved measures legalizing marijuana for recreational use.) Asked if he regretted his opposition to legal pot, Hickenlooper paused before responding. Four years ago, if I could have had a magic wand and waved it twice and reversed that vote, I would have. Now, if I have that magic wand, I probably wouldnt I would wait and see if we can make a better system, he said. The old system, the War on Drugs, was a train wreck, he added. It didnt work, so it remains to be seen whether the new system is actually going to be better. kurtis.lee@latimes.com Twitter: @kurtisalee ALSO On the heels of defeat, Sheriff Joe Arpaio attempts to revive debate over Obamas birth certificate Trump once welcomed a visit from immigrant Dreamers. Now, they anxiously await his next move New York Muslim woman fabricated report of Trump supporters threatening her on the subway, police say Dawn had barely broken Thursday when Donald Trump once again broadcast via Twitter a provably false claim: that the Obama administration had not raised an alarm about Russian interference in the presidential election until after Hillary Clintons defeat. In fact, on Oct. 7, the administration issued an official statement accusing the Russians of being behind the cyberattacks that appear to have harmed Clintons campaign. Only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, the administration statement said at the time. Advertisement Nor was the issue a surprise to Trump. He had publicly called on the Russians in July to find and release Clintons emails. He talked in September about accusations of Russian hacking and commented on them during the fall presidential debates. If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 The media tries so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex - when actually it isn't! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 Still he added some equivocation to his false tweet Thursday: If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? In another message Thursday, Trump accused the media of working so hard to make my move to the White House, as it pertains to my business, so complex, when actually it isnt! Except it was Trump and his team who specifically had cited the complexity of his business operations when they canceled a long-planned Thursday news conference that was supposed to explain how hed separate his government duties from his business affairs while in office. Those two tweets along with one criticizing Vanity Fair magazine, which appeared to be retribution for a negative review of a Trump Tower restaurant were the latest in a pattern for Trump. His communications seem aimed at keeping his supporters on the team, his opponents under fire and the rest of America distracted from larger unanswered questions about the president-elects plans. It is a strategy that has helped Trump gather a band of enthusiastic supporters large enough to win the presidency but poses the threat of further alienating those who did not side with him and with whom a more conventional president-elect might want to ingratiate himself during his preinaugural period. A McClatchy-Marist poll released Thursday demonstrated both the rationale for and the risks of Trumps tactics. Asked about Trumps tweets, two-thirds of American voters cast them as reckless and distracting compared with 1 in 5 who found them effective and informative. There was a sharply partisan cast to the findings, but even among Republicans, nearly 2 in 5 disapproved of his communications. More than half of those who called themselves strong Republicans, however, had a favorable view of Trumps tweets. He has been talking mostly to his base and has not been reaching out, said poll director Lee Miringoff. At some point that could become a problem, though we are not at that point yet. One of the challenges for Trump will be making sure that his regular entreaties on social media dont work against him as he seeks to build support for his goals. In the case of the Russian hacks, for example, his repeated disavowal of the unified judgment of U.S. intelligence that Moscow was behind the hacking as well as insults leveled at the CIA and his own sympathetic views toward the foreign power could complicate his desire to win support for his secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson. The Exxon Mobil chief executive has close ties to President Vladimir Putin from many years of doing business in Russia. More broadly, any president needs to have a trust-based relationship with the country he leads, particularly in times of crisis. That only works if the president has credibility, Rep. Adam B. Schiff, a Democrat from Burbank and member of the House Intelligence Committee, noted at a recent breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. So when you have a president-elect that sends out patently false information that impugns the credibility of the [presidency], and at some point the president is going to need to be believed by the country, Schiff said. Trumps Russia tweet marked the second time in four days that he has falsely asserted that the Obama administration did not say anything in public about the Russian hacking until after the election. He seemed to be trying to frame concerns about Russian intervention in the election as an effort to delegitimize his victory. In fact, many of those alarmed about the matter a group that includes Republicans have said that theres no indication the intervention cost Clinton the White House, and that their concern rests with the larger issue of Russian duplicity. Trump spokesman Jason Miller hit the legitimacy theme Thursday when asked about Trumps tweets earlier in the day. Trump opponents have got to realize that the election from last month is going to stand, whether its the recount or continued questions along this line, he said. Were moving ahead and put together a successful administration thats ready to go to work serving the American people. Lyn Van Swol, a University of Wisconsin-Madison communications professor who has studied political deception, said Trump in some ways fits the model of those who dissemble they tend to be verbose, as if concocting a structure of support for their misstatements. But Trump also uncommonly commits falsehoods to writing via Twitter. Thats rare because it is much more high-stakes, much more permanent, she said. Nor does he adjust his assertions after being informed in Trumps case repeatedly that he is wrong. Hes unusual, she said. I dont know if its self-deception, where someone coming in with a different opinion doesnt matter, or its strategic, where repetition increases the suggestion of truth. The more its repeated, the more its believed. Trump is not the first president to spread falsehoods. Indeed, a president to whom he has compared himself, Ronald Reagan, often repeated anecdotes that were proved to be made up. The fact that he was so infrequently punished for it contributed to the nickname Teflon president. But Reagan was also far more popular as he entered the presidency than is Trump, who won a historically narrow victory despite his repeated assertions that his win was a landslide. In addition, Reagans stories were often about the distant past or unspecified people illustrating themes he wanted to stress. Trumps tweets, by contrast, often include falsehoods about recent, clearly specified events. And, unlike Trump, the more upbeat Reagan didnt use his words as retribution for personal slights. Trumps recent criticism of Boeings Air Force One contract using exaggerated figures came shortly after a Boeing official questioned his trade policy, and resulted in an immediate drop in the companys stock. Trump later asserted that he had not known about the Boeing officials comments about trade. On Thursday, he appeared to retaliate against a negative Vanity Fair review of the Trump Tower restaurant by criticizing the magazines editor, Graydon Carter, and its financial standing. (The two men have a long history of disputes. When he was the editor of Spy magazine a quarter-century ago, Carter called Trump a short-fingered vulgarian, which morphed in the 2016 primaries into references about Trumps allegedly small hands, and other body parts.) Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of Vanity Fair Magazine, Trump wrote. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out! Trump has vowed to mute his Twitter activities somewhat when he becomes president. Until that happens, his campaign spokesman on Thursday seemed to have come up with a strategy to stay out of his way. Id let the president-elects tweets speak for themselves, Miller said. For more on politics cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker ALSO Trump once welcomed a visit from immigrant Dreamers. Now, they anxiously await his next move Trumps Cabinet picks are among the most conservative in history. What that means for his campaign promises Ryan Zinke, Trumps pick as Interior secretary, is all over the map on some key issues For eight years, many of President Obamas critics denounced what they saw as excessive caution in dealing with foreign governments. No need to worry about that anymore. President-elect Donald Trump has already begun obliterating the current administrations no drama approach. He sees unpredictability as a valuable tool, which keeps adversaries off-guard, softening them up to cut good deals. Many foreign affairs veterans from across party lines see danger ahead. Advertisement Trumps view is born of his disdain for Washingtons expert class and his career in real estate, where a psychological edge can be worth millions of dollars by weakening an opponent. There is even some precedent in foreign affairs for what President Nixon dubbed the madman theory, one of several tools he used in hopes of negotiating an end to the Vietnam War. But even Nixon who believed that if others thought him volatile, they would be more likely to back down -- never employed the tactic as a blunt instrument. Among foreign policy experts, there is deep concern that Trumps behavior during his transition highlighted by moves that angered China -- indicates that he lacks the broader strategy, nuance and careful planning needed to successfully pull off the strategy. Trump looks as if hes got the madman, but not the theory, said one such critic, Charles A. Stevenson, associate director of the American Foreign Policy Program at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a former Democratic Senate aide. Experts say unpredictability can work in specific circumstances: when the goals are narrowly targeted and known in advance, and the tactic is used against relatively weak opponents; and where the threat of radical action is credible and when the president understands what hes risking if the other side calls his bluff. The comments that he has made about foreign policy do not seem to be consistent or coherent, said Richard Lugar, a former Republican senator from Indiana who led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and continues to be active in efforts aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear weapons. Im not certain whether on some occasions hes given a lot of thought to it and is hoping to get a reaction, or on other occasions, its simply from the top of the head, or anger or simple misunderstanding, he said. Trump argued in his campaign that America has suffered from its predictability, particularly in military endeavors. We must, as a nation, be more unpredictable, Trump declared during a major foreign policy address in April. We are totally predictable. We tell everything. Were sending troops: We tell them. Were sending something else: We have a news conference. We have to be unpredictable. And we have to be unpredictable starting now. As a campaign tool, the sense that Trump would do, say or tweet anything helped him immensely, diverting from controversies and persuading voters that he would set Washington ablaze. It fit in well with the celebrity persona that he honed in reality television, where suspense and drama build an audience. People are tired of the blow-dried, poll-tested position of every single politician, Jason Miller, Trumps communications director, said in an interview. Miller said that Trumps style had served him his entire life and remains crucial to his success in negotiating with foreign leaders. That desire to be unpredictable doesnt contradict making sure that our allies know that we stand with them, and our adversaries know that we stand against them, he said. But many allies have been concerned with just that, given that Trump has courted Russia, a foe, while questioning longtime alliances in Asia and Europe, calling treaties obsolete and demanding more money to offset the United States military budget. Stephen Krasner, director of policy and planning at the State Department under President George W. Bush, said the uncertainty could prompt South Korea, a major trading partner and military ally, to move closer to Chinas orbit or trigger discussions in Japan about building nuclear weapons. Its unclear to many observers which of Trumps comments and actions are motivated by deeply held convictions and which are spontaneous. He has participated only intermittently in security briefings and has spoken with many foreign leaders without consulting the State Department. After winning the election, Trump conducted calls with several foreign leaders that seemed to shake delicate balances long in the making. He praised Pakistans prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and told him hed love to visit, a move that rattled archrival India, a U.S. ally. He had a warm conversation with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has spoken profanely about Obama and waged a deadly anti-drug war against his own citizens. Most significantly, Trump antagonized China by holding a phone conversation with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The call broke with decades of U.S. practice. It came without warning, digging at a core tenet of Chinas definition of its sovereignty, which holds Beijing as the one and only capital of all of China, including Taiwan. Trump did not stop there, casting the call as a deliberate negotiating ploy during an interview on Fox News Sunday. I fully understand the one China policy, but I dont know why we have to be bound by a one China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade, Trump said. That prompted further recriminations from the Chinese, as well as from Taiwan, which didnt like being cast as a pawn. Policy experts are doubtful that China would allow its governments legitimacy to be used as a bargaining chip in discussions over its currency and trade barriers. They note that even if the relationship is complicated, its one the U.S. needs to take seriously, given mutual interests in containing North Koreas nuclear capacity, maintaining global economic stability and combating climate change. China may not want a trade war. But if its forced into one, both countries would probably suffer. He thinks hes somehow upping the ante to get a better deal, said R. Nicholas Burns, who has served in top diplomatic posts for both parties and advised Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. They will shut down the relationship if they think we are deviating from the one-China policy. Burns said Trumps transactional business beliefs are at odds with the culture of diplomacy, where even rivals need to operate from a position that they will need each other long after a single deal is signed, and predictability from allies is bedrock. Trumps unpredictability could also force him to confront thorny diplomatic issues that have been successfully set aside by diplomats. Dimitri Simes, who leads the Center for the National Interest, the think tank Trump addressed in his foreign policy address in April, pointed to Trumps recent suggestion that he might recognize Russias annexation of Crimea. Trump appeared to be thinking out loud, something a practiced diplomat would have avoided. Having now raised the question, hell be pressed to provide an answer. If he says yes, he would undermine European allies who depend on the United States to push back against Russian aggression. If he says no, he would anger Russia over an issue that he did not need to open, Simes said. There is really no upside, he said. Simes is one of a small group in the foreign policy community who sees an advantage to Trumps provocative move with China. But he said it remains unknown whether Trumps unpredictability is a result of calculation rather than ignorance or confusion. There clearly may be an advantage if you play your cards right, he said. If you go too far, if you are not aware of this minefield, then you may bump into something very serious and very consequential. noah.bierman@latimes.com Twitter: @noahbierman ALSO: Trump once welcomed a visit from immigrant Dreamers. Now, they anxiously await his next move Trumps Cabinet picks are among the most conservative in history. What that means for his campaign promises Ryan Zinke, Trumps pick as Interior secretary, is all over the map on some key issues The largest congressional delegation in the country will play an even more outsize role in Washington over the next four years as Californias 55 members work to battle or bolster President-elect Donald Trumps agenda. Dominated by Democrats, and representing a state that overwhelmingly voted for Hillary Clinton in November, Californias 41 Democrats and 14 Republicans are in a unique position. The policies Trump laid out during the campaign, and since he won the election, dont fit into traditional Democrat or Republican agendas, and hes contradicted himself many times, leaving California members unsure what governing with the Republican will really be like. Advertisement While Democrats have begun preparing to challenge Trump and the GOP on immigration, the environment and the Affordable Care Act, some also are talking about the issues they expect to be able to work with him on, such as building up the nations infrastructure. For some of the Republicans in the delegation, its also complicated. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) supported others over Trump during the primary and criticized him when his years-old lewd comments surfaced on an Access Hollywood tape. Democrats tried (and failed) to tie Central Valley Reps. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) and David Valadao (R-Hanford) to Trump in hopes of unseating them, but during the campaign neither had good things to say about the man who would go on to win the White House. Denham in particular has been more moderate on immigration issues given the demographics of his district, so his response to Trump could make for an interesting year. Here are seven California members from both parties who are expected to be central to the coming fights. (Win McNamee / Getty Images ) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi As one of the countrys most visible Democrats, and the Republicans go-to opponent, Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) will likely be front and center for nearly every fight between Democrats and the Trump administration. She already is speaking against potential Republican plans to change Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare. We will not stand by while Republicans dismantle the promise of a healthy and dignified retirement for working people in our country, she said at a Capitol Hill news conference. We are going to mobilize, expose and defeat Republicans deeply damaging scheme to end Medicare. She wont be alone. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Palm Desert), a former emergency room doctor, said repealing the Affordable Care Act without a new plan for healthcare in place is unacceptable. He wants a seat at the table if changes are going to be made. Im going to fight tooth and nail to make sure we dont un-insure millions, Ruiz said. Pelosi has said shes interested in working with Trump on infrastructure legislation, programs for blue-collar workers and expanding paid family leave, saying that we have responsibility to find common ground, but that Democrats will stand our ground when we cant. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press ) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy As the Republicans leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) will have the dual duty of balancing the Trump administrations plans with the expectations of the moderate and more conservative sections of his party. McCarthy has tried to temper expectations built up in part by the Trump transition team that the Republican-led Congress will immediately be ready to repeal Obamas signature healthcare law. Instead, the process likely will take a year or two and is much more complicated than sending a bill to the presidents desk. One idea being floated is for Congress to pass legislation that would end the program at a set future date, giving members a deadline to replace it. Earlier this month, McCarthy reached out to governors and insurance commissioners for ideas, saying in a statement, Obamacare is crumbling under its own weight and seriously harming people in the process. With a unified Republican Congress and administration, we have the opportunity to repeal this law and undertake major health care reforms. McCarthy also has had to tiptoe around some of Trumps recent statements, including the president-elects threat to impose a 35% tariff on imported goods from U.S. companies that move factories abroad. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press ) Rep. Adam Schiff As the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) likely will be in the middle of any investigations into foreign influence on the 2016 election. Intelligence agencies have determined that Russia was behind the hacking of emails from political parties and campaign officials during the election. A secret CIA assessment also found the stolen information was released with the intent of helping Trump win the election, an analysis Trump since has called ridiculous. Schiff, who is a frequent guest on cable news and the Sunday news shows, already has criticized the president-elects willingness to disregard the intelligence agencies. It means that when it doesnt suit him, he will ignore it. He will decide to choose his own facts, Schiff said on MSNBC last week. Several House and Senate committees have announced plans to hold hearings, and many California members also are calling for an independent, nonpartisan investigation. Rep. Devin Nunes House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), who is serving on Trumps transition team, had a big hand in Trumps choice of Rep. Mike Pompeo to lead the CIA. Nunes committee could also play a major role in how the House investigates alleged Russian meddling in the presidential campaign that ended in Trumps election. So far, he has dismissed calls for the committee to open an investigation into Russian ties to the election, saying it would duplicate the intelligence communitys efforts. But he also said the committee is vigorously looking into reports of cyberattacks during the election campaign. And he has asked intelligence officials for clarification about why the CIA is now reporting Russian hacks during the election had the goal of helping elect Trump. Nunes has pointed to previous testimony from National Intelligence Director James Clapper in which he indicated intelligence officials did not have enough evidence to prove that. The officials refused a request for a briefing this week, which he said was unacceptable. Along with his work on the transition team, Nunes has said he hopes to work with Trump on reforming the tax code and the Affordable Care Act. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) was floated as a possible candidate for secretary of State before Trump picked Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson. Rohrabachers take on Russia, and his longtime willingness to be a vocal advocate for Russian President Vladimir Putin, still could make him a key Trump ally on Capitol Hill. The former speechwriter for President Reagan is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committees Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats Subcommittee. In recent weeks, he has defended Trump and his interest in working with Russia in opinion pieces and contentious cable news interviews. Im the person in Congress who most closely associates himself with the same foreign policy concepts that Donald Trump has, Rohrabacher said. So I can help in the Foreign Affairs Committee. Rohrabacher, long an advocate of legalized marijuana use, said hes also planning to make a pitch for why the Trump administration shouldnt interfere in states like California that have legalized recreational or medicinal use of the drug. Trumps attorney general pick, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), opposes legalization. Its a tremendous waste of resources, Rohrabacher said. The people voted for that, and the states should have the right to make the determination, and our Constitution is very clear on that point. (Nick Ut / Associated Press ) Sen.-elect Kamala Harris Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has repeatedly vowed to be a loud, supportive voice for immigrants, pledging to push for comprehensive immigration reform and to push against Trumps pledge to deport millions of people in the country illegally. Californias voice must be a voice of leadership in Washington, D.C., the states current attorney general told reporters after speaking with a group of immigrant rights advocates, law enforcement officials, religious groups and business leaders at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. We have an outsized stake in the outcome of the conversation about immigrants. She, too, will be joined by a host of her California colleagues disturbed by the rhetoric about immigrants during the campaign. Dozens of California House members have pleaded with President Obama to pardon or at least protect the personal information of the nearly 750,000 people granted deportation deferrals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press ) Sen. Dianne Feinstein Recently named the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will play a major part in how Trumps judicial nominees are vetted. The committee will hold hearings on the hundreds of judicial nominations Trump is expected to make over the next four years, including for Supreme Court positions. When President-elect Trump is willing to support responsible policies and nominees, Ill hear him out, but this committee has a vital role to protect the Constitution and scrutinize policies, senior officials and judges very carefully, and thats what we intend to do, Feinstein said in a statement. Feinstein already has asked to delay the Jan. 10 committee hearing on Sessions, Trumps pick for attorney general, saying she needs more time to read the nomination documents. Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) dismissed her request, saying this week they will move forward as planned. California is itching to take on Trump. Here are the prominent figures leading the charge sarah.wire@latimes.com Follow @sarahdwire on Twitter Read more about the 55 members of Californias delegation at latimes.com/politics ALSO: Trumps Cabinet picks are among the most conservative in history. What that means for his campaign promises Governors of California and other Western states uncertain about life under a Trump administration Updates on California politics UPDATES: 8:35 a.m. This article was updated with additional information about Rep. Devin Nunes. This article was originally published at 2 a.m. The first test of wills of the nascent Donald Trump administration played out this week, and the president-elect emerged the winner. The immediate object of the struggle was Trumps choice as secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, currently the chief executive of Exxon Mobile. But the larger context is a fight that has only just begun over the direction of U.S. foreign policy for the next four years, specifically Washingtons relationship with its longtime adversary, Moscow. Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential transition and highlight some particularly insightful stories. Advertisement TRUMP DOESNT BACK DOWN As soon as Trump began indicating interest in Tillerson for the State Department job, a faction of Republican senators, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, began to signal objections. The stakes are high because the argument isnt really about Tillerson, himself, so much as it is about Trumps desire to shift U.S. foreign policy to be closer to Russia. Opponents havent seriously challenged Tillersons personal qualifications, instead they are focused on him as a symbol of a proposed change in policy. Trumps desire for better relations with Vladimir Putins government is made more fraught by the mounting evidence of Russian efforts to interfere with the U.S. election, starting with the theft and subsequent publishing of emails from the Democratic National Committee and senior aides to Hillary Clinton. This week, President Obama ordered a full review of Russian hacking during the election. And tensions mounted between Trump and the CIA over intelligence showing that the Russian efforts were deliberately targeted at helping him. With that issue looming, Trump might have wanted to avoid a confirmation fight that will center on relations with Moscow. Incoming presidents weigh many factors in deciding whom to tap for Cabinet positions. The prospect of a messy confirmation battle is often enough to sink a potential nominee. Choosing someone else might have fit the usual Washington pattern. Trump fit his own pattern: He doubled down. Rather than switch, he sped up his decision, announcing Tillerson as his choice before the opposition could grow stronger. That decision sent a powerful message that on foreign policy, at least, Trump intends to have his own way and wont easily yield to lawmakers who disagree with him. Now the question will be how hard a fight McCain and other advocates of a tough line against Moscow, including Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida, intend to put up. In theory, only a few Republican defections could be enough to defeat Tillerson since the GOP has only a slim majority in the Senate. But that would only be true if all Democrats voted against him, which probably wont be the case. Already, some Democrats from pro-Trump states, such as Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have indicated support for the nominee, giving Trump an important cushion. Moreover, Democratic leaders, who doubt the Republicans will have the votes to defeat Tillerson, have largely left the fight to McCain. Democrats plan to concentrate most of their efforts on opposing Trumps picks for domestic positions. Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, Trumps choice for Health and Human Services, is likely to be a top target because of his proposals for big changes in Medicare benefits. Betsy DeVos, the designated Education secretary, could also be a top Democratic target because of her advocacy of giving tax money to families to spend on private schools, her strong opposition to same-sex marriage and vulnerabilities in her record, including a huge, unpaid fine levied against one of her political committees for campaign finance violations in Ohio. ON DOMESTIC POLICY, A DIFFERENT STORY, PERHAPS As Noah Bierman and Evan Halper wrote, Trumps Cabinet picks are among the most conservative in history. Price, DeVos and other conservative nominees are bringing long-held agendas with them that, in some cases, run contrary to pledges that Trump made in his campaign. Trump aides insist that the nominees will carry out the presidents agenda, not their own. But given Trumps well documented aversion to policy details, how that will play out is very much an open question. One early test will come on Obamacare, where, Noam Levey reported, GOP leaders are charging forward with repeal, despite an almost complete lack of allies in any part of the healthcare industry from insurers to patient advocacy groups. The political risk is that if things go wrong, the GOP will have no one to back them up. Trumps statements on healthcare have often seemed more moderate than the GOPs plans, but if he has any intentions to intervene, he has yet to show them. Another key issue will be immigration, where one of the first issues for the new president will be what to do with the so-called Dreamers people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. As Lisa Mascaro wrote, Trump once welcomed a visit from a group of Dreamers and said they had convinced him about their plight. Now, they anxiously await his next move. Environmental issues will be another flash point. Trump made some key picks in that area this week. As William Yardley wrote, Ryan Zinke, Trumps choice for Interior secretary, has an interestingly eclectic record. Environmental groups oppose his positions on oil drilling, mining and many other issues. But he has also opposed the GOP platforms call for giving control of public lands to the states. On climate change, Zinkes position appears more moderate than that of Rick Perry, the designee for the Department of Energy, who once famously couldnt remember that the department was among the three that he was proposing to eliminate. Meantime, the president-elect continues to woo some major industries while bashing others. Silicon Valley got the charm treatment this week when top executives went to Trump Tower, Halper and David Pierson wrote. That was a relief to them, given the worries that their widespread opposition to Trump during the campaign would bring retribution. Other companies have not been so lucky. Trumps approach has big companies on edge, especially his advocacy of big tariffs and his way of making disputes personal, Don Lee wrote. POLITICAL TENSIONS STILL HIGH Trump continues to use his massive following on Twitter to make false statements that fire up his base, provoke opponents and distract from larger issues, Cathy Decker wrote. Democrats, meantime, have been obsessing about the electoral college, which will formally cast its votes on Monday, and talking about ways Trump might trip up. David Savage wrote a good explanatory piece about one obscure constitutional provision, the Emoluments Clause, which has gotten a lot of attention lately. In Washington, the Trumpification of the city already has begun, Bierman reported. Residents wonder how the new president, who got only 4% of the vote in the capital, will change the city. And in North Carolina, one of the nations most politically divided states, the election feels like it never ended. This week, GOP lawmakers called a special legislative session to drain power from the governor after Democrat Roy Cooper was finally declared the winner of the states election. LOGISTICS If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up. That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the transition and in California politics with our Trail Guide, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics. Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com. Five years after terminating a pregnancy, a woman who sought and had an abortion was no more likely to be depressed or anxious than was a pregnant woman who was denied an abortion and went on to give birth, new research has found. Compared with women who gave birth after being turned away from abortion clinics, women who ended their pregnancies had lower rates of depression and anxiety disorders five years later. Those women who gave birth to children they considered aborting reported no higher self-esteem and no more satisfaction with life five years on than did women who terminated their pregnancies. The new study results suggest that nine U.S. states are imposing unnecessary burdens on women who seek to end pregnancies by requiring them first to be counseled on the negative psychological impact of having an abortion. Advertisement If, as expected, the Supreme Court revisits the subject of abortion rights during the Donald Trump administration, the new findings could play a role in the high courts deliberations. Under the terms of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, states may restrict a womans access to abortion until the point of fetal viability only to protect a mothers health. Studies have weighed in with different conclusions on the mental health impacts of abortion, though their rigor has been hotly debated. Against that backdrop, 22 states have adopted laws requiring abortion-seeking women to be informed of the procedures possible psychological impact. Nine of those states require counseling that stresses the possibility of a womans negative emotional response. The new research, published this week in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, was launched in response to then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koops 1989 appeal for conclusive data about the health effects of abortion on women. The new study was designed according to the specifications Koop set out as the standard for producing such conclusive data. Over three years starting in 2008, the so-called Turnaway Study recruited women at 30 abortion facilities in 21 states across the country. Eight days after a woman had either received an abortion or been turned away because her pregnancy was too far along for her to be eligible, she agreed to answer researchers questions about her physical and mental health, childbearing experiences and intentions, history of traumatic life events and a host of biographical details. Those interviews were repeated every six months for five years. In all, 558 of the 956 women who were initially enrolled in the study completed it. To compare their levels of mental health over time, the researchers divided those women into four groups: Women seeking and getting an abortion in their first trimester of pregnancy; Women whose pregnancies were more than three months along but who were close to the abortion clinics limit on gestational age and received an abortion; Women who were turned away because their pregnancies were more advanced than the clinic allowed, but whose pregnancies did not result in childbirth because they miscarried or got an abortion elsewhere; and Women who were turned away because their pregnancies were more advanced than the clinic allowed, and who went on the give birth to the child. A week after seeking abortions, the women in three of those groups did not differ markedly in depression and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem or life satisfaction. Only women who had been turned away from the clinic and who would not go on to give birth to a child showed notably higher levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of self-esteem and life-satisfaction. On every measure of mental health, all four groups saw marked improvement a year after seeking an abortion. And, with one exception, they converged on all measures over the five-year period. Women who had sought an abortion but were turned away and ended up giving birth had slightly higher rates of depression at the five-year mark than did any of the other three groups. Its great to have that added evidence, but this study is confirming what we knew, said sociologist Kimberly Kelly, who directs Mississippi State Universitys gender studies program and has studied abortion opponents claims that women who terminate pregnancies suffer post-abortion syndrome. See the most-read stories in Science this hour Kelly, who was not involved in the new research, said it may sway Justice Anthony Kennedy, a key swing vote on abortion issues before the Supreme Court. In a major abortion case in 2007, Gonzales vs. Carhart, Kennedy noted an absence of data on pregnancy termination and mental health. But, he wrote, it seems unexceptionable to conclude that some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. The new study was notable for its length, design and rigor, and is a marked departure from any study conducted to date on the subject of womens mental health after abortions. Those who favor warning women of negative consequences have generally cited research with a major methodological flaw: It compared depression rates among women who had abortions with depression rates in women who completed wanted pregnancies. Those arguing against mental health warnings for abortion-seeking women have had far more research to cite. But no study to date has tracked women for as long as five years after they got, or sought, an abortion. That shortcoming has long been used by anti-abortion advocates, who have argued that, over time, a womans regret over an abortion would spur depression and post-traumatic stress. This ought to put that claim to rest, said professor Brenda Major of UC Santa Barbaras department of psychological and brain sciences. Major was not involved in the current research. But she chaired a 2008 task force on mental health and abortion for the American Psychological Association, which found much of the then-existing research on the subject shoddy. This is the best study on this subject thats ever been done, Major said. Unfortunately, she added, I have come to believe that in this area, data doesnt matter. Under Major, the APA task force did conclude that the best predictor of a womans post-abortion mental health was the state of her mental health before she became pregnant. That finding was borne out as well by the Turnaway Study, which found that five years after seeking abortion, the most significant factor associated with experiencing adverse mental health outcomes following abortion was a history of mental health conditions and experiences of traumatic life events, such as child abuse and neglect. melissa.healy@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @LATMelissaHealy and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. MORE IN SCIENCE Depression symptoms are common among active airline pilots, international survey reveals New Zika findings reveal how virus does its damage, and two weapons that might help fight it Santas Christmas gift-giving has nothing to do with whether kids are naughty or nice, study shows The Aliso Canyon gas leak that forced thousands of people to leave their homes in Porter Ranch also had a dramatic impact on the areas microscopic residents, new research shows. In the area around the breach, Caltech scientists found a massive increase in previously unknown microbes that inhabit the soil and appear to consume ethane and possibly methane. The discovery, described this week at an American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, is prompting researchers to reconsider the nature of these gas-eating critters. It could also aid efforts to use microbes to clean up future environmental disasters. The Aliso Canyon incident, which began in late October 2015, released approximately 95,000 tons of methane, along with ethane and other chemicals. By the time the leak was capped in February, it had become the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history. Advertisement Methane is less abundant than carbon dioxide, but it is a much more powerful greenhouse gas. Pound for pound, over 100 years, its effect on climate change is more than 25 times greater, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Caltech geobiologist Victoria Orphan has studied microorganisms that help lock methane away in carbonate rocks, keeping the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Typically, she works with deep-sea microbes that live in darkness and under extreme pressure. Aliso Canyon provided an opportunity to study methane-eaters that were practically in her backyard. What happens, she wondered, when the environment is flooded with methane? Could the usual methane-eating suspects handle the surge, or did new players rise to the challenge, marking a shift in the demographics of the microbial community? So while thousands of Porter Ranch residents were displaced with many complaining of headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and other health problems Orphan and her colleagues made several trips to the area to collect the soil. Orphans Caltech colleague Patricia Tavormina, who is also a microbiologist at Cal State Channel Islands, spearheaded the work. People are quick to go out and find out whats happening during an oil spill in the ocean, and I thought it made sense to do the same thing in the soils, Tavormina said. The scientists sampled areas from about 40 yards to 2.5 miles from the Southern California Gas Co. leak site. They jammed PVC pipe about 20 inches into the earth, pulling up cylinders of soil that could be sampled at different depths. That was the easy part. Back in the lab, the samples threw the researchers for a loop. The typical methane-eating microbes in this soil community did not seem to be responding to the influx of natural gas. So the scientists ran a test looking for a wide array of enzymes with the ability to break down alkanes, a group of hydrocarbons that includes gases like methane and ethane. The usual suspects were MIA, just as the usual microbes had been. But the scientists did discover plenty of an unexpected enzyme that seemed utterly out of place in the Porter Ranch soils. In fact, it was similar to one found in a very different type of bacteria that bloomed in the Gulf of Mexico after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In Porter Ranch, however, this enzyme was being used by a previously unknown kind of Sphingobium microbe. Near the leak, these soil bacteria appeared to have experienced a massive population boom the ones found near the rupture were about 100,000 times more abundant than those at spots that were farther from the leak. The scientists also saw the abundance of Sphingobium drop off over time, a sign that the surge was linked to the methane leak. Heres the really confusing part: The Sphingobium bacteria were not supposed to have this enzyme, and were not supposed to be eating methane in soil. That job was supposed to belong to other well-known microbes using different enzymes which, in spite of the sudden abundance of natural gas, didnt seem to be doing much at all. How did deep-sea microbes and surface-soil microbes, living worlds apart and in vastly different conditions, both end up with these so-called Group X enzymes? I was not expecting it to show up there, Orphan said. And actually, the first time Patty said she had recovered this Group X, my initial feeling was, Oh God, we contaminated something in the lab! But when she sequenced it, it was different enough from the ones we had recovered from Deepwater Horizon that we knew it wasnt just lab contamination. This was a bona fide new branch on this tree. There was another strange thing about the enzyme: It wasnt coded into the Sphingobium genome, as enzymes typically are. Instead, the researchers suspect these Sphingobium bacteria got the gas-munching enzyme thanks to plasmids, little loops of DNA that exist outside of the bacterias main genomic hub. Plasmids can copy themselves independently and even be passed between microbes, just as construction workers might pass along a handy wrench or hammer. Its like a little package of goodies you can accessorize your capabilities with these little pieces of DNA, Orphan said. Things like antibiotic resistance [are] very often coded on plasmids. This is how, in some cases, resistance passes very quickly through a community of microorganisms. The scientists were able to culture the Sphingobium bacteria in the lab. They considered it a rare feat, as its very difficult to grow the marine microbes they usually work with. In experiments, this new candidate species (currently dubbed Sphingobium alkanivorans, or alkane-eater) was able to eat ethane in a pure culture, but not methane. However, when they took that culture and returned it to its natural environment, methane levels in the soil went down too. Its unclear whether the microbes are consuming the methane directly, whether theyre helping a different species break it down or whether another species is doing all the work alone, Orphan said. Determining exactly why the methane is disappearing will take more research. There are some early hints that Sphingobium might have an ally: The samples were highly enriched in other bacteria from the genus Massilia. Its possible they were all working in cahoots to process the methane, though its not yet clear. If these Sphingobium bacteria are cooperating with other microbes to break down methane, the scientists hope to gain fresh insights into the complex relationships between supposedly simple microorganisms the kinds of interactions that Orphan has been probing in deep-sea microbes for years. If these organisms do turn out to play some role in digesting methane, they can be studied and put to use. See the most-read stories in Science this hour You can develop it as a biotechnology, perhaps to use in fracking sites or feed lots or landfills or these sorts of things where methane is produced, Tavormina said. In some ways, the situation echoes the microbial response to marine oil spills: The hydrocarbon-digesting microbes that you expect to consume these products arent always the ones equipped to handle fast-changing situations. Instead, the ones that will be useful for humans may be the ones that just happen to have the right tools for a particular situation. The key may be in these plasmid-encoded instructions, which probably lie dormant and ignored for long stretches of time until circumstances suddenly call upon them, Tavormina said. Ultimately, understanding the mechanisms that allow a microbial community to respond to an event like the Aliso Canyon leak will help scientists harness the power of bacteria for future environmental disasters. amina.khan@latimes.com Follow @aminawrite on Twitter for more science news and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. ALSO To mobilize Trumps America for environmental protection, invoke the past E-cigarette use falls among teens for the first time, study finds Personality trait or mental disorder? The same genes may weigh in on both Walk into Karen Uyedas quiet Irvine home most days of the week this holiday season, and youll be bombarded with the comforting smell of freshly baked fruit pies. At least thats how its been since October, when the former aerospace engineer and mother of two took home a first-place ribbon at KCRWs Good Food Pie Contest one of the regions preeminent deciders of quality homemade dessert and the orders for her apple, tart cherry and strawberry pies started rolling in. For Thanksgiving 2015, Uyeda says, she made 12 pies, mostly for friends and family, in her home kitchens standard Kenmore oven. This year, she used the same oven to bake 88 pies over three days (many of them ordered by first-time customers through her Sweetcie Pie Etsy shop). Then, she spent two afternoons driving around Orange County delivering them herself. This is the kind of one-person show that usually befits cottage-food-business owners, fledging culinary startups that operate in accordance with the California Homemade Food Act. Since the law, which allows certain types of non-refrigerated food products to be produced in home kitchens, first went into effect in January 2013, several hundred Orange County residents have applied for a license. Uyeda started Sweetcie Pie in 2014 and launched her Etsy page in early 2015. She has a regular stall at the Orange County Great Parks Sunday farmers market, in Irvine, and as of a few weeks ago, her apple dumplings can be found at Stricklands Ice Cream, also in Irvine, on Fridays. This fall, Sweetcie Pie became more than just a part-time hobby. I really like the production aspect, how to do more with less, Uyeda says of her fledging cottage businesses one recent morning while wearing a white chefs skull cap as she checked on a crumble-crust apple pie in the oven. Its not ready yet, she says. I like them to be weeping through the top, those little beads of juice coming out, so I know that its cooked and all the flavors are mixed and the crust is nice. She closes the oven door and sets the timer for another few minutes. Uyeda didnt always want to do pies. Originally, after she was laid off from her aerospace engineering job just shy of retirement, she joined Orange Coast Colleges culinary arts program and thought about making and selling Japanese-style pickles, the cold-fermented, sweet-and-sour kind her mother used to make when she was growing up. But when she realized that the refrigeration restrictions on cottage food companies eliminated that possibility (and the cost of renting an industrial kitchen was far too expensive), she decided to capitalize on another longtime favorite of hers: pie. Between shifts at places like Tustins Cream Pan Bakery and Leatherbys Cafe Rouge (where she currently works part-time as a garde manger), Uyeda would return to her personal pie recipes and tweak them for Sweetcie Pie. She swapped out regular supermarket butter for a European-style cultured butter that was being used for the croissants at Cream Pan. She tested dozens of different apple varietals to determine which ones would not overpower her pies with cloying sweetness. She called up Tanaka Farms near her house in Irvine and bought fresh strawberries for an all-local filling. At school you learn techniques and recipes, but my mother taught me how to taste, Uyeda says. She taught me what tastes good and how to get certain flavors out of foods. With Japanese food, youre not tasting the butter or the wine its the ingredients that youre tasting. The result is a lineup of fruit pies (the only kind that meet the cottage food requirements) that find the balance between sweet and tart, delicate and rich. Last summer, her Tanaka Farms strawberry pie won a blue ribbon at the OC Fair. At the KCRW Good Pie Contest, it was a tart cherry amaretto pie made with vegan coconut oil crust that nabbed her a first-place prize. She also makes pear pies and berry pies and a custom creation she calls an apple dumpling. By far the sweetest of all her desserts, it has all the caramel syrup and cinnamon gooeyness of a traditional apple dumpling, but instead of an apple wrapped in pastry, its laid horizontal in a pan, the pastry folded over double-sugar apple pie-style filling like a cut-and-serve strudel. I love giving out samples of my pies because people taste it and their eyes light up, says Uyeda. Theyre always so surprised its so good. They dont expect that from pie. Homemade pies and sweets seem to be a lost art in todays fast-food nation, where the dessert table at any potluck is more likely to be filled with baked goods from Costco or Albertsons than something from a home kitchen. Because commercially made pies use sub-par flours and fillings, Uyeda hopes to make homemade accessible again. There are a lot of people out there who like homemade but cant get it anymore or never had homemade, and once they try it they cant believe it, she says. The timer on the oven beeps; the smell of baked apples wafts through the house. Uyeda puts on her skull cap and opens the oven door. Indeed, the apple pie appears to be weeping through its now-browned crust. She takes it out and places it on a cooling shelf on the other side of the kitchen. Later in the day, she will put it in her car and deliver it to another happy Sweetcie Pie customer. If you are lucky enough to know a cottage baker that will sell their products to you, I think you are very lucky, she says. Nice homemade food is hard to come by. Just ask my husband and children. Ever since I started this business, weve eaten so much takeout. --- SARAH BENNETT is a freelance journalist covering food, drink, music, culture and more. She is the former food editor at L.A. Weekly and a founding editor of Beer Paper L.A. Follow her on Twitter @thesarahbennett. Feeling hopeless about the people besieged by civil war in Aleppo, Syria, nearly 100 people gathered Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil at Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa. There was barely a dry eye as community leaders including Sarah Halverson-Cano, minister of Fairview; Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; Mirvette Judeh Maaytah, vice chair of the Arab American Civic Council and a board member of the Progressive Interfaith Alliance; and the Rev. Karen Stoyanoff of Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim spoke to the crowd and led prayers inside the chapel. At the end of the day, regardless of what faith background we might have we are all one race the human race, Ayloush said to the gathering of Muslims, Christians, Jews and other denominations. Dania Alkhouli, co-founder of A Country Called Syria, performed an original poem about her Syrian heritage. Local musician Bassem Rashidi played a Middle Eastern flute and sang an emotional prayer for the people of Syria. It was very healing for the people that were there, said A.J. Blackwood, who chairs the board of the Progressive Interfaith Alliance, a faith-based community group that put on the event. "[The emotion has] just been building. There are so many things going on right now in this country. I think theres a lack of hope going forward, Blackwood said, referring to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who a year ago called for a temporary ban on the admission of Muslims from abroad and more recently on immigration from countries with a history of exporting terrorism. This week, social media has been flooded with graphic images of people trying to escape Aleppo as efforts to evacuate civilians and fighters opposed to President Bashar al-Assads government fell apart amid more violence. Evacuation attempts started again Thursday, according to news reports. Speakers and performers at the vigil Wednesday were intertwined with news videos highlighting the destruction in Aleppo. I feel that coming together in solidarity and community, something does change. I dont know if we can stop the killing, but I think something changes cosmically in our solidarity together, Halverson-Cano said in an interview. Following the speeches and prayers, the group stood with candles and signs at Fairview Road and Fair Drive. People at the vigil came from various backgrounds some were Syrian, some had friends or family members who are Syrian and others attended because they felt for the Syrian people. I was there to help be a voice for those who dont have a voice right now for those who are in pain and those who are suffering, said Danard Thomas, 26, of Anaheim. Rami Anabtawi, 32, of Dana Point said such a gathering gives people the power to be more compassionate and perhaps prevent future tragedies. Any meeting of people can do that, Anabtawi said. To raise more awareness about the recent events, the Syrian American Council and other community groups plan a demonstration for 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. The California Coastal Commission will rehear a proposal for 30 artist work/live units in Laguna Beach, an Orange County Superior Court judge decided Thursday. Judge Kim Dunning, who in September ruled that the commission erred when it approved the project plan submitted by sculptor Louis Longi and business partner Chris Dornin, essentially gave the two men the new trial they sought. Attorney Allan Cooper, who represents Longi and Dornin, in arguing for a new trial, claimed in previous court filings that Dunning usurped the Coastal Commissions role and conducted her own investigation instead of accepting evidence presented to the commissioners. In her September ruling, Dunning said the commission had failed to prove that plans for the .84-acre complex would satisfy requirements for the setback from Laguna Canyon Creek. This point involved differing interpretations of whether the creek was on the states major watershed drainage course map and therefore required a greater setback than standard rules. Dunnings decision Thursday also hinged in large part on something she mentioned in her September ruling that six of the 10 commissioners who voted for the project improperly disclosed private communications with developers. The issue of so-called ex-parte contacts that occur outside official public meetings between coastal commissioners and parties that have a stake in the outcome of a decision has been dogging the commission for months. The commission approved the project, which calls for two, two-story buildings on two lots, at 20412 and 20432 Laguna Canyon Road, in a January 2015 hearing, nine months after the Laguna Beach City Council gave the OK on a 3-2 vote. The hearing was sparked by three separate appeals from residents who alleged that the facility, which would encompass 17,242-square-feet of indoor space that would allow artists to reside and work near their living area, would harm environmentally sensitive areas and violate the Laguna Canyon Annexation Area Specific Plan, which calls for development in the canyon to be rural and small scale. Longi altered the design several times to include pitched roof lines and larger setbacks from Laguna Canyon Road after residents and planning commissioners raised concerns about the facility clashing with the surrounding neighborhood and hillsides. In March 2015, a group of residents called Friends of the Canyon sued the commission over its decision two months earlier. Cooper focused some of his arguments Thursday on the last paragraph of Dunnings September ruling, which he said was vague in its directive at that time. If there were nothing else, the violation of [California] Public Resources Code section 30328 would entitle petitioner to a writ of mandate requiring the commission to revoke its action and rehear the matter, Dunning wrote. However, a rehearing would appear to be an idle act in this instance; the commissions finding that the project is consistent with the applicable [local coastal program] is not supported by substantial evidence as to the setback and rural/small-scale issues. The Coastal Act is clear what you are obligated to do ... void the hearing and hold a new hearing, Cooper said. Dunning replied: I specifically asked counsel present [in July], What do we want to do with this? If that was the only issue, not having enough votes [meaning the ex parte issue], we would be on your side of the aisle. Julie Hamilton, attorney for Friends of the Canyon, told Dunning she was satisfied with a new hearing. The appeals are out there and need to be resolved, Hamilton told Dunning. Cooper said commissioners at a future hearing should not be bound by evidence Dunning used in her September ruling regarding the January 2015 hearing. Hamilton said the more evidence the better. bryce.alderton@latimes.com Twitter: @AldertonBryce The United States on Friday more than doubled the bounty on the head of the shadowy leader of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, to $25 million. The announcement by the State Department "Rewards for Justice Program" came as US-backed local forces close in on the Islamist militant group's main urban strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the cities of Mosul and Raqa. The cash will be paid to anyone who can offer "information leading to the location, arrest or conviction" of the elusive militant, known to his followers as "Caliph Ibrahim". "Under al-Baghdadi, ISIL has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States," the State Department said. "The group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria in defiance of the longstanding global norm against the use of these appalling weapons, and has enabled or directed terrorist attacks beyond the borders of its self-declared caliphate." Baghdadi has kept a low profile, despite having declared himself the leader of a renewed Muslim caliphate, but last month released a defiant audio message urging his supporters to defend Mosul. It is not clear if he is in the besieged city, where he declared his caliphate in 2014 after the IS group seized territory covering much of eastern Syria and northern Iraq. The video, which showed a man with a black and grey beard wearing a black robe and matching turban, is the only one IS has released of Baghdadi to date. He has been reported wounded in US-led coalition air strikes multiple times, but the claims have never been verified, and his apparent survival has added to his mystique. According to an official Iraqi government document, Baghdadi was born in Samarra in 1971 and has four children with his first wife -- two boys and two girls born between 2000 and 2008. An Iraqi intelligence report records that Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic studies and was a professor at Tikrit University. Baghdadi apparently joined the insurgency that erupted after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and spent time in an American military prison. Search Keywords: Short link: The long debate over Poseidon Waters controversial proposal to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach continued Wednesday, with critics demanding a more careful study of the potential environmental problems posed by the facility. About 50 people gathered at the Central Library for a meeting called by the California State Lands Commission, which was seeking input on a supplement that it is preparing to the 2010 environmental impact report on the project. The supplement would address the environmental impact of a screen and diffuser added to the intake and outflow pipes, respectively. Both are meant to reduce harm to marine life. Poseidon included the attachments in its plan in September 2015 after a new regulation was added to the California water code requiring the technology in order to mitigate environmental issues, Poseidon Water Vice President Scott Maloni said Thursday. Among other speakers, Richard Armendariz, a member of the Huntington Beach nonprofit Residents for Responsible Desalination, said he was skeptical that a screen would adequately protect sea life from entering the system. Some residents felt the pipes were worrisome because they were over 50 years old. The proposed $1-billion desalination facility would be built next to the AES power plant at Newland Street and Pacific Coast Highway and rely in part on its infrastructure. Garry Brown, founder of the Orange County-based environmental group Coastkeeper, said Thursday that even with the additions, larval fish will still be sucked into the pipes. Its not much of an improvement, he said. The screen would have 1 millimeter segments to prevent valuable marine life from entering the pipe, said Susan Lee, a scientist for Aspen Environmental Group, an Agoura Hills-based environmental consulting company hired by the State Lands Commission to conduct the supplemental EIR. She described the diffuser as a part with six openings that would allow the saltwater leaving the plant to better mix with the ocean or diffuse into it since it would be sprayed in multiple directions. Lee said the returning saltwater is especially briny after it is separated in the desalination process and that if doesnt mix well when it returns to the ocean, the high concentrations could harm marine life. Despite public concerns, Maloni believes the attachments will help prevent damage to marine life. He said the company determined that the open-faced intake pipe called for previously in the plan would take in about two fish eggs for every 1,000 gallons of water, an amount he characterized as small. He said the amount would be even smaller with a screen in place. Some speakers at the meeting said the plant is unnecessary, a common refrain. Mandy Sackett, representing the Surfrider Foundation, said Orange County is no longer in need of the amount of water that Poseidons plant will offer, 50 million gallons of water per day. Staley Prom, also of Surfrider, said a new, more comprehensive EIR needs to be done to take into account the changes that have occurred since the existing report was produced in 2010. Prom said a supplement was insufficient. Echoing Sackett, she said the change in demand for water needs to be noted in the new report. After the meeting, city planning commissioner Dan Kalmick said he too believes that the State Lands Commission needs to conduct an more extensive EIR and forget the supplement. Kalmick said he was concerned that ongoing projects in the area, such as the toxic cleanup at the Ascon landfill, will only increase the chance of environmental calamity in the area. Kalmick also said he was concerned that the plant will be built in an area that is projected to be flooded by 2050, according to the citys general plan. In agreement with the Surfrider representatives, Kalmick said the area where the plant would be based doesnt have as high a demand for water as when the original EIR was conducted. Maloni said Poseidon has minimized the environmental impact of its plan with the new proposal so a full EIR is not required by law. Cy Oggins, State Lands Commission division chief, said the agency will evaluate all public comments and make a decision on how best to proceed. Oggins said the group will be looking into the possible changes that have occurred in the area since the last EIR was conducted nearly seven years ago. He cited the age of the AES pipes as a definite concern. Concerned residents may send their comments by email until Dec. 21 to CEQA.comments@slc.ca.gov or by mail to Cy R. Oggins, California State Lands Commission, 100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100-S., Sacramento, CA 95825. benjamin.brazil@latimes.com Twitter: @benbrazilpilot With signs saying, Dont sign the petition possible identity theft, posted by supporters of the proposed Museum House hired workers allegedly intimidating petitioners and signers who want to put the development on the ballot its madness in Newport these days. And even with the recent Irvine Co. lawsuit aimed at regulating some of these practices at its shopping centers, and folks calling the cops, the craziness continues. I continue to hear from readers witnessing legitimate petitioners from Line in the Sand and those wanting to sign petitions being intimidated by aggressive young men at different locations. At the Newport council meeting Tuesday night, one resident even described being confronted by seven or eight thuggish, quasi-gang member-looking men who punched him, blocked his car, ripped his shirt and cut his ear after he intervened when seeing them harass two senior citizen ladies sitting at a referendum petition table at the Eastbluff shopping center. The man making the claim a Museum House supporter told the Daily Pilot after the meeting that he said some things to the council that he shouldnt have, and that he didnt want to further discuss the incident or press charges. Newport police told the Pilot that officers responded to a 911 call and spoke with some participants, though all declined to press charges. And when one resident wrote to the council before the meeting complaining about tactics being used in this fight, then-Mayor Diane Dixon wrote back, saying of the project developer, I have been assured that Related is not behind these unsavory tactics. At the council meeting, Dixon called for a stop to these tactics by all parties. She also claimed there were three factions in the referendum fight, including a mystery third party and wasnt clear on where they stood. Last week I wrote it was war, as the developer, Related California LLC, battles opposition to its project by Line in the Sand (the political arm of Still Protecting Our Newport, or SPON) and Santa Ana-based nonprofit group Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers. Whos behind Citizens Against High Rise Urban Towers is unknown, but theyre obviously against the project, as their ads indicate. The land-use consultant for Museum House, Patrick Strader, complained on my Facebook page that the Towers group is using dark money, meaning there are independent expenditures, or IEs, funding opposition of his project. Strader also complains that Ive lost my objectivity in writing about this battle. As an opinion columnist, not a news reporter, my opinion is that the tactics being used to stop the petition drive are shameful. Whatever merits this project did offer are overshadowed by the unsavory lengths supporters are willing to go. I also question a council comfortable enough to get in bed with anyone backing this project. Im not alone here. I have never seen such dishonest and flagrant tactics used to suppress voter participation in the referendum process as those employed by the political consultants of the Museum House project, outgoing Councilman Keith Curry, who first voted for the project and then withheld his support, told me Wednesday. Coming off a brutal council election, and now this even uglier referendum battle, my sense is voters are growing weary of the negativity. It didnt have to play out this way. The fact that outgoing Councilman Ed Selich initiated that the petition be over 1,000 pages to include EIR documents should have been enough of a roadblock to appease the developer. Each petition weighs approximately 10 pounds, making it difficult for some of the older Line in the Sand folks to handle them, as member Nancy Skinner pointed out at the council meeting. Explaining the undue burden placed on her group, Skinner called out Selich for smiling during her comments about it at the meeting. Considering the average petition printing of this nature normally would cost approximately $3,000, Im told printing costs for these petitions are now upward of $40,000, another obstacle in referendum efforts. Facing these challenges, its no wonder Line in the Sand hired help to get the petition signatures, something the opposition has complained about. So its OK to hire people to thwart the process but not to pay people to sit at tables and help gather signatures? This fight is nowhere near over. If enough signatures are gathered to put the project to a vote, each side still has to convince the majority of the 53,131 registered Newport voters in order to prevail. Fasten your seat belts, folks. If you thought the signature battle was a nasty ride, wait till you see what unfolds before a potential Election Day. The worst is yet to come. BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com. Although December is meant to be a merry time for many people, authorities are asking Glendale residents to be extra vigilant about hidden holiday hazards. Each year across the United States, approximately 210 house fires are caused by Christmas trees, with four of them typically resulting in a death. Officials with the Glendale Fire Department said they tend to see at least two to three fires a year because of trees. "[Other than during the holidays], houses arent decorated with Christmas trees, presents and things like that, Capt. Scott Mohlenbrok said during a presentation on Monday, at which firefighters demonstrated how quickly a tree can catch fire. Join the conversation on Facebook >> And in the event you were curious what a Christmas tree on fire looks like pic.twitter.com/upr2upQhLX Andy Nguyen (@Andy_Truc) December 14, 2016 Mohlenbrok said trees can burn up in three minutes, and the room in which the tree is located can be engulfed in flames five minutes later. Contributing factors include a tree being placed near a heater, an overloaded electrical socket or no water for the tree. Mohlenbrok said watering a tree will help prevent it from becoming dry and more susceptible to catching fire. Another way to help prevent a fire is to have a tree coated in flame-resistant flocking a type of white spray meant to look like snow. Mohlenbrok said many tree lots offer this type of spray. However, he added, the sprays people buy at stores to do it themselves are still flammable. Capt. Jeff Brooks said residents should also keep in mind where they display their tree. In addition to not placing it near a heater, it shouldnt block any exit in a home. If they do have a fire, theyve ultimately eliminated one of their safe egresses out of the house, Brooks said. Another fire risk people face during the holidays is lighting the menorah for Hanukkah. Since it involves an open flame, the captain said the candles should not be near anything that can catch fire, such as a curtain. Brooks said theres also a risk if candles are left burning unattended. A safer alternative would be to use electronic candles for the menorah. Besides fires, there is an increase of poisoning risks during the holidays. Dr. Cyrus Rangan, a doctor with the California Poison Control System, said one of the leading risks during this time of year is carbon monoxide poisoning through the use of unconventional heating sources. When people take an outdoor heater or barbecue and bring it inside to heat the home or they use the stove or an oven, you get an incomplete combustion of fuel and a buildup of carbon monoxide in the house, Rangan said. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include wooziness, confusion, paralysis, heart attack and, ultimately, death. Rangan recommended all households should be equipped with carbon monoxide detectors, which tend to be separate from smoke alarms. Residents should also use a safer heating source, he added. Rangan said poison control typically deals with more poisoning cases involving children than adults, especially during the holidays. In some of those instances, children have eaten wrapping paper thats made with toxic paint or candy from Mexico that contains lead. A way of preventing these kinds of cases is to keep a close eye on children. Supervision is the key. Its the overarching advice that we give, Rangan said. Every poisoning that we see around Christmas time is always preventable. -- Andy Nguyen, andy.nguyen@latimes.com Twitter: @Andy_Truc MORE CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY Glendale police arrest transient after discovering hes an unregistered sex offender Glendale man pleads guilty to mailing scam that netted $1.66 million Glendale Water & Power warns customers about scam calls All morning classes at Golden West College were canceled Friday as the Huntington Beach campus worked to restore electricity after a schoolwide power outage. Power to most of the buildings returned about noon, according to Janet Houlihan, Golden Wests vice president of student life and administrative services. The colleges maintenance and operations staff and a high-voltage electrician were trying to determine the cause of the outage as they worked to restore electricity to buildings that were still dark Friday afternoon. Some classses scheduled in those buildings were relocated on campus, Houlihan said. Advertisement Students whose classes were canceled were contacted about whether those classes would be rescheduled, she said. Houlihan said she expects all buildings to be fully functional by Monday. The power outage was reported in a tweet on the colleges Twitter account at 7:52 a.m. Southern California Edison said it had no report of the outage because it did not involve the companys equipment. alexandra.chan@latimes.com Twitter: @AlexandraChan10 Youll need to make this decision by Christmas day to take advantage of a $630 fare from LAX to Dubai on Qatar. The fare, which includes all taxes and fees and is subject to availability, is for departures Sundays through Wednesdays from Jan. 22 through May 15 and for returns Mondays-Thursdays. You must stay at least seven days but may not stay more than four months. Info: Qatar Airways, (877) 777-2827, www.qatarairways.com. Advertisement Source: Airfarewatchdog.com ALSO Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas rolls out renovated rooms, just in time for New Years Eve A weekend in Hemet offers more than just another fish story Passengers like LAX more this year, warts and all. But Portland, Ore., airport is what they really love By the time Iraqi forces recaptured this sprawling airfield once known as Key West from Islamic State last summer, the militants had ruined everything: The Olympic-size pool, the track, the PX store, dining hall, even the runways, plowed under and rendered unusable. But it was a significantly changed scene that U.S. Air Force Col. Rhett Champagne surveyed last week as he stood on the main landing strip, his radio buzzing with news of an Iraqi C-130 preparing to land and load supplies for the battle to retake the city of Mosul from Islamic State. Qayyarah West Airfield, more commonly known as Q-West, has become a nerve center for the operation at Mosul, 40 miles north, and a headquarters for U.S. troops who are advising the Iraqi Army in their effort to defeat the militant jihadi organization. Advertisement ISIL did its best to make Q West somewhere the coalition couldnt support the Iraqis, Champagne said of the jihadis. They failed. When U.S. forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, many expected never to return. President Obama described the country as sovereign, stable and self-reliant. But after Islamic State swept across Iraq and Syria, capturing Mosul in 2014, the Iraqi government once again sought help. More than 5,200 U.S. troops are now assigned to a non-combat advise and assist role in Iraq, arrayed from Q West, Camp Swift and Irbil in the north to Al Asad Air Base in the west, and further south, in Baghdad. Near the front lines, Iraqi militias are being trained by U.S. special forces. U.S. forces are in Iraq operating out of a base at Qayyarah West Airfield to retake Mosul from Islamic State.. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times ) The role of U.S. forces in the Mosul offensive is a tricky one, the boundaries delicate. Were doing some stuff you dont normally do, especially the integration with Iraqi counterparts, Champagne said, adding that the mission requires cooperation, patience, and a willingness to recognize that, The Iraqis are capable. Theyre going to solve their problems their own way. When Champagne, 45, went to work one recent night, he heard sobering news from an Iraqi commander. He hasnt seen his mom in Mosul in two years, Champagne said from a tent surrounded by airmen from his 821st Crisis Response Group at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. That kind of puts it in perspective. For troops like Staff Sgt. Thomas Morris returning to Iraq, the changed role has been a challenge. Morris, 34, whose platoon includes mostly young soldiers on their first deployment, tells stories about the first time he came to Iraq in 2004: eating steak and lobster at massive U.S. bases in Baghdad, swimming in pools at former Iraqi leader Saddam Husseins former palaces, patrolling in Humvees and kicking in doors. Pretty much every time out you got contact. Our battalion got pretty lucky: We only lost seven or eight guys, said Morris, 34, of Baltimore. He wasnt sure how to behave around Iraqi soldiers he met at the airfield convenience store, Samis. Some would ask to take photos with him, others to trade gloves. Morris kept thinking: Their fathers and grandfathers were probably fighting against the United States. We knew we werent coming back as an occupying force, but when we got back here it was a little eerie, he said last week as he stood near a sign marking Rocket City. His unit and Iraqi soldiers take turns firing into Mosul. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Corey Blakely was also stationed in Iraq in 2004 at Balad, a base that was attacked four to five times a day, earning it the nickname, Mortaritaville. We take a look at the role of U.S. forces in the fight for Mosul, Iraq a battle in which they have no direct role. Yet they are everywhere. (Video by Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times) Now Iraqi forces fly helicopters into an airfield pocked with bullets from combat, then immediately return to the fight, their leaders coordinating airstrikes from a joint command center. You can see how everything is turning back over to the Iraqis, said Blakely, 38, of Boston. He and others say they are happy that their work keeps them mainly on base. But it can be difficult to explain their changed role to friends and family back in the U.S. who see footage of gunfights in Mosul and assume they are out battling Islamic State. People want to know how many kills you have, said Tech. Sgt. Christopher Queen, 41, of Merced. Soldiers who drive off the base on security patrols see Iraqis returning home to nearby towns after being displaced by fighting. It went from ghost towns to people moving back in. Now theres kids playing, said Army Staff Sgt. Josh Hogue, 26, of Sutter, Calif., with the 101st Airborne Division based at Ft. Campbell. Army Capt. Alex Carlier, who served in Afghanistan, said he has all the soldiers and equipment he used to have to compete for and faces fewer risks.Nothing is risk-free, but its very mitigated, said Carlier, 29, of Columbus, Ohio, as the boom of outgoing rockets sounded. The sun sets over coalition forces are working working with Iraqi troops at Qayyarah Airfield West. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times ) Iraqi commanders said they are grateful for U.S. support, that they have enough ground troops but could not have entered Mosul so rapidly without coalition airstrikes and technical help. Without the support of the Americans, the operation would be slower, with more casualties, said Iraqi Brigadier General Firas Bashar, speaking from a tent on the Iraqi side of Q West. Outgoing artillery sounded, fired by U.S. service members on the base toward an Islamic State stronghold near Mosul. Bashar smiled. Thats the American support were talking about, he said. Maj. Gen. Najim Jabouri, commander of the Mosul operation, said Iraqi forces need to lead the offensive because this is our home, but U.S. military technology has paved the way. They have the drones, the bombs that are very specific, like a surgeon with the cancer, Jabouri said. First Lt. Zelly Zims team flies several observation drones over Mosul, screens their video feed and coordinates with Iraqis to target suicide bombers and other militants. Our soldiers will see something on the feed and very quickly will go to the Iraqis so there can be a strike, sometimes in minutes, said Zim, 24, of Fairfax, Va.,who called it the purest form of my job. Staff Sgt. Steven Ramos, 26, of Yorba Linda was excited about his first deployment here, hoping to collect war stories. And he has, working the airfield with Iraq counterparts. You look on the other side of the berm and you see all these fires. You hear the stories of these airfield workers that have family in Mosul and havent seen them for years at a time. This is why theyre here, he said. Hearing the Iraqis stories made Ramos think about California. Its hard knowing were living completely different lives. Coming from Orange County the beach is 20 minutes away to these families, who havent seen their mother, their father, their brothers, for years or months, he said. He wasnt sure at first how to respond. I cant tell them that Ive been there before. I cant tell them I know what its like, he said. All he could say was that he came to help. molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com Twitter: @mollyhf ALSO Syrian government and rebels blame each other for Aleppo evacuation chaos Fears of Russia and Trump drive EU leaders to boost defense budgets China seizes U.S. underwater drone in South China Sea, prompting a formal complaint Here in the desert hills of the West Bank, near the Palestinians principal city of Ramallah, a group of Orthodox Jews has built the town of Beit El, a place that most of the world considers an illegal settlement constructed on occupied Palestinian land. For decades, U.S. policy has opposed such settlements as harmful to the peace process. But the Israeli settlers now have some well-placed American supporters. Funds to help construct Beit El came partly from a U.S.-based foundation run by President-elect Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the Kushner family. Advertisement And David Friedman, Trumps long-time real estate lawyer who was named Thursday as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, served as the president of the American Friends of Beit El foundation. His name is on a girls school in the settlement in tribute to his support. The amounts given by the Kushners were small; $5,000 here, $10,000 there, according to Internal Revenue Service filings. But they constitute another piece in the puzzle of how the Trump administration will approach one of the Middle Easts most intractable conflicts. There are growing signs that Trump is poised to upend decades of U.S. foreign policy on dealing with Israelis and Palestinians, giving Israel a freer hand to build settlements and relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Several of Trumps advisers have said they do not regard settlements as illegitimate or obstacles to peace. Unlike President Obama, who pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to temporarily freeze some settlement construction on land seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, Trump appears less likely to pressure Israel to constrain its building. I think it is safe to say that we will see diminished American efforts to promote traditional diplomacy, traditional critique of Israeli settlement activity or the need to resume some peace process with the Palestinians, said Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. At the same time, Trump said in an interview with the New York Times that he would love to be the president who finally made peace between Israel and the Palestinians; he has said it would be the ultimate deal. Trump even went so far as to say Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, might serve as a special envoy to the Middle East to work on Israeli-Palestinian issues a prospect many consider preposterous given the younger Kushners lack of diplomatic experience and because he would be seen as biased in favor of Israel. Trump has also said he would move the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something almost no country in the world has done because Jerusalem is disputed. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians claim it, or part of it, as their capital, and the U.S. position for decades has been that its status must be resolved through negotiations. Past U.S. presidents made similar pledges about relocating the U.S. embassy. But upon taking office, all concluded such a step would not only provoke Palestinians, but also unsettle Arab allies throughout the region. After his appointment was announced, Friedman stated he looked forward to forging the U.S. bond with Israel from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Friedman also has voiced opposition to the so-called two-state solution, the existence of an Israeli and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace, which has been the basis of U.S. policy since the 1950s and the framework for peace negotiations in that part of the world. At a Jerusalem election rally shortly before the U.S. election, he vowed that a Trump administration would never pressure Israel to accept a Palestinian state. Such assertions explain why several U.S. Jewish groups reacted negatively to Friedmans selection. Friedmans positions on the two-state solution foreclose on the possibility of advancing, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said in an interview. By abandoning the two-state solution, theyre saying they are not bound by the last 25 years of history, said Michael Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum, a liberal think tank that focuses on Israel. Dennis Ross, veteran diplomat who served as Middle East envoy in Republican and Democratic administrations, cautioned that Trump will not be able to write off the Palestinians altogether if a real resolution is to come about. The first thing is you have to restore a sense of possibility, Ross said. There is no sense of possibility on either side now. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has diminished since the end of the last major uprising more than a decade ago. But both sides worry that any major shifts in the status quo, such as the relocation of the U.S. embassy, a marked increase in settlement construction or a move by Israel to annex West Bank territory, could trigger renewed Palestinian protests or terror attacks. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat warned Trump against upsetting the fragile status quo, which was achieved through previous rounds of negotiations. These are issues agreed to in an American-sponsored, international-sponsored peace process and no one should take any decisions which may preempt or prejudge, because this will be the destruction of the peace process as a whole. Successive Israeli governments, and especially that of the hawkish Netanyahu, have allowed a vast network of settlements to develop throughout the West Bank and in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem. More than half a million Jewish Israelis now live in settlements, according to Israeli government figures. Few issues anger Palestinians more than settlements, which they see as crisscrossing the land they claim as their state and making territorial continuity of their future state impossible. Past U.S. presidents both Republican and Democratic have criticized settlement expansion, with especially pointed words coming recently from Obama, who famously does not get along with Netanyahu, in part because of the landmark deal to curtail Irans pursuit of nuclear armament. Netanyahu argues that Iran cannot be trusted and poses a major threat to Israel. Despite the criticism, the United States in September agreed to a $38-billion, 10-year package of military assistance to Israel, the largest single pledge of security aid in U.S. history. Israeli settlers are hoping to make inroads during the Trump administration. At Beit El, Baruch Gordon, a fundraiser for the settlement, described Charles Kushner, Jareds father, as a very good friend of the settlement and one of its top supporters. Charlie and his wife are wonderful people,' he said. He said he had not met Jared. On a recent Friday before Shabbat, yeshiva students poured over religious texts inside a brand new study hall, a beit midrash. It and its small campus were erected with contributions from the U.S. foundation, American Friends of Beit El Yeshiva Center, which lists the Charles Kushner as a founding trustee of its annual fundraising gala. Through its own U.S. charity, Beit El is one of several Jewish settlements that has received money from the Kushner Foundation in recent years, according to IRS filings. Another is the hard-line Yitzhar settlement, deep in the West Bank near the city of Nablus. Students at the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in Yitzhar have been accused of vigilante attacks on nearby Palestinian villages as well as against Israeli troops. Another recipient is the more well-established, suburban-style Efrat settlement, south of Jerusalem, which is popular with American Jewish emigres. Netanyahu told CBS-TVs 60 Minutes earlier this month that he was confident Trump would be a good friend of Israel. I know Donald Trump, Netanyahu said. I know him very well. And I think his attitude, his support for Israel is clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state, about the Jewish people and about Jewish people. Oded Revivi, the chief foreign envoy of the Yesha Council, an organization of settler leaders, said he held a round of meetings in the U.S. after the election with members of the Trump transition team and supporters such as former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The reactions that I got from people were very promising and show a shift in the direction of which way the wind is blowing, he said. Revivi, a resident of the settlement of Efrat, said hes certain there will be a different approach. Wilkinson reported from Washington, Mitnick from Beit El, West Bank. tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter MORE WORLD NEWS Americans adjust to a changed role in Iraq 12-year-old suspected of nail bombing attempt at Christmas market in Germany Syrian government and rebels blame each other for Aleppo evacuation chaos The 10-year financing deal comes as Petrobras also agrees to sell 100,000 barrels of oil a day for a decade to three Chinese firms Tech News: LG to Unveil First Chromecast-enabled 34-Inch 4K UHD HDR10 Monitor at CES 2017 staff@latinoshealth.com By Aadil Raval Dec 16, 2016 12:48 PM EST LG Electronics is daunting other Electronic manufacturers with its advanced gadgets tech releases every year. At the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) 2017 which that will kick off in Las Vegas in January and be ready to notice LG's 32" UHD 4K HDR Monitor. VR-Zone explains about the upcoming HDR-compatible model which bears the Model No. 32UD99. The Model is pre-installed with Casting capabilities. It will offer 3,840*2,160 4K Resolution that supports HDR10 standard. It will be cast in an IPS Panel which is ideal for media content creators with 95% coverage of DCI-P3 color space that delivers pitch-perfect color accuracy. The LG 32UD99 specification list is lengthy. It will include USB Type-C port that has drastically reduced its width. With LG's Rich Bass technology, the built-in speakers produce crisp surround sound that gives immense pleasure. Apart from the 32UD99, LG will also unveil 34UM79M which are a 34" 24:9 UltraWideMobile+Monitor. Similar to its sibling, the 34UM79M has chrome cast capabilities that allow streaming of games, movies, etc directly from your mobile devices. The color contrast of both the Monitors is vibrant and seems real to life. The 34UM79M is the first pre-installed Chromecast-enabled Monitor. As per Digital Trends, the HDR10 standard support will have these two models to outrun its competitors. The customer can mount the monitors on walls or on a table and it will camouflage with its bezel-less edges and slim ArcLine. The USB-Type C port eliminates the extra wiring required to power the device, connect mobile or laptop, etc which helped LG to make the Monitor look more appealing. In these upcoming models, LG has ditched DisplayPort and HDMI and only USB Type-C Ports and Thunderbolt is available at disposal. Booth #11100 is reserved by LG at CES 2017, Central Hall in Las Vegas Convention Centre to showcase what it offers. Subscribe to the latinos health newsletter! An International Group of Archeologists has discovered a 2500 years old abandoned city, in western Thessaly, Greece. 200 years ago from today, this 'Lost City' was first discovered, but that time it was not considered for being the part of some backwater settlement of little consequences. A joint research team from The University of Gothenburg & The University of Bournemouth had started this exploration earlier this year. This area is named as Vlochos and its approximately 190 miles (300 Kms) away towards the north from Athens. Researchers from Greece, Sweden & U.K took park in this project & the whole team was led by Robin Ronnlund, Doctoral Student in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History from the University of Gothenburg. Ronnlund said in a press release,"A colleague and I came across the site in connection with another project last year, and we realized the great potential right away." According to the foxnews report, the first phase of the research was completed in September 2016 with a collaboration of the Swedish Institute at Athens and the local Archaeological Service in Karditsa. Ronnlund assumes that there are so many secrets hidden beneath the hill. Walls, city gates, towers can be found but it is barely visible on the ground below. To avoid excavation Ronnlund and his team is planning to use the Ground-penetrating radar to gather information without hurting the ground of this site. The team has found the town square & street grid which indicate the existence of having a 'lost city' and the measurements of the area, inside the city wall are almost 40 hectares. They have also found the coins & ancient pottery. Using the radioactive carbon dating process they measured that those things are around 2,500 years old, even the oldest ones are from 500 BC. Now researchers are planning to extend their study up to August 2017 to gather more information about the lost city. This discovery will uncover many secrets of ancient Greek civilization which is hidden from 300 BC. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted Friday on Athens' right to compensate those who have made "sacrifices" during the economic crisis and refugee influx. Speaking in Berlin ahead of talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has insisted on strict fiscal discipline in exchange for aid to debt-mired Athens, Tsipras said Greeks deserved "fair" treatment. "We want the wounds of the crisis to be healed... for all those who have made enormous sacrifices in the name of Europe and European stability," Tsipras told reporters. He said fairness would mean "encouraging decisions on the part of European partners so that we do not allow Greece to slip back into instability". Greek lawmakers approved Thursday a handout for poor pensioners that has set the country on a collision course with some of its European creditors. The measure, announced by under-pressure Tsipras last week, earmarks 617 million euros ($656 million) for a one-off payment. It also includes a lower sales tax for Greek islands sheltering migrants. Tsipras on Friday stressed "the great burden borne by the islands despite the economic crisis". Athens says the pension handout will come out of a one-billion-euro tax surplus, but European creditors on Thursday said the Greek move raised "significant concerns on both process and substance" regarding the country's bailout obligations. A spokesman for Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Wednesday said the eurozone was suspending a recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens in retaliation at not being fully briefed on Tsipras's handout plans. Merkel did not comment on the pension bonuses, stressing that decisions on Greece's bailout package rested solely with the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. But she said that she and Tsipras would "certainly discuss" the aid programme for Greece and how he sees the situation in his country. "Our talks haven't always been easy but they are always honest, candid and marked by a desire for results," she said. Search Keywords: Short link: Good news for gamers as Xbox One will once again enhance their consoles through improving the sound dynamics. Xbox One will have Dolby Atmos as Dolby and Microsoft announced it this week. This technology coming from the world of home theater will now be experienced first-hand by console gamers. According to Digital Trends, this Dolby Atmos will feature an object-based surround sound and not just the HDR or the high dynamic range sound. This object-based surround sound adds up to another dimension. It throws height into the mix. This is done by using another set of speakers either on the ceiling or mounted on top of surround speakers and facing the ceiling. "At Team Xbox, we are all gamers first, and bringing Dolby Atmos support to Xbox One and Windows 10 gaming next year will bring you even further inside the action and sound of your favorite titles. A big thank you to the team at Dolby for their partnership; we're excited to share more with the Xbox community next year." Mike Ybarra, Xbox head of platform engineering, said in a statement According to Cnet, Spencer Hooks, Dolby Laboratories director of gaming, wrote in a post on Xbox Write that players could highly discern the sound of their allies and enemies in a three-dimensional space. Even snipers and other tools used in a game could be heard clearly. Meanwhile, in order to have the full experience of this sound enhancement, a gamer will need a Dolby Atmos-ready A/V receiver and speakers. On the other hand, Dolby Atmos can also be experienced by using headphones as well. For those using their console with a home theater setup, the Blu-ray Bitstream passthrough, which includes Dolby Atmos support on Xbox One and Xbox One S, could be for Xbox Preview members. This only means that the console will pass through Blu-ray audio to your A/V receiver untouched, for the highest-quality sound as much as possible. More updates for your favorite consoles here in Latin Post! The researchers found that most of Earth's volcanic eruption happens in a dark and faraway place: deep underwater. Scientists claimed this could help them better understand volcanoes on land, including pose serious threat to humans. According to LIVE SCIENCE, The underwater volcano erupted 290 miles (470 km) off the coast of Oregon in April 2015. The scientists were able to study eruption more closely than even before. At the meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the scientists have represented some of the first scientific results from the eruption. In 1998 and 2011 scientists deploy of seven seismic stations to study the volcano. After almost two decades of study, the researchers correctly predict that Axial Seamount would erupt sometime 2015. According to study co-author Scott Nooner, a geologist at the University of North Carolina said," one observation that aided this prediction was the patterns of seafloor deformation- the movement of magma are caused by surface change". Before the April eruption scientists have also observed increased seismicity on the seafloor. The frequency of minor earthquake near the volcano increased from fewer than 500 per day to about 2,000 per day, reported by researchers from University of North Carolina. By cameras and temperature measurements, to instruments, the researchers collect data about the chemistry and biology of the volcanic area. The scientists have found Axial Seamount one of the world's most well-studied volcanoes. Though, far from posing a threat to human lives, the underwater eruption of Axial Seamount is very turbulent. After closing monitoring of Axial Seamount, the scientists are acquiring the better understanding of volcanic activity in general. The scientists have a belief that this could be applied to land-based volcanoes', which can help deadly eruption. Meanwhile, at present scientists are able to make only short-term eruption by land-based volcanoes. But this new model used to forecast last year's Axial Seamount eruption months in advance and be refined for terrestrial volcanoes. The detailed research is published online on December 15 in the Journal Geophysical Research Letters. Germany's lower house of parliament, countering increasing anti-immigrant sentiment, declared on Friday that German culture is defined by freedom and humanity and said more should be done to integrate an influx of migrants. More than one million migrants - mainly Muslims - flocked to Germany from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere in 2015-16 and many Germans see integrating the newcomers as the country's biggest challenge. Parliament's "Culture Builds Bridges" declaration comes amid a rise in support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is expected to gain seats in the Bundestag (lower house) in next year's federal election. The declaration described Germany as a "European cultural nation" shaped by the values of the Enlightenment, freedom and humanity, and said the constitution, which states that human dignity is inviolable, defined modern German culture. The proposal was brought by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc in parliament and the Social Democrats (SPD), their junior partner in the ruling coalition, which have lost support to the AfD as hostility against migrants has risen. "We want to preserve our country's rich cultural heritage, which is characterized by the diversity of its citizens, states and regions as well as by its lively art and cultural scene," the declaration said. It said German culture encompassed seeing different lifestyles, values, religions and world views as enriching. "That's the opposite of a culture of isolation and intolerance like that being propagated by right-wing populist movements at the moment," it said. The Bundestag said that even migrants who only stay in Germany for a short time should be encouraged to learn the language and take part in German cultural life and media. It urged an expansion of cultural and integration programs for migrants, volunteer training and activities such as visiting museums, theaters or libraries. Search Keywords: Short link: omar quinones Omar "Kush" Quinones, 19, of Bethlehem, is accused of shooting a 14-year-old at least eight times on Jan. 30, 2016, on Bethlehem's South Side. Bethlehem police said Quinones is a member of the Crips gang, and the victim was a member of the Bloods gang, but that the shooting was over a girl. (Photo courtesy Bethlehem Police Department) UPDATE: Gang shooter accused of punching, spitting blood on guard An 18-year-old Bethlehem man admitted Friday he shot a rival gang member eight times. Elias Zachariah Ariza As part of the plea deal, Omar "Kush" Quinones was sentenced to 10 to 24 years in state prison. Quinones shot 14-year-old Taron Walker, a member of the Bloods gang. Police said Quinones was a member of the Crips gang. Walker testified back in March he barely remembers being taken to a hospital emergency room after the Jan. 30 shooting on East Sixth Street in Bethlehem. "By the grace of God, this boy is alive," Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lewis Fallenstein said back in March. Police said the shooting concerned a dispute over a woman. Quinones had nothing to say to Northampton County Judge Stephen Baratta except that he wants to put the case behind him and move on with his life. He pleaded guilty to attempted homicide. A plea deal is on the table for co-defendant Elias Zachariah Ariza, 19, of Bethlehem, who allegedly shot 16-year-old Kyre Williams during the same melee. Defense attorney Stephen Mills said he needs to discuss the deal with Ariza. He did not disclose the terms of the deal. Ariza is scheduled to appear in Northampton County Court on Jan. 6. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. The woman charged with stealing the baby Jesus figure from a Bethlehem Nativity scene was arraigned Thursday night and jailed, authorities said. Jacqueline Ross, 49, of the 5200 block of Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township, is charged with theft and institutional vandalism. She was arraigned at 9:43 p.m. before District Judge Richard Yetter III and sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail, the judge said. She remained jailed on Friday morning, according to the county Department of Corrections. A warrant for her arrest was issued Thursday by District Judge Roy Manwaring II. She was taken into custody in Bethlehem Township, city police Chief Mark DiLuzio said. Ross was seen on surveillance video at 2 a.m. Dec. 4 walking a gold-colored dog and twice approaching before taking the statue from the Nativity scene owned by the Chamber of Commerce, police said. The scene is on display at Bethlehem's outdoor Payrow Plaza, between City Hall and the library. The Fontanini statue is valued at $2,700, police said. Ross arrived about 2:15 a.m. at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem Township and at 2:22 a.m. got out of a dark Saturn four-door sedan and entered the emergency room vestibule, police said. "She leaves the baby Jesus statue in the 'safe space' for baby drop-offs," police said. The statue was recovered at the hospital, with damage to the one leg and hand and a note mentioning the names of dogs that DiLuzio on Dec. 9 said "made no sense." Court papers show the note read: "Child has broken right foot which is been neglected. Parents Joseph and Mary Christ got a warning. Apparently sheep has a baby toe nibbling fetish. Child has been taken to Anderson St. Luke's hospital for evaluation repair. Signed concerned citizens, Trooper and Shilo." A Bethlehem Township police officer recognized Ross from surveillance images that were sent to area departments, city police said. The Saturn was outside Ross' home and she told a responding officer she owned a gold-colored dog, city police said. When confronted, she said, "I took it. I took the statue. It was a joke, a prank. I took it to the hospital and dropped it off. I left a note," according to police. Stopped from talking to be advised of her rights, Ross then asked for an attorney, police said. In bail conditions, Yetter wrote that Ross must undergo a mental health evaluation before being released and must follow recommendations of that evaluation if released. While she is eligible to post 10 percent of her bail amount if approved by Pre-Trial Services, the bail can be unsecured with the permission of the professional performing the evaluation and Pre-Trial Services, Yetter wrote. If released, Ross can have no contact with City of Bethlehem employees or enter the property at Bethlehem City Hall, the judge said. Her preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. next Friday in Manwaring's Bethlehem court. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Interstate 78 closure Dec. 15 and 16, 2016 Traffic on Interstate 78 in Salisbury Township was tied up overnight Dec. 15 into 16 after utility wires spilled across the highway following a crash on nearby South Cedar Crest Boulevard. (Photo courtesy WFMZ Channel 69 News) Interstate 78 reopened just before 4 a.m. Friday in Salisbury Township after being closed much of the night after a crash on South Cedar Crest Boulevard sent utility wires across the highway, Pennsylvania State Police at Fogelsville report. The accident happened about 7 p.m. Detours were put in place as traffic backed up. WFMZ reports Cedar Crest Boulevard was still closed as of 5:15 a.m. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A 32-year-old Bucks County caregiver faces several charges after ripping off an elderly man who hired her firm, police report. Jennifer Ramirez, of the 4000 block of Durham Road, first came to the attention of Pennsylvania State Police during a firearm-related call on July 16 to Ramirez's home, Hilltown Township police said in a news release. Officers learned Ramirez was on the way to a home in the 900 block of Quarry Road in Hilltown, township police said. When police arrived at that home, they learned the firearm was stolen from there, the news release said. In April, the elderly resident hired Ramirez through her business, Home Sweet Home Private Duty Services, township police said. She was to provide 24-hour in-home health care, township police said. After hiring Ramirez, there were several unauthorized uses of the man's credit card, his personal information was used in attempts to open credit card accounts and there were "numerous" unauthorized ATM withdrawals from the man's bank accounts, township police said. On Aug. 11, state police responded to Tower Road near Route 611 in Nockamixon for a call about a found safe a short distance from Ramirez's home, township police said. The safe contained the missing gun and other personal items from the Hilltown home, township police said. Hilltown and state police obtained an arrest warrant for Ramirez on charges of identity theft, theft, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, access device fraud and unlawful use of a computer, all felonies, township police and court papers said. Ramiez was arrested Wednesday and arraigned before district Judge Regina Armitage, who set bail at 10 percent of $750,000. Ramirez remained Friday morning in Bucks County jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled 9 a.m. Jan. 27 in Armitage's court. Police are looking for other clients who hired either Ramirez or her business. Those people should call 215-453-6000, police said. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A least one Laois cemetery is 'in no man's land', left to the local community to run it, with neither church nor council grant aid. Clonad cemetery should be taken in charge by Laois county Council, said Cllr Willie Aird, who described it as still a live cemetery. It's not closed yet. There must be some way we can get it listed. Its kept by local people. The cemetery in Portlaoise is owned by Laois County Council, its so much easier for a local authority to run, they have powers to get extra land, with the growing population, he said. Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald seconded his motion. The people in Clonad feel they are not being treated equally. All around them are cemeteries run by the council or by the church who can get grants. Most should be taken in charge by the council, thats my feeling, then they will qualify for grant schemes, she said. Laois County Council agreed to consider how to take cemeteries in charge, as it does with housing estates. The Chief Executive John Mulholland admitted it was a new one to him. I dont think I have come across a case where a local authority took over from a church. We will have to look at the powers to take in charge a cemetery. Its a very unique situation, I will pursue it and report back, Mr Mulholland said at the November council meeting. Director of services Donal Brennan said that some Laois cemeteries are traditionally the councils responsibility with others run by churches or church bodies. In the next budget we can look at it. We cant do something just for one, they should all be treated equally. We can discuss a policy at the environment SPC, he said. Councillors then named more cemeteries in their own areas which they said also need council support. Cllr Seamus McDonald spoke up for Clonaghadoo which needs land but cannot get council help to buy it. Cllr Padraig Fleming noted that in Ballylinan the cemetery is half owned by the church, with the newer half owned by the council, so that small grants can be gained. Similarly at Church of the Holy Rosary, Abbeyleix, but grants there were cut off reported Cllr John Joe Fennelly, who suggested the whole county needs to be looked at. Cllr Jerry Lodge wants a special committee set up. There must be a whoe series of cemeteries looked after by committees, I would input from everybody, to ascertain if they are in no mans land, he said. Cllr Noel Touhy praised the hard work of St Peter & Pauls cemetery committee in his area of Portlaoise. Managment at Laois County Council have defended themselves against criticism from councillors over their response to the housing crisis. With 1300 names still waiting for homes on the housing list, several councillors queried why the councils housing committee has not had a meeting since last June, and when a promised housing action plan for Laois will be published. The CEO John Mulholland said he was disappointed. Im disappointed that you think there is no action on housing. We need to know the views from the construction sector, that takes a bit of work. There are various factors at play, its not just a strategic issue, its a burning issue. This council will deliver a comprehensive programme of new housing, he said, adding we are still subject to a limit of 31.1m set in 2015. Director of Services for Housing Gerry Murphy also defended his record. Its very disappointing to hear these comments, its the first time Ive heard them from yourselves, he said. He listed work done, with 35 apartments going to tenants before Christmas, another 20 in Kilnacourt under consultation, planning underway for homes in Mountmellick, Mountrath, Rathdowney, Ballyroan and Portarlington, and 35 houses bought and 23 more on the cards this year. I apologise for the SPC meetings, but it doesnt mean we havent been working tirelessly, Mr Murphy said. Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley led concerns. I dont see any action plan. Every week people are coming to us homeless, its a new type of homeless, they are not on the street, they are in B&Bs. We need an update from the housing SPC every month but they havent met since summer. I dont see housing being prioritised, she said. She is concerned that new legislation going through the Dail will move planning responsibility from councils to An Bord Pleanala, for big housing estates over 100 houses. If we cant provide housing for our community, it diminishes our role, she said. Cllr Mary Sweeney agreed. This is a huge issue. This is a retrograde step. Housing was one of our main functions, it is regrettable we dont have the same input, never was it more needed, she said. Cllr Paschal McEvoy is chairman of the SPC for housing, and blamed a shortage of council staff on not having the meetings. Im not trying to pass the book, I did look to have the meetings rescheduled, I agree with Caroline, he said. Unless we revert back to the building of the 60s and 70s, were not going to solve the housing crisis out there. Wed agreed to meet monthly, the buck stops with Gerry, I support Caroline, someone has to be accountable, said Cllr Willie Aird Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is totally opposed to the new legislation to hand planning approval to An Bord Pleanala for large housing estates. This wont fasttrack housing, it will actually delay it. If people have any issues theyll have no other choice than to go to court, its absolutely crazy, ignoring the local authority and ignoring public reps. I propose we write and object, she said. She was seconded by Cllr Dwane, who said there is silence on whether a site notice is even required for large estates. Photo: Sod turning for Conniberry Way, Old Knockmay Road, Portlaoise where work began in October 2016 on new houses. Picture: Alf Harvey/HRPhoto.ie A Portlaoise man who almost struck a garda patrol car and then drove off at speed on the wrong side of the road was told he was lucky he didnt kill himself or others, when he appeared before last weeks sitting of Portlaoise District Cout. David Condon (26), 32 Mountain View, Portlaoise was charged with unlawful taking of a vehicle and two counts of dangerous driving at Shannon Road, Mountrath on June 27 last. Inspector Eamonn Curley said when gardai were on patrol on the night of the offence a car came around a corner on the wrong side of the road and almost collided with the garda car. The car failed to stop and then drove off at speed. It drove at excessive speed and continued on the wrong side of the road, Inspector Curley said. The gardai on duty recognised the defendant and knew he was disqualified from driving at the time. Defence solicitor Anne Manning said the defendant hadnt taken the car but accepts that he did know it was stolen. The other person who took the car wasnt able to drive and he took over, she explained. He accepts his driving was absolutely crazy and he is lucky he didnt kill himself or someone else, Ms Manning said. The defendant had undergone courses to deal with drug addiction and is now on methadone, which he is slowly reducing. The last time he came off methadone he did it too quickly and went on a crazy streak, Ms Manning said. He is very lucky he didnt kill someone, she said. The court heard the defendant has 21 previous convictions for road traffic offences, including 5 for dangerous driving. He was previously disqualified from driving for six years. I would like to see him get treatment, Judge Catherine Staines said. He really could have killed somebody. He could be facing a manslaughter charge, she said. Judge Staines added that he should reflect on how serious it was. She imposed jail sentences of 16 months on the defendant, along with a driving disqualification of 10 years. New measures to control rents must be extended to Laois and other parts of the Dublin Commuter belt according to Laois TD Brian Stanley. In the same week as the St Vincent De Paul said high rent is driving demand in Portlaoise, the Sinn Fein TD said more should have been done to limit rents beyond in Cork, Dublin and a few other locations. This government has spectacularly failing yet again to do anything about spiralling rents in commuter belt counties such as Laois and South Kildare. Yet another opportunity has been missed to ease the burden on low paid workers and families who have had to endure sky rocketing rents over the past two years. "Rents have increased by 13.6% on average over the past year in Laois and 13.4% in Kildare due to the fact that the two counties are in the commuter belt. I have had people come to me in the past few months who had their rents increased by as much as 40%. Yet the Government sit on their hands and hope that the market will rectify this," Dep Stanley told the Dail. The TD said one fact that is not not been faced is that rent in all parts of the state are way above the threshold allowed by the Department of Social Protection for rent supplement. "This means that tenants have to put down false figures on their application forms when applying for rents support. It also means that the poorest of household have to pay the huge differential between what the receive in rent supplement and what the actual rent is. "So the net effect is that the taxpayer and the tenant are ripped off and what does the government do, bury its head in the sand and pretend rents are not really that high. The Sinn Fein TD said soaring rent is directly causing people to loose their homes and is adding to the growing number of homeless individuals and families. "If you dont tackle the source of the problem, then any plan is doomed to failure," he said. Recent surveys for Laois have shown rapidly rising rents in the big towns of Laois such as Portlaoise, Portarlington and Mountmellick. However, the reality of rents is will above the average published figures and there is also a big shortage of rental housing in Laois. THE county Kildare town of Clane has experienced the largest rent increases in the State for semidetached houses over the last four years, a Leinster Leader analysis of Rental Tenancies Board figures modified on December 1, indicates. The town, which lies about 37km from OConnell Street in Dublin city centre, in the Maynooth Municipal District, saw average semi detached house rents rise 37% between the third quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of this year. The rent in the town is not the largest in the county -that prize belongs to Maynooth, where rents rose 25.1% to 1,238 over four years - but Clane saw an increase to 1,107 from 807. The average four year increase for the State as a whole was around 17% to 973. The figures suggest that much of Kildare, and beyond, lies in a high pressure rent zone, where rents are both high and rising quickly, with Leixlip seeing a 27% rise to 1,200. They suggest Kildare and Meath should be included in a high pressure rent zone in Minister, Simon Coveneys housing bill. There was a rent decrease in only five of 234 locations, including Ranelagh in Dublin 6, where they dropped 0.2% to 1,567. The county of Meath experienced a 30.7% rise over the same period with towns like, Enfield and Dunboyne (up 28.8%), close to the county Kildare border also under pressure. In a survey of over 234 town locations and county figures, three other county Kildare areas are in the top twenty, when it came to rises over the four years. The Naas average was up 29.2% to 1,082 and the Kilcock figure up 29% to 1,092. Celbridge rents rose 28% to 1,158. Sallins was up 27% to 1,091. The lowest increase was in Kilcullen, up 18.5% to 886. Athy, in the south of the county, experienced a 23.7% rise to 709. The highest rent in the country in Q3 2016 was in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, where rents averaged 2,187, up 14.9% on Q3 2012. It would appear, though many outlying areas are catching up. The largest % increase in the last year from Q3 2015 to Q3 2016 was in Ballymahon, Longford, which lies an hour and three quarters drive from OConnell Street. It saw a 23.8% rise to 532. Clane experienced a 12.7% annual increase, the nineteen highest on that list. KILDARE North Fine Gael TD, Bernard Durkan, said that sending out 1,250 Christmas cards using Oireachtas paid for material and postage is not excessive. Responding to a report in the Irish Independent that he had sent out the cards, the Maynooth based Dail deputy said: I have done it every Christmas. It would not be a good idea to stop, now. It is not excessive. Deputy Durkan said December 16 that the cards are sent to friends and members of the constituency organisation. He said that in the scheme of things the cost of it was not of major significance and that items were paid for even if they were not sent out. The Mayo native said there is now a lot of mail sent out because of the very heavy constituency workload, particularly since the housing crisis began. In some weeks a thousand items would go out, he said. He added there is now also a very heavy load of electronic mail. Following the IFA livestock meeting in Tullamore, Co Offaly yesterday, entitled Beef Challenges 2017, IFA President, Joe Healy said based on market returns and the recent positive changes to the sterling exchange rate, the meat factories have major scope to increase beef prices. He said the change in sterling from 89p back to 84p in recent weeks is worth an additional 25c/kg in returns and all of this must be passed back to winter finishers. Mr Healy pointed out factories were quick to inflict price cuts when sterling weakened following the Brexit vote last summer. The IFA President told the large crowd at the meeting that there is a real income crisis on livestock farms with average incomes at only 12,500 to 16,000. He said cattle prices below the cost of production cant work. Teagasc has made it clear, over and over again, farmers need beef prices of 4.00 to 4.50/kg. For winter finishers, Teagasc has put the breakeven price alone at 4.36/kg for fattening Continental cross cattle this winter," he pointed out. The IFA President also called for a stronger Government response to Brexit to assist exposed sectors like beef. He said the Brexit and exchange rate impact on beef prices have been severe and farmers have been forced to carry the can through loss making prices all autumn. He said: Brexit and the beef price fall is a market disturbance. The Government has to take this to Brussels and demand a positive response. This is what happened when Russia closed its borders and Brexit is a lot more serious for Ireland and our beef sector. At the meeting, the IFA President also called on Minister Andrew Doyle and his colleague Minister Creed to put a lot more resources and effort into assisting the live export trade. Noting increased cattle numbers forecast for 2017, Mr Healy argued farmers needed additional outlets and more competition. IFA, he said, had worked hard to get the live trade to Turkey going and this has been a life saver for the weanling trade this Autumn. In addition the recent shipment to Libya is also very positive. Mr Healy said it is the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture to ensure Irish farmers and exporters have unrestricted market access for the live cattle to all EU markets including Northern Ireland, Britain and continental Europe. IFA National Livestock Chairperson, Angus Woods also addressed the meeting pointing out that IFA "has consistently raised farmer concerns about the lack of monitoring on carcase trim in the meat plants". The IFA Chairperson went on to say: We are demanding that the Department of Agriculture appoints AOs in each meat plant to be responsible for ensuring that farmers are getting a fair and accurate carcase trim. He called on the Minister and the Department to fulfil their responsibilities and commitment on this issue. He also called for action on the 30 month age limit. We have full traceability, we have quality assurance audits and we even have carbon foot-printing on all our beef. This involves major work and costs for farmers. We are meeting every consumer requirement asked of us. In total contrast, the European Commission is pushing to import more and more beef from North and South America, as part of TTIP and Mercosur, which meet none of these standards, " continued Mr Woods. He told Minister Doyle that Ireland must strongly reject any more beef imports and make this a red line issue in any trade deal with Mercosur or TTIP. Mr Woods also stressed the need for strong direct payments to livestock farmers. He said the flattening of payments in the Ciolos CAP Reform is proving to be a real income challenge on many livestock farms. To maintain a strong suckler cow herd, IFA is very clear that we need increased direct supports of 200 per cow, which would put us on a par with the French. He said coupled supports for vulnerable sectors such as sucklers and sheep are going to play a greater role in the CAP in the future. He called on the Minister to reassess the policy of the Department of Agriculture in this area, adding that with Commissioner Hogan in Brussels, Ireland needs to lead the way on this at European level," concluded Mr Woods. Sinn Fein TD for Sligo, Leitrim, West Cavan and South Donegal Martin Kenny asked the Tanaiste in the Dail today if the government had a plan for those homeless families living in hotels which will close over Christmas. Deputy Kenny said: I am concerned that many homeless people, including hundreds of families, are in hotels up and down the length and breadth of the country. In Dublin city and every provincial town in the country, there are families in hotel rooms. Many of these hotels will close for Christmas in the next week. Has the Government or Department done any assessment on what will happen, how many people are in this situation or how they can be dealt with? In effect, the State is providing this housing for them and it will be taken away. Is there any plan in place to ensure these people will be housed over Christmas? The Tanaiste, Frances Fitzgerald TD, told him that the responsibility lies with local authorities and that it was the governments goal that no one would be in hotels. Afterwards, Deputy Kenny said: It was frightening to hear the Tanaiste today. Clearly, there is no plan for people who might find themselves out of hotels which close for Christmas. Once again, the government will be relying on the voluntary sector to pick up the slack where it has failed to provide for its citizens. Over 330 people on a boil water notice since August 2015 have been given the welcome news that the notice has been officially removed for the Kiltyclogher Public Water Supply Scheme. Irish Water and Leitrim County Council confirmed that the boil water notice has been lifted "with immediate effect". A boil water notice was put in place in August 2015 as it was felt that the source was vulnerable to contamination, particularly during dry spells. Irish Water subsequently appointed a contractor, Ward and Burke Construction Ltd, to construct a new interconnecting rising mains and new pumping station to extend the North Leitrim Regional Water Supply Scheme to supply the Kiltyclogher Public Water Supply. These works have now been completed and fully treated and compliant water is being supplied to the 333 people on the Kiltyclogher scheme. The works also included the construction of a new 4.5km distribution main from Coolodonnell reservoir to supply the village of Rossinver. In a statement issued to the Leitrim Observer this week, Irish Water and Leitrim County Council thanked the general public for "their patience, cooperation and assistance during the period of the boil water notice". The statement went on to say they greatly regretted "any inconvenience caused to householders, the farming and the business communities" as a result. This week Sadiq Khan revealed that three redundant water cannon, bought controversially by his predecessor, are to be put up for sale, with the proceeds going towards helping to tackle gang crime. It is a decision I totally endorse and welcome. Back in 2014 Boris Johnson decided to purchase three second hand water cannon from Germany. We now discover that 322,834 of taxpayers money has been spent by the Met Police on purchasing these 25 year old vehicles, and then transporting, fitting out and repairing the machines. The scale of the foolishness, and quite frankly arrogance, in purchasing these water cannon is hard to underestimate. For a start these water cannon were purchased before authorisation was given for their use by the Home Secretary. After they had been purchased consideration of permitting authorisation of their use was undertaken by the then Home Secretary. It was firmly refused. On this issue Theresa May showed immense thoroughness in carefully examining the merits for and against the adoption of water cannon. Her statement to the House of Commons on the 15th July 2015 is an example of a Home Secretary acting in a truly professional way. The Hansard record is well worth a read. But rushing ahead and purchasing water cannon before getting Home Office approval was not the only error made by Boris Johnson. At City Hall the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee carefully examined the issue. Our investigation involved extensive evidence being taken. Our cross party report was very clear that there were strong arguments against adopting water cannon. When we examined the issue it was obvious that there were very serious risks of injury to innocent people from the use of water cannon. Indeed there is extensive international evidence to confirm this, as can be seen from the US to South Korea. Not to mention Germany, the very country Boris Johnson purchased the second hand water cannon from. However, there were many other arguments against their adoption. There are, for example, real limitations on how they can be used, especially in many parts of London. In giving evidence to the London Assembly, Sir Hugh Orde (then President of the Association of Chief Police Officers and someone with experience of water cannon in Northern Ireland) stated: They are a complicated bit of equipment. They are big. They weigh tonnes. They do not move quickly and in fact, when they do move, they take a lot of stopping, rather like a fire engine. They weigh a lot, so it is not something that can whizz around any city. They would not whizz around London. We were told that they would not have been suitable for use in the disorder in Tottenham in 2011. We even heard of occasions when their adoption might be counter productive in dealing with public disorder situations. On the London Assembly it was not just Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green Assembly Members who urged the Mayor not to proceed with purchasing water cannon, but a number of colleagues from his own political party. When the issue was put to a vote of the whole London Assembly in a motion I proposed, the vote was 20 Assembly Members against adoption of water cannon, with just five backing Boris Johnson. A number of Conservative AMs voted in favour of my motion. These included Kit Malthouse (now Conservative MP for North West Hampshire) and James Cleverly, (now Conservative MP for Braintree). So Boris Johnson thought he could pre-empt the Home Office in dictating policy on the use of water cannon in England and Wales. He also thought he had no need to listen to the views of the London Assembly, including members of his own party. He even admitted that he hadnt bothered to read the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee report on the issue. As on many other occasions, Boris Johnson attempted to make fun of the whole situation. Appearing on LBC and then before the London Assembly he even promised to be blasted by a water cannon to demonstrate their supposed safety. A promise, of course, he never kept. As a London Assembly Member for eight years I have witnessed many similar incidents of Boris Johnson deflecting examination of a serious issue with a mixture of humour and ridicule of his opponents. Humour certainly has an important role in politics as in life, but now that some of the huge errors and blunders made by Boris Johnson are becoming clearer by the day it is time to realise what a grave error so many media commentators have made by not taking him seriously, or scrutinising his decisions. Kevin Spacey in the film The Usual Suspects uttered the line The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didnt exist. I am tempted to say that in UK politics the greatest trick Boris Johnson ever pulled was to convince so many people that consequences from his actions dont exist. * Caroline Pidgeon is a Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Deputy Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee This question has been raised by various contributors here lately, since the Referendum result revealed the depth of anti-EU feeling in the country. Some have wanted changes so radical that, if carried out, the EU would scarcely be recognisable afterwards. However, I realised that even those promoting more modest reforms had very varied ideas, which did not neatly split Leavers and Remainers either. Broadly, opinions seemed divided as to whether competency or constitutional reform was the main issue to be tackled. Competency arguments have focused on the EUs painful attempts to deal with the vast influx of migrants and refugees of the last two or three years. As the Dublin Accord was quietly set aside and eastern EU states in the Schengen area set up physical barriers at their borders, it seemed doubtful that the EUs basic rule of freedom of movement within its borders could be sustained. While states argued about migrant quotas, contributors looked on with scepticism mingled with dismay, What were the rules now, what sort of people could be free to move? Maybe the EU should allow free movement to workers rather than people in general? All this needs rethinking. Constitutional reform questions have centred rather on the democratic deficit of EU government: basically, that legislative powers appear to belong to the Council of Ministers, executive powers to the non-elected Commission, and not much power at all to the Parliament. Moreover, the whole institution and its courts appear remote to ordinary people, and repulsive as a trans-national body with sovereign powers over us. That is a formidable charge for Lib Dem would-be reformers to confront, but valiant attempts have been made. Could the Parliament be allowed to propose laws, instead of just amending them? What if the Parliament elected the President and the President appointed the Commissioners, currently appointed by Heads of State? Should we give MEPs more status at home? Perhaps, though, such reforms would not make much difference, considering the entrenched and emotional views now held by so many British people. The EU is a spent force. The EU is in an existential crisis. Its high time we were out. Even, The British psyche is different from the European suggested on this site. Yet, to this observer, there are still great strengths in this institution. Greece, subject to harsh economic conditions, still wants to be in the EU. The Visegrad countries of Hungary and Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia may have batted against German leadership this year but they also want to remain and not just to be able to send workers west. The right-wing nationalists gain seats in parliaments but do not succeed in running their countries. And now we have the YouGov mega survey, showing that no EU country is satisfied with the present balance of power between the EU and its member states. Most want a less close union, and though Britain is at the head of that queue, not far behind are Holland and Denmark, Finland, Sweden and France. Eight nations want EU powers returned to them, and of the others, Romania alone wants closer union. In this general dissatisfaction, Britain is no longer isolated. Here is a great opportunity for Lib Dems to work with fellow EU Liberals on a better plan for our future EU. By fostering an EU less centrally controlled, a looser co-operative of nations working fruitfully together, they may persuade many more citizens that belonging is an acceptable and worthwhile part of their identity. That is surely worth our committed efforts. * Katharine Pindar is a long-standing member of the Lib Dems and an activist in the West Cumbrian constituency of Copeland and Workington. In the same week that the world marked Human Rights Day, the European Commission announced plans to resume the so-called Dublin transfers of refugees back to Greece. If this recommendation is adopted at this weeks meeting of European leaders in Brussels (commencing in February of next year) EU member countries will start returning refugees who arrive on their territory back to the country of their first entry into the European Union, wherever that may be. Dublin transfers to Greece from other Member States have been suspended since 2011 following two judgements of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which identified systemic deficiencies in the Greek asylum system. I have seen with my own eyes the desperation of the situation in Greece and it is far from pleasant. For the last year I have been been volunteering on the Aegean Island of Samos in Greece, I can confirm that to reinstate the Dublin transfers could result in a catastrophic degeneration in conditions which are already unsanitary, unsafe and badly over crowded. Grassroots organisations and volunteers on the ground in Greece are very concerned about these findings for a number of reasons outlined below. Despite the ECs claims that significant improvements have been made in the reception of Refugees in Greece, in fact many sites in Greece remain badly overcrowded and unsanitary, with inadequate , shelter, food or medical provision, not to mention provision for minors and vulnerable groups and child safe spaces and psycho social activities. As the UN high commissioner Filippo Grandi highlighted in August, all of the EU member states need to do more to Help Greece help to manage the impact of the refugee crisis The challenges ( in Greece) are very serious, and we need to continue to address them together, Grandi said. Especially the living conditions, security in the refugee sites, and terrible overcrowding on the islands. These are all issues for which we continue to be at the disposal of the Greek government. He also stressed the need for EU member states to speed up legal options such as family reunification and relocation through the EUs official relocation programme. The report stated that with Dublin transfers suspended, there is an incentive for asylum seekers who arrive irregularly in Greece to seek to move irregularly on to other Member States (known as secondary movements), in the knowledge they will not be sent back to Greece. However it is completely unfair that only one mechanism of the Dublin ruling which is being applied, when no moves are being made to force the schengen states to make good on their commitments to receive a quota of refugees. So far only 3,054 refugees have been relocated from Greece to other EU member states, while another 3,606 are scheduled to depart in the coming months. Still, support lags as member states have pledged only 8,003 spaces out of 66,400 committed. If the transfers are restarted Greece will once again be bearing the burden for the refugee crisis completely unsupported by other responsible Schengen states. This pull factor ascertain is very tiring. I feel it would be far more pertinent to prioritise processing peoples asylum claims more quickly and efficiently rather than wasting time and money on sending people back to Greece, only to be processed again. It is my firm held belief that if they do this refugees and asylum seekers wont be forced to move irregularly.It is the terrible, unsanitary and inhumane conditions in Greece & the lack of income supplement, social welfare, inadequate medical care and the glacial asylum processing system is what propels people to move illegally rather than waiting it out. I feel that authorities must work instead to speed up the relocation and family reunification transfers & to improve living conditions in Greece. As I write this the blood is flowing in Aleppo and we all watch aghast, feeling completely powerless to do anything to help. However we are not entirely powerless: we have the ability to petition our Government to step up and take responsibility for some of the displaced people who are affected by conflict, oppression and atrocities just like those that are unfolding in Aleppo this week. We cannot remain blinkered to this situation any longer, we have a collective and humane responsibility to help and protect our fellow humans. We have the ability to be better than this and to take responsibility at least for the relatively small number of refugees who have family here in the UK. On 21 April 2016 the Government announced that it will work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resettle children and adults from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The new scheme is the largest resettlement effort aimed specifically at children at risk from the MENA region. In addition to this pledge there is their pre-existing commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS). However so far despite worsening conditions in Greece and well documented atrocities in Syria, so far only 1000 have been settled here. I hope that by highlighting the disparity between the recommendations of the European Commission & the appalling conditions on the ground in Greece, as witnessed by volunteers and experienced by refugees stranded in Greece, you will feel moved to take action and try to lobby the European Parliament to make the right decision , rather than voting to increase the burden on Greece and in doing so increase the misery of the thousands of refugees stuck there. The Independent View is a slot on Lib Dem Voice which allows those from beyond the party to contribute to debates we believe are of interest to LDVs readers. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in contributing. * Pru Waldorf is a volunteer with Calais Action Every day, we learn something else which proves that the Remain campaign was right all along. The Leavers brushed off any concerns as scaremongering but, in fact, the hit our economy will take if Brexit goes ahead is huge. We see from the Autumn Statement that well be about 200 billion worse off by 2021. This week, a report highlighted that inward investment from US companies will drop like a stone. From the Independent: Nearly 40 per cent of US businesses with a base in the UK say they are considering moving elsewhere in the EU because of Brexit, according to a report, warning that the vote to leave could also hit trade relations between Britain and America. The survey by international law firm Gowling WLG also found that two-thirds of the 533 US firms polled said the UKs vote to the leave the EU was already impacting investments choices in the country. Its not just the economic uncertainty. Elections in France and Germany could dramatically change the outcome of our negotiations with the EU and it would be prudent to wait until they are over before invoking Article 50. There really is no rush. After all, Governments dont enact everything in their manifestos in their first year in power. That would be impossible. All we have in terms of a Brexit from the Government, six months on, is that Brexit is both brexit and red, white and blue. You get clearer vision if you go out in the fog wearing sunglasses. Despite all of this, Theresa May is determined to invoke Article 50 by 31st March regardless. This has more to do with keeping her own brexiteers quiet than what is safe and responsible for the country. She wants to get in there before the actual consequences start to hit and people get nervous and change their minds. If you are running along and realise you are coming to the edge of a cliff, what do you do? Do you keep going and face the inevitable consequences, regardless? Thats not the most sensible thing. Surely you would pause, look about, find some safety equipment at the very least, or re-evaluate your route and see if there was another way of doing all this. I dont think that most people voted Leave because they wanted to be made poorer. In fact, we know that half of them arent prepared for it to cost them even one penny. Perhaps we should be calling for the invocation of Article 50 to be delayed not for the 48%, but for everybody. Labour wont do it because they are running scared of UKIP and dont have the vision or the principles to counteract that deceptively seductive right wing populism. Someone has to be the responsible adult here and that someone, to date, has been the Liberal Democrats. Weve called it right, but I wonder if we should be talking more about delaying Article 50 until there is a plan for dealing with the social, economic and political consequences at the very least. In the same way as you would pause at the top of the cliff and put on your safety ropes, we should not jump off the EU cliff while the way ahead is so clearly dangerous and damaging. We have led the way sensibly on this issue. Nick Cleggs Brexit Challenge papers lay out the complex issues in an authoritative and credible manner. Perhaps we need to do more to show people that there is an alternative to Brexit and map out the route to get there. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings LIMERICK band Hermitage Green will play their 'biggest gig to date' at King John's Castle next year, it has been announced. The Limerick band will play the Castle on the Sunday of the May Bank Holiday weekend - April 30. Tickets go on sale this Monday. Barry Murphy of Hermitage Green told the Limerick Leader that the band had "always dreamed" of playing King John's Castle, gigs in which kicked off again this year after The Frames played the venue in 2004. "We are delighted. We have always dreamed of doing it, looking at other bands doing it recently and we have found with the big ones, just book them and make an event of it," said Barry. "Starting off in the Curragower Bar, looking across at it when we started out, it is funny that in a few years you get to play somewhere like that, in front of those kind of people and it is such a brilliant weekend in Limerick." The band played the same date this year in the Big Top at the Milk Market - a sold out gig, as are two upcoming gigs in Dolan's Warehouse - who book the Castle as a music venue. "We cant wait for the Dolan's gigs. All the focus after that then is on putting on a big show in King Johns. We have a lot of travelling between now and then - UK, the US, Canada. "We have had such a ball playing the Big Top those weekends in the last couple of years and selling those out that it made sense to go on to the Castle," said Barry. "And it is our biggest gig to date ever, so we are absolutely delighted about it. It will be our only gig in Limerick probably in 2017 the way we are looking at it, we are going to gig less this year and focus on our second album. So we are very excited." Hermitage Green released their debut studio album Save Your Soul on Sony Ireland this year, playing a host of high profile gigs, including on the main stage at Electric Picnic and a sold out gig in the Olympia in Dublin. But one of their favourite was earlier this week - at Milford National School in Castletroy. A video of the five piece playing an acoustic set for the 600 primary school kids has been viewed upwards of 40,000 times. "They have started a choir in the school and decided to choose Quicksand as their theme song for the panto," explained Barry. "My niece is in the school and she told us about it, so I thought it would be a cool thing to go down and maybe play the song for the class or the choir. And then they asked us to go into the gym and play for everyone - we are writing at the moment in Eastway and it is just down the road, so it meant nothing to us to take an hour to go over. "But we werent expecting them to know every word to every song - which was pretty class. "They had a stage set up and all for the 600 students, so we blew the heads off them for the first half an hour and then we went down and did an acoustic folk song called the Kerosene Light in the middle of them. We walked down into the middle of them and got them to sing along - it was class, brilliant. Such legends the lot of them - clapping and singing," he laughed. THE Green Party in Limerick says plans for the pedestrianisation of OConnell Street are not ambitious enough. Limerick City and County Council put on display plans for the transformation of the citys main thoroughfare, with the project to cost in the region of 10m. It is anticipated cars will be banned from the main thoroughfare between the junction with Roches Street down to the junction with William Street. The overall project will start from the Denmark Street junction But the Green Partys general election candidate James Gaffney is disappointed the local authority did not take into account his partys submission for a linear park running alongside OConnell Street between the junction with Mallow Street and William Street. He said the park would highlight the proud history of Limerick as well as underscore the bright future for the city. Consideration could be given to naming the park after one of our great sporting heroes such as Anthony Foley, Pat Hartigan, Paul OConnell or Andy Lee, he said. To tackle the parking issues which may arise, Mr Gaffney said Roches Street, Cecil Street and Glentworth Street could be reduced to one-way systems to allow diagonal parking. The existing restaurants and cafes along the street would be given the option of providing significant outdoor seating for their customers to attract people to spend time in the city centre in an environment where they can relax, enjoy a meal without sitting on a street with traffic passing, he said. This proposal is a vision for a city where people will come and spend time in the city centre in preference to the out of town retail outlets which have devastated the city centre. We in the Limerick Green Party are committed to making the city centre in an ever more vibrant and pleasant place where people will want to live, work and spend their free time. This plan is very much a cornerstone of that vision for Limerick, Mr Gaffney concluded. LIMERICK City and County Council has been accused of having blinkers on with regard to the risks which have been created by the influx of Travellers to Rathkeale for Christmas. Cllr Stephen Keary is calling for immediate action as he believes the situation on the ground is a disaster waiting to happen. The population of the town has more than doubled in recent weeks as hundreds of people have returned home for the Christmas period. Cllr Keary says the annual influx has created significant health and safety concerns. There are serious issues with illegal parking in the town, gas bottles and (electrical) cables and generators leading to caravans, he said during a meeting of the Home and Social Development SPC at County Hall on Monday. After being informed by a council official that the concerns raised were an enforcement issue Cllr Keary accused the local authority of totally ignoring the potential catastrophe. Last month, Inspector Alan Cullen confirmed that additional garda resources will be deployed in Rathkeale over Christmas. Insp Cullen told councillors at a special meeting of the Adare/Rathkeale municipal district there would be a particular focus on public order offences and illegal parking. The plan for this year and Christmas moving forward is that were going to drop in additional resources from outside for appropriate policing in Rathkeale, he said. Speaking this week, Cllr Keary said he does not want a repeat of the tragedy at a halting site in Carrickmines last year in which ten people died. The answer I have been given (by the council) is that its a private site, Limerick County Council or any other local authority doesnt have any jurisdiction over it but they do you are only allowed to park one caravan in any site and occupy it with permission, he told the Limerick Leader. All anyone has to do is drive through Rathkeale any morning and they will see there are caravans literally parked on top of each other with with no public amenities, no sanitary facilities and no proper mains supply of electricity so it is an extremely hazardous situation and it is a disaster waiting to happen, he added. The Fine Gael councillor says while it may be too late to take action this year, efforts should be made to ensure there is no repeat in 2017. To some degree its an annual event over two months which leads to overcrowding, we do not want a repeat of anything like the events that took place in Carrickmines last year. It would appear it is too late to put the necessary curtailment on the parking of caravans this year. The owners of the sites need to be summonsed and brought to court. This is what has to be done, he said. THE manager of a luxury Limerick city hotel has denied claims that the hotel unfairly discriminated against a customer who uses a wheelchair. Ronan Branigan, manager at the Savoy Hotel, spoke to the Limerick Leader this Friday morning in the wake of a Facebook post that went viral that accused a staff member of asking the man to leave on the basis of his disability. The early signals are that we had a wheelchair guest in the lobby of the Savoy last night, and the wheelchair was quite large and cumbersome, said Mr Branigan. As far as we can understand at the moment, he was asked just to move across the front of the reception, out of the fire escape way which was being blocked, and unfortunately the communication was misunderstood or misconstrued and taken to be a request to leave the hotel, which it certainly wasnt, he added. The original posting by Jay Reddan about his friend Ronan has received more than 5,000 likes and almost 3,000 shares on Facebook. There have been over 1,500 comments under the post, with many calling the incident "disgusting" and "disgraceful". In it, Mr Reddan said that Ronan was forced to leave in the lashing rain, even though they served him food and he had a half a pint with two straws when I arrived. When I arrived at the Savoy I was immediately confronted by a doorman inside wearing a suit who said Ronan had to leave as he was in the way of the busy traffic of customers, I said to the doorman he should go say that to Ronan himself because I am not his minder or relative I am just his friend, the post read. The staff in the Savoy have been very good at accommodating Ronan anytime he arrived, mainly one fella in particular who was very sound altogether. But the excuse that he was in the way of people is absolutely unacceptable. He was nearly crying as he left and he went over to thank that sound fella for his help throughout the year when he arrived, however he ended the conversation saying he would not be back, continued the post. The manager said that Ronan was a regular guest here with us and always gets very well looked after by all of the staff. We are reaching out to Ronan to have a chat with him and explain the situation, added Mr Branigan. Were very sorry that the information was misconstrued in that way, but it was certainly not the intention. THE STATE spent over 5,500 on photography for the visit of US President Barack Obama to Ireland in May 2011, new figures reveal. Fianna Fail deputy Niall Collins queried in the Dail how much the Taoiseach's department has spent on photography costs for his department per annum since March 2011. The total cost of photographic services by the Taoiseach's department from March 9, 2011, to December 7, 2016, amounted to a total of 131,843. This was in addition to a further spend of 164,271 by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Between various Government departments, over 350,000 has been spent on photographic services in the past six years, prompting Deputy Collins to call for more "cost efficient" spending. The Limerick TD said that he had "a responsibility to query expenditure by a variety of Government departments, including the Department of An Taoiseach. Expenditure on photography or public relations services needs to be cost-efficient and kept to a minimum at all times. I do feel that the Department of An Taoiseach, and other departments, should be planning far in advance of events that require photography services, and should be able to secure discounts based on block bookings. From the parliamentary reply I received, I see no evidence of such forward planning, which is a shame. The vast majority of these events are planned well in advance, so the question needs to be asked why a special reduced block booking rate wasnt negotiated. It was, of course, right and proper for the State to capture the 100th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in pictures, but some of the individual costs do seem quite high, and I believe with proper negotiation the costs could have been reduced, he concluded. The visit of President Obama, covered by Maxwell Photography, was one of the most expensive photographic assignments in recent years, amounting to 4,537.50, with two follow-up smaller invoices, amounting to a total 5,537. The same photographic agency was also paid 2,359.50 to cover the funeral of former Taoiseach Dr Garret Fitzgerald in May 2011. The presidential inauguration of Michael D. Higgins on November 11, 2011, also cost the State 3,956.70 in terms of photography. The Taoiseach's visit to China in March 2012 cost 2,817.49, with a local company, QiLai, employed for that visit. The cost of photographic services for the State funeral of former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds in August 2014 cost 2,841. The Taoiseach's visit to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in January 2014 cost 2,695, while visits to New York for St Patrick's day also featured prominently in the full billing, costing 2,235.66 in 2013. Photos for the Who's Who guide on the Irish presidency website cost 3,168.51, and photography for the State reception at Dublin Castle this March cost 4,674. Even photos bought in Boots Chemist for the Taoiseach in July 2014 are documented for a sum of 2.10. The main photographic agencies used by the State in this five-year period have been Maxwell Photography, Lafayette Photography, The Press Association, MacInnes Photography, alongside numerous others who were used on a less frequent basis. Taoiseach Enda Kenny explained that there has been an increase in costs this year due to a requirement to have an official record of the ceremonies to mark the centenary of Easter 1916 and other historic Commemoration events. "Photography costs in my department have reduced significantly in recent years. The 2016 expenditure to date represents over 70% of a reduction when compared with expenditure of 83,398 in 2008," said Mr Kenny. He continued: "The use of local photographers on international trade missions is required to distribute images to the domestic media to accompany the coverage of domestic journalists who are travelling on behalf of their organisations. Utilising local agencies is cost efficient and costs are kept to a minimum." The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spent an additional 164,271 on photographic services in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. Figures for other years were not available within the time-frame for written answers sought in the Dail. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan said that his department only avails of the services of external photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular for major events and State occasions. "Events such as the visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in May 2016, the visits of US Vice President Joe Biden in June 2016 and US Secretary of State John Kerry in October 2016, resulted in positive overseas media coverage of Ireland," said Minister Flanagan. He said it was not possible in the time available to compile a breakdown of all the photography costs associated with the large number of events organized by Irelands network of 80 diplomatic missions abroad. Smaller sums were spent by a number of other departments, including 10,050 spent by the Department of Justice & Equality in the past six years, and nearly 4,500 by the Department of Education & Skills since 2011. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht spent 37,929 on photographic services in the past six years. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. Timbuktu is a city in Mali, in West Africa, that was founded 1,800 years ago. During Europes Middle Ages, it was home to a rich writing tradition that saw the creation of millions of manuscripts, hundreds of thousands of which survive to present day. 'From here to Timbuktu' In the West, the city has become synonymous with mysterious isolation, the farthest one can travel. However, for centuries this was a major trading hub and a center for scholarship. The city reached its height in the 16th century when it was controlled by the Songhay Empire. [I]t has been estimated that Timbuktu had perhaps as many as 25,000 students, amounting to a quarter of the citys population, write John Hunwick and Alida Jay Boye in the book "The Hidden Treasures of Timbuktu" (Thames and Hudson, 2008). An Islamic city, with three large mosques, the study of the Koran formed the bedrock of this learning tradition with its scholars composing, copying and importing works on many subjects including astronomy, mathematics, law, geography and what we would think of as history. Researchers in a BBC documentary even note the survival of a 500-year-old recipe for toothpaste. In late 2012 Timbuktu came under attack from extremist groups that had come to power in the north of Mali. Radical Islamist rebels in northern Mali have repeatedly attacked the fabled citys heritage, taking pickaxes to the tombs of local saints and smashing down a door in a 15th-century mosque, writes Geoffrey York, a reporter for Canadas Globe and Mail newspaper, in a recent article (opens in new tab) filed from Mali. He notes that in addition to the architectural destruction the citys libraries, full of manuscripts, are under threat. Some experts consider them as significant as the Dead Sea Scrolls and an implicit rebuke to the harsh narrow views of the Islamist radicals. Where is Timbuktu? Timbuktu is in the West African nation of Mali on the southern edge of the Sahara. The city is situated 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of the Niger River. In 2009, it had a population of about 54,000. Historical records indicate that the city was founded at least as early as A.D. 1100 with archaeological work, carried out before extremists took over, suggesting that Timbuktu may have even earlier origins. Evidence from the excavations suggest that permanent large-scale urban settlements at Timbuktu may have developed as early as A.D. 200, with initial occupation dating back to the Late Stone Age, writes Douglas Park, an archaeologist with Yale University who conducted work in Timbuktu in 2008, in the Newsletter of the West African Research Association and the West African Research Center. He notes that this early city had strong ties with proto-Berber tribes from the eastern Sahara. There are also pieces of evidence that shows that Timbuktu became part of the trans-Saharan trade by A.D. 600, as evidenced by North African-style glass beads and copper found in burials in Timbuktu. As Timbuktu entered the historic period this trade picked up with gold, coming from the south, passing through the city in preparation for its transport north across the Sahara to North Africa. The most important item exchanged for the gold was rock salt, write Hunwick and Boye, who note that the 14th-century Arabic historian al-Umari claimed that people in West Africa will exchange a cup of salt for a cup of gold dust, an exaggeration, probably, but the type of story that lured later European explorers. Djinguere Ber (Great Mosque) in Timbuktu was originally constructed in the 1300s and reconstructed in the 1500s. (Image credit: upyernoz Great mosques Three large mosques were constructed at Timbuktu and have become some of the most iconic monuments in the city. The sticks seen on the sides of the buildings serve not only an aesthetic purpose, but also as scaffolding for re-plastering the surface of the monuments. Researchers Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair write in the "Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture" (Oxford University Press, 2009) that around A.D. 1325, after the ruler of the Malian Empire (which at the time controlled Timbuktu) returned from a gold-laden pilgrimage to Mecca, construction of the Djinguere Ber (also known as the Great Mosque) was undertaken in the southwestern part of the city. The efforts were led by the poet and architect Abu Ishaq al-Saheli. It was then reconstructed in the 16th century and altered again in the 19th. Built of mud-brick and stone rubble, with the ends of beams projecting out of the fabric of the building, the mosque has squat, conical corner towers, a minaret c. 16 m [50 feet] high, a flat roof supported on arcades of mud piers and several vaulted limestone arches, Bloom and Blair write. Another mosque called Sankore was built in the northern part of the city and became a center for scholarship. [T]he interior walls of which conform to the exterior dimensions of the Kaba at Mecca write Bloom and Blair, the Kaba being a cube-shaped shrine that is the holiest place on Earth for Muslims. The area of the city where the Sankore mosque is located, known as the Sankore quarter, became associated with learning. The Sankore quarter attracted many scholars to live, study and teach, thus gaining a reputation for higher learning, write Hunwick and Boye. Another mosque known as Sidi Yahyia was built in the center of the city in the 15th century, write Bloom and Blair. It too was later restored and was reconstructed in stone by the French in the 20th century. Center of learning While gold was Timbuktus most frequent export, one of its most important imports was said to be books.In Timbuktu there are numerous judges, scholars and priests, all well paid by the king, who greatly honours learned men. Many manuscript books coming from Barbary are sold. Such sales are more profitable than any other goods, wrote Leo Africanus in the 16th century. (Translation by John Hunwick) Although mosques like Sankore were centers of learning, much of the day-to-day teaching activity occurred more informally in the homes of scholars, write Hunwick and Boye. The core of the Islamic teaching tradition is the receiving of a text, which is handed down through a chain of transmitters or silsila from the teacher to the student, preferably through the shortest and most prestigious set of intermediaries, they write. The student would listen to the teachers dictation, write their own copy and read it back, or listen to another student read it. When he had a correct copy he could then study the meaning of the text and its technical intricacies through lectures delivered by his teacher and at a higher level by question and answer. The scholars had their own private libraries to help them teach. Researcher Abdel Kader Haidara notes that the surviving manuscripts are in a poor state, having fallen victim to termites, moisture and other problems associated with the passage of time. While today hundreds of thousands survive, originally there would have been many more. If not for these things [damage] the estimated number of manuscripts in Timbuktu and its surrounding areas would have been in the millions, he writes in a chapter of the book "The meanings of Timbuktu" (HRSC Press, 2008). European exploration The decline of Timbuktu as a hub for scholars began in 1591 when the site was taken over by musket-wielding soldiers from Morocco. Although further great works would be produced, including two great chronicles of Timbuktus history finished in the 17th century, the city struggled to regain its former lustre. European explorers, lured by tales of gold, made great efforts to locate the city but it wasnt until 1828 that French explorer Rene Caillie visited Timbuktu and returned alive. Later in the 19th century, the French built a colonial empire in much of West Africa. They ruled Timbuktu until 1960, when Mali regained its independence. Before the recent takeover by extremist groups, local conservators, librarians and scholars were making progress in conserving and digitizing the citys manuscripts. These gains, and the manuscripts themselves, are now threatened. Im always asking myself thousands of questions about the manuscripts, Mohamed Diagayete, a local scholar, told the Globe and Mail. When we lose them, we have no other copy. Its forever. Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor Natural art (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) On the high western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, the forces of erosion have created one of nature's greatest works of sculptured rock. Known today as the Yosemite Valley, this most beautiful landscape of promontories, sheer walls, domes and waterfalls are found together, creating some of the most scenic views anywhere in North America. Origins of beauty (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) The genesis of the Yosemite Valley arose from the expansive molten material-magma buried deep within the Earth's surface. Crystallization and cooling of this deep magma occurred over millions of years, resulting in massive blocks of granite composed of interlocking crystals of five basic minerals biotite, hornblende, quartz, potassium feldspar and plagioclase. Unique formation (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) Because of how it was formed, the granite rock that makes up most of the Yosemite Valley is said to be plutonic rock. It is named for the Roman god of the underworld, Pluto. Much of this magma intruded into host rocks as it rose from the depths of the Earth and created individual bodies of rock, known as plutons. Due to erosion, many of these plutons are now visible today in the Yosemite Valley. The most famous of these plutons is the granite dome commonly called Half Dome. Old, but young (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) Half Dome is advertised to be the most recognizable and colossal rock monument within the Sierra Nevada mountains. It rises some 8,800 feet (2,682 meters) above sea level and the summit of Half Dome rises some 4,800 feet (1,462 m) above the surrounding Yosemite Valley floor. Half Dome is about 87 million years old, one of the youngest plutonic rocks in the area. Sculptures from violence (Image credit: NPS) The igneous granite that forms Half Dome was created during the Cretaceous Period. The magma source for its creation came from the Pacific tectonic plate as it was being forced downward by the North American plate. During this mountain-building episode some 10 million years ago that formed the modern Sierra Nevada range, many deep granite domes were brought near the surface where the forces of erosion have sculptured the features we see today. Weather's effects (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) The granite of Half Dome is composed of medium to coarse grains of well-formed plates of biotite and crystals of hornblende. This granite tends to disintegrate by what geologists refer to as sheet jointing. The action of freezing and thawing along these joints has resulted in the dome's contours seen today. The rounded crown of Half Dome is the result of whole sheets of rock peeling away in a weathering process called exfoliation. Remaining questions (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) Three sides of Half Dome are smooth and round while the remaining face is a 2,000-foot (610 m) sheer cliff. These features make this granite dome appear to have been cut in half. Geologist still question if there was ever once a matching half to Half Dome. Perhaps as it was formed deep within the Earth, events prevented the second half from ever forming. Or, as others suggest, the vertical joints within the massive granite dome may have broken loose and undercut Half Dome's base, resulting in ancient glaciers carrying away the second part of the rock dome and forming the nearby U-shaped valley. High traffic area (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) Half Dome, as well as majority of the Yosemite Valley, is overseen and protected within Yosemite National Park. This highly visited national park encompasses some 1,169 square miles (3,028 square kilometers) of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was first explored by Americans in 1855, when James Hutchings and artist Thomas Ayres visited the wilderness area. Their writings and drawings quickly resulted in the Yosemite Grant Bill, making this land the first parkland in America preserved specifically for public use by action of the United States Congress. The legislation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War on June 30, 1864. Diverse habitats (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher) The elevation of Yosemite National Park ranges from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m). The vast wilderness areas of the park encompass five major vegetation zones. More than 160 of the nearly 3,500 plant species found within the park have been designated as rare. Most famous of those rare species would be the three ancient giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum So much to do (Image credit: NPS) Recreational opportunities are abundant throughout the Yosemite Valley. Hiking, camping, mountain biking and the never-ending opportunities for spectacular photography bring nearly 4 million visitors to the national park each year. One very popular hike is to the top of Half Dome. In 1919, a cable route, shown here, was created along the eastern face to help hikers pull themselves up to the summit. This strenuous hike to the top and back can take upwards of 12 hours. Tribal tales (Image credit: NPS) The Yosemite Valley was once the land of the Ahwahneechee tribe. Tribal legend tells the story of a wife and her husband once fighting with each other near the giant granite domes. Because of their wicked fighting, both were turned into stone with the wife, Tissiak, becoming Half Dome. Even today, the tears of Tissiak stain the sheer granite face of Half Dome. Hairy sea creatures (Image credit: David Shale) UFO or deep-sea life? This hairy crab, genus Kiwa, was discovered at Longqi vent field, a hydrothermal vent area on the Southwest Indian Ridge. It's closely related to the "Hoff crab," a species nicknamed for actor David Hasselhoff and found at the East Scotia Ridge near Antarctica 3,728 miles (6,000 km) away. [Read full story on the deep-sea vent] Shy snails (Image credit: David Shale) A new species of gastropod snail of the genus Phymorhynchus found at Longqi vent field. The field was first photographed by an autonomous vehicle in 2007, but had never been explored by a remotely operated vehicle until November 2011, when researchers took samples of fauna from around the vents. They found 21 animals, including six never seen at other vents, like this snail. Odd worms (Image credit: David Shale) A new species of scaleworm of the genus Peinaleopolynoe found at the Longqi vent field. Segmented worms like this one have been found at other hydrothermal vents, but this particular iridescently tinged animal is new to science. The Longqi vent field is 1.7 miles (2.8 kilometers) below the ocean's surface about 1,243 miles (2,000 km) southeast of Madagascar. [Read full story on the deep-sea vent] Traveling worm (Image credit: David Shale) This marine worm, Hesiolyra bergi, was discovered at the Longqi vent field. Genetic sequencing revealed it to be the same as another worm discovered at vents on the East Pacific Rise, the mid-ocean ridge that runs north to south through the Pacific Ocean. The East Pacific Rise is 6,200 miles (10,000 kilometers) from Longqi, raising questions about the connectivity of life between far-flung ocean vents. Long barnacles (Image credit: David Shale) A stalked barnacle, genus Neolepas, collected by a remotely operated vehicle at Longqi vent field. This species was one of the most common at Longqi, researchers reported in the journal Scientific Reports on Dec. 15, 2016. Bosom buddies (Image credit: David Shale) The mussel Bathymodiolus marisindicus is another dominate species at the Longqi vent field, which is dotted with "black smokers" spewing dark-colored fluid at temperatures of at least 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300 degrees Celsius), as well as cooler vents spilling out clear fluids. This species of mussel has been seen at other vent fields along the Central Indian Ridge. Perched in the mussel is a pink scaleworm, genus Branchipolynoe. Friends? (Image credit: David Shale) The scaleworm Branchipolynoe is commensal to the mussel B. marisindicus. That means the scaleworm benefits from living inside the mussel's shell, a relationship that doesn't harm the mussel in any way. Here, the scaleworm perches inside the shell. Sea veggies (Image credit: David Shale) A sea cucumber, genus Chiridota, found at Longqi. Researchers aren't yet sure whether this sea cucumber is a new species or whether it is related to similar animals on the Central Indian Ridge. [Read full story on the deep-sea vent] Jabberwocky (Image credit: University of Southampton) "Jabberwocky," a black smoker vent in the Longqi vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge. This spire of minerals stands 19 feet (6 meters) above the ocean floor. It's a high-temperature black smoker vent which releases fluid rich in iron-sulfide. Strange but home (Image credit: University of Southampton) A close-up look at the walls of the black smoker chimney Jabberwocky, a 19-foot (6 meters) tall vent at Longqi vent field. Researchers discovered a new species of limpet living on the vent, alongside shrimp and the scaly-foot gastropod (Chrysomallon squamiferum). This species of snail, known from other hydrothermal vents, has a strange foot lined with iron-rich, overlapping scales. Underwater structures (Image credit: University of Southampton) The diffuse flow chimney "Knucker's Gaff," which releases clear fluid, cooler than what is released from black smoker vents. Knucker's Gaff was the slowest-flowing of the vents researchers explored at Longqi, the scientists wrote in the journal Scientific Reports. The fauna here was dominated by barnacles, visible clinging to the formation's sides. This chimney was taller than 49 feet (15 meters). This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. A former governor of Texas the state that produces more crude oil, natural gas, lignite coal, wind power and refined petroleum products than any other would seem to be a natural choice for secretary of energy. Yet, assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, Rick Perry will face a paradox. While the Department of Defense defends us, and the Department of Treasury manages federal finances and supervises banks, the Department of Energy does not provide America's energy. Yes, it markets hydroelectric power from dams run by the Army Corps of Engineers, but U.S. energy production is overwhelmingly a job for the private sector. The Energy Department is a hodgepodge of organizations, some of which existed decades before DOE was created in 1977. But it has two core missions: nuclear energy, weapons and cleanup, which account for 68 percent of the department's fiscal year 2016 budget; and research and development (including basic science) to advance cleaner or more efficient ways to produce and use energy, which constitutes 28 percent of its budget. The incoming secretary will need to marshal these nuclear and scientific capabilities to meet key national security challenges, including a resurgent Russia and the threat of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The department of nuclear weapons and science Physical science is at the heart of everything DOE does. Indeed, it could as accurately be called the Department of Physical Science (in contrast to the life sciences, which mostly reside at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The Energy Department's 17 national laboratories focus on physics, chemistry, and materials and other sciences. They operate at a high level: 115 scientists associated with the department or its predecessors have won Nobel prizes. These laboratories are precious national resources that enhance American welfare, prosperity and security. Many people in Washington might laugh at the thought, but the National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, which accounts for almost half of the department's US$30 billion budget, arguably rivals Apple in producing three different but related products at a world-class level. The U.S. nuclear weapons program is first-rate in terms of science, safety, security and reliability. The naval reactors program, which designs and maintains the systems that power the Navy's submarines and aircraft carriers, ensures that our underwater fleet is unmatched in stealth and reliability, and therefore in military effectiveness. And the nuclear nonproliferation program, which works to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism and to inform arms control policy with technical expertise, has a wider international reach and a deeper roster of activities than any other such effort in the world. Management challenges for the next secretary DOE and its laboratories also have major management challenges. Many of the department's facilities are one-of-a-kind and operate at the border between science and technology, in a high-security environment, often using potentially hazardous material or processes. All of these factors introduce risk, which is inherent in employing novel technologies required to meet highly demanding technical requirements. One example is the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the world's largest laser instrument, designed to create temperatures and pressures unseen outside of stars. All too often these ambitious goals and rigorous standards have resulted in cost overruns. To be successful, the next energy secretary will need to focus relentlessly on three priorities. First, he or she will need to improve contract and project management. The Department's Office of Environmental Management and the NNSA which together spend more than half of the agency's budget have been on the U.S. Government Accountability Office's high-risk list for years. Agencies and programs on this list are vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement or in urgent need of transformation. Starting in the George W. Bush administration, and continuing under the Obama administration, the department greatly improved its operations, but much remains to be done. If Congress does not have confidence in how the department is spending precious taxpayer dollars, it is likely to cut funding for DOE programs. Second, the next energy secretary will need to complete ongoing efforts to reverse the decay of our nuclear weapons complex. Much of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and the facilities necessary to make and maintain it have outlasted their expected lifetimes. Deferred maintenance can no longer be put off and obsolete facilities can no longer operate. The Obama administration started this work, promising in 2010 to add $14 billion over 10 years to improve infrastructure. But a sustained commitment is needed. One big challenge will be to keep a new $6.5 billion uranium processing facility on track for completion by 2025. Third, the next energy secretary will need to reinvigorate work to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism. NNSA operates the largest programs to detect, secure and dispose of dangerous nuclear material in the world. These programs are vital to U.S. security, and each of the last four presidents has put his stamp on them. President George H. W. Bush began the process in 1991 by signing the Nunn-Lugar legislation, which provided money as the Soviet Union broke apart to secure and remove Soviet nuclear weapons and materials from the new countries of Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. President Clinton set the agenda and established programs to install physical protection and materials accounting, detect nuclear smuggling and consolidate the number of facilities that stocked weapons-usable nuclear materials. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush doubled the program budget and accelerated its pace. And President Obama broadened the effort by convening four nuclear security summits, where world leaders pledged to take hundreds of steps to protect nuclear materials and prevent nuclear terrorism. Now those summits are over and cooperation with Russia is in tatters. DOE's funding requests for nuclear security cooperation have declined every year since 2011, and the budget now is smaller than when President Obama took office. It is vitally important for the Trump administration to set ambitious new goals and provide enough resources for these programs. Leading DOE Past secretaries of energy have come from a wide range of backgrounds, including the Navy, industry and academia. The most successful ones focused sharply on accomplishing two or three big goals and avoiding the myriad distractions that DOE's sprawling bureaucracy constantly raises. They also trusted senior DOE staffers' scientific and technical judgment, but asked hard questions. The Trump campaign did not lay out detailed nuclear policy or energy research and development plans, which is understandable because those issues were not high priorities for the electorate. It will therefore fall to the next energy secretary to define them and national security, not energy production, will be the highest priority. William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Traffic lights, or traffic signals, are located on most major corners in cities and towns around the world. The red, yellow and green lights let us know when it is safe to drive through the intersection and when to walk across the street as well as when to stop and let other drivers, bikers and pedestrians take their turns to continue on their way. The first traffic signal Traffic jams were a problem even before the invention of the automobile. Horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians crowded the roads of London in the 1860s, according to the BBC. A British railway manager, John Peake Knight, suggested adapting a railroad method for controlling traffic. Railroads used a semaphore system with small arms extending from a pole to indicate whether a train could pass or not. In Knight's adaptation, semaphores would signal "stop" and "go" during the day, and at night red and green lights would be used. Gas lamps would illuminate the sign at night. A police officer would be stationed next to the signals to operate them. The world's first traffic signal was installed on Dec. 9, 1868, at the intersection of Bridge Street and Great George Street in the London borough of Westminster, near the Houses of Parliament and the Westminster Bridge, according to the BBC. It was a success and Knight predicted more would be installed. However, only one month later, a police officer controlling the signal was badly injured when a leak in a gas main caused one of the lights to explode in his face. The project was declared a public health hazard and immediately dropped. Ernest Stirrine's patent drawing for his traffic signal. (Image credit: U.S. Patent Office) Competing patents Following the accident, about four decades passed before traffic signals began to grow in popularity again, mainly in the United States as more automobiles hit the road. The early 1900s saw several patents being filed, each with a different innovation to the basic idea. In 1910, Ernest Sirrine, an American inventor, introduced an automatically controlled traffic signal in Chicago. His traffic signal used two non-illuminated display arms arranged as a cross that rotated on an axis, according to Inventor Spot. The signs said "stop" and "proceed." The first electric traffic light using red and green lights was invented in 1912 by Lester Farnsworth Wire, a police officer in Salt Lake City, Utah, according to Family Search. Wire's traffic signal resembled a four-sided bird-house mounted on a tall pole. It was placed in the middle of an intersection and was powered by overhead trolley wires. A police officer had to manually switch the direction of the lights. However, the credit for the "first electric traffic signal" usually goes to James Hoge. A system based on his design was installed on Aug. 5, 1914, in Cleveland. Hoge received a patent for the system in 1918. (He had filed his application in 1913.) Hoge's traffic signal used the alternating illuminated words "stop" and "move" installed on a single post on each of the four corners of an intersection. The system was wired such that police and fire departments could adjust the rhythm of the lights in case of an emergency. William Ghiglieri of San Francisco patented the first automatic traffic signal that used red and green lights in 1917. Ghiglieri's design had the option of being either automatic or manual. Then in 1920, William Potts, a Detroit police officer, developed several automatic traffic light systems, including the first three-color signal, which added a yellow "caution" light. In 1923, Garrett Morgan patented an electric automatic traffic signal. Morgan was the first African-American to own a car in Cleveland. He also invented the gas mask. Morgan's design used a T-shaped pole unit with three positions. Besides "Stop" and "Go," the system also first stopped traffic in all directions to give drivers time to stop or get through the intersection. Another benefit of Morgan's design was that it could be produced inexpensively, thus increasing the number of signals that could be installed. Morgan sold the rights to his traffic signal to General Electric for $40,000. The first electric traffic light in Europe was installed in 1924 at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, according to Marcus Welz, CEO of Siemens ITS (Intelligent Traffic Systems) US. The five-sided traffic light was mounted on a tower and was primarily manual with some automation, which only required a single police officer to manage. A replica now stands nearby and is a popular tourist attraction. Pedestrian signals began to be included on traffic signals in the 1930s, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. A "Walk/Don't Walk" signal was first tested in New York in 1934. It even used an upright palm to indicate "Stop." John S. Allen, an American inventor, filed one of the earliest patents in 1947 for a dedicated pedestrian traffic signal. Allen's design had the pedestrian signal mounted at curb level. Allen also proposed that the signals could contain advertisements. In his application, he explained that the words "Stop" and "Go" could be followed by the word "for," which in turn would be followed by a brand name. This is a replica of Lester Wire's "birdhouse" traffic signal. (Image credit: Utah Department of Transportation) Improving safety and efficiency Traffic signals continue to improve. Many traffic signals are "intelligent" and can monitor real-time traffic situations, including direction, volume and density, as well as prioritizing public transportation systems, according to Welz. For example, Welz said, Siemens is working on a project in Tampa, Florida, to implement Connected Vehicle Technology. This system allows the traffic light system to communicate directly with the car and will improve safety and efficiency. Communications are sent from over 40 traffic lights to cars equipped with the technology to receive the basic safety messages either on the rearview mirror or in-dash computer screen. Simple messages are sent to the cars using both pre-existing and newly installed technologies that allow a driver to receive information such as the state of the upcoming traffic lights and recommendations on speed to get through both a particular intersection as well as the next handful of traffic lights. This project has shown great increases in efficiency in how traffic moves through intersections, Welz said. A diagram of an early pedestrian crossing signal. (Image credit: U.S. Department of Transporation) The future of traffic lights With self-driving cars becoming more of a reality, many improvements to traffic signals are considering the new and upcoming technologies. Researchers at the MIT Senseable City Lab published a scenario, in 2016 in PLoS ONE, where traffic signals are essentially nonexistent. In this potential future, all autonomous cars are in communication with each other in what is known as a "slot-based" intersection in which cars, instead of stopping, automatically adjust their speed to pass through the intersection while maintaining safe distances for other vehicles. This system is flexible and can also be designed to take pedestrians and bicyclists into account. Another innovation called Surtrac is coming out of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from a company called Rapid Flow Technologies. Pilot tests have been underway since 2012. The traffic signals use artificial intelligence to adapt to changing traffic conditions. The company says travel times have been reduced by more than 25 percent and wait times at red lights down an average of about 40 percent decreasing emissions. The system takes into account second-by-second real-time conditions and is scalable to larger areas since each intersection makes its own decisions instead of a single, central system. Additional resources Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest spot on Earth. The spot was estimated in 2014 to plunge to 36,037 feet (10,984 m) beneath the Western Pacific Ocean. An otherworldly noise that was recorded near the Mariana Trench could be a never-before-heard whale call. Dubbed the "Western Pacific Biotwang," this newly discovered call might be from a minke whale a type of baleen whale according to the researchers who documented the vocalization. Regardless of what species it is, this whale has range: The call includes sounds that span frequencies that reach as low as 38 hertz and as high as 8,000 hertz. Humans can hear sounds between 20 and 20,000 Hz. [Listen to the New Whale Call from the Mariana Trench] "It's very distinct, with all these crazy parts," Sharon Nieukirk, senior faculty research assistant in marine bioacoustics at Oregon State University, said in a statement. "The low-frequency moaning part is typical of baleen whales, and it's that kind of twangy sound that makes it really unique. We don't find many new baleen whale calls." A minke whale in the Southern Ocean. (Image credit: NOAA) The call was recorded with autonomous seafaring robots, known as "passive acoustic ocean gliders," which can dive up to 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) below the surface. Scientists can send these devices out on solo missions to eavesdrop on whale conversations. Nieukirk and her colleagues collected their acoustic data in the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2015, in an area in the Pacific Ocean east of Guam around the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. [Video: Take a Tour of the Mariana Trench] The twangy, five-part call, which lasts up to 3.5 seconds, was recorded regularly during both the fall and spring. The researchers hope that other scientists will identify the call in other data sets so that they can confirm the source. But in their description of the whale call in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Nieukirk and her colleagues wrote that they suspect a minke whale is responsible for the new call. Because of the call's complex structure, frequencies and metallic-sounding conclusion, the researchers think that it most closely resembles the regionally specific calls that are produced by a group of dwarf minke whales off the northeast coast of Australia. (Those calls sound a bit like "Star Wars" sound effects.) They added that there are several types of minke whales in the survey area, but not much is known about their behavior especially their vocal behavior. "We don't really know that much about minke whale distribution at low latitudes," Nieukirk said. "The species is the smallest of the baleen whales, doesn't spend much time at the surface, has an inconspicuous blow, and often lives in areas where high seas make sighting difficult. But they call frequently, making them good candidates for acoustic studies." The call still needs to be translated. Most baleen whales use specific vocalizations for seasonal breeding and feeding, but this call since it seems to occur all year may have a complex function, the researchers said. "If it's a mating call, why are we getting it year-round? That's a mystery," Nieukirk said. "We need to determine how often the call occurs in summer versus winter, and how widely this call is really distributed." It wouldn't be the first time minke whales have puzzled scientists with their calls. In 2014, scientists solved a 50-year-old mystery when they figured out that the so-called "bio-duck" sound that was often recorded in the Southern Ocean was being produced by Antarctic minke whales. Original article on Live Science. Hidden Texts A wall built in a Christian monastery in Iraq hid hundreds of ancient texts from the view of ISIS forces. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) A few weeks before the Islamic State group (also called ISIS) occupied the Mar Behnam monastery (the occupation started in June 2014), a young priest named Yousif Sakat hid more than 400 texts, dating between the 13th and 20th centuries, in metal bins and put them in a storage area. He then built a wall in front of them in hopes of concealing them from ISIS forces. As seen in this photo, the construction made the storage area behind this door smaller, but blocked off the texts from the view of ISIS forces. [Read full story about the hidden texts] Breaking down a wall A member of the Iraqi Christian community helping to break down a wall in the Mar Behnam monastery where ancient texts were hidden. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) The wall fooled the occupying ISIS forces for more than two years. Mar Behnam was recaptured in November 2016, by an Iraqi Christian unit that is helping fight ISIS. With the site secure, the 400 texts could be taken out. This photo shows a member of the Iraqi Christian community helping to break down the wall. Revealing history The ancient texts saved in the Mar Behnam monastery include biblical materials and dictionaries, as well as notes by the scribes who copied the texts. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) The texts, which were put in metal bins before being hidden behind the wall, were taken out for the first time in more than two years. In that time ISIL had destroyed part of the monastery, burnt what texts they could find, defaced and destroyed the monasterys artwork and inscriptions. Religious texts The ancient texts saved in the Mar Behnam monastery include biblical materials and dictionaries, as well as notes by the scribes who copied the texts. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) More than 400 texts, dating between the 13th and 20th centuries, were saved. The texts include many bibles and liturgical materials as well as some dictionaries. Each text contains notes by the scribes who copied them, describing historical, social and religious events at the time they were copied. The texts are written in a variety of languages including Syriac (a language widely used in Iraq in ancient and medieval times), Arabic, Turkish and Neo-Aramaic. Welcome news Today, Iraqi Christians make up less than 1 percent of Iraq's population, but are proud of their history and faith. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) Tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians were killed or forced to flee when ISIS occupied the area around the Mar Behnam monastery. Many of these people still live as refugees. For Iraqi Christians, the successful hiding and saving of the centuries-old texts was a small but welcome bit of good news. Iraqi Christians Today, Iraqi Christians make up less than 1 percent of Iraq's population, but are proud of their history and faith. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) Today, Iraqi Christians make up less than 1 percent of Iraq's population, but are proud of their history and faith. Memre of Ascetics For Iraqi Christians, the successful hiding and saving of the centuries-old texts was a small but welcome bit of good news. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano) This text, copied in A.D. 1231, is a liturgical text called the "Memre of Ascetics." The text includes notes by the scribe, mentioning the historical, religious and social events that took place in his lifetime. This photo was taken by Amir Harrak, a professor at the University of Toronto, before the texts were hidden away. Comparing Gospels This text, copied in A.D. 1653, shows a comparison of the different gospels. (Image credit: Amir Harrak) This text, copied in A.D. 1653, shows a comparison of the different gospels. The scribe illustrated the text beautifully. This photo was also taken by Professor Amir Harrak before the texts were hidden away in the Mar Behnam monastery. Genealogy of Jesus Christ This text, also copied in A.D. 1653, describes the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This photo was also taken before the texts were hidden away, just weeks before ISIS occupied the Mar Behnam monastery. (Image credit: Amir Harrak) This text, also copied in A.D. 1653, describes the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This photo was also taken before the texts were hidden away, just weeks before ISIS occupied the Mar Behnam monastery. Secure location The texts were taken to an undisclosed but relatively secure location. Professor Amir Harrak told Live Science that given the unrest in Iraq, it may be best to bring the texts to a library in Europe, at least temporarily, for conservation and safekeeping. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano ) The texts were taken to an undisclosed but relatively secure location. Professor Amir Harrak told Live Science that given the unrest in Iraq, it may be best to bring the texts to a library in Europe, at least temporarily, for conservation and safekeeping. This text, also copied in A.D. 1653, describes the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This photo was also taken before the texts were hidden away, just weeks before ISIS occupied the Mar Behnam monastery. More than 400 texts, dating between the middle ages and modern times, have been saved at the Mar Behnam monastery, a place that the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) had occupied for more than two years, until November. The texts, which were written between the 13th and 20th centuries, were hidden behind a wall that was constructed just a few weeks before ISIS occupied and partly destroyed the Christian monastery, according to Amir Harrak, a professor at the University of Toronto who studied the texts before they were hidden away. Some of the texts are "beautifully illustrated" by the scribes who copied them, Harrak said. "Each one contains lengthy colophons [notes] written by the scribes, telling historical and social, and religious events of their times a fact that makes them precious sources," Harrak told Live Science. The texts are written in a variety of languages, including Syriac (widely used in Iraq in ancient and medieval times), Arabic, Turkish and Neo-Aramaic, said Harrak, who is an expert in Syriac. [See Photos of the Monastery and Saved Historical Texts] Hidden in an ISIS-occupied monastery First constructed more than 1,500 years ago, the "Monastery of Martyr Mar Behnam and his sister Sarah" contains texts, carved inscriptions and artwork dating back centuries. ISIS occupied the monastery from June 2014 to November 2016, when it was recaptured byan Iraqi Christian unit that is working with the government to fight against ISIL. Photos and a news report published by the Agence France-Presse shortly after the monastery was recaptured show that ISIS militants destroyed some of the monastery's buildings (it has multiple buildings), burned what texts they could find, defaced and destroyed the monastery's artwork and inscriptions, and wrote graffiti over the surviving structures. The texts were taken to an undisclosed but relatively secure location. Professor Amir Harrak told Live Science that given the unrest in Iraq, it may be best to bring the texts to a library in Europe, at least temporarily, for conservation and safekeeping. (Image credit: Amjed Tareq Hano ) The texts at Mar Behnam "were hidden in a storage room, 40 days before ISIS invaded the Plain of Nineveh [near Mosul], by a young priest named Yousif Sakat," Harrak said. Sakat "placed them in large metallic cans and built a wall so that no one [would] suspect there is anything, and he succeeded," he added. Sakat, who was forced to flee the monastery, "kept his undertaking in secret even after the liberation of the Plain, out of fear the manuscripts would be uncovered, until he felt the Plain [was] secure and he divulged the secret," Harrak said. [See Photos of ISIS Destruction of Iraq Historical Sites] For more than two years, the texts remained hidden behind the wall. Fortunately, Harrak said, ISIS did not destroy the particular building where the texts were hidden. Reuters reported that ISIS used the surviving buildings at the monastery as a base for its "morality police," who "enforced strict rules against such things as smoking, men shaving their beards and women baring their faces in public." Future of the texts The future of the texts is uncertain, and Harrak wonders if the documents should be removed from Iraq, at least for now, for safekeeping. "What is the future of these manuscripts? Iraq is a restless country," Harrak said. "Should they take them to Europe, for example, or the Vatican Library or somewhere more secure?" The Iraqi government is unlikely to help protect the texts, Harrak said. TheIraqi government has even ignored Iraq Christian refugees, leaving it to churches to provide relief for these people, he added. Harrak is a native of Mosul, an Iraqi city near the monastery, which, at the time this story was written, ISIS still partly occupied. (The battle for the city is ongoing.) Harrak left Mosul in 1977 and now lives in Toronto, but he has returned to Iraq often to study ancient texts, inscriptions and artwork. Original article on Live Science. SAN FRANCISCO Earthquake cloaks, or huge arrays of precisely drilled holes and trenches in the ground, could at least in theory protect important structures like nuclear power plants from powerful seismic waves, researchers say. The array of holes, drilled at specific angles and depths, would extend sometimes hundreds of feet and scatter earthquake waves like pinballs, according to the scientists. The idea is still highly speculative, requires a large amount of space that might be impractical, and has not been tested in the ground, but if it works, it could theoretically be used to protect expensive infrastructure that cannot be seismically retrofitted, such as oil pipelines, Vladimir Liberman, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, said here Thursday (Dec. 15) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. [Image Gallery: This Millennium's Destructive Earthquakes] Protecting vulnerable structures In places like Oklahoma, oil and gas production has caused swarms of man-made earthquakes, meaning expensive infrastructure such as oil pipelines are now in vulnerable locations. In other areas, nuclear power plants are vulnerable to strong earthquakes. Sometimes, this infrastructure can't actually be physically modified to make it more resistant to earthquakes, Liberman said. But what if seismic waves could be deflected before they reach critical infrastructure? To see if there was another way to protect these structures, Liberman and his colleagues created a 3D simulation where they modeled the ground in tiny, three-dimensional cubes, or chunks that varied in size. The model then incorporated drilled holes of varying sizes and orientations, forming a kind of underground zigzag shape. They modeled seismic waves coming from different orientations and found that in computer simulations at least, their setup could deflect a large amount of the energy coming from earthquake waves, Liberman said. Next, they created a tabletop mockup of the ground using a small block of plastic fitted with tiny accelerometers and drilled with lots and lots of holes in precise orientations, then subjected them to mock seismic waves. The plastic had the right set of physical parameters, such as shear wave velocity and viscosity, to mimic ground-based seismic waves. Similar to their model predictions, the mockup deflected the incoming waves. Based on these experiments, the team thinks its earthquake-cloaking method could reduce the impact from a magnitude-7.0 quake to a magnitude 5.0 or even lower, Liberman said. Earthquake deflection Based on these simulations, the scientists estimated that protecting infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, hospitals, air vehicle runways and pipelines would take anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 boreholes drilled at precise angles, spanning hundreds of feet, and placed a distance up to a few miles away from the infrastructure, Liberman said. Of course, there are a number of caveats: The method hasn't been subject yet to peer review, and the researchers have yet to test it in real-world situations, against actual seismic waves. In addition, there's no telling yet whether deflecting these earthquake waves would lead to dangerous wave reflections to other areas, Liberman said. And given how much space is needed to create these earthquake cloaks, it is likely only practical for structures far away from urban areas, he said. Still, when talking about $2 billion in infrastructure, it can be relatively economical to drill a field of holes at a cost of about $100,000 to protect those structures, he added. As the next step in their research, the team is testing out the earthquake-cloaking concept on a small scale in the ground using machines that generate vibrations. One of the moderators of the session asked whether more visually appealing structures, such as trees, could replace boreholes while serving the same earthquake deflection process. Unfortunately, the trees would have to be extremely tall, Liberman said. "You would need mini-Eiffel Towers to attenuate the low frequency waves" that accompany earthquakes, Liberman said. Original article on Live Science. This image shows two rod-shaped bacteria called Klebsiella pneumoniae that are resistant to treatment with the last resort antibiotic drug called carbapenem. In this image, the mustard-colored bacteria are interacting with the green-colored human white blood cells. Six people in Colorado recently became infected with a "nightmare" superbug that until now, has mostly been limited to people in hospitals, according to a new report. The new cases suggest the superbug may have spread outside of health care facilities. The superbug is known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, a family of bacteria that are difficult to treat because they are resistant to powerful antibiotics. So far, nearly all cases of CRE infections have been seen in people who stay in health care facilities, or who have been treated with certain medical procedures or devices, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the six people in the new report had not stayed in a health care facility for at least a year before they contracted the infection. They had not recently undergone surgery or dialysis, either, and hadn't received any invasive devices, such as having a catheter or feeding tube inserted all of which can be risk factors for CRE infections, the report said. Thus, the six cases appear to be "community-associated" CRE infections, meaning the patients may have picked up these bacteria from somewhere in their everyday lives, outside of a health care setting. CRE infections outside of a health care setting are "unusual for these bacteria," said study researcher Sarah Janelle, a health care-associated infections epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. These six cases suggest that "these bacteria might be moving from health care to community settings," Janelle told Live Science. "Further surveillance of CRE is needed to determine whether this pattern continues in Colorado and to determine if this trend is occurring in other parts of the United States," Janelle said. [6 Superbugs to Watch Out For] CRE have been dubbed "nightmare" bacteria because they are resistant to nearly all antibiotics, and they can be highly lethal, killing up to 50 percent of infected patients, according to the CDC. The type of bacteria that cause CRE infections can be found in human guts, where the bugs are usually harmless. But infections can arise if the bacteria enter another part of the body, such as the bloodstream, Janelle said. What makes CRE unique is that these bacteria have acquired the ability to produce enzymes that work against most antibiotics. In the new report, the six patients ranged in age from 20 to 85, with an average age of 61. All of the patients had been diagnosed with urinary tract infections. (CRE can also cause pneumonia and blood infections.) The cases were identified from 2014 to 2016, and all of the patients survived. All of the patients were infected with a type of CRE that produces an enzyme called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase. The enzyme makes the bacteria resistant to certain antibiotics, including the powerful carbapenem class of antibiotics. This type of CRE is not very common in the United States, but some people have become infected when they received health care abroad. Of the six patients in the new report, two had traveled internationally shortly before their diagnoses, one to an unknown country in Africa and one to the Bahamas, the report said. Two of the patients had underlying medical conditions, another risk factor for CRE, but three patients had no such conditions. One patient was pregnant at the time she tested positive for CRE. Being pregnant is known to suppress the body's immune system, which can increase the risk of infection. In addition, one patient who had an underlying medical condition reported having provided care for a family member at several different health care facilities before testing positive for CRE, the report said. Another risk factor for CRE infection is taking antibiotics. Studies have shown that when a person's normal gut bacteria community is disturbed (which happens when antibiotics are used), it puts that individual at risk for becoming sick with "bad" bacteria, including CRE. In addition, use of antibiotics increases the likelihood that bacteria will develop resistance to the drugs, either through a mutation or by acquiring genes from other bacteria. "Any time antibiotics are used, this puts biological pressure on bacteria that promotes the development of resistance," Janelle said. Of the six patients, two had taken antibiotics within the month before they tested positive for CRE and one had taken antibiotics 10 months prior to testing positive. The findings point to the importance of prescribing antibiotics appropriately, Janelle said. Studies have shown that doctors sometimes prescribe antibiotics when the medicines aren't needed (such as when patients have a viral infection that can't be treated with antibiotics). "Proper use of antibiotics can slow the development of resistance in bacteria and can preserve this life-saving resource," Janelle said. The six cases do not appear to be connected, and the source of these CRE infections remains unknown, the report said. To prevent CRE and other infection, members of the general public can wash their hands frequently and take antibiotics only when they are prescribed, Janelle said. Patients should also expect their health care providers to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before touching patients, the CDC said. If the health care provider doesn't do this, patients should ask them to do so, the agency said. Original article on Live Science. Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: December 16 2016 Ahead of the holiday season, Sen. Todd Kaminsky and NYS State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed the return of more than $3.4 million in unclaimed funds to the 9th Senate District. Rockville Centre, NY - December 15, 2016 - Ahead of the holiday season, Senator Todd Kaminsky and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli revealed the return of more than $3.4 million in unclaimed funds to the 9th Senate District. Photo courtesy of the Office of Senator Todd Kaminsky. In July, Kaminsky sent more than 19,000 notification letters to his constituents who had unclaimed funds with the State. Kaminsky and DiNapoli were joined by some of those constituents today. As a result of Senator Kaminskys notification, the State Comptrollers Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF) returned $3,475,031.65 to 6,853 claimants. Government should always work for the people, said Senator Kaminsky. I wanted to ensure that my constituents who had unclaimed funds not only knew it, but also knew how to recoup their money. As a result of the 19,000 letters I sent in July, the Comptroller has returned $3,475,031.65 to constituents in my district. I am ecstatic to have played a small role in bringing back these funds to the district and putting money back into the hands of people who need it the most. Photo courtesy of the Office of Senator Todd Kaminsky. There is more than $94 million waiting to be reconnected with local residents, and over $550 million for all Long Islanders," said State Comptroller DiNapoli. This money has been turned over to my office for temporary safe-keeping, and we want to return it as soon as possible. Todays event with Senator Kaminsky, and his outreach in his district, increases awareness about unclaimed funds and helps us to get even more checks out in the mail to the rightful owners. Candyea Brown, a resident of Elmont, who received Kaminskys notification said, I am incredibly thankful to Senator Todd Kaminsky for making me aware of my unclaimed funds with the State. After receiving his letter, I completed the form and was sent a check within a short amount of time -- it was quick and easy. Barbara Fischkin, of Long Beach, said, This is an example of one of the many things Senator Kaminsky does for the community. He is always there for us when we need him. $127 may not seem like a lot, but it comes in handy and shows that he cares. My wife and I received over $3,000 in unclaimed funds and it couldnt have come at a better time -- just before the holidays, said Antonio Mercado of Valley Stream. Were happy to have this money returned to us and were very grateful to Senator Kaminsky and his staff for assisting us in the process. But there still is more than $94 million in unclaimed funds within the 9th Senate District waiting to be claimed, and over $550 million in unclaimed funds available to residents of Long Island. I urge everyone to check and see if they are owed any money that is being held by the state, said Senator Kaminsky. If you believe you are owed funds from the state, you can contact Senator Kaminskys District Office at 516-766-8383 for assistance or visit here. Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: December 16 2016 The Long Island Community Foundation is giving $560,000 to help 24 nonprofit groups across the Island. Melville, NY - December 14, 2016 - The Long Island Community Foundation is giving $560,000 to help 24 nonprofit groups across the Islandbringing this years total to nearly $1.2 million given through LICFs competitive grants program. In a time when many Long Islanders feel uncertain about what lies ahead, Long Islands community foundation remains committed to ensuring that our region remains a beacon of economic prosperity, acceptance, and opportunity for all. These grants come from the third and final round of funding for this year. Click here for a listing of all the grants made in 2016. For each of the following grants, we offer members of the media more information that detail the problems were addressing and our approach to solving them. Please contact Marie Smith on email for more. Building a Stronger East End All for the East End Fund, $50,000 funding of micro-grants to 20 East End nonprofits through AFTEEs Building Stronger Neighborhood Program, supporting organizations serving Long Islands East End communities of Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton, Southold, and East Hampton. Community Development Community Development Corp. of Long Island, 20,000 to build community support for the development of an affordable rental housing building in the Village of Hempstead. Family Community Life Center, $20,000 for a public outreach campaign to build support for a mixed-use development in the hamlet of Riverhead. St. Josephs College, $20,000 to build capacity and support for affordable housing development. Preserving Farmland and Restoring Water Quality American Farmland Trust, $20,000 to work with Suffolk County farmers on conservation practices that will reduce nitrogen use while maintaining farm profitability. Concerned Citizens of Montauk, $20,000 to support a public education and advocacy campaign to improve and protect the water quality of Lake Montauk and Fort Pond. Grassroots Environmental Education, $20,000 to raise public awareness about Long Islands water quality problems and solutions. Homecoming Coming Home to Long Island, $20,000 to expand and protect farmland on the property of the Sisters of St. Dominic in Amityville. Westhampton Dunes Barrier Beach Preservation, $15,000 to restore and monitor water quality in Moriches Bay. Education Enrichment Childrens Museum of the East End $15,000 to launch a science-based mentoring program for students that have aged out of Ciencia en CMEE. Family Service League, $20,000 to provide supports and resources to students and their families in the William Floyd School District. Girls, Inc. of Long Island, $20,000 for after school programs in Freeport and Central Islip middle schools. Long Island Jobs with Justice, $20,000 to provide college admissions and financial aid training to high school educators and immigrant families and develop youth leaders for education and employment justice. Healthy Lives Family and Childrens Association, $25,000 for a patient navigator program that will connect individuals struggling with opioid addiction and their families to appropriate treatment and support. Hofstra Universitys Maurice A. Dean School of Law, $15,000 to provide legal assistance to help vulnerable families with developmentally disabled children obtain guardianship. Northwell Health Foundation, $50,000 to provide routine dental services for low-income patients at the Dolan Family Health Center. South Nassau Communities Hospital, $50,000 for a diabetes education program for low-income and uninsured patients. Feeding Seniors Healthy Foods EAC Network, $20,000 for a program to deliver fresh produce to low-income seniors in New Cassel. Island Harvest, $20,000 to continue support for the Senior Mobile Food Pantry at the Glen Cove Housing Authority. Mental Health Services for Long Island Heroes Association for Mental Health and Wellness, $20,000 to improve the training and effectiveness of veteran peer outreach workers. Mental Health Association of Nassau County, $20,000 to train mental health professionals in evidence-based treatments for veterans. Helping Nonprofits Function and Grow Peconic Land Trust, $25,000 to help Long Islands farm and fishing industries remain viable amidst increasing operating costs. Victims Information Bureau of Suffolk, $15,000 for new database software for two agencies serving victims of domestic violence. Advancing Latino Youth Hispanic Counseling Center, $20,000 to provide mental health counseling and support to Latino teenagers and their families. Through the generosity of our donors, the Long Island Community Foundation invests in groups that create positive change and improve the quality of life on Long Island. To learn more about these grants and the Long Island Community Foundation, visit: www.licf.org. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @LICommunityFndt, connect with us on LinkedIn and find us on Instagram. Since 1978, the Long Island Community Foundation has been the home of charitable Long Islanders who share a passion and commitment to improve their communities. LICF supports an array of effective nonprofits that help make Long Island a vital and secure place to live, learn, work, and play, while building permanent resources for the future. The Foundation has made more than $150 million in grants from hundreds of funds established by individuals, families, and businesses. LICF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the countrys oldest and largest community foundations. Washington, DC - December 14, 2016 - The U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today issued updated information on food product labeling, including new guidance aimed at reducing food waste through encouraging food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating to use a Best if Used By date label. In an effort to reduce food loss and waste, these changes will give consumers clear and consistent information when it comes to date labeling on the food they buy, said Al Almanza, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety. This new guidance can help consumers save money and curb the amount of wholesome food going in the trash. Except for infant formula, product dating is not required by Federal regulations. Food manufacturers frequently use a variety of phrases, such as Sell-by and Use-by on product labels to describe quality dates on a voluntary basis. The use of different phrases to describe quality dates has caused consumer confusion and has led to the disposal of food that is otherwise wholesome and safe because it is past the date printed on the package. FSIS is changing its guidance to recommend the use of Best if Used By because research shows that this phrase is easily understood by consumers as an indicator of quality, rather than safety. USDA estimates that 30 percent of food is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer level. This new guidance builds on other recent changes FSIS has made to facilitate food donation and reduce food waste. In January 2016, FSIS issued Directive 7020.1, which made it easier for companies to donate products that have minor labeling errors, such as an incorrect net weight. FSIS has also begun recognizing food banks as retail-type establishments, which allows food banks (under certain circumstances) to break down bulk shipments of federally-inspected meat or poultry products, wrap or rewrap those products, and label the products for distribution to consumers. In 2016, FSIS enabled 2.6 million pounds of manufacturer donations. Comments on this revised guidance may be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov or by mail to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, FSIS, Docket Clerk, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St. S.W., 8-163A, Mailstop 3782, Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments submitted must include docket number FSIS-2016-0044. FSIS will accept comments for 60 days. Reducing food loss and waste is core to USDAs mission. Since 2009, USDA has launched new and ongoing initiatives to reduce food waste. In 2013, USDA the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, creating a platform for leaders and organizations across the food chain to share best practices on ways to reduce, recover, and recycle food loss and waste. In 2015, USDA and EPA set the first-ever national food waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030 to reduce the amount of wasted food in landfills. Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases By EAC Network Published: December 16 2016 Kevin Can Wait star Erinn Hayes asks fans to donate to EAC Network for their Holiday Give Back campaign. Hempstead, NY - December 16, 2016 - The cast and crew of CBS latest hit, Kevin Can Wait, are asking their fans to donate to EAC Network for the shows end of year Holiday Give Back campaign. Erinn Hayes, co-star of the show with Kevin James, appealed to fans in a video on December 15th expressing the cast and crews intent to collect donations for the human services nonprofit that empowers, assists, and cares for over 71,000 people throughout Long Island and New York City. We shoot on Long Island so we want to start locally with our giving, said Hayes. We will be raising money this year for EAC Network. They help people improve the quality of their lives and we want to help them continue to do that. Kevin Can Wait is filmed at Gold Coast Studios in Bethpage and is the first prime-time network series produced on Long Island. The show has featured notable Long Islanders throughout its first season, making a point to give credit to the amazing talent in the community. EAC Network is thrilled that the cast and crew of Kevin Can Wait have chosen us as their beneficiary for the holidays, said Lance W. Elder, President & CEO, EAC Network. We are grateful for the attention theyve brought to Long Island and their dedication to helping our neighbors in need. To watch Erinn Hayes video, click here. To donate to EAC Network as part of Kevin Can Waits Give Back campaign, click here. About EAC Network EAC Network (www.eac-network.org) is a not-for-profit social service agency that empowers, assists, and cares for over 71,000 individuals across Long Island and NYC. EAC Networks mission is to respond to human needs with programs and services that protect children, promote healthy families and communities, help seniors, and empower individuals to take control of their lives. The organization has grown tremendously since its inception in 1969 and now offers over 70 diverse programs that address many of societys core problems. Peoples lives are being destroyed by addiction, families continue to struggle to overcome poverty, abuse, and neglect, and seniors face isolation and abandonment. EAC Network aims to build a better community one individual at a time. Pets & Animal, Nature & Weather, Local News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: December 16 2016 The National Weather Service in Upton has issued a winter weather advisory for snow and ice - in effect from midnight tonight to 10AM EST Saturday. Please remember your pets! Nassau County, NY - December 16, 2016 - Please remember you pets! 1) There's no place like home The best strategy, of course, is to keep your pets indoors during cold weather. Outdoor cats are especially susceptible to hazards like frostbite, getting lost, or being exposed to diseases. If you don't want to be outside, your pet probably doesn't want to be, either. 2) Keep close When you do venture outdoors with your dog, keep them on-leash. Snow and rain can wipe away familiar scents, causing your dog to become lost or disoriented. If you live in a very cold area, unsupervised dogs also run the risk of falling through thin ice near ponds or other frozen bodies of water. 3) Bundle up! A fur coat isn't all the protection your pet needs from the cold, especially if she is short-coated, a puppy, or a senior. She might be much more comfortable in some warm winter-wear, such as a sweater, jacket, or booties. Look for coats or sweaters that cover from neck to tail and aren't restrictive or uncomfortable. When indoors, be sure she has a warm, draft-free spot to rest in with lots of bedding. And to keep her skin and coat in tip-top shape from the dry winter air, brush her more frequently than usual, and never shave a long-coated dog during the winter. 4) Warm as toast Wrapping your pet up in an electric blanket all day might sound like a good idea, but leaving an animal unattended with an electric item is a recipe for disaster. SnuggleSafe Pet Heating Pads can be warmed in the microwave and retain heat for 12 hours. They are excellent for tucking in your pet's bedding at night, giving her an extra bit of snuggly warmth as she nods off to dreamland. 5) Potty problems When it's cold or rainy out, pets might resist going to the bathroom outside. (And really - wouldn't you?) Work with them to try to keep them comfortable while they do their business - a jacket or rain slicker might help, as would holding an umbrella over them to keep them dry. 6) Check for cat cargo When the temperature drops, chilly kitties will look for any warm place to curl up. This includes under the hoods of cars where they can be seriously injured or killed when the car starts. A trick to evict stowaways is to bang on the hood of your car loudly a few times before you enter. Any slumbering felines will be frightened by the noise and escape before you start your car. 7) (Don't) chill out You should never leave your pet unattended in a car on a cold day. The winter weather turns your car into a rolling refrigerator - great for keeping your groceries chilled, but terrible for keeping your pet safe. If it's cold outside, leave your animals warm and safe at home. 8) Dry them off When coming in from a winter walk or play session, dry your pet off thoroughly and take extra care to wipe her legs, paws, and stomach. Pets in snowy climates can pick up salt, antifreeze, or other dangerous chemicals on their pads and lick them off, making them sick. Ice and salt can also cause their pads to crack and bleed, so look them over thoroughly after all outside adventures. 9) Gimme shelter Pets should not be kept outside during the cold months. However, if you absolutely must leave them outdoors for a limited amount of time, create a shelter for them to retreat to. It should be dry, clean, and well-insulated (straw works well to trap heat), and protect them from the wind and elements. And be sure to frequently check their water bowl to be sure they have plenty of fresh (not frozen) H2O. 10) Stay healthy Animals with fragile immune systems - including kittens, puppies, and senior pets - might be more susceptible to illness during the change of seasons. If you suspect your animal has a cold weather-related illness, take them to see the vet right away. To Report Animal Cruelty call 516-THE-SPCA, email or use the online form About Nassau County SPCA Located in Nassau County, New York, The Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a 501(c) (3), nonprofit organization originally designed to protect animals in the county from abuse and neglect, and to provide basic welfare. We hold special authority to enforce NYS Agriculture & Markets Law, and all other state and local humane laws. We are the only animal protection agency officially designated to operate within the county's borders. The NCSPCA is a volunteer organization dedicated to the rescue, care and placement of needy animals. The Society is run entirely by unpaid volunteers and its operations have been historically funded through contributions solicited from the public and through corporate grants. The NCSPCA receives no public funding, is in no way affiliated with, a subdivision of or funded by any other local, state or national organization and every contribution, large or small, helps to provide the critical care needed to help homeless, abused and neglected animals in Nassau County. The continued success of each program relies entirely on donations. No money given to any other spca organization aids or benefits the NCSPCA. Your generous contribution will help the NCSPCA in all of its efforts. Visit www.nassaucountyspca.org Local News, National & World News, Home & Garden, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: December 16 2016 You would be hard-pressed to find a holiday shopping list today that doesnt include a device, toy, tool or new technology that contains lithium ion batteries. Lithium ion batteries supply power to many kinds of devices and toys. Take care when using them. Quincy, MA - December 16, 2016 - You would be hard-pressed to find a holiday shopping list today that doesnt include a device, toy, tool or new technology that contains lithium ion batteries. To help consumers take care when using smart phones, laptops, scooters, remote control gadgets, wearable technology, and a host of other products on the market right now, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has developed a lithium ion battery safety tip sheet for consumers. Fire issues related to lithium ion batteries have dominated news reports for more than a year. This summer, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled more than a half-million hoverboards that involved 10 companies, and in October the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) banned Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices from all flights. Flight attendants continue to warn air travelers today to power down their devices during pre-flight safety instructions. Lithium ion batteries are ideally suited for todays streamlined, lightweight, high-tech consumer products but convenience comes with concern. The compact batteries store a large amount of energy; and if not used properly, can overheat and cause a fire or explosion. NFPAs new tip sheet explains the problem with these batteries, offers ways to identify issues, shares safety advice, and addresses battery disposal in a visual manner that is perfect for sharing online, via social media or as a printable resource. Photo: Safety tip sheet for consumers on lithium ion batteries from the NFPA. For this media advisory and other announcements about NFPA initiatives, research and resources, please visit the NFPA press room. About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Founded in 1896, NFPA is a global, nonprofit organization devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. The association delivers information and knowledge through more than 300 consensus codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy; and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering the NFPA mission. For more information visit www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free. Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com Columnists Press Releases A military post in northern Burkina Faso close to the borders with Mali was the target of a coordinated assault early this morning. At least 11 Burkinabe soldiers and one gendarme were killed in the attack, which was attributed to jihadists. Reuters reported Fridays attack about 19 miles from the Malian border began at around 5 a.m. local time and was carried out by about 40 heavily armed individuals who have not yet been identified, the army told them in a statement. Local media added that some of the dead were killed after being burned alive, while military equipment, including vehicles, were taken from the post during the assault. No terrorist group has yet laid claim the attack, but several jihadist groups are known to operate in this area. This includes al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrebs Katibat al Murabitoon, led by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, and its Tuareg front group Ansar Dine. Another group, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), a splinter cell of Murabitoon led by Abu Walid al Sahrawi, also operates there. Murabitoon has claimed two kidnappings in northern Burkina Faso in the last two years, while several gendarmerie posts have fallen under attack this year. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has claimed at least two assaults in northern Burkina Faso since September. Ansar Dines Katibat Macina is also responsible several attacks along the Mali-Burkina Faso borders. Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. The US Department of States Rewards for Justice program more than doubled the bounty for Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of the Islamic State and its self-professed caliphate, making him one of the two most wanted men in the world. The $25 million reward now puts Baghdadi on par with Ayman al Zawahiri, the emir of al Qaeda who served as the jihadist groups deputy during the 9/11 attack. This represents a significant increase from the previous reward offer of $10 million announced in October 2011, State notes in its press release announcing the new reward for Baghdadi. State said upping the reward for Baghdadi would increase the means available to us to gain information on their leadership and bring them to justice. Under Baghdadis leadership, the Islamic State has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Middle East, including the brutal murder of numerous civilian hostages from Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, State notes. Additionally, the group also has conducted chemical weapons attacks in Iraq and Syria State increased the reward for Baghdadi just as the Islamic State has been pushed to the brink in Iraq. The Islamic State first began taking control of territory in Iraqs Anbar province in January 2014, and then launched a lightning offensive in June 2014 that put it in control of large areas in northern, central and eastern Iraq, including the city of Mosul. But Iraqi forces backed by US air power, the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iranian-backed Shiite militias have slowly pushed back the Islamic State. They are currently on the offensive in Mosul, the last major city under Islamic State control. Baghdadi, who is also known as Dr. Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali and Abu Dua, was added to the US list of global terrorists in Oct. 2011, when the Islamic State of Iraq was still part of al Qaedas network. Long before the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, Rewards for Justice offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest and prosecution. It was the same amount offered for Mullah Omar, who at the time was the emir of the Taliban. The bounty for Zawahiri then was $25 million. Baghdadi became the head of al Qaedas Islamic State of Iraq after Abu Omar al Baghdadi, his predecessor and the groups founder, was killed by Iraqi and US troops in April 2010. Also killed in that same raid was Abu Ayyub al Masri, the Egyptian-born War Minister of the Islamic State of Iraq. Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here. Jocelyne Brisebois, a spokeswoman for Dawson, said she did not know when the conversation would take place. "I will follow up with Mr. Trudeau regarding his involvement with the fundraising events," Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson said in a letter to Rona Ambrose, interim leader of the opposition Conservative Party, who had filed a complaint. The development marks a new low for Trudeau, who came to power in November 2015 vowing to run an open and ethical government but faces relentless accusations that the Liberals are running a cash-for-access scheme. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, dogged by accusations that rich donors to his Liberal Party gained privileged access, will be questioned by the ethics commissioner to see whether he broke conflict of interest rules, an official said on Thursday. Trudeau has been under pressure for weeks about revelations that Liberal donors enjoyed privileged access to fundraising events where the prime minister and cabinet members spoke. In remarks to reporters after the news broke, Trudeau stuck to his position that he had done nothing wrong. "We will always work with the ethics commissioner and anyone else who has questions of this government," he said. Dawson's talk with Trudeau will mark the first time in a decade that the ethics commissioner has questioned a sitting prime minister. She will then decide whether a full investigation is needed. A copy of the letter was made available to Reuters. Trudeau says it was ridiculous to imagine that donors handing over 1,500 Canadian dollars each -- the maximum donation allowed -- could influence government policy. Accountability rules he issued shortly after taking power state: "There should be no preferential access to government, or appearance of preferential access" for people who contribute to politicians and parties. Trudeau is in no immediate political danger. His Liberals have a majority in the House of Commons, and the next federal election is not due until October 2019. Both the Conservatives and the left-leaning New Democrats, the other main opposition party, are holding leadership races that will not end until next year. A Nanos Research poll on Wednesday showed 61.7 percent of Canadians would consider voting Liberal. The figure for the Conservatives is 44.5 percent. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that not allowing Indian Air Force (IAF) officers to grow beard on religious grounds did not amount to infringement of fundamental rights. The court delivered the verdict while dismissing the separate pleas of two Muslim IAF officers. They had argued that the 2003 notification by IAF authorities prohibiting growing beard was in contravention of fundamental rights and a Ministry of Home circular of 1990. The IAF authorities had maintained that such prohibition was not made on religious grounds but were secular and necessary for maintaining the cohesiveness and security of the combat force. Despite Singapores size, there is certainly no shortage of ways to celebrate the coming New Year on our little island. Whether youre interested in popping champagne and partying it up, or looking to indulge in a meticulously-prepared feast with your closest friends and family members, you will no doubt be able to find the perfect venue for your celebrations if you look hard enough. But if youre not quite sure as to what you want to be doing as we cross the threshold over into the uncharted waters of a brand new year, not to worry, weve got a list of fun and creative ways you can bid au revoir to 2016 and say bonjour to 2017! From enjoying live music acts by the poolside at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spas grandstand, The Stage, to filling your belly with the most masterfully prepared dishes at SO Sofitel Singapores elegant Xperience Restaurant, our round-up of ideas should give you all the inspiration you need to get started on your New Years Eve and New Years Day plans. Dont wait till its too late, make your bookings now or you might miss out on an unforgettable start to 2017! This post was brought to you by Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa and SO Sofitel Singapore. Luxury British jewellery brand, Monica Vinader, has unveiled its first Singapore flagship boutique this December. Located in the prominent ION Orchard on Orchard Road, this store is also the first boutique in Southeast Asia. Known for her stunning award-winning contemporary designs and wearable looks, the label counts A-list names like the Duchess of Cambridge, Olivia Palermo and Cara Delevingne as some of its fans. Personalise Your Favourite Monica Vinader Jewellery The flagship store debut on our Singaporean shores follows its store opening in New York City just this month, which was graced by the likes of supermodel Karolina Kurkova and actress Kelly Rutherford. The newly-opened ION Orchard boutique will house the labels entire range of friendship, gemstone and diamond collections. You can also get them personalised through the stores complimentary same-day engraving service, for an individual touch to your jewellery! The stores interior, designed by Monica Vinader herself and a team of architects, promises a truly luxe yet inviting shopping experience. With its golden brass exterior, bespoke black and gold jewellery cabinets and oak parquet flooring, we can say it definitely does not disappoint. The official store opening will be in February 2017, where Monica Vinader will be personally welcoming the press through a series of intimate events to introduce the brand. Sarah Khan Photos: Monica Vinader Read More: Gemstone Beauty: Monica Vinader introduces stunning Petra collection Dazzling Gems: The new Swarovski Fall/Winter 2016 Crystal Galaxy Holiday collection revealed New display at National Museum of Singapore features 14,000 Swarovski crystals Austria's lower house of parliament has approved the compulsory purchase of the building Hitler was born in, a step towards changing the site beyond recognition to reduce its appeal as a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. The text approved late Wednesday did not specify what form the planned overhaul of the building will take, which some deputies who voted against the bill cited as their reason for opposing it. Opponents included some members of the small, liberal Neos party, according to a statement by parliament, but a count of votes was not immediately available. The bill must now be passed by the upper house, which is expected to be a formality. While most of the globe is growing at a healthy-if-unspectacular clip, there are virtually always pockets of weakness. Two such weak spots are the Eastern Pacific island nations of Australia and Japan (although technically the former is a continent), which both released disappointing Q3 GDP last week. Australian GDP shrank -1.9% annualized, below 1.2% consensus expectations. Meanwhile, Japan's growth slipped to a revised 1.3% annualized from its preliminary 2.2% estimate. While Q3 is over and these data are backward-looking, factors under the hood illustrate the unattractive outlook for these two countries. Although they're great vacation spots[i]-exchange rates are favorable for Americans!-neither seem like prime investment opportunities. Not Such a G'Day Down Under The fading commodities boom has hit mining-heavy Australia's economy in recent years, and its stocks have followed suit (see Exhibit 1). This isn't to say there has been a recession: Prior to last quarter, Australia grew continually since Q1 2011's Queensland flooding. And, actually, Australia's last recession was in 1991, having sidestepped the global 2008 downturn. We don't expect an Aussie recession now, despite common fears of the Lucky Country's fortunes turning sour. Exhibit 1: Australian Stocks Track Miners Source: FactSet, as of 12/13/2016. MSCI Australia Index, MSCI World Materials Index and MSCI World Index indexed to 100 at 12/30/2011. Australia manufacturing and services purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) still suggest growth, with readings over 50 in November. The fact poor weather (and its impact on construction) was the contraction's primary culprit means another decline isn't likely, avoiding technical recession. (Keep the streak alive!) Coupled with Aussie stocks' recent outperformance, that might seem reason enough to move more of your portfolio down under, but recency bias is always and everywhere a behavioral error. Even if Australia stays out of recession, its economy has downshifted. Australia's "core" GDP-stripping out government, inventory changes, exports and imports, and leaving just household consumption and private investment-lacks luster (see Exhibit 2). The five-year average quarterly annualized growth trend for this measure is just 1.2%, and household consumption (57% of GDP) has slowed considerably since 2008. That doesn't mean it will stay slow, but it does suggest the country has some structural weaknesses to overcome. Meanwhile, as Aussie Treasurer Scott Morrison points out: "Driving investment is the challenge. We've had 12 consecutive quarters of contraction in private investment. If you compare this to [the struggles of] 2008 the big difference is business investment." Slower GDP growth has little connection to stock market performance, but the investment weakness Morrison highlighted happens to be in one of Australia's three biggest equity sectors: Materials. The MSCI Australia Index is heavy on Financials (41%), Materials (15%) and Real Estate (10%), much more than world sector weights of 18%, 5% and 3%. Prior to this year, Materials weakness was a big drag on Aussie relative performance. Exhibit 2: Australian Core GDP Suggests Positive but Meager Underlying Growth Source: FactSet, as of 12/13/2016. Materials has done well this year, as iron ore prices have almost doubled, which largely explains Aussie stocks' recent outperformance. But for Materials to rise more, prices would likely need further upside surprise. For a commodity whose surge is "baffling" due to questionable demand drivers, that seems rather speculative. Hence, we question the rally's staying power. Japan's Sun Still Setting Japanese equity performance (in yen) since the US election has some claiming the weak yen will lift stocks more. But for US investors, yen-denominated returns are a mirage. In US dollars, recent Japanese returns are far weaker (see Exhibit 3). Underscoring this, Q3's revised GDP shows the economy is about as listless as ever. Exhibit 3: Japan Underperforms in Dollars Source: FactSet, St. Louis Federal Reserve and Yahoo Finance! as of 12/13/2016. MSCI Japan indexed to 100 at 06/30/2015. Private consumption grew just 0.3%, contributing a miniscule 0.1 percentage point (ppt) to the country's 1.3% q/q growth rate. Private capex fell -0.4%. Net trade was the biggest positive contributor, adding 1.7ppts to growth, but only because falling imports inflated the total. In other words, Japan benefited from rising demand overseas, while demand at home sagged. Inventories also subtracted, and have for most of the last year. Considering the long-running weakness in consumption, that suggests businesses' outlook isn't bullish. Exhibit 4:Japanese Core GDP Suggests Positive but Meager Underlying Growth Source: FactSet, as of 12/13/2016. Additionally, revisions to how Japanese GDP is calculated-increasing the sample size of household consumption data and reclassifying R&D to boost past GDP-while flattering, don't change the fact that it's backward looking or that the economy remains stagnant. Japan's five-year average quarterly annualized "core" GDP growth trend is 0.7% and isn't likely to improve any time soon, absent more open trade and labor markets-ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership notwithstanding. The MSCI Japan Index almost doubles Consumer Discretionary (20%) and Industrials' (20%) weights relative to the World Index's 12% and 11%, respectively. With those sectors barely registering a domestic heartbeat, and most export growth a figment of currency conversions, we continue to expect Japan Inc. to underwhelm. Will Stock Market VIX Spike Today? Good Morning! The SPX Premarket is up, as would be expected for the close of index options at todays open. Volatility may spike at the open as options traders settle their trades. What happens after the institutions leave the scene? ZeroHedge comments, Quad-witching Friday has arrived, which means that alongside thin, pre-holiday liquidity and a jumpy market, we expect to see sharp, volatile moves for the rest of the day, the first of which was just noted in Europe, where stocks moved from session lows to highs in the span of minutes, in the process sending the Euro Stoxx 50 index 0.8% higher and turning it positive on the year as it reached its highest level since December 2015. The broader Stoxx 600 remains still down 1.8% on the year. Of Europe's indices, the IBEX, FTSE MIB, SMI are still down; while the FTSE 100, CAC 40 are up on the year and the German DAX just hit 2016 highs. In another article at ZeroHedge we read, In August 2015, I tweeted that if Donald Trump were to be elected President of the United States, we would have to head for the bunkers. A Trump presidency was considered highly unlikely back then; but here we are. And while heading for the bunkers might not be the most appropriate response (yet), where we are is undoubtedly a more dangerous world. TNX is on pause at the open. The Wave [b] pattern is complete, so it is waiting for stocks to begin their decline. Has the rally in yields above 2.6% triggered the sell-off? Last week Goldman commented that it would be the line in the sand. However, it appears to have modified its tune as this morning ZeroHedge reports, At the end of November, when the 10Y yield had just cracked 2.3%, Goldman, together with SocGen, JPM, RBC and various other banks, gave its answer to what may be one of the most important questions for the market right now: how high can 10Y bond yields go before they start to hurt equities? Goldman answered that "the equity market is still at a level that can cope with moderately rising bond yields. We estimate that a rise in US bond yields above 2.75% or probably between 0.75-1% in Germany would create a more serious problem for equity markets: at that point we would expect the correlation between bonds and equities to be more positive - i.e., any further rises in yields from there would be a negative for stock returns." They seem to be saying, Nothing to see here. Move along. However, we are not the only ones with bond issues. ZeroHedge reports, One day after China's regulator halted trading in bond futures for the first time ever, Beijing suffered another catalytic bond-market event overnight when it failed to sell all the Treasury Bills on auction Friday, for the first time in almost 18 months, as bids fell short of minimum requirements, according to traders required to bid at the auction. As BBG reported overnight, the Ministry of Finance sold only 9.57 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) of 182-day bills in a planned 10 billion yuan sale, and 10.85 billion yuan of 91-day notes in a planned 12 billion yuan sale, according to a statement from the bond clearing house. What is notable, is that the Bills on offer paid a hefty yield: the 182-day bills sold for 2.9565%, while the 91-day bills sold for 2.8991%. China is the biggest seller of US Treasuries. And the Yuan is coming very close to breaking its August 2015 low,, which triggered the market sell-off in both August 2015 and January 2016. It appears that we may experience a liquidity shortage on a global scale. Yesterday the Shanghai Index came close to breaking a bearish trendline near 3100.00. The failed bond auction may be the final straw that opens the floodgates to another 1,000 point move in that index. More later. Regards, Tony Our Investment Advisor Registration is on the Web. We are in the process of updating our website at www.thepracticalinvestor.com to have more information on our services. Log on and click on Advisor Registration to get more details. If you are a client or wish to become one, please make an appointment to discuss our investment strategies by calling Connie or Tony at (517) 699-1554, ext 10 or 11. Or e-mail us at tpi@thepracticalinvestor.com . Anthony M. Cherniawski, President and CIO http://www.thepracticalinvestor.com As a State Registered Investment Advisor, The Practical Investor (TPI) manages private client investment portfolios using a proprietary investment strategy created by Chief Investment Officer Tony Cherniawski. Throughout 2000-01, when many investors felt the pain of double digit market losses, TPI successfully navigated the choppy investment waters, creating a profit for our private investment clients. With a focus on preserving assets and capitalizing on opportunities, TPI clients benefited greatly from the TPI strategies, allowing them to stay on track with their life goals. Disclaimer: The content in this article is written for educational and informational purposes only. There is no offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security and no information contained here should be interpreted or construed as investment advice. Do you own due diligence as the information in this article is the opinion of Anthony M. Cherniawski and subject to change without notice. Anthony M. Cherniawski Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Independent counsel Park Young-soo on Thursday slapped a travel ban on President Park Geun-hye's former chief of staff after he was caught lying to lawmakers. Kim Ki-choon is one of several suspects in the massive influence-peddling and corruption scandal that has engulfed the president who are banned from travel even before the independent counsel formally starts his probe next week. Park Young-soo also warned he could conduct a surprise raid on Cheong Wa Dae, although staff there have had months to shred incriminating evidence. "We can't interrogate the president more than once or twice," Park told reporters. "We need to be fully prepared." He added there could be "security problems" if she is called into his office in downtown Seoul, "and we need to treat the president with due respect." That means Park Geun-hye will probably not be questioned until the independent counsel has a clear picture of how Cheong Wa Dae extracted W77.4 billion from top conglomerates like Samsung for two dodgy foundations controlled by the president's long-time friend Choi Soon-sil. Others who have been banned from travel include Kim Young-jae, a plastic surgeon whose business allegedly benefited from his association with Choi and who is also rumored to have tended to the president in the notorious "missing seven hours," when she was nowhere to be found during the 2014 ferry disaster. They also include Park's official physician Kim Sang-man, who allegedly turned a blind eye to the president's addiction to quack anti-aging treatments, and several tycoons who gave money to Choi and her foundations. Former presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo, who is suspected of leading the cover-up, is under a separate travel ban from prosecutors. An official at the independent counsel's office said, "You can say that we have taken all necessary measures." MOUNTAIN VALLEY Friends and neighbors are about three-quarters of the way to an amount they think would get Vernon Koony Frog Gilbert well settled into a new house. Gilbert has lived his whole life in Mountain Valley in the house in which he was born. The former farm building never has had running water or electricity. Now that he is in his late 60s, cutting firewood and hauling water is getting harder for him. His community is getting together to get him settled comfortably to enjoy his golden years. Jesse and Lucille Shelton donated an acre of land for him on Pine Meadow Lane, and Rick Carter started the process of applying for a house through Total Action for Progress (TAP) in Roanoke. Gilbert will get house payments at about $25 a month, they have said. All his friends need to do is get the land ready for construction, then furnish the house afterward. Carter had estimated $10,000 to be a suitable amount to get all that done. There are two ongoing ways people could contribute at any time: at a bank, or online. The online system charges a small percentage to operate, Johnson said, whereas donations to the account all go straight to the cause. The group has an account called Gilbert House Fund at BB&T Bank, and anyone can make a deposit into it at any branch. The balance of that account is at about $6,900, said Vance Johnson. A Brunswick stew was held on Dec. 2 at Barry Smiths house on North Fork. About 150 people attended, raising $2,500 altogether. A Thanksgiving dinner held last month by three area churches raised $1,200. Two or three more churches are set to take up donations, most likely around Christmastime, they said. All of that money goes into the account. Dianne and Dan Canada started a GoFundMe account. Its goal is $2,500, and so far $220 has been raised through four donations. To make a donation that way, go to www.gofundme.com. In the search area, type in Home for Vernon Gilbert or simply Vernon Gilbert. On the property, the survey was done two weeks ago. Waller Engineering and Land Surveying Inc. gave them 10 percent off normal surveying fees, bringing a final cost of $810. Then health inspector John Wyatt inspected the property for permits for the septic and well. Those permits normally cost hundreds of dollars, Johnson said, but Dean White helped arrange for that inspection to done at no charge under a hardship case designation. The property where the house will be built is part of a large horse pasture. Two weeks ago, Johnson, Dan Canada, Carter and Gilbert moved the fence to go around Gilberts lot. Four stakes, each with a yellow ribbon tied to it, mark what will be the four corners of his house. As the men were looking over the property earlier this week, four horses congregated peacefully down the hill. A large German Shepherd came from the opposite direction, nudged the men for pets, then stood around companionably with them. Next up is bulldozing the property to level it out. The men have been talking with some operators who may do it for free, including Chad White and Ray Gauldin, one of Gilberts cousins. Legal fees, including a title search and settlement charges, also will have to be paid. Construction might begin in January, but no date has been set yet, they said. Once the house is built, Gilberts supporters will help get him furniture, appliances, a washer and dryer and window treatments. They will landscape the property. Then theyll help him build an outbuilding. Rick Carter is asking a local lumber company to donate the wood, and local men will have to pitch in to build it, Canada and Johnson said. COLLINSVILLE-A Martinsville man charged with shooting into an occupied building will not be granted bail. Henry County Circuit Court Judge David Williams denied the request on Thursday, ruling that the defendant, Charles Rydell Flood Jr. of Martinsville, had not rebutted the presumption against bail being granted. Flood was charged in an incident Nov. 10 in which his brother Michael Deangelo Graves was fatally shot by Markus Ugene Lampkins of Martinsville. Police believe Lampkins shot Graves in self-defense. Information previously provided by the Henry County Sheriffs Office alleged the following: Graves, 28, of Eden, North Carolina, was shot while at 2052 Stoney Mountain Road, Martinsville (in the Axton area). Upon arrival at the residence, deputies discovered damage to the front door, along with several bullet holes located in the home. Graves and his brother Charles Rydell Flood Jr. had driven to 2052 Stoney Mountain Road to confront the occupants of the home about a domestic-related issue. Upon their arrival at the home, Graves forced the front door open, entering the home armed with a handgun. Once inside, there was a confrontation between Graves and Lampkins. Lampkins attempted to retreat to the rear of the residence but Graves pursued him. Lampkins also was armed with a handgun and fired one round that struck Graves in the chest, police claim. After being shot, Graves retreated outside, After Graves had been shot, Flood fired multiple rounds from a handgun into the home, police allege. Flood transported Graves to Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden about 4:40 a.m. Nov. 10. Upon his arrival, Graves was pronounced dead. After a review of the physical evidence, statements made by witnesses and consultation with Henry County Commonwealths Attorney Andrew Nester, law enforcement officers believe Lampkins shot Graves in self-defense. Lampkins was charged with possessing or transporting a firearm after being convicted of a violent felony. At the bond appeal hearing Wednesday in Henry County Circuit Court, Floods lawyer, Michael McPheeters, requested bail be granted. McPheeters said Flood is presumed innocent of the charges, he is a lifelong resident of the area, has strong family support, that quite a number of his supporters were in the courtroom gallery Wednesday, and that a lot of eyes and ears would be watching Flood to make sure he would abide by any bail restrictions that might be set and to make sure that he would show up for court hearings. McPheeters also said Flood needs to be united with his family, especially since his mother has lost a son. McPheeters also pointed out that a Henry County General District Court judge granted Flood a furlough to attend his brothers (Graves) funeral and that Flood returned to jail after the funeral without issue. Floods mother and his girlfriends mother testified as character witnesses for him and as supporters of his request to be released on bail. Flood testified that it has been a tragic experience, that he lost a brother, and that he would follow any rules the judge might set for his release on bail. Flood also said, Im at peace with myself and the situation Im in. Henry County Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Dawn Futrell argued against bail being granted. She said that Flood had no reason to have a gun on the date in question, that he had been out of jail for only a relatively short period of time when the incident occurred, and that he has several failures to appear in court on his record. MARTINSVILLE-Tammy Gail Prater will serve five years in prison for aggravated sexual battery of a young girl. She was sentenced Thursday in Martinsville Circuit Court. The actual sentence was for 20 years, but Judge G. Carter Greer suspended 15 years on conditions including that after release from prison, she is on supervised probation for five years and then 20 years of good behavior after that. Greer also said that after release from prison, Prater must register as a sex offender and complete sex offender treatment. Greer also fined Prater $5,000, but suspended $2,500 of that fine. Before Judge Greer pronounced the sentence, a relative of Prater described her as a good wife and mother, but said she needs mental help and asked the judge to put her in a mental facility for at least a year as well as incarcerate her for at least a year. A friend of Praters also described her as a good mother and said he was devastated when he learned what Prater was accused of. Courtney Armstrong, Praters lawyer, pointed out that Prater has no criminal record. Armstrong also indicated she thinks Prater needs some level of mental help. Armstrong asked Judge Greer to sentence Prater within the sentencing guidelines, which ranged from a low of one year and 10 months of incarceration to a high of five years and one month. Judges are not bound by sentencing guidelines. Martinsville Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Paula Bowen began by saying she disagreed with Judge Greers recent decision reversing his verdict against Prater on a related charge of animate object sexual penetration, changing his verdict from guilty to not guilty after he held a hearing on a defense motion to reconsider his verdict. As for the charge of aggravated sexual battery, Bowen asked Judge Greer to impose a sentence of five years and one month. Bowen said the victim was traumatized by Prater for about 1 years. The girl was losing sleep, crying and acting out in various ways, Bowen said. Judge Greer said, This is an awful case for a number of reasons: One was the girls young age. Another is that the girl will have to live with memories of Praters abuse for the rest of the girls life. And the girl will need psychological treatment for years to come, Greer said. Perhaps one day, if the girl forgives Prater, they can resume their relationship, Judge Greer said. Prater apologized to the court and her family. She insisted she was trying to take care of the girl, not harm her in any way. Prater also said taking part in programs that would help her would be more beneficial to her than being incarcerated. The Korea-China free trade agreement marks its first anniversary on Dec. 20. Even though Korea's overall exports to China shrank more than nine percent so far this year, those of products that enjoyed tariff cuts under the FTA decreased only 1.7 percent. Some here smell economic retaliation after Korea decided to let the U.S. station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here, which China opposes. But experts said the FTA is just entering its second year and more tariff cuts are to be phased in as time goes by. Under the FTA, tariffs on more than 90 percent of products will disappear over the next 20 years. It covers some 958 Chinese products worth US$8.7 billion in exports, while Korea saw $8 billion worth of export opportunities open up in China. The Korea International Trade Association polled 605 exporters, and 65 percent said they are enjoying the benefits of lower tariffs. Korea remains the top exporter to China for the fourth straight year, and Chinese direct investment in Korea totaled $1.66 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 8.5 percent compared to the same period of 2015. Weak overall exports to China dissipated the benefits. Even with the FTA in effect, Korea's exports to China fell for 16 months until October and the outlook remains murky. Han Jae-jin at Hyundai Research Institute said, "Compared to other FTAs the degree of market-opening is small, so immediate effects may seem miniscule. But the scale of overall trade between the two countries is huge, so the long-term effects on the Korean economy are positive." The ideas of Feminism have traditionally found support in universities, and these ideas are currently enjoying a surge in popularity amongst students. At a time when the ideas of Marxism are also finding a growing echo in the student movement, what attitude do Marxists take towards different feminist ideas? How far are these schools of thought compatible? What are the points of contention between them? And what does it mean to call yourself a Marxist-Feminist? Marxists, like feminists, fight to end the oppression of women, although we see this struggle as part of a struggle against all forms of oppression. The utopian socialist Flora Tristan pointed out in the first half of the 19th century that the struggle for the emancipation of women is inseparably bound up with the class struggle. Marx and Engels included some of Tristans ideas in The Communist Manifesto, and Engels went on to write Origins of the Family, Private Property and the State, which uses anthropological evidence to explain the origins of the oppression of women and how it can be overcome. The founder of the German Social Democratic Party, August Bebel, further studied the question of womens oppression in his book Women under Socialism and Leon Trotsky developed this in his series of essays Women and the Family. Towering figures in the socialist movement such as Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zetkin and Alexandra Kollontai proved in practice the power of socialist struggle to break down sexist prejudice. The role of women workers in Petrograd in February 1917, the East London matchgirls in 1888, and the miners wives in 1984-5 are some of the better known out of countless examples of the key role that working women have played in the class struggle. Most significantly, the achievements of the Bolsheviks in the first years after the 1917 revolution demonstrate the possibilities that socialism presents for ending the oppression of women. Class struggle These and other practical successes of Marxism on the question of the oppression of women can be put down to the inseparable link between the labour movement and the struggle for socialism. As Marx and Engels point out: [t]he history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle. The battle between exploited and exploiter a relationship defined by each individuals position in the economic process ultimately governs the ideology, institutions and prejudices of any given society. It is therefore to the existence of class society we must look for the origins of sexism, rather than to supposed inherent traits in either men or women. For this reason Marxists intervene in this class war, on the side of the exploited, to challenge the conditions of exploitation and the various forms of oppression, including sexism, to which they give rise. So how does the modern form of class society capitalism perpetuate sexist prejudice and the oppression of women? Capitalism relies on the family as the primary economic unit and therefore relies on the oppression of women in society to provide free labour in the home. It also uses low-paid women to drive down wages and conditions for the entire working class. Marxists therefore argue for socialism, which would allow for the socialisation of domestic labour and would put a stop to exploitation via wage labour as was proved in Russia after 1917. In other words, the struggle for socialism removes the material basis for the oppression of women. This struggle can only be carried out by the working class as a whole, due to their position in production, and so Marxists immerse themselves in the class struggle, intervening in the movements and mass organisations of workers and youth, to end the exploitation of the proletariat and the oppression of women. Positive discrimination This is not the attitude towards the trade unions, political parties, student unions and other organisations of working class struggle is not shared by some feminists. For example, Anna Coote and Beatrix Campbell, in their book Sweet Freedom: The Struggle for Womens Liberation, describe trade unions as part of the patriarchal system, calling strikes an outdated dispute practice. Instead of demanding that workers as a whole take a larger share of the wealth in society, Coote and Campbell argue simply for equality in wages between men and women. And rather than challenging the union bureaucracy, which stifles workers attempts to win higher wages, they simply call for more female bureaucrats. Many of the leading bodies of these organisations are dominated by men, which is a reflection of the oppression of women in society as a whole. Many feminists therefore demand equal numbers of men and women at the top of these institutions as a means by which to promote gender equality, a policy strongly backed by Harriet Harman, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The result is a drive for positive discrimination in unions and parties, with a minimum number of elected positions and a certain amount of speaking time in meetings reserved for women. Such methods turn the problem on its head. It is not the male dominance of student unions, trade unions, political parties or other mass organisations that fuels the oppression of women it is the sexist prejudice inherent in class society that causes male dominance of unions. The unions, by uniting the working class, can be used to smash that class society and are therefore a means to the end of eliminating womens oppression. Creating an ideal model union that is pure and free from prejudice is not an end in itself in fact such a model union can never exist so long as society as a whole is not fundamentally changed. In reality these methods can actually be counter-productive. Unions and political parties can only be effective weapons against the oppression of women and other prejudices if they are led by staunch working-class activists and pursue bold socialist policies qualities which are not exclusive either to men or to women. To achieve this, leaders need to be elected on the basis of their politics not their gender, and internal debates need to be determined by the political content of the speeches not the gender of the person giving the speech. Margaret Thatchers politics were not defined by her gender but by her class. The same goes for the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of the IMF Christine Lagarde. The ideas of these people spell nothing but misery for all workers, particularly women, and in the eyes of the working class they do not gain an ounce more validity simply because they are espoused by a woman instead of a man. As any activist will know, and as history has proved, winning the political struggle for revolutionary ideas inside mass organisations of the working class, such as unions or parties, is not easy. It requires consistent, patient work winning people over to clear political ideas with a theoretical basis. Every step towards revolutionary socialist ideas in working class organisations is a precious gain. Those who advocate policies of positive discrimination threaten to undermine this work by replacing socialist aims and the methods necessary to achieve them, with the legalistic aims and methods of formal gender equality which, by their nature, lack political clarity and a theoretical base. It is the difference between a political struggle for ideas that can emancipate the working class as a whole, and a struggle for the reorganisation of the bureaucracy inside unions and political parties. Quite clearly one of these has the revolutionary potential to fundamentally change society while the other one offers nothing but improved career prospects for a small layer of potential bureaucrats. These struggles are entirely different and do not complement each other - the latter can only detract from the former. As Marxists we do not focus our attention on the organisational structure of union bureaucracy. We are interested in winning the rank and file students and workers to the ideas of socialism. Bureaucracy is, in fact, the very antithesis of the rank and file of the working class. It acts as a brake on the movement, rendering the workers organisations less responsive to the changing consciousness and needs of the workers themselves by elevating officials away from the conditions of ordinary people. We only need to look at the leadership of trade unions, and especially the Labour Party, today to see this process taking place. That the bureaucracy plays this role is not due to its majority male composition, and it would not cease to be a drag on the movement simply by installing more female bureaucrats. Putting our energy into campaigning for a better bureaucracy therefore actively undermines our fight for the revolutionary ideas of socialism and the emancipation of female and all workers that they offer. Raising awareness Few feminists claim that positive discrimination is all that is needed to achieve gender equality. In fact many feminists, like columnist Laurie Penny, are likely to agree that a fundamental change in society along class lines is indeed necessary to solve the problem. However, Penny and many others also argue that attacking the symptoms of the problem without attacking its root cause is still worthwhile because it raises awareness of the oppression of women. Such is the argument behind the Everyday Sexism project, the recent anti-Blurred Lines campaign and the No More Page 3 campaign they are not designed to solve the problem of the oppression and objectification of women in society, but rather to raise awareness and win a small victory for women in these particular battles. The problem with such campaigns is that they often sow illusions in methods and ideas which in fact offer no solution to the issues. Simply telling people that women are oppressed is not enough to prevent that oppression from happening. Raising awareness is only effective as part of a mass campaign to actually do something to tackle the problem. While there is no shortage of feminist academics and journalists raising awareness about womens issues and coming up with ideas for how to eliminate the oppression of women, there are very few examples of mass campaigns to tackle the root cause of these issues. Those campaigns which do exist are limited to one instance of sexism in the media or in the music industry with no perspective of how to fight oppression as a whole. Such narrow demands can actually allow for the accommodation of extremely reactionary points of view in these campaigns, such as the view of the founder of the No More Page 3 campaign who describes The Sun as a newspaper of which she is proud and that could be made even better with the removal of page three, despite the racist, homophobic, sexist and anti-working class bile that fills all the other pages of the newspaper. To have illusions in the power of these campaigns to solve the problems can divert good activists from the work of fighting for a revolutionary transformation of society. Waiting for the revolution? Does this mean that Marxists argue that women must simply wait for the socialist revolution for sexism to be challenged? Of course not. It is through the unity of the working class on the basis of a common class position, regardless of gender, race or sexuality, and fighting for common socialist aims that prejudice is broken down. The struggle for socialism is based on the power of workers - not male workers or female workers, but all workers. If such a struggle is waged, every worker will play a vital role and a victory of male workers will be impossible without an equal struggle on the part of female workers. The socialist economic system will smash the material base for the oppression of women, while the struggle to establish that economic system will tear down sexist prejudice by proving in action the equality of men and women. For example, during the miners strike in Britain, it was after hearing the fiery speeches of the miners wives, witnessing their courage in the face of the Thatchers brutality, and relying on their fundraising abilities, that the male dominated miners organisations voted to remove sexist overtones from their union literature. Women came to be seen by the workers as staunch proletarian activists who commanded respect and were empowered to demand equal treatment. Such empowerment was not achieved simply by talking about it, but by actively building an organisation of working class men and women fighting for their rights. Marxists are under no illusions that, come the revolution, we will immediately be living in an oppression-free utopia. The traditions of past ages weigh like a mountain on modern society. Class society and the oppression of women has existed for close to 10,000 years such traditions cant be shaken off in the blink of an eye. What is needed is a fundamental change to the way society is structured not tinkering around the edges but to turn the whole system upside down. Only by shaking society to its roots can we hope to dislodge such an accumulation of rotten traditions. This is precisely the definition of socialist revolution a permanent process that allows us to build a world free from these old prejudices. It is therefore the task of all those who want to tackle the oppression of women to fight for socialist policies and mass campaigns in the labour and student movement. Both proletarian emancipation and gender equality lie along the path of working class unity and socialist revolution. Intersectionality Intersectionality is a school of thought stemming from feminism and which points out that all oppression is connected and so each person will experience different forms of oppression in different ways depending on how they are connected for that particular individual. For example the oppression experienced by a black working class woman is different to that experienced by a gay white man, which is different again to the experience of a straight disabled person, and so on. This observation is patently correct. These ideas have existed for a long time, although they were significantly developed by the work of Kimberle Crenshaw in the early 1990s and taken even further by the sociologist Patricia Hill Collins. These people, and others who argue in favour of this view of oppression, are therefore opposed to the sectioning off of certain groups from the movement as a whole on the basis of gender, race, sexuality etc. They also introduce the idea of class as an important tool in analysing society and so in general appear to be closer to the ideas of Marxism than many traditional feminists; in fact Collins describes herself as standing in the Marxist-Feminist tradition. However, in actual fact, intersectionality reduces oppression to an individual experience that can only be understood by the person suffering it. This is because every person experiences oppression in a uniquely different way and so it is only that individual who knows how best to fight it. This individualism serves to break apart mass movements into atomised individuals all fighting their own unique battles to which others can contribute little more than passive support. It is for this reason that intersectionality appears in the student movement as little more than a method of analysis. As a school of thought it is offers little towards building a mass movement for practical change. Intersectionality fails to appreciate the qualitative difference between the experience of the working class (which obviously includes both men and women) and the experience of all women. Workers are not just oppressed they are exploited as a class for the economic gain of the bourgeoisie. Women are not economically exploited as a class, because not all women belong to the same class. Women are oppressed by capitalism in order to facilitate the greater exploitation of the working class. Thus Marxists argue that intersectionality is wrong to view class and gender as comparable factors in understanding societys problems. Capitalism is motivated by the pursuit of profit via the exploitation of the workers society under capitalism therefore moves in the grooves of the class struggle. The oppression of women is a consequence of this exploitation and can only be combatted as part of the struggle for the emancipation of the working class. While intersectionality offers isolated individualism, Marxism offers working class unity. Feminism and democratic demands The early ideas of feminism arose around figures such as Mary Wollstonecraft and demands for democratic rights: the right to vote, the right to abortion, the right to work and the right to equal pay. While in many countries these rights are yet to be won, in Britain there is almost no legislation that actively discriminates against women. Equality before the law has, largely, been achieved. And yet women still suffer discrimination and oppression in society despite these democratic rights having been won. Thus modern feminists - from Harriet Harman to Laurie Penny - demand measures that go beyond formal legal equality, such as positive discrimination, or measures that dont seek to introduce new rights, but that rather raise awareness about the rights that already formally exist. The severe limitations of such policies have already been pointed out. What Marxists explain is that the demands of such strands of feminism are democratic demands and bourgeois democratic demands at that. Taken alone, their vision for the world is one where men and women are oppressed and exploited equally under capitalism. Not only is this gender equality an impossibility under capitalism, but even as an utopian idea this is not particularly inspiring. While liberal feminists want more women in the boardroom, Marxists want to get rid of the boardroom. Some feminists simply want men and women to share the housework equally, while Marxists want to socialise housework and ends its status as unpaid private labour. As with all democratic demands, Marxists support feminist demands. However, we must point out the limitations of simply fighting for democratic demands without linking these to the question of socialist revolution. We must not let discussion on particular issues divert from the wider question of the socialist transformation of society. For example, in her reminiscences, Clara Zetkin - the German communist and founder of International Working Womens Day - recalls meeting Lenin in 1920 when they discussed the womens question at length. Lenin congratulated her on her education of the German communists on the issue of the emancipation of women. However he pointed out that there had been a revolution in Russia that presented an opportunity to build, in practice, the foundations for a society free from the oppression of women. Given these circumstances, Lenin explained that the dedication of so much time and energy to discussions on Freud and the sexual problem was a mistake. Why spend time discussing the finer points of sexuality and the historical forms of marriage when the worlds first proletarian revolution is fighting for survival? This is an example of a Marxist understanding of feminism and its demands. The issues facing working class women can be used to raise the consciousness of the working class as a whole, by illustrating the oppression of women under capitalism and the need for socialism to combat this. But we cannot let the fight for womens liberation be an isolated movement that divides the working class. Marxists use the compass of the unity of the working class and the need to advance the struggle for socialism as our guide. In countries like Britain, the bourgeois democratic demands of feminism have reached their limits, and in the student and labour movement it is now common to find discussions on organisational questions related to gender being used to distract from the need for a discussion on political questions. Faced with the biggest fall in living standards since the 1860s, students and workers need to organise demonstrations, protests and strikes to defend their standard of living. And yet, as many who have been present at student union or activist meetings will know, a lot of time in such meetings is given over to discussions on safe-spaces, the appropriate use of pronouns (using he or she to refer to other people), debates over the percentages of gender composition among elected officials, and debates over which songs are sufficiently misogynistic to deserve a ban. If these organisations and movements were instead discussing and committing to building serious and militant campaigns to win people over to the ideas of socialism and fight the atrocious austerity attacks (which, by the way, are hitting women particularly hard), then they would be able to unite students and workers in that same struggle, irrelevant of gender, race, sexuality or anything else. In this kind of struggle every person plays a vital part and no particular physical attributes are more or less preferable in the fight for socialism. It is in the heat of the class struggle that prejudices are broken down. Marxist-feminist Many young people, as a reaction to what they correctly see as the sexism of some political organisations including some on the Left - call themselves Marxist-Feminists in order to emphasise their commitment to female emancipation as well as working class emancipation. This is a phenomenon that has been particularly prevalent in the USA since the late 1960s, spearheaded by such figures as Gloria Martin and Susan Stern of the Radical Women organisation. However, for any genuine Marxist, the addition of the word feminist to our ideology adds nothing to our ideas. As has been explained above, it is not possible to be a Marxist without fighting for the emancipation of working women and all oppressed groups in society. One might as well call oneself "Marxist-feminist-anti-racist", for the struggle against racism, along with the fight for women's emancipation, also forms an integral part of the struggle for socialism. It is to the shame of some on the Left that they seem to forget this basic tenet of Marxist theory. For this reason the addition of the word feminist is unnecessary and unscientific. In fact it can be counter-productive because, as illustrated above, some of the ideas of certain feminists - such as positive discrimination - actually play a role in holding back working class unity and the struggle for socialism. Introducing these conflicting ideas into Marxist theory can serve only to confuse and disorientate. While there are certainly Marxists who take particular interest in the womens question, just as there are Marxists who take a particular interest in the environment or the national question, it would be a mistake to elevate this interest to the extent of over-exaggerating its importance relative to the rest of Marxist ideas. Precision in language is important because that is the way in which we convey our ideas to others. If we are not clear in our language then our ideas cannot be conveyed clearly either. However, it is also vital not to attach undue weight to words and labels. People can describe their ideology however they like, but it is their actions not their words that will really define their political standpoint. This is the point of view of Marxists who understand that workers do not see the world in terms of abstract theories but in concrete action. This stands in contrast to that strand of feminism, epitomised by the ideas of Judith Butler, that argues that male-dominated language is, on some level, a cause of the oppression of women. For example, when referring to an indeterminate person, many writers will use the pronoun he. Some feminists argue that this oppresses women and that if writers would only use a female or indeterminate pronoun more often that would go some way to ending the oppression of women. Again, this makes the mistake of turning the problem on its head. The use of so-called male language is a reflection of the oppression of women in class society. Trying to remove that reflection without removing the oppression itself is futile. The result of such a pursuit is essays, books and lectures raising awareness about the need to change the way we talk, which are almost invariably read only by other, like minded academics and have no impact in popular consciousness. Rather than giving speeches on how to speak, Marxists are engaged in a practical struggle to tear oppression out of society by its roots. This is the difference between academic feminism and revolutionary socialism. Fight against womens oppression! Fight for socialism! Young people, particularly at university, are often interested in exploring ideas and concepts that they may be coming across for the first time in their lives. The current crisis means that more young people than ever before are looking for ideas that challenge the status quo. This is why the ideas of Marxism are becoming increasingly popular among students at the moment. But this also goes some way to explaining the attraction of feminism to some young people. Marxists will struggle alongside everyone who wants to fight for a better world, particularly those who are new to political ideas and activity. But Marxists also take a firm approach on our attitude towards the bourgeois democratic demands of academic feminists. Ours is a class position that has nothing in common with those feminists who seek no more than equal exploitation under capitalism. We stand for the complete unity of the working class and the struggle for socialism. This is the only way prejudices can be broken down and the material foundation for a genuinely classless and equal society can be built. Source A dozen North Korean fishermen starved to death when their fishing boats went adrift on the East Sea for several days but eight were rescued, the Unification Ministry said Thursday. Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told reporters that all eight want to go home, but the North has not yet responded to attempts to contact it. "Weather permitting we plan to hand them over on the East Sea at around 9 a.m. on Monday," Jeong added. The tragedy coincides with a massive push from the North Korean regime to increase fishing revenues as international sanctions bite. Each week, MassLive showcases pets available for adoption at shelters at rescue organizations in Western Massachusetts. With the participation of the shelters listed below, many animals should be able to find a permanent home. We also provide some pet-related news items that we hope you will enjoy. Happy Falalala-llamakkah: Holidays have a new face LEANNE ITALIE, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) -- Happy Falalala-llamakkah, one and all. With Hanukkah and Christmas bumping together this year, a holiday theme for the ages is ready to go -- llamas. What do we mean? We mean cute and funky sweaters, T-shirts, holiday cards, wrapping paper and more showing off the cud-chewing pack animal for Christmas and Hanukkah, which begins the night of Dec. 24 this time around. Oddly, the long-necked beast lends itself to holiday catch phrases for both: "Happy Llamadays" on a Christmas tree ornament with a little white one in a Santa cap, for instance, or "Fa-La-La Llama" on cards. Looking to keep this quirky celebrant simple? This image released by Barry Sellers shows a holiday-themed T-shirt featuring a llama. With Christmas and Hanukkah bumping together this year _ Hanukkah begins on Dec. 24 _ llamas have become an oddball theme on ugly sweaters, gift wrap, greeting cards and other items for both holidays. (Barry Sellers via AP) Jews can enjoy "Happy Llamakah!" instead on paper products and sweaters. How about the Hanukkah-blue sweater with a brown llama in black hat, ear holes included. Also, he's sporting Hasidic sidelocks. These festive outfits are definitely of the "ugly sweater" ilk, with a side order of hipster. And lest you wonder the difference between a llama and an alpaca, look no further than the Christmas T-shirt with tree and a beast apparently named Larry declaring "Not a llama (alpaca)." Dude, you're both camelids. Just sayin'. Online sellers from Amazon to Zazzle are awash in holiday llamas ho-ho-ho-ing it up with antlers and Christmas lights, wreaths around their necks and wearing ugly sweaters of their own. For Hanukkah, they're also in yarmulke, urging fans to belt "Llamakah, oh Llamakah," like the holiday classic. The Paper Source is selling blue-and-white Llamakah gift wrap with the animals in scarves toting menorahs and wrapped presents. So where does all this lead? Well, directly to Barry Sellers in Manchester, England, for one. He's a 34-year-old artist who used to do street graffiti under the tag "llamaphish" using llamas or a goldfish in an Army helmet, depending on his mood. Now, he's selling a T-shirt of his own design in -- count 'em -- 40 different colors with a goofy, bug-eyed llama as a Christmas tree itself, a topper star on his head, lights and garland wrapped around him, wishing all: "Fa lla lla lla llama." Why, Barry, why? "To be honest I have no idea. I've always drawn llamas," he said by phone Tuesday. "I think it's their facial expression. They've got a really funny face, almost condescending, like they're laughing at you." He's selling through the DIY site Teepublic at the moment, where designers upload their images for use on all sorts of stuff, including shirts, mugs, baby onesies and phone cases. He's got plenty of company from others doing llamas. "They're just a funny animal," Sellers said. "Even the name. It's one of those words that's just nice to say. It makes you laugh." Yasmeen Eldahan, 29, is a school teacher by day, a New Yorker living in Cairo, and a seller of all things llama at Zazzle on her own time. Why? Because they sell, she said via email. "I suppose it has something to do with the quirky nature of llamas themselves," Eldahan said. "They're not traditionally cute, nor are they particularly cool. They're unusual and humorous. And I think that appeals to people." She said she hasn't branched out into Llamakkah items yet, "but I might consider it for future llamas!" Andrew Sutton, head of operations for the site TipsyElves, where the sidelocked-llama sweater is sold, said one characteristic sets the animals apart: indifference. "People absolutely love llamas because they live a carefree lifestyle," he said. "They don't desire any love in the first place." WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS SHELTERS: Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society Address: 163 Montague Road, Leverett Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Telephone: (413) 548-9898 Website: www.dpvhs.org Address: 171 Union St., Springfield Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Telephone: (413) 781-4000 Website: www.dpvhs.org Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center Address: 627 Cottage St., Springfield Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, noon-4 p.m.; Thursday, noon-7 p.m. Telephone: (413) 781-1484 Website: tjoconnoradoptioncenter.com Westfield Homeless Cat Project Address: 1124 East Mountain Road, Westfield Hours: Adoption clinics, Thursday, 5-7 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Website: http://www.whcp.petfinder.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/westfieldhomelesscatprojectadoptions Westfield Regional Animal Shelter Address: 178 Apremont Way, Westfield Hours: Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Telephone: (413) 564-3129 Website: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ma70.html Franklin County Sheriff's Office Regional Dog Shelter and Adoption Center Address: 10 Sandy Lane, Turners Falls Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Telephone: (413) 676-9182 Website: http://fcrdogkennel.org/contact.html Polverari/Southwick Animal Control Facility Address: 11 Depot St., Southwick Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Telephone: (413) 569-5348, ext. 649 Website: http://southwickpolice.com/chief-david-a-ricardis-welcome/animal-control/ Berkshire Humane Society Address: 214 Barker Road, Pittsfield Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Telephone: (413) 447-7878 Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/ Purradise Feline Adoption Address: 301 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington Hours: Monday and Tuesday: Closed; Wednesday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Friday,10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, noon-4 p.m. Telephone: (413) 717-4244 Website: http://berkshirehumane.org/contact-us/ Greyhound Options, Inc. Address: 43 Sygiel Rd., Ware, MA. 01082 Telephone: 413-967-9088 Website: greyhoundadoptions.org Toy for Joy Cartmundi Volunteers.JPG Cartamundi employees Shawn Jones (left) and Odalie Ince (right) have been volunteering at the Springfield Salvation Army during to Toy for Joy for over 20 years each, keeping the longstanding partnership between the toy manufacturing company and the Salvation Army alive through the years. (Jordan Grice / The Republican) With over 50 combined years of volunteering to help the Toy for Joy effort, Shawn Jones and Odalie Ince are helping carry on an even longer tradition. The two now work for Cartamundi USA in East Longmeadow which is supporting the 94th annual Toy for Joy campaign with volunteers and a generous gift of toys which are being distributed this week at Salvation Army units in Springfield, Holyoke and Greenfield. The Cartamundi connection dates back to its predecessors, first with toy maker Milton Bradley and most recently with Hasbro which sold its Western Massachusetts plan to Cartamundi a year ago. Hasbro is one of the companies for which Cartamundi manufactures products. "It's been a very good partnership, and we've enjoyed it," said Jones, a general supervisor at Cartamundi. "We're a toy manufacturer, so we donate a lot of toys to the Salvation Army. It's just a joy knowing that everyone is going to have at least a toy to open up underneath their Christmas tree on Christmas Day." Toy for Joy, an effort by the Salvation Army, The Republican and MassLive, is seeking to raise $150,000 by Christmas eve to cover the costs of toys headed to thousands of needy families in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. To date, $38,515.38 has been raised, leaving $111,484.62 needed in the next week to meet the goal. Today's list of generous donors included a $100 gift from Stephen Phifer Contractors Inc., $100 from General Saw and Lawnmower Inc., and a $1,500 donation from the Meunier family. Jones has been assisting with Toy for Joy at the Springfield Citadel of the Salvation Army on Pearl Street for some 20 years, alongside fellow Cartamundi employee Odalie Ince, who has been volunteering for over 30 years. According to Ince, in the time that she has spent volunteering during Toy for Joy and other outreach programs affiliated with Salvation Army, she's witnessed a growing need among families in the community. "It's unbelievable, and my heart goes out to all these people that I see coming through that door," she said. "Just to see over so many thousands of children that need help who are not getting it, I see them on the outside and say, 'Why didn't they come to the Salvation Army which could help them get them what they need." Jones and Ince say being able to help others and put smiles on people's faces during the holidays through Toy for Joy has brought joy to their own lives. To learn more about Toy for Joy, call the Salvation Army's Springfield citadel at 413-733-1518. Online donations can be made by clicking here Here is a list of the latest contributions to this year's campaign: In memory of Alphonse (Santa Claus) Lussier from Paul and Lorraine, $100 Stephen Phifer Contractors Inc., $100 In memory of Granny, Grandpa and Edward McKay, Johnny and Alice, $25 In memory of Nini, Popie and Tom Gagne, John and Alice, $25 In memory of 1st Sgt. William C Moyer, $25 In loving memory of Joseph and Mary Frydryk and Karl and Jennie Dygon from Carl and Patty, $50 In memory of Natalie and Cary V, $25 In loving memory of our deceased family members from Barbara, Glen, Amy and Kevin, $50 Thank you to those who risk their lives everyday to protect us, God bless from the Kwasny family, $50 In memory of Mom and Dad D and G, $50 In loving memory of my father Charles Berard, $25 Donna, $25 In memory of Ben and Tom Whyte who loved Christmas from Eveline Whyte, $20 For Boppy and in honor of our "great" aunts and uncles, love Gavin, Ethan and Kieran, $50 In loving memory of Ralph Jocelyn by his wife, $25 Judy and Walt, $100 In loving memory of Mom Gail McDowell and brother Mike, $25 Memory of sister Mary, teacher, aunt and beautiful person, $20 Bob and Diana, $25 In memory of Mal Macintosh, $100 In loving memory of Mom, Dad, Sandy, Shirley, Shane and JJ, $25 Anonymous, $20 Memory of Cyd Mercier with love from Auntie Gertie, $10 In memory of Alex, $100 In memory of Auntie Mary, $25 Anonymous, $100 Merry Christmas from me and all my guys, $100 In memory of my mother Marjorie Boyden, $100 In memory of Nystrom and Iarrusso families, $100 Special thank you to Kathy and Linda, Merry Christmas from Nora, $50 In loving memory of my husband Frank, love Shirley, $25 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from Steve and Liz, $100 Anonymous, $25 Celebrating the life of David Woodman, $25 In memory of Mae Egan, $10 God bless the children and keep them in your care, $100 Merry Christmas to all from Norm and Ethel, $25 Merry Christmas from Daniel, $50 Merry Christmas and God bless from the Ronan family, $25 Thank you Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Jude for prayers answered, SJL and RL, $15 Merry Christmas from grandkids Mya, Kayla, Alexa, Riley and Gavin, $100 In memory of my nephew Timmy, cousin Richard, Dad James, Matt, miss you all Kathy, $10 In memory of Suki Beucke, the Christmas puppy, $20 In memory of mother Esther and sister Muriel from brother Jack, $20 Golden sunset wishes for Christopher Bizilj, $20 In memory of our parents from Norm and Jeanne, $100 Merry Christmas Logan nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews 50 In memory of Gramps C, Dad K and Dad C who loved all children, $20 Rodney, $25 Anonymous, $200 In loving memory of my parents Grace and Henry Partridge, love Mary, $22 In memory of Betty Harper from Carol and Albert, $10 In memory of Willow and Whisper, $15 In memory of my dear wife, Priscilla Ostrander Teixeira, $25 In memory of Tiz and Gus, love Aimee, $25 Merry Christmas to ALL! Much Love, Ryann, Taylor and Gavin Meunier, $1,500 Merry Christmas with love Rick and Nancy Grimaldi, $100 In memory of holidays shared with all my loved ones who have passed on but still live in my heart. Mommy, Grandpa George, Uncle Alan, Uncle George., $200 Merry Christmas from Marissa Gabby Adribella Gian Nono Luka, $52.60 In memory of our sister Cindy, $100 Love & Miss you Mom, Kevin & Karen today and always., $100 Nancy, $25 RECEIVED: $4,634.60 TOTAL TO DATE: $38,515.38 STILL NEEDED: $111,484.62 BOSTON - A small band of marijuana activists on Thursday gathered outside the Massachusetts State House to mark the legalization of the substance, passing around handfuls of pot and marijuana concentrate. Adults over the age of 21 can possess up to an ounce in public, and ten ounces inside their primary residence. "We are able to hand it out to each other, seeds and concentrates, which is really nice," said Ellen Brown, standing on the State House steps in the 25-degree weather. "And we're all just showing that we're doing this legally, we're doing this responsibly and we're doing it with people over the age of 21." Here's what you can and can't do now that marijuana is legal Bill Downing, a longtime activist who pushed for legalization, reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out and some held marijuana between his fingers. "It's legal for me to do this," he said, while adding that it's a citable offense to consume marijuana in public. "A gentleman here just gifted me this marijuana right here," Downing said. Adults over the age of 21 can gift up to an ounce of marijuana or marijuana seeds. "I'm hoping that people will be gifting marijuana left and right, all over the place, especially since we have the holidays coming up," he said. A building has become engulfed in flames early Friday morning on possibly the coldest day of 2016. The Boston Fire Department was called to 144 Bunker Hill St. in Charlestown at approximately 6:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 16. The three-story building features a laundromat on the first floor and several residences on the upper levels, displacing an estimated half-dozen people. Temperatures in the single digits and wind chill making the morning feel colder and putting out the 6-alarm fire more difficult for Boston firefighters. Several engines from surrounding areas have arrived at the scene to help the Boston fire department. No injuries are known at this time. BELCHERTOWN -- The two men charged in connection with the shooting death of 31-year-old Jose "Joselito" Rodriguez in Amherst last October denied charges and were held after arraignment in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Friday. Soknang Chham, 33, of New Salem, was held without the right to bail as he is facing murder charges. Soksot Chham, 35, who is charged with being an accessory after the murder, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 cash or $500,000 surety. Pretrial for both was set for Jan. 25. The courtroom was packed with onlookers and at the start of the hearing, Judge David Ross asked for silence, while adding "I know this is an emotional time for all sides." During Soknang Chham's arraignment, one woman shouted out expletives and was escorted from the court room. Court security included six uniformed state troopers who stood in the courtroom facing those in attendance. The two men were extradited from Flagstaff, Arizona, where they had been held after their arrest there Oct. 25. The two waived extradition but had been held until their release to U.S. marshals last month. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested the two men in connection with the killing of Rodriguez in Amherst on Oct. 15. Soknang Chham faces one count of murder and one count of armed assault with intent to murder in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting death of Rodriguez, 31, at the Southpoint Apartments in Amherst. A second man was also shot but survived. Police have not yet revealed a motive for the shootings. The two were arrested by U.S. marshals after investigators learned that they had left Massachusetts on a bus bound for Phoenix. The Amherst Police Department and the state police detective unit attached to the DA's office continue to investigate. The owner of a spa in Agawam is facing several charges following allegations she was trafficking women for sexual services within her business. Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni announced the arrest Friday of 50-year-old Chun Nu Li, of Agawam, on two counts of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude. Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DA's office - along with officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the Agawam Police Department - executed a search warrant of the Springfield Street business and a home nearby on Springfield Street Tuesday as a part of the ongoing investigation. Li was apprehended by New York State Police in Flushing, Queens and is expected to be returned to Massachusetts soon. "Human trafficking is an especially detestable crime, which preys on vulnerable people for the financial profit of the perpetrator," Gulluni said. "The Hampden District Attorney's Office and its law enforcement partners are committed to stopping this form of exploitation and firmly applying the law to these offenders." District Attorney Gulluni went on to say, "I would like to thank the Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to my office, particularly Trooper Matthew Simpson, who spent many hours on this complicated investigation. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Agawam Police Department for bringing this activity to our attention and for their partnership in the investigation. I also thank the Department of Homeland Security for its partnership and support." The execution of search warrants by the DA's office was conducted in concert with a months-long investigation into two trafficking rings by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. AUBURN, Ma A teenager was arrested in Auburn on Thursday after he allegedly threatened to shoot students at Auburn High School, according to The Boston Globe. Police say that 18-year-old Marcus Rodriguez, who formerly attended the school, was taken into custody after he posted threats via social media, saying he would shoot students. After the threats were reported, police responded to the school at approximately 8 a.m. and placed it on "soft lockdown." When Rodriguez arrived at the school he was arrested, but no weapons were found on him at that time. Police said that Rodriguez has been arrested several times before and he is "very well known" to the police department. Rodriguez is scheduled to be arraigned in Worcester District Court on Friday for a number of charges, including threatening to commit murder, disturbing a school assembly, and threatening to use a gun in a school. WILBRAHAM -- The cause of a fire that destroyed a duplex on Verge Street Thursday night and displaced six people, while still under investigation, is not considered suspicious, a fire official said. Deputy Chief David Bourcier said the fire at 2-4 Verge St. started in a kitchen on the first floor shortly before 9 p.m. The brutal cold and bitter winds made fighting the blaze very difficult, Bourcier said. "It was bitter cold and the wind really impeded our progress. We had hydrants freeze up, lines freeze up." No injuries were reported as a result of the fire or firefighting efforts. A female resident was taken to a hospital due to a non-fire-related issue, Bourier said. Firefighting efforts were complicated by other factors as well, including downed power lines, propane tanks in the rear of the property and, early on, fears of potential exposure to a neighboring property, Condon Manufacturing. "A lot of high grass caught fire on that side," Bourcier said. "Pretty much everything was thrown at us." Firefighters from Springfield and Ludlow provided mutual aid and Palmer firefighters provided backup at the Wilbraham fire station. The state fire marshal's office provided a warming truck and firefighters shuttled in and out of it all night as they fought the blaze. Fire crews left the scene at about 8 a.m. Troopers from the state fire marshal's office are assisting in the investigation. Ellen Patashnick, a disaster team volunteer for the Western Massachusetts chapter of the American Red Cross, said a team of four volunteers responded to the fire scene and provided hot beverages to the firefighters and fire victims. The latter were kept warm in an American Red Cross vehicle and were provided with socks and blankets. They were also provided with financial assistance for emergency housing. The chapter is looking for disaster volunteers. "It's really important work for people's communities," Patashnick said. "We need local people to step up to the plate and help." Those seeking to volunteer can contact the Springfield office at 413-737-4306 or go to the American Red Cross website. An update to this story was published here on Friday. AMHERST - Dakota Access Pipeline opponents chained themselves to the TD Bank branch doors on Triangle Street Friday morning in a showing of solidarity with the protesters on the ground in North Dakota. As of 9 a.m. Friday, police had given them 30 minutes to leave or potentially face arrest. Protesters say the bank is responsible because it is funding the pipeline. Similar demonstrations are occurring nationwide, and in Massachusetts where Northampton and Worcester have seen similar protests. The DAPL is an oil pipeline being constructed by Dakota Access, a subsidiary of the natural gas company Energy Transfer Partners. The pipeline is projected to reach across four separate states and, once operational, would transport 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline gained notoriety in early 2016, however, after the Sioux tribe from the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota filed a legal complaint against the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, protesting the government's grants allowing the project's construction. The tribe has expressed myriad concerns with the pipeline--claiming that the pipeline threatens to destroy sacred Native burial grounds, and also poses an ecological risk, should there ever be a spill. After protests catalyzed by the tribe began in January, the pipeline quickly became a rallying cry for many progressives who feel that the project should be halted for both ecological and cultural reasons. Dozens are currently on the scene in Amherst, and it is unclear whether they will remain on site and face arrest or disperse. This is a developing story which will be updated. Republican staff writers Lucas Ropek and Patrick Johnson contributed to this report. top chef.jpg "Clean Up in Aisle 2!" Episode 1208 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jasper White, Padma Lakshmi -- (Photo by: David Moir/Bravo) (Bravo) An Andover man and former member of Teamsters Local 25 has been sentenced to home confinement, probation and was ordered to pay restitution at his sentencing for pleading guilty to attempting to extort the staff and crew of reality show "Top Chef." Mark Harrington, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted extortion in November. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston on Thursday to two years of probation with six months of home confinement and was ordered to pay restitution of $24,023 and a fine of $10,000, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz Harrington intimidated the crew and staff of Top Chef in June 2014. A non-union production company was scouting locations to film the reality television show near Boston, Ortiz's office said in a statement. Stages were set up at a number of filming spots in Greater Boston. "The company was not a signatory to any collective bargaining agreement with Local 25, and hired its own employees, including drivers, to produce and participate in the filming of the show," the statement said. On June 5, Daniel Redmond spoke to members of the crew when they were filming at a Boston hotel and demanded that members of Local 25 be hired as drivers, the statement said. Harrington was the secretary-treasurer of Local 25, and Redmond insisted that one of the producers speak with him, Ortiz's office said. "Harrington advised the producer that he did not care about the company and that all he cared about was that some of his guys get hired on the show," the statement said. Other drivers had already been hired. Redmond demanded to know where the crew would be filming and threatened to shut them down. "During several subsequent telephone calls that same day, Harrington and another union official warned the producer that if the company did not make a deal with Local 25, they would start to follow them and picket," Ortiz's office said. Because of the planned picket, the hotel they were set to film at canceled their agreement. At the time, the president of the union called the account "fiction at best." Harrington was indicted in October 2015, along with Daniel Redmond, John Fidler, Robert Cafarelli and Michael Ross for conspiring to extort and attempted extortion of money to be paid as wages for imposed, unwanted, and unnecessary as well as superfluous services from a reality television production company, Ortiz's office said. The defendants showed up at a Milton restaurant the crew was filming at on June 10. "Two or three of the Local 25 defendants entered the production area and began walking in lockstep toward the doors of the restaurant where they chest-bumped and allegedly stomach-bumped production crew members in an attempt to forcibly enter the restaurant," the statement said. Through the filming that morning, Local 25 members were alleged to have continuously threatened physical violence against members of the crew, Ortiz's office said. They also are accused of yelling profanities, racial slurs and homophobic slurs at the crew and others. The British ambassador to North Korea has taken the unprecedented step of criticizing his host country's human rights record. "Every aspect of life in the country is controlled and regulated by the party," Alastair Morgan says in a YouTube video uploaded by the U.K. government to mark Human Rights Day on Dec. 10. "North Korea is arguably the last remaining Stalinist country in the world." All public spaces in the North are covered with propaganda slogans for the regime, and all publications and media are controlled by the state and the party, he adds. Morgan points out that ordinary people have no access to the Internet because the regime wants to keep outside information from them. He adds that he wants to advocate for the freedom of thought, speech and information at every opportunity in the North. An Asia expert, Morgan has served in Japan and China. He arrived in Pyongyang in December last year. WILBRAHAM Firefighters from Wilbraham, Ludlow, and Springfield were battling bitter cold and a stubborn fire at a duplex on Verge Street near the Springfield line late Thursday night. Six people were evacuated from the structure, a Wilbraham Fire Department dispatcher said. The fire at 2-4 Verge St., at the corner of Dudley Street, was reported just before 9 p.m., and had not been fully extinguished just before 10:30. Springfield Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger said city firefighters were called to the scene at about 9 p.m. Verge Street starts in Springfield off Parker Street, about a quarter-mile north of Boston Road. The map below shows the approximate location of the fire: SPRINGFIELD -- John Verner, until this year head of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office criminal bureau, had strong words to describe his feelings about finding out that documents connected to Sonja Farak's drug addiction had not been turned over to district attorneys. "I was angry. I was upset. I was shocked. I was frustrated," Verner said Thursday about his November 2014 discovery. "I was pissed." He was testifying at a hearing in front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey dealing with fallout from Farak's criminal wrongdoing at the Amherst state drug lab, where she was a state chemist. Verner said he was "freaking out." He said he would never have authorized or ordered anyone to intentionally withhold the documents. "I would never, ever, ever do that ... That's not who I am," Verner said. Thursday was the fourth full day of a hearing, which continues Friday. Lawyers for 10 drug defendants have said the state's failure to disclose certain records is prosecutorial misconduct. They say the records would have thrown light on Farak's drug use -- and that information would have affected their clients' drug cases. The 10 defendants are looking for new trials or to withdraw their guilty pleas because Farak tested drug evidence in their cases. In January 2014, Farak, then 35, of Northampton, was given an 18-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of theft of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary (the drug lab), four counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of possession of cocaine. Farak began using drugs from the lab as early as 2004, according to court documents released in May. The Amherst lab was closed due to her actions. Carey has said he wants facts that would show whether the case charging Farak with evidence tampering was handled properly or whether state officials intentionally buried evidence that could have been exculpatory for the defendants. Although testimony has been wide ranging, the focus is mental health and substance abuse treatment records found in Farak's car when she was arrested in January 2013 for drug thefts from the lab. The records included information about her treatment for drug addiction more than a year before her arrest. Those records came to light in the fall of 2014 after Luke Ryan, lawyer for some of the drug defendants, was allowed to inspect evidence in the case. State police and the attorney general's office had had the records since searching Farak's car shortly after her arrest. State officials repeatedly fought Ryan's request to look at the evidence. Verner testified his office didn't want anyone going through evidence before the tampering case against Farak was resolved. Verner, who is now a Suffolk County assistant district attorney dealing with cold case homicides, said he believed all information had been turned over to district attorneys so they could distribute them as discovery to lawyers who were arguing their clients were affected by Farak's behavior. He said he had seen references in emails and a memo to mental health records during the prosecution of Farak. He said it would not be his role to check with individual assistant attorneys general to see if they turned over all the required material. "They know what they have to do," Verner said. A great deal of testimony has been about the circumstances surrounding multi-day hearings held in September 2013 by then-Hampden Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder, who is now a state Appeals Court justice. Kinder held the hearings to try to determine when Farak's misconduct at the lab began in order to see how far back drug cases might have been affected. Farak's role in the cases was to identify the drug and determine its weight. Kinder was told at the 2013 hearings by then-Assistant Attorney General Kris Foster all material relating to Farak had been turned over to district attorneys. Foster, now general counsel at the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, testified Tuesday she had been doing what her superiors ordered in her handling of the 2013 effort to quash subpoenas of a state police supervisor and all the records in the prosecution of Farak. Kinder had ordered those records be turned over. She said she had no reason to doubt her superiors, who told her that everything from the investigation of Farak had been turned over to local prosecutors. She said she never looked at the Farak case file herself. The mental health and substance abuse treatment papers found in Farak's car were not turned over even though Kinder ordered all records be submitted to him. Verner testified Thursday he went to Foster in November 2014 when Ryan alerted his office about the records from Farak's car to ask her what happened. "She (Foster) didn't have much of an answer," Verner said. Randall Ravitz, chief of the state attorney general's office appeals division, testified Thursday he assumed the mental health records had been disclosed. Ravitz said after Ryan brought them to the office's attention in November 2014, he tried to trace past memos and emails to see what happened. "This was a big deal. This was very upsetting. My impression is we were all very upset by this and surprised by this," Ravitz said. Assistant attorneys general Kim West and Thomas Caldwell have been handling questioning on behalf of that office. Ryan and Jared Olanoff handled questioning Thursday for the defense lawyers. Foreclosures Two free clinics will provide help to those whose homes may have been lost in an illegal foreclosure. (AP file photo) This story has been updated. GREENFIELD -- People who lost their homes to a defective foreclosure before 2014 face a Dec. 30 deadline to file important paperwork to preserve their rights, according to a statewide coalition of housing advocates. The Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending plans two free "anti-foreclosure defense clinics": Dec. 19 in Greenfield, and Dec. 20 in Athol. The 2015 Act Clearing Title to Foreclosed Properties may affect foreclosed homes sold to a new purchaser, according to the state's Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation. The law lets the new purchaser gain clear title to the property on Dec. 31, or three years later on more recent actions, even if there were legal problems with the foreclosure. The alliance says many foreclosures were illegal, and that people must file an affidavit with the Registry of Deeds to preserve their right to launch a challenge. Those foreclosed before 2014 face the Dec. 30 deadline, and those foreclosed after that date have three years to act. Volunteers at the clinics will help people record the legal affidavit to preserve their 20-year right to reverse a defective foreclosure, said Bonnie MacCracken, housing committee chair for the New England NAACP. "A law was recently passed so that anyone foreclosed before 2014 must record an affidavit at the Registry of Deeds before the end of this year to protect their rights and help reverse their foreclosure," said alliance member Grace Ross. "This matters, because the majority of foreclosures were illegal, and every year the number of homeowners reversing their foreclosures increases." Reached by telephone, Ross said that around 40,000 Massachusetts foreclosures from 2005-2015 were clouded by so-called "Ibanez violations." The state's highest court in the 2011 case of U.S. Bank National Association vs. Antonio Ibanez voided certain mortgages where final "assignment" was never properly completed by the seller. She said the number was quoted by lobbyists for the title insurance industry during State House hearings on the 2015 legislation. The Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending is a coalition of organizations addressing the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts. Those who attend the workshops will receive support, information and guidance on protecting their rights. Homeowners currently facing foreclosure should also attend, said McCracken. Those seeking more information are advised to call the alliance office at (508) 630-1686 or email maaplinfo@yahoo.com. If you go: What: Greenfield Anti-Foreclosure Defense Clinic, co-hosted by Representative Paul Mark When: Monday, December 19, 2-4:30 p.m. Where: Greenfield Community College Downtown Center, 270 Main Street What: Athol Anti-Foreclosure Defense Clinic When: Tuesday, December 20, 4-6:30 p.m. Where: Athol Public Library, 568 Main Street . good spa, bad spa.jpg Good spa, bad spa: On the left is the Feeding Hills Wellness Center, whose owner, Christine Bailey, says her business is being mistaken for the Feeding Hills Spa, a nearby spa at the center of a sex-trafficking investigation in Agawam. Both venues offer massage therapy and other services, but Bailey says she runs a "very legit" business that's licensed by the state. ((Facebook / Hampden County District Attorney's Office)) AGAWAM -- To paraphrase Shakespeare, "What's in a name?" Try a major headache and lost business. Feeding Hills business owner Christine Bailey says her spa and wellness center is being mistaken for another Feeding Hills spa at the center of a sex-trafficking investigation by local, state and federal authorities. "It's a huge concern," Bailey told The Republican on Friday, claiming some people are mistaking her business, Feeding Hills Wellness Center at 567 Springfield St., for the Feeding Hills Spa at 1226 Springfield St. The businesses have similar names, offer many of the same services and are located about 1.5 miles apart. One major difference, however, is that Feeding Hills Wellness Center doesn't perform sex acts for money -- as allegedly happened at Feeding Hills Spa. "We are a very legitimate business. We are licensed by the state," Bailey said, noting that she runs a healing and wellness center that offers massage therapy, Reiki, reflexology and other services. "I've been getting calls asking if we give 'happy endings,'" she said, referring to a colloquial term for a sex act that cannot be performed legally in Massachusetts massage parlors. The Feeding Hills Spa was raided Tuesday by police, who also searched the nearby Carriage House Apartments at 1162 Springfield St. Authorities located two human-trafficking victims, both of whom were interviewed by police and reunited with family members, according to Jim Leydon, public and media information director for Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni. As a result of the probe, 50-year-old Chun Nu Li, an Agawam resident with apparent ties to New York City, is facing sex-trafficking charges in connection with the Feeding Hills Spa, Leydon said. Li was taken into custody this week in Flushing, Queens, though the connection between Feeding Hills and Flushing -- New York's second-biggest Chinatown -- remains unclear at this point. Bailey, who has never met Li or anyone connected to the nearby rival spa, worries about the possible taint-by-association factor. "We're also on Springfield Street and our names are similar," she said. "Really, that place was a front to do trafficking." A criminal probe was launched after allegations of prostitution and human trafficking surfaced at the Feeding Hills Spa, leading authorities to Li, who was apprehended by New York State Police in Flushing. She's expected to be returned to Massachusetts to face two counts of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, Leydon said. Sex traffickers manage to exploit legal loopholes in Massachusetts by establishing prostitution dens under the guise of massage parlors, an industry monitored by the state Division of Professional Licensure. However, the DPL is barred by state law from overseeing shops that offer "Asian bodywork therapy" and similar offerings that may pertain to sexual services. "Anyone can open up a business, put a shingle out front for 'Asian bodywork' and we wouldn't have jurisdiction," DPL Director Chuck Borstel told the Boston Herald last year. "The vast majority of Asian bodywork establishments are trying to avoid oversight -- or they are operating a criminal enterprise," Borstel said. Human trafficking is "an especially detestable crime, which preys on vulnerable people for the financial profit of the perpetrator," Gulluni said Friday. The district attorney praised Agawam police, Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to his office, and the Department of Homeland Security for their roles in the "complicated," five-month investigation. Officials have been cracking down on massage parlors that double as alleged sex parlors, leading to charges against owners of several Massachusetts businesses this week. Related Photos Following the takedown of several human trafficking rings operating across Massachusetts and resulting shock of residents in several communities, Donna Sabella is unsurprised. "Sex sells anywhere and so does cheap labor," she said. "It goes on in schools, people are trafficked in jails." Sabella is an international expert in human trafficking who accepted a position this year as an associate professor of nursing and social justice at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Donna Sabella She became involved with anti-trafficking while working as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. "It became clear to me that some of the women I worked with were being prostituted," she said. While there can be overlap between sex work and forced prostitution, human trafficking involves force, fraud or coercion. It can take a variety of forms, Sabella said, from a young woman who boards a plane on the promise of filling an au pair position in Europe who arrives and is told to work at a strip club instead. Others become involved due to a promise of a high paying position in a primarily cash business, only to see little of the profits themselves. Four business operators were arrested following investigations by Attorney General Maura Healey's office and Hampden County District Attorney's Office. The businesses in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Framingham, Hadley and Northampton have been shut down. Shuzi Li, the owner of Pine Spa NoHo in Northampton and Agawam Massage Therapy in Agawam, appeared in Northampton District Court for an arraignment Wednesday. Prosecutors allege she transported women from New York to Western Massachusetts to work in her businesses on a rotating basis. She is said to have provided housing for the women and given each a small portion of the profits from arranged sexual encounters. Pine Spa appeared to be making between $9,350 and $10,450 per month from the all-male clientele, according to documents investigators found in the Northampton business' trash. Health officials say the women were working and living in unsanitary conditions, offering sexual services in spaces without access to showers. Like Shuzi Li, the woman are believed to be native Mandarin speakers and know little English. "That's a big signal," Sabella said. "If you don't speak the language how are you going to reach out for help?" Women brought to Western Massachusetts to work for Li, prosecutors say, would stay for a few weeks before being driven out of the area again. This, Sabella said, is common in trafficking rings. "They keep them moving around a lot to not get too comfortable in one location." After being taken across state lines - especially if there are language barriers - trafficking victims can lose track of where they are and feel disconnected from the communities they're working within. Three others were arrested following the months-long investigation by law enforcement: Feng Ling Liu, her husband Jian Song - both of Sunderland - and their daughter, Ting Ting Yin. The family owns and operate Hadley Massage Therapy in Hadley, Feng Health Center in East Longmeadow and Massage Body Work in Framingham, according to the Massachusetts attorney general's office. Like Li, the family is alleged to have transported women from New York - some from as far as China - to provide sexual services at their businesses. Prosecutors said in court Thursday that business ledgers found in the trash indicate their businesses were taking in around $300,000 each year. Liu, Maura Healey's office said, "managed the financial and day-to-day aspects of the operations including recruiting women, advertising sexual services online, setting up appointments for sexual encounters, and transporting women." Women primarily ran operations of both alleged trafficking rings shut down by the attorney general's office this week. "Many pimps are women," Sabella said. "Sometimes it's even a woman who has been trafficked and will no longer be working herself if she helps find other women to work." Investigators, she said, must determine her role in the organization, if she has recently been "promoted" to the position. Human trafficking operations taking varying forms, from locally started "mom-and-pop shops" to being apart of a larger organization. Sabella said she suspects both operations to be the latter. "If women are coming from other places, they've got a pipeline," she said. Li - the owner of spas in Agawam and Northampton - maintains residences in West Springfield and Flushing, Queens and has a New York State driver's license. Yin, the daughter of Liu and Song connected to businesses in East Longmeadow, Hadley and Framingham, was arrested near her home in New Hyde Park, on Long Island in New York. Operating as apart of a larger human trafficking network, Sabella said, offers the support of others in the black market industry. "Why reinvent the trafficking wheel if you've already got systems in place?" After executing search warrants of businesses and residences connected to the four individual arrested, at least 10 victims have been identified. Members of the victim services division of the attorney general's office are working to ensure the women have access to needed support and assistance. Psychologically, Sabella said, it will take time for them to recover. "The whole idea is to break people down, use them to make money," she said. "These women have been given just enough - food, a roof over their heads, some money." In days ahead, she has a small goal: That every day will be a bit better than the day before for these women. southampton dam.jpg The Lyman Mill dam on the Manhan River in Southampton is slated to be removed. The remains of the dam are seen here on December 9, 2016. (Mary Serreze photo) SOUTHAMPTON -- A traditional mill pond just south of the village center is no more, and the Manhan River now flows through the ruins of a 19th century dam. Now plans are afoot to remove the old Lyman Mill dam and let the river run free. The administration of Gov. Charlie Baker recently announced that 11 wetlands and river restoration projects across the state would gain "priority status," including the removal of the dam at 285 College Highway. The projects selected by the Department of Fish & Game are now eligible for grants and technical help from the state. The projects were chosen for their ability to deliver "significant ecological and community benefits." "We partner with dam owners to restore natural river flows," said Beth Lambert, a scientist with the department's Division of Ecological Restoration. "Removing the Southampton dam will restore 27 miles of cold water fish and wildlife habitat." The dam and renovated Lyman Mill are owned by Southampton resident Glenn West. Reached by telephone, West explained why he had the water in the mill pond lowered more than a year ago. In the summer of 2015, facing pressure from state dam safety regulators, West hired a scuba diver to hook chains to underwater planks in the dam, and had them pulled out. The pond started to drain. "The Office of Dam Safety demanded an inspection, which was done by Tighe & Bond in Westfield," said West. "They produced a big report. Long story short, I would have had to pay a half-million dollars out of pocket to do the repairs their way." West purchased the historic Lyman Mill about 18 years ago and restored the building. A gift shop and Sheldon's Ice Cream, run by West, are now housed in the structure, with a deck overlooking the water. West said he always liked the pond, but was put between a rock and a hard place. While dam repair is costly, "at least there are grants for dam removal," he said. Removal can also be expensive and time-intensive, requiring permits on the federal, state and local levels. State: dam removal will help restore fish habitat In 2005 and 2009, the state's Office of Dam Safety imposed new rules for Massachusetts dam owners, requiring regular maintenance, inspections and repair. The financial requirements and liability risk made removal an attractive option for many, especially where older dams serve no economic purpose. Lambert said West approached the state's fish and game department and applied for assistance under their priority projects program. She explained why the Southampton dam project was chosen. The main branch of the Manhan River, sourced from the isolated Tighe-Carmody Reservoir, flows through a large forested area with very little development. Much of the upstream watershed has been identified as "core habitat" by the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. "The water is of very high quality, and supports species such as the eastern brook trout," she said. "The Lyman Mill dam is now the main structural impediment to ecosystem restoration along the entire river." Lambert said a fish ladder at a dam eight miles downstream in Easthampton has helped various species migrate to their traditional upstream spawning areas. The fish ladder was completed in 2013 in a project involving the city and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. While the fish ladder project engendered local controversy due to delays and a major cost overrun, a Fish & Wildlife biologist said Thursday that it's working as planned. "From the video monitoring system we know that, as of 2014, at least seven species of fish have used the Manhan ladder, including sea lamprey, Atlantic salmon, brown trout, white sucker, smallmouth bass, sunfish and minnows. Highest usage so far has been by sea lamprey and white sucker," Melissa Grader wrote in an email. The Manhan River is a tributary of the Connecticut River. The lower reaches of the Manhan are polluted with E. coli bacteria, and efforts are underway to better understand that problem. In a statement, Baker expressed support for river restoration projects. "Our administration remains committed to working with our federal, municipal and private partners to restore rivers, wetlands and the valuable natural resources in systems throughout the commonwealth," he said. "The revitalization of the state's rivers and the protection of floodplains demonstrates Massachusetts' dedication to preserving our natural ecosystems." Town officials not involved Charles Kaniecki, chairman of the Southampton Board of Selectmen, said this week that town officials are not currently involved with the Lyman Mill dam removal. The project will eventually need an order of conditions from the Conservation Commission. West visited the Conservation Commission in October of 2014 to announce that he wanted to remove the dam, minutes show. He was directed to various state and federal agencies. Kaniecki said he has heard that some residents are disappointed with the loss of the mill pond. "It was very attractive," he said. Lambert said streams can initially look bare when dams are opened or removed, but that vegetation will soon grow along the banks and a new ecosystem will emerge. "I understand that change can be difficult," she said. "But watching a river being reborn is exciting. What we often see is that neighbors end up loving the restored river." Both Lambert and West said there is no timetable for the dam's removal, and that the permitting process could take several years. The 1854 Lyman Mill is part of Southampton's Lockville Historic District. The area is thought to include archaeological remnants from mills and dams impounding the river as early as 1732. Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com. AMHERST -- Arman Mohsenikabir, a University of Massachusetts graduate student from Iran, is happy to find the taste of home at the town's new Persian restaurant Top Kabab, which opened earlier this fall on Boltwood Walk. And while the joojeh kabab and the dizi might bring home flavors to those from Iran, the restaurant owner hopes it will appeal to people of all backgrounds, said Ramin Soltani. A friend of owner Mohammad Babaee, Soltani helps out at the restaurant, and acted as translator during a recent interview. "It's a college town, students want to try different things," Soltani said of the appeal. Soltani, Babaee and Farhad Farahbakhsh were friends in Iran, Soltani said. Farahbakhsh is helping out as the restaurant gets started. Babaee is the chef. Babaee owned restaurants in Iran, Soltani said. Babaee's wife, Marayam Kashefi, came to UMass several years ago to study biochemistry, so he decided to open the restaurant. "They like the (Amherst) environment," and people in the community have been very welcoming, Soltani said. He said the food is different in part because of how it is cooked and the special marinades with Persian spices. They also have a special grill they purchased from Iran on which the food is cooked, Soltani said. The restaurant has kebabs of chicken, beef and combinations that are served with roasted peppers and tomatoes chelo -- a Persian rice. They have side dishes as well. Beside the food, Soltani said they hope the restaurant provides a taste of the culture, which is thousands of years old. They play Persian music and offer a video of Iranian highlights, plus the windows are decorated to create the right cultural feel. He said while there has been suspicion between the United States and Iran, he said that's the governments. When people come to the restaurant "they want to know about the culture," Soltani said. Mohsenikabir, who is studying physics, said he has eaten at the restaurant several times since it opened in October "It's really good," he said. He's been talking to his American friends and hopes to bring them to the restaurant soon. AMHERST -- Organizers of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest that closed the TD Bank on Triangle Street Friday said they were surprised police didn't act sooner to arrest the people who chained themselves to the doors. Four of the five were arrested after firefighters cut their chains about 5.5 hours after the occupation of the bank began. Their action closed the bank, although the drive-thru window was open. They were led away in handcuffs. The arrest was peaceful. Some bank customers were supportive of the protest, but others were upset. Organizer James Frank said that is "one of the consequences of staging an action. The challenge is to greet people and effectively communicate cordially why we are here." Protesters want the bank, one of 38 financing the pipeline construction, to pull that financing. They say the pipeline poses a threat to drinking water and violates Native American treaties. Members of the group talked to customers and explained their purpose. They also handed out flyers naming alternative banks. Police said they delayed responding until they could call in off-duty officers, according to an email from Capt. Jennifer Gundersen. The pipeline opponents began their action just after 8 a.m. Friday by chaining themselves to the doors. Police initially gave them 30 minutes to leave. Protesters told police in the morning they would not leave and planned to remain until they arrested. Police filed trespassing charges against Alyssa Johnson-Kurts, 22, of Worcester, Vermont, Mark Osten, 54, of Amherst, Harrison Greene, 30, of Northampton, and Paxton P. Reed, 19, of Osterville. Police did not arrest Giovano Castro, who was also chained in the front but left before the arrests. The four arrested are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown. Sarah Jacqz, a member of Divest UMass, said sometimes direct action is necessary to bring about change. "We are in solidarity with the water protectors in Standing Rock." One irate customer who said he had to wait 20 minutes for the drive-up window was yelling protesters should get a job. He said they were wasting taxpayer money tying up police. Customer Kathryn Firth of the United Kingdom needed to get into the bank because she was flying out in two hours. She said these kinds of actions don't work -- something she saw with people protesting Brexit, the U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union. Randy Kleiner from Belchertown said he wasn't happy he couldn't do his banking but was more sanguine. The action he said, "It's part of this world." He felt there were more important things to get upset with. According to a press release, the group demand the bank "immediately cease their financial support of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a project that violates indigenous treaty rights, threatens to poison the water supply of millions of people and continues our reliance on dirty energy sources that contribute to climate change." Bank spokeswoman Judith Smith wrote in response that "as a proponent of responsible energy development, TD works closely with clients, local communities and environmental groups to enhance our understanding of key issues and promote informed dialogue." "We support efforts to ensure the sustainability and safety of the Dakota Access Pipeline site," Smith wrote. "And we respect the rights of those who wish to voice their opinions in peaceful protest." The bank has been listening to concerns from the community about the pipeline, Smith wrote, and will "continue to advocate that Energy Transfer Partners engage in constructive dialogue and work toward a resolution with community members, including the Standing Rock Sioux tribe." She wrote that the bank "played an active role in helping to secure Foley Hoag LLP, an independent human rights expert, to conduct a review on behalf of the lenders and advise on recommended improvements both the Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics "can make to their social policies and procedures moving forward." The pipeline is projected to reach across four states and, once operational, would transport 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. The tribe has expressed myriad concerns with the pipeline -- claiming that the pipeline threatens to destroy sacred Native American burial grounds, and also poses an ecological risk should there ever be a spill. The Army Corps of Engineers Dec. 4, however, denied a permit for that easement, which essentially halts the construction on the 1,172-mile oil pipeline. On Dec. 5, about 200 protesters marched from the Amherst Town Common to the bank calling on customers to take their money out of the bank. barbieri.JPG Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri (The Republican file) Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri held a one-hour, 15 minute meeting with the Pastors' Council of Greater Springfield on Monday to discuss relations between police and the Springfield community, as the department continues to deal with the public fallout of recent police misconduct controversies. The wide-ranging conversation, which the department described in a press release as a "very cooperative and important meeting," included discussion of the department's internal disciplinary process, City Council plans to reinstall a civilian police commission and the ways that churches and police can collaborate to engage residents. "The Commissioner discussed the departments' strategy of working with the community and stressed that the churches would make an ideal partner for neighborhood outreach and police/community communication. The pastors spoke of community conditions and suggested efforts to improve neighborhoods and reach troubled young people," Springfield Police Sgt. John Delaney said in a statement. "The meeting was very productive and both sides were encouraged by the collaborative and the progress going forward." Barbieri appeared at the invitation of the Pastors' Council of Greater Springfield. The commissioner has repeatedly engaged in public outreach in recent weeks, including issuing a full-throated defense of his Internal Investigations Unit on Wednesday, meeting with the South End Citizens Council to discuss casino preparations in November and discussing the Community Police Hearing Board with the Old Hill Neighborhood Council in October. Several pastors in the council did not return requests for comment prior to publication. But the police news release included statements from The Rev. Dr. Atu White of Mt. Zion Baptist Church and the Rev. Paul Starnes of Morning Star Community Baptist Church thanking Barbieri for his candor. White said that the pastors asked Barbieri about the department's disciplinary procedures, the potential return of the police commission, the C-3 anti-gang initiative and security plans for the opening of the MGM Springfield casino in late 2018. "The council believes he spoke honestly regarding the problems in our city and is committed to evaluating and finding solutions," White said in the statement. "We thank Commissioner Barbieri for a wonderful conversation." Starnes expressed support for Barbieri's "holistic approach" to law enforcement, according to the news release. That approach was a central topic at November's South End Citizens' Council meeting, in which Barbieri said he was determined to focus resources on repeat violent offenders. "We're not going to arrest people and resolve this issue. It's about arresting the right people. The people who do not want to accept services and be helped," Barbieri said in November. "Zero tolerance is like an occupying army. The goal is to go into these neighborhoods and treat people like residents." The Springfield Police Department is currently at the center of a number of controversies. The Hampden District Attorney is still reviewing an investigation into claims that a group of off-duty officers beat up several men outside a bar in April 2015. And federal authorities are looking into the case of Det. Gregg Bigda, who was suspended for 60 days after video emerged of him threatening to plant drugs on and kill a juvenile suspect. The Springfield City Council has voted to re-install a civilian police commission, which would strip Barbieri's position of the final say on disciplinary matters. The measure has been vetoed by Mayor Domenic Sarno, who has warned of a court battle if the council pushes forward with the plan. And internal emails obtained by MassLive show that a senior police official criticized the IIU over its handling of the Bigda and bar fight investigations. The publication of those emails, among other headlines, prompted Barbieri to issue a lengthy defense of the IIU this week praising the integrity of its members. "The Internal Investigation Unit is comprised of men and women selected for their demonstrated trustworthiness and commitment to professionalism," Barbieri wrote. AMHERST - Four of five Dakota Access Pipeline opponents who blocked the entrances to TD Bank on Triangle Street were arrested after firefighters cut their chains about 5.5 hours after the occupation of the bank began. They were led away in handcuffs and the arrests were peaceful. One who had chained herself to the bank left before arrests were made. The pipeline opponents began their action just after 8 a.m. Friday by chaining themselves to the doors, shutting the bank branch down. Police initially gave them 30 minutes to leave. Protestors pledged to remain in the bank until they were arrested. Marc Osten, a Smith College student, Allysa-Johnson-Kurts and University of Massachusetts student Giovano Castro were chained in the front, while Harrison Greene and Paxton Reed were chained in the back. Castro was not arrested. Organizers said they were surprised police didn't arrest them protesters earlier. Afd cutting chains off protester pic.twitter.com/TTFvZZxWxn Patrick Johnson (@PaddyJ1325) December 16, 2016 They said TD Bank is responsible because it is one of 38 banks financing the pipeline and they want it to pull that financing. The DAPL is an oil pipeline being constructed by Dakota Access, a subsidiary of the natural gas company Energy Transfer Partners. The pipeline is projected to reach across four separate states and, once operational, would transport 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day from North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline gained notoriety in early 2016, however, after the Sioux tribe from the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota filed a legal complaint against the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, protesting the government's grants allowing the project's construction. The tribe has expressed myriad concerns with the pipeline--claiming that the pipeline threatens to destroy sacred Native burial grounds, and also poses an ecological risk, should there ever be a spill. Sarah Jacqz, a member of Divest UMass, said sometimes direct action like this is necessary to bring about change. "We are in solidarity with the water protectors in standing rock," she said. Similar demonstrations are occurring nationwide, and in Massachusetts where Northampton and Worcester have seen similar protests. This is a developing story which will be updated as additional information becomes available. North Korea early this month conducted a land test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, Washington has confirmed according to Japanese media on Thursday. The test was reportedly aimed at perfecting cold-launch technology. Cold launch is an advanced method of igniting the missile after it has been expelled from the water. The North probably conducted the test on land to improve the success rate. In August, the North succeeded in extending the range of sub-launched missiles to an estimated 500 km. Washington is stepping up surveillance because it fears that the North is close to deploying the missiles warfare-ready, NHK reported. Launches would be enormously difficult to detect and could happen close to South Korean waters, giving Seoul and Washington very little time to intercept the missiles. Meanwhile, a North Korean submarine was destroyed in North Korean waters in April and 12 crewmembers on board killed, the Tokyo Shimbun reported. The cause is unknown. But the North conducted an SLBM launch test shortly afterwards, suggesting that the sub broke up in the attempt to launch a missile. The daily quoted a North Korean official as saying, "People's lives are worthless in the eyes of Kim Jong-un. Nuclear weapons are much more important to him." The South Korean military declined to confirm the report. Every year people stand up on stage giving a TED talk, in the hopes of spreading ideas and inspiring others. TED's curator, Chris Anderson, picked his 10 favorites from the past year and it included three from Massachusetts. Jamila Raqib is the executive director of the Albert Einstein Institution in Boston. Raqib promotes nonviolent resistance to people living under tyranny. "The greatest hope for humanity lies not in condemning violence but in making violence obsolete," Raqib says. Click here to watch her video. Allen Adams is a physicist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His talk, "What the discovery of gravitational waves means," breaks down what happened when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected an "unthinkably small" anomaly, leading to "one of the most exciting discoveries in the history of physics." Watch his TED talk here. Adam Foss is an Assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division of the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. He is also on the executive board of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association. In his talk, Foss "makes his case for a reformed justice system that replaces wrath with opportunity, changing people's lives for the better instead of ruining them." Watch his TED talk here. For the full list. By ANDY METZGER On the day marijuana legalization took effect, one of the chief opponents of the new law expressed skepticism about raising the legal age of consumption and said he would not pursue a moratorium in Boston. "The people of Boston overwhelmingly supported the law, and I'm going to follow the will of the voters," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told reporters on a visit to the State House on Thursday. He said, "There's probably a small fraction of people that would like a moratorium, but it's the law, so we're going to live under the rules of the law." The ballot law passed by voters in November legalized possession, gifting and growing the green drug on Thursday for those 21 and older, while setting out a timeline for the regulation of retail marijuana stores. Unregulated sales remain illegal. Under the law cities and towns can bar any marijuana establishments from their municipality only by a local referendum. Walsh said he hopes to work with the Legislature, where leaders have expressed interest in making changes to the new law, with some attention to zoning. "Boston is the biggest city in the Commonwealth, and probably will be one of the most affected cities in the Commonwealth, so want to see exactly what the regulations will be," Walsh said. He said, "There is some concern about zoning." More than a month after the question's passage, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, who voted in favor of it, said this week that lawmakers should consider raising the marijuana age from 21 to 25. "I think that's difficult," Walsh said. He said, "I think that would be complicated to do especially when the drinking age is 21." Marijuana activists sing, celebrate legalization outside State House To celebrate legalization, a small group of activists gathered outside the State House where they gave one another marijuana gifts. Asked about that, Walsh said there were many "warning signs" that he and others raised trying to discourage voters from passing the ballot measure. "It's the law. It's the way it was written," said Walsh, who said he is concerned about public safety, including the difficulty police face in determining whether someone was driving while intoxicated by marijuana. Legal weed: Everything you need to know According to an official in the Treasury, which oversees the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, licenses are required for the distribution of alcohol, but people can give a bottle to a friend. Walsh was at the State House on Thursday when departing members of the House - where Walsh once served - said their goodbyes to the chamber. Police Chief Ricky Hayes of Putnam, Connecticut, is not too worried about Massachusetts legalizing marijuana -- yet. "I don't think we're that concerned right now," Hayes said. "Once they get into the dispensing and selling, we may have a lot of people traveling from Connecticut into Massachusetts to try to do some purchasing." Recreational marijuana became legal in Massachusetts on Thursday, the result of a ballot vote in November. Residents can now grow a limited quantity of marijuana plants at home and can possess marijuana legally. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law, and transporting marijuana across state lines is a federal crime. But a state like neighboring Connecticut could still see an increase in people bringing marijuana across the border. After Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, attorneys general in neighboring Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the law because their states were seeing an influx of marijuana coming from Colorado. The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit. Connecticut law enforcement officials say they will be vigilant in looking out for cross-border impacts. In the Nutmeg State, possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana is ticketed as a civil infraction, and possession of more than that is punishable with a criminal arrest. "Troopers will continue to enforce the law regarding possession of marijuana and drugged driving the same as they always have," said Trooper Kelly Grant, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut State Police. "Troopers will patrol roadways and highways focusing on all motor vehicle and criminal violations." Some Connecticut law enforcement officials say the bigger impact of Massachusetts' legalization is likely to hit a year from now. Although marijuana was legal to possess as of Thursday, legal retail sales are not expected to be up and running for at least another year, since the state must develop regulations and a licensing process. So there is still no legal method for buying the drug in Massachusetts. Putnam is about 10 miles from the Massachusetts border. Hayes said there may be some Connecticut residents who will drive to Massachusetts to smoke pot at a friend's house or buy it from a friend. But, he said, "I don't think that's going be a major problem." "Once the dispensing comes around, that will be a bigger issue," Hayes predicted. Some Connecticut lawmakers have been pushing for a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in that state. Although the bill did not pass in 2016, the Legislature is expected to consider it again, and it is possible Massachusetts' legalization could boost that effort. Hayes said he and other law enforcement officials have attended seminars on the results of legalization in Colorado. "We're just going sit back and watch and see what happens," he said. Deputy Chief Brian Foley said Hartford police are working to train officers in how to detect drugged driving, which is harder to measure and has different legal standards than drunken driving. "It's already been an issue, but legalization in Massachusetts will certainly make it a bigger issue for us," Foley said. Hartford is less than 30 miles from Springfield. Monroe Police Chief John Salvatore, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said similarly that law enforcement is worried about a possible increase in driving while under the influence of marijuana as well as about the availability of marijuana to children. Salvatore said it can already be difficult to prosecute driving while drugged, and more training will be necessary. "There's no standard, no widely accepted system to conclude the person's under the influence, as there is with a blood alcohol test," Salvatore said. "Those are issues that will confront our personnel and society." Another question is what impact Massachusetts' legal marijuana will have on Connecticut's medical marijuana program. It is illegal under state law for a Connecticut medical marijuana patient to buy marijuana in Massachusetts or anywhere other than in a licensed dispensary in Connecticut. But that does not mean some patients, or potential patients, will not find it easier to bypass Connecticut's medical system and buy marijuana across the border. Lora Rae Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, which oversees the medical marijuana program, said she hopes patients have been satisfied enough with the medical marijuana system not to buy their marijuana in Massachusetts. "We want patients to have an experience that is medical, supported by doctors, that helps remedy their severe debilitating condition and is compliant with state law," Anderson said. A medical marijuana patient in Connecticut must be certified by a doctor, then discuss their needs with a dispensary pharmacist. "We have a very highly regulated and specific medical model to our program here, so people here have a very different experience going to a dispensary facility, which is regulated like a pharmacy, than you would going into a store where you purchase medical marijuana," Anderson said. She added that the types of marijuana that are sold in dispensaries are different products from what a person would buy in a retail store. "It's a medication, not a drug," Anderson said. Michael Dukakis (P Photo/Stephan Savoia, File) Ex-Gov. Michael Dukakis recently shed some blood in his work for a better Boston. The Boston Globe reports that Dukakis, now 83, was picking up litter in the city's Emerald Necklace last week when he suffered a fall that resulted in "a lot of blood." "I reached down for a piece of litter and somehow tripped, falling flat on my face on the sidewalk," he told the Globe. Dukakis has often been spotted cleaning up litter while walking through the 1,100-acre chain of parks. He typically walks through the area on his way to work at Northeastern University, where he serves as Distinguished Professor of Political Science. "It's unconscious. I can't go by the things without picking them up," he said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor earlier this year. After receiving two stitches in his nose, Dukakis laughed off the incident, telling the Globe that "no good deed goes unpunished!" greentown panel.JPG Greentown Labs CEO Emily Reichert, Ambri CEO Phil Giudice, UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy and President of the Western Mass Economic Development Council Rick Sullivan participate in a panel discussion at the Statehouse on Dec. 16, 2016. (SHIRA SCHOENBERG / THE REPUBLICAN) BOSTON -- There are jobs available in advanced manufacturing, but not enough skilled workers to fill them. There are manufacturing companies in Western Massachusetts, but they are unable to get contracts from Boston-area companies. Those were just some of the challenges identified by Boston- and Springfield-area business leaders, who participated in a panel discussion at the Statehouse on Friday about regional implications of the manufacturing economy. "It is a powerful sector of the economy, but manufacturing is changing with the evolving economy, which presents new challenges," said James Rooney, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. University of Massachusetts Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said, "It's critical the commonwealth view Western Massachusetts as an asset, not a liability, to succeed in expanding the commonwealth." The discussion was organized by House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, as part of his Bay State Business Link initiative, which aims to connect companies in the eastern and western parts of the state. DeLeo said he sees the discussion of manufacturing as part of a "tale of two states," and as a way to figure how to better integrate the economies of eastern and Western Massachusetts. He said he has been searching for ways businesses "can work in tandem and create relationships that are mutually beneficial." "Extending the circle of prosperity from Boston to Springfield to the Berkshires has been a priority of the House for years," DeLeo said. According to statistics cited by Rooney, manufacturing accounts for 10 percent of the state's output and 7 percent of the state workforce. It generates approximately $45 billion annually. Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, said manufacturing is particularly important to Western Massachusetts, where a study a couple of years ago found there are an estimated 18,000 open manufacturing jobs in the corridor from Springfield to Hartford, Connecticut. A manufacturing job that pays a wage of around $75,000 could move someone into the middle class in Western Massachusetts. "Manufacturing is a key part of the Western Massachusetts economy," Sullivan said. Sullivan said manufacturing today is an "invisible backbone" of the regional economy, but he warned that the industry must become more visible. Unlike Boston, there is no dominant manufacturer like GE to drive the conversation about bringing companies and workers to the area. "It's mostly medium to small manufacturers," Sullivan said. Subbaswamy said there is also a challenge of training enough workers with the skills needed for new forms of advanced manufacturing, which tend to be computer-based. "Community colleges are underfunded for that type of education," Subbaswamy said. "There is a bottleneck for education at that level." Emily Reichert, CEO of the Somerville-based Greentown Labs, an incubator for clean technology startups, said businesses in Boston often do not know about manufacturers in Western Massachusetts. Greentown Labs on Friday announced it is opening an office in Springfield to help make these connections between companies. Gov. Charlie Baker recently announced he was making $98 million in midyear budget cuts. As part of that, he eliminated funding for several economic development programs, cutting from $100,000 to $2 million apiece from a new big data innovation and workforce fund, a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative technology entrepreneurship fund, incentives for digital health internships, the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which boosts the manufacturing industry, and the promotion of computer science education. DeLeo has said the House may consider a supplemental budget to restore some of Baker's cuts. DeLeo told The Republican/MassLive.com that he is not sure yet what will be in the supplemental budget. But he will consider restoring some of the economic development programs, in addition to social programs. "I think that's one of the most important parts of the social program that you can have, is to provide a person an opportunity for a job," DeLeo said. Sullivan, a former energy secretary and chief of staff under former Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, said while he understands the realities around state budgeting, he will be looking to next year's budget or to any supplemental budgets to restore funding that could help manufacturing and business development. "Particularly when you're looking at the manufacturing initiatives, they are probably even more important in Western Mass. than they are here in Boston," Sullivan said. Some political observers have mentioned Sullivan as a potential challenger to the Republican Baker in 2018. Asked whether he would consider running for governor, Sullivan laughed but refused to answer the question. "It's not 2018," Sullivan said. Gov. Jay Inslee wants the state to pay almost $4 billion more for public schools in the next two years and would raise some taxes to pay for it. Most state residents, however, would see a drop in their property taxes. In the opening salvo of next years legislative battle over how much more to spend on schools and how to pay for it, Inslee unveiled his education budget Monday, proposing significant raises for teachers and other school staff as well as more training and assistance to educators and students. By Jim Camden Full Story: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/dec/13/inslee-raise-taxes-put-39-billion-more-into-school/ A group of western Montana legislators on Wednesday shared their vision for a new University of Montana president, one they hope will renew the schools commitment to students, serve as a tireless diplomat in promoting academic success, and place the university at the forefront of emerging social trends. Held in the University Center, the session marked the second day in which representatives of the Montana University System have met with area citizens, listening to their concerns and their hopes for a new campus leader. Clayton Christian, the states commissioner of higher education, said that while the opinions have been diverse, several common themes have emerged and the feedback has been "incredibly positive." By Martin Kidston Full Story: http://www.missoulacurrent.com/business/2016/12/missoula-legislators-um-president/ *** What are your thoughts? Comments may be sent anytime via email to [email protected] The Industry Pioneers Fast Tracking Africas Energy Sector Growth will be honored at African Energy Week 2022 , which is seeking submissions for candidate recipients for its 2022 African Energy Awards. The deadline for submissions is the 31st of June 2022. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) is proud to announce that the African Energy Awards will return to Africas premier event energy event, African Energy Week (AEW) on 18 21 October, 2022 in Cape Town, to celebrate excellence, innovation and pioneering work being done by professionals and organizations within the continents energy industry. Now, the AEC is calling out to industry leaders, professionals, and common citizens from across the continent, to submit proposals for candidate recipients for the several different categories honored at the African Energy Awards, bestowed to extraordinary individuals during AEW, the continents leading energy event and the biggest celebration of the AECs relentless campaign to Make Energy Poverty History by 2030. The AEC is asking the wider audience to submit their proposals through the email awards@aecweek.com for the following categories: National Oil Company of the Year Award As the continent addresses the energy transition, National Oil Companies (NOCs) are playing a fundamental role in empowering African nations to take more value from their energy resources. This award recognized the achievements of the NOC that has most proven capable to not only be a reliable partner, but to be the leading entity in the road to its nations energy ambitions. African Gas Monetization of the year This award recognizes companies and projects that are upheaving gas monetization in Africa to close the energy poverty gap. Operational Excellence Award This award goes to the company that has excelled in operating in the continent in a novel, sustainable and locally impactful way. CEO of the Year Award This award recognizes the achievement of high-level executives that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their organizations. ESG Leader Award As ESG (environmental, social and governance) becomes a central element in the development of Africas natural resources, the continent needs champions that will protect and promote local populations while ensuring fair and safe operations. Gamechanger Award This award is given to the company or organization that has revolutionized its field, changing the rules of what is common ground and what has become the new rule. African Independent of the Year Award A new breed of explorers is taking up the challenge of sustainably developing the continents hydrocarbon resources. This award goes to the independent who has succeeded in making a footprint in the continent and opening up the upstream game for new explorers to come. Lifetime achievement award (This category is not open to public nominations) This award is granted to the person/persons who have taken courageous steps in promoting the wellbeing of African citizens, the socioeconomic stability of its nation, and towards improving the functioning and profitability of the energy and hydrocarbon markets. Under the theme, Exploring and Investing in Africas Energy Future while Driving an Enabling Environment, AEW 2022 will celebrate industry achievements, and discuss challenges and opportunities within Africas oil, gas and energy sector. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Most Chinese visitors currently come on single-entry visas, are herded around shopping destinations and never come again. But from next year Chinese tourists with the new multiple-entry visas can stay in Korea for up to 30 days at a time and take a more leisurely approach. A government official said Thursday that the visa is aimed at discouraging cut-price package tours and will be available for those who spend more than W3 million on their tour (US$1=W1,180). The government hopes to attract a better class of repeat visitor from China with a new five-year multiple-entry visa for tourists who buy more expensive package tours. The number of Chinese tourists surpassed 100 million last year and is expected to reach 200 million by 2020. The U.S. and European countries are also trying hard to attract more Chinese tourists because they spend more than 100 trillion a year on overseas travel annually. Korea's tourism industry is increasingly dependent on Chinese visitors. Eight million are expected to visit Korea this year, accounting for around half of all foreign visitors. The government aims to issue around 300,000 of the new visas next year and 1 million by 2020, when their holders are expected to account for 10 percent of all Chinese visitors to Korea. "If well-off Chinese tourists visit Korea and open their wallets, the Korean economy could get a strong boost," a government spokesman said. Japan saw 5.5 million Chinese visitors in the first 10 months of this year after streamlining the visa application process and expanding the lineup of duty-free products from clothes and cosmetics to daily necessities. Thailand, which attracted 7.9 million Chinese visitors last year, is also coming up with more upscale travel packages and began issuing six-month, multiple-entry visas for Chinese tourists. France streamlined its tax refund process aiming to attract 5 million Chinese visitors. Kim Sang-tae of the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute said, "We can't immediately relax the existing visa scheme because a lot of Chinese come here on cut-price packages and stay on illegally, but we need to make visas easier to promote the tourism industry." by Tanya Gazdik , December 15, 2016 General Motors announced Thursday that it will produce the next generation of its autonomous test vehicles at its Orion Township assembly plant beginning in early 2017. The automaker also announced that it will immediately begin testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. Testing has already been underway on GMs Technical Center in a Detroit suburb, but with the passage of the SAVE Act by the Michigan legislature, it can be expanded to public roads on the facilitys outskirts. Within the next few months, testing will expand to metro Detroit, which will become GMs main location for the development of autonomous technology in winter climates. The SAVE Act legislation updates Michigans previous regulatory framework regarding connected and autonomous vehicle technology development and deployment. advertisement advertisement GM showed an electric Chevrolet Bolt equipped with roof-top sensors designed to enable autonomous driving during a press conference Thursday at its Detroit headquarters. Workers at the Orion Township assembly plant will build test fleet Bolt EVs equipped with fully autonomous technology. The plant currently manufactures the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Sonic. The new equipment will include cameras, sensors and other hardware designed to ensure system safety. The test fleet vehicles will be used by GM engineers for continued testing and validation of GMs autonomous technology already underway on public roads in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as part of the Michigan testing fleet. Ford, Uber and Alphabets Waymo are also testing autonomous vehicles on public roads. Ford announced in August that it intends to have a high-volume, fully autonomous vehicle in commercial operation in 2021 in a ride-hailing or ride-sharing service. Uber has been testing autonomous vehicles with a safety driver in Pittsburgh. When it tried to expand the program to San Francisco earlier this week, it was barred by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As one of the world's largest manufacturers, GM needs to be at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development, says Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. They can leverage their global footprint to create products suited for different markets, Lindland says. The challenge is for consumers to believe one of the world's largest manufacturers can design and innovate such technology. Hopefully being early on road testing will convey that yes, they can and are innovating. GM has taken steps several steps in 2016 in its development of autonomous vehicle technology. In January, the company announced the formation of a dedicated autonomous vehicle engineering team and a $500 million investment in Lyft to develop an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles in the U.S. In March, the company announced the acquisition of Cruise Automation to provide deep software talent and rapid development expertise to help speed development. In June, GM began testing autonomous Chevrolet Bolt EVs on the public roads in San Francisco and Scottsdale. The company has more than 40 autonomous vehicles testing in the two cities. by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, December 15, 2016 In 2013, when President Barack Obama appointed Tom Wheeler to helm the Federal Communications Commission, consumer advocates expressed reservations about whether the longtime industry lobbyist would preserve the open Internet. The Federal Communications Commission needs a strong leader -- someone who will use this powerful position to stand up to industry giants and protect the public interest. On paper, Tom Wheeler does not appear to be that person, Free Press President and CEO Craig Aaron stated at the time. Wheeler, who announced today that he is leaving the agency, long since put those doubts to rest. His legacy will be as one of the most effective chairs ever to hold the post," Aaron acknowledged today in a statement. "Wheeler didnt come into this job as a Net Neutrality champion, but he will be remembered first and foremost for his leadership on that crucial issue." advertisement advertisement Since taking over at the FCC, Wheeler spearheaded a host of initiatives that drew praise by consumer advocates -- as well as criticism by the telecom and cable industry. Last year, he persuaded the other two Democrats on the FCC to pass open Internet rules that prohibit broadband carriers from blocking or degrading traffic and from charging content companies higher fees for prioritized delivery. The FCC under Wheeler also passed tough privacy rules that restrict broadband carriers' ability to engage in behavioral advertising techniques. Those rules prohibit carriers from drawing on data about subscribers' Web-browsing activity for ad targeting without their explicit permission. Wheeler opposed Comcast's failed attempt to purchase Time Warner Cable for $45 billion -- a deal that consumer advocates decried as potentially catastrophic. After the deal was called off, Wheeler said it would have "posed an unacceptable risk to competition and innovation, including to the ability of online video providers to reach and serve consumers." Most recently, Wheeler's FCC said it agreed with consumer advocates that companies could violate open Internet rules by excluding their own video streams from data caps. Earlier this month, the agency told AT&T that it appears to be violating net neutrality principles by exempting DirecTV video streams from customers' monthly data allotments. Wheeler was widely expected to step down as Chairman next month, but some observers had speculated that he would stay with the agency until his term expires in 2018. Had he done so, the FCC would have been deadlocked at two Democrats and two Republicans -- at least until a fifth member was appointed. Instead, the FCC will only have three commissioners -- two Republicans and one Democrat -- at least for a brief time in January. The Republican commissioners, Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly, have already made clear that they expect to repeal the net neutrality and privacy rules at the first opportunity. by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, December 15, 2016 In one of the most aggressive cover story treatments of the President-elect yet, the January 2017 issue of Harpers depicts Donald Trump behind bars and features the cover lines: Make America Great Again And Stop Trump Before He Starts. The digital edition is available today, but at least one hard copy was on display, peeking out of a Harpers magazine bag, tucked underneath a Christmas tree with other presents in the lobby of Trump Tower. The "present" was left under the tree by Harper's staffers at 2:29 p.m. Thursday. "I'm awaiting word on how long it remained," confided a Harper's spokesperson, adding: "I asked them to set a timer." Later, she confirmed that "it remained for about as long as it took to take the photo. But they left some on a table at Trump Grill." by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, December 16, 2016 Walgreens, which has been trying to reward people for healthier behaviors for years, is looking to take it to the next level, adding more evidence that wearables boost wellness outcomes. Earlier this year, it announced participation in the U.S. Precision Medicine Initiative with the National Institutes of Health and The Scripps Research Institute, translating data from 8 million customers app and online behavior, looking to link wearable use and better health. Greg Orr, VP of digital health at Walgreens Boots Alliance, tells Marketing Daily whats in it for Walgreens and why new tech is the key to its success. Q. Lets start with the origins of the Balance Rewards program. You started with step counters, right? advertisement advertisement A. It goes back to Walking with Walgreens, which was a 2011 cause-marketing effort based in communities around the country. And it did so well, we thought, Why not link it to rewards? At the time, Fitbit was a small company and while not many people had one, we would allow them to plug into the program. That started us down this path of giving out small but frequent rewards, and this is importantyou get a reward for every mile, every time you step on a scale. Its not like you have to walk 50 miles to get something. Q. Whats the significance of the new research? A. We teamed with Scripps Translational Science Institute, looking at the way connected devices and apps can drive better long-term engagement in healthy activities, eliminating the need for manual tracking. It tracked data from more than 450,000 Walgreens Balance Rewards for healthy choices members in 2014, when most were still tracking manually, and the study results were recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. People tracking data like exercise, weight, sleep, blood pressure, blood glucose data, and tobacco use with devices remained engaged four times longer than manual trackers. And previous research has shown that people participating in the program lose more weight. About 17% of participants lost more than 10 pounds. But what I found most interesting is that people who walked more than a mile a day had better adherence to medication. So this is more than a loyalty program. Its affecting peoples overall health. Q. So what's in it for Walgreens? A. Well, clearly its a loyalty play. But its more. Typically, its harder to get people with more health issuesa chronic condition like diabetes, for example-- involved. And were doing that, so thats very exciting. Q. Wearables are so new, and so evolving, that its been difficult to research their impact, with lots of accuracy issues. And a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association a few months ago reports theyre ineffective for weight loss. What do you make of the dueling data? A. Yes, there is conflicting evidence. A lot of research related to this puts too much of a burden on the participant. The top line of the study we just did was that the more data is collected automatically or passively, the better. The more health tracking switches from something difficult to something easy, the better it will be. Q. But people do get bored with tracking. Whats the next step to keep people engaged? A. A few years back, we partnered with WebMD to add what we call Go Beyond Tracking, to move the needle on behavior change and improve health. So people can opt for our basic program, which is very easy to use. Or they can go beyond to more in-depth challenges, like nutrition and stress management. They can choose their own adventure and get text reminders. The best part is that using chat, they can communicate with a pharmacist who can see that data. So the pharmacist can say, Well, it looks like youre walking a lot on weekends but not weekdays, and that can affect your glucose. To us, that is the next level moving from loyalty play to health play. Q. Whats next? A. So our program works with many devices but more and more, tracking will become passive and ubiquitous, and devices more affordable. I compare it to cars. Most people dont know how many sensors are in their car until they get a lane-change warning, and the same thing is happening in digital health, whether its the ability to detect more kinds of activity or eventually, assessing how much were eating and how nutritious it is. Thats where things are headed, and thats going to be the core of precision medicine. by Christian Baesler , Op-Ed Contributor, December 16, 2016 For every new dollar of digital advertising budget spent in Q1 of 2016, Google and Facebook earned 85 cents, according to Brian Nowak, a Morgan Stanley analyst cited in the New York Times. This stat should serve as a wake-up call for the hundreds of high-quality content publishers competing with these giants. Google and Facebook may not look like typical content companies, but they are beating publishers by playing a totally different game. Instead of differentiating with expensive content and endless customizations, they offer advertisers data targeting at scale, standardized ad products, and reliable metrics -- all in an easy-to-buy platform. Rather than fight for an increasingly smaller share of the market, publishers need to work together to get back some of whats taken up by Google and Facebook. advertisement advertisement In the U.S., publishers have focused on their own differentiated content over scalable data-driven products, which has distanced them from one another and made it harder to capture media dollars. Meanwhile, Google and Facebook have taken up bigger and bigger percentages of advertiser budgets both at the national and local level. To fight this trend, more than 1,000 German Web sites have taken a bold step forward, pooling massive amounts of user data onto a common platform called Emetriq in order to compete head-on with Google and Facebook. Frances La Place Media has been successful at competing with Google and Facebook, as have other cooperatives like it across Europe, where streamlined advertising products have provided big CPM improvements for its members. However, efforts in the U.K. such as Pangaea have not caught on, for the same reason that several earlier U.S. efforts by newspaper companies didnt work: Participants focused only on slices of inventory like programmatic IAB standard sizes, provided few unified ad products, no data standards, and no easy process for measurement and payments. It remains to be seen if the U.S. newspaper alliance Nucleus led by Tribune, Gannett and Hearst will fully embrace these required elements of success. Advertisers dont want to cobble together 20 or 30 premium publisher relationships to equal the audience size they can get with a single order on Google or Facebook. Publishers must work to eliminate the need for individual RFPs and insertion orders, and different data processes, performance metrics and billing. Media buyers are tired of the manual labor involved in achieving scale on premium sites today. Google and Facebook make it easy for advertisers of all types to spend money, with mostly automated processes that scale from major brands down to the long tail while many publishers can only afford to sell directly to the top brands or offer antiquated products to their network of local advertisers. A streamlined cooperative offering could open the doors to a wider variety of advertisers. Companies like Kargo are also a good option for publishers today. They provide premium inventory at scale on mobile, offering unified rich-media ad products across their network of premium publishers, making it easy for advertisers to get scale. Whats more, between click fraud, ad blocking and viewability concerns, advertisers have a complex and risky environment to navigate. They lean on safe and streamlined partners like Google and Facebook to help ease the burden. A cooperative of premium publishers that can provide safety and quality standards would be that much more valuable. Its time for more publishers in the U.S. to coordinate their ad-sales strategies to offer a streamlined, standardized and safe set of products. A cooperative that allows publishers to sell common, valuable inventory and audiences at scale could offer advertisers something even better than Facebook and Google: safe, quality, audience-targeted inventory, adjacent to premium content. by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, December 16, 2016 While Donald Trumps cabinet is put together, what has remained constant is his childrens deep involvement with both the cabinet-selection process and overall strategy. Back in October, Donald Trump Jr. spoke with pro-Russian activists in France about the Syrian crisis. Ivanka sat in on a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan shortly after her father became president-elect. Trump assures the U.S. his only focus will be his duties as president, leaving his business dealings to his children. That claim is jump-starting a vigorous conflict-of-interest debate. His recent meeting with tech executives, with his children in the room, further clouds the hazy relationship between business and politics. When Trump met with tech titans Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sheryl Sandberg and Peter Thiel, among others, on Wednesday at Trump Tower, Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump joined them at the table. (By contrast, President Jimmy Carter was forbidden to hire his son as an unpaid intern, while First Lady Hillary Clinton was pilloried for handling health-care initiatives.) advertisement advertisement President-elect Trump and his family continue to blur the line between public service and Trump business operations, Scott Amey of the Project on Government Oversight warns The Hill. If Trump is serious about only working for the American public, it should have started weeks ago and his children should have stayed in the boardroom. Reports have also emerged that Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner may join Donald Trump in the White House come January 20. If that happens, and Ivanka retains active involvement in the Trump Organization, one presumes the president will continue influencing his business operations well into his term. (Kushner, who runs his own billion-dollar real-estate enterprise, is also raising eyebrows.) Further cementing the clear appearance of conflict, Ivanka Trump auctioned off a $60,000 coffee meeting won by London-based investment manager Ozan M. Ozkural. He was particularly interested in hearing about the Trump organizations future business dealings in Turkey and other foreign countries. The nature of my business, we talk to a lot of different governments, a lot of politicians and lawmakers across the world, Mr. Ozkural said, according to The New York Times. You end up getting a better sense of what the modus operandi will be. At this point, it appears virtually impossible for Trump to separate himself from his business interests. Particularly worrisome to constitutional lawyers, his children are likely to have an informal public role, commingling their interests with government policies. In fertility preservation, reproductive tissues are saved, so that a person may have a child in the future. It usually involves freezing and storing eggs, sperm, or embryos, although other methods may be employed. Men and women can preserve their fertility if they wish to delay parenthood, or if they are undergoing treatment for a medical condition such as cancer. How might cancer and cancer treatment affect fertility? Share on Pinterest For females, radiation therapy may damage the eggs, ovarian follicles, and hormones. Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive after at least 1 year of regular intercourse without the use of contraception. Cancers of the reproductive organs, such as uterine cancer or testicular cancer, may cause infertility. Other cancers may not directly damage fertility or cause sterility, but treatments for these cancers can. The effects of cancer treatment on fertility may be temporary or permanent. The outcome depends on the persons age, the type of cancer treatment they are having, the type and stage of the cancer, and their fertility status before treatment. Female fertility and cancer treatment Both chemotherapy and radiation therapy can reduce female fertility. These treatments may damage the eggs, ovarian follicles, and hormones. Radiation directed to the ovaries or chemotherapy drugs called alkylating agents are most harmful to fertility. Premature menopause, occurring before 40 years of age, can be a side effect of some cancer treatments, with the risk of occurrence increasing as women age. Surgical removal of the uterus or both ovaries will lead to infertility. Male fertility and cancer treatment Surgical removal of the testicles can harm male fertility. Certain types of chemotherapy and high doses of radiation therapy can kill the stem cells that produce sperm. These types of treatment may also lead to a reduction in the quality or quantity of sperm or damage sperm DNA. In addition, some hormone therapies used in the treatment of prostate cancer and other cancers may reduce male fertility. When to talk to a doctor Anyone who is planning cancer treatment and who wishes to have a child in the future should discuss fertility preservation with their doctor. The doctor can advise whether the cancer treatment that the patient is about to undergo is likely to lead to infertility. They may suggest the best fertility preservation options available to that person. The best time to preserve fertility is before cancer treatment starts, as even one session of treatment may damage fertility. Fertility preservation options for women Share on Pinterest Embryo freezing is a common method of preserving female fertility. Established methods of fertility preservation for women include: Ovarian transposition: One or both ovaries are surgically repositioned to protect them from radiation. This treatment is used for those women who are receiving radiation to an area other than the pelvic region. It does not offer complete protection, due to scatter radiation. If the woman still cannot conceive after the treatment, the ovaries may need to be moved again. In vitro fertilization (IVF) may also be necessary. Egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation: Women receive hormonal treatment to stimulate egg production. Eggs are then removed from the follicles of each ovary, frozen, and stored until ready for use. This may be a good choice for women who do not have a partner, and who do not wish to use donor sperm to fertilize the eggs. Embryo freezing, or embryo cryopreservation: According to the American Cancer Society , this is the most common and successful method of preserving female fertility. It is similar to oocyte cryopreservation. In this process, the eggs are removed from a womans ovaries and fertilized by sperm, which has been provided by a partner or donor. The resulting embryos are frozen until ready to use. , this is the most common and successful method of preserving female fertility. It is similar to oocyte cryopreservation. In this process, the eggs are removed from a womans ovaries and fertilized by sperm, which has been provided by a partner or donor. The resulting embryos are frozen until ready to use. Pelvic shielding: Women having radiation directed to areas other than the pelvis may have their reproductive organs protected from scatter radiation by carefully placed shields. Removal of the cervix, or radical trachelectomy: Those with early-stage cervical cancer may have their cervix surgically removed to protect the uterus. Non-surgical treatment of endometrial cancer: Early-stage endometrial cancers may be successfully treated with medications instead of surgery. This can help to protect fertility. There are also some more experimental fertility preservation techniques available to women, such as: Ovarian tissue cryopreservation: Ovarian tissue is surgically removed, frozen, and later implanted back into the body. It may not be suitable for those with certain cancers such as leukemia, as there may be cancer cells in the removed tissue. Ovarian suppression: Hormonal therapy may be used to suppress the ovaries and protect the eggs during cancer treatment. Depending on the method of fertility preservation used and the womans stage in her menstrual cycle, cancer treatment may be delayed by up to 3 weeks. Some people may require immediate cancer treatment, and so not all fertility preservation methods are available to all people. Fertility preservation options for men Before undergoing cancer treatment, men can consider the following fertility preservation methods: Sperm cryopreservation: Semen samples can be frozen and stored until ready for use. These samples may be used as part of IVF treatment, or they can be thawed and placed in the uterus of a female partner. This process is known as intrauterine insemination. Pelvic shielding: Men having radiation treatment may have their testicles protected by carefully placed shields. Testicular tissue cryopreservation: This method is still being researched as a means of preserving fertility in men. Testicular tissue is surgically removed, frozen, and later implanted back into the body. Fertility preservation options for children with cancer Share on Pinterest Women are advised to wait for approximately 2 years after cancer treatment before becoming pregnant. Parents of children with cancer may need to take steps to try and preserve their fertility. Available options depend on the age of the child, whether they are pre- or post-puberty, the type of cancer treatment being considered, and the type and stage of the cancer. Children who have entered puberty may be eligible for egg or sperm cryopreservation. Those who are prepubescent may be able to have ovarian or testicular tissue frozen. Parental consent will be required, and consent of the children may also be necessary. For some, fertility preservation in children may raise ethical questions. The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine advise that parents of children with cancer may act to preserve the childs fertility if the child agrees, and if the procedure is likely to benefit the child in the future. Nearly a quarter of attempted suicides at metro stations could be identified using real-time CCTV to spot certain behaviours for prevention, according to new research published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. This study is the first to examine the behaviours of people at metro stations using CCTV footage, and their association with suicide risk. Suicides occur in all urban transit systems where there are no physical barriers to block access to the tracks, and although most attempters do not die, they often suffer serious injuries as a result. Pacing back and forth from the yellow line at the platform edge and leaving an object such as a bag on the platform were both independent indicators of a suicide attempt that were not seen in other people on the platform. According to the researchers, 24% of attempters could have been spotted and possibly prevented by people looking for these two behaviours on CCTV footage. Professor Brian Mishara, lead author and Director of the Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide and Euthanasia at the University of Quebec in Montreal, said: "We conducted a two stage study to first, identify behaviours associated with attempted suicide and second, to test if these behaviours could be used to spot people who go on to attempt suicide with minimum false identification of people who were not going to attempt." "We found that the presence of two or more of following behaviours may indicate suicide risk: leaving objects on the platform, frequently looking down the tunnel, standing for long periods of time on the yellow line or continually walking on the yellow line, looking physically agitated, staring at the tracks or the tunnel for long periods of time and seeming depressed. Several of these behaviours have the potential to be detected automatically using computer technology so our study provides ground work for research to develop novel ways to prevent suicide attempts at metro stations." In the first part of the study the researchers were given access to multiple camera CCTV footage of 66 previous suicide attempts from a metro station in Montreal, Canada. The captured time-frame included, where possible, from the moment the person entered the station up until after the suicide attempt was made. Fourteen attempts were randomly selected and used to draw up a list of associated behaviours which were then validated and agreed by four independent observers, who then proceeded to analyse all the cases. Several behaviours were obvious to spot but others, such as intoxication, physical agitation, anxiety and depression may have required interpretation by the observer. Professor Mishara explained: "Identifying these behaviours was difficult not just because of the issue with interpretation of certain behaviours but also because of the emotional challenge from watching the CCTV footage. We observed that 37% of the time other people at the station tried to save the person attempting suicide. We also noted that in 75% of attempts there were clear indications that the person might be changing their mind such as hesitation, trying to protect themselves from the train or trying to stop their jump after it was too late". In the second part of the study the researchers showed 33 independent observers single-camera footage, from 63 previous suicide attempts, of the five minutes leading up to but not including the attempt itself and asked them to note which of the behaviours from a list that they could spot. These video clips were randomly mixed with CCTV footage from 56 events where no future suicide attempt was made, but the observers were not told which footage they were viewing. No training was given to the observers apart from an explanation of the indicating behaviours on the list and CCTV footage was only shown once to reflect what it might be like in real life for someone to spot a potential suicide attempt. Professor Mishara said: "In our experiment the observers only spotted indicating behaviours from our list in 53% of the videos they viewed where actual suicide attempts took place. We believe this is probably due to the fact that they were watching single camera footage and did not have the benefits we did when viewing the footage. This highlights the need for training so that observers are skilled at spotting the right behaviours in real-time situations." A biologist at The University of Texas at Dallas and his colleagues have discovered that two enzymes previously linked independently with keeping cancer cells alive actually work in tandem to spur tumor growth. "There has been no reason to suspect these two proteins interact, but now we know they do. This finding was totally unexpected," said Dr. Jung-Whan (Jay) Kim, assistant professor of biological sciences and co-lead author of the study published in the online journal Nature Communications. The two enzymes Kim studied are abbreviated NQO1 and HIF-1a (pronounced "hif-one-alpha"). Under normal biological conditions, NQO1 helps protect the body from the cancer-causing damage of free radicals and environmental toxins, such as cigarette smoke. HIF-1a aids cell survival when oxygen levels in the body are temporarily low, a condition known as hypoxia. As optimal oxygen levels return, HIF-1a is degraded. In many types of cancer tumors, however, both enzymes occur persistently at very high levels. Elevated NQO1 expression, in particular, is associated with poor prognosis in breast, colon, cervical, lung and pancreatic cancer patients, although the molecular mechanism for the elevated expression remains unclear. Kim's group discovered a likely explanation. "Cancer cells, like any other cells, need oxygen to survive, but they grow really fast so they become hypoxic - therefore, they suffer from low oxygen," Kim said. "They try to adapt to or overcome this hypoxic stress through various mechanisms, one of which is to increase HIF-1a. This enzyme signals the body to make more blood vessels to feed the tumor and to reprogram cellular metabolism to adapt to hypoxia. "Until now, though, no one had made a connection between HIF-1a and NQO1," Kim said. Kim's research group conducted a series of experiments to determine which of several proteins interact with HIF-1a. Unexpectedly, they found that NQO1 binds to HIF-1a to form a complex. "We confirmed that they [HIF-1a and NQO1] are bound together and interacting. We also determined where in their structure they physically connect," said Kim, whose co-authors include biology graduate student Justin Goodwin BS'15, former research associate Robin Ruthenborg BS'13 MS'14 and several colleagues in South Korea. "We also characterized what happens biochemically when these two proteins are bound together." The results show that by binding to HIF-1a in cancer cells, NQO1 regulates the partner protein by stabilizing it, preventing HIF-1a from being degraded. "We have revealed this novel function for NQO1 in stabilizing HIF-1a, which, in turn, enhances tumor growth," Kim said. As part of their study, the researchers examined colorectal cancer cells obtained from patients and found a significant correlation between high NQO1 and high HIF-1a levels. "Our observations provided strong supportive evidence that the two proteins physically interact," Kim said. In subsequent experiments, the group eliminated NQO1 in colorectal and breast cancer cells. They injected the modified cells into immunocompromised mice, whose inhibited immune systems are capable of growing human tumors. A group of control animals received unmodified tumor cells. "We saw tumor levels drop in the mice that received cancer cells without NQO1," Kim said. "Our experiments strongly suggest that this tumor growth was inhibited specifically through reduced NQO1-dependent HIF-1a activity." Kim's UT Dallas research team is currently investigating the role of HIF-1a in certain types of lung cancers and is collaborating with Dr. Jung-Mo Anh, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, to identify molecules that might target and block HIF-1a in cancer cells. "We have some potentially interesting candidates, but we need further research," Kim said. "We are in the very early stages, but hopefully we will see some inhibitors emerge within the next few years." The research reported in Nature Communications was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea. Brain connections that play a key role in complex thinking skills show the poorest health with advancing age, new research suggests. Connections supporting functions such as movement and hearing are relatively well preserved in later life, the findings show. Scientists carrying out the most comprehensive study to date on ageing and the brain's connections charted subtle ways in which the brain's connections weaken with age. Knowing how and where connections between brain cells - so-called white matter - decline as we age is important in understanding why some people's brains and thinking skills age better than others. Worsening brain connections as we age contribute to a decline in thinking skills, such as reasoning, memory and speed of thinking. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh analysed brain scans from more than 3,500 people aged between 45 and 75 taking part in the UK Biobank study. Researchers say the data will provide more valuable insights into healthy brain and mental ageing, as well as making contributions to understanding a range of diseases and conditions. The study was published in Nature Communications journal. Dr Simon Cox, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE), who led the study, said: "By precisely mapping which connections of the brain are most sensitive to age, and comparing different ways of measuring them, we hope to provide a reference point for future brain research in health and disease. "This is only one of the first of many exciting brain imaging results still to come from this important national health resource." Professor Ian Deary, Director of CCACE, said: "Until recently, studies of brain scans with this number of people were not possible. Day by day the UK Biobank sample grows, and this will make it possible to look carefully at the environmental and genetic factors that are associated with more or less healthy brains in older age." Professor Paul Matthews of Imperial College London, Chair of the UK Biobank Expert Working Group, who was not involved in the study, said: "This report provides an early example of the impact that early opening of the growing UK Biobank Imaging Enhancement database for access by researchers world-wide will have. "The large numbers of subjects in the database has enabled the group to rapidly characterise the ways in which the brain changes with age - and to do so with the confidence that large numbers of observations allow. "This study highlights the feasibility of defining what is typical, to inform the development of quantitative MRI measures for decision making in the clinic." The University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology receives funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). UK Biobank was established by the Wellcome Trust, MRC, Department of Health, Scottish Government and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. It has had funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK. UK Biobank is hosted by the University of Manchester and supported by the NHS. A particular structure in the brain is a "choke point" for a type of epileptic seizure that affects mostly children, Stanford University School of Medicine investigators have found. The researchers used an advanced technology called optogenetics to show, in rodent models of one of the most common forms of childhood epilepsy, that inducing synchronized, rhythmic activity in a specific nerve tract within this structure is sufficient to cause seizures, while disrupting that activity is sufficient to terminate them. Epilepsy, a pattern of recurrent seizures, affects about 1 in 26 people over their lifetime, said John Huguenard, PhD, professor of neurology and neurological sciences and of molecular and cellular physiology. Absence, or petit-mal, seizures - a form of epilepsy most likely to occur among children ages 6-15 - account for about 1 in 20 cases of epilepsy. They are characterized by a sudden loss of consciousness, accompanied by a behavioral and postural freezing in place, that persists for up to 15 seconds. A child experiencing an absence seizure usually has no recollection of it. "These seizures can be so subtle that they go unnoticed or are mistaken for a lack of attention," Huguenard said. The new findings, described in a study to be published online in Neuron, point to the possibility of improved ways of reducing, halting or possibly even preventing absence seizures in susceptible children. There's reason to think these findings may also apply to a wider range of seizure types, including the more dramatic and better-known grand mal, characterized by involuntary jerking movements in addition to loss of consciousness. Huguenard shares senior authorship of the study with Jeanne Paz, PhD, a former postdoctoral scholar in his group and now assistant professor of neurology at the University of California-San Francisco and assistant investigator at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. After Paz, who initiated the study, departed for UCSF, the experiments were continued by Stanford graduate student Jordan Sorokin, the study's lead author, under Huguenard's direction. Multiple, daily seizures "Many people think of absence seizures as being mild because there's no shaking or falling on the floor," said Paz. "But some kids have more than 200 absence seizures a day, making it impossible for them to learn at school. And the drugs they take for their seizures may not work well." Absence seizures are a type of so-called generalized seizures: patterns of rhythmic nerve-cell firing activity that, while originating in one or another brain region, propagate throughout the entire organ. Implicated in all generalized seizures is nerve circuitry in a deep-brain structure called the thalamus, whose normal functions include relaying sensory information to the cerebral cortex via a nerve projection called the thalamocortical tract. Resorting to an increasingly widespread technology called optogenetics, pioneered in the lab of study co-author Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, a Stanford professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, the researchers inserted the gene for a light-sensitive cell-surface protein called an opsin into a set of excitatory nerve cells in the thalamocortical tract of rats and mice bred to be prone to absence seizures. As a result of this manipulation, the opsin appeared on the surfaces of those excitatory thalamocortical nerve cells. The particular opsin the scientists used for some of their experiments was inhibitory. Its presence on nerve cells meant that, whenever yellow light was delivered to them via an implanted fiber-optic cable, those cells would be prevented from firing. The thalamocortical tract's excitatory nerve cells are somewhat like excitable second-graders. Imagine a classroom filled with children who share an inability to stay completely quiet for more than five seconds. Imagine, further, a teacher who doesn't mind the occasional loud whisper or random outburst but who will not abide noise above a certain threshold. When the din exceeds that level, the teacher shouts a show-stopping, "Quiet!" The inevitable result of this enforced silencing: Five seconds later, the room will erupt in a burst of noise, in turn inducing an authoritarian cease-and-desist command, followed by another eruption, and so forth. The very act of inhibition drives a pattern of rhythmic firing. Disrupting the pattern Similarly, back in the thalamus, inhibition (the "teacher" analog) is meted out to the thalamocortical tract's excitatory nerve cells by a different set of cells in the thalamus whose job it is to generate useful rhythms in this brain structure. A gentle, rhythmic firing pattern in the thalamocortical tract is typical during normal sleep. It makes sense, when an individual needs sleep, to tune out disruptive sensory inputs from the thalamus to the cortex. But in absence epilepsy, this useful, rhythmic thalamocortical lullaby is hijacked and amplified into the distortion range. It appears that subtle defects within the circuitry can predispose the thalamocortical tract's firing to slip too easily into lockstep synchrony. The researchers had observed that firing in the thalamocortical tract shifted from a chaotic to a rhythmic pattern during their test animals' naturally occurring seizures. Using optogenetics, the scientists were able to abruptly inhibit firing in excitatory thalamocortical cells - and, by so doing, to induce seizures at will in the animals - at the flick of a switch. "A single pulse of yellow light was enough to generate rhythmic firing activity throughout the cortex, in both hemispheres of the brain," Huguenard said. The insertion of a different kind of opsin, also developed in Deisseroth's lab, far from inhibiting excitatory thalamocortical cells made them more excitable in response to a blue-light pulse. This predisposition could be canceled by administering yellow light. Toggling from one to another color of delivered light, the investigators demonstrated that making the excitatory thalamocortical cells less susceptible to inhibition disrupted their collective firing synchrony and blocked seizure activity. "Our study shows that the thalamus is a choke point whose involvement is essential to the maintenance of absence seizures," Paz said. Both Paz and Huguenard suggested that treatments capable of guiding excitatory thalamocortical nerve cells from a tightly synchronized to a more chaotic firing pattern may be able to halt absence seizures - and, maybe, other forms of generalized epilepsy, too. Other Stanford co-authors of the study are former postdoctoral scholars Eric Frechette, MD, PhD, and Matthew Abramian, PhD, who is now a clinical trials research coordinator at Stanford. The study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grants R00NS078118 and 5R01NS034774), the Stanford Neuroscience Graduate Program and Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy. Stanford's Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences also supported the work. Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. Advertisement Gomes and her team examined data for people who were eligible for the Ontario Drug Benefit program between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, and identified 769,895 who were dispensed at least one opioid prescription.The study found that rates of opioid use remained steady from 2003 until the publication of Canadian guidelines for the use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. After this time, the rate fell from approximately 27% of ODB eligible persons in the first half of 2010 to 23% in the second half of 2014.However, the rate of opioid use was not further affected by the province of Ontario's enactment of the Narcotics and Safety Awareness Act in November 2011, the study found. A key component of that legislation was the requirement for prescriptions for narcotics and all other controlled substances to be disclosed to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for monitoring and surveillance.Both the national guidelines and the provincial legislation were designed to promote more judicious and appropriate opioid prescribing, which was expected to reduce the risk of overdoses, as has been seen in some jurisdictions in the United States."The decline in the rate of opioid use after the publication of national guidelines could reflect more comprehensive assessment of patient pain, medical mental health and substance use history by physicians before initiating opioid therapy," Gomes said. "However, it is also extremely important to ensure that clinicians are safely tapering opioid therapy in their patients and ensuring that patients have access to addiction services when necessary."Gomes said that despite decreasing rates of opioid prescribing, among the remaining opioid prescription users, the proportion of high dose use more than doubled from 4.2% in 2003 to 8.7% in 2014.In the last six months of 2014, 12,713 people in Ontario eligible for public drug benefits were treated with doses above 200 mg morphine (or the equivalent). Further, the study found 40.9% of recipients of long-acting opioids exceeded daily doses of 200 mg of morphine (or the equivalent) and 18.7% were treated with very high doses exceeding 400 mg morphine (or the equivalent).Of note, in the last six months of 2014, more than half (55.4%) of long-acting oxycodone users, and more than three-quarters (76.1%) of fentanyl users were treated with daily doses exceeding the Canadian guideline's upper dose threshold of 200 mg morphine or the equivalent.The study also found that rates of opioid-related hospital visits increased 34.5% from the first half of 2003 to the second half of 2004, but remained relatively stable between 2005 and 2009. Between 2010 and 2013, rates increased again, rising 13% from 12.4 to 14 hospital visits per 10,000 ODB-eligible persons. The rate of opioid-related hospital visits was not significantly impacted by the Canadian clinical practice guidelines in May 2010 or the Ontario legislation in November 2011. In 2013, there were 1,621 opioid related hospital visits among public drug beneficiaries in Ontario."The persistent growth in opioid-related hospital visits in recent years in Ontario could be explained by increased illicit opioid use if people previously using prescription opioids were denied access to these drugs without adequate dose tapering or addiction services," Gomes said. "Another potential explanation may be dosing errors among people switched from long-acting oxycodone to alternative opioids when formulary restrictions for OxyNeo were introduced in February 2012."Gomes noted that one limitation of this study was that the majority of people eligible for the Ontario Public Drug Program are socioeconomically disadvantaged, so the findings may not be generalizable to the overall population. Despite this limitation, she suggested that these findings provide valuable information for physicians and policy-makers as they work toward improving opioid drug policy and appropriate prescribing practices in Ontario.Source: Eurekalert You can return to this list any time via the navigation menus at the top of the page. Indias independence from British rule was a hard-fought battle. The most painful and yet the most historic event in the countrys past was the time of independence, that was marred by the bloody partition that tore apart a nation forever. Talented filmmaker Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham and Bride And Prejudice fame is back with what looks like a historical masterpiece. YouTube The trailer of her film Viceroys House is out and it gives one a glimpse into those last moments before Independence, when the country was brimming with excitement and fervor. The film focuses on the last viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten (played by celebrated actor Hugh Bonneville), and the turmoil and politics that went on in his palatial house that saw a barrage of Indian and British leaders scampering back and forth. YouTube What happens when an empire ends? What happens when a nation is born? How did the India-Pak partition actually happen to come about? Looks like Gurinder Chadhas Viceroys House has answers to many questions. With actors like Om Puri and Huma Qureshi decorating the star cast, the film looks promising. Releasing in March 2017, this ones going to be worth the wait. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. It seems like a no-brainer: If licensed medical professionals want to provide free treatment to low income families, they should be able to. But Michigans complicated regulatory apparatus gets in the way of doctors, nurses and dentists trying to help those in need. We recently volunteered with Remote Area Medical at a clinic in Florida and witnessed firsthand how important these free services are. RAM is a nonprofit that provides free medical, dental and vision services to underserved areas and people of limited means. They get doctors, dentists, opticians, nurses, translators and other volunteers to donate their time and skills to work at the clinics. The service is provided entirely free to patients no questions asked. People arrived the day before the clinic opened and spent the night in the parking lot. By 3 a.m., there was a line leading up to the door, filled with people like Jamie Ogline. The 30-year-old mother of two was trying to fit in a visit to this free clinic around her work schedule. This is saving me and my kids, Ogline said. I heard about (the RAM clinic) and I just couldnt believe it because its all free and it doesnt matter if you have insurance. RAM provides basic health checkups, new glasses and fresh fruit and vegetables. But about 90 percent of what its volunteers do is dental and vision work. Many of the people seeking this free care havent seen a medical professional in a decade or more. While neither of us is a medical professional, we were able to help with crowd control and by moving supplies. But why did we have to go all the way to Florida to find professionals to help? Because in many states it is illegal for them to provide care without jumping over high regulatory hurdles. This includes Michigan, where even if a person is licensed by another state, providing free dental, vision and medical services is a felony, with only a few exceptions. The CEO of the company, Jeff Eastman, told us they have talked for years about setting up in Michigan. We would love to do a clinic in Detroit, Eastman said. But its a big struggle. The city fits the profile of a place where RAM typically offers clinics: It has a large low-income population and theres a desperate need for care. At the clinic in Florida, there were doctors from Canada, Chicago and Buffalo. Many of these same people would make the shorter drive to Motown but Michigans licensing laws are strict and those out of state professionals would violate the law and risk prosecution were they to help there. Relying only on local providers means RAM has a tough time finding enough medical volunteers, so, unfortunately, Detroiters will have to wait. Its no surprise that RAM clinics are concentrated in states like Illinois, West Virginia and Tennessee, where licensing laws make it easier to operate. Stan Brock, who founded RAM over 30 years ago, points to Tennessee as a model. In 1997, the Volunteer State lived up to its nickname by allowing out-of-state medical providers to work there as long as their license was verified by the nonprofit they were working with. Today, half the volunteers at the Tennessee clinics come from outside the state. They pay their own way, Brock said. They get nothing from us or the government. At the end of the day, the location of the state agency that certifies health care professionals doesnt matter to people like Lisa Alaya, whose life had been threatened by a tooth infection. Her mother, Donna Souza, told us a doctor had warned that the infection could turn into sepsis that would ultimately kill her because she was still recovering from heart valve replacement surgery. You guys are going to save my daughters life, Souza said. How many people in Michigan and around the country have similar stories? And how many lives could be saved or improved with nothing more from the government than letting licensed doctors from other states offer free care to those who need it the most. BAD AXE The Huron County Planning Commission recommended a one-year moratorium on wind development Wednesday night, with exceptions for three county-approved projects. The recommendation will be sent to the Huron County Board of Commissioners, who will likely address the issue at their Dec. 29 meeting. The county board is not bound by the action of the planning commission. Current projects for DTE Energy, NextEra Energy Resources and Sempra US Gas & Power, which have all received board approval, will not be affected by the moratorium. The proposal was for a five-year moratorium. During the public hearing, County Commissioner Rich Swartzendruber suggested a six-month moratorium. This was intended to stop development until after the May referendums on wind energy issues, and until the planners have finished revising the Huron County Master Plan. Commissioner John A. Nugent, who sits on both the planning commission and the county board, made the motion for the year-long moratorium. The motion was amended to include that within that years time, the board give direction back to the planning commission on action to be taken prior to the years end. Im not really in favor of passing a moratorium for a period of time without putting some stipulation as to what the direction would be at the end of that time, Chairman Clark Brock said. The motion passed 6-3. Voting in favor if it were: Nugent, Brock and commissioners Mary Babcock, Robert Oakes, Carl Duda and Terry Heck. Those who voted against it were commissioners Jeffrey Krohn, Joel Weber and Bernie Creguer. Weber made the following comment during the discussion on the motion. Again, its delay, delay, delay. He added that the constitutional rights of the people to do what they long to do are being violated. County Corporate Counsel Steve Allen told the Tribune that the moratorium, if approved by the board, would be in effect a) for one year from the effective date; or b) until all issues pertaining to various referendums are resolved, whichever happens first. Lincoln Township voters have protested the township boards decision to form a planning commission, which would eventually lead to the township becoming self-zoned, rather that county-zoned. There will be a referendum in May to vote on that issue. There is also a referendum anticipated in county-zoned municipalities protesting the boards decision to allow the DTE overlay district in Lincoln, Dwight, Sigel and Bloomfield townships. It also would not be surprising if Sherman Township conducts a referendum protesting its township boards decision to form its own planning commission. And with the board having approved NextEras application this week to build a wind park in Sherman and Sigel townships, a referendum protesting that decision may also come about among county-zoned municipalities. Allen said that if all of those situations were resolved before a year passes, the moratorium would expire then. Although the moratorium does not apply to the DTE park, no further action can be taken by the developer until after the referendum, Allen said. The Sempra project includes the Apple Blossom wind farm in Winsor Township. Ground has been broken on it, and is expected to continue in the spring. During the 30-minute hearing, 23 people spoke. Residents, wind developers and county officials were nearly evenly divided, in terms of supporting or not supporting a moratorium. Before the public hearing, Brock read several letters supporting the moratorium and two that opposed it. County Commissioner Ron Wruble, who proposed the moratorium, wrote one of those letters because he could not attend the hearing. What you and I think about wind turbines should not affect the decisions we are responsible to make, Wruble wrote. Those decisions must be made on what is best for all the people of the county. Before the wind turbines came to this county 10 years ago, the county was blessed with some of the most fertile farmland in the world, and coupled with the temperate climate, Huron county is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Since the introduction of wind turbines, our agricultural activity remains second to none. But can we say the same about the natural beauty of our area? Many residents who spoke in support of the moratorium said that the turbines damage the countys landscape. Those against it touted the economic benefits that the wind industry brings. Sally Kain of Meade Township compared benefits of the countys wind industry to a drug habit. This is like a heroin addict, she said. The turbine money comes in and its a high that wont last long. When it is all over, youll have drove down property values and drove out residents, and there will no longer be taxes collected ... and Huron County will be destroyed. Lincoln Township resident Arlene Schipinski said that there is one full-time job created for every 15 turbines, and this encourages young people to stay in the county. We have to keep life if we want to remain alive, she said. County resident Nancy Krohn noted health problems that some say can abound from wind turbines. Our community has changed forever and not in a positive way, Krohn said, adding that the issue is pulling people apart. Mark Trumbauer of NextEra told the commission that no new wind farms have been built under the amendments to the countys 2015 wind ordinance. Let your ordinance work, look at what you have done. He said significantly less turbines are able to be constructed as a result of the changes. Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. 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The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, advisory services, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, private equity firms, and governments. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Bancolombia S.A. provides banking products and services in Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. The company operates through nine segments: Banking Colombia, Banking Panama, Banking El Salvador, Banking Guatemala, Trust, Investment Banking, Brokerage, International Banking, and All Other. It offers checking and savings accounts, fixed term deposits, and investment products; trade financing, loans funded by domestic development banks, working capital loans, credit cards, personal and vehicle loans, payroll loans, and overdrafts; financial support to real estate developers and mortgages for individuals and companies; factoring; and financial and operating leasing services. The company also provides hedging instruments, including futures, forwards, options, and swaps; and brokerage, investment advisory, and private banking services, including selling and distributing equities, futures, foreign currencies, fixed income securities, mutual funds, and structured products. In addition, it offers cash management services; foreign currency transaction services; life, auto, commercial, and homeowner's insurance products; and online and computer banking services. Further, the company provides project and acquisition finance, debt and equity capital markets, principal investments, M&A, hedging strategies, restructurings, and structured financing; money market accounts, mutual and pension funds, private equity funds, payment and corporate trust, and custody; internet-based trading platform; inter-bank lending and repurchase agreements; managing escrow accounts, and investment and real estate funds; and transportation, securities brokerage, maintenance and remodeling, and outsourcing services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 1,015 branches; 28,676 banking correspondents; 529 PAMs; 210 kiosks in El Salvador and 187 in Colombia; and 6,094 ATMs. Bancolombia S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Medellin, Colombia. Carter's, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, and markets branded childrenswear under the Carter's, OshKosh, Skip Hop, Child of Mine, Just One You, Simple Joys, Carter's My First Love, little planet, and other brands in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Retail, U.S. Wholesale, and International. Its Carter's products include babies and young children products, such as bodysuits, pants, dresses, knit sets, blankets, layette essentials, bibs, booties, sleep and play products, rompers, and jumpers; and OshKosh brand products comprise playclothes, such as denim apparel products with multiple wash treatments and coordinating garments, overalls, woven bottoms, knit tops, and bodysuits. The company also provides products for playtime, travel, mealtime, bathtime, and homegear, as well as kid's bags and diaper bags under the Skip Hop brand. In addition, it offers bedding, cribs, diaper bags, footwear, gift sets, hair accessories, jewelry, outerwear, paper goods, socks, shoes, swimwear, and toys. The company operates 18,800 wholesale locations, including department stores, national chain stores, and specialty stores. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 980 retail stores. The company also sells its products through its eCommerce websites, such as carters.com, oshkoshbgosh.com, oshkosh.com, and skiphop.com, as well as other international wholesale accounts and licensees. Carter's, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. FLEETCOR Technologies, Inc. provides digital payment solutions for businesses to control purchases and make payments. It offers corporate payments solutions, such as accounts payable automation; Virtual Card, which provides a single-use card number for a specific amount usable within a defined timeframe; Cross-Border that is used by its customers to pay international vendors, foreign office and personnel expenses, capital expenditures, and profit repatriation and dividends; and purchasing cards and travel and entertainment cards for its customers to analyze and manage their corporate spending. The company also provides employee expense management solutions, including fuel solutions to businesses and government entities that operate vehicle fleets, as well as to oil and leasing companies, and fuel marketers; lodging solutions to businesses that have employees who travel overnight for work purposes, as well as to airlines and cruise lines to accommodate traveling crews and stranded passengers; and electronic toll payments solutions to businesses and consumers in the form of radio frequency identification tags affixed to vehicles' windshields. In addition, it offers gift card program management and processing services in plastic and digital forms that include card design, production and packaging, delivery and fulfillment, card and account management, transaction processing, promotion development and management, website design and hosting, program analytics, and card distribution channel management. Further, it provides other products consisting of payroll cards, vehicle maintenance service solution, long-haul transportation solution, prepaid food vouchers or cards, and prepaid transportation cards and vouchers. The company serves business, merchant, consumer, and payment network customers in North America, Brazil, and Internationally. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Read More Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual cards, co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms. In addition, it provides debt cancellation products to its credit card customers through online, mobile, and direct mail; healthcare payments and financing solutions under the CareCredit, Pets Best, and Walgreens brands; payments and financing solutions in the apparel, specialty retail, outdoor, music, and luxury industries; and point-of-sale consumer financing for audiology products and dental services. The company offers its credit products through programs established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers; and deposit products through various channels, such as digital and print. It serves digital, health and wellness, retail, home, auto, powersports, jewelry, pets, and other industries. Synchrony Financial was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases. It also provides credit cards and payments; real estate secured lending, auto finance, and consumer lending services; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, and advice to retail and institutional clients through direct investing, advice-based, and asset management businesses; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking products and services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to corporations, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,061 branches and 3,381 automated teller machines (ATMs) in Canada, and 1,148 stores and 2,701 ATMs in the United States, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. It has a strategic alliance with Canada Post Corporation. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The following companies are subsidiares of Transocean: 15375 Memorial Corporation, Agon Shipping Inc., Aguas Profundas Limitada, AngoSantaFe - Prestacao de Servicos Petroliferos Limitada, Angola Deepwater Drilling Company (Offshore Services) Ltd, Arcade Drilling AS, Asie Sonat Offshore Sdn. Bhd., Barents Rigco Limited, Blegra Asset Management Limited, Blegra Financing Limited, Caledonia Offshore Drilling Services Limited, Challenger Minerals Inc., Covent Garden - Servicos e Marketing Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Deepwater Drilling (Transocean Ghana) Limited, Deepwater Drilling North Africa LLC - Free Zone, Deepwater Pacific 1 Inc., Deepwater Supply Inc., Drillship Alonissos Owners Inc., Drillship Hydra Owners Inc., Drillship Kithira Owners Inc., Drillship Kythnos Owners Inc., Drillship Paros Owners Inc., Drillship Skiathos Owners Inc., Drillship Skopelos Owners Inc., Drillship Skyros Owners Inc., Eastern Med Consultants Inc., Entities Holdings Inc., GSF Leasing Services GmbH, Global Marine Inc., Global Offshore Drilling Limited, GlobalSantaFe (Labuan) Inc., GlobalSantaFe B.V., GlobalSantaFe C.R. Luigs Limited, GlobalSantaFe Denmark Holdings ApS, GlobalSantaFe Drilling (N.A.) N.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Company (Overseas) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Operations Inc., GlobalSantaFe Drilling Services (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Trinidad LLC, GlobalSantaFe Drilling Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe Financial Services (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., GlobalSantaFe Group Financing Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe Holding Company (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe Hungary Services Limited Liability Company, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Corporation, GlobalSantaFe International Drilling Inc., GlobalSantaFe International Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Nederland B.V., GlobalSantaFe Offshore Services Inc., GlobalSantaFe Operations (Mexico) LLC, GlobalSantaFe Saudi Arabia Ltd., GlobalSantaFe Services (BVI) Inc., GlobalSantaFe Services Netherlands B.V., GlobalSantaFe Servicios de Venezuela C.A., GlobalSantaFe South America LLC, GlobalSantaFe Tampico S. de R.L. de C.V., GlobalSantaFe Techserv (North Sea) Limited, GlobalSantaFe U.S. Holdings Inc., Indigo Drilling Limited, Inteliwell JV GP Limited, Inteliwell JV LP, Kalambo Operations Inc., OCR Falklands Drilling Inc., OR Norge Operations Inc., Ocean Rig, Ocean Rig 1 Inc, Ocean Rig 2 Inc., Ocean Rig Canada Inc., Ocean Rig Cuanza Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Cubango Operations Inc., Ocean Rig Deepwater Drilling Limited, Ocean Rig Investments Inc., Ocean Rig Management Inc., Ocean Rig Operations Inc., Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Ocean Rig UDW LLC, Offshore Ghana Transocean Limited, Offshore Rig Operations AS, Olympia Rig Angola Holding S.A., Olympia Rig Angola Limitada, Orion Holdings (Cayman) Limited, Orion RigCo (Cayman) Limited, P.T. Santa Fe Supraco Indonesia, PT. Transocean Indonesia, Platform Capital N.V., Platform Financial N.V., Primelead Limited, R&B Falcon (A) Pty Ltd, R&B Falcon (Caledonia) Limited, R&B Falcon (M) Sdn. Bhd., R&B Falcon (U.K.) Limited, R&B Falcon B.V., R&B Falcon Deepwater (UK) Limited, R&B Falcon Drilling Co. LLC, R&B Falcon Exploration Co. LLC, R&B Falcon International Energy Services B.V., RBF Rig Corporation LLC, Ranger Insurance Limited, Reading & Bates Coal Co. LLC, SDS Offshore Limited, Safemal Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Santa Fe Braun Inc., Santa Fe Construction Company, Santa Fe Drilling Company of Venezuela C.A., Saudi Drilling Company Limited, Sedco Forex International Inc., Services Petroliers Transocean, Servicios Petroleros Santa Fe S.A., Ship Investment Ocean Holdings Inc., Songa Offshore Delta Limited, Songa Offshore Drilling Limited, Songa Offshore Enabler Limited, Songa Offshore Encourage Limited, Songa Offshore Endurance Limited, Songa Offshore Equinox Limited, Songa Offshore Equipment Rental Limited, Songa Offshore Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Songa Offshore Management Limited, Songa Offshore Pte. Ltd., Songa Offshore Rig 2 AS, Songa Offshore Rig 3 AS, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore SE, Songa Offshore Saturn Limited, Songa Offshore T & P Cyprus Limited, Songa Saturn Chartering Pte. Ltd., Spitsbergen Rigco Limited, Sub-Saharan Drilling Inc., T. I. International Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TILAM Holdings Limited, TRM Holdings Limited, TSSA - Servicos de Apoio Lda., Transocean Africa Drilling Limited, Transocean Asia Services Sdn Bhd, Transocean Asset Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Asset Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Atlas Limited, Transocean Barents ASA, Transocean Brasil Ltda., Transocean Britannia Limited, Transocean Canada Drilling Services Ltd., Transocean Conqueror Limited, Transocean Conqueror Opco LLC, Transocean Corporate Services Limited, Transocean Cyprus Capital Management Public Limited, Transocean Cyprus Drilling Operations Public Limited, Transocean Deepwater Drilling Services Limited, Transocean Deepwater Holdings Limited, Transocean Deepwater Inc., Transocean Deepwater Mauritius, Transocean Deepwater Nautilus Limited, Transocean Deepwater Seafarer Services Limited, Transocean Discoverer 534 LLC, Transocean Drilling Enterprises S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Israel Ltd., Transocean Drilling Limited, Transocean Drilling Namibia Inc., Transocean Drilling Offshore S.a.r.l., Transocean Drilling Sdn. Bhd., Transocean Drilling Services (India) Private Limited, Transocean Drilling U.K. Limited, Transocean Eastern Pte. Ltd., Transocean Employee Support Fund, Transocean Enabler Limited, Transocean Enabler Rigco Limited, Transocean Encourage Limited, Transocean Encourage Rigco Limited, Transocean Endurance Limited, Transocean Endurance Rigco Limited, Transocean Entities Holdings GmbH, Transocean Equinox Limited, Transocean Equinox Rigco Limited, Transocean Finance Limited, Transocean Financing (Cayman) Limited, Transocean Financing GmbH, Transocean Guardian Limited, Transocean Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Holdings LLC, Transocean Hungary Holdings LLC, Transocean Hungary Investments LLC, Transocean Hungary Ventures LLC, Transocean Inc., Transocean Innovation Labs Ltd., Transocean International Holdings Limited, Transocean International Resources Limited, Transocean Investimentos Ltda., Transocean Investments Holdings LLC, Transocean Investments S.a.r.l., Transocean Ltd., Transocean Management Services GmbH, Transocean Minerals Holdings Limited, Transocean Nautilus Limited, Transocean North Sea Limited, Transocean Norway Operations AS, Transocean Offshore (North Sea) Ltd., Transocean Offshore Canada Services Ltd., Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc., Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Limited, Transocean Offshore Drilling Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea II Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea VI Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea VII Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea XII Limited, Transocean Offshore Gulf of Guinea XIII Limited, Transocean Offshore Holdings Limited, Transocean Offshore International Limited, Transocean Offshore International Ventures Limited, Transocean Offshore Limited, Transocean Offshore PR Limited, Transocean Offshore USA Inc., Transocean Onshore Support Services Limited, Transocean Orion Limited, Transocean Phoenix 2 Limited, Transocean Phoenix 2 Opco LLC, Transocean Pontus Limited, Transocean Pontus Opco Inc., Transocean Poseidon Limited, Transocean Poseidon Opco Inc., Transocean Proteus Limited, Transocean Proteus Opco LLC, Transocean Quantum Holdings Limited, Transocean Quantum Management Limited, Transocean Quantum Rig Holdings Limited, Transocean Quantum Sentry Holdings Limited, Transocean Rig 140 Limited, Transocean Rig Management Limited, Transocean SPSF Holdings Limited, Transocean Sedco Forex Ventures Limited, Transocean Sentry Limited, Transocean Services (India) Private Limited, Transocean Services AS, Transocean Services UK Limited, Transocean Skyros Limited, Transocean Spitsbergen ASA, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 1 Limited, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 2 Limited, Transocean Sub Asset Holdings 3 Limited, Transocean Support Services Limited, Transocean Support Services Nigeria Limited, Transocean Support Services Private Limited, Transocean Technical Services Egypt LLC, Transocean U.S. Holdings LLC, Transocean UK Limited, Transocean Voyager 1 Limited, Transocean Voyager 2 Limited, Transocean West Africa Holdings Limited, Transocean Worldwide Inc., Triton Asset Leasing GmbH, Triton Capital I GmbH, Triton Capital II GmbH, Triton Capital Mexico GmbH, Triton Conqueror GmbH, Triton Corcovado LLC, Triton Financing LLC, Triton Gemini GmbH, Triton Holdings Limited, Triton Hungary Asset Management LLC, Triton Hungary Investments 1 Limited Liability Company, Triton Industries Inc., Triton KG2 GmbH, Triton Management Services LLC, Triton Mykonos LLC, Triton Nautilus Asset Leasing GmbH, Triton Nautilus Asset Management LLC, Triton Offshore Leasing Services Limited, Triton Pacific Limited, Triton Poseidon GmbH, Triton Voyager Asset Leasing GmbH, and Wilrig Offshore (UK) Limited. Read More AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals in the worldwide. The company offers HUMIRA, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet's diseases; SKYRIZI to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults; RINVOQ, a JAK inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients; IMBRUVICA to treat adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and VENCLEXTA, a BCL-2 inhibitor used to treat adults with CLL or SLL; and MAVYRET to treat patients with chronic HCV genotype 1-6 infection. It also provides CREON, a pancreatic enzyme therapy for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; Synthroid used in the treatment of hypothyroidism; Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation; Lupron for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids; and Botox therapeutic. In addition, the company offers ORILISSA, a nonpeptide small molecule gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for women with moderate to severe endometriosis pain; Duopa and Duodopa, a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to treat Parkinson's disease; Lumigan/Ganfort, a bimatoprost ophthalmic solution for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) or ocular hypertension; Ubrelvy to treat migraine with or without aura in adults; Alphagan/ Combigan, an alpha-adrenergic receptor agonist for the reduction of IOP in patients with OAG; and Restasis, a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant to increase tear production, as well as other eye care products. AbbVie Inc. has a research collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. VeriFone Systems, Inc. provides payments and commerce solutions at the point of sale (POS) worldwide. It offers countertop solutions that accept payment options, including contactless, NFC, mobile wallets, and EMV; PIN pads that support credit and debit card, EBT, EMV, and other PIN-based transactions; and multilane consumer facing commerce devices. It also provides portable payment devices, including small, portable, and handheld devices that enable merchants to accept electronic payments wherever wireless connectivity is available; and mobile solutions that attach to and interface with iOS or Android based smartphones and tablets. In addition, it offers integrated electronic payment systems that combine electronic payment processing, fuel dispensing, and ECR functions, as well as secure payment systems for integration with petroleum pump controllers; unattended and self-service payment solutions designed to enable payment transactions in self-service, high-transaction volume, and public transportation environments; and network access solutions. Further, it provides installation, deployment, training, and application development and delivery solutions; project management, client education program, and consulting services; helpdesk support, equipment repair and maintenance, and software post-contract support services; and application libraries and development tools. Additionally, it offers omnichannel commerce, terminal management, and security solutions; and cloud-based managed, transaction payment, and other value added services. It sells its products directly; and through third party and channel partners. It serves financial institutions, payment processors, government organizations, and retailers; petroleum, transportation, and healthcare companies; and quick service restaurants. The company was formerly known as VeriFone Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to VeriFone Systems, Inc. in May 2010. VeriFone Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California. The following companies are subsidiares of Xerox: A B S Digital Limited, Acorn Business Machines (Holmfirth) Limited, Alloy Acquisitions Corp. LLC, Altodigital Networks, Altodigital Networks Limited, American Photocopy Equipment Company of Pittsburgh LLC, Amici, Arena Group, Arena Group Holdings Limited, Arena Group Limited, Arizona Office Technologies Inc., B 2 Business Systems Limited, Back2Business Limited, Bessemer Insurance Limited, Bessemer Trust Limited, Boise Office Equipment Inc., Bright Ceramic Technologies Inc., Bunch CareSolutions, Business Systems (North Wales) Limited, CPAS Systems, CREDITEX - Aluguer de Equipamentos S.A., CTX Business Solutions Inc., Capitol Office Solutions LLC, CareAR Holdings LLC, CareAR Inc., Carolina Office Systems Inc., Carr Business Systems Inc., Chicago Office Technology Group Inc., ComDoc Inc., Competitive Computing, Concept Group, Concept Group Limited, Connecticut Business Systems LLC, Consilience Software, Continua Limited, Continua Sanctum Limited, Conway Technology Group LLC, Copyrite Business Solutions (Holdings) Limited, Copyrite Business Solutions Limited, Copytrend Limited, Criterion IT Limited, Customer Value Group, Dahill Office Technology Corporation, Digitex, Digitex Canada Inc., Docucentric Holdings Limited, Document Systems, Document Systems, Eastern Managed Print Network LLC, Elan Marketing Inc., Electronic Systems Inc., Fovia (Innovation) Limited, G-Five Inc., GDP Technologies Inc., Global Imaging Systems, Global PR Corporation, Groupe CT, Gyricon LLC, Healthy Communities Institute, Heritage Business Systems Inc., ITEC Group, Image Technology Specialists Inc., ImageQuest Inc., Imagetek Office Systems, Impika, Impika SAS, Inland Business Machines Inc., Institute for Research on Learning, Integrity One Technologies Inc., Intrepid Learning, Invoco Group, Irish Business Systems, LRI LLC, LaserNetworks, LaserNetworks Inc., Lateral Data, Learn Something, Lewan & Associates Inc., Limited Liability Company Xerox (C.I.S.), M & S Reprographics Limited, MRC Smart Technology Solutions Inc., MT Business Holdings Inc., MT Business Technologies Inc., MWB Copy Products Inc., Mail A Doc Limited, Merizon Group Incorporated, Michigan Office Solutions Inc., Minnesota Office Technology Group Inc., Mitral Systems Limited, Mr. Copy Inc., Nemo (AKS) Limited, NewField IT, NewField Information Technology LLC, NewField Information Technology Limited, Northeast Office Systems LLC, Osprey Business Systems Limited, PARC China Holdings Inc., Pacific Services and Development Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Platinum Digital Print Solutions Limited, Powerland, Precision Copier Service Inc., Quality Business Systems Inc., Quilver Business Services Limited, R. K. Dixon Company, RRXH Limited, RRXIL Limited, RRXO Limited, RSA Medical, Rabbit Copiers Inc., Reflex Digital Solutions (UK) Limited, Reprographics Egypt Limited, Saxon Business Systems Inc., Smart Data Consulting, SoCal Office Technologies Inc., Stem Networks Limited, Stewart Business Systems LLC, Stewart of Alabama Inc., StrataCare, Talegen Holdings Inc., Tektronix - color printing, Text Comm Limited (in receivership), The Xerox (UK) Trust, The Xerox Foundation, Time Business Systems Limited, Triton Business Finance Limited, Una-Stem Limited, Veenman B.V., Veenman Financial Services B.V., WDS, WaterWare Internet Services, XC Asia LLC, XC Global Trading B.V., XC Trading Hong Kong Limited, XC Trading Japan G.K., XC Trading Korea YH, XC Trading Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., XC Trading Shenzhen Co. Ltd., XC Trading Singapore Pte Ltd., XEROX CZECH REPUBLIC s r.o., XESystems Foreign Sales Corporation, XFS Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, XHC Acquisition Corp., XMPie, XMPie Inc., XMPie Ltd., XRI Limited, XRO Limited, Xerox (Europe) Limited, Xerox (Ireland) Limited, Xerox (Nederland) BV, Xerox (Romania) Echipmante Si Servici S.A., Xerox (UK) Limited, Xerox (Ukraine) Ltd LLC, Xerox A/S, Xerox AG, Xerox AS, Xerox Argentina Industrial y Comercial S.A., Xerox Austria GmbH, Xerox Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Equipment Limited, Xerox Business Services Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Solutions Inc., Xerox Business Solutions Southeast LLC, Xerox Buro Araclari Servis ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti, Xerox Canada Inc., Xerox Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada N.S. ULC, Xerox Capital (Europe) Limited, Xerox Capital LLC, Xerox Computer Services Limited, Xerox Comercio e Industria Ltda, Xerox Corporation, Xerox DNHC LLC, Xerox Dienstleistungsgesellschaft GmbH, Xerox Distributor Operations Limited, Xerox Egypt S.A.E., Xerox Equipment Limited, Xerox Equipment UK Limited, Xerox Espana S.A.U., Xerox Exports Limited, Xerox Finance AG, Xerox Finance Leasing S.A.E., Xerox Finance Limited, Xerox Financial Services B.V., Xerox Financial Services Belux NV, Xerox Financial Services Canada Ltd., Xerox Financial Services Danmark A/S, Xerox Financial Services Finland Oy, Xerox Financial Services LLC, Xerox Financial Services Norway AS, Xerox Financial Services SAS, Xerox Financial Services Sverige AB, Xerox Foreign Holdings LLC, Xerox Foreign Sales Corporation, Xerox GmbH, Xerox Health Care LLC, Xerox Hellas AEE, Xerox Holding Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Holdings (Ireland) Limited, Xerox Holdings Inc., Xerox Hungary Trading Limited, Xerox IBS Limited, Xerox IBS NI Limited, Xerox India Limited, Xerox International Joint Marketing Inc., Xerox Investments Europe B.V., Xerox Israel Ltd., Xerox Italia Rental Services Srl, Xerox Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Xerox Latinamerican Holdings Inc., Xerox Leasing Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Leasing GmbH, Xerox Limited, Xerox Luxembourg SA, Xerox Mailing Systems Limited, Xerox Manufacturing (Nederland) B.V., Xerox Maroc S.A., Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Xerox Middle East Investments (Bermuda) Limited, Xerox N.V., Xerox Overseas Holdings Limited, Xerox Overseas Inc., Xerox Oy, Xerox Pensions Limited, Xerox Polska Sp. z o. o, Xerox Portugal Equipamentos de Escritorio Limitada, Xerox Products Limited, Xerox Products UK Limited, Xerox Professional Services Limited, Xerox Realty Corporation, Xerox Renting S.A.U., Xerox Reprographische Services GmbH, Xerox S.A.S., Xerox S.p.A., Xerox Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, Xerox Servicios Compartidos Guatemala y Compani Limitada, Xerox Servicos e Participacoes Ltda, Xerox Shared Services Romania SRL, Xerox Sverige AB, Xerox Technology Services India LLP, Xerox Technology Services SAS, Xerox Telebusiness GmbH, Xerox Trading Enterprises Limited, Xerox Trinidad Limited, Xerox UK Holdings Limited, Xerox XHB Limited, Xerox XIB Limited, Xerox Xf Holdings (Ireland) DAC, Xerox de Chile S.A., Xerox del Ecuador S.A., Xerox del Peru S.A., Zeno Office Solutions, Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Zoom Imaging Solutions Inc., and inVentiv Patient Access Solutions. Read More In a signal to Moscow of U.S. and NATO resolve, Army Gen. Curtis M. "Mike" Scaparrotti ended a two-day visit to Ukraine on Thursday in which he toured the combat positions of Ukrainian troops facing off against a combined Russian and separatist force. On his second visit to Ukraine within three weeks, Scaparrotti, the dual-hatted Supreme NATO commander and head of U.S. European Command, went to eastern Ukraine, "where he visited Ukrainian military units involved in combat operations with Russians and their proxy forces" along what is called the "line of contact," EuCom said in a statement. Scaparrotti also met with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak and Chief of the General Staff Viktor Muzhenko on the continuing training of Ukrainian forces by NATO and the supply of "non-lethal" aid by the U.S. Russian news outlets took note of Scaparrotti's front-lines tour. The government-owned Sputnik news agency said that Scaparrotti's visit was focused on inspecting the performance of U.S. equipment supplied to Ukrainian troops. The EuCom statement said Scaparrotti's visit underlined the U.S. and allied commitment to Ukraine's defense. "The United States continues to call for an immediate end to Russia's occupation of Crimea and for Russia to cease its destabilizing actions in Ukraine and honor its commitments in the Minsk agreements," it states. The tour of the eastern combat zone came three weeks after Scaparrotti's last visit to Ukraine, during which he met with U.S. troops of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, well away from the front lines. During the November visit, Scaparrotti observed the training of Ukrainian forces by a multinational group including troops from the U.S., Poland, Lithuania, Canada and Britain. Scaparrotti's latest visit to Ukraine came on the same day that a European Union meeting in Brussels agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for six months over the takeover of Crimea and the intervention in eastern Ukraine. Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 triggered the first round of sanctions. The U.S. and its NATO allies have expressed increasing concerns over Russian threats against the Baltic states and the military buildup in the Kaliningrad Russian enclave bordering Lithuania. At NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he had invited members of the NATO-Russia Council, the forum bringing together NATO ambassadors and Russia's top diplomat attached to the U.S.-led alliance, to a meeting in Brussels on Monday. "When tensions run high, as today, it is even more important to have direct dialogue with Russia," Stoltenberg said. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related Video: Camp Lejeune Town Halls Aim to Help Those Exposed to Toxic Water. Heres How You Can Go. Retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger made it his mission to tell the world that if they lived or served on Camp Lejeune... Home. I usually don't know what to do with that word. Just as I am trying to create a "home," I seem to be leaving it. Military couples say "home" is not where I hang my pictures, and bumper stickers say it's where my heart is. But there is something about the holidays that makes me want to go physically home. After years of military life, I think I have figured out that "home" is a place where I feel known and, perhaps more importantly, seen. It's a place where I feel understood and safe. It can be found in the arms of my spouse and over coffee with a friend. It is a longing that all of us have, and it doesn't go away. You have likely felt it too. Some of you will travel "home" this season to be with those who knew you before you were a part of this great big military family. But when you arrive, you might also bring a little bit of desperation to the party. The constant feeling of being away from home, while also trying to establish a home, can make anyone desperate to feel seen, known and understood. Many adults subconsciously revert to a younger version of themselves when returning to their childhood homes and families, known in counselor parlance as the "family of origin." We do it even though life, war and military marriage have long changed us -- and it happens without us planning or knowing. The phenomenon might be, for example, a reason visiting your in-laws with your spouse drives you crazy. Before your eyes, his personality changes to match the maturity level of his much younger years. Or perhaps, like me, going "home" means you uncontrollably share your most vulnerable stories of what military life is really like. After all, they asked. But when I do that, I often find myself wishing I could recapture my words, just in case my listeners don't really care or understand. Or maybe you are my opposite and stay quiet, all the while assuming no one cares to notice that you are different since the last time they saw you. It's a great irony, really. In an effort to find "home," we set ourselves up for hurt when we walk into Christmas with expectations to which others are oblivious. And why wouldn't they be? Families, even awesome ones with amazing holiday treats at the ready, are not mind readers. But the holidays and visiting home don't have to be hard or isolating. If your spouse is with you this Christmas season, I urge you to find "home" in each other in the midst of your travel. There is no one else on the planet with whom you will find a level of acceptance for how military life has changed you. And chances are your spouse will notice if you revert to that childhood version of yourself around your family members more than you will. By preparing ahead of time, you can rely on each other to be your "home base" if part of who you are or the experiences you've had, what I call "sacred spaces," feel misunderstood. Your spouse can be a support if something triggers you. And you can be the safe place where your spouse feels seen and understood. Just as important, remember that those sacred spaces exist in everyone's story. Military life is hard, and it's easy to want to soak up all the empathy in the room even unintentionally. But each person around the family table desires to be seen, whether they've held down a home front or not. Everyone has a story they wish to tell, a significant moment in time that made them who they are today. So perhaps the best gift we can give is to create an opportunity for understanding and empathy -- a shared sacred space -- where we all truly listen to each other and then vulnerably love each other in light of that story. Make time to ask the oldest family member about a moment that made them who they are. Ask a child about the best memory they had of the last school semester. Ask a teenager about a friend who showed up when they thought they had no one. Ask your spouse to share why their battle buddy was given such a worthy role. Maybe in our listening as well as sharing, the greatest surprise is that we will find a "home" in what we do for each other. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. huizengaoffice.jpg U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga talks to MLive from in his Grandville office on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. (Neil Blake | MLive.com) GRANDVILLE, MI -- President-elect Donald Trump's promise of reform and repeals includes a bullseye on the Dodd-Frank banking regulations. Republicans want to replace them with the CHOICE Act that will, among several things, prohibit the federal government from bailing out banks. U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, who is in line to take a leadership position on the House Financial Services Committee, is expected to take a major role in pushing through the proposed legislation. One of his biggest criticisms of the regulations, put in place in 2010 in response to the financial crisis two years earlier, is that they needlessly mire banking institutions in red tape. He has heard from West Michigan banks, credit unions and lenders frustrated with the way the rules have changed midstream. "They say, 'Look, we don't even have direction. It's one thing to alter the route of the road we are going to go down, but when you start changing the rules of the roadway ... I don't know which way to go,' " said Huizenga, during a recent sit-down at his Grandville office. Huizenga is critical of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - created under the Dodd-Frank to oversee federal financial laws intended to protect consumers - for overstepping its mandate. So is Ken Ross, chief operating officer of Michigan Credit Union League & Affiliates, which represents the state's 240 credit unions. Credit unions and community banks have essentially been lumped in with the large banks and thousands of mortgage companies that sold the subprime loans that led to the housing and financial crisis. The result for these small players is industry-wide fatigue from having to comply with an extra layer of regulations. "For every dollar (credit unions) spent to update policies, change forms, hire new staff to do compliance is a dollar our members can't use to lower rates on loans or raise rates on deposits," Ross said. While aspects of Dodd-Frank have been useful in many ways, the most stringent of these requirements are best focused on large, globally active, and complex international firms, rather than traditional regional banks, adds Larry S. Magnesen, Fifth Third Bancorp spokesman. "There has been an increase recently in recognition among policymakers that some of these regulations should be properly recalibrated, which we think would be a positive development," he said. Metro Health hospital Metro Health Hospital, located at 5900 Byron Center Avenue SW in Wyoming. (Emily Zoladz | MLive.com) WYOMING, MI -- One of Michigan's best-known hospital brands, the University of Michigan Health System, is joining with Wyoming-based Metro Health. The affiliation between the two health care systems was announced Thursday, Dec. 15. "This is a transformational day for health care in West Michigan," said Michael Faas, president and chief executive officer of Metro Health. "Our affiliation with the University of Michigan will help ensure our patients and the people of West Michigan continue to have access to great quality care and choice when they consider their healthcare needs." The new affiliation will result in Metro Health becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ann Arbor health care juggernaut, according to hospital staff. The relationship between the two organizations dates back to 2009, when U-M began providing radiation oncology services at The Cancer Center on Metro Health's campus. That grew into clinical relationships in pediatric cardiology and pediatric endocrinology. "Our ability to work together in other areas paved the way for this affiliation," said Marschall Runge, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for medical affairs, dean of the U-M Medical School and CEO of the U-M Health System. "We are excited to further expand U-M services in west Michigan and to provide access to the highest quality care available to more Michigan residents. Working together, we will improve the health of our patients and our communities." Ellen Bristol, director of communications for Metro Health, said the big impact on patients in the area will be expanded access to the "depth and breadth" of specialty care offered through U-M. The university-owned health care system is considered one of the top medical and research institutions in the country, and provides specialty care in numerous areas including neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, cardiology and heart surgery, cancer, ophthalmology and urology. "Truly, today marks the beginning of a new chapter in Metro Health's history -- one that builds on the incredible legacy which began in 1942 when 23 osteopathic physicians opened Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital," Faas said. "I can think of no better way to honor our founders than to ensure Metro Health is able to grow and continue serving patients for years to come." Physicians, executives and community members from West Michigan will continue serving on Metro Health boards and committees, working closely with U-M leaders. Bristol said patients can also expect to continue the relationships already built with their current care team at MetroHealth. Where they will notice the change, she said, will be when they find themselves in need of specialty care and can take advantage of those services provided by the U-M. Metro Health serves about 250,000 patients annually, compared to the more than 2.1 million outpatient visits and 47,000 hospital stays seen at U-M's three hospitals, 40 outpatient locations and more than 150 clinics. The hospital previously pursued an affiliation with national health care giant Community Health System, based in Tennessee. That deal with CHS, one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the country, fell through in 2015. Metro Health is the smallest of three major health care systems in Grand Rapids, behind Spectrum Health and Mercy Health. In addition to Metro Health's 208-bed hospital, which provides both inpatient and outpatient health care services, the company also operates a growing number of neighborhood outpatient centers and offices in West Michigan, as well as a community clinic for the under-served and a student health clinic on the campus of Grand Valley State University. With more than 500 physicians on staff, Metro Health provides a growing number of specialty health services, including cancer treatment, heart and vascular care, neurology and pulmonology. DETROIT, MI - The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a circuit court ruling allowing Ann Arbor Public Schools to enact a district-wide gun ban. In a related opinion, the appeals court on Thursday, Dec. 15, reversed a circuit court ruling in a similar lawsuit against Clio Area School District, effectively upholding that school district's gun ban. The three-judge panel issued its opinions after attorneys for the school district and gun advocacy group argued their positions Tuesday before judges Kirsten Kelly, Elizabeth Gleicher and Douglas Shapiro. Michigan Gun Owners sued Ann Arbor Public Schools in April 2015 after the Board of Education created a policy that banned guns on campus. The lawsuit claimed school districts don't have the authority to make laws about guns. Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Carol Kuhnke dismissed the case in September 2015, and Michigan Gun Owners appealed her decision. Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman in 2015 sided with Michigan Open Carry, which sued the Clio district, and ruled concealed pistol license holders can legally open carry a gun in schools. While state law allows individuals with concealed pistol licenses to openly carry their firearms in schools, the Michigan Court of Appeals decision ruled that law does not preempt school districts from enacting their own firearms policies. In Thursday's Court of Appeals opinion, the judges stated, "the issue presented is whether state law preempts Ann Arbor Public School policies banning the possession of firearms in schools and at school-sponsored events. We hold that it does not, and affirm the judgment of the circuit court." Michigan Gun Owners attorney Jim Makowski said he was disheartened but not surprised by the ruling. "The law is clear no local unit of government can regulate firearms," he said. "I don't know what is more local than a school district." Michigan Gun Owners will appeal the ruling. Makowski said schools that are preventing law-abiding gun owners are doing nothing to enhance student safety. "It's just wrong-headed thinking. No law is going to stop the next mass shooting at a school. It's silly to think otherwise," he said. "No one wants the next Columbine." Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift said she's pleased with the ruling, which puts children's safety first. "The presence of guns in schools runs contrary to everything we are wired for in education and is counterproductive to maintaining a rich, productive and healthy learning environment for our children," she said in a statement. Michigan Gun Owners have argued state law preempts school districts from enacting any firearm laws. They pointed to a 2012 Michigan Court of Appeals decision that prevented a Lansing-area library from banning the open carry of firearms on its property. The Capital Area District Library v. Michigan Open Carry case stated a local unit of government could not make gun law, and defined the local unit of government as "a city, village, township, or county." The Michigan Court of Appeals judges ruled a school district is not included in that definition and that state law doesn't prevent school districts from making their own firearm law. Michigan Gun Owners contended the Ann Arbor schools' policies violated a state firearm law that allows concealed pistol licence holders to carry a concealed gun while in a vehicle if the parent is picking up or dropping a child off at school, and that law preempts any school district policies. The Court of Appeals decisions disagreed, stating the statute doesn't forbid additional regulation or that it supersede other school-related firearm rules. Finally, Michigan law declares school properties are "weapons free school zones," which state anyone who possesses a gun on school property has committed a misdemeanor, according to the Court of Appeals opinion. View the full Michigan Court of Appeals ruling: AAPS finalists.jpg Deb Mexicotte and Steve Norton have withdrawn from consideration for an open seat on the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education. (Provided photos) ANN ARBOR, MI - Deb Mexicotte and Steve Norton have both withdrawn from consideration for a vacant seat on the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of education. The announcement was made by the AAPS board of education at 6:35 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. Mexicotte and Norton were the final candidates in consideration for a board seat left vacant by Donna Lasinski's resignation. At a board meeting on Wednesday, the trustees narrowed the field from six applicants for the seat, and after 10 rounds of voting, they could not come to a consensus between Mexicotte or Norton. It was because of that gridlock that Norton decided it would be best to withdraw from consideration. "It became clear last night (Wednesday) that for whatever reason they were really gridlocked between myself and President Mexicotte," Norton said. "I thought I would step back and not cause further gridlock." Mexicotte is currently the board president and has served on the school board for 13 years. She was seeking appointment to the vacant board seat after not winning reelection in November. Norton is the co-founder and executive director of Michigan Parents for Schools, a public education advocacy group. "Both candidates share their deep and ongoing commitment to our school district and best wishes for the Board of Education as we move forward," a press release from the Ann Arbor school board states. Mexicotte could not immediately be reached for comment, but Norton said the two of them spoke Wednesday night about the board's difficult position. Their decision to withdraw was "not precisely" made together, he said, but they both reached the same conclusion. "Neither of us said exactly what we would do," Norton said, adding that he looks forward to continuing to work with the school board in his current capacity as an advocate for public education. The deadline for the AAPS board to appoint its new trustee is Friday, and the board has a special meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Westerman Preschool and Family Center, 2775 Boardwalk Drive. Because the board could not reach a four-vote majority in favor of either candidate on Wednesday, a committee consisting of board secretary Andy Thomas and parliamentarian Simone Lightfoot was charged with developing a process to reach a consensus on Friday. If the board cannot make a decision then, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District will appoint a new AAPS trustee. Norton consistently received three votes to Mexicotte's two votes from the trustees on Wednesday. The press release from the school board says the trustees will continue their selection process from the remaining applicants, which include Rebecca Jacobsen, Hunter Van Valkenburgh, Jessica Kelly and Rebecca Lazarus. Lazarus, Van Valkenburgh and Mexicotte unsuccessfully ran for election to the school board in November. ANN ARBOR, MI - The University of Michigan is celebrating its latest class of graduates this weekend during a commencement ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 18. The ceremony, which takes place at 2 p.m. inside the Crisler Center, features U-M alum and current president of the University of Miami Dr. Julio Frenk as its commencement speaker. Here is an overview of what you need to know for the ceremony: Tickets Tickets are not required for Winter Commencement. There is no limit to the number of guests a graduate may have. Crisler Center doors will open at 12:45 p.m. Families and guests may enter through either the northeast (main entryway) or southwest entrances and should be seated by 1:50 p.m. Parking Complimentary parking is available in the U-M lots surrounding the Crisler Center and at the Pioneer High School parking lot, located on the southwest corner of Stadium Boulevard and Main Street. Shuttle Service Shuttle buses run continuous loops from all general parking locations surrounding Crisler Center to the northeast and southwest entrance of Crisler. There are no designated shuttle stops. Instead, buses will circle the lots, picking up passengers along the way. The shuttle service begins at 12:30 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. Construction Stadium Boulevard between Main Street and Kipke Drive is closed for road construction. The southwest entrance will be open for guests needing drop-off assistance. This entrance can only be accessed via the Gate 9 entrance of Michigan Stadium. Honorary degrees Frenk is one of four scheduled to receive honorary degrees during the ceremony. He is joined by jazz legend and Ferndale native Ronald Carter, philanthropist and patron of the arts Maxine Frankel and medical education innovator Dr. Michael Johns. Frenk holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico, as well as a master of public health and a joint doctorate in Medical Care Organization and in Sociology from U-M. He has received honorary degrees from six universities. Frenk holds a medical degree from the National University of Mexico, as well as a master of public health and a joint doctorate in Medical Care Organization and in Sociology from U-M. He has received honorary degrees from six universities. Carter is renowned jazz double-bassist, noted for his productivity and work with many of jazz music's biggest names. The Guinness World Records recognized him in 2016 as the most recorded jazz bassist in history, with more than 2,200 recording credits. He has appeared worked with jazz legends like Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Thelonious Monk and Cannonball Adderley, in addition to 25 recordings with the Miles Davis Quintet. Carter was selected as the artist in residence for the 2016 Detroit Jazz Festival. Frankel, a native of Detroit and U-M Dearborn alum, has contributed extensively to the arts, establishing the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art and the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Charitable Foundation in 1999. In the early 2000s, the Frankels were the catalyst for a major Cranbrook Art Museum renovation. In 2006, the Frankels made a lead gift to the U-M Museum of Art to build a 53,000-square-foot addition, providing an auditorium, space for contemporary art exhibitions, classes and art restoration. Johns currently serves as the vice president for health affairs at Emory University. The U-M alum is internationally recognized for the administrative leadership and vision he brings to large, complex health care organizations. Recruited by the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1984, Johns went on to serve as medical school dean and vice president of the Johns Hopkins University medical faculty from 1990-96. Other viewing options Winter commencement has a live webcast. The ceremony also is broadcast on local Comcast channel 22 at 2 p.m. BAY CITY, MI -- Police have released dashboard camera footage of their high-speed pursuit through the streets of Bay City. The footage, obtained by MLive/The Bay City Times via a Freedom of Information Act request, shows a Michigan State Police trooper attempt to pull over a red 2008 Saturn Astra as it heads east on Salzburg Road toward Lafayette Bridge at about 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. The Astra briefly comes to a stop between South Erie and South Wenona streets, before abruptly taking off again. The Astra proceeds over the double-hump bridge as the trooper pursues and radios the situation to colleagues. Just before Broadway Avenue, the trooper attempts to pull alongside the fleeing car, only for the Astra to turn south down Marsac. As the Astra blows through numerous stop signs, dead leaves billowing out in its wake, the trooper radios that it is hitting speeds of 60 mph. The Astra turns onto another side street and comes to a stop, but once again takes off. Over the next few minutes, more law enforcement officers join the chase as the Astra zig-zags down various South End neighborhood streets in a failed effort to shake his pursuers. The Astra nearly hits a parked van and darts through alleys, consistently ignoring stop signs. "He's hit my car once already," the trooper states at one point. When the chase moves onto northbound Broadway, the Astra's driver's side door repeatedly swings open. Just before the former Jamie's Dairies location at 1023 Broadway St., the Astra veers to the left and the lead trooper crashes his patrol vehicle into its side. Seconds later, the Astra's driver exits the vehicle and flees east, then west. Two troopers attempt to nab him, but he sidesteps them. Off camera, troopers and a Bay County sheriff's deputy catch the man and place him under arrest. Police identified the man as 34-year-old Quincy C. Almond. Troopers first attempted to pull him over after having received multiple calls of the Astra being driven recklessly as it headed east on U.S. 10 from northbound Interstate 75. The deputy and one trooper suffered knee pain as a result of the scrap, while the trooper who pursued Almond suffered neck pain, court records show. Almond had a small contusion above his left eye and minor swelling under his right eye, but refused medical treatment. Once in police custody, Almond apologized for not stopping and took full responsibility for the incident, court records show. He added the Astra belonged to his girlfriend, who lives on Marsac and whom he was on his way to see. Almond told police he had consumed six 16-ounce beers earlier in the day. "He further stated that he was trying to jump from the car and lose the police but could not get a large enough lead," police wrote in their report, contained in court files. At the Bay County Jail, Almond submitted to Breathalyzer tests. The results indicated his blood alcohol levels were at 0.23 and 0.24, court records show. In Michigan, a person is legally intoxicated when his or her blood alcohol content hits 0.08; a person is considered super drunk when the blood alcohol content reaches 0.17. Almond is charged with three counts of assaulting, resisting, or obstructing police and single counts of third-degree fleeing and eluding, second-offense operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle while license suspended, denied, or revoked. Almond's criminal history increases the potential maximum penalty on the fleeing and eluding charge to seven and a half years, while the potential penalty on the assaulting and resisting charges is upped to four years. In May, Almond was convicted on a drunken driving charge. Before that, Almond in November 2005 was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Saginaw County. He is required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life. Almond on Friday, Dec. 16, waived his right to a preliminary examination in Bay County District Court and was bound over to Circuit Court for trial, the date of which is yet to be set. BAY CITY, MI -- The ongoing saga of 13 men federally charged with running a ring disseminating heroin and cocaine throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region has taken some new turns. One man is still wanted by the FBI and is appearing on wanted posters. Another has pleaded guilty to being the drug supplier of a Saginaw-based gang. Two more were nabbed by authorities who may have been using controversial surveillance devices. The FBI is circulating a wanted poster for 27-year-old Lamar T. "Marley" Simon. A grand jury on Wednesday, Oct. 12, indicted Simon and 12 others on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. Simon has been wanted on a federal arrest warrant since then. "Out of that group, he is the last one that is outstanding that we have not located," said FBI Senior Resident Agent Steven T. Flattery. Two others who were not in custody when the indictments were handed down -- Damarlin M. "Bleed" Beavers, 32, and Terence J. "Big Cheese" Johnson, 33 -- were arrested Nov. 14, Flattery said. Available court records indicate investigators caught up with them by using tracking devices colloquially known as "stingrays" and "hailstorms." All 13 defendants are believed to have links to Saginaw's Sunny Side Gang, with Beavers a leader in the organization, court records state. On three occasions, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington issued warrants for law enforcement to use the devices -- properly known as a cell-site simulator -- to track three cellphone numbers unearthed during their investigation of Beavers. Ludington issued the warrants on Aug. 26, Aug. 30 and Nov. 8. Each warrant authorized investigators to use the stingrays for a 30-day period. Stingrays work by mimicking cell towers and tricking nearby phones into providing location data. While Flattery declined to comment on whether the stingrays led to Beavers' and Johnson's arrests, court records state the most recently issued warrant was returned Nov. 14 as having been executed. The American Civil Liberties Union has been critical of the devices, claiming that when used to track suspects' phones, they also gather information from phones of nearby bystanders. The FBI's wanted poster for Lamar "Marley" Simon "The ACLU has uncovered evidence that federal and local law enforcement agencies are actively trying to conceal their use from public scrutiny, and we are continuing to push for transparency and reform," the organization writes on its website. "In order to protect both privacy and First Amendment rights, the law needs to keep up with technology. The government must be open about the use of these powerful tools and put rules on their usage in place to protect people's Fourth Amendment rights and prevent abuse." According to the ACLU, at least 68 agencies in 23 states and Washington, D.C., possess stingrays, including the Michigan State Police and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. In September 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a new policy regarding the devices, intended to "enhance transparency and accountability, improve training and supervision, establish a higher and more consistent legal standard and increase privacy protections in relation to law enforcement's use of this critical technology." The policy stated investigators must obtain a search warrant backed by probable cause to use a cell-site simulator. The devices also may not be used to gather the contents of communications, meaning data on phones -- such as emails, text messages, contact lists, and images. The case itself In addition to Beavers, Johnson, and Simon, the grand jury in October indicted the following men on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin: Derek D. Riley, 45 Alvin R. "La" Pratt, 27 Brandon O. "Blue" Pratt, 32 Javon M. "YaYo" Pratt, 19 Michael A. Pratt Jr., 25 Marquise D. "Ooh Stacks" Ashworth, 35 Eugene "Spank" Smith III, 28 Jeremy A. "Jig" Cameron, 31 Darreyon R. "D-Money" Mayfield, 20 Jauane R. Allen, 20 The 13 defendants faced a combined 35 counts. The other 34 charges are spread across the defendants and include possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and heroin, distribution of those substances, and distribution of fentanyl. Fentanyl is an opiate the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states is 100 times more potent than heroin. Derek Riley, the gang's alleged supplier, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. "As part of the conspiracy, Riley supplied cocaine and heroin to Beavers and others for redistribution to other members of the conspiracy and to drug users in the Eastern District of Michigan," the plea agreement states. Riley "agrees he is responsible ... for at least 711.65 grams of cocaine, 127.91 grams of base cocaine, and 632.06 grams of heroin." In other words, that is 25 ounces of cocaine, 4.5 ounces of base cocaine, and 22.29 ounces of heroin. "In his post-Miranda interview," the plea document goes on, "Riley noted that his life was over because he chose to do wrong. He stated, 'Derek did what Derek did and prays that nobody else was harmed.' He stated he just wanted to pay for what he had done, that he knew what it was about when he saw the police lights, and that he hoped that day was never going to come, but it did." Riley's sentencing guideline range is 135 months to 14 years in prison. Judge Ludington is to sentence him at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 16. According to sworn affidavits authored by FBI Special Agent Mitchell L. King, his agency began investigating the Sunny Side Gang in June 2015. On Aug. 30, 2016, personnel with the FBI's Bay City-based Mid-Michigan Safe Streets Task Force executed eight search and arrest warrants in Saginaw as a result of an investigation into the area's heroin problem. The search of just one Saginaw stash house saw investigators seize 584.07 grams of cocaine, 92.89 grams of cocaine base, and 418.79 grams of heroin, three guns, and various paraphernalia associated with packaging and selling drugs. "These are our main suppliers of heroin in Bay, Midland, and Isabella counties," Sgt. Greg Potts of the Bay City Department of Public Safety's VIPER Unit previously told The Bay City Times. Potts added the investigation began in Bay City, then carried into Saginaw. When heroin-related overdoses surged in 2015, authorities leveled part of the blame on fentanyl. A minute amount of fentanyl mixed with heroin can have fatal results. Throughout 2015, 27 people died of heroin overdoses in Bay County, and Bay County Central Dispatch received a record 199 calls for overdoses. Agent Flattery also previously told The Times his agency became involved as a result of the large number of overdoses. "What we were asked to address is the heroin problem in the mid-Michigan area," Flattery had said. "The overdose deaths have been horrible. That's how this started, looking at the flow of heroin. (The defendants) were looked at as being some of the major suppliers in the area." The investigation was conducted by the FBI Mid-Michigan Safe Streets Task Force, which is composed of the FBI, the Bay City Department of Public Safety, and the Michigan State Police. The Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team, or BAYANET, also assisted. The indictment states the illegal operation ran from June 2015 through August 2016. Investigators began intercepting wire and electronic communications between the defendants on June 14, 2016. Since then, "Law enforcement has observed a pattern whereby every three to six days, Beavers contacted Riley to obtain a re-supply of controlled substances," affidavits state. After getting his re-up, Beavers would pass the drugs onto his cohorts to further their distribution, the affidavits allege. "The conversations typically followed a pattern whereby the purchaser asked Beavers for a specific quantity and then worked with Beavers to find a mutually agreeable place to meet," King wrote. Also during the investigation, several of the defendants "distributed to undercover officers or confidential sources controlled substances, such as heroin, fentanyl, mixtures of heroin and fentanyl, and cocaine base." Plea hearings are set for Javon Pratt and Brandon Pratt in late December. The plea deadline for the rest of the defendants is May 31, with a trial date set for June 20. Roksana apologizes to her family pic.twitter.com/pFSAFjcJ9w Robert Allen (@rallenMI) March 28, 2016 Jailed since the attack on her family in 2014, a 17-year-old from Plymouth now wants to withdraw her guilty plea, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says. Roksana G. Sikorski accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison last March. Sikorski was 15 when investigators say her then-23-year-old boyfriend Michael A. Rivera, with whom she had an illegal sexual relationship, influenced her to enter her family's Plymouth home armed with a knife and murderous intent. Police said Sikorski intended to kill her family and run away with Rivera, whom her parents forbid her from seeing. Michael Rivera, Michigan Department of Corrections Rivera, who was convicted for his role and sentenced to life in prison, waited outside during the attack on Sikorski's family and sent "text messages with instructions and pictures, directing his 15-year-old girlfriend while she was inside the home," prosecutors said. Sikorski's trial attorney, Leslie Posner, previously said her client suffered repressed trauma caused by neglect early in her life while living in a Polish orphanage, from where she, her then-12-year-old brother and a sister were adopted. When the teen entered her family home, she slashed and cut her brother's throat. He was seriously injured but recovered. "I would like to apologize to my family for not being the daughter they wished I would be," the teen said at sentencing. "And I promise that I will get better, no matter what happens ... I'm sorry." Despite the attack, Sikorski's mother spoke on behalf of her daughter at the sentencing; "We miss her and would some day like to return to being a whole family again," she said. Sikorski pleaded guilty to assault with intent to murder.In exchange, the prosecution dismissed six other felony charges. If a judge allows the teen to withdraw her guilty plea, the case could go to trial. She'll have an opportunity to argue the motion to withdraw the guilty plea at a Jan. 6 hearing before Wayne Circuit Judge James Callahan, who is the sentencing judge. Snyder.jpg Gov. Rick Snyder testifies at a House Oversight Committee hearing in this MLive file photo. (Jake May | MLive.com) FLINT, MI -- The closure of Congress' year-long Flint water investigation has drawn very different reactions from both sides of the issue. Letters dated Friday, Dec. 16, from U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, indicated that the investigation had closed. Letters blamed both state officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not detecting Flint water problems soon enough or taking proper action once problems were identified. Some Republicans, such as Gov. Rick Snyder, believe the investigation was thorough and resulted in proposed policy change. "Gov. Snyder appreciates the committee's thorough investigation and for referring recommendations for policy changes to the appropriate committees," said Anna Heaton, spokeswoman for Snyder. "He is a strong proponent of revising the federal Lead and Copper Rule and has been working with Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech to see those reforms through the legislative process." For others, such as U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee,D-Flint Township, and Flint resident and advocate Melissa Mays, the closure of the investigation has brought more questions than answers. Cummings sent a letter to Chaffetz urging him to subpoena Snyder and require his office to hand over documents he says were critical to the investigation within 30 days. "The Governor has refused to provide -- or even search for -- key documents. As a result, the Committee is still unable to answer critical questions about what the Governor knew about the crisis as it unfolded, why he did not act on concerns about water quality, even while his inner circle sounded repeated alarms, and why families in Flint continue to subsist on bottled water almost a year after he declared an emergency," Cummings' letter reads. Kildee agreed with Cummings, saying that while Flint has gotten a lot of help from Congress, the city's residents still need full transparency in order to recover from the crisis. "Justice for Flint families comes in many forms. One form of justice is getting aid to the city of Flint to help it recover, and I am glad that Congress acted to provide over a hundred million dollars in real relief for families still suffering from this crisis," Kildee said. "Another form of justice is restoring Flint families' confidence in their government, particularly their state government, which caused this crisis in the first place. That justice will not happen unless there is full transparency from Gov. Rick Snyder." Kildee further agreed with Cummings, saying Snyder needs to make every effort to be transparent and answer any questions about what led to the water crisis -- if for nothing else than to restore trust in the government. "Sadly, the Governor and his administration continue to use taxpayer-funded criminal defense attorneys to obstruct, delay and even refuse to turn over documents that would help answer questions of what the Governor knew before, during and after this crisis became public," Kildee said. "Flint families deserve nothing but the truth from state government officials - including Gov. Snyder - to ensure that Flint gets the resources it needs to recover and a similar crisis never happens elsewhere." Flint resident Melissa Mays said that while she's not shocked at the outcome of the investigation, she is disappointed that more people weren't "grilled" about what they knew and how decisions were made, and that more changes weren't brought as a result. "I would like to know how they can close an investigation when there is an ongoing crisis," Mays said. "We've had hearings after hearings, but nothing's changed." She said she believes that because the House Oversight Committee is mostly Republican, hearings seemed to focus on pointing the finger at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality while going easy on Snyder and the Republican-supported Emergency Management law. "Watching Chaffetz (question Snyder and other officials) at the hearing was just like a rock in my stomach. I knew it would only lead to further defunding of the EPA, which was the last line of defense we had for clean water," Mays said. "People were not put on like they should have been - they were not grilled like they should have been. It seemed to me like it was just part of an attack done off of our backs." After attending the first water hearing, Mays said she lost hope that the investigation would have much impact. Too much credit was given to Snyder for simply apologizing when her family still did not have clean water, she said. "It's very unfortunate that our water crisis and recovery has become such a partisan issue. It shouldn't be," she said. snyder-whoops-promo-610x372.jpg (MLive.com | File) FLINT, MI -- A congressman wants to subpoena Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder for withheld documents he says are critical to the Flint water crisis investigation. The letter - sent by U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Maryland, to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, Dec. 16 - accuses Snyder, a Republican, and his administration of withholding documents that are key to the investigation. It asks Chaffetz to subpoena Snyder, requiring his office to produce all documents requested within 30 days. Snyder's office maintains that it cooperated with the committee and is focused on fixing Flint's water issues, according to spokeswoman Anna Heaton. "The Governor's Office has provided the committee with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents at its request. The committee has now wrapped up its work on the matter. In Michigan, we are working hard each day to continue Flint's full recovery with funding for pipe replacement and health care for residents," Heaton said. "It has been nearly a year since Gov. Snyder declared a state of emergency and we went to work fixing the problem, and that is where our focus remains. It's not productive to spend time engaging in partisan political attacks from out-of-state politicians." However, Cummings alleges in his letter that the administration not only did not provide key documents, but that it refused to even search for them after committee requests were made. "The Governor has refused to provide - or even search for - key documents. As a result, the Committee is still unable to answer critical questions about what the Governor knew about the crisis as it unfolded, why he did not act on concerns about water quality, even while his inner circle sounded repeated alarms, and why families in Flint continue to subsist on bottled water almost a year after he declared an emergency," Cummings' letter reads. It also alleges the governor's attorneys "defied the Committee's requests for documents and refused to conduct searches," as well as delayed responding to the committee. Attached to the letter were six pages of requests from Congress to Snyder's office for communication surrounding the water crisis, including: FLINT, MI - Alumni and parishioners of the first Catholic school in Flint are invited for a final tour of the building Sunday before it is torn down. St. Michael's Catholic School was last used as a school by the Flint School District until 2010 after 37 years as part of its Schools of Choice Program. Bob Daunt attended the school on East Fifth Avenue for 12 years and graduated in 1954. He said he was one of 11 people in his family who attended school at Flint's first Catholic school and church. "It's a heartbreaker, but it's a part of life," Daunt said. "We're glad that it's being used for a good purpose. It's too expensive for them to renovate. It's going to be bittersweet." Catholic Charities will offer a walkthrough of the first and second floors of the school from 10 a.m. until noon on Sunday, Dec. 18. "It's a lovely building," said Mary Stevenson, director of Catholic Charities Center for Hope. "It's a sad situation all around. The building, the parish - have done so much for this community. It was the first Catholic church and first Catholic school in Genesee County. "We're looking to continue that history." Stevenson said a firm date for the school's demolition hasn't been set, but asbestos abatement inside the building will begin Monday. About 30,000 square feet of the school, which was part of an addition in 1953, will be remodeled and utilized by Catholic Charities, Stevenson said. The remodeled structure will have showers, laundry services, an expanded kitchen, dining and warming area, she said. "It will be lovely," Stevenson said. Those coming to the walkthrough should go to the double doors in the parking lot in back of the original school. The roughly 37,000-square-foot, three-story St. Michael's was built in 1927. The school and church date back more than 170 years in Flint. Originally, a two-story brick school was built on Chippewa Street in 1872. That building was demolished in 1952, according to Flint Journal files. Courtesy | Justin Amash An 'independent voice' U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, said he believes he was elected to serve as "an independent voice for constituents." Amash said that means despite the fact that he belongs to the same political party as President-elect Donald Trump he will continue to question and criticize Trump's statements and decisions. The following Tweets from the West Michigan congressman are just a few examples of that 'independent voice.' Don't Edit Remember that both candidates support using secret lists, without due process, to prevent law-abiding Americans from purchasing guns. Justin Amash (@justinamash) October 20, 2016 Oct. 20: 'Secret lists' Don't Edit Limiting executive power - especially the surveillance state - is important no matter who the president is. https://t.co/O4YgAxs9uN Office of Rep. Amash (@amashoffice) November 14, 2016 Nov. 14: 'Limiting executive power' Don't Edit Unlike the CIA director, the AG has a lot of independent policy authority and prosecutorial discretion. I'm deeply concerned about Sessions. Justin Amash (@justinamash) November 18, 2016 Nov. 18: 'Deeply concerned about Sessions' Don't Edit If a Dem nominee held these views, Rs would be screaming for Senate to reject him. We should be consistent with our constitutional concerns. https://t.co/Manmojqa2c Justin Amash (@justinamash) November 20, 2016 Nov. 20: 'Constitutional concerns' Don't Edit Don't Edit Not the president(-elect)'s job. We live in a constitutional republic, not an autocracy. Business-specific meddling shouldn't be normalized. https://t.co/usHTsZaw46 Justin Amash (@justinamash) November 25, 2016 Nov. 25: 'Not the president-elect's job' Don't Edit Nobody should burn the American flag, but our Constitution secures our right to do so. No president is allowed to burn the First Amendment. https://t.co/nVkq6WcbHV Justin Amash (@justinamash) November 29, 2016 Nov. 29: No president can 'burn the First Amendment' Don't Edit This would be a 35% tax on all Americansa tax that especially hurts low-income families. Maybe the slogan should be #MakeAmericaVenezuela. https://t.co/eNBpbJWEOf Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 4, 2016 Dec. 4: '#MakeAmericaVenezuela' Don't Edit Transition team's dismissive statement doesn't cut it. Congress must determine if there's credible evidence and investigate if necessary. https://t.co/JwyXytA4Y9 Justin Amash (@justinamash) December 10, 2016 Dec. 10: Statement 'doesn't cut it' Don't Edit Dec. 13: 'Drain the ...' Don't Edit [December 15, 2016] Chandra Asri Petrochemical Selects DSI Digital Supply Chain Solution DSI announced today that PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk has selected DSI's Digital Supply Chain Platform to automate the company's manufacturing and warehouse operations. PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk (hereafter: Chandra Asri) is the largest integrated petrochemical company in Indonesia. The company operates Indonesia's only world-scale naphtha cracker, a system used to create the petrochemicals required to manufacture a wide array of everyday products. The Chandra Asri plant is strategically located in the port of Ciwandan in Cilegon, Banten province, providing convenient access to key customers. To support growing needs in the supply chain, Chandra Asri required a proven mobile-first solution that could be personalized to fit their unique business requirements. Chandra Asri identified several points in the supply chain as opportunities for improved efficiency and accuracy. To accomplish those improvements, the company required a solution to support all inbound and outbound logistics on any mobile device. Chandra Asri chose DSI for its pre-built, certified integration to SAP (News - Alert) as well as its suite of configurable mobile-first supply chain apps. "As Chandra Asri grows, we need to invest in an advanced mobile-first enterprise solution that connects real-time to any system of record," says Adhi Rachman, IT Head at Chandra Asri. Adhi continues, "We cnducted an in-depth evaluation of all the alternative solutions and it quickly became obvious DSI offers the most comprehensive solution fully integrated with our SAP instance. In addition, DSI's reputation for partnering with SAP customers in the Asia Pac region made DSI the evident choice." "DSI's suite of digital supply chain solutions is ideal for resources companies such as Chandra Asri that want to achieve immediate cost reductions and efficiency gains. And, because DSI provides a single platform to harness technologies from analytics to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Chandra Asri has a solution to enable the digital transformation of their supply chain," says Mark Goode, Chief Revenue Officer, DSI. "DSI's Digital Supply Chain Platform delivers the visibility and accuracy critical to staying competitive in today's global resources markets." About DSI DSI is the Digital Supply Chain Platform company that creates mobile-first and cloud supply chain solutions for the digital economy. Visit www.dsiglobal.com to learn more. About Chandra Asri Chandra Asri, a subsidiary of PT Barito Pacific Tbk as the majority shareholders, is Indonesia's largest integrated petrochemical company producing olefins and polyolefins. Chandra Asri incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and supporting facilities located in Cilegon and Serang of Banten Province. Chandra Asri is the only producer who operates a naphtha cracker, and is the sole domestic producer of ethylene, styrene monomer and butadiene. In addition, Chandra Asri is also the largest polypropylene producer in Indonesia. Chandra Asri produces plastic raw materials and chemicals used for packaging products, pipes, automotive, electronics, etc. For more information, please visit www.chandra-asri.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161215006451/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] you are here: business Buy Infosys, HCL Technologies: Sudip Bandopadhyay Sudip Bandopadhyay, Market Expert is of the view that Infosys and HCL Technologies are good buy at current level. The chronicle of a life split between urban Manhattan and rural Montana. On our trip to Maine last Month, Charlie and I spent a couple of days with friends who live just off Route I-91 in Connecticut. At night, when we settled in to go to sleep, all I could hear was... Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, a fresh pine wreath is placed at the headstones of U.S. veterans across the country in remembrance of their service and sacrifice to their country. This annual event was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, after he donated his surplus holiday wreaths to the Arlington National Cemetery. In 2005, a photo of the snow-covered cemetery covered with wreaths went viral on the Internet and launched a national campaign whose mission is to remember, honor and teach others about our veterans. Worcester has always asked volunteers who place wreaths at the headstones to honor the memory of the veteran by reading their name aloud while placing the wreath. In keeping with that request, the theme for this years event is Say Their Names. As in years past, the timing is synchronized at 9:00 a.m. on the west coast and Noon on the east coast, so that all the wreaths across the nation will be placed at the same time. During the past two years we have honored the more than 1,200 veterans buried in South County, says Mark Turner, president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce. The public is invited to place wreaths at Gavilan Hills and St. Marys Cemeteries in Gilroy and Mt. Hope Cemetery in Morgan Hill. Wreaths can be purchased for $15 and anyone may volunteer to place them at the gravesite this Dec. 17 at 9:00 a.m. For more information, visit: wreathsacrossamerica.org The Lenoir Sax Ensemble will return for the annual performance of its Classically Christmas concert at Grace Episcopal Church on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 5 p.m. According to the Lenoir Sax Ensemble website, the group has been making its presence known in the field of chamber music throughout the southeastern United States and in Europe. Specializing in chamber jazz, the Lenoir Sax Ensemble is based in the western North Carolina mountains and embraces those roots by including music of various folk tunes, hymns and cool jazz of the 1950s. Grace Episcopal Church member and jazz musician, Joseph Hasty, shares how the Lenoir Sax Ensemble began the annual Christmas Concert at the church. The Lenoir Sax Ensemble has been performing chamber music in our area for over 20 years, Hasty said. One of the founding members, Robert George, also plays tenor sax in my local jazz band and has performed Jazz Vespers and Jazz Masses for Grace Episcopal for several years now. When I learned that Roberts band had a Christmas program ready to perform, it was a no-brainer to get them to perform a benefit concert. Not only does the Lenoir Sax Ensemble play classic pieces but they also play contemporary pieces. The musicians in Lenoir Sax Ensemble are all professional or semi-professional musicians and their sound transcends time, Hasty said. Their brilliant harmonies fill the sanctuary and leave listeners in the spirit of the holidays. Theyve been an absolute hit since the first year and everyone wants to keep having them back. Its like it just wont be Christmas around here without this concert. This will be the fourth year Lenoir Sax Ensemble will return to Grace Episcopal Church. They are welcomed back each year by popular demand, shared Hasty. We keep asking them back turning it into an annual event because they are so good. The concert is well attended each year as the pews are filled and the church has to occasionally add chairs in the aisle. We would love to have a standing room only crowd this year, Hasty said. Although the Classically Christmas concert at Grace Episcopal Church is free, it is a benefit with one hundred percent of all proceeds going to the cause. This year, the concert will benefit the Grace Church Back Pack Ministry, which feeds hungry children from Mountain Crest Elementary School throughout the year. We always try to do something extra special for the kids and families at Christmas, Hasty said The Classically Christmas concert is at Grace Episcopal Church on Sunday, December 18, at 5 p.m. Grace Episcopal is located at 303 South King St. in Morganton. For more information on the concert, call the church at 828-437-1133. For information on the Lenoir Sax Ensemble, visit www.lenoirsax.org. There are plenty of other Christmas performances also happening this weekend: First Presbyterian Churchs Service of Lessons and Carols will be Sunday, Dec. 18 at the 10:55 a.m. service followed later by caroling on the Ridgeline Trolley. Hildebran First Baptist Church will present a Christmas musical called At Last Noel on Saturday, Dec. 17 and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. each evening. Drexel Memorial Baptist Church's children and youth will perform a Christmas musical called Miracle on Main St. on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. North Morganton United Methodist Church will perform a Christmas cantata called Invitation to a Miracle on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. First Baptist Church of Morganton will perform Vivaldis Gloria at the 10:55 a.m. service on Sunday, Dec. 18. Calvary Lutheran Church's choir will perform its annual Christmas cantata Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. First United Methodist Church will have a musical presentation at the 11 a.m. worship service on Sunday, Dec. 18. Hopewell Baptist Church will have their adult choir perform its cantata Sunday, Dec. 18 at 10:15 a.m. The church will present a children's musical later at 6 p.m., followed by a reception in the fellowship hall. Listed information, including addresses, has been gathered from arrest and incident reports publicly available at area law-enforcement agencies. The following charges were placed by Burke County Sheriffs Office or Morganton Department of Public Safety. If your name appears here and your case was dismissed or you were cleared of the crime, let us know by calling Lisa Wall at 828-432-8939, or by emailing editor@morganton.com. SEE WHOS IN JAIL Want to see who is in jail? Visit www.morgantonps.org to view arrest reports, incident reports and to see current confined individuals. The following charges were served on Wednesday, November 30: Sherri Sanders Riddle, 51, of 2015 Throneburg Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor communicating threats and damage to personal property. She was released on a written promise to appear for a trial date set for Dec. 14. Bethany Johnson Brockland, 53, of 117 Powe St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault. She was issued a $750 unsecured bond and released. Brandon Shawn Pendley, 38, of 2786 Snipes St., in Morganton, was charged with five felony counts of forced breaking and entering, two felony counts of larceny by trick, four felony counts of motor vehicle theft and one felony count of larceny after breaking and entering. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $100,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $20,000 secured bond. Michael Leonard Norman Jr., 30, of 2900 Windy Hill Hollow, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony failure to appear on a felony and misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $50,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Mark Hampton Passante, 26, of 115 VFW Road, in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He was granted a custody release. Madison Diana Crisp, 17, of 1950 Bristol Creek Ave., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault. She was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for Jan. 10, 2017. Jessica Michelle Bollinger, 28, of 6765 Cobbs Place, in Connelly Springs, was charged with felony failure to appear on a felony and one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and failure to appear. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $20,000 secured bond. She was also issued an additional $3,500 secured bonds. Her trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Tonya Byrd Williams, 45, of 1886 Thoreau Court, in Connelly Springs, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor failure to appear. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $4,000 secured bond. She was also issued an additional $500 secured bond and a trial date was set for Dec. 13. Kenneth Allen Hall, 38, of 8364 Cedar St., in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 11, 2017. Jesse Allen Whisenant, 30, of 6355 St. John Church Ave., in Connelly Springs, was charged with one count each of felony possession of a schedule I controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver, possession of a schedule VI controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver and maintaining a dwelling, vehicle or place for drugs or controlled substances. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $20,000 secured bond. Holly Renee Saulman, 38, of 310 Hopewell Road, in Morganton, was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failure to appear and misdemeanor larceny by trick. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,000 secured bond. She was also issued an additional $2,500 secured bond. Her trial date was set for Jan. 25, 2017. Kyle Lee Isaac, 28, of 1547 Lemon Tree Lane, in Morganton, was charged with felony larceny by defeat of an anti-theft device and misdemeanor larceny all other. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. Tekyha Monique Corpening, 23, of 321 Morehead St., in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver. She was issued a $3,000 secured bond and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Kamilia Dawn Carr, 24, of 4292 Bollinger Gap St., in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony possession of methamphetamines, misdemeanor driving while impaired, possession of drug paraphernalia and reckless driving to endanger. She was issued a $5,000 secured bond and released. Jacob Joseph Mueller, 25, of 321 Morehead St., in Morganton, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 11, 2017. Sarah Ann Shehan, 25, of 108 Harold St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other, second-degree trespassing and cyber stalking. She was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for Dec. 14. Peggy Townsend, 40, of 4226 Horseshoe Bend Road, 1, in Hudson, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault or assault and battery. She was released on a written promise to appear. Kaitlyn Makenzy Townsend, 18, of 4586 Horseshoe Bend Road, 1, in Hudson, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault or assault and battery. She was released on a written promise to appear. John Christopher Childers, 26, of 5142 Dysartsville Road, in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of methamphetamines and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $3,000 secured bond Teri Ann Thomas, 32, of 4701 McDowell Church Road, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, driving during revocation and fictitious, cancelled, revoked or altered registration card or tag . She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. She was also issued an additional $500 secured bond. Her trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. The following charges were served on Thursday, December 1: Alisha Ann Causby, 27, of 774 US 70, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor probation violation. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $12,000 secured bond. Her trial date was set for Jan. 10, 2017. Tiffany Ann Stamey, 28, of 1066 Park Lane Drive, in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of a weapon by a felon. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $25,000 secured bond. Steve Allen Woody, 29, of 1066 Park Lane Drive, in Morganton, was charged with felony first-degree forced burglary. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $250,000 secured bond. Benny Dean Randolph, 54, of 4783 Lakeview Acres Road, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was issued a $2,000 secured bond and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 9, 2017. Shawn Barclay Moses, 43, of 4690 Crystal Creek Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $7,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 17, 2017. Michael Todd Benfield, 47, of 3865 Briar Drive, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond and released. Annie Annette Powell, 26, of 1859 Chapman Hollar Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor first-degree trespassing. She was released on a written promise to appear for a trial date set for Dec. 14. Julia Renee Curtis, 35, of 108 Ed Mull St., in Glen Alpine, was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for March 6, 2017. Christopher Brice Biggerstaff, 28, of 4873 Berkley St., in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony forced breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and obtaining property by false pretense. He was served at the Burke-Catawba jail where he was being held on previous charges. He was issued a $25,000 secured bond for these charges. Christopher Brice Biggerstaff, 28, of 4873 Berkley St., in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony larceny of a firearm and obtaining property by false pretense. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. The following charges were served on Friday, December 2: Jon Wesley Johnson, 31, of 2230 Golden Camp Road, in Augusta, GA, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $6,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 14. Robert Lindsay Seaman, 35, of 200 California Ave., in Marion, was charged with three counts of misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $3,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 13. Eliza Elonga J Ervin, 25, of 303 Roper St., Apt. C, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 11, 2017. Meghan Melissa Liedkie, 32, of 6170 Dysartsville Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor driving while impaired. She was granted a custody release and a trial date was set for Feb. 13, 2017. Pasqual Mendez, 23, of 110 Oak St., in Morganton, was charged with felony statutory rape of a person 13,14 or 15 years of age. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $75,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 20, 2017. Jeffrey L Smalls, 50, of 3812 Jamison Drive, 3, in Glen Alpine, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was issued a $289 bond and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Bobby Lee Calhoun III, 28, of 482 Beam Lane, in Stony Point, NC, was charged with one felony count each of motor vehicle theft, possession of methamphetamines and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $6,000 secured bond. Chad Ashford Causby, 28, of 1880 Zion Road, in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Jonathan Carl Ross, 30, of 2278 Jessie St., Lot 44, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. He was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for Dec. 13. Audie Luke Smith, 31, of 2380 NC 181, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor second-degree trespassing. He was released on a written promise to appear. Brittney Michelle Melton, 25, of 441 Old NC 18, in Morganton, was charged with felony possession of a schedule II controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. Her trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Steve Allen Woody, 29, of 1066 Park Lane Drive, in Morganton, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $10,000 secured bond and a trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Alisha Ann Causby, 27, of 774 US 70, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. Travis Steven Helton, 32, of 2320 Shade Tree St., 5, in Connelly Springs, was charged with one felony count each of motor vehicle theft, possession of a weapon by a felon, possession of a schedule II controlled substance, failure to appear on a felony and habitual felon, three counts of misdemeanor failure to appear and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $30,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $60,500 in secured bonds. His trial date was set for Jan. 9, 2017. Billy Wane Rhoney Jr., 39, of 4400 Lonesome Dove Crossing, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond and released. His trial date was set for Dec. 12. James Brandon Thomas, 30, of 6020 Vein Mountain Road, in Nebo, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 13. Paul Michaux III, 34, of 3494 Piney Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor driving while license revoked. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $500 secured bond. His trial date was set for March 1, 2017. Lacey Wayne Teague Jr., 26, of 8231 Tom Smith Ave., in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,500 secured bond. Scott Anthony Sanborn, 51, of 5179 Hidden Acres, in Granite Falls, was charged with felony speeding to elude arrest and misdemeanor communicating threats. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $12,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. The following charges were served on Saturday, December 3: Tyler Anthony Reddy, 18, of 906 Saint Marys Church Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $600 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 17, 2017. Ryne Joseph Hartung, 19, of 3183 Jeeter Carswell Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $500 secured bond. Joshua Wayne Radford, 21, of 6168 George Hildebran Drive, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor driving while license revoked. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 12. Michael Lee Gouge, 29, of 6168 George Hildebran Drive, in Connelly Springs, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor failure to appear and one count of driving while license revoked. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 12. Adam Michael Hudson, 28, of 1675 Bethel Colony Road, 34, in Lenoir, was charged with misdemeanor driving while license revoked. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 12. Matthew Phillip Cagle, 31, of 4400 Lonesome Dove Crossing, in Connelly Springs, was charged with one misdemeanor count each of assault inflicting serious injury or with a deadly weapon, larceny all other and communicating threats. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $4,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 14. Terry Wayne Brown, 60, of 7215 Gingercake Road, in Newland, was charged with one felony count each of larceny by defeat of anti-theft device and possession of stolen goods, three misdemeanor counts of resist, delay or obstruct and one misdemeanor count of injury to a law enforcement animal. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $6,000 secured bond. Jason Steve Morgan, 41, of 4278 Ruritan Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. His trial date was set for Jan. 4, 2017. Sarah Elizabeth McAlister, 39, of 4811 Frank Barus Ave., Lot 11, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor stalking. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. Her trial date was set for Jan. 9, 2017. The following charges were served on Sunday, December 4: Justin Dean Chapman, 31, of 300 Ridge St., in Rutherford College, was charged with misdemeanor damage to personal property and second-degree trespassing. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under an $800 secured bond. Jeffrey Jordan Sain, 18, of 7982 Shamrock Village Ave., in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female and communicating threats. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan, 11, 2017. The following charges were served on Monday, December 5: Gretchen Shaylyn Patterson, 27, of 6539 Waters Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor open container after consuming. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 18, 2017. Timothy Paul Bumgarner, 34, of 4376 NC 18 Highway S, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $750 secured bond. James Fredrick Whisnant, 55, of 122 Ford Road, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony abuse of disabled or elderly person with injury and exploitation of an older adult or disabled adult. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Desta Theron Carson, 32, of 1906 Sigman St., in Newton, was charged with felony common law robbery. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $25,000 secured bond. Tina Louise Swink, 50, of 3688silver St., in Claremont, was charged with one felony count each of motor vehicle theft and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Torreon William Johnson, 25, of 131 Herron St., B, in Morganton, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $5,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 14. John Alan Thomas, 48, of 106 Murphy St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny by trick. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. Christopher Wayne Yelton, 43, of 142 Barbara St., in Forest City, was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $6,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $2,000 in secured bonds. His trial date was set for Jan. 4, 2017. Roy Jonathan Cook, 33, of 404 N Center St., in Hildebran, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $25,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $10,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Bobby Lee Calhoun III, 28, of 482 Beam Lane, in Stony Point, NC, was charged with misdemeanor communicating threats. He was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for Jan. 9, 2017. James Willard Thacker, 32, of 3010 34th St. Drive NE, Lot 58, in Hickory, was charged with felony possession of a weapon by a felon. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Joshua Allen Abee, 37, of 2236 Mt Home Church Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor communicating threats and failure to appear. He was issued a $500 secured bond and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 18, 2017. Ricky Allen Blalock, 28, of 24862 Charlie Crawley Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $250 cash bond. Ryan Patrick Deming, 39, of 4013 Miller Drive, in Newton, was charged with misdemeanor driving during revocation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. The following charges were served on Tuesday, December 6: Veronica Star Dion, 29, of 5873 Jenkins Road, Lot 2, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 11, 2017. Bryan Keith Brown, 47, of 3983 Winston Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Malinda Hightower Hester, 58, of 129 Sterling Forest Drive, C, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony forced breaking and entering, larceny all other, possession of methamphetamines and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $13,000 secured bond. Courtney Leanne Shorthouse, 35, of 4650 Huffmans View Trail, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony larceny of a credit card and obtaining property by false pretense. She was released on a written promise to appear. Jonathan Scott Miller, 25, of 4850 Johnson Bridge Road, in Hickory, was charged with felony possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Joey Lee Canterberry, 29, of 3056 Icard School Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with one felony count each of forced breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. John Thomas Rector, 26, of 3868 Bennett Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear or comply. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Oct. 23, 2017. Dustin Edward Kidd, 21, of 3554 Annas St., in Connelly Springs, was charged with one felony count each of breaking and entering or larceny from an auto, larceny by trick and possession of stolen goods and one misdemeanor count each of probation violation and failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $11,000 in secured bonds. Jordan Tramayne Caldwell, 22, of 1768 Roy Caldwell St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault or assault and battery. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Miranda Dawn Burleson, 37, of 2208 Glenn Haven Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse. She was released on a written promise to appear for a trial date set for Jan. 9, 2017. Brandon Keith Lowman, 31, of 8360 Mount Harmony Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with one count each of felony breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, larceny all other and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Nolan Lamar Weaver, 19, of 2579 Harding Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Dec. 14. Richard Owen Smith, 24, of 5580 Wilkies Grove Church Road, in Hickory, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $60,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Rick Norman Smith, 53, of 4860 Foreman St., in Morganton, was charged with one count each of misdemeanor communicating threats, second-degree trespassing and violating a domestic violence protection order. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. His trial date was set for Dec. 13. William Edward Hathaway, 57, of 2065 East Winds Ave., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. The following charges were served on Wednesday, December 7: Dylan Barry Snedden, 24, of Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other and failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 17, 2017. Noah Antwian Green, 16, of 106 W Catawba St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for Feb. 14, 2017. Tabitha Brie Evans, 32, of 3056 Icard School Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with three felony counts each of forced breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $40,000 secured bond. Joey Lee Canterberry, 29, of 3056 Icard School Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with three felony counts of forced breaking and entering and one felony count each of larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $100,000 secured bond. Jordan Alexzander Rivera, 25, of 232 10th Ave. SE, in Hickory, was charged with misdemeanor simple assault or assault and battery. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 6, 2017. Katie Ann Hayes, 27, of 55 Cedarbrook Lane, in Nebo, was charged with three felony counts of forced breaking and entering and one felony count each of larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $40,000 secured bond. Triston Andrew Carter, 20, of 2602 Buford Drive, in Morganton, was charged with felony larceny by employees. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Brandon Shawn Pendley, 38, of 2786 Snipes St., in Morganton, was charged with one felony count each of forced breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Karen Denise Yoder, 51, of 8638 NC 18 S, in Connelly Springs, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor failure to appear. She was also issued an additional $2,000 secured bond. Her trial date was set for Jan. 11, 2017. Paul Michaux, 34, of 1731 Silas Creek Park, in Morganton, was charged with one count each of felony communicating threats and misdemeanor second-degree trespassing. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond. Kandace Paige Thomas, 29, of 101 Winding Creek Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor simple worthless check. She was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for Jan. 4, 2017. Linda Ann Gillespie, 57, of 349 State St., Apt. 63, in Marion, was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Oliver Ray Parton, 42, of 208 Edgewood Drive, in Morganton, was charged with one misdemeanor count each of aiding and abetting driving while impaired, permit an unlicensed driver to drive and fictitious, canceled or revoked registration card or tag. He was served by a criminal summons to appear for a trial date set for March 7, 2017. Terrence Kelly Surratt, 48, of 1290 Avery Ave., in Morganton, was charged with one felony count each of possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver and habitual felon. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $75,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 30, 2017. Cory Samuel Martin, 28, of 3286 Wilson Heights Drive, in Hildebran, was charged with one felony count each of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamines. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $13,000 secured bond. Andrew Lee Fox, 36, of 121 Berry St., in Morganton, was charged with one felony count each of possession of a schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver and possession of a schedule II controlled substance and one misdemeanor count each of resist, delay or obstruct and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $7,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 17, 2017. The following charges were served on Thursday, December 8: Teodoro Seberiano Hunia Perez, 23, of 310 Bay St., in Morganton, was charged with one misdemeanor count each of driving while impaired, open container after consuming, driving during revocation, driving left of center, hit and run causing property damage and failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 4, 2017. Cladia Susana Roddiguez-Ailon, 16, of 111 Bethel Road, in Morganton, was charged with felony sell or deliver of a schedule II controlled substance. She was granted a custody release. Antonio Markee Moss, 25, of 410 17th Ave., NE, in Hickory, was charged with misdemeanor assault on a female. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. His trial date was set for Jan. 17, 2017. April Dawn Coleman, 34, of 203 Strange Court, in Spartanburg, SC, was charged with felony accessory after the fact. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. Kevin Matthew Revis, 31, of 6075 Wilkies Grove Church, in Hickory, was charged with felony assault inflicting serious injury or with a deadly weapon and one misdemeanor count each of violating registrations provisions, permit operator of a vehicle without insurance, fictitious or altered title, registration card or tag, unsafe tires, hit and run causing property damage, expired vehicle inspection, reckless driving to endanger, exceeding a safe speed, failure to report an accident and driving left of center. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $50,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $15,000 secured bond. Garland E Washburn, 25, of 1000 S Sterling St., in Morganton, was charged with felony malicious conduct by a prisoner. He was served at the Burke-Catawba jail where he was being held on a previous charge. He was issued a $25,000 secured bond for this charge. Gerric Delaine Connelly, 50, of 621 Club Circle NE, in Valdese, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of failure to appear. He was issued a $1,000 secured bond and released. His trial date was set for Feb. 20, 2017. Bobby Thomas Bard, 38, of 7934 Old NC 10, Lot 17, in Hickory, was charged with misdemeanor larceny by trick and damage to personal property. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. Brittany Rose Graham, 29, of 8142 Parkview Lane, in Sherrills Ford, NC, was charged with misdemeanor larceny by trick. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. Terrence Demario Williams, 32, of 8843 Sherrills Ford Road, in Sherrills Ford, NC, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 9, 2017. David Steven Hylemon, 35, of 2034 Enon Road, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $500 secured bond. Adam Douglas Willis, 35, of 235 Holly Hill Drive, in Marion, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Nathan Warren Willis, 31, of 208 Matilda Ave., in Marion, was charged with two felony counts of larceny by removal of an anti-theft device and one count each of felony obtaining property by false pretense and misdemeanor larceny all other. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under an $11,000 secured bond. The following charges were served on Friday, December 9: Travis Andrew Edmunds, 19, of 3717 Kathy Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor simple possession of marijuana. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for March 8, 2017. Michael Jozeh Numeracki, 24, of 1074 George St., in Sharon, PA, was charged with misdemeanor driving while impaired. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for March 20, 2017. Jason Todd Hayes, 33, of 3056 Icard School Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with four felony counts each of forced breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $50,000 secured bond. Justin Wayne Hatley, 16, of 6402 Simpson Ave., in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $3,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for March 1, 2017. Darlene Nicole Hughes, 27, of 2309 Highway 70 West, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor parole violation. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. Charles Bynum Hughes, 30, of 2309 Us Highway 70, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor probation violation and failure to appear. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $500 secured bond. Jamie Marie Johnson, 32, of 6619 Us 70 E, in Nebo, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other and possession of stolen goods. She was issued a $1,500 secured bond and released. Her trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Travis Shawn Baker, 26, of 2613 Us 64, in Morganton, was charged with one felony count of possession of methamphetamines and maintaining a dwelling, vehicle or place for drugs or controlled substances and one misdemeanor count each of probation violation, possession of a schedule II, III, IV controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $50,000 secured bond. He was also issued an additional $30,000 secured bonds. Jonathan Tyler Cobb, 23, of 5339 Old NC 18, Unit 1, in Connelly Springs, was charged with misdemeanor driving while impaired. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Jason Randall Chandler, 30, of 2277 Jessie St., in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor communicating threats and drunk, intoxicated and disruptive. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for May 8, 2017. April Dawn Coleman, 34, of 203 Strange Court, in Spartanburg, SC, was charged with felony probation violation. She was served at the Burke-Catawba jail where she was being held on a previous charge. She was issued a $5,000 secured bond for this charge and a trial date was set for Jan. 9, 2017. Samantha Lynne Roper, 25, of 218 Coulter St., in Morganton, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor simple assault or assault and battery. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail. Her trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Max Jestin Van Fossen, 36, of 125 Willow Run Drive, A, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was cited and released. His trial date was set for Feb. 13, 2017. The following charges were served on Saturday, December 10: Duayne Robert Scott Callahan, 45, of 7168 Hildebran Mountain Ave., in Connelly Springs, was charged with felony possession of methamphetamines with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $5,000 secured bond. Russell Paul Hyatt, 38, of 333 Vinay Ave. NW, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor driving while impaired. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for March 10, 2017. Amber Michelle Brown, 32, of 105 Barus Ave. NE, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor failure to appear. She was issued a $500 secured bond and released. Her trial date was set for Feb. 21, 2017. Devin Nelson Shade, 28, of 2995 Jamestown Road, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $1,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 25, 2017. Philip Matthew Cocke, 29, of 6845 Nuckolls Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $2,500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 25, 2017. Victor Louis Dale, 48, of 5808 Highway 18 S, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor probation violation. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $10,000 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 3, 2017. Nolan Lamar Weaver, 19, of 2579 Harding Road, in Connelly Springs, was charged with one felony count each of larceny of a firearm and possession of stolen goods. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $15,000 secured bond. Joshua Adam D McDaniel, 34, of 1428 Lydia Ave. NW, in Valdese, was charged with misdemeanor larceny all other and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $500 secured bond. His trial date was set for Jan. 31, 2017. Kathy Gouge Merrell, 53, of 4546 Theron Drive, in Morganton, was charged with misdemeanor possession of a schedule IV controlled substance. She was cited and released. Her trial date was set for March 27, 2017. Brandy Necole Goodwin, 36, of 2320 Shade Tree St., in Connelly Springs, was charged with five counts of felony motor vehicle theft, two felony counts of possession of a schedule II controlled substance and one misdemeanor count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and probation violation. She was transported to Burke-Catawba jail and placed under a $20,000 secured bond. She was also issued an additional $45,000 secured bonds. Her trial date was set for Jan. 24, 2017. A Burke County jury needed approximately 40 minutes to find a convicted sex offender guilty of sex crimes against a child victim on Thursday. Kurt Allen Corey, 45, of Lenoir, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after the jury rendered its verdict on charges of sexual offense with a child by an adult and indecent liberties with a child to wrap up a four-day trial in Burke County Superior Court. The Honorable W. Robert Bell, Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, imposed the sentence for Corey, who will be placed in custody of the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. The female victim was 10 years old at the time the offenses occurred in 2013, and Bell found that the defendant took advantage of his position of trust and responsibility when engaging in such sexual behavior with the girl. Corey also was convicted of sexual offenses in Michigan in January 2000. Isaac Propst led the investigation for the Burke County Sheriffs Office with assistance from Det. Shelly Hartley of the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office and the Robins Nest Child Advocacy Center in Lenoir. David Swanson prosecuted the case for the District Attorneys Office. A mobile home in Morganton was declared a total loss after it was engulfed in flames on Thursday morning. Three different fire departments were dispatched to 1877 Duckworth Ave. Lot 28 in Morganton, around 11 a.m., according to Salem Fire Chief John Stroup. It was fully involved whenever I arrived, Stroup said. Flames were already coming out the windows. There were no injuries and no one was home at the time of the fire, Stroup said. Firefighters were able to stage an attack and get the fire under control in about 15 minutes, he said. There were two adults and two children living in the home, Stroup said. The cause of the fire is still undetermined but the origin of the fire was found to be in the bedroom, said Burke County Fire Inspector Chad Houston. We havent determined yet exactly what (caused it) there are a couple factors we are looking at, Houston said. Red Cross was not called in due to the fact that the family has relatives or friends they are going to stay with, he said. Agencies that responded were Salem Fire Department, Triple Community Fire Department, Enola Fire Department and Burke EMS. Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907 One broker lender has just become stronger and thats good for the channel Equitable Group announced earlier this week an injection of capital from OMERS, the pension plan for Ontarios municipal employees, for common shares of the company for a total of $50 million.That extra capital has been earmarked for Equitable Bank, one of the channels lenders.Its an important investment. $50 million, to be clear, is about 5% of our value, so the bank is worth about $1 billion. Its still important, Andrew Moor, president and CEO of Equitable Bank, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. A strong foundation of capital and to have an institutional investor thats as well respected as them putting money into a bank that relies on the mortgage broker channel for all of its mortgages is obviously a reflection the strength of the channel, despite whatever the short-term challenges might be.The investment will increase the Bank's Common Equity Tier I capital and provide it with more capacity to fund the growth of its lending businesses, Equitable said in a release.At a time when some lenders are scaling back and one has even left the channel such an investment is a true vote of confidence in the channel and the value mortgage brokers provide.Brokers have a strong role to play in the future of the Canadian housing industry, Moor said. We definitely see more opportunity ahead, so we thought it was a good time to raise some capital to make sure we can support our broker customers and help them build their businesses over the next year or two. This capital will help. In a recent data release, Statistics Canada announced that household debt as a share of income has broken yet another record to reach new heights in the third quarter of the year.The debt-to-income ratio grew to 166.9 per cent from Q2s adjusted 166.4 per cent, Reuters reported.StatsCan analysts stated that much of this development should be attributed to wage gains being exceeded by the pace of borrowing, but other experts noted that this state of affairs might not last.We might start to see the ratio flatten out a bit in 2017 as the Vancouver housing market has cooled notably due to the foreign buyers tax, and the new mortgage rule should dampen activity modestly in 2017, BMO Capital Markets senior economist Benjamin Reitzes wrote in a research note.The Bank of Canada argued that existing levels of debt represent a major weakness in the financial system, not helped by continuous increases in home prices nationally (especially in Toronto).Existing homes saw a 0.2 per cent month-over-month growth in prices in November, with 7 out of the 11 metropolitan regions surveyed in Teranet National Bank Composite House Price Index showing increases.The house price index showed that prices were up by 1.1 per cent in Toronto and by 1.4 per cent in Hamilton last month, offsetting sustained weakness in Vancouver (where prices declined by 1.3 per cent).Nationwide prices rose by 11.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis in November, with Vancouver homes up by 19.3 per cent and Toronto up by 18.5 per cent. CFPB, Regulatory, and Legal News; Plywood Endangered in Ohio The Fed reports US household net worth soared to a record $90.2 trillion in Q3, as the stock market jumped and housing prices increased. One group of businesses that has certainly seen an uptick in business market share is credit unions. But all is not rosy: wading through the acronyms, last week the ABA has joined the ICBA in filing suit against the NCUA over the field of membership rule (the ABA filed in Dec, while the ICBA filed back in Sep). The Mortgage Bankers Association certainly keeps up on legal and regulatory issues. Along those lines, the D.C. Circuit has entered an order that provides the response of the United States to the CFPB's petition for rehearing en banc is due by December 22, 2016. The order also provides that PHH can file its response by December 22. Ballard Spahr reports that, "In an order filed on November 23, 2016, the D.C. Circuit required PHH to file its response within 15 days. The order also invited the Solicitor General to file a response to the petition for rehearing en banc, expressing the views of the United States. While the November order did not expressly set a date by which the Solicitor General had to file a response, the government apparently read the D.C. Circuit's order as also setting a 15-day filing deadline for its response and filed an unopposed motion for leave to file its response by December 22. Although not expressly requested by PHH, the court's order granting the Solicitor General's motion gives PHH a similar extension." It is incredibly unlikely that the Dodd-Frank, and thus the CFPB, will be eliminated. It protects consumers, remember? But its way of doing business and structure may change, and in a letter sent to Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader-elect Schumer, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions urge Congress to pass legislation to create a five-member commission to run the CFPB. And here's one person's take on, "How Easy Will it be for Donald Trump to Dismantle Dodd-Frank?". Yes, residential lending can't ignore changes in the regulatory or legal environment. A few weeks ago, in a closely watched case involving dual agency, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a real estate agent representing the seller of a property owes a fiduciary duty to both the seller and the buyer if the buyer's agent works for the same brokerage firm. Reporter Kathleen Pender writes, "The case involved the sale of a luxury home overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Malibu where the square footage was in dispute. The buyer and seller were represented by agents from different Coldwell Banker offices. Under California law, a broker may act as a dual agent for both the seller and the buyer in a real estate transaction, provided both parties consent to the arrangement after full disclosure that the broker owes a fiduciary duty to both. "What was at dispute in the case was whether that duty extends to 'associate licensees,' who are the individual agents/salespeople who operate under that broker's license. The court ruled 7-0 that it does. The seller of the home, a family trust, was represented by Chris Cortazzo, a salesman in Coldwell Banker's Malibu West office. And when is it appropriate for a seller to regain possession of a property from a buyer by filing an unlawful detainer action? In one case, the seller and buyer entered into an agreement entitled "Contract of Sale Residential Property". The buyer was to maintain possession and make probationary installment for 60 months which did not go toward the purchase price. When the buyer defaulted on the probationary installments, it went to court. The Law Offices of Peter Brewer noted, "The gist is, even though the agreement was entitled 'contract of sale,' the contract was primarily a lease agreement, with the contract for sale being secondary and taking effect after the 60-month term. Trial court sided with the seller and the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' decision as well. The terms of the agreement were readily the same as those found in tenancy agreements. The buyer's possession of the home was conditioned upon satisfactory installment payments. Essentially, the payments represented 'rent' until the probationary installment was reached. These hybrid contracts can be affordably attractive in today's high-priced market, but buyer beware and consult with a real estate attorney to better understand what you are truly getting in too." From the Ohio Legislature came news that HB463 was passed. The bill contains clarifications of the changes to the sheriff sale process and the fast track foreclosure process found in HB390, which went into effect at the end of September. HB463 also includes two new provisions in Ohio law, those being a good funds provision for escrow agents, and the banning of plywood in the window boarding process in property preservation. For a copy of the Legislative Service Commission's summary, click HERE. And the Lenders Compliance Group answered a question regarding marketing. "We are a large mortgage banker with several origination platforms, a servicing entity, and a few affiliates. Recently, we were cited for a violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule because of not complying with the Do Not Call rules. How do these rules apply across our origination platforms?" The answer? "Financial institutions with multiple origination platforms, including their servicing units, are particularly vulnerable to Do Not Call violations. Years ago, in 1995, the original Telemarketing Sales Rule ("TSR") contained a provision that prohibited calls to any consumer who previously asked not to get calls from or on behalf of a particular seller. Amendments to the TSR since then retain that provision, but now also prohibit calls to any numbers consumers have placed on the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The multiplatform vulnerability to TSR violations often occurs due to violations of the so-called "Entity-Specific Do Not Call Provision." Employees increasingly are taking to an anonymous chat app called Blind to vent about their employers. Since there's nothing companies can do to ban Blind, they'd be wise to monitor the app and use it to improve their compliance efforts, employment lawyers say. A story from the NY Times spread the word that big banks have gone to the Supreme Court to fight tens of billions of dollars of potential legal costs linked to at least a dozen pending lawsuits arising from the financial crisis. Did regulators take too long to file their claims? Banks like Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, have asked the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision that said the regulators filed their claims on time despite a Depression-era securities law that gave them only a three-year window. Obviously the Justice Department is pushing back, saying that the banks' argument lacks merit and asked the court not to take up the case. Damages related to some $37.5 billion in securities are at stake in the pending lawsuits, the banks say, in addition to billions of dollars in disputed prejudgment interest. That sum includes nearly $32 billion for cases in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which most commonly decides securities cases. The banks say these lawsuits should have been barred under the strict three-year window and extensions should not have been allowed. Shifting from one wonderful topic to another, anyone hoping mortgage rates would go down to where they were two months ago were once again disappointed. In fact, one could easily argue that the markets are globally beginning to quietly shut down for 2016, and that there are only two major macro events left - Yellen's speech Mon 12/19 and the Bank of Japan decision Tuesday morning 12/20. U.S. Treasuries ended Thursday with the 5 and 10-year yields hit multi-year highs and the U.S. Dollar Index traded to its best level in 13 years. The good news is that the economic data releases were better than expected - so the economy continues to chug along. Of particular interest was some news that came from the builders: the NAHB Housing Market Index jumped to 70 for December (from 63 in November) which was the highest since 2005. Today the only data out was November's Housing Starts and Building Permits, down nearly 19% and 5% respectively - mostly due to a drop in multifamily activity. If you're looking at rates, we closed the 10-year last night at 2.60% and this morning it is 2.57% and current coupon agency 30-year MBS prices are better by .250. Jobs and Announcements In job news, a well-known East-Coast consulting company is searching for someone with Encompass experience. The candidate will be on an Encompass team working on Encompass development, client interactions, and managing their own projects. The company is a "growing, well established east coast consulting firm that is looking for experienced Encompass users that are interested in joining its team. The team member will be integral part of project team and actively involved in all aspects of Encompass related projects and work with clients on a national level." Please submit confidential inquiries/resumes to me, and specify the job. Citywide Home Loans is seeking a Leader of the Information Technology function on both a direct and in-direct basis. VP or CIO level. The position functions in two main capacities: (1) Maintain direct responsibility for all internally facing IT systems such as e-mail, trouble tickets, and data/telephony network and (2) Provide the leadership, technical expertise, change management, and vendor management to all internal business process owners to maximize the value received from automation. A key requirement of this position is to drive productivity, process improvement, and the business's ability to scale through technology-enabled transformation. Apply with cover letter here at Citywide or at https://www.ziprecruiter.com/job/c96ea0c3. Founded in 2008, and licensed in 48 states, New Penn Financial, a Shellpoint Partners company, and its reputation has grown substantially under the guidance of a management team with years of experience in the mortgage industry. "New Penn Financial has been recognized in the top 15 Third Party Originations Lenders and was recently voted as being a great mortgage lender to work for by our sales professionals. Our Mission is to exceed the expectations of our residential mortgage borrowers and business partners through superior service, simple processes, and effective communications. New Penn Financial is sourcing proven and experienced Inside Wholesale Account Executives nationwide! The expanding inside team will have the opportunity to work remotely or in our PA or NJ offices! Contact Aubrie Cusumano if you are interested in joining a company that cares about your success and will help take your career to the next level." In quick notes, 1st Advantage Mortgage LLC announced it has changed its name to Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. And First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC) has named Brian Daily to the position of Managing Director for the company's Distributed Retail lending division. If you are not yet a member of MBA, you are missing out on more than usual. Through January 31, 2017, MBA is offering new members their choice of one of the following popular product and service bundles complimentary. 1. The MBA Compliance Essentials New Member Package (valued at $2,250) includes one Compliance Essentials Resource Guide (including their new HMDA guide), five enrollments into any of MBA's compliance-related self-study courses and one complimentary seat at a virtual live stream of a Compliance Essentials HMDA workshop in calendar year 2017. 2. The Education Advantage New Member Package (valued at $3,000) provides unlimited access to their library of over 130 self-study courses for up to 25 of your employees. Several lenders have already taken advantage of these offers, which come in addition to the other unparalleled member benefits you get when you join MBA. To learn more about this offer, contact Tricia Migliazzo at (202) 557-2858. Spooky sites Fall is the season of holiday spectacle in Moorpark. In December, of course, Pinedale Road transforms into Candy Cane Lane and dazzles visitors with Santa splendor. But for those who... Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at... Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all... Pakistan has a long history of political violence. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007 in a gun and bomb attack after holding an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi. New members inducted into Institute of ... French President, Francois Hollande is accusing Russia for not fulfilling its pledges in Syria. "I have been talking constantly to Russia, and Russia makes commitments that it is not keeping. Now it is time for us to conclude a cease-fire," Hollande told reporters. "We can't leave women, men and children to suffer bombing, have their safety threatened, be taken by force and treated in such an undignified manner," he said. "The regimes that support (Syrian President) Bashar Assad will have to take responsibility for this extremely serious situation." he added. Reaching out to European Union he siad, "a courageous position from the European Union, a position of sending of sending some forces to monitor the evacuation of civilians.We never asked any country to go to war ... we only ask to save civilians and secure some corridors for their evacuation," Hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed and tens of thousands displaced as the Russian-backed Syrian forces struggle to retake Aleppo. "Syrian Government is to be blamed for 'mass slaughtering' in Aleppo": John Kerry 'I killed Criminals in encounters' admits Duterte, Philippine... Lenovo's Yoga Book Launched in India T20 World Cup: The Top Controversial Moments From a Thrilling IND-BAN Contest in Adelaide T20 World Cup Points Table Update After PAK vs SA: Have India Qualified for The Semifinals? As Soon as I Knew The World Cup Was in Australia, I Was Grinning From Ear to Ear: Virat Kohli A dangerous bridge and intersection in Titusville is on the Police Departments radar after dozens of complaints from concerned residents. Many drivers speed on A. Max Brewer Bridge The speed limit is 30 mph Police have increased patrols after dozens of complaints The slower you go the safer it gets, said Bruce Wade, who walks his dog along the bridge each day. Wade hopes drivers along A. Max Brewer Bridge begin to understand this. He says the posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour isnt being observed by drivers. If I had to ride my bike in the traffic lanes I wouldnt do it, I just wouldnt do it, anywhere on this road, Wade said. However, Wade isnt the only one who has noticed the excessive speeds. The Titusville Police Department has received dozens of complaints from people who walk, bike and jog along the bridge. Since Wednesday, police have been taking an active approach to solving the issue. Theyve increased patrols along the bridge and added speed detector signs. Police will also be issuing citations to people going over the speed limit. Its a public safety issue, this is a well-traveled road we have bikers joggers walkers at all times of the day and its very, very dangerous for them to cross the street, said Amy Matthews with TPD. We are focusing on this specifically because of these complaints from pedestrians. Titusville police say there is no set time limit for how long bridge patrols will last. Officers say they want drivers to understand they need to observe the speed limit A. Max Brewer Bridge isnt the only problem area in Titusville, according to TPD. People have contacted the department about other spots and police say they will be enforcing stricter patrols in those areas as well. Lynn Goddard, broker for Street Real Estate, is retiring after 11 years with the company and many more working in different aspects of the real estate industry. I like legal work, and I love houses, shopping and people, Goddard said. Goddard grew up in Big Spring and received her journalism degree with a minor in government from Texas Tech University. She married Gaylan Goddard, agronomist and farmer, in November 1970. After her marriage, Goddard took a job with Reuel Nash, a commercial real estate developer known in Plainview for developing Village Shopping Center and the Bealls complex. I learned at the feet of the master, she said. Goddard worked with leases and contracts with Reuel Nash, and also did some free-lance public relations work and substitute teaching. Transfers in Gaylan Goddards work took the couple and their growing family to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1998 and to Yuma, Arizona, which gave Goddard an opportunity to see another side of the real estate business. We bought four houses in five years, Goddard said. We were blessed to have excellent Realtors in all those transactions, and I learned from them. I always remember my experience as a buyer when Im working with clients. Goddard became a licensed real estate broker in Yuma, working for Century 21 Cox Realty. Goddard said that her first day with Reuel Nash was Jan. 12, 1971, and that she signed papers with Kim Street on Jan. 12, 2006, 35 years later. Goddard has been active with the Plainview Association of Realtors, holding every office including president, vice president, secretary-treasurer and director. She was honored with two prestigious awards: Realtor of the Year and the Pinnacle Award. During her years in Plainview, Goddard served the community in many different organizations. She was a charter member of the Plainview Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Guild, she spearheaded the Llano Estacado Museum's unveiling of its nationally known mammoth exhibit, and was active in the Plainview Cultural Arts Council, PTA, St. Alice Catholic Church, Phi Mu Sorority, P.E.O., Omega Delphin Study Club, Plainview Jr. Service League and the Plainview chapter of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. Goddard says she was very busy during those days, but I loved it. We were blessed to have really good, talented people in Plainview and the surrounding towns, she said. The Goddards are the parents of three daughters, a pharmacist in Coppell, a CPA in San Antonio and a general manager with Marriott in Phoenix. They have two grandsons. After retirement, the couple plans to travel, taking a longed-for trip to Alaska and visiting friends they havent seen in a long time. Ive enjoyed real estate immensely, Goddard said. Ive always wanted to help people thats been my driving force. I cant thank everybody enough. Ive had lovely clients and worked with wonderful realtors. An Open House in honor of Goddards retirement is planned from 1-5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Street Real Estate, 2010 Olton Road. On a unanimous 7-0 vote, the Plainview school board on Thursday began the process for Plainview ISD to become a District of Innovation. As outlined by administrators, the implementation may take up to four months. Once implemented, the district will have added flexibility concerning certain state requirements. Among those is the uniform start date of the fourth Monday in August. Local administrators said that requirement would push the start of school in 2017 to Aug. 28, with classes running into June 2018. Districts of Innovation have the liberty to set their own start date. With that option, PISD could start classes a week earlier in August which would allow the school year to end in May. The district also could take advantage of another option on teacher certification that would permit it greater flexibility in finding instructors in the Career and Technology field. Currently, those instructors most have both extensive industry experience as well as state teacher certification. Districts of Innovation have an option to employ instructors based on extensive industrial experience and certify them to teach within the district. The Texas Legislature in 2015 authorized school districts to become Districts of Innovation, and 30 to 35 have now implemented the program, including Nazareth, Friona and Big Spring. Plainview joins several others in the region, including Amarillo, Canyon and Silverton, which are now in the process of implementing the program. The next step for Plainview will come in January when the board names a District of Innovation Advisory Committee, which will have a cross section of local community and business representatives, parents, teachers, administrators and the general public. Once a plan is developed, it will be presented in a public hearing. Ultimately, it must be approved by at least a two-thirds majority of school trustees to be implemented. Duration of the plan cannot exceed five years. Prior to launching the District of Innovation process, trustees met in closed session for about a half-hour before amending its Limitation on Appraised Value Agreement with NextEra on the Hale Wind Energy Project 3. Trustee Brandon Brownlee recused himself from those discussions since his employer, Motion Industries, has business ties with NextEra. He also abstained from the vote that approved amending the agreement, which passed 6-0. The modified agreement pushes back the start of the 10-year tax limitation period by two years, to Jan. 1, 2019, to take into account construction delays. It also increases the size of the project to 250 megawatts from 125 wind turbines. It increases the number of jobs related to the project from five to nine. The board named eight members to its District Instructional Materials Committee (formerly textbook committee). That group will be part of the adoption process for CTE and Languages other than English materials in spring 2017. Members include Leslie Carlisle, Michael Dawson, Debbie Raymond, Jimmy Fikes, Terry Nelson, Micah Blankenship, Donna Stanfield and Marcelina Nava. The board approved its members certified training credits since Jan. 1. They include Brandon Brownlee, 15 hours; Sylvia De La Garza, 14 hours; Ron Warren, 8 hours; Robert Rivera, 15 hours; Cheryl Dickerson, 15.5 hours; Adam Soto, 14 hours; and Bryan Wood, 15 hours. During the Citizen Comment period, two mothers of special needs children told the board that their sons, ages 4 1/2 and 5 years, are no longer receiving the individualized one-on-one speech lessons they have been in the past. Instead, their children have been participating in group sessions for the past two months. They both complained that the change has had a detrimental learning effect on their children. Since that issue was not on the trustees posted agenda, the board could not respond to the comments. Instead, those concerns will be investigated by PISD administrative staff which will then work to resolve the issue. Marine Lance Cpls. Pitman and Flores join Bill Wells of Bill Wells Chevrolet of Plainview in encouraging local and area residents to help them Stuff a Silverado with toys for the annual Toys For Tots program. Bill Wells Chevrolet has joined other Chevrolet dealers throughout West Texas in their annual Stuff a Silverado effort for the Marine Corps-sponsored drive to gather and distribute toys to needy children for Christmas. Those interested in donating may add new toys to the Silverado, on display in the showroom at Bill Wells Chevrolet. Midlands labor market exhibited continued strength as seen in data from the Texas Workforce Commission. The unemployment rate in the Midland metropolitan statistical area fell a second consecutive month, coming in at 3.6 percent in November from 3.9 percent in October, the commission said Friday. It is also lower than the November 2015 rate of 3.8 percent. Midland was tied with Abilene and Fort Worth-Arlington. Odessa saw a similar decline in its unemployment rate, to 5.3 percent from 5.7 percent in October. The rate is the same as November 2015. Midland also reported a gain of 1,000 jobs from October to November, led by 400 new jobs in the trade, transportation and utilities sector. Close behind was the leisure and hospitality sector with 300 jobs, mining, logging and construction with 200 jobs and the government sector with 100 jobs. A thousand jobs is phenomenal, said Willie Taylor, chief executive officer of the commissions Workforce Solutions Permian Basin. I saw that report and said Wow! Taylor said Odessa added 300 jobs from October to November and lost 400 jobs from November 2015 to November 2016. He said the jump in the trade, transportation and utilities and the leisure and hospitality sectors made sense since those businesses likely increased hiring for the holiday season. Still, he said the offices in the 17 counties he oversees have seen a decline in the number of unemployment claims and a rise in job seekers. Were still placing people, he said. He went on to say that training programs at Midland, Odessa and Howard colleges are at capacity. People are doing the right things. Midlands civilian labor force grew by about 700 from October to November, while the number of employed Midlanders grew by 960. For the 12 months from November 2015 to November 2016, Midland added 400 jobs as a 900-job loss in the trade, transportation and utilities sector was offset by 400 new jobs in the education and health services sector, 300-job gains each in the leisure and hospitality and the government sectors, 200 new jobs in the professional and business services sector and 100-job gains each in mining, logging and construction sector and other services sector. Manufacturing lost 100 jobs during that 12-month period. Midlands industrial composition continued to remain stable, with mining, logging and construction continuing to dominate with 27 percent of the composition. We do need to work on diversification, he said. Wages have also remained consistent, and Taylor said Midlands wages rank in the top 10 Texas MSAs. Taylor predicted that the labor market should hold steady through December reports. Well see what happens next year, he said. Statewide, the unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent from 4.7 percent in October. Texas has added jobs in 19 of the last 20 months with an estimated 210,800 seasonally adjusted jobs added over the past year. Amarillo, Austin-Round Rock and Lubbock are tied for posting the states lowest unemployment at 3 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission reported the highest rate at 7.1 percent, up from 6.7 percent in October. Midland unemployment January 2016 3.8 percent January 2015 2.8 percent February 2016 4 percent February 2015 3 percent March 2016 4.3 percent March 2015 3.1 percent April 2016 4.3 percent April 2015 3.1 percent May 2016 4.3 percent May 2015 3.5 percent June 2016 4.6 percent June 2015 3.8 percent July 2016 4.7 percent July 2015 3.8 percent August 2016 4.6 percent August 2015 3.7 percent September 2016 4.5 percent September 2015 3.7 percent October 2016 3.9 percent October 2015 3.8 percent November 2016 3.6 percent November 2015 3.8 percent Preliminary numbers for November with October numbers in parentheses: Amarillo: 3.0 (3.2) Austin-Round Rock: 3.0 (3.2) Lubbock: 3.0 (3.2) College Station-Bryan: 3.2 (3.4) Dallas-Plano-Irving: 3.4 (3.6) Sherman-Denison: 3.4 (3.6) San Antonio-New Braunfels: 3.5 (3.7) Abilene: 3.6 (3.8) Fort Worth-Arlington: 3.6 (3.8) Midland: 3.6 (3.9) Waco: 3.7 (3.9) San Angelo: 3.9 (4.2) Wichita Falls: 3.9 (4.1) Killeen-Temple: 4.2 (4.3) Laredo: 4.2 (4.4) Tyler: 4.2 (4.4) Texarkana: 4.3 (4.5) El Paso: 4.6 (4.8) Victoria 4.7 (4.9) Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land: 4.9 (5.1) Odessa: 5.3 (5.7) Longview: 5.5 (5.7) Corpus Christi: 5.6 (5.6) Beaumont-Port Arthur: 6.4 (6.3) Brownsville-Harlingen: 6.6 (6.6) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission: 7.1 (6.7) Jennifer Salyers A man clung for his life to an oceanside cliff in San Francisco early Friday as a rescue team used ropes to climb down and pull him to safety, officials said. Police received numerous calls of a 30-year-old man stuck on the side of the cliff about 1:30 a.m. on the 200 block of Sea Cliff Avenue, said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department. NEW YORK Books by such familiar names as J.K. Rowling, Jeff Kinney and Bill OReilly were among the top sellers of 2016. But the most unexpected presidential election in memory also led to some unexpected successes. Donald Trumps rise from celebrity candidate to improbable nominee and winner of a historic upset brought heightened attention to books old and new, fiction and nonfiction, ranging from a journalists memoir completed during the campaign to the document that Trump will swear to protect and defend upon taking the oath of office. Here are six notable releases that received a Trump Bump: J.D. Vance, The Hillbilly Elegy: Liberals befuddled by Trumps victory turned to Vances memoir about his relatives in rural Kentucky and Ohios rust belt. Megyn Kelly, Settle for More: This book was announced early in 2016, or what now seems like distant history when Trump was a long shot for the White House, and Roger Ailes was the enduring leader of Fox News. Kelly was subjected to prolonged and highly personal attacks from Trump and wrote that she received death threats from his supporters. Sinclair Lewis, It Cant Happen Here, and Philip Roth, The Plot Against America: Trumps campaign inspired some readers to seek answers in the past, not just from history, but from dystopian fiction. Lewis warning about the fragility of democracy was written in the mid-1930s, when Nazis were on the rise in Europe and populist demagogues such as Huey Long of Louisiana were seen as challengers to the re-election of President Franklin Roosevelt. In It Cant Happen Here, Lewis imagined the frightening rise of Sen. Berzelius Buzz Windrip, whose defense of The Forgotten Man and attacks on Mexicans and the media gave the novel renewed relevance in 2016. Roths book, published in 2004, was set in the authors native Newark, N.J., in the early 1940s. The premise: an authoritarian government under President Charles Lindbergh, the aviator hero who became an open anti-Semite and an America First advocate who believed the country should stay out of World War II and not fight the Nazis. The United States Constitution: For the book world at least, the most eventful speech at the Democratic National Convention was not given by the nominee, Hillary Clinton, but by the father of an American soldier killed in 2004 during the Iraq War. An emotional Khizr Khan denounced Trumps negative comments about Muslims, held up a copy of the Constitution and questioned whether Trump had read it. Donald Trump, The Art of the Deal: Published in 1987, its the first book by Trump. His repeated boasts that Art of the Deal is the all-time business best-seller have been widely disputed. Art of the Deal reached new readers despite a notable disclaimer from ghostwriter Tony Schwartz, who renounced the work and said that if he were writing it now, he would call it The Sociopath. Jennifer Summer Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team has dispatched its hundreds of volunteers on foot and by horse to help families locate loved ones. Now, Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas' member businesses and Outfront Media are donating space on digital billboards across the state to broadcast Texas EquuSearch's missing person cases. Brian Bufkin/Contributed photo Brian Bufkin retires as a sergeant next week after 25 years with the Houston Police Department. After a Saturday of rest, Christmas that Sunday and a Monday observance of the holiday, it's back to work. Bufkin and his wife, Stacie, on Dec. 27 will launch the Houston area's newest franchise of Christian Brothers Automotive at 6150 FM 1463 in Fulshear. Contra Costa County prosecutors filed motions to dismiss charges against 15 defendants in criminal cases because the Pittsburg Police Department failed to disclose the alleged misconduct of two former officers involved in the cases, officials said Thursday. The district attorney and public defenders offices agreed Monday to the dismissal of three felony cases, 10 misdemeanor cases and two infraction cases in which former Officers Michael Sibbitt and Elisabeth Ingram Terwilliger were witnesses because of questions of the officers integrity. The Pittsburg Police Department failed to inform the court of the misconduct investigations while the cases were active, officials said. According to federal wrongful-termination lawsuits against the city filed by Sibbitt and Terwilliger in August, they were placed on leave after a use-of-force incident at a mobile home park in Pittsburg. The officers attorneys say it was a retaliatory measure for complaining about departmental problems. Both officers believe the Pittsburg Police Department is attempting to throw them under the bus to cover up its own misconduct, their attorney, Scott Brown, said in a statement Thursday. Officers Sibbitt and Terwilliger adamantly deny using excessive or unwarranted force during any apprehension or arrest. The cases were dismissed after a review of all the cases involving the officers from the start of the misconduct investigation in June 2014 until their resignations in early August. In three cases, attorneys had filed motions requesting records of the officers conduct but allege the Pittsburg Police Department concealed internal misconduct reports from the files they provided the court, said Deputy Public Defender Diana Garrido. Evidence was being hidden, Garrido said. Pittsburg Police Department claimed that was inadvertent. We doubt that. Pittsburg Police Department officials did not return calls for comment. Not all cases involving the officers during the misconduct investigation time period were dismissed, Deputy District Attorney Lynn Uilkema said. The public defenders office had initially sought to dismiss 28 cases. Both agencies agreed to uphold cases with evidence strong enough to maintain convictions without relying on the officers credibility. Among the dismissed cases were charges of petty theft and disturbing the peace, misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, and providing false information to police. They also include charges of possession of controlled substances, felony charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful taking of a vehicle, possession of stolen property and commercial burglary. Only one of the dismissed cases involved a prison sentence, but the persons time in custody was served in county jail. The remainder of the dismissed cases involved penalty fines and county jail sentences, the longest being 180 days. Both Sibbitt and Terwilliger allege in their federal wrongful-termination lawsuits that officers in the department were generally told to discount felonies to misdemeanors or a suspicious circumstance and not to include use of force on reports. The misconduct investigation stemmed from Sibbitts use of a flashlight to subdue a suspect struggling with Terwilliger at Meadows Mobile Home park in April 2014, according to the suit. Sibbitt believed the suspect was armed with a gun as he wrestled with Terwilliger, although the weapon, later determined to be a BB gun, was in the mans car. The officers say in the suit that their training officer, Sgt. William Hatcher, asked them to omit the use of the flashlight from their incident report, so they complied. Terwilliger says she was asked to blame the omission on Sibbitt during a departmental interview but was punished for refusing to do so. Both officers allege they were told they would face criminal charges if they fought the misconduct investigation instead of resigning. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno An African American man arrested during a video-recorded struggle with BART police officers at a San Francisco train station was acquitted of four counts of battery on an officer after a racially charged trial. Michael Smith, 22, was found not guilty of the counts Wednesday afternoon in San Francisco Superior Court after two days of jury deliberation, said Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who personally represented Smith. He argued his client had used reasonable force to protect himself and his pregnant girlfriend after racial profiling prompted an excessive response from officers. BART denied the accusations. The theory is once an officer uses excessive force, an arrest becomes unlawful. Our strategy really focused on showing the BART police used excessive force throughout the arrest, Adachi said. Theyre expecting a violent black man who just committed a robbery. That was not true. WARNING: This video contains profanity. Jurors were split on whether to convict or acquit Smith on two additional counts of battery on a police officer, one count of resisting arrest and a lesser charge of simple battery, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial. Prosecutors are expected to decide by Friday whether to retry Smith on those charges. The charges stemmed from a July 29 confrontation at the Embarcadero Station, which happened after BART police responded to reports of a possibly armed man trying to rob a passenger on a train. Adachi argued Smith hadnt tried to rob anyone. Smartphone video posted on social media showed Smith struggling with officers and at times kicking at them. At one point, after Smith appeared to spit at an officer, the officer punched Smith in the face while he was pinned on the station platform. According to Adachi, Smith and his pregnant girlfriend had been traveling to a doctors appointment when a white man on the train told them they smelled bad and to move away, sparking an argument. The man called police and falsely reported Smith had threatened to rob him, Adachi said, telling dispatchers that Smith may have had a gun. Police did not find a weapon on Smith, and prosecutors charged him only with crimes that stemmed from the confrontation on the platform. The prosecution and defense agreed that as the train pulled into the station, officers with guns drawn ordered Smith and his girlfriend onto the platform. Body camera video from officers, BART surveillance video and smartphone recordings of the incident were shown during the trial. In one video shown to jurors, Smith struggled as he saw an officer press a knee to his prone girlfriends back, Adachi said. Amid the trial, Adachi tried to have Judge Anne-Christine Massullo removed after she ruled he could not mention in jury selection the Black Lives Matter movement or Oscar Grant, a black 22-year-old man who was shot dead by a BART police officer on New Years Day 2009. His request was denied. None of the jurors selected in the trial was African American. But juror John Mayhew said afterward that the underlying racial dynamics were clear. One of the officers had made a comment about how the minute he saw (Smith), he looked angry and he had a furrowed brow, Mayhew said. I didnt see that from the video, and it spoke to a certain amount of bias. This person looked a certain way and you were willing to react a certain way. The jurors struggled with whether Smith resisted arrest, Mayhew said, when he refused to get on the ground after the officers approached him with their guns drawn. Mayhew said several jurors spoke of recent police shootings across the nation and could imagine that Smith was thinking he might be in danger. From the moment when they said, Get down, get down, and he said no, it was only 10 seconds, Mayhew said. They didnt give him time to process what was asked of him, and right now, if youre African American, this is part of your life, part of your story. Mayhew added, I believe with all my heart that if that call had been about me, a 52-year-old white male, they would not have approached me the way they did, with their guns drawn. Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno Barbara Beno, the controversial president of the commission that has tried to revoke accreditation from City College of San Francisco, has been placed on administrative leave one month before her agency makes its final decision on the schools fate. Although not a voting member of the 19-member Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Beno has argued hard for four years in favor of revoking the colleges accreditation, a move that would shut it down. She has been a lightning rod for faculty and student anger over the commissions handling of the colleges accreditation troubles. Benos removal comes as the U.S. Department of Education is considering whether to withdraw federal recognition of the commission, a decision that would force the commission to close. In a move that could be seen as hopeful for City College, the federal government has delayed its decision about the accrediting commissions fate from this month until late February after the commission votes on whether to revoke accreditation from City College. Beno has led the private, nonprofit commission since 2001 and earned $377,243, including $32,130 in benefits, in 2014, according to the most recent tax records available. She received a 4 percent raise over the prior year even though the commission funded by dues from community colleges has been losing money for years. In 2014, the commission took in $3.8 million in revenue but spent $4.4 million, for a deficit of $665,061, tax records show. Beno said in September that she would retire in June. On Thursday, commission officials told The Chronicle only that Beno will be on leave through her pre-announced retirement but would not say why, or whether Beno will continue to receive her salary. Beno could not be reached for comment. Her spokeswoman did not return a call. Susan Lamb, City Colleges interim chancellor, said in a message to students and faculty that Beno has been placed on administrative leave. Other sources familiar with the commission confirmed that information to The Chronicle. In 2012, when the commission first alerted City College that its accreditation was in jeopardy because of problems with fiscal management and governance, Beno had the strong support of state community college officials. A year later, the commission that had overseen campus quality for half a century was the subject of two lawsuits, a state audit, a federal reprimand and vitriol from Southern California to Sacramento. In 2015, Californias community college Board of Governors voted to replace the commission with a new system a process that will take a few years. In September, three members of Congress House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco; Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough; and Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto urged the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw recognition. We wish Dr. Beno well and thank her for her service, said Paul Feist, spokesman for Californias interim community college chancellor, Erik Skinner, who has been a voting member of the commission since 2014. We look forward to working with the new leadership and will continue to focus on improving the structure and operations of the (commission) to address long-standing issues of concern to our colleges. Richard Winn, the commissions vice president of operations, has been named interim president. Imagine sitting in the same chair for more than 5,000 hours. Week after week, month after month, for 24 years sitting in a swivel chair in board and committee meetings to analyze $600 million budgets, update policies whether important or obscure, and vote on whom to hire and fire. San Francisco school board member Jill Wynns doesnt have to imagine. She did it. And Tuesday night was her last in the swivel chair. Wynns, 69, attended her last official board meeting. She holds the record as the longest-serving member in the citys history. It will be a tough record to break. The six-term veteran, who lost her bid for re-election in November, has seen eight superintendents and served as president of the board six times. She was known as the voice of institutional knowledge, with an expertise in finances typically the one on the board asking her fellow elected officials how the district was going to pay for a proposed program. She was an ardent supporter of the Junior Reserve Officers Training Program, the JROTC, and a vehement opponent of Teach for America. She helped establish the Parent Advisory Council and helped push through four facilities bonds and a parcel tax. She earned city and state recognitions this week and was acknowledged Tuesday by students, staffers and other board members. Former interim Superintendent Gwen Chan shared memories of Wynns, including the time she remained with Lincoln High students through an all-night vigil after an administrator died in a tragic accident. Many cited her expertise, dedication and kindness. Youve always been supportive, someone whos given me advice not only about what to do, but what this district is about, said board Vice President Shamann Walton. You have been the epitome of what a public servant is and should be. Wynns, who like other trustees is paid $500 a month, reminisced about her years on the board and all the superintendents with whom she worked. She noted how she was the only parent elected to the board in the 1980s. Even in the eight years before she was elected, she attended most board meetings. Be courageous, speak out and, especially, Im asking you to speak out against the privatization of education, Wynns said in her often teary final remarks Tuesday. There are people in power who are dedicated to ending the public school system in America. So Im asking you to fight, she said, because thats what its going to take. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker Peace on Earth, goodwill toward all is fine and good, and were looking forward to presents, but lets get to the other great part of the holiday: great food. If youre looking for a special menu on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, a special buffet or some great flavors for takeout, different establishments around town are offering a range of options at different price ranges. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate BRIDGEPORT This heavily diverse city has a white man Joe Ganim sitting behind the mayors desk. But by early January, two black women from outside Bridgeports traditional Democratic circles will be his most powerful advisers, addressing criticism that Ganims office has been too Caucasian, too male and too green. A year after winning back City Hall following a 12-year absence, Ganim this week announced over a half dozen personnel changes at the top of his administration. Kimberly Staley, hired in July to a deputy post, and Christine Bartlett-Josie, who had a turbulent one-month stint on the payroll earlier this year, will be helping to call the shots as, respectively, Ganims chief administrative officer and deputy chief of staff. The former will oversee numerous departments as a second-in-command, the latter manage the mayors office. Staley as of Jan. 3 replaces John Gomes, who was demoted. And while Bartlett-Josie, who starts work Dec. 27, has the deputy in front of her title, the mayor is not replacing current Chief of Staff Danny Roach when Roach becomes a special projects coordinator in the new year. He put them in there because he has trust and faith in them and they have proven themselves over the course of their careers to be excellent at what they do, Ganim spokesman Av Harris said. And they do happen to be two strong, professional administrators who are also black women. The pair, through Harris, declined to be interviewed for this story. Ganim hired Staley this past summer to oversee a new initiative helping ex-offenders find employment. She lives in West Hartford but grew up in the since-demolished Father Panik Village housing project. And her resume boasted significant private sector managerial experience. Bartlett-Josies road to the mayors office began when she helped Roach run Ganims general election campaign in late summer and early fall, 2015. She had already worked on Democratic mayoral and gubernatorial campaigns in Connecticut, and with Harris for the Secretary of the State. As previously reported, Bartlett-Josie was hired earlier this year to oversee the citys minority business program, but left after a few weeks over clashes in styles and personalities with other advisers. Harris characterized Bartlett-Josie as honest, very direct and at times blunt. I think there were some people whose feathers were a little bit ruffled (by her), Harris said. But I think what the mayor has come to recognize is that type of professional administrative ability and honest feedback is really what we need in city government. Harris said Bartlett-Josie as deputy chief of staff will help the mayors office run more professionally, smoothly, (be) more policy oriented and more effective. He also emphasized her political ties to Democrats statewide. And although she lives in New Haven, Harris said Bartlett-Josie made very strong connections with people in Bridgeport during the campaign and the (mayoral) transition. Reactions to Staleys and Bartlett-Josies powerful new roles were mixed. Lisa Parziale, an ex-Ganim supporter who criticized the mayors initial hires, said of Bartlett-Josie: Shes no nonsense, knows what shes doing. Shes just going to knock it out of the box. Ralph Ford, one of the black leaders who last winter pressured the returned mayor to diversify his advisers after Bartlett-Josies departure, also praised her no-nonsense approach. Ford also believes that Ganim consciously elevated Bartlett-Josie and Staley because of more recent criticism from African American leaders. Ganim alarmed some in that community when he claimed President-elect Donald Trump, who years ago tried to build a casino in Bridgeport and whose recent campaign appealed to white nationalists, is not a racist and is a good man. And the Ganim administration has been lambasted for not hiring a black fire chief and for demoting a black police lieutenant. I think Joe is feeling some heat, Ford said. Im sure that played into his decision. Councilwoman Milta Feliciano, who runs the citys veterans affairs office, was glad to have two women in key positions. But, Feliciano added, Where is the top ranking Hispanic in the mayors office? This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Albany Renee Kanas is about to live off taxpayers again this time behind bars. A judge sentenced the 64-year-old Florida woman to six months in jail and five years of probation Friday for stealing more than $148,000 that the New York state retirement system sent her late father unaware the man was dead. Investigators said she withdrew money from her dead father's account and wrote checks to herself to pay for cruises with Royal Caribbean and the Batik Cruise line, which includes a focus on quilting seminars for its passengers. Kanas also used her father's money on airfare for Southwest and JetBlue airlines and to pay for her personal garbage pick-up, cable bills, utilities and water bills. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin ordered Kanas to pay the more than $148,000 back in restitution; she has already paid $45,000 from the sale of her home in Tamarac in Broward County, Fla. "I'd like to say I'm sorry. I regret it. I would like to be able to pay it all back," Kanas told the judge. Investigators working for state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman busted Kanas in June. Kanas initially faced up to 15 years but cut a deal with prosecutors in which she pleaded to guilty June 30 to third-degree grand larceny in exchange for no more than two to six years in prison. Assistant Attorney General Philip Apruzzese asked the judge to sentence Kanas to a range no lower than four months and no higher than two to six years. Kanas' attorney, Assistant Public Defender Angela Kelley, asked for a sentence on the low end. She told the judge Kanas has "struggled with adult responsibilities throughout her life," as determined by a pre-sentencing report compiled by the county probation department. Kelley said family members informed her Kanas has mental health issues that have gone unaddressed. Kanas' father, Jacob Yudenfreund, received a state pension but opted for reduced monthly payments so his wife, Doris Yudenfreund, could receive benefits after he died. When his wife died before him, that money was due to end with his death. But when he died in March 2010 at 85, Kanas did not report the death to the state retirement system, officials said. Kanas reaped payments the retirement system kept depositing into an account, which she shared with her late father, until January 2015. Kanas arrived for her sentencing joined by her niece, Emily Callaghan, who flew up with the defendant from Florida. Kanas was married to Callaghan's paternal uncle. "It's not like she was receiving these checks in the mail, forging them and going to the bank. They were put in a joint account with her and her father's name," Callaghan, who was in tears during the court appearance, told the Times Union. "Like I stated to the judge in a letter, 'Ignorance is not bliss.' She just didn't know better. It's sad to say but she's been taken care of her whole life from her parent's home into my uncle's home and she just didn't know better ... she's not well." rgavin@timesunion.com 518-434-2403 @RobertGavinTU This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Greenwich The community will come together in song Saturday to remember 13-year-old Joshua Demarest, who died tragically after being buried in a snow pile. Demarest was digging a snow fort Tuesday with 12-year-old Tyler Day in a lot used by the village to dump cleared snow when a truck unknowingly dumped a load of snow on top of the boys. Day was rescued, and suffered hypothermia. Demarest was unresponsive and died later that night. The accident dealt a devastating blow to the tight-knit Washington County community, which responded with words and prayers of support and donations to help the family cover funeral costs. A holiday caroling event planned for downtown businesses on Saturday is now scheduled to culminate with a "community sing" for Demarest. The event will also serve as a show of support for Day and his family, organizers said, as well as Greenwich-Cambridge Police, State Police, EMS, rescuers, local fire departments, and the Department of Public Works. The sing begins at noon at the corner of Main and Salem streets near the OneOneOne restaurant and Washington Square Deli. All are invited to sing along to "Silent Night." Meanwhile, the GoFundMe page that was set up to help cover funeral costs has surpassed its goal of $10,000. As of Friday evening, 654 people had raised $28,759 over two days. bbump@timesunion.com 518-454-5387 @bethanybump A Boston-area man was arraigned Friday on assault charges in the shooting and stabbing two Boston-based college students from Rensselaer County last weekend in a marijuana deal gone bad. The victims, whom town officials identified as Columbia High School graduates Logan Marschner and Luke Ceresia, remain hospitalized in critical condition. In a news release, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said that just after 4 p.m. Sunday, Jonathan Chavez and at least one other person went to Sunset Street in the Mission Hill neighborhood to ostensibly buy a large quantity of pot but pulled out a weapon when it came time to pay. The victims, ages 21 an 22 years old, were stabbed and shot before their attackers fled. Marschner and Ceresia, students at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, were rushed to separate hospitals and underwent multiple surgeries. An investigation by Boston police detectives led to Chavez's arrest Thursday night. Police say he had cuts on his hand and on knees, possibly the result of a struggle during the robbery. Chavez, 20, was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court Friday on two counts each of armed assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon plus one count each of armed home invasion and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to return to court Jan. 5. Police are still trying to identify the second assailant and are asking anyone who may have information to call them at (617) 343-4470. The case is being handled by Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Julie Higgins with homicide unit. The victim's family members have established gofundme.com web pages to raise funds to pay expenses related to the shootings. Ceresia is the nephew of retired Supreme Court Judge George Ceresia and is the cousin of Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia. Andrew Ceresia declined to comment about the shooting of his cousin. MILFORD A new series of walking trail maps, covering popular areas like Beaverbrook, Silver Sands and Solomon Woods. Mayor Ben Blake and Steve Johnson, the citys open space agent, discussed the new maps in a video shot at the Mondo Ponds recreation area in north Milford. Were encouraging all Milford residents to take a hike; we have fantastic trails, Blake said. Ive always said Milford is a place you have to walk to appreciate. The maps were produced and paid for by the city and the regional Council of Governments, the mayor said. Subway Inc. enhanced and upgraded the trails at Mondo Ponds, a former watershed area, Johnson said. Walking in Solomon Woods makes you feel like youre in Vermont or New Hampshire, he said. The maps include directions to the parking areas, he said. The new trail maps are available here. Milfords Favorite Walks, an earlier guide prepared by the late Rutheva Brockett, is available as a free download here. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate GREENWICH A youth explosion in India is bucking that nations traditional ideas about destiny, a reporter told a Greenwich audience this week. This has never happened before in recorded human history as far as I can tell, Somini Sengupta told a crowd of around 100 at Greenwich Library. It was immediately clear to me that the youth was such a defining factor in India. Sengupta is a former New Delhi and Dakar bureau chief for the New York Times who now lives in Brooklyn with her family and covers the United Nations for the newspaper. Her new book, The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among Indias Young, is about the massive youth population in her native country. She chronicles the lives of Indian youths as they struggle to chase their own aspirations despite Indias caste system, and often against the futures their parents had laid out for them. I wrote about seven young people, Sengupta said. Just seven in a billion. Born in India, Sengupta was raised in California but brought back to visit her family in Calcutta frequently throughout her childhood. In Greenwich, she told the story of a young woman who wanted to be a police officer, but was told by her father that it wasnt possible because he wouldnt be able to find anyone to marry a policewoman. The girl excelled in school and eventually earned a spot in college, exceeding her fathers expectation and showing that rules that reared earlier generations might no longer apply. Sengupta said the caste system doesnt so much determine occupation for newer generations, but it still holds sway over who people marry and socialize with. They are markers of identity rather than of occupation, Sengupta said. Its a remarkably similar story for me as an American. The larger ramifications of the youth boom in India, which has a population expected to exceed Chinas in 2022, are difficult to decipher, Sengupta said. Its an unenviable challenge for any government, especially a democratically elected one, Sengupta said. Despite its galloping trends of economic growth, India is home to the largest numbers of malnourished children in the world. Sengupta said she set out to write a book strictly about other people, which was her default as a journalist, but the final product has a lot more of her own experiences than she initially intended it to. It became a deeply personal book in a way I didnt expect it to, Sengupta said. I was surprised at the limits of my own knowledge about India. Its only when we are abroad that we recognize how American we are. The event was hosted by the India Cultural Center of Greenwich, Greenwich Library and VEERNI, a non-profit based in Monroe, N.Y. with the goal of helping to educate girls in India. More information on her book can be found on her website, at www.sominisengupta.com. pfrissell@hearstmediact.com; @PeregrineFriss For decades, political science students have been taught the late Richard Neustadt's battle-tested maxim that the power of the president is the power to persuade. I don't think he ever imagined Twitter, and he certainly didn't imagine a Donald Trump in the White House. What for decades looked like a challenge requiring skill and leadership turns out to require nothing more than a Twitter account and a nation of followers. With all the attention to Russia, consider this: Is Trump's MO really so different from Vladimir Putin's? The idea that every word the president says needs to be carefully considered because of its potential influence has been upended by a man who sees that very vulnerability as a source of unlimited power, so long as he is oblivious to all the criticism about being "unpresidential." So Lockheed Martin woke up Monday morning to find that the president-elect of the United States had "tweeted," in fewer than 140 characters, disapproval of their F-35 fighter-jet program. It's not that Trump is the first president or president-elect to single out a company for criticism. But generally, there is some warning. Generally, there is a particular trigger. Generally, there is an opportunity to respond before the president-elect of the United States tells millions of people that your project is a waste of money. But in a bonanza for the public relations industry, the general rules don't apply. My guess is that there isn't a CEO in America today, and certainly not one that does business with the government, who didn't look at what was happening to Lockheed Martin and say to themselves: "It could be us next." And what do you do to avoid that? Presumably, there is a simple answer to that: Stay on his good side - and maybe make a major donation. Is this responsible? No. But if people were looking for the most responsible candidate for president, they would have picked Hillary Clinton. It pains me to see Clinton's campaign team defensively looking for a scapegoat for their defeat. The signs, as my friend Bonnie says, were right there: On the worst days of the campaign, when the Billy Bush tape was everywhere and women were in line to accuse the future president not just of inappropriate flirting but of forced sex, Hillary Clinton was still only ahead by 3 points and never solidly held 50 percent. If you think about it - many of us were, frankly, afraid to - there were also too many "undecided" voters. How can anyone, after her 25 years in the spotlight, be undecided about Hillary Clinton? If you weren't ready to vote for her yet, how likely is it that you're going to go her way in the end? These weren't the usual independent undecided voters; they were people who really didn't want to vote for Hillary Clinton. Would they have voted for Joe Biden? Maybe. He might have done better among angry white men and maybe even among educated women who have always been ambivalent about Clinton (for reasons that have been discussed to death). But it doesn't matter. This is a democracy. In a democracy, you win some and you lose some, and when you lose, you do it with as much grace as you can muster. I feel very sorry for Hillary Clinton, as I would for anyone who spends years trying to achieve a great goal and falls just short, whether of a gold medal or an oval office. Everyone thought Trump was beatable - even members of his own staff were saying so on election night - but he wasn't, at least not by Hillary Clinton. Some of that is about her, but the point isn't just that Clinton lost. Trump won the Electoral College, which is how you win the presidency under our Constitution. We were all horrified when Trump suggested he might not respect the results of the election. How can the same rules not apply to us? Trump won. What we saw is what we are getting. This is not fake news. If only. To find out more about Susan Estrich and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. The Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 13 for Espresso Prints, a shop that combines a digital print shop with a mini coffee bar. Espresso Prints is owned by Jamil Carbo and officially opened on Dec. 13 with its ribbon cutting ceremony. Carbo initially wanted to just do a print shop but a few suggestions eventually led him to blend this concept with a bit of relaxation through coffee. "In the tech industry, coffee is a huge staple," he said. Espresso Prints handles a number of items many digital print shops do, such as creating logos and brochures, designing websites, business cards, postcards, newsletters and other items. The shop also handles email marketing, faxes, copying and other functions. While the shop is a digital print shop, Carbo invites anyone to come in and enjoy themselves with both coffee and free WiFi. "I'm going to have events for the locals," said Carbo. Carbo plans to have events such as live music and video game tournaments for teenagers. "I also want to host workshops every so often," he said. Espresso Printing is located on 104 N Travis Ave. in Cleveland, Texas. For more information call 281-761-7846 or email at espressoprints@gmail.com. Espresso Prints also has a Facebook page of the same name and a website at http://www.espressoprints.dx.am/. If youre not a tech expert, local SEO can be daunting. From the outside, it may seem like a lot of speculation and experimentation without consistent results. And yet, it can have a big impact on your business success. Just consider these statistics: Related: 5 SEO Techniques You're Doing All Wrong Heres the good news: If you dont know much about local SEO, but are ready to put it to work, youve come to the right place. Below are tips from 12 SEO experts to help you dominate your local search engine rankings. 1. Chris Rodgers Save time and money -- and boost rankings -- by outsourcing the labor-intensive task of managing bulk local listings. Local SEO can be tricky to manage; its time-consuming work that can end up being quite expensive for the client. The truth is that outside of citation-building, traditional SEO factors such as on-page content, back links and technical crawl health have a very big impact on local SEO rankings. "At our agency, weve found that using tools and outside resources can minimize the cost in managing local listings. Rio and Bright Local are two platforms that stand out as good options for managing bulk local listings. Beyond local SEO platforms, we also work with clients in-house resources to perform listing management under our direction. "Since this part of local SEO requires a fairly low-skill set and is quite time-consuming, finding a way to outsource effectively can save clients loads of money that is better spent on more challenging aspects of SEO." -- Chris Rodgers, of Colorado SEO Pros 2. Chris Everett Theres no hard, fast rule about local landing pages. Deciding how many to add to your website depends on your location and whats being targeted. Sometimes, the thought of creating a bunch of local landing pages can cause a little bit of panic among clients. But if you want to optimize your site for multiple locations, you have to take the leap. Its just a matter of taking into account whats being targeted. "For instance, if a company has a dozen statewide locations, then it makes sense to have a landing page for each location. However, if a company operates in one small area, and the surrounding municipalities have a low population, a dozen landing pages is overkill. Instead, stick to targeting the one city and surrounding areas on the same page. -- Chris Everett, Atlanta SEO Consultant 3. Chris Lara Take advantage of a directory submission services for relevant link-building. Directory link-building is a valuable factor if you want to boost rankings. But it needs to be strategic and intentional -- and requires a lot of manual time and effort as a result. To help build links that scale, use a site like directorymaximizer.com. "Outsourcing to a service like this saves time by finding the most relevant web directories for your unique site. It also manually submits to each directory. That way, you can quickly and effectively build a diverse link profile while also focusing on other SEO and business priorities. -- Chris Lara of Lara Master Creations 4. Will Guthrie The domain name you choose plays an important role in SEO that can impact your rankings. When youre first launching your business, think through the domain name you choose. The one you decide on can ultimately have a big impact on SEO. You might think that including targeted keywords is a surefire way to boost SEO. But that approach has actually lost ground in recent years. "Today, Google likes authenticity and uniqueness. So, focus on promoting your brand through your domain. Just make sure its easy to spell, short, relevant and memorable. Also, keep in mind that any name you select will take at least several months to rank. -- Will Guthrie, of Blue Laser Design 5. Erick Carlson You can get high rankings from just effective, quality content. If you want your site to rank locally, you need good content. Dont know where to start? Take a look at the top five or 10 ranking local sites in your industry and use them as inspiration. "Also, create 500-to-700 word pages based on each targeted keyword (such as "plumbing repair"). Include pictures with alt tags, along with reviews or testimonials. Every single product and service should have its own page, complete with a description, pictures, tags and categories. -- Erick Carlson, of WebTechs.Net 6. Kyle Sanders Claim multiple listings on page one of Google by leveraging untapped authoritative directories in your industry. Find three or four well-known business directory websites in your industry and check the first four pages of Google for your target keyword and see if those websites currently show up in the search results. "If a directory website does not show up, list your business on that site and thoroughly complete all of their requested fields including a full description, as many photos as possible and several customer reviews. Finally, build links to that specific directory page, and eventually it should rank, based on the existing domain authority, industry relevance, added content and growing authority." -- Kyle Sanders, of Complete Web Resources Related: 4 Things Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About SEO 7. Andrew Hagni Optimizing your website for search engines starts with great on-site content. There isnt any secret formula or magic trick for getting organic SEO results. You need to have the best content possible, along with creating a great design and user experience for your customers. "When Im working on a project for a client, I actually create a simple checklist that starts with great content. If you have strong content, not only will you be more recognizable by Google's algorithm, but customers and prospects will actually come to and stay on your site longer. -- Andrew Hagni of Byers Creative 8. Andrew Tuzson Accurate and consistent citations are critically important because Google uses them to evaluate the online authority of your business. When Im working with a new client, the very first step in the process is to check their citation information. This includes any mention of their business details, such as name, address and phone number, on any web page. "Citations can be structured, like on Yelp, or unstructured, such as in a news article. But what Im looking for is to make sure theyre all accurate, up-to-date and consistent. This is important because search engines rely on the consistency of your online business information. If its not consistent, it can impact results. -- Andrew Tuzson, of Evol Empire Creative 9. Gayatri Patel Link-building and keywords are fundamental components of good SEO. If you could only focus on two things, I would say aggressive link-building and identifying the right keywords to rank for. Once you have your keywords in mind, then you need to create unique landing pages for each set. Also, dont forget to update meta titles and meta descriptions to correlate with the keywords. "Combined with internal linking, this approach allows the domain to boost itself without red-flagging Google. Let this all marinate for several months and youll see some fantastic results. -- Gayatri Patel of Basic Branding 10. Shailen Lodhia Ranking No. 1 is pointless without a positive impact on conversion and sales. Unless SEO leads to conversions, its worthless. So, if someone clicks on your site and immediately leaves due to weak content or a poor user experience, then all the optimization in the world doesnt matter. You need to be focusing on conversion once a prospect gets to your website. "I measure it by how many people go to the "Contact" page because theyre going there for a phone number or email address. -- Shailen Lodhia of EXPRESEO 11. Steve Schawb Use your business network as the foundation of your local link-building effort. Get the basics right first, including local link development. If you dont know where to start, just look to your network of contacts. This includes business owners, suppliers, vendors, chambers of commerce, business associations, charities and non-profits you work with -- and your local newspaper -- as well as local bloggers. "Not very many people look at these connections as lucrative business opportunities. But having other authoritative local organizations link to your site is a low-risk proposition that has the potential to yield big results in terms of local SEO. -- Steve Schawb of Digital Eel 12. Skyler Malley There isnt any one tactic thats going to help you increase rankings. Take a multi-dimensional approach built on the basics. I recommend taking a three-pronged approach to SEO. First, make sure your Google My Business page is optimized and correct and also has the right business name, address and phone (NAP). "Next, use a local syndication service like Moz Local, Yext or Advice Local, to make sure the correct NAP is on all the major local websites. And, finally, invest some effort into traditional link-building. This is really still where youre going to get the biggest bang for your buck in terms of rankings. -- Skyler Malley of Firestarter SEO Related: These 9 SEO Tips Are All You'll Ever Need to Rank in Google Dont be intimidated by SEO. It can be your best friend if you use these simple, yet proven, strategies from the experts to boost your businesss online visibility. When you do, youll be well on your way toward building your brand, expanding your reach and ultimately gaining an edge over the competition. Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Source: Google Maps, Nov. 2015 FAIRFIELD A Roger Ludlowe Middle School cafeteria employee was fired recently after giving students free food, among other inappropriate interactions, according to Fairfield Police. After school staff found out about the conduct, the man was swiftly fired, police said. The interactions had involved about 10 middle schoolers. NORWALK Near the south end of Freese Park stands a stone monument with plaque dedicated to the parks namesake. From 1947 to 1959, Irving C. Freese served five terms as mayor of Norwalk. I think he probably brought a lot of new people into the political process. People knew well that he was a Socialist and then he was an Independent, said his son, Jasper Freese, a retired engineer now living in Colorado. It was unusual to be a Socialist politician and be successful in those times. Irving left his mark as Norwalk and the rest of the United States returned to local bread-and-butter issues after World War II. The annual city budget, the 1955 flood and an emerging appreciation of the citys history were all part of the era. Norwalk historian Ralph C. Bloom said he first met Irving in 1960 as a battle brewed over what should become of Lockwood Mathews Mansion. In a referendum, voters decided to save the mansion. Freese lent his support to the preservation effort, Bloom said. Before the battle, however, Bloom remembers Irving as a pragmatist who during the 1950s held city meetings in the mansions library while using other parts of the building for storage. After the war, people wanted to get more or less back to normalcy and the mansion as preservation project hadnt reached maturity, Bloom said. Its one thing for the house to be a house, but he looked at it as the city didnt have funds (for storage) and didnt have warehousing but the space was there. The citys Rationing Board had used the mansion during the war to store snowplows and voting machines, according to the book NORWALK: being an historical account of that Connecticut town, as published by the Norwalk Historical Society in 1979. In 1946, Freese attended nearly city council meeting ready to bring up matters that would embarrass the Democrats. He was elected to his first term in 1947 and easily re-elected in 1949. Two years later, he broke with Socialist Party and organized the local Independent Party, according to the book. Even while he wore the Socialist label; however, Freese was a combination of the two other parties Republican in his concern for fiscal caution and efficiency in government, and Democratic in his understanding of what the average voter wanted, wrote Deborah Wing Ray and Gloria P. Stewart in the book. Irvings respect among members of the Norwalk Independent Party endured long after his death in September 1964. Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead, who first served as an Independent and later as a Republican, said Irving was Norwalks longest-serving mayor until Republican Frank J. Esposito (1987 to 2001). Irving was at the helm as Norwalks population grew and new elementary schools were built to accommodate the boom. He was also mayor when flooding struck in October 1955, destroying the Wall Street neighborhood. His involvement in the recovery may have cost him re-election that year and helped him back into office for a fifth term in 1957, Hempstead said. He was dealing with his duties as mayor because he was a hands-on guy, Hempstead said of Irvings response to the flood. Thats why, I think, he got his next term. Democrat Frank N. Zullo, who served three terms as mayor in the late 1960s, remembers as a child meeting Irving on West Avenue where Irving ran a photography shop before being elected mayor. How Irving went on to become a five-term mayor was a mystery for some, according to Zullo. The story always went that nobody voted for Freese, but he won all the elections, Zullo said. But he won the elections because he did a pretty good job in the community. Irving was related, through his wife, to Jasper McLevy, the Socialist mayor of Bridgeport from 1933 to 1957. In 1930, before becoming mayor, Freese founded Troop 19. The Boy Scout troop still exists today at Cornerstone Community Church, next door to the main library. It has produced 77 Eagle Scouts in its 86-year history. The Hale Extension Education Association met Dec. 5 in the home of Carol Williamson, Abernathy EEA Club Member, for their Annual Christmas Gathering. The day was highlighted by announcement of the 2016 Woman of the Year. This years recipient is Martha Todd. Mrs. Todd has been a member of Texas Extension Education Association and the Snyder Jr. Club for seven years. She has served her club as treasurer and secretary. Having only been a member for seven years, she has been very active and involved in TEEA. She has been a delegate to state and district conferences. She assisted with the District Meeting which was held at Wayland Baptist University and has attended several others. She assisted other club and county members in preparing craft items for the country store which is held as a fundraiser during the state conferences. Mrs. Todd has attended state meetings at Wichita Falls, Waco and San Marcos. She gives interesting and informative programs for her club and county-wide programs from the materials received at the state conferences. Mrs. Todd was born and raised in Port Arthur and graduated from Nederland High School. She furthered her education graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Education from Lamar University in Beaumont. Mrs. Todd has been married to Jim Todd for 46 years. They are blessed with two sons. She has been involved in education for most of her life beginning with the teaching of multiple handicapped children for four years. Next, she became certified as a school librarian, spending 17 of 18 years in Plainview PISD. She belongs to the College Heights Baptist Church where she volunteers as the church librarian, teaches a womens Sunday school class and helps with food for various church events. She is also an active member of the Breakfast Lions Club. She and her husband provide good fresh food for the Farmers Market during the summer months. Crafts and reading take up her spare time. Members of the Snyder Jr. Club have to say about Mrs. Todd, She is very dependable and easy to work with. Everyone present enjoyed lunch followed by fellowship and the opportunity to check their Christmas knowledge of Christmas Trivia and songs. The Extension Education club members each year sponsor a community service project. This year food items were donated to the local Food Bank in Abernathy. In lieu of a Chinese Christmas ornament exchange members brought clothing items to donate to the Angel Tree Christmas of Abernathy. Members present for the days activities were Abernathy Club members Carol Williamson, Ann Reilly, Pat Danford, Sue Lott, Kaylene Layton and guest Mona Toler; Snyder Jr. Club members Susie Starnes, Anna Ann Robertson, Gena Doyle, Martha Todd and Nelda VanHoose; and County Extension Agent-FCS Deana Sageser. For more information about TEEA or to join a TEEA club contact Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Hale County at 291-5270 or come by 225 Broadway, Suite 6 in Plainview. 1 Execution slow down: The state of Texas, long the nations leader in executions, lost that distinction in 2016, and its two-most-populous counties didnt send a single convicted killer to Death Row, according to a new report. The change is because of growing legal and public hesitance to impose the ultimate punishment, according to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Texas juries sent only three convicted killers to Death Row this year and none of them came from the two most populous counties Harris including Houston, and Dallas including Dallas-Fort Worth. Those two Texas counties have accounted for more people put to death than any other counties in the nation since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 2 Ex-gang members windfall: A federal jury has awarded a former Chicago street gang member $22 million after he claimed two city police officers framed him for a 1984 double murder. The jurys civil trial award was announced Thursday after 2 days of deliberations. Former Death Row inmate Nathson Fields was convicted in 1986 of killing two rival gang members. The onetime El Rukn member was released in 2003 and acquitted in a 2009 retrial. Fields claimed the officers violated his civil rights by withholding evidence from defense attorneys that could have pointed away from him as the killer. City attorneys have maintained that Fields is guilty of the killings and deny evidence was concealed from him. It was through exhaustive research, painstaking attention to detail, passionate ambition and skilled craftsmanship that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alum Gonzalo Gonz Jose Jove painted Missouris largest African American history mural. Jove, who received a bachelors in sculpture from SIUE in 1979, spent the last 2- years creating the artwork that is 95 feet long, five feet high and graces the entryway of Better Family Life (BFL) Community Center, 5415 Page Blvd. in St. Louis. It was unveiled to the public on October 21. The mural starts with the face of an African child rising out of the universe and scenes of African life, and ends with the universe looking down at a futuristic thriving African American community in north St. Louis. In between, the pictorial documentary shows poignant periods of black history such as the Middle Passage, abolitionism and the Underground Railroad, emancipation, East St. Louis race riots, the civil rights era, and the Michael Brown shooting and Ferguson unrest. The mural also spotlights great black figures such as Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, Madame C.J. Walker, Ida B. Wells, Muhammad Ali and President Barack Obama. "I felt empowered to do this mural on African American history. I was also humbled, said the Bolivian born artist from La Paz. Many people have asked why I was selected, because Im not black. But Im human. Were all the same. Jove said he and his artist son, Alex, spent six months researching black history before doing any artistic work. Alex also helped paint some of the mural. In Western Africa, they had running water 200 years before the Romans, he said. There was so much richness and knowledge to grasp as it relates to African and African American history, and I immersed myself in it. When researching black history and creating the piece, Jove recalled his experiences with injustices and discrimination, both in his native country and in the U.S. In Bolivia, 10 percent of the people were of European descent. There are some parallels to Bolivia and the U.S. In Bolivia, the 10 percent dominated the indigenous people for more than 500 years, Jove said. At times, the indigenous people couldnt walk on the same sidewalk as the Europeans. Joves family initially came to the U.S. in 1966. Later, Jove found himself attending a basically all-white high school in St. Louis. There were only one or two Latinos and one or two African Americans who attended the school. I got picked on, and I started looking to my drawing and painting to express myself, said Jove. Jove was commissioned to paint several murals for Bolivia. One depicted social relevance, one was historic and the other was about justice. His other St. Louis works include a project for the St. Louis Art Museum in 2013. Renee Franklin, a representative with the Regional Arts Commission and the St. Louis Arts Museum, referred Jove to the Better Family Life Youth Program. The program was looking for an artist to work with youth after school and was inspired after viewing Joves portfolio. DeBorah Ahmed (director of the BFL Cultural, Educational and Business Center) said she had been looking for a muralist for the longest time, Jove said. When she saw my work, she said I was the one who had to do the mural. I prefer doing murals, because they tell a story, he said. I love to do research and learn more about humanity. I dont understand, though, how there remains this inhumanity throughout history. When asked what were some of the hardest or more powerful parts of the process for him, the artist visibly choked and began to weep. There were parts of the mural that were extremely emotional. There were times when I was crying and painting at the same time, Jove said. Millions of people died crossing the Atlantic due to sickness and despair, and their bodies were thrown overboard. The horrific crossing trained the sharks to follow the slave ships, because they knew they were going to get food. Thats why I painted sharks in the water. However, the mural does end on a positive note. I believe in the positivity of humanity and the strength of community, Jove said. Thats why I believe that there can be revitalization and restructuring of north St. Louis that will renew the area. So, I painted a vibrant African American community. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville hosted a delegation from Tongmyong University (TU), of Busan, South Korea, Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 5-7, during which the administrators from the two institutions discussed expanding their strong academic collaborations. A partnership between the institutions started in 2014 when a formal agreement was made to offer a 2+2 dual diploma program between TU and the SIUE School of Engineering. The wealth of experiential learning opportunities provided in both engineering schools present a good match between the two institutions, said Cem Karacal, PhD, dean of the SIUE School of Engineering. This joint degree program is a mutually beneficial collaboration. It is an excellent way of not only sharing engineering knowledge and know-how between nations, but also presents a tremendous opportunity for students to learn about each others cultures, values and languages. According to Mary Weishaar, PhD, executive director of International Affairs at SIUE, discussions during the visit included a consideration of how TU, SIUE and ESLi (English as a Second Language International) can provide short-term programming for TU students, the feasibility of expanding the existing 2+2 program to include the School of Business, and possibilities of other program collaborations, such as a 1+3 where students would attend TU for one year and SIUE for three years. When initiating international collaborations, what is most important is to get to know partner institutions in detail, said Soondo Kweon, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Engineering. These face-to-face meetings between leaders are critical in guiding directions for future collaboration. During their visit, TUs Board Director Eui-Tack Suh, Vice President Tae-Jung Lho and Assistant Professor Kyung-Sung Kim, also had the opportunity to observe TU students presenting their senior design course projects. These included the design and fabrication of a mechanical apparatus that melts 3D printed parts, and injects them into wire to be reused as a raw material for 3D printing and an air-conditioning system that automatically turns on or off by detecting human presence in the room. We value effective international partnerships such as this, Karacal said. These collaborations improve the diversity in our school and invoke interest among our domestic students about other cultures and how engineering knowledge can be applied in other parts of the world to solve problems. Korea is a nation known for engineering innovations and technology companies. We are happy to have this partnership with TU. Since the Memorandum of Understanding between SIUE and TU was signed, several faculty members have engaged in exchanges for teaching and research. In June 2017, SIUE students and an engineering faculty member will visit TU for 10 days to take a study abroad course where they will work on joint design projects with TU students. When SIUE students visit TU they get to learn not only technical contents, but also are exposed to international cultures, which will be highly beneficial when they are involved with international projects in the future, Kweon said. Midland ISD will not let the latest state accountability ratings system deter it from its mission to improve academic outcomes and student achievement. That is the opinion of MISD board President Rick Davis, who said the system -- which will use a single-letter grade (A through F) to rate campuses and districts -- doesnt tell the whole story of what is taking place inside classrooms. The ratings system, a product of House Bill 2804 during the 2015 legislative session, will take effect in August 2018. However, a preliminary rating will be issued early next month, according materials released by the district. The most recent system used a pass-fail process with districts and campuses receiving met standard or improvement required marks. Davis said the ranking -- whether for an A or F-- paints too broad of a picture on how a campus should be judged, doesnt adequately measure every students achievement and every teachers efforts and is flawed in that 5 percent of all districts and campuses will receive a failing grade whether they deserve it or not. Philosophically, it is the wrong thing to do, said Davis, who also said that while we think there are many things wrong with it, it doesnt change what our mission is. ... We have plenty of work to do. Midland ISD will not be alone in its opposition to the new ranking system, which when installed fully in 2018 will be based on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test-related data (55 percent), post-secondary readiness (35 percent) and community and student engagement (10 percent). Elise Kail, executive director of Accountability/PEIMS & Research, told the board on Monday that the state had not yet identified what the final criteria would be for the preliminary ratings released in January. Davis said critics worry that the new system generally will show disparity between socio-economic groups. Rich districts, he said, are alleged to have an advantage and will perform better. Board member James Fuller said at Mondays meeting that he is worried the new ratings system would create a divisive scenario, and for Midland ISD, it will come at a time when the community is building bridges. Midland ISD doesnt appear to be alone in its opposition. The Dallas Morning News reported that about 20 districts around the state have passed resolutions asking the state Legislature to ditch the letter grades and give school districts and local communities more say in rating their schools. The DMN also reported the Texas Association of School Administrators is leading the charge against the A-F system and urged districts to join their cause. Davis said he expects a similar resolution critical of the ratings system will come before the board in its January meeting and he anticipates the board will approve it. Davis said his preference is to use other techniques to measure the district and its performance, including an analysis that compares MISD with districts of similar demographics and socio-economic makeup. Ultimately, good or bad, MISD will be branded with a Texas Education Agency-followed rating. In the past few years, the delivery of ratings hasnt generally offered MISD the best news, and its former superintendents offered excuses for the districts performance or questioned the ranking in some form or fashion. Davis offered a different tact. Fundamentally, this isnt going to tell us something we dont already know, Davis said. It wont be enlightening and wont tell us areas we arent already working hard to improve on. Still, we expect (the January) rating will be improved by August 2018. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The Library of Congress is heading into old territory with its newest online collection. The research library is putting thousands of maps from the late 1800s to the early 1900s on its website, thanks to a partnership with the Digital Public Library of America. MODERN MAPS: Maps that help explain Texas in 2016 Back before Google mapped the world and made flyover views available at everyone's fingertips, maps were created by cartographers who had a keen eye. According to the Library of Congress, the panoramic maps shown above were also known as bird's-eye views, perspective maps and aero views. The maps were usually not drawn to scale but they gave a perspective of street patterns, buildings and major landscapes. Most of the maps added to the website are documented in "Panoramic Maps of Cities in the United States and Canada" by John R. Hebert and Patric E. Dempsy. The duo collected 1,726 panoramic maps of U.S. and Canadian cities, which were made by Albert Ruger, Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler, Lucien R. Burleigh, Henry Wellge and Oakley H. Bailey.The five men are responsible for more than 55 percent of the panoramic maps in the Library of Congress. EXPLAINED: Maps that explain the world's drug trade While not necessarily great for navigating given the amount of development nationally in the 100 years or so since their creation the maps offer an interesting view of early America. In a release, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden called the maps "beautiful" and "one-of-a kind." The panoramic maps have been released with maps from the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Click through the slideshow above to see maps of Texas cities from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A white nationalist whose recent speech in the nations capital drew Nazi salutes will speak at Texas A&M University next month. Richard Spencer, who spoke for a half-hour at a white nationalist organizations meeting on Saturday, will speak at Texas A&M's Memorial Student Center on December 6 at 7 p.m. Spencer is the president and director of The National Policy Institute, which describes itself as an "independent organization dedicated to the heritage, identity and future of people of European descent in the United States, and around the world." At Saturday's event, he shouted Heil Trump, Heil our people, Heil victory, to audience applause. More than 3,000 people had signed an online petition urging A&M to denounce Spencer and cancel the event on campus. University student leaders, in a statement circulated Wednesday afternoon, stopped short of asking A&M to cancel but called Spencer's stated anti-Semitic and white supremacist positions "wholly unacceptable" with "no place in civil discourse." Students started to plan campus protests for the day of Spencer's speech, and alumni urged one another to call the university president's office to express their anger. Lia Epps, a graduate student at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, said there's "unrest and uneasiness" among her peers today. The university issued a statement Wednesday denouncing Spencer's rhetoric and sought to distance itself from the event. The university had no immediate comment on whether it would try to cancel the speech. "To be clear, Texas A&M University including faculty, staff, students and/or student groups - did not invite this speaker to our campus nor do we endorse his rhetoric in any way," Amy Smith, a university spokeswoman, said in the statement. Private citizens can reserve space on campus for private functions, Smith said. The event organizer will pay all rental expenses, including security costs, she said. "The majority of people understand that A&M didn't invite Richard Spencer to come and speak," Epps said. "But it's still appalling that he's going to be there." Former A&M student Preston Wiginton, also a white nationalist who was enrolled at the university in 2006 and 2007, told the Houston Chronicle he arranged for Spencer to speak on campus as a private citizen and political activist. "The left at these universities has stifled out anything pertaining to white interests," Wiginton said. Spencer will speak in a room in the student center that will accommodate "adequate police security," Wiginton said. The building was initially dedicated to honor Texas A&M alumni who died in action during World War I and World War II. Rabbi Matt Rosenberg, who leads the campus Hillel, urged community members to report Spencer's planned visit to the universitys Stop Hate website, through which individuals can bring forward instances of discrimination. Rosenberg said he spoke to the Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday morning and said he was "pleased" to see alumni, faculty and student responses online. "I think for the vast majority of students, even though it's a conservative student body, they're definitely against people like (Spencer)," Rosenberg said. "Seeing those responses was really heartening." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man accused of fatally shooting three men in September is reported to have borrowed the phone of one of the victims and picked up his wife and children from their apartment before the shooting. Jacob Brownson, 24, was already in jail when he was charged with capital murder Wednesday in the deaths of Anthony Rodrigues, 24, Pedro Garcia Jr., 21, and Matthew Martinez, 22, according to the San Antonio Police Department. The three victims were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in their apartment the morning of Sept. 27 at La Paloma apartment complex, 102 W. Rampart Drive, according to police. Brownsons wife had been staying in the apartment with the three men before the shooting and called Brownson using Martinezs phone to reach him on Garcias phone, which he had been using, according to his arrest warrant affidavit. His wife told police she called Brownson because Rodrigues actions were scaring her, according to the affidavit. Brownson had told the three victims he needed money, and his wife told him that the trio had about $1,000. When Brownson picked up his wife using her van, she and their three children waited in the van at the entrance of the complex as he walked back to the apartment alone at about 7:15 a.m., according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Thats when witnesses told police they heard multiple gunshots, but initially mistook them for construction noises. Shortly after, witnesses spotted a man matching the description of Brownson leaving the apartment through the sliding glass doors and running toward the entrance of the apartment complex. Brownsons wife told investigators he appeared to be walking quickly when he returned to the van, they noted in the affidavit. That morning, am apartment manager noticed one of the victims dead in the apartment and called police hours later. Investigators noted that although Garcias phone was not recovered at the scene, investigators used cell phone records to trace the calls made between his and Martinezs cell phones. A 37-minute call between the phones, with Garcias phone starting from the West Side and ending close to the apartment complex, was made prior to the shooting, police noted. Detectives said in the affidavit that during an interview with Brownson, he said his wifes van was stolen by several men in the 900 block of Angela Walk. Police located the stolen van on Oct. 12 in the 100 block of San Mateo. Investigators said multiple areas inside the van had blood. Police said Brownson had been arrested on Oct. 11 on an unrelated charge. He was still in jail as of Thursday. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA The effects of a water contamination crisis in Corpus Christi were being felt Thursday in San Antonio, where the water shelves were empty in at least one South Side H-E-B. A cashier at the San Antonio store said they had been limiting water purchases to three per person on Thursday, but lifted the limit that evening. The body of Linna Mean, a 30-year-old woman living in San Antonio, was found with gunshot wounds to the neck and head late Tuesday night, according to police and the medical examiners office. Means body was found in the 11000 block of Colt Chase shortly before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her death has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiners office. SAN ANTONIO A man was stabbed twice during a home invasion that took place Friday morning at a residence on the West Side, according to police. Emergency personnel responded shortly after 2 a.m. Friday in the 200 block of Landa Avenue, where a 30-year-old man heard a knock at the door. When he answered the door, two men in masks rushed inside the home and a small scuffle ensued, a police sergeant said at the scene. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested two men Thursday after finding 32 migrants inside a refrigerated tractor trailer near the Texas-Mexico border, a news release said. The incident occurred around midnight Thursday in Falfurrias, which is about 160 miles south of San Antonio, where agents at the checkpoint called for an additional inspection of a tractor trailer following an alert from a canine unit, according to a news release issued Friday. SAN ANTONIO While Saturday will likely see a record high in temperature, an arctic front will bring freezing conditions toward the Alamo City starting early Sunday into Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. NWS meteorologist Jason Runyen said the area will experience a hard freeze on Monday morning after colder temperatures occur Sunday. Runyen said a strong arctic surge coming from Canada and further north will make its way through San Antonio this weekend, while also affecting much of the country. Myriam Gatier McGinnis love of languages took her all over the world. Born in Saint-Germain-Laval, France, she had a knack for learning languages as well as an affinity for literature she sustained during her education. McGinnis excelled in her schooling, having earned a degree in Literature of the American South from the University of Lyon and eventually a masters in Spanish from the University of Madrid. In addition, she received multiple fellowships to study at other institutions of higher education across the world from her native France, including Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where she first met her future husband, Dana McGinnis. The McGinnises were married for 35 years after a chance meeting and years of correspondence. Ive never known anyone as well-read and educated as my wife, Dana McGinnis said. I was in awe with her intellect and language abilities. She spoke English better than I did at times. McGinnis, 66, passed away after battling multiple myeloma. McGinnis proficiency in French, English, Spanish and Italian, as well as her knowledge of Danish and German, proved to extremely useful when she was offered a job as a translator by a United Nations agency during her graduating year at the University of Genevas exclusive school of translation and interpretation. More Information Myriam Gatier McGinnis Born: March 27, 1950, Saint-Germain-Laval, France Died: Dec. 12, 2016, San Antonio Preceded by: Father Henry Gatier Survived by: Husband Dana McGinnis; children Sean McGinnis and Julie Adelaide Mcginnis Flanagan; and grandson Wyeth Henry Flanagan. Services: Mass at 2 p.m. today at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, 102 Lorenz Road See More Collapse For many years after, her career, much like her time as a student, took her around the world, though she would eventually settle in Texas with her husband and two children. McGinnis love of literature was no secret and she spent much of her time reading. She loved to read; she was a voracious reader, and she was very talented with words, husband McGinnis said. In addition to her dedication to learning languages and studying literature, McGinnis was a talented knitter. She learned to knit as a young girl and picked it back up several years ago. She loved to knit things for friends and family, especially for young children and babies, her husband said. McGinnis also greatly admired her father, Henry Gatier, a modest man who held a communications position in France during World War II. She had her opinions and she would let you know how she felt about things, and she was a very generous, kind person with a big heart, her husband said. procha@express-news.net The Alamo Colleges board of trustees has finally dropped Stephen R. Coveys The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People from its education curriculum. The board had to do this if it wanted to maintain accreditation for three of the five Alamo Colleges. As has been widely reported, San Antonio, Northwest Vista and St. Philips colleges are all in warning status over accreditation. The broader issue is a lack of institutional autonomy from Alamo Colleges. The schools and the district have a year to get it right. There are a number of technical issues that need to be addressed, but the driving force behind this accreditation crisis was the boards decision to implement The 7 Habits into districtwide curriculum. Faculty is responsible for developing curriculum. In a preliminary report earlier this year, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges warned of the problems with the board forcing The 7 Habits onto the various institutions: The Committee recommends that the institution demonstrate that it places primary responsibility for the content of the curriculum with its faculty. Dropping The 7 Habits from policy and curriculum, and then working with faculty to develop new leadership policy should address accrediting concerns on this one issue, although others remain. However, we see deeper problems around the qualities of public trust and general governance under Chancellor Bruce Leslies leadership. Leslie and the district appear either unwilling or unable to honor the simple reality that the schools comprising Alamo Colleges are independently accredited, or at least should be. We say should because Northeast Lakeview College inexplicably lacks accreditation despite being founded nearly a decade ago. The district has dragged its feet with Northeast Lakeview and unnecessarily jeopardized accreditation at three other schools. How is this remotely acceptable? Yet, this summer the board extended Leslies contract, giving him a raise, with zero public discussion. Instead, it cloaked language about the contract in a public meeting notice, and then approved it at the end of a three-hour meeting. This was a bit surprising given Leslies netiquette issue this summer. Thats when he focused on his cellphone instead of Palo Alto College graduates walking the stage. Lets also not forget the mysterious and bizarre departure of Craig Follins, the former president at Northeast Lakeview College. He was removed from his post for unknown reasons in late 2015 but somehow kept collecting his $205,000 salary for months. Why? No one knows. And lets not overlook the ballooning travel costs at the district $1.6 million in 2016. These are not the types of headlines Alamo Colleges should be generating, especially months before a $450 million bond goes to voters. Given these types of issues, its easy to see why the public and faculty are losing confidence in Leslie and the Alamo Colleges board. Serving roughly 52,000 students, Alamo Colleges is a crucial part of our community. Its success is our success. Dropping The 7 Habits might help address accreditation concerns, but the Alamo Colleges board needs to do much more to fix these deeper issues of trust and governance. A healthy organization does not put its accreditation at risk, openly debates key contract extensions, and is responsive to concerns of the public and its employees. The late, great World War II general and hero and two-term president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower, warned the American people to beware of the military-industrial complex. Was he prophesying the election of Donald J. Trump and his choice of nominees for his Cabinet? Scares me. M. F. Rundell Rant not rare Re: Ag chiefs latest turn in media: Steak-gate, Peggy Fikac, front page, Monday: If theres one thing that didnt surprise me, it was Sid Millers reaction to being written up by the dead media after his rant of discontent over his steak. Braying about his steak and the media treatment of his high-end culinary tastes? Pleeaase! Ruben Zamora Joyous production My mother and I attended last Sundays performance of All is Calm at The Playhouse. It was a wonderful production with themes that resonate today. The cast consisted of members of The Marcsmen, a local a cappella group. They sang in glorious harmony, sharing excerpts from letters written by the men who served in Europe in 1914, the men who were told, This will be over by Christmas. San Antonio has incredible live theater year-round. All is Calm was a wonderful addition to this holiday season! Linda Grace Solis Opportunity for all Re: Break down identity politics, and the truth emerges, O. Ricardo Pimentel, Opinion, Sunday: Mr. Pimentel wrote that Trump voters had beefs with minorities, though many of these are in circumstances that, but for their skin color or surnames, should logically earn them status as kindred spirits. I believe most Trump voters do see these as kindred spirits, people who want the opportunity to work and earn a decent living. It is our hope that Trump will provide that opportunity to all of us. Pat Wians Ron Chapple / Getty Images STAMFORD Police are searching for two men who robbed a pizza deliveryman at gunpoint at an East Side apartment complex Thursday evening. Lt. Tom Barcello said the victim knocked on the door of an Ursula Place home about 6:30 p.m., but the residents said they did not order food. Maybe it will all turn out OK. If it does, put me down as promising to applaud. But my fellow Americans, whatever mix of motives led us to create an Electoral College majority for Donald Trump to become president and overlook his lack of preparation, his record of indecent personal behavior, his madcap midnight tweeting, his casual lying about issues like "millions" of people casting illegal votes in this election, the purveying of fake news by his national security adviser, his readiness to appoint climate change deniers without even getting a single briefing from the world's greatest climate scientists in the government he'll soon lead, and his cavalier dismissal of the CIA's conclusions about Russian hacking of our election have no doubt about one thing: We as a country have just done something incredibly reckless. There is actually something "prehistoric" about the Cabinet that Trump is putting together. It is totally dominated by people who have spent their adult lives drilling for, or advocating for, fossil fuels oil, gas and coal. You would never know that what has actually made America great is our ability to attract the world's smartest and most energetic immigrants and our ability "to develop technology and to nurture our human capital" not just drill for coal and oil, remarked Edward Goldberg, who teaches at NYU's Center for Global Affairs. Don't misunderstand me: It is excusable to raise questions about climate change. But it is inexcusable not to sit down with our own government experts at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a briefing before you appoint flagrant climate deniers with no scientific background to every senior environmental position. It is excusable to question if Russia really hacked our election. But it is inexcusable to dismiss the possibility without first getting a briefing from the CIA, some of whose agents risked their lives for that intelligence. That is reckless behavior totally unbecoming a president, a professional or just a serious adult. It's not that all of Trump's goals are wrongheaded or crazy. If he can unlock barriers to innovation and entrepreneurship, that will be a very good thing. And I am not against working more closely with Russia on global issues or getting more tough-minded on trade with China. But growth that is heedless of environmental impacts, collaboration with Russia that is heedless of Vladimir Putin's malevolence, and greater aggressiveness toward China that is heedless of the carefully crafted security balance among the U.S., China and Taiwan which has produced prosperity and stability in Asia for over four decades is reckless. For an administration that lost the popular vote by such a large margin to suddenly take the country to such positions on energy, environment and foreign policy is asking for trouble. Already, some Republican lawmakers who love our country more than they fear Trump's tweets are insisting that Russia's apparent cyberhacking to help Trump win the election be investigated by Congress. If Congress affirms what the intelligence community believes that Russia intervened in our democratic process that is an act of war. At the same time, Trump's readiness to dismiss the entire intelligence community because its conclusions contradict his instincts and interests could really haunt him down the road. Let's imagine that in six months the CIA concludes that North Korea is about to perfect a nuclear missile that can reach our West Coast and President Trump orders a pre-emptive strike, one that unleashes a lot of instability in Asia. And then the next day Trump and his national security adviser, Mike Flynn, the purveyor of fake news about Hillary Clinton, defend themselves by saying, "We acted on the 'high confidence' assessment of the CIA." Who's going to believe them after they just trashed the CIA? Finally, Trump has demonstrated a breathtaking naivete toward Putin. Putin wanted Trump to win because he thinks that he'll be a chaos president, who will weaken America's influence in the world by weakening its commitment to liberal values and will weaken America's ability to lead a Western coalition to confront Putin's aggression in Europe. Putin is out to erode democracy wherever he can. Trump needs to send Putin a blunt message today: "I am not your chump." Friedman writes for The New York Times. ZIMBABWES laws are there to safeguard the rights of all citizens and not only opposition parties, Zanu PF secretary for Commissariat Cde Victor Matemadanda has said. Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Cde Matemadanda said the Governments primary responsibility was to prevent violence and uphold constitutionalism. We are a constitutional republic where the law is there to protect the rights of all citizens and not only opposition political parties, said Cde Matemadanda. In every constitution the world over, it is provided that there shall be a defence and security force whose work is clearly expressed. It is the duty of any elected government to defend and protect property. No Government will fold its hands while the opposition gangs up to overthrow it. Cde Matemadandas comments come after an illegal demonstration called by the opposition with the backing of some embassies flopped on Friday last week. He warned the opposition to stop seeking attention from their handlers through tarnishing the image of the country and its leadership. We have led protests ourselves, the biggest ever and we led from the front, we never sacrificed other people for our benefit. In fact, we protected our people and offered ourselves. The opposition is confused because right now they say everything went according to plan, they never wanted to get onto the streets but to cause work stoppage. Why didnt they tell their supporters that? queried Cde Matemadanda. He urged Zimbabweans not to take MDC-A drama queens and kings seriously since they are only interested in enriching themselves. To send videos while hiding in the bush is serious drama and not fighting for the people. No one goes to war and expects to win it while hiding, he said. We know some embassies poured in money and unfortunately that money came too early and July 31 came too late to find sober minds. Their puppets were too drunk and had hangovers that would not allow them to demonstrate under sunny conditions. Herald Breaking News via Email Thanks so much to the speedy action of the members of the commentariat yesterday. We got an apology from NBC 9 News in Denver for a skit they had put up meant to educate readers about the evils of fake news. However, they made Naked Capitalism into an object lesson: I must give credit as well as thanks to the executives and staff of NBC affiliate 9News in Denver for acting so quickly to remedy the error. Host Kyle Clark removed the tweet promoting the segment. Readers who had contacted the station started receiving apologies from the executive producer at 12:30 PM in the form of: Our December 13th story on fake news incorrectly associated nakedcapitalism.com with fake news websites. Nakedcapitalism.com provides commentary on finance, economics, politics and power and describes itself as a website that is shedding light on the dark and seamy corners of finance. We regret the error. And a 9News official posted this message in comments less than 7 hours after our post ran: Jeremy Jojola (9NEWS NBC DENVER) December 15, 2016 at 1:33 pm Hello everyone, this is Jeremy Jojola with 9NEWS in Denver. Id like to apologize to nakedcapitalism.com and Yves Smith. We screwed up. In an effort to call attention to fake news, we incorrectly associated nakedcapitalism.com with a list of fake news links in our video. This was wrong. We have removed this reference from our video. I have recorded a video response which will be broadcast on our station at 5 pm and 10 pm this evening and again at 6 pm tomorrow (Denver times). See our response and my video statement here. If you listen to the video, it is an unqualified apology and it appear they ran it as many times and at the same showtimes as when the offending clip ran. This response is very professional and all too rare in business today. They moved so quickly it is clear they didnt call lawyers to dither over how exposed they were and how much of a walkback they needed to do. Even though this was an embarrassment rather than a crisis, they followed the crisis management playbook as exemplified by Tylenol in its tampering scandal: do everything you can to make things right. And the reason that makes sense is that even if that costs your short term (fessing up), it preserves your reputation, which is one of your most valuable assets. Customers recognize that no one is perfect. Studies have shown that what they care about is not how many mistakes a company makes, but how it handles them when they occur. Washington Post, are you taking notes? Readers are still left with the question as to how this took place and the answer is that we will never know. Stations like 9News often rely on contractors, so this may have been a too-clever idea by someone with too much latitude that somehow fell through the vetting cracks. While I am glad this episode was put to rest quickly, and am very grateful for the speedy intervention of many readers, this was a stomach-churning example of how the freedom of expression of independent media is under attack. Thanks so much for your support. By Michael T. Klare, a professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and the author, most recently, of The Race for Whats Left. A documentary movie version of his book Blood and Oil is available from the Media Education Foundation. Follow him on Twitter at @mklare1. Originally published at TomDispatch Scroll through Donald Trumps campaign promises or listen to his speeches and you could easily conclude that his energy policy consists of little more than a wish list drawn up by the major fossil fuel companies: lift environmental restrictions on oil and natural gas extraction, build the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, open more federal lands to drilling, withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, kill Obamas Clean Power Plan, revive the coal mining industry, and so on and so forth ad infinitum. In fact, many of his proposals have simply been lifted straight from the talking points of top energy industry officials and their lavishly financed allies in Congress. If, however, you take a closer look at this morass of pro-carbon proposals, an obvious, if as yet unnoted, contradiction quickly becomes apparent. Were all Trumps policies to be enacted and the appointment of the climate-change denier and industry-friendly attorney general of Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests the attempt will be made not all segments of the energy industry will flourish. Instead, many fossil fuel companies will be annihilated, thanks to the rock-bottom fuel prices produced by a colossal oversupply of oil, coal, and natural gas. Indeed, stop thinking of Trumps energy policy as primarily aimed at helping the fossil fuel companies (although some will surely benefit). Think of it instead as a nostalgic compulsion aimed at restoring a long-vanished America in which coal plants, steel mills, and gas-guzzling automobiles were the designated indicators of progress, while concern over pollution let alone climate change was yet to be an issue. If you want confirmation that such a devastating version of nostalgia makes up the heart and soul of Trumps energy agenda, dont focus on his specific proposals or any particular combination of them. Look instead at his choice of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state and former Governor Rick Perry from oil-soaked Texas as his secretary of energy, not to mention the carbon-embracing fervor that ran through his campaign statements and positions. According to his election campaign website, his top priority will be to unleash Americas $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves. In doing so, it affirmed, Trump would open onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate [the] moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits. In the process, any rule or regulation that stands in the way of exploiting these reserves will be obliterated. If all of Trumps proposals are enacted, U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will soar, wiping out the declines of recent years and significantly increasing the pace of global warming. Given that other major GHG emitters, especially India and China, will feel less obliged to abide by their Paris commitments if the U.S. heads down that path, its almost certain that atmospheric warming will soar beyond the 2 degree Celsius rise over pre-industrial levels that scientists consider the maximum the planet can absorb without suffering catastrophic repercussions. And if, as promised, Trump also repeals a whole raft of environmental regulations and essentially dismantles the Environmental Protection Agency, much of the progress made over recent years in improving our air and water quality will simply be wiped away, and the skies over our cities and suburbs will once again turn gray with smog and toxic pollutants of all sorts. Eliminating All Constraints on Carbon Extraction To fully appreciate the dark, essentially delusional nature of Trumps energy nostalgia, lets start by reviewing his proposals. Aside from assorted tweets and one-liners, two speeches before energy groups represent the most elaborate expression of his views: the first was given on May 26th at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, North Dakota, to groups largely focused on extracting oil from shale through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Bakken shale oil formation; the second on September 22nd addressed the Marcellus Shale Coalition in Pittsburgh, a group of Pennsylvania gas frackers. At both events, Trumps comments were designed to curry favor with this segment of the industry by promising the repeal of any regulations that stood in the way of accelerated drilling. But that was just a start for the then-candidate. He went on to lay out an America-first energy plan designed to eliminate virtually every impediment to the exploitation of oil, gas, and coal anywhere in the country or in its surrounding waters, ensuring Americas abiding status as the worlds leading producer of fossil fuels. Much of this, Trump promised in Bismarck, would be set in motion in the first 100 days of his presidency. Among other steps, he pledged to: * Cancel Americas commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and stop all payments of U.S. tax dollars to U.N. global warming programs * Lift any existing moratoriums on energy production in federal areas * Ask TransCanada to renew its permit application to build the Keystone Pipeline * Revoke policies that impose unwarranted restrictions on new drilling technologies * Save the coal industry The specifics of how all this might happen were not provided either by the candidate or, later, by his transition team. Nevertheless, the main thrust of his approach couldnt be clearer: abolish all regulations and presidential directives that stand in the way of unrestrained fossil fuel extraction, including commitments made by President Obama in December 2015 under the Paris Climate Agreement. These would include, in particular, the EPAs Clean Power Plan, with its promise to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired plants, along with mandated improvements in automotive fuel efficiency standards, requiring major manufacturers to achieve an average of 54.5 miles per gallon in all new cars by 2025. As these constitute the heart of Americas intended nationally determined contributions to the 2015 accord, they will undoubtedly be early targets for a Trump presidency and will represent a functional withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, even if an actual withdrawal isnt instantly possible. Just how quickly Trump will move on such promises, and with what degree of success, cannot be foreseen. However, because so many of the measures adopted by the Obama administration to address climate change were enacted as presidential directives or rules promulgated by the EPA a strategy adopted to circumvent opposition from climate skeptics in the Republican-controlled House and Senate Trump will be in a position to impose a number of his own priorities simply by issuing new executive orders nullifying Obamas. Some of his goals will, however, be far harder to achieve. In particular, it will prove difficult indeed to save the coal industry if Americas electrical utilities retain their preference for cheap natural gas. Ignoring Market Realities This last point speaks to a major contradiction in the Trump energy plan. Seeking to boost the extraction of every carbon-based energy source inevitably spells doom for segments of the industry incapable of competing in the low-price environment of a supply-dominated Trumpian energy marketplace. Take the competition between coal and natural gas in powering Americas electrical plants. As a result of the widespread deployment of fracking technology in the nations prolific shale fields, the U.S. gas output has skyrocketed in recent years, jumping from 18.1 trillion cubic feet in 2005 to 27.1 trillion in 2015. With so much additional gas on the market, prices have naturally declined a boon for the electrical utility companies, which have converted many of their plants from coal to gas-combustion in order to benefit from the low prices. More than anything else, this is responsible for the decline of coal use, with total consumption dropping by 10% in 2015 alone. In his speech to the Marcellus Coalition, Trump promised to facilitate the expanded output of both fuels. In particular, he pledged to eliminate federal regulations that, he claimed, remain a major restriction to shale production. (Presumably, this was a reference to Obama administration measures aimed at reducing the excessive leakage of methane, a major greenhouse gas, from fracking operations on federal lands.) At the same time, he vowed to end the war on coal and the war on miners. As Trump imagines the situation, that war on coal is a White House-orchestrated drive to suppress its production and consumption through excessive regulation, especially the Clean Power Plan. But while that plan, if ever fully put into operation, would result in the accelerated decommissioning of existing coal plants, the real war against coal is being conducted by the very frackers Trump seeks to unleash. By encouraging the unrestrained production of natural gas, he will ensure continued low gas prices and so a depressed market for coal. A similar contradiction lies at the heart of Trumps approach to oil: rather than seeking to bolster core segments of the industry, he favors a supersaturated market approach that will end up hurting many domestic producers. Right now, in fact, the single biggest impediment to oil company growth and profitability is the low price environment brought on by a global glut of crude itself largely a consequence of the explosion of shale oil production in the United States. With more petroleum entering the market all the time and insufficient world demand to soak it up, prices have remained at depressed levels for more than two years, severely affecting fracking operations as well. Many U.S. frackers, including some in the Bakken formation, have found themselves forced to suspend operations or declare bankruptcy because each new barrel of fracked oil costs more to produce than it can be sold for. Trumps approach to this predicament pump out as much oil as possible here and in Canada is potentially disastrous, even in energy industry terms. He has, for instance, threatened to open up yet more federal lands, onshore and off, for yet more oil drilling, including presumably areas previously protected on environmental grounds like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the seabeds off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. In addition, the construction of pipelines like the embattled one in North Dakota and other infrastructure needed to bring these added resources to market will clearly be approved and facilitated. In theory, this drown-us-in-oil approach should help achieve a much-trumpeted energy independence for the United States, but under the circumstances, it will surely prove a calamity of the first order. And such a fantasy version of a future energy market will only grow yet more tumultuous thanks to Trumps urge to help ensure the survival of that particularly carbon-dirty form of oil production, Canadas tar sands industry. Not surprisingly, that industry, too, is under enormous pressure from low oil prices, as tar sands are far more costly to produce than conventional oil. At the moment, adequate pipeline capacity is also lacking for the delivery of their thick, carbon-heavy crude to refineries on the American Gulf Coast where they can be processed into gasoline and other commercial products. So heres yet one more Trumpian irony to come: by favoring construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, Trump would throw yet another monkey wrench into his own planning. Sending such a life preserver to the Canadian industry allowing it to better compete with American crude would be another strike against his own America-first energy plan. Seeking the Underlying Rationale In other words, Trumps plan will undoubtedly prove to be an enigma wrapped in a conundrum inside a roiling set of contradictions. Although it appears to offer boom times for every segment of the fossil fuel industry, only carbon as a whole will benefit, while many individual companies and sectors of the market will suffer. What could possibly be the motivation for such a bizarre and planet-enflaming outcome? To some degree, no doubt, it comes, at least in part, from the president-elects deep and abiding nostalgia for the fast-growing (and largely regulation-free) America of the 1950s. When Trump was growing up, the United States was on an extraordinary expansionist drive and its output of basic goods, including oil, coal, and steel, was swelling by the day. The countrys major industries were heavily unionized; the suburbs were booming; apartment buildings were going up all over the borough of Queens in New York City where Trump got his start; cars were rolling off the assembly lines in what was then anything but the Rust Belt; and refineries and coal plants were pouring out the massive amounts of energy needed to make it all happen. Having grown up in the Bronx, just across Long Island Sound from Trumps home borough, I can still remember the New York of that era: giant smokestacks belching out thick smoke on every horizon and highways jammed with cars adding to the miasma, but also to that sense of explosive growth. Builders and automobile manufacturers didnt have to seriously worry about regulations back then, and certainly not about environmental ones, which made life for them so much simpler. Its that carbon-drenched era to which Trump dreams of returning, even if its already clear enough that the only conceivable kind of dream that can ever come from his set of policies will be a nightmare of the first order, with temperatures exceeding all records, coastal cities regularly under water, our forests in flame and our farmlands turned to dust. And dont forget one other factor: Trumps vindictiveness in this case, not just toward his Democratic opponent in the recent election campaign but toward those who voted against him. The Donald is well aware that most Americans who care about climate change and are in favor of a rapid transformation to a green energy America did not vote for him, including prominent figures in Hollywood and Silicon Valley who contributed lavishly to Hillary Clintons coffers on the promise that the country would be transformed into a clean energy superpower. Given his well-known penchant for attacking anyone who frustrates his ambitions or speaks negatively of him, and his urge to punish greens by, among other things, obliterating every measure adopted by President Obama to speed the utilization of renewable energy, expect him to rip the EPA apart and do his best to shred any obstacles to fossil fuel exploitation. If that means hastening the incineration of the planet, so be it. He either doesnt care (since at 70 he wont live to see it happen), truly doesnt believe in the science, or doesnt think it will hurt his companys business interests over the next few decades. One other factor has to be added into this witchs brew: magical thinking. Like so many leaders of recent times, he seems to equate mastery over oil in particular, and fossil fuels in general, with mastery over the world. In this, he shares a common outlook with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on harnessing Russias oil and gas reserves in order to restore the countrys global power, and with ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, said to be Trumps top choice for Secretary of State and a long-term business partner of the Putin regime. For these and other politicians and tycoons and, of course, were talking almost exclusively about men here the possession of giant oil reserves is thought to bestow a kind of manly vigor. Think of it as the national equivalent of Viagra. Back in 2002, Robert Ebel of the Center for Strategic and International Studies put the matter succinctly: Oil fuels more than automobiles and airplanes. Oil fuels military power, national treasuries, and international politics [It is] a determinant of well being, national security, and international power for those who possess [it] and the converse for those who do not. Trump seems to have fully absorbed this line of thinking. American energy dominance will be declared a strategic economic and foreign policy goal of the United States, he declared at the Williston forum in May. We will become, and stay, totally independent of any need to import energy from the OPEC cartel or any nations hostile to our interests. He seems firmly convinced that the accelerated extraction of oil and other carbon-based fuels will make America great again. This is delusional, but as president he will undoubtedly be able to make enough of his energy program happen to achieve both short term and long term energy mayhem. He wont actually be able to reverse the global shift to renewable energy now under way or leverage increased American fossil fuel production to achieve significant foreign policy advantages. What his efforts are, however, likely to ensure is the surrender of American technological leadership in green energy to countries like China and Germany, already racing ahead in the development of renewable systems. And in the process, he will also guarantee that all of us are going to experience yet more extreme climate events. He will never recreate the dreamy America of his memory or return us to the steamy economic cauldron of the post-World War II period, but he may succeed in restoring the smoggy skies and poisoned rivers that so characterized that era and, as an added bonus, bring planetary climate disaster in his wake. His slogan should be: Make America Smoggy Again. Fundamental solid state phenomenon unravelled (Nanowerk News) Whether water freezes to ice, iron is demagnetized or a material becomes superconducting for physicists there is always a phase transition behind it. They endeavour to understand these different phenomena by searching for universal properties. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt and Technische Universitat Dresden have now made a pioneering discovery during their study of a phase transition from an electrical conductor to an insulator (Mott metal-insulator transition). According to Sir Nevill Francis Motts prediction in 1937, the mutual repulsion of charged electrons, which are responsible for carrying electrical current, can cause a metal-insulator transition. Yet, contrary to common textbook opinion, according to which the phase transition is determined solely by the electrons, it is the interaction of the electrons with the atomic lattice of the solid which is the determinant factor. The researchers have reported this in the latest issue of Science Advances ("Breakdown of Hookes law of elasticity at the Mott critical endpoint in an organic conductor"). Electrons embedded in the atomic lattice the components of a solid. The mutual repulsion of the electrons prevents them from coming into close contact. This impedes the electron flow and the system can become an insulator (Image: Dr. Ulrich Tutsch) The research group, led by Professor Michael Lang of the Physics Institute at Goethe University Frankfurt, succeeded in making the discovery with the help of a homemade apparatus which is unique worldwide. It allows the measurement of length changes at low temperatures under variable external pressure with extremely high resolution. In this way, it was possible to prove experimentally for the first time that it is not just the electrons which play a significant role in the phase transition but also the atomic lattice - the solids scaffold. These experimental results will herald in a paradigm shift in our understanding of one of the key phenomena of current condensed matter research, says Professor Lang. The Mott metal-insulator transition is namely linked to unusual phenomena, such as high-temperature superconductivity in copper oxide-based materials. These offer tremendous potential for future technical applications. The theoretical analysis of the experimental findings is based on the fundamental notion that the many particles in a system close to a phase transition not only interact with their immediate neighbours but also communicate over long distances with all other particles. As a consequence, only overarching aspects are important, such as the systems symmetry. The identification of such universal properties is thus the key to understanding phase transitions. Microlensing study suggests most common outer planets likely Neptune-mass (w/video) (Nanowerk News) A new statistical study of planets found by a technique called gravitational microlensing suggests that Neptune-mass worlds are likely the most common type of planet to form in the icy outer realms of planetary systems. The study provides the first indication of the types of planets waiting to be found far from a host star, where scientists suspect planets form most efficiently. "We've found the apparent sweet spot in the sizes of cold planets. Contrary to some theoretical predictions, we infer from current detections that the most numerous have masses similar to Neptune, and there doesn't seem to be the expected increase in number at lower masses," said lead scientist Daisuke Suzuki, a post-doctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. "We conclude that Neptune-mass planets in these outer orbits are about 10 times more common than Jupiter-mass planets in Jupiter-like orbits." Neptune-mass exoplanets like the one shown in this artist's rendering may be the most common in the icy regions of planetary systems. Beyond a certain distance from a young star, water and other substances remain frozen, leading to an abundant population of icy objects that can collide and form the cores of new planets. In the foreground, an icy body left over from this period drifts past the planet. (Image: NASA/Goddard/Francis Reddy) Gravitational microlensing takes advantage of the light-bending effects of massive objects predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity. It occurs when a foreground star, the lens, randomly aligns with a distant background star, the source, as seen from Earth. As the lensing star drifts along in its orbit around the galaxy, the alignment shifts over days to weeks, changing the apparent brightness of the source. The precise pattern of these changes provides astronomers with clues about the nature of the lensing star, including any planets it may host. "We mainly determine the mass ratio of the planet to the host star and their separation," said team member David Bennett, an astrophysicist at Goddard. "For about 40 percent of microlensing planets, we can determine the mass of the host star and therefore the mass of the planet." More than 50 exoplanets have been discovered using microlensing compared to thousands detected by other techniques, such as detecting the motion or dimming of a host star caused by the presence of planets. Because the necessary alignments between stars are rare and occur randomly, astronomers must monitor millions of stars for the tell-tale brightness changes that signal a microlensing event. However, microlensing holds great potential. It can detect planets hundreds of times more distant than most other methods, allowing astronomers to investigate a broad swath of our Milky Way galaxy. The technique can locate exoplanets at smaller masses and greater distances from their host stars, and it's sensitive enough to find planets floating through the galaxy on their own, unbound to stars. NASA's Kepler and K2 missions have been extraordinarily successful in finding planets that dim their host stars, with more than 2,500 confirmed discoveries to date. This technique is sensitive to close-in planets but not more distant ones. Microlensing surveys are complementary, best probing the outer parts of planetary systems with less sensitivity to planets closer to their stars. "Combining microlensing with other techniques provides us with a clearer overall picture of the planetary content of our galaxy," said team member Takahiro Sumi at Osaka University in Japan. This graph plots 4,769 exoplanets and planet candidates according to their masses and relative distances from the snow line, the point where water and other materials freeze solid (vertical cyan line). Gravitational microlensing is particularly sensitive to planets in this region. Planets are shaded according to the discovery technique listed at right. Masses for unconfirmed planetary candidates from NASA's Kepler mission are calculated based on their sizes. For comparison, the graph also includes the planets of our solar system. (Image: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) (click on image to enlarge) From 2007 to 2012, the Microlensing Observations in Astrophysics (MOA) group, a collaboration between researchers in Japan and New Zealand, issued 3,300 alerts informing the astronomical community about ongoing microlensing events. Suzuki's team identified 1,474 well-observed microlensing events, with 22 displaying clear planetary signals. This includes four planets that were never previously reported. To study these events in greater detail, the team included data from the other major microlensing project operating over the same period, the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE), as well as additional observations from other projects designed to follow up on MOA and OGLE alerts. From this information, the researchers determined the frequency of planets compared to the mass ratio of the planet and star as well as the distances between them. For a typical planet-hosting star with about 60 percent the sun's mass, the typical microlensing planet is a world between 10 and 40 times Earth's mass. For comparison, Neptune in our own solar system has the equivalent mass of 17 Earths. The results imply that cold Neptune-mass worlds are likely to be the most common types of planets beyond the so-called snow line, the point where water remained frozen during planetary formation. In the solar system, the snow line is thought to have been located at about 2.7 times Earth's mean distance from the sun, placing it in the middle of the main asteroid belt today. A paper detailing the findings was published in The Astrophysical Journal on Dec. 13 ("The Exoplanet Mass-Ratio Function from the MOA-II Survey: Discovery of a Break and Likely Peak at a Neptune Mass"). Neptune-mass worlds are likely the most common type in the outer realms of planetary systems. (Video: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) "Beyond the snow line, materials that were gaseous closer to the star condense into solid bodies, increasing the amount of material available to start the planet-building process," said Suzuki. "This is where we think planetary formation was most efficient, and it's also the region where microlensing is most sensitive." NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), slated to launch in the mid-2020s, will conduct an extensive microlensing survey. Astronomers expect it will deliver mass and distance determinations of thousands of planets, completing the work begun by Kepler and providing the first galactic census of planetary properties. NASA's Ames Research Center manages the Kepler and K2 missions for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, managed Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation operates the flight system with support from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. Although Steven Mnuchin has close ties to Wall Street and was involved in some contentious deals, Democrats face an uphill battle making the case that those connections disqualify him to serve as Treasury secretary. Since Mnuchin's nomination, Democratic lawmakers have roundly denounced the former Wall Street banker and hedge-funder, using his banking history and former role at Goldman Sachs against him. Many have focused on a 2009 deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., where Mnuchin led a team of investors in acquiring bad mortgages from failed lender IndyMac, many of which later went into foreclosure. "After years peddling the kind of dangerous mortgage-backed securities that eventually blew up the economy, Mnuchin swooped in after the crash to take a second bite out of families by aggressively and sometimes illegally foreclosing on their homes," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a press release Friday. But former FDIC officials familiar with the deal say the rate of foreclosures of those loans is to be expected given the crisis, and aren't necessarily the responsibility of Mnuchin. "The fact that there were foreclosures is not surprising given how poorly performing the [IndyMac] portfolio was," said Michael Krimminger, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen Hamilton LLP and a former top FDIC official who was involved in the IndyMac deal. At issue is a deal nine months after IndyMac's failure to buy its assets. Mnuchin led a group to form OneWest bank and ultimately struck a loss-share agreement with the FDIC. Within less than a year, turned a $1.6 billion profit. OneWest was later bought by CIT, where Mnuchin served on its board. Democrats argue that the profits from that deal came at the expense of former IndyMac borrowers, who saw their homes enter foreclosure. "Donald Trump's choice of Mnuchin is not only a fundamental betrayal of his promise to stand up to Wall Street it is a punch in the gut to the thousands of American families who were thrown out of their homes by Mnuchin's bank," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in a statement Friday. "The voices of these Americans should be heard loud and clear as the Senate examines his record and considers his nomination." Merkley, Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., are trumpeting the creation Friday of a website dedicated to telling the stories of borrowers who were foreclosed under Mnuchin's watch. Whether he is responsible, however, is an open question. As part of the deal, the FDIC created a loan modification program for IndyMac borrowers, but Mnuchin was not required to offer the modifications as part of the agreement. Mnuchin's bank generally chose to foreclose, leading some outside observers to pin the blame on him. "One monumental concern I have about Steve Mnuchin is his role as foreclosure king, profiting-off and kicking American families to the curb. Rewarding that behavior with a cabinet position is at odds with candidate Trump's the populist platform," said Jennifer Taub, a law professor at the University of Vermont. But others say Mnuchin simply played by the rules and can't be blamed. "That deal was selected simply to maximize the recoveries for the FDIC insurance fund and the creditors," said Krimminger. "The FDIC modified mortgages as long as the FDIC was responsible for IndyMac and the FDIC also initiated foreclosures while it was responsible for IndyMacYou can't expect bankers to be doing a social program." Democrats are also hitting Mnuchin over his ties to Goldman, a firm that President-elect Donald Trump has blasted in the past. Yet plenty of past Treasury secretaries have had similar ties to large Wall Street firms. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew was an executive at Citigroup before joining the White House, while former secretary Hank Paulson was the former CEO of Goldman. Robert Rubin, the Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, was also a Goldman banker. Some Democrats have tried to argue that Mnuchin is more conflicted because CIT, where he was a board member until resigning after named by Trump, is considered systemically important by the Dodd-Frank Act. As a result, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which Mnuchin would chair as Treasury secretary, has supervisory powers over Mnuchin's former bank. But such ties are not unusual. "Treasury secretary is a position where conflicts of interest can be very predictable," said Andrea Bonime-Blanc, chief executive officer of GEC Risk Advisory. "We can pick on [Mnuchin], but we have had a number of Treasury secretaries who have held leadership roles in financial or other major business institutions who might have had real or perceived conflicts of interest because they sat on the board of a bank or were a CEO or other important decision maker." Claire Hill, a law professor at the University of Minnesota Law School about Mnuchin's nomination, said, "I don't know how realistic it is to say we want someone who knows all about that world, but hasn't been part of it, and doesn't have close connections with people who have been part of it." Robert Kelner, a partner at Covington & Burling, said Mnuchin's financial industry background is normal for a Treasury secretary. "Fundamentally I don't think it's any different than the issues that every Treasury secretary faces," he said. But consumer groups argue that Mnuchin is another in a long line of Treasury secretaries who care more about Wall Street than Main Street. "Part of the point of what Elizabeth Warren has been trying to do for some years now and we always supported is we don't make Treasury the private preserve of Goldman Sachs," said Marcus Stanley, policy director at Americans for Financial Reform. "There have been times where it looked like it in the past. We don't think that worked out very well and we don't want to go back to those days." The rhetoric and opposition against Mnuchin will likely be elevated during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, and Democrats will attempt to argue Mnuchin was unethical and aggressive in moving to foreclosure for IndyMac borrowers. Mnuchin "represents the worst of Wall Street," said Paulina Gonzalez, executive director at the California Reinvestment Coalition. "He harmed working class Americans and that is something that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers should stand against." But Democratic opposition is likely to prove futile because Mnuchin will require a simple majority to be voted in. With the GOP controlling 52 Senate seats, Mnuchin's future in the Treasury job is all but assured. CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO ClosingCorp said that Gerardo Caceres has joined the company as senior vice president of data operations and product management. Prior to joining ClosingCorp, Caceres was the senior vice president of service delivery and account management at RealEC Technologies/Black Knight Financial Services. Before joining Black Knight, he held a series of executive positions at Bank of America, most recently as senior vice president of title strategy and national title platform. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WASHINGTON Fannie Mae said that George Haywood has been elected to the company's board of directors. He has been appointed to the Compensation Committee and the Strategic Initiatives and Technology Committee. Haywood has been a self-employed private investor since 1998. From 1994 to 1998, he was the director of corporate and high-yield bond investments for Moore Capital Management, a hedge fund management firm. MASSACHUSETTS DANVERS Joseph A. Iacovino Jr. has joined Mortgage Network Inc. as a loan officer in the company's Conshohocken, Pa., branch office. Iacovino brings to Mortgage Network five years of mortgage banking experience in the Philadelphia area. Before joining Mortgage Network, he served in the commercial lending department at Royal Bank America. NEW YORK NEW YORK Hunt Mortgage Group has opened an office in Charleston, S.C., and John Beam has been tapped to lead the local effort. Beam is also responsible for leading the firm's Atlanta office. He will focus on originating agency debt, including small-balance loans under the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Small Balance Loan Programs, as well as bridge financing through Hunt Mortgage Group's Proprietary Loan Group. UNIONDALE Arbor Realty Trust Inc. has appointed Stuart Gans as FHA originator in its Dallas office. Gans is responsible for originating multifamily, health care and hospital loans nationwide utilizing Arbor's FHA loan program. Before joining Arbor, he originated HUD loans for Love Funding, and prior to that spent 22 years at Lend USA, the commercial and mortgage lending company he founded in 1992. SOUTH CAROLINA GREENVILLE United Community Mortgage Services has added Donnell Drummond to its team in Upstate South Carolina. In his role as CRA mortgage loan originator, he will focus on generating Community Reinvestment Act loans in an assigned metropolitan territory and support the bank's CRA plan as it relates to residential mortgage production. Drummond has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, specifically in affordable housing lending and corporate banking. UTAH PROVO Simplifile hired Brian Boike as director of product strategy. Before joining Simplifile, he served at Michigan-based United Shore Financial Services, whose portfolio of brands includes United Wholesale Mortgage and Shore Mortgage. Prior to that, Boike was the product manager of a loan origination system at FIS. Boike is also a former chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association Residential Mortgage Technology Forum. Are you a mortgage professional who recently changed jobs? Let us know! Send your announcement and photo (if available) to Glenn McCullom at glenn.mccullom@sourcemedia.com. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (8 December 2016). The Secretary General praised Estonia for its commitment to the Alliance, including through contributions on cyber defence and to NATOs mission in Afghanistan. He noted that Estonia leads by example on defence spending and will host a multinational NATO battalion early next year. (NaturalHealth365) You may already know that honey is a delicious, more nutritious alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. However, did you know that Manuka honey in particular can fight off infections, as a potent ally against harmful bacteria? This special type of honey has been shown to minimize the threat of infections while also helping us to avoid the perils of antibiotic resistance which continues to develop due to the overuse of antibiotics. Researchers are excited to find that this natural cure can in many cases kill bacteria even more effectively than the antibiotics prescribed by doctors. Manuka honey is only produced in New Zealand Manuka honey is produced by bees that pollinate the manuka bush. This bush is native to New Zealand, and the manuka flower nectar contains some key compounds that help manuka honey to gain its healing properties. Other kinds of honey have germ killing properties as well; however, they are the most potent and concentrated in manuka honey from New Zealand. The healing properties of manuka honey have been appreciated by cultures in New Zealand for centuries. Its been used as a topical treatment to fight infection, ease pain and speed wound and burn healing for generations, and now science is uncovering the reasons why its so effective. Compounds in manuka honey fight bacteria on multiple levels This potent variety of honey works to fight infection on numerous levels. Because of this, it is harder for bacteria to become resistant to manuka honey. One of the main effects of manuka honey is that it induces dehydration, and bacteria cannot survive in its presence. Manuka honey embodies the effects of a high sugar concentration, high acidity, hydrogen peroxide content, its osmotic effect, and its content of polyphenols. Scientists have also found evidence that cell division in bacteria is interrupted by its antibacterial components, even against severe infections like MSRA and enlarged cells that contain septa. Manuka honey also counteracts antibiotic resistance Whats even better is that manuka honey is effective against bacteria that had already built up antibiotic resistance. The effects of manuka honey were found to be superior to the antibacterial effect of pharmaceuticals. The fact that antibiotic resistance is not triggered is obviously a tremendous incentive to use this type of natural antibiotic instead of one made in a lab. Manuka honey also seems to hinder the ability of bacteria to attach to tissues and proliferate during acute infections. The creation of biofilms is also blocked, so that bacteria cannot protect itself and continue to spread. Other studies have shown that manuka honey can even reverse some cases of antibiotic resistance. Buy manuka honey from a trusted, verified source Manuka honey is effective in treating infected surface wounds, burns, ulcers, and infections like E. coli, salmonella, S. aureus and enterobacter aerogenes, streptococci, and more. Manuka honey is so effective, even some hospitals are starting to use it. You can buy manuka honey for your home just be careful to do your homework to ensure that you are buying true manuka honey, as it is expensive and the market is prone to fraud. Look for 10 UMF (unique manuka factor) or above manuka honey, and purchase it from a trusted vendor. References: https://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/46/11/1677.full https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21903658 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609166 https://www.dermasciences.com/medihoney https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110412201713.htm (Natural News) Facebook has announced a new plan today that will very quickly transform the social media site into an echo chamber of left-wing media lies and delusional propaganda (just like weve recently seen pushed by the Washington Post). The new effort will rely on left-wing fact checker organizations like Politifact and Snopes to determine the truthiness of news stories, reports Business Insider. Those stories deemed by left-wing fact checkers to be inaccurate will be buried in Facebook users feeds as a form of organized totalitarian censorship. This Ministry of Truth news dictatorship plan will, of course, transform Facebook into nothing more than a news bubble where left-wing propaganda is repeated as fact while independent journalism is labeled fake. This means all stories that are critical of vaccines, GMOs, Planned Parenthood or Hillary Clinton will be censored out of existence. The political left, you see, doesnt seek to win any debate at all their goal is to ban the debate so that you never read any views other than theirs. (They cant win any legitimate debates or legitimate elections, so they cheat.) In essence, Facebook has now announced its going to become the North Korea of social media. Facebooks fact checkers are left-wing propagandsts who despise factual journalism Facebook has announced it will introduce warning labels on stories they deem to be fake news, with the help of partisan fact checking organisations such as Snopes and PolitiFact, reports Breitbart.com. Business Insider reports that these organisations will include the likes of Snopes, ABC, Politifact, and FactCheck.org, all of which have records of left-wing partisanship particularly throughout the 2016 election. For example, PolitiFact infamously said it was mostly false when Donald Trump claimed in a presidential debate that Hillary Clinton wanted open borders. PolitiFact made this ruling despite Clinton being on the record at a paid speech saying My dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders. Trump also said that Russia has 1,800 nuclear warheads and has expanded its arsenal while the U.S. has not. PolitiFact admitted that Trumps claim was factual, but it rated the statement as half true for supposedly missing the big picture. In both of these cases, PolitiFact went beyond mere fact-checking and moved the goal posts in ways that benefited Clintons candidacy. This type of ideological fact checking went beyond parody during Octobers presidential debates, with NBC taking Trumps statement that Clinton acid washed her emails (a reference to the data deletion tool BleachBit) 100% literally and declaring the statement false. Its time to leave Facebook and discover alternatives like Diaspora or Gab.ai As Facebook turns into an echo chamber of mentally ill liberal whackos, informed people will look elsewhere for uncensored, independent news. One of the best alternatives for Facebook is Diaspora, a network of independent social media hubs run by independent, open source organizations like Natural News. Our Diaspora hub is found at Share.NaturalNews.com, and its rapidly growing. There, youll receive every story we post, unlike Facebook where 99% of our posts are deliberately buried by Facebook itself. Gab.ai is also rapidly growing, promising uncensored free speech in a social media format. You can find my articles posted in real time at these two accounts: https://gab.ai/healthranger https://gab.ai/NaturalNews Join all these sources so that you can stay informed. Understand that Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo and all the other internet gatekeepers are now engaged in an all out war against independent news, hoping to censor it out of existence. (Theyve lost the narrative, and they lost the election. Now theyre desperate to destroy whatever voices they dont control but it will only cause them to lose their audience.) A mass exodus away from Fakebook By censoring independent journalism, Facebook is going to lose tens of millions of users who will simply go somewhere else. The left-wing propaganda swallowers who stay behind at Facebook will simply become increasingly misinformed and mentally ill as they follow the left-wing media down the rabbit hole of delusional Russian hacker conspiracy theories and hatred against America, the Constitution and the entire male population in general. It wont be long, probably, before Snopes officially confirms that having white skin makes you a racist, or that all men are evil due to their genetics. Politifact might throw down its own delusional facts that claim Donald Trump was hypnotized by the Russians as a Manchurian candidate to commit genocide against women (or whatever) whose body parts will be harvested for organ donations to gray aliens from planet Cockamamie. I cant wait for Snopes to confirm that people can transform XY chromosomes into XX chromosomes by declaring themselves to be transgender. Before long, everything pushed by the left from climate change lunacy to transgender psychosis will be rooted in sheer delusion that stands in complete contradiction to scientific reality. Yet it will all be pushed by Facebook as verified fact. To the utterly insane left, facts are whatever they believe in, no matter how disconnected from reality they might be. We have now entered the Orwellian nightmare we all knew was coming. The good news is that you can simply change the channel and escape the nightmare by avoiding Facebook altogether. Its time to #DumpFacebook for good. Join these social media alternatives now Diaspora hub for Natural News: Share.NaturalNews.com Gab.ai pages: https://gab.ai/HealthRanger https://gab.ai/NaturalNews (Natural News) Taking advantage of progressive government policies regarding marijuana cultivation for medicinal and research purposes, Israeli entrepreneurs are aiming to make the country a global hub for medical cannabis research. Applying advanced agricultural technology to provide medical-grade cannabis for research (and eventually for export, if expected changes in the current laws are made), several Israeli startups are already reporting a brisk trade particularly from clients in countries like the United States, where marijuana research is either illegal or strictly controlled. Licensed growers and research facilities in Israel are expecting even more business from the U.S. after the November elections, which increased to 29 the number of states permitting the use of medical marijuana. Since marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the federal level in the U.S., research continues to be strictly regulated, but as more states pass medical marijuana measures, Israel is hoping that more American companies turn to their facilities for the research work that needs to be done. The cannabis industry is receiving strong support from the Israeli government. From Bloomberg: The Israeli government has identified medical cannabis as an economic opportunity. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel says his ministry will research ways to best grow cannabis, and would back export of locally grown medical marijuana, currently banned under national law. The Health Ministry, which has its own medical cannabis department, is extending the number of licenses granted to growers, doctors and patients to expand the local market and also plans to support industry requests for exports. Cannabis industry likely to bring significant economic boom to Israel If cannabis exports are legalized, Israels economy could benefit enormously. The worldwide legal marijuana market is expected to reach $140.5 billion by 2020, and some are predicting that the marijuana industry in Israel could grow to rival that of the tech industry, which now accounts for around 40 percent of the countrys industrial exports and roughly one-third of its GDP. Aside from the favorable legal climate, Israel is in many respects uniquely suited to becoming a global cannabis hub; the countrys agricultural technologies are highly advanced, and its medical research facilities are respected worldwide. Israel has traditionally embraced a making the desert bloom philosophy according to one cannabis company CEO and marijuana has always played a role in the countrys history. The collective Israeli mindset regarding cannabis appears to be far less puritanical than that of the United States. An Israeli scientist, Raphael Mechoulam, was the first to isolate THC, the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant. Marijuana use considered kosher even by conservative Israeli Orthodox Jewish community And although there are Israelis who still oppose legalization, the medicinal use of cannabis is reportedly considered kosher by even the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Indeed, the countrys ultra-Orthodox health minister has called for increased marijuana cultivation in an effort towards eliminating long waiting periods for patients to obtain their medical cannabis. In response, Israeli startups are investing heavily in expanding their operations. One such firm, Breath of Life Pharma, has plans to increase its greenhouse facilities and production tenfold over the next year: The privately held 10-year-old company says it has tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue, mostly from supplying pure active ingredients to American and European companies already coming to Israel to do clinical trials. Breath of Lifes computer-controlled, camera-patrolled, password-secured greenhouses are state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation areas designed to meet the national and international demand for high quality medicinal marijuana. The company, like many others in Israel, is looking forward to a prosperous future in the legal cannabis market. As more countries throughout the world recognize the benefits of cannabis as therapy, theres no doubt the industry will continue to expand for some years to come in Israel and elsewhere. Sources: Bloomberg.com FreedomLeaf.com Attn.com QZ.com (Natural News) Gary Nathaniel Moore, a Muslim who attended the Savoy Masjid Mosque in Houston, Texas, recently pleaded guilty to setting the mosque ablaze last December. He is being charged with felony arson and has been sentenced to four years in prison, which seems extremely minor when you consider the fact that he was facing 99 years to life for the crime. Lana Shadwick of Breitbart reports, The fire investigator who interviewed Moore looked at surveillance video from another location and positively identified the man leaving the mosque as the same person he spoke to at the scene of the fire on December 25. On December 28, another investigator showed Saleem Memon, a member of the mosque for eleven years, a surveillance photo of the man leaving the mosque. He positively identified the man as Gary Nathaniel Moore. So why would Moore set fire to the mosque he attended every single day, up to five times per day, for over five years? The obvious answer is that he was trying to create a false narrative about anti-Islamic terrorism. Given the fact that the Regressive Left has been pushing the idea that Muslims are never terrorists, always victims and are far more likely to be victims of terrorism than the ones committing it, this shouldnt come as much of a surprise. Radicalization comes in all forms. While there is radical Islam in the traditional sense, there are also radical Muslims who want to cause harm to the western way of life in a way that doesnt rely on common forms of terrorism. These people should be taken just as seriously as those who are trying to shoot up malls and stab people on college campuses. Dismissing them as being anything less puts a lot of innocent people in a dangerous situation. It is incredibly irresponsible. Despite all of the evidence here, which completely proves that Moore is responsible for the attack, the leftists of the world are sure to avoid blaming any of this on radical Islamic extremism. No matter what, they just cannot bring themselves to admit that there are evil people within the religion that are willing to do anything in order to push their agenda. These kinds of hoaxes and attempted hoaxes have gotten so common in recent years that its difficult to take anything as the gospel truth until there are dozens of sources to back up the claims. This is something that we should all keep in mind moving forward, for the next time a suspicious tragedy occurs Sources: Breitbart.com AmericanThinker.com Chron.com It's official: Elon Musk, the bright mind behind amazing space and tech startups like SpaceX, Tesla Motors, and SolarCity, will be one of the strategic advisors for US President-elect Donald Trump. It will be recalled that the Musk was one of the many leaders in the tech industry that vocally expressed disapproval of the then presidential candidate during the campaign period. The SpaceX founder was quoted saying, "I don't think this is the finest moment in our democracy." "I feel stronger probably about the fact that he's not the right guy. He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States," Musk told CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla back in November. US President-elect Trump pooled the most prominent tech leaders of the country for a special summit at the Trump Tower in New York City on Wednesday. In an official press release sent out on December 14, the office of President-elect Trump said: "The Forum is designed to provide direct input to the President from many of the best and brightest in the business world in a frank, non-bureaucratic and non-partisan manner," SpaceNews wrote. In the event, Trump assured them that his administration will do everything to support the industry. "We want you to keep going with the incredible innovation. Anything we can do to help this go on, we will be there for you. You'll call my people, you'll call me. We have no formal chain of command around here," President-elect Trump told the group, The Sun reported. Aside from Elon Musk, other high-profile CEO present at the forum included Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, Apple's Tim Cook, Alphabet's Larry Page, Google's Eric Schmidt, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Amazon's Jeff Bezos (who also founded SpaceX rival rocket company Blue Origin), Oracle's Safra Catz, and Cisco Systems' Chuck Robbins. Facebook Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, acted as proxy for CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook founder vehemently Trump's pledge to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country illegally. An artist in Canada made the most interesting move in trying to save his family's property from being bought by oil companies. He turned his land into art and bought it a copyright, claiming that any change in the land would be a "copyright infringement," allowing him to sue anyone that will industrialize his land in the next 50 years. At this time, there are a number of pipeline proposals that would run through Canadian lands and mountains. These include TransCanada's Energy East pipeline. There is also the Trans Mountain Expansion. Since the 1990s, oil companies have been buying off homes and farms, not only creating a major eyesore, but also displacing many families. According to a report, any oil company can lay claim to "any land underneath private property to a depth of six inches." It is with this that Peter von Tiesenhausen started finding ways to stop oil companies from laying their pipes in his home. The Canadian artist said that he not only owns the 800-acre land but has also grown up in it. In an interview, the artist explained that many of his arts not only feature nature but also encourage his fellows to take care of it. One of the pieces of art he has been doing in his land is a long white picket fence which he has started when he was very young. Every year, he adds a little length representing his life. The ones he has built when he was young are now old. A report from Treehugger explained that he has not done this so that he would get money from his land. He said that he has just done a method to meet these oil companies eye to eye, relating to them and challenging them on their level. Is that a smile you see on that rat's face? The ears tell the story, according to a new study published by scientists on Plos One. The team of researchers with the University of Bern in Switzerland revealed that rats actually express their happiness by "smiling" through their ears. A report from Phys.Org revealed that the scientists were able to discover that rats experiencing happiness or pleasure tend to have their ears become droopier and pinker. The lowered ears indicated a relaxed state, while there has been no clear-cut explanation yet for the noticeable change in color. It was suggested that it may have been an effect of increased blood flow due to the physical exertion of laughing. The researchers of this new study took their cues from a previous research published in Science Magazine that explained that rats liked being tickled - not unlike rubbing a dog's belly, perhaps. This study showed that the small animals were shown to have sought out the researcher's hand to get tickled some more and they also emitted ultra-sonic sounds that are considered to be the equivalent to giggles in humans, according to a report from the New York Times. With this in mind, the team from the more recent study designed two environmental experiences to observe the rats' reaction: tickling for a positive experience and white noise for a negative experience. While there have been multiple studies observing pain and other negative emotions in rats, this is the first to delve into positive emotions such as happiness. In a report from National Geographic, Luca Melotti, one of the authors of the new study and an animal behavior expert from the University of Bern, explained that recognizing animals' different emotions - pleasure or pain - could help people give pet or laboratory animals a better quality of life. Despite being a playful term, it appears the word "boner" does have a sense of reality to it. The presence of a baculum, or a penis bone, has baffled scientists for decades. It can be as long as a finger in monkeys and two feet long in walruses, but it is completely gone in humans. Why? Scientists are starting to get an answer. According to The Guardian, scientists are starting to "map" out the evolutionary story of the baculum by tracing its appearances in mammals and primates throughout history. They discovered that the penis bone evolved in mammals more than 95 million years ago and was present in the first primates around 50 million years back. Now, the baculum has become larger in some animals and smaller than others. The 10-kilogram macaque has a five-centimeter baculum. This is five times the size of the baculum in the collared mangabey, a slightly larger monkey. According to Science Magazine, Kit Opie and Matilda Brindle of the University College London said the penis bone length was longer in males that engaged in "prolonged intromission." This means, the act of penetration that lasted more than three minutes, which could help males impregnate females while keeping her away from competition. The penis bone attaches at the tip of the penis rather than the base, and it provides structural support for male animals that engage in these activities. According to their study, the penis bone in chimps is no longer than a human fingernail. The tininess of the bone correlates with the very short "spell" that the male spends mating, which is seven seconds. In chimpanzee groups, females tend to mate with all the males in what appears to be a strategy to reduce the risk of her children being killed by the older males. Humans may have lost their penis bones when monogamy emerged as the "dominant" reproductive tactic by the time of Homo erectus about 1.9 million years ago. Scientists believe that the males do not have to spend a long time penetrating the female as she is not likely to be "leaped" upon by other males. Of course, this is just a theory. Amazon has made it public knowledge that it plans to launch a drone-based delivery service a few years back. However, it was just until yesterday that it remained fiction. Amazon has announced its first successful drone delivery on December 7. According to Tech Radar, its Prime Air trial took place in Cambridge, England. It used one of its drone to fly from the Cambridge fulfilment center to deliver a package for a recipient. The entire process, from order to delivery, took only 13 minutes. Of course, the speed is in part down to the fact that the customers taking part in the trial just live nearby. Regardless, according to Engadget, as soon as the order (popcorn and an Amazon Fire TV stick) have been placed in a box in the drone, the drone is moved along a conveyor belt before taking off. According to the Wall Street Journal, it will then make its way to the customer's house via GPS. The drone will be landing on the special pad at the house of the customer and, once the order is completed, it takes off and is sent back to the center. Customers that are in the trial will be able to order Prime Air deliveries seven days a week but they'll be restricted to daylight hours and good weather conditions. Of course, winter seems an impractical time for deliveries. Regardless, Amazon will be using the data and feedback gathered through the beta tests to expand the trials. At the moment only two customers are being serviced, but Amazon wants to expand the services to "dozens" of others living near the Cambridge base. It's likely a long time before regular customers will see the service expanded to more populated areas. Amazon appears to have similar custom-built "fulfilment centers" in the United States, Austria and Israel meaning we may be seeing the tests in the locations soon. The company said it will work with regulators and policymakers in other countries before being able to expand the service to other territories. The new Dementia Research Institute in Britain wants to make dementia as "controllable" as HIV, if its research in the matter proves to be fruitful in the next few years. This can prove helpful to a lot of people suffering from the condition, which has baffled people in the scientific field for decades. Alzheimer's may in some cases be even be managed by 2025, according to Bart De Strooper, head of the DRI. There is even a chance that the research may help the brain "rewire" itself and restore lost mental ability once progress of the disease has been halted. According to the Independent, this proclamation was made after the announcement of his announcement as the director of the UK DRI. The world-renowed Belgian neuroscientist told the Press Association that he hopes a lot of patients can be treated with the disease the same way people with HIV are treated today. He added that the brain is the most "plastic organ" we have, meaning if we could stabilise the disease at an early stage, the brain may regain some of its lost functions. De Strooper is currently putting together a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, biologists, engineers and data specialists working from centers across the UK. The scientist also wants to broaden the research beyond the "amyloid hypothesis," since a lot of work on the matter has been focused on this theory. According to NWE Mail, the hypothesis places clumps of sticky protein fragments in the brain known as beta-amyloid as the leading cause of the disease. These "plaques" have been recognized as the "icon" for Alzheimer's, but its purpose is yet to be revealed. De Stooper said dementia is probably more complicated than the amyloid hypothesis, in a way similar to cancer, and that it may also be driven by a lot of factors. According to the Financial Times, the Strooper added the priority of the DRI on its first year is to improve the world's mechanistic understanding of the disease via a multi-disciplinary approach. He added this is because modern medicine is already inherently multi-disciplinary. This is especially in the fields such as genetics, bio-informatics and engineering. Michael Meyer, the lead scientist for the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, revealed how the space agency chooses where to land on the Red Planet on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco. Landing on Mars simply can't be a matter of trial and error, given the years of rigorous engineering and scientific work and the months of long arduous journey in outer space. "You can't say, 'here are ten different sites, let's go to them. Each mission- it's one shot. You definitely want to pick the right one," Meyer said. According to him, the "spectacular" participation of the bigger science community is an essential component in selecting sites for both robotic and human landings. Thanks to the more advanced technology, NASA now uses space orbiters deployed in Mars - the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, for example - to give the experts a picture of what makes an ideal landing site, and to ultimately refine the list of candidate sites. "The first human landing sites workshop in 2015 yielded 47 landing site proposals. NASA is looking to set up a semi-permanent base, dubbed an 'exploration zone,' where crews can live off the land and explore up to a 60-mile (100-kilometer) radius. There will be more workshops and more reconnaissance as the list narrows down in years to come," an article by NASA stated. Meyer added that NASA also takes into consideration that astronauts, making sure they can make the best of the surroundings. "Is there a place to land? Are there resources that you can make use of there, such as water so that you can make your own fuel? Are there interesting things in the area for the astronauts to explore," he told the AUG audience. "You feel like you know the place already, and then when you get there. It's different. It's always a great surprise," the astronaut continued. Continuing the open process started with Spirit and Opportunity, NASA is holding landing site workshops for both the next rover, Mars 2020, and a future human landing site mission, ECN Mag reported. Last year, over 400 participants attended the first human landing sites workshop by NASA. A monstrous wave in the North Atlantico ocean just set a record for being the world's tallest wave measured by a buoy. The record was confirmed by the World Meteorological Organizzation (WMO). According to the UN agency, the wave was recorded in February 2013, between Iceland and the UK. But it was only this week that they were able to finally confirm it. "This is the first time we have ever measured a wave of 19 metres," says WMO Assistant Secretary-General Wenjian Zhang in a statement. "It is a remarkable record." Agence France-Presse reported that the mighty wave occurred after a "very strong" cold front had barreled through the area, producing winds up of 43.8 knots (81 kilometers, 50.4 miles per hour). Popular Science said the number was obtained by calculating the significant wave height, which is the average of the tallest third of waves a buoy measures. Thus, it is possible that some of the "individual" waves are actually higher than 19 meters. Randall Cerveny, a scientist at the WMO told Live Science that average is a more reliable measure of wave height than that of a single wave. Wave height is defined as the distance between crest of one wave and the trough of the next. Buoy's data help scientists study how oceans affect weather and therefore WMO says the record highlighs the importance of meteorological and ocean observations. "It highlights the importance of meteorological and ocean observations and forecasts to ensure the safety of the global maritime industry and to protect the lives of crew and passengers on busy shipping lanes," Zhang said. As per Science Alert, the 19-meter high wave overtook the previous record-holder from December 2007, which measured 18.275 meters (59.96 feet). It also occurred in the North Atlantic. As the WMO explained, the world's biggest waves typically occur in the North Atlantic in winter as storms strengthen. Mylan is about to start selling a generic version of its EpiPen injector for $300 per two-pack, under half the cost of the name-brand lifesaving drug, the pharmaceutical company announced Friday. The move comes after 20 state attorneys general launched a federal lawsuit alleging that Mylan and five other generic drug-makers artificially inflated and manipulated prices to reduce competition for an antibiotic and oral diabetes medication. Mylan has been offering EpiPen, an emergency allergy treatment, for about $608, up more than 500 percent nine years ago, according to the Elsevier Clinical Solutions' Gold Standard Drug Database. The company came under fire this summer for those price hikes, leading to a congressional inquiry. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch faces Congress to answer questions on EpiPen price hikes. The $300 cost of the new generic EpiPen two-pack is wholesale for Mylan. It works the same way as EpiPen, the company said, and will arrive in pharmacies next week. Sen. Bernie Sanders took issue with the announcement Friday morning, calling it a "PR move" that doesn't restore the drug to its 2007 prices. At $300 generic EpiPens will still cost 3 times more than they did in 2007. This isn't a discount. It's a PR move. https://t.co/mHngrVfS62 Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 16, 2016 Mylan CEO Heather Bresch told CNBC in August that lowering the price was not an option, though it also boosted its patient assistance program so that some families wouldn't have to pay out of pocket for the injector. "Had we reduced the list price, I couldn't ensure that everyone who needs an EpiPen gets one," she said. Connecticut is leading the states' lawsuits over drug pricing. Attorney General George Jepsen, whose office began its investigation more than two years ago into suspicious price increases of certain generic medications, said his staff "developed compelling evidence of collusion and anticompetitive conduct" among many companies that manufacture and market generic drugs. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More Jepsen called Heritage Pharmaceuticals "the principal architect of the conspiracies," but said he had evidence of "widespread participation in illegal conspiracies across the generic drug industry." Both Mylan and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA said they knew of no evidence that they had participated in price fixing. Teva said it "vigorously" denies any allegations of wrongdoing. Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. declined to comment. The other companies named Citron Pharma LLC and Mayne Pharma Inc. didn't return requests for comment Thursday. Prosecutors Wednesday announced the dismissal of 15 cases involving criminal defendants who were arrested by two former Pittsburg police officers accused of misconduct, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. The officers, Michael Sibbitt, Jr. and Elisabeth Ingram Terwilliger, claim they were instructed by higher-ups to falsify crime reports by not documenting the use of force and recording crimes as less serious than they were in order to keep the city's crime statistics artificially low. The District Attorney's Office subsequently reviewed cases that involved the officers from as far back as 2013, according to Deputy District Attorney Lynn Uilkema. "I went through (the cases) with a fine-tooth comb," Uilkema said. Ultimately she found the 15 cases, most of which involved plea deals with the defendants, where the outcomes could have been different if the defense attorneys had known about the accusations against the officers. "It could have changed the outcome of the proceedings and we're trying to be fair," Uilkema said. Only in three of the dismissed cases did the defendants' public defenders ask for the pertinent personnel documents that would have revealed any accusations of misconduct concerning the officers, Uilkema said. In those cases, the Pittsburg police department failed to provide the documents. In all 15 of the cases, either Sibbitt or Terwilliger or both together were the primary witnesses to the alleged crimes and because their credibility has been significantly damaged by the accusations against them, prosecutors decided that whatever plea deals or convictions were obtained are no longer sustainable, Uilkema said. The cases involved three felonies, 10 misdemeanors and two infractions. The defendants were charged with various crimes, including being a felon in possession of a firearm, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, burglary, resisting arrest, providing false information to police and possession of controlled substances. Several of the defendants were sentenced to jail time and the longest time served was 245 days for the firearms charge. Several other cases involving the officers were not dismissed because in those instances either other officers were present and could serve as credible witnesses, body camera footage was available to verify Sibbitt's or Terwilliger's accounts or there were other ways to confirm their versions of events, Uilkema said. So far, all of the dismissed cases involve defendants who used the county's public defender's office, and Uilkema says she is reviewing other cases involving private defense attorneys in order to determine if similar problems exist. "I'm optimistic that there won't be that many," Uilkema said. In August, Terwilliger and Sibbitt filed federal wrongful termination lawsuits against the city of Pittsburg and police Chief Brian Addington. They claim they were whistleblowers who tried to bring attention to the department's crime reporting practices and, as a result, they were forced out of their jobs. "Both officers believe the Pittsburg Police Department is attempting to 'throw them under the bus' to cover up its own misconduct," their lawyer Scott Brown said in a statement today. "Officers Sibbitt and Terwilliger adamantly deny using excessive or unwarranted force during any apprehension or arrest." A Pittsburg police spokesman declined to comment for this story. The U.S. and its NATO allies are taking no chances amid a build-up of military force on Europe's eastern frontier with Russia. Three years after the last American tank left Europe, they are being brought back "as part of our commitment to deterrence," Gen. Frederick "Ben" Hodges told NBC News. Hodges, who is commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, welcomed a batch of tracked and wheeled support vehicles to a depot in the Netherlands on Thursday. Amid the new threat from the East, with Russia's recent unannounced military exercises along the borders of the Baltic states and the 2014 annexation of Crimea, U.S. and NATO officials have been preparing for an increased presence across Europe, especially at NATO's eastern borders, "sending a clear message to Russia," officials say. When it comes to those who have served presidents in the White House, Chicagoan are well represented. On Friday, the most recent White House Chiefs of Staff met with Reince Priebus, the incoming WHCOS, and four of them had ties to the Chicago area. The list of Chicago natives includes Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, who served in the Obama Administration, as well as former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, who served in the Clinton Administration, sources told NBC Chicago. Samuel Skinner, who served in George H.W Bushs administration and was born in Chicago and raised in Illinois, also attended the meeting. As part of the Presidents directive for a smooth transition to the next administration, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough has invited incoming Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to have lunch with him and other former Chiefs of Staff here at the White House Friday, according to a White House official. This meeting is similar to one hosted in 2008 by then White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten to welcome incoming Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. The meeting also included former chiefs of staff Jack Watson of the Carter Administration, Ken Duberstein of the Reagan Administration, Andy Card and Josh Bolten of the George W. Bush Administration, and Pete Rouse and Jack Lew of the Obama Administration. Ald. Willie Cochran pledged his innocence Thursday after being indicted on a series of federal charges, including allegations of bribery, wire fraud and extortion, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. I have never extorted money, Cochran said in a text message to the Sun-Times. I am a giver not a taker. My emphasis has been and will continue to be on seniors and youth, he added. Cochran was accused of using money from the 20th Activities Ward Fund to pay $5,000 towards his daughters college tuition and finance gambling expenses. According to the indictment, Cochran withdrew roughly $25,000 from ATMs in or near casinos where he gambled. The alderman, a former Chicago police sergeant, allegedly misled donors, claiming contributions to the fund would be used for charitable endeavors. Cochran was also accused of soliciting bribes from local businessmen seeking favors. After being asked why he withdrew the $25,000 from ATMs near casinos, Cochran offered a somewhat bizarre response. Account has been closed 3 years, he told the Sun-Times. Do the math: $25,000 [divided by] 5 yrs. (2009-13)=$5,000 [dvided by] 12 months+$416-a-month. Less than 9% admin fee. Is that worthy of a charge in an indictment. According to the Sun-Times report, Cochran also failed to respond to a handful of questions about why his charity wasnt registered, why his aldermanic salary and police pension were not enough compensation, whether he had a gambling problem and what he would say to residents of his ward who have seen two of his predecessors go to prison. The embattled Cochran was first elected alderman in 2007, defeating Arenda Troutman, who ultimately pleaded guilty to two federal charges in 2008 after admitting to taking bribes as the 20th Ward alderman. She was sentenced to four years in prison. Additionally, former Ald. Cliff Kelle was indicted on charges of bribery and income tax evasion in 1986 and later convicted. Despite the indictment, Cochran attended Wednesdays City Council meeting, leaving the chambers following a resolution honoring the World Series champion Chicago Cubs and ducking reporters on the way out. Cochran has made it clear that he doesnt intend to step down. Dozens of people returned to their homes Friday morning in southwest suburban Homer Glen, hours after a house explosion and fire, believed to have been caused by a gas leak, forced them to evacuate the area. A father and daughter were both injured when their home exploded and caught fire after a gas leak, officials confirmed Thursday. More than a dozen homes were evacuated as the area experienced some of the coldest temperatures so far this season. The fire broke out around 4:30 p.m. near 142nd Street and Parker Road. Nicor Gas spokesman Joe DelReal said the company was working to cap a gas leak in the area but had not yet determined the source. "Right now were working to isolate part of the distribution system at 143rd and Parker," he said at a press conference. A cloud of smoke and large flames could be seen miles away. The American Red Cross was on the scene to assist those displaced and affected by the explosion, the relief organization said in a statement. The mayor of Homer Glen, George Yukich, said there wasn't immediate word of the extent of the burn victims' injuries. "Our prayers go out to them and their families," he said. Residents in the area reported being notified of a possible gas leak before the fire broke out. An evacuation within a 2-mile radius of the home was put in place and the Village Hall was being used as an evacuation center, officials said. Neighbors reported hearing an explosion just hours after the smell of gas was reported in the area. "The smell of gas was so strong, it was just unbelievable," said neighbor Lisa Petty. Sharon Bargiel lives a block away from the scene and said she didn't realize what she'd heard until her husband got home. "I said no, just look out our bedroom window, and you could see the smoke and plumes coming up," she told NBC 5. "I almost started crying, I was worried someone in the house was hurt." Todd Fonfara, Northwest Homer Glen's deputy fire chief, said first responders were going door to door checking on residents. Nicor Gas said Friday that gas service will be restored to the impacted homes later in the day. Nicor Gas continues to investigate an explosion that occurred in Homer Glen yesterday afternoon," the company siad in a statement. "Crews have worked diligently to make the necessary repairs to the system. Gas service will be safely restored to all impacted homes later today, and customers are being notified. A man has been charged after a woman said she had been duped into paying him after he posed as an Uber driver and used her credit card information to take more than $1,000 from her account. Marlon Baymon, 43, of the 100 block of East 57th Street, Chicago, was charged Friday with wire fraud, possession of a stolen ID and continuing financial crimes enterprise, all felonies. Authorities say a driver has been scamming passengers by asking for a credit card after claiming there is something wrong with the passengers payment. Police say a Mount Prospect resident was picked up by someone who looked like an Uber driver in Chicago near Clark and Ontario streets in Chicago. The victim was taken all the way back to Mount Prospect when the driver claimed her payment wouldnt go through the app. He then demanded she pay with her debit card and required the victim to enter her pin number on his phone, police say. The victim told police a few days later her bank account was short $1,200. Everybody needs money for the holidays and some people dont care how they get it, said Det. Dirk Ollech. This victim saw an Uber sticker in the vehicle but those obviously can be obtained through other means. Since October, Chicago police have reported several similar incidents, adding up to thousands of dollars from victims. Uber says it offers safety tips for riders to followbut police say using common sense is key. It seems like maybe people are becoming a little bit too trusting," Ollech said. Just not following the safety steps. A decal on the window isnt enough to go by, police say. Uber encourages riders to check the license plate against the one shown in the app, to make sure the driver matches the photo in the app and to ask for the drivers nameand to never accept solicitations. Mount Prospect and Chicago police are working together in an ongoing investigation. Police are asking anyone who may have been victims of the driver to contact Chicago Police Area Central Detectives at (312) 747-8382. Firefighters were responding to a plane landing while experiencing engine trouble at Rockford Airport Thursday, a Rockford Fire Department official confirmed. The plane was carrying 177 passengers and six crew members, a spokesperson for airline company Allegiant told NBC 5. A Rockford Fire Official told the news station WREX in a Facebook Live interview it looked like a bird had flown into the engine of the plane. The aircraft was headed to Punta Gorda, Florida. It left Rockford Airport and returned after announcing an emergency when it experienced engine trouble. #BREAKING: The Rockford Fire Department says a plane carrying 137 people has landed at Rockford's airport after a reported engine fire. pic.twitter.com/PNmUclekLd 13WREX (@13WREX) December 15, 2016 "The aircraft experienced a bird strike to its number one engine in flight, and per safety procedures the captain shut down the engine," Hilarie Grey, an spokeswoman for the airline said. "The aircraft returned to Rockford landed safely and was met by airport fire crews. Passengers deplaned at the gate." Passengers were provided $100 vouchers for future travel on Allegiant, Grey said, as well as food service in the gate area. The state of Connecticut has approved its first medical marijuana research program. Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford will conduct the medical marijuana research program and its related to patients with multiple rib fractures, according to the state Department of Consumer Protection. State and hospital officials will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. to announce the program. So far the states medical marijuana program has 584 registered physicians and 14,858 certified patients. Hartford police have arrested a woman who is accused of shooting at her estranged husband outside a grocery store in Hartford on Thursday evening. Police responded to Wethersfield Avenue, at Elliot Street, just after 6:36 p.m. after someone reported her daughter tried to shoot her husband during an altercation, police said. The patrol officers who responded found a 31-year-old man outside the Premium Grocery at 347 Wethersfield Ave. and he said his estranged wife, 31-year-old Madeline Mercado, approached him while he was in his Nissan Maxima, banged on the front passenger window with the gun, then pointed it at him and shot at him once, police said. The victim said Mercado ran toward 25 Elliot St. According to police, the victims vehicle had a broken window, there was a hole in the front passenger side door that appeared to be a gunshot and a projectile was located in the passenger compartment. The victim was not injured and declined medical attention and police seized the vehicle as evidence. When police interviewed Mercado, she told them she had been involved in an altercation with her estranged husband and was forced to fire her gun in self-defense, police said, but they added that the video was not consistent with Mercados side of the story. Mercado had a valid Connecticut pistol permit and turned her Ruger LC9 9mm with five live 9mm rounds over to police, police said. Police arrested Mercado and charged her with first-degree criminal attempted assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace. State officials have reached a deal with Xerox to keep the company in Norwalk and the deal includes a $4.4 million loan, according to the governors office. A statement from Gov. Dannel Malloy says Xerox company headquarters and 150 jobs will stay in Norwalk and the company could add between 20 and 40 new jobs over the next four years. The Xerox Corporations announcement removes all uncertainty regarding the location of the companys headquarters, Malloy said in a statement. Todays news guarantees that Xerox will continue to invest in the state, contribute to the community, and create high-paying jobs where it has called home for nearly five decades. The Department of Economic and Community Development will provide a 10-year, $4.4 million low-interest loan that Xerox will use to buy new equipment and make improvements at its new headquarters in the Merritt 7 Corporate Park in Norwalk. The company has been located at 45 Glover Ave. Xerox has been headquartered in Connecticut for almost 50 years and with this decision, will continue to be part of the economic fabric of this state, Leslie Varon, Xeroxs chief financial officer, said in a statement. Earlier in the year, Xerox Corporation announced it was separating its printer-copier business from its other contract services like toll-booth software and call centers. While Xerox will remain in Norwalk, the business services component, now named Conduent, will move to New Jersey. Xerox has around 39,000 employees and serves customers in 160 countries. The Kremlin on Thursday disputed an NBC News' report that U.S. intelligence has documented Vladimir Putin's personal involvement in a Russian intelligence operation to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press the report was "laughable nonsense." Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused "Western media" of being a "shill" and a "mouthpiece of various power groups." NBC News reported Thursday night that two senior officials with direct access to the information say new intelligence shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used. The intelligence came from diplomatic sources and spies working for U.S. allies, the officials said. Appearing on MSNBC Thursday, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said: "We just don't think Russia would engage in activities like hacking American political organizations without the approvals from the highest level of government. And we are considering what are the responses that can be taken." Another strong Arctic cold front to our north is making its way into Connecticut. Strong winds and snow squalls are expected as the front moves in tonight. So far winds have behaved today but as the front approaches the wind will pick up and the snow will redevelop. As of 7 p.m. the Arctic front stretched from southern New Hampshire into Vermont and near Albany, NY. The concern for tonight is the wind that will pick up as the front moves in. The atmosphere will be very well mixed from the ground up to about 7,000 feet above our heads where the winds are near hurricane force! While 65 knots of wind won't make it down to the ground - even 75 percent of this would produce some powerful gusts and scattered power outages. So far the winds behind the front haven't been too bad - the highest gust I've seen in Vermont is 40 knots in Barre-Montpelier. However, given the strength of the winds at the top of the mixed layer and the front and sharp pressure rises behind it moving in the threat for 60 mph winds remains. We'll also have to deal with snow squalls as a long and impressive lake effect snow plume - which stretches from Lake Superior to Lake Huron to Lake Ontario teams up with the Arctic front and approaches from the north. A coating to an inch and a brief period of heavy snow is a good bet in at least some areas. Tomorrow morning will be cold but not exceedingly so. Temperatures will generally be above zero and wind chills around -15F for many inland areas. While this is pretty cold for sure it's something we deal with a few times a winter - at least! After tonight our focus shifts to our Saturday winter storm. Our computer models have been in great agreement for a couple days with this storm with a pretty consistent solution since Monday. Right now our European Ensemble model shows a 90% chance of more than 3" of snow along and northwest of I-84. Around New London not one of the 51 ensemble member delivers 3" of snow! The GFS solution is a bit less robust with snowfall maxing out at 3" or 4" across the state. One thing that is still to be figured out is how fast low level warmth streams in from the south. Some of our super high resolution models - like the new 3km NAM - keeps an impressive cold tuck over southern New England on Saturday as winds out of the north develop with a weak low tracking over southeastern Massachusetts. This would result in a period of icy travel after the snow ends Saturday afternoon across most of Connecticut with temperatures struggling above 32F. The high-res NAM is the only model to show this so right now it's worth watching but is not the most likely scenario. At this points we're expecting 4"-6" of snow north of I-84, 2"-4" from Hartford south to New Haven, and 1"-2" around New London. The heaviest of the snow will be right around daybreak with a transition to ice (freezing rain) and rain along the shoreline. Should be sloppy! Southwest Airlines CEO, Gary Kelly, is a happy man these days. "We're finishing up the year on a really high note," Kelly said in a recent interview with NBC 5. The Dallas-based carrier posted robust numbers in November. It just launched service to Havana, Cuba, the airline's 100th destination, and Kelly says Southwest has seen a spike in bookings since the presidential election. "I think there is a lift in the optimism of the country, and I think there's a hope about the prospect and change in perhaps some positive ways," he said. Kelly says he hopes President-elect Donald Trump will reform the nation's tax code and invest in infrastructure, especially the country's outdated air traffic control system. Kelly does have questions for the new administration, though. "Any efforts to restrict trade, we would be concerned with," he said. He also expressed concern about Trump's tough talk on Mexico and Cuba. Those are two new markets for Southwest where the airline hopes to continue growing. "Hopefully we won't go backwards in those areas," Kelly said. Kelly says Southwest will add at least one more city to its network in 2017, possibly more. Looking farther into the future, Southwest has its eye on as many as 50 cities in places as far-flung as Hawaii, Canada, Alaska and South America. Despite the airline's growth, Kelly says customers should not expect any major changes to the flying experience: no assigned seats, no business class cabins. "In my opinion, it's not anything we'll want to do, ever," he said. Kelly also says there are no plans to add fees for checked bags. "We think it would cost us a billion dollars in business in lost customers that would not be offset by bag fees," Kelly said. Southwest does face challenges in the year ahead. There is still no deal with its mechanics union, but Kelly says he is confident the two sides will reach an agreement. Southwest also remains locked in a bitter dispute with Delta over the use of one gate at Dallas Love Field. The airlines are sharing it right now, but Southwest says it has exclusive rights to the gate and needs the space to accommodate its packed flight schedule at Love. The case is in federal appeals court. "We'll press that until we win," Kelly said. It has been 30 years since Kelly started at Southwest. 2017 marks the start of his fourth decade with the company. Kelly acknowledges the importance of grooming a successor, and says Southwest has plenty of talent in-house. But for the time being, Gary Kelly has no plans to leave the pilot's seat. "I'm not going to leave Southwest. I'm here for life," he said. A Fort Worth Independent School District employee has contracted the mumps, Tarrant County health officials say. The employee works in the district's Professional Development Center, not a school campus, The Fort Worth ISD said Friday afternoon. The announcement comes as the number of mumps cases has jumped both in Texas and nationwide. A mumps outbreak in Johnson County has grown to 57 cases. In Dallas County, eight adults have been diagnosed with mumps. Six of the cases were contracted at the same Halloween party, and two others are unrelated. One person traveled back from Minnesota and another from Arkansas, according to Dr. Christopher Perkins, medical director of the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services. Health officials also warned they expect to see even more cases over the next few weeks because of holiday travel. Health officials believe a family trip to Arkansas is how the virus got to North Texas. It's part of a larger outbreak that has hit schools in almost every state this year. There's no word from the CDC as to why this outbreak has been so severe. People who lack the proper immunizations are at the highest risk of getting the mumps. The Texas Department of State Health Services is holding a vaccine clinc in Cleburne on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The clinic will be held at 303 South Nolan River Road. For more information about the mumps, and to find out who should get the vaccine, click here. When a Dallas ISD school closes its doors for winter break, they won't open back up for a year. School district leaders say they've been monitoring the air quality at Sarah Zumwalt Middle School and found problems with high humidity, ground water and the heating and ventilation system. So they're shutting down the school for repairs. Zumwalt students will be sent to A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School when the spring semester begins in January. The arrangements are expected to last a year. Both campuses will host a parents meeting on Monday. Zumwalt was allocated $5.8 million for renovation work under the 2015 bond program, and that money is likely to be accelerated for these repairs, the district said. About 150 homeowners in Farmers Branch say neighboring Addison is stealing water from a creek and diverting it to a growing residential development known as Vitruvian Park. "They did steal our water. That's a fact," said resident Todd Womble, who has lived along Farmers Branch Creek his entire life. He said the trouble started when Vitruvian Park was built about six years ago. The growing development features two large apartment buildings and shops, built along a picturesque waterway. "Essentially they were slowly killing the ecosystem," Womble said. "We lost the bait fish, so then we lost the big fish. And then it turns into a big mosquito pit back here." The town of Addison denies responsibility, spokesman Ed Martell said. He said Addison's own tests show that the water leaving the pond at Vitruvian Park heading into Farmers Branch Creek is actually cleaner than the water entering it. As for low water levels, Addison blames the drought, Martell said. Womble and his neighbors don't buy that explanation, arguing Addison's attempt to fix the problem backfired when they drilled into the wrong aquifer and then started pumping dirty water into the creek. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found Addison had violated state environmental rules and fined the city $2,500. City leaders in Farmers Branch want Addison to fix the problem and say the issue has dragged on far too long. "It's very easy. They have a permit. We'd like for them to comply with it," said Farmers Branch Deputy City Manager John Land. Land said Farmers Branch will fight Addison's request to change its TCEQ permit, which would allow it to continue its current operation. The war over water has pitted city leaders in the two cities against each other. In a statement, Addison said that Farmers Branch is a "valued neighbor," and noted that the cities share a SWAT team and a public safety dispatch center. "It is unfortunate that this issue has become a divisive one for a few members of the Farmers Branch community," the statement said. "But Addison is committed to finding a solution that allows us to continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars." Farmers Branch residents say after years of squabbling, they just want a resolution. "We're happy for Addison to be very successful with their development, make all the tax revenue they want, but they shouldn't make those downstream suffer," said John Brownlee. "The goal is just to maintain our property values and the quality of life we invested in here in Farmers Branch," said City Councilman Mike Bomgardner, who also lives along the creek. A public hearing before TCEQ is expected early next year. Diplomats sought to salvage the evacuation of eastern Aleppo after it stalled Friday amid recriminations by both sides in Syria's civil war, raising fears the cease-fire could collapse with thousands still desperate to escape the rebel enclave. The Aleppo evacuation was suspended after a report of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The Syrian government pulled out its buses that since Thursday had been ferrying out people from the ancient city that has suffered under intense bombardment, fierce battles and a prolonged siege. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell." The halt also appeared to be linked to a separate deal to remove thousands of people from the government-held Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya that are under siege by the rebels. The Syrian government says those evacuations and the one in eastern Aleppo must be done simultaneously, but the rebels say there's no connection. The foreign minister of Turkey, a main backer of the rebels, said he was talking to his counterpart in Iran, a top ally of the Syrian government, to try to resume the evacuation. A closed emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was held on the crisis in Aleppo, discussing a French proposal to have independent monitors oversee the evacuation of civilians and fighters. The council meeting ended with diplomats saying they would convene again this weekend. The cease-fire and evacuation marked the end of the rebels' most important stronghold in the 5-year-old civil war. The suspension demonstrated the fragility of the cease-fire deal, in which civilians and fighters in the few remaining blocks of the rebel enclave were to be taken to opposition-held territory nearby. In announcing the suspension, Syrian state TV said rebels were trying to smuggle out captives who had been seized in the enclave after ferocious battles with troops supporting President Bashar Assad. Several opposition activists said Syrian troops shot and killed four people in one bus, but the incident could not be independently confirmed. The Lebanon-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV broadcast images of the government buses apparently returning evacuees to eastern Aleppo after the road was closed. Al-Manar TV, the media arm of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group that supports Assad, said Syrian government supporters had closed the road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded from Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. Syrian state media said rebels shelled a road that was supposed to be used by people leaving the villages. But the opposition's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hezbollah fighters backed by Assad ally Iran had cut the road to protest a lack of progress in the evacuations. Buses that arrived at a collection point in the Hama countryside to pick up evacuees from the villages waited for hours to no avail. Later, two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks said the fighters besieging the villages, including the al-Qaida linked Fatah al-Sham Front, had agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the villages. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called Iranian Presidential Deputy Ishak Cihangiri and told him he was ready to cooperate with Tehran on the evacuation issue. Reports differed on how many people remain in the Aleppo enclave, ranging from 15,000 to 40,000 civilians, along with an estimated 6,000 fighters. There also were contradictory reports on the number of evacuees. Syrian state TV put it at more than 9,000; the Syrian state news agency said 8,079 opposition fighters and their families have left; and Russia, a key Assad ally, said over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500, were taken out. More than 2,700 children have been evacuated in the past 24 hours, including the sick, wounded and those without their parents, UNICEF said. Hundreds of other vulnerable children, including orphans, remain trapped, it added. "We are extremely concerned about their fate. If these children are not evacuated urgently, they could die," UNICEF said in a statement. There are still "high numbers of women and infants, children under 5, that need to get out," added Elizabeth Hoff, Syrian representative for the World Health Organization, speaking by phone from western Aleppo. During Thursday night's evacuation, Pawel Krzysiek of the International Committee of the Red Cross told The Associated Press he could sense "fear, desperation (and) anxiety" among those waiting to escape. The civilians including children and the elderly, the wounded and the sick were out in the cold, "burning the plastic, trying to get some sort of heat to warm themselves," said Krzysiek, who is still in Aleppo. "It's the people leaving their house behind, their lives behind. It is very often they are facing impossible choices and this all occurs at the very individual level and it is difficult to compare with anything else," he said. "This is what the people are going through with their families, their relatives. This is really something very personal for them. I have seen sadness. I have seen really sadness in the people eyes. Heartbreaking sadness, broken lives, heartbreaking stories," Krzysiek added. Before the operation was suspended Friday, four convoys of ambulances and buses left Aleppo, Syrian state TV said, noting that some evacuees used their own vehicles. At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said she favors a French-drafted resolution calling for independent international monitors to oversee the evacuation. But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said "it takes weeks to deploy observers." Power said the Security Council could possibly vote this weekend on the resolution, but if there was a stalemate, an emergency special session of the General Assembly was possible. Churkin said Russia opposed that idea. In Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new peace initiative, saying he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were working to set up talks between Damascus and the opposition. Putin said they would take place in Astana, the capital of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. Bassma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee, Syria's main opposition group, told the AP that her group supports the call for resumed peace talks but it wants them to take place under U.N. auspices and that it doesn't believe Astana was "the appropriate place." Several rounds of U.N.-mediated indirect peace talks this year in Geneva were suspended with no progress. Also on Friday, Syrian state media reported that a 7-year-old girl wearing a belt of explosives walked into a police station in the capital of Damascus, and her bomb was triggered by remote control, killing her and wounding a policeman. The spontaneous Post-Its that decorate New York City's subway stations with messages of hope will soon be permanent. The New-York Historical Society will partner with the MTA to preserve the impromptu "Subway Therapy" installations popping up in subway stations throughout the city, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday. Thousands of New Yorkers Share Post-Election Thoughts on Post-Its in Subway Station A large selection of notes will be preserved beginning Tuesday, Dec. 20 through Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2017, as part of the Historical Society's History Responds Program. Anyone can contribute by placing sticky notes on the glass wall at the Society's front entrance on Central Park West at 77th Street. Thousands around the world have penned messages of encouragement on vibrantly colored Post-Its to share with curious onlookers. In the days following the election, it became a means for strangers to express their uncertainties about the future of the nation. Cuomo was spotted posting his own note with a quote from Emma Lazarus to the 14th Street-Union Square wall Wednesday. NY State holds the torch high -Andrew pic.twitter.com/SCoeaVShzO Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) November 15, 2016 "'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free...I lift my lamp beside the golden door'-Emma Lazarus," the Post-It read. It's some of the same quote that can be found at the base of the Statue of Liberty. The project was created by artist Mathew Levee Chavez in February when he brought sticky notes and pens to subway stations to encourage New Yorkers to share their feelings. "Maybe someone just has this one thing they need to get off their chest, but they lack outlets to express it," he told Forbes. President Barack Obama put Russia's Vladimir Putin on notice Friday that the U.S. could use offensive cyber muscle to retaliate for interference in the U.S. presidential election, his strongest suggestion to date that Putin had been well aware of campaign email hacking. "Whatever they do to us, we can potentially do to them," Obama declared. Caught in the middle of a post-election controversy over Russian hacking, Obama strongly defended his administration's response, including his refusal before the voting to ascribe motive to the meddling or to discuss now what effect it might have had. U.S. intelligence assessments say it was aimed at least in part on helping Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, and some Democrats say it may well have tipped the results in his favor. Though Obama avoided criticizing President-elect Trump by name, he called out Republicans who he said fail even now to acknowledge the seriousness of Russia's involvement in U.S. elections. Obama expressed bewilderment about GOP lawmakers and voters who now say they approve of Putin, and he said unless that changes the U.S. will be vulnerable to foreign influence. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said as he closed out the year at a White House news conference. Afterward he left for the family's annual vacation in Hawaii. Obama declined to state explicitly that Putin knew about the email hacking that roiled the presidential race, but he left no doubt who he felt was responsible. He said that "not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin" and repeated a U.S. intelligence assessment "that this happened at the highest levels of the Russian government." Obama said he confronted Putin in September, telling the former KGB chief to "cut it out." That was one month before the U.S. publicly pointed the finger at Russia. Suggesting his directive to Putin had been effective, Obama said the U.S. "did not see further tampering" after that date. The president has promised a "proportional" yet unspecified response to the hacking of the Democratic Party and Clinton's campaign chairman. Emails stolen during the campaign were released in the final weeks by WikiLeaks. On Friday, CIA Director John Brennan said in a message to employees that the FBI agrees with the CIA's conclusion that Russia's goal was to help Trump win. Trump has dismissed the CIA's assessment and talk about Russian hacking as "ridiculous," while arguing both Democrats and the CIA are trying to undermine the legitimacy of his victory. Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference. She said Thursday night, "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." The Senate intelligence committee said Friday that it will conduct a bipartisan investigation and hold hearings about what led the intelligence agencies' finding. "The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads," said chairman Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. At the same time, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., chairman of the House intelligence committee, complained that his committee's oversight into the hacking has been stymied because the intelligence agencies have not provided information to the committee. Obama said he'd leave it to political pundits to debate the question of whether the hacking swayed the election outcome. He did, however, chide the media for that he called an "obsession" with the emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. He said his reticence to detail publicly the U.S. response to Russia reflected a need to retaliate "in a thoughtful, methodical way." "The idea that somehow public shaming is gonna be effective, I think doesn't read the thought process in Russia very well," Obama said. Accusations of Russian election interference have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. Separately, Obama has blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in Aleppo. Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria, but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He said that while military options short of invasion were tempting, it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Still, he pinned the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said. Meanwhile, the president rejected any notion that the dispute over hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Trump. Despite fiercely criticizing each other during the election, Obama and Trump have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Obama said of Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." The president did weigh in on Trump's decision to speak with the leader of Taiwan, a recent phone call that broke decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol. Obama advised Trump to "think it through" before making changes in the One-China policy, in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. In a moment of self-reflection, Obama acknowledged he had not been able to transfer his own popularity and electoral success to other Democrats. His party is now reeling from the White House loss and failure to win back either the House or Senate. "It is not something that I've been able to transfer to candidates in midterms or build a sustaining organization around," Obama said. "That's something I would have liked to have done more of, but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." The U.S. Department of Justice today opened a civil "pattern-or-practice" investigation into the Orange County District Attorney's Office and Orange County Sheriff's Department over the use of jailhouse informants. The probe is being conducted at the invitation of District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Federal authorities said the investigation will focus on the possible use of jailhouse informants to elicit statements from inmates with legal representation -- a violation of the Sixth Amendment. The probe will also determine whether prosecutors "systematically" violated defendants' 14th Amendment rights to due process by failing to disclose promises of leniency made to informants, with federal authorities noting that such promises could have "substantially undermined the credibility" of informants' trial testimony. "We appreciate the district attorney's investigation to review his office's policies and practices, along with his assurance of unfettered access to documents and personnel in his office," U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. "We are confident that this investigation, and the cooperation being offered by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, will help restore public confidence in the integrity of the Orange County criminal justice system." The use of jailhouse informants has spurred a major legal battle over defendants' civil rights in Orange County, contributing to the District Attorney's Office from being recused from handling the penalty phase of the trial of Scott Dekraai, the worst mass killer in the county's history. "A systematic failure to protect the right to counsel and to a fair trial makes criminal proceedings fundamentally unfair and diminishes the public's faith in the integrity of the justice system," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. "Our investigation will examine the facts and evidence to determine whether the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Department engaged in a pattern or practice of violating these rights." Rackauckas' office issued a statement saying prosecutors were "grateful" for the Department of Justice responding to his request for a review. "The OCDA believes at the conclusion of USDOJ Civil Rights Division's review, they will conclude that the OCDA did not engage in systematic or intentional violation of civil rights of any inmate and no innocent person was wrongfully convicted," according to the District Attorney's Office. Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens said she welcomes the review. "It is, and has been, our ultimate goal to have a jail system that is exemplary and that upholds its duty to the inmates, our staff and the people of Orange County," Hutchens said. The Orange County Criminal Defense Bar Association also welcomed the review. "We believe that an independent investigation is the key to a fair and full review of the serious allegations," said attorney Paul Meyer, who is president of the organization. "We recognize that both the district attorney and sheriff have committed to their open cooperation. It is time to move past the emotional rhetoric and examine the facts. The U.S. Department of Justice is the perfect agency to dig into this without an ulterior motive or hidden agenda." Multiple legal scholars and leaders called on the U.S. Department of Justice in November 2015 to investigate the use of informants, including UC Irvine Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti and the ACLU. "I am enormously pleased that the Justice Department has granted review of the Orange County District Attorney and the Sheriff's Office," Chemerinsky told City News Service. "There is evidence of clear violations of civil rights abuses and this offers the chance to learn what happened and finally find a solution." In a letter to Justice Department officials in November 2015, Chemerinsky dean characterized the county's justice system as in a state of crisis. "As of the writing of this letter, it is fair to say that the criminal justice system in Orange County is in a state of crisis: charges in extremely serious cases have been reduced or dismissed; violent crimes -- including murders -- have gone entirely uninvestigated; to date, four law enforcement officers have refused to testify in pending criminal matters, citing their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination; and at least one prosecutor has been found by a court to have given 'incredible' testimony under oath," Chemerinsky wrote in the letter to federal prosecutors last year. "More troubling still, this all appears to be the tip of the iceberg," he added. "Given this state of affairs, as well as the scope of the misconduct at issue, the Department of Justice is the only entity with the capacity to conduct the investigation required." The furor stemmed from the use of an informant, who sources allege heard Dekraai make callous remarks about his killings. Dekraai's attorney, Scott Sanders, argued that prosecutors committed what attorneys refer to as a Massiah violation, meaning they illegally used a government agent to elicit information from his client while he was already represented by counsel, which is a Sixth Amendment violation. Rackauckas' prosecutors ultimately gave up on fighting the motion but disagreed they violated Dekraai's rights. Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals booted prosecutors from the case, ruling they had shown a propensity to back up their law enforcement partners, the sheriff's department, so they couldn't be trusted to give Dekraai a fair shake in his trial. That ruling was affirmed by the Fourth District Court of Appeal last month. "The Court of Appeal stated that the 'magnitude of the systemic problems cannot be overlooked,'" Sanders told CNS. "It is hoped that the Justice Department's probe will help reform the system so that all Orange County residents will receive the constitutional protections to which they are entitled." Chemerinsky argued in last year's letter that the Attorney General's Office, which is conducting its own probe, cannot be trusted to be impartial. He cited the Attorney General's Office's appeal of Goethals' ruling. Sanders' efforts to investigate the jailhouse informant program has borne fruit for multiple other defense attorneys who have either gotten clients out of prison or received plea deals that substantially reduced the punishment of defendants. Some attorneys have won new trials for their clients based on allegations of the misuse of informants. Some drivers got an unexpected gift when Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck pulled them over for distracted driving Thursday. Instead of writing a ticket, he warned about the dangers of distracted driving and sent drivers off with a gift card to spread some holiday cheer. Beck documented his day with officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys and Valley Traffic divisions Thursday on Instagram and Twitter, as he and two other motor officers looked for distracted drivers. In an Instagram post Beck wrote, "We conducted a traffic stop, and explained to him that we wanted him to get home safe to his family for the holidays. No ticket was given, just a gift card to help spread some holiday cheer." Distractions to drivers are a factor in over 5,000 fatal traffic crashes every year, according to the AAA Foundation. Texts and calls are not the only things that can distract drivers, AAA noted. Eating, "in-car technologies" and passengers riding in a car can all serve as distractions also. The police chief thanked motorists on Instagram for being "open to [their] message and legitimately respectful," before reminding motorists to drive safe and "arrive alive." Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck pulled drivers over on Thursday, Dec. 15, to warn about the dangers of distracted driving and to spread some holiday cheer. A dog that was once chained, dragged and tortured nearly to death is looking for his forever home, hopefully in time for the holidays. Phoenix, a 2-year-old Labrador mix, is described as a sweet and loving addition to any family. "He's a quiet boy, he's not a barker," said Toni Eakes, founder and president of A Wish for Animals, a nonprofit rescue based in Dana Point. "He's really well-behaved and is house and crate trained." The pup recovered from his injuries after a passerby spotted Phoenix quivering and hiding in a bush at a park in Compton in June. He was found tangled in chains with open, infected wounds on his body. "He's doing great," Eakes said. "He's still fearful of a few things and that's going to take him time to get over, but he's healed wonderfully." He was renamed "Phoenix" because his rescuers hoped he would rise from the ashes of his abuse. Phoenix has been strong throughout his difficult journey, and he still wags his tail when he's around people. The strong survivor enjoys physical activities and the company of other dogs, so rescuers say his ideal owner would be someone who already owns a dog and has a yard. "He would like to play with other dogs and have someone who's home a lot of the time," Eakes said. "A home with a yard with another dog or so would be good for him. And he needs somebody who isn't gone 10 hours a day. He needs more attention than that." Aside from enjoying the usual pooch-related hobbies such as swimming and socializing, Phoenix models for bottles on Kombucha Dog beverages, too. "We're just trying to find him a home for the holidays," Eakes said. "He needs someone who wants to love him and be patient." For more information, visit A Wish for Animals or call 949-648-7924. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. The Los Angeles Dodgers with the help of their foundation, made a lot of those dreams a reality on Wednesday as they hosted more than 300 schoolchildren from the L.A. area at Dodger Stadium for a Children's Holiday Party. More than a dozen different elementary schools participated in the event that featured games, gifts, Santa Claus and snow! The team created a two-lane sledding hill that kids got to race down throughout the afternoon. Dodgers' outfielder Joc Pederson was on hand to hang out with the kids and participate in the many activities, including a snowball fight for the ages. "The Dodgers are thrilled to welcome children who live and learn near Dodger Stadium." Said Naomi Rodriguez, Dodger vice-president of external affairs and community relations. "These children and their families are part of the Dodger family. It's magical watching them play in the snow, talk to Santa, and head home with toys and shoes. We are grateful to our partners for their generous support." The snow was provided by Artic Glacier Ice, and each child received a free pair of shows from Sketchers. Lunch was catered by Levy Restaurants and toys for the kids came courtesy of Mattel. President Barack Obama is promising that the U.S. will retaliate against Russia for its suspected meddling in America's election process, an accusation the Kremlin has vehemently denied. As the White House grew more bullish about suggesting President Vladimir Putin was personally involved, Obama said he'd spoken directly to Putin about his concerns about Russian meddling. He said whenever a foreign government tries to interfere in U.S. elections, the nation must take action "and we will at a time and place of our own choosing." "We have been working hard to make sure that what we do is proportional, that what we do is meaningful," Obama said in an NPR News interview airing Friday. Obama's remarks were the clearest indication that whatever response the U.S. is planning, it hasn't happened yet. The White House has insisted for months that when the U.S. did retaliate, it might not be made public, a position that has created uncertainty about the strength and timing of any response. Obama was expected to face questions about the hacking and his response during a news conference at the White House on Friday afternoon. White House officials said it was "fact" that Russian hacking helped Donald Trump's campaign against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Thursday also assailed Trump himself over his refusal to acknowledge the hacking and his attacks on the U.S. intelligence community. The tough talk from the White House fell flat in Moscow, where Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusations baseless and inappropriate. "They should either stop talking about that, or produce some proof at last," Peskov told reporters Friday. "Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly." There has been no specific, persuasive evidence shared publicly about the extent of Putin's role or knowledge of the hackings. That lack of proof undercuts Democrats' strategy to portray Putin's involvement as irrefutable evidence of a directed Russian government plot to undermine America's democratic system. But the White House pointed to a U.S. intelligence assessment released publicly in October that asserted "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities." And Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, connected the dots further, saying Thursday Putin was responsible for the Russian government's actions. "I don't think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it," he told MSNBC. Trump struck back Friday morning, with a Twitter post mockingly asking "are we talking about the same cyberattack" in which embarrassing information about the Democratic National Committee was also revealed. His tweet invoked emailed stolen from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman and later released publicly in hacking that has been linked to Russia. In the NPR interview, Obama sough to contrast the current incident with "a traditional understanding that everybody's trying to gather intelligence on everybody else." "One of the things we're going to have to do over the next decade," he said, is find an international understanding on rules involving what has become "a new game." Obama said that U.S. officials should not let "the inter-family argument between Americans" obscure the need for people to "stand together" on this issue. "My view is that this is not a partisan issue," the president said, exhorting people to "take it out of election season and move it into governing season." The explosive accusation suggests Putin, the leader of perhaps America's greatest geopolitical foe, as having directly undermined U.S. democracy. U.S. officials have not contended, however, that Trump would have been defeated by Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russia's assistance. Nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote-counting. The dispute over Russia's role has also fueled an increasingly public spat between Obama's White House and Trump's team that is threatening to spoil the delicate truce that Obama and Trump have forged since Election Day to smooth the billionaire businessman's move to the White House in little over a month. Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior transition adviser, said it was "breathtaking" and irresponsible that the White House had suggested Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. That led Earnest to unload from the White House, arguing that Trump, who has dismissed the CIA's assessment of Russian interference, should spend less time attacking the intelligence community and more time supporting the investigation that Obama has ordered. Earnest said it was "obvious" Trump knew what Russia was doing during the campaign, pointing out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find Clinton's missing emails, repeating the assertion Obama made in "The Daily Show" appearance. Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy," Earnest said. "That's not a joke." Visit this page for outage information, including updates from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison. Click on the map links to view a customized map of your area. Map: LADWP Customers Map: Southern California Edison Customers Tweets by LADWP Tweets by SCE Sonequa Martin-Green, known well by fans of genre TV thanks to her work on The Walking Dead, has been tapped to star in the first Trek series in a decade. She'll play a lieutenant commander on the Discovery, according to EW, who first reported the news. Martin-Green makes history as the first African-American woman to lead the cast of one of the franchise's ensembles. Not only that, but Discovery marks another first by making its main protagonist someone other than a captainsomething that was important to then-executive producer Bryan Fuller when he spoke about the series with reporters back in August. The 13-episode first season, which will be made available weekly on CBS All Access following a two-hour launch on CBS in May, will follow an incident in the history of Starfleet that other series/movies in the franchise have touched upon, but never actually explored. Martin-Green's involvement in the show is sure to have fans wondering about the fate of her character on TWD, Sasha, who is still very much alive. However, per EW, she will continue on as a series regular on the hit AMC series. CBS TV Studios declined to comment on her casting. Martin-Green joins a cast that includes Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, Chris Obi, Shazad Latif, Mary Chieffo and Anthony Rappwho, in another first for the series, will play an openly-gay lieutenant. A state corrections officer was arrested after authorities say he had sex with a 15-year-old girl at his Homestead home. Detrick Lamar Hussey, 35, was arrested early Thursday on a charge of lewd and lascivious battery on a child between 12 and 16, according to a Homestead Police report. No attorney information was available. The report said Hussey met the teen on Dec. 9 at a Dollar Tree in Florida City where he gave her his phone number. They exchanged text messages and he picked her up and took her to dinner at Applebee's, the report said. After Applebee's, they went to Fat Tuesday in Coconut Grove where they drank alcoholic beverages, the report said. After that they went to Hussey's home where they had sex, the report said. But it turned out that a friend of the girl's mother saw them drinking at Fat Tuesday and sent the mother a Facebook message, the report said. The next day the teen was taken to a rape treatment center and she later identified Hussey in a photo lineup, the report said. Plantation firefighters were able to rescue a cat that spent days stuck inside a concrete wall at an office building. Firefighters spent several hours Friday morning working to free the cat, which was stuck inside the wall at the building at 8211 W. Broward Boulevard for three to four days, officials said. After chipping away at the concrete wall firefighters finally freed the cat. It was taken to Hollywood Animal Hospital but is expected to be okay. A 34-year-old Florida man is accused of holding his girlfriend captive in a shed, stabbing her in the leg and sexually assaulting her over the course of a month. Bertin Ocampo was arrested on Dec. 3 after Polk County Sheriff's deputies discovered the woman in his Haines City home. The victim told deputies she and Ocampo had been in an intimate relationship for about three months when he locked her in the shed behind a home he shared with his nephew and the nephew's wife. According to a police report, Ocampo kept her locked in the room, which contained only a bed and television, for up to 18 hours a day. She told deputies Ocampo hit her, stabbed her in the leg with a knife and threatened to harm her daughter if she tried to escape. Ocampo also allegedly forced her to have sex with him three or four times in the course of the month, the woman said. The victim said during her captivity, she and Ocampo went to public places together and visited her mother's home to see her daughter. She said she never alerted anyone or tried to get away because she was scared of what he might do to her or her daughter. A search warrant was issued for the home after police received a tip to investigate the property. When Polk County deputies found the victim, she had bruises around her eyes, legs and arms, and two small scabs which she said were the stab wounds. Ocampo was charged with false imprisonment, sexual battery, aggravated assault, battery and aggravated battery. A northeast Florida student suffered a minor injury after someone fired shots at a school bus. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that the student didn't need to be taken to the hospital after Friday's shooting and may have been hit in the finger by debris. The sheriff's office says in a statement that 12 students from Wolfson High School were on the bus when someone shot at the back of the vehicle. Deputies aren't sure if BBs or bullets were used but they believe at least two shots were fired. Deputies were asking members of the public for help in tracking down the suspect. A man turned himself in to Lauderhill police Friday, telling an officer he was the person they were looking for in connection with the robbery of a Walgreens. Police say 53-year-old James Anthony Powell voluntarily turned himself in to a Lauderhill Police officer. Authorities were searching for the suspect who committed an armed robbery at a Lauderhill Walgreens located at 7229 W Oakland Park Blvd on Monday. Police said the suspect used a small silver handgun and demanded that the clerk open the cash register. The suspect was described as a tall black male in his 50s or 60s, with gray facial hair. Authorities say someone broke into a southwest Florida mobile home and stole an alligator. Sarasota Police reported that someone called 911 Wednesday complaining a gator had wandered into his yard. That gator had recently been captured and was living inside a trailer. It's snout was taped and the reptile had a trapper's tag on it. The trailer was broken into and someone stole the gator. No other details were released and it's unclear whether the burglar was looking for the gator or merely stumbled upon it. Two officers responded and loaded the gator into their vehicle and turned it over to state wildlife officials. Hillary Clinton told supporters that she blames her election loss on FBI Director James Comey's letter and hacking by Russians that was directed by Vladimir Putin because the Russian president has a "personal beef" against her. Clinton, who has mostly avoided the spotlight since Donald Trump was elected president, told donors Thursday in Manhattan that the October letter by Comey relating to emails from her private server in the waning days of the race was one of two "unprecedented" factors that cost her the presidency. Swing-state voters made their decisions in the final days breaking against me because of the FBI letter from Director Comey, she said, according to audio from the event posted by The New York Times. Days after the election, Clinton had cited the Comey letter for stopping the campaign's momentum. She called the second factor an "unprecedented Russian plot to swing the election" and voiced support for a bipartisan investigations modeled on the 9/11 commission. "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyber-attacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me," Clinton said. According to audio from the event, Clinton explained that while she was secretary of state Putin "decided he would be president again" and the parliamentary election that followed was "so flawed, so illegitimate, that it was embarrassing." "I was your secretary of state at least in those years we stood up for democracy and human rights," she said. After she criticized the election in a 2011 statement, Putin publicly blamed her "for the outpouring of outrage by his own people" who had turned out to protest, Clinton said. "And that is the direct line between what he said back then and what he did in this election," Clinton said. She called the hacking attacks that followed on the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chief John Podesta as "not just an attack against me and my campaign" but against the United States, too. "We are well beyond normal political concerns here," she said. "This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation." Senior U.S. intelligence officials have told NBC News that U.S. intelligence officials believe Putin was personally involved in the covert campaign to interfere in the election. The C.I.A. has concluded that the hacking was done to help Trump. Russia denies the allegations and Trump has pushed back against intelligence that Russia was behind the hack. President Barack Obama was expected to address questions related to the hacking during a news conference later Friday. In an interview with NPR News, Obama said whenever a foreign government tries to interfere in U.S. elections, the nation must take action "and we will at a time and place of our own choosing." President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate attorney David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel, selecting an envoy who supports Israeli settlements and other changes to U.S. policies in the region. Friedman said he looked forward to carrying out his duties from "the U.S. embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. Like some of his predecessors, Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. The move would also distance the U.S. from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. The president-elect said Friedman would "maintain the special relationship" between the U.S. and Israel. But the announcement sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, called nominating Friedman "reckless," citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Friedman has in the past referred to J Street's supporters as "Kapos," Jews who collaborated with Nazis during World War II, The New York Times reported. "They are just smug advocates of Israels destruction delivered from the comfort of their secure American sofas its hard to imagine anyone worse, he wrote on an Israeli media company's website. Friedman stood by the remarks in a later interview. About six million Jews and five million other people were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators between 1933 and 1945. The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. However, Trump advisers have insisted in recent days that the president-elect will follow through on his call for moving the embassy. "He has made that promise," Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters Thursday. "I can guarantee you, just generally, he's a man who is going to accomplish many things very quickly." One option Trump allies have discussed would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. According to a person who has discussed the plan with Trump advisers, the administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. It's unclear how far those discussions have gotten or whether Trump himself has been briefed on the proposal. Trump's transition team did not respond to questions about the matter. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but backed away from the idea once in office. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized. It claims the entire city as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, as the capital of their future state. Virtually all embassies to Israel are located in or around Tel Aviv. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told The Associated Press this week that he has been in touch with Trump's staff about the embassy issue. Barkat said his conversations have led him to believe that Trump is serious about making the move. Facebook is letting its users flag news stories as fake or a hoax and working with fact checkers to vet them, the social media giant announced Thursday, in its first efforts to address fake news since the United States election. Some news articles that were widely shared on the platform in the run-up to Election Day were obviously and demonstrably false, like the Pope and Denzel Washington endorsing Donald Trump for president they did not. It's causing widespread confusion, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, and the propagation of a baseless conspiracy theory is being blamed for gunman walking into a Washington, D.C., pizzeria shop and shooting a rifle. Facebook executives have indicated since the election that they were reviewing what changes to make, if any, to combat fake news, though none have said they believe the false news shared on the platform changed the outcome of the election. Those changes were announced at 1 p.m. ET Thursday. News that's identified as fake by the fact checking organizations, which must sign on to Poynters International Fact Checking Code of Principles, will be marked as "disputed" and have an explainer accompanying that content, Facebook said. Facebook's algorithm may also have those stories appear lower in users' feeds. Recode reported that ABC News, Politifact, FactCheck and Snopes are the partner news organizations. Facebook is also trying to reduce the financial incentive for creating and posting fake articles, and is testing a way to see if reading an article leads fewer people to share it indicates the story is misleading and should be ranked lower. "We believe in giving people a voice and that we cannot become arbiters of truth ourselves, so were approaching this problem carefully," News Feed Vice President Adam Mosseri said in a statement. "We've focused our efforts on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain, and on engaging both our community and third party organizations." A Pew survey released Thursday found that 64 percent of U.S. adults say fabricated news stories are causing confusion about basic facts in current events, while only 10 percent said they believed it was causing not much or no confusion. Seventy-one percent of the 1,002 people surveyed between Dec. 1 and 4 said they see fake news online often or sometimes. Fake news became a massive point of contention in the final days of the election and afterward, with Hillary Clinton calling fake news a "danger that must be addressed" quickly in a speech on Capitol Hill last week. The fake news seemed to target Clinton more than Trump, according to analyses of the content, including one by Buzzfeed that found top false articles generated more engagement than top election stories posted by 19 major news outlets, like NBC News, The New York Times and others. Only three of the top 20 performing false stories didn't target Clinton or support Trump, it found. Producing fake news became a cottage industry in one part of Macedonia, where NBC News spoke to a teenager who said he's earned $60,000 in six months off of baseless, incendiary posts that mainly targeted followers of Donald Trump, because "Nothing can beat Trump's supporters when it comes to social media engagement," he said. Those stories appear to have had real-world effects. Edgar Maddison Welch took an AR-15 rifle and handgun into the popular Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in D.C. in early December, to investigate the a rumored child sex abuse ring purportedly run by a Clinton aide, police said. The store's owner had already been receiving death threats, as the hoax became popular on Reddit and other online forums, before spinning off into fake news stories. Welch discharged his rifle, but no one was hurt, police said. He later told a New York Times reporter that his "intel on this wasn't 100 percent." CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he doesn't think fake news swayed the election, and Mosseri told The New York Times Thursday he doesn't believe the feed directly caused people to vote for a particular candidate: "the magnitude of fake news across Facebook is one fraction of a percent of the content across the network." Americans are split on whether fake news should be limited by social media, according to a McClatchy-Marist poll of just over 1,000 adults out Thursday. Fifty-three percent said it should be up to users to determine what information is true, while 41 percent said Facebook and Twitter should be responsible for preventing false information from spreading. A higher portion of those surveyed by Pew 71 percent said social networking sites and search engines bear a great deal or some responsibility for preventing their spread. According to that poll, only 15 percent of people are not confident in their ability to spot fabricated news. But many have difficulty differentiating fake news from real, according to a recent Stanford study of students across the country. What to Know The state has decided not to euthanize a deer that took up residence in Harlem's Jackie Robinson Park The deer was spotted roaming the park in early December, and was even nicknamed "J.R." by neighborhood residents City Parks Department officials said travel causes stress to animals and relocated deer have low survival rates A white-tailed buck who was granted a last-minute reprieve from euthanasia after being captured in Harlem has died. The one-antlered buck died while state officials from the Department of Environmental Conservation were arranging transportation to relocate the deer upstate. It was kept in a caged area outside the animal shelter. The city blamed the state for the animal's death. "Because of the length of time we had to wait to pick up the deer, the deer has died," Parks Department spokesman Sam Biederman said. The state says that's not true. "We offered yesterday to take possession of the deer and transport it to a suitable habitat," DEC spokesman Sean Mahar said in a statement. "The city did not accept our offer until just before noon today, and while we were arriving on scene the deer died in the city's possession." Turtle Breaks Out, Cows on the Run: Top Animal Stories of 2016 The buck was captured at the Polo Grounds Towers on West 155th Street and taken to an animal shelter early Thursday. He drew crowds for about two weeks at Jackie Robinson Park, where curious passersby snapped photos of "J.R.," a nickname given to him by residents. Outpourings of sadness immediately followed the news of the four-legged viral sensation's death. https://twitter.com/CassieFambro/status/809839224132341760 Mayor de Blasio had said the deer would be put down Thursday evening after the state Environmental Conservation officials initially said they wouldn't be able to relocate the buck in the city. "It's going to be a quick and merciful death versus a long and painful process," de Blasio said on WNYC Radio Friday. "That's the governing philosophy as best I understand it." Gov. Andrew Cuomo made efforts to rescue the buck in its 11th hour. He said the state would "find a new habitat for it immediately," just an hour after the mayor ordered the deer to be euthanized. [NATL] Unbelievable Animal Stories: Dog Befriends Abandoned Baby Giraffe The city Parks Department said euthanasia would be more humane because travel causes stress and relocated deer have low survival rates. However, city officials said they "defer to the state as the regulatory authority on wildlife." [NATL] Adorable Zoo Babies: White Lion Cubs Nala and Simba Born in France J.R. wasn't the only deer in the news Friday. Officials were trying to rescue a deer that fell through the ice in South Amboy, New Jersey. Firefighters in South Amboy, New Jersey, rescue a deer from an icy pond Friday evening. Chopper 4 was over the scene. If you're a New Jersey resident, keep your friends close, but keep your purses closer this holiday season. Officials from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office are warning residents about a rise in vehicle break-ins at local gyms and county parks. An organized burglary crew known as the "Felony Lane Gang" have been targeting establishments like YMCAs, fitness centers and day care centers in a string of thefts. The crime group breaks into unattended vehicles to steal their victims identification and credit cards or checkbooks left inside. Folllowing the theft, they then attempt to withdraw money or use victims' credit cards for personal purchases. Bergen County police officials are urging residents not to leave their purses or valuable property visible in their cars at any time to avoid being targeted. If it's unavoidable, lock valuables in a glove box and double-check that all windows and doors are locked. Residents should also be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious cars or individuals to their local police department. Authorities say it takes less than 30 seconds for a thief to break into a car and steal someone's personal items. What to Know The Electoral College will vote for the next president on Monday amid calls that Republican electors abandon ship The Kremlin called U.S. accusations that his country tried to interfere with the U.S. election "laughable" as Obama promised action Another day of below-freezing temperatures are forecast Friday for large swaths of the U.S. Get the top headlines of the day in your morning briefing from NBC 4 New York, Monday through Friday. Sign up for our newsletter here. Electoral College Vote Nears Hounded to abandon Donald Trump, Republican electors appear to be in no mood for an insurrection in the presidential campaign's last voting ritual. This most untraditional of elections is on course to produce a traditional outcome Monday an Electoral College ticket to the White House for the president-elect. Whether they like Trump or not, and some surely don't, scores of the Republicans chosen to cast votes in the state-capital meetings told said they feel bound by history, duty, party loyalty or the law to rubber-stamp their state's results and make him president. Appeals numbering in the tens of thousands drowning inboxes, ringing cell phones, stuffing home and office mailboxes with actual handwritten letters have not swayed them. Facebook Fights Fake News Facebook is letting its users flag news stories as fake or a hoax and working with fact checkers to vet them, the social media giant announced Thursday, in its first efforts to address fake news since the United States election. Some news articles that were widely shared on the platform in the run-up to Election Day were obviously and demonstrably false, like the Pope and Denzel Washington endorsing Donald Trump for president they did not. It's causing widespread confusion, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, and the propagation of a baseless conspiracy theory is being blamed for gunman walking into a Washington, D.C., pizzeria shop and shooting a rifle. U.S. to Respond to Russian Hacking President Barack Obama says the U.S. must and will take action against Russia in response to cyber interference with the election. "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing," Obama said in the interview with NPR, which will air Friday on "Morning Edition." His comments are the clearest indication to date that whatever response the U.S. is planning has not yet occurred. President-elect Donald Trump protested an NBC News report that U.S. intelligence points to Putin personally approving a Russian hack of a Hillary Clinton staffer. The Kremlin called the accusations "laughable nonsense." Mayor Fined by Campaign Finance Board New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been fined over $47,000 for violating spending rules during his 2013 mayoral campaign. The city's Campaign Finance Board announced the fines on Thursday. Among the fines was a $550 makeup bill for his whole family on Election Night. His campaigned argued it was necessary in the "age of television," but the board noted that no grooming expenses are allowed under campaign finance laws. Bitter Cold Continues to Chatter Teeth There's still one more week of fall, but mother nature didn't get the message: Arctic air and snow flurries have made it feel like the icy clutches of winter across the tri-state. Following an especially frigid Thursday night, Friday morning will be brutally cold before winds let up a bit. The high temperatures in the afternoon will stay in the 20s. Fifty-five million people were under a wind chill advisory or warning Thursday, and the misery was forecast to continue in some areas through the weekend. Slick, snow-covered roads triggered a 59 vehicle pile-up on Pennsylvania's Interstate 80. NYU Students Bunk With Seniors Ah, college. Halls of ivy. Stimulating class discussions. All-night cram sessions. ... Sleeping in an old woman's apartment? New York University is introducing a scheme next fall to help students save money by putting them up in elderly people's spare bedrooms. Starbucks Liquefies Fruitcake It may be the most short-lived and peculiar drink that Starbucks has released, sure to horrify the inner child in you. Its the fruitcake Frappuccino and its only available for four days, according to reports. The drink was released on Thursday and is available through the weekend at locations in the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, one candy shop north of New York City is returning to tradition and is making candy canes individually by hand. What to Know Police released video of a man they say attacked people in Brooklyn after asking them "Are you Muslim?" The attacks are being investigated as hate crimes The NYPD says hate crimes are up 35 percent year over year in New York City Two people were asked if they were Muslim before being attacked in Brooklyn, police say, and now the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating. Two attacks in the first two weeks of December, both in Bedford-Stuyvesant, are being investigated, according to police. Police released surveillance video of the suspect linked to the two cases. In the first attack, on the afternoon of Dec. 4, a group of men, including the suspect, walked up to a 20-year-old man on Gates Avenue. Police say the suspect asked the victim, Are you from Saudi Arabia? Are you Muslim? Moments later, he allegedly punched him in the face and another person pushed him to the ground. The group took off down Marcy Avenue. The victim checked himself in at Elmhurst Hospital. The victim, speaking to NBC 4 New York Friday, said his attackers were wearing hoodies and smoking cigarettes when he encountered them. They threw him to the ground and punched him, breaking his jaw, he said. "One guy push me, hit in the face and second guy throw me down... I broke my bones," said the victim, who asked that his identity remain concealed. The man, who just moved to the U.S. from India last month, still had his jaw wired shut Friday and he says he has been unable to eat since the attack. In the second attack, this Monday, a 58-year-old man was walking on Marcus Garvey Boulevard, near Vernon Avenue, around 3 p.m. when three men allegedly stopped him and asked where he was from. The victim was taken to Woodhull Medical Center with a bloody nose and swelling to his face. The attack comes amid a spate of apparent instances of bias crime and hateful language throughout the region following the presidential election. Earlier this month, a man called a Muslim MTA worker a terrorist and pushed her down a flight of stairs at Grand Central Terminal, according to police. In New York City, hate crime has spiked 115 percent since Election Day, with 43 cases reported compared with 20 cases in the same period in 2015, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. Bias against Muslims has doubled, with four cases reported since Election Day compared with two reported in the same time period last year. One report, however, was found to be a hoax. A Muslim college student said she was harassed on a subway train by three men shouting "Donald Trump" but was later arrested on suspicion of making a false report. Overall, hate crimes are up 35 percent year over year, with a 45 percent uptick in arrests, Boyce said. For the first time, the government of Liberia agreed to send the suspected kingpins of a drug trafficking network to the U.S. for trial. Investigators said eight cocaine traffickers charged in New York will face trial here due to increased cooperation between the two nations. Five suspects are expected to be arraigned in federal court later today. Officials said drug cartels based in Colombia and Venezuela used Liberia as a shipping point to get drugs sent on to other parts of Afirca as well as Europe. Over the last decade, drug cartels from South America have exported billions of dollars of cocaine through African nations. Some of the cocaine was also going to be sent to New York, officials said. Drug Enforcement Administration agents infiltrated the ring using undercover cooperators. Among those charged in the U.S. are Chigbo Peter Umeh, also known as Mike, and Gilbrilla Kamara dubbed River Stallon. DEA agents brought some of the suspects back to New York over the weekend. US attorney Preet Bharara said "The government of Liberia has taken an aggressive and emphatic stand in shutting its doors to drug traffickers," U S attorney Preet Bharara said. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf issued a statement stating "The Republic of Liberia is officially closed for business to the narcotics trade." Officials said several of the drug suspects were caught trying to bribe Liberian authorities for help in getting drug shipments in and out of the country. Investigators said cartel members used private planes and ships to get the drugs moved from continent to continent. Some of the drugs were supplied by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is one the world's largest suppliers of cocaine, Bharara said. FARC has also staged a bloody, decades-long insurgency in Colombia. Prosecutors said the establishment of a narcotics safe haven in West Africa could result in the spread of the illegal drug trade as well as a new source of financing for terrorist and drug trafficking groups. A 12-year-old boy attempted to detonate a bomb at a Christmas market in in Ludwigshafen, Germany, authorities said, NBC News reported. On Dec. 5, local officials found a black bag in a waste container. The bag contained what is believed to be pyrotechnical material that is used in fireworks, according to investigators. Germanys FOCUS magazine reported that a controlled explosion was carried out after the bomb was reported by a civilian. They also reported that the same boy had tried to detonate explosives at the Ludwigshafen Christmas market on Nov. 26. It is unclear if it was the same device as the one found nine days later. Local authorities told NBC News that they would turn down an investigation in this case because they boy, who was born in Germany but is of Iraqi heritage, was under age 14. FOCUS quoted investigators as saying the "strongly radicalized" suspect was likely "incited and instructed" by an "unidentified member of ISIS." Gertha Demicus finished high school in her hometown in Haiti, but not without so much bullying that she considered quitting. The hazing by other students centered around her facial deformity from a growing jaw tumor called a multi-cystic ameloblastoma. By fate and charity, Demicus, now 29, came to Dr. Steven Moriconi while the dental surgeon was volunteering at a clinic in Haiti. That set in motion events that led Demicus to the operating room at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health in Montgomery County on the morning of Dec. 7. Her journey to the United States, her 11-hour surgery and her ongoing post-op recovery all are being paid for through volunteer efforts of Moriconi and several other hospital surgeons and staff, and the health system. The lead surgeon for the operation, Dr. Andrew Steinkeler, said Decimus was doing well a week into her recovery. He said this type of amelobastoma has an incidence rate about about "one in a million." It would have been fatal if it continued to grow unabated. "Its a benign tumor but locally aggressive. It continues to grow and grow and would have eventually been a fatal tumor for her," Steinkeler said. "In reality, we did a life saving operation." He and Moriconi said this type of tumor often progresses further along in poor countries like Haiti. "As is true of most facial pathology in Haiti, lack of access to care and poverty results in lesions much larger and more damaging than if the patient lived in better conditions," Moriconi said. Besides Steinkeler and Moriconi, Dr. Mark Kienle, an oral surgeon, also donated his time to take part in the 11-hour surgery. Steinkeler said a nurse, Donna Donahue, also volunteered her time to assist. Moriconi is chief of oral surgery at Abington Hospital. Steinkeler and Kienle have a practice, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, with offices in Montgomery and Bucks counties, and are attending surgeons at the hospital. Demicus's recovery will take months and she is staying free-of-charge for a bit longer at Abington, Steinkeler said, adding that she'll likely have to return in a few months for a follow-up and perhaps a year from now for a final bone graft. The initial surgery, Steinkeler said, involved removing a significant portion of the left side of Demicus's jaw in addition to the tumor. The surgeons gave her a custom-made titanium plate that reconstructed her left-side jaw. "The initial recovery is the first month or so to get the immediate area healed, then learning to chew," he said. The charitable efforts was a testament to the good will of the entire hospital community, Steinkeler said. The hospital said in a statement that Moriconi has volunteered in Haiti yearly since 2010, bringing supplies and equipment on each trip. The doctor spends his time at the Christianville Dental Clinic in Gressier, about 90 minutes north of Port-au-Prince. That's where he first met Demicus. Demicus is the fourth patient to be brought by Abington Hospital to the United States for treatment. The three previous patients were treated in 2011, 2012 and 2013, the hospital said. Who needs a warm coat and earmuffs when you have "The Force" on your side? Star Wars enthusiasts will battle the cold weather Friday night as they wear their favorite Jedis and Sith Lord costumes for a Star Wars-themed gathering in Old City, Philadelphia. Franklin Square Park, at 6th and Race streets, is hosting "Star Wars Night" where attendees can come in costumes, meet and greet people dressed as their favorite franchise character. The free public event will run from 5:30 to 7:30. For the full 'Star Wars' experience -- and a chance to warm-up -- attendees can purchase tickets to a Jedi Training session that goes from 4 to 5 in the heated Franklin Square Pavilion. The $15 tickets include a VIP meet-and-greet with Sith Lords Darth Vader and Kylo Ren, followed by a Q&A session and a trivia game. Franklin Square hosts other special events throughout the holidays. Click here for the full list of events. [[238904721, C]] A Delaware judge will meet with attorneys in the case of two Pennsylvania men charged in the 2013 death of a man killed in what authorities say was a murder-for-hire scheme. Friday's conference involves the pending trial of Ryan Shover of York, Pennsylvania, and Michael Kman of Enola, Pennsylvania. They are charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, insurance fraud and a weapons offense in the death of 43-year-old Wayne Cappelli. Authorities say Cappelli was last seen leaving a store where he worked in February 2013. His body was found two days later in a roadside ditch. Authorities say he was beaten with a softball bat. Investigators say Cappelli had named another man charged in the case as the beneficiary of a $300,000 life insurance policy a few months before he was killed. A boy died as flames engulfed a southwest Philadelphia house overnight. Firefighters found flames coming from a second-floor bedroom when they arrived at the scene on South Millick Street near Baltimore Avenue in Cobbs Creek early Friday. The victim's name was not immediately released and his age wasn't clear. Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said a 39-year-old man escaped the fire and was hospitalized with burns. It took fire crews two hours to get the blaze under control due to conditions. The flames spread to a number of adjacent homes, where an 89-year-old woman was rescued by neighbors. "It's very cold so you can see we're fighting ice right now, the wind actually drove the fire... drove it into two adjacent houses," said Thiel. The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday morning. The American Red Cross assisted five families impacted by the blaze. Police and medics in South Jersey rushed to a Camden County elementary school after twin first graders became unresponsive. Emergency responders rushed to Winslow Township School No. 1 on E Charter Avenue -- in the shadow of the Atlantic City Expressway -- in Hammonton around 11:30 a.m. after teachers and the school nurse couldn't get unresponsive boys to respond, said the school district. The brothers "were on the floor not responding to her," said school superintendent H. Major Poteat. Camden County spokesman Dan Keashen said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the twins to pass out. No other students were sickened. Medics treated the siblings in an ambulance at the scene and both students returned to school in time for lunch after being checked out, said Poteat. Police later said that all students and staff were place in an all-purpose room at the school while county health crews and firefighters went through the building to test for any hazardous conditions. Poteat said those tests included looking at the boiler, the heater and the air in the school. Keashen said initial testing showed no "external environmental issues" in the school. As SkyForce10 hovered overhead you could see ambulances, police cars and fire trucks lined up outside the school. Once the school was deemed safe, the school day resumed normally, said police. A letter about the "alleged illness" was sent home to parents and posted online, said Poteat. San Diego Police shut down an illegal marijuana dispensary and arrested one employee on El Cajon Boulevard Thursday morning. At about 7 a.m., SDPD officers from the Narcotics unit carried out a search warrant for the pot shop located at 5549 El Cajon Blvd. After searching the property, police seized about 38.5 pounds of marijuana, multiple types of edibles and some concentrated cannabis. Two employees working at the business were detained, according to the SDPD. One of the employees, accused of violating a court order, selling marijuana and operating an illegal business, was arrested and booked into jail. The other employee was issued a citation for selling marijuana and operating an illegal business, said an SDPD officer. Besides the drugs seized, officers also confiscated $16,000 in cash, a handgun and business records. Police said the investigation is on-going and individuals connected with the business may be sought for additional charges. The SDPD Narcotics Unit and the City Attorney's office have a partnership to investigate all illegal marijuana dispensaries operating within the City of San Diego. Although marijuana was recently legalized in the state of California, the regulatory process to open a pot shop in San Diego has yet to be finalized. Until a set of clear rules and regulations is established by the city, recreational pot shops will remain illegal and subject to closure. San Diego's Planning Commission will meet Thursday to review potential policies regulating recreational marijuana, after the City Council voted Tuesday in favor of a temporary ban. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) launched the first drone pilot program, allocating thousands of dollars to get it off the ground. SDSO confirmed the launch with NBC 7 on Wednesday. Since September, 2016, four camera-equipped drones are being used in operations like wildfires, hostage-situations and crime scenes. The Sheriff's Department says drones can be deployed quickly when weather is bad, and access tight locations. But the program is drawing criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argues that the department should have informed the public prior to launching the program. "The drones can be equipped with cameras, listening devices, and so depending on the technology, they can fly low, they can fly high," said Christie Hill, Senior Policy Strategist with the ACLU. "It can be really quiet and so people are not aware of what information is being conveyed around their homes, around their places of work." In response, SDSO says the evidence collected by drones will be treated like any other evidence collected at crimes scenes and they will not conduct a random surveillance. Hill told NBC 7, the terms of the policy are not precise and do not underline how civil liberties will be protected, including how the collected information will be stored and shared. She also claimed that the SDSO did not hold public meetings to discuss the issue. Our executive director sent a letter raising concerns and encouraging that there be public input, that the County Board of Supervisors approve the requirement of the technology as well as having input on the policy," Hill said. She added that although the department had reached out to the ACLU to inform them of the program, they were not contacted before its launch. Hill told NBC 7 that the ACLU learned of the program's pilot launch through news articles, not directly from the department. But the Sheriff's Department said they brought up the issue with the Citizen Advisory Board, who were all in favor of the program and they brought it to the ACLU. The department has allocated $125,000 from their current budget to fund the program. A Southwest High School employee is on leave after police say she threw a house party and provided alcohol to students. Some students reported the October party to school administrators, who called San Diego Police Department. The police found evidence that Rosa Sanchez, the principals administrative assistant threw the party, SDPD confirmed. Sanchez eventually admitted to hosting the party. Sanchez was placed on administrative leave for six months until June 2017. Students told NBC 7 the party was large and many students knew about it. I heard about the party and that it was really fun, but the fact that a teacher was giving alcohol to students, I dont think thats right, said student Isaac Ramos. Parents told NBC 7 they were concerned. I heard there have been some parties going on, said Victor Viera, a Southwest High parent, who added he had not heard alcohol was being served at the parties. Its not right, he said. The Sweetwater Union High School District refused to confirm whether Sanchez will continue collecting her pay during her 6-month leave of absence. She will be allowed to return to work at the district following her leave, according to district documents. San Diego police say they forwarded a case to the District Attorney's Office seeking charges. A District Attorney's Office spokeswoman said the case is under review. On Friday, San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal will consider a request by State Farm, to turn back an earlier refund and rate reduction order by the California Department of Insurance. The judges decision will be affecting the entire industry, according to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, PIFC. The federation represents insurance companies before the California state government. Attorneys for State Farm are asking the judge to postpone refunds of more than $100 million in overcharges on home, condo and renters insurance. The federation has thrown its support behind the insurance company. Consumer Watchdogs attorney Harvey Rosenfield, along with California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, will be arguing for the immediate release of the funds and no further delays in a 7% rate cut that would save consumers $156 million per year. According to Rosenfield, the rate cut is mandated under Proposition 103, a successful ballot measure Rosenfield championed in 1988. The measure requires prior approval of the insurance commissioner before new insurance rates can be implemented. In January 2016, after a thirteen day hearing, an administrative law judge ruled in favor of Jones decision, to refund customers and create rate reductions. State Farms attorneys said the decision was staggering causing the company irreparable harm. State Farm is the countrys largest insurance company, with $75.7 billion in revenue in 2015. PIFC, while not directly involved in the case, filed a friend of the court brief this week asking for a delay and calling the actions of the Commissioners office a threat to the stability of the system. It has huge consequences for the industry, according to the PIFC. Other Federation members included in the the filing are Progressive, Mercury, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide and Farmers Insurance. In the filing the groups said, the companies were blindsided by the Commissioner and said the proposed payout needs to be stopped to give the insurance industry time to regroup. The Commissioner, they said in their filing, had a sudden reversal in how business is done, abandoning legal tradition. This sudden change, they said, is a determinate to the entire industry, and the federation hasnt had time to hire outside counsel. Rosenfield said the change is not sudden. According to him, its been part of state law since November, 1988. It defies credibility to suggest the industry wasnt aware of the Commissioners State Farm actions, Rosenfield said. In addition, he said there was a great deal of media coverage of the case, including significant coverage in the trade press as well as press releases distributed by Consumer Watchdog and the Commissioners office. The purpose of their last minute filing is simply to inject more alarmist statements.in the hope that the Court will grant a stay, Rosenfield said. This is not about the stability of the insurance industry but the publics interest in lawful insurance rates, he added. A wanted theft suspect had a replica firearm, knives and suspected stolen items inside his car when he nearly crashed into a San Diego County Sheriff's Department (SDSO) car, deputies said. The suspect, later identified as Steven Michael Johnson, was first spotted on Wednesday morning at approximately 7:14 a.m. in an older model Chevrolet 1500 truck sprayed matte black in the Viejas Casino Parking structure, deputies said. Deputies from the Alpine Substation matched the car with the description of a vehicle associated with a recent mail theft that took place in an unincorporated area of Lakeside on Dec. 9. When deputies attempted to contact the suspect, he raced away at a high rate of speed, nearly hitting several parked cars, according to deputies. He drove through the parking structure and at one point, nearly struck an oncoming car - an on-duty Sheriff's Detective in the structure on an unrelated investigation. Johnson's car stalled, deputies said, and officials asked him to exit his vehicle. However, he refused to comply. As Johnson fidgeted with the ignition to try to start the car again, a deputy broke the passenger window with his baton in an attempt to detain the man. The suspect started to comply with deputy's orders and got out of the car, deputies said. He was detained on scene. When deputies were able to search Johnson and the car, they found several items believed to be stolen, including a woman's purse, electronic items, clothing and an IRS check valued at over $59,000. Deputies also found several knives and a replica firearm. Deputies were able to link Johnson to thefts in Rancho San Diego, Alpine and Lakeside, as well as a car theft in La Jolla. Several theft victims have since been located, and officials will continue searching for additional victims as the investigation continues. Johnson was arrested for two counts of identity theft, one count of possession of stolen property and one count of resisting arrest. Two Navy contractors were arrested and charged Wednesday for allegedly giving false information about two separate hoax bomb threats made to Naval Base San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Joshua Rice, 26, and Roberto Rubio, 22, were charged in two separate incidents that prompted mass evacuations aboard Navy ships and the nearby pier where they were docked, according to U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. The arrests come after a spate of hoaxes at naval facilities in San Diego. In at least the two incidents identified by prosecutors, the hoaxes were allegedly made to get out of work early. Everyone should know that making false bomb threats is taken very seriously by federal law enforcement, and it is a felony offense, Duffy said. Both men were arraigned Thursday, but it's not clear whether they entered pleas, The Associated Press reported. Rice reported that he found the word "bomb" written on the inside of a portable toilet located near three naval vessels docked at the base on May 17, according to the news release. The bomb hoax prompted a security response, including from military K-9 officers. Work on nearby ships and the pier was shut down as well, though the area was deemed safe and the scene was cleared a few hours later. That hoax was the 17th threat to a U.S. Navy facility in San Diego since November 2015 at that time. The number of threats has increased since, bringing the total up to 32. Officials say the other threats are not connected. You can read more about the incident here. Rice had been working as a contractor for American Marine at the time. American Marine General Manager Pat Riley told NBC 7 that Rice worked for the company for 11 months and had a good work ethic. "His Navy base access security credentials were retained by the Navy after his meeting with NCIS on June 23," Riley said. Without security clearance to perform the necessary work, Rice was terminated on June 30, Riley added. Rice is scheduled to appear in court on January 30. In a separate incident, Roberto Rubio was charged with writing "9-24-16 400 bomb" on a wall aboard USS Cowpens on September 24, according to the indictment. Rubio then allegedly reported the writing to another contractor, which once again prompted a security response on the San Diego Ship Repair Facility. Work on the ship was stopped until authorities deemed it was safe. He was working as a welder for BAE Systems, a contractor for the Navy, athorities siad. BAE Sytems spokesperson Karl Johnson told NBC 7 that Rubio worked for the company from August 2015 to October 2016. We'll continue to cooperate with authorities going forward," Johnson said. Rubio is expected to be in court on January 9. In addition to the 17 threats, 15 other bomb hoaxes were called in to U.S. Navy facilities and local properties owned by BAE Shipyards and NASSCO since November 2015, according to the U.S. Navy. The bomb threats on and around Naval Base San Diego since November 2015 have had a huge negative impact on the efficiency and productivity of the shipyard's efforts to maintain Navy readiness, said Gunnar Newquist, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Southwest Field Office. But the prosecution suggests it was a ploy to end work early. "Our biggest concern is we don't want someone doing it because they think it is an easy way to get off work we want people to understand it is a serious crime," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Pettit. In August, a $20,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest of anyone involved in the false threats. Pettit told NBC 7 that Rubio and Rice are only facing charges related to those two separate incidents. If convicted, both Rice and Ruibo could face up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. A U.S. Border Patrol agent appeared in court Thursday on charges that he picked up backpacks filled with drugs while on duty at the U.S.-Mexico border fence in exchange for cash, FBI officials said. Noe Lopez, an agent working out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Wednesday and charged with attempted distribution of six pounds of methamphetamine, attempted distribution of seven kilograms of cocaine and bribery, according to a federal court complaint. Lopez, who appeared in court for the first time Thursday, twice picked up and delivered backpacks dropped off for him at the San Diego County border fence, according to the complaint. In both instances, the transactions were part of an undercover law enforcement sting, the complaint said. Lopez allegedly described his ability to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. to a confidential informant, providing the informant with specific details of his operation. Lopez agreed to pick up backpacks filled with narcotics and transport them to safe locations north of the international border, for a fee, according to the complaint. A woman who identified herself as Lopez's ex-wife told NBC 7 that the allegations surprised her. Everyone has money issues. We live in San Diego, but I mean nothing to this extreme for someone to risk their career," she said. The court docket does not list an attorney for Lopez, The Associated Press reported. Lopez, 36, has 10 years of service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and has since been placed on non-duty/non-pay status pending the outcome of the investigation, CBP officials said in a statement. "The U.S. Border Patrol stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of its mission. We do not tolerate misconduct on or off duty and will fully cooperate with all investigations of alleged unlawful conduct by our personnel," the statement read. On December 6, Lopez allegedly picked up a backpack filled with what he believed to be six pounds of meth, then a backpack with cocaine on December 8. The agent delivered the backpacks to a pre-determined location in San Diego in both instances, according to the complaint, and received $10,000 in cash in exchange. Lopez additionally accepted bribes in exchange for helping with drug trafficking events, and ignored his official duty to enforce narcotics laws, according to the complaint. The U.S. Border Patrol is cooperating with all agencies involved in this investigation. Border Patrol agents are held to the highest standards, and we remain committed to performing our duties for the American people in the most professional way," Chief Patrol Agent Richard A. Barlow said in a statement. Lopez will next appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill L. Burkhardt on December 20 for a detention hearing. Local startups will soon have a direct tap into major funding resources from the nations tech capitol. Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced the soft launch of a new venture capital satellite office in San Francisco on Monday that will allow local startups access to more than 400 venture funds from the Bay Area. For the first time, San Diegos smartest startups will have an official headquarters in Silicon Valley so our local businesses can access Bay Area funding while still prospering and hiring right here in Americas Finest City, Mayor Faolconer said. The San Diego Venture Group will operate the BeachHead out of the co-working space WeWork San Francisco. The office is designed to bring startups together with collaborative workspaces, common areas and an outdoor terrace bar. Mayor Faulconer first pledged to open the office during his 2016 State of the City Address in January. San Diego also just received a WeWork site of its own downtown with the grand opening of WeWork B Street on Monday. According to WeWork, the B Street location is one of the largest spaces on the West Coast. A quarter of San Diegos gross domestic product comes from the citys innovation economy, which makes a $52 billion annual economic impact according to the mayors office. San Diego received about $1.3 billion in venture capital in 2015 compared to the $27.8 billion the Silicon Valley saw last year. Local companies can apply for access to the San Francisco office through the San Diego Venture Group website. Companies are approved based on readiness and need. Casey Affleck will have one of the most coveted gigs this weekend when he hosts Saturday Night Live, but the actor is no stranger to a live stage. On Thursday, Affleck talked with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show about starting his career in the kindergarten spotlight. However, unlike most young actors, his first performance was in front of Rosa Parks. The 41-year-old filmmaker reminisced about his acting days at a Massachusetts school named after the civil rights activist. And when Parks visited the children there, they put on a play for her. I was a lion, he said. What I had to do is run up to the front of the stage and roar. Afflecks big moment seemed simple enough, but it soon went awry. Arnold Schwarzenegger cant say what his version of Donald Trumps Youre fired! will be on The New Celebrity Apprentice, so host Jimmy Fallon gives some suggestions. My mane fell off, he recalled. It was my very first artistic crisis. Nevertheless, the young actor finished his scene mane and all. After the show, Parks patted Affleck on the head and smiled, unknowingly setting the tone for the rest of his life. Since then my whole career has been trying to recapture that feeling of approval, he joked. Its not just about SNL. Its about working through childhood trauma. [NATL] Top Entertainment Photos: Best of the American Music Awards, and More Hollywood should be thankful for the early mishap. After his time in the grade school spotlight, Affleck went on to star in critically acclaimed films, including a supporting role in the Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting, written by his brother Ben and friend Matt Damon. Now his latest endeavor, "Manchester by the Sea," has earned him the best actor Critics' Choice Award, as well as a Golden Globe nomination in the same category. To watch Affleck head back to his live theater roots, catch Saturday Night Live at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday on NBC. The staff at the Fairfax County Courthouse wants anyone grappling with domestic abuse to know they are not alone, so it let the News4 I-Team take a camera inside to show how to get a protective order in the county. Director of Domestic Relations Laura Harris explained it starts with juvenile court even though its an adult issue. It's where you've had a relationship, where you've had a child together, you've been married together, Harris said. If it's a family member, the code is very specific how they define family abuse. It's heard here in Juvenile Court." Harris took the I-Team to the second floor, where employees help fill out a form asking for the protective order. "We're domestic relations, Harris said. We deal with people, with children. We're for real." Harris said she pushed hard to get a playroom, because, as a child, she spent a lot of time herself in waiting rooms. "I had to sit in those waiting rooms and I swore no kid will ever have to go through that feeling like nobody notices you, nobody cares, she said. This is a friendly place." While the staff watches your children, you meet with an intake officer like Lisa Downing. "Many times we're the first ones to ever hear what their story is, so we sit back and give them an opportunity to speak, Downing said. A lot of times, the first 15 minutes might be just the client crying, trying to get that information out about what has happened, how they've been violated. And we sit and we listen. We hear the hurt and the pain." There are three different types of protective orders you can get in Virginia, she said. "There's the emergency protective order issued by the police or the magistrate, Downing said. Then you would come to our office to file for the preliminary protective order, which is a 15-day protective order." "Then you would go to court with the person you're filing against to file for up to two-year protective order," she continued. She explained there are two ways to get a protective order. You can fill out an affidavit answering a list of questions about what happened. "Maybe they need to get in and get to work, so they can come in and get a 7:30 appointment, leave here by 8:30, 9 o'clock and they're gone for work, Downing said. They get an answer by 5 p.m." Or you can choose to meet with a judge. The News4 I-Team analyzed the more than 4,500 preliminary and protective orders granted in Northern Virginia since the start of 2015 and found 85 percent were against men while 15 percent were against women. Sixty percent of abusers were Caucasian, 27 percent were African-American, 6 percent were Asian and less than 1 percent were Hispanic, according to court records. While 80 percent of abusers were under the age of 50, there were dozens of orders against senior citizens as old as 80. "They come from all economics, they come from all regions of Fairfax County, Harris said. There is no profile. All ages." Which is why you will also meet with Jesenia Alonso, a victim advocate with Office for Women in Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. "It's a daunting feeling to say. OK, I'm going to go into this court house," Alonso said. Alonso will help you get financial assistance, housing, job training, even a lawyer. "If I've been living with someone for so many years or months, however long, and I've been depending on them that person for support, for financial needs, it's scary to then say, OK, I'm going to leave, she said. Especially when you involve children." They will all walk upstairs with you to the courtroom, where a judge asks questions about the abuse and violence. "You're not alone, Downing said. The silence is what keeps the abuse going. So reach out." "We care about your safety, Harris said. Come in and talk to us." They said they will be sitting right behind you, ready to support and help you. "We are here to serve, Harris said. That is what the county is about. Our goal is to end domestic violence, and we've got a long way to go." A 19-year-old woman is facing arson charges after flames swept through her family's home in Silver Spring, Maryland, early Friday morning, causing extensive damage just days before Christmas. The 2-alarm fire started about 1 a.m. at a home on Sea Island Court. Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames coming through the roof; ultimately, more than 75 firefighters were called to the scene. The woman, whose name officials did not release immediately, was charged with one count of first-degree arson and three counts of reckless endangerment. She is being questioned in the case. "I don't think there was any intent to burn down the whole house, necessarily, but it just got away from them," Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. The homeowner told News4 the 19-year-old is his daughter. "We'll be OK," he said. He didn't want to appear on camera. The fire started in a second-floor bedroom, fire officials said. A smoke detector in the home woke other residents of the home. But before the family of four went into the cold, they tried to extinguish the fire on their own, delaying calling 911, fire officials said. "We believe the family tried to fight the fire for a little while before calling us," Piringer said. The homeowner said he tried using a blanket to put out the flames. "In this particular case, in their attempts to smother the fire, it really made things a little worse and it got bigger," Piringer said. The home owner had trouble getting a fire extinguisher to work. The family then fled the home, leaving the doors open and further fueling the fire. They escaped safely, and neither they nor firefighters were hurt. Using a blanket to extinguish a fire is not advised. Getting out of the house quickly is always the focus. If there's time, close the door behind you. "When you close a door, it stops that flow of air and in most cases it also is a barrier for you," Piringer said. The home sustained more than $350,000 in damages. Ice formed in the frigid temperatures coated what was left of the home Friday. Goodwill wants to find the rightful owner of two of our military's most honored decorations that were discovered in bags of items donated in Annandale, Virginia, in the spring or summer. A Silver Star for heroism and a Purple Heart for dying on the battlefield bear the name of Robert Entzminger, a U.S. Army second lieutenant killed fighting in Belgium during World War II. Crossfire caught him on his third day in battle. Entzminger attended Clemson University, but little else is known about him or who his closest family or friends might be. Weve been conducting our own due diligence to track down a family member, said Brendan Hurley of Goodwill. We posted it online through Facebook and received several leads, but each of those leads has led to a dead end at this point. If the rightful owners aren't found, Clemson has offered to add the medals to its wall of heroes. What to Know Bitseat Getaneh, 17, had arrived to the United States from Ethiopia on Aug. 10, the day before the blast. Getaneh's school tuition money, $2,000 in cash, went up in flames along with all of her other belongings. "I'm happy because I'm alive," she said. Four months after a devastating explosion killed seven and injured dozens at a Maryland apartment building, one teenage survivor who lost two family friends and all of her belongings says she is hopeful for the future. Bitseat Getaneh, 17, had arrived to the United States from Ethiopia Aug. 10, the day before the blast. She was set to stay with family friends at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring for a few weeks before moving to Oklahoma to attend a boarding school. "It was my dream for two years to come to the United States," Getaneh told News4. But Getaneh's American dream was quickly shattered. She woke up to the explosion and fire during her first night at the Flower Branch Apartments. Getaneh managed to make it out, but her family friends, 40-year-old Saeda Ibrahim and 34-year-old Aseged Mekonen, died. "They were so nice to me. I met them, like, only that day. But they were so nice to me," Getaneh said. Getaneh also sustained injuries during the blast. Scars cover her arms, hands and face. "I'm happy because I'm alive," she said. The deadly natural gas explosion destroyed several apartments and displaced more than 50 families. Getaneh's boarding school tuition money, $2,000 in cash, went up in flames along with all of her other belongings. Despite her injuries and losing her tuition money, Getaneh remains determined and plans to continue to pursue her education. Her friends have launched a GoFundMe page to help her raise the money. "I want to continue my life, like it used to be," she said. Getaneh's mother flew from Ethiopia to comfort her, and they now live in a new neighborhood. Getaneh's lawyer, who was provided by the immigrant rights organization CASA, said he filed a lawsuit on her behalf against Washington Gas and K Management to pay for her medical bills and lost property. A Native American tribe's fight over its water source has grown into an international cause, with all attention focused on the Dakota Access pipeline's route in southern North Dakota. But contractors on the project, which passes through three other states, have been drilling under and through rivers that are equally critical water sources for hundreds of thousands of people. One city managed to avoid the situation Bismarck, North Dakota, the center of government in the oil-rich state and home to 67,000 people. Others, including Des Moines, Iowa, didn't, despite protests that led to arrests. At issue is whether a breach in the $3.8 billion project, being built by Dallas-based parent company Energy Transfer Partners, will affect drinking water, given that it crosses more than 200 water bodies, including the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. While utility officials in Iowa acknowledge it's likely there'll be an issue in the future, they're confident a leak won't affect the quality of the water. "I think it's important to note that it isn't a matter of if there'll be eventually some kind of leak or rupture of the pipeline it's a matter of when and so we certainly want to be vigilant and have measures in place," Des Moines Water Works CEO Bill Stowe said. Energy Transfer Partners counters that the 1,170-mile pipeline will be safe, with devices placed throughout to track pressure, temperature, density and flow that'll be monitored around the clock by people who can remotely shut off oil flow. Such emergency valves are on either side of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, ETP spokeswoman Vicki Granado said. Pipe was laid early this month under the Des Moines River, and the route also crosses the Raccoon or its tributaries at three locations upstream from Des Moines, a city of more than 200,000 residents. Stowe, whose utility has a half-million customers, said there is a plan to deal with an oil leak, and he works with the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure regular inspections and appropriate flow-stopping measures. He's more concerned about more commonplace water threats: spills from tanker trucks carrying anhydrous ammonia or petroleum products, as well as farm wastewater spills, sewage leaks and other contaminants. The Dakota Access pipeline also crosses underneath the Mississippi River, which is a source of water for about 4,000 people in the southeast corner of Iowa and close to a water-treatment plant for the city of Keokuk. The utility's officials voiced concerns to the Iowa Utilities Board, telling them that a preferred a route would be south of the city's intake, but the route wasn't changed. A leak could reach the intake within an hour. Up in North Dakota, an early plan had the Dakota Access pipeline crossing the Missouri River 10 miles north of Bismarck, but the government rejected it in September 2014 because of the potential drinking water supply threat, the number of water and wetland crossings and proximity to homes, documents show. Instead, it was run near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, which depends on water from Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir. The tribe took ETP to court over the water threat as well as threats to cultural artifacts, and an encampment protest on federal land swelled to thousands at one point. On Dec. 4, the Army decided to keep ETP from drilling under the river and look at alternate routes preventing the completion of the pipeline for now. Protesters also tried to stop the pipeline from crossing the Des Moines River, confronting workers. But they weren't successful. Carolyn Raffensperger, executive director for the Iowa-based environmental group Science and Environmental Health Network, noted the frustration she felt while watching the drilling and pipe installation. She has filed legal challenges and criticized the regulatory process for pipeline permitting, saying the layers of bureaucracy makes it difficult for citizens to be heard in any significant way. "The problem is a very little bit of oil can make a very big mess," she said. "We don't want to drink any oil." Police in Brookline, Massachusetts are warning residents to stay away from an aggressive coyote. According to Brookline Police, the coyote charged at a detail officer at Washington and Park streets around 11:30 a.m. Massachusetts Environmental Police have been called to the scene. Police said the coyote was spotted around 1:15 p.m. in the area of Washington and Greenough streets. Officers are now searching that area. Residents are warned to avoid the coyote and call 911 if they see it. Students are urged to travel in groups when school lets out. "The Nutcracker" is a holiday tradition for many, but the heart of Jose Mateo's production in Boston may very well live in one little girl whose journey to the stage began long before the curtain call. Eva Gambon, a 9-year-old from Rockland, Massachusetts, has spent more time in a hospital room than a backstage dressing room. The ballerina was born with a heart defect called "Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome." "It's like when the left side of your heart isn't really there so they have to like give you one - like the doctors," Gambon said. After five open heart surgeries, including one rare procedure only a handful of patients in the world have had, Gambon's heart started to grow and so too did her strength to perform. "I can't even explain it," Gambon said. "It's just amazing. Like, they saved my life, and I don't know how to repay them." Her way of repaying them happened Sunday inside the Strand Theatre in Dorchester. Sitting in the front row was one of Gambon's doctors who helped save her. "When she asked me I was honored. I said there's no way I'm going to miss this," Dr. Matthew Hjort of South Shore Medical Center said. "It's a miracle she is alive really." Before she left, Gambon hugged her doctor to say thank you not just for the dancing, but also for the feeling she gets in her heart every time she performs. She says it is a reminder that what they did is working. Jose Mateo's production of "The Nutcracker" runs at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester through Dec. 18. The Cape Cod Times reported that the Internal Revenue Service is serving a federal search warrant at Zachary's Pub, the Capes only gentlemans club. The club, owned by Richard Halpern, was bought for $800,000 in March 1986. Halpern is said to have put it up for sale for $4.3 million earlier this year. The property includes residential units, billiards, dancing and laundry licenses on 6.17 acres of land. Massachusetts state police are standing by the premises as the IRS serves the warrant. Health officials are urging people to keep an eye on the elderly during this frigid blast. Many senior centers across the city are offering games, free food and lots of support. Whenever the temperature starts to plunge, Mary McGonagall grits her teeth and makes the rounds, making sure the seniors in the Robert Georgina tower in Charlestown are okay. Doctors say winter may be the most dangerous season for the elderly. Anyone at the extremes of age, whether the very old or very young, are just more susceptible to the effects of temperature change. The severe cold makes it difficult for the elderly to get around, further isolating them inside. Freezing weather increases the risk of falls on ice. It is also flu season, the time of year that kills tens of thousands of seniors nationwide. Along with staying safe, Gloria Platt still loves playing the piano for her friends, and says community helps warm the heart. The Peterborough senior center in the Fenway neighborhood is offering free food and games. They encourage them to come as long as its safe for them. They reach out with phone calls to make sure people are safe and okay. Some other senior centers are delivering groceries and the city of Bostons elderly commission is helping fill out forms for heating assistance. Bottom line, everyone needs to look out for everybody, says McGonagall. Fire crews battled a six-alarm blaze in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood at a laundromat featured in the movie "The Town" during sub-freezing temperatures Friday morning. The fire broke out just before 7 a.m. at 144 Bunker Hill St., a three-story building with a laundry on the first floor and six apartments above. Residents were forced to evacuate in the frigid cold. There was a lot of flames coming out, fire victim Julie Dejesus said. The building alarm went off and then there was just some smoke in the hallway and we all just kind of quickly got out. "Of all the days to happen - it can never be a good one, but today was a challenging one," added Zack Scott, a nearby homeowner. "The firefighters did an amazing job doing as much as they could with the building, but then protecting our building. So we're really thankful for that." Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn said adjacent buildings sustained damage. "A very stubborn and tough fire - it got into the loft and traveled the length of the building, Finn said. The buildings collapsed up to the top floors. You can see the roof all caved in. The fire fight turned Bunker Hill Street into a sheet of ice, firefighters themselves covered in frost. Photos show ice building up on firefighters' jackets. Finn said the fire reached six alarms because of a combination of the fire and the severe weather. Heavy winds blew smoke from the fire onto the Tobin Bridge. Residents in the apartments where the fire started said theyre thankful no one was hurt, but with about a week to go until Christmas its a tough time to deal with all of the damage and loss. I think we just lost everything, I think, said one fire victim who did not want to be identified. Dejesus added, Everything, but its just things so they can be replaced. Officials said about 20 residents were displaced by the fire. The American Red Cross and the mayor's office will assist them, according to Boston Fire. Crews were expected to remain on scene all day as their equipment in frozen in place. The cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation. Fire officials estimate damage at $2 million. The obituary of a York, Maine, man is getting plenty of attention for its humor-infused celebration of his life. Chris Connors died last week at 67 after trying to box his bikini-clad hospice nurse just moments earlier, according to the obituary published to seacoastonline.com. Speaking to necn over the phone, his daughter, Caitlin Connors, said he came up with the idea a few months before his death. She said, It's going to make people laugh and bring people together." The obituary touches on humorous parts of his life, saying, Most people thought he was crazy for swimming in the ocean in January; for being a skinny Irish Golden Gloves boxer from Quincy, Massachusetts; for dressing up as a priest and then proceeding to get into a fight at a Jewish deli. Many gawked at his start of a career on Wall Street without a financial background - but instead with an intelligent, impish smile, love for the spoken word, irreverent sense of humor, and stunning blue eyes that could make anyone fall in love with him. It added, Throughout his life, he was an accomplished hunter and birth control device tester (with some failures, notably Caitlin Connors, 33; Chris Connors, 11; and Liam Connors, 8). Connors said since the obituary has been gaining attention, more than $10,000 in donations have been made to the Chris Connors Fund for water safety. Chris Connors was a scuba diver and started the search and rescue program in York, Maine, training firefighters how to perform water rescues. This summer there will be a free day at the beach to train people in CPR and learn other life safety tips. His family is having a celebration of his life at the York Harbor Inn on Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Since the obituary went viral, they have been hearing from strangers who want to join the party. A Pawtucket, Rhode Island man who authorities say shot at a Providence nightclub as he was driving away has pleaded guilty to assault and weapons charges. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office says 25-year-old Larenta Draper was sentenced Wednesday to 27 years in prison with 17 to serve. Prosecutors say Draper fired a gun in the direction of the Aqua Lounge in April after getting into an argument inside the club. They say bullets hit a nearby food truck but no one was injured. Court documents say city police pursued Draper's vehicle until it crashed on state Route 10. Police say they found the weapon used in the incident in Draper's vehicle. As authorities investigate a murder-suicide involving a Maine pastor killing his daughter, they have now begun reviewing old reports about the death of his first wife, who fell from a cliff 23 years ago. The 1993 death of Greta Randall was ruled accidental, but Maine State Police are double checking reports from that case as they work to understand why Daniel Randall killed his 27-year-old daughter, Claire Randall, and himself last week in Hebron. "We're asked all the time to explain inexplicable actions," said Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland. Police say Randall had recently completed a stay at a Portland rehab facility for alcohol addiction. During his stay, his second wife filed for divorce. But Randall did not exhibit any troubling signs, according to the rehab facility's director. Two days after he completed the program, Randall purchased a shotgun from Top Gun of Maine in Poland, according to WCSH. "This was so milktoast in terms of being a classic customer," said Joe Cimino, the gun shop's owner. "He wanted to know a little information about a firearm, wasn't in a hurry." Cimino told WCSH that he would not have sold him the gun if he had known about his recent rehab stay, but that information does not come up in a background check. Hours later, Randall entered the Hebron home of his estranged wife Anita, and his daughter Claire, shooting Claire three times in the bathroom. He then shot himself. Police have not been able to determine a motive. "When we have a homicide, we look as much as we can into the background," said McCausland. "What comes out at us very quickly is this 1993 death of his first wife, Greta." Randall's first wife died when she fell on rocks at Two Lights park in Cape Elizabeth. Investigators are taking a second look at police reports and medical examiner's reports to learn more about Randall. "It was an unusual event, and we wanted to make sure we covered that base," he said. At the time of Greta Randall's death, Daniel Randall was pastor of the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, Maine. There is a certain group of dogs in New Hampshire that is homeless for the holidays. Four Pit bull mixes at the New Hampshire SPCA have been at the shelter longer than any other dogs. "It's hard, you know," said SPCA employee Kelly Marinel as she started to tear up. "I'm going to cry." She's got a special bond with Uma, who has been at the shelter for almost an entire year. "It's tough seeing her here every day, getting looked over, and watching other dogs come and go," Marinel said. Marinel says people walk right by Uma, in large part, because she's a pit bull. "There's a lot of breed bias," said NHSCPA Executive Director Lisa Dennison. "It's not uncommon for a pit bull to be here three, four, five, months, but this is getting to be a long time." A long time not just for Uma, but for the three other pit bull mixes at the shelter. Jato and Vander have been at the shelter about six months. In January, Tanner will have spent a full year without a family. "Every animal deserves a chance," Dennison said. "When you take them out of their kennels, they are love-bugs." Meredith Robie adopted her pit bull from the SPCA last year. "I fell in love, he's the best cuddle buddy ever," Robie told necn. She drove an hour to the shelter Thursday for the chance to show others her relationship with her beloved dog, Tyson. "Pit bulls just want affection from people," Robie said. She hopes her relationship with Tyson will encourage others to adopt a bully breed, and just maybe their story will help Uma find a home for the holidays. "It would be absolutely amazing," Marinel said. "It would be a Christmas miracle." It's important for people to know that when you come to the shelter, if you see a dog barking like crazy from inside their kennel, it does not mean they're aggressive. In fact, often times they're just begging for affection. So, next time, stop and get to know them, and maybe they could wake up in your home on Christmas morning. For more information on adoptable pets, click here. A Massachusetts Teamster has been sentenced to probation with home confinement and ordered to pay a fine and restitution after trying to extort a reality television production company. Mark Harrington, a 62-year-old member of Teamsters Local 25, pleaded guilty in November to one count of attempted extortion. Harrington was one of four Teamsters accused of intimidating the staff and crew of "Top Chef" while it was filmed in Boston. He, Daniel Redmond, Robert Cafarelli and Michael Ross allegedly threatened to picket the Omni Parker House, where the show was scheduled to film, prompting the hotel to refuse to allow the crew to use the location for the show. The men were also accused of yelling profanities and racial and homophobic slurs at host Padma Lakshmi and the crew while they filmed at Steel & Rye, a restaurant in the Boston suburb of Milton. Harrington was sentenced to two years of probation, including six months of home confinement. He must pay a $10,000 fine and $24,023 in restitution. The true meaning of Christmas? Network Norfolk content editor Tony Rothe reflects on the many ways people choose to celebrate the Christmas season. The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of mid-winter and the winter solstice. The Scandinavians celebrated Yule by burning logs, the Germans honoured the pagan god Oden, and the Romans observed Saturnalia, a hedonistic worship of their god Saturn. In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday - the birth of Jesus was not celebrated in England until the end of the sixth century and, apart from a break during Cromwells reign, has been gaining in popularity, and commercial opportunities ever since. So, what is the true meaning of Christmas? To Christians the answer is obvious the celebration of the birth of our Lord, saviour, mentor, guide and best friend Jesus. But not everyone will agree The true meaning of Christmas for them might be meeting up with family and friends, giving and receiving gifts, decorating their house with light and colour, treating their families to lovely food, giving to charity, helping others, or just chilling out after a hard autumn at work. To them, that is their reality, and each of these activities is fine in itself. Should we chastise and condemn folks for simply wishing to have a good time, if thats what Christmas means to them? Is our criticism likely to introduce them to Gods love and grace? Let us joyfully celebrate the birth of Gods Son in whatever way is right for us, both in church and by joining in the secular activities, but invite others to join us in our celebrations. Let our positive enthusiasm for worshipping the Light of the World prove infectious as we share a very happy Christmas! Tony Rothe is Network Norfolk Content Editor for North and East Norfolk. He is also a children's instructor at a field study centre, church caretaker, and has written books of walks. The views carried here are those of the author, not of Network Norwich and Norfolk, and are intended to stimulate constructive debate between website users. We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here. Cover price of your local newspaper to rise from next week Dear reader Firstly, I hope you and your family enjoy a very merry Christmas and a happy and successful 2017. 2016 has been another challenging year for local newspapers as the UK economy recovers slowly and large sections of advertising move to websites and social media. Many local newspapers across the country have been forced to close as a result, including some here in Berkshire. This year we have also seen big increases in the cost of all the materials we use to publish our newspapers notably newsprint, which increased in price by 11 per cent this year and is increasing again by the same amount in January. I am sure all your household bills have also risen this year. Over the past few years we have tackled this challenge by reducing our cost base without affecting the quality of the newspaper. But that cannot continue forever and we have now had to review the cover price of the Newbury Weekly News in the light of these increased costs. So, from next week, the price of the Newbury Weekly News will rise by 20p to 1. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We realise this will have a significant impact on some of our readers, but we firmly believe the paper still represents excellent value for money. Its still less than the cost of a cheeseburger or cup of coffee. The people of West Berkshire and North Hampshire are fortunate to have such a strong local newspaper as the Newbury Weekly News, which next year will celebrate its 150th anniversary. Local newspapers play a vital role in keeping people informed about the place where they live, strengthening local democracy and celebrating all the good things about the area that they cover. Our professional, experienced and highly-trained journalists produce well-researched news and local information that you can rely on and trust. So many other modern news sources do not. The Newbury Weekly News has been championing our local community since 1867 and we want to still be doing so for generations to come. The cover price rise will help us to do that. Our readers are vital to the future of this newspaper and are its lifeblood. We need your support amid a difficult economic landscape so that we can continue to provide you with valuable news, whats on, sport and a comprehensive range of local information. If anybody would like to discuss the cover price rise with me, or any other aspect of the Newbury Weekly News, I will be available to speak to on the telephone on Friday, December 23, from 10am to 1pm when you can call me on (01635) 564525. Or you can email me at andy.murrill@newburynews.co.uk. Thank you once again for your ongoing loyalty and support everyone at the Newbury Weekly News appreciates it very much. Andy Murrill Editor NBC Connecticut / WVIT won the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for its investigative series, Crumbling Foundations that exposed the cause of hundreds of homes with deteriorating concrete foundations, including the connection to a single concrete company. NBC Connecticut / WVIT won the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for its investigative series, Crumbling Foundations that exposed the cause of hundreds of homes with deteriorating concrete foundations, including the connection to a single concrete company. The duPont-Columbia awards honor the best in broadcast, documentary and online reporting. The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters have devoted hundreds of hours in the past 18 months to determine the real scope of the problem, expose the causes that led to the deterioration in residential foundations and raise awareness about this widespread problem to help affected residents get answers and some type of relief, said Susan Tully, President and General Manager of NBC Connecticut. We are humbled that our investigative work has been recognized with this prestigious honor. We will continue to dig in and ask the questions that need to be asked on behalf of our viewers, as this story evolves. NBC Connecticuts Troubleshooters investigation into Eastern Connecticuts crumbling concrete foundations began in June 2015 after a local viewer called the station with a tip about a crumbling wall. Since then, the station has reported dozens of hard-hitting stories that revealed that hundreds of residents have been affected by crumbling home foundations. The Troubleshooters were also the first to report that a chemical reaction involving a naturally-occurring mineral called pyrrhotite causes the deterioration in the foundations. Additionally, WVITs investigative work prompted Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy to launch a multi-agency investigation into the cause and scope of the problem. To watch NBC Connecticuts Crumbling Foundations reports, click here. The investigation was led by Brad Drazen, News Anchor and Investigative Reporter; David Michnowicz, Photojournalist/Editor; Sharon Butterworth, Executive Producer and George Colli, Investigative Reporter. The Alfred I. duPont Awards ceremony will take place at Columbia Universitys Low Memorial Library in New York City on Wednesday, January 25, 2017. For more information about the 2017 duPont Awards winners, click here and follow on social media using the hashtag #duPont2017. For more information about NBC Connecticut, please visit nbcconnecticut.com. About NBC Connecticut Owned by NBCUniversal, NBC Connecticut / WVIT serves its audience with local news and weather information across multiple platforms. This includes more than 40 hours of newscasts each week on WVIT, news segments on CT COZI TV and digital content on NBCConnecticut.com. The station is Connecticuts leader with Facebook and Instagram followers and provides mobile users on-the-go breaking news updates and weather information through its customized applications. NBC Connecticuts commitment to excellence in journalism has been recognized with numerous Emmy Awards and the prestigious Peabody Award. Christin Mathew Philip By Express News Service BENGALURU: With Supreme Courts order to ban all liquor shops within 500 metres on national and state highways from April 1, many road safety activists say the move will reduce the number of accident cases in the state. Government records show that number of people killed in road accidents in Karnataka has increased over the past few years - 9,448 deaths in 2012, 10,046 in 2013, 10,452 in 2014 and 10,856 in 2015. It is also revealed that more than half of the accident deaths are reported on state and national highways. In 2015, for instance, as many as 10,856 people across the state were killed in road accidents, of which 3,657 died in road accidents on national highways and 2,889 on state highways. Road safety activists say driving under the influence of alcohol is the primary cause of accidents on highways. Its a long-pending demand. Overspeeding and drunken driving are the main reasons for the accidents on highways. This is mainly because many drivers of heavy vehicles consume alcohol to get some relief from stress and tiring trips. There are also several shops along the highways selling liquor illegally, said traffic expert M N Srihari. Activists say that there are no checks on drunk driving on majority of the highways. I have seen several liquor shop advertisements along the highways. Such advertisements tempt drivers to drink and drive. Police patrolling and emergency rescue vehicles are also very less on highways as compared to city roads. The Supreme Court has taken a right decision, which will reduce the number of accidents, said Dr Vishal Rao, oncologist and member of the state high-powered committee of tobacco control. He said that onus is on the state government to enforce the rules. According to Rule-5 of the Karnataka Excise Licence (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, no licence for sale of liquor shall be granted to a liquor shop or premises selected within a distance or 220 metres from the middle of the state highways or national highways. A senior official in the Excise department told Express: We are yet to receive the court order. We will send a proposal to the government to amend the existing law banning liquor shops along the highways from 220 metres to 500 metres. He said there are now 280 liquor outlets functioning within 220 metres along the highways in violation of rules. We are unable to remove such outlets as the cases are pending before various courts. We are yet to survey the number of liquor outlets within 500 metres. Sources say poor coordination between Excise department and police is also the main reason for the inadequate checks along the highways. There is also a severe shortage of interceptors, breath analysers and staffs on districts to keep a check on drunk drivers. Most accidents are reported during early morning or late night, said a senior police officer. He said excise department is responsible to remove such illegal outlets to prevent accidents. BENGALURU: With Supreme Courts order to ban all liquor shops within 500 metres on national and state highways from April 1, many road safety activists say the move will reduce the number of accident cases in the state. Government records show that number of people killed in road accidents in Karnataka has increased over the past few years - 9,448 deaths in 2012, 10,046 in 2013, 10,452 in 2014 and 10,856 in 2015. It is also revealed that more than half of the accident deaths are reported on state and national highways. In 2015, for instance, as many as 10,856 people across the state were killed in road accidents, of which 3,657 died in road accidents on national highways and 2,889 on state highways. Road safety activists say driving under the influence of alcohol is the primary cause of accidents on highways. Its a long-pending demand. Overspeeding and drunken driving are the main reasons for the accidents on highways. This is mainly because many drivers of heavy vehicles consume alcohol to get some relief from stress and tiring trips. There are also several shops along the highways selling liquor illegally, said traffic expert M N Srihari. Activists say that there are no checks on drunk driving on majority of the highways. I have seen several liquor shop advertisements along the highways. Such advertisements tempt drivers to drink and drive. Police patrolling and emergency rescue vehicles are also very less on highways as compared to city roads. The Supreme Court has taken a right decision, which will reduce the number of accidents, said Dr Vishal Rao, oncologist and member of the state high-powered committee of tobacco control. He said that onus is on the state government to enforce the rules. According to Rule-5 of the Karnataka Excise Licence (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, no licence for sale of liquor shall be granted to a liquor shop or premises selected within a distance or 220 metres from the middle of the state highways or national highways. A senior official in the Excise department told Express: We are yet to receive the court order. We will send a proposal to the government to amend the existing law banning liquor shops along the highways from 220 metres to 500 metres. He said there are now 280 liquor outlets functioning within 220 metres along the highways in violation of rules. We are unable to remove such outlets as the cases are pending before various courts. We are yet to survey the number of liquor outlets within 500 metres. Sources say poor coordination between Excise department and police is also the main reason for the inadequate checks along the highways. There is also a severe shortage of interceptors, breath analysers and staffs on districts to keep a check on drunk drivers. Most accidents are reported during early morning or late night, said a senior police officer. He said excise department is responsible to remove such illegal outlets to prevent accidents. By IANS MUMBAI: Fresh archaeological evidence found in Mumbai has provided some missing historical links from 100 BC to the 12th century AD, indicating that development of the area started long before the 15th century advent of the Portuguese, a top expert said. Under the Mumbai-Salsette Archaeological Exploration Project, 2015-2016, funded by India Study Centre Trust (INSTUCEN Trust) a team of researchers from Mumbai University's Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (CEMS) and PTVA-Sathaye College students explored ancient temples, historical sites and old communities in what is now Greater Mumbai. They discovered, among other things, pre-historic tools, inscriptions, relics, pillars, land grant stones, Gadhegals (engraved stones), and seven new caves inside the 2,000-year old Kanheri Caves complex of suburban Borivali. "This and other evidence, ancient records and field research provide the historical links that appeared to have snapped from 100 BC to the 12th century," said CEMS Director Mugdha D. Karnik. A Gadhegal also known as Ass-curse Stone as they depict donkeys in sexual union with human women | IANS Effectively, she said this pushes back history by three-four centuries, shattering the hitherto-held belief that the development of the region began from the Portuguese era, starting with the landing of Vasco da Gama in Calicut in May 1498. Many of the new discoveries in the Mumbai metropolitan region, comprising Mumbai-Salsette, shed light on the little-known pre-Portuguese era and would require deeper research to connect them to a glorious past, Karnik added. Salsette is bound to the north by the Bassein Creek, to the northeast by Ulhas River, to the east by Thane Creek and Mumbai Harbour, and to the south and the west by the Arabian Sea. They were gradually merged by massive land reclamation during the 19th-20th centuries to form Bombay, now called Mumbai. Karnik stumbled upon this older history almost accidentally when she casually enquired of C.K. Salunkhe, head of horticulture at BARC, whether there were any archaeological remnants in the premises of the country's first atomic plant which is situated in a part of the old Salsette. Surprisingly, Salunkhe brought out an ancient inscription and a sandstone Shikhara, which was examined by the research team of Karnik, Kurush F. Dalal, Suraj Pandit and journalist-cum-archaeologist Vinayak Parab and others. "The inscription bears clear references to the Sultan of Delhi, a local vassal of Bimba Dynasty, Hambir Rao; the place is stated as Konkan-Bimbasthana, with names of villages which exist even today like Marol, Nanale (BARC), Devnare (Deonar)," Parab explained. The reference points to Salsette or Sashti in the word "Sansathi", bearing a clear date "Kartika Shuddha Dwadashi, Saka Samvat 1290" (corresponding to November 3, 1368). It is quite likely that the etymology of Mumbai-Bombay-Bombahem originated from Bimbasthana, according to the research paper. Dalal said past studies showed the area's urbanisation started only with the arrival of the Portuguese, but the new discoveries and archaeological artefacts prove it to be much older. An exciting dimension to the project was the discovery of seven new caves in the Kanheri complex, located deep inside the 100 sq km Sanjay Gandhi National Park in northern Mumbai, by Parab, Pandit and others. The Kanheri Caves, 109 in total, date from the 1st century BC to the 10th century, and became a Buddhist settlement of global importance by the 3rd century. Usually accessible from the western side (Borivali), Parab and his team entered it from the eastern side (Mulund) and were rewarded with pre-historic microliths in the Tulsi Lake area and larger stone tools at Khindipada that are "believed to be over 30,000 years old", Karnik said. They also found a Gadhegal -- also known as Ass-curse Stone as they depict donkeys in sexual union with human women -- which was on the verge of being discarded in the Powai Lake, and some other artefacts were found in Aarey Milk Colony. In fact, the team found sculptures, some dating to the Shilahara Dynasty (765-1029) in the Marol area which was its commercial capital and is today a bustling Mumbai CBD, besides ancient temple pillars (of the same era) located near the old Aarey Milk Colony toll-plaza. The field work of Dalal's team in the Thane-Ghodbunder area revealed centuries-old relics, old cannons and even remnants of an old and forgotten railway line. These and other findings are on display in a four-day public expo at Mumbai University's Kalina Campus from Thursday. Incidentally, another researcher, Siddharth Kale, said that Sopara was an ancient port and administrative centre falling in Salsette, with mention in many ancient inscriptions and literature from the 1st century BC till the 14th century. It is also the only site known till now in the entire coastal Konkan region where human habitation flourished uninterrupted for more than 23 centuries and is today a bustling suburb on the Western Railway's suburban network, just before Virar. Encouraged by the new discoveries, Karnik said her team plans to continue research and field studies over the next two-three years and hope to establish more missing links in Mumbai's ancient history and origins. MUMBAI: Fresh archaeological evidence found in Mumbai has provided some missing historical links from 100 BC to the 12th century AD, indicating that development of the area started long before the 15th century advent of the Portuguese, a top expert said. Under the Mumbai-Salsette Archaeological Exploration Project, 2015-2016, funded by India Study Centre Trust (INSTUCEN Trust) a team of researchers from Mumbai University's Centre for Extra-Mural Studies (CEMS) and PTVA-Sathaye College students explored ancient temples, historical sites and old communities in what is now Greater Mumbai. They discovered, among other things, pre-historic tools, inscriptions, relics, pillars, land grant stones, Gadhegals (engraved stones), and seven new caves inside the 2,000-year old Kanheri Caves complex of suburban Borivali. "This and other evidence, ancient records and field research provide the historical links that appeared to have snapped from 100 BC to the 12th century," said CEMS Director Mugdha D. Karnik. A Gadhegal also known as Ass-curse Stone as they depict donkeys in sexual union with human women | IANS Effectively, she said this pushes back history by three-four centuries, shattering the hitherto-held belief that the development of the region began from the Portuguese era, starting with the landing of Vasco da Gama in Calicut in May 1498. Many of the new discoveries in the Mumbai metropolitan region, comprising Mumbai-Salsette, shed light on the little-known pre-Portuguese era and would require deeper research to connect them to a glorious past, Karnik added. Salsette is bound to the north by the Bassein Creek, to the northeast by Ulhas River, to the east by Thane Creek and Mumbai Harbour, and to the south and the west by the Arabian Sea. They were gradually merged by massive land reclamation during the 19th-20th centuries to form Bombay, now called Mumbai. Karnik stumbled upon this older history almost accidentally when she casually enquired of C.K. Salunkhe, head of horticulture at BARC, whether there were any archaeological remnants in the premises of the country's first atomic plant which is situated in a part of the old Salsette. Surprisingly, Salunkhe brought out an ancient inscription and a sandstone Shikhara, which was examined by the research team of Karnik, Kurush F. Dalal, Suraj Pandit and journalist-cum-archaeologist Vinayak Parab and others. "The inscription bears clear references to the Sultan of Delhi, a local vassal of Bimba Dynasty, Hambir Rao; the place is stated as Konkan-Bimbasthana, with names of villages which exist even today like Marol, Nanale (BARC), Devnare (Deonar)," Parab explained. The reference points to Salsette or Sashti in the word "Sansathi", bearing a clear date "Kartika Shuddha Dwadashi, Saka Samvat 1290" (corresponding to November 3, 1368). It is quite likely that the etymology of Mumbai-Bombay-Bombahem originated from Bimbasthana, according to the research paper. Dalal said past studies showed the area's urbanisation started only with the arrival of the Portuguese, but the new discoveries and archaeological artefacts prove it to be much older. An exciting dimension to the project was the discovery of seven new caves in the Kanheri complex, located deep inside the 100 sq km Sanjay Gandhi National Park in northern Mumbai, by Parab, Pandit and others. The Kanheri Caves, 109 in total, date from the 1st century BC to the 10th century, and became a Buddhist settlement of global importance by the 3rd century. Usually accessible from the western side (Borivali), Parab and his team entered it from the eastern side (Mulund) and were rewarded with pre-historic microliths in the Tulsi Lake area and larger stone tools at Khindipada that are "believed to be over 30,000 years old", Karnik said. They also found a Gadhegal -- also known as Ass-curse Stone as they depict donkeys in sexual union with human women -- which was on the verge of being discarded in the Powai Lake, and some other artefacts were found in Aarey Milk Colony. In fact, the team found sculptures, some dating to the Shilahara Dynasty (765-1029) in the Marol area which was its commercial capital and is today a bustling Mumbai CBD, besides ancient temple pillars (of the same era) located near the old Aarey Milk Colony toll-plaza. The field work of Dalal's team in the Thane-Ghodbunder area revealed centuries-old relics, old cannons and even remnants of an old and forgotten railway line. These and other findings are on display in a four-day public expo at Mumbai University's Kalina Campus from Thursday. Incidentally, another researcher, Siddharth Kale, said that Sopara was an ancient port and administrative centre falling in Salsette, with mention in many ancient inscriptions and literature from the 1st century BC till the 14th century. It is also the only site known till now in the entire coastal Konkan region where human habitation flourished uninterrupted for more than 23 centuries and is today a bustling suburb on the Western Railway's suburban network, just before Virar. Encouraged by the new discoveries, Karnik said her team plans to continue research and field studies over the next two-three years and hope to establish more missing links in Mumbai's ancient history and origins. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalam actress Dhanya Mary Varghese has been arrested along with her husband and brother-in-law in connection with a Rs 130 crore cheating case filed by investors in a company promoted by her husband's family, police said today. Dhanya, her husband John Jacob, managing director of Samson and Sons Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd, and his brother Samuel Jacob were taken into custody in Nagercoil on the basis of complaints from various investors who had been promised apartments and villas promised by the developers, police said. Dhanya is the sales director of the company. Police said Dhanya's father-in-law, Jacob Samson, chairman of the company, has been arrested earlier. The real estate company took various realty and housing projects in Thiruvananthapuram in 2011, promising to deliver 500 flats and 20 villas within two years. They collected Rs 100 crore as advance payments from various people, including non-resident Keralites and another Rs 30 crore as deposits promising high rates of interest, police said. However, they failed to deliver the promised flats, and several people filed complaints with the police. The three were said to have been hiding in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kerala before they were arrested in Nagercoil by a special investigation team constituted by the Thiruvananthapuram police commissioner, police said. Dhanya debuted in the Tamil film Thirudi. She has acted in several Malayalam films including Thalappavu, Kerala Cafe, Nayakan, Red Chillies and Pranayam, before getting married in January 2012. THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Malayalam actress Dhanya Mary Varghese has been arrested along with her husband and brother-in-law in connection with a Rs 130 crore cheating case filed by investors in a company promoted by her husband's family, police said today. Dhanya, her husband John Jacob, managing director of Samson and Sons Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd, and his brother Samuel Jacob were taken into custody in Nagercoil on the basis of complaints from various investors who had been promised apartments and villas promised by the developers, police said. Dhanya is the sales director of the company. Police said Dhanya's father-in-law, Jacob Samson, chairman of the company, has been arrested earlier. The real estate company took various realty and housing projects in Thiruvananthapuram in 2011, promising to deliver 500 flats and 20 villas within two years. They collected Rs 100 crore as advance payments from various people, including non-resident Keralites and another Rs 30 crore as deposits promising high rates of interest, police said. However, they failed to deliver the promised flats, and several people filed complaints with the police. The three were said to have been hiding in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kerala before they were arrested in Nagercoil by a special investigation team constituted by the Thiruvananthapuram police commissioner, police said. Dhanya debuted in the Tamil film Thirudi. She has acted in several Malayalam films including Thalappavu, Kerala Cafe, Nayakan, Red Chillies and Pranayam, before getting married in January 2012. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Continuing his 'surgical strike' on BJP, Tollywood actor and Jana Sena Party Chief Pawan Kalyan hit out at the saffron party for its alleged treatment of Rohith Vemula, the PhD scholar in University of Hyderabad who committed suicide in January this year. The actor said that Vemula was protesting in a 'democratic' manner. On Friday, taking to the microblogging site, Twitter he said, There is no doubt that Rohit Vemula hated BJP like many millions of individuals. But that doesnt give them a license to harass individuals who doesnt align or against them and that too when his protest was within democratic means. This applies to any group or party not to BJP alone. Even if Rohith Vemula has said something in haste about saffronisation with his university rival groups, Centre could have just seen it as a part of the ongoing students ideological disagreement. And if their rivalry was causing law & order issues then they could have let the concern authority to enforce the disciplinary measures. But Centre took it personally in this case for reasons unknown, he further tweeted. Stating that the punishment meted out to Rohith Vemula was through suspension and alienation from the campus drove him to suicide, he said instead a proper student counselling with a humane approach would have saved an intelligent student who was philosophical in nature. The most tragic part of Rohit Vemula Suicide was when anti-BJP parties were busy trying to gain a political mileage out of it, BJP and its allies were busy proving that Rohit was not a Dalit. But all of them have forgotten to answer, how to prevent such young lives from committing suicides in future? Out of despair, disappointment and resentment.. he tweeted. Jana Sena chief hoped for a day where our university will be more known for Academic Excellence than the Battlegrounds for political parties. HYDERABAD: Continuing his 'surgical strike' on BJP, Tollywood actor and Jana Sena Party Chief Pawan Kalyan hit out at the saffron party for its alleged treatment of Rohith Vemula, the PhD scholar in University of Hyderabad who committed suicide in January this year. The actor said that Vemula was protesting in a 'democratic' manner. On Friday, taking to the microblogging site, Twitter he said, There is no doubt that Rohit Vemula hated BJP like many millions of individuals. But that doesnt give them a license to harass individuals who doesnt align or against them and that too when his protest was within democratic means. This applies to any group or party not to BJP alone. Even if Rohith Vemula has said something in haste about saffronisation with his university rival groups, Centre could have just seen it as a part of the ongoing students ideological disagreement. And if their rivalry was causing law & order issues then they could have let the concern authority to enforce the disciplinary measures. But Centre took it personally in this case for reasons unknown, he further tweeted. Stating that the punishment meted out to Rohith Vemula was through suspension and alienation from the campus drove him to suicide, he said instead a proper student counselling with a humane approach would have saved an intelligent student who was philosophical in nature. The most tragic part of Rohit Vemula Suicide was when anti-BJP parties were busy trying to gain a political mileage out of it, BJP and its allies were busy proving that Rohit was not a Dalit. But all of them have forgotten to answer, how to prevent such young lives from committing suicides in future? Out of despair, disappointment and resentment.. he tweeted. Jana Sena chief hoped for a day where our university will be more known for Academic Excellence than the Battlegrounds for political parties. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Four policemen were killed and at least nine others injured when their convoys came under attack from suspected militants of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in Manipurs newly-created Tengnoupal district on Thursday. The attacks were carried out on two road-opening parties (ROPs) of the police at two different locations between 6.30 am and 7.30 am. The personnel were travelling to Tengnoupal district headquarters in connection with security arrangements. In the first incident, the police personnel were travelling from Moreh (on the India-Myanmar border) in a convoy of three vehicles when they came under attack at Lokchao. Two head constables died on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries, Manipurs Director General of Police (DGP) L M Khaute told Express.One of the injured policemen later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Khaute said a havildar was killed in the second incident when the police convoy was ambushed by the insurgents at Bongyang. The police team was moving from Thoubal in Imphal valley. He said there were no reports of injuries to any other personnel. No outfit has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came amid an indefinite economic blockade on two national highways lifelines of the State enforced by a powerful Naga organisation since November 1 and a counter-blockade by some Manipuri groups. The United Naga Council (UNC) enforced a blockade on the two highways in protest against the decision of the Congress government in the State to upgrade Sadar Hills and Jiribam to full-fledged districts without consulting the Nagas. The UNC contends that Sadar Hills is the ancestral homeland of the Nagas where migrant Kukis are now in a majority. Asked if the attacks were the fallout of the State governments decision to create seven districts, including Sadar Hills and Jiribam, Chief Secretary O Nabakisor said, I cant say anything. We dont have any specific inputs. So, we cant comment. Earlier in December, suspected Naga militants had ambushed a team of paramilitary commandos in neighbouring Chandel district that left five personnel injured. Last year, 18 Army personnel were killed and over a dozen others injured when their convoy came under attack from the rebels of the SS Khaplang faction of the NSCN in the district. At Tengnoupal, CM Okram Ibobi Singh said, It is of no use to attack Manipur Police and all disputes must be resolved through dialogue. He announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh to the nearest kin of the police personnel killed in the rebel ambush. GUWAHATI: Four policemen were killed and at least nine others injured when their convoys came under attack from suspected militants of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) in Manipurs newly-created Tengnoupal district on Thursday. The attacks were carried out on two road-opening parties (ROPs) of the police at two different locations between 6.30 am and 7.30 am. The personnel were travelling to Tengnoupal district headquarters in connection with security arrangements. In the first incident, the police personnel were travelling from Moreh (on the India-Myanmar border) in a convoy of three vehicles when they came under attack at Lokchao. Two head constables died on the spot, while nine others sustained injuries, Manipurs Director General of Police (DGP) L M Khaute told Express.One of the injured policemen later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Khaute said a havildar was killed in the second incident when the police convoy was ambushed by the insurgents at Bongyang. The police team was moving from Thoubal in Imphal valley. He said there were no reports of injuries to any other personnel. No outfit has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came amid an indefinite economic blockade on two national highways lifelines of the State enforced by a powerful Naga organisation since November 1 and a counter-blockade by some Manipuri groups. The United Naga Council (UNC) enforced a blockade on the two highways in protest against the decision of the Congress government in the State to upgrade Sadar Hills and Jiribam to full-fledged districts without consulting the Nagas. The UNC contends that Sadar Hills is the ancestral homeland of the Nagas where migrant Kukis are now in a majority. Asked if the attacks were the fallout of the State governments decision to create seven districts, including Sadar Hills and Jiribam, Chief Secretary O Nabakisor said, I cant say anything. We dont have any specific inputs. So, we cant comment. Earlier in December, suspected Naga militants had ambushed a team of paramilitary commandos in neighbouring Chandel district that left five personnel injured. Last year, 18 Army personnel were killed and over a dozen others injured when their convoy came under attack from the rebels of the SS Khaplang faction of the NSCN in the district. At Tengnoupal, CM Okram Ibobi Singh said, It is of no use to attack Manipur Police and all disputes must be resolved through dialogue. He announced an ex-gratia of `5 lakh to the nearest kin of the police personnel killed in the rebel ambush. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The BJP central leadership on Friday appointed journalist-turned-Assam assembly speaker, Ranjit Kumar Das, as the partys state unit president. BJP National President Amit Shah has appointed Assam BJP legislator Ranjit Das as the state party chief, BJP said in a statement issued in Delhi. Das, 50, is an old horse in the BJP in Assam, having joined it in 1992. He will replace BJPs face in the state and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who had guided the party to power for the first time in the state this year. It was also under Sonowals leadership that BJP had won seven of the states 14 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Reports that Das will head the party were doing the rounds for a while. He had the backing of Sonowal and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Das, the two-time MLA, had won the 2016 polls from western Assams Sorbhog constituency and subsequently, he was elected as the assembly speaker unanimously. An IIS, he had also worked for several English and Assamese dailies. Das was away in London on tour and was not available for comments but the finance minister had tweeted: My congratulations to Shri Ranjit Das, MLA on being appointed president of @BJP4Assam and gratitude to @BJP4India president Shri @AmitShah. Meanwhile, according to BJP insiders, names that were being discussed for the post of speaker include that of MLAs Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Ranjit Dutta (both BJP) and Hitendra Nath Goswami (AGP). GUWAHATI: The BJP central leadership on Friday appointed journalist-turned-Assam assembly speaker, Ranjit Kumar Das, as the partys state unit president. BJP National President Amit Shah has appointed Assam BJP legislator Ranjit Das as the state party chief, BJP said in a statement issued in Delhi. Das, 50, is an old horse in the BJP in Assam, having joined it in 1992. He will replace BJPs face in the state and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who had guided the party to power for the first time in the state this year. It was also under Sonowals leadership that BJP had won seven of the states 14 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Reports that Das will head the party were doing the rounds for a while. He had the backing of Sonowal and finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Das, the two-time MLA, had won the 2016 polls from western Assams Sorbhog constituency and subsequently, he was elected as the assembly speaker unanimously. An IIS, he had also worked for several English and Assamese dailies. Das was away in London on tour and was not available for comments but the finance minister had tweeted: My congratulations to Shri Ranjit Das, MLA on being appointed president of @BJP4Assam and gratitude to @BJP4India president Shri @AmitShah. Meanwhile, according to BJP insiders, names that were being discussed for the post of speaker include that of MLAs Siddhartha Bhattacharya and Ranjit Dutta (both BJP) and Hitendra Nath Goswami (AGP). By PTI MUMBAI: BJP's good showing in local polls, mammoth Maratha community marches after rape and murder of a girl and exit of senior minister Eknath Khadse from the state cabinet after a series of corruption charges were some of the developments that dominated Maharashtra's political landscape in 2016. The year also saw the Devendra Fadnavis-led government grappling with issues like acute water scarcity, prompting operation of a 'water train' to Latur in Marathwada region. Khadse resigned in June, after a series of charges, including alleged links with mob boss Dawood Ibrahim and involvement in multi-crore land scam in Pune. Khadse, 64, was the the first high profile 'casualty' since the BJP wrested power at the Centre and the state in 2014. A panel headed by a retired Bombay High Court judge was set up to look into the Pune MIDC land deal in which Khadse's kin appeared to have a conflict of interest. It was given three months to investigate and was granted an extension later. It is yet to submit report. Fadnavis publicly gave a 'clean chit' to Khadse and asserted he would be soon back in the Cabinet if the panel finds him innocent. Demonetisation did not affect BJP's performance in last month's municipal council polls in Maharashtra. In what was touted as a referendum of sorts on the Modi government's ambitious move, BJP came out on top, notching up the highest number of seats (893 as against 396 in the 2011 polls). BJP won 51 of the 147 municipal councils that went to the polls on November 27. This was the first time after 2001 that direct elections were held for council presidents. It was followed by Shiv Sena with 25, Congress 23 and NCP with 18 posts. Eleven Independents and 19 other candidates were also elected as municipal council presidents. BJP and Sena made the inroads at the cost of Congress and NCP, which have traditionally dominated local body polls. The year also saw 'mook' (silent) morchas by the Maratha community, which comprises around a third of the state's population. After holding almost 30 silent morchas across Maharashtra, the Maratha Kranti silent morcha entered Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, in November in form of a bike rally. The Maratha reservation issue figured in the winter session of Maharashtra legislature, with Fadnavis assuring the legislators that the state government was committed to providing reservation to the agitating Maratha community. Maratha leaders are also demanding amendments to the controversial Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging it is being blatantly misused by Dalits to settle personal scores.The State Cabinet expansion in July saw 11 ministers taking oath as the Fadnavis government gave a greater representation to Marathas and Dhangar community. Besides BJP, allies Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana also got representation in the expansion. Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale was inducted in the Union Cabinet in July, boosting morale of his party workers in Maharashtra. In June, noted ophthalmologist and social worker Vikas Mahatme and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, were nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The move was seen as a political strategy of social engineering to convey the BJP's commitment to welfare of Dhangar and Maratha communities. Former chief minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane was among the 10 candidates who got elected unopposed to Maharashtra Legislative Council in June. The rape and murder of a minor at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district prompted some legislators picking on critically- acclaimed Marathi movie "Sairat", which lays bare the social reality of caste and the honour killings resulting from such inter-caste elopements. "Sairat", which was released this year, received a massive response in Maharashtra was the story of love between a Dalit boy and a girl belonging to the dominant, upper caste Maratha community. NCP MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said it was creating fissures between various sections in society. Despite BJP and NCP being locked in a bitter fight in the state, there were occasions when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar lauded each other. "Pawar has completed 50 years of either being an MLA or MP, which is a legacy in itself in Indian politics. I have no hesitation in accepting that Pawar held my hand and taught me to walk in my early days in Gujarat," Modi said. In February 2015, Modi had visited Baramati, Pawar's hometown, to inaugurate a Krishi Vigyan Kendra building and also had lunch at the NCP chiefs home. The 'Jaldoot' train supplying water from Miraj town to Latur in Marathwada made its 111th and last trip in August. Since its first run in April to then parched Latur, the train delivered 2.79 crore litre water to the drought-affected town. The train, run jointly by Indian Railways and state government, comprised 50 wagons of water, and was operated from Miraj junction to Latur, 340 km away. The Latur civic body had stopped water supply through taps in February, after its reservoirs ran dry due to acute water scarcity in Marathwada. In April, the water shortage prompted the Bombay High Court ordering the shifting of 13 IPL matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra. Senior Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Mahadev Jankar courted controversy over their remarks. Pankaja, Women and child development minister, found herself mired in a controversy with the emergence of an audio clip in which the BJP leader is reportedly heard 'threatening' a priest of Bhagwangad hill shrine to allow her to make a speech on Dussehra.Pankaja, daughter of late Gopinath Munde, was heard in the clip purportedly saying that false cases would be lodged against the supporters of Namdev Shastri Maharaj, who had asked her not to make political speech at Bhagwangad during Dussehra celebrations. Jankar was in limelight over his remarks against NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde at Pankaja's rally in Ahmednagar district in October and the following month, for allegedly asking the returning officer to reject the nomination form of a Congress candidate for the Desaiganj municipal council poll. The State Election Commission ordered a probe, after Congress workers submitted the purported video clip of Jankar's interaction with the returning officer as proof. In October, facing heat over 'brokering' a deal between producers of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Fadnavis maintained he had opposed the offer of Rs 5 crore contribution from the filmmakers to the army welfare fund, but defended his intervention to resolve the issue. Two months later, actor Shah Rukh Khan, whose film "Raees" was in the eye of a storm due to the presence of Pakistani actor Mahira Khan in it, met Raj Thackeray at the MNS chief's residence in Mumbai. The meeting came amid Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's opposition to the working of Pakistani artistes in India. "SRK assured me that rumours about Mahira promoting Raees are false," Raj said. The ongoing bickering between ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena took a violent turn in October after BJP MP Kirit Somaiya was attacked during a 'Ravana dahan' (burning of Ravana effigy) in Mulund, which he had organised. Five Shiv Sena workers were arrested. The Ravana dahan depicted alleged corruption in Shiv Sena-ruled BMC. Ahead of the crucial Mumbai municipal corporation polls, due early next year, a 'poster war' erupted between the BJP and Sena over the issue of demonetisation and black money. While a poster put up by the BJP showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving blessings from late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, a counter poster put up by its ally taunted BJP saying it finally remembered the Sena patriarch. Former Shiv Sena legislator Suresh Gambhir joined the BJP in December, ahead of BMC polls. Senior NCP leaders Nawab Malik and Sanjay Dina Patil, who had accused each other of violence during a party event in November, resolved their differences at a meeting called on the directions of party chief Sharad Pawar. BJP and Congress emerged as the big gainers in polls to six seats of Maharashtra legislative council in November. The Congress tally in the 78-member House went up to 20 while the NCP's strength has come down to 23 from 26. The BJP has taken its tally to 17 and Shiv Sena to 9 after the elections. As the year drew to an end, there was news for college and university students as after a 22-year lull, they can participate in campus politics and elections, with the passage of the New Maharashtra Public Universities Act by the state legislature in December. MUMBAI: BJP's good showing in local polls, mammoth Maratha community marches after rape and murder of a girl and exit of senior minister Eknath Khadse from the state cabinet after a series of corruption charges were some of the developments that dominated Maharashtra's political landscape in 2016. The year also saw the Devendra Fadnavis-led government grappling with issues like acute water scarcity, prompting operation of a 'water train' to Latur in Marathwada region. Khadse resigned in June, after a series of charges, including alleged links with mob boss Dawood Ibrahim and involvement in multi-crore land scam in Pune. Khadse, 64, was the the first high profile 'casualty' since the BJP wrested power at the Centre and the state in 2014. A panel headed by a retired Bombay High Court judge was set up to look into the Pune MIDC land deal in which Khadse's kin appeared to have a conflict of interest. It was given three months to investigate and was granted an extension later. It is yet to submit report. Fadnavis publicly gave a 'clean chit' to Khadse and asserted he would be soon back in the Cabinet if the panel finds him innocent. Demonetisation did not affect BJP's performance in last month's municipal council polls in Maharashtra. In what was touted as a referendum of sorts on the Modi government's ambitious move, BJP came out on top, notching up the highest number of seats (893 as against 396 in the 2011 polls). BJP won 51 of the 147 municipal councils that went to the polls on November 27. This was the first time after 2001 that direct elections were held for council presidents. It was followed by Shiv Sena with 25, Congress 23 and NCP with 18 posts. Eleven Independents and 19 other candidates were also elected as municipal council presidents. BJP and Sena made the inroads at the cost of Congress and NCP, which have traditionally dominated local body polls. The year also saw 'mook' (silent) morchas by the Maratha community, which comprises around a third of the state's population. After holding almost 30 silent morchas across Maharashtra, the Maratha Kranti silent morcha entered Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, in November in form of a bike rally. The Maratha reservation issue figured in the winter session of Maharashtra legislature, with Fadnavis assuring the legislators that the state government was committed to providing reservation to the agitating Maratha community. Maratha leaders are also demanding amendments to the controversial Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, alleging it is being blatantly misused by Dalits to settle personal scores.The State Cabinet expansion in July saw 11 ministers taking oath as the Fadnavis government gave a greater representation to Marathas and Dhangar community. Besides BJP, allies Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana also got representation in the expansion. Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athawale was inducted in the Union Cabinet in July, boosting morale of his party workers in Maharashtra. In June, noted ophthalmologist and social worker Vikas Mahatme and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, were nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The move was seen as a political strategy of social engineering to convey the BJP's commitment to welfare of Dhangar and Maratha communities. Former chief minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane was among the 10 candidates who got elected unopposed to Maharashtra Legislative Council in June. The rape and murder of a minor at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district prompted some legislators picking on critically- acclaimed Marathi movie "Sairat", which lays bare the social reality of caste and the honour killings resulting from such inter-caste elopements. "Sairat", which was released this year, received a massive response in Maharashtra was the story of love between a Dalit boy and a girl belonging to the dominant, upper caste Maratha community. NCP MLA Bhaskar Jadhav said it was creating fissures between various sections in society. Despite BJP and NCP being locked in a bitter fight in the state, there were occasions when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar lauded each other. "Pawar has completed 50 years of either being an MLA or MP, which is a legacy in itself in Indian politics. I have no hesitation in accepting that Pawar held my hand and taught me to walk in my early days in Gujarat," Modi said. In February 2015, Modi had visited Baramati, Pawar's hometown, to inaugurate a Krishi Vigyan Kendra building and also had lunch at the NCP chiefs home. The 'Jaldoot' train supplying water from Miraj town to Latur in Marathwada made its 111th and last trip in August. Since its first run in April to then parched Latur, the train delivered 2.79 crore litre water to the drought-affected town. The train, run jointly by Indian Railways and state government, comprised 50 wagons of water, and was operated from Miraj junction to Latur, 340 km away. The Latur civic body had stopped water supply through taps in February, after its reservoirs ran dry due to acute water scarcity in Marathwada. In April, the water shortage prompted the Bombay High Court ordering the shifting of 13 IPL matches out of drought-hit Maharashtra. Senior Maharashtra ministers Pankaja Munde and Mahadev Jankar courted controversy over their remarks. Pankaja, Women and child development minister, found herself mired in a controversy with the emergence of an audio clip in which the BJP leader is reportedly heard 'threatening' a priest of Bhagwangad hill shrine to allow her to make a speech on Dussehra.Pankaja, daughter of late Gopinath Munde, was heard in the clip purportedly saying that false cases would be lodged against the supporters of Namdev Shastri Maharaj, who had asked her not to make political speech at Bhagwangad during Dussehra celebrations. Jankar was in limelight over his remarks against NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde at Pankaja's rally in Ahmednagar district in October and the following month, for allegedly asking the returning officer to reject the nomination form of a Congress candidate for the Desaiganj municipal council poll. The State Election Commission ordered a probe, after Congress workers submitted the purported video clip of Jankar's interaction with the returning officer as proof. In October, facing heat over 'brokering' a deal between producers of "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Fadnavis maintained he had opposed the offer of Rs 5 crore contribution from the filmmakers to the army welfare fund, but defended his intervention to resolve the issue. Two months later, actor Shah Rukh Khan, whose film "Raees" was in the eye of a storm due to the presence of Pakistani actor Mahira Khan in it, met Raj Thackeray at the MNS chief's residence in Mumbai. The meeting came amid Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's opposition to the working of Pakistani artistes in India. "SRK assured me that rumours about Mahira promoting Raees are false," Raj said. The ongoing bickering between ruling allies BJP and Shiv Sena took a violent turn in October after BJP MP Kirit Somaiya was attacked during a 'Ravana dahan' (burning of Ravana effigy) in Mulund, which he had organised. Five Shiv Sena workers were arrested. The Ravana dahan depicted alleged corruption in Shiv Sena-ruled BMC. Ahead of the crucial Mumbai municipal corporation polls, due early next year, a 'poster war' erupted between the BJP and Sena over the issue of demonetisation and black money. While a poster put up by the BJP showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving blessings from late Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, a counter poster put up by its ally taunted BJP saying it finally remembered the Sena patriarch. Former Shiv Sena legislator Suresh Gambhir joined the BJP in December, ahead of BMC polls. Senior NCP leaders Nawab Malik and Sanjay Dina Patil, who had accused each other of violence during a party event in November, resolved their differences at a meeting called on the directions of party chief Sharad Pawar. BJP and Congress emerged as the big gainers in polls to six seats of Maharashtra legislative council in November. The Congress tally in the 78-member House went up to 20 while the NCP's strength has come down to 23 from 26. The BJP has taken its tally to 17 and Shiv Sena to 9 after the elections. As the year drew to an end, there was news for college and university students as after a 22-year lull, they can participate in campus politics and elections, with the passage of the New Maharashtra Public Universities Act by the state legislature in December. By Online Desk NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] has gone out of its way to act on a complaint lodged by the digital wallet company Paytm that it was cheated out of Rs 6.15 lakh by 15 customers. The agency filed an FIR case against the customers on Thursday. It is rare for CBI to take up such cases unless they have been referred by the central government or there are directions by the Supreme Court or a high court. Responding to media queries why the agency -- which is facing a staff crunch -- decided to take up the case, a CBI spokesperson said, "[the agency is mandated] to register cases under the Information Technology Act in Delhi even against private individuals." The agency mentioned the 15 Paytm customers and unknown officials of the company as suspects in the FIR. Calls made to most of the customers to seek their reaction were disconnected after they were told that they have been named in the CBI FIR. Some numbers remained unanswered or unreachable. The 15 customers are residents of Kalkaji, Govindpuri and Saket. The unknown officials belong to One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm. The complaint by the companys manager [legal], M Sivakumar, claimed that the company makes payment for defective products received by a customer and arranges a reverse pickup of the damaged product which is then sent to the merchant. The process is done by a team of customer care executives who have been assigned specific IDs and passwords to handle such complaints from customers and arrange refunds and pickups. It was alleged that the company found that during the period 2014-16 it found that in 48 cases customers had received refunds even though their orders were successfully delivered to them. "As a matter of fact wherein delivery of orders were successful and satisfactory to the customer, refund should not happen. However, in all these 48 cases, refund of the order amount happened to the respective customers to the tune of Rs 6.15 lakh," the complaint, which is now part of the FIR, alleged. It alleged that customers "illegally" appropriated money refunded in their bank accounts and wallets. It claimed that this is a "serious" fraudulent act and foul play with the common intention to wrongfully gain along with such involved customers. PTI The digital wallet company, which has received a big boost in transactions after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, claimed that the customers first had knowledge of the internal working of the company. "The accused persons first acquired knowledge of how the system of the company works and conspired to book orders, take delivery of products at common addresses known and or belonging to them and their accomplices and then made or managed false and fabricated entries in the computer system of the company and approved/made fraudulent refunds against the same orders," the company alleged. The company has information that in those cases where refunds were made, money was further transferred from the wallet to the bank accounts of either accused persons or people known to each other, it alleged. The company claimed that the refunds were made within five to six minutes of disputes being raised by the customer. NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation [CBI] has gone out of its way to act on a complaint lodged by the digital wallet company Paytm that it was cheated out of Rs 6.15 lakh by 15 customers. The agency filed an FIR case against the customers on Thursday. It is rare for CBI to take up such cases unless they have been referred by the central government or there are directions by the Supreme Court or a high court. Responding to media queries why the agency -- which is facing a staff crunch -- decided to take up the case, a CBI spokesperson said, "[the agency is mandated] to register cases under the Information Technology Act in Delhi even against private individuals." The agency mentioned the 15 Paytm customers and unknown officials of the company as suspects in the FIR. Calls made to most of the customers to seek their reaction were disconnected after they were told that they have been named in the CBI FIR. Some numbers remained unanswered or unreachable. The 15 customers are residents of Kalkaji, Govindpuri and Saket. The unknown officials belong to One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm. The complaint by the companys manager [legal], M Sivakumar, claimed that the company makes payment for defective products received by a customer and arranges a reverse pickup of the damaged product which is then sent to the merchant. The process is done by a team of customer care executives who have been assigned specific IDs and passwords to handle such complaints from customers and arrange refunds and pickups. It was alleged that the company found that during the period 2014-16 it found that in 48 cases customers had received refunds even though their orders were successfully delivered to them. "As a matter of fact wherein delivery of orders were successful and satisfactory to the customer, refund should not happen. However, in all these 48 cases, refund of the order amount happened to the respective customers to the tune of Rs 6.15 lakh," the complaint, which is now part of the FIR, alleged. It alleged that customers "illegally" appropriated money refunded in their bank accounts and wallets. It claimed that this is a "serious" fraudulent act and foul play with the common intention to wrongfully gain along with such involved customers. PTI The digital wallet company, which has received a big boost in transactions after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, claimed that the customers first had knowledge of the internal working of the company. "The accused persons first acquired knowledge of how the system of the company works and conspired to book orders, take delivery of products at common addresses known and or belonging to them and their accomplices and then made or managed false and fabricated entries in the computer system of the company and approved/made fraudulent refunds against the same orders," the company alleged. The company has information that in those cases where refunds were made, money was further transferred from the wallet to the bank accounts of either accused persons or people known to each other, it alleged. The company claimed that the refunds were made within five to six minutes of disputes being raised by the customer. Anand ST Das By Express News Service PATNA: The body of a 20-year-old engineering student in Ranchi was on Friday found burnt in her house. Preliminary investigation by police has indicated that she was raped and strangulated to death before being set afire. People living in Booty More area of the Jharkhand capital saw smoke emerging from the house on Friday morning and called police. When they entered the house by breaking the lock put on the outside, they found smoke emerging from the girls severely burnt body. Police rushed the girls body to a nearby hospital, though locals said she was already dead. Her parents said they strongly suspected that she was raped and murdered before being set afire. Police sent the body for postmortem. The girl, a fifth-semester student of RTC Engineering College in Ranchi, was alone in the house on Thursday night, said police. Her mysterious death by suspected rape and murder angered the students of her college, who took out a protest march demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Ironically, the incident took place on a day when the country is solemnly observing the fourth anniversary of the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder incident of Delhi, which had shocked the nation and led to changes in rape laws. She was apparently raped. There was not a single piece of cloth on her body that bore deep burns in many parts. A metal wire was found around her neck, which shows that she was brutally murdered before being set afire, said Nageshwar Mahto, her grieving father. The girl had been living in the house with her sister for the past few days while her parents live in nearby Barkakana in Hazaribagh district. She came to this house alone from Barkakana yesterday. Her sister was not with her last night when this incident happened, said Mahto. No suicide note was found near the body, said police. We are collecting forensic evidence and hope to arrest the culprits soon, said a police official from Sadar police station in Ranchi. PATNA: The body of a 20-year-old engineering student in Ranchi was on Friday found burnt in her house. Preliminary investigation by police has indicated that she was raped and strangulated to death before being set afire. People living in Booty More area of the Jharkhand capital saw smoke emerging from the house on Friday morning and called police. When they entered the house by breaking the lock put on the outside, they found smoke emerging from the girls severely burnt body. Police rushed the girls body to a nearby hospital, though locals said she was already dead. Her parents said they strongly suspected that she was raped and murdered before being set afire. Police sent the body for postmortem. The girl, a fifth-semester student of RTC Engineering College in Ranchi, was alone in the house on Thursday night, said police. Her mysterious death by suspected rape and murder angered the students of her college, who took out a protest march demanding immediate arrest of the culprits. Ironically, the incident took place on a day when the country is solemnly observing the fourth anniversary of the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder incident of Delhi, which had shocked the nation and led to changes in rape laws. She was apparently raped. There was not a single piece of cloth on her body that bore deep burns in many parts. A metal wire was found around her neck, which shows that she was brutally murdered before being set afire, said Nageshwar Mahto, her grieving father. The girl had been living in the house with her sister for the past few days while her parents live in nearby Barkakana in Hazaribagh district. She came to this house alone from Barkakana yesterday. Her sister was not with her last night when this incident happened, said Mahto. No suicide note was found near the body, said police. We are collecting forensic evidence and hope to arrest the culprits soon, said a police official from Sadar police station in Ranchi. By IANS IMPHAL: At least four policemen were injured when militants attacked them while they guarding a playground in Manipur's newly-created Noney district, officials said on Friday. Sub-inspector Bikash and three constables were given first aid in the Assam Rifles camp in Noney, and later transferred to hospitals here for better medical treatment, police said. The attack came hours after militants killed three police personnel and injured 11 others in Tengnoupal district. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and senior ministers will inaugurate the district on Friday. According to officials, the panic stricken tribal villagers are terrified to attend the function as the militants may strike during the event. Additional police and paramilitary personnel have been rushed to the district to maintain law and order. Meanwhile, tribal village authority in a statement expressed objection to the creation of the new district. It said the tribal elders have no objection to the new district, but the word "revenue" from the nomenclature should be deleted, it said. The Manipur Gazette in 2012 said in a report that Noney had been renamed Longmai and the nomenclature Noney was unacceptable. IMPHAL: At least four policemen were injured when militants attacked them while they guarding a playground in Manipur's newly-created Noney district, officials said on Friday. Sub-inspector Bikash and three constables were given first aid in the Assam Rifles camp in Noney, and later transferred to hospitals here for better medical treatment, police said. The attack came hours after militants killed three police personnel and injured 11 others in Tengnoupal district. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and senior ministers will inaugurate the district on Friday. According to officials, the panic stricken tribal villagers are terrified to attend the function as the militants may strike during the event. Additional police and paramilitary personnel have been rushed to the district to maintain law and order. Meanwhile, tribal village authority in a statement expressed objection to the creation of the new district. It said the tribal elders have no objection to the new district, but the word "revenue" from the nomenclature should be deleted, it said. The Manipur Gazette in 2012 said in a report that Noney had been renamed Longmai and the nomenclature Noney was unacceptable. Manish Anand By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Alarm bells have begun ringing in the BJP camp. With Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections around the corner, party leaders have started expressing concerns about the impact of severe cash crunch on its prospects. Party MPs, representing various constituencies in the State, have reached out to the top brass and conveyed the struggle that people continue to face. Bhartiya Laghu Udhyog, an RSS affiliate body, has stated that farmers, labourers and workers in small sector units are facing hardships. BJP chief Amit Shah also held a meeting of office-bearers on Thursday during which he reportedly sought the feedback on the impact of demonetisation in various states. Within the government, senior ministers have been briefed about acute distress of farmers and people in the rural areas on account of demonetisation. The farmers have completely lost on vegetables, as they could not even recover the labour cost of harvesting. Senior ministers in the Modi government at the Centre have been briefed about the prevailing situations in the states, including UP where people are apparently losing their patience, said a senior official of the NITI Aayog. The BJP chief is also learnt to have sought the feedback from the party MPs hailing from UP. All MPs feel the idea is good, but ATMs are still dry, says a senior BJP leader. BJP chief Amit Shah is also learnt to have sought feedbacks from party MPs from UP on the ground situation.All the MPs maintain that the idea behind the decision on demonetisation is good, but there are concerns that the bank ATMs are still dry even after 40 days. Since the farmers have harvested their Kharif crops recently, which also coincided with the marriage season, the anger among the people is now getting reflected on the streets, a senior BJP leader said, adding that if the situations dont improve within a fortnight, the party prospects in UP would take a severe dent. RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Laghu Udyog Sangh chief Om Prakash Mittal said the farmers, labourers, and workers in the unorganised sector are insisting on payments only in cash. If things dont improve in 10-15 days, then we will be in serious trouble, as farmers are not accepting cheques for payments for their Kharif produces. Cash is needed to pay wages to labourers and workers, besides running small businesses. The government must urgently ensure cash availability for industrial activities in the small-scale sectors, Mittal said, adding that the job loss could aggravate if the if the cash availability isnt drastically improved in the immediate future. The BJP leaders maintained that the government push for digital transactions has no takers in the rural areas of the poll-bound state. There is an apparent anger among people on account of the regular news of income tax raids yielding crores of rupees from unscrupulous elements. At the same time, people have to stand for hours before banks and returning empty handed, said a BJP MP from UP. The BJP MPs are also wary of the fact that the government has not been able to counter the claims of the Opposition, which attracted most of the media attention by raising the faulty implementation of demonetisation. In place of improving the availability of cash, we are talking about future gains. The Opposition is getting more attention than us, which doesnt suit a party seeking to wrest power in UP from formidable opponents, said another BJP MP. NEW DELHI: Alarm bells have begun ringing in the BJP camp. With Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections around the corner, party leaders have started expressing concerns about the impact of severe cash crunch on its prospects. Party MPs, representing various constituencies in the State, have reached out to the top brass and conveyed the struggle that people continue to face. Bhartiya Laghu Udhyog, an RSS affiliate body, has stated that farmers, labourers and workers in small sector units are facing hardships. BJP chief Amit Shah also held a meeting of office-bearers on Thursday during which he reportedly sought the feedback on the impact of demonetisation in various states. Within the government, senior ministers have been briefed about acute distress of farmers and people in the rural areas on account of demonetisation. The farmers have completely lost on vegetables, as they could not even recover the labour cost of harvesting. Senior ministers in the Modi government at the Centre have been briefed about the prevailing situations in the states, including UP where people are apparently losing their patience, said a senior official of the NITI Aayog. The BJP chief is also learnt to have sought the feedback from the party MPs hailing from UP. All MPs feel the idea is good, but ATMs are still dry, says a senior BJP leader. BJP chief Amit Shah is also learnt to have sought feedbacks from party MPs from UP on the ground situation.All the MPs maintain that the idea behind the decision on demonetisation is good, but there are concerns that the bank ATMs are still dry even after 40 days. Since the farmers have harvested their Kharif crops recently, which also coincided with the marriage season, the anger among the people is now getting reflected on the streets, a senior BJP leader said, adding that if the situations dont improve within a fortnight, the party prospects in UP would take a severe dent. RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Laghu Udyog Sangh chief Om Prakash Mittal said the farmers, labourers, and workers in the unorganised sector are insisting on payments only in cash. If things dont improve in 10-15 days, then we will be in serious trouble, as farmers are not accepting cheques for payments for their Kharif produces. Cash is needed to pay wages to labourers and workers, besides running small businesses. The government must urgently ensure cash availability for industrial activities in the small-scale sectors, Mittal said, adding that the job loss could aggravate if the if the cash availability isnt drastically improved in the immediate future. The BJP leaders maintained that the government push for digital transactions has no takers in the rural areas of the poll-bound state. There is an apparent anger among people on account of the regular news of income tax raids yielding crores of rupees from unscrupulous elements. At the same time, people have to stand for hours before banks and returning empty handed, said a BJP MP from UP. The BJP MPs are also wary of the fact that the government has not been able to counter the claims of the Opposition, which attracted most of the media attention by raising the faulty implementation of demonetisation. In place of improving the availability of cash, we are talking about future gains. The Opposition is getting more attention than us, which doesnt suit a party seeking to wrest power in UP from formidable opponents, said another BJP MP. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: India on Friday dismissed Chinas objection to President Pranab Mukherjees meeting with revered spiritual leader Dalai Lama earlier this week. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) contended that the event was non-political. President Mukherjee had met the Dalai Lama at the Rashtrapati Bhawan during a childrens summit organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthis Childrens Foundation on December 10 and this did not go down well with China. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Geng Shuang said in a media briefing in Beijing: Recently in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that.The Dalai Lama is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion, Geng added. China has been quick to issue a riposte to Dalai Lama coming in contact with any government officials. However, as China has refused to budge from its position on Indias entry to Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and putting of Masood Azhar in proscribed list global terrorists at the United Nations, New Delhi has been assertive in exploiting the presence of the Dalai Lama in the country to needle China. The MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup dismissed Chinas objection summarily. You are aware of Indias consistent position. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a respected and revered spiritual leader. It was non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children. With the meeting in the backdrop, Beijing has warned India of the developments adversely affecting China-India relation. We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect Chinas core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship, Geng said. Much to Chinas chagrin, India has extended an official invitation to the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang the town on Indo-China border that has been the bone of contention between the two countries next year. The Tibetan Spiritual Leader was given shelter in India after he fled China in 1959. NEW DELHI: India on Friday dismissed Chinas objection to President Pranab Mukherjees meeting with revered spiritual leader Dalai Lama earlier this week. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) contended that the event was non-political. President Mukherjee had met the Dalai Lama at the Rashtrapati Bhawan during a childrens summit organised by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthis Childrens Foundation on December 10 and this did not go down well with China. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Geng Shuang said in a media briefing in Beijing: Recently in disregard of Chinas solemn representation and strong opposition, the Indian side insisted on arranging for the 14th Dalai Lamas visit to the Indian Presidential palace where he took part in an event and met President Mukherjee. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to that.The Dalai Lama is in political exile and is long been engaged anti-China separatist activities with the attempt of separating Tibet away from China under the cloak of religion, Geng added. China has been quick to issue a riposte to Dalai Lama coming in contact with any government officials. However, as China has refused to budge from its position on Indias entry to Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and putting of Masood Azhar in proscribed list global terrorists at the United Nations, New Delhi has been assertive in exploiting the presence of the Dalai Lama in the country to needle China. The MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup dismissed Chinas objection summarily. You are aware of Indias consistent position. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a respected and revered spiritual leader. It was non-political event organised by Nobel laureates dedicated to the welfare of children. With the meeting in the backdrop, Beijing has warned India of the developments adversely affecting China-India relation. We urge the Indian side to see through the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama clique, fully respect Chinas core interests and major concerns, take effective means to remove the negative impact caused by the incident to avoid any disturbance to China-India relationship, Geng said. Much to Chinas chagrin, India has extended an official invitation to the Dalai Lama to visit Tawang the town on Indo-China border that has been the bone of contention between the two countries next year. The Tibetan Spiritual Leader was given shelter in India after he fled China in 1959. By PTI MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district. The project, conceived in 2000, became controversial because of allegations of corruption. Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MLC (then with NCP) Sandip Bajoria are named in a petition before Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court which alleges misappropriation of funds in the project. In a recent election, Bajoria was elected as an Independent member of the state Legislative Council. The dam will have total water storage capacity of around 25 TMC and is estimated to cost about Rs 500 crore. A government resolution yesterday said that for the construction of the dam and water storage, 1,055.64 hectares of forest land would be handed over to the Water Resources Department. Since the project is "site specific", it was necessary to hand over the forest land, the GR said. "The total area that will be submerged is 12,000 hectares. There are 32 villages which will be rehabilitated completely while another 15 villages will be rehabilitated partially. The dam is expected to irrigate around one lakh hectares in Buldhana and Akola districts," the dam's executive engineer, Hemant Solge, said. "The actual cost would be around Rs 500-600 crore but major expenditure would be on land acquisition and rehabilitation. There are some lift irrigation schemes proposed as well, so we need to create infrastructure for the same," he said. When asked about the litigation such projects usually attract, Solge said, "First we will ensure rehabilitation and complete the work of crest construction. Then we will start filling the dam up to the crest so that 40,000 hectares of agricultural land will benefit from it. Once the farmers start getting water, others will also support the dam work." MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district. The project, conceived in 2000, became controversial because of allegations of corruption. Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MLC (then with NCP) Sandip Bajoria are named in a petition before Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court which alleges misappropriation of funds in the project. In a recent election, Bajoria was elected as an Independent member of the state Legislative Council. The dam will have total water storage capacity of around 25 TMC and is estimated to cost about Rs 500 crore. A government resolution yesterday said that for the construction of the dam and water storage, 1,055.64 hectares of forest land would be handed over to the Water Resources Department. Since the project is "site specific", it was necessary to hand over the forest land, the GR said. "The total area that will be submerged is 12,000 hectares. There are 32 villages which will be rehabilitated completely while another 15 villages will be rehabilitated partially. The dam is expected to irrigate around one lakh hectares in Buldhana and Akola districts," the dam's executive engineer, Hemant Solge, said. "The actual cost would be around Rs 500-600 crore but major expenditure would be on land acquisition and rehabilitation. There are some lift irrigation schemes proposed as well, so we need to create infrastructure for the same," he said. When asked about the litigation such projects usually attract, Solge said, "First we will ensure rehabilitation and complete the work of crest construction. Then we will start filling the dam up to the crest so that 40,000 hectares of agricultural land will benefit from it. Once the farmers start getting water, others will also support the dam work." By ANI NEW DELHI: Extremely upset with the fact that justice has not been meted out to her daughter despite four years after the horrific December 16 gang-rape incident, Nirbhayas mother today said that no action has yet been taken against the accused despite the matter being heard in the Supreme Court and added that the situation remains the same as nobody is scared of the law. It has been four years today, but till now justice has not been served to her (Nirbhaya). We have been trying a lot from the past four years to ensure that she gets justice, yet the accused have not been punished. The case is pending in the Supreme Court, but still we dont know when she will get justice, said Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi. Even today the same thing is happening, small children are being assaulted which indicate that the law of the country is not working properly as it should. Nobody is scared of the law, she said. Nirbhaya was brutally gang-raped on the intervening night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident took place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13 days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore. Of the six men arrested in the case, one of the accused Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March 2013, while another man, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform home. The other four -- Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh -- were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. The men have challenged the death sentence in the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing their appeal. NEW DELHI: Extremely upset with the fact that justice has not been meted out to her daughter despite four years after the horrific December 16 gang-rape incident, Nirbhayas mother today said that no action has yet been taken against the accused despite the matter being heard in the Supreme Court and added that the situation remains the same as nobody is scared of the law. It has been four years today, but till now justice has not been served to her (Nirbhaya). We have been trying a lot from the past four years to ensure that she gets justice, yet the accused have not been punished. The case is pending in the Supreme Court, but still we dont know when she will get justice, said Nirbhayas mother Asha Devi. Even today the same thing is happening, small children are being assaulted which indicate that the law of the country is not working properly as it should. Nobody is scared of the law, she said. Nirbhaya was brutally gang-raped on the intervening night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. The incident took place while she was returning with a friend after watching a movie. She died 13 days after the incident at a hospital in Singapore. Of the six men arrested in the case, one of the accused Ram Singh hanged himself in prison in March 2013, while another man, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform home. The other four -- Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh -- were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. The men have challenged the death sentence in the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing their appeal. Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service PANCHKULA: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday named Jaish-e-Mohammed (J-e-M) chief Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf Asghar besides two handlers identified as Kashif Jan and Shaid Latif in the chargesheet filed here on the Pathankot airbase terror attack. Sources said that the detailed chargesheet filed in the Special Court by the investigation agency pointed the role of the militant outfit J-e-M in spreading mayhem in the country and also referred to the plans of the outfit. The chargesheet alleged that Rauf Asghar had hosted a video message claiming responsibility for the terror strike immediately after the Pathankot attack and glorified the role of Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. The chargesheet has named four terrorists who were involved in the attack and they have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Earlier, ministry of home affairs had given sanction to the NIA to file the chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. According to sources, the chargesheet named the persons based on certain evidences which include footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal and matching of DNA sample found from a soft drink can in the hijacked car of suspended superintendent of police Salwinder Singh. According to the chargesheet, four terrorists had entered India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur district in Punjab and had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base, killing eight people, including seven IAF personnel. The terrorists, who were killed in the attack, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum, residents of Vehari, Gujranwala in Punjab province of Pakistan and Sanghar and Sukkur in Sindh province of Pakistan, respectively. PANCHKULA: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday named Jaish-e-Mohammed (J-e-M) chief Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf Asghar besides two handlers identified as Kashif Jan and Shaid Latif in the chargesheet filed here on the Pathankot airbase terror attack. Sources said that the detailed chargesheet filed in the Special Court by the investigation agency pointed the role of the militant outfit J-e-M in spreading mayhem in the country and also referred to the plans of the outfit. The chargesheet alleged that Rauf Asghar had hosted a video message claiming responsibility for the terror strike immediately after the Pathankot attack and glorified the role of Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. The chargesheet has named four terrorists who were involved in the attack and they have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Earlier, ministry of home affairs had given sanction to the NIA to file the chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. According to sources, the chargesheet named the persons based on certain evidences which include footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal and matching of DNA sample found from a soft drink can in the hijacked car of suspended superintendent of police Salwinder Singh. According to the chargesheet, four terrorists had entered India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur district in Punjab and had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base, killing eight people, including seven IAF personnel. The terrorists, who were killed in the attack, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum, residents of Vehari, Gujranwala in Punjab province of Pakistan and Sanghar and Sukkur in Sindh province of Pakistan, respectively. By ANI NEW DELHI: After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a demand to provide relief for debt-ridden farmers, the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the former has accepted that the situation of farmers is critical in the country, but did not commit anything on waiving off their loans. Prime Minister accepted that the situation of farmers is critical, But he did not say anything about waiving off their loans, he only heard the matter, said Rahul. He further added that the farmers are committing suicide all over the country and the removal of import duty on wheat by the government is a devastating blow. Earlier in the day, a delegation of senior Congress leaders met Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers and to express their apprehension at not being allowed to speak in parliament. Following this, opposition leaders would call on President Pranab Mukherjee at 12.30 p.m. These meetings come even as the ruckus continues in parliament over several issues, including demonetisation and corruption. On Thursday, Azad said, "It is for the first time in history of India that the ruling party is not letting the House to function," he said. Azad gave a notice in the Rajya Sabha on the "hardships faced by farmers due to demonetisation". "I have given notice so that the debt of the farmers is forgiven. The BJP is not in the support of the farmers," he said. Both Houses of Parliament had to be adjourned for the day eventually. NEW DELHI: After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a demand to provide relief for debt-ridden farmers, the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the former has accepted that the situation of farmers is critical in the country, but did not commit anything on waiving off their loans. Prime Minister accepted that the situation of farmers is critical, But he did not say anything about waiving off their loans, he only heard the matter, said Rahul. He further added that the farmers are committing suicide all over the country and the removal of import duty on wheat by the government is a devastating blow. Earlier in the day, a delegation of senior Congress leaders met Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers and to express their apprehension at not being allowed to speak in parliament. Following this, opposition leaders would call on President Pranab Mukherjee at 12.30 p.m. These meetings come even as the ruckus continues in parliament over several issues, including demonetisation and corruption. On Thursday, Azad said, "It is for the first time in history of India that the ruling party is not letting the House to function," he said. Azad gave a notice in the Rajya Sabha on the "hardships faced by farmers due to demonetisation". "I have given notice so that the debt of the farmers is forgiven. The BJP is not in the support of the farmers," he said. Both Houses of Parliament had to be adjourned for the day eventually. By ANI NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure that corruption and black money is rooted out of the country. Briefing the media about Prime Minister Modi's assertion at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party meeting, Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Ananth Kumar said, The Prime Minister appealed to the people of India that digital economy should be a way of life, it will be transparent and effective. The Prime Minister has said today is Bangla Vimochan Diwas. The opposition had not demanded proof then but now it demands proof. Quoting Prime Minister Modi, Kumar said earlier the government used to commit scams and the opposition used to oppose it, but the incumbent NDA regime has now started a mission to eradicate black money and the opposition is opposing it. We discussed the previous governments inability to create an SIT for black money. The Prime Minister said today, when we have started a movement to tackle black money, the opposition is creating hurdles. For the Congress, the partys interest is above the nation, he added. The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on November 16, is headed for a whitewash as the opposition and government continue to lock horns over the November 8 demonetisation move. Both sides have been claiming that it's the other side which is not allowing a debate in the Parliament. Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the nation to embrace digital payment methods to ensure that corruption and black money is rooted out of the country. Briefing the media about Prime Minister Modi's assertion at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party meeting, Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministers Ananth Kumar said, The Prime Minister appealed to the people of India that digital economy should be a way of life, it will be transparent and effective. The Prime Minister has said today is Bangla Vimochan Diwas. The opposition had not demanded proof then but now it demands proof. Quoting Prime Minister Modi, Kumar said earlier the government used to commit scams and the opposition used to oppose it, but the incumbent NDA regime has now started a mission to eradicate black money and the opposition is opposing it. We discussed the previous governments inability to create an SIT for black money. The Prime Minister said today, when we have started a movement to tackle black money, the opposition is creating hurdles. For the Congress, the partys interest is above the nation, he added. The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on November 16, is headed for a whitewash as the opposition and government continue to lock horns over the November 8 demonetisation move. Both sides have been claiming that it's the other side which is not allowing a debate in the Parliament. Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders gave a memorandum to Prime Minister Modi to demand relief for debt-ridden farmers. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: A local court in Haridwar has slapped Ramdevs Patanjali Ayurveds five production units with a fine of Rs 11 lakh for misbranding and putting up misleading advertisements for their products. Additional District Magistrate Lalit Narayan Mishras court has asked the company to pay the fine within a month. According to the court, Patanjali Ayurveds ads allegedly claimed that its products were manufactured at its own units when they were in fact manufactured somewhere else. A case was filed in the court against the company in 2012 by the District Food Safety Department after samples of mustard oil, salt, pineapple jam, besan and honey produced by Patanjali failed quality tests at the Rudrapur laboratory. However, reacting to the court order, the yoga guru accused the Congress government in Uttarakhand of malicious intentions. Congress Govt in Uttrakhand had filed this case with malicious intentions in 2012.None of our advts are misleading.Well challenge in court, he tweeted. NEW DELHI: A local court in Haridwar has slapped Ramdevs Patanjali Ayurveds five production units with a fine of Rs 11 lakh for misbranding and putting up misleading advertisements for their products. Additional District Magistrate Lalit Narayan Mishras court has asked the company to pay the fine within a month. According to the court, Patanjali Ayurveds ads allegedly claimed that its products were manufactured at its own units when they were in fact manufactured somewhere else. A case was filed in the court against the company in 2012 by the District Food Safety Department after samples of mustard oil, salt, pineapple jam, besan and honey produced by Patanjali failed quality tests at the Rudrapur laboratory. However, reacting to the court order, the yoga guru accused the Congress government in Uttarakhand of malicious intentions. Congress Govt in Uttrakhand had filed this case with malicious intentions in 2012.None of our advts are misleading.Well challenge in court, he tweeted. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: With demonetisation and the consequent cash crunch proving to be insurmountable obstacles, reports of cash seizure and recovery continued to pour in from across the country on Thursday. On the trail of a jeweller who allegedly sold bullion worth Rs 600 crore, the Income Tax Department on Thursday unearthed Rs 60 crore from the accounts of 20 shell companies in a raid at an Axis Bank branch in sector 51 in New Delhi. In the search, Rs 60 crore was found in 20 accounts of as many shell companies, an official said, adding the IT team was scanning the records to trace the directors of these companies. In the wake of disclosure of transgressions in its network, Axis Bank said it has so far suspended 50 accounts and 24 employees for suspicious activities. In Pune, Income Tax department officials seized Rs 10.80 crore cash, of which Rs 8.8 crore was in new notes, after searches at several lockers of a bank. The officials said the searches were conducted at 15 lockers, belonging to one person in the Parvati area branch of Bank of Maharashtra. Meanwhile, in Thane, around Rs 18 lakh cash was seized from two Kalyan-based businessmen, with most of it in new denomination notes, following which the duo has been detained. Over Rs 40 lakh in new currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized from three persons in two separate cases in Rajasthan. The Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police nabbed businessmen Sunil Gupta and Priyanshu Gupta in Vidhyadhar Nagar area in Jaipur with Rs 35 lakh in new notes of Rs 2,000 denomination. The Special Operations Group also arrested a slate factory owner in a case of alleged cheque fraud and recovered Rs 1.25 lakh in new Rs 2,000 notes from him. In a related development, agitated customers pelted stones at a branch of a nationalised bank and smashed an ATM in the Ratua area in Bengal after officials told them that they would be unable to dispense cash. NEW DELHI: With demonetisation and the consequent cash crunch proving to be insurmountable obstacles, reports of cash seizure and recovery continued to pour in from across the country on Thursday. On the trail of a jeweller who allegedly sold bullion worth Rs 600 crore, the Income Tax Department on Thursday unearthed Rs 60 crore from the accounts of 20 shell companies in a raid at an Axis Bank branch in sector 51 in New Delhi. In the search, Rs 60 crore was found in 20 accounts of as many shell companies, an official said, adding the IT team was scanning the records to trace the directors of these companies. In the wake of disclosure of transgressions in its network, Axis Bank said it has so far suspended 50 accounts and 24 employees for suspicious activities. In Pune, Income Tax department officials seized Rs 10.80 crore cash, of which Rs 8.8 crore was in new notes, after searches at several lockers of a bank. The officials said the searches were conducted at 15 lockers, belonging to one person in the Parvati area branch of Bank of Maharashtra. Meanwhile, in Thane, around Rs 18 lakh cash was seized from two Kalyan-based businessmen, with most of it in new denomination notes, following which the duo has been detained. Over Rs 40 lakh in new currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were seized from three persons in two separate cases in Rajasthan. The Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police nabbed businessmen Sunil Gupta and Priyanshu Gupta in Vidhyadhar Nagar area in Jaipur with Rs 35 lakh in new notes of Rs 2,000 denomination. The Special Operations Group also arrested a slate factory owner in a case of alleged cheque fraud and recovered Rs 1.25 lakh in new Rs 2,000 notes from him. In a related development, agitated customers pelted stones at a branch of a nationalised bank and smashed an ATM in the Ratua area in Bengal after officials told them that they would be unable to dispense cash. #MBN Cable channel loses lawsuit against suspension order MBN, a cable TV channel, on Thursday lost a lawsuit against the government's order to suspend its operation for six months for accounting fraud. The Korea Communications Commis... #Hybe Q3 Hybe posts highest Q3 revenue ever Hybe, the entertainment company behind K-pop superstars BTS, on Thursday reported a revenue of 445.5 billion won (US$314 million) for the third quarter of the year, up 30.6 percent... By Express News Service SRIKAKULAM: In the second death related to demonetisation of high denomination currency notes in this Srikakulam district, a 70-year-old woman died while standing in the queue outside a bank on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Batsala Laxmamma (70), a resident of Bavanapadu village of Vajrapukotturu mandal. She came to the Vajrapukotturu branch of Andhra Bank on Friday morning to withdraw her old-age pension benefit of Rs 1,000. While standing in the queue, she suddenly collapsed. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead. On December 8, a social security pensioner died in the queue in front of the Borivanka branch of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) in Kaviti mandal. SRIKAKULAM: In the second death related to demonetisation of high denomination currency notes in this Srikakulam district, a 70-year-old woman died while standing in the queue outside a bank on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Batsala Laxmamma (70), a resident of Bavanapadu village of Vajrapukotturu mandal. She came to the Vajrapukotturu branch of Andhra Bank on Friday morning to withdraw her old-age pension benefit of Rs 1,000. While standing in the queue, she suddenly collapsed. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared her brought dead. On December 8, a social security pensioner died in the queue in front of the Borivanka branch of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) in Kaviti mandal. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Actor and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan left none in doubt on Thursday on whether he would continue to give the BJP company in the State. In what could be termed a surgical strike on the saffron party, Pawan took some time off his busy shooting schedule to post a series of tweets on issues that had given a headache to the Modi Sarkar - cow slaughter, Rohit Vemula suicide, special category status to State, patriotism and demonetisation. Of late, with his barbs at the saffron party, which the actor-turned-politician held in high esteem on the eve of general elections in 2014, he began distancing himself from it, mainly on the issue of denial of special category status to AP. Pawan, in fact, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the general elections in 2014 and campaigned for the BJP-TDP combine. After remaining silent for a long time, he appeared back on the centre stage of State politics recently, first advising Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu against taking lands under the land pooling scheme in Amaravati and then, confronting him for compromising on the special category status. After addressing three public meetings - two in Rayalaseema and one in Coastal Andhra - where he came down heavily on the BJP, Pawan on Thursday tweeted that if the party was really serious about cow protection, it could have barred its workers, MPs and MLAs from wearing leather footwear and belts and unveiled a plan asking every worker to adopt a cow. These measures would have have given the required seriousness to the campaign against cow slaughter, the actor opined. He further described the call for ban on cow slaughter and beef as a political device formulated to divide people and scare communities who consume beef and flare up communal passions among those who respect and worship the cow. If the BJP means what it says, it would have implemented beef ban in Goa where it is in power, he said. VIJAYAWADA: Actor and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan left none in doubt on Thursday on whether he would continue to give the BJP company in the State. In what could be termed a surgical strike on the saffron party, Pawan took some time off his busy shooting schedule to post a series of tweets on issues that had given a headache to the Modi Sarkar - cow slaughter, Rohit Vemula suicide, special category status to State, patriotism and demonetisation. Of late, with his barbs at the saffron party, which the actor-turned-politician held in high esteem on the eve of general elections in 2014, he began distancing himself from it, mainly on the issue of denial of special category status to AP. Pawan, in fact, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the general elections in 2014 and campaigned for the BJP-TDP combine. After remaining silent for a long time, he appeared back on the centre stage of State politics recently, first advising Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu against taking lands under the land pooling scheme in Amaravati and then, confronting him for compromising on the special category status. After addressing three public meetings - two in Rayalaseema and one in Coastal Andhra - where he came down heavily on the BJP, Pawan on Thursday tweeted that if the party was really serious about cow protection, it could have barred its workers, MPs and MLAs from wearing leather footwear and belts and unveiled a plan asking every worker to adopt a cow. These measures would have have given the required seriousness to the campaign against cow slaughter, the actor opined. He further described the call for ban on cow slaughter and beef as a political device formulated to divide people and scare communities who consume beef and flare up communal passions among those who respect and worship the cow. If the BJP means what it says, it would have implemented beef ban in Goa where it is in power, he said. By Express News Service VISAKHAPATNAM : The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Vijay Diwas on Friday by paying tributes to the personnel of the armed forces who made the supreme sacrifice in various operations, including in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain laid a floral wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, the Navy War Memorial, on RK Beach in the morning. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, salutes to the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the 45th anniversary celebrations of Vijay Diwas, in Visakhapatnam on Friday | express Wreaths were also laid by Navy Foundation president Vice Admiral VK Namballa (retired) and city police commissioner T Yoganand and Deputy Chief of Flotilla, Pacific Fleet, who is participating in INDRA-Navy bilateral exercise, Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov and paid homage to the martyrs. On the occasion, a A 50-man Guard of Honour was also paraded at the venue and a two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the soldiers who have laid down their lives for country. The defence services across the country celebrate Vijay Diwas on December 16 every year to commemorate the historic victory against Pakistan in the 1971 war. On the momentous day, the Pakistani Forces under the command of Lt Gen AAK Niazi surrendered in Dhaka, in the presence of three tri-service theatre Commanders of Indian Armed Forces. It was on this day in 1971 that the declaration of ceasefire was brought into force ending the Indo-Pak war, resulting in the birth of the sovereign country of Bangladesh. VISAKHAPATNAM : The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) celebrated the 45th anniversary of the Vijay Diwas on Friday by paying tributes to the personnel of the armed forces who made the supreme sacrifice in various operations, including in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain laid a floral wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, the Navy War Memorial, on RK Beach in the morning. Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, salutes to the Amar Jawan Jyoti at the 45th anniversary celebrations of Vijay Diwas, in Visakhapatnam on Friday | express Wreaths were also laid by Navy Foundation president Vice Admiral VK Namballa (retired) and city police commissioner T Yoganand and Deputy Chief of Flotilla, Pacific Fleet, who is participating in INDRA-Navy bilateral exercise, Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov and paid homage to the martyrs. On the occasion, a A 50-man Guard of Honour was also paraded at the venue and a two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the soldiers who have laid down their lives for country. The defence services across the country celebrate Vijay Diwas on December 16 every year to commemorate the historic victory against Pakistan in the 1971 war. On the momentous day, the Pakistani Forces under the command of Lt Gen AAK Niazi surrendered in Dhaka, in the presence of three tri-service theatre Commanders of Indian Armed Forces. It was on this day in 1971 that the declaration of ceasefire was brought into force ending the Indo-Pak war, resulting in the birth of the sovereign country of Bangladesh. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has witnessed nearly 18 per cent decline in passenger bookings because of demonetisation, says KSRTC managing director Rajendar Kumar Kataria. We have incurred a total loss of nearly Rs 15 crore because of cancellations of bookings due to demonetisation. Many people have postponed their journeys because of the note ban, he said, adding that passenger traffic has been improving over the last few days. In a bid to provide cashless travel, Kataria said, KSRTC is embracing three new ways - electronic ticketing machines, e-wallets and Point of Sale (PoS) machines. KSRTCs proposed electronic ticketing machine will help passengers to swipe thier debit or credit cards. The machines are expected to be used in 2,000 buses. KSRTC is also in talks with a private firm to come up with a dedicated KSRTC e-wallet so that users can deposit money in advance with KSRTC. The wallet can be used as a payment option with the customers mobile number even if they dont have a bank account. Kataria said that they have facilitated Point of Sale machines at 10 ticket counters across the state. BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has witnessed nearly 18 per cent decline in passenger bookings because of demonetisation, says KSRTC managing director Rajendar Kumar Kataria. We have incurred a total loss of nearly Rs 15 crore because of cancellations of bookings due to demonetisation. Many people have postponed their journeys because of the note ban, he said, adding that passenger traffic has been improving over the last few days. In a bid to provide cashless travel, Kataria said, KSRTC is embracing three new ways - electronic ticketing machines, e-wallets and Point of Sale (PoS) machines. KSRTCs proposed electronic ticketing machine will help passengers to swipe thier debit or credit cards. The machines are expected to be used in 2,000 buses. KSRTC is also in talks with a private firm to come up with a dedicated KSRTC e-wallet so that users can deposit money in advance with KSRTC. The wallet can be used as a payment option with the customers mobile number even if they dont have a bank account. Kataria said that they have facilitated Point of Sale machines at 10 ticket counters across the state. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: Stating that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should admit his support to the demonetisation decision was wrong, Opposition Congress on Thursday requested the Assembly Secretariat to pay MLAs through cash instead of cheque. Whatever we get as salary or remuneration should be paid in cash instead of cheque. Otherwise, the MLAs may have to run to banks several times as there is restriction on the amount of withdrawal, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra said during his speech on Odisha Appropriation (No 2) Bill, 2016. Initiating the discussion, Mishra said Finance Minister Pradip Amat has admitted that demonetisation would have an adverse impact on the States economy. It was the CM who immediately supported Prime Minister Modis demonetisation scheme. Now at least say on the floor of the House that your view on the scheme is wrong, Mishra said. The CM had described the Prime Ministers decision as a bold move on November 9. Mishra said the poor in the State have suffered a lot due to the demonetisation move and agriculture, trade and commerce have been badly hit in the process. Small traders and marginal farmers were the worst victims of demonetisation, he added. Though farmers were paid insurance benefits one year after crop loss, they are not able to draw the amount from their accounts due to shortage of cash in banks, Mishra said and added this has led to illegal money lending in rural pockets of the State. Coming down heavily on the CM, Mishra said the Government has failed to provide safe drinking water to people, education to children, minimum healthcare to women and children and water for irrigation. Alleging that the Government is not responding to the queries of the Opposition, Mishra said the CM has the habit of running away from the House. The CM has created a world record for not participating in debates or giving his views on any issue. Though the CM claims he is prepared to answer the Opposition in the House, he runs away at the time of reply, he said. The Leader of Opposition alleged that the CM is responsible for issues like Mahanadi and Polavaram. The State Government has failed to stop the Polavaram project which is likely to be completed by 2020, Mishra said and alleged that the entire State suffered due to wrong policies of the CM. BHUBANESWAR: Stating that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should admit his support to the demonetisation decision was wrong, Opposition Congress on Thursday requested the Assembly Secretariat to pay MLAs through cash instead of cheque. Whatever we get as salary or remuneration should be paid in cash instead of cheque. Otherwise, the MLAs may have to run to banks several times as there is restriction on the amount of withdrawal, Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra said during his speech on Odisha Appropriation (No 2) Bill, 2016. Initiating the discussion, Mishra said Finance Minister Pradip Amat has admitted that demonetisation would have an adverse impact on the States economy. It was the CM who immediately supported Prime Minister Modis demonetisation scheme. Now at least say on the floor of the House that your view on the scheme is wrong, Mishra said. The CM had described the Prime Ministers decision as a bold move on November 9. Mishra said the poor in the State have suffered a lot due to the demonetisation move and agriculture, trade and commerce have been badly hit in the process. Small traders and marginal farmers were the worst victims of demonetisation, he added. Though farmers were paid insurance benefits one year after crop loss, they are not able to draw the amount from their accounts due to shortage of cash in banks, Mishra said and added this has led to illegal money lending in rural pockets of the State. Coming down heavily on the CM, Mishra said the Government has failed to provide safe drinking water to people, education to children, minimum healthcare to women and children and water for irrigation. Alleging that the Government is not responding to the queries of the Opposition, Mishra said the CM has the habit of running away from the House. The CM has created a world record for not participating in debates or giving his views on any issue. Though the CM claims he is prepared to answer the Opposition in the House, he runs away at the time of reply, he said. The Leader of Opposition alleged that the CM is responsible for issues like Mahanadi and Polavaram. The State Government has failed to stop the Polavaram project which is likely to be completed by 2020, Mishra said and alleged that the entire State suffered due to wrong policies of the CM. By Express News Service PARALAKHEMUNDI: After North-East, the queen variety of pineapple, produced in Gajapati district, is all set to be exported to Bangladesh. At a meeting of Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) held here on Thursday, Collector Sudhansu Mohan Samal said the queen variety has a special demand in Bangaladesh and Gajapati is the only district in the State producing the fruit, due to its conducive climate. Samal exhorted the officials to make necessary arrangements to export the fruit by ensuing May. At present, local traders purchase the fruit from farmers at throw-away prices. If exported, it can fetch a good price for the farmers, who are ignorant about the fruits value abroad, Samal added. With an aim to promote cultivation and cover more areas, the district administration has decided to provide 20 lakh saplings to farmers of the district. The officials have also been directed to check distress sale of ragi. The district administration will purchase 1,000 quintals of ragi from farmers of which 600 quintals will be sold at Pallishree Mela and the rest 400 quintals will be converted into flour to be sold in open market. As the districts climate is also suitable for cultivation of pepper, Samal asked the horticulture officials to grow it in 100 hectares this year. The district also produces sufficient quantity of quality maize, cashew nut and tamarind, but the farmers end up selling those at much lesser price, while the middlemen and traders reap benefits. He asked the officials to keep a vigil to check distress sale. Women self-help groups (SHGs) in R Udaygiri, Nuagada and Mohana block started growing vegetables in around 300 acres with the assistance of the district administration. To facilitate sale of the vegetables in Berhampur and Bhubaneswar and transport the same, the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) will provide two vehicles, Samal said. He also exhorted the women SHGs to prepare broom and collect raw materials from the godowns at Koinpur, Gangabada, Borodanga and others places of the district. Among others, Project Director of District Rural Development Agency Biranchi Narayana Mohanty, Project Administrator of ITDA, Parikhita Sethi and senior officials were present. PARALAKHEMUNDI: After North-East, the queen variety of pineapple, produced in Gajapati district, is all set to be exported to Bangladesh. At a meeting of Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM) held here on Thursday, Collector Sudhansu Mohan Samal said the queen variety has a special demand in Bangaladesh and Gajapati is the only district in the State producing the fruit, due to its conducive climate. Samal exhorted the officials to make necessary arrangements to export the fruit by ensuing May. At present, local traders purchase the fruit from farmers at throw-away prices. If exported, it can fetch a good price for the farmers, who are ignorant about the fruits value abroad, Samal added. With an aim to promote cultivation and cover more areas, the district administration has decided to provide 20 lakh saplings to farmers of the district. The officials have also been directed to check distress sale of ragi. The district administration will purchase 1,000 quintals of ragi from farmers of which 600 quintals will be sold at Pallishree Mela and the rest 400 quintals will be converted into flour to be sold in open market. As the districts climate is also suitable for cultivation of pepper, Samal asked the horticulture officials to grow it in 100 hectares this year. The district also produces sufficient quantity of quality maize, cashew nut and tamarind, but the farmers end up selling those at much lesser price, while the middlemen and traders reap benefits. He asked the officials to keep a vigil to check distress sale. Women self-help groups (SHGs) in R Udaygiri, Nuagada and Mohana block started growing vegetables in around 300 acres with the assistance of the district administration. To facilitate sale of the vegetables in Berhampur and Bhubaneswar and transport the same, the Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) will provide two vehicles, Samal said. He also exhorted the women SHGs to prepare broom and collect raw materials from the godowns at Koinpur, Gangabada, Borodanga and others places of the district. Among others, Project Director of District Rural Development Agency Biranchi Narayana Mohanty, Project Administrator of ITDA, Parikhita Sethi and senior officials were present. B Anbuselvan By Express News Service TIRUVANNAMALAI: More than 35 villages in Cheyyar and Vandavasi taluks have been groping in the dark for the fourth consecutive day due to delay in repairing the damaged electrical transformers in Tiruvannmalai district. The cyclone Vardah has wrecked havoc in parts of Tiruvannamalai district on December 12. Among seven taluks, Cheyyar, Vandavasi and Polur were the worst hit. According to official estimates, nearly 900 lamp poles had been damaged in the district. As many as 16 transformers have gone dysfunctional since Monday. The power supply was disrupted in nearly 100 villages in Vandavasi, Polur, Kannamangalam and Cheyyar taluks for about 48 hours. Udayakumar, a 20-year-old college student from Vengunam village told Express, his family members including toddlers were suffering without electricity for the past three days. 6.30 pm on Monday was the last time a street light functioned in our village. The entire village went dark after 6 pm. We have to draw water from our wells manually. We are living under the brightness of Kamatchi Amman lamp, he added. The situation was no different in about 35 villages including Sembur, Athipakkam, Kodanallur, Vengunam and Dadapuram. Official sources said, about 250 workers of TANGEDCO had been employed in post cyclone works and power supply had been restored in more than 50 per cent of the affected areas. However, they were unable to replace the transformers as the contractors were refusing to take the works. A senior official of TANGEDCO told Express that the contractors were demanding cash even before taking up the job. Though we got electrical spare parts and equipment with us, we are unable to replace or repair the transformers. After a long persuasion only, we hired their earth movers to remove trees, said an official. Elaborating, the official added that a few banks pay a maximum `50,000 a day after officials concerned clear the payments. However, owing to the shortage of money, they pay `10,000 to `12,000 a day to contractors, which was not sufficient to pay rent for earth movers and workers, added the official. After demonetisation all the workers were demanding their wages in cash. A few TANGEDCO officials paid their own money to contractors to repair the transformers, added a senior official. TIRUVANNAMALAI: More than 35 villages in Cheyyar and Vandavasi taluks have been groping in the dark for the fourth consecutive day due to delay in repairing the damaged electrical transformers in Tiruvannmalai district. The cyclone Vardah has wrecked havoc in parts of Tiruvannamalai district on December 12. Among seven taluks, Cheyyar, Vandavasi and Polur were the worst hit. According to official estimates, nearly 900 lamp poles had been damaged in the district. As many as 16 transformers have gone dysfunctional since Monday. The power supply was disrupted in nearly 100 villages in Vandavasi, Polur, Kannamangalam and Cheyyar taluks for about 48 hours. Udayakumar, a 20-year-old college student from Vengunam village told Express, his family members including toddlers were suffering without electricity for the past three days. 6.30 pm on Monday was the last time a street light functioned in our village. The entire village went dark after 6 pm. We have to draw water from our wells manually. We are living under the brightness of Kamatchi Amman lamp, he added. The situation was no different in about 35 villages including Sembur, Athipakkam, Kodanallur, Vengunam and Dadapuram. Official sources said, about 250 workers of TANGEDCO had been employed in post cyclone works and power supply had been restored in more than 50 per cent of the affected areas. However, they were unable to replace the transformers as the contractors were refusing to take the works. A senior official of TANGEDCO told Express that the contractors were demanding cash even before taking up the job. Though we got electrical spare parts and equipment with us, we are unable to replace or repair the transformers. After a long persuasion only, we hired their earth movers to remove trees, said an official. Elaborating, the official added that a few banks pay a maximum `50,000 a day after officials concerned clear the payments. However, owing to the shortage of money, they pay `10,000 to `12,000 a day to contractors, which was not sufficient to pay rent for earth movers and workers, added the official. After demonetisation all the workers were demanding their wages in cash. A few TANGEDCO officials paid their own money to contractors to repair the transformers, added a senior official. Jonathan Ananda By Express News Service CHENNAI: Even as a battle for control rages on at the highest echelons of the Tata Group, an urea plant owned by Tata Chemicals is set to be sold to corruption-tainted Norwegian group Yara International ASA, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal stands in stark contrast to the publicly declared reasons for the ongoing tussle -- a fight for the soul of Tata Group and its espoused values, especially since the urea business is subsidised by taxpayer money. In August, when Cyrus Mistry was still in charge as chairman of both Tata Sons and Tata Chemicals, the latter announced that it would sell its only urea plant in Barbala, Uttar Pradesh, to Yara Fertilizers India Ltd., a 100 per cent subsidiary of Yara International ASA for `2,670 crore. The sale, it added, would be completed within 9 to 12 months. Yara International was already infamous for being the epicentre of Norways biggest corporate corruption scandal. Four of Yaras former officials, including former CEO Thorleif Enger, were slapped with charges in 2011 for giving bribes (cumulatively amounting to $8 million) to officials in India, Russia and Libya. In January 2014, Yara accepted guilt and was fined 270 million Norwegian Kroner (`225 crore). While three of the four convicted were acquitted on December 2 this year, the conviction against the fourth, a legal counsel, stands. The company has also not withdrawn its admission of guilt. Yara has not been involved in any court cases, but accepted guilt and paid a fine in January 2014. The corporate penalty was reduced due to the transparency and co-operation demonstrated by Yara, said Esben Tuman, vice president, Head of Communications, Yara International ASA, responding to a query raised with Tata Chemicals on the ethicalimplications of the deal. Tuman also stated that corruption is not tolerated and that Yara had voluntarily notified and fully cooperated with the authorities.... The Group, he added, operates its current business in a compliant way and was confident it would be able to continue to do so after the acquisition of the plant. Tata Chemicals, the original addressee of the query, only responded with a statement through Keya Muriya in its Corporate Communications team. Tata Chemicals follows the highest standard of ethical conduct and carries out due diligence for all its business and operations, it said. The firm has now taken centrestage in the feud between Mistry, and group holding company Tata Sons. Independent director Nusli Wadia, Wadia Group chairman and one of the most vocal supporters of Mistry, raised governance issues in the company a few days ago, stating that Tata Sons directors and certain Trustees of Tata Trusts allegedly influenced the management against the Board of Directors and independent directors. Both Wadia and Mistry stand to be removed from the board if shareholders vote against them during the extraordinary general meeting on December 23. Tata Chemicals wanted to exit urea business for good The Barbala urea plant is one of two fertilizer plants owned by Tata Chemicals in India. The plant produces only urea with an annual capacity of about 1.2 million tonnes. The sale will result in the transfer of TCLs urea business along with the assets, liabilities, contracts, deeds etc to Yara India CHENNAI: Even as a battle for control rages on at the highest echelons of the Tata Group, an urea plant owned by Tata Chemicals is set to be sold to corruption-tainted Norwegian group Yara International ASA, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal stands in stark contrast to the publicly declared reasons for the ongoing tussle -- a fight for the soul of Tata Group and its espoused values, especially since the urea business is subsidised by taxpayer money. In August, when Cyrus Mistry was still in charge as chairman of both Tata Sons and Tata Chemicals, the latter announced that it would sell its only urea plant in Barbala, Uttar Pradesh, to Yara Fertilizers India Ltd., a 100 per cent subsidiary of Yara International ASA for `2,670 crore. The sale, it added, would be completed within 9 to 12 months. Yara International was already infamous for being the epicentre of Norways biggest corporate corruption scandal. Four of Yaras former officials, including former CEO Thorleif Enger, were slapped with charges in 2011 for giving bribes (cumulatively amounting to $8 million) to officials in India, Russia and Libya. In January 2014, Yara accepted guilt and was fined 270 million Norwegian Kroner (`225 crore). While three of the four convicted were acquitted on December 2 this year, the conviction against the fourth, a legal counsel, stands. The company has also not withdrawn its admission of guilt. Yara has not been involved in any court cases, but accepted guilt and paid a fine in January 2014. The corporate penalty was reduced due to the transparency and co-operation demonstrated by Yara, said Esben Tuman, vice president, Head of Communications, Yara International ASA, responding to a query raised with Tata Chemicals on the ethicalimplications of the deal. Tuman also stated that corruption is not tolerated and that Yara had voluntarily notified and fully cooperated with the authorities.... The Group, he added, operates its current business in a compliant way and was confident it would be able to continue to do so after the acquisition of the plant. Tata Chemicals, the original addressee of the query, only responded with a statement through Keya Muriya in its Corporate Communications team. Tata Chemicals follows the highest standard of ethical conduct and carries out due diligence for all its business and operations, it said. The firm has now taken centrestage in the feud between Mistry, and group holding company Tata Sons. Independent director Nusli Wadia, Wadia Group chairman and one of the most vocal supporters of Mistry, raised governance issues in the company a few days ago, stating that Tata Sons directors and certain Trustees of Tata Trusts allegedly influenced the management against the Board of Directors and independent directors. Both Wadia and Mistry stand to be removed from the board if shareholders vote against them during the extraordinary general meeting on December 23. Tata Chemicals wanted to exit urea business for good The Barbala urea plant is one of two fertilizer plants owned by Tata Chemicals in India. The plant produces only urea with an annual capacity of about 1.2 million tonnes. The sale will result in the transfer of TCLs urea business along with the assets, liabilities, contracts, deeds etc to Yara India By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Opposition parties on Friday took the state government to task over the sorry state of affairs prevailing in government hospitals and its failure in providing required medical treatment to poor patients under the Arogyasri health scheme causing hardships to the poor. Raising the issue on the floor of the Assembly during the Question Hour, opposition Congress members including T Jeevan Reddy, DK Aruna and others charged the government with not clearing bills to hospitals for providing medicare under Arogyasri scheme. While an amount of over `300 crore was due to the hospitals, the government had released only `100 crore. As a result, some of the private hospitals were refusing to admit patients under the Arogyasri scheme. Many of the treatments prescribed in the Arogyasri are not being treated by private hospitals, they alleged. Health minister C Laxma Reddy, however, denied that government was diluting the Arogyasri scheme and said that it has increased the health services by adding eight more procedures to the existing list of treatments. Laxma Reddy said the government had so far released `1,460 crore for the Arogyasri health scheme besides clearing the previous governments arrears of `260 crore dues to various hospitals. As many as 322 hospitals were included in the list of hospitals which come under the Arogyasri health scheme for the poorer sections. Apart from including certain medical facilities in the scheme, even transplant surgeries were being conducted in government hospitals, he added. Laxma Reddy claimed that the previous governments have neglected the government hospitals completely where there are no proper facilities for the patients. The TRS government has taken up various measures to set them right by providing the needed infrastructure and other equipment needed in these hospitals. The government has taken more interest in improving the facilities in government hospitals that led increase of 20 pc patient inflow in government hospitals. Infact the state had also received national award for providing better medical facilities in hospitals, he added. Reddy further said modernisation and better facilities available in a hospital in Adilabad district was even praised by AICC leader Digvijay Singh. He also mentioned about the decision to make ICUs available in all area and district hospitals. HYDERABAD: Opposition parties on Friday took the state government to task over the sorry state of affairs prevailing in government hospitals and its failure in providing required medical treatment to poor patients under the Arogyasri health scheme causing hardships to the poor. Raising the issue on the floor of the Assembly during the Question Hour, opposition Congress members including T Jeevan Reddy, DK Aruna and others charged the government with not clearing bills to hospitals for providing medicare under Arogyasri scheme. While an amount of over `300 crore was due to the hospitals, the government had released only `100 crore. As a result, some of the private hospitals were refusing to admit patients under the Arogyasri scheme. Many of the treatments prescribed in the Arogyasri are not being treated by private hospitals, they alleged. Health minister C Laxma Reddy, however, denied that government was diluting the Arogyasri scheme and said that it has increased the health services by adding eight more procedures to the existing list of treatments. Laxma Reddy said the government had so far released `1,460 crore for the Arogyasri health scheme besides clearing the previous governments arrears of `260 crore dues to various hospitals. As many as 322 hospitals were included in the list of hospitals which come under the Arogyasri health scheme for the poorer sections. Apart from including certain medical facilities in the scheme, even transplant surgeries were being conducted in government hospitals, he added. Laxma Reddy claimed that the previous governments have neglected the government hospitals completely where there are no proper facilities for the patients. The TRS government has taken up various measures to set them right by providing the needed infrastructure and other equipment needed in these hospitals. The government has taken more interest in improving the facilities in government hospitals that led increase of 20 pc patient inflow in government hospitals. Infact the state had also received national award for providing better medical facilities in hospitals, he added. Reddy further said modernisation and better facilities available in a hospital in Adilabad district was even praised by AICC leader Digvijay Singh. He also mentioned about the decision to make ICUs available in all area and district hospitals. By Associated Press BEIRUT: The latest on the conflict in Syria where thousands more civilians and rebels are expected to leave the eastern part of the city of Aleppo under a key cease-fire deal (all times local): 7:15 p.m. Russia's U.N. ambassador says the most urgent task now in Syria is to end all military activities and resume negotiations between the government and opposition. Vitaly Churkin has told the Security Council on Friday that "Damascus has more than once confirmed its readiness to take part in these negotiations." Churkin reiterated that from the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Russia has been in favor of a peaceful resolution while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Evacuations from eastern Aleppo seal the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold and mark a watershed moment in the country's civil war, now in its sixth year. ___ 6 p.m. France's Ambassador to the United Nations says his country and Germany have called an emergency meeting of the Security Council to consider the situation in war-torn Aleppo. Francois Delattre said the meeting would take place Friday and that if an agreement can't be reached on safely evacuating civilians and enabling humanitarian aid under the watchful eye of international observers, members could call for an emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly. Delattre told reporters outside Security Council chambers that the meeting would include a briefing by Humanitarian Affairs chief Stephen O'Brien. He said France has already begun drafting a resolution for consideration by the council. ___ 5:30 p.m. Syria's state news agency SANA is reporting an explosion outside a police station in the capital Damascus. The agency had no immediate word on casualties. SANA said the blast occurred in the central Midan neighborhood, a main market area that is usually crowded on Fridays. The number of explosions in the capital dropped sharply over the past year due to tightened security measures and checkpoints searching cars around the capital. ___ 5 p.m. A top U.N. official for Syria is calling on its government, its allies Russia and Iran, and a leading rebel group to allow for a resumption of evacuations from besieged parts of eastern Aleppo. In a text message to The Associated Press on Friday, Jan Egeland of the office of the U.N. Syria envoy praised the "very successful" evacuations over the last day that "brought many thousands of civilians to safety" but added that others are trying to leave too. Egeland said: "Among those desperate to be evacuated are a group of orphans and unaccompanied children." He said his office was urging "parties the ground, including Syria, Iran, Russia, and the armed opposition groups led by Ahrar al-Sham to let the evacuations resume unimpeded and in safety." ___ 4:45 p.m. Syrian state TV says buses are heading to the two Shiite villages besieged by armed groups to evacuate a number of humanitarian cases. The state TV announcement Friday came hours after the evacuation of the embattled part of eastern Aleppo was suspended, apparently a final pressure card to push for the evacuation of the Shiite villages in northern Syria. Rebels had previously rejected linking the two evacuations, saying evacuating the Shiite villages is related to another separate deal. Two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks say the fighters besieging the two Shiite villages, including al-Qaida linked militant group Fatah al-Sham Front, have agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the Shiite villages. If it happens, this may lead to the resumption of evacuation from Aleppo. Thousands of Aleppo residents are believed still stuck in the enclave surrounded by government forces. ___ 4 p.m. Turkey's foreign minister says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has intensively reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track. Speaking in Ankara on Friday, Mevlut Cavusoglu said there had been a "hold up with the latest convoy" and that he had spoken to his Iranian counterpart, Jawad Zarif, "in an effort to overcome this." Cavusoglu said other officials, including Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, were speaking to their Russian and Iranian equivalents as well as the different players of the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo just hours after they resumed on Friday, saying that rebels had opened fire on a convoy of evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave. Turkish state-media is blaming Iran, which is active in the Syrian conflict and the frontline of Aleppo, for the flare up of hostilities that held up the convoy. Cavusoglu blamed the Syrian regime which has the backing of Moscow and Tehran. Ankara is one of many to say Assad's regime has committed war crimes in Aleppo and in the course of the Syrian conflict. He said those who evacuated Aleppo since the start of the process on Thursday were civilians and suggested that they wanted to remain inside Syria, where Turkey is raising tented camps to accommodate them. The minister re-iterated that his country would take in the most vulnerable including the old, children and sick but would consider allowing more in later if "there's a need." "But it looks like those people, with the hope of returning to Aleppo one day, want to remain within Syria even if there are safer areas available," he told reporters. ___ 2:45 p.m. The U.N. health agency's top official in Syria says negotiations are underway in hopes of resuming evacuations from rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo. Elizabeth Hoff, the Syria representative for the World Health Organization, says that the agency knows "there are a large number of women and children, and there are others, who are still inside and want to get out." She spoke by phone on Friday with The Associated Press from government-controlled western Aleppo, after Russia's military claimed that all women and children had been taken out of eastern Aleppo during evacuations that began a day earlier involving WHO help. Hoff says that "negotiations are ongoing" through the office of the U.N. envoy for Syria to try to restart the evacuations. She says she has no indication that the evacuations have been completed. ___ 1:45 p.m. Russia is claiming that all women and children have been taken out of eastern Aleppo and that a final sweep by the Syrian military is underway to clear out the last remaining rebels in the city though there is no evidence on the ground of this. A statement on Friday from the Russian military's Center for Reconciliation in Syria says the evacuations have been "completed." It came shortly after the Syrian government said it was suspending the evacuations because a convoy leaving Aleppo was fired on by the rebels. The U.N. and international aid agencies insist there are still people in eastern Aleppo waiting to be evacuated. The Russian statement claims Russia said that over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500 rebels and 337 wounded, have been taken out of the rebel-held districts in eastern Aleppo. The Russian military also says some die-hard militants have stayed behind and are firing on the Syrian government troops. ___ 1:05 p.m. An official with the International Committee of the Red Cross is urging all parties in Syria to ensure that the evacuations from Aleppo resume. ICRC's regional director Robert Mardini posted on Twitter that, "Regretfully, the operation was put on hold. We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched & proceed in the right conditions." The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo hours after they resumed on Friday, saying that rebels opened fire on a convoy with evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave. A Syrian rebel spokesman, Yasser al-Youssef of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, claimed pro-government forces had opened fire on the convoy and also confiscated 25 private cars belonging to the Aleppo evacuees. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency says "pro-regime terrorists groups" had opened fire on the convoy in Aleppo. ___ 1 p.m. A Syrian rebel spokesman says government forces opened fire on the road used for evacuations from eastern Aleppo, leading to the suspension in the process. Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, says the government forces also confiscated 25 private cars belonging to Aleppo residents on Friday. He says he is convinced the government is trying to link the Aleppo evacuations to those from two Shiite villages in the country's northwest besieged by rebels Syrian state TV blamed opposition fighters, saying they opened fire on a convoy on the road evacuating people from eastern Aleppo. Hezbollah's Military Media says government supporters had blocked a road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded in the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. ___ 12:45 p.m. Turkey's state-run news agency claims forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked a convoy of people being evacuated from the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo, which led to the suspension of evacuations. That claim is contrary to Damascus' statement that rebels opened fire on a convoy with evacuees on Friday, forcing the government to suspend the evacuations. Anadolu Agency says "pro-regime terrorists groups" had opened fire on the convoy, adding that a "pro-regime crowd gathering on the road is also preventing the passage of vehicles." Turkey, which helped broker the evacuation deal, has been a main supporter of armed opposition groups fighting to topple Assad. Ankara, with Moscow, helped negotiate a cease-fire between the warring parties in Syria to allow the evacuations from eastern Aleppo. Moscow, along with Tehran, has given critical military support to the Damascus government and helped turn the course of the war in Assad's favor. ___ 12:35 p.m. The World Health Organization's top representative in Syria says she hopes the suspension of evacuations of civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo is only temporary and that the process would resume soon. Elizabeth Hoff says WHO staffers at the Ramouseh crossing point with the rebel enclave who were assisting in the operation were told "without explanation" to leave the area. Hoff spoke to reporters at U.N. offices in Geneva by phone from western, government-controlled part of the city of Aleppo. She says many women and children in eastern Aleppo had gathered to wait for buses and ambulances to return and take them out on Friday, but were now compelled to go back home. Hoff says that "this is a great concern to us because we know that they are desperate to get out." ___ 11:35 a.m. Syrian state TV says evacuations of civilians and opposition fighters from eastern Aleppo have been suspended after rebels opened fire on a convoy at one of the crossing points of the rebel-held enclave. It wasn't immediately clear how long the suspension, which was announced within a couple of hours after the evacuations resumed on Friday, would last. The Syrian state TV also claims the rebels tried to take with them captive they had seized and were holding in the rebel enclave. Lebanon's Al-Manar Hezbollah TV says the Syrian army stopped the process because the rebels had violated the cease-fire deal. Hezbollah militiamen are fighting in the Syrian civil war alongside President Bashar Assad's forces. The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV says buses that were parked at the Ramouseh crossing point left the area after it was targeted by gunmen. ___ 11:05 a.m. A Turkish official says Turkey's aid organizations are helping Syrians who have been evacuated from the city of Aleppo to a border area held by the opposition in Syria's Idlib province. Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Friday that "20 buses from Aleppo have reached the safe zone under control of the Free Syrian Army in Idlib." He says about 30-35 wounded people being treated at the Sahra hospital just on the other side of the border. Kaynak said there had been a discussion with Syrian opposition forces over the possibility of establishing a center "within a security zone in Syria." He told the private Dogan news agency that "Idlib has no physical capacity to accommodate so many people." Kaynak estimated there are 80,000 to 100,000 individuals who would like to leave Aleppo under the cease-fire deal that Turkey helped broker. He added that Turke is willing to provide assistance to "legitimate" Syrian opposition groups to help meet their needs. The minister spoke after visiting the Cilvegozu border crossing with Syria in southern Turkey ___ 10:55 a.m. Syrian state TV says that evacuations of civilians and rebels from the last rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo have resumed for the second day. Ikhbariya TV is reporting that four convoys with fighters and civilians departed from the rebel enclave on Friday. The TV has shown dozens of green public buses and ambulances parked in the southern Aleppo neighborhood of Ramouseh to help in the evacuation. It then showed trucks and other vehicles ferrying residents of eastern Aleppo and driving through the corridor leading to rebel-controlled areas in the countryside. Meanwhile, in the central province of Hama, buses and ambulances are waiting to evacuate thousands of people from two Shiite villages besieged by rebels, a last-minute condition that became part of the cease-fire deal for Aleppo. Iran had demanded that the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya be ted with the mass movement out of eastern Aleppo. ___ 9:35 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he and his Turkish counterpart are working to launch a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition negotiations that would take place in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Putin, who spoke on a visit to Japan on Friday, says that Ankara had helped broker the rebel exit from Aleppo that is currently underway. He says he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also working for an overall truce in Syria. The Russian leader says that once the Syrian army secures control of all of Aleppo, civilians will be able to return to their homes. It wasn't immediately clear if western-backed Syrian opposition would accept such a location for peace talks with President Bashar Assad's government. ___ 9:20 a.m. Thousands more are expected to leave eastern Aleppo in the coming hours under a cease-fire deal that effectively surrendered the last rebel-held part of the city to Syrian government control. There are conflicting numbers on how many have been evacuated from Aleppo so far as part of a Turkey- and Russia-brokered cease-fire deal to transfer all still in the rebel enclave to rebel-held areas in the countryside. The International Committee of the Red Cross says about 4,000 civilians were taken out on Thursday. Syrian state news agency says 2,300 opposition fighters and their families left Aleppo the previous night. Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, says that more than 6,462 people, including more than 3,000 rebels and 301 wounded, have been taken out. BEIRUT: The latest on the conflict in Syria where thousands more civilians and rebels are expected to leave the eastern part of the city of Aleppo under a key cease-fire deal (all times local): 7:15 p.m. Russia's U.N. ambassador says the most urgent task now in Syria is to end all military activities and resume negotiations between the government and opposition. Vitaly Churkin has told the Security Council on Friday that "Damascus has more than once confirmed its readiness to take part in these negotiations." Churkin reiterated that from the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Russia has been in favor of a peaceful resolution while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Evacuations from eastern Aleppo seal the end of the Syrian rebels' most important stronghold and mark a watershed moment in the country's civil war, now in its sixth year. ___ 6 p.m. France's Ambassador to the United Nations says his country and Germany have called an emergency meeting of the Security Council to consider the situation in war-torn Aleppo. Francois Delattre said the meeting would take place Friday and that if an agreement can't be reached on safely evacuating civilians and enabling humanitarian aid under the watchful eye of international observers, members could call for an emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly. Delattre told reporters outside Security Council chambers that the meeting would include a briefing by Humanitarian Affairs chief Stephen O'Brien. He said France has already begun drafting a resolution for consideration by the council. ___ 5:30 p.m. Syria's state news agency SANA is reporting an explosion outside a police station in the capital Damascus. The agency had no immediate word on casualties. SANA said the blast occurred in the central Midan neighborhood, a main market area that is usually crowded on Fridays. The number of explosions in the capital dropped sharply over the past year due to tightened security measures and checkpoints searching cars around the capital. ___ 5 p.m. A top U.N. official for Syria is calling on its government, its allies Russia and Iran, and a leading rebel group to allow for a resumption of evacuations from besieged parts of eastern Aleppo. In a text message to The Associated Press on Friday, Jan Egeland of the office of the U.N. Syria envoy praised the "very successful" evacuations over the last day that "brought many thousands of civilians to safety" but added that others are trying to leave too. Egeland said: "Among those desperate to be evacuated are a group of orphans and unaccompanied children." He said his office was urging "parties the ground, including Syria, Iran, Russia, and the armed opposition groups led by Ahrar al-Sham to let the evacuations resume unimpeded and in safety." ___ 4:45 p.m. Syrian state TV says buses are heading to the two Shiite villages besieged by armed groups to evacuate a number of humanitarian cases. The state TV announcement Friday came hours after the evacuation of the embattled part of eastern Aleppo was suspended, apparently a final pressure card to push for the evacuation of the Shiite villages in northern Syria. Rebels had previously rejected linking the two evacuations, saying evacuating the Shiite villages is related to another separate deal. Two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks say the fighters besieging the two Shiite villages, including al-Qaida linked militant group Fatah al-Sham Front, have agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the Shiite villages. If it happens, this may lead to the resumption of evacuation from Aleppo. Thousands of Aleppo residents are believed still stuck in the enclave surrounded by government forces. ___ 4 p.m. Turkey's foreign minister says 7,500 civilians have been evacuated from the Syrian city of Aleppo and that he has intensively reached out to Tehran in a bid to keep the process on track. Speaking in Ankara on Friday, Mevlut Cavusoglu said there had been a "hold up with the latest convoy" and that he had spoken to his Iranian counterpart, Jawad Zarif, "in an effort to overcome this." Cavusoglu said other officials, including Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, were speaking to their Russian and Iranian equivalents as well as the different players of the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo just hours after they resumed on Friday, saying that rebels had opened fire on a convoy of evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave. Turkish state-media is blaming Iran, which is active in the Syrian conflict and the frontline of Aleppo, for the flare up of hostilities that held up the convoy. Cavusoglu blamed the Syrian regime which has the backing of Moscow and Tehran. Ankara is one of many to say Assad's regime has committed war crimes in Aleppo and in the course of the Syrian conflict. He said those who evacuated Aleppo since the start of the process on Thursday were civilians and suggested that they wanted to remain inside Syria, where Turkey is raising tented camps to accommodate them. The minister re-iterated that his country would take in the most vulnerable including the old, children and sick but would consider allowing more in later if "there's a need." "But it looks like those people, with the hope of returning to Aleppo one day, want to remain within Syria even if there are safer areas available," he told reporters. ___ 2:45 p.m. The U.N. health agency's top official in Syria says negotiations are underway in hopes of resuming evacuations from rebel-held parts of eastern Aleppo. Elizabeth Hoff, the Syria representative for the World Health Organization, says that the agency knows "there are a large number of women and children, and there are others, who are still inside and want to get out." She spoke by phone on Friday with The Associated Press from government-controlled western Aleppo, after Russia's military claimed that all women and children had been taken out of eastern Aleppo during evacuations that began a day earlier involving WHO help. Hoff says that "negotiations are ongoing" through the office of the U.N. envoy for Syria to try to restart the evacuations. She says she has no indication that the evacuations have been completed. ___ 1:45 p.m. Russia is claiming that all women and children have been taken out of eastern Aleppo and that a final sweep by the Syrian military is underway to clear out the last remaining rebels in the city though there is no evidence on the ground of this. A statement on Friday from the Russian military's Center for Reconciliation in Syria says the evacuations have been "completed." It came shortly after the Syrian government said it was suspending the evacuations because a convoy leaving Aleppo was fired on by the rebels. The U.N. and international aid agencies insist there are still people in eastern Aleppo waiting to be evacuated. The Russian statement claims Russia said that over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500 rebels and 337 wounded, have been taken out of the rebel-held districts in eastern Aleppo. The Russian military also says some die-hard militants have stayed behind and are firing on the Syrian government troops. ___ 1:05 p.m. An official with the International Committee of the Red Cross is urging all parties in Syria to ensure that the evacuations from Aleppo resume. ICRC's regional director Robert Mardini posted on Twitter that, "Regretfully, the operation was put on hold. We urge the parties to ensure it can be relaunched & proceed in the right conditions." The Syrian government suspended evacuations from eastern Aleppo hours after they resumed on Friday, saying that rebels opened fire on a convoy with evacuees at a crossing point with the enclave. A Syrian rebel spokesman, Yasser al-Youssef of the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, claimed pro-government forces had opened fire on the convoy and also confiscated 25 private cars belonging to the Aleppo evacuees. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency says "pro-regime terrorists groups" had opened fire on the convoy in Aleppo. ___ 1 p.m. A Syrian rebel spokesman says government forces opened fire on the road used for evacuations from eastern Aleppo, leading to the suspension in the process. Yasser al-Youssef, a spokesman for the Nour el-Din el-Zinki rebel group, says the government forces also confiscated 25 private cars belonging to Aleppo residents on Friday. He says he is convinced the government is trying to link the Aleppo evacuations to those from two Shiite villages in the country's northwest besieged by rebels Syrian state TV blamed opposition fighters, saying they opened fire on a convoy on the road evacuating people from eastern Aleppo. Hezbollah's Military Media says government supporters had blocked a road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded in the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. ___ 12:45 p.m. Turkey's state-run news agency claims forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked a convoy of people being evacuated from the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo, which led to the suspension of evacuations. That claim is contrary to Damascus' statement that rebels opened fire on a convoy with evacuees on Friday, forcing the government to suspend the evacuations. Anadolu Agency says "pro-regime terrorists groups" had opened fire on the convoy, adding that a "pro-regime crowd gathering on the road is also preventing the passage of vehicles." Turkey, which helped broker the evacuation deal, has been a main supporter of armed opposition groups fighting to topple Assad. Ankara, with Moscow, helped negotiate a cease-fire between the warring parties in Syria to allow the evacuations from eastern Aleppo. Moscow, along with Tehran, has given critical military support to the Damascus government and helped turn the course of the war in Assad's favor. ___ 12:35 p.m. The World Health Organization's top representative in Syria says she hopes the suspension of evacuations of civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo is only temporary and that the process would resume soon. Elizabeth Hoff says WHO staffers at the Ramouseh crossing point with the rebel enclave who were assisting in the operation were told "without explanation" to leave the area. Hoff spoke to reporters at U.N. offices in Geneva by phone from western, government-controlled part of the city of Aleppo. She says many women and children in eastern Aleppo had gathered to wait for buses and ambulances to return and take them out on Friday, but were now compelled to go back home. Hoff says that "this is a great concern to us because we know that they are desperate to get out." ___ 11:35 a.m. Syrian state TV says evacuations of civilians and opposition fighters from eastern Aleppo have been suspended after rebels opened fire on a convoy at one of the crossing points of the rebel-held enclave. It wasn't immediately clear how long the suspension, which was announced within a couple of hours after the evacuations resumed on Friday, would last. The Syrian state TV also claims the rebels tried to take with them captive they had seized and were holding in the rebel enclave. Lebanon's Al-Manar Hezbollah TV says the Syrian army stopped the process because the rebels had violated the cease-fire deal. Hezbollah militiamen are fighting in the Syrian civil war alongside President Bashar Assad's forces. The Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen TV says buses that were parked at the Ramouseh crossing point left the area after it was targeted by gunmen. ___ 11:05 a.m. A Turkish official says Turkey's aid organizations are helping Syrians who have been evacuated from the city of Aleppo to a border area held by the opposition in Syria's Idlib province. Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Friday that "20 buses from Aleppo have reached the safe zone under control of the Free Syrian Army in Idlib." He says about 30-35 wounded people being treated at the Sahra hospital just on the other side of the border. Kaynak said there had been a discussion with Syrian opposition forces over the possibility of establishing a center "within a security zone in Syria." He told the private Dogan news agency that "Idlib has no physical capacity to accommodate so many people." Kaynak estimated there are 80,000 to 100,000 individuals who would like to leave Aleppo under the cease-fire deal that Turkey helped broker. He added that Turke is willing to provide assistance to "legitimate" Syrian opposition groups to help meet their needs. The minister spoke after visiting the Cilvegozu border crossing with Syria in southern Turkey ___ 10:55 a.m. Syrian state TV says that evacuations of civilians and rebels from the last rebel-held territory in eastern Aleppo have resumed for the second day. Ikhbariya TV is reporting that four convoys with fighters and civilians departed from the rebel enclave on Friday. The TV has shown dozens of green public buses and ambulances parked in the southern Aleppo neighborhood of Ramouseh to help in the evacuation. It then showed trucks and other vehicles ferrying residents of eastern Aleppo and driving through the corridor leading to rebel-controlled areas in the countryside. Meanwhile, in the central province of Hama, buses and ambulances are waiting to evacuate thousands of people from two Shiite villages besieged by rebels, a last-minute condition that became part of the cease-fire deal for Aleppo. Iran had demanded that the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya be ted with the mass movement out of eastern Aleppo. ___ 9:35 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that he and his Turkish counterpart are working to launch a new round of peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition negotiations that would take place in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. Putin, who spoke on a visit to Japan on Friday, says that Ankara had helped broker the rebel exit from Aleppo that is currently underway. He says he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are also working for an overall truce in Syria. The Russian leader says that once the Syrian army secures control of all of Aleppo, civilians will be able to return to their homes. It wasn't immediately clear if western-backed Syrian opposition would accept such a location for peace talks with President Bashar Assad's government. ___ 9:20 a.m. Thousands more are expected to leave eastern Aleppo in the coming hours under a cease-fire deal that effectively surrendered the last rebel-held part of the city to Syrian government control. There are conflicting numbers on how many have been evacuated from Aleppo so far as part of a Turkey- and Russia-brokered cease-fire deal to transfer all still in the rebel enclave to rebel-held areas in the countryside. The International Committee of the Red Cross says about 4,000 civilians were taken out on Thursday. Syrian state news agency says 2,300 opposition fighters and their families left Aleppo the previous night. Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, says that more than 6,462 people, including more than 3,000 rebels and 301 wounded, have been taken out. P K Balachandran By Express News Service COLOMBO: Rajkumar Bharathi, great grandson of the Indian nationalist poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi and a music composer in his own right, will be speaking at the January 26, 2017 Republic Day function at the Indian Consulate in Jaffna, Consul General M.Natarajan told Express on Friday. Rajkumar Bharathi had expressed a desire to visit Jaffna and we invited him to attend the 68 th. Republic Day function here on January 26, 2017 as a Special Guest, and address the gathering at the flag hosting ceremony, Natarajan said. Last week, the Consulate General celebrated the 134 th. birth anniversary of Subramania Bharathi. A well-known scholar and public speaker from Tamil Nadu Nellai Kannan spoke on Bharathiyar to a huge and distinguished audience here. In fact, we had invited Rajkumar Bharathi for this function, but he could not make it due to prior commitments, Natarajan said. Rajkumar Bharathi is a well-known musician and composer in Tamil Nadu and other states of South India. A child prodigy with a blue-blooded lineage, he tragically lost his voice at the peak of his career. But that did not deter him from pursuing a career as a music composer. His determination won him the Sangeet Natak Akademi Music for Dance Award for the year 2015. Rajkumar Bharathi was born in 1958 to Venkatasubramanian and Lalita Bharathi, the younger daughter of Thangammal Bharathi, the second of Bharathiyars daughters. He was only five, when he started showing glimpses of his musical talent. He could pick up tunes from the radio and render difficult swaras with ease. Seeing his talent, his father put him under the tutelage of music teacher Valliyur Gurumurthy. In 1975, he won the Tambura Prize, which helped him get a major slot in the Chennai December Music Season at Indian Fine Arts. He trained under T. V. Gopalakrishnan because of his interest in Hindustani music, and also took lessons from Balamuralikrishna. In 1980, he took up a job as an R&D engineer in a company, where he worked on defense-related projects. But he left it later to pursue a musical career full time on the advice of T.V.Gopalakrishnan. During Subramania Bharathis centenary year celebrations, he was asked to sing his great grandfathers compositions on television. Playback singing in films also came his way. Maestro M.S.Viswanathan used him in Ezhavadu Manidhan which featured a Bharathiyar song. His playlist comprises over 150 songs in all South Indian languages. He has also composed music for dance and sung for famous dancers. It was at this stage of his career that he was afflicted with dysphonia and lost his vocal chords. Since then he has been composing music only. COLOMBO: Rajkumar Bharathi, great grandson of the Indian nationalist poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi and a music composer in his own right, will be speaking at the January 26, 2017 Republic Day function at the Indian Consulate in Jaffna, Consul General M.Natarajan told Express on Friday. Rajkumar Bharathi had expressed a desire to visit Jaffna and we invited him to attend the 68 th. Republic Day function here on January 26, 2017 as a Special Guest, and address the gathering at the flag hosting ceremony, Natarajan said. Last week, the Consulate General celebrated the 134 th. birth anniversary of Subramania Bharathi. A well-known scholar and public speaker from Tamil Nadu Nellai Kannan spoke on Bharathiyar to a huge and distinguished audience here. In fact, we had invited Rajkumar Bharathi for this function, but he could not make it due to prior commitments, Natarajan said. Rajkumar Bharathi is a well-known musician and composer in Tamil Nadu and other states of South India. A child prodigy with a blue-blooded lineage, he tragically lost his voice at the peak of his career. But that did not deter him from pursuing a career as a music composer. His determination won him the Sangeet Natak Akademi Music for Dance Award for the year 2015. Rajkumar Bharathi was born in 1958 to Venkatasubramanian and Lalita Bharathi, the younger daughter of Thangammal Bharathi, the second of Bharathiyars daughters. He was only five, when he started showing glimpses of his musical talent. He could pick up tunes from the radio and render difficult swaras with ease. Seeing his talent, his father put him under the tutelage of music teacher Valliyur Gurumurthy. In 1975, he won the Tambura Prize, which helped him get a major slot in the Chennai December Music Season at Indian Fine Arts. He trained under T. V. Gopalakrishnan because of his interest in Hindustani music, and also took lessons from Balamuralikrishna. In 1980, he took up a job as an R&D engineer in a company, where he worked on defense-related projects. But he left it later to pursue a musical career full time on the advice of T.V.Gopalakrishnan. During Subramania Bharathis centenary year celebrations, he was asked to sing his great grandfathers compositions on television. Playback singing in films also came his way. Maestro M.S.Viswanathan used him in Ezhavadu Manidhan which featured a Bharathiyar song. His playlist comprises over 150 songs in all South Indian languages. He has also composed music for dance and sung for famous dancers. It was at this stage of his career that he was afflicted with dysphonia and lost his vocal chords. Since then he has been composing music only. By Associated Press BEIRUT: Weeping, hobbling on crutches or dragging suitcases, hundreds of survivors of a devastating government bombardment and siege left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo on Thursday, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellion's most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syria's 5-year-old civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat. A smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Quran. A U.N. official described it as "a black chapter in the history of international relations." Traumatized residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppo's streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. "We struggled for six years. We were supposed to be the ones to get them out, not them us," said one tearful woman who held a baby, speaking in a video posted online by an opposition activist. She explained that it wasn't the bombardment that forced them out. "We left because we feared for our honor from the regime," the unidentified woman said. Under a surrender deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. They said it was too dangerous to go to government-held areas, where they faced potential retribution from security services alleged to carry out arrests and torture of opposition sympathizers. Many are of fighting age and don't want to be drafted into the military. "We slept in the streets. It's shameful," a unidentified man said in an opposition video. "Where is the world?" Leaning on crutches and sobbing uncontrollably, he described fleeing the bombardment. "You don't know if it's an airplane or shelling or rockets. You never know," he added. Eastern Aleppo rose in revolt against Assad in 2012 and battled since then with the western, government-held part of the city in one of the most horrific and destructive fronts of the civil war. The rebels' hold in Syria's onetime commercial powerhouse was a major point of pride, and at times it seemed an invulnerable part of what was once a growing opposition-held patch of territory in the north. But government forces finally surrounded eastern Aleppo and then battered it to pieces. The air and ground campaign by Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes and forces from Assad's regional allies relentlessly wore away at the enclave. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands fled to government-held areas. The pocket was reduced to a few blocks packed with the bloodied, exhausted and demoralized but also die-hard opposition forces. For Assad, the victory puts most major cities under his control and raises hopes for the beginning of the end of the revolt. "History is being made," an upbeat Assad proclaimed in a video on social media. "What is happening is bigger than congratulations," he said, calling it comparable to Christ's birth and the revelation of Islam's holy Quran to Muhammad. Twenty buses with Assad's picture displayed in the windshields and 26 ambulances carried the civilians, including more than 50 sick or wounded, from the devastated Ameriyeh neighborhood. They drove through government-held districts to Rashideen, a rebel-held area outside Aleppo, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian state media said. Hundreds of government supporters cheered the convoy on as it crossed through government territory. Referring to the rebels, the state's SANA news agency said 951 "terrorists and their families" were evacuated. An estimated 70,000 civilians are waiting to be evacuated, said Mohammed Abu Jaafar, the head of the forensics department in the enclave. He added that a "tremendous crowd" showed up at the buses Thursday. Some of the evacuees burned belongings that they couldn't take with them, said Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher and an opposition activist still in eastern Aleppo. "Maybe most of them are happy that they are going to safety. Some of them are angry that they are leaving their city. Some people want to leave ASAP," he said. "As for me, I will try to leave Aleppo as late as possible." Online video showed hundreds crowding around the buses at the departure site. Many lugged suitcases or dragged bags behind them. Fires were kindled in barrels for warmth as the wounded sat in wheelchairs and others hobbled on crutches. Photos circulated online showed the graffiti on destroyed buildings: "Love will bring us back. 15/12/2016," and "Under each building destroyed, a family is buried with its dreams. Bashar and his allies buried them." Once the evacuees arrived in rural areas, opposition gunmen and locals gathered and chanted, "God is great" less in defiance than in gratitude for their survival. A Syrian opposition figure said local councils in Idlib and Aleppo provinces have been trying to find housing for them, but he said many will have to stay in camps. Turkey, which supports the opposition, promised to treat the wounded, according to Brita Haj Hassan, a member of Aleppo's local council, speaking from exile in Brussels. Syrian state TV said a separate convoy of 29 buses and ambulances moved to Foua and Kefraya, two nearby villages loyal to the government, to evacuate the sick and others who were subjected to a siege by rebels. Iran had demanded to tie the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya with Aleppo's. Syrian rebels say any evacuation of those villages is supposed to be accompanied by one from Zabadani and Madaya, two besieged opposition-held towns west of Damascus, according to an agreement between the government and rebels. The U.N. denounced that deal. In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator for Syria Jan Egeland said the international body was had been locked out of the evacuation plans and pro-government forces have blocked some aid vehicles from entering rebel-held districts. An estimated 50,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo, he said. "It took 4,000 years to build Aleppo hundreds of generations. One generation managed to tear it down in four years," Egeland said. "We feel all strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a black chapter in the history of international relations," he said, adding that the city "gave to world civilization, and world civilization was not there to assist the people of Aleppo when they needed us the most." BEIRUT: Weeping, hobbling on crutches or dragging suitcases, hundreds of survivors of a devastating government bombardment and siege left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo on Thursday, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellion's most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syria's 5-year-old civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat. A smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Quran. A U.N. official described it as "a black chapter in the history of international relations." Traumatized residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppo's streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. "We struggled for six years. We were supposed to be the ones to get them out, not them us," said one tearful woman who held a baby, speaking in a video posted online by an opposition activist. She explained that it wasn't the bombardment that forced them out. "We left because we feared for our honor from the regime," the unidentified woman said. Under a surrender deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. They said it was too dangerous to go to government-held areas, where they faced potential retribution from security services alleged to carry out arrests and torture of opposition sympathizers. Many are of fighting age and don't want to be drafted into the military. "We slept in the streets. It's shameful," a unidentified man said in an opposition video. "Where is the world?" Leaning on crutches and sobbing uncontrollably, he described fleeing the bombardment. "You don't know if it's an airplane or shelling or rockets. You never know," he added. Eastern Aleppo rose in revolt against Assad in 2012 and battled since then with the western, government-held part of the city in one of the most horrific and destructive fronts of the civil war. The rebels' hold in Syria's onetime commercial powerhouse was a major point of pride, and at times it seemed an invulnerable part of what was once a growing opposition-held patch of territory in the north. But government forces finally surrounded eastern Aleppo and then battered it to pieces. The air and ground campaign by Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes and forces from Assad's regional allies relentlessly wore away at the enclave. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands fled to government-held areas. The pocket was reduced to a few blocks packed with the bloodied, exhausted and demoralized but also die-hard opposition forces. For Assad, the victory puts most major cities under his control and raises hopes for the beginning of the end of the revolt. "History is being made," an upbeat Assad proclaimed in a video on social media. "What is happening is bigger than congratulations," he said, calling it comparable to Christ's birth and the revelation of Islam's holy Quran to Muhammad. Twenty buses with Assad's picture displayed in the windshields and 26 ambulances carried the civilians, including more than 50 sick or wounded, from the devastated Ameriyeh neighborhood. They drove through government-held districts to Rashideen, a rebel-held area outside Aleppo, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian state media said. Hundreds of government supporters cheered the convoy on as it crossed through government territory. Referring to the rebels, the state's SANA news agency said 951 "terrorists and their families" were evacuated. An estimated 70,000 civilians are waiting to be evacuated, said Mohammed Abu Jaafar, the head of the forensics department in the enclave. He added that a "tremendous crowd" showed up at the buses Thursday. Some of the evacuees burned belongings that they couldn't take with them, said Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher and an opposition activist still in eastern Aleppo. "Maybe most of them are happy that they are going to safety. Some of them are angry that they are leaving their city. Some people want to leave ASAP," he said. "As for me, I will try to leave Aleppo as late as possible." Online video showed hundreds crowding around the buses at the departure site. Many lugged suitcases or dragged bags behind them. Fires were kindled in barrels for warmth as the wounded sat in wheelchairs and others hobbled on crutches. Photos circulated online showed the graffiti on destroyed buildings: "Love will bring us back. 15/12/2016," and "Under each building destroyed, a family is buried with its dreams. Bashar and his allies buried them." Once the evacuees arrived in rural areas, opposition gunmen and locals gathered and chanted, "God is great" less in defiance than in gratitude for their survival. A Syrian opposition figure said local councils in Idlib and Aleppo provinces have been trying to find housing for them, but he said many will have to stay in camps. Turkey, which supports the opposition, promised to treat the wounded, according to Brita Haj Hassan, a member of Aleppo's local council, speaking from exile in Brussels. Syrian state TV said a separate convoy of 29 buses and ambulances moved to Foua and Kefraya, two nearby villages loyal to the government, to evacuate the sick and others who were subjected to a siege by rebels. Iran had demanded to tie the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya with Aleppo's. Syrian rebels say any evacuation of those villages is supposed to be accompanied by one from Zabadani and Madaya, two besieged opposition-held towns west of Damascus, according to an agreement between the government and rebels. The U.N. denounced that deal. In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator for Syria Jan Egeland said the international body was had been locked out of the evacuation plans and pro-government forces have blocked some aid vehicles from entering rebel-held districts. An estimated 50,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo, he said. "It took 4,000 years to build Aleppo hundreds of generations. One generation managed to tear it down in four years," Egeland said. "We feel all strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a black chapter in the history of international relations," he said, adding that the city "gave to world civilization, and world civilization was not there to assist the people of Aleppo when they needed us the most." By AFP WASHINGTON: China "unlawfully" seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing's military presence in the disputed area. The underwater probe was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay in the Philippines on Thursday afternoon in a non-violent incident, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. The event unfolded as the civilian-crewed USNS Bowditch was retrieving a pair of "naval gliders" that routinely collect information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity. A Chinese Dalang-III class submarine rescue ship then stopped within 500 yards (meters) of the Bowditch and snatched one of the probes. The Americans safely hoisted the other one back onto their ship. Davis said he could not recall another time when something like this has happened, and the Pentagon issued a statement calling on Beijing to "immediately" return the probe that it had "unlawfully seized." The US personnel "were asking over bridge-to-bridge radio to please leave it there," Davis said. Other than a brief acknowledgment that it had received the message, the Chinese ship did not respond. "The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: 'We are returning to normal operations,'" Davis said. Washington has issued a formal request through diplomatic channels to ask for the probe back. "It is ours. It is clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again," Davis said. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said China had acted unlawfully. "The UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle) is a sovereign immune vessel of the United States. We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law," Cook said in a statement. - Heightened tensions - Davis said the seized vessel is off-the-shelf technology that is commercially available for about $150,000. Data it gathers are unclassified and can be used to help submarines navigate and determine sonar ranges in murky waters. The incident comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China sea, which is laced with the world's most heavily traveled international trade routes. New satellite imagery made public Wednesday by a US-based think tank showed China apparently has installed what appeared to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems on seven islets in the Spratly chain. While the United States takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly stressed all maritime claims must comply with international law. The US military has conducted several "freedom of navigation" operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims. Such missions have drawn howls of fury from China, which accuses Washington of provocation and increasing the risk of a military mishap. The USNS Bowditch is a research and survey vessel, and does not look like a warship. Adding to the tension, Beijing is facing a new US president in Donald Trump, who has questioned longstanding US policy on Taiwan, called Beijing a currency manipulator and threatened Chinese imports with punitive tariffs. The Chinese ship's hull number was ASR-510, the Pentagon said. WASHINGTON: China "unlawfully" seized an unmanned US naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday, a move sure to heighten tensions around Beijing's military presence in the disputed area. The underwater probe was taken around 50 nautical miles (90 kilometers) northwest off Subic Bay in the Philippines on Thursday afternoon in a non-violent incident, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said. The event unfolded as the civilian-crewed USNS Bowditch was retrieving a pair of "naval gliders" that routinely collect information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity. A Chinese Dalang-III class submarine rescue ship then stopped within 500 yards (meters) of the Bowditch and snatched one of the probes. The Americans safely hoisted the other one back onto their ship. Davis said he could not recall another time when something like this has happened, and the Pentagon issued a statement calling on Beijing to "immediately" return the probe that it had "unlawfully seized." The US personnel "were asking over bridge-to-bridge radio to please leave it there," Davis said. Other than a brief acknowledgment that it had received the message, the Chinese ship did not respond. "The only thing they said after they were sailing off into the distance was: 'We are returning to normal operations,'" Davis said. Washington has issued a formal request through diplomatic channels to ask for the probe back. "It is ours. It is clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again," Davis said. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said China had acted unlawfully. "The UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle) is a sovereign immune vessel of the United States. We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law," Cook said in a statement. - Heightened tensions - Davis said the seized vessel is off-the-shelf technology that is commercially available for about $150,000. Data it gathers are unclassified and can be used to help submarines navigate and determine sonar ranges in murky waters. The incident comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China sea, which is laced with the world's most heavily traveled international trade routes. New satellite imagery made public Wednesday by a US-based think tank showed China apparently has installed what appeared to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems on seven islets in the Spratly chain. While the United States takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly stressed all maritime claims must comply with international law. The US military has conducted several "freedom of navigation" operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims. Such missions have drawn howls of fury from China, which accuses Washington of provocation and increasing the risk of a military mishap. The USNS Bowditch is a research and survey vessel, and does not look like a warship. Adding to the tension, Beijing is facing a new US president in Donald Trump, who has questioned longstanding US policy on Taiwan, called Beijing a currency manipulator and threatened Chinese imports with punitive tariffs. The Chinese ship's hull number was ASR-510, the Pentagon said. By Associated Press BRUSSELS: French President Francois Hollande accused Russia on Thursday of reneging on its pledges in Syria, as a local leader in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo appealed to Europe to send monitors to help ensure the safety of civilians being evacuated. "I have been talking constantly to Russia, and Russia makes commitments that it is not keeping. Now it is time for us to conclude a cease-fire," Hollande told reporters as he arrived in Brussels for a summit of European Union leaders. "We can't leave women, men and children to suffer bombing, have their safety threatened, be taken by force and treated in such an undignified manner," he said. "The regimes that support (Syrian President) Bashar Assad will have to take responsibility for this extremely serious situation." Outside EU headquarters, the head of the local council of Aleppo, Brita Haj Hassan, warned that 50,000 civilians in eastern Aleppo "are about to be victims of a general massacre" by government troops. Speaking through an interpreter, he called for "a courageous position from the European Union, a position of sending of sending some forces to monitor the evacuation of civilians." "We never asked any country to go to war ... we only ask to save civilians and secure some corridors for their evacuation," Hassan said. Hassan said more than 800 wounded people in eastern Aleppo need evacuating urgently and over 5,000 others who are hurt should also leave. Residents in eastern Aleppo started to board buses and ambulances Thursday as the long-awaited pullout from the last rebel enclave in the embattled Syrian city got underway. The evacuation is part of a cease-fire deal reached this week to have the opposition surrender their last foothold in Aleppo to Syrian government control in the face of a devastating ground and air offensive by government forces. Hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed and tens of thousands displaced amid the Russian-backed Syrian government campaign to retake Aleppo. The EU has been largely sidelined during the conflict. It has chosen to focus its diplomatic efforts on securing a cease-fire, opening up humanitarian corridors for people to leave Aleppo and lobbying leaders in the region to try to end to more than five years of war. "I'm completely depressed about the situation in Aleppo, it's really tragic," said Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. Hassan was later invited into the EU summit, and sat alongside EU Council President Donald Tusk as he opened the meeting. In private talks with Hassan, Tusk acknowledged that "the last thing your people in Aleppo need today is more words of sympathy." "The only thing you need today is real and effective assistance," a visibly emotional Tusk said. BRUSSELS: French President Francois Hollande accused Russia on Thursday of reneging on its pledges in Syria, as a local leader in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo appealed to Europe to send monitors to help ensure the safety of civilians being evacuated. "I have been talking constantly to Russia, and Russia makes commitments that it is not keeping. Now it is time for us to conclude a cease-fire," Hollande told reporters as he arrived in Brussels for a summit of European Union leaders. "We can't leave women, men and children to suffer bombing, have their safety threatened, be taken by force and treated in such an undignified manner," he said. "The regimes that support (Syrian President) Bashar Assad will have to take responsibility for this extremely serious situation." Outside EU headquarters, the head of the local council of Aleppo, Brita Haj Hassan, warned that 50,000 civilians in eastern Aleppo "are about to be victims of a general massacre" by government troops. Speaking through an interpreter, he called for "a courageous position from the European Union, a position of sending of sending some forces to monitor the evacuation of civilians." "We never asked any country to go to war ... we only ask to save civilians and secure some corridors for their evacuation," Hassan said. Hassan said more than 800 wounded people in eastern Aleppo need evacuating urgently and over 5,000 others who are hurt should also leave. Residents in eastern Aleppo started to board buses and ambulances Thursday as the long-awaited pullout from the last rebel enclave in the embattled Syrian city got underway. The evacuation is part of a cease-fire deal reached this week to have the opposition surrender their last foothold in Aleppo to Syrian government control in the face of a devastating ground and air offensive by government forces. Hundreds of Syrian civilians have been killed and tens of thousands displaced amid the Russian-backed Syrian government campaign to retake Aleppo. The EU has been largely sidelined during the conflict. It has chosen to focus its diplomatic efforts on securing a cease-fire, opening up humanitarian corridors for people to leave Aleppo and lobbying leaders in the region to try to end to more than five years of war. "I'm completely depressed about the situation in Aleppo, it's really tragic," said Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. Hassan was later invited into the EU summit, and sat alongside EU Council President Donald Tusk as he opened the meeting. In private talks with Hassan, Tusk acknowledged that "the last thing your people in Aleppo need today is more words of sympathy." "The only thing you need today is real and effective assistance," a visibly emotional Tusk said. By Reuters ISTANBUL: Turkey is considering establishing a camp in Syria for civilians being evacuated from Aleppo and the number of people brought out of the city could reach 100,000, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Thursday. Kaynak told reporters at Turkey's Cilvegozu border gate that there were not enough shelters in Syria's Idlib province, where the evacuees are being brought, and that additional facilities would eventually be needed. His comments were broadcast live. He said one convoy of 20 buses, capable of carrying around 1,000 people, was being used for the evacuation, shuttling in and out. He said 30-35 wounded people had been brought to a hospital near the town of Atme on Syria's border with Turkey. ISTANBUL: Turkey is considering establishing a camp in Syria for civilians being evacuated from Aleppo and the number of people brought out of the city could reach 100,000, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Thursday. Kaynak told reporters at Turkey's Cilvegozu border gate that there were not enough shelters in Syria's Idlib province, where the evacuees are being brought, and that additional facilities would eventually be needed. His comments were broadcast live. He said one convoy of 20 buses, capable of carrying around 1,000 people, was being used for the evacuation, shuttling in and out. He said 30-35 wounded people had been brought to a hospital near the town of Atme on Syria's border with Turkey. By PTI OUAGADOUGOU: At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers were killed in what local authorities said was the biggest ever jihadist attack on the army, at a base near the restive border with Mali. "A detachment of our army's anti-terrorist force suffered a murderous attack which claimed the lives of 12 of our valiant soldiers and left some wounded," said President Rock Marc Christian Kabore yesterday, in an address to the nation. "I strongly condemn this horrible attack which shows the cruelty of these perpetrators," added Kabore, who did not specify the number of injured. Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the army's Nassoumbou base some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Burkina-Mali border, the high commissioner of Soum province, Mohamed Dah, earlier told AFP by phone. "They were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles," he said, adding that it was "the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated" against the army. Dah added that at least five attackers were killed although their bodies were removed from the scene by other assailants on motorcycles. A security source who asked not to be named said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black jihadist flags. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. This was the second direct attack against the Burkina army since jihadist assailants surfaced in the country in early 2015, mostly staging attacks in the north near the borders of Mali and Niger. But in January this year, three jihadists left dozens of people dead and 71 injured in an attack in the heart of the capital. Thirty people were killed when gunmen stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel and a nearby cafe in Ouagadougou. The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group behind a string of attacks in west Africa in recent years claimed responsibility for the strikes on the venues which were popular with Westerners. The army has, since 2012, had an anti-terrorist battalion deployed along the country's long border with Mali, an area which is frequently subjected to attacks and kidnappings. In October, Kabore had called on his countrymen to help fight back against the mounting jihadist threat. OUAGADOUGOU: At least 12 Burkina Faso soldiers were killed in what local authorities said was the biggest ever jihadist attack on the army, at a base near the restive border with Mali. "A detachment of our army's anti-terrorist force suffered a murderous attack which claimed the lives of 12 of our valiant soldiers and left some wounded," said President Rock Marc Christian Kabore yesterday, in an address to the nation. "I strongly condemn this horrible attack which shows the cruelty of these perpetrators," added Kabore, who did not specify the number of injured. Two more men were missing after around 40 jihadists riding pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the army's Nassoumbou base some 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Burkina-Mali border, the high commissioner of Soum province, Mohamed Dah, earlier told AFP by phone. "They were heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket-launchers. They opened fire at the depots, the tents and set fire to some of the vehicles," he said, adding that it was "the biggest jihadist attack ever perpetrated" against the army. Dah added that at least five attackers were killed although their bodies were removed from the scene by other assailants on motorcycles. A security source who asked not to be named said the assailants were wearing turbans and waving black jihadist flags. Troops at the Nassoumbou base are part of a 600-strong anti-terrorist battalion that was deployed in January 2013 when France sent in troops to counter a jihadist insurgency in northern Mali. This was the second direct attack against the Burkina army since jihadist assailants surfaced in the country in early 2015, mostly staging attacks in the north near the borders of Mali and Niger. But in January this year, three jihadists left dozens of people dead and 71 injured in an attack in the heart of the capital. Thirty people were killed when gunmen stormed the four-star Splendid Hotel and a nearby cafe in Ouagadougou. The Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group behind a string of attacks in west Africa in recent years claimed responsibility for the strikes on the venues which were popular with Westerners. The army has, since 2012, had an anti-terrorist battalion deployed along the country's long border with Mali, an area which is frequently subjected to attacks and kidnappings. In October, Kabore had called on his countrymen to help fight back against the mounting jihadist threat. By Associated Press WASHINGTON: The Latest on President Barack Obama's year-end news conference 7 p.m. The Senate intelligence committee says it will conduct a thorough, bipartisan investigation and hold hearings about what led to the Obama administration's Oct 7 statement that the Russian government directed hacking of political sites. Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina says, "The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads." California Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee, says his committee's ongoing oversight into the hacking has been stymied because the intelligence agencies have not provided information to the committee. Nunes says he is "alarmed that supposedly new information continues to leak to the media but has not been provided to Congress." Nunes said the committee has planned visits to the FBI, NSA, CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency in January to further investigate the hacking issue. 4:10 p.m. President Barack Obama says he won't express an opinion on whether electors should receive a briefing on Russian involvement in the U.S. election before they cast ballots at meetings across the country Monday. He says, "It's the American people's job, not the electors' job to decide my successor." The president describes the electoral college as a "vestige" and a "carry-over" from history. But he says that if politicians have a strong message the popular vote and electoral college vote should align. Obama adds that there's "no silver bullet" or "easy fix" to explain Donald Trump's surprise victory and increased political partisanship. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. ___ 4 p.m. President Barack Obama says he's advised Donald Trump to "think it through" before making any changes to the "one-China" policy. Trump has said he wouldn't feel bound by the decades-old policy in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. The "one-China" policy became an issue after Trump broke decades of diplomatic protocol by having a telephone conversation with Taiwan's president. Obama says he told Trump to have his full team in place and be fully briefed on issues before considering any changes. Obama said at his year-end news conference that the Taiwan issue is of utmost importance to the Chinese, and how they react to any potential change could be very significant. ___ 3:50 p.m. President Barack Obama is stopping short of saying President Vladimir Putin himself orchestrated the Russian hacking of U.S. political sites during the election. But he is confirming that it was done at the highest levels of the Kremlin. Obama says not much happens in Russia without a nod from Putin. He says he will let the public decide whether there were rogue high-level Russian officials acting without Putin's knowledge. Obama also says he wants to give the intelligence community a chance to issue a report on the hacking before the end of his administration. But he cautions that some information will be classified because disclosing it would divulge the way in which the U.S. has been able to collect the intelligence. ___ 3:45 p.m. President Barack Obama is criticizing Republicans for warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." He says Republicans are falling victim to efforts by Russia to weaken American democracy. Obama is citing a new survey showing that more than one-third of Republicans view Putin favorability. That's up from just 10 percent in July 2014. The president is speaking at his annual year-end press conference. Much of his appearance has been dedicated to discussing Russia's involvement in hacks of the Democratic National Committee and a top Clinton campaign staffer. ___ 3:35 p.m. President Barack Obama briefly paused his year-end news conference after an unidentified woman began to feel ill and medical help arrived. Obama sought help getting his doctor to come to the White House briefing room, where he was answering questions from reporters. At another point, he started telling people what doors to go through to get to the doctor's office. Journalists and photographers many of them dressed for the frigid weather packed the rather small briefing room for Obama's final news conference of the year, rendering it stuffy and uncomfortable. Reporters without assigned seats stood in the aisles, which is where the woman was when she began to feel ill. Obama is accustomed to people passing out at his events around the country just not in the White House briefing room. ___ 3:30 p.m. President Barack Obama says the U.S. would've had to be "all in and willing to take over Syria" for him to intervene more forcefully in the country's civil war. He says doing so wasn't feasible for many reasons. It would've required many U.S. troops; he lacked support from Congress and the right under international law; the U.S. already had costly deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan; Syria's opposition wasn't prepared to govern; and Russia and Iran were protecting Syria's government. Obama says military options short of invasion were tempting because "we wanted to do something." But it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Obama says he asked himself if he could do something to save lives. But he says his No. 1 priority was doing what was right for America. ___ 3 25 pm President Barack Obama says he's offered incoming President Donald Trump some "pretty specific suggestions" about safeguarding the integrity of the office and other institutions. Obama made the revelation during his year-end news conference at the White House. He offered no specifics about what the suggestions were. Obama says Trump "has listened" to him. But he says he can't say with certainty whether Trump will follow his advice. The president and Trump have spoken by telephone several times since they met in the Oval Office two days after election, and it's usually Trump who reveals that they've talked. Obama says their telephone conversations are "cordial" and not "defensive in any way," given their deep disagreements on the issues. ___ 3:20 p.m. President Barack Obama says he regrets not being able to transfer his own political success into Democratic races across the country. The president is acknowledging the failures of his party and himself to build up a broad base of support during his tenure. He says the party must do a better job of reaching out to all voters, even in states and counties they are unlikely to win. Obama says: "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." Democrats have lost more than 1,000 seats in Congress, state legislatures and governor's mansions during Obama's two-term. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. __ 3:17 p.m. President Barack Obama says everyone should be concerned about the level of cyber hacking that renders governments, businesses and individuals vulnerable. Speaking at his year-end news conference at the White House, Obama says Russian hacking during the election was not "some elaborate, complicated espionage scheme." He says the unsophisticated nature of what transpired concerns him and "it should concern all of us." Obama says the episode underscores the "constant challenge" the nation faces with hacking that happens every day. Obama commented on intelligence and law enforcement assessments that Russia intervened to try to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. ___ 3:05 p.m. President Barack Obama is defending how he's handled the hacking of political sites that took place before the November election. He says at a White House news conference that his goal is to send a clear message to Russia that such intrusions won't be tolerated. But he's not saying what the U.S. response will be. Obama says with the "hyperpartisan atmosphere" of the election, his main concern was the integrity of the election process. He says he wanted to make sure the U.S. public understood that the White House was trying to "play this thing straight." He says he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, and told him in these words to "cut it out." The White House hasn't commented about what a U.S. response might entail. Options could include a retaliatory cyberstrike on Russian networks or sanctions targeting Putin's associates. ___ 3 p.m. President Barack Obama says Syria, Russia and Iran have blood on their hands for what's happened in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Obama says the world is "united in horror" at the assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Obama at a White House news conference is accusing the Syrian government and its two powerful allies of deliberately "surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," and targeting aid workers and medical personnel. He says entire neighborhoods have been reduced to "rubble and dust." The president also says civilians have been executed. Obama acknowledges that Syria's almost 6-year civil war has been among the hardest issues he's faced. Despite his failure to stop the conflict, Obama isn't saying anything to suggest a change in U.S. strategy. ___ 2:46 p.m. President Barack Obama is using his year-end news conference to boast about his administration's achievements. Obama is citing a number of positive economic indicators such as a declining unemployment rate and higher rates of insured people under his health overhaul. And he's highlighting diplomatic achievements among them, the reopening of relations with Cuba. Obama says he's leaving the country "stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started." But he's reminding the public that there's more to be done on the country's biggest problems. He says he's going to continue working to push the agenda of his administration after leaving office. WASHINGTON: The Latest on President Barack Obama's year-end news conference 7 p.m. The Senate intelligence committee says it will conduct a thorough, bipartisan investigation and hold hearings about what led to the Obama administration's Oct 7 statement that the Russian government directed hacking of political sites. Chairman Richard Burr of North Carolina says, "The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads." California Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House intelligence committee, says his committee's ongoing oversight into the hacking has been stymied because the intelligence agencies have not provided information to the committee. Nunes says he is "alarmed that supposedly new information continues to leak to the media but has not been provided to Congress." Nunes said the committee has planned visits to the FBI, NSA, CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency in January to further investigate the hacking issue. 4:10 p.m. President Barack Obama says he won't express an opinion on whether electors should receive a briefing on Russian involvement in the U.S. election before they cast ballots at meetings across the country Monday. He says, "It's the American people's job, not the electors' job to decide my successor." The president describes the electoral college as a "vestige" and a "carry-over" from history. But he says that if politicians have a strong message the popular vote and electoral college vote should align. Obama adds that there's "no silver bullet" or "easy fix" to explain Donald Trump's surprise victory and increased political partisanship. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. ___ 4 p.m. President Barack Obama says he's advised Donald Trump to "think it through" before making any changes to the "one-China" policy. Trump has said he wouldn't feel bound by the decades-old policy in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. The "one-China" policy became an issue after Trump broke decades of diplomatic protocol by having a telephone conversation with Taiwan's president. Obama says he told Trump to have his full team in place and be fully briefed on issues before considering any changes. Obama said at his year-end news conference that the Taiwan issue is of utmost importance to the Chinese, and how they react to any potential change could be very significant. ___ 3:50 p.m. President Barack Obama is stopping short of saying President Vladimir Putin himself orchestrated the Russian hacking of U.S. political sites during the election. But he is confirming that it was done at the highest levels of the Kremlin. Obama says not much happens in Russia without a nod from Putin. He says he will let the public decide whether there were rogue high-level Russian officials acting without Putin's knowledge. Obama also says he wants to give the intelligence community a chance to issue a report on the hacking before the end of his administration. But he cautions that some information will be classified because disclosing it would divulge the way in which the U.S. has been able to collect the intelligence. ___ 3:45 p.m. President Barack Obama is criticizing Republicans for warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." He says Republicans are falling victim to efforts by Russia to weaken American democracy. Obama is citing a new survey showing that more than one-third of Republicans view Putin favorability. That's up from just 10 percent in July 2014. The president is speaking at his annual year-end press conference. Much of his appearance has been dedicated to discussing Russia's involvement in hacks of the Democratic National Committee and a top Clinton campaign staffer. ___ 3:35 p.m. President Barack Obama briefly paused his year-end news conference after an unidentified woman began to feel ill and medical help arrived. Obama sought help getting his doctor to come to the White House briefing room, where he was answering questions from reporters. At another point, he started telling people what doors to go through to get to the doctor's office. Journalists and photographers many of them dressed for the frigid weather packed the rather small briefing room for Obama's final news conference of the year, rendering it stuffy and uncomfortable. Reporters without assigned seats stood in the aisles, which is where the woman was when she began to feel ill. Obama is accustomed to people passing out at his events around the country just not in the White House briefing room. ___ 3:30 p.m. President Barack Obama says the U.S. would've had to be "all in and willing to take over Syria" for him to intervene more forcefully in the country's civil war. He says doing so wasn't feasible for many reasons. It would've required many U.S. troops; he lacked support from Congress and the right under international law; the U.S. already had costly deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan; Syria's opposition wasn't prepared to govern; and Russia and Iran were protecting Syria's government. Obama says military options short of invasion were tempting because "we wanted to do something." But it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Obama says he asked himself if he could do something to save lives. But he says his No. 1 priority was doing what was right for America. ___ 3 25 pm President Barack Obama says he's offered incoming President Donald Trump some "pretty specific suggestions" about safeguarding the integrity of the office and other institutions. Obama made the revelation during his year-end news conference at the White House. He offered no specifics about what the suggestions were. Obama says Trump "has listened" to him. But he says he can't say with certainty whether Trump will follow his advice. The president and Trump have spoken by telephone several times since they met in the Oval Office two days after election, and it's usually Trump who reveals that they've talked. Obama says their telephone conversations are "cordial" and not "defensive in any way," given their deep disagreements on the issues. ___ 3:20 p.m. President Barack Obama says he regrets not being able to transfer his own political success into Democratic races across the country. The president is acknowledging the failures of his party and himself to build up a broad base of support during his tenure. He says the party must do a better job of reaching out to all voters, even in states and counties they are unlikely to win. Obama says: "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." Democrats have lost more than 1,000 seats in Congress, state legislatures and governor's mansions during Obama's two-term. Obama is speaking at his annual year-end news conference. __ 3:17 p.m. President Barack Obama says everyone should be concerned about the level of cyber hacking that renders governments, businesses and individuals vulnerable. Speaking at his year-end news conference at the White House, Obama says Russian hacking during the election was not "some elaborate, complicated espionage scheme." He says the unsophisticated nature of what transpired concerns him and "it should concern all of us." Obama says the episode underscores the "constant challenge" the nation faces with hacking that happens every day. Obama commented on intelligence and law enforcement assessments that Russia intervened to try to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. ___ 3:05 p.m. President Barack Obama is defending how he's handled the hacking of political sites that took place before the November election. He says at a White House news conference that his goal is to send a clear message to Russia that such intrusions won't be tolerated. But he's not saying what the U.S. response will be. Obama says with the "hyperpartisan atmosphere" of the election, his main concern was the integrity of the election process. He says he wanted to make sure the U.S. public understood that the White House was trying to "play this thing straight." He says he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, and told him in these words to "cut it out." The White House hasn't commented about what a U.S. response might entail. Options could include a retaliatory cyberstrike on Russian networks or sanctions targeting Putin's associates. ___ 3 p.m. President Barack Obama says Syria, Russia and Iran have blood on their hands for what's happened in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Obama says the world is "united in horror" at the assault on rebel-held areas of Aleppo. Obama at a White House news conference is accusing the Syrian government and its two powerful allies of deliberately "surrounding, besieging and starving innocent civilians," and targeting aid workers and medical personnel. He says entire neighborhoods have been reduced to "rubble and dust." The president also says civilians have been executed. Obama acknowledges that Syria's almost 6-year civil war has been among the hardest issues he's faced. Despite his failure to stop the conflict, Obama isn't saying anything to suggest a change in U.S. strategy. ___ 2:46 p.m. President Barack Obama is using his year-end news conference to boast about his administration's achievements. Obama is citing a number of positive economic indicators such as a declining unemployment rate and higher rates of insured people under his health overhaul. And he's highlighting diplomatic achievements among them, the reopening of relations with Cuba. Obama says he's leaving the country "stronger and more prosperous than it was when we started." But he's reminding the public that there's more to be done on the country's biggest problems. He says he's going to continue working to push the agenda of his administration after leaving office. By AFP WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama warned his successor Donald Trump on Friday against provoking a "very significant" response from China by reaching out to Taiwan. Trump has broken with four decades of US diplomacy by suggesting Washington's "One China" stance may be reviewed and by accepting a call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has already expressed anger at Trump's move. Tension between the world's two greatest powers is running high, as was underlined Thursday when Chinese sailors seized an unmanned US naval probe in the South China Sea. Obama, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for Trump, has taken a cautious stance with the Asian giant and urged the president-elect to proceed with care. "The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation," he told reporters at an end of year news conference at the White House. "And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they'll treat some other issues. "This goes to the core of how they see themselves, and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant." - 'Crush his own toes' - On Monday, China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned that Beijing would not allow "any force in the world" to play tough with Beijing over its territorial claims. In a shot across Trump's bows, Wang said anyone who "tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests... will lift a rock only to crush his own toes." A Chinese spokesman also warned the Taiwanese not to get any ideas, warning: "Facts will show those people that 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end." Since Trump's declaration, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first live fire exercises involving dozens of ships and aircraft. Taiwan's defense minister, meanwhile, has urged young people to join the armed forces. Trump took a congratulatory call from Tsai after he won the November 9 US presidential election, one of dozens he received from leaders around the world. At first it was not clear whether he had done so without realizing that China would see it as an affront or whether it was a deliberate change in practice by his incoming administration. But, challenged by critics over his apparently reckless move, Trump doubled down and insisted he would not accept China "dictating" to him over protocol. And, resuming the attacks on Chinese trade policy he made throughout his campaign, he implied that US support for "One China" would depend on Beijing making concessions. - Courtesy calls - "I don't know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump told Fox News on Sunday. Obama was careful not to condemn Trump's initiative out of hand, but warned that if ties between Beijing and Washington break down, both sides will be worse off. "So I think it's fine for him to take a look at it," Obama said. "What I have advised the president-elect is that across the board on foreign policy you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way." And he implicitly criticized Trump's decision to make diplomatic moves without seeking the advice of the State Department and US intelligence agencies. "My advice to him has been that before he starts having a lot of interactions with foreign governments other than the usual courtesy calls that he should want to have his full team in place," he said. "He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience." WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama warned his successor Donald Trump on Friday against provoking a "very significant" response from China by reaching out to Taiwan. Trump has broken with four decades of US diplomacy by suggesting Washington's "One China" stance may be reviewed and by accepting a call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has already expressed anger at Trump's move. Tension between the world's two greatest powers is running high, as was underlined Thursday when Chinese sailors seized an unmanned US naval probe in the South China Sea. Obama, who leaves office on January 20 to make way for Trump, has taken a cautious stance with the Asian giant and urged the president-elect to proceed with care. "The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation," he told reporters at an end of year news conference at the White House. "And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they'll treat some other issues. "This goes to the core of how they see themselves, and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant." - 'Crush his own toes' - On Monday, China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned that Beijing would not allow "any force in the world" to play tough with Beijing over its territorial claims. In a shot across Trump's bows, Wang said anyone who "tries to sabotage the One China policy or harm China's core interests... will lift a rock only to crush his own toes." A Chinese spokesman also warned the Taiwanese not to get any ideas, warning: "Facts will show those people that 'Taiwan independence' is a dead end." Since Trump's declaration, China's Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first live fire exercises involving dozens of ships and aircraft. Taiwan's defense minister, meanwhile, has urged young people to join the armed forces. Trump took a congratulatory call from Tsai after he won the November 9 US presidential election, one of dozens he received from leaders around the world. At first it was not clear whether he had done so without realizing that China would see it as an affront or whether it was a deliberate change in practice by his incoming administration. But, challenged by critics over his apparently reckless move, Trump doubled down and insisted he would not accept China "dictating" to him over protocol. And, resuming the attacks on Chinese trade policy he made throughout his campaign, he implied that US support for "One China" would depend on Beijing making concessions. - Courtesy calls - "I don't know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump told Fox News on Sunday. Obama was careful not to condemn Trump's initiative out of hand, but warned that if ties between Beijing and Washington break down, both sides will be worse off. "So I think it's fine for him to take a look at it," Obama said. "What I have advised the president-elect is that across the board on foreign policy you want to make sure that you're doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way." And he implicitly criticized Trump's decision to make diplomatic moves without seeking the advice of the State Department and US intelligence agencies. "My advice to him has been that before he starts having a lot of interactions with foreign governments other than the usual courtesy calls that he should want to have his full team in place," he said. "He should want his team to be fully briefed on what's gone on in the past and where the potential pitfalls may be, where the opportunities are, what we've learned from eight years of experience." By Associated Press WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama suggested strongly on Friday that Russia's Vladimir Putin knew about the email hackings that roiled the U.S. presidential race, and he urged his successor, Republican Donald Trump, to back a bipartisan investigation into the matter. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said in his year-end news conference. The president said he had warned Putin there would be serious consequences it he did not "cut it out," though Obama did not specify the extent or timing of any U.S. retaliation for the hacking, which many Democrats believe contributed to Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton. Obama also expressed bewilderment over Republican lawmakers and voters alike who now say they approve of Putin, declaring, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." Trump has dismissed recent talk about hacking and the election as "ridiculous." Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference with the U.S. election. She said Thursday night, "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." Obama did not publicly support that theory Friday. He did, however, chide the media for that he called an "obsession" with the flood of hacked Democratic emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. Separately, Obama has blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in their stronghold of Aleppo. Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria, but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He said that while military options short of invasion were tempting, it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Still, he pinned the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said as he addressed reporters from the White House briefing room shortly before leaving on his annual Christmas vacation to Hawaii. The news conference lasted about an hour and a half, longer than usual. The president is ending his eighth year in office with his own popularity on the rise, though Trump's election is expected to unwind many of Obama's policies. He's leaving his successor a stronger economy than he inherited, but also the intractable conflict in Syria and troubling issue of whether Russia was meddling in the U.S. election to back Trump. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded with "high confidence" that Russia interfered in the election on Trump's behalf. The president-elect has disputed that conclusion, setting up a potential confrontation with lawmakers in both parties. The president rejected any notion that the dispute over the origin of the hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Trump. Despite fiercely criticizing each other during the election, Obama and Trump have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Obama said of Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." The president did weigh in on Trump's decision to speak with the leader of Taiwan, a phone call that broke decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol. Obama advised Trump to "think it through" before making changes the "one-China" policy, in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Trump has openly questioned why the U.S. upholds that policy, particularly given that Washington has other contacts with Taiwan. Offering his own take, Obama noted that Taiwan is of utmost importance to the Chinese and Beijing could have a significant response to any change in U.S. policy. Trump's election has upended the Democratic Party, which expected to not only win the White House but also carry the Senate. Instead, the party finds itself out of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. In a moment of self-reflection, Obama acknowledged that he had not been able to transfer his own popularity and electoral success to other sin his party. "It is not something that I've been able to transfer to candidates in midterms or build a sustaining organization around," Obama said. "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." As he leaves office, the president has said the shaping the future of the Democratic Party now falls to others. But he all but endorsed his Labor Secretary Tom Perez to head the Democratic National Committee, lavishing praise on his Cabinet aide. The DNC leadership elections have become a proxy fight in the broader battle for control of the party after eight years of Obama's leadership. WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama suggested strongly on Friday that Russia's Vladimir Putin knew about the email hackings that roiled the U.S. presidential race, and he urged his successor, Republican Donald Trump, to back a bipartisan investigation into the matter. "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin," Obama said in his year-end news conference. The president said he had warned Putin there would be serious consequences it he did not "cut it out," though Obama did not specify the extent or timing of any U.S. retaliation for the hacking, which many Democrats believe contributed to Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton. Obama also expressed bewilderment over Republican lawmakers and voters alike who now say they approve of Putin, declaring, "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave." Trump has dismissed recent talk about hacking and the election as "ridiculous." Clinton has even more directly cited Russian interference with the U.S. election. She said Thursday night, "Vladimir Putin himself directed the covert cyberattacks against our electoral system, against our democracy, apparently because he has a personal beef against me." Obama did not publicly support that theory Friday. He did, however, chide the media for that he called an "obsession" with the flood of hacked Democratic emails that were made public during the election's final stretch. U.S. intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump have heightened the already tense relationship between Washington and Moscow. Separately, Obama has blamed Russia for standing in the way of international efforts to stop the civil war in Syria, where government forces have beaten back rebels in their stronghold of Aleppo. Obama said he feels "responsible" for some of the suffering in Syria, but he defended his decision to avoid significant military action there. He said that while military options short of invasion were tempting, it was "impossible to do this on the cheap." Still, he pinned the bulk of the blame on Russia, as well as Iran, for propping up Syrian President Bashar Assad. "This blood and these atrocities are on their hands," he said as he addressed reporters from the White House briefing room shortly before leaving on his annual Christmas vacation to Hawaii. The news conference lasted about an hour and a half, longer than usual. The president is ending his eighth year in office with his own popularity on the rise, though Trump's election is expected to unwind many of Obama's policies. He's leaving his successor a stronger economy than he inherited, but also the intractable conflict in Syria and troubling issue of whether Russia was meddling in the U.S. election to back Trump. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded with "high confidence" that Russia interfered in the election on Trump's behalf. The president-elect has disputed that conclusion, setting up a potential confrontation with lawmakers in both parties. The president rejected any notion that the dispute over the origin of the hacking was disrupting efforts to smoothly transfer power to Trump. Despite fiercely criticizing each other during the election, Obama and Trump have spoken multiple times since the campaign ended. "He has listened," Obama said of Trump. "I can't say he will end up implementing. But the conversations themselves have been cordial." The president did weigh in on Trump's decision to speak with the leader of Taiwan, a phone call that broke decades of U.S. diplomatic protocol. Obama advised Trump to "think it through" before making changes the "one-China" policy, in which the U.S. recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Trump has openly questioned why the U.S. upholds that policy, particularly given that Washington has other contacts with Taiwan. Offering his own take, Obama noted that Taiwan is of utmost importance to the Chinese and Beijing could have a significant response to any change in U.S. policy. Trump's election has upended the Democratic Party, which expected to not only win the White House but also carry the Senate. Instead, the party finds itself out of power on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. In a moment of self-reflection, Obama acknowledged that he had not been able to transfer his own popularity and electoral success to other sin his party. "It is not something that I've been able to transfer to candidates in midterms or build a sustaining organization around," Obama said. "That's something I would have liked to have done more of but it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House." As he leaves office, the president has said the shaping the future of the Democratic Party now falls to others. But he all but endorsed his Labor Secretary Tom Perez to head the Democratic National Committee, lavishing praise on his Cabinet aide. The DNC leadership elections have become a proxy fight in the broader battle for control of the party after eight years of Obama's leadership. It's win-or-go-home time for Newport County football teams This season marks the first time in three years all three Aquidneck Island high school football teams have qualified for postseason play. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 73F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 58F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Brain connections that play a key role in complex thinking skills show the poorest health with advancing age, new research suggests. Connections supporting functions such as movement and hearing are relatively well preserved in later life, the findings show. Scientists carrying out the most comprehensive study to date on ageing and the brain's connections charted subtle ways in which the brain's connections weaken with age. Knowing how and where connections between brain cells - so-called white matter - decline as we age is important in understanding why some people's brains and thinking skills age better than others. Worsening brain connections as we age contribute to a decline in thinking skills, such as reasoning, memory and speed of thinking. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Researchers from the University of Edinburgh analysed brain scans from more than 3,500 people aged between 45 and 75 taking part in the UK Biobank study. Researchers say the data will provide more valuable insights into healthy brain and mental ageing, as well as making contributions to understanding a range of diseases and conditions. The study was published in Nature Communications journal. Dr Simon Cox, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology (CCACE), who led the study, said: "By precisely mapping which connections of the brain are most sensitive to age, and comparing different ways of measuring them, we hope to provide a reference point for future brain research in health and disease. "This is only one of the first of many exciting brain imaging results still to come from this important national health resource." Professor Ian Deary, Director of CCACE, said: "Until recently, studies of brain scans with this number of people were not possible. Day by day the UK Biobank sample grows, and this will make it possible to look carefully at the environmental and genetic factors that are associated with more or less healthy brains in older age." Professor Paul Matthews of Imperial College London, Chair of the UK Biobank Expert Working Group, who was not involved in the study, said: "This report provides an early example of the impact that early opening of the growing UK Biobank Imaging Enhancement database for access by researchers world-wide will have. "The large numbers of subjects in the database has enabled the group to rapidly characterise the ways in which the brain changes with age - and to do so with the confidence that large numbers of observations allow. "This study highlights the feasibility of defining what is typical, to inform the development of quantitative MRI measures for decision making in the clinic." A Kobe University research team has pinpointed the mechanism underlying astrocyte-mediated restoration of brain tissue after an injury. This could lead to new treatments that encourage regeneration by limiting damage to neurons incurred by reduced blood supply or trauma. A research team led by Associate Professor Mitsuharu ENDO and Professor Yasuhiro MINAMI (both from the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University) has pinpointed the mechanism underlying astrocyte-mediated restoration of brain tissue after an injury. This could lead to new treatments that encourage regeneration by limiting damage to neurons incurred by reduced blood supply or trauma. The findings were published on October 11 in the online version of GLIA ahead of print release in January 2017. When the brain is damaged by trauma or ischemia (restriction in blood supply), immune cells such as macrophages and lymphocytes dispose of the damaged neurons with an inflammatory response. However, an excessive inflammatory response can also harm healthy neurons. Astrocytes are a type of glial cell, and the most numerous cell within the human cerebral cortex. In addition to their supportive role in providing nutrients to neurons, studies have shown that they have various other functions, including the direct or active regulation of neuronal activities. It has recently become clear that astrocytes also have an important function in the restoration of injured brain tissue. While astrocytes do not normally proliferate in healthy brains, they start to proliferate and increase their numbers around injured areas and minimize inflammation by surrounding the damaged neurons, other astrocytes, and inflammatory cells that have entered the damaged zone. Until now the mechanism that prompts astrocytes to proliferate in response to injury was unclear. The research team focused on the fact that the astrocytes which proliferate around injured areas acquire characteristics similar to neural stem cells. The receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2, a cell surface protein, is highly expressed in neural stem cells in the developing brain. Normally the Ror2 gene is "switched off" within adult brains, but these findings showed that when the brain was injured, Ror2 was expressed in a certain population of the astrocytes around the injured area. Ror2 is an important cell-surface protein that regulates the proliferation of neural stem cells, so the researchers proposed that Ror2 was regulating the proliferation of astrocytes around the injured areas. They tested this using model mice for which the Ror2 gene did not express in astrocytes. In these mice, the number of proliferating astrocytes after injury showed a remarkable decrease, and the density of astrocytes around the injury site was reduced. Using cultured astrocytes, the team analyzed the mechanism for activating the Ror2 gene, and ascertained that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) can "switch on" Ror2 in some astrocytes. This research showed that in injured brains, the astrocytes that show (high) expression of Ror2 induced by bFGF signal are primarily responsible for starting proliferation. bFGF is produced by different cell types, including neurons and astrocytes in the injury zone that have escaped damage. Among the astrocytes that received these bFGF signals around the injury zone, some express Ror2 and some do not. The fact that proliferating astrocytes after brain injury are reduced during aging raises the possibility that the population of astrocytes that can express Ror2 might decrease during aging, which could cause an increase in senile dementia. Researchers are aiming to clarify the mechanism that creates these different cell populations of astrocytes. By artificially controlling the proliferation of astrocytes, in the future we can potentially minimize damage caused to neurons by brain injuries and establish a new treatment that encourages regeneration of damaged brain areas. A viral infection in a pregnant woman not only affects her subsequent ability to provide maternal care but can also trigger depression in her offspring, which can then even extend into the next generation as a result of changes to genetic mechanisms in the brain. This is the central finding of a transgenerational study conducted at MedUni Vienna in collaboration with the Division of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology (Daniela Pollak) and the Division of Neonatology and Paediatric Critical Care (Angelika Berger), which has now been published in the leading journal "Brain, Behaviour and Immunity". The researchers were able to demonstrate the following effects in the mouse model: 1.) stimulation of the immune system, comparable with a viral infection in the pregnant mother, results in diminished maternal behaviour towards her offspring after birth. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today 2.) this results in the tendency for offspring to develop depression and 3.) that daughters in their turn are less maternal towards their own offspring, even if they suffer no infection, so that the next generation is also more likely to develop depression. "We were therefore able to show that there is a transgenerational effect and that epigenetic changes occur in the brain," explains Daniela Pollak, who, together with her team, is generally concerned with identifying the neurobiological bases of psychiatric illnesses, particularly depression and anxiety disorders. Although epigenetic changes do not involve any change in the actual DNA sequence of the individual in question, changes due to external influences - such as the lack of maternal care in this case - take the form of changes in DNA methylation (modulation of the basic building blocks of the genetic material of a cell) or histone acetylation (modulation of the histone proteins). Says Pollak: "This brings about a change in the regulatory mechanisms, how the genes are read." This leads to a permanent behavioural change or development of a mental illness. Additional studies are now required to clarify the causality - for example, whether infection of the mother in itself affects the baby's brain and is responsible for development of depression - and also what exactly happens in the mother's brain during infection. Further studies will even look at the father's behaviour. Premature babies: deficiencies offset by a lot of physical contact The study was conducted in collaboration with neonatologist Angelika Berger of MedUni Vienna's Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The background: It has been proven that an premature start in life - approximately one in ten children in the world is born prematurely before the 32nd week of gestation - is often associated with impaired cognitive and emotional development. Gates Foundation Grant to address market need for high volume, affordable and rapid cycle time pharmaceutical proteins. DuPont Industrial Biosciences today announced receipt of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a new area of research. The research project, which commences immediately, aims to create new production systems to enable affordable, protein-based biologic medications, such as antibodies. Through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, DuPont will apply its world-class capabilities in the areas of protein engineering, pathway engineering and cell factories to the field of protein drugs. The DuPont Industrial Biosciences business is a world leader in the manufacture and scale up of industrial proteins. When applied to pharmaceutical protein production, this approach has the potential to enable rapid scale-up and lower costs at high volumes, making protein drugs such as monoclonal antibodies potentially suitable for infectious diseases, effectively managing outbreaks and providing affordable supply to people around the world. We cannot underestimate the complexity of this challenge. At the same time, we cannot turn our backs on the possibility of improving access and affordability of life-saving medications for communities around the world, said William F. Feehery, president, DuPont Industrial Biosciences. This is cutting-edge science. We are honored to work with a leading organization like The Gates Foundation to tackle this type of issue, as no one company or entity can get there on their own. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has long recognized that solving the worlds greatest global health and development issues is a long-term effort, and they have shown enormous commitment to the discovery of new drugs through strategic partnerships and grants like this one. The foundation seeks ideas and solutions from diverse fields, investing in discovery research through a variety of mechanisms. DuPont has been at the forefront of scientific advancement for 214 years, applying the latest innovation to global challenges. In a time when public-funded research is diminishing, companies like DuPont are engaging in new ways with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to tackle large societal challenges. A number of genetic variants associated with susceptibility to oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer have been described in an international study published in the journal Nature Genetics. The most noteworthy finding was an association between cancer of the oropharynx and certain polymorphisms (alternative versions of a given DNA sequence) found in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genomic region. HLAs, proteins found on the surface of most cells in the body, play an important role in recognizing potential threats and triggering the immune response to foreign substances. According to Eloiza Helena Tajara, a professor at the Sao Jose do Rio Preto Medical School (FAMERP) in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, and co-author of the article, a specific group of variants in this region, located on chromosome 6, is associated with enhanced protection against oropharyngeal cancer caused by human papilloma virus (HPV). "Previous research showed that these same variants confer protection against cancer of the uterine cervix, which is known to be associated with HPV," Tajara said. "Our findings suggest that the genes that control the immune system play a key role in predisposition to HPV-related tumors. This discovery points to the possibility of clarifying the mechanisms whereby such tumors develop and of designing methods for monitoring risk groups." The study was coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and involved 40 research groups in Europe, the United States, and South America. The Brazilian participants are members of the Head & Neck Genome Project (GENCAPO), a consortium of scientists affiliated with several institutions. In a recent study, GENCAPO evaluated more than 7 million genetic variants in samples from 6,034 patients with head and neck cancer. The cases comprised 2,990 oral cavity tumors, 2,641 oropharyngeal tumors, 305 tumors in the hypopharynx (the bottom part of the pharynx near the esophagus), and 168 tumors in other regions or more than one region concurrently. The study population also included samples from 6,585 people without cancer as controls. The researchers detected eight loci (genomic sites) associated with susceptibility to these types of tumor. Seven had not previously been linked to mouth or throat cancer. According to Tajara, the IARC set out to focus on analyzing oral cavity and oropharynx tumors because there are no genome-wide association studies of these two tumor types. Although these cancers are predominantly caused by tobacco and alcohol use, the importance of HPV, particularly HPV16, as a cause of oropharyngeal cancer has become more evident in recent years. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today "The throat is the most affected area among head and neck cancer subsites, likely because its tissue is more receptive to the virus," Tajara said. In the article, the researchers note that the proportion of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer cases is estimated to be approximately 60% in the US and 30% in Europe but lower in South America. "One finding that was expected to some extent was the absence of HLA associations with oropharyngeal cancer, which may be due to the fact that the frequency of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is less than 10% in South America," Tajara said. "The same factor appears to account for the weak association between the variants identified and HPV-positive oral cavity cancer, which is also far less frequent than HPV-negative oral cavity cancer." In her view, the strong rise in cases linked to HPV in the US could be partly due to a change in sexual habits, especially regarding the practice of oral sex. "It's possible that Brazil is still in a transition stage and that the habits that favor infection are only starting to become more common. If so, the effects will appear in a few years' time," she said. Previous studies have already shown that HPV-associated head and neck cancers affect younger people and develop rapidly. By contrast, cases associated with tobacco and alcohol use as well as poor oral hygiene are more prevalent in those over fifty years old and progress more slowly but are harder to treat. In addition to DNA in tissue samples taken from participants of the study, data were also collected on environmental and clinical factors possibly associated with the development of this type of cancer, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and age. According to Tajara, thanks to the joint efforts of 40 research groups it was possible to obtain data on a significant number of patients, thus enhancing the impact and reliability of the results. The GENCAPO team contributed some 1,000 samples from tumors for analysis. "Based on these results, we can try to understand from the molecular standpoint how the observed polymorphisms interfere with the response to HPV infection," Tajara said. "This may give us clues as to how to protect people and how to reduce the incidence of this type of tumor." E-cigarette vapour does not damage DNA, even at doses 28 times that of equivalent smoke exposure. Scientists at British American Tobacco used lab-based cellular tests to examine the impact of cigarette smoke and Vype e-cigarette vapour on human lung cells. The most serious kind of DNA damage is double-strand break, which effectively means that both strands of the DNA molecule have been broken. This is a possible precursor to cancer and potentially lethal to the cell. 'We have been able to show that there is significant DNA damage in human lung cells exposed to smoke, but that this is not case with e-cigarette vapour,' explains Dr James Murphy, Head of Risk Substantiation at British American Tobacco. 'These findings add to evidence on the likely reduced risks of vaping, compared to smoking,' he said. The research is published in Toxicology Letters. Double-strand break Cellular DNA can become damaged when exposed to toxicants, like those in cigarette smoke for example. DNA double-strand break (DSB) in which both strands of the DNA molecule are broken, is the most serious type of DNA damage. The cell attempts to repair the DNA damage by modifying the protein or histone around which the DNA is wrapped. The changes observed in this histone can be used as an indicator of the level of DSB. These changes can be detected using a well-established test called a H2AX assay. This test was used to compare the impact of the 3R4F reference cigarette and Vype ePen and Vype eStick (commercially available e-cigarettes) on human lung cells. This test was used in combination with an exposure system (Vitrocell VC) that allows lung cells to be exposed to aerosol in the lab in a way that mimics exposure in the body when consumers inhale. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today This combination of tests allowed for the assessment of the whole aerosol, be it smoke or vapour. Previous studies focused on only the particulate fraction of smoke. The results show that cigarette smoke induced significant DNA damage in human lung cells, in a dose dependent manner - that is, the higher the dose, the more DNA damage was induced. E-cigarette vapour produced no affect, even when the dose used was 28 times higher than the equivalent smoke exposure. The results confirm that cigarette smoke is genotoxic (causes genetic damage) and, at higher doses, cytotoxic (can cause cell death). In contrast, e-cigarette vapour is neither genotoxic nor cytotoxic, even at extremely high doses. 'We know that we can be confident in our results because we have shown that e-cigarette aerosol droplets are effectively delivered to cell surfaces in lab-based biological tests,' explains Murphy. Many in the public health community believe e-cigarettes offer great potential for reducing the public health impact of smoking. Public Health England, an executive body of the UK Department of Health, recently published a report saying that the current expert estimate is that using e-cigarettes is around 95% safer than smoking cigarettes, although more research is needed. The Royal College of Physicians have said that the public can be reassured that e-cigarettes are much safer then smoking and that they should be widely promoted as an alternative to cigarettes. While Australians understand the importance of reducing unnecessary medical testing, many people still want their doctors to conduct all the available tests related to their condition regardless of need, according to a new report from Choosing Wisely Australia. Choosing Wisely is part of a global movement working to improve the quality and safety of healthcare for consumers by eliminating unnecessary care, including tests, treatments and procedures. The initiative is led by Australias health profession and facilitated by NPS MedicineWise. The Choosing Wisely in Australia 2016 Report offers some key insights into the drivers of unnecessary healthcare and details the success of the campaign since it launched in Australia last year. Dr Lynn Weekes, CEO of NPS MedicineWise, said the report revealed some contradictory attitudes among consumers around medical testing and a need for better conversations between healthcare professionals and consumers around their testing and treatment options. It found 71% of people agreed with reducing unnecessary care, Dr Weekes said. However 74% indicated that if they were sick, their doctor should conduct all available medical tests related to their condition. Theres also an obvious disconnect between doctors and patients about why unnecessary testing is occurring. Of those we surveyed, 41% of GPs and 21% of specialists said they were asked by patients for unnecessary tests several times a week. But 79% of consumers said they had tests at their healthcare providers recommendation. This certainly highlights the need for better conversations on both sides. Our work with health professionals and consumers aims to eliminate medical practices where evidence shows they provide no benefit and, in some cases, can lead to harm. We do this by promoting the latest recommendations on managing specific health concerns from Australias medical experts. Its also about fostering better conversations between healthcare professionals and their patients around care options, based on the most up-to-date evidence. Choosing Wisely Australia launched with six member organisations from Australias specialist medical colleges, societies and associations releasing 26 recommendations. This has grown to 28 (more than 70% of medical colleges) with 123 recommendations published. Dr Weekes said: Professor Mary Cannon from RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Department of Psychiatry has been awarded a highly prestigious European Research Councils (ERC) Consolidator Grant for research into psychotic experiences in young people. Just 314 projects from 2,274 applications across Europe were funded with Professor Mary Cannon being the only researcher in an Irish institution to be awarded. Professor Mary Cannon, Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health in RCSI and Consultant Psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital, was funded for a project entitled iHEAR. Investigating the meanings and mechanisms of psychotic experiences in young people: a novel, mixed-methods approach. This multidisciplinary project will draw together many different specialities such as epidemiology, social science and neuroscience to examine the relationship between early life stress and psychotic experiences in young people. Speaking after the announcement of the funding Professor Mary Cannon said: I am delighted to have been awarded this research grant from the ERC. One fifth of young people have experienced psychotic symptoms, such as hearing voices, at some point in their lives. This funding will allow my team to find out why some young people have these experiences and some do not. The iHEAR programme will result in new information which will help to determine which of these young people might be at risk for mental health problems in adulthood and allow the development of innovative interventions. concluded Professor Cannon. Director of Research and Innovation at RCSI, Professor Ray Stallings, welcomed the announcement this morning saying: Professor Cannon and her team have been doing some pioneering work in the area of youth mental health over the past several years and the awarding of this grant is a tremendous testament to her dedication and the importance of the work that she does. As one of Irelands leading researchers in the field of young peoples mental health, Professor Cannon researches risk factors for psychosis and other mental illnesses in young people. In 2014 she was the only woman among eleven Irish researchers named in the Thomson Reuters "World's Most Influential Scientific Minds" report. This report honours the 3,000 most highly cited scientists in the world. Professor Cannon was appointed by Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Helen McEntee TD, to a new taskforce on youth mental health in August. These coveted ERC Consolidator Grants support research in the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities and form part of the Excellent Science pillar of the European Union research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020. Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation stated: The ERC has been established to find the best quality in science, to cherish it and support it, making Europe a centre of international scientific excellence. The new grant winners have been awarded this competitive funding because they are top-notch scientists with truly ground-breaking ideas - investment in their success will pay back. The ERC evaluated 2,274 research proposals during this round, out of which 13.8% have been selected for funding. Twenty-eight percent of grants were awarded to female applicants. The maximum grant awarded for an individual project was 2 million. The grants will create an estimated 2,000 jobs for postdocs, PhD students and other staff working in the grantees' research teams in 23 countries across Europe. RCSI is ranked in the top 250 institutions worldwide and joint 1st place in the Republic of Ireland in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2016-2017). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. FAU has demonstrated its strength in research once again: the University is conducting a new research project together with Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Universitatsklinikum Erlangen and other European partners in which researchers will develop an innovative hybrid device that combines different medical imaging technologies and will help stroke patients in particular to receive quicker diagnosis and treatment. The project is being funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology for Health (EIT Health), a publicly financed initiative that aims to ensure sustainable development of innovative health care solutions. The project 'Predictive Prevention and Personalized Interventional Stroke Therapy - P3 Stroke' is one of only two in Germany and eight in Europe to receive funding. EIT Health connects successful regional clusters with international networks of excellent universities, institutes, university hospitals and commercial research centres through the European research and innovation framework programme Horizon 2020. Over 140 companies, research institutions and universities from across Europe collaborate on a diverse range of projects as part of EIT Health; FAU and Siemens Healthineers are among the key partners. The initiative will receive around 80 million euros of annual funding over the next seven years. Thanks to these resources, EIT Health is able to develop innovative products, educational programmes and services that will help Europe to deal with the challenges of demographic change. To receive sought-after funding from EIT Health, a group of partners must submit a high-quality project. Prof. Dr. Dr. Jurgen Schuttler, Dean of FAU's Faculty of Medicine, is delighted that this was achieved with the P3 Stroke project: 'The project strengthens the connection between the University, Universitatsklinikum Erlangen and partners in industry such as Siemens Healthineers, a collaboration that meets the highest standards in Europe.' Time is brain - faster treatment for stroke patients 'With the P3 Stroke project we want to improve the diagnosis and interventional treatment of strokes on a fundamental level by combining the use of magnetic resonance imaging and angiography,' explains Dr. Heinrich Kolem, CEO of Advanced Therapies at Siemens Healthineers. Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Conducting separate examinations using different devices takes time, particularly due to the need to transfer patients between locations. This is valuable time that stroke patients do not have. As an average of 2 million neurons are destroyed every minute, every minutes counts during efforts to prevent major damage after a stroke. In collaboration with Siemens Healthineers, the team of researchers led by Prof. Dr. Arnd Dorfler, head of the Department of Neuroradiology at Universitatsklinikum Erlangen, and Prof. Dr. Andreas Maier, head of the Pattern Recognition Lab at FAU, now want to combine two imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging and angiography. This innovative approach will be used for diagnosis and immediate treatment, reducing the time needed for patient transfers and saving valuable time when treating stroke patients. 'The pioneering system enables an exact picture of the development of the condition to be obtained without delay, allowing for effective treatment,' Professor Dorfler says. While the clinical evaluation of the new methods will be led by the Department of Neuroradiology at Universitatsklinikum Erlangen in close collaboration with the Department of Neurology, the Pattern Recognition Lab is responsible for developing the software: 'We have been conducting research in various areas of medical imaging for many years and can therefore contribute a considerable amount of expertise,' Professor Maier explains. Although the researchers see stroke patients as the main group who will benefit from the new technology, this does not mean that it will be limited to this area. 'The system will also have applications in minimally invasive treatment for other neuro- and cardiovascular disorders and in oncology,' Professor Dorfler says optimistically. RESEARCHERS at the University of Huddersfield have helped develop a lab device that could speed up the adoption of new anti-cancer treatments. It is a small, versatile and simple-to-use microfluidic system that consists of a series of chambers, enabling scientists to monitor the response of hypoxic cells - deficient in oxygen and therefore resistant to therapy - when drugs are introduced. Professor Roger Phillips and Dr Simon Allison at the University of Huddersfield formed a collaboration with researchers in Spain - based at institutions that include the Aragon Institute of Biomedical Research - after meeting them during a project that involved a UK scientific instrument-making company. Lab Diagnostics & Automation eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today This led to research and development of the new microfluidic device, now described in an article, with Professor Phillips and Dr Allison among the co-authors. Titled Development and characterisation of a microfluidic model of the tumour microenvironment, it appears in Scientific Reports, from the publishers of leading journal Nature. Professor Phillips is a specialist in the evaluation of new anti-cancer drugs, with a specific interest in the micro environments surrounding tumours as a target for drug development. He explained that the advantage of the new device - made of glass or plastic - is that it enables researchers to visualise the micro environment and monitor how cells respond in real time to the drug being tested. Also, the test cells - after being grown in the lab - can be spheroid, as opposed to the flat "2D" cells normally relied on by researchers. The "3D" nature of cells inside the microfluidic device means that it is possible to visualise what is happening to them internally. "We can see the drugs moving in, and see hypoxia developing in the centre," said Professor Phillips, who added that the new system could also be used for a wide range of other applications. One of the conclusions of the article in Scientific Reports is that while there have been major improvements in knowledge of cancer cell biology, clinical approval of new drugs has not kept pace. One strategy in response is to "develop new in vitro preclinical models that are better predictors of success in advanced preclinical and clinical testing". Now the microfluidic device will help address the urgent need for a new in vitro model able to mimic key aspects of the tumour microenvironment and therefore allow early assessment of the effects of drugs, speeding up the adoption of those that are shown to be therapeutically effective. New research at the Guangdong Medical University suggests a laser-based approach could be the latest breakthrough in prostate cancer detection. The proposed non-invasive blood test uses a combination of two techniques: surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and a new mathematical analysis technique called support vector machine (SVM). Together, these techniques produce an accuracy up to 98.1 percent; a far cry from the relative guesswork of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests. Professor Shaoxin Li, the study leader at the University commented, Compared to traditional screening methods, this method has the advantage of being non-invasive, highly sensitive, and very simple for prostate cancer screening. Cancer is one of the diseases that seriously threatens human life. It is important to improve the survival of patients by early diagnosis and treatment. Currently, there are many diagnostic methods availableincluding B-mode ultrasound, CT scan, biopsy and histopathology assessmentbut these techniques have various limitations. For example, B-mode ultrasound only discerns the solid tumour and is therefore not applicable to patients in the early stages of cancer. Biopsy and histopathology assessment are the gold standard of cancer examination but they are invasive and impractical for high-risk patients with multiple suspicious lesions. We hope to develop a rapid, non-destructive, optical diagnosis method to solve these problems Professor Shaoxin Li, Lead author,Guangdong Medical University Professor Li continues Advanced Raman spectroscopy has provided the possibility to meet our goals and after much evaluation of alternative Raman systems, including portable Raman instruments, we chose the Renishaw inVia confocal Raman microscope. We selected the inVia because it offers continuous scanning from 50 to 4000 wavenumbers [using SynchroScan, Renishaws patented method of acquiring wide-range spectra] and its high sensitivity makes it suitable for biological tissue measurement. It is also highly automated with software that is powerful and easy to use. To illustrate the sensitivity in use, Professor Li shows an example comparing SERS spectra of serum samples with silver colloids. The differences in the spectra reveal the enormous potential to diagnose cancer using the serum SERS technique. The results above show normalized mean SERS spectra of prostate cancer and normal serum sample. (a) cancer, (b) normal, (c) difference in spectra (cancer-normal). The shaded area represents the standard deviations. Source: Renishaw The United States Surgeon General recently issued a report that adolescents' use of electronic cigarettes has more than tripled since 2011. As recently as 2010, e-cigarettes were rare, but in 2015, 40 percent of high school students said they had used e-cigarettes at least once and 16 percent reported that they used such products in the past 30 days. "Kids are a kind of 'third rail' issue," said Amy Fairchild, PhD, MPH, the associate dean of academic affairs at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. "On the one hand, they require extra protections. On the other, though, we also have to place their risks of harm into perspective. The consequences of combustible tobacco use are well known and serious, while e-cigaretteswhile not risk freerepresent a far lesser harm." The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines e-cigarettes and other "electronic nicotine delivery systems" as devices that heat a liquid containing nicotineas well as flavorings, propylene glycol, glycerin, and other ingredientsinto an aerosol that the user inhales in a process often called vaping. Earlier this year, the FDA issued a finalized rule to regulate all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Many individual states have their own regulations of e-cigarettes, specifying where they can be smoked and by whom. For example, California has one of the more restrictive statutes, and requires those buying electronic cigarettes to be aged 21 or older. The FDA requires only that purchasers be at least 18. Distribution of free samples of e-cigarettes and vending machine sales were also prohibited with the same act, but the new regulations did not remove flavored e-cigarettes from the market, as anti-smoking groups had hoped. Still, these laws don't seem to be stopping middle and high school students from obtaining e-cigarettes. One way to do so might be by targeting their pocketbooks. "Taxation may represent a key strategy that can protect kids and still reduce overall harms," said Fairchild, who is an expert in public health ethics. "Kids are extremely price sensitive. There is evidence to suggest that you can tax e-cigarettes and other less risky smokeless products out of their hands. At the same time, if the tax is lower than for combustible cigarettes, current smokers aren't also stripped of a financial incentive to switch to reduced risk products." Part of the reason for the extra concern about teen use of e-cigarettes has to do with properties of the drug itself. Nicotine can harm developing brains, meaning that anyone under the age of about 25 shouldn't be using any products containing the drug. There is also evidence that teens who vape will be more likely to smoke traditional cigarettes as well. "Still, it's important to underscore that, as worrisome as the experimentation with e-cigarettes is, youth smoking continues to decrease," Fairchild said. "Both amongst American adults and children under 18, the CDC reported in November 2015, smoking has reached all-time lows." The United Kingdom will likely this week become the first country to officially authorise clinical use of ground-breaking mitochondrial donation IVF to enable healthy babies to be born to women carrying deadly mitochondrial disease, which starves major organs of energy. Regulators meeting in London on 15 December are expected to green-light recommendations by an expert panel to license so-called three-person baby IVF, following the worlds most comprehensive global scientific and ethical review of the treatment over a ten-year period. Affected Australian women should also be given the chance to have healthy babies through mitochondrial donation, according to Sean Murray, CEO of the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (AMDF), which supports patients and funds research into the debilitating genetic disorder. At least 60 Australian babies born each year suffer with severe and life-threatening forms of mitochondrial disease that could be prevented by using the mothers and fathers nuclear DNA and replacing the mothers defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy mitochondrial DNA from a donor egg, Mr Murray said. Following these pioneering UK developments, the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the local mitochondrial disease community looks forward to the Australian Government following suit and changing the law to give Australian parents-to-be the choice to access mitochondrial donation and have a healthy biological child. The AMDF earlier welcomed the 30 November report on mitochondrial donation by an independent expert panel convened by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Mitochondrial donation has been permitted in the UK since legislative changes in October 2015; the HFEA requested further research and a final report before deciding whether to allow clinical practice. The expert report to be considered at the HFEA meeting recommends mitochondrial donation be approved for cautious use in specific circumstances where inheritance of the disease is likely to cause death or serious disease and where there are no acceptable alternatives. Mr Murray said it is exciting that mitochondrial donation could be available to women in the UK in 2017, and the first babies born later next year. Based on the extensive evidence available, the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation believes the potential benefits of mitochondrial replacement outweigh the risks for unborn children who would otherwise almost certainly develop potentially fatal mitochondrial disease. The Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation supports making this ground-breaking treatment available for in-clinic use under certain specific conditions and strict regulation, he said. At least one Australian child born each week or 62 children every year will develop a severe or life-threatening form of mitochondrial disease, and half will die in childhood. A further 30 Australian children born each week or 1540 every year are at risk for developing a mild to moderately disabling form of mitochondrial disease during their lifetime. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today Professor David Thorburn is Head of Mitochondrial Research at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and a member of the AMDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel and the AMDF Mitochondrial Donation Working Group, and made a submission to the independent panel. Research evidence indicates mitochondrial donation techniques are sufficiently developed and safe for in-clinic use, subject to specific conditions defined by the UK legislation and the expert report recommendations, Professor Thorburn said. The report to the HFEA concludes that recent scientific advances have sufficiently addressed the potential carry-over of faulty mitochondrial DNA. It also recommends numerous safeguards such as carefully selecting women to undergo the procedure as a clinical risk reduction treatment, providing full information about potential limitations and risk, and undertaking genetic testing when the embryo is at 15-weeks gestation. It is important to note that the donor mitochondrial DNA only replaces 37 mtDNA genes contributing about 0.1 per cent of the babys genetic make-up compared with approximately 20,000 genes in the nucleus, which are not replaced. The mitochondrial DNA contribution is important for converting food into energy but appears to make no significant contribution to appearance, behaviour or other features, which are overwhelmingly determined by the nuclear genes and environment, he said. Mitochondrial disease (mito) is a debilitating and potentially fatal genetic disorder that starves the bodys cells of energy, depriving our major organs of the power they need to function properly. The ability to walk, run or even just stand up unaided can be a daily struggle for people with mito, which has few treatments and no cure and can cause any symptom in any organ at any age. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells that generate 90 per cent of the energy fuelling our bodies, particularly muscles and major organs like our brain, heart, liver, ears and eyes. Depending on which parts of their bodies are most affected and to what extent, people with mito can lose their sight or hearing, be unable to walk, eat or talk normally, have strokes or seizures, develop liver disease or diabetes, suffer cardiac, respiratory or digestive problems, or experience developmental delays or intellectual disability. More than 1 in 200 Australians at least 120,000 people have genetic mutations that predispose their mitochondria to fail early, and may develop mitochondrial disease sometime in their lives. Many people are symptomatic but undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, some are not yet symptomatic, and others are unknowingly at risk of passing the disease to their unborn children. California shut down Uber's testing of self-driving cars shortly after the ride-sharing service launched its pilot in San Francisco, citing a lack of permit and threatening to sue. Uber Technologies Inc. launched the test without a permit as required by the US state. Twenty companies have been approved to test a total of 130 vehicles, the California Department of Motor Vehicles pointed out. In a letter to Uber, the DMV counsel Brian Soublet said the permit is required in part to protect public safety. "It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit," he wrote. "It is essential that Uber takes appropriate measure to ensure safety of the public. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action." Uber was not immediately available to comment on the DMV action. Uber rolled out its driverless cars in San Francisco after an initial pilot earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "We're excited to start operating in our hometown of San Francisco with Volvo XC90s, our first cars built in partnership with a major auto-manufacturer," Uber said in a statement. A consumer protection organization based in Santa Monica, Consumer Watchdog, earlier Wednesday condemned the Uber pilot. "Consumer Watchdog today called on San Francisco police to impound Uber's robot cars operating without a permit on city streets and asked City Attorney Dennis Herrera to file criminal charges against Uber CEO Travis Kalanick," it said in a statement. Consumer Watchdog cited reports of Uber's robot cars running red lights in San Francisco. Backers of autonomous vehicles say the technology can reduce more than 90 percent of accidents, which mostly are due to human error. Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators. In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft. The Mini Clubman has officially landed in India and has been priced at Rs 37,90,000 (ex-showroom New Delhi). This is the fifth Mini launched in India and the first estate ever by the British brand. It is imported from the UK in CBU form.The Clubman is only available in the Cooper S model.The British automaker confirmed the Clubman's entry in India during Auto Expo 2016. It is the second new model that was launched this year. The Mini Convertible was also launched recently.Like its siblings, the Clubman has a large, single-frame grille, oval headlamps and clamshell bonnet. The tailgate, however, is unlike any seen on a conventional hatchback or estate, it has barn-style doors.Also read: The Mini Clubman Gets the John Cooper Works Treatment The dash on the Clubman is similar to the ones on the latest Minis, with a large centrally mounted infotainment system. Like other Minis, the Clubman too comes with a list of customisation options, available at prices ranging from Rs 17,500-2,00,000.Some of the options include 18-inch Star Spoke, LED headlights, Melting Silver Metallic-coloured alloy wheels, six more upholstery choices, LED headlights and cornering lights, Black Matt roof rails, Park Distance Control (front & rear) with Park Assist Package, panoramic glass roof, head-up display, 8.8-inch touchscreen Navigation System Professional infotainment system with 20GB internal memory, reversing camera and Harman Kardon sound system.Also read: 2017 Mini Countryman Unveiled, First Ever Mini To Get Plug-In Hybrid Mode The Clubman Cooper S is powered by a 2.0-litre TwinPower Turbo turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that develops 192 bhp and 280 Nm of torque. The engine is paired to 8-speed Steptronic automatic transmission as standard. The Clubman Cooper S can reach from 0-100 km/hin 7.2 seconds and go further up to a top speed of 228 km/h. New Delhi: Tata Sons on Friday clarified that Ratan Tata has no plans now of stepping down from the chairmanship of the Tata Trusts. A statement issued by the Tata Sons reads, "Further to news reports that have appeared in the media today, Ratan Tata, Interim Chairman, clarified that there are no plans for his stepping down from the chairmanship of the Tata Trusts at this point in time." "The reference to the media discussion with some Trustees relate to the process being put in place for the leadership succession in the Trusts in the future, to enable an ordered and smooth transition of leadership," it said. "Mr. Tata also emphasized that the Trusts were undertaking many initiatives that had national impact and he is looking forward to continuing his involvement with these initiatives in the Trusts. He was however keen that a process should be in place for a smooth succession at an appropriate time," it reads. Tata's reaction came after a section of media reported that Ratan Tata is most likely to step down as chairman of the Tata Trusts. Some quoted Tata's long-time confidant R K Krishna Kumar, saying, "The next chairman of the Trusts will be an Indian, but not necessarily a Parsi or a member of the Tata family." Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which rules Punjab in alliance with the BJP, has expressed concerns over the possible negative impact Modi governments demonetisation drive may have on their prospects in assembly elections early next year. Sources told CNN-News18 that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal were apprehensive of fuelling an apparent anti-incumbency sentiment in the state. SAD has intimated the Finance Ministry and the BJP that the current cash crunch, if not eased in the next 10-15 days, will have a considerable impact on their chances in the forthcoming elections, sources said. The party has officially backed the demonetisation move but Sukhbir Badal acknowledged that people were facing difficulties. He had said he would urge the Union Finance Ministry to smoothen cash flow to Punjab. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who was in Adampur to lay the foundation stone of a civilian airport, reiterated the benefits of demonetization but refrained from addressing demonetisation-related concerns. The Badals impressed upon Jaitley to streamline cash flow so as to avoid anti-government sentiment, sources said. Some Akali ministers too were reportedly of the view that if the demonetisation fallout wasnt dealt with quickly, it may add to peoples anger against the SAD-BJP combine. Sensing the public mood, Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh has reiterated that farmers were going through a crisis due to lack of liquidity in the market. In what could give sleepless nights not just to the Vasundhara Raje led BJP government in Rajasthan but also to the people in days to come, Gujjar leaders have warned the government to find ways to retrieve the SBC five percent quota within a week or face another round of protests. Rajasthan High Court struck down the five percent quota under Special Backward Classes Act to Gujjars and four other castes Rebaris, Banjaras, Gadiya Lohars and Gadariyas on grounds that it was unconstitutional, last week. Following the courts order discontent has been simmering among Gujjar leaders who believe the government has done precious little to put up their case effectively before the court. The government, meanwhile, has filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court which is expected to come up on Dec 20. Despite governments assurances to the community that it will also file a review petition before the Rajasthan High Court, Gujjar leaders have warned the government to act within seven days or the Gujjars will resort to their old ways (launch another round of protests). A meeting between government representatives including Minister for Social Justice Arun Chaturvedi, Minister for Panchayati Raj Rajendra Rathore and GAD Minister Hem Singh Bhadana and Gujjar leaders failed to yield results since Gujjar leaders were not convinced with the measures being taken by the government to salvage the SBC quota. The delegation of the Akhil Bharatiya Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti led by Gujjar leader Col Bainsla has demanded that the government give them quota within the 50 percent limit through classification of the OBC quota or bring a new law which is under Schedule IX of the constitution thereby keeping it out of judicial purview. We dont want the government to move the Supreme Court since if the government moves the SC with its current poorly prepared report of the SBC commission then the community will permanently lose out on getting quota under SBC, said Himmat Singh Gujjar, spokesperson of the delegation. The government and the Gujjar leaders are now scheduled to meet on Dec 22. Holding Raje government responsible for the setback of SBC quota being struck down by the court Gujjars have also announced a sit in with Gujjars from across the country at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on January 15. Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti president Ramveer Singh Bidhuri said if it were not for the negligence on the part of Raje government which failed to get the SBC Act included in Schedule IX of the Constitution the community would have to resort to protests and sit ins. The threat of Gujjar quota protest looms over the state and NCR during the upcoming holiday season if the government fails to address the issue through engaging with the Gujjar leaders. New Delhi: India and Russia have agreed to extend the range of Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles beyond the current 300 km, with the country joining the elite Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the government said on Friday. The proposal for undertaking joint technical development work for extending range beyond 300km has been executed between India and Russia, minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. In its first entry into any multilateral export control regime, India joined the MTCR in June as a full member. China, which stonewalled India's entry into the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) at the Seoul plenary in June, is not a member of the 34-nation MTCR. "Subsequent to the India joining MTCR, Russia and India have agreed to extend the range of Brahmos supersonic cruise missile beyond 300 km," Bhamre said. Brahmos is a short-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that travels at speeds of up to Mach 3.0. India and Russia are reportedly also planning to develop a new generation of these missiles that could likely have an ability to hit protected targets with pinpoint accuracy. New Delhi: India needs to strive for greater economic prosperity to eradicate backwardness and poverty, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said, asserting that development of industry is central to this progress. He also said that companies must examine how ethical their actions are and how fair are their practices. "Development of industry is central to economic progress. The success of our industrial sector depends on the efficient use of our resources including labour as much as the productive use of capital," Mukherjee said at the World Confluence of Humanity, Power and Spirituality organised by industry body Assocham. He said it is necessary to infuse the culture of hard work, sincerity and dedication in the workforce and this is where spirituality has a role to play. A happy and satisfied workforce is the key to a healthy industrial eco-system, he added. "At the organisational level, companies have to look at how they are upholding their values. How congruous are their actions with regard to what they espouse as their values? How ethical are their actions and how fair are their practices? What behaviours in their employees are they rewarding?," the President said. Organisations have to ensure that their culture, the way they do things, promotes a spirit of inclusion and collaboration, he said, adding that working towards self- actualisation has to be a way of life for the employees. "So what is spirituality for us today? I believe it is an India that lives by the values we have always upheld through our history; an India that embraces diversity, that is open and inclusive, where people live with the values of inclusion and tolerance. It is also an India where people strive for achievement, for personal growth, and for balance in life," Mukherjee said. He pointed out that if business leaders and other stakeholders come together, the country can actualise the potential of its bright young population. "A work force that is motivated and content, works with devotion and passion, strives for achievement and betterment, indicates the power of a spiritual and honest mind. We need to inspire commitment in our workforce," he said. The President observed that if "we approach work with the same piousness as we have when we worship God, we will experience a sense of being uplifted; of being connected to a greater power. "If we think of pleasing God through our work and that God is watching us, our work will have a different quality and meaning. We will then move closer to perfection". Planned Actual No. of Bills for Passing Finance 0 2 Legislative 19 2 No. of Bills for Introduction Finance 0 2 Legislative 9 8 Lok Sabha lost 107 hours of scheduled time to disruptions; Rajya Sabha lost 101 hours. Only two of the 330 listed questions in Rajya Sabha could be answered orally. 90% of the planned legislative business could not be transacted. The month-long Winter Session of Parliament concluded on Friday, with the demonetisation row ensuring a virtual washout and making it one of the "least productive" sessions in the last 15 years.Due to the repeated disruptions, Lok Sabha lost 107 hours while Rajya Sabha lost about 101 hours.Negligible business was transacted during the 21 scheduled sittings of the session that began on November 16 and several important legislations like the one on GST were left pending.The only significant legislative action was the passage of the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill by both the Houses. Significantly, this bill was cleared on the last day after a brief debate and with rare bonhomie, similar to the one witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on it two days back.During the session, the Lok Sabha also passed the Income Tax Amendment Bill without any debate amid din but it could not be taken up for consideration in the Rajya Sabha. The only other legislative action was the approval of the Supplementary Demands for Grants."This has been one of the least productive Question Hour sessions for Rajya Sabha in the last three Parliaments. Previously, one of the 480 questions and none of the 420 questions were answered orally in the Winter sessions of 2010 and 2013, respectively," said PRS Legislative Research. While adjourning the two Houses sine die, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari expressed pain and anguish over the repeated disruptions.Ansari said "all sections" of the House need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation.In the Rajya Sabha, the debate on demonetisation took place on the first day of the session but subsequently the Opposition continuously created uproar demanding presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the entire discussion.The debate was again taken up once for an hour when Modi was present but it could not be carried forward.In the Lok Sabha, the debate could be hardly taken up even though both the government and opposition repeatedly said they were ready for a discussion on demonetisation announced on November 8.The deadlock occurred as the Opposition insisted on debate under a rule that entails voting, which was not acceptable to the ruling side.As deadlock between government and opposition persisted, an attempt was made to initiate the debate under Rule 193 which does not entail voting.TRS leader AP Jeethender Reddy tried to speak twice but members of some Opposition parties, particularly Trinamool Congress, scuttled the bid by creating pandemonium.Veteran parliamentarian and BJP stalwart LK Advani expressed deep anguish over the way Parliament was being run and on Thursday even remarked that he felt like resigning.(With PTI inputs) New Delhi: NIA is likely to file a comprehensive charge sheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack next week, naming Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, along with his brother Rauf Asghar, as accused. The charge sheet is likely to highlight the role of Jaish terror group in spreading mayhem in India and refer to the nefarious plans of the outfit, sources said. Immediately after the Pathankot incident, Rauf had hosted a video message claiming the responsibility for the terror strike and glorified the role of his brother Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. India will be using the charge sheet of NIA at various international fora to highlight the role of Masood Azhar in the case relating to the Pathankot terror strike carried out on January 2 this year. Launch of a diplomatic offensive against the Jaish and its chief Masood Azhar became an imperative after China continued to spurn efforts of India in getting UN sanctions against the terrorist and his group. The Home Ministry had given sanction to NIA to file the charge sheet against Azhar, his brother and two handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The four terrorists, after entering into India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur, had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base killing eight people including seven personnel of IAF and NSG. The charge sheet will name four terrorists involved in the attack as against six claimed by NSG. According to NIA, the terrorists, who were killed after two days of gunfight, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum and they were residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) of Pakistan respectively. The charge sheet will also include evidence of linking the footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal besides matching of DNA sample found from a soft drink can in the hijacked car of Punjab Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The Pathankot terror strike had seen a joint investigation team from Pakistan also arriving in India for carrying out a thorough probe. However, the Pakistani team, upon their return, claimed that India neither shared much of evidence nor allowed it to interrogate the security personnel involved in dealing with the attack. London: A seven-year-old Indian-origin boy surprised his teacher during a class project on writing to Santa Claus to list Christmas wishes when he asked for peace in war-torn Syria instead of traditional gifts. Aarush Anand, who studies in Year 3 at Nottingham High School in the East Midlands region of England, did not ask for any of the typical gifts associated with the festive season. "The only thing I want for Christmas is peace, like in Syria," Aarush wrote. In his note, he also told Santa not to be "stressed out" as "it's hard work going all over the world". "Please give money to charities. PS: Don't give me anything else," he signed off. Aarush's teacher Richard Miller said he was "taken aback" by the heartfelt letter. "When I read Aarush's, I was quite struck. I felt emotional about it because it was the last thing I was expecting to read, that he had taken himself off to write something that was completely different, that was unexpected. "I was really quite moved by that," he said. The letter was written on Wednesday as part of a Christmas-themed class exercise, where Miller said the aim was to practice letter writing as well as get into the Christmas spirit. Speaking about his note later, Aarush said: "In Syria, basically every day someone gets killed, and just not in Syria, in India and Pakistan too. "I don't really like war, and I've been reading about the world war and nuclear bomb in Japan and I feel I don't really like it. "Syria is like a mini version of a world war happening in one place and I thought I should write about Syria. Some people starve there. We are lucky that we have food here, and I'm lucky to come to this school and my mum and dad can educate me this much." New Delhi: Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken on Friday accused Aam Aadmi Party of going "beyond its authority" and allotting a land for its party office on 206, Rouse Avenue. "The power of land is a reserved subject and the decision is clearly beyond the powers of Delhi government. Despite Urban Development Department suggesting the intervention of Lt Governor of Delhi, the AAP-led government went ahead just with the Cabinet decision," he said. Maken said he had also written a letter to LG Najeeb Jung requesting him for a CBI enquiry into the issue. "Besides seeking an enquiry, we have also requested the Lt Governor to make some revelations on Shunglu Committee report and not to sit on it," he said. "If the same happens, even the BJP government will try to acquire corporation lands as the civic bodies are ruled by the BJP," he said. Mohali: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday hit out at Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging both the parties have a "tacit understanding" for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Interacting with mediapersons during the ISBT inauguration here, Badal took potshots Congress state unit president Amarinder Singh for suddenly "exhibiting love" for Punjab and meeting the Prime Minister for issues concerning the state. Earlier in the day, Singh along with a Congress delegation met PM Narendra Modi to raise the issue of the economic plight of debt-ridden Punjab farmers. "But where was Captain (Amarinder) earlier and why didn't he show this concern during the previous years," Badal asked. The Akali leader accused the former Punjab chief minister of doing "all this" with an eye on elections and described his new posturing as "nothing but a political stunt". Slamming AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Deputy CM described both Congress and AAP as part of the "same stock" who have "tacit understanding" to contest assembly elections as a "friendly match". Badal said Kejriwal only concentrated on holding rallies in Jalalabad and Majitha constituencies and never bothered to hold a gathering in the constituency of Singh which "proved" that AAP has an "unholy alliance" with Congress. New Delhi: The government on Friday announced another declaration scheme for black money holders wherein disclosures would attract 50% tax and penalty. The scheme ends on March 31, 2017. Unaccounted cash can be disclosed under the Prime Ministers Garib Kalyan Yojana that comes with 50% tax and penalty starting from tomorrow till March 31, 2017, Economic Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioned late PM Indira Gandhis decision to not implement the note ban despite her home ministers recommendations and said that the nation needed this bold decision to improve its economic standings. Hitting back, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the government was taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich. The war of words came hours after Opposition leaders, led by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, met President Pranab Mukherjee and apprised him about the demonetisation woes faced by the common man. The delegation included former PM Manmohan Singh. Heres a recap of the days developments: Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly defended demonetisation on the final day of the washed out winter session of Parliament and said if it had been done by Indira Gandhi in 1971 the nation would not have been where it is today. "We needed to do it in 1971. We have caused huge losses by not doing this since 1971," Modi told the BJP's Parliamentary Board in a speech on Friday. He also launched a scathing attack on the Congress and the opposition for not supporting the move which he said would stamp out black money in India. The Prime Minister, referring to former bureaucrat Madhav Godbole's book, said bureaucrats and ministers had recommended demonetisation to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who rejected the idea. "Godbole says in the book that Gandhi replied saying are no more elections to be fought by the Congress'? Chavan got the message and the recommendation was (dropped)," Modi said. "This was in 1971 when everybody recommended this. Had it been done in 1971, the nation wouldn't have been in this situation today," Modi said. Attacking the Congress party he said that for them the party came ahead of the nation but for the BJP the nation "came first". Modi spoke outside Parliament on the last day of the winter session that was washed away by bedlam over the spiking of the high value currency notes which has caused an unprecedented cash shortage in the country. The recording of the Prime Minister's speech was broadcast hours after he addressed the BJP Parliamentary Party. He said the Congress had put the party ahead of the nation but the BJP follows "nation first" ideology. Modi also took a dig at Leftists for opposing the government's November 8 decision to scrap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. "The Communists have compromised their ideology by aligning with the Congress," he sad and recalled how the late veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu had famously said that "Indira Gandhi survives on black money". "The government (of the Congress) is of the black money, by the black money and for the black money," Modi said, referring to Basu's remarks. (With inputs from IANS) New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and handed over a memorandum on farmers' loan waiving demands. Sources said that the meeting lasted for five minutes and Gandhi left after requesting the PM to look into the matter. "Farmers are committing suicide all over the country, government removed import duty on wheat; this is a devastating blow," Rahul said. The delegation comprised Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, party's leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, and other senior MPs. Meanwhile, during BJP Parliamentary Party meet, Modi slammed Congress and said that for them party is above the country but for the BJP countrys interests are supreme. He said, Earlier, Opposition would join hands against government over scams like 2G, coal gate but now Opposition is united against government's steps to curb black money and corruption. He urged people to adopt digital economy as a way of life and appreciated Bihar and Odisha chief ministers for welcoming demonetisation. To promote cash less society, party President Amit Shah told party MPs to spend a week in their constituency to explain the benefits of demonetisation. Athens: Greek lawmakers have approved a pension handout that has set the country on a collision course with hardline European creditors who accuse the struggling Eurozone member of defiance. A total of 196 lawmakers out of 257 present from across the party divide approved the bill deepening a row that has also brought simmering EU disputes over austerity to the fore. The handout measure, announced by under-pressure leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, earmarks 617 million euros (USD 656 million) for a one-off payment to poor pensioners. Athens says the pension handout will come out of a one-billion-euro tax surplus, but European creditors yesterday said the Greek move raised "significant concerns on both process and substance" regarding the country's bailout obligations. In the joint statement, representatives from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European rescue fund said they would now decide whether to uphold a Eurogroup decision granting Greece short-term debt relief earlier this month. Tsipras on Thursday said as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels that the situation had to be resolved "without blackmail" on the part of Greece's creditors. "I believe that we can have a breakthrough without blackmail and with respect of the sovereignty of each country," said the leftist leader, who fought with his European peers to within an inch of taking Greece out of the euro last year. Germany "is the only country, the only eurozone finance ministry, that raises an issue," he told reporters, adding that halting the debt relief "is outside the borders of reason." The issue will inevitably come on the agenda later today when Tsipras meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Berlin. After the EU summit Merkel said "a critical discussion has already begun" on the matter, but insisted "it is not my intention to negotiate with Greece about the Greek package" leaving that to the finance ministers. France weighed into the debate with uncharacteristic force, led by President Francois Hollande who insisted that Greece be "treated with dignity" in the ongoing dispute. A spokesman for Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Wednesday said the eurozone was suspending the recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens in retaliation at not being fully briefed on Tsipras's handout plans - which also include a lower sales tax for Greek islands sheltering migrants. The actions "of the Greek government appear to not be in line with our agreements," said the spokesman for Dijsselbloem, who heads the 19-nation eurozone, which oversees Greece's massive 86-billion euro bailout. Aleppo: Thousands of civilians and rebels left Aleppo on Thursday under an evacuation deal that will allow Syria's regime to take full control of the city after years of fighting. The International Committee of the Red Cross said the operation could take days as US Secretary of State John Kerry warned action was needed to prevent a Srebrenica-style massacre with tens of thousands of civilians still trapped in the city. Three convoys left Aleppo carrying wounded civilians, fighters and their families, with civilians mostly leaving on buses and ambulances. "Some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded, including children, were brought out," the head of the International Committee for the Red Cross in Syria, Marianne Gasser, said after the first two convoys left. "No one knows how many people are left in the east, and the evacuation could take days," she added. The withdrawal began a month to the day after Syrian government forces launched a major offensive to retake all of Aleppo, and will hand the regime its biggest victory in more than five years of civil war. In a video message to Syrians, President Bashar al-Assad said the "liberation" of Aleppo was "history in the making". - Thousands still trapped - US chief diplomat Kerry said what had already happened in the city was "unconscionable" but warned over the fate of "tens of thousands of lives that are now concentrated into a very small area of Aleppo". "And the last thing anybody wants to see... is that that small area turns into another Srebrenica," he said, referring to a 1995 Bosnian war massacre. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said Thursday that around 50,000 people were still trapped, including 40,000 civilians. The evacuations were announced on Thursday, after an initial plan for civilians and fighters to leave rebel-held parts of the city collapsed the previous day amid renewed clashes. They began with a convoy of ambulances and buses crossing into a government-held district in southern Aleppo around 2:30 pm (1230 GMT). A Syrian military source told AFP that the first convoy carried mostly civilians as well as around 200 rebel fighters. The vehicles arrived just over an hour later in opposition territory about five kilometres (three miles) west of the city, and they were followed by two more convoys. An AFP correspondent in the city's southern Al-Amiriyah district saw people piling on to green buses, filling seats and even sitting on the floor, with some worried there would not get another chance to leave. Many were in tears and some hesitated to board, afraid they would end up in the hands of regime forces. On the dusty window of one of the buses someone had written "One day we will return". A first evacuation attempt on Wednesday fell apart, with artillery exchanges and resumed air strikes rocking the city until the early hours of Thursday. But the agreement, brokered by Syrian regime ally Russia and opposition supporter Turkey, was revived following fresh talks. The defence ministry in Moscow said Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of the rebels leaving the city. The head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, said in Geneva that most of those evacuated from Aleppo would head to opposition stronghold Idlib, in Syria's northwest. De Mistura however warned that "Idlib will become the next Aleppo" if a ceasefire and political agreement for Syria is not found. - Pressure on Russia - The UN Security Council will meet Friday around 1700 GMT to discuss the crisis in Aleppo in response to a request by France, which is calling for international observers to be sent to monitor the situation and ensure aid deliveries. European Union leaders also tried to pile pressure on Russia Thursday, urging the Kremlin to protect civilians, but EU President Donald Tusk however acknowledged the bloc was largely powerless. "We know we are not effective enough. Unfortunately I know who is effective enough, not in humanitarian assistance but in bombing," Tusk said. Russia meanwhile accused the rebels of having violated the ceasefire as violence erupted before Wednesday's planned evacuation while Turkey accused Assad's regime and its allies of blocking people from leaving. Iran, another key Assad backer, was reported to have imposed new conditions on the agreement, including the evacuation of some civilians from two Shiite-majority villages in northwestern Syria under rebel siege. On Thursday, nearly 30 vehicles were headed to Fuaa and Kafraya to evacuate sick and wounded residents, the governor of neighbouring Hama province, Mohamed al-Hazouri, told state news agency SANA. A Syrian source on the ground told AFP that "1,200 injured and sick people and their families will be evacuated". Backed by foreign militia forces including fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement, the advance launched last month made rapid gains, leaving the rebels cornered in a tiny pocket of the territory they had controlled since 2012. More than 465 civilians died in east Aleppo during the assault and another 149 were killed by rebel rocket fire on government-held areas, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. - Shrinking rebel territory - More than 310,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began in 2011 with anti-government protests, and over half the population has been displaced, with millions becoming refugees. Diplomatic efforts -- including several rounds of peace talks in Geneva -- failed to make headway in resolving the conflict which saw a turning point last year when Russia launched an air war in support of Assad. With Aleppo out of rebel hands, the largest remaining rebel bastion is Idlib province, which is controlled by an alliance dominated by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he discussed the situation in Aleppo Thursday with US and Russian counterparts Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. After upping its involvement by brokering the Aleppo deal, Turkey said it would meet with Russia and Iran in Moscow on December 27 to discuss a political solution to the entire conflict. Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Friday for all sides to respect the ceasefire deal in Syrias Aleppo so that the evacuation of people from the citys devastated east could resume. I urge all parties and the international community to abide by the ceasefire agreement and support the implementation of the evacuation process, the Turkish leader said on Twitter. The ceasefire negotiated by Turkey in Aleppo and the continuation of evacuations is the last hope that remains for the innocent, he added. The people of Aleppo are not Alone, Erdogan said. We will do everything in our power to save innocent lives. The evacuation of east Aleppo is part of a ceasefire deal negotiated by Moscow and Ankara that entered into force Thursday after an initial attempt to halt the fighting failed the day before. But the Syrian regime suspended the vast evacuation operation on Friday, accusing the opposition of breaching the terms of the ceasefire deal. A school board workshop Thursday provided a snapshot of the needs and priorities for Lynchburg City Schools as the division prepares to submit its budget request for the 2017-18 school year to Lynchburg City Council. The LCS request for local funding is $42.1 million, a proposed increase of more than $3.5 million over its 2016-17 budget request. Priorities include pay raises for employees, additional teaching and support staff, covering increases in operating costs for the division and for the Virginia Retirement System, and tuition costs to add 18 more LCS slots at the Central Virginia Governors School for Science and Technology. LCS Superintendent Scott Brabrand referred to the proposal as a needs-based budget. The proposal brings the total operating budget for the division to more than $97.7 million, up from the 2016-17 adopted operating budget of $93 million, With a little more than $2.5 million requested for capital projects, the overall budget request for the 2017-18 school year is $100.3 million. Of the budget requests discussed Tuesday, $2.2 million was labeled as mandatory, and $1.2 million was designated as Tier 1, which is considered among the top budget priorities for the division. The largest single item in the mandatory budget request is the increased costs for the Virginia Retirement System rates, which is estimated to cost the division $571,959. Among the Tier 1 requests, the largest item is $518,271 for a salary increase for instructional assistants and teacher aides. Some school board members were quick to highlight their priorities while others simply collected information at Tuesdays meeting. One proposal that came under fire was the 18 additional Governors Schools slots, which would bring the total number of LCS spaces reserved up to 60. Members Regina Dolan-Sewell and James Coleman both stated they would not support the request for $84,600 to add Governors Schools slots as proposed in the budget for the next school year because they felt there were other opportunities for students that were underfunded by comparison. I would like to see a win-win budget, Coleman said. In order for there to be a win-win budget, the needs for equity, opportunity and engagement in that order have to be satisfied. Board member Susan Morrison stopped short of saying she wouldnt support any proposed items in the budget but emphasized a need to focus on salaries over funding new hires and programs. I just think that we, as a board, need to look at every penny that we have in our budget that we can put toward salaries, Morrison said. LCS Chief Financial Officer Anthony Beckles noted if City Council does not approve the $2.2 million in mandatory requests in the proposed budget, then cuts will be severe. The proposed budget will come before the school board in January for consideration. If the board approves the proposal, the request for funding will move to City Council for approval. School board member Derek Polley stated if City Council members prioritized not raising taxes over funding division needs, then it was important to hold them accountable for the status quo. Brabrand noted at the joint meeting of the school board and City Council in November that City Council had sent the division the message it needs to improve at a faster pace. I cant move faster with less, Brabrand said. You want to move faster, I need more. Beckles noted tweaks to the proposed budget still could come if state funding shifts in the proposed Virginia budget to be released by Gov. Terry McAuliffes office Friday. BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. If a black officer had not been at the scene of a deadly, racially motivated shooting spree in July in Bristol, Lakeem Scott said he would have kept firing his gun. That was among the revelations from an interview Scott gave to a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) agent on the day after the rampage. A transcript of the interview released Thursday, the same day Scott was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in Sullivan County (Tenn.) Criminal Court to one count of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder. Just after 2 a.m. on July 7, Scott, a black Army veteran, walked from his Bristol, Tennessee, apartment to the nearby Volunteer Parkway and fired randomly at passing motorists, according to police. Jennifer Rooney, a contract carrier for the Bristol Herald Courier newspaper, was fatally shot as she drove by. Scott then shot a Days Inn motel clerk and a police officer, who sustained only a superficial wound. Another driver was also injured by flying glass. Scott, 37, was shot several times by police. He acted alone, and the TBI determined he was troubled by fatal encounters across the country between black s and police. Scott was interviewed by TBI Special Agent Brian Fraley on July 8 while he was at Bristol Regional Medical Center recovering from his gunshot wounds. I could have ambushed them, but the black officer was there, Scott said, according to the transcript. Fraley later asked Scott if he wanted to hurt the white officers, and he said he did but also that I didnt really want to hurt nobody. It was just the simple fact they was just killing people was all. Scott also said he was upset that his people were dying. I was upset at my black people getting killed with no justice, he said. We do everything for this country, every damn thing. We give you all every damn thing, and we cant get no justice, no justice whatsoever. The shootings happened the day after Alton Sterling, a black man, was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Scott said he saw something on TV that upset him, and Fraley asked if it was the Baton Rouge shooting. Scott said yes. Bristol Tennessee Police Chief Blaine Wade said Thursday that the department is pleased with the life sentence. He is a danger to our society, Wade said of Scott. He did great harm to his victims that night and meant to do even more to our officers. According to a statement of facts , a cellphone found near Scott had been used to dial 911. This led investigators to believe that Scott called 911 with the intention of ambushing officers as they arrived. On Thursday, Scott entered the packed courtroom with a smile . While the judge was speaking to him, he spun side to side in the chair. Scott could have been convicted on federal hate crime charges, but the U.S. Department of Justice said those charges would not be pursued since Scott pleaded guilty and will serve a life sentence. He wont be eligible for parole until he serves 52 years. Jennifer Rooneys husband, David, and her father-in-law, Mike, were among family members at the sentencing. Both were emotional but said they were relieved they would not have to return to court for a trial. Were just happy that this is all over with before the holidays, said Mike Rooney. Were hoping David and the kids can relax a little bit and start to head back to a reasonably normal life. He added that he believes the case set race relations back 50 years in the region. Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus said its unusual for a murder case to wrap up in just five months. He said the Rooney family, the victims who survived the shootings and their families said they are satisfied Scott will be behind bars for the rest of his life. CHRISTIANSBURG The incriminating statements that Natalie Marie Keepers made as police searched for slain Blacksburg 13-year-old Nicole Lovell should be thrown out, Keepers lawyer argues in a motion filed this week in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Defense attorney Kris Olins motion is to be considered during what is now scheduled to be four days of motions hearings starting Jan. 17. Keepers, a 19-year-old Virginia Tech student when she was arrested in January, is set to begin a five-day jury trial on March 27. She faces charges of being an accessory to first-degree murder and concealing a body. She is accused of helping another Tech student, David Edmond Eisenhauer, also 19, after he allegedly lured Lovell out of her Blacksburg home and stabbed her to death. Eisenhauer is charged with first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body. He is scheduled for a 10day jury trial in Montgomery County Circuit Court starting March 6. If the judge agrees with the new defense motion to discard Keepers statements, jurors would not hear about Keepers description of her link with Eisenhauer, or about her confession to helping hide Lovells body, which first was placed along Craig Creek Road then taken to Surry County, North Carolina. Any physical evidence found because of Keepers statements should be removed from the case as well, Olin argues. Olin, of Blacksburg, contends in the motion that police violated Keepers constitutional rights by questioning her for more than 15 hours before advising her that she could remain silent or speak to an attorney. Arguments about the defense motion are likely to center on when the police interrogation actually began. Blacksburg police Detective Ryan Hite, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Michael Scimeca and other officers picked up Keepers on the morning of Jan. 30 at the apartment of an unidentified boyfriend, the motion reads. She was taken to the Blacksburg Police Department and quizzed for the rest of the day and night, until being taken to the magistrates office at about 2:14 a.m. on Jan. 31 and charged. Shortly after noon on Jan. 31, Hite read Keepers her Miranda rights, then had her sign a statement that she had not wanted to talk to an attorney before being questioned, according to the motion. Olins motion argues that Keepers was exhausted, hungry and intimidated by being held without communication, and that she did not understand the waiver of rights that she signed. Keepers was questioned for another 11 hours on Jan. 31, the motion reads, including going on a drive with investigators to retrace the route she said that she and Eisenhauer had taken with Lovells body. While Keepers was traveling with investigators, Olin, who had been hired to represent Keepers, arrived at the Montgomery County Jail to talk to her, the motion reads. Jail staff told him that they did not know where Keepers was or when he could talk to her, according to the motion. But jail staff alerted the officers with Keepers, the motion reads. Hite then added a handwritten statement to the waiver form Keepers signed saying Consent to continue evidence search and meet with attorney later, according to the motion. Keepers signed that too. County Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt said Thursday that Olins motion to exclude Lovells statements seemed like a standard defense tactic and that the prosecution would argue against it when motions in Keepers case are taken up next month. In earlier hearings in Keepers and Eisenhauers cases, prosecutors and investigators have said that Eisenhauer told police he had exchanged messages with Lovell for about a month and thought she was 16 or 17. He said he met her on Jan. 27 but left after realizing how young she was. Eisenhauer has denied killing Lovell. But a friend of Eisenhauers told The Roanoke Times earlier this year that Eisenhauer said hed met an underage girl and was worried that she would expose him. Eisenhauer asked how he should handle the situation, then texted the friend to ask how he could hide a body, the friend said. The friend, Bryce Dustin of Pulaski, said he thought Eisenhauer was joking. Dustin has not been accused of a crime. Hite testified at a May hearing that Keepers felt a special bond with Eisenhauer because he was a sociopath and she was a sociopath in training. GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. The Golden Age, the Silver Age, and beyond: the different eras of comic book history explained What do people mean when they refer to the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and beyond? TT, Venezuela to deepen collaboration Minister Arias visit to Trinidad and Tobago resulted from a commitment made during the Official Visit to Venezuela, earlier this month, by Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Keith Rowley where he engaged in wide-rang ing discussions with Venezuelan President His Excellency Nicolas Maduro, aimed at deepening the bilateral relationship. The Venezuelan Minister indicated that opportunities for joint collaboration exist in the areas of lumber and the downstream energy sector which would be mutually advantageous. It should be noted that Venezuela currently has 500,000 hectres of pine forestry while Trinidad and Tobago has a developed downstream energy sector. Minister Gopee- Scoon expressed keen interest in exploring areas for collaboration including the possibility of Trinidad and Tobago serving as a distribution hub, both regionally and internationally, for products emanating from Venezuela. The Ministers undertook to pursue the expansion of trade between both countries through appropriate bilateral cooperation mechanisms. Discussions also took place regarding music and culture. Minister Gopee- Scoon cited the Creative Industries as a sector identified by the Government in its diversification agenda. Accompanying Minister Arias was Venezuelas Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Her Excellency Coromoto Godoy Calder?n, Mr Jean Urdaneta, President, Maderas Del Orinoco and other Venezuelan Officials. Suspect freed... again This means no one is in custody for the murder of the 20-yearold woman whose body was found stuffed on a shelf behind boxes in a room on the third floor of the IAM & Co store, Charlotte Street in Portof- Spain. Contacted for comment yesterday Seecharans attorney Larry Williams said that investigations into both matters for which his client was detained are still continuing and he hopes that the public would not judge Seecharan negatively, since he was questioned and there was not enough evidence to charge him for any crime. I believe that more than 50 percent of the nation has already convicted Seecharan without a trial and while he may have been found guilty in the court of public opinion I hope that people are smart enough to let police do their investigation and not jump to any conclusions. Williams told Newsday yesterday. Larry lashed out at some newspaper reports, saying the negative press had brought unnecessary distress to Seecharan and his family. He said that while what was printed in some papers was enough to convict his client, the evidence that he saw from police during Seecharans interrogation, was not enough to bring charges. Seecharan was first arrested along with an 18-year-old man in relation to Banfields death but both were later released. However, hours after the first release, Seecharan was detained again for questioning in relation to a bunch of keys which was found in his possession. Williams said his client who was frustrated and dejected while in police custody was understandably elated and relieved on being released. My client has no intent to sue the state or pursue any action, said Williams, he is just happy that this is over with and he hopes that police do not lock him up again. I am happy that the police did the right thing, seeing that they did not have sufficient evidence to charge anyone. Yesterday, on being released, Seecharan told reporters that he was relieved to be once again a free man. I am just relieved this is over...I had nothing to do with this (Banfields murder), Seecharan said. Residents in Seecharans neighbourhood in St Helena yesterday told Newsday that Seecharan was a quiet person who kept to himself. Banfield was found dead two Thursdays ago after relatives reported her missing three days prior. An autopsy revealed that she was smothered. She was laid to rest on Tuesday. THA election January 23 The notice said that Nomination Day for the THA election will be on January 3. Only last month, THA Chief Secretary, Orville London, issued a statement to correct what he said was false and misleading information being circulated by some political parties in the island that the date for the election was not being released because of influence from Trinidad. London said that contrary to the false information being circulated, under the THA Act, The President, after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Chief Secretary, shall fix the date of a primary election, which date shall not be earlier than expiration of two months after the dissolution of the Assembly nor later than the expiration of three months after that dissolution. Machel eyes 9th Road March title The prize-giving ceremony for the VIBE CT 105 TUCO Road March title - which saw Montano receive a 2016 Ford Ranger - was held at Ford Motors, Charles Street, Port-of-Spain yesterday. Montano stuck by his stance that he would not be competing in major competitions like Soca Monarch anymore. Fords general manager, Jimmy Boissiere, Caribs Antron Forte and VIBE CT 105s programming consultant, Joel Morris (Signal to Noise) also addressed the audience gathered for the prize-giving. He said his motto going forward is cooperation over competition. Road March, he said, was not a competition like other competitions but one that fed the vibe and energy of the masqueraders. He indicated that his work for 2017 would incorporate traditional sounds and tones. Montano said he felt he was at an important juncture in his career where, now holding eight road march titles, he could work with the younger soca artistes and, still give them some of what was traditional/cultural. Montano joined calypso and soca royalty with The Mighty Sparrow holding eight Road March titles, SuperBlue with nine and Lord Kitchener has ten. He jokingly told those gathered that he had four more road march titles to go. But urged that the soca and calypso traditions needed to be shared with younger generations. A lot of the knowledge, they say, is usually in cemeteries. We dont want to wait to pass on knowledge...You have to pass it on...we want to do that with music. We want to teach them about the foundation, he said. He said a lot of young people, globally, are looking on at soca and should be properly informed. He said his documentary Machel Montano: Journey of a Soca King would be released early next year. Family praying for justice Banfields mother Sherry Ann Lopez yesterday told Newsday that her prayers are that the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) will be guided in the right path to address the murder of her daughter. Vengeance is not ours...it belongs to God and we have to remember Shannons faith and what she believed in and continue to keep that faith, for Shannon. With our belief, we know God is in control and everything will be dealt with, Lopez said. She continued, I pray for the police service to do whatever they have to do and to be guided accordingly into doing what they have to do. It is only God that is holding us up right now. Lopez told Newsday that the family remains distraught over the entire incident and began counselling yesterday. I am just trying to hang in there and the entire family is really having a hard time dealing with the death of Shannon. We have started counselling and we are keeping the faith and trusting in God, Lopez said. She indicated that the police are working on the case and information surrounding the matter keeps coming in, but she does not want to know as, it is just too much to process. We have now started to go through our phase of mourning and we need to let the police do their work. This is how I am looking at it, Lopez said. She also thanked the nation for the overwhelming support to the family after Shannons death. Labour Minister, Nestle discuss youth employment Held at Nestl?s Valsayn Factory on Tuesday , discussions involved Nestl?s Country Manager, Michel Beneventi, the Labour Minister and members of the companys management team. Nestl? said on the talks focused on its plan for continued growth and sustainability of TTs skilled and labour force, employee relations and the Nestl? Needs YOUth initiative. The Nestl? Needs YOUth initiative encourages youth employment and skilled training through internships, apprenticeships and trainee programmes provided by the company and our Alliance 4 YOUth partners. The company noted that there are 11,300 young people under the age of 30 who are seeking employment opportunities in this country and that annually, more than 3,000 students graduate every year, seeking a job. Nestl? has mandated itself to decrease these statistics and has, thus far, connected with over 3,000 students in secondary schools, universities, ministries and with the Alliance through readiness to work activities, the company stated. Labour Minister Baptiste-Primus congratulated the company on its Nestl? Needs YOUth initiative and, as Nestl? stated, looked forward to partnering with the company in affording our youth the opportunity to build their careers through meaningful work experience. Following the discussion, Baptiste- Primus toured the Valsayn Factory and received a first-hand view of Nestl?s production facilities. $12M for Tobago Jazz Experience 2017 In a phone interview with Newsday on the official announcement of the changes being made to the 25 year old St Lucia Jazz and Arts festival, Arnold said, that each festival has its own model. He said the festival organisers would have examined their own offering as festival tourism organisers and decided what was best for them. Arnold said the festival moved from the jazz model to a bigger summer festival. For 2017 Tobago Jazz Experience, Arnold noted, that the event was working with a smaller budget of $12 million. Arnold noted that the festival the fringe festivals normally sponsored by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) would now be sponsored by other stakeholders of the festival. Arnold said the events organisers were in the process of completing final contracts for next year. He said, when asked of the lineup for the event, that it would be a blend of international headliners and Caribbean stars. Representatives for the St Lucia Jazz Festival 2017 when contacted said the event would now become a longer festival incorporating different genres of which jazz would still be a component. The St Lucian Tourism Minister, Dominic Feedee was quoted as saying that the festival as it was costing the board too much in terms of resources. Beware of fake coconut water We are seeing the problem more now that coconut has a good name in the health aspects. It is all over the world. In Trinidad and Tobago we are finding products that do not taste like any of the range of coconut waters available, he said. Addressing the opening of a three-day Regional Training Workshop on Coconut Product Development and Processing yesterday in Port-of- Spain, Paul said, We have some serious processing problems that we have to look at. Noting that bottles are labelled coconut water, he said, the word coconut is used high and dry all over the place. Sometimes the product has no coconut in it at all. Advising people to be careful about what they drink, he said, last week he bought a one litre bottle of what was labelled coconut water. He said, the product had a medicinal taste towards the end. He recalled earlier in the year when the local public health inspectorate pulled a product labelled coconut water off the shelf because it was found not to be coconut water. We have to be careful about what we drink and the quality control aspects, he said. Noting that there is a variety of coconuts, he said that the coconut water and its nutritional value depends on where and when it is harvested. The demand for coconut water is so high, he said, that people are harvesting the fruit at five or six months of their development when the nuts should be harvested closer to nine months as indicated by the Food and Agricultural Organisation. The early harvesting of coconuts for its water, he said, is unlike farmers picking their fruits ahead of maturity to get them to the market. Apart from artificial coconut water flavours, Paul said that processors sometimes add water to the sweet tasting coconut water and so dilute it. Frozen coconut water is imported from Guyana, he said, and it has a shelf life of six months after which it begins to lose its quality. 'I Seem to Have Gotten Under a Certain Billionaire's Skin': AOC (Newser) "Dig deeper." Those were the last two words Anna Reyes said to Avelino Tamala before the tiny body of her daughter, Crystal, was lowered into the ground in April 1997, and a chilling glimpse into the tragic life and death of the 3-year-old at the hands of her caretakersa "brief chapter in a tangled narrative of crime and love, deceit and heartbreak," as the account published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting notes. Justin Price, Brandon Quester, and Evan Wyloge sifted through a nearly 20-year supply of court docs and police reports to analyze the major players, why the case went cold, and what happened after it was reopened in 2013. Central to the case was Reyes, a young drug trafficker who managed to seduce both prison guard Darren Stockwell and Tamala, a detective with Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and drag them into her world of lies. Stockwell fell in love with her while she was an inmate at his jail, and after she was released, she became pregnant with Crystal; they broke up over her scheme to tell the man she was still married to that Crystal was his so he'd pay child support. Witnesses say Reyes tried to give Crystal away soon after she was born in November 1993, and she ended up in jail for parole violation in 1994 (Crystal stayed with her grandmother in Mexico). Reyes was released as an informant who worked for Tamala, who soon fell under her spell, dumped his police career, and started helping her smuggle drugs. Then Crystal came to live with them, and a heartbreaking pattern of abuse started, including the couple keeping her in a dog crate and starving her. Her final dreadful hours on that April day in 1997 were later detailed to investigators by Tamala, who was found guilty in November 2016 of first-degree murder for Crystal's death. Reyes was also found guilty, but she was deported to Mexico and has fallen off the map. Read the sad tale of Crystal's short life here and what turned the case around. (Read more Longform stories.) (Newser) What drove the rapid decline of the largest city of North America some seven centuries ago? Annalee Newitz takes an up-close look for Ars Technica after traveling to the outskirts of East St. Louis, Ill., this past summer to help archaeologists dig up what evidence they can of Cahokia, which at its prime in AD 1050 (30,000 people) trumped Paris in size. By 1400, its people had vanished. Environment may have played a key role in its creation and abandonment, and not just as it generally influences spirituality. As for its formation, Cahokia expert Tim Pauketat tells Newitz a celestial event, like the supernova that lit up the sky for weeks as the earthern-mound-studded city was growing in 1054, possibly triggered a movement to "found a new kind of civilization," as Newitz writes. When the city declined and was ultimately abandoned during the so-called Moorehead phase between 1200 and 1350, there may have been droughts that taxed the densely populated area. There may also at one time have been a revolt against the elites, who possibly directed what look like theatrical sacrifices. What's clear, Newitz writes, is that Cahokiamarked in its downtown's center by the 100-foot-tall Monk's Moundoccupied a special place. One night at dusk, Newitz climbed that mound and watched a "blood red" sunset, fireflies flashing at her ankles. "With our feet atop an ancient megalopolis and our eyes on distant skyscrapers, it felt as if cities here were inevitable," she writes. "Im not a New Agey person, but there was something undeniably magical about that." Read her full feature at Ars Technica. (Read more archaeology stories.) (Newser) Authorities say a New Hampshire man was arrested after he tried to move a parked ambulance that was blocking his car. Matthew Duval was charged Tuesday with disorderly conduct and unauthorized use of a vehicle, the AP reports. According to WMUR, firefighters and paramedics were inside a home helping a patient; they had unlocked the ambulance so firefighters could grab supplies. Authorities say the 40-year-old Duval couldn't get his vehicle around the ambulance, so he got in it and tried to move the ambulance himself. Workers heard the back-up "beeping" sound and called police. (Read more ambulance stories.) (Newser) A 7-year-old girl was saved from a kidnapper thanks to the impressive actions of 11-year-old TJ Smith, say police in Wichita Falls, Texas. TJ tells KAUZ that he saw alleged kidnapper Raeshawn Perez grab the girl when she was playing outside Saturday afternoon. "She was riding her scooter and he picked her up and started walking, and I chased after him. I thought it was her cousin or somebody," he says. When he realized something was wrong, TJ alerted adult neighbor James Ware, who ran outside, then went back in to grab his keys. TJ, meanwhile, kept following Perez and was able to direct Ware to the back of a vacant house on a nearby street. Ware says that when he got there, Perez had the girl and looked like he was about to put her through a window, reports the Washington Post. The Times Record News says Ware and another adult witness chased and tackled Perez after the man put the little girl down and tried to run. Police say Perez, 26, told them he was planning to have sex with the girl. He was charged with aggravated kidnapping and is being held in the county jail. Wichita Falls Mayor Stephen Santellana and Police Chief Manuel Borrego praised TJ and other witnesses for averting tragedy. They visited the boy in person Thursday afternoon to present him with a certificate of appreciation. "One of our goals is to have our citizens assist us in preventing crime, looking out for each other and being good neighbors," Borrego says. "We certainly don't want them to put themselves at risk, but in this situation, I think the bravery of this young little boy and the bravery of the two other individuals was unique and necessary and I don't think they thought twice about it." (Cops say a mom in Florida fought off a man trying to abduct her daughter.) (Newser) Sweden appears to be getting a little nervous about a potential war with Russia due to Russian military planes entering its airspace during training and reports of mysterious submarines in its waters, UPI reports. Oh and also because Russia's ambassador to Sweden said this: "It is ludicrous to have any doubts that Russia has special military plans to attack Sweden, Gotland, Karlshamn, Slite ... ludicrous." Those last three names are strategic locations in Sweden. The Local thinks Victor Tatarintsev, speaking in Swedish instead of his native Russian, likely misspoke in that quote. He followed it up by saying Russia has "no plans whatsoever to invade Sweden" and that "the Swedish population can sleep easy." Regardless, Sweden is returning to its Total Defense Strategy from the Cold War and telling authorities in towns and villages to prepare for a possible military attack by Russia, the Telegraph reports. Those preparations include putting operations centers in underground bunkers and making sure emergency sirens are in place and functional. And while Sweden's Civil Contingency Agency says it doesn't think war with Russia is likelyyet, anywayit's putting military defenses on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea. "The security situation in our neighborhood has worsened," one agency leader says. "We must therefore make preparations regarding the threat of war and conflict. (Read more Russia stories.) (Newser) A family in Pennsylvania was saved from a fire thanks to some sharp-eyed teachersand the Ambridge Area School District's failure to agree to a new contract with their union. The striking teachers were walking the picket line Thursday morning when they spotted smoke rising from a house about a block away, dropped their pickets signs, and ran to help. Science teacher Karen DeMarco tells WPXI that after there was no answer when they banged on a door, they knocked it down instead of waiting for firefighters to arrive. "We found the lady of the house sitting in the one room, and there was several oxygen tanks there," DeMarco says. We felt that we needed to get her out with the oxygen tanks. There was a daughter there and a grandfather there." "Everybody got out," says music teacher Todd Hartman. Physical education teacher Jeff Modrovich and special education teacher Peter Keller also helped save the family from the fire, which ended up as a six-alarm blaze that destroyed the house, the Beaver County Times reports. "If the teachers wouldn't have been here, somebody wouldn't have observed that, there's a chance somebody could have been very seriously injured or even worse," says Ambridge Fire Chief Rob Gottschalk. DeMarco tells WTAE that the younger woman they rescued from the house turned out to be one of her former students. CBS reports that the teachers, who have been without a contract for almost 18 months, walked off the job Tuesday after negotiations broke down Monday night. (Motorists in Florida formed a human chain to save a man from a burning vehicle.) (Newser) Verizon is still interested in acquiring Yahoo after the largest data breach at an email providerjust not at the price initially agreed upon, a source tells Bloomberg. Verizon, which agreed to pay $4.8 billion for Yahoo in July, has a team exploring the possibility of a lower sale price after Yahoo revealed an August 2013 hack affected 1 billion accounts, including those of FBI agents and White House staff, says the source, who acknowledges that trying to kill the deal isn't off the table. It isn't clear what kind of discount Verizon might seek, but TechCrunch notes there were rumors of a $1 billion price cut after Yahoo's other hack in September. Bloomberg's source says the team also wants Yahoo to assume responsibility for the latest hack, meaning Verizon wouldn't be on the hook for any future legal issues. But that doesn't mean Verizon might not still abandon the deal altogether, even while its integration team continues its work, the source says. A source tells Reuters that Verizon has threatened to try to wiggle out of the deal in court if it isn't granted "major concessions." A business professor notes the most likely scenario is that Verizon might ask Yahoo for some form of compensation after the deal closes. In a statement Wednesday, Verizon says it "will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation" and "review the impact of this new development before reaching any final conclusions." Adds Yahoo, "We are confident in Yahoo's value and we continue to work towards integration with Verizon." (Read more Verizon stories.) (Newser) The 4-year-old son of Pulse shooter Omar Mateen won't likely bear his late father's name for much longer. Mateen's wife, Noor Salman, has asked the Contra Costa County, California, court for permission to change her son's name from Zakariaya Omar Mateen. Available court records don't show which new name has been chosen by Salman, who has moved three times since the shooting that left 50 dead; she now lives in California, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A hearing is set for February, reports the AP. (Salman says her husband "had no remorse.") (Newser) Negotiations over whether Uber must stop its newly launched self-driving car service in San Francisco have concluded without a clear resolution, according to California transportation regulators. The state has threatened legal action if the ride-hailing company continues to pick up passengers without the correct permit, the AP reports. Uber says the cars are exempt from the permit requirement because they have a backup driver behind the wheel who must monitor the car's performance. State officials had a "positive conversation" Thursday with Uber about "how the company plans to comply with state regulations for self-driving vehicles," says a spokeswoman for California's State Transportation Agency. Video posted online Thursday showed a self-driving Uber run a red light on Wednesday, the same day the company launched the pilot program with several Volvo SUVs. Uber said in a written statement that the driver was suspended, and it attributed the infraction that took place in front of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to "human error." That was an apparent reference to the company's policy that employees behind the wheel of the cars must constantly monitor them and be prepared to take over if the technology stops working or is about to do something dangerous or illegal. Far from playing defense, Uber offered the driver's failure as evidence of the need to continue pushing ahead a technology that proponents say will one day drive far more safely than humans. (Read more Uber stories.) (Newser) Donald Trump has announced that he will nominate attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel, selecting an envoy who supports Israeli settlements and other changes to US policies in the region, reports the AP. Friedman says he looks forward to carrying out his duties from "the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," even though the embassy is in Tel Aviv. Like some of his predecessors, Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem as part of their sovereign territory. The move would also distance the US from most of the international community, including its closest allies in Western Europe and the Arab world. The president-elect says Friedman will "maintain the special relationship" between the US and Israel. But the announcement sparked anger from liberal Jewish groups, with the president of J Street calling Friedman's nomination "reckless," citing his support for settlements and his questioning of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. (Friedman has previously likened liberal Jews in the US to Jews who aided the Nazis during World War II, notes the New York Times.) The statement doesn't detail how Friedman could work in Jerusalem. One option would involve Friedman, if confirmed by the Senate, working out of an existing US consulate in Jerusalem. The administration would essentially deem the facility the American embassy by virtue of the ambassador working there. (Read more Donald Trump stories.) (Newser) Who says arguments can't be settled and accounts squared over a good bottle of boozeor many of them. Cuba is apparently considering that route in taking care of the $276 million it owes the Czech Republic, with the BBC reporting the proposed volume of rum would last the European country more than 100 years. The AP cites the Czech Statistics Office in reporting the country imported more than $2 million of rum from Cuba in 2015. (At Forbes, a Czech Republic-based writer explains why he thinks that century-long-supply claim is overblown.) The scheme would pay back money Havana borrowed from the former Czechoslovakia (a fellow Communist country) during Cold War times, but the Czechs say they'd like at least a partial cash payment. Restitution via pharmacy drugs was also on the table, but there's likely too much EU regulatory red tape to break through for that kind of compensation. (Read more Cuba stories.) As the Department of Motor Vehicles gave green light to Nvidia, the company started test driving autonomous vehicles on California roads. Nvidia is testing its Drive PX2 autonomous driving platform. Xavier A System On Chip For Autonomous Cars Rolled Out By Nvidia Xavier is described as an artificial intelligence supercomputer. The company has made various moves in autonomous car arena. A partnership with Baidu has been signed to build a cloud to car platform for simultaneous cars. The PX2 technology might be used in the Nvidia vehicles participating in the autonomous car race termed as Roborace, Tech News World reports. Nvidia Autonomous Car Can Navigate A Construction Site, A Road with Dirt, Grass With No Markings The system built by Nvidia does not require any programming for mapping, object detection, control components or path planning. The system is developed in such a way that it learns on its own to create the necessary requirements after observing human drivers. The system takes 20 trial runs of a situation driven by humans, Motor Authority reports. Other Competitors Nvidia is competing with Intel and Qualcomm for the business of autonomous car industry. Nvidia is solution independent in terms of automakers. Whereas Intel is an 800-pound gorilla in the chip market. Atom 3900 processor has been built by Intel for the autonomous car industry. Nvidia is trying to focus on bringing high-level artificial intelligence into the autonomous car driving industry. It is supporting SAE level 4 and 5. It is the only company having a packaged solution which works at this time. Nvidia is partnering with companies like Ford, Audi, Daimler, Tesla and BMW for the sake of autonomous driving. Car makers all over the world are testing the possibilities of autonomous vehicles, but such cars may require traffic-free roads. Companies like Baidu might become a power in self-driving cars in the future. New Delhi: A man who was stalking a women for the last two months attacked her with a beer bottle in east Delhis Gandhi Nagar area has been arrested ,police said on Thursday. A 24-year-old accused has been identified as Atul, had allegedly attacked the victim in her house with a beer bottle for not accepting his marriage proposal, police said. Also Read: ( Delhi shame: Girl allegedly raped accused arrested, car bearing MHA sticker seized ) Atul used to harass her whenever she stepped out and she had told her brothers about him, they added. Her brothers had threatened Atul and asked him to stay away from their sister. After a few days, he had attacked her with a beer bottle at her home, police said. A complaint was filed in October and he was arrested on Thursday, they added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Ratan Tata is most likely to step down as the chairman of the Tata Trust, next year that controls 66% in Tata Sons, the holding company of the $108 billion Tata Group,reports Times of India. The daily newspaper also reports that the next chairperson will be an India but not necessarily a Parsi or a Tata-family member. However, the question whether Ratan Tata would be associated with the countrys largest conglomerate as trustee is still not clear. According to insiders, when Cyrus Misty joined Tata as chairperson of Tata Sons he wasn't made a head of Tata Trust as he was not a Parsi. Ratan Tata remained the head of Tata Trust. It was the first time that the two Tata position was uncoupled. New Delhi: In the BJP Parliamentary Party meet on Friday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses party and devised the strategy to deal with frequent wash out in the Winter Session of Parliament. Prime Minister targeted Opposition by saying that Wanchoo committee had given recommendation of demonetisation toA Indira Gandhi ji, but she snubbed the report. Earlier on Thursday, BJP stalwart L K Advani expressed his frustration over lack of debate in the Parliament. The Senior BJP leader said that he felt like resigning. Here are the live updates: #A PM said in meet Indira ji told YB Chavan that don't you want to contest polls? This was Congress plank but they did not implement #A PM said in meeting that Wanchoo committee had given recommendation of demonetisation toA Indira Gandhi ji, but she snubbed the report # BJP leaders leave after party's Parliamentary meet Delhi: BJP leaders leave after the party's Parliamentary meet pic.twitter.com/atb9xzLOZA a ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 #A Opposition used to do scams earlier, now they are working in favour of black money: Prime Minister PM appealed to people of India that digital economy should be a way of life,it will be transparent and effective: Ananth Kumar pic.twitter.com/OMw5x45HxA a ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Delhi: BJP Parliamentary Party meeting underway. (Inside visuals) pic.twitter.com/yoz4KXp8Tu a ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 Delhi: PM Narendra Modi arrives for BJP Parliamentary Party meeting pic.twitter.com/Yjr16durWU a ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Who can forget December 16, 2012? This was the day when an incident took place in posh South Delhi which shook the entire nation and the world. Four years ago on this day the 23-year-old paramedical student, dubbed Nirbhaya, was gang raped and brutally tortured in a bus while returning home with a friend after watching a movie. Those accused raped her and threw the young couple on road naked in the winter night. 'Nirbhaya' was making headlines and thousands of people revolted on streets against the different forms of violence against women. If reports are to be believed then nothing has changed and many nirbhaya is still being raped. Delhi's Aman Vihar has turned out to be the next hot spot area where these incidents are repeatedly taking place. Also Read: (Delhi: Man arrested for stalking, attacking women with beer bottle) Aman Vihar being the third most populated area in the National Capital has less than a per cent of streets lights installed. On the fourth anniversary of Nirbhaya rape case that falls on Friday, several activists and different programs across the city are organised, resisting violence against women and raising their voices for women's safety in India. As per medical reports, she suffered grave injuries to her abdomen, intestines and genitals and there were numerous bite marks all over her body. She succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012 Also Read: ( Delhi shame: Girl allegedly raped; accused arrested, car bearing MHA sticker seized) She had died 13 days later, on December 29, at a hospital in Singapore. All the 6 accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. Ram Singh, who was driving the bus, was found hanging in jail in March 2013. His lawyers had alleged that he had been murdered. The other four- Akshay, Vinay Sharma, Pawan and Mukesh were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Delhi High Court in September 2013. While the alleged involvement of the juvenile created a huge stir in the country. Every day, over six Nirbhayas are being created and Delhi has come to be known as the Rape Capital of the world. (With PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: US President Barack Obama has warned that the US will retaliate against Russia for launching cyberattacks during the presidential election after senior Russian officials were accused by the White House of being directly involved in hacking. The outgoing US president said he was waiting for a final report he has ordered into a range of Russian hacking attacks that may have swayed last month's tight election in which Republican candidate Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. #UPDATE Obama says US will retaliate against Russian election hacking "at a time and place of our own choosing" https://t.co/1IeQaJdobn AFP news agency (@AFP) December 16, 2016 "I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections. That we need to take action and we will," Obama told the National Public Radio in a interview. "At a time and a place of our own choosing. Some of it may be uh, explicit and publicised; some of it may not be," he said according to an excerpts of the interview released by NPR. Also Read: Barack Obama orders full review of cyber-attack during 2016 US presidential polls The full interview would be aired on Friday, before leaving for his annual family vacation in Hawaii. "Um, but Mr Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it," Obama said. Obama has ordered US intelligence agencies to conduct a full review of the hacking and report back to him before he leaves office on Inauguration Day January 20. Press Secretary Josh Earnest had told reporters on Thursday during the daily White House briefing that "Mr Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him, (and) hurting (Democrat Hillary) Clinton ..."These are all facts that are not in dispute." Earnest pointed out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find missing emails from Clinton's private server. Trump has said he was joking. "I don't think anybody at the White House thinks it's funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilise our democracy,"Earnest said. "That's not a joke." Earnest, without mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin by name, also said "only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorised these activities," repeating the words from an October US intelligence assessment. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Indian Army Major, Anita Kumari allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself with her personal weapon on Thursday, at Bari Brahmna Depot. "Major Anita Kumari, 36, ended her life with her service pistol at Bari Brahmana official residence here on Thursday night," police said. "Kumari belonged to Chamba area in Himachel Pradesh and posted in 259 field supply depot here," police said. J&K: Indian Army Major, Anita Kumari allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself with her personal weapon y'day, at Bari Brahmna Depot a ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mumbai: The annual Techfest 2016 of the Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Bombay, which kicked off on Friday, December 16, has Space Expedition as the theme. Innovative and futuristic technology including robots, launch vehicles, mind-controlled drones and satellites from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and much more is being featured in the event. Backed by UNESCO and UNICEF, the IIT-Bombay Techfest is largest science and technology festival in Asia. The three-day event, which begins on Friday in Mumbais Powai, will conclude on December 18. We have included several thrilling and exciting shows, competitions as well as lectures by national as well as worlds most eminent personalities, Hardik Patil, media-co-ordinator, Techfest, told Gulf News. The first day of IIT-Bombay Techfest 2016 Techfest 2016 witnessed lectures, competitions, summits as well as exhibitions by students from institutes around the world. The first day highlights of the IIT-Bombay Techfest 2016 Techfest 2016 also include a mind-controlled drone built by Puzzlebox Orbit, US. The drone can be controlled using the neuro-senses of a persons mind. These kinds of mind controlled drones can be used by paralysed patients in order to communicate with us and ease their work, a release said. The visitors at the IIT-Bombay Techfest 2016 have been allowed to operate the mind-controlled drone. Other major attractions include morphofunctional drones from Switzerland. These drones have a capability of mimicking the actions of bio-creatures, scale versions of launch vehicles and satellites like Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). An Auto Expo will also be held and will feature cars and bikes from Lamborghini, Audi, Ferrari and more. A Techconnect is being organised to showcase the research and development activities of students of IIT Bombay. TechConnect aims to highlight the technologies created in IIT-Bombay, to address critical social needs of the country, and to simultaneously satisfy the requirements of the industry and maximize the benefits to the society, the release said. Techconnect will feature a formula racing car and a underwater vehicle built by students of the institute. It will also showcase live data receiving by the by the satellite made by students of Pratham which was launched by ISRO. Scientist turned film director Bedabrata Pain, Former Director of Intel Labs Jeff Demain, Burj Khalifa, Dubai architect Gordon Gill and IISER professor Archana Pai, among many others are speakers at the IIT-Bombay Techfest 2016. Other key attractions include a Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Conclave, an international summit on the Internet of Things and various robot competitions. The IIT-Bombay Techfest had a footfall of over 1,65,000 in 2015, The fest has an outreach of over 2500 colleges in the country and more than 500 colleges abroad. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Government tax agency has so far seized cash of more than Rs 316 crore in various raids across the nation since the Narendra Modi government announced demonetization old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations on Nov 8 to fight against black money and corruption. Revealing the data on black money crackdown, Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sushil Chandra on Friday said, We have so far seized cash of more than Rs 316 crore, out of which new currency is above Rs 80 cr, jewellery 76 cr, which amounts to total seizure 393 cr. We have conducted searches and seizures in about 291 cases and carried out surveys in 295 cases, Chandra said. CBDT has also issued around 3000 notices on the basis of deposits in bank accounts, he revealed. Also read | Tax disclosure scheme available from Dec 17 to March 31 next year; to attract 50% tax and penalty: Revenue Secretary Adhia For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Want to know in detail about the carbon dioxide that wanders in our atmosphere? Well, American space agency NASA has explained how the carbon dioxide circulates around the atmosphere of the planet Earth. For this purpose they have used a detailed 3D visualization, to make you understand the process well. NASA combined the data from its Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite with a project belonging to the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at the Goddard Space Flight Center. It thus chronicled the movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) from September 2014 to September 2015. The 3D visualization provides information about global carbon dioxide, which has never been seen in so detail in the past. The visualization shows how the CO2 rises and falls in the Northern Hemisphere throughout the year. It also shows the influence of continents, mountain ranges and ocean currents on weather patterns and CO2 movement; and the regional influence of highly active photosynthesis, NASA said. Fossil fuel burning is the primary element which emits carbon dioxide which causes the Earth's current long-term warming trend. The 3D visualisation also throws light on the advances made by scientists in understanding the processes that control the amount of carbon dioxide released into the Earths atmosphere and calculating its duration of stay. With the new dataset, the scientists aim to understand the processes driving the "carbon flux" the exchange of carbon dioxide among the atmosphere, land and ocean, Nature World News reported. "We can't measure the flux directly at high resolution across the entire globe," Lesley Ott, a carbon cycle scientist at NASA Goddard and a member of the OCO-2 science team, said in a statement. "We are trying to build the tools needed to provide an accurate picture of what's happening in the atmosphere and translating that to an accurate picture of what's going on with the flux. There's still a long way to go, but this is a really important and necessary step in that chain of discoveries about carbon dioxide," she added. "It's taken us many years to pull it all together," Steven Pawson, chief of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, said in the same statement, according to Nature World News. "The level of detail included in this dataset gives us a lot of optimism that our models and observations are beginning to give a coherent view of the carbon cycle. Here is the video released by NASA: (Video courtesy: NASA Goddard) For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bengaluru : Eight-month-old Pakistani infant Rayan has become the youngest bone marrow donor in India by donating healthy bone marrow stem cells to his elder sister, who underwent successful transplant at a city hospital in Bengaluru. The two-and-a-half-year-old Zeenia, hailing from Sahiwal in Pakistan, was suffering from Hemaphagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease in which bone marrow produces some abnormal cells which eat away the normal cells, resulting in high fever, low blood counts, liver and spleen enlargement, doctors said. Calling it a potentially life threatening disorder, doctors said the only cure for this condition was bone marrow transplant. Zeenia was also diagnosed to have partial albinism since birth as well, they added. After we diagnosed the girl was suffering from HLH, we discovered that her brother was Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) match for her, said Dr Sunil Bhat, Senior Consultant and Head of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant at Narayana Health City hospital. As the donor is just eight months old to collect the adequate dosage, he was required to undergo the donation process twice at a gap of only few weeks, Dr Bhat said. By using small marrow extraction needles and with the assistance of a team of anesthetists and other members, we have successfully extracted enough marrow which helped cure Zeenia. Rayan has not only saved his sister, he also has the unique distinction of being the youngest marrow donor in? India, he added. Doctors said the procedure was conducted in October and on Friday Zeenia was cured of her deadly disease and ready to leave for Pakistan to lead a normal life. They have advised her parents about certain follow-ups that Zeenia needs to undergo after going back home. The doctors also said Rayan was doing exceptionally well and fine. Zeenia had earlier undergone treatment at an armed forces hospital in Rawalpindi. Stating that there was general fear factor when they landed in India, Zeenias father Zia Ulla said his daughter was now fine and recovering. From the time we landed following immigration, I would say it was a very pleasant surprise ... everyone was very fine and friendly, he said. Expressing similar sentiments, Zeenias mother Farzeen said it was very difficult for them to decide on bone marrow donation from her eight-month-old son. Obviously both children are important for us. When we got to know that they are match siblings and it was a promising option, we decided to take risk, she said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: It's been just six days since Universal Pictures released the trailer of their much talked about movie 'Fast and Furious 8', and it has got the world talking about it. While everyone is all praises about the trailer, it has created a huge record with in a day of its release. The trailer has garnered 139 million views from around the world in just 24 hours. Interestingly, 'Fast and Furious 8' has beaten the record of Disneyas 'Beauty and the Beast' which had received 127.6 million views on first day. 'Fast and Furious 8' happens to be the eighth installment of the popular franchise which also starred late actor Paul Walker. The makers had released the trailer on December 11 in a grand event held at Times Square in New York. It was attended by the lead cast of the movie including Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris aLudacrisa Bridges, Michelle Rodriguez, Nathalie Emmanuel and director F Gary Gray. Indeed the team is ecstatic about the achievement. In fact, Chris aLudacrisa Bridges who is seen playing a key role in the movie took it to Instagram to share the news with his fans. He posted a picture on his Instagram account which stated "We Made History".A WORLD RECORD FOR A FUCKIN TRAILER! CLICK THE LINK IN MY BIO! LETS DOUBLE THE WORLD RECORD! #f8 A photo posted by @ludacris on Dec 13, 2016 at 4:57pm PST A The media reports suggest that the trailer around 38.8 million views in North America, while over 49.5 million were attained from Facebook and Youtube from across the world. Third party sources accounted for 18.5 million views, with talent social accounting for 32 million views. 'Fast and Furious 8' is slated to release on April 14 next year in India. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Saturday presented 'Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2015' to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at a function in New Delhi. Dr Singh, one of the trustee of Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust (IGMT), gave the prize to UNHCR India Chief of Mission, Yasuko Shimizu, in the presence of the trust's Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The prize was announced last year by a jury headedby Vice President Hamid Ansari. The prize consists of a trophy with a portrait of the late prime minister in the tradition of Jaipur miniature paintings, a cash award of Rs one crore and a citation. The award is bestowed to "Office of UNHCR in recognition of its contributions in assisting millions of refugees who have fled thier homes, for working with the government and other agencies to good changes in the society and promote social welfare. It was established by UN General Assembly in December 1950, UNHCR works in 128 countries and its mission is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and seek lasting solutions to their plight. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his demonetisation policy and campaign against black money during a public address in Goa. Addressing a gathering of party supporters and members in poll-bound Goa, Rahul Gandhi said, Demonetisation is not fight against corruption, it is an attack on Indias 99 per cent honest population. The senior Congress leader further accused PM Modi of squeezing money from poor Indians to comfort 1 per cent rich Indians. Also read | PM did not say anything on waiving farmers' loans, says Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi In the last 2 and half years, 1 per cent rich people have acquired 60 per cent of country's money. One per cent super-rich people usurped Rs 8 lakh crore from India's banks and when they didn't return money, you (Centre) called it non-performing asset, Rahul Gandhi said in Margao, Goa on Friday. In last 2.5 years, PM Modi waived off Rs 1,10,000 crore of these people. After demonetisation, he waived off Vijay Mallya's Rs 1200 crore, he added. Congress leader, who met PM Modi earlier in the day, however added that his party wants to eradicate corruption from the country, If NDA govt wants to take a step against it, party will give its 100% support. Also read | Big blow to Opposition unity as Rahul Gandhi meets PM Narendra Modi; SP, BSP, NCP and DMK drop out of Congress protest march Rahul Gandhi even accused PM Modi assisting the 'super-rich' in embazzling funds, "In Modijis cashless economy, 5-6 per cent cash will magically disappear from every transaction and those 1 per cent super-rich people will get it." For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: It has been four years since December 16 gangrape that had shook the entire nation with its barbarity. But the hope for justice seems to falter day by day for the victims mother as the convicts who were sentenced to death continue to remain in Tihar jail. For Asha Devi, Nirbhayas mother nothing has changed in these years as far as women's safety is concerned. The horrific gangrape of a para-medical student in moving bus had triggered nationwide protests and outrage. It was after this heinous crime that prompted the government to re-look at the existing laws protecting womens safety. ALSO READ: (Nirbhaya gangrape 4th anniversary: Women still feel unsafe in Delhi) We feel nothing has changed. The governments have also changed. It has been four years but the situation remains the same. For the last four years, we have been running from pillar to post to get justice. But no action has been taken against the accused, she said. One of the convicted among the six was released last year as he was a juvenile when he had committed the crime. Another accused had committed suicide while four others are lodged in jail as they have appealed against their death penalty. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Delhi has the highest rate of crimes against women among all the cities in the country. The startling figures show how unsafe national capital is for women. ALSO READ: (Four years after Nirbhaya rape case: Girl allegedly raped; accused arrested, car bearing MHA sticker seized) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. islamabad: Pakistan's new army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday confirmed the death sentences of 13 "hardcore" terrorists involved in the killing of 325 people in "heinous" attacks on civilians and security forces, his second such endorsement since taking command of the army last month. These 13 convicts were tried by special military courts set up after the horrific terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014. The terrorists were involved in "heinous offences related to terrorism, including the killing and slaughtering of innocent civilians, officials of law enforcement agencies and the armed forces," the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a press release on a day when Pakistan marked the second anniversary of the terror attack on the Army Public School in which nearly 150 people - most of them children - were killedby Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan gunmen. The ISPR statement said the suspected terrorists wereinvolved in the planning and execution of terror attacks onBacha Khan University, Parade Lane mosque, Marriott Hotel and World Vision NGO Office as well as an attack on an educational institution at Nawagai, Buner. "On the whole, they were involved in killing 325 personsand in causing injuries to 366 others. Fire arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession. These convicts weretried by military courts," the statement said. On December 5, General Bajwa had confirmed the death sentences of four "hardcore" terrorists involved in scores of"heinous" attacks on civilians and security forces, his first such endorsement since taking command of the army last month. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Thiruvananthapuram: A court in Kerala on Saturday found 13 RSS activists guilty in the murder of a local CPI(M) worker here on April 1, 2008. Additional Sessions Court judge T K Unnimol will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Saturday. The case relates to the murder of Vishnu at Kaithamukku. According to the prosecution, the accused armed with swords, iron rods and other weapons attacked Vishnu and killed him. There were totally 16 accused in the case. While one accused died in 2008, another was acquitted by the court today and one is absconding. Charges against the accused include that of murder, conspiracy and unlawful assembly. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler arrested and executed fake news journalists who rightfully claimed that Jews were being exterminated In the 1920s and 1930s Americans thought of Hitler as a joke. His shrill voice and jerky hand movements made it difficult to take him seriously. But some of the first people to meet him didnt feel the same way. Junior military attache Truman Smith said, This is a marvelous demagogue who can really inspire loyalty. Karl von Wiegand was the first American journalist to interview Hitler in 1922. He felt the same way as Smith. They were both struck by Hitlers oratorical skills and his ability to drive people into a frenzy. The Nazi Party finally emerged as a major contender for power after the great depression hit, but Americans still considered Hitler to be a clown. Most people believed that if Hitler gained power, German politicians would take control of him. Reassessments unfortunately came soon thereafter. Chicago Daily News correspondent Edgar Mowrer frantically tried to warn readers worldwide, saying, What hes saying about the Jews is serious. Dont underestimate him. American correspondents in Berlin were living in relative luxury. The good correspondents and diplomats worked hard to gather information, although it was becoming progressively more difficult and dangerous to obtain. Edgar Mowrer took huge risks to get information by meeting with a German-Jewish doctor. During regular doctor visits, the doctor would slip him notes when his assistant left the room. The notes contained information about who had been arrested, presumably journalists. The meetings became too risky, and the two moved their meetings to a public restroom where the doctor would drop the note and Mowrer would retrieve it undetected. Not all correspondents and diplomats were so brave as to obtain dangerous information. Most felt constrained and didnt wish to put themselves in jeopardy. The mainstream media was used against the people, and those brave enough to report the truth were subject to the ultimate consequence. Reporters were slow to write about things they had witnessed firsthand. After Hitler took power, there were attacks on Americans who refused to give the Hitler salute. Radio broadcaster Hans Kaltenborn believed that the reports were an exaggeration until his teenage son was beaten up for the refusal to salute. The Nazis apologized and told Kaltenborn, I hope you wont write about this. Kaltenborn was reluctant to do so, most likely because the apology was really a warning. Charles Lindberg was among the Americans that believed Hitler was helping to get Germany back on its feet. Amazed at how orderly Germany had become, Lindberg was also providing real-time intelligence for the U.S. He became part of the America First movement, and tried to keep America out of the war by giving information to American diplomats that he thought would urge Washington to stay away. American journalists were often the first to warn German Jews what danger they were in. Mowrer was run out of Germany after he kept advising Jews to get out quickly. But German-Jews were also urged by non-Jewish industrialists to give money to the Nazi Party. They were told that it would be a way for them to protect themselves. Like most Americans, German-Jews didnt believe what was happening. Thats the power of state-controlled media working hard against the people. Sources: TheAtlantic.com Science.NaturalNews.com Submit a correction >> Just in case you thought Grubhub wasn't paying attention to your orders it was. The food ordering company recently released data on what, exactly, its customers have been ordering this year. Grubhub took a look at orders placed with its system from January to November 2016, comparing the statistics against the same months in 2015 and 2014 to sort out the food trends. Among the questions the company tried to answer with the data was to find the most popular dishes for the year and what was ordered the most in major cities. The company also tried to find correlations between cultural events of the year and what people were ordering that same day. While it's not entirely clear how the company equated the breakup of Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris with an uptick in orders of General Tso's shrimp and crab rangoon, other delivery-event links do seem to ring (mostly) true. For instance, the company reported a spike in hot dog orders in Chicago following the Cubs' World Series win, while Super Storm Jonas apparently inspired a 230 percent increase in tomato soup orders on the East Coast. And just when you thought you've been spending too much money on delivery, consider the person who earned the dubious "honor" of being Grubhub's best customer. The delivery service reported that one person placed 751 orders in 2016 ... a year that is not quite over yet. That works out to ordering from Grubhub about twice a day the stat should make you feel (somewhat) better about your own ordering habits. To see the most popular dishes delivered in 2016 (and what will become more popular in 2017), click through the gallery above. NEW MILFORD A Board of Finance meeting turned raucous Wednesday night when members challenged Mayor David Gronbach and Finance Director W. Lee Palmer about their use of the Waste Management Fund. Board member Joesph DeGregorio led the charge, questioning instances where the administration used money from the fund without seeking authorization from the full board. The board eventually approved some expenditures, including those for change orders on the turf field being installed at New Milford High School. But it rejected, by a 4-1 vote, the use of $225,000 for renovations at the town-owned John Pettibone School to make it usable for various town agencies and offices, including the Youth Agency, the Parks and Recreation Department and the central office of New Milford schools. Gronbach and Palmer argued Finance Board approval was not needed for these expenditures, citing a Dec. 8 letter to Gronbach from Town Attorney Randy DiBella stating the finance director has the final say and discretion on all accounts and fiscal procedures. Palmer had prepared a white paper concluding spending money from the waste fund, which is separate from the general fund and not funded through taxpayer dollars, does not require Finance Board approval. The fund includes money paid annually by Waste Management Connecticut, which has since been bought by another company, toward completion of a $43.1 million settlement of a lawsuit during the 1990s. Gronbach said the $225,000 was an appropriate use of the fund, which is dedicated to investments in land and buildings for education, libraries, open space and public recreation. Its in the name: Parks and Recreation, the mayor said. But Finance Board members cited a personal email DiBella sent a day later to Town Council Member Pete Bass, in which the attorney said while he defers to the finance director on fiscal matters, I respectfully disagree with the directors position as articulated in his policy paper and I do believe (Board of Finance) involvement is required as outlined in the charter. Finance Board members asked for a new opinion on the issue from DiBella. The discussions Wednesday night were often contentious, with several board members decrying Gronbachs characterization of his critics as obstructionist in a Facebook post. Three times board Chairman Gale Alexander ruled speakers out of order DeGregorio twice and Gronbach once. It was not clear, however, how the impasse between the mayor and board over the Pettibone expenditures will play out. What will happen at this point is unclear, Alexander said. blytton@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3411; @bglytton A new agreement was approved this week by the New Milford Board of Education and the group representing the districts paraeducators. United Public Service Employees Union represented the New Milford Board of Education Paraeducators in negotiations for the successor collective bargaining agreement, which governs the paraeducators terms and conditions for employment. Universities should be places where students are challenged with a cacophony of ideas, yet feel physically protected. This distinction is important. Recently leadership at Connecticuts leading public universities rightly sought to reaffirm the protective environment for students who are undocumented, as well as others from differing races, religions, gender expressions and political views. Susan Herbst, president of the University of Connecticut, and Mark Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, separately expressed support for undocumented students who have been alarmed by anti-immigrant stances of president-elect Donald Trump. The students worry that after Trump takes office next month they could be deported, even if they have no memory of a native country. CT Students for a Dream, started by twin sisters in Danbury, has been forceful in raising the issue and seeking assurances from the public universities. Most of the undocumented students in the state attend the four state universities and 12 community colleges within the CSCU system, the group said. Exact numbers are unknown, because similar to hospitals, the universities and colleges do not maintain a list of who is undocumented. And that is how it should be. Some of the steps that UConn will take to protect its undocumented students and those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status include that university police will not disclose a students immigration status to agencies and will not make arrests based on warrants from the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. If a student is placed in deportation proceedings, then the university will ensure that a degree can be completed. As Ojakian noted, Our campuses thrive when people from different backgrounds, walks of life and perspectives have a forum for sharing their beliefs and ideas while learning together. That is the real value of a higher education. Those are the right words now policies are required to put the words into practice. The policies should spell out what the universities and colleges would do to protect undocumented students and exactly how they would handle any overtures from ICE. Also, the places of higher learning should educate faculty and staff on how to support undocumented students so that everyone has correct and consistent information. Since the election, Ojakian said in a message this week, he has worked with campus leadership, outside legal counsel, and national immigration attorneys to examine all options. This includes understanding the ramifications of a sanctuary campus and whether that designation is appropriate for CSCU and its 85,000 students. The universities commitment to social justice is encouraging, and necessary. From the president-elects earlier hard-line stances of deporting all illegal immigrants an estimated 11 million people in this country he since has modified his position (in a 60 Minutes interview) to zero in on those with criminal records. Still, the state public university system leadership must be prepared to protect the undocumented students and ensure a secure learning environment. In the long run, an educated populace is best for all and for the states economy and harmony. South Sudan calls UN genocide talk 'fabricated lie' Kenya,Politics,Diplomacy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Nairobi, Dec 16 (IANS) South Sudan has termed the claims that the country was approaching genocide, a lie and a concoction of the UN, to legitimise its presence in the war-torn nation. President Salva Kiir's spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny told Xinhua news agency on Friday that tribal skirmishes that have taken place in the past three years in the country had not deteriorated to the level of ethnic cleansing as alleged by UN human rights officials. UN human rights officials warned recently that South Sudan was fast approaching a genocide situation reminiscent of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. "Whatever skirmishes happen among tribes in South Sudan are just like elsewhere in Africa but it has not reached the level of genocide," said Ateny. South Sudan fell into civil war in December 2013. There have been killings targeting both Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups to whom the two rivals in the war -- President Kiir and sacked first Vice-President Riek Machar -- belong, respectively. A peace deal signed last August under UN pressure led to short-lived reconciliation between the rival leaders, but failed to hold as fresh fighting erupted in July. --IANS soni/ahm/vt Odisha readying action plan for skill development Orissa,National,Business/Economy, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS Bhubaneswar, Dec 16 (IANS) The Odisha government, which has set a target to skill eight lakh youth in the next three years, asked all departments to submit the action plan for skill training for 2017-18 and 2018-19. Skill Development secretary Sanjay Singh on Friday requested all the departments to submit the action plan for skill training for 2017-18 and 2018-19. The road map for skill development and action plan for skilling 8 lakh youth under Chief Minister's Employment Generation Programme (CMEGP) was discussed at the first governing council meeting of Odisha Skill Development Authority(OSDA). OSDA chairman Subroto Bagchi emphasised that the guiding principle of skill development in the state should be to create separate identity 'Skilled in Odisha'. Skill Development and Technical Education Minister Sanjay Das Burma emphasised the need to strengthen District Employment Exchanges as the district employment officer is the nodal officer for implementation of Skill Training Programme at the district level. He said there is a need for early rollout of an Asian Development Bank project which will help substantially in the scaling up of the programme. He also outlined the need for tapping Government of India funding for undertaking a skill training programme in the state. He said the state government has accorded highest priority to skill development for the employability of unemployed youth. --IANS cd/pgh/bg India-US-Japan naval exercise to focus on anti-sub warfare Delhi,National,Defence/Security, Fri, 16 Dec 2016 IANS New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS) The next edition of India-US-Japan trilateral exercise 'Malabar' will be held in the Indian Ocean with a major focus on anti-submarine warfare, Commander of the US Seventh Fleet Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin said on Friday. Aucoin, now visiting India, in an interaction with journalists said he was happy with the three countries participating in the Malabar exercise and a decision on including any other country will depend on the leadership of these countries. Asked if the US would like Australia or China to join the Malabar exercise, Aucoin said: "It's a trilateral exercise, that's what I am focused on. In future, I am not sure that there is a possibility... Multilateral exercises are very good..." "I think that is for my leadership, also for the leadership in India and Japan to decide. It really helps -- three of the largest democracies, their naval forces working together. I am very happy with this," he said commenting on the current format of the exercise. He said the exercise will be held next year in the Indian Ocean, but the place or date has not been decided yet. Asked what will be new in the Malabar exercise this time, he said: "We want to do different mission areas, specially now that India flies P8Is and we fly P8As, I would like to have two of those aircraft working together and to hunt submarines." "So, anti-submarine warfare is one I think will be very beneficial, so I am looking forward to it in Malabar," he said. Malabar is a joint exercise between India and the US, which now has Japan as a permanent partner. In 2007, Australia was included along with Japan in the exercise. But a strong protest from China led to its withdrawal. In 2015, Australia again expressed interest in participating in the Malabar exercise. Commenting on the implementation of the logistic agreement between India and the US - LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement), Aucoin said it may take around a couple of years to implement it. He also said that the US has shared its "points of contact" -- the details of designated officials to whom the US military would have to send its request for logistics support under LEMOA -- but India is yet to share the list. He added that the problem of common accounting system for the three services also needed to be worked out. The US's Seventh Fleet has patrolled Asia's waters since World War II. Its coverage area extends from Japan to India. In the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to creation of Bangladesh, the Seventh Fleet was dispatched to put pressure on the Indian side when India bombed the Karachi harbour. The Soviet Union had then dispatched the Tenth Operative Battle Group of its Pacific Fleet to support India. Asked to comment on the incident, as Vijay Diwas, the commemoration of India's victory on Pakistan in 1971, was celebrated on Friday, Aucoin said both countries have come a long way from that time. --IANS ao/nir/vt MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - World Vision is pleased to be welcomed into the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS family after successfully becoming the record holder for the Longest line of candy canes. Measuring 1,047 metres, 7,335 candy canes were formed in lines and featured a giant heart, with the help of students from Hamilton District Christian High School. An initiative of the World Vision Gift Catalogue, this event was a celebration of the best part of Christmas - love. While some Canadians scramble to buy loved ones the perfect gift, thousands of other gift givers are choosing to celebrate the holidays and show their love for children around the world by getting them gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalogue. Held at Hamilton District Christian High School, 30 students from grades nine and ten helped to create the giant heart and ensure all the candy canes were touching, as per the requirements. Students at this school have been involved with World Vision throughout the year, and are youth who have demonstrated their love for others around the world, with World Vision's help. Candy canes were supplied by Hamilton candy maker, Karma Candy, Inc. Additional photos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oy8aurybh39mf5l/AABMNB80xFCy4I2lFX6bpbN5a?dl=0 "Today we made a giant candy cane heart to celebrate love as the absolute best part of Christmas. We recognize and honour the many Canadians that choose to show their love this Christmas by giving gifts to families they've never met through the World Vision Gift Catalogue." Lisa Fernandes , World Vision Gift Catalogue Interviews: Sarah Bartley, World Vision Gift Catalogue Quick Facts: More than 50,000 Canadians bought gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalogue last year Hosted by Hamilton District Christian High School this event was in celebration of Christmas, love and everyone who gives a gift through the World Vision Gift Catalogue. Local candy maker Karma Candy , Inc. supplied World Vision with 8,000 candy canes in preparation for this event. Background Information: Visit us at www.worldvision.ca/gifts Post using #meaningfulgifts What Canadians can do: Buy a gift through the World Vision Gift Catalogue this Holiday season. World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Visit our News Centre at worldvision.ca SOURCE World Vision Canada For further information: For interviews contact: Sarah Bartley - 905-565-6200 ext. 4054 or [email protected] Related Links http://www.worldvision.ca OTTAWA, Dec. 16, 2016 /CNW/ - Cannabis Canada, the leading organization of Health Canada Licensed Producers of cannabis, commends the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation for its thorough and thoughtful approach to a complex issue and supports many of the recommendations contained within the report submitted to the Government of Canada. The Association looks forward to working with all levels of government throughout the process of legalization. "Overall, the Task Force has succeeded in providing the federal government with a set of well-informed and comprehensive recommendations that will guide the development of legislation for the legalization and regulation of cannabis in Canada," said Colette Rivet, Executive Director of Cannabis Canada Association. "Our membership is unanimous in the need to protect the health and well-being of Canadians. Effective education, ensuring product quality and safety, and keeping cannabis out of the hands of youth is paramount to achieving this, and will have the added outcome of shutting down the black market." In developing legislation and regulations, Cannabis Canada encourages the Government of Canada to allow a level of product branding and advertising that in no way appeals to children or youth, encourages responsible use and provides information to consumers. "There is a lot of confusion in the marketplace. About a quarter of the inquiries Cannabis Canada receives are questions about where and how to obtain legal cannabis," added Ms. Rivet. "Allowing companies to brand and advertise their products will help consumers to distinguish safe, quality, legally-produced cannabis from black market product, and it will also help consumers to make informed decisions regarding different strains, levels of potency and characteristics." In particular, Cannabis Canada supports the Task Force's recommendations in the following areas: Minimizing Harms of Use, including a national minimum age of purchase, prohibiting products and packaging deemed to be "appealing to children", requiring re-sealable packaging that is childproof or child-resistant, requiring appropriate and comprehensive labelling, and developing and implementing a robust public education campaign. Establishing a Safe and Responsible Supply Chain, including regulating production and drawing on the practices of the current medical system, seed-to-sale tracking, no co-location with alcohol or tobacco sales, limits on density and location of storefronts, and maintenance of the mail-order system. Enforcing Public Safety and Protection, including an education campaign on the dangers of cannabis-impaired driving, applicable laws and the ability of law enforcement to detect cannabis use, and baseline data collection. Medical Access, including maintenance of a separate medical system and supporting clinical research on the use of cannabis and cannabinoids for medical purposes. About Cannabis Canada Cannabis Canada is the leading organization of Canada's Licensed Producers of Medical Cannabis under Health Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). The Association's mission is to act as the national voice for our members in their promotion of industry standards; support the development, growth and integrity of the regulated cannabis industry; and serve as a trusted resource on issues related to the safe and responsible use of cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes. Members of Cannabis Canada share a philosophy of both patient-centric care and improved public health, and are committed to product safety and quality, secure and reliable access and the promotion of the safe and effective use of cannabis. www.cann-can.ca. SOURCE Cannabis Canada Association For further information: Colette Rivet, Executive Director, Cannabis Canada Association, [email protected], 613.407.1080 Related Links www.cmcia.ca OTTAWA, Dec. 15, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative met in Ottawa this week for a three-day launch event that brought together 90 participants, including sponsorship groups, international delegates, partners and government officials interested in Canada's private sponsorship model for refugees. There are close to 1.2 million refugees around the world in critical need of resettlement. The addition of a private sponsorship program alongside existing government-assisted ones has the potential to significantly increase resettlement places for vulnerable refugees. Private sponsorship plays an important role in facilitating the integration of newly arrived refugees thanks to the support and engagement of individuals, community organizations, faith-based groups, NGOs, private companies and resettled refugee families. The Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative is led by the Government of Canada, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the University of Ottawa, the Radcliffe Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. During this week's meetings, participants met with more than 30 experts from Canadian civil society, sponsors and sponsored-refugees, to discuss the Canadian model, share lessons and develop advice for other countries looking to develop private sponsorship of refugeesprograms. In attendance at the conference were representatives from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as a variety of other stakeholders from around the world. They discussed Canada's private sponsorship model and how it could be adapted and supported in other countries' contexts. Throughout the conference, participants discussed the need for champions in other countries to generate support for private sponsorship programs and the need to engage civil society in building and growing these programs. They also committed to working together to make sure that the global narrative on refugees is a positive one. Quotes: "Resettling refugees is the right thing to do, and through private sponsorship Canada can offer protection to a greater number of refugees than those directly supported by the Government. We are excited about the work of this initiative to build the capacity for others to launch private sponsorship programs, inspired by the Canadian model." The Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada "Our hope is thatthe successful Canadian private sponsorship model will inspire other States to develop programs appropriate to their context. We have been actively advocating with several countries in Europe and Latin America on the importance of creating more resettlement opportunities for vulnerable refugees." Johannes Van Der Klaauw, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative to Canada "This is an extraordinary initiative that has brought together partners of very different kinds who are united in working toward an important goal. Clearly private sponsorship is an innovative means for expanding resettlement opportunities for refugees. But it's much more than that. There's a tremendous desire from people around the world to respond to this crisis. The Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative creates opportunities for citizens to engage with and participate in a humanitarian effortfor the benefit of refugees and for the benefit of the communities that they live in." Gregory A. Maniatis, senior program advisor, Open Society Foundations "As a proud Canadian, I am very encouraged by our meetings this week on how best to share our proven refugee sponsorship model. The refugee crisis can be addressed if we act as global citizens, in collaboration with governments, the private sector and the philanthropic community." Frank Giustra, Founder and President of the Radcliffe Foundation "I am proud that for over thirty years Canadians have been privately sponsoring refugees. This initiative aims to share Canada's experience and support the adoption of similar models in other countries. The ultimate goal is to increase refugee protection by mobilizing the compassion that exists in communities around the world." Jennifer Bond, University of Ottawa Quick Facts: Since the late 1970s, private sponsors have brought more than 288,000 refugees to Canada , over and above those resettled with government funding. Related products Associated links Backgrounder: Canada's Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program Follow us SOURCE Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada For further information: Camielle Edwards, Minister's Office, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Ottawa 613-954-1064; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Communications Branch, [email protected], Ottawa, 613-952-1650; Anne Mcpherson, Open Society Foundations, [email protected], New York 917-531-4050; Cecile Pouilly, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, [email protected], Geneva +41 79 200 7617; Gisele Nyembwe, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, [email protected], Ottawa 613-232-0909 ext.225 Related Links http://www.cic.gc.ca Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements. Guo Yike, one of the world's leading scientists in the realm of big data. [Photo provided to China Daily] Guo Yike, one of the world's leading scientists in the realm of big data, is not afraid of upsetting journalists. "One day, this interview will be done by a machine," he says, before offering some comfort."Theoretically, it's not impossible and it might happen within five to eight years, but the story it writes might not be as vivid as a journalist's." Guo is a founding director of Imperial College London's Data Science Institute, which was set up in 2014 with investment from, among others, Chinese telecom company Huawei and Zhejiang University. The institute fosters research that combines big data with disciplines including medicine, business and robotics. "My dream is to make a machine that will make predictions and get results from data, and turn this into intelligence." He gives the example of what healthcare might look like in the near future. Patients may still go to see a doctor but their diagnosis would be based on data about their molecular profile and lifestyle. "You might see different doctors, depending on your condition, and you would all work with machines," he says. "You would get your own personalized prescription. Operations will be done by robots." It is a vision that would have seemed impossible to his physician grandfather. Guo, 54, was born in Shanghai to scientist parents and studied computer science at Tsinghua University. "I was part of the first generation of PhD students since the'cultural revolution'(1966-76) to go abroad. I came to Imperial in 1985 and have been here pretty much ever since," he says."I was shocked when I first arrived in London, it was very different from China in those days. My impression was it smelt of chocolate, so it was very nice!" Guo is cheerful and open, in contrast to the popular image of the intense scientist lost in research. The family involvement in science continues with his son, who starts medical studies next year. His daughter works on sustainable development for the fashion designer Stella McCartney. Guo climbed the academic ranks at Imperial from postgraduate student to professor and he has had British citizenship for more than 20 years. "I have always been on the research side of academia but I like teaching and I still supervise about 20 post-graduate students a year," he says. He has worked on technology for scientific data analysis since the mid-1990s, focusing on data mining, knowledge discovery and large-scale data management. Much of his time is spent overseeing the DSI, which conducts research into topics as varied as human migration patterns in China to how online payments can explain social phenomena. His roomy office at Imperial has a photo of him with President Xi Jinping, taken when the Chinese leader visited the DSI in October 2015. He remains confident Imperial will retain its global role, after Britain's vote to leave the EU led to predictions of a"brain drain". Guo is also dean of Shanghai University's computer science department, giving him another reason to visit home. "China has made very good progress and is very open-minded," he said. "There is recognition of the need to change the way kids are taught at primary and high school. There is need for more creativity, critical thinking, and thinking out of the box." The author is a freelance writer. Amina Oyagbola, the Human Resources Executive at MTN Nigeria, is quitting the nations largest mobile phone company. Amina Oyagbola, the Human Resources Executive at MTN Nigeria, is quitting the nations largest mobile phone company.Oyagbola, who has held various positions, including Head of Regulatory and Corporate Services at MTN Nigeria, will be leaving the mobile company at the end of this year following what insiders described as voluntary resignation.The telecoms company, in a statement yesterday, said after 12 years of working with MTN, the top executive, often hailed as the Yello Lady for her practice of associating with the brand by wearing yellow clothing and accessories for all public appearances during her early years, is moving on.According to the statement, Amina joined MTN in 2004 as Corporate Services Executive and was the pioneer Director of the MTN Foundation. Since then, she has added significant value to the organisation through a number of key roles. In 2008, she was appointed Human Resources Executive.During her tenure, MTN became the first company in Nigeria accredited with the Investors in People (IIP) Gold Standard, and was named the best telecoms company in Jobbermans best 100 best places to work in Nigeria in 2014. Ima Niboro, former Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, has said that the All Progressive Congress (APC) is a viable platform t... Ima Niboro, former Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, has said that the All Progressive Congress (APC) is a viable platform that will ensure the desired change in the country.He spoke at the APC National Secretariat while meeting with the partys National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, on Thursday in Abuja.Mr. Niboro recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.He was formally received by APC stalwarts in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta on December 5.The former managing director urged politicians to remain focused and not to distract the President Muhammad Buhari-led administration, adding that it was time to work.This is the time to work and not time for making noise.It is time for anybody who is a politician to go to the grassroots and work; we should not wait till election time.This is the time we should start the processes to convince people that this is a viable platform and once we do that, I am sure we will be able to do very well.He described as a wonderful one, his meeting with the APC national chairman whom he said he met last in 1992 when he was governor of Edo.Mr. Niboro said the APC national chairman is a father-figure in the South-South, adding that he had been following Mr. Odigie-Oyeguns political trajectory for a long time.He said the APC national chairman received him warmly to the party, adding that he discussed major issues with him, especially issues concerning Delta.Earlier, the APC national chairman, while receiving Mr. Niboro, expressed satisfaction that he joined the party.He expressed optimism that Mr. Niboro would bring his political expertise to bear in advancing the party and the country generally.Mr. Niboro had earlier said his joining APC was to align Delta with the government at the national level and to galvanise development in the state.It is not a sudden switch. I have had 18 months to study the situation as it concerned my ward, local government, community and even my state.I have to conclude that there is time for everything.This is the time for us in Delta to link up with the Federal Government in order to bring development to our land, he had said. President Muhammadu Buhari welcomes the appointment of the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, to join the next United Nations Secret... President Muhammadu Buhari welcomes the appointment of the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, to join the next United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his deputy.Speaking with the in-coming Secretary- General, Mr. Guterres, who called to inform President Buhari of his decision to name Mrs. Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General Thursday evening, the president used the opportunity to reiterate his support and congratulations to Mr. Guterres on his upcoming tenure in the service.He endorsed the excellent selection of Mrs. Mohammed.By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured, said the president.President Buhari thanked Mrs. Mohammed for her untiring contribution to transform Nigeria and said he looked forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria.He said he had no doubt that she will continue to make Nigeria proud at the global level.It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017, a statement by the presidents spokesman, Garba Shehu, said.In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the governments success in the Environment sector.These include, but not limited to implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall. The Federal Government on Thursday said the present administration was not responsible for the current economic situation which is impove... The Federal Government on Thursday said the present administration was not responsible for the current economic situation which is impoverishing Nigerians.The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, said this while answering reporters questions after the last meeting of the National Economic Council for the year at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.Udomas position was corroborated by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, who said any Nigerian accusing the present government of impoverishing the citizens was not being charitable.They had earlier briefed journalists on the outcome of the meeting presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo during which members did an overview of the key policy actions undertaken by the states and federal governments to address the economic challenges facing the nation.Udoma said rather than being responsible for the countrys problems, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was on a rescue mission.The challenges notwithstanding, he said, the government would not spend its time looking backwards.He said the present administration was determined to change things in the country.The minister said, We did not create and are not responsible for the current economic situation we find ourselves. We are actually a rescue team, a team working on rescuing Nigeria from the position we find ourselves in.Under President Muhammadu Buhari, we are determined to take Nigeria out of the situation. The situation started long before we came.As you know, oil price started falling from 2014 when it was about $110 and by January this year, it was below $30. Unfortunately, they did not save.None of us here now was there but we are not going to spend our time looking backwards, we are determined to change things in this country.We are determined to take Nigeria from a consuming nation to a producing nation. That is why we are developing the economy recovery and growth plan and that is our focus. We are committed to success.Corroborating the ministers position, El-Rufai said the governance structure inherited by the present administration was based on the assumption that oil price would remain at $100 per barrel.The governor also accused past administrations after former President Olusegun Obasanjo of allegedly wasting the savings they inherited from Obasanjo as well as governments earnings during their tenure.El-Rufai said, When people say that this administration has impoverished them, they are not being charitable because I have said we inherited a governmental structure that was based on the assumption that the price of oil will remain $100 per barrel.By the time we took over, prices reduced to as low as $26 per barrel. Eighty per cent of government revenue depends on the price of oil and the quantity of oil sold.You must expect a cut in your consumption if the price collapses. If in your own household, your salary is slashed by 80 per cent, what will you do?This is what Nigeria is going through. Our revenues have collapsed by about 40 per cent to 60 per cent if you compare it to say 2014.This collapse happened because there is a reduction in price of oil. Secondly, we were producing over two million barrels of oil per day but because of the situation in the Niger Delta, we are now producing about 1.1million barrels per day.It is therefore inevitable that there will be cut and pain. But to say that it is government that is doing it without referring to the cause is not fair.When I left government as minister in 2007, we left $40bn in reserves and $27bn in the Excess Crude Account, that was what we handed over to YarAdua.To check the disruption in oil production as a result of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, El-Rufai said the governors had resolved to set up a committee that would work with the Federal Government to resolve the issue.He said Osinbajo told the governors that the Federal Government was willing to address the problem.The governor also said he presented a paper titled Doing More With Less to the council in which he called on his colleagues to reduce cost and size of government.He said he also advised that the budget reforms being done at the national level should be replicated at state and local government levels..The governor said the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, also made a presentation on Fiscal Roadmap for 2017. A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited to pay N10bn to victims of a January 12, 1998 oil spillage whic... A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited to pay N10bn to victims of a January 12, 1998 oil spillage which occurred when a 24 inches pipeline belonging to the company burst, releasing its content into the marine environment.About 40,000 barrels of Qua Iboe light crude had spilled into the environment when the 25-year-old pipeline burst in Akwa Ibom State.The oil spillage had spread over about 850km of Nigerias coastline and up to Republic of Benin.A suit marked FHC/L/CS/274/2002 had been filed against Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited by one Chief M.A. Ajanaku and others, who sued on behalf of themselves and the fishing communities and cooperatives of Lagos.The plaintiffs had claimed that their tools of trade and occupational locations and environment were destroyed by the Idoho oil spillage.They had urged the court to order Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited to commence post-impact remediation programmes in respect of their land and waters polluted by the Idoho oil spill and do all such acts and things to clean up their environment and restore it to its original state.They also urged the court to order the oil company to pay them N8.4bn as special damages with an annual interest of 10 per cent from January 26, 1998 until till the final liquidation of the award.They also urged the court to order the oil company to pay them N1.4bn as general damages for the infraction of their constitutional and statutory rights and interest on the judgement sum at the rate of 10% from the date of judgement until full payment.In a judgement on Wednesday, 14 years after the suit was filed, Justice Ibrahim Buba affirmed that the plaintiffs right to life and right to live in an environment favourable to their socioeconomic development as guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 constitution and Articles 22 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act Cap 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, had been violated on account of the oil spillage.The judge awarded N10bn against Mobil Producing Nigeria Limited in favour of the plaintiffs. Valentina Guebuza, the daughter of the former Mozambican president Armando Guebuza has reportedly been shot dead by her husband, Zofimo ... Valentina Guebuza, the daughter of the former Mozambican president Armando Guebuza has reportedly been shot dead by her husband, Zofimo Muiuane.Reports on Thursday said the incident took place on Wednesday in Maputo.The businesswoman died at the age of 36, leaving behind a daughter. According to police, she was shot by her husband and died before reaching hospital, the Club of Mozambique reported.Police said Valentina Guebuza was killed by four shots from a pistol illegally acquired in South Africa by her husband, Zofimo Muiuane.Muiuane had since been arrested and remained in custody.Valentina Guebuza was listed as the seventh most powerful woman in Africa by Forbes magazine in 2013. Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Thursday led thousands of the people to the streets to protest the alleged killings by the p... Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Thursday led thousands of the people to the streets to protest the alleged killings by the police and other security agencies during the December 10 rerun elections.The governor and other protesters had taken off from the Government House, Port Harcourt at 8am and marched through Azikiwe Street and Bank Road before stopping at the Rivers State Police Command headquarters on Moscow Road.Wike had waited patiently for about 30 minutes before the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Cyril Okoro came out and spoke through the gate.The governor, who later addressed the police, explained that the people of Rivers State were at the Police Command to inform the authorities that they were tired of the killings of innocent people in the state by the police and other security operatives.He pointed out that the people and state government were dissatisfied with the recklessness of two Senior Policemen, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Steven Hasso, and the Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Mr Akin Fakorede.According to him, the officers led the sponsored onslaught against the people of Rivers State and compromised the security architecture of the state.On behalf of the Rivers State Government and the good people of the state, we have to let the police know that enough is enough.We demand that the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Steven Hasso and the Commander of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Akin Fakorede, must leave the state.Since you dont want to protect the state and you want to be politicians, you have gotten the votes you want to get, you have also gotten the seats you want to get; you can now leave the state.If they dont leave the state, then we will do all we can to ensure they leave this state. They must leave this state. They have killed innocent people.We have come here peacefully, communicate this to your superiors in Abuja. I cannot write again since I have done that repeatedly. Please, I dont want my people to die anymore, Wike said.The governor stated that the Police High Command had refused to act despite the overwhelming evidence against the duo, especially the video footage that showed Akin Fakorede and other security operatives trying to snatch results of the Rivers East Senatorial District.Wike described a situation, where security officials had transformed into politicians in uniform as unfortunate.Reacting, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Cyril Okoro, assured the governor that the Rivers State Police Command would pass his message to the Police High Command for necessary action.However, at the main entrance to the State Police Command, the policemen inside the command did not open the gate for the governor and other protesters.Among those who accompanied the governor to the State Police Command were the State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo; Speaker, State House of Assembly, Dabo Adams; ex-minister of Transport, Dr Abiye Sekibo; former UBA chairman, Chief Ferdinand Alabrabra; ex-state deputy governor, Tele Ikuru; and Rivers State PDP Chairman, Chief Felix Obuah. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has described as false the claim by the Senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu, that the... The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has described as false the claim by the Senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu, that the court had perpetually restrained the Federal Government from extraditing him to the United States of America to face drugs-related charges.This is contained in a counter-affidavit filed by the NDLEA before a Federal High Court in Abuja, to oppose the contempt proceedings initiated by Kashamu against the agency and other respondents.Kashamu had filed the contempt suit before Justice Gabriel Kolawole against the Chairman of the NDLEA, the NDLEA itself and the Attorney-General of the Federation.He anchored the proceedings on an allegation that the three respondents were taking steps to extradite him to the USA in disobedience to various orders of court.Justice Kolawole had last year struck out the extradition proceedings initiated by the then Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, against Kashamu.The decision by Justice Kolawole was based on the previous rulings of the Lagos Divisions of the Federal High Court against the planned extradition.But the NDLEA, in a counter-affidavit deposed to by one of its litigation officers, Mr. Rifkatu Philip Barde, the anti-drugs agency, said the court orders referred to by the senator did not prevent the respondents from taking lawful steps to extradite him.The counter-affidavit read in part, The respondents cannot be restrained perpetually from arresting the applicant. What the respondents are hereby restrained from doing, that is assuming they can even act on any application for his extradition having regard to the substantive judgment, is unlawful arrest or abduction without a warrant duly issued in line with the Extradition Act as amended.The decision of the court in the case of Kashamu did not shut the door to any lawful steps that may be subsequently taken to extradite him pursuant to the Extradition Act Cap. E, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.The agency stated that Kashamu had been using false text messages to mislead the court and that the call log which he claimed to have obtained from the service provider did not support the his claim about the alleged attempt to forcefully abduct him and ferry him to USA to face drug crime charges. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 A 55-year-old trader, Mrs Saidat Abu, on Thursday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that her husband was a flirt who impregnated h... A 55-year-old trader, Mrs Saidat Abu, on Thursday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that her husband was a flirt who impregnated her younger sister on two occasions.She said this while responding to a suit filed by her husband, Momodu, alleging threat to his life by his wife.Saidat, who alleged that her husband did not only commit adultery but incest, said, My husband was having an affair with my sister, he impregnated her and aborted the pregnancy on two occasions.I decided not to fight him in order to save my marriage.The mother of two also described her husband as a wicked and callous man.She said, My husband took me to the hospital and connived with the doctor to remove my womb so that I will not be pregnant again.After destroying my womb, he is now telling me that he wants to marry another woman so that he can have a son that will inherit his property.He also told me he wants to sell our house so that he can settle our daughters and rent an apartment for me before he moves on with his life.She, however, begged the court not to grant her husbands request, saying she was still in love with him.She said, Who will marry me now after my husband has destroyed my womb? Please do not grant his request.Her husband, a 60-year-old businessman, had approached the court to end his 33-year-old marriage over his wifes alleged fetish act.He said, My wife is fetish; I came back from work one day and discovered a portion in my compound was cemented.I was curious to know what was buried in the ground, so I called my people and we dug the ground and saw a charm buried there.My wife wanted to kill me so that she can inherit my property.The petitioner presented as evidence pictures of the buried charm.Momodu also said that his wife does not cook or wash his clothes.He said, My wife cannot do any house chore; I am married but living like a single man, I can no longer tolerate her.He further accused his wife of inscribing This house is not for sale on the wall of his house without his consent.The petitioner urged the court to terminate the marriage, saying he was fed up.The courts president, Mr. Adegboyega Omilola, after listening to the couple, adjourned the case till Feb. 7 for further hearing.NAN The New UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on Thursday announced Nigerias Environment minister, Amina Mohammed, as his Deputy Secr... Guterres made the announcement through the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Mr. Stephane Dujarric.Guterres also announced the duo of Ms. Maria Viotti of Brazil and Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN.He said, I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet.I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role.I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action.These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity.Mohammed, the current Nigerias Minister of Environment, served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning.She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals.Before joining the UN, Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals.She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions.She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda.Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.She is also the UN Secretary-Generals Global Sustainability Panel, the African Womens Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Mohammed is married and has six children.Guterres had hinted on Monday after he took the oath of office that gender parity would be top of his agenda as the UN scribe.He said, I think that one very important element of the agenda would be to give a clear signal that gender parity is a must and so in the appointments I will be making.And the first ones would be announced soon. Youll see that gender parity will become a clear priority from top to bottom in the UN and it will have to be respected by all.This is a very ambitious agenda, an agenda that must be for both woman and man, and that is why parity is so important in our reform perspectives.That is also why the empowerment of women is so important in everything the UN will be doing around the world.Guterres, succeeds outgoing secretary-general Ban, who bows out on Dec. 31, 2016 after a decade of two terms, while the new secretary-general assumes office on Jan. 1, 2017, for the next five years.NAN Ex Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu today paid a visit to IPOB director Nnamdi Kanu at the Kuje prison. Ex Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu today paid a visit to IPOB director Nnamdi Kanu at the Kuje prison.Speaking afterwards, he said:"Today, I visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Kuje Prison and we engaged in a very long discussion. Kanu is my brother and a son of the soil. He shouldn't be where he is because Kuje Prison is not his home. It is therefore my utmost concern to see him regain his freedom like every other Nigerian" The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike has reacted to an audio yesterday released by Sahara Reporters where he purportedly threatened to k... The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike has reacted to an audio yesterday released by Sahara Reporters where he purportedly threatened to kill an INEC official.In a statement signed Dr Tam-George, Commissioner for Information and Communication, Rivers State Wike said he was impersonated and blamed APC for the act.The statement reads: The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to a publication by SaharaReporters, alleging that Governor Nyesom Wike had illicit contacts with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the run up to the rerun elections, on the 10th of December 2016 in Rivers State.We categorically deny these latest allegations as a sick fabrication, and an outright lie. Governor Wike never made any contact with INEC officials, in person or by telephone. Saharareporters.com is the online propaganda bullhorn of the All Progressives Congress, APC.Their publications are typically false, and the writers are professional hawkers of fiction. No one would have thought that the APC and its cowardly media allies would resort to an audio impersonation of Governor Nyesom Wike, using a voice changer technology. The voice changer technology is often used by teenagers especially in South Korea and Japan to launch innocent technological pranks at each other, mainly for laughs.The use of such a technology to blackmail a governor is a new criminal low for the APC, a party already widely discredited for its addiction to falsehood. The APC and Saharareporters are inmates in the prison of their own lies. We reject the latest blackmail by the APC. The Department of State Services has said the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has fai... The Department of State Services has said the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, has failed integrity test, warning that he will hinder President Muhammadu Buharis anti-corruption war.The Senate had on Thursday rejected the nomination of Magu by Buhari as the Chairman of the EFCC.The upper chamber of the National Assembly cited security reports as the reason for the rejection.However, journalists sighted a copy of the security report by the DSS in which Magus activities were alleged to have made him ineligible to hold the office.The letter, dated October 3, was addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, in reference to a letter by the Senate, dated September 21, 2016, asking for Magus security check.The report, which listed several alleged malpractices against the EFCC boss, said his confirmation would frustrate the anti-graft drive of the Buhari-led administration.Part of the allegations against Magu was his being in possession of EFCC documents in his private residence during the chairmanship of Farida Waziri.The DSS also made reference to the circumstances surrounding Magus arrest, detention and suspension by the Nigeria Police.The secret service also alleged that the sum of N40m was paid for the rented apartment, which costs N20m per annum, where the acting EFCC chairman currently resides.It added that the accommodation was not paid for from the commissions account but by a presidential appointee, who had been under investigation.The DSS alleged that after renting the apartment for Magu, the friend awarded a N43m contract for the furnishing of the accommodation.The appointee, who is a retired Air Commodore, was said to be a close associate and ally of Magu, allegedly and runs questionable business and was once arrested by the service.The report, which cleared the other four EFCC appointees, said Magu, flew a private jet owned by the retired military officer.The service also claimed that the EFCC boss was once in the same flight to Maiduguri with a Managing Director of one of the new generation banks, who it alleged was under investigation.It added that the bank chief had been linked with a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.The DSS stated that after the arrest of service chiefs by the EFCC, including Badeh, Umar and Amosu, Magus ally, while under interrogation by the service, had confessed that he didnt want Amosu to be probed, the reason why the EFCC arraigned Amosu after his friends interrogation.The acting EFCC boss was also accused in the report of making false allegations against individuals for personal reasons.The report said, The circumstances surrounding the return of Magu to the EFCC and the role played by Lamorde and their close relationship are clear indications of his culpability in the allegation of corruption tendencies of the Lamorde-led EFCC.The DSS also alleged that Magu uses only his police cronies to execute operations, adding that the fact that the cronies had acquired landed properties led credence to the questions about his integrity.The report added, In this light, Magu has failed the integrity test and will eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration.In rejecting Magu, the upper chamber of the National Assembly had cited security reports as the reason for the rejection.The screening had been listed on the Order Paper as part of the activities at the chamber for the day.The lawmakers were to conduct a confirmatory screening for Magu and four members of the EFCC on their nomination.The plan to conduct the confirmatory screening had allegedly divided the senators.It was reliably learnt that at the usual pre-session meeting by the principal officers on Thursday, which held at the Senate Presidents office, the lawmakers engaged themselves in a shouting match.The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, before the end of the closed-door session, announced that the lawmakers had rejected Magus nomination and would not screen him.Abdullahi, who read from a statement while addressing journalists, said, The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wishes to inform the general public that based on security reports available to the Senate, the Senate cannot proceed and confirm the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as the Executive Chairman of the EFCC.Accordingly, the Senate hereby rejects the said nomination and has returned the said nomination to Mr. President for further action.In an attempt by journalists to ask Abdullahi questions, especially on the reported power play involving Magu, individuals and the Presidency and the Senate leadership, the Senator said, Theres no confusion here. We have said it is based on security reports. Please, all of us public officers go for security screening. Everybody! And we are saying based on security reports, we cannot proceed and confirm (Magu) and we are rejecting it (the nomination) and returning it to Mr. President for further action. That is just the statement.The report, it was gathered, had been with Senate President Bukola Saraki since October.Saraki, who presided over the plenary, referred the other nominees to the Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes for screening.Magu, who was appointed by the President as acting Chairman of the EFCC in November, 2015, following the removal of Ibrahim Lamorde, has remained in the acting capacity for over one year.Apart from Magu, the confirmation of four members of the commission was also delayed.The affected appointees are Moses Nda Sule, Mamman Lawan, Imam Najib Galadanchi and Adebayo Adeleke.The letter for Magus confirmation was dated June 17, 2016, and signed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was then the acting President while Buhari was in the United Kingdom on a 10-day medical vacation.Sagay, others accuse lawmakers of fighting corruption warReacting to the rejection of Magu on Thursday, Sagay berated the Senate for refusing to confirm the acting EFCC chairman.Sagay revealed that the Senate acted for selfish reasons and not in the general interest of Nigerians.He said, The Senate doesnt appoint a chairman of the EFCC; what it does is to confirm an appointment. If it doesnt confirm, then, he will remain acting, he doesnt become substantive but the powers of acting or substantive chairman are the same; it is just a difference in nomenclature.So, any act of bad faith to slow down the corruption war is misplaced and it wont work. It is sad that people will go to that extent of rejecting what is good for the country for their selfish reasons because they think it is not convenient for them. So this is preference for self-preservation at the expense of the nation and the people of the country.He asked Nigerians to rise up and join the fight against corruption and condemn the action of the Senate.They must show that they are interested and affected by the misery and poverty that have been caused by looting. They must come out and fight and join in the struggle; otherwise, they will wake up one day and realise that there is no country again.Also, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), believed the Senate had not rejected Magu officially.He said, What the law says is that the Senate shall confirm an EFCC chairman; not an executive session, not a committee and the Senate has not done this.So, the Senate has not rejected him and if you look at what has been done, they are saying they received a security report for which reason they are not considering his nomination.Also, a group of lawyers, under the aegis of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, demanded the disclosure of the nature and content of the security report, which the Senate relied on to reject the nomination of Magu.In a statement on Thursday by its President, Mr. Luke Aghanenu, NADL said it was curious that the Senate would reject Magu in spite of the good performance of the EFCC under his watch as acting chairman.The group said, Perhaps it is to save its face from what obviously seems to be outright bias that it embarked on this rejection by invoking unexplained security reasons.As the power to confirm or reject a nominee for the Chairman of the EFCC is a constitutional duty, we demand that the Senate should immediately disclose to Nigerians what the security report on Mr. Ibrahim Magu, is to justify the announced rejection of his nomination. President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government is not spending any money on the wedding ceremony of his daughter, Zah... President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government is not spending any money on the wedding ceremony of his daughter, Zahra, slated for Friday in Abuja.The presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, stated this in his Facebook page on Thursday.Shehu maintained that all the wedding expenses including the printing and distribution of invitation cards, souvenirs, lunch event for the men and dinner for the women as well as other miscellaneous expenses would be financed by the family and personal aides.He said the president has said that even though the family wants to make Zahra happy on her wedding day, she will not enjoy royal wedding.He said, Zahra Muhammadu Buharis wedding to Ahmed Mohammed Indimi starting today is a celebrity event to savour any day. Much as the family wants to make their daughter happy they, however, will not make it a royal wedding.The Presidents family is trying hard to keep it as simple as possible. Wedding Lalle, Fatiha, lunch event for the men and dinner for the women who must have come from far and near and the bride heads to her husband!In a twist from what was a norm among past leaders, the President asked to be given the bill for the food at the banquet. Government, he said, has no business paying for that.This should be treated as private. His family and personal aides put the money together to foot the bill. No government money in invitation cards, souvenirs or Aso-Ebi. Thats essential Buhari for you!!.The Wedding Fatiha will be conducted at the National Mosque, Abuja, on Friday, while reception for guest will be held at the Presidential Banquet Hall.(NAN) NEWARK -- A recent injunction restricting the use of subpoena and investigatory powers by Newark's civilian police review board has drawn the ire of activists who say those powers -- long questioned by police union officials -- are necessary tools. The injunction is the result of a lawsuit filed against the city by the Newark lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, which has argued for almost two years that the board's authority undermines the Newark department's disciplinary process. At a press conference Thursday at City Hall, representatives of the People's Organization For Progress said the move crippled a civilian body touted by city officials as necessary oversight in the wake of a scathing 2014 report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Lawrence Hamm, president of POP, argued that without the powers, "you can't seriously process a citizen's complaint." "When you look at the struggle for a police review board, its a struggle for accountability," he said. Hamm, was joined by members of the Newark NAACP, the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition and the community at large, as well as Rick Robinson, a member of the review board who Hamm said was unable to speak because of pending litigation. As an example of the need, the group pointed to New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board, which they said has long had subpoena powers of its own. "This is not an unreasonable demand," Hamm said. In a statement to NJ Advance Media, FOP lodge president James Stewart Jr. said there appears to be a misconception that the Civilian Complaint Review Board was ordered by the Department of Justice as part of the federal consent decree that resulted from the report. "I can assure you that is not the case," he said. The consent decree was approved by a federal judge in May, more than a year after the board was created in 2015 by an executive order signed by Mayor Ras Baraka, who called the board the strongest in the country. Since the day the executive order was signed, Stewart said, it has been the FOP's position that "its powers were too far-reaching and broad, and that it flew against the New Jersey State Constitution, as well as state law." "We filed a lawsuit to protect our members, and are prepared to move forward should this injunction be challenged, and let a Superior Court judge make a determination on the matter based on the merits of the case," he said. A city spokesperson indicated Baraka would not be commenting on the injunction. Court records show the case is scheduled for a motions hearing on Friday in Newark. Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook. HACKENSACK -- An Orange woman has pleaded guilty to helping run a prostitution ring in North Jersey that coerced teenage girls into becoming sex workers, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced in a release Thursday. Ernestine Bowman. (Courtesy law enforcement) According to Porrino, Ernestine Bowman, 32, worked with her husband, stepson, and two other women to run a human trafficking ring that advertised its prostitutes on Backpage.com, and brought them to meet clients at motels in South Hackensack, Clifton, and other North Jersey towns. Under the plea deal Bowman agreed to in Bergen County Superior Court Wednesday, she will likely be sentenced to 10 years in prison with 39 months of parole ineligibility, authorities said. Authorities alleged Bowman's stepson, Glen Bowman, Jr. 22, met a 16-year-old runaway in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 2014, and worked with his father, 41-year-old Glen Bowman, Sr. of Newark, to coerce her into a life of prostitution. The girl was trafficked to New Jersey, where authorities alleged the elder Glen Bowman and his wife ran a prostitution ring. Authorities say Jessica Renee Copeland, 28, of Newark, acted as the boss of the teen girl and the other prostitutes in the ring, and that Tokina Williams, 33, of Raleigh, N.C., acted as a prostitute and supervisor of the young girl. The five were indicted on various charges related to the ring in April 2015, after an undercover operation, Porrino said. Ernestine Bowman is the third of the group to plead guilty. "This plea ensures that the defendant will face a lengthy term behind bars for her role in the brutal sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old runaway," Porrino said in the release. "Bowman helped her husband trap a vulnerable girl in a miserable life of sexual slavery, where the victim faced threats of violence if she did not meet the demands of her captors." The South Hackensack Police Department began the investigation into the ring in October of 2014, when an undercover police officer responded to an online ad featuring the teen girl's bare breasts and offering her as an "escort" for $160. After meeting at a motel on Route 46 in South Hackensack, police arrested some of the ring's alleged leaders, and the teen girl, who had been reported missing in New York State. Investigators say the girl was forced to work as a prostitute five days a week, and was allegedly threatened with violence if she didn't comply. "Our department has been committed to conducting these undercover operations to flush out the criminality of prostitution and narcotics in our motels," said Chief Joseph Terraccino of the South Hackensack Police Department. "We remain committed to rescuing these victims from the underworld and arresting the predators who are responsible." Charges are still pending against Glen Bowman Sr. and Copeland, officials said. Glen Bowman Jr., has pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy to promote prostitution and faces a recommended sentence of seven years in prison, Porrino said. Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree promoting prostitution, authorities said. Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A nationwide survey released earlier this year said an average Chinese adult read less than eight books in 2015, among which 4.58 were paper books and 3.26 e-books. With digital books becoming more popular, many would find it hard to remember the last time they sat down in a bookstore and enjoyed a tranquil moment. But this does not mean that bookstores are losing their appeal. To lure more readers, bookstores are now bigger, more beautiful and grander. With 2016 coming to an end, here we take a look at some of the most beautiful bookstores in China in the hope that your New Year resolution would be to visit at least one of them in 2017. Librairie Avant-Garde [Photo/VCG] 1. Librairie Avant-Garde, Nanjing As a cultural icon in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, Librairie Avant-Garde is a must-see for both book lovers and travelers. The bookshop was listed among the world's most beautiful bookshops by BBC in 2014. The 4,000-square-meter store, founded in 1996, now sits in an underground parking lot, housing more than 300,000 books, mainly philosophy, literature, history and art. CLAYTON -- A borough man has been charged with setting a fire in a vacant house that left a firefighter with burns he suffered while battling the blaze, authorities said. Jesse McNulty, 25, of Clayton, was charged with arson and burglary. (Salem County Correctional Facility) Jesse McNulty, 25, of Clayton, was arrested Thursday on aggravated arson and burglary charges following the fire on West Howard Street on Wednesday, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. A firefighter suffered burns battling the blaze and was treated at Kennedy University Hospital, Washington Township. The house has been listed for sale for a year, authorities said. Following a hospital crisis evaluation, McNulty was placed in Salem County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail. Clayton Police assisted in the investigation. "Fires are such uncertain and dangerous events, to neighbors and those who extinguish them," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton said in a statement. "And the origins of arson fires are often difficult to trace. My thanks to the investigators who worked to identify a suspect in this case." Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. DEPTFORD TWP. -- Authorities have identified a man who died after fleeing a police traffic stop and crashing his car into a tree early Thursday. Andrew B. Davoli, 27, of Turnersville, was driving south on Hurffville Road in Deptford shortly after midnight when he crossed the center line, left the roadway and struck a tree in front of Beneficial Bank and the offices of the county probation department, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office. Andrew B. Davoli, 27, of Turnersville. (Salem County Correctional Facility) Davoli had just fled the scene of a motor vehicle stop, according to the prosecutor's office. Officials have not said where the original traffic stop occurred, why Deptford police tried to stop him or if police were actively pursuing Davoli when the crash occurred. Witnesses said the 2013 Ford Taurus was split in half by the impact. Davoli was pronounced dead at Inspira Medical Center Woodbury. Davoli was arrested in 2014 on an eluding charge after he allegedly led police on a 20-minute low-speed pursuit when an officer tried to pull him over in Harrison Township, according to previous reports. He was indicted on that charge the following year and the case was later transferred to drug court, according to court records. He was jailed again on Sept. 6 of this year for violation of probation, according to jail records, and released Sept. 16. The prosecutor's office is investigating Thursday's crash in accordance with the New Jersey Attorney General's vehicle pursuit policy, according to a statement released by the GCPO. Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. WOODBURY -- Police are searching for a Woodbury man who failed to appear in court after being charged in several Gloucester County burglaries. Johnny Holland, 20, of Woodbury, is wanted by the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office after not showing up for court conferences on charges in several Gloucester County burglaries. (Photo Provided) Johnny Holland, 20, is facing theft and burglary charges for break-ins at six different Washington Township businesses between March 5 and March 20. Holland failed to appear for a pre-trial conference on these charges. Additionally, Holland missed a final disposition conference on burglary and theft charges at a Mantua Township pizza shop on March 19. Holland is five feet eleven inches tall, weighs approximately 140 pounds and has brown eyes and black hair. He also goes by the name Kahlil Holland. Anyone with information on Holland's whereabouts should contact the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office at 856-384-5605. Anyone with information can also email the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office at tips@co.gloucester.nj.us. Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A torrent of last-minute calls from people seeking to enroll in Obamacare has overwhelmed the government's help line, causing officials to extend the deadline to midnight Monday, Dec. 19th. "Hundreds of thousands have already selected plans over the last few days, and nearly a million of you have left contact information to hold your place in line. We want to make sure all of you have access to affordable coverage. These additional days will give you a chance to come back and complete your enrollment for coverage starting January 1," the website healthcare.gov now states. Unlike the delays encountered in 2014, the first year of the Affordable Care Act, these are caused by the volume of phone calls, not by the website's internal issues. Anyone who enrolls by the deadline will receive coverage that starts Jan. 1 and lasts all year. Since you are signing an annual contract with an insurance company, the policy should remain for all of 2017- no matter what happens to the government program under the new president. Open enrollment extends to Jan. 31 for policies that will go into effect in February or March. In northern New Jersey, enrollment centers that provided one-on-one help are open Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are three locations: Iselin - 670 Route 1 Northbound, (732) 484-9710 Clifton - 1006 Rt. 46 Westbound, (201) 414-0465 Union City - 4539 Bergenline Ave., (201) 446-6772 People can call ahead to make an appointment, or can walk in without an appointment, said Lucie Roca, manager of the Union City site. They should bring whatever documents are needed to answer questions about annual income and immigration status, as well as the Social Security numbers for all members of their household that will be covered, including children. Pay stubs, W-2s or previous tax filings are helpful, she said, along with any information about any current health insurance coverage if applicable. All the three centers routinely have staffers who speak different languages. People can enroll via the website, healthcare.gov, which lists other locations for in-person assistance under the button "Find Local Help." Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook. What do you get when you combine a national obesity crisis with an aging workforce? Injured nurses, says the nursing union that forced a South Jersey hospital to provide more training and equipment to help nurses safely handle patients. Virtua Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly reached a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in which it agreed to pay a fine of $12,471 and to have equipment readily available to move patients as well as train managers and caregivers in their use. Nurses at the hospital had long been concerned there wasn't enough equipment to help them move patients, sometimes on short notice, said Bridget Devane, public policy director of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union. "If it's not easily accessible, you'll have to lift the patient yourself," she said. There are special chairs or harnesses that can help get a patient from one bed to another, or from bed to the bathroom and back. In addition, hospitals use "lifting teams" that pull in co-workers to help when necessary, she said. When members reported what they felt to be dangerous conditions to state health officials, the N.J. Department of Health recommended they file a complaint with OSHA. Last month the federal agency cited the hospital for requiring medical staff to perform unsafe patient handling tasks. As a result, it is putting into effect several changes to tackle the issue. "Although we disputed the allegations, Virtua worked cooperatively with OSHA to achieve a resolution that builds upon our Safe Patient Handling Program, which began 10 years ago and involves direct employee participation," a hospital spokeswoman said in a statement. "That program, which includes, among other things, patient handling equipment for caregivers and ergonomics training for all employees, will be enhanced further by the collaborative relationship we developed with OSHA." New Jersey passed a Safe Patient Handling Act over a decade ago, Devane said. The law was designed to prevent what was called at the time an "epidemic" of back injuries in the profession. Since then, however, two factors have combined to make those protections more essential: The average patient is getting heavier, while the average nurse is getting older, she said. "The average nurse is not 20 years old," Devane said. "She's more in her fifties." As a result, both nurse and patient risk injury if a patient has to be moved without the proper help or equipment. "If she's lifting someone by herself, it also creates a situation where patients are put at risk too. If the nurse's knees go out, the patient will be injured as well," she said. As part of the settlement, OSHA will conduct at least two inspections next year to monitor compliance with the settlement, the union said. Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook. school bus at JCMC.jpg A Jersey City public schools bus that was involved in an accident at West Side Avenue and Clinton Street on Dec. 16, 2016, is seen outside the Jersey City Medical Center-RWJBarnabas. (EJA) More than two dozens school children were evaluated at a local hospital this morning after a Jersey City school bus was involved in an accident at West Side and Oxford avenues, Jersey City schools spokeswoman Maryann Dickar said. The accident occurred just before 9 a.m., and 28 students -- preschoolers from School 29 -- and a bus driver went to the Jersey City Medical Center-RWJBarnabas hospital, Dickar said. All 29 were evaluated and released, said Mark Rabson, spokesman for the hospital. The children remained at the hospital until they were picked up by their parents. The school bus driver, 49, told police the bus was stopped in traffic when it was struck from behind by a Ford Explorer SUV. The driver of the SUV, a 37-year-old Jersey City woman, told police she was "attempting to make room for a turning vehicle" by moving the SUV to the right when it struck the bumper of the bus, according to the Jersey City accident report. China files official complaint with World Trade Organization over US and EU's failure to withdraw anti-dumping penalties In a reversal of roles, China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the failure of the United States and the European Union to honor promises made 15 years ago when China joined the global trade body. Usually they are the ones demanding that others obey international rules. "China urges each party to keep their word, observe international law and fulfill their international obligations," said Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng on the 15th anniversary of China's entering the WTO. "As for those who refuse to keep their promises, China will adamantly protect its legitimate interests and reserve the right to take further measures." On Dec 12, the day after China's WTO transitional period ended, Beijing notified the WTO Secretariat that it had requested dispute consultations with the United States and the European Union over their refusal to act on promises in the WTO accession documents. Article 15 of China's WTO entry protocol allowed other members of the WTO to employ the so-called "surrogate country" mechanism to calculate anti-dumping penalties against Chinese products. It clearly states that the provision expires 15 years after China's accession, which would be Dec 11 this year. Starting on Dec 12, China's domestic prices - not those of a third country - should be used as references when WTO members calculate dumping margins, if such cases emerge. Gao said that since this obligation was written into the international treaty, each WTO member should fulfill it by abolishing the "surrogate country" system as scheduled. Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies, warns that a continuation of the surrogate country system in anti-dumping investigations by the EU and US against China will damage the interests of all three parties in the long run and cost a huge amount in legal resources. Xue's comments came after China notified the Secretariat on Dec 12 that it had requested the dispute consultations. Under the rule, if consultations fail to resolve the dispute, China can request adjudication by a panel. At that stage, experts say, China has a strong case. The defendant party has the right to challenge the panel's ruling within a year. Under these circumstances, a final adjudication would be made by a WTO committee within 90 days. The WTO allows 15 months for the defendant to carry out the final order. If the defendant fails to do so, the aggrieved party can apply trade retaliation measures. It took three decades for China to integrate into the global multilateral trade system. It took 15 years from 1986 for China to resume its status as a party of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, known as GATT, which was converted into the World Trade Organization in 1995. After inking the deal in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, China has worked to turn promises in the lengthy accession documents into action. That involved radical domestic reforms during the 2001-16 transitional period. The figures show that China's efforts have paid off as a win-win with the world economy. Yi Xiaozhun, deputy director-general of the WTO, says China's historic accession has made both China and the WTO stronger and more vibrant, while China has made "deep and broad commitments" to reach this point. Yi says China accelerated major steps to liberalize trade before its entry into the WTO - for example, its reduction of most-favored-nation tariffs from 45 percent in 1992 to 15 percent in 2001. In 2015, the average of such tariffs was reduced to 9.5 percent. And China's trade-weighted average tariff is now as low as 4.5 percent. China also has opened up more than 100 service subsectors, such as finance, insurance, legal services, telecom, distribution and courier logistics. He also says China overhauled some 3,000 laws and regulations at the central government level, and many more at the local level, to bring its legal system into compliance with WTO standards. Yi says in the past 15 years both China and the world have seen trade flows rise dramatically. "In the absence of the surge of imports into China over the last six or seven years, it's very likely the global recession would have further deepened and that Asian countries would have been more adversely affected," he says. Furthermore, China is one of the few major developing countries that are committed to granting duty-free treatment for up to 97 percent of products made by the least-developed countries. However, China has yet to agree to terms with many of the developed economies on how to calculate the so-called dumping prices after Dec 11. Many WTO members fulfilled their promises just a few years after China's WTO entry. Examples include New Zealand, Australia, Iceland and Switzerland, which have not only recognized China as a market economy but also signed agreements for free trade. Up to 100 countries have already phased out the "surrogate country" mechanism, which usually puts Chinese exporters in a disadvantageous position in calculating dumping margins. Within the EU, the UK, Netherlands, Hungary and the Nordic countries support China's market economy status. Germany is supportive in principle but is interested in safeguards for sensitive industries. Italy and France are opposed. Since late 2015, US think tanks have exerted influence on the EU, warning of huge job losses if its members grant China market economy status. The EU has also linked the WTO issue to steel overcapacity, which is a global problem. In March, about 5,000 steelworkers marched on the streets outside some EU institutions in Brussels; and the European Parliament voted to refuse China market economy status, with many members saying that it had not met the five criteria set by the European institutions. The vote is not binding. All these efforts go hand-in-hand with the EU's so-called legislative reform steps, which allow it to scrap the list of market economies and use the concept of "market distortions" in calculating anti-dumping tariffs. Some European politicians share China's worries about the rise of protectionism in the West. "Regretfully, the European Union and United States have not fully recognized the potential China would release, and instead have resorted to protectionism," said former French premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin during an interview in Paris. "Protectionism is rampant and we must fight against it." Facing the EU and US failure to recognize China's status, Gao, the commerce minister, said the country will join hands with most of the member states to protect the solemnity of the multilateral trading system. Switzerland, among the earliest countries to recognize China's market economy status, has taken a similar position. On Dec 12, in a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, president of the Swiss Confederation and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Didier Burkhalter, agreed that the Swiss side is willing to deepen cooperation with China to maintain the global free trade system. Wang said: "With the trends of protectionism picking up, we will take advantage of the chance to upgrade our free trade partnership to send active signals of maintaining the global trade system, while opposing any form of protectionism." Containers piled up at a port in Qingdao, Shandong province. China has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the failure of the United States and the European Union to honor promises made 15 years ago when China joined the global trade body. Yu Fangping / For China Daily Employees arrange Christmas toys that will be exported to Western markets in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Si Wei / For China Daily (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page1) The best experiences are totally unexpected - and it is important to enjoy them in real life Waiting for a medical appointment, I idly picked up a magazine - the sort I would normally never look at in a month of Sundays - and read an article extolling virtual reality as a way of visiting exotic places. Sorry, but that doesn't work for me. You have to go somewhere to sense a place, to talk to people, to get a feel for it. I've been an inveterate traveler for as long as I can remember, and journalism became the ideal vehicle. Even to this day, I end up somewhere and my first thought is, "Wow, I'm being paid to do this?" That was my first question when I landed as an extremely callow correspondent in 1972 at Singapore's old Paya Lebar International Airport, now replaced by the superefficient Changi International. As they cracked open the door of the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines Boeing 707, that never-to-be-forgotten smell of tropical Asia hit me. It was like walking into a warm, soggy sponge. (For aviation buffs, that flight from London, which stopped in Rome, Abu Dhabi and then Singapore, was one of the last by the jointly owned airline. Shortly afterward Malaysian Airline Systems and Singapore Airlines were born.) Relaxing with a very cold Tiger beer next to the pool outside my room that night, I listened to the cicadas chirping away and wondered again: "I'm being paid to do this?" So I guess that's when I got hooked, and it's been a great ride that certainly is not over yet. There have been moments, thrilling and surreal, that stick in my mind. There was, for example, my flight from Saigon, as it was then called, to Vientiane, the sleepy capital of Laos where the word for "tomorrow" makes the Spanish word "manana" sound like a swearword. We trundled along at just over 3,000 meters in a much-abused DC3 of Royal Air Laos until - at a stopover in Savannakhet in southern Laos - a large, beaming Laotian lady plonked herself down in the seat across the aisle. The cabin attendant came up with her baggage and put it in the seat next to her. It was a large, protesting piglet, stoutly wrapped in a rattan basket affair. You couldn't make this up. In Vientiane itself, a fellow correspondent and I, at a loose end one evening, decided to head into town for a drink. Lured by a sign that said "Draught Guinness", we went through a barrel-shaped door and stumbled into the Purple Porpoise. Behind the bar stood a one-eyed giant of a man, who greeted us in pure cockney: "Allo gents, Monty Banks is the name, all the way from Bethnal Green. What's your pleasure?" I could tell he was a cockney straight away by the way he pronounced his birthplace - "Befnal Green". Two satisfying pints later, his story came out. He said he'd been a radio operator with one of the joint US-UK Deer military teams that were parachuted into the region in the dying days of the war against Japan, and he never left. Now he was operating this bar. As the gloom lifted, my colleague and I realiszed we were the only civilians in the room. The rest were all men in their 50s and 60s, wearing white aviator shirts and almost to a man sporting huge, chunky gold bracelets - Air America pilots. Air America was the CIA-sponsored airline that got up to all sorts of devious tricks. But I'll save what happened to us for another day. So you tell me, can you get that sort of experience with virtual reality? No way. China is my next target: I want to tackle the Great Wall, which I missed out on during my last visit, and also take in the Three Gorges and, if I can, Xi'an. China does that to you - you think you're well-traveled until you look at a map. It's huge. Can't wait. Chris Peterson is Managing Editor for China Daily in Europe. Contact him at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page11) A small number of companies have become successful global brands without control of supply and assembly of key components The global value chain of the information and communications technology sector has undergone considerable evolution in recent decades, with China's participation growing in significance. Although the most innovative aspects associated with shaping the trajectory of internet-related activities continue to be dominated by Western technology companies, the center of gravity of most of the manufacturing and assembly work of key products and devices has shifted to Asia, with China playing an increasingly important role in production. China's role, however, continues to be a relatively subordinate one. Having failed to achieve significant technology transfer from foreign companies in China through insisting on the establishment of joint ventures with Chinese companies, state policy more recently has focused on the promotion of indigenous innovation, while using its rapidly growing market as a leverage for its relationship with foreign investors. The challenge for Chinese policymakers is to find the right balance between China's ongoing dependence on foreign technology and the collaborative role it needs to develop with major technology companies in its deepening involvement in the global value chain. In pushing for technical standards based on indigenous innovation, China faces demands for compliance with international norms both from abroad and from within the country, while attempting to achieve a certain level of autonomy for the development of Chinese firms. In a recently published paper, our analysis illustrates how Western companies, together with companies from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan continue to dominate the upper reaches of the ICT value chain and, despite locating much of their production activity in Chinese mainland, have succeeded in avoiding any major leakage of intellectual property to competitors. Although the technological trajectory of the ICT global value chain continues to be controlled by these companies, the significant shift in ICT production to the Chinese mainland raises questions about the future evolution of the value chain, and whether a tipping point has been reached in relation to China's possible indispensable role in its development. Among these implications is the extent to which major global technology companies can exploit the comparative advantages of China while continuing to ensure its subordinate role in the global value chain. While some commentators on the relationship between the Chinese state and foreign investors tend to emphasize the obvious tensions that can arise in the bargaining process, our data analysis, including company interviews, suggests a more nuanced and complex relationship. Analysis of trade data relating to the most significant importing and exporting ICT companies in China between 2001 and 2012 provides useful insights into both the evolution of China's role in the value chain, and the role played by mainland companies. In addition to significant growth in the volume of ICT activity during this period, there has been an important shift by foreign companies from using China primarily as a low-cost export platform to an increased focus on China as a rapidly growing market for ICT products and services. China's increased role in the ICT value chain has been closely related to the growth in outsourcing and offshoring of ICT production, assembly and testing by major global technology companies to the Chinese mainland. To some extent, the main beneficiaries of this enormous shift in the center of gravity of ICT production have been Taiwan companies, Foxconn in particular, which by far is the world leader in contract manufacturing on behalf of global technology companies. These original design manufacturing companies, however, operate under a regime of very tight control of their major clients, who also ensure that profit margins are razor thin. Foxconn's rise during this period has been particularly associated with Apple's business model of outsourcing 100 percent of its production to China, while ensuring no leakage of intellectual property through stringently controlling its contract manufacturers and supplier companies. Because of the importance of intellectual property and innovation in controlling the technological trajectory of the ICT sector, the role played by high value added component companies in areas like semiconductors and hard disk drives, and more recently applications processors for mobile devices, is crucial. Our data reveal that, apart from the dominant role of companies in South Korea and Taiwan in the thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) display area, Western companies continue to play an important role as component suppliers, with Samsung being both a significant brand company as well as a major supplier. Apart from Foxconn in the original design manufacturing sector, Samsung, with its rather exceptional in-house production model, is the other company that dominates the trade data across the whole spectrum of activity. The lack of technological progress to date by Chinese mainland companies in generating significant inputs from indigenous innovation is obvious. Some commentators claim that policymakers have begun to appreciate the limits of a growth path driven by policy-induced high-tech exports. Despite a poor performance in achieving any significant control in either ICT assembly or in the supply of key components, a small number of Chinese companies have become highly successful global brands. While questions continue to be raised about the extent of state regulation of China's domestic market, and bearing in mind their reliance to some extent on the capabilities of foreign suppliers, the significant progress made by these Chinese brands should be acknowledged. Our data indicate that, over time, these companies have succeeded in dislodging significant Western companies that were initially highly successful from the lists of top ICT traders in China. The considerable strides made by these companies, which is reflected in their ability to compete globally, is further attested to by our company management interviews. But rather than falling into a simplistic binary model of foreign and mainland companies, both our data and company interviews suggest a more nuanced picture of significant interconnections between many types of companies through client relationships, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions. To some extent, the success of Chinese brands is exaggerated by the invisibility of major global brands such as Apple, whose production is masked by original design manufacturing company trade. The success of these Chinese brands, however, raises interesting questions about the ability of indigenous companies in an exceptionally fast-growing market of enormous scale, to displace formerly successful brands in what is, for them, a very different marketplace. With the continuing shifts in the ICT global value chain in an era of mobile devices, cloud computing and expanding ecommerce, the potential for Chinese companies for creating more intense competition for established global corporations is considerable. Whether they can gain greater market penetration globally without the necessary progress in vital areas of intellectual property remains to be seen. Yutao Sun is an associate professor at Faculty of Management and Economics, Dalian University of Technology. Seamus Grimes is emeritus professor at Whitaker Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily. (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page10) Petit Lion, from chef behind Root and Square Root, now open in CBD In September 2013, President Xi Jinping formally announced the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan, and in February 2014 he expanded the program to include maritime trade. The Belt and Road Initiative, an combination of overland and a maritime corridors, will connect eastern China to western Europe and provide a platform that will stimulate economic, trade and cultural interactions. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched in Beijing in June 2015, is another important initiative aimed at reinforcing China's role in global affairs. The Belt and Road Initiative and AIIB constitute two ambitious initiatives, both of which play an important role in China's foreign policy strategy for economic, trade and strategic outreach to China's partners. In our interconnected world, the links between economics, trade and security are extremely important. The economic and trade logic is expected to help overcome obstacles and hesitations linked to security that have stalled similar projects before. Trade and economics increase the level of transactions between countries, enhance familiarity between people and discourage conflict. It is important to note that China's strategy of security and economics creates a dense network of relations that bring assurances of security which will particularly increase influence in Asia and Europe. Economic development may address the roots of conflict in Pakistan, Afghanistan and China's western frontiers. Unlike most other countries, China has substantial foreign reserves for large-scale projects. This enables it to ensure that countries along the corridors share an interest in participating in the ownership of the initiative, since their companies will participate in the building of the infrastructure. Many countries along the Belt and Road lack the resources to set up competing business and trade networks, so they have no choice but to participate in those sectors that might improve their connectivity to major markets and resource supplies. The Belt and Road Initiative has been welcomed by more than 60 countries, and is of particular interest to Pakistan and India. The China-Pakistan corridor is important because the harbor of Gwadar is one of the points where overland and maritime routes intersect. The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridor connecting Yunnan in southern China with Myanmar, Bangladesh and eastern India is of importance to India. With regard to other geopolitical concerns it remains to be seen how much the initiative will converge or compete with Russia's Euroasian Economic Union initiative. The EU matters for the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Belt and Road Initiative matters to the EU. The European dimension of the project is an integral element of the initiative. During the June 2015 EU-China Summit, both parties decided to build synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's investment plan, and to actively explore business and investment opportunities. There are carefully selected nodal points along the land corridor and transit and terminal points along the maritime corridor in Europe. The EU has demonstrated that it is willing to go beyond short-term economic gains to attract China's direct investment and play an important role in turning the Belt and Road Initiative into reality. The European Investment Bank has set up a group comprising the initiative, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to coordinate and help accelerate the implementation of projects. China is also using Juncker's investment plan to boost involvement in Europe. Greece has been placed on the map as the end point of the maritime corridor. Cosco operates two container terminals and manages 67 percent of the port of Piraeus, which now serves as a major logistics hub for China's trade with Europe. Cosco took over TrainOSE, the Greek railway company that already signed agreements for freight transport to Central and Northern Europe with Hewlett Packard, Sony, Huawei and ZTE. A high-speed rail corridor is envisioned to connect the port of Piraeus with Northern and Central Europe. All these agreements will reinforce Cosco's cooperation with the largely global Greek shipping industry. It should be noted that most ships for the Greek merchant fleet are built in China. Another terminus on the maritime belt is the port of Rotterdam, an important cargo hub for Europe where land and maritime corridors come together. Hungary is also a key logistical hub on the trans-Siberian link, which serves as a distribution point for Chinese exports to Europe. In addition to physical infrastructure, China wishes to rely on Europe for the financial integration needed for effective implementation. The EU's contribution is needed for a sophisticated financial network to underpin the physical infrastructure that will bind Europe and Asia together. As of the end of 2015, more than 1,400 contracts were announced for infrastructure and other projects alongside Belt and Road areas. There are ongoing discussions at bilateral, multilateral and regional levels on how to accelerate the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative through concrete projects. In 1993 the EU launched the Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia, a project similar to the China's initiative. EU technical assistance has been used to develop a transport corridor on an East-West axis from Europe across the Black Sea, through the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to Central Asia. Ongoing projects cover transport and network operability, logistics and transport safety and security. In a nutshell, the Belt and Road Initiative, with its continental and maritime dimensions, will enable China to assume its responsibilities on the world stage more fully as a global power. The initiative could have an important impact on China's domestic economy through export of its excess steel, cement and aluminium. In addition to the economic/trade objectives the Belt and Road has a security dimension, especially where energy is concerned. Although it offers opportunities to boost trade and investment in the regions it covers, it also presents challenges due to uncertain political and regulatory conditions. The project passes through conflict-ridden geographical areas and countries with weak administrative structures. For many countries along the Belt and Road Initiative, transparency, accountability and good governance are not priorities. Their poor credibility regarding security, government effectiveness, tax policies and low standards of local infrastructure, may hinder China's plans for effective implementation of the project. The critical challenge is to turn good intentions in agreements reached at the top tier of government, into real cooperation at the local level where implementation usually takes place. China hopes that the economic development along the corridor will also help reduce tensions between the various Muslim minorities and the rest of the Chinese population. There is no doubt that through the Belt and Road, China is defining a broad geopolitical approach for future investment and trade that will affect the selection of future infrastructure projects. China's important involvement in the development of global supply chains may provide the impetus for new regional frameworks and rules. It remains to be seen to what extent the Belt and Road Initiative's regional impact will lead to new rules of global governance now that multilateral efforts at the World Trade Organization and other United Nations multilateral forums have been stalled. The author, former counselor at the European Commission, is currently working as a consultant in international economic and political negotiations. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily. (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page12) WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. The California Supreme Court has weighed in on the legal obligations of companies that use asbestos in the workplace, when it comes to members of their employees' households. In December 2016, the California Supreme Court ruled that under California law, companies that use asbestos in the workplace have a duty to act with reasonable care to protect their workers' household members from "secondary exposure" to asbestos. This kind of exposure can occur when workers bring asbestos fibers home on their work clothing, tools, vehicles, or persons. In the sections that follow, we'll explain exactly what the court decided, and how this ruling affects California asbestos claimants. What Did the Court Decide? The California Supreme Court tackled whether companies owe a duty to protect workers' families in two consolidated cases, Kesner v. Pneumo Abex LLC and Haver v. BNSF Railway Company. Johnny Kesner brought suit against Abex after being diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the abdomen. For several years in the 1970s, Johnny often stayed overnight at his uncle's house. Johnny's uncle worked at Abex, a company that manufactured asbestos brake shoes. Johnny alleged that his mesothelioma was caused by exposure to asbestos that his uncle brought home on his clothing after working all day at the Abex plant. Lynne Haver died from mesothelioma of the pleura, the lining of the lungs. Her children brought suit, alleging that she was exposed to asbestos that her former husband had brought home when working as a fireman and hostler for BNSF, a railroad company, in the early 1970s. In these cases, the Supreme Court refused to carve out an exception to the general rule in negligence law that everyone has a duty to use reasonable care to prevent foreseeable injury to others. The Court focused on two main factors: foreseeability of the injury and public policy concerns. Foreseeability of the Injury The California Supreme Court concluded that it was foreseeable that people who work with or around asbestos may carry asbestos fibers home with them, and in the process expose members of their household. The Court said, "It is a matter of common experience and knowledge that dust or other substances may be carried from place to place on ones clothing or person, as anyone who has cleaned an attic or spent time in a smoky room can attest." The court also considered the existence of Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") regulations beginning in 1972, which set a ceiling for worker exposure to asbestos and required special clothing and changing rooms for asbestos workers. Public Policy Concerns The court found that, based on the regulations meant to prevent exposure to asbestos (which were in place at the time these claimants were exposed) there was and still is a strong public policy limiting or forbidding the use of asbestos. Also, preventing asbestos-related injuries to workers household members does not impose a greater burden on companies, who are already charged with preventing unreasonable exposure and injury to the workers themselves. The court noted that offering changing rooms, showers, lockers, and laundry service at the worksite does not unreasonably impact business operations. Read the full text of Kesner v. Pneumo Abex LLC (PDF file from the California Courts official site). California Adopts the Minority View With this decision, California joins a handful of states -- including Louisiana, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Washington -- that recognize a duty to use reasonable care to protect the families of asbestos workers. The majority of states have found that no such duty exists. What Does This Decision Mean for California Asbestos Claimants? In California courts, anyone diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness can pursue claims for secondary exposure against the company where a family or household member worked with and around asbestos, under a negligence theory of liability. In addition, household members can also seek remedies against companies that put products on the market to which the workers -- and in turn the household members -- were exposed. Learn more about Asbestos-Mesothelioma Lawsuits. If your home came with unhappy surprises like leaks, cracks, broken mechanical systems, or other defects, the financial responsibility might not be yours alone. What if something was wrong with your house at the time of purchase and someonethe seller, the property seller's real estate agent, or the inspectorcould have or should have told you about it beforehand, but failed to do so? Such problems can come to light days, weeks, or years after the sale, leaving you angry and wondering whether you really have to shoulder the entire financial burden. In such cases, you might actually be able to ask the responsible person to pitch in, and take the matter to court if they don't. Ideally, you'll be able to resolve matters without filing a lawsuit suit. To give you a picture of what might be ahead, however, this article will analyze: who might be held legally responsible, and whether going forward with a lawsuit makes sense. Minor Home Defects or Natural Aging Aren't Grounds for a Lawsuit You probably knew when you bought the house that it wasn't in perfect condition. Some problems, such as a crack in the front walk, might have been obvious. Others, such as aging plumbing, the seller might have told you about in the course of the sale. (In most states, laws require home sellers to disclose all "material" defects to prospective buyers.) Your home inspector, assuming you hired one, probably also told you about a few problems. Then after the sale, your home probably continued its normal process of aging and decaying, leaving you to deal with the consequences. None of these sorts of issues provide any grounds upon which to run back to the seller to complain. Will your insurance company cover the damage? If so, there may be no need to take action on your own. For how to work with your insurance company, see After the Fire or Disaster: Dealing with Your Insurance Company. Could the Home Seller Be Held Legally Responsible? Even if you think you've been wronged, you can't sue everyone who was involved in the sale of your home. The home seller is the first one to consider, of course. As mentioned, nearly every U.S. state has laws requiring sellers to advise buyers of certain defects in the property, typically by filling out a standard disclosure form before the sale is completed. (This responsibility remains even if you bought the house "as is.") The form usually asks the seller to state whether the property has certain features (like appliances, a roof, a foundation, systems for electricity, water, and heating, and more) and then to rate or describe their condition. Some states' disclosure laws are more comprehensive than others, and if a feature isn't on the list, the seller might not be required to speak up. Also, the seller isn't usually required to scout out problems. If there's clearly a place on the form where the seller should have stated a problem but denied it, your job is to try to figure out whether the seller in fact knew about it. For example, if the seller patched over or hid problem areas, or if the neighbors have told you about the seller's efforts to deal with a problem, the evidence is on your side. And even if you're in one of the few states with no mandated seller disclosures, it might be possible, particularly in an egregious situation, to sue the seller for: negligence fraud breach of contract breach of warranty, or negligent misrepresentation. Could the Seller's Real Estate Agent Be Held Legally Responsible? Some states' laws make sellers' real estate agents liable for failing to disclose problems they observed or were told of by the sellers, though often their duties are fairly limited. Check your state's disclosure laws and try to figure out whether the problem would have been apparent to the broker, but not to you, before the sale. Could Your Home Inspector Be Held Legally Responsible? Hopefully, you got a home inspection before buying. In theory, the inspector should have spotted problems that the seller wasn't aware of, or was turning a blind eye to. If the inspector missed problems that an expert (a professional peer) should have noticed, the inspector might be on the hook; that is, legally liable. Read over your inspection report to see what it said about the area in question. Some buyers are embarrassed to find that the problem is spelled out right in the report, or falls within an area that the inspector rightfully excluded from the report. But in other cases, the inspector failed to meet basic standards of professional competence. Do You Have a Solid Case? Once you've figured out the possible responsible parties, you'll want to know whether their actionor inactionmight entitle you to compensation. If your situation meets the criteria below, you might have a good case. We've collapsed a few legal principles into this list, but it will apply to most situations in most U.S. states. The defect was there before you bought the home. The seller couldn't have hidden problems that didn't exist during the period of ownership. Again, problems that started post-purchase or that are a natural result of the home's aging or your lapses in maintenance are yours to deal with. Of course, determining when a problem started can get complicated. For example, a blockage in your sewer line could be a new problem, or it could be a recurrence of a long-time issue with roots growing into the pipes. You might need a professional's analysis. But if the problem could have started before you bought the house, keep reading. The seller couldn't have hidden problems that didn't exist during the period of ownership. Again, problems that started post-purchase or that are a natural result of the home's aging or your lapses in maintenance are yours to deal with. Of course, determining when a problem started can get complicated. For example, a blockage in your sewer line could be a new problem, or it could be a recurrence of a long-time issue with roots growing into the pipes. You might need a professional's analysis. But if the problem could have started before you bought the house, keep reading. It's not an obvious defect that you could have seen yourself before buying. If there was a huge crack running across the living room ceiling at the open house and you've only now decided to bring it up, no dice. But if the crack was hidden by a false ceiling, the matter might be worth pursuing. Don't worry if your inspector should have seen the problem. That just means you've got a potential claim against the inspector, too. If there was a huge crack running across the living room ceiling at the open house and you've only now decided to bring it up, no dice. But if the crack was hidden by a false ceiling, the matter might be worth pursuing. Don't worry if your inspector should have seen the problem. That just means you've got a potential claim against the inspector, too. No one told you about the defect before the sale, or someone actually lied to you about it. The responsible party might have been the seller, the seller's agent, or the inspector, as explained above. The responsible party might have been the seller, the seller's agent, or the inspector, as explained above. You relied on the lies or nondisclosures. This one's usually easy. If, for example, you took the seller's word that a remodel job was up to code in deciding to buy or in setting your price, you acted in reliance. This one's usually easy. If, for example, you took the seller's word that a remodel job was up to code in deciding to buy or in setting your price, you acted in reliance. You've incurred monetary damage as a result. Your costs of repairs or related damages (such as destruction of your personal property due to a flooded basement, or a decrease in your property value due to an undisclosed environmental hazard) will become legally speaking, the "damages" that you may collecteven if you haven't paid any out-of-pocket costs yet (for example, you need a new foundation but haven't actually hired a contractor to build it). But don't expect to collect damages that go beyond the house itself, such as for your pain and suffering or lost time. Your costs of repairs or related damages (such as destruction of your personal property due to a flooded basement, or a decrease in your property value due to an undisclosed environmental hazard) will become legally speaking, the "damages" that you may collecteven if you haven't paid any out-of-pocket costs yet (for example, you need a new foundation but haven't actually hired a contractor to build it). But don't expect to collect damages that go beyond the house itself, such as for your pain and suffering or lost time. You're within any appropriate deadlines ("statutes of limitation"). Every state puts limits on how long you have, from the date you discover a problem or reasonably should have discovered it, to sue someone. The legislators don't want you dragging the seller into court 20 years after the sale, when no one recalls what happened. Most statutes of limitations are somewhere between two and ten years, but this will depend on where you are and what type of claim you have. Even if you think you meet the above criteria, remember that in an actual lawsuit, it will be your job to convince a judge. Hence the more evidence you can start gathering, the better. Legal Basis for Filing a Lawsuit In legalese, you could potentially sue someone based on any of the following principles, or some combination of them: Again, the law in your state will govern which theory might best fit your case. Where to Sue Over Home Defects Your main options for actually filing a lawsuit include: small claims court, if the damages are under a certain limit, or state court. Filing in small claims court allows you to proceed with your case without a lot of the expensive administrative hassles of a "regular" lawsuit. You can represent yourself (in some states, attorneys are actually forbidden), the rules are typically not as rigid, and your case should be resolved relatively quickly. However, every state places a dollar limit on the amount of damages you can sue forusually somewhere between $1,500 and $15,000. To find your state's exact limit, see 50-State Chart of Small Claims Court Limits. Even if your damages are over the limitfor example, if the repairs cost $8,000 and the limit is $5,000bringing a suit for $5,000 and forgetting about the rest might make economic sense because you will save time and attorney's fees. If the amount of monetary damages you're asking for exceeds the small claims court limit, your next option is filing suit in state court, most likely with the help of an attorney. Some attorneys will take this type of case on a contingency basis, meaning you don't pay a fee upfront but pay a large percentage (30-40%) of the damage award. You might still be responsible for paying court costs and other fees, plus expenses such as the attorney's phone calls and postage. Or, the court may award reimbursement of attorney's fees as part of your damages. Editor's note: To understand China, sit down to eat. Food is the indestructible bond that holds the whole social fabric together and it is also one of the last strong visages of community and culture. The Winter Solstice will soon be upon us on Dec 21 and, to the Chinese, this is both an important solar term as well as a major traditional festival. The longest night in the year also signals that, from there on, the daylight hours will only get lengthier. It signifies an awakening of the earth and the start of the annual rejuvenation, culminating in Spring Festival, about a month away. As far back as 2,500 years ago, during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), Chinese astronomers calculated the exact dates of the winter solstices, the first of the solar terms to be so precisely set. At Winter Solstice, dumplings are a must in northern China, with more meat used and the fillings speckled with finely-diced dried mushrooms or dried baby shrimp. Zou Hong / China Daily To the Chinese, it is yet another sign from heaven to gather together and bond as a family, an occasion that takes more and more effort these days as the urban diaspora spreads. In the lunar-solar calendar, this is the last of three important family festivals, after Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn festival. As in every major celebration, food is central. The southern provinces, less influenced by the conquering Mongolian-Manchurian influences up north, still commemorate the winter solstice in the old ways. Here, the belief is that this winter festival is almost as important as the lunar new year. The essential banquet must be prepared, with dishes of chicken, pork, fish and vegetables. Little glutinous rice balls are always eaten, their name wanzi or tangyuan being homophonic with "reunion". There are always regional specialties in a festival where ancestor worship is included in the rituals. Whether it be a private celebration at home or a more elaborate gathering at the village clan hall, food offerings reflect the terroir and culinary culture. In the Chaoshan region of Guangdong province, sugar cane plantations dot the countryside and sugar is an important product. Raw cane sugar is cooked into a thick syrup, which is then spun and pulled into a taffy. The hardening sugar strand is repeatedly worked until it solidifies into slender snowy white tubes that are as light as air. These tangcong, or "sugar scallions", are eaten wrapped in a flour crepe and garnished with crushed toasted peanuts. It is a labor-intensive candy that must be offered to the ancestors as a sweet reminder that they are not forgotten. In ancient communities in Fujian and Ningbo, little glutinous rice balls are offered to the gods. Fujian uses sweet potatoes in both the dough and the filling, while the Ningbo version keeps the rice balls plain, but served in a soup flavored by sweet wine lees. Ningbo is famous for its yellow rice wines. Cantonese tangyuan combines the best of both worlds. There are different fillings for the rice balls, including red bean paste, sweetened sesame paste, lotus seed paste and peanut paste. Sometimes, the rice balls are made plain but are colored brightly for an auspicious end to the meal. Also, they are always served in a sweet syrup flavored by ginger to chase away the chills and aid digestion. While winters are less harsh in southern China, the bone-chilling winds of the north demand heartier fare. So in Tengzhou, Shandong province, they celebrate with a steaming pot of mutton soup, a tradition that has prevailed since the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). According to legend, it was the father of traditional Chinese medicine Zhang Zhongjing who got the people eating mutton. He believed it was just what they needed to warm up the blood after a cold winter, and to this day gifts of mutton are brought to the elders in the family during the winter solstice. In the northern provinces, such as Hebei, Liaoning and even in Beijing, dumplings are eaten, as for almost every other major occasion. Homemade dough is rolled into very thin wrappers for fillings of minced meat and vegetables. Because it is the winter solstice, more meat will be used and the fillings are sometimes speckled with finely diced dried mushrooms or dried baby shrimps. These hearty dumplings are normally just boiled in water, but during the winter solstice, they are served with soup. The soups will be flavored with shredded dried laver sheets and more of the dried baby shrimp or krill, topped by fresh coriander. Whatever food appears on the table, the Winter Solstice is the first sign of cheer after a long gloomy season, and there is a lilt of anticipation in the air, as well as the fragrance of festive dishes. paulined@chinadaily.com.cn Winter Solstice Soup Dumplings Serves 4 80 ready-made dumpling skins 1 beaten egg 500g minced pork 300g shrimp meat 6-8 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked 2 tablespoons minced water chestnuts 2 tablespoons finely diced carrots I tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons water Salt and pepper Chicken stock Chinese greens First prepare the filling: Roughly chop the shrimp and add to the minced pork, together with diced carrots and water chestnuts. Remove stems from the soaked mushrooms and dice. Add to mixture. Season with sesame oil, salt and pepper and add cornstarch and water to loosen up the filling. Stir in one direction until the meat mixture binds. Wash the Chinese greens, which can either be Shanghai cabbage, bok choy or green lettuce. Set aside, ready to use. Wrap the dumplings: Place a large spoonful of filling in the center of each dumpling wrapper. Wet the edges with the beaten egg and simply fold over, pressing the edges firmly together and smoothing out any air pockets. Set aside on a lightly floured board until you finish making all the dumplings. Heat up a pot of water and a pot of chicken stock. Cook the dumplings by dropping them 10 at a time into the boiling water. When the dumplings all float to the surface, they are done. Blanch the greens in the chicken stock and place them at the bottom of each soup bowl. Place cooked dumplings on top and ladle hot chicken stock over them. If you like, you can garnish with chopped spring onions, coriander and a drizzle of sesame oil. Reunion Rice Balls 1 small packet glutinous rice flour (225g) Warm water (blood temperature) Food coloring - red, yellow, green 5 cm piece ginger, lightly crushed Rock sugar Place rice flour into a mixing bowl and add enough warm water so the dough comes together. Be careful to add it a little at a time, sprinkling more water if the dough seems stiff. Divide dough into four portions, coloring each portion with red, yellow and green food colors and leaving one portion white. Roll up small teaspoons of dough into little balls. Make a simple syrup with about liter of water and rock sugar to taste, adding the ginger for flavor. Cook the rice balls in boiling water, stirring so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. When they float, they are ready and can be served with the ginger syrup. Keep the rice balls small so they cook easily. You can also add fillings of crunchy peanut butter or red bean paste but make sure the dough is sealed properly so the filling does not burst during cooking. (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page18) Learn about filing a personal injury lawsuit against the State of Kansas for personal injuries sustained from a state government entity or employee. In Kansas, as in every state, a personal injury lawsuit is an option for anyone injured by the negligence of a private individual or organization. But what if your injury is caused by the careless or wrongful action of the state/local government or one of its employees? Injury claims against the government in Kansas follow special rules that don't apply to other types of injury cases. In this article, we take a look at these rules and how these claims proceed. Bringing an Injury Claim Against the Government in Kansas The Kansas Tort Claims Act appears at Kansas Statutes Chapter 75, Article 61. Section 75-6103 specifies that "each governmental entity shall be liable for damages caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission" of its employees whenever the employees are acting within the scope of their jobs. The Kansas Tort Claims Act applies only to situations in which the employee would have been liable for negligence if he or she had been acting independently. Learn more about Negligence and Fault for an Accident. What the Kansas Tort Claims Act Does (and Does Not) Cover The Kansas Tort Claims Act covers many of the same types of claims that can be filed in an ordinary personal injury case. Some of the most common kinds of incidents giving rise to claims include: car accidents involving injury and vehicle damage slip and fall accidents on government property medical errors at government-affiliated care facilities, and property damage. Section 75-6104 of the Kansas Tort Clams Act limits the types of claims that may be filed. For example, a government entity or employee may not be held liable for: legislative or judicial acts (like passing or interpreting a law) claims covered by the Kansas Workers' Compensation Act vandalism of traffic signs or signals (unless the road commission did not fix the problem within a "reasonable time") claims related to snow, ice, or other unusual weather conditions claims related to police or fire protection, and claims related to the use of public cemeteries, public parks or recreational areas, unless the government was "guilty of gross and wanton negligence" resulting in the injury. Several other types of claims are also prohibited by the Kansas Tort Claims Act. In addition, certain other Kansas statutes provide immunity to government agencies, officials, and employees in particular situations. The Kansas Tort Claims Act may not be used to sue the government when another statute specifically provides immunity. How to File an Injury Claim Against the State Government in Kansas To bring an injury claim against the State of Kansas, you first need to give the state notice of the claim. The Joint Committee on Special Claims Against the State offers a claim form and instructions on the legislature's Web site. The form requires contact information for the injured person, a description of the event and the injuries or damage that occurred, and a statement of the amount of damages the injured person is claiming. Claims are generally processed between June and December, according to the Joint Committee on Special Claims. If a claim is received after November 1st of any year, it is typically held for the next session. Claims under $1,000 may be paid directly by the state agency involved. Most state agencies, including state universities, have specific forms and instructions for filing these claims. For example, the Kansas Department of Transportation makes a claim form available on its Web site. Damages in claims against the state government in Kansas are "capped," or limited, to $500,000 per accident. In addition, punitive damages may not be awarded by the court in claims against the state government. Learn more about Damages and Personal Injury Claims. How to File an Injury Claim Against a Local Government in Kansas The Kansas Tort Claims Act specifically states that local and municipal governments are bound by its rules, in addition to the state government. As a result, the process for filing a claim with a city or county government is very similar to the process for filing a claim with the state government. Most cities and local governments offer claim forms that can be used to submit a claim. For example, the City of Topeka offers a claim form on its Web site. Pay attention to Vermont's statute of limitations for property damage lawsuits, or your case could be dismissed if you miss the filing deadline. If you've had your property damaged or destroyed by someone else's wrongful actions in Vermont, you could be thinking about filing a lawsuit over what happened. If so, it's important to understand the Vermont statute of limitations that applies to your potential lawsuit, whether your potential case involves real property (your house or your land) or personal property. For those unfamiliar with the term, a "statute of limitations" is just a state law that affects your right to file a lawsuit over any kind of legal dispute or harm suffered, by putting a limit on how much time can pass before you file the case. Every state has passed these laws, and the time limits vary depending on the subject matter of the lawsuit. Read on for the details of the property damage statute of limitations in Vermont, the consequences of missing the deadline, and rare circumstances that could alter (and extend) the deadline. The Filing Deadline in Vermont In Vermont, the filing deadline that applies to a property damage lawsuit varies, depending on whether the plaintiff (the person filing the lawsuit) is seeking the repair or replacement of damaged or destroyed real property or personal property. The Vermont lawsuit filing deadline is six years from the date of any tort (wrongful action) that results in damage to real property (like a house or other structure, or land itself). The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that the six-year catch-all statute of limitations found at 12 V.S.A. section 511 applies to these kinds of cases. For lawsuits over damage to personal property (including vehicle damage), 12 V.S.A. section 512 says this kind of civil case must be filed within three years. It's important to note that these filing deadlines apply any time you're asking a court to award you monetary compensation for damaged or destroyed property, whether that claim is part of a larger legal action or a standalone lawsuit. Missing the Filing Deadline If the filing deadline set by the statute of limitations has passed, but you try to file your property damage lawsuit anyway, the defendant (the person you're trying to sue) will almost certainly make a motion asking the court to dismiss the case. And, except in rare cases where an exemption from the deadline applies (more on these exceptions in the next section), the court will grant the dismissal. If that happens, you've essentially lost your right to any legal remedy for your damaged property. So, even if you're pretty sure your property damage case will settle, you still want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a lawsuit if you need to. Extending the Statute of Limitations Deadline in Vermont In a Vermont property damage lawsuit -- and most other kinds of civil lawsuits, for that matter -- a number of situations could effectively extend the statute of limitations deadline. First, if the defendant who is alleged to have caused the property damage is absent from the state of Vermont before the lawsuit can be filed, the time of absence might not be counted as part of the statute of limitations period, according to 12 V.S.A. section 552. If the property owner is under the age of 18, "lacks capacity to protect his or her interests due to a mental condition or psychiatric disability," or is imprisoned at the time the right to file the lawsuit arises, he or she will be considered under a "legal disability" in Vermont. And 12 V.S.A. section 551 says that the property owner will be able to bring the lawsuit within the applicable time limit once the disability is removed (meaning the owner turns 18, is declared legally competent, or is released from prison). And if either party is in the military, 12 V.S.A. section 553 will likely apply to effectively pause the running of the statute of limitations "clock." Other exceptions may also act to extend the Vermont statute of limitations time limit, but they're too complex to cover in this article. To learn the details of exceptions to the statute of limitations, or to get help with your case if the filing deadline is fast approaching, talk with an experienced Vermont attorney. In Jintan, Jiangsu province, a new tourist attraction looks a bit like Zhejiang's touristy Wuzhen, but with a regal and religious touch It was like time travel, one afternoon in late November, when a group of tourists entered the Oriental Salt Lake Resort being built at the foot of Maoshan mountain, the Taoist holy mountain in Jintan, Jiangsu province. A giant Taoist stone sculpture and a long, rugged stone wall greeted us at the resort. Soft, smooth Taoist music wafted through the air, adding to the atmosphere. We were awestruck as we explored, walking along the resort's stone slab roads. One road gradually led us upward to where we could look down at small lakes and buildings. Yellow lights shone on gates, pavilions, inns and museums, for an ancient look - a magnificent view. Farther away, stretches of dark-green mountains hugged the resort. Oriental Salt Lake Resort draws visitors with its picturesque landscape, ancient-looking buildings and Taoism-themed activities. Photos Provided to China Daily A performance at the Wuyang theater, featuring young actors and actresses from China, Japan and South Korea. The area looked in some ways similar to Zhejiang province's tourism hotspot Wuzhen, yet with a regal and religious touch. When completed, the resort will cover an area of 27.8 square kilometers at a cost of nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion; 1.4 billion euros; 1.15 billion). The first phase - 66.7 hectares - which opened to the public in March, integrates mountains, water, local tea and food resources. The resort has already logged around 1 million visits. "Visitors who drive their own cars are the biggest group so far," says Yang Guozhong, head of the Jintan Tourism Bureau. "Most of them typically spend two days here, getting in touch with nature and soaking up Taoist culture." The resort is an hour's drive from Nanjing and two hours from Shanghai. Accommodations is priced from 600 yuan to a little more than 1,200 yuan, including breakfast for two and entrance fees. Here, visitors can practice tai chi, enjoy organic food and take side trips to nearby villages. A museum showcases the history of Taoism over the past 5,000 years. The wall paintings and sculptures carved from wood are very delicate. Walking through the Maoshan mountain area, which forms part of the resort, is like being in a picture. Hotels and inns with gray tiles, white walls and wooden pillars line both sides of the main roads. They are typical of the architecture south of the Yangtze River. There are also waterfalls on the small stone mountains, on top of which lie gorgeous pavilions. Visitor numbers peaked during the summer vacation, when families of three to five members came to visit, says Yang Cuidi, an employee of the resort's Xiangyun Hotel. "We were fully booked during that time," Yang says. Interactive programs are offered to spice up the experience at the hotel. They include dumpling-making, painting, pottery, tea performances, calligraphy, music classes and vegetable planting. My group opted for a night mime at the Wuyang Theater. The hourlong show, starting at 8 pm, is about a young student learning Taoism and kung fu. The show is free for resort guests. It integrates Taoism and hip-pop elements and features young actors and actresses from China, Japan and South Korea. The stage effects and the actors' kung fu skills and synchronization with the music brought the house down. A multiple curtain projection created a 3-D effect, changing from Chinese ink painting to bright and colorful natural scenery. The audience can also get involved in certain sessions, such as jump-rope and qigong, a system of deep breathing exercises. The resort offers other recreational experiences as well. For example, there is a sky cinema, where visitors can watch Pan Gu, a film about the creator of the universe in Chinese mythology, who makes sky and earth out of primal chaos. Rafting is available in Kundi Valley, where visitors experience an ancient village setting with blooming shrubs and stone carvings. Kanshuifa is a themed water zone that invites visitors to ride bicycles and play with squirt guns, while the Lihuo Temple offers ancient totems and fire sacrifice performances. Drum beating and live-action performances are on offer at Zhenleichang. The drum is 3 meters in diameter and weighs 100 kilograms. The drumbeats literally spread to all corners of the site. Duiyanzang has a salt museum where visitors can experience salt-making and see traditional sacrificial dances done with salt. Our group was lucky: It snowed while we were there, which gave the area a white, quiet, holy aura. For someone who wants a change of pace from the city's hustle and bustle, along with a slice of Taoist culture while relaxing with family and friends, this resort is a wonderful option. yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page20) Champion of environment believes intelligence is humans' greatest asset in fighting threat of devastation Bees can use tools. So can birds. Octopuses can slither out of tanks, slink into others to gobble fish and squish back into their own, pulling the lid closed behind them - humans none the wiser, until they review surveillance footage. Clever creatures. Indeed. Goodall looks at rescued chimpanzees in July at Sweetwaters, Kenya's only great-ape sanctuary. Photos Provided to China Daily Primatologist and environmentalist Jane Goodall speaks at the recent Beijing summit of the Roots & Shoots environmental-education program for youth run by her institute. Especially considering that mollusks don't have brains, per se. This, says Jane Goodall, the household-name primatologist who discovered that chimps use tools, makes it an amazing time for humanity's next generation to study animals. And human intelligence can be the instrument by which we blunt ecological devastation, the Briton believes. Goodall realized decades ago, upon observing the apes modifying natural objects to manipulate their environment - for instance, using sticks to extract insects from the earth - that we needed to "redefine man, redefine tool or include chimpanzees with humans". So, science did. "It was very exciting for me because I was the first to learn about chimpanzees," she says. But revolutionary discoveries about animal intelligence are generating new paradigms. "In 1960, if I said to the professors, 'Let's study the intelligence of the octopus', they would have laughed at me and locked me up as an insane person," she says. "Now, there's huge interest because octopuses are incredibly intelligent, and they can solve problems. Crows ... can make tools. They can do things even some primates can't." But experts for decades believed birds' dissimilar brain structures meant they weren't capable of intelligence, she points out. "So, it's a very exciting time for young people to go out there and learn about animals." Bumblebees were recently taught to pull strings to earn a reward. More strikingly, others replicated the procedure after observing it, she points out. Goodall, who made the journey to Tanzania's forests as a young woman without formal training, is celebrated for revolutionizing our understanding of our species' closest kin. But her methods weren't without criticism, especially giving names rather than numbers. Numbers "make them objects of study rather than living beings", she says. So, to me it's very, very important, if it's possible, to know them as individuals, to name them and describe them." They may not be people, yet they have individual personalities. They share emotions like joy and sadness, she discovered. They're capable of empathy. Goodall first documented chimp warfare. "It's not only learning about the primate but also learning from the primate. There's a difference," she explains. "It's more a humility. I have a lot to learn." Goodall left the chimpanzees she loved decades ago - to save them. She saw, while flying over Tanzania's Gombe in the early 1990s, that deforestation had shaved surrounding forests bald. That changed everything. She realized: "You cannot do animal conservation unless you do people conservation." Protecting nature requires sustainable development that produces solutions for humans who share other species' habitats, she understood. Goodall soon after led the successful movement to reforest the area and improve local residents' living standards. But her battle is global. The 82-year-old environmentalist, anthropologist and United Nations Messenger of Peace spends more than 300 days a year jetting around the world as an advocate. What started as a mission to save the chimpanzees turned into a journey to improve life for all living things. Roots & Shoots, an environmental-education program for youth run by the Jane Goodall Institute, has 150,000 members in 130 countries and regions, and 700 groups on the Chinese mainland. "My hope for Roots & Shoots is to create a critical mass of young people who understand the importance of the natural world - for humans as well as wildlife - and a group of people who understand that, while we need money to live, it starts to go wrong when we live for money," she tells China Daily. "But it's really young people who understand that economic development at the expense of the environment is a death knell, if it goes on like this, for the children of the future. That's worldwide." Goodall says she has seen vast changes in Chinese children's mentality since she started coming to the country three decades ago. Adults are following suit. "China is already beginning to do a lot. In some cases, it's a world leader in things like solar technology," Goodall says. "The big problem in China is air pollution." She says China has done better than many countries on climate change, especially regarding the Paris Agreement, which it signed. But the world needs more, she believes. "Some countries are really doing well. And other countries have signed it and are carrying on as usual or even worse - that's not China." She's impressed by a water-purification system in Sichuan province's capital, Chengdu, that uses gravity to pull water through marshland plants that filter out contaminants. It doubles as a fish habitat. Wetlands as sieves proved a prominent theme among students' displays at the Beijing Roots & Shoots summit. Six primary schools in Jiangsu province's Zhangjiagang distributed hand-drawn postcards of wetlands with handwritten descriptions of what they learned during field research. Dalian Minzu University student Wang Shuaiyu called the event - and meeting Goodall - "very moving". "It's a moment to celebrate all our environmental-protection projects," she says. Goodall told the crowd one of her sources of hope is "our extraordinary brains". "It's the explosive development of the human intellect that is the single greatest difference between us and chimpanzees, our closest animal relatives - and all other animals," she says. Beijing's air pollution reminds her of London when she was growing up. "It was the same in New York and Los Angeles. It was when people began to use their brains that we gradually made the difference." That, she believes, is still happening worldwide. "You," she told the Beijing crowd, "are my reason for hope." Contact the writer at erik_nilsson@chinadaily.com.cn ( China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page21) More countries rush to accept the increasingly popular payment method as they bid to attract more customers One of the largest global bankcard associations, UnionPay, is fast expanding its overseas networks to facilitate convenient payment services for Chinese outbound travelers, with the goal of rivaling Western banking giants Visa and MasterCard. With a network spanning over 2.2 million merchants across 39 European countries, UnionPay's expansion momentum is demonstrated by the high-profile partnerships signed in November with the Czech Republic's largest commercial bank, Ceska Sporitelna, France's Louvre Hotels Group and Portugal's main card processing firm, Unicre. The Unionpay advertisement at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark. Provided to China Daily "Europe is significant to UnionPay's internationalization strategy. At present, UnionPay's acceptance environment keeps improving both online and offline, and more types of merchants are accepting UnionPay cards, " says Cai Jianbo, CEO of UnionPay International. Cai adds that the expansion supports increasing international collaboration between China and other countries and regions, as well as the exchange of personnel, by providing users with an improved customer experience and secure, convenient payment services. UnionPay was founded in 2002 with a view toward enabling interbank payment transactions in China. The company began to expand overseas in 2004, which later led to the founding of its subsidiary, UnionPay International. Despite its short history, UnionPay has quickly expanded to now being accepted in 160 countries and regions. It is now the world's third-largest payment network by value of transactions processed, behind only Visa and MasterCard, according to November statistics compiled by the US research service BI Intelligence. Once entering a Western country, UnionPay's acceptance rate grows quickly, and here the statistics speak for themselves. For example, UnionPay's acceptance rate by local merchants is 90 percent in Denmark, 70 percent in Spain, and 60 percent in the Netherlands. Almost all ATMs in Switzerland, Austria and Iceland, and more than 80 percent of local ATMs in Italy, Spain and Greece accept UnionPay cards. One unique advantage for UnionPay is domestic market strength, as UnionPay is currently the only interbank network in Chinese mainland that connects all of the ATMs of all banking companies throughout China. UnionPay's international growth is helped a lot by booming outbound tourist numbers. Chinese outbound tourists exceeded 59 million in the first half of 2016, and China is the largest tourist source for many countries including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Maldives, Russia, and the UK. For this reason, overseas retailers keen to attract high spending Chinese tourists have all accepted UnionPay, ranging from London's department store Harrods to Swiss jeweler Beyer, to the British hotel chain IHG. Markus Baumgartner, sales director at Beyer, says working with UnionPay greatly improved Beyer's access to Chinese shoppers, and now 20 to 30 percent of revenue at Beyer's Swiss shops are processed through UnionPay. "Payments we receive through UnionPay always come quickly and efficiently, and customers using UnionPay cards never experience payment issues. They're a great partner to work with," Baumgartner says. Pierre-Frederic Roulot, president of Louvre Hotels Group, says of Chinese tourists: "We want to provide as much convenience as possible. Benefiting from the strategic cooperation with UnionPay International, we will be able to enhance our service quality and improve payment services for Chinese tourists." UnionPay cards are now accepted across the group's six major hotel brands, which include 1,100 hotels in 51 countries and regions. At the beginning of next year, UnionPay cards will be accepted by the group's 200 self-operated hotels, and then will be expanded across its 500 franchised hotels. One factor behind UnionPay's fast international expansion is its partnerships with Western payment systems, so UnionPay can leverage those partners' existing networks. Portugal's Unicre is a good example, as the partnership allowed UnionPay's member cards to be accepted by all ATMs in the country. "Accepting UnionPay helps merchants attract customers, and thus realize an all-win result," says Luis Flores, CEO of Unicre. Another example is Six Payment Services of Switzerland, which began processing UnionPay transactions in 2006. "Chinese customers are a very important target group especially for merchants in the tourism and luxury business. We are, therefore, highly interested in enabling smooth payments for UnionPay cardholders at any of our merchants, be it on-site or, in the future, online," says Roger Niederer, head of merchant services at Six Payment. Niederer adds that in the future his team also wants to work with UnionPay on ecommerce payments, so UnionPay card holders can shop online or book hotels in Europe. In addition to facilitating easy payments, UnionPay also helped Bank of China with the issuance of the first European travel-oriented card in November, giving high-spending Chinese tourists an easy payment option that can be promoted to more than 100,000 merchants in 32 European countries, riding on a wave of innovative financial solutions targeting Chinese travelers. This new card fits into Bank of China's Travel Mate Credit Card program, which has already issued about 2 million cards targeting Chinese people traveling to countries including South Korea, Japan and the US, all of which have payments facilitated by UnionPay. Xu Luode, executive vice-president of the Bank of China, says the new card is a good solution given the concern that the rate of growth of Chinese shopping in Europe is now slowing, compared with the high growth of previous years. "We combine premium European merchants and their promotions into our card offerings. So we say to our customers, there are good products and services in Europe; you should come here," Xu says. Cai says that his team will work to strengthen technical support for UnionPay users, and help Chinese travelers get better promotional packages in Europe. Brands Bucherer and Beyer are examples of the first batch of retailers to sign up the card with unique promotional offers. Another key discount opportunity UnionPay offered its users is its "50 Selected Business Districts" campaign, a package designed for the New Year and the Chinese Spring Festival. Since December, about 1,000 stores in 50 popular business districts worldwide are offering exclusive discounts for UnionPay cardholders. In Europe, participating merchants include Roger & Gallet, Lancel, Le BHV Marais, La Rinascente Duomo, El Corte Ingles, the Style Outlets and nine Value Retail Outlets. The increasing use of renminbi payment for overseas purchases - facilitated by initiatives like the new Bank of China travel card - also fits into the wider trend of RMB internationalization, according to Cui Zhijian, an associate professor of operations management at IE Business School in Spain. "In the long term, such initiatives will facilitate the internationalization of the renminbi and enhance the position of the Chinese financial industry in the world market," Cui says. UnionPay's services are warmly embraced by customers. "I try to use my UnionPay card whenever I can, instead of a Visa card," says Chen Yixin, a Shanghai student who visited the UK for a four-week summer study program in July. "I've used UnionPay in many tax-free shops in London. It's simple and secure to use," Chen says. cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com ( China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page29) In contrast to years ago, more outbound investment is flowing into the manufacturing and IT industries, experts told a recent outbound investment forum. From January to October, Chinese companies had a cumulative direct investment of $145.96 billion (137 billion euros; 115.3 billion) overseas, with year-on-year growth of 53.3 percent, according to the latest report provided by China's Ministry of Commerce. According to a report released by the ministry, $17.59 billion of outbound investment was injected into the manufacturing industry in the first half-year of 2016, with year-on-year growth of 245.6 percent. The change of focus comes from the maturing of China's economy, says Luo Xiaojun, co-founder of Morning Whistle, a merger and acquisition consultancy. Long Yongtu, former vice-minister of commerce, spoke at the forum on Dec 2. Provided to China Daily "In the early days, China focused more on investing resources to fulfill the needs of manufacturing," he says. "We simply produced and exported to the global market while the advanced technologies were still out there." As China undergoes economic restructuring, Chinese manufacturers need to update technology and expand their markets. Chinese enterprises prefer to obtain advanced technology and a position in overseas markets through mergers and acquisitions rather than independent research and development, which is costly and time-consuming. From January to September, Chinese enterprises spent $64.44 billion on mergers and acquisitions, $10 billion more than the total amount for last year, according to data provided by the Ministry of Commerce. Manufacturing and information technology are the top two industries, with investment of $16.10 billion and $15.48 billion respectively. Mergers and acquisitions can help companies to obtain technology, patents and talent, and to enter a new market within short time, Yu Weiping, vice-president of CRRC Corp, told the 3rd Conference of China Outbound Forum, held from Dec 2 to 3. Through acquisition, domestic enterprises can also increase their influence by acquiring well-known brands to promote their products and services in both overseas and home markets. "Overseas acquisition is a way we can narrow the gap between us and the developed countries," said Long Yongtu, former vice-minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (now called the Ministry of Commerce), at the forum. Private enterprises have done a better job in terms of acquisitions, say experts. According to data from the Center for China Globalization, private enterprises made 290 mergers and acquisitions, accounting for 64 percent of all reported deals. Relative independence gives private capital more flexibility to put its money where it is required. Private enterprises' rapid decision-making allows them to act efficiently, says Qian Jiannong, vice-president of Fosun Group. He also pointed out that if they encounter problems they can change and reform quickly. Unlike state-owned businesses, private ones can use overseas funds and capital to invest in acquisitions. When private enterprises become international companies, the way they use their funds is not restricted by local policies or rules, leaving more space for the companies to invest. "I feel foreign companies and governments are willing to cooperate with our private enterprises," Qian says. "I believe there are great prospects for private enterprises in the international expansion process in the future." liuxuan@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page25) Twenty-nine-year-old Jan Milark sits deep in the corner of a 1,000-square-meter office, but he's easy to spot with his snow-white shirt and Caucasian face. Milark started an online art business earlier this year and was attracted to the current office - an arm of Tsinghua University's X-lab - in October. The lab, in Zhongguancun, the heart of China's Silicon Valley, supports more than 900 entrepreneurial teams whose projects range from mobile internet and new materials to artificial intelligence. "With the rising of the middle class, China will become the leading market for outstanding young artists from Europe and around the world," Milark says confidently. He graduated from Tsinghua University two years ago. Students from China and Germany discuss their projects as a multinational team. Provided to China Daily Mao Donghui, executive director of the X-lab program, explains the mission: "Talent is the foundation of innovation for the new economy. A new kind of education is key for training innovators. We hope to help students from home and abroad master the basics of innovation and creating business startups. These are the engine for the future." China and Germany have cooperated in the areas of economics, culture and education in order to promote upgrades over the past decade. In June, China's National Development and Reform Commission and the German Federal Ministry of Economy and Energy hosted the eighth Sino-German Economic and Technical Cooperation forum. And in June, Qian Yingyi, dean of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management, signed a memorandum of understanding with Helmut Schoenenberger, CEO of the innovation center at Technical University of Munich, calling for collaboration between German and Chinese startups. It covers student exchanges, education sharing and creating and Tsinghua's X-lab is closely involved. "We will promote in-depth cooperation for students from both countries and explore new models of international innovation and entrepreneurship education," Mao says. Tsinghua's X-lab, founded in 2013, aims to lighten the burden of creativity for undergraduates and to provide basic training and support. "X" means exploration of the unknown, as well as discipline and integration. The word "lab" reflects learning through practical experience and teamwork. As of the end of October, more than 20,000 students had participated in lectures, competitions, exchanges and activities organized by X-lab. Some 943 programs launched by Tsinghua students and alumni joined the lab, whose registered financing has exceeded 1 billion yuan ($145 million; 137 million euros; 115 million). And they created more than 5,000 working positions, according to Emily Wang, information officer of X-lab. Mao says 14 entrepreneurial teams from China and Germany applied to join the bilateral program this year. Students from both countries conduct market explorations while networking and participating in cultural exchanges. "They set up temporary multinational teams and learn from field work to look for practical solutions by themselves. This is the most valuable experience for them." The trip to Germany allowed students to communicate with local IT and law experts, helping them understand how to enter the European market, says Zheng Qi, senior director from international program of X-lab. She says some students even planned to launch their services in Germany and China in the near future. According to Mao, the project will be held every year in Munich and Beijing to benefit more German and Chinese students. X-lab will also seek cooperation with other major universities in other countries to cultivate a global vision for the future entrepreneurs. "The partnership between the X-lab entrepreneurship center and innovation of Technical University of Munich not only adds vitality to the Sino-German cooperation but also helps cultivate innovative international enterprises for both countries," German Ambassador to China Michael Clauss wrote in a letter to Qiu Yong, president of Tsinghua University. wuyong@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page26) Youve got big plans this holiday season. If everything comes together, itll be the perfect Christmas with a little traveling, a package or two arriving on time, colorful wrap, big silky bows and food. Lots of food. And in the new book The Mistletoe Secret by Richard Paul Evans, youre going to work those plans or else. Christmas was supposed to be happy and jolly and merry, and whatever. It had been almost a year since Alex Bartletts wife, Jill, left him for another man a man who couldnt spell, no less and Alex was still smarting from it. He knew his job-travels were causing problems in his marriage, but he hadnt known Jill was cheating on him. She left him around the holidays and merry stupid Christmas. He was so lonely. If it werent for his work pals, Nate and Dale, Alex was pretty sure he wouldnt have survived. Then again, if it wasnt for his work pals, he wouldnt be filling out a very long online form in search of love that he wasnt sure he wanted. But there, on his computer screen in the wee small hours of several mornings, was a blog from someone who understood loneliness. Alex was stunned at what the anonymous woman said, and how much her words resonated in his life. Suddenly, a relationship didnt sound so bad, if it could be with her. She gave few clues for her location, but he eventually figured out where she was, and booked a plane to Utah. LBH. Those were the initials the blogger used to identify herself, which was really no identity at all. Even so, Alex found 20 possibilities in tiny Midway, Utah, where everybody knew everybody else. Was LBH an older woman or a teenager? Would Alex recognize her soul, or would he run up against a heart as cold as the snow that covered Midway? Or, better question: after meeting a beautiful waitress at a local diner a woman who seemed to be a perfect match for him, who was gorgeous and funny did he even want to finish his quest? As holiday romances go, Id have to say that The Mistletoe Secret is a notch above. I think its better because there really is a secret inside this book. Really, author Richard Paul Evans could have taken readers in any one of several different directions, but the enjoyment would be the same. Evans Alex is your basic nice guy one whos still a bit befuddled at his sudden singlehood, but whos willing to try something new to meet women. The characters that surround Alex, both at home in Florida and while searching in Utah, are also very likable people; even the nasty ex is given the soft glove. Whats not to love? Be aware that theres a surprising (for this series) but mostly chaste love scene here, though it shouldnt stop you from sharing this book with Grandma or a teen. If either of them needs something merry, The Mistletoe Secret is a book to plan for. A former Chicago restaurateur and music festival organizer has brought an authentic taste of New Orleans cuisine to downtown LaPorte. John Moultrie has launched Bourbon Street Bistro in the former Etropal Restaurant and Lounge in the historic Etropal (LaPorte spelled backwards) movie and vaudeville theater at the corner of Lincolnway and Monroe Street downtown. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Moultrie owned several Chicago jazz clubs and restaurants, including Louisiana Kitchen, Bayou Kitchen, Toasters and Bazzells French Quarter Bistro before going on to a career in corporate America. Moultrie's restaurants have earned heaps of honors, including 3.5 stars from Zagat, Best Undiscovered Restaurant from Chicago Magazine, and 11 Silver Platter Awards. He is executive chef and owner of Bourbon Street Bistro, which will serve its cajun and creole dishes at 701 Lincolnway and is celebrating its grand opening this week. The restaurant employs about a dozen workers and can seat about 200 customers in its upstairs dining room, mezzanine and bar areas. Moultrie, who's organized the Ship and Shore Blues Festival and Lighthouse Jazz Festival in Michigan City, also plans to have live music at the restaurant. Given the authentic New Orleans experience, he expects the restaurant will be a big draw, bringing in visitors from across Northwest Indiana, South Bend and Harbor County in Southwest Michigan. Only a few restaurants in the area, like Seasons Restaurant in Merrillville and Yats in Valparaiso, serve authentic New Orleans fare. Moultrie is also looking at hosting cooking classes and educational events that might chart the history of particular dishes. "With the Food Network, there's educated diners that come in looking for authentic cuisine," he said. "We want to be a food destination for at least 60 miles." Bourbon Street Bistro is currently open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, but is looking to expand to brunch and lunch in the future. For more information, call (219) 575-7261 or visit www.facebook.com/bourbonstreetbistro. CHESTERTON The South Shore Line's governing body gave the railroad's plan to build the nine-mile West Lake Corridor its official endorsement Friday "a day 30 years in the making," according to the South Shore's president. "It's a historic day, it's a day for celebration," Michael Noland said about publication of a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the West Lake Corridor project, which would extend the South Shore south from Hammond to Dyer. A first West Lake Corridor study was done in the late 1980s. U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, in attendance at Friday's meeting of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, said officials there have been working since then toward the project's implementation. "Over a generation and a half, each of you has seen the future of Northwest Indiana," Visclosky said. The West Lake project will help provide "economic transformation and growth," he said. "But there is still more work to be done," Visclosky said. Locally, he wants to get financial support from the four communities in Lake County that haven't "come on board" with funding pledges. They are East Chicago, Cedar lake, Griffith and St. John. And, both West Lake and the proposed Double Track NWI projects need to be submitted to the Federal Transit Authority for consideration for grants that would pay half their cost in August "not September, not October," Visclosky said. The Double Track project would add a second set of tracks between Gary and Michigan City with the intent of speeding commutes to and from Chicago. "The train is really the spine of our economic development and connectivity to Chicago," said Bill Hanna, president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, which is administering financing for West Lake, and coordinating planning for development around new stations, commonly referred to as transit-oriented development. Exhaustive study details project The draft EIS is about 600 pages, with thousands of pages of data in appendices. It contains analysis of everything from the noise and vibration the trains will cause, to the impact on wetlands and wildlife, to the impact on property along its route. The preferred route would connect the new rail line to the existing South Shore at a Hammond Gateway station just west of the current Hammond station. The plan includes a maintenance yard just south of that. Additional stations would be at 173rd Street in Hammond, southeast of Ridge Road and Manor Avenue in Munster, and at Main Street on the Munster-Dyer border. The preferred plan puts parking on the west side of the tracks at that station, with the station and platform on the east side. The preferences of the city of Hammond and town of Munster helped determine the rail line's alignment and station preferences. Other factors included minimizing travel time, just 47 minutes to Millennium Station; grade-separation from freight rail activity; and higher forecasted weekday boardings. Annual ridership on the West Lake line is expected to be 2.1 million by 2040, Noland said. A list of 19 performance ratings for the 12 alternatives considered, including a "no build" alternative, gave the preferred alternative 14 "good" marks, three "fair" and two "poor." The fair marks were for flood plain impact and for commercial property acquisition; the poor mark was for residential property acquisition, something that's caused some protest at early public forums on the project. The draft EIS contemplates purchase of 139 acres total, about half vacant. Most of the parcels are residential, and the project would require 91 "displacements" of residential owners or tenants. The findings of the EIS will be subject of three public hearings in January. The draft EIS, along with more information on the West Lake Corridor project, is available online at www.nictdwestlake.com. Challenge has created mentality among Chinese that almost any problem faced by the nation can be solved by engineers Science writer Philip Ball believes water has played a key role in determining China's destiny. This is the main argument of his new book, The Water Kingdom: A Secret History of China, which examines the country's long history through the prism of this vital aspect of its physical geography. "China has had to develop a relationship with water that is unparalleled. You have a combination of factors that you don't see anywhere else in the world," he says. Philip Ball says he has been interested in Chinese culture since he was a teenager. Nick J.B. Moore / For China Daily "You have places like Bangladesh, where there is a constant risk of extreme floods; and the Middle East, where there are always problems of water shortage; but China has to deal with both." Ball, 54, was speaking outside the British Library near St Pancras in central London, where he is currently researching a new book. He fully acknowledges that water is not the only perspective to see China from but it is a useful prism. "What I hope is that by narrowing the focus to this particular window, it enables you to tell an extraordinary and surprising amount, not just about Chinese history but politics, culture, art, philosophy and language even." Ball says water would not necessarily be a particularly useful vantage point for the history of his own country, famous for its rainfall. "Every country and civilization has had to be close to water and have a relationship with water. In the UK, for example, we have plenty of it, as a whole, and it is just a matter of making sensible use of it." The writer says it is no accident that one of the heroes of China's history, Emperor Yu, founder of the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century-16th century BC), was effectively a hydraulic engineer. He created a river system involving irrigation canals that prevented farmland from being flooded. "He is not like a Noah figure who rides out the flood. He is someone who takes matters into his own hands and introduces engineering measures such as carving channels and dredging rivers to make floods subside. "Like many people in Chinese myth and legend he is more of a remote administrator figure, unlike the sharp personalities you get in Greek or Norse myth or, indeed, with Noah who was the progenitor of the whole species (according to Christian doctrine)." Ball says China's essential water problem is that water flows from the mountains of the west to the seas in the east but the challenge throughout history has been getting grain from the farmlands of the south to the north. One of the great engineering solutions to this was the Grand Canal, some of which dates back to the 5th Century BC, which links the Yangzte and Yellow rivers. "The Yangtze valley is below the Yellow River valley so you have got an uphill gradient going north. So you have this contrast of the water-poor north and the water-rich south," he says. One of the China's modern grand schemes is the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, which aims to channel water from the Yangtze in southern china to the north through three canal systems. The $79 billion (74.3 billion euros; 62.3 billion) scheme, which will shift 44.8 billion cubic meters of water, is one of the world's most expensive engineering projects. "It actually goes under the Yellow River through tunnels. It would be hard to find any other nation prepared even to contemplate something in this scale but China has the capacity to do this." Ball, who was brought up on the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England, studied chemistry at Merton College, Oxford before going on to do a doctorate at Bristol University in theoretical condensed-matter physics. After university, he went to work for Nature magazine, the leading British science publication that has been in existence since Victorian times, as a writer and editor on physical sciences. It was while on a three-month sabbatical from the magazine in 1992 he made his first visit to China. "I would say that from a teenager I had this interest in Chinese culture and under this very enlightened scheme Nature had, I thought this is my chance to finally go," he says. He made use of his existing contacts there and spent the first month visiting science laboratories across the country and then generally traveling around. "Looking back, it was an interesting time to be there (the year of Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour which unleashed economic reforms) but it was still tough to travel in China." Ball now makes regular annual trips to China and acts as a consultant to the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics. "I go there and speak about the work they are doing, which relates to the molecular structure of water, an area I have long been interested in. "Over the past 10 years I have pretty much gone to China every year with my family. I have a lot of contact there and friends in virtually every Chinese city." Ball left Nature in 2001 (although he still contributes to it) to focus on writing books, of which he has published around 20. Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another in 2004 won the Aventis prize for science books, and The Music Instinct in 2011, about why music matters to people, prompted a huge debate. "I have always done music in one way or another. I played in bands in Bristol and I wanted to find a way of writing about music drawing on my scientific background." His new book contains many themes that are still relevant to China. Only in 2007, the Yellow River, whose origin is the Qinghai Tibet plateau, dried up for 10 months before reaching the sea. "It had happened in the historical past but this was a real warning and a real shock. It was to do with overuse of river water, too much being taken out for industrial use, agriculture and irrigation. Over the past 10 years, management of the river seems to have been getting better," he says. Ball says China's water challenge has created a mentality among the Chinese that almost any problem the country has can be solved by engineers. Until recently many of the country's leaders including Deng Xiaoping and Hu Jintao have been engineers. "I think that is part of the reason why China has had this appetite for huge engineering projects. There is a view in the West that they should perhaps be more like China and that there be more scientist and engineers in positions of power." As well as being fascinated by its water history, Ball has a deeper commitment to China with he and his wife having adopted a Chinese baby in 2006. Mei Lan is now 11 and the elder of their two daughters. The book is dedicated to her. "That is the reason why we go back to China a lot because we are keen she has contact with her Chinese roots," he says. All the family are, in fact, now learning Mandarin. "I can read menus in restaurants so I know what I am ordering, and get a taxi to get around. I am not sadly able to read the Tang Dynasty poets, but, you know, one day." Ball, also a judge of this year's Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction, is turning his attention away from China for his next book, which will be about modern myths. "I am struck by how many stories such as Frankenstein, Dracula, Jekyll and Hide and even Sherlock Holmes have become modern myths while perhaps having mediocre literary credentials." andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily European Weekly 12/16/2016 page32) If you feel youre not cynical enough about politics yet, Miss Sloane is a movie for you to discover. Jessica Chastain fires off a high-pressure Washington, D.C., thriller with subterfuge and backstabbing galore. Its a companion piece to Chastains menacing and dark counterterrorist thriller Zero Dark Thirty. The battlefields here are the meeting rooms of cutthroat lobbying firms; the procedural details are the schemes for government power grabs, and the stakes are whether a gun control bill with broad public support and mammoth corporate opposition can ever become law. Elizabeth Sloane is a manipulative, Machiavellian top dog at a prestigious Capitol Hill firm high in the shadowy world of backroom deals and nefarious promises. She doesnt care whom shes competing with or whats at stake. Shes all about the win. Wearing lethal-looking stiletto heels and a Buzz off, youre annoying me expression, she occupies a frantic, thrilling world that is all workaholic adrenaline and no private life. She sees more excitement in getting Congress to cut a tariff on palm oil than in anything resembling human relations. Taking pills has kept her from flipping out, and the casual sex life she employs to keep her tension in check is a story in itself. Whether this complicated woman feels any sense of self-disgust is a question that arises when she quits her high-status position to back a losing team. A rival firm is trying to revise the Second Amendment, not to take away guns from their owners but to keep them out of the hands of terrorists and nut jobs. (With the recent case of a gunman led by a hoax conspiracy theory to shoot up a D.C. pizzeria, its a relevant issue.) Sloane knows both sides of the upcoming fight and decides to go for the unexpected win that would catapult her to the top of her lucrative profession. Success is her fixation, just as the elusive Osama bin Laden was the obsession of Chastains monomaniac CIA agent in Zero Dark Thirty. She is very good at playing addictive personalities. Director John Madden (who also teamed with Chastain in the Israeli spy thriller The Debt) keeps the tension level high as Sloane schemes to clamp a chokehold on everyone in her morally ambiguous orbit. It takes a while to figure out who the other players are and how they fit in, including Sloanes lobbying colleague Esme (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), passionate gun-control crusader Rodolfo (Mark Strong), who has hired Sloane to do the impossible, and Congressman Sperling (John Lithgow), who supports the proposed bill. Lost documents and high-tech sleuthing reveal hidden wrongdoing and various characters culpability. Its not a spoiler to note that lots of people here keep their cards close to their chests. As do the filmmakers, who like to keep the audience hyperventilating. No one in the cast has ever had better lines than first-time screenwriter Jonathan Pereras lucid script hands them. Madden keeps the focus on multiple characters strategies of survival in a wildly corrupt world. The tone is a melodramatic rather than sardonic view of life. Its like a talky, detail-packed Aaron Sorkin saga, with a daunting profusion of smart, rapid dialogue and surface details that are bewildering at the beginning and pay off in the finale. The film is short of perfection, with a subplot about a male escort to the power elite that feels tacked on, and it pays a bit too little attention to a frighteningly nasty power broker played by the usually incorruptible Sam Waterston. Nonetheless, Miss Sloane crosses the finish line in fine shape, an 11th-hour surge that arrives as a surprise. The movie looks and feels much better in retrospect at the climax than on the cleverly but over-elaborately structured road to get there. While most are busy with the holiday season, Yvonne Altieri-Postelmans of Hammond is busy organizing bone marrow registry drives all over Northwest Indiana for her grandson. Bone marrow is bone marrow and its so awesome to hear people say, Im the match. Its going to be me! Maybe the match isnt here for Cj, maybe its somewhere else, but what if we can help another child? said Postelmans. Last month Postelmans two-year-old grandson Cj Moreno of Whiting was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which is a rare blood disease. The subtype of this AML is M7, which is the rarest form of AML. Since receiving news that Moreno is on the bone marrow transplant list, Postelmans has become a volunteer ambassador for Be The Match, which means she is trained to set up events, distribute bone marrow donation educational materials and manage sign-up kits. They fill out a consent form and do a simple swab around the mouth. Its painless. It takes a couple months to process it and once youre a match you can decide if you want to donate or not, said Postelmans. To date Postelmans drives have added almost 150 bone marrow registry sign-ups. Be The Match helps patients, with leukemia and other diseases, who need a marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant. Be The Match is operated by the National Marrow Donor Program, a nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors, educates health care professionals and conducts research. Thats 150 people that never knew about our bone marrow registry before Cjs grandmother - she is getting the word out. We need more people like Yvonne being our advocate, said Sheena McNeal, Chicagoland community engagement representative for Be The Match. We need everyones help in educating people about bone marrow registry, setting up events, facilitating drives - we just want space, a little bit of time and a table were not asking for money. Indiana ranks No. 22 in the nation for patients searching for a match. Like 70 percent of all patients needing a bone marrow transplant, they do not have a fully matched donor in their family. According to McNeal, once a drive is complete, Be The Match will send the consent forms and cheek swabs to its biorepository in Minneapolis. After two months of processing, the names are then put into the registry. Once in the registry, a physician can search for new matches for newly diagnosed and existing patients. "Our family has been on a roller coaster without brakes - its been hard. If we can help Cj or another child throughout all of this that would be amazing," said Postelmans. There will be a bone marrow registry drive for Moreno on Dec. 18 at Wicker Park located at 2215 Ridge Rd in Highland between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Anyone interested in providing a space for a bone marrow registry drive can contact McNeal at (312) 720-4582. For more information please visit facebook.com/pg/keepcjstrong, gofundme.com/keepcjstrong or http://join.bethematch.org/CJStrong. Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future. John F. Kennedy This sentiment, uttered many years ago, still resonates in Northwest Indiana within organizations that have a mission to help young people succeed. Though each works to fulfill their mission year-round, the holidays are a particularly important time for the children they support. Early Learning Partnership of Northwest Indiana Early Learning Partnership of Northwest Indiana (ELPNWI), based in Hammond, recently held a family holiday party at Miller Elementary School where children received gifts as well as books. We do many book distributions, notes executive director Kim Smith. During our 17 years, weve given away over 35,000 age-appropriate books. Smith says ELPNWIs goal is to provide parent education and support so parents can be the first and best teacher of their children. Programs are open to Lake County families with children from birth to kindergarten entry. Though ELPNWI offers meetings and workshops, services are primarily delivered via home visitation. We offer support, resources and strategies when 90 percent of the childs brain growth is happening, which is by age five, Smith says. ELPNWI screens for early childhood development, including language, cognitive, social and emotional skills, and emergent literacy. Degreed professional case managers are trained and certified as parent educators. ELPNWI makes connections with Head Start and On My Way Pre-K, if families cant afford preschool and connects families with holiday turkey drives and Angel Tree drives. Smith says individuals can help by donating books and volunteering. Monetary donations are welcome, with a year-end campaign featuring a dollar-for-dollar match. Campagna Academy Beth Szamatowicz, director of marketing and public relations and volunteer services at Campagna Academy in Schererville, says Christmas is the one time of year to give their kids homemade baked goods. Volunteers drop off a total of 100 dozen cookies to distribute to 100 residential children and 40 in foster homes. Donations are being accepted through Dec. 20. A gift wish list of what the kids want and what the organization feels is appropriate is located at Smile.Amazon.com. People can purchase from Amazon Smile for the children and a percentage is also donated to Campagna. Its like giving twice, Szamatowicz says. Other efforts include Southlake Malls Giving Tree, Faith Churchs pajama drive, Girl Scouts silly socks collection, Red Key Realty in Crown Point, Wintrust Bank in Dyer board game drives, and Valparaiso University nursing programs gift wrap, ribbons and bows drive. It blows my mind how generous the public is, Szamatowicz says. CEO Elena Dwyre says Campagna holds a Getting Strong and Giving Back event each year where the children fundraise for an organization of their choice. The kids see that they can impact the community, she says. Dwyre says Campagna Academys mission is to restore hope and build dreams. The core residential program has been expanded with in-home programs to support foster care and Campagnas Northlake Program serves almost 50 youth, ages 10 to 21, with cognitive disabilities. We are the only certified residential treatment facility and PRTF-certified psychiatric treatment center in Northwest Indiana, she says. These youth share the same trauma as the others on campus, but require specialized care. Families can place their children in the program for care even if its not court ordered. Each month, the facility hosts Campagna Hour so the community can tour the campus and meet the kids and staff. In return, they are asked to share Campagnas story. Boys & Girls Clubs A focus on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles is what makes Boys & Girls Clubs tick. Ryan Smiley, president and CEO of the Porter County organization, says everything they do fits in one of those buckets. I firmly believe that our mission is the greatest secular mission of any nonprofit in the country, because of what we do for children and families that need us most, says Smiley. While were available to all children, our sweet spot is the time between school and home. Smiley says if there were no Boys & Girls Clubs in Northwest Indiana, 1,800 kids on a daily basis would have no place to go after school. Yearly, more than 10,000 children, ages six to 18, receive tutoring and homework help so assignments are submitted on time and so they advance through grade levels. Members of the program have very high graduation rates, which creates a path for the future after high school to be caring and responsible members of the community. Alison Martin, Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County director of resource development, says during the holiday season many people want to make an impact. One woman buys gifts for each needy childs entire family, which translates to 60 to 100 people. Community businesses donate as well as organizations and churches. There is an anonymous sponsor who gives $10,000 in gift cards each year for families in need, Martin says. Torch and Keystone Clubs, two community service groups within each Boys & Girls Club, allow members to give back to the community. During the holidays, kids carol at senior citizen homes and make holiday crafts to give as gifts to their families. Megan Henning, Boys & Girls Clubs of Lake County development manager, says that the holidays are often a tough time for their members families, with 45 percent being single parent homes that qualify for free or reduced lunch at school. Help bring a smile to a childs face this holiday season by donating a new toy or board game to any one of Lake Countys six clubs, she adds. Lake County Boys & Girls Clubs Torch and Keystone Clubs also give back to the community. Youth at our Gary Club ran a supply drive for local veterans, Henning says. Youth at the Cedar Lake Club are raking leaves for the elderly in their area and going caroling. Lynwood police Detective Dan Kirby has spent most of his adult life protecting and serving his community and his country, including two tours in Iraq, where he led a platoon of combat engineers. Now, Kirby is back on the frontline, facing what seems to be his most challenging battle yet kidney cancer that has spread to his spine. "It was devastating," Kirby said. "In 2012, I was urinating blood and they told me it was kidney stones and not even a year later they found a cancerous tumor and it has changed my life." Kirby credits his wife, Rachel, and two sons, Josh and Steven Tolnai Jr., for being "an amazing support system." Kirby was hired as an officer in Harvey in 1989, and after a year, was called to serve in the Persian Gulf. In 1994, Kirby joined the Lynwood Police Department and was assigned to investigations before taking a recent medical leave. "I try and stay positive, but it's difficult because cancer can be overwhelming, as well as the chemo treatments," Kirby said. "My family and friends have been my rock through all of this. The village of Lynwood has been amazing, and I'm grateful for everything they've done to support me and my family during these tough times." Recently, his fellow Lynwood police comrades, led by Luke Tambrini and Guillermo Gonzalez, surprised Kirby and created a GoFundMe account for him with just one condition accept their appreciation and support. "He's a hero and puts others first always," Tambrini said. "He's seen a lot and has been in a lot of pain for a long time and he needs to get his mind off it, so we decided to raise money purchase him a PTSD/companion service dog. " Tambrini said Kirby was humbled upon hearing the news but ultimately agreed to the dog. "It's very humbling, said Kirby, a 22-year veteran of the force. "I'm usually the one helping others and it's not easy to accept help, but it means so much that others care so much and I really appreciate it." Kirby, who suffers from PTSD, is in his second round of chemotherapy treatment and suffers from excruciating back pain. His tumor has spread to his spine. His University of Illinois at Chicago team of doctors has been trying to shrink the tumor and keep it at bay because it's inoperable. "I'm not sure about my future, but I do have hope," Kirby said. "I do know that I can't wait to have this dog in my life because I refuse to sit here and think about dying. I have so much to live for and want to fight because I know giving up is not an option." The Lynwood Police Department was looking to raise $15,000 for Kirby's dog and assist with "overwhelming" medical expenses. To date, the account has raised moren than $20,000 from family, friends, strangers and even an unlikely donor. One of those contributions came in the form of a $2,000 donation from a man Kirby arrested and credits him for being "one of the most professional police officers" and "saying something to me one night that made me turn my life around." Kirby's dog will come from Baden K-9 in Ontario, Canada. and Baden gave the Lynwood Police Department a discount for the dog once it heard about Dan Kirby's journey and leadership to his community. Kirby's GoFundMe account can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/xp-dogforkirby. LAPORTE One person was airlifted and seven others transported via ambulance to area hospitals with injuries following a three-vehicle crash Thursday night at 400 S. and U.S. 35. All four lanes along U.S. 35 between LaPorte and U.S. 6 will be closed to traffic for the next couple of hours, LaPorte County sheriff's Capt. Michael Kellems said at about 8:30 p.m. People should avoid the area. Police responded to the scene just after 7:30 p.m. One person was airlifted to Memorial Hospital of South Bend in an unknown condition, he said. Seven others were transported to an area hospital. Kellems said Thursday the cause of the crash is under investigation, but alcohol use is suspected in one of the drivers. One of the individuals injured included a homeowner who was struck by a vehicle after coming out of their home to see what happened. The LaPorte County's Fatal Accident Team is investigating because of the serious nature of the injuries and crash, he said. Other information, including the severity of injuries, was not immediately available Thursday night. KINGSBURY A LaPorte County woman who heard two vehicles collide Thursday night went out to help, then was seriously hurt when struck by a third driver. One of the drivers, Shawn Bowerson, 31, of Kingsford Heights, was arrested, accused of drunken driving, LaPorte County police said. The investigation into the collision remains ongoing. The woman, whose name and age were not immediately released, was flown to a South Bend hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Seven other people, including Sierra Jarnecke, 13, and William Kerley, 3, suffered injuries not as serious, police said. According to police, 33-year-old Kimberly Jarnecke, of LaPorte, was traveling south on U.S 35 in a Jeep Cherokee when she made a left turn in front of an oncoming Chevy Trailblazer operated by Bowerson. The woman living near the crash site went out to help and was hit by a Dodge pickup truck driven by Kenneth Grawcoch, 52, of Kokomo. Capt. Mike Kellems said one possibility being looked into is that one of the vehicles Grawcoch struck was pushed into the woman, whose name was being withheld until her family was notified about the accident. ''She went out to see if she could be of assistance. The secondary crash occurred as she was standing near one of the vehicles,'' Kellems said. Bowerson had a 0.12 blood alcohol concentration, police said. He later posted $605 cash bond to await a court hearing on the Class A misdemeanor offense. Whether speeding or some other traffic violation contributed to the crash was still under investigation, Kellems said. VALPARAISO A 31-year-old Hebron woman faces multiple criminal charges after her young daughter reportedly found her overdosing after using heroin, according to court records. Lindsey Delgado's daughter reportedly had to leave her younger brother at the residence in the 300 block of West Sigler Street to find a telephone to call for help. Delgado faces felony counts of neglect of a dependent and possession of drugs and a hypodermic needle, according to court records. She also is charged with misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia. The girl said she found her mother Dec. 6, according to charging information. Police said they found heroin in a small stamp bag on the bathroom counter. A hypodermic needle was found near the heroin and five more hypodermic needles containing blood and residue were found in the bathroom garbage can. Also discovered in the bathroom were a black cap with residue, a razor blade with residue, a blue tourniquet, a window scraper with residue and capped needles with syringes, according to court records. HAMMOND The sheriff's Chief of Police is resigning and pleaded guilty Friday afternoon to his role in the Lake County Sheriff Department towing bribery scandal. Timothy Downs, 65, admitted to cheating the public of honest government services by using his authority within the Lake County Sheriff's Department to do political fundraising for Sheriff John Buncich while he was on duty and using his publicly provided police car. Downs said he knew what he was doing was prohibited by county government directives, but did so under orders of Buncich. "I did wrong, and I want to clear it up," he told U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano during a nearly two-hour hearing. Downs admits he has previously been helping investigators and will cooperate in any future prosecutions in return for the government's promise to recommend he receive the minimum possible prison time under federal sentencing guidelines. U.S. Attorney David Capp disclosed last month Scott Jurgensen, owner of Merrillville-based Samsons Towing, also has been cooperating with his office as a witness to payments made to Buncich. Valparaiso defense attorney Bryan M. Truitt, who represents Buncich, said Friday his client disagrees with the allegations contained in the plea agreement. "Sheriff Buncich is very proud of his honest public service and his good works, and is completely innocent," Truitt said. Downs' plea hearing comes only two weeks after the government arrested Buncich, 70, Downs and William "Willie" Szarmach, who operates CSA Towing, of Lake Station. All three pleaded not guilty at the time to an indictment alleging they took part in the exchange of tens of thousands of dollars in illicit payments between February 2014, and last month, to enrich the sheriff and the Buncich Boosters campaign committee. It was disclosed for the first time that some of the political contributions went to the Lake County Democratic Central Committee, which assists a number of Democratic candidates. Buncich is chairman of the Lake County Democratic party and oversees the central committee's financial transactions. Downs will remain free on bond. His sentencing was scheduled for March 16, 2017, but could be delayed until after all the trials in the case are finished to ensure his continued cooperation. Downs, who had served as Buncich's second-in-command since 2011, said he soon became aware the sheriff was using his control over the department's tow list to extract political contributions and cash bribe payments in exchange for favorable treatment for certain Lake County towing firms. Buying more tickets assured more business Downs said the more fundraising tickets a firm bought, the more lucrative business they could expect from county police. Downs said he sold the tickets during regular business hours using his government-provided sheriff's vehicle. He said he didn't keep any of the money himself, but instead turned over more than $22,000 in cash and checks to Buncich and kept track of who bought tickets, and how many. "Oftentimes, the owners of these companies did not even want the fundraising tickets or take physical possession of them, but simply wanted to make sure that the sheriff knew that they had contributed to his fundraiser," Downs said. Downs said he later learned that many of the cash payments weren't recorded on the sheriff's campaign finance report as required by law. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Benson indicated a lot of the evidence against Downs was collected by Jurgensen, who recorded conversations among Downs, Szarmach and himself. Benson recited evidence from the recordings that Downs promised Jurgensen and Szarmach a bigger share of the "heavies," a reference to towing tractor trailers stopped on Cline Avenue and found in violation of state weight restrictions. Benson said the towing firms wanted assurances from Downs there would be enough trucks stopped and towed to make a larger profit for the towing firms. Benson said Downs is overheard saying, "Don't worry. We are going to take care of you." One of the tow truck drivers said, "One every week would be fine." Downs replied, "We can pump that up." Benson said towing firms that wouldn't return Downs' telephone calls about fundraising ticket sales were struck off the sheriff's list. The conversations took place in fall 2014 when Buncich and a number of county and municipal officials were running for re-election. HIGHLAND Several funds have been started to help a police officer who remains hospitalized because of injuries from a head-on crash a week ago, officials said. Officer John Swisher was responding to a nonemergency call about 1 a.m. Dec. 10 in the 9100 block of Kennedy Avenue when another driver crossed over the center line and hit his squad head-on, police said. Swisher was extricated from his car, taken to a local hospital and later airlifted to Loyola Medical Center, where he remained Friday, Police Chief Pete Hojnicki said. "His condition is stable as he undergoes multiple surgeries," Hojnicki said. A fund at OfficerDown.US has been started to benefit Swisher and his family. "Officer Swisher has a long road to recovery ahead of him," according to information posted with the fund. Hojnicki said donations also are being accepted at Standard Bank and the Highland Police Department in the name of Highland FOP/Ofc. Swisher. The crash remained under investigation Friday. The man who hit Swisher's car also was taken to a local hospital after the crash. Hojnicki thanked residents for sending well wishes and said the department is hoping for the best for Swisher, who has served in Highland for more than 10 years and previously worked in Lowell. HAMMOND An author, an ecologist and a firefighter/inventor are the three newest additions to the Northwest Indiana Wall of Legends housed at the Indiana Welcome Center. A ceremony hosted by the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority on Thursday welcomed Nelson Algren, Lynton Keith Caldwell and Chief Clyde Hamilton McMillan to a group that includes such famous honorees as astronauts Frank Borman and Jerry Ross, writer and humorist Jean Shepherd, The Jackson 5 and popcorn king Orville Redenbacher. Those inducted must have made significant contributions to Northwest Indiana while incorporating the four values of exploration, courage, creativity and/or innovation. Algren (1909-1981) spent part of his life in Black Oak and in Miller. He gained fame when his book "The Man With the Golden Arm" was published in 1949. The movie version starred Frank Sinatra in 1955. His literary work brought attention to the plight of the poor and those suffering addictions. He was presented with the National Book Award by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1950. Caldwell (1913-2006) lived in Hammond and developed a love for nature from studying the Indiana Dunes ecosystem. He would go on to draft the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, a law that's main intent is to guarantee that all branches of government properly consider the environment before pursuing federal action that would cause significant damage to it. Caldwell's daughter, Elaine Caldwell Emmi, traveled from Bloomington to attend Thursday's ceremony. "He was originally a political scientist who went into and helped create the field of environmental policy," she said. "And some people call him the grandfather of environmental policy." Caldwell said it felt "fantastic" to have her father recognized. "Because his work is timeless," she said. "His work is for all people." McMillan (1930-1982) was a volunteer Gary firefighter who was injured while responding to the devastating Standard Oil fire of 1955. He would later come up with a design for the first automatic fire nozzle and established Task Force Tips, a company that manufactures and distributes firefighting equipment. His son, Stewart McMillan, and his grandson, Ian McMillan, were scheduled to be his nominators at the ceremony. The intent of the Wall of Legends is to inspire others to make similar contributions along the South Shore. Inductions began in 2004 and the Wall of Legends is sponsored by the BP Whiting Business Unit. An annual $1,000 Legends Scholarship was awarded by First Midwest Bank in conjunction with the ceremony. The scholarship goes to a student attending a Northwest Indiana college who exhibits the same four values as those who are inducted into the Wall of Legends. Christina Carter, of Gary, became the first recipient from Ivy Tech Community College in Gary. The business major and mother of five-year-old twins is also president of the Business Honor Society at the college while working a full-time job. "It feels great to receive this honor," Carter said. Carter said she believes she meets the core value of creativity through her experience as a dance instructor and her fashion background. "That is my ultimate goal, to be a creative director and combine both the business and the arts," Carter said. Children collect firewood amid damage and debris at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held al-Shaar neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria Nov 17, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] GENEVA - The senior advisor to the UN special envoy for Syria said Thursday that the UN is prepared to monitor and assist evacuations from the last rebel-held enclave in Syria's city of Aleppo. "We do hope that today we start the last and successful attempt of the evacuations of the troubled city," Jan Egeland told press here after a weekly humanitarian taskforce meeting. "We will do as much as we can to be close to and with and for those who are evacuated," he added. According to the diplomat, a three-pronged approach is expected to see the medical evacuation of wounded and sick as well as the evacuation of vulnerable civilians and opposition fighters take place. While invited to monitor operations, the UN was not part of the agreement, the fruit of direct negotiations between parties to the conflict. According to Egeland, most evacuees are expected to go to opposition-controlled Idlib. An undetermined number may also end up in neighbouring Turkey. "We stand ready to accompany those who are being evacuated not only from east Aleppo but all the way to Idlib... that will be the destination of most of the people evacuated," he explained. Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided roughly in two since 2012, with western parts under government control and eastern districts held by rebels. NEW YORK The revelation of Yahoo's latest hack underscores what many Americans have known for years: All those emails, photos and other personal files stored online can easily be stolen, and there's little anyone can do about it. The only saving grace is that the attackers apparently did not exploit the information for fraud. But their true motives remain a mystery. While there are a number of straightforward measures all users should take to protect themselves, relatively few people actually do. And in this case, doing so wouldn't really have mattered. Even the most scrupulous individual countermeasures could only limit the damage. "Yahoo users could have had immaculate computer security and still been the victim here," said Will Ackerly, chief technology officer at Virtru, a computer security firm he co-founded after working for eight years at the National Security Agency. "Short of using encryption, there's no way to keep your email from being compromised in this kind of hack." The mega breach disclosed Wednesday exposed more than a billion user accounts, the largest such attack in history. The company said the attack happened in August 2013, although Yahoo only discovered it recently. Worse, the company's announcement followed a similar announcement in September about a 2014 hack that Yahoo ascribed to an unnamed foreign government. That breach affected 500 million accounts. Some experts believe the record-breaking amount of data stolen in the breach announced Wednesday also points to state-sponsored hackers in search of a specific target, which could be why three years later the data still hasn't been spotted for sale on the web. And neither Yahoo breach has yet been linked to online fraud or any specific repercussions for Yahoo users. But their disclosure closely follows U.S. intelligence concerns about Russian hacking of Democratic emails during the presidential campaign not to mention recent attacks on a major health insurer, a medical lab-test company and the government office that manages millions of federal employees. "The lesson is clear: No organization is immune to compromise," said Jeff Hill, director of product management for cybersecurity consultant Prevalent. And since most of us are dependent on big organizations that hold our digital lives in their hands, in a broad sense that means no one is safe. The hacks represent yet another stumble for the struggling Sunnyvale, California, company as it tries to reinvent itself. The breaches occurred during the reign of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, a once-lauded leader who has been unable to turn around the company in the four years since she arrived. Earlier this year, Yahoo agreed to sell its digital operations to Verizon Communications for $4.8 billion a deal that may now be jeopardized by the hacking revelations. Meanwhile, it's clear that Yahoo didn't do enough to protect its users. For example, the company acknowledges using MD5, a password-storage method considered by many experts to be inadequate and inferior to others available at the time of the hack. One of Yahoo's priorities will now need to be keeping its users updated as its investigation progresses, said Jeremiah Grossman, chief of security strategy for SentinelOne. "I think that would go a long way to assuring users and everybody that they're doing the right things," said Grossman, who worked in security at Yahoo from 1999 to 2001. "The best peace of mind in cybersecurity is transparency." There's only so much a company like Yahoo can do to protect its users without damaging its business model, which involves selling advertising based on data gleaned from its users, Grossman noted. As a result, it can't do things like encrypt user data, which would make the information useless to hackers. Other companies that don't sell advertising, such as Apple, are able to encrypt. And some, such as Google, do so too but not in a way that would have protected against this type of hack. They also hold the keys to that encryption, giving them the access they need for advertising sales. "If you take a step back, the 1 billion people aren't Yahoo's customers, they're its product," Grossman said. For Yahoo users, experts say, there's little to do except for changing their passwords if they haven't done so in the past three years. And it's tough to protect against future hacks at Yahoo or other companies that hold personal information. Changing email providers is, at the very least, a pain for most people. Experts say picking a tough password is a must , though they are divided on exactly how important it is to change it frequently. The same password should not be used for multiple sites, and the questions and answers needed to reset it should be unique as well. While perfect security doesn't exist, no one wants to be an easy target either. Cybersecurity experts like to compare the hacker threat to running from a bear: You don't have to be the fastest runner just not the slowest. The Yahoo breach should serve as a lesson to users that they can't assume that companies, even large multi-national tech companies, are doing security right, said John Shier, senior security adviser at Sophos. "Hopefully this is the one that wakes everybody up, although I doubt it will be," Shier said. "It's frustrating to see this happen over and over again when for many years we've known how to better protect systems." Marc Chase Editor Marc Chase is a veteran investigative reporter, columnist and editor of more than two decades. He currently leads The Times news staff as local news editor. He can be reached at 219-933-3327. Follow Marc Chase Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today In the minds of many Region political insiders or regular Times readers, it might have appeared an unlikely gathering. Three public officials of whom The Times Editorial Board has been critical on some matters sang Christmas carols in Saturday's frigid temperatures while I, the editorial page editor, rang a bell near a red Salvation Army kettle. It's a classic example of how we all can put politics and other disagreements aside to support a greater good. Schererville Councilmen Kevin Connelly and Jerry Tippy, who also is a Lake County commissioner-elect, and Cedar Lake Councilman Randy Niemeyer struck more than an impressive vocal tone in their Christmas song renditions. They also sang a tune of volunteerism we're challenging other Region residents and public officials to mimic this holiday season. In this case, the greater good was raising money for a Salvation Army kettle outside the Crown Point Jewel-Osco on Main Street. Two weeks ago, I challenged Times readers to volunteer their time ringing bells for The Salvation Army to raise money in their red kettle drive. The proceeds help needy individuals and families during the holidays. I pledged myself for a 10-hour block of bell-ringing outside the Crown Point store but pleaded for help so I didn't have to freeze for the full 10 hours. Volunteers responded. Indiana House Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville, pledged his time for a two-hour window of bell ringing at the site. There was no promise of publicity and no politics attached. The Crown Point Jewel isn't even within Slager's voting district. He came to help anyway. The Times Managing Editor Erin Orr, though she wanted no credit, volunteered for a two-hour block of bell ringing as well. Her plethora of winter layers made her nearly unrecognizable. Those layers were needed in Saturday's finger-and-toe-numbing cold. My twin 13-year-old sons Nolan and Connor joined me for two of my five hours at the kettle Saturday. Mary Roberts, of St. John, a self-described avid reader of my Sunday column, batted cleanup for the final two hours of the bell-ringing shift. And then there was our trio of carolers Connelly, Tippy and Niemeyer. The three government leaders, all of whom are musicians or have vocal experience, joined me between 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday at the behest of Connelly. Outside of his Schererville Town Council duties, Connelly is a member of the Paulist Chorale, a mens choir with roots at Chicagos Old St. Marys Church. Its the parish upon which the 1940s Bing Crosby classic, The Bells of St. Marys, is based. Connelly recruited Tippy and Niemeyer to help. They jokingly dubbed themselves the "PSAP II Carolers." For those who don't get the inside joke, PSAP II is the unofficial name given to the emergency 911 dispatch formed through a cooperative of Schererville and Cedar Lake town governments. The two towns formed the cooperative because their leaders decided not to join the larger E-911 consolidation of the rest of Lake County's cities and towns. The Times Editorial Board has been critical in the past of the two towns resisting what it considers a larger good-government cooperative. The separate county dispatches have squabbled over state 911 funds and other matters, including court litigation. Those differences of opinion were nowhere to be found Saturday, though. Their impressive renditions of "O Holy Night," "Silver Bells" and many other popular songs caused many a shopper to pause and place an extra few dollars in the red kettle Saturday night. Given my extreme lack of musical talent, I felt honored just to jingle the bell while they sang. I also felt warmth on a very cold day from the many well wishes and donations made by Times' readers who visited me during the bell ringing. In the end, as meaningful as the experience was to all participants, it was only one day of giving. We filled about a kettle and a half full of cash donations Saturday, but the need persists. The Lake County Salvation Army chapters note their volunteers and donations are below the norm this year. The organization is looking for more citizens leaders, really to volunteer at other red kettle sites so the organization doesn't have to pay for bell ringers. So I end with a challenge. Give of your time, not just your wallet, this holiday season. Sign up for an available red kettle shift, which are offered in two-hour slots at locations throughout the Region. Go online to register2ring.com where you can volunteer as a bell ringer after selecting a time and location that fits your schedule. Need and our response to it as a society have nothing to do with personal politics, ideologies or economic means. Facing that need has everything to do with the human spirit. As the Region ground remains white and the promise of more snow lingers, some people may find it easier to get in the Christmas spirit. We hope that prompts more Northwest Indiana residents to remember the great need of so many of their neighbors. That need is with us year-round but perhaps is more keenly felt as those without must watch those of means shop for and celebrate the holidays. Some people may discount that need, arguing they worked for what they have and others should do the same. But many people find themselves jobless, homeless or without enough to provide for their families through no fault of their own. And what of the children in these situations? Did they ask for it? In that vein, The Times is challenging the entire Region but especially its elected officials and other prominent leaders to find a way to give of themselves this holiday season for those who struggle to get by. Toys for Tots boxes are located across dozens of Region storefronts. If you can, buy a brand new, unwrapped toy as part of your seasonal shopping and drop it in the box on the way out. It's a very direct way to guarantee a brighter Christmas for a child who otherwise wouldn't have one. Don't ignore The Salvation Army bell ringers outside of many Region businesses. If you have a few dollars, or even loose change, in your pockets, deposit some in the red kettles to help so many Region folks in need. Giving doesn't have to cost you money. The Salvation Army's Lake County chapters, in particular, find themselves behind this year in both donations and volunteers to man the kettles outside businesses. Read Marc Chase's column on today's Opinion page and consider volunteering to be a bell ringer. Volunteer bell ringers ensure more of the money collected goes to the needy, rather than paying kettle attendants. Don't forget the hunger plight of so many in our Region, either. Many township trustees offices and Region churches seek nonperishable food donations year-round. The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana seeks even nominal donations of money. The organization's status as a nonprofit food bank gives it more buying power with food wholesalers, meaning every dollar a person donates purchases about three meals. That's an enormous return on charitable investment in the well-being of Region men, women and children. Visit the food bank's website at https://foodbanknwi.org/ to learn more about how you or your business or organization can donate or volunteer your time to pack or sort food. Take a look around your home this holiday season. If your heat is running and your fridge and pantry are stocked with enough meals for a week or more, you have much for which to be grateful. Then consider helping those who otherwise will watch the rest of us celebrate the holidays while struggling in need and uncertainty. Two people were charged Thursday in the Dec. 1 armed robbery of state Rep. Vernon Smith at the Glen Theater in Gary. Keith L. Sanders, 41, is charged in Lake Criminal Court with two counts each of armed robbery, criminal confinement, intimidation and felony battery. He is also charged with one count of auto theft. Veronica Sanders, 38, is charged in the same court with fraud on a financial institution, felony fraud, and identity deception. Gary police were dispatched at about 11:40 a.m. to the Glen Theater, 20 W. Ridge Road, after receiving reports of an armed robbery. Smith told police he was at the theater to meet with a roofer when a man entered and asked him what he was selling, according to a probable cause affidavit. Smith said he was not selling anything, and the man then pulled out a pistol and pulled a ski mask over his face, the affidavit states. The man forced Smith to the floor and searched his pockets, the affidavit states, and when Smith told him he had no money, the man said he would blow his head off. The roofer walked into the theater during the robbery, and the man forced both the roofer and the representative to lay in the theater's auditorium, according to the affidavit. The robber stole the men's wallets, phones and keys, and then fled the scene in Smith's vehicle, the affidavit states. Gary police Lt. Dawn Westerfield said earlier this week the vehicle, which had government license plates, was found later that night in the 4900 block of Vermont Street. Police were able to determine that Smith's debit card was used Dec. 5 to withdraw $400 from an ATM machine at a gas station in the 4800 block of Georgia, according to the affidavit. Police obtained video surveillance from the gas station that showed a black woman with blond hair used the debit card, the affidavit states, and a gas station worker identified her as an employee at a local pizza restaurant. The manager of the restaurant identified the woman as Veronica Sanders. Smith identified Keith Sanders, a known associate of Veronica Sanders, as the robber in a photo lineup, according to the affidavit. Keith Sanders' bail is set at $250,000. Veronica Sanders' bail is $20,000. Freezing rain mixed with snow is in the Region's forecast for Friday, with blowing snow and icy roads a threat to travelers heading into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. A storm system is expected to bring a wintry mix to the area beginning Friday afternoon, according to the hazardous weather outlook issued by NWS Thursday. Snow accumulations between 1 to 3 inches are expected Friday. Areas along and south of Interstate 80 could see a mix of freezing rain and sleet, forecasters said. Several inches of snow could fall father north, particularly near the Wisconsin border. Temperatures were expected to rise into the 20s Friday across Northwest Indiana. A winter weather advisory is in effect from noon Friday until 6 a.m. Sunday, with dangerously cold conditions expected Saturday night through Sunday night. Wind chill advisories for much of the Region expired late Thursday morning. Temperatures rose only into the single digits. The South Shore Line will again be busing passengers between South Bend and Carroll Avenue in Michigan City on Friday because of the cold, according to a news release. Buses operate on the posted train schedule, but delays are possible, officials said. Several region communities have opened warming shelters, including Cedar Lake, East Chicago, Hammond, Hobart and Gary. Check back at nwi.com for updates. GARY Gorety Oceguera doted on her 3-month-old baby, Edith Bucio, surrounded by dozens of other Northwest Indiana moms and their partners. The families ate cupcakes, took pictures with Santa and received gift bags. They gathered Saturday in a downstairs meeting room at Ivy Tech Community College to celebrate not only the holidays, but the fact they were raising healthy babies. Since the time she was 8 weeks pregnant, Oceguera was helped by one of the event's sponsors, Nurse-Family Partnership of Lake County. A nurse from the nonprofit visited her Hammond home regularly, referring her to other resources in the community and teaching her how to have a successful pregnancy and raise a healthy infant. "I learned about safe sleep and not shaking the baby," said Oceguera, 29. "They told me about breastfeeding." Nurse-Family Partnership and the Lake County Minority Health Coalition hosted the winter baby shower to reward the parents for having healthy babies and teach them ways to keep their infants safe. Northwest Indiana has among the highest rates of infant deaths in the state. Forty-eight families and a total of 87 community members attended the event. "I used to be an investigator with child protective services," said Mike Minogue of Prevent Child Abuse Lake County. "Some of the hardest investigations I did dealt with shaken baby or crib death." Most of those deaths, he said, were preventable. He explained that it's normal for kids to cry. They're doing it because they want something: food, a diaper change, to be cradled. He held up a Tupperware containing a raw egg with an unbroken yoke. He shook it, and the yoke broke easily, illustrating the fragility of a baby's brain. "When you damage the brain, it doesn't get better," he said, as moms chased their toddlers around the room. To prevent unsafe sleep deaths, he told the parents in attendance to always have their babies sleep in a crib, on their backs, with no bumpers or blankets, and never bed share. Saturday's event mixed fun activities like putting "diapers" made of toilet paper on the dads with lessons on such topics as the causes of infant death and ways to be healthy before you have a baby. "I learned a little bit more about the different resources that are here in the area," said Shannon Collins-Clark, 29, a Gary mom who was 8 months pregnant. "And I learned more about the benefits of breastfeeding." Mayor Bill de Blasio got hit with a large bill today from the city's Campaign Finance Board. His 2013 campaign was slapped with a number of violations of the city's campaign finance law. Our Courtney Gross was there and filed this report. It was a hard-fought campaign that is going to cost hizzoner a little extra $47,778 to be exact On Thursday, officials the city's Campaign Finance Board fined the mayor's 2013 campaign almost $48,000 for violating the city's campaign finance law. "The recommendations in the case of penalties in the case of Mr. de Blasio are adopted," said CFB board chair Rose Gill Hearn. They say his campaign accepted contributions that were over the city's legal limit and sometimes spent money inappropriately. And they had examples: For one, take a stay in Santa Clara, California for what the campaign said was "finance prospecting meetings." There were no contributions from California that month. Mayor de Blasio's daughter attends college in the same town. Elsewhere, de Blasio's campaign paid for a Delta flight for his son Dante to Washington D.C. to attend a National Action Network event in 2010, claiming the event was campaign-related. The board didn't buy it. They looked good, but it was pricey. The campaign paid $550 for the family to get their makeup done on Election Night for quote "television appearances." The board says spending campaign cash on personal grooming is prohibited. "These fines are huge," said Dick Dadey with Citizens Union. "The charges are many. And I think it shows an inattentiveness that maybe has carried into city hall and is one of the reasons why there is these investigations into his fundraising practices as mayor." Clearly these audits take time. We are talking about a campaign that was three years ago and already the mayor is ramping up his campaign for reelection. In a statement, a spokesman for the de blasio campaign said: "While we strongly disagree with many of the CFB's findings, we are pleased that the 2013 campaign audit is now complete." In a story you will only see on NY1. Doctors will perform a grueling 10-hour surgery to remove a massive, life-threatening tumor from a 12-year-old girl. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci spoke exclusively with the doctors heading the surgical team. 12-year old Janet Sylva doesn't smile much, and eating and talking are difficult. A scarf covers her face, to hide the massive tumor that has been expanding inside her mouth for three years. "The tumor is growing, and it's growing rapidly," said Elissa Montanti, with the Global Medical Relief Fund. The growth has now reached the size of a small watermelon. Any larger, and Janet's life will be in jeopardy. But now doctors at Staten Island University Hospital have stepped in to remove it. "The surgery is going to dramatically change the way she looks," said Dr. David Hoffman, a surgeon with SIUH. Janet's mother says her daughter started complaining about pain in her mouth when she was 9. The pair sought medical care at home in The Gambia, and then Senegal, without success. Doctors there emailed an international surgeons group, with a plea for help. Dr. David Hoffman, an oral surgeon, responded. He assembled a team of highly specialized surgeons here who will help Janet for free. "Really a group of experts for every phase of her surgery," Dr. Hoffman said. Janet and her mother arrived on Staten Island last month, thanks to the Global Medical Relief Fund, a locally based charity that aids critically ill or injured children. Elissa Montanti helped to coordinate the many doctor appointments leading up to Janet's surgery. As doctors work to remove Janet's tumor, a second team of surgeons will be working to remove a bone in her leg that will be used to rebuild her jawbone. "Although it's very large, there's very, very little risk to the important things in the head and neck," said Dr. Spiros Manolidis, with SIUH. That's because doctors plan to work around the intricate set of nerves in Janet's face. They've practiced using 3D images of her CAT scans, enabling them to become familiar with her face before they actually begin to work on it. The surgery will be done on January 15, and likely last 10 hours. And then, doctors say, Janet will be able to smile again. Police say 41 year old Candice Crump is now facing charges after she abducted her 3 year old daughter Latifah from Jamaica Hospital on Wednesday. Crump told police the girl's father had assaulted them both. On Friday, police added 4-month old Jaedn Crump to the missing persons alert. The children and Crump were found in the Bronx. The children are being evaluated. Sources say the father has custody of the girl, and had picked her up and swung her at her mother as they argued inside a Queens hotel room Wednesday afternoon. When the father showed up at the hospital to check on them, police sources say Crump had taken off with their daughter. The father has been charged with assault and child endangerment. When WikiLeaks and other websites published troves of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons campaign during the final months of the presidential election, the American news media enthusiastically seized on the documents to illuminate the inner workings of a political party and its standard-bearer. But as more information emerges about the extent of Russias involvement in the hacking, news organizations are reassessing the journalistic challenges involved in relying on stolen documents. While the Obama administration had said in the weeks before the election that the Kremlin had directed the attacks, intelligence agencies now believe that Russia may have interfered in the campaign with the goal of promoting the candidacy of Donald J. Trump. In a deeply reported story on the Russian cyberattacks, The New York Times wrote this week that news organizations, including The Times, had become a de facto instrument of Russian intelligence by basing so many stories on the hacked emails. It was an unusually blunt assessment of the role news organizations played in disseminating stolen information that may have shaped public opinion heading into the election. Many top editors say that stolen documents that are deemed newsworthy are fair game for coverage, but that the potential motives behind the release of the material must be made clear to readers. Though a mountain of hacked Democratic Party emails was made available, they said, they published articles only on those judged to be in the public interest, with appropriate context provided, given the information available at the time. Mei Sim Lai (left), Chair of the Mulan Foundation Network, and Lina Fan (right), a wine expert and winner of the Mulan Women Achievement Awards, pose for pictures. [Photo by See Li/For China Daily] A winemaker, an eye doctor and an equity partner are among this year's winners of Mulan Women Achievement Awards which highlight the remarkable contributions of Chinese women made in the UK and Europe. Lina Fan, a French wine expert and owner of vineyards in Bordeaux, France, won the contribution for business and enterprise award. She was much commended for advancing the techniques and appreciation of wine making and its cultural importance beyond a country with a renowned history in the art of wine making and whilst up against local experts. "I have a passion for wine making, and I am delighted that through my work, we prove that a wine maker from a Chinese background can not only maintain the professional standard in Bordeaux but also excel," Fan said at the award ceremony at the Parliament building this week. She is the first general manager and wine maker from a Chinese background in a Margaux vineyard in Bordeaux, France. The Mulan Women Achievement Awards recognize and promote and the achievements of Chinese women residing in the UK and continental Europe. The name of the awards was inspired by the Chinese legendary heroine Hua Mulan, who disguised herself as a man to save her family honor and her country. Mei Sim Lai, Chair of the Mulan Foundation Network which gives the awards, said "I believe, and I know, that Chinese women around the world have so much to offer, to help each other, to deal with the businesses and also to act as role models for others. And this is what Mulan charity is all about." Sanny Yuzhen Jiang (left), a UK-based practicing eye doctor, and Suwei Jiang (right), an equity partner at PwC UK, pose for pictures at the Milan award ceremony in London. [Photo by See Li/For China Daily] Also highly commended was Jiang Suwei, an equity partner at PwC UK. She is the first Mainland Chinese to be made equity partner in a big 4 accountancy firm in the UK. She helped the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) set up in China and was instrumental in devising a ground breaking PwC/Tsinghua University Flying Start programme for students to take Chartered Accountancy qualifications from ICAEW while completing their university studies. Ang Swee Chai, founder and patron of Medical Aid for Palestinians, was awarded for contribution to community and charitable causes. As a full time orthopaedic surgeon in an NHS hospital she was able to pursue her humanitarian work for helping Palestinian refugees over three decades, often exposing herself to danger in war torn areas. Sanny Yuzhen Jiang, a UK-based practicing eye doctor and clinician scientist, was also highly commended for her voluntary work in the community and charitable causes. She founded Yi Tian Yi Ren, an eye charity that has so far provided free-sight saving surgeries to 1,544 patients struggling with blindness and poverty. She is also a volunteer cataract surgery trainer at Helen Keller International, an organisation which has trained numerous rural doctors to provide cost effective surgeries to serve thousands of patients suffering reversible blindness-leading diseases. For far too long Chinese women have kept a generally low profile but Mulan aims to address this issue by encouraging Chinese women to use their skills and talents to help others. "We want to connect the successful Chinese ladies globally to younger Chinese ladies so that they can help each other, but more important, they can help others in society," Lai said. More than 200 politicians, business leaders and media professionals attended the award ceremony. The Mulan awards were first organized in 2009 by Sonny Leong, chair of the Chinese for Labour political group, Katy Blair, co-founder of the Islington Chinese Association, and Meeling Ng, a Labour councillor who is is currently an Independent Governor on the Board of London South Bank University. Hoping to assure the public that the award is non-political and open to all, they subsequently decided to establish the Mulan Foundation Network in 2013 as a registered charity and invited Lai to be the chair. Its deja vu in the land of the Redstones. Sydney Holland, a former girlfriend of the ailing, 93-year-old mogul Sumner M. Redstone, has filed a lawsuit against his daughter, Shari Redstone, and a team of nurses that echoes claims made earlier this year by another of Mr. Redstones former girlfriends, Manuela Herzer. In a cross-complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, Ms. Holland accuses Ms. Redstone of operating a network of spies in an attempt to oust her fathers lovers from his home last year so Ms. Redstone could take control of his $40 billion media empire. Suzy Scherr, a chef and cookbook author who lives in Chappaqua, N.Y., examined her blade on Wednesday and, to her shock, flicked off a small piece of metal. It was frightening because I cook for my family and use my food processor constantly, she said. She also cooks for private clients and was about to make some bread dough, a process she suspects would have dislodged more metal. It is scary, especially because its such a trusted name, she said. Jason Perlow, a cook who started the pioneering food blog eGullet in the 1990s, called it the foodie version of the Volkswagen diesel scandal. His wife, Rachel Nash Perlow, said she was frustrated that the company had yet to offer any indication of how long it would take to send a replacement blade. Cuisinart just screwed up the holidays for a lot of people, she said. One of them is Karen Wolfe Haram, the retired food editor of The San Antonio Express-News. The timing could not be worse, she said. Thats what puts this over the edge. If was sometime in March, youd be like, O.K., I can hang in for a couple of weeks. Among them, she and her two daughters have five food processors; all of them are on the recall list. She uses hers daily and said she would keep using it, but would check the blade carefully each time. Cuisinart appeared unprepared for the response. The phone line it set up to take calls has often gone unanswered, and on Wednesday, its website was unable to process claims for replacement parts. Like many people who tried to contact the company, Ms. Wolfe Haram was unable to get through. She said she tried at least 25 times on Tuesday, when the recall was announced, and again on Wednesday. She finally resorted to filling out a form on the website but like others has not heard when the new blades will arrive. It sparked an epiphany: not enough people acknowledge their biases and, like you did here, directly ask the other party what they think is the best choice. In fact, most people forget that the middle ground of wanting to decrease tragedies like shootings, suicides, homicides, and et cetera even exists. In order for this debate to produce positive results, individuals need to familiarize themselves with compromise. I appreciate seeing that here at the end of your response. Some shared how their opinions were changed: The topic of immigration is so controversial. My opinions on it were flimsy until I read the Humans Of New York Facebook page. The photographer interviewed countless amounts of Syrian immigrants, and they had a chance to tell their story. All you hear about on the news is about how horrible immigrants are, and I had never thought about it being much different. Once I read their stories, though, it became such a moral issue. Several acknowledged that other students had challenged what they thought they knew: First off I want to say well spoken, I think you made some very key points. I was skeptical about the stat that 11 million undocumented immigrants live in America, but as I researched more I found out that number has actually come down from 12 million in 2007. This is astounding because these people are just almost invisible and not a part of the life I lead. Curious on how they affect your life? Many seemed to be genuinely grappling with issues rather than just repeating talking points. A notable number took both Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton seriously and went to their websites to find and quote statements. They then seemed to be trying to puzzle out their own beliefs, rather than just regurgitating canned partisan arguments they had heard elsewhere: Norton, I can confidently say that I strongly agree with your statement of the hypocrisy in the situation. People do not realize their self contradiction when they say people are discriminated against but do the same towards others. For example I have heard of people being against Hillary Clinton simply because she is a woman. It is also important to note that police officers risk their lives every day to keep us safe, as you said. In addition, as shown by the recent killings of police officers, people are stereotyping police officers for being racist killers; this is obvious proof of hypocrisy in some advocates of the Black lives Matter movement. Many nodded to both sides of an argument and were able to find things to agree with in both: I agree with you in part, Jai, but i must say, crossing the border without permission is wrong, and they knew it. but i do understand that the conditions that the illegal immigrants may have lived in before attempting to cross the border might have been horrendous. there is no correct answer in my opinion, for the matter at hand. you either make them wait for a better life that may never happen, or they find other ways to come here to live a better life _________ Peluchonneau is a tragically constricted soul, but not an entirely unsympathetic character. Neruda is a heroic figure comic and Dionysian, brilliant and naughty but his personal Javert is in some ways the films protagonist. Neruda is annoyed and sometimes amused by the detectives doggedness, but Peluchonneau is haunted by the poets mystique, and by a growing sense of his own incompleteness. A curious symbiosis develops between them, a dynamic more complex and strange than the simple conflict of good and evil. Mr. Larrain is a master of moral ambiguity. His previous films about Chile Tony Manero, No (which also starred Mr. Bernal) and The Club are interested in collaboration as well as resistance, in the inner lives of the corrupt as well as the actions of the virtuous. Those movies, in particular Tony Manero, set during the military dictatorship in the 1970s, and The Club, about a group of disgraced priests, are studies in claustrophobia, with cloudy cinematography and grubby behavior. Neruda has a looser story, richer colors and a more buoyant spirit. It is less abrasive than Mr. Larrains Chilean trilogy, and less intensely focused than Jackie, his new English-language film about Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of her husbands assassination. But like that unorthodox foray into history, this one approaches political issues from an oblique angle, looking for the idiosyncrasies and ironies that humanize the pursuit of ideals and the exercise of power. The period details cast a romantic glow over Nerudas flight, which feels more swashbuckling than desperate. But the film casts a shadow forward in time, into the darkness of Chiles later, bloodier period of military rule, and beyond that into the political uncertainties of the present, in Latin America and elsewhere. Mr. Larrain invites us to believe that history is on the side of the poets and the humanists, and that art will make fools of politicians and policemen. But he is also aware, as Pablo Neruda was, that history sometimes has other plans. Tipping Point at Saratoga might sound like a good wager at the majestic upstate New York racetrack, but its an even better bet as the subtitle to 1777 (Oxford University Press, $34.95), a book about the decisive battle that year, which turned the tide of the American Revolution. American history has been largely hijacked by localities whose future is behind them, which is one reason New Yorks transformational role in defining the new nation during the 17th and 18th centuries is so often overlooked. Another is that sugarcoating the past means glossing over Washingtons rout in Brooklyn, the brutal occupation of New York as a Tory town for seven years and the inconvenient truth that more Americans died in British jails and prison ships in the city than in all of the battles of the Revolutionary War combined. Which is all the more reason to celebrate Saratoga. In Revolution on the Hudson: New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence, George C. Daughan reminded readers earlier this year of the corridors strategic value to British conquest by dividing the rambunctious New England colonies from their tamer cousins to the south. The questions asked by state prosecutors in their grand jury presentations suggest their inquiry is in some measure centered on Emma Wolfe, Mr. de Blasios top political aide, Ross A. Offinger, who was then his campaign finance director, and Josh Gold, a union political operative who worked on the 2014 Senate effort, the people with knowledge of the inquiry said. The federal investigation has examined whether Mr. de Blasio or his aides took beneficial action on behalf of donors in exchange for contributions they had made to his 2013 mayoral campaign, his political nonprofit or both in roughly a half-dozen instances, according to people with knowledge of that inquiry. Several of the witnesses to testify before the federal grand jury were current or former city officials who were knowledgeable about one of those matters, in which Harendra Singh, the owner of a popular restaurant and wedding venue in Long Island City, Queens, was negotiating a new lease with the city, several of the people said. One such witness was Stacey Cumberbatch, former commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, an agency that manages city franchises and negotiates leases. Because federal and state grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret, few details were available about the witnesses who have appeared so far, the substance of their testimony or the nature of any other evidence that may have been presented to the panels. But the fact that prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to the grand juries suggests the unrelated inquiries are probably moving into their final stages, and could wrap up in a matter of weeks. As prosecutors painted it, the scheme seemed logical enough: If a rustic village in upstate New York would not approve a townhouse development that would more than quadruple its size, then bring in new residents, register them to vote and elect a new village board. But the developers, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday, took shortcuts that made the scheme easy to pick apart as fraudulent: They placed toothbrushes and toothpaste in apartments when no one was actually living there. They backdated leases to roughly the same period the 30 days before the 2014 election required to establish legal residency for voting. They opened bank accounts and picked up mail at unoccupied home addresses. They arranged for bribes to scores of people to travel to the community to register to vote. Indicted on a charge of conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process were Shalom Lamm and Kenneth Nakdimen, who are building 396 townhouses in Bloomingburg, a village of 420 inhabitants in Sullivan County in the foothills of the Catskills. Also indicted was Volvy Smilowitz, described as a business associate of the developers. Harold Baird, the former supervisor of the Town of Mamakating, which embraces Bloomingburg, has pleaded guilty to submitting false voter registrations, said Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office is prosecuting the case. Opponents contend that the developers were marketing the townhouses to Hasidic families to accommodate the Hasidim in overcrowded enclaves such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel, N.Y., a village of 20,000 Satmar Hasidim in Orange County. Given the high birthrate among Hasidim, the development, they said, could more than quadruple Bloomingburgs population. Opponents of Mr. Lamms development, known as Chestnut Ridge, said it would dramatically alter the sleepy pastoral character of the village, creating a locale congested with Hasidic newcomers and no longer as diverse. Im perfectly comfortable signing the bill, he said. Im only acknowledging that it became a big distraction even though everything was done properly. Mr. de Blasios 2013 campaign took the same approach in responding to the finance board, which found that his campaign had made late filings, accepted donations over the citys strict limits, and spent money that could not be documented as related to the campaign. A detailed breakdown by the board of the improper spending included $550 on makeup for television appearances by Mr. de Blasio and his family on election night; $298 on a flight to Washington for his son, Dante, to attend a 2010 rally hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton; and more than $116,000 in postelection payments to Hilltop Public Solutions, a public relations firm, that were not fully explained as campaign related. (Bill Hyers, a partner at Hilltop, ran Mr. de Blasios campaign and helped start the Campaign for One New York.) According to the boards report, the campaign said the presence of Mr. de Blasios son at the rally commemorating the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech, was appropriately paid for with campaign funds because his son, who is black, appeared at the event as a visible manifestation of how the candidates life experience was resonant to the spirit of the occasion. Dan Levitan, a spokesman for the campaign, defended the spending on makeup and said the travel to Washington was an important trip taken as part of the campaign, even if the mayor had not at that point formally declared his candidacy. Mr. Levitan said the fines would be paid out of money raised in anticipation of a 2013 runoff. After seven months of negotiations, thousands of airport workers in New York and New Jersey have come to terms on their first union contract. But it does not address an impending anomaly that will leave workers on opposite sides of the Hudson River earning different pay for doing the same work. The union that organized the workers, Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, reached a deal on Thursday with 11 companies that provide services at the three major airports that serve New York City. The proposed contract would give the workers greater job security and more regular schedules, among other improvements in their working conditions. But the contract does not cover the terms usually considered most important in a labor deal: wages and benefits. That omission is a product of the complex hierarchy at the airports, which are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. By not addressing pay, the contract highlights a quirk to be ushered in on Dec. 31, when the minimum wage for all workers in New York City will rise to $11 an hour from $9. That increase will raise the minimum wage for workers at La Guardia Airport and Kennedy International Airport from the hourly minimum of $10.10 that the Port Authority requires that employees at its facilities be paid. Stepping into the cavernous space is a bit like walking into the great hall of the mansion in Citizen Kane. Classical marble sculptures, elaborately carved wooden animals and panels covered with painted rosebuds are everywhere. Though the place is still under construction, the haphazard collection of antiques already here raises the question: What exactly is going on? Its definitely that wow factor when you walk in the door, said Johnny Swet, the mixologist who is creating the cocktail list for Oscar Wilde, a new bar scheduled to open in February in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. The owners, Frank McCole and Tommy Burke, Irish immigrants who came to New York in the mid-1980s, are known for the antique-jammed Lillies Victorian Establishment (named for Lillie Langtry, an actress from the era). It has locations near Union Square and Times Square. Once Oscar Wildes decor is assembled, it will be like Lillies on steroids, and include what they claim will be the longest continuous bar in the city, at 120 feet. In the era of hip-hop yoga and handstands on Instagram, its easy to associate yoga with impossibly lithe and limber young people. Those with chronic back pain, arthritis or a bum hip might not feel so welcome in a power vinyasa class. But Samamkaya Yoga in the Flatiron district caters to practitioners with aches and pains. Hourlong classes are slow and methodical, focusing on therapeutic movements that strengthen alignment. Students usually complete just four or five poses, achieved with the help of slings, belts, blocks and other props. Barry Koski, 67, a retired educator with a pronounced thoracic spinal curve, said his back and spine feel as healthy as they have ever felt. He credits his well-being to Deborah Wolk, 56, a wiry co-founder of the studio, which is run cooperatively by all of the teachers. Ms. Wolk is obsessed with precision in movement. She had the walls of the studio painted in a grid broad stripes of salmon, gray, yellow, blue and hot pink and there are vertical and horizontal axes on each yoga mat to help focus students on their body alignment. Chairs, blocks and bolsters are stuffed into shelves and corners, but during each class, the studio becomes littered with them, as they are used to support a modified downward-facing dog or childs pose. Sydney, an articulated plastic skeleton, is often hauled out of his corner for anatomy demonstrations. If a guy on Broadway in wraparound shades and a Santa hat insisted to you that Santa is really a New Yorker, you might slip him a buck and make a quick escape to your office party. But on Tuesday, this man, Jared Goldstein, 49, was surrounded by 10 people who had shown up to take a walking tour he runs every December called Santa Claus: The N.Y.C. Tour, which makes this very claim. Mr. Goldstein was beginning the tour at what he called Santas birthplace in New York City. So he met the group in front of a Duane Reade drugstore on Broadway near Rector Street in downtown Manhattan. Were all here because we love the jolly man, Mr. Goldstein said. Mr. Goldstein is Jewish and did not grow up celebrating Christmas. After deciding that the rich history of Santa in New York was being unforgivably ignored, he began the tours in 2010, which he called the 200th anniversary of Santas birthday. Success Academy, New York Citys largest charter school operator, has purchased commercial space in a new high-rise building on Manhattans Far West Side for $67.7 million. The charter network plans to open two schools there, a major shift for Success, which has insisted that the city provide charter schools free space in public school buildings. Success Academys founder, Eva S. Moskowitz, has been engaged in a long-running battle with Mayor Bill de Blasio over space for her rapidly expanding network of schools, which are high-performing but have also drawn criticism for their sometimes harsh methods and instances of pushing out difficult students. Charter leaders have argued that although their schools are privately run, they have as much right to space in school buildings as other public schools. Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor and independent who encouraged the growth of charters, generally agreed. This is one of the greatest coups weve seen in modern-day America, said the House Democratic leader, Larry Hall. This is an effort to nullify the clear vote of the people. Mr. Cooper said on Thursday that he might challenge the constitutionality of the measures in court, arguing that sweeping changes to the states power structure should not be rammed through without careful consideration and debate. If the Republicans succeed in stripping much of the governors authority, they will hamstring his ability to make sensible reforms in many areas, including public education, health care and environmental policy. This legislative power grab is the latest underhanded step by a state Republican Party desperate to stay in power in a state where demographic changes would normally benefit Democrats. Republicans in North Carolina, a presidential battleground state, have used aggressive redistricting and voting suppression measures that are among the most brazen in the nation to win elections. The courts have blocked some of these efforts, but Republicans have found workarounds, for instance, by limiting voting hours and sites. I think theyre doing this because they think they can get away with it, said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina. Even if Mr. Cooper was to succeed in beating back these efforts to weaken the governorship, he would assume power with Republican veto-proof majorities in the House and the Senate. That means his greatest asset, in the short run, will be the bully pulpit. SAN FRANCISCO Some time around August 2013, hackers penetrated the email system of Yahoo, one of the worlds largest and oldest providers of free email services. The attackers quietly scooped up the records of more than 1 billion users, including names, birth dates, phone numbers and passwords that were encrypted with an easily broken form of security. The intruders also obtained the security questions and backup email addresses used to reset lost passwords valuable information for someone trying to break into other accounts owned by the same user, and particularly useful to a hacker seeking to break into government computers around the world: Several million of the backup addresses belonged to military and civilian government employees from dozens of nations, including more than 150,000 Americans. No one knows what happened to the data during the next three years. But last August, a geographically dispersed hacking collective based in Eastern Europe quietly began offering the whole database for sale, according to Andrew Komarov, chief intelligence officer at InfoArmor, an Arizona cybersecurity firm, who monitors the dark corners of the internet inhabited by criminals, spies and spammers. Three buyers two known spammers and an entity that appeared more interested in espionage paid about $300,000 each for a complete copy of the database, he said. The attack, which Yahoo disclosed on Wednesday, is the largest known data breach of a company. And neither Yahoo nor the public had any idea it had occurred until a month ago, when law enforcement authorities came to the company with samples of the hacked data from an undisclosed source. Few things age as fast as slang just imagine a play entirely in Valley Girl-ese. At least it could bank on familiarity, which is not the case with His Royal Hipness Lord Buckley, a show built on the half-forgotten verbal quirks of an entirely forgotten personality from the 1940s and 50s. Dig the swinging world of the hip? Solid! For more than 10 years now, Jake Broder has been on a quixotic mission to preserve the memory of Lord Buckley, a white Californian of British descent who sported formal tails and the occasional pith helmet, and delivered monologues in the jazz-tinged African-American argot of the time his specialty was to translate familiar texts like the Gettysburg Address into the beautiful zigzag semantic of the hip. Mr. Broder spares us the helmet at 59E59 Theaters, but he does spend the entire evening in character, performing some of Lord Buckleys greatest non-hits spiced up with references to Steve Bannon, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Trump Tower. Backed by a jazz trio and assisted by Michael Lanahan as a hip news reader, Mr. Broder, holding a cigarette that may or may not be wacky tobacky, throws himself into the routines. But the novelty of Buckleys lingo grows thin quickly, culminating in a particularly dull bit about the Nazz a.k.a. Jesus, the coolest, grooviest, swinginest, wailinest, swinginest cat that ever stomped on this jumpin green sphere. The improper use of informants was first uncovered in one of the countys most high-profile cases, a mass shooting that killed eight people in a Seal Beach salon in 2011. Scott Dekraai pleaded guilty to the killings in 2014, and the district attorneys office sought the death penalty. Mr. Sanders filed a motion arguing that deputies had intentionally placed informants in cells next to defendants who were facing trial, including Mr. Dekraai, and never disclosed this practice. Those actions, Mr. Sanders argued, should eliminate the possibility of the death penalty. In the spring of 2015, a judge in criminal court, Thomas Goethals, removed the entire district attorneys office from the case, ruling that the prosecutors had violated Mr. Dekraais rights by repeatedly withholding important evidence and that the office could not be trusted to act ethically. The case was turned over to Californias attorney general, Kamala D. Harris, who appealed the ruling. A California appellate court upheld the ruling this year, writing that the magnitude of the systemic problems cannot be overlooked. The district attorneys office relied on such informants in several other cases, promising them reduced sentences or money if they could get confessions or other incriminating details from defendants facing trial. Mr. Sanders has said that every case in the past 30 years that used a jailhouse informant should be reviewed. Mr. Sanders also found that the sheriffs department kept a secret file for decades on where the jailhouse informants were placed, while the prosecutors kept their own files of informants and their deals with them and rewarded them for any information. At first, District Attorney Rackauckas denied the existence of any systemic informant program and said that the issues stemmed from isolated mistakes. But his office later reversed course and acknowledged the program in June with a court filing that detailed more than 1,100 pages of notes that were recorded from 2008 until January 2013 by sheriffs deputies. The office was then forced to admit that the existence of the notes contradicted several statements law enforcement officials had made in court. Mr. Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens have denied any wrongdoing. The notes used code names for plans involving informants, calling them capers or operations. A Mexican mafia leader who became a frequent informant, Fernando Perez, spoke with Mr. Dekraai and another murder defendant represented by Mr. Sanders, Daniel Wozniak. While prosecutors at first said it was a coincidence that Mr. Perez spoke with both suspects, the notes made clear that it was intentional. Judge Goethals has expressed frustration over prosecutors continuing to withhold information and records about the informant program. When should I expect full compliance with lawful orders that I have issued? he said during a September hearing. What do you think? What would be fair? Three and a half years isnt enough time? WASHINGTON President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday named David M. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer aligned with the Israeli far right, as his nominee for ambassador to Israel, elevating a campaign adviser who has questioned the need for a two-state solution and has likened left-leaning Jews in America to the Jews who aided the Nazis in the Holocaust. Mr. Friedman, whose outspoken views stand in stark contrast to decades of American policy toward Israel, did not wait long on Thursday to signal his intention to upend the American approach. In a statement from the Trump transition team announcing his nomination, he said he looked forward to doing the job from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem. Through decades of Republican and Democratic administrations, the embassy has been in Tel Aviv, as the State Department insists that the status of Jerusalem which both Israel and the Palestinians see as their rightful capital can be determined only through negotiations as part of an overall peace deal. Mr. Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, has said that he does not believe it would be illegal for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank and he supports building new settlements there, which Washington has long condemned as illegitimate and an obstacle to peace. WASHINGTON Ozan M. Ozkural, a London-based investment manager, found a creative way to gain one-on-one access to the new first family: He bid nearly $60,000 to have a cup of coffee with Ivanka Trump for a charity event she was hosting. Mr. Ozkural wanted to meet with Ms. Trump who is considering playing an informal role in her fathers administration to gain insight into topics like President-elect Donald J. Trumps possible future dealings with Turkey and other nations where Mr. Ozkural invests, he said. The nature of my business, we talk to a lot of different governments, a lot of politicians and lawmakers across the world, Mr. Ozkural said in an interview on Thursday, adding that he recently had a conversation with the president of Argentina. You end up getting a better sense of what the modus operandi will be. Republicans have not settled on the details or the timing of their replacement plan. The House speaker, Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, portrays repeal of the law not as an ideological crusade, but as a form of urgently needed relief. Insurance markets are collapsing, Mr. Ryan said this week. Premiums are soaring. Patients choices are dwindling. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process. The House leadership aide said that repealing major provisions of the law was a priority for the first 100 days of the Trump administration. But, he said, the date that those provisions would actually disappear would be delayed, allowing a transition period as short as two years or as long as three or four years. During that time, Republicans plan to pass one or more replacement bills. By giving people the choice to buy insurance, Republicans could end up dangerously skewing the health insurance market, Obama administration officials and insurance executives say. Sick people are more likely to sign up, they say, and there may not be enough healthy people paying premiums to cover the costs for those who are less healthy. Under the Affordable Care Act, people who go without insurance are subject to tax penalties. The Internal Revenue Service says that more than eight million tax returns included penalty payments for people who went without coverage in 2014. The House leadership aide said that lowering the cost of insurance was a much better way to encourage people to opt in. We would like to get to a point where we have what we call universal access, where everybody is able to access coverage to some degree or another, the aide said. Over the past six years, if you look at the experience weve had with the A.C.A. rollout, chasing coverage doesnt necessarily yield great outcomes. You can have people going into an exchange, finding out that their pediatrician is no longer available to them. A project in London that helps people from the Chinese community cope with dementia is urgently seeking new sources of funding after cuts in municipal grants left it facing an uncertain future. The Chinese National Healthy Living Centre, based in London's Soho near Chinatown, set up the London Chinese Dementia and Alzheimer's Project in 2013. Eddie Chan, director of the center, told China Daily:"Many of these people are afraid to go to mainstream services because they don't speak the language or they don't even realize that there are certain services out there." In 2013, the center received a 145,000 pound grant from the City of London Corporation's charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, to cover staff salaries and running costs for three years. But from January next year, after applying for a grant extension, it will receive just 80,000 pounds over the following two years. Chan said they hope to make up the difference by raising money through crowdfunding as well as a program of fundraising events and by soliciting corporate donations. One of the center's activities is organizing reminiscence tea gatherings and workshops for people with early signs of dementia, as well as their carers. The tea sessions provide a supportive environment and allow carers an opportunity to speak with others in similar situations and exchange advice. The project has been helping people such as 69-year-old Celia Choi, who has been married to 87-year-old Terry Murfet for 41 years. Terry has dementia and Celia said it has been important for her to share her experience with other members of the Chinese community. "The group sessions give carers like me a break. The other carers and I share tips, advice and talk about similar problems." she said. "It helps you get things of your chest." Chan said many people have benefitted from the service. "The project has assisted around 60 Chinese families in London," he said. "We want to expand to more boroughs." BERLIN An Afghan migrant accused of raping and killing a medical student in Germany had been convicted of attempted murder in Greece and had violated parole there, but the German authorities were not aware of his criminal past when he entered the country, the governments top security official said Thursday. The news added a disturbing twist to a case that has already rattled the country, and it raised concerns about European officials ability to enforce laws within the 26 countries that allow for free travel across their borders. The course of events is very aggravating, Thomas de Maiziere, Germanys interior minister, said of the discovery that the suspect had been convicted of a violent crime in Greece. Mr. de Maiziere said Germany would take up the issue with the Greek government. The suspect, whose identity and age have not been made public, was living with a foster family in Freiburg, a university city in southwestern Germany, at the time of his Dec. 3 arrest on suspicion of the rape and murder of the 19-year-old medical student, Maria Ladenburger, whose body was found in the Dreisam River in Freiburg on Oct. 17. Seven weeks later, the police said, the suspect was identified through DNA evidence from a strand of hair found near the crime scene. AMSTERDAM The architect Daniel Libeskind unveiled his design on Friday for a Dutch national Holocaust memorial in Amsterdam, to be laser-etched with the names of some 103,000 Jewish, Roma and Sinti residents of the Netherlands who were killed by the Nazis during World War II. The names monument will consist of four walls made of red brick a common material in Amsterdam houses shaped into the form of the Hebrew word Lizkor, which translates to in memory of. They are four different sets of spaces, because each letter is a double wall, so that you can walk inside and outside, Mr. Libeskind said in an interview after a news conference. Its like an intimate room, four intimate spaces where you can sit and reflect, and in each one there is a bench for meditation. There are trees, the reflection of light above you and the reflection of the city today, the sky, the birds. The site is in the center of the historic Jewish Cultural Quarter of Amsterdam on the east side of the old city, which contains the Jewish Historical Museum, the Portuguese Synagogue and the Hollandsche Schouwburg, a former theater that was used as a Jewish deportation center by the Nazis. If you had been around a particular part of the downtown Manhattan art world at a particular time in the 1960s, you might have spotted the bohemian-playboy painter Larry Rivers roaring down the crumbling streets on his motorcycle. Clinging to him was a small, conservatively dressed woman who didnt remotely seem to belong there. To see that woman now Marian Goodman, one of the most revered art dealers in the world makes the motorcycle story, one she tells bashfully, all the more impossible to conjure. It gave me a very good education on how not to get killed, she recalled. At 88, Ms. Goodman carries herself with a quiet, unassailable authority that makes you think she could be a retired banker or New York City schools chancellor or a high-level diplomat, a job she aspired to before falling under arts spell as a young, Upper West Side mother in the early 60s. Her gallery enters its 40th year next month as one of the most powerful in the business, despite having operated in few of the ways other galleries have as the contemporary art world morphed into the sleek financial behemoth it is now. Long on West 57th Street, it never branched out to SoHo or Chelsea. It never became a player in the auction market. And while largely rejecting the footprint-in-every-city expansionism of its peers it set up a permanent space in Paris in 1999 and just added a new space there, after opening a London gallery only two years ago it has still been able to attract sought-after young artists like Julie Mehretu and Adrian Villar Rojas. WARSAW Polands Culture Ministry announced plans on Friday to finally set the status of one of Europes most important private art collections and preserve it in Poland for the benefit of future generations. The famous Czartoryski family collection consists of 593 precious artworks, including Leonardo da Vincis Lady With an Ermine (1489-1490) and Rembrandts Landscape With the Good Samaritan, and is currently owned by the Princes Czartoryski Foundation. Jaroslaw Sellin, a deputy minister of culture, told Polish parliamentarians this week that it would be good, even from a formal standpoint, if it were to become a national treasure. Polands parliament on Thursday allowed the ministry to set up a reserve fund to purchase cultural items of special significance to the Polish heritage. IN THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND By Edward Hoagland 185 pp. Arcade Publishing. $22.99. Sidelined from his job as a Manhattan stockbroker, separated from his wife and children in Connecticut and plagued by 20/400 vision My eyes are like Swiss cheese, the doctor says. I see through the holes 46-year-old Prescott, nicknamed Press, is the battered hero of Edward Hoaglands quiet, emotionally complex new novel. A high-flying Harvard grad with entree to the good life of 1950s suburbia, Press is now, wings clipped, in lonesome exile among the farmers and hippies of northern Vermont in the Nixon-era 70s. Bringing to mind the opener of Hoaglands 1968 essay The Courage of Turtles Turtles are a kind of bird with the governor turned low Press has had his speed throttled almost to nil. Can he muster the courage to rev himself back to a semblance of who he was before? Presss damaged sight seems to have its basis in the authors own disability. Hoagland, now in his mid-80s, the author of 24 previous books, has written about his diminishing vision before. In his 1997 essay A Last Look Around, he reflects on scrambling to improvise solutions as his sight fades. Similarly, Press, whose diagnosis is serpiginous choroiditis, a recurring inflammation of the retinas, concludes that improvisation was the very essence of going blind. This mirroring between novelist and character is expressed in the novels take on a curtained world, where Press sees humans as bipedal forms and lusts after Carol, an artist from the nearby hippie commune, with her shape apparitional. A masterly nature essayist, Hoagland invests Press with a keen ear for his rural surroundings, from the tattoo of hoot owls down at the swamp to the ancient bray and moan of animals being auctioned for slaughter. Presss musings often sound like a naturalists: He wished he were blind like a bat. Echolocation would be marvelous. As an exploration of rising above visual impairment blindness . . . brought you back to basics, Press philosophizes this novel, in its gentle way, can be moving. But Press is in an existential funk, a state of mind often elusive to this storys grasp. He frets about passivity, claustrophobia and becoming a pet rock. At the commune, an anonymous woman even engages him as a baby-maker in one of the novels several scenes of near-mechanical, often clunkily rendered sex. THE GHOSTS OF BIRDS By Eliot Weinberger 211 pp. New Directions, paper, $16.95. Image Aelian, in the second century, said of the hyena fish a creature no longer known to ichthyologists that if you cut off its right fin and put it under your pillow, you will have terrifying visions. Combining scholarly authority with a moral allegiance to the arcane, the translator and editor Weinberger creates genre-bending essays and prose poems to help us see the world anew. This eclectic collection spans centuries and cultures and might make you wonder if there is anything its author doesnt know. A corresponding omniscience shapes the works themselves, as in The City, a prismatic look at urban centers across time. This anthropological stance guides much of the book. First-person narratives channel explorers of the Amazon and the American West, while hybrid works like the title essay and A Calendar of Stones merge history, creation myths and other lore, revealing the earnest folly of our efforts to comprehend the mystical. The books second half contains equally inventive cultural criticism, including essays on Herbert Read, Charles Reznikoff and Bela Balazs, and an intriguing comparison of translations of the I Ching. Weinberger often marshals fantastical-yet-real facts, in texts as brief and deadpan as anything by Lydia Davis. One powerful example lists interactions at the Berlin Wall, with the taunts and human gestures of the West followed by a meticulous Soviet-style log of censure and shots fired. Other incisive commentary includes Bush the Postmodernist, an inspired review of George W. Bushs Decision Points by way of Foucault. UPSTREAM Selected Essays By Mary Oliver 178 pp. Penguin Press, $26. Image Uniting essays from Olivers previous books and elsewhere, this gem of a collection offers a compelling synthesis of the poets thoughts on the natural, spiritual and artistic worlds. From the changing landscapes and wildlife that inspire her to the literary ancestors (Emerson, Whitman, Poe) who sustain her, Oliver contemplates what it means to build a life and survive whether it is the spider whose feeding, spinning and birthing she devotedly monitors in Swoon; the gravely injured gull whose battered existence she honors in Bird; or Emerson and Poe, whose diverse creative paths Oliver views as a search for moral order after grievous personal loss. We encounter Oliver as a solitary child building leaf-and-stick houses in the Ohio woods and as an adult so deeply acquainted with the ponds of Cape Cod that she can snatch a few turtle eggs and scramble up a meal savoring the eggs as she would have us live our lives, with attention, whimsy, devotion and respect. In natures balance Oliver also finds anguish and the terrifyingly inexplicable, and these brief essays at times turn, like her poems, on a discerning closing phrase that creates new resonance. With each page, the book gains accumulative power. The various threads intertwine and become taut, linking, for instance, Emersons web of God to the spiders web in the stairwell and to Olivers forthright question, Do you think there is anything not attached by its unbreakable cord to everything else? THRILL ME Essays on Fiction By Benjamin Percy 174 pp. Graywolf, paper, $16. Image This lively, helpful guide presents a series of arguments for tapping into the basic tenets of popular fiction to create propulsive stories and novels in any genre. Without stooping to formula or how-to promises, Percy a longtime fan of fantasy, horror and the western provides precise advice concerning basics like suspense, setting and style. His approach is analytical, offering concrete techniques to (for example) incorporate back story within the action of a sentence, or maintain tenor and mood when dialogue threatens to disrupt it. Making reference to movies and music as well as literature, and celebrating writers as varied as Zora Neale Hurston, Kate Bernheimer and Stephen King, Percy suggests that realism is a trend while the beastly majority of stories contain elements of the fantastic. His evocative personal anecdotes invigorate even familiar material like Making the Extraordinary Ordinary, where instead of the usual examples from, say, Kafka, Percy plucks from Karen Russell, Nick Hornby and George Saunders. In each essay we glimpse an industrious Percy at the daily grind of writing, rereading and editing his fiction. He good-naturedly describes one of his short-storyish novels as a shnovel and recounts the ways he pillaged an unpublished manuscript to create various shorter narratives; his tales of rejection (one story turned away by 39 literary magazines before being accepted) and extreme revision inspire with hard-earned wisdom. Beyond craft or theory, and perhaps more helpful than any advice, this book serves as a reminder that writing is hard work. A WANT OF KINDNESS By Joanne Limburg 435 pp. Pegasus Books. $25.95. My first encounter with Queen Anne was in the epilogue to Antonia Frasers Mary Queen of Scots. During a search of the catacombs of Westminster Abbey, Fraser relates, it was discovered that Mary (Annes great-great-grandmother) was far from lying alone in her tomb. Among her companions were the 18 pathetic babies born dead to Queen Anne and her sole child to survive infancy. All buried before Annes coronation, these dead children are, nevertheless, what most people remember. How, we wonder, did she survive the agony? In her new novel, A Want of Kindness, Joanne Limburg offers a key. The chambers of Annes heart, like the passages, staircases and closets of St. Jamess Palace, are neglected. Being blind, or choosing to be blind, to the scale of her misfortunes is one way for Anne to cope, but this renders Limburgs task more difficult. Anne wrote copious letters, some of which are inserted verbatim into the narrative, and although conjecture is the historical novelists accepted territory, Limburg is too faithful to her subject to sex up one of Britains least sexy monarchs. Instead, God is Annes most intimate confessor. Its a clever ploy, allowing dutiful piety and flagellating acknowledgment of her great abuse of his heavenly goodness to give way to a conversational explanation for her pain and resultant bad temper: Dr. Radcliffe says it is most likely the gout. Limburg expertly leavens the sanctimonious with the comical. There is sadness too. While others sidle and swerve through the political and religious hoopla of late-17th-century London court life, Anne, with her watering eyes and comfort eating, merely plods, plaintive and often afraid. When the riding she enjoys is curtailed by the fall that may have brought her first pregnancy to its unhappy end, she is reduced to leading a heavy, anxious, uncertain and unsettled life, a life led sitting down, with a distracting pack of cards in the hand and a comforting comfit in the pocket. But Anne is also a yearner. She longs for female companionship, particularly for her dear Mrs. Freeman, her pet name for Sarah Churchill, later Duchess of Marlborough. She is also tormented by the efforts of her father, James II, to return the country to Roman Catholicism, since Anne, along with her older sister, Mary (wife of William of Orange, later William III), is a faithful Protestant. These porous borders supply Hahn with his central metaphor. Nations possess recognized boundaries, principles and laws over which a central government directly rules. To become a nation, America colonized those peoples who lived within its borders and exacted a high price whenever they tried to retain their cultural or religious traditions. (Consider the federal treatment of Native American tribes.) Yet to Hahn the United States is also an imperialist nation without borders, seeking to expand, to assimilate, to annex or to conquer other nations, sovereignties or peoples, not just in the Western Hemisphere but also in the Pacific. (Consider the American wars against Filipinos as well as Mexicans and Cubans.) In the years after the War of the Rebellion (Hahn avoids the term Civil War), the United States became a nation-state as the Army, the states, the courts and Congress built up a vast network of railroads that helped keep labor, as Hahn puts it, under their thumbs. Hahn thus considers the postwar period commonly known as Reconstruction not just as the rocky, often violent conversion of slave into free labor but as the beginning of nation-state formation, buttressed by a judiciary that provided capitalism, as he says, with real traction in the post-bellum West and South. Most important, philosophical concepts such as individualism or, later, Herbert Spencers notion of survival of the fittest undercut the revolutionary implications of Radical Republicanism. Everyone fending for himself eroded federally mandated civil and political rights, not to mention that scary idea about redistributing Confederate lands to former slaves. Hahn describes how the American nation colonized native peoples within its own borders by deploying military and paramilitary groups hired guns and organized lynch parties to defeat the oppositional movements he admires. Of course, in the first half of the 19th century there had been a host of rebellions against federal authority: whether the defiance of native peoples during the Second Seminole War or the attempt of the Mormons to organize their own state in the Utah Territory. But in the years after the War of the Rebellion, and during the Progressive Era, which Hahn labels a period of reconstructions, a number of worker mobilizations challenged capitalist gluttony, federal domination of the Western territories and corporate consolidation. Committed to restoring human dignity to lives and jobs, this array of dissident groups and certain individuals within them resisted the monopolistic practices of railroads, of industrial capitalism and of corporate behemoths like Standard Oil. They included the pan-tribal Indianness that expressed itself in the Ghost Dance movement and the Greenback Labor Party, which hoped to limit the power of financiers. The biracial Knights of Labor called for an eight-hour workday, currency reform and the nationalization of the railroads and utilities. Influencing many of these movements was the point of view of the new European immigrants, many of whom were socialists and the inspiration of the short-lived Paris Commune. Hahn goes on to address such topics as Populism; Frederick Winslow Taylors theory of scientific management; settlement houses; woman suffrage; and the Supreme Court decisions known as the Insular Cases, which left the people of such annexed territories as Guam and Puerto Rico without full United States citizenship. His assessments are cogent but quick. That is the downside of an ambitious single volume that spans 80 years of nettlesome history and runs to over 500 pages, including an indispensable 50-page bibliography, primarily of secondary sources. (The book is part of the Penguin History of the United States, edited by Eric Foner.) Since he covers so much ground, Hahn helpfully subdivides his chapters into sections with titles like Imperial Eyes, Labors Coercions, The Blood of Continental Destiny, Militant Arms of Slaveholding Empire, The Jacobin Arm and Peasant Dream, Wheels of Capital, Threads of Discourse and Imperial Reconstruction titles that indicate his point of view. THE PURSUIT OF POWER Europe 1815-1914 By Richard J. Evans Illustrated. 819 pp. Viking. $40. Europe is more than the sum of its parts. Its history is not merely a collection of national pasts standing side by side. Historians have long understood this. So did the 19th-century Italian nationalist and revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini, whose dream of a united and democratic Italy rose proudly within his vision of a United States of Europe. For Mazzini, all peoples should equally enjoy liberty and all nations the independence to pursue their own destinies, but those of Europe would also freely associate with each other in a peaceful confederation. The challenge in producing any European history lies in ensuring that this broad, continental landscape is allowed to shine, while not obscuring the local detail and nuance. The latest book by Richard J. Evans, the president of Wolfson College, Cambridge, adroitly achieves this balance. The Pursuit of Power, a volume in the Penguin History of Europe series, unpacks the fascinatingly complex and interconnected range of historical forces at work between 1815 and 1914, showing how Europeans shared broadly similar experiences, but with strong local variations in form, intensity and timing. The enviably Tolstoyan scale of the book allows Evans, first, to immerse the reader in a narrative that moves seamlessly from Russia to Iberia and all points in between. Second, it allows him to explore almost every nook and cranny of European life in this 100-year period, from the high politics of courts, diplomats and military commanders to the squalid slums of Europes expanding industrial cities; the analysis is enlivened by eyewitness observations and interwoven with cultural detail. The narrative is also set in a wider, global context, as Europeans struck out both into the world as merchants, investors, missionaries and migrants and at the world as conquering imperialists by 1914, European (and American) colonies accounted for 57 percent of the worlds population. The central dynamic of this multilayered story is provided by the books title, which signifies the multiple ways in which Europeans strove to acquire and wield power. States competed with one another for strategic security and empire. Elites like the nobility clung to their status, influence and authority as they felt the economic and political ground shift beneath their feet and were challenged by nonnoble groups, like the middle classes. Peasants sought to empower themselves by struggling for emancipation from manorial burdens or serfdom. The growing working class organized and sometimes rose up for greater control over wages, working conditions and social welfare. Europes women campaigned to break through the laws, traditions and attitudes that restricted their lives and denied them a formal political voice. With themes like these, politics figure prominently: This 100-year period was, after all, demarcated at one end by the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in 1815 and, at the other, the industrialized horror of World War I, beginning in 1914. In the years between, conservative regimes battled for the future with revolutionaries, most notably in 1848 (at the heart of a particularly trenchant chapter), when the continent was swept by a cascade of revolutions. Nationalists fought for the unity of their peoples and independence from foreign rule. During the last decades, even the most reactionary regimes yielded to some of the pressure: By 1914, every major European state (including Russia after the revolution of 1905, foreshock of the greater upheaval in 1917) was governed through a parliamentary system of one kind or another. Feminists across Europe battled on what Evans calls democracys final frontier, meaning the struggle for woman suffrage, and they scored a few successes, winning the vote in Finland (1906) and Norway (1913). The analysis sweeps the reader along at a fast pace, punctuated by vivid descriptions of combat on the barricades, diplomatic double-dealing and battlefield butchery. 1. Well get to the major stories of the day in a second, but first, as you head into your weekend, we wanted to bring you a reminder that we still live in a world of wonders. We asked our science reporters to share the most memorable stories they reported on this year. Heres what they told us. To what extent did whites miss out on the economic recovery? My column this week aimed to shed light on the enthusiastic embrace of Donald J. Trumps insurgent candidacy by white working-class voters. Economics, I argued, probably played a more important role than analysts have been willing to concede. While Hispanics, African-Americans and Asian-Americans have millions more jobs now than they did at the labor markets high-water mark in November 2007, before the economy turned into recession, whites actually lost 700,000 more jobs than they gained. It is hardly surprising, I argued, that the whites living outside big cities who were broadly bypassed by the millions of new jobs created during the recovery would vote against the status quo. Inflation F.A.Q. Card 1 of 5 What is inflation? Inflation is a loss of purchasing power over time, meaning your dollar will not go as far tomorrow as it did today. It is typically expressed as the annual change in prices for everyday goods and services such as food, furniture, apparel, transportation and toys. What causes inflation? It can be the result of rising consumer demand. But inflation can also rise and fall based on developments that have little to do with economic conditions, such as limited oil production and supply chain problems. Is inflation bad? It depends on the circumstances. Fast price increases spell trouble, but moderate price gains can lead to higher wages and job growth. How does inflation affect the poor? Inflation can be especially hard to shoulder for poor households because they spend a bigger chunk of their budgets on necessities like food, housing and gas. Can inflation affect the stock market? Rapid inflation typically spells trouble for stocks. Financial assets in general have historically fared badly during inflation booms, while tangible assets like houses have held their value better. But what if something else is going on? Whites are older, on average, than members of other racial and ethnic groups. They are aging out of the labor force more quickly than blacks or Hispanics. Might this account for the differences in the number of raw jobs lost? Perhaps its just that more whites retired? So there we were, our whole family, and no job. Our standing in society just dropped all the way down to survival mode for about a year. Then we moved to Houston when my father got a job. My mother opened a Chinese restaurant, and I would help out. Then I started my first software company in my junior year of high school. How did that happen? I was basically a complete nerd, and I was really good in math. A friend of mine and I decided to compete to see who could finish our math course sooner. So the teacher gave us all the homework for the whole year, and we just crammed. In three weeks, both of us finished the entire course. The teacher gave us the exam, and we passed everything. So we had nothing to do for almost a year, but we had to go to class. After a few days, the teacher told us we should go hang out in the new computer room. I was also interested in art, so I wrote a program that allowed a professional draftsman to use a personal computer to design anything. This was before all the Mac programs came out to do that. Then when I went to M.I.T., I started a company in my junior year a friend and I imported PC components, assembled them in our dorm and sold them. We did that for a year and a half until the campus police got involved because the scale of the business got a little too big for a dorm operation. At one point, the U.P.S. truck that came by every day was filled entirely with our stuff. Early management lessons for you? There were so many. Nobody taught me that managing people is something youve got to love to do, and that its a real burden, a real responsibility. I started out with a blue-collar-ish mental model of manager, where you would just tell people what they needed to do. But then you very soon realize that human beings have free will and youve got to persuade them. Attaboy, a small bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that has become one of the worlds most celebrated cocktail destinations, will soon be part of a bar group. Michael McIlroy and Sam Ross, the bartenders who own Attaboy, are planning with partners to open three additional places: Diamond Reef, on the edge of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; the American, a bar and restaurant in Port Chester, N.Y.; and another Attaboy in Nashville. All three are scheduled to open in 2017, though that was not initially the plan. In a perfect world, we had three projects that were very nicely spaced out that were going to keep our company busy for the next few years, Mr. Ross said. Due to the unpredictability of building bars and restaurants, project No. 1 became delayed, project No. 2 remained on time and project No. 3s timeline was pushed forward considerably. That put three nicely spaced out projects all on top of each other. Good morning. On this day in 1985, the mafia boss Paul Castellano and his protege Thomas Bilotti were shot dead in front of Sparks Steak House on East 46th Street, an execution that cleared the way to power for the lieutenant who ordered the hit, John Gotti. Some time later, the restaurateur Ben Benson put up this poster in the bar of his own steakhouse on West 52nd Street, now closed. Eat at Ben Bensons, it reads, over a photograph of Bilotti lying dead in the street in front of Sparks. It wont kill you. Thats New York City for you: a lot of smart talk about awful things. Heres a recipe that reminds me of the steak fromage at Sparks. If youve been eschewing filet mignon for years now along with the rest of us (its flavorless, we say, because everyone does), it might be worth a run this weekend. (Hey, this is actually buttery and awesome below the Roquefort and herbs!) Serve with hash browns and creamed spinach like a grown-up. Or head in another direction entirely. You could make Mark Bittmans recipe for spicy big tray chicken Saturday night. Its ridiculously good. Or Melissa Clarks recipe for lentil salad with roasted vegetables, a terrific main course when served with a baguette and salted butter. Whatever you turn out for dinner, you could make Julia Moskins recipe for a foolproof tarte Tatin for dessert, though if its to follow the steak, hash browns and creamed spinach, youll need a Fernet afterward just to make it to the couch before the food coma sets in. Seating was limited at the most anticipated fashion show of 2016, as you would expect. The invitations, printed primly with each attendees name and affiliation, no larger than a pack of gum and eminently lose-able in the dark hole of a handbag, were in short supply. If there was a no-show or an empty seat in the padded television studio where Demna Gvasalia was showing his first collection for Balenciaga, I didnt see it. Could it work? Six months later, the starchy plaid coats and skirts he designed, mostly deflated of their padded hips and shoulders, were the thing to wear to his latest show; his swanning denim jackets and ski parkas, falling off the shoulders as if pulled by a stronger gravity than their wearers, are selling out. So in a word: Yes. Mr. Gvasalia had been an unexpected choice for Balenciaga, a sainted name in Paris fashion, when he was appointed, to shock and clamor late in 2015, five months before. He was the reigning head of Vetements, a largely anonymous designer collective whose productions grew in rumor and regard until their after-hours, off-the-schedule presentations (9 p.m. at the sex club!) conferred bragging rights on those who ventured off the grid to find them. Many assumed I died in the massacre of December 1981, when government soldiers killed hundreds of people in El Mozote, my village in El Salvador. The victims were accused of collaborating with left-wing guerrillas, but most of them were women, children and old people. Soldiers tortured my family, poured gasoline on them and set my childhood home on fire. But I survived, because I was in San Salvador, working and studying for my accounting degree. It was only years later that I had thoughts of moving back. The civil war lasted more than a decade, and I returned for the first time around 1994, a couple of years after the government and guerrillas signed a peace agreement. I spent hours walking around. I saw skulls on one side of me, skulls on the other, dug-out trenches and burned-up motorcycles. There were animal skeletons all over. There were scattered bullet casings from M16s and German G3s. There wasnt a single house intact. It was hard to come back to the place I was raised to find no one from my family left to think of how they died. I remembered where Id played with my sisters and brothers, where I went to work with my father, where I fetched water from the well to bring my mother for her housework. I vowed never to go back, but several years later I heard that people were usurping the land that had been abandoned, fencing off parcels and selling them, and that they were planning to take my property. The owners arent here anymore, they were saying. When they left, they lost their land rights. Thankfully, someone said, No, Orlandos not dead, hes alive and he lives in La Libertad. At the time, gangs were beginning to come to San Salvador, and I had a teenage daughter and a teenage son. And so in 2000 I decided to live in El Mozote again. I began on my own. I built a tiny shack to stake my claim on the land. I traveled back and forth every 15 days to visit my family in the city. Finally I persuaded my wife, Miriam, to move there with the kids. I told her Id already planted corn, beans, yucca and bananas. Are you coming or not? I said. She agreed. RE: FIRST WORDS Amanda Hess examined whether requests for empathy are as genuine as they seem. Both Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs created communication vehicles that bypass genuine person-to-person connection and thus the opportunity to develop authentic empathy. Time for us to set aside our worship of technology and instead actively seek to connect, collaborate, create and act in community with one another again; media, marketing and technology can only manipulate us if we allow it. Kelly Grace Smith, Fayetteville, N.Y. Amanda Hess considers some empathy as self-interested. Mark Zuckerberg is gratuitous in saying that the social-empathy calculus improves with making available more information about others. The cold truth is that more information often promotes exploitation. In Zuckerbergs business model, exploitation would be of the tiresome commercial kind. Amanda Hesss view, however, is too coarsegrained. Empathy is correctly dispassionate only when empathizing with a dispassionate person. Putting oneself in anothers shoes emotionally models whatever emotion they have, whether it be anger, happiness, sorrow or gratefulness. Raymond Kolcaba, Chagrin Falls, Ohio JOAN CHURCHILL, cinematographer-director [After film school at the University of California, Los Angeles], I was working as an editor at a small educational company, making really boring films. My friends who were male started getting jobs directing, so I started shooting for them. Joining the Union SMITH I had to threaten to sue the union. I got a lawyer to write a letter; I got voted in at the next meeting. It was going to expose me to much better work. MEYER I tried to get in [for years]. I [showed] them what Id done and theyd say, no, we dont hire women. I finally got in; shortly after I got Hill Street Blues. The guy who got me in saw all the paperwork. We go to lunch, and he says, Sunny, tell me the truth, you dont really do this, youre just union-busting, right? He had just seen 15 years of [my] work. It was extraordinary. CHURCHILL My real battle was in England, because you could not work unless you were part of the union there. I got a letter from 12 cinematographers trying to get me deported. Theyd never heard of a woman as a cinematographer. I was the first woman to get into the union. It was about a three-year struggle. My union card says lady cameraman. MAPLE In the [cameraperson] union, you were supposed to stay an apprentice a certain time. If I had waited, I would never have become a cameraperson. So I took em to court. At the [time], they said minorities could not learn how to use the cameras. Paulas movements as a crack addict are instantly recognizable so herky jerky. How did you research them? YouTube. There are these amazing people who just go into crack dens with their phones and interview crack addicts. It was almost like the drugs remove your social filter. The crack addicts have such extremes. Theyll be perfectly normal, and then the next theyre shouting and theyll throw something, and suddenly become super aggressive. And I love that. Obviously I didnt love it for them. But for me as an actress, thats so exciting because playing someone like that means you can go on a roller coaster; there are no limits. Did you have to think about where Paulas anger came from? Basically every single one of the women crack addicts I researched, they had all been sexually abused or raped, and so for me it felt like the drugs were a way of numbing them against that vast well of emotional pain. That was the biggest insight and biggest help to creating Paula, because I realized thats where her anger comes from, thats where her frustration comes from, thats where her inability to cope comes. Liberty City is very poor and violent. Were you nervous shooting there? It really is one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the United States. We had to have police escorts, and it felt like it was going to be really unsafe. But it wasnt anything that I expected. Barry is from Liberty City, and the word had gotten around that he was from there, and they were so proud. They embraced us and it was a magical experience. This is the first time on a film set I felt appreciated and welcomed. It was really touching. As the Standing Rock protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline has gone from bad to worse to hopeful to tentative, dozens of documentarians have descended on the Sioux reservation 34 teams, according to the tribal database. And while its no longer uncommon for major news events to attract multiple filmmakers, some members of the horde in North Dakota seemed to need a lesson in where they were. Whats happening at Standing Rock is not just about history and tradition but also spirituality, said Josue Rivas, a photographer and filmmaker of Native American descent, who has helped the Sioux work with the news media. The tribe objects to the pipeline, which would run from North Dakota to Illinois, in part because it would desecrate ancestral lands, and its protest is a form of prayer. It might seem cool to take a photograph of the chief in his headdress, but its so freaking disrespectful, Mr. Rivas said. Respect the feathers, you know? Respecting the feathers has never been a major concern of American cinema, and the throng of film projects at Standing Rock has provoked a debate about cultural appropriation among documentary makers. At issue is who gets to tell the story and who gets resources to tell that story, especially when Native Americans lack mainstream opportunities in Hollywood. Russian hack narrative revealed to be elaborate media hoax email leaks actually came from Bernie Sanders insider And now the total hoax of the left-wing delusional conspiracy theory begins to unravel. After days of witnessing the left-wing media hyperventilate over completely fabricated claims that the Russians hacked the DNC emails and turned them over to Wikileaks, it turns out the emails were actually leaked by a DNC insider who was angry about the orchestrated elimination of Bernie Sanders by Clinton operatives. The UK Daily Mail is now reporting that Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, personally met the email leaker who handed him the emails files later released by Wikileaks. The email leaker, a Bernie Sanders insider, was reportedly motivated by disgust at the corruption of the Clinton Foundation and the tilting of the primary election playing field against Bernie Sanders, reports the Daily Mail. The hand-off took place in Washington D.C. in a wooded area near American University, Murray explained. Via the Daily Mail: Murray insisted that the DNC and Podesta emails published by Wikileaks did not come from the Russians, and were given to the whistleblowing group by Americans who had authorized access to the information. Neither of [the leaks] came from the Russians, Murray said. The source had legal access to the information. The documents came from inside leaks, not hacks. As Julian Assange has made crystal clear, the leaks did not come from the Russians, writes Murray on his website. As I have explained countless times, they are not hacks, they are insider leaks there is a major difference between the two. And it should be said again and again, that if Hillary Clinton had not connived with the DNC to fix the primary schedule to disadvantage Bernie, if she had not received advance notice of live debate questions to use against Bernie, if she had not accepted massive donations to the Clinton foundation and family members in return for foreign policy influence, if she had not failed to distance herself from some very weird and troubling people, then none of this would have happened. The continued ability of the mainstream media to claim the leaks lost Clinton the election because of Russia, while still never acknowledging the truths the leaks reveal, is Kafkaesque. Wikileaks Julian Assange also previously confirmed that the leaked DNC emails did not come from the Russians. The Washington Post, New York Times and other discredited propaganda mouthpieces of the regime continue to insinuate that the Russians somehow altered the election outcome to favor Donald Trump, but they havent produced a single shred of real evidence to back up their claims. The goal is to create doubt in the minds of the electoral voters Despite the complete lack of evidence, the entire left-wing media (propaganda pushers) in the United States has further abandoned any last semblance of journalistic integrity to keep broadcasting the knowingly false narrative that that the Russians hacked the DNC and released the emails to Wikileaks. That delusional conspiracy theory is being pushed by a coordinated media campaign with the aim of spreading sufficient disinfo to cause electoral voters to change their votes on December 19th. The goal is to deny Donald Trump 270 electoral votes, and to accomplish that, the same left-wing media that incessantly lied about everything during the campaign is continuing to lie after Trumps election victory. If Donald Trump can be denied 270 electoral votes, the left-wing narrative will claim his presidency is illegitimate because he failed to reach the required 270. Its all ridiculous, of course, since it is the disinformation of the media itself that is the cause behind electoral voters possibly altering their votes. Thus, the propaganda is self-reinforcing and electoral voters are being subjected to the most intense political psyop ever observed in U.S. elections. The leaked emails revealed astonishing depths of corruption and collusion across the DNC and Hillary campaign By focusing the narrative on the Russians, the mainstream media has managed to completely distract nearly everyone from the substance of the emails that were leaked. Those emails contained damning details about extreme corruption and collusion inside the DNC, which actively plotted to use Bernie Sanders as a political puppet, then stab him in the back at the appropriate time to make way for Hillary Clinton. Breitbart.com has published a list of 18 of the most astonishing revelations to come out of the leaked emails. There are hundreds more. When Wikileaks began releasing the emails, one of the initial narratives of the coordinated left-wing media was to claim that the emails were fake. Thus, they are now in essence claiming that the Russians altered the outcome of the election by somehow hacking the DNC to acquire fake emails which were released by Wikileaks. It makes no sense, of course, but left-wing narratives dont need to make any sense. They only need to sound emotionally charged and outrageous. (Liberals dont think with logic. They make decisions based on emotions and social conformity. Thats why they cant be reasoned with.) WashPost, NYT and CNN all fabricated an elaborate hoax to try to steal the election after losing the vote The Craig Murray revelations reveal the left-wing Russian hack conspiracy delusion to be a total hoax waged by the Washington Post, New York Times and CNN. Nothing theyve claimed is true. Everything theyre writing about this is a fabrication or an echo chamber of some other source thats also fabricating similar nonsense. From the Daily Mail: Murray said he was speaking out due to claims from intelligence officials that Wikileaks was given the documents by Russian hackers as part of an effort to help Donald Trump win the U.S. presidential election. I dont understand why the CIA would say the information came from Russian hackers when they must know that isnt true, he said. Regardless of whether the Russians hacked into the DNC, the documents Wikileaks published did not come from that. Submit a correction >> Like other inmates interviewed, she did not want to disclose the crime that landed her in prison. The inmates offered up insights as deep and eloquently expressed as those from the Union graduate students. Emma Cornelius, 33, of Brooklyn, an inmate who expects to be released in a year, discussed the role of women in African religions. In terms of gender, she observed, theres still this conformity with a patriarchal society, and there arent many women at the forefront of the religions we dealt with. The class fostered a closeness that took some of the Union students by surprise. Michele Stanback, 34, had to compose herself when asked how it felt to take a course with inmates. I have a lot of emotions about it, she said. The way the class is set up is very intimate. Its one of the few classes Ive had at Union where we became a real unit, and thats very rare in academia. We experience real joy with them. And we have inside jokes. But there were limits imposed by the states Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The Union students, for example, were asked not to search for information about the inmates online because the inmates cannot reciprocate, given their lack of internet access. At the final class meeting on Tuesday, a prison official reprimanded an inmate and a Union student who had sat next to each other for nearly four months for embracing at the end. (Physical contact is prohibited.) Still, the instructor, Samuel Cruz, an assistant professor of church and society at Union, chose to share a personal story at the start of their last class. He explained how one of his 10 siblings a brother had been imprisoned in New York for 10 years. His brother died at age 36, two years after being released. Its been a blessing for me to have taught this course this semester, he said. Its in Joels memory. There were reminders during the semester that for the inmates, the setting was in fact a lockup, not a college campus. During one class in early December, a guard interrupted the discussion and pointed at one inmate, ordering her to leave the room for a search. It was stressful to watch people I care about be treated in degrading and dehumanizing ways, said Hannah Gallo, a Union student who served as Professor Cruzs teaching assistant. Not only was it disruptive, but it was embarrassing for her to be so viscerally reminded that she is under someones thumb. That was jarring. History has shown us that some politicians are at their most appealing after they lose. Al Gore seemed to be more fun after 2000, Mitt Romney less robotic and out of touch in the documentary Mitt, released two years after President Obama kept him from the White House. Ms. Quinn today seems to have pressed the release button, letting out the progressive that many people refused to believe she harbored inside during her attempt to become mayor. She is animated and impassioned when talking about the structural problems that have led to the citys current record numbers of homeless people; it is easier to imagine her going to SoulCycle with Senator Elizabeth Warren than with former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose taint she was famously unable to shake during her own campaign. Whether Ms. Quinn will try to run for mayor again next year isnt something anyone can tell us right now. When the question is posed, she offers a perfunctory This meaning Win is my job, which, it is worth pointing out, is hardly an insistent denial. By advocating around a problem that Mr. de Blasio has seemed so ineffective in mitigating, she has certainly put herself in a position, whether by accident or design, to mount a challenge. Though even she praises him for taking certain measures reinstituting certain rent subsidies, for instance without which homelessness would be even worse, it has been hard to ignore the near daily condemnation the mayor now seems to receive for all that has gone wrong. This week a report from Comptroller Scott M. Stringers office revealed that since Nov. 1, 2015, the city has spent an unprecedented $400,000 a day housing homeless people in hotels. Between April and October of this year, the citys average monthly expenditure on hotel rooms rose steadily to $11.7 million, from $3.8 million. The report also disclosed that more than 800 of these bookings were for rooms that cost $400 a night or more, and that 60 of them were for $629. It is almost as if the de Blasio administration were hoping to hand Sean Hannity a whole new hour on the spending profligacy of liberals who had lost their minds. The city has also offered gift cards to the relatives of homeless people if they take them back in, and keep them out of the shelter system, during the holidays. Beyond the fact that she might be able to sell herself as a class warrior more successfully this time, Ms. Quinn would also benefit, above all, from the pervasive sense of grief many liberal women in New York feel over Mrs. Clintons loss. It is conceivable that those who didnt vote for Ms. Quinn before, those who now find themselves disappointed in Mr. de Blasio, would come out for a woman, this woman, in the spirit of compensatory sisterhood. The intervening years have also put more distance between Ms. Quinn and Mr. Bloomberg. Bradley Tusk, an entrepreneur and former Bloomberg adviser who has been a strategist for Uber and founded a political action committee called NYC Deserves Better, told me he is encouraging Ms. Quinn to run. NYC Deserves Better is supported by the police union, and, crucially, by a consortium of hundreds of African-American clerics; increasing her numbers among black voters would be essential for her chances at a victory. Mr. Tusk points out that the last mayoral election had extremely low voter turnout, and that more voters could be persuaded to show up this time. On a recent Thursday afternoon, Jims Shoe Repair, at 50 East 59th Street between Park and Madison, was packed. Customers surrounded by old-school shoeshine chairs with brass pedestals and other objects from bygone eras like an oversize gold register from the 1940s waited to speak with Joe Rocco, 58, or his son Andrew Rocco, 27. Interactions were unhurried and convivial. Michael Kahn, a substitute teacher who lives on the West Side of Manhattan, was there to collect his too-tight black sandals he had taken in for stretching. He saw Joe, smiled, and asked, Howre you doing Joe? Handing Mr. Kahn his sandals, Joe said, All good here, and always good to see you. The de Blasio administration announced on Friday it had hired a former spokesman for Bernie Sanders to run its day-to-day media strategy. The former spokesman, Mike Casca, 27, will become Mayor Bill de Blasios communications director, helping to shape the approach of a media operation that has gone through several rounds of reshuffling and has been at odds with reporters over its decision to scale back traditional mayoral news conferences to one a week. His predecessor in the position, Andrea Hagelgans, will become a senior adviser to the mayor focused on communications, and one of the highest-ranking women in City Hall. Advisers to Mr. de Blasio have credited Ms. Hagelgans, 38, with pushing a focus on television and social media as well as creating in-person events for the mayor aimed at drawing maximum media attention. We know that visuals help people understand what were trying to communicate, she said in an interview. But that doesnt mean were not talking to print reporters. The New York City Education Department said on Friday that it planned to close Junior High School 162 Lola Rodriguez de Tio in the South Bronx, which has been among the lowest-performing schools in New York State for a decade. J.H.S. 162 was one of a small number of schools across the state identified as persistently struggling last year under a state receivership law. Those schools were required to show demonstrable improvement in a variety of areas or face closing, a merger or a takeover by an outside receiver, such as a nonprofit. State officials determined in October that J.H.S. 162 was the only one of persistently struggling schools in the state to fail to meet the required benchmarks, and said the city had to submit a plan for its future this week. Some have criticized the singling out of J.H.S. 162 as somewhat arbitrary. Under separate standards established under the citys own school turnaround effort, known as the Renewal program, J.H.S. 162 met five of six benchmarks during the 2015-16 school year. But on the state benchmarks, J.H.S. 162 fell short on measures including school safety and improvement on state reading and math exams. In the 2015-16 school year, just 9 percent of the roughly 370 students at the school passed the reading exams; only 3 percent passed the math exams. When I think of the political texts I know by heart, snippets of yours spring to mind ask not what your country can do for you; I have a dream; conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. As a child I knew the Gettysburg Address and the Pledge of Allegiance, not because it was taught in class but because we heard them so many times in movies like Kindergarten Cop. America gave us a poetry of democracy that was grand and uplifting, which we were too reserved and sarcastic to speak for ourselves. Visiting America itself gave us the sensation of having stepped into the television, into something bigger and better. For a time when I was a teenager my father worked in the coal industry in West Virginia. He would return with stories about new things we could not imagine, like cable television with 50 stations. Packed in his suitcase were running shoes for us, in styles that had not arrived here yet. That was more than 20 years ago. Things were changing long before this election. Trips to Asia are now more likely to startle us with modernity. Bangkok, Singapore, even Mumbai have shocked me on visits over the last few decades, not just the wealth and development but also the music and fashion and public transportation. For all the intractable problems in our region, there is a sense of forward movement. When we visit America now, it feels like the opposite, like decay. Roads, airports, an economy, perhaps even a society, falling to pieces. We are left in awe by the extreme poverty as well as the extreme wealth. And maybe it is because of your poetry about yourself that the turning current has been harder for Americans themselves to see. The election of Mr. Trump feels like a sudden plunge after a gradual decline. Already he is goading China, befriending President Vladimir V. Putin, disregarding climate change and refusing daily intelligence briefings because hes a smart person. None of this, we fear, will end well for any of us. PRINCETON, N.J. President-elect Donald J. Trumps selection of David Friedman as United States ambassador to Israel is a serious mistake that should be rectified. Spoken and published statements by Mr. Friedman, a 57-year-old bankruptcy lawyer in New York, about Israel and American policies in the Mideast suggest he is unsuitable to represent America in one of the most high-pressure diplomatic positions in the world. This call to withdraw Mr. Friedmans name also reflects a sober assessment of the damage that could be caused to American interests and to Mr. Trumps presidency by the reckless words for which Mr. Friedman is already known. American presidents have long bestowed diplomatic assignments on unqualified loyalists and campaign donors. The appointments to Israel, however, had been an exception because of the significance of the issues the ambassador must deal with every day. It is therefore regrettable that someone so lacking in experience and knowledge and sadly, who appears to have little interest in broadening his understanding will represent the United States in Israel. Mr. Friedman is unqualified for the position, but more important, he holds extreme views on the very issues that he will need to manage as a diplomat. Mr. Friedman would be representing not the American people but a small, extreme minority of Americans who have in mind the interests of a small, extreme minority in Israel. Mr. Friedman has been publicly arguing that Israel has a right to build settlements and annex parts of the West Bank. He believes that the United States should recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital and move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He considers pro-peace groups such as J Street the equivalent of the Jewish kapos who collaborated with the Nazis at concentration camps. Thursday was to be the day Donald Trump told America that hes leaving his business to focus on the presidency. He trumpeted that welcome news in a Twitter riff two weeks ago: I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on Dec. 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task! The Office of Government Ethics, charged with helping executive branch public servants avoid criminal conflicts of interest, heralded this decision. Mr. Trump canceled his big sell-off presser early this week, saying he was too busy building his cabinet. Instead on Thursday, another tweet, in which he said absolutely nothing about divesting himself of his interests and instead blamed the news media for making it an issue in the first place. For many years, Algerias 79-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, suppressed dissent through a combination of generous public subsidies and political repression. That formula helped Algeria avoid the upheaval of the 2011 Arab Spring, but it has also stunted the oil-dependent countrys economic development and thwarted democratic aspirations. So it was encouraging when Algeria adopted constitutional reforms in March to move toward a more open democracy. The reforms included guarantees of freedom of assembly and of the press, and appeared to make good on President Bouteflikas promise that he would spare no effort to consolidate and extend freedom of expression. But Algerias new constitutional guarantees have proved meaningless. On Dec. 11, Mohamed Tamalt, a British-Algerian journalist, died in Algerian custody. Arrested in June after posting verses about Algerias president on Facebook, Mr. Tamalt was charged with offending the president and defaming public authority, and sentenced to two years in prison. In protest, he went on a hunger strike. In August, he slipped into a coma, yet Algerian authorities refused to release him. His death is a stain on Mr. Bouteflikas government. Mr. Tamalt is not the only journalist who has faced the governments wrath this year. Also in June, Mehdi Benaissa, the chief executive of Algerias KBC news, and Ryad Hartouf, the producer of the channels current-affairs program, were placed in pretrial detention for making false statements to obtain permission to film the program, which had broadcast political satire that displeased the government. They were later given suspended six-month prison sentences. To the Editor: Re Patriotic Opposition to Donald Trump (column, Dec. 12): Thank you, Charles M. Blow, for helping to stiffen the spines and lift the spirits of those like me who are aghast at the choices Donald Trump is making for his cabinet. We are not simply anticipating setbacks to our efforts toward environmental protection or access to health care, education and employment. We dread rollbacks that could take decades to restore. In my own case, after Ive devoted a lifetime to protecting and advancing reproductive rights, the specter of a Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade has become the stuff of nightmares. Those of us who thought we had reached the age when we could retire from professional activism and hand the baton to younger advocates must now step up and link arms with them. As the adage goes, Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. ELLEN SWEET New York The writer is a former vice president of Physicians for Reproductive Health and the International Womens Health Coalition. To the Editor: Both Charles M. Blow and Paul Krugman (The Tainted Election, Dec. 12) advocate staunch resistance to accepting the impending Trump presidency, and intense scrutiny and criticism of it. The roster of Donald Trumps choices for cabinet posts speaks for itself. Were all familiar with the notion of psychological trauma damage to an individuals psyche caused by an extremely distressing event. But theres also another kind of trauma: a collective disturbance that happens to a group of people when their world is suddenly upended. Consider the Buffalo Creek flood of 1972. In Buffalo Creek, a mountain hollow in West Virginia, a coal-mining company had deposited more than a million gallons of wastewater and sludge, checked by a rudimentary dam. Rain caused water levels to rise, and on Feb. 26, the dam burst. An enormous wall of thick black waste came barreling down the hollow, destroying one mining hamlet after another. Homes, churches, roads everything was swept away. One hundred and twenty-five people were killed. Visiting the area the following year, the sociologist Kai Erikson found the survivors psychologically traumatized. Residents grieved for lost family members and friends. Many relived the event in flashbacks. But Mr. Erikson noticed collective trauma as well. As he documented in his 1976 book about Buffalo Creek, Everything in Its Path, the floodwaters carried away not just physical objects but also relationships and routines that had defined life there for generations. Without these social anchors, residents struggled to find meaning and purpose. They were disoriented and disconnected in ways that could outlast even the effects of their individual psychological traumas. Socially, they were in a permanent state of shock. To the Editor: While Aleppos Destroyers: Assad, Putin, Iran (editorial, Dec. 15) was on target in blaming those bad actors, it misses the larger point: The Obama administration turned American foreign policy on its head with its non-reaction to the Syrian tragedy. The policy error is more than just not intervening in a horrific civil war. This is no isolated conflict like Colombia, but rather involves a move by anti-status-quo powers, Iran and Russia, to upend the regional order based on their 19th-century great-power worldview. The proximate rationale for this non-action, reiterated in your editorial, is the extension of our disastrous Iraq experience to rule out as counterproductive any military action. Such an approach confuses two American approaches to world disorder. The first, since Berlin and Korea through the Cuban missile crisis and Kuwait, has been containing threats to a global system. The second has been seeking to expand that system, as in Iraq, and arguably Vietnam. Containing threats has been generally successful; expanding the global system has consistently been unsuccessful and unpopular. Ive heard some colleagues call it dehumanizing. But I think the way Congress treats its departing members is a refreshing exercise in humility, and a surprising example that the institution can move fast when it must. First, the humility. I recently attended a panel discussion for those of us facing life after Congress. It was like a euthanasia pre-brief, although there were glimmers of ego-gratification. We learned we could still park near the Capitol (but not in the garages); give tours of the House Floor (but only if the speaker approved our request) and bypass Capitol metal detectors (so long as we had our congressional lapel pins and proper forms of identification). We even have two seats each to President-elect Donald J. Trumps inauguration. Folding seats. On the lawn. Down below. (Anyone want mine?) Now the efficiency. The only thing that moves swiftly in a slothy Republican Congress is the timetable governing how departing members are jettisoned from their cushy offices and how the offices are reallocated, refurbished and repopulated between Election Day and the swearing-in of the new Congress on Jan. 3. Its not just new and departing members trading places; those who remain also take the opportunity to claim offices that are bigger, better, higher, closer to the elevators, or with any view other than the Capitol power plant spewing exhaust. A lottery by order of seniority unleashes successive waves of officeseekers peeking at soon-to-be-vacated spaces. A few weeks before the election I met a congressman for the first time. I assumed he came by to wish me well in my future. I quickly learned he wanted to check out my coveted view of the Washington Monument. Awkward. And premature. He lost out to Representative Kristi Noem, a South Dakota Republican, who will soon learn that the view is indeed inspiring, but that the well-known hot air in Washington doesnt seem to rise from the vents under the window on cold days. Its a hip, fast-growing sector of the economy, filled with headline-grabbing companies: Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Task Rabbit. But theres a gnawing problem: People arent sure what to call it. Many critics dislike the term most commonly used, the sharing economy, because there often isnt much actual sharing going on. Others prefer to call it the on-demand economy, peer-to-peer economy, crowd-based economy, gig economy or collaborative economy. Uber, Lyft and other e-hailing companies love to say they are ride-sharing companies, signaling that they are collaborative and not crassly capitalistic. These companies maintain that their drivers share their cars with passengers and use apps to share information about where they are. But many academics and workers in this sector assert that the business model seems less like sharing than like traditional corporate profit-making that happens to use an app. Rochelle LaPlante, who works for Mechanical Turk, an internet platform for people to post and find piecework jobs, sees public relations spin behind the term sharing economy. Theres an exchange of money, she said. Its not really sharing if a persons paying for it. Her point: If youre living in San Francisco and you want to drive to Palo Alto and take a friend with you (perhaps splitting the cost of gas), thats ride sharing. But if you take an Uber to get to Palo Alto, that seems more like a taxi ride. The disoriented are more inclined to seek saviors. Trump knows that. Hes been right up to now. Before anyone else, he was onto the way that direct democracy through social media has buried representative democracy. One minute its millions of illegal votes for Hillary Clinton; then dangling little Mitt Romney; then being too smart for intelligence briefings. Lets face it, folks. We have no idea what is about to happen in the White House or at White House North in Midtown Manhattan. We are in whatever territory lies beyond unknown unknowns. But some things may be emerging from the fog. Trump is not interested in the rules-based international order the United States has spent the last seven decades building and defending. His foreign policy will be transactional. If it profits America, fine. If not, forget about it. Trumps United States will be agnostic on human rights, freedom and democracy. America, suspending moral judgment, will behave a lot more like China on the world stage. Except thats a little unfair to China. The Chinese do understand the benefits of free trade (and they certainly understand that when Trump rips up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a strategic plan to offset Chinese power couched in an economic arrangement, Beijing grows stronger). Because they often cant breathe, the Chinese also understand, in a way Trump does not, the importance of fighting climate change. As an exercise, Ive been trying to imagine Trump saying something anything about the heinous destruction of Aleppo by the forces of Putin and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Ive been trying to imagine what Trump might say about the brutal crimes against Syrian civilians in the beleaguered eastern sector of that once glorious city. I came up blank. On Wednesday an editorial in The Times described Donald Trump as a useful idiot serving Russian interests. That may not be exactly right. After all, useful idiots are supposed to be unaware of how theyre being used, but Mr. Trump probably knows very well how much he owes to Vladimir Putin. Remember, he once openly appealed to the Russians to hack Hillary Clintons emails. Still, the general picture of a president-elect who owes his position in part to intervention by a foreign power, and shows every sign of being prepared to use U.S. policy to reward that power, is accurate. But lets be honest: Mr. Trump is by no means the only useful idiot in this story. As recent reporting by The Times makes clear, bad guys couldnt have hacked the U.S. election without a lot of help, both from U.S. politicians and from the news media. Let me explain what I mean by saying that bad guys hacked the election. Im not talking about some kind of wild conspiracy theory. Im talking about the obvious effect of two factors on voting: the steady drumbeat of Russia-contrived leaks about Democrats, and only Democrats, and the dramatic, totally unjustified last-minute intervention by the F.B.I., which appears to have become a highly partisan institution, with distinct alt-right sympathies. But those inclined to look for silver linings may find one on Capitol Hill. The current, expiring Congress began with a groundswell of bipartisan support to reduce mandatory minimum sentences, give judges more discretion to suit the punishment to the offense, invest more in alternatives such as drug and mental health treatment, and encourage programs that prepare the incarcerated for life after prison. In months of negotiations, a package of sweeping criminal justice reforms was whittled down and some new mandatory sentences were grafted on. Then Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, declined to bring it up for a vote. I can think of four reasons the prospects of federal reform are actually better in 2017. First, it is not an election year. Nothing makes members of Congress squirm like the specter of attack ads portraying them as coddlers of criminals. There is reason to think those Willie Horton-style gotchas have lost some of their potency, but the prospect tends to make members of Congress more risk-averse in even-numbered years. And the lobbying alliance in favor of reform has grown and diversified and offers supportive candidates some political cover. It now includes significant numbers of police executives and prosecutors, who say our tendency to over-criminalize and over-punish wastes money and human potential without making us safer. Second, President Obama will be gone. Some of the resistance to this years sentencing bill was a reluctance to give the president a parting victory. His heartfelt embrace of criminal-justice reform in the final years of his presidency was through no fault of his own the kiss of death in a hostile Congress. This week, the mailbag has gone international. Well begin in Aleppo, where a pro-Syrian government offensive was forcing civilians to flee. The Times captured the ongoing escape with the lead photo of the Dec. 13 issue carrying the caption: A man fleeing to rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria, on Monday, carrying a child with an IV drip. Readers took issue with the fact that the caption did not note the woman in the photo. There are clearly THREE human figures in this image. By omitting mention of the third, the veiled woman, the Times editor has completed what the radical religious fundamentalists began: making women invisible behind the veil. Samira Kawash, Brooklyn, N.Y. I was puzzled to read the caption on the main photo on todays front page (Dec. 13), which showed a scene from Syria. The caption read that it was a man fleeing with a child. However, the picture is clearly of a couple a man AND a woman (in a burka) traveling together. I thought it was really odd that the caption completely erased the woman from the image. Was it because she was covered and dressed in black? This is a humanitarian crisis affecting whole families, and its important that we recognize the humanity of women living through this nightmare, even if they are wearing clothing that makes them less visible. Amy Brisson, New York City David Furst, the international photo editor, explained the thinking behind the caption. The original caption from Reuters didnt specify that the adults in question were a couple, and the situation fleeing a war zone precluded us from asking additional questions about their relationship. We could not assume what it was. Additionally, given the limited caption space we could only address the fact that the man was carrying a baby, which is not immediately clear in the photograph. Image The caption to the photo read: A man fleeing to rebel-held areas of Aleppo, Syria, on Monday, carrying a child with an IV drip. Credit... Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters The public editors take: The cutline caught my attention too why no mention of the woman, when there are clearly three people in the photo? The chance seems quite small that this isnt a couple given how close together they are walking, in the Arab world no less. If we dont want to take the risk, how about saying: A man and woman flee Aleppo, carrying a baby with an IV drip. As is, the caption leaves open questions about our own cultural motives. Our next reader took us to Australia, where a reader was concerned about a Times travel article on her native country. The article, 36 Hours in Sydney, Australia, recommended a local gallery that specializes in Aboriginal art. Purchasing First Nations Australians art is an ethical minefield, that must be explained with thought and care. This is something the New York Times has covered in the past. The gallery your piece recommended is not Indigenous-owned, nor does it appear to be a signatory to the Indigenous Art Code (it certainly doesnt proclaim to be on its website). The code itself is considered relatively toothless by many Indigenous activists, but at least it operates as a minimum standard. I am saddened to see that the New York Times, an organization which I revere, did not take care in explaining, at least in brief, the issues surrounding the acquisition of Indigenous art, or choose to champion a business that is Indigenous owned and operated. Alyx Gorman, New South Wales, Australia A Styles article that referred to a photo from Louisiana unintentionally implied a connection to Nazi Germany. The photo caption and the text of the article referred to Louisiana State Police troopers as storm troopers. Storm troopers refers to Nazi thugs. To describe American riot police as storm troopers is outrageous. Justin Huang, Albany, Calif. Image The caption to the photo and the story originally referred to the Louisiana Police State troopers as storm troopers. Credit... Jonathan Bachman/Reuters The caption and article have since been updated, and a correction was appended. Vanessa Friedman, a fashion critic and the author of the article, explained that the police officers in the photo were called storm troopers on social media fairly widely at the time, and she added, I should have specified that was the reference (and I believe the social media people were referencing Star Wars), not Nazis. One of the most impressive ways of presenting a meal to guests is also the simplest: piling the food high on serving platters. Which is a relief after youve been toiling in the kitchen. I dont believe in plating at home; thats restaurant food, said Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa cookbook author and television host, explaining why she prefers using platters rather than individual plates when serving food. I think its much nicer if its more communal. There are also practical advantages for the guests. If they want more beef, and less potatoes, they can help themselves, said Ms. Garten, whose latest book, Cooking for Jeffrey, was published by Clarkson Potter in October. Its not like the hostess is deciding what they have to eat. The trick is figuring out what to put on each platter. Ms. Gartens secret? I put the platters out on the buffet the day before and put a Post-it note where each thing goes, she said. That way she doesnt have to make last-minute decisions, she added, and I dont forget that I broke one platter last Thanksgiving. Where do dogs come from? Science may be getting closer to an answer to that question thanks to a broad survey of modern and ancient dog and wolf skulls and DNA. Greger Larson at the University of Oxford is leading the international effort. The difficulty in answering what seems a simple enough question is that dog genes now, Dr. Larson said, are a kind of tomato soup. Its not that easy to identify all the ingredients and how they were blended is even murkier. Most scientists who study dogs now agree that 15,000 or more years ago, one group of ancient wolves separated from another to become dogs, with different behavior and differences in skull shape and breeding patterns. People eventually took over the breeding of some dogs to get the qualities they wanted. But most dogs may have shadowed ancient human camps and farms and villages, living off garbage and handouts. In the 19th century, dog genetics was turned upside down when all sorts of new breeds were developed in what Dr. Larson calls the giant whirlwind blender of the European crazy Victorian dog-breeding frenzy. That is why the dog project that Dr. Larson helped develop is looking not only at the mixed up present, but at fossils and fossil DNA. Among the locales that have been in the running for the origin of dogs are the Middle East, the far East, Europe and Mongolia. The project has not come up with an answer yet, but Dr. Larson and his colleagues did publish a report that suggests that dogs may have been domesticated not once, but twice, once in Asia and once in Europe. More evidence is needed to confirm this version of events, but researchers may actually come up with a definitive answer in the next few years. James Gorman I dont exactly spread this around, for obvious reasons, but I sang in a coed a cappella group in college. We knew enough to mock it, but we also all loved it, and yes, God save me, on more than one occasion we spontaneously broke out in six-part harmony, unbidden, at a fast-food restaurant. Despite such acts of deep earnestness, we considered ourselves the irreverent a cappella group on campus, at Yale; we liked to stop in the middle of the first song of our set and send my friend Jen, a tiny, beautiful soprano, out to the front of the stage to tell the audience a joke: My boyfriend says I should tell him whenever I have an orgasm. But hes never there. So why bother? Shes now a cantor outside Philadelphia. To say we were diverse would be a stretch, but the group did bring together people who had little in common other than the belief that they could sing (and had a high tolerance for bad, off-color jokes). There was a pageant queen from North Carolina, a Jersey girl who taught me at least three new terms for vagina, a preppy tenor who could put on a superb lockjaw, and there was James-Allen Ford, a Louisiana native who split his free time, the first month at college, between Bible study and rehearsal with us, Mixed Company. I feel really, really bad, because I like you, I really do, he told me the first time we got drunk together. But you are going to go to hell, for sure. I was Jewish, and although he didnt hold it against me, he couldnt save me, either. When you have a problem like this, you can lay down and say smartphones are just taking over the world and give up, or you can step up your game, he said. Mr. McQuade said he thought too many of his colleagues were hung up on sending guests to venues they could walk to or were preordained as tourist-friendly. You go to a concierge to find things you couldnt find on your own, he said. If youre in New York, youre going to know about the Met and the Statue of Liberty. But if I tell them about a good jazz club or a Greenwich Village walking tour or a restaurant in Little Italy, thats something they can only get from me. People want to find those secret places. You should look at their itinerary and tell them what theyre missing that gives them the essence of the town. The internet isnt doing that taking a look at the bigger picture and neither are some concierges. If guests can find them, that is. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the share of luxury hotels that employ concierges fell to 82 percent from nearly 100 percent between 2014 and 2016, with many concierges taking on duties that require them to abandon their once stationary posts. For instance, Joseph Sundberg of the Hotel Monaco in Portland, Ore., now holds the title of roving concierge, which finds him ferrying luggage, among other chores. My job is more like a porter captain, he explained. Im more of a jester of the lobby. Mr. Sundberg, who has worked in Portlands hotel industry for 31 years, is a microbrew connoisseur in a resolutely sudsy city, and is constantly visiting new haunts to assess their worthiness. Its this physical connection to a place that he feels gives him an edge over what can be gleaned online. Everybody thinks they have all the information, he said. But learning it from a local a guy who lives it and continues to live it is a far better way. You can go into a great restaurant, but what about going into the bar at that restaurant and telling Matt that Joseph sent you? How much more personable is that? But for all the passion and validity of Mr. Sundbergs spiel, the internet isnt going away which is fine by Robert Marks. The president of Les Clefs dOr USA, Mr. Marks has been a concierge for 29 years he currently works at the Omni Hotel in San Diego and feels he has a crucial role to play in concert with iPhones and Samsungs. Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Sign up.) Something stinks in Huntington Beach. Going back decades, residents along the coastline between Long Beach and Newport Beach have reported a powerful stench that wafts into the region every so often and lingers for an hour or longer. Depending on who is asked, it happens as frequently as multiple times a month or a handful of times a year. But it is unmistakable, residents say bad enough to make heads throb and stomachs queasy. (Officials said there have been no known serious illnesses linked to the odor.) Its more than a smell, said Ellery A. Deaton, a City Council member in Seal Beach. Its noxious. When it happens I need to run around and close my windows. The city welcomes the A.I.C.C. along with any other religious groups to Sterling Heights, and we will continue an open dialog to address areas of disagreement with respect to land use, the citys statement said. It said the city had a reputation for tolerance with two mosques; Sikh, Buddhist and Hindu temples; and Christian churches. The citys statement said the community centers application for a new mosque was denied because it was incompatible with adjoining uses and offered insufficient parking and because of concerns over the size and height of the building. The city denied that emotional feelings tied to religious beliefs either for or against the applicant played a part. But the Department of Justice lawsuit claimed that the planning commissions decision was inconsistent with others it had made on places of worship, and that the rejection was based on anti-Muslim bias. Last year, the community center, a nonprofit Muslim group in neighboring Madison Heights, had sought permission to develop 4.35 acres of land in Sterling Heights, because most of its members lived there and because its facility in Madison Heights was too small, the lawsuit said. The proposed building would have been approximately 20,500 square feet with 130 off-street parking spaces, a dome about 58 feet high and two 66-foot-tall spires lower than features on nearby churches. Jaafar Chehab, a community center board member and trustee of the land, worked with city planners to address some of the concerns, including agreeing not to oppose liquor license applications in nearby areas, and agreeing not to have an external call to prayer, the lawsuit said. Republicans, who once expanded the number of employees who serve at the governors pleasure in an effort to help Mr. McCrory, originally proposed shrinking the number of such workers to 300 in advance of Mr. Coopers inauguration. The number was increased in an amendment filed by Mr. Barefoot. In another change, and one that could have the greatest impact in the near term, the bill makes the governors cabinet appointees subject to approval by the State Senate. Republicans currently enjoy veto-proof majorities in the House and the Senate, and the North Carolina governorship is historically a relatively weak office. Cabinet appointments are one of the major ways Mr. Cooper, a moderate Democrat, might be able to influence the direction of the state. The moves have mobilized North Carolinas sizable Democratic contingent, who have been galvanized, over the last four years, by the Moral Mondays protest movement led by the Rev. William Barber II, the charismatic president of the state N.A.A.C.P. On Friday afternoon, Mr. Barber entered the state legislative building, triggering whoops and cheers from the roughly 200 protesters. With the aid of a cane he made his way into the space outside the legislative chambers, and encouraged the protesters to risk arrest by knocking on the locked doors of the State House viewing gallery. Police had forbidden protesters to knock. You have to decide if you want to in fact knock on that door, said Mr. Barber. Some knocked. A number of them were arrested. The building throbbed as the protesters chanted, Let Us In. The raucous protests Friday, and the votes along strict party lines, virtually guarantee that hyperpartisan political turmoil will continue to be the norm in this deeply divided state. Democratic protests began to swell here in 2013, after Mr. McCrory took office, and Republicans, enjoying control of both the executive and legislative branches, began rolling out an aggressive conservative agenda that limited ballot access and, with the passage of the legislation known as House Bill 2, curtailed gay and transgender rights. Eric Trump, in an interview Thursday, had said he was considering terminating the auction, after The New York Times raised questions about it. The Trump Organization and Charitybuzz did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment. The Obama family has not directly participated in any fund-raising solicitation efforts since President Obama took office to avoid the impression that donations would allow the donor to get special access, said Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer. An infrastructure plan Democrats can love? The president-elects son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, told New York business leaders on Friday that Mr. Trumps vision for a large-scale federal infrastructure program was closer to Senator Chuck Schumers, the incoming minority leader, than to the majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnells. Mr. Kushner made the remarks at an event hosted by the Partnership for New York City, just after an appearance by Mr. Schumer, the New York senator. This week at a news conference in Washington, Mr. McConnell said he was not interested in trillion-dollar stimulus to finance any infrastructure plan, setting up what could be the first of many clashes with a Trump White House that will not always hew to Republican orthodoxy. The Trump campaign floated a $1 trillion infrastructure plan that would depend on private investors raising money and building the projects with the aid of some form of tax credit. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trumps chief strategist, said shortly after the election that a huge infrastructure plan would be in the offing, but the form was not clear. Democrats have long said they want an infrastructure plan that has plentiful direct federal funding, something Mr. Schumer has said repeatedly, not tax credits for rich developers. This does not excite Mr. McConnell who, like most Republicans, recalls President Obamas early stimulus plan unfavorably. That plan came in the middle of the worst recession since the Depression. WASHINGTON The Obama administration said on Thursday that it had scrapped one of its most significant efforts to rein in spending on prescription drugs: a plan for a nationwide experiment in which Medicare would have reduced payments for many drugs given to patients in doctors offices and hospital clinics. Federal health officials withdrew the proposal after it was criticized by pharmaceutical companies, doctors, patients and members of Congress from both parties. One of the sharpest critics was Representative Tom Price, Republican of Georgia, the man chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump to be his secretary of health and human services. Ben Wakana, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, said that, after considering public comments on a proposed rule, the agency had decided not to move forward with the demonstration project, which was announced in March. The proposal was intended to test whether alternative drug payment structures would improve the quality of patient care and the value of Medicare drug spending, Mr. Wakana said. While there was a great deal of support from some, a number of stakeholders expressed strong concerns. Pentagon officials said on Friday that they were trying to determine if the seizure of the underwater drone had anything to do with Mr. Trumps comments. At the White House on Friday, President Obama was asked about the issue during a news conference, and he made clear that he viewed the question of Taiwan as especially sensitive. While the president refrained from directly criticizing Mr. Trump, he warned his successor to carefully consider his actions and any new policy, lest he ignite what could be a significant response from Beijing. I think all of our foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes, Mr. Obama said. But he added: For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket. The idea of a One China is at the heart of their conception of a nation. And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way theyll treat other issues, he said, adding that the Chinese would not even treat it the way they treated issues around the South China Sea, where weve had a lot of tensions. China experts said on Friday that it was unclear whether the seizure of the American drone was linked to anger in Beijing over Mr. Trump, or a continuation of years of tensions over competing claims in the South China Sea. The Bowditch episode came after China signaled on Thursday that it had installed weapons on disputed islands in the South China Sea that it would use to repel threats. In describing the new weapons deployment, a Defense Ministry statement suggested that China was further watering down a pledge made by its president, Xi Jinping, to not militarize the islands. No matter how much free time you have this weekend, we have TV recommendations for you. Come back every Friday for new suggestions from our TV critic on what to watch. ... an Hour and a Jar of Currants The Great British Baking Show: Christmas Masterclass, PBS Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood take a break from being the gloriously exacting judges on The Great British Baking Show to teach us plebs how its done. In this episode, they put together some Christmas classics: a stollen, a mincemeat streusel, some very involved pies and cakes. If youre not already a fan of the main series, this special wont be much of a draw, but if you are, this is a darling chance to see Paul and Mary gently disagree about the best way to incorporate a mountain of raisins into a dough. (Stream it online or check local listings for broadcast times.) BEIJING A thick layer of deep gray smog swept into Beijing on Friday afternoon, bringing what the authorities said would be five days of the worst air pollution in a year. The city issued its first red alert for air pollution of 2016, the most severe notice in a four-tier system, requiring schools to close and half of all privately owned cars to stay off the roads. As lead-colored air blanketed the capital, moving in from the industrial heartland of surrounding Hebei Province, residents posted photographs on social media showing how the skies had changed to gloomy gray at sunset from bright blue in the morning. Some people posted online maps showing Japan and South Korea with clean air readings. Red emergency signs on Beijings main roads alerted drivers to the smoggy conditions, and workers wore protective masks for their journeys home. In his offices in central Beijing on a recent afternoon, Ma Jun, the director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a nongovernmental organization, moved his mouse over a computer screen showing a map of real-time air emissions from more than 4,600 Chinese factories. The red rectangles, one for each factory, overlapped one another like badly laid mosaic tiles. In all, 270 factories across China were shown to be exceeding emissions on the map on the institutes website, probably a fraction of the total number of polluting factories in China. But data itself is an improvement, he said. Logging emissions is an important step in securing the transparency that China needs to solve its pollution problems, Mr. Ma argues. Among the harmful pollutants are air particles known as PM2.5, which can enter deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream. In an interview, he talked about the considerable progress he sees in the Chinese governments approach to air pollution, but also how concerns about social unrest continued to constrain discussion of pollutions damage to public health. Where do things stand today? Before 2013, levels of PM2.5 [the finest and deadliest particulate matter] were not monitored or made public in a single city. Now its monitored and released in more than 400 cities. China has entered an era when air quality information is released. Its much more transparent. TOKYO The Japanese news media gave breathless coverage to President Vladimir V. Putins two-day visit to Japan this week, training television cameras on the airport in Yamaguchi Prefecture where the Russian leader arrived more than two hours late. Schoolchildren in Nagato, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes hometown, ate borscht and piroshki in honor of Mr. Putins trip to hot spring baths there. In Tokyo on Friday, Kodokan, the premier judo school, received the Russian leader, a black belt, for a demonstration and a meeting with Olympic medalists. But in the end, the talks between the officials yielded little other than details of business deals that had already been announced and a commitment to continue discussions about economic cooperation on four islands that both countries claim. The dispute over what Russia calls the southern Kurile Islands and Japan calls the Northern Territories has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty ending World War II. We should not be bound by past negotiations, Mr. Abe said at a joint news conference in Tokyo on Friday at which he repeatedly referred to Mr. Putin by his first name, striking an unusual note in formal Japan. It is necessary to draw a new blueprint for the four northern islands in which Japanese and Russian people can live together and build a win-win relationship. Mr. Putin talked mostly of broader economic initiatives between the countries, including an investment fund for projects in Russia of 100 billion yen, about $845 million, set up by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which is controlled by the Japanese government. BEIJING A well-known Chinese human rights activist who had not been seen or heard from for more than three weeks is in police custody, accused of possessing secret government documents and spiriting them abroad, state-run news outlets said on Friday. The activist, Jiang Tianyong, is a disbarred lawyer who has energetically supported the families of human rights lawyers caught in a crackdown that began in July 2015. Mr. Jiangs family and friends lost contact with him on Nov. 21. The website of The Legal Daily, an official newspaper, said on Friday that the police detained Mr. Jiang when he tried to travel to Beijing by train from Changsha, a city in southern China. They accused him of using a fake identity card to buy a ticket. After he was in custody, much graver charges were lodged: Citing the police, the newspaper said Mr. Jiang illegally possessed multiple secret state documents, colluded with overseas institutions, organizations and individuals, and is suspected of illegally providing state secrets abroad. It appears likely that Mr. Jiang, 45, will join a long list of Chinese rights advocates who have been detained, discredited and in some cases imprisoned as a warning to others not to embrace dissent. GENEVA The top human rights official for the United Nations condemned the Myanmar governments handling of violence in Muslim areas bordering Bangladesh on Friday, saying it risked creating a breeding ground for violent extremism. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, described the governments approach to the crisis as shortsighted, counterproductive and even callous. He warned that the fallout from the surge in violence was spilling into the region. His comments were the sharpest response yet from the United Nations to reports of brutal reprisals by the army against the Rohingya, a Muslim group in Myanmars Rakhine State, after insurgents attacked border posts in October, killing nine police officers. Moreover, it reflects deepening frustration and impatience at the way Myanmars de facto leader, the democracy activist Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has brushed off mounting evidence of military atrocities and allowed international agencies insufficient access to the area either to assess what has occurred or to provide aid to the affected population. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines confirmed on Friday that he had personally pulled the trigger and killed three people as mayor of Davao City, doubling down on boastful comments he made this week, which loyalists had tried to deny. I killed about three of them because there were three of them, Mr. Duterte told reporters at a news conference in Manila, the capital. I dont really know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies. It happened. I cannot lie about it, he said in English. The remarks followed comments he made on Monday, when he told business leaders that as mayor, he had patrolled the streets on a motorcycle and killed criminal suspects in order to set an example to his police officers. UNITED NATIONS Will he or wont he run for president of South Korea? That was a question Ban Ki-moon faced on Friday at the last news conference of his 10-year tenure as secretary general of the United Nations. First, he punted. I still have 15 days to go, he said. Then he said he would go home in January, speak to friends and advisers, and really consider seriously his prospects. His comments were the closest he has come to saying he is considering a bid to enter the political fray since the current president, Park Geun-hye, was suspended last week after the parliament voted to impeach her, putting the political future of his native country in turmoil. Enormous uncertainty still shrouds Mr. Bans political prospects. New elections have not been scheduled, pending a decision by South Koreas Constitutional Court on whether to remove Ms. Park permanently. The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is not the only energy mega-project attracting protests in British Columbia. Our Dan Levin went to the Peace River Valley, where the provincially owned electrical utility in British Columbia plans to spend $7 billion to build a dam and flood about 51 miles of the valley within the decade. The project has raised environmental concerns and has been challenged on constitutional grounds by indigenous groups. But Mr. Levin also found that many people also think the dam, known as Site C, makes no sense when electrical demand is flat and alternative power sources are increasingly feeding the grid. You dont even have to think very much about the environmental and aboriginal costs of Site C because the economics are so awful, said Harry Swain, a former federal deputy minister and the chairman of a government environmental panel appointed to review the project. Mocked With Montreals 375th anniversary approaching, a plan was hatched to put up a Christmas tree bigger and grander than the one at Rockefeller Center in New York. The tree that appeared at a downtown Christmas market is indeed tall. But when I spent most of a day this week hanging around it, the scathing reactions of passers-by proved the adage that everyone is a comedian. Dropping Out Marijuana, Vietnam War draft dodgers and artists gave Nelson its tree-hugging, bohemian soul, Mr. Levin wrote of British Columbias most famous counterculture community. During a visit there, he found that Nelson is now welcoming a wave of urban dropouts who, in some cases, have abandoned high-paying jobs in search of a simpler way of life. Nobody moves here to work their butt off, Amy Bohigian, a 43-year-old filmmaker who moved with her wife to Nelson from Toronto 10 years ago, told Mr. Levin. Sapin MTL is in the business of home-delivering normal-size Christmas trees, and it proposed the big one as a promotional gimmick. Mr. Pelletier said the company had a more majestic, shapely tree in mind. It researched the typical height for recent Rockefeller Center trees 74 to 76 feet and found a 78-footer in Ontario that Mr. Pelletier described as amazing. But its narrow height advantage vanished in early November when Rockefeller Center announced that its 2016 tree would be a 94-foot Norway spruce. Mr. Pelletier and his partners then had less than a month to come up with a new, taller rival, and they appealed to the public, which suggested about 100 candidates. The balsam fir they chose came from the Eastern Townships of Quebec, near the border with the United States. Its not perfect, but its authentic and its a real tree that you find in the forests of Quebec, Mr. Pelletier said. Were not pretending this is the most amazing, beautiful tree in the world. Facing a Nov. 30 deadline for unveiling the tree, the Sapin crew had to hurry. The tree was harvested, placed on a special flatbed truck and brought to Montreal under police escort within 72 hours. But a tight schedule and a tight budget meant that some corners were cut and so was the tree. Somehow, the tree that reached the closed-off section of St. Catherine Street where the market is held measured just 88 feet tall, six feet short of the one in Rockefeller Center. Mr. Pelletiers brother Philippe, another principal in the company, said a bit sheepishly on Friday that they had simply settled for the tallest tree they could find in time. And there was no time or money to give it the extensive arboreal spa treatment that the New York tree gets; all the workers could do was reattach, sometimes rather obviously, a few of the larger branches that had broken off in shipping. DUBLIN Two retired British soldiers will be prosecuted in the killing of an Irish Republican Army commander in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1972, early in the conflict known as the Troubles, officials announced on Friday. The commander, Joe McCann, was walking on Joy Street near the city center on April 15, 1972, when a patrol ordered him to stop. He ran, and the soldiers opened fire, fatally injuring him. Mr. McCann, 24, had four children and was a well-regarded leader in the Official Irish Republican Army, an outlawed paramilitary Marxist group that sought Northern Irelands independence from Britain and union with the Republic of Ireland. A year earlier, he and his unit took over a local bakery and defended it from 600 British soldiers who were seeking to arrest paramilitary suspects there. After Mr. McCanns death, boys threw rocks and paving stones at British troops in retaliation. The next month, the Official I.R.A. declared a cease-fire, but another faction of the Republican movement, the Provisional I.R.A., continued a deadly campaign of resistance for more than two decades, until the 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely brought about an end to the Troubles. BERLIN The authorities are investigating whether a 12-year-old boy made a bomb and planted it at a traditional Christmas market in his hometown in southwestern Germany. News of the bomb plot was reported on Friday by Focus, a newsmagazine, and quickly dominated airwaves and social media, raising fresh concerns over the potential threats from young people lured by Islamist extremists and radicalized using technology like cellphones. Just this year, three attacks in Germany have been carried out by young people who had claimed to be motivated by the Islamic State; two of the attackers died, and they injured several people but did not kill any. The boy, identified only as an Iraqi-German of Ludwigshafen, has been placed under the protection of local youth services, officials said on Friday. German law does not allow minors under the age of 14 to be charged with crimes, which would leave investigators to widen their focus on the boys friends, family and acquaintances, while seeking to protect the boy. A spokesman for German federal prosecutors declined on Friday to provide any details about the case, other than to confirm discovery of the device. BEIRUT, Lebanon The evacuation of residents from the last rebel-held section in the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo broke down on Friday with thousands of people still trapped inside, as concern escalated about their fate. The breakdown a day after Syrian government buses and ambulances had begun taking people out of the besieged area came as Russia claimed, incorrectly, that all civilians wishing to leave had already been evacuated and that only irreconcilable fighters remained, further raising fears among those still trapped. Tensions came to a head on Friday afternoon, when a convoy of hundreds of evacuees was detained and turned back by pro-government militiamen. They blocked the way, according to rebel and pro-government fighters, because insurgents in Idlib Province, farther north, were blocking an evacuation of civilians from two villages besieged by rebels. Mr. Friedman did not respond to an interview request made to his office. A person close to the Trump transition who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the ambassadorship had been negotiated directly between the two men over many months. Mr. Friedman, who donated a total of $50,000 to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee in 2016, according to federal election records, had been openly saying even before the election that the job one of the most sensitive and high profile in the diplomatic corps would be his, according to friends. Image David M. Friedman Credit... Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman L.L.P., via Associated Press Israels conservative settlement supporters and their American backers rejoiced at the selection, while believers in a Palestinian state and the American-brokered peace process were perplexed and close to despair. Mr. Friedman is a staunch opponent of basic tenets of Washingtons longstanding approach to much of the ambassadorial portfolio. He refers to the West Bank by its biblical name, Judea and Samaria, something hard to imagine his predecessors doing publicly. Upon being nominated Thursday night, he said he looked forward to working from the U.S. Embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem, rather than Tel Aviv, where the American Embassy has been for decades, under the State Departments insistence that the holy citys status be determined as part of a broader deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The State Department has not allowed its ambassadors to set foot in West Bank settlements. Tax forms list Mr. Friedman as president of the American Friends of Bet El Yeshiva, which has raised about $2 million a year in recent years. He is also described as president of Bet El Institutions, which supports, among other things, the news site for which Mr. Friedman wrote columns, IsraelNationalNews.com, known as Arutz 7. Beit El, as the settlement is more usually spelled, was founded in 1977 and is now home to about 7,000 religious residents. It was a hotbed of controversy in 2012 when the Israeli authorities followed a court order to evacuate 30 families from five buildings built illegally on private Palestinian land. What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? Whats their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source. Learn more about our process. According to an investigation by The Seventh Eye, an Israeli magazine, the contested neighborhood was built by a company linked to the one registered in the Marshall Islands that controls Arutz 7. Baruch Gordon, the director of development for Bet El Institutions, told Arutz 7 on Friday that it was proud to be closely associated with Mr. Friedman, calling him a pioneer philanthropist and builder of Jewish institutions and housing projects in Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. the West Bank) and throughout the country. Of course, what matters most is how Conns treats its customers. And it was on this subject that Mr. Miller sounded most passionate. North of 60 percent of our customers are repeat business, he said. People who have been buying from us for two or three generations. I want to stress that we didnt get where we are today Conns has a market cap of $395 million without good customer service. I make sure thats reinforced on a daily basis. I get involved when we do make mistakes. We have regular communication with the Better Business Bureau. Because ultimately, at the end of the day, the only way to grow our business is to have a great name and a great reputation. Sounds good, of course. But the Haggler was curious about whether the company had changed its practices, too. So he sent Conns the following complaint: Q. In late August, I bought a 75-inch Samsung television from Conns in Corpus Christi. The next morning, it was turning itself on and off, over and over. I was told the company had a 48-hour return policy on TVs. When I could not get my salesman on the phone, I called Conns main number, and a woman named Rita told me not to worry. A technician would be dispatched, and if I wasnt happy with the results, I could swap the TV for one that worked. The repairman came on Thursday, and he said that in all likelihood the main power board needed to be replaced. But he didnt have that item on hand. Rita told me that she would speak to the manager of the store in Corpus Christi so I could return the TV on Friday. She said she would get on the phone with the manager when I was at the store, to ensure that all went well. But the manager of the Corpus Christi store would not take back the TV without charging a 15 percent restocking fee, because of the 48-hour rule. When I called Rita, in front of the manager, she was not around to take my call. Eric Day flew to Boston in October and took a car service to a wedding in Westerly, R.I. He and his wife, Margo, were sitting on the front steps of the Ocean House, a grand old hotel where rooms start at about $740 a night, when he noticed a fleet of white Mercedes-Benz cars below. I inquired what the deal was, said Mr. Day, the managing partner at a digital production company in Los Angeles. They said they were free to use. In minutes, the Days were headed out in an SL Coupe to check out the fall foliage. For a couple of hours, we cruised around, he said. We wouldnt have seen that part of Rhode Island without it including Taylor Swifts house. An ocean away, Derek Warburton, a stylist and the creative director of LaPalme Magazine, a fashion and style publication, landed in Malta for work. Instead of hailing a cab, he stepped into a 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 111 sent by the Corinthia Hotel, the five-star lodging where he was staying. Wherever he went that week, the car and driver were at his disposal. NAGATO, Japan Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of their first round of talks at a hot springs resort in western Japan on Thursday discussing a territorial dispute that has divided their countries for 70 years. For Putin, the summit meeting in Nagato city marks his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Abe invited Putin even though the G-7 nations, including Japan, still have sanctions on Russia. The talks will move to Tokyo on Friday. Abe said the two leaders talked for three hours, spending about half of the time on the dispute over four islands seized by the former Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II, and a peace treaty officially ending the two countries wartime hostilities. A major breakthrough is seen as unlikely. The disagreement over the four southern Kuril islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories, has kept the two countries from signing a peace agreement. We had in-depth discussions on a peace treaty, Abe told reporters. He said the two leaders also discussed possible joint economic projects on the disputed islands. Abe hopes such economic cooperation will bolster ties and help solve the territorial dispute if they are operated under a special legal status that does not raise sovereignty issues. Russia, however, wants them to be run under its law. Putin expressed concern about the deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in Japan, calling them an overreaction to North Koreas missile program, Japanese media reported. Abe assured him that they are limited to self-defense and do not pose a threat to neighboring countries, while stressing the importance of discussing defense issues amid growing security concerns in the region, they said. To that end, the two leaders agreed to resume 2+2 talks among the countries foreign and defense ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Lavrov, who is accompanying Putin, attended the first and last 2+2 meeting three years ago. Abe did not say if there was any progress on the territorial issue. The two leaders will release a joint statement after the end of the talks Friday, he said. In brief remarks before the meeting, Abe told Putin that the hot spring waters of Nagato are famous for relieving fatigue. I can guarantee you that the hot springs here would fully remove fatigue from our summit talks, he said. Putin replied, Better not to get too tired. He also credited Abes efforts for a certain movement in the development of Russian-Japanese ties. James Brown, a Japan-Russia expert at Temple Universitys Japan campus in Tokyo, said the meeting was an extraordinary development. I think Prime Minister Abe is being really quite bold in announcing this new approach to relations with Russia, especially coming at such a difficult time in relations between Russia and the West. The meeting started after 6 p.m., more than two hours behind schedule, because Putins plane landed late. Putin has a reputation for late arrivals. He kept Pope Francis waiting at the Vatican for one hour and 20 minutes in 2015. Earlier this month, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida waited for two hours when he visited the Kremlin. Thursdays delay was because of scheduling issues including ones related to Syria, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without elaborating. Abe, who flew from Tokyo to Nagato in the morning, used the time to visit the grave of his father, Shintaro Abe. As foreign minister, the elder Abe strove for a resolution of the territorial dispute in the 1980s. Japan says the Soviet Union took the islands illegally, expelling 17,000 Japanese to nearby Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japans four main islands. Russia governs the islands and the Russians who now live there. Putin told Japanese journalists earlier this week that progress hinges on Japans flexibility to compromise, and that he doesnt mind the status quo. We think that we have no territorial problems. Its Japan that thinks that is has a territorial problem with Russia, he said. But Russia wants to attract Japanese investment, particularly to its far east. Japan hopes that stronger ties through joint economic projects will help resolve the thorny territorial issue over time. SANTA ANA A property manager of the Advertising Arts Building with a red-tagged basement says he will make required repairs to keep the artist community working there vibrant, as the city releases new details on safety code violations. The cost of these repairs is going to be significant, Andrew Hart, who manages the building on East First Street, told the Register on Wednesday. Whatever they tell us to do, were going to do it. The Advertising Arts Building has come under scrutiny since a fire claimed 36 lives at the Ghost Ship art colony in Oakland on Dec. 2. With Harts cooperation, Santa Ana code enforcement and building safety and county fire authorities on Tuesday conducted a full inspection of the buildings interior and exterior and posted two red signs declaring the basement unsafe to occupy and substandard. On Thursday, the city in a press release specified several safety code violations cited in the full inspection and exterior inspections Dec. 8 and 9 hazardous alterations to electrical connectors, non-permitted structural alterations including exit compromises and a prohibited use of electrical extension cords. Im just waiting for the list, said Hart, adding that Tuesdays inspection provided us an opportunity to make the historic building a place for artists to be creative. Everybody at the Advertising Arts Building is looking at this in a positive light, he said. Alvaro Nunez, who oversees Santa Anas code enforcement division, on Thursday said officials from all three agencies are still compiling a correction report and expect to complete it by next week. After the more than two-hour inspection on Tuesday, Nunez reported beds, futons, refrigerators, stoves and laundry machines as evidence of residential occupancy, which is a violation of the buildings use and the owners lease agreement. The building is zoned for industrial and manufacturing use. The owner of the tri-level building, which houses 30 businesses including art studios, retail sales, offices and manufacturing, will have 30 days to fix immediate hazards given the heightened level of concern, and up to 60 days for full compliance, the press release states. Authorities in Oakland have not yet determined what caused the Ghost Ship blaze, but continue investigating the electrical system, among other elements. Several artists working at the Advertising Arts Building said they and other tenants are not living there. Hart said he has spent the past eight months evicting problematic tenants and has installed video cameras to secure the property. Authorities also found safety code violations at a structure adjacent the building that still has the arches of an old fire station. The edifice, occupied by Events by Milan, which offers wedding planning and other services, was not red-tagged. Business owner Jaime Ortiz, 38, said inspectors pointed out that a three-piece plug should be replaced with a power strip and that an aging staircase may not be up to code. I think anything that can encourage positive change, Im open to, Ortiz said about replacing the plug. I feel it was safe before, but now its going to be safer. Ortiz said his building has a refrigerator and microwave, but no beds for overnight stays. We do work long hours, he said. Contact the writer: 714-796-7762 or jkwong@ocregister.com or on Twitter: @JessicaGKwong WASHINGTON The Pentagon said Friday it had issued a formal protest to Beijing demanding the return of an underwater drone seized by a Chinese warship in the South China Sea, an incident that risked increasing tensions in a region already fraught with great-power rivalries. A Defense Department official said that the unmanned underwater vehicle was discovered missing Thursday when the crew of the U.S. Navy vessel Bowditch tried to retrieve it. The Bowditch, an oceanographic ship, was operating in international waters and carrying out scientific research, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a potentially sensitive international incident. U.S. officials said they were still trying to determine whether the seizure was a low-level action taken by Chinese sailors who spotted the drone or a strategic-level action ordered by more senior Chinese leaders. Whatever the case, the Pentagon said that China had no right to seize the drone. This is not the sort of conduct we expect from professional navies, said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. The incident is the second this week in the South China Sea, coming just after China signaled Thursday that it had installed weapons on disputed islands that it would use to repel threats. The latest moves complicate already testy relations between China and the United States, ties that have been further complicated by President-elect Donald Trumps phone call with the president of Taiwan. Trump angered Chinese officials by holding a phone conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, an island that Beijing deems a breakaway province of China. It had been nearly four decades since a U.S. president or president-elect had such direct contact with a Taiwanese leader. In an interview broadcast Sunday, Trump also criticized China over its trade imbalance with the United States and its military activities in the South China Sea and its ties to North Korea. Defense officials said Friday that they were trying to determine if the seizure of the underwater drone had anything to do with Trumps comments. DANA POINT Debra Lewis and Paul Wyatt took their place at the City Council dias Dec. 14, filling two open seats and vowing to bring the change they have promoted over the last two years. Lewis, 64, was one of five residents who sponsored Measure H, an initiative to get voter approval on any development changes in the citys Lantern District plan. In June, voters approved Measure H, rejected city-sponsored Measure I and became a catalyst for change at City Hall. The council chambers were packed and cheers erupted when Mayor Pro Tem John Tomlinson nominated Lewis to be mayor. Wyatt was voted in as mayor pro tem. The votes were 3-2, with council members Joe Muller and Rick Viczorek opposed. Tomlinson said he nominated Lewis to satisfy what residents indicated in the November election. Voter turnout of 84 percent was the highest in recent years, and Lewis and Wyatt were the top vote-getters. Lewis said she was surprised but pleased by Tomlinsons gesture. It was an exciting night, not your usual swearing in, polite-applause sort of thing, Lewis said. I most look forward to rebuilding trust between the city and the residents. I hear that from so many people that that is what they are excited and optimistic about now that Paul and I have been elected. Measure H was borne out of residents frustration after the council approved a project at the Lantern District the citys town center that had been rejected by the Planning Commission. The Lantern District plan, approved in 2008, seeks to transform Dana Point into a contender for tourism dollars with neighboring Laguna Beach and San Clemente. But the plan also proposes to retain the family-oriented beach community feel of the city. Lewis and Wyatt say they want to make sure the council stays true to the plan. In October, residents launched a referendum following a Sept. 6 City Council vote to allow short-term rentals in all of the citys neighborhoods. With the momentum from Measure H, a resident group gathered 3,956 signatures, forcing council members to rescind their earlier decision. On Nov. 1, City Manager Doug Chotkevys announced his resignation in lieu of termination. Chotkevys had repeatedly come under fire in the past two years from residents who accused him of wasting taxpayer money on excessive litigation over public access at Strand Beach and losing touch with what residents want. Earlier this month, after six years of litigation, city officials complied with an order from the California Coastal Commission to remove the gates that have blocked access at certain hours to Strand Beach from the Headlands community. The city has spent at least $1 million in legal fees, and this month agreed to pay $150,000 in a settlement agreement with Surfrider Foundation. That is in addition to $300,000 the city has paid for a public outreach program in partnership with the Ocean Institute and Surfrider Foundation. Lewis and Wyatt both said hiring a new city manager is key to the citys success and to rebuilding faith with residents. I want someone whose vision for running a city is open and transparent, said Lewis, a retired attorney who served as mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita in 2000. This city has been so secretive. If a city doesnt talk, it breeds suspicion. All that will change when we get someone that gives information and welcomes citizens who want to be active. Wyatt, 70, a retired engineer, said he wants to see a comprehensive budget review and to update the five-year revenue and expense projections. He also wants to look at the projected police services cost increases and to develop a citywide development plan. Without this framework the neighborhood plans will not fit together, Wyatt said. The new council will provide input on the countys $200 million harbor renovation project and also will work on rebranding the city as the birthplace of the surf industry. Two plazas emphasizing the citys surf history and the beginning point of Coast Highway in Dana Point will break ground in late January. While Lewis said the county has final say on the harbor plans, she said shes excited the city wants to highlight its surfing past. I would love to see Dana Point embrace this important part of its history, she said. Contact the writer: 714-796-2254 or eritchie@scng.com or on Twitter:@lagunaini Electoral College is fair Re: Declare the Electoral College unconstitutional [Opinion, Dec. 15]: Erwin Chemerinsky introduces only one side of the equation. It is not that smaller states have a disproportional influence in choosing the president, it is that without the Electoral College, the president would be elected by a few large liberal states like California, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, etc. and the smaller states would be left in the dust. Chuck Metten, Brea People power In his column on the Electoral College, Erwin Chemerinsky identifies the source of the Democrats election loss: Its those pesky people. Lets consider the popular vote myth. If you combine the total Republican vote (Trump plus Johnson) and the Democratic vote (Clinton plus Stein), then clearly the Democrats lost the popular vote. The people didnt vote for the Democratic platform and they lost everything from dog catcher to president. Those pesky people, especially in the middle of the country, didnt support the Democrats. The solution is to eliminate the Electoral College by having some random bureaucrats modify the Constitution without the consent of We the People. Those pesky people cant be trusted. A few more brilliant analyses like these and the DNC might as well stand for Done, Not Coming-back. Jim Staub, Laguna Niguel Its a republic It is hard to believe that Erwin Chemerinsky, vaunted professor of law, does not know the difference between a representative republic and a democracy. It is sad when a teacher is so politically motivated that they lose all sense of reason. He wants the Electoral College declared unconstitutional by the courts because he knows he (and the Democrats) can never have their way through the constitutional process ratification of an amendment by three-forths of the states. One can only hope Chemerinskys students shrug off his ignorance. Our form of government is a representative republic, not a democracy. True democracy is mob rule. Minority opinion has no representation. A lot of thought went into forming this government to protect all Americans. If Hillary had won the Electoral College and not attained a majority of the popular vote, I bet this column wouldnt have been written. James H. McGee, Orange Q. In my neighborhood, homeowners are placing traffic cones in the street in front of their houses. Im sure this is not legal. It seems like more and more homeowners are putting the cones out to keep people from parking in front. One guy has a business out of his home and places sometimes six cones out. This is not the worst problem in the world, in California, or in Orange County. However, its an ugly trend. Sandra Mason, Tustin A. Just today, Sandra, Honk came across knotted traffic on a residential street next to a school (not in Tustin). The cause for congestion? A vehicle couldnt move an orange cone was lodged in a wheel well. As to the scenarios you mentioned Youre not allowed to do that, said Sgt. Ryan Coe of the Tustin Police Department. On a public roadway, you cant block a portion of the road. That is a state law. Now, cones are obviously used at times, for city functions, construction projects and to usher in parents dropping off their children at schools thats OK if approved by the local government. If your neighbor does set them out, the good sergeant suggests you say, in a friendly tone, that maybe that isnt the best idea, because it makes it tough for others to find parking spots. But if you arent comfortable doing that, Coe said, in Tustin you can call police on a non-emergency line and an officer will go out and remove the cones. Q. My wife and I both have handicapped placards. Currently, I am doing all of the driving, with copies of both Department of Motor Vehicle placard certifications in each car, as well as in my wallet. Can I use her placard in her car when I am only driving myself? Or do I need my placard? Rex Hall, Anaheim A. Better to grab your car or at least your placard, Rex. Under state law, each placard is assigned to an individual, and a penalty could run into the thousands of dollars, said Artemio Armenta, a DMV spokesman. The solution might be to consider registering the vehicles in both names and obtain disabled-person license plates for one or both vehicles, Armenta told Honk in an email. That way, you dont even have to remember to pull out the placard. To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He answers only those that are published. Lake Forest residents Elizabeth and William Lund have twirled into the dance market by opening the Underground Dance Studio at 23034 Lake Forest Drive in Laguna Hills. The studio is on a mission to provide a safe environment for kids, promote self-confidence through positive body imagery, increase physical fitness and explore kids artistic skills. To reinforce that goal, the studio is a member of Youth Protection Advocates in Dance, a coalition of concerned people to protect children against sexual abuse. We got a chance to talk with Elizabeth, 26, and ask her about the studio: Q. Why did your studio join Y.P.A.D., and what do you hope to achieve by that? A. We joined the Youth Protection Advocates in Dance organization due to the growing negative trends in the dance industry. Hyper sexualization of young girls with inappropriate dance moves and costumes and the pressure and reinforcement of unhealthy body imagery to young susceptible mindscan often lead to anorexia, bulimia, depression and anxiety in a young mind that should be focusing on the real reasons to dance: artistic expression, health, fun and building character through dedication and hard work. We really just want to be a positive role model in the dance instruction industry. Q. How would you describe your studio? What kind of classes do you offer and who is your target audience? A. Underground Dance Company offers classes to dancers ages 18 months to adults. We offer classes in adult ballet fit, ballet, ballet/tap, breakdancing, contemporary, creative movement, Hip-Hop, hippity-hop, jazz, musical theatre, parent and me, pre-pointe, pointe and strength/stretch and tap. Q. What is your professional background and what is your goal in life? A. My dance background began at the age of 5 in ballet and tap, and as I got older I was introduced to more styles. At 13, I knew I wanted to own my own dance studio someday. I moved to Orange County to get my Professional Teaching Certification from Orange Coast College in 2012 and began the process of starting my studio just months after graduation. I have achieved my dream of opening my own dance studio and I am looking forward to growing the business and reaching many more accomplishments in the years to come. Q. Is there a story behind the name of the dance studio? A. Underground Dance Company got its name from me seeing myself as the underdog. My whole life I have felt just a step out of place and could never quite be the best no matter how hard I trained or pushed myself. That being said, I used my slight step out of place to my advantage. I may not be the best dancer, most flexible or thinnest, but I found my passion is teaching kids to dance. It goes beyond the dance rooms, I get to be a role model, a safe place, an ear, someone that years later a child wont forget. That is why Underground is Underground. [ Oct. 12, 2011 ] Scott Dekraai kills his ex-wife and seven other people at a Seal Beach salon, the deadliest mass shooting in Orange County history. At the scene he tells police that hes the shooter. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas vows to seek the death penalty. [ October 2011 ] Dekraai is assigned a public defender and moved to a psychiatric evaluation cell. There, he is befriended by jailhouse informant Fernando Perez. Orange County sheriffs deputies wire Dekraais cell to secretly record conversations between him and Perez. [ January 2013 ] Prosecutors file documents saying they plan to use the previously secret recordings of Dekraai and Perez, informing Public Defender Scott Sanders, Dekraais attorney. Sanders notes that Perez also is an informant in another case, the trial of then-double-murder suspect Daniel Wozniak. [ January 2014 ] Sanders files a motion in the Dekraai case, accusing prosecutors and police of routinely placing informants in proximity to Dekraai and other high-value defendants, even after theyve engaged attorneys. The practice, if true, would violate the Sixth Amendment. [ April 2014 ] Prosecutors agree not to use the jailhouse recordings. [ May 2014 ] Dekraai pleads guilty to eight counts of murder. [ August 2014 ] The judge in the Dekraai case, Thomas M. Goethals, concludes that prosecutors were negligent but not malicious when they failed to turn over evidence to the defense. Rackauckas acknowledges that his office made mistakes, but says they were unintentional. [ November 2014 ] Register report details how two jail informants, both members of the Mexican Mafia, received more than $150,000 in payments from law enforcement agencies during an 18-month period. [ March 2015 ] Goethals removes local prosecutors from the Dekraai case, saying they cant be trusted to provide a fair hearing. He notes that deputies either lied or willfully withheld evidence under oath. [ November 2015 ] Eric Ortiz, a gang member convicted of killing a Santa Ana man in 2006, gets a retrial after sheriffs deputies invoke their Fifth Amendment rights rather than answer questions about the use of informants. [ November 2015 ] Legal experts including former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp and former Los Angeles County District Attorney Gil Garcetti write a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to declare a crisis in the Orange County justice system. [ January 2016 ] A panel of legal experts hand-picked by Rackauckas issues a report that says Orange County prosecutors operate with a win at all costs mentality. [ February 2016] A man twice convicted of killing a woman and her unborn child wins a new trial because informant evidence was withheld from his defense team. He later is released from jail on $500,000 bail and is awaiting the conclusion of an appeal by the district attorney. The Register holds a community forum on the snitch scandal during which Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens says, The notion that we have a network of jail informants and we have special handling deputies spending all their time moving these informants into convenient places is false. Sheriffs documents later confirm, according to the district attorney, that in fact deputies do more than merely cultivate a network of informants. They place them in cells near targeted inmates and reward them when they produce information deemed favorable to prosecutors. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas also participates in the forum. [March 2016] A prolific jailhouse informant, Fernando Perez, receives a sentence that will allow him to leave prison in seven years. He was looking at a life sentence as a third-striker. Federal prosecutors credit Perez with helping to get more than 100 convictions against the Mexican Mafia prison gang. Perez is a key informant in Orange Countys snitch scandal and the misuse of informants on jail inmates. A man on Californias Death Row for more than three decades is seeking a new trial after alleging a former prosecutor lied about two informants used in the case. A request has been made in federal court. William Payton is the next Orange County inmate in line for the death penalty in the stabbing death of a Garden Grove woman. At years end the case is still pending. An Orange County Superior Court jury deadlocked in a murder case. The case was the second trial for Eric Ortiz, who previously was convicted, partly on the basis of evidence gathered by a jailhouse informant. In the retrial informant testimony wasnt presented in court, and the jury voted 10-2 in favor of aquittal. Ortiz is scheduled for a third trial in his gang shooting case in early 2017. [May 2016] More than 1,000 pages of secret notes kept by sheriff deputies on jail informants begin to show up in court documents, though they are kept under seal and not available to the public. Sheriffs officials say they did not know about the existance of the secret logs kept on department computers. A judge says this evidence should have been turned over to him and defense attorneys years earlier. [June 2016] The District Attorneys office issues a press release indicating secret logs kept by jailers on informants contradict at least two deputies in their testimony during a misconduct hearing. The two deputies, along with three others who worked in the jail, refuse to testify in multiple criminal cases for fear of incriminating themselves. [July 2016] An appellate court panel upholds the district attorneys practice of removing murder cases from the court of Judge Thomas Goethals who in 2015 booted the DA from the deadliest shooting case in Orange County history. Appellate justices, however, said the district attorneys practice of blanket papering Goethals was disruptive. [August 2016] Goethals considers removing himself from a case in which prosecutors are accused of withholding evidence. Goethals notes the two prosecutors are about to become sitting judges and, as such, will be his co-workers. Goethals stays on the case at the urging of defense lawyers and prosecutors. [September 2016] Goethals blasts Sheriff Hutchens and her department for taking more than three years to comply with his court order to turn over all documents involving the use of jailhouse informants. Double-murderer Daniel Wozniak is sentenced to death in a case delayed for six years, largely because the court needed to determine if prosecutors misused jailhouse informants and withheld evidence from the defense. The court eventually ruled prosecutors did not engage in these practices in the Wozniak case. [October 2016] The 4th District Court of Appeal hears testimony in the state Attorney Generals bid to overturn Judge Thomas Goethals decision to remove the DA from the penatly phase trial of mass murderer Scott Dekraai. [ November 2016 ] The 4th District Court of Appeal upholds Goethals decision to throw local prosecutors off the Dekraai case, saying Orange County prosecutors engage in systemic violations of the Constitution. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens seeks a court order to prevent the public disclosure of computer logs written by her deputies on jailhouse informants. In a legal brief filed on appeal, O.C. prosecutors are accused of not telling the court that a jailhouse informant they used in a 2007 case was schizophrenic at the time of his testimony. Convicted murderer Ricardo Salas is seeking a new trial. [ Dec. 15, 2016 ] Secret jail logs kept by Orange County Sheriff Deputies are partially released and indicate at least one housing area was outfitted for months with a recording device and it is unclear whether the recordings were shared with defense lawyers. The logs, describing how informants were used, contradict testimony of some deputies who said they were not involved with snitches. The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division launches an investigation into the Orange County district attorney and the Sheriffs Department, only the second time federal investigators have looked at both sides of the justice system in a single county. Documents show federal investigators are looking at the possibility of systemic constitutional abuses. Huntington Beach residents urged a state agency to require a more comprehensive environmental impact report before the proposed Poseidon desalination plant could receive a new lease on state land. Dozens of residents packed a room Wednesday to voice their concerns over the scope of a new lease that could be issued to Poseidon Water, which has had a lease to use the existing intake and discharge facilities since 2010. The developers of the proposed 50 million gallon per day Poseidon plant asked the State Lands Commission for an amended lease that would allow them to put in place screens with one millimeter openings about the width of a credit card in compliance with Gov. Jerry Browns water action plan. The company backing the project estimates that with the smaller openings and water being sucked into the facility at 1/2-foot per second, no juvenile fish or shellfish would get stuck on the intake system and the number of larvae inadvertently sucked into the system would be reduced. Huntington Beach residents and activists asked the State Lands Commission to require a more comprehensive EIR instead of an amendment to the existing report and to examine whether a desalination plant is needed. Many pointed to the expansion of the countys groundwater replenishment system, which feeds purified wastewater back into an underground aquifer in Anaheim. The amount of water Poseidon projected to need hasnt been updated since 1999, said Amanda Sackett, the Surfrider Foundations California policy coordinator. This project needs to be reviewed in a comprehensive manner. Others raised concerns about the desalination plants overall viability, saying it will be susceptible to sea-level rise; and some said subsurface wells would be better for the environment. Were extremely concerned about the affects on marine life, said Mary Jo Baretich, a director with Residents for Responsible Desalination. She expressed concern about noise and vibrations from the intake pipes. Some speakers said the plant could discharge warm water, drawing more jellyfish and stingrays and potentially driving away tourism. What I want to impress upon you is that this project is going to decide the future of desalination in California, said Susan Jordan, founder of the California Coastal Protection Network. Jordan said subsurface wells, like those proposed for the Doheny beach desalination plant, would be preferable. Subsurface wells tap into water beneath the surface of the ocean floor and pose less of a risk to marine life. The developer maintains that such wells wouldnt be feasible in Huntington Beach because they would tap into the groundwater basin used by the Orange County Water District. The State Lands Commission is expected to issue a draft of a supplemental EIR in late winter or spring, and the three-member commission will hold a hearing on whether to approve an amended lease by fall 2017. Contact the writer: lawilliams@scng.com SAN DIEGO Federal authorities say a former U.S. Homeland Security Investigations agent is accused of using his position to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from drug-money couriers. According to an indictment filed Wednesday in San Diego, Tyrone Cedric Duren allegedly laundered the dirty money through real estate transactions and American and Croatian banks. The Union-Tribune newspaper reports the 46-year-old and his 45-year-old wife, Jennifer Duren, face charges including money laundering. The two were arrested Nov. 30 at Los Angeles International Airport as they returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand. They have pleaded not guilty. Durens attorney did not return a phone call or email seeking comment. His wifes attorney declined to discuss the case Wednesday. President-elect Donald Trump nominated lawyer David Friedman as ambassador to Israel, choosing a trusted friend who opposes the two-state solution with Palestinians in a move that may herald a major shift in U.S. policy in the region. Trump called Friedman a long-time friend and trusted adviser to me, according to a statement Thursday. The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when Im President, he said, in a reference to tensions that emerged between President Barack Obamas administration and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Friedmans views run counter to decades of U.S. policy toward Israel. While officials acknowledge that progress toward peace has stalled in recent years, the U.S. continues to seek an independent Palestinian state and Obamas team has spoken out with increased exasperation about Israeli settlement activity under Netanyahu. This nomination is reckless, putting Americas reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk, said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the Washington-based organization J Street, which advocates a two-state solution. Senators should know that the majority of Jewish Americans oppose the views and the values this nominee represents. Friedman, meanwhile, has said supporters of J Street are worse than kapos, the Jews who oversaw fellow concentration camp prisoners under the Nazis during World War II. He told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June that Trump might back Israel seizing parts of the West Bank, comments he later sought to walk back. Friedmans position on the two-state solution runs counter to that of another Trump nominee, retired Marine Corps General James Mattis, who has been tapped for Defense secretary. Mattis warned Israel in a 2013 speech that time was running out for it to reverse its West Bank settlement project. We have got to find a way to make the two-state solution that Democrat and Republican administrations have supported, he said. The chances for it are starting to ebb because of the settlements and where theyre at, are going to make it impossible to maintain the two-state option. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a text message that the ministry will wait for the U.S. nomination to be approved before commenting. Friedman is president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, a group that raises money for the West Bank settlement of Bet El. As a partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP with a specialty in bankruptcy, he has represented Trump in Atlantic City, New Jersey legal cases. Friedman advocates moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, another move thats certain to inflame tensions with the Palestinians and others in the region. Since 1995, U.S. presidents have used their authority to issue waivers to bypass a law that directs the embassy to be moved to the city from Tel Aviv. Palestinians contest Israeli control of the city and most nations recognize that it would be divided under an agreement to end the Six-Day War in 1967. I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the U.S. embassy in Israels eternal capital, Jerusalem, Friedman said in the statement. Some Israeli lawmakers took to Twitter to welcome Friedmans nomination. Education Minister Naftali Bennett called Friedman a great friend of Israel, while Yehuda Glick, a Knesset member in Netanyahus Likud party, described him as a lover of Jerusalem. I look forward to working with Mr. Friedman, the new U.S. ambassador and a great friend of Israel, in his rightful office in our capital, Jerusalem, said Yair Lapid, head of the opposition Yesh Atid party. AGADEZ, Niger The world dismisses them as economic migrants. The law treats them as criminals who show up at a nations borders uninvited. Prayers alone protect them on the journey across the Sahara. But peel back the layers of their stories and you find a bundle of trouble and want that prompts the men and boys of West Africa to leave home, endure beatings and bribes, board a smugglers pickup truck and try to make a living far, far away. They do it because the rains have become so fickle, the days measurably hotter, the droughts more frequent and more fierce, making it impossible to grow enough food on their land. Some go to the cities first, only to find jobs are scarce. Some come from countries ruled by dictators, like Gambia, whose longtime ruler recently refused to accept the results of an election he lost. Others come from countries crawling with jihadis, like Mali. In Agadez, a fabled gateway town of sand and hustle through which hundreds of thousands exit the Sahel on their way abroad, I met dozens of them. One was Bori Bokoum, 21, from a village in the Mopti region of Mali. Fighters for al-Qaida clash with government forces in the area, one of many reasons making a living had become much harder than in his fathers time. One bad harvest followed another, he said. So, as a teenager, he ventured out to sell watches in the nearest market town for a while, then worked on a farm in neighboring Ivory Coast, saving up for this journey. Libya was his destination, then maybe across the Mediterranean Sea, to Italy. To try my luck, was how Bokoum put it. This journey has become a rite of passage for West Africans of his generation. The slow burn of climate change makes subsistence farming, already risky business in a hot, arid region, even more of a gamble. Pressures on land and water fuel clashes, big and small. Insurgencies simmer across the region, prompting U.S. counterterrorism forces to keep watch from a base on the outskirts of Agadez. This year, more than 311,000 people have passed through Agadez on their way to either Algeria or Libya, and some onward to Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration. The largest numbers are from Niger and its West African neighbors, including Bokoums home, Mali. Scholars of migration count people like Bokoum among the millions who could be displaced around the world in coming decades as rising seas, widening deserts and erratic weather threaten traditional livelihoods. Many of these people fall through the cracks of international law. The United Nations 1951 refugee convention applies only to people fleeing war and persecution, and even that treatys obligation to offer protection is increasingly flouted by many countries wary of foreigners. In such a political climate, policymakers point out, the chances of expanding the law to include people displaced by environmental degradation are slim to none. It explains why the more than 100 countries that have ratified the Paris climate agreement this year acknowledged that environmental changes would spur the movement of people, but kicked the can down the road on what to do about them. Hotter hots and unpredictable rains Sub-Saharan Africa is in the throes of a population boom, which means that people have to grow more food at a time when climate change is making it more difficult. Fertility rates remain higher than in other parts of the world, and Niger has the highest in the entire world: Women bear more than seven children on average. Once every three years, according to scientists from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, or FEWS Net, Niger faces food insecurity, or a lack of adequate food to eat. Hunger is among the worst in the world: About 45 percent of Nigers children younger than 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition. Meanwhile, in what is already one of the hottest places on Earth, it has gotten steadily hotter: by 1.25 degrees since 1975, FEWS Net has found. Other places in the world are warming faster, for sure. But this is the Sahel, where daytime highs often soar well above 113 degrees and growing food in sandy, inhospitable soil is already difficult. Extreme heat can have grievous consequences on food and disease, the World Food Program found in a survey of scientific studies. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes thrive in it. Pests are more likely to attack crops. Corn and wheat yields decline. A city of dreams Agadez is a city of mud-brick compounds with high walls and blazing bright metal doors. For centuries, it was filled with traders and nomads. In recent decades, it was a tourist magnet, until ethnic rebellions and then jihadi violence drove people away. Today, migration is the main industry. Drivers, smugglers, money changers, sex workers, police officers everyone lives off the men on the move. The smugglers den where I found Bokoum, the 21-year-old from Mali, was a set of two adjoining courtyards, with two concrete-floored rooms. He had been in Agadez for three months, waiting for his mother to send him money. It can cost 350,000 CFAs (about $600) to get from Agadez to the Libyan border, on the back of a pickup truck. Mohamed Diallo, a Senegalese manager of the compound, blamed Western countries for spewing carbon into the atmosphere, and he was skeptical of their leaders promises to curb emissions. Diallos compound, like others in Agadez, has a weekly rhythm. He instructs those seeking to make the journey to Libya to be inside by Sunday night. The journey to the Libyan border, 250 miles, takes three days. No one knows how many die along the way. Those who venture a journey across the Mediterranean take a deadly gamble, too. Among the more than 4,700 people who have died trying to cross the Central Mediterranean so far in 2016, the vast majority cannot be identified. Of those who can, Africans make up the largest share. The migrant road, Diallo said, is a road on fire. I will be a burden to them Those who make it to Libya do not necessarily make it inside Libya. It is a lawless country where some migrants get thrown behind bars and some, according to human rights groups, are raped and tortured by militias demanding money. Some run out of money, or heart, to continue the journey to Europe. On the way back, they usually knock on the gates of the International Organization for Migrations transit center at the edge of Agadez. Ibrahim Diarra said that fickle rains made it too hard to grow peanuts and corn on the family farm in the Tambacounda region of Senegal. He watched the young men of his village leave, each pulled by the stories of those who went before. Then he followed. He lasted two months in Algeria. Then, he went back to Agadez and asked the migration organization for a bus ticket home. So far this year, 100,000 people have made the same reverse journey. Im supposed to support my family, he explained. Now I have no clothes, nothing. I will be a burden to them. A critical audit that alleges fraud at Oxford Preparatory Academy, which has two campuses in south Orange County, is being referred to the Orange County District Attorneys Office. Board members with the Capistrano Unified School District, which oversees the Oxfords public charter in Mission Viejo, on Wednesday night referred to District Attorney Tony Rackauckas an audit that accuses the schools founder of laundering campus funds through for-profit entities run by friends and family members. The public has a right of protection of public funds, Capistrano Unified Trustee James Reardon said Thursday. CUSD is not a policing agency, so we have to rely on the district attorney to investigate wrongdoing. We can easily conclude from that report that something bad happened. The Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team, created by legislators in 1992 to help California school districts comply with fiscal accountability standards, released the 45-page audit last month accusing Oxford founder Sue Roche of setting up a system that diverted public school funds to her and her associates. Roches attorney, Marc Greenberg, has denied wrongdoing and accused those who created the report of misinterpreting facts. Oxford has schools in Chino, Lake Forest and Mission Viejo. While the K-8 school in Mission Viejo, which has more than 800 students, falls under Capistrano Unifieds jurisdiction, the school in Lake Forest is under the umbrella of the Orange County Department of Education. Parents at the Mission Viejo campus are concerned about the audit but are happy with the school and want to see it continue, said parent Sheila Goulart-Siegel. Oxford offers something public schools have truly lost: a sense of community among not just the children but also the families, the teachers and the staff, she said in an email. The programs are enriching. The kids leave their regular classroom for music, for language my first grader is learning Mandarin or STEM lab and for computer lab. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. The kids are having a great experience, she said. According to the audit report, Oxford Preparatory paid $4.2 million in management fees from January 2013 to June 2015 to founder Roches private company, Edlighten Learning Solutions of Yorba Linda. In May, the schools separated from Roche and Edlighten. Since the audits release, the Chino Valley Unified School District denied a request to renew that schools charter for five more years, and also voted to reject a request to open a second K-8 school in the district. Oxford is appealing that decision while it reorganizes its operation. Denise Pascoe, until recently principal at the Mission Viejo school, is now the new interim executive director. She said in an e-mail Thursday she had not received notice of any pending investigation by the Orange County District Attorneys Office. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the D.A.s Office said it will review the report after receiving it. SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Browns administration has reached new contract agreements with unions representing about 12,000 maintenance workers and 6,000 psychiatric technicians. The Sacramento Bee reports that the labor pacts come after the administration reached a deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 1000 earlier this month. The latest contracts include a 14 percent raise over three years for the International Union of Operating Engineers, and a 9 percent raise over three years for the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, with higher wage increases for some staff. All the employees also must begin paying a fraction of their salaries toward retirement health benefits, an unfunded liability that the state has pegged at $74 billion. The deals must still be ratified by members and approved by the state Legislature. Universities nationwide are being called on by their students and faculty members to provide sanctuary to the undocumented students President-elect Trump has pledged to deport. The American Association of University Professors has approved a resolution supporting the campus sanctuary movement, calling on institutions to offer as much support and practical protection as possible to the members of these communities who are in the United States illegally. The definition of a sanctuary campus is vague, but colleges and universities can expect to be called upon to refuse compliance with immigration authorities regarding deportations or raids. Current institutional practices make it clear that no university is going to accept this level of risk, no matter how deep the convictions of the organizations rank-and-file, or even of its leadership. University responses to the broad social intervention launched in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education provide a reliable forecast of what to expect from institutions in these new circumstances. The DOEs interpretation of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the agencys subsequent guidance for universities nationwide gutted procedural fairness for students accused of sexual misconduct. Courts ascribe guilt in criminal cases only if evidence of guilt is, at a minimum, clear and convincing. As result, criminal courts free many of the guilty, but convict few of the innocent. The Obama administrations Department of Education took the unique and morally objectionable position that universities must punish more of their guilty students by more frequently punishing innocents. Universities surrendered to the DOEs demands with impressively little resistance. They rolled over en masse, and they will again. The DOE Office of Civil Rights emulates the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions strategy of avoiding the notice and comment procedures associated with promulgating rules, and has instead issued only guidances, which are difficult to challenge in court. This guidance is coupled with a relentless willingness to launch expensive-to-respond-to institutional investigations. Regardless of whether the Trump administration acts to terminate DOEs social experiment, the genie is out of the bottle. President Obamas DOE has handed the Trump administration the perfect tactical blueprint for keeping universities in line with respect to federal rules, regardless of how unfair or counterproductive these rules might be. Universities nationwide can now count on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to follow the path blazed by the Department of Education. All ICE has to do is make it clear to colleges and universities that failure to cooperate with ICE guidance with respect to enforcement and removal operations will result in an investigation that may lead to loss of the institutions eligibility to receive federal research funds, and that Trumps ICE means this just as much as Obamas DOE did. No individual institution has demonstrated a willingness to resist these tactics thus far, and the Association of American Universities has shown no collective stomach to fight back against such agency overreach. Anyone hoping universities will demonstrate a principled resistance to President-elect Trumps deportation agenda is going to be disappointed. Colleges and universities will fall over themselves lining up to cooperate and comply with immigration authorities, just as they did for the DOE. James E. Moore, II is a Professor of Public Policy and Management, and Vice Dean of the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. WASHINGTON The Obama administration suggested Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election and said it was fact that such actions helped Donald Trumps campaign. The White House also assailed Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russias interference. No proof was offered for any of the accusations, the latest to unsettle Americas uneasy transition from eight years under Democratic President Barack Obama to a new Republican administration led by Trump. The claims of Russian meddling in the election also have heightened already debilitating tensions between Washington and Moscow over Syria, Ukraine and a host of other disagreements. Only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, repeating the words from an October U.S. intelligence assessment. Obamas deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, connected the dots further, saying it was Putin who was responsible for the Russian governments actions. I dont think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it, Rhodes said on MSNBC. The explosive accusation paints Putin, the leader of perhaps the nations greatest geopolitical foe, as having directly undermined U.S. democracy. U.S. officials have not contended, however, that Trump would have been defeated by Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russias assistance. Nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote-counting. The Kremlin flatly rejected the claim of Putins involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it Thursday as laughable nonsense. The dispute over Russias role is fueling an increasingly public spat between Obamas White House and Trumps team that is threatening to spoil the delicate truce that Obama and Trump have forged since Election Day. Although the president and president-elect have avoided criticizing each other publicly since Trumps win, their aides have been more openly antagonistic. Kellyanne Conway, Trumps senior transition adviser, said it was breathtaking and irresponsible that the White House had suggested Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. That led Obama spokesman Josh Earnest on Thursday to unload, arguing that Trump, who has dismissed the CIAs assessment of Russian interference, should spend less time attacking the intelligence community and more time supporting the investigation that Obama has ordered. Earnest said it was obvious Trump knew what Russia was doing during the campaign, pointing out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find Clintons missing emails. Trump has said he was joking. I dont think anybody at the White House thinks its funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy, Earnest said. Thats not a joke. U.S. intelligence officials have linked the hacking to Russias intelligence agency and its military intelligence division. Moscow has denied all accusations that it orchestrated the hacking of email accounts of Democratic Party officials and Clintons campaign chief, John Podesta, and then leaked them to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Trump and his supporters insist the Democrats outrage about Russia is really an attempt to undermine the validity of his election victory. Rep. Peter King, a Trump ally and New York Republican, called it disgraceful as he spoke to reporters amassed in Trump Tower after meeting with the president-elect. Right now, certain elements of the media, certain elements of the intelligence community and certain politicians are really doing the work of the Russians, King said. Trump on Thursday falsely said the U.S. government had waited until after the election to complain that Russia had hacked into U.S. political organizations to interfere in the presidential race. But in doing so, he raised questions about the Obama administrations slow response to a cyberattack that proved successful. In a post on Twitter, Trump suggested hacking report was a case of postelection sour grapes by Obama. Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Trump asked, ignoring the fact that the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr., had formally blamed Russia on Oct. 7 for the cyberattack on the Democratic National Committee and other organizations. In September, meeting privately in China with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Obama not only complained, the White House says, but warned him of consequences if the Russian activity did not halt. Democrats pounced on the latest suggestions of Putin being connected to the daily drip of emails during the presidential race from some of Clintons closest advisers. Putin was clearly involved, said outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Having been the former head of the KGB, does that surprise you? Reid said. And does it surprise anybody today when he denied it? Reids comments echoed those of Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said Wednesday that its hard to think that Putin didnt know about the operation. She called suggestions that he was aware of the hacking very credible. There has been no specific, persuasive evidence shared publicly about the extent of Putins role or knowledge of the hackings. That lack of proof undercuts Democrats strategy to portray Putins involvement as irrefutable evidence of a directed Russian government plot to undermine Americas democratic system. Secretary of State John Kerry defended Obamas handling of the issue during the heat of the presidential campaign a stance now criticized by some Democrats as too weak but said he wouldnt comment on whether Putin was involved. People need to remember that the president issued a warning, Kerry said. But he had to be obviously sensitive to not being viewed as interfering on behalf of a candidate or against a candidate or in a way that promoted unrealistic assessments about what was happening. In President-elect Donald Trumps Contract with the American Voter, a 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again, Trump outlines several measures he says he will undertake to create jobs and economic growth. While much of the agenda Trump proposes will help to improve the economy while also leaving reasonable environmental protections in place, I believe there are two additional environment-related policy changes Trump should take to jump-start the economy. In a September 21, 2015, appearance on Hugh Hewitts radio show, Trump said, Im not a believer in man-made global warming. I mean, Obama thinks its the number-one problem of the world today. And I think its very low on the list. We have much bigger problems. If these comments accurately reflect Trumps views, one important step he could take to undo the damage done by the Obama administrations vainglorious attempt to control the weather would be to reverse the Environmental Protection Agencys determination carbon dioxide is a pollutant endangering public and environmental health, a decision known as the endangerment finding. The endangerment finding came about in response to a narrow 54 Supreme Court decision in the 2007 case Massachusetts v. EPA. In that case, a majority of the justices ruled if the EPA determines carbon-dioxide emissions are causing global warming and global warming may reasonably be expected to endanger public health or welfare, the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. In fact, the justices ruled the EPA would be required to regulate carbon dioxide under such a finding, unless it can provide a reasonable basis for not choosing to regulate CO2. Relying on unsubstantiated projections produced by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the EPA determined carbon-dioxide emissions from cars and industry threaten human welfare, which led directly to the EPAs decision to limit such emissions. For instance, the endangerment finding was the basis for the ratchetting up of automobile fuel-economy standards, which could soon reach levels that will effectively rob consumers of the ability to choose the vehicles they drive, by either forcing all but the smallest cars off the roads or, at the very least, making larger cars and trucks too expensive for all but the relatively wealthy to drive. Additionally, the endangerment finding serves as the foundation for various Obama administration regulations requiring utilities, oil and gas producers, and others to cut their greenhouse-gas emissions. If these draconian rules are not overturned by Trump, Americans will pay much more for energy and their energy supplies will be less reliable. Trump cant undo the endangerment finding with the stroke of a pen. Instead, to reverse it, he must charge the EPA to demonstrate through independent, validated research, that carbon-dioxide emissions are toxic they arent at any levels realistic to occur in the foreseeable future or that global warming is causing measurable amounts of sea level rise, increased hurricane numbers or intensity, the spread of disease, or other harms attributable directly to carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. If the EPA cant directly link such problems to U.S. carbon dioxide emissions and it cant or cannot show such problems can be dramatically reduced by cutting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions again, it cant the EPA should withdraw the endangerment finding. Withdrawing the endangerment finding would end the legal justification for a range of burdensome climate regulations. In the process, it would also end radical environmental activists ability to use courts to impose climate policies on an unwilling public whose elected representatives have repeatedly rejected climate policies. Trump recognizes that to fully reverse Barack Obamas harmful climate policies, the U.S. must withdraw from international climate agreements that drive many domestic climate actions and cease diverting billions of dollars of taxpayers money from important domestic concerns to U.N. climate programs. In his Contract with the American Voter, Trump pledges to cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs, and use the money to fix Americas water and environmental infrastructure. Trump can accomplish this unilaterally by halting the Obama administrations illegal shift of State Department funds funds directed by Congress for use in other diplomatic programs to the United Nations Green Climate Fund. The easiest way for Trump to end the United States participation in all international climate agreements would be for him on day one to remove Americas signature from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1992. Article 25 of the UNFCCC allows any state party to that convention to withdraw without further obligation upon giving one years notice. Withdrawing from the UNFCCC would cancel the United States obligations to all other U.N.-brokered climate agreements subsequent to it, because all subsequent agreements were built upon UNFCCC. These two actions would be a great first step toward putting America first during Trumps first 100 days in office. H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D. (hburnett@heartland.org) is a research fellow on energy and the environment at The Heartland Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research center headquartered in Arlington Heights, Illinois. If, earlier this week, you clicked on Tustins Wikipedia page to research the citys demographics or history, you may have found yourself either confused or amused. Since 2009, Tustin has changed and is no longer a Business Friendly community, the introduction pronounced. The bio went on to list examples indicating Tustins bad business climate mainly, the City Councils recent vote to rezone a 7-acre piece of property from industrial to residential. By Thursday morning, not long after city officials were approached for a comment, the Wikipedia entry had returned to its usual tone dryly stating geographical location, population statistics and such. We dont monitor Wikipedia every day, said City Manager Jeff Parker. But if someone brings something to our attention, we check to make sure things are accurate. Wikipedia is supposed to be as factual as possible not opinion-based. So whodunnit? All clues hinted at one of the disgruntled tenants forced to leave the soon-to-be-leveled industrial complex, wedged between Old Town and the I-5. In September, about 30 businesses there received notice that their month-to-month leases would not be renewed by their landlord, who wanted to sell the property. A 140-unit condominium complex is scheduled to break ground on the lot next spring. Perhaps the projects most vocal critic is Lyann Courant, co-owner of Advantage Manufacturing, which makes swimming pool pumps. Under a tight deadline, she and her husband moved their equipment and 23 employees to Santa Ana last week. Asked if she knew anything about the Wikipedia hack, Courant responded, I wouldnt say it was hacked exactly. Anyone can post on Wikipedia. Quite right, said the nonprofits spokeswoman Samantha Lien. By its very nature, Wikipedia will always be a work in progress, she said. Its a living encyclopedia that can be updated in real time. Courant eventually acknowledged that she was the one who wrote the anti-Tustin rant. Ive been screaming from the social media rooftops as loudly as I can, she said. Social media and the web in general give the average person an opportunity to share their side of the story in a way that was never possible before. Founded in 2001, now ubiquitous Wikipedia enjoys an almost all-knowing reputation as though its words come from experts on the subject despite myriad college professors warning students against using it as a primary source. That is the problem people perceive Wikipedia as absolutely factual, Parker said. Yet anyone with a computer can easily insert information as well as opinions and even fake news simply by hitting the edit button. That feature keeps Wikipedia ever-current, unlike a dusty set of World Books. But it also makes the site vulnerable to unvetted material, despite the sites policy encouraging neutral and well-cited articles. A University of California, Santa Cruz, study in 2010 estimated that about 7 percent of all edits to Wikipedia articles constitute vandalism. Usually, its readers themselves who make the corrections, Lien said, adding, The more eyes on a page, the more reliable and balanced its information. Needless to say, Tustin does not attract the traffic that a contentious news event or famous celebrity might. Courant offers no apology for enhancing Wikipedias Tustin page. Yeah, she said, it was a little satisfying. Contact the writer: sgoulding@scng.com It might look like a DIY subwoofer, but the wooden box in the picture below is actually a ghost repelling device. The Trisaksri Ghost Repellent is made by a Thailand-based company called Boondee Workshop and cost $1,500 plus $140 for U.S. shipping. I know, its kind of pricey, but no one ever said keeping pesky ghosts away was cheap. The Trisaksri Ghost Repellent first made international headlines in 2009, when various Western tech blogs wrote about its alleged ability to scan homes for unwanted spirits and drive them away with a radio wave blast. Back then, everyone laughed at this joke of a gadget, anticipating that Boondee Workshop wouldnt sell a single unit, but here they are, seven years later, launching the new and improved version of their ghost repellent. So what makes Trisakri 2.0 better than the original model? Well, thats kind of tricky to figure out, since no one actually understood how the first one worked to begin with. The only things we know is that the device makes use of an infrared camera and Electromagnetic Field meters to detect the presence of supernatural beings, and sends a blast of radio energy referred to as WAVE KILLER to send them on their way. This radio energy is produced by a wave killer engine installed inside the Trisakri. The previous model of the device came with voltage ratings of 110 and 220 volts, while the 2016 version is only available at 220V. Ghosts must have gotten tougher to repel in the last seven years and the Trisakri requires a bit more power to get the job done. Other than this, the 2.0 version seems very similar to the original ghost repellent. Just press the On/Off switch and it does the rest itself. Sounds simple enough. Does the Trisakri Ghost Repellent actually work, though? Who knows? The Boondee Workshop website provides little to no information on how exactly the device works, and Ive found no customer testimonials so far. Maybe theyre all in Thai, and since Im not exactly fluent in that language But, as Mysterious Universe suggests, at only 2.9 kg (6.4 lb), its light enough to throw at the entity as an alternative way to scare it off. I definitely wouldnt spend $1,500 plus shipping on something that looks build in someones basement, but then again Ive never had any problems with ghosts. Desperate people might actually find the price a bargain. Photos: Boondee Workshop Agricultural News Kim Anderson Says Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the Wheat Markets to Watch on SUNUP This week on SUNUP, Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Market Analyst Dr. Kim Anderson joins Lyndall Stout to discuss the role the United States' plays in world wheat production. Harkening back to 1987, Anderson cites that world production was at approximately 18 billion bushels. Today, more than 27 billion bushels is produced worldwide - a 50 percent increase from three decades ago. Looking at that same time period, the five-year average for the US was about 2.3 billion bushels. The current five-year average runs only at about 2.1 billion. Compared to other countries, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan for instance, their production in the 80s was around 3 billion. Today, it's over 4 billion. "So, we've seen an increase in production just about everywhere around the world except in the US," Anderson said. Increase planted acres, higher yields and better infrastructure have all contributed to this area's increased production. According to Dr. Anderson, this trend is not just a cycle, but rather it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Dr. Anderson contends that this has all developed over the last 10 to 15 years and that our markets will not be effected in anyway other than the fact that we must realize that world markets now determine US wheat prices and this should be expected to continue. In order to stay competitive though, Anderson reiterates a point he's been making for many months. "To compete in that market," Anderson said, "we got to have protein, test weight, and milling quality wheat." You can watch their visit tomorrow or Sunday on SUNUP- but you can hear Kim's comments right now by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. Beyond Lyndall's weekly chat with Dr. Anderson- the SUNUP crew has a very full lineup for your viewing this weekend: This week on SUNUP, we start with Dave Lalman discussing the best ways to conserve hay this winter. - In Cow-Calf Corner, Glenn Selk explains the importance of colostrum to newborn calves. - Then, Derrell Peel analyzes the latest livestock trade data. - In the Mesonet Weather Report, Al Sutherland and Gary McManus show us where rain fell during the last 90 days and how that impacts the drought. - Kim Anderson says Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the wheat markets to watch. - In Shop Stop, Wayne Kiner and Randy Taylor demonstrate the proper thread length for a shear bolt. - Randy Boman has a reminder about the upcoming Red River Crops Conference. - In Food Whys, Salim Hiziroglu shows us different products that can be made from Eastern redcedar. - Finally, we travel to Stephens County for one of the largest swine sales in the country. Join us for SUNUP: Saturday at 7:30 a.m. & Sunday at 6 a.m. on OETA-TV Listen to Dr. Kim Anderson explain the role the US plays in worldwide wheat production on SUNUP WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI Top Agricultural News Screening for tuberculosis at Benson High School has found no further risk of exposure to active disease, Douglas County Health Department officials said Friday. Seven people tested positive for the tuberculosis bacteria during recent blood testing that followed a confirmed case of active disease at the school, "but they most likely have latent TB infections," Adi Pour, the department's director, said in a statement. Health department officials announced at the end of November that a Benson student had a confirmed case of tuberculosis. An investigation by the health department and school officials, followed by subsequent cross-checking of records, indicated that 191 students and staff members may have been exposed to the disease. The health department offered free blood testing at the school last week. Of the 191 identified as having the potential for exposure, 90 percent participated in the free screening. Others may have seen their own doctors, officials said. The seven who tested positive for the bacteria were contacted by telephone and referred to their regular health care providers for antibiotic treatment to prevent them from developing active tuberculosis. People with latent tuberculosis infection harbor tuberculosis germs in their bodies, but the germs are not active. They are not sick, nor are they capable of spreading the germs to other people. Families of students whose test results were negative were notified by mail. Those letters were scheduled to arrive Thursday. "The clinic was a tremendous success and went very smoothly," Pour said. Only those who were identified as having potential exposure were tested. The disease is not easily spread and requires prolonged and repeated close contact with a person with active tuberculosis, Pour said. Such contact includes being in the same classroom for some time but not brief encounters in a hallway, cafeteria or gym. The health department will conduct a second round of testing within eight to 12 weeks of the initial confirmation. A date has not been determined. Tuberculosis, which is treatable, takes weeks to months to develop, even if it has been transmitted. The ill student was identified by a health care provider, who reported the illness to the health department as required by law. Pour said at the time that the student, who will not be identified, would not return to school until considered no longer infectious, which usually takes several weeks. Treatment usually continues for six to eight months. Health department officials said they would remain in close contact with the student to make sure that the student is taking the medication correctly and taking the necessary precautions to avoid infecting others. Tuberculosis is a disease caused by airborne bacteria spread through coughing, sneezing or speaking, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. It cant be spread through such things as kissing, shaking hands or sharing food and drink, according to the CDC. Symptoms include a cough lasting three weeks or longer, chest pain and coughing up blood or mucus. Other symptoms include weakness or fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, chills and fever. Jennifer Smiseks parents can attest to her determination to be independent it has been there since she was in elementary school, fighting with her brother as he helped her put on her shoes. But the path toward independence, and health, has come with several obstacles for Jennifer. Diagnosed with the neuromuscular disease dermatomyositis at age 5, Jennifer wasnt expected to live past 10 years old. Doctors told her parents she most likely would lose the ability to walk. Not only did she keep walking, but at 13, she achieved her dream of rock climbing in Colorado. Shes always been driven by sheer determination, said her mom, Virginia Smisek. Jennifer is 35 now and has been living in her own apartment since June. Though her disease has been dormant since she was a teenager, it has left her with several other health problems, including type 2 diabetes. About two years ago, sores on Jennifers feet became infected, and her toes, atrophied from the disease, curled underneath her feet. Walking became extremely painful. Doctors considered correcting her feet with rods and pins, but her bones were too brittle. Doctors removed all of the toes on her right foot in May. The toes on her left foot were removed in October. After the October surgery, her right foot became infected again, preventing her from going back to work as a direct support professional for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Her workplace has been very understanding, she said, but she has used all of her paid time off and didnt know how she would be able to cover her December rent. She knew her parents would help out if she needed them to, but this new apartment was a fresh start, a chance to prove her independence. I love where Im living, she said. Ive gone from not even thinking Id be able to walk because of my diagnosis to now living on my own. Im proud of that and didnt want to give that up. So she called Heartland Family Service. With the one-time emergency funds from Goodfellows, The World-Heralds charity, $500 was paid directly to her landlord. For as humbling as it was to have to ask for help, they treated me like family, Jennifer said. Jennifer had another surgery this week to try to get adequate blood flow back to her feet. Because of the help (from Goodfellows), now when I go to the doctor, I dont have to keep asking and worrying about when I can go back to work, because I know Ill be OK, she said. Barring any other health complications, Jennifer is eager to return to work in January. In the meantime, shell continue working on her artwork canvases of brightly colored portraits that cover her living-room wall. Im thankful to be here, to have this apartment, to have a place to do my art, she said. Its my place to continue to discover myself and be independent. Ive been through a lot, but I can see the end of the tunnel, and Im so thankful. Many of us grew up reading Golden Sower books in school, but did you know that a Golden Sower Award nominee lives right here in Omaha? Bruce Arant was born and raised in Omaha. He went to college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and graduated with a degree in Business Marketing. After helping with the family business for 10 years, Arant followed a desire for more creative work and was introduced to the world of publishing. I went to work for a home design firm that was venturing into the production of home plan books and magazines, Arant said. I was responsible for the creation of books and magazines from their concept stage all the way to completion. After 14 years, Arant joined a large architectural publishing company near Washington, D.C., but lost his job in 2009 when the economy crashed. I had always dreamed of illustrating children's books, but never had the guts to leave a secure job to do it, Arant admitted. When my job left me, I decided to take the plunge and pursue my dream of illustrating. His readers are glad he did. Since 2009, Arant has illustrated a number of books and book covers including The Blueberry Girl by Paula J. Newcomer (about the woman who crossbred the blueberry as we know it today), The Splinter Tree by Lance P Cleveland (about a boy who refused to let his dad remove a splinter from his thumb and it grew into a tree) and A Boy's Dream by Roy James (a real story about a boy who rescued his grandmother from her burning house, then grew up to be a fire chief). From the very beginning of my illustrating career, much of my work has come through my agent, Marie Galastro, of MLG & Associates in Princeton, N.J., Arant said. Then in 2013, Simpsons Sheep Wont Go to Sleep! the first book both written and illustrated by Arant was published by Peter Pauper Press, Inc. Its a fun, rhyming picture book about a farmer (Farmer Simpson) who has a flock of sheep that have every excuse imaginable to stay awake at night rather than go to sleep like my own kids did," Arant said. "Sleep-deprived and exhausted by their antics, Farmer Simpson finds a solution that finally puts them to sleep." In 2014, Simpsons Sheep Wont Go to Sleep! won Best Childrens Book as well as Best Cover/Design/Illustration. Both awards were from The Nebraska Center for the Book. In 2015 and 2016, "Simpson's Sheep Won't Go to Sleep!" became a Golden Sower Award nominee. It was also chosen to represent Nebraska at the 2015 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., where each state selects one book about the state (or by an author from the state) that is a good read for children and young adults. The book made national news in May of 2015 when it was reported that Hillary Clinton purchased a copy for her granddaughter on a trip to Brooklyn. Currently, Simpsons Sheep Wont Go to Sleep! has the honor of sharing company with the likes of Willa Cather and Mari Sandoz on the Nebraska 150 Books list. This is a prestigious list of 150 books from authors with connections to Nebraska in honor of Nebraskas upcoming 150-year anniversary as a state. Arant has exciting news for his readers, too. I am currently on the drawing board for a new Simpson's Sheep book sequel, Simpsons Sheep Just Want to Sleep! In the book, Farmer Simpson has the opposite problem. He can't get his flock to wake up...but once again, he comes up with a solution," he said. Arant enjoys doing school presentations and plans to visit an Omaha school and Boone Central Schools in Albion, Nebraska, before the end of 2016. Hell also be doing a special event at the Albion Public Library on Dec. 19. In addition to doing presentations about picture book writing and illustrating, I also offer a writing workshop and an illustration workshop both of which have become very popular, Arant said. You can purchase Arant's books in any bookstore or online. Find out more about his illustrating, writing, editing and school presentation services on his website. *** Jenni DeWitt is married and has two sons, the youngest of whom battled childhood leukemia and won. Jenni writes weekly for Momaha.com. She is the author of "Forty Days" and "Why Won't God Talk to Me?" You can read more about Jenni here. LINCOLN One of Nebraskas most notorious killers will remain in a state mental hospital for at least another year. But a judge agreed to a treatment plan Thursday aimed at helping Erwin Charles Simants make the transition to a less-restrictive setting in the future. Forty-one years ago Simants killed six members of the family that lived next door to him in Sutherland, Nebraska. Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands ruled that Simants remains mentally ill and dangerous. Simants, 71, did not attend the competency hearing at the courthouse in North Platte. Audrey Brown, 78, of North Platte is related to all six victims. She attended Thursdays hearing along with her husband, Melvin, and their two daughters. Im happy that hes going to be where I know Ill be safe, Brown said, and where my children will be safe and my grandchildren. Ive always worried about that. Simants initially was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder for the Oct. 18, 1975, shootings of Henry and Marie Kellie, along with their son, David, 32, and three of their grandchildren: Florence, 10, Deanna, 7, and Daniel, 5. Investigators determined that Simants sexually assaulted Marie Kellie and one of the girls after their deaths. Simants was sentenced to die in the electric chair, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. During a second trial in 1979, a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. He has been committed to the Lincoln Regional Center ever since. State law requires those under civil commitment to be transferred to the least-restrictive setting available when they are no longer mentally ill and dangerous. One purpose of the annual hearing is to decide whether a new living arrangement is appropriate. In 2013 Simants asked the court for his release after four psychiatric professionals deemed him no longer mentally ill. But Rowlands rejected their findings, relying instead on the 2005 diagnosis by a psychiatrist who said Simants will always suffer from schizophrenia and sexual attractions to children and the dead. Simants also is an alcoholic whose drinking contributed to the psychological break on the day of the homicides. Since the 2013 decision, the judge has allowed Simants to go on twice-monthly supervised outings from the regional center. The judge continued those outings Thursday. A letter submitted by regional center staff in November said Simants has not been on anti-psychotic medications for years and is not currently mentally ill or dangerous. They recommended a treatment plan that would expand his activities in the community to include AA meetings and group mental health therapy, getting him prepared for life outside the center. Citing patient confidentiality, a State Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman declined to release details about the outings, but said Simants is accompanied by center staff members when he is in the community. Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood said Thursday that center officials must notify police before each outing. Robert Lindemeier, appointed by the court to represent Simants, said his client would like to gain his release from the regional center. He said the outings are part of a strategy to help Simants transition to living in the community. Hes been a model patient there for close to 40 years, Lindemeier said. Hes shown no signs of mental illness at the regional center for a long time. Brown, the daughter of Henry and Marie Kellie, said she believes that without constant supervision, Simants would start drinking again and would soon experience another mental break. I think hes better off where he is, she said. He gets excellent care, three meals a day. He couldnt be in a better place as far as getting care. This report includes material from Kamie Stephen of the World-Herald News Service in North Platte. COUNCIL BLUFFS The Rev. Paul Monahan has been found guilty by a judge of all five counts of invasion of privacy. In a ruling released Friday afternoon, Associate Judge Gary Anderson said that he found the testimony of five male high school students who said the retired priest looked at their genitals in a public restroom entirely credible and that his actions violated their reasonable expectation of privacy. The activities of the defendant, Paul Andrew Monahan, were clear cut and lead to the inescapable conclusion that the defendant on that afternoon intentionally violated these boys reasonable expectations of privacy for the purpose of satisfying his sexual desires while the boys were in a state of partial nudity, Anderson wrote in his decision. In Iowa, invasion of privacy is an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries a maximum two-year prison sentence and/or a fine between $625 and $6,250. Monahan, 83, a former principal at St. Albert High School and veteran priest in southwest Iowa, did not take the stand during his three-day bench trial, which ran from Nov. 28 to 30. During the trial, the students testified that while at a track meet at Treynor High School on April 4, Monahan had entered the restroom nine times and took a position at the urinal next to one of the teens despite others being open. They said he then stepped back and intentionally looked down at their genitals. Monahans personal physician testified at the trial that his frequent visits to the restroom were because of a medical condition rather than any sexual desire. Monahans attorney, Bill McGinn, said during the trial that his client often looked down because of a crick in his neck. Geoff Greenwood, a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney Generals Office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment until Monahan is sentenced Jan. 18. McGinn could not be reached immediately for comment. Two Westside High School students have been charged with disturbing the peace and lewd conduct after mixing their semen into frosting and serving it to their home ec teacher. The charges, both misdemeanors, were filed in juvenile court Friday, said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine. On Dec. 8, the 14-year-old boys went to a school bathroom, masturbated into containers and then mixed their semen with frosting meant for turnovers, a law enforcement official has said. Three students planned the act, authorities said, but only two went through with it. The boys served the tainted turnovers to their home economics teacher, who was doing a quality-control taste test. The teacher realized something was wrong, and another student later approached her after overhearing the boys discuss their plot. Two students told school administrators about the act. School officials are not disclosing how they are disciplining the boys. No state law specifically covers the act of bodily fluids forced on a person, though there are laws against spitting on police officers. Kleine said he anticipates discussion among law enforcement officials and state legislators on whether Nebraska needs a specific law to deal with such behavior. We think obviously there should be consequences for this kind of behavior, Kleine said. Teachers should be protected. Juvenile court judges can decide the consequences for youths whose cases are referred to the court. Kleine said prosecutors consulted with the teacher, who told them she understood why they were filing those charges. She was very appreciative that we were moving forward, Kleine said. The father of one of the boys declined to comment when reached by phone Friday afternoon. The family of the other boy could not be reached for comment. Sunday night, Westside Superintendent Blane McCann sent a letter to parents concerning the disturbing incident. Please understand the complexity of this for all involved, and know district leadership and Board of Education members are in constant discussions to determine the best course of action, he wrote. Protecting privacy rights, and keeping all of our students, families and staff members safe, is paramount to us at Westside Community Schools. A petition circulating online asking officials to expel the students has received more than 6,000 signatures. Donde Plowman will bring her knowledge of organizational change to the University of Nebraska-Lincolns No. 2 leadership job. UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green announced Thursday that Plowman, dean of the College of Business Administration, would become executive vice chancellor at the start of the new year. Plowman, 64, has run the business college for the past six years. Kathy Farrell, chairwoman of the Department of Finance, will serve as interim dean of the College of Business Administration. As executive vice chancellor, Plowman will be the chief academic officer of UNL. The position was created by Green, who became chancellor this year. The executive vice chancellor will have more authority than the former position of senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. The research and student affairs offices, for example, will report to Plowman. Green said in a letter to the UNL community: Donde regularly brings fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to bear, and those attributes will serve the university well as we deliver on our mission and pursue our goals. Plowman raised millions of dollars for a new College of Business Administration building that is going up, increased enrollment in her college and hired 50 new faculty members. Her husband, Dennis Duchon, is chairman of the department of management at UNL. Plowman, a native Oklahoman and the daughter of a Methodist minister, said in an interview Thursday that she intends to meet with the faculty members in each of UNLs approximately 100 departments. When she became dean of the business college at UNL in 2010 she met with each business professor and staffer in their offices and spaces, she said. Im eager to get to know the faculty all across the campus, she said. When she was at the University of Texas at San Antonio nine years ago she wrote a scholarly paper about a struggling inner-city church that enhanced the size of its congregation and resources when it began offering breakfast to the homeless. The situation exemplified complexity theory: a theory that radical change can emerge from small alterations. Plowman won an award for the paper. She became a department head at the University of Tennessee, then was hired as UNLs College of Business Administration dean. She was the sole finalist left for the executive vice chancellorship. A search committee made up mainly of UNL faculty members named four finalists this fall for the executive vice chancellor job. But Green didnt select from the four. He eventually asked the committee to consider Plowman, who had been in the pool of candidates for the job but had withdrawn early in the process. Sherri Jones, co-chair of the search committee, said through an email Thursday that she was satisfied with the appointment. Collectively, we are confident in her capabilities and look forward to her leadership, wrote Jones, chairwoman of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. Personally, I am excited to move forward and work collaboratively to make great things happen at the University of Nebraska. David Woodman, head of the UNL Faculty Senate, said he, too, was pleased. We like what we see, said Woodman, a professor of biological sciences. The chancellors made his choice, and were happy that weve successfully completed the search. KEARNEY, Neb. With frigid temperatures hitting Kearney just in time for the weekend, Seth VanHorn hopes the publics generosity will keep him warm as the Cop on Top. VanHorn, 35, is a community service officer for the Kearney Police Department. He will live on top of Kearneys Walmart Supercenter at 5411 Second Ave. starting at 3 p.m. Friday to raise money for the Nebraska Special Olympics in the Cop on Top program. He has vowed to stay on the rooftop until he reaches his $6,000 goal. With the weather taking a turn to bitter cold, VanHorn is concerned about getting frostbite. Saturday may be especially cold, forecasters say. There is a 40 percent chance of snow before 1 p.m. with areas of blowing snow and a north wind of 20-25 mph with gusts as high as 35 mph. It hasnt been this cold for awhile, that makes a difference when the wind is blowing and youre standing up there, he said. I may learn what cold is all about. In addition to all the winter gear VanHorn will be wearing, he also has a stockpile of hand and body warmers. VanHorn, has already raised $2,250 of his goal. This is his eighth year to be the Cop on Top, but not the first time he has had to deal with the weather. Last year, VanHorn raised $7,821 in 26 hours. In the last seven years, he has raised more than $47,000 for Nebraska Special Olympics. Get ready for a wicked 1-2-3 punch of wintry weather starting today. Freezing drizzle and sleet will develop across eastern Nebraska and western Iowa late this morning and continue through this afternoon. Forecasters said it's courtesy of a strong weather system moving out of the Rockies. By this afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Valley says, snow will develop in northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa, with the snow moving southward late today into tonight. Gusty northwest winds could create blowing-snow conditions, especially in areas that receive more than 1 inch of snow. Temperatures will continue to plunge Saturday, forecasters said. Combined with gusty winds, the wind chills will drop to 20 below to 30 below zero across the region by Saturday afternoon, continuing through Saturday night and into Sunday morning. The region could receive anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow, with the Omaha area likely to get around 1 to 2 inches, the weather service said. Ryan McPike, a KMTV meteorologist, said hes calling for 1 to 3 inches of powdery snow in the Omaha area. Not a very pleasant weekend, thats for sure, he said. Paul Walker, a meteorologist at private weather consultant AccuWeather, also predicted 1 to 3 inches of snow for the Omaha area. It doesnt look like a big snowmaker for Omaha, he said. The big thing is its going to be bitterly cold. Northern Nebraska and central Iowa could receive 3 to 6 inches of snow, Walker said, and parts of South Dakota and northern Iowa could get 6 to 12 inches. The combination of ice, snow, winds and cold will create especially slippery roads and surfaces, with a coating of ice beneath the snow that will be difficult to melt even if treated by street crews, forecasters said. Motorists should be prepared for hazardous travel conditions, including blowing snow in some locations. Authorities said the evening commute could be treacherous for Omaha-area motorists. McPike said he expected areas that havent been pre-treated, such as sidewalks and parking lots, to be especially slick in the Omaha area by this afternoon. The weather service issued a winter weather advisory for today through 6 p.m. Saturday for most of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, including the Omaha area, Lincoln, Beatrice, Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings. The advisory is due to the expected wintry mix of freezing drizzle and then snow that should begin early this afternoon, change to snow tonight into Saturday and then turn colder and very windy. A wind-chill advisory also was issued through Saturday night for the region because of expected high north-northwest winds that are likely to drop values to 20 below and 30 below zero. Conditions take a turn for the better Monday in the Omaha area, with high temperatures through Thursday in the 30s to around 40 degrees. Thats probably the only bright spot in the forecast, McPike said about next week. Walker said: I dont see any big storms right now for the Omaha area into the middle of next week. However, he said, a long-range forecast is calling for the possibility of snow in the Omaha area on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The latest Omaha-area forecast, according to the weather service: Today Freezing drizzle likely, mainly after noon, with a high in the upper 20s. Tonight Freezing drizzle likely (50 percent), possibly mixed with snow, before 3 a.m., with a low around 10. Blustery, with north-northwest winds gusting as high as 30 mph. Saturday Snow likely (60 percent), mainly before noon, with some blowing snow before 5 p.m. Temperatures will fall to around zero by 5 p.m. Blustery, with a north-northwest winds gusting as high as 30 mph. Wind-chill values will be as low as 20-below zero. Snow accumulations around 1 inch or slightly more are possible. Saturday night Patchy blowing snow before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy with a low around 9-below zero. Blustery, with northwest wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Wind chill values as low as 2- below zero. Sunday Sunny with a high in the mid-teens. Sunday night Mostly clear with a low in the single digits. Monday Sunny with a high in the low 30s. Monday night Mostly clear with a low in the upper teens. Tuesday Mostly sunny with a high around 40. Tuesday night Partly cloudy with a low in the low 20s. Wednesday Mostly sunny with a high in the upper 30s. Wednesday Night Mostly cloudy with a low in the low 20s. Thursday Mostly sunny with a high in the upper 30s. If Richard Nixon could go to China, can Rex Tillerson save Paris? It is but one of many questions, some more answerable than others, about President-elect Donald Trumps choice for secretary of state. Unlike the president-elect, Tillerson, the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp., supports both the global climate-change accord forged in Paris last year and a carbon tax. So the main question for Tillerson may be this: How will he manage his relationship with his new boss? Tillerson should feel free to consult with his fellow nominees, many of whom are no doubt pondering the same question. But he should also be prepared to explain how he plans to translate his specific views and experience into policy. Tillerson deserves credit for changing Exxons position on the greatest single threat facing the planet, and one with great potential to be a destabilizing force. Managing global efforts to combat climate change will be one of the secretary of states main tasks in the next four years. Tillerson could also play a key role in strengthening Americas energy security. This challenge goes beyond promoting exports of U.S. oil and natural gas and building pipelines such as Keystone. As Tillerson has stressed, it also entails strong support for the multilateral trading system that underpins the global energy market something that Trumps bluster about a trade war with emerging markets would jeopardize. Members of Congress have rightly raised strong concerns about Tillersons ties to Russia, where Exxon Mobil has huge interests. A medal from Vladimir Putin is itself not grounds for disqualification. But Tillersons views on how best to contain the strategic threat posed by Russia could be. Dismantling the sanctions imposed by Europe and the U.S. in the face of Russian subversion and aggression would signal U.S. weakness and undermine the alliances that Tillerson says he wants to strengthen. As the head of a company with operations in at least 50 countries, Tillerson has practiced the commercial diplomacy that the State Department has long preached but seldom achieved. In the many repressive and corrupt petrocracies with which Exxon Mobil has done business, it has a strong safety record and has generally been scrupulous in its business dealings. And as CEO of a company with about 73,500 employees, Tillerson knows what its like to direct a big bureaucracy. Against all this are questions about his views on Russia, his lack of any political or government experience, the importance of separating corporate and national interests and how his views mesh with his presidents. Its an imposing litany, but not insurmountable. More than three decades ago, some of these same doubts were raised about George Shultz, President Ronald Reagans pick for secretary of state. The former president of Bechtel Group went on to become one of the most admired U.S. diplomats of the Cold War years, channeling the presidents most constructive impulses and providing steady leadership to Americas diplomatic corps. If Tillerson wants to be confirmed, he should pledge to follow Shultzs example. Intelligence officers like to distinguish between knowable secrets that spies can steal and fuzzier mysteries that have to be assessed without final, definitive proof. The intent of Russias covert meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is probably somewhere between the two. But after conversations with a half-dozen knowledgeable sources, here are two simple judgments: Russias secret hacking against Democratic Party officials threatened the integrity of the U.S. political system. And President-elect Donald Trump shouldnt have criticized the CIA after its analysts told Congress about the Kremlins efforts. Trump, unbelievably, seemed to be taking a potential adversarys side against his own nations intelligence professionals. The Russian hacking scandal went into overdrive last weekend after CIA analysts warned Congress Thursday that the goal of Russian hackers hadnt simply been to destabilize our political system, as previously thought, but to boost Trump and undermine his opponent, Hillary Clinton. That stronger judgment, first reported by the Washington Post, is said to have been based on an evolving analysis, rather than a smoking gun. President Barack Obama had been notified earlier, in his daily intelligence brief and other documents, of this tougher evaluation. Early last week, he ordered Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, a 50-year veteran of the spy business, to conduct an assessment of the evidence that could be completed by Jan. 20 and presented to Trump, as a set of lessons learned about foreign political meddling, including Chinas cyberattacks in the 2008 election as well as Russias actions. The evidence that led CIA analysts to conclude that Moscows aim in 2016 was to help Trump rather than simply spread confusion was based on a variety of sources. One indication was that the Russians didnt disseminate information from their snooping into Republican files, as they had with the product of hacking against Democrats; the Russians also didnt disseminate material after Trumps victory. The CIA had other, more sensitive evidence that officials wont discuss. An administration official wouldnt comment on whether Obama had shared with Trump the intelligence assessment and plan for wider review. But its unlikely such an important decision wouldnt have been conveyed to his transition team, which makes Trumps Twitter blasts at the CIA last weekend all the more puzzling and disturbing. Obamas somewhat cautious response to Russias covert intervention angers some Democrats. Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview Tuesday that he had been urging the White House since August to identify Russian hackers, talk with allies about imposing sanctions and take clandestine steps to deter Russia from further meddling. Had the administration begun months ago, we would now be much further along, Schiff said. Failure to push back against Russia was seen by them as an open door. . . . There need to be costs, or they will do it again. Schiff said he had no doubt the Russians wanted to hurt Clinton and help Trump. In Russian eyes, he said, Clinton had sought to undermine President Vladimir Putin after the 2011 parliamentary elections and to foment color revolutions in areas of Russian influence. Trump, by contrast, had lauded Putin, suggested lifting sanctions and belittled NATO. Schiff said Obama had initially resisted calls to name and shame Russia for its hacking because the president feared it would sow doubt about the elections and play into Russias hands by acknowledging what they were doing. Obama eventually agreed to an Oct. 7 public statement that Russias senior-most officials had authorized actions intended to interfere with the U.S. election process. According to Schiff, the administration didnt take further public steps after Oct. 7 because Obama feared it could risk escalation, including dumping of forged documents, in ways that would have further destabilized the election. Theres no question the White House worried, right up to Election Day, that Russian hackers might ignite what was already a toxic, combustible political environment. Trumps bogus claims that the election was rigged and that he might not accept the outcome added to Obamas concerns. Obama has another five weeks left to shape the transition and deter Russian actions. The administration doesnt rule out the possibility of taking covert action in retaliation, which officials privately said hadnt been done before the election. The rubric now is simply that the administration will respond at a time and place of its choosing. Perhaps the trickiest task will fall to Rep. Mike Pompeo, Trumps nominee to head the CIA. He must reassure a battered agency workforce that the next administration values its own intelligence officers and is vigilant against machinations by foreign spies. Nebraska leaders will soon turn attention to how the state can encourage private- sector job opportunities by reducing the requirements for some business licenses. Action on the issue makes sense: 24 percent of Nebraska workers are in jobs that require a state-issued license, just below the national average. Licensing serves the public interest in some instances and clearly should be maintained. Such requirements protect consumers and workers when public health and safety are involved. But theres notable agreement across ideological lines that, across the country, state licensing requirements overall have expanded to the point of frequently being a barrier to job opportunities. The Obama White House is giving its support to reform efforts. In Nebraska, Gov. Pete Ricketts and the conservative Platte Institute are urging action during the 2017 state legislative session. A report last year by the White House Council of Economic Advisers noted the wide disparities in licensing uniformity among the 50 states. World-Herald reporting this week provided an illustration. Ilona Holland obtained a license in Maryland to be a massage therapist after she completed the state-required hours of training. But when she relocated to Omaha, she found that Nebraska required her to take 400 hours of additional training. Instead, she opened her massage therapy business in Council Bluffs, where her current training met state requirements. The White House report said certain populations are hit especially hard by such obstacles: military families. Minority workers. Anyone with a high school diploma only. Immigrants whose training or education was acquired abroad. Men and women paroled from prison. The economists pointed to an additional concern: Licensing tends to raise the price of goods and services by 3 percent to 16 percent. The benefits of licensing therefore need to be balanced against these costs, the report said. During the upcoming legislative session, Nebraska lawmakers will have important decisions to make on this issue. In some cases, licensing should be maintained. In others, less stringent alternatives such as registration (providing basic information to the state) might make more sense. When licensing is kept in place, state regulators should minimize the burdens by focusing the requirements on public health and safety concerns. Sensible adjustments in Nebraskas business licensing can benefit the state. Lawmakers need to produce progress on this concern in 2017. The writer is the inaugural Friedmann Visiting Fellow at the Washington Institute. She wrote this for the Washington Post. In the past five years, Syria has become many things: a refugee crisis, a regional quagmire, a Western nightmare, a terrorist haven, a Russian power play and the core of Irans ambitions. To the international community, however, its a civil war. The United Nations, Western governments, media and European Union all refer to the Syrian conflict this way. In December 2015, Secretary of State John F. Kerry emphasized the need to end the nations civil war. In September this year, the New York Times published a long explainer on the conflict, answering, among other questions, What is the Syrian civil war? These simplifications are inaccurate and dangerous. They absolve the international community of responsibility and give Bashar Assad a veneer of legitimacy. They liberate Russia and Iran actively involved with troops in the conflict from culpability. And they allow internal terrorist groups to justify their involvement and violence. There is no doubt that civil war is one of the many layers of the Syrian conflict. Local factions are fighting each other. In truth, though, this is a war on the people of Syria, carried out by the Assad regime and his allies. We see that in the violence. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Assads forces have killed 95 percent of Syrian victims. Additionally, Assad controls the army, including tanks, planes and barrel bombs. He has shelled areas that witnessed peaceful protests. He has used chemical weapons against his own people. He controls the intelligence, security and military apparatus that have diligently and systematically worked since 2011 to arrest, torture and kill all nonviolent activists. Assad also released dangerous Islamists from prison and allowed them to organize and build armed groups. He did this not by accident, but as a part of a strategy to create a civil war and radicalize what remained of the revolution. His strategy has been to shift the narrative from reform to sectarianism by emphasizing Islamic terrorism, thereby presenting himself as a partner in the global war on terror. Its also hard to square the civil war claim with the vast amount of external interference. Faced with a strong resistance from the armed opposition groups, Assad allowed both Iran and Russia in to help him and his regime survive. In fact, Assads army is barely fighting today. The fighting force on the ground is mostly Shiite militias, with some Syrian Arab Army battalions all reporting to Hezbollah and the Irans Revolutionary Guards and aided by Russian air bombing. Without Iran and Russia, Assad would be long gone. How can we call this conflict a civil war when the Syrian opposition is rarely fighting Syrian loyalists and instead battling with foreign fighters in its own country? Is it a civil war when all of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and other assorted NATO nations are involved in one way or another? Calling it a civil war has serious implications on policy. It protects Assad. Assad may be an obnoxious dictator, the logic goes, but a stabilizing one. It also gives the impression that this is an internal conflict, allowing Western powers and international organizations not to take sides. As a result of this inaction, the world witnessed the exodus of Syrian refugees, the castration of U.S. efforts by Russia and Iran and terrorist attacks in European cities. Equating the killer with the victim has a moral challenge that eventually legitimizes the regimes crimes against humanity. It also subdues the modern history of Syria that brought Hafez al-Assad to power where the Baath Party and eventually the ruling family refused to allow anyone else in Syria to participate in politics. This regime has always resorted to military solutions and has never chosen negotiations over violence. Today, with Iran commanding the battles in Syria and Russia negotiating with the international community on the future of Syria, what is left of the regime is an image that is only needed to preserve other states interest. This is not a civil war. Only when we stop calling it a civil war will we possibly be able to understand the history and strategy of the regime, the various layers of the Syrian people, the interests of those who are already intervening and the significance of accountability. Execution problem solved Nebraska voters recently reinstated the death penalty. But there still are going to be problems purchasing the drugs used in the states current execution protocol. I have a solution to this problem. There are several states that allow physician-assisted suicide. Lets find out what drugs they use and adopt that as our protocol. Since these drugs have been approved in those states, there shouldnt be any problems using them in Nebraska. Craig Pfingsten, Omaha Register everyone or no one The reason we dont make women register for the Selective Service System might be very simple; maybe half our society wants women to have an advantage rather than true equality (Drafting women into military put on back burner, Dec. 11 World-Herald). My son is finishing five years in the U.S. Navy. I served, my father served, my sister served 20-plus years, our ancestors served at least as far back as the Civil War. We should either abolish the Selective Service because conscription might yield people who wont perform well, or draft every capable citizen of the appropriate age group. Thomas Snyder, La Vista Going to be a rough four years Every day I get letters from various veterans groups asking for money to take care of homeless and hurting veterans. A lot of the members of my veterans group get these letters, as well. I wish I had the money to support and meet the needs of these brave men and women who need help, but I do not. We are beginning to see where Donald Trumps priorities are, now that his Cabinet is being filled with billionaires and a few just plain millionaires. Is this what he calls draining the swamp? House Speaker Paul Ryan is planning huge tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. Its the same old Republican budget idea giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy will start a big investment in businesses that will allow everyone to prosper as the result of all the good-paying jobs that it will create. Its same formula that George W. Bush used, and it almost ruined the economy of the United States. Barack Obama saved us from the damage done by the Republicans with their ill-advised tax cuts and ending regulations on Wall Street. Ryan also wants to end Medicare and Social Security as we know them. Well, we elected Trump and the Republicans. Lets see how things are one year from now. Charles Marcinek, Omaha Claims of Russian espionage overblown So what exactly did the Russians do to help Donald Trump win the presidential election? All Ive heard is that it exposed how the Democratic National Committee swayed the nomination battle in favor of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. How did that help Trump? Also, if Russia is a threat, can we also assume China is a threat? Personally, Id much rather try to buddy up with Russia than try to buddy up with China. Weve worked with Russia before, havent we? Remember World War II? Steve Countryman, Omaha Untreaded waters ahead Dec. 10 Public Pulse writer David Gaul (Dancing as the Titanic sinks) hit the nail on the head. In my opinion, the country is headed into dark and unpredictable waters, and few people will be dancing. Mike Skow, Omaha Hacking on Obamas watch The news in our country is filled with hacking and cyber crime issues. The Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, Yahoo and the list goes on. Who is in charge of our country? President Barack Obama. He looks to bring attention to the president-elect while never acknowledging that he is (and has been) in charge of the agencies that were supposed to protect us from this cyberterror for almost eight years. Certainly not a way to unite our country. George Petregal, Papillion Putin has blood on his hands Well, the first pro-Vladimir Putin, pro-Russian letter has hit the Public Pulse (Make Russia an ally, Dec. 13). Putin is a mass murderer. How many thousands of children has he killed in the Middle East, Chechnya and Syria? Tom Gruber, Omaha Thanks for nothing, Washington I got a letter from the Social Security Administration advising me of my new benefit amount for 2017. My monthly benefit amount went up $6.10. The premium I pay for Medicare coverage went up $6.10. Net benefit increase to me $0. Isnt government wonderful? Gean Clapper, Tabor, Iowa An old vet honored by this salute On Dec. 7, I was at the VFW Post 2503 club and observed a brief ceremony and moment of silence remembering Pearl Harbor. I was also treated to a nice dinner, courtesy of the club. I am a 97-year-old vet of World War II. I would most like to say one big thank you to all of the people involved with this event. Herbert Hahn, Omaha Plunging temperatures mean only one thing for the Salvation Armys red kettle fund drive: a drop in donations. To counteract the expected drop-off in revenue with the ongoing bitter cold, the Salvation Army is running a telephone and online fund drive today and Saturday. To make a donation by phone, call 402-898-6050 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today and 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. Online donations can be made at salarmyomaha.org. Bell-ringers also will be out in force this weekend despite the cold, said Susan Eustice, spokeswoman for the Salvation Army. Donations to the kettles are critical to the agencys programs. This years goal is $2.5 million. Were 60 percent toward our goal, Eustice said. We just dont want to lose momentum. Motorists in Lincoln and Omaha reported icy conditions on roads Friday evening as a winter storm dropped snow and freezing rain on the area. Road conditions deteriorated quickly in the late afternoon and evening. Local police reported slick conditions on Interstate 80 between Lincoln and Omaha, though the State Patrol said the Interstate is still drivable. Interstate 29 was completely covered with ice from the Missouri line to Council Bluffs, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. A number of accidents were reported in western Douglas County as streets turned slick, many of them as the storm moved in around 3:30 and continuing into the evening commute. The state's Department of Roads' website showed icy roads through all except the southwestern part of the state. Local authorities were urging drivers to slow down, leave extra room between cars and expect the evening commute to take longer than usual. The Nebraska State Patrol reported that freezing rain started about 3:30 in the Fremont area. "We have multiple vehicles in the ditch and multiple accidents at this time between Omaha and Lincoln," said Lt. Craig Loveless of the Nebraska State Patrol. Motorists "need to slow down. They need to give room to the folks in front of them ... and not make erratic lane changes. Loveless said he did not know of any serious injuries, but every trooper in the area was working a crash of some kind. If you can go home and stay home, do," Loveless said. Omaha Public Schools, Ralston Public Schools and Bellevue Public Schools canceled all school activities for Saturday as conditions worsened. Millard Public Schools canceled all activities through 2 p.m. Saturday and said a decision on later activities had not yet been made. Ryan McPike, a KMTV meteorologist, said earlier Friday that hes expecting 1 to 3 inches of powdery snow in the Omaha area. Not a very pleasant weekend, thats for sure, he said. * * * * * More developments The Sarpy County Sheriff's Office reported four separate rollover accidents on westbound I-80 between mile markers 432 and 426, all occurring just after 3:30. Highway 92 from St. Paul to Wahoo was covered with black ice and drivers are traveling at much slower than the posted speed limits. Tom Casady, Lincoln's director of public safety, said the city had seen 85 crashes by just after 7 p.m. A usual day sees 24, he said. The weather service issued a winter weather advisory through 6 p.m. Saturday for most of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, including the Omaha area, Lincoln, Beatrice, Columbus, Grand Island and Hastings. The advisory is due to the expected wintry mix of freezing drizzle and then snow that should begin early this afternoon, change to snow tonight into Saturday and then turn colder and very windy. A wind-chill advisory also was issued through Saturday night for the region because of expected high north-northwest winds that are likely to drop values to 20 below and 30 below zero. * * * * * Paul Walker, a meteorologist at private weather consultant AccuWeather, also predicted 1 to 3 inches of snow for the Omaha area. It doesnt look like a big snowmaker for Omaha, he said. The big thing is its going to be bitterly cold. Northern Nebraska and central Iowa could receive 3 to 6 inches of snow, Walker said, and parts of South Dakota and northern Iowa could get 6 to 12 inches. The combination of ice, snow, winds and cold will create especially slippery roads and surfaces, with a coating of ice beneath the snow that will be difficult to melt even if treated by street crews, forecasters said. Motorists should be prepared for hazardous travel conditions, including blowing snow in some locations. Authorities said the evening commute could be treacherous for Omaha-area motorists. McPike said he expected areas that havent been pre-treated, such as sidewalks and parking lots, to be especially slick in the Omaha area by this afternoon. Conditions take a turn for the better Monday in the Omaha area, with high temperatures through Thursday in the 30s to around 40 degrees. Thats probably the only bright spot in the forecast, McPike said about next week. Walker said: I dont see any big storms right now for the Omaha area into the middle of next week. However, he said, a long-range forecast is calling for the possibility of snow in the Omaha area on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. World-Herald staff writer Jay Withrow contributed to this report. Indian doctors give Pakistani girl new lease of life Bengaluru oi-Anusha Zeenia, a two-and-a-half year old girl from Pakistan diagnosed with a bone marrow disease, got a new lease of life in India. Bengaluru-based Narayana Health City's advance bone marrow transplant facility helped cure the little girl. Zeenia's 8-month-old brother, Ryan, became the youngest bone marrow donor in India to save his sister. Zeenia was diagnosed with a rare bone marrow disease named Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis when she was only 11 months old. The potentially life threatening condition leads the bone marrow to produce abnormal cells that destroy healthy marrow cells. The only cure for the condition is bone marrow transplant. Considering the child was already diagnosed with partial albinism at birth, her parents were in search of the best treatment available. Doctors soon found that Zeenia's brother Ryan was best matched for a donor, however, his tender age posed a challenge. All of 8 months old, extracting marrow from Ryan meant following a different set of procedures. Smaller extraction needles were used to draw stipulated dosage of marrow from Ryan twice over a period of few weeks to treat Zeenia. "The case was challenging since the donor was just 8 months old. Ryan now has the unique distinction of being youngest marrow donor in India," said Dr Sunil Bhat of Narayana Health City. "When I landed in Delhi, I was scared since I was in India but soon realised that the people here are wonderful. From the time I landed till now, each person has been loving. I thank doctors as well as the people of India who made me feel at home. My family is glad that our daughter is completely cured," said Zia Ulla, Zeenia's father. Zeenia's parents plan on starting a website to create awareness about the illness and possible treatment for it as soon as they return to Pakistan. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, December 16, 2016, 18:31 [IST] Jayalalithaa nominated Sasikala as political heir, claims AIADMK Chennai oi-Anusha The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) on Friday produced 'proof' of Sasikala being Jayalalithaa's political heir. In the wake of questions over Sasikala's legitimacy to inherit Jayalalithaa's legacy, party spokesperson Ponnaiyan produced a document from 1991 where the late chief of the AIADMK, J Jayalalithaa had made Sasikala her nominee. The party chose to rely on a document of investment by Jayalalithaa to declare Sasikala as her political heir. Ponnaiyan claimed that Jayalalithaa, while investing in a chit fund in 1991 had named Sasikala as her nominee. This was the party's way of drawing a conclusion that Jayalalithaa meant for Sasikala to take her place in her absence. "Amma had named Sasikala as her nominee way back in 1991. She automatically becomes the political heir. She is eligible to become party president," he said while addressing the press. This statement from the AIADMK comes a day after expelled MP Sasikala Pushpa petitioned the Madras high court to stop Sasikala from taking charge as chief of AIADMK. Tamil Nadu MP Sasikala Pushpa had raised questions on why Sasikala was being referred to as the political heir to Jayalalithaa. She even said that Sasikala can't be made chief of party since she has not been a member for five consecutive years following her expulsion and comeback in 2011. [Also Read: HC petitioned to stop Sasikala from taking over as AIADMK chief] Ponnaiyan on Thursday had made the party's intent to make Sasikala its chief clear. He had even stated that the party's executive will amend rules, if need be, to make way for Sasikala Natarajan to lead the party. OneIndia News Five years of demonetisation: Notes in circulation on rise; so are digital payments Cash/deposits before April 1 can be disclosed under PMGKY India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: Government today said any unaccounted cash or deposit in a bank account before April 1, 2017 can be disclosed under the new disclosure scheme PMGKY that comes with 50 per cent tax and penalty. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) provides for 50 per cent tax and surcharge on declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks. Declarants also have to park a quarter of the total sum in a non-interest bearing deposit for four years. "A declaration in respect of any income, in the form of cash or deposit in an account maintained by the person with a specified entity, chargeable to tax under the Income Tax Act for any assessment year commencing on or before April 1, 2017, can be made under the scheme," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by Lok Sabha as a Money Bill on November 29 and the PMGKY scheme forms part of the Bill. Gangwar said the scheme does not provide any immunity to the declarant in respect of detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, offence punishable under Chapter IX or XVII of the Indian Penal Code, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It also does not provide immunity from the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Special Court Act and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets and Imposition of Tax) Act, he clarified. In a major assault on black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and asked holders to deposit such notes in banks. Since then, people have been queuing up before the banks to deposit the junked currencies. Since November 10, Rs 12.44 lakh crore in the form of old 500 and 1,000 notes have returned to the banking system. It was estimated that the now-defunct notes constituted 86 per cent, or Rs 15.4 lakh crore, in circulation. PTI UP: Constable among four killed in accident Constable sentenced to life for instigating minor to suicide after sexual abuse Constable accused of looting Rs 34 lakh cash suspended India oi-PTI Panaji, Dec 15: Goa police on Thursday suspended a constable who is accused of robbing Rs 34 lakh in new currency from a man earlier this week. "Constable Vikas Naik has been suspended following a complaint of robbery of Rs 34 lakh," Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told . The incident had happened earlier this week when one Iqbal Memon arrived in Goa with the cash which he was offering to exchange for the defunct notes. Two people posing as policemen allegedly came to meet Memon and fled with the cash, he said in his complaint. "During the investigation, police zeroed in on Vikas Naik who is working with the department," said an official attached to Saligao police station. Naik hasn't been arrested yet. PTI Demonetisation: 20 per cent of seized illegal assets from Karnataka India oi-Anusha Around 20 per cent of the Rs 3,000 crore-worth illegal wealth that has been seized in raids by the income tax department since demonetisation has been from Karnataka. 23 of the 48 cases referred by the department are from Karnataka contributing to almost half of the cases of illegal asset hoarding that have been unearthed. [Also Read: Rs 1,000 crore seized from K'taka, Goa since demonetisation] Most of the seizures have been in bullion or new currency notes. Most cash recovered has been in Rs 2,000 denominations. The department has seized total cash of Rs 29.86 crore since November 9, out of which Rs 20.22 crore is in Rs 2,000 denomination. The total seizure of bullion stands at 41.6 kilograms and jewellery amounts to 14 kgs. Officials said that Karnataka's capital, Bengaluru ranked top on high value transactions. A total of 2,47,002 high value transactions have been reported from the city between 2010 and 2016. The Director General of Income Tax, Karnataka and Goa had claimed that illegal assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore was seized from its jurisdiction alone. In Karnataka, government officials and bankers were under the radar of the IT department. A total of 36 cases have been filed from Karnataka and Goa put together since November 8 announcement on demonetisation. OneIndia News Income Tax Returns filing: Has the deadline been extended Over 67 lakh I-T returns filed till 11 pm on Sunday Income tax raids at leading Think Tank, Centre for Policy Research We have done nothing wrong: Centre for Policy Research reacts to tax raids ITR Filing 2022: How to check your income tax refund status if you havent received it yet Fake IT officer from Karnataka seizes Rs 1.5 lakh, lands in jail India oi-Vicky Bengaluru, Dec 16: A man posing as an IT official and who was conducting raids in Karnataka has been arrested. The Hubbali police arrested Shivanand Bhajantri after it was found that he had conducted raids posing as an Income Tax officer. Investigations have shown that Bhajantri had conducted a search at a rich man's house in Hubbali and took away Rs 15 lakh. Also known as Ramachandra Bhajantri, he has also posed as a spy, a police and revenue official. The police say that he had tried to scare many rich persons under the pretext that he would conduct a raid at their homes. On Wednesday, Bhajantri along with his three accomplices visited the house of Basavaraj Poojar claiming to be IT officials. They conducted a search and seized Rs 1.5 lakh. He also warned Poojar of more raids. The police also say that he had been threatening sand truck owners and extorted money from them. He however fell into a trap when one of the sand truck owners asked him to meet a certain place. He had already taken Rs 60,000 from the truck owner and wanted more. When he went to meet him at a particular location, little did he realise that the police too were waiting for him. He showed the police an identification card which mentioned him as an IT official. The police however smelt a rat and arrested him. During interrogation, he confessed to his many crimes. After Bhajantri was arrested, Poojar had visited the police station to file a complaint. He was shocked to see Bhajantri out there. The police are now looking for his other accomplices. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, December 16, 2016, 7:50 [IST] UK PM Liz Truss resigns after 45 days in office, successor to be elected next week For Congress, party's interests are above the country's: PM Modi India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi ripped into the Opposition over the Parliament logjam during his address to Bharatiya Janata Party members in a parliamentary meet on Friday. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including Home Minister Rajnath Singh, party president Amit Shah and Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar are present at the meet. Modi's remarks came on the last day of the Winter Session, which has been a washout due to impasse over the implementation of the demonetisation policy, announced by the PM on November 8. Targeting Congress, the Prime Minister alleged that it has always put its interest over that of the country while for BJP the nation's interests are supreme He again pitched for digital economy as he appealed to the masses to adopt it as a "way of life" to rid the society of corruption and black money. Attacking former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been unsparing in his criticism of demonetisation, Modi said he advocated strong measures against corruption and black money but did "nothing" during his rule of 10 years He also cited late Left stalwart Harkishan Singh Surjeet to support his government's action "Earlier the ruling side, especially Congress, would commit scams like 2G, coal-gate, Bofors and the Opposition would then unite and fight against it on the principle of honesty. But now the ruling side, the BJP-led NDA, has started a campaign again black money and corruption and opposition parties are standing against it," he said Modi also noted that the Wanchoo Committee in early 70s had recommended demonetisation when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, recalling that the then senior Left leader Jyotirmoy Basu had demanded its quick implementation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters following the meeting "The Wanchoo committee had said it will boost economy. Now after 45 years we have done demonetisation but Congress is opposing it. The Left has also joined hands with Congress," he said. Painting Congress as a "votary of corruption", he said it had made a law against benami assets in 1988 but never notified it or framed rules and regulations, ensuring that the legislation never came into force "For us, the country's interests are always above the party's. For Congress, party's interests are above the country's," the PM said On a day that marks the anniversary of Bangladesh's liberation, Modi also targeted the opposition over its remarks on the army's surgical strikes The Opposition in 1971-72 did not seek evidence of the army's valour unlike that of today, he said. PTI Bihar: JD(U) files complaint with Income Tax on BJP's land deals India oi-PTI Patna, Dec 16: With the expiry of its ultimatum to BJP to answer questions on large-scale purchase of land ahead of demonetisation, JD(U) today lodged a complaint with the Income Tax department seeking lawful action. JD(U) has sought action under Income Tax Act, 1961 into the matter, party spokesman Niraj Kumar said. The complaint was signed by him and two other JD(U) spokesmen Sanjay Singh and Rajiv Rajan Prasad and sent to Income Tax department through a lawyer. When contacted, IT Director (Investigation) Ashok Kumar Sinha told PTI that he is yet to receive any complaint in this regard. The JD(U) leaders had yesterday served an "ultimatum" to BJP, asking it to respond "within 24 hours" to the questions raised by them over large-scale land purchase made by it ahead of demonetisation. They drew attention of the IT authorities that crores of rupees had been spent by BJP to purchase land for opening offices in different districts before the scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. "According to the information collected, it has come to light that BJP not only committed financial irregularities in the land deals, but also used black money ... Surprise purchase of land on a large-scale before Union government enforced demonetisation gives rise to several doubts," they said in the complaint. "In some cases while the payment was made through bank RTGS, in few others cash was given," it added. "A meticulous look into the purchase highlights that while the registration of the lands have been made in the name of BJP, the payment has been made by somebody else. "In majority of the cases, PAN number given in the purchase documents are of persons other than the person who made the payment," they claimed and urged IT authorities to thoroughly probe the deals. The JD-U leaders had earlier said they have collected details about purchase of land by BJP in 31 places in Bihar between August and November. Stepping up its attack on BJP after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar questioned its silence on land deals, JD(U) had recently rejected the defence of BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi and new state party chief Nityanand Rai that payments for land purchase were made through RTGS and issued details of area of land bought, registration, name of sellers and sources of payment. The JD(U) leaders made public registry of land purchases in different districts of the state in support of their allegation of corruption. PTI WB planning to opt out of Centre's 'One Nation, One Ration Card' scheme PM Kisan Yojana June 2021 Installment: Last date to apply and how to register online New scheme to declare unaccounted money starts from today India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer New Delhi, Dec 16: Finance Secretary Hansmukh Adhia on Friday urged people with unaccounted cash to make use of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana and declare their wealth. He said the declarations made under this new scheme would be kept confidential. Addressing the media personnel in New Delhi, Adhia said channels have been created for people to give government the information on conversion of black money to white. Unaccounted cash can be disclosed under PMGKY that comes with 50 per cent tax and penalty starting from tomorrow till 31st March, '17: Adhia pic.twitter.com/USxGpU5gWa ANI (@ANI_news) December 16, 2016 He said that the financial intelligence unit is monitoring and analysing deposit information, and would act accordingly. "Don't want inspector-raj to affect people, the people should understand that all information about their deposits is with the department," ANI quoted Adhia. PMGKY is a scheme similar to IDS except that the tax rate is higher at 50 per cent and a quarter of the declared income will be locked in for four years. The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha as a Money Bill on November 29 and the PMGKY scheme forms part of the Bill. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said that IDS was the last chance for people with undisclosed income. But with the deposits of old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes rising sharply across the bank accounts since demonetasion, the government has decided to give another chance to those with unaccounted cash. A government website states that people with accounted money are supposed to show the reason for having such amount. In a major assault on black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and asked holders to deposit such notes in banks. OneIndia News NMMSS Scholarship 2022: Here is the last date to submit application JNU Admissions 2022: PG First merit list for MCA, MA, MSc admissions released; how to check UGC NET Result 2022: NTA UGC NET results soon; How to check scorecard RRB Group D Result 2022 likely by Nov 15: Steps to check Nirbhaya: 4 years later, a nation awaits justice India oi-Vicky New Delhi, Dec 16: It has been four since India woke up to the horrific rape and murder of Nirbhaya. An incident that shocked the conscience of the nation and raised questions as to how safe women were in the country. On December 16, 2012, an innocent girl was raped and murdered and a nation united in grief. It is four years now and her killers are still alive thanks to a slow paced judicial system. Thanks to the many loopholes in the judicial system, the accused have managed to drag the case on. The accused who were awarded death penalty had moved the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court the case it at is final stage. As per India legal standards, this is quick. However many would not agree as in such cases a precedent had to be set. Delayed justice: Following the incident there was a great deal of outpouring of grief. People demanded speedy justice and the government had ensured that justice would be done soon. The police did manage to arrest the perpetrators of the crime in quick time and even file a chargesheet. Ram Singh, Mukesh, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta were arrested in four days of the crime being committed. The fifth a juveline was arrested on December 21 while the sixth accused Akshay was picked up by the police a day later. The juvenile who was considered to be the most violent got away with a correction stay in a juvenile home. At first it appeared as though the case was moving at a quick pace. The incident took place on December 16. The girl who was in a very serious condition was moved to Singapore for treatment, but breathed her last on December 29. The police action was quick. The chargesheet was filed on January 3 2013 and proceedings began two days later. On February 2 charges were framed against the accused persons. Ram Singh however committed suicide in Tihar Jail in March. On September 10, the court sentenced the other accused to death. The case went up before the High Court for confirmation of death penalty on September 23. On March 13 2014 the High Court upheld the death sentence on March 13 2014. It is now two and half years and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. A nation is waiting for a closure and let us hope the Supreme Court is listening. OneIndia News No bad blood between government and opposition: Ananth Kumar India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, who had sought an apology from the opposition for "paralysing" Parliament over note ban issue, on Friday said there is no bad blood between the government and the opposition. He also said he was constantly in touch with various opposition leaders and they all agreed to pass the People with Disabilities Bill in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the Winter session today unanimously. "There is no bad blood between us. During this session there were arguments but I was in touch with all opposition parties including Congress, TMC and others," he told reporters. Even as as he attacked the opposition for disruptions in his end-of-session press conference, Kumar said there is "bonhomie between us. I was speaking with Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders on daily basis." Also read: Allegations against PM made out of "frustration": Anant Kumar "On the eve of the session's last day, I had called up all party leaders and asked them whether they would like to conclude the session on positive note to which all agreed. "They said they have an appointment with the President. So I asked them to ensure that there will be at least one member from all parties to participate in the debate on the bill," he said. PTI Opposition needs to understand that right to religion is not a right to convert Opp, not govt, shying away from debate in Parliament: Rudy India oi-PTI Kolkata, Dec 16: Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy today said that it was not the ruling party that was "shying away" from the debate on demonetisation but the opposition who were not letting the Lower House to function. "It's bizarre to say that it's the ruling party which is shying away. But, it's the opposition which does not want to come along and debate on it (demonetisation). And today is the last day of the Parliament," Rudy said on the sidelines of a programme in the city. Their (opposition) only success was that they disrupted the Parliament session, the senior BJP leader and Union minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) said. "We are always prepared to be in the Parliament. We have always been sitting there and the Prime Minister has been sitting there too. It's a blatant lie because the world has watched how the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs have been coming down to the well of the Lower House," the minster said. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has been instructing her MPs to obstruct the House, he claimed. "Actually, I have no idea, why people in the government holding important positions, are so restless about the issue," Rudy said. He said that people have shifted their allegiance from Delhi Chief Minister and West Bengal Chief Minister to the Prime Minister, who has made the country proud. "When the PM was elected or prior to parliamentary elections, there was a commitment against black money and corruption. Earlier the black money and the corruption was tagged with the ruling party. We are committed and proud of the PM who has taken up this crusade and the common man has welcomed the step," he added. The country is heading to a cashless society and it is need of the economy for a transparent governance, he said. PTI Monitoring situation in Pakistan: India after Imran Khan shot in the leg during rally Caught on camera: The moment before shots were fired at Imran Khan rally Pak troops targets army posts, civilian areas in Poonch India oi-PTI Poonch (J&K), Dec 16: After a lull of over three weeks, the ceasefire on the LoC was violated again with Pakistani army today resorting to heavy cross-border firing at Indian posts and civilians areas in Balakote sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. "Pakistani army violated ceasefire, targeting Indian positions along the Line of Control in Balakote sector. The firing started at 0900 hours continued till 1000 hours. Our soldiers gave a befitting reply," an army official said. The ceasefire breach comes after a lull of over three weeks. Two BSF jawans were injured in shelling by Pakistani troops along the LoC on November 23, a day after three Indian soldiers were killed and the body of one of them was mutilated in north Kashmir's Kupwara district. Post surgical strikes- Over 20 attacks and 24 security personnel have been martyred A senior police officer said shells fired by the Pakistani troops landed in civilian areas in the sector. However, there was no report of loss of life or injury to anyone. The Pakistani army said one civilian was killed and four school children were injured on their side in the exchange of fire. PTI With Islamic radicalisation running so deep, why an NIA branch in every state matters Pathankot terror strike: NIA to file charge sheet next week India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: NIA is likely to file a comprehensive charge sheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack next week, naming Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, along with his brother Rauf Asghar, as accused. The charge sheet is likely to highlight the role of Jaish terror group in spreading mayhem in India and refer to the nefarious plans of the outfit, sources said. Immediately after the Pathankot incident, Rauf had hosted a video message claiming the responsibility for the terror strike and glorified the role of his brother Azhar, who was released in exchange for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999. India will be using the charge sheet of NIA at various international fora to highlight the role of Masood Azhar in the case relating to the Pathankot terror strike carried out on January 2 this year. Launch of a diplomatic offensive against the Jaish and its chief Masood Azhar became an imperative after China continued to spurn efforts of India in getting UN sanctions against the terrorist and his group. The Home Ministry had given sanction to NIA to file the charge sheet against Azhar, his brother and two handlers of four terrorists -- Qashif Jan and Shaid Latif, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Pathankot airbase attacked by four militants, maintains Govt The four terrorists, after entering into India from Bamiyal area of Gurdaspur, had carried out the strike at the Pathankot IAF base killing eight people including seven personnel of IAF and NSG. The charge sheet will name four terrorists involved in the attack as against six claimed by NSG. According to NIA, the terrorists, who were killed after two days of gunfight, were identified as Nasir Hussain, Hafiz Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum and they were residents of Vehari (Punjab), Gujranwala (Punjab), Sanghar (Sindh) and Sukkur (Sindh) of Pakistan respectively. The charge sheet will also include evidence of linking the footprints of one of the terrorists obtained from Bamiyal besides matching of DNA sample found from a soft drink can in the hijacked car of Punjab Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh. The Pathankot terror strike had seen a joint investigation team from Pakistan also arriving in India for carrying out a thorough probe. However, the Pakistani team, upon their return, claimed that India neither shared much of evidence nor allowed it to interrogate the security personnel involved in dealing with the attack. PTI Rs 4.7 crore cash in new currency Rs 4.7 crore cash in new currency seized by Income Tax department in Bengaluru along with Rs 100 and demonetised Rs 500 notes. This is the biggest cash seizure of new notes post de-monetisation. PTI Police sezied 25 lakh rupee currency Senior Superitendant of Police (SSP) of Ranchi Kuldeep Diwedi addressing the media persons after police sezied 25 lakh rupee currency and arrested four Maoists in Ranchi, Jharkhand. PTI Over Rs 1 crore seized in Nagpur Old Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes worth over Rs 1 crore, seized by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) team, on display in Nagpur. PTI Rs 2 Cr from Keshav Puram area in New Delhi Crime Branch officials showing demonetised notes worth Rs 2 Cr from Pushpendra Khatri who allegedly duped a businessman on the pretext of getting his demonetised currency notes deposited in a bank, at Keshav Puram area in New Delhi. PTI 1 crore and forty thousand in new notes in Thane Crime branch police displays seized currency of rupees one crore and forty thousand in new notes in Thane. Three persons were also detained in this connection. PTI Rs 3.25 crore recovered in Delhi Police recovered Rs 3.25 crore in demonetised currency from five persons in a raid conducted at a Karol Bagh hotel. PTI More than one crore recovered near Patna RPF team recovered more than one crore black money from Udhna Danapur Express in Danapur near Patna. PTI Rs 13.65 cr recovered in Delhi Stacks of currency notes that was found at Rohit Tandon's Greater Kailash residence during a raid by Delhi Police crime branch. Cash worth Rs 13.65 cr, including at least Rs 2.61 cr in new Rs 2,000 currency notes were recovered. PTI Cash recovered in Pune Cash recovered by Income Tax department from a bank locker in Pune. PTI Rs 106 crore cash seized in Chennai Huge cash seized by the Income Tax department after it conducted searches in Chennai. A total of Rs 106 crore cash, including Rs 10 crore in new notes, and 127 kg gold has been seized. PTI President hails India-Bangladesh relations India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: President Pranab Mukherjee today hailed the relations between India and Bangladesh on the day of Pakistan's surrender before the Indian military during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and said both the countries share common histories, heritage and tradition. Mukherjee lauded the "able and mature leadership of Sheikh Bangabandhu (Mujibur) Rahman" and described him as the father of Bangladesh and praised the helping hand provided by India under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to uphold the dignity of human lives and also the basic fundamental lives of individuals to have its "freedom from the atrocities of military Junta of Pakistan". "It was the conspiracy of the military Junta and the ruling Pakistan to deny the legitimate rights of the people of East Pakistan to have their own elected government," he said. December 16, 1971, Pakistan's occupation army had surrendered before the joint forces of Mukti Bahini of Bangladesh and Indian soldiers who fought side by side for the liberation of 750 million people of Bangladesh at that time, the President said in a video message during a seminar on 1971 India-Pakistan War and the Liberation of Bangladesh organised by India Foundation at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Mujibur Rahman received a massive mandate from the people of Bangladesh, winning majority seats in the National Assembly and as per the normal democratic practice, he should have been invited by the President to form his government, he said. Rehabilitators of Bangladesh war criminals will now be tried: Sheikh Hasina Instead of that, denying the basic democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh, military junta started cracking down on the civilians from the midnight of March 25, 1971, Mukherjee said. He said the historic linkage created by the heroic struggle will "no doubt further enhance the cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Particularly the context when we share common histories, heritage and tradition". "We are fortunate to have the poet to compose national anthems for both the countries, Rabindranath Tagore," he said. The seminar was also attended by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, BJP National General Secretary Ram Madhav, Bangladesh Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya and India Foundation Director Shakti Sinha. PTI Five years of demonetisation: Notes in circulation on rise; so are digital payments Rabi sowing hit by demonetisation, 'poor' execution: Pawar India oi-PTI New Delhi, Dec 16: The ongoing sowing of rabi crop has been affected due to demonetisation as farmers are unable to buy quality seeds and fertiliser amid cash crunch, NCP supremo and former agriculture minister Sharad Pawar today said. Farmers initially supported the government's move, but later they became "unhappy" due to paucity of new notes. Addressing Ficci's annual general meeting here, Pawar said the poor implementation of the move is taking away the intended benefits. The NCP chief pointed out that there is not enough cash in village co-operative banks on which farmers heavily depend. "There is very insufficient currency, money is not available to farmers. The approach of the Government of India, particularly after demonetisation, is something different towards cooperative banks," he said. "This will definitely impact the rabi sowing. If farmers are not able to purchase quality seeds and fertilizers, it will affect sowing," he noted. On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. On farmers' demand, the government later allowed purchase of seeds using old Rs 500 currency from central and state-owned seed companies as well as ICAR and agriculture varsities. The government has asked fertiliser companies to sell soil nutrients to farmers on a credit basis. PTI CBI Recruitment 2022 Out: Check salary, eligibility, and how to apply Great tolerance, the CBI is sitting idle in Goa says its SP Two postal officials arrested for fraudulently converting old currency India oi-PTI Vishakapattnam, Dec 16: CBI has arrested the Sub-Post master and the Treasurer of Sub-post office, Andhra University, for alleged fraudulent exchange of Rs 21 lakh of currency in violation of rules in Vishakapattnam. Sub-postmaster K Lalitha and treasurer of sub-post office, Andhra University, S Samuel John, were arrested for allegedly converting the notes in criminal conspiracy with friends and acquaintances, CBI sources said. They said searches were conducted at the residences. An FIR for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery has been registered against them, the sources said. Last month, three officials of the Postal Service Department were booked by the CBI for fraudulently exchanging Rs.36 lakh from demonetised notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 to the newly introduced Rs.2,000 notes in the the Himayathnagar post-office, Hyderabad. Based on credible information, a joint surprise check was conducted by officials of the CBI and the Postal Vigilance Cell. In a major assault on black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 announced demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and asked holders to deposit such notes in banks and post offices. PTI Yechury accuses BJP of disrupting Parliament India oi-PTI Kolkata, Dec 15: Stating that the crisis over the demonetisation is getting more compounded with every passing day, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday accused the BJP of disrupting the Parliament as they don't have proper answers about when the financial crisis will be over. "The crisis over demonetisation is getting more compounded with every passing day. The entire economy has been badly hit, first it was only small scale industries, now the big and medium scale industries are also getting hit. Both the government and the RBI should come clean on when this crisis will be over," Yechury told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here. "The RBI governor should clearly say as to when this replacement will be completely over. The people are suffering this can't go on . This has to stop," he said. Yechury accused the BJP of disrupting the parliament as they don't have any proper answers. "We had demanded that PM should take part in the discussion but he didn't. It is BJP which is disrupting the Parliament as it don't have any proper answers," he said. PTI Monitoring situation in Pakistan: India after Imran Khan shot in the leg during rally Caught on camera: The moment before shots were fired at Imran Khan rally Pakistan: 3,000 booked for Ahmadi mosque attack International oi-PTI Lahore, Dec 16: About 3,000 people have been booked by police in connection with the attack on the place of worship of the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistan's Punjab province that resulted in the killing of two persons. The incident took place at Dulmiyal village of Chakwal district, some 275 km from Lahore, a few days ago. According to the FIR, police booked about 3,000 people under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including the Anti-Terrorism Act and blasphemy laws. Some 70 suspects have been named in it, including members of Ahmadi community. Police claim to have arrested 31 suspects -- 29 Muslims and two Ahmadis. The government has also imposed section 144 in Chakwal under which no gathering of four or more persons is allowed. The army and Rangers personnel have been deployed in the Dulmiyal village and other parts of the district to control the law and order situation. 10 injured in suicide blast during Eid prayers in Pakistan On December 12, clerics made an announcement from the village mosques asking the people not to allow Ahmadis to worship at their worship place -- Baitulzikar -- as it was the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. According to the FIR, the mob which swelled to 3,000, surrounded the Ahmadi worship place and pelted stones on it. The guards present at the worship place opened fire on those trying to force their entry into the complex that resulted in the killing of a man. The Ahmadis claimed one of their persons was also got killed. Police later reached the spot and managed to disperse the crowd. Ahmadi community members in Dulmiyal have left the village because of security concerns, Jamaat Ahmadiyya Pakistan Punjab spokesman Amer Mahmood said. He said some 500 Ahmadi families were living in the village before the attack. "Most of them left the village for their relatives residences in the province," he said. Three clerics leading some 3,000 people in a procession had incited anti-Ahmadi sentiment and urging them to take over the Ahmadi place of worship, a police official said. Pakistan's parliament declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974, and they have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic extremists, who view them as heretics. They have also been taken to court on blasphemy charges. PTI From being a victim of terrorism to exploring global solutions: India praised at UN's Counter Terrorism meet Cabinet approves MoU between India, Denmark in field of Water Resources Development and Management Dr. Rinky Kapoor- One of the best celebrity cosmetic dermatologists No one has guts...: Junior defence minister's reply to China question Adopt UN convention, stop terrorists getting WMD: India International oi-IANS By Ians English United Nations, Dec 16 India has called for the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) to prevent terrorists getting weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Chastising nations for holding it up, India's Deputy Permanent Representative Tanmaya Lal emphasised the need for adopting the CCIT, which has been hung up in the UN for two decades. Lal said, "Such delay hints at a lack of collective will on an existentialist issue that has become the most serious threat to world peace since 1945." He was speaking on Thursday at the Security Council debate on the threat of WMDs falling into the hands of terrorists. "As a victim of terrorism for over three decades, India is cognizant of the catastrophic dangers that the transfer of WMDs to non-state actors and terrorists could entail," he said. "The proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery to non-state actors continues to constitute one of the biggest and most serious threats to international peace and security today." He said that meeting the new proliferation challenges requires new approaches that differentiate between "responsible States whose actions strengthen non-proliferation and those that weaken the realisation of its objectives." Earlier, the Council unanimously called on all countries to strengthen national anti-proliferation laws to ensure that non-state actors don't get nuclear, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliason warned about WMDs becoming "increasingly available" to "vicious non-state groups with no regard for human life." He added, "We have seen this in the use of chemical weapons by Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq." About the possibility of nuclear threats, he said there were legitimate concerns about the security of large stockpiles of weapons grade nuclear material outside international regulation. "Scientific advances have lowered barriers to the production of biological weapons," he said. "And emerging technologies, such as 3D printing and unmanned aerial vehicles, are adding to threats of an attack using a WMD." IANS Monitoring situation in Pakistan: India after Imran Khan shot in the leg during rally Caught on camera: The moment before shots were fired at Imran Khan rally Army school attack anniversary: Pakistan PM vows to fight terror International oi-IANS By Ians English Islamabad, Dec 16: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday promised to continue the war against terrorism in his message on the second anniversary of the attack on an army-run school, in which over 150 people were killed, mostly students. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed the brutal and bloody attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on December 16, 2014. Commemorating events were held across Pakistan, including the capital city of Islamabad, in schools to pay homage to those killed and to show solidarity with the families. Parents and relatives of the slain students gathered in the school to pay homage to the students and their teachers. Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa joined the families at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stands by the mourning families," Sharif said. "Sixteenth December reminds us of the most painful tragedy of our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies." "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school children. We cannot forget the agony of this day," said the Prime Minister. He said the Pakistani nation and leadership took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," said Sharif. Sharif assured the nation that his government will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for the future generations. Bajwa said the blood of the victims has kept his patriotism alive. "The blood of APS victims is an obligation on the nation and the armed forces," said the army chief. IANS Democrats preparing bill to force Donald Trump to divest himself of assets International oi-IANS By Ians English Washington, Dec 16 A group of Democratic senators will present a bill that would obligate US President-elect Donald Trump to divest himself of any financial interests that may pose conflicts of interest and to place his assets in a blind trust, a specialised daily The Hill reported on Thursday. The bill would also consider any violation of ethics laws or conflicts of interest by Trump "a high crime or misdemeanour under the impeachment clause of the US Constitution", EFE news quoted the five sponsors as saying in a summary of the legislation. "The American people deserve to know that the President of the United States is working to do what's best for the country -- not using his office to do what's best for himself and his businesses," said Senator Elizabeth Warren -- one of the bill's sponsors -- in a statement on the measure. Also sponsoring the bill are Sens. Ben Cardin, Chris Coons, Dick Durbin and Jeff Merkley, and they will formally present the legislation in Congress in January. The bill would require incoming First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, his wife Karen Pence, and Trump's youngest son Barron to abandon any financial assets that would pose a conflicts of interest and place them in blind trusts. The bill would also prevent them from participating in matters that are directly related to the financial interests of the Trump family, or in businesses controlled by the President-elect or his wife. The bill has a complicated future in a congress controlled by the Republicans, where the leading members of both chambers have expressed their interest in working with Trump despite the difference they had with him during the campaign. Trump had said that he would hold a press conference this week to lay out in detail how he will divest himself of his assets and businesses, but a couple of days ago he postponed that public appearance until January. The magnate also has not released his tax returns, something that presidential candidates have done as a matter of course for decades. IANS Economic and security issues feature prominently in Russia-Japan bilateral talks International oi-IANS By Ians English Tokyo, Dec 16: Russian President Vladimir Putin who is on a two-day visit to Japan will be in Tokyo on Friday to continue the bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Putin met Abe in Nagato for a 90-minute one-on-one at the start of his first official visit to the country in 11 years, CNN reports said. Economic and security issues were at the forefront of talks between the two leaders on Thursday night as Japan looked to shore up a weak economy and Russia turned to the east to avoid US and European sanctions. Speaking after the initial meeting at the Otani Sanso hot spring resort, Abe said both leaders discussed their countries' 71-year dispute over the Kuril Islands, to Japan's north. Abe said he presented letters to his counterpart from former islanders, in both Japanese and Russian. "We also talked about the possibility of joint economic activities on the islands under a special system and issues related to the peace treaty," Abe added. Abe expressed his strong concerns over humanitarian issues in Syria and asked Russia to play a constructive role, a high-ranking government official told journalists after the meeting. Putin reiterated his support for Bashar al-Assad's administration, the official said. The Russian leader touched down in Abe's home province Yamaguchi on Thursday afternoon more than an hour late after his flight was delayed. Speaking ahead of his first meeting with Abe, Putin had said the summit talks would help improve bilateral ties between Russia and Japan, the reports added. He thanked the Japanese leader for hosting at the hot spring resort, saying there would be "a chance to relax." IANS EU presses Russia on Syria and Ukraine International oi-PTI Brussels, Dec 16 European Union leaders have piled pressure on Russia, urging the Kremlin to protect civilians in Syria while taking steps to save a historic cooperation pact with Ukraine and extending sanctions against Moscow. At the final summit of one of the most turbulent years in the EU's six-decade history, the bloc's 28 leaders also discussed preparations for Britain to become the first nation to leave the bloc. EU President Donald Tusk said they had agreed to push Syria, Russia and Iran using "all diplomatic means necessary" to open humanitarian corridors under international supervision for civilians in Aleppo. But after a meeting in which the leaders heard an emotional plea from the mayor of besieged eastern Aleppo, Tusk acknowledged that the bloc was largely powerless to intervene. "We know we are not effective enough. Unfortunately I know who is effective enough, not in humanitarian assistance but in bombing," Tusk said yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the discussion on Syria was "very depressing" and that it showed the EU could not act politically in the way it wanted. Brita Hagi Hassan, the local official in charge of eastern Aleppo, had earlier warned the leaders that "the 50,000 citizens of eastern Aleppo are only waiting for their deaths after the failure of the international community". The summit also discussed the migration crisis triggered largely by the Syrian conflict, with Tusk saying the EU planned a summit with Turkey in January to discuss a troubled deal with Ankara aimed at reducing the flow of refugees. The EU's impotence on Syria comes against a wider backdrop of how to deal with a resurgent Russia, particularly amid doubts about whether incoming US President Donald Trump may decide to cosy up to Russia's Vladimir Putin. But it flexed the only muscle it does have, renewing for six months damaging economic sanctions imposed against Russia in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Tusk admitted that some EU countries had wanted a 12-month rollover but that it was never really an option. Meanwhile, the EU leaders reached a deal with the Netherlands to stop the country torpedoing the bloc's crucial association agreement with Ukraine, which Dutch voters rejected in a referendum in April. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had warned that it would be the "biggest ever present" for Putin if it collapsed completely. The EU agreed the cooperation pact and an associated free trade agreement with Ukraine in 2014 after pro-EU protestors ousted Russian-leaning president Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Moscow. But the EU leaders gave the Dutch guarantees that the pact was not a precursor to Ukraine's membership of the union or to military aid for Kiev. AFP In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules: EU commissioner on Twitter takeover EU to seek summit with Turkey next month International oi-PTI Brussels, Dec 16 The European Union will seek to hold a summit meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first half of next year to discuss the testy relations between the two, the 28-nation bloc's president has said. EU President Donald Tusk yesterday said at the end of the EU summit that he was given "a mandate" to set up a meeting between the leaders of EU institutions and Turkey over the next months. He said no date or place had been set. The 28-nation EU and Turkey have a deal under which Turkey makes sure to stem the flow of migrants into Europe in return for billions of euros to take care of them there. However, Turkey and the EU have been at loggerheads about Turkey's security crackdown since a failed coup in July. Tusk office said that the summit would likely be held after a regular EU summit in March. Earlier this week, EU countries expressed deep concern about Turkey's crackdown but stopped short of officially freezing membership talks with the country, a move that is favored by Austria. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the migrant deal's main architects, stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open. "I don't think threats are the right answer," she said. While EU members don't currently plan to open any new chapters in the long-running membership negotiations, "everyone was aware that even if we have very critical remarks to make about some developments in Turkey, Turkey is our neighbor and we want to keep talking in the spirit of neighborhood," Merkel said. Merkel's Austrian counterpart, Christian Kern, reiterated his country's position that "there is no question of EU accession for Turkey." But he stressed that "Turkey is an important partner in dealing with the migration question, from a security policy point of view ... but also from an economic point of view." AP Greece approves pension handout defying eurozone International oi-PTI Athens, Dec 16 Greek lawmakers have approved a pension handout that has set the country on a collision course with hardline European creditors who accuse the struggling eurozone member of defiance. A total of 196 lawmakers out of 257 present from across the party divide approved the bill deepening a row that has also brought simmering EU disputes over austerity to the fore. The handout measure, announced by under-pressure leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras last week, earmarks 617 million euros (USD 656 million) for a one-off payment to poor pensioners. Athens says the pension handout will come out of a one-billion-euro tax surplus, but European creditors yesterday said the Greek move raised "significant concerns on both process and substance" regarding the country's bailout obligations. In the joint statement, representatives from the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the European rescue fund said they would now decide whether to uphold a Eurogroup decision granting Greece short-term debt relief earlier this month. Tsipras yesterday said as he arrived for an EU summit in Brussels that the situation had to be resolved "without blackmail" on the part of Greece's creditors. "I believe that we can have a breakthrough without blackmail and with respect of the sovereignty of each country," said the leftist leader, who fought with his European peers to within an inch of taking Greece out of the euro last year. Germany "is the only country, the only eurozone finance ministry, that raises an issue," he told reporters, adding that halting the debt relief "is outside the borders of reason." The issue will inevitably come on the agenda later today when Tsipras meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel for talks in Berlin . After the EU summit Merkel said "a critical discussion has already begun" on the matter, but insisted "it is not my intention to negotiate with Greece about the Greek package" leaving that to the finance ministers. France weighed into the debate with uncharacteristic force, led by President Francois Hollande who insisted that Greece be "treated with dignity" in the ongoing dispute. A spokesman for Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Wednesday said the eurozone was suspending the recently-announced debt relief scheme for Athens in retaliation at not being fully briefed on Tsipras's handout plans - which also include a lower sales tax for Greek islands sheltering migrants. The actions "of the Greek government appear to not be in line with our agreements," said the spokesman for Dijsselbloem, who heads the 19-nation eurozone, which oversees Greece's massive 86-billion euro bailout. AFP TRS, BJP are two sides of same coin: Rahul Gandhi in Telangana "Hyderabad House to rock Schaumburg, IL" International oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Staff Writer Illinois, Dec 16th 2016: The 19th location in the US will be the second restaurant in Illinois located strategically and offering South Indian delicacies, bakery and an appetizing bar, with lots of Weekend attractions. Hyderabad House, the fastest growing Indian restaurant chain in the United States, is all set to launch its 19th destination in Schaumburg, Illinois on December 16 with unlimited tastes. The new restaurant will be the second location of Hyderabad House in Illinois after the first one was started in Naperville in 2015 in November earning grand success and growing patronage. The restaurant will offer the signature spread of Hyderabad House that has been alluring the Indian diaspora. Besides, it will present the irresistible attractions from its bakery making available a variety of products such as bread, cookies, cakes and pastries. Hyderabad House will also introduce corporate gift packages and seasonal assortments. It is located in a strategic place in close proximity of Zurich, Motorola, Pepsi Co & many more leading companies and is walkable to International Village residents. The favorite chain will cater to occasions with high quality food, taking utmost care of the Indians' preferences, dishing out a variety of goodies such as evening happy hour specials, weekend specials and a lot more. Vinoz Chanamolu and Vasu Vallabhaneni have come together to open the restaurant at Schaumburg location this December 16th. The upscale Indian chain of course offers its most famed Rajugari Bhojanam, where the lavish Indian spread is served tableside during weekends. The weekdays will offer the Business Lunch, a new and unique concept of lunch buffet, which is starting exclusively in Schaumburg, and includes an extensive unlimited appetizer bar. Not to miss the Mega Grand Lunch Buffet on the occasion of the grand opening, on Saturday and Sunday. Hyderabad House is also set to introduce party packs in all locations for New Year's celebrations. Party Pack Pricing: $60 (5 People), $120 (10 People), $160 (15 People) & $185 (20 People) The Party Pack includes two appetizers, one biryani, one dessert, raita and salan. Speaking on the occasion, Vinoz Chanamolu and Vasu Vallabhaneni expressed happiness and excited expanding Hyderabad House in Illinois. "Schaumburg will be the brand-new address of Hyderabad House, and is all set to rock the taste buds of the Indians and others with its grand offerings and great taste delivered with care and quality. The first restaurant is already a grand success and we are sure the current one will very soon become favorite too with its weekend offerings and a perfect location too," they said. In the New Year, Hyderabad House will open in San Francisco, CA and Phoenix, AZ. Hyderabad house Biryani Place is now serving to more than 5000 happy customers a day across all locations. "Relaxing can be rewarding with our grand opening special of 15% discounts on services offered. Valid only from December 16th to December 18th 2016" For more details: Hyderabad House Schaumburg 1424 E Algonquin Rd, Schaumburg, IL 60173. Contact # 847-907-4145 WWW.HHSCHAUMBURG.COM Current locations in the US: The current locations are in | Houston, TX (Westheimer Rd) | Katy, TX | Woodlands, TX | Plano, TX | Austin, TX (Moving to New Location) | Frisco, TX | Memphis, TN | Naperville, IL | St Louis, MO | O'Fallon, MO | Bloomington, IL | San Antonio, TX | Frisco - TX | Indianapolis, IN | Seattle, WA | Newark, DE | Centennial, CO | Morrisville, NC | For Licensing info, contact: Siva: 201-562-5753 Vamsi: 551-208-4336 www.hyderabadhouse.net Press release by: Indian Clicks, LLC For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Friday, December 16, 2016, 18:59 [IST] Motley Fool Tech giants Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) were among the companies that posted disappointing quarterly results and saw their stock prices subsequently plunge. With powerful brands such as Windows, Office, Android, and Google between them, Alphabet and Microsoft have had unquestionable impacts on consumer technology and are still likely to continue doing so well into the future. As a result, you might be wondering which is the better buy: Alphabet or Microsoft? Trump asked Kim to hand over nuclear weapons at Hanoi summit in February: report US nuclear engineer charged with trying to sell secrets Indian appointed to Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee International oi-PTI Washington, Dec 16: A noted Indian-American expert on India-US civil nuclear deal has been re-appointed to the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee of the US Department of Commerce. Vijay Sazawal's appointment to Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) was announced by US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker along with 38 other members. "Maintaining US leadership in the nuclear industry is critical to our country's economic vitality and to global efforts to combat climate change," Pritzker said. "The Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee is a valuable mechanism for private sector representatives to contribute to policy discussions and work with government leaders to create the conditions that will strengthen US competitiveness in this sector," Pritzker said in a statement. Sazawal is the only Indian-American in the advisory committee. Born, raised and schooled in Srinagar, Sazawal came to the US in 1970 to pursue his doctoral degree in Structural Mechanics at Michigan Tech. He received a distinguished alumina award from the university in 2015. After completing his doctoral degree, Sazawal joined Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the Advanced Reactors Division as part of the design and technology team working on the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project. His tenure at Westinghouse lasted 20 years during which time he rose through successive management positions with responsibility for fast reactors, advanced terrestrial and space reactors, nuclear defense programmes, and US government programmes to promote safety upgrades of Russian-built reactors in Central and Eastern Europe. Vijay is also a founding member of the Indo-American Kashmir Forum (IAKF) and in the past has been its president. PTI 'No doubt about India's investment potential' International oi-PTI Singapore, Dec 16 Ease of doing business is a top priority of the Indian government and there is no doubt about the potential of investment opportunities in the country, a senior business executive from the country said here today. "Ease of doing business is a big effort by the government," said Gopal Jiwarajka, President of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, at the India-Singapore Investment Summit. "The potential of our country is not in doubt in term of investments in Infrastructure and consumer demand because of large population," he said, but noted the international business community's biggest concern is regulations and stability. "Indications are very clear. Taxation will be stable and moderate. We are moving to much more moderate tax regime," said Jiwarajka of the new tax regime and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax from next April. He highlighted "the will of the political leadership to really make changes and let India find its position in global economy is being realised." The summit is to share knowledge, project proposals and take back feedback from international private sector investors. "PHD will strive to address business related regulatory issues being faced by the private sector investors relating to their projects in India," assured Jiwarajka. "Going forward, PHD would also like to play a role in match-making businesses between India, Singapore and the South East Asian region," he said. "We will be identifying partners for Singapore and regional companies in India and Indian businesses in Singapore," he said. The summit was inaugurated by India's High Commissioner to Singapore, Jawed Ashraf, who called on Indian business community to present specific projects, concrete ideas and proposals in meetings with international investors. "We must be here with specific projects, concrete ideas and proposals, so when you leave, you have actually begun a dialogue with some partners on potential, specific investments," said Ashraf in a call to woo investors. Speaking at the summit, Singapore's Ambassador at large, Gopinath Pillai noted the increasing investment opportunities in India. "We feel that there are still opportunities," said Pillai, elaborating on Singapore being among the biggest investors in India. Most of Singapore investments were made by Temasek and Government Investors Corporation (GIC), both state-investment agencies, noted Pillai, also chairman of the Institute of South Asian Studies, a think-tank at the National University of Singapore. PTI Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary Pakistan remembers victims of 2014 Peshawar school attack International oi-IANS By Ians English Islamabad, Dec 16: The Pakistani Army chief, Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa, laid a wreath and offered prayers on Friday to mark the second anniversary of a deadly terrorist attack on Peshawar's Army Public School. "That time was very difficult for the whole country. It felt as though we would never be able to come out of this pain. But we came out of that time better and stood strong in front of the enemy," the APS principal said on the occasion. Paying tribute to over 150 victims, mostly school children, the principal said: "We have not forgotten our children, our brave Principal, Tahira Kazi and the young soldiers whose martyrdom strengthened the country. Today, we have gathered to present a tribute to the martyrs. We will always remember them and make this loss a sign of courage and a sign that guides us success." 2 years on, student succumbs to wounds suffered in 2014 attack On December 16, 2014, seven terrorists attacked the Army Public School, and killed over 150 people. IANS Rajnath's remarks on Pak a declaration of war: Hafiz Saeed International oi-PTI Lahore, Dec 16: Jammat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed on Friday said he considers Home Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks that Pakistan would be splintered into 10 if it failed to quell terrorism as a "declaration of war". Also read: Hafiz Saeed dubs Sartaj Aziz's India visit as 'disgrace to Pakistan' We consider Rajnath's statement as declaration of war and accept the challenge. We don't accept ceasefire line as Line of Control (LoC)," he said while addressing a rally in Nasser Bagh Lahore. He warned the government not to give clean chit to alleged Indian spy Kalbhushan. "We warn the government not give clean chit to Kalbhushan. Rather it must expose India's evil designs in Pakistan," he said. Saeed said that Rajnath talked about breaking Pakistan but Sartaj Aziz remained silent. "I want to tell India that it is not the Pakistan of 1971. Today Pakistan is a nuclear weapon state and the biggest power of Muslim world." Addressing a Martyrs' Day function in Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh had on Sunday said, "Pakistan came into existence after India got divided on religious lines but it could not keep itself united. In 1971, it got split into two and, if it does not mend its ways, it will get splintered into 10 pieces and India will have no role in it." PTI What does the US actually want in Syria? Syrian refugees could be sent back home to safe zones: Greek official International oi-IANS By Ians English Vienna, Dec 16: Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said here on Thursday that Syrian refugees could be taken back to safe areas in Syria, Austria Press Agency reported. Kammenos made the comments to the media following talks with his Austrian counterpart, Hans Peter Doskozil, Xinhua news agency reported. "We are in agreement that a solution would be to take the refugees back to safe regions within Syria, for example the south of Syria, under the supervision of international organisations," Kammenos said. Doskozil said that while the conditions for this in the war-stricken country were not yet present, he had in the past also expressed that he is open to the idea of such safe zones under international observation. He added that more discussion about the idea was needed in the near future. Should the establishment of such safe zones work in Syria, he said it could also work in other crisis regions, where humanitarian aid could then be provided locally. Both ministers also renewed calls for the establishment of refugee registration centres outside of Europe. In addition, they said they wanted to work together with the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) to develop their official position vis-a-vis both safe zones and registration centres. Doskozil said this would serve as preparation should the EU refugee deal currently in place with Turkey collapse. IANS Trump taps David Friedman as his Ambassador to Israel International oi-PTI Washington, Dec 16: US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated David Friedman, a fervent opponent to "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as his ambassador to Israel to maintain the special relationship between the two allies. Friedman, a bankruptcy lawyer who has been counselor to some of the world's top businessmen and companies, was one of the President-elect's principal advisors on the US-Israel relationship during the campaign. "The bond between Israel and the United States runs deep, and I will ensure there is no daylight between us when Im President," said Trump. "As the United States' Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman will maintain the special relationship between our two countries. He has been a long-time friend and trusted advisor to me," he said. "His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East. Nothing is more critical than protecting the security of our citizens at home and abroad," Trump said. Friedman Said that he looked forward to delivering Trumps pledge to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital and moving the US embassy there. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to meet Donald Trump The move would be a highly controversial, symbolic and potentially explosive gesture in the Middle East, as the status of Jerusalem is one of the issues in long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. In a statement, Friedman expressed his resolve to be a rock-solid partner with the Israeli leadership as the two countries seek to advance mutual interests. "I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem," Friedman said. PTI Trump will support Indo-Pak friendship: Indian-American industrialist International oi-PTI New York, Dec 16: Donald Trump will support "greater friendship" between India and Pakistan, a prominent Indian-American industrialist said today as he met the President-elect and discussed issues ranging from growing India-US trade to relations with China and Pakistan. Shalabh Kumar, founder and president of the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), met Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Trump's daughter Ivanka and sons Don and Eric and other senior officials from the incoming Trump administration at the Trump Towers here yesterday. "It was a great meeting," Kumar told PTI after the nearly 25 minute meeting with Trump at his luxurious headquarters in Manhattan. Kumar, who played a leading role in mobilising Hindus for US Trump and has been appointed to the Transition Finance and Inauguration committee, said the Trump administration is "looking forward to having a great relationship with India". Kumar said during the meeting, they discussed about mechanisms for increasing trade between US and India. Donald Trump's remark against one-China policy not clever, says France "We also talked about policies with respect to China and with respect to Pakistan and how India views them," Kumar said. Kumar added that Trump is "very well aware" that terrorism is a big concern for India and "he is also confident in a way that he could persuade Pakistan to do the right things and actually create a friendship between India and Pakistan. "His attitude is always that you can do it, you put your mind to it and do it in a business-like manner. So you can do that." Kumar further added that Trump will be "very straight" with Pakistan and if Pakistani leader Nawaz Sharif focusses on development and education in his country, then even the RHC and the Trump administration is with Pakistan and will support it. Kumar said in the meeting they discussed that Pakistan needs to control terrorism and "the fact that if there was an opportunity to have greater friendship between India and Pakistan, he (Trump) will be for it. "If anything he (Trump) can do to foster friendship, he is a businessman and wherever through business he could help create peace and prosperity, he is all for that," Kumar said. The Indian-American industrialist said both sides also discussed plans for creating a million to two million new jobs in the US by increasing the trade between US and India. He noted that there is potential to increase bilateral trade from the 130 billion dollars a year currently to 300 billion dollars a year. Kumar said the issue of demonetisation also came up during the meeting that was also attended by Steven Mnuchin, Trump's pick for treasury secretary. "We also had Treasury Secretary-elect present throughout and he offered his views that they love the fact that (demonetisation) could take out corruption from India and India's economy could grow much higher at more than 10 per cent and double digit rates," Kumar said. PTI Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi met PM Modi to discuss demands of farmers. The meeting between Rahul and Modi comes at a time when the Gandhi family scion claims to have received incrementing evidence against the Prime Minister, related to his alleged personal corruption. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Business Insider 03 Nov 2022 In a letter to investors, Elliott Management cited central bank policies as causing more harm than good, and said hyperinflation.. Reuters Studio 27 Jul 2020 Beijing announced the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu was closed as of 10 a.m. on Monday, after it ordered the.. Jan Rehola of PS Legal One of Keynote VIGE 2017 Day 1 Speakers Published December 16, 2016 by Ivan P The Czech Republic gambling law expert Jan Rehola will talk about the progress of the country's New Gambling Act during Day 1 of VIGE 2017. Vienna International Gaming Expo (VIGE 2017), taking place on March 20th, 2017, for the first time is an event looking to set standards for industry related events in Central Europe. The three-day event will cover a broad range of relevant topics. One of these topics is the New Gambling Act in the Czech Republic, which will be covered by Jan Rehola, law and regulation expert working with PS Legal. Jan Rehola One of Keynote Day 1 Speakers The first day of VIGE 2017 seminars is entitled Gaming in Central Europe - Guidance and Initiation, and it will touch upon many interesting markets, including Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Poland, and, of course, the Czech Republic. Rehola, who will be a part of the Conversation 2, will report on the progress of the New Gambling Act in the Czech Republic over the course of its first few months. Jan Rehola has extensive experience in the gaming regulation sector so he can offer some unique and valuable insights. Currently working with a private company PS Legal, he was employed by the Ministry of Finance for four years, working in the department for gambling regulation. Over the course of his work for the department, Rehola has had an opportunity to encounter different regulatory issues in terms of licensing, legislation, and cooperation with other European regulators. VIGE 2017 to Provide Valuable Insights The first-ever Vienna International Gaming Expo will gather many speakers and guests of Jan Rehola's reputation and competence. By gathering legal and industry experts from the region and from across the globe, VIGE 2017 will look to establish itself as the leading event of this type in Central Europe. All early announcements indicate that VIGE 2017 is a must-attend event for all relevant players in the industry. All seminars are limited to 250 participants so make sure to take your picks and secure your place early. Currently: Long Looking to: Sell @ 4,118.75 As of 3/21/21 @ 7:58pm EST: 3,896 LAST WEEK: We suggested buying dips to 3,875 with stops on a close below 3,840 and with a target for selling longs / getting short at 4,118.75. UPDATE: S&P futures had a terrible day Thursday and limped into the weekend. Right now, we put possible short-term ceilings at 3,918 or 3,950. If 3,918 holds as short-term resistance, we will look for a dip in the ES futures to 3,818 3,820. If 3,950 is tested and holds as resistance instead, we will look for a dip to 3,848 3,850 to follow. After this bounce and subsequent dip, we will be buying S&P futures aggressively (unless evidence presents itself that forces us to change our opinion) near one of those support levels. We would look to buy dips to either 3,849 or 3,818.50 with stops honored on a close below 3,847 and 3,815, respectively. The upside target for either entry will be 4,119. NO SHORTING RIGHT NOW! The office opening follows FundBPOs receipt of a Recognition Certificate from the Malta Financial Services Authority to act as a Fund Administrator in Malta. Malta is an emerging jurisdiction for the formation and administration of funds in the European Union, with a Net Asset Value of 10 billion in over 500 locally based funds. FundBPO (Malta) Limiteds new office in Sliema will be responsible for the Groups fund services in Europe. We believe Malta offers an excellent gateway for clients seeking investment solutions for European markets. At the same time our new office represents a significant opportunity to offer cross-border services and follow-the-sun workflow to our existing clients out of Malta. Mr St John said. The new office coincides with the Groups recent acquisitions of Galileo Fund Services Limited on the Isle of Man and Fundadministration, Inc in New York, reflecting the Groups commitment to servicing clients beyond Asia-Pacific. The Group now has offices in six countries: Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, United States, the Isle of Man and Malta. We are encouraged by the level of interest in Malta as a domicile and processing centre for European funds. Clients are attracted to our unique offering as a listed global fund administrator with A$95 billion in funds under administration. Next we will explore passporting our Malta fund administration licence to Luxembourg and Dublin to further our reach in Europe. said Martin Smith, Chief Executive Officer of FundBPO. (Image by Willies Media LLC) Details DMCA Americans elected President Obama with the absolute most number of Americans than any President in American history. Hell, he had to expand the base to win. He won by over 9 million votes in his first election and by almost 5 million votes in his reelection. Republicans, the Right Wing, and the TEA Party consistently treated him like an illegitimate president. Obama won with a mandate. Obama never bragged about winning in an electoral landslide or a popular vote landslide. He did not need to. Facts are facts. Contrast that with the undemocratically illegitimate President-Elect Donald Trump. He is losing the popular vote by over 3 million votes. He had help from the Kremlin, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, and the Republican head of the FBI. He won four states by less than 100 thousand votes. In several of those states, their Republican leaders acknowledged their voter suppression techniques had a purpose. That along with other shenanigans were successful. Please like the Politics Done Right Facebook page and give progressive radio a chance throughout the country. As Donald Trump's inauguration looms, there's been a lot of speculation about the nature of his relationship with Russia. Trump has frequently spoken of his admiration for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin; Trump refers to Russia as a "partner" rather than an "adversary." Meanwhile, the CIA believes that Russian hackers helped Trump win the election. In addition, Trump nominated ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State largely because of Tillerson's good relationship with Russia. What's going on? First, we do not fully understand Trump's business dealings with Russia because Trump has never released his tax returns. On February 28th, Senator Ted Cruz said, "There have been multiple media reports about Donald's business dealings with the mob, with the mafia. Maybe his [tax returns] show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported." (http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/mar/02/ted-cruz/yes-donald-trump-has-been-linked-mob/) Politifact noted, "Cruz's statement is accurate. Media reports have linked Trump to mafia bosses and mob-connected business associates for decades." Time magazine (http://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/), and other sources, have tied Trump to Russian oligarchs. Writing in Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/do-cia-revelations-mean-trump-will-be-putins-puppet?), Marty Kaplan observed: "It's entirely conceivable that Russia has something on Trump. They may hold hundreds of millions of dollars of Trump debt. They may have spousally unsettling video of him--a KGB specialty, and a plausible Trump susceptibility. Surely the Kremlin has mapped his character disorder." Second, 17 US intelligence agencies believe Russian hackers helped the Trump campaign by hacking DNC emails, as well as those of Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta, and giving them to WikiLeaks. Recently, NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/why-cia-thinks-russia-wanted-trump-win-n695131) reported the CIA believes Russian operators wanted Trump to win. There's no proof that Russian hackers corrupted voting machines or changed vote totals. However there is abundant evidence that the hacked Democratic information, dripped out day-to-day via WikiLeaks, hurt Clinton: it kept down her favorability rating -- leading to a false equivalence between Clinton and Trump -- and reminded Bernie Sanders supporters why they preferred to vote for Jill Stein. What's going on between Trump and Russia? Why would Russia want Trump to win the US presidency? Russia likely sees a Trump presidency as a "twofer." First, It would strengthen Russia's geopolitical position. Writing in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-kremlin-likes-the-hacking-attention-but-not-the-blame/2016/12/14/65279738-c177-11e6-92e8-c07f4f671da4_story.html?), David Filipov observed, "Whether or not the Kremlin is guilty of doing all the things Western accusers say it is, Russia is now considered a master purveyor of geopolitical disorder. And that, for Putin, is a win." Second, Trump could directly impact Russia's economy. Since Russia annexed Crimea and invaded eastern-Ukraine, Russia has been the subject of US and European sanctions. These have impacted the brittle Russian economy. The global decline in oil prices has also contributed to a Russian recession. (In 2016, Russia's GDP is forecasted to decline.) The Trump Administration could render significant aid to Russia by lifting sanctions. On the radio program, "Democracy Now" (http://www.alternet.org/environment/could-massive-russian-oil-deal-exxon-explain-why-putin-appears-have-meddled-us-election?), Amy Goodman speculated: "One of the enormous deals that Vladimir Putin and [ExxonMobil CEO] Rex Tillerson worked on was a $500 billion oil exploration partnership between Exxon and the Russian government's oil company, Rosneft. The Obama administration blocked the deal when it imposed sanctions against Russia for its intervention in Ukraine... This deal could explain why Putin appears to have interfered in U.S. elections in favor of a Trump victory." What would the US get in return? As noted, it's possible that Trump has preexisting deals with Russian oligarchs and improved relations with Russia -- such as the lifting of sanctions -- could benefit Trump's businesses. Another possibility is that Trump and his closest advisers foresee a fundamental shift of US foreign policy: Russia becoming a partner in a global war on Islam. Writing in The Atlantic (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/the-conservative-split-on-russia/510317/) Peter Beinart observed: "Trump and his advisors describe America as fighting a civilizational struggle against the enemies of the West. Seen through that very different lens, Muslims look more nefarious and Vladimir Putin looks more benign... [Trump is moving US foreign policy] away from an ideological confrontation with authoritarian Russia and toward a civilizational conflict with Islam. Trump's choice for National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn, has tweeted that 'fear of Muslims is rational' and 'Islam is like cancer' When asked in August about Putin, [Flynn said] that America 'beat Hitler because of our relationship with the Russians' and we should renew that partnership in the new world war against 'radical Islamism.'" Since the end of World War II, there's been a "cold war" between the United States and Russia. It appears that Trump wants to supplant this with a "holy war" between the United States and Islam, a war where Russia would be an active partner of the US. For this reason, Trump appears willing to lift sanctions and make Russia a "partner." This major shift in US foreign policy seems a likely reason why Russia helped Trump win the presidential election. Article Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their articles after publishing them. To see if the article was renamed or re-published, please click here. From Consortium News The rising hysteria about Russia is best understood as fulfilling two needs for Official Washington: the Military Industrial Complex's transitioning from the "war on terror" to a more lucrative "new cold war" -- and blunting the threat that a President Trump poses to the neoconservative/liberal-interventionist foreign-policy establishment. By hyping the Russian "threat," the neocons and their liberal-hawk sidekicks, who include much of the mainstream U.S. news media, can guarantee bigger military budgets from Congress. The hype also sets in motion a blocking maneuver to impinge on any significant change in direction for U.S. foreign policy under Trump. Some Democrats even hope to stop Trump from ascending to the White House by having the Central Intelligence Agency, in effect, lobby the electors in the Electoral College with scary tales about Russia trying to fix the election for Trump. The electors meet on Dec. 19 when they will formally cast their votes, supposedly reflecting the judgments of each state's voters, but conceivably individual electors could switch their ballots from Trump to Hillary Clinton or someone else. On Thursday, liberal columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. joined the call for electors to flip, writing: "The question is whether Trump, Vladimir Putin and, perhaps, Clinton's popular-vote advantage give you sufficient reason to blow up the system." That Democrats would want the CIA, which is forbidden to operate domestically in part because of its historic role in influencing elections in other countries, to play a similar role in the United States shows how desperate the Democratic Party has become. And, even though The New York Times and other big news outlets are reporting as flat fact that Russia hacked the Democratic email accounts and gave the information to WikiLeaks, former British Ambassador Craig Murray, a close associate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, told the London Daily Mail that he personally received the email data from a "disgusted" Democrat. Murray said he flew from London to Washington for a clandestine handoff from one of the email sources in September, receiving the package in a wooded area near American University. Former British Ambassador Craig Murray (Image by Craig Murray) Details DMCA "Neither of [the leaks, from the Democratic National Committee or Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta] came from the Russians," Murray said, adding: "the source had legal access to the information. The documents came from inside leaks, not hacks." Murray said the insider felt "disgust at the corruption of the Clinton Foundation and the tilting of the primary election playing field against Bernie Sanders." Murray added that his meeting was with an intermediary for the Democratic leaker, not the leaker directly. If Murray's story is true, it raises several alternative scenarios: that the U.S. intelligence community's claims about a Russian hack are false; that Russians hacked the Democrats' emails for their own intelligence gathering without giving the material to WikiLeaks; or that Murray was deceived about the identity of the original leaker. But the uncertainty creates the possibility that the Democrats are using a dubious CIA assessment to reverse the outcome of an American presidential election, in effect, making the CIA party to a preemptive domestic "regime change." Delayed Autopsy Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From WSWS On Wednesday, the New York Times published a banner article, covering five columns on its front page and four inside pages, purporting to be a definitive account of Russian government intervention in the US elections through the hacking of Democratic Party emails. "Hacking the Democrats: How Russia Honed Its Cyberpower and Trained it on an American Election," by Eric Lipton, David Sanger and Scott Shane, is pure propaganda. It is full of unsubstantiated assertions, innuendo and unfounded conclusions, all of which serve one essential purpose: to pollute public opinion and create conditions for military aggression against Russia. As intended, the Times article set the tone for a wave of war-mongering commentary in the American media. Lipton was interviewed on the cable news channels and the Public Broadcasting System's evening news program. Democratic Senator Ben Cardin declared on MSNBC that the US had been "attacked by Russia." He called for an independent commission, citing the bipartisan panel set up after 9/11. CNN commentator Jake Tapper referred to Russia as the "enemy" and openly wondered, in the course of interviewing former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden, whether President-elect Trump was "siding with the enemy." NBC News reported Wednesday evening that "top intelligence officials" have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in directing the hacking operation. No facts, of course, were presented to back up the claim. As "news," the article by Lipton, Sanger and Shane does not conform to the most elementary standards of journalism. It is based entirely on unnamed or clearly partisan sources. By the article's own account, the authors consulted "dozens of players targeted in the attack, intelligence officials who investigated it and Obama administration officials who deliberated over the best response"--in other words, the Democratic Party officials and US intelligence agents who originated the story of Russian hacking. There is no attempt to present opposing opinions or challenges to statements in the article that are clearly absurd. The unsubstantiated assertions are generally couched in the passive voice. There is, for example, the claim that one group supposedly involved in the hacking "may or may not be associated with the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, but it is widely believed to be a Russian government operation." Another group, according to the authors, is "believed to be directed by the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency." Believed by whom, and on what basis? The article does not say. Nevertheless, the conclusion proclaimed in the headline is asserted without qualification: the Russian government was responsible for what amounts to an act of war, and definite actions must be taken in response. The claim that there is incontrovertible evidence of Russian state direction of the hacking of Democratic Party emails during the US presidential election is a fiction, but one the Times hopes will, if endlessly repeated, be established in popular consciousness as a fact. The basic timeline, according to the Times account, is as follows: Sometime in September 2015, an FBI agent contacted the Democratic National Committee to inform it that at least one of its computers had been compromised by "a cyber-espionage team linked to the Russian government." Despite the explosive character of such a charge, the FBI agent inexplicably spoke only to a low-level, sub-contracted tech person, made no effort to contact DNC leaders, and did not even visit DNC headquarters, only a half-mile away from the FBI office that was monitoring the alleged hacking. Nothing was done for several months. Then, in April of 2016, the DNC tech person found evidence that an unauthorized individual had gained access to DNC email servers. The DNC responded by hiring CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm run by former top FBI officials, to investigate. CrowdStrike immediately declared that Russia was behind two separate hacking groups. It called the groups Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear and claimed they were the same as two groups supposedly linked to the Russian government--APT 28 and APT 29. These groups, according to CrowdStrike, had gained access to DNC emails and the emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. In mid-June, an individual calling himself Guccifer 2.0 announced that it was he who had hacked the DNC emails, and that he had given them to WikiLeaks, which would be publishing them. The supposed facts the Times cites to justify the conclusion that Russia was behind all of this are highly circumstantial and clearly contradictory. Cited as evidence of Russian state involvement is the assertion that "The Russian hacking groups tended to be active during working hours in the Moscow time zone." Guccifer 2.0, the Times writes, was really a Russian agent. The proof? While he claimed to be Romanian, a writer for tech site Motherboard contacted him in Romanian, using Google Translate to ask him questions. The responses, "according to a couple of native speakers," demonstrated that "Guccifer 2.0 had apparently been using Google Translate as well--and was clearly not the Romanian he claimed to be." Moreover, Microsoft Word documents posted by Guccifer 2.0 had metadata showing that they were edited by someone calling himself "Felix Edmundovich--an obvious nom de guerre honoring the founder of the Soviet secret police, Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky." Also, "Bad links in the texts were marked by warnings in Russian, generated by what was clearly a Russian-language version of Word." CrowdStrike cites these and similar facts, indicative of the work of amateurs, to justify its assertion that the Russian government was directing the hacks, even as it asserts that the hacking was so sophisticated that it could be carried out only by a state actor. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Global Automatic Gate Opening System Market Trends PMR Report http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11152 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11152 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Automatic Gate Opening System Market: IntroductionWith the increasing need for automation in industrial and residential sectors automating gates has become one of the primarily concerns for end-users. Also increasing urbanization and infrastructural development such as shopping malls, hyper & super markets has also led to increase in the demand for automated equipments in order to reduce the overall labor cost. Automatic gate opening systems can be defined as gate integrated with electronic components such as proximity sensors, actuators and controlling software primarily to reduce human effort in opening and closing of gates. These systems are primarily used in traffic areas where opening and closing frequency of gate is high such as shopping malls, theaters, industrial warehouses and electronic toll collection systems.Automatic Gate Opening System Market DynamicsIncreasing need for automation in industries combined with technological advancements in automatic gate opening systems is primarily increasing their adoption in industrial and commercial applications. Also road infrastructure development resulting in increased road transportation with the improvement in connectivity between cities and towns is also driving the growth of global automatic gate opening systems market.Key players are integrating secondary components such as counters and tire killer in automatic gate opening systems providing additional applications which in turn is likely to increase their adoption over the forecast period.High installation cost combined with high operating maintenance cost resulting in long payback period is primarily restraining the growth of global automatic gate opening systems market.Request for Table of content:Automatic Gate Opening System: Regional OutlookGlobal Automatic Gate opening systems market is segmented into seven key regions namely North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, APEJ, MEA and Japan. By region, APEJ market is expected to represent a significant CAGR primarily due to increasing infrastructure development. Increase in the number of vehicles owing to increase in consumer spending is primarily driving the growth of Automatic Gate Opening Systems market in North America.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Global Mobile Concrete Pump Market: Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights By 2026 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11245 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11245 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Introduction:In the recent years, construction practices across the globe have gone through major developmental changes. With high urbanization and development of corporate sector, skyscrapers and high rise buildings are increasingly being developed across major cities of the world. Previously, cranes, which could lift only one large bucket of concrete at a time, had been employed to lift and place the concrete up to the point of application. This process of transferring concrete was more energy as well as time consuming.Mobile concrete pumps, which are used to transfer liquid concrete in high volumes during construction, have significantly transformed the development of high rise and large buildings by decreasing the execution time, energy and labor cost of the overall project.Mobile concrete pump is highly useful in larger construction project to discharge concrete quickly and more efficiently in high volumes. It is mostly used for cost effective operations in various specific area in buildings, tunnels, bridges etc., for pumping bulk concrete. Apart from supplying large volume of concrete accurately at the job site, mobile concrete pumps also have various operational advantages. They require quicker setup time, provide constant flow along with low labor costs.Mobile concrete pumps, since their introduction in the market, have made great contribution to the global construction industry. Due to their high working efficiency and long distance discharge both vertically & horizontally, these are increasingly being utilized for various construction projects globally. Due to its increasing uses, global mobile concrete pump market is expected to register high CAGR over the forecast of 2016-2026.Global Mobile Concrete Pump Market DynamicsThe global construction industry growth, which relatively slowed during 2014-2015, is expected to return to its growing phase post 2016. With growing construction and urbanization, the demand for mobile concrete pumps is also expected to expand at high growth rates over the forecast period. Since, mobile concrete pumps are easy to use and quicker in delivery, it has become a necessity to use them in large scale projects for their timely execution.Concrete is very heavy, viscous and abrasive in nature which pose several difficulties during effective pumping. To increase the cost-energy efficiency of mobile concrete pump is one of the major challenges for concrete pump manufacturers.Global Mobile Concrete Pump Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global mobile concrete pump market is segmented into seven key regions, namely, North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan(APEJ), Japan, and Middle East and Africa. Due to high growth in the regional construction industry, the demand for mobile concrete pumps is expected to expand at a high CAGR in the Middle East and Africa and APEJ region.Request for Table of content:Global Mobile Concrete Pump Market PlayersSome of the key players existing in the global mobile concrete pump market are Alliance Concrete Pumps Inc., Schwing Stetter, Qingdao CO-NELE Machinery Co. Ltd., CESCO Australia Limited, Concord Concrete Pumps, Fangyuan Group Co. Ltd., Camfaud Concrete Pumps Ltd., and others.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Medical Aesthetic Devices Market reflects a 9.0% CAGR from 2016 through 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1039 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-aesthetics.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ Medical Aesthetic Devices Market: SnapshotAlthough aesthetics presently accounts for a relatively small share in the global medical devices market, the rising global demand for a variety of aesthetic procedures is projected to stimulate the market for medical aesthetic devices significantly in the next few years. The demand for aesthetic procedures and thus that of medical aesthetic devices is chiefly driven by the mounting aging population globally, expendable incomes across emerging economies, product innovation, and cultural acceptance of aesthetic procedures.Looking at the excellent growth prospects offered by the market for aesthetic medical devices market, an increased number of companies in the skincare devices market have also ventured in this field in the past few years. Transparency Market Research projects that the global medical aesthetic devices market will exhibit a 9.9% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. If the number holds true, the market will rise to US$15.1 bn in 2024 from US$6.5 bn in 2015.Aesthetic Laser and Energy Devices to Continue to be Leading Product VarietyBased on the variety of medical aesthetic devices available globally, the market is segmented into aesthetic laser and energy devices, skin tightening and body contouring devices, aesthetic implants, and facial aesthetic devices. Of these, the segment of aesthetic laser and energy devices presently leads, accounting for a share of 30.6% 2015, chiefly owing to the exhaustive usage of these devices as compared to other devices by dermatologists. These devices often use a combination of energy types in order to provide the most effective therapy.Download Exclusive Global Strategic Business Report:Laser and energy devices are most commonly used for skin and hair treatments such as removal of pigmented lesions, tattoo removal, and skin rejuvenation. As patients increasingly demand noninvasive treatment options, aesthetic device providers are seeing these products as an essential addition to their suite of offerings. Further enabling their adoption, a number of manufacturers offer leasing and vendor financing that help limit the upfront capital costs associated with the adoption of these equipment. The segment of lasers and energy devices is also expected to witness expansion at a healthy pace in the next few years, emerging as one with highly promising growth over the period between 2016 and 2024.North America to Remain Center of Development in Near FutureNorth America, driven by the flourishing medical aesthetics market in the U.S., was the leading regional market for medical aesthetic devices globally, accounting for 43% share in 2015. The region is expected to contribute significantly during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024 as well. The presence of a large base of key device manufacturers in North America coupled with the high purchasing power of both the buyers as well as consumers is expected to help the region sustain its leadership in the global market during the forecast period. North America is also at the forefront of aesthetic innovation, with the majority of both established and emerging aesthetic companies either headquartered in or having a significant aesthetic corporate presence in the region.Also driving this corporate presence is the fact that many other countries often look to the U.S. FDAs marketing approvals as a guidepost for their own decision-making processes. In addition, consumers in North America tend to favor more expensive product types and applications. This preference stems from North Americas youth-oriented culture, leading consumers to focus on anti-aging and wrinkle removing products, such as topicals as well as injectables. Within the injectables segment, studies show that consumers favor neurotoxins over dermal fillers to correct facial lines and folds.The global medical aesthetic devices market is also expected to witness strong growth across emerging economies over the forecast period. Across emerging economies in Asia Pacific and Latin America, especially, the market is expected to record strong growth during the forecast period. Increasing disposable incomes of consumers, large population, easier entry for new local manufacturers offering products at competitive prices, and rising awareness levels regarding aesthetic treatments are likely to drive the market in these regions.Some of the key players in the market are Alma Lasers (Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), Allergan plc, Cutera, Inc., Galderma S.A. (Nestle), Cynosure, Inc., Lumenis Ltd., Mentor Worldwide LLC (Johnson & Johnson), Merz, Inc., Syneron Medical Ltd., Solta Medical, Inc., and ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc.Browse Full Research Report on Medical Aesthetic Devices Market:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Prefilled Syringes Market High Costs Associated with Prefilled Syringes Inhibiting widespread Adoption http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1131 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/prefilled-syringes-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com https://tmrresearch.blogspot.com/ The global sales of prefilled syringes amounted to US$3.5 bn in 2015 and is projected to reach US$7.9 bn, expanding at a CAGR of 9.3% over the period of 2016 to 2024.Download Complete Healthcare Analytical Brochure:Prefilled Syringes Market: Scope and SegmentationThis report provides a forecast and analysis of the prefilled syringes market on the global and regional levels. It provides historical data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (Bn Units). The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on prefilled syringes consumption globally. It includes drivers and restraints of the prefilled syringes market and their impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of current issues with distribution channels and opportunities for prefilled syringes manufacturers. It also includes pricing analysis by material and value chain analysis with a list of industry stakeholders at each node in the value chain.In order to provide users of this report with a comprehensive view of the market, we have included detailed competitiveness analysis and company players. The dashboard provides a comprehensive comparison of prefilled syringe manufacturers on parameters such as operating margin, unique selling propositions, collective market share, and geographic concentration. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by material type, product type, application type, and region.The report includes consumption of prefilled syringes and the revenue generated from sales of prefilled syringes in all regions and important countries in these regions. By material, the global prefilled syringes market has been segmented into glass based and polymer based prefilled syringes. By application, the market is segmented into vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and others. On the basis of the distribution channel, the market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and mail order pharmacies.Prefilled Syringes Market: Research MethodologyMarket numbers have been estimated based on average consumption and weighted average pricing of prefilled syringes by material and the revenue is derived from regional pricing trends. Market size and forecast for each segment has been provided in the context of global and regional markets. The prefilled syringes market has been analyzed based on expected demand. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are regional average prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional prefilled syringes manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors. All key distribution channels have been considered and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents. Regional demand patterns have been taken into account while assessing the market for various end users of prefilled syringes in different regions. Bottom-up approach has been used to estimate the prefilled syringes market by regions. Market numbers for global material, application and distribution channel segments have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each regions demand. The company-level market share has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key manufacturers. The market has been forecast based on constant currency rates.Several primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include FACTIVA, NCBI, Google Books, company websites, journals, press releases, Hoovers, and company annual reports and publications.The report provides detailed competitive and company profiles of key participants operating in the global market. Major players in the global prefilled syringes market are Becton Dickinson & Co., Gerresheimer, Medtronic, Baxter International, SCHOTT AG, West Pharmaceuticals, Vetter International, Unilife Corporation, Stevanato Group, and Terumo Corporation.Browse Full Research Report on Prefilled Syringes Market:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog: Television Broadcasting Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, Forecast 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/television-broadcasting-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13574 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Television broadcasters are into TV broadcasting business since the inception of TV. TV industry has seen a significant transformation with the emergence of digital broadcasting and the Internet. With developing digital ecosystem worldwide, and improving penetration of Internet, online TV viewing has been increased in past decade. Although, traditional pay TV still dominates the TV broadcasting market. The transformation from analog to digital transmission is one of the prime factors fuelling the growth of television broadcasting market.Browse The Market Research Report of Television Broadcasting Market :TV broadcasting market is segmented on the basis of content delivery method and revenue channel. On the basis of content delivery method, television broadcasting market is segmented as analog, cable, DTT, IPTV and satellite. Analog transmission technique is the conventional broadcasting method, which uses analog audio/video signals for delivery of content. Cable TV and satellite TV are the modern day content delivery techniques, which came into effect post international telecommunication union (ITU) digitization guidelines. In terms of revenue channel, TV broadcasting market is further classified as subscription fees, advertising, public revenue and others (video-on-demand (VOD), e-learning, games, internet, etc.). Revenue generated from advertisement is likely to be the key factor in development of TV broadcasting industry.To gain competitive edge, businesses from all the major segments viz. telecommunication, automotive, consumer goods often choose TV as the primary platform for marketing their products. This advertising leads to significant revenue generation and is one of the major growth driver for television broadcast industry. Further, increasing consumer base, owing to transformation from analog to digital signals is anticipated to propel the growth of TV broadcasting market. Alongside this, improving quality of media content such as introduction of 4K/UHD and full HD signals on TV platform and widening adoption of HD content is likely to fuel the growth television broadcasting market in near term. Moreover, additional TV services such as VoD, e-learning and online games, through TV is expected to complement the growth of television broadcasting market throughout the forecast period. However, shifting consumer preferences on TV viewing and rising delivery content through internet and smartphone applications is estimated to limit the growth of television broadcasting market. With world going through digital switchover, large consumer base still remain untapped with latest TV services such as VoD, e-learning etc., which offer huge market opportunities for the players involved in TV broadcasting market.On a global scale, North America is likely to dominate in terms of penetration and adoptability of modern-day television services. Further, cable and satellite content delivery models are expected to dominate this region. Furthermore, large part of the revenue is anticipated to be generated from subscription fees of the TV services. Additionally, countries from Western Europe such as the U.K., Spain, Germany and Italy is likely to dominate the growth of television broadcasting market in Europe region. However, with significant consumer base and improving broadcasting infrastructure; Asia Pacific is likely to see significant growth in coming years. By revenue channel, advertisement is likely to hold majority of market share in global TV broadcast market especially in Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa region. Furthermore, cable TV and satellite TV, contentment delivery method are expected to show significant growth during the forecast period.Get Sample Report Copy :Some of the key TV broadcasting groups are American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), The National Broadcasting Company (NBC), The Fox Broadcasting Company, Manila Broadcasting Company, and Aereo, Inc.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec 15, 2016) - New Colombia Resources, Inc. (OTC PINK: NEWC), a Colombian company listed in the U.S. with metallurgical coal and medical marijuana companies in Colombia is pleased to post this letter to shareholders... Dear Shareholders: I'm happy to report that we are finalizing agreements and contracts that will generate significant cash flow. I realize the extreme importance of being current with our SEC filings, our auditor, Malone Bailey in Houston, TX is currently reviewing our annual report. A conference call yesterday between our accountants and auditors identified some small requests by auditors that the accountants will provide and a filing is expected shortly thereafter. Company current assets, most liabilities, subsidiary ownerships, business plans, etc. are all in the audited 10K Annual Report filed last year. Before last year New Colombia Resources had never been not current and always filed in a timely manner. Our limited cash resources were used to build two businesses, mining and Medical Marijuana products in Colombia. Going forward as we generate revenue from several businesses, we don't anticipate this happening again as we aim to trade on a higher exchange Coal and Rock Mining Metallurgical coal prices continue to maintain over 300% gains this year at $ 285/tonne. We recently filed an 8K disclosing a joint venture with MSG Mining Corp. to develop Concession Contract JC3-15231 in Cucuta. My partners Erasmo and Tito have been meeting with geologists and engineers that will operate the mine to initially produce 10,000 tonnes/month starting in 4-8 weeks. They've been at the mining and environmental agencies assuring a smooth operation. Our specially designed water system will be a showcase for environmental agencies across Colombia to encourage other miners to avoid polluting the waterways. Our J.V. partner, Tito Castillo, is a chemical engineer setting up state of the art water systems around the world for over 20 years. Contracted operators will supply the equipment and manpower to mine the coal, we contract a trucking company to deliver it 25 Km to our 50,000 tonne storage yard where it's then hauled to an export terminal on the Caribbean coast. I'm finalizing a purchase order for up to a 60,000 tonne delivery in April, most of this will be sourced from neighboring mines. Once I have the purchase order I'll file an 8K with complete details. The purchase order, mining titles with permits, and operator's agreement allows us to get traditional financing to begin operations and buy from existing mines in the area, store it and ship it to the coast. The Guaduas rock mining operation is also expected to begin next quarter, we're still waiting for the approval of the addition of rock mining to our approved mining permit for coal. When we added rock mining, coal prices were depressed, so we decided to mine rocks to supply the many road projects in our area. We received notice from the mining agency that the application is still being reviewed. We don't anticipate any issues since we addressed all concerns from their site visit earlier this year. All we can do is wait and start setting up the rock crushing plant we purchased so we can begin to work immediately once approved. Earlier this year a large Asian company gave us a letter of intent to develop a power plant and coal operation. They've asked for extension to begin the project. We are in Guaduas, to see the road project click http://www.consorciovialhelios.com/proyectos.php?seccion=3 Medical Marijuana Sannabis, our joint venture, introduced a newly designed product line that will enhance sales. Sannabis is a medical marijuana pioneer in Colombia operating in an area notorious for growing high quality marijuana all year round. Our indigenous partners who are totally opposed to illegal drug trafficking and legally grow 100% organic, all natural medical marijuana on their reservation, process it onsite into a variety of topical and oral products that are sold by distributors throughout Colombia. Not only are we providing for the farmers but we create value added jobs in product development to the community. The Colombian military contacted us to establish alternative crops for other indigenous regions of Colombia in post conflict zones. This will be documented by reporters and film crews and is expected to garner significant international attention. Infomercials will be filmed next month with retired professional athletes promoting our all natural CBD products for the U.S. market and medical marijuana products for the Colombia market. International interest has sparked and we're gearing up to manufacture dozens of products for international buyers. FDA Applications I'm meeting with Dr. Stanley Satz of Advanced Imaging Projects (AiP) today to finalize our joint venture agreements to file for an orphan drug designation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We've identified the indications we will file for and they'll be detailed in an 8K filing along with file numbers. Some of you have been here to see our operations, I invite all of you to do the same. Please email me for documentation of any item mentioned in this letter. I look forward to keeping you current on all developments, but more importantly posting audited revenue and earnings. Sincerely yours, John Campo President/Chairman of the Board To view or buy Sannabis products visit www.sannabis.co. Follow Sannabis on Facebook for photos and testimonials at https://www.facebook.com/sannabis.oficial/ New Colombia Resources, Inc. New Colombia Resources, Inc. owns vast reserves of premium metallurgical coal mining titles and a medical marijuana joint venture in the Republic of Colombia. They are setting up a rock mining operation to supply the major road and infrastructure projects within miles of their properties. They own 100% of La Tabaquera metallurgical coal mine in Colombia with an estimated 15- 17 million tonnes of reserves. They have an additional 1196 ha. metallurgical coal mining title that they are negotiating to develop with a foreign entity to build a coal fired power plant. New Colombia Resources holds a significant position in Sannabis SAS which legally produces medical marijuana products in the Republic of Colombia, visit www.sannabis.co. For more information on the Company visit www.newcolombiaresources.com Forward-Looking Statements Forward-Looking Statements; This Press Release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. A statement containing works such as "anticipate," "seek," intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," or similar phrases may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward-looking statements might not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include financing, the future U.S. and global economies, the impact of competition, and the Company's reliance on existing regulations. New Colombia Resources, Inc. does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements. Global Metabolomics Market Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Trends and Forecast, 2015 2021 Global Metabolomics Market http://bit.ly/2cqo75n http://atozresearch.com/global-metabolomics-market-research-report/ http://bit.ly/2d9wx6u http://atozresearch.com/ Metabolomics Market by Technology (Mass Spectrometry, Capillary Electrophoresis, High Performance Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatography, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), Indication (Cardiology and Oncology) for Drug Discovery, Biomarker and Nutrigenomics: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015 2021Global Metabolomics Market: Study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based revenue (USD Million)The report covers forecast and analysis for the metabolomics market on a global and regional level. According to the report, the global demand for metabolomics was valued at over USD 675.0 million in 2015 and it is expected to reach above USD 2,500.0 million in 2021, growing at a CAGR of above 25.0% between 2016 and 2021.The study includes drivers and restraints for the market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes study of opportunities available in the metabolomics market on a global level.Request Sample Report:In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the metabolomics market, we have included a detailed competitive scenario, and product portfolio of key vendors. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters five forces model for the metabolomics market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein technology segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.Metabolites are substances or compounds found in the cell, they are intermediate products catalyzed by enzymes in the metabolism process. Signaling molecules, hormones, metabolic intermediates and secondary metabolites are some of the types of metabolites. Metabolism is the process to maintain living state of cell. Metabolism can be either anabolism or catabolism. Anabolism is the process in which certain compounds are synthesized that is required for cells to process, while breakdown of molecules for releasing energy is the catabolism. Metabolome is total set of metabolites present in a single organism. Metabolomics is study of chemical reactions related to metabolites and a field of analytical biochemistry. Metabolomics is used to compute and recognize the metabolites present in the cell via analytical technologies together with multi variant and statistical method for data interpretation.Increasing scope of toxicological studies, clinical trials, rise in awareness for health and government and institution funds for research is expected to drive the demand for the metabolomics market. Lack of adoption of metabolomics technology and complexity of the process can hamper the metabolomics market. Increasing research and development expenditure and existing demand from emerging economies and is likely to open new market avenues in the near future.Browse detail report at:The metabolomics market is segmented on the basis of technology, indication, application and region. Mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are some of the major segments based on technology. High performance liquid chromatography was largest technology segment for metabolomics market. Drug discovery, biomarker and nutrigenomics are some of the key application markets for metabolomics. Drug discovery emerged as dominating segment due to its significant role in optimization, prioritization and drug target validation and identification for research. Cardiology and oncology are the indication for metabolomics.The study provides a decisive view on the metabolomics market is segmented on basis of technology, indication, application and region. High performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis, gas chromatography, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are the technologies for metabolomics market. Applications include drug discovery, biomarker and nutrigenomics. Cardiology and oncology are the indication for metabolomics. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2015 to 2021.The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Danaher Corporation, Bruker Corporation, Waters Corporation, Metabolon, Inc., Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Shimadzu Corporation among others.Read Report TOC:This report segments for metabolomics market as follows:Metabolomics Market: Technology Segment AnalysisHigh performance liquid chromatographyMass spectrometryCapillary electrophoresisGas chromatographyNuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopyMetabolomics Market: Indication Segment AnalysisCardiologyOncologyMetabolomics Market: Application Segment AnalysisDrug discoveryBiomarkerNutrigenomicsMetabolomics Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaUSEuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout A to Z ResearchA to Z Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. A to Z Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact US3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USATel: +1-386-310-3803GMTTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-465Email: martin@atozresearch.comWebsite: Global Conductive Polymers Market Industry Perspective, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2014 2020 Global Conductive Polymers Market http://bit.ly/2daoeEI http://atozresearch.com/global-conductive-polymers-market-research-reports/ http://bit.ly/2cW27lL http://atozresearch.com/ Global Conductive Polymers ( Inherently Conductive Polymers (ICPs), Polyaniline, Polyphenylene-based Resins, Polycarbonate, and Others)Market for Antistatic Packaging, Capacitors, Batteries, Sensors, Actuators, Solar cells, and Organic transistors Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2014 2020Global Conductive Polymers Market: Study provides historic data of 2014 along with a forecast from 2015 to 2020 based on both volume (kilo tons) and revenue (USD million)The report covers forecast and analysis for the conductive polymers market on a global and regional level. According to the report, the global conductive polymers market was valued at approximately USD 3.1 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach approximate USD 6.75 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 8% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of volume, global conductive polymers market stood at 236.9 kilo tons in 2014. The study includes drivers and restraints of the conductive polymers market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the conductive polymers market on a global level.Request Sample Report:In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the conductive polymers, we have included a detailed competitive scenario and product portfolio of key vendors. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters five forces model for the conductive polymers market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The global conductive polymer market is mainly driven by increasing demand for high-performance, lightweight, and cost effective products. Rising importance of biomimetic tevhnology and artificial muscles for solving complex health problems is expected to increase the usage of conductive polymers on account of their lightweight and high energy density. However, high production and processing cost are some of the factors restraining the growth of conductive polymers market. Furthermore, conductive polymers are also find in various application in the production of printed circuit boards, flat panel displays, light emitting diode based (LED) due to this expected to provide new avenues for the key participants present in conductive polymers market.Browse detail report at:The study provides a decisive view on the conductive polymers market by segmenting the market based on products, applications and regions. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2014 to 2020. Based on products, conductive polymers market can segmented into inherently conductive polymers (ICPs), polyaniline, polyphenylene-based resins, polycarbonate, and others. Key application markets covered under this study includes antistatic packaging, actuators, sensors, ESD & EMI protection, capacitors, batteries, solar cells, and organic transistors. The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa with its further, Bifurcation into major countries including U.S., Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.On the basis of product segment conductive polymer market can be segmented as inherently conductive polymers (ICPs), polyaniline, polyphenylene-based resins, polycarbonate, and others. In 2014, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate, polyphenylene-based resins, polyethylene, and polypropylene as a whole dominated the market and accounted for three-fourths of the overall consumption of conductive polymers worldwide. Inherently conductive polymers (ICPs) expected to experience fastest growth and accounted for over 15% in 2014.Conductive polymers are used in various application areas such as, antistatic packaging, actuators, sensors, ESD & EMI protection, capacitors, batteries, solar cells, and organic transistors. Strong demand from these application industries contributed to the growth of global conductive polymers market. Electrostatic dissipation (ESD) & electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection was the largest application market conductive polymer in 2014. Antistatic packaging application segment is another important outlet for conductive polymer. Moreover, rising demand for conductive polymers owing to its favorable properties expected to boost the demand for conductive polymers in the years to come.Read Report TOC:The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global conductive polymers market include Ormecon Chemie GmbH, Bayer, etc, The Dow Chemical Company, The Lubrizol Corporation, Crosslink, Henkel Electronics, ITEK, Nano Markets LLC, Voltaic Coatings, ID Tech EX, CBI Polymers Inc., Konarka Technologies Inc and AnCatt. The detailed description of players includes parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies and recent developments of the company.This report segments the global conductive polymers market as follows:Global Conductive Polymers Market: Product Segment AnalysisInherently Conductive Polymers (ICPs),PolyanilinePolyphenylene-based resinsPolycarbonateOthersGlobal Conductive Polymers Market: Application Segment AnalysisAntistatic PackagingESD & EMI protectionCapacitorsBatteriesSensorsActuatorsSolar cellsOrganic transistorsGlobal Conductive Polymers Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout A to Z ResearchA to Z Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. A to Z Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact US3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USATel: +1-386-310-3803GMTTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-465Email: martin@atozresearch.comWebsite: Global Proppants Market Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, and Forecast, 2014 2020 Global Proppants Market http://bit.ly/2cZvEyj http://atozresearch.com/global-proppants-market-research-reports/ http://bit.ly/2d31ypn http://atozresearch.com/ Global Proppants (Ceramic, Sand and Resin Coated) Market for Shale Gas, Tight Gas, and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2014 2020Global Proppants Market: Study provides historic data of 2014 along with a forecast from 2015 to 2020 based revenue (Kilo Tons) (USD Billion)The report covers forecast and analysis for the proppants market on a global and regional level. Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2014-2020. In terms of volume, the global proppants market stood at 45.0 million tons in 2014 and is expected to reach 90.0 million tons in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 10.5% between 2015 and 2020.The study includes drivers and restraints for the proppants market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the proppants market on a global level.Request Sample Report:The proppants market is mainly driven by strong demand from energy generation industry. Discovering new reserves of shale gas across globe is another major factor that is expected to fuel the demand of proppants during the near future. However, low market price of shale gas may hold back the demand of proppants in the hydraulic fracturing activity. Nonetheless, advent of shale reserve in Asia Pacific region is expected to open new opportunities for the market growth in the near future.In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the proppants market. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the proppants market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.Ceramic, sand and resin coated are the key product segments of the global proppants market. In 2014, sand was the dominating product segment of proppants market. It accounted over 70% share of the total volume consumption due to easy availability and low cost. Moreover, resin coated is expected to experience immense growth owing to better performance and less expensive compared to other products. Ceramic is projected to have moderate growth during the estimated period due to its superior capabilities.Browse detail report at:Based on application segments, global proppants market is segmented into shale gas, tight gas and other. Among all, shale gas was leading application segment in 2014. This growth is attributed to huge utilization of shale gas in transportation and power generation industries. Tight gas is another important outlet that is expected to propel over the years to come.The study provides a decisive view on the proppants market by segmenting the market based on product, application and regions. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2014 to 2020. Based on products the market is segmented into sand, ceramic and resin coated. Key applications segment include shale gas, tight gas, and others. The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.The report also includes detailed profiles of end players such as Atlas Resin Proppants, Dow Corning Corporation, FTS International, Hi-Crush Partners LPBorprop Proppants, Cadre Proppants, CARBO Ceramics and others.. The detailed description of players includes parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business and recent developments of the company.Read Report TOC:This report segments the global proppants market as follows:Global Proppants Market: Product Segment AnalysisSandCeramicResin CoatedGlobal Proppants Market: Application Segment AnalysisShale GasTight GasOthersGlobal Proppants Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout A to Z ResearchA to Z Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. A to Z Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact US3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USATel: +1-386-310-3803GMTTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-465Email: martin@atozresearch.comWebsite: Glass Fiber Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4049 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/glass-fibers-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/ With a few companies dominating in the present scenario, the global glass fiber market is highly consolidated, reports Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a market research report. The well-established players who are able to manufacture glass fiber at a comparatively lower cost and have also achieved economies of scale face little threat from the small regional players. As compared to European manufacturers, the Chinese manufacturers enjoy government patronage that allows them to produce at lower costs. The top six players in the market, Owens Corning, Jushi Group, CHONGQING POLYCOMP INTERNATIONAL CORP (CPIC), Taishan Fiberglass, Inc, Nippon Electric Glass Co. Ltd., and PPG Industries, Inc. accounted for a share of approximately 75% in the global glass fiber market in 2014.The global glass fiber market is likely to register a CAGR of 7.5% from 2016 to 2024. The market was worth US$9,099.9 mn in 2015 and is anticipated to rise to a valuation of US$17,446.3 mn by the end of 2024.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:Building and Construction Industry to Emerge as Key Consumer SegmentBased on end-use industries, the building and construction segment emerged dominant in 2014 and is expected to retain a lead until 2024 accounting for a share of 30.9% in the same year. The growth of the glass fiber market in the building and construction segment can be attributed to the rising construction activities in Asia Pacific and North America. The building and construction segment was closely trailed by the transportation segment with the second largest share in 2014. According to a TMR analyst, The factors driving the demand for glass fiber in the transportation sector are economic incentives of glass fiber reinforced plastics and the growing need for lightweight alternatives over traditional materials from automotive manufacturers.Geographically, the global glass fiber market has been classified into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific dominated the market in 2014 and is likely to retain a leading position until 2024 with a share of 52.0% in the same year. China emerged as the primary consumer of glass fiber in Asia Pacific, thus pushing it towards the leading edge. The growth of the glass fiber market in the region can be attributed to the increasing consumption in the building and construction industry. The glass fiber market in Asia Pacific is also to be driven by the rising production of natural and renewable energy and the growing adoption of wind turbine energy.Proliferating Demand from Marine and Automotive Industries for Plastics Composites to Drive Market GrowthMarine and automotive industries are among the key consumers of glass fibers owing to the need for impact resistance and lightweight materials. As glass fibers are lightweight and impact resistance in nature, they are being incessantly employed in the automotive and marine industries. They are the primary reinforcement materials in the marine composited. Glass fibers such as e-glass fibers are employed in the manufacturing of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRPs). Glass fiber reinforced plastics have features such as durability, high strength to weight ratio, and weather resistance, which are necessary for materials being used in the manufacturing of marine and automobile components.Browse Market Research Report with ToC & Free Analysis :However, the growth global glass fiber market is expected to be threatened by the growing demand for carbon fibers. The business of European manufacturers of high-end glass fibers is expected to be challenged by Chinese manufacturers as they continue to enjoy government subsidies. Manufacturers can expect growth opportunities from the surge in the adoption of wind turbines for producing energy.This review is based on a Transparency Market Research report titled, Glass Fiber Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 20162024.This report segments the global glass fiber market as follows:Glass Fiber Market Product AnalysisE-Class Glass FiberPerformance Glass FiberGlass Fiber Market Application AnalysisBuilding & ConstructionTransportationIndustrialConsumer GoodsWind TurbineOthers (Including Oil & Gas, etc.)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Kosher Salt Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17228 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/kosher-salt-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com K+S Aktiengesellschaft, Cargill, Inc., and Compass Minerals have been the leaders of the global kosher salt market in 2015 with a collective share of 70.4% of the market value. With such a massive share in the markets value, the global kosher salt market has been consistently consolidated in nature with only a basic regional scope of growth for localized businesses. However, the global kosher salt market contains a highly unorganized business sector that belongs to these regional players, making overall consolidation efforts and market statistics calculation difficult tasks.Get More Information:According to a research report released by Transparency Market Research, the global kosher salt market is expected to show a heavy concentration in China, followed by the entry of new players in developed regions, especially in the U.S. On the basis of revenue, the global kosher salt market was valued at US$832.3 mn at the end of 2015. It is expected to reach US$1517.2 mn by the end of 2024, after expanding at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2016 to 2024. On the basis of volume, the global kosher salt market is expected to progress at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2016 to 2024.Very High Preference for Kosher Salts in Expansive Food Service Industry Boosts DemandKosher salts hold a very unique and lasting advantage over common processed salts. They are far less intense in taste and are purer than table salt. This makes them a great choice for seasoning and cooking meat as they add to the quality of the cook meat without making the preparation overly salty. This is why a majority of chefs in the world prefer to season meats using kosher salts over table salts. Coupled with the fact that the food and beverages industry as well as its food services component are increasing at very fast rates, the demand for kosher salts is very likely to show an upswing over the coming years, states a TMR analyst.Browse Full Report with ToC:The global kosher salt market is also being augmented by the physical properties of kosher salt that make them much easier to use than table salts. Kosher salts and coarse and granular in nature which allows consumers to pick them up by hand in order to use and to measure. At the same time, the overall volume of kosher salts used in foods is greater than table salts due to their less salty nature as well as their higher surface areas and open granular structures.Lower Iodine Proportions make Kosher Salts Unadvisable in Certain RegionsOne of the key restraints acting on the global kosher salt market is the lower use or even absence of kosher salts in certain geographical location around the world. The overall consumption of table salts and iodine is less in these regions and the introduction of kosher salts is extremely difficult here due to the low iodine content they hold. Table salts are often iodized in these regions and are therefore in greater preference.Apart from these specific locations, the majority of the world is showing a greater inclination towards the use of kosher salts. They are healthier and help season meat much better than table salts, two facts that are getting known better across the world. As the overall consumption of food and especially meats in the world increases, there will remain a high scope of growth for players in the global kosher salt market for the coming years, adds the analyst.The information presented in this review is based on a Transparency Market Research report, titled, Kosher Salt Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024.Key segments of the Global Kosher Salt MarketGlobal Kosher Salt Market: By Product TypeKosher Salt FlakesSmoked Kosher SaltKosher Salt CrystalsGlobal Kosher Salt Market: By End UserRetail (Packed Kosher Salts)Food Service CompaniesFood & Beverage ManufacturersGlobal Kosher Salt Market: By Packaging Material TypeCardboard and PaperPlasticOthersAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Methyl Mercaptan Market is Expected to Witness Significant Growth During 2016 - 2026 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10960 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/10960 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/ Methyl mercaptan also called as methanethiol is colorless gas having rotten cabbage like putrid smell. It has chemical formula CH4S and is synthesized by reacting methanol and hydrogen sulfide gas. Methyl mercaptan is naturally occurring substance which is found in bodies of humans and animals and also in the plant tissues. Methyl Mercaptan (Methanethiol) is released from the decaying organic matter and thus found in natural gas, crude oil and some coal tar deposits. Methyl mercaptan (methanethiol) is used in pesticides, jet fuel additive, in the plastic industry and most importantly it is used as the intermediate in the synthesis of methionine (an amino acid), extensively used food supplement in poultry industry. The other uses of methyl mercaptan is as fungicide and as a catalyst for various reactions. Methyl mercaptan is a flammable liquid which causes eye irritation, headaches and nausea. Facility workers are well trained for the safe handling of the product.The market demand for the methyl mercaptan is growing due to its application in the poultry and animal feed. The growing food demand for the rising population is the key driver for the global rise in methyl mercaptan market. The other demand growth driver for methyl mercaptan is due to its versatile end use applications like in pesticide and fungicide industries, applications in mining operations for communication, jet fuel additives etc. Methyl mercaptan is flammable and hazardous gas. The continuous exposure to it causes severe health hazards. Some big firms had to shut down their manufacturing units owing to the severe life damages caused at the facility. Many consumers prefer organically grown food supplies rather than the ones which are grown using the synthetic additives causing the restraints for the methyl mercaptan market demand.The global market for methyl mercaptan is segmented based on the source, functionality, end use industries and region. Based on the source it is segmented as the methyl mercaptan obtained from natural sources and by synthetic method. Global market for methyl mercaptan on the basis of functionality is segmented into fungicide & pesticide, intermediates, fuel additives, catalysts and others (polymers etc.). Based on the application industries the global market for the methyl mercaptan is segmented into four categories, chemical, food (as feed stock for the animals and poultry), mining industry and others). The chemical application segment is further sub categorized as agro industry, petrochemicals, polymer industry and others. Region wise the global market for methyl mercaptan is segmented into seven key regions which are North America (U.S., Canada), Latin America (Mexico. Brazil),Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg),Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia),Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand),Japan ,Middle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa, N. Africa).The global market for methyl mercaptan is expected show single digit CAGR in upcoming years. North America being the leading market region for methyl mercaptan is expected to show substantial growth in future due to food demand and expected growth in different application industries. Asia pacific is second highest growing market for methyl mercaptan owing to the high population and their demand for food. Apart from china and India south Asian countries in this region are expected to show single digit CAGR in the methyl mercaptan market. The mid-east countries are also expected to show the growth in methyl mercaptan market which are having many oil and gas production facilities.Request for Sample Report and Table of content @The key players in the production of methyl mercaptan face many hurdles owing to the safety measures required for the manufacturing process. The growing market demand for poultry feed and emerging markets like Asia pacific are some of the reasons because of which many key market players are extending their manufacturing capacities. These global key players are also taking deliberate cautious majors for safety to avoid possible hazards at the manufacturing facilities. The global key players are Arkema (France), DuPont (US), Chevron Phillips (US), Wuji Zhongxian (China), Evonik Industries (Germany) and others.To Pre Book Report (Single User License)@About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each PMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With a wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports strive to serve clients and satisfy their overall research requirement.For information regarding permissions, contact:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:media@persistencemarketresearch.com India Construction Chemical Market expected to reach US$ 1,890 Mn by 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-in-87 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-in-87 www.futuremarketinsights.com Future Market Insights (FMI), in its recent report titled, Construction Chemical Market: India Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020, projects that the India construction chemical market will exhibit a CAGR of 17.2% during 2014 to 2020. The market is projected to reach US$ 1,890 million by 2020.Construction chemicals are added to construction materials in order to improve their workability, performance, functionality, chemical resistance and durability. Utilisation of construction chemicals has witnessed significant growth over the past decade due to increasing infrastructure development activities in developing economies.The report analyses the India construction chemicals market in terms of market value (US$ Mn), segment, end user, and regions, providing information regarding market dynamics, competitive landscape, current trends, market estimations and forecast.Government regulations based on the concept of Green Revolution, increase in foreign investment activities, urbanisation, and growing preference for utilisation of ready-mix concrete (RMC) are some of the prominent factors that are driving the growth of the construction chemicals market in India. A few challenges faced by this market are low availability of skilled manpower, volatility in raw material prices, and lack of interest for implementation of quality standards by infrastructure developers.Request Free Report Sample@Some major trends in India construction chemical market are increase in investment in R&D, entry of new players, adoption of sustainable products and technological advancements. Asian region is turning out to be focus point for most of the major construction chemicals companies for investment in R&D. Rising construction of new buildings and renovation activities across India is expected to boost the overall demand for construction chemicals in the near future.India construction chemicals market on the basis of types is segmented as admixtures, flooring chemicals, water proofing compounds, adhesives & sealants, repair and rehabilitation & others. Adhesives & sealants and admixtures segment is expected to collectively account for 61.2% share of the India construction chemicals market by 2020. It is anticipated that there will be a decline in the growth of the repair, rehabilitation & others segment from 12.7% in 2014 to 11.9% in 2020, indicating a lack of inspection and maintenance in the construction industry in India.On the basis of end use sectors, India construction chemical market is segmented as infrastructure sector and residential & commercial sector. Infrastructure sector is likely to grow at a CAGR of 18.3%. The residential and commercial segment has a share of 34% in overall Indian construction chemical market with a steady Y-o-Y growth of 16% in 2020.Send An Enquiry@From regional perspective, India construction chemical market is segmented into northern region, eastern region, western region and southern region. Currently, northern region is expected to experience highest CAGR of 17.8% as compared to other regions. Southern region is likely to create an opportunity which is three times the value in 2013. The southern region comprises the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. This region realises the potential of IT services and hence are able to attract significant investment from these service and manufacturing companies. Chemical and engineering industries are the main drivers of growth in western region particularly in Maharashtra and Gujarat.Key market participants covered in the report include BASF India, Pidilite, Sika India Pvt. Ltd., Forsoc Chemicals (India) Ltd., Chembond Chemicals and CICO TechnologiesABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Baking Ingredients Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1590 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/baking-ingredients-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global baking ingredients market is expected to witness significant growth in the forthcoming years, primarily due to changing food habits. The increasing adoption of bakery items as staple food across Europe and North America coupled with the rising demand for baking ingredients such as sweeteners, yeast, fats, and baking soda is providing a fillip to the market. Moreover, the development of gluten free and innovative baking ingredients is estimated to open up lucrative opportunities for the market.Download exclusive Sample of this report:As per a research report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the opportunity in the global baking ingredients market was pegged at US$11.7 bn in 2015 and is poised to reach US$18.1 bn by 2024, rising at a CAGR of 4.9% between 2016 and 2024.Rising Disposable Income to Promote Uptake of Baking IngredientsThe increasing inclination towards western eating habits in emerging markets such as Asia Pacific and Latin America is driving the uptake of baking ingredients in the market. The rising per capita expenditure of the youth across countries such as India, China, and Brazil is likely to facilitate upswing in the demand for baked food items. Furthermore, the introduction of sophisticated confectionaries is likely to augur well for the growth of the overall market.Browse Full Report with ToC:Increasing Consumption of Bakery Products to Fuel of Asia Pacific MarketAsia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa are the key regions studied in the report. Europe and North America will command a large share in the market owing to the high consumption of baked goods. Asia Pacific will rise at a promising pace during the forecast period. The growth of the region can be attributed to the sweeping shift towards western food habits, rising disposable income, and increasing consumption of bakery products. On the basis of ingredients, flavor and color additives will continue to be the dominant segment the market. The increasing demand for luxury and exotic bakery products is boosting the demand for flavor and color additives.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Electric Generating Set Market Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2020 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3838 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3838 Electricity has emerged as an essential part of human life. Electricity supports various phenomenons such as lightning, electromagnetic induction and electrical current. Electricity generation is the process of generating electricity for the use in commercial and residential buildings. Generally, electricity is generated at electric power station through the use of electromechanical generators. There are various other methods which are used to create electricity. Methods such as static electricity (uses physical separation and transport of charge), electromagnetic induction (transformation of kinetic energy into electricity through the use of generator), electrochemistry (transformation of chemical energy into electric energy), photovoltaic effect (transformation of light into electricity), thermoelectric effect (conversion of temperature difference into electricity), piezoelectric effect (generation of electricity from electrically anisotropic molecules) and nuclear transformation (acceleration of charged particles creates electricity). Electric generator is a device which is used to generate electricity by converting mechanical energy (combination of potential energy and kinetic energy) to electrical energy for use in an electric circuit.On the bases of function, the global electric generating set can be bifurcated into diesel electric generating sets (further division on the bases of capacity), wind powered electric generating set, spark ignition engines electric generating set and others. Diesel electric generating set has the largest market share, followed by wind powered and spark ignition electric generating set. Diesel electric generating set is expected to dominate the market in the forecasted period. Electric generating set is majorly applied in the commercial and residential construction sectors. Other major application includes water and wastewater treatment, telecommunication, railways and others. Construction sector is expected to dominate the market in the forecasted period.Europe has the largest market for electric generating set, followed by North America and Asia pacific. The U.K and the U.S. are the largest consumers of electric generating set to generate electricity owing to increasing demand from end-user industry. Europe is expected to dominate the market in the forecasted period; North America is expected to shoe average growth. However, Asia pacific is expected to witness highest growth in the coming years owing to emerging market of India and China. India is expected to shoe highest growth owing to industrial development and shortage of electricity.Increasing demand from end-user industry such as construction and railway is driving the global electric generating set market. Additionally, increasing investments in the infrastructure development is further driving the global electric generating set market for the generation of electricity to fulfill the demand from these sectors. For infrastructure development, the U.K governments public sector investment is expected to rise by USD 4.9 billion to about USD 77.7 billion in 2013-14 over 2012-13. It is further expected to increase to about USD 83.0 billion in 2014-15. In India government infrastructure investment allocation increased from USD 27.1 billion in 2013 to USD 29.5 billion in 2014. Also, rising urban population coupled with increasing disposable income may provide ample growth opportunity for the market players to increase their reach especially in the developing markets.Request to view Table of content @Increasing demand of electricity and investment in the infrastructure sector has propelled the market players to spend more in the electric generating set market. Some of the major companies operating in the global electric generating set market are Kirloskar Electric Company Limited, TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company, Potencia Industrial, Baldor Electric Company (member of ABB Group), Electric Machinery Company Inc. (part of WEG group) and Atlas Copco.Pre Book Single User License Copy @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Cement Market - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Industry Analysis 2020 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4015 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/saudi-arabia-cement-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/ Demand for cement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is primarily driven by growth in construction activities in the region. The cement market in the Kingdom is mainly dominated by the central and western regions. This report by Transparency Market Research analyzes, estimates and forecasts the demand for cement on a country and regional level for a six year period from 2014 to 2020, both in terms of volume and revenue. The study also provides information on restraints, drivers and opportunities along with their impact on the overall market during the forecast period. It segments the market based on applications and regions, and offers estimates and forecast for the market for each segment.Get Free PDF Research Brochure for more Professional and Technical Insights:The study analyzes the product value chain, beginning with the feed stock material scenario up to end-use. It also evaluates the market based on Porters five forces model, which analyzes the degree of competition by considering factors such as bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, threat from substitute products and threat from new entrants. The report includes a detailed competitive landscape of the cement market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It comprises companies' market share analysis and profiles of key participants.Market size and forecast for each major application is also provided in the context of the regional market. Numbers provided in the report are derived based on demand for cement in various end-user industries across different regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Residential construction, commercial construction, infrastructure and others (including bricks) are the applications included in the market analysis. The market has been segmented into five regions: central, eastern, northern, southern and western. Prices of cement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia vary across each region. Considering that different end-users use different types of products, pricing for each application varies according to regions while estimating and forecasting market revenue on the regional level. Regional average price has been considered while breaking down the market by end-application in each region. The application segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends, and the market has been estimated from 2014 to 2020.The size of the cement market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been presented in terms of volume and revenue. Market volume is provided in kilo tons, while market revenue is in US$ Mn. Market numbers are provided based on applications in the context of regional markets. Market share of companies has been derived based on production capacities of cement producers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All prices have been considered as prices set by the government. Market revenues have been calculated based on sales and consumption trends. All US$ exchange rates are as of 2013. Constant currency rates have been considered throughout the forecast period. Import/export data has been extracted from the Ministry of Commerce website. Market share of companies is based on production capacities mentioned by the cement manufacturing companies.Browse Market Research Report with ToC & Free Analysis :Leading manufacturers profiled in the report include Saudi Cement Company, Yamama Cement Company, Najran Cement Company, Riyadh Cement Company, and Yanbu Cement Company. Profiles include features such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments.Cement Market - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Application AnalysisResidentialCommercialInfrastructureOthers (Including cement bricks)Cement Market - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Regional AnalysisCentralEasternNorthernSouthernWesternAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog : Screen Shot 2016 12 15 at 10.46.25 AM The Daily Mail has allowed a top editor to continue covering President-elect Donald Trump this week, despite a report indicating he is being considered for a communications job inside the Trump administration. Politico reported on Tuesday that David Martosko, the Daily Mail's US political editor, was interviewed for a White House position. His name has been mentioned for weeks as a possible press secretary. Martosko, who has been spotted at Trump Tower this week, has continued to cover Trump as a journalist. On Wednesday, for instance, he authored two stories related to Trump for the publication. A third story he wrote centered on Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. It's an interesting turn for someone who accused other members of the press of being too close to the Clinton campaign. Throughout 2016, Martosko earned a reputation as a Trump sympathizer for his favorable coverage of the real-estate mogul and his frequent scolding of fellow journalists who reported more critically on the Republican candidate. At one point, Jenna Johnson, a politics reporter for The Washington Post, went as far as to characterize Martosko as Trump's "de facto comms director." A representative for the Daily Mail did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the conflict of interest in having a reporter cover Trump while simultaneously interviewing for a job inside his White House. Martosko declined to comment. Martosko's entry into journalism is relatively new for him. He spent most of his career in public relations before joining The Daily Caller, a conservative news website, in 2011. Martosko served as the website's executive editor for two years until he made the leap to the Daily Mail in early 2013. NOW WATCH: 'If 43% of eligible voters do not vote, then Democracy is weakened': Obama reacts to protests against Trump More From Business Insider Rack Ends Market: New Growth Opportunities By 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11008 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11008 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Rack Ends Market: OverviewRack ends also called as inner tie rods or axial joints is a part of rack and pinion steering gear system, which converts circular motion of the steering wheel to straight line motion at the wheels The rack ends are the connections between steering rack and the outer tie rod ends which is connected to the steering knuckles joined to the wheels. The one end of the rack end which is connected to the steering rack is inside the steering track and the end is threaded onto which the outer tie rod is mounted with a locknut. Toe adjustment is done by loosening this locknut and turning the rack end to increase or decrease the length of the rack. They have a flexible rubber cover known as boot or bellows or bellow boots. The rack ends play a pivotal role in absorbing the vibrations due to improper roads and thus stabilizes the vehicle.Rack Ends Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe rack and pinion steering gear system in which the rack ends are used, is commonly used in all types of gear systems from conventional manual systems to the modern power steering systems, which is the major driving force for the global rack ends market. The steering system with racks and pinions are compact in size, cheap and with relatively easy mechanism as compared to other steering systems, which is anticipated boost the global rack ends market.The major drawback of rack and pinion system is that it cannot sustain higher friction levels which causes damage to its components which could hamper growth of global rack ends market.Request for Table of content:Rack Ends Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global rack ends market can be divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Western and Eastern Europe hold the largest market share in the global rack ends market due to the large number of automobile industries in the region. North America holds the second position in global rack ends market. The leading markets are expected to show moderate growth, while on the other end the emerging market APEJ is expected to project high growth rate in the global rack ends market, owing to the increased sales of automobiles in the region. Regions such as Latin America, MEA are projected to represent trends of lower growth rates in global rack ends market as compared to other regions.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Smart Grid Sensor Market Forecast Report by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3962 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/3962 A smart grid sensor is a small and lightweight node that serves as a detection station in a sensor network. Smart grid sensors enable the remote monitoring of equipment such as transformers and power lines, and the demand-side management of resources on an energy smart grid. Smart grid sensors are generally used to monitor weather conditions and power line temperature, which can then be used to calculate the lines carrying capacity. This process, known as dynamic line rating, helps in increasing the power flow of existing transmission lines for power companies. A smart grid sensor can also be used within homes and businesses to increase energy efficiency. A smart grid sensor can be of four types: microcomputer, transducer, power source, and transceiver .Transducers can be used to generate electrical signals based on phenomena such as power-line voltage. Microcomputers can be used to process and store the sensor output. The transceiver receives command from a central computer and transmits data to that computer. The power for each sensor can be derived from the electric utility or from a battery. Smart grids require monitoring, control functions, and multiple sensing at various levels. Smart grids can solve various problems in managing current electric grid infrastructure by enabling broad knowledge and control of operations at all levels, from generation to transmission and distribution to end use. All these functions, such as monitoring, control functions, and multiple sensing, depend on real-time collection and communication of a wide range of data throughout the grid, which creates significant opportunities for various types of sensors.Based on the sensor type, the global smart grid sensor market is divided into four segments: energy conservation sensors, humidity and temperature sensors, current sensors, and oil moisture sensors. On the basis of application, the global smart grid sensor market is divided into four segments: advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), smart meters, SCADA, lead management, and others .In terms of geography, North America dominates the global smart grid sensor market. The U.S. represents the largest market for smart grid sensor, followed by Canada in North America. In Europe, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. hold the major share of the smart grid sensor market. However, Asia Pacific is expected to witness high growth rates in the next five years in the smart grid sensor market. China and Japan represent the largest markets in Asia Pacific.Convergence of severe weather, growing interest in green technologies, ageing infrastructure, and inefficient power balancing are some of the major driving forces for the global smart grid sensor market. Smart metering and meter data analytics, grid management, and renewable energy grid integration create opportunities for the global smart grid sensor market.Request to view Table of content @Some of the major companies operating in the global smart grid sensor market are Alstom, Atmospheric Systems, Corp. (ASC), AT&T, ABB, Axiom Power, IUS Technologies, Toshiba, Ford, Elster Solutions, GE's Digital Energy, Silver Spring Networks, Cisco, Google, FreeWave Technologies, Honeywell, Honda, Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi, Eaton, and Siemens.Pre Book Single User License Copy @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Automotive Wire and Cable Materials Market expected to reach US$ 4 Bn in 2016 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1676 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1676 www.futuremarketinsights.com Global automotive wire and cable materials market revenues will grow by 7.3% in 2016, reaching nearly US$ 4 billion in revenues. Growth will be supported by increasing emphasis on safety and vehicle maintenance, as well as increasing installation of infotainment and navigation systems. Steady automotive sales will continue to serve the market well, especially in Asia Pacific, where China and India will witness heightened demand.While growth of the automotive wire and cable materials market will remain stable over 2016, emerging trends will continue to play an important role in shaping up the market. Innovations in connected and hybrid vehicles and substitution of copper with aluminium are expected to influence manufacturing process in 2016 and beyond.Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) will continue to be the most sought-after material for manufacturing automotive wires and cables. This segment will witness a year-over-year growth of 5.6% and reach US$ 1.9 Bn in revenues in 2016. Polypropylene (PP), the second-largest segment by material type, will witness a growth rate of 6.8% in 2016.Request For Sample Report@While passenger cars will remain the largest segment in terms of vehicle type, development of rapid transit routes and increasing adoption of hybrid power trains will create opportunities in the light commercial and heavy commercial vehicles segment. Light commercial vehicles segment is anticipated to grow by 4.7% in 2016 over 2015 to reach US$ 0.7 Bn in revenues.Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is the largest market for automotive wire and cable materials and the status quo will remain so in 2016 and beyond. Growth of the automotive wire and cable materials market in APEJ will be supported by the resurgent automotive sector in the region. Increasing emphasis on safety and functionality and implementation of vehicle safety regulations will influence demand positively. The APEJ automotive wire and cable materials market will grow by 6.2 % in 2016 to reach US$ 2.1 Bn in revenues. North America and Western Europe, the other key markets for automotive wire and cable materials will also witness significant growth in 2016.Send An Enquiry@Leoni AG, Coficab Tunisie SA and Sumitomo Corporation are the top 3 players in the global automotive wire and cable materials market. These 3 players collectively accounted for 46.2% revenue share of the market in 2015. In addition to these marquee players, Delphi Automotive PLC, Draka Holdings B.V., Lear Corporation, Coroplast Fritz Muller GmbH & C. KG, Yazaki Corporation and Allied Wire and Cable Inc. etc. are the other leading players in this market.Long-term Outlook: The global automotive wire and cable materials market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period 2016-2026 and reach US$ 3.9 Bn in revenues in 2016. APEJ will continue to be the largest market throughout the forecast period.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Premium Messaging Market: Technological breakthroughs, Value chain and stakeholder analysis by 2017 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=136 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The market research study, titled Premium Messaging Market - A2P SMS Market, P2A SMS Market: Global Analysis, Trends, Size and Forecast (2007 - 2017), presents a detailed overview of the global premium messaging market and presents a forecast till 2017. The report states that the market, which had a valuation of US$165.9 bn in 2011, reached US$236.9 bn in 2012, and US$1,134.2 billion by 2017, expanding at an unprecedented 36.6% CAGR between 2012 and 2017.Get More Information :The rising use of mobile messages for a variety of marketing and communication activities by businesses and the continuously dropping prices of premium messages are some of the chief driving factors significantly impacting the global premium messaging market in a positive manner. Some of the other factors driving the demand for premium messaging services across the globe include the compatibility of text messages on all kinds of mobile handsets and the user-friendly nature of text messages. The widening popularity of social messaging services is, however, expected to restrain the markets growth to some extent.The report segments the global market for premium messaging services into two broad categories: premium SMS and premium MMS. Of these, the market segment of premium MMS is currently the leading market segment, based on revenue as well as volume. The report states that the segment of premium MMS services will expand at the fastest pace over the reports forecast period. The market for premium MMS services is expected to expand at an enormous 40.7% CAGR over the reports forecast period. On the other hand, the market segment of premium SMS services, which accounted for a 86.2% share in the overall premium messaging market in 2012, is expected to rise to US$907.9 bn by 2017.Both these segments are further segmented into the sections of application to person (A2P) and person to application (P2A) messages depending on the origin and destination of the messages. Of these, the market segment of A2P premium SMS accounted for a nearly 66% share in the premium SMS (PSMS) market segment in 2012.Geography-wise, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW). Of these, the regional market of Asia Pacific led the global premium SMS services market in 2012. In 2011, the overall traffic for premium messages in this region was nearly 86 billion.The report presents a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape of the global premium messaging market. The report includes comprehensive business profiles of some of the key vendors operating in the market to give the reader details such as company facts, financial positions of the companies in the market, revenue-wise product segmentation, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and ongoing developments. Some of the most established players in the market are mBlox, Sybase 365, OpenMarket. Other key businesses operating in the market include AMD Telecom SA, V3Mobi Communications Pvt. Ltd., Mobicage NV, Beepsend AB, Infobip Plt, Angkor Data Communications Group Co. Ltd., Aerialink Inc., Dialogue Communications Ltd., Symsoft AB, and Jinny Software Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Smart Factory Market Adopts Innovation to Stay Competitive http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4698 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4698 Smart factories are affordable and offer fully integrated automation solutions for manufacturing facilities to streamline the flow of materials during the manufacturing process. Smart factories are characterized by increasing the use of technology and field devices to offer complete automation in manufacturing process. By incorporating cyber physical system into the forefront of manufacturing flow, smart factories are able to connect every process and component across the value chain. This interconnection of information and production has revolutionized the automation industry and thereby, facilitated manufacturing units to perform at an optimum level. Moreover, manufacturing companies are able to achieve shortest time to market and zero waste production through smart factories. Automation in smart factories makes the use of various control devices such as sensors, motors, drives, switches and relays and networks technologies such as wired, wireless and radio frequency identification (RFID). Integrated systems such as Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Information Technology (IT) system, Programmable Logic Control (PLC), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) are designed to meet the specific requirements of a manufacturing unit. These industrial control systems manage the process and streamline the flow of materials across the manufacturing line. Smart factories also make use of industrial robots such as articulated robots, SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm or Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) robots, Cartesian robots, cylindrical and other robots for various manufacturing processes such as painting, welding, conveyance, heavy lifting etc.One of the major factors driving the growth of smart factory market is the increasing need for improving efficiency and energy saving in the manufacturing process. Automation has enabled manufacturing units to utilize every second of production time through efficient streamlining of the manufacturing process. Technological advancements such as machine to machine communication enable smart factories to eliminate wastage of time caused due to the delay in the process change. Moreover, with rise of Internet of Things (IoT) and services, integration of manufacturing and engineering processes has experienced a tremendous leap forward. However, the growth of smart factory market faces a few restraints due to lack of standardization and interoperability issues. These factors raise concerns in designing integrated solutions using components provided by several automation solution providers. The shortage of trained workers and increasing skill gap further restrains the growth of smart factory market. Other crucial factors such as cyber security threats and associated costs limit the growth of this smart factory market in industries such nuclear, weapons and armaments.With its immense applications in industries such as automotive and transportation, packaging, mining of minerals and metals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and process industries such as oil and gas, the smart factory market is expected to experience immense growth in coming years. Thereby, companies have invested heavily to explore untapped opportunities in the applications of industrial robots and control devices.Request to view Table of content @Some of the major players in smart factory market include Intel Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, CMC Associates, Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Rockwell Automation Inc., Siemens AG, Schneider Electric SA, General Electric Co., Apriso Corporation, Emerson Electric Co., Invensys Plc., Teledyne Technologies Inc., ABB Ltd., Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and National Instruments Corporation.Pre Book Single User License Copy @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Gas Leak Detectors Market Value Share, Supply Demand, share and Value Chain 2014-2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-67 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-67 www.futuremarketinsights.com A gas leak detector is a piece of equipment or a device that senses and detects the existence of gases in a particular area. These devices are used as a part of safety systems installed in factories, homes and commercial complexes. A gas leak detector system detects the gas leaked and generates a signal to take proper action. Industrially, gas detector systems are fitted with a sound alarm to evacuate the area in case of toxic gas leakage. The popularity of such devices is growing due to the influx of new chemical facilities across the world. Further, the growing gas storage facility network across the globe has deployed a significant number of gas leak detectors for safety systems.Due to their design modifications, gas detectors are broadly categorised on the basis of technology as electrochemical, infrared imaging, infrared point, ultrasonic, semiconductor and holographic. On the basis of product type, the global gas detectors market is bifurcated into portable gas detectors and fixed gas detectors.Request Free Report Sample@Portable gas detectors are widely used in lab application whereas fixed detectors find their maximum application in gas extraction and processing fields. Fixed gas detectors can also be used for residential applications such as using itin a bedroom. Further, industrial fixed type gas detector application includes SCADA monitoring.Gas detectors are used in applications such as gas turbines, building and construction, health care, food and beverages, water treatment, oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, underground gas storage facilities, and others. The segments for refineries and chemical plants applications dominate the global market at present. Nevertheless, gas detectors are widely used in underground gas storage. The growing gas supply network is spurring the demand in this segment.One of the major driving factors for gas leak detectors market is the ever growing oil & gas industry. The increasing number of gas field explorations and widening gas supply network has been fuelling the demand for gas leak detectors. In addition, active government organizations have been imposing safety regulations on the industries. This, in turn, has propelled the demand for gas leak detectors. Further, Asia Pacific is likely to lead the league in terms of growth of the industrial sector, mining sector, medicine and healthcare sector, and construction sector. This is likely to create opportunities for the growth of theglobal gas leak detectors market. However, the market is facing strong competition due to the influx of new players in the market and frequent product launches.Multi-gas detector coupled with an analyzer system is one of the emerging trends in the global leaked gas detector market. This kind of detector is gaining popularity due to its compact designs and better features as compared to conventional gas leak detectors. It is expected that the after sales market is likely to develop further in future and a number of market participants will enter this segment. It is also expected that the gas leak detector manufacturers will expand their business to aftermarket sales through forward integration and strategic alliances.A number of product launches can be seen in the global gas leak detectors market. For instance, market participants such as Scott Safety, GE and RAE Systems recently launched a few new gas leak detectors. The global gas leak detectors market has also been witnessing strategic alliances such as that between Cbiss and Old Man Partner. To expand the business globally, a number of gas leaked detectors manufacturers have acquired other companies such as the acquisition of Edinburgh Instruments Ltd by Techcomp Group Ltd., the acquisition of RAE Systems by Honeywell International Inc. and the acquisition ofGroveley Detection Ltd by Emerson.Visit For TOC@Some of the prominent players in global gas leak detectors market are City Technology Ltd., Honeywell International Inc., Mine Safety Appliances Co., Dragerwerk AG & Co., KGAA, Testo AG, ABB Ltd, Industrial Scientific Corporation, California Analytical Instruments Inc., Figaro Engineering Inc., Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Hitech Instruments Ltd, Ametek Inc., Emerson Electric Co.,Halma Plc, Trolex Ltd,GE Measurement & Control, Gasmet Technologies OY, Enerac Inc., Xtralis Pty. Ltd, Horiba Ltd and others.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Ortho-Xylene Market Globally Expected to Drive Growth through 2020 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-157 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-157 www.futuremarketinsights.com Xylenes are petrochemicals produced by catalytic reforming and coal carbonization in the manufacture of coke fuel. They are used in various industries and medical technology as a solvent. It occurs naturally in coal, wood tar and coal among others. Xylenes are mainly produced as a part of the BTX aromatics. They are derived from various sources within a refinery including pyrolysis gasoline, toluene disproportionation and reformate among others. Reformate accounts for over three fourths of mixed xylenes market. There are three types of xylenes, viz., ortho-xylene, meta xylene and para xylene.Ortho-xylene is a commercial isomer of xylene. It is a hydrocarbon based on benzene with two methyl substituents bonded to the aromatic ring. It is liquid at room temperature. It is used extensively for producing phthalic anhydride (PAN)-primarily dio-octyl phthalate for PVC. The major use for PAN is for producing plasticizers which are largely used in automobile and construction industry. In addition, it is used in solvent based paints. It is extracted by means of distillation from xylene stream in a plant designed for para-xylene production. It is a constitutional isomer of m-xylene and p-xylene. Moreover, it is produced with its isomers paraxylene, metaxylene and ethylbenzene. Friedel Crafts alkylation of toluene yields a mixture of ortho-xylene .This reaction gives a pure form of o-xylene. Furthermore, it is used in alkyd resins having wide applications in the coating industry. It has a large demand in the petrochemical industry.Request Free Report Sample@The growing construction industry coupled with burgeoning development in the automobile industry is expected to drive the demand for ortho-xylene within the forecast period. Additionally, the growing paints and adhesive industry is expected to fuel the demand for ortho-xylene further over the next few years. However, acute inhalation or exposure to ortho-xylene in humans results in irritation of eyes and neurological effects. Furthermore, chronic exposure of ortho-xylenes results in central nervous system effects, cardio-vascular and kidney effects. It reacts violently with oxidants causing fire and explosion hazard. Thus, stringent regulations on use of ethylene are expected to hamper the ortho-xylene market in near future.In Asia, prices of xylene are anticipated to weaken due to weak downstream conditions in the purified terephthalic acid and paraxylene sectors. Global manufacturing coupled with supply chain and access to feedstock are the key strengths of the companies involved in the ortho-xylene market.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing regional market within the forecast period on account of the growing chemical industry and in turn, rapid industrialization. China dominated the otho-xylene production in 2011 and this trend is expected to continue within the forecast period. In India, Reliance Industries is a manufacturer of ortho-xylene with a capacity of 150 KTA. Consumption of ortho-xylene in Eastern Europe and Russia is expected to be strong on account of the thriving construction industry.Visit For TOC@The major players in the ortho-xylene market are Creasyn Finechem (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Inc., DynaChem Inc, Minda Petrochemicals Ltd, Shell Chemicals, Sonoco Chemicals, U.S. Petrochemical Industries Ltd. and Puritan Products, Inc. among others. Ortho-xylene projects by major companies are planned in China, Taiwan and Singapore within the forecast period.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Automotive Roof System Market: Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11089 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11107 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Introduction:Growing automotive industry coupled with increasing demand for premium cars is expected to boost the demand for roof systems in the near future. Automotive roof system facilitates flow of fresh air and sunlight in the car without disturbing the aerodynamic of the vehicle. In the recent past, there has been a massive development in automotive roof system market. Various type of roof systems such as sunroof system, panorama roof system, panorama with sunroof system, multi-optional roof, roof system with solar technology among many others. Roof system made up of polycarbonate, glass-plastic composite, and fibre-plastic composite and polyurethane composite are used in hybrid cars to save energy, and light weight construction. Revenue generated from the sales of automotive roof systems, globally is expected to increase at a moderate CAGR over the forecast period.Global Automotive Roof System Market Dynamics:Global automotive roof system market is anticipated to be driven by growth in mid and premium range cars in Asia-Pacific, North America and European regions. There is slow but rising demand for convertible automobiles in European countries and which is also expected to drive the global automotive roof system market in the near future. Stringent government policies regarding limiting the hazardous emissions are forcing key players to manufacture light weight vehicles. This in turn is expected to fuel the global automotive roof system market. Changing lifestyle of people coupled with rising disposable income and demand for premium cars is anticipated to boost the global automotive roof system market. Growing market for MUV and SUV is also expected to fuel the global automotive roof system market. A substantial amount of growth is expected in the aftermarket segment of global automotive roof top system market. High cost is expected to be one of the restraining factor for the growth of global automotive roof systems market.Request for Table of content:Global Automotive Roof System Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, global automotive roof system market can be segmented as North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. Europe and North America are expected to remain prominent in the global automotive roof system market. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the global automotive roof system market. The convertible cars market is expected to be dominant in North America and Europe. The market share of mid-range car in Asia-Pacific is anticipated to increase in the near future.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Generator Sales Market Global Industry Analysis Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10850 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/generator-sales-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The growing demand for uninterrupted and reliable power is the main factor boosting the sales of generators across the globe, finds Transparency Market Research in a report. Titled Generator Sales Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 20162024, the publication finds that rapid industrial growth has also supported this market. Rising investments by large companies and governments toward the development of advanced and upgraded power generators is set to help this market achieve new heights.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :Based on type, the generator sales market can be bifurcated into gas and diesel. On the basis of power rating, the market includes generators above 1000 kVA, 350-1000 kVA, 100-350 kVA, and below kVA. The key application segments of the generator sales market include prime or continuous power, standby, and peak shaving. By end user, the market comprises commercial, industrial, and residential. Based on geography, the market for generator sales includes key regions such as Latin America, North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The report offers a detailed assessment of each of these segments, highlighting the leading and most rapidly expanding categories. It also includes sharp and actionable insights pertaining to expansion strategies.Asia Pacific is one of the key markets for generator sales and is primarily fueled by rapid industrialization in developing countries such as India and China. The rising trend of utility companies switching to cleaner power sources is also contributing to the rapid growth of the APAC generator sales market. Brazil and Mexico also offer immense scope for growth as the demand for generators in commercial, residential, and financial sectors increases. The Middle East and Africa is also a lucrative region, the report finds. By end use, the industrial sector accounts for a significant share in the generator sales market as the demand for the same rises in sectors such as automotive, chemicals and petrochemicals, and electrical and electronic goods. Based on type, gas generators comprise a major chunk of the demand as they are cost effective and more environment friendly than diesel generators.Complete Report with TOC :There are several companies operating in the global generator sales market. These include MTU Onsite Energy (Germany), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan), Briggs & Stratton Corporation (U.S.), Himoinsa S.L. (Spain), Wacker Neuson (Germany), Caterpillar Inc. (U.S.), Generac Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Yanmar Co. Ltd. (Japan), Cummins Inc. (U.S.), MQ Power Corporation (U.S.), Wartsila Corporation (Finland), Kirloskar Electric Company Ltd. (India), and Kohler Co. (U.S.). The report identifies and evaluates the leading players competing in the market for generator sales and takes into account key factors such as company and business overview, recent development, product portfolio, financial status, and business strategies while profiling them. Analysts have also employed the SWOT analysis model to shed light on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the prominent vendors.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207 Analog ICs Market with Competitive Landscape by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4799 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4799 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Integrated circuits are set of electronic circuits in which all the active and passive electronic components are fabricated on a single chip. Different active components include operational amplifiers (op-amp) and batteries among others. Passive components are capacitors, resistors and inductors. Continuous development of production processes and design of ICs lead to cost reduction of electronic equipments.. Additionally, these ICs increase the reliability as different components are fabricated on a single silicon chip and thus reducing the size of circuit board.Integrated circuits can be classified on the basis of circuit technology, design style, circuit size and design type. Technologies used in manufacturing ICs are complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), n-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), bi-polar junction transistor (BJT) and BiCMOS among others. Different design styles are standard cell, field programmable gate array (FPGA) and gate array. On the basis of size ICS can be categorized as circuit size includes very large scale integration (VLSI), large scale integration (LSI), medium scale integration (MSI), small scale integration (SSI), and giga scale integration (GSI). The design types available are analog, digital and mixed-signal.Analog integrated circuits are those ICs which performs functions of amplification, demodulation and active filtering. In an analog IC current and voltage vary continuously with time. These ICs are consists of electronic components that allows them to communicate and connect with the microprocessor. They are widely deployed in most of the electronic products as these ICs consume less power while maintaining their functionality. Integrated circuits have widespread applications in computers, mobile phones and electronic digital home appliances such as digital camera. These circuits offer various advantages such as low power consumption and low cost for implementation. They reduce the size and complexity of an electronic circuit and provide high speed of operation. Due to these advantages ICs are used in televisions, portable devices such as laptops, microwaves, play stations, cameras, computers and cell phones. Additionally, they are used in data processing and switching telephone circuits. Analog ICs are used in LED Lighting systems due to their less power consumption capability.Need of power management in electronic product and increasing demand of ICs in automotive sector is supporting the growth of market. However, imbalance in demand and supply of analog IC is affecting the market growth. Moreover, rapid technological advancement and increasing applications of analog ICs in LED lighting system offers potential opportunity for the market.Analog integrated circuit market can be segmented on the basis of category, type of analog ICs and end-users. Analog ICs are categorized into radio frequency IC and linear ICs. Different types of analog ICs available are operational amplifiers, sensors and power management circuits. Analog ICs have widespread application across various industries such as electronic industry, automotive sector, telecommunication industry, healthcare and semiconductor industry among others.Request for Table of content:Some of the key players in analog ICs market are Analog Devices Inc., Qualcomm Inc., STMicroelectronics NV, Infineon Technologies AG, Caterpillar Inc., Texas Instruments Inc, EPOS Development Ltd., Linear Technology Corp., Intel Corp., LG Electronics, NXP Semiconductors, Maxim Integrated products, ON Semiconductor, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Renesas Electronics Corp., Cummins Inc., Kohler Co. and Skyworks Solutions Inc among others.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Molecular Spectroscopy Market Value Share, Analysis and Segments 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-399 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-399 www.futuremarketinsights.com Molecular spectroscopy is the qualitative and quantitative study of molecules by observing their interaction with variousfrequencies and energy. In other way, it is the study of absorption of light by molecules. It is analyzed by ultraviolet (UV) light, visible light and infrared radiations using an instrument called a spectrometer. Thermo Fisher Scientific,Agilent Technologies, Danaher Corporation, PerkinElmer, Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, JASCO International Co., Ltd. and Jeol Ltd. are some major players engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of instruments used in molecular spectroscopy study. Antaris II FT-NIR Analyzer, picoSpin 80 spectrometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Cary 630 FTIR Spectrometer, 4300 Handheld FTIR (Agilent Technologies) are some prominent brands available in the market.The global market for molecular spectroscopy has been segmented as follows by technology type:Color Measurement SpectroscopyInfrared SpectroscopyNear-Infrared (NIR) SpectroscopyNuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) SpectroscopyRaman SpectroscopyUltraviolet Visible (UV-Vis) SpectroscopyRequest Free Report Sample@These technologies may be further segmented as well. For example, infrared spectroscopy may be segmented by the type of devices available on the market such as bench top IR spectroscopy, portable spectroscopy or terahertz IR spectroscopy. Similarly, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy may be categorized as continuous wave nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, fourier transform NMR and Solid-State NMR. Ultraviolet visible spectroscopy may be segmented as single-beam UV spectrometer, double-beam UV spectrometer and array based UV spectrometer.On the other hand, on the basis of application, the market has been segmented into:PharmaceuticalsBiotechnologyFood and Beverages TestingEnvironmental TestingResearch InstitutesGovernmental legislation that are compelling pharmaceutical companies to maintain very high quality of drugs and excipients during manufacturing and increasing concerns for food and beverages safety are some major factors driving the growth of molecular spectroscopy market.Governmental support by funding research related with molecular spectroscopy is also oneof the major factors driving the market growth worldwide.Technological developments in the area of molecular spectroscopy are also encouraging manufacturers to opt for this technology as it will give them competitive in terms of quality. On the other hand, high cost associated with acquiring molecular spectroscopy technology may hamper the market growth to some extent.Visit For TOC@Geographically, the market for molecular spectroscopy has been segmented into four major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). North America holds the largest regional market, followed by Europe. Federal governments investments to support research in the area of medical sciences are one of the reasons driving the market growth in the region. Presence of a large number of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in the region also plays a key role in propelling the market growth. Europe represents the second largest market after North America. The market in Western European region which includes countries like Germany, France, Spain and United Kingdom is relatively mature than the markets of Eastern European region. Emerging economies of countries of Eastern region will help in driving the market growth in the region due to the significantly large contract manufacturing market.India and China in particular are expected to increase the number of companies offering contract manufacturing services to the western region. It is likely to result in growing demand for various molecular spectroscopy devices, and thus will help in driving the market growth in the region. In RoW region, Brazil, Mexico, Israel and Middle East countries are the potential markets for molecular spectroscopy.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Defense Robotics Market: Estimates and Forecasts by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5087 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/5087 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Most of the countries utilize the defense robotic system or are in the process of acquiring or building the technology to incorporate into military programs. These robots are used in form of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned group vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). Unmanned group vehicles are robots that move on wheels or tracks and perform the function of sentry duties and examine the potential hostile location. Unmanned aerial vehicles are essentially remotely controlled or automated robots. The use of all these robotic system includes same purpose of replacing or supplementing human in battlefield situations. Deployment of autonomous or semi autonomous robotic system in the battle field helps in improving the military efficiency, operational performance and accuracy.Defense robotics has many advantages, the important one being performance similar to human being without danger of human casualties. Robots can endure damage done by bombs or other types of weapons that can destroy the human body. Another advantage includes various sizes of robots which enables them to fit into spaces that are not accessible for humans. Other advantages include transportation, drones and bomb disposal. The defense robotic system market across the globe is expected to show a substantial growth with a single digit increase in CAGR by the year 2019. The growth is due to the procurement of robotic vehicles for control, communication, simulation, training and other applications for military purposes.The market for defense robotics system is driven by factors such as desire to reduce the casualties in the field of operation and reduce the military spending. Development in the field of computer programming, sensing technology and material science help to create more advanced tools. Some of the factors restraining the market growth include reduced spending on defense system due to weak economic conditions, and high cost required in manufacturing of robots. Technological availability is enabling diverse applications of robots besides improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. Applications such as border patrolling are creating an increasing demand for UAVs and UGVs in countries such as Israel, South Korea, China and United States.The segmentation of defense robotics market can be done on the basis of product type, application and geography. On the basis of product type, the market for defense robotics can be segmented as unmanned group vehicles (UGVs), unmanned underwater vehicle (UUVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). On the basis of applications, the market can be segmented as simulation, control command and security, training and others. Global defense robotics market can also be segmented based on geographical markets as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. North America is the most technological advanced region in defense robotic system and Asia Pacific represents a strong opportunity due to the availability of technology in countries including China, Japan and India.Request for Table of content:Some of the players in the defense robotics market include iRobot Corp., Allen-Vanguard Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace, GeckoSystems Intl. Corp., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Bluefin Robotic Corp., AB Electrolux, Deep Ocean Engineering Inc., ECA Hytec SA, McArtney Group, Fujitsu Ltd., Toyota Motor Corp., AeroVironment, Lockheed Martin and others.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Standard Based Communication Servers Market Revenue Predicted To Go Up by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6095 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/6095 Standard based communications servers are open computing systems that function as a carrier-grade universal platform for an extensive assortment of communications applications. These servers enable the equipment providers customize the system architecture as per the requirement by adding potential value to it. Irrespective of the differentiated features and specification, the standard based communications servers offer attributes such as open platform, carrier grade and flexible. The standard based communications are designed in accordance with the industry standards and provide interoperability with the architecture. Moreover, standard based communications servers offer carrier grade attributes as they provide extended lifecycle support, high availability, and longevity of supply. Additionally, these servers are upgradable without any disruption and offer high speed for real time communication applications to ensure high quality of service.The standard based communication servers offer an introductory platform for building a network infrastructure using the several equipment for applications such as IPTV, wireless broadband and other IP multimedia subsystems. These servers are based on managed industry standards such as Advanced Telecommunication Computing Architecture (ATCA), Advanced Mezzanine Card, Micro Telecommunication Computing Architecture, High Platform Interface (HPI), Carrier Grade Linux and Application Interface Specification (AIS). The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) refers to string of specifications by Peripheral Component Interconnect Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG), which is developed to meet essential necessities for carrier grade equipment. In addition to these standards, the standard based communication server is governed by different industry associations and vendor alliance programs. The industry associations include SCOPE Alliance and Communication Platforms Trade Associations. The vendor alliance programs include Intel Communications Alliance, Motorola Communications Server Alliance and Mobicents Open Source Communications Community.ATCA integrates the latest interconnect technologies, manageability and serviceability, improved reliability and next generation processors. The specifications provided by PICMG for Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) identify the base-level necessities for a variety of mezzanine cards that are optimized for ATCA Carriers. AMC enhances ATCAs flexibility by widening bandwidth and provides multi-protocol interface to individual servers. MicroTCA specification is basically a framework for directly combining AMC modules, instead of using an ATCA. Moreover, MicroTCA is designed for smaller equipment for application running on low entry cost, small physical size and high scalability. This framework is primarily used for Wi-Fi, wireless base stations, VoIP access gateways and WiMAX radios.Carrier Grade Linux is basically an enhanced version of Linux that is used by the communication servers to offer high security, high availability, scalability and easy maintenance. HPI and AIS are defined by Service Availability Forum (SA Forum) for telecommunication platform to maintain the availability of communication services. The HPI specifies the interface used between the middleware and the primary hardware and the operating system. The AIS specifies the interface between the application and middleware. Moreover, AIS enables applications to run over a variety of computing modules and provides easy migration between the platforms.The standard based communications servers market is primarily driven by the rising demand for high speed and compatible servers across the communication industry. The progressive and vigorous communication server ecosystem consists of several hardware and software providers, server vendors, standard bodies, vendor alliance programs, industry associations and the end-users.Request to view Sample Report @Leading players in standard based communication servers market are NEC Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, AltiGen Communications, Inc., Emerson Network Power, Barrcuda Networks, Inc., Fenestrae B.V., Estech Systems, Inc., B Labs, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Siemens Enterprise Communication GmbH, Cisco Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems, Avaya, Inc. and IBM Corporation.Pre Book Single User License Copy @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com SBC and Its Derivatives Market Development and Demand Forecast to 2020 www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/sbc-and-its-derivatives-market www.psmarketresearch.com/industry-report/chemicals-materials-and-energy www.psmarketresearch.com SBC and its derivatives refer to thermoplastic elastomers. Its properties are similar to the rubbers, attributed mainly to its physical and chemical characteristics, such as low drug absorption, biodegradability, high resilience, optical clarity, toughness, and process stability. SBC and its derivatives can also be processed as thermoplastic materials.SBC and its derivatives are used in a wide range of applications including industrial as well as commercial sectors. They are used for asphalt modification and bitumen in flooring and tiling purpose in the construction industry. SBC and its derivatives are also used widely to reduce solution viscosity in the coating, adhesive, and sealants during the elastomeric phase in the production processes. SBC and its derivatives are also used in the manufacturing advanced materials and of footwear. SBC and its derivatives have increased significantly in Asia-Pacific and South America in past few years. However, the markets of SBC in developed regions such as Asia-Pacific and North America is heading towards saturation as a result the major players in the SBC and its derivative are started moving towards the developing economy. The companies operating in the SBC and its derivatives have also started focusing more on the cost-effective and environment friendly SBC derived products such as styrenic copolymers and bio-based SBCs.To Browse Full Report Visit Here:Based on the various applications of SBC and its Derivatives the global SBC and its ierivatives market can be bifurcated as Paving and Roofing, Footwear, Advanced Materials application, Adhesives, Sealants, and Coatings application, and other application. Based on the different product type the global SBC and Its derivatives market can be bifurcated as SBS, SIS, SEBS, SEPS and other H-SBC.Some of the major factors driving the global SBC and its derivatives market is development of bio-based alternatives for synthetic SBCs and its growing adoption due to stringent government regulations. The synthetic SBS and its derivatives are replaced by soybean-based SBS polymers in numerous applications including, personal care, bitumen modification and coating applications.The application SBC and its derivatives are growing among various end-user markets such as infrastructure, construction, footwear, and other industries which is driving the global SBC and its derivatives market. Moreover the increment in the global trade due to improved economic situation, growing population in developing economies, and rising investments in infrastructure and construction in developing countries, are some of the dominant drivers of the global SBC and its derivatives market. China is the leading consumer of SBC and accounts for about 35 percent of the global SBC consumption.Browse For Related Reports:Some of the major players operating in the global SBC and its derivatives market include, Asahi Kasei Elastomers, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co, BASF SE, China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), Eni SpA (Versalis), Dynasol Elastomeros SA, LCY Chemical Corp, Kraton Performance Polymers Inc., PolyOne Corp., LG Chem Ltd., TSRC Corp and SinopecAbout P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:AbhishekExecutive Client Partner347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: Global Wiring Devices Market: Revenue Predicted To Go Up by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5735 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/5735 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Wiring devices refers to any electrical devices that are used to provide and control connection points or joining points for low voltage lighting control systems, electrical sockets and wall switches. Wiring devices includes current carrying wiring devices and non-current carrying wiring devices. Current-carrying wiring devices market is highly variable depending on certain factors such as consumer purchasing power, growth in GDP, economic conditions and overall health of domestic construction and housing industry. Non-current carrying wiring devices contains boxes, plates, conduit and fitting, among others. The electrical conduits are used to protect the electrical wiring from weather conditions and mechanical injury.Wiring devices market can be segmented on the basis of products and geography. Based on the products the wiring devices market can be categorized into receptacles, light dimmer, lamp holders, metal contacts, electric switches, wire connectors and other current carrying devices. Switches are used for controlling inductive and resistive loads mostly in the electric discharge lamps. Increasing use of electronic switches in construction and residential industry is one of the factors which is driving the growth of wiring devices market across the globe. The automated electronic switch owing to a number of features are widely being used in residential, construction and institutional occupancies. For instance, the fully automated lighting control system allows outdoor or indoor light to be operated remotely from any point within the system containing receiver and controller. The technological displacement in the field of wiring devices is expected to fuel the market growth. The company such as Schneider-electric is offering self-powered and wireless switches which allow instant installation and location flexibility. These switches are deprived of batteries which result in low maintenance and low running cost. These switches are self-powered and scavenging ambient energy powers the switches.Construction activity, consumer spending and private spending are expected to increase over the forecast period owing to the rising number of households which in turn is expected to stimulate the market growth. The boost in industries such as tourism, hotel and real estate will furthermore trigger the demand of wiring devices market owing to the huge investment in current carrying wiring devices. Moreover, the increasing use of light dimmers are expected to fuel the market growth due to the energy efficient nature of the light dimmer. The light dimmer is increasingly used for limiting the brightness of the light. The dimmer light switch can be controlled with the help of knob which ultimately results in energy efficiency. Increasing regulations for use of tamper resistant receptacles in the developed economies are expected to fuel the market revenue. National Electrical Manufacturers Associations (NEMA) and U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) are focusing on the extensive use of straight-blade and locking-type receptacle and plug caps and temper-less receptacles for safe usage of wiring devices.Request for Table of content:Some of the key players in this marketplace include ABB Incorporated, Cooper Industries plc, Eaton Corporation, Hewlett-Packard (HP) Development Company L.P., Hubbell Inc., Legrand Group, Leviton Manufacturing Co Inc., OREL Mfg. (Pvt.) Ltd., Schneider Electric SA, and SMK Corporation, among others.To Prebook Single User License:About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: New Trends of Micro Guide Catheters Market with Worldwide Industry Analysis to 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-536 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-536 www.futuremarketinsights.com A catheter is a thin tube medical device which can be inserted into the human body during surgical procedures. This process is known as catheterization. A catheter is manufactured from medical grade materials. Catheters can be modified to treat various diseases ranging from cardiovascular, urological, neurovascular, ophthalmic to gastrointestinal. Catheters perform the functions of fluid drainage, fluid or gas administration and organ access for surgery in human body. An indwelling catheter is left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently while a permcath is inserted in the body permanently. A catheter is made up of polymers such as silicone, nylon, polyurethane, thermoplastic, elastomer, polyethylene terephthalate to name a few. These catheter polymers are inert and unreactive to human body and medical or surgical chemicals. Micro guide catheter has a hydrophilic coating designed with Glide Technology, a stainless steel braid and a gold marker.Micro Guide Catheters Market: Drivers & RestraintsMicro guide catheter is built to approach highly complex lesions in the human anatomy through the most difficult vessels, ducts or cavities. The stainless steel braid in Micro guide catheter improves the tensile strength and increases the reliability of the Micro guide catheter. This is an advantage of micro guide catheter over other conventional catheters. The Micro guide catheter lumen is tapered and intended to provide for enhanced guidewire control through the human body. The risk associated with catheter material and functioning can hamper the growth of micro guide catheter market. There have been instances in which the polymer of catheter has proven to be weak and got fractured. These fractures need to be rectified by additional surgery thereby losing patient compliance and increasing cost of surgery.Request Free Report Sample@Micro Guide Catheters Market: SegmentationMicro Guide Catheters market is classified on the basis of type, therapeutic area and geography.Based on type, the global Micro Guide Catheters market is segmented into the following:Over-the-wire micro guide catheterFlow directed micro guide catheterBased on therapeutic area, the global Micro Guide Catheters market is segmented into the following:NeurovascularCardiovascularMicro Guide Catheters Market: OverviewMicro Guide Catheter is widely used in cardiovascular disease treatment. Cardiovascular catheters is the largest segment in global catheter market. Cardiovascular catheters hold approximately 40% share of the global catheter market. The micro guide catheter market is expected to witness bolstering demand owing to the venturing of catheter manufacturing companies into new launches of micro guide catheters. Also the micro guide catheter market possess ample potential due to the flexibility of micro guide catheter tips. Micro guide catheter tips are capable of reaching intricate anatomy to treat diseases such as uterine fibroids, arterial embolism, venal or pulmonary embolism, vascular malformations and hypervascularized tumors.Micro Guide Catheters Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, global Micro Guide Catheters market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading region in micro guide catheter market due to the high volumes of medical procedures conducted through catheterization. Also, the availability of established healthcare infrastructure, high contribution of healthcare to economy, patient compliance are the reasons for the high demand in North America for micro guide catheter. The constant healthcare sector improvements and the huge amount of population base represented by the Asia Pacific region is expected to drive the demand in Asia Pacific micro guide catheter market.Visit For TOC@Micro Guide Catheters Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in global Micro Guide Catheters market are LuMend Corporation, Terumo Europe N.V., Covidien AG, ASAHI INTECC Company Limited, Lake Region manufacturing Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Volcano Corporation, Micro Therapeutics Inc., Merit Medical Systems Inc. to name a few. The micro guide catheter manufacturing companies aim to gain US FDA and CE approvals for its micro guide catheters.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Smart Glass in Automotive Market : Impact of Existing and Emerging Market 2016 - 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11758 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11758 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com A smart glass is a type of glass that modifies and controls the light properties passing through it as per the variation in the light intensity, fluctuation in voltage and heat variation. Initially the scope of the smart glasses was limited to only construction and architectural purposes but nowadays it has widen to aviation, rail, marine and automotive. Rapid research and development in this segment has attracted many private players and government agencies to invest in this technology. Due to this reason the number of players offering smart glass to the automotive company has increased significantly in the recent years. Also the countries like China and India offer tremendous opportunity for automotive market growth, so smart glass manufacturers are trying to expand their business in these emerging economies. There are wide applications of smart glass in any automotive that includes rear and side view mirror, sunroofs, windshield, backlights and sidelights so the smart glass in automotive has a healthy growth potential in the further future. Also there are safety regulations pertaining to the glass used in automotive these days and this leads to the increased usage of this smart glasses in order to be in line with the norms of a specific region. The global smart glass in automotive market is anticipated to have a lucrative CAGR in the forecasted period.Request to view Sample Report @Increasing global automotive market and the essential glasses being deployed in these automotive is the key driving factor for the global smart glass in automotive market. Also automotive consumers are becoming aware about this technology and for their luxury and comfort they are implementing this technology in their vehicles that is bolstering the aftermarket of smart glass. Also mandatory rules and regulations of some countries for the safety and security of the passengers is another factor forcing the vehicle owners to deploy smart glasses, thereby leading to growth of smart glass in automotive market. However, high cost associated with these smart glasses are making people to think twice before opting for this technology. Also in some developing regions vehicles users are not aware about this technology. Aforementioned factors might hamper global smart glass in automotive market growth.Request to view Table of content @Geographically, the global smart glass in automotive market is segmented into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Western Europe is the leading region in the global smart glass in automotive market due to the deployment of essential smart glasses in the vehicles being manufactured especially in Germany. Asia Pacific is the second major contributor in the global smart glass in automotive market due to presence of automobile giants such as Maruti Suzuki India Limited, Hero MotoCorp Ltd and other companies, which has led towards installation of smart glass in automobiles. Companies such as General Motors Company, The Ford Motor Company are having a significant contribution in the North America, thus making it a considerable market in the global smart glass in automotive market. Japan is well established in the automotive market, so smart glasses are used on a large scale by the automobile manufacturers in this region. Latin America and Middle East and Africa are at a nascent stage in the global smart glass in automotive market but is anticipated to record modest growth during the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: In-Mold Labels Market will explore robust size & growth during 20162024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/in-mold-labels-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/in-mold-labels-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/in-mold-labels-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/in-mold-labels-market https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Global In-Mold Labels Market: OverviewIn-mold labeling (IML) is the process to fuse high-quality graphic images on plastic containers while molding. It has open up new opportunities for thermoformed plastic containers, injection-molded, and blow-molded. IML is a process of printing high-quality in-mold labels at comparatively low prices. IML technology gives additional advantages such as waterproof, transparent, and permanent molded labels. Some of the major end-use applications benefited are household, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paint, and cosmetic containers. In-mold labeling is adopted by several industries to enhance brand image at points of sale. It is widely accepted as the creative solution for custom projects.Global In-Mold Labels Market: Growth FactorsNowadays, people have become more conscious about attractive packaging and labeling; this is anticipated to enhance the market growth in the near future. In-mold labels give detail information of the product; this is one of the major driving factors boost market growth. It assists in building the brand image for future perspective and is anticipated to witness growth in the future. Low-cost in-mold labels are cost-effective for the entire container which in turn is expected to fuel the market demand in future. These labels provide proper product specifications by using 360-degree graphics on entire container. Thinning of containers for cost reduction and packaging waste is restraining the market growth to some extent.Request Free Sample Report @Global In-Mold Labels Market: SegmentationThe global in-mold labels market is segmented on the basis of printing technology as gravure, offset, flexographic, and others. Based on technology, the global market is categorized as thermoforming, injection molding, extrusion, and others. Further, the global market is divided on the basis of material as polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), ABS resins, and others. Of which, polypropylene (PP) is the dominating material segment in the international market. It enhances product value due to its essential moisture-resistant property. Furthermore, the market is fragmented based on end-use applications as consumer durables, food & beverage, automotive, and others. Of which, food & beverage accounts for the largest market chunk owing to demand packed and branded products. Rising awareness towards the authenticity of the product also positively impacts the global in-mold labels market.Global In-Mold Labels Market: Regional AnalysisEurope is the leading segment for in-mold labels owing increasing use in end-use applications such as industrial packaging and FMCG products. Rising financial stability positively impacts the in-mold labels market in this region. Whereas, high demand for in-mold labels from Germany and France due to developing manufacturing sector is anticipated to foster the growth of the market in this region. However, North America shows a considerable growth in in-mold labels market and is expected to continue this trend in future. Further, dramatically enlarging food & beverage industry in Asia Pacific and Latin America is also anticipated to boost the market in the near future.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global In-Mold Labels Market: Competitive PlayersSome of the key players in the global in-mold labels market include Mepco, Avery Dennison Corp., Century Label, Allen Plastic, Ameri Seal, Color Craft Label Company, Fort Dearborn, CCL Industries Inc., Gilbreth, Holostik India Limited, Color Flex, Bemis Company Inc., Anchor Packaging, Classic Label, Label World, Bothra Industries, MCC Label, Ameet Metaplast, Consolidated Label, and Axon. Other keys players influencing the global market are Wepackit, Karlville Development, LLC, Sovereign Labelling System, Hammer Packaging, The Dow Chemical Company, Printpack, Edwards Label, ShrinkSleeveLabels, MRI Packaging, Smyth Companies, MPI Label System, Sleever International, PDC International, SleevCo, Packology, and Sleeve Seal. Companies adopt new strategies such niche product innovations for their market growth. For instance, UK Converter has launched a removable in-mold label. It can be removed after use or recycled.Browse detail report @Global In-Mold Labels Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaInquire more before buying this report @What Reports ProvidesFull in-depth analysis of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsSegmentation details of the marketFormer, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and valueAssessment of niche industry developmentsMarket share analysisKey strategies of major playersEmerging segments and regional marketsTestimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Visit Our Blog:About Us:Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Research report covers the Non Fusion Spinal Devices Market share and Growth, 2015-2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-582 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-582 www.futuremarketinsights.com Spinal implants are devices used to treat disproportion of spine, provide stability and strengthen the spine of patients. These devices are broadly segmented as fusion and non-fusion spinal devices. Non-fusion technologies into spinal surgery has improved outcomes by providing patients to retain at least some movement and flexibility in the spine.Non fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices are used for the patients who are suffering from the problem of gradual disc damage, degenerative disc disease often results in disc herniation and chronic back or neck pain.According to WHO, back pain affects people of all ages, from children to the elderly, and is a very frequent reason for medical consultations. It is difficult to estimate the incidence of back pain as the incidence of back pain is already high by early adulthood and symptoms tend to recur over time. The lifetime prevalence of non-specific (common) back pain is estimated at 60% to 70% in industrialized countries.Request Free Report Sample@Non Fusion Spinal Devices Market: Drivers and RestraintsNon fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices global market is driven by aging population, increase in the number of obesity patient, and rise in the demand for minimally invasive surgery proceduresNon fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices market is driven by new technological advancements. The huge population afflicted from obesity and back pain problem drives the global market. However, unstable reimbursement policies act as a major barrier for this market.Non Fusion Spinal Devices Market: SegmentationNon fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices market is segmented into following types:Artificial Discs ReplacementCervical Discs ReplacementLumber Discs ReplacementDynamic Stabilization DevicesInterspinous Process Decompression (IPD) DevicesPedicle Screw-Based Dynamic Stabilization SystemsAnnulus Repair DevicesNon Fusion Spinal Devices Market: OverviewWith rapid technological advancement and wide acceptance of non-fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices among patients with back pain problem, the global non fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices market is expected to grow at healthy CAGR in the forecast period (2012-2025).Non Fusion Spinal Devices Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic regions, global non fusion spinal technologies and disc diagnostic devices market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa.North America contributes the largest market share as the degenerative disc disease affects almost 50% of the U.S. population above age 40 years. Asia pacific shows the fastest growth due to large number of population.Visit For TOC@Non Fusion Spinal Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the key participating players in this market are Medtronic Inc., Stryker Corporation, Zimmer Holdings Inc., DePuy Synthes and others.About Us Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global n-Hexane Market to Reach US$ 1856.7 Mn by 2024 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/12709 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/n-hexane-market/toc http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/12709 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Demand for n-Hexane, especially in developing region such Asia Pacific, is expected to boost the demand of the global n-Hexane market over the forecast period. Excellent properties of n-Hexane to remove odor and unwanted taste are expected to propel the demand of n-Hexane from the edible oil industry. n-Hexane has the ability to remove unwanted taste and odor and this is the precise reason that the demand for n-Hexane has increased in edible oil industry. However, the consumers from developed regions are shifting from refined oil to cold-pressed oil owing to its superior health benefits. Cold pressing is a natural way to produce oil which does not contain solvent residues, no preservatives with natural antioxidants. In addition, Isohexane, a hexane isomer is used as a substitute of n-Hexane in few oilseed extraction applications. Due to toxic nature of n-Hexane, it has been substituted by n-heptane in some pharmaceutical applications. This may retard the growth of the n-Hexane market.According to the latest report published by Persistence Market Research titled, Global Market Study on n-Hexane: Oil Extraction End-Use Segment to Dominate Consumption over the Forecast Period , the global n-Hexane Market is anticipated to witness a Y-o-Y growth of more than 3% in 2016. Increasing population coupled along with shooting refined oil demand is expected to propel the demand for n-Hexane. As a special-purpose solvent, n-Hexane has applications across a diverse set of industries which is expected to boost demand of n-hexane.Based on application, oil extraction will continue to lead the market share, representing nearly 57% of total revenues in 2016. High demand for n-Hexane in oil extraction owing to its effectiveness and high yield is expected to propel the global n-Hexane Market. Polymerization is expected to reach more than 200KT in 2016. Oil Extraction, Pharmaceutical, and Polymerization will remain top 3 end-users in global n-Hexane Market.Grade wise, oil extraction followed by industrial will dominate the Global n-Hexane Market in 2016 and is anticipated to reach more than US$ 600 Mn in 2016. Demand for industrial grade n-Hexane is expected to reach closed to 560 KT in 2016.Request Report Sample @On the basis of the region, APAC has the largest market in n-Hexane market across the world. China recorded a dominant market share of more than 40% in 2015. Asia-Pacific is estimated to lead the market in 2016, followed by Europe and North America. Moderate growth is expected from the mature markets such as North America and Europe. Europe will witness sluggish growth owing to the gradual economic recovery. In addition, important players in the market have been shifting their production bases to Asia Pacific region in order to capitalize on scale economies. Rising environmental concerns in developed regions over the use of n-Hexane and its adverse impact on health and environment may inhibit the growth of the n-Hexane market. APAC is expected to drive the global n-Hexane market and is expected to register closed to 5% of volume CAGR over the forecast period 2016-2024.For More Information Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report @Key participant of global n-Hexane market are Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd., Sak Chaisidhi Company Limited, Liangxin petrochemical company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Philips Chemicals LLC, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd., , Royal Dutch Shell plc., Rompetrol Rafinare S.A, DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, Dongying Liaoning Yufeng Chemical Co., Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.To Purchase Report (Single User License) @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market to generate strong growth by 20162024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/light-changing-packaging-inks-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/light-changing-packaging-inks-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/light-changing-packaging-inks-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/light-changing-packaging-inks-market https://zionmarketresearch.wordpress.com/ http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Global Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market: OverviewLight-changing packaging ink changes its color when it is exposed to sunlight which is best suited for food & beverage. This packaging ink is used in variety of food product packaging such as labels, in-molds, film, and many others. It is one of the light-changing packaging inks which rapidly changes, in terms of photochromic performance, its colors when expose to sunlight. Photochromic is in available in a range of color-changing inks which reacts to any variation when exposed to sunlight. Thermochromic is another color-changing ink that changes color with respect to temperature variations. These two color-changing inks are widely preferred by the industries such as healthcare, food & beverages, cosmetics, and others.Request Free Sample Report @Global Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market: Growth FactorsLight-changing packaging ink is broadly accepted in variety of industries in different types such as flexible packaging, labels, in-mold, and others. The demand for light-changing packaging ink has increased from some end-use companies such as food & beverages, cosmetics, healthcare and others; this in turn is anticipated to boost the global market growth. Moreover, increasing awareness for more convenient and eco-friendly packaging is anticipated to foster the global market in the near future. In addition, rising disposable income and changing life-style are other factors that are expected to augment the global market in the coming years. Furthermore, low cost of the light-changing packaging inks is another major driving factor of the global market.Global Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market: SegmentationThe global light-changing packaging inks market is segmented on the basis of material type as metal, paper & paperboard, rigid plastic, glass, flexible plastic, and others. Of these, flexible plastic is the dominating material-type segment in the global market. Based on the ink type, the global market is categorized as sunlight ink, photochromic ink, thermochromic ink, and others. Furthermore, the global market is divided on the basis of application as healthcare, food & beverages, cosmetics, and others. Food & beverages is the leading application segment in the global market.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market: Regional AnalysisNorth America is the major producer of the light changing ink such as photochromic inks. Its rising production capacity is anticipated to fuel the global light-changing packaging inks market in future. Europe is the second leading market and is anticipated to witness healthy growth in the global market. Consumer inclination towards light changing ink packaging for food & beverages drives the market in Europe. Moreover, Asia Pacific accounted for largest market share for light-changing packaging inks market owing to turn large network for food & beverages industry in this region. The demand for light-changing packaging inks is significantly higher in the US owing to increasing disposable income. Canada is also showing considerable growth in the light-changing packaging inks market and is anticipated to grow in flexible packaging industry.Global Light-Changing Packaging Inks Market: Competitive PlayersSome of the major players in the global light-changing packaging inks market are Sun Chemical Group, CTI, Videojet Technologies, Inc., and others. For instance, Bright spot CTI introduced light changing packaging ink in the market. Bright spot Chromatic technology has introduced a line of photochromic inks for food and beverages which changes the color when exposed to sunlight.Browse detail report @Global Cold Form Blister Packaging Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaInquire more before buying this report @What Reports ProvidesFull in-depth analysis of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsSegmentation details of the marketFormer, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and valueAssessment of niche industry developmentsMarket share analysisKey strategies of major playersEmerging segments and regional marketsTestimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.Visit Our Blog:About UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Smart Water Systems in Scotland - New Interview Released with Scottish Government http://www.smart-water-systems.com/openpr http://www.smi-online.co.uk www.smart-water-systems.com/openpr SMi Group release new interview with Water Industry Group Leader, Jon Rathjen, ahead of his opening address at the 6th Annual Smart Water Systems next AprilSMi Group have released an interview with Jon Rathjen, Group Leader Water Industry from the Scottish Government, ahead of his opening address at the 6th annual Smart Water Systems conference in London on 24th and 25th April 2017.Providing a Scottish perspective, Jon will be discussing the importance and value of water resources and how this can contribute to increased economic benefits.In the run up to the event, SMi Group spoke to Jon regarding his work and developments in the smart water industry.When asked to describe the Scottish smart water industry, Jon Rathjen said:Our water industry has a huge asset base to enhance and manage and plenty of performance challenges for the future, the smart water industry sector can help understand and optimise what we have and prepare us all for the future."Commenting on the reasons why the Scottish Water Industry is very high performing, he credits Scottish low water charge rate and the framework that combines the government, independent regulation and customer input as the main factors.Scotland faces a positive challenge to support industrial and domestic growth and to optimise performance and service for customers and in Scotland we have a public corporation that serves the whole nation of over 5 million customers across some of the UKs most beautiful and challenging landscapes. Scotland already has an active retail market for non-domestic customers and that has driven water efficiency and water use reduction technology and systems improvements, the English market is coming soon and these opportunities will gain greater focus then. The Scottish Water industry is high performing and our charges are lower on average than the rest of the UK. We also have a unique governance framework that combines Scottish Government strategic direction with independent regulation and a strong customer input.The full interview is available to read in the event download centre atSMis 6th annual conference:Smart Water Systems24th - 25th April 2017Copthorne Tara Hotel, London UK---END ---About SMi GroupEstablished since 1993, the SMi Group is a global event-production company that specializes in Business-to-Business Conferences, Workshops, Masterclasses and online Communities. We create and deliver events in the Defence, Security, Energy, Utilities, Finance and Pharmaceutical industries. We pride ourselves on having access to the worlds most forward thinking opinion leaders and visionaries, allowing us to bring our communities together to Learn, Engage, Share and Network. More information can be found atSMi Group1 Westminster Bridge Rd, London SE1 7XWContact Information:For media enquiries, contact Theresa Chung on +44 (0)20 7827 6068 or email tchung@smi-online.co.ukTo register visit the website ator contact Andrew Gibbons on Tel: +44 (0)20 7827 6156 / Email: agibbons@smi-online.co.uk Touchless Sensors Market: Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5954 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5954 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Touchless sensing is the next generation evolution in human machine interface (HMI) technology. It is typically used to detect the presence or motion of a person within the coverage area of sensor. Touchless sensing is a technology that combines the advantages of optical sensing with biometric sensing systems. Touchless sensors enable scanning of biometric images or simply the presence of a person without the need for physical contact with the sensors. The optical source in the system illuminates the object and the image is scanned using camera. The optical source used for illumination is highly sophisticated and ensures high quality image for detection. Touchless sensor systems are highly appreciable in areas with hygiene concerns such as washrooms, restaurant kitchens and others. In addition, touchless sensors are increasingly being preferred for automatic entrance/exits in shopping malls, railway stations, airports and other public places.Request for Sample Report:Touchless sensors market is currently in nascent stage and is expected to show strong growth in near future. This is majorly due to several advantages of touchless sensors over conventional touch based sensing systems. Touchless sensors are cost effective as compared to the touch based sensors and require low maintenance cost. In addition, as the system is touch free, wear and tear caused to the sensor system is significantly reduced thereby extending the life of system. Touchless sensors can be easily installed with the existing hardware and do not incur additional installation costs. As the systems are based on touchless sensing technology, touchless sensor systems can also be used for security purposes especially in areas with restricted access. Furthermore, growing demand for sophisticated and contact-free sensing systems is another significant factor boosting the growth of touchless sensors market. Unlike conventional touch based sensors, touchless sensors analyze the biometric image to check if it is unmodified. This significantly increases the security against fake entries at access points.Touchless sensors market is broadly segmented based on type of technology, product, application and geographic regions. Touchless sensors are based on different technologies such as infrared, ultrasonic sound waves, electric/capacitive near field and others. The products in touchless sensors are categorized based on touchless biometrics and sanitary equipment. Some of the products for sanitary equipment are soap dispenser, faucets, trash-can, flushes, paper towel and hand dryer. Touchless biometrics includes products such as iris, fingerprint, face, voice and other object recognition sensors. The touchless sensors find wide applications in healthcare, consumer electronics, retail stores, public places, automobile industry, security, home appliances and other automation systems. Touchless sensors are used for security majorly in government sector and are expected to be the most lucrative application due to growing security concerns in government sector. Furthermore, touchless sensors market based on geographic regions is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW). At present, North America is the largest market for touchless sensors owing to the high demand for sophisticated sensing sanitary systems as well as touchless biometrics.Request for Table of content:Some of the leading companies in the touchless sensors market are Cognitec Systems GmbH, Cross Match Technologies, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Pebbles Ltd., Qualcomm, Inc., XYZ Interactive Technologies, Inc., Microchip Technology, Inc., MorphoTrak, LLC (Safran group) and others.About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Mobile Content Market Outlook on 2017 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=410 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com According to a market study, published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), a market research and intelligence firm, the global mobile content market is likely to expand at an impressive CAGR of 19.0% during the period from 2011 to 2017 and reach a market value of US$18.6 bn by the end of the forecast period.The global market for mobile content stood at US$6.5 billion in 2011, states the report, titled Mobile Content Market - Global And U.S. Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Trends And Forecasts 2011 - 2017.The worldwide market for mobile contents is distributed among North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the world, cites the research study. According to it, North America leads the global mobile content market and is followed by the market in Asia Pacific. The availability of cost-efficient consumer equipment, together with availability of sufficient funds, has fueled the mobile content market in North America to a great extent and is expected to boost the market further during the forecast period.Additionally, the report identifies the U.S. as the largest market for mobile contents in North America as well as across the globe. In 2011, the U.S. mobile content market contributed the 30.30% of the revenue generated by the market in global arena. The market share held by the U.S. is estimated to rise to 41.10% by the end of the forecast period due to rising uptake of mobile contents in the country.The research report classifies the global mobile content market on the basis of types of mobile content into gaming, music, and video. Among these, the mobile gaming market has generated the highest revenue in recent times, capturing the leading position in the global market. In 2011, this market segment accounted for 53.30% of the overall market in terms of revenue.Get More Information:The mobile gaming market segment is likely to retain its leadership over the forecast period and register an exceptional CAGR of 21.40%. Analysts expect the market segment to acquire 61.70% of the overall mobile content market by 2017, reaching US$11.4 bn from a value of US$3.5 bn in 2011. Female mobile subscribers are the leading end users of mobile gaming contents, reports the market study.Cerion Inc., Apple Inc., Chirp Inc., Huawei, Amazon Inc., Mobidia, Yottaa Inc., Google Inc., Viasat Inc., Ericsson, Skyfire Inc., and Qualcomm are the major companies operating in the global mobile content market. The market report analyzes the profiles of key market players and analyzes the competitive landscape.The main objective of preparing this research report is to provide a comprehensive overview of the global market for mobile contents to market players, consultants, as well as stakeholders. The analyses provided in this market study will assist them understand the prevailing trends in the global market and make strategies accordingly for further expansion of their businesses.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Automated Fare Collection (AFC) System Market: Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2021 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6457 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/6457 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Automated fare collection (AFC) system is the automated version of manual fare collection. It allows public transportation authoritys such as metro, rail, and buses to implement fast and efficient ticketing system. The automated fare collection system allows tracing and managing the funds generated through sales and by use of transport fare media, thereby helping to thrust revenue of the companies. Contactless technology, smart card, and electronic payment reduce the cost associated with handling cash transaction. Smart cards technology is extensively used fare collection systems because it offers benefits such as reduced maintenance & operating cost, improve efficiency, and reduced frauds.Request for Sample Report:The automated fare collection system market is segmented on the basis of technology, components and geography. Based on technology, the automatic fare collection system market can be categorized into smart cards, magnetic strips, near field communication (NFC), and optical character recognition (OCR). The adoption of NFC technology is expected to remain high owing to its benefits such as fault tolerance and high speed contactless transaction. These technologies reduce the cost associated with handling cash transactions and save time of travelers by eliminating the queue for obtaining tickets. On the basis of components, the automated fare collection system market can be segmented as hardware components and software components. Hardware components include vending machine, hand held terminals, and fare gates. Furthermore, on the basis of geography the automated fare collection system market can be categorized into five major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. North America and Europe are anticipated to be the dominant regions over the forecast period owing to the increased government spending for improving transport infrastructure. Asia Pacific automatic fare collection systems market is also expected to witness significant growth owing to the development in countries such as India and China. China and India are focusing on building better commutation facilities such as high speed train, metro train and mono rail.Governments of various countries such as India, China, and U.S., among others are focusing on enhancing the transportation infrastructure and security systems, which in turn is fueling the growth of automated fare collection system market. New payment gateways such as account based payment systems using credit; debit and bank cards are driving the demand of automated fare collection systems.Development of monorail and metro in metropolitan cities is furthermore expected to stimulate the growth of automated fare collection system market, globally. Increasing adoption of NFC based mobile phones is anticipated to furthermore spur the demand of automated fare collection systems. NFC enabled devices allows travelers to perform safe transactions by holding it close to the electronic terminal. Rising need to enhance business process in an organization for increasing profit margins is one of the key factors triggering the demand for automated fare collection systems across the globe. Transit agencies are collaborating with the financial institution, payment gateway providers, and system integrators to reduce the overall cost and providing cost effective shared infrastructure.Request for Table of content:Some of the key players in the automated fare collection system include Advanced Card Systems Ltd., Atos SE, Cubic Transportation Systems, Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, NXP Semiconductors, Omron Corporation, ST Electronics, Thales Group, Trapeze Group and Vix Technology among others.About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Offshore Support Vessels Market Global Industry Analysis Forecast 2016 - 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1428 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/offshore-support-vessel-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Offshore support vessels are known for providing services to offshore drillings rigs, pipe laying, and oil manufacturing platforms used in production and exploration activities. These support vessels facilitate and support logistics and other activities in the oil and gas drilling processes. Different offshore support vessels have their own features and properties with regards to the type of operation. It is one of the fundamental and most resourceful components of the oil and gas industry. The other facilities that offshore support vessels provide are transportation, standby capacity, anchor management, and platform support. It also helps in the mobility of crew members to offshore sites.The market intelligence report provides a thorough overview of the growth trajectory, current scenario, and estimates for the future of the global offshore support vessels market. It further analyses the dynamics that are expected to drive or impede the growth of the global offshore support vessels market. The predominant trends and the elements at play have been further highlighted in the study. A clear understanding of the market has been offered in the report utilizing Porters five forces analysis along with insights into the degree of exit and entry in the global offshore support vessels market. The key players operating in the market have also been assessed with regards to market shares, products, and key strategies.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical industry insights :Global Offshore Support Vessels Market: Trends and ProspectsThe burgeoning offshore oil and gas exploration activities coupled with rise in offshore investments and activities are expected to boost the deployment of offshore support vessels. Factors such as mounting demand for efficient sources of energy and rise in onshore activities are likely to positively influence the growth of the global offshore support vessels market. The substantial rise in offshore rig count is also likely to boost the adoption of offshore support vessels. The bulk contracts supply of the offshore vessels is expected to witness significant growth as manufacturers strive to constantly modify the vessels.However, the global market for offshore support vessels is anticipated to face challenges from the high replacement and maintenance cost of these vessels. The growing emphasis on sustainable development and environment protection has triggered the development of features such as clean design in several regions.Global Offshore Support Vessels Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global offshore support vessels market has been segmented into Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and the Rest of the World. The demand for offshore support vessels in the Asia Pacific region is expected to rise owing to the growing exploration activities in Southeast Asia. Australia, Malaysia, and China are likely to emerge as leading consumers of offshore support vessels. The market is also expected to gain from the rising investments in oil and gas activities in regions such as North Sea, West Africa, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. However, the Middle East is anticipated to emerge as the dominant market region over the coming years.Complete Report with TOC :Companies Mentioned in the ReportLeading players operating in the global offshore support vessels market are focusing on strategies such as new and innovative product launch and agreements in terms of distribution to expand their market penetration. Some of the companies in the market are Rem Maritime As, Bass Marine Pty Ltd., Harvey Gulf, Island Offshore Management, Havila Shipping ASA, and Intermarine LLC.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207 Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market will explore robust size & growth during 20162024 https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/sample/food-packaging-technology-equipment-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/toc/food-packaging-technology-equipment-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/food-packaging-technology-equipment-market https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/food-packaging-technology-equipment-market http://www.zionmarketresearch.com Packaging is a process based on the technological equipment used for protecting products, avoid contamination, ease the distributing process, and to differentiate the brand and the types of products. Packaging of food emphasizes more on the quality and health standards of any living person. The application of the food packaging is dependent on the functional properties including protection, containment, communication, environmental and safety standards. In the world of modernization, there are very few food products which are sold unpacked due to health hygiene. Adoption of efficient and latest packaging technology has led an increase in the production of fancy and unusual shaped products with retained quality as well as has automated the process to reduce the labor cost.Request Free Sample Report @Global Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market: SegmentationFood packaging technology and equipment plays important role due to its direct contact with food products and direct consumption. Thus the packaging involves various processes, types of equipment, and applications. Based on technology, the global food packaging technology & equipment market is segmented as advanced, intelligent packaging, aseptic packaging, active packaging, and controlled technologies. Majorly, all the types are automated or semi-automated. Further based on the equipment, the global market is classified as coding, case packaging, form-fill-seal (FFS), and labeling. In addition, based on the applications, the global market is diversified as dairy products, bakery and confectionary, fruits & vegetables, poultry, seafood & meat products, and so on.Global Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market: Growth FactorsFood quality sustainability and increasing shelf life are the two major advantages of food packaging which leads to increasing demand for the food packaging technology and equipment. Rise in income of average earning class and spending capability as well as increase in population in developing countries are other factors boosting the demand for FMCG products for daily application, hence rising the demand for packaging equipment and technology market. Constant development in packaging standards, designs, and raw materials with respect to environment by the manufacturers is also one the factors boosting the market growth. Reduced labor cost, increased production rate has placed the manufacturers in a position to give competition and boost the revenues, which is also a factor fostering the demand for packaging technology and equipment. A high capital investment for the machinery is restraining the growth of the food packaging technology & equipment market to some extent.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market: Regional AnalysisMoreover, the food packaging technology & equipment market is segmented as North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Rest of World. Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets for food packaging technology & equipment owing to increasing demand of processed food products in developing countries such as India, China, Indonesia and Thailand. In North America, the U.S. is anticipated to be the largest market for food processing equipment mainly due to growing awareness regarding new food products, rising investment on research over food processing equipment, and development increasing economy.Global Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market: Competitive PlayersSome of the major companies known for their products, services, and constant developments in food packaging technology and equipment market are Arpac LLC, Bosch packaging technology, Coesia Group, GEA Group, IMA Group, Ishida, Multivac, Inc., Nichrome India Ltd., Omori Machinery Co. Ltd., Oystar Holding GmbH. Other key companies in the global market are Satake Corporation, Nichimo Company Limited, Odenberg Engineering, Meyer Industries Incorporated, and Nordischer Maschinenbau Rud Baader.Browse detail report @Global Food Packaging Technology & Equipment Market: Regional SegmentAnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilThe Middle East and AfricaInquire more before buying this report @What Report ProvidesFull in-depth analysis of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsSegmentation details of the marketFormer, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and valueAssessment of niche industry developmentsMarket share analysisKey strategies of major playersEmerging segments and regional marketsTestimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the marketAbout UsZion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact US:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite: Military Land Vehicles Market Will Continue to Grow by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3710 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3710 Land military is one of the basic forms of border defense of a country. Military land vehicles have been growing at a rapid pace due to increasing purchases by the emerging economies with large population who need increased land-protection. However, the military land vehicles market is expected to grow at a sluggish rate in the short term due to austerity in several major markets. The economic slowdown in Europe is another factor for the low growth in the short term. The traditional markets for military land vehicles such are the U.S. are mostly up-grading and maintaining their existing military fleets rather than replacing them with the new ones.Request to view Sample Report @The expected cuts in the U.S. vehicle programs are expected to lead to a slowdown of military land vehicles market in the region in the short term. The major land military vehicles of the U.S. include Stryker program, MI I3 replacement, Abrams/Bradley/Paladin Capability enhancement, Ground Combat Vehicle JLTV and FMTV. The major land vehicles owned by other countries include FRES, OUVS, Warrior & Challenger (the U.K.), Boxer (Netherlands), Future AIFV (Spain), PUMA AIFV (Germany), Freccia (Italy), Strategic Military Program (Brazil), Altay MBT (Turkey), K21 AIFV and K2 MBT (South Korea), Abrams Tank up-gradation (Iraq), Future MBT and Abhay (India), Land 121 and Project Overlander (Australia), Project Vistula, Sepula, Hoefyster (South Africa), TSS MBT up-gradation (Peru) and Main battle tank (Columbia) .The asymmetric warfare and increasing operation pressures are compelling the governments to focus on new breed of military land vehicles with focus on mobility and transportation, propulsion, transportability, interoperability with other elements, logistics footprint and lifetime cost. The increasing need for agile and efficient vehicles is driving the market for lightweight and hybrid military land vehicles. The U.K. which played significant role in Iraq and Afghanistan operation faced a defense budget deficit of USD 60billion post operation which led to an aggressive Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) to recover from this. The legacy vehicles in France including AMX-10 RC, VAB and ERC-90 are to be replaced by VBMR and EBRC vehicles.Request to view Table of content @The governments in the western countries are practicing lean military force and are therefore downsizing their armed forces. However, they are replacing their cold-war era equipments and investing in new technologies. The Department of Defense (DOD) in the U.S. is planning to downsize its soldiers strength by 80,000 and the marine corps by 20,000. Among regions, North America dominated global sales followed by Asia Pacific. With the economic recovery of Europe by the mid of the decade the military land vehicles market in the region is expected to grow at a fast pace. Military land vehicles market is consolidated with small number of players operating in the market. The key players in military land vehicles market are General Dynamics, BAE Systems, Oshkosh Corporation, Rheinmetall, ST Engineering and Navistar. The military land vehicle manufacturers are increasing their focus on Asia Pacific and Middle East markets. In the decade 2001-2010, the series of wars led to Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) where the manufacturers of military land vehicles enjoyed great profits. The present decade mostly features cold war thus marring the scope for UORs. However, any eruption of war can give the military land vehicles industry a skyrocketing growth.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Earthmoving Equipment Market Analysis Report by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3723 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3723 Earthmoving equipment is referred to heavy equipment (heavy-duty vehicles designed specially for executing construction operation, mostly which involves earthwork operation). These heavy equipments are used in the construction industry to move large amounts of earth or to dig foundations and landscape areas. Earthmoving equipments are known with different name in different region such as heavy trucks, heavy machines, construction equipment, engineering equipment, heavy vehicles and heavy hydraulics. Earthmoving equipment operates through the mechanical advantage of a simple machine where the ratio between input force applied and force exerted is multiplied. Most earthmoving equipment uses hydraulic drives as a primary source of motion. Technically skilled worker are able to operate heavy equipment, these individuals are provided with special training before they operate any heavy equipments.Request to view Sample Report @On the bases of operation performed by the machine the global earthmoving equipments market can be bifurcated into excavators (compact excavator, dredging, dragline excavator, front shovel and others), loaders (skip loader and wheel loader), construction tractors and others (grader, scraper, track loader, material handler and others). Earthmoving equipments are majorly applied in the construction industry (private or government). Other major application of earthmoving equipments includes mining, digging and other heavy duty work. Construction industry is expected to maintain its dominance in the global earthmoving equipment market.Asia-Pacific has the largest market share for earthmoving equipment accounting for more than two fifth of the global earthmoving equipments market, followed by Europe and North America. China leads the global earthmoving equipments market. Asia-Pacific region is expected to maintain its dominance in the forecasted period. Europe and North America region are expected to witness average growth in the coming future. Global recession hampered the construction industries particularly in the western countries. But the industry is expected to show growth in the coming future helping the global earthmoving equipments market.Growth in the construction industry after the global recession is driving the global earthmoving equipments market. Additionally, increasing urban population demands for better dueling facilities proving growth opportunity for the construction industry, which in turn increases the demand for heavy machines including earthmoving equipments especially in the developing countries such as India and China. According to the 2009 revision of World Urbanization Prospect, the level of urbanization in the world crossed the 50% mark in 2009. According to the United Nations, urban population is expected to increase from 3.4 billion in 2009 to 6.3 billion in 2050. Also, governments and private sectors across the globe are investing in better infrastructure facilities. Construction of roads, residential buildings, healthcare centers and educational institutes is expected to increase the demand for earthmoving equipments to some extent. For infrastructure development, the U.K governments public sector investment is expected to rise by USD 4.9 billion to about USD 77.7 billion in 2013-14 over 2012-13. It is further expected to increase to about USD 83.0 billion in 2014-15.Request to view Table of content @Increasing investment for improvement of infrastructure facilities in the countries governments and private sector are investing heavily in the construction industries, providing growth opportunity for the manufacturers to invest more in the global earthmoving equipment market. Some of the major players operating in the global earthmoving equipments market are Atlas Copco, Bobcat Company, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Ingersoll Rand, CASE, New Holland and Track Marshall.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Global Energy Recovery Devices Market: Facts, Figures and Analytical Insights 2015 - 2021 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/7199 www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/7199 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com Energy conservation is increasingly becoming an important issue in water purification. Engineers are looking for new technologies to cut down on operating costs without increasing maintenance and operation requirements. Energy consumption has always been one of the largest operating costs in membrane water treatment plants. Energy savings can be achieved through the incorporation of energy recovery devices.Request for Sample Report:Energy recovery devices for are majorly used for brackish water and seawater reverse osmosis facility leading to energy saving. These devices transfer some of the residual pressure from the system concentrate to boost another flow stream. There are new innovative applications of energy recovery devices on membrane softening systems and brackish water.Additional benefits are obtained by using energy recovery devices such as improving hydraulic balance, increasing permeate quality, and potentially extending the life of the membranes. There are many types of energy recovery devices. Some of the major commercially used energy recovery devices include reverse turbine, Pelton wheel, pressure exchanger, work exchanger, and electric motor drive.The global energy recovery devices market is mainly driven by the rising demand of energy recovery devices in seawater reverse osmosis desalination as well as brackish water reverse osmosis desalination facility. Increasing applications and technological advancements will provide great opportunities for the growth of energy recovery device. Above mentioned factors are expected to drive the growth of the Energy recovery devices market for the forecast period (2015-2025).Global Energy recovery devices market is segmented by product type, application, and by region.The global Energy recovery devices market is estimated to witness a considerable growth for the forecast period (2015 to 2025). North America and European region are the leading market for Energy recovery devices. According to FMIs forecast, the Energy recovery devices market in Asia-Pacific is expected to demonstrate the fastest CAGR over the forecast period. FMI forecasts the Asia-Pacific region to be the fastest growing region for Energy recovery devices market for the forecast period due to increasing demand for Energy recovery devices for seawater reverse osmosis in this region.Key players in the global Energy recovery devices market focus on innovations and technological advancements, in order to outperform competitors. Companies in this market are focusing on finding newer applications and newer technologies for Energy recovery devices, to expand their reach and grow their market share. The market for energy recovery devices is competitive as there is an increasing demand for fresh water and this market is constantly expanding.Request for Table of content:Some of the major players of the global Energy recovery devices market are Energy Recovery Inc., RWL Water, Marsi Water, Dynalon Engineering Sdn Bhd, Flowserve Corporation, Fluid Equipment Development Company (FEDCO), and others.About Us:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact Us:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb: Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping, seen in September 2016, has styled himself as president-elect since losing the August election by less than 6,000 votes (AFP Photo/STEVE JORDAN) (AFP/File) The Hague (AFP) - Lawyers representing Gabon opposition leader Jean Ping sent a case file to the International Criminal Court's prosecutor on Thursday, accusing the government of crimes against humanity. The accusation relates to violence which broke out for two days following the controversial reelection of President Ali Bongo in August, a result questioned by the European Union. The opposition claimed 26 people were killed during the riots and protests that begun on August 31, although official government figures put that toll at just three. The file sent to the ICC was "the fruit of three months of investigations carried out in Gabon and abroad, which demonstrate the existence of crimes against humanity committed by the Gabonese authorities", French lawyer Emmanuel Altit said in a statement. "It transires that Gabonese government forces launched, in particular on August 31 in Libreville, a planned attack on the civil population aimed at maintaining power" for Bongo, the statement said. Back in September, the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened an initial probe into the deadly violence, but at Libreville's behest. Gabon's letter of referral to the ICC had accused Ping and his supporters of incitement to genocide and crimes against humanity. Opposition protestors had set parliament ablaze and clashed with police. Ping has styled himself as president-elect since losing the August election by less than 6,000 votes. That result lacked "integrity", according to EU observers who cited "anomalies", including a flagrant one in which Bongo's Haut-Ogooue heartland returned a 99 percent turnout -- with the president taking 95 percent of the vote -- compared to a 54.24 percent turnout across the rest of the country. The ICC prosecutor must now study the case before determining whether or not to open an inquiry. Gabon is a signatory to the Rome Statute which provides the guidelines for prosecutions at the ICC, set up in 2002 in The Hague to try the world's worst crimes. Flexible Glass Market : Global Market Snapshot by 2021 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3869 http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3869 Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid material which exhibits a glass transition. Glass can also take reversible transition in amorphous materials from a hard and relatively brittle material state to a molten or plastic state. Glasses are basically brittle in state and are optically transparent in nature. Most commonly known glass type is soda-lime glass (made up of 75% silicon dioxide (SiO2), sodium oxide (Na2O), lime (CaO) and various minor additives materials). Flexible glass is an ultra-thin glass having the properties of a rigid glass material. Properties such as strength, temperature stability and durability in a flexible nature are associated with flexible glasses. Additionally, flexible glass can also attain the property of plastics such as scratch resistance and rigidity. Flexible glass is majorly used to increase the strength and flexibility of the finished product, in turn increases the life of the products. Additionally, flexible glass also helps the electronic gadgets to reduce their weight, increases its attractiveness, making it handy and better or high quality products.Request to view Sample Report @Owing to the unique flexibility property of the glass, the flexible glass market can by bifurcated according to the end-user markets such as display market, OLED (organic light-emitting diode) market and Other gadgets markets (which are rollable, flexible and wearable in nature). Display market is expected to dominate the demand of flexible glass in the forecasted period owing to development of next generation gadgets. Other applications of the flexible glass are in the manufacturing of displays of cellphones and tablets.North America has the largest market for flexible glass, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The U.S. and China are the largest consumers of flexible glass and are expected to dominate the market in coming years. North America is expected to maintain its dominance in the forecasted period; Europe is expected to shoe marginal growth. However, Asia Pacific region is expected to witness highest growth in the forecasted period owing to the increasing domestic demand of cellphones and tablets in the emerging markets of India and china.Increasing demand of consumer electronics paired with advancement in the display technology is expected to increase demand for products such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and TVs. This is expected to increase the demand for flexible glass materials, driving the overall flexible glass market. Additionally, increasing demand for slim and scratch-resistant displays in the electronics products is expected to drive the flexible glass market to some extent. Also, with increasing disposable income consumers are demanding better quality electronic products such as smartphones, smartwatches, cellphones and other products; this is further increasing the demand for flexible glass, especially in the developing markets such as India, China and Brazil. According to the National Bureau of Statistics China, annual per capita disposable income of urban households in China increased from USD 2,271.0 in 2008 to USD 3408.5 in 2012. The overall annual disposable income in India medium household income increased from USD 1,366.2 billion in 2010 to USD 1,587.6 billion in 2013.Request to view Table of content @Some of the major companies operating in the global flexible glass market are Corning Inc., Nippon Electric Glass Co. Ltd., Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., Schott AG, Abrisa Technologies, Tokyo Electron, Dupont Display, Universal Display Corporation, Materion Corporation, Kent Displays, Inc., LG Display Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation and LiSEC Group.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Latest Report Examines Factors Driving Global mPOS Revenue and Growth Rate 2021 http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=871934&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-mpos-market-research-report-2016.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/reports.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com Global mPOS Industry 2016 Market Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Technology, Applications, Growth, Market Status, Demands, Insights, Development, Research and Forecast 2016-2020.During the last couple of years, the global mPOS market has experienced changes that have affected the course of companies operating in the industry. The analysts chronicle the changes and present a detailed analysis by studying their cause and effects. Using all the information, it forecasts the global mPOS market in the years to come. Comprised of mPOS pages, it offers a chapter-wise dissection of the market. With a generous use of charts, tables, and graphs, it presents crucial figures and facts, making it easier to grasp the comparative picture and spot key trends.To peruse the market, the report segments it using different parameters. Some of them are product type, application, and geography. Wherever necessary, it further divides the segments to draw proper insights. The revenue and growth projections for each of these segments and sub-segments have been bundled in the report as well. This would help players both new and old in the global mPOS market to spot where a good opportunity lies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Prepared by a team of experienced analysts, the report will help various entities in their growth path by throwing light on not just good opportunities, but also by guiding them on how to avoid the pitfalls. It presents a detailed analysis of the various factors that have driven the market growth so far. Going forward, it attempts to gauge what factors would further boost the growth. It also discusses in details the factors crimping the growth in the market. It uncovers some of the important trends that are emerging on the horizon. Using all the information, it has chalked out the best course of action for companies hungry for success.This report has leveraged both primary and secondary research by interacting with C-level executives of leading companies in the global mPOS market and by undertaking appreciable online research.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 mPOS Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of mPOS1.2 mPOS Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of mPOS by Type in 20151.2.2 Type I1.2.3 Type II1.2.4 Type III1.3 mPOS Segment by Application1.3.1 mPOS Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Application 11.3.3 Application 21.3.4 Application 31.4 mPOS Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Korea Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of mPOS (2011-2021)2 Global mPOS Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global mPOS Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global mPOS Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global mPOS Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers mPOS Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 mPOS Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 mPOS Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 mPOS Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global mPOS Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)3.1 Global mPOS Production by Region (2011-2016)3.2 Global mPOS Production Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.3 Global mPOS Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.4 Global mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.5 North America mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.6 Europe mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.7 China mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.8 Japan mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.9 Korea mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.10 Taiwan mPOS Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)4 Global mPOS Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.1 Global mPOS Consumption by Regions (2011-2016)4.2 North America mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.3 Europe mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.4 China mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.5 Japan mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.6 Korea mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.7 Taiwan mPOS Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)For Market Research Latest Reports Visit @About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Industry Analysis forecast 2016-2022 Sodium Hexametaphosphate Industry http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=901360 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/north-america-sodium-hexametaphosphate-industry-2016-report.html http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ Albany, New York, December 16, 2016: Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently added a new research study on North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Industry 2016. The report provides a basic overview of the Sodium Hexametaphosphate industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.Request for Sample Report:Then, the report focuses on North America major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Sodium Hexametaphosphate industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.This report studies Sodium Hexametaphosphate focuses on top manufacturers in North America market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering: Innophos ICL Performance Products Mexichem RecochemBrowse Full Info with TOC:Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added. The report focuses on Global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. What's more, the Sodium Hexametaphosphate industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Companies profiled this research includes Aditya Birla Chemicals, Prayon, Innophos, ICL Performance Products, Mexichem, TKI, Recochem, Xingfa, Weifang Huabo, Tianrun Chemical etc.Some of the tables of contents provided in North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Market Report 2016 research report include:1. Sodium Hexametaphosphate Market Overview2. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Market Competition by Manufacturers3. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2011-2016)4. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)5. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Types6. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Market Analysis by Applications7. Major Manufacturers Analysis of Sodium Hexametaphosphate (SHMP)8. Sodium Hexametaphosphate Manufacturing Cost Analysis9. Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10. Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11. Market Effect Factors Analysis12. North America Sodium Hexametaphosphate Market Forecast (2017-2022)13. Research Findings and Conclusion14. AppendixMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite: How Semiconductors Have Shaped Today's Technology Semiconductor devices form the backbone of industrial power control applications.Solid state semiconductor technology has shaped our modern world to the point where even our everyday white goods and automobile products are now controlled through the switching and regulation of power devices.The history of Semiconductors and the iconic milestones over the last 115 years1901: Jagadis Chandra Bose created a rectifier by utilising semiconductors that enabled him to detect radio waves.1926: Julius Lillienfeld developed an amplification device that utilised semiconductors.1931: Alan Wilson published a book, The Theory of Electronic Semi-Conductors. This book detailed the first explanation of semiconductor properties utilising the principles of quantum mechanics.1940: Semiconductor technology was used in some of the most advanced electronics during World War II.1947: Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1947, without knowing, this was the start of the Information Age.1952: Bell Labs allowed licensing of the transistor technology which helped lead innovation and utilise semiconductors.1961: Silicon transistors became famous for exceeding other semiconductor materials for speed.1970: The first 8-bit transistor microprocessor was born and the doors of new technology were opening.1980: Sophisticated manufacturing processes for semiconductor materials built the first ever 32-bit processor a computer!2000: by 2000, manufacturers were able to get over 500 million transistors onto a microprocessor.ApplicationsMost electronic devices today require a semiconductor. Semiconductors are usually very small, complex components that are found in thousands of computerised products from small devices including: mobile phones, radios, clocks and CD players to large devices such as computers, microwaves, video games, fridges, ATM machines, trains and advanced medical machinery. All of these devices would not have been developed if semiconductors hadnt been invented, they are the main reason why technology is able to evolve year after year.In addition to these common components, GD Rectifiers stock heavy industrial power semiconductors used for motor drives, battery chargers and telecommunication applications.GD Rectifiers designs and manufactures Selenium and Silicon Rectifiers, Suppressors, Converters, Inverters, Regulators and all other power products for Industrial power control applications. They also offer a repair and replacement service for faulty or ageing Semiconductor Rectifiers, Converters, Inverters and Regulators. The company distributes state of the art Diodes, Thyristors, IGBTs and MOSFETs from the worlds leading manufacturers including: IXYS, IXYS UK Westcode, SEMIKRON and EDI.GD Rectifiers manufacture an extensive range of power components and assemblies. The company also supplies a wide range of Heat Sinks suitable for Power Semiconductors, LED Lighting and similar applications.For further information on all semiconductor products please visit our website.GD Rectifiers is a Global Manufacturer and Distributor of products, services and solutions to commercial and industrial users of power electronic components.Established in 1964, GD Rectifiers has over 50 years of extensive experience across a large range of markets, specialising in new and current technologies for industrial power control applications. An extensive product offering has built GD Rectifiers exceptional reputation as the go-to power specialist with innovative experience across: Aviation, Automotive, Rail, Medical, Industrial and Electronics markets.GD Rectifiers are an ISO 9001:2008 registered company that design and develop bespoke power semiconductor assemblies to control voltage, current and frequency for international industrial markets.GD RectifiersBentley House2 William WayBurgess HillWest SussexRH15 9AG Innovative packaging for confectionery - making a lasting impression at the ProSweets 2017 with SuperThin, Waxed Paper or Paper Look packaging from Schur Flexibles. Schur Flexibles_SuperThin "Sissi Coin" confectionery www.c-b-c.de Baden, 13 December 2016 The Schur Flexibles Group is headquartered in Baden/Austria and has a further 13 locations throughout Europe. The company specialises in modern packaging technologies. Schur Flexibles manufactures and markets high quality flexible solutions that offer the confectionery industry a wide choice of innovative materials and processes.At the ProSweets, which takes place from 29 January to 1 February 2017 in Cologne, the group of companies will be exhibiting ground-breaking packaging solutions and innovative production systems that make impulse-buy products such as confectionery, which have to appeal to consumers at first sight, truly eye-catching. When it comes to the decision to purchase, the way a product looks is important. However, whether the packaging is pleasant to touch is also increasingly becoming a decisive factor. Besides this, consumers are attracted by products that are packaged in a way that promises sustainability or suggests a return to traditional materials.With regard to these aspects, Schur Flexibles will be presenting a wide choice of modern alternatives at Stand H 018 in Hall 10.1. This year's trade fair display focuses on super thin materials, waxed paper solutions and laminates with an innovative paper look, for example.SuperThin extremely thin, extremely light, extremely economicalThe extremely thin aluminium and film solutions in the SuperThin range lead to considerable savings in terms of material use and therefore to increased sustainability: packaging one kilogramme of sweets in SuperThin uses up to 30% less packaging material. It is cost-efficient, reduces the carbon footprint and lowers potential packaging taxes. Using these extremely thin materials means profiting from a lower packaging weight and more metres of film per kilogramme: one roll of SuperThin material results in up to 30% less material use thus each third roll change is obsolete.The products in the SuperThin range are extremely thin yet boast a good machineability and also very tear-resistant. In the aluminium area, these now include metallic films between 3 and 19m that perfectly withstand folding or turning. They are ideal for packaging chocolate tablets, individual chocolates or hollow chocolate figures, for example. The reverse printing process used creates flawless results and also guarantees maximum food safety as the ink is fully coated by layers of aluminium that prevent it from touching the product.Waxed Paper range sticky sweets, packaged as if they were homemadeWaxed paper packaging solutions are another highlight of the Schur Flexibles display at the ProSweets 2017. They add a trendy homemade look to sweets and feel surprisingly soft and pleasant to touch.The Schur Flexibles Waxed Paper solutions are based on a technology that uses natural, untreated wax to coat the paper, which is more biodegradable than paraffin-based solutions, for example. The base waxes can also be modified with polymers and additives to increase the shine of the paper's surface and to optimise its sealability. The material's special wood fibre composites and various surface sealants make it possible to refine the papers further. Sweet packaging made from Schur Flexibles wax-coated materials is easy to open and reseal and can also be printed on with up to 8 colours without any difficulties.The paper surface is particularly hard-wearing and does not scratch. Flawlessly packaged candy drops & co. are a highlight on the sweet shelves. For example, the Schur Flexibles Waxed paper range is perfect for packaging sticky sweets as the waxed paper makes them easy to take out of the pack.Paper Look a paper look and feel add sophistication to film solutionsPaper Look packaging meaning packaging films that feel and also look like paper are a real trend in the industry. Consumers are attracted by products with packaging that looks like "real paper".The Schur Flexibles Paper Look range includes two or three layered paper-laminates. Various very different materials are combined by means of a solvent-free technique. This makes it possible to manufacture customised packaging that looks and feels like paper for a specific product. At the same time, it fully meets all of the requirements with regard to barrier, gloss, durability and sealing properties and therefore protects the product perfectly. The Schur Flexibles Paper Look solutions are easy to process and can be HD flexo-printed with up to 10 colours which creates a really eye-catching display at retail.The Schur Flexibles Group at the ProSweets 2016 in Cologne, Hall 10.1, Stand H 018.About the Schur Flexibles GroupThe Schur Flexibles Group with its headquarter in Baden near Vienna and around 1,350 employees has specialized in innovative, high quality and made-to-measure high-barrier packaging solutions for the food, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries. With its integrated chain of added value, from extrusion via print and laminating to extensive bag-making, the Group, which was founded in 2012, recorded an overall turnover of 400 million euros. Schur Flexibles encompasses 13 companies with 13 production plants in Germany, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Greece and Russia, all of them highly specialized and each of them enjoying technology-leadership status in its own field. This centre-of-excellence concept makes the Group an attractive and expert partner for client companies in selected branches.Casa Blanca Communication GmbH & Co. KGClaudia DiedrichsenMuhlenberger Weg 6122587 Hamburg, GermanyPhone: +49 (0)40 47 11 001-75Fax: + 49 (0)40 47 11 001-80Email: diedrichsen@c-b-c.deInternet: Advancements in Flip-Chip Technologies projected to drive market growth in coming years Flip-Chip Technologies Market http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=882527 https://goo.gl/muii9H http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ https://twitter.com/MktResearchHub Albany, New York, December 16, 2016: The Flip-Chip technology market is presently experiencing a high growth owing to the advancement in copper pillar & micro bumping metallurgy and its extended use in consumer electronic products & mobile phones, states a new report added to the Market Research Hubs vast repository. The report is entitled as Flip-Chip Technologies Market Size, Status and Forecast 2021. The report researches the Flip-Chip Technologies development status and forecast in some of the key regions, such as United States, EU, China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia.Request for Sample Report:In the introductory section, the flip-chip technologies report incorporates analysis of classifications, applications market segmentation and industry chain structure. Semiconductor devices like integrated circuits (ICs) are connected to external circuit board using flip-chip technology by means of solder bumps deposited onto chip pads. Traditionally, devices are connected from substrates or other active mechanisms using wire bonds. More specifically, flip-chip is directly attached to a board, substrate or carrier by various conductive methods called bumping.The flip-chip market is a technology-driven market. Today, manufacturers are focusing on developing new technologies for the bumping process, which in turn is increasing the demand for raw materials required for manufacturing. This leads a scope of excessive growth in this industry for raw material suppliers. It also has advantages over other packaging methods, such as reliability, size, flexibility, performance and cost that help in driving the growth of the flip-chip market. The market is also boosting by availability of flip-chip raw materials, equipment and services.Through the geographical analysis, the report observes that Asia-Pacific is anticipated to be the dominant market for flip chip technology market which is followed by North America and Europe. Countries like India and China are major manufacturing hubs and are anticipated to provide abundant opportunities for the growth of the flip chip technologies.Further, the report segments the market by the types and applications. On the basis of type, the market covers: Copper (Cu) pillar Tin-lead (Sn-Pb) eutectic solder Gold stud + plated solder Lead (Pb)-free solderOn the basis of applications, it covers: Automotive Consumer electronics Industrial sector Telecommunication Medical devices Military & aerospace and others.Currently, Consumer electronics market holds the largest share in the market. It is well known that, smartphones & tablets have the highest adoption among all the consumer electronic devices, owing to their small form factor and better performance to operate at a higher bandwidth, at a comparatively lower cost. The automotive market is expected to grow at a second-highest CAGR rate, projecting the flip chip technology market further.Read Full Report with TOC:Major players profiled in the report include, Intel, TSMC, Samsung, GlobalFoundries, ASE group, Amkor Technology, Powertech Technology, STATS ChipPAC, UMC, STMicroelectronics, SPIL and JCET.About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us On Twitter: Corn Wet-milling Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=17537 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/corn-wet-milling-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Corn wet-milling is a process of refining corns to manufacture end products used by millions of people worldwide. The shelled corns are processed by two types dry mills or wet mills. Under corn wet-milling process corns are separated into four components namely starch, fiber, germ, and gluten. The production process of corn wet-milling includes cleaning, steeping, milling & germ separation, fine grinding & screening and separating starch & gluten. The further process includes conversion of starch to syrup and fermentation by dextrose which added value to products such as ethanol, amino acids and polylactic acid used in biodegradable products. Under milling process corns are indelicately milled to separate germs from other components which contain around 85% of corns oil. According to U.S. Census Bureau, wet corn gluten feed production has increased over the last few years while other byproducts have declined. During 2007 to 2009, the average production of gluten meal in 165 Mn pounds per month. Corn refiners produce various feed products which include corn gluten meal, corn germ meal, and wet corn gluten feed. Primary products of corn wet-milling process are corn starch and edible oil.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Corn Wet-milling Market: Drivers and RestraintsRising in the demand for multi-functionality of corn, consumption of dent corn for high fructose corn syrup used in foods & beverages, consumption of gluten meal based on animal feed in meal industry, are the factors expected to drive the growth of global corn wet-milling market. Moreover, increasing demand for corn ethanol products, wet milling products are rich in digestible fiber, amino acids and contain high level of energy, protein, cysteine & methionine are some other factors expected to fuel the growth of global corn wet-milling market. However, stringent government regulatory controls over health & safety and increasing quality standards are the factors that may hamper the growth of corn wet-milling market.Corn Wet-milling Market: SegmentationThe corn wet-milling market has been classified on the basis of corn type, equipment, application, and end products.Based on corn type, the corn wet-milling market is segmented into the following:DentWaxyBased on equipment, the corn wet-milling market is segmented into the following:MillingCentrifuge SystemSteepingBased on application, the corn wet-milling market is segmented into the following:FoodSteepwaterFeed AreaMillRefineryEthanol ProductionStarch ModificationOthersBased on end products, the corn wet-milling market is segmented into the following:EthanolCorn OilStarchesGluten Meal & FeedSweetenersBrowse Full Report with ToC:Corn Wet-milling Market: OverviewBased on corn types, dent account for largest share in the corn wet-milling market over the forecast period owing to high usage of dent for the production of corn syrup, animal feed, starch and ethanol. Based on end products segment, corn gluten feed is a cost effective product which is an alternative to traditional feed and helps in reducing sub-acute acidosis and improve feed efficiency. Moreover, sweeteners are the more significant refined corn product account for around 55% to the US nutrient sweetener market followed by ethanol which is increasing as a burning preference for motor fuels. According to US Census Bureau, between 2007 and 2009, wet milling systems in the US is grew by 1.2 Mn bushels per month.Corn Wet-milling Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic region, corn wet-milling market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific dominates the corn wet-milling market followed by Europe, Japan and North America owing to expansion of corn wet milling industries and high consumption of corn wet-milling products by many industries such as textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, personal care and others in these regions. Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa hold huge potential and shows substantial growth rising demand for processed food, increasing customer base, high production and consumption of corn related products.Corn Wet-milling Market: Key PlayersKey players of corn wet-milling market are Agrana Beteiligungs-AG, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Ingredion Incorporated, Cargill, Incorporated, Bunge Limited, Grain Processing Corporation, Agri-Industries Holding Limited, Global Bio-Chem Technology Group Company and Roquette Corporate.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: LED Market is Expected to Reach $42.7 Billion, globally, by 2020 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/LED-light-emitting-diode-market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-free-sample/149 https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com LED Market (Light Emitting Diode Market) Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to garner $42.7 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 13.5% during the period 2014-2020. Asia Pacific commands dominance of the LED technology market. The region houses approximately 3/4th of the global electronics manufacturing industries. North America, due to its high-tech forensic and medical applications leads the market for UV LEDs.Access full summary at:After the grand success of the CFL lights, light emitting diode is the next buzzing technology in the general lighting industry. Absence of hazardous liquid mercury and power efficiency has allowed LED to successfully penetrate the market and has outdone CFL lighting in the commercial market. It is anticipated that LED lights would command about 20% share of the global lighting market by 2020. This will be equivalent to 2/3rd of the revenue for LED. However, the demand for basic LED in backlighting applications would decline as OLED broadens its horizon of applications and would eventually supersede basic LED based mobile displays.Download Free Sample Report @UV LED primarily finds its application in medical treatments and forensic tests. UV LED technology anticipates further development as companies are rigorously working out acquisitions to expand their product portfolio and applications. In January 2013, Noblelight acquired Fusion UV, manufacturer of UV LED technology to enhance their UV LED product features. Developed regions, though, are early adopters of the UV LED technology; the healthcare sector in developing regions such as Asia Pacificis also contributing to the growth of the technology. The growing medical tourism and lower cost of treatments will strengthen the adoption of UV LED technology in developing regions.Foreseeing great environmental benefits and energy saving capabilities government across the globe are implementing LED lighting in most of the public settings. The U.S. government has already started replacing the conventional street lights with LED's, which is anticipated to complete by the end of 2014. Such developments are and will be instrument in the growth of the LED technology market. "The growth in revenue will be slower than the rise in unit sales of LEDs due to the constantly declining price of LEDs; however, the overall market would grow at a constant pace due to growing demand for LEDs and expanding applications" states AMR analyst Ranjan Singh. "Continuous development in the technology suggests huge underlying potential for OLEDs during the forecast period," adds the analyst citing the recent rollouts of OLED mobile handsets by Samsung and Nokia. High brightness (HB) LEDs hold nearly 60% of the market share as it can provide much brighter light with lower voltages as compared to other market alternatives. The rapid growth in 4K TV segment suggests that HB LED will continue to hold the key to the growth of LED technology market. Major companies such as Samsung SDI and RIT Display are investing substantially on the development of advanced OLED display technologies.Rising application of LED in general lighting has compelled the manufactures to concentrate on the launch of new LED lighting products and expand their production. OSRAM opened its LED assembly plant in Wuxi, China, to expand its fully loaded LED capacities and also to strengthen its market position in theLED market. The company has chosen the plant location in China to capture the highly potential Asian market. The notable players in this space include and profiled in the are American Bright Optoelectronics Corps, Cree Incorporation, International Light Technologies, Ledtronics, Philips Lumileds Lighting Company, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seoul Semiconductor Co. Ltd., OSRAM Licht AG, Nichia, LG Innotek Co Ltd., GE Lighting Solutions and Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Nichia, Samsung, and Osram held nearly 35% share in the global LED market revenue in 2013.About USAllied Analytics LLP provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". Allied Analytics LLP has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Pankaj Kumar5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada)Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.comWeb: After success of Young India Fellow ship, Dr Pramath Raj Sinha to mentor 40 Potential Leaders Program at two new MBA institutes After the tremendous success of the Young India Fellowship Program at Ashoka University, Dr Pramath Raj Sinha launches the 40 Potential Leaders Program at Center for Leadership, Northcap University and Crescent School of Business.Dr Pramath Raj Sinha pioneered The Young India Fellowship (YIF) at Ashoka University. The YIF is a one year multidisciplinary postgraduate diploma programme in Liberal Studies. The Fellowship brings together bright young individuals who show exceptional intellectual ability and leadership potential from across the country, and trains them to become socially committed agents of change.The same spirit is now being carried into the 40 Potential Leaders Program wherein select PGDM aspirants at both these new B-schools will be chosen and mentored for leadership tracks in their industry of choice. The selection will be done on the basis of academic track record, quality of work experience and leadership potential. This program provides a stepping board to young leaders who join the PGDM program to become leaders in the new digital world.Commenting on the new program, Dr Sinhasaid for YIF the focus was to reach out to fresh graduates who have been mostly exposed to specialized education, say engineers, economists, lawyers, etc. and introduce them to a broad based liberal arts education. At CSB and Centre for Leadership at NCU, the focus is distinct and is on professionals with minimum 2 years of workexperience. At both these schools, we will focus on developing the existing leadership potential in the chosen candidates in a way that equips them to excel in managing people and situations.The most unique feature of this programs is that it will directly address how management andleadership should be practiced in a digital world which is marked by volatility and uncertainty. It will teach how leaders need to adapt to situationsnimbly and flexibly.Dr.Pramath Raj Sinhas rich experience over the years across academia, consulting, education and business has given him a rare insight on running organisations and different operating environments. He is the founding Dean of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad and was instrumental in building ISB into a world-class business school in India. He is also the Founder and Trustee of the Ashoka University, Indias first liberal arts university. This rich experience is now accessible to the 40 potential leaders who choose to take up the PGDM programs at these B-schools.For more details, contact:Deepa Kapoordeepakapoor@ncuindia.eduNews-pr.in is a self-made ocean of current news, press release and updates coming from varied nooks and corners of the global society. With the sheer assistance of numerous news suppliers, we serve our readers with hottest news and happenings.C 21 A Anand Vihar, Uttam NagarNew Delhi, Delhi, India 110059 Global Critical Care Devices Sales Market Size(Value,Volume), Applications, Forecasts to 2021 http://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=869839&type=E http://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-critical-care-devices-market-research-report-2016.htm http://www.qyresearchreports.com/press-releases.htm Global Critical Care Devices Industry 2016 Market Overview, Size, Share, Trends, Analysis, Technology, Applications, Growth, Market Status, Demands, Insights, Development, Research and Forecast 2016-2020.The global Critical Care Devices market has been descriptively analyzed in this market research that has been added to the regularly expanding industry intelligence portfolio of QYResearchReports.com. The document follows a plan that provides a thorough and analytical overview of the global Critical Care Devices market and additionally examines the leading segments, influential factors, and market elements that govern the growth rate of the market and its competitive landscape.The report offers to its users a holistic 360-degree perspective of the global Critical Care Devices market from the inside-out, initiating with the core definitions of the industrial elements, then moving on to the analysis of data on the various aspects including as industry chain structure, classifications, industry overview, policies, applications, and recent developments.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The information provided in the report has been gathered through the help of multiple primary and secondary research methods. Quantitative and qualitative data assessment for key market segments on the regional and the collective global regional front have been provided in the report. The massive stacks of data that have been filtered out by virtue of key industry-best analytical methods will provide to the reader the details that matter the most.The report additionally offers a descriptive overview of the global Critical Care Devices market and its key trends, restraints, and drivers that influence it, along with an in-depth analysis of the factors that may influence the overall development of the market in the near future.The report additionally provides a description of the regulatory scenario of the global Critical Care Devices market and provides details pertaining to the greater plans, policies, regulations, and rules in it that impact the multiple business related decisions in the global Critical Care Devices market. A detailed overview of the competitive landscape of the global Critical Care Devices market has also been given in the report, wherein detailed business profiles, SWOT analysis, and many other details about some of the major vendors in the market are included.Browse Complete Report with TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Critical Care Devices Market Research Report 20161 Critical Care Devices Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Critical Care Devices1.2 Critical Care Devices Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Critical Care Devices by Type in 20151.2.2 Type I1.2.3 Type II1.2.4 Type III1.3 Critical Care Devices Segment by Application1.3.1 Critical Care Devices Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Infusion Pumps1.3.3 Ventilators1.3.4 Patient Monitors1.3.5 Other1.4 Critical Care Devices Market by Region1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.2 Europe Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.3 China Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.4 Japan Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.5 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2011-2021)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Critical Care Devices (2011-2021)2 Global Critical Care Devices Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Critical Care Devices Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Critical Care Devices Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Critical Care Devices Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Critical Care Devices Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Critical Care Devices Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Critical Care Devices Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Critical Care Devices Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2011-2016)3.1 Global Critical Care Devices Production by Region (2011-2016)3.2 Global Critical Care Devices Production Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.3 Global Critical Care Devices Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2011-2016)3.4 Global Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.5 North America Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.6 Europe Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.7 China Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.8 Japan Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.9 Southeast Asia Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)3.10 India Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2011-2016)4 Global Critical Care Devices Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.1 Global Critical Care Devices Consumption by Regions (2011-2016)4.2 North America Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.3 Europe Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.4 China Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.5 Japan Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.6 Southeast Asia Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)4.7 India Critical Care Devices Production, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2011-2016)5 Global Critical Care Devices Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Critical Care Devices Production and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)5.2 Global Critical Care Devices Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)5.3 Global Critical Care Devices Price by Type (2011-2016)5.4 Global Critical Care Devices Production Growth by Type (2011-2016)6 Global Critical Care Devices Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Critical Care Devices Consumption and Market Share by Application (2011-2016)6.2 Global Critical Care Devices Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2011-2016)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesFor Latest QYResearchreports Press Release Visit @QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.QYResearchreportsContact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States+1-518-621-2074866-997-4948USA-Canada Toll freesales@qyresearchreports.com German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2016. European Union leaders meet Thursday in Brussels to discuss defense, migration, the conflict in Syria and Britain's plans to leave the bloc. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) BRUSSELS (AP) Boosted by French President Francois Hollande and other left-leaning European Union leaders, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Thursday he could win a dispute with European creditors who pulled a recently announced debt relief package for his country. Hollande said at the EU summit that "it is out of the question to ask for further additional efforts from Greece or prevent them from taking a number of sovereign measures that respect the commitments" previously undertaken by his country. Days after a Dec. 5 eurozone agreement to approve some debt relief, Tsipras announced a Christmas bonus for some 1.6 million low-income pensioners and committed to restore a lower sales tax rate for Aegean Sea islanders. The move surprised the eurozone creditors, who suspended the debt relief. Tsipras said at the summit that there is room for "a breakthrough, without blackmail." He will be making his case on his country's debt problems during a visit Friday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. He expressed confidence the dispute with European bailout lenders will be resolved soon. "I, as you can see, am extremely calm, and think it is something that will be overcome very soon. The (Christmas bonus) does not in any way threaten the bailout program and the targets for the 2016 budget surplus," Tsipras said, adding that bailout creditors are preparing a report on the issue. Tsipras said other more crucial issues will determine the successful conclusion of Greece's bailout talks with its European creditors and the International Monetary Fund. "I believe that in the near future all parties will take the necessary initiatives to bridge our differences," he told reporters. He said Germany was the only European country to question the bonus. "It is unacceptable for some to try to revive a negotiating game to the detriment of Greece and its people, which has made huge sacrifices in the name of Europe," Tsipras said. "This is not reasonable." Story continues Tsipras also accused the IMF of pressing Greece to adopt new austerity measures for after the end of the program. "No democratic parliament ... could accept such a demand and decide on measures to be implemented, if needed, after three years," he said. EU Parliament President Martin Schulz, another socialist, came to Tsipras' defense, although he acknowledged that strictly speaking, the Greek government's decisions have not complied with what was agreed to. "I can understand very well what the Greek government has done, because it is trying to protect the most vulnerable a little bit in the time before Christmas," Schulz said. "So I think that the eurogroup, when it meets again in January, will perhaps find a way to reconcile the two things compliance with the agreements with the necessary flexibility that a government needs to preserve social stability in the country." In Greece, lawmakers approved the controversial Christmas bonus payment. The article on the bonus, which Athens wants to distribute next week, was approved by 196 votes, while 61 lawmakers from the main opposition conservative party abstained. Later this month, Greece's parliament is to vote on Tsipras' pledge to restore a lower sales tax rate for Aegean Sea islanders who are struggling to cope with mass arrivals of migrants from Turkey. As lawmakers prepared to vote Thursday, some 5,000 pensioners marched peacefully to Tsipras' office to protest years of cuts to their pensions under the country's bailout commitments. ___ Associated Press writer Nicholas Paphitis reported this story from Athens, Greece, and AP writer Raf Casert reported in Brussels. Lanolin Alcohol Market - Global Industry Analysis 2016 - 2024 Lanolin Alcohol Market http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=14276 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Lanolin alcohol is manufactured from hydrolysis of lanolin. It is an important component of surface active agents in various skin smoothening and nourishing creams. It acts as a viscosity enhancer in these formulations. Lanolin alcohol is manufactured by using an alkaline treatment on the lanolin; which is then followed by removal of released soaps. It is refined further by a multi-stage distillation process to improve its odor and color. This process produces a purified, semi-crystalline and almost colorless wax. The composition of lanolin alcohol is sterols and triterpene alcohols such as cholesterol, agnosterol, lanosterol and their derivatives.Rising demand for lanolin alcohol from personal care and cosmetics industry is anticipated to drive the market. Lanolin alcohol is a refined derivative of lanolin and it contains various lipids that are physiologically close to human skin layers, which makes highly compatible to human skin. Emulsifying capabilities of the lanolin alcohol are stable across a wide pH range which makes it an ideal choice as an emulsifier in face and hair bleaching agents. Furthermore, increasing usage of lanolin alcohol in pharmaceutical industry is expected to boost the market growth. Lanolin alcohol has wound healing capability and hence it has various applications in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.Get Free PDF Brochure for more Professional and Technical insights:However, the Food and Drug Administrations regulations over the usage of lanolin alcohol in use of personal care and cosmetic products are expected to hamper the market growth. Additionally, fluctuating raw material prices is likely to affect the lanolin alcohol market growth negatively. Technological advancements and product developments in the lanolin alcohol formulations for personal care, cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications are expected to provide immense opportunities for the players in the market.In terms of demand, Asia Pacific was the largest market for lanolin alcohol and is also expected to be the fastest growing over the forecast period. China dominated the demand for lanolin alcohol in the region. India, South Korea and countries in Southeast Asia are expected to exhibit higher demand for lanolin alcohol owing to rise in personal care industry. Adoption of western lifestyle and increasing per capita income were among the key factors for the growth in personal care industry. North America and Europe followed Asia Pacific in terms of demand. The U.S. dominated the demand in North America owing to increasing demand for lanolin alcohol personal care and cosmetics industry. Western Europe that comprises Germany, Italy, the U.K., France and Spain contributed significantly to the demand of lanolin alcohol. Central & Eastern Europe are expected to provide immense opportunities for the players in the lanolin alcohol market. Rest of the World (RoW) that comprises Latin America, Africa and the Middle East is likely to exhibit potential growth for the lanolin alcohol. Brazil and Saudi Arabia are considered as major contributors.Global lanolin alcohol market exhibits moderate level of consolidation. Procurement of raw material and secure supply are the major concerns for the players in the market. Major players have long term agreements with companies in the end-user industries, which increases the entry barriers for new entrants. Furthermore, formulations of lanolin alcohol are patented by majority of the companies and new entrants would need to develop own formulations through research & development activities. This fact makes the market capital intensive. Key players in lanolin alcohol market include Surfachem Group Ltd, The Lubrizol Corporation, Nanjing Lanbai Chemical Co., Ltd., Hydrite Chemical Co. and Lanaetex Products, Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth insights, understanding market evolution by tracking historical developments, and analyzing the present scenario and future projections based on optimistic and likely scenarios. Each research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology developments, types, applications, and the competitive landscape.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insights for decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, TMR employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Power Transmission Towers and Cables Market: Growing Demand from Asia Pacific to Drive Market at 7.15% CAGR during 2015-2023 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=631819 http://www.researchmoz.us/power-market-reports-26.html http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG http://deep-research-report.blogspot.com/ ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Power Transmission Towers and Cables Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023 " to it's Large Report database.The power transmission towers and cables market report by Transparency Market Research provides in-depth analysis of the power transmission towers and cables market globally. The report segments the market on the basis of type and geography. The report analyzes the global power transmission towers and cables market in terms of both sales volume and revenue (US$ Mn) for the 20152023 period. For this research study, the base year is 2014, whereas the forecast is from 2015 to 2023.The report provides a comprehensive competitive landscape and features companies engaged in the manufacturing, construction, installation, and operation of power transmission towers and cables. This report includes the key dynamics affecting the power transmission towers and cables market globally. The analysis in the report provides detailed insights of the global power transmission towers and cables market. Market dynamics such as drivers, opportunities, and restraints of the market were analyzed in detail and are illustrated in the report through tables. The report also provides a detailed industry analysis of global power transmission towers and cables with the help of Porters Five Forces model.Download free Sample PDF report with TOC:Power transmission towers and cables are a vital part of the power transmission infrastructure. These components are used for transmission and distribution of electricity from power generation facilities to the end-users. Power transmission towers are tall vertical structures usually erected for the purpose of supporting and carrying transmission lines. Power transmission cables are used either as overhead, underground or submarine cables for the onshore and offshore operations to connect with power grid.The power transmission towers and cables market has been segmented on the basis of type and geography. The power transmission towers and cables market has been segmented by type into power transmission towers and power transmission cables. The power transmission towers and cables market has been segmented geographically into five regional segments and further into 12 unique country sub-segments. The regional segments are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin and Central Americas. The 12 countries which have been separately addressed in this report are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, CIS countries, Germany, the U.K, China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, and Argentina.Read All Power Market Research Reports @Table of ContentSection 1 PrefaceReport DescriptionMarket SegmentationResearch ScopeResearch MethodologySection 2 Executive SummaryGlobal Power Transmission Towers and Cables Market Estimates and ForecastsOverviewSection 3 Industry AnalysisIntroductionValue Chain Analysis of Power Transmission Towers and Cables MarketMarket DynamicsDriver 1 Increasing demand for electricityDriver 2 Growing need for replacement of ageing power transmission infrastructureDriver 3 Increasing share of renewable energy sources in total power generation mixRestraint 1 High initial capital and installation costsOpportunity 1 Increasing adoption of newer technologies in power transmission infrastructurePorters Five Forces AnalysisBargaining power of suppliersBargaining power of buyersThreat of new entrantsDegree of competitionThreat of substitutesMarket Attractiveness Analysis of Power Transmission Towers and Cables Market, 2014About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. NachiketAlbany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at: Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Industry to Reach US$4.39 Bn in Revenue by 2023 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=667888 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=667888 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Market (By Component - Software, Services; By End-User - Automotive and Transportation, Aerospace and Defense, BFSI, Energy and Utilities, Retail, Healthcare, IT and Telecom, Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global ALM market provides analysis for the period from 2013 to 2023, wherein 2014 is the base year and the years from 2015 to 2023 are the forecast period. Data for 2013 has been included as historical information. The report covers all the prevalent trends and technologies playing a major role in the growth of the ALM market over the forecast period. It also highlights various drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the markets growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective on market growth throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Mn) across different geographies, which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America (LATAM).The emerging IT applications are changing the way business is done today. The integration of ALM is necessary in order to remove inefficiencies and blocks in the software development lifecycle process. ALM helps a company to develop the best virtual methods for every phase of the software application process, including research, requirements planning, prototyping, engineering, design, time to market, programming, testing, risk management, defect tracking, and measurement. Benefits such as business agility, enhanced organizational agility, and improved resource utilization provided by ALM have significantly increased the demand for this technology worldwide. North America dominates the overall market for ALM globally owing to surging technological advancements and automation in this region.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @This research report provides in-depth analysis of the global ALM market on the basis of component and end-users. The ALM market based on component includes software and services. The software component is sub-segmented into on-premise and cloud-based ALM solutions, which are further sub-divided into agile-centric ALM and process-centric ALM. The ALM services is segmented into consulting, professional, operation, and maintenance. The ALM end-user segment comprises automotive and transportation, aerospace and defense, BFSI, energy and utilities, retail, healthcare, IT and telecom, and others.In terms of geographical regions, the report segments the global ALM market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin America; the regions are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. The report provides cross-sectional analysis of the global ALM market in terms of market estimates and forecasts for all segments across different geographic regions.The report also includes competitive profiling of major players engaged in the development of ALM. The major business strategies adopted by these players, their market positioning, and their recent developments have also been identified in the research report. This report also provides market positioning analysis of major players in the ALM market based on their 2014 revenues. Some of the major players profiled in the report include Atlassian Corporation Plc, CollabNet, Inc., IBM Corporation, Inflectra Corporation, Micro Focus International plc, HP Development Company, L.P., VersionOne, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Parasoft Corporation, and Polarion Software GmbHThe global ALM market is segmented as below:ALM Market:By ComponentSoftware- - On-Premise- - - Agile Centric ALM- - - Process Centric- - Cloud-Based- - - Agile Centric ALM- - - Process Centric- - Services- - - Consulting- - - Professional- - - Operation and MaintenanceBy End-User- Automotive and Transportation- Aerospace and Defense- BFSI- Energy and Utilities- Retail- Healthcare- IT and Telecom- OthersBy Region- North America-- The U.S.-- Rest of North AmericaEurope-- EU7-- CIS-- Rest of EuropeAsia Pacific-- Japan-- China-- South Asia-- Australasia-- Rest of APACMiddle East & Africa-- GCC-- South Africa-- Rest of Middle East & Africa- Latin America-- BrazilRest of Latin AmericaMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Global Water-Soluble Fertilizers Industry Will Grow Steadily At A CAGR Of 5.25% During The Period 2016-2020 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=877714 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=877714 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Water Soluble Fertilizers Market 2016-2020" to its huge collection of research reports.Water-soluble fertilizers are applied to the crops during irrigation. The major advantage of using them is that farmers can regulate the concentrations of the nutrients according to the needs of a particular crop. Farmers often choose a fertilizer concentration and apply it at every watering. This process is generally known as fertigation or continuous liquid feeding (CLF).Technavios analysts forecast the global water-soluble fertilizers market to grow at a CAGR of 5.25% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global water-soluble market fertilizers for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of water-soluble fertilizer.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:APACEuropeNorth AmericaROWTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Technavio's report, Global Water-soluble Fertilizers Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAgriumHaifaPotashCorpMosaicYara InternationalOther prominent vendorsAcron GroupKemapco Arab Fertilizers & ChemicalsJSC BelaruskaliCF Industries HoldingsEuroChemICLIFFCOIntrepid PotashK+S AGMigao CorporationMonsantoOffice Chrifien des Phosphates (OCP)Sinochem GroupSinofert HoldingsSapec GroupUnited Chemical CompanyValeMarket driverMounting demand for food owing to continuously growing populationFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeLogistics concerns for water-soluble fertilizersFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRise in agricultural sustainability and increase in organic farming practicesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Latest Research Report on Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2016 | Researchmoz http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=600589 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=600589 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Industry 2016 Market Research Report" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.1 Definition and Specifications of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.1.1 Definition of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.1.2 Specifications of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.2 Classification of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.3 Applications of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.5.1 Industry Overview of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology1.7 Industry News Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Major Manufacturers in 20153.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Major Manufacturers in 20153.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Major Manufacturers in 20153.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology Major Manufacturers in 20154 Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Regions, Types and Manufacturers4.1 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Regions 2011-20164.2 Global and Major Regions Capacity, Production, Revenue and Growth Rate of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology 2011-20164.3 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Types 2011-20164.4 Global Capacity, Production and Revenue of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Manufacturers 2011-20165 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Regions, Types and Manufacturers5.1 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Regions 2011-20165.2 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Types 2011-20165.3 Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Sample Preparation Systems for Molecular and Cellular Biology by Manufacturers 2011-2016Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Rise in Orthopedic Injuries and Demand for Cosmetic Surgeries Accelerated Asia Pacific Market for Platelet Rich Plasma | Researchmoz.us http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=582313 http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=582313 http://www.researchmoz.us/ http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Platelet Rich Plasma Market - Asia Pacific Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the platelet rich plasma market in Asia Pacific considering various macro as well as microeconomic factors such as regulations, applications of platelet rich plasma, and advantages and disadvantages of type of platelet rich plasma, and cost. The report studies the platelet rich plasma market from four perspectives: type of platelet rich plasma, origin of platelet rich plasma, application of platelet rich plasma, and country wise market.Based on the type of platelet rich plasma, the market in Asia Pacific has been segmented into pure platelet rich plasma, leucocytes and platelet rich plasma, and platelet rich fibrin. Based on origin, the market has been segmented into autologous platelet rich plasma, allogeneic platelet rich plasma, and homologous platelet rich plasma. In terms of the application of platelet rich plasma, the market has been segmented into orthopedic surgery, cosmetic surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, and other surgeries. In terms of country, the market has been studied for eleven major geographies: Australia, the Philippines, China, India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Additionally, each segment of the platelet rich plasma market has been further subdivided into national markets.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The market size for each of the segments and sub-segments mentioned above is provided in US$ Mn considering 2013 and 2014 as base years and forecast from 2015 to 2023. The forecast model considers various factors such as number of surgeries, health care expenditure of the country, advantages of the individual segment, penetration of platelet rich plasma therapy in the country, the cost of platelet rich plasma in various countries, and government regulations. The research methodology is a blend of primary as well as secondary market research, where market estimates based on desk research are further refined considering inputs from expert interviews.This report on the platelet rich plasma market in Asia Pacific also provides qualitative information on major players in the market. It also includes details on current regulatory policies for platelet rich plasma and devices. Major factors driving and restraining the platelet rich plasma market are also discussed in the report, while opportunities from the future perspective are also mentioned. Furthermore, the platelet rich plasma market report provides value chain analysis for comprehensive analysis. Porters Five Forces Analysis will provide the idea of bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants in platelet rich plasma market, threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry in platelet rich plasma market. Additionally, market share analysis of the platelet rich plasma market in Asia Pacific provides detailed information on current competitive landscape of the market. Market attractiveness analysis provides information on most attractive countries for platelet rich plasma.Finally, the report profiles major players in the platelet rich plasma market in Asia Pacific including Harvest Technology, Arthrex, Inc., Stryker Corporation, Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Synthes, AdiStem Ltd., Cesca Therapeutics, Inc., Exactech, Inc., and Rmedica Co. Ltd. Each of the companies is profiled for parameters such as company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, business strategies, and recent developments. The report on the platelet rich plasma market estimation and forecast comprises 128 slides and 68 graphs.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @ Kaolin & Metakaolin Market - Global Industry Analysis 2019 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2081 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/kaolin-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com According to a new report published by Transparency Market Research, titled Kaolin & Metakaolin Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019, kaolin is widely used in white ware and sanitary ware, and has a wide range of industrial applications in industries such as paints and adhesives, paper, ceramics, and other specialty uses.Interpret a Competitive outlook Analysis Report with PDF Brochure:A rise in construction activities across the globe is expected to drive the demand for ceramics, benefitting the kaolin market due to kaolins usage in sanitary ware and tiles. Due to the growth of the construction industry in the last couple of years, the global kaolin market, which stood at US$4.0 bn in 2012, is anticipated to reach a market value of US$5.3 bn by 2019. The market is poised to register a 4% CAGR between 2013 and 2019.By volume, the kaolin market had a capacity of 34,398.9 kilo tons in 2012. On the other hand, the global metakaolin market is expected to reach US$124.2 mn by the end of 2019 from a value of US$91.8 mn in 2012. Overall, the market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.40% until 2019.Growth in construction activities across various regions in the world is the main driving factor of the kaolin market. Kaolin possesses properties such as brilliant opacity, flat particle shape, chemical inertness, and non-abrasive texture, and is thus majorly used as a filler in the manufacture of paints and paper. While kaolin is used in white ware and sanitary ware, metakaolin, which is obtained by thermally treating kaolin, is used in applications such as mortar and concrete, among others.Browse the full Kaolin (For Paper, Ceramics, Paints & adhesives, Fiberglass, Rubber, Plastics, Cement and Other Applications) & Metakaolin (For Concrete, Mortar and Other Applications) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019 report at:The use of metakaolin in cement applications helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions, hence creating an eco-friendly alternative to traditional materials. All the above factors are likely to boost the demand for kaolin and metakaolin in the near future.The report on the kaolin and metakaolin market provides an in-depth analysis of the market on a global as well as regional level. The study also includes the drivers and restraints and many other factors that have an influence on the market. Additionally, it discusses opportunities available for the growth of the market on a regional and global level.Kaolin enjoys high demand from applications such as construction and building foundations, pavements, and architectural structures to satisfy various cement and concrete needs. Similarly, the demand for kaolin also increases when it comes to the manufacture of sanitary ware and ceramic tiles. As ceramic materials have witnessed an increased visibility around the world in several industries and commercial applications, demand for kaolin is likely to expand beyond the construction industry to medical applications and more in the forthcoming years. Based on application analysis, the report states paper as the largest application segment of the kaolin market. This segment took up more than 40% of the market in 2012 due to its growing demand in emerging countries such as China and India. Due to accelerated industrialization in Asia Pacific, this region is expected to continue as the leader in the global kaolin and metakaolin market until 2019.Kaolin Market - Application AnalysisPaperCeramicsPaints & adhesivesFiberglassRubberPlasticsCementOthers (Organic farming, waste water treatment, refractories, etc.)Metakaolin Market - Application AnalysisConcreteMortarOthers (Shotcrete, geopolymers, etc.)Kaolin & Metakaolin Market - Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificMiddle EastRest of the World (RoW)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Calcium Carbonate Market - Global Industry Analysis 2019 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1478 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/calcium-carbonate-market.html http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com The global calcium carbonate market is moderately concentrated. The top three players accounted for more than 35% of the market in 2012. Key players are expanding their businesses in emerging markets such as China, Asia, and South America, Transparency Market Research (TMR) finds in a new study. Companies such as Huber Engineered Materials, Mississippi Lime Company, and Minerals Technologies have gained a strong global presence in the industry. This is making it difficult for small players to get a foothold in the market, especially in Asia Pacific. Intense competition exists in the market in regions such as the U.S., which has large limestone reserves.Download exclusive Sample of this report:Manufacturers are engaged in the development of newer technologies by which various products can be custom made to suit requirements of specific industries. Since there is no potential substitute for calcium carbonate, the threat from substitutes will remain low in the coming years. Procuring raw materials is a crucial factor for new entrants wishing to compete in the market. Overall, the low initial investment required for the production of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and ground calcium carbonate (GCC) lowers the barriers for new entrants.High Use of Calcium Carbonate in Paper Industry Boosts DemandThe extensive use of paper in the FMCG sector has boosted the paper industry, which in turn is benefiting the global calcium carbonate market. The demand for mineral loading levels of paper has been on a rise ever since 1980. Papers such as coated mechanical (CM), coated woodfree (CWF), uncoated woodfree (UCWF), and uncoated mechanical (UM) encourage the demand for calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is used to enhance the softness, texture, and brightness of cellulose-based products. While GCC is responsible for the brightness of paper, PCC provides opacity to it. As such, these fillers are important in the manufacturing of paper.Browse Full Report with Toc:The plastic industry is another major application area of calcium carbonate. The plastic industry is growing and with it, the demand for calcium carbonate. GCC provides minute size and high brightness to plastics and PCC provides opacity and stiffness, thus driving their demand. The demand for calcium carbonate is also high from the construction industry. Calcium carbonate is one of the major raw materials used in cement, paints and coatings. On the other hand, harmful effects of excessive consumption of calcium carbonate will impact its demand in the pharmaceutical sector.Growing Plastic and Paper Industries in APAC and Latin America Present Growth Opportunities for PlayersThe establishment of new paper mills and increase in the use of mineral loadings are collectively driving the demand for GCC and PCC in Asia Pacific and Latin America. India, Brazil, and China are expected to be key contributors in the growth of the calcium carbonate market owing to the use of this mineral in the paperboard and construction industries. China is likely to witness high demand for paints and coatings, which will further drive the demand for the mineral in APAC. The establishment of satellite plants in Latin America will further create a high demand for PCC, states a TMR analyst. Thus, all these factors will create opportunities of growth in the calcium carbonate market.According to the report, the global market opportunity in calcium carbonate is expected to rise from US$19 bn in 2015 to US$25.01 bn by 2019. By region, Asia Pacific is expected to lead and account for 50.8% of the global calcium carbonate market by 2019. On the basis of product, the GCC segment led in the past and will continue to do so in the coming years. By application, the paper segment is expected to account for 41.0% of the global calcium carbonate market by 2019.This information is based on the findings of a report published by Transparency Market Research titled Calcium Carbonate Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2013 - 2019.The global calcium carbonate market is segmented as follows:ProductGround Calcium Carbonate (GCC)Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC)ApplicationPaperPlasticBuilding & ConstructionOthers (Pharmaceutical, agriculture, etc)RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaRest of the World (RoW)About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Welcome to Best Bets, a weekly column in which The Oregonian/OregonLive's arts desk separates the wheat from the chaff of upcoming theater, classical music and dance performances and visual arts events. Here are our picks for Dec. 16-22. "The Wizard of Oz" Northwest Children's Theater presents the beloved story about a girl from Kansas and her unexpected adventures along a yellow brick road. The play is based on the 1939 movie, rather than L. Frank Baum's 14 Oz books published from 1900 through 1920. Noon and 4:30 p.m. various dates, through Jan. 2, Northwest Children's Theater, 1819 N.W. Everett St. $13-$25, nwcts.org or 503-222-4480. "A Civil War Christmas" An all-local cast presents this story of a Christmas Eve in Abraham Lincoln's Washington, where Union and Confederate soldiers, abolitionists, slaves and free blacks all are seeking peace. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel wrote the play; Portland musicians including Darrell Grant and LaRhonda Steele contributed original arrangements of period music. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26-Dec. 3, Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 S.W. Morrison St. Tickets start at $25, artistsrep.org or 503-241-1278. "Complicated Women" Choreographer Katie Scherman caps her 2016 Alembic Artist residency at Performance Works NorthWest with her work exploring the collective experience of being a woman. Among the topics she touches upon: narcissism, vulnerability, obsession, grace, self-sabotage, and power. 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Dec. 16-17, Performance Works NorthWest, 4625 S.E. 67th Ave. $10-$15, http://complicated.bpt.me/ or 503-777-1907. Oregon Mandolin Orchestra The 30-member Oregon Mandolin Orchestra's mission is to keep a fading art alive - most major U.S. cities once had mandolin orchestras. For this concert, the orchestra plays a mix of classical and bluegrass music. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E. Main St., Hillsboro. $18-$22, Brown Paper Tickets or 503-615-3485. Michele Russo and Cie Goulet Two much-respected Northwest artists are on a twin bill this month. The Michele Russo exhibit, "Multifarious," featuring drawings and large-scale paintings, is drawn from three decades of work previously held in the late artist's estate and private collections. Cie Goulet, known primarily for her monotype prints, here presents oil landscapes on wood. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, through Dec. 24, Russo Lee Gallery, 805 N.W. 21st Ave. Free, russoleegallery.com or 503-226-2754. If you would like your event to be considered for inclusion in Best Bets, email the details to fineartsbestbets@oregonian.com. Find more arts coverage at oregonlive.com/art. Obesity Health The obesity epidemic is growing across the country including Oregon, which has a high rate of physical activity. (The Associated Press) Oregon has slipped in national health rankings, with increased rates of obesity, diabetes and depression. But there was some good news in the latest America's Health Rankings, released Thursday: -- More men are immunized against the human papillomavirus. -- Preventable hospitalizations have fallen by a third over the past decade. -- The percentage of Oregonians without health insurance has been sliced in half in five years. Overall, Oregon came in 21st, slipping from 20th place last year and 12th place in 2014. At the same time, Washington state edged up, from 13th place in 2014 to No. 9 last year and No. 7 in the latest report. The report praised Oregon for having a low prevalence of physical inactivity, relatively few newborns with a low birth weight and a low rate of cardiovascular deaths. But the state struggles with its high school graduation rate and high prevalence of frequent mental distress. Hawaii landed in the top spot for the fifth straight year. Mississippi was on the bottom, trading places with Louisiana. The report is put out annually by the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit focused on health care. It aims to give public health officials a global look at how their state stacks up and areas that need improving. The rankings include a range of factors covering behavior, clinical care, the environment and public policy, drawing on data from national and international agencies. They include the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Here's a look at Oregon in the latest report. On the down side: -- Higher obesity rates moved Oregon from No. 17 to No. 28. -- The state's air pollution worsened, putting Oregon at No. 13 nationwide from No. 8. -- The percentage of people with diabetes swelled, with Oregon falling from 11th to 31st place. -- The prevalence of heart disease grew, with Oregon moving from 17th to 22nd place. -- The rate of Oregonians with high cholesterol rose, pushing Oregon to 30th place from 16th. -- The high school graduation rate barely moved, with Oregon now ranked No. 48 compared with No. 49 last year. -- The rate of Oregonians reporting poor mental health days increased, pushing Oregon from No. 39 to No. 47. -- The percentage of people dying prematurely in the state increased, with Oregon dropping from fifth place to No. 17. -- The state has fewer primary care physicians per capita, pushing Oregon down eight places to No. 22. -- Smoking rates increased slightly, with Oregon moving from 18th to 21st place. -- The rate of strokes per capita rose, with Oregon falling from No. 17 to No. 32. On the up side: -- The percentage of children in poverty improved, moving Oregon from 26th to 22nd place. -- The chronic drinking rate improved from 47th to 43rd place; -- The rate of heart attack patients plunged, bringing Oregon from 28th place to No. 6. -- The proportion of Oregonians without health insurance decreased, moving the state from No. 27 to No. 20. -- The unemployment rate pushed Oregon to No. 34 from No. 42. -- Lynne Terry A cop comes in contact with thousands of people during a career and forgets most of them. Cops also live with the realization that, even with the best of intentions, failures and futility come with the job, just the way doctors step into an operating room knowing that some patients can't be saved. More than 20 years ago, then Officer Pete Simpson was sent to a North Portland classroom once a week for 12 weeks. Simpson, with the naivete of his own youth, thought the assignment simple. All he had to do was talk to 11- and 12-year-olds, and try and get them to stay clear of gangs. The memory of one kid, a boy Simpson would forever remember as having a nice smile and gentle spirit, stayed with him long after the class ended. They never saw each other again. But the students wrote thank you letters that were tucked into a scrapbook for Simpson to keep. Simpson considered the book one of his prized possessions because of a single letter, one written by that young kid, whose name was Demarco Streeter. Dear officer Simpson. Thank you for your time to talk to us about drugs and gangs. If you were not here people would be on drugs and a gang people would be getting killed but you are her to stop that. I learned a good thing from you that if you ever get in a gang you will be killed by your people in your gang. In if you buy drug, you might be killed by the people you bay tham from. Over the years, Simpson took the book wherever he landed in the bureau: street cop, detective, gang team and, most recently, to the chief's office, where he serves as the agency's public information officer. And, in that way, Demarco Streeter traveled with him. Now, two decades into his career, Simpson sees the letter as far more than just a letter. It was a reminder that life is complex and uncertain, that his path, and that of one young boy from North Portland, are forever entwined. And yet hopelessly separate. *** The day before this past Thanksgiving had been slow. Simpson got off work at a decent hour. One of the last things he saw before closing the door to his office was the scrapbook on a shelf. Simpson, married with two children, looked forward to having a couple days to ease into the long weekend. This year, the family was going to his father's house for Thanksgiving dinner. His dad, Dave Simpson, had been a street cop and homicide detective before he retired as spokesman for the bureau. Every adult figure of any influence in Pete Simpson's life had been a cop. He joked that he was born into the bureau. Being a cop felt like his destiny. As he puttered around the house, the local television news came on. Then, with the practiced ear of a cop who learns to hear his call sign amid radio chatter, Simpson heard it. Demarco Streeter. Simpson turned up the volume. Police were looking for Streeter. He was wanted for murder. *** Nearly 20 years ago, when Simpson walked into that classroom in his stiff blue police uniform, he felt as if he were on a mission. He was young and idealistic and hoped he could make a difference. He never forgot one moment, near the end of his time at the school. Simpson looked out at the classroom of sixth-graders, after weeks of talking about the perils of gangs, drugs and violence, and he asked the kids to raise their hands if they didn't respect gangs. Hands wriggled in the air. All but one. Demarco Streeter. He told Simpson he did respect gangs. "He wasn't being funny," Simpson said. "I asked him why." Only then did Demarco raise his hand. Slowly, he touched each finger, listing for Simpson all the people he knew were in gangs: pretty much his entire family. Simpson didn't know what to say. The class waited silently for him to speak. "I'd been a cop for five years," Simpson said. "I thought I knew a lot. Looking back, I was very green." It was 1998 when he was assigned to be part of G.R.E.A.T. - Gang Resistance Education and Training. Started more than 30 years ago, the national program puts officers into the classroom in sixth grade, a time research shows it may be possible to inoculate young people to the powerful lure of gangs. Simpson was sent to North Portland's Tubman Middle School. The school held a lot of memories for him. It was the same school he had gone to as a kid, back when it was called Eliot School. When Simpson was a student there, in the 1970s, African American kids were being bused out of North Portland to schools across the city. Simpson, who lived in Southeast Portland, was bused in to Eliot, a lower income, diverse school unlike any he had attended. "I was a minority," Simpson said. "I didn't experience the life of some of the kids, but I grew up around them. I had such a diverse group of friends. I had friends who got involved in gangs, and I also met some kids in that school who remain among my best friends." When Demarco raised his hand, and talked about his life, Simpson was floored. "This wasn't in the lesson plan," he said. "I didn't have an answer. I just paused." He tried to commiserate, telling Demarco that it could be tough when all he knew was the gang life. "He didn't respond," Simpson said. "He just sat there quietly." After class, when the kids were gone, Simpson pulled Streeter's teacher aside. "She said he was a sweet kid," Simpson said. "But she worried about him." Weeks later, the scrapbook arrived. *** Simpson contacted Gresham detectives, said he'd seen the news story and told them how he'd met the boy long ago. Given that connection, Simpson believed it wasn't appropriate that he learn specific details of the case. But when he asked if they'd like him to issue a press release to get the word out, they agreed and sent him Streeter's mug shot. It wasn't hard to find. Now 30, Streeter had a had been charged 15 times by police from crimes ranging from menacing, assault and attempted murder. It confirmed what Simpson knew. Over the years, he'd seen Streeter's name pop up from time to time in connection with various crimes. "By then, I had a real view of police work," Simpson said. "A lot of kids out there, are raised by the street. You become what you grow up around. I grew up in a cop family. Demarco had a different experience." Records show 225 court cases linked to just four of Streeter's adult relatives. Gang cops called it being "familied in." If a child is born into a big gang family, it's hard to escape. Broken families, drugs, poverty are formidable obstacles. Seasoned gang cops have photographs of children as young as 3 flashing gang signs. That morning, Simpson wrote the release and sent it out: The Gresham Police Department, in cooperation with Crime Stoppers of Oregon, is asking for the public's help to locate a suspect wanted for murder. 30-year-old Demarco Herbert "Buddy" Streeter is wanted for murder in connection with the November 23, 2016, homicide of 29-year-old Harry Brogdon Jr. in the 18500 block of Southeast Stephens Court in Gresham. Streeter is described as an African American male, 5'9" tall, 165 pounds, black hair, and brown eyes. Detectives believe that Streeter is armed and dangerous. *** Off the clock and at home that night, Simpson thought about Streeter, the letter, the scrapbook. He sent out a tweet: Had Demarco in my @GREATProgram class when he was 11 or 12 years old. One of my favorite students. He'd added an emoji, a yellow smiley face with a frown. "I will never forget the day Demarco said he respected gangs," Simpson said. "Outside of school, he was surrounded by gangs. He was self-aware. He wasn't happy or sad. He was very matter of fact." In that moment, Simpson said, the boy taught him something that has stuck with him the rest of his career. "He knew more about what his life held than I did," Simpson said. "I had no kids. I was young. I had him in class one hour a week for 12 weeks. I couldn't compete with the street. "Demarco," he said, "knew more about his future than anyone else." Simpson is a realist. He knows Streeter and he also knows of the man that Streeter is accused of killing. "My thoughts are with the victim's family," he said. "Both families. Pain and tragedy. Demarco made his life choices. You can't blame everyone else that he failed." And yet. Simpson leaned back in his chair. "He was a nice kid," Simpson said. "Could I have made an impact, done anything differently?" "No," he said. "Scars isn't the right word, but a cop has mental markers," Simpson said. "You take a piece of certain people with you through your career." Demarco was in sixth grade when Simpson met him. Now, Simpson has a daughter in the sixth grade. It's complicated. And that's why, as this week ends, Simpson looks at the scrapbook on a shelf in his office. He remembers the child once described as sweet. A boy who, one afternoon, raised his hand in class. --Tom Hallman Jr. thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224 @thallmanjr Oregon this week continued to tweak its marijuana testing rules, hoping to ease a backlog and get flowers, oils and cannabis-infused snacks and treats into the medical and recreational markets. The Oregon Health Authority issued yet another set of revised rules Wednesday that in essence reduce the number of required tests for potency, solvents and pesticides. The rules don't change the type of tests required, though Jeff Rhoades, a senior adviser to Gov. Kate Brown, told a panel of lawmakers this week that the state is considering replacing the pesticide testing system in favor of a looser approach used in agricultural crops. Apples, grapes and hops, for instance, undergo random sampling for pesticides before they land on grocery store shelves. "That is the approach we are looking to take eventually with cannabis," said Andre Ourso, manager of the medical marijuana program at the health authority. Under Oregon's standards now, marijuana is subjected to frequent and comprehensive testing at multiple stages, from flower to oils. The state will re-examine its testing requirements early next year, Ourso said. Norris Monson, CEO of Cultivated Industries, a Portland-based marijuana producer, processor and retailer, said he's experienced long delays getting his products back from labs. He said he's begun to spend more for expedited testing so he can move his flower and extracts more quickly. He figures he gets three to four calls a day from shops desperate for products. "A lot of them have nothing on their shelves anymore," he said. Meanwhile, marijuana growers, processors and stores are approaching a key deadline. Medical marijuana businesses that want to deal in the recreational market have until Jan. 1 to make the switch. Starting next month, dispensaries administered by the health authority will no longer be allowed to sell to anyone 21 and older. They may sell only to medical marijuana cardholders. The state allowed the dispensaries to sell to both medical and recreational users while it established rules for the recreational system under the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. In October, 425 dispensaries were registered with the health authority. The latest tally shows 350 dispensaries remain registered. The latest figures from the liquor commission show 85 retailers are licensed to sell recreational marijuana. Ourso said he's concerned these businesses don't realize that they will no longer be able to sell on the recreational market in January. He said the health authority plans to have inspectors in the field starting next month to ensure dispensaries are limiting sales to medical marijuana cardholders. Don Morse, owner of the Human Collective, a marijuana store in Southwest Portland, said the industry is "well aware of the significance of Jan. 1." He said marijuana processors have delayed transitioning to the recreational system because they worry there aren't enough stores to accept their products. On the other hand, dispensaries worry they won't have enough products to sell if they transition to the recreational market too soon. Others plan to flout the rules by continuing to sell to people 21 and older, hoping the state won't enforce them, Morse said. The liquor commission is reviewing 285 retail applications and 411 producer applications. Steve Marks, the executive director of the commission, said he suspects many opted to wait until the last minute. He said the commission is working quickly to issue recreational retail licenses but not all will be completed by Jan. 1. Some shops, processors and producers, especially those with incomplete applications, will have to wait until early next year to begin operating. "Everyone won't be licensed at the end of the year if they haven't done their work," he said. -- Noelle Crombie 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie Ivan Agerton 7 essential concerts on the way in Portland, Dec. 16-22 David Bazan, Red Fang, a Paul Simon tribute and more coming up this week. -- David Greenwald dgreenwald@oregonian.com 503-294-7625; @davidegreenwald Instagram: Oregonianmusic Don't Edit Wanderlust presents A Circus Carol with 3 Leg Torso Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" gets a very Portland circus reboot, with a soundtrack from 3 Leg Torso. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Dec. 16, 17 and 18, Alberta Rose Theatre, 8 p.m. Tickets: $20-$40, $15 12 and under, albertarosetheatre.com. Don't Edit David Bazan's Christmas Miracle Rather than revelry, the indie musician, AKA Pedro the Lion, will offer an "uncomfortable" take on Christmas classics and holiday originals. Saturday, Dec. 17, Revolution Hall, 8 p.m., all-ages. Tickets: $20, revolutionhall.com. Don't Edit Red Fang The Portland metal band have turned up the volume on new album "Only Ghosts." Saturday, Dec. 17, Wonder Ballroom, 8 p.m. Tickets: $23-$25, wonderballroom.com. Don't Edit Local Cut MC Mic Capes leads an eclectic night of Portland music, joined by Brown Alice, Ellis Pink, and DJ Fritzwa. Sunday, Dec. 18, Holocene, 8:30 p.m. Tickets: Free, holocene.org. Don't Edit Don't Edit Aesop Rock with Rob Sonic and DJ Zone The underground rap veteran, who recently traded New York for Oregon, dropped new album "The Impossible Kid" earlier this year. Tuesday, Dec. 20, Wonder Ballroom, 7:30 p.m. doors. Tickets: $20-$23, wonderballroom.com. Don't Edit Peter Ames Carlin's Homeward Bound The former Oregonian writer, the author of a new Paul Simon bio, will host a tribute show to the songwriting great with Luz Elena Mendoza, Rebecca Gates, and other musicians. Tuesday, Dec. 20, Mississippi Studios, 8 p.m. show. Tickets: $8-$10, mississippistudios.com. Don't Edit DIGITour Winter Social media stars including Blake Gray, Baby Ariel and more bring their phones, music, and fun to town. Wednesday, Dec. 21, Hawthorne Theatre, 6:30 p.m., all-ages. Tickets: $25-$30, hawthornetheatre.com. By David Ignatius WASHINGTON -- The fall of Aleppo is a human catastrophe. It's also a demonstration of the perils of choosing the middle course in a military conflict. Sometimes it's possible to talk and fight at the same time. But in Syria, America's decision to pursue a dual-track, halfway approach made the mayhem worse. A battered Secretary of State John Kerry made one more plea Thursday for a peaceful evacuation of what's left of Aleppo. At a State Department briefing, he used the strongest language to describe the situation: "Another Srebrenica ... nothing short of a massacre ... indiscriminate slaughter ... a cynical policy of terrorizing civilians." But for five years now, America's actions haven't matched its rhetoric. Kerry's only real weapon now is the gruesome suffering of the Syrian people and the shame it engenders in everyone who watches. That shame hangs over this administration, too. Kerry's critics argue that his efforts to negotiate a settlement were always doomed to failure. Maybe so, but after the Russian military intervention in September 2015, the administration concluded that diplomacy was the only viable strategy in Aleppo. Having made that decision, officials needed to make it work. Instead, they continued to toy with an armed opposition they weren't prepared to fully support. In the annals of covert warfare, the CIA's support for the Syrian opposition deserves a special, dark chapter. The effort began late -- nearly two years into the war -- after extremists had already begun to dominate the fight against President Bashar al-Assad. It was a hodgepodge of different regional states and their pet fighters -- nominally coordinated from operations centers in Jordan and Turkey but in reality controlled by more than 80 local militias whose commanders were often corrupt and proto-jihadists themselves. The CIA and its partners were never willing to give the opposition the weapons -- especially the shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles -- that could have won the battle. The agency did provide anti-tank weapons that were potent enough that Assad was rocked in the summer of 2015, and analysts began to worry about "catastrophic success," with the regime collapsing and jihadists filling a power vacuum in Damascus. Soon after that, Russia intervened. The CIA's biggest problem was that its allies couldn't stop the dominance of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. The "vetted" opposition groups might pretend otherwise, but they were fighting alongside Nusra, which rebranded itself this year as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. The extremists attracted the other opposition groups for a simple reason: Their fighters were the most willing to die for the cause. The U.S. tried to straddle this problem. In 2014, I visited the leaders of one of the vetted groups, known as Harakat al-Hazm, at a safe house along the Syrian-Turkish border. The fighters were despondent. The U.S. had just bombed a Nusra camp nearby, seeking to kill militants from its so-called "Khorasan Group." The CIA-backed fighters said this action had destroyed their credibility. They were right. Nusra soon chased them from their headquarters. Kerry was an early advocate of using military force against Assad. But after the Russians intervened decisively last year, he began to see the CIA program as a hindrance to the diplomatic deal that he saw as the only realistic option. Kerry didn't want to abandon the "vetted" fighters altogether, and he argued for giving some groups more weapons. But he thought the U.S. should make continued assistance conditional on their willingness to separate from Nusra -- something that few of the groups were willing or able to do. So the straddle continued. Kerry met frantically through this year with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to implement the "cessation of hostilities" negotiated on paper last February. The CIA meanwhile continued to push a program that targeted Russia and its Syrian and Iranian allies -- and helped shield Nusra. Kerry negotiated a near cease-fire in September, but it was conditioned on a pause in fighting -- demanded by skeptics at the Pentagon -- that neither he nor Lavrov could deliver. The Russians didn't restrain Assad or the Iranians. And Kerry couldn't deliver on his promise to separate the "moderate" opposition from Nusra. The opposition forces, good and bad, were "marbled" together in the Aleppo region. The U.S. couldn't undo the anti-Assad alliance it had fostered. Kerry had the impossible job of trying to manage a policy that was going in two directions at once. Perhaps he should have quit, if he sensed it was undoable. But it's Kerry's strength and weakness that he believes he can move mountains. Not this time. Instead, he got crushed in the rubble of a confused policy. David Ignatius' email address is davidignatius@washpost.com. (c) 2016, Washington Post Writers Group The Oregonian reported that Portland's City auditors uncovered a "trifecta" of problems inside the Office of Neighborhood Involvement ("Audit finds problems inside Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement," Nov. 16). The sad trinity included poor oversight, unequal funding and failure to submit annual plans. Yet this month, by a 3-2 vote spearheaded by the Amanda Fritz, who oversees the office, the city council approved a public campaign financing program that will be managed by the office. This is bureaucratic negligence run amok. The Oregonian could have given deeper context by including a reference to the auditor's report in the campaign finance story or, at the very least, not burying it in an article about affordable housing. While I believe public campaign financing could diversify our city council candidates, Portlanders - not an outgoing mayor and city councilor - should approve it. The irony that the Office of Neighborhood Involvement will be administering a new, $2.4 million program is outweighed only by the abilities of Mayor Charles Hale and City Councilor Steve Novick to continue to disappoint even as they leave office. Max Margolis, Portland 1yogapants.JPG (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/TNS) By Kerry Folan Special to The Washington Post I recently left New York, where I was a fashion editor for nearly a decade, to attend graduate school in the suburbs of D.C., where I grew up. I'm happy to be home in most ways, but there's one suburban habit that I can't get used to: yoga pants. Women in my neighborhood go about their entire day in yoga pants and running shoes. Moms with strollers, undergrads on campus, girlfriends meeting up for coffee dates or errands - I have even seen women dressed this way for cocktails. At first I thought this must be a suburban thing. In New York, I didn't know anyone who left the house in gym clothes, unless he or she was actually going to the gym. In fact, I once had a roommate who was the director of a fancy children's gymnasium down the street from our apartment in Brooklyn. She would get fully dressed each morning, including hair, makeup, and heels, just to walk the 10 blocks to work and then get undressed again. I loved her for this. I loved all of New York for this -- for always putting in a little extra effort, for never taking the easy way out. In New York, after all, 10 million people are always looking. But yoga pants aren't just a suburban trend. Athleisure is the name given to a class of street clothes that adopt the look and comfort of gym wear but are not designed for any actual sweating. It's been a trend on the runways and in retail over the past few years, with forecasters predicting it to be one of the biggest sellers this holiday season. And I'm against it. Lululemon, the activewear company, is the fairy godmother of athleisure. Though the company might be best known for its ubiquitous black yoga pants, founders Chip and Shannon Wilson acknowledge that they always intended to make garments so flattering and stylish that women would want to wear them all day. The Wilsons take full credit for the current yoga pant craze: "I walk down the street, and I see women in their tights and their running shoes and a jacket, and I think, 'We started that!' " Shannon Wilson said in an interview. Why have black leggings become the uniform of my generation? At least part of the appeal is our increasing interest in everything high-tech. As our lives become more fast-paced, we seem to want everything sleeker, smaller, smarter and more efficient -- in a word, easier. This includes our clothing. Jeans used to be the American woman's most versatile wardrobe staple, but, as Nike chief executive Mark Parker recently announced, "leggings are the new denim," giving credence to the otherwise ridiculous sci-fi hypothesis, embraced by Hollywood costume designers since the 1950s, that the humans will someday uniformly dress in slick, Lycra unitards. Welcome to the future. As someone who cares about fashion, I vote for jeans over yoga pants (or Lycra unitards) any day, but my stance isn't just about aesthetics. It's about manners. There is a photograph I love of my grandmother and her family at the 1948 Macy's Day Parade in New York City. She's dressed smartly for November weather in a black wool coat and a hazel circle skirt. With her red lipstick and hair set in waves, she looks comfortable but elegant. Her sons, holding balloons, are dressed casually but appropriately in navy pea coats and argyle sweaters. There's a simplicity and a dignity to the image that speaks to the core values of my grandparents' generation. Getting dressed wasn't about vanity (or, rather, it wasn't just about vanity); it was good manners. What we wear sends a message to the world. An Hermes handbag makes a statement about wealth and luxury. A pair of four-inch Louboutin heels makes a statement about sex and power. Yoga pants make a statement about comfort and modernity. When we board a flight or run to the grocery store swaddled in cotton-lycra, we are saying to the people around us that our own comfort is our first priority. We are expressing a new kind of modern vanity where dressing down, rather than dressing up, is the power move. And I confess, I'm just as guilty of wearing yoga pants as anyone else. There have been plenty of occasions since I moved back to the suburbs that I've thrown on a pair of black leggings and gone about my day. Recently, I wore yoga pants and sneakers to tutor a student I regularly work with. He is from China, a single father raising a son while studying for a master's degree in a second language. He comes to see me for tutoring twice a week because, though he is bright and he understands the concepts he studies, articulating his ideas in written English is a struggle for him. He has to work even harder than his classmates to complete his assignments. He took notice of my outfit. "You look comfortable today!" he said to me. He was right: I was comfortable. I also wished immediately that I was wearing real clothes. It felt disrespectful -- elitist, even -- to approach our tutoring session with my own comfort so obviously on display. The moment shook me up. When did I stop bothering to get dressed every day, I wondered? I lived in New York, where everything is hard, for almost a decade; at what point did I start buying into the idea that easier and more comfortable necessarily means better? And that's when I realized that my gripe with yoga pants goes beyond bad manners. Like many pet peeves, this one is rooted in a private fear: I'm afraid of getting too comfortable. Part of the reason I love the way New Yorkers dress is that I see it as a metaphor for everything else I loved about the city -- the work ethic, the energy, the specific kind of community that comes from collective ambition. Maybe it's precisely because I love those elements of city life that I am wary of the seductive promise of suburban comfort: Why walk when I can drive? Why go shopping when I can order online? Why go out at all when I can lie on my giant couch and watch my giant TV? Why even get dressed today? Without the external energy of the city urging me on every day, will I find my own internal reasons to keep working harder than I strictly have to? Or will I soften, get lazy? Will I spend the rest of my life going about my day in comfort, coming home in the evening to nurse a bottle of wine until it's time to go to bed on the quiet second story of my house, only to wake up and do it all again, wearing the same black yoga pants as the day before? It's possible that I will. But one way I know to fight that fate: Get dressed each morning. - Folan is a writer and teacher living in the Washington, D.C., area. 31488637495_cd59554c22_o.jpg Edge of the 2015 lava flow at the Axial Seamount (black at right) where it overlies older sedimented lavas (lower left). (Bill Chadwick, Oregon State University, and ROV Jason, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.) Researchers from Oregon State University have taken a sizable step forward in predicting volcanic eruptions aided by an undersea volcano about 300 miles off the Oregon coast. Three new studies, published this week in "Science and Geophysical Research Letters," focus on the Axial Seamount, which is one of the most active oceanic volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest. The volcano -- which erupted in 1998, 2011 and 2015 -- has provided data that allowed researchers to predict its most recent eruption seven months in advance. Their findings could hold the key to forecasting eruptions on land, said William Chadwick, a volcanologist at Oregon State and co-author on two of the three papers. "During its eruptions, Axial's seafloor drops suddenly by about eight feet, and then over the next several years it gradually rises back up," he said in a statement. "When it re-inflates to a certain level, the volcano is almost ready to erupt again." The seamount essentially acts like a balloon, Chadwick said, except instead of filling with air, the chamber fills with molten rock. "Now we'll just have to watch and see how fast it builds back up," he said. "We'll be trying to forecast the next eruption again, but right now it's a little too early to tell." The Axial Seamount provides a unique opportunity for researchers. It's close to land, poses no danger to humans and the fact that it's under water makes data collection much easier than other volcanoes. "Previous surveys created the images of where the magma is and because ships can go everywhere over the volcano we get a lot more data," Chadwick said. "On land, you have to drill a hole, set off an explosion, and record it with a few scattered seismometers. It's not nearly as effective." The seamount is far from the only active volcano in the region as evidenced by recent seismic activity under Mount St. Helens. But little is known about exactly how land-based volcanoes operate. Researchers are still working to figure out where Mount St. Helens draws its magma from. Chadwick said he hopes that research conducted underwater may help translate to terrestrial volcanoes. "We're beginning to really understand how this volcano works and some of these lessons can be applied to other volcanoes in a general way," he said. -- Kale Williams kwilliams@oregonian.com 503-294-4048 Lightbar1 Authorities say a police officer was shot and wounded in Mount Vernon, Washington, on Dec. 15, 2016. (The Oregonian/OregonLive/file) Update Washington officer in stable condition, suspect in custody after shooting MOUNT VERNON, Wash. -- A police officer was shot and critically wounded Thursday about 60 miles north of Seattle in Mount Vernon, authorities said. A Mount Vernon police officer was initially taken to Skagit Valley Hospital Thursday evening, The Skagit Valley Herald reported. The officer, believed to be in his early 60s, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Thursday night with a gunshot wound to the head, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg. She said the officer was in the early stages of assessment at about 9:50 p.m. Mount Vernon police Lt. Chris Cammock said police had few details to immediately release but that the area was closed by police and multiple news outlets were reporting that a suspect was barricaded in a Mount Vernon residence and that officers and a SWAT team were attempting to negotiate. Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Francis tweeted that the scene was still active just before 10 p.m. Skagit Valley College said Thursday night that because of police activity the Mount Vernon campus was in lockdown. The school tweeted "everyone get inside and stay inside." The shooting comes less than a month after a Tacoma police officer was killed responding to a domestic violence call. Officer Reginald "Jake" Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot Nov. 30. The suspected gunman was killed by a sheriff's marksman, ending an 11-hour standoff. -- The Associated Press A Portland judge Thursday declined to grant a new trial to a 33-year-old African American man despite his argument that he didn't get a fair trial because only one of 12 jurors was black -- and the juror's vote ultimately didn't count. But even though the decision went against the defendant, it still marked a victory in the fight for those who criticize Oregon's 82-year-old jury system as potentially racist. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Bronson James ruled that the system stems from racial motivations to "dampen the influence" of minorities who sit on juries. It's the first time an Oregon judge has been asked to weigh in on the controversy, legal observers say. "Facts exist, and history is as it was, not as we wish it to be," James wrote in his opinion. "And the inescapable conclusion is that the historical evidence supports a racial undercurrent." Oregon and Louisiana are the only two states that allow 10 of 12 jurors to agree on a verdict in most felony cases. Defense attorneys and members of African American communities have long decried that voting system as tipped against African American defendants. Because Oregon is 77 percent white and 2 percent black, critics say it's rare to see more than one or two black jurors assigned to any one jury. And if those black jurors dissent from the majority, their votes effectively don't count, critics say. James wrote in his 32-page ruling that an effort to squelch the voices of nonwhite jurors was precisely part of the motivation behind passage of a 1934 voter-approved amendment to the Oregon Constitution. It eliminated the requirement that all felony jury verdicts must be the result of a 12-0 vote. James noted that newspaper articles and editorials The Morning Oregonian in the early 1930s captured public sentiment by praising verdicts made by white jurors and criticizing the decisions of a "mixed-blood" jury. He also said the history of prejudice in Oregon leading up to the amendment can't be ignored: Oregon banned African Americans from moving to the state until 1927. That was just as membership in the Ku Klux Klan was surging, eventually encompassing more than 200,000 devotees in Oregon, James wrote. James also wrote that several years earlier, Oregon real estate agents had agreed not to sell homes in white neighborhoods to African Americans or "Orientals." Portland defense attorney Ryan Scott, who represented defendant Olan Jermaine Williams, said he was disappointed that the judge didn't grant his client a new trial, but he hopes that the judge's finding about the jury system will spur change. The judge noted that the state Legislature could step in, but he didn't elaborate. Legislators have the ability to refer a proposal to voters to change the system back to a 12-0 vote for all felonies. Oregon law currently requires a 12-0 verdict only for murder convictions. *** At the center of the case is Williams, a 33-year-old Northeast Portland man who was convicted of sodomizing an unconscious man he'd met at a summer barbecue in 2014. As the barbecue was winding down, a group of guests wanted to continue the party at a bar, but they first had to deal with one of the party guests who had passed out after drinking several shots of cognac, according to a defense summary of the case. On Williams' suggestion, the other guests agreed to move the man to Williams' apartment so the group -- including Williams -- could head out, according to the defense. Williams is gay, married and a college graduate with a master's degree. He had one previous criminal conviction: driving under the influence of intoxicants in 2012. The victim, who is heterosexual and white, awoke some time later to discover himself on a couch in the dark in an apartment that he didn't recognize. He testified that someone was performing oral sex and other sexual acts on him. He reported it to police and later identified Williams, according to a summary by the prosecution. He hadn't met Williams before the day of the barbecue. DNA found on the front interior panel of the victim's underpants came back a match to Williams, according to an analysis by the Oregon State Crime Lab. Scott, the defense attorney, didn't represent Williams trial and has concerns that jurors didn't see the full picture. Jurors didn't hear, he said, from any defense experts who might have explained how Williams' DNA could have ended up on the passed-out man's underpants through DNA transference -- from the man touching Williams as he helped him onto the couch, then the man touching his underpants. Although the prosecution contended that the man's identification of Williams was solid, Scott also said jurors didn't hear about how the man wavered with uncertainty at some point before the trial. The jury found Williams guilty on a 10-2 vote during a three-day trial in July. He was sentenced in August to 8 1/3 years in prison at hearing where members of Portland's African American community voiced frustration over how the criminal justice system treats African Americans. Among those who spoke was the lone black juror assigned to Williams' trial. She said she voted not guilty and felt the majority of the jury disregarded her view. A month later, Scott filed a motion for a new trial based on the argument that all people have implicit biases, especially against people of a different race. Over the course of three hearings spanning nearly two months, Scott argued that the vote of the only juror who was least likely to be biased against Williams didn't count. Prosecutor Todd Jackson contended that Williams had a fair trial and that it was the strong evidence -- not racial biases -- that resulted in his conviction. He said Williams' defense hadn't presented any evidence that implicit racial bias motivated this particular jury. *** The judge ruled that although he had "serious concern" that the 10-2 system can treat African American defendants unfairly, he lacked the direct evidence to make that finding. That's one of the reasons he couldn't grant Williams a new trial. Williams now has several options. He could appeal James' ruling to the Oregon Court of Appeals and spark an appeals process that eventually could lead to the Oregon Supreme Court and possibly even the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices in the highest court could decide whether Oregon's jury system violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court considered the question in 1972 and ultimately let the state's system stand. In 2009, it refused to reconsider. That refusal disappointed defense attorneys, who also say that allowing convictions with two dissenting votes amounts to reasonable doubt. Supporters of the 10-2 system say it's a system that works and has reduced court costs by lessening the likelihood of hung juries. -- Aimee Green 503-294-5119 BEIRUT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - A military news service run by Lebanon's pro-Damascus Hezbollah group said the evacuation of eastern Aleppo had been halted on Friday partly due to a failure to evacuate wounded people from two Shi'ite villages besieged by rebels in Idlib. It also cited previous reasons given for the suspension of the evacuation: that rebels had sought to take prisoners with them and had bombarded a road due to be used by the buses set to conduct the evacuation from the two villages, al-Foua and Kefraya. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shi'ite group, is fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Gareth Jones) Unions members gather outside the Airbus Groupe site in Suresnes, near Paris, France, December 15, 2016. European planemaker Airbus is to cut a net total of 934 jobs, including the closure of a site at Suresnes just outside Paris, said a French trade union, as part of a previously announced restructuring. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier ANKARA/PARIS (Reuters) - Iran's Aseman Airlines has agreed to lease seven Airbus (AIR.PA) jets, two aviation industry sources said on Thursday, scotching earlier reports that Iran had agreed to buy the aircraft directly from the European manufacturer. Labour Minister Ali Rabii was quoted by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) as saying that Iran, which is negotiating with Airbus through state flag carrier IranAir, had agreed with Airbus to buy seven aircraft. The report fueled French media speculation that a keenly awaited deal between IranAir and Airbus for more than 100 aircraft had been watered down significantly. But industry sources said the two deals were not connected and identified regional carrier Aseman Airlines as the company behind the much smaller deal to procure seven aircraft, which Rabii said would start arriving in May. Those jets will be leased rather than purchased directly from Airbus, the sources said, without identifying the leasing company. Aseman Airlines could not be reached for comment. Last week the European Union banned Iran's Aseman Airlines from operating within the EU because of safety concerns, but the airline said afterwards that it does not fly to the EU. Owned by Iran's civil service pension foundation but managed as a private company, Aseman is Iran's third-largest airline by active fleet size, according to the CAPA consultancy. Meanwhile, a delegation from Airbus is in Tehran for talks to finalize a deal for about 100 planes. Iran has been seeking to renew its ageing aircraft fleet since the lifting of international economic sanctions in January under a nuclear deal reached with six major powers. On Thursday Airbus denied having finalised a deal with IranAir but indirectly confirmed that another carrier had agreed to acquire seven aircraft via a third party. "Airbus has not finalised any contract so far with IranAir and the agreement for seven airplanes that has been reported is not directly with Airbus," a spokesman said. (The story was refiled to fix typographical error in fourth paragraph) (Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Tim Hepher; Editing by David Goodman) The Mediaset tower is seen in Cologno Monzese neighbourhood Milan, Italy, in this April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/Files ROME (Reuters) - Italy's opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S) on Thursday warned the government against any intervention to protect Italian broadcaster Mediaset, in which French billionaire Vincent Bollore is aggressively raising his stake. Bollore's media group Vivendi said on Wednesday it has raised its stake in former premier Silvio Berlusconi's media firm to 20 percent, prompting a warning from Rome. "It is totally inappropriate for the government to intervene to protect Mediaset," 5-Star, which is the largest opposition party, said in a statement. "Mediaset is a totally private company and it is certainly no more strategic than Unicredit (bank) and other companies that have ended up in French hands."wo (Reporting by Isla Binnie) Mid Michigan Community College earned the 2017 Military Friendly School designation by Victory Media. First published in 2009, Military Friendly Schools is a comprehensive,resource for veterans today. Each year, the list of Military Friendly Schools is provided to service members and their families, helping them select the best college, university or trade school to receive the education and training needed to pursue a civilian career. Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from Victory Medias proprietary survey. More than 1,700 schools participated in the 2017 survey; 1,273 were awarded with the designation. Ratings methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Victory Media with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institutions survey scores with the assessment of the institutions ability to meet thresholds for student retention, graduation, job placement, loan repayment, persistence (degree advancement or transfer) and loan default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans. Mid Michigan Community College continues to make great strides when it comes to taking care of student veterans, said Chris Stanton, MMCC veteran resource representative. The college understands that the needs of military veterans go beyond education related issues. MMCC helps student veterans build a path to success and is committed to making sure no veteran is left behind. MMCC will be showcased along with other 2017 Military Friendly Schools in the annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools, special education issues of G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse Magazine, and on militaryfriendly.com For more information about MMCCs commitment to supporting military students, visit www.midmich.edu/veterans or contact Stanton at cdstanton@midmich.edu or (989) 773-6622, ext. 147. After 40 years of providing funeral services, Ky Miller of Wilson MILLER Funeral Home, has decided to retire and sold the business to long time employee, Craig C. Pickelman. Pickelman, a licensed funeral director and pre-need counselor, graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 1990. The same year, he received his license as a funeral director. Seven years later, he began working at Wilson MILLER Funeral Home and last summer purchased the funeral home from Miller. The Kremlin said on Friday that the United States should either prove accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election by hacking Democratic Party organizations or drop the issue. "Either stop talking about it or finally provide some evidence. Otherwise it looks indecent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Tokyo. Russia has repeatedly denied the hacking allegations. Meanwhile, Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister told state television network, Russia 24, he was "dumbstruck" by the NBC report which alleges that Russian President Vladimir Putin was personally involved in an election hack. The report cited U.S. intelligence officials that now believe with a "high level of confidence" that Putin became personally involved in a secret campaign to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. "I think this is just silly, and the futility of the attempt to convince somebody of this is absolutely obvious," Lavrov added, according to the news outlet. The polarized reactions from current U.S. President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump to date have been stark. Obama vowed to take action on Friday against Putin and Russia after intelligence agencies claimed to be in possession of overwhelming evidence that hackers with ties to the Kremlin were indeed behind the hacks. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has concluded that Russia were behind the hacking of the U.S. election and did so in an attempt to boost the chances of a Trump administration, though the CIA has not yet made its evidence accessible to the public. Trump has repeatedly dismissed the notion Russia had any part to play in his election victory and accused Democrats of manipulating the allegations in order to cover embarrassment from their defeat. "If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?" Trump tweeted on Thursday. Story continues Given mounting attention to the matter, a team of analysts at Eurasia Group said in a note on Friday that they believe the outgoing administration is likely to take action which could result in a significant barrier for Trump's team once he takes office in January. "It is unlikely that U.S. intelligence reports will change Trump's intention to initiate a rapprochement with Moscow, but the congressional response following its own investigations could obstruct the new administration's effort," Eurasia Group analysts added. Reuters contributed to this report More From CNBC Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle is among the top candidates to become Donald Trump's press secretary, according to a report from Politico. Guilfoyle has already met twice with Trump's transition team and is expected to attend a third meeting this week. Although Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer is the likely favorite for the job, Politico reports a growing push among Trump's transition team for Guilfoyle. Chainsaw Man Season 1: The anime community is now buzzing about Chainsaw Man. Although the manga has been out for Read more Whether its sports, entertainment and the arts, or business and industry women have excelled in all spheres of life, and it is unfair to treat them as any lesser than their male counterparts. The whole reason why the talk of empowering women has come into focus, is because of... Fuel, engines and fire may be a scary combination for most, but some people move towards the flames to keep others safe. Members of the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department completed semi-annual live fire training on a derelict training aircraft at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Dec. 14 and 15, 2016. The training is to help us keep up our proficiency on how to handle a fire in this type of situation, said Master Sgt. Howard Shelton, 374 CES fire department assistant chief of training. If something should happen, we need to be able to efficiently react to the scenario without having to think about what we are supposed to do. The training consisted of a training aircraft burning with two engine fires with leaking fuel spreading on the ground to simulate an aircraft on the runway needing assistance. During the training, the firefighters were split into three teams of two. Two teams were assigned to extinguishing the fires with the remaining team on standby in case something goes wrong providing a safety line to help the primary teams. Its important for us to receive this live fire training and practice how we would respond to an actual scenario, said Airman 1st Class Zachary Schofield, 374 CES firefighter. It helps us become more vigilant each time we run through an exercise. This time, I was part of the backup team, and it helped me learn from other members skillsets as I watched everyone work and ensured their safety. The training helped the firefighters gain experience and build cohesiveness to work as a better team for potential real-world scenarios. We want to make sure our firefighters are proficient and available if and when a real-world scenario comes up, Shelton said. We are here to ensure Yokota members are able to complete their mission, and be trained for any problem that may arise. Most know about the attack on Pearl Harbor, the day that will live in infamy, Dec. 7, 1941, however, few people know about the attack that followed just a few hours laterThe Battle of Wake Island. Dozens attended the 75th anniversary ceremony and a wreath laying on Wake Island Atoll, including Col. Frank Flores, Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center commander, Chief Master Sgt. Gay Veale, 11th Air Force command chief, and Chief Master Sgt. David Boerman, PRSC superintendent, to honor those who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice. Its always important to remember those who have gone before us, but we didnt want it to be a sad ceremony, said Capt. Allen Jaime, Det. 1 (Wake Island Atoll) commander, PRSC. We wanted to give people a history of Wake Island, why it was so important, and to give a recollection of the attack so people can get a vivid sense of what the island defenders went through. Seventy-five years seems like a long time, but in reality it isnt, said Capt Allen Jaime. Today, we pay homage and reflect on a dark day in which the courage of a few showed us that with enough determination, we can defy the odds, and such was the case for the story of the Battle of Wake Island. The tiny spec of land known as Wake Island is located roughly 2,000 miles west of Hawaii and 1,300 miles east of Guam and is about 10 square miles in size. It was purchased by the U.S. in 1899 and its purpose was to be a telegraph cable gathering station and to refuel war ships for the U.S. Navy as well as merchant passenger and steam ships. In January of 1941, a group of 80 personnel began working on establishing Wake Island as a military facility. The assigned personnel would eventually grow to 1,200 military and civilian personnel and the construction was intended to take 3 years. The island would house an airport, seaplane base and submarine base with all the associated support facilities. In August of 1941, the first group of military personnel arrived in the form of the 1st Marine Defense Battalion to protect the island. A 58-man Naval detachment and small 7-man Army detachment were also assigned to provide radio communications with B-17 Bombers flying to the Philippines. In December of 1941, personnel assigned to Wake were: 1st Marine Defense Battalion consisting of 15 officers and 373 enlisted; (Marine Fighter Attack Squadron) VMF-211 consisting of 12 officers and 49 enlisted; U.S. Naval Air Station consisting of 10 officers and 58 enlisted; and U.S. Army Air Corps consisting of 1 officer and 5 enlisted. On Dec. 7, 1941 Hawaii time and Dec. 8, 6:50 a.m. local time, Wake Island received a message stating that the Japanese were attacking Pearl Harbor. All military personnel were put on alert and issued weapons. The anti-aircraft guns were manned to the maximum extent possible and command posts were set up. VMF-211 sent four F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft up to 12,000 feet to patrol for enemy aircraft, but unfortunately, Japans aircraft were on their way to attack about a 2,600 feet below them. At approximately noon, chaos ensued. Japanese bombers flew in a V formation and attacked the airfield. Eight of the F4F Wildcats were caught on the ground and seven of them were completely destroyed and the eighth was severely damaged. Twenty-three squadron members were killed in the initial attack. The fuel storage facilities were destroyed and an additional 55 civilians were killed. The defense force managed to get the anti-aircraft guns operational, but due to the surprise of the attack, the anti-aircraft fire was mostly ineffective. As quickly as the attack started, it was over. The Wake Island residents spent the next few days repairing damages and reinforcing defenses. Four Wildcats were still in flying condition and the Wake defenders built protection walls for them and put mines on the airfield to prevent enemy landings and set up defensive postures around the airfield. For three days after the initial attack, the island suffered repeated air raids by Japanese bombers. Their goal was to destroy the remaining aircraft facilities and anti-aircraft weapons. The raids did some damage, but were ineffective overall. On Dec. 11 at 3 a.m., the Japanese attempted to take the island during a beach assault with a roster of three light cruisers, six destroyers, two patrol boats, two medium transports and a force of 450 men. As the Japanese troops approached the island, they found it was quite difficult with the rough seas and high wind. The Marines spotted the approaching forces and were instructed to hold their fire until they got closer. Surprise was the best weapon the Americans had at this time. The four wildcats were instructed to stay on the ground until the battle began. By 6 a.m., all three cruisers began to assault the broadside of the island shore. The defenders were ordered to open fire, striking one of the cruisers. The cruiser attempted to retreat as one of the destroyers laid down cover smoke. The cruiser and destroyer were hit in the process. On the other side of the island, three destroyers, two transports and the remaining two cruisers were laying assault--the defenders opened fire, completely obliterating a destroyer, the ship exploded violently and sunk where it stood. The defenders also scored hits on the other two destroyers, one of the transports and one of the cruisers. The destroyers retreated behind smoke. With rough weather and a weakened force, the Japanese retreated completely, foregoing the island landing. The VMF-211 aircraft were in the air, already making the Japanese retreat quite difficult as they had no air cover. Two destroyers, one transport and one patrol boat took hits from the air and the VMF-211 scored the sinking of a destroyer. It was considered the biggest victory of the day. The shore battery suffered some damage, but only four Marines were wounded. The Americans inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese with three damaged cruisers and two destroyers and one patrol boat sunk. There were more than 700 men lost from the ships. This was a great win for the Wake Island defenders, but unfortunately, the battle would go on for another 12 days. The Japanese used the following days to strengthen their forces in order to prepare a larger scale assault on the island. Additions included four replacement destroyers, two transports, and several submarines. The landing force was increased to 1,000 personnel with an additional 500-man reserve force. On Dec. 12, one of the submarines was sunk by VMF-211. The next five days was constant air raids from the Japanese forces. On Dec. 21 the battle took a turn for the worst. Twenty-nine Japanese attack bombers flew over the island, and this time they had fighter plane escorts. These 18 fighters alerted the Wake Island defenders that naval carriers were in the area and other ships were likely with them. On Dec. 22, the last 2 Wildcats took off in an effort to intercept 39 enemy aircraft. They were able to shoot down several Japanese aircraft before one Wildcat disappeared and the other crash landed on Wake Island. With no more aircraft at their disposal, all remaining crew became infantry. For 15 days the defenders had fought valiantly, damaging roughly 50 enemy aircraft and destroying 21 of them. In the early morning hours of Dec. 23, the Japanese arrived on Wake Island. Only 200 Marines were assigned to defend the beach while the rest of the men manned the 3 and 5-inch guns. Marines opened fire on the Japanese, but they drove the Wake defenders back. At this time, communications were lost with command. At 5 a.m. the commander sent a message to Pearl Harbor stating Enemy on island. Issue in doubt. By sunrise the island was lost, with more than 1,000 Japanese on the island, 27 ships in the water and complete air control. A complete surrender seemed the only rational option, but it took six hours to stop the fighting. Over the course of the 16 days of attack, 820 Japanese were killed and 333 were wounded. American losses totaled 120 killed, 49 wounded and 2 missing. With the surrender official, all remaining defenders were taken prisoner and were sent to prisoner of war camps in China. Initially, the prisoners were treated very badly having little to no food and awful living conditions. Tensions quickly eased as the American situation was made better. On Jan. 12, 1942, approximately 1,200 personnel would undergo a 12-day journey to the East. Several hundred prisoners would leave Wake Island later in 1942, but 98 civilians remained on the island. These personnel were used to operate heavy equipment and were later executed on Oct. 7, 1943. Overall, 1,462 Americans were transferred to POW camps in China and Japan, 231 of which died. For 44 months, the Japanese occupied Wake Island, the island withstood heavy American bombardment, leading to the death of more than 2,000 Japanese personnel. It wasnt until 4 Sept. 1945 that the Japanese handed over the island to the Americans during a flag ceremony two days after Japans surrender. Today, we commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Wake Island, said Flores. We remember the sacrifices of those who fought so valiantly; those who, during a time of despair, fought back against overwhelming odds and really inspired a nation. President Ronald Reagan once said, Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction, we didnt pass it to our children in the bloodstream, it must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same, said Flores. We honor those brave souls who were lost and those who suffered tremendously, he continued. We carry on the tradition of service, dedication, and courage through our actions on this island today. The defenders of Wake Island were a mix of Marines, Sailors and contractors fighting for their country, fighting for each other and fighting for their lives. That partnership continues today as the people who serve here, military and civilians, play an important role of maintaining our nations security. Today Wake Island serves as a platform for Trans Pacific air traffic and critical missile defense tests. The roles are different, but what is at stake is still the sameprecious freedom. FILE - This March 30, 2016, file photo, shows an aerial view of the Des Moines River near downtown in Des Moines, Iowa. The four-state, $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline crosses more than 200 water bodies, including the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, which are water sources for a half-million customers in the Des Moines area. Des Moines Water Works CEO Bill Stowe says he has emergency plans to deal with leaks and he will review pipeline inspection reports regularly. (Michael Zamora/The Des Moines Register via AP, File) /The Des Moines Register via AP ) BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The Latest on the Dakota Access pipeline (all times local): 3:20 p.m. New North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says he supports completion of the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Republican took office Thursday. He said in a Facebook video that the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline is a "legally permitted project" that has been stalled by the Obama administration. The pipeline is on hold while developer Energy Transfer Partners and the Army battle in court over permission to cross under the Missouri River. Opponents who've protested for months have been leaving their main camp in southern North Dakota. Burgum said the pipeline is good for the North Dakota economy and is the safest method to move oil. He also said he will seek reimbursement from the federal government to cover the $17 million it has cost the state to date in protest-related law enforcement costs. ___ Online: Burgum's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dougfordakota/ ___ 12:25 p.m. A Native American tribe's water source is one of a few critical sources that could be affected if there was a breach in the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline crosses more than 200 water bodies, including the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers, which are water sources for a half-million customers in the Des Moines, Iowa, area. The CEO of the area's utility says he has emergency plans to deal leaks and he will review pipeline inspection reports regularly. It also crosses the Mississippi River, which is a water source for 4,000 people in southeast Iowa. Pipeline builder Energy Transfer Partners says the project will be constantly monitored and can shut off emergency valves remotely at any time. Family of Singer Who Will Sing at Trump's Inauguration Fights for Transgender Rights By Bekka Supp | Politics | December 15, 2016 | It was announced earlier this week that *ugh* that guy has selected Jackie Evancho, 16, to sing the national anthem at his inauguration on Jan. 20. If that name rings a bell, its because at the age of 10, she was already a national treasure. Thats the cute little nugget at the 2010 National Christmas Tree festivities. She got the incredible honor after coming in as the runner-up on Americas Got Talent the same year. What you may not know is that Jackie and the whole Evancho family are getting some attention as well, and in the best possible way. Jackies sister, Juliet (along with two other transgender students), is suing a Pennsylvania school district over its rule that students must use the restroom that corresponds with their anatomical or biological sex. Until the case is heard by the court or settled, the students are asking a federal judge to force the school to allow them to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity in the interim. In a piece in Teen Vogue, Juliet, born Jacob, says she slowly began to tell people about her gender identity as her family was increasingly under scrutiny due to Jackies fame. My mom was the first person I told, although she already suspected it. She simply smiled at me, told me she loved me, and said shed always be there for me. I then told my sister Jackie. She too was not at all surprised and was very supportive and happy that I found my true self, but at the same time she was terrified about the potential ridicule Id face for the rest of my life. Finally, I told my dad. My dad took it the hardest, and I couldnt blame him, even if it hurt me a lot. He tried to hide it, but I could tell. He was, after all, losing his oldest son. Not just his, but the son that had his name as a middle name. My youngest siblings Zach and Rachel were a little too young to fully understand, but I told them, too. Not even my best friends knew the real me. Everyone just assumed I was a feminine gay boy. All of these circumstances feeling like an outsider, not fitting neatly into society, and cutting my hair caused me to slip into a depression. I constantly wondered, Why me? Having a close relationship with my family, we decided it would be best for me to seek professional help. For the next 2 years I went to a therapist to help me with my depression, and to uncover the truth of what and who I am. Basically, my therapist just confirmed what I already knew: I am a transgender woman. Under the Obama administration, youll recall that federal agencies like the Department of Justice and the Department of Education had aligned themselves with individuals and organizations fighting for transgender equality. It was a simpler time, really. Right now, a handful of states are suing the Administration over its instruction to schools that, if they receive federal funding, they must treat a students gender identity as the students sex for purposes of the law. Also, keep in mind what the incoming administration wants to do: - Mike Pence, our incoming Vice President and a long-time opponent of LGBTQ equality, has made clear that under a Trump administration, the federal government will not be stepping in and fighting for these rights saying, Washington has no business intruding on the operation of our local schools. - And in April, in a move surprising no one, Trump stated that he was fine with allowing transgender people to use the bathroom they feel is appropriate. That didnt last long. The eternal optimist inside of me wants to believe that these gestures are all being done in good will, but the realist brewing inside knows that this courageous family is about to become a target. North Carolina Republicans Have Successfully Instituted One-Party Rule Against the Wishes of the Electorate By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 16, 2016 | Heres the situation right now in North Carolina: After a contentious governors election, a Democrat, Roy Cooper, will be taking over as governor in January. However, the state legislature is still dominated by Republicans, thanks to gerrymandering that has since been ruled illegal. The state, which is roughly evenly split between blue and red, will not vote for legislators under the new redistricting plan until next year. In an effort to ensure that they dont lose any power under a Democratic governor, shifting demographics, and redrawn districts, the North Carolina Republicans have sought to strip the incoming Governor of much of his power. They have sought and succeeded now in passing bills to reduce the number of Civil Service appointments from 1500 to 30, theyve stripped him of his ability to appoint University of North Carolina trustees, and they have passed a bill forcing the Governor to submit his cabinet picks to the State Senate for approval for the first time in the states history. Those bills were passed despite massive protests outside of the general assembly last night. Peaceful protestors were arrested and forced to leave. 85 year old arrested and waiting to be taken to the detention center #RespectOurVote #ncga #ncpol pic.twitter.com/M8LSl0KBZF NC NAACP (@ncnaacp) December 15, 2016 Even journalists who were not protesting and only doing their jobs were arrested. Now being told to leave. Am told this includes media and I'll be arrested if I don't leave. Politely said they'll have to arrest me. #NCPol JoekillianPW (@JoekillianPW) December 15, 2016 Will continue live-tweeting as long as I can. Looks like I'll be arrested shortly. #NCPol JoekillianPW (@JoekillianPW) December 15, 2016 Safe but arrested. Losing phone shortly. In transit to jail. Keep covering things until I am out. Could be a long night. JoekillianPW (@JoekillianPW) December 15, 2016 In other words, the Republicans are making all of these changes behind closed doors the door are locked and police surround the building and these are same Republicans whose gerrymandering plan targeted African Americans with surgical precision. You can call it a power grab, or you can call it a coup. Whatever one wants to call it, it is f*cked up. Not only are Dems displeased with it, but even former Republican governors are disgusted with it. This morning, during an open session (again, this open session has barred the public from attending, and police are surrounding the building), Republicans are planning to pass another law that would change the makeup for county election boards. Currently, there are three board members in each county, two from the controlling party and one from the other. With Cooper in charge, they plan to even the numbers two and two. But heres where it gets even more infuriating: Ultimate control over election decisions will alternate years, with the Republicans controlling election decisions during high-turnout election years and Democrats controlling during off years. Left out of this so-called bipartisan bill debate? GOP chairs all 100 county boards of elections in high-turnout even-numbered years #ncga Democracy NC (@democracync) December 16, 2016 This is insane. This is the end of Democracy in North Carolina, and if it survives court rulings, look out other swing states. Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. President Obama's Press Conference Tomorrow Could Be a Big Deal By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 15, 2016 | President Obama will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 2:15 EST, before going to Hawaii for a family vacation. The press conference could be routine. But it could be a big fucking deal. We wont know until 2:15, but heres some context. First off, U.S. Intelligence agencies are preparing a report, showing all the times we have been cyber-attacked by foreign governments between 2008 and 2016. This report will come out before Trumps inauguration, but not before the Electoral College makes its decision. That decision comes on Monday. Meanwhile, Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, wrote a blistering article in the NYTimes tonight attacking the FBI for its lackadaisical approach to Russian cyberattacks while simultaneously aggressively pursuing Hillary Clintons emails, which proved to be nothing. Heres where it gets interesting: CNN is reporting that Trump's refusal to acknowledge Russia interference has made White House decide orderly transition isn't main priority David Yankovich (@DavidYankovich) December 16, 2016 This comes on the same day that Donald Trump essentially suggested that the White House is making up all of these cyberattacks which again, have not only been proven by intelligence communities, but there is also evidence Putin played a direct role because, he says, the Dems are sore losers. If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 But Obama did ring the bell in October. But he didnt ring it as loud as he should have Obama thinking Clinton would win decided not to go after the Russians over cyberattacks. That was his bad. NBC News sources: Obama WH thought Clinton would win, didn't want to risk cyber war w/Russia https://t.co/nvYyD1zkHq https://t.co/25IYOKdcvX Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) December 15, 2016 However, the Obama Administration did say today that they believe Putin personally authorized the cyberattacks. In summary: It seems that this entire week has been leading up to this. CIA leaks, WH getting more vocal, Trump not acknowledging Russian interference. David Yankovich (@DavidYankovich) December 16, 2016 In the wake of all of this: Heres some hopeful hyperbole. Maybe. Obama press conference tomorrow will be the biggest event in American history If he does what it's looking like. I'd watch. David Yankovich (@DavidYankovich) December 15, 2016 Again, it could be absolutely nothing. Or it could just be Obama expressing deep frustration with Donald Trumps refusal to accept the facts or to trust in our intelligence agencies. Or he could be straight-up calling out Trump. Or maybe hes got something on Trump that would be meaningful. Most likely, it will be something along these lines: @theta1138 Obama's strategy is generally to pay out rope and let the GOP tie the noose. Also note the timing. And he goes on vacay tomorrow. Dan Seitz (@theta1138) December 16, 2016 Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba. Great Scott! Scott H. Severance has his "bah, humbugs!" down pat ... as well he should: The veteran actor not only plays Ebenezer Scrooge in the new touring edition of A Christmas Carol coming to Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts at 2 p.m. Sunday ... he also adapted the script, produced it and directs it. His fresh spin, we're told, involves the use of something Mr. Dickens likely never envisioned: large-scaled puppets (a 12-foot-tall Ghost of Christmas Future, anyone?) and a musical score comprised of no less than 26 seasonal carols. Fabulous Baker boy Like father, like sunshine. Cream, the first '60s rock power trio, featured bassist Jack Bruce, guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker knocking out anthems like "The Sunshine of Your Love." Ginger's beat prowess has been inherited by his son, Kofi, who proves it with his own Cream tribute power trio, Kofi Baker's Cream Experience, with Baker on drums, Greg Smith (Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent) on bass and guitarist Godfrey Townsend of The John Entwistle Band (but no relation to Pete, whose spells it Townshend). Catch them at 8 p.m. Thursday in Bloomington's Castle Theatre. More Ewing manners Missed last weekend's "Christmas at the Mansions" tour? Well, take heart: one-third of that tour is back for encores Thursday night, from 5 to 8 p.m., courtesy of a solo Christmas at Ewing Manor tour, with the historic Bloomington home swinging open the doors one more time to its vintage Christmas decorations and assorted other seasonal embellishments. A suggested donation of $10 can be made at the door. Its right there in the title, and Rogue One proves to be most definitely a Star Wars story. As a spinoff chapter with a cast of new characters and a darker, grittier look and tone, the possibilities were endless for just how different Rogue One could be. The wait is over and the results are in: It doesnt break the mold in terms of franchise formula, and its an enjoyable installment in the Star Wars canon. However, its not much more than that. The title separates Rogue One from Episodes 1-7, but it feels like watching an episode of a series, despite the self-contained story. Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, directed by Gareth Edwards, it uses the same well-established cinematic language of Star Wars. In terms of the timeline, consider Rogue One to be around Episode 3, a chapter of Rebel Alliance history briefly alluded to in Episode 4 A New Hope. This chapter concerns a rebel effort to thwart a world-destroying weapon wielded by the Imperial forces, led by Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), a sneering, ambitious captain, resplendent in a white cape and jodhpurs. Continuing in the trend started by last years sensational The Force Awakens, Rogue One has a steely loner heroine at its center, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the long-lost daughter of Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), a weapons scientist forced to work for the Empire. Jyns been on her own since childhood, but her familial connections make her an asset for the Rebel Alliance fighting the Empire. Shes soon teamed up with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a lifelong rebel, and his reprogrammed Imperial droid, the droll K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who offers strategic assessments with absolutely no tact or filter. Along the way, they pick up pilot Bodhi (Riz Ahmed), spiritual warrior Chirrut Imwe (Donny Yen) and his buddy Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen). Legendary martial artist Yen steals the movie as Chirrut, a blind, bow-staff wielding worshiper of the Force. The plot follows the standard action-adventure format about a band of plucky fighters in pursuit of a little thingamabob that might save the world. Blasting and shooting and crashing and exploding ensue. But if you have a sense of the main events of the series, there inevitably comes a creeping sense of darkness over the proceedings, as you deduce the foregone conclusion. Despite that pallor, the third act is a bombastic, unrelenting action sequence on the tropical beaches of the planet Scarif. Its all a bit much the fighting is overkill, literally. A glut of heroic moments in a row drain the impact of each one individually. But the film sticks the landing on the emotional payoff beautifully. There have been debates over whether Rogue One contains overt political messages. The franchise represents escapist blockbuster fantasy, but politics have always been central to the films conflicts, and as it is, Rogue One is decidedly for standing up to dictatorships and abuse of power. Audiences can and will draw their own conclusions to current events in light of exhortations like save the rebellion, save the dream, and rebellions are built on hope. But Rogue One is open enough to be what you want, and if that only happens to be a very good Star Wars installment, thisll do just fine. BLOOMINGTON A Bloomington firefighter on paid leave attempted to interfere with the investigation of a domestic violence call involving himself and his girlfriend, a prosecutor said Thursday at a hearing to modify a no-contact order for the couple. Associate Judge Lee Ann Hill granted the girlfriend's request to drop the order that barred Jon Caponi from being near her and living with her in the home they share in Bloomington. In his objection to the request, Assistant State's Attorney Kyle Korkus said Caponi "used his position as a firefighter to get into dispatch" communications and took a screen shot of the dispatch record on his phone. Caponi then sent a screen shot of the record to an emergency room nurse who had notified police of the possible domestic abuse after seeing the woman's injuries, Korkus told the judge. "The victim and defendant have a long history of domestic disputes," said Korkus, noting five separate domestic reports, but no charges. Assistant State's Attorney Mary Koll said Thursday that the state is reviewing the additional allegations related to Caponi's conduct after the incident. Charges state that Caponi, 36, repeatedly kicked and pushed his 29-year-old girlfriend on Nov. 9. The Bloomington Fire Department confirmed that Caponi was placed on paid leave after the incident, but declined to disclose the reasons for that action. In response to questions from Caponi defense lawyer Steve Skelton, the girlfriend said the no-contact order has been an inconvenience and denied any concerns about being in the home with Caponi. The woman was represented in court by lawyer John Prior, who was hired under provisions of an Illinois law that allows victims to be kept informed of developments in a case, including any plea offers made to the defendant. In Caponi's case, the alleged victim appears to be less than supportive of the state's case against her boyfriend. The same day Caponi allegedly abused his girlfriend, he was honored with a Good Samamritan Award from the American Red Cross Serving Central Illinois for building a ramp for a disabled woman. PEORIA A Peoria County jury ruled against former Bloomington Police Department employee Amy Ward in her federal lawsuit against the city related to her 2011 termination. The jury returned its verdict early Thursday afternoon following three days of testimony in U.S. District Court for the Central District in Peoria. Ward alleged in her lawsuit seeking $53,000 in back pay and benefits that the city and Lts. Tim Stanesa and Bob Wall violated her free speech rights and protections under the state Whistleblower Act. Ward was fired in June 2011 after her ongoing dispute with former Police Chief Randy McKinley and others over how evidence was stored in the BPD evidence room. The city claimed that Ward disobeyed orders on where to store evidence during a large-scale inventory of the storage area in 2011. Ward also ran afoul of McKinley when she bypassed him and went directly to the Illinois State Police with questions about the status of a potential criminal investigation related to evidence issues. In his testimony, McKinley said an ISP investigator whom he had known for years declined to investigate the complaint. The former chief said Ward did not know that decision when she contacted state police. In his statement after the verdict, attorney for the city Peter Jennetten said: "Before reaching their verdict, the jury heard and considered a great deal of testimony and evidence about the events and the process used in reaching the employment decisions. The city of Bloomington takes employment decisions seriously, and we are pleased to see a vindication of that process." Ward's attorney Dawn Wall declined to comment on the verdict. In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mihm dropped Wall from the lawsuit based on his assertion that evidence was insufficient to show that Wall was directly involved in the alleged misconduct by the BPD. Wall's involvement was limited to his reporting of concerns Ward expressed at a staff meeting in 2011. She was later sanctioned for those comments by McKinley who said the meeting was not an appropriate place for an individual worker's complaints about their salary and position. At the same time Ward was recommending changes to the evidence room policies, she also was inquiring about her status as an applicant for a new evidence manager position that could have meant a substantial raise for her. Ward acknowledged in her testimony that she believed she would be given the job, based on comments allegedly made to her by her supervisors. The city argued that the lengthy search for the new employee was behind Ward's ongoing disputes with BPD administrative staff. BLOOMINGTON Central Illinois residents are advised to watch out for icy roads and to bundle up this weekend as freezing drizzle gives way to snow and then arctic cold. The National Weather Service in Lincoln issued a winter weather advisory Friday afternoon that will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday for much of the region. The agency also has issued a wind chill advisory to take effect at midnight and extending until noon Sunday; wind chills of 15 to 20 below zero are expected. A winter weather advisory means that periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain will make travel difficult and motorists should be prepared for slippery roads. A winder chill advisory alerts residents that being outdoors can lead to frostbite and hypothermia if precautions are not taken. If you go outside, wear a hat and gloves and dress in layers. Freezing drizzle that began Friday afternoon and is expected to continue Saturday morning caused several accidents in Central Illinois, but local and state police say all were minor and only one had minor injuries. Interstate 74 between Bloomington and Downs and around Carlock and Interstate 55 throughout Central Illinois were slick for much of the evening and saw several cars go into ditches. At Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, American Eagle canceled a flight from Dallas expected to land at 10:22 p.m. Friday. Because the plane did not reach CIRA, the corresponding return flight departing at 7:22 a.m. Saturday also was canceled. Delta reported a flight from Atlanta expected at 10:36 p.m. Friday also was delayed. The Pantagraph will publish an updated list of cancellations on pantagraph.com as they are submitted to our newsroom. You can submit a cancellation or delay by emailing our newsroom at newsroom@pantagraph.com. Cancellations are subject to verification and will only be accepted online. Precipitation between Friday and Sunday will vary between snow, rain and freezing rain, said Matt Barnes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. The freezing rain will switch to just rainfall in Bloomington by Saturday morning and the high temperature will be around 35 degrees Saturday, he said. The rain will continue Saturday morning and Barnes said as the system leaves the area, the temperatures will start dropping again by Saturday afternoon. The rain will change back to freezing rain and end with another period of light snow Saturday afternoon and evening, said Barnes. The latest NWS forecast calls up to 1 inch of snow by Saturday night. Bitterly cold air is expected to blow in after the snow, and wind chill readings likely will plunge to below zero by Sunday morning. The bitter cold likely will remain in the area through Monday morning with wind chill factors of 15 to 20 below zero. As far as any travel, Sunday would be the better day since there is no precipitation. It will be dry, but very cold with below zero wind chills, said Barnes. Travel on Saturday might be a little tricky later in the day because of the freezing rain and snow. SPRINGFIELD State Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill is among a growing list of Democrats being mentioned as possible candidates to take on first-term Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018. While he hasnt ruled out running himself, Manar said hes focused right now on making sure Democrats can mount a strong challenge to Rauner. Like many others, my goal is to be part of a productive conversation about how we can bring forward a campaign in 2018 that is successful, Manar said. The party needs to build off the 2016 successes of its statewide candidates Susana Mendoza in the race for state comptroller and U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Hoffman Estates in the U.S. Senate race while also figuring out ways to appeal to more voters in places in Illinois where Democrats should be winning where were not, Manar said. According to the website Illinois Election Data, Republican President-elect Donald Trump won 55 percent of the vote in Manars district, which stretches from Decatur to Madison County near St. Louis and includes part of Springfield. Manar noted that his district, like the state as a whole, is a mixture of urban and rule areas. Despite their differences, he said, there are two issues that matter to voters in both: wages and jobs. Going into 2018, Democrats need to do a better job promoting economic policies that benefit working- and middle-class families and making the case for how the budget turmoil under Rauner has hurt them, Manar said. Hes not alone in advancing that message. Another potential Democratic candidate from outside the Chicago area, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos of Moline, is sounding a similar note. Cheri thinks Bruce Rauner has been an absolute disaster for working families in her district and across our state, so shes committed to making sure Democrats have a candidate who can defeat him in 2018, spokeswoman Stacy Raker wrote in an emailed statement. Bustos won re-election to Congress by a 20-point margin last month even though Trump won a majority in her district. Many Illinoisans have urged Cheri to consider running and shes giving it serious consideration, Raker wrote. Manar, who was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2012 after serving as chief of staff to Senate President John Cullerton, said he approaches his job as a legislator much as he did his previous positions as a small-town mayor in Bunker Hill and chairman of the Macoupin County Board: with an eye on balancing budgets, lowering property taxes and forging compromises to solve problems. Chris Mooney, director of the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, said whoever attempts to take on Rauner will have to be a prodigious fundraiser. The wealthy former venture capitalist spent $65.3 million, including $27.6 million of his own money, to win the governors office in 2014. He kicked in more than $32 million of his fortune to bankroll the Illinois Republican Partys 2016 campaign efforts. Anybodys going to have a problem with the incredibly deep pockets of this governor, Mooney said. That has prompted some suggestions that the Democrats need to find their own independently wealthy candidate. Among those considering bids are Hyatt hotel scion J.B. Pritzker and Christopher Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy and former chairman of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. While Rauners GOP so far hasnt pounced on potential opponents like Manar and Bustos, it has attacked both Pritzker and Kennedy. Both have been listed on the Republican Partys bossmadigan.com website, which seeks to tie lawmakers and candidates to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago, who also leads the state Democratic Party. Pritzker has also been the target of robocalls and statements linking him to imprisoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The robocall includes portions of the infamous audio recordings on which Blagojevich discusses exchanging an appointment to President Barack Obamas former U.S. Senate seat for money or a job. While Blagojevich discusses him on the tapes, Pritzker was never accused of any wrongdoing. You would think a governor who has failed to pass a budget for two years and has allowed human services to be gutted would have better things to do with his time than to dredge up the delusional rantings of Rod Blagojevich, Pritzker spokesman Dave Lundy said. For his part, Manar acknowledges that fundraising ability will be one factor in determining whos best equipped to take on Rauner. But he doesnt believe Democrats should rely as heavily on one persons wealth as the GOP has come to rely on Rauners. If the Democratic Party becomes what the Republican Party is in Illinois today, we will have failed as this organization, Manar said. International Paper Foodservice Facilities Earn Elite Certification in Global Food Safety Dec. 16, 2016 (Press Release) - International Paper (IP) is committed to improving food safety throughout the supply chain. The Company announced their Kenton, Ohio and Visalia, California facilities achieved food safety certification by exceeding the standards of the benchmarking procedures as dictated by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The two sites join IP's Shelbyville, Illinois facility that was certified in March, 2016. All three sites achieved scores above 99%. Earlier this year, International Paper set the goal of exceeding the GFSI standards at 100% of the company's U.S. Foodservice Facilities before year-end and that has been done. GFSI is a non-profit, international benchmarking organization created to standardize food safety rules and has been rapidly recognized as the 'gold standard' for international food safety. These global specifications promoted by GFSI address food, packaging, packaging materials, storage and distribution. Certification is a very stringent and demanding process that requires a facility to organize its Quality Management System (QMS) to address components in the manufacturing process such as management responsibility, hazard analysis, resource management and document control of procedures, policies and records. "Safety as a whole is deep-seated part of our everyday operations and our number one priority," stated Jon Ernst, Vice-President and General Manager of International Paper's Foodservice Business. "We are proactively doing our part to ensure we have the systems in place to eliminate food safety risks in the packaging arena and continue to provide a top quality product." Requests for GFSI-benchmarked audits have been quickly growing. Ernst says that many large retailers and foodservice industry brands are calling for this type of certification as a pre-requisite to doing business. "International Paper continuously strives to exceed our commitment of excellence to our customers. As the needs of our customers continue to grow, we are well positioned to meet those needs." International Paper (IP) is a leading global producer of renewable fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper products with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and Russia. To learn more, please visit: internationalpaper.com. SOURCE: International Paper Valmet to Supply Key Technology for Sun Paper's New Dissolving Pulp Mill in Laos Dec. 16, 2016 - Valmet said that it will deliver key technology for Sun Paper's new greenfield dissolving pulp mill in Laos. The mill site, Muang Phin, is located in the southern province of Savanakhet. The value of the order is around EUR 20 million, Valmet said. "This is our first international investment where we are expanding beyond China, said Liu Yanbo, Mill Manager at Sun Paper. Laos has shown to be a good location for this mill from where we will supply high-profit dissolving [pulp] to China. China is an important market for dissolving pulp and we expect to gain higher profits from dissolving pulp compared to kraft pulp in China," Yanbo added. Valmet noted that it is systematically increasing its presence in the Asia Pacific region. All of Valmet's businesses are present in the area and in 2015 it represented about 13% of Valmet's net sales, excluding China that represented another 10% of Valmet's net sales. Valmet has 10 service points in the area and is opening a new services center in Indonesia in 2017. Valmet's delivery to Sun Paper's new 250 kt/year dissolving pulp mill in Laos includes batch cooking with engineering package, brown stock and bleaching presses for the fiber line, wood powder firing, belt dryer and lime kiln. It also establishes site services for all goods delivered. According to Valmet, the batch cooking is an ideal fit for this kind of dissolving pulp production. In batch cooking the process can utilize raw materials with varying quality. The wood powder firing solution provides fuel for the lime kiln solution and reduces the need for fossil fuels. This wood power firing implementation is first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. Targeted start-up for pulp production is planned for the second quarter of 2018. Sun Paper is one of the largest private companies in China, with over 10,000 employees. The company has an annual pulp and paper production capacity of about 5.7 million tons. Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of services and technologies for the pulp, paper and energy industries. To learn more, please visit: www.valmet.com SOURCE: Valmet Meditation can not only calm the mind, but it also boosts the individual's overall health. Numerous researches proved its effectivity and the results are astonishing. One of the biggest evidence that surfaced, pointing to the power of meditation is the way it changed hundreds of students' behavior in one of San Francisco's toughest schools. As per The Guardian, students from the Visitacion Valley Middle School improved their grades and reduced their stress levels with the help of meditation. The said school is actually known as one of the toughest schools in the state as it was filled with stress and tension since the school is surrounded by gang violence and drugs. As per the school's head of physical education, Barry O'Driscoll, there were around 38 killings within the neighborhood back in 2006. He then added that the daily lives of students were greatly affected as they were exposed to the violence surrounding the community. Several fights would break out each and every day. With the dilemma the school has to face, they came up with a meditation program known as Quiet Time, O'Driscoll admitted that he was a bit hesitant at first as he thought it is not going to work. "When I first heard about it I thought it probably wasn't going to work," O'Driscoll stated. "We get thrown a new thing every couple of years so I didn't put too much faith in it. Students seemed happy, " Surprisingly, after the program started, the teachers were quite surprised with the outcome as students changed their perspective towards violence and they tend to be happier and the number of fights that occurred within the school drastically decreased. "They worked harder, paid more attention, were easier to teach and the number of fights fell dramatically," a teacher mentioned. "It's provided a lot of stability to our school, helping staff and kids get through the stress they have in their lives." As a parent, are you in favor of teaching meditation in schools? Do let us know your thoughts through the comment section below. It is often concluded that nasty habits of anxious individuals such as nail biting, hair-twisting, and those who engage in subconscious habits such as scratching, skin picking, and other repetitive body focused behaviors are either impatient or insecure. Though this may leave a negative impact among peers, recent studies surfaced that these habits actually tell a lot about one's personality. Huffington Post explains that a new research which was done by the University of Montreal stated that a compulsive behavior does speak a lot about one's personality. It was concluded that impatient individuals such as those who would get bored and frustrated easily are more likely to engage in nail biting, hair pulling, and other repetitive bodily focused behaviors. Their research, which was published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychology stated that their traits are actually manifestations of perfectionism. These habits, however, can be more damaging than most individuals think. The website then added that one does not need to worry about nail bating as it is often temporary. It's a subconscious way for the individual to channel his or her frustration. It is a way of releasing the tension when an individual was not able to productively perform the assigned task. Dr. Kieron O'Connor, the professor of psychiatry at the university and the study's lead author, stated that people who exhibit repetitive behaviors tend to be perfectionists, wherein they can't relax. He also mentioned that they get anxious when they would not be able to perfectly perform their obligations. O'Connor then added that these individuals also have higher boredom levels and are easily frustrated when things wouldn't go as planned. "The positive effects of the habits are stimulation and a (maladaptive) way of regulating emotion," O'Connor told the Huffington Post. "What triggers the habit is largely frustration and impatience so the action substitutes for more constructive action." Across the United States, homelessness is currently on the rise and in the 2013-2014 school year, more than 1.3 million homeless children and youth were documented. Based on an email sent to Parent Herald, homelessness across the nation extremely affects children and families. According to the data released by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness (ICPH), there are more than 116,700 homeless students in the state of New York and 83 percent of them live in urban centers up- and downstate. In addition, the data showed New York has the third highest percentage of homeless students and the second largest homeless student population in the country, noting that for every 100 public school students in the state, 4.3 students are homeless. "Student homelessness in New York State reaches beyond New York City, with over 22,000 homeless students located outside the State's urban areas," ICPH Principal Policy Analyst Josef Kannegard said. "The vast majority of these students, 81 percent are sleeping in temporary, unstable conditions such as other families' homes or motels rather than in shelters. Due to the recent statistics, ICPH President Dr. Ralph da Costa Nunez urged policy-makers to not ignore the "complex challenges" faced by the homeless children and their families. Nunez added, "Unless we enact common sense public policies that address the educational and economic needs of homeless families, today's homeless children may become tomorrow's homeless parents." Homeless students are often neglected by legislators when it comes to education policies. But enhancing outcomes and supports for homeless students could assist "teachers, parents and schools who struggle to help students cope with the trauma of homelessness along with the challenges of poverty." As New York City's homeless students continue to rise. That's is why getting to school has been quite hard for them, as per New York Times. Schools, on the other hand, are also struggling to keep up with the homeless student population, Watchdog.org noted. So, what are your thoughts on the increasing number of homeless students in the United States, especially in New York? Sound off below. Woodland's New Life Community Church had a quite emotional vigil as answers are continually being unfolded regarding the case of two missing Yolo County teens. 16-year-old Rios went missing Oct. 7 while 17-year-old Elijah Moore went missing Nov. 4. The Yolo County Sheriff's Department declared the disappearance of 16-year-old Enrique Rios suspicious. Rios' friend, Elijah Moore, had his disappearance said suspicious last month by Woodland Police, Sacramento CBS reported. Loved ones of Rios and Moore came together for the candlelight vigil to intercede for shedding light on the disappearance of the teens. Rios' mother went emotional during the vigil as she also expressed her grief about the possibility that some people may have known things about the disappearance of her son but such persons are not saying anything. "It's not getting any easier it's getting harder," mother Lola Rios said. It was devastating for the family and friends of the two teens as weeks have already passed with no signs of co-classmates and co-workers. Public's assistance is very significant for the Yolo County Policemen, according to Deputy Sergeant Matthew Davis. He said in an interview that there must be someone even from the teens who knows where the two were but they are not speaking. Rios and Moore worked at a construction training program at the Yolo County Fairgrounds. They were on this as part of a probation program with their high school. New Life Community Church is open for monetary assistance for the continuous search of the two teens. Proceeds will go to finance the expenses for a private investigator for the families or creating a reward for information leading to the missing teens. Nearly 2000 children are reported missing or abducted in the U.S. every day and teenagers are the most frequent victims of both non-family abductions and stereotypical kidnappings, according to statistics. 81 percent of which were children who are 12 years of age or older. The Tennessee wildfire days ago, which was said to be caused by two teens toying with matches, killed 14, injured 175 and damaged more than 2,400 houses and businesses. Local prosecutors said the suspects might face 60 years behind bars, life in prison or the death penalty. Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said in a statement that the estimated damage might have reached more than $500 million and nearly 20,000 acres were scorched at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The two teenagers, who have been charged with aggravated arson, remained at a Sevier County detention center, Daily Mail reported. More serious charges such as first-degree murder are still pending. If they will be charged with such on top of the aggravated arson, they might face life in prison. However, residents believe that no punishment will be enough if the teens intentionally start the fire. Kent Emmons, whose home was one of those destroyed, shared, "If in fact they did set the fire, and they did it on purpose. I cannot think of a punishment severe enough for them." The fire started on Nov. 23 at the Chimney Tops trail area. A week later, due to winds, the fire spread outside. Residents and tourists were ordered to evacuate, Fox 6 reported. Local prosecutor James Dunn said in a statement that everything is now on the table but did not provide other details since the suspects are juveniles. He also noted that both teens were supposed to have a bond hearing three days after their Dec. 7 arrest. However, as of now, the two have not been arraigned nor attended a bond hearing. The two will possibly be charged and tried as adults. The conviction for first-degree murder could carry life in prison, life without the possibility of parole or death penalty. If it will be determined that the two teens did not intend to kill with their acts, it is possible that they will be charged with reckless homicide. This carries up to 12 years behind bars. Another lower charge would be criminally negligent homicide and if convicted, they might face up to six years in prison. The child abuse case about a 5-year-old boy who was found to have brought drugs in school has sparked an outrage. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has issued an official statement condemning a New Jersey judge for censoring the story in the media. SPJ stated in a press release that Superior Court Judge Craig Corson issued a block on the story, citing "prior restraint" last October. The action thus prevented Trentonian reporter Isaac Avilucea, who was first to report on the story, from further revealing details to the child abuse case. According to CBS News, Avilucea had access to court documents relating to the case of the 5-year-old boy. The journalist insisted that one of the parents gave it to him, yet the state believes the documents were stolen. The state also argues that details on the child abuse case involving the 5-year-old contain sensitive matters. It claims that reporting on the story could potentially affect ongoing investigations and court proceedings. The SPJ is siding with Avilucea, however, by saying that the story is of public concern and that blocking reporters might establish a precedent that could curtail the freedom of the press. "I don't know how we're supposed to operate in a democracy if media organizations are having to capitulate to the court or the Attorney General's Office," Avilucea said, via North Jersey. Officials from the International Academy Charter School filed a report involving the 5-year-old following an incident where school authorities found drugs in his lunch box. The boy was accosted twice, leading the Division of Child Protection and Permanency to take him away from his parents, Tashawn Ford and Maurice Leonard. The 5-year-old is currently in foster care. It is alleged that one of the parents planted the drugs among the boy's things to gain favor in a custody battle, Avilucea wrote in his first and only story on the Trentonian. Aborted babies in Georgia were given names and memorial services by a group of women who had committed abortions as part of their repentance and healing process. Today the women and doctors who committed abortion and has repented of the act wanted to form a church in Georgia by the name, Holy Trinity. In 2012, Georgia officially registered 40,000 aborted babies, and in 2014, the number went down to 33,000. National Statistic Service of Georgia "Geostat" reported that in 2015, the boys were born on 9 percent than girls - only in 2015, 59, 249 babies were born, the News Georgia has learned. Overall, the number of birth at Georgia in 2015 has decreased by 2.3 percent than the year 2014, and the death rate has increased by 0.7 percent, the report added. Government officials were concerned about the impact of abortion on the population numbers of the nation. The Orthodox Church has been advising the whole country to shield and protect unborn children as well as outlaw abortions. Deaths of unborn children through abortion often have overwhelming effects on women who conceive them and the people who help them do the horrible act, as well. Several studies have associated killing of unborn babies to increased anxiety, depression, post-traumatic depression and other psychological issues among women. With this, international abortion healing providers and several Christian churches have provided healing programs to help obstetricians and women forgive and heal themselves for the deaths of their aborted babies. Today, in the country of Georgia, a group of women and obstetricians who have repented over their abortion acts have decided to go to several streets to share their sad stories publicly to encourage other people not to commit the same errors. They also decided to establish a church in the name of the Holy Trinity as a mark of repentance. Pravoslavie.ru reported that the group met with His Holiness Patriarch-Catholicos Ilia II of Georgia to accept his blessing for their repentant undertaking. UK Parliament has finally legalized Three-person babies procedure; now children can be made from three persons - one man and two women. The latest development in vitro fertilization, started by Newcastle's doctors, is planned to avoid babies being born with terminal genetic illnesses. On Thursday, Dec.15, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority or HFEA has announced that they now accept any applications from fertility clinics who want to give the controversial IVF procedure after the procedure has been legally allowed by the UK Parliament to work. Now the controversial three-babies procedure is finally legalized. "We're delighted. This is a huge triumph for the research, for the regulatory process in the UK, and most importantly for all the families who are affected," Mary Herbert, a reproductive biology professor in the Newcastle Fertility Centre, told The Guardian. She added that they have everything ready to go. So how does three-person IVF technique work? Three-person IVF procedure involves replacing defective mitochondria inherited from the mother with healthy mitochondria of a new woman. If the mitochondrial DNA of a mother is defective, it's possible that she might pass down some rare but very critical mitochondrial illnesses, including diabetes, heart issues, muscle weakness, stroke-related episodes, and epilepsy. Mitochondrial illnesses are genetic illnesses, affecting an estimated 4,300 kids each year. Babies can get fatal diseases passed down by one mom. By using three-person IVF or three-person babies, it is hoped the odds of getting deadly illnesses are significantly reduced. A new infant is born with less DNA amount from the donor, who's now the third parent, which has created some controversy. However, experts said the method is reflected scientifically ready and now is fully approved and legal. The first child of this UK's latest advancement could be born towards the end of 2017; the BBC has learned. However, the baby is not going to be the very first one to be born through a three-person technique as a child had been already taken through the technique of three-person. The child was born by a Jordanian couple who had undergone the same procedure in Mexico with the help of doctors from New York. A ''worth of money'' evaluation was published recently. It gave grades to the 3 top companies to which it contributes, these are: the global fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the World Bank. However, the British authorities concentrated on UNESCO, objecting that it lacks shape. DFID (Department for International Development) is equal to the United States agency of development, moderating all the contributions and donation towards the health, disasters and cultures etc. According to The New York Times, Britain is one of the most donating countries along with Norway, that donates huge as compared to its financial status. British authorities ranked UNESCO weak in organizational power. Hours after the ratings were published, UNESCO along with its director was furious and said that they were misjudging and were overlooking and ignoring their achievements. The organizations were ranked on two facts. First, on how their plan matches the aims and goals of the government and second, on its organizational strength and power. In 2011, the reviews were free of criticism or any doubts. However, in the current scenario, the author of the previous review and the former blunt Secretary Of State For International Development, Andrew Michell, was seriously concerned for the state of these companies. He said that the waste of time and less commitment to reduce poverty will never be tolerated, strong actions will be taken and efforts will be made to improve these organizations. Mitchell Andrew gave little ratings to the organizations that were paying attention to labor, women, migration and development etc. Priti Patel, the present international development secretary said that the quality will be improved regardless of the cost and what the outcomes may be. She was determined to bring these organizations back on track, making them better in terms of organizational practices specifically. The opioids wave moves all the way to rural America; some drug-needy newborns are overworking hospital infant units and demanding precious medical resources. This problem has seen an increase for quite some time now and shows no sign of decreasing anytime soon. According to research done on the matter the growing rates are because of increasing use of uploads among pregnant women. Since 2004 to 2013, the number of newborns needy on drugs rose almost sevenfold in hospitals in the countryside, to 7.5 for each 1,000 to 1.2 for every 1,000 infants, which is quite daunting. According to Dr. Viral Tolia, the problem is continuing to grow at great speed in rural areas in contrast to urban areas. More studies on the topic have uncovered new facts regarding this issue according to studies the hospital expenses linked with curing addicted newborns increased from $732 million in 2009 to $1.5 billion in 2013, as mentioned in the Jama Network. According to The Newyork Times, some neonatal severe care units called NICUs are now contributing 10 percent of their hours to take care of infants who have abandonment symptoms. A study suggests that leaving mother and child to stay mutually in the similar hospital room lowers the quantity amount of drugs babies require, and reduces overall costs as well. The study also unveiled that newborn babies in rural areas, and their mothers were more expected to be poorer and to depend on public assurance for the likes of Medicaid, but it did not take in hand other factors behind the increasing number of babies born reliant on opioids. Doctors keep recommending different ways to solve the problem, a drug used in dealing pregnant women, must be dispersed at a clinic every day but that is a more challenging task. Another solution that was recommended was that pregnant women should be treated with buprenorphine, but again that is a drug that is present in only a few pharmacies. Doctors suggest that this problem can only be tackled by the hard work and contribution of government. Homeless people around the downtown Sacramento are blessed to have some kids and teenagers come together to give away Christmas gifts this season. This is in line with the group's yearly tradition of gift giving since 2008. "It means I'm doing something right, and that's the best lesson I can teach myself, and hopefully they'll teach their kids and their friends and pay it forward," ABC quoted one of the volunteers Shawana Anand as saying. The young volunteers go to different spots to give away the gifts around downtown Sacramento. ABC followed them along as they drove around downtown, eagerly trying to find homeless people on the sidewalks to bless their day. One teen named Andrew Heintz said that this way, he can give back what he also received. Heintz feels the fulfillment in giving as it also meant a lot to his friends and especially to parents too. The young man started joining the team of gift givers since the pursuit started some eight years ago. He is now 15 years old becoming one of the faithful leaders and organizers of the team. "The first year we only had blankets hats and gloves," Heintz told ABC. It has amazed him how donations grew from there to full attire sweats, pants, hats, and gloves. Approximately 60 bags were given out by the team, and they are hoping to give more. The team desires to have this little tradition grow into something bigger and spread to more cities for other homeless people. Statistics say that 2,659 individuals experience homelessness in Sacramento County. About 5,200 will become homeless over the course of a year as statistics showed. About one-third (948) of Sacramento County's homeless population is unsheltered, according to the 2015 Sacramento County & Incorporated Cities Homeless Count. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact the Parsons Sun office at (620) 421-2000 if you have any questions LAGOS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Striking workers have shut down U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp's Nigeria headquarters in Lagos after more than 100 employees were fired, a labour union said on Friday. Employees went on strike after Exxon Mobil on Monday began to issue letters to around 150 Nigerian workers without informing the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Lumumba Okugbawa, the union's acting general secretary, said. Exxon Mobil was not available for immediate comment. Labour unions have in recent months criticised oil firms for laying off workers. The industry has been hit by low crude prices and a wave of militant attacks in Nigeria's oil hub, the Niger Delta, choking production capability. The U.S. oil company had wanted to start making employees redundant since last year, and was in talks with PENGASSAN, which lobbied for voluntary redundancies, Okugbawa said. "Suddenly this week the management began an involuntary redundancy exercise sacking workers whether they want to leave or not thus repudiating our agreement with them," he said. (Reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu; Additional reporting by Libby George in London; Writing by Paul Carsten; editing by Susan Thomas) In October 2013 Patently Apple posted a Patently Legal report titled "Apple Store Employee Files Class Action Lawsuit over Lost Wages." The report noted that a full-time non-exempt Apple Store Specialist who worked at both Spokane and San Francisco stores over a two year period has filed a Class Action lawsuit against Apple on behalf of himself and all non-exempt employees who are employed by Apple as non-exempt Specialists, Lead Specialists and Expert Specialists and non-exempt Managers, Senior Managers, Developmental Managers and Business Managers. Specialists and Managers are collectively referred to as Hourly Employees. The nuts and bolts of the complaint revolved around the fact that employees that are paid hourly wages should be compensated for the time lost waiting in lines for mandatory Apple security checks every day. Considering this is a requirement by Apple, employees should be compensated. CNN Money reports today that "Last Friday Apple was ordered to cut a $2 million check for denying some of its retail workers meal breaks." But it's not over yet as the second half of the case is expected to conclude next week, according to Jeffrey Hogue, one of the attorneys in this case. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. Over the last 24 hours there have been a number of interesting legal reports published that agree that while the U.S. Supreme Court has only heard 30 or so patent cases over the last decade, a new case that the high court accepted for review on Wednesday could have more impact than any of them in that time frame. The TC Heartland case could be the case of the decade, according to Kenneth Parker partner with Haynes and Boon. TC Heartland stems from a Delaware suit in which Kraft sued Indiana-based TC Heartland for infringing three Kraft patents on fortified water. The Wall Street Journal framed it this way: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to take up a major issue that affects patent litigation against businesses: the ability of patent holders to funnel infringement claims through courts with a plaintiff-friendly reputation." More specifically, if the court agrees with petitioner TC Heartland Inc., it will mean hundreds of cases that are filed each year in the plaintiff-friendly Eastern District of Texas will have to move elsewhere. That would almost certainly mean lower settlement values for plaintiffs. For patent litigators on both sides, it could mean the uncertainty of practicing before judges who aren't familiar with patent cases or who don't have established local rules. Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox litigation chief Byron Pickard stated for the record: "I think you're going to see a general downturn in patent litigation overall" if the venue rules are tightened. Your marginal case will be worth less money." TC Heartland and a slew of amici curiae are asking the court to restore the venue rules that applied to patent infringement cases before a 1990 Federal Circuit decision opened them essentially to any district in the country. Under a prior Supreme Court decision, patent cases had to be filed in the state where the defendant was incorporated or had a regular and established place of business. Some 35 percent of all the patent infringement cases in the country were filed in the Eastern Texas during the first three quarters of this year. The venue appears to be especially popular with non-practicing entities or Patent Trolls. Patent litigators say Eastern Texas has become the venue of choice for a number of reasons: Juries are willing to award more damages, cases are brought to trial quickly, the trials themselves are kept shorter, summary judgment is harder to obtain, and Section 101 patent eligibility motions, which can quickly shut down a suit in other courts, are generally not decided early in the litigation. If cases are dispersed around the country, proceedings will be far less predictable. "In certain jurisdictions and with certain judges, it's very difficult to get to trial," Parker sayswith discovery and pretrial motions sometimes dragging on as long as five years. Cases also could wind up before judges who aren't shy about their dislike for patent cases, or simply aren't experienced with them. The Eastern District's share of non-practicing entity cases would likely drop from 64 percent to 19 percent under a decision for TC Heartland, according to a study by Santa Clara University law professor Colleen Chien and Villanova University's Michael Risch. Peter Corcoran, a Texarkana patent attorney, said he feared a reversal could eliminate as much as 99 percent of the Eastern District's docket. "I think I need to start looking for another area of work,'' Corcoran said of the implications of overturning TC Heartland; "It's not good." The Wall Street Journal report on this noted that "The case "may fundamentally change where patent cases are heard, ending the dominance of the Eastern District of Texas. And if the court does do something about patent forum shopping it will eliminate the need for patent reform in Congress," said Stanford Law School professor Mark Lemley." At the heart of this case, TC Heartland's petition to the Supreme Court said "the current rules have fueled a plague of abusive patent litigation. The answer to this question is a matter of concern to every domestic corporate manufacturer, distributor, retailer, service provider, or end user that is potentially subject to suit for alleged patent infringement." On the other side, Kraft urged the high court not to hear the case. The company noted that it actually makes products and isn't the kind of abusive patent litigant that concerns the business community. It also said the issue was one for Congress, not the courts, to sort out. The high court is likely to hear the case in early 2017, with a decision expected by the end of June. Leonard Davis, the former chief judge of the Eastern District of Texas who is now of counsel at Fish & Richardson, said that if, TC Heartland is overturned, much of the nation's patent litigation will shift to California, where major tech companies are incorporated. About Comments: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus. Patna: Nine-year old child prodigy Kautilya Pandit, also known as the 'Google Boy' for his amazing ability to memorize facts, met with Super 30 founder Anand Kumar in Patna on Thursday to seek his blessings for a bright future. Pandit, who was accompanied by his grandfather and retired school teacher Jaikishan Sharma, interacted with Super 30 students and answered their questions patiently. Talking to the reporters, the 'Google Boy' said that he was hoping to become a scientist in future. Currently, he was studying astronomy, he added. A student of Class V in Chandigarh and a native of Haryana, Kautilya Pandit is said to have an IQ of 130. At the age of six in 2013, he was invited as a guest on the Kaun Banega Crorepati hosted by film superstar Amitabh Bachchan and since then he has been interviewed and tested by a number of top academicians and psychologists who wish to find out what makes his mind so sharp when it comes to remembering details. Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday accused Bihar Chief Minister of having double standard when it came to implementing tough liquor laws by going soft on his own party leaders who had been caught drinking or having in possession of banned alcoholic drinks. "The state government has failed to take tough actions against a number of Janata Dal U leaders who have been caught red-handed breaking state liquor laws. It is clear there are two sets of prohibition laws in the book one for the general public and the other for the ruling party leaders and supporters. Yet, the Chief Minister is going all over the state touting the success of his liquor laws," the former Deputy Chief Minister said. Modi mentioned the names of JD-U legislator Shyam Bahadur Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Anuj Rai, Congress legislator Vinay Verma, and JD-U Nalanda President Indrajeet Sen who was arrested after excise officials recovered 168 bottles of liquor from his home back in September. "Not only Sen was let go; the Chief Minister also got the Excise officials arrested for daring to arrest a JD-U leader. Shyam Bahadur Singh was found drunk only three days ago during which he abused and mishandled several cops. Two days ago, police recovered over 2000 bottles of alcohol from the brick kiln of RJD leader Anuj Rai. In all these cases, Nitish Kumar chose to look the other way since they all belonged to the ruling grand alliance," the BJP leader said. Modi also asked the Chief Minister to explain what he was doing about Delhi JD-U leader Satish Saini who was recently caught on camera in a sting operation talking about converting Rs. 10 crore in now defunct currencies for a hefty commission of 30 percent. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Tehran to Host New Iran Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference 12/11/16 Press Release by Iran Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference Iran, the 18th largest economy in the world, is to host the first Iran Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (IHTIC), a top-level gathering of international investors, owners, operators, developers and government officials. www.iranian-conference.com In addition to rich reserves of oil, gas and metals, Iran has a promising consumer sector with a well-educated population of 80 million inhabitants. There are huge investment opportunities across all of Iran's economic sectors - energy, mining, hospitality & tourism, fast moving consumer goods, food & beverage, retail, automotive, aviation and manufacturing. The Venue: Parsian Evin Hotel in Tehran Under the 2025 Tourism Vision plan, Iran is expecting to increase the number of tourism arrivals from 4.8 million in 2014 to 20 million by 2025. The 4.8 million tourists brought around $6.5 billion in revenue to the country despite sanctions and limitations imposed by the EU, the UN and the USA. With the lifting of sanctions in January, it is expected that by 2025 the country will receive $30 billion from tourism income. Only 13 out of the 96 hotels in Tehran are classified as four or five-star, although it is widely acknowledged that these would not meet internationally recognised standards for such classification. Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO, AccorHotels speaking at AHIF 2015 said: "The Iranian market is a top priority for AccorHotels, as are Africa and India. These three geographies are ones where I want to make a major push. They have a lot of things in common: civilization, architecture, demography, booming medium-sized enterprises, lack of supply, lack of infrastructure and lack of low-cost airlines". In 2014, AccorHotels became the first international hotel group to enter the market since the 1979 revolution. Sebastien Bazin said "We are very excited about signing this partnership with Aria Ziggurat in Iran. We are certain that Novotel and ibis will fit perfectly into the growth momentum that Iran's hospitality sector is enjoying. Our brands are looking at huge growth potential in this country. Our ambition is to develop an important network in the country thanks to our global portfolio of brands covering all segments, from luxury to midscale and economy." According to Iran's Chief of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, investing in the tourism sector has become one of the priorities of the Iranian authorities. The government has provided a series of incentives through the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA) including a 50% full term tax reduction on income, loan structure and eligibility for government funding and property ownership rights. Other hotel operators have also seen the potential and entered the market already. Abu Dhabi-based Rotana Hotel Management Corp. has signed management agreements for four hotels in Iran - two in Tehran (opening in 2018) and two in Mashad (opening in 2017). Melia Hotels International is planning to open a 319-room hotel in 2017 on the Caspian Sea, with investment coming from a third party. Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events and founder of IHTIC, said: "I greatly enjoy pioneering new markets; it started with IHIF in Berlin 20 years ago and has continued right through to the Iran Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference in 2017. I believe in Iran's hospitality potential and whilst breaking new ground is risky with numerous obstacles, those that are first-to-market will no doubt benefit from healthy ROI's and relationships with both local partners, investors and authorities alike." The Iran Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference will take place 7-8 February at the Parsian Evin Hotel in Tehran. For more information about IHTIC, visit www.iranian-conference.com. www.iranian-conference.com TEDxTehran 2016: "Good Morning Tehran" 12/11/16 Source: TEDxTehran Our lives in Tehran and worldwide is in constant motion. Time is always in transition. This was a reflection of TEDxTehran theme the past three years. We began with our city, Tehran En Route, heading towards an inflection point, The Verge of a Breakthrough that gave way to A New Paradigm. So what comes right after this journey to a New Paradigm? TEDxTehran 2016 Theme: Good Morning Tehran Date: December 20th Location: Vahdat Hall twitter There is a defining arc in time where the past, present and future are all unified, connecting the known and unknown. In this arc, we hold the wisdom of the past, the clarity of the present, and the possibilities of the future. That arc in time is the morning, the start of each and every day. That is where we are now with TEDxTehran. We are at that arc and what comes next is Good Morning Tehran, three endearing and powerful words to embody the theme of TEDxTehran in 2016. The morning can be an occasion to reconnect with our internal world, to reflect, reevaluate and to change the course of not only of a singular day, but perhaps our entire life. For many of us "Good morning" are the first two words that begin our human interactions, setting the tone on how we engage the outside world. Above all, the morning is the call to action of our life purpose, our personal missions and goals. The past three years, we helped spread a lot of ideas about Iran. We reflected on our past, celebrating our history, our food, our nature. We also looked into our future, exploring all the possibilities of technology, innovation and economic prosperity. These themes were a projection of what beckoned Iran. This year we focus on the present, the now of Tehran, the epicenter of Iran. And so we begin, Good Morning Tehran! The Speakers About TED TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a conference in California 1984, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with many initiatives.At a TED conference, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. TED speakers have included Roger Ebert, Sheryl Sandberg, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Benoit Mandelbrot, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Brian Greene, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. What is TEDx? In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxTehran, where x = independently organized TED event. At our TEDxTehran event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized Lenovo plans to have three flavors of the Yoga Bookits innovative typing, writing, and drawing mash-up of a computerin 2017. The companys Android and Chrome chief, Jeff Meredith, recently confirmed to Laptop Magazine that a Chrome OS version would arrive next year after the website Chrome Unboxed reported in October that a Yoga Book Chromebook appeared to be in the works. The Yoga Book is currently available running either Android or Windows 10. Lenovo already sells Chrome OS versions of other devices in the Yoga line. The Yoga Book is unique because it encourages users to be hands-on with the device more so than any PC before it. Lenovos Yoga Book looks like a sleek 360-degree convertible, but open it up and instead of a traditional keyboard youll find a flat, matte touch surface. That surface can switch between a backlit touch keyboard and an empty surface for digital ink at the touch of a button. Theres also a special case that attaches to the touch surface to write or draw on A5 paper. All physical inkings are then reflected on the display for apps such as OneNote. U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to punish Russia for hacking of Democratic groups and figures during the election season with actions thatll occur in secret and others thatll be made public. Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us because we can do stuff to you, Obama said in a press conference. The President stopped short of explicitly blaming Russian president Vladimir Putin for directing the alleged hacks, but said that, not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin. Obama met Putin during a summit in China in September and told him to cut it out and or else there would be some serious consequences if he didnt, he said. After that meeting, the hacking attempts stopped but Wikileaks had already been given copies of stolen documents. Obama is vowing action against Russia when incoming president Donald Trump likely wont. Trump has instead dismissed claims that the Russian government interfered with the U.S. election to help him win. Nevertheless, the Obama administration has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to provide a report reviewing Russias alleged role in the election interference. The President intends to make as much of that report public as possible. On Friday, reports said the FBI is siding with the CIA and has concluded Russia attempted to influence the U.S. election to help Trump win. Obama said he want to avoid avoid politicizing the findings and hopes that Trump will share concern over the Kremlins effort to influence the election. What weve simply said is the facts, Obama said. However, the Russian government has continually denied any involvement. They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise it all begins to look unseemly, said the governments presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday, according to a Russian state news agency. On Thursday, Trumps former rival in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, blamed her defeat partly on Putins efforts to undermine her candidacy with the cyber meddling. During presidential race, the Democratic National Committee and a Clinton campaign chairman, were hacked, resulting in sensitive emails being leaked to the public. Two years ago, Obama faced another major hacking incident, this one involving a massive breach at Sony that was blamed on North Korea. To retaliate, the U.S. authorized additional economic sanctions against the country that targeted 10 North Koreans and its arms industry. The U.S. may have also been responsible for an internet outage that occurred in the country. Sanctions, legal indictments and cyberattacks are possible options, but they may not be strong enough to punish Russia, cybersecurity experts say. We never had good responses to begin with, said John Bambenek, a malware researcher with Fidelis Cybersecurity. Are we going to go to war with Russia over this? Theoretically, it is an option, he said. But thats not a winning scenario. On Friday, Obama said the U.S. will take a thoughtful, methodical approach, but he acknowledged that his government already has issued tough economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict involving the Crimean Peninsula. He also only has about a month left before he leaves office. WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday it was fine for President-elect Donald Trump to take another look at the United States' one-China policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a change in U.S. diplomatic policy would lead to consequences from China. "For China, the issue of Taiwan is as important as anything on their docket," Obama told a news conference. "The idea of one China is at the heart their conception as a nation and so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences are." Obama also noted that the current status quo has kept the peace and enabled Taiwan to develop as an entity that has its own way of doing things and has helped it to become a successful economy. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Jeff Mason and Julia Harte; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) A mudflow created by Friday mornings rainfall closed roads and caused people to become stuck inside their homes in Cherry Valley, officials said. At 5 p.m., police said, the main road closures included: * Brookside Avenue between Noble and Bellflower * Cherry Avenue between Mary Lane and Brookside Avenue. But the trouble began much earlier. Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokeswoman April Newman said the mud was flowing south of Bellflower Avenue, to Brookside Avenue west, to Cherry Valley Boulevard. It was flowing from the area burned by the Bogart Fire earlier this year, she said. Riverside County Sheriffs Deputy Mike Vasquez said a road closure was in effect on Bellflower Avenue between Dutton Street and Brookside Avenue. The earliest that road will reopen is sometime during the evening, he said. Residents who live on Bellflower Avenue will not be let in their homes until workers clear the streets. The mudflow create a problem for one resident, who became stuck inside his or her home, Vasquez said. He said deputies responded about 11:30 a.m. to help the resident, who lives in the 10400 block of Bellflower. The resident couldnt push the homes door open, Vasquez said, and after a brief rain delay, the deputies removed the mud and debris from the front of the home to let the resident out. Multiple agencies including Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol, Riverside County Sheriffs Department and City of Beaumont were present at the site of the mudflow, but it wasnt yet clear if one of the agencies had taken the lead in handling the situation. Were on standby right now as far as assisting with any road closures and traffic control, Newman said of Cal Fires involvement in the situation. An incident command post was set up at Bellflower Avenue, she said. Contact the writer: 951-368-9693, agroves@scng.com or @AlexDGroves on Twitter. Mahershala Ali is having a great 2016. In addition to his blistering bad guy role in the Netflix drama Luke Cage, the actor is also in one of the most talked about movies of the year: Moonlight. Now Ali will be honored by the Palm Springs International Film Festival with its Breakthrough Performance Award at the annual Awards Gala Monday, Jan. 2. Mahershala Ali is one of the most in-demand actors in film and television, said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. Ali gives one of the best supporting performances of the year in Moonlight as Juan, a Miami drug dealer who opens his doors to Little when he sees the boy being chased through the streets by a gang. For this role that has already received several awards and is sure to receive many more, it is our honor to present the Breakthrough Performance Award to Mahershala Ali. Ali joins an accomplished list of actors who have been honored by the festival with the award including Marion Cotillard, David Oyelowo, Jennifer Hudson, Felicity Huffman, Rosamund Pike, Brie Larson, Lupita Nyongo and Jeremy Renner. And speaking of star-studded, other festival honorees this time around include Annette Bening, Amy Adams,Tom HanksNicole Kidman,Casey Affleck, Ruth Negga and the casts of Hidden Figures, La La Land. For more information on the festival, Awards Gala and tickets, head over to the website. Want more Palm Springs International Film Festival news? Head over to our festival page for all the scoop of last years Awards Gala and honors. A state board formally reprimanded Menifees former mayor, Scott Mann, on Thursday, Dec. 15, for violations stemming from his personal use of campaign funds. The Fair Political Practices Commission voted 3-0 at its monthly meeting in Sacramento to make official its investigative staffs findings that Mann illegally spent $44,894 from accounts established for campaign contributions from 2009 through 2014. The commission accepted the proposed $60,000 fine, which Mann had already paid in advance as required by the staff. The commissions action came without discussion of the 12 counts charged against Mann and the fine, which was reached through a settlement agreement that included the agencys pre-election announcement of the mayors actions. Mann resigned in late November after losing the election for a third-term. The FPPC approved the proposed settlement today, he said in a statement released Thursday. In looking back at the last four years as Mayor, we accomplished some great things together in Menifee. I wish the city and the residents the very best. He declined further comment. Throughout the turmoil over the last month and a half, Mann has remained president of the Riverside County chapter of the Republican Party, an office he will relinquish when the group chooses new leaders Dec. 19. Mann was charged with 11 counts of personal use of campaign funds and one count of failing to keep required committee records, which served to conceal the violations, according to a staff exhibit detailing the illegal activity. He was fined $5,000 per count, the highest the commission is authorized to levy. A commission representative said the penalty is in the higher range of fines, though there have been much greater ones imposed. According to the exhibit, Mann covered personal expenses from his campaign accounts, including his unsuccessful 2010 City Council bid, on approximately 147 occasions from December 2009 through June 2014. The illegal spending was mostly done through ATM withdrawals and transfers to personal accounts and covered expenses for vacationing, travel, dining, tax relief, vehicle repair, registration and a family wedding in Malibu, according to the exhibit. While Mann partially reimbursed his mayoral account by $17,152, the remaining $27,742 was not repaid, the exhibit states. Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com Firefighters and sheriffs deputies rescued two women, as well as a litter of puppies, who became trapped on an island in the middle of the San Gabriel River near El Monte during heavy rains on Friday morning, authorities said. Officials first received reports about 5:20 a.m. that two women, along with at least four puppies, were trapped on what had become a tiny island in the middle of the San Gabriel River just north of the 60 Freeway, in an unincorporated county area near El Monte, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said. Firefighters called on a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department to help hoist the women and animals to safety he said, Fire Inspector Richard Licon said. Both victims were rescued successfully and transported, he said. An update on their conditions was not available. Following the initial retrieval of the two women and their puppies, the sheriffs helicopter made a second trip to rescue one additional pooch that remained trapped on the island, officials said. Photos/video courtesy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department pic.twitter.com/pCH0DgVNKy Brian Day (@sgvcrime) December 16, 2016 http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Hemet has extended its moratorium on non-medical marijuana facilities and private marijuana cultivation for another 10 months. In the wake of California voters legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the City Council voted last month to establish a 45-day moratorium. Tuesdays vote extends the urgency ordinance to one year. But city officials said they hope to create a new ordinance much sooner, perhaps by spring. Hemet already bans all marijuana cultivation and businesses in the city. The moratorium allows time to see the ramifications of the state law before moving forward. Contact the writer: 951-368-9086 or cshultz@scng.com Evictions hit one out of every 33 Inland Empire renters and their households in 2014, online real estate broker Redfin has reported. It was the ninth-highest eviction rate among 32 large metro areas for which data was available. In all, 14,400 tenants lost their homes that year. Orange County had the 17th-highest eviction rate, with about 6,600 renters and their families evicted. In Los Angeles County, one out of every 80 renters was evicted in 2014, the 20th-highest rate, with 21,700 tenants evicted. The report emerged from Redfins first attempt to compile a database of U.S. evictions at a time when rents are outpacing incomes and the number of tenants losing their homes is expected to rise. Without an expansion in policies to address the affordable housing shortage and the increase in cost-burdened renters, evictions will become an even more prevalent feature of the U.S. housing market, the report said. Redfin analyzed more than 6 million eviction records provided by data aggregator American Information Research Services Inc., the company said. The study was limited to 19 states because theres no national database on evictions, Redfin reported, although the Census Bureau is expected to start one next year. Based on data from the 19 states analyzed, Redfin estimated that 2.7 million U.S. renters faced eviction last year. Neighborhoods with the highest rent-to-income ratios have higher eviction rates than neighborhoods that spend less of their income on rent, the report said. A review of eviction data in more than 70 metro areas found that communities where the amount spent on rent increased the most also had the biggest increases in evictions. Evictions declined slightly in communities where the amount devoted to rent went up less. Growing housing costs precipitate higher rates of evictions, the study said. In Southern California, the number of cost-burdened renters that is, those spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent has been rising, Redfin figures show. The Inland Empire had 137,300 cost-burdened renters, up 15.8 percent. Contact the writer: 714-796-7734 or jeffcollins@scng.com Not even a month has passed since Inland Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes came to Sacramento and already shes got a prominent committee assignment. Reyes, D-Grand Terrace, is one of nine Assembly members tapped by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount, to serve on a special committee that will consider the appointment of Xavier Becerra to California Attorney General, a post being vacated by Kamala Harris following her election to the U.S. Senate. Gov. Jerry Brown picked Becerra, a Democratic congressman from Los Angeles, to serve the remainder of Harris term. The Democrat-controlled Legislature gets to confirm Becerras appointment. The committee consisting of six Democrats and three Republicans will have the opportunity to question Becerra. Reyes, who represents part of San Bernardino County, is the committees only Inland member. I am honored to be appointed to engage in this essential oversight responsibility in the confirmation process for the next Attorney General for the state of California, Reyes said in a news release. California is the last line of defense against the politics of division emanating from the national level, and the role of our Attorney General will be crucial in protecting the rights of our most vulnerable communities. Assuming he replaces Harris, Becerra could have a highly visible role in the brewing conflict between Californias Democratic leadership and Donald Trumps administration. Trump campaigned on a platform of border security and deporting undocumented immigrants, and Rendon and California Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, have vowed to vigorously defy Trump on that front and others, including climate change policy. As attorney general, Becerra could sue the federal government to block GOP efforts much like Republican attorneys general did to challenge the Obama administration. Reyes is familiar with Becerra, one is one of the top-ranking Democrats in Washington. In 2014, Becerra visited San Bernardino to endorse Reyes congressional bid. While Reyes did not make it out of the primary, Becerras endorsement was a coup for Reyes outsider campaign. Two years later, Reyes unseated Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown, D-San Bernardino, in the 47th Assembly District. Rendon campaigned for Brown in the district. Anglers and their families should limit how much fish they eat from Lake Gregory with black bass, crappie and Tule perch showing the highest mercury levels, state officials announced Thursday, Dec. 15. Under a new state fish advisory, the California Environmental Protection Agencys Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment recommended limits for eating five species of mercury-containing fish caught in the Crestline lake. Related: Read the advisory here Each week, women up to age 45 and children aged 1 to 17 can safely eat one serving of black bass or crappie, two servings of Tule perch, six bullhead catfish servings or seven carp servings. Women over 45 and men 18 and older can eat two servings a week of black bass, or three crappie servings, five Tule perch servings, or seven servings of bullhead catfish or carp. An adult serving is eight uncooked ounces, about hand-sized. Previously:High mercury levels prompt fish consumption warning In 2013, California officials issued the first statewide advisory about fish contaminated with mercury, which can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in fetuses and children. Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@scng.com UC Riversides Akif Eskalen pointed to a pattern of small holes in the bark of a majestic California sycamore tree growing in a Riverside park and lamented that it will be dead in about two years. The holes are the work of invaders from Southeast Asia, beetles smaller than a sesame seed that probably hitched a ride to the Golden State in packing wood. First discovered but misidentified in 2003 in Los Angeles County, the beetles have since infested at least 49 species of trees in seven Southern California counties, said Eskalen, a plant pathology professor. They also have infested avocado groves, where they dont kill the trees but cause branches to die back. http://launch.newsinc.com/js/embed.js var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]); The most recent infestations were discovered this year in Riverside and Santa Barbara. The polyphagous shot hole borer, and its lookalike cousin, the Kuroshio shot hole borer, are so called because they leave trees peppered with tell-tale holes that look like someone blasted their trunks with bird shot. They kill trees by spreading and nurturing a deadly species of Fusarium fungus that serves as their sole food source. The scale of its infestation is troubling. One estimate says that beetles have struck about 280,000 trees in San Diego Countys Tijuana River Valley. But thats just one of many areas of infestation. MAP: Polyphagous shot hole borer distribution It is spreading so fast, I cannot put it in numbers, Eskalen said. The beetles move from tree to tree along Southern Californians woody riverbed habitats, increasing their reach in these corridors about two to eight miles a year, he said. They have worked their way up the Santa Ana River bed in Orange and Riverside counties, this year reaching Riversides Fairmount and Martha McLean-Anza Narrows parks. One female shot hole borer can produce about 30 offspring during her 30-day lifespan. Yet Eskalen was upbeat as he surveyed a stand of mature sycamores growing in Martha McLean-Anza Narrows Park, just a few hundred yards from the river. While the beetle had ravaged some of these trees, other sycamores had just a few bore holes and appeared to be surviving the attack. These still-healthy trees, he said, may provide the answers for the epidemic. To know how, the professor said, one must first understand shot hole borers. Each female has a structure her mouth called a mycangium that harbors a small amount of a fungus that is its only food source. When she lands on a tree, she bores a hole through the bark and into the wood as deep as three inches, creating what Eskalen calls a gallery. She deposits some fungus in the gallery, where she also lays her eggs. The fungus grows, providing plenty of food for the adults and soon-to-hatch babies. It is a fungus-farming beetle, he said of shot hole borer females. The males? Well, they have a pretty good life. They eat, mate, and dont do much else, he said. But whats good for the beetles is deadly for the trees. The fungus attacks the trees circulation system and blocks the flow of water and nutrients. The plant cant get enough water and nutrients, Eskalen said. Many trees die within two or three years. But some individual trees, including a few of the sycamores at the Riverside park, have the ability to survive the infestation. From such trees, Eskalen has isolated a naturally occurring good bacteria from resistant trees that kills the fungus. With no food, the beetles starve, and the trees live. He said he is about a year away from being able to inoculate trees with this bacteria to ward off the infestations. On another biological front, Eskalen has identified a wasp in Southeast Asia that is a natural predator to the shot hole beetles. This wasp is so small it can go into gallery holes and kill the beetles, he said. Next month, Eskalen and UCR entomologist Richard Stouthamer will fly to Taiwan to capture and learn about wasp. But he doesnt expect a deployment of wasps in Southern California for two or three years. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts company Arborjet has patented a chemical defense. It is a combination of pesticide and fungicide thats shot directly into a trees vascular system. Ninety percent of trees that received this cocktail showed no signs of the disease after nearly three years of trials, said Don Grosman, an entomologist for the company. We equate it to giving someone a shot for the prevention of a disease, said Grosman at the Pomona Fairplex, where the tree injections were demonstrated. The company also has participated in trials in the Rose Bowl parking lot and the California Institute of Technology, both in Pasadena. It is now working in Craig Park and Carbon Canyon Park in Orange County to prevent the death of park trees, Grosman said. Each injection costs about $120 to $200 per mature tree, Grosman said. We are putting a product in to prevent the disease from getting a foothold, Grosman said The treatment is good for protecting healthy ornamental trees in parks and commercial landscapes and should be applied about once a year to trees before they are infested, said Eskalen, who praised the work of Arborjet. But this strategy is too costly and cumbersome for the millions of wild trees at risk in Southern California, the UCR professor said. We need to look at the bigger picture to find more environmentally friendly bio controls such as a natural predator, Eskalen said. Contact the writer: ddanelski@scng.com@DavidDanelskisscauzillo@scng.com@stevscaz on Twitter The Ahafo Mine of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL) is estimated to produce four million ounces of gold annually from its proposed underground mining, the acting General Manager, Mr. Joshua Mortoti, has announced. It has currently been doing 322,000 ounces through surface mining. He said the underground operation would additionally extend the lifespan of the mine to year 2033 and create more than 600 permanent jobs. Mr. Mortoti made these known at a public hearing held at Kenyase-Number-Two on the proposed project. He told the people that there was going to be a rise in the Mines contribution to the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF), from US$17 million to US$25 million, to support the development of communities in the area. If approved, construction works on the project, would begin in 2017, with commercial gold production set to start by the third quarter of 2018. Mr. Mortoti expressed concern about, what he said was the volatile gold prices, high cost of inputs and declining ore grades. It was against this background that the prospect of developing the Subika pit for the underground gold mining, should be a refreshing news to the people. Mr. Michael Sandow Ali, Head of Mining of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), gave the assurance that due diligence would be done before giving the greenlight to the Mine to commence the project. The Agency would carefully evaluate the interventions and measures put in place to address noise pollution, blasting and prevent the destruction of water bodies. Despite the assurance by the EPA, many in the area remain opposed to the project. They are demanding that the mine put in place realistic and sustainable mitigation measures before it is allowed to mine underground. Abdallah Salifu, a teacher, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the forum, insisted that the activities of the Mine had adversely impacted the lives of the people. He said the 10 years of surface mining had polluted rivers and streams running through the area and destroyed farmlands. Those who lost their farmlands to the Mine were finding the going really tough, as they had no alternative livelihoods, he added. The forum was organized by the EPA to collate views and concerns of the people about project. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana, would soon start exporting treated water to Togo to generate revenue, a Senior Advisor and Head of Communications at the Presidency has revealed. Mr. Ben Dotse Malor explains that as part of President Faure Gnassingbs three-day State visit to Ghana, he is expected to visit a water project site in Sogakope where he and President Mahama would be gathering firsthand information about the ongoing project. The project according to Mr. Malor, is to turn portions of the Volta River which flows easily into the Atlantic ocean into portable water and export to our neighboring country for revenue. Aside generating income, the treated water would also be fed into the taps of the natives in the Sagakope area. Once it is developed, it would serve most communities along that pipeline in Ghana tooThis is going to be a project that would serve Ghanaian communities in that part of our nation and at the same time give Ghana, dividends in terms of the water that we would be supplying and selling to the Togolese peopleIt is a win-win situation and there is no way we can see any controversy in this regard, he established. Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ Email: [email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some traders at the Abossey Okai spare-parts market in Accra have reduced the prices of their products in the wake of the New Patriotic Partys electoral victory last week. The traders are upbeat about business prospects in 2017, saying the economic policies tabled by the President-elect would boost their business. The policies which include the abolition of the special import levy, they suspect will positively impact their businesses next year. This is not the first time the traders at Abossey Okai have done this. In 2001, when the NPP administration won power, the traders did same in solidarity with the Kufuor-led administration. One of the traders Peter Osei Agyapong told Joy Business their decision to reduce the prices is partly in support of the incoming administration but more importantly, it is in expectation of a bumper market in 2017. He dismissed assertions the high prices was to sabotage the outgoing Mahama government. According to him, $1=4 under the outgoing administration which made it difficult for them to sell at a price lower than what they were doing until the election results came. The traders at Abossey-Okai who are largely importers of spare parts and rely heavily on a stable currency and a better exchange rate to remain afloat in business. He recounted how the cedi was largely stable under the Kufuor administration which boosted their business. Osei Agyapong said the Mahama government failed to listen to wise counsel and that even when the exchange rate was high, the same government compounded matters with higher taxes and import duties. He is optimistic the NPP government will operate a different economic paradigm. A taxi driver at Abossey Okai told Joy News that a fuel pump which was selling at 350.00 is now selling at 200.00. A trader said a car tapes, which was selling 550.00 bulbs is now selling at 500.00. Other spare parts also saw marginal reductions. Checks by Joy News indicate prices of commodities have also been slashed in the Ashanti Region, the NPP's world bank. Source: Joy News Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President John Dramani Mahama has been voted out in the just ended election and he will be leaving office and handing over to President-Elect, Nana Akufo-Addo. The President during his tenure built massive infrastructure across the country. Although some have argued that Ghanaians will not 'eat' infrastructure, some have also praised him for the massive development the country has enjoyed under his leadership. To join those praising the President is his daughter, Farida Gyamfua Mahama who has, in a write-up praised her father for changing and transforming the lives of Ghanaians. The emotional write-up which was shared on the President's Instagram page to express her love for her father and tell him of the need to take heart and not let the defeat weigh him down reads "I have faith in my daddy, God has faith in my daddy. Daddy has worked so hard to change lives and transform Ghana, he has done so many things, schools, roads. He has done all the things he needs to do not to say even more. He has done his best and that is the important thing". President John Dramani Mahama is expected to deliver the state of the Nation Address after which he will hand over on January 7 to the New Patriotic Party led by Nana Akufo-Addo. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Spokesperson of the government transition team Hanna Serwaa Tetteh has again dismissed allegations that some handing over notes from the current government to the incoming government have been doctored. On Thursday, December 15, Acting General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) John Boadu alleged that aside some handing over notes being doctored, documents on some government vehicles are being destroyed. But in a statement issued a few hours after the allegation was made, Ms Tetteh expressed frustration how the NPP appears to be looking for any opportunity it can obtain to demonize the out-going NDC administration instead of concentrating on understanding the state of affairs of the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies over which they will soon have political oversight. The Foreign Affairs Minister said the handing over notes, for instance, were ready within the time frame stipulated by the Presidential (Transition) Act, 2012. However, the Ministers responsible for each sector Ministry were required to sign the handing over notes before sending them to the office of the Administrator General. The last two months of the year have been a period of intense campaigning and not all Ministers had the opportunity to review the notes and sign them within the period defined in the law. She continued that even eight were handed over to the team of the President-elect at the start of discussions while the rest have been promised to be made available on Monday, December 19 at the next meeting of the two teams. Other allegations have been made in the public domain to the effect that the Government is recruiting new employees and signing contracts, creating the impression that the outgoing administration is engaging in acts of illegality. It is important to point out that the current administration is the lawfully elected government of the Republic of Ghana and has the authority to exercise all the functions of government until the hand-over takes place to a new administration. The transition process should not be seen as a shutdown of the administration of the outgoing government. The statement says government machinery and institutions will continue to work under the laws of the country till January 7, 2017, when an official handover is done. She indicated that grey areas can be quickly clarified from leaders of the respective teams or even directly from individual members than one team rushing to the media to discuss issues to do with the process. We wish to assure the people of Ghana that on the side of the out-going administration we are ready to do everything necessary to ensure a smooth transition. The members of the transition team of the current administration want to affirm our commitment to ensuring a smooth handing over process to further enhance Ghanas reputation as a beacon of democracy on the continent of Africa. Source: tv3network.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), of destroying the colourful lights fixed at the fountain of the newly inaugurated Kwame Nkrumah Interchange project. Some supporters of the NPP in the wake of their victory in last Wednesdays polls, reportedly attacked some NDC supporters, vandalized some government installations including portions of the Fountain at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange. The fountain, which is usually opened for public viewing during the day and night after its inauguration in November 2016, is currently not functioning. Addressing the press on Thursday, National Chairman of the NDC, Kofi Portuphy, also lamented that further works on the interchange has come to a standstill because the workers were being attacked by NPP supporters and described it as shameful acts. Shameful attacks on the contractor and workers at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange popularly known as Dubai have brought the work to a standstill. The pity of it is the destruction of the colourful lights from the water fountain that flows to the admiration of all. The 74 million euros project was inaugurated by President John Mahama in November 2016 amidst a huge fanfare. The project has among other things three flyovers, a colourful water fountain, library, bus terminal, fire, police and ambulance stations. Defend yourselves NDC charges members Kofi Portuphy also has charged members of the NDC to defend themselves if they are attacked by NPP supporters. I am the leader of the party; I am saying if they attack them they should defend themselves while seeking police protection. They should not fold their hands for the NPP to butcher them to death, he added. Despite the claims, the NPP has accused the NDC of exaggerating these reports merely to court public sympathy and also to pain the President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo as a violent person. In most of the reported attacks, only few of them are being dealt with by the police. According to the police, some three persons have so far been arrested in the post-election violence cases across the country. Attacks from NDC members Meanwhile some angry NDC members disappointed in the partys defeat, have reportedly been attacking some party executives and defeated MPs, who they blame for the partys defeat. A video has gone viral of an angry NDC member who stormed a party office in anger and threatened to beat up one of the national executives of the party. Source: Citifmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament (MP) for Oforikrom Elizabeth Agyemang has said she will intensify her advocacy for the plight of female porters in the country, popularly known as 'kayayei' if appointed to the portfolio of the Gender Ministry. She has, however, pledged her commitment to continuously advocate for the welfare of 'kayayei' even if she is not appointed to the Gender Ministry. I will not be heading to parliament again, but in my own way I will do everything possible to help the head porters. In any position that I will find myself I will make sure that their issues are addressed, she stated in an interview on Thursday, December 15. The Oforikrom constituency is regarded as a destination for many young girls who migrate from northern Ghana to seek greener pastures in the Ashanti Region. According to her, the plight of the 'kayayei' was of great concern to the NPP and President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo. For her, the NPP will find a better place to relocate kayayei and improve their living conditions. Source: Classfmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The evacuation of civilians and safe passage of rebel fighters from the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo has been halted, after Bashar al-Assads government forces claimed rebels violated conditions of the ceasefire. Several unconfirmed reports claim shelling has resumed, and that explosions have been heard in the vicinity of Red Crescent buses transporting civilians out of the citys eastern region. BBC also reports buses leaving the city have been hit with gunfire. Reports ceasefire has broken down in Aleppo. Red Crescent and buses pulling back as mortars fired. Regime claims rebels holding hostages. Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) December 16, 2016 Its thought that around 6,000 civilians were granted safe passage out of the citys final rebel-held areas before the ceasefire broke down, but as many as 50,000 remain. Aleppo was the last major rebel stronghold remaining in Syrias brutal civil war, which has claimed over 300,000 lives. Earlier, residents trapped in the cross-fire and fearful of attacks from government forces issued final statements via social media. Solitary red crescent vehicle on road out of rebel enclave. Stand off now over fate of civilians from both sides pic.twitter.com/RCDFMFXIe1 Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) December 16, 2016 Well update this story as it develops. Source: BBC / Reuters. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty. A beauty blogger has been found dead after allegedly being electrocuted by a faulty shower in a Bali hotel. Reports state 26-year-old Rini Cesillia, from Jakarta, was found naked and unconscious on the bathroom floor with burn marks to her chest, still holding onto the shower hose. Friends grew concerned when she didnt answer the phone, with one entering her room to find water spilling out of the bathroom. Inspector Bangkit Dananjaya, from the South Denpasar Police Criminal Investigation Unit, said a postmortem on her body is currently underway. We suspect Cesillia died from electric shock. The body has been evacuated to Sanglah Hospital. RIP. Source: news.com.au. Photo: Instagram / @rinicesillia. A Coroner has ruled that Ms Dhus death in custody could have been prevented, and that the Indigenous woman was subjected to unprofessional and inhumane treatment by Western Australian police. Ms Dhu, a 22-year-old Yamatji woman, died in police custody on 4 August 2014, after being taking in to Port Hedland police station (about 1,500km north of Perth) for unpaid fines totalling $3622. She was taken to hospital three times within 48 hours after complaining of being in pain, with officers believing she was faking or exaggerating her symptoms and many believing them to be the result of drug withdrawals. She died on her third hospital visit of septicaemia and pneumonia, caused by an infection from a broken rib. Coroner Ros Foglianai today handed down her findings from the inquest, telling a packed courtroom in Perth that Ms Dhus death could have been prevented if someone took her temperature and her infection had been treated with antibiotics. I have concluded that Ms Dhus supervision, treatment and care at the lock-up, particularly on 4 August 2014, fell well below the standards that should ordinarily be expected of the Western Australia Police Service, she said. Further, the behaviour of a number of the police officers towards Ms Dhu was unprofessional and inhumane. She chose to release CCTV footage of Dhus time in custody, but not of her final moments in hospital. She also made a series of recommendations, including a changing of the law so that people can no longer be imprisoned for the non-payment of fines. Outside the courthouse, Ms Dhus family said they were unhappy with the findings, because nobody was being held accountable. Ms Dhus grandmother Carol Roe said it felt like shed lost her granddaughter all over again. Her birthday is in 10 days time, she said. We are supposed to celebrate Christmas but we cant because theres one missing in my family. I have to go to the cemetery, thats my Christmas. Source: The Guardian, ABC. Photo supplied by Ms Dhus family. In my personal opinion, Donald Trumps Twitter account was better only four sweet years ago, when he would regularly tweet about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattisons relationship troubles like he actually knew them (but didnt). I mean, now he still incessantly tweets inane rants, but now its repetitive boring crap about media outlets lacking integrity simply because they dare to post op-eds criticising him. RIP 2012, you were a better time. However, every now and then Donald tweets something hilarious again. Today, hes decided to do a little hate-tweet about Vanity Fair, and their editor, Graydon Carter. Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 Why? Well, it took a moment for people to figure out why the hell hed all of a sudden chosen to violently despise one of the biggest fashion and culture magazines in the world. Perhaps theyd interviewed Cara Delevingne and shed called him a twat? Turns out, no. It turns out that Trump is Very Mad with the mag, because they reviewed his restaurant, Trump Grill. And they didnt like it very much. They did not like it very much at all. In a review titled Trump Grill Could Be The Worst Restaurant In America, author Tina Nguyen tells the reader, Renowned butcher Pat LaFrieda once dared me to eat an eyeball that he himself popped out of the skull of a roasted pig. That eyeball tasted better than the Trump Grills (Grilles) Gold Label Burger, a Pat LaFriedabranded short-rib burger blend moulded into a sad little meat thing, sitting in the centre of a massive, rapidly staling brioche bun, hiding its shame under a slice of melted orange cheese. Heres some other highlights: The allure of Trumps restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich. features a stingy number of French-ish paintings that look as though they were bought from Home Goods. I asked the waiter what Trumps children eat. He didnt seem to understand the question, or, like Marco Rubio, appeared unable to depart from his prescribed talking points.Oh, Ive shaken hands with him before, and theyre pretty normal-sized hands, he responded. If the cheeseburger is a quintessential part of Americas identity, Trumps pledge to make America great again suddenly appeared not very promising. (Presumably, Trumps Great America tastes like an M.S.G.-flavored kitchen sponge lodged between two other sponges.) Dagos famous guacamole, which NASA might have served in a tube labeled TACO FILLING in the early days of the space program. So in conclusion Trump very angry. But Vanity Fair dont seem to mind that much. Ever since Trumps slam tweet appeared, this has been the new header on the website: NICE. If you want to read the full review in all its sassy glory, you can here: vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/trump-grill-review?mbid=social_twitter Source: Vanity Fair / Twitter. Photo: Stephen Lovekin / Getty. Look, we dont really need to say anything to you here, do we? Thailand is dope. Thailand is absolutely goddamn dope. Great food, great culture, great beaches, great temperatures. Everything is real bloody cheap and its just a genuinely good time. Look at it! Its beautiful! One of my favourite places. Railay Beach, Krabi credit @stefalama #railaybeach #krabi A photo posted by Thailand Luxe (@thailandluxe) on Jan 14, 2016 at 4:45am PST So, when we hear that Scoot and Tigerair have just casually decided to chop all the prices of their flights to certain parts of Asia, we are 110% bloody on board (as you soon will be also). Yeeeeeuuuuup, Scoot and Tigerair are offering one-way flights to Phuket for just $135, which is just shut-the-front-door insane. Perth are obviously the ones who benefit the most (distance is a factor here people, and Australia is ruddy enormous), but the princes from Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast are still pretty impressive. Its $135 from Perth, $199 from Sydney and Melbourne and $189 from Gold Coast. But yes, theres a catch the stopover. Passengers must fly to Singapore with Scoot then take a connecting flight with Tigerair to Phuket. If Phuket doesnt quite take your fancy, then theres other fares in the sale: Hong Kong from $175, Cebu from $185, or Penang from $135. Go forth, gentle and courageous travel-loving readers. We bless thee with the knowledge of decent flight prices. Head to Scoot for more info, wanderlusters: http://www.flyscoot.com/en/ Photo: Instagram / @thailandluxe. Star Wars fans in Philadelphia should head to the Prince Theater this weekend. The theater, the Philadelphia Film Society and Geekadelphia have teamed up to celebrate the release of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" with a weekend full of events. On Dec. 15, audiences were greeted by the music of Wookie-delphia as they entered the theater for the 7 p.m. screening of the movie. Other fans headed to the theater's Black Box to play Star Wars quizzo. The fun continues Dec. 16 with Star Wars Burlesque featuring Kyla Ren and Renee Rebelle. The 21 and older only show starts at 7:45 p.m. and tickets are $25 ($40 if you want a film ticket too). On Dec. 18 the Prince Theater is hosting Star Wars Kids Day from 2-3 p.m. There will be a costume parade with prizes as well as a Star Wars red carpet for the kids to walk down. The Franklin Institute will also be on hand with fun kid-centric activities. The Prince Theater is located at 1412 Chestnut St. For more information go to princetheater.org. Want more coverage from PennLive in Philadelphia? Click here for our Philly-centric stories. Food Finds is a new feature taking a look at foods worth trying at central Pennsylvania restaurants, corner bars, farm markets and ethnic eateries. Chocolate-peppermint Fluffs from fudge-O-lutely at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg. It's the holidays and any combination of chocolate and peppermint is a favorite seasonal flavor. Jess Kost, owner of fudge-O-lutely at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg, is in the holiday spirit with chocolate-peppermint Fluffs. She takes homemade peppermint marshmallows and dips them in melted dark chocolate and crushed candy canes. She also sells coconut, plain and sprinkle-covered Fluffs. (Check out the video for more details on the sweet treats.) The Fluffs are perfect with hot cocoa or coffee, or eaten plain as a snack. The chocolate peppermint Fluffs sell two for $3.25. Six packs of the candies sell for $7.50 and jars of miniature marshmallows for $4. Her stand also specializes in homemade fudge in fun seasonal flavors such as gingerbread, sugar cookie, peppermint and salted caramel as well as chocolate, vanilla and peanut butter. Fudge-o-lutely is open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. The Broad Street Market is located at 1233 N. Third St., Harrisburg. Trump Grill, the glitzy eatery located inside Trump Tower, has been trashed by one of the nation's most prestigious magazines. Read: Could Ivanka Trump Move to D.C. Mansion Where Jackie Kennedy Once Lived? "Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America," reads a recent review in Vanity Fair. The president-elect, who has feuded with the magazine for years, fired right back on Twitter, saying it is in big trouble and dead. Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016 Writer Tina Nguyen stated in her article: "The allure of Trumps restaurant, like the candidate, is that it seems like a cheap version of rich." She said the steak came out overcooked and mealy, with an ugly strain of pure fat running through it, crying out for A1 sauce (it was missing the promised demi-glace, too). The taco bowl, a Mexican-American concoction that Trump once posed in a viral Twitter photo, is the most popular item on the menu. Read: 16-Year-Old Former 'America's Got Talent' Contestant to Sing National Anthem at Trump's Inauguration But Nguyen said that the guacamole resembled something NASA might have served in a tube labeled TACO FILLING in the early days of the space program. But Inside Editions Diane McInerney went to Trump Grill to try out the food and felt very different to Vanity Fair. She gave a thumbs up to dishes Nguyen had panned, including the filet mignon and the burger and fries. She called the chocolate cake "excellent." Yelp also gives Trump Grill three out of five stars and Trip Advisor rates it with four out of five stars. Story continues Watch: Donald Trump Vs. CIA: The War of Words About Russia's Alleged Involvement in U.S. Election Related Articles: DO NOT REUSE Biscotti from Enrico Biscotti is just one of the delicious stops on the Burgh Bits and Bites food tour. (Jim Cheney | Special to PennLive) If you've ever spent any time in Pittsburgh, it's likely that a visit to the Strip District was on your itinerary. Once the economic hub of the city, the Strip District was filled with factories and warehouses for the shipping and rail industries that passed through the city. With thousands of workers coming to the area every day, many restaurants popped up in the district to feed them. When industries began moving out of the Strip District in the mid-20th century, restaurants, ethnic grocery stores, and wholesalers moved in to fill the voids. Today, the Strip District is home to some of Pittsburgh's best restaurants and food purveyors, some going back generations. If you want to eat your way through Pittsburgh, you'll undoubtably find yourself in this part of the city at some point. As someone who only gets to Pittsburgh a few times a year, my list of places to try in the Strip District is dauntingly long. That's why I decided to go on a food tour with Burgh Bits and Bites. Burgh Bits and Bites has been running food tours in Pittsburgh since 2008. Starting in the Strip District, they now offer tours in half a dozen of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, meaning there are plenty of tours to try on future visits to the city. For my tour with Burgh Bits and Bites, I opted to go the classic route and take their tour of the Strip District. I had previously visited the area in the past and had walked around the district However, with so many places to try, and knowing little of the area's history, I was excited to go on the tour. St. Patrick's Church is a beautiful church and the meeting point for the tour. Our guide met us in the historic courtyard of Old St. Patrick's Church. This church, built in 1936, is home to one of the few sets of Holy Stairs in the United States. After a brief introduction to the tour and our guide, we had our first food tasting, cinnamon bread, while learning a bit about the history of the church and the Strip District. After seeing the inside of this understated, yet beautiful church, we headed out onto the streets of the Strip District. Over the next two and a half hours, we sampled food from seven different restaurants, and make several other stops at points of interest. Along the way, our guide told us about the history of the Strip District and how it became a mecca for foodies from around the world. The samples we ate include delicious hummus from a Syrian-owned speciality store, pierogies from a polish deli, sausage made right in the Strip District, an Italian pastry, and several other amazingly scrumptious dishes. Honestly, everything we tried was delicious, and I wouldn't hesitate to eat at any of the restaurants again in the future. It was truly impressive to me the diversity of the food we encountered on our tour, as well as the amount of quality eateries in such a small area of the city. Parma Sausage makes their meats in the Strip District. So, the next time you're in Pittsburgh, take a few hours to take a food tour of the city with Burgh Bits and Bites. Not only will you get to sample some of the best restaurants in the city, but you are certain to learn something new about Pittsburgh and come away with an amazingly delicious meal. For more information on Burgh Bits and Bites or to schedule a tour, visit their website. Jim Cheney is the writer behind UncoveringPA, Pennsylvania's most read travel blog. He has traveled to every county in Pennsylvania, and to many countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa. prostitution.jpg Sheneka Jenkin, left, and Andrea Barron (Provided photos) Two New York women were arrested this week in an undercover operation targeting prostitution in the Camp Hill area, East Pennsboro Township police said Friday. The sting, mounted by the Cumberland County Drug Task Force on Wednesday, morning resulted in prostitution charges being filed against Sheneka Jenkin, 25, of Buffalo, and Andrea Barron, 20, of Niagara Falls, police said. They said the arrests occurred along the Camp Hill bypass. jalil aziz.png Jail Aziz of Harrisburg is charged with aiding the terror group ISIS. (Provided photo) Saturday will mark a year since heavily-armed federal agents in black SUVs swooped down on a Harrisburg street and arrested Jalil Aziz, who government prosecutors claim is the midstate's homegrown ISIS terrorist. Twelve months on, the diminutive 20-year-old is still sitting in Dauphin County Prison, awaiting a federal trial scheduled for June. Beyond that, it is hard to tell just where his case stands. The proceedings, by and large, are being conducted under a deep and very dark blanket of secrecy. Checks of records filed on his case docket in U.S. Middle District Court reveal little to nothing. Many orders from Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner, who is presiding in the case, are labeled classified and only their headings appear for public view. Many documents filed of late don't even appear when you try to call them up on the court docket. The only thing that appears in many cases is a notice stating, "This document is not available." In fact, the only publicly available documents of substance filed in the case in the last several months are a motion and supporting brief filed by Federal Public Defender Thomas A. Thornton, who is defending Aziz against charges that he tried to aid ISIS and abetted its efforts online. Thornton's filings hint at his frustration with the secrecy surrounding the case. He urges Conner to grant him further access to the government's evidence, arguing that he can't even tell whether the rights of Aziz, an American citizen, are being violated or if some or all of the evidence against his client should be suppressed. Aziz burst into public view at a time when ISIS, which is now beleaguered on all sides in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria, seemed to be on the upswing. He is short and slight and could pass for a middle school student. Yet federal prosecutors claim he posed a substantive threat to national security. They say he abetted ISIS by aiding potential terrorist recruits who were trying to reach the battleground in the Middle East. His internet chat was laced with comments parroting the terror group's homicidal threats against America and the rest of the West, investigators say. He is charged with calling for the beheading of President Obama and of posting photos of U.S. military personnel over the internet with exhortations to ambush and kill them. Aziz's own arsenal, seized from his Fulton Street home during his arrest, included a knife, bullets and what investigators described as a "go pack" with gear to enable a terrorist to remain on the run. If convicted of those charges, it is conceivable Aziz would never again see the outside of an American prison. Thornton painted a far different picture of Aziz during an impromptu press conference that followed one of his client's rare court appearances in May. He called Aziz "just a kid who made mistakes." That kid isn't really a danger to the public, Thornton insisted, since he lacked the capability to carry out the threats he made on the ethernet. Aziz is "overwhelmed" by the charges he faces, his lawyer said. An attempt to reach Thornton for comment Friday morning wasn't immediately successful. However, Thornton's latest publicly accessible court filing, lodged in September, gives a view of the difficulty Thornton is encountering in trying to secure information to fashion Aziz's defense. At the government's request, almost everything in the case is classified and sealed. Thornton's September filings included a 69-page brief in support of his motion for disclosure of the surveillance that led to Aziz's arrest. In a normal criminal case that has nothing to do with terrorism or national security, such information would be handed over to the defense as a matter of course, Thornton noted. He said that because of the "specter of national security," such basic info has been denied him. That lack has made it difficult for him to determine if any or all of that surveillance violated Aziz's rights and should be barred from introduction at his trial, Thornton wrote. He said a review of the government's eavesdropping might also show it lacks the evidence to show Aziz was "an agent of a foreign power," as prosecutors contend. The surveillance also may contain information that is false, he added, or "have been based impermissibly on activity protected by the First Amendment," the free speech safeguard in the U.S. Constitution. Still, since he doesn't know precisely what government investigators have, Thornton conceded that he had to base his brief on speculation about what evidence might be ripe for a suppression motion. He asked Conner to review the surveillance evidence, at least release the application for the surveillance warrants that were secured under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and to suppress any information that might have been obtained illegally. Thornton wrote that the First Amendment might come into play in that determination, especially if it is determined that Aziz's online comments constituted "expressive behavior" that is protected free speech. Based on information the defense received as of the time he filed the motion, Aziz's online activity appears to be limited to such comments, Thornton argued. Such expression would be protected speech, "no matter how repugnant that the government or even the general public may find it," he wrote. "The focus," Thornton wrote in another passage of his motion, "should therefore now be on the rights of Jalil Aziz, rather than simply general interests in intelligence gathering." He also mentioned the controversy over what he called was "virtually unchecked" surveillance on the American public by the National Security Agency. "This case presents a historical opportunity for the judicial branch to exercise its time-honored authority to put a stop to unfettered and unconstitutional executive branch covert activity," Thornton argued. "There is a slippery slope between Jalil Aziz and every other American citizen with a cell phone." It isn't clear if Thornton's plea for information gained any traction. Aside from an order scheduling a conference on a jury questionnaire, everything else filed in the case in the last three months has been shielded from public view. New Jersey Transit;transportation;commuter rail;Amtrak;Northeast Corridor An Amtrak train passes a New Jersey Transit train stopped to discharge and board passengers at Elizabeth train station Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Elizabeth, N.J., along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) (Mel Evans) PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Federal railroad regulators endorsed an ambitious and costly plan to rebuild the congested Northeast Corridor over the next 30 years by shoring up crumbling infrastructure, running more trains and building new tracks that would allow speeds of up to 220 mph on a stretch of the Washington-Boston route. The Federal Railroad Administration's plan unveiled Friday aims to cut down on delay-causing bottlenecks and increase capacity on the 500-mile corridor by upgrading outdated bridges and tunnels -- including ones into New York City that are more than a century old -- and realigning tracks to eliminate speed-restricting curves. The FRA estimates the $120 billion plan would cut travel times between Washington and New York by 35 minutes, to about 2 hours and 10 minutes, on the fastest trains and save 45 minutes to an hour on trips between Boston and New York, which now take close to 4 hours. Amtrak's Stephen Gardner, who's in charge of business operations on the corridor, said the plan affirms the railroad's "long-held view that rebuilding and expanding the Northeast Corridor is essential for the growth and prosperity of the entire region." The FRA's plan is the first comprehensive look at the future of the corridor, which handles about 2,200 trains and 750,000 passengers each day on commuter and intercity trains. The agency said it's the product of a four-year process that sought input from state and local officials, residents, Amtrak and commuter railroads. Now it's up to the states, railroads and President-elect Donald Trump to give their approvals and figure out which aspects of the plan to prioritize. Not everyone is on board. After residents of Old Lyme -- a Connecticut shoreline community with a population of 7,600 -- vowed to fight part of the plan that called for adding tracks through historic neighborhoods, marshlands, commercial districts and tourist attractions, the FRA opted to recommend a tunnel instead. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said the change "moves the needle on the original plan," but raises questions about cost. He said one estimate put the cost of the proposed tunnel at $20 billion, leaving local activists concerned that cheaper above-ground tracks could still be built. Matthew Lehner, public affairs director for the FRA, said the recommendation is just one step in the process and that the project couldn't happen without the support and agreement of state leaders. Elsewhere, work has begun on some projects incorporated into the FRA's plan. They include a $20 billion project to build new, expanded tunnels under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey and a $4 billion project to replace a 143-year-old tunnel in Baltimore. Among other provisions in the plan: a new Amtrak stop at Philadelphia's airport, eliminating the need for some travelers to reach the city and switch to a commuter train; increased service to parts of southern New England; and a new level of service that makes stops at a variety of commuter rail stations and major city hubs. Straighter tracks would enable trains to reach 220 mph between Baltimore and Wilmington, Delaware. The fastest trains on the system currently top out at 160 mph. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said implementing the FRA's plan is vital to the growth of the region, which is expected to add 7 million people by 2040. Currently, the Northeast is responsible for about 30 percent of the nation's jobs and 20 percent of its gross domestic product, according to federal data. "They recognize that the Northeast Corridor is not adequate for today and is not an adequate transportation pathway for tomorrow," Booker said. "The fact that we're choking growth and productivity is unacceptable." A western Pennsylvania man who was convicted of killing a woman after he spurned her invitation to engage in group sex has failed to convince a state appeals court panel that his lawyer was incompetent. Instead, the Superior Court judges concluded that Christopher Lee Harris' attorney was rather clever. Christopher Lee Harris Harris, 27, claimed in his appeal that he shouldn't be serving a 10- to 20-year prison sentence on his third-degree murder conviction. That's the penalty his attorney recommended to the judge during Harris's sentencing hearing. Harris insisted his lawyer should instead have recommended he receive a sentence of 7 1/2 to 20 years behind bars. The case is unusual, to say the least. According to court filings, Harris, his female roommate, and Harris' girlfriend were drinking in Harris' Wilkinsburg home in July 2011 when the roommate suggested the three of them have group sex. The roommate then tried to kiss Harris' girlfriend. Harris became angry and argued with his roommate, who went into the kitchen, returned with two knives and started swinging them around. Harris was cut on an arm, his cheek and under his eye trying to disarm her, investigators said. When the roommate went upstairs, Harris leaned out his front door and fired four pistol shots into the air. Another knife-swinging encounter ensued and Harris shot his roommate in the left breast, police said. When she tried to get up, he shot her in the ankle. The gunshots proved fatal and an Allegheny County jury convicted Harris of third-degree murder in February 2012. At his sentencing hearing, Harris' lawyer noted that Harris legally owned the gun used in the slaying. She observed that sentencing guidelines for his conviction started at 7 1/2 years behind bars, but suggested a penalty starting at 10 years. While Harris argued his lawyer did him wrong, Judge Carl A. Solano drew a different conclusion in the Superior Court opinion issued this week. Solano cited the lawyer's contention that she sought the 10- to 20-year sentence as a way to spare Harris an even longer prison stay. The attorney claimed the norm for third-degree murder sentences in Allegheny County is 20 to 40 years, so she didn't want to ask for an "unreasonably low" penalty that would irritate the county judge. Contrary to what Harris claimed, his lawyer did him a favor, Solano concluded. "Counsel's choice to request a sentence of 120 months was not born of sloth or ignorance, but of intention, experience and strategy," he wrote. And, Solano found, it worked. WILLIAMSPORT - A Harrisburg firm has been ordered to respond to a federal lawsuit brought by the estate of an inmate who committed suicide in the Northumberland County Prison in June 2014. U.S. Middle District Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick on Thursday issued the order after refusing to remove PrimeCare Medical Inc. and three of its employees from the suit Hope Lewis filed on behalf of the estate of her son, Cyrus Lewis. If the allegations contained in the complaint are true, PrimeCare officials were aware of Lewis' suicide potential and failed to take the necessary precautions, the judge wrote. Other defendants, including Northumberland County and its prison board, were not part of the dismissal motion. The wrongful death suit also claims the inmate's due process rights were violated. Lewis, of Shamokin, was committed to the prison on June 10 in lieu of $30,000 bail set by Magistrate Judge John Gembic on charges that included robbery, burglary and drunken driving. The complaint claims Lewis was withdrawing from narcotic use and talked to other inmates and staff about suicide the day he was committed and on June 15. The evening of June 15, Lewis placed a blanket over the window to his cell. About an hour later, correctional officer Jennifer Lashomb asked another inmate to check on Lewis, the suit claims. When the other inmate moved the blanket, Lewis was discovered hanging with a bed sheet around his neck, the complaint states. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Sunbury Community Hospital. PrimeCare was under contract to provide medical and psychiatric services at the prison. Allegations against it include failure to give Lewis a full mental health and suicide risk evaluation, to properly classify his level of suicide risk and to place him on an adequate level of watch. The estate also contends PrimeCare did not properly and train staff in identifying, monitoring and treating suicidal inmates. Mehalchick found those allegations were sufficient to proceed with the suit that seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. She pointed out prison staff had noted on Lewis' intake form he was a suicide risk. It would be inappropriate to grant the dismissal motion at this stage of the litigation, she wrote. Due to an unidentified incident along Interstate 283, Exit 247 at the Harrisburg east interchange is closed. Drivers were unable to use the Harrisburg east interchange to exit the Turnpike as of 5:40 p.m., according to a traffic alert from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Expect delays throughout the immediate area. For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources. Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here. Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. SHAMOKIN -- A Northumberland County man accused of placing a hunting-style knife in the trick or treat basket of a three-year-old boy has been fined $300 and placed on probation for a year. Harold S. Carter III, 35, of the Shamokin suburb of Coal Twp., pleaded guilty Tuesday to a disorderly conduct charge. A recklessly endangering charge was withdrawn. He had been in jail in lieu of $5,000 bail since his arrest Oct. 29, the day of the incident at Walnut and Locust streets in Coal Twp. Carter was charged with walking up to the boy, who was in costume and accompanied by his mother, and dropping a knife with an exposed 41/2-inch blade in his basket. The boy's mother called 911 and Carter was arrested a short time later. The designated trick-or-trick night in Coal Twp. was Oct. 29. The incident occurred while Carter was free on bail awaiting action in Northumberland County court on township police charges from an early July incident. He is accused of being drunk, trespassing on an Arch Street property and, while in a holding cell in the police station, using a shirt to block a toilet and then throwing it at an officer. Charges from that incident include aggravated harassment by a prisoner, terroristic threats, institutional vandalism, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. PA-girl-killed-in-violent-crash-on-way-to-school.PNG An entire high school in western Pennsylvania is grieving this morning, a day after 16-year old Leah Smith, who would have celebrated her 17th birthday today, was killed in a violent crash that nearly cut her car in two on her way to school. (screen shot via WPXI) An entire high school in western Pennsylvania is grieving this morning, a day after a female student who would have celebrated her 17th birthday today was killed in a violent crash that nearly cut her car in two while driving to school. The victim is 16-year old Leah Smith, a junior at Belle Vernon School District in Westmoreland County. According to KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, she was killed after losing control of her Honda Civic as she was coming out of a curve while driving to school Thursday morning. An entire high school in western Pennsylvania is grieving this morning, a day after 16-year old Leah Smith, who would have celebrated her 17th birthday today, was killed in a violent crash that nearly cut her car in two on her way to school. Her vehicle veered off the road sideways and slammed into a treed, with the full impact coming on the driver's side of the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene. This school was on a two-hour delay due to the weather when the fatal crash occurred around 9:30 a.m. yesterday. However, police tell KDKA that weather conditions didn't play a role in the crash. However, speed might have. And it still hasn't been determined if Smith was using her cellphone when the crash took place. KDKA reports Smith was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash/ This morning, grief counselors were on hand at Belle Vernon High School to deal with the emotional aftermath among students, KDKA reports. Read more Pa. buzz: police lights.jpg Multiple police agencies in Lebanon County are looking for a 36-year-old man with a cut hand who walked away from a health facility in West Cornwall Township. (File photo) State police seized heroin with a street value of $270,000 after stopping a New Jersey man Thursday in Berks County. State police at Hamburg said Aldo Mariamo Matias-Rosario, 20, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was charged with felony possession with intent to deliver, felony criminal use of a communication facility, misdemeanor drug-related charges and summary traffic offenses. He was placed in Berks County Prison on $200,000 bail. Police said Matias-Rosario was stopped for a vehicle code violation about 4 p.m. on westbound Interstate 78 in Upper Tulpehocken Township and he agreed to a search of the vehicle when asked. The trooper found a false compartment under the rear of the vehicle that contained what he believed to be bricks of heroin. The substance was tested positive at the station. In total, police said, about 27,000 individual baggies were seized. LOCK HAVEN -- A suspended Clinton County lawyer has been charged with stealing more than $50,000 from the law firm in which he had been a partner. A theft charge was filed Wednesday by the state attorney general's office against John Philip Boileau, 50, of Lock Haven. He is accused of having clients pay him directly between May 2010 and June 2015, thus depriving the firm of Roberts, Miceli and Boileau of $54,414. He also is accused of failing to complete legal work for which he was paid. Lock Haven police assisted in the investigation that included a review of bank account records over the five-year period. The state Supreme Court in April suspended for five years the law license of Boileau, an attorney for 23 years. Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court records state Boileau admitted misappropriating money and consented to the five-year-suspension. He is free on $2,500 unsecured bail in the criminal case. Screen Shot 2016-12-16 at 4.21.24 PM.png This was one of the photos of racist slurs left on a car at Temple. The photo was one of several posted on Facebook by a student who happened to pass by the car. (Screenshot/Facebook) Temple University on Friday condemned racist messages that were scrawled in snow on a car. Temple spokesman Brandon Lausch said the university condemned "the use of these symbols and language in the strongest terms." He said the incident had been reported to Temple University Police and was being investigated. "The university will make every effort to identify those responsible, and will hold them accountable," he said. Early Thursday morning, a student walking back to her apartment took photographs of a car that had been marred with a swastika and the words "Trump 2016" and a racial expletive scrawled in snow. News of the incident circulated across social media and was reported by TheTab.com, a college news network website. The car was parked on 16th and Montgomery, a few blocks away from Temple University's campus. Daisy Caledron, a Temple student who saw the writing and snapped photos, posted the photos on the Temple's Class of 2018 Facebook page. Daisy told The Tab she was walking with her boyfriend at around 4 a.m. and noticed "every car along Montgomery had snow drawings on them, but they were mostly just stupid stuff." Lausch said anyone with information that could be useful to police in the investigation is encouraged to contact Temple Police at 215-204-1234. Any student who wishes to speak to a university administrator about the incident should contact the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy, and Leadership (IDEAL) at 215-204-5509. The Temple incident is just one among a growing number of racist incidents that have marred college campuses across Pennsylvania in recent weeks, and comes one week after flyers containing white nationalist and anti-Islamic messages posted at Bucknell University. The flyers were found fixed to trees in The Grove last week. University President John Bravman has condemned the action as a "cowardly display of hate" on campus. "Acts such as this are an affront to our values and our commitment to building a more inclusive community," Bravman said. "They must not be tolerated." Two weeks ago, a swastika was carved in a men's room at Bucknell, and another was posted on a bulletin board at Susquehanna University In November, racially derogatory graffiti was found on the outside of the Women's Services and Gender Resource Center at Lebanon Valley College. Shippensburg University expelled a student who posted a racist comment on Facebook. The student had referred to fellow minority students as "dark meat" and "inner city garbage," and said he was carrying a knife for his own protection. Also in November, Villanova University, police investigated reports that a black female Villanova student was assaulted by white males yelling "Trump" on campus, NBC 10 in Philadelphia reported. A similar incident occurred in February at Temple, when a student found a swastika and a racial expletive written in snow on a car. Just weeks after the election, a Lehigh Valley professor went under investigation for having targeted students in his class with racist remarks. Racist incidents in the U.S. have spiked since the election and doubled between Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, jumping from more than 200 to more than 400 incidents, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports. Temple University has become the latest Pennsylvania school to experience a hate or racist incident in recent weeks. Early Thursday morning, a student walking back to her apartment took photographs of a car that had been marred with a swastika and the words "Trump 2016" and a racial expletive scrawled in snow, according to a report in TheTab.com, a college news network website. The car was parked on 16th and Montgomery, a few blocks away from Temple University's campus. The scene was captured by Temple junior Daisy Caledron, who saw the writing and snapped photos, which she posted on the Temple's Class of 2018 Facebook page. Daisy told The Tab she was walking with her boyfriend at around 4 a.m. and noticed "every car along Montgomery had snow drawings on them, but they were mostly just stupid stuff." The Temple incident is just one among a growing number of racist incidents that have marred college campuses across Pennsylvania in recent weeks, and comes one week after flyers containing white nationalist and anti-Islamic messages posted at Bucknell University. The flyers were found fixed to trees in The Grove last week. University President John Bravman has condemned the action as a "cowardly display of hate" on campus. "Acts such as this are an affront to our values and our commitment to building a more inclusive community," Bravman said. "They must not be tolerated." Two weeks ago, a swastika was carved in a men's room at Bucknell, and another was posted on a bulletin board at Susquehanna University. In November, racially derogatory graffiti was found on the outside of the Women's Services and Gender Resource Center at Lebanon Valley College. Shippensburg University expelled a student who posted a racist comment on Facebook. The student had referred to fellow minority students as "dark meat" and "inner city garbage," and said he was carrying a knife for his own protection. Also in November, Villanova University, police investigated reports that a black female Villanova student was assaulted by white males yelling "Trump" on campus, NBC 10 in Philadelphia reported. A similar incident occurred in February 2016 on Carlisle street, when a Temple student found a swastika and a racial expletive written in snow on a car. Just weeks after the election, a Lehigh Valley professor went under investigation for having targeted students in his class with racist remarks. Racist incidents in the U.S. have spiked since the election and doubled between Nov. 11 and Nov. 14, jumping from more than 200 to more than 400 incidents, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports. HERSHEY, Pa.-- It was the day before the Pennsylvania primary, and Republican nominee Donald Trump was asked to be more presidential. He told the story during a campaign stop at West Chester University when he was favored to defeat Republican challengers Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich, but still considered a longshot to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton and win the White House. Trump's wife and campaign chiefs were asking him to tone down his insults and strong rhetoric against his opponents. "I just don't know that I want to do it right yet," Trump said to a cheering crowd of university students and southeastern Republicans. "At some point I'm going to be so presidential you people are going to be bored." With 35 days until Trump takes the oath of office, the president-elect doesn't sound any more presidential than he did on April 25. And that's a good thing, according to his supporters. That's part of the reason he won. He wasn't a politician. He didn't sound like a politician. "That's why I voted for him. He's not a politician," said Lancaster County resident Louis Meevers-Scholte. Trump still didn't sound like a politician Thursday evening in Giant Center, where more than 12,000 people gathered for what he calls "Thank You Tour 2016." "We will keep Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country," Trump said to loud cheers during his hour-long speech. At another point, he said, "My message is to all Americans: African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans or whatever the hell you are. We are all Americans." And earlier in his speech, he proved he's not done with biting criticisms. While speaking about White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, he said, "He could deliver good news and it would still sound bad." All of his off-the-cuff comments were met with loud applause. Regardless if his words were polished, they connected with people, just as they did the day he announced his candidacy in June 2015 and promised to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. He promised again Thursday night to build the wall. "The borders are going to be so strong now," Trump said. "We will build a great, great wall...and stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning the youth of Pennsylvania. We're gonna build the wall. We have to." Trump also repeated many of his other campaign promises, including repealing and replacing Obamacare, rebuilding the military, and creating jobs. "We will unleash shale, natural gas, oil, coal," Trump said. "We're going to put our coal miners back to work. Get your shovels ready." Much like his campaign stops, Trump's speech Thursday night included asides, personal stories, an air of nationalism and telling it like he sees it. "There's no such thing as a global anthem...or global flag," Trump said. "We salute one flag and that's the American flag." And he said he's disturbed when he sees protest coverage on the news that includes people desecrating the flag. "We're going to have to do something about the punks burning and stepping on the American flag," Trump said. He didn't specify what that "something" would be, just as he didn't give detailed policy plans during the campaign. President-elect Trump is the same person as candidate Trump. "Trump is Trump," said supporter and CNN commentator Jeffrey Lord. "Let Trump be Trump, just like Reagan was Reagan." Trump thanked Lord multiple times Thursday night, and the crowd joined him with loud cheers. He also pointed out that Lord said all along Trump was like Reagan with his populist message. As Trump won the Rust Belt and painted blue states red, the country learned what Lord already knew. Trump took digs at the media analysts and pollsters who - even on election night - said he couldn't win the presidency, let alone Pennsylvania. "They said, 'There is no path to 270 for Donald Trump,'" Trump said. "But there's a path to 306." Trump said he watched many states get called for him before Pennsylvania's 20 delegates landed under his name. "I love Pennsylvania, but we didn't even need you guys," Trump said. "In four years, we're going to win Pennsylvania by even more." After promising to bring back jobs in the state, and "get Americans off welfare and back into the labor market," Trump said he is the fighter that voters need. "You, the people of Pennsylvania, are finally going to have a champion who fights for you in the White House," Trump said. That's a message that applies to all Americans, he said. "You the American people will finally be in charge again...," Trump said. "The forgotten men and women of our country will not be forgotten anymore. You certainly weren't forgotten on Election Day, were you?" It remains to be seen if Trump will be able to keep his myriad promises, or if he will face the challenges of his predecessors when it comes to getting an agenda through Congress. But he's probably not going to sound more presidential, even once he's sworn in as president. And, again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Unscripted is what got him elected. Unscripted is what drew cheers from thousands of supporters in Giant Center. For those still looking for someone more presidential, perhaps you can find it in his final line Thursday night in Hershey. "God Bless you, Merry Christmas, Thank you, Pennsylvania." alt.right collage.jpg Clockwise, from left: White nationalist William Pierce, domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh, white nationalist Richard Spencer, British journalist Milo Yiannopoulos, professor Kevin MacDonald, and Breitbart News founder Andrew Breitbart. By George Michael In recent months, far-right activists - which some have labeled the "alt-right" - have gone from being an obscure, largely online subculture to a player at the very center of American politics. George Michael (Westfield State University photo) Long relegated to the cultural and political fringe, alt-right activists were among the most enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump. Earlier this year, Breitbart.com executive Steve Bannon had declared the website "the platform for the alt-right." By August, Bannon was appointed the CEO of the Trump campaign. In the wake of Trump's victory, he'll be joining Trump in the White House as a senior advisor. I've spent years extensively researching the American far right, and the movement seems more energized than ever. To its critics, the alt-right is just a code term for white nationalism, a much-maligned ideology associated with neo-Nazis and Klansmen. The movement, however, is more nuanced, encompassing a much broader spectrum of right-wing activists and intellectuals. How did the movement gain traction in recent years? And now that Trump has won, could the alt-right change the American political landscape? Mainstreaming a movement The alt-right includes white nationalists, but it also includes those who believe in libertarianism, men's rights, cultural conservatism and populism. Nonetheless, its origins can be traced to various American white nationalist movements that have endured for decades. These groups have historically been highly marginalized, with virtually no influence on the mainstream culture and certainly not over public policy. Some of the most radical elements have long advocated a revolutionary program. Groups such as the Aryan Nations, White Aryan Resistance, the National Alliance and the World Church of the Creator have preached racial revolution against ZOG, or the "Zionist Occupation Government." Many were inspired by the late William L. Pierce's "Turner Diaries," a novel about a race war that consumes America. (Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, had pages from the book in his possession when he was captured.) But these exhortations didn't resonate with most people. What's more, after 9/11, many of the revolutionary right's leading representatives were prosecuted under new anti-terrorism statutes and sent to prison. By the mid-2000s, the far right appeared to have reached its nadir. Into this void stepped Richard Spencer and a new group of far-right intellectuals. In 2008, conservative political philosopher Paul Gottfried was the first to use the term "alternative right," describing it as a dissident far-right ideology that rejected mainstream conservatism. (Gottfried had previously coined the term "paleoconservative" in an effort to distance himself and like-minded intellectuals from neoconservatives, who had become the dominant force in the Republican Party.) William Regnery II - a wealthy and reclusive publisher - founded the National Policy Institute as a white nationalist think tank. A young and rising star of the far right, Spencer assumed leadership in 2011. A year earlier, he launched the website "Alternative Right" and became recognized as one of the most important, expressive leaders of the alt-right movement. Around this time, Spencer popularized the term "cuckservative," which has gained currency in the alt-right vernacular. In essence, a cuckservative is a conservative sellout who is first and foremost concerned about abstract principles such as the U.S. Constitution, free market economics and individual liberty. The alt-right, on the other hand, is more concerned about concepts such as nation, race, civilization and culture. Spencer has worked hard to rebrand white nationalism as a legitimate political movement. Explicitly rejecting the notion of racial supremacy, Spencer calls for the creation of separate, racially exclusive homelands for white people. Different factions The primary issue for American white nationalists is immigration. They claim that high fertility rates for third-world immigrants and low fertility rates for white women will - if left unchecked - threaten the very existence of whites as a distinct race. But even on the issue of demographic displacement, there's disagreement in the white nationalist movement. The more genteel representatives of the white nationalism argue that these trends developed over time because whites have lost the temerity necessary to defend their racial group interests. By contrast, the more conspiratorial segment of the movement implicates a deliberate Jewish-led plot to reduce whites to minority status. By doing so, Jews would render their historically most formidable "enemy" weak and minuscule - just another minority among many. Emblematic of the latter view is Kevin MacDonald, a former psychology professor at the California State University at Long Beach. In a trilogy of books released in the mid- to late 1990s, he advanced an evolutionary theory to explain both Jewish and antisemitic collective behavior. According to MacDonald, antisemitism emerged not so much out of perceived fantasies of Jewish malfeasance but because of genuine conflicts of interests between Jews and Gentiles. He's argued that Jewish intellectuals, activists and leaders have sought to fragment Gentile societies along the lines of race, ethnicity and gender. Over the past decade and a half, his research has been circulated and celebrated in white nationalist online forums. A growing media and internet presence Cyberspace became one area where white nationalists could exercise some limited influence on the broader culture. The subversive, underground edges of the internet - which include forums like 4chanand 8chan - have allowed young white nationalists to anonymously share and post comments and images. Even on mainstream news sites such as USA Today, The Washington Post and The New York Times, white nationalists can troll the comments sections. More important, new media outlets emerged online that began to challenge their mainstream competitors: Drudge Report, Infowars and, most notably, Breitbart News. Founded by Andrew Breitbart in 2007, Breitbart News has sought to be a conservative outlet that influences both politics and culture. For Breitbart, conservatives didn't adequately prioritize winning the culture wars - conceding on issues like immigration, multiculturalism and political correctness - which ultimately enabled the political left to dominate the public discourse on these topics. As he noted in 2011, "politics really is downstream from culture." The candidacy of Donald Trump enabled a disparate collection of groups - which included white nationalists - to coalesce around one candidate. But given the movement's ideological diversity, it would be a serious mischaracterization to label the alt-right as exclusively white nationalist. Yes, Breitbart News has become popular with white nationalists. But the site has also unapologetically backed Israel. Since its inception, Jews - including Andrew Breitbart, Larry Solov, Alexander Marlow, Joel Pollak, Ben Shapiro and Milo Yiannopoulos - have held leading positions in the organization. In fact, in recent months, Yiannopoulos, a self-described "half Jew" and practicing Catholic - who's also a flamboyant homosexual with a penchant for black boyfriends - has emerged as the movement's leading spokesman on college campuses (though he denies the alt-right characterization). Furthermore, the issues that animate the movement - consternation over immigration, national economic decline and political correctness - existed long before Trump announced his candidacy. As political scientist Francis Fukuyama opined, the real question is not why this brand of populism emerged in 2016, but why it took so long to manifest. Mobilized for the future The success of the Trump campaign demonstrated the potential influence of the alt-right in the coming years. At first blush, Trump's victory in the Electoral College seems substantial. But his margin of victory in several key states was quite slim. For that reason, support from every quarter he received - including the alt-right - was vitally important. Anecdotal evidence suggests that they were among his most avid foot soldiers in getting out the vote in both the primaries and general election. Moreover, the Trump campaign provided the opportunity for members of this movement to meet face to face. Shortly after the election, Richard Spencer said that Trump's victory was "the first step, the first stage towards identity politics for white people." To some observers, Bannon's appointment as Trump's chief strategist confirms fears that the far-right fringe has penetrated the White House. But if Trump fails to deliver on his most emphatic campaign promises - such as building the wall - the alt-right might become disillusioned with him, just like the progressives who chastised Barack Obama for continuing to prosecute wars in the Middle East. Unlike old-school white nationalist movements, the alt-right has endeavored to create a self-sustaining counterculture, which includes a distinct vernacular, memes, symbols and a number of blogs and alternative media outlets. Now that it has been mobilized and demonstrated its relevance (just look at the number of articles written about the movement, which further publicizes it), the alt-right is likely to grow, gaining a firmer foothold in American politics. George Michael is a professor of criminal justice at Westfield State University. He wrote this piece for The Conversation, where it first appeared. hillary-clinton-donald-trump-760b8d2884029a15.jpg As the clock ticks down to Monday's Electoral College vote, a movement to derail Donald Trump's path to the presidency gained traction in Pennsylvania and other states that voted for him on Nov. 8. (File photos) As the clock ticks down to Monday's Electoral College vote, a movement to derail Donald Trump's path to the presidency gained traction in Pennsylvania and other states that voted for him on Nov. 8. That vote was generally a formality, even in years like 2000 when the winner of the nationwide popular vote lost the Electoral College. This year, however, electors in states that went for Trump have been inundated with messages imploring them to vote for someone else. In Harrisburg, a loose coalition of political groups from around the state will gather on the Capitol steps overnight Sunday and through the day on Monday to "sound the alarm" every hour. That event is part of a larger effort to station protesters at state capitols around the country. "If nothing else, maybe we can educate the public that we don't have to accept things that could be bad for us--we don't have to just accept it," Beth Pulcinella, one of the organizers of the Harrisburg event, told PennLive. Here's everything you need to know about how we got here and what to expect on Dec. 19. How does the Electoral College work? Anyone who's sat through an elementary school civics class probably remembers learning that presidents aren't elected by the people but through an intermediary group called the Electoral College. It was created, in the words of Alexander Hamilton from The Federalist Papers, because it was "much less apt to convulse the community with any extraordinary or violent movements." In the current system, each state receives one elector for each of its U.S. representatives and senators. Pennsylvania has 20 electors, meaning that each elector represents about 640,000 residents or 300,000 voters. Wyoming, the least populous state, has three electors with each representing about 195,000 residents or 86,000 voters who turned out in November. Proposals to abolish the college have cropped up since it was first created but none of them have gained serious traction. The basic arguments for and against it go like this: Opponents say it fails to accurately reflect the will of the nation and that it may suppress voter turnout. Supporters say it provides a voice to minority interests (and smaller, typically rural states) that may not otherwise be heard and forces nationwide cohesion. Nationwide, most electors are chosen at state party conventions. The party of the presidential candidate who wins the state will send their slate of electors to vote in December. In most states, those electors are required to cast their vote for the winner of the statewide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska are two exceptions. In those states, the statewide winner receives two electoral votes while the rest are awarded by congressional district. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia require electors to vote for their party's presidential nominee. Pennsylvania's electors, however, are unbound--meaning there's no such requirement or consequences for voting for someone else. Several states impose a penalty for so-called "faithless electors" who violate their pledge. Oklahoma and Washington impose a $1,000 fine; North Carolina has a $500 fine; in Michigan and Utah, a faithless elector is considered to have "resigned" and will be replaced; and New Mexico deems it a fourth-degree felony. A candidate needs to win a majority of electoral votes, 270, to become president. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the U.S. House of Representatives will step in to choose the president while the U.S. Senate chooses the vice president. Based on the results of the Nov. 8 election, Trump won a total of 306 electoral votes, including 20 from Pennsylvania, compared to Hillary Clinton's 232. The state's electors will convene inside the state House chamber at the Capitol at 12 p.m. on Dec. 19 to cast their votes. Why is this year's Electoral College vote so controversial? For one thing, any election that bucks conventional wisdom is bound to stir controversy. Prior to Nov. 8, most public opinion polls and aggregators that forecast the Electoral College vote predicted a Clinton victory. The fact that Clinton won the popular vote by an ever-widening margin (currently about 2.8 million votes) added fuel to speculation about election fraud that was already circulating due to the reported involvement of Russia in hacks at the Democratic National Committee. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein launched recount efforts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin--three states with close margins between Clinton and Trump--that either failed in the courts or (in Wisconsin) actually widened Trump's margin of victory. In Pennsylvania, which was never subject to a statewide recount, much smaller precinct-level recounts yielded no major changes. A recount of 75 of 1,686 voting precincts in Philadelphia County, for example, netted Clinton an additional five votes. As the recount effort faltered, an effort to sway the Electoral College itself has gained traction. More than 4.8 million people signed a Change.org petition called Trump "unfit to serve" and urge electors to vote for Hillary Clinton. A group called "Hamilton Electors," purportedly founded by several electors, encourages Republican electors to block Trump and offers visitors ways to get involved by attending vigils, calling their electors and donating money for legal assistance. How likely is the Electoral College to snub Trump? Based on the plain numbers, 37 electors need to flip in order to kick the presidential election decision over to the Republican-held U.S. House of Representatives. Others have speculated about an alliance in which Democratic and faithless electors could agree on a third option. One of the likely candidates for that, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, dismissed the possibility outright: "This approach, as well-meaning as it is, will only serve to further divide our nation, when unity is what we need."l Earlier this month, an elector from Texas publicly outed himself as a faithless elector. "Mr. Trump lacks the foreign policy experience and demeanor needed to be commander in chief," Chris Suprun wrote, in an op-ed piece that ran in The New York Times. He cited, among other things, Trump's foreign business connections, a controversial Cabinet appointment and Trump's statement during the campaign encouraging hackers to target Clinton's email. Estimates on the number of electors who may follow Suprun run the gamut. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who served under Bill Clinton, said he'd heard from three electors with doubts voting for Trump. Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard University law professor who briefly mounted his own campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination, said he believed there were at least 20. Last month, Factcheck.org reported that a number of experts believed such an unprecedented wave of faithless electors was unlikely. "The electors are mostly people connected to the political party leadership in their states," said Richard Pildes, a professor of constitutional law at New York University School of Law. "So if you try to picture how this might happen, it would have to be the party leadership in some group of states that is convinced to abandon Trump." There's also little precedent for a large number of faithless electors voting against a nominee. There've only been 157 of them since the beginning of the Electoral College, according to FairVote, a non-partisan non-profit that advocates for electoral reform. The largest number in a single election came in 1872, when the Democratic Party nominee Horace Greeley died between the election and the Electoral College vote, prompting 63 of 66 electors to either abstain or choose other Democratic candidates. In 1832, 30 Democratic electors from Pennsylvania refused to support vice presidential candidate Martin Van Buren, who nonetheless won the national Electoral College vote. What about Pennsylvania's electors? Like other electors nationwide, Pennsylvania's have received a deluge of email and letters about their Dec. 19 vote. "Most of the emails that I read were sincere and respectful, but I don't even bother reading them anymore. Who can read 20,000 emails? If it says, 'Dear Elector,' it gets deleted," Dick Stewart, of Cumberland County, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review earlier this month. A recent telephone survey of the state's electors conducted by the Associated Press found that all of those it reached were unwavering in their support for Trump. "The folks have spoken, the voters have spoken," said Mary Barket, a GOP political consultant from Northampton County who supported Marco Rubio in the primary. "I take that responsibility seriously." In this Wednesday, March 30, 2016, photo, a sign designed to attract employment seekers stands next to a job recruiter's booth at a job fair in Pittsburgh. Employers stepped up their hiring in nine U.S. states in November 2016 and cut jobs in two amid modest improvement in the nation's labor market, according to information released Friday, Dec. 16, 2016, by the Labor Department. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) leeco lesee Chinese company LeEco is running into some more trouble with its electric car plans. Buzzfeed News reported today that LeEco leaned on Faraday Future, the startup it has a strategic partnership with, to design its self-driving car, the LeSee. LeEco's CEO Jia Yueting is a personal investor in Faraday Future. Faraday Future employees were pulled off their core projects to work on LeSee car that was shown on stage at an event in April. The car, said to boast autonomous capabilities at the event, was actually being piloted backstage via a remote control, Buzzfeed reported. Faraday Future and LeEco declined to comment for this story. The news comes a month after Yueting told LeEco staff that the company was facing a shortage of cash from expanding too fast and in too many directions. Faraday Future has had troubles of its own. It stopped work at its $1 billion factory in North Las Vegas and is likely to miss the shipping deadline for its production vehicles that were said to come to market some time in 2017. Dan Schwartz, Nevada's state treasurer, has been a vocal skeptic of the Faraday Future project since Nevada offered the startup millions in tax incentives to build its factory. Buzzfeed News also reported that a lawsuit was filed against Faraday Future from auto supplier Futuris for falling behind on $10 million worth of payments. Another lawsuit, from by Beim Maple Properties, alleges Faraday Future is behind roughly $105,000 in rent payments for a warehouse. Read the full Buzzfeed News report here. NOW WATCH: Tesla's rival just unveiled its first car and it looks like a futuristic Batmobile More From Business Insider Jess Field / Petersburg Pilot Around 150 people turned out Wednesday night for the 42nd Annual Pickled Herring Contest held at Sons of Norway Hall. This year's winners (above) were left to right, Sig Mathisen winner of smoked seafood, Bill Olson with his coveted pickled herring trophy, Carolyn Kvernvik winner of pickled seafood with her halibut ceviche. Rob Swanson winner of the smoked salmon category, with cold smoked salmon, didn't attend the event so his son Adam (pictured) brought the trophy home. Boyne City Splash Pad construction continues, to open next year The project is being funded by the sale of the Boyne City Community Building. President-elect Donald Trump filled in another piece of his leadership team yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 14), nominating former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be the next secretary of energy. If confirmed by the Senate, Perry will replace outgoing secretary Ernest Moniz, who played a significant role in crafting the Iran nuclear deal. While Perry will not bring doctorates in Physics and academic credentials of the last two energy secretaries Ernest J. Moniz of M.I.T. and Nobel laureate Steven Chu of Stanford to the office, he is by no means a pushover. Donald Trump's nominee is Texas longest-serving governor, in office from 2000 to 2015, and before that was the States agriculture commissioner. Perry, 66, who left office January last year, holds a bachelors degree in animal science from Texas A&M University. As governor of the oil-producing state, he oversaw the twelfth largest economy in the world through the worst of the Great Recession. Implementing energy-friendly policies, Perry was able to create jobs and carry the state unscathed through those troubled times. In fact, he is credited for generating more employment than all 49 other states combined during his tenure. No doubt, Trump has hailed Perry as one who created a business climate that produced millions of new jobs and lower energy prices in his state and hoped that he will bring that same approach to the entire country as secretary of energy. Despite all his achievements as a governor, Rick Perry is still haunted by his failed GOP presidential candidature of 2012. In particular, he is ridiculed for famously forgetting the name of the Department of Energy during a live Republican primary debate in 2011, yet describing it as a part of the federal government he would dismantle if elected president. He also unsuccessfully campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, only to drop out of the race early -- as first of the 17 GOP candidates. Interestingly, Perry and Trump traded blows during the Republican primary campaign. While Perry described Trump's political appeal as "a cancer on conservatism," Trump poked fun at Perrys glasses. Story continues The Job Profile Before analyzing the pros and cons of Rick Perrys nomination as U.S. energy secretary, lets delve into the Department of Energys job profile. Contrary to its name, the departments primary focus doesnt actually have anything to do with fossil fuels, but rather, in designing nuclear weapons, protecting the nations aging arsenal, thwarting their proliferation and ensuring the cleanup and proper dumping of the nuclear radioactive wastes to help protect the environment. The departments crown jewels are the 17 national laboratories that are considered unrivaled in the field of scientific research and engineering development. About 60% of the Energy Departments overall budget goes toward managing the National Nuclear Security Administration, which is focused on improving Americas security through the military application of nuclear science. Another Oil Industry Ally and Climate Change Sceptic First Scott Pruitt, then Rex Tillerson, and now Rick Perry. Last week, the climate action advocates went into a tizzy after President-elect Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt having a history of suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its restrictions on power plants to head the agency. The anti-fossil fuel crowd was in for more shock after the confirmation of ExxonMobil Corp. XOM Chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Rex Tillerson as the secretary of state. Finally, the choice of Perry adds to the list of oil industry friends and drilling proponents who have been tapped for top jobs in the Trump administration. Expectedly, environmental organizations are girding for a fight and have attacked Perrys appointment for his preference for fossil fuel development and being pro-fracking. Environmentalists point out that Perry has repeatedly questioned science that shows that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change. This could have profound impact for the U.S. environmental policy. As it is, with Trump promising to cancel the landmark Paris deal and stimulate coal production once he takes office in January, the prospects of clean energy are far from being encouraging. Not only has Trump called climate change a hoax created by China, he has pledged to remove Obamas Clean Power Plan. But Some Hail Perry as the Perfect Choice Certain sections see the former Texas governor as the perfect man to implement Americas policy of promoting affordable, abundant energy. As discussed before, his well-devised pro-energy plans created jobs and saved the state of Texas from the worst of depression. Notwithstanding Texas enviable oil and gas deposits, its Perrys support to energy production and a conducive business environment that led to impressive economic results during his tenure. Apart from advocating the removal of obstacles for energy sources, he encouraged building new nuclear power plants, and, surprisingly presided over a large ramp-up of Texas wind power production. These policies helped Texas reduce its electricity prices by a fourth since 2008, at a time when the national average has gone higher. Leading the nation's second most populous state for so many years, Perry is also said to have the experience in taking over a department with tens of thousands of employees and a big annual budget. How Will Perrys Appointment Affect Oil & Gas Firms? Its no surprise that having Rick Perry in office would be attractive for energy companies. With Perry at the helm, the U.S. energy department is likely to see more business-based approach. Oil stocks are already on the move this month on the news that several industry-friendly executives are being appointed to important posts. The Energy Select Sector SPDR an assortment of the largest U.S. energy companies jumped 4.70% month-to-date, while supermajors ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp. CVX and Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A each rose around 5%. Shell currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Oils-Energy Sector Price Index Oils-Energy Sector Price Index If the U.S. Senate confirms Perrys appointment, Energy Transfer Partners L.P. ETP stock could be the biggest winner. As Energy Secretary, he is likely to push through the controversial 1,172-mile Dakota Access Pipeline primarily owned by the Dallas-based pipeline operator. Beyond his tenure as Texas governor, Perry has been serving on boards of Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. SXL another developer of the pipeline designed to shuttle over 470,000 barrels of crude daily from North Dakota's prolific Bakken formation to an existing pipeline in Patoka, Illinois, which environmentalists claim could pose a threat to the local water supply. Looking for Ideas with Even Greater Upside? Today's investment ideas are short-term, directly based on our proven 1 to 3 month indicator. In addition, I invite you to consider our long-term opportunities. These rare trades look to start fast with strong Zacks Ranks, but carry through with double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our home run, value, and stocks under $10 portfolios, plus more. Click here for a peek at this private information >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SUNOCO LOGISTIC (SXL): Free Stock Analysis Report ENERGY TRAN PTR (ETP): Free Stock Analysis Report CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report ROYAL DTCH SH-A (RDS.A): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Supply cuts won't re-balance market until second half 2017- OPEC Group raises estimates for non-OPEC supply after deal to cut LONDON Petroleumworld.com 12 16 2016 OPEC said its agreement to cut production, while speeding up the re-balancing of the global oil market, won't result in demand exceeding supply until the second half of next year. The Dec. 10 agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-members such as Russia and Kazakhstan will accelerate the reduction of global inventories and bring forward the re-balancing of the oil market to the second half of 2017, OPEC said in its monthly report Wednesday. It's a more pessimistic outlook than that published Tuesday by the International Energy Agency, which indicated a supply deficit in the first half. Oil prices have climbed about 16 percent since OPEC announced its first production cuts in eight years on Nov. 30 as it seeks to end a three-year glut that the group admits lasted longer than it expected. The accord was widened on Dec. 10 when 11 non-members signed up as well. Despite a commitment from those countries to lower their output in the first half by 600,000 barrels a day, the organization slightly increased forecasts for supplies from outside OPEC in 2017. It estimates that production in Russia, which pledged half of the non-OPEC cut, and in Kazakhstan, which also agreed to cut, will remain steady for the six months covered by the deal. The report doesn't state whether the estimates take into account the most recent agreement. The non-OPEC growth forecast was increased by about 100,000 barrels a day, to 300,000 a day, due to higher price expectations for 2017, according to the report, produced by the bloc's Vienna-based secretariat. The organization kept forecasts for U.S. supply in 2017 unchanged. The group said its own output climbed 150,800 barrels a day to 33.87 million a day in November, as Nigeria and Libya -- which are both exempt from any obligation to cut -- restored some of their disrupted supplies. This implies that, in order to meet the group's target of 32.5 million barrels a day, the other nations would need to make deeper cuts than originally agreed. Another complication for the deal may come from the group's revision of October output levels, which were used as the reference points for the accord. Production in Saudi Arabia, the biggest and most influential member, was assessed by the organization at 10.56 million barrels a day in October, higher than its reference level of 10.54 million. The organization has created a monitoring committee, composed of three members and two non-members, to ensure compliance with the agreement. Production data submitted directly by members, which is also included in the report, continued to show a discrepancy with the group's own estimates. While data from Iraq, Iran and Venezuela have regularly differed, this month's report showed a wider disparity for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom told OPEC it produced 10.72 million barrels a day in November, about 200,000 a day more than OPEC's own assessment. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson told CNBC on Friday he has not seen the evidence of Russia -led hacking to interfere with the U.S. presidential election, but said such moves from Moscow would not be surprising. "First of all, who can discern the motives. I frankly have not seen the evidence that it was actually Russia. I'm assuming that's true," the Wisconsin Republican said on " Squawk Box. " Johnson said he has asked the CIA for a briefing. "They refused to give it to me." He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has been trying to destabilize democracies in Europe for years, with propaganda aimed a making voters doubt the veracity of any news reports and information from governments. "We do know, in Eastern Europe and other places, they are spreading disinformation. Their goal is to destabilize regimes and to really get the public in different countries to believe nothing is true. You can't relay on any piece of information," Johnson said. President Barack Obama is set to hold a news conference Friday afternoon. In excerpts of an NPR interview released Thursday evening, Obama promised a U.S. response to the Russia hacking. While Obama has been threatening "serious consequences" against Russia, he's yet to act, the Homeland Security Committee chairman said. "Obviously Vladimir Putin is not shaking in his boots." "We have offensive capabilities," Johnson said. "I think very quietly through diplomatic channels and other channels we ought to be laying out ... exactly what the consequences are going to be, and if this continues and if something happens we quietly enact those types of consequences." The Kremlin said Friday that Washington should either prove the accusations or drop the issue. Johnson said intelligence blaming Russia for hacking after Donald Trump won the election seems like it could be politically motivated. "I am looking forward to working with the new administration who will approach the Russians and the Chinese and the Iranians from a position of strength, rather than having a strategy of basically withdrawal," the senator said. "That's why we've been so weak, and these people like Russia so aggressive." Well, that escalated quickly. In a stunning revelation, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News they believe with a high level of confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin became personally involved in the covert Russian campaign to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. The revelation if proven true is huge. The NBC team spoke to two officials with direct access to the information who say new intelligence shows that Putin personally directed how hacked material from Democrats was leaked and otherwise used. The intelligence community and the Obama administration has not provided much public evidence for the repeated claims of a Russian hand in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, and theres been some disagreement among the intelligence community over the alleged Russian motives. But independent reporting from the New York Times and Thomas Rid, writing for Esquire, have backed up the claims of Russian involvement. Beijings new look. In the months leading up to the American elections, Chinese officials viewed the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency as a manageable, even welcome, respite from growing friction with the outgoing Obama administration, writes FPs John Hudson. But that blase outlook has morphed into outright alarm, and now Beijing is flying long-range bombers over the disputed South China Sea, and warning of a collapse of U.S.-Sino relations if the president-elect continues to hint at diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. China bulking up islands. The Chinese military on Thursday defended the deployment of military equipment to artificial islands in the disputed Spratlys chain in the South China Sea, releasing a statement claiming, as for necessary military installations, they are mainly for defense and self-protection and are legitimate and lawful. If someone makes a show of force at your front door, would you not ready your slingshot? Story continues Aleppo freeze out. Washington was pointedly left out of negotiations this week between Russia and Turkey to establish a ceasefire in Aleppo and open humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee the fighting. We are no longer negotiating. The only thing we are doing is offering urgent pleas to have them stop bombing to allow people to leave, a senior State Department official told the Wall Street Journal. We supported these people, and weve failed to protect them. Russian and Iranian officials appeared to mock the Obama administration on Wednesday, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying cooperation with Turkey could be more effective than talks with Washington, which were little more than fruitless get-togethers. Irans Yahya Rahim-Safavi, a Revolutionary Guard general, added on state television that Aleppo is a great victory for Tehran, and Iran is on one side of this coalition which is approaching victory and this has shown our strength, he said. The new American president should take heed of the powers of Iran. Russia urges Trump to keep Iran deal. Meanwhile, a bill extending U.S. sanctions on Iran for 10 years will become law without President Barack Obamas signature, the White House said Thursday. This Administration has made clear that an extension of the Iran Sanctions Act, while unnecessary, is entirely consistent with our commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the White House said in a statement. Moscow isnt happy about the bill. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministrys Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control said Thursday, the nuclear deal is well balanced, carefully thought out and justified. The Action Plan is being implemented consistently however, the situation remains very fragile, and thus all participants in this process are required to exercise discretion and integrity in implementing the deal, Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters. From Moscow with Long time Trump surrogate and former U.S. Representative from Georgia, Jack Kingston is in Moscow this week briefing the business community there what to expect from the Trump administration, where he told NPR, Trump can look at sanctions. Theyve been in place long enough. Hes referring to the international sanctions slapped on Moscow for the invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. He also Tweeted there was a time that we worried about KBG [SIC] now its just hackers. Democrats want to investigate hacks, not Trump election. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, told Foreign Policys Den De Luce that Americas democratic system will be tested by the incoming Trump administration but expressed hope that Congress would serve as a check on any potential presidential abuse of power. I have great concerns but I have confidence in our system. And I believe this country will come through this, but its going to require an independent Congress not a partisan Congress an independent Congress, he said. Cardin has called for an independent inquiry similar to the 9/11 commission to investigate Russias cyber hacking and meddling in the U.S. election. But he said he and other Democrats were not casting doubt on the legitimacy of Trumps electoral victory last month. Donald Trump was elected president of the United States and he will take the oath of office on Jan. 20. Were not doing this investigation to challenge the legitimacy of the election, Cardin told FP. Speaking of leaks. In 2010, then-Centcom chief Gen. James Mattis oversaw an investigation into then-Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn now Trumps national security advisor into his unauthorized sharing of classified information with foreign officials while serving in Afghanistan. Flynn was called back from Afghanistan, where he was leading the intelligence operation to fight the Taliban, and given an administrative job at the Pentagon until the investigation was complete. While Mattis ordered the move, its important to note that he also later cleared Flynn of any wrongdoing. According to official documents obtained by the Washington Post, the Army found that Flynn did not knowingly pass on the classified information, and there was no actual or potential damage to national security as a result. Good morning and as always, if you have any thoughts, announcements, tips, or national security-related events to share, please pass them along to SitRep HQ. Best way is to send them to: paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or on Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley Syria Turkey and Russia have reached an agreement to allow besieged civilians and rebels in eastern Aleppo leave the city but Shia militias are blocking any exit from happening. The Guardian reports that Assad regime forces were still shelling in eastern Aleppo and Iranian militias were preventing an estimated one thousand civilians from fleeing at a checkpoint in the city. The refusal comes despite a deal negotiated between Turkeys intelligence services and Russia to let civilians and fighters flee. Iranian militias are reportedly upset that Russia didnt include them as part of the talks. The U.S. military has a message for the Assad regime and its allies in Moscow: take care of your Islamic State problem in Palmyra or well take care of it for you. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said on Wednesday that the U.S. will hit the groups fighters with airstrikes in the absence of an effective Russian response to the groups recapture of the city. Russia staged a very public clearance operation of Palmyra in the spring only to see the group recapture the ancient city this week. Townsend said Russia had failed to consolidate their gains and got distracted by other things. China After some tough negotiations China will be receiving four Su-35 fighters from Russia under its Christmas tree, according to The Diplomat. The jets will touch down in the Peoples Republic on December 25, culminating a deal years in the making. China was initially just interested in purchasing the aircrafts turbofan engines as its defense industry has had trouble making them indigenously. Russia, however, drove a hard bargain, offering only a full jet purchase. Russian experts say theyre not worried about the prospect of China reverse engineering the technology, with the PIR Centers Lt. Gen. Evgeny Buzhinsky claiming the prospect is practically impossible. Montenegro After reports of a Russian-backed coup attempt, Montenegro may hold a vote on whether to join NATO. The AP reports that the countrys defense minister Predrag Boskovic said that pro-NATO members of parliament have enough strength to opt for a parliamentary vote rather than a popular referendum. The move follows the arrest of 20 Russian nationalists from Serbia and Montenegro on charges that they plotted to kill Montenegrin prime minister Milo Djukanovic over his Atlanticist leanings. Kenya Kenya is kicking out two Iranian citizens who authorities say were planning to carry out a terrorist attack in the country. The AP reports that Kenyan police arrested Sayed Nasrollah Ebrahim and Abdolhosein Gholi Safaee outside the Israeli embassy in Nairobi where authorities say they were conducting reconnaissance for an attack on the facility in preparation for an attack. Prosecutors reached a deal with the Iranian embassy to drop the charges and deport the men back to Iran. Rules of engagement The Pentagon is changing its Law of War Manual in response to criticism that the old version put civilians in danger. The New York Times reports that the new version of the manual clarifies the rules on proportionality when engaging targets to consider the potential harm to all civilians nearby. The previous version of the guidelines indicated that certain classes of civilians, including human shields and those involved in supportive activities like providing food, did not apply when considering proportionality. Thats no moon In the battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire, Raytheon would like you to know that its willing to offer its services to the Empire in order to help it improve the security of its merciless, planet-destroying laser. The defense contractor is trying to capitalize on the release of the Star Wars spinoff movie Rogue One this week with an elaborate post touting its insider-threat program and firewall as solutions that could have prevented rebels from obtaining the Death Stars plans and finding its exhaust port vulnerability. The Bothan Council did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Photo Credit: ALEXEI DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Thailand's military-appointed attorney-general on Friday charged 19 leaders of the opposition "red shirt" group with violating a junta ban on political gatherings. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, known as the "red shirts", led street rallies in 2009 and 2010 in support of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, and staged rallies in 2014 when his sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was toppled in a coup. Since taking power in the May 2014 coup the junta has moved to root out Thaksin's influence and has cracked down on activists, journalists and dissidents. The junta has banned political gatherings of more than five people and summoned hundreds of people for questioning. Supporters of the red shirt movement say the junta has especially targeted pro-Shinawatra red shirts. The military denies it is targeting Shinawatra supporters. The 19 men were originally arrested and charged by police in August for violating a ban on political gatherings after setting up a monitoring center to oversee a constitutional referendum held by the military government. "Today the attorney-general has ordered all 19 to be charged and the court has accepted the charges. We will ask for bail," Winyat Chatmoontree, a lawyer for the movement, told reporters. Voters approved a military-backed constitution in the referendum, a result analysts said was driven by a desire to see greater political stability after years of unrest. Two of the red shirt leaders, Nattawut Saikua and Jatuporn Prompan, have been taken into custody several times since the 2014 coup for protesting against military rule. Both men have criticised the military constitution saying it would enshrine military power for years to come. The constitution is a key component of the junta's roadmap to a general election it has promised to hold in late 2017. Once the constitution is endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the junta will need to draft laws which will guide the electoral process. Thailand has remained divided since Thaksin's ouster in 2006, with Thaksin's supporters and opponents vying for power at the ballot boxes and in the streets, sometimes violently. (Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat; Writing by Cod Satrusayang; Editing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Michael Perry) During a private moment between Gorkon and Kirk, the Klingon says, "You don't trust me, do you?" After Kirk assents by not responding, Gorkon says, "I don't blame you. If there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it." This message of confronting change is more timely today than it was in 1991. Among other reasons, the election of Donald Trump can be seen as a backlash against globalization, changing demographics, progressive societal reform, and the perceived marginalization of rural America. Taken a step further, this can be generalized to a fear of the "other." That fear often cuts in many directions, from all sides of a conflict. During The Undiscovered Country, an awkward diplomatic dinner aboard the Enterprise should be familiar to anyone who has ever shared a meal with far-flung friends and relatives. Add alcohol to the mixin this case, Romulan Aleand things are bound to get interesting. The Klingons, we are shown, aren't sure what to do with their napkins, and chew with their mouths open. "Did you see the way they eat?" Lieutenant Uhura asks later. "Horrible table manners," replies Commander Chekov. The implication? The Klingons are doing it wrong. Their table manners are the vanguard of their backward ways, which supports the notion that the Federation has the moral high ground. But herein lies the problem: It's easy to draw a line in the sand and say that the Klingons shouldn't be allowed to rampage through the galaxy conquering other species. It's much harder for the humans to connect with them, understand their culture, consider their motivations, and find a way to bridge the vast divide between the two races. One sequence at dinner particularly captures this notion: Chekov: "We do believe all planets have a sovereign claim to inalienable human rights." Gorkon's daughter, Azetbur: "InalienIf only you could hear yourselves. Human rightsthe very name is racist. The Federation is no more than a homosapiens-only club." General Chang: "Present company excepted, of course." Brigadier Kurla: "In any case, we know where this is goingthe annihilation of our culture." Doctor McCoy: "That's not true!" Kurla: "No?" McCoy: "No!" Its a pretty well-known fact that it takes two people to make a baby. But on Thursday, Britain became the first country to approve an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment that can create babies from three individuals. Known as mitochondrial transfer, the decision, from Britains Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, comes after Parliament voted last year to amend an existing law that would make the process legal when it became available for licensing. The governments chief scientific adviser, Mark Walport, said the ruling was careful and considered. Babies made using the procedure could arrive around the end of 2017. Mitochondrial transfer is used when defective mitochondrial DNA can prevent the birth of a healthy baby, Dr. Edward Marut, a fertility specialist at Fertility Centers of Illinois, tells Yahoo Beauty. The mother whose eggs are used retains her main genetic material (chromosomes) in the nucleus of her egg, but mitochondria, the power plants of the cell, are transferred from a healthy egg into the egg with abnormal mitochondria. The abnormal mitochondria are generally removed so the baby is normal. Dysfunctional mitochondrial can result in mitochondrial diseases that include Mitochondrial myopathy, Diabetes mellitus and deafness, Lebers hereditary optic neuropathy, Leigh syndrome, and more. Dagan Wells, a professor at Oxford Universitys biomedical research center, told Reuters that mitochondrial donation offers a real opportunity to cure a class of potentially devastating inherited conditions and will bring hope to hundreds of affected families in the UK. Back in September, scientists announced that the first healthy baby using the technique was born in Mexico. (Abrahim was conceived in Mexico with the help of American doctors, thanks to Mexicos lax fertility laws. The procedure is not legal in the United States.) According to The Telegraph, the child was born to a couple from Jordan who had been trying to have children for nearly 20 years. Story continues The couple decided to have a three-parent baby for a serious medical reasons: The babys mom carries genes for Leigh syndrome, a fatal disorder that impacts the developing nervous system and caused the death of their first two children. The baby was conceived using an egg with nuclear DNA (DNA from inside the nucleus of a cell) from his mother and father, and mitochondrial DNA (which provides energy for cells) from an anonymous female donor. According to the New Scientist, doctors removed the nucleus from one of the mothers eggs and inserted it into a donor egg that had had its own nucleus removed. The egg was then fertilized with the fathers sperm. The technique, also known as three-parent IVF, allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy children, is still controversial. Dr. Jane Frederick, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility, tells Yahoo Beauty that Abrahims birth is encouraging but still experimental. This controversial technique of mitochondrial transfer has been attempted in the past with very little success, she said. The safety of this method needs to be studied before it can be a standard of care. Dr. Carolyn Alexander, a fertility expert at Southern California Reproductive Center, agrees. The ability to overcome devastating mitochondrial disorders involves exquisite science and carries with it a heavy ethical responsibility, she tells Yahoo Beauty. The chances that the affected mitochondria can also get passed is of concern to me when we remove the nucleus, you can accidentally take bad mitochondria with it. Subsequently, you can get good mitochondria from the donor and bad from the mom that were linked to the nucleus. Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Top NSA Watchdog Who Insisted Snowden Should Have Come to Him Receives Termination Notice for Retaliating Against a Whistleblower Until just a few months ago, George Ellard occupied a position of trust as top watchdog of the National Security Agency, Americas principal collector of signals intelligence. Ellard was not only NSAs Inspector General, but an outspoken critic of Edward Snowden, the former contract employee who leaked hundreds of thousands of classified emails to publicly expose the agencys domestic surveillance program. Snowden claimed, among other things, that his concerns about NSAs domestic eavesdropping were ignored by the agency, and that he feared retaliation. Ellard publicly argued in 2014 that Snowden could have safely reported the allegations of NSAs domestic surveillance directly to him. Then last May, after eight months of inquiry and deliberation, a high-level Intelligence Community panel found that Ellard himself had previously retaliated against an NSA whistleblower, sources tell the Project On Government Oversight. Informed of that finding, NSAs Director, Admiral Michael Rogers, promptly issued Ellard a notice of proposed termination, although Ellard apparently remains an agency employee while on administrative leave, pending a possible response to his appeal from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The closely held but unclassified finding against Ellard is not public. It was reached by following new whistleblower protections set forth by President Obama in an executive order, Presidential Policy Directive 19. (A President Trump could, in theory, eliminate the order.) Following PPD-19 procedures, a first-ever External Review Panel (ERP) composed of three of the most experienced watchdogs in the US government was convened to examine the issue. The trio -- IGs of the Justice Department, Treasury, and CIA overturned an earlier finding of the Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG), which investigated Ellard but was unable to substantiate his alleged retaliation. The finding against Ellard is extraordinary and unprecedented, notes Stephen Aftergood, Director of the Secrecy Program at the Federation of American Scientists. This is the first real test drive for a new process of protecting intelligence whistleblowers. Until now, theyve been at the mercy of their own agencies, and dependent on the whims of their superiors. This process is supposed to provide them security and a procedural foothold. The case, which is still in progress, offers hopeful signs that the new framework may be working, Aftergood added. POGO learned of the decision against Ellard from sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The information was later confirmed by government officials. POGO has been told that mention of the finding will appear in a semiannual report (SAR) of the Intelligence Community IG (ICIG) that should be released in the near future. It makes brief mention of the case without citing Ellard by name. Neither Ellard, his lawyer, nor the NSA provided any comment, despite POGOs numerous attempts to offer them the opportunity. POGO also reached out to the NSA employee and victim of Ellards retaliation, posing a detailed series of questions about what happened through an official intermediary. POGO has been told that the whistleblower composed answers to at least some of those queries, and was seeking NSA approval before releasing them. So far, there is no sign that such approval has been granted. The DODIG told POGO it would have no immediate comment. THE RETALIATOR Ellard, a Yale-trained lawyer and former prosecutor with a doctorate in philosophy, was for nine years the top oversight official keeping tabs on NSA, an agency fraught with controversy over its handling of Edward Snowden and other prominent whistleblowers. Ellard in particular chose to enter that debate along with other critics who faulted Snowden for his alleged unwillingness to report his concerns about NSA domestic surveillance through channels inside the agency set up for that purpose. IG Ellards criticism of Snowden first stirred controversy during a 2014 panel discussion at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. Snowden could have come to me, Ellard declared, arguing that the leaker, now a fugitive in Russia, would have received the same protections as other NSA employees, who file some one thousand reports annually to the agencys hotline. We have surprising success in resolving the complaints that are brought to us, Ellard said, adding, Perhaps its the case that we could have shown, we could have explained to Mr. Snowden his misperceptions, his lack of understanding of what we do. Snowden himself has explicitly contended that he feared retaliation and that he had no other option but to go public if he wished to expose NSA domestic eavesdropping. Among the cases of retaliation that Snowden has pointed to is that of former senior NSA employee Thomas Drake, who after reporting alleged wrongdoing through authorized channels, was arrested at dawn by the FBI, stripped of his security clearance, charged with crimes under the Espionage Act, all of which were later dropped, leaving him to find work in an Apple store. Snowdens related contention is that in his own case, he did, in fact, report his concerns in emails to NSA superiors at the time, a contention which NBC has said it verified. Now, given the official finding that Ellard retaliated against an NSA whistleblower, the credibility of Ellards argument that Snowden could have come to him is gravely undermined. More generally, there are few if any incentives for intelligence whistleblowers to report problems through designated authorities when the IG of NSA is found to have retaliated against such an individual. PPD-19 IS WORKING Meanwhile, the ICIGs handling of what began as a whistleblower complaint against Ellard sends an encouraging signal to those who may report wrongdoing at 17 US intelligence agencies and all executive-branch federal offices where employees hold security clearances, according to the ICIG, which oversees the directive. Obama proposed the PPD-19 process in 2012, though implementation did not begin until in mid-2013. Some 18 appeals for review of a retaliation charge, or the convening of an ERP , have made their way to the office of Intelligence Community IG Charles McCullough, III, who oversees the directive. Dan Meyer, the ICIGs Executive Director for Intelligence Community Whistleblower & Source Protection told POGO, The purpose of PPD-19 is to offer intelligence and national security whistleblowers an effective and safe means to report problems without being forced to confront the fear of reprisal. As such, the Ellard case is groundbreaking not only because it represents the most extensive use of PPD-19 procedures to date, but also because of Ellards high-ranking position in a national security environment where few, if any top officials are known to have been held accountable. A variety of reprisal accusations have been made against senior officials over the years. Rightly or wrongly, very few have been ever been substantiated. Under the PPD-19 procedures used in Ellards case, the allegations were first reviewed by the DoD IG, but that office was unable to substantiate retaliation. The victim who had made the allegations then appealed to ICIG McCullough. He, in turn, decided to convene a first-ever high-ranking, three-person ERP to further examine the matter. McCullough would normally have chaired the group, but opted to recuse himself, mindful of a conflict of interest. Indeed, McCullough previously worked at the NSA IG himself as its chief of investigations. Ellard was his boss. Filling in for McCullough as chairman of the panel was DOJ IG Michael Horowitz, who selected the CIA and Treasury watchdogs to serve with him. According to ERP procedures, the panel had the option to approve the earlier DoD IG findings, which did not substantiate retaliation; to ask the DoD IG to redo all or part of its probe; or to redo the investigation itself, using the record of the previous probe as a baseline. The ERP opted to conduct its own inquiry, including witness interviews and the evaluation of evidence. Once the panel found that Ellard had retaliated against a whistleblower, the finding went to Admiral Michael Rogers who, as NSA director, had 90 days to take action on two fronts: what remedy to offer the victim of retaliation, and what discipline to impose on Ellard, the retaliator. POGO has been unable to determine exactly what remedy Rogers prescribed, if any, for the victim, but he promptly moved against Ellard. The highly unusual outcome marks the first time a PPD-19 review panel has ever been convened and the first time that a prior investigation was reversed under the process set forth in the directive. Officer Joe Crowder, a K-9 handler with the Boynton Beach (FL) PD, died after a run. (Photo: Boynton Beach PD) A 14-year-veteran officer of the Boynton Beach (FL) Police Department, known for his infectious smile and kindhearted nature, died suddenly while out for a run, police announced Tuesday. In a Facebook posting, Police Chief Jeffrey Katz said officer Joe Crowder died during his run Monday night. Police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater told the Sun-Sentinel Crowder had a medical episode, but details were not immediately available. He was 44 and the father of two young boys, officials said. Former Milwaukee police officer Dominque Heaggan-Brown faces a reckless homicide charge in the shooting of a suspect. (Photo: Milwaukee County SO) Former Milwaukee police officer Dominque Heaggan-Brown who shot and killed Sylville Smith in September, sparking days of rioting in the city's Sherman Park neighborhood, has been charged with first-degree reckless homicide. According to the criminal complaint, a review of the body camera footage from Dominque Heaggan-Brown and another officer showed that Smith fled from police carrying a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine. The video, which has not been released, reportedly shows Smith slip, rise back to his feet with the gun, then raise the gun upward while looking in the direction of the officers and throw the gun over the fence into the yard. Smiths firearm was not discharged, the complaint said. When Smith raised his gun upward, Heaggan-Brown fired one shot from his service weapon at Smith, and Smith fell to the ground on his back. It was later determined that Heaggan-Browns that shot struck Smith in his right upper arm, the complaint said. The video reportedly shows that Heaggan-Brown stood a short distance from Smith with his weapon pointed down at Smith and discharged a second shot from his weapon at what appears to be Smiths chest. The body camera footage shows Smith was unarmed at the time of the second shot, according to the complaint. Police Chief Ed Flynn fired Heaggan-Brown on Oct. 31 after he was charged with second-degree sexual assault in an unrelated incident, WISN TV reports. The father of slain Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermeyer placed this billboard ad near his home in Missouri and in Virginia where his son served. (Photo: KMBC TV video screen shot) John Dermeyer of Northland, MO, is expressing his gratitude to police officers in a big way this Christmas. Dermeyer, father of slain Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermeyer, has produced a billboard ad thanking all officers for their service. Dermyer, whose son was shot and killed earlier this year, said its been a tough time, especially with the holidays. Instead of sadness, he wanted to send a message of support to all police officers for what they do every day. He came up with a concept, added a design and then made a phone call to Lamar Advertising, expecting to pay for the ad. The company created and placed the ad for free. The billboard is now up in four locations in Kansas City. Its also up in Virginia, where Trooper Chad Dermyer served, KMBC TV reports. An appeals court on Thursday returned Quisi Bryan to death row after ruling that a federal judge improperly overturned his murder convictions in the 2000 killing of a Cleveland police officer, reports Cleveland.com. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled 2-1 that Senior U.S. District Judge James Carr in Toledo erred when he wrote in 2015 that Cuyahoga County prosecutors improperly moved to remove a prospective black juror from Bryan's trial because of her race. Bryan, 46, was convicted of multiple crimes for shooting police officer Wayne Leon in the face on June 25, 2000, after the officer pulled him over for a traffic violation in Cleveland's Central neighborhood. Leon, 32, died instantly, and Bryan fled and was captured in Columbus. Bryan is being held at a prison in Chillicothe. Both County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine praised the 6th Circuit's ruling. McGinty said in a statement that "the purposeful, cold-blooded murder of Patrolman Wayne Leon was a crime against every member of this community. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested during an interview on Fox News that if President Obama loved his country more, he wouldnt be investigating potential Russian election interference. Video of Trump Senior Transition Advisor Kellyanne Conway on Fox Newss Americas Newsroom: https://youtu.be/3b-5tWTBpd0 Conway responded to the White Houses suggestion that Trump knew about the Russian hacks before election day by saying, If you want to shut this down and you actually love the country enough to have the peaceful transition in our great democracy between the Obama administration and the Trump administration, there are a couple people in pretty prominent positions, one is named Obama, one is named Hillary Clinton, since his people are trying to fight over her election still, they could shut this down. Conway made an extremely dubious connection between patriotism and those who want an investigation into the potential role that Russian interference played in the presidential election. Suggesting that Donald Trump knew about the hacks before election day is not the same as to claim that Trump collaborated with the Russians to win the election. The argument can be made that the patriotic step to take when questions arise about the role of a foreign actor in the US election process is to investigate what happened. Conway pointed to President Obama and Hillary Clinton as potentially unpatriotic, but what about the Republican Senators who are also calling for an investigation. Are veterans like Sens. John McCain (AZ) and Lindsey Graham (SC) also unpatriotic because they too want an investigation? President Obama loves the United States of America, and the claim that he doesnt is a conservative distraction technique that has gotten past the point of tiresome. Donald Trump and his transition team should be supporting an investigation. One would think that a president-elect would be appalled at the possibility of Russian election interferance. Trump and his teams consistent deflection and defense of Russia on the election interference issue suggests that there is something deeper happening. It isnt Barack Obamas patriotism that needs to be questioned. The American people and members of Congress need to ask themselves why Donald Trump refuses to support an investigation into potential Russian election meddling, but the attempted blaming of Obama isnt fooling anyone. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print CNNs Brian Stelter, one of those under constant attack from right-wing sources for being willing to take account of actual facts in his reporting, took to CNNs New Day today to argue for transparency in the Trump transition. As has been pointed out many times by many journalists, Trump has not held a press conference for a long time today is Day 142 and none since elected. Instead, he acts like he is on the election trail again. Stelter explains that Normally presidents-elect do that within a few days of the election. Instead, what we get is cameras pointed at the Trump Tower lobby, which is not enough to know what is actually happening upstairs. Watch courtesy of Media Matters: CHRIS CUOMO: Lets talk about this fundamental question of practice, Brian Stelter. Transparent. Is transparent when they show what they want you to see, or is transparency an actual higher obligation that has not yet been met? BRIAN STELTER: Transparency is something bigger than what weve seen. Donald Trump has not spoken in a press conference setting for the first five weeks as president-elect. Normally presidents-elect do that within a few days of the election. Thats an easy example of how were not seeing transparency. President Obama was having a bunch of press conferences at this point as president-elect, and that was in [the] midst of the financial crisis, where a lot of reasons why he was speaking to the press regularly. But were not seeing the same kind of access to Donald Trump. Its not enough just to point a camera at the Trump Tower lobby, which is a public space where anyone can be. Thats not enough to know what is actually happening upstairs at the transition. ALISYN CAMEROTA: I want to sit with you, Brian, one more second before we get to Liz. Theres also bad signs that weve seen. Weve seen some things that suggest that the access to the president will not be what we have seen for decades. For instance, they have now suggested that the daily press briefings might change, might go away. We have also heard that they might get rid of the Saturday radio addresses. Donald Trump has suggested changing the libel laws. As we know, theyve dodged the protective press pool that travels with them a couple of times. If you put all these together, it seems like it will be one of the least transparent. STELTER: Put all these together, and these are real threats to how the fourth estate operates, how journalists gather information on a daily basis. Trumps penchant for secrecy stands in stark contrast to the transparency promised and delivered by the Obama administration. We have returned instead to the secretive world of the Bush administration where new realities were invented daily, too fast for the media to keep up. Trump is still promising at his rallies to never let people down before he returns to his golden tower and slips the knife in between their shoulder blades. As Stelter says, a view of Trump Tower is not enough. It is also about all we are going to get, given Trumps fear of having his words repeated verbatim back to him and his preference for ego-boosting propaganda to actual news. Photo: Photo: By Bin im Garten (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Targeted harassment, personal intimidation, media censoring their own these are weapons of silence and control in the Age of Trump. Right now, these tactics are being aimed at electors and journalists to keep them from asking questions. After Politico released journalist Julia Ioffe out of her contract earlier than arranged due to a tweet she has since deleted, which questioned why President-elect Donald Trump gave his daughter the office reserved for the First Lady and included a vulgarity regarding Trumps relationship with his daughter, she noted, In Russia, the Kremlin rarely has to make the call to media organizations. The media bosses anticipate and do the censoring themselves. The media bosses anticipate the censoring and do it themselves so the Kremlin doesnt have to. This cant be emphasized enough, and the people must not stand for it. Not only will media bosses suddenly decided that rudeness toward the President wont be tolerated, but if that fails deploying supporters to harass and intimidate journalists and their children, electors and their families, will serve to silence those bold enough to speak out. California Elector Christine Pelosi is being harassed for daring to demand an intelligence briefing about Russias interference in the election before voting. After Alex Jones accused Pelosi of trying to steal the election from Donald Trump or assassinating him outright, as reported by Joan Walsh in The Nation , Walsh continued, Jones fans are responding predictably with death threats and abuse to Pelosi and her family via social media, e-mails, and voicemails. Heres a glimpse of the harassment from the Democrats twitter account, where she notes that this is why some electors arent speaking out about the intelligence briefing: "Why don't more people speak out with #Informtheelectors?" Some have told me they don't want the blowback they see me getting. I understand. pic.twitter.com/GICvjVy8D6 (((sfpelosi))) (@sfpelosi) December 15, 2016 The harassment is working to silence people. Joan Walsh wrote, Pelosi takes the threats in stride, but says she knows theyre keeping some electors who support her quest from coming forward. Unfortunately, Im used to this, she tells me, but others see the abuse Im taking and say, Sorry, I dont want that to be my life. It takes a special kind of person to withstand having their family targeted but keep fighting. These people might be heroes for carrying on under such pressure, but that doesnt entice the fearful. And really, no one can blame them. On Thursday, award winning investigative reporter Kurt Eichenwald who has done remarkable work researching Donald Trump went on an epic Twitter rant, including this note that Fox News viewers were harassing his children because they dont agree with him: As expected, Fox News viewers going after my kids online because of my confrontation with @TuckerCarlson. Classy bunch of fans u have. Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 16, 2016 I was concerned when I didnt see Eichenwald around Friday morning, and then he posted this: For self-protection, I am taking a short twitter break. I will be spending that time with my lawyers & law enforcement going after 1 of u Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 16, 2016 Last night, for the second time, a deplorable aware I have epilepsy tweeted a strobe at me with the message "you deserve a seizure' on it Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 16, 2016 it worked. This is not going to happen again. My wife is terrified. I amdisgusted. All I will be tweeting for the next few days are Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 16, 2016 copies of documents from the litigation, police reports etc. Once we have the lawsuit filed, we will be subpoenaing Twitter for the Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) December 16, 2016 What we are seeing is the on the ground buttressing of a style of leadership that will not tolerate dissent, questioning, transparency or accountability. After years falsely accusing President Obama of being illegitimate, it looks as if Donald Trump could actually be an illegitimate president, one assisted into office by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The only question remaining is did Donald Trump work with Putin directly. The amount of force being applied against anyone who questions Trump, ironic after his years of birth certificate trolling of Obama under the guise of asking questions, is telling. Donald Trump is not alone in his coy reluctance to rein in his supporters, as so far none of these Right wing leaders have taken a stand against the terrorizing of the people they target. The force alone is a problem. The harassment is a problem. Its meant to silence and intimidate. The public and law enforcement have to have the backs of journalists, electors, and citizens who are attempting to act on their constitutional duties. Donald Trump supports these tactics not only by telling his supporters he will pay their legal fees after they harm protesters, but also by his continued cowardly silence in the face of ongoing attacks in his name on citizens, journalists and electors. The President-elect needs to do more than his one time, begrudging, If it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: Stop it. Holiday travelers will hit South Carolina's roads in record numbers during Christmas and New Year's holidays, according to motor club AAA Carolinas. File/Staff All of us have local and national issues that we worry about: gender-related and race-related issues, education and social welfare issues, pump prices and what to do about Confederate monuments. Thats usually how we vote whats worrying us at the moment. But older adults, of all people, may be capable of standing back from whats in our face to take a longer perspective on politics. Read moreAging for Amateurs: Elections make us get clear on priorities South Carolina superintendent candidates Ellen Weaver and Lisa Ellis traded criticisms for an hour-long debate on Nov. 2, and argued over who was best suited to improve education in South Carolina Read moreState superintendent candidates spar over solutions Andrew Knapp is editor of the Quick Response Team, which covers crime, courts and breaking news. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at Florida Today, Newsday and Bangor (Maine) Daily News. He enjoys golf, weather and fatherhood. Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations. If youve been unfortunate enough to endure a flood caused by nature or human error, but fortunate enough that your home survived, its at the top of your list of worries: mold. Its why you have to act immediately to haul out all the contents, rip out carpets and even walls: to prevent the Read moreEditorial: The simple first step to solving the insidious problem of mold in SC colleges There are five candidates vying for three open seats on Clemson City Council. We asked the two incumbents and three newcomers what they think is most important for Clemson's residents and council. Read moreMeet the candidates: 5 vying for 3 seats on Clemson City Council Grand Rounds Brewing Company will host its second Minnesota tap takeover with eight Minnesota craft breweries bringing their beers to the Rochester downtown brewery. The event is set for 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at Grand Rounds, 4 Third St. SW. The We Love Minnesota Tap Takeover Part II will feature two beers on tap from each of the eight breweries. Representatives from each brewery will be on hand, and prize giveaways will take place throughout the evening. There is no cover charge. Individual five-ounce samples will be $3 each or $10 for four samples. Half pints of each beer will also be available for $4 each. Beers will rotate throughout the evening until they are all gone. The participating breweries include: Able Seedhouse + Brewery in Minneapolis, Bad Weather Brewing Company in St. Paul, Bent Paddle Brewing Company in Duluth, Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis, Indeed Brewing Company in Minneapolis, Junkyard Brewing Company in Moorhead, Olvade Farming & Brewing Company in Rollingstone and Steel Toe Brewing in Minneapolis. Dear Answer Man, is it true that you can get a ticket in Minnesota for not wearing blaze orange when you're hunting? You certainly can, and it's true in most states. But as always, the full truth and nothing but the truth is more complicated, which is why I exist to reduce the complications to a bare minimum, to do the legwork for you, to take your stress away and give you basic information to improve your life. How am I doing? The Minnesota DNR requires deer hunters to wear a cap and/or "outer clothing above the waist, excluding sleeves and gloves," that is blaze orange during deer season. It can be camo blaze orange, but at least 50 percent of the pattern has to be a vivid blaze orange. But this doesn't apply to waterfowl hunters in a stand or on the water, or trappers on water. The blaze orange rules also apply to people who are trapping in an area where deer can be taken during the firearm season, etc. There are many nuances, and I'll link to the full rules . ADVERTISEMENT With fine and fees, it'll cost you about $110 if you get a misdemeanor citation for no-blaze. That's a costly wardrobe malfunction. Dear Answer Man, can you provide a more detailed timeline on when the city's new revised heritage preservation ordinance kicked in? It matters to the Days Inn issue that the council will be dealing with. Certainly. The ordinance was amended by a council vote after a second reading on Monday, Dec. 5. The amendment was to consider pending projects in effect, the Days Inn project under the "old" ordinance rather than the new one. As City Clerk Aaron Reeves said, the Days Inn project has been in the mill for a few months, well before council action on the ordinance. On Dec. 6, the Heritage Preservation Commission had a special meeting and voted to recommend the Days Inn (former Hotel Carlton) building for preservation status. The council will take that up next month. I'm told that Mayor Ardell Bredesigned the revised ordinance Monday of this week, and it goes into effect when published, which could be today. FYI, the Downtown Neighborhood Association has weighed in on the project, which would knock down the nearly century-old Days Inn building and replace it with a 17-story hotel, apartment, retail and parking project. Nicholas Moucha, association president, sent a letter to Bob Dunn, a key figure in the development LLC, asking them to "investigate further" the possible re-use of the building. The letter doesn't come out with guns blazing against demolition, however. DJ program for young people A reader who describes himself as an Old Timer from Eyota Who Reads Your Columnsays he remembers KLER radio well. (I had a mesmerizing item on that long-ago station in Thursday's column.) He says, "I was on their radio disc jockey program for kids in 1948 or 1949. The program aired at 5 p.m. for 15 minutes. The studio was upstairs in a building just south of the old Lawler Theatre, across from the old Rochester City Hall." ADVERTISEMENT CHASKA The former principal of Rochester's Mayo High School was arraigned Thursday in Carver County District Court, where he was charged with seven felony counts of possession of child pornography. Timothy Scott Dorway, 44, of Victoria, was arrested Tuesday at his home after search warrants were executed there and at his office in Chanhassen High School, where he currently is principal. Dorway admitted to investigators that he viewed child porn, and "his primary interest is in pornography involving 11- to 13-year-old girls," the complaint says. Angella Erickson, the prosecutor in the case, alleged Dorway has been engaging in the behavior for 10 years. The investigation began when the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The information revealed a Dropbox user had uploaded child pornography to a private account. ADVERTISEMENT By using a Dropbox account, people may upload and save data to the account, then access the files from anywhere, on any device, and share them with anyone else by sending links to the data. A special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension learned the Dropbox with the pornography was accessed several times from Internet addresses registered to Dorway, the complaint says. The same account was also accessed by an Internet address owned by Eastern Carver County School District 112, which includes Chanhassen High School, where Dorway has been principal since 2010. Officials with the district said the case involves none of its students, and they're conducting an investigation of their own. He took the job there after serving as principal at Mayo High School from 2007 to 2010. "There were no complaints against Mr. Dorway while he was employed by the district," said Heather Nessler, executive director of communications, marketing and technology for Rochester Public Schools. "As of today, law enforcement has not provided any information that would indicate the current allegations against Mr. Dorway involve current or former students of the district," Nessler said in a statement. "The district has no further comment on this situation and will let the criminal proceedings run their course." Local officials, the statement continues, "will consider whether any internal action needs to be taken as information becomes available through the law enforcement." Dorway allegedly told authorities other people sent him Dropbox links to child pornography, which he would then upload to his own account. He claimed he usually deleted videos from the account after having them for a while, the court documents say, but at least 11 videos were recovered. ADVERTISEMENT All of them included girls in the 11-14 age range performing sexual acts; five included an adult male in the video, the complaint says. Dorway remains in custody in lieu of $100,000 conditional bail, and is due back in court Dec. 23. The father of three children, ages 14 to 19, Dorway has been divorced since 2014. His family told investigators he'd had no inappropriate contact with children, according to a court document. Dorway began his career in 1995 at Park High School in Cottage Grove as an English, journalism and speech teacher, while also supervising students with the school newspaper and yearbook. He was an assistant principal at Owatonna High School from 2002 to 2006, before taking the job in Rochester. A Rochester man has been charged with a felony after authorities say he stole a laptop computer from a library patron. Sherman Freddie Washington, 27, made his first appearance Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court, where he faces one count of computer theft. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court Jan. 10. The charge stems from an incident the day before, when police were called to the Rochester Public Library. A man said he'd been using his laptop at a desk on the second floor, then went downstairs to apply for a library card. When he returned, the computer was gone. The officer reviewed surveillance video, which showed a man with a stocky build, about 5 feet 8, wearing gray sweatpants and zip-up hooded sweatshirt, a gray stocking cap and black sneakers, walk past the laptop. The man turns around, puts his hood up, then takes the computer from the desk. The man immediately left the library through the front doors with the laptop under his sweatshirt, the video shows. ADVERTISEMENT About two hours later, police were called when the suspect identified as Washington returned to the library. He "strongly resembled" the suspect in the surveillance video, the complaint says, and was wearing similar clothes. Washington acknowledged he was at the library about noon and walked in the area of the stolen laptop, but said he left to get something to eat. When shown an image of the suspect, Washington allegedly admitted it was him, and said he'd taken the computer. He said his memory was fuzzy, and he wasn't sure what he did with it, court documents say, but walked with the officer through the skyway, where the laptop was behind a pillar. PRESTON A woman accused of cattle rustling to the tune of about $75,000, including the vehicles used made her initial appearance Tuesday in Fillmore County District Court. Tracey Allison Hovey, 41, of Rushford, has been charged with five counts of felony theft. She's been released on her own recognizance and is due back in court Jan. 9. The investigation began Dec. 2, when a man reported his 2016 F-350 pickup, 24-foot aluminum cattle trailer and six head of cattle had been stolen from his farm north of Mabel. He'd bought the cattle the day before for $4,444; they were inside the trailer, which was attached to the pickup. The victim believed Hovey had taken the rig about 1 a.m. that morning, the complaint says. The farmer's son learned the trailer was now separated from the truck, and stuck somewhere east of Cresco, Iowa. The two men were speaking to law enforcement while on their way to the area to look for the vehicles, and thought they'd just met the stolen pickup south of Harmony. ADVERTISEMENT A deputy who responded to the area stopped the truck and ordered the driver identified as Hovey out of the vehicle at gunpoint. She told the deputy the vehicle was hers, court documents say, though the registration clearly indicated it belonged to the man who'd reported it stolen. A female passenger told the deputy she woke up about 4 a.m. to find Hovey at her farm in Iowa; the woman didn't know Hovey who'd gotten the truck and trailer stuck on the woman's property. The woman called a tow truck to free the vehicles, she said, so Hovey offered to give her the cattle and the trailer, the report says. The woman refused, "because it seemed odd," but had agreed to travel with Hovey to speak to a man about the cattle. The deputy described the woman as "cooperative, and seemed confused about the whole situation." The trailer and cattle were still at the woman's farm in Iowa, she said. The farmer and his son arrived at the scene, confirmed the truck was indeed the stolen vehicle, then took the Iowa woman back to her farm so they could retrieve the trailer and cows. According to the complaint, the truck is valued at $50,000, the trailer at $20,000 and the cattle at $4,444. Hovey refused to answer questions. A national accounting and professional services firm plans to move its Rochester office to a new building this summer. Minneapolis-based CliftonLarsonAllenexpects to move into a complex being built at 2689 Commerce Drive NW in late June or early July, according to CLA's Angie Ross. Since 2012, CliftonLarsonAlllen has maintained a Med City office near the Rochester International Airport. It came into the Rochester market by acquiring AgStar Financial Services' tax and accounting division. CliftonLarsonAllen has more than 4,500 employees working in about 100 cities throughout the U.S. It has 13 offices in Minnesota. Ross said CLA has 12 people working in Suite 100 at 7389 Airport View Drive SW. The company is outgrowing that space, driving them to make the move. ADVERTISEMENT "The new office will be more than 3,000-square-feet larger than the current office," Ross said. We expect to grow to by 10 to 15 people in the next five years. We'll probably add some right away after the move." CLA will move into a 7,500-square-foot space on the second floor of a two-story complex being developed and built by Rochester contractor Schoeppner Inc.It is being built between the West Circle Drive shopping center anchored by Subwayto the north and the US Bankcomplex to the south. Schoeppner project manager Jeremy Kanesaid the building is on schedule to open this summer. "We're still looking for a tenant for the 7,500 square feet on the ground floor," he said. Dodge County Mantorville raises sewer rates MANTORVILLE The Mantorville City Council agreed on an increase to monthly sewer rates for 2017 at its meeting Dec. 5. The rate will increase 20 percent, up to $31.80 base rate with a usage rate of $7.50. It previously was $26.50 plus a $6.25 usage rate. Water rates will remain the same. The increase is due to the ambitious project of having the city's wastewater piped to the Kasson treatment plant. Houston County ADVERTISEMENT Farm Bureau honored for public policy work The Houston County Farm Bureau has received a prestigious honor from the Minnesota Farm Bureau. At the MFB annual meeting Nov. 18, Houston County's chapter was recognized for excellence in public policy after members partnered with the school district superintendent and local representative to bring tax relief to farmers and rural businesses. Fillmore County Lanesboro Arts seeks emerging artists LANESBORO Lanesboro Arts has an opportunity available for emerging visual artists. Applications are due Jan. 15 for the Emerging Artist Exhibition for artists throughout the Driftless Area. The application is available at lanesboroarts.org. Contact Robbie Brokken with questions at 507-467-2446. Chosen artists will install their pieces Feb. 21. Mower County ADVERTISEMENT Board approves additional sites at campground AUSTIN The Mower County Board is considering lowering its proposed tax levy for 2017 from a 5.69 percent increase to 4 to 4.5 percent. However, the Mower County Historical Society is concerned it would not be enough money to go around for them, particularly for building upkeep. The board also voted 4-0 to approve a conditional use permit for Brookside Campground to add 32 recreational vehicle sites with water, sewer and electricity. The camp will have more than 140 camp sites after the expansion. Wabasha County Lake City approves 1.78 percent levy increase LAKE CITY -- The city of Lake City approved its 2017 budget and levy at its city council meeting on Monday. The levy, which was set at $3,231,352, was a 1.78 increase over the 2016 levy. It was the same levy amount that passed preliminarily in September. The levy passed on a 6-1 vote, with councilman Andru Peters voting no, according to city administrator Mark Sievert. The city's total general fund budget for 2017 was set at $5,865,678, Sievert said. ADVERTISEMENT Goodhue County Cannon Falls offering entrepreneurial grant CANNON FALLS Economic Initiatives of Cannon Falls Inc. has developed an entrepreneurial grant of up to $10,000 for the purpose of attracting new business development to the Cannon Falls area. The offer must be submitted by March 15 to growcannonfalls@gmail.com. PRESTON About 800 people crammed into the Fillmore Central High School gym Thursday to hear details from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on the special deer hunt planned to deal with chronic wasting disease. Two deer shot near Preston in November were found to be infected with CWD, an always-fatal neurological disorder that is similar to mad-cow disease but isn't known to affect humans. Robert Lawstuen, who lives about four miles north of Preston, said he attende the meeting to get more details on the DNR's plans for the hunt, which will run from Dec. 31 to Jan. 15. "If it'll help, good," he said of the DNR's plans. "If it's not going to do anything, it's a waste of time. We don't know that yet." The goal for the special deer hunt is to harvest enough animals to sample and test 900 adult deer, aged one-and-a-half years old and older, said Lou Cornicelli, a DNR wildlife research manager. That, he said, will likely affect the local deer population. "There will likely be a 20 to 25 percent reduction in the deer population," he said. The exact impact will not be known until after the aerial survey, which started Tuesday and should be completed by Saturday, is finished, Cornicelli said. At that point, the DNR will have a better idea of the deer population in the newly designated Deer Permit Area 603, which covers 370 square miles through most of Fillmore County and a small sliver of Olmsted County. ADVERTISEMENT The DNR plans were made in response to a pair of deer -- shot by different hunters on separate weekends -- that were found to have CWD. "We hope that we're on the front end of the infection," said Michelle Carstensen, with the DNR. "We want to act fact and be aggressive moving on this." By being proactive, she said, the DNR hopes to reduce the transmission risk for deer and manage any potential outbreak. Minnesota has had three recorded cases of CWD. The last case in the wild in the region was in Pine Island in 2010, she said. In the Pine Island case, about 5,000 deer were tested over a three-year period in a 300-square-mile area. Only the original doe ever tested positive for CWD, she said. The 900 deer to be tested through the upcoming special hunt will give the DNR a chance to do another assessment and gauge the prevalence of CWD. "If we get through this 900 and it's zero, it doesn't mean we'll do 900 again next year," Carstensen said. "In fact, I would say why would we bother. We just let the hunters themselves remove deer and continue monitoring." Still, any time there is a health issue with deer, said Denis Quarberg, president of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, it is going to affect deer hunters. "The plan is to take 900 adult deer out of here," he said. "That's going to increase the amount of take, which is going to end up taking more deer off the landscape and stop some of the recreational hunting that goes on in the area." With fewer deer, landowners who sell deer leases on their land will be affected as well, he said. That can be seen in Colorado and Wyoming, where CWD was first found and has reduced the deer density to extremely low numbers, Quarberg said. "How many hunters are you going to have going out for nine days and not seeing a deer," he said. "Because that is the very potential of what is there." Cornicelli repeated Carstensen's call that eliminating CWD from Southeast Minnesota would require aggressive and swift action. "This is not a department problem, this is an all-of-us problem," he said. "We have to work together to do this." ADVERTISEMENT Attorneys want charges against Minnesota officer dismissed MINNEAPOLIS Attorneys for a Minnesota police officer who killed Philando Castile during a traffic stop in July are asking that charges against him be dismissed, saying Castile was negligent in his own death and claiming he was high on marijuana while driving and did not obey the officer's commands. In court documents dated Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press, attorneys for St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez say if Castile was negligent, then Yanez should be exonerated. Castile, who was black, was killed July 6 after being pulled over in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. The shooting's gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by his girlfriend, who was in the car at the time along with her young daughter. Prosecutors said the 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker was shot at seven times after he told Yanez he was armed and had a license to carry. Yanez, who is Latino, has been charged with manslaughter and other offenses. Prosecutors said last month that he acted unreasonably and was not justified in using deadly force. ADVERTISEMENT But in the defense documents, attorney Earl Gray wrote that Castile never told Yanez he had a permit to carry. Gray wrote that an objective review of squad car video confirms Yanez's account of self-defense, "but more importantly why Mr. Castile himself was culpably negligent and was the substantial cause of his own demise." "He should not even have been driving while under the influence. He should have showed his hands. He should not have reached for the handgun," Gray wrote. Glenda Hatchett, the Castile family's attorney, said the charges speak for themselves, and she had no further comment on the defense claims. In the court documents, Gray wrote that autopsy results showed Castile had high levels of THC in his blood, and a defense expert determined he was intoxicated. Gray said that explains why Castile didn't follow directions, stared straight ahead and didn't show his hands. Gray said that behavior contradicts training Castile received when he got his permit to carry. He added that Castile kept his right hand in or near the pocket where the gun was found. Gray wrote, "how could it be that Officer Yanez knew or could have known that when Mr. Castile reached for his gun he would not shoot a police officer dead." Castile's family has claimed he was profiled because of his race, and his death renewed concerns about how law enforcement officers interact with minorities. On Thursday, the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will announce details about a review of the St. Anthony Police Department. The city said in October that it had asked for the review and inclusion in an initiative to help cities build trust between law enforcement officers and citizens. ADVERTISEMENT With the review, St. Anthony is expected to receive additional resources, plus help in identifying ways to make changes that address bias and accountability. St. Anthony provides police services for neighboring Falcon Heights and Lauderdale. Arrest data analyzed by the AP in the days after Castile's death showed St. Anthony police disproportionately arrested African-Americans in those areas. Census data shows just 7 percent of residents in St. Anthony, Lauderdale and Falcon Heights are black. Arrest data for the first half of 2016 showed that nearly half of all arrests made by St. Anthony officers were of African-Americans. All told, roughly 38 percent of the people arrested by the St. Anthony Police Department since 2011 have been black. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services has conducted reviews of departments around the country, including in Milwaukee, after a white police officer fatally shot Dontre Hamilton, a black man who was mentally ill. Results of the Milwaukee review are expected to be released next month. Minnesota man sentenced for shooting at Iowa deputies DENISON, Iowa A Minnesota man has been sentenced to five years in prison for shooting at Iowa sheriff's deputies during a standoff. The Sioux City Journal says 46-year-old James Champion, of Mankato, was sentenced last week in Crawford County District Court. Champion pleaded guilty in November to a count of assault on a peace officer with intent to inflict serious injury. In exchange for his plea, more serious charges were dropped. Crawford County sheriff's deputies say Champion pointed a rifle at them and threatened to shoot after authorities went to check on him on March 9. Champion later opened a door and fired the rifle once. Lt. Corey Utech returned fire, hitting Champion twice in the torso. ADVERTISEMENT Champion recovered from his injuries. An investigation found Utech's actions were justified. ___ Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com MINNEAPOLIS A federal agency announced Thursday that it will begin a comprehensive review of the St. Anthony Police Department, months after one of its officers shot and killed a black motorist during a traffic stop. The review by the Justice Department's office of community policing was requested by the city of St. Anthony and is voluntary. The office will assess the police department in many areas, including interactions with the public, traffic stops and hiring practices, and come up with recommendations to improve services and build trust. After issuing an initial report, the office will work with St. Anthony for 18 months to help implement changes. "The city is asking us to be very critical," said Ronald Davis, director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. "The truth can hurt, but selective ignorance is fatal. So the chief and mayors are willing to be told the hard truths about what's working and not working in the department." Philando Castil was killed July 6 during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, which is patrolled by police from St. Anthony, also a suburb. The shooting's gruesome aftermath was streamed live on Facebook by his girlfriend, who was in the car along with her young daughter. Prosecutors said the 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker was shot at seven times after he told an officer he was armed and had a license to carry a weapon. ADVERTISEMENT Castile's family has said he was profiled because he was black, and his death renewed concerns about how law enforcement officers interact with minorities. St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who is Latino, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors said he acted unreasonably and was not justified in using deadly force. Yanez' attorneys have asked that the charges be dismissed, and said that Castile never told Yanez he had a permit to carry. Castile's shooting prompted numerous protests, including a demonstration outside the governor's mansion that went on for weeks, and protests at city council meetings in St. Anthony and Falcon Heights, where citizens demanded police department changes. Arrest data analyzed by The Associated Press in the days after Castile's death showed St. Anthony police disproportionately arrested African-Americans in the three cities they patrol. Census data shows just 7 percent of residents in St. Anthony, Lauderdale and Falcon Heights are black, but black people account for roughly 38 percent of arrests since 2011. St. Anthony Mayor Jerry Faust said all three cities support the review. "This is not the only tool in the toolbox, but it is one that will help us at least identify issues and make systemic changes as we need to," he said. "They look forward to being analyzed, to being probed, to being prodded, and their goal is to be better police officers." St. Anthony Police Chief Jon Mangseth added that his department welcomes the process and is committed to making necessary reforms. Tyrone Terrill, president of the African American Leadership Council in St. Paul, was unimpressed. ADVERTISEMENT "They're doing what they have to do to make themselves look good," Terrill said. "How many police departments call in DOJ before they have a tragedy? If they'd called beforehand, Philando Castile would be alive." St. Anthony is the 16th police department nationwide to be part of this type of review. With its roughly 25 sworn officers, it is also the smallest. Other cities that have participated include Las Vegas, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Davis said the review will include an assessment of thousands of pages of documents, police ride alongs, interviews and community listening sessions. The hope is that recommendations will serve as a model for smaller police departments across the country. The review is different from investigations by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which result in consent decrees and mandated reforms. Davis said his office's reviews are done by request, and it's up to the departments to decide if they want to implement recommendations. As an increasingly geriatric Democratic leadership licks its 2016 wounds and mulls the future, who would have thought its first prominent figure to speculate about a 2020 presidential bid would be one of its most senior figures, outgoing Vice President Joe Biden? Biden, who would be nearing 78 by the next election, did so very publicly, telling reporters he was leaving open the possibility of a third presidential run in 2020. He may or may not be serious. But he's not the only surprising prospect making moves that could point to a 2020 bid. Next Tuesday in Iowa, likely to remain the first caucus state, the liberal group Progress Iowa is having its annual Christmas Party, and its featured speaker will be Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander. Jason who? He's the Afghanistan War veteran who ran a much admired though ultimately losing Senate race last month, losing to incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Blunt by just 3 percent while getting 228,000 more votes than Hillary Clinton. Kander is just 35. He's Jewish. And hardly anyone outside Missouri has heard of him. But given the fact Democrats showed almost as much disdain in 2016 for their traditional establishment as did Republicans, their 2020 race might be ripe for a political outsider. ADVERTISEMENT Besides, Missouri's increasingly red hue may force ambitious Democrats like Kander to look elsewhere. The state's top Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill, faces a tough 2018 re-election race. And though Kander's resume includes just eight years as a state representative and Missouri's secretary of state, Americans have shown a preference of late for the less experienced candidate. Besides, Missouri is just north of Iowa, geographical contiguity that helped former Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt win the latter's caucuses in a 1988 bid that later fizzled. The relatively inexperienced Kander and the very experienced Biden, a six-term senator before his 2008 election as vice president, represent two potential 2020 extremes. The likelihood is neither will ultimately be the nominee. And they are not the only Democrats jolted by Hillary Clinton's unexpected defeat into considering a White House bid sooner than expected. The possible cast includes two women senators, Minnesota's Amy Klobuchar, 56, and New York's Kirsten Gillibrand, 50; two prominent African-Americans, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, 47, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 60; and New York's Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 59, who may face a difficult 2018 primary challenge. Clinton had barely conceded when The New York Post reported Gillibrand was reaching out to the 2016 nominee's financial supporters. In recent years, the Dartmouth grad has often visited New Hampshire, the first presidential primary state, as has Klobuchar. And at the last two Democratic conventions, the Minnesota senator got positive receptions from speeches to delegates of her neighboring state of Iowa. Given Bernie Sanders' strong 2016 showing, the 2020 field will surely include someone from the party's populist wing. Most mentioned now, besides Sanders, who will be 79 by then, are Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 67, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, 64, who hails from the region where Democrats need to regain support. ADVERTISEMENT One unknowable factor is the degree to which the 2020 field will include minority hopefuls. Since the Democratic electorate is about 40 percent black, Hispanic and Asian-American, more than half of that African-American, it's a safe bet the next race won't resemble the last one, which pitted a 68-year-old white woman against a 74-year-old white man. Besides Booker and Patrick, that could include one or more lesser known, younger Democrats: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, 42, of Texas; freshman California Sen. Kamala Harris, 52; newly named California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, 58; and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, 55, of Maryland, a potential candidate for Democratic National Chairman. Sanders is not the only 2016 also-ran who has never stopped campaigning. On Sunday, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, 53, is making his seventh visit to Iowa since the 2016 caucuses. Competent but bland, he could be the anti-Trump voters may want. And others may emerge, including someone not now in major office. After all, who would have fingered Donald Trump as even a contender four years ago? It's a presidential race few Democrats expected, and will take some time to sort out. But early New Hampshire and Iowa visits, like Kander's and O'Malley's, are always one early indicator. Carl P. Leubsdorf is the former Washington bureau chief of the Dallas Morning News. Following up on Pauls post regarding the president-elects designated United States ambassador to Israel, I want to draw attention to Eric Cortellessas Times of Israel profile of David Friedman. The profile derives from Cortellessas interview of Friedman last month. Headline: Trumps envoy: The new administration wont tell Israel what policies to adopt. Subhead: David Friedman says the incoming president doesnt view Israel as a client state you issue directives to but as a key partner in war against Islamic terrorism, so he wants Israel to be as strong and secure as possible. The profile opens this way: Sitting in a conference room together 13 years ago, David Friedman told his friend Donald Trump that he just purchased an apartment in Jerusalem. Trump, the real estate tycoon, was immediately curious to know the particulars. How big was it? How much did it cost? Friedman recalled him asking, describing the conversation during an interview last month with The Times of Israel. When Friedman cited the price, Trump was surprised. Thats really a lot of money, he responded, according to Friedmans recollection. For that kind of money, why wouldnt you buy a place in East Hampton? Why do you have to go all the way to Israel for a second home? The Long Island natives answer was probably one that the man soon to be president was not expecting. The world has been fighting over every inch of Jerusalem for the past 3,000 years, Friedman told Trump. Theres nobody fighting over East Hampton. Trumps eyes then opened up, Friedman said, and that initiated a decade-plus conversation about Israel. Now, in 2016, that exchange seems to have been more fateful than it initially seemed to Friedman, who was announced on Thursday as President-elect Trumps nominee to be the next US ambassador to Israel. And the first move Friedman made in that official capacity was to indicate that Trump plans to follow through on his campaign pledge to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking decades of precedent under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and underlining an apparent inclination to do what other presidential candidates have promised but declined to deliver once they took office: recognize the holy city as Israels capital. The mainstream media seems upset with Donald Trump for picking very rich people and successful generals for key positions in his administration. Where are the lawyers, the college professors, the public administrators, and the activists? In a more rational world, it would be hard to argue with Trumps preference for people who have been extremely successful in the business world and the military. These backgrounds are no guarantee of success in public life, but they seem like a better indicator than backgrounds in most, if not all, of the professions listed in the paragraph above. Some readers may be surprised to learn that historians generally view Warren Hardings Cabinet as one of the best ever. Harding, who intended to rely very heavily on his Cabinet, put a high premium on success. Herbert Hoover, his choice for Commerce Secretary and the man who became his go-to adviser, was arguably the most successful man in America at the time. For Secretary of State, Harding selected Charles Evan Hughes. Though Hughes lacked substantial foreign policy experience, he was one of the most able men in America, having served as Governor of New York and Supreme Court Justice. Like Mitt Romney, Hughes had lost the previous presidential election. Unlike Romney, he supported his partys nominee in the next cycle. Andrew Mellon was Hardings Treasury Secretary. Mellon had made a fortune in banking. He was a financial wizard. Harding picked Henry Wallace (not the future VP and pinko 1948 presidential candidate, but his father) to be Secretary of Agriculture. Wallace was a successful farmer and editor of Wallaces Farmer, an important farm journal that apparently is still around today. Wallace helped establish 4-H clubs and extension programs in Iowa, as well as the Iowa Farm Bureau. Harding is best remembered for his two bad Cabinet picks. Henry Fall, the Interior Secretary, gave us the Teapot Dome scandal. Fall was a well-regarded Senator. Harding had no reason to believe he would use his Cabinet post to enrich himself. Had Fall been extremely wealthy, its unlikely he would have. Henry Daugherty, Hardings attorney general, was a crony. Nearly everyone understood that Daugherty was bad news. In selecting this corrupt man, Harding put loyalty ahead of the good advice he received. Harding has only himself to blame for the damage Daugherty inflicted on his legacy. History suggests that at least one of Trumps Cabinet member will find himself (or herself) embroiled in a real scandal, not one merely ginned up by the liberal media. However, I dont see a potential Henry Daughtery or Albert Fall in president-elect Trumps selections, and its worth noting that Trump has not rewarded some of those who played (or like Daugherty with Harding, claim to have played) a significant role in helping him win. Instead, I see a Cabinet populated mostly with extraordinarily successful people in whom Trump has good reason to place his trust. BY THE WAY: Harding briefly considered a General for his Cabinet Leonard Wood, the Old Rough Rider and a rival for the 1920 nomination. Harding wisely decided not to select Wood for Secretary of War or any other Cabinet post. Wood was a hothead and anything but a team player. Moreover, America was at peace (the Great War was over and our troops had recently left Russia) in 1921, which reduced the case for selecting a General. Today, we arent. Harding selected Wood to be Governor-General of the Philippines, where he ruled, contentiously, for six years. John Weeks, one of Hardings Senate colleagues, became Secretary of War. He had made a fortune in banking. Historians generally view Weeks as quite effective in his Cabinet post. His son, Charles Sinclair Weeks, was Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower. The Washington Posts board of editors rip into President Obama for his failed Syria policy that helped produce the horrors of Aleppo. Here is how the Post describes the situation on the ground: The battle for Aleppo is ending in catastrophe, both for the tens of thousands of people who have been besieged there and for the future of Syria. On Wednesday, Syrian government and Iranian-led Shiite militia forces renewed attacks on the last rebel-held streets of the city, shredding a promise to allow a peaceful evacuation. According to the United Nations, the pro-government forces have been executing civilians in the street or in their homes including, on Monday, at least 11 women and 13 children. Thousands of men have been rounded up and gang-pressed into the Syrian army, or dispatched to an unknown but likely terrible fate. The United Nations term for this nightmare was apt: A complete meltdown of humanity. The regime of Bashar al-Assad and its Russian and Iranian allies. . . systematically destroyed hospitals, including pediatric facilities; decimated civilian housing with bunker-buster bombs and chlorine gas; and refused to allow food or humanitarian aid of any kind into the besieged districts of the city. In addition to the horrors being inflicted on innocent civilians and the precedent being set for warfare in the 21st century, the fall of Aleppo means no end to the wave of refugees leaving Syria, a hugely destabilizing phenomenon. It also represents a victory for Sunni terrorist movements that, by default, constitute the most effective opposition to Assad. The Post lays considerable blame for the Syria debacle on the Obama administration: By refusing to intervene against the Assad regimes atrocities, or even to enforce the red line he declared on the use of chemical weapons, President Obama created a vacuum that was filled by Vladimir Putin and Irans Revolutionary Guard. As recently as October, Mr. Obama set aside options drawn up by his advisers to save Aleppo. Instead, he supported the delusional diplomacy of Secretary of State John F. Kerry, whose endless appeals to Moscow for cease-fires yielded as Mr. Putin no doubt intended nothing more than a humiliating display of American weakness. On Tuesday, Mr. Obamas U.N. ambassador, Samantha Power, delivered an impassioned denunciation of the Aleppo carnage, which she said would join the ranks of those events in world history that define modern evil, that stain our conscience decades later. She excoriated the Assad regime, Russia and Iran but offered no acknowledgment that the stain of Aleppo extends also to her, the president and American honor. Those who will live with the long-term consequences of the Syrian catastrophe are unlikely to be so forgiving. (Emphasis added) The Post editorial board shows unusual restraint in not assigning some blame to Republicans. I would have been less charitable. Republicans, including conservatives, did not press Obama to take action in Syria. In fact, they resisted when Obama briefly seemed prepared to enforce his red line. Opposition to having U.S. troops fight on the ground in Syria was understandable. But its doubtful that such fighting was necessary to prevent Aleppo. The triumph of Assad and the resulting horrors are the product of air power. The U.S. could have controlled the air over Syria via attacks on Assads air force and/or the imposition of a no-fly zone. Had we done so, the civil war would have been much less gruesome and probably would have remained a stalemate susceptible to a negotiated settlement rather than the impending victory through liquidation. When the Obama administration ruled out these options, the Russians filled the void. The rest is tragic history and a sizable portion of Obamas legacy. A Nigerian writer, Walter Dinjos, has won the 2016 edition of the Writers of the Future Award. The award, given for published fiction works, was described as the largest, most successful and demonstrably most influential vehicle for budding creative talents in the world of contemporary fiction. Mr. Dinjos, who is based in Awka, Anambra State, won with his short story, The Wood Cutters Deity, published in the annual bestseller, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 33. The contest, which is in its 33rd year, has as judges some of the premier names in fiction writing. Mr. Dinjos was chosen from a group of 8 finalists. The award has a cash prize and a trip to Hollywood for a week-long intensive professional workshop. During the trip, his winning entry will be read at a gala awards ceremony which will be graced by over one thousand attendees. The Writers and Illustrators of the Future contests have produced 32 anthology volumes and awarded a cumulative $930,000 in cash prizes and royalties since the inception. Hundreds of winners of the award have had successful writing careers following their win and publication in the anthology. To date, the award has launched the careers of 12 New York Times bestselling authors. As part of his resume, Mr. Dinjos is said to love singing, song-writing and fiction writing. Thats because music was his first love, a review of the winner made available by Carmen Bartolo stated. Award-winning Nollywood screenwriter, director, and producer, Emem Isong-Misodi, premiered her highly anticipated movie, Ayamma, on December 13 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was graced by industry giants and colleagues including Rita Dominic, Stephanie Linus Adesua Etomi, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Blessing Egbe, Denrele Edun, Alexx Ekubo, IK Ogbonna, Sambasa and so many others in attendance. The glamorous night saw attendees stun the event with deep rooted attires that speak volume of the rich Nigerian culture. The movie is to be made available in Cinemas on December 23 starring, Adesua Etomi, Wale Ojo, Ime Bishop Umoh, Theresa Edem, Majid Michel, Moses Armstrong and so many others. In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the organisers said, The movie which is set in Akwa-Ibom under the production of Royal Arts Academy stars; tells the story of Prince Daraima (Wole Ojo), the fascinating heir to Obong Ikpaisong, who repeatedly dreams of Ihuoma (Adesua Etomi), poor but radiating maiden whose beauty is matched only by her voice. He is in love with the girl of his dreams. In the real world, Prince Daraima is set to marry Princess Ama (Tinsel star, Theresa Edem), the arrogant child to a neighbouring Monarch. Princess Ama observes her groom-to-be captivated by Iko and resolves to nip this obvious threat in the bud According to Emem Isong, the movieis a beautiful story mixed with different features. It is a tale of love filled with music, dance, drama and comedy. It has depth of story, very informative and entertaining and not your usual shoddy old Nollywood classic. It definitely has the whole package. Ignorance about available business opportunities was on Wednesdsy identified as one of the major factors militating against the growth of small and medium-scale entreprises in Nigeria. A council member of the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shade Bembatoum-young, stated this her presentation at a workshop in Lagos. Ms. Bembatoum-young, an SME facilitator, said most small and medium scale entreprise owners do not leverage on the potentials available to them in the industry. Despite the harsh business environment in the country, she said there were still viable oportunities they should know about and take advantage of. Lamenting the poor communication gap between SME operators and government agencies, Ms. Bembatoum-young called on the concerned agencies to sensitize the people about their programmes and activities. Until recently, I did not know there was an Institute of Packaging in Nigeria. I am sure no one here knows, too, she said. While imploring the Nigerian SME operators to work together to achieve success in the non-oil export value chain, Ms. Bembatoum-young argued that something drastic must be done at the state and local government levels for the SMEs to witness sustainable growth. She also advised government to make skill acquisition schemes and training programmes available to people at the grassroots to enable them take advantage of the huge potentials and opportunities available. Export doesnt come from Abuja. SME owners shouldnt be asked to go to Abuja to get basic things done when they are producing in Kebbi or Osun states or any other places in the country, she said. She however advised SME facilitators across the country to focus on made-in-Nigeria products they can export to the global market, stressing that many people around the world now patronise Nigerian brands. Some products will do better in the export market than in the Nigerian market. You will be surprised at how many people are now buying our bags abroad, she said. A few weeks after public pressure forced it to rescind its decision, the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, has again defended its stance to increase the price of data. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the NCC rescinded its decision asking the mobile telephone operators to adopt a policy that would have led to data price increase for majority of Nigerians. The NCC said on Friday that the planned increase in data tariff by telecom operators was to create competition in the sector. Ismail Adedigba, NCC Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN. He said the decision to increase data tariff was to prevent the sector from becoming a monopoly whereby one service provider would be charging consumers arbitrary prices for data services. Mr. Adedigba, who spoke on the side line of the commissions 81st Consumer Outreach Programme in Osogbo, noted that competition would afford telecom consumers to make choices for better service. We dont want monopoly, because if we allow anybody to charge any price, some big operators can charge lower price and take all customers to their network at the expense of new entrants. Nothing is free or easy because once consumers take the bait of rushing to networks offering cheaper and lower data tariff, competition would be eliminated. The effect is that once big operators know that the new entrants have failed, they will now increase their own price, knowing there is no competition. The consumers will now have no choice when the tariff is increased, as the new entrants must have been crippled and left the market for big operators, said the NCC official. According to him, competition is better than killing one segment of the telecom market by predatory pricing. Mr. Adedigba said that the data tariff price increment implementation remained suspended for now, due to the outcry of stakeholders, especially the consumers. He said the commission would continue to engage stakeholders on its role in protecting the consumers and telecom industry. (NAN) President Barack Obama on Thursday vowed retaliatory action against Russia for its meddling in the U.S. presidential election, pointing to the probable that President Vladimir Putin personally authorised it. I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing, Mr. Obama said in an interview scheduled to air on Friday on National Public Radio, according to CNN. Describing potential countermeasures by the U.S., the President said some of it may be explicit and publicised; some of it may not be, He said he directly confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about a potential U.S. response, and said his counterpart acknowledged his stance. Mr. Putin is well aware of my feelings about this, because I spoke to him directly about it, Mr. Obama said. Messrs. Obama and Putin conferred on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in China in September. Afterwards, Mr. Obama told reporters he raised cyber security with the Russian leader. Intelligence agencies in October pinned blame on Russia for election-related hacking. At the time, the White House vowed a proportional response to the cyberactivity, though declined to preview what that response might entail. Officials have said U.S. actions against Russia may not be revealed publicly. Earlier on Thursday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters during the daily White House briefing that Mr. Trump obviously knew that Russia was engaged in malicious cyber activity that was helping him, and hurting Democrat Hillary Clinton. These are all facts that are not in dispute. Earnest pointed out that Mr. Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find missing emails from Clintons private server. Mr. Trump has said he was joking. I dont think anybody at the White House thinks its funny that an adversary of the United States engaged in malicious cyber activity to destabilize our democracy; thats not a joke. Mr. Earnest, without mentioning Russian President Putin by name, also said only Russias senior-most officials could have authorised these activities, repeating the words from an October U.S. intelligence assessment. Earnest declined to say whether the U.S. had already begun its response to Moscows actions. The President determined once the intelligence community had reached this assessment that a proportional response was appropriate. At this point, I dont have anything to say about whether or not that response has been carried out, Mr. Earnest said. Mr. Obama had directed the intelligence agencies to investigate the extent of Russias involvement in the election and conclude it before he leaves office. The November 8 U.S. presidential election was allegedly manipulated by Russia following the upset by Republican Donald Trump against Democratic Hillary Clinton, who was popularly projected to win. Mr. Trump has continued to dismiss allegations of hacking by Russia and has slammed Democrats and efforts by Green Party candidate in the election, Jill Stein, for votes recount in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Ms. Clinton won the popular vote by about 2.7 million but lost to Trump on Electoral College. (NAN) The Australian public has raised funds to pay the vets bill for a hero dog which saved a young girl from a deadly snake, local media reported on Friday. Jo Shaw, the owner of four-year old boxer Mack, was faced with a veterinary bill of 6,000 Australian dollars (4,400 dollars) after the dog was bitten by a tiger snake. Mack was bitten repeatedly after he sprang on the highly venomous 1.2-metre-long snake when he saw it creeping up on Shaws two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Carmen in their Melbourne backyard. Shaw said when she found Mack he was paralysed, frothing at the mouth and not breathing. The dead snake was beside him. According to a media report, the dog recovered after days in intensive care but was left with kidney damage, while the family faced having to sell their car to cover the vets bill. They, as an alternative, sought the publics help via the fundraising website GoFundMe, managing to raise more than enough to cover the bill in just four days. Shaw said on the website that Mack was still very weak but was slowly pulling through and would be home before Christmas. We couldnt have done this without all your support and generosity. Our family and Mack are indebted for life, thank you, Shaw wrote on the website. (dpa/NAN) Alfred Makanjuola, a consultant psychiatrist at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, UITH, Ilorin, has warned Nigerians to guard against putting themselves under stress. The professor said that this could develop into mental illness if not checked. Mr. Makanjuola spoke on Friday in a paper presentation entitled: Mental Health in a Dwindling Economy. It was at the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) 2016 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference held in Ilorin, Kwara. According to him, people in the country are facing a deluge of problems emanating from genetic factors, environmental factors as well as economic and societal factors. The expert postulated that there was a correlation between the steady rise in mental illness and the dwindling economy, especially, as the country is currently in recession. Mr. Makanjuola described mental health as the state of well-being where an individual realises his or her abilities and can cope with normal stress of life, be productive and make contributions to the community. He, however, explained that such a state of well-being could be disrupted in one-third of individuals during their lifetime. Mental problems denote emotional and psychological difficulties, which cause distress and interfere with how people go about their everyday life, he said. According to the expert, mental ill-health is characterized with sadness, loss of appetite, confused thinking, prolonged depression as well as feelings of extreme highs and lows. Others, he said, are excessive fears, worries, anxieties, social withdrawal, and dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits as well as feelings of anger. Mr. Makanjuola lamented that the society was gradually degenerating from the age-old extended family but becoming the lonely and an isolated nuclear family. He also lamented the continuous failures in marriages and increasing break-down of children upbringing in the country. According to him, some products of these failed institutions, eventually, turned to hard drugs which in-turn affects them mentally. The professor said there was an increase in mental illness as the global indices for mental illness indicated 21.2 per cent in 2013 to an increase of 32.4 per cent in 2016. The expert, therefore, advised people to always monitor the movements of their children and wards and the friends they move with. He added that drug abuse had been taken to new levels where common medicines such as Tramadol are taken with soft drinks, soups or tea and could not be detected easily by parents. Mr. Makanjuola said there must be principle of equality in access to essential healthcare facilities to enable people have standard healthcare. He also said that the treatment of mental health is not as costly as some ailments. The government should ensure expansion of mental health and a continuous de-stigmatisation of people with mental ill-health, he said. Also speaking at the occasion, Mohammed Ibrahim, the Vice-Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, said that everybody was a candidate for mental ill-health due to various stresses we face in life. He added that the financial incapability as well as societal problems faced by people in the society makes the theme apt and an essential topic for discourse. The VC believed that mental ill-health could be overcome through collective efforts and commitments from stakeholders in the society. (NAN) The Senate on Thursday hit back at the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, after he dismissed the legislative body as saying balderdash over the call for his removal and prosecution. The Senate had on Wednesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend Mr. Lawal and ensure his prosecution over alleged breach of Nigerian laws in handling contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East, (PINE). An ad-hoc committee of the Senate on mounting humanitarian crisis in the North East led by Shehu Sani submitted its interim report on Wednesday and indicted Mr. Lawal for allegedly receiving N233 million contract to clear invasive plant species in Yobe State through a company, Rholavision Nigeria Limited. The Senate alleged he remained a director of the company till September 2016, over a year after his appointment, in breach of Nigerias code of conduct for public officials as enshrined in the 1999 constitution. Rholavision was incorporated in 1990 by Mr. Lawal, he confirmed, to carry out information and communication technology services. But it was found by the Senate to be handling a N233 million bush clearing contract in the North East in 2016. The Yobe State Government said the contract was never executed. But less than an hour after the Senate indicted him and called on authorities to punish him, Mr. Lawal accompanied his principal, Mr. Buhari, to the National Assembly to present the 2017 budget proposal. After the presentation, Mr. Lawal told journalists the Senate was only victimising him and trying to rubbish his personality. The senate is talking balderdash; it has developed the habit of bring-him-down syndrome, he said. I have the report of the senate committee in which it was said that I didnt resign from Rholavision Nigeria Limited. Let me tell you, Rholavision was formed by me in December 1990, and it has been a company that was run very successfully. Now, when I was appointed secretary to the government of the federation, I resigned from that company on 18th August 2015. I can see that in their report, they are talking about 2016. I dont know where they got their facts. By the way, it is very instructive that when the committee was sitting, no effort was ever made to invite me to come and make submission. It is therefore, surprising that they devoted a whole session of today (Wednesday) at maligning me, claiming what is not true without even giving me the chance to come and put my own case before them. But on Thursday when the Senate resumed, Dino Melaye brought the matter up, saying his privilege and that of his colleagues were breached by Mr. Lawal. The Senate insisted on its committees findings and Senators took turns to lambast Mr. Lawal. President should review how somebody like Babachir Lawal managed to get into this government, said Chukwuka Utazi (PDP-Enugu). Also commenting, Mr. Saraki said the Senate had played its role of exposing Mr. Lawal and that the onus was now on the executive in a government that is fighting corruption to do the needful. But I know Nigerians are watching, said Mr. Saraki, adding that the Senate would directly communicate its resolutions that Mr. Lawal should be suspended and prosecuted to the President. Later, the chairman of the committee that indicted Mr. Lawal, Mr. Sani (APC-Kaduna), spoke with PREMIUM TIMES exclusively and insisted Mr. Lawal lied in the claims he made. He said Mr. Lawal was invited contrary to his claim. We invited him but he sent a representative, said Mr. Sani. On the claim of resigning from the company last year before the contract was even awarded in March 2016, Mr. Sani said, we got to know from the Corporate Affairs Commission (that he held directorship till September 2016). We wrote the Corporate Affairs Commission and they supplied us the information. He said there was more the committee would reveal regarding how officials and companies criminally benefited from the North East crisis when the Senate resume next year. The Senates refusal to confirm Ibrahim Magu as head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was months in coming. In the end, it was a rancorous power-play involving the Senate, the State Security Service, and the Presidency that sealed Mr. Magus fate. At a hurriedly arranged press conference Thursday, the spokesperson for the senate, Abdullahi Sabi, announced that Mr. Magus nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as EFCC chairman had been rejected. He cited security report, and said the president would be informed of the decision. Several top security officials and lawmakers have shared with PREMIUM TIMES key elements of that report, and the sequence of events leading up to the Senate decision. They also gave details of the high-wire intrigues that worked against Mr. Magu, a senior police officer who has managed to inject vigour into the nations fight against graft, while generating a whirling controversy with his tactics. The principal charge against Mr. Magu, our sources said, was the allegation that the chief corruption fighter himself seemed tainted. The SSS report pointed at Mr. Magus N20 million-a-year rental home, and the expensive air transport service he allegedly once enjoyed, at an estimated N2.5 million. The service involved a private jet belonging to former Air Commodore Mohammed Umar, which transported Mr. Magu from Kano. Mr. Umar, a close friend to the EFCC boss, is facing corruption charges. The report also noted that Mr. Magu had once been arrested when Farida Waziri headed the EFCC, for stashing official government files at home. EFCC files were also found at Mr. Umars home more recently when the property was searched by SSS agents, one source said. Mr. Magu did not respond or return our calls Thursday. He did not speak to journalists at the National Assembly. In earlier comments when faced with same allegations, he told PREMIUM TIMEs and other media that he was given the official apartment by the Federal Capital Development Administration (FCDA), and was unaware of its worth. He also explained that the files found in his home at the time were documents he took home to enable him attend to pressing official duties. Beyond the report But multiple sources at the National Assembly and the Presidency agreed the report merely provided a cover to an interplay of power between the Presidency, the Senate and the SSS. By and large, it was more or a turf war, and an issue of personal difference between Mr. Magu and the SSS Director General, Lawan (Daura), one source said. Outside the National Assembly, the hushed confrontation had been mostly between two camps, involving top Buhari administration officials, they said. Mr. Magus camp has the National Security Adviser, Mohammed Monguno, a retired Major General, and Mr. Umar, a former member of the presidential panel of military arms procurement. The opposing camp, which for months canvassed M.D. . Magus removal, PREMIUM TIMES understands, has the SSS boss, Mr. Daura, Interior Minister Abdulrahman Dambazau, and President Buharis Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari. Our sources said for weeks, both camps lobbied senators for or against Mr. Magu, and the second camp aggressively pushed the security report. While the report had long been received by the leadership of the Senate, it was not distributed to senators, officials said. It was read to Senators on Thursday. By then, both sides had won fairly good numbers of lawmakers to their camps, and the two sides agreed Mr. Magu should neither be confirmed nor rejected as EFCC chairman. Instead, Senators advised the president be informed of the SSS report and be asked for his view, in the hope that if the president persisted, then Mr. Magu would be confirmed. Lawmakers said when Mr. Magu and other nominees were summoned at Thursdays closed-door session, he was not asked to respond to the allegations against him. They only informed them of the report and told them everything will be sent back to the president, one source said. President fingered Several officials and lawmakers questioned the role of President Buhari in the matter, saying the plot succeeded because the president had himself become apathetic about keeping Mr. Magu at the post. Lawmakers pointed to the report emanating from the SSS, which they said was copied to the president. It is impossible for the president to nominate someone for confirmation and for another of his appointees to write a damning report against the person and send to the senate, one lawmaker said. A presidency source said the president was clearly not keen about retaining Mr. Magu, and did not want to withdraw his nomination to avoid offending Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Remember it was the vice president who sent the letter for his confirmation to the Senate, one presidency source said. This works somehow because people can now blame the Senate. The source said ahead of the Senate session, when repeatedly asked about Mr. Magus confirmation, the presidents reaction had always been that he should go through the senate screening process and if he succeeded, that would be fine. Former Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, on Friday met the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in an effort to broker a political solution to his trial for alleged treason. Mr. Kanu was arrested by the operatives of the State Security Service on October 14 and was charged alongside three others, David Nwawuisi, Benjamin Madubugwu and Chidiebere Onwudiwe, with treasonable felony. After the meeting, Mr. Kalu, who defected recently to the ruling All Progressives Congress, told journalists in Abuja that the detainees had given him the go-ahead to talk on their behalf with the Federal Government. The former governor was optimistic that supporters of Mr. Kanu would now be more cooperative with the authorities, following his discussion with their leader. He said the discussion will form the basis for an interface between the Federal Government and Mr. Kanu. He added that the planned talk would have the view to end Mr. Kanus trial. I came to talk to him to talk to his supporters. I think they will have a change of attitude. We are all Nigerians. If both himself and the Federal Government are genuinely interested, we can come to a common ground. It is a possibility, said Mr. Kanu. On the decision of the Federal High Court hearing the case against Mr. Kanu and his colleagues to grant partial protection to prosecution witnesses, Mr. Kalu said the practice has long existed. The protection of witnesses is nothing new in law. We can do that but it may not get to that stage; if we talk to each other well. It is possible to settle out of court if both parties are realistic. Now he has given me the go-ahead to talk on his behalf. And if I can speak on his behalf, then the process will begin; and if things go as they ought to, we might not get to the stage of having to require protection of witnesses. If he trusts me and the Federal Government trusts me, I dont see how this will not work. I know the government well. I am a member of the ruling party. So I can use my position well, Mr. Kalu said. The former governor explained that his visit was in line with the United Nations charter on human rights and in furtherance of his duty to the state he once governed. My visit to Kanu is in compliance with the United Nations charter that, anyone who is in prison should frequently be visited. I decided to come and visit him as a younger brother and as a former governor of Abia State; once you become a governor, you have a duty to always protect your people. Mr. Kanu and the three other members of IPOB are being tried at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court. The court had on December 17, 2015 ordered the SSS to release Mr. Kanu unconditionally. But that ruling, delivered by Justice Adeniyi Ademola who is being accused of fraud and is currently being prosecuted, was upturned by another judge, John Tsoho, in January. Shortly after the ruling refusing him bail, Mr. Kanu declared no confidence in Mr. Tsohos impartiality, forcing the judge to withdraw from the matter. Subsequently, the case was transferred to another judge, Binta Nyako. Mrs. Nyako also refused the same bail application for the defendant on December 1. In recent weeks, Mr. Kanus court appearance had been occasioned by commotion caused by his supporters at the court premises. During the last sitting on December 13, Mr. Kanus supporters clashed with prison officials after he made some remarks against President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr. Kanu hails from Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia state. Amina Mohammed, the incoming UN Deputy Secretary-General, has thanked Secretary-General-designate, Antonio Guterres, and President Muhammadu Buhari for the confidence they reposed in her. Ms. Mohammed, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria, in New York said she would continue to lay strong foundations for the various ongoing initiatives critical to the Federal Governments success in the environment sector. The opportunity and responsibility to serve people and planet as the next UN Deputy Secretary-General is truly humbling. I am most grateful for the confidence and trust demonstrated by the United Nations Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres and President Muhammadu Buhari. As directed by Mr President, I will continue in the meantime to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the government success in the environment sector. These include our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the first Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni clean-up and development of the Great Green Walls. The Minister of Environment also thanked her colleagues and the various stakeholders in the environment sector. The next phase of my continued service to the people of Nigeria at the global level, will certainly build on the rich insights and lessons drawn from engaging with leaders, colleagues and stakeholders across our beloved nation. She recalled her positions of responsibilities over the last three decades and her contributions to the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, and recently working for environment protection as part of President Buharis vision to transform Nigeria. I have been blessed with the unwavering support and inspiration from leaders, colleagues, activists and stakeholders from the polluted creeks in the Niger-Delta, to the eroded (Kumaro and Alpha) and overflowing (Makoko) communities in Lagos, Nnaka erosion site in Anambra and others through the polluted Sharada industrial sites of Kano, the drought-affected areas (Bama) in Borno as well as the degraded dunes in Yobe and other parts of the catchment area of the disappearing Lake Chad. I will continue to work for the rights of the poor, especially women and the youth, ensuring we leave no one behind, Ms. Mohammed pledged. Mr. Guterres announced Ms. Mohammeds appointment on Thursday alongside the duo of Maria Viotti of Brazil and Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea into high-profile positions at the UN. I am pleased to announce that I will be appointing Ms. Amina J. Mohammed of Nigeria as my Deputy Secretary-General, and Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti of Brazil as my Chef De Cabinet. I also intend to create the position of Special Advisor on Policy, and to appoint Ms. Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea to this new role. I am happy to count on the efforts of these three highly competent women, whom I have chosen for their strong backgrounds in global affairs, development, diplomacy, human rights and humanitarian action. These appointments are the foundations of my team, which I will continue to build, respecting my pledges on gender parity and geographical diversity, Mr. Guterres said. Prior to her appointment by Mr. Buhari as the environment minister, she served as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Before joining the UN, Ms. Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals. She provided advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating poverty reduction interventions. She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and serves on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-Generals High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda. Others include the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, and the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She is also on the UN Secretary-Generals Global Sustainability Panel, the African Womens Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project. Born in 1961, and educated in Nigeria and the UK, Ms. Mohammed is married and has six children. Mr. Guterres had hinted on Monday after he took the oath of office that gender parity would be top of his agenda as the UN scribe. I think that one very important element of the agenda would be to give a clear signal that gender parity is a must and so in the appointments I will be making. And the first ones would be announced soon. Youll see that gender parity will become a clear priority from top to bottom in the UN and it will have to be respected by all. This is a very ambitious agenda, an agenda that must be for both woman and man, and that is why parity is so important in our reform perspectives. That is also why the empowerment of women is so important in everything the UN will be doing around the world, the incoming UN scribe said. Mr. Guterres, succeeds outgoing secretary-general Ban, who bows out on December 31, 2016 after a decade of two terms, while the new secretary-general assumes office on January 1, 2017, for the next five years. Also, President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the appointment of Ms. Mohammed. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Mr. Buhari expressed happiness that Mrs Mohammed would join the next United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his Deputy. The statement said the president spoke with the in-coming Secretary- General, Guterres, who called earlier on Thursday evening to inform him (President Buhari) of his decision to pick Mrs Mohammed as the Deputy Secretary-General. President Buhari used the opportunity to reiterate his support and congratulations to Mr. Antonio Guterres on his upcoming tenure in the service. According to the statement, the president endorses the excellent selection of Amina J. Mohammed as the next Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. By her appointment, Nigeria has been honoured, the President was quoted as saying. President Buhari thanked Mrs. Mohammed for her untiring contribution to transform Nigeria and said he looked forward to sustained collaboration between the UN and Nigeria. He said he had no doubt that she would continue to make Nigeria proud at the global level. The statement added that: It is expected that the Minister of Environment will be transitioning to her new role in March 2017. In the meantime, it is expected that she will continue to lay strong foundations with various important ongoing initiatives critical to the governments success in the Environment sector. These include, but not limited to, implementation of our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Climate Agreement, the successful launch of the Sovereign Green Bonds in 2017, the ongoing Ogoni cleanup and development of the Great Green Wall. (NAN) Ibrahim Magu, acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says accountability, probity and transparency are crucial in the protection of investments. Mr. Magu said this when a management team of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) visited him in Abuja, EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren said in a statement. Mr. Magu commended the collaborative efforts between the two agencies which he said had led to recovery of stolen monies. The work is so enormous but the collective efforts and collaboration are absolutely necessary so that a lot of ground will be covered, he said. He assured the SEC team of the EFCCs commitment to its mandate and implementation of the MoU between the SEC and the anti-graft agency. Mr. Magu also said that joint training would be organised in future to bridge the gap between both agencies. Mr. Magu, however, advised the SEC to always tip off the EFCC before suspension of erring brokers to increase the chances of successful investigations and recovery of money. Earlier, the Director-General of SEC, Mounir Gwarzo, who led the delegation, decried the limitations to the commissions enforcement authority. Mr. Gwarzo said over the years, this had hampered the SECs effectiveness in recovering money lost by investors to fraudulent brokers and dealers. He said the close collaboration between the SEC and the EFCC had yielded numerous mutual benefits including invaluable training of SEC staff by the EFCC as well as an MoU in the works. Mr. Gwarzo also said that several criminal cases against defaulters of SEC policies that were not under the SECs jurisdiction had been sent to the EFCC, and feed backs received on their status. The director general stressed that closer collaboration between both agencies would go a long way in restoring confidence of local and foreign investors. (NAN) An ad-hoc committee of the Senate on mounting humanitarian crisis in the North East led by Shehu Sani submitted its interim report on Wednesday and indicted Mr. Lawal for allegedly receiving N233 million contract to clear invasive plant species in Yobe State through a company, Rholavision Nigeria Limited. The Senate had on Wednesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend Mr. Lawal and ensure his prosecution over alleged breach of Nigerian laws in handling contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East, (PINE). DOWNLOAD THE AD-HOC COMMITTEE REPORT HERE The Lagos State Government, Friday, vowed to prosecute those found culpable in the death of an officer of the states traffic agency, Tajudeen Bakare, in the Apapa area. Mr. Bakare, a Level 14 officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, was lynched by an irate mob after the agencys patrol van allegedly ran into and killed a motor boy of a tanker driver at Liverpool on Thursday. Addressing a press conference, Anofiu Elegushi, the acting Commissioner for Transportation, condemned Mr. Bakares brutal killing, adding that the victim died while performing his lawful duties of making Apapa safe for motorists and commuters. According to the state government, Mr. Bakare was stabbed, his two eyes removed, before he was stoned to death. Officer Bakare did not lose his life to an accident, Mr. Elegushi said. His life was taken by persons whose only response to an incident is to resort to jungle justice even when they were not sure of the play of event. Our officer was murdered by blood-thirsty hounds who parade themselves as purveyors of transportation. Eye witnesses said the yet to be identified motor boy ran into a LASTMA van following a melee that ensued after the officers stormed the area to arrest tanker drivers who were obstructing traffic. But the state government denied its officers were responsible for the actions that led to the incident. Mr. Elegushi said the officer was killed for an incident he knew nothing about, adding that it was painful that LASTMA officials were being given raw deals either by the people they were meant to serve or security officers, and that such must stop. The commissioner also said that the governments own eye witness account revealed that LASTMA vehicle did not kill anyone, but that it was the driver of the said tanker that killed his motor boy who was asleep under the vehicle. The mob action was carried out by tanker drivers, Okada Riders and other persons who live around them, all of whom he said were persons violating traffic laws, adding that the deceased LASTMA officer was a victim of forceful take-over of roads by a group of people who desire to become a law unto themselves, said Mr. Elegushi. As a government, we have over the years, asked tank farms to provide alternatives; we have engaged with the operators and tanker drivers yet they remain intransigent. To avoid situations such as this, we have proffered options but we remain undaunted in our resolve. The Ministry of Transportation, the supervisor of LASTMA and the management of the agency are irrevocably committed to that singular responsibility of ensuring that Lagos roads remain safe and traffic flows to enable the States economy to thrive. We do so believing that all residents and visitors to the State obey all our laws and live in tandem with our vision of the community we desire to live in a Lagosians. The UN High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, on Friday launched a multi-million dollar inter-agency appeal to provide support for about 500,000 Boko Haram victims from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. The UNHCR Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, said while launching the initiative in Yaounde that the Boko Haram crisis caused one of the largest displacements on the African continent. This is one of Africas largest displacement crisis and the world cannot afford to brush it under the carpet, he said, according to the UN Secretary-Generals office. The UNHCR chief also announced the Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP). Earlier in the week, Mr. Grandi visited refugees and internally displaced people in Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. The UNHCR chief will visit refugees and internally displaced persons in Nigeria in the coming days. The suffering and desperate conditions in the Lake Chad region are among the harshest I have seen. Refugees, returnees and host communities who have survived violence and trauma by the Boko Haram insurgency urgently need help, he said. The UN and its partners are seeking $241 million in 2017 to support about 460,000 people through the 2017 Nigeria RRRP. More than half of the funds, $154.29 million, will be allocated to refugees in Niger, with $67.25 million for operations in Cameroon and $19.61 million for those in Chad. While security in the host countries has improved, refugees remain insufficiently protected, lack durable shelter, food, and health care, are facing malnutrition, and need access to water, sanitation, and hygiene as well as education and a means of livelihood. Environmental damage is also an issue throughout the host countries. Stepped up funding from the international community is essential, particularly because the situation remains unpredictable and there are no immediate prospects of a resolution or an opportunity for return. The UNHCR chief urged the international community to invest in development programmes for refugees and the host communities. During his field visits, Mr. Grandi noted the innovative developments taking place to benefit both groups of people, including gas distribution projects in Diffa, Niger, and boats for fishing communities in Baga Sola, Chad. Throughout 2016, refugees faced continued conflict, displacement, and suffering in an area already facing extreme poverty, harsh climatic conditions, disrupted economic activity, and limited or destroyed infrastructure. The UNHCR is, therefore, urging humanitarian aid agencies to work with governments in order to reach more people in need and calling for urgent funding so that such work can continue. Separately, aid groups in the region are seeking more than one billion U.S. dollars from donors in order to support some 1.8 million people within Nigeria. (NAN) The acting Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Anthony Elujoba, who is under investigation over alleged diversion of N1.4 billion of the universitys fund, ran into trouble by drawing the remunerations of a substantive holder of his office, investigations by PREMIUM TIMES have revealed. Mr. Elujoba and the universitys bursar, Aderonke Akeredolu, were on Tuesday in Ibadan quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the allegation. He was appointed acting vice-chancellor for a period of six months with effect from July 21. According to the terms and conditions of the appointment as approved by the Federal Government, Mr. Elujobas fringe benefits include N120,000 monthly as furniture allowance. Investigations however revealed that part of the allegations against him in a petition to the EFCC was that he received over N7 million as advance payment of the allowance for the five-year tenure of a substantive vice-chancellor. The petition alleged that the acting vice-chancellor and bursar diverted monies from the universitys Fixed Assets and Endowment Fund, without approval from the Federal Ministry of Education and the Governing Council of the University, to pay themselves unapproved allowances, including the N7 million as furniture allowance to Mr. Elujoba. Mr. Elujoba and Mrs. Akeredolu, who arrived the Iyaganku office of the anti-graft agency in Ibadan at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, were quizzed for some hours and released on bail. Before their arrival at the EFCC offices, scores of workers of the university and supporters had besieged the premises in solidarity with the officials. When contacted, the EFCC Head of Media in the zone, Ayo Oyewole, declined to give details of the allegations against the acting Vice-Chancellor. He however confirmed that he was was released on bail while further investigation was continuing. The spokesman of the university, Biodun Olanrewaju, has however defended the accused officials, arguing that the acting vice-chancellor could not have been involved in financial malpractice as he was not in charge of the universitys finances. It is the bursar that is in charge of money, not the acting Vice-Chancellor. This is a man who does not even collect hospitality allowances or security vote as collected by other vice-chancellors, Mr. Olanrewaju said. He said Mr. Elujoba was brought into the university to stabilise the institution at a time of crisis. As acting vice-chancellor, he does the same work as any vice chancellor. Forget about the title, he coordinates the affairs of the university just like a substantive vice-chancellor, he added. Insinuating that the development had political undertones, Mr. Olanrewaju said Mr. Elujoba had already been recommended by the Senate of the institution as substantive vice-chancellor with overwhelming majority of 295 votes against 8 votes for his opponent. The universitys spokesman also defended the loyalty demonstrated for the embattled vice-chancellor by workers at the EFCC office. You could see how all union members of the university stormed the Iyaganku office of EFCC in Ibadan to rally round him. That was to show that the man did not steal or embezzle as alleged, Mr. Olanrewaju stated. Nigerias education sector has again received much lower than the 26 percent of national budget, as recommended by the United Nations. In the 2017 budget proposals presented Wednesday by President Muhammadu Buhari, N448.01billion was allocated to education, representing about 6 percent of the N7.30 trillion budget, contrary to the recommendation by UNESCO. The global organisation recommended the budgetary benchmark to enable nations adequately cater for rising education demands. Out of the sum earmarked for the sector, N398.01billion was allocated to recurrent expenditure and the balance of N50billion allocated to capital projects. Recent allocations by the federal government to education have shown marginal yearly increases however, except for the N367.73 billion (6.01 percent) in 2016 which saw a decrease from the allocations for the preceding years. The figures include N492.34billion in 2015, N493billion in 2014 and N426.53billion in 2013. The allocations were N400.15billion in 2012, N306.3billion in 2011 and N249.086billion in 2010. The situation is not much different in the states. In 2016, 33 states of the federation had allocated N653.53 billion (10.70percent) of their combined total budget estimates of N6.1 trillion to education. Recently, the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities went on strike to demand increased budgetary allocation to the education sector. The demand was in reaction to the poor state of facilities in public universities across the country, with some of the institutions even defaulting in salary payment. Earlier this year, most of the federal universities in the South-west of Nigeria were shut down by workers citing decrepit facilities and generally poor learning environment. To underscore the situation, no Nigerian university is ranked among the top 800 in the world or among the top 10 in Africa. Although the Nigerian Government has continued to state its commitment to the education sector, a comparative analysis with budgetary allocations by other countries even in Africa indicated that the government has never put its money where its mouth is. MMM Nigerias number one guider, Chuddy Ugorji, has finally reacted to the Ponzi schemes decision to pause withdrawals for one month. Mr. Ugorji, who is quite active on social media, addressed several controversies and allegations leveled against him in a lengthy Facebook post on Friday. A graduate of Karnataka State Open University in India, he is listed as the number one guider of the Ponzi scheme in Nigeria. His wife, Amaka, had earlier calmed frayed nerves in a Facebook message she posted on Wednesday. The pair tied the knot on November 12 in Lagos and their wedding was a certified MMM affair with the schemes logo and colours prominently displayed all through the festivities. Many Nigerian socialites and celebrities including 5 Star Music act, Kcee, graced their wedding. Further findings reveal that he joined MMM Global in 2015 and in 2016 played a major role in disseminating the Ponzi schemes gospel in Nigeria. In his post, he said, just like every other MMM member in Nigeria, he woke up on Tuesday and saw the news that accounts have been frozen for a month and that he didnt have any prior knowledge about it. While debunking widespread claims that he is an admin on the MMM Nigerian site, Mr. Ugorji explained that he has always encouraged members to provide help only with their spare money and also get help at the end of 30 days. In his parting note, he encouraged all Mavrodians not to panic as the ban on their monies will soon be lifted on January 14, 2017 and everything will be back to normal in no time. Read his Facebook post below: This week has not been easy for all of us due to the news update on our POs. As we all know, the media has been a tool used by anti-MMMites and pessimists to fight against the growth of MMM Nigeria. Unfortunately some ignorant Nigerians who dont understand what MMM is all about have been brainwashed by the information broadcasted by the media and social networks Regarding the frozen mavro. It is clearly stated on the news section on the website Confirmed Mavro will be frozen for A MONTH . The reason for this measure is evident. The system needs to prevent any problems that might arise during this festive season and this measure will be cancelled once the festive season comes to an end Frozen of mavros does not mean MMM has stopped operations or crashed rather the system has adopted this measure to avoid any mishaps. The support system are working on issues to enhance the effectiveness of the community. Also lets note that contrary to what has been published by cheap bloggers, Am not the Admin of MMM but one of the top guiders of this great community. And non of us has access to the site, I woke up on Tuesdayand saw the News on my PO like every other person, The MMM website is been managed in Russia by their control and supervisory team .They are responsible for every decision made,like pairing of participants to provide help and get help,resolving issues on the platform etc. I have always been passionate about tutoring members and guiders about the ideology of MMM , the rules and the risk; I have encouraged members to provide help only with their SPARE MONEY and also get help at the end of 30 days. The reason members have to continue in this pattern of provide help and get help process is to ensure the sustainability of the system, because the platform is a peer to peer system, members knows that they own the system and pay only to themselves, There is no CENTRAL ACCOUNT. Regarding getting help,every guider in the MMM community has a limit to withdrawal and I have never made withdrawals above my limit ,rather have always helped to ensure the growth of MMM Nigeria community. Instead I have given more to the community through charity works and teaching of the ideology of MMM. Bloggers who get paid for promoting rumour, when ignorant Nigerians click on their blogs, Google Ad sense pays them per click. Hence they seized this opportunity to enrich themselves even when most of them are participants and have taken more from the community, many of them are involved in uploading Fake Pops and multiple accounts all in the bid to frustrate the programme of the community and that is part of what is been looked into and it would be stop so that we have a healthy and stronger MMM NIGERIA in 2017 MMM founder is a Russian Sergey Mavrodi not a Philippines .I have never been to Philippines, the stories about going to the Philippines are untrue. I stand for the true ideology of MMM which is anchored on providing and getting help willingly. Lets hope the best and STOP the PANIC! We shall overcome by Gods grace. GettyImages 508572172 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday blasted US media outlets, contending in an interview that the power possessed by journalists had greatly diminished in recent years. "Theyre increasingly not very important," Assange said in a radio interview with Sean Hannity. The Fox News host agreed: "So true." Assange characterized the press as a "paper tiger" in the 2016 election and said the rise of new media had eroded the influence of traditional outlets. "The old press is less important," he said. Assange took particular issue with the "liberal press," blaming such journalists for a "degree of bias" that chased away readers. "Readers see that. They feel it," he said. "They dont like being lectured or told what to do. And they rebel against it." Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to evade questioning over a sexual-assault allegation in Sweden. WikiLeaks released thousands of hacked emails from top Democratic officials throughout the campaign. US national security officials believe the hacking of such officials was carried out by Russia, and officials in recent days have pointed to Russian President Vladimir Putin being directly involved in the operation. NOW WATCH: Fashion designer Nicole Miller reveals what Donald Trump is really like More From Business Insider The Nigerian Senate has been challenged by civil society groups to make public the security report upon which the legislative body rejected Ibrahim Magu as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. In a joint statement on Friday, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, the Transparency International-Nigeria, TI, and the Zero-corruption Coalition, ZCC, expressed concerns over the circumstances surrounding the nomination and eventual non-confirmation of Mr. Magu for the EFCC top job by the Senate. At a hurriedly arranged press conference about same time the Senate was ending an-hour closed-door session on Thursday, the spokesperson for the senate, Abdullahi Sabi, announced that Mr. Magus nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as EFCC chairman had been rejected, citing available security report. The report was turned in by the State Security Service, top security sources confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES. Its content is yet to be publicly disclosed but the report was read to the senators during Thursdays closed-door session, lawmakers said. However, the civil society groups said both the Senate and the SSS should ensure public disclosure of the report to safeguard the public good and ensure transparency and accountability. CISLAC, TI and ZCC therefore call on the Senate to make public the security report it depended upon to reject the confirmation. Merely reading it out in a closed session and applying it to arrive at such far reaching decisions fall short of the expectations of the electorates that they represent in the exercise of their powers. We call on the DSS to publicly confirm that they are the source of the report in question and authenticate the content for the Nigerian Public to know. Considering that the DSS is also an agency in the executive arm, it should indicate if the report was also shared with the President who appoints the EFCC chairman. This is to ensure that it is discharging its functions as expected by law and procedure, read the statement by the groups. Over 24 hours after the rejection that sparked wave of reactions, the Presidency has not reacted to the development said to be with the cooperation of some top officials in the Executive. We call on the Presidency to publicly state its position on the unfolding issues so that Nigerians can have a clear picture and draw their own conclusions as public support is crucial to a successful fight against corruption. The position of the EFCC chair is a very sensitive one and its occupant must be held to the highest levels of integrity and credibility. A situation where individuals and groups hide under clandestine and unverified documents and reports to take decisions that could undermine the integrity of individuals and institutions at the forefront of the anti-corruption efforts will be a disservice to the nation and must not be allowed to stand. We notify the Senate that their inability to come clean on these would only fuel the perception that their failure to confirm the appointment of the EFCC chairman who has acted for one year is linked to their personal and selfish desire to protect themselves and scuttle the fight against corruption of which several of their members have been beneficiaries, the groups further said. They then urged all well-meaning Nigerians and the media to kick against all manners of unjust decision or resolution by the Nigerian Senate to sabotage the on-going anti-corruption fight in the country. Sources close to Mr. Magu told PREMIUM TIMES the acting EFCC chairman was never invited by the Senate or the SSS before the report was concluded and used to block his confirmation. The Human Rights Watch on Friday warned against what it described as the Violent repression of Shiite Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN. In a statement on its website, the HRW said Nigerias government should hold accountable all those responsible for crimes committed against the IMN in the country. Nigerian authorities should end their violent repression of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), and free its leader. The involvement of soldiers in the Zaria incidents, and subsequent police actions against the Islamic Movement raises major questions about Nigerias commitment to military reform, the statement signed by Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch said. Nigerian authorities should hold accountable anyone who has committed crimes against Islamic Movement members, and take immediate steps to comply with a federal court order mandating the release of Sheik El Zakzaky and his wife, the statement said. It further called for the protection of the IMN members against heavy-handed crackdown by security operatives. Nigerias federal and state authorities should reconsider the heavy-handed crackdown against IMN members, take urgent steps to protect them, and hold those responsible for the unlawful deaths of group members to account. The government should carry out its law enforcement responsibilities without jeopardizing its own credibility by ignoring court decisions that rightly seek to check its agents excesses, it said. The IMN leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife were arrested on December 14, after a clash between its members and the Nigerian army. The clash resulted in the death of over 300 members of the movement. Various other attacks in October and November, led to the death of several more IMN members. A court order issued on December, 2 for the release of Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife within 45 days is still yet to be complied with, by Nigerias security agencies. The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the police to ensure the release of an abducted female lecturer, Christie Angbuku. Bemgba Anjembe, the Chairman of ASUU, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, made the appeal on Friday in Lokoja at a news conference. Mr. Anjembe, who spoke through Ishaq Eneji, Secretary of the Universitys Chapter of ASUU, said that he was dissatisfied that the police had not been able to rescue Ms. Agbulu, who was kidnapped on November 16 while on a visit to Kogi. He said that the victim was kidnapped as soon as she arrived in the state, adding that the abductors later used her phone to call to demand a ransom of N150, 000. One hundred thousand Naira was paid into her account and her abductors quickly withdrew the money using her ATM card. The balance of N50,000 could not be paid just as the matter was reported to the police, he said. He said that the leadership of the ASUU met with the officials of the state police command on December 1, during which the police assured them that they would do their best to save her. Today is 17 days after we first came to Lokoja in search of our colleague, and there is no information about her whereabouts, the official said. According to him, the development forced the union to write a petition to the Inspector-General of Police on December 5. He said that the union had yet to get a response. The unionist appealed to the president to intervene to rescue Agbulu a Lecturer 1 in the Department of Biological Sciences of the university. The ASUU chairman also appealed to Nigerians to volunteer useful information that could lead to the rescue of the lecturer. He also appealed to the lecturers abductors to leave her unhurt in the interest of the unity of the country. The official said that the lecturer was a dedicated and committed Nigerian. (NAN) Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger on Friday presented a budget of N108.07 billion for the 2017 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the budget, which is 21.27 per cent higher than the 2016 budget of N85.09 billion, was tagged Budget of Consolidation. According to the budget, the recurrent expenditure is pegged at N48.04 billion, representing 44.45 percent, while N60.02 billion was set aside for capital expenditure, which represents 55.55 percent of the total budget size. Out of the capital expenditure, administration sector will have N6.64 billion; economic sector gets N34.44 billion; law and justice N1.08 billion; and social sector N17.84 billion. Appraising the 2016 budget, Mr. Bello said the state only recorded 67 per cent performance from January to October 2016, largely due to its inability to meet its internal revenue targets. In Niger state, our problem was compounded due to our inability to meet our internal revenue targets with only an average of N400 million monthly. This calls for radical transformation of the revenue institutions and infrastructure and in general, conscious efforts will be made to diversify the economy, the governor said He, however, said that in spite of the economic recession and other challenges in getting finances for the 2016 budget, a lot of projects were still carried out. The governor said the 2017 budget would focus on youths and women as they constituted the major percentage of the population of the state. In his remarks, the Speaker of the House, Ahmed Marafa, said the legislative arm would ensure passage of the bill in record time to enable the government consolidate on its achievements. He pledged the support of the legislature in opening new frontiers toward tackling economic challenges and issues of revenue leakages in the state. Mr. Marafa also appealed to the executive arm of government to look into the issue of local government employees, who were being owed five months salaries. (NAN) The Kaduna Polytechnic branch of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, on Friday threatened to shut down the institution over alleged move to reappoint Muhammed Ibrahim as the institutions rector. The institutions ASUP Chairman, Aliyu Ibrahim, at a press briefing in Kaduna described the move to reappoint the rector by the Federal Government as a mistake and a disaster in waiting. He said that the union was worried over the level of academic and infrastructure decay in the institution within the four years Mr. Ibrahim served as rector, claiming that reappointing him would be tantamount to another four years of backwardness. We advise that the rectors position should be advertised instead of reappointing Ibrahim for a second term. We need a rector that is selfless, transparent, patriotic and dedicated to the vision and mission of Kaduna Polytechnic. These qualities are lacking in the person of Ibrahim. We shall reject anyone who will not propagate the vision of our dear institution in positive light. In the interest of industrial peace, we are calling on President Buhari, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and other relevant stakeholders not to reappoint Ibrahim. If he is reappointed, we will contest such move and the current industrial peace being enjoyed in Kaduna Polytechnic will not be guaranteed, the ASUP chairman said. (NAN) The management of the crisis-ridden Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said it is ready to re-absorb 23 sacked workers if they tender written appeals for pardon by Monday. In a press statement by spokesperson of the institution, Emi Alawode, on Friday, the university explained that the step was to ensure lasting peace in the institution. In a bid to ensure lasting peace in the University, the Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), is set to re-absorb the 23 sacked members of staff of the University, the statement read. Mrs. Alawode said the decision was contained in a communique issued at the end of the 91st Meeting of the Governing Council, held at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja and signed by the Acting Registrar and Secretary to Council, Obafemi Oginni. Owing to series of appeals from within and outside the University community, the Council communique directed that 23 staff, whose appointments were recently terminated, should, within 48 hours, each forward a Letter of Appeal to the Secretary, Council Committee on Investigation of the Lingering Industrial Unrest and Tension, Acting Registrars Office, between Friday, December 16 and Monday, December 19, 2016. She said the meeting also resolved to constitute a Council committee to investigate the lingering industrial unrest and tension in the University. Terms of reference of the committee include: to receive appeals from aggrieved members of staff; to investigate and identify the remote and immediate causes of the unrest and tension, as well as identify the institutional and structural factors responsible for the unrest. Others are: to identify any other predisposing factors to the unrest; to recommend immediate measures for rectifying the current situation; to recommend lasting measures and strategies for conflict-resolution in the University; to make any other recommendations, which may be germane to the maintenance of order and good governance in the University; to ascertain the culpability of persons and groups in the crisis and to propose appropriate sanctions and deterrence for such persons and groups so identified. Mrs. Alawode said the Council also advised all other staff on industrial action to resume at their duty posts immediately, in the best interest of the University and ensure that they do not engage in any conduct that could constitute any breach of peace and good governance in the University. The communique, according to the spokesperson, also enjoined all parties to withdraw all civil cases in the courts to allow the Council Committee to function properly. The Council acknowledged that normal academic and administrative activities are on-going in the University and urges staff to continue to positively contribute towards restoring peace and normalcy in the University, while affirming that Professor Olusola Oyewole, remains the Vice-Chancellor of the University, the statement emphasised. From: falicia12 I am felicia contact me ok feliciawiliams212@gmail.com so that I will send to you my photos and contact number. Thanks, felicia. From: felicia wiliams Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2016 20:24:59 +0000 Subject: My Pictures. Dearest, How was your night over there in your country and the day, i believe you had a nice night and that the atmosphere over there in your country is very nice today? Mine was a little bit warm over here in Dakar Senegal. My name is Felicia Williams, i am (24 yrs) but age doesn't matter in a real relationship, so i am comfortable with your age, I am from Liberia in Africa, 5.4ft tall, fair in complexion, single, (never married) and presently i am residing here in Dakar as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country some years ago. My late father DR FREDRICK D. WILLIAMS he was the managing director of WIKKY COCOA INDUSTRIES (Ltd) in Monrovia (the capital city of Liberia,my country) before the rebels attacked our house one early morning and killed my mother and my father in cold blood. It was only me that is alive now and I managed to make my way to a near by country SENEGAL where i am leaving now as a refugee under a Reverend father's care and i am using his computer to send these message to you. I would like to know more about you.Your likes and dislikes, your hobbies and what you are doing presently. I will tell you more about myself in my next mail.Attached here is my picture. Hoping to hear from you soon Yours forever Felicia From: felicia wiliams Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016 05:38:09 -1200 Subject: HONEY PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP My Dearest, I am more than happy in your reply to my email and very happy to write to you once again. Honestly my condition here in the refugee camp is quite unbearable and i am sick and tired of staying here any longer. Therefore I wish to share with you in confidence that before the incident took place, there was a certain amount of money totaling $1.7 M USD ( One million seven hundred thousand US dollars), which my late father deposited in one of the leading bank out of my country which i am the next of kin before he met his untimely death which claim the life of all my family. Meanwhile all my relatives has ran away and there are no where to be found. Moreover, i wanted to facilitate this agreement by myself, but due to my refugee status, I wish to seek for your assistance of a long standing relationship of your help in transferring this my late fathers money into your account in your country pending my arrival to you to start a new life over there, because my condition here is terrible. Perhaps I disclosed this to you alone by love and trust which i deposed in you and wish the same from you. Therefore, I shall give you the bank contact and other necessary information in my next email if you will only promise me that you will not/never betray and disclosed this matter to anybody, because, this money is the only hope i have for survival on earth since I have lost my parents. Moreover I have my late Father`s DEATH CERTIFICATE here with me, but before I give you further information, I will like to know your data; 1.Your full names 2.Your contact and residential address. Meanwhile, if you wish to speak with me through the phone, call me here +221784637361 Awaiting to hear from you soonest. Thanks for being there for me with trust. Thanks. Yours ever, Felicia. From: felicia wiliams Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2016 23:31:12 -1200 Subject: PLEASE WRITE TO THE BANK WITH THIS INFORMATION Dearest Sweetheart, How are you this day? together with your entire household?. I believe that you are doing well. I am more than happy with your interest to help me solve this problem. Furthermore i choose you for what love is been defined, that is for whom you are, not for what you are. Here is the contact of the bank to write them: Unity Trust Bank Mr. Frank Gibson: Director - Transfer Officer, Mr. Anthony Randal: Foreign/ wire transfer manager Address: NO: 9 Brindley Place, B1 2HB, Birmingham Head office e-mail: (info@utbb.biz.ly) Tel: +447031873806 / +447031889698 / +447031817760 Fax: +448447746520 Name of Depositor: Dr. Fredrick Deon Williams Name of Next of Kin: Miss. elicia Williams Amount Deposited: US$ 1,700,000.00 Date Deposited: 2nd June, 2003 Account Ref No. 20066273 IBAN Number: GB11 CPBK 08600120066273 Swift code: CPBKGB22 Sort Code : 08-60-01 Please i will like you to write to these bank today on how to transfer my late fathers fund to your account over their in your country, Because i have informed them about you but they requested that you should contacted them by your self as my trustee one representative, And also try to include my late fathers account information as i place it here OK. I have mapped out 15% of the total sum for your assistance and 5% for expenses. Please while writing to the Bank, tell them that you are my foreign partner OK God bless you as I wait to hearing from you, Take care and have a nice day. Yours sweetheart, Felicia. Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2016 09:12:35 +0000 (UTC) From: Subject: UNITY TRUST BANK PLC* UNITY TRUST BANK PLC* Registered In United Kingdom,Sort Code: 086001 Equivalent Code: 08-60-01 Unity Trust House, Nine Brindley Place, B1 2HB. Birmingham UK Email Address: info@utbb.biz.ly Tel: +447031838977 Fax: +448447746520 Date: Thursday 7th July. 2016 at 0 0 012 52:30 PM BST For Your Kind Attention Sir. I have been directed by the director of Foreign Operation / Wire Transfer to write you in respect to the mail which we received from your partner today. Actually we have earlier been informed about you by the young lady Miss. Felicia Williams who is (the next of kin to her late father's deposit in our bank here) that she wishes you to be her trustee/representative for the claim of her late father's deposit with our bank. Dr. Fredrick Deon Williams was one of our late customer with sum substantial amount (US $1.700,000,00) he deposited with us before his death. Hence you have been really appointed as a trustee to represent the next of Kin. However before our bank will transact any business concerning the transfer of the fund to your bank, we will like you to send the followings immediately to our bank: 1. A power of attorney permitting you to claim and transfer the funds to your bank account on her behalf. Note: This Power of attorney must be endorsed by a Senegalese resident lawyer (since the money is originated from Africa and the Girl is Currently residing in Senegal) 2. The death certificate of Her deceased father confirming his death. 4. An Affidavit of support from Senegalese high court there in Africa. Note: The above are compulsory, and are needed to protect our interest, yours and the next of kin after the transfer has been made. These shall also ensure that a smooth, quick and successful transfer of the fund is made within 48hrs from when we receive the above named documents. We promise to give our customers the best service around the glob. Should you have any question(s) please contact our transfer officer Mr. Anthony Randal, through our bank office numbers thus:, +447031873806 or +447031889698 for more clarifications and directives. Yours Faithfully, Mr. Frank Gibson From: felicia wiliams Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2016 13:33:58 -1200 Subject: HONEY PLEASE WRITE TO HIM IMMEDIATELY Dearest, Darling thanks for your ability to help me transfer the money to your position pending my arrival to meet with you, it shows you are a dependable and trustworthy man. Listen, before i gave you this information i saw your profile that you matched mine,i have never told any body about this money the only people that knows about it is you and me no one again knows about it unless the rev. (since my parent's are dead). So, i will also advise you to please keep it to yourself because i am afraid of loosing the money to people who will disappoint me when the money gets to their care, and i promise you this from my heart (I AM NOT GOING TO DISAPPOINT YOU) and i equally expect the same from you. Now, regarding the requests the bank needs from us which i have with me here the Fund deposit certificate (which i will send to the bank after the preparation of the other two documents) and the death certificate, (which i will also send to the bank) I thought it's the only thing the bank will need from us but since they need the power of attorney and the affidavit of oath from the high court here in Dakar Senegal. I have informed the Reverend about it and he gave me the contact of this lawyer below,he is a registered lawyer in the United Nations who will help in preparing the documents for us. Please i will like you to contact him through email and phone today,when your contacting him, tell him that you are my Foreign partner and you want him to prepare a power of attorney in your name to enable the transfer of my (Late) father's account in Unity Trust Bank, to your account in Your country. His contact information are as follows, Bar (Dr) Johnson Philip. E -mail address; (johnsonphilip351@gmail.com) His Telephone Number is or +221781332314 So, i will like you to contact him for the preparation of the documents, Please try and contact me when you are in contact with him and let me know if he agrees to help us!. Please i will like you to first of all get the money transferred and from it you can send some money from the account for me to prepare my traveling documents to meet with you. I will be waiting for you soonest. A big hug for you,and kissssss!!!!!!!. From my deepest heart, Yours forever, Felicia From: johnson philip Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2016 21:52:54 -1200 Subject: MY LEGAL FINDINGS FROM THE HIGH COURT aSolicitors And Advocates Name: JohnasonSolicitors And Advocates Name: Johnason Phone Number: +221781332314 Address: Rue 54 Unit 6 Yoff T/G Dakar Senegal. Date: a11Th July. 2016. Attention My Client:aa Sequel to the mail which i received to my noble law firm on how to prepare a power of attorney and swear an affidavit of oath from the high court here for you and your partner. I discussed with the chief judge of the federal high court here in Dakar Senegal, we discussed about the issuing to you an irrevocable power of attorney and an affidavit of oath that will enable you to stand on your partner's behalf to transfer her late father's money from Unity Trust Bank PLC. United kingdom, to your bank account in your country or elsewhere. Prior to my discussion with the chief judge regarding the issue, i made series of inquiries. Below are the cost of the preparation of the documents. * Preparation and authentication of the power of attorney = 240.00 US Dollar * Swearing of the affidavit of oath at the high court for validation = 273.00 US Dollar * Notary Stamping at the Notary office = 30.00 US Dollar * My consultation and legal processing fee = 250.00 US Dollar All totaling = 793.00 US Dollar (Seven Hundred And Ninety Three U.S Dollars) These are what it will cost to get the required documents prepared. You are required to go to the Western Union Money Transfer or Money-Gram and remit the required fees for the fast preparation of the legal documents to my name and address thus: NAME..........JOHNSON PHILIP ADDRESS......RUE 54 UNIT 6 YOFF PASSPORT NUMBER....A035125355 T/G DAKAR SENEGAL. AS SOON AS YOU REMIT THE MONEY, KINDLY SEND THE INFORMATION TO MY LAW-CHAMBERS EMAIL ADDRESS. NOTE; WE COLLECT PAYMENT BEFORE RENDERING SERVICES (AS THE BARRISTER'S LAW OF THE UNITED NATION DEMANDS), FOR A SERVICE OF SUCH MAGNITUDE LIKE YOURS, ATTACHED IS MY CALL TO BARR. CERTIFICATE AND MY INTERNATIONAL PASSPORT, I AM A BRITISH BORN SENEGALESE (RENDERING THE BEST SERVICES TO MY CLIENTS IS MY UTMOST PRIORITY) BARR. (Dr) JOHNSON PHILIP INFORMATION NEEDED (1): FULL NAME................................................................................ (2): FULL ADDRESS....................... .............................................. (3): BANK NAME AND A/C INFORMATION................................. (4): COUNTRY OF ORIGIN..................................................... (5): OCCUPATION.................... ....................................... (6): YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE NUMBER..................... (7): AGE................................................... From: johnson philip Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 05:13:55 -1200 Subject: KIND ATTENTION Kind Attention. In regard to your mail to my noble law-firm, i wish to inform you that your mail has been received and well diagnosed, prior to that, below is my law-chambers account informationwhich you will use to remit the legal charges, any transaction involving his lordship in foreign banks, the government must take tax, therefore, i have means to curtail the tax payment which is %20 of the total sum, that is the reason why i told you to remit through western union, money express or money-gram, but since you found the means peril, kindly remit into the below account and scan the swift payment slip to me. NAME OF THE BANK..... .... BANK OF AFRICA SENEGAL ACCOUNT HOLDER....... ... MARTIN TONY GEORGE BANK ADDRESS.............. YOFF DAKAR SENEGAL ACCOUNT NUMBER............ 0 5 0 0 9 3 5 0 0 0 5 BANK CODE..................... SN100 CODE AGC..................... 01022 RIB..................... 92 SWIFT CODE..................AFRISNDAXXX IBAN.......................... SN08 SN10 0010 2200 5009 3500 0592 From: felicia wiliams Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2016 00:15:45 -1200 Subject: THANKS FOR YOUR PAST EFFORT Hello Dear, I am happy to inform you about my success in getting the fund transferred under the cooperation of a new partner from India, Presently I am in India for investment projects with my new partner with the total money, Meanwhile, I didn't forget all your past efforts and attempts to assist me in transferring those funds despite that it failed us some how, Now you will need to contact the Rev. father in Dakar Senegal, his name is Rev Father Charles and his direct email address is: (johncharles78@hotmail.com) Ask him to kindly send you a certified ATM credit visa card valued of $450.000.00 which I prepared and kept for your compensation for all the past efforts and attempts to assist me in this matter which later failed. I appreciated all your efforts at that time very much.So feel free and get in touched with Rev Father Charles and direct him where to send/post you the bank credit ATM card Please do let me know immediately you receive it so that we can share our joy after all the sufferings at that time., i am very busy here because of the investment projects which myself and my new partner are having at hand. Remember that I had forwarded this instruction to him on your behalf, therefore establish contacts with him for the delivery of the certified ATM credit visa card valued of $450.000.00 to you without delay. Take care and remain Blessed. Yours Sincerely, Felicia. If you received a similar letter, please ignore it. Do not answer it. If you do, you will end up on more of the mailing lists used by the criminals behind this fraud. Read more.... PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. A cozy blanket, a warm cup of tea and a good book for the average literature lover is a way to slip into worlds unknown. But the transformations our brains undergo while reading can be surprising. Some studies indicate reading can change the way we think or feel, so it should come as no surprise that Stanford University researchers found that close literary reading gives your brain a workout. Another study by neuroscientists at Emory University also discovered that reading a novel can improve brain function and help the reader step into the protagonists shoes. With the new year around the corner, many folks may be scrambling to start a new fitness regimen to shed those holiday pounds or start a healthier future. So why not start a reading list and flex your brain? We asked local professors to share a book that influenced them or left an impact on their life. Rich Russell, assistant professor of English at Atlantic Cape Community College One book that I keep returning to is Kate Chopins The Awakening, published in 1899. I remember first reading the novel in Linda Pradys AP English class my senior year at Ocean City High School. My students in 19th century American literature and I just re-read it this past month. I wouldnt say that its my favorite book of all time, but there is something about the protagonists struggle to understand for herself what it means to live an authentic life that appealed to me as a teenager and that I continue to be drawn to when I re-read it with students today. The novel always provokes a lively discussion. Bruce W. Hardy, assistant professor in the department of strategic communication at Temple University Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs and Steel. I had to read this book as an incoming transfer student to Cornell (University) from Corning Community College. It was one of the first books that made me really understand social sciences and that we can answer big questions by looking at a variety of different types of evidence. Ronald D. Block, graduate program adviser at the Department of Writing Arts and Creative Writing and professor at Rowan University As a teenager growing up in a small town in Nebraska, I thought that literature was something that happened someplace else. But then I read Sherwood Andersons Winesburg, Ohio, and I realized that the stories of the people around me were worth telling. I also read Ray Bradburys Martian Chronicles, which made me realize that the stories of Martians were worth telling, too. There are stories everywhere. Emari DiGiorgio, associate professor of writing at Stockton University When I was 18, I discovered Sharon Olds Satan Says. This book showed me that poetry could be messy and loud and irreverent. It was exciting to find a contemporary female voice that was barbaric and elegiac, that championed sex and knew how to love. Janet Brown Marler, associate dean, Academic Support Services at Atlantic Cape Community College As a writer, I love how Tim OBriens novel In the Lake of the Woods combines creative nonfiction techniques with fiction; Im intrigued and inspired by the mashing of genres. The novel follows the disintegration of a senatorial candidates life after accusations of Vietnam War atrocities. By the end of the novel, John Wade has lost the election; his wife is mysteriously missing. Footnotes of real and fictional news reports combine with interviews with friends and family to force the reader to question what in the novel is true and by extension, what is true in life. The novel is especially pertinent now with fake news stories and questions of character dominating the headlines. James Joyces Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man influenced my career choice. A high school English teacher, Mr. McKee, gave me a copy with an inscription advising me to learn from the master artist. A love for all things Joyce ensued especially his short fiction and poetry. When I interviewed for a college internship at the Rosenbach Museum and Library, the curator brought out the manuscript of Joyces novel, Ulysses, for me to hold. I was hooked! I turned down an opportunity to intern at Philadelphia Magazine, and my career as a librarian was launched. Deborah Gussman, professor of American literature at Stockton University In college, I read Virginia Woolfs A Room of Ones Own (1929), a book-length essay about women, literature and freedom, essentially, and I knew somehow that this was something I would be thinking about and working on for the rest of my life. A more recent work called Citizen: An American Lyric (2014), by the poet Claudia Rankine, has provoked and moved me in a different way a collage poem made up of prose, poems, essays, scripts and images, it focuses on the theme of everyday racism in the U.S. While the situations Rankine describes are often harsh and painful to read about, there is in the text something that beckons the reader to connect, to feel and to consider the common humanity that binds us together. It is a book I am certain Ill be re-reading and teaching a lot in the future. Emily Van Duyne, assistant professor of writing and first year studies at Stockton University Whistling Vivaldi, Claude Steele (2010): This was Stocktons common reading in 2015. Steele is a social psychologist who spent years studying, and proving, the idea of stereotype threat, or the realities that existing stereotypes about the ways we identify ourselves (white, black, man, woman, gay, straight, etc.) can dramatically affect our performance in work and life in both negative and positive ways. And when I say prove, I mean the man proved over and over again, in a laboratory, that when someone reminds you that youre a woman just previous to taking a math test, your blood pressure rises, and you do worse on the exam (this is just one example he uses). Steeles work is redemptive evidence that our identities are powerful, socially constructed entities that move with us through the world and that we can, as a human race, move past racism and sexism. In fact, Steele provides concrete ways we can change these realities for the better. An amazing book, and an even better teaching tool. Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, Hilary Mantel (2009, 2012): The first two books in a planned trilogy about Thomas Cromwell, the lawyer and member of Parliament (and about two dozen other fancy titles) and general favorite of Henry VIII. I knew next to nothing about Cromwell when I picked up the first novel (my father bought it for me, like many of my favorite books thanks, Dad!) but am now a huge fan. Mantel makes the point that Cromwells brain, and story, were at least as big as English history, literature and Western epistemology and uses her novels to showcase all three. Opening the books is like stepping into a magical, other world; I didnt want them to end. Now come on and write the third, Hilary! Pretty please? Cynthia King, associate professor of creative writing at Stockton University A book that influenced me a lot is Wise Blood by Flannery OConnor. This book asks us to consider what happens when we hold on to our skepticism and our belief. That, too, can be a kind of faith. The book inspired me to consider the ways people conflict, how together they form a pattern, or even a grotesque lesson. Meanness, human meanness, should probably be looked in the eye, and this book reminds me when I read it that we should face it. Lisa Honaker, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities and professor of British literature at Stockton University George Eliots Middlemarch: This book, to my mind, is the greatest of all 19th century British novels, brings home the idea that the personal is political. A realistic portrait of the fictional town Middlemarch, the novel beautifully illustrates the ways in which highly personal choices (whom to marry, for instance) have consequences not just for the person making them but for the health and well-being an entire community. Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: I grew up across the river from Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twains hometown, so this book has been part of my life from very early on. Ive probably read it 20 times. Even as a child, I loved Hucks decision to stand up to the corrupt pre-Civil War society into which he had been born to go to hell rather than send Jim back to slavery. As an adult, I read the book not just as denunciation of slavery but as Twains indictment of post-Civil War American society, as Hucks heroism is sidelined in favor of Tom Sawyers childish games. {span class=print_trim data-mce-mark=1}Eva Andrei, professor in the Physics Department at Rutgers University {/span} I recently read two popular science books, which I greatly enjoyed: The island of knowledge by Marcelo Gleiser and Spooky Action at a Distance by George Musser. Both books deal with the inherent limits of our knowledge. Gleiser compares our store of knowledge to an island bounded by an ocean of ignorance. As scientists increase the island so does the shoreline of ignorance grow. He brings examples of how the process of increasing our island entailed toppling certainties held sacred the geocentric universe was replaced by a heliocentric one and so on until we realized that there is no center; objective reality was replaced by a relative one where the observer plays a central role; the realm of absolute mathematical truth had to confront the incompleteness theorem. These paradigm shifts were often seeded by some seemingly insignificant but nagging left-over inconsistency in an otherwise perfect worldview, which the mainstream chose to ignore. Musser brings us face to face with our most recent nagging but long ignored paradox. Non-locality or spooky action at a distance as Einstein called it is now a well-established experimental fact. In order to resolve this paradox, physicists now propose that we give up two of the most basic notions that help us make sense of our world: space and time. These concepts, which anchor our reality and are the very underpinning of physics, may have to be replaced by some emergent phenomenon, like a wave in a pond. The consequences are mind-boggling as Musser discusses in his book. These books were thought-provoking page-turners and left me wanting for more. They motivated me to organize a symposium titled Scales of Knowledge: From Action at a Distance to Black Holes and Quantum Information, which will be held at the upcoming 2017 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston. I invited the top experts to discuss these ideas and I am very much looking forward to this event. ATLANTIC CITY For the past three decades, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has been at the center of development funding in the resort. From hotel expansions at casinos to the Atlantic City Expressway Connector, funds from the authority have helped pave the way for the resorts growth. But in two weeks, the agency will no longer receive casino investment alternative taxes, all but eliminating its role in funding future development. The change has left the state agency reassessing its mission. That money, derived from a 1.25 percent tax on gross gaming revenue and a 2.5 percent tax on internet gaming revenue, will now go to the city to help pay off its more than $500 million in debt as part of a state rescue plan. I think theyre going to take about $18 million or $20 million a year. It hasnt affected the budget as much as it will affect in the future our ability to do things, CRDA board Chairman Bob Mulchay said Dec. 6. We have to figure out how were going to be creative and overcome those issues. And frankly, some of it is going to depend on how they restructure the city of Atlantic City and how much they need help to do that. Brown calls on Christie to overturn $225,000 CRDA severance package ATLANTIC CITY Assemblyman Chris Brown called on Gov. Chris Christie Wednesday to overturn As the mission of the authority has changed, so has its leadership. The authority and Executive Director John Palmieri recently agreed to part ways. Palmieri will be replaced at the start of the new year by Chris Howard, deputy director of the authority. While Palmieri has a background in development projects, Howard is an attorney who has previously worked for the states Authority Unit. The unit oversees New Jerseys independent state and bi-state authorities and commissions such as the CRDA. When Palmieri was hired in 2011 from Boston, the authority performed a nationwide search to identify him as the person to lead the agency. Howard will not speak about his new position while Palmieri is still the executive director, according to a statement from the agency. The appointment makes it clear that the governor is behind the new mission, said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Center at Rutgers University. By appointing one of his aides, he is ensuring that happens. Since its inception in 1984, the authority has funded more than $2.1 billion in projects throughout the state, authority records show. Mulcahy said the authority is still in the process of redefining its mission. Boraie's Atlantic City apartment project to break ground this week ATLANTIC CITY Fifty years after the land was cleared in the name of redevelopment, someone The question is how we deal with it in the future, Mulcahy said about how the authority will manage without the IAT funding. Howard, who is a graduate of Rutgers-Camden law school, has political connections to both Republican Gov. Chris Christie and lobbyist Philip Norcross, brother of Democratic powerbroker George Norcross. Howard was hired by the firm Parker McCay, home to Philip Norcross, as an associate in the Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Department in 2013. The appointment, the way it was handled and the $225,000 severance package given to Palmieri have come under fire from Assemblyman Chris Brown and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. On its face, it doesnt make sense to buy out the contract of a nationally recognized economic development expert, pay him $225,000 not to work and then pay an additional $175,000 for a political insider who has no qualifications to fill the job, said Brown, R-Atlantic, adding the authority should do a nationwide search for a replacement. Last weekend, Guadagno compared the payout to a recent attempt by members of the citys Municipal Utilities Authority to give outgoing board members $3,000 gifts, an action that was overturned by Jeff Chiesa, who is in charge of the states takeover of the city. Certainly, questions need to be answered, and a thorough search for a replacement should be conducted, especially given the amount of money a quarter of a million dollars and the recent actions by Sen. Chiesa, rejecting as small a sum as $3,000 Guadagno said. Staff Writer Christian Hetrick contributed to this report. On a bitter December day, Navy veteran Mike Kelly walked in front of the Wildwood Vietnam Memorial wall and pointed out the name of a childhood friend. The friends Kelly lost in Vietnam are memorialized on the wall. But 40 years later, his friends are still dying. And like other veterans, Kelly is sure he knows the cause: Agent Orange. In all reality, Vietnam killed them and its still killing them, he said. They knew what this stuff was doing then. They knew it. There has to be accountability. Fourteen years ago, long after his service in Vietnam, Kelly, 68, of North Cape May in Lower Township, was diagnosed with Stage 4 esophageal cancer. Hes convinced his cancer came from exposure to the powerful herbicide the U.S. military used to destroy lush jungles where enemy fighters could hide. Agent Orange was sprayed over wide areas from planes. But the white dust blew around, clinging to boots and everything else. With children at home, Kelly had only one thought when he heard he had cancer. I wasnt ready to die, he said. I said, Ive got a lot to do. ... I wouldnt give in. The VA presumes anyone who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975 has been exposed to herbicides. Nearly 1.5 million American served during the heaviest use of Agent Orange, from 1967 to 1969. The science on Agent Orange isnt conclusive, and it can be difficult to prove any ailment comes from one direct cause. So veterans continue to fight for recognition that Agent Orange is responsible for their cancers and other diseases and for better health care. A few days earlier, Kelly was chatting with fellow veterans Bill Davenport, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955, Harry Weimar, commander of Wildwood American Legion Post 184, and John Vollrath. They joked easily, but the conversation turned serious when Agent Orange was mentioned. Atlantic County Veterans Museum coming to life In one room, there is a line of mannequins from the Revolutionary War with a wall-length rep Kelly struggled to receive benefits for his cancer from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA has a presumptive list of diseases it recognizes as being connected to Agent Orange. But if a disease isnt on the list, veterans face an uphill fight to prove their ailments are related to their service and to get VA benefits. Vollrath lost a kidney to cancer. Weimar has Parkinsons disease, peripheral neuropathy and diabetes. Both believe their exposure to Agent Orange is to blame. Weimar said the pain in his legs from peripheral neuropathy, or nerve damage, drove him to call a suicide hotline a year ago. Davenport said a quarter of his chapters membership has died from Agent Orange-related diseases in the past 10 years. Youre talking about a membership of 70 men, and 60 of them have significant cancers (or) illnesses in their 50s and 60s. Thats a big percentage, he said. And getting treatment at VA hospitals in Wilmington or Philadelphia can be an excruciating, all-day affair. Even getting an appointment can take weeks. Weimar, Davenport, Kelly and Vollrath said there should be quicker, and closer, care. The biggest problem with the VA is the bureaucracy. Its run by the government. Theyre budgeted. I get theres only so much budget in that pie they can spend, Vollrath said. But its not enough. Its never going to be enough. The men also worry about the effects Agent Orange could be having on their children and grandchildren. Weimar said his three daughters were born with a bruiselike birth defect. Doctors told him they had seen similar things with other Vietnam veterans children. Vollrath had his own scare when his son was diagnosed with leukemia. Hes alive, but I almost lost him, he said. If thats my legacy I left behind after I served my country in Vietnam, thats a hell of a (legacy) to have to live with. Press readers share their Veterans Day stories This is a selection of stories submitted by Press readers. They recount service from World W Slow death Its a slow death that you know eventually is going to get you, said Mike Eckstein, chairman of the Agent Orange/dioxin committee at the New Jersey State Vietnam Veterans of America. If youve been in Vietnam, youve been exposed, period. Bill Mitchell was one of Davenports closest friends. The pair signed up for the military together and were even in each others weddings 45 years ago. Mitchells wife, Peggy, of Middle Township, said her husband received 100 percent disability from the VA when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was the second battle with cancer for Bill Mitchell. He had skin cancer years earlier. Once he was on medication, Peggy watched her husband drop nearly 50 pounds. Mitchell, who had received a Purple Heart, died in January after battling lung cancer for three years. His wife said that for decades before that, he struggled with his memories of the war. Peggy said he wouldnt talk about Vietnam, and he spent 30 years of their marriage self-medicating. His war stories were his nightmare, she said. U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, said its a total disgrace that the VA has treated these veterans the way they have and making it almost impossible for them to get the care they need. Last year, LoBiondo co-sponsored the bipartisan Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which would have given those who served offshore in the Navy presumptive coverage for Agent Orange exposure. But that provision was stripped out of the bill, and LoBiondo said he will reintroduce it in the next Congress. South Jersey answers: What are you thankful for this year? Those of us who are lucky enough to be able to take a seat at a table surrounded by friends Analyzing effects The National Academy of Sciences has been analyzing the effects of Agent Orange for 25 years in tandem with the VA. A recent report found more evidence to suggest a connection with bladder cancer and hyperthyroidism, but less for the birth defect spina bifida. But the science behind Agent Oranges impact is rarely absolute. Dr. Otis Brawley, a chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, said until the 1990s, veterans had higher smoking rates than the general population. So you might expect to see a higher rate in the 16 types of cancer linked to cigarettes. The problem with Agent Orange is that Agent Orange in the laboratory has never been shown to conclusively cause cancer in laboratory animals, he said. I can cite studies where Agent Orange causes birth defects and other diseases, but not cancer. But that doesnt mean (Agent Orange) doesnt cause cancer. Brawley noted that from 1955 until the late 1970s, the evidence for cigarette smoking causing cancer wasnt strong either. Thats one of the reasons why I refuse to say that these people who say Agent Orange causes cancer, that they dont know what theyre talking about, he said. Peggy Mitchell said Bill kept in touch with the VA and up to date on Agent Orange findings, but she said if he had his first X-ray sooner, they may have caught it in time. In the wake of scandals about the state of veterans health care, some VA hospitals are looking for different ways to make care more accessible. Outside the American Legion in Wildwood on a recent Saturday, veterans drifted in and out of a large bus parked out front. Vincent Kane, interim associate director with the VA hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, said the idea behind the mobile medical center was to put care closer to veterans. The real change for the VA has to be how do we get the medical center out of the building and into the communities? said Kane. Its a change, he said, veterans in South Jersey have been asking for. WILDWOOD Federal officials are investigating a partial house collapse Wednesday that sent a house-lifting worker to the hospital with serious injuries. Jonathan Fitzick, 24, of Ocean City, was listed in stable condition Thursday after a beam from the home hit him in the head Wednesday morning and knocked him into the shallow water nearby, Fire Chief Daniel Speigel said. One man injured after house collapse in Wildwood WILDWOOD A house-lifting worker, on his first week on the job, was injured Wednesday and t Fitzick was held in the water for 15 minutes by a chain wrapped around his leg before emergency crews freed him, Speigel said. Fitzick and another worker were attempting to raise the house in the 600 block of West Rio Grande Avenue. He broke his femur and had cuts to his head but is doing well, Speigel said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency within the federal Department of Labor, has launched a probe into the incident, according to Deputy Regional Director Joanna P. Hawkins. Fitzick was in his first week on the job with SJ Hauck, a contractor based in Egg Harbor Township. Chad Hack, operations manager for SJ Hauck, said Wednesdays accident was the companys first that sent an employee to the hospital. Hawkins said the company has no history with OSHA, and the investigation into the collapse could take up to six months. On Thursday, employees from SJ Hauck were back at the site trying to secure the house, which was exposed by the collapsed floor. We set up a safe work area, said Raymond Poudrier, the citys construction official. Theyre going to set the steel piece that fell. Theyre just going to raise it up to kind of hold up everything. Poudrier said an independent engineer will examine the site after it is secured and determine what the next step is for the property. The home juts out over the water and is reached by a walkway. Due to the nature of the collapse, Poudrier said, he notified residents of six other homes that use the walkway that they wouldnt be able to access their properties from land until further notice. He said all of those homeowners use their properties as summer homes. Update: Worker in stable condition after Wildwood house collapse WILDWOOD A house-lifting worker was listed in stable condition Thursday after being injure Mayor Ernie Troiano said state regulations forbid homeowners from tearing down and rebuilding houses such as the one that collapsed Wednesday because of the propertys proximity to water. He is critical of the restrictions. Theyre jacking houses all over the place, Troiano said. Theyre old, he added. They should just be torn down and rebuilt. Staff Writer Lauren Carroll contributed to this report. LOWER TOWNSHIP An officer accompanied by a bomb-sniffing German shepherd weaved through lines of cars while another officer inspected underneath the vehicles with a mirror before passengers boarded the Cape May-Lewes Ferry on a recent weekday. Col. Richard Arroyo, police administrator for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, said security is taken extremely seriously at the ferry that shuttles more than 1 million passengers and vehicles between South Jersey and Delaware each year. And it should be, according to a recent state report. The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness report says ferries are more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than many other modes of transportation. This is because they transport large volumes of people, have limited security and offer minimal escape options during incidents, according to the report released last month. Ferry terminals do not have identification requirements, and passengers and vehicles do not undergo the type of screening procedures that are commonplace at airports, the state review said. The Cape May-Lewes Ferry, which is overseen by the DRBA, faces a unique challenge. Its the only ferry system in the state that transports vehicles, the report said. Arroyo declined to specify the full extent of the security protocols at the ferry for fear of compromising those measures. In all locations, we have visual security checks and nonvisual security checks, he said. Kathie Lyons, 74, of Bowie, Maryland, was getting ready to board the ferry at the Cape May terminal as authorities screened the vehicles. She has taken rides on the ferry for decades and has never felt unsafe. I feel very secure, she said. I think of the ferry as a very safe place. Last year, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry transported 266,149 vehicles and 782,241 passengers, according to the report. The DRBA also oversees the Cape May Airport, the Millville Airport, the Forts Ferry Crossing, the Delaware Memorial Bridge and additional facilities in Delaware. All the employees seem to be aware of whos there, Lyons said. Pleasantville man arrested after standoff at Bass Pro Shop ATLANTIC CITYA Pleasantville man was arrested after a standoff with Atlantic City police ou Authorities in France beefed up security at the Port of Marseille after a bomb scare in July, but there have been no recent plots or attacks on ferries in the United States in recent years, according to state review. New Jerseys busiest ferry system carries more than 8 million passengers a year between North Jersey and New York, the report said. A federal regulatory council voted this week in favor of drastically cutting next summers flounder harvest, despite strong protest from South Jersey fishermen and politicians. No final state bag or size limits were decided at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meetings in Baltimore, but the organization did approve a 40 percent reduction in the coast-wide summer flounder catch for 2017. South Jersey fishermen plan to fight proposed flounder restrictions South Jersey-based businesses and fishermen are worried by a proposal calling for drastic cu The number is subject to change pending data still coming in from this seasons catch, but fishermen targeting fluke will likely face much stricter controls on the fish they can keep next summer. The stock is currently in a state of overfishing, said Kiley Dancy, a fishery management specialist at the council. Its not looking great right now. Local government leaders and fishing-related business owners fear the new regulations could hurt South Jerseys economy. Basically, I came out of there understanding that they want to shut down fishing, said Robin Scott, owner of Ray Scotts Dock in Margate, who attended the meetings. Jim Donofrio, executive director of the New Gretna-based Recreational Fishing Alliance, has even vowed to appeal the decision by asking President-elect Donald J. Trumps incoming administration to strike down the restrictions. Bob Martin, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, said he was greatly disappointed by the decision to tighten controls on flounder. In effect, these actions will result in a moratorium on one of our most important recreational fish species, Martin said in a statement Thursday. These current and prior actions taken by the Commission and Council will cripple recreational and commercial fishing in New Jersey and will be felt sharply throughout our shore economy, he added. Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th, co-wrote a letter earlier this week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in an attempt to get the agency to reconsider its recommendation to set an all-time low harvest limit. New Jersey bag and size limits could range anywhere from three fish at 18 inches to two fish at 19 inches, according to example regulations included in the draft addendum approved at the council meeting. The flounder season length could vary from around 80 days to over 100 days. We strive to put in some example measures to give people a representation of what the measures will look like for the upcoming summer, said Kirby Rootes-Murdy, senior Fishery Management Plan Coordinator for summer flounder at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, another agency that regulates the industry. Tautog keeping fishers busy enough when conditions favorable Fishing is decent when conditions ease up and allow fishers to take their boats out into the ocean. Rootes-Murdy said the final bag and size limits could be set as early as March 1, after public hearings in January and another meeting later that month. NOAA Fisheries can supersede state regulations if it is determined the regulations wouldnt keep numbers under the harvest limit, according to the addendum. The new Millennium Child Care & Language Development Center in Linwood is the latest recipient of the charitable fundraising of Elijah and Isaiah Langford and their DEMCATS organization. Elijah, 24, and Isaiah Langford, 19, donated gifts totaling more than $1,000 to the center Thursday. It blew me away, said Jacqueline Johnson, the centers founder. The preschool, which opened in August, addresses the needs of children who have communication impairments, Johnson said. Johnson was told the Langford brothers would be dropping off a DVD player and some DVDs because her small business did not have any educational DVDs. Johnson was surprised by what else they brought with them. The Langfords, who live in Atlantic City and are the sons of former Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, also delivered a 40-inch smart TV, 30 boxes of cereal, undergarments, toys and school supplies. This isnt just an Atlantic City organization, said Elijah Langford, who added he has received some criticism for donating to a Linwood business. We have done things in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Newark (Essex County). Elijah Langford said he brought up the idea of helping the school out to his younger brother. The brothers made their surprise donation in memory of their sister, Mariah Langford, who died at age 4 in 2003. Mariah was born with trisomy 13, a chromosome defect. She was originally given less than a month to live by medical professionals, but she defied the odds. A kindergarten aide in Atlantic City, Elijah Langford made a donation himself, and then, he approached family, friends and business owners. Isaiah Langford said the school was not expecting all the stuff they brought. The aides and the teachers were very happy and grateful, Isaiah Langford said. The kids were super excited. They rushed to open everything. Whenever they ask for donations for one of their campaigns, they find that people are willing to give because they know their money will bring about change, Isaiah Langford said. In July, the Langford brothers collected 25 box fans, which were distributed to senior citizens at the New York Avenue Apartments in Atlantic City. The road to recovery from a near-fatal gunshot wound to the head is a long one. And it can be anything but smooth. Wounded Atlantic City Police Officer Joshlee Vadell, 29, made a brief return to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Campus, the Monday after Thanksgiving, said Brenden Shur, a family friend. The appointment was to close a wound in his head, but an infection was found near his brain, Shur said. A heavy dose of antibiotics took care of the infection, and Vadell is home in Egg Harbor Township with his wife, Laura, and their three children, Shur said. Meanwhile, fundraising efforts to help Vadell have ramped up: A GoFundMe account recently surpassed $125,000. Vadell, a nine-year veteran of the department, responded to an armed robbery outside Caesars casino parking garage in the early morning of Sept. 3. He was shot as he exited his patrol car, police said. Two of the men charged with attempted murder in connection to the Vadell case, Martel D. Chisolm, 29, of Millville, and Demetris Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, are in the Atlantic County Jail and are awaiting trial. The Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said the third suspect in the case, Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden, is believed to be the person who shot Vadell. Damon was shot and killed at the scene by Vadells partner, who has not been identified. Local businessman Coby Frier created the This Blue Life Matters GoFundMe account the day Vadell was shot. Since then, fundraising goals of $50,000 and $100,000 have been met and surpassed. The latest goal is $200,000, and 1,266 donors had contributed $125,531 as of Thursday. Frier is indirectly responsible for the newest fundraiser that has started to raise money for Vadell and his family. Roy Greenblatt, owner of Matt Blatt Kia in Egg Harbor Township, is a friend of Frier. Earlier this month, arrangements were made through Matt Blatt Kia to trade in the Vadells car for a Suburban, so Vadells wheelchair could fit into the SUV along with his family, Frier said. Greenblatt met the Vadells for the first time last week. All five radio stations of Northfields Townsquare Media, including Cat Country WPUR-FM 107.3, Lite Rock WFPG-FM 96.9 and ESPN WENJ-FM 97.3, will air promotional spots asking people to donate to Vadells GoFundMe account, Frier said. Matt Blatt Kia will match all the donations made during the last two weeks of this year, up to $10,000, Frier said. We want to keep the funding going, Frier said. Ocean County contractor indicted in Sandy fraud {child_byline}STEPHANIE LODER Staff Writer {/child_byline} A contractor was indicted this week after investigators say he took money from more than a dozen Ocean County homeowners following Hurricane Sandy, then failed to do the repair work on their houses. Jamie Lawson, 41, owner of Lawson Renovations aka J&N Construction, was indicted Wednesday, according to a statement issued Friday by Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato. Investigators allege Lawson took money from 14 homeowners in Toms River and Brick townships, then did either no work or less than contracted services on their homes. He allegedly used the money for vehicles and personal expenses, Coronato said. Lawson moved to New Jersey shortly after Sandy and applied to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs to be licensed as a home improvement contractor. The state licensed Lawson based upon his material misrepresentations on the application including his failure to disclose criminal convictions in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. He later began taking contracts to perform Sandy-related renovations and demolition/new home construc-tion. The specific counts of the indictment include: money laundering of over $75,000, six counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of more than $75,000, nine counts of theft by failure to make required disposition more than $500 and less than $75,000, tampering with public records for submitting a fictitious home improvement contractor application and one count of unregistered home improvement contracting. Ocean County Superior Court Judge Patricia B. Roe set bail on the indictment warrant at $150,000, restricted him from engaging in home improvement and building contracts and required him to surrender his passport. The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted in cooperation with the Brick Police Department, Toms River Police Department, Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs and New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. Anyone who has not reported a theft and believes they have been defrauded by Lawson or J&N Construction should call Sgt. Mark Malinowski of the Economic Crime Unit of Ocean County Prosecutors Office at 732-929-2027, ext. 4032. {child_tagline} {/child_tagline} Avalon has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying an erroneous interpretation of federal law may imperil its future beach-replenishment projects. The suit stems from an attempt to prevent neighboring Stone Harbor from drawing sand from Hereford Inlet to complete a federally funded beach replenishment. Because beach projects for Avalon and Stone Harbor are linked, the borough argues, such an action could put its own future beach-fill projects in jeopardy. Sand from Hereford Inlet, which lies south of Stone Harbor, has been used for federally funded beach projects in the past. But as of 2014, the inlet is considered part of the Coastal Barrier Resource System. The Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that this means federal money cant be used to pump sand from the inlet. Avalon Business Administrator Scott Wahl said Stone Harbor worked out a deal with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to preserve the upcoming replenishment project, tentatively scheduled for this spring, by using other funding to pump the sand. But Avalon is still pursuing the litigation, arguing the agencies ruling was wrong. The application of this act was arbitrary, capricious, while defying past practice and common sense, Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. He said a hearing is scheduled in U.S. District Court on Jan. 12. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Gavin Shire said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. In 2002, Avalon and Stone Harbor signed a 50-year beach-replenishment deal with the Army Corps called the Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet Project, which provides for replenishment every three years. Wahl said the borough hopes the court will stop the Fish and Wildlife Service from applying the Coastal Barriers Resource Act to Hereford Inlet in future rounds of funding. Avalon, which pulls its sand from Townsends Inlet, to its north, will still receive the federal funding for the beach fill. But the boroughs future sand replenishment is tied to what happens in Stone Harbor. If one doesnt happen, neither happens, so were kind of all in this together, Wahl said of the Stone Harbor and Avalon projects. Wahl said the Army Corps went out to bid on the project over the summer. He said the problem with using Hereford Inlet wasnt brought up until the bids were opened. According to Army Corps spokesman Steve Rochette, a $9.8 million contract was awarded to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company this week for the project, which calls for 145,000 cubic yards of sand for Avalon and 210,000 cubic yards for Stone Harbor. He said there is an option for an additional 250,000 cubic yards for Avalon, for a total of approximately 605,000 cubic yards of sand in the project area. Rochette said the anticipated start date is some time this winter. The federal government will pay 65 percent of the cost of Avalons project. The state and the municipality will pay 35 percent. The state and local share is split 75 percent state and 25 percent municipal. Wahl said the boroughs initiated action immediately to make sure the beach fill will go on as planned. Originally posted on Dec. 16, 2016: AVALON A property owner is seeking compensation for a small plot of land on the beach that he claims the borough took through inverse condemnation, according to a suit filed in October in Cape May County Superior Court. This is really the final chapter of a story that started years ago, said Richard Hluchan, an attorney with Hyland Levin LLP in Marlton. William Pfirrman, of Sarasota, Florida, is seeking payment for the property on the dune, as well as any interest accrued since 1965, which is when he believes the property was taken, according to Hluchan. Marcus Karavan, an attorney representing the borough, called Pfirrmans complaint frivolous in a response filed Friday and asked the court to dismiss the claim. According to Pfirrmans suit, the 3,600-square-foot lot near 73rd Street has been in his family since 1927. After the March 1962 noreaster, which heavily damaged shore towns, the borough began a massive-dune building effort along the beachfront, in some instances on private property, which was completed in 1965. Pfirrman claims he inherited the land in 1972 and paid taxes on it until the second quarter of 2013, although he has no access to it other than borough-owned land. The property, which consists of two lots, is zoned public conservation and cannot be built on. Pfirrman is hardly the first Avalon resident to sue over inverse condemnation in Avalon related to the 62 storm. In 2010, Ed and Nancy Klumpps case against the borough went to the New Jersey Supreme Court, where the court sided in their favor. Hluchan represented the Klumpps as well as three other Avalon property owners in similar cases. At the time, however, attorney William L. Ward of Florham Park, who specialized in eminent-domain cases, called the Klumpp case unique and not precedent-setting due to the circumstances surrounding the taking. The Klumpps, who lived in Moorestown at the time, argued the borough never notified them the land was no longer theirs, and the Klumpps had continued to pay taxes on the property until 2008. A trial court later awarded the family $284,000 for the 90-by-100-foot parcel on the beach at 75th Street. The same day as the Supreme Court decision for the Klumpps, another property owner in Avalon was denied compensation in a similar case because the owner was properly informed at the time of dune construction. There is a six-year statute of limitations. On Tuesday, Karavan said the borough acquired the title to Pfirrmanns property years ago. You have a Constitutional right to be compensated for your property. Theres no taking without just compensation. That being said, properties can be forfeited for a number of other circumstances, Karavan said. There was a ruling many years ago that indicated that the properties were forfeited after a certain period of time. He said the property, located on a dune on the beach, is controlled by many state regulations and not buildable. According to a searchable database of Avalons tax records, the property is listed as owned by Pfirrmann with a value of zero. The database, which is available through the boroughs website, notes the last payment date as Aug. 6, 2012, although the amount of the payment was unavailable. Public tax records from the state show the property was valued at $100 in 2012. In 2013, the block and lot were no longer listed in the records. Hluchan said his client didnt receive notification that the property was no longer his until recently. He was very surprised to get that notice that it was reduced to zero, Hluchan said. He tried to send Avalon a check, and they sent it back. Hluchan said Pfirrmans case is bolstered by the fact that they claim the borough has been sending him tax bills. Basically because Avalon never notified the land owners, they kept sending them tax bills, so why would the property owners think that anything was amiss? he said. Hluchan said he is unaware of any similar cases pending in court. J. Scott Abbott, a land use attorney from Margate, said protection against inverse condemnation is afforded through the United States Supreme Court, and that a property owner must be compensated justly. Its a constant evolving concept, this inverse condemnation rule, said Abbott. It will be a very interesting case, but very necessary. PLEASANTVILLE Andrew Loesser says he would be dead if he hadnt gotten into a sober home after going through heroin detox just last week. He has had a heroin addiction for seven years, repeating the cycle of rehabilitation and using over and over. But the 27-year-old Trenton man hopes this time will be the one that sets him on the path of sobriety. Loesser is the first resident of Stevens Place, a new sober-living home in Pleasantville run by the Stop the Heroin organization. Founders Bill and Tammy Schmincke, of Egg Harbor Township, said sober-living homes are needed now more than ever, during a time of increasing drug activity, overdoses and deaths at the local, state and national levels. Nobody wakes up wanting to be a heroin addict, Tammy said. But it starts with someone getting an injury, getting a pain script after surgery, kids experimenting with whats in Grandpa or Grandmas medicine cabinet. The state Medical Examiners Office says 1,587 people died in New Jersey from drug-related deaths in 2015. The Schminckes lost their son, Steven, 26, in March to a heroin overdose. They found him unresponsive in their home on Easter weekend. Since then, the couple has started an organization that promotes addiction education and awareness and raises money to help people transition to sober living after rehabilitation. They said they always had the intent to open their own sober living home. Such homes allow recovering addicts to live in a group setting if they maintain sobriety. This house is only here because (Steven) is gone, Tammy said, tearing up. People are listening because his story is so important. We need to go further into the trenches to help people and prevent other families from what we went through. Mike McGaffney, of Pleasantville, will serve as the house manager for Stevens Place. Wearing a black sweatshirt that read, To Hell With Heroin, he helped Loesser hang shelving and a picture of Steven Schmincke on the wall of the living room Wednesday afternoon. McGaffney said he hopes to help struggling addicts rediscover sober living, as he did four years ago after struggling with addiction for more than 30 years, some of that time while homeless in Atlantic City. After going through multiple overdoses and resulting comas, he made serious efforts to quit. I got sick and tired of what the disease was doing to me, he said. I want to help show these people how to live again by example. For us, doing the everyday things is big. We have our own language and try to lift each other up just to get another day clean. Loesser, fresh out of a detox program, said gaps in the system made it hard for him and others with drug issues to get into places such as sober living homes. He almost had to go back to his old neighborhood when a placement was delayed, he said. He would have been right back to using drugs if that happened, he said. My mom now knows that Im living somewhere thats safe, he said. Loesser and McGaffney said they have seen too many friends and loved ones taken by addiction. McGaffney said he watched his brother die many years ago from an overdose. And now that new, more powerful drugs are on the market, others will die as well. I know guys are mixing it, becoming street pharmacists, he said. And when you hear about someone overdosing from something really strong and powerful, you go out looking for it, because you believe youre smarter than them and wont overdose. An open house will be held for Stevens Place at 6 p.m. Thursday at 17 Lehigh Ave. The home can host as many as 10 residents. They are accepting donations in money or items such as food, toiletries, bedding, twin beds and household products. Loesser said its hard to look too far into the future and think about what his life could look like in a year, but what he can do is focus on getting through another day sober another chance to beat addiction. Guys like McGaffney always give me hope, he said, but its always about the next 24 hours. The state has been unable to determine the cause of death of more than 200 red-winged blackbirds in Cumberland County last month, the Department of Environmental Protection said. Its Division of Fish and Wildlife completed a review of necropsy, toxicology and histopathology tests of birds collected from two recent die-offs in rural Stow Creek Township, but the results were inconclusive. About 200 birds died suddenly Nov. 22. About two dozen died Nov. 3. "We cannot rule out some sort of pesticide poisoning because of the highly localized nature of the mortalities," said DEP spokesman Larry Hajna. He said the state ruled out pesticides commonly known to be toxic to wildlife and determined the deaths were not likely caused by compounds reported in wheat seed planted in the area or by infectious disease. Necropsies performed at the Department of Agricultures Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory found internal bleeding and trauma from the birds hitting the ground but no obvious evidence of chemical poisoning, he said. Toxicology tests looked for a large array of pesticides, including those used to control nuisance birds, and did not detect any, he said. Histopathology tests, which look for changes in tissues, found no evidence of cellular changes as the result of disease or chronic exposure to a toxin, Hajna said. Wheat seed from a nearby farmers field was tested at the University of Pennsylvania and no chemical compounds were detected. But the farmer provided information to DEPs Bureau of Pesticides that the seed was treated with the fungicides difenoconazole, Mefenoxam and Sedaxane and the insecticide Imidacloprid, according to DEP. Those compounds are not considered to be very toxic to birds, said Hajna, so likely did not cause the deaths. It is legal and no permit is required for farmers or other landowners to poison blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles and magpies if they damage crops or livestock feed, cause a health hazard or structural damage, or to protect an endangered or threatened species. Those birds are exempted from federal protections for other migratory birds because of their potential to do damage and because their population numbers are robust, according to the federal government. Up to 5,000 red-winged blackbirds that fell from the sky Dec. 31, 2010, in Beebe, Arkansas, had no disease or toxins in their systems, according to a Jan. 6, 2011, report in the Wisconsin News. Instead, they had likely been frightened by New Years Eve fireworks into flying at night, and being poor flyers in the dark, they flew into homes, cars and power lines. New Jersey Audubons Vice President for Stewardship John Cecil has said his organization, which works to protect birds in the state, doesnt see farmers use of poisoned seed to kill blackbirds as a big issue. Habitat loss is of much greater concern to the organization, he said, and often blackbirds and invasive species such as European starlings outcompete native birds such as bluebirds, causing native species to decline. In 2012, a die-off of 200 to 300 blackbirds in Millville was traced back to a farmers legal use of an avicide. In that case, dead birds fell into a suburban neighborhood, causing widespread alarm. AVALON - A Moorestown couple is asking the state's highest court to consider whether the borough stole a beachfront parcel from them after the great northeaster of 1962. Edward and Nancy Klumpp's Nantucket-style home on 75th Street was destroyed by the infamous storm. The couple looked into rebuilding the home over the years, and in 1997 applied for a coastal permit. By then, the borough had built an extensive network of dunes along the ocean to protect people from future coastal storms. The case has resonated among coastal towns across New Jersey. Avalon has fielded calls from a dozen other beach towns that also have vacant beachfront lots in private hands, Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. A state Appellate Court this year sided with the borough, marking a second victory for Avalon over recent efforts by homeowners to rebuild on the beach. A lower court ruled in 2008 that the borough effectively took possession of the property after the storm when it built the dunes and made other public improvements. The couple was obligated to seek compensation years ago, when they first learned that Avalon was turning their beachfront lot into a protective dune, the court said. The state Appellate Court agreed, saying the borough effectively claimed the property through inverse condemnation - a process of taking land for the public good without paying compensation to the owners. "Inverse condemnation occurred here by both the borough's physical occupation of plaintiffs' property for public use and its adoption of the regulatory scheme to support the protection of the engineered sand dune," the court ruled. Months after the storm, the borough launched a property-exchange program to compensate homeowners whose lots were being converted to public dunes. But the Klumpps could not reach an agreement on compensation at the time, according to their lawyer, Richard Hluchan. The Klumpps' initial complaint was for street access to the now-landlocked property - one of the conditions needed to obtain a building permit. Hluchan filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court, along with friend-of-the-court briefs from the Builders League of South Jersey, the property-rights group The Pacific Legal Foundation and the New Jersey Land Title Association. "It was only in 2005 that the borough dreamed up this idea that they owned it because they took it in 1962. There is not a shred of evidence to support this," Hluchan said. He noted the borough sends property notices to the Klumpps about neighborhood zoning issues. Until the lower-court decision, the property was listed in the couple's name in tax records. The owners paid property taxes continuously since 1962. According to court records, the property is assessed at just $100. The annual tax bill amounts to just 46 cents. "They saw this as a way to steal my clients' property without paying one cent," Hluchan said. "The Constitution says that you cannot take property without paying just compensation. My clients have title to this land. The courts can't just strip people of title to the land unless they go to court to condemn the property." Avalon won a similar court argument in 2007 over Henry Raab and his sister, Clara Montagna. The siblings wanted the borough to pay for a beachfront lot at 76th Street that, likewise, had been covered in dunes since the 1962 storm. "It's getting a little ridiculous," the mayor said. "They lost (the property) after the '62 storm and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set the dune line and said there will be no construction past it." Pagliughi said the borough's coastline has about 20 other privately owned lots - former beachfront cottages that met the same fate after the storm and were replaced with dunes. "From the research we did, there were public hearings back then. The people were given notice they had to approach the municipalities to get compensation," he said. Borough solicitor Michael Donohue represented the borough in the lawsuit. Donohue, who is running for 1st District Assembly, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Contact Michael Miller: 609-463-6712 How long does it take some politicians to repudiate the overwhelmingly expressed will of the people? In the case of Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, D-Essex, and a couple of former governors, less than a month. On Nov. 8, New Jersey voters resoundingly rejected a constitutional amendment proposed by North Jersey interests to allow casino gambling outside of Atlantic City. The nearly 80 percent vote against the plan for two upstate casinos was the largest defeat of a ballot question in state history. Yet before the month was out, Caputo was pushing a scheme to authorize slot machines at the Meadowlands Racetrack site of a proposed casino had the referendum passed and other N.J. horseracing tracks. And when former Govs. Donald DiFrancesco and Jim McGreevey came to Atlantic City for a League of Municipalities conference in mid-November, they told the gathering they supported slot machines at racetracks. As the Greater Atlantic City Chamber had warned, North Jersey gambling advocates had been working on the next stage of their push well before Election Day. Caputos scheme to disregard state voters would depend on reviving a mischaracterization that has become absurd since it was made in 1982. Thats when an attorney general ruled that video lottery terminals allowing betting on the outcome of a game displayed on a video screen wouldnt be subject to the N.J. Constitutions limit of casino gaming to Atlantic City. Since then, all slot machines have become video slot machines, and the outcomes of all including so-called video lottery terminals are determined by random number generators. When the slot machines proposal got nowhere in the Legislature, Caputo turned to another possible end run around voter rejection of casino expansion. A new measure he cosponsors would authorize internet gaming cafes at racetracks with gambling on machines connected to the internet. Online gambling already is allowed in New Jersey under a 2013 law when done through websites licensed by existing Atlantic City casino operators. Players can bet via computers, tablets or smartphones as long as theyre within the states boundaries. Critics say this Caputo proposal also would allow machines that look and operate like slot machines, effectively turning N.J. horseracing tracks into the equivalent of the racinos found in New York State. Supporters of the legislation authorizing internet gaming cafes say it could be written to require Atlantic City casinos to operate them, leasing space from racetracks. But the Casino Association of New Jersey quickly rejected the bill as an affront to the residents of this state who have clearly voted against the very activity it seeks to permit. We think Caputo, other officials and racetrack operators should accept the referendum result. State leaders also need to rethink their motivation for attempting to counter the diminishing public interest in betting on horse races. Government once made a strong case that it could minimize gamblings criminal and destructive aspects while generating revenue for public purposes. But the more officials promote gambling, the more they appear to put their interest in revenue ahead of the public welfare. A Virginia man with a history of bank robberies and drug abuse was arrested and charged with robbing the Wells Fargo bank in Atlantic City on Friday. He is also suspected of the TD Bank robbery in Ocean City on Thursday, authorities said. On Thursday, a man later identified through surveillance photos as Bruce Higgins Jr. walked into the TD Bank in Ocean City and presented a teller with a note demanding money, authorities said. It was a method he had used before, threatening violence to get cash but never actually hurting anyone, authorities said. His photo was captured on surveillance equipment and distributed to local law enforcement. At the time, police did not know his name. Atlantic City police Officers James Bower and Anthony Grajales later recognized Higgins, 42, from a previous interaction and notified Ocean City police, police said in a news release. Higgins was once an IT professional with a six-figure salary. In 2009, he became hooked on cocaine and heroin and began robbing banks in the Washington, D.C., and Virginia area, according a 2009 Washington Post story. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Once law enforcement knew who the suspect was, they alerted local TD Bank branches and instructed them to hit their emergency alarm if Higgins entered a bank, authorities said. On Friday, while FBI agents and Atlantic City police officers searched for Higgins in Atlantic City, he walked into the TD Bank at 15 N. Pennsylvania Ave. Bank employees hit the alarm and Higgins walked out of the bank without speaking to anyone, authorities said. It was not clear whether he knew an alarm had gone off. Officer Brian Fleming was the first officer on scene, where a witness told him Higgins had gotten into a cab and left. The witness gave police the cab number, and it was soon located at South Carolina and Atlantic avenues, but Higgins was already gone, authorities said. Officers saw him a few blocks away on South Carolina Avenue, having already robbed the Wells Fargo bank, authorities said. Officers Brent Dooley, Jeffrey Hannon, Valmir Loga, Bryan ONeill and John Sharkey approached Higgins and ordered him to the ground. Higgins refused to comply and it took officers several minutes to take him into custody, authorities said. Higgins gave the Wells Fargo bank teller a note indicating he had a gun, authorities said. The teller turned over more than $1,000 in cash, which police recovered, and no gun was found, authorities said. Higgins is wanted by the Cape May County Prosecutors Office for questioning in the robbery of the TD Bank in Ocean City. The FBI Baltimore Divisions Violent Crimes Task Force also wants Higgins for questioning in robberies at two banks and a grocery store in Maryland. Higgins was charged with robbery and sent to the Atlantic County jail. His bail was not immediately available. Anyone with information is urged to call the Atlantic City Police Department Criminal Investigations Section at 609-347-5766. Information can be texted to TIP411 (847411). Begin the text with ACPD. All texts are anonymous. Anyone with information about the bank robbery in Ocean City is urged to call the Cape May County Prosecutors Office at 609-465-1135 or the FBI Atlantic City Resident Agency at 609-677-6400. Erin Serpico and Steve Hughes You could forgive Edward and Nancy Klumpp, a Moorestown couple, for thinking that they've fallen down Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole. Their legal battle with the Borough of Avalon over its seizure of their beachfront parcel has transported them into a world where - to quote Lewis Carroll's Alice - "Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't." The New Jersey Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the Klumpps' case, so they may yet be rescued from the topsy-turvy world of Avalon's bureaucrats, who have behaved as if basic property rights protections can be ignored and government is free to grab land without paying for it. Because core constitutional rights are at issue, the case carries implications for everyone who owns a home or other property in New Jersey and beyond. Avalon's own records have listed the Klumpps as owners of their beachfront land for nearly 50 years. The Klumpps have received regular property tax bills and they've duly paid them. So imagine their shock four years ago when Avalon suddenly claimed that it - not the Klumpps - had actually owned the land for more than four decades. In essence, Avalon is trying to make the Klumpps' property interest vanish - like the disappearing Cheshire Cat in Alice's tale. The seeds of the dispute go back to 1962, when the great northeaster destroyed the Klumpps' seaside home. Following the storm, the borough came onto the Klumpps' land to build protective sand dunes - but it did so without securing their permission, and after constructing the dunes, it ended up blocking the road that led into their property. A decade later, seeking a permit to rebuild their beach house, the Klumpps asked a court to guarantee their access to their land. The borough's first response acknowledged that the Klumpps did indeed own the property. But in 2005, in a legal motion of its own, Avalon changed its tune, claiming - for the first time - that ownership had transferred to the borough in 1962 when it trespassed on the parcel for sand dune construction. As things now stand, the Klumpps will probably never get to rebuild. In addition to the ownership battle, they're hampered by a web of regulations to protect the sand dunes, and contracts between the borough, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers. But shouldn't the Klumpps at least be paid for having their property taken? The Fifth Amendment requires reimbursement when private land is appropriated for public use. Instead of honoring this principle, the borough is fighting to be recognized as owner of the Klumpps' land without having to give them a penny. Astonishingly, earlier this year a New Jersey state appellate court sided with Avalon. In a decision that one legal commentator has described as "Kafkaesque," the court held that the borough had, in fact, taken effective ownership of the property in 1962, but that the Klumpps weren't owed money because the taking occurred through "inverse condemnation." The decision turned the "inverse condemnation" concept inside out. Correctly understood, it is a legal action launched against, not by, the government. And a successful inverse condemnation action results in exactly the opposite of the court's decision: The property owners are reimbursed, because government has denied them the use of their land. As the New Jersey Supreme Court takes up the Klumpps' case, the stakes are high. If the appellate decision is not reversed, don't be surprised if we see other communities adopt Avalon's scheme for taking over private land without the inconvenience of formal notice, eminent domain proceedings, and reimbursement. In a "Through the Looking Glass" world where "reality" is what bureaucrats say on any day, agencies could intrude on private property for some ostensibly public purpose, and claim, years later, that - presto - this intrusion transformed a private place into a public space. Constitutional property protections must be safeguarded and enforced against such arbitrary government actions. Avalon's strategy must not become a blueprint for communities to evade the Fifth Amendment mandate that property must be paid for, not stolen. Luke A. Wake is an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, which litigates nationwide in defense of constitutional property rights. PLF has submitted a friend of the court brief to the New Jersey Supreme Court in support of the Klumpps' property rights. Gov. Chris Christies dream of joining the Trump administration and leaving his New Jersey troubles behind ended because newspapers held him accountable for Bridgegate, botched pension reform and a host of other administration shortcomings. Now he wants revenge, trying to rush a surprise plan to politicize newspaper legal advertising through the Legislature in the last days of 2016. Hes buying support for it from some Democratic leaders by promising to sign a big increase in funding for each legislators district office. The plan would end the requirement that local governments publish their legal notices in newspapers of record and allow officials to do so only when they approve of how newspapers have covered them. Newspapers might lose a small amount of revenue, but the public would get less accountability of its public officials and lose the government transparency of legal notices published in a single, easily accessed place. State law requires governments to notify the public of many important matters that affect people. In this region lately, foreclosures and sheriffs sales have dominated such legal disclosures in newspapers, but there are also announcements of new laws, public hearings, government contracts and much more. Christie and some legislators want to let government entities instead put such announcements on an internet site of their own creation. The notices would appear on hundreds of websites across the state, indexed somewhere on the state governments unwieldy website. A similar push was attempted and stalled in early 2012, and without this years plum for Christie changing state law to allow him to profit from a book contract while still in office. The current requirement that all legal notices be treated the same is crucial to ensuring their publication isnt politicized. This years bill would allow local governments to reward or punish the official newspaper depending on an administrations perceived satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with how the newspapers newsroom treats the current government. Legally required public notification is no place for carrot or the stick shenanigans. Worse still, internet-only publication would effectively take these notices out of the hands of many senior citizens, low-income residents and people with less formal education. In September, the Pew Research Center reported that the familiar focus on digital divides in internet access misses something more important: The ability to use the technology varies by peoples socioeconomic status, their race and ethnicity. Pews survey a year ago classified 14 percent of adults as the Unprepared, using less technology, needing help with it and unsure they can trust what they find online. Another 5 percent are Traditional Learners who have the technology but arent likely to use it or trust it. And 33 percent are the Reluctant, with more digital skills but relatively low use of the internet for learning. In all, Pew classifies half of adults as relatively hesitant to use the internet for key activities. Legal notices in newspapers are easily and equally accessible to all groups of people. They are advertisements, but theyre responsible for a tiny fraction of newspaper revenue, placed typically at the lowest advertising rate and one set by state government (and, in fact, not increased in this state since 1983). For that small cost, newspaper legal notices deliver the largest, broadest public readership of any single placement. And heres a bonus: Since 2003, the newspapers have uploaded their notices to www.NJPublicNotices.com, the digital statewide repository of public notices hosted by the New Jersey Press Association. The searchable site is provided by the newspapers as a public service at no charge to the public nor to governments. Every legislator who believes in accountability to the public and open government should oppose Christies plan for revenge on newspapers. Similar proposals in the past have been rejected by nearly all area legislators. Not one other state in the U.S. has yet adopted such a proposal. Nine have recently modernized their public notice laws for the digital age. All still require the printed notice. State Sen. Jim Whelan in 2012 said there must be consistency in legal advertising: The ability of towns to flip-flop, to one time use paper and one time go online, is very disconcerting to me. He reportedly is a sponsor of this years proposal, but we hope he is merely advancing it to full Senate consideration where his vote against it will help ensure its defeat, as fellow Sen. Jeff Van Drew did with the 2012 bill. If more funding for legislative offices is needed, fine. Make a case for it and get it in a legitimate way, not by reducing the publics awareness of local government actions and the ability of newspapers to provide the oversight of officials the public demands. For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME. Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire. Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever. Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation. View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union. Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history. Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words. DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market - Forecast to 2021" report to their offering. The global cancer/tumor profiling market is projected to reach USD 61.87 Billion by 2021 from USD 25.82 Billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 19.1% during the forecast period. Growth in the cancer profiling market is driven by the increasing number of cancer cases, growing utility of biomarker in tumor profiling, and availability of funding for cancer research. In addition, the introduction and adoption of point-of-care diagnostic tests and development of personalized medicine are expected to offer growth opportunities for manufacturers of cancer profiling solutions. However, high capital investments and low benefit ratio of biomarkers are restraining the growth of this market. North America is expected to account for the largest share of the cancer profiling market in 2016. Increasing research funding and presence of a large number of market players and research institutes are propelling the growth of the North American cancer profiling market. However, the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 20.4% in the forecast period. In recent years, the Asia-Pacific market for cancer profiling has witnessed significant growth due to the rising incidence of cancer, increasing demand for better healthcare services in developing economies such as India and China, rising number of contract research organizations (CROs), and increasing focus of international players on emerging markets. Companies Mentioned: Caris Life Sciences Genomic Health Inc. Helomics Corporation Htg Molecular Diagnostics, Inc. Illumina, Inc. Nanostring Technologies, Inc. Neogenomics Laboratories, Inc. Oxford Gene Technology Qiagen N.V. Ribomed Biotechnologies, Inc. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market, By Application 7 Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market, By Technique 8 Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market, By Technology 9 Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market, By Region 10 Competitive Landscape 11 Company Profiles 12 Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wht75g/cancertumor Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets ROME, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Olive Oil - The Good Fast Has Arrived "Looking for the Perfect Food" is the theme at the heart of "Olive Oil, European High Quality", a project promoted by the European Union and Italy and carried out by Unaprol, the largest association of Italian olive oil producers. The aim is to increase awareness of controlled and guaranteed European olive production, which, thanks to the special territorial and environmental conditions prevailing in the Mediterranean, offers exceptional nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. Tasty, healthy, suitable for cooking and as a raw dressing, it can be used as an ingredient for beauty products and is sustainable from an environmental point of view. This is high quality European olive oil: a multi-tasking food, perfectly suited to modern times. The Phoenicians used to call it liquid gold, and recent research has highlighted its nutraceutical properties, providing, that is, important benefits for health. (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/449648/Olive_oil.jpg ) A study conducted for Unaprol by the Ixe research institute shows a basic knowledge of extra virgin olive oil is almost universal among European consumers (94% of the sample). But only 64% of interviewees were aware of the typological variations resulting from the different areas of production and their influence on quality. The figure is lower when it comes to use: only 42% of consumers use the product frequently. It is used mainly as a dressing for raw and cooked vegetables (87%), meat, fish, pasta or rice (67%), for cooking and frying (43%), and for preparing desserts, biscuits, bread (17%). Drops of good health - The multi-tasking character of extra virgin olive oil emerges from an analysis of its health properties, which have been demonstrated by numerous scientific studies. That's down to the mix of 230 different substances that it contains, their presence preserved by the use of exclusively mechanical extractive techniques, carried out at low temperatures. New information about the fundamental health benefits of these substances emerges every day. For a start, they protect the arteries by helping to maintain normal levels of cholesterol in the blood. Olive oil is a rich source of antioxidants, including vitamin E, tocopherol and various phenolic compounds. These are all molecules that protect our bodies against premature ageing by combatting free radicals. A completely natural fount of well-being always at our disposal that can be incorporated in a balanced way into a correct regime of daily nutrition. Returning to the Ixe study, 20% of world consumers buy extra virgin olive oil for aesthetic and curative purposes, with particular interest from Asia. Thanks to its vitamin content, olive oil is perfect for skin treatments, as its nutrient properties favour cell regeneration, increase elasticity and heal blemishes. SOURCE Grapho s.r.l. DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Cardiac Biomarker Market Analysis 2016 - Forecast to 2022" report to their offering. This analysis is one of the most accurate studies performed using the combinational analytical tools. The report contains up to date financial data derived from varied research sources to present unique and reliable analysis. Assessment of major trends with potential impact on the market during the next five years, including a deep dive analysis of market segmentation which comprises of sub markets, regional and country level analysis. The report provides a comprehensive outlook about the market share along with strategic recommendations based on the emerging segments. Annual estimations and forecasts are provided from the year 2013 to 2022 for each given segment and sub segments. Market data derived from the authenticated and reliable sources is subjected to validation from the industry experts. The report also analyzes the market by discussing market dynamics such as drivers, constraints, opportunities, threats, challenges and other market trends. This report provides: Market Sizing estimations and forecasts for 6 years across the given market segments. Identifying market dynamics. Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations. Regional and country level market analysis. Competitive landscaping of major market players. Company profiling covering the financials, recent activities and the future strategies. Companies Mentioned: Abbott Laboratories Alere Inc. Beckman Coulter Becton, Dickinson And Co. Biomerieux SA Bio-Rad Laboratories Danaher Corporation Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech Co., Ltd. LSI Medience Corporation (A Subsidiary 0f Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation) Ortho Clinical Diagnostics (A Subsidiary of the Carlyle Group) Randox Laboratories Ltd. Roche Diagnostics Limited (A Subsidiary of F. Hoffman-LA Roche Ltd.) Siemens AG Thermo Fisher Scientific Signosis Inc. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Executive Summary 3 Market Analysis 4 Porters Five Force Analysis 5 Cardiac Biomarkers Market, By Biomarkers Type 6 Cardiac Biomarkers Market, By Product 7 Cardiac Biomarkers Market, By Application 8 Cardiac Biomarkers Market, By Type of Testing 9 Geographical Segmentation 10 Vendor Landscaping 11 Company Profiling 12 Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wnbn3f/global_cardiac Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Ablation Devices: Technologies and Global Markets" report to their offering. The global market for ablation devices reached $2.8 billion in 2015. The market should reach $3.1 billion in 2016 and $5.4 billion by 2021, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% from 2016 to 2021. This report provides an overview of the global market for ablation devices. It analyses of global market trends, with data from 2015, 2016, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2021. It provides a breakdown of the market into segments such as types of technology, products, major market players, application, geography, and factors influencing demand. The report includes key technologies involved in thermal ablation techniques and nonthermal ablation techniques. The report discusses the role of supply chain members from manufacturers to surgeons. The report has an in-depth analysis of key companies operating in the global ablation market. In-depth patent analysis in the report will focus on providing extensive technological trends across years and geographies such as the U.S., Europe and Japan. Companies Mentioned: Abbott Laboratories Accuray Inc. Alcon Laboratories Inc. Angiodynamics Inc. Atricure Inc. Biosense Webster Boston Scientific Corp. BTG Plc Conmed Corp. C.R. Bard Inc. (10+ Others) Key Topics Covered: 1: Introduction 2: Executive Summary 3: Ablation Market Overview 4: Ablation Market Analysis By Technology 5: Ablation Market Analysis By Products 6: Ablation Market Analysis By Procedures 7: Ablation Market Analysis By Therapeutics 8: Competitive Landscape 9: Geographic Analysis 10: Patent Analysis 11: Company Profiles 12: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/s74vtl/ablation_devices Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Number of Board directors: Seven ordinary directors, no deputies. The Nomination Committee proposes the new election of Fredrik Persson as Chairman of the Board, which was previously communicated in a press release on November 22, 2016. Lars Lundquist, who has been the Chairman of the Board since 2005, has declined re-election. The Nomination Committee proposes the re-election of directors Kaj-Gustaf Bergh (elected 2013), Eva Nygren (elected 2013), Kia Orback Pettersson (elected 2010), Asa Soderstrom Jerring (elected 2007) and Thomas Thuresson (elected 2016). The Nomination Committee also proposes Olav Line, a Norwegian citizen, as a new director of the Board. Olav Line studied engineering (MSc Eng.), and is the incoming CEO of Mustad Eiendom AS. Among other things, Olav Line has previously been CEO of Selvaag Eiendom AS, as well as of the listed companies Norwegian Property ASA and Steen & Strm ASA. Olav Line a Board director of ECT AS. The Nomination Committee consists of Asa Nisell (Chairman), Swedbank Robur Fonder, Jan Sarlvik, Nordea Funds, Eva Gottfridsdotter-Nilsson, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning, Roar Engeland, OBOS BBL and Lars Lundquist, Chairman of the Board of JM AB. The Nomination Committee's additional proposals to the Annual General Meeting of JM AB, which will be held on Thursday, April 27, 2017, will be provided with the notice of the Annual General Meeting. CONTACT: For additional information, please contact: Nomination Committee Chairman Asa Nisell, Swedbank Robur Fonder, +46 (0)8 585 924 00 This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/jm/r/jm-ab-s-nomination-committee-s-proposals-for-chairman-and-directors-at-the-2017-annual-general-meeti,c2151717 The following files are available for download: 161216_JM AB's Nomination Committee's Proposals for Chairman and Directors at the 2017 Annual General Meeting http://mb.cision.com/Main/1261/2151717/604950.pdf SOURCE JM The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) remains totally opposed to the needless killing and like many leading organisations were dismayed that despite overwhelming failure in previous years, this year the Government pressed ahead with their roll out plans, expanding the cull into an additional five counties alongside the previous culling areas of Dorset, Gloucestershire and Somerset. Philip Mansbridge, UK Director of IFAW, said: "Once again the lives of countless native badgers are reduced to just a headline number and this year it amounts to a staggering 10,886 badgers pointlessly slaughtered, falling just within the Government's target for the year. The simple fact is though, that the Government targets are irrelevant; everyone knows that killing badgers can have no meaningful effect on the control of Bovine Tb (BTb) in the UK. Year on year, the Government remains determined to press ahead with this pointless cull regardless of the results or the wealth of scientific evidence that goes against this policy. As a nation we cannot sit by and let yet more of our native badgers be pointlessly killed." "If the Government truly cared about farmers' livelihoods they would stop making the badger a scapegoat for their previous failings in eradicating and managing Bovine Tb. It is a fact that if we killed every single badger in the UK we would still have BTb, so it's time to refocus the huge amount of money and resource involved in this mass slaughter of badgers each year and concentrate on practical solutions for better testing regimes, enhanced bio-security measures and stricter cattle movement controls." One of the key controversies of the badger cull methodology is that instead of reducing the prevalence of bovine TB, culling badgers could help to spread the disease further as elimination of badgers in one area simply results in others moving in to take over their territory, known as perturbation. The continued authorisation of the free shooting method of killing, despite initial Government reports deeming this inhumane, is also of deep concern. The British Veterinary Association (BVA) have been vocal on this issue and condemned this approach. The figures released today report that a total of 14 badgers were wounded and lost and 34 shots were fired but missed. However, it is worth noting that these figures are self-reported and also vary dramatically from region to region, suggesting either a varying quality of shooters or a varying quality of reporting. The Government policy on badger culling makes a mockery of due diligence and proper procedure, as it uses a procedure that has already clearly failed as justification to repeat activities which should be stopped. This proves this is not a science-led policy, but politically motivated and designed to secure support from powerful lobbies like the National Farmers Union (NFU) and rural voters. IFAW believes that the solution to the bovine TB crisis does not lie in targeting wildlife, but in working with the farming community and focusing directly with cattle, which caused the epidemic. IFAW has previously funded badger vaccination programmes in Gloucestershire, Somerset and Dorset. The badger cull goes against the views of the overwhelming majority of the UK public who wish to see British wildlife protected. A Guardian newspaper poll found more than 90% of people opposed to such action. About International Fund for Animal Welfare Founded in 1969, IFAW rescues and protects animals around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook/IFAW and Twitter @action4ifaw Related Links http://www.ifaw.org SOURCE International Fund for Animal Welfare DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Medical Foam Market - Global Forecast to 2026" report to their offering. The global medical foam market is projected to reach USD 30.89 Billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2016 to 2026. The major factors expected to drive the demand for medical foam during the forecast period include, increasing aging population, increased shift towards technologically advanced products, and others. Another factor expected to drive the market is the increased healthcare expenditure by countries across the globe and their contribution to the overall GDP. The medical packaging segment is estimated to lead the global medical foam market in 2016. This can be attributed to the high demand from the sterilized packaging industry, use of polymer foams for the cushioning of manufactured products to protect them from damage during handling and transportation. Based on form, spray foam is the fastest growing segment in the medical foam market. Spray foams have been increasingly used in the wound care market in instant bandages. Coatings is another application where spray foams have been increasingly used in the medical foam market. One major advantage of spray foam over the other types of foams is, it is ready to use and does not require any additional molding that may be required in case of rigid and flexible foams, thus saving cost. Spray foams can be used in instant bandages in the areas where standard bandages and other wound care products cannot be used directly. The Asia-Pacific region is estimated to lead the global medical foam market in 2016. The Asia-Pacific medical foam market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period, owing to the increasing demand from countries, such as Japan, China, India, Indonesia, and others in the region and increasing investments in the healthcare sector in various countries. The market in the region is in a nascent stage, but offers huge growth potential, especially in China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Some of the factors that may restrain the growth of the market include, stringent norms and regulations imposed on the use of medical grade products that require high R & D expenditures, and others. The medical foam market is expected to grow at a high rate due to the increasing investments in the healthcare industry by various countries during the last few years. Companies Mentioned: Armacell Gmbh Basf Se Bayer Ag Foamcraft, Inc. Foampartner Group Future Foam, Inc. Fxi-Foamex Innovations Huntsman Corporation Inoac Corporation Recticel Nv/Sa Rogers Corporation Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Trelleborg Ab UFP Technologies, Inc. Vita (Lux Iii) S.A.R.L The Dow Chemical Company The Woodbridge Group Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Industry Trends 7 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Form 8 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Material Type 9 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Application 10 Regional Analysis 11 Competitive Landscape 12 Company Profiles 13 Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pgwssc/medical_foam Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com SOURCE Research and Markets TOKYO, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricksoft Inc., based in Tokyo, announced on December 16 its release of "Alfresco connector for Confluence," an add-on allowing users to add the ECM (Enterprise Content Management) function to Atlassian Confluence by linking it with Alfresco. Atlassian's team collaboration software Confluence is used by over 30,000 customers worldwide to collaborate on shared documents. (Logo: https://en.ricksoft.jp/control/img/confluence_title.png) - Product overview https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/jp.ricksoft.plugins.alfresco-for-confluence/server/overview Confluence does not have a feature that allows files to be shared between spaces or pages. Therefore, files need to be attached to each space or page. "Alfresco Connector for Confluence" enables files to be shared by being linked to spaces or pages. Main features are the following. - File sharing: "Alfresco connector for Confluence" is a great add-on to share files between spaces and pages. Just by updating one file, you can update the file attached to the linked pages. Files can be shared between "Confluence" and the project management software JIRA through collaboration with Alfresco connector for JIRA. (Image1: https://en.ricksoft.jp/control/img/confluence_tmb01.png) - Preview of multiple types of files: Preview Microsoft Office files (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.), Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, CAD files and Video files (mov, mp4, etc.) with Alfresco in Confluence. The version history is also available in Confluence, which allows teams to see past iterations of content. (Image2: https://en.ricksoft.jp/control/img/confluence_tmb02.png) - Availability: The add-on is available today on the Atlassian Marketplace. https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/jp.ricksoft.plugins.alfresco-for-jira/server/overview About Ricksoft Inc.: Ricksoft Inc. is the No. 1 "Atlassian Platinum Expert" in APAC, selected from among "Atlassian Enterprise Experts." Official website: https://en.ricksoft.jp/ Related Links https://en.ricksoft.jp/ SOURCE Ricksoft Inc. SUPERNAP ITALIA is the first location for SUPERNAP International data centers serving Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) MILANO, Italy, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SUPERNAP International today announced the opening of the largest, most advanced data center in Southern Europe. Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/450109/SUI_IT_Milan.jpg Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/322081/15_11_supernap_international_logo_dk_Logo.jpg With 500 cabinets and more than 3.3 megawatts of power already sold, SUPERNAP International is delivering on the promise of bringing state-of-the-art multi-tenant/colocation data centers to Europe from the United States. SUPERNAP International data centers are designed and built to the specifications of the industry-renowned, Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers. These facilities are based on more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims developed by Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy that revolutionized the data center industry. The SUPERNAP ITALIA data center in Milano will include: 42,000 square meters of data center space with four data halls 40 mega volt amps of power distributed through two 132 kilovolt transmission paths Proprietary tri-redundant UPS power system Up to 40 kilowatts of power per cabinet 200 multi-carrier fiber couples with separate paths Patented Switch SHIELD: dual independent roof decks rated to withstand 322 kph winds 24/7 on-site network operations center (NOC), fire, safety and security On-site, on-net member resources including conference spaces "The lightning fast growth of the data that is running our planet has driven the demand from our clients who are global, industry-leading companies to be operating inside the most advanced, innovative and sustainable data center environment," according to SUPERNAP ITALIA Managing Director Luca Beltramino, a data center industry veteran who recently joined to lead the Italian operation. "They want their worldwide technology operations in the SUPERNAP International data centers." Telia Carrier, the operator of one of the world's largest fiber-optic networks chose SUPERNAP ITALIA's data center in Milano as a key location for its expansion in Southern Europe. "Telia Carrier is expanding into the SUPERNAP ITALIA data center for many reasons, including its high standards of data center security, availability and scalability, in addition to its carrier-neutrality and key geographical position," said Davide Binaghi, managing director of Telia Carrier Italy. SUPERNAP ITALIA is also a founding member of the Open Hub Med Project, which was developed to create a neutral, free zone for the internet and data exchange among Mediterranean Basin countries. Through this critical partnership, SUPERNAP ITALIA will play a key role in accelerating opportunities for companies in expanding their information technology footprint throughout EMEA. About Switch Founded in 2000, this global technology solutions company, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States is built on the intelligent and sustainable growth of the internet. Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy has developed more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims covering data center designs that have manifested into their world-renowned data centers and their technology solution ecosystems. Visit switch.com for more information. About SUPERNAP International SUPERNAP International is a partnership between Switch in the United States and the ACDC Fund, a fund whose two limited partners are Orascom TMT Investments and Accelero Capital. SUPERNAP International is the exclusive licensee of Switch's patented designs and operational protocols outside the United States and is the developer of SUPERNAP ITALIA and SUPERNAP THAILAND data centers based on the renowned Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers in Nevada, United States. Visit supernap.com for more information. SOURCE SUPERNAP International BANGKOK, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has done a surprise about-face on its position regarding public remarks made by its Secretary-General alleging improper payments and fund transfers by Mr. Eric Levine, the founder of 'California Fitness' clubs worldwide as well as California WOW Xperience (CAWOW) fitness clubs in Thailand, from his former fitness business in Thailand. The reversal has come after Mr. Levine filed a US$2.8 million lawsuit against AMLO and its officers for defamation. In the lawsuit's hearing, recently conducted at Bangkok Criminal Court, representatives of AMLO admitted to the court their acceptance of the findings of specialist forensic investigators of Thailand's Office of the Securities and Exch1ange Commission (SEC) who had reported that they did not discover any evidence of wrongdoing by California WOW Xperience or its senior executives. The AMLO representatives also accepted the audits of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos and PricewaterhouseCoopers which had confirmed the transactions of California WOW Xperience to be correct and without irregularity. Mr. Levine said, "I'm going full steam ahead with the suit against AMLO and its former Secretary-General. It should be a lesson to AMLO and its officers. It will reaffirm to them that citizens are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that it is only a court of law that can pass judgment." He said, "The former Secretary-General had the evidence from the SEC as well as the audits of globally reputable firms. He had also been told by Thailand's Department of Special Investigation that they would not conduct any further investigation of CAWOW, as had been requested by the Secretary-General of the AMLO." Mr. Levine said that he and CAWOW officers had offered full cooperation for any investigation, but that, AMLO had never contacted him, or any of CAWOW's directors, or the company's Chief Financial Officer in the four years since the allegations were made. "Such sensitive investigations should be carried out in the utmost secrecy, otherwise even the threat of an investigation by such a powerful body can become a tool against citizens. I have had my businesses damaged, my reputation tarnished, as well as suffered enormous personal distress for years. I hope this case may protect others in the future," Mr. Levine added. For further information, please contact: Kong Hiransurong, Tel: +662-719-7838 email: mediainf1955@gmail.com SOURCE CAWOW Also effective December 13, 2016, Mr. Frederico Justus has been promoted to the position of President Regional Operations. Mr. Justus joined Weatherford in 2010 and, since May 2015, was Vice President of the Middle East and Africa region. He has over 19 years of oilfield experience across the entire services industry, which includes managing multiple environments and product lines spanning several countries. Mr. Justus is a mechanical and industrial engineer with a degree from the Federal Technical University of Parana, Brazil. His appointment comes as Weatherford's current President Regional Operations, Mr. Antony J. Branch, leaves the Company. Weatherford is grateful for Mr. Branch's leadership and contributions over the years. Both Mr. Bausch and Mr. Justus will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer. Commenting on the management appointments, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Krishna Shivram stated "Christoph's previous experience as a public company CFO, his financial expertise, depth of knowledge in the oil and gas industry as well as leadership capabilities will further help strengthen our focus on financial discipline, cash flow generation and improved cost efficiencies. In addition, we are confident that Frederico, in his new role of President Regional Operations, with his successful track record and many years of direct hands-on experience will have a positive impact and help us reach our objectives and build a stronger Company. The future is full of opportunity for Weatherford, and I very much look forward to working with both Christoph and Frederico to take our company to the next level." About Weatherford Weatherford is one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies providing innovative solutions, technology and services to the oil and gas industry. The Company operates in over 100 countries and has a network of approximately 1,000 locations, including manufacturing, service, research and development, and training facilities and employs approximately 31,000 people. For more information, visit www.weatherford.com and connect with Weatherford on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Investor Contact: Krishna Shivram +1.713.836.4610 Chief Executive Officer Karen David-Green +1.713.836.7430 Vice President Investor Relations, Corporate Marketing and Communications Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/73933/weatherford_international_logo.jpg Related Links http://www.weatherford.com SOURCE Weatherford International plc STUTTGART, Germany, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Improved Competitiveness Leads to Best Earnings in Company's History In the past 2015/16 fiscal year (ended 30 September 2016) the ZEISS Group increased both its revenue and earnings, achieving record levels: revenue rose to 4.881 billion (prior year: 4.511 billion). This corresponds to a sharp increase of eight percent. At 615 million, EBIT was significantly above last year's figure (369 million). The EBIT margin was at 13 percent. For the first time, incoming orders exceeded the 5 billion euro mark. "Our programs for increasing competitiveness are now truly coming to fruition. Our entire portfolio is contributing to the healthy earnings. Increases were reported in all our fields of business," says Dr. Michael Kaschke, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss AG. ZEISS generates just under 90 percent of its business outside Germany. ZEISS was particularly successful in the Asia/Pacific region with revenue totaling 1.123 billion. This corresponds to an increase of 17 percent over the prior year after currency adjustments. For fiscal year 2016/17, ZEISS expects to see moderate global economic growth, and anticipates a slight revenue increase and a comparable EBIT margin. More information is available at www.zeiss.com/pressconference. About ZEISS ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics and optoelectronics industries. The ZEISS Group develops, produces and distributes measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cine lenses, binoculars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Research & Quality Technology, Medical Technology, Vision Care/Consumer Products and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. The ZEISS Group is represented in over 40 countries and has more than 50 sales and service locations, upwards of 30 manufacturing sites and about 25 research and development facilities around the globe. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation). Contact for the press: ZEISS Group Jorg Nitschke, Press Spokesman Phone: +49 7364 20-3242 Email: joerg.nitschke@zeiss.com SOURCE Carl Zeiss AG ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With just over a week left, The Salvation Army is urging supporters to donate to the Red Kettles both in person and online as soon as possible. Red Kettle bell ringers are reporting steep declines in contributions as fluctuating temperatures, snowy conditions and an approaching Christmas Eve deadline for this year's Red Kettle campaign are putting The Salvation Army's largest fundraising campaign of the year at risk of a shortfall. "With only one week of fundraising remaining for the Red Kettle campaign, the impact of less dollars in the kettles for even a few days will affect how we can serve those in need all year long," said Lt. Col. Ron Busroe, community relations and development secretary for The Salvation Army. "The wintry weather we are seeing across the country is among things keeping people from getting out and dropping contributions in our 25,000 kettles. We need people to know how important this short period is for us and to do what they can at the kettles or online. In addition to hundreds of year-round programs, ironically, it's urgent-need programs like warming shelters for the homeless that can suffer if weather keeps people from donating." The Red Kettle campaign ends on Christmas Eve. To donate, Americans can: Donate online at RedKettleReason.org Start a #RedKettleReason fundraising page by visiting RedKettleReason.org and clicking "Start a Fundraiser" users will be asked to specify the community for which they want to raise funds, fundraising goal and designated cause to support Drop change into one of the more than 25,000 Red Kettles found at storefronts and street corners nationwide Text the word "KETTLES" to 51555 to donate an amount of their choice The Salvation Army is located in every ZIP code in the country, and the real impact of a shortfall will hit at the local level. All donations stay within the community in which they are raised, and every amount helps: Just $25 helps give a child Christmas gifts helps give a child Christmas gifts $2.70 provides a meal for someone in need provides a meal for someone in need $30 will help provide a night of shelter for someone in need During the holiday season, over 3 million families rely on The Salvation Army to provide them with a warm meal on Christmas Day or toys for their children. Donating to the Red Kettles also enables the Army to serve more than 25 million people a year by providing over 10 million nights of shelter and 57 million meals a year, along with substance-abuse recovery programs, after-school programs, and emergency shelter for children and families in need. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to learn more and find a Salvation Army near you. About The Salvation Army The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 135 years in the United States. More than 25 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar donated to The Salvation Army is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). For more information, go to SalvationArmyUSA.org or follow @SalvationArmyUS on Twitter. SOURCE The Salvation Army Related Links http://salvationarmyusa.org TOKYO, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ADEKA CORPORATION announced on December 16 that it will join Arabplast 2017 in Dubai, the UAE. Overview of Arabplast 2017 Official site: http://www.arabplast.info/ Date : Jan. 8 (Sun) - 10 (Tue), 2017 Place: Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE Stand: Hall 07 / D130 Featured products are Onepacks, whose capacity has been improved in the last year, Nucleating Agents, HALS/UVA, PVC stabilizers/plasticizers. This time, the company will hold a technical seminar in its booth. The topics are polyolefin additives and PVC stabilizers/plasticizers. With seats limited, it would be better to contact the company beforehand at [email protected]. Arabplast is the biggest trade show in the plastics and rubber industries in the Middle East region, held every 2 years. The ADEKA group participates in the show again as its UAE affiliate "ADEKA Al Ghurair Additives." ADEKA Al Ghurair Additives was established by ADEKA and the Al-Ghurair group in 2011. ADEKA Al Ghurair Additives is one of the 22 worldwide affiliates of ADEKA, and is energetically developing its sales area around the Middle East region. SOURCE ADEKA CORPORATION SEATTLE, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Looking for a unique, affordable and delicious gift idea this holiday? Give the gift of the ultimate Seattle culinary experience with tickets to the Seattle Wine and Food Experience (SWFE) weekend of events on February 24 26. The newly-expanded weekend features three events: POP! Bubbles & Seafood, Comfort (NEW) and the Grand Tasting. A total indulgence for foodies, the weekend includes more than 300 of Seattle's best chefs from gastro pubs to fine dining establishments, distillers, local cider and brew masters with more than 600 wines making this Experience the perfect holiday gift for the food and wine lover in your life. Need more convincing? Here are the top 5 reasons to attend each event: POP! Bubbles & Seafood: Friday, February 24, 2017 at McCaw Hall Champagne, Sparkling Wine, Cava, Cremant and more than 40 kinds of bubbles to sample World-class seafood, including oyster bars, from 20 of Seattle's best chefs Saber-Off Competition featuring local celebrities and incredible tunes by DJ Dubreezy The Callebaut Belgium Chocolate Lounge featuring bites from Seattle's top pastry chefs Dozens of Reserve Red wines from top wineries Comfort: Seattle's Best Feel-Good Foods and Crafty Brews: Saturday, February 25, 2017 at Fremont Foundry Comfort is the newest and coziest addition to the Experience Mac & cheese, burgers, doughnut wall, fried chicken and many more comfort foods More than 50 craft beers, ciders, bubbly and more to quench your thirst between tasty bites Do-It-Yourself Bars: Hot Toddy, Bloody Mary, S'mores, Fry Bar and more Rock out with your friends to tunes by DJ Branden Landon and take photos in the Shutterbus The Grand Tasting: Sunday, February 26, 2017 at McCaw Exhibition Hall More than 500 wines, plus tastes from distilleries, beer and cider, Oh My! Fare from 25 local chefs and 25 specialty food makers Explore the Celebrity Modern Luxury Lounge for a chance to win a cruise! Yakima Valley Craft Food and Beverage Exhibit The Savor Experience from San Luis Obispo County The Sweet SuiteIndulge to your heart's content The "Pearls" of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates with wines from Canon 13, Intrinsic, Mamma Mia and more Taste from Nicky Farms exotic meats, Heritage Meats Butchery Block and Sustainable Alaska Seafood Buy your favorite wine, beer, cider and spirits from the QFC product store benefitting Les Dames d'Escoffier Seattle Wine and Food Experience, presented by Seattle magazine, brings the city's vibrant culinary and beverage scene to life. The Weekend Pass ($220) is the best deal for that special foodie on your holiday shopping list. For more details on the events including pricing packages, visit seattlewineandfoodexperience.com. About Seattle magazine For more than 50 years, Seattle magazine has chronicled the life and dynamic changes of one of the most innovative, forward-thinking cities in the United States. With a readership of more than 191,000 and a circulation of 46,000, it's the most subscribed-to city magazine in Washington state, connecting locals and newcomers to the best local food, travel, wine, beer, spirits, design, arts, culture, people, businesses and tech the region offers. Seattle magazine is published by Minneapolis-based Tiger Oak Publications which also publishes Seattle Business, Seattle Bride and custom publications locally as well as dozens of other titles across the country. Learn more at seattlemag.com and at tigeroak.com. About Les Dames d'Escoffier Seattle The event benefits Les Dames d'Escoffier Seattle, a 501c3 non-profit organization of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality whose mission is education, advocacy, and philanthropy. Les Dames d'Escoffier Seattle focuses on raising funds for scholarships for women in the culinary, beverage, and hospitality industries, and also supports community-outreach programs and sustainable-agriculture projects based in Washington State. Twitter: @seattlewinefood Facebook: /seattlewineandfoodexperience Instagram: /seattlewinefood MEDIA CONTACT: Jamie Peha (206) 661-8243 / [email protected] SOURCE Seattle magazine Related Links http://seattlemag.com SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the 2017 BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report, the United States continues to be a top destination for entrepreneurs. The third annual study uncovers the characteristics, actions and ambitions of some of the world's most successful wealth creators. While the report represents a global scope, some of the United States specific findings were particularly positive. Conducted by Bank of the West's parent company BNP Paribas, this year's study found that, over the past year, 95 percent of United States respondents said their profits had increased or remained steady. Further, 94 percent reported that they expect profits to increase or stay consistent in the year ahead. "Entrepreneurs are a highly-driven group, and each year this study helps us better understand their needs and goals both in the United States and around the world," said Pierre Ramadier, head of Wealth Management at Bank of the West. "Insights provide color to the stories of these elite demographic of business leaders." The entrepreneurs surveyed, who have created an average of 3.5 companies during their careers, cite the United States, China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom as their top 5 markets for entrepreneurial opportunity, in that order. For these entrepreneurs, creating wealth is a family affair, with 71 percent saying they have a history of family activity in business ownership. This year's respondents were split into five subgroups, based on several business and demographic factors, dubbed Elite Entrepreneurs: Ultrapreneurs: Entrepreneurs with a net investable wealth exceeding $25 million . Ultrapreneurs tend to place more emphasis on social responsibility, with 77 percent saying they consider Corporate Social Responsibility an important or extremely important element of their business. They are also the most optimistic of the five groups, with 71 percent anticipating their profits will rise over the next 12 months. Entrepreneurs with a net investable wealth exceeding . Ultrapreneurs tend to place more emphasis on social responsibility, with 77 percent saying they consider Corporate Social Responsibility an important or extremely important element of their business. They are also the most optimistic of the five groups, with 71 percent anticipating their profits will rise over the next 12 months. Serialpreneurs: Entrepreneurs who own or have established four or more operating companies. On average, Serialpreneurs have established 7.5 companies. Entrepreneurs who own or have established four or more operating companies. On average, Serialpreneurs have established 7.5 companies. Millennipreneurs: Entrepreneurs who were born between the years 1980 and 2000. Even at a young age, 31 percent of Millennipreneurs reported owning multiple businesses. Entrepreneurs who were born between the years 1980 and 2000. Even at a young age, 31 percent of Millennipreneurs reported owning multiple businesses. Women Entrepreneurs: Female entrepreneurs reported an average personal net worth of $15.9 million . Additionally, their primary business has an average annual turnover of $8.6 million . In both areas, the average female entrepreneur outperforms the average male entrepreneur. Female entrepreneurs reported an average personal net worth of . Additionally, their primary business has an average annual turnover of . In both areas, the average female entrepreneur outperforms the average male entrepreneur. Boomerpreneurs: Entrepreneurs over the age of 55 who started their ventures later in life establishing their first companies at an average age of 37. This group of Elite Entrepreneurs display unmatched passion and hunger for success, and they are thinking of the future as well. When asked to define success, one in four said that they consider making a profit on an initial investment success, followed by the ability to transfer a successful business to the next generation (21%). Top motivating factors for pursuing entrepreneurship include the opportunity to improve quality of life (79%) and the freedom to make independent business decisions (76%). "Every entrepreneur's journey is unique, and these individuals have done an incredible job at establishing businesses and creating wealth for themselves and their families," said Kristin Nelson, senior vice president at Bank of the West Wealth Management Group. "We strive to help entrepreneurs and small business owners strategically navigate both their personal and business opportunities and be strategic in building wealth. With the local and regional expertise of Bank of the West and the global capabilities of BNP Paribas, we are able to provide tailored solutions to each individual." Find out more about the lifestyles and priorities of Elite Entrepreneurs in the full report. About BNP Paribas Wealth Management BNP Paribas Wealth Management is a leading global private bank and #1 Private Bank in the Eurozone1. Present in three hubs in Europe, Asia and the US, over 6,600 professionals provide a private investor clientele with solutions for optimising and managing their assets. The bank has 341 billion worth of assets under management (as of September 2016) and has been elected "Best Private Bank for Entrepreneurs"2 in 2016. About Bank of the West Wealth Management Bank of the West Wealth Management provides wealth planning, investment management*, personal banking, philanthropy, and trust and fiduciary services. The group is part of BNP Paribas' global wealth management business of more than 6,600 professionals present in three hubs in Europe, Asia and the US with more than $11.4 billion** in assets under management in the United States and 341 billion ($383 billion) in assets under management globally as of September 30, 2016. About Bank of the West Bank of the West is a regional financial services company headquartered in San Francisco with $82.6 billion in assets as of September 30, 2016. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states and digital channels. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 75 countries with more than 189,000 employees. To learn more about Bank of the West, visit About Us. *Securities and variable annuities are offered through BancWest Investment Services, a registered broker/dealer, Member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Financial Advisors are Registered Representatives of BancWest Investment Services. Fixed annuities/insurance products are offered through BancWest Insurance Agency in California, (License #0C52321), through BancWest Insurance Agency in Utah and through BancWest Investment Services, Inc. in AZ, CO, IA, ID, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, WA, WI, WY, HI, GUAM and CNMI. BancWest Investment Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of the West. Bank of the West is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas. Bank of the West and its various affiliates and subsidiaries are not tax or legal advisors. **Assets under management refers to assets under administration, management, advisement, and on deposit, including assets with our affiliate BancWest Investment Services ("BancWest") as of September 30, 2016. Deposit and loan products offered by Bank of the West, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. In South Dakota, Bank of the West operates under the name Bank of the West California. Bank of the West Wealth Management offers products and services through Bank of the West and its various affiliates and subsidiaries. Investment and Insurance products: NOT FDIC INSURED NOT BANK GUARANTEED MAY LOSE VALUE NOT A DEPOSIT NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY 1 Source: BNP Paribas strategy team 2 Source: PWM / The Banker 2016 https://twitter.com/BankoftheWest https://www.facebook.com/BankoftheWest/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bank-of-the-west https://blog.bankofthewest.com/ SOURCE Bank of the West Related Links http://www.bankofthewest.com PITTSFIELD, Mass., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) today announced that its Board of Directors has amended the Company's By-Laws to require annual election of all directors. The Company also announced the retirement of board members Thomas R. Burton, Rodney C. Dimock, Susan M. Hill and Barton D. Raser, effective on December 15, 2016. Following these departures, the Board will retain eleven members with significant financial industry experience and diverse skill sets and perspectives. "Over the course of the last year, we have been engaging with our shareholders and evaluating the size, composition and organization of the Board. This focus reflects the growth in our shareholder base, as well as the expansion of our footprint and business lines," said Berkshire Chairman of the Board William J. Ryan. "Going forward, we believe reducing the size of the Board and instituting annual elections for all board members creates a more agile, responsive and shareholder-friendly governance structure. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Tom, Rod, Susan and Bart for their contributions to Berkshire, in particular their leadership and guidance over the years. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors." BACKGROUND Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank America's Most Exciting Bank. The Company, recognized for its entrepreneurial approach and distinctive culture, has approximately $9 billion in assets and 99 full service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. For more information, visit www.berkshirebank.com. CONTACTS Investor Relations Contact Allison O'Rourke; Executive Vice President, Investor Relations Officer; 413-236-3149 Media Contact Elizabeth Mach; First Vice President, Marketing Officer; 413-445-8391 SOURCE Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. Related Links http://www.berkshirebank.com DALLAS, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 12, 2016, the California Supreme Court provided a thorough analysis of San Diego's ordinance governing the taxability of transient lodging as it relates to online travel companies (OTCs). Under San Diego's ordinance, the obligation to collect the city's transient tax rests with "operators" (e.g., hotel proprietors). In re Transient Occupancy Tax Cases1 centers around whether OTCs qualify as "operators" within the meaning of the ordinance and whether they are required to collect the transient occupancy tax on the markup retained by them above the wholesale amount they agreed to remit to the hotels. The court ruled that San Diego's ordinance imposes tax on "the [lodging] Operator," and subjects the operator alone to the assessment of tax. The court added that the ordinance did not appear to contemplate that the city could levy tax against an intermediary entity like an OTC. The court identified the OTCs' business under assessment as a "merchant model" transaction, so termed because the OTC takes the place of the merchant almost entirely. The operator of the hotel is liable for tax on the wholesale cost of the room, but the OTCs handle all financial transactions related to the hotel reservations and are even listed as the merchant on the customer's credit card receipt. However, the court notes that at no time do OTCs "own, operate or manage hotels, maintain an inventory of rooms, or possess or obtain the right to occupy any rooms."2 OTCs even collect the transient occupancy tax (on the wholesale price) and transfer the tax and lodging cost to the hotel, which remits the tax. The court focuses on the language of the San Diego ordinance and reiterates its unwillingness to expand the tax base beyond a plain reading of the text. San Diego made the argument that the OTCs should be considered agents of the hotel operations and, therefore, liable for tax on their markup charges under an agency theory. The court found this unpersuasive: "That the OTCs act as hotels' agents or intermediaries for the limited purpose of charging and collecting the rent, however, does not subject the OTCs to assessment as an operator."3 San Diego's 1 In re Transient Occupancy Tax Cases, California Supreme Court, No. S218400 (December 12, 2016). 2 In re Transient Occupancy Tax Cases, California Supreme Court, No. S218400 (December 12, 2016). 3 In re Transient Occupancy Tax Cases, California Supreme Court, No. S218400 (December 12, 2016). About Ryan Ryan is an award-winning global tax services firm, with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America and the seventh largest corporate tax practice in the United States. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides a comprehensive range of state, local, federal, and international tax advisory and consulting services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including audit defense, tax recovery, credits and incentives, tax process improvement and automation, tax appeals, tax compliance, and strategic planning. Ryan is a five-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 2,100 professionals and associates serves over 12,000 clients in more than 40 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com. Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Jerry Lynch http://www.profnetconnect.com/jeremiahlynch TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONTACTS: Jeremiah T. Lynch Principal Ryan 212.871.3901 [email protected] John Lyon Principal Ryan 213.627.1719 [email protected] SOURCE Ryan Related Links http://www.ryan.com BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today said a federal jury in South Carolina did right what anti-gunners have been doing wrong for decades, by convicting a killer who misused a firearm, rather than holding every gun owner in America responsible for the crime. "By convicting Dylan Roof for the slayings of nine church members at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston last year, the jury properly placed responsibility for that terrible crime squarely on the shoulders of the man who did it," noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "The system worked, the law worked, and this verdict affirms that individuals are accountable for their crimes, while penalizing all American firearms owners is nonsense." Gottlieb recalled that gun prohibition lobbying groups exploited the tragedy to push their political agenda against gun owners. He is co-author of "Dancing in Blood: Exposing the Gun Ban Lobby's Playbook to Destroy Your Rights" and the more recent "Right to Carry." "For a while," he said, "it seemed like every gun owner in America, along with their right to keep and bear arms, was on trial. Instead of focusing on bringing a murderer to justice, the anti-rights lobby literally capitalized on the crime in an effort to erode the rights of millions of American citizens who have harmed nobody. "What Roof did was unconscionable and reprehensible," Gottlieb observed. "But he did it all by himself. Tens of millions of honest firearms owners, including some 15 million who are licensed to carry for personal protection, were just as horrified by his attack as everyone else. We all shared the grief, but we do not share the responsibility. That is a burden Dylan Roof will have to bear on his own." With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. SOURCE Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Related Links http://www.ccrkba.org "Through our many years in this business we've been a destination for domestic and international travelers who seek designer brands at incredible values, so naturally Sawgrass Mills was a perfect fit for us," states Raymond Gindi, Co-CEO of Century 21 Department Store. "Our proximity to prime tourism areas like Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Palm Beach will create an opportunity for us to engage with a thriving community of locals and leisure travelers alike." The Sawgrass Mills location will feature a value-minded luxury experience for shoppers who will enjoy an expertly merchandised, curated store with wide aisles, high ceilings and luxurious fitting rooms. The 85,000 square ft. store will feature women's, men's, shoes, accessories, fine jewelry, children's, cosmetics (including an in-store MAC Cosmetics) and home departments. The Florida location will also feature the C21-On-1 Stylist Program, providing guests the opportunity to book a free one-on-one appointment with a fashion stylist. Additionally, C21 has partnered with LXR&Co. to offer guests an exclusive collection of vintage designer handbags, accessories, jewelry & watches. For more than 50 years, Century 21 Department Store has operated in the off-price sector, presenting high-end and contemporary designer merchandise in beautifully designed stores that create a luxury shopping experience. In recent years, the company has experienced expanded growth with the opening of three additional stores (Philadelphia, Green Acres and City Point). Additionally, Century 21 Department Store experimented this summer with a pop-up venture in Santa Monica, California in partnership with WithMe, the industry leaders in hi-tech, immersion retail experiences. In line with their expansion of stores, Century 21 Department Store continues to develop their thriving e-commerce platform and recently launched their first credit card in partnership with Alliance Data's card services business, knowmoresellmore.com. The partnership features the development of a private label credit card and expanded value proposition that puts the customer experience first, deepening engagement through customized rewards and benefits designed to drive brand loyalty. A key driver of the program will be accelerating the rewards earned through the existing multi-tender C21STATUS rewards program, in which customers are rewarded with exclusive benefits. The store will be located at Sawgrass Mills, 12801 West Sunrise Blvd, Sunrise, FL 33323 and is anticipated to open the afternoon of Friday, December 16, 2016. Media Contacts: Heather Feinmel, Century 21 Department Store [email protected] o: 212.227.9092 x2431 c: 917.607.3630 Michelle Conron, Cashman & Associates [email protected] o: 215.627.1060 c: 215.806.5930 CENTURY 21 DEPARTMENT STORE: DELIVERING VALUE TO LIVE BETTER Century 21 Department Store, a NYC icon for more than 50 years, is legendary for its exceptional offering of designer brands at amazing prices. Century 21 remains a leader in high-end off-price fashion retail, offering men's, women's and children's apparel, footwear, outerwear, lingerie and accessories, along with beauty and home goods at select stores and online at C21Stores.com. The retailer is headquartered in Downtown Manhattan and recently opened their 11th store at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn. Locations in New York include Lincoln Square, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. There are three stores in New Jersey: Paramus, Morristown and Elizabeth. Century 21 Department Store opened its first store outside of the New York Metro area in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania followed by Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida; in 2018 they will open at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. For more information, follow Century 21 Department Store on facebook.com/century21stores and @Century21stores on Twitter and Instagram. SOURCE Century 21 Department Store Related Links https://www.c21stores.com ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), announced today its Earn Double Points Winter promotion for Choice Privileges, the company's guest-loyalty program. Choice Privileges members from the U.S. and Canada who book between December 15, 2016, and February 9, 2017, are eligible to earn double points up to 30,000 points on every qualifying stay. The promotion is available at participating brands of Choice Hotels including Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Cambria and Ascend. "This time of year is a great time to connect with friends, family and colleagues," said Jamie Russo, vice president, Loyalty Programs and Customer Engagement, Choice Hotels International. "With double points on all qualifying stays, up to 30,00 points, our members' travels this season are twice as rewarding." To be eligible to earn the double points, members must set their earning preference to Choice Privileges points in their online account. Any change made to earning preference will remain in effect after the promotion has ended. Guests can register at ChoiceHotels.com/doublepoints, before checkout, and then book via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE. Corporate travelers may book through a travel agent or corporate online booking system. U.S. and Canada require registration and booking via central channels. Terms and conditions apply. For Choice Privileges program details, eligible rates, eligible countries and point redemption rules, visit choiceprivileges.com. About Choice Hotels Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the world's largest lodging companies. With more than 6,400 hotels franchised in more than 40 countries and territories, Choice Hotels International represents more than 500,000 rooms around the globe. As of September 30, 2016, 745 hotels were in our development pipeline. Our company's Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria hotels & suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, and Vacation Rentals by Choice Hotels brands provide a spectrum of lodging choices to meet guest needs. With more than 28 million members and counting, our Choice Privileges rewards program enhances every trip a guest takes, with benefits ranging from instant, every day rewards to exceptional experiences, starting right when they join. All hotels and vacation rentals are independently owned and operated. Visit us at www.choicehotels.com for more information. 2016 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved. SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc. Related Links http://www.choicehotels.com LONDON, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global clinical microbiology market was valued at USD 8.4 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach a value of USD 16.1 billion by 2024. Key factors driving the market growth include constant introduction of advanced products coupled with increasing demand in pharmaceutical, and clinical applications for investigation and diagnosis of various infectious diseases. The market is rapidly growing due to the increasing adoption of automated and advanced technologies for laboratory instruments and analyzers in developed countries. Growing geriatric population and thereby rising prevalence of infectious diseases is one of the major factors boosting the adoption of clinical microbiology in healthcare sector for disease diagnosis and monitoring. In addition, industry is gaining high momentum with launch of innovative products such as MALDI Biotyper, GeneXpert and Myla IT performance management solutions. Moreover, with the U.S. FDA approving the Xpert Carba-R, commercialization of clinical microbiology devices is expected to increase significantly over the next few years. In North America, the government authorities and private companies have significantly contributed toward technology development, research funding, and commercialization of clinical microbiology associated devices. Further Key Findings From the Study Suggest: Rapid adoption of technology and automation of laboratory work flow, laboratory instrument segement is expected to be the fastest growing segment with CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period. Reagents is the largest segment with market share of 34.7% in 2015. Repeat purchase of reagents contribute to its growth thus it is the largest growing segment in market. In 2015, North America dominated the global market with largest revenue share of 41.0%. The continuous research on infectious disease treatment, and subsequent grant from government healthcare agencies are contributing to the development of a strong ecosystem for the expansion of clinical microbiology in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest growing region during the forecast period. The growing geriatric population in India, China and Japan leading to increase in the prevalence of re-emerging infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid in this region are expected to promote the utilization of clinical application of microbiology in healthcare. The clinical microbiology Industry is presently dominated by a few key participants such as bioMerieux S.A., Cepheid Inc., Danaher Corporation and Bruker Corporation. Some of the prominent players operating in the market include but are not limited to Becton Dickinson & Company, Hologic Inc., Roche Diagnostics and Alere Inc. Introduction of automated systems and innovative designs, is expected to intensify the competition by changing the market dynamics over the forecast period. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4394712/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com ST. LOUIS, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 11, 2016, Todd Beckman turned over operational, day-to-day control of the entire BAM Brand Family to Mark Otter, previously a Division President with the Steak N Shake brand. On that date, Mr. Otter was appointed Chief Operating Officer of BAM Brands. As of December 12, 2016, Mark Otter has been named CEO, President and Managing Member of BAM Brands and all of its affiliated entities. He has assumed all of the responsibilities and duties for each of those positions. Mr. Beckman no longer holds those positions in BAM Brands. Mr. Otter oversees the Tan Company/TanCo, MassageLuXe, Xist Fitness and LifeXist brands and has overseen those brands since his appointment in April. BAM Brands and its various affiliates will continue to operate in their ordinary course of business as they have since Mr. Otter's appointment, regardless of Mr. Beckman's personal legal issues. TanCo, MassageLuXe and other BAM Brand locations are individually owned and operated by franchisees and the personal legal issues and absence of Mr. Beckman has no impact on the running of these businesses. TanCo was the first of the BAM Brands and has been in operation since 1994. The Bam Brands Family has operations in 11 states. As to Mr. Beckman's personal legal issues, BAM Brands has no information. All inquiries should be directed to Mr. Otter at 636-680-9030 or in writing at [email protected]. SOURCE BAM Brands Related Links http://www.bambrand.com "The future of Credit One Bank has never looked better," DeJong said. "This building is not going to make Credit One Bank great, or better. Our people will. This new building and the property it's built on will provide a platform where Credit One Bank will grow right here in Las Vegas." Scheduled to be operational by the end of 2017, the new headquarters can accommodate up to 500 new jobs, including technical, analytical and marketing positions, to support Credit One Bank's growing credit card business over the next few years. Credit One Bank offers a range of full spectrum credit card products and is among the top 10 largest Visa credit card issuers in the United States. "For nearly 20 years, Credit One Bank has been contributing to our economy, and this new facility will lead to 500 permanent new jobs," Commission Chairman Sisolak said. "That's 500 families who will be able to maintain their quality of life as a result of the investment they have made in this community." Sisolak also declared December 15, 2016, Credit One Bank Day in Clark County. The 152,000-square-foot building will sit on 26 acres just south of I-215 between Durango Drive and Buffalo Drive, seven miles from Credit One Bank's existing location, and will be the first true four-story, concrete tilt up office building in Southern Nevada. Representatives from Grand Canyon Development Partners, who is managing the construction; Gensler, the architect for the project; and Burke Construction Group, Inc., who is the general contractor, were also present for the groundbreaking. "The building will be constructed with concrete tilt panels. There isn't another project like that that's ever been constructed in Southern Nevada," Burke said. "We're looking forward to that challenge that lies ahead." The new headquarters will create opportunities for Credit One Bank to further increase its support of the Las Vegas community. Credit One Bank's history of giving back includes the donation of significant grants and employee service hours. The company has committed more than $4 million to support the affordable housing needs of Clark County's low to moderate income residents. About Credit One Bank Credit One Bank, N.A. is a U.S. based national bank that specializes in credit cards. Established more than 30 years ago, Credit One Bank is one of the largest and fastest growing issuers of credit cards in the industry and provides a broad spectrum of credit card products. Credit One Bank offers millions of card members cash back rewards, credit education tools, and free online access to their credit score each month. For more information, please visit www.CreditOneBank.com. SOURCE Credit One Bank Related Links http://www.CreditOneBank.com BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CrossCom is pleased to announce that CEO, Greg Miller will be interviewed by Kathy Ireland on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland. The interview will be broadcast on Fox Business Network (as sponsored programming) on Sunday, December 18, 2016. "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss CrossCom's capabilities on such a well-respected, award- winning program and look forward to sharing our story with a global audience," said Miller. The interview will focus on the services the company provides and how CrossCom is improving customer profitability by extending the life of technology assets. CrossCom delivers comprehensive end-user services and solutions for geographically dispersed enterprises in the retail, automotive, grocery, hospitality, and restaurant industry segments. Founded in 1981, CrossCom provides companies with complete technology systems solutions, including Support Desk, On-site Maintenance, Deployment, Installation, Integration, Staging & Configuration and Digital Repair & Refurbishment. CrossCom is a single source provider companies depend on for governance across the life of their technology assets. "Our appearance on Worldwide Business with kathy ireland allows us to build awareness for how we are changing the way businesses manage their technology needs." Miller explains, "We're aligned very much with the customer's objectives. Unlike most of the players in our industry, we have never primarily been focused as a hardware vendor. Going back two decades, we realized that most of the providers are actually trying to essentially sell the hardware. The customers are purchasing these technology assets and they want them to last as long as possible. The providers were trying to sunset those assets and sell a new one. So we saw that as a big gap." "Working with the team at Worldwide Business with kathy ireland was a wonderful experience," said Miller. "The whole process is very professional, and everyone made me feel very comfortable. I really appreciated working with Ms. Ireland and the whole crew at the show." For more information about technology support solutions for businesses, visit www.crosscom.com or contact CrossCom at [email protected] and tune in to Fox Business Network as sponsored programming at 11:00am EST on Sunday, December 18, 2016. About Worldwide Business with kathy ireland Worldwide Business with kathy ireland is a weekly business television program featuring real world insights from corporate executives from all over the globe which can be viewed on Fox Business Network as part of their sponsored programming lineup, as well as internationally to over 50 countries on Bloomberg International. Visit www.tvwwb.com for detailed airing schedules or check local listings. About CrossCom CrossCom has been in the business of supporting technologies for customers in distributed locations for 35 years. As we've grown, so have our team, customer base, and reputation for superior service, innovation, and dedication to delivering the right solutions for each customer. Our customers count on our in-depth knowledge of the marketplace and the systems and services we use to address issues and opportunities completely. It's our rich history and everyone in the organization that makes CrossCom who we are today. We're proud of our company, our experience, our commitment to the customers and industries we serve, and of supporting veterans as employees and team members. We look forward to the next 35 years of development and growth. For more information about technology support solutions for businesses, visit www.Crosscom.com or contact CrossCom at [email protected]. SOURCE CrossCom Related Links http://www.crosscom.com FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberX, creator of the world's most widely-deployed industrial cybersecurity platform, today announced that cybersecurity marketing veteran Phil Neray has joined the company's leadership team as vice-president of marketing. The CyberX platform secures the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for critical infrastructure industries such as energy, manufacturing, oil & gas, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water and transportation, enabling organizations to detect and respond faster to risk in their industrial networks. Phil Neray, CyberX "Phil brings a wealth of successful experience, creativity, passion and deep domain expertise in all areas of cybersecurity marketing," said Omer Schneider, CyberX CEO and Co-Founder. "Given our explosive growth in 2016 and Phil's track record of driving market share and industry recognition, he'll be invaluable to our continuing success in 2017 and beyond." With a track record of scaling revenue and brand awareness for both start-ups and larger organizations, Neray has held executive marketing positions at numerous enterprise security leaders including Veracode, IBM Security/Q1 Labs, Guardium and Symantec. Neray Joined CyberX from Veracode, the cloud-based application security company, where his corporate re-branding strategy supported bookings growth of nearly 100% in 2 years. Prior to Veracode, Neray was at IBM Security, where he led global marketing for Security Intelligence and the Q1 Labs SIEM platform (QRadar). He joined IBM via its acquisition of Guardium, the database security company, where he led global marketing and helped grow revenue from $4M to $40M+ in 4 years. Recognized by Gartner as a "Cool Vendor," CyberX is the only industrial cybersecurity vendor selected for the SINET16 Innovator Award sponsored by the US DHS and DoD. Unique in the industry, CyberX combines continuous monitoring and deep network forensics with non-invasive risk assessments, leveraging proprietary threat intelligence for Industrial Control Systems (ICS) with patent-pending, M2M behavioral analytics. "Amazingly, most industrial organizations still rely on perimeter firewalls and other legacy controls that weren't designed to address targeted threats, zero-day exploits, and careless or malicious insiders," said Phil Neray. "Industrial networks are now further exposed due to Smart Manufacturing, Smart Grids, and other IIoT initiatives. CyberX has developed a purpose-built platform for continuous ICS risk mitigation that's innovative, practical, and validated by enterprises and cyber experts worldwide. I'm looking forward to helping CISOs and operational leaders securely implement IIoT initiatives that enhance their competitive advantage." Based in the company's worldwide headquarters outside Boston, Neray is responsible for CyberX's global marketing including product marketing, branding, demand creation, media and analyst relations, sales enablement, and channel marketing. Neray graduated "With Distinction" from McGill University with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours Electrical) degree, followed by graduate-level coursework at the Boston University School of Management. He began his career as an engineer on oil rigs in South America and later as a software product manager. Neray is certified in cloud security (CCSK) and industry analyst relations (CIARP), and holds a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. About CyberX Founded by IDF veterans responsible for securing their country's national critical infrastructure, CyberX has created the world's most widely-deployed industrial cybersecurity platform. The company has been recognized by the International Society of Automation (ISA) for Excellence in Corporate Technical Innovation, and is the only industrial cybersecurity company chosen by the Israel Cybersecurity Consortium to protect the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan. A member of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the ICS-ISAC, CyberX regularly contributes zero-day vulnerability discoveries to both the US DHS and industrial vendors such as GE, Schneider Electric and Rockwell Automation. Learn more at CyberX-Labs.com. Contact: Phil Neray 657-229-2370 [email protected] SOURCE CyberX Related Links http://www.cyberx-labs.com SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A new bilingual real estate service for Spanish speakers has launched with multiple new real estate listings located throughout Santa Barbara County including luxury properties located in Santa Barbara's Mission Canyon, a nearly 2-acre lot with potential real estate development opportunity located in San Roque, and more Santa Barbara homes that can be viewed at www.SantaBarbaraMontecito.com To meet the growing demands of Santa Barbara's large Spanish speaking population this luxury real estate team at Keller Williams Realty Santa Barbara has added a new Spanish-speaking bilingual real estate service to focus on home buyers and sellers whose first language is Spanish. Bilingual real estate agent Karina Rodriguez will join Louise McKaig's award winning Santa Barbara Montecito real estate team to focus on meeting the demand for bilingual real estate agents. Full details can be found at www.SantaBarbaraMontecito.com/Spanish. California luxury communities like Montecito & Santa Barbara have maintained a longtime appeal to international real estate investors and home buyers. With Spanish being the second most spoken language in California it is natural to see a large demand for Spanish-speaking bilingual Realtors. "I am very happy to welcome Karina Rodriguez to our luxury real estate team as part of our ongoing commitment to providing the best real estate service available," says Louise McKaig. "Karina comes to us from a background in home loans with Wells Fargo Bank and years of real estate investing in Santa Barbara County. She was also born & raised locally and is fluent in both Spanish & English. We are happy to be working with Karina as we continue to expand our luxury services to our local Spanish speaking clients as well as our international clients from Spain, Mexico, and other parts of the world." Karina Rodriguez will be working with Louise McKaig's luxury real estate office located in Montecito California at 1255 Coast Village Road #201C, Montecito CA, 93108. Along with their Spanish language focused real estate services, clients will also benefit from the same luxury amenities and real estate marketing services that have lead Louise McKaig and her team to be named "Santa Barbara's Best Real Estate Agent" by the Independent Magazine and "Santa Barbara's Best Realtor" by News Press Reader's Choice Awards for multiple years. Email: [email protected] Website: www.LouiseMckaig.com Follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LouiseMcKaigRealEstate Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louisemckaig Address: 1255 Coast Village Road Suite 201C, Montecito, CA 93108 SOURCE Louise McKaig Santa Barbara Real Estate Team Related Links http://www.louisemckaig.com STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE: LPG) (the "Company" or "Dorian LPG") today adopted a shareholder rights plan and declared a dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right on each outstanding share of Company common stock (each, a "Right"). The shareholder rights plan will replace the Company's existing rights plan that is due to expire pursuant to its terms on December 20, 2016. John Hadjipateras, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated: "The Board's decision to adopt the rights plan underscores its commitment to the equitable treatment of all the Company's shareholders. The plan has been designed to ensure that no group can acquire control or a position of significant influence without treating all shareholders fairly." The Rights are intended to enable all Company shareholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in the Company. The shareholder rights plan will not prevent a takeover, but should encourage anyone seeking to acquire the Company to negotiate with the Board prior to attempting a takeover. The Rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 15% or more of the Company's common stock. Each Right will entitle shareholders to buy one one-hundredth of a share of a new series of junior participating preferred stock at an exercise price of $60. The dividend distribution will be made on December 27, 2016 payable to shareholders of record on that date, and is not taxable to stockholders. The Rights will expire on August 31, 2018. If a person or group acquires 15% or more of the Company's outstanding common stock, each Right will entitle its holder (other than such person or members of such group) to purchase for $60 a number of the Company's common shares having a market value of twice such price. In addition, at any time after a person or group acquires 15% or more of the Company's outstanding common stock (unless such person or group acquires 50% or more), the Company's board of directors may exchange one share of the Company's common stock for each outstanding Right (other than Rights owned by such person or group, which would have become void). Prior to the acquisition by a person or group of beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the Company's common stock, the Rights are redeemable for $0.01 per Right at the option of the Board of Directors. Certain synthetic interests in securities created by derivative positions whether or not such interests are considered to constitute beneficial ownership of the underlying common stock for reporting purposes under Regulation 13D of the Securities Exchange Act are treated as beneficial ownership of the number of shares of the Company's common stock equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative position, to the extent actual shares of the Company's stock are directly or indirectly held by counterparties to the derivatives contracts. About Dorian LPG Ltd. Dorian LPG is a liquefied petroleum gas shipping company and a leading owner and operator of modern VLGCs. Dorian LPG currently owns and operates twenty-two modern VLGCs. Dorian LPG has offices in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, London, United Kingdom and Athens, Greece. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "may," "should" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding future results, many of which, by their nature are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Actual results may differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could affect future results, see the discussion in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the heading "Risk Factors." The Company does not assume any obligation to update the information contained in this press release. For further information: Dorian LPG Ltd. Ted Young Chief Financial Officer (203) 674-9900 [email protected] SOURCE Dorian LPG Ltd. Related Links http://www.dorianlpg.com Dr. Geiger assumed the role as Vice President of Academic Affairs in October and will be responsible for maintaining the overall academic integrity of the University. He will lead the University in its development and maintenance of program standards to ensure academic excellence, while supporting the faculty, academic staff and student learning experiences. In this role, he will ensure quality, inclusivity, fiscal solvency of academic programs and superior stake-holder experience throughout academic affairs. "I am delighted to join Resurrection University during an exciting time of institutional change and dynamic growth. I am also very pleased to work directly with our faculty in curricular planning that will produce exceptional graduates for nursing and health professions. I believe ResU is making bold plans for the future and I am very pleased to be a part of it," said Dr. Geiger. Prior to his role as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Resurrection University, Dr. Geiger held significant positions in higher education. He most recently served as the Director of Student Affairs for the Harris School of Public Policy at The University of Chicago, where he provided leadership roles to successful student retention and success programs. His recognized achievements with The University of Chicago include enhancement of student life, creation of academic affairs infrastructure and analysis and redevelopment of academic support processes. "Dr. Geiger's many years of experience in higher education will help support the University as it continues to grow. At this exciting time in our history, we're continuing to evolve to meet the standards of excellence in higher education through our current program offerings, and through those we strive to provide in the near future," said President Therese A. Scanlan, EdD. "Doug's knowledge of the academic environment will ensure we're providing an academic experience of the highest standards." In his extensive career in higher education over the last 25 years, Dr. Geiger also served as the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at NCAA Division 1 institution, St. John's University in Queens, NY, Vice President of Student Affairs at Manhattanville College, in Purchase, NY, a private, liberal arts college, and as the Dean of Students (Senior Student Affairs Officer) at Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago, IL. In addition to his academic leadership positions, Dr. Geiger has held various administrative positions within different sectors of higher education and non-profit management. These positions include NASPA Region 4-East Knowledge Community Chairperson and Higher Education Management Consultant at DePaul University. He has also held roles as an adjunct faculty member at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY and at Loyola University in Chicago, IL. Dr. Geiger earned his Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Loyola University Chicago. He received a Master's degree in College and University Administration from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor's degree in French and Mass Communications. About Resurrection University Resurrection University (a part of Presence Health) is home to a College of Nursing that offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in Nursing, and the College of Allied Health that offers undergraduate degrees in Health Information Management and Radiography. For more information about ResU, visit www.resu.edu. About Presence Health Presence Health is the largest Catholic health system based in Illinois. With more than 150 sites of care, including 12 hospitals, Presence Health has more than 20,000 employees, 4,000 medical professionals and a revenue base of $2.6 billion. SOURCE Resurrection University Related Links http://www.resu.edu BOGOTA, Colombia, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) ("Ecopetrol") reports a hydrocarbon discovery in the recently drilled Warrior exploratory well, located in the Green Canyon area in the Gulf of Mexico (United States). The well is operated by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, with Anadarko US Offshore LLC owning 65% of the block. Ecopetrol America Inc. owns 20% and MCX Exploration (USA) LLC owning the remaining 15%. Drilling reached a total depth of 26,957 feet (8.216 m) in water depths of 4,144 feet (1.263 m). The Warrior exploratory well encountered more than 210 net feet (64 m) of oil pay in multiple high-quality Miocene-aged reservoirs. This discovery is part of Ecopetrol's new exploration strategy in the Gulf of Mexico, which consists of exploring for resources near existing infrastructure. The Warrior discovery is expected to be tied back to the nearby Marco Polo production facility, also operated by Anadarko. The K2 Field, where Anadarko is operator and Ecopetrol has a 9.21% interest, also produces into the Marco Polo production facility, all of which are within a 3-mile radius. "We are pleased to end this year with such an important discovery, which contributes to our main goal of increasing reserves. This achievement evidences Ecopetrol's ability to strengthen its presence in one of the most prospective areas in the world as is the Gulf of Mexico", said Juan Carlos Echeverry, Ecopetrol's CEO. During the second half of this year, the average production of Ecopetrol America Inc. in the Gulf of Mexico exceeded 10 thousand barrels equivalent oil per day (Boed), much of which comes from the Gunflint Field, which was discovered in 2008, where Ecopetrol America Inc. owns 31.5%. Warrior is the fifth discovery of Ecopetrol in the United States, following the most recent discoveries: Rydberg and Leon in 2014, Dalmatian South and Parmer in 2012 This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. For further information, please contact: Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations Maria Catalina Escobar Phone: (+571) 234 5190 E-mail: [email protected] Media Relations (Colombia) Jorge Mauricio Tellez Phone: + 571-234-4329 e-mail: [email protected] SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A. Related Links http://www.ecopetrol.com.co TSX: ELDNYSE: EGO VANCOUVER, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Eldorado Gold Corporation ("Eldorado" or the "Company") today announced that Mr. Paul Wright will retire from his position of President and Chief Executive Officer following the Company's 2017 Annual General Meeting in April 2017. Mr. George Burns, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc., will succeed Mr. Wright as President and Chief Executive Officer and will also join Eldorado's Board of Directors. Mr. Wright will continue as a member of Eldorado's Board of Directors, moving to the Chairman position. Mr. Robert Gilmore, Eldorado's current Chairman, will continue to serve on the board, moving to the position of Vice-Chairman and Independent Lead Director. Paul Wright said, "I am grateful for the opportunity to have led Eldorado over seventeen years, a period of intense activity through which we succeeded in creating a truly leading international gold company. The quality of our global team and their relentless commitment to success have been integral to our growth and I am proud to have been part of this team. I am enthusiastic about George taking on the leadership role and look forward to working with him through both the transition period and subsequently in my role as Chairman." Robert Gilmore said, "On behalf of Eldorado's Board of Directors, I would like to express our sincerest thanks to Paul Wright for his 20 years of tireless dedication and leadership in building an outstanding gold mining company. Paul has earned the trust and respect of our employees, shareholders, partners and industry leaders. We wish Paul all the best as he begins retirement and for his continued success as he assumes the role of Chairman of the Board. We are excited to welcome George to his new roles, both on the Board and as President and Chief Executive Officer. The Board has selected a very capable and technically accomplished leader at a time when Eldorado is in a strong financial position, with an outstanding portfolio of producing mines and development projects. With George as Eldorado's President and Chief Executive Officer and Paul moving into the role of Chairman, Eldorado has a strong and promising future." Paul Wright joined Eldorado in 1996 as Vice President, Mining, and led the Company in the position of President and Chief Executive Officer since his appointment to the role in October 1999. Mr. Wright has overseen the Company's continued growth with Eldorado prospering under his 20 years of leadership. George Burns was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc. in August 2012. Prior to that he held the positions of Senior Vice President, Mexican Operations and Vice President, Canada and United States respectively. Mr. Burns has over 30 years of experience in the mineral sector including executive, operations, development and engineering leadership roles in gold, copper and coal operations. Prior to joining Goldcorp, Mr. Burns was Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Centerra Gold Inc. Mr. Burns served in various capacities for Asarco including Vice President of mining as well as numerous capacities for Cyprus Minerals Corporation and he began his career with Anaconda Company in 1978. Mr. Burns received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1982. About Eldorado Gold Eldorado is an international low cost gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Brazil. The Company's success to date is based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term partnerships with the communities where it operates. Eldorado's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ELD) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EGO). Certain of the statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "targets", "targeted", "expect", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release include, but are not limited to the Company's Announcement of the Retirement of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Names Successor. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. We have made certain assumptions about the forward-looking statements and information, including the ability to acquire Shares in the market through the NCIB and in compliance with regulatory requirements, the political and economic environment that we operate in, the future price of commodities, anticipated costs and expenses and the impact of the disposition on the Company's business. Although our management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the following: the ability to acquire shares through the NCIB; political, economic, environmental and permitting risks, regulatory restrictions, gold price volatility, discrepancies between actual and estimated production, estimated mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical recoveries; mining operational and development risks, litigation risks, regulatory restrictions, including environmental and permitting regulatory restrictions and liabilities, internal and external approval risks, risks of sovereign investment, and impact of the completion of the sale of our interests in the Jinfeng, Tanjianshan and White Mountain Mines and the Eastern Dragon Development Project on the Company; assumptions about the completion of post-closing conditions of the China National Gold and Yintai Transactions, including liability and timing of meeting the closing conditions; changes in the use of proceeds; currency fluctuations; speculative nature of gold exploration, global economic climate; dilution, share price volatility; competition, loss of key employees, additional funding requirements, and defective title to mineral claims or property, as well as those factors discussed in the sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form & Form 40-F dated March 30, 2016. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Except as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking statements and information continually as conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and the U.S. All forward looking statements and information contained in this News Release are qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE Eldorado Gold Corporation NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CN's Jane King sits down with Arthur Andrew Bavelas, the Founder of Family Office Insights, to discuss the Peer-to-Peer Investment Community. WHAT IS FAMILY OFFICE INSIGHTS? Arthut Family Office Insights is a voluntary, "opt-in" collaborative peer-to-peer community of single family offices, qualified investors and institutional investors. "The Peer Review Q&A has been phenomenal for our firm, as we have been approached by numerous family office groups who form part of Family Office Insights. In addition, one of our portfolio companies, WealthRamp, a FinTech company out of Boston, also presented at a luncheon, and we were successful in raising capital from four family office groups that attended. Further, even after the luncheon, Arthur Bavelas kept referring us to other potential investors that didn't happen to attend the luncheon. Like you, we were also wondering if the investment was going to be worth it, yet we found that it was well worth it, and we hope to continue using this forum for other transactions that we do. We can't say enough good things about the Family Office Insights platform," said Eric Saucedo of Tricap Partners & Co. WHY FAMILY OFFICE INSIGHTS? RADICAL TRANSPARENCY EVERYONE HAS AN AGENDA "Where one stands, often depends on where one sits" Family Office Insights agenda: to grow a well curated like-minded investor community that seeks to help protect, expand, and nurture wealth for multiple generations. Family office insights revenues are strictly from presenters who pay a flat fee to present to the community or subscription fee to maintain updated offering data. A safe environment to explore opportunities A safe place to meet other like-minded peers No Community Fees No Success Fees No Pressure As a Community Participant You Are Welcome to Enjoy: Exclusive Community Opportunity Gathering Invitations "Opt-In" Interest Profile Peer-To-Peer Gatherings & Private Networking Co-Investment Opportunities with Like-Minded Investors Peer Insights Reports Commune With Your Peers: Family Office Insights is a safe, private, curated environment where investors not only learn from experts, thought leaders and asset managers, but also from their peers. The private Family Office Insights investor community represents a wide spectrum of investment views and levels of investment knowledge. Family Office Insights community participants share a commitment to improving their understanding of the complexities of the financial landscape with their peers and seek to become more effective stewards of wealth. About Arthur Andrew Bavelas, Founder of BavelasGroup Family Office and Family Office Insights Arthur Andrew Bavelas, an internationally known entrepreneur, family office investor, founder of Family Office Insights peer-to-peer gatherings, and is the originator of the Fortune's Fortress process of safeguarding family wealth over multiple generations. He is a frequent speaker to the hedge fund, private equity and family office communities. Arthur is the author of numerous articles, white papers. www.familyofficeinsights.com Share on Facebook and Twitter This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/. SOURCE Family Office Insights Related Links https://familyofficeinsights.com/ MANHASSET, N.Y., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a study published in Biomarkers, scientists at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research described their discovery of a molecule, which could indicate how long the body is deprived of oxygen during cardiac arrest. This discovery can potentially allow health care professionals to better understand if a patient will regain full brain function after cardiac arrest and how to best administer treatment. Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart completely stops, preventing blood and oxygen from pumping through the body. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other forms of resuscitation are used to get the heart started again; however this doesn't guarantee a full recovery in which the patient will live a normal life after resuscitation. One of the ways health care professionals can anticipate if a patient will survive and go back to normal activity after cardiac arrest is to determine how long the brain is deprived of oxygen. If a person is deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time, recovery of brain activity is unlikely. Currently, it is difficult to know how long a cardiac arrest victim has been oxygen-deprived unless the event has been observed. Often, victims are found unconscious. With time being a critical factor in cardiac arrest, Feinstein Institute Investigator Junhwan Kim and his team were looking for a more immediate indicator of the period the body is deprived of oxygen to better determine if the patient will survive and return to normal function. "Having a method to detect the onset of cardiac arrest and the length of oxygen deprivation will help physicians make more informed decisions regarding treatment," said Junhwan Kim, investigator at the Feinstein Institute and lead author of the Biomarker paper. "Patients and their families will benefit as doctors will be able to more immediately assess the severity of the patient's injuries and have more definitive indicators of survival." For this study, researchers monitored the change in a lipid metabolite, or molecule, called lysophosphatidylinositol, which increases when there's a lack of oxygen. Using an animal model, researchers looked at the levels of this molecule in the brain, kidney, liver, heart and blood before and five, 10, 20, 30 and 60 minutes after cardiac arrest. They found that the level of lysophosphatidylinositol increased in these major organs for up to 60 minutes post cardiac arrest. Having proved that lysophosphatidylinositol can indicate how long the body has been deprived of oxygen, Kim and his team are preparing to move into a human study where a blood sample is taken and tested immediately following cardiac arrest and post resuscitation. The results will have a significant impact on treatment and survival of patients with cardiac arrest. "Junhwan Kim and his team are close to determining ways to better administer treatment following cardiac arrest," said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institute. "This has the potential to improve the lives of the nearly 300,000 Americans who suffer a cardiac arrest each year." Click here to view the full paper. About the Feinstein Institute The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest healthcare provider in New York. Home to 50 research laboratories and to clinical research throughout dozens of hospitals and outpatient facilities, the 2,000 researchers and staff of the Feinstein are making breakthroughs in molecular medicine, genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and bioelectronic medicine a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we empower imagination and pioneer discovery, visit FeinsteinInstitute.org. SOURCE The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research Related Links http://www.feinsteininstitute.org/ LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive fuel transfer pump is one of the essential components of an automobile. Earlier automotive fuel transfer pumps were primarily used for transferring fluids; however, now-a-days they are finding application in the improvement of overall vehicle as they increase fuel efficiency of the vehicle. With growing environmental concerns, there is an increased demand for eco-friendly solutions, which is encouraging the pump manufacturing companies to develop efficient pumps for automobiles. Pumps are used in vehicle systems for various applications such as fuel, lubrication and transmission. Stringent vehicular emissions regulations, increasing consumer demand for fuel efficient vehicles and engine performance is creating opportunity for the automotive fuel transfer pump manufacturers. Stringent regulatory framework is encouraging the automotive manufacturing giants to combine advance fuel injection systems. For instance, gasoline turbocharged direct injection serves the purpose of increased fuel efficiency, thereby improving overall vehicle performance. Gasoline turbochargers are likely to open up huge potential for vacuum pumps manufacturers. Automotive fuel transfer pumps are set in motion by using either mechanical or electrical energy, and are accordingly categorized as mechanical or electrical pumps. However, some of these functionalities offered by brake booster or steering pumps can also be achieved by the means of using electric motors. Electric motors can substitute automotive fuel transfer pumps in few applications; thus restraining the growth of global automotive fuel transfer pumps market over the forecast period. Among the various types of automotive fuel transfer pumps, the fuel supply pump held the largest share in 2015 in terms of value. The end use of fuel transfer pumps was the largest in passenger car segment, compared to other vehicle types. Based on technology of automotive fuel transfer pumps, electrical fuel transfer pump was globally the larger segment in 2015. The global automotive fuel transfer pumps market was valued at $49,052.6 million in 2015, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during 2016 - 2022. In 2015, Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share in the global automotive fuel transfer pumps market; whereas the market in Middle East and Africa (MEA) is expected to grow at the fastest rate, during the forecast period. The major reason for the fast growth of the market in MEA includes increasing investments in technology up gradation and burgeoning demand for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in this region. Europe was the second largest market for automotive fuel transfer pumps in 2015. The widespread presence of automotive manufacturing giants in Europe is expected to positively impact the market growth over the forecast period. Some of the major players operating in the global automotive fuel transfer pumps market include Robert Bosch GmbH, Denso Corporation, Continental AG, Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd., Delphi Automotive PLC, Johnson Electric, SHW AG, Magna International Inc., Mikuni Corporation, and JTEKT Corporation. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4402420/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A comprehensive research report created through extensive primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of global Chemical Sensors market on the basis of Type (Electrochemical, Optical Chemical, Biochemical and Other); By Application (Medical, Automotive, Environmental Monitoring and Other); By Region (North America, Europe, APAC and ROW) and By Country (U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, China, India, Japan, Brazil and Saudi Arabia). Global Chemical Sensors Market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10.15% during 2016 2021. The strong growth in Chemical Sensors industry is driven by the surging demand from medical and automotive sectors. Apart from that, the uncovering of the wide range of applications in allied industries including chemical processing, food & beverage processing, environmental sector and defence has been impelling growth in the chemical sensors market. Although, electrochemical sensors hold the major percentage share in the total chemical sensors market, biochemical sensor is projected to display a faster growth in the future owing to the increasing diabetes prevalence in the population coupled with growing home &point-of-care testing and monitoring tools demand. Among the regions, APAC is predicted to advance at the highest rate, mainly driven by the pouring number of vehicle production, growing healthcare infrastructure and shift of manufacturing facilities in low-cost countries in the region. According to Azoth Analytics research report, Global Chemical Sensors Market (Optical, Electrochemical, Biochemical):Analysis By Type, By Application, By Region, By Country (2016-2021), Global Chemical Sensors market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 10.15% during 2016 - 2021. Global Chemical Sensors Market has been segmented on basis of Type (Electrochemical, Optical Chemical, Biochemical and Other); By Application (Medical, Automotive, Environmental Monitoring and Other); By Region (North America, Europe, APAC and ROW) and By Country (U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, China, India, Japan, Brazil and SaudiArabia). Scope of the Report Thereport provides coverage by Types, Process and By Application: By Type Electrochemical Sensors Optical Chemical Sensors Biochemical Sensors Others By Application Medical Automotive Environmental Monitoring Other By Region North America Europe APAC ROW By Country US Canada Germany U.K China India Japan Brazil Saudi Arabia Customization of the Report The report could be customized according to the client's specific research requirements. No additional cost will be required to pay for limited additional research. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4397396/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com VANCOUVER, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - GOLDCORP INC. (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) today announced that George Burns, Executive Vice-President ("EVP") and Chief Operating Officer ("COO") will be leaving Goldcorp to assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer at Eldorado Gold. Todd White, currently Senior Vice President, Technical Services and Business Excellence, will succeed Mr. Burns as EVP and COO effective January 1, 2017. "On behalf of the management team and board of directors I would like to thank George and wish him success as he takes on his new role," said David Garofalo, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I look forward to working with Todd to drive increasing net asset value across the portfolio of assets to deliver long-term shareholder value. Todd's strong background in operational efficiency, management systems and large-scale development projects will be invaluable as he leads our operating team going forward." Mr. White has over two decades of experience in the mining sector. Prior to joining Goldcorp in 2014, he was the Senior Vice President, South America at Newmont Mining Corporation. Since joining Goldcorp he has focused on driving a culture of continuous performance improvement and implemented advancements in efficiency and sustainability through technical innovation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada. About Goldcorp Goldcorp is a senior gold producer focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production from a high-quality portfolio of mines. SOURCE Goldcorp Inc. Related Links http://www.goldcorp.com Hill Harper has mastered his presence in front of the camera with leading roles on television shows like CSI: NY , Covert Affairs , and Showtime's award-winning drama Homeland , among others. But it's his tremendous off-air accolades and contributions that complement the intention behind Hennessy's V.S.O.P Privilege Award: four New York Times best-sellers, seven NAACP Image Awards , and an unwavering commitment to community as founder of the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation . Founded in 2006, Harper's non-profit organization focuses on providing mentorship through job programs, conferences and community service projects. "I am honored to receive the 2016 Privilege Award," said Harper. "Mentorship has always been very important to me and I made an important commitment to myself and others to pass along the lessons I have learned in life and provide a foundation for the next generation. It is incredible to know that Hennessy, a global brand, also values the importance of mentorship and giving back to one's community." In addition to recognizing Harper and supporting his foundation, the 2016 Privilege Awards revealed Hennessy's continued and expanded partnership with the Marcus Graham Project. For years, Hennessy has supported the non-profit organization and its mission to nurture, mentor and train multicultural professionals to pursue careers within marketing and advertising. In 2017, Hennessy will sponsor the Marcus Graham Project's Tenth Anniversary Awards Gala and host two marketing workshops with the organization. As the newest recipient of the Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilege Award, Hill Harper has been invited for the first time to serve as the awards gala host and participate in the workshop panels. About Hennessy In 2016, the Maison Hennessy celebrates over two and half centuries of an exceptional adventure that has linked two families, the Hennessys and the Fillioux, for seven generations and spanned five continents. It began in the French region of Cognac, the seat from which the Maison has constantly passed down the best the land has to give, from one generation to the next. In particular, such longevity is thanks to those people, past and present, who have ensured Hennessy's success both locally and around the world. Hennessy's success and longevity are also the result of the values the Maison has upheld since its creation: unique savoir-faire, a constant quest for innovation, and an unwavering commitment to Creation, Excellence, Legacy, and Sustainable Development. Today, these qualities are the hallmark of a House a crown jewel in the LVMH Group that crafts iconic and prestigious Cognacs. Hennessy is imported and distributed in the U.S. by Moet Hennessy USA. Hennessy distills, ages and blends spanning a full range: Hennessy V.S, Hennessy Black, V.S.O.P Privilege, X.O, Paradis, Paradis Imperial and Richard Hennessy. For more information and where to purchase/ engrave, please visit Hennessy.com. About Hill Harper Hill Harper is an award-winning actor, best-selling author and philanthropist. Harper founded the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation which is dedicated to empowering underserved communities through mentorship, scholarship, and grant programs. Harper holds two graduate degrees from Harvard University and travels worldwide as a motivational speaker, addressing current affairs and life-awakening topics to a wide array of audiences. SOURCE Hennessy Related Links http://www.hennessy.com ESTERO, Fla., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hertz one of the most iconic and recognized car rental brands in the world is honored to receive several leading industry awards from top travel industry influencers. In 2016 to date, Hertz has received 37 awards highlighting its outstanding service around the globe, including recognition for its Gold Plus Rewards loyalty program which has grown to 11.4 million members worldwide and adds an average of 5,000 new members per day. The prestigious accolades include the distinction of Best Car Rental Company by Global Traveler in the 12th annual GT Tested Reader Survey Awards, one of the most highly-regarded awards in the industry, which asks frequent business and luxury travelers to name the best company in a variety of travel-related categories. Hertz also received the honor of Best Rental Car Company in the World in Business Traveler magazine's 2016 Best in Business Travel Awards as voted on by readers in its annual Best in Business Travel Survey. Hertz Asia has recently been named the Best Car Rental provider by both the TTG Travel Hall of Fame Awards and the Travel Weekly Asia's Reader's Choice Awards, two of the most prestigious accolades in the region. Hertz received the Women's Choice Award for America's Most Recommended Car Rental Services for the 5th consecutive year for multiple categories including business travel, loyalty programs, overall customer service and overall value. This award designation is based on a national survey that was distributed to tens of thousands of women across America who were asked to select the brands that they would highly recommend to their family and friends. FlyerTalk, the popular online community of frequent travelers, also named Hertz Gold Plus Rewards among the travel industry's best loyalty programs. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards won in every group and geographic region of the Drive category. It was named the Best Rewards Program across the Americas, Europe/Africa and Middle East/Asia/Oceania for the fifth consecutive year and also received the Outstanding Benefits recognition globally. "Hertz is honored to receive these prestigious awards as the best car rental company from key industry influencers in the travel space," says Matt Jauchius, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Hertz. "These external accolades, coupled with the strong growth of Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, is a testament to the value our rental car service provides to consumers and industry leaders alike. We're pleased to continue to help millions of business and leisure travelers get to their destinations." Hertz understands customers want speed and convenience at every part of the rental experience, from pick up to drop off. Hertz is dedicated to maintaining superior quality and customer service through a variety of innovative service offerings, which include its free-to-join Gold Plus Rewards loyalty program. In addition to an expedited rental experience, Gold Plus Rewards members enjoy exclusive benefits that include earning points toward free rental days and bypassing the counter at more than 50 locations. To learn more about Hertz and the company's recent recognitions, visit Hertz.com. ABOUT HERTZ GLOBAL Hertz Global operates, through its operating company The Hertz Corporation and its subsidiaries, the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands in approximately 10,000 corporate and franchisee locations throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Hertz Global is one of the largest worldwide airport general use vehicle rental companies, and the Hertz brand is one of the most recognized in the world. Product and service initiatives such as Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, Carfirmations, Mobile Wi-Fi and unique vehicles offered through the Adrenaline, Dream, Green and Prestige Collections set Hertz Global apart from the competition. Additionally, Hertz Global owns the vehicle leasing and fleet management leader Donlen Corporation, operates the Hertz 24/7 hourly vehicle rental business in international markets and sells vehicles through its Rent2Buy program. For more information about Hertz Global, visit: www.hertz.com. SOURCE Hertz Related Links http://www.hertz.com As a vibrant, young-minded company located in the heart of Toronto, RL is a tight-knit team with a passion for technology in healthcare. Combining their love for software and meaningful work, creating a holiday game for a greater cause was a natural fit! Holiday Jumble was released today, and can be played on web browsers on mobile devices and computers. For every unique Holiday Jumble player, RL has pledged to donate $1 to SickKids. Players also have additional chances to add to RL's donation goal by achieving high scores and reaching different tiers. Play a round of Holiday Jumble at rlsolutions.com/holiday-jumble and spread a little holiday magic in support of SickKids. Promo Video Link: rlsolutions.com/holiday-jumble-video About RL Solutions RL Solutions designs innovative healthcare software for patient feedback, incident reporting & risk management, infection surveillance, peer review, root cause analysis and claims management. At RL Solutions, nurturing long-lasting relationships with our clients is what we do best. RL Solutions has over 1,800 clients, including healthcare networks, hospitals, long-term care facilities and more. RL Solutions is a global company with offices in Canada, the United States, Australia and the UK. For more information, visit www.rlsolutions.com or follow @rlsolutions on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram. SOURCE RL Solutions Related Links http://www.rlsolutions.com MEXICO CITY, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hoteles City Express S.A.B. de C.V. ("Hoteles City Express" or "The Company") (BMV: HCITY) announces the opening of seven hotels, three of them today and four more within the next two weeks, concluding its 2016 Development Pipeline. With these new properties, the Company will reach 5.3 million room nights installed, 123 hotels in operation and more than 13,700 rooms installed before year end. The three hotels that the Company opened today are: City Express Plus Mundo E, City Express Plus Bogota Aeropuerto and City Express Junior Bogota Aeropuerto. City Express CDMX La Raza, City Express Junior Merida Altabrisa and City Express Suites Queretaro Tower II (an expansion that doubles the current room count for the hotel City Express Suites Queretaro) will be opened on Friday, December 23, 2016. Finally, City Centro CDMX will lodge its first guests by December 28, 2016. With these openings the 2016 Development Pipeline concludes according to plan. The details for these openings are mentioned below. Hotel Number Development Pipeline Hotel Brand Investment Scheme Opening Rooms Location 107 1 Aguascalientes Centro City Express Junior Managed 2Q16 66 Aguascalientes 108 2 CDMX Aeropuerto City Express Managed 2Q16 98 Ciudad de Mexico 109 3 San Luis Potosi Carranza City Express Junior Owned 2Q16 128 San Luis Potosi 110 4 CDMX Alameda City Express Managed 3Q16 112 Ciudad de Mexico 111 5 Reynosa Aeropuerto City Express Owned 3Q16 113 Tamaulipas 112 6 Tijuana City Express Suites Managed 3Q16 79 Baja California 113 7 Santiago Aeropuerto City Express Co-Owned 3Q16 142 Santiago, Chile 114 8 Toluca Zona Industrial City Express Junior Managed 3Q16 92 Estado de Mexico 115 9 Rosarito City Express Owned 3Q16 113 Baja California 116 10 Zamora City Express Managed 4Q16 114 Michoacan 117 11 Mundo E City Express Plus Leased 4Q16 145 Estado de Mexico 118 12 Bogota Aeropuerto City Express Plus Owned 4Q16 120 Bogota, Colombia 119 13 Bogota Aeropuerto City Express Junior Owned 4Q16 116 Bogota, Colombia 120 14 CDMX La Raza City Express Owned 4Q16 127 Ciudad de Mexico 121 15 Merida Altabrisa City Express Junior Co-Owned 4Q16 106 Yucatan 122 16 Queretaro Torre II City Express Suites Owned 4Q16 44 Queretaro 123 17 CDMX City Centro Leased 4Q16 44 Ciudad de Mexico Total 1,759 The four openings planned for 1Q17 continue under development, in line with the 2017 Development Pipeline, which will be disclosed early next year. About Hoteles City Express: Hoteles City Express is the leading and fastest-growing limited-service hotel chain in Mexico, in terms of number of hotels, number of rooms, geographic presence, market share and revenues. Founded in 2002, Hoteles City Express specializes in offering high-quality, comfortable and safe lodging at affordable prices via a limited-service hotel chain geared mainly towards domestic business travelers seeking a high value price ratio that is affordable. With 123 hotels located in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile, Hoteles City Express operates five distinct brands: City Express, City Express Plus, City Express Suites, City Express Junior and City Centro, to serve different segments of its target market. In June 2013, Hoteles City Express completed its IPO and began trading on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HCITY"; furthermore, in October of 2014, Hoteles City Express completed a follow on with the aim of accelerating its growth in new hotels in the short- and medium-term. HCITY is covered by the following financial institutions and analysts: Actinver (Pablo Duarte), Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Carlos Peyrelongue), Citigroup (Dan McGoey), ITAU BBA (Enrico Trotta), J.P. Morgan (Adrian Huerta), Morgan Stanley (Nikolaj Lippmann), Santander (Cecilia Jimenez), Signum Research (Armando Rodriguez), and UBS (Marimar Torreblanca). For further information, please visit our website: www.cityexpress.com/en/investors SOURCE Hoteles City Express S.A.B. de C.V. LONDON, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While on a business trip in Miami, Institute Managing Partner Anton Kreil and Senior Trading Mentor Raj Malhotra had a chance meeting with a Soft Commodities Exporter that turned into a White Knight Food Delivery for 500 families in Venezuela. Followers of the Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management may recall that in September this year, the Institute embarked on a North American Seminar Tour. Managing Partner Anton Kreil and Senior Trading Mentor Raj Malhotra presented in six cities across the U.S. and Canada teaching Retail Traders along the way. They presented in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Toronto and New York in under three weeks. Anton and Raj met some amazing people along the way and came away very satisfied that we helped change a lot of perspectives about Trading, Portfolio Management, Investing, Personal Finances and Wealth Management. As with all business trips, when key members of a team embark on such a journey the story rarely ends when they get back on the plane to fly back home. It is usually just the beginning of long term relationships with new clients and the Institute's new students that attend their seminars, going through their Online Educational Programs and completing Mentoring Programs with their Traders. However, on this Institute business trip something really special happened that just goes to show how a chance meeting can turn into something that no-one at the company ever expected. When the Institute presented in Miami, Anton Kreil and Raj Malhotra arrived at the Hotel Conference Room at 10am on September 10th. It was a sunny Saturday morning. They went through the motions, meeting their security team and point person and got the room set up for our presentation. Then, 45 minutes before the presentation, two brothers who live locally approached Anton Kreil outside the room. The younger brother worked in the Private Wealth Management division of a well-known U.S. Bank and wanted to attend the seminar and partake in the Institute's online educational programs to improve his Trading and Portfolio Management abilities to serve his clients better. The older brother Vitto Campuzano runs the family business as a supplier and exporter of US-grown and processed soft commodities such as rice, corn, wheat, and dry edible beans. Vitto was there to support his younger brother. Both brothers had bought VIP Tickets which included lunch with Anton and Raj and with other VIP Ticket holders, after the seminar. Anton and Raj finished up the seminar, stayed for a few hours afterwards answering all of the delegates' questions over a few beers then headed with the VIPs for lunch. It was a typical lunch to begin with. Five VIP delegates and intense discussions about views on Financial Markets, Trading, Portfolio Management, Risk Management, what the Institute teaches and how the Institute teaches its students. Half way through the lunch however the group were discussing intermittently about each and everyone's professions and businesses and Anton ended up having a lengthy discussion with Vitto. They discussed Vitto's food import and export business and how he concentrates on Soft Commodities and the inevitable discussions about Emerging Markets, dealing in countries with absence of Rule of Law etc. Risk Factors and Foreign Exchange Hedging played itself out and they began discussing the societal breakdown in Venezuela since Chavez and the famine that followed across the country. After discussing this Anton decided to approach the "Elephant in the Room" i.e. that Vitto was in a unique position to help people in Venezuela. He asked what he thought was the obvious question i.e. "Why don't you send down a container of food to Venezuela?" Vitto thought this was a great idea. He had been so wrapped up in work and family for the previous six months when the Venezuelan problems began flaring up that he hadn't had a moment to think. As a second generation, Cuban American he empathised, but simply hadn't got around to thinking about it properly. They discussed the logistics of how food would be shipped there and Vitto decided there and then that he would make it happen. On returning to Singapore, Anton contacted Vitto a month later for a progress report. Vitto updated him on the costs, logistics, viability to get the donation to Venezuela and the fact that the donation would feed 500 families in need. They ran through the numbers and it all stacked up. Anton told him he should absolutely go for it, pull the trigger and that once it is done he will feel great about having done it. A few weeks later the food was being shipped to Venezuela and after a total of 12 weeks after that chance meeting and discussion it arrived in port in Venezuela. The news came last week from Vitto that everything went according to plan and the donation had arrived at La Guaira Port in Venezuela. Arrangements were also made by Vitto and his local partners in Miami and Venezuela to photograph and document the process, so it could not be sabotaged in any way throughout its journey towards the city of Cagua, Venezuela. Anton Kreil Managing Partner of the Institute made the following comment on today's announcement: "I look back on this now and I'm genuinely stunned by how a chance meeting in Miami with Vitto so quickly materialized into action and how many people it has helped within such a short space of time. Vitto Campuzano and the staff at his family's company F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc. in Florida are the real definition of White Knights and true heroes." Accompanying photographs of the container shipment reaching Venezuela and the families that F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc. managed to reach and help are available as part of this release. Contacts: F. Garcia Wholesale and Exports Inc: https://www.fgarciafoodexport.com/contact/ Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management: http://www.instutrade.com/contact-us/ Press Enquiries: [email protected] ENDS SOURCE Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management In this inaugural competition, the Ideas Matter Doctoral Fellowship program received 63 applications from graduate students representing 10 West African countries and fields as diverse as biology, agronomy, political science, medicine, public health, chemistry and pharmacy. While only 17 of the 63 applicants were women, the three applications which rose to the top were all submitted by young women attesting to the growing role of women in science and technology. The three candidates selected from this rich trove of applications are: Osemudiamen Oseabhi Anao ( Nigeria ) , University of Benin , will explore the health effects of a toxic common component of e-waste, capable of acting as an endocrine disruptor, carcinogen and neuro-development toxicant; , University of , will explore the health effects of a toxic common component of e-waste, capable of acting as an endocrine disruptor, carcinogen and neuro-development toxicant; Akomoun Blandine Kapko ( Benin ) , Universite d'Abomey-Calavi, will develop an inventory of plants used in the traditional treatment of typhoid fever, further working to identify and isolate their active properties; and , Universite d'Abomey-Calavi, will develop an inventory of plants used in the traditional treatment of typhoid fever, further working to identify and isolate their active properties; and Gloria Tetteh-Kubi ( Ghana ), University of Cape Coast, will investigate measures aimed at reducing widespread pesticide use in cowpea cultivation, contributing to poverty reduction, food security and biodiversity conservation. The Ideas Matter Fellowship Program reflects WARA and The MasterCard Foundation's commitment to increasing opportunities for emerging West African scholars who are transforming ideas into active solutions to the challenges facing the region and the world at large. About WARA The West African Research Association has as its mission the promotion of research and scholarly exchange between and among West African and American scholars and institutions. Over the past 15 years, WARA has directly supported the work of some 100 West African researchers in a wide range of fields. WARA's regional headquarters, The West African Research Center (WARC), is located in Dakar, Senegal. WARA is a member of the Smithsonian-based Council of American Overseas Research Centers and has its U.S. offices at Boston University's African Studies Center. Learn more about WARA by visiting www.bu.edu/wara. About The MasterCard Foundation The MasterCard Foundation works with visionary organizations to provide greater access to education, skills training and financial services for people living in poverty, primarily in Africa. As one of the largest private foundations, its work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. Based in Toronto, Canada, its independence was established by Mastercard when the Foundation was created in 2006. For more information and to sign up for the Foundation's newsletter, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org. Follow the Foundation at @MastercardFdn on Twitter. SOURCE The MasterCard Foundation LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Report Coverage Historical market size for the period 2012-2014 and forecast for the period 2015-2020. Number of cards in cirulation, and value and volume of transactions. Number of terminal, and value and volume of transactions. Industry trends, drivers, and opportunities. Competitive landscape of card issuers for both, debit cards and credit cards. Major schemes, debit and credit cards by customer segments. Research methodology The study is based on extensive secondary and primary research. The various sources studied during the secondary research include websites of payment/ banking/ industry associations, industry regulatory bodies, banks, and card issuers. The primary research included in-depth interviews with industry experts and key opinion leaders. Indonesia cards and payments market overview In terms of number of cards in circulation, the Indonesian payment cards market grew at a CAGR of 10.3% during the period 2012 -2014. The pay now cards are the dominant payment cards in Indonesia. Growth in the Indonesian pay now card market has been relatively strong in terms of number of cards in issue, witnessing a CAGR of 11.9% during 2012-2014. The percentage of the urban population in total population of the country grew from 51.3% in 2012 to 53% in 2014 and is expected to grow further over the forecast period, to reach 58% in 2020. The increase in urbanization is expected to lead to increase in card usage in the country. The total number of credit cards in Indonesia increased at a CAGR of 2% during the period 2012-2014. The transaction value of credit cards reported at POS terminals was greater than at ATMs. The credit card turnover witnessed a CAGR of 7.2%, growing from IDR 13.9 in 2012 to IDR 16.0 in 2014. In January 2016, UOB Indonesia announced the launch of travel-focused PRVI Miles credit card which caters to well-travelled Indonesians. In 2015, UOBI cardholders spent around IDR 800 billion abroad, an increase of 5% y-o-y. During their travels, cardholders spent the most on accommodation and fashion. Singapore and Thailand were among the top 5 destinations favoured by Indonesians travelling abroad. Card offers travel privileges across Southeast Asia which includes discounts with travel merchants such as Agoda, Expedia, as well as fashion, dining and hotel benefits at merchants across Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. In May 2015, Bank Mandiri signed an agreement with a Japan based international credit card payment services provider "JCB", to allow acceptance of credit cards with JCB logo at the Bank's ATMs and EDC machines. This alliance will allow JCB credit card holders to make withdrawals, transfer money and make purchases through Bank Mandiri's EDC machines and ATMs. Also the bank foresees to issue JCB logo bearing credit cards as well. Key players in the Indonesian cards and payments market: Bank Rakyat Indonesia Bank Central Asia Bank Negara Indonesia Bank Mandiri HSBC Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3861593/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com SAN RAMON, Calif., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- INSZoom.com Inc. announces ZoomPower 2017 - the annual user conference. INSZoom's annual user conference ZoomPower 2017, is scheduled for January 19 and 20, 2017 in the beautiful city of San Ramon amidst the San Francisco Bay Area, California. ZoomPower 2017 - The Annual User Conference "Our annual user conference is designed for our customers and will empower them to learn, network and have fun," said Umesh Vaidyamath, CEO and Founder of INSZoom.com Inc. "The highlight of the conference is the hands-on training we offer to our customers where they can implement their learning on the spot, working directly with Zoom consultants. They can then execute the same knowledge in their daily practice of INSZoom." ZoomPower 2017 will be held at the Roundhouse Market and Conference Center in San Ramon, California. The conference is all set to offer two high-energy days of learning, networking and fun. Attendees will receive hands-on training, learn from industry best practices, utilize INSZoom to their best advantage, exchange ideas with other INSZoom customers and discover what INSZoom has planned for the next year through their product roadmap. "I went into the conference not feeling like a "power user" but came out feeling as if I had a greater knowledge and understanding of INSZoom," stated April Peck, Senior Immigration Paralegal at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP who attended the user conference last year. She further added, "I also learned how other firms and users were utilizing INSZoom to make their practices more efficient and we have implemented some of their ideas and practices into our daily practice." ZoomPower 2017 is a great conference to help INSZoom customers increase their efficiency with INSZoom and maximize profitability. Users can take back learnings from the conference and greatly improve their firm's immigration case management processes by making it more efficient, productive and better utilize the INSZoom immigration case management software. ZoomPower 2017 is planned by keeping the users in the center. The conference will prepare the attendees to make the most out of INSZoom, explore features they never have and utilize them to maximize results from their immigration case management processes with INSZoom. Register for the conference here http://bit.ly/ZoomPowerRegister About INSZoom: INSZoom, Inc. (http://www.inszoom.com), is the world's largest immigration software company, with offices in San Ramon, CA, USA and Bangalore, India. Founded in 1999, the company provides immigration case management solutions for immigration lawyers, corporations, universities, healthcare organizations, non-profit groups, enterprises, law firms, and immigration consultants. As a Microsoft Certified partner, INSZoom provides a comprehensive platform that allows clients to share and process valuable information online, process immigration applications quickly and stay compliant while doing so. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONTACT: Kusum Paul PHONE NUMBER: 925-244-0600 EMAIL: [email protected] SOURCE INSZoom.com Inc. Related Links http://www.inszoom.com MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- International Paper (NYSE: IP) is committed to improving food safety throughout the supply chain. The Company announced their Kenton, Ohio and Visalia, California facilities achieved food safety certification by exceeding the standards of the benchmarking procedures as dictated by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The two sites join IP's Shelbyville, Ill. Facility that was certified in March, 2016. All three sites achieved scores above 99%. Earlier this year, International Paper set the goal of exceeding the GFSI standards at 100% of the company's U.S. Foodservice Facilities before year-end and that has been done. GFSI is a non-profit, international benchmarking organization created to standardize food safety rules and has been rapidly recognized as the 'gold standard' for international food safety. These global specifications promoted by GFSI address food, packaging, packaging materials, storage and distribution. Certification is a very stringent and demanding process that requires a facility to organize its Quality Management System (QMS) to address components in the manufacturing process such as management responsibility, hazard analysis, resource management and document control of procedures, policies and records. "Safety as a whole is deep-seated part of our everyday operations and our number one priority," stated Jon Ernst, Vice-President and General Manager of International Paper's Foodservice Business. "We are proactively doing our part to ensure we have the systems in place to eliminate food safety risks in the packaging arena and continue to provide a top quality product." Requests for GFSI-benchmarked audits have been quickly growing. Ernst says that many large retailers and foodservice industry brands are calling for this type of certification as a pre-requisite to doing business. "International Paper continuously strives to exceed our commitment of excellence to our customers. As the needs of our customers continue to grow, we are well positioned to meet those needs." About International Paper International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global producer of renewable fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper products with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, Asia and Russia. We produce packaging products that enable world-wide commerce; pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal hygiene products; papers that drive communication; paper bags that carry groceries; and paper cups and food containers. We are headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., and employ roughly 55,000 colleagues located in more than 24 countries. Net sales for 2015 were $22 billion. For more information about International Paper, our products and global citizenship efforts, please visit internationalpaper.com. About IP Foodservice Based in Memphis, Tenn., International Paper's Foodservice business is a leading global marketer and manufacturer of single-use packaging for the foodservice industry. The company's paper cups, food containers, plates and accessories are found in leading chain restaurants around the world. The company has a solid record of bringing innovative products and brands to market including Hold&Go, a patented insulated paper hot cup using ThermaShield technology which provides a versatile solution for on-the-go beverages and ecotainer, a commercially compostable product line made from fully renewable resources along with products made from FDA-compliant, post-consumer fiber. The foodservice business has operations in Kenton, Ohio, Shelbyville, Ill., and Visalia, Calif., Shanghai and Tianjin China, Winsford, UK and Bogota, Colombia. For more information on our product, visit ipfoodservice.com. SOURCE International Paper Related Links http://www.internationalpaper.com VANCOUVER, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX: ITH) (NYSE-MKT: THM) ("ITH" or the "Company") announced today that it has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") of common shares to existing major shareholders to raise gross proceeds of approximately USD 22 million. The Offering will consist of 45,833,334 common shares of the Company, representing approximately 39.4% of the 116.4 million shares currently issued and outstanding, at a price of USD 0.48 per share. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement for full satisfaction of the final payment due in January 2017 with respect to acquisition of certain mining claims and related rights in the vicinity of the Livengood Gold Project in Alaska (the "Project") (approximately USD 14.8 million as of September 30, 2016), continuation of optimization studies to further improve and de-risk the Project, required environmental baseline studies, and for general working capital purposes. The Offering will be taken up by the current institutional shareholders of the Company, with Paulson & Co. Inc. ("Paulson") acquiring beneficial ownership of 32,429,842 shares, Tocqueville Asset Management, L.P. ("Tocqueville") acquiring beneficial ownership of 9,041,554 shares (taken together Paulson and Tocqueville will acquire a total of 41,471,396 common shares, representing approximately 35.6% of the common shares currently issued and outstanding) and AngloGold Ashanti (U.S.A.) Exploration Inc. ("AngloGold") acquiring beneficial ownership of 4,361,938 shares. Following completion of the Offering, Paulson, Tocqueville and AngloGold will beneficially own approximately 34.2%, 19.7%, and 9.5%, respectively, of the Company's 162,186,972 common shares. In connection with the Offering, the Company has agreed to appoint one Paulson designee to the Company's board of directors at closing. Commencing from the next annual general meeting of shareholders, Paulson will have the right to nominate two individuals for election to the board of directors. The completion of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions including obtaining any required regulatory approvals including approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") and the NYSE MKT. All common shares issued in the Offering will be subject to a hold period in Canada of four months from the closing of the Offering. All common shares issued in the United States will be subject to resale restrictions under U.S. federal and state securities laws. As the aggregate number of common shares issued pursuant to the Offering exceeds 25% of the currently issued and outstanding common shares of the Company, the number of common shares issued to insiders pursuant to the Offering exceeds 10% of the currently issued and outstanding common shares of the Company and the Offering will materially affect control of the Company, the Company would ordinarily be required to obtain shareholder approval under the TSX Company Manual (the "Manual"). However, the Company has applied to the TSX under Section 604(e) of the Company Manual for a "financial hardship" exemption from the requirement to obtain shareholder approval. The Company's board of directors, who are free from any interest in the Offering and are unrelated to the investors, have authorized such application on the basis of their determination that the Company is in serious financial difficulty and the Offering is designed to improve the Company's financial situation and is reasonable for the Company in the circumstances. As a consequence of relying upon the financial hardship exemption under Section 604(e) of the TSX Company Manual, the Company expects that the TSX will commence a remedial de-listing review, which is normal practice when a listed issuer seeks to rely on this exemption. Although the Company believes that it will be in compliance with all of the TSX listing requirements following completion of the Offering, no assurance can be provided as to the outcome of such review and, therefore, the Company's continued qualification for listing on the TSX. As Paulson and Tocqueville are insiders of the Company, the Offering is a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The participation of Paulson and Tocqueville in the Offering is exempt from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements under MI 61-101 by virtue of the "financial hardship" exemptions contained in Section 5.5(g) and 5.7(e) of MI 61-101. The common shares to be issued in the Offering have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) or persons in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the common shares to be issued in the Offering, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the common shares to be issued in the Offering in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest of the Livengood Gold Project, located along the paved Elliott Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. On behalf of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (signed) Thomas E. Irwin Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements with respect to the anticipated completion of the Offering and the proposed use of the proceeds of the Offering by the Company, the outcome of the expected remedial de-listing review by the TSX, the ability of the Company to carry out and complete optimization studies with respect to the Livengood Gold Project, the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood Gold Project, the potential development of any mine at Livengood, business and financing plans and business trends are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned, potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the timing and pricing of the Offering, completion of the Offering, regulatory approval/acceptance of the Offering, the use of proceeds from the Offering, the potential inability of the Company to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and certain securities commissions in Canada and other information released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect to the Company's Livengood Gold Project. This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States or Canada. SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. Related Links http://www.ithmines.com JERUSALEM, December 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, December 18, Sir Geoffrey Robertson, QC will speak on "Genocide Denial and Armenia" at the Fried-Gal Colloquium, at the Hebrew University Faculty of Law, Jerusalem, which hosts the Colloquium. The Colloquium is chaired by Visiting Professor Ruti Teitel, from New York Law School. Sir Geoffrey is a founder and head of Doughty Street Chambers, London, and is one of the world's leading human rights lawyers. Along with Barrister Amal Clooney, he recently represented Armenia at the European Court for Human Rights, and wrote the seminal book, An Inconvenient Genocide, Who Now Remembers the Armenians? Sir Geoffrey served as the first President of the UN's Special Court for Sierra Leone and headed human rights missions for Amnesty International and other leading human rights organizations. He represents high profile cases, including Julian Assange in extradition proceedings in the UK and is currently part of the defense team for former Brazilian President Lula. According to Julie Gal, the founder of the Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Initiative, "Sir Geoffrey Robertson has set the highest standard for legal advocacy of human rights and we are enormously indebted to him for appearing before our students and faculty here in Jerusalem and sharing his deep knowledge and practical experience of human rights law. His leading role in fighting genocide denial, and on behalf of freedom of speech, including protecting sources of journalists and those of researchers in human rights organizations, is extremely relevant in today's world and impacts on us all. "We in Jerusalem are aware of our link to the horrific realities of genocide whether through the Holocaust or what is happening just beyond our borders today in Syria. Sir Geoffrey's insights have direct relevance to the topics our students study including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and issues of civil liberties." The Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Initiative includes colloquia, study tours to areas of past and present conflict, research, and scholarships. It is funded by the Gal Foundation, New York. Contact: Kam Global Strategies: [email protected] , +972-54-806-8613 SOURCE Kam Global Strategies DENVER, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Izzio Artisan Bakery announced today a first-of-its-kind partnership with local millers and farmers to create a proprietary flour blend that is 100% traceable. This new sourcing partnership helps further differentiate Izzio Bakery from other artisan bread brands by creating North America's first true seed-to-loaf bakery. Izzio Bakery is located in Louisville, Colorado, and is known for its traditional artisan baking methods, ultra clean labels, highly hydrated doughs and the extensive use of natural fermentation. Currently Izzio Bakery sells their unique loaves in 25 different States with plans to expand their distribution network further in 2017. To set the bar for the next generation of authentic artisan breads, Izzio is collaborating with 26 local farmers to grow specific varieties of wheat that are then blended and milled to their baker's specifications 42 miles from the bakery. This proximity and strong business relationship with suppliers has enabled Izzio Bakery to create a proprietary flour blend which they have named High Plains Provenance Flour an unenriched, freshly-milled, non-GMO, nutrient-packed, fully traceable flour that is used in all 25 bread varieties that Izzio bakes. Sara Kafadar, VP of Sales for Izzio Artisan Bakery says, "Full traceability and knowing exactly where your food comes from has become one of the most important factors in making purchasing decisions. Today, there is too much uncertainty regarding the authenticity and transparency of ingredients and so we made it our main objective to ensure that our customers know exactly where their food comes from. Seed-to-loaf traceability completes the circle of trust currently absent in the bread world." Baking with High Plains Provenance Flour, water and salt, using only natural fermentation, which sometimes lasts up to three days, results in loaves that are both authentic and flavorful. Crafting bread along the edge of America's "Bread Basket" has given Izzio unprecedented access to local farmers, allowing them to lay claim to being the first large-scale seed-to-loaf artisan bakery in America. About Izzio Artisan Bakery: Izzio Artisan Bakery was originally founded in 1994 in Denver, Colorado by Udi Bar-on. Originally named Udi's, the bakery was founded as a result of Mr. Bar-on's need to find better bread for his thriving sandwich business. Udi's eventually got into gluten free baking and grew to be North America's largest gluten free bakery brand. When Mr. Bar-on sold his gluten free bakery to Boulder Brands in 2012, Udi's had annual revenues of $125 million and was available in more than 25,000 North American retail locations. Today Izzio Artisan Bakery is owned by The U Baron Group, a business owned and operated by Udi Bar-on and family. Besides Izzio Artisan Bakery the U Baron Group also operates 10 restaurants, one catering company and one USDA processing plant. The U Baron group is located in Colorado and employees more than 600 people. SOURCE Izzio Artisan Bakery BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Investments has expanded its exchange-traded fund (ETF) product lineup today with the launch of John Hancock Multifactor Developed International ETF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, a company regarded as one of the pioneers in strategic beta investing, was selected to design the underlying developed-market equity index for the new international ETF based on Dimensional's time-tested factor-based approach. The ETF (ticker JHMD) trades on the NYSE Arca. "Adding an ETF focused on international investing is a logical extension of our product line, and we are pleased to be able to bring Dimensional's proven multifactor approach to investors seeking to invest in international markets," said Andrew G. Arnott, president and CEO of John Hancock Investments. Dimensional began applying the concept of multifactor investing more than 30 years ago, and today the firm is one of the most respected managers in the industry. Dimensional's approach is rooted in decades of academic research into the factors that drive expected returns and they offer a compelling track record of delivering results to investors. "The beauty of Dimensional's philosophy is that it is straightforward and disciplined in its approach, yet so thoughtful and innovative in its implementation. They are truly an exceptional firm to be able to partner with to deliver solutions to our clients," said Steve L. Deroian, head of ETF strategy at John Hancock Investments. John Hancock Investments has had a relationship with Dimensional and its portfolio management teams since 2006, with strategies offered as both individual John Hancock mutual funds and through John Hancock asset allocation portfolios. The new international ETF is the 12th ETF John Hancock Investments has developed with Dimensional Fund Advisors in the past 18 months. John Hancock Investments' previous launches include U.S. large- and mid-cap portfolios and a range of sector-specific offerings. About John Hancock Investments John Hancock has helped individuals and institutions build and protect wealth since 1862. Today, we are one of America's strongest and most-recognized brands. As a manager of managers, John Hancock Investments searches the world to find proven portfolio teams with specialized expertise for every fund we offer, then we apply vigorous investment oversight to ensure they continue to meet our uncompromising standards and serve the best interests of our shareholders. Our unique approach to asset management has led to a diverse set of investments deeply rooted in investor needs, along with strong risk-adjusted returns across asset classes. About John Hancock Financial and Manulife John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada, and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents, and distribution partners. Assets under management and administration by Manulife and its subsidiaries were CAD$966 billion (US$862 billion) as of September 30, 2016. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as MFC on the TSX, NYSE, and PSE, and under 945 on the SEHK. Manulife can be found at manulife.com. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com. A fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses should be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, contact your financial professional, call John Hancock Investments at 800-225-5291, or visit our website at jhinvestments.com/etf. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. Investing involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. There is no guarantee that a fund's investment strategy will be successful. Foreign investing has additional risks, such as currency and market volatility and political and social instability. Due to various factors, shares may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market, and a fund's holdings and returns may deviate from those of its index. These variations may be greater when markets are volatile or subject to unusual conditions. Errors in the construction or calculations of a fund's index may occur from time to time. Please see the fund's prospectus for additional risks. John Hancock Multifactor ETF shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), and are not individually redeemed from the fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP receives compensation from John Hancock in connection with licensing rights to the John Hancock Dimensional indexes. Neither John Hancock Advisers, LLC nor Dimensional Fund Advisors LP guarantees the accuracy and/or completeness of an index (each an underlying index) or any data included therein, and neither John Hancock Advisers, LLC nor Dimensional Fund Advisors LP shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein. Neither John Hancock Advisers, LLC nor Dimensional Fund Advisors LP makes any warranty, express or implied, as to results to be obtained by a fund, owners of the shares of a fund, or any other person or entity from the use of an underlying index, trading based on an underlying index, or any data included therein, either in connection with a fund or for any other use. Neither John Hancock Advisers, LLC nor Dimensional Fund Advisors LP makes any express or implied warranties, and expressly disclaims all warranties, of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to an underlying index or any data included therein. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall either John Hancock Advisers, LLC or Dimensional Fund Advisors LP have any liability for any special, punitive, direct, indirect, or consequential damages, including lost profits, arising out of matters relating to the use of an underlying index, even if notified of the possibility of such damages. John Hancock ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, and are subadvised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP. Foreside is not affiliated with John Hancock Funds, LLC or Dimensional Fund Advisors LP. JHAN-2016-11-11 0448 INTLETFPR 12/16 SOURCE John Hancock Investments ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hospital consolidation, the increased role of China in product launch decisions, service test markets, new small clinic targets, mergers & acquisitions are among the trends affecting companies selling in vitro diagnostic products, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market researcher with a biotechnology and IVD specialty has identified the top 5 trends in the in vitro diagnostics market of 2016. Kalorama's report, The Worldwide Market for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests, 10th Edition, covers the market for IVD products. The report is available at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Worldwide-Vitro-Diagnostic-10206771/. 1. Consolidation Brings Renewed Focus to Core Lab Healthcare organizations are consolidating, and IVD is adjusting to this trend. Healthcare consolidation requires a renewed approach to core lab markets and automation systems targeting the big accounts There is increasing demand among integrated health networks for greater centralization of diagnostic testing to streamline workflows and steer better healthcare information to professionals, Major IVD companies launched products this year to enhance workstations. Siemens Healthineers used the AACC Annual Meeting this year to unveil its Atellica Solution for automated core lab testing. Abbott Diagnostics unveiled its Alinity line of "harmonized systems" across the core lab (clinical chemistry and immunoassays), hematology, point-of-care (POC) diagnostics, blood screening, and molecular diagnostics. 2. CFDA Approval Rises in Prestige In the past five years, China has solidified its place as an IVD market just behind the United States, European Union, and Japan. Outside of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or European CE marking, China FDA (CFDA) approval has been the next most heralded product development for many IVD companies. Roche issued a 2016 press release for the CFDA approval of its CINtec PLUS Cytology test or immunocytochemistry assay for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV). Roche also markets a molecular HPV assay that may find greater usage in emerging markets in the coming years after being approved by the U.S. FDA as a first-line HPV screening tool. Qiagen has also targeted the Chinese HPV test market with its CFDA-approved careHPV platform for low-resource settings. Most surprising in the Chinese market's ascent has been the prominence of its cancer diagnostics space. Advanced cancer testing is not associated with middle-income countries, but China's research prowess in sequencing and globally significant patient populations in urban markets have created considerable opportunities for overseas IVD companies. Cancer diagnostic specialist Epigenomics of Germany has relied upon China as a principal market for its liquid biopsy colorectal cancer (CRC) test, Epi ProColon. In May 2016, the test was included in Chinese government-administered guidelines for the screening of early CRC. Epigenomics is expected to commence Chinese clinical trials during 2016 to support CFDA approval of its liquid biopsy assay for lung cancer using the methylated SHOX2 gene biomarker. Epi ProColon and other advanced molecular assays for cancer have been designated as innovative products by the CFDA, which can expedite approval processes. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is the highest area of activity in the Chinese cancer diagnostics market. Driven foremost by demand for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), the clinical sequencer base in China now includes over 40 hospitals in China and other testing institutions that serve at least 70 other hospitals and clinical clients. Cancer testing is the second-largest clinical application of NGS in China. 3. Strong Performance of Esoteric LDT Companies An emerging dynamic is major cancer-focused U.S. LDT companies' penetration of the EU market. Myriad Genetics, Genomic Health and Foundation Medicine have pursued different strategies to introduce their LDTs to the EU market. Foundation Medicine has a strategic partnership with Roche for the international sales and marketing of the FoundationOne and other comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) tests. The company will also begin operations at a centralized lab for its European market LDTs in Penzburg, Germany. Myriad Genetics complemented their reference lab in Munich, Germany with the acquisition of a German clinic known as an MVZ or multi-disciplined ambulatory care center. Operating an MVZ, Myriad Genetics will be able to open direct reimbursement negotiations with insurance providers and contract with physician network and hospital clients. Genomic Health has an appreciable LDT business in Europe (international markets were 14% of the company's 2015 revenue), but performs all testing at its Redwood City, CA facility from its CE-marked sample collection kit. The rising profile of LDTs in the EU market may limit growth opportunities for the EU molecular cancer diagnostics market. Wider availability of CE-marked molecular cancer kits has not translated to robust growth in the IVD market segment in recent years. The outlook for the regional market segment is improved, however, by returned political stability to the region, more favorable economic conditions, and rising demand for advanced LDT services (in turn driving sales of related reagents and instrumentation). Globally a high-growth market segment, molecular cancer diagnostics in the EU is expected to grow at approximately only 4% due to market maturity (relative to ROW markets) and reimbursement limitations (relative to the U.S. market with its more diversified payer system). 4. Aiming at Urgent Care and Retail Clinics The proliferation of urgent care centers (10,000+) in the US, as well as retail clinics (1,200+) have made systems that can deal with the workflows associated with these clinics a priority. Alere is present in this marketplace. Roche's cobas Liat, a PCR point of care platform, which recently received CLIA waived status for Flu A/B and RSV, is designed with these clinics in mind. Urgent Care Centers provide walk-in, extended hour access for acute illness and injury care that is either beyond the scope or availability of the typical primary care practice. UCC's differ from traditional physicians' offices with procedure rooms for lacerations and fractures, radiology department for x-ray services, and in some cases a laboratory. High visibility and adequate parking is part of their business model, thus centers are usually located in freestanding buildings, though they can be located in strip malls and in some cases they may be within a hospital complex but with a separate entrance, Convenient hours are a key strength of urgent care centers. Retail clinics differ from urgent care centers in that they are smaller, are encased within a retail setting, provide a limited menu of services and usually are staffed by one practitioner or two. 5. Pace of M&A Continues Merger activity continued to brisk in 2016. The industry has shown to be extremely dynamic, and IVD M&A deals that were brisk in 2015 continued into 2016. Some allow larger companies to acquire new technologies, but as shown in bold, there is a distinct move for globalization of IVD knowledge. LabCorp purchased Sequenom. Abbott announced its intention to buy Alere, Sunnyvale, CA-based Cepheid was purchased by Danaher corporation. Bio-Techne acquired ACD for $250 million, marking Bio-Techne's entry into the genomics field and market. ACD's technology, RNA-ISH is a technology facilitating and improving the monitoring of gene expression patterns at the single cell levelwhile retaining the morphological context of the tissue being analyzed. Oxford Immunotec Global PLC, a global, high-growth diagnostics company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary tests for the management of immune-regulated conditions, acquired substantially all of the assets of Imugen, Inc., a Massachusetts-based clinical laboratory focused on developing and performing specialized testing for tick-borne diseases. Luminex acquired Nanosphere and their Verigene platform and seeks to benefit from their broad menu, and strong presence in the molecular microbiology market. According to the companies. Nanosphere's Verigene technology leads in the high-growth bloodstream infection segment and complements Luminex's current infectious disease portfolio. Kalorama Information's The Worldwide Market for In Vitro Diagnostic Tests, 10th Edition details specific products, trends and mergers in the IVD industry and profiles hundreds of companies. The report is used by top companies in the IVD industry. Please link any media or news references to our reports or data to http://www.kaloramainformation.com/. About Kalorama Information Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog on our company website. Press Contact: Bruce Carlson 212 807 2262 [email protected] SOURCE Kalorama Information Related Links http://www.kaloramainformation.com/ PLEASANTON, Calif. and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kandy, GENBAND's award-winning communications Platform as a Service (cPaaS), today announced that it has received the "Best Cloud Provider (Vendor)" award from Telecom Review. The award was presented at the annual Telecom Review Summit event, a high-level ICT executive gathering held in Dubai every year. "We are highly committed to the ICT industry and these awards are a way for us to help celebrate our industry's leaders," said Toni Eid, CEO of Trace Media International. "This year's winners represent the absolute best in our industry and we are very proud to honor them with this distinguished award." An independent panel of 15 industry veterans evaluated 167 submissions to select the winners of the 2016 Telecom Review Excellence Awards. "We're thrilled that Kandy has been recognized for its ability to make communications more human: contextual, embedded, and real-time," said Paul Pluschkell, Kandy founder and CEO. "Just slightly more than two years old, Kandy has evolved to be more than just a cPaaS it's an enabler for operators and enterprises seeking to build new revenue streams quickly and simply, with minimal risk. We're looking forward to continued innovation and industry leadership in 2017." Communications Service Providers and global enterprises around the world are leveraging Kandy to deliver proven, high-performance embedded communications including managed OTT mobility solutions for consumers and Business Solutions for enterprise from a private, hybrid or public cloud. Commenting on the gathering of Industry Leaders, Jeff Seal, Managing Partner of Telecom Review North America added, "Once again Telecom Review has brought together the leaders of the ICT/telecom industry. We were pleased to have GENBAND / Kandy join us in Dubai, a key region for the growth of today and tomorrow's new technology solutions." About Telecom REVIEW Telecom Review is a leading publisher of English, Arabic and French magazines that cover a broad spectrum of issues that interest the modern and educated reader. Building on the expertise and skills of its management team, reporters, contributors and media professionals, Telecom Review strives to provide its readers with quality reporting through research, analysis and insightful articles rich in content and style. About Kandy GENBAND's Kandy communications Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is a real time software development platform built from GENBAND's core communications, presence, security and real time technologies. Kandy enables service providers, enterprises, software vendors, systems integrators, partners and developers to enrich their applications and services with real time contextual communications, providing a more engaging user experience. With Kandy, companies of all sizes and types can quickly embed real time communications capabilities into their existing applications and business processes. For more information visit kandy.io. About GENBAND GENBAND, a 2015 CNBC Disruptor 50, is a global leader in real-time communications software solutions for service providers, enterprises, independent software vendors, systems integrators and developers in over 80 countries. Kandy, its award-winning, disruptive real-time communications software development platform, is built from the company's global telecommunications network and security technologies. The platform enables these companies to easily embed a full suite of voice, video, chat, screen-sharing and collaboration capabilities into their existing business, web and mobile applications. The company's Network Modernization, Unified Communications, Mobility and Embedded Communications solutions enable its customers to quickly capitalize on growing market segments and introduce differentiating products, applications and services. GENBAND's market-leading solutions, which are deployable in the network, on premise or through the cloud, help its customers connect people to each other and address the growing demands of today's consumers and businesses for real-time communications wherever they happen to be. To learn more visit genband.com. GENBAND, the GENBAND logo and icon are trademarks of GENBAND. SOURCE GENBAND Related Links http://www.genband.com LIBERTY HILL, Texas, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of new residents in Liberty Hill may be growing, but there is still an authentic ranch touchstone with the birth of a new calf at Santa Rita Ranch. Born on November 23, 2016, our Ranch Mascot Happy delivered a precious calf named Psalty (The P is silent). Weighing in at 63 lbs., her new bundle of joy was up and about in no time. LONDON, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global lightweight materials market is projected to reach USD 225.35 billion by 2024, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Positive automotive outlook coupled with increased number of wind project installations is expected to boost demand for these materials. Lightweight materials are gaining popularity in various applications instead of iron and steel on account of improved performance. The fuel efficiency advantage facilitates use in application segments including automotive and aviation. The reduction in CO2 emissions on account of enhanced fuel efficiency in passenger vehicles will augment the demand for these materials. U.S and China contribute to the majority of the product demand owing to the presence of a large number of automotive and aviation component manufacturers. Rising innovation in the aviation sector and an increasing number of wind project installations globally is expected to have a positive impact on demand. Further key findings from the report suggest Automotive application segment was the largest consumer of the product in 2015 on account of increasing demand for vehicles with enhanced fuel efficiency. The consumption of lightweight materials in the automotive application was over 27 million tons in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% from 2016 to 2024. High strength steel is expected to be the fastest growing product segment on account of enhanced lightweight advantage when combined with aluminum for manufacturing of vehicle body. The demand for high strength steel was over USD 8; billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% from 2016 to 2024. Asia Pacific was worth USD 42 billion in 2015 and is likely to witness significant growth owing to rising wind energy installations. Countries such as Japan and India are expected to add over 10 GW of wind energy resulting in the increased application of lightweight materials. Companies are focusing on increasing their market share within the industry through various strategic initiatives such as mergers and acquisitions. In December 2015, Solvay acquired Cytec Industries aiming to enter the lightweight materials market with a broad product portfolio. In March 2015, Alcoa acquired RTI International Metals to expand its offerings in titanium and other advanced manufacturing & material technologies. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4394740/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com DALLAS, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Central components of open green areas in any neighbourhood are sustainability, environmental stewardship, and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. As a developer of affordable luxury residential communities in Texas, the Founder of Western Rim Property Services, Marcus Hiles is honored to be able to donate land for community parks and provide the much-needed property for natural recreation spaces. Trees, plants and wildlife are essential for life and allow families, couples and individuals a place for relaxation. These spots can only thrive through the generous work and dedication of people and businesses, such as Hiles, devoted to environmentally friendly efforts. Understanding the importance of public space for leisure and enjoyment of nature, Marcus Hiles has contributed to the transformation of multiple Texas cities with his generous gift. Inspired to create amazing places to live, these community parks are an essential part of his vision. His mandate for eco-friendly business extends to his company, which annually plants trees by the thousands. The benefits of urban wildernesses enhance the local eco-system in many positive ways. According to American Forests, an organization that studies municipal forests and the repercussions of declining natural areas in cities,two trees can make enough oxygen for one person and can absorb twenty pounds of air pollution every year. Parks also provide shade, cooling down a significant area and reducing heat retention. Air-conditioning requirements are lower in a community with ample canopy coverage. A car that is placed in the shade stays fifty degrees cooler than one parked in the sun. Marcus Hiles is a Texas-based real estate entrepreneur and investor. As Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Western Rim Property Services, he is a visionary developer, committed to designing and expanding high-quality communities with executive residential rentals available throughout the region. One of Hiles' personal goals is to increase the tree canopy in Texas substantially. His passion to help others extends to philanthropic activities and his association with different state boards. Marcus Hiles - Chairman & CEO of Western Rim Property Services: http://www.MarcusHiles-News.com Western Rim Property Services- Marcus Hiles - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Western-Rim-Property-Services-Marcus-Hiles-1013270532051763/ Marcus Hiles (@marcus_hiles) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcus_hiles Marcus Hiles - The Mansions on the Park - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce1ez9C8XsA SOURCE Marcus Hiles BALTIMORE, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Med-IQ Quality Improvement Institute has joined forces with MedStar Health, the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and Washington, DC, to address the substantial burden of unrecognized chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among the baby boomer population. Expanding Success: Improving Alignment With Birth Cohort-Based HCV Testing and Linkage to Care is an expansion of an award-winning quality improvement (QI) initiative designed to facilitate the identification of HCV infection in alignment with current clinical practice guidelines, thereby decreasing the downstream health effects associated with this silent disease. Although the CDC issued guidance in 2012 for a one-time HCV test for all persons born between 1945 and 1965, numerous barriers to timely identification exist. In response to these challenges, Med-IQ launched its first HCV QI initiative in 2013 in partnership with Duke University to evaluate testing patterns among baby boomer patients. This led to the development of a framework for continual evaluation of HCV testing patterns and facilitation of better alignment with guidelines related to identifying patients and linking patients with initial positive screening test results to appropriate specialty care. This initiative demonstrated a statistically significant increase in HCV antibody testing among baby boomers. Now, Med-IQ and MedStar Health announce further expansion of this work into 15 primary care centers in the greater Washington DC/Baltimore area. This initiative will support practice improvements in HCV testing and linkage of HCV-infected patients to appropriate care by conducting continual, focused reviews of current practice patterns, offering a series of electronic and live educational activities, and distributing patient education resources developed by nationally recognized public health agencies. "HCV is now a curable disease for almost every infected patient, but to reap the benefits of treatment, patients must first be identified. We are thrilled to bring our proven framework to additional primary care clinics within the MedStar Health system so that more baby boomers will become aware of their serostatus and take action," said Sara Miller, MS, Director of the Med-IQ QI Institute. The Med-IQ Quality Improvement Institute has been recognized by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEhp) for its previous HCV initiatives and has been invited by the Center for Business Intelligence and the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education to present QI data and findings. SOURCE Med-IQ Related Links http://med-iq.com DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Medical Foam Market - Global Forecast to 2026" report to their offering. The global medical foam market is projected to reach USD 30.89 Billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2016 to 2026. The major factors expected to drive the demand for medical foam during the forecast period include, increasing aging population, increased shift towards technologically advanced products, and others. Another factor expected to drive the market is the increased healthcare expenditure by countries across the globe and their contribution to the overall GDP. The medical packaging segment is estimated to lead the global medical foam market in 2016. This can be attributed to the high demand from the sterilized packaging industry, use of polymer foams for the cushioning of manufactured products to protect them from damage during handling and transportation. Based on form, spray foam is the fastest growing segment in the medical foam market. Spray foams have been increasingly used in the wound care market in instant bandages. Coatings is another application where spray foams have been increasingly used in the medical foam market. One major advantage of spray foam over the other types of foams is, it is ready to use and does not require any additional molding that may be required in case of rigid and flexible foams, thus saving cost. Spray foams can be used in instant bandages in the areas where standard bandages and other wound care products cannot be used directly. The Asia-Pacific region is estimated to lead the global medical foam market in 2016. The Asia-Pacific medical foam market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period, owing to the increasing demand from countries, such as Japan, China, India, Indonesia, and others in the region and increasing investments in the healthcare sector in various countries. The market in the region is in a nascent stage, but offers huge growth potential, especially in China, Japan, India, and South Korea. Some of the factors that may restrain the growth of the market include, stringent norms and regulations imposed on the use of medical grade products that require high R & D expenditures, and others. The medical foam market is expected to grow at a high rate due to the increasing investments in the healthcare industry by various countries during the last few years. Companies Mentioned: Armacell Gmbh Basf Se Bayer Ag Foamcraft, Inc. Foampartner Group Future Foam, Inc. Fxi-Foamex Innovations Huntsman Corporation Inoac Corporation Recticel Nv/Sa Rogers Corporation Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. Trelleborg Ab UFP Technologies, Inc. Vita (Lux Iii) S.A.R.L The Dow Chemical Company The Woodbridge Group Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 5 Market Overview 6 Industry Trends 7 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Form 8 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Material Type 9 Medical Polymer Foam Market, By Application 10 Regional Analysis 11 Competitive Landscape 12 Company Profiles 13 Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pgwssc/medical_foam Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com The collaboration with the Google Assistant is part of Mercedes-Benz long-term goal of creating an intelligent ecosystem around cars, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to make everyday life more convenient for their customers. With this integration, Google Home users can send destination to their Mercedes-Benz Cars; set and activate heating and cooling systems within their vehicles; find out fuel and charge levels; check lock status as well as interact with their cars in order to lock doors and many moreall from the comfort of their home. Mercedes-Benz is one of the first Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to combine the Google Assistant on Google Home with their vehicles, and signals another step forward in the company's connectivity strategy seamless and intelligent interaction between the customer's Internet of Things (IoT)/Wearables devices and their Mercedes-Benz Cars. "In the last decade, we've seen a range of benefits when smart technology is combined with transportation," said Sajjad Khan, vice president of digital vehicle & mobility at Daimler. "This newest integration shows just how intelligent the car of the future will be, and we plan to roll out more applications as the year progresses that will make daily life even more accessible and convenient." Arriving in the first months of 2017 Mercedes-Benz customers will be able in specific markets to communicate with their cars through their Google Home. Streamlining the customer's digital lifestyle by connecting the car to the IoT has been a rapid evolution during the last few years. With using machine learning and artificial intelligence this endeavor becomes even more efficient. Mercedes-Benz launched the Companion App in 2015 to integrate contextual intelligence into customers' driving experience. In addition to door-to-door navigation, the Companion App uses machine learning to provide a personalized user experience by learning from customers' actions and their environment. It extends customers' existing behavior on their mobile phone seamlessly into Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Further information about Mercedes-Benz is available online: www.media.daimler.com and www.mbrdna.com SOURCE Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America, Inc. Related Links http://mbrdna.com "Michelin does not own any retail stores, so our close relationship with dealers is critical for the success of this program," said Scott Clark, chief operating officer, Michelin North America. "We have worked very closely with our retail partners to ensure we have an offer that promotes their business while also offering consumers the convenience of researching and buying online." When an order is placed online, consumers will schedule an installation appointment with a local service provider based on proximity. Tires will be shipped directly to the service provider. Michelin's BFGoodrich Tires brand began offering online tire sales earlier this year. Tire dealers who sign onto the program will be able to provide service for consumers who purchase either BFGoodrich or Michelin brand tires. Both the BFGoodrichTires.com and MichelinMan.com websites will aim to sell nationally by mid-2017. About Michelin Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company has earned a long-standing reputation for building innovative premium tires. Since 1989, Michelin has received 80 J.D. Power tire customer satisfaction awardsfive times the number of all other tire manufacturers combined. In addition to tires, the company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs about 22,700 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants SOURCE Michelin North America Related Links http://www.MichelinMedia.com "This honor is especially valued because it reflects the opinions of our peers and customers," said Udit Batra, Member of the Executive Board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and CEO, MilliporeSigma. "Recognition from scientists is further substantiation that MilliporeSigma's new brand is bringing science to life. We share this award with our many employees who are committed to solving the toughest problems in life science by collaborating with the global scientific community." MilliporeSigma was selected for the award through a survey of more than 1,500 scientists from around the world who are actively engaged in multiple areas of life science research as well as pharmaceutical research and development. Recipients of the Life Science Industry Awards are determined not only by the number of votes received, but also on the satisfaction and loyalty of their customers. MilliporeSigma was also named a finalist in three additional categories including Best Customer Service, Best Use of Digital Media and Most Useful Website. The Life Science Industry Awards have been presented every other year since 2002. In 2014, the company won the award for "Greenest" Life Science Company, recognizing a commitment to corporate responsibility. All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany news releases are distributed by email at the same time they become available on the EMD Group website. In case you are a resident of the U.S. or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service. About the Life Science Business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany The life science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates as MilliporeSigma in the U.S. and Canada, has 19,000 employees and 65 manufacturing sites worldwide, with a portfolio of more than 300,000 products enabling scientific discovery. Udit Batra is the global chief executive officer of MilliporeSigma. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany completed its $17 billion acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich in November 2015, creating a leader in the $125 billion global life science industry. Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in healthcare, life science and performance materials. The company has six businesses Biopharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, Allergopharma, Biosimilars, Life Science and Performance Materials and generated sales of 12.85 billion in 2015. Around 50,000 employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to foster the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. The company holds the global rights to the name and the trademark "Merck" internationally except for the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials. SOURCE MilliporeSigma The East End bridge is the final major piece of the $2.3 billion Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project to open to traffic. The project also includes the new 6-lane, I-65 North Abraham Lincoln Bridge and the improved 6-lane, I-65 South Kennedy Bridge in Downtown Louisville. The combination of the two bridges has nearly doubled cross-river capacity downtown. Both bridges fully opened to traffic in Nov. 2016. All three bridges will be tolled. Tolling is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. on Friday, December 30. RiverLink is all-electronic tolling, with no stopping, no slowing, no lines and no coin machines. With all three bridges fully open to traffic, truck drivers will receive a "free trial" of the new and improved system prior to the start of tolls. Beginning December 30, when toll collection commences, all vehicles using the bridges must have a transponder to pay the lowest rates. Customers with E-ZPass, PrePass and BESTPASS toll accounts that include E-ZPass may use their existing transponders. Additional action is not required. New customers can open RiverLink accounts and get transponders by calling 1-855-RIV-LINK (748-5465). Two transponder options are available. RiverLink local transponders are free, non-transferable stickers that work only on the Lincoln, Kennedy and East End bridges. RiverLink E-ZPass transponders work in all 16 E-ZPass states and are available for $15 each. Specially trained customer service representatives are available by phone 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Demand is high. Commercial operators are encouraged to call early in the day to avoid delays. The Sherman Minton Bridge (I-64) and the Clark Memorial Bridge (US 31/Second Street Bridge between downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, IN) will not be tolled in connection with the project. More than 30,000 trucks a day will use the toll bridges as a business route to save time, money and fuel. Tolls for Large Vehicles (5-axle or more) are between $10 and $12 per trip, and tolls for Medium Vehicles (with 3 or 4-axles or more than 7 feet in height) are between $5 and $7 depending on account type. Find more information and to open an account today, call 1-855-RIV-LINK (748-5465). Additional information is also available at www.RiverLink.com. https://twitter.com/riverlinktolls https://www.instagram.com/riverlinktolls/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYd1loJ3nLPwq3ScubFVyqw The Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project includes two new bridges and their approaches, an improved Kennedy Bridge, and the reconstruction of the Interchange where I-65, I-64 and I-71 come together in downtown Louisville. The new Abraham Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of I-65 northbound traffic. The improved Kennedy Bridge carries six lanes of southbound traffic. The new East End bridge connects the Gene Snyder Freeway in Prospect, Kentucky (I-265) with IN State Road 265 (Lee Hamilton Highway) in Utica, Indiana. Find more details on the Ohio River Bridges Project at www.kyinbridges.com. SOURCE RiverLink Related Links http://www.RiverLink.com WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA confirmed Friday morning that all eight spacecraft of its latest Earth science mission are in good shape. The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) will provide scientists with advanced technology to see inside tropical storms and hurricanes like never before. CYGNSS launched into orbit at 8:37 a.m. EST Thursday aboard an Orbital ATK air-launched Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The rocket was dropped and launched from Orbital's Stargazer L-1011 aircraft, which took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida. "The launch of CYGNSS is a first for NASA and for the scientific community," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "As the first orbital mission in our Earth Venture program, CYGNSS will make unprecedented measurements in the most violent, dynamic, and important portions of tropical storms and hurricanes." The CYGNSS constellation will make frequent and accurate measurements of ocean surface winds in and near a hurricane's inner core, including regions beneath the eyewall and intense inner rainbands that previously could not be measured from space. CYGNSS will do this by using both direct and reflected signals from existing GPS satellites to obtain estimates of surface wind speed over the ocean. "CYGNSS will provide us with detailed measurements of hurricane wind speeds, an important indicator of a storm's intensity," said Christopher Ruf, CYGNSS principal investigator at the University of Michigan's Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering in Ann Arbor. "Ultimately, the measurements from this mission will help improve hurricane track and intensity forecasts." CYGNSS is the first orbital mission competitively selected by NASA's Earth Venture program, managed by the Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Program Office at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. This program focuses on low-cost, science-driven missions to enhance our understanding of the current state of Earth and its complex, dynamic system and enable continual improvement in the prediction of future changes. "There is a feeling of pride and joy knowing that you have been a part of something that is much bigger than yourself and will potentially have a significant positive impact on the general public safety," said Jim Wells, ESSP mission manager. Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio led the development, integration and operation of the CYGNSS microsatellites. The Space Physics Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan College of Engineering leads the overall mission execution, and its Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering department leads the science investigation. The Earth Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate oversees the mission. The NASA Launch Services Program, based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was responsible for spacecraft/launch vehicle integration and launch management. Orbital ATK Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, provided the Pegasus XL launch service to NASA. For more information about CYGNSS, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cygnss SOURCE NASA Related Links http://www.nasa.gov LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Data breach and recovery is a costly affair today. Companies have to spend billions of dollars to regain hacked customer data and brand image. The cost of managing data breaches has significantly risen in the last few years. Therefore, to protect brand image and customers' data companies are investing heavily on encryption technologies. Encryption is simple yet a formidable platform to protect the system from external attacks. Encryption offer security of the data right from file to disk to network communications. Encryption has proved to be a fairly effective security mechanism at keeping hackers at bay. In addition to the region wide data privacy laws, industry-wide regulations are also prevalent, most prominent among them would be Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), which mandates protection and security of cardholder data. The laws that are in practice are those that cover the sensitive information which is more susceptible to identity theft or fraud. The obligation to comply such laws has become a major factor that is driving the adoption of Encryption market. While region wide regulations such as the HIPAA in the US continue to be the leading drivers of encryption, the industry-wide standards such as PCI DSS standards, are also driving the market. Based on the Application type, the Encryption Software market is segmented into Disk Encryption, File/Folder Encryption, Database Encryption, Communication Encryption and Cloud Encryption. Based on Organization Size, the market is segmented into Small & Medium Sized Enterprises and Large Enterprises. Based on deployment Type, the market is segmented into cloud based and On-premise. The Verticals highlighted in this report include BFSI, Healthcare, Government & Public Utilities, Telecom, Retail, Aerospace & Defence and Others. Based on Country, North America Encryption Software market is segmented into US, Canada, Mexico and Rest of North America. US remained the dominant Country in the North America Encryption Software market in 2015. Canada and Mexico would witness promising CAGR during the forecast period (2016-2022). The report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the Encryption Software market. Key companies profiled in the report include Symantec Corporation, Check Point Software Technologies, IBM Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Intel Corporation, HP Enterprise Company, FireEye, Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, AT&T Inc. and Dell Inc. (SonicWall Inc.). Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4437677/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimedia I Blue 449, the open source media agency of Publicis Media, is simplifying its name to Blue 449. In addition, the agency is rebranding all six remaining Optimedia offices and Match Media in Australia to Blue 449. Publicis Media created Optimedia I Blue 449 in March 2016 as the "Open Source" brand for the Group, merging the Optimedia brand with fledgling Blue 449. In nine months the combined brand has gone from strength to strength with wins including DJI, Asda, Home Away, Kayak and Alibaba. Also during this time, Optimedia US has been awarded the eBay, NRG/Reliant and the Hewlett Packard Enterprise business. With a Global presence across 14 core markets, 22 offices, Blue 449 intends to launch a further eight offices including Singapore, Taiwan, Mexico and Bulgaria by the end of 2017 increasing their footprint across EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Andras Vigh, Blue 449 Global Brand President said: "Our Blue 449 journey started only 19 months ago but over 18 years ago for Optimedia. By bringing together these two brands we are creating a unique agency, truly scaled with our "Open Source" philosophy. Our focus this year has been to create a consistent global footprint and an aligned name. Blue 449 will help us to drive our product and our clients' businesses, to live up to our mantra that we are always in beta and continue our innovation in creativity and data through media. Exciting times ahead." "We are bringing the best of two agency cultures together to best serve both our clients, as well as our employees worldwide," said Dave Ehlers, CEO of Optimedia US. "The energy of the Blue 449 brand is contagious and we are fired up for the world to see more customized client services with a renewed focus on data and content, as well as trust, talent and transformation." About Blue 449 Blue 449 (www.blue449.com), the Open Source Media Agency is one of the five brands of Publicis Media. Its open source philosophy means operating at the intersection of media, ideas, data and technology to deliver inventive, collective progress for their clients. Its Blue Collective, like-minded individuals and organisations from across the globe, provide additional expertise and inspiration as do the global practices of Publicis Media. Led by Andras Vigh, Global Brand President, Blue 449 operates in 14 markets, 22 offices and will expand further during 2017. It employs over 1200 employees. We are one agency, many territories, no boundaries. Twitter @blue_449 About Publicis Media Publicis Media is one of the four solutions hubs of Publicis Groupe ([Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40], alongside Publicis Communications, Publicis.Sapient and Publicis Healthcare. Led by Steve King, CEO, Publicis Media is comprised of five global brands, Starcom, Zenith, Mediavest | Spark, Blue 449 and Performics, powered by digital-first, data-driven global practices that together deliver client value and business transformation. Publicis Media is committed to helping its clients navigate the modern media landscape and is present in more than 100 countries with over 17,500 employees worldwide. Twitter: @PublicisMedia. About Optimedia Optimedia is a leading media services agency and is part of Publicis Media, with over 360 people working in 6 offices across the United States. Optimedia delivers to clients the best possible return on their communications investment, applying a rigorous and objective approach to improving the effectives of marketing spend. This is supported by a unique approach to strategy development and implementation across the full spectrum of paid, owned and earned contact points the Live ROI planning process. Optimedia offers clients a full range of integrated skills across communications planning, value optimization, performance media and content creation. Our key clients include Bridgestone, Denny's, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Nintendo, Richemont, Sanofi, T-Mobile and Whirlpool. SOURCE Blue 449 Related Links http://www.blue449.com CROYDON, Pa., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- State Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera today met with administrators, students, and educators at Bristol Township School District in Bucks County, as part of Governor Wolf's statewide Schools That Teach tour. Since taking office, the Wolf Administration has invested in students and schools as part of its mission to create schools that teach, more than $640 million additional secured in consecutive state budgets. "Educators across the commonwealth work hard each and every day to foster the academic and social growth of their students, and the staff at Bristol Township School District is no different," said Sec. Rivera. "While schools may have different plans and short-term goals, they all agree that their number one priority is the students. Traveling across the state meeting at schools in cities, suburbs, and rural towns has shown that no matter their location or financial standing, all schools are reaching for the same goal: student success." The event included a roundtable discussion on the Wolf Administration's educational priorities, including investing in students and schools and developing a more holistic system of measurement through the replacement of the School Performance Profile (SPP) with a new measure of school success, called the Future Ready PA Index. The existing SPP, which was first used in 2013, is heavily reliant on standardized test scores, which only mark student performance at a single point in time during the school year. "Just as the lessons we teach students must be well-rounded and nuanced to be effective, so too must the ways we evaluate what they are learning," Sec. Rivera said. "By modifying our existing evaluation system and utilizing a more holistic measurement process, we will receive a more accurate and complete picture of student achievement, college and career readiness, and educator effectiveness." During the SPP modification process, the Department of Education hosted more than 30 feedback sessions dedicated exclusively to revamping the accountability tool, bringing together a wide variety of stakeholders. Teachers, administrators, parents, students, policy makers, advocates, industry and higher education leaders all lent their expertise and insight to the process to ensure a broad cross section of perspectives were considered. PDE's recommendations for the Future Ready PA Index retain several of the indicators from the current SPP; however the weighting of those indicators would be modified. "Bristol Township School District was delighted that Secretary Rivera visited and presented vital information about the Department's recent initiatives," said Superintendent Dr. Melanie Gehrens. "The round table discussion gave the stakeholders a chance to share feedback and participate in robust conversations about important issues in education." To date, the Schools That Teach tour has made stops at more than three dozen schools across Pennsylvania. A Google Map of all tour stops is available here. MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman, 717-783-9802 SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney delivered the first PurePower engines to China Southern Airlines, the first mainland Chinese airline to take delivery of an Airbus A320neo aircraft powered by this revolutionary engine technology. China Southern has an additional 23 A320neo aircraft on order through the leasing company AerCap, all of which will be equipped with Pratt & Whitney's PurePower engines. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX). "China Southern has been dedicated to offering eco-friendly and comfortable travel experience to passengers with advanced and reliable aircraft engines. We selected Pratt & Whitney's PurePower engine due to its ability to deliver fuel and cost savings," said Li Tongbin, executive vice president and chief engineer, China Southern Airlines. "The Airbus A320neo will mark an important contribution to renewing our fleet with the most modern and fuel-efficient aircraft available." "On behalf of Pratt & Whitney, I congratulate China Southern Airlines on receiving this ground-breaking A320neo aircraft," said Rick Deurloo, senior vice president, Commercial Engine Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service. "We are very proud that Asia's largest airline has put its confidence in Pratt & Whitney's PurePower Geared Turbofan engine, which is transforming aviation as we know it." The PurePower Geared Turbofan engine family has announced and unannounced firm and option orders with more than 80 customers from more than 30 countries. In revenue service, the PurePower engine has demonstrated its ability to reduce engine fuel burn by 16 percent, regulated emissions by 50 percent and noise footprint by 75 percent*. China Southern Airlines is headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit the website at www.utc.com or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC. This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel, and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings. *A320neo engines compared to 737-800 engines For more information about Pratt & Whitney, visit www.pw.utc.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/prattandwhitney Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prattandwhitney YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/prattandwhitney1925 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pratt-&-whitney Sara Banda Grace Xie Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney 860-565-4031 office 86-21-6036 0666 office 860-202-8644 mobile 86-15801772527 mobile [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Pratt & Whitney Related Links http://www.pratt-whitney.com SOUTH EASTON, Mass., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nine employees that work for the Raynham Center Water District in Raynham, Mass. voted to join Teamsters Local 653 in South Easton, Mass., securing a strong voice to represent them on the job. The workers, who did not have any representation prior to the vote, approached Local 653 three weeks ago to discuss joining the Teamsters. Local 653 represents more than 200 public service workers in Massachusetts including 130 members at Brockton Public Schools. "We were seeking the strong representation Local 653 brings to the table," said Luke Bisio a working foreman and water technician who has been with Raynham Center Water District for 17 years. "We want to ensure that we have a voice on the job that understands our challenges." Bill Trask, Teamsters Local 653 president and business agent credited the workers' initiative and desire to become unionized as the driving force behind the organizing victory. "This group knew exactly what they wanted when they approached us," Trask said. "They knew that we already represented public service workers and have secured strong contracts for them. I look forward to helping these workers with their first contract." The union has scheduled contract negotiations with Raynham Center Water District in January 2017. "We are successfully organizing more and more in the public service industry and it is because of the support of International Vice President Sean O'Brien and our executive boards from the local and Joint Council 10," Trask said. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters. Contact: Bill Trask, (508) 230-7140 SOURCE Teamsters Local 653 Related Links http://www.teamster.org DUBLIN, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "China Pesticide Industry Report, 2016-2020" report to their offering. China's pesticide industry has weathered the rough time of "overcapacity, market downturn, weak demand, price decline, stringent environmental policies, and fierce competition" over the past two years. Due to a greater pressure from safety production and environmental protection, rising costs, tepid domestic and foreign demands, and prohibition of and restrictions on highly toxic pesticides, the industry has been running with lower product prices. Overall, the pesticide enterprises now make meager profits or barely break even. China produced 3.741 million tons and sold 3.495 million tons of chemical pesticide APIs in 2015, edging down 0.1% and 2.2% from a year ago, respectively. In addition, output of pesticide preparations represented by herbicides, insecticides, and bactericides all fell over the same period in 2014, standing at 1.774 million tons, 514,000 tons, and 182,000 tons, down 1.6%,8.5%and 20.8% respectively against the previous year. The Action Program for Zero Growth of Pesticide Utilization by 2020 issued by the MoA in 2015 specifies that pesticide utilization will be effectively controlled and new pesticides vigorously promoted so as to reduce consumption and harm of pesticides.The country's pesticide production and sales will maintain slight growth over a period of time, with chemical pesticide APIs reaching an estimated 3.768 million tons in production and 3.628 million tons in sales in 2020, respectively. There are about 1,800 pesticide producers in China, represented by Nanjing Red Sun, Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical, Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group, Shenzhen Noposion Agrochemicals, and Jiangsu Huifeng Agrochemical. The country's No. 1 pesticide enterprise hasless than a 2 percent market share, showing a very low market concentration. As a series of measures on closing down backward production facilities and encouraging corporate merger and restructuring are implemented, the Chinese pesticide market concentration is expected to improve gradually. Key Topics Covered: 1. Overview of Pesticide Industry 2. Status Quo of China Pesticide Industry 3. Development Environment of China Pesticide Industry 4. Trends of China Pesticide Industry 5. Major Chinese Pesticide Players - ENN - Hubei Sanonda Co., Ltd. - Hunan Haili - Jiangsu Changqing Agrichemical - Jiangsu Huifeng Agrochemical Co., Ltd. - Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co., Ltd. - Lanfeng Biochemical - Lianhe Chemical Technology - Lier Chemical - Limin Chemical - Nanjing Red Sun - Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals - Noposion Corporation - Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical - Zhejiang ShenghuaBiok Biology - Zhejiang Xin'an Chemical Industrial Group For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4xkwtp/china_pesticide Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com DUBLIN, Dec 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Cosmeceuticals Market 2017-2021" report to their offering. The report forecasts the global cosmeceuticals market to grow at a CAGR of 5.95% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global cosmeceuticals market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of cosmeceutical products through retail and salon outlets to individual consumers in the global market. One of latest trends in the market is rising preference for physician-recommended products over non-prescription products. With the growing demand for skincare products from the aging population, the sales of physician-recommended (i.e., recommended by dermatologists, skin care specialists, and trichologists) cosmeceutical products is expected to increase in the coming years. The physician-recommended cosmeceuticals segment features well-known brand names, especially in the skincare products space. In line with the growing demand for physician-recommended products, vendors are focusing more on product differentiation to enhance the marketability of their products. Not only the global players, but even local and small- and mid-size vendors have started focusing on the development of advanced cosmeceutical products. According to the report, one of the primary drivers in the market is growing premium BPC products industry. The global BPC products market is set to almost double in size in the next 10-15 years, with the US, China, Brazil, Japan, and India expected to become the top markets. Most consumers now prefer high-end cosmeceutical products, and are more open to new technology and new retail distribution models. Therefore, global BPC product manufacturers are finding greater opportunities to innovate and launch premium products under the skincare, haircare, fragrances, make-up, bath, male grooming, and sun care categories. Most of the premium and niche categories of these products have some sort of health and medicinal benefits and these products are considered as cosmeceuticals. Key vendors: Beiersdorf L'Oreal P&G Shiseido Unilever Key Topics Covered: Part 01: Executive summary Part 02: Scope of the report Part 03: Market research methodology Part 04: Introduction Part 05: Economic indicators Part 06: Market landscape Part 07: Market segmentation by product Part 08: Retail format segmentation Part 09: Geographical segmentation Part 10: Key leading countries Part 11: Market drivers Part 12: Impact of drivers Part 13: Market challenges Part 14: Impact of drivers and challenges Part 15: Market trends Part 16: Vendor landscape Part 17: Appendix For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/3ddnx6/global Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com The significant role that the Ronald McDonald House played in the life of sales representative Josh Bagshaw inspired the Rhumb Line Business Logistics team to support the organization's mission. "When my little sister was hospitalized for the first three years of her life, Ronald McDonald came to my family's rescue and allowed us to be a family during a truly tough time," Bagshaw says. "More than just a brand name, the organization provided a level of care and loving support that is unmatched throughout communities worldwide, and we will forever cherish that support system and stability." President Dan Fithian praised his team's efforts, saying, "It was a pleasure to give back to such an incredible organization and help improve the lives of children. It's important to us not only to succeed client expectations but also to give back to the community." Rhumb Line Business Logistics delivers results without excuses for the client, seeing opportunity where others see obstacles. The team of motivated professionals at Rhumb Line Business Logistics specialize in direct marketing sales solutions that benefit the client seeking to increase market share and brand awareness. With a focus on achieving sales excellence, the company also values community service and develops their employees in a fun, supportive atmosphere. About Rhumb Line Business Logistics Headquartered in Colorado, Rhumb Line Business Logistics is an outsourced sales and marketing company that represents major clients in various industries. With an emphasis on developing their employees, the firm increases brand awareness and acquires customers on behalf of the client. Rhumb Line Business Logistics also believes in giving back to the community. For more information, call 720-504-7705 or visit http://rhumblinebusinesslogistics.com/. Contact: Dan Fithian 720-504-7705 SOURCE Rhumb Line Business Logistics Related Links http://www.rhumblinebusinesslogistics.com SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RizePoint, the global leader in compliance management solutions, has been named on the 2016 FL Top 100+ Software and Technology providers list, a recognition by Food Logistics, the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global food supply chain. "RizePoint helps some of the largest food brands in the world maintain a high quality supplier network and keep food safe," said Frank Maylett, President and CEO of RizePoint. "We are proud to be recognized by Food Logistics for our award-winning compliance software." RizePoint's Mobile Auditor and Management Dashboards are used by top foodservice companies to identify issues, manage corrective actions, enhance business processes, and assure compliance for internal and external regulations from the Food Safety Modernization Act to internal supplier standards. The FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list serves as a resource guide of software and technology providers whose products and services are critical for companies in the global food and beverage supply chain. "The software and technology sector continues to generate new and exciting opportunities for growers, food manufacturers, grocery retailers and the many logistics providers that support them," notes Lara L. Sowinski, editorial director at Food Logistics. "Today's cloud-based solutions and mobile connectivity are helping create tools that are more flexible, affordable and responsive, making software and technology even more valuable to those in the global food supply chain." Companies on this year's 2016 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list will be profiled in the November/December 2016 issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com. RizePoint At-a-Glance RizePoint mobile and cloud-based software helps organizations improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of their products, services, and facilities. RizePoint's software is used by 5 of the top 8 hospitality brands and 5 of the top 8 food service brands. RizePoint serves more than 387,000 users in 120 countries and territories, speaking 40 languages: 105,000 food service restaurants 27,000 hotels and resort properties 13,000 grocery and retail stores About RizePoint RizePoint formerly Steton Technology Group is the global leader in software solutions that proactively safeguard enterprise compliancefor both internally-imposed standards and externally-imposed regulations. RizePoint software builds and protects brand equity by enabling a consistent customer experience. Our customers gather better data, see necessary actions earlier, and act faster to correct issues before they become costly liabilities. Considered the industry standard for foodservice, hospitality, and retail, RizePoint mobile and cloud-based solutions serve nearly 2 million audits with 200 million questions answered annually. RizePoint is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, visit RizePoint.com. About Food Logistics Food Logistics is published by AC Business Media, a business-to-business media company that provides targeted content and comprehensive, integrated advertising and promotion opportunities for some of the world's most recognized B2B brands. Its diverse portfolio serves the construction, logistics, supply chain and other industries with print, digital and custom products, events and social media. Press Inquiries: Whitney McCarthy 801.285.9827 [email protected] SOURCE RizePoint Related Links http://www.rizepoint.com SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Roostify, a provider of automated mortgage transaction technology, today announced that the company was chosen as Best in Show by attendees at the Digital Mortgage Conference, held last week in San Francisco. Roostify attended the first ever Digital Mortgage Conference, presented by National Mortgage News, to demonstrate the company's mortgage technology platform to an audience of nearly 1,000 stakeholders in the mortgage industry. Attendees voted on the most successful demonstrations, naming Roostify the winner. "The feedback from this event was incredible, for both Roostify as a growing company, as well as for the industry as a whole," said Rajesh Bhat, CEO of Roostify. "The enthusiasm for digital mortgage solutions was overwhelming and demonstrated that real change has come to the industry. A year ago, digital mortgage was something banks were considering in the future. Now, it's something that's happening, today, at lenders across the country." Earlier in the event, Bhat participated in the panel presentation "Real World Transformations," which featured case studies by prominent lenders and their partners on how they approached going digital. Bhat presented alongside USAA VP of Product Management John Harrell on how USAA worked with Roostify to bring USAA's mortgage process online and create an experience in line with USAA's member-first values. "This is a very exciting time for our industry and we continue to look forward to helping lenders offer a better solution for their loan applications and processing, that not only benefits them, but also creates the best possible experience for consumers," added Bhat. About Roostify Founded by three technologists frustrated with their home buying experiences, Roostify enables a more efficient, transparent mortgage process for lenders, agents and homebuyers. Roostify's software platform is trusted by prominent banks and mortgage brokers nationwide to deliver more loan volume, faster closes and happier customers. Roostify is backed by private investors, and headquartered in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.roostify.com. Press Contact: Richard Berman, 1-415-359-4906, [email protected]. SOURCE Roostify Related Links http://www.roostify.com SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartDrive Systems, a leader in driving performance solutions that reduce collisions and improve fuel efficiency, today announced it has been included in the 2016 FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list for the third consecutive year. Food Logistics, the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product through the global food supply chain, recognized SmartDrive alongside other top providers and companies whose products and services are critical for the global food and beverage supply chain. This distinction reaffirms the SmartDrive program's positive impact on improving safety, reducing risk and exonerating drivers of commercial vehicles. "We're honored to be recognized once again by the Food Logistics team and proud that leading food and beverage fleets rely on SmartDrive's video-based safety and analytics solutions identify and reduce risk," said Steve Mitgang, CEO of SmartDrive. "Transportation safety and efficiency are among the top concerns for supply chain managers, and the most successful companies take proactive steps to mitigate risk. With the impact of collisions extending well beyond physical damage to the vehicle to include legal setbacks and liability claims, damage to brand reputation, personal injury or worse, the value of actionable, predictive and prescriptive analytics cannot be overstated." SmartDrive and other companies on this year's FL100+ Top Software and Technology Providers list will be profiled in the November/December 2016 issue of Food Logistics, as well as online at www.foodlogistics.com. Designed to serve as a resource guide for the publication's readers, the companies and products listed on the FL100+ benefit the industry in a variety of ways, from reducing food waste and extending shelf life, to facilitating safe and sanitary transportation of product while assuring regulatory compliance. "The software and technology sector continues to generate new and exciting opportunities for growers, food manufacturers, grocery retailers and the many logistics providers that support them," notes Lara L. Sowinski, editorial director at Food Logistics. "Today's cloud-based solutions and mobile connectivity are helping create tools that are more flexible, affordable and responsive, making software and technology even more valuable to those in the global food supply chain." SmartDrive is the industry's only multi-tiered video-based safety program that identifies unsafe driving with an extensible platform, integrating video, vehicle data, audio and driving data for a unified and comprehensive view of risk. The SmartDrive SmartIQ platform is a distinct, new class of solution that transforms massive volumes of data generated by commercial fleets into timely actionable information, predictive analysis and prescriptive actions that drive measurable value for food and beverage logistics businesses. About SmartDrive Systems SmartDrive Systems, the recipient of Frost & Sullivan's Customer Value Leadership Award for Video Safety Solutions, gives fleets and drivers unprecedented driving performance insight and analysis, helping save fuel, expenses and lives. Its video analysis, predictive analytics and personalized performance program help fleets improve driving skills, lower operating costs and deliver significant ROI. With an easy-to-use managed service, fleets and drivers can access and self-manage driving performance anytime, anywhere. The Company, which is ranked as one of the fastest growing companies by Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, has compiled the world's largest storehouse of more than 140 million analyzed risky-driving events. SmartDrive Systems is based in San Diego, Calif., and employs over 500 people worldwide. About Food Logistics Food Logistics is published by AC Business Media, a business-to-business media company that provides targeted content and comprehensive, integrated advertising and promotion opportunities for some of the world's most recognized B2B brands. Its diverse portfolio serves the construction, logistics, supply chain and other industries with print, digital and custom products, events and social media. Contact or Follow SmartDrive on: Email [email protected] Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/smartdrivesystemsinc Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/smartdriveinc YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/smartdrivesystemsinc LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/company/smartdrive-systems SOURCE SmartDrive Systems Related Links http://www.smartdrive.net COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC (" SIRE ") announced its financial results for Fiscal 2016. Results for Fiscal 2016 and 2015 (Amounts in 000's, except Book Value per unit) Fiscal 2016 Fiscal 2015 Net Income $5,093 $13,761 Operating Income 6,575 21,096 Modified EBITDA 17,715 13,761 Total Debt $31,544 $35,733 Book Value (Members' Equity) 103,077 101,316 Book Value per basic unit $7,734 $7,602 SIRE reported net income of $5.1 million or $382.16 per basic unit for Fiscal 2016, compared to a net income of $13.8 million or $1,032.57 per basic unit for Fiscal 2015. Modified EBITDA was $17.7 million for Fiscal 2016, compared to $29.2 million for Fiscal 2015. This is defined as net income plus interest expense net of interest income, plus depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, then adjusted for unrealized hedging losses, gain on involuntary conversion, and other non-cash credits and charges to net income. SIRE had $3.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $26.6 million available under revolving loan agreements, for total cash and available borrowings of $29.7 million at September 30, 2016. Brian Cahill, SIRE's President and CEO stated, "During Fiscal 2016, margins dropped compared to Fiscal 2015 . Demand for ethanol continues to be strong with the lower prices, both in the U.S. and abroad." "We continue to explore additional sources of profit, including collaborating with partner firms providing new revenue streams for SIRE, as well as continuing to evaluate and implement new production technology. We will continue to focus on running the plant efficiently, with a balance of optimizing the yield and profit." "During Fiscal 2016, we continued progress reducing debt and improving our balance sheet. We continued to lower production costs with the addition of capital improvements that increased efficiencies for the plant. The last quarter of Fiscal 2016 showed improved margins compared to the first three quarters." 2016 Highlights SIRE reduced the Farm Credit Services of America/Cobank term loan by $6.0 million , from $24.0 million down to $18.0 million , from down to SIRE declared a dividend of $ 250 per unit, which was paid in August, 2016 per unit, which was paid in August, 2016 SIRE completed construction of a new fermenter and a CO2 pre-condenser SIRE continued utilizing the Enogen corn in its ethanol production "Our book value per share is now $7,734 per unit," continued Cahill, "with $ 382.16 profit per basic unit for Fiscal 2016." During Fiscal 2016, SIRE sold 124.5 million gallons of ethanol. Cahill commented, "Margins continue to be tight, as the low price of corn has been matched by the low price of oil and ethanol. The EPA volumes are higher than earlier EPA proposals and have been raised to the statutory limits of RFS2. We expect Fiscal 2017 to see continued tight margins, with a high focus on efficiency in the industry." About Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC: SIRE is located on 275 acres in Council Bluffs, Iowa, operating a 125 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant. SIRE began producing ethanol in February 2009 and sells its ethanol, distillers grains, corn syrup, and corn oil in the continental United States, Mexico and the Pacific Rim. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the " 1995 Act " ). Such statements are made in good faith by SIRE and are identified as including terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "plans," or similar language. In connection with these safe-harbor provisions, SIRE has identified in its Annual Report on Form 10-K , important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of SIRE, including, without limitation, the risk and nature of SIRE's business, and the effects of general economic conditions on SIRE. The forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release are included in the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. SIRE further cautions that such factors are not exhaustive or exclusive. SIRE does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement which may be made from time to time by or on behalf of SIRE. Financial Results SOUTHWEST IOWA RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC Statements of Operations (Dollars in thousands except for per unit amounts) September 30, 2016 September 30, 2015 Revenues $ 223,326 $ 242,117 Cost of Goods Sold Cost of goods sold-non hedging 211,703 218,744 Realized & unrealized hedging (gains) losses 460 (481) 212,163 218,263 Gross Margin 11,163 23,854 General and administrative expenses 4,588 4,843 (Gain) on involuntary conversion (2,085) Operating Income 6,575 21,096 Other Expense 1,482 7,335 Net Income $ 5,093 $ 13,761 Weighted Average Units Outstanding -basic 13,327 13,327 Weighted Average Units Outstanding -diluted 13,327 15,352 Income per unit -basic $ 382.16 $ 1,032.57 Income per unit -diluted $ 382.16 $ 922.33 Modified EBITDA Management uses Modified EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to measure the Company's financial performance and to internally manage its business. Management believes that Modified EBITDA provides useful information to investors as a measure of comparison with peer and other companies. Modified EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income or cash flow as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Modified EBITDA calculations may vary from company to company. Accordingly, our computation of Modified EBITDA may not be comparable with a similarly-titled measure of another company. The following sets forth the reconciliation of Net Income to Modified EBITDA for the periods indicated: Fiscal 2016 Fiscal 2015 in 000's (except per unit) in 000's (except per unit) EBITDA Net Income $ 5,093 $ 13,761 Interest Expense, Net 1,393 1,914 Depreciation 11,785 11,618 EBITDA 18,271 27,293 Unrealized Hedging (gain) (1,016) (1,695) Loss from debt extinguishment 4,700 Change in fair value of put option liability 460 940 (Gain) on involuntary conversion (2,085) Modified EBITDA $ 17,715 $ 29,153 Statistical Information Fiscal 2016 Fiscal 2015 Amounts in 000's % of Revenues Amounts in 000's % of Revenues Product Revenue Information Ethanol $ 172,767 77.4 % $ 185,706 76.7 % Distiller's Grains 40,570 18.1 % 46,141 19.0 % Corn Oil 8,696 3.9 % 9,082 3.8 % Other 1,293 0.6 % 1,188 0.5 % Condensed Balance Sheets (Dollars in thousands) September 30, 2016 September 30, 2015 Assets Current Assets Cash and restricted cash $ 3,139 $ 3,335 Accounts receivable 13,607 3,764 Inventory 9,937 14,298 Other current assets 558 1,146 Total Current Assets 27,241 22,543 Net property and equipment 122,572 129,420 Other assets 2,423 2,513 Total Assets $ 152,236 $ 154,476 Liabilities and Members' Equity Current Liabilities Accounts payable, accrued expenses and derivatives $ 11,415 $ 11,587 Current maturities of notes payable 6,517 6,506 Total Current Liabilities 17,932 18,093 Total Long Term Liabilities 31,227 35,067 Total Members' Equity 103,077 101,316 Total Liabilities and Members' Equity $ 152,236 $ 154,476 SOURCE Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) today announced that it has completed an amendment to its US$1.35 billion senior secured credit facilities which, among other things, provides a period of covenant relief through December 31, 2018. Key elements of the amendment include: Net leverage covenant increased from 4.00x to 4.75x with step-downs: 4.50x from 10/1/17 through 3/31/18 4.25x from 4/1/18 through 9/30/18 4.00x from 10/1/18 through 12/31/2018 Interest coverage ratio decreased from 3.50x to 3.00x with step-ups: 3.25x from 4/1/17 through 9/30/18 3.50x from 10/1/18 through 12/31/2018 A modest increase in the pricing grid during the covenant relief period Option for the Company to terminate the amendment at any time if the consolidated leverage ratio is less than or equal to 3.25x and the interest coverage ratio is greater than or equal to 3.50x. "We are pleased with the on-going support of our lenders, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch who acted as lead bank in arranging the amended agreement," said Marc Michael, SPX FLOW President and CEO. "The amended credit facility provides us financial flexibility to continue executing our realignment program and invest in organic growth initiatives. We expect these actions will enable us to better serve our customers and drive improved operational performance even in a low growth macro environment. We are in a stable financial position with adequate liquidity and expect to be well-positioned to leverage growth when our key end markets recover," Michael concluded. For more information, please refer to the Form 8-K filed by the Company in connection with this amendment. About SPX FLOW, Inc.: Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPX FLOW (NYSE: FLOW) is a leading global supplier of highly engineered flow components, process equipment and turn-key systems, along with the related aftermarket parts and services, into the food and beverage, power and energy and industrial end markets. SPX FLOW has more than $2 billion in annual revenues and operations in over 35 countries and sales in over 150 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit our website at www.spxflow.com. Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. Please read these results in conjunction with the company's documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings identify important risk factors and other uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from these statements. The words "expect," "anticipate," "project", "believe", "plan" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, estimates of future operating results are based on the company's current complement of businesses, which is subject to change. Statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and SPX FLOW disclaims any responsibility to update or revise such statements. Investor and Media Contact: Ryan Taylor, VP, Communications and Finance Phone: 704-752-4486 E-mail: [email protected] SOURCE SPX FLOW, Inc. Related Links http://www.spxflow.com LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A regional study of the Sub-Saharan Africa electricity metering market covering the period 2016-2026 (152-pages + PowerPoint + dataset). The study covers the four metering segments of legacy, prepaid, AMI and C&I metering with 10-year forecasts for each country. Sub-Saharan Africa is poised for a decade of strong, continuous economic growth. In order to sustain this growth, African countries are investing heavily in the power sector and rapidly expanding electrification programs. As they do, electricity metering will increase in importance, creating significant market potential. Metering is critical to Africa's growth efforts as utilities seek to ensure financial sustainability through improved revenue collection. In the near term, this includes implementing metering for currently unmetered customers and large-scale deployments of prepaid meters. By the end of 2016, prepaid meters will make up 42% of the residential metering market and this share will grow to 61% by 2020. AMI metering often including prepaid features will also grow significantly in larger countries like Nigeria and South Africa. By 2026, over 90% of electricity meters in Africa will be either AMI or non-communicating prepaid meters. At the same time, the African metering market faces significant challenges. Most notably, per-capita electricity consumption is the lowest in the world. In percapita consumption terms, the cost of advanced meters may be prohibitively high in some areas. Additionally, large rural populations make electrification impractical in some countries. Finally, political risk remains high across the continent. But these barriers are being lifted, and in some senses, Africa's currently undeveloped market is a positive, as it creates large opportunities for growth. As these trends continue, Africa will have the fastest growing metering market in the world over the next decade. Key questions answered in this study: - How large will the electricity metering market in Africa be over the next ten years? - Which countries have large-scale prepaid metering plans and electrification goals? - Which countries are undergoing industry restructurings that will highlight the importance of utility financial sustainability through improved metering? - How is Nigeria's power sector privatization driving AMI deployments? - Where are the largest opportunities for commercial and industrial meters? - Who are the leading vendors and which ones are well placed to compete for this growing market? Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3866770/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com "Webasto made this donation to give something back to society. We know what it feels like to go through rough times and stand together as a family," said Andre Schoenekaes, CEO of Webasto Roof Systems North America. "Giving to Grace Centers of Hope means we get to extend our corporate family and span of care," added CFO Dr. Philipp Schramm. "We hope Webasto can make the holidays a bit warmer for some deserving people in the communities where we live and work." "We are thankful for the generous donation of turkeys from Webasto," said Mickey Dodge, director of food services at Grace Centers of Hope. "These turkeys will provide many nutritious meals for individuals and families enrolled in programs at Grace Centers of Hope." About Webasto The Webasto Group based in Stockdorf, Germany, near Munich, has been a family-owned business since it was founded in 1901. Webasto's North America headquarters is based in Rochester Hills, MI. With nearly 50 locations and 12,000 employees worldwide, the company has been developing, manufacturing and selling products for the automotive industry for over 75 years. Webasto is the world market leader for roof and convertible roof systems as well as parking heaters and is among the world's largest 100 suppliers to the automotive industry. To learn more about Webasto please visit http://www.webasto.com. About Grace Centers of Hope Giving hope to the helpless since 1942, Grace Centers of Hope is considered one of the leading faith-based organizations in Southeastern Michigan, daily confronting issues of homelessness, addiction, poverty, abuse and spiritual emptiness. On any given night, Grace Centers of Hope provides transitional and emergency shelter to 150-200 men, women and children, in addition to serving more than 100,000 meals each year. Grace's $8.4 million yearly budget is maintained solely through corporate and private donors, exclusive of any government assistance. To learn more about Grace Centers of Hope or to make a donation, please visit www.gracecentersofhope.org. SOURCE Webasto Related Links http://www.webasto.com MILANO, Italy, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SUPERNAP International today announced the opening of the largest, most advanced data center in Southern Europe. With 500 cabinets and more than 3.3 megawatts of power already sold, SUPERNAP International is delivering on the promise of bringing state-of-the-art multi-tenant/colocation data centers to Europe from the United States. SUPERNAP International data centers are designed and built to the specifications of the industry-renowned, Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers. These facilities are based on more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims developed by Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy that revolutionized the data center industry. The SUPERNAP ITALIA data center in Milano will include: 42,000 square meters of data center space with four data halls 40 mega volt amps of power distributed through two 132 kilovolt transmission paths Proprietary tri-redundant UPS power system Up to 40 kilowatts of power per cabinet 200 multi-carrier fiber couples with separate paths Patented Switch SHIELD: dual independent roof decks rated to withstand 322 kph winds 24/7 on-site network operations center (NOC), fire, safety and security On-site, on-net member resources including conference spaces "The lightning fast growth of the data that is running our planet has driven the demand from our clients who are global, industry-leading companies to be operating inside the most advanced, innovative and sustainable data center environment," according to SUPERNAP ITALIA Managing Director Luca Beltramino, a data center industry veteran who recently joined to lead the Italian operation. "They want their worldwide technology operations in the SUPERNAP International data centers." Telia Carrier, the operator of one of the world's largest fiber-optic networks chose SUPERNAP ITALIA's data center in Milano as a key location for its expansion in Southern Europe. "Telia Carrier is expanding into the SUPERNAP ITALIA data center for many reasons, including its high standards of data center security, availability and scalability, in addition to its carrier-neutrality and key geographical position," said Davide Binaghi, managing director of Telia Carrier Italy. SUPERNAP ITALIA is also a founding member of the Open Hub Med Project, which was developed to create a neutral, free zone for the internet and data exchange among Mediterranean Basin countries. Through this critical partnership, SUPERNAP ITALIA will play a key role in accelerating opportunities for companies in expanding their information technology footprint throughout EMEA. About Switch Founded in 2000, this global technology solutions company, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States is built on the intelligent and sustainable growth of the internet. Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy has developed more than 260 patent and patent-pending claims covering data center designs that have manifested into their world-renowned data centers and their technology solution ecosystems. Visit switch.com for more information. About SUPERNAP International SUPERNAP International is a partnership between Switch in the United States and the ACDC Fund, a fund whose two limited partners are Orascom TMT Investments and Accelero Capital. SUPERNAP International is the exclusive licensee of Switch's patented designs and operational protocols outside the United States and is the developer of SUPERNAP ITALIA and SUPERNAP THAILAND data centers based on the renowned Tier IV Gold-rated Switch LAS VEGAS multi-tenant/colocation data centers in Nevada, United States. Visit supernap.com for more information. SOURCE SUPERNAP International NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TABLE FOR TWO (TFT) USA, a non-profit organization that aims to tackle obesity and hunger issues simultaneously, held a social action program called "Change the World with Onigiri (Rice ball)" to support the annual World Food Day campaign from October 11th to November 30th. 9 onigiri photos from the posted photos taken all over the world were awarded TFT fans and supporters from all over the world submitted photos of their own onigiri to the campaign site or via social media tagged with #OnigiriAction. Sponsor companies* donated five meals per photo submitted. These photos make an impact. In Africa, a 25-cent donation funds one school meal to a child. In the U.S., it allows a school meal to be upgraded to one with fresh vegetables and fruits in low-income neighborhood districts. *Genji Sushi Bars, J.C.C. Fund/ Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, JFC International/Nishiki, Japan Commerce Association of Washington D.C. Foundation, Zojirushi America, San-J, Yamamotoyama of America, Misuzu Corporation, Otafuku Foods, BentOn, Onigilly, Udemy, Samurice. In total, the program generated 108,815 onigiri photos from all over the world 20 times more than the first onigiri action last year. Through this social action, TFT can provide 850,000 warm school meals that are enough to support 4,000 children in need for one school year. To commemorate this success, a mosaic of a smiling child in Africa was created using the posted photos. The number of page views of the campaign site was 389,872PV. TABLE FOR TWO was first established in Japan in 2007 and has spread to 14 countries including the U.S. Japanese food culture is acknowledged as one of the world's healthiest and its popularity continues to grow. As a non-profit organization with roots in Japan, TFT promoted the enjoyment of Japanese food culture through a unique campaign that provides school meals to children in need. Onigiri was featured to celebrate rice, one of the major Japanese agricultural products, and to showcase the Japanese tradition of making onigiri for others with love. Among the all the great photos, the Best of the Best Onigiri photos were awarded. You can view the awarded photos here: http://jp.tablefor2.org/campaign/onigiri/en. Wow Location: Tutankhamen Food fit for a Pharaoh! Look closely in front of the Pyramid, the word "ONIGIRI" is on the oinigiri! Onigiri Halloween Award: The Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth Scary Good! At the Otsukimi (Moon Viewing) event in Dallas, over 300 people lined up to become onigiri for Halloween and promote healthy eating around the world. Onigiri Smile Award: Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys The joy of creation! The 1st grade students made onigiri with their own hands for the first time. Most Creative Onigiri Award: Ann Lewis She made a new creative onigiri every single day!! Some of her creations include: Yakiniku Maki Onigiri, Parmesan Cheese Onigiri in Cream Stew and Spam Nyan Onigiri..they all sound amazing! Most Creative Onigiri Award: Globalize DC's "Japanese Plus" students The students show their creative skills! (L-R) The character "Pucca"; A Crying Man Most Creative Onigiri Award: Eleanor Roosevelt High School Exotic onigiri - where is it from? Students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, participating in the Global Classmates Program by Kizuna Across Cultures, made this eye-catching onigiri art! Onigiri Kids Award: La ronde Byron These nursery school children learned that there are many children around the world who can't eat even when they are hungry and that they can help by making onigiri. It was hard for small kids to make onigiri at first, but with a little practice, they made wonderful onigiri! These kids made a big difference! Best Onigiri Story Award: John Snowball This high school service group handed out over 400 student-made onigiri to hungry men and women in Yokohama. The students work with a homeless shelter in city to provide a free lunch every Friday for the homeless of the district. Giving to others in need is the spirit of onigiri. Best Onigiri Story Award: Verena Hopp She has an M.A. in Japanese studies and introduced onigiri and many kinds of sushi to her friends and family. Her grandma fell in love with onigiri and requests them everytime her granddaughter returns to Germany! She posted this photo for her grandma for her birthday. Alles Liebe zum Geburtstag Oma! Also during the campaign period, Genji Sushi Bars' "Happy Bento", Yamamotoyama of America's "Ariake Roasted Seaweed", Hanada's "White Birch Glazed Oval Plate (by Kazuhiko Kudo)", Toiro Kitchen's donabe (Japanese clay pot) rice cooker, "Kamado-san" were sold and a portion of the sales funded TFT's mission. In New York City, TFT participated in Japan Fes on October 16th. TFT sold donated products such as Genji Sushi Bars' Sukiyaki Beef Rice Bowl, Otafuku Foods' Okonomiyaki Kit (Japanese savory pancake) and marukome USA's Miso Soup to raise donations for school meals. Participants lined up to try their own hand at making onigiri at the TFT booth. Also during the campaign period, local Japanese restaurant BentOn sold special healthy onigiri. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., Hana Japanese Market, Tako Grill, Sushi Express, Sushi Taro and Rice Bar sold onigiri and healthy Japanese food for donation. The Japan Commerce Association of Washington D.C. Foundation supported a nearby school in low-income communities with improved access to healthier school meals with fresh fruits and vegetables. On November 9th, the students at the school were provided onigiri and enjoyed learning how to make riceballs for the first time. Also, the Embassy of Japan and TFT held an onigiri workshop for elementary students in D.C. area. In Los Angeles, Japan Foundation Los Angeles and TFT hosted onigiri workshops by inviting Ms. Naoko Moore to the Japanese Food Festival on November 13th. The Sushi Chef Institute provided a "1 day sushi workshop" and a portion of the program fee was donated (Sushi Workshop for Good) to TFT. In San Francisco, restaurant Onigilly sold onigiri with donation. In Dallas, an onigiri photo booth was set up at the Otsukimi Moon Viewing Celebration hosted by the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth on October 15th. In Boston, "Oishii October Festival" was held at Boston University by inviting cookbook author Ms. Debra Samuels to participate in workshops on October 28th. It was a fun-filled and educational evening to make delicious (oishii) and popular Japanese foods: rice balls (onigiri), savory pancake (okonomiyaki) and rice stuffed fried tofu skin pockets (oinarisan). Also in New Jersey, elementary school students enjoyed learning how to make oinarisan and okonomiyaki. TABLE FOR TWO USA Co-President Mayumi Uejima-Carr "As the title of the action says, onigiri did change the world. TFT held events to introduce onigiri and healthy Japanese food in New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas and found enthusiasm everywhere for this unique social action. Many K-12 schools organized onigiri workshops to enjoy learning about new Japanese food and make a difference at the same time. We were very happy to see all the fun and heartwarming photos from all over the world from kids to adults. We appreciate everyone's support in bringing many smiles to children in need." To visit the campaign site, please visit: http://jp.tablefor2.org/campaign/onigiri/en. For more information about TFT, please visit: http://usa.tablefor2.org About TABLE FOR TWO USA: TABLE FOR TWO USA (TFT) is a 501(C)(3) organization that that addresses the opposite issues of hunger and obesity through a unique "meal-sharing" program. TFT partners with corporations, restaurants, schools and other food establishments to serve healthy, low- calorie, TFT-branded meals. For each one of these healthy meals served, a small portion of the cost is donated to provide one school meal for a child in need. In this way, TFT has served healthy meals to both sides of the "table" and helped to right the global food imbalance. TFT started in Japan and now operates in 14 countries. As one of the most well-known NPOs in Japan which is noted for the longevity of its people, TFT promotes Japanese healthy eating culture as well to tackle the critical health issues. Related Images image1.jpg image2.jpg image3.jpg image4.jpeg Related Links Change the World with Onigiri This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com/. SOURCE TABLE FOR TWO USA Related Links http://usa.tablefor2.org NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This report describes the various impacts of digitisation on the automotive industry. It examines the connected-car ecosystem, in terms of applications, implementation techniques and related business models. It also provides insights regarding self-driving vehicles. It introduces the concept of car-as-a-service It analyses the strategies of manufacturers, mobile carriers and application providers It reviews the main drivers and barriers for connected-car market take-off and also offers forecasts in volume and in value for mobile carrier opportunities. According to IDATE, in 2021, 498 million automobiles will be connected, representing a 35% CAGR, since around 81 million were connected in 2015. Companies 5G Automotive Association,Accenture,ADAYO,Ai Design,Alpine Electronics,Apple,AT&T,Atos Worldline,Audi,Baidu,Bentley,BMW,BOSCH,BYD,Carnegie Mellon,China Mobile,China Telecom,China Unicom,Cisco,Citroen,Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems,Covisint,Coyote Live,Daihatsu,DaimlerChrysler,Department of Transportation,Electronic Data Systems,ERA-GLONASS,Ericsson,European Telecommunications Standards Institute,Fiat Chrysler Automobiles,Ford,ForgeRock,General Motors,Generali,German Touring Car Masters (DTM),Gett,Google,Harman,Honda,Huawei,Hughes,Hughes Telematics,Hyundai,IBM,iMobility Forum,Intel,Jasper,KDDI Corp.,Kenwood,Kia,Lamborghini,LeEco,LG Electronics,Lyft,Maserati,Maven,Mercedes,Mercedes-Benz,Microsoft,Mobileye,National General Insurance,National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,Neusoft,Nissan,Nokia,Oberthur Technologies,Ocean,Orange,Otto,Panasonic,Peugeot,Pioneer,Pivotal,Porsche,PSA Peugeot Citroen,Qualcomm,RedEye,Renault,Renault-Nissan Alliance,Roadrover Navinfo,Rogers,Safran,Samsung,Shanghai OnStar 4G LTE,Sierra Wireless,SIMRAV,Singapore Institute for Infocomm, Research,Skypatrol,SoftBank,Stratasys,Sylpheo,Synchronoss,Telefonica,Tencent,Tesla, TomTom,Toyota,Uber,Verizon,Vodafone,Volkswagen,Volvo,Waze,Zipcar Countries World,Asia-Pacific,Europe,Latin America,North America Methodology The methods employed by IDATE's teams of analysts and consultants are based on an approach that combines: - research and validation of data collected in the field; - the application of classic industry and market analysis tools: segmentation, competition analysis, strategic strengths, modelling, assessment and forecasts; - the expertise of specialists who contribute their own analytical capabilities and those of their network of market analysts. Scope and definition A 'connected car' is one equipped with access to the Internet (the network of networks) whereby it can communicate with the world outside. This allows the car to share Internet access with other devices, both inside and outside around the vehicle. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04451690-summary/view-report.html About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. http://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you see people walking around town wearing what looks like bright red jetpacks, you might want to head over. They're actually bearing gifts - tasty cups of hot cocoa dispensed from state-of-the-art backpack drink dispensers. The United Methodist Church is taking to the streets of Washington, D.C., to offer the gift of hospitality this Christmas with a warm invitation and a hot cup of cocoa. As commuters, holiday shoppers and event-goers crowd the city's most trafficked areas, United Methodists will be among them -- hoping to warm their stomachs and warm their hearts. "We think church can happen anywhere--and so can hospitality," said Maidstone Mulenga, Assistant to the Bishop and Director of Connectional Ministry. "Church is not something that happens just within the walls of a building. It's a way of life focused on reaching out into our communities to offer hope and love. By taking the church to the city, we hope to help people connect with a local church just in time for Christmas." United Methodist churches are opening their doors wide during the holidays and they invite all to attend a United Methodist place of worship as Christmas nears. The paper goblets filled with chocolate-y goodness exhort cocoa drinkers to "Rethink Church" and point them to a website rethinkchurch.org/find-a-church where they can find a local church in their area. A mobile billboard cruising the streets will do the same. National advertising will also be running on digital media and cable television. Research shows that twice the number of U.S. adults say they are lonely compared to 10 years ago. That's despite being continually connected more than ever before through texting, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. Mulenga says they may be missing a deeper, more meaningful kind of community. "Christmas is a time when many people are particularly lonely or feel like something is missing from their lives," Mulenga said. "The United Methodist Church is a place to belong, where you can explore the true meaning of Christmas in community with others." Following is the schedule for locations in the Washington, D.C., area: Saturday, December 10: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Alexandria Holiday Market Sunday, December 11: 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Georgetown Area, DC Holiday Market and National Christmas Tree 11:00 am - 12:45 pm Washington Harbour Ice Skating Rink https://goo.gl/maps/i4fYcisFahx 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM * M St. NW and Wisconsin Ave. NW * Please note this stop coincides with an ecumenical caroling flash mob from various Georgetown churches occurring from 1-3 p.m. 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM DC Holiday Market activation https://goo.gl/maps/NuNhVJHLEKy 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM National Christmas Tree https://goo.gl/maps/xhJV4wKadmA2 SOURCE United Methodist Communications LONDON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical companies benefited from the revolution in biotechnology that hit US market in 1980's. Some of the blockbuster biologics have been introduced in market helping pharmaceutical companies to occupy major market shares. Their presence could be felt in every disease segment as they were improved with time. Over the years, biologics lost patent giving way to biosimilars. US is late entrant and its market is largely untouched by biosimilars resulting in lots of commercialization opportunities. Now, US has become center of attraction for generating significant revenues by introducing biosimilars in different disease categories. Future prospects of US biosimilars markets have yet to be deciphered as this market is at nascent stages offering unique opportunities and challenges. Biosimilars in US has been approved after a long-time while they have been introduced in other places over a decade ago. Late entry in US market has prevented the patients from getting benefit of biosimilars. Also, spending on healthcare could have been mitigated but absence of proper regulatory framework prevented commercialization of biosimilars in US. Number of indication under biosimilar coverage are also less, single at present, which is going to have modest effect on US market. Number of indications will increase in coming years till then US biosimilar market is expected to grow at modest rates. Slow market growth is of great concern as it is also related to cost cutting by regulators in health care spending. US biosimilars market is at nascent stage and it would take few years to become suitable niche for biosimilars. Biologics have dominated the US market for several decades due to absence of worthy competitor in different disease segment. In coming years, this situation is expected to change as biosimilars are expected to be commercialized. Zarxio, first US biosimilar, has created lot of enthusiasm among masses but some physicians, investigators and payers have reservation against biosimilars. This scenario may cause hindrance in uptake of biosimilars in coming years. To increase acceptance rates, biosimilar developers have to produce head-to-data confirming pharmacological efficacy. Biosimilars are also expected to have higher cost-effectiveness promoting patients to switch from biologics. In this way, biosimilar developers would be able to generate more revenues by developing positive attitude towards biosimilars. Newly developed biosimilars in US market are expected to face hard time as regulations are not in place. Both patient and payers are expected to suffer from this issue that has to be resolved as soon as possible. Implication of new rules is expected to take some time as lots of issues have to be solved. Naming of biosimilars and assigning of appropriate billing code is one of the fore most necessities. This situation is likely to deteriorate when monoclonal antibodies will be introduced in US market. Substitution and reimbursement will become easy if clear demarcation is made between which molecule belongs to which category. Regulators are likely to resolve these issues in coming years as they have just entered in biosimilars segment. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4397202/ About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 208 816 85 48 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced the initiation of its changed circumstances review to determine whether two Indian producers, Viraj Profiles Ltd. ("Viraj") and Venus Wire Industries Pvt. Ltd., including its affiliates Hindustan Inox, Precision Metals and Sieves Manufacturers (India) Pvt. Ltd. (collectively, "Venus Wire's") should be reinstated back under the existing antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from India. The original antidumping duty order went into effect on February 21, 1995. The estimated margins of dumping range from 9.27 to 45.98 percent for Viraj and from 26.59 to 43.55 percent for Venus Wire. The changed circumstances review was filed on September 29, 2016 on behalf of seven U.S. stainless steel bar producers. The U.S. producers alleged that following Viraj Profiles revocation from the order in 2004 and Venus Wire's revocation from the order in 2011, those companies have resumed dumping their stainless steel bar into the United States. Under U.S. law, any company that has an order conditionally revoked may be reinstated under an existing order if the Commerce Department finds that the company has resumed dumping following revocation. "The domestic producers applaud the Commerce Department's initiation of the changed circumstances review. We believe the evidence gathered by the Commerce Department will demonstrate that both Viraj and Venus Wire have resumed dumping stainless steel bar into the U.S. market following revocation and that both companies should no longer be entitled to benefit from their conditional revocation from coverage under the antidumping duty order," stated Larry Lasoff, counsel for the domestic producers. "The initiation of the review by the Commerce Department brings us one step closer to ensure that the dumping practices by Viraj Profiles and Venus Wire are properly addressed and to restore the effectiveness of the antidumping duty order that the domestic producers have fought so hard to keep in place." Petitioning companies: The petitioning companies are Carpenter Technology Corporation; Crucible Industries LLC; Electralloy, a Division of G.O. Carlson, Inc.; North American Stainless; Outokumpu Stainless Bar, Inc; Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc.; and Valbruna Slater Stainless, Inc. and are represented by David A. Hartquist, Laurence J. Lasoff, R. Alan Luberda, and Grace Kim of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. SOURCE Kelley Drye & Warren LLP BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS, a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Federative Republic of Brazil (the " Company "), and its subsidiary Usiminas Commercial Ltd., an exempted company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the " Issuer "), announced today that they have extended the expiration date for the solicitation of consents (the " Consent Solicitation ") from holders of the Issuer's 7.25% Notes due 2018, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Company, and originally issued in the aggregate principal amount of US$400,000,000 (the " Notes ") (CUSIP: 91732BAA7; G93085AA9), which is being conducted pursuant to terms contained in the consent solicitation statement dated December 1, 2016 (the " Consent Solicitation Statement "). The Consent Solicitation is extended and will now be open for the receipt of consents until 11:59 p.m., New York Time, on December 23, 2016 (the " Amended Consent Date "). All references in the Consent Solicitation Statement to the Consent Date shall now be deemed to be references to the Amended Consent Date. The Company is undertaking the Consent Solicitation to temporarily waive, until June 30, 2017, the Company's past noncompliance with the negative pledge covenant set forth in the indenture governing the Notes resulting from the perfection of security interests over the collateral granted to certain Brazilian bank lenders and debenture holders in the context of the renegotiation of the Company's indebtedness, as more fully described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. Any holder of Notes who has previously delivered a consent pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement does not need to redeliver such consent or take any other action. Any holder of Notes who has not yet delivered a consent should follow the instructions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement, and may use the previously distributed consent form for purposes of delivering its consent. Except as described in this press release, all other terms described in the Consent Solicitation Statement remain unchanged. Holders of the Notes are urged to review the Consent Solicitation Statement and the related consent form for the detailed terms of the Consent Solicitation and the procedures for providing consent. The Consent Solicitation is being made solely on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. The Company may, in its sole discretion, terminate, further extend or amend the Consent Solicitation at any time, as described in the Consent Solicitation Statement. Questions concerning the terms of the Consent Solicitation should be directed to BofA Merrill Lynch at (888) 292-0070 (toll-free) or (646) 855-8988 (collect). BofA Merrill Lynch is the Solicitation Agent for the Consent Solicitation (the " Solicitation Agent "). Requests for assistance in completing and delivering a consent form or requests for additional copies of the Consent Solicitation Statement, the consent form or other related documents should be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the " Information Agent "), at (212) 269-5550 (collect) or (877) 478-5045 (toll-free) or in writing at 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10005. Important Notice This press release is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This announcement must be read in conjunction with the Consent Solicitation Statement and related consent form. None of the Company, the Issuer, the Trustee, the Solicitation Agent, the Information Agent or the Tabulation Agent make any recommendation as to whether or not holders of the Notes should provide consents to the waiver pursuant to the Consent Solicitation. Holders of the Notes should not construe the contents of this press release, the Consent Solicitation Statement or any related materials as legal, business or tax advice. Each holder of the Notes should consult its own attorney, business advisor and tax advisor as to legal, business, tax and related matters concerning the Consent Solicitation. The Consent Solicitation is not being made to, and consents will not be accepted from or on behalf of, a holder of the Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Consent Solicitation or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. However, the Company and the Issuer may in their sole discretion take such action as they may deem necessary to lawfully make the Consent Solicitation in any such jurisdiction and to extend the Consent Solicitation to any holder of the Notes in such jurisdiction. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks and assumptions, since these statements include information concerning Usiminas' possible or assumed future plans and intentions, including the launching of an exchange offer, results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and Usiminas undertakes no obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements after it publishes this notice because of new information, future events or other factors. In light of the risks and uncertainties described above, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this notice might not occur and are not guarantees of future performance. Usiminas' actual results, plans and performance could differ substantially from those anticipated in its forward-looking statements, including those set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement. About Usiminas Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.USIMINAS is one of the largest Brazilian steelmakers, with complementary operations in the mining and logistics, capital goods, steelmaking and steel transformation industries. Usiminas is headquartered at Rua Professor Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011, Bairro Engenho Nogueira Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. For more information, please visit www.usiminas.com.br. Investor Relations DepartmentUSIMINAS R. Prof. Jose Vieira de Mendonca, 3011 5 andar Bairro Engenho Nogueira Belo Horizonte/MG ZIP Code 31310-260 Contact: Cristina Morgan Cavalcanti Head of Investor RelationsUSIMINAS Phone: +55 (31) 3499-8856 SOURCE Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.-USIMINAS CHICAGO, Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln International's Valuations & Opinions Group, which values alternative illiquid financial instruments on behalf of Private Equity Institutions, Business Development Companies, Hedge Funds and Credit Opportunity Funds, released its Winter 2016 Deal Reader. Their latest publication includes insights from Lincoln's proprietary database and offers a glimpse into the health of the middle market, comments on the observed trends and increased scrutiny of EBITDA adjustments and other relevant valuation topics for business owners, financial executives and investment professionals. More specifically, over the course of 2016, Lincoln's Valuations & Opinions Group has observed increased enterprise value multiples and observed a decline in total leverage in the third quarter of 2016. The Group has also noted a rise in the volume of EBITDA adjustments and a concurrent increase in the appetite for risk. Finally there are several key regulatory topics addressed including, but not limited to, a summary of the SEC's FY 2016 enforcement results and proposed IRS Code 2704(b)(4) and its impact on valuations. We encourage you to download the full report from our website. For more information on Lincoln International's Valuations & Opinions Group and to download other publications, please visit our website at https://www.lincolninternational.com/services/valuations-and-opinions/. About Lincoln International Lincoln International specializes in merger and acquisition advisory services, debt advisory services, private capital raising and restructuring advice on mid-market transactions. Lincoln International also provides fairness opinions, valuations and joint venture and partnering services on a wide range of transaction sizes. With eighteen offices in the Americas, Asia and Europe, Lincoln International has strong local knowledge and contacts in key global economies. The firm provides clients with senior-level attention, in-depth industry expertise and integrated resources. By being focused and independent, Lincoln International serves its clients without conflicts of interest. More information about Lincoln International can be obtained at www.lincolninternational.com Media Contact: Ashley Luse 312.506.1998 [email protected] SOURCE Lincoln International LLC Related Links http://www.lincolninternational.com BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt Disney Records releases today the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story soundtrack, which features score by Oscar and Grammy award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. The original motion picture soundtrack is available at streaming services and wherever music is sold. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" opens in U.S. theaters today, December 16, 2016. Acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino marks his first-ever feature collaboration with Lucasfilm for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story." Recorded at Sony Scoring Stage, the score features a 110-piece orchestra and 80-person choir conducted by Tim Simonec. Michael Giacchino said, "It has been a great honor to have been asked to score 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' and I am humbled to have had the opportunity to contribute to the musical universe that inspired me so as a kid. Back in 1977, long before I knew I was going to be a film composer, I spent countless hours listening to the original 'Star Wars' double LP on my small RCA Stereo in my bedroom. In a sense, John Williams was my very first music teacher. All these years later, John continues to be an inspiration." He continued, "As with all the film scores I compose, my goal is to reflect and serve the story and emotions of the film. I have to admit, the 10-year-old part of my brain had a wonderful time composing for this new and exciting set of 'Star Wars' characters and the worlds they inhabit." Giacchino's credits feature some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including Marvel Studio's "Doctor Strange," DisneyPixar's "Inside Out," "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille," as well as "Star Trek Beyond," "Jurassic World," "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes." His score for DisneyPixar's 2009 feature "Up" earned him an Oscar, a Golden Globe, the BAFTA, the Broadcast Film Critics' Choice Award and two Grammy Awards. From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. The story is by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, and the screenplay is by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy. The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story original motion picture soundtrack is now available wherever music is sold or streamed. Purchase here: http://disneymusic.co/RogueOne. Stream here: http://disneymusic.co/RogueOneWS For more information on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, please visit http://www.starwars.com. For more information on Walt Disney Records' releases, like us on Facebook.com/disneymusic and follow us at Twitter.com/disneymusic and Instagram.com/disneymusic. SOURCE Walt Disney Records If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Washington, Dec 12 : A former US envoy has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted "revenge" on Democrat Hillary Clinton while discussing Russias alleged interference in the 2016 election. "Let's remember that Vladimir Putin thinks she interfered in his election in 2011, and has said as much publicly, and I've heard him talk about it privately," said Michael McFaul, who had stepped down after the 1014 Sochi Winter Olympics. McFaul said that one of Putin's top motivations was a thirst for vengeance against Clinton. McFaul was the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014. On Sunday, he spoke with MSNBC about the reports that the CIA determined that Russian hackers helped advance Donald Trump while bringing Clinton down. McFaul echoed the concerns as he explained that the hacking fits Russia's modus operandi, and said he supported the recent calls for an investigation into their cyber activities. McFaul also explained Putin's elation at Trump's triumph. He said that beyond the foreign policy interests that Trump and Putin share, the Russian President disliked Clinton's tough stance as Secretary of State under the Barack Obama administration. Kolkata, Dec 12 : A 72-member Bangladeshi delegation will attend the Vijay Diwas celebrations here, commemorating the victory of the Indian Armed Forces and the Mukti Bahini in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, an army official said on Monday. The delegation would be led by Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal. The Mukti Jodhas, who participated in the 1971 war, have been coming for the annual reunion for the past ten years. "The delegation will comprise of Mukti Jodhas and their families along with serving senior Bangladesh Armed Forces officers," said Major General R. Nagraj, MGGS, Headquarters, Eastern Command. December 16 is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India. About 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, on this day in 1971, had surrendered to the Indian forces. This historic victory led to the creation of Bangladesh. Nagraj said the celebrations commemorate the sacrifices of brave Indian soldiers, who laid down their lives fighting for their country. "About 3,800 officers and soldiers laid down their lives and 12,000 soldiers were injured in the war," he said. The celebrations would start on Tuesday with military band concert at the historical Princep Ghat. On Wednesday, horse show, para jump and band display would be arranged at Royal Calcutta Turf Club for public. On Friday, there would be a wreath-laying ceremony at the historic Vijay Smarak which was created at Fort William Kolkata in 1996 on the 25th anniversary of the victory. Commenting on the controversy arising out from the deployment of army at toll plazas in the state, he said, "We have good relation with the state government. There is no change in working relation." Refuting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's allegation that the army was taking money from civilians at the toll plazas, Nagraj said: "Army is a powerful organisation. We do not tolerate this. We have not got any such information." Berlin, Dec 13 : The German Chancellor and French President criticised Russia on Tuesday over its role in Syria and the situation in Ukraine, advocating the extension of sanctions against Moscow while there is no progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreements. Speaking at a press conference along with President Francois Hollande, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the situation in Syria was heartbreaking and stressed it was the government regime that was responsible, along with Russia and Iran, reports Efe. Hollande said he did not see much difference between the roles of the Syrian regime and Russia, emphasising the need to "act now". The two leaders also touched on the Ukrainian conflict and came out in favour of maintaining sanctions against Russia over it if there is no progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. Hollande and Merkel met in Berlin on the occasion of the first bilateral congress to promote digitisation. The European leaders also used the meeting to prepare for the next European Council to identify common topics ahead of upcoming European Union summits. Merkel and Hollande agreed that Syria and Ukraine are the topics which will be addressed with the other EU leaders, as would the migration crisis and the need to promote agreements with African countries. Caracas, Dec 14 : The Venezuelan National Assembly has blamed President Nicolas Maduro for the constitutional breakdown and crisis in the country following his decision to demonetise, reports said on Wednesday. On Tuesday the assembly with a majority opposition voted in the absence of government-supporting lawmakers and passed a resolution blaming Maduro for the ensuing political, social and economic crisis besetting Venezuela. "It is agreed to declare the political responsibility of the president ... for the serious rupture of the constitutional and democratic order, the violation of human rights and the devastation of the nation's economic and social bases he has brought about," read the agreement approved by opposition lawmakers, Efe news reported. Thousands of Venezuelans on Tuesday had rushed to public and private banks around the country to turn in their 100-bolivar bills, the highest denomination in the local currency, which would lose their value and be removed from circulation on Thursday by Maduro's order, Efe news reported. The document also approved ordering the Public Ministry to examine the evidence and issue a ruling on a request for a "pretrial finding against the president." Moreover, the lawmakers approved the decision by the opposition to turn to the appropriate international forums "to denounce the violations of human rights ... in which the president ... has had a leading role." The document claimed that Maduro "has governed since Jan. 14, 2016, thanks to a state of exception declared and prolonged unconstitutionally without the approval of (Congress)." It also accuses Maduro of "systematically" resorting to the Supreme Constitutional Court to "impede by political means the entry into force of laws approved by (Congress) that would have contributed to resolving the country's problems." In Venezuela, the National Assembly cannot impeach or remove the president, and - thus - the opposition's move has no apparent legal ramifications. Washington, Dec 14 : A foundation started by prominent Indian-American IT entrepreneur Frank Islam and his wife Debbie Driesman will fund a fellowship in the US for a mid-career journalist from India for six months in 2017. The Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Foundation, whose mission is to promote education, art and culture and peace and conflict-resolution, is joining hands with Alfred Friendly Press Partners, a leader in transforming journalists from information hungry societies, for the fellowship . The Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Fellow will work in a major newsroom in Washington, DC, for five months after undergoing a five-week training programme at the Missouri School of. Journalism in Columbia, Missouri. During the roughly six-month programme, the FIDD Fellow will: gain experience in reporting, writing, editing, and editorial decision-making that will enhance professional performance; secure a practical understanding of the function and significance of the free press in American society; acquire first-hand knowledge of the industry's technological advances; and develop the skills to transfer knowledge to colleagues at home in India. Frank Islam, President of the Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Foundation, stated: "Our foundation is proud to join hands with AFPP to support this fellowship. Debbie and I consider the fellowship a strategic investment in the free press." "Over the past three decades, AFPP has trained 15 world class journalists from India who have gone on to become leaders in the field. It is our earnest belief that the FIDD Fellow will continue that tradition." Randall D. Smith, President of the Alfred Friendly Press Partners, stated: "We are especially delighted to welcome Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman to our fold." "Support such as theirs is the reason that we've been able to train more than 300 journalists from 90 different countries for over 30 years." "Debbie and Frank are ambassadors for democracy and they understand the critical importance of a free press. Their investment will impact countless lives in ways that can't yet be imagined. That's the potential of quality journalism," Smith added. The AFPP will administer the fellowship. A candidate who has three years of professional experience as a journalist and is currently employed as a journalist by an independent news media organization in India can apply for the fellowship by contacting the AFPP, the Foundation said. (Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in) Islamabad, Dec 14 : Pakistan is encouraged by growing support in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) for establishing criteria for membership of non-NPT countries, but are wary of "big powers" pressurising smaller countries into granting exemptions for India in the admission process, media reported on Wednesday. "There are a lot of countries that now recognise the need for a criteria-based approach rather than granting exemptions, but pressures are still being exerted on smaller countries," Dawn quoted Kamran Akhtar, Director General of Disarmament at the Foreign Office, as saying. "We are pretty confident that NSG countries would not go down the exemption way, but if they ultimately do so and give exemption to India, there would be serious repercussions not just for Pakistan, but also for other non-nuclear weapon states that may feel being unjustly denied their right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy," Akhtar said. He said it was now up to NSG countries to decide if they wanted the group to be seen as being driven by political and commercial interests or else they would want non-proliferation goals to be strengthened. The official warned that strategic stability in South Asia would be undermined if Pakistani application was not treated equally with the Indian case. "Pakistan wants to deny India space for war and create a space for peace. Its (Pakistan's) weapons are for maintaining peace in the region and for deterrence," said Khalid Banuri, Director General of Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs. Additional Secretary to Foreign Office Tasneem Aslam said the issue of membership of non-NPT countries was deeply linked to strategic stability in South Asia. "... the NSG stands at crossroads, once again, as it considers membership for non-NPT states. An even-handed and non-discriminatory approach by the NSG at this juncture would be of far-reaching significance for strategic stability in South Asia and global non-proliferation efforts," she said and recalled, the NSG had missed in 2008 the opportunity to promote adherence to non-proliferation regime by granting waiver to India. Imphal, Dec 15 : Three Manipur Police personnel were killed and nine seriously injured in two separate ambushes on Thursday, suspected to have been carried out by militants, authorities said. No militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. Hospital sources said the death toll may go up as the condition of some of the wounded was life threatening. The attacks came as policemen from Moreh and Thoubal police stations were being deployed in the newly created district of Tengoupal, which Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh was scheduled to inaugurate. Militants ambushed a vehicle bringing personnel from Moreh at Lokchao along the border with Myanmar at 6.30 a.m., killing Head Constable Ayub Khan and L. Maring and injuring some others. The second ambush took place at Bongyang on a police team proceeding from Thoubal, killing Jiban on the spot. The injured policemen were rushed to hospitals. Condemning the killings, Ibobi Singh conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh each as "immediate relief". He vowed to "give a befitting reply to the perpetrators". On Monday night, trucks bringing consumer items from Assam to blockade-hit Manipur were ambushed along NH 37 injuring two drivers. Bhopal, Dec 15 : A Madhya Pradesh government clerk was arrested on Thursday in Seoni district for demanding and accepting a bribe from a retired teacher for payment of his pending dues. Jabalpur Lokayukta police Inspector Prabhat Shukla told IANS that Bakaudi government secondary school teacher Mahesh Prasad Sagauria retired in August 2016, but his dues were not cleared. "Approximately Rs nine and a half lakh were pending in dues. Against this, clerk Urmila Agrawal asked him for a bribe of Rs 9,500," Shukla said. Sagauria complained to the Jabalpur Police Superintendent. Preliminary investigations found the accusation to be correct and thus a team of Lokayukta police reached Seoni. Agrawal was arrested in her office as she was accepting Rs 5,000 as first instalment of the bribe, he added. Vienna, Dec 16 : Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said here on Thursday that Syrian refugees could be taken back to safe areas in Syria, Austria Press Agency reported. Kammenos made the comments to the media following talks with his Austrian counterpart, Hans Peter Doskozil, Xinhua news agency reported. "We are in agreement that a solution would be to take the refugees back to safe regions within Syria, for example the south of Syria, under the supervision of international organisations," Kammenos said. Doskozil said that while the conditions for this in the war-stricken country were not yet present, he had in the past also expressed that he is open to the idea of such safe zones under international observation. He added that more discussion about the idea was needed in the near future. Should the establishment of such safe zones work in Syria, he said it could also work in other crisis regions, where humanitarian aid could then be provided locally. Both ministers also renewed calls for the establishment of refugee registration centres outside of Europe. In addition, they said they wanted to work together with the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) to develop their official position vis-a-vis both safe zones and registration centres. Doskozil said this would serve as preparation should the EU refugee deal currently in place with Turkey collapse. New Delhi : Title: The English Teacher; Author: Yiftach Reicher Atir (translated by Philip Simpson); Publisher: Penguin; Pages: 272; Price: Rs 399 For any spy agency, even more worrisome than the possibility of its agents abroad being unmasked and inviting some sort of reprisal from the targeted country, is the prospect of its spies (or even ex-spies for that matter), their heads full with secrets, going missing. And it can take any measure to forestall such an eventuality or neutralise the threat. On the other hand, the spies, who have lived in hostile territory under false identities, with constant fear of exposure or betrayal, and unable to strike any relationship that doesn't involve deception or manipulation, can never fully return to a normal life. And if they find that their bosses are not appreciative or have been less than honest with them, their response can be unpredictable -- and dangerous. Even, top agencies like Israel's Mossad are not exempt for this phenomenon. And it is this service itself that serves as a backdrop for this stark, haunting tale, written by a senior Israeli military intelligence official, on the moral costs of espionage and the dilemmas between personal and professional loyalties that covert work engenders. Having intimately known many operatives who worked alone for long periods in enemy countries "armed with nothing but a foreign passport, a fake identity, extensive training, and inexplicable courage", as he had sent them on missions, charted their progress, and anxiously awaited their safe return, the author says he wondered what "is it like to live a secret life among one's enemies for months and years". "I knew what it was like to be in battle and to cross borders in the night to execute military operations; I had no idea what it would be like to live across those borders. How does one deal with the ever-present fear, and the great loneliness? And what happens to the heart?" says Atir, who also participated in the Entebbe Raid in 1976. The story, a "result of those wonderings", features semi-retired Mossad agent Rachel Goldschmitt, whose sudden disappearance throws her agency into panic. For, in the 15 years after she returned from undercover work in an unnamed Arab country (implied to be in North Africa but could be easily Syria too) where she "executed" several sensitive missions, including assassinating an ex-Nazi scientist, she had worked in the agency's office and was privy to many secrets. Visiting London for the funeral of her father, with whom she had a distant and difficult relationship, she chances on something in his study, which leads her to make a cryptic phone call to her former case officer and go off the radar. The now retired officer, reports her disappearance and is put in charge of figuring her whereabouts. He approaches a retired senior who suggests they go through her past and career in detail to figure out the reasons for her action and probable intentions. Thus most of the story occurs in flashback, as we follow Rachel's exploits in the enemy territory where she worked as a teacher of English (hence the title), met a rather privileged student, from whom she got some good intelligence -- surreptitiously -- and also fell in love but had to leave abruptly without any word. We also come to know Ehud was himself in love with her but could never reveal it. Towards the end, when the duo of ex-spies figure where Rachel could have gone and informs the powers that be, the orders that come are indicative that the story is not going to end very happily -- and there is a shocking side-effect too. The unnamed cities and countries may create some confusion but as Atir says, "the book spent many months with the Israeli civilian and military censorship committees" and "numerous changes and omissions were imposed, until the book was approved for publication" and so it is a "true story, of real-life operatives that are wholly made-up, and actual missions that never happened". What holds interest beyond the account of the demanding minutiae of espionage work, is the emotional cost and moral choices for its practitioners, especially in executing policies ordered by a faraway, inexorable and unfeeling state. The story is not a comforting read at all but a vital one for all that. (Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in ) Imphal, Dec 16 : At least four policemen were injured when militants attacked them while they guarding a playground in Manipur's newly-created Noney district, officials said on Friday. Sub-inspector Bikash and three constables were given first aid in the Assam Rifles camp in Noney, and later transferred to hospitals here for better medical treatment, police said. The attack came hours after militants killed three police personnel and injured 11 others in Tengnoupal district. Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and senior ministers will inaugurate the district on Friday. According to officials, the panic stricken tribal villagers are terrified to attend the function as the militants may strike during the event. Additional police and paramilitary personnel have been rushed to the district to maintain law and order. Meanwhile, tribal village authority in a statement expressed objection to the creation of the new district. It said the tribal elders have no objection to the new district, but the word "revenue" from the nomenclature should be deleted, it said. The Manipur Gazette in 2012 said in a report that Noney had been renamed Longmai and the nomenclature Noney was unacceptable. New Delhi, Dec 16 : Actress Disha Patani says link-up rumours don't bother her and she is only concerned about work. Disha has been been rumoured to be in a relationship with Tiger Shroff, with whom she featured in the song "Befikra". In an industry where actors are often romantically linked to each other often, doesn't she get bothered? "No. I am here to work and these rumours and all are not a part of my job I think. So I really don't pay attention. I am very selfish when it comes to work and I only care about work," Disha told IANS over phone from Mumbai. The actress will soon be seen sharing screen space with legendary actor Jackie Chan in the upcoming Sino-Indian film "Kung Fu Yoga" directed by Stanley Tong. The film, which also stars Sonu Sood and Amyra Dastur, has extensively shot in Beijing, Rajasthan and Dubai. New York, Dec 16 : In a first, an Indian-American woman has been elected the new mayor of Californian city Cupertino, the worldwide headquarters of Apple, it was reported on Friday. Savita Vaidhyanathan, a Cupertino resident for more than 20 years, was sworn in last week in a ceremony attended by her mother who had flown in from India, the Mercury News reported. "I've had several congratulatory messages saying that I'm the first woman mayor of Indian-origin. Yes, I do take a lot of pride and prestige in that," she said. "I do want to thank the residents of the city of Cupertino that voted me in not looking at ethnicity at all. Thank you for your trust in me, and maybe we did break that silicon ceiling and put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling," Vaidhyanathan added. She takes over from Barry Chang who had served as mayor from 2015. Vaidhyanathan was working as a high school Maths teacher and an officer in a commercial bank. Brussels, Dec 16 : The European Union has reaffirmed its commitment to an EU-Turkey deal to stem the influx of illegal migrants to the bloc. Leaders of the 28-nation bloc gathered here on Thursday for the last summit of this year, which focused on issues such as migration, security, economy and external relations, Xinhua news agency reported. The European Council issued conclusions on migration, underlining the importance of a "full and non-discriminatory implementation of all aspects" of the deal. The council also endorsed the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan and the implementation of the EU-Turkey statement elaborated between Greece and the European Commission. As Greece had already taken the first step towards implementing the plan, the council called upon all EU member states to follow suit. The EU-Turkey deal to curb the refugee influx into Europe came into force in March. Under the agreement, Turkey agreed to take back all undocumented migrants who had arrived in Europe in exchange for Europe resettling Syrian refugees in Turkey on a one-for-one basis. The EU also promised to accelerate EU membership talks with Turkey. Turkey has moved to significantly reduce the illegal flow of migrants under the deal. According to the European Commission, the influx of illegal migrants to the EU has dropped to 100 per day on average from 10,000 per day at the height of the migration crisis in October last year. However, the deal came into question after the European Parliament in view of Turkey's "disproportionate repressive measures" in response to July's failed military coup. In the wake of the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened he could tear up the migration deal and open the border gates "if the EU goes too far". Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started accession talks in 2005, but the talks have faltered in recent years due to disagreements over issues such as refugees, freedom of the press and human rights. Kolkata, Dec 16 : Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Friday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push towards a cashless economy, saying less cash will bring more transparency. "We, as part of central government, are fully committed and proud of our prime minister who has started a crusade against corruption in the country. The common man has welcomed the stand of central government as they understand the 'less-cash' economy is more transparent and effective," Rudy, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said here at an event. Responding to the continuous disruption in arliament's winter session, the minister said restlessness of the opposition parties was causing chaos. "It is wrong to say the ruling party is shying away from the discussion. We are ready to hold a talk since the first day. The opposition have become so restless as they have recognised common man's support to the Prime Minister's decision," he said. Speaking at the event, organised by National Skill Development Council (NSDC) and Pradhan Mantri Kushal Vikas Yojona (PMKVY) that certified the goldsmiths under central government's 'Recognition of Prior Learning Programme', Rudy said: "There are 35 lakh goldsmiths in the nation but no one came forward to recognise their skill before." This certification is a benchmark in the way of India's skill development initiative, he added. Islamabad, Dec 16 : Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday promised to continue the war against terrorism in his message on the second anniversary of the attack on an army-run school, in which over 150 people were killed, mostly students. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed the brutal and bloody attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, on December 16, 2014. Commemorating events were held across Pakistan, including the capital city of Islamabad, in schools to pay homage to those killed and to show solidarity with the families. Parents and relatives of the slain students gathered in the school to pay homage to the students and their teachers. Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa joined the families at a ceremony to mark the second anniversary. "I share the pain and grief with the bereaved families. The entire Pakistani nation feels and shares the pain of the tragedy and stands by the mourning families," Sharif said. "Sixteenth December reminds us of the most painful tragedy of our lives when our innocent students were mercilessly killed at the place of their studies." "It was a day when the heartless enemy committed an act of barbarism and savagery against defenceless school children. We cannot forget the agony of this day," said the Prime Minister. He said the Pakistani nation and leadership took a clear and categorical decision for an indiscriminate action against terrorists after the incident. "We decided to act with our full might for elimination of terrorism and extremism from our society; showing no mercy for those who martyred our little angels. The world has seen that we have dismantled the terrorists' networks and broken their back by rendering matchless sacrifices in this war of our survival," said Sharif. Sharif assured the nation that his government will take this war to its logical conclusion to guarantee a peaceful and stable Pakistan for the future generations. Bajwa said the blood of the victims has kept his patriotism alive. "The blood of APS victims is an obligation on the nation and the armed forces," said the army chief. New Delhi, Dec 16 : Accusing the government of stifling the opposition's voice and subjecting parliamentary democracy to a 'severe threat', opposition parties led by the Congress on Friday urged President Pranab Mukherjee to intervene. A host of opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, submitted a memorandum to Mukherjee expressing shock over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to make a statement on the 'draconian' demonetisation decision. "It is unfortunate and unprecedented that the government itself has been deliberately disrupting and forcing adjournments of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This is being done at the behest of senior ministers. "Moreover, the Prime Minister has misled the nation by blaming the opposition," the parties said in the memorandum to Mukherjee. "We are deeply concerned that the parliamentary democratic system itself is under severe threat," they said, claiming that their repeated efforts to debate and discuss the adverse fallout of demonetisation in parliament was stonewalled by the government. While a host of opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress and the Janata Dal-United, participated in the meet, the Left Parties gave it a miss saying that the President has "no role to play in the matter". The parties said the government's November 8 demonetisation move has created a "deep crisis" in the country, with millions affected by it. "More than 97 people have lost their lives across the states while queuing up outside banks and ATMs," they said. The parties also expressed shock over Modi's failure to make a statement on the demonetisation issue, informing all the lawmakers about the rationale behind the announcement, process of rollout and the way in which the pain of the masses can be alleviated. "We were shocked when no such statement was forthcoming from the Prime Minister, as is the convention in parliamentary procedure," they said. Talking to the media after the meeting, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of violating all democratic norms. "This government has endeavoured to break every principle of democracy and the entire responsibility of not allowing parliament to function lies with the government," he said. He asserted that the opposition's repeated efforts to discuss in parliament the plight of the common people due to demonetisation was not paid heed to by the government. "While the poorest of the poor continue to suffer, this government has avoided a discussion in parliament. They have not even categorically explained why the discussion could not take place," said Trinamool lawmaker Sudip Bandyopadhyay. Among the leaders to participate in the meet were Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien. Giving the reason for the Left parties skipping the meet, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said: "We have already said that the President can't do much in this mater. We should rather reach out to the masses." Earlier this month, 16 opposition parties had petitioned Mukherjee over the passage of the Income Tax Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha without any discussion. Kochi, December 16 : Kerala governor and former chief justice of India P Sathasivam has called for ensuring media freedom in courtrooms. Speaking after inaugurating a function to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Ernakulam press club on Friday, Mr. Sathasivam said that it was necessary for the public to be informed of important cases. Journalists should have access to all courtrooms, he said. The public is at present being kept in the dark about what is happening in courtrooms, he added. He also expressed willingness to intervene to find a solution to the media ban in courtrooms, adding that he had already held talks with the chief justice over the issue. The governors comments come in the wake of the virtual ban imposed on journalists in courtrooms by a section of advocates as a fallout of a scuffle involving journalists and advocates outside the Kerala high court a while back. The Kerala HC registrar has recently clarified that mediapersons are not barred from entering courtrooms. However, despite this, hostilities remain between the two fraternities with the latest episode in the conflict playing out recently in a special court in Thiruvananthapuram when a section of lawyers forcibly evicted a group of reporters who had turned up at the court to report on the vigilance case against former industries minister E P Jayarajan. New Delhi, Dec 16 : From falling-out with his father to setting up the Apollo Tyres company, industrialist Onkar S Kanwar shares it all in his biograpy, "The Man Behind The Wheel", which was launched here on Friday. The book, written by author Tim Bouquet, is a dynamic narration of Kanwar and describes how he turned Apollo a global brand -- starting from scratch in 1974. The book was launched by diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor, who said of it: "The story is told with tremendous amount of interesting facts and anecdotes. People know Kanwar as a business tycoon but the book gives a chance to know more about him." "I had heard about Onkar Kanwar and the story of Apollo Tyres during my various visits to India and in Britain, which led me to writing this book. Speaking with various individuals about Onkar and to the man himself, has been an enriching journey itself. Hope the readers would enjoy my version of Onkar Kanwar's journey," Bouquet said at the event. The book is the insightful and exciting story of the company and its creator which takes on a journey of Kanwar's early days in the US to building factories in Vadodara and Chennai and further expanding to the Netherlands and Hungary. New Delhi, Dec 16 : The Left parties on Friday refrained from joining the opposition delegation that met President Pranab Mukherjee to seeking his intervention in the demonetisation issue, advising their countrparts to take the matter to the people instead. The delegation comprised the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Janata Dal-United among others, but the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Communist Party of India as well as the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Paty and the Nationalist Congress Party stayed away. Defending the decision to skip the meet, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said instead of approaching the President, the matter should be taken to the masses. "What would the President do in this matter. We have already said that the President can't do much in this matter," he told the media. "Meeting the President is not a good idea. Rather the matter should be taken to the common people whose sufferings have been never ending because of demonetisation," he said. Noting that the common people and farmers are facing lots of trouble on demonetisation, Yechury said: "Till the same amount of old currency demonetised from the economy does not get replaced with the new one, the government should allow it to be used in legal transactions." Later on Twitter, Yechury flayed the Modi government for not accepting the "mistake of demonetisation". "Instead of accepting the mistake on demonetisation, the government is hell bent on making a bad situation worse by announcing more rules on the fly. "No amount of spin can cover for the reality of an economy brought to a halt by government, the social and economic turmoil caused to the people," he said in a series on tweets. New Delhi, Dec 16 : The AAP on Friday said the demonetisation of high value currency had weakened the country's economy. Aam Aadmi Party leader Adarsh Shastri said the note ban had adversely hit businesses across the nation. "Demonetisation has pushed the economy to a downward spiral. Indian markets witnessed a fall of 70-80 per cent post demonetisation," he said. "It has adversely affected trade. Jobs of around four crore employees in the organised sector and 36 crore in the unorganised sector have been affected." Shashtri, the AAP MLA from Dwarka, also said that the country was being "looted" in the name of cashless economy. "By demonetising 86 per cent currency, they (central government) not only troubled the citizens but benefited the big companies in the business of digital payment." The government on November 8 banned Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes to curb black money, corruption and counterfeit currency. The move triggered cash chaos across the country. Moscow, Dec 16 : Russia said on Friday that the decision of the European Union (EU) to extend sanctions against Russia demonstrates the weakness of the alliance. "The European Union has once again demonstrated its weakness and inability to admit the obvious fact -- linking the restrictions to the implementation of the Minsk agreement by Moscow is absurd," Xinhua news agency cited a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Minsk Agreement, aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine, was reached by leaders of the Normandy format group comprising Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015. However, the peace treaty has not been fully implemented. European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday that EU leaders have agreed to extend the economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its takeover of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis till July 31, 2017. Russia has retorted with a ban on imports of a range of European commodities, mainly foodstuffs, which will remain in effect until Dec 31, 2017. The ministry slammed Tusk for saying that the EU was still awaiting a clarification of the new US administration's policy in relation to Russia. "In fact, the President of the European Council thus acknowledged complete dependence on the United States on this issue, which is contrary to the interests of its member states," the ministry added. Bengaluru, Dec 16 : The Bagalkot district unit of the Congress has recommended the suspension of veteran lawmaker H.Y. Meti -- who resigned as Excise Minister after a sleaze tape surfaced -- but the ruling party may wait for a CID probe report before acting, a party source said on Friday. "The party's state unit has sent a report to the high command to seek action (suspension) against Meti for damaging the party's image and bringing a bad name to our government by his obscene act," the party official told IANS here on condition of anonymity. "However, as a CID investigation has been ordered after the resignation of Meti, who claimed he is being framed, the party may wait for the probe outcome," added the official. Meti, 71, resigned on Wednesday after local news channels aired the tape in which he is allegedly seen in a compromising situation with a woman. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah later ordered an inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into the episode. Meti is a four-time legislator from Bagalkot assembly segment in the state's northern region, about 400 km from Bengaluru. He switched parties over the years with a stint in the then undivided Janata Dal-United. "The party is waiting for the high command's nod to act against Meti. We will know about it soon as Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will visit Belagavi on Saturday to address a rally there," said the official. Belagavi in the state's northwest region, about 500 km from Bengaluru. Though Congress Karnataka unit President and Home Minister G. Parameshwara discussed Meti's fate with Siddaramaiah, supporters of the former minister want the high command to wait for the CID report before acting against him. Parameshwara said the CID was waiting for a complaint to be registered by the victim or her family in the jurisdictional police station. New Delhi, Dec 16 : An additional one lakh students learned to read "advance stories" following the Delhi government's "Reading Mela" campaign, a government statement said on Friday. The Directorate of Education submitted to Education Minister Manish Sisodia the results of the campaign launched on Teachers' Day (September 5) this year. Based on the final assessment by the school teachers, 46 per cent of children in Class VI can now read an advance story (having an excerpt of about 100 words from the text book of Class VI) compared to the baseline, which was 25 per cent, the statement said. For classes VII and VIII, the number has increased to 64 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively, from 52 per cent and 55 per cent. The statement added that 8 per cent of students in Class VI, 5 per cent in Class VII and 4 per cent in Class VIII could not even identify a letter of the alphabet, which has now been reduced to 2 per cent, 1 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. Sisodia has now initiated talks with the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) to take this reading campaign to primary classes in MCD schools as well. The purpose of the reading campaign was to ensure that every student from classes VI to VIII is able to read Hindi fluently by Children's Day (November 14). The campaign was focused on around 3.6 lakh students out of the total 6.3 lakh students enrolled in government schools. Those students, who scored more than 33 per cent marks in each of the five subjects with pen and paper test, were not included. We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. New Delhi, Dec 16 : In a bid to deliberate on critical criminology issues, prevention of crime and deviance in the 21st century, criminology experts from 50 countries have joined together for the 18th World Congress of Criminology, held for the first time in India, here. Organised jointly by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and the International Society of Criminology, the three-day event will focus on the Criminological Opportunities and Challenges of the 21st Century in light of the current trends in Urbanisation, Globalisation, Development and Crime. "This conference has a very resonant theme today because we are talking of criminology in the context of globalisation. We are one people, we are one world, we are all networked, but the dangers of a networked age are that the impacts of crime are multiplied manifold," Supreme Court Judge Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, said in a statement. He highlighted urbanisation as the leading challenge to governance and rule of law. "The growth of urbanisation has posed very grave challenges to the enforcement of law and justice in our country. The law is but one important facet of societal governance under the regime of law, however there is a great deal to be achieved in terms of the involvement of civil society in the enforcement of law and the realisation of rights," Chandrachud added. The global congress, which will be held from Dec 16-18, will witness the participation of 700 leading criminology experts, lawyers, scholars, academics and professionals from from 68 international universities and over 70 Indian universities and institutions. New Delhi, Dec 16 : Parliament was adjourned sine die on Friday as the winter session that began on November 16 ended in a washout. The Chairs of both houses made it a point to express their displeasure at this as no significant business could be transacted during the 21 sittings. The Lok Sabha could transact just 17.39 per cent of its scheduled business in the 19 hours that it worked, while the Rajya Sabha transacted 20.61 per cent of the listed business in its 22 working hours. The Lok Sabha lost 92 working hours while the upper House lost more than 86 hours to disruptions and repeated adjournments, mainly over demonetisation, but also to other issues such as the AgustaWestland chopper deal and farmers' distress. Both Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan voiced anguish over repeated disruptions and unruly behaviour of the members. "Regular and continuous disruptions characterised the session... All sections of the house need to introspect on the distinction between dissent, disruption and agitation," Ansari observed in his valedictory remarks. Mahajan said: "In this session, we lost 91 hours and 59 minutes to adjournments forced by disruptions. This is not good for all of us as it mars our image in the public." The government blamed the opposition for the Session's failure. "It is because of their blindfolded strategy to obstruct the proceedings in both houses that we could not make winter session more fruitful. The session failed mainly because of the Congress and their disjointed leadership in the two houses," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told the media. He said that the government "did everything they could" to "persuade" the opposition. "As the ruling party, we did everything we could to run the houses smoothly. Be it inside Parliament or outside or in the Speaker's chamber, we kept persuading them," he added. The opposition, on its part, has blamed the government for the impasse in both houses. In the Rajya Sabha, the opposition demanded Prime Minster Narendra Modi's presence during the entire discussion on demonetisation, which was initiated by Anand Sharma of the Congress under Rule 267 (short duration discussion by suspending other business) on the opening day, and refused to let the house function till their demand for the Prime Minister's presence in the house was met. The government said the Prime Minister would come in the house for parts of the debate and would intervene, but would not sit through the entire debate. The opposition refused to accept it. In the Lok Sabha, the opposition led by Congress demanded a discussion on demonetisation under a rule that entailed voting. The government declined. Towards the end, the Congress demanded a discussion without a governing rule and asked the Speaker to let Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi initiate the debate. However, since the debate under Rule 193 (short discussion) had already been initiated by Telangana Rashtra Samithi member A.P. Jithender Reddy, the Speaker did not allow to suspend that and initiate the discussion afresh. The last couple of days witnessed angry exchanges between opposition and treasury benches as the ruling bloc, including Ananth Kumar, sought a debate on AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. The government benches also slammed opposition parties for allegedly running money laundering racket by changing demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. The Lok Sabha passed four bills during the session, of which two were finance bills related to Supplementary Demand for Grants, the other two being Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, and the Rights of Persons with Disability Bill, 2014. The Rajya Sabha passed only one bill, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014, which stipulates punishment for those discriminating against the differently-abled. In the upper house, 116 reports/statements of various Parliamentary Committees including those of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees were presented or laid on the table of the house. Only three matters of public importance could be raised. A total of 330 Starred Questions and 3,517 Unstarred Questions were admitted and answered. Of these, only two Starred Questions could be orally answered. In the lower house, 10 bills were introduced. And 50 of the 440 starred questions were answered orally. New Delhi, Dec 16 : The next edition of India-US-Japan trilateral exercise 'Malabar' will be held in the Indian Ocean with a major focus on anti-submarine warfare, Commander of the US Seventh Fleet Vice Admiral Joseph P. Aucoin said on Friday. Aucoin, now visiting India, in an interaction with journalists said he was happy with the three countries participating in the Malabar exercise and a decision on including any other country will depend on the leadership of these countries. Asked if the US would like Australia or China to join the Malabar exercise, Aucoin said: "It's a trilateral exercise, that's what I am focused on. In future, I am not sure that there is a possibility... Multilateral exercises are very good..." "I think that is for my leadership, also for the leadership in India and Japan to decide. It really helps -- three of the largest democracies, their naval forces working together. I am very happy with this," he said commenting on the current format of the exercise. He said the exercise will be held next year in the Indian Ocean, but the place or date has not been decided yet. Asked what will be new in the Malabar exercise this time, he said: "We want to do different mission areas, specially now that India flies P8Is and we fly P8As, I would like to have two of those aircraft working together and to hunt submarines." "So, anti-submarine warfare is one I think will be very beneficial, so I am looking forward to it in Malabar," he said. Malabar is a joint exercise between India and the US, which now has Japan as a permanent partner. In 2007, Australia was included along with Japan in the exercise. But a strong protest from China led to its withdrawal. In 2015, Australia again expressed interest in participating in the Malabar exercise. Commenting on the implementation of the logistic agreement between India and the US - LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement), Aucoin said it may take around a couple of years to implement it. He also said that the US has shared its "points of contact" -- the details of designated officials to whom the US military would have to send its request for logistics support under LEMOA -- but India is yet to share the list. He added that the problem of common accounting system for the three services also needed to be worked out. The US's Seventh Fleet has patrolled Asia's waters since World War II. Its coverage area extends from Japan to India. In the 1971 India-Pakistan war that led to creation of Bangladesh, the Seventh Fleet was dispatched to put pressure on the Indian side when India bombed the Karachi harbour. The Soviet Union had then dispatched the Tenth Operative Battle Group of its Pacific Fleet to support India. Asked to comment on the incident, as Vijay Diwas, the commemoration of India's victory on Pakistan in 1971, was celebrated on Friday, Aucoin said both countries have come a long way from that time. Washington, Dec 16 : US President-elect Donald Trump says that after taking office he will build safe zones in Syria to protect the civilian population and will get the Gulf states to pay for them. "I will get the Gulf states to give us lots of money, and we'll build and help build safe zones in Syria so people can have a chance," he said during a post-election rally on Thursday night in Pennsylvania. Trump said the US did not have the financial resources to build the safe havens due to its $20 trillion national debt, but the President-elect added that the work could be carried out by the Gulf monarchies, which "have nothing but money", reports Efe. "When I look at what's going on in Syria, it's so sad," he said. "It's so sad, and we've got to help people." Trump did not mention the battle for Aleppo, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces regained full control of the city this week from US-backed rebels after years of fighting. In recent months, Aleppo became a major point of dispute between Washington and Moscow, which has intervened in the conflict on the side of Assad, its staunchest ally in the Arab world. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday demanded that the Syrian government and Russia implement an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Aleppo and accused Damascus and Moscow of "indiscriminate and savage brutality" against civilians. Kolkata, Dec 16 : Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces and Mukti Jodhas (freedom fighters) of Bangladesh, who fought shoulder to shoulder in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan, celebrated Vijay Diwas here on Friday. This year, 38 Mukti Jodhas and serving Bangladeshi Army, Navy and Air Force officers attended the occasion at Fort William. The Mukti Jodhas have been attending the annual celebrations for the past 10 years. They also participated in a memorial service for martyrs at Vijay Smarak. Wreaths were laid by the veterans, members of the Bangladeshi delegation and commander-in-chiefs of the Eastern Army, Naval and Air commands. The celebrations started with a band concert on December 13 at Kolkata's Prinsep Ghat followed by an interactive session of the war veterans of India and Bangladesh. December 16 is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh and Vijay Diwas in India. The celebrations commemorate the victory of the Indian Armed Forces and the Mukti Bahini. About 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, on this day in 1971, had surrendered to the Indian forces. This historic victory led to fall of Dhaka and the creation of Bangladesh. New Delhi, Dec 16 : Twenty per cent of the sanctioned posts in the Indian Coast Guard are vacant, Parliament was informed on Friday. "At present the borne strength of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is 12,585, against the sanctioned strength of 15,714. The remaining 3,129 posts, which is 20 per cent of the sanctioned strength, are vacant," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. "Post 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, Indian Coast Guard has witnessed rapid expansion and the induction/recruitment of manpower.A The recruitment process has been fast tracked and approximately 130 officers and 720 EPs (enrolled personnel) are being recruited every year," he added. In order to tide over the existing manpower shortages, ICG is re-employing Short Service Commission officers from navy, law officers and drivers from Army and revising the Manning Plan for optimising combat readiness of all platforms, along with other measures. "Coast Guard envisages surface platforms to grow from the present strength of 125 to 150 by 2018. Similarly, aircraft strength is expected to grow from the present 62 to 100 by 2020," the minister added. New Delhi, Dec 16 : A horrific gang-rape that shocked and angered the nation happened four years ago on this day. On Friday, Nirbhaya's parents called for a meeting here to express anguish and solidarity with the victims of sexual assault. Four years after the terrifying 'Nirbhaya' rape, the parents of the 23-year old para-medical student, yet to get over their pain, organised a meeting to commemorate the brutal attack and to discuss how much has changed or stayed the same since 2012. At the meeting were present the parents of Nirbhaya, who were joined by many political leaders like Sobhja Ojha, President, All India Mahila Congress, Udit Raj, Member of Parliament, and Mamata Sharma, former Chairperson of National Commission for Women. "Four years have passed but the violators of my daughter have still not seen the flame of justice. I want to see them hanged as soon as possible. They deserve such punishment, nothing less," Nirbhaya's mother said. "BJP had made so many promises after coming to power about the women's safety. Those promises are still to be realised. Are women any safer in Delhi than 2012? Are they free to move about as per their wish? I don't think so," Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal, who was also present at the gathering, said. That the anger of the people who had taken to the streets post December 16, in solidarity with the victim, is not yet extinguished was evident from the reaction from one of the agitators present at the gathering. "We want hanging of those beasts. Until that happens we won't stay quiet or be placated. The crime that they committed is nothing less than barbarity, and they have no place in the civil society," a close friend of the victim's family, Akashdeep, told IANS. The rape which had occurred on the December 16, 2012, had seen massive protests across India, especially in the national capital, where a countless youths had spilled out on the streets and at prominent places, asking for the heads of the culprits. The brutal rape by six persons, including a juvenile, was committed inside a moving bus when the victim along with her male-friend were returning home from watching a movie and had boarded the bus at Munirka bus-stop. The case was sensational for the grade of brutality which was committed during it, with disgorged bowels and a battered body completing the details. The doctors were reported as shocked when they first saw the state of the victim and so was everyone who heard of it on TV or elsewhere. The incident, which engulfed the media space like a wildfire for months, also resulted in a committee for reappraisal of the laws on rape, known as Justice J.S. Committee, which submitted its recommendations on January 23, 2013. The committee went through the laws related to immoral trafficking, crimes against women at workplaces, child sex abuse, among other crimes, and bore its weight against the mob sentiment prevailing then, when it ruled out death penalty and chemical-castration as one of punishments for rape, and recommended life -imprisonment instead. The six accused were awarded death sentence in September 2013, the sentence being upheld by the Delhi High Court as well in 2014. While others waited for their fate, Ram Singh, one of the six accused, hanged himself in his cell inside the Tihar Jail in March 2013. The remaining five still await the Supreme Court decision, where they have appealed for commutation to life sentence. A fund of Rs 200 crore known as 'Nirbhaya Fund' has also been allocated since by the central government, to help rehabilitate victims of sexual abuse. Merlien Institute today announced that submissions are open for the 3rd MRMW Awards. The MRMW Awards are a celebration of innovation and excellence in the Market Research Industry and recognize the hard work of individuals who have achieved significant breakthroughs in mobile market research. The Award entries are open until January 31, 2017. To submit an entry, please visit http://na.mrmw.net/awards/. The winners will be announced at the MRMW conference held on April 25&26 in Chicago. Six categories are available for this years MRMW Awards. An independent panel, comprised of the MRMW Advisory Board members and internationally recognized market research experts, will judge all entries. Categories for the 2017 MRMW Awards are: MRMW Researcher of the Year (Client) - By nomination: The Oscar for market research. It recognizes individuals that have demonstrated leadership and creativity in harnessing new technologies and techniques for market research. MRMW Research Company of the Year - By nomination: Recognizes companies that have demonstrated excellence in designing and implementing innovative research for clients. This can be an outstanding individual project or based on a portfolio of research projects. Best Mobile Qual Project: Showcases and promotes excellence in mobile qualitative research. The entries are judged on the research design, execution of the project as well as the research outcome for clients business objectives. Best New Technology: Recognizes proprietary new technology that has disrupted the traditional market research paradigm. Winners are selected based on how the new technology answers a particular challenge in a market research project. Best Use of Mobile Technology: Recognizes innovative use of mobile technology for market research. This can be an innovative new use of existing technology or the introduction of a new mobile technology for market research. Best Client-Supplier Collaboration: Honors those valued relationships between agency and client. Given to partnerships that demonstrate excellence in client and research supplier collaboration. Both clients and research suppliers can submit entries. The MRMW Awards 2017 are open to individuals and companies across the market research industry and may be entered online. A full list of categories, deadlines and award criteria can be found http://na.mrmw.net/awards-categories/. Entries will close on January 31st, 2017. The shortlisted nominees for each category will be announced in February 2017 on the MRMW website and in writing. MRMW 2016 Award Winners were: Researcher of the Year: Meghan Ludvigsen, Verizon Mobile Research Agency of the Year: FieldAgent Best New Technology: Nielsen Best Use of Mobile Technology: Kantar Health & Lumi Technologies Best Mobile Qualitative: 2020 Research Best Client-Supplier Collaboration: MDI & KFC Thailand / Yum Restaurants The addition of Standard Fire Equipment into Hillers operation creates a comprehensive fire protection offering for our customers in the Birmingham market. The Hiller Companies is pleased to announce that Standard Fire Equipment will be joining its team. The Hiller Companies offers fire protection and security products and services that are preserving lives and property all around the world. Hiller, headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, has ten branch offices from Houston to Boston and purchased Standard Fire Equipment on December 1, 2016. Hiller prides itself on a strong foundation of experience steeped in almost 100 years in the fire protection industry coupled with the most modern service technology. By combining Hillers experience with the expertise of Standard Fire Equipment, Hiller is looking forward to expanding their service area in Birmingham and throughout the state of Alabama. Standard Fire is a quality service company with a strong reputation in the marketplace. Hiller Companies President and CEO Patrick Lynch said. The addition of this team into Hillers operation creates a comprehensive fire protection offering for our customers in the Birmingham market. I welcome their employees to our team and look forward to an exciting future. Standard Fire Equipment serves more than 3,500 customers from the heavy industrial to light commercial industries in central Alabama. A family-run business, Standard Fire Equipment has built an outstanding reputation for reliable products and excellent customer service. Hiller plans to maintain all of Standard Fire Equipments management, staff and technicians to ensure continuity of the dependable and professional service they are known for. We are very excited to become a part of The Hiller Companies, former owner Ken Stalnaker said. This is a new era for our customers and they will benefit tremendously from the resources, knowledge and experience Hiller brings to the table. Hiller General Manager Pete Whitehouse believes that the breadth of experience of Hiller and Standard Fire Equipment combined is something special. Standard Fire Equipment has a solid reputation and is a great group of people to work with, he said. They have served the Birmingham and central Alabama markets for more than 50 years, and we look forward to continuing their outstanding tradition of customer service and fire protection. Now is really a great time for Hiller and we look forward to our continued growth and expansion. The Hiller Companies offer fire protection products and services that are preserving lives and property all around the world. Headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, Hiller extends its reach globally as well as in domestic markets with offices in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. We are proud to safeguard everything from small businesses to nuclear testing facilities, yachts to aircraft carriers, and gas stations to offshore platforms. The Capital Connection blog - informing you on changes to federal and state government policy SBHRAs provide a tremendous opportunity to those small employers (more than one but fewer than 50 eligible employees) who do not offer Group health but want to assist their employees with ever rising healthcare costs. H.R. 34 containing provisions that establish Small Business HRAs (SBHRA) was signed into law by President Obama on December 13, 2016. Beginning January 1, 2017, qualified businesses that establish SBHRAs will be able to use tax-advantaged funds to reimburse employees for individual health insurance premiums and family out-of-pocket medical expenses. (Note: This change does not affect one-employee, integrated, or Limited Purpose HRA Plans that are already compliant with federal law.) According to Jason Westphal, Legislative Analyst for Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC), SBHRAs provide a tremendous opportunity to those small employers (more than one but fewer than 50 eligible employee) who do not offer Group health but want to assist their employees with ever rising healthcare costs. Highlights of the Cures Act legislation and a SBHRA include: Employer annual contributions will be capped at $4,950 for a single employee and $10,000 for an employee with a family. These numbers will be indexed annually for inflation. Participation in the SBHRA will not disqualify participants from Marketplace subsidies (i.e. premium tax credits), but monthly HRA reimbursements will be included in income calculations for determining eligibility for any subsidy. Generally, employers must make the same contributions to all eligible employees; amounts may vary based on family status (single vs. family). Employees must have minimum essential coverage in order to participate. HRAs are solely funded by an eligible employer; they are employer-sponsored and reimbursed benefits. The employee is not allowed to contribute pre-tax dollars via salary reduction. HRAs are not pre-funded. Employers can write off insurance premiums beginning the first of the year in which they enroll. Out-of-pocket medical expenses can be written off beginning the first of the month in which the small business owner establishes the SBHRA. Unused elected amounts can be carried over to reimburse medical expenses in future years OR can be offered as a use it or lose it feature to limit the employer's liability to the current Plan Year. Medical expenses of adult children and their families may be reimbursed through an employees HRA up until the year in which the adult child turns 26. A traditional One Employee HRA health & welfare benefit Plan can still be implemented yet this yearresulting in federal, state, and FICA tax savings on insurance premiums for the entire year; and on out-of-pocket medical expenses for the month of December. IRS Notice 2013-54 issued in September 2013 limited the ability of small business owners to utilize stand-alone HRAs. Prior to this guidance, many had used HRAs to reimburse their employees for certain medical expenses using pre-tax dollars. As a result of IRS Notice 2013-14, a company with more than one eligible employee could no longer receive a tax advantage through an HRA unless it sponsored Group insurance (an expense thats beyond many small companies reach) or offered a Limited Purpose HRA (which can only provide coverage for dental, orthodontia, vision and long-term care). This new legislation overturns guidance issued in IRS Notice 2013-54 and once again allows employers with fewer than 50 employees (companies not subject to the ACAs Employer Mandate) to utilize HRAs as a pre-tax health & welfare benefit. The Small Business Healthcare Relief Act was first introduced to congress in June 2015 (H.R. 2911 and S. 1698). In June 2016, the House and Senate re-introduced amended bills (H.R. 5447 and S. 3060 respectively). H.R. 5447 was ultimately incorporated into the Cures Act which was passed by the House and Senate as part of the 2016 year-end health package containing mental health initiatives, Medicare provisions, and medical research funding. # # # About TASC: TASC is an award-winning national third-party benefits administrator of tax-advantaged health benefits plans offering comprehensive services for Clients, Participants, and Providers and serving companies ranging in size from one employee to thousands. New product development, innovative tools, and outstanding transparent service keep TASCs products and services at the forefront of third-party benefits administration. AgriPlan and BizPlan (Section 105 HRAs) are products that fall under TASCs Microbusiness umbrella. AgriPlan and BizPlan save small business owners an average of more than $5,000 a year on their insurance premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses. Westbon Inc. International students have never been given the opportunity to prove their credit worthiness under the current credit system. Westbon Inc., a Chicago-based online lending platform, is taking a revolutionary approach in the dynamic Fintech industry by providing auto and personal loans to international students in the U.S. who have no or thin credit history. This is definitely an exciting news for international students who have long been denied of access to American credit system due to their lack of Social Security Number (SSN) and credit score. Hao Liu, co-founder of the company, believes that the rapid rise of Fintech industry is a natural outcome of the growing unfulfilled demand of the underbanked or unbanked. Unlike subprime borrowers, International students have never been given the opportunity to prove their credit worthiness under the current credit system and hence are severely disadvantaged. Our mission is not only to provide them with convenient financing options at affordable rate, but also to help them build credit history at an early stage. International students have been labelled as the spoilt rich kids by many Americans due to the extravagance of a small group of wealthy ones, but the financing needs of the majority of this group is overlooked. The annual cost including tuition and living expense for an international student to pursue a tertiary education degree in the U.S. typically ranges from $30,000 to $50,000. This is still a significant financial burden for most families in China, where the average annual income is slightly below $9,000, and for those from India, where many families send their children to study overseas by taking loans from domestic banks. They are also experiencing various daily inconveniences because of their credit dilemma: constant denial of credit card application, mandatory deposit for renting apartment, ridiculously high interest in car loan and lease, etc. Westbon aims to change such situation by providing customized loan products at a rate international students deserve. Leveraging innovative underwriting process, the company goes beyond conventional criteria like credit score and takes applicants academic and financial status into consideration. It also eliminates all hidden fees like origination charge or prepayment penalty, so that students can enjoy a highly transparent and flexible loan service. More importantly, international students can now start building their credit history by making on-time monthly payment even without SSN. This is a revolutionary change and will benefit them in the long run by saving them significant amount of money in their future car loan and mortgage. For international students, the era of no SSN, no credit has come to the end. About Westbon Inc. Founded in 2015, Westbon is the first online financing platform that provides international students in the U.S. with affordable financing solutions without having Social Security Number or credit history. Westbons auto loan service is now available in 28 states, and its personal loan service is offered in 8 states. It is dedicated to connecting the underserved international students to the U.S. credit system and helping them build credit history at an early stage by reporting on-time payment to major credit bureaus like Experian. Kina, a leader in document automation, announces a strategic partnership with Proximity Software, a software design and IT consulting company. Kina provides a document automation solution that dramatically reduces human cost as well as time from daily business operations. Businesses can receive hundreds, even thousands, of documents, such as purchase orders, contracts, and invoices. Kinas software automatically processes and categorizes incoming documents, parsing key information and automatically routing to the appropriate location. Proximity will join Kina in reselling, integrating and supporting the Kina solution. Proximity has existing client relationships, and provides customization at a very competitive cost, said Alex Nygren, Chief Executive Officer of Kina. We can leverage their sales, development, and support process to bring extra value to our customers. This is exciting for Proximity, explains Ross Laing, President of Proximity Software. We have a presence in Central America, and we immediately have seen demand for the Kina solution. And this is a market where Kina can expand and succeed, and Proximity will help make it happen. About Kina Kina is an easy to use web based document workflow solution that provides automated document recognition and classification, information extraction, routing, user review queues, and easy integration to document sources and repositories. About Proximity Proximity is a software service and support company based in Austin, Texas. Proximity provides solutions ranging from e-commerce to Salesforce CRM automation, to cloud migration. Proximity has clients in United States and Central America. MaximumSoft Corp. announced release of Forms-2-Go app new version. This app puts business forms (invoices, work orders, time sheets, HVAC forms, etc.) right into customers' hands, allowing to create and sign electronic forms directly on iPad, iPhone, Android phones, tablets and PCs. Forms-2-Go allows Increase your employees mobility and productivity by switching to electronic forms that are available at any time, on the go, and in the office. The app comes with over 100 professionally built form templates (invoices, work orders, time sheets, HVAC forms, etc.). All forms are available in 20 different color themes. Forms-2-go also allows users to import their own custom form templates. MaximumSoft team can also help to convert customer paper forms into electronic format to be used in Forms-2-Go app. Completed forms can be emailed or printed directly from mobile devices, or PC. The app can also be used to capture customers signatures directly on mobile devices. Forms-2-Go app allows multiple people work on the same form on multiple different devices. For example, office worker creates Work Order form on Windows PC, fills in customer information, and emails the form to a technician. Later on, technician enters information about performed service, asks custom to sign the form on a mobile device, and emails completed form back to the main office. Same forms work on all supported devices: iPads, iPhones, Android phones and tablets, Windows PCs. MaximumSoft Corp., the developer of several award-winning products, is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, U.S.A. All product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. ### Erin Stauder, pictured, is excited to work with the board and staff to continue to move the organization forward. Erin has very strong roots serving and leading Baltimore's education and health communities. After an extensive search,The Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA) has selected Erin Stauder to be its next Executive Director. She will succeed Susan Glasgow, who served as director for 22 years. Ms. Stauder will take the lead of an organization with a strong history in the Baltimore community. Founded in 1926 as a meeting place for the hard of hearing, HASA has evolved to serve the interpreting, educational and therapeutic needs of children and adults through CIRS Interpreting, Gateway School and a clinical services program. Since 2006, Erin has been a member of the clinical faculty at Loyola University Maryland. There she managed the clinical internship program for speech-language graduate clinicians at multiple locations in Baltimore City. Prior positions include serving as an Advanced Therapist with the University of Maryland Medical Center and also managing and providing a variety of services to young children through Easter Seals of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Erin earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola College Maryland and is pursuing her doctorate in public policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her colleagues describe her as a gifted leader and manager, able to make difficult decisions, yet collaborative in her leadership style. She states: "Access to language and communication has been an integral part of my educational and professional career, so I already feel connected to HASA's mission. I'm excited to work with the board and staff to continue to move the organization forward." The boards search committee was led by committee chair Peter Bosworth, board president Aaron Marshall and Dr. Jane R. Snider of Heads-Up Consultants. The inclusiveness of the search process and the outcome reflect the committees extraordinary dedication and service to HASA and its mission. ABOUT THE HEARING AND SPEECH AGENCY The Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA) is a private, non-profit organization that provides hearing and speech services, offers an information resource center and advocates for people of all ages with communication challenges. Services include hearing tests, hearing aids, hearing-aid repair, speech-language evaluations and therapy, listening and spoken language services, pre- and post-cochlear implant services, occupational and physical therapy, special education, sign language interpreting, sign-language classes, Deaf awareness seminars, social work, and parent support groups. Screen6, the global leader in cross-device identity management, today announced the ability for its partners to expand their private identity graphs beyond their own dataset through strategic alliances with ShareThis, Airpush, and Kochava Collective. ShareThis possesses one of the worlds largest online data sets and were excited that Screen6 customers will be able to leverage the ShareThis data asset to augment their cross-device graphs, shared Rob Finora, SVP Data at ShareThis. Unlike other cross-device vendors, Screen6 maintains strict silos to store each of its clients datasets and does not own or license any of its own data to augment its clients graphs. Without a centralized master graph to rely on, Screen6 does not require a cookie-sync with each of its clients. Screen6s technology is able to work with data passed server-to-server since each cookie pool is de-duplicated within its own environment. Thus, Screen6 can process data and build private identity solutions for its licensees across all geographies while abiding by local legislation and industry self-regulation. Grant Cohen, VP of the Kochava Collective, says, We are thrilled to welcome Screen6 as an integrated partner of the Kochava Collective. When confronting the reality of a stale or saturated audience, they excel in this marketplace thanks to their ability to enrich and extend reach, while ensuring that cohorts remain shielded from the possibility of plagiarization by competitors. Some clients require supplemental data to fill holes in their own dataset. A well-established desktop platform, for example, may want to extend into mobile. With Screen6's Bring Your Own Data (BYOD) motto, the platform will now be able to leverage in-app data from the Kochava Collective and AirPush to bridge the gap. "Airpush is excited to partner with Screen6 to give cross device buyers an opportunity to reach their audiences on desktop web, mobile web, or in-app, stated Seth Socolow, SVP Strategic Partnerships at Airpush. Screen6 brings a differentiated technology and business model to the cross-device space and we look forward to working together." Similarly, if a platform is lacking desktop and mobile web inventory, it can leverage the vast publisher network and cookie pool provided by ShareThis to supplement its own data while maintaining data ownership of its own cookie-pool and direct publisher relationships. Unfortunately, platforms which sync to cross-device vendors, whom operate a master graph and require a cookie-sync, end up feeding their own data into the vendors ecosystem which may, thus, be used to benefit a competitor. At the end of the day Screen6 provides a unique service in an industry inundated with confusing and convoluted announcements pertaining to the technological capabilities and limitations of each platform, said Keith Petri, Chief Strategy Officer (U.S.) at Screen6. We have since listened to feedback from our clients - who love our privacy compliant solution which allows them to maintain data rights and ownership, but are looking to extend beyond their own identifiers - and incorporate data beyond their ecosystems. With these established partnerships across desktop, mobile web, and in-app our clients can continue to expand their cross-device understanding just as consumers have expanded their usage time across more and more devices. About Screen6 Screen6 is the global leader in cross-device identity management. The company was founded in 2012 and globally services many of the leading ad-tech vendors, by showing them the missing link in their data: what devices belong to the same person. Screen6 partners can make smart real-time decisions across devices by using the clear, concise and exceptionally reliant cross-device data. At Screen6 a team of data scientists and engineers sift through hundreds of billions of data points, and find the right matches within. Screen6 is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and New York. For more information: http://www.s6.io or on Twitter @Screen6HQ About ShareThis ShareThis is a social data provider with real-time processing at its core. A pioneer in the industry, ShareThis believes the desire to share is rooted deep within human beings, reflecting passions, wants, and lifestyles that are constantly fluctuating throughout the day, week, and month. By identifying these human sentiments, ShareThis gains a better understanding of people, thus ensuring marketing messages are relevant and timely. The ShareThis consumer engagement and sharing tools are used by over 4.5 million domains to drive engagement, traffic, and personalization, capturing the widest and deepest sentiments of people across the internet. ShareThis is privately held and headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. To learn more, please visit http://www.sharethis.com About Airpush Winner of the DataWeek Top Innovator in Advertising Data" award and recognized by Forbes as one of America's "Most Promising Companies," Airpush is a worldwide leader in digital advertising solutions. With powerful platforms integrated into over 250,000 mobile app, mobile web, and virtual reality properties, as well as one of the world's largest consumer data marketplaces, Airpush provides some of the most diverse and highest performing monetization and advertising solutions in the industry. Founded in 2010, the company has approximately 250 employees and offices in Los Angeles and Bangalore, along with sales regions in all major markets. For more information, visit http://www.airpush.com or follow us on Twitter @AirpushAds. About Kochava Collective With over 400 million unique device IDs, the Kochava Collective is the largest independent mobile data marketplace in the world. The Kochava Collective brings the top publishers and savvy advertisers together for the most efficient audience targeting in the mobile industry. We develop unique and meaningful data around app usage and locations visited, which enables us to create custom audience segments for advertisers to target across the most popular social platforms, publishers, DSPs and networks. Learn more by visiting http://www.kochava.com/the-collective/ People's Trust Insurance hosts a holiday lunch with city officials for the first responders of Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue Station 102. We cant thank them enough for their dedication and extraordinary service Showing its appreciation for the dedication and bravery of firefighters who work right next door, Peoples Trust Insurance today hosted a holiday lunch to applaud the heroic first responders of Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue Station 102. This marks the third straight year the insurance company has celebrated its neighboring first responders in this way. Because Peoples Trust Insurance prides itself on preparation and rapid response, we truly admire what these incredible first responders demonstrate every day of their lives, said George Schaeffer, the companys Chief Executive Officer. We cant thank them enough for their dedication and extraordinary service. Peoples Trust Insurance marks the holiday season by thanking these dedicated professionals for their endless contributions to the community. Vice Mayor Richard Rosenzweig, Commissioner Bill Ganz, Fire Chief Richard Sievers and all of Station 102 responders, along with Broward Sheriffs Office Captain Robert Schnakenberg and Lieutenant Darryl Stallings in conjunction with City Manager Burgess Hanson and many of the City of Deerfield Team joined Schaeffer and the Peoples Trust team at the event to show their support. # # # About Peoples Trust Insurance Founded in 2008, People's Trust Insurance has emerged as one of Florida's top 10 home insurance companies, providing homeowners with affordable (Keyword Florida homeowners insurance) rates and benefits not available anywhere else. Honored with the 2013 Enterprise Florida Governor's Innovators in Business Award, People's Trust provides a "Better Way" for nearly 150,000 Floridians to insure their homes. With more than 600 employees in its family of companies and an affiliation with Florida's largest residential insurance restoration general contractor, People's Trust is Florida's best-prepared home insurance company and a full partner in policyholders' recovery after loss. Debate is expected to begin soon in Washington, D.C., on the 2018 Farm Bill, and the makings of this piece of legislation will be watched very closely by everyone involved in the U.S. food and agricultural system. The recent elections and the downturn in the farm economy has some in the industry concerned about what the new Farm Bill will look like. It was a rocky road to get to the 2014 Farm Bill, which ended up becoming a big controversy for many in the industry. What will become of some of the policies in the 2014 legislation that concerned many dairy farmers? What about crop insurance, conservation, the livestock industry and nutritional programs? And the biggest puzzle piece may be how President-Elect Donald Trump enacts some of the trade and other policies he promised during the campaign. These are all important topics being analyzed by some of the countrys top agricultural economists. The future of the Farm Bill is the focus of a special edition of Choices Magazine. The theme, entitled Looking Ahead to the Next Farm Bill, features the following articles: 80 Years of Farm Bills - Evolutionary Reform by Carl Zulauf and David Orden The Nutrition Titles Long, Sometimes Strained, but Not Yet Broken, Marriage with the Farm Bill by Parke Wilde The Next Farm Bill May Present Opportunities for Hybrid Farm-Conservation Policies by Jonathan Coppess The Farm Safety Net for Field Crops by Gary Schnitkey and Carl Zulauf Federal Intervention in Milk Markets by Andrew Novakovich and Christopher Wolfe Federal Benefits for Livestock and Specialty Crop Producers by Stephanie Mercier You can read each of the articles online at choicesmagazine.org. If you are interested in setting up an interview with any of the authors, please contact Jay Saunders (jsaunders(at)aaea.org) in the AAEA Business Office. ABOUT AAEA: Established in 1910, the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) is the leading professional association for agricultural and applied economists, with 2,500 members in more than 20 countries. Members of the AAEA work in academic or government institutions as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety of research, teaching, and outreach activities in the areas of agriculture, the environment, food, health, and international development. The AAEA publishes two journals, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, as well as the online magazine Choices. To learn more, visit http://www.aaea.org. After 4 years, the wait is finally over for Schiller fans with the release of his brand new album, Future, made available today, Friday, December 16, 2016 via OK!Good Records. Future is the ninth studio album from the multi-Gold and Platinum awarded electronic musician, producer, and composer Christopher von Deylen, who has collaborated with well-known artists such as Colbie Caillat, Sarah Brightman, Lang Lang, and more. Inspired by electronic icons like Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre, Schiller is known for creating visionary sounds that are ahead of their time. As described by musician and composer Mike Oldfield, [He creates] music that moves one really deep inside. Listeners are sure to be moved by Schillers new emotional electronic-pop album, which has been met with critical acclaim as it went straight to the top of the German Pop Album Charts marking his fifth #1 album in his home country. Future is an appropriate title for this innovative masterpiece by one of Electronic Musics most fascinating artists. Mixing intoxicating and exciting sounds with timeless intensity, each song has its own cinematic quality to experience. Schiller describes the album as a movie soundtrack, taking listeners on a sonic-journey through moods, feelings, and landscapes. Future is the ideal album to escape from everyday life and immerse oneself in dreams of the future. Dreamscape melodies and artful arrangements create an extraordinary experience with compositions of epic power and breathtaking fragility. "Time flies so fast, and the future is so precious, whether it is the future as a feeling of life or whether we feel our own grit I would be happy if 'Future' can provide the soundtrack for this journey, says Schiller. To create this new album, Schiller embarked on one of his most fascinating trips of musical and spiritual discovery. While traveling back and forth between the pulsing metropolis of Los Angeles and the infinite openness of the Mojave Desert, Schiller was inspired to create a gravity free album by matching his epic instrumental tracks with impressive and often surprising guest vocalists. Featured artists include Keta, Emma Hewitt, Tawgs Salter, Sheppard Solomon, along with Lacuna Coils Cristina Scabbia. With their dedication and passion, they have become an integral part of the musical expedition of Future. The OK!Good Records release of Schillers Future is available for physical purchase at music retailers nationwide, on Amazon, and in the OK!Good Records Shop. Future is available for digital purchase on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and Bandcamp. It is also available to stream on all major streaming platforms including Spotify and SoundCloud. Track-listing: 1. The Future I 2. The Future II (with Keta) 3. The Future III 4. Sweet Symphony (My Heart Beats Again) (with Sheppard Solomon) 5. Paradise (with Arlissa) 6. Schwerelos 7. Once Upon a Time I 8. Once Upon a Time II 9. I Breathe (with Cristina Scabbia) 10. Looking Out For You (Against the Tide) (with Emma Hewitt) 11. Not in Love (with Arlissa) 12. Little Earthquakes (with Sheppard Solomon) 13. The Wait is Over (with Keta) 14. Mirai 15. For You (with Tawgs Salter) 16. Forget (with Keta) About OK!Good Records: OK!Good Records is a genre independent record label established in 2010 to distribute, market, and promote artists and music that defy boundaries, reject limitations, and transcend the ordinary. They champion and celebrate independent music, thought, art, expression, and enterprise. http://www.okgoodrecords.com Newly rebranded logo Ellery Arbor is Sagoras first community to focus exclusively on memory care to meet the growing needs of seniors facing dementia and Alzheimers. Sagora Senior Living announces the acquisition of U.S. Memory Care in Colleyville, TX as part of Greystone Real Estate Advisors four-property portfolio. The acquisition will better serve the needs of residents by integrating Sagoras advanced memory care program into the existing services and programs. Sagora has rebranded the Colleyville community with the new name, Ellery Arbor Memory Care. Sagora Senior Living, a Fort Worth-based company operating 26 Senior Living communities throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, offers cottages along with independent living, assisted living and memory care apartments. Ellery Arbor is Sagoras first community to focus exclusively on memory care to meet the growing needs of seniors facing dementia and Alzheimers. Colleyville is uniquely positioned to serve residents 24/7 with our innovative Pathways Memory Care program within an all-inclusive homelike environment, said Vice President of Sales and Operations of Sagora Senior Living, Dara Brown. Texas ranks fourth in the number of Alzheimers cases with 350,000 seniors facing the disease in 2016. The addition of Ellery Arbor into Sagoras portfolio increases their capacity to serve memory care residents in the DFW area. The Resident First philosophy is evident in the customized chef-prepared menu and daily activities to engage residents at every stage of dementia. The community boasts 60,000 square feet with 70 private and semi-private apartments in a one-of-a-kind community design featuring Main Street, a social hub for such premiere amenities as a Beauty and Barber Shop, Theater Inn and Music Hall. Beautifully manicured courtyards, patios and walking paths to give residents the freedom to enjoy the outdoors. Along with the new name, the community has adopted a new logo. Ellery means joyful while the blue Arbor emphasizes a comforting and safe place where residents can enjoy peace of mind in a home-like setting. About Sagora Senior Living Sagora Senior Living is one of the nations top 50 senior housing operators. Living options include independent living, assisted living, respite and memory care. Sagora is committed to enriching the lives of seniors through a Resident First philosophy. For more information, please call 817-446-4792 or visit http://www.sagora.com. Rosa Santana, CEO Santana Group Im honored to be included in this group of talented, driven and innovative women. Texas-based entrepreneur, Rosa Santana, Santana Group CEO, was recently named to the prestigious national Bizwomens Women to Watch list. In 2014, her newest venture, Forma Automotive LLC, became the first Hispanic-woman-owned direct tier-one supplier to Toyota Motor Corp. Im honored to be included in this group of talented, driven and innovative women. Thank you Bizwomen and American City Business Journals for putting together this list to showcase the amazing accomplishments and success of women throughout the country, said Rosa Santana. The 100 women recognized in this years Women to Watch list were chosen from over 1,000 women profiled throughout the year by one of the 43 American City Business Journals. Collectively these 100 women have a record of success that spans decades and they are poised to continue impacting their companies, and their communities, for years to come. In August, the San Antonio Business Journal named Santana Woman of the Year at the 2016 Womens Leadership Awards luncheon. Each year The Business Journal recognizes women who are agents of positive change for their companies or organizations, as well as their community, and who inspire others to be like them. Rosa Santana is the founder and CEO of the Santana Group, a group of companies providing innovative outsourcing solutions to organizations across all industries. Santana has been a driving force within the United States and Mexico outsourcing industry for over 35 years. Santana is a fearless leader who harnesses her passion to successfully create and develop companies through impeccable client service and innovative business solutions. About the Santana Group: The Santana Group of companies provides innovative outsourcing solutions to organizations across all industries. http://www.santanagrp.com The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), announces four new board members following its annual meeting held in December in Costa Mesa, California. The following directors will serve on the AIIM Board beginning Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2019: Andrea Chiappe, Director of Strategy & Innovation, Systemware Andrea Chiappe wears many hats from R&D and architecture to marketing and business strategy, leading teams and designing next-gen intelligent content networks for Systemware. As a hybrid professional, Andrea happily engages her skills in both technology and business to evolve todays digital business world. After getting her start in Natural Language Processing and the internet of things before IoT was cool, she gathered years of programming, R&D, and, most importantly, real-life, in-the-trenches technical and business experience. Andrea currently focuses on future technology fabrics that will help broker information across our digital businesses. Rich Howarth, Vice President of Engineering, Watson Data Platform, IBM Rich Howarth is responsible for leading a worldwide engineering organization working on IBMs next generation data and analytics cloud platform. This platform will bring together all forms of information to enable companies to better utilize analytics and machine learning as well as other data-centric applications. Prior to this role, Rich was responsible for the IBM ECM Business. Rich has more than 30 years of software experience in operating systems and middleware, analytics, enterprise content management and document imaging solutions. Rich has been involved with ECM for many years and worked closely with AIIM, EMC, Microsoft, and Documentum to lead the CMIS standard initiative. Rich is also the original creator of the CM OnDemand product, IBM Content Navigator and many other IBM offerings. Ed McQuiston, Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Hyland Ed McQuiston was promoted to senior vice president of global sales & marketing at Hyland in March 2016. Having served as vice president of global sales since 2012, Ed took on responsibility for marketing to align the two functions in support of Hylands global expansion. Eds tenure at Hyland and extensive knowledge of OnBase helps support and expand Hylands strategic initiatives. With more than 20 years of experience in the information management and advanced capture industries, Ed focuses on collaborating Hylands global sales and marketing programs and vertical-specific initiatives with worldwide trends, positioning Hyland as the go-to vendor for information management solutions. Greg Reid, CEO, InFuture, LLC Greg Reid has 23 years of consulting and program management experience in information management and leads a global privacy and information management practice serving advanced and innovative healthcare and biotech companies around the US. Prior to creating InFuture, Mr. Reid was a partner in Accentures Human Performance management consulting practice. Mr. Reid was one of Accentures leaders in the knowledge and information management field and sold and directed global client assignments across multiple industries. We are pleased to welcome these new members to our Board of Directors, said Peggy Winton, AIIM president. Their collective experience in the information management industry and within the Association will help to guide the industry and AIIM. Andrea Chiappe, Rich Howarth, Ed McQuiston and Greg Reid join the following directors who continue to serve out their terms: Dan Antion, American Nuclear Insurers Board Chair Mark Patrick, Joint Chiefs Secretariat Board Vice Chair Anthony Peleska Immediate Past Chair Heather Newman, Content Panda Treasurer Ian Story, Microsoft Executive Committee Member At Large Scott Allbert, IQ Business Group Pam Doyle, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. Don Field, Ephesoft Hani Girgis, Deloitte Jordan Jones, Cicso Hanns Khler-Kruner, Gartner Dan Lucarini, IBML Anthony Macciola, Kofax Chris McLaughlin, EMC Harvey Spencer, Harvey Spencer Associates Neal Stidolph, Sword Group About AIIM AIIM has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for 70 years. The associations mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big data. Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education and certification programs to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with programs and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators and consultants. Rendering of Riverbend Mill building in Andover, MA We are excited to be part of the fast growing microbrewery market. Based on our experience, we can handle the high level of detail that the breweries require. If the walls could talk at the historic Riverbend Mill, they would tell a whole lot of stories about the variety of industries that have worked there: timber, cotton, wool, linen, flax yarn and much more. Now, the 209-year-old mill site welcomes another historic trade that dates back thousands of years, as far as the Mesopotamians brewing. Oak & Iron Brewing Co. will be the first tenant at Riverbend Mill, but the owners arent going far back in the history books to look for a partner to retrofit it for their needs. West Bridgewater-based Haynes Group, Inc. the contractor that started renovating the historic property in August for Dundee Redspring LLC, the buildings owner, and Ozzy Properties, the property managers was picked this week to complete the work for the brewery. Oak & Iron Brewing Co. is a small yet mighty American craft brewery based in Andover, MA brewing artisanal batches of New England-inspired seasonals and time-honored classics. Co-founders Jim Cass and John Helferich, former colleagues and longtime friends, have brought a background including sales, marketing, research and development and management to bring their brewery to Andover. We dreamed of creating flavorful, handcrafted beers and a great social experience for the people in our community, said Cass. The pair who fashioned the brand after New Englands independent, innovative, rugged spirit will be doing more than just brewing the beer on site. Seeking a community atmosphere, a taproom will offer in-house tastings as well as take-home growlers. Limited snacks will be available, and guests are welcome to bring their own food on days when food trucks arent available for them. Patrick Andrews, Haynes project manager who will be overseeing the work, said, We are excited to be part of the fast growing microbrewery market. Based on our experience, we can handle the high level of detail that the breweries require. Construction is expected to be completed by early March 2017. The Riverbend Mill structure, which has been completely gutted and repositioned to accommodate the modern tenant, offers nearly 20,000 square feet of space along 950 feet of frontage on the Shawsheen River in Andover, MA. The building boasts a classic red brick exterior, granite sills, post and beam construction with lofty exposed ceilings, oversized windows and, most notably, expansive river views. As far as location goes, the old Abbot Mill building is in the center of Andover, within easy walking distance of the historic downtown shopping area and commuter rail station. In addition, the owners are also the developers of the Dundee Park Office complex directly across the Shawsheen River allowing for contiguous access to this commercial complex. Plans are being developed to include a pedestrian bridge across this river to enable customers and clients to easily travel back and forth. For further information please contact: Gretchen Cupples, Haynes Group, Inc., gcupples(at)haynesgroup(dot)com, 508.230. 9494 Haynes Group, Inc. is a family-owned, full-service commercial construction company based in Massachusetts. Our highly personalized process for construction and construction management provide a Complete Solution for Commercial Construction and Tenant Improvement projects. We have experience in working effectively with and delivering value to brokers, architects, owners, developers, bankers, landlords, and tenants. Our services and solutions have delivered successful results for commercial clients. We understand the balance required to Plan, Execute, and Deliver on all size projects while providing the same level of service for all stakeholders. ### Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has added the former Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Ocwen Financial Corporation, Andrew Wein, as a shareholder in its Washington, D.C. office. The move is part of the continued expansion of the firms Financial Services Litigation and Financial Regulatory and Compliance groups. We are pleased to have Andrew join our financial services regulatory and litigation practices, said Matt Gorson, Greenberg Traurig senior chairman. Andrew is an experienced litigation and regulatory attorney whose background and breadth of experience, particularly in the mortgage and consumer lending areas, will be a significant asset to our clients and our firm. Weins national practice focuses primarily on mortgage companies and other consumer financial institutions, assisting them with both litigation and regulatory compliance. Wein handles litigation and regulatory issues arising out of federal and state consumer protection statutes, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Truth in Lending Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act, and the Home Affordable Modification Program. On the regulatory side, Weins experience includes proceedings before state and federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the New York Department of Financial Services. In addition, Wein has extensive experience with all facets of the mortgage industry, including the licensing of mortgage companies and their affiliates, examinations by state and federal agencies, loan repurchase disputes, pooling and servicing agreements, financing agreements, and various other originations and servicing transactions. Greenberg Traurigs wide-ranging capabilities and experienced team mean the firm is uniquely positioned to provide financial institutions with a one-stop shop to address their regulatory and litigation counsel needs, Wein said. I am excited for this opportunity to assist the firms clients as they face the challenge of a rapidly changing regulatory and litigation environment. Wein received his B.A. in political science from Columbia University in 1995 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1998. He worked as a litigation associate for law firms in Washington D.C. and New York, where he also served as an assistant district attorney in the investigations division in Bronx County, New York. About Greenberg Traurigs Financial Services Litigation Practice Greenberg Traurigs Financial Services Litigation Practice has wide-ranging experience assisting national clients and local businesses in a variety of matters affecting the financial services industry. From handling individual claims to managing nationwide class actions, the national team of experienced litigators regularly advises and defends banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, credit card companies, debt collectors, payday lenders, consumer finance companies and other financial institutions in a variety of disputes in state and federal courts and in arbitration, as well as before governmental agencies. About Greenberg Traurig's Financial Regulatory and Compliance Group Greenberg Traurigs Financial Regulatory and Compliance Group has wide-ranging experience assisting national, regional and local clients in a variety of matters affecting the financial services industry. Our national team of skilled attorneys works with clients as they face regulatory, litigation, legislative, supervision, examination, licensing, compliance and governance matters. Our regulatory attorneys regularly advise banks, broker-dealers, investment advisors, mortgage lenders and servicers, payday lenders, consumer finance companies, registered and private investment funds, debt collectors and other financial institutions in complying with state and federal regulatory requirements and interfacing with governmental agencies. About Greenberg Traurig, LLP Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys serving clients from 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is No. 1 on the 2015 Law360 Most Charitable Firms list, second largest in the U.S. on the 2016 Law360 400, Top 20 on the 2015 Am Law Global 100, and among the 2016 BTI Brand Elite. More information at: http://www.gtlaw.com. Dr. Armin Zittermann, head of the Center for Clinical Studies in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Heart and Diabetes Center 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25[OH]2D) is the active, hormonal form of vitamin D. Circulating 1,25(OH)2D levels are regulated by serum calcium and phosphate concentrations; this is mediated by the calcium-regulating hormones. In the human body, 1,25(OH)2D has a broad range of actions which include endocrine, autocrine and paracrine properties. Due to its picomolar concentrations and its lipophilic nature, 1,25(OH)2D is a difficult analyte and represents a challenge to the analytical biochemist with respect to quantification. Until recently, relatively large sample volumes and extensive purification and separation steps were required to quantify 1,25(OH)2D. In this webinar, sponsored by DiaSorin, participants will learn the clinical relevance of circulating 1,25(OH)2D. Besides the well-known suppression of circulating 1,25(OH)2D in chronic kidney disease, it will become evident that circulating 1,25(OH)2D is also reduced in other diseases. In the clinical setting, however, there are still several gaps in the present knowledge on circulating 1,25(OH)2D. This webinar will delve into these gaps, which include incomplete data about the effect of activated vitamin D; the influence of dosing and initial 25OHD level on circulating 1,25(OH)2D; and the effect of different diseases on circulating 1,25(OH)2D. Attendees will learn the clinical conditions that would benefit from follow-up measurement for 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D, as well as better understand why active vitamin D therapy should be accompanied by measuring 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D. The speaker for this webinar will be Dr. Armin Zittermann, head of the Center for Clinical Studies in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Heart and Diabetes Center. As a nutritionist and head of the Center for Clinical Studies in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Heart and Diabetes Center in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, Zittermanns research focuses on the prevalence and the consequences of insufficient levels of vitamin D in humans, in particularly in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Zittermann also lectures at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Bonn on specific aspects of food security. LabRoots hosted the webinar December 7, which is now available on demand. To read full event details, learn about P.A.C.E continuing education credits, or to register for free, click here. About DiaSorin Headquartered in Italy and listed in the FTSE Italia Mid Cap Index, DiaSorin is a global leader in the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) field. For over 40 years the Company has been developing, producing and marketing reagent kits for IVD worldwide. Through constant investments in research and development, and using its own distinctive expertise in the field of immunodiagnostics to deliver a high level of innovation, DiaSorin offers today the broadest range of specialty tests available in the immunodiagnostics market and new tests in the molecular diagnostics markets, which identify DiaSorin Group as the IVD diagnostics specialist. About LabRoots LabRoots is the leading scientific social networking website and producer of educational virtual events and webinars. Contributing to the advancement of science through content sharing capabilities, LabRoots is a powerful advocate in amplifying global networks and communities. Founded in 2008, LabRoots emphasizes digital innovation in scientific collaboration and learning, and is a primary source for current scientific news, webinars, virtual conferences, and more. LabRoots has grown into the worlds largest series of virtual events within the Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics community. Diana Mendes, AICP, HNTB senior vice president and national transit/rail practice leader. Diana Mendes, AICP, HNTB senior vice president and national transit/rail practice leader, discussed the changing landscape of public transportation today on The Morning Briefing with Tim Farley, a national non-partisan radio program. The interview can be heard here. According to Mendes, in the wake of Election Day 2016, public transportation emerged as the clear winner. There were a historic number of transit-related funding initiatives on ballots across the nation (49), of which about 70 percent passed. This means that there will be about $170 billion in new funding for systems that provide Americans with mobility options ranging from commuter and light rail trains to subways, buses and other transit services. In the interview with Farley, Mendes expressed that support for public transportation has never been greater. By getting America moving, we create jobs, we make peoples quality of life better, and we can all enjoy a greater time of prosperity. Mendes indicated much of the additional funding will go toward high-capacity improvements in rail and buses, and filling critical links. She added, Our definition of public transit is really changing with the emergence of new technologies; people have more options than ever to use public transportation. We see suburban and rural areas also benefiting. This echoes what Mendes recently wrote in an opinion-based Viewpoint titled "Why voters said 'yes' to public transportation on November 8." About HNTB HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving public and private owners and contractors. With more than a century of service in the United States, HNTB understands the life cycle of infrastructure and addresses clients most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals nationwide deliver a full range of infrastructure-related services, including award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management. For more information, visit http://www.hntb.com. "The New York Session," new Audio Daddio CD by alto saxophonist/composer Mark Lewis. I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child. I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine. As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD "The New York Session" is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm sectionpianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewisthe new disc will be released by Lewiss Audio Daddio label on January 27. Its the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions. Theres so much to savor and admire here, writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. Lewiss musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitmentthese all stand out here in track after track. Whether hes inviting his listeners to a carnival on Bobertos Magical World or waxing philosophical on the introspective Not As Beautiful As You, Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. Hes at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key DL Blues, and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting Sierra Leone and the boisterous 12/8 closer Roll Em Joe. Legally blind, Lewis hasnt let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever hes landed. But not being able to assess a colleagues immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording. I dont see well enough to see facial expressions, Lewis says. I used simple compositions because I didnt want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and theyll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good. Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewiss waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts. Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrows Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis Candy Finch, whod moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewiss budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts. He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats (Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe, Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups. Lewiss record company Audio Daddio became one of the eras essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The labels last European recording "The Rotterdam Session" features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious Presidential Suite to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album "In the Spirit" on Quartet Records). Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though hes recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why "The New York Session" is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child, he says. I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine. Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour: Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Cafe, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d. Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d. Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d. Thurs. 1/19 Cafe Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d. Architects wove natural light into the design of Silverado Bellingham as studies show that light provides significant benefits to people with dementia. This month, on a four-acre property in Bellingham, Washington, Silverado opened a new memory care community designed specifically to maximize quality of life for as many as 80 people with dementia, Alzheimers disease, and other memory-impairing conditions. Already in high demand, Silverado Bellingham located at 4400 Columbine Drive near the community college is now accepting new residents. We are excited to return to Bellingham with a purpose-built memory care community that gives us the optimal space to bring the Silverado experience to life, says Silverado CEO and Chairman Loren Shook. This new community also marks the return of Silverados world-class leadership team, including our Administrator, Director of Health Services and Physician Medical Director. These leaders, as well as other members of our original Bellingham team, are energized by the opportunity to once again change lives in Bellingham. Silverado Bellingham marks the companys most advanced community design to-date. For example, architects wove natural light into the design because studies show that light provides significant benefits to people with dementia by reducing anxiety and enhancing overall mood. In addition, the community features coffeehouse style bistros, a beauty salon, spa, walking paths that encourage residents to move freely, and a playground to encourage intergenerational interaction when families and associates bring their children to play. Each Silverado community combines world-class clinical care supported by around-the-clock licensed nurses and a designated physician medical director with industry-leading social programs. Most recently the company developed Nexus, a program for people with early-stage dementia based on research showing that there may be ways to enhance the functional level of those with dementia and to slow the progression of the disease process. Already, Nexus has transformed lives. We founded Silverado 20 years ago with a clear purpose to change the way the world cares for and perceives people with cognitive decline, adds Shook. Our skilled and compassionate team accomplishes this every day by demonstrating that a dementia diagnosis does not mean the end of a purposeful life. Silverado worked with many local suppliers and businesses to create the new community, contributing more than 100 construction jobs, generating over $10 million in local spending and creating more than 80 new healthcare jobs once at full capacity. Families, healthcare professionals and members of the local community are welcome to drop by for a visit and can also learn more by calling 360-746-6675. Visit silveradocare.com/Bellingham for a visual representation of the community from development to completion, and experience resident success stories at silveradocare.com/20years. About Silverado Silverado was founded in 1996 with the goal of enriching the lives of those with memory loss by changing how the world cares for people with cognitive decline. Establishing this mindset as the foundation allows Silverado to operate in a way that provides clients, residents and patients with utmost dignity, freedom, respect and quality of life. Silverado has grown to become a nationally recognized provider of home care, memory care assisted living and hospice services. With 52 locations, the company delivers world-class care across seven states, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, Washington, Utah and Wisconsin. Learn more at silveradocare.com or call (866) 522-8125. Contact: David Gill (714) 624-2550 dgill(at)silveradocare(dot)com We are delighted to see our Document DRM security products recognized as the best in the industry and Locklizard as a innovative and outstanding customer service provider for PDF document security solutions. 2016 has been a busy year of development and innovation for Locklizard, a Digital Rights Management company focusing on document security products. Although Locklizard's primary goal is delivering cost-effective functionality to their customers, they have been delighted to have received several Industry Awards reflecting their innovative work and customer satisfaction, including: 1. The Most Outstanding Digital Rights Management Software company in 2016: awarded by Acquisition International - The Voice of Corporate Finance 2. The Best Digital Rights Management Software Company: TMT News 2016 Technology Awards 3. A CyberSecurity Leader of 2016: Cyber Defence Magazine 4. 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Unlike our competitors that lock their customers in to a minimum yearly fee and/or charge per document/end user, our pricing structure is very flexible enabling publishers to grow without being penalised for their success. We charge a flat fee regardless of the number of documents or end users using the system. We pride ourselves on providing a quick and efficient support service which our customers often thank us for, and for continually supporting our customers going forward by implementing new feature requests as our products grow. The fact that our customers are willing to allow us to publish case studies and use their logos is a testament to our excellence and their confidence. In addition, many customers have willingly provided testimonials as to how Locklizard has helped them save costs, protect their IPR, ensure compliance with business processes, and grow their businesses. We feel that effort has been recognized by our customers and these awards and would like to thank everyone who nominated us". About Locklizard Locklizard is a Digital Rights Management company specializing in document security solutions. We protect PDF documents from unauthorized use, misuse, and piracy, protecting your intellectual property no matter where it resides. Front Cover Luxury Home Magazine Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Issue 1.2 Luxury Home Magazine Miami, Ft. Lauderdale & the Beaches Front Cover of issue 1.2 features one of the largest Point Estates in Harbor Beach. Luxury Home Magazine Miami, Ft. Lauderdale's premiere issue was introduced into the market in September, 2016. With the launch of its second issue, Luxury Home Magazine Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is becoming South Floridas leading premier luxury real estate publication targeting luxury homes, condos, waterfront and beach front properties in addition to showcasing luxury real estate specialists and high-end products and services. Featured on the front cover of the current issue of LHM Miami, Ft. Lauderdale is one of the hottest listings in Ft. Lauderdale. Agent Julie Jones-Bernard with Florida Luxurious Properties says This home is one of the best built properties ever created. Anyone who has a chance to buy it will be a very lucky buyer. The cover home of Issue 1.2 features an extraordinary point estate with 7 Bedrooms and 10.2 Baths, boasting over 22,000 Sq Ft of living space, 366 feet of waterfront for that mega yacht owner, of an acre, spectacular views and breezes off Lake Sylvan with no expense or detail spared and 18 seat media room to catch that latest movie like youre in your own movie theatreAll located within steps of the famous Las Olas Blvd. in the heart of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. David Schaffer is publisher/owner of LHM Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and is excited about his new market featuring the most incredible and elegant luxury homes/condos in South Florida's most prestigious areas, such as Aventura, Boca Raton, Brickell, Coral Gables, Davie, Eastern Shores, Ft. Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Key Biscayne, Keystone Island, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Miami and Miami Beach, Miami Shores, North Miami Beach, Parkland, Pinecrest, Pompano Beach, Sans Souci, Surfside, South Beach, South Miami, Southwest Ranches and Sunny Isles Beach. For advertising information in LHM Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, visit our contact page. About Luxury Home Magazine: Since 2002 Luxury Home Magazine a niche publication and media company has consistently adapted to both the needs of their clients and publishers, never forgetting their culture, process, system and structure. Today, Luxury Home Magazine is the largest network of market specific Luxury Home Magazines printing over 110,000,000 pages annually, targeting the most affluent and influential demographic audiences locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. As Luxury Home Magazine continues to provide a superior market-specific product, we are driven to give our Publishers more intel and real-time training. Our goal is ultimately to be a resource to not just our Publishers, but to our Clients and their Clients as well. Our Team, our Vision, our Values and our Focus are the driving forces as we continue expanding our media company throughout North America. -Brad Taylor, CEO of Luxury Home Magazine. For information in operating your own LHM territory, visit Publishing Opportunities. Luxury Home Magazine is a division of Sunshine Publication, Inc. / LHM Media Group. Visit LuxuryHomeMagazine.com for social, digital and online magazine content featuring stunning luxury homes, the finest luxury real estate and luxury real estate specialists. If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity. PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move. An Open Access edition of Journal of William Penn is available through PSU Press Unlocked. To access this free electronic edition click here. Print editions are also available. This volume includes William Penn's firsthand account of his 1677 travels in Holland and Germany while visiting Quaker congregations and preaching his message of religious toleration. It includes daily entries, in which Penn recounts his visits and meetings with various parties. Penn details numerous interactions with Quakers and those of other faiths, and the persecution he faced on the journey. Daily recollections are interspersed with texts of numerous letters, addresses, and epistles on Penns religious philosophy, along with notes on his own religious awakening and the religious climate of Europe at the time. This document serves to help readers understand Penn's early years, before he obtained the charter for Pennsylvania in 1681, and his background as a member of the Religious Society of Friends alongside its founder, George Fox. In addition to the one well-known woman writer from the Belle Epoque, Colette, this study will expand our knowledge of relatively unknown authors, including Gabrielle Reval, Marcelle Tinayre, and Colette Yver, who actively participated in contemporary debates on women's possible roles in the public domain and in professional careers during this period. Career Stories seeks to understand early twentieth century France by examining novels written about professional women, bourgeois and working-class heroines, and the particular dilemmas that they faced. This book contributes a new facet to literary histories of the Belle Epoque: a subgenre of the bildungsroman that flourished briefly during the first decade of the twentieth century in France. Rogers terms this subgenre the female berufsroman , or novel of women's professional development. Introduction This book will contribute a new facet to literary histories of the Belle Epoque, one that has not been explored previously: the fascinating subgenre of the bildungsroman that flourished briefly during the first decade of the twentieth century in France, and that I have labeled the female berufsroman, or novel of womens professional development. I am using terms borrowed from the German, rather than the general French term roman dapprentissage because the German term bildungsroman already has several relevant variants that do not exist in French (erziehungsroman, or novel of educational development, and Kunstlerroman, or novel of artistic development). Following that pattern, I derived the term berufsroman from the German word for career or avocation, beruf. Such a study will expand our definitions of what Belle Epoque literature means beyond the divisive schools of thought that currently exist. In recent years, the breach between studies of the pessimistic and decadent fin-de-siecle era and the optimistic and progressive Belle Epoque has grown wider than ever. For the field of literary history in particular, the production of books examining the fin-de-siecle period has tended to eclipse those that emphasize the Belle Epoque. Such scholars as Gordon Millan, Brian Rigby, and Jill Forbes claim that this divide is based in part on national intellectual trends: whereas Anglo-American scholars may be happy to think of the period 18701914 in France as having been one of fragmentation, repression, and decadence, many French scholars and intellectuals refuse to take up such an unmitigatedly pessimistic and negative position (Millan, Rigby and Forbes 3738). French scholars, according to these writers, lean toward a more positive assessment of the turn-of-the-century period and its legacy in contemporary France. Recently, certain Anglo-American scholars have crossed the divide and have focused on Belle Epoque optimism, rather than fin-de-siecle decadents. These would include Jennifer Waelti-Walterss influential study, Feminist Novelists of the Belle Epoque: Love as a Lifestyle (1990). My own position in this debate lies mainly with the optimists as well. This book on early twentieth-century novels of professional development assumes the idealistic and positive interpretation of the time period, with an emphasis on realist fiction and a focus on bourgeois and working-class heroines, rather than the elite echelons portrayed in works by authors of the Decadent (or fin-de-siecle) movement. Although much can be learned from literary studies of the Decadents and the women authors associated with that group, such as Rachilde, Renee Vivien, and Natalie Barney, these works do not represent a complete picture of women writers from that time period. In fact, by concentrating mainly on the psychoanalytic, sexual, and moral tensions of women writers works, our understanding of the Belle Epoque and of French feminist literary history is undermined. An investigation of novels written about professional women and the particular dilemmas that they faced during the early twentieth century will provide an original addition to existing literary studies of the time period and will supply a bridge between early twentieth-century womens literature and womens literature in contemporary France. The Belle Epoque, as its name indicates, has been remembered as a period of happiness and prosperity in French history. After the tragedy and destruction of World War I, the French looked back upon the era 1900 to 1914 as a time of high hopes for the future and for the new century. Optimism for the growth of France and the dynamism of Europe was widespread, and the new age of technological advances inspired everyone with dreams of easier and healthier lives. New modes of transportation (bicycles, automobiles, and airplanes), electric lights, modern plumbing, and other inventions became the symbolic beacons for a society of progress, mobility, and cleanliness. In the opening pages of his 1910 sociological study of Parisian women, Uzanne comments on the new eras rapid changes and the benefits provided by new technologies, labeling it a period of transformisme: We cannot help but affirm that our century is interesting to interpret and define with the accentuated movement of its transformism. This world of beings . . . is infinitely more complicated, more difficult, and as a result, more exciting to represent in successive portraits than the world of our peaceful and simplistic ancestors of 1840. Uzannes feelings about the complicated and fascinating new era that he was witnessing, with its changes in politics and the sciences, were common among the Belle Epoque population. Although difficulties would inevitably arise, the general sentiment about change and progress was positive. The popular Exposition Universelle of 1900, held in Paris, attracted more than fifty million visitors who came from all over the world to view the exhibits and to witness the physical proof of a new, modern era. The main attractions included the Palais de lElectricite, illuminated by five thousand colored lights at night, the electric-powered triple-decker moving sidewalk, and hundreds of displays of new technology. The design of the pavilions and the exhibits all contributed to the general sentiment that the forces of nature are subdued and tamed; steam and electricity have become our obedient servant. . . . Science serves us ever more diligently and is conquering ignorance and poverty. In the arts, France attained great recognition during this period as a center for innovative ideas and experimental forms. The movement from representational to nonrepresentational art had begun at the end of the nineteenth century with the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and continued to grow through the developing philosophy and works of the Fauvists and Cubists at the beginning of the twentieth century. Satie, Ravel, and Debussy reached the pinnacle of their successes during the Belle Epoque, as they continued to compose new and controversial musical pieces for an increasing number of admirers and music critics. Writers of all genres experimented with form and content, producing such important and diverse talents as Gide, Proust, Apollinaire, Valery, and Peguy, to name only a few. These Belle Epoque artists, musicians, and writers found new techniques to present their ideas and provided French culture with a feeling parallel to that of the sciences: progress and hope for the new century. Accompanying these feelings of optimism and forward-looking thought, certain groups in French society also began to reevaluate the position of women. Historians accounts of the end of the nineteenth century reveal that support grew rapidly in France for womens pay equity, equal education, and equal job opportunities, among other goals for womens rights during this time. Claire Moses, for instance, claims, By the [nineteenth] centurys end, feminists had a clear sense of direction (Moses 226). Some of the major legal victories for womens rights included, since 1884, the right to divorce and, in 1907, the right to control their earnings. The French womens suffrage movement also had one of its strongest and most public periods of renewal specifically at the turn of the century. After almost fifteen years of neglect, French suffragist Hubertine Auclert decided to revive her Suffrage des Femmes organization in 1900, due to the increase in men and women receptive to her ideas. Auclert biographer Stephen Hause notes: The feminist movement that assembled in 1900 was larger and more diverse than the movement of 1885, there were now seven important feminist organizations in France. . . . The combined membership had also doubled. . . . And the growth of the movement was just beginning (Hause 165). Even though women would have to wait almost forty-five years to receive the right to vote in France, the Belle Epoque period was a turning point in womens suffrage history because of the growing acknowledgment and support of the idea. Feminist organizations of the beginning of the twentieth century thus enjoyed the same optimism and growth found in the economic, technological, and artistic domains of French culture. When we shift our attention from the political to the cultural domain in early twentieth-century French studies, however, the most frequently found images of French women are quite different. Popular stereotypes of the French woman usually include visions of decorative dames, dressed in boa feathers and enormous hats, strolling in the Bois de Boulogne or lounging at the Moulin Rouge. Some critics have commented on these stereotypical images: Myth has replaced history to such a degree that these words [la Belle Epoque] immediately conjure up a music-hall scene: showgirls in black stockings, pink velvet bodices and feathered hats, dancing the cancan (Jullian 83). It is true that in many canonical literary works of the time, some of the most famous portrayals of female protagonists are those that depict the lives of demimondaines, dancers, maids, or prostitutes. Many writers of the turn-of-the-century era chose to set their novels and their female characters in the decadent atmosphere of bohemian Paris and what is known popularly as Paris-by-Night. Literary critics of the past two decades have begun to break new paths in the field of fin-de-siecle studies, making excellent additions to the traditional literary analyses of the decadent or perverse qualities of female fictional characters from this era. Recent studies by historians have also contributed greatly to new views of the fin de siecle. Mary Louise Robertss 2002 Disruptive Acts: The New Woman in Fin-de-Siecle France, with its emphasis on major female culture producers, such as the journalists Gyp and Severine and the magazine editor Marguerite Durand, has demonstrated innovative ways to interpret the subversively feminist activities of women in the arts during the fin-de-siecle period in France. There still exists, however, an unexamined discrepancy between the generalizations made about the perverse or titillating charms of fictional women characters in literature and the activist nature of Belle Epoque feminists engaged in political and social domains. Reasons for this gap are complex, but we can point to two main issues. First, we must acknowledge that women writers have generally held a very weak position in literary histories published in France, both one hundred years ago and today. Nancy Sloan Goldberg, referring to forgotten women writers from the Great War of 191418, states that literary historians today have continued the conventional practice of segregating at the end of their books a short chapter discussing the works of a few disparate women authors, massed together under the rubric litterature feminine (Goldberg xvi). Even when a literary history focuses specifically on women writers, the author sometimes includes a final chapter or epilogue that undermines the innovative qualities of the women studied. In Histoire de la litterature feminine en France (1929), Jean Larnac begins with a traditional chronological survey of women writers from the medieval period to the beginning of the twentieth century, then follows with a second section titled Les Femmes et la litterature (Women and Literature), including chapters titled Les Limites du genie feminin (The Limits of Feminine Creativity), LIntelligence feminine (Feminine Intelligence), and Le Drame du genie feminin (The Drama of Feminine Creativity). This second part is devoted to a substantial thesis on the limits of womens creativity and of the female intellect. Larnac thus undermines the most basic purpose of a literary history here: he says that women writers have inferior abilities and can never be great authors. He lapses into banal generalizations about male intellect and female emotion; about womens incapacity to write about anything but themselves; about their inability to write comedy, critical analysis, or history. It is perhaps not surprising that a literary history that concludes in this manner would not inspire many future critics or readers to remember the women authors studied. While in France the tendency is to dismiss or forget women writers, Anglo-American feminist scholars have published more extensively on French women authors, including forgotten or relatively unknown writers. The emphasis of these scholars, however, has been on fin-de-siecle writers whose female protagonists are generally associated with the Decadent movement in French literature, thus once again ignoring or dismissing the works of feminist writers of the Belle Epoque. Melanie Collado mentions, for example, that for Rachilde, one of the most famous women authors of the Decadent movement, there are more than fifty articles listed in the MLA database in addition to three new books about her work and life that were published in the ten-year period from 1991 to 2001 (Collado 21). Colette has also enjoyed a great deal of critical attention in the past thirty to forty years; Collado claims that more than 250 articles related to Colette appear in the MLA database, and we have seen more than a dozen full-length books on Colettes life and work in a similar time frame (19912002). In contrast, when I checked the database for the two other Belle Epoque writers in Collados study, I found only eight entries total for Marcelle Tinayre and six for Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, including Collados work on these writers. To bridge the gap that separates literary and historical portrayals of women from the Belle Epoque in France, I am suggesting here that the novel of womens professional development, or female berufsroman, can provide a missing link of sorts, to reconnect the now separate domains of literary, social, and political history for French women during the Belle Epoque. The novels I have chosen to examine all focus on an aspect of life for French women that no literary study of the Belle Epoque, recent or past, has yet recognized or considered in detail: their professional lives in the public sphere of work. Two surveys of Belle Epoque literature have influenced my choice of texts here: Diana Holmess contribution to the field in chapter 3 of her 1996 book French Womens Writing, 18481994, and the full-length book by Jennifer Waelti-Walters cited above, Feminist Novelists of the Belle Epoque: Love as a Lifestyle (1990). Holmes in her chapter discusses three novels of womens professional development, and yet the emphasis of her discussion lies not in their careers, but, as indicated by her chapter title, in Feminism, Romance, and the Popular Novel. In her survey, Waelti-Walters examines the works of thirty different women authors, discusses more than one hundred books, and covers a wide variety of topics, including family, marriage, love, and education. Only one of her ten chapters addresses the heroines professional lives or their actions in the public sphere. Similar to Holmes, much of Waelti-Walterss work explores themes related to love and marriage, which, while important to the texts that she has chosen, do not provide the alternative viewpoint that I will bring to Belle Epoque literary studies or French feminist literary history. My goal in this book is to discuss the educational, professional, and social aspirations of working-class and bourgeois female characters in these Belle Epoque novels. Because they parallel activities in the political domain, these novels mark a major departure from stereotypical portraits of women from the beginning of the twentieth century that range from the decadent, hysterical, or perverse sexual being to that of the nurturing and self-sacrificing romantic wife and mother. The French women who wrote these novels of professional development gave their fictional heroines increasingly independent roles, careers, and personalities. From the adventures of a provincial public high school student to the trials of an urban medical professional, the female protagonists portrayed in the novels boldly pursued happiness in the public domain. In the following chapters, I will examine eleven of these novels in detail for their innovative character types and the narrative structures that the authors employed to create such new women protagonists. Four of the works focus on women students and teachers: Claudine a lecole (1900, Claudine at School) by Colette; Sevriennes (1900, Women of Sevres) by Gabrielle Reval; Institutrice (1902, Woman Schoolteacher) by Esther de Suze; and LUn vers lautre (1903, One Toward the Other) by Louise-Marie Compain. Four texts focus on women in the sciences: Les Cervelines (1903, The Brainy Women) and Princesses de Science (1907, translated as The Doctor Wife or Princesses of Science) both by Colette Yver; Pharmacienne (1907, Woman Pharmacist) by Marcelle Babin; and La Bacheliere (1910, The Female Graduate) by Gabrielle Reval. Three focus on women writers: La Rebelle (1905, The Woman Rebel) by Marcelle Tinayre; La Vagabonde (1910, The Vagabond) by Colette, and Les Cervelines (1903) by Colette Yver. Finally, Les Dames du Palais (1909, Ladies of the Court), by Colette Yver, focuses on women lawyers. This selection of novels is important for several reasons. First, the narrators of these novels all struggle with the same major question: what did happiness in the public sphere actually mean for women during the Belle Epoque? What did it signify for a woman to pursue an education or a career outside the home, and how could she be happy doing so? These were refreshingly new questions for fictional heroines in French literature at the time. In all of these texts, the protagonists are working, thinking women, and although they often struggled with their dual roles in and out of the public sphere, they sought resolutions to them in resourceful ways. While such a category of heroine may appear to be an anomaly in traditional Belle Epoque studies, it reflects both a growing awareness of the position of French women during the turn of the century and the individual efforts being made to change the flat or one-sided portrayals of women that we have inherited from conventional studies of the Belle Epoque. All of these texts have these general traits in common, but each of the novels addresses different aspects of professional growth, career tensions, technical abilities, sexual harassment, and issues for working women in the private domain. Individual authors approach these topics in a variety of ways, and my choice of texts displays the diverse techniques and narrative structures employed. Finally, I have chosen to study this selection of novels in depth, rather than offer a survey of the many different texts that could and do fall into this category, because the individual literariness of each of these particular texts is also under question here. Dismissed for too long as uninteresting and antifeminist popular literature, these novels in fact often straddle the line between popular fiction and creative literary works in their innovative manipulation of genre. I must disagree with most of my contemporaries who have made great efforts to recuperate these works and to bring them back into the canon, yet who continue to deny their literary qualities. Goldberg, for example, states that in general, their works duplicated time-honored conventions of the French novel (xvi). Diana Holmes writes, The fundamental narrative form employed by all three authors [Yver, Reval, and Tinayre] is the stereotypically feminine form of the romance (Holmes 1996, 62). Jennifer Milligan concurs with this simplistic view, although she claims that the romance is re-read and revised after the war. While I certainly agree that the romance narrative does compose a part of some of these writers novels, it is neither stereotypical nor conventional in form. Many of these novels of professional development twist the requirements of the romance genre to suit their heroines professional needs or they may even jettison the romance elements completely. Rather than revising or re-reading the romance, I believe we need to take a new view of these texts and understand them as an innovative contribution to the Belle Epoque, one that would pave the way for new types of heroines and plotlines in later twentieth-century French literature. To contextualize the actions and thoughts of such original female protagonists and storylines, both historically and socially, in Chapter 1 I describe some of the historical changes in the status of women in France that occurred at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. These political, social, and cultural improvements for French women opened the doors for the pioneering attitudes of the female characters in these Belle Epoque novels. Professional women heroines appear in great numbers for the first time in French literature during the Belle Epoque, but the novel of professional development and its cousin, the bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, had been staples of French literature for years. After surveying in Chapter 1 the historical position of women during the Belle Epoque that provides the setting for these novels, I will, in Chapter 2, examine a number of literary models that existed during the time. The nineteenth century produced very few professional female characters in French literature, and none who attended university or professional schools, as in the Belle Epoque texts that I am studying here. As an example, we do find a number of women who work in Zolas texts, but most are unskilled laborers or those who learn a trade or an assistants role through an apprenticeship. These women include the laundress Gervaise in LAssommoir (1877), the mineworkers Catherine and Maheude in Germinal (1885), the store clerk Denise Baudu in Au Bonheur des dames (1883), the artist who replaces her ill husband in Madame Sourdis (1874), and the niece Clotilde who acts as secretary for her uncle in Le Docteur Pascal (1893). Zola portrays all of these women at work, and in the specific case of Au Bonheur des dames, we could even categorize the plot as a berufsroman since it does follow the development of the young heroine and her professional career in the department store. But the main storylines in the other texts do not center on the womens careers and their abilities to adapt to or make changes to their professional domains, therefore they remain outside the definition of a female novel of professional development. I will return to a discussion of professionals, both men and women, in late nineteenth-century French literature in Chapter 2. Based in part on the bildungsroman, the berufsroman was a unique subgenre during this time period and required a particular style and special features to convey its message. Women authors grounded their female characters in some of the basic molds that male heroes had followed, whether they were teachers and students for the erziehungsroman (novel of educational development), or writers and artists for the Kunstlerroman (novel of artistic development). But in order to provide a convincing and appealing fictional account of the femme nouvelle (New Woman), the authors invented new narrative structures and new plot devices. They also made significant alterations to the standard character types so that they would conform to the specific plight facing female protagonists. I offer in Chapter 2 an overview of the traditional components of the genre as it appeared at the end of the nineteenth century, with the purpose of outlining the general literary structures and devices that appeared commonly in this type of text. This survey of the texts of male contemporaries will allow us to see clearly the innovative novel-writing strategies women authors developed as they created their own novels of professional development in turn-of-the-century France. The emphasis on the literariness of these texts is crucial for this book; when we examine the novels in closer detail, we are able to distinguish efforts by individual authors to create narrative structures and fictional protagonists that altered historical and social perceptions of Belle Epoque women professionals. Many of the female characters fall into one of three general categories: communities of women, female pioneers in male fields, and independent women who do not consult with or rely on either women or men for success. The first group is generally present in novels about education: women teachers or students (or both) elaborate a support system among themselves that will strengthen their morale and encourage them to excel in their student and professional lives. In Chapter 3 I focus on the dynamics of different types of womens communities and the effects that they have on the main protagonists in four novels about education and women. These novels contain the strongest links to the traditional erziehungsroman, or novel of educational development. The second type, female pioneers in a male field, usually appears in novels about science and technology. Whether they are scientists, researchers, or interns, the protagonists are usually the only women in their professional schools or work environments. They generally do not have female companions with whom they may confer or in whom they might confide. They therefore must learn their system of values and code of professional behavior predominantly from their fathers, their male classmates, or their male professors or supervisors at work, and they do not have the opportunity to consider a womens community or a womens system of work. In Chapter 4 I examine four novels about women and science and the contradictions that these pioneers must work through in order to pursue a career and balance it with their private lives. In these novels, we find an unusual fusion of two very different genres: the bildungsroman and the romance. Each author intertwines the two genres in inventive ways and the results offer a consuming competition for the readers attention. The third type, independent women, usually develops in novels about writers and artists. Those who work as journalists, novelists, and performers often remain closely connected to critics, colleagues, and admirers. But these particular writers and performers do not seek inspiration or support from any of these groups. They set their own priorities and do not feel the need to collaborate with others to pursue their own professional goals. Chapter 5 includes an analysis of three novels whose subject matter contains the portrayal of a woman writer and the gendered definitions of independence and career goals. Because these women are portrayed as mature and self-sufficient, these novels have limited ties to the traditional novel of development, which usually focuses on a young person who is exploring his or her independence for the first time. Instead, the romance narrative comes to the fore in these texts, but it is deeply influenced by the career decisions that the heroine has made. The public identity of the woman becomes most important for her resolution of her personal decisions; such a switch indicates the transitional nature of the Belle Epoque, a time when stereotypes about womens instinctive needs for love and marriage were still firmly planted in bourgeois cultural traditions but loosening their grip on the publics imagination. Finally, in Chapter 6 I examine a novel about Parisian women lawyers. Because very few women practiced law in France at the time, the novel had little or no basis in actual historical trends. The creative choices that the author made when developing a completely new type of professional heroine are thus easily explored. Her decision to elaborate all three groups in this novel, the womens community, the pioneer, and the independent, demonstrates her freedom to produce a variety of fictional models for her readers. The novels in each of these categories belong to the general division of the berufsroman, or novel of professional development, but because of the varying nature of each work and the narrative compositions of each text, my study of the individual categories will require distinct theoretical approaches for each: sociological theories on professional development, historical theories on the development of science and medicine in Europe, and theories on consumer culture and the production of culture in France, to name a few of the approaches required to study these diverse texts. A question that naturally arises when we study these women writers and their novels is: what happened to them? Why did they fall into oblivion so completely after World War I? None of the novels studied here has been in print since the 1920s, with the exception of Colettes texts Claudine a lecole and La Vagabonde. The answers to this question are multiple: canonical exclusion of women writers, decreased interest in the womens rights movements after the war, or changes in the cultural perceptions of working women. In the concluding chapter I address some of the numerous reasonshistorical, cultural, and politicalfor the rapid disappearance of these works, after World War I, from the shelves of libraries and bookstores around France and include a study of some of the texts that replaced them. Not only will we see why the novel of professional and educational development no longer appealed to the readers, but we will understand what traces of the female novel of professional development were carried into the 1920s, by different authors who created different paths in their plot development. Although most of the Belle Epoque novels have remained out of print and unread for the past century, one of the main goals of this book is to demonstrate the role they played and the important place that they hold in French literary history, both as a historical reflection of French womens culture and an innovative phase in feminist literature from France. Present scholarly conversations about early European and global modernity have yet to acknowledge fully the significance of Spain and Spanish cultural production. Poetry and ideology in early modern Spain form the backdrop for Imperial Lyric, which seeks to address this shortcoming. Based on readings of representative poems by eight Peninsular writers, Imperial Lyric demonstrates that the lyric was a crucial site for the negotiation of masculine identity as Spains noblemen were alternately cajoled and coerced into abandoning their identifications with images of the medieval hero and assuming instead the posture of subjects. The book thus demonstrates the importance of Peninsular letters to our understanding of shifting ideologies of the self, language, and the state that mark watersheds for European and American modernity. At the same time, this book aims to complicate the historicizing turn we have taken in the field of early modern studies by considering a threshold of modernity that was specific to poetry, one that was inscribed in Spanish culture when the genre of lyric poetry attained a certain kind of prestige at the expense of epic. Imperial Lyric breaks striking new ground in the field of early modern studies. Introduction line-forms, and verse forms in general, are fundamentally discussable as mediations of relationships, as rules and orders of polities Allen Grossman, The Sighted Singer, 283 This is a book about poetry and ideology in early modern Spain. Set in the era when Spain was developing from peninsular monarchy to the seat of a pan-European and global empire (roughly 15261600), this book addresses a curious phenomenon in early modern studies: despite the fact that in the 1990s and the early 2000s the humanities began to move beyond the traditional focus on Europe to develop a global reach, and the role of imperial Spain in the Renaissance became central to our reinvention of cultural history, the scholarly conversation about early European and global modernity has yet to fully place the significance of Spain and Spanish cultural production. Imperial Lyric demonstrates the importance of peninsular letters to our understanding of shifting ideologies of the self, language, and the state that mark watersheds for European and American modernity. As a second but not insignificant point, this book also aims to complicate the historicizing turn we have taken in the field of early modern studies by considering a threshold of modernity that was specific to poetry, one that I believe was inscribed in Spanish culture when the genre of lyric poetry attained a certain kind of prestige at the expense of the epic. The terms new poetry, new art, and new lyric refer primarily, in the context of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century poetry, to erudite sonnets and songs that were based on Italian models but composed in Castilian. In the pages that follow, I take up the conundrum that emerged when this new kind of poetry, composed in the minor genre that was the lyric in the sixteenth century, became synecdochic with the courtly Spanish elites. Until the early modern era, poetic prestige had been determined either in accordance with the ideas set forth in Aristotles Poetics, which privileged epic and tragedy, or through a discourse of plenitude of the type framed by Dante when, in the De vulgari eloquentia, he elevated the canzone over all other poetry on the grounds that only that form could capture all that has flowed from the heads of the illustrious poetic minds, down to their lips (2.3.41). Whether a given writer followed Aristotle, Dante, or various combinations of the two, poetic excellence was judged based on a given forms abilities to preserve and transmit the traditions of a culture from its origins in the native past to the present moment of utterance. The greatness of great poetry thus resided in its length, in addition to its subject matter, and in the register of its diction. Meanwhile, the various forms of poetry that fell into the loose and shifting category of the lyric were referred to in a number of ways, as vario stile, poemi brevi, and poemi piccoli. The very indeterminacy of their naming indicated their relative lack of importance, and I will demonstrate that this aspect of the lyric concerned aristocratic writers as much as its foreign provenance did. In the wake of Petrarch, and with the onset of the humanist Renaissance, the beauty and adaptability of the poetry of the Canzoniere clearly influenced the popularity of the practice of writing in the small style. Furthermore, Bembian theories of poetic reform increased poets interest in Petrarchism. However, writers remained ambivalent about the status that should be accorded to these short forms whose Italian and classical provenance lent them authority, but whose absence from the texts of Aristotle suggested that they were lacking in nobility. Of course, the concept of nobility itself was undergoing a transformation during the period in question. In Hapsburg Spain, the countrys grandees were drawn away from the battlefield and into the court, where they were seduced and subjected into identifying with new discourses of nobility and new regimes of prestige and power. Within this context, the criteria by which to measure a noblemans virility and excellence changed. Previously associated with the force of his sword arm as he fought to secure the Iberian Peninsula for Christianity (during the so-called Christian Reconquest) his worthiness now became linked to equally violent and powerful acts of suppression that were directed inward, against the self, in the manner described by Norbert Elias in his discussions of the process of courtierization and by theorists of early modern courtiership and courtliness. Over the following pages I will argue that the lyrics rise to privilege was conditioned by this radical revision of the social role assigned to the aristocracy in early modern Spain. I will demonstrate that the legitimation of short forms of poetry took place in conjunction with the symbolic and actual abbreviation of the modern courtiers access to power and agency. Furthermore, I will show that writers examined here understood the complex and self-reflexive utterances forced by the rules of the sonnet form, in particular, as allegories of the intricate psychological operations they had to perform in order to reconcile their traditional senses of identity with the postures and the discourses imposed on them by the imperial state. Another way of framing the forthcoming argument, then, is that Imperial Lyric links the new lyric with that emergent modern figure, the individuated, split, and interpellated subject. But this book is also fundamentally about poetic modernity. The cultural acceptancemore than that, the elevation to a place of privilegeof a poetic genre that was cut to the dimensions of the self at the expense of the expansive forms of poetry whose purpose was to secure a native cultural continuum reflects a passage from what Allen Grossman has referred to as the poetics of Homer to those of Horace, from a notion of poetry as the art that serves to memorialize images of Achilles and other great persons of value in an ongoing record of civilization, to a cosmopolitan poetry that appropriates the special privileges assigned to poetic discoursethe privileges of poiesis, of unique linguistic contact with the origins of culture and the orders of the mythic and the supernatural that are represented by references to prophecy and the museon behalf of . . . individual personhood, taking the great privilege of the hero, the privilege of continuity of image, and bestowing it upon himself, declaring that his poetry was a monument to his own selfhood. Grossman invokes a long-standing preoccupation: it was Horace himself who first drew this distinction. Furthermore, as humanist writers took Horace up as a model, they, too, confronted the question of relevance: does poetry remain poetry when it is turned to the ends of memorializing and elaborating a self that is produced, traversed, and sustained by the discourses and practices of a state regime? Contemporary critics are not the only ones to perceive cultivated sixteenth-century lyric as passing along a trajectory that fixes it as a static icon of monarchic power. Spanish courtiers, perhaps especially, were attuned to the stakes of what the new lyric was empowered to overwrite. As an introductory example, consider the following poem, composed sometime in the mid-sixteenth century by Francisco de Aldana (15371578): Sonnet 45 Otro aqui no se ve que, frente a frente, animoso escuadron moverse guerra, sangriento humor tenir la verde tierra y tras honroso fin correr la gente; este es el dulce son que aca se siente: Espana, Santiago, cierra, cierra! y por suave olor, que el aire atierra, humo de azufre dar con llama ardiente; el gusto envuelto va tras corrompida agua, y el tacto solo apalpa y halla duro trofeo de acero ensangrentado, hueso en astilla, en el carne molida, despedazado arnes, rasgado malla: oh solo de hombres digno y noble estado! [Here one sees nothing but, face to face, / the animated squadron fomenting war, / a bloody humor stains the green earth, / and the people race toward their honorable end; / this is the sweet sound which here is heard: / Espana! Santiago! Charge! Charge! / and in place of a delicate fragrance that falls to earth from the air / there is sulfurous smoke, released by the burning flame; / taste seeks corrupted / water, and touch palpates, and finds / a harsh trophy of the bloody steel, / shattered bone, lined with ground flesh, / fragments of armor, torn mail: / Oh dignified, noble state, known only to man!] Aldana was celebrated in his time as an ideal example of the Spanish man of arms and letters. As a fighter, he participated in some of the notable battles of his era before losing his life while fighting at Alcazarquivir at the age of forty-one. As a writer, he was prolific and complex. He spent his youth in Naples and Florence, where he would have been exposed to Ficinian thought; critics identify this influence in his skillful manipulation of the Italian style, and the unusual sensuality with which he elaborated Neo-Platonic and Stoic philosophies, as well as orthodox Christian doctrine. Stylistically, Sonnet 45 displays a baroque aesthetic and a masterful grasp of rhetoric. It delivers its shockthe encounter with the mangled flesh of the fallen soldier in line 12by deftly mobilizing the poetic device of the hierarchy of the senses, perhaps, as Elias Rivers has suggested, with reference to the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. We are shown the green earth (lines 1 and 3), we hear a harsh sound (line 5), we are led to smell, taste, and, finally, touch. This progress down through the order of the senses is encouraged by a skillful deployment of sonorous and rhythmic devices. Assonance between the l and a sounds in lines 10 and 12 brings the act of touch (apalpar) together with its object (astilla and molida), across the speakers editorial gloss in line 11, while the enjambment between lines 10 and 11 underscores the theme of seeking, drawing the action of apalpar across the border of its own line into the next, which the reader accompanies in a physical act of moving the eyes over and down. The result of Aldanas artistry is a series of intertwined appeals to a readers sensual and intellectual faculties, so that we are primed for an experience of disgust upon encountering the mangled flesh and bone, the hueso es astilla, en el carne molida in line 12. They are contained neatly in their syntax, and they startle us all the more for that fact. Sonnet 45 is in keeping with the dramatic sensibility that informs later key works of the Spanish baroque, such as the bloody handprint on the noblemans new coat of arms at the close of Calderon de la Barcas El medico de su honra, or the vanitas paintings of Valdes Leal. In fact, the poem encompasses both poetry and the visual arts, inasmuch as it is structured as an emblem. The sonnet, the emblem, and the epigram were all closely associated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Here, the poems organization as a visual scene accompanied by a moral glossOh solo de hombres digno y noble estado!provides a strong cue to read it as an emblem, and this cue is supported by the apostrophe in the final line. The speakers exclamation, Oh . . . ! draws him out of the visual scene and into a middle ground between the landscape and the viewer. The effect is to cast him as a beschouwer, the figureoften a man or a boyin emblem and in painting, who gestures to an onlooker from the foreground of the image, inviting us to gaze in on a significant scene. But what are we gazing on? The most conventional message of the beschouwer is Ecce homo. The device is common in religious paintings wherein early modern viewers were guided to contemplate biblical events such as the Nativity, the Crucifixion or the Assumption of the Virgin. Sonnet 45 contains a register of religious allusion, in the echo of St. Paul, Corinthians: For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then we will see face to face (1 Cor. 1:13). However, religion is not paramount in this poem. Paramount is the scene of devastation where, heaped at the bottom of the visual frame that is created by the rectangular shape of the sonnet, that bloody mass of flesh, bone, and mail fixes our attention and invites us to interpret it. In this readingand over the course of this bookI argue that we are summoned to gaze on the scene because it represents the clash of two Spanish cultures, the traditional order of Castile represented by the war cry Santiago! in line six versus the culture surrounding that cry: the culture that supports the poetic speakers arts of demonstration, and also the poetic artifact of the sonnet itself, the culture of the modern courtier represented by the speaker. As carefully as the first thirteen lines of the poem work to describe the battlefield, they also build up an image of the speaker who is showing it to us. We see that he is well educated in the conventions of rhetoric and the visual arts (painting, emblem), and we find that he knows the principal tropes and forms of the Renaissance poetic tradition as he describes a scene that alternates between a battlefield and a Petrarchan locus amoenus. The tone of his final commentary, bitter but accepting, identifies him with the dissembling and ultimately passive masculine behavior that came into fashion with the coalescence of the early modern state and the politicization of the aristocracy into creatures of the court. From Castiglione to Gracian, a principal sign of the courtiers skill is his Stoic capacity to deflect passion into art. The poems speaker exhibits his courtliness by waiting until line 14 to unleash his vehementbut cultured, and ironiclament about the degrading practice of modern war and the disaster that has befallen the second estate. That is, critics have tended to read Sonnet 45 as a protest against war; however, I would suggest that we refine that view, and find the speaker disgusted by two phenomena associated with contemporary battle. First is the rise of gun warfare through the middle part of the sixteenth century, as refinements to the harquebus made it the weapon of choice in the European wars after Pavia (1526). Second is the symbolic violence that the gunpowder revolution and the turn to a mercenary fighting force enacted on Spains elite warrior caste. As the nobility were moved away from the front, their place was taken by a combination of professional soldiers and commoners bought or coerced into military service. This shift protected the lives of the scions of the noble houses, but it also greatly diminished the traditional role of the aristocracy within Spanish society. This bit of historical context helps us explain Aldanas reference to corruption (corrompida, line 9) and his use of noble in line 14. The noble practice of war is no longer noble when it is fought in modern terms, even if one is fighting the infidel, and charges to the traditional Castilian shout of Santiago! The speaker invites us to reflect on this fact as he sets the corrupted scene before us. But he also invites us to contemplate how the tensions between traditional and contemporary culture are identified with specific kinds of poetry. Sonnet 45 represents two genres of poetry in contention for control of its landscape. The conflict manifests itself, first, in the speakers style of description, which, phrased as contradictions (otro aqui no se ve que), contrasts our expectation of a lovers meadow with a stinking, muddy field that is more proper to the gory scenes that enliven epic and ballad than it is to the sonnet. But it is in line 12, in our encounter with the mass of flesh and bone that transfixes us after the speaker has skillfully led us to touch it, that the clash emerges most clearly. For while certainly the courtly Petrarchan tradition contains a discourse of fragmented bodies, conventionally those bodies are female and appear as eroticized fragments represented through proliferations of comparison to jewels, metals, stars, and the sun. The body part we find in line 12 almost certainly belongs to a man, since it is wearing chain mail; furthermore, it is represented without recourse to metaphor. Finally, we encounter it through the base sense of touch, as opposed to through the exalted sense of sight that is the key to Petrarchan tropes of Neo-Platonic sublimation. All of these elements contribute to the sense that line 12 is playing with a reversal of Petrarchan expression and that the pulverized bone and the clumps of flesh represent a deliberate inversionor perhaps it is better to say perversionof sonnet-speech, an anti-blazon. This reversal of conventions in turn invites us to notice another significant structuring feature of the sonnet, namely, that it is a work of anamorphosis that inscribes two perspectives, one keyed to the tradition of Santiago and the noble Castilian warrior, the other to the courtier, to the sonnet, and to Petrarchism. The courtiers culture is stronger. The poem produces a courtier, in the form of the beschouwer, as we have seen. Moreover, the poem is a sonnet, so the courtiers tradition wins the contest. But this fact enables us to interpret line 12 as representing more than a heap of flesh and bone. Viewed from the alternate sight line, Castilian tradition, it emerges as the remains of the heroic fighting arm, the diestro braco wielded by the noble Castilian knight. This arm, which figures frequently in epic and ballad poetry, is the other of the graceful and gesturing arm of the beschouwer, which is what finally confirms to us that it is the diestro braco that we are seeing, but not reading, because that arm is illegible from the perspective of the poems modern, courtierized culture. For one thing, it has been exploded by guns. For another, it is irretrievably distorted by the culture of the courtier and by his conventions of speech. Despite the formal brevity of the new Italianate lyric adopted into Spanish courtly society in the sixteenth century, writers such as Juan Boscan or Fernando de Herrera would defend it as endlessly capacious (capaz de contener cualquier tipo de materia [capable of containing whatever material whatsoever] as Boscan put it, in his Letter to the Duchess of Soma). In fact, as we will see over the course of this book, the new lyric did something rather different: it substituted the plenitudinous, expansive all that was preserved and transmitted within Castilian culture in bardic song, epic, and ballad with all that was necessary to speak and write in order to be viable and legible as a subject within the coalescing Hapsburg state. Ultimately, Sonnet 45 represents Petrarchism, the mode of poetry that is aligned with modernity and with courtierization, as imbued, through its association with these forces, with the power to suppress Castilian tradition and its principal poetic formulas. Aldanas sonnet testifies to that transformation, even as its speaker accepts the violence and manages it with the grace expected of the courtier, transforming his disenchantment into art and revealing the resulting scene to us with his good arm. But the diestro braco still subtends the vision, as so many deformed but seductive objects strewn across the field. Having decoded the dense, elaborate, and highly rhetoricized poem that is Sonnet 45 and having identified it as offering a vision of a joined crisis in Spanish masculine identity and in poetry, we are in a position to review our attitudes about both the early modern sonnet and the wider phenomenon of the new lyric. Over the course of this book I will consider the impact of this genre, which, in the second half of the century, especially, became a virtual emblem of state and imperial power. In addition, I will reflect in particular on the sonnet, arguing for how this minor and apparently stableeven lifelessform came to be associated with the forces of subjection, courtierization, and restraint in the early modern era. Chapter 1 examines how the writers Hernando de Acuna (15141580), Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (15031575), and Cristobal de Castillejo (14901550) engaged with the ideologies and the implicit politics inscribed within the new lyric by means of a trope I call sonnetization. In Chapter 2, I consider these same ideologies as they inform an attempt by Juan Boscan (14871542) to constrain and rationalize song. In the final part of the chapter, I take up Elegy 2 and Sonnet 33 by Garcilaso de la Vega (15001536), both of which systematically dismantle these constraints and thereby demonstrate another aspect of the new art, namely, the opportunities for resistance that are inscribed within discourse by the forces of poetry, even when this poetry is the reformed and abbreviated new lyric. Chapter 3 examines another mode of address to the mandates of Imperial Lyric, a collection of poems by Gutierre de Cetina (15141554), which I argue represent an incomplete pastoral text, most likely modeled on the Arcadia (1503) of Jacopo Sannazaro. Like Boscan, Cetina was engaged by the multiple levels of narration and allusion that were facilitated by the structure of the lyric sequence, and like Boscan, he sought to adapt the Petrarchan model to the specificities of modern Spanish courtiers subjectivity. Unlike Boscan, Cetina figured the imperial courtier as subject to a complex and divided desire that was more suitably accommodated in a hybrid text than it was within the unifying schema of the Petrarchan Canzoniere. Chapter 4 presents the heroic struggles that Fernando de Herrera carried on with the various subgenres of the lyric as marking a literary, if not a chronological, endpoint to the interpellation of poetry by institutions of early modern politics and power. Herrera is often framed as a belated Petrarchan; in U.S. and British criticism, especially, his 1580 Poesia de Garcilaso con anotaciones (Annotations to the Poetry of Garcilaso) and his richly illuminated and embellished sonnets and songs are treated as attempts to rival Italian poetic glory by instituting a new Spanish canon. In a departure from this view, I discuss Herreras writings in the context of the messianic triumphalism that was rife during the reign of Philip II, arguing that his elaborate mannerist aesthetics represent an attempted solution to what had become an impossible task, namely, representing the heroic Spanish virility of men who were radically subject to the Hapsburg political regime and the religious doctrines of the Counter-Reformation. Despite Herreras efforts, by the seventeenth century, many writers considered poetry to be a stale and outmoded discourse. This study concludes with a brief reading of a poem by Cervantes that presents the sonnet as the tomb of poetry. This is a book about politics, about identity, about subjectivity, and about Spain. But most of all it is a book about poetry. I quote and discuss a great deal of poetry in this book. I do so, first, because with respect to the questions I am raising here, the poets got there first. Horace, who will emerge in these pages as the Roman father of courtierized lyric, forged his style and his poetic voice under the protection of his patron Maecenas, after having fought on the wrong side in the civil war. But in addition, one of my aims in this book is to shift the image that many non-Hispanists have of sixteenth-century peninsular lyric, as a genre devoted to Petrarchism and represented by the figure of Garcilaso de la Vega (some Hispanists hold this view as well). Petrarchism matters to this book. We will observe how writers draw on the Canzoniere as a resource as they negotiate their relationships to the shifting social and cultural circumstances in which they found themselves in the mid-sixteenth century. Garcilaso also matters. He will appear as a man of arms and letters who engaged the noble and the ignoble circumstances of warfare with the best poetic resources available to him at the time. But generally this book presents noncanonical poems that, while (nearly) all in print and available in reasonably modern critical editions, may not be familiar to readers. I foreground them to broaden the sample of Spanish lyric available to non-Spanish-speaking readers. To this end, I have provided paraphrases of the poems discussed here and have done my best to convey their tone and style. Where a writer has employed a double meaning, I have provided both meanings in a note. This study is not comprehensive. I pay close attention to a select group of writers, omitting others who, although I wanted them to find a place in these pages, did not engage with the lyric tradition in a way that made it possible for me to include them. What did seem important was to take a category of cultural production that has in recent years been considered resolved as merely literary or aesthetic and to show what happens when we read it back into its social and ideological contexts. The results call attention to the fundamental role played by poetry in the reorientation of Europeans toward modernity. This history recounts the formation of the Seventh Day Baptist congregation in Ephrata from the early Pietist movement in Germany to the founding of Ephrata and other communities in southeastern Pennsylvania in the 1730s. Focusing on the biography of the influential leader and superintendent Conrad Beissel (16901768),explores life in the Ephrata community through intimate portraits of its inhabitants. It contributes to and enriches our knowledge of the unique social and religious conditions among early settlers of central and southeastern Pennsylvania. This chronicle, originally published in dialectal German in 1786 under the names Lamech and Agrippa, was a specimen of early bookmaking in Pennsylvania and is rich in local idioms and ecclesiastical language. Agrippa, now known to be Peter Miller, compiled and edited the manuscript, written by Brother Lamech (now thought to be Jacob Gaas), a member of the community who had since passed away. This 1889 translation by J. Max Hark remains the only full English edition of the Chronicon Ephratense and has brought wider accessibility to this unique source for over a century. Drawing on sources ranging from artists letters to scientific treatises, Natures Truth illuminates the dynamic relationship between art and science throughout the nineteenth century. Anne Helmreich reveals how these practices became closely aligned as artists sought to maintain arts relevance in a world increasingly defined by scientific innovation, technological advances, and a rapidly industrializing society. Eventually, despite consensus between artists and critics about the need for truth to nature, the British arts community sharply contested what constituted truth and how truth to nature as an ideal could be visually represented. By the early twentieth century, the rallying cry could no longer hold the reform movement together. Helmreichs fascinating study shows, however, that this relatively short-lived movement had a profound effect on modern British art. Truth to Nature, a rallying cry for those artists and critics aiming to reform art-making practices in Great Britain over the course of the nineteenth century, bound together artists as diverse as Pre-Raphaelite John Everett Millais, photographer P. H. Emerson, and bohemian modernist Augustus John. In order to understand truth, these artists turned to the rising disciplines of science, which offered new insights into physical phenomena, vision, and perception. Introduction Three telling voices from the nineteenth century offer enticing evidence that modern forms of image making were inseparable from modern science. In 1839, William Henry Fox Talbot published his invention of photogenic drawing, the precursor to modern photography, declaring that, of whatever value it may turn out in its application to the arts, it will at least be accepted as a new proof of the inductive methods of modern science. In 1850, the art critic F. G. Stephens, writing in the Pre-Raphaelite journal the Germ, called for a new form of art making commensurate with recent scientific developments. The sciences have become almost exact within the present century. Geology and chemistry are almost re-instituted. The first has been nearly created; the second expanded so widely that it now searches and measures the creation. And how has this been done but by bringing greater knowledge to bear upon a wider range of experiment; by being precise in the search after truth? If this adherence to fact, to experiment and not theory,to begin at the beginning and not fly to the end,has added so much to the knowledge of man in science; why may it not greatly assist the moral purposes of the Arts? At the end of the century, the art critic James Stanley Little pointed even more emphatically to science as the decisive influence on preceding decades. The nineteenth century has made its mark in history, chiefly by reason of its achievements in Science; and it is not surprising that men should look to Science with a kind of reverential awe, as the last pronouncement of the Deity, as the Do-all of the future. Science is based upon facts, its proudest boast is that it takes nothing on trust. . . . The careful and laborious method of the scientist in arriving at the truth, in the influence which the process has had on the people at large, has been in the main beneficial. . . . It has made us all searchers after the truth, made us as a nation of investigators and pioneers, each desirous to find his own answer to the terribly perplexing question propounded by Pilate, each glad if he can add something to the sum of ascertained facts. Why was science accorded such significance within British artistic circles over the course of the long nineteenth century? Why and how did artists and art critics turn to science for inspiration and even methodology? What was the impact of science upon art making in Britain in the period we have come to associate with the formation of modernism? Partial answers to these questions can be found in studies devoted to specific individuals, such as the pioneering photographer Talbot, or decisive art movements, such as Pre-Raphaelitism. But these have been treated as isolated episodes. My aim is to take a longer and fuller historical view. My hypothesis is that art was profoundly shaped by radical changes in science and its discourses over the course of the long nineteenth century. As demonstrated by the writings of Talbot, Stephens, and Little, artists and critics turned to science to inform and to justify their practice. In turn, leading scientists drew attention to points of connection between art and science, in rhetoric well suited to their cultural ambitions. The scientist Thomas Huxley told the members of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1871 that our purpose is the same as yoursnamely, to seize the idea which lies hidden under the shifting phenomena of nature, and to bind it in such fetters that it may increase the pleasure and the profit of endless generations of men. We both seek truth and we both seek beauty. If we fail to understand arts dynamic relationship to science, we are left with an incomplete picture of British art making and will fail to grasp the particular conditions and expressions of modernism in Britain. Even intellectuals outside the spheres of art and science recognized the bonds between the two disciplines. In 1863, Cardinal Wiseman, the first cardinal and archbishop of Westminster upon the reestablishment of the Catholic Church in England, chose as his topic points of contact between science and art for his address to the Royal Institution, a society founded in 1799 to facilitate sharing scientific and technical information with lay audiences. As befitting a man of the church, Wiseman stayed away from such controversial topics as evolutionary biology and focused upon such seemingly unremarkable themes as mathematical principles of perspective. Yet Wisemans definitions of science and art reflected current understandings. Science, according to Wiseman, was whatever knowledge has come to man as the result of investigation, by thought, calculation, and experimentwhether the word be referred to the more abstruse and abstract, or to the more practical, exercise of the power of observation. Wiseman touched here upon a potentially controversial subjectthe scientific method. At the time of his lecture, the generation of scholars later known as the scientific naturalists was coming to the fore and championing visual observation and experiment in order to ground science in empiricism and challenge natural theology. The fine arts, according to Wiseman, approach our intellect and our feelings through the eye. More specifically, Wiseman pointed to landscape painting as the arena in which British artists had already succeeded in educating the public eye and the public mind by encouraging a perception of the beautiful in nature. He attributed the contemporary appreciation of depictions of nature to the modern agethe age of railways and seaside tourismwhich thrust humanity together in cities and turned nature into rural scenery detached from Britons daily lives. In sum, landscape painting was the art form of the modern age. But, for Wiseman, the desire to gaze upon naturemountains, lakes, and wild coastswas not just a rejection of industrialization; it was a means by which to admire the greatness and power of its Author and Creator. Here again Wiseman touched upon a point of controversyshould the study and representation of nature be informed by natural theology, or was it the perfect subject for a secular modern age searching for utilitarian advances? Addressing such questions requires taking the long view, investigating change over time. The artistic and scientific developments traced out in this study exceeded a single generation and do not form a straightforward linear narrative of progress. Close analysis of the evidence reveals quandaries, contestations, and reversals of opinion as well as declarations and challenges. I present here a series of case studies, focusing on artists who were understood at the time to be modern, responding to issues of the day and seeking new paths for artistic practice. These individual actors and objects are assembled into a narrative that elucidates how science was seen as the means of reforming art over the course of the long nineteenth century. Art and science converged in large part because they both engaged directly with visuality. The historian Barbara Gates explains that concern with sight was paramount in the Victorian age. Amateurs and professionals alike were retraining their eyes to look as never before to witness what was around them in their everyday worlds. . . . Their kind of seeing became a hallmark of Victorian culture, a culture obsessed with sight. However, this emphasis on visual knowledge came into conflict with developing understandings of the subjectivity of vision. Debates concerning sight, and what the cultural historian Kate Flint has identified as an increasing awareness of the instability of the visual, created a natural meeting point for the work of artists and scientists. The boundaries between art and science in the nineteenth century were porous, although both disciplines were attempting to establish their distinct professional identities. Indeed, their spatially located histories help to establish this sensibility of proximity. For example, the leading societies associated with the two disciplinesthe Royal Society, dedicated to science, and the Royal Academy of Arts, devoted to the visual artswere both located at Somerset House by 1780 and eventually relocated to Burlington House in the mid-nineteenth century. Art and science were also lexically linked. As the opening quotations suggest, key termsincluding experiment, fact, observation, and truthmarked nineteenth-century debates about the visual and knowledge and were shared across the disciplines. These terms characterized not only the rise of new art forms, most notably photography, and artistic developments spearheaded by painters affiliated with Pre-Raphaelitism, naturalism, impressionism, and postimpressionism, but also what has been referred to as the second scientific revolution, or modern science. The modern, in science, denotes the demise of natural theology, the birth of scientific naturalism, and the rise of the specialized disciplines that gained public visibility beginning in the 1830s. In the fine arts, the notion of the modern first came to be associated with naturalism or realism, terms coined to signify artists direct engagement with the world around them and an implicit rejection of idealism. This shift in artistic practice reflected artists desires to develop modes of representation in concert with the conditions of modernity. Realisma concern with capturing external reality in all its rudeness and beautycrossed borders and embraced such diverse artists as the German painter Adolph Menzel, the French painter Edouard Manet, and the British painter William Holman Hunt. But modernism took on many local forms in concert with differing conditions, and this has driven me to look anew at the problem of realism and its aftermath as it played out in a particular contextthat of nineteenth-century Britain and the metropolis of London, home to many artistic and scientific societies formed to advance and disseminate knowledge. Scholars such as George Levine, Gillian Beer, and Peter Dale have amply described how Victorian novelists like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and George Eliot participated in scientific naturalism and its debates. Here, I take up similar questions for the visual arts, but I also set my frame beyond the midcentury moment associated with Charles Darwin. In this study, I trace the formation, consolidation, and recalibration of the tightly bound relationship between art and science over the decades of the 1830s to the 1910s, when modernism took shape. This study contributes to the ongoing revision of the history of modern British art. As the art historian Lisa Tickner has observed, the received account of British modernism is suffering from fatigue, defined by shop-worn paradigms of an embattled avant-garde . . . that casts the British permanently into the shade of the French; and . . . the plot of an inexorable progress from Victorian narrative painting to an art of pure abstraction, or, at least, of purely formal values. My aim is to suggest a plot that was not inexorable but plagued with crisis, a plot, moreover, driven not by the internal exigencies of painting but by changes in science. It is the story of a particularly local form of modernismone built on the British tradition of landscape painting as well as on British debates about scientific knowledge and practice. But the narrative is also inflected by internationalism, as neither art nor science was contiguous with national borders. In short, this is a story that relocates the study of British modernism within the cultural field of science. Both artists and scientists were active interpreters of the natural world in the nineteenth century, and each turned to the other on occasion to seek verification or to stake opposition, acts that contributed collectively to how art and science were understood to function at the time. In reconceptualizing the story of British modernism, I join several scholars who have offered new insights into their chosen subjects by investigating hitherto overlooked relationships between art and science. Pamela Smith, in The Body of the Artisan, argues persuasively that the artisan and the body of knowledge and experience associated with artisanal practice contributed significantly to new philosophies of nature that emerged over the course of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries in northern Europe. This was manifested materially, she explains, in the mode of depiction understood as naturalism, which allowed these artisans to make claims about their status as active knowers, about their knowledge of nature, and about their mode of working. Craig Hanson, in his English Virtuoso, sets aside the focus on the rise of civic humanism, common in so many studies of early modern British art, in order to investigate the impact of empiricism. The latter was fostered by the Royal Society, home of the English virtuoso, who was interested in everything from human anatomy, to ancient burial sites, to the technical aspects of glass production, and who often supported art, casting pictorial representation as a form of knowledge. Amy Meyers, in Knowing Nature: Art and Science in Philadelphia, 17401840, argues convincingly for reversing the traditional hierarchy that places scientists investigations of nature above those of the artist or craftsperson, given the critical role that visual culture played in producing knowledge. Such a hierarchical view, she adds, skews our understanding of how nature was studied and analyzed during a period of momentous change in the emerging metropole. These accounts establish that what we think of today as art was crucially involved in the development of modern thought and in analyzing and explicating the external universe. The formation and validation of knowledge were highly contested, and no one discipline could claim an exclusive purview. Yet in the collection The Organisation of Knowledge in Victorian Britain, assembled by Martin Daunton, art and visual culture do not appear, inadvertently regarded as outside the pale. Here, I aim to prove that artists and art critics were just as committed as scientists, mathematicians, classicists, and other scholars were to the pursuit of new paths of inquiry and new knowledge. In organizing my study, I have taken a cue from Cardinal Wiseman and focus largely on landscape representation, which was characterized by intense investigations in paint, photography, and print over the course of the long nineteenth century. The stakes were high for this genre, which had come to be associated with the leading edge of British art, largely through the efforts of J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. While the shadows of these artists loomed over the next generations, their model of individual genius, imaginative flourishes, and dazzling visual productions was increasingly seen as out of step with the drive for an empirically grounded practice in which the artist was humbled before nature and individualism subsumed to the rigorous task of reproducing the details of the scene. Truth to nature became the leitmotif of the Victorian age, and the major question facing artists and scientists alike was how to achieve it. Nineteenth-century artists and scientists were still wrestling with the Cartesian divide of mind and body as they pursued their study of the natural world and sought to understand its internal mechanisms. Was the external world best apprehended with the bodily eye? Could the eye (and hand) faithfully record the world? Could mechanical instruments improve upon human sight? Or was the external world truly apprehended only by the mind, irrespective of the mechanics of vision? Did the mind interfere with purity of vision, or did it aid in apprehension and recognition? What was the role of feeling, memory, or imagination? Related to issues of perception were those of assessmenthow would truth to nature be characterized, recognized, and judged? Was truth measured by faithfulness to detail or by ability to capture significant broad effects? Such questions drove lively debates in the pages of both artistic and scientific journals. In this study, I have deliberately focused on the artistic side of this dialogue between art and science, asking how artistic practice was shaped by the leading scientific paradigms of the nineteenth century. I do not wish to imply that art did not have an equally compelling influence upon science. But the story of how artists sought to reinvigorate their practice through lessons derived from science is full and complex on its own terms and has yet to be set forth. Returning to James Stanley Littles essay, science was recognized as a powerful, authoritative voice in nineteenth-century British artistic circles, and understanding how and why drives this study. Science and Art: Defining Terms in the Public Sphere This argument rests upon the historical record produced by artists, scientists, critics, and popular writers who made artworks, published notices and articles in the contemporary press, and authored numerous treatises and books, creating a vast archive. My narrative begins in the 1830s, the decade in which modern science began to gain visibility through the efforts of both scientists and popular writers. It is admittedly challenging to pinpoint the historic origins of modern science; indeed, one could cite the formation of the Royal Society in the 1660s as a critical starting point. But at the beginning of the nineteenth century, several key developments mark a distinct shift. The profession and field of practice known as science emerged, as signified by the birth of the term scientist. William Whewell, a professor at Cambridge University, coined the term in 1834 in his review of the popularizing book The Connexion of the Physical Sciences by Mary Somerville. In his essay, Whewell recalled how he and his colleagues at the British Association for the Advancement of Science arrived at the term scientist in order to create an identity for students of the knowledge of the material world collectively. They had rejected the terms philosophers and savans, as well as English translations of Natur-forscher (nature-poker or nature-peeper), and instead proposed that by analogy with artist, they might form scientist. That is, just as the artist was a practitioner of the arts, the scientist was a practitioner of the sciencesa form of logic that implies an intellectual equivalency between the two disciplines. Whewell elaborated on this logic in his later text, The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840). In the course of his discussion of aphorisms concerning the language of science, he again explained, We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a Scientist. Thus we might say, that as an Artist is a Musician, Painter, or Poet, a Scientist is a Mathematician, Physicist, or Naturalist. The subcategories of science that Whewell cited are telling; they are those fields that he regarded as holding the most significance and promise. While the term scientist was adopted only slowly, its etymology nonetheless correlates with an important shift in the conception of science, as the historians Jack Morrell and Arnold Thackray explain: The word science took on new and narrower meanings in the 1830s and 1840s. It ceased to be a synonym for all knowledge and became the party label of a particular mode of understanding, possessedso it was saidof superior power. This change in understanding was tied closely to the birth of distinctive subdisciplines within the broader field of science, and to a rigorous debate about scientific method. These activities dramatically shaped the contours of modern science in Britain and also permeated the cultural sphere, leading to an unprecedented interest in science and also affecting artistic practice. In many ways, Whewells need to define the intellectual work of science was the logical conclusion to developments that can be traced back to at least the seventeenth century and the debate between Robert Boyle and Thomas Hobbes. Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer provide a compelling analysis of this episode in Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life. Using Boyles development of his air-pump device and subsequent experiments on the properties of air and vacuums, and Hobbess refutation of Boyles mode of experimentation as a reliable source of knowledge, the authors shed light on how the concept of experimentation entered into scientific practice and became a convention. As in the later Victorian age, the experimental production of matters of fact involved an immense amount of labour, . . . rested upon the acceptance of certain social and discursive conventions, and . . . depended upon the production and protection of a special form of social organization that could participate in the collective confirmation of experimental findings. Shapin and Schaffer touch upon how experimental philosophers were challenged by the church; Peter Harrison, in The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science, more fully elucidates the stakes involved in the dynamic interchange between science and religion in the early modern age. Harrison explains that the postlapsarian fall from grace propelled natural philosophers such as Francis Bacon to determine whether the human mind might by any means be restored to its perfect and original condition. Critically, Adams lost knowledge not only drove the search for knowledge but also informed methodologies by which this knowledge could be obtained. To avoid the sin of error, scholars like Robert Hooke, curator of experiments for the Royal Society, argued in favor of mechanical and experimental philosophy. Proponents of this view, among them Bacon and Boyle, advocated intensive labor, repeated trials, and probable rather than certain conclusions. Natural philosophy went on to flourish in the Enlightenment, particularly through the efforts of scholars who upheld empiricism as Bacon described it in his Novum Organum (1620), in which he argued on behalf of observation and experimentation as well as the inductive method. As Roy Porter explains in his overview of medical and human science in the eighteenth century, observation and experiment became the watchwords of many, pointing to Giorgio Baglieri and Bernard Mandeville among others. Isaac Newton was an important figure for the eighteenth century as well; scholars were drawn to his certainty in the methods of mathematical reasoning and experimentalism. But while we can see continuity between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries in the concern for scientific method, as well as a shared commitment to natural theology, it is important to recognize sharp differences as well. Whereas John Locke, in his Thoughts Concerning Education (1692), argued that Works of Nature are contrived by a Wisdom, and operate by ways too far surpassing our Faculties to discover, or Capacities to conceive, for us ever to be able to reduce them into a Science, Whewell, upholding the utopian belief in progress characteristic of his age, argued that understanding the infinity of the universe and its Creator simply required improving mans faculties: Difficulties arising from space, number, gradation, are such as we can conceive ourselves capable of overcoming, merely by an extension of our present faculties. Is it not then easy to imagine that such difficulties must vanish before him who made us and our faculties? Whewells comments build upon an Enlightenment belief in the capacities of human reason to harness observations and experiments into a larger body of knowledge, organized by laws. Ephraim Chambers, in his Cyclopaedia (1728), described science thus: To SCIENCE, then, belong such Things as Men may discover by the use of Reasoning, and Sense: Whatever the Mind decries in virtue of that Faculty whereby we perceive Things, and their Relations, is matter of Science: Such as the Laws of Nature, the Affections of Bodies, the Rules and Canons of Right and Wrong, Truth and Error, the Properties of Lines and Numbers &c. Science, in effect, is the Result of mere Reason and Sense in their general or natural State, as imparted to all Men. One critical way in which Whewell and his colleagues believed that they could generate a more attentive examination was through collaborative enterprise and rigorous debate. This belief fueled the birth of new scientific societies, including the Geological Society (founded in 1807 and awarded a royal charter in 1825), the Astronomical Society (founded in 1820 and awarded a royal charter in 1831), the Zoological Society (founded in 1826 and awarded a royal charter in 1829), the Geographical Society (founded in 1830 and awarded a royal charter in 1859), the Statistical Society (founded in 1834 and awarded a royal charter in 1887), the Meteorological Society of London (founded in 1823, renewed in 1836, reconfigured in 1848, and merged with the newly formed British Meteorological Society in 1850), the Microscopical Society (founded in 1839 and awarded a royal charter in 1866), and the Chemical Society (founded in 1841 and awarded a royal charter in 1848). Both social and scholarly, such organizations held periodic meetings that were increasingly reported on in the press, organized public events, and issued their own publications, contributing to the growth of print culture. The Geological Society and the Astronomical Society emerged as key players in the Victorian age, largely because they attracted members who were major contributors to scientific activities. William Buckland, the theologian and geologist who undertook pioneering work concerning fossils; Adam Sedgwick, who challenged Bucklands theories regarding Noahs flood and also helped to map out geological change over time; and Whewell, master of Trinity College, theologian, and major advocate for rigorous scientific method, were all members of the Geological Societys council in its early decades. Associated with leading roles in the Astronomical Society were Francis Baily, who contributed to both the reform of nautical measurements and astronomical observations; mathematician Charles Babbage, who helped to found modern computing; and John Herschel, who undertook inventive experiments in the study of light and optics, contributing to the birth of photography, and whose study of the natural world led him, as it did Whewell, to address the scientific method. The formation of these specialized societies reflected dissatisfaction with the Royal Society and a desire for more focused discussion of topics among colleagues. Early nineteenth-century reformers of the Royal Society argued that the learned bodys range of interests was too diffuse and not sufficiently focused upon science. This critique was complicated by competing concepts of what constituted science: Was it a philosophy that embraced abstract or ideal concepts such as mathematics and geometry? Or was it dedicated to chronicling the contents of the natural world and speculating about how they came to be? How could this body of knowledge best be configured? For example, should the natural or physical sciences be distinguished from the human sciences as well as from the social sciences? Was science a method of investigation, and, if so, what was the approved methodstrict observation, as the term natural history often implied, or experimentation? Critics were also dissatisfied with the Royal Societys standard of scholarship, as measured by papers delivered before the society and published in its journal, Philosophical Transactions, and with its poor care of expensive scientific instruments, the acquisition of which had been a major impetus for the formation of the society. The new specialized societies also argued that they could better serve the needs of British government and society. The Astronomical Society, for example, began to offer the British Admiralty and Parliament advice on astronomical matters, to the dismay of Royal Society fellows such as the astronomer Thomas Young. Criticism of the Royal Society, leveled in particular by investigators associated with the physical sciences, commingled with concerns that Great Britain was falling behind in what Herschel referred to as the race for scientific achievements. Fear of decline and questions of how science should best be configured and supported in Britain motivated Babbage to write Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes (1830), an endeavor in which he was supported publicly by such reformers as Herschel and David Brewster, who shared Herschels interest in optics and astronomy. Babbage argued that contemporary scientific debate was anemic, in part because the government refused to encourage it and the Royal Societys leadership was weak and poorly qualified. In 1831, a group of scientists and their supporters, including Brewster and Reverend William Harcourt, formed the British Association for the Advancement of Science, explicitly focused upon science and dedicated to creating a public platform for disseminating the results and benefits of the discipline. As Morrell and Thackray explain, the group linked its identity to an appeal to nature. Often known as the Gentlemen of Science because of their generally shared Anglican background, close affiliation with the liberal Broad Church wing, centrist political attitudes, and close ties to university life, particularly Trinity College, Cambridge, they articulated a particular ideology of science, Morrell and Thackray argue, that had an important formative influence on the modern world. These gentlemen of science aimed to demarcate science as a distinct domain of knowledge, separate from religious or political knowledge; to privilege the physical sciences over the social or biological sciences; and to promote a rhetoric of progress linked to discovery. They also claimed a position of seeming disinterest, not relying on scientific activity for income (having personal means to support themselves) but pursuing it out of dedication to the search for truth. These scientists were aided in their ambitions by the rise of print culture. As the historian of science Richard Yeo argues, Whewell, Herschel, Brewster, and their colleagues took advantage of the establishment of such journals as the Quarterly Review (founded in 1809), Blackwoods Magazine (1817), Literary Gazette (1817), and the Athenaeum (1828) to air their debates. Brewster even helped to found two journals, the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, in 1819, and the Edinburgh Journal of Science, in 1824, in addition to contributing many papers. Members of this generation voiced their opinions with certitude, as Yeo explains, believing in the existence of ultimate truths and the ability of the mind to find them. Journals were also critically important for disseminating information about scientific activities, including meetings of scientific societies. Science also entered the public sphere through conversazione, public lectures, and museum and exhibition displays, which were becoming increasingly spectacular and were eagerly reported on in the press (fig. 1). The editor of the Athenaeum, William Cooke Taylor, for example, was so interested in the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences meeting in Dublin in 1835 that he reported on it in five issues, totaling twenty-seven triple-column pages. At midcentury, T. H. Huxley persuaded the editors of the Saturday Review (founded in 1855) to publish a column on science every two weeks and to include scientific topics in their reviews. Book publishers eventually followed the lead of periodical publishers, even launching series by authors who became household names, such as John George Wood, who wrote The Common Objects of the Sea-Shore (1857) (fig. 15) and The Common Objects of the Country (1858). Indeed, by the 1840s and 1850s, as the historian Bernard Lightman observes, there were four times the number of titles on the sciences published annually than at the start of the century. Art publishing likewise expanded greatly over the course of the nineteenth century, as measured by the growth in specialist periodicals. The Art Journal, for example, was founded in 1839, the Portfolio in 1870, and the Magazine of Art in 1878. High-quality illustrations distinguished these journals from their peers; the Art Journal for example, included a full-page reproductive art print in each issue. These journals also offered fulsome accounts of historical and contemporary art, as well as tidbits of news and gossip. In an age in which criticism had not yet been professionalized to the degree that it would by the close of the century, writers on art came from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some, like William Hazlitt and F. G. Stephens, were working artists or had originally trained as artists, while others, such as William Makepeace Thackeray and Tom Taylor, were also literary or theater writers. Many critics traveled in the same social circles as artists (indeed, were often close friends), and these close-knit networks stimulated the rapid exchange of information and opinion, while also fueling spirited antagonism and debate. But readers could stay abreast of developments in the art world without recourse to these specialized journals, as most daily, weekly, and monthly periodicals reported on major events in the art world such as the annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. Art, displayed in public venues and reproduced via circulating prints, became a topic of intense interest and was even regarded as an index of community values and concerns. As scholar Helene Roberts summarized the situation, the attention that Victorian periodicals paid to art was formidable. These journals and books were part of the rapid expansion of the public sphere in the nineteenth century. The growing middle classes and even the upper tier of the working classes (the respectable or skilled working class), with both literary skills and leisure time, galvanized the proliferation of periodical literature and the publishing industry. Publishers took advantage of new technologies in paper production and printing, which brought down the cost of newspapers, journals, and books. Libraries and subscription reading rooms helped to circulate these materials beyond the small circles who could afford to buy them on a regular basis. By the middle of the century, circulation numbers had reached new heights. As Richard Altick has documented, at least a half-dozen weekly newspapers and cheap miscellanies had attained a circulation of more than 100,000 by 1855. With the repeal of the duty on paper in 1861, these numbers quickly rose; in 1864, the publisher of the Athenaeum reported that in London at least nineteen monthly periodicals on useful, entertaining, educational topics printed 350,000 copies per month, fifty-four monthly magazines and series of a higher class produced 250,000 copies per month, and serials issued by the great publishing firms, embellished and illustrated, contributed another 350,000 copies per month. The growing public interest in art and literature also fueled the rise of exhibition culture. By the early nineteenth century, the practice of annual exhibitions organized by artists societies had become highly regularized. In addition to the exhibition of the Royal Academy, displays were organized by the British Institution (founded in 1805) and the Society of British Artists (founded in 1823, charter granted in 1846, royal prefix given in 1887). Specialist bodies also arose, including those defined by medium, among them the Old Watercolour Society (founded in 1804 and awarded a royal charter in 1881, thereafter known as the Royal Watercolour Society), the Institute for Painters in Watercolour (founded in 1832 and awarded a royal charter in 1885), the Society of Engravers (founded in 1802), the Etching Club of London (founded in 1838), and the Photographic Society of London (founded in 1853, renamed the Photographic Society of Great Britain in 1874, and awarded a royal charter in 1894). Commercial dealers also played an increasingly prominent role in exhibitions, particularly over the second half of the nineteenth century, when they facilitated the rise of rotating exhibitions throughout the calendar year. Epistemological Genealogy Much of the press dedicated to art was concerned with the role of the arts in civic lifewhat would they contribute to British society? As Craig Hanson reminds us, epistemology was a critical strand in these discussions, and it provided the genealogical framework for the truth-to-nature discourse of the Victorian age. Hanson argues convincingly that the Royal Society provided the first public institutional basis for the arts in England. Home of the polymath virtuoso, the Royal Society catalyzed the formation of intellectual networks concerned with questions of methodology in the age of empiricism. In particular, Hanson explains, dilettanti in medicine and art debated similar issues regarding how to root their practices in reason and observation and how to establish authority and rational argument. This virtuosic tradition of intellectual exchange persisted well into the eighteenth century, as exemplified by the artists George Stubbs and Joseph Wright and the physician William Hunter, who became the first professor of anatomy at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. Hunter exemplifies Hansons concept of the virtuoso, committed to investigating the natural world and advancing scientific enterprise as well as supporting the arts. Hunter, over his lifetime, formed an important collection that reflected his myriad interests in such fields as art, entomology, geology, medicine, numismatics, and zoology. Trained in anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, Hunter was responsible for the production of The Anatomy of the Human Gravid Uterus, published in 1774; its accuracy and evident close observation attracted leading artists who were seeking greater proficiency in human anatomy. Hunter lectured at St. Martins Lane Academy, as well as at the Royal Academy, using plaster casts of flayed figures that displayed considerable anatomical detail, and he also participated in the Society for the Encouragement of Arts (founded in 1754). His growing ambition as a collector and his intent to establish a museum gained him the attention of the Royal Society, who elected him a fellow in 1767; membership in the Society of Antiquaries followed in 1768. As part of his collecting activities, Hunter commissioned the painter George Stubbs to paint an Asian antelope in 1769 and a North American bull moose in 1770; the latter was intended as visual evidence for Hunters developing argument about the extinction of species. Stubbs was a likely artist to take up such a task, as he had supplied engravings for Dr. John Burtons Essay Towards a Complete New System of Midwifery Theoretical and Practical (1751), a project analogous to Hunters 1774 anatomy, and later dedicated himself to representing the anatomy of the horse thoroughly and accurately in his published treatise of 1766. Working closely from dissected specimens and attentive to detail, Stubbs was nonetheless keen to preserve the sense of the whole, as well as to express the vitality of the species, and he consistently represented the whole animal, often in implied motion. His animal studies demonstrate not only the close visual observation of natureas Oliver Kase points out, Stubbs emphasized that the figures were drawn from naturebut also experience, of knowledge gained over time and through labor. In most narratives of artistic contributions to British Enlightenment scientific thought, Stubbs is linked closely to Joseph Wright of Derby, whose representations of scientific experiments and participation in the Lunar Society can be considered important precursors to the work of William Henry Fox Talbot. Born in Derby, Wright returned there to train with the painter Thomas Hudson in London, joining a lively intellectual community located in and around Birmingham composed of industrialists, philosophers, and medical practitioners. Later dubbed the Lunar Society because they met each month on the Monday closest to the full moon, they exchanged ideas and conducted experiments. The group included Erasmus Darwin and Joseph Priestley, as well as Josiah Wedgwood, who would make important contributions to the origins of photography. Their gatherings are believed to have inspired Wrights canvases A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery (1766) and An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768). An orrery is a device for demonstrating planetary motion, and the painting depicts a rapt audience that includes mesmerized children as well as a note-taking colleague who stands to the left of the red-jacketed philosopher. The scene is dramatic and striking, largely owing to Wrights handling of tenebrism. David Fraser has argued that the illuminated faces gathered around the device echo the mental enlightenment that science has provided them. But Elizabeth Barker has suggested that audiences reactions to the display would have been more complicated than what Wright depicts. Drawing on contemporaneous historical evidence, she establishes that Wright has omitted a notable component of the orrery, which, as both she and Fraser note, was not a tool of scientific investigation but a device intended for popular demonstrations. Thus, while Wrights painting professes verisimilitude in its attention to physical detail and materiality, it actually deploys a dissembling facture, cunningly depicting truths and fictions to create an intriguing puzzle for viewers knowledgeable about the increasingly popular field of astronomy. Likewise, An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump represents a plausible event, the demonstration of a scientific experiment, akin to those that Wright himself may have witnessed. It also inspires the viewer to ponder larger themes of life and death, as the bird flutters to the bottom of the glass globe to which the red-coated philosopher controls the airflow. The complex iconography of Wrights paintings and the diverse strands of artistic and scientific representation from which he drew his references emphasize that art did not merely illustrate science but offered a powerful social commentary on science. Indeed, Wrights painting A Philosopher by Lamp Light (1769) complicates the social value of natural philosophy. In the left foreground sits a hermit wrapped in a voluminous brown robe, one hand supporting his head, the other grasping the end of a bone as he tests the resilience of the string to which it is attached in order to understand physical movement. At right, two young pilgrims peer through the darkness, aided by the moon breaking through the clouds, to seek him out in his cave. Judy Egerton notes that Wright often referred to this hermit as Democritus, the ancient Greek philosopher regarded as the father of modern science. Democritus was skeptical about whether true knowledge could be gained through the senses, and he exalted intellectual knowledge. By recognizing at least two different means by which knowledge could be gained, Democritus inferred that when an object appears one way to one, and another to another, neither is nearer to the truth. This acknowledgment of human fallibility and doubt concerning the scientific enterprise is a far cry from the resolute belief in the truth value of scientific knowledge trumpeted by James Stanley Little at the end of the nineteenth century. It is a reminder that science was an unstable field a century earlier, its cultural value not yet secured. Moreover, Wright represents the philosopher as a solitary figure, isolated in his own thoughts. This was precisely the image of the scientist that the generation of reformers in the 1830s sought to counter, insisting instead upon rigorous method checked through collective enterprise. The Narrative As noted earlier, my study begins in the 1830s, when efforts to define the field of science and to assert its cultural value began to gain considerable momentum. In chapter 1, I consider the origins of photography as manifested in the work of William Henry Fox Talbot. A polymath, Talbot was closely involved with leading scientists of the day, including Herschel and Brewster, and was a member of the Astronomical Society and the Royal Society. Keenly aware of debates then brewing about scientific method, he proudly announced his photographic process as proof of the inductive process, thus proclaiming his allegiance with the Gentlemen of Science of the 1830s. Concomitantly, Talbot inserted his photographs into artistic discourses through his exhibiting practice and rhetoric. This chapter considers these dual and overlapping contexts both synchronically and diachronically. While Talbots pursuit of truth to nature in his photographs aligns him with developments in landscape representation associated with his predecessors and contemporaries Thomas Girtin, J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, and Cornelius Varley, Talbot also marks a distinct break from their efforts in his abnegation of self in the act of representation, deferring to the sun as the creator of the image. Talbots claim that his photograms and calotypes were natures pencil, that is, that they were unmediated representations of nature on paper, is analogous to the advice of the writer and art critic John Ruskin, a leading voice in Victorian culture. Ruskin recommended that young artists, early in their studies, go to Nature in all singleness of heart, and walk with her laboriously and trustingly, having no other thoughts but how best to penetrate her meaning, and remember her instruction; rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing; believing all things to be right and good, and rejoicing always in the truth. Furthermore, Ruskin counseled, these young students should adopt an innocent eye, perceiving shapes and colors without attaching a priori knowledge or significance to them. Ruskin avidly engaged with contemporaneous developments in science, particularly those relating to geology (he joined the Geological Society in 1840), and he evinced great sympathy with natural theology. The art critic F. G. Stephens, writing in 1850, reinforced the moral imperative of pursuing truth in art, turning to the physical sciences as a model. The new form of painting that Ruskin and Stephens envisioned is most closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. Chapter 1 analyzes artworks by painters associated with the movement: scenes of nature that bear the traces of strict mental discipline and intense physical labor in meticulously rendered details. The methodology of direct, unmediated observation promoted by Talbot and Ruskin provoked resistance and carried its own contradictions. In concluding chapter 1, I examine a series of episodesnature printing, Talbots adoption of the picturesque, and several Pre-Raphaelite painters struggles to follow Ruskins dictates rigorouslythat reveal the resilience of the practiced eye, that is, visual perception trained to recognize significant patterns in nature. The challenges posed by the pursuit of truth to nature are taken up in chapter 2, which focuses on two of the Pre-Raphaelite artistsJohn Brett and John Everett Millaisand traces their careers as landscape painters after the dissolution of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In the 1850s and 1860s, a new generation of reforming scientists came to the fore in Victorian culture. Historians of science, particularly Frank Miller Turner, dubbed this community the scientific naturalists, who, as T. H. Huxley stated, argued for a new Nature begotten by science upon fact. As Gowan Dawson and Bernard Lightman have recently observed, while the term scientific naturalism is often attributed to Huxley, who explored the concept in his Essays upon Some Controverted Questions (1892), it has a longer etymology that speaks to the complex landscape of science and religion in the nineteenth century and to changing understandings of professionalism. The term first emerged in the 1840s, in the United States, as a negative commentary on texts, such as Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation (1844), that attempted to provide rational explanations for physical phenomena. By the 1860s, the term had been taken up by the British religious press, and eventually it took on the more positive connotation for the scientific region of nonmaterial phenomena. When Huxley adopted the term, he needed to cleanse it of all the deleterious ethical and political connotations it had accrued since first coming into usage in the 1840s. He emphasized its associations with authority and trustworthiness and also deployed it to refer to a specialized practitioner possessing intellectual independence. While recognizing the dynamic history of the concept of scientific naturalism and the problematic nature of labels, I nonetheless adopt the term scientific naturalism here as a shorthand for a particular outlook among men of science and associated intellectuals in Victorian Britain, and in response to the considerable scholarly literature that has studied this phenomenon. The historical actors associated with scientific naturalism include John Tyndall, Joseph Dalton Hooker, George Henry Lewes, and Herbert Spencer. (Charles Darwin is often connected only loosely to this circle because his adherence to the inductive method was often disputed.) This new generation of scientists laid claim to the public discourse of science, wresting it away from their gentlemanly predecessors, who had insisted that a divine presence guided nature. By contrast, the scientific naturalists eschewed religious explanations for natural phenomena and sought to both professionalize and popularize their discipline. In doing so, they argued not only that they provided the best intellectual leadership of a modernized and industrialized Britain but also that science was the best means of achieving knowledge and truth. Most critically for this study, they did not concern themselves solely with scientific practice, but also believed that the scientific knowledge they promoted should be extended to culture and society. In this context, the scientific naturalists frequently proposed a union between art and science, one that initially seemed well suited to the practices of Millais and Brett but became increasingly less so as their careers advanced. At first, it appeared that the painters gradual disaffection with scientific naturalism could be accommodated within John Tyndalls new paradigm of the scientific use of the imagination. But eventually the rise of psychology, which questioned many of the principles of scientific naturalism, suggested new directions for landscape painting, provoking divergent responses from Millais and Brett. New investigations into mental perception led by the philosopher George Henry Lewes, the psychologist James Sully, and the physicians William Carpenter and Hermann von Helmholtz, among others, drove a wedge into scientific naturalism and also changed the criteria by which paintings should be judged. By the 1880s, a number of important intellectuals deeply familiar with scientific naturalism began to challenge its claims to cultural authority. Frederic W. H. Myers, a founding member of the Society for Psychical Research, asserted that the emotional creed of educated men is becoming divorced from their scientific creed; that just as the old orthodoxy of religion was too narrow to contain mens knowledge, so now the new orthodoxy of materialistic science is too narrow to contain their feelings and aspirations; and consequently that just as the fabric of religious orthodoxy used to be strained in order to admit the discoveries of geology or astronomy, so now also the obvious deductions of materialistic science are strained or overpassed in order to give sanction to feelings and aspirations which it is found impossible to ignore. In this configuration of knowledge, science became associated with the intellect and art with feeling. The conviction that art and science could productively be joined had begun to waver by the closing decades of the nineteenth century. Photography again became a lightning rod for these debates, particularly as represented by the photographer and writer P. H. Emerson, the subject of chapter 3. When Emerson began his career as a photographer in the 1880s, he was in many ways picking up the thread of photographic discourses established by Talbot. Emerson positioned photography as an unmediated, truthful expression of naturewhat he called naturalismand insisted that he had at last established a scientific basis for art. Within a decade, however, he had refuted his own tenet, denying the possibility that photography could be truthful to nature because of new scientific findings about perception that undermined the assumption that the eye, or the camera, could act as an impartial recorder. He now understood that the mind played a critical role in perceiving and interpreting the scene, no matter how unbiased the observer strove to be. Whereas, at midcentury, artists and scientists reveled in the possibility that the two disciplines could come together in the shared pursuit of truth through the close observation of nature, Emerson now declared that such a union was impossible. Emerson confided many of his doubts about naturalism to the painter George Clausen, who likewise struggled with the paradigms of realism and naturalism that he had inherited. Chapter 3 considers how the changing nature of scientific naturalism and the rise of psychology affected the circle of British painters associated with the New English Art Club and impressionism, including Clausen, Philip Wilson Steer, and Walter Sickert. Rather than represent the visual field in a nonhierarchical manner that denies the role of the perceiving self, as had been attempted by the Pre-Raphaelites, Clausen and his colleagues strove for a new form of naturalism that required the artist to select what is most essential from the scene, an act of discernment that aligned with new understandings of human perception proposed by psychologists and physiologists. Chapter 4 takes up the next generation of British modernists, particularly the painters associated with the Camden Town Circle, including Augustus John, J. D. Innes, Charles Ginner, and Harold Gilman, who likewise struggled to redefine realism and the task of representing nature for the modern age. Ginner and Gilman even coined the term NeoRealism to describe their painting practice and to underscore their difference from naturalism. Rather than draw from scientific naturalismInnes dismissed geology and astronomy as fossilized dreamlandsthey turned to philosophy, and in particular the writings of Henri Bergson. Informed by Bergsons concepts of intuition and instinct, they rejected the notion that the perceiving self should be suppressed in painted representations of natural scenes. Innes and John aimed to merge the creating subject (and implicitly the perceiving subject) with the landscape, and Ginner and Gilman devised means by which to assert visual mastery over external nature. Ironically, like the Pre-Raphaelites before them, they faced fierce criticism, though in this instance from within their own modernist camp, in the figure of the prominent critic T. E. Hulme. While each successive generation, from Talbot in the 1830s to Ginner and Gilman in the 1910s, claimed to be pursuing truth to nature, their concept of truth was in fact historically contingent and inherently instable. Moreover, these debates were not the exclusive purview of artists but were part of a broader cultural conversation that involved scientists, critics, and philosophers. Methodology Central to my argument is the claim that artworks can be persuasively associated with changes in nineteenth-century scientific paradigms. While artworks necessarily occupy the foreground of this study, historical change is more than mere backdrop. If knowledge is always in formation and history constantly unfolding, then the art object and its social and historical context are always symbiotically interlocked. The task of my narrative, then, is not to extract or isolate the object from the dense network of relationships in which it was originally embedded, but to find the patterns of significance within that web of connections. I must therefore address questions of methodology and the archive. Communities of both practice and reception were critical for nineteenth-century cultural production. As the discussion above suggests, both artists and scientists organized themselves into societies and other groups, and such clubbiness was shared across Victorian culture. Therefore, in many cases, links can be established between art and science through personal networks. This is most strongly evident in the case of William Henry Fox Talbot. Talbots extensive correspondence network establishes his close ties to the other leading scientists of his day. Fragments of correspondence and diaries preserved for John Brett, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, P. H. Emerson, George Clausen, Augustus John, and J. D. Innes occasionally reveal personal ties between artists and scientistssuch as John Tyndalls invitation to Millais to attend his lecture on rainbowsbut more often reveal an exchange of ideas about scientific knowledge, particularly as it related to artistic practice. These dialogues were often mediated by texts, as when Brett recorded his enthusiastic reaction to Ruskins Modern Painters and Pre-Raphaelitism, or when Augustus John and his patron John Quinn recommended Bergsons books to each other. Print culture fostered even broader communities of affiliation and interest, and the analysis of discourse is at the heart of this study. Discourses are critical means by which knowledge and power take shape and are situated within, and constitutive of, disciplines and institutions. Daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers, journals, and books were public spaces in which ideas about art and science were debated. They were points from which new ideas were launched into the public sphere, where they were received and reviewed; the conversations that emerged from these pages sometimes reached consensus but more frequently were conflicting, even paradoxical, as positions were staked out, withdrawn, and reestablished. Heated rhetoric suited the economics of Victorian periodical publication. As Laurel Brake observes, these texts cannot be separated from publishers need to generate revenue through the consumption of print, which fueled strategies to attract and retain the readers attention and pocketbook. Print culture produced a circulatory network, with branches reaching far beyond the nodes of production and reception in metropolitan centers. It also helped to form what Pierre Bourdieu has described as a field of cultural production, the space of positions and the space of position-takings created by both the structured set of the manifestations of the social agents involved in the fieldliterary and artistic works . . . [and] also political acts or pronouncements, manifestations, or polemics, etc. Critically, Bourdieu observes that the literary or artistic field is a field of forces, but it is also a field of struggles tending to transform or conserve this field of forces. One way to approach this field of struggles is to consider how neither producers nor receivers are universal or ideal but are historically constituted and locally situated. The task of the historian, then, is to find patterns of significance within the welter of positions and acts of interpretation. The historians of science Aileen Fyfe and Bernard Lightman, drawing on reception theory, offer a useful model, one well suited to their project of investigating how science was popularized in nineteenth-century British consumer culture. They describe how their efforts to place some order onto histories of those interpretations have led to the ideas of horizons of expectation (the idea that readers education, experiences, etc. will help determine how they react to particular texts) and of interpretative communities (groups of readers who see things in broadly the same way). Furthermore, they argue that we should extrapolate from texts to include images, exhibits, and lectures and expand the notion of readers to include viewers and listeners. While the model that Fyfe and Lightman offer aligns art with other forms of cultural production and discourse, I also want to attend to the particular materiality of art. This includes the physicality of the artifact itself, such as patterns of oxidized silver on paper, or glazes of paint on prepared canvas, as well as the ways in which the material object was made visible in the public sphere. I deliberately begin each chapter with a close description of an artwork in order to ground my questions and subsequent analysis in relation to a work of art. In giving this close description, I am conscious of the work of Michael Baxandall, who wisely advised that the description is less a representation of the picture, or even a representation of seeing the picture, than a representation of thinking about having seen the picture. To put it another way, we address a relationship between picture and concepts. Thus I acknowledge that my descriptions are forms of argument, ways in which I can begin to weave together the connections between image and contemporaneous ideas about science. In building my case about the relationship between artworks and their context, I am also mindful of Baxandalls point about intention, which he uses in reference to pictures rather more than to painters. In particular cases it will be a construct descriptive of a relationship between a picture and its circumstances. To elucidate this point, Baxandall explains that the painters role has been to make marks on a plane surface in such a way that their visual interest is directed to an end. In analyzing J. S. Chardins A Lady Taking Tea (1735), a painting acquired by the physician William Hunter and now in the collections of the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, Baxandall employs a set of constraints or guidelines that I adopt here. I shall make two limiting demands of the connection between ideas and painting I want to pursue. First, the science or philosophy invoked must be made to entail fairly directly a particular thing about visual experience and so about possible pictorial character. I shall hope for a pictorial corollary, as it were, such that the scientific thought could enter the painters self-Briefing. Secondly, I shall demand some indication that it was conceivable, in the period, for the two universes to be brought into this sort of relation. In effect this means I need to produce men capable of reflecting on the relation of painting and science that I claim existed. In sum, the archive from which I derive my arguments is composed of the artworks themselves, the surviving personal correspondence of the makers, and the larger print culture in which the production and reception of these works of art was situated and through which contemporaneous debates about the nature of both art and science were waged. I begin my pursuit of the pictorial brief that conjoined art and science in the 1830s, when new models of scientific thought emerged and scientific method was rigorously debated. At the same moment, a new mode of art makingthe photographemerged, and painters and critics began to rethink both theories of representation and the physical craft of painting. 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You Are Here: Home Regional News East A New York bookstore opens its second stationery store; a Connecticut bookstore looks for new members via GoFundMe; B&N closes a Florida store; and more. McNally Jackson Books Opens a Second Goods for the Study: The 12-year-old bookstore in New York Citys NoLita neighborhood already has a separate Goods for the Study store with stationery and other items for the home office, and Picture Room, a store devoted to posters, art, and artists books, next door to it. Earlier this week it added a second stationery store at 50 West 8th Street. McNally Jackson is also in the midst of prepping a new bookstore location in Lower Manhattans revitalized Seaport District, which will open next year. Charis Books & More to Move to Decatur: After 42 years in Little Five Points, the feminist bookstore announced that it will move to Decatur next year. The new location, directly across from the Agnes Scott College campus, will be larger than its current home. The bookstore is asking for donations to help with the move. Staff Changes at the ABA: The American Booksellers Association announced a series of staff promotions and changes in the wake of Mark Nicholss upcoming retirement as development officer at the end of January. Matthew Zoni, who is currently manager of the ABC Childrens Group at ABA, is being promoted to director of development and publisher relations. Gen de Botton, who worked as program and development coordinator, will take over as ABC group manager. Peter Reynolds will move from project coordinator to project manager. In an unrelated move, David Grogan, previously senior public policy analyst, will become director of public policy and advocacy. In addition, ABA is creating a Senior Staff Executive Committee comprised of CFO Robyn DesHotel, senior program officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, and chief strategy officer Dan Cullen. Binc Closes in on $100,000 Fundraising Goal: With two weeks to go, the Book Industry Charitable Foundations end-of-year Think Binc fundraising campaign is getting a lot closer to reaching its ambitious goal. Sourcebooks committed to matching employee gifts to Binc for the second year in a row, and Ingram Publisher Services donated over $10,000 on behalf of their publishing clients, including those with Publishers Group West, Consortium, Perseus Distribution, and Legato. A past grant recipient is also matching donations up to $3,700 from now through December 31. Bennetts Books Launches GoFundMe Campaign: The Deep River, Ct. used bookstore has embarked on a fundraising campaign, or what it calls a Community Supported Bookstore program, to help it stay afloat. The goal is to get at least 100 members and raise $14,000 to stay in business for another year. Arkansas Tech Picks B&N College: Arkansas Tech University is entering into an agreement with Barnes & Noble College to manage its on-campus bookstores in Russellville and Ozark. As part of the agreement, B&N College will invest $250,000 over three years in bookstore improvements, and will guarantee to match the price offered by any outside source. B&N Closing on Merritt Island: The countrys largest chain bookstore is closing its Florida store on Merritt Island Causeway at the end of this month. The island will continue to have another chain store, Books-A-Million, at the Merritt Square Mall. Fred Kobrak, a former president of Collier Macmillan International in London and well-traveled international sales executive, died on December 12. He was 88 years old. Kobrak was born in Germany, but spent much of his life abroad: in South America, where he helped open the education markets to publishers, as well as in the U.K. and in the United States, where he settled. He worked for Macmillan for a total of 35 years and, following his retirement, consulted with Thompson for another decade. Even in his final years, Kobrak continued to be an influential voice in organizations such as the Association of American Publishers and the International Publishers Association. A fixture at book fairs, Kobrak attended the Frankfurt Book Fair for 56 years. "Freds whole life was dedicated to books and publishing on a global scale," said Tina Jordan, vice-president of the Association of American Publishers. "His contributions both in public and behind the scenes on the international exchange of ideas and content across the borders was one that was valued and appreciated by all those who knew him. He was the purest of international book people. He will be missed." BEIRUT (AP) Diplomats sought to salvage the evacuation of eastern Aleppo after it stalled Friday amid recriminations by both sides in Syria's civil war, raising fears the cease-fire could collapse with thousands still desperate to escape the rebel enclave. The Aleppo evacuation was suspended after a report of shooting at a crossing point into the enclave. The Syrian government pulled out its buses that since Thursday had been ferrying out people from the ancient city that has suffered under intense bombardment, fierce battles and a prolonged siege. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Aleppo is now a synonym for hell." The halt also appeared to be linked to a separate deal to remove thousands of people from the government-held Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya that are under siege by the rebels. The Syrian government says those evacuations and the one in eastern Aleppo must be done simultaneously, but the rebels say there's no connection. The foreign minister of Turkey, a main backer of the rebels, said he was talking to his counterpart in Iran, a top ally of the Syrian government, to try to resume the evacuation. A closed emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council was held on the crisis in Aleppo, discussing a French proposal to have independent monitors oversee the evacuation of civilians and fighters. The council meeting ended with diplomats saying they would convene again this weekend. The cease-fire and evacuation marked the end of the rebels' most important stronghold in the 5-year-old civil war. The suspension demonstrated the fragility of the cease-fire deal, in which civilians and fighters in the few remaining blocks of the rebel enclave were to be taken to opposition-held territory nearby. In announcing the suspension, Syrian state TV said rebels were trying to smuggle out captives who had been seized in the enclave after ferocious battles with troops supporting President Bashar Assad. Several opposition activists said Syrian troops shot and killed four people in one bus, but the incident could not be independently confirmed. The Lebanon-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV broadcast images of the government buses apparently returning evacuees to eastern Aleppo after the road was closed. Al-Manar TV, the media arm of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group that supports Assad, said Syrian government supporters had closed the road used by evacuees from Aleppo, demanding the wounded from Foua and Kfarya be allowed to leave. Syrian state media said rebels shelled a road that was supposed to be used by people leaving the villages. But the opposition's Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Hezbollah fighters backed by Assad ally Iran had cut the road to protest a lack of progress in the evacuations. Buses that arrived at a collection point in the Hama countryside to pick up evacuees from the villages waited for hours to no avail. Later, two rebel spokesmen privy to the talks said the fighters besieging the villages, including the al-Qaida linked Fatah al-Sham Front, had agreed to evacuate several hundred wounded from the villages. Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency said Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called Iranian Presidential Deputy Ishak Cihangiri and told him he was ready to cooperate with Tehran on the evacuation issue. Reports differed on how many people remain in the Aleppo enclave, ranging from 15,000 to 40,000 civilians, along with an estimated 6,000 fighters. There also were contradictory reports on the number of evacuees. Syrian state TV put it at more than 9,000; the Syrian state news agency said 8,079 opposition fighters and their families have left; and Russia, a key Assad ally, said over 9,500 people, including more than 4,500, were taken out. More than 2,700 children have been evacuated in the past 24 hours, including the sick, wounded and those without their parents, UNICEF said. Hundreds of other vulnerable children, including orphans, remain trapped, it added. "We are extremely concerned about their fate. If these children are not evacuated urgently, they could die," UNICEF said in a statement. There are still "high numbers of women and infants, children under 5, that need to get out," added Elizabeth Hoff, Syrian representative for the World Health Organization, speaking by phone from western Aleppo. During Thursday night's evacuation, Pawel Krzysiek of the International Committee of the Red Cross told The Associated Press he could sense "fear, desperation (and) anxiety" among those waiting to escape. The civilians including children and the elderly, the wounded and the sick were out in the cold, "burning the plastic, trying to get some sort of heat to warm themselves," said Krzysiek, who is still in Aleppo. "It's the people leaving their house behind, their lives behind. It is very often they are facing impossible choices and this all occurs at the very individual level and it is difficult to compare with anything else," he said. "This is what the people are going through with their families, their relatives. This is really something very personal for them. I have seen sadness. I have seen really sadness in the people eyes. Heartbreaking sadness, broken lives, heartbreaking stories," Krzysiek added. Before the operation was suspended Friday, four convoys of ambulances and buses left Aleppo, Syrian state TV said, noting that some evacuees used their own vehicles. Also on Friday, Syrian state media reported that a 7-year-old girl wearing a belt of explosives walked into a police station in the capital of Damascus, and her bomb was triggered by remote control, killing her and wounding a policeman. In Japan, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new peace initiative, saying he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were working to set up talks between Damascus and the opposition. Putin said they would take place in Astana, the capital of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. Bassma Kodmani of the High Negotiations Committee, Syria's main opposition group, told the AP that her group supports the call for resumed peace talks but it wants them to take place under U.N. auspices and that it doesn't believe Astana was "the appropriate place." Several rounds of U.N.-mediated indirect peace talks this year in Geneva were suspended with no progress. The Right Stuff is the name of a Tom Wolfe book about our early astronauts, and if anyone ever had this stuff, it was John Glenn, dead at 95. What a man. He was a fearless, brilliant combat pilot in two wars. As a test pilot, he was the first to cross the continent in a supersonic jet. It made boom sounds in the air, and as he flew across his hometown in Ohio, it is reported that a little boy heard it and ran shouting, Johnny dropped a bomb, Johnny dropped a bomb. The bigger bomb he dropped -- figuratively speaking -- was becoming the first American to orbit the earth. It came in response to the Soviet Unions Sputnik challenge. The 1957 satellite whirled around us, saying Russians were our technological superiors, our educational system was failing, we could be at a military disadvantage, we were not the nation we thought we were. We dont talk about heroes much in America anymore, but Glenn absolutely was one as he helped answer this challenge and then did more. For a quarter of a century, he served in the U.S. Senate as a thoughtful, decent, honest man. He had received 23 combat awards and would surely have gotten as many political awards if they were also distributed. He did receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. This hero is among others who enabled us to come back against the Soviet Unions thumbing of its nose from on high. It was no easy matter, seeing as how the Soviets did not slow down, sending Yuri Gagarin up, up and away as the first man in space. We initially struggled. I myself can remember going to school assemblies to see U.S. rockets zoom into space on TV and instead seeing them blow up. But we finally showed our technological oomph and found astronauts with the right stuff Wolfe talked about. They had brain power, muscle power, persevering determination, love of country, dedication to duty, attitudes that could not be swiveled into defeatism or retreat. They also had courage, and needed it. We were to learn that astronauts do get killed. A moment of good cheer was in 1961 when Alan Shepard became the first American to make the up-close acquaintance of space, then we had Glenns orbits and there was much more before the biggest hurrah of them all. That was putting the first men on the moon in 1969, fulfilling a goal of President John F. Kennedys. I was a reporter in Albany, N.Y., then and was sent out the rainy next day to do a batch of man-on-the-street interviews and remember writing a first paragraph about people having their heads above the clouds. They really did. The nation did. We felt amazing pride, as we absolutely should have. We should also give a memory hug to Glenn. Heroes are as important in our lives as ideals. They give us inspiration and something to live up to. Not to recognize and embrace them is to dwell in the land of cynicism, and few things are more socially destructive. More than a little of that is going around these days. There are those who devote their lives to finding fault with our founding fathers and just about everything else about us, summing up the American story as slavery, killing Indians and mistreating women. They forget the greatness that has overcome so much of the worst and reached to grand places. The space story is part of our greatness. It has strengthened us, it has led to significant scientific discoveries, it gives us needed, daily information, it is the backbone of many of our communications systems, it has led to improved education, and has even gifted us with microwave ovens. It has also inspirited us, and so thanks to those who gave us this story, not least of all John Glenn. G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now! The two German transport authorities are Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien (ZVON), and Oberelbe (ZVOE) while the Czech authorities are Ustekcky Kraj, covering the area of the northern Bohemian city of Usti nad Labem, and Liberecky Kraj covering the area around Liberec. The lines to be tendered for the East Saxony Network II comprise: RE 1 Dresden - Bautzen - Gorlitz RE 2 Dresden - Zittau - Liberec RB 60 Dresden - Bautzen - Gorltiz RE 1V Gorlitz - Bischofswerda RB 61 Dresden - Ebersbach Zittau, and Line 7 Liberec - Zittau - Varnsdorf Seifhennersdorf. The winner will take over the operation of RE and RB services from December 2019 and run them until December 2031, while Line 7 will start a year later, but also finish in December 2031. For the first year, 3.3 million train-km will be operated, but this will rise to 3.9 million per annum when the winner starts to operate Line 7. The transport authorities plan to assess the bids based solely on their financial attractiveness. Tender options include equipping the trains with a dynamic passenger information system, which will have to be installed by the concessionaire, and providing onboard Wi-Fi. Representatives from Cambro Manufacturing, the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) the Alamance Chamber of Commerce, as well as Alamance County and the City of Mebane, gathered Dec. 17 for the completion of a lead track at the North Carolina Industrial Center (NCIC) and the first freight rail shipment received by the manufacturer of food service equipment. In 2014, Cambro Manufacturing announced plans to open a new plant in Alamance County, creating 100 new jobs. The plant required a rail spur to deliver raw materials. The 317-mile North Carolina Railroad runs through Alamance County and Mebane and offers Class I rail service via Norfolk Southern. The North Carolina Railroad Company constructed a lead track, which will serve multiple businesses within the industrial park, with the North Carolina Department of Transportation contributing to spur track construction costs. The North Carolina Railroad Company is committed to making investments that drive North Carolinas ability to meet the needs of rail-served industry in our state, said NCRR President, Scott Saylor. When Cambro expressed interest in the NCIC and its potential for rail service, we knew that building a lead track would not only serve Cambro, but would also increase opportunities to attract future rail-served industry and create jobs for our state. Rail service will be a great addition to our manufacturing facility in Mebane, said Cambro Manufacturing President, Argyle Campbell. It will allow us to streamline the receipt and distribution of raw material throughout the factory. Thank you Scott Saylor and the North Carolina Railroad Company. The lead track into NCIC has been a concept only on paper since the days of the Mercedes-Benz project in the early 90s, said Alamance Chamber President, Mac Williams. We started talking with NCRR about helping make those lines on paper a reality and the timing of the Cambro project presented the opportunity. This lead track project involves a number of partners and represents the kind of collaborative effort that results in successful economic development. Bombardier Transportations trouble-plagued, behind-schedule contract with the Toronto Transit Commission for 204 new low-floor Flexity streetcars continues to be the public target of Toronto Mayor John Tory and TTC Board Chair Josh Colle. According to the terms of the original 2009 contract, Bombardier was to have delivered 110 of the five-unit-articulated Low-Floor Light Rail Vehicles (LFLRVs)replacements for the citys aging UTDC-built Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CLRVs) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRVs)by year-end 2016. The contract was revised in May 2016 to require 30 cars delivered by years end and the remainder as originally scheduled. To date, 27 have been delivered and the remaining three are enroute to Toronto, Bombardier spokesperson Marc-Andre Lefebvre told the Toronto Star. Qualified and tested units are operating mostly on the TTCs 510-Spadina streetcar line. The May 2016 contract revision outlined a new schedule that would see Bombardier produce 76 cars in 2018 and 58 in the following year in order to meet the 2019 target. That works out to one vehicle every 3.3 days in 2018, and every 4.4 days in 2019. To help accomplish this, Bombardier transferred work on an order for similar Flexity LRVs for Metrolinx (the TTC is not part of Metrolinx) to its Kingston, Ont., plant, allowing it to add a second line in Thunder Bay for TTCs vehicles. Now, however, the TTC is openly questioning whether the revised schedule is realistic. TTC staff prepared an internal report for its Board warning that Bombardier is at risk of missing the 2019 deadline for delivering all 204 LFLRVs; the agency has always demanded that Bombardier complete the C$1.25 billion order by 2019 as stipulated in the original contract. The Toronto Star obtained this report, dated Dec. 20, 2016, and released it publicly on Wednesday, Dec. 14. It can be downloaded from the link below. The day after TTCs report went public, John Tory and Josh Colle sent a harshly worded open letter to Bombardier Transportation Americas Division President Benoit Brossoit expressing their deep frustration with the LFLRV contract. The letter accuses Bombardier of a complete failure to perform and also warns that the city could take legal action above and beyond the $50 million in liquidated damagesthe maximum it can claim under the terms of the contractit is already attempting to collect. . The delay of new streetcars has now reached a critical tipping point, Tory and Colle said in the letter. We are no longer able to sustain our current service levels as a result. . . . The magnitude of the Bombardier delay has meant customers waiting unreasonable amounts of time to board a streetcar and crowding beyond any acceptable standard. Bombardier delays have caused customers to wait increasingly long times in the cold and to arrive late to work or school. At its March 23, 2016 meeting, the TTC Board approved the overhaul of 30 CLRVs to compensate for LFLRV delivery delays. The agency has removed some CLRVs and ALRVs from service to overhaul them and extend their lives. This in turn, the TTC says, has forced it to redeploy buses to cover streetcar shortages, causing more crowding on the affected bus routes. Some observers say that Torys and Colles claim that the contract delays are causing overcrowding and poor service is a politically motivated excuse. In a Twitter post, local transit advocate Steve Munro said the open letter was a smokescreen to mask the TTCs failure to budget for more service. TTCs preliminary 2017 budget contains no funding to increase bus and streetcar service, according to The Star. Bombardier maintains it will meet TTCs 2019 deadline. Spokesperson Lefebvre has reaffirmed the companys commitment to that target. We have full confidence that weve deployed all the necessary resources to deliver all 204 streetcars to the TTC by the end of 2019, he told The Star, stressing that Bombardier would be able to ramp up production fast enough to manufacture the roughly 175 outstanding vehicles over the next three years. During the companys Dec. 15 Investor Day Thursday, President and CEO Alain Bellemare said the company is very confident that we will get close to the deadline. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK With Amazon Prime Video and HBO Espana having just launched in Spain, the countrys over-the-top (OTT) market is becoming more competitive, a situation which established players will need to react to. Although the volatile digital video market is hard to predict, a Zenith Media analysis note points out that Netflix holds the best position from which to face the future of the Spanish OTT arena, whereas Movistars Yomvi will increasingly suffer as it loses content rights.Following the launch of HBO Espana and the global premiere of Amazon Prime Video , Spains video-on-demand (VOD) offer has increased so more players are competing for an audience that is just getting used to paying to stream content.According to various reports published during 2016, around 10% of Spaniards are currently subscribing to a VOD service, with 20% opting for a free service.According to the official figures published by Spains telecom authority (CNMC), Yomvi is the leading player, but it is bundled to pay-TV and cant be independently subscribed to. Still, it nears one million unique users.The main threat to Yomvis future is a loss of content rights, says Zenith. Even though it has several deals with major international distributors, Movistar will gradually lose rights on Netflix and HBO content, as both producers intend to keep exclusivity for their own platforms.Regarding Netflix, the CNMC figures show that it has over 200,000 subscribers after operating for a year in Spain, a figure that has not been confirmed by the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform.Even though HBO Espana and Amazon Prime Video represent real alternatives, the Zenith analysis points out that Netflix holds a better position in the market as it has already had a year to build brand awareness in Spain.In addition, the fact that the SVOD giant is increasing content production and local fiction in Spain it has premiered a movie and is about to launch a series could also be key to its future success in the country. Russian anti-corruption official detained on suspicion of abuse of office MOSCOW, December 16 (RAPSI, Oleg Sivozhelezov) Moscow's Presnensky District Court ordered Alexander Sobol, an officer of the Interior Ministry's Economic Security and Anti-corruption Department, suspected of abuse of office to be detained until January 21, 2017, a court official told RAPSI on Friday. On November 21, Russian authorities opened a criminal case against another officer of the Department, Sergey Abramov, who is suspected of similar crime. Later Abramov was arrested, along with Vladimir Alferov, who was allegedly helping Abramov to conduct unlawful operation to expose criminals involved in corruption. According to media reports, Sobol is another defendant in this case. On December 10, the Presnensky District Court detained Abramov and Alferov. This case is related to a criminal case Sergey Cherenkov and Sergey Pokhilyuk who were found guilty of trying to sell membership in the United Russia party. Sentence was later revoked. According to criminal case documents, on September 30 of 2013, Abramov and other unidentified officers, with help of Alferov, of the Department provoked Cherenkov and Pokhilyuk to commit fraud. Allegedly Alferov presented himself as representative of Kiwi company and transferred 5 million rubles ($81,000) for membership in United Russia. Later Cherenkov and Pokhilyuk became defendants in a fraud case. Welcome to followthemedia.com The article or material you have chosen... ftm Radio Page ...is available for restricted access. You may access this specific article or material for 4 If you are an ftm Member, please go to the home page HERE and log in ftm Members can access all site material at no additional charge. You can JOIN ftm here The ftm newsletter available at no charge to all with registration To register click here. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada. Search Real Estate Arnold Schwarzenegger said Donald Trump will not be interfering in the new season of his former "The Celebrity Apprentice" reality series. ADVERTISEMENT "I think it's perfectly fine that he has executive producer credit because he created the show with Mark Burnett together, so why should his credit go?" the former California governor explained on "Today" on Thursday about Trump maintaining his executive producer credit on the show. "He made it very clear that he has no interest in being involved. It is now my show, I'm the host, I'm the new boss and I'm going to run this show," Schwarzenegger continued. Schwarzenegger, a known Republican who did not support the President-elect during the election, commented on the hotel mogul's win stating, "Now he's elected, and now it is very important that we all support the president, and that we all come together and we stop whining and it becomes one nation." In terms of catchphrases, "The Terminator" star is also eager to introduce his own one-liner for when somebody is eliminated from the show. "It could be 'You're terminated.' Or, 'Hasta la vista, baby.' Or 'Hit the road,' or 'Consider this a divorce,' or 'Get to the chopper,'" he said. "It could be anything, it could any of those things," he said. Schwarzenegger also appeared on "The Tonight Show" on Wednesday where he took part in a Snapchat interview with host Jimmy Fallon that involved the pair asking and answering questions while comedic Snapchat filters appeared on their faces. , We're sorry, this article is not currently available The Temple Bar Hotel in Dublin city centre has been sold to a Singapore-listed real estate company for 55.1m. The off-market transaction which was handled by agents JLL, was announced in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange this morning by the hotels purchasers, the Ascott Limited. The deal represents something of a coup for JLL, coming as it does within days of the firms brokering of the sale of the 26-bedroom Trinity Lodge, also in Dublin city centre, for over 7m to another Singapore-headquartered hotel group, Unlisted Collection. Read Full Article That was an appropriate use of caps, Danbones.China 'seizes US vessel' in S China SeaThe US has issued a formal request to China to deliver an unmanned underwater drone that was seized in international waters, US officials say.The Chinese navy seized the US underwater research vessel in the South China Sea on Thursday, the US alleges.The incident took place just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve it.The device, dubbed an "ocean glider", was used to test water salinity and temperature, officials say.The data was part of an unclassified programme to map underwater channels, Pentagon spokesman Capt Jeff Davis told reporters."It was taken" by China, Capt Davis said during a press briefing on Friday."The UUV [unmanned underwater vehicle] was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," he added."It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property."The encounter occurred in the South China Sea about 50 miles (80km) northwest of Subic Bay, Philippines, the US says. Forty-two years is a long time to smile in every aisle. Fremont HyVee store manager Mike Christensen is smiling broadly these last December days. Hes set to retire Jan. 2. Customers who know him would quickly indicate his smile is more than an ad line and is always around the corner. Christensens attitude is infectious. A more upbeat Fremont personality would be difficult to discover. I started in a local HyVee store in Eldora, Iowa, a town of about 3,000 people, Christensen recalled. Then I served four years in the U.S. Army. When I got out, I went back to HyVee for five more years. I liked what I saw in the company. Made it my life. One of the career stops for he and his wife, Amy, was in Lincoln, where they lived for seven years. We loved Lincoln, he said. We decided we would like to retire there. But now our grandkids are three hours north of Fremont, living in Minnesota. So we are reluctant to move farther away from them. With all the transfers which are part of the corporate ladder, the Christensens agreed that upon Mikes retirement that Amy would get to choose where they live from that point on. The title of store manager came with Mikes assignment to New Ulm, Minn., early in his career. But it was Washington, Iowa, that the Christensen children call home. We really liked that size of town for our kids schooling, he said. Seven thousand people, a smaller school, a great Midwestern location. What was not to like? So we stayed there for 15 years. Arriving in Fremont eight years ago, Mike Christensen immediately made an impact by taking on that old weedy nook at the intersection Bell and 23rd streets. Passersby now annually expect to see the beautiful floral arrangements, the manicured grass and a trash-free junction. Like it has always been that way. That was Christensens idea. Like flowers on an aisles end cap, HyVees parking lots spring to life each spring with colorful bursts of seasonal flowers. We can and should always beautify our environment around town, Christensen said. After taking a couple of months to adjust to a slower pace, Christensen has the next two years of his life on a schedule. Hiking the Appalachian Trail is first on his bucket list. Beginning in March, he plans to hike the 2,000-mile-plus jaunt during the summer months. But he wont be alone for all of it. My kids will hike a section with me here and there, as will some friends, he said. Amy will stay at my daughters home, situated 30 miles off the path, for a time. And Ill keep my cellphone close. Itll be fun. Completing such an arduous trek will necessitate a rest over the holidays, then its on to the bike. I plan to dip my back tire into the Pacific Ocean, somewhere around San Francisco, said Christensen, smiling at the image in his mind. Then dip my front tire in the Atlantic whenever I arrive there. Crisscrossing America is not a new concept; others have made it, yet the vision of Lewis and Clark is hard to ignore. I do not have a path selected. Not even a route, he said. Ill have my camping gear if I need to camp. Mostly I intend to stay at motels. I plan to follow my instincts. And supposedly, the prevailing winds. When he walks out the door the last time, he will leave an industry which is reinventing itself. The future appears to involve increased use of technology to monitor the contents and the flow of items on and off the shelves. Long gone are the mechanical cash registers of Eldora. Christensen sees the new store as one whose advertising and marketing are personally tuned to the buying needs of the customers. Next generation stores will have those products which customers wish to browse, like meats and fresh vegetables, positioned at the front of the store, in retail space, he said. The stuff we all buy repeatedly, paper towels, laundry soaps and the like will be housed in the rear, which means we will have customers order those ahead of their store visit. That cartful will meet them at the front door. Selecting individual products will be easier for the buyer. In fact, we have 126 such orders last week alone. Closely monitoring the habits of Americans in the kitchen, to cook from scratch or buy prepared dishes, is an ongoing corporate indicator of the direction of the grocery business. Our business goal continues to emphasize the match between our offerings and the needs of the customer, Christensen noted. And with that, he and Amy took off for a retirement meeting at headquarters, all the while checking for the best online deals for camping gear. With the release of "Rogue One," Disney's "Star Wars" universe is venturing into its anthology films territory, expanding on previous stories and characters who have already been established. "Rogue One" takes place immediately before "Star Wars: Episode IVA New Hope," which, despite being released first, is now the fifth film in the overall Disney-approved canon. Confused? That's why we're here. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, and the rights to the "Star Wars" franchise, it made the decisionboth bemoaned and supported by fansto significantly hack away at the Expanded Universe of books, comics, video games and short stories. The characters of "Rogue One" survived the chopping block, thankfully, and it's our job to explain them to you. Advertisement Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) The newest in the line of "Star Wars' " powerful heroines is Jyn Erso. After being separated from her parents at a young age, Jyn resorted toforgive the clichea life of crime to survive. In one of the trailers, we see her being addressed by Mon Mothma (of "Many Bothans died to bring us this information" fame) for her crimes and offered a chance to redeem herself: Steal the plans to the Death Star. Oh, and she's not a Jedi, so there won't be any sly Force tricks up her sleeve to help her. Advertisement Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) Cassian is Jyn's right-hand man on the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. A trained Rebel fighter, this veteran balances out Jyn's unpredictability with measured coolness in the face of danger and was assigned to keep an eye on her. Cassian is a captain of the Rebellion's Intelligence branch and has an expansive connection of sources throughout the galaxy to figure out the Empire's dealings. K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) No "Star Wars" film would be complete without a droid, would it? K-2SO is Cassian's companion. He was originally an enemy security droid, but Cassian reprogrammed him to have a buddy. Much like C-3P0 in the original "Star Wars" films, K-2SO will be hanging around for some comic reliefand to keep the humans in check when they're about to do something with a "97.6 percent chance of failure." Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) Krennic is the big bad of "Rogue One," in charge of the Advanced Weapons Research division of the Imperial military. Krennic is in charge of, you guessed it, the Death Star project, and he recruits Jyn's father, Galen Erso, to make it happen. His recruiting of Galen leads to Jyn's separation and estrangement from her family, making her mission to steal the Death Star plans all the more personal. Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) Gerrera is another resistance fighter within the Rebellion. He was formerly a Rebellion leader during the Clone Wars. After Galen is taken into Imperial custody, he takes Jyn under his wing until she's 16. Advertisement Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. > Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) Jyn's father is a talented scientist of energy research who was recruited by big bad Krennic to work with the Empire when his daughter was very young ("Rogue One" begins with a prologue 15 years before the rest of the film that shows this happening). Krennic needs Galen's research to figure out how exactly to power a massive space station that can destroy entire planets. Galen isn't happy working for the Empire, and the entire mission is catalyzed when he reaches out to the Rebellion to throw a wrench in the plan. Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) Bodhi is an experienced pilot who works with Jyn and Cassian to steal the Death Star plans. He defected after serving as a cargo pilot for the Galactic Empire, but let's not start with the Finn comparisons, please. Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) This dynamic duo joins the Rebel mission to steal the Death Star plans and balance each other out. Chirrut isn't a Jedi, but he is spiritual. On the other hand, Baze is more pragmatic and holds little stock in spirituality. Baze also takes care of the blind Chirrut throughout their journey. We ship it. Advertisement @shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com Consumer goods, durables, automobiles worst hit. Demonetisation has crippled the earnings of fast-moving consumer goods, durables and automobile companies. Companies like Hindustan Unilever and Asian Paints have told tax officials their sales took a beating due to the high-denomination note recall on November 8. HUL on Thursday reported a decline of nearly 10 per cent in its advance tax outgo for the third quarter to Rs 560 crore from Rs 620 crore in the same period a year ago. Advance tax collections from top consumer goods companies are disappointing, as their sales seem to have been affected by demonetisation. They have communicated this with us, an income-tax official said. Advance tax is a system of staggered payment of income tax in four quarterly instalments and is considered an indicator of a company's performance in a given quarter. Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Autos advance tax outgo was down 17 per cent to Rs 575 crore, while Mahindra & Mahindras payment remained unchanged at Rs 300 crore. Tata Steels advance tax payment was down over 11 per cent, year on year, and Tata Consultancy Services paid Rs 1,540 crore, against Rs 1,600 crore in the same quarter last year. A pick-up in global crude oil prices allowed Reliance Industries to increase its tax outgo by over 10 per cent to Rs 2,600 crore. Cement major UltraTech paid Rs 220 crore as advance tax, down 12 per cent from the year-ago period. Life Insurance Corporation reported a sharp increase of 13 per cent in advance tax to Rs 2,235 crore in this quarter. State Bank of India reported a 25.9 per cent decline in its advance tax payment to Rs 1,282 crore. ICICI Bank paid Rs 1,200 crore, 27 per cent less than in the same quarter a year ago. Banks tax numbers are disappointing as they contribute a major part of government revenue, said the tax official. HDFC Banks advance tax outgo jumped 16 per cent, year on year, to Rs 2,300 crore and HDFCs payment increased six per cent to Rs 810 crore. State-owned Bank of Baroda and Central Bank paid 33 per cent and 17 per cent more, respectively. Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank paid Rs 710 crore and Rs 570 crore, respectively, as advance tax. 'These employees are bad apples and some of the transactions done by them are being investigated.' Nupur Anand/Business Standard reports. Axis Bank, the third largest private sector lender, now under the lens of both the income tax department and enforcement directorate on the way it handled the post-demonetisation process, says it has suspended 50 accounts. It has also dismissed 24 employees and investigations are on in eight branches. "We file a STR (suspicious transaction report) with FIU (the government's Financial Intelligence Unit) if we notice any doubtful transactions. These accounts and branches where investigative officers have visited have been based on these STRs filed by the bank," said Rajesh Dahiya, executive director, Corporate Centre. These STRs are raised if there is a mismatch in the amount deposited and the profile of the account holder or if there is an increase in frequency of deposits. The management says they usually file 200 to 300 STRs a month but in the five weeks since demonetisation, has sent about 1,500. Once filed, the bank is required to do a more detailed Know Your Customer (KYC) report -- meeting and assessing the income earning capabilities of the account holder and calling for more documents if needed. If the answers are satisfactory, the accounts may be again allowed to be operational. As a result, the number of suspended accounts might change in the coming days, added Dahiya. Some of those suspended are bullion accounts. The bank has hired consultancy KPMG to do a forensic audit of the branches and strengthen the mechanism for internal checks. The preliminary report is expected in another 10 days and the final one is likely in three weeks. Rajeev Anand, executive director, said that internal audit showed no laxity on KYC in the bank's processes. However, some employees had colluded with some account holders to manipulate the system. "Axis Bank's brand has been hit and we are concerned. These employees are bad apples and some of the transactions done by them are being investigated. The senior management is travelling across the country to various branches, to tell the employees that we have a zero tolerance policy to these things," added Dahiya. Of the eight branches in question, a majority are in Delhi. Anand added there were instances when one account is flagged, which leads to several others which are related to the main account getting flagged in the same area. IMAGE: An Axis Bank branch. Image published only for representational purposes. Eco affairs secretary says double counting possible; cash availability to improve in three weeks. The government has asked the Reserve Bank of India to re-examine the figures for the demonetised amount that has come back into the system. Double counting is possible, said Shaktikanta Das, economic affairs secretary. He said the Centre expects half the demonetised amount of Rs 15.4 lakh crore to be distributed by banks by end-December but did not say when the withdrawal limits from banks and automated teller machines would be lifted. Earlier this week, RBI said Rs 12.44 lakh in demonetised notes had come back to the banks. In the figures RBI announced, there are a lot of areas where we feel there could be double counting. We have identified those and requested RBI and banks to double-check, Das told journalists on Thursday. Queried on the confusion in the media regarding the actual amount demonetised on November 8, Das said Rs 15.4 lakh crore had been put out of circulation. And, half that amount, in new and existing denominations, would have been remonetised by banks to the general public in another two weeks. He said Rs 5 lakh crore had been disbursed till date, 32.5 per cent of the amount demonetised. The present withdrawal limit is Rs 24,000 a week for savings accounts and Rs 50,000 a week from current accounts, and Rs 2,500 a day from ATMs. Earlier in the day, a top official said the limits would be eased once 80 per cent of the new currency is disbursed. The easing, said the person, would be gradual, and start with cooperative banks. It was reported earlier that while the Modi government had asked for time till late December to mid-January for the pain of demonetisation to ease, the withdrawal limits were likely to stay for much longer. Das said the finance ministry, RBI and banks were working in tandem to ensure the remonetised money reached people. I expect that in the next two-three weeks, the situation will considerably ease, with the supply of more new Rs 500 notes, he said. Printing of these had been stepped up and as its circulation increased, people would be taking out the Rs 2,000 notes they were hoarding. Das said of 220,000 ATMs, a little more than 200,000 had been recalibrated. We have advised banks that they should continue to replenish cash in ATMs and not to starve ATMs. We are monitoring it regularly, he said. Transactions through RuPay cards have increased from Rs 3.85 lakh to Rs 16 lakh, through unstructured supplementary service data from 97 to 1,263 and through point-of-sale devices from Rs 50.2 lakh to Rs 98.1 lakh. In India only five per cent of personal consumption expenditure was through digital systems till now. 'The markets could shrug off demonetisation as a one-off extraordinary period.' Neelesh Surana, head, equity, Mirae Asset Global Investments, India, tells Puneet Wadhwa/Business Standard individual investors' appetite for equities could sustain. He expects corporate earnings to pick up from the second half of the coming calendar year. Your market outlook for calendar year 2017? We exit 2016 with a set of surprises, compared to the assumptions at the start of the year, which only highlight that predicting a one-year trend is difficult most of the time. On the global front, the year saw surprising strength in commodities and the world is now focused on fiscal-led reflation. Overall, the market outlook will be driven by the pace of the much delayed recovery in corporate earnings. It should pick up in the second half of 2017, driven by consumption and exports, once the disruption caused by the currency replacement is over. Can you elaborate your stance on growth in corporate earnings? Demonetisation would impact earnings significantly in the next couple of quarters, the extent of which is difficult to quantify. The impact of the fall in revenue on profits will be particularly severe in businesses with a high fixed cost to contribution margin. The markets could shrug off demonetisation as a one-off extraordinary period and focus on normalised FY18 earnings. While near-term earnings will be impacted, the impact on discounted cash flow valuation on many businesses might not be significant. IMAGE: Neelesh Surana, head, equity, Mirae Asset Global Investments, India. Photograph: Kind courtesy Mirae Asset India In which sectors and stocks do you see money-making opportunities over the next six to 12 months? Are mid-and small-caps a good bet? Mass market consumption businesses where there is large scope for shift from the unorganised sector and select exporters offer decent opportunities. Mid-cap allocation should be balanced, say at 25%, and the rest in large-caps. Alternatively, multi-cap funds are ideal, which typically have large-cap orientation and enough flexibility to invest in mid-caps. Domestic institutional investors have supported the markets, even as foreign institutional investors have sold over the past few weeks. What is the likely trend for the next few quarters? Retail (individual) investors have maintained their faith in Indian equities, with a second year of record inflow. Their appetite for domestic equities could sustain, as there is increasing maturity to compare the favourable tax-adjusted return from equities over a long period versus alternative asset class. The near-term prospects of investments in financial assets is significantly boosted with the increase in savings from demonetisation, as a large quantum of idle cash will move to more productive uses. IMAGE: Deep Nishar. Photograph: Courtesy, Deep Nishar's LinkedIn page. Saying that Snapdeal is not doing well is beyond premature. Suggesting that someone has won or lost is myopic, says Deep Nishar. Japanese multinational SoftBank, with more than $3 billion investments in Indian businesses, is expected to scale up its pace of funding through the coming months. While the Masayoshi Son-led company, focused on funding internet-based businesses and in the news for its proposed $100-billion vision fund, has been slow to invest in Indian firms this year, Deep Nishar, managing director, SoftBank Group International, image, left, told Business Standard in an interview on Thursday that, 2016 is not over yet, in an indication that an announcement may be in the offing. Nishar, who leads the international investments for SoftBank from the San Carlos office in California, has been in India the past few days, meeting tech entrepreneurs to explore funding opportunities. He plans to catch up with the chief executives of Snapdeal, Ola and Oyo -- three of the six internet companies in the country SoftBank is invested in -- over the coming days. Next year, SoftBank plans to invest globally in sectors such as consumer technology, robotics, IoT (internet of things), competition biology companies and artificial intelligence. While refusing to name the SoftBank-funded companies which have done well and those which have not, Nishar pointed out that mega mergers & acquisitions (M&As) were a distinct possibility in the Indian start-up universe. His reply was to a question on whether M&As involving companies such as Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Alibaba were possible in the near term. Definitely, it is possible. We have to think about why it would not be possible. On whether SoftBanks association with Alibaba could result in an alliance between the Chinese e-commerce major and Kunal Bahl-led Snapdeal, Nishar said, For sure, we own 28 per cent of Alibaba, Masa (Masayoshi Son) is on Jacks (Alibaba founder Jack Ma) board and vice-versa, there is close collaboration. He elaborated that Alibaba is already an investor in Snapdeal. So, it is a very productive and collaborative friendship, if there are things that are helpful to each other, we are open to it. At the same time, business is business and people make their own decisions, he added. We are all public companies, we have our shareholders and we have our board that takes these decisions. Having said that, collaboration in the business world is quite common. That is how the world goes around. Nishar dismissed industry estimates that suggest Snapdeal was losing out to competition. We are in the first over of a Test match, which is five days long and we are behaving as if we are in the last ball of a last over of 20-20 match. Saying that Snapdeal is not doing well is beyond premature. Suggesting that someone has won or lost is myopic. But, what about the deep discounts and cash-burn in the industry, including in companies that SoftBank has funded? How long can they go on? My father, who was a businessman, taught me one thing about business when I started out. He said you invest one rupee in a business today, a year from now you make a rupee and 30 paise. If you can, time and again, you will have a business that will survive the test of time; if you dont, someday it will shut down. That logic worked for him, it works for Google and it works for Indian companies too. No one is immune to that law of business, according to the SoftBank executive. Post-Nikesh Arora, the chief operating officer and president of SoftBank, who stepped down abruptly earlier this year, how has the investment strategy changed vis-a-vis India? IMAGE: Masayoshi Son. Photograph: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters. We all have our unique philosophy in terms of how we look at investments. Nikesh had his perspective, I have mine, Masa has his. But the way best investments are made when you bring a diversity of viewpoints together and have intellectually honest debates about them and make a decision as team. SoftBanks commitment is an institutional one, it goes beyond an individual, he said. While pointing out that he hasnt tracked the recent buzz around protectionism that companies like Flipkart and Ola have talked about, Nishar said, Until I came to India, I had not heard of the phrase capital dumping. The fact is, every country in the world has to have a fine balance, you have to have an open market and open economy and, at the same time, you cannot do that at the expense of your home grown companies either. Replying to a question on how the India story looks like from the Bay Area, Nishar said, The story is still unfolding and anyone who says otherwise has probably not given it full thought. I have followed India from the Bay Area for 11 years now and it is an evolving story. He added, When I was in Google, I would look at the entrepreneurial ecosystem and could not see it. At LinkedIn, I started seeing it and now I can see it in full force. Does the funding slowdown in India a worry? There probably is from a statistical standpoint a slowdown in funding. However, I do not think there is a slowdown in start-up activity and the latter is more important. According to him, Nobody is talking about raising billion-dollar rounds, which I think is not necessarily a bad thing. I think the pace of company formation qualitatively still feels healthy, so I am not worried. When asked about the pace of disappearing start-ups in India, Nishar said, Usually when trees fall in the forest, nobody hears them. When companies cease to exist, you see less of them. Historically in the US, 95 per cent of all start-ups do not survive the two-year mark, estimates suggest. Qualitatively speaking, I do not think in India, the mortality is a lot higher than that. Start-ups are hard, I started a company 17 years back and that survived the two-year mark but could not survive the three-year mark, he laughed. But Nishar did not want to elaborate on the mortality rate of start-ups that SoftBank has funded. The sample size of the companies we have invested in India is quite small. We have invested in six companies (Snapdeal, Housing.com, Oyo, Ola, InMobi and Grofers) in the past three years. He pointed out that as investors, we always try to look for companies we believe would be winners in the long run. But if you only have companies that survive the test of time, sometimes you may not take sufficient risks and you may not get the big Alibabas and WhatsApps of the world. Some of the most amazing companies of the world always face a near-death experience, which is what makes them stronger. SoftBank feels strongly about all the companies it has invested in. They may take different forms over time, but we have set out and some already have changed, he said, citing the example of Housing.com where a key founder Rahul Yadav is not there anymore. ...So things do morph and change. It is truly difficult to say which of the companies we have invested in India would do well. Anyone who gives an answer to this is faking it. Nishar took questions on demonetisation too. When you take away 86 per cent of currency out of circulation, one would expect people to be amazingly upset, but that has not happened. He explained the reason probably is that it will bring a lot of transparency into the system. Finally, which are among the most promising companies that SoftBank could have invested in but did not? Airbnb is top of the list. What about Flipkart? Is there regret that SoftBank didnt invest there? Nishar replied, One could have, but Snapdeal, where we invested, and Flipkart are quite similar. Nishar wrapped up the interview on the note that theres no such thing as silver bullets in business. Its all about lead bullets coming together for true innovation. And thats one lesson he got from his years at Google and LinkedIn. 'Engagement should never stop.' 'Reassure Kashmiris that they will be treated at par with the rest of India.' 'The peace you crave will be peace with honour.' 'Your special status will not be tinkered with.' IMAGE: A policeman takes aim during an anti-India protest in Srinagar. The Kashmir valley saw almost five months of shutdown following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani on July 8. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters After five months of unrest, Kashmir finally saw calm and peace last week after separatists called off the shutdowns in Kashmir. Pervez Majeed spoke to former Research and Analysis Wing chief Amarjit Singh Dulat, who is known for his deep understanding of the Kashmir issue and has been credited with establishing a channel of communication with reluctant separatists and bringing them to the dialogue table. In this candid conversation, Dulat, left, criticises the Narendra Modi-led government for the way it has handled the Kashmir crisis and stresses the need to "talk to Kashmiris about Kashmir." There is a view in political circles that violence erupted in the valley again because the central government adopted a hardline posture and snapped all channels of communication and tried to stifle dissenting voices in Kashmir. What is your view? On the surface, chaos broke out in the valley owing to the killing of Burhan Wani; but he was no Osama bin Laden. There was an undercurrent of resentment because of the absence of engagement with Kashmiris and that lava of resentment erupted through Burhan Wani's killing. I have always felt, and perhaps it's because of my closeness with then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, that talks should take place. If you don't do so today, you will have to tomorrow. There is no way out. We have to talk to the Kashmiris as well as to Pakistan. This is very clear. It is very sad whatever happened this summer. I was in Srinagar in June and I felt that something good will happen this time around. Tourists were coming and people were happy. This was the appropriate time for Delhi to talk to the Kashmiris. Now, we have more Kashmiris and more security personnel being killed, infiltration and militancy have increased, Pakistan has got more into things as it had lost the game in Kashmir. But now we hear things are getting better and I hope the Centre initiates a serious dialogue process. Do you mean the Centre's policies made Pakistan relevant in Kashmir again? (Emphatically) When we do not talk to Kashmir and Kashmiris, then Pakistan becomes more relevant. This is because the Kashmiris have always considered Pakistan to be their fallback option. This all comes out of frustration, disgruntlement, that's why we saw this anger and alienation on the streets. That makes Pakistan relevant. When Delhi ignores them (Kashmiris), and takes them for granted, they wave green flags. But waving green flags does not mean they hate India and admire or have any fascination for Pakistan, rather it is a signal to seek Delhi's attention. If people in Delhi do not recognise that signal, the results are obvious. IMAGE: During times of unrest, several protesters were injured, property was damaged and ties with the Kashmiris took several steps back. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters So based on your experience, what should be done? The great Vajpayeeji believed that we have to talk to Kashmir, and with Kashmiris. He and his colleagues in the government were clear in their understanding. They understood that permanent confrontation is not a solution to Kashmir and that we have to move on Kashmir instead of trying to ignore or avoid it. This government has to realise this too. Do you mean the Modi government doesn't realise it? I believe Modiji's government is more powerful than Vajpayee's. When he became prime minister, Kashmiris welcomed that, because they were hoping he has the mandate and will take bold steps on Kashmir on the lines laid by Vajpayee. They expected and wanted this government to carry forward the Vajpayee approach on Kashmir. But, unfortunately on Kashmir, the Modi government has only paid lip service to Vajpayee's policy. That is the sad part. Is the central government responsible for whatever has taken place in the past five months in Kashmir? I think Pakistan, the Centre and state governments -- all are responsible for what happened. I, also, hold the Kashmiris responsible for the situation. Take a look at the Hurriyat, what do they have to offer other than hartals? Do they have any tangible agenda to offer to the people? I am really surprised why Delhi is not talking to Kashmir or the Kashmiris... It is very sad that nobody is even talking to Dr Farooq Abdullah. He has been a chief minister thrice, and even a Union minister. He is the biggest leader in Kashmir and a huge nationalist too. Delhi should not forget Farooq Abdullah. If nobody is talking to him, then we have to say that something is wrong with us -- we have a mental block. There is a belief that by refusing to invite the separatists for talks and adopting a hawkish approach towards Pakistan, the Centre has undone all that you achieved vis-a-vis Pakistan. Is that true? See, it was not my work, it was all because of Vajpayee. It is very unfortunate that Modi hasn't done what was expected of him vis-a-vis Kashmir. He didn't move forward. I think they still have time. They have two-and-a-half years. Maybe Modiji will again become the PM. They have the opportunity to move forward in Kashmir. What should they do? Baatcheet, engagement... Engagement should never stop. And reassure Kashmiris that they will be treated at par with the rest of India. The peace you crave will be peace with honour. Your special status will not be tinkered with. The Government of India needs to assure the Kashmiris that Article 370 will not be touched. Some critics say your book (Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years) has focused on two political families of Kashmir -- the Sheikh Abdullah family and the Mirwaiz family. I have written what I thought is a fact. I reiterate that the two leaders who will matter in the immediate future are Umar Farooq and Omar Abdullah. I have always been saying that among the separatists Mirwaiz has a future. He is young, age is on his side, he has a constituency, he is the Mirwaiz, he is forward looking, he controls that mosque area... everything is in his favour. But yes, by just sitting in a mosque is not going to help. He has to decide whether he wants to be pope for lifetime or do something for his people. Home Minister Rajnath Singh's all-party delegation to Kashmir received a cold response as most people refuse to meet him. Some people say their approach was wrong. I don't know how they approached them (the separatists), but I don't know why the Hurriyat didn't meet them. If the Union home minister went there and showed an inclination to talk, they should have met that delegation. A delegation led by Yashwant Sinha visited Kashmir twice and met with separatists and other sections of society. However, they say they are a non-political initiative. Do you know anything about that? Mr Sinha says he has come on his own, but I can't believe that such a serious person who has been a foreign and finance minister can go just on his own. I think there must have been some signal from somewhere. And if that's the case, then they should carry on. IMAGE: Kashmiris and security forces on a standoff. The five months of unrest saw several lathi charges and use of pellet guns by security personnel leading to several debates on the use of such weapons against the public. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters How do you view the relationship between the Kashmir and Jammu regions post the BJP-PDP alliance in government? It was a great opportunity to bring Jammu and Kashmir closer, but they instead drifted away. The CM had to walk out of a cabinet meeting. This is not heard of. There is something wrong. Despite the fact Mehboobaji is close to the Centre, there is still tension. There is talk in political and diplomatic circles that the 'Doval Doctrine', by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, advocating a hard line policy on Pakistan, is pushing it closer to China, which, in turn, gives rise to an atmosphere of a cold war. What is your view? What I can say is I know him as a professional. I don't know what his doctrine is, if any, but he is a thorough professional. He is now the NSA and I think he understands the local and international dynamics of the approach of handling Pakistan. Regarding the surgical strikes, was something similar conducted when you were R&AW chief? See, the surgical strikes have been hyped too much. Whatever the surgical strikes mean, we always have this kind of movement on the borders... Sometimes they do and sometimes we do. I think we should not have talked about it as much as we did. Pakistan didn't react to it; the only reaction from them was that nothing has happened, so it didn't bother them. Our DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) said surgical strikes have been conducted and he won't say anything beyond that, it was a sensible approach. Unfortunately, because of the hype of the surgical shrikes, the border has been unnecessarily heated up. We should think of how we can have a ceasefire like that of 2003, how to revive that. We should focus our attention on talks and a ceasefire on the borders. There is a perception that in the Modi government all power wrests with the PMO. In such a scenario do you think the intelligence agencies may not be free to work? Our agencies are thoroughly professional. They do not work on anybody's dictum. Of course, the government always has to provide direction, but intelligence agencies work in their own way. With the Fremont Public School District requiring high school students to take two years of a foreign language, Sam Shepard knew she was either going to be taking Spanish or German. Her decision wasnt a difficult one. I figured I could use Spanish far more in life than I would ever use German, Shepard said. Now as a junior, Shepard, the daughter of Superintendent Mark Shepard, is using what shes learned through her Spanish classes to make a difference in the classroom at Washington Elementary. Since October, Shepard has actively worked in Dan Morans kindergarten class assisting with the districts Dual-Language program, where students learn English and Spanish through a balanced curriculum. Shepard generally assists with math and reading, she said. When Shepard learned that one of her Spanish 4 courses final assignments was writing a 400-word childrens novel in Spanish, she approached Regina Guinn, course instructor, inquiring as to whether she and her approximately 18 classmates could visit Washington Elementary to read their stories to students. One day I told Mrs. Guinn that we should go to Washington to read our stories, because most of the kids there can read and understand Spanish, Shepard said. I thought it would be something fun to do since we worked so hard on them. Following email interaction with Washington Principal Diane Stevens, Shepard and her cohorts were given the green light to come to the school and read to students. They were super excited, Shepard said of Washingtons staffs reaction when she reached out. She (Diane Stevens) had all of the exclamation points when she emailed back, she thought it would be a great learning experience for everybody involved. On Wednesday morning, FHS Spanish 4 students met with elementary students in the Washington Gymnasium and introduced themselves. From there, the high school students broke down into groups of about three and shared their stories with the intrigued youth in classrooms. Following the reading of stories, the FHS students rotated from classroom to classroom until everybodys stories were heard. Shepard said that the experience was beneficial for both the elementary students and high school students alike. While reading her own story, La Soltera Sofia, The Maiden Sofia Shepard said she had to make a consciences effort to pronounce words correctly so that students would have a solid grasp of what was happening in her story, which focused on a princess finding true love. Just to speak the language to the kids was great, because we do a lot of writing, but to actually speak more and say things in Spanish was a little different, she said. We do some speaking, but not really like that where you are speaking to people and actually telling a story and having a conversation. Elementary students also were learning while having fun. Shepard said instructors would ask students questions about the stories upon completion of the tale. It was fun to see that a fun childrens story could be used as a tool for learning, Shepard added. They were actually able to answer a lot of those questions, and that was really neat to see, she said. I was like, wow, they actually understood my story! Shepard views the reading experience as just another outlet for students to learn and grow as people. During her time at Washington through School to Career, she has had several moments where she sees the light bulb turn on in students minds. Thats the best part for her. She believes that high school students interacting with elementary children in such a positive way can only lead to great outcomes. They were so excited that we were there, we are kind of like heroes to them because we are the big kids, you know? Shepard said. They really do look up to us and they thought it was so cool that we were there hanging out with them and reading to them. Large amounts of cash in new currency were seized at different places in the country as raids by the police and Income Tax department continued on Friday too. In Mumbai, the police seized Rs 1.40 crore from three persons riding in a car on Juhu-Versova Link Road in suburban Andheri. The money was in the new Rs 2,000 notes, police said. Police stopped the car during vehicular checking near Juhu Tara Complex at around 7 pm. Upon checking, the cash was discovered. The three persons who were riding in the car were being questioned, said Mumbai polices spokesperson DCP Ashok Dudhe. On Thursday, police had seized Rs 10.10 crore in suburban Chembur. Most of it was in the demonetised currency. In Rajkot, police seized Rs 16.35 lakh cash in valid currencies in two separate incidents and detained three persons. The cash comprised Rs 16 lakh in denomination of Rs 2,000 and rest in Rs 100 bill, police said. In the first incident, one Hiren Joshi was nabbed by Bhaktinagar police with 400 notes of Rs 2,000. "Based on a tip-off, we intercepted Joshi near Kothariya colony area late last night. Upon searching his bag, we found Rs 8 lakh in cash. All notes were of Rs 2,000 denomination," said Bhaktinagar police sub-inspector M J Dhadhal. According to police, Joshi told them he has been asked by a person to deliver these notes to an auto spare parts dealer who has a shop on 80-feet ring road. "Since Joshi could not give any specific details about the source of cash, we have detained him and informed Income Tax department about the cash seizure. We have also launched a hunt to nab the supplier as well as receiver of these notes, Dhadhal added. In another incident on the outskirts of Rajkot, police nabbed two persons with Rs 8.35 lakh cash, including Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2000 bills and Rs 35,000 in Rs 100. Two persons on a bike were intercepted by our staff when they tried to drive away upon seeing the police near Pedak Road Gate. Upon searching their bag, we found Rs 8.35 lakh cash, including 400 notes of Rs 2,000 and 350 notes of Rs 100, said B division police inspector D H Bhatt. The duo was identified as Ashok Koshiya and Kaushik Rajyaguru. They claimed to be wholesale dealers but failed to give any satisfactory explanation about the cash in their possession. We have taken them in custody and informed I-T department for further action, said Bhatt. In West Bengal, the police seized Rs 1.48 crore in demonetised notes in Kolkata and Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes in West Midnapore district, and arrested five persons in the two cases. Kolkata Police sleuths seized Rs 1,48,50,000, rpt in old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, from an organisation in central Kolkata and arrested three persons in this connection, a senior officer of the city police said. Acting on a tip-off, Kolkata Police Anti-Rowdy Section arrested three persons -- Pradip Roy, Arun Singh and Sanjiv Ghosh -- in a raid from their office late on Thursday night. During questioning, the trio allegedly said that the amount was meant to be delivered to one Govinda Agarwal as part of a business deal. We are probing whether this was part of a hawala deal or not, the officer said. Meanwhile in West Midnapore district, the police seized Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes near Debra and arrested a man who runs an NGO, and his driver. Police said the force intercepted Purna Sankar Gangulys car and seized Rs 8 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes, which he allegedly exchanged for Rs 10 lakhs in demonetised notes. Ganguly was returning from Debra and heading to Midnapore after exchanging the notes from someone who took Rs 2 lakh as commission. Police said they were investigating how Ganguly obtained so much cash in Rs 2,000 notes and if any bank official was involved in the case. The Income Tax department in New Delhi seized Rs 1.4 crore cash, including Rs 8 lakh in new currency, in searches on the premises of a civil contractor here as part of its anti-black money drive post demonetisation. Officials said the seizure was made from a civil sub contractor identified as P L Soni, from a location in the Karol Bagh area. They said the department conducted the searches based on a tip-off of alleged illegal cash being hoarded at this location. The department also conducted a survey operation at the Krishna Nagar branch of Axis bank here in connection with a probe, they said. IMAGE: Police officers show new currency notes worth Rs 40 lakh which were allegedly recovered by Nalasopara Shiv Sena corporator Dhananjay Gawades car in Thana district, Mumbai on Friday. PTI Photo Jamaat-Ul Mujahideen Bangladesh activist Mohammed Masiuddin alias Abu Musa has been questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kolkata to probe a possible conspiracy being hatched by his Syria-based handler Sultan Abdul Kadir Armar to target American assets and nationals. This is the second international probe agency which has questioned Musa. Earlier, he was quizzed by Bangladesh police in connection with its probe in the July 1 Holey Artisan Bakery attack. 22 people, mostly foreigners, were killed in the attack in July this year. Official sources said a team of FBI questioned Masiuddin for over five hours during which they focussed their questions around Armar, alias Yosuf Al-Hindi, who is believed to be planning attacks on American assets and nationals world wide. Armar, 40, a native of Bhatkal in North Karanatka, is suspected to be in touch with radicalised American youth either looking to join or already recruited by the banned ISIS terror group. The US officials later shared their inputs with the NIA about their questioning of Masiuddin. The questioning of Masiuddin was allowed on reciprocal basis as the US agency has been extending help to the Indian security agencies in various terror-related cases. Masiuddin was arrested in July this year during a joint raid by the NIA and West Bengal CID from Viswabharati fast passenger train at Burdwan station in connection with Burdwan bomb blast of October, 2013. His handler Armar, a fugitive based in Pakistan since 2008, was also part of a group of Indian Mujahideen operatives which had broken away from the organisation to form the IS-affiliated Ansar al-Tauhid in 2014. Ansar al-Tauhid functions from Tehreek-e-Talibans training camps in Pakistan's North Waziristan. Masiuddin spoke about his connections with top leaders of at least two terror groups and admitted that he had been assigned the task of spreading their tentacles in West Bengal and other places in the eastern part of the country. A resident of Labhpur in Birbhum district, Masiuddin, who was staying in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur with his family including two children, had visited West Bengal this July after almost six years. His phone records showed that he had communicated several times with people from Syria, Iraq and Bangladesh. Masiuddin was using a mobile application to keep in touch with top leaders of terror groups in the three countries, NIA sources said. Masiuddin had allegedly been tasked with beheading his neighbour in Labhpur and raping his daughter to "prove his mettle" over the mobile phone application. The chat application was similar to one of the main accused of Burdhwan terror case, Suleiman, of the Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangaldesh and Moulana Yusuf of Ansar-ul-Tauhid, the sources said. A 20-year-old girl, who was on a job-hunt, was allegedly raped in a car in South Delhis Moti Bagh area, a grim throwback to the horrific gang rape and torture of a para-medic student in a moving bus on December 16 four years ago which had shaken the country. The girl, a resident of Noida who had come to Delhi looking for a job, was waiting for a bus near AIIMS on Wednesday evening when the accused Avneesh, 28, driving a car which had a sticker of the home ministry, offered to drop her. Police said the accused is the driver of a man whose father works in Central Industrial Security Force. Avneesh raped the girl inside the car in a secluded area but she managed to flee around midnight and was found by a police patrol team which brought her to South Campus police station in the wee hours on Thursday. The accused has been caught. The incident came to light on Friday, the fourth anniversary of the December 16, 2012 gang rape incident which had triggered massive outrage forcing the government to come out with stricter legal provision to deal with crime against women. However, the mother of the December 16 gang rape victim said nothing has changed in the last four years as far as women safety is concerned. We feel nothing has changed. The governments have also changed. It has been four years but the situation remains the same. For the last four years, we have been running from pillar to post to get justice. But no action has been taken against the accused, said a distraught Asha Devi. A youth who was among six persons convicted in the case was released last year as he was a juvenile when he had committed the crime. One of accused had committed suicide while four others are lodged in jail as they have appealed against their death penalty. According to Delhi Police statistics, 2,199 rape cases were reported in the capital in 2015 while till November 30 this year, 1,981 cases of rape have been registered. 2,199 Number of rapes in Delhi in 2016 As per National Crime Records Bureau, Delhi has the highest rate of crimes against women among all the cities in the country. Last year, the total number of cases of crime against women in Delhi was 17,104. On Wednesdays rape of the Noida girl, police said prompt action taken and the accused, a resident of Etah in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Thursday. The car is a private vehicle. The owners father works in CISF and is posted in Delhi. We will be questioning them about the sticker. If it has been procured illegally, action will be taken against them, said DCP (South) Ishwar Singh. Avneesh belongs Etah in Uttar Pradesh but has been staying in Delhi for the last three-four years. He is married with two kids. Earlier, he was working as a school cab driver. He will be interrogated in detail, said the officer. Singh said motorcycle patrol team accompanied by an emergency response vehicle had taken the victim to the area where the accused raped her and she had managed to identify the place. The operation was again resumed after her medical examination was over at around 5.30 am on Thursday. The professional combing of the area led the police to the suspects car that was parked at a distance of nearly 100 metres from the location initially narrated by the complainant, along with two-three other cars in the nearby jhuggi, he said. On the basis of the registration number of the vehicle, the address of the owner was traced to Kotla Mubarakpur. When we picked up the owner, he told us that the car in question belonged to him, but it was with his driver Avneesh. When he called Avneesh, his phone was found to be switched off, said Singh. After this, immediate technical analysis of the call detail records of the accused driver was carried out and friends and acquaintances whom he used to interact with frequently were questioned, said the officer. Around 1.30 pm, police zeroed down on the accused and by 2 pm, Avneesh was located in a slum situated in Moti Bagh area where he was about to begin drinking with a friend, he added. During preliminary interrogation, he confessed to the crime, Singh claimed. Later, in view of the cardinal importance of forensic and biological evidence in such cases, experts from Regional Forensic Science Laboratory were requisitioned and a thorough search and inspection of the car was carried out. In all, nine exhibits were picked up by the forensic teams, said the officer, adding that the cell phone of the victim was also recovered from the car. The victim is undergoing professional counselling. The case is an example of professional policing but it is an unfortunate incident, he said. The officer said that a charge sheet in the case will be filed soon and they will be requesting that the trial is conducted by a fast-track court. The BJP has not really put up any defence for Kiren Rijiju who is mostly defending himself. How the worm will turn is the question, says Aditi Phadnis/Business Standard. In March 2009, local newspapers reported that Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu conceded he had approached the Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha member from Arunachal (West) Kiren Rijiju with an offer to induct him into the ruling Congress prior to the confidence vote on the nuclear deal. Khandu told a press conference that he had approached Rijiju with the offer when the United Progressive Alliance was facing difficulty in mustering the required numbers. Rijiju, then a BJP national secretary, said that he had spurned Khandu's offer, although it would have become easier for him to get (re)elected as 9 MLAs from his party had joined the Congress earlier. That's par for the course in Arunachal Pradesh where it is sometimes hard to keep track of the parties that candidates belong to. The circumstances in which the late Kalikho Pul abandoned the Congress, engineered dissidence, got the BJP to support a breakaway faction and finally formed the government is legendary. It is possibly the first time the Arunachal Pradesh assembly held a session in a local school because locks were put on the assembly. It was widely thought that the operation was engineered by Rijiju -- as minister of state for home, he was in a position to carry out the operation. But later it transpired that Rijiju had played no role at all. In fact, Pul's supporters claim that he was closer to Nabam Tuki, the deposed chief minister, than Pul, the man who was seeking to put the BJP in power. Rijiju has acted as ambassador of his state in the past as well. Because of the bitter attack launched by Narendra Modi against the Congress in the run-up to the 2014 elections, Tuki, who was then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister, refused to meet Modi. But Rijiju facilitated a meeting, after which Modi agreed to provide a domestic window for funding of infrastructure projects in lieu of externally aided funding from agencies like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank that were previously blocked by China. Arunachal Pradesh has no appreciable funds at its disposal and is entirely dependent on the Centre for funding. Rijiju persuaded Tuki to acknowledge this reality. As always, the current controversy in which Rijiju is involved has to do with money and power. The chief vigilance officer of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has alleged that Rijiju, his cousin Goboi Rijiju -- a contractor in Arunachal Pradesh -- and several top NEEPCO officials are involved in a multi-crore scam in the construction of two dams for the 600 Mw Kameng hydro electric project, one of the biggest hydro-electric projects in Arunachal Pradesh. The evidence is letters written by Rijiju and an alleged conversation where his cousin is heard telling a supposed colleague to take the help of 'Bhaiya' to secure contracts and payments. The CVO is a Gujarat cadre police officer. The BJP has not really put up any defence for Rijiju who is mostly defending himself. How the worm will turn is the question. India, Japan and the US are set to focus on "anti-submarine warfare" by deploying "different machines" during the next round of their marine wargames named the Malabar Exercise, amidst increasing presence of Chinese underwater vessels in the strategic Indian Ocean region. The three countries will come together in the Indian Ocean for the 21st edition of the Malabar exercise -- Malabar 2017, aiming for a "bigger" and "more complex" exercise than before. "We want to (use) different machines especially now that India flies the P8I (Poseidon). We fly the P8A," Commander of the US Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph P Aucoin said. "I would like those two aircraft working together and to hunt submarines. So anti-submarine warfare is one area which I think would be very beneficial. So I am looking forward to that in Malabar," he told reporters here. Vice Admiral Aucoin met Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lamba and other senior officers to chalk out the dates and strategy of the exercise, likely to be held after the monsoon. The exercise has assumed significance as it is being held at a time when China has become more assertive, and their submarines' forays in the Indian Ocean region have increased. The Chinese are set to monitor the exercise like they did last year when India, US and Japan participated in the exercise together in the Japanese waters off the Pacific. Vice Admiral Aucoin, who spoke on a number of issues, said he was looking forward to the implementation of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between India and the US. He said the implementation of LEMOA may take some more time, but hoped that within a couple of years, it would be clear what possibilities are there. The US has shared its "points of contact" -- the details of designated officials to whom the US military would have to send its request for logistics support under LEMOA -- but India is yet to share the list. Another problem is that common accounting system for the three services also needed to be worked out. The US commander also spoke out against militarisation of the strategic South China Sea region, through which an annual trade of $5 billion flows. He termed the situation in the region "dynamic" and asked countries to desist from aggressive land reclamation. He said India's settling of maritime disputes with Bangladesh should be a "terrific path forward" for other countries. Image: The Indian Navy Kora-class corvette INS Kirch (P62) and Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigates INS Sahyadri (F49) and INS Satpura (F48) transit while conducting a live-fire surface gun exercise during Malabar 2016. Photograph: Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan Batchelder/US Navy Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Cash aid empowers refugees and boosts Lebanese economy Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Dana Sleiman Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Cash aid empowers refugees and boosts Lebanese economy, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853cc974.html [accessed 3 November 2022] During close to six years she has spent as a refugee in Lebanon, Tharwat, 38, has faced a constant struggle to meet competing needs such as putting food on the table and buying medication for her ill mother. But since her inclusion by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in its programme replacing aid in kind with a monthly disbursement of cash, Tharwat has regained control over her finances and a corresponding boost to her dignity. "The money I receive has changed my life," said Tharwat, who has devoted herself to caring for her sick mother. "I now have the freedom to buy what I need the most, and that's my mother's medication. She would fall very ill without it. For me, food comes second." Tharwat is among some 1.8 million forcibly displaced people across the Middle East who this year received cash-based aid, part of an important shift in how the world's refugee situations are increasingly being managed. Traditionally, aid has been delivered mainly through in-kind support. But with some 80 per cent of the world's displaced people living in cities, and often with either only limited or no access to legal employment, cash aid is now being used to target help those most in need. Recipients receive cash through cards or ATMs. The direct cash aid reduces costs and also empowers refugees like Tharwat by giving them the choice over how to meet their most immediate needs. "We used to queue for hours to get blankets or hygiene items. Those were items that we really needed, but now we can decide what to buy and when to buy it," said Tharwat, who is among 30,000 economically vulnerable refugee families in Lebanon who benefit from the monthly disbursement of US$175. More than 800,000 refugees in Lebanon are also currently benefiting from additional monthly cash during the winter months, from November through March. As well as helping refugees, the programme is also providing a welcome fillip to local businesses in Lebanon, which hosts over one million Syrian refugees - the largest per capita concentration worldwide, equivalent to one in four of the population. "The cards the refugees get have transformed them from passive recipients of assistance to active consumers. They are really greasing the wheels of our economy in the Bekaa Valley," said Mohammad Taha, the owner of a gas station in Jeb Jennine, a town in West Bekaa where some 8,000 registered refugees live. "The sale of fuel to refugees for heating during the winter has increased my revenues by almost 10 per cent," he added. The cash programme has helped integrate the refugees into the e-banking age, says Chafica Salaam, Assistant General Manager of UNHCR's current financial service provider. "At the outset of the programme, refugees used to struggle with the card and have basic questions about the pin code and how to go about managing their resources," she said. "But since then, we've managed to improve their banking skills." Salaam explained that many refugees have now learned to stagger their spending and only withdraw small amounts at a time. "The world has rapidly moved to electronic transfers and payments, and now the refugees are completely up to speed with that, and they are funneling the cash they receive back into the local economy." Salaam added. Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on Statelessness Publisher European Union: Council of the European Union Publication Date 4 December 2015 Cite as European Union: Council of the European Union, Conclusions of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on Statelessness, 4 December 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853ce2d4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. As the Mosul conflict enters its third month, and the number of people displaced climbs towards 100,000, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is bolstering its capacity to host and support civilians fleeing the fighting as cold weather sets in. So far, 96,864 people have been displaced by fighting since October 17, when military operations began. The bulk of new arrivals -- 57,000 people -- are currently being sheltered in UNHCR-supported camps in the area. Significant numbers have also been fleeing Hawija in Kirkuk ahead of an offensive to retake the last areas controlled by armed opposition groups; since August, 51,000 have been displaced. This week, UNHCR visited recently-accessible areas around Mosul. Living conditions in the villages were rudimentary. Returnees and displaced families staying in the villages lack electricity and access to clean water. Local markets are not functioning and there is an urgent need for kerosene and warm clothing. UNHCR is coordinating with partners deliveries of needed assistance. We have been stepping up winter distributions, providing thermal blankets and quilts to 11,200 people around Mosul, and we plan to step up distributions in coming days to reach an additional 5,000 families. UNHCR has six camps receiving people from Mosul, with another three under construction. The nine camps would have a capacity for 102,000 people. UNHCR-built camps include Al Alam (2,400 people); Qaymawa (4,792 people); and Hasansham U3 (10,860 people). There is still some capacity at Al Alam (140 plots). The Iraqi Government is building Al Alam 2 camp nearby, with a planned capacity to host up to 8,000. Camps built by the Ministry of Migration and Displacement with UNHCR support include Khazer M1 (29,072 people) and Khazer M2 (10,103 people). In Kirkuk, additional camps are hosting people mainly displaced from Hawija. UNHCR camps in Kirkuk include Daquk (7400 people, available 120 plots); Leylan 2 (2900 people, available 420 plots); Leylan (2900 people); Nazrawa (8700 people). UNHCR's Mosul emergency response fund, set at USD 196.2 million, is 57% funded. The largest funding gap is for the winter programme and we are urging donors to help us close the shortfall to prepare for possible additional displacement and help offset the miserable living conditions. Assistance items distributed to the newly arrived families in camps include blankets, mattresses, stoves, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, quilts, insulation sleeping mats, tent insulation kits and heaters. Away from camps, 48,972 blankets and quilts have been provided in the newly accessible areas of Gogjali, Nimround, Shura and Qulan Tappa to 12,243 families. Winter kits and other items like kerosene are also being provided in other parts of Iraq including the centre-south (camps in Anbar, Baghdad and Salah Al-Din), and the southern region (Diyala). In Dohuk, Erbil and Sulimaniyah, UNHCR has reached more than 10,000 displaced families with cash assistance since October. We have also provided cash assistance to almost 10,000 Syrian refugee families in those areas. Kazakhstan: Pensioners fined for praying with pensioners Publisher Forum 18 Author Felix Corley Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as Forum 18, Kazakhstan: Pensioners fined for praying with pensioners, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853cec64.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Three pensioners were fined more than two months' pension for praying with hospice residents and offering New Testaments. Courts fined a yoga teacher and a bookseller for offering religious literature without compulsory state licences. But authorities abandoned attempts to restrict judges' freedom of religion. Kyrgyzstan: No grave, no prosecutions over twice-exhumed Christian Publisher Forum 18 Author Mushfig Bayram Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Forum 18, Kyrgyzstan: No grave, no prosecutions over twice-exhumed Christian, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853cf7f4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The authorities have failed to prosecute those who in October led mobs who twice dug up the body of deceased Protestant Kanygul Satybaldiyeva and officials who allowed this to happen. Officials still will not tell Satybaldiyeva's daughter what they did with her mother's body. UN invited to monitor and assist fresh evacuation efforts under way in war-ravaged Aleppo Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN invited to monitor and assist fresh evacuation efforts under way in war-ravaged Aleppo, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853d09640c.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 15 December 2016 - The United Nations was today invited to monitor and assist in the renewed effort to evacuate sick and wounded civilians and opposition fighters from the remaining rebel-held areas of Syria's war-ravaged city of Aleppo, a senior UN humanitarian envoy announced today. Following today's meeting in Geneva of the Humanitarian Access Task Force of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), Jan Egeland, the UN Senior Adviser on Syria, detailed the UN's three-pronged evacuation plan, a plan he hoped would be "the start of a last and successful attempt of evacuations." The plan includes medical evacuations for the wounded and sick, evacuations for vulnerable civilians, and evacuations of fighters. The agreement was not made on behalf of the UN, but rather through direct talks of the various parties to the Syrian war, he explained. The UN will monitor the evacuations with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Representatives from all organizations are ready to accompany those being evacuated from eastern Aleppo, Idlib, and elsewhere all the way to Turkey and into Turkey, should that be their final destination. According to Mr. Egeland, Russia will also monitor the situation and ensure that the evacuations that follow are "swift, [non-bureaucratic] and non-intrusive" and that those being evacuated would be guaranteed safety. UNESCO sends mission to assess extent of damage at Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UNESCO sends mission to assess extent of damage at Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853d0e640e.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 15 December 2016 - The United Nations cultural agency is conducting an inspection of the Nimrud archaeological site in Iraq to assess the overall state of conservation of the site, in particular the extent of damage resulting from the deliberate destruction by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh) terrorists over the past 2 years. In Nimrud, large-scale, systematic and deliberate destruction of the site's archaeological remains have occurred over the past years,' said Irina Bokova, Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a news release. UNESCO reiterates its full determination to work with the Iraqi authorities to ensure the safeguarding of what remains and lay the foundation for a progressive recovery of the site, she added, stressing that this is important for the people of Iraq, for the security and stability of the region, and for the history of humanity. The assessment mission, which started yesterday, led by the UNESCO office in Iraq, also aims to identify emergency safeguarding measures that could be taken in order to prevent any further loss at the site in Nineveh Governorate. Layla Salih from the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq, and Seedo Takani from the Provincial Council of Nineveh also participated in the assessment. According to the news release, at the ziggurat, built structures and carved reliefs have sustained considerable damage as a result of explosions and bulldozing, emergency measures will entail the immediate physical protection of the site in order to allow for detailed documentation and preventing potential looting of remaining fragments. Actions for the safeguarding and longer-term recovery of the site will be presented by UNESCO and discussed with key national and international stakeholders at an International Coordination Meeting on the Cultural Heritage in the Liberated Areas of Iraq to be held at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, on 23-24 February 2017. Nimrud, also known as Kalhu, is one of the main archaeological sites of the Assyrian period in Iraq. Established during the 13th century BC, the city was built by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser I (1274 - 1245 BC), and later became the second capital of the Assyrian Empire under King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC). Archaeological excavations started in 1845 and have revealed the remains of palaces, fortifications, a ziggurat, the temples of Nabu and Ishtar, as well as several royal tombs. Distinctive Assyrian artistic and architectural remains include large statues, panels and reliefs that adorned the Palace of Ashurnasirpal, recounting his military campaigns and his achievements, and providing further understanding about ancient Mesopotamia. Dominican Republic: President Medina must stop a regressive reform for women's rights Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Dominican Republic: President Medina must stop a regressive reform for women's rights, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853d1464.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. On 14 December the Dominican Congress adopted a reform of the Criminal Code which maintains the criminalization of abortion except when the pregnancy poses a risk to the life of a pregnant woman or girl but only after "all attempts had been made to save both the lives of the woman and the foetus." Under the current reform women will receive criminal sanctions of two to three years' imprisonment and health professionals who provide abortion services between four to 10 years. The text is now expected to be sent to President Danilo Medina for promulgation. The President has the power to object the proposed reform and insist on the exceptions to the criminalization of abortion, he proposed in 2014 These include decriminalizing abortion where the pregnancy poses a risk to the life or to the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman or girl, in cases where the foetus will be unable to survive outside the womb, and in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. "Any sudden U-turn of President Medina from his 2014 courageous position would be a betrayal for millions of Dominican women and girls whose rights and dignity would be at risk with this reform," said Robin Guittard, Caribbean Campaigner for Amnesty International. Evidence shows that total bans on abortion do not reduce the number of abortions but instead increase the risk of women dying due to illegal, unsafe abortions, that restrictive abortion laws put women and girls living in poverty, and those living in rural and more isolated areas at particular risk of unsafe abortions. Amnesty International and several Dominican women's rights groups are concerned that the new narrowly framed exception would make it impossible in practice for women and girls whose lives were at risk to access abortion services. Its impact will be catastrophic for women and girls in the Dominican Republic who will continue to be criminalized, stigmatized and forced to seek out unsafe abortions. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International DRC must rescind order to block social media sites Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, DRC must rescind order to block social media sites, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853d1734.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. In response to reports that the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have ordered internet firms to block access to social media sites on 18 December, Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said: "The social media shutdown on the eve of the end of President Kabila's mandate is a blatant attempt to keep the Congolese people in the dark at a critical time, and must be rescinded immediately. "Instead of emulating the repressive tactics of other governments in the region that have shut down social media at critical junctures during political contests, the DRC government should be upholding the right of the Congolese people to share information." President Joseph Kabila's constitutionally-mandated second term comes to an end on 19 December. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International What Comes After the Bloody Battle for Aleppo? Publisher International Crisis Group (ICG) Author Noah Bonsey Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as International Crisis Group (ICG), What Comes After the Bloody Battle for Aleppo?, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853d2454.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. What are the immediate implications of the regime's victory in Aleppo? Aleppo illustrates the bleak state of the Syrian war, more than five years into the conflict. The regime and its allies are defeating rebel groups by employing an expanded version of their long-favoured military approach: massive collective punishment, including siege tactics and relentless bombardment targeting civilians. With crucial support from Russian air power and Iran-backed foreign fighters, this set of tactics has enabled the regime to compensate, for now at least, for its eroding military and limited base of reliable Syrian fighters. This approach has enabled the regime to achieve significant military and political gains at minimal cost to itself. The human suffering it creates is truly unimaginable, in both scale and intensity, particularly among civilians in opposition areas-as the images emerging from Aleppo remind us. But the regime and its allies are at best unconcerned with civilian casualties, and at worst appear intent on increasing them. They have multiple objectives: to push local civilians to pressure the fighters in their midst toward surrender; to signal to Syrians elsewhere the price of continued resistance; and to displace pro-opposition populations that might pose challenges to regime governance in the future. Meanwhile, the regime and its allies see clearly that the opposition's backers and broader "international community" are unwilling or unable to take action to raise the price for this scorched-earth approach--despite all the bloodshed, displacement, and radicalization it generates. Given those incentives-high rewards, with minimal costs to themselves--it is no wonder that the regime, Russia, Iran and allied proxies have repeatedly employed this brutal strategy. It has worked around Damascus and Homs, it has now worked in Aleppo, and they will presumably seek to employ it again-perhaps next in Idlib, or in Eastern Ghouta [outside Damascus]. What we are seeing in Aleppo is not only an unfathomable human disaster unto itself, but also a preview of what is likely to come. What particular importance does Aleppo have within the Syria conflict? The eastern half of Aleppo was arguably the opposition's most valuable strategic holding, given the city's size, economic weight, and proximity to the Turkish border. As the conflict has evolved, Aleppo city and portions of the adjacent countryside were also the part of the north where non-jihadi factions remained the dominant local forces, even as Jabhat al-Nusra (now known as Fath al-Sham) asserted hegemony over much of neighbouring Idlib. Aleppo's loss is a huge blow to the non-jihadi portion of the rebel spectrum, and thus to the opposition's political ambitions in general. Regime strategy has long aimed to militarily cripple the non-jihadi opposition and render it politically irrelevant. Ever since 2014, Crisis Group has highlighted the importance of Aleppo, pointing out that the regime's capture of the city would seriously jeopardize any remaining prospect for a negotiated end to the conflict and likely to strengthen jihadist groups. For any settlement to prove viable, you need a non-jihadi opposition that is sufficiently pragmatic to make a deal, and strong enough on the ground to implement it. The evisceration of non-jihadi factions in the north will increasingly play to the advantage of jihadists like Fath al-Sham. It will also offer new opportunities to the Islamic State (IS), which is widely despised by the rest of the rebellion but, as that rebellion loses momentum, may find openings to assert itself and even rebuild some credibility with the anti-regime base. Where does the opposition go from here? Aleppo reflects long-standing problems within the pro-opposition camp that weakened their ability to defend territory. Poor coordination and competing priorities among state backers have consistently undermined their Syrian allies. Recent months were no exception, with Saudi Arabia stuck in a quagmire in Yemen, Turkey caught in a trans-border struggle with Kurdish forces, and the U.S. focused on fighting IS while engaging in fruitless rounds of diplomacy with Moscow. That left the armed opposition more or less to their own devices in Aleppo, and they played a bad hand very poorly-succumbing to in-fighting at the worst possible moments, and undermining their own cause with indiscriminate shelling of regime-held western Aleppo. Rebels would have struggled to defend their territory in the city in any case, given the breadth and intensity of the pro-regime offensive, but it must be noted that the pro-opposition camp's effort proved less than the sum of its parts. So what's left for the opposition on the ground? They face a bleak map, where the most promising spot is northeast of Aleppo, where non-jihadi factions working directly with Turkish forces have recaptured from IS a large swath of territory along the border, and are now attempting to take the city of al-Bab, some 35 km east of Aleppo. Ankara charts the course for this joint effort, known as Euphrates Shield, which aims primarily to push IS from the Turkish border and block the Syria-based People's Protection Units (YPG, Kurdish forces affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK) from connecting their territory east of the Euphrates river with the Afrin canton they control north of Aleppo. Participation in Euphrates Shield carries significant costs for the opposition: forces deployed there might otherwise have helped strengthen efforts to defend eastern Aleppo; and Ankara's need to maintain Moscow's goodwill, in order to prevent the interference of the Russian air force, constrained its ability to help rebels counter the pro-regime campaign there. Yet the benefits are also significant, as the operation's gains have provided new space and relevance for non-jihadi opposition elements facing existential threats elsewhere in the north. The northern province of Idlib has been much discussed as the next point of conflict in the north, can the opposition rally there? Efforts to evacuate civilians and fighters from Aleppo began today, after repeated delays, with convoys headed toward Idlib, the opposition's remaining northwestern stronghold. The situation in Idlib is even more dynamic--and combustible. The pro-regime camp may seek to escalate there after Aleppo, applying similarly brutal tactics against cities and towns that remain crowded with civilians, including many displaced from elsewhere. Rebel control in the area is split primarily between Jabhat Fath al-Sham-a salafi-jihadist group that until recently maintained official links to al-Qaeda-and Ahrar al-Sham, a group incorporating a range of Islamists that has situated itself between Fath al-Sham and more mainstream factions on the rebel political and ideological spectrum. These are two of the rebellion's strongest factions, and they will likely prove better situated to defend their ground than did their Aleppo counterparts. However, their unambiguously Islamist platforms and Fath al-Sham's al-Qaeda ties may limit international outcry over the pro-regime camp's attacks on areas under their control. This may be a moot point, given that international outcry has done little to restrain the regime and its allies elsewhere. Meanwhile, a long-standing ideological, political and personal rift between pragmatist and hardline camps within Ahrar al-Sham has recently deepened. A break between the two camps, should it occur, may prove healthy for the opposition in the medium to long term, but would likely further weaken their defensive capacity in the immediate future. Does the opposition have any better hopes for a come-back in the south? The opposition in southern Syria has won only mixed returns from compromise. Non-jihadi factions there continue to control significant swaths of territory, but an apparent understanding between Russia and Jordan, upon which rebels depend for supplies, has largely frozen that front for the time being, with occasional exceptions. This has offered some degree of respite for rebel-held areas there, but has also enabled the pro-regime camp to divert resources toward escalation against other opposition pockets-and in turn, by some accounts, lowered morale among southern rebels. Elsewhere, armed opposition control is limited to isolated pockets-most notably the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, controlled primarily by non-jihadist factions and still home to a large civilian population. Reasserting its authority throughout the capital region is a long-standing regime priority, and the regime's success in Aleppo would appear to raise the likelihood of a similarly devastating campaign for what is left of rebel-held Ghouta. In theory, to avoid the human and potential political toll of massive pro-regime offensives targeting Eastern Ghouta or parts of Idlib, non-jihadi factions and their state backers might be best served by jointly pursuing something akin to the non-aggression arrangement that has largely prevailed in the south. Also in theory, such an understanding could hold appeal for Russia-which has at times appeared wary of the regime's limited capacity to hold regained territory and whose air support is crucial to enabling further regime offensives. Moscow's concerns were underlined with the recent recapture of Palmyra by IS, just nine months after a Russian-backed military campaign had succeeded in expelling the group. In practice, however, there is little apparent appetite for a non-aggression arrangement within the fractious pro-opposition camp. And it is hard to imagine Russia-let alone the regime and Iran-choosing to halt their march against rebels now when they enjoy such momentum. Even if the rebels suffers continued territorial losses, that will not spell the end of the regime's armed opponents. It will leave those wishing to continue the fight with little choice but to shift to a longer-term strategy of asymmetric insurgency-a scenario which plays further to the advantage of salafi-jihadis, and would make it still harder for the rebellion to cobble together a coherent, credible, and practical political leadership. Is the regime on its way to proving that there is a military solution to this conflict after all? The regime has gone a long way toward dismantling its mainstream opponents inside the country, armed and civilian,-a long standing regime goal that blocks any viable path to a negotiated political transition in the foreseeable future. But despite current momentum, it is not rolling toward a full military victory. Crucial weaknesses within the pro-regime camp remain. Central among them is the erosion of the Syrian military, and the limited base from which the regime can draw reliable, dedicated Syrian fighters. To gain additional territory while maintaining what it has, the regime has steadily grown ever more dependent on Shiite foreign fighters facilitated by Iran - Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, Afghan and Pakistani recruits drawn from refugee communities in Iran. They, along with intense Russian air power, have been key to enabling continued regime gains. But in the medium to long term, they do not provide sustainable means of holding-let alone stabilizing-territory in populated anti-regime strongholds amid a continuing insurgency. Indeed, even in the short term, holding ground is a serious challenge. The IS recapture of Palmyra earlier this month illustrates this well. With its foreign allies and most reliable Syrian fighters focused on other fronts-most notably Aleppo-regime forces charged with holding Palmyra proved no match for a surprise attack by IS, losing the city within three days despite Russian air support. That regime collapse could happen so quickly in Palmyra-a world-famous heritage site and strategically important location, whose recapture in March was heralded in a major Russian propaganda effort-provides ample indication of its manpower problem. If and when pro-regime forces continue to gain additional territory, the risks they run of over-extending themselves only grow. Part of the challenge for the regime's backers, including Iran, is that they are pushing against the grain of Syria's demographics-across the country, and in the northwest in particular. This is a notable difference between Syria and Iraq, where Iran's assertion of hegemony is eased by alliances with political and military forces rooted in-and recruited from-the country's Shiite majority. In theory, the regime and its allies could attempt to overcome this challenge by expanding and intensifying their existing depopulation efforts in parts of the country where anti-regime sentiment is perceived as especially broad and deep. That would erase whatever line remains between scorched-earth counter-insurgency and systematic sectarian cleansing. It would also generate civilian casualties, displacement, and radicalisation still worse than the horrors Syria has already witnessed. Sadly, given the lengths to which the pro-regime camp has gone thus far, and the lack of any foreseeable external military deterrent, it cannot be ruled out. What is the relative strength of IS now? Despite its recapture of Palmyra, is the group not under threat in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa? The Islamic State's military fortunes have ebbed and flowed, even in the last couple of weeks, but overall it seems to be losing ground. Yet even if there are further military successes against the group, that alone won't solve the problem. A lot of the Western conversation on Syria focuses on specific groups - IS, Fatah al Sham. But that is misleading, and extremely counterproductive. As we have seen in Iraq over the years, even driving a jihadist group beyond the apparent brink of defeat will prove only a short-term success if the underlying conditions on which it fed remain, or re-emerge. Eliminating groups' leadership is also no guarantee that jihadists are defeated: three leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq were killed, only to be replaced by the current leader of IS. Groups will evolve as they lose ground, some may disappear and others will introduce themselves; they are symptoms rather than causes of deeper problems in Syria, Iraq and beyond. Chief among those problems is the massive radicalising force generated by the brutal military tactics used by all armed elements in the country-but which have been carried out most extensively and systematically by the Syrian regime and its allies. When we look at the levels of violence Syrians have experienced, and those, mostly Sunni, communities that have been the worst affected, it is clear that seizing territory from IS or any jihadist group will not in and of itself sustainably address the problem. The goal must be to secure stability and credible governance within these areas-meaning that questions of how a given city will be administered post-IS, and by whom, are more important than the speed with which IS is driven from that area. There is a real danger, then, that the U.S. is making a mistake by rushing to arrange a campaign to take Raqqa city led, in practice if not in rhetoric, by Kurdish YPG forces. First, due to Ankara's intense objection to additional YPG gains-and amid continued violence between Turkey and the PKK/YPG on both sides of the Turkey-Syria border-the momentary benefit of driving IS from the city might pale in comparison to the costs of spiralling destabilisation throughout this arc of tension. Second, due to the YPG's approach to governance-delegating minimal responsibility to local bodies while clearly retaining more meaningful authorities in the hands of Kurdish YPG cadres-it is difficult to imagine the organisation achieving credible, sustainable governance in an overwhelmingly Arab city of Raqqa's size. How are things shaping up for Turkey and its allies in the battle to take al-Bab from IS? As I noted earlier, Turkey and its rebel allies began Euphrates Shield with two immediate objectives: 1) capture from IS the territory adjacent to the Turkish border, and 2) block the YPG from connecting its territory in northeastern Syria with the Afrin canton it controls north of Aleppo. Thus far, Turkey has already accomplished the first goal and is on the verge of achieving the second-if and when it takes al-Bab, it will have nearly completely blocked the YPG's path to control a single, contiguous stretch of territory. Notably, controlling al-Bab would also provide Turkey and its rebel partners a foothold in a significant population centre just 35 km from Aleppo city, and less than 10 km from the nearest regime-held territory-which explains why Damascus has repeatedly signalled its objection to Euphrates Shield advancing on the city. Thus the battle for al-Bab is between Turkey-backed rebels and IS, but the ramifications are much broader. If and when Turkey and its Euphrates Shield allies succeed in taking al-Bab, however, there is a real risk that further escalation may ensue. Connecting its Afrin and northeastern cantons is the YPG's top priority in Syria, and its officials have hinted that the organisation is prepared to respond forcibly to Turkish attempts to block that. Meanwhile, the Turkish leadership has publicly suggested that Euphrates Shield may build on victory in al-Bab with a march east toward Menbij, a city subject to dispute since the YPG and its local allies captured it from IS in August, taking in the process an initial step toward connecting its cantons. Turkey was unhappy with this development, and understood from the U.S. at the time that the YPG was to withdraw from Menbij after seizing it and hand control to local authorities. That did not happen - the YPG has withdrawn some of its assets but kept others, and in any case there is no shared definition between Turkey, the YPG and the U.S. on where the YPG ends and local authorities begin. (The issue is complicated by the PKK/YPG tactic of creating officially autonomous local bodies that in practice remain under the organization's authority.)The bottom line is that it would benefit all these parties-Turkey, the YPG and U.S.-to pro-actively define a mutually acceptable arrangement in Menbij. If Turkey attempts to resolve the matter with a military push in that direction, it may over-stretch its Euphrates Shield forces in the process-presenting opportunities for IS, the YPG or even nearby regime forces to exploit. Moreover, it could ignite an escalatory cycle between Turkey and the PKK/YPG spanning both sides of the border. The same could result from any YPG escalation against Turkish and allied forces in al-Bab or elsewhere. Indeed, at this point the YPG would be well advised to accept that connecting its cantons via military means is not a realistic objective, and that any attempt toward that end might backfire by inciting an expanded Turkish response. Given all these dangerous dynamics, what are the prospects for de-escalating the violence in Syria? A first step would be for all actors to be more realistic about what they can accomplish militarily. Repeatedly, over the course of this war, decision-makers on all sides have overestimated what they can achieve and sustain-that is, maximalist objectives have made them all prone to overshooting. This was true of the pro-opposition camp when it had momentum earlier in the conflict, and it's true of the pro-regime camp now that it enjoys momentum. The regime has won the battle for Aleppo, but at a cost of immense destruction, international isolation, and horrendous civilian suffering. It is unlikely that, absent real compromise, it will be able to use such brutal tactics to win the war outright. One would hope that by being more realistic, the conflict's protagonists could avoid mutually damaging fights; that principle applies not only to Menbij and al-Bab, but also to Idlib-the pro-regime camp is itself in danger of over-stretch. The recent flurry of Turkey-Russia diplomacy shows the potential for each to achieve better results-for themselves and their allies-via negotiating a non-aggression arrangement that would avert an all-out war for Idlib, or elsewhere. Agreement between Turkey and Russia is not sufficient, of course-as we saw yesterday in Aleppo, when Iran-backed militias appeared to thwart an evacuation deal facilitated by Ankara and Moscow. But diplomacy between the two can provide a promising start. That said, the obstacles to such a deal are immense: the regime and Iran have consistently preferred immediate military escalation to Russian negotiation efforts; Moscow itself appears content to press the pro-regime camp's current military advantage; Fath al-Sham dominates much of Idlib, prefers that the rebels remain on the offensive, and would likely seek to thwart any non-aggression arrangement; and there are limits to Turkey's will and capacity to pro-actively push its rebel allies on an issue that for Ankara pales in importance to the challenges presented by the PKK and YPG. At this point, de-escalation seems like wishful thinking, but it is achievable if the major powers involved in this fight are willing to step back and recalibrate based on their longer-term interests. Going forward, the three most critical external actors are likely to be Russia, Turkey and Iran-especially now that the next U.S. administration seems inclined to limit its engagement on Syria. Crisis Group is planning to address these dynamics in a forthcoming report. Driven by hunger, Iraqis risk all to flee Mosul offensive Publisher UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Author Cathy Otten Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Driven by hunger, Iraqis risk all to flee Mosul offensive, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853e1314.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Driven by hunger, Iraqi mother Iqbal Qalaf picked her way across a minefield in the dark with her children in search of food and safety. "No one would be crazy enough to walk for three hours in the night but we had to - we were hungry. We had to cross through areas with mines," she said, clutching her youngest son, shortly after they arrived at Laylan 2 camp. She is among hundreds of displaced Iraqis who came in their hundreds at night, wading through rivers, walking across minefields and carrying their children to reach safety at the recently opened camp, south of the city of Kirkuk. "I'm so cold and tired, we've been walking since yesterday evening," said Bade Hussein, 33, as she arrived at the camp from her home town of Hawija, Kirkuk province. Hawija district fell in the summer of 2014 and has been encircled since Iraqi security forces advanced towards nearby Shirgat earlier this year ahead of the offensive to retake the city of Mosul and surrounding areas. In addition to nearly 97,000 displaced by fighting in and around Mosul since the start of the offensive on October 17, an estimated 51,000 people have also fled the deteriorating humanitarian situation in and around Hawija since August. Civilians have reported a lack of access to medical care and children suffering from malnutrition. Laylan 2 camp was opened by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, at the start of December in response to the large numbers of displaced people fleeing Hawija. Hundreds of civilians have been arriving at Kurdish peshmerga front lines every week after walking all night over open ground ridden with explosives. On December 10, more than 500 displaced Iraqis arrived at Laylan 2. These numbers are expected to rise in the coming weeks as supplies in the town run critically low. Families are being forced to pay smugglers to escape to Kurdish controlled territory in order to find food. "If you went to Hawija you would cry from hunger. There is no medicine for the sick, nothing. People with asthma are in a very difficult situation," said Bade whose cousin was killed by extremists because he was working as a smuggler and selling cigarettes, which is forbidden, she said. "There was nothing left - just some rotten wheat which we crushed to make bread, so we had to escape." For five months, the villagers in her town had no tea. "I hoped for a bright future for my children but when [the extremists] came that was destroyed. We are in a really bad condition and we need assistance right away." "I hope it is better here," said Bade, assessing her new tent in the darkness after reaching safety. "It is horrible on the other side - they take kids and slaughter them." Her youngest daughter coughed and rattled an empty plastic jar that had contained some milk. Her four young children had skin lesions and were wearing filthy, wet clothes. Families arriving at Laylan 2 on Saturday evening received blankets, mattress and food parcels from UNHCR and its partner organizations. As the sun set, they were led to their assigned tents. As the Mosul conflict enters its third month, and the number of people displaced climbs towards 100,000, UNHCR is bolstering its capacity to host and support civilians fleeing the fighting as cold weather sets in. UNHCR's Mosul emergency response fund, set at US$196.2 million, is 57 percent funded. The largest funding gap is for the winter programme, with thousands of families in urgent need of support to survive the harsh winter cold. "People fleeing for their lives are in a state of utter distress and are in need of both moral and material support," said Bruno Geddo, UNHCR's Representative in Iraq. "Our priority as UNHCR is to make sure that they receive relief items and have access to a safe place as soon as they reach us." Armed groups took over the district's hospitals and ambulances, so families have not had access to medical care. Fighters confiscated civilian's animals and farming equipment and imposed harsh punishments for smoking or trying to escape. Families escaping Hawija and nearby villages told UNHCR that they were living off bread made with stale wheat and water after basic items like tomato paste and sugar became too expensive. "There was nothing to eat. The price of tomato paste was 35,000 dinars (around US$30) for one kilo and sugar was 40,000 dinars (around US$34)," recalled Qalaf. "Our kids almost died of hunger." Radio station manager gunned down in Logar province Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Radio station manager gunned down in Logar province, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853e8df4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is saddened to learn that Mohammad Nassir Madser, the manager of a local radio station, was gunned down today near his home in Mohammad Agha District, located about 65 km south of Kabul in Logar province. "We offer our condolences to this journalist's family and colleagues and we urge the Afghan government to conduct a proper investigation without delay in order to identify the perpetrators and instigators of this murder," said Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Iran-Afghanistan desk. Aged 53 and the father of four children, Madser was the manager of Paigham Meli Logar, a local radio station that has been broadcasting more than 12 hours of programming a day since 2003. His son, Mohammad Zobire, who also works for the radio station, told RSF: "He left the radio station and, at around 4:30 pm, when he was half-way home, he was shot by unidentified individuals on a motorcycle." Zobire added: "Our work is neutral and professional. We had not been threatened and I don't understand why he was killed. It is now night-time here and neither the police nor the security forces have come to carry out an investigation." Hojatullah Mujadadi, a representative of the Afghan Independent Journalists Association, said: "He had told us about threats against him and the radio station and he had also reported the threats to the governor and the security forces." Salim Lhan Saleh, the spokesman for Logar's governor, told journalists that Madser was killed by the Taliban. The Taliban have not as yet claimed the murder. Afghanistan is ranked 120th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index. RSF calls for release of whistleblowing website's editor Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, RSF calls for release of whistleblowing website's editor, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853e9814.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the detention of Maxence Melo, the co-founder and editor of Jamii Forums, East Africa's leading website for anonymous citizen journalists and whistleblowers, and calls for his immediate release. Melo was arrested at his Dar es Salaam home yesterday after being harassed by the authorities for several months to reveal the identity of anonymous contributors to the site who have helped to exposed major corruption scandals involving leading privately-owned companies. Melo has so far refused to comply with orders issued under article 32 of the very controversial Cybercrimes Act, which gives the police the power to demand such information for the purposes of judicial investigations. In order to be able to respond to these requests, JamiiForums has repeatedly asked the police to say what offences its users are supposed to have committed, but the police have never been able to demonstrate that actual judicial investigations have been initiated. According to Melo's lawyer, the police have referred their requests to a court for execution without every notifying Jamii Forums. Melo was arrested on the grounds that he did not appear in court for hearings, although he did not know they were taking place. He is facing at least a year in prison or a fine of 3 million shillings (or both) on a charge of obstructing an investigation under article 22 of the Cybercrimes Act although the police have not yet been able to demonstrate that any formal investigation is under way. "We condemn Maxence Melo's arbitrary arrest, which is meant to intimidate him, and we call for his immediate release," RSF said. "Judicial issues are being used for political purposes with the aim of gagging the government's critics. John Magufuli has said a great deal about combatting corruption ever since he became president, but it is the people who exposed corruption who are now being harassed!" As well as asking the police to justify their requests for the identity of sources, Jamii Forums has been challenging the Cybercrimes Act's constitutionality for the past few months, especially article 32 on disclosing the identity of sources and article 38 allowing interrogations in camera. According to some sources, the Cybercrimes law was drafted specifically with the aim of being used against Jamii Forums, a mainly Swahili-language website on which users can post information anonymously. The site guarantees the anonymity of its users but verifies their identity to prevent disinformation. When Melo met RSF in September, he said more than half of Tanzania's parliamentarians were subscribers to the site. Several journalists have confirmed that many of their article about corruption were based on information originally reported by Jamii Forums users. Melo's lawyer Benedict Ishabakaki said: "A source of information is a corner stone of democracy. Once the public is threatened to share information, they are indirectly silenced from demanding accountability and most importantly for advocating for their rights." Under President Magufuli, who took office in November 2015, the Tanzanian authorities have taken a tougher line with the media. Several radio stations were shut down in the space of a few months and at least ten people have been prosecuted over their posts on social networks. Journalists have told RSF they are no longer free to criticize the president and his associates. If they do, an official soon telephones them and threatens them with prosecution. The Media Services Act that President Magufuli signed into law last month, replacing the Newspaper Act, which dated back to the 1970s, has been much criticized by media organizations and the Media Council of Tanzania, which deplored the failure to take its recommendations into account. The new law provides for heavy prison sentences and fines, and restricts the freedom of journalists by requiring that they be officially registered and by allowing more control of content. It also requires all social media users and contributors to be accredited. Tanzania is ranked 71st out of 180 countries in RRSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index.. President Kabila must put an end to the repression and respect the constitution Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, President Kabila must put an end to the repression and respect the constitution, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853ebfa4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. President Kabila must put an end to the increasing restrictions of freedoms and announce that he will fully respect the Constitution to keep the country from lapsing into chaos and violence. This is what FIDH, the Ligue des electeurs, the Groupe Lotus, ASADHO, Filimbi, the Lucha and other members of the #MyVoteMustCount coalition, had to say ahead of the 19 December deadline. Our organisations also call on the authorities to release political prisoners, authorize public protests, organize presidential elections without any further delay and guarantee that President Kabila does not run for a third and unconstitutional mandate. Since 13 December negotiations have been underway between the presidential majority and the main opposition leaders, under the auspices of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO). It should lead to a new agreement on the organisation of presidential elections and the role of President Kabila after 19 December. Our organisations urge the participants to the dialogue to do their utmost to ensure that the above-mentioned measures are implemented and thus avoid having the situation degenerate on 19 December and thereafter. On 12 December, the European Union (EU) adopted targeted sanctions against seven senior officials of the army, the police, and the Congolese administration who were responsible for serious violations of human rights committed during the demonstrations of 19 September 2016. The U.S. Government sanctioned the Minister of the Interior, Evariste Boshab, and the head of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), Kalev Mutond, accused of "undermining the democratic process". Pronouncing these sanctions just one week before the end of President Kabila's last term of office sends a strong message: the authorities must respect the basic freedoms and the principles of democratic change of government guaranteed by the Constitution or else suffer the consequences. Since the month of November, the political opposition, the civil society, and the Congolese media have been increasingly under attack. Several dozen human rights defenders, activists in the citizens' movements, journalists, and members of opposition parties have been attacked and arbitrarily arrested, and detained by the Congolese security services. Several gatherings and demonstrations by the civil society and the opposition have been cancelled or prevented, often with violence. The signals of at least six radio and television stations have been temporarily cut off or scrambled, especially the stations that are most listened to (Radio France Internationale and Radio Okapi, the UN radio station). The fact that several political and civil society leaders have called for demonstrations suggests that massive numbers of people might take to the streets in the big cities of DRC. The DRC authorities must immediately cancel the ban on public protests that has been in force since 22 September in Kinshasa, ensure the supervision of demonstrations take place with due respect for human rights, and avoid all disproportionate or excessive use of force that would cause another blood bath. To avoid more deadly violence, the international community and more specifically the African Union must send an unambiguous message to the Congolese authorities that State agents and the persons responsible for human rights violations will be sanctioned and prosecuted before the courts. In that sense the International Criminal Court (ICC) should continue to closely monitor the situation. The Office of the Prosecutor should again - as it did in its 23 September statement and during its October 2016 mission in DRC - publicly warn Congolese leaders that those responsible for crimes falling under its jurisdiction may be subject to investigation, prosecution and ultimate sentencing by the Court. The international community should also prevent the eventual clashes and be ready to respond. The United Nations should ensure that the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) fulfil the two priorities of its mandate, as renewed by Resolution 2277 on 30 March 2016: increase protection of civilians and "contribute to the creation of an environment conducive to peaceful, credible and timely elections". This preparation includes better deployment of observers, and of the intervention brigade throughout the entire territory, especially where a large number of people are expected to turn out [1] - namely in the west- , in order to protect civilians in an effective and prompt manner. The EU should also be ready to trigger the consultation procedure set out in Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement [2] if the Congolese authorities use excessive force on 19 December. Should this occur, the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF) should apply the sanctions stated in the Bamako Declaration on the practices of democracy, rights and freedoms in the Francophone region, signed and adopted by the Congolese State. Context Last 19 September, the brutal repression of the demonstrations led to more than fifty deaths in two days, dozens injured, and hundreds of people being arbitrarily arrested and detained. Since then, the repression of those opposed to changes in election dates and to a third mandate for President Kabila has only increased. And this, in spite of the agreement signed on 18 October, as part of a national dialogue, by the presidential majority and an opposition minority fringe group which led to a new government being formed with the leader of the opposition, Sami Badibanga as its head. The fact that the political agreement ratifies the postponement of the presidential election to April 2018, has led to outcries from civil society and opposition party leaders who boycotted the dialogue. #MyVoteMustCount Between 2015 and 2018, 61 elections, including 30 presidential elections were scheduled to be held in 32 African countries. To prevent manipulation, fraud and violence associated with rigged elections, FIDH brings together some one-hundred African and international civil society organizations and citizen movements in the Coalition #MyVoteMustCount. Together, we demand that country leaders respect the legitimate right of people to freely choose who will represent them in free, fair, transparent and peaceful elections. To that end, 30 civil society organizations and citizens' movements met in Dakar on 18 and 19 July 2016 at the invitation of FIDH and the conference of OIF's INGO to discuss the electoral processes in Africa. They adopted a road map to achieve change through elections, and renewed their commitment to the #MyVoteMustCount campaign as an international mobilisation tool. Footnotes [1] Notably in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, Bukavu, Kananga and Mbuji-Mayi. [2] "The Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000, establishes the frame for the relations between the European Union and 78 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. The consultation procedure, provided for in so-called "Consultation procedure and appropriate measures relating to human rights, democratic principles and Rule of Law" article 96, can be triggered in the event that one of the parties does not respect part of the agreement's key elements (article 9 of the agreement concerning respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms)." DR Congo: Kabila Should Commit to Leave Office Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, DR Congo: Kabila Should Commit to Leave Office, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853ee294.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila should make a public commitment before the end of his second term, on December 19, 2016, to respect the constitution and leave office, Human Rights Watch said today. Failing to do so will increase the likelihood of major violence and government abuses in the coming days and weeks. Government repression against activists, political opposition leaders, peaceful protesters, and others who oppose attempts to extend Kabila's presidency has escalated in recent months, Human Rights Watch said. Ongoing talks between the opposition and the ruling coalition, mediated by the Catholic Church, have not resolved the political impasse, while Kabila has repeatedly refused to declare if and when he will step down. "There is a grave risk that Congo could descend into widespread violence and chaos in the coming days, with potentially volatile repercussions across the region," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "President Kabila is the one person who can prevent this, by making a clear, public commitment to step down and by ending the violent repression by those under his command." Congolese across the country have been mobilizing for large-scale demonstrations beginning on December 19 to pressure Kabila to leave office. In addition, leaders of armed groups in the eastern part of the country have said that the army and police will no longer be "legitimate" after December 19, increasing the likelihood of armed conflict. The country's brittle security forces could fracture if Kabila relies on force to stay in power, and Congo's neighboring countries could become involved, as they have during past fighting in Congo. Throughout the country, government officials and security forces have repeatedly banned opposition demonstrations and fired teargas and live bullets on peaceful protesters. During one of the deadliest crackdowns, in the capital, Kinshasa, from September 19 to 21, security forces killed at least 66 protesters, Human Rights Watch found, and possibly many more as demonstrators protested the electoral commission's failure to announce presidential elections. Some burned to death when the Republican Guard presidential security detail attacked opposition party headquarters. Security forces took away the bodies of many victims. Some were thrown into the Congo River and later found washed up on its shores. Over the past three months, Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 75 victims, witnesses, security force officers, and others about the September crackdown and received credible reports of over 30 additional people killed by security forces. Since January 2015, Congolese authorities have arbitrarily arrested scores of activists and opposition leaders, some of whom the intelligence services held incommunicado for weeks or months while mistreating or torturing them, while others were tried on trumped-up charges. The government has shut down Congolese media outlets close to the opposition, at least six of which remain blocked. The signal for Radio France Internationale (RFI), the most important international news outlet in Congo, has been blocked in Kinshasa since November 5. One of the September protesters told Human Rights Watch that soldiers arrested him on September 19, put him in an army truck, and drove him around Kinshasa for several hours. He said he witnessed soldiers shooting at a group of peaceful protesters outside of their truck: "When we drove by a group of young men gathered together, they started shooting. 'You shot him in the neck but he isn't dead,' one of the soldiers said. 'Shoot again,' the other said." Some protesters in Kinshasa turned violent, beating or burning to death at least four police officers and one bystander. They also burned and looted police stations, a courthouse, public surveillance cameras, Chinese-owned shops, buildings associated with majority party officials, and other places seen as being close to or representative of Kabila and his government. Human Rights Watch found that police officers and members of youth leagues mobilized by ruling party officials and security force officers were also involved in the violence and looting. After the September protests, authorities banned political meetings and rallies in Kinshasa. On several occasions when the political opposition or pro-democracy youth groups attempted to organize demonstrations or rallies, security forces fired teargas to disperse groups, arrested organizers, or surrounded opposition leaders' homes to prevent them from leaving. Unidentified assailants have also attacked several opposition leaders' homes in recent weeks. Over 100 pro-democracy youth activists, representatives from the opposition youth leagues, musicians, and journalists have been arrested since October in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Goma, and Bunia most while planning or mobilizing participation in planned protests. At least a dozen remain in detention. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Myanmar: Journalist investigating illegal logging killed Publisher Article 19 Publication Date 14 December 2016 Cite as Article 19, Myanmar: Journalist investigating illegal logging killed, 14 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853f1ba4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. ARTICLE 19 is extremely concerned about the death of Eleven Media journalist Soe Moe Tun, and urges the Myanmar authorities to conduct an independent, speedy, and effective investigation into his killing, including explicitly investigating whether he was killed for his reporting. "Our condolences go to Soe Moe Tun's family, friends and his colleagues at Eleven Media," said Oliver Spencer, ARTICLE 19 Head of Asia. "Myanmar has significant levels of illegal logging and journalists like Soe Moe Tun are challenging the corruption that fuels it. The police need to explicitly investigate whether this is a crime against freedom of expression and seek to find both the perpetrators and the instigators of such a terrible wrongdoing." Soe Moe Tun, who had been reporting for Eleven Media about illegal logging in the country, was found dead on 13 December 2016 on the side of a road in Monywa, Sagaing region, Upper Myanmar. His body showed signs of beating. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, illegal logging is a significant problem in Myanmar, with poor governance, weak law enforcement and conflict hindering efforts to address the problem. Independent reporting on illegal logging is extremely important to expose these practices to the public and advocate for their elimination. The killing of Soe Moe Tun also occurs in the growing climate of government pressure against media houses and journalists reporting on allegations of human rights violations, including by the Myanmar military. It also happens in the light of impunity for the murder of journalist Par Gyi, who was killed in 2014 in military detention. ARTICLE 19 urges the Mynamar authorities to fully investigate the death of Soe Moe Tun, including whether he was killed due to his reporting on illegal logging. In particular, as highlighted in the 2011 Joint Declaration of four free expression mandates, they must ensure that : The investigation should be carried out by an authority outside of the jurisdiction or sphere of influence of state authorities that might be implicated in the events; Investigations should lead to the identification and prosecution of all of those responsible for the killing, including direct perpetrators and instigators, as well as those who conspire to commit, aid and abet, or cover up such crimes; The investigation should be conducted with the presumption that the victim was killed for exercising his right to freedom of expression, until proven otherwise, and relevant lines of enquiry related to the victim's expressive activities have been exhausted; The next-of-kin should be afforded effective access to the procedure. At the very least the next-of-kin must be involved in the procedure to the extent necessary to safeguard their legitimate interests. In most instances, this will require giving access to certain parts of the proceedings and also to the relevant documents to ensure participation is effective. ARTICLE 19 further calls on the Myanmar Government to adopt necessary reforms to create an enabling environment for freedom of expression, including through the media, and to ensure that the Myanmar media can report on complex political and other issues in the country without fear of violence and harassment. Copyright notice: Copyright ARTICLE 19 North Korea: No Justice Five Years After Kim Jong-Il's Death Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, North Korea: No Justice Five Years After Kim Jong-Il's Death, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853f2974.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. As North Korea prepares to commemorate the fifth anniversary of former North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Il's death on December 17, the world should redouble pressure for action against North Korea's legacy of crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said today. The UN General Assembly should act decisively on its opportunity to condemn these most severe rights violations in North Korea by adopting by consensus a resolution on North Korea human rights. "Kim Jong-Il's rule should be remembered for its sheer brutality, repression, and ruthlessness and especially for the deaths of millions from his misrule during the years of famine in the mid-1990s," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Rather than honoring Kim Jong-Il on the 5th anniversary of his death, the North Korean people should demand that those responsible for crimes under his rule, and crimes that continue under the rule of his son Kim Jong Un, be brought before an international tribunal." Kim Jong-Il took over as leader of North Korea in 1994, after the death of his father Kim Il-Sung. Kim Jong-Il's economic mismanagement and brutal policies led to a severe famine that killed millions of North Koreans and steered scarce food to the military and ruling party cadres instead. Kim Jong-Il's rights-abusing legacy also included strictly limiting access to information and attempting to restrict freedom of movement during the deadly onset of starvation in the multi-year famine known as the Arduous March. Despite these restrictions, tens of thousands of North Koreans managed to flee the country during his almost twenty years in power. However, Kim Jong-Il set out a clear policy that leaving the country without official permission was considered an act of treason. Those sent to prison camps after being caught trying to flee the country have been subjected to detention, torture, sexual abuse, and forced labor. In February 2014, a UN Commission of Inquiry found that the North Korean government under the rule of the Kim family committed systematic human right abuses without parallel in the contemporary world, including extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, and other sexual violence. The commission recommended that the United Nations Security Council consider referral of the human rights situation in North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and press for individual sanctions for those responsible for rights violations. These recommendations were later endorsed by resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council and General Assembly, most recently in November 2016 when the Third Committee of the General Assembly passed its resolution on North Korea by consensus. In November, the UN Security Council also expressed deep concern for the suffering of North Koreans in a resolution condemning North Korea's September 9 nuclear test. And on December 9, the Security Council discussed for a third year in a row the human rights situation in North Korea as a threat to international peace and security. Next week, the UN General Assembly will meet in plenary and is expected to endorse the vote of its Third Committee on a resolution condemning the continued systematic and pervasive abuse of human rights by North Korea. "Justice for victims of Kim Jong-Il and his government's horrific record of rights is long overdue," Robertson said. "Pyongyang's predictably over-the-top celebrations of the fifth anniversary of Kim's passing shows total disregard for its human rights obligations, while spotlighting the need for accountability for the appalling crimes the Kim Jong-Il family has perpetrated." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Afghanistan: Torturer's Deportation from UK Poses Threat to Witnesses Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: Torturer's Deportation from UK Poses Threat to Witnesses, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853f3254.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The deportation of Commander Faryadi Zardad from the UK to Afghanistan on December 14 poses a clear danger for witnesses who testified against the former warlord in his 2005 conviction for torture and hostage taking, Human Rights Watch said today. The UK government should take immediate measures to protect witnesses, including by expediting asylum procedures and relocation outside Afghanistan. The Afghan government should impose parole restrictions on Zardad, and the UK and Afghan authorities should scrupulously monitor his compliance in order to protect those witnesses who remain in Afghanistan. "Zardad's trial and conviction in the UK was a landmark case demonstrating that torturers cannot find safe haven by fleeing to another country," said Patricia Gossman, senior researcher on Afghanistan. "But by failing to take measures to protect witnesses, the UK government risks betraying those who made that conviction possible. They owe it to them to take immediate steps to protect those most at risk." Zardad, who was prosecuted by UK authorities under English law implementing the Convention against Torture, for the crimes of hostage taking and torture committed in Afghanistan in the 1990s, was recently paroled after serving 11 years of a 20-year prison sentence. He arrived in Kabul on December 14, and was reportedly taken into custody by the National Directorate of Security (NDS). A crowd of supporters, at least one armed, assembled inside the security perimeter of the airport carrying signs welcoming him home as a hero. Those who testified at Zardad's trial have expressed concerns for the safety of witnesses and their families. Some witnesses learned of Zardad's imminent arrival only days before he returned. The Metropolitan Police stated that they had been making efforts to contact all witnesses; however, not all had been reached. Zardad was a commander of the Hezb-i Islami faction who gained notoriety in the 1990s when his forces commanded a checkpoint at Sarobi, about 60 km east of Kabul, where they would stop tradespeople, travelers, and aid convoys traveling to and from Kabul. Zardad's men held passengers as hostages, imprisoning and torturing them to extort ransom from their family members. Zardad fled to Britain in 1996 on a forged passport; after the BBC discovered him living in London, UK authorities detained him in 2003. Zardad was the first person prosecuted in the UK for the crime of torture under universal jurisdiction laws, which allow for the prosecution of crimes committed in another state. A 2004 trial ended in a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a verdict. Following a second trial in 2005, during which many of Zardad's victims testified by video link from the UK embassy in Kabul, Zardad was found guilty and sentenced to two 20-year sentences to be served concurrently. The head of the Scotland Yard investigation, who located witnesses in Afghanistan, told The Guardian that to convince the witnesses to testify, his team had to "give them the confidence to come forward to give evidence in a British court." The witnesses were not represented by lawyers. A UK diplomat at the embassy in Kabul told Human Rights Watch in 2014 that Zardad would not be paroled. While reports of his imminent return surfaced in Kabul in October 2016, neither the UK or Afghan government made any official public notification of Zardad's imminent parole and deportation prior to his return to Kabul. Human Rights Watch does not know of any measures that have been taken to protect witnesses from retaliation from Zardad, or to impose restrictions on his release to prevent him from intimidating or harming witnesses, although it is not clear how any such restrictions would be implemented. "Zardad has contacts in high places, and Afghan police and intelligence officials have long enjoyed impunity despite well documented systematic torture and other abuses," Gossman said. "Relocation of witnesses outside the country is likely to be the only way to protect those most at risk of reprisals." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Russia: Government vs. Rights Groups, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853f3bb4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. For the past four years, the Kremlin has sought to stigmatize criticism or alternative views of government policy as disloyal, foreign-sponsored, or even traitorous. It is part of a sweeping crackdown to silence critical voices that has included new legal restrictions on the internet, on freedom of expression, on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and on other fundamental freedoms. Association of NGOs in Defense of Voters' Rights "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Regional Public Association in Defense of Democratic Rights and Freedoms "Golos" (Moscow) June 5, 2014 Center for Social Policy and Gender Studies (Saratov) June 5, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Women of Don (Rostov region) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 29, 2016) Kostroma Center for Support of Public Initiatives (Kostroma) June 5, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Interregional Human Rights Association "Agora" (Kazan) July 21, 2014 Regional public organization "Ecozaschita! Womens' Council" (Kaliningrad) July 21, 2014 Public Verdict Foundation (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Moscow) July 21, 2014 Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms / JURIX (Moscow) July 21, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 26, 2015) Soldiers' Mothers (Saint Petersburg) August 28, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 23, 2015) Freedom of Information Foundation / Institute for Information Freedom Development August 28, 2014 PIR Center September 3, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended February 24, 2016) Association "Partnership for Development" (Saratov) October 2, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) "News Agency MEMO.RU" (Moscow) November 20, 2014 Regional Press Institute (St. Petersburg) November 20, 2014 Moscow School of Civic Education December 9, 2014 Rakurs, Arkhangelsk regional non-governmental LGBT organization December 15, 2014 All-Russian movement "For Human Rights" December 22, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 30, 2015) Human Rights Center (Kaliningrad) December 25, 2014 Krasnodar Regional Social Organization of University Alumni December 25, 2014 ("foreign agent" status was suspended April 22, 2016) Regional social organization "Public Commission for Academic Sakharov's Heritage Preservation" December 25, 2014 Resource Human Rights Center (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down November 3, 2015) Regional Public Organization "Man and the Law" (Republic of Mari El) December 30, 2014 Center for Social Development "Vozrozhdeniye" (Pskov) December 30, 2014 Public Human Rights Organization "Civil Control" (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 The League of Women Voters (St. Petersburg) December 30, 2014 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) Free Press Support Foundation December 30, 2014 Interregional Non-Governmental Organization "The Committee Against Torture" January 16, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 13, 2016) Educational Center "Memorial" (Sverdlov region) January 16, 2015 Autonomous non-profit human rights organization "Youth Center for Consulting and Training" January 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2015) "Information Bureau of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg" January 20, 2015 Jewish regional branch of the Russian public organization "Municipal Academy" January 26, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 22, 2015) The noncommercial partnership "Press Development Institute - Siberia" January 30, 2015 Center for social, psychological and legal help to victims of discrimination and homophobia "Maximum" (Murmansk) February 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 28, 2015) Interregional public fund for civil society development "Golos-Povolzhye" (Samara) February 6, 2015 Interregional charity organization "Siberian Environmental Center" (Novosibirsk) February 12, 2015 Center for Civic Analysis and Independent Research / GRANI (Perm) February 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended June 19, 2015) Municipal public organization "Samara Center for Gender Studies" (Samara) February 16, 2015 Regional Fund "Center for Defense of Mass Media Rights" (Voronezh) February 26, 2015 Regional Charitable Social Foundation "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Regional Ecological Social Movement "For nature" (Chelyabinsk) March 6, 2015 Humanist Youth Movement (Murmansk) March 13, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 25, 2015) Regional Social Organization for Contribution to Harmonization of Interethnic Relations "Azerbaijan" March 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended July 22, 2016) Regional Social Environmental Organization "Bellona-Murmansk" March 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down October 16, 2015) "Educational Center for Environment and Security" (Samara) March 20, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 8, 2015) Foundation "Migration XXI Century" March 27, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended November 25, 2016) Eco-logika (Rostov) April 3, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Transparency International Russia - April 7, 2015 Social Environmental Organization "Planeta Nadezhd" April 15, 2015 Foundation for Consumers' Rights Defense (Novosibirsk) April 17, 2015 (the organization was shut down May 12, 2016) Civil Assistance Committee April 20, 2015 Foundation 19/29 - Foundation for Support of Investigative Journalism April 24, 2015 Commemorative Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm - 36" April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 18, 2016) Women's League (Kaliningrad ) April 29, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Legal Expert Partnership "Soyuz " May 7, 2015 (the organization was shut down 25 August 2015) Center for Development of Non-Commerical Organizations May 13, 2015 Club of Accountants and Auditors of Non-Commercial Organizations May 13, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended March 30, 2016) Informational Bureau of the Council of Ministers of Northern Countries (Kaliningrad) May 13, 2015 Sutyajnik (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Human Rights Academy (Yekaterinburg) May 15, 2015 Ecological Center "Dront" (Nizhny Novgorod) May 22, 2015 The non-profit organization "Liberal Mission" Scientific Foundation of Theoretical and Applied Research May 25, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 11, 2015) The non-profit Dynasty Foundation May 25, 2015 Union of Employers (Tula region) May 28, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Youth organization "Nuori Karjala/Young Karelia" June 19, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 25, 2016) Siberian Center for Support of Social Initiatives June 19, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Interregional Social Foundation for Peace in the South and in the Northern Caucasus June 19, 2015 Informational Center "Free Inform" June 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Center for Independent Sociological Studies (St. Petersburg) June 22, 2015 Regional Organization for Population and Development June 23, 2015 Geblerov Ecological Societ (Barnaul) June 23, 2015 Association "Legal Basis" (Yekaterinburg) July 3, 2015 Interregional Non-governmental Organization "Northern Environmental Coalition" (Petrozavodsk) July 8, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 1, 2015) Komi Human Rights Commission "Memorial" (Syktyvkar) July 21, 2015 Altai Regional Public Fund for 21st Century Altai (Barnaul) July 22, 2015 (the organization was shut down March 28, 2016) Interregional Public Foundation for Civil Society Development "GOLOS-Ural" (Chelyabinsk region) July 22, 2015 SREDA Foundation July 28, 2015 Non-governmental environmental organization "Green World" (Nizhny Novgorod) July 29, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 28, 2016) Civic Action Foundation (Perm) August 5, 2015 Alliance of Funds of Local Communities of the Perm territory August 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended October 26, 2016) Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center regional branch of the "For Human Rights" All-Russian movement (Nalchik) August 18, 2015 (the organization was shut down November 6, 2015) The Human Rights Center of the Chechen Republic (Grozny) August 21, 2015 Interregional Social Ecological Foundation "ISAR-Siberia" (Novosibirsk) August 26, 2015 Perm Regional Human Rights Center (Perm) September 3, 2015 Siberia's lifeline (Novosibirsk) September 3, 2015 Golos Foundation in Support of Democracy September 4, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 21, 2016) Jewish Cultural Center "Hesed-Teshuva" (Ryazan) September 11, 2015 ("foreign agent" status was suspended December 13, 2016) Sakhalin Environment Watch (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) September 18, 2015 Yasavey Manzara Information and Research Center (Naryan-Mar) September 23, 2015 (the organization was shut down June 15, 2016) Consumer Rights and Environment Protection Association "Princip" (Moscow region) October 5, 2015 Far East Center for the Development of Civil Initiatives and Social Partnership (Vladivostok) October 13, 2015 Russian Research Center for Human Rights October 20, 2015 Women of the Don (Rostov region) October 27, 2015 Friends of the Siberian Forests (Krasnoyarsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 6, 2016) Photography Club "Sobytiye" (Omsk) October 28, 2015 (the organization was shut down December 16, 2015) Research and Information Center "Memorial" (St. Petersburg) November 6, 2015 Baikal Environmental Wave (Irkutsk) November 10, 2015 (the organization was shut down August 1, 2016) Glasnost Defense Foundation November 19, 2015 Human Rights Institute November 20, 2015 Center for Support of Indigenous Peoples of the North November 27, 2015 Green World (Leningrad region) December 2, 2015 Mashr (Republic of Ingushetia) December 8, 2015 Woman's World (Kaliningrad) December 11, 2015 Panorama Information and Research Center (Moscow) December 18, 2015 Dauria Ecological Center (Chita) December 30, 2015 (the organization was shut down September 1, 2016) Yekaterinburg Memorial Society (Yekaterinburg) December 30, 2015 Bureau of Public Investigations (Nizhny Novgorod) January 14, 2016 Committee for the Prevention of Torture (Orenburg) January 14, 2016 Institute of Forecasting and Resolving of Political Conflicts (Nizhny Novgorod) January 22, 2016 Ryazan Historical, Educational and Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Ryazan) February 1, 2016 Society of Assistance to Social Protection of Citizens "Peterburgskaya EGIDA" (Saint Petersburg) February 2, 2016 (the organization was shut down April 26, 2016) Center for Health and Social Support "SIBALT" (Omsk) February 15, 2016 Chelyabinsk Regional Organ of Public Independent Action "Ural Human Rights Group" (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Women of Eurasia (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Ural Democratic Foundation (Chelyabinsk) February 15, 2016 Legal and Social Support Charitable Foundation "Sphere" (Saint Petersburg) March 1, 2016 Centre for Civic Education and Human Rights (Perm) March 3, 2016 The International Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation "Batani" (Moscow) March 11, 2016 Center for Social and Labor Rights (Moscow) March 21, 2016 Arkhar (Gorno-Altaysk) April 5, 2016 (the organization was shut down October 6, 2016) Publishing House "Valentin Manuylov" April 15, 2016 Tengri School of Soul ecology (Altay) - May 17, 2016 Hanse Buero / Information Bureau of Schleswig-Holstein in Kaliningrad (Kaliningrad) - May 24, 2016 Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Organization Agency of public initiatives (Krasnoyarsk) - May 27, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Saratov Regional Public Organization "Socium" (Engels) - May 30, 2016 Perm regional non-governmental organization "Perm Civil Chamber" (Perm) - June 9, 2016 ("foreign agent" status was suspended September 21, 2016) Regional non-governmental organization Integration center "Migration and Law" (Moscow) - June 16, 2016 Non-Profit Partnership "ESVERO" (Moscow) - June 22, 2016 Andrey Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice (Moscow) - June 29, 2016 Altai regional sport and patriotic youth public organization "Arctica" (Biysk) - July 6, 2016 Autonomous non-governmental organization "Free Word" (Pskov) - July 13, 2016 The Institute of Economic Analysis (Moscow) - July 22, 2016 Penza regional youth civic organization for prevention of negative phenomena among youth "Panacea" (Kuznetsk) - August 15, 2016 (the organization was shut down December 8, 2016) Samara regional, civic organization "American alumni club" (Samara) - August 26, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit organization "Publishing house 'Park Gagarina'" (Samara) - August 31, 2016 Levada Analytical Center (Moscow) - September 5, 2016 Environmental Watch on North Caucasus (Maikop) - September 13, 2016 Autonomous non-for-profit human rights organization "Draftee's school" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 Foundation for support of civil freedoms "Legal mission" (Chelyabinsk) - September 21, 2016 International Historical, Educational, Human Rights And Charitable Society Memorial (Moscow) - October 4, 2016 Sverdlovsk regional non-profit foundation "Health Era" (Ekaterinburg) - October 11, 2016 Chapaevsk non-profit organization "Chapaevsk city medical personnel association" (Chapaevsk) - October 21, 2016 Regional charity foundation "Samarskaya gubernia" (Samara) - November 2, 2016 Non-profit partnership "Internet Community" (Samara) - December 13, 2016 And the four NGOs which registered voluntarily: Non-commercial Partnership "Supporting Competition in the CIS Countries" June 27, 2013 "The Union of Young Political Scientists", KarachayCherkess Republican Youth Social Organization December 15, 2014 Regional Social Movement "Novgorod Women's Parliament" (Veliky Novgorod) March 6, 2015 Center of Independent Researchers of the Altai Republic June 10, 2015 Leader of at least 1 NGO faces criminal charges personally: Women of Don (Rostov region) - criminal proceeding is in process. Chair Valentina Cherevatenko faces up to two years in prison for "malicious evasion of the duty to file the documents required for inclusion in the register of nonprofit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Non, merci: English-speaking Cameroon rises up, wants Republic of Ambazonia Publisher IRIN Author Mbom Sixtus Publication Date 15 December 2016 Cite as IRIN, Non, merci: English-speaking Cameroon rises up, wants Republic of Ambazonia, 15 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5853f47c4.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. A middle-aged man stands in front of a freshly covered grave, a flag tied around his neck. The flag has blue and white stripes and a white dove in its top left quadrant, but these are not the colours of any country recognised by the United Nations. That is something this man and thousands like him in the two western English-speaking regions of Cameroon want to change. They are agitating for secession, and the creation of a brand-new country called the Republic of Ambazonia. The grave contains the body of a young man shot dead by security forces on 8 December in Bamenda, the largest city in Cameroon's Northwest Region. He was one of four people who died that day, as they demanded the rolling back of French influence. "Innocent southern Cameroonians (a reference to the pre-independence name of the two Anglophone regions: Southern Cameroons) went out to the streets to complain, without weapons: no guns no bullets. But here is our younger brother, lying here," he says to a group of men paying their respects at the graveside. "The time is now. Our independence is our inherent right," he says. "We are calling on the United Nations and all African heads of state [to support us]. Brothers, go back to Bamenda safely. Tomorrow, a new fight is starting." There's a collective yell of "forward ever, backward never", and the men troop out of the cemetery in Kumbo, the second-largest city in Northwest Region. "Swamped" Cameroon is a bilingual country; the constitution gives equal status to both English and French. But Cameroon's two English-speaking regions, Northwest and Southwest, are seething over their perceived marginalisation, swamped by Cameroon's eight other regions and majority French-speaking population. They believe they are treated as second-class citizens, and over the past few months there has been a series of demonstrations in defence of their language and culture. The movement began as protests by lawyers and teachers in October, striking over the increasing use of French in courts and schools. It has since snowballed. Clashes with the security forces in Bamenda on 21 November left one person dead and more than 100 arrested. Students supporting the strikers at the University of Buea, the largest English-speaking university in the country, were teargassed and beaten on 28 November, with images of the violence going viral on social media. The discontent, known as the "Anglophone problem", has been bubbling since the 1990s. It is fanned by the perceived lack of benefits earned from the oil produced in the region; the government's failure to appoint English-speaking Cameroonians (with the exception of the prime minister) to senior positions; and the difficulty faced in the job market by those for whom French is not their first language. "Excessive force" Paul Atanga Nji, the minister of special duties at the presidency, denies there is a systemic problem. In what was seen as a provocation in the heated political atmosphere, he decided to hold a rally of the ruling CPDM in Bamenda on 8 December. It went badly. Protesters blocked the roads to the city. They stopped everyone they found wearing CPDM colours, stripped them, and set their clothes on fire. They pulled down the Cameroonian flag on administrative buildings and hoisted the secessionist southern Cameroon flag. Atanga's car was torched, and he was forced to seek refuge in a nearby hospital as a military helicopter flew to his rescue. Other politicians had to be rushed out of the venue, escorted by soldiers mounted on pickup trucks firing into the air. Police and soldiers used what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described as "excessive force". Among their victims was a 12-year-old boy, shot while fetching water from a public tap. The government, though, has characterised the protesters as quasi-terrorists. According to press reports, some 100 people arrested in Bamenda have been flown to 101 Military Base in the capital, Yaounde, and are currently being held in an undisclosed location. They could face the death penalty if tried under Cameroon's controversial anti-terrorism law, enacted in the wake of Boko Haram attacks in the country's Far North Region. Government spokeman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said at the weekend that the comparison with Boko Haram was apt. He said security forces had been confronting a well-planned act of urban guerrilla warfare, while the raising of the Southern Cameroons flag was insurrectionary. Call for investigations But Amnesty International has urged the government to immediately conduct "thorough, impartial and effective investigations", into the actions by the security forces. "Responding to incidents of violence during protests with unnecessary or excessive force threatens to further enflame an already tense situation and could put more lives at risk," Amnesty said in a statement. Southern Cameroons was under British colonial rule at the end of World War I, and administered as part of neighbouring Nigeria. In a referendum in 1961 it chose to join French Cameroon, and the two territories were formally united. The men at the graveside in Kumbo, and other secessionists, represent the hardline option. The more mainstream position in western Cameroon is for federation, returning to a system of governance that existed from independence until 1972. No dialogue The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, made up primarily of lawyers and teachers involved in the strike action, are among the groups pushing for the federal option, so far with little success. Ayah Paul Abine, an opposition politician and the lone Anglophone among five advocates-general on Cameroon's Supreme Court, is putting together a list of eminent leaders to negotiate with the government. "We will dialogue with the government to have federalism, and if we can't have that, both Cameroons will go their separate ways," he told IRIN. But the depth of anger in western Cameroon has so far been best expressed by Member of Parliament Wirba Joseph, who made an impassioned speech to the national assembly that has become a local internet sensation. Furious over the actions of what he described as an "army of occupation", he announced, "those saying that we should break Cameroon are right". Quoting a phrase often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, he added: "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." Cuba: Free Graffiti Artist Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Cuba: Free Graffiti Artist, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58540d684.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Cuban authorities should order the immediate release of Danilo Maldonado Machado, the graffiti artist known as "El Sexto," whom they arrested on November 26, 2016, and have been treating with increasing severity ever since, Human Rights Watch said today. Police arrested Maldonado after he posted on social media a video of himself celebrating Fidel Castro's death earlier that day. Since then, he has been held incommunicado in various detention centers for as long as three days at a time. Family members who have seen him said he had been severely beaten on several occasions and subjected to three days of solitary confinement, naked and without food. Though still not charged with a crime, he was transferred on December 14 to a high-security prison that houses convicted criminals. Authorities have given his family no information about how long he will remain there. "Nobody should be arrested for expressing political views," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "And under no circumstances should anyone be beaten or held incommunicado, or imprisoned prior to trial alongside criminals who have been tried and sentenced." Speaking on the phone from Havana, Maldonado's mother, Maria Victoria Machado, said that police stormed into her son's house later that day, dragged him to a police station, beat him severely, and then took him to the Villa Marista state security prison, notorious in Cuba for holding political prisoners. There, she said, they beat him so severely that it brought on an attack of asthma, from which he suffers. Only then 72 hours after his arrest was he allowed to contact her so that she could bring him an inhaler. Maldonado spent the three days in solitary confinement the week of December 4, said Alexandra Martinez, his fiancee, a US citizen who lives in Miami and was speaking on December 15 from Havana. On December 14, Maldonado was transferred to the El Combinado del Este prison where the family says that he is housed with prisoners convicted of violent crimes who may pose a real danger to his safety or even his life. Short-term arbitrary arrests of Cuban human rights defenders, independent journalists, and artists have increased dramatically in recent years. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, an independent human rights group that the government views as illegal, received more than 7,900 reports of arbitrary detention from January through August 2016 the highest monthly average in the past six years. Maldonado has long been a target of police harassment. In 2014, police arrested him for spray painting "Fidel" and "Raul" on the backs of two live pigs for which he served 10 months in prison. Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch Myanmar's handling of northern Rakhine lesson in how to make 'bad situation worse' - UN rights chief Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 16 December 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Myanmar's handling of northern Rakhine lesson in how to make 'bad situation worse' - UN rights chief, 16 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58540df640d.html [accessed 3 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 16 December 2016 - Expressing concern over the situation in Myanmar's northern Rakhine, the top United Nations human rights official warned that the Government's short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous approach to the handling of the crisis could have grave long-term repercussions for the country and the region. In a news release today, UN High Commissioner for Human rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said that he was deeply disappointed that access by his Office (OHCHR) to some of the worst areas in northern Rakhine had still not been approved, particularly given numerous alarming allegations of rights violations, including killings, rapes and the burning of Rohingya homes. The repeated dismissal of the claims of serious human rights violations as fabrications, coupled with the failure to allow our independent monitors access to the worst affected areas in northern Rakhine, is highly insulting to the victims and an abdication of the Government's obligations under international human rights law, Mr. Zeid said. If the authorities have nothing to hide, then why is there such reluctance to grant us access? Given the continued failure to grant us access, we can only fear the worst, he added. Noting that the country's handling of the crisis in northern Rakhine is a lesson in how to make a bad situation worse, Mr. Zeid called on the authorities to reflect on the best approach towards a durable resolution to the long-standing grievances of different communities in northern Rakhine. Further in the release, he also strongly condemned attacks on border police posts in early October by armed assailants as well as the killing of a senior army officer on 12 November. These are serious crimes for which the individual perpetrators and their masterminds must be brought to account with full respect of their right to due process, the High Commissioner stressed. But accounts we have received suggest that security forces may have imposed collective punishment on an entire community, with reprisals against already vulnerable Rohingya Muslims continuing more than two months after the border post attacks, causing some 27,000 people to flee across the border into Bangladesh, he added. Sadly, the world today is full of examples where States have responded to security breaches with heavy-handed military responses, with little or no regard for the root causes. The results have been catastrophic, with mass displacement, the nurturing of violent extremism, and everybody ultimately losing, he cautioned. He also urged the Government to accept the international community's offer of support to help resolve the crisis as well as by his Office to provide training and assistance to authorities in improving the human rights situation for all the people of Myanmar. Its enough to make you cry out loud. And its enough to make you think. Recently, I was reading the October issue of the Voice of the Martyrs magazine.* The cover story is about the Werner and Hannelie Groenewald family from South Africa. It begins with Hannelie Groenewald. Hannelie, a doctor, and her family lived in Afghanistan for years. On Nov. 29, 2014, she and other physicians from her clinic had been put on standby in case of an attack by the Taliban on Kabul. Hannelie was headed home that day when her driver got a phone call. There had been an attack. And it was on the building where her family lived and worked. Police and armored vehicles blocked the way so she had to walk to the building. No one would let her inside. An eerie silence later was shattered by gunfire and an explosion. Afghan police then fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the apartment where the Groenewalds lived. In the darkness, Hannelie stared at the light of her cell phone, reading Gods word. Before moving to Afghanistan in 2003, the Groenewalds talked about possibly dying in a war-ravaged country. They took account of the very real dangers of raising their children, Jean-Pierre, then 5, and Rode, then 3, in that far-away nation, dominated by the Taliban. Yet the call on their lives by God was so real. Saying yes to that call wasnt easy, but they left their comfortable home and moved. God provided for them in amazing ways, yet life was still challenging. Throughout the years, Werner Groenewald, whod been a senior pastor at a Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, served with humanitarian organizations in Afghanistan. He provided leadership training, community development education and English courses. Hannelie had left behind a successful career in trauma medicine. She served in medical clinics in Afghanistan and the CURE International Hospital of Kabul. Life in Afghanistan is tough for Christians. By law, those who leave Islam can be put to death. Those who come to know Christ as their Savior often keep it a secret. More mature believers share their faith, but its dangerous. They have counted the cost, Hannelie said in the article. We had to count the cost before going to Afghanistan with our small children. We knew anything could happen, and Afghan believers there also know that anything can happen. You have to come to terms with that before you go to a country like that. For Werner, fearless service to Christ became a theme and something of which he spoke often. In October 2014, Werner spoke at a conference on Counting the Cost for Christ. He finished by saying: We die only once. It might as well be for Christ. The day of the attack, the Groenewalds son, Jean-Pierre, listened to music and chatted with friends on the Internet. His sister, Rode, crocheted and worked on the computer. Werner was teaching a class when Taliban fighters stormed the building. Hearing gunshots, Werner ordered his students to go to Hannelies consulting room next door. Werner was headed upstairs, when attackers shot him. He bled to death within minutes. In the upstairs apartment, Jean-Pierre, 17, and Rode, 15, were found shot to death with an AK-47. One of the attackers detonated a bomb, killing himself, and the house caught fire and burned. Two of Hannelies co-workers tearfully broke the news to her about her family. Two years later, Hannelie is in South Africa, where she uses her medical skills to care for the less privileged. She regrets not being with her children when they died, but knows Christ was with them. And while finding peace hasnt been easy, she knows Christ has been with her, too. Hannelie believes she and her family made an impact on people in Afghanistan. Shes proud of their obedience and notes that in the midst of their struggles on the mission field the Lord gave us the reward of his presence. He revealed himself to us, who He is. When asked, Hannelie said shes never been angry with God about the deaths of her family. They had a clear calling from God. Now, she believes her family wants her to finish her race for the Lord. I cried when I read this story and did some thinking. Werners quote about counting the cost reminds me of another man Jim Elliot. Jim was an evangelical Christian and one of five missionaries killed in 1956, trying to bring the Gospel message to the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Jim was just 28 years old. Like the Groenewalds, Jim also counted the cost, too. Just a few years before his death, Jim even wrote in his journal: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. I think about Jims widow, Elisabeth, who with other missionaries returned to Ecuador to reach the people there for Christ. Elisabeth became an author and remarried. Elisabeth was 88 when she died in 2015. Last week, I came across another Jim Elliot quote, which provides an additional view of his thoughts. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus, Jim wrote. That quote caught me. It reminded me of something my late husband, Chuck, told me when I informed him that hed better live a long time. I cant promise you Ill live a long life, but Ill live a full one, he said. And I think Chuck did. He enjoyed cooking, working on his Bucket-T car, spending time with family and friends and playing on the worship team at church. Chuck liked the Bucket List movie. And he had a Bucket List that included driving his Bucket-T across the country. Chuck didnt get to finish that list, which was lost on a computer. But I believe hes in heaven wanting me and the rest of our family to finish our races and to live full lives. Those of us who are left still have things to do for the Lord. And while its not always easy to carry on, I believe its the Lords will and our familys wishes that we do so. My buddy, Carol Swanda, once told me that she thought Chuck and I finished well as a married couple. We fulfilled our marriage vows. Now, I want to finish well the race that God has for me. And as I think about people like the Groenewalds and the Elliots, Im reminded of an ancient-day missionary and writer, the Apostle Paul. As the end of his life grew close, Paul wrote some incredibly poignant words. We find them in New Testament book of 2 Timothy 4:7-8: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. If we love and trust Jesus as our Savior, I dont think we have to fear death. And I dont think we have to fear the thought of stepping out in faith during our lifetimes. For reasons only known to God, each one of us was placed on this earth at this period of time for his purposes. I believe God loves us deeply and hurts when we do. He has our best interests at heart and has a plan for each of us even though we cant see the whole picture. Why do people we love most in the world die? I dont know and I hate it, but I find comfort in Revelation 21:4, which talks about God wiping every tear from our eyes and about a time when there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. And I believe deep in my heart that day will come. * From the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter, which is available for free at persecution.com. Dan Conway, Don Lipps discuss challenges at MSD of Martinsville For the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, there are two open seats for the school board in Tuesday's election. The Myanmar government said Friday that it will allow a group of independent journalists into Rakhine states Maungdaw township, which is still under a security lockdown following deadly attacks on border guard posts in October and subsequent violent clashes last month. Thirteen independent journalists will be escorted on a three-day trip to the area on Dec. 19-21 under full security, the notice said. It did not mention which reporters or news organization would be included. More visits by journalists will come later, allowing news outlets to cover news in the region, it said The Ministry of Information has been arranging the visit, said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the Presidents Office. The military, police, and state government are collaborating on this trip. Because the journalists are going to an area where the attacks occurred, they will have full security, he said. Security forces that moved into Maungdaw in October to search for militants who carried out the attacks have closed the area off to reporters from nongovernment media organizations and international aid agencies. The United Nations, Western countries, and international human rights groups have called on the Myanmar government to open Maungdaw to independent journalists so they can investigate reports of killings, rape, torture, and arson by army soldiers who conducted security sweeps of Muslim Rohingya villages. The Myanmar army and government have rejected allegations of misconduct and abuse by security forces in Maungdaw, and have blamed Rohingya militants for setting structures ablaze. According to official government counts, nearly 90 people have been killed and close to 600 arrested. More than 27,000 Rohingya have fled their villages and gone to neighboring Bangladesh. EU lawmakers condemn crisis The European Parliament is the latest to weigh in on the crisis in Rakhine state. On Thursday, it issued a statement expressing lawmakers concern about reports of the Myanmar armys violent clashes with the Rohingya. Members of the European Parliament are extremely concerned about reports of violent clashes with the Rohingya people in the state of Rakhine in Myanmar and deplore the loss of life, livelihood, and shelter, as well as the reported disproportionate use of force by the Myanmar armed forces, the statement said. They urge the military and security forces to put an immediate stop to the killing, harassment, and rape of the Rohingya people and to stop burning down their homes, while pointing out the duty of the Myanmar authorities to investigate the attacks, it said. On Monday, Myanmar government leaders will hold a meeting with foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Naypyidaw to discuss the situation in Rakhine state. Reported by Kyaw Thu for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Already strict security controls in northwestern Chinas Xinjiang region have been tightened further following the August appointment of Chen Quanguo, former party boss in neighboring Tibet, as Communist Party secretary, sources say. Police patrols now work around the clock in the regions mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghur townships, an auxiliary officer in Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) prefectures Qaraqash county told RFAs Uyghur Service. I am an auxiliary policeman at the Aqsaray township police station, and our security situation has become more tightly controlled in recent months, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Each village now implements a 24-hour system of police patrols, with four regular police officers and from four to six auxiliary officers forming each patrol, he said. Checkpoints have been built across all the townships and even in some of the smaller villages. Staffing has been strengthened, too, at police stations in the townships since October, the source said. I dont know the exact numbers of officers at each police station, but I would guess there are around 40 regular policemen and auxiliary officers on duty now at some of the bigger stations, he said. Always on call Also speaking to RFA, an ethnic Uyghur auxiliary policeman in Hotans Guma county said that he and other officers are now on call around the clock. Before, we worked as auxiliary police for only eight hours a day, just like the regular police, but our hours have dramatically increased since September, the officer said, also speaking on condition he not be named. Now, we sometimes work for 15 hours, and sometimes even for 24 hours, without a break. But our salary is still too low. We only earn about 1,300 yuan [U.S.$187, approx.] per month, he said. We auxiliary police and village security personnel take charge of any issue that happens inside the villages, and in an emergency our boss requires that we arrive on the scene within 10 minutes. If we cant control the situation, we will immediately inform and ask for help from the township police station, he said. Midnight raids Searching for suspect persons, police now routinely conduct midnight raids on private Uyghur homes, entering without giving prior notice, an elementary school security guard in Qaraqash told RFA. This now happens once or twice every week, the source said. If someone coming from another place wants to visit relatives as a guest, their host must register their personal information at the village committee--their name, their ID number, where they came from, how long they intend to stay, and the purpose of the visit. In the same way, anyone wanting to travel outside their township must first get permission from local authorities, RFAs source said. The permission letter must be signed and stamped by the village head, the village party boss, the village political and legal committees, the local police station, and so forth. 'Failed policies' Since taking up his new post as party boss for Xinjiang in October, Chen Quanguo has implemented many of the security and surveillance policies that he used in Tibet, Ilshat Hesen, president of the Washington D.C.-based Uyghur American Association, told RFA. These failed policies will fail again in the Uyghur region, Hesen said. Rights groups accuse Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people. China regularly vows to crack down on what it calls the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism in Xinjiang. But experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from Uyghur separatists, and that domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence that has left hundreds dead since 2012. Reported and translated by Eset Sulaiman for RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. Former Vietnamese Lt. Colonel Tran Anh Kim is shown in this photo of a closed circuit television broadcast for journalists attending his 2009 trial, Dec. 28, 2009. A former Vietnamese army officer and soldier are facing lengthy prison terms for attempting to form a pro-democracy organization that authorities claim had aimed to overthrow the government, RFAs Vietnamese Service has learned. On Friday, the court in Thai Binh province sentenced retired Lt. Colonel Tran Anh Kim and ex-soldier Le Thanh Tung to 13-year and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for activities aimed at overthrowing the peoples administration. The charges fall under Article 79 of Vietnams penal code. The men are accused of preparing to launch the National Force to Launch the Democracy Flag group, an organization the authorities claim was an attempt to link up dissatisfied soldiers and former members of the ousted South Vietnamese military in an effort to foment a revolution. Vo An Don, one of the two lawyers representing the defendants, told RFA that the two men were innocent because they violated no Vietnamese law. They only planned to launch the association and had not officially organized or had any operation so their activities were not illegal, he told RFA. Besides, according to the article 25 of the 2013 constitution, all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and association, Vo added. They cant use the law to prosecute and criminalize a person for his opinions. During the short trial, the defendants told the court that the group is simply an online association and the members dont even know one another. The group only had six members and the other four are online members who cannot be identified. Met for the first time in court Both Kim and Tung met each other personally for the first time at the court, Vo told RFA. Kim, who served in the Vietnam War, has become one of Vietnams most persistent dissidents and had been freed from prison eight months ago after serving a five-and-a-half-year prison term on a similar charge under Article 79 of the countrys penal code. Le Thanh Tung, an ex-soldier and freelance journalist, was sentenced in August 2012 by a Hanoi court under Article 88 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits conducting propaganda against the state for his association with Bloc 8406 -- a banned coalition of political groups advocating democratic reform in the one-party Communist state. Le was arrested in 2012 and sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in June. Article 79 and 88 of the penal code are among the broadly-worded national security laws that rights groups and Western governments say Vietnam uses to persecute dissidents. Kim, who was arrested in September, has long advocated for human rights and democracy in Vietnam. He was the awarded a Hellman/Hammett grant by the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch in 2009 for his pro-democracy and human rights activities, including circulating petitions protesting injustice and corruption in the Vietnamese Communist Party. In 2006, Kim became known as a dissident writer, having joined Bloc 8406. He was jailed several timed for his activities and connections to the banned Democratic Party of Vietnam. Reported by Gia Minh for RFA's Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Brooks Boliek. The groups aligned in the Bloc of Opposition Forces in Georgia's breakaway Republic of Abkhazia failed yet again on December 15 in their latest bid to force de facto President Raul Khajimba to step down. But in late-night negotiations, Khajimba did offer the opposition a number of government positions, and he has reportedly also agreed to constitutional amendments that would curtail his powers. Not all opposition groups -- which have repeatedly accused Khajimba of economic mismanagement, incompetence, reneging on promised reforms, turning a blind eye to corruption and the skyrocketing crime rate, and condoning reprisals against his political foes -- are happy with that offer, however. And cynics may argue that it will cost Khajimba little, given that he has already scheduled parliamentary elections for March 12, after which a new government will be formed. On the eve of planned rival demonstrations on December 15, Bloc of Opposition Forces head Aslan Bzhania, who placed second in the August 2014 vote in which Khajimba was elected president, met with parliament representatives, including speaker Valery Bganba. The parliament apparently rejected out of hand even the more moderate demands advanced by the opposition: Bganba was subsequently quoted as saying that "we tried to convince the opposition that simply reshuffling government officials won't preclude further crises." The two sides did, however, reach agreement on a three-point memorandum of understanding pledging their shared commitment to act within the framework of the law and the constitution to promote democracy and preserve stability and to maintain "constant dialogue" aimed at overcoming existing disagreements. That memorandum was subsequently signed by Khajimba; Bganba; Public Chamber head Natela Akaba; Bzhania; former Prime Minister Sergei Shamba, in his capacity as chairman of the former ruling Yedinaya Abkhaziya, the region's largest political party; and the heads of six other political parties, including Khajimba's Forum of National Unity of Abkhazia. One of the members of the Bloc of Opposition Forces, the Amtsakhara union of veterans of the 1992-93 war that ended with Abkhazia's de facto independence from Georgia, did not sign it. The two rallies got under way in Sukhumi as planned in front of the government building, which was cordoned off by police and security forces. The Russian daily Kommersant estimated the number of opposition participants at around 2,000, compared to 1,000 Khajimba supporters. After several hours, two senior opposition representatives, former Vice President Mikhail Logua and Said Tarkil, who had served as de facto foreign minister in the early 1990s, met with Khajimba to convey the demand for his resignation. Khajimba responded by emerging from the government building a second time to announce that "I want everyone to understand that the president's resignation isn't going to happen." At the same time, Khajimba affirmed his readiness to continue talks, which resumed later that evening between himself, Bganba, Bzhania, and other opposition figures in the Defense Ministry building. (Defense Minister Mirab Kishmaria, a respected veteran of the 1992-93 war, was one of Khajimba's rivals for the presidency in 2014.) It was during those talks that agreement was reached on a proposal first put forward by Prime Minister Beslan Bartsits that the opposition should nominate a first deputy prime minister, several deputy ministers, the prosecutor-general, four members of the new Central Election Commission, and two members of the newly established Constitutional Court. (That is less than the opposition was hoping for: Shamba had told Interfax a few days earlier that there should be a new coalition government in which the opposition should be responsible for the economy.) That agreement is to be formalized in an Agreement On Social And Political Stability that both sides will sign and the implementation of which the parliament will guarantee. In addition, according to Bganba, the parliament will immediately set about drafting constitutional amendments that will redistribute power between the legislature and the executive, including the president. The opposition supporters finally dispersed at around 3 a.m. local time on December 16, even though Amtsakhara representative Mizan Zukhba had vowed earlier that "no one will leave until Khajimba quits." Amtsakhara has not formally commented on the agreement reached between Khajimba and Bzhania. Some younger opposition supporters were said to be dissatisfied with it, while the public organization Women In Politics, which like Amtsakhara is a member of the Bloc of Opposition Forces, was quoted by Apsny Press as saying that it cannot be regarded as a compromise solution. That dissatisfaction raises the question whether Khajimba's unexpected conciliatory gesture was meant to serve two purposes: First, to mollify the opposition by offering it representation in a government that will be replaced after the March 12 election, and second, to split the Bloc of Opposition Forces in the run-up to that vote. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. Azerbaijani authorities say a Russian blogger who is wanted in Baku on separatism charges has been detained in Belarus. In its December 16 statement, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General's Office said that it is seeking the extradition of Aleksandr Lapshin to Azerbaijan. It is not clear when Lapshin -- who the Prosecutor-General's Office said holds passports of the Russian Federation and a second nation it did not identify -- was detained in Belarus. It said Lapshin illegally visited Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh without asking permission from Azerbaijani officials in 2011 and 2012. The statement also said that earlier in 2016 Lapshin posted two statements on the Internet calling for the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakhs independence from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani authorities are investigating Lapshin on suspicion of threatening Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and illegally crossing the state border. If extradited, tried, and convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison. So intelligence officials recently announced that a Russian hacking group known as Fancy Bear launched a series of cyberattacks targeting political parties and government officials. The attacks were aimed at manipulating an election, destabilizing a society, and damaging confidence in democratic institutions. And if you think you know what I'm talking about, you're probably wrong. Because I'm not talking about the CIA's allegations that Moscow attempted to influence the U.S. election through a series of hacks and leaks. No, what I'm talking about is Germany, which will hold federal elections late next year and which is clearly Vladimir Putin's next target. Germany, of course, knows what is coming. It's watched Russia's non-kinetic guerrilla war on the West unfold over the past several years. It's experienced disinformation campaigns like the fabricated allegations of sexual assault by migrants in the Lisa case earlier this year. It's experienced hacking attacks on its government institutions and businesses. Germany knows it is in the crosshairs. Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned about it. The country's intelligence services have warned about it. And the German media has warned about it. But the question remains: Will it matter? Will a Kremlin attempt to meddle in an election succeed even when the target sees the attack coming a year in advance? We'll soon see. And Germany is in for a wild ride in the coming year. Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. Italy resisted efforts by some European Union countries to extend EU sanctions on Russia by a year instead of six months and to broaden the sanctions to cover alleged Russian crimes in Syria, EU members said. "We had a discussion that luckily ended without considering the option -- which would have been wrong, I think -- to react to the situation in Syria and Aleppo with EU sanctions against Russia," Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said after an EU summit in Brussels on December 15. He said "a majority of countries" agreed with Italy that imposing more sanctions on Russia, on top of those already imposed for Russia's aggression in Ukraine, would have been "a mistake." Italy was among the countries that also objected to a move by Poland to extend the existing sanctions on Russia by a year rather than by six months, EU members said. "Some of our colleagues would prefer maybe 12 months, but in fact it...was clear from the beginning that what is possible to maintain is our current format," said European Council President Donald Tusk. Poland and others were concerned that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump might seek to ease pressure on Russia when he takes office next year, but Tusk said it was too early to know what Trump's policy will be. Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa As Kazakhstan celebrates the 25th anniversary of independence from the Soviet Union, some citizens are marking different anniversaries that are getting no attention from the government. Dozens of activists in cities including the capital, Astana and the largest city, Almaty, gathered at central squares and memorial sites to commemorate victims of a crackdown on protests in Almaty against the Soviet government on December 16-19, 1986. The activists also commemorated victims of a crackdown on protesting oil workers in the southwestern town of Zhanaozen in 2011, when at least 16 people were killed by police. Some of the Kazakhs who gathered on December 16 held signs or wore shirts with slogans demanding the release of two activists jailed in November for protesting against the government's land reform plans. The three-day demonstrations by Kazakh youth in 1986, an early sign of unrest ahead of the breakup of the Soviet Union five years later, were violently dispersed by Soviet authorities. Nursultan Nazarbaev, who has been president since 1991, was Soviet Kazakhstan's prime minister at the time. In Astana on December 16, Nazarbaev unveiled a monument celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Central Asian nation's independence. Several students at universities in Almaty have told RFE/RL that shortly before Independence Day, they were abruptly told to go on vacation and head home or, if they remained in Almaty, to stay away from its central square from December 9 to December 19. Many believe the government's aim was to prevent possible protests. Supporters of Macedonia's ruling party held a rally at the state electoral commission, claiming the opposition was trying to steal their victory in this week's election. They chanted patriotic slogans and had minor confrontations with opposition supporters who also showed up at the demonstration in Skopje on December 15. (RFE/RL's Balkan Service) Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has followed his declaration of intent to run in Russias next presidential election by saying one of his top priorities if elected would be to implement the Minsk accords aimed at ending the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL and VOA, on December 15, Navalny said that "the first measure that we must carry out is implementation of the Minsk accords." Those accords -- agreed among Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany in the Belarusian capital in February 2015 -- called for elections, a return of border control, and other measures to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 9,700 people as Kyiv battles Russia-backed separatists. "Putin himself talks about this endlessly but does practically nothing about it," Navalny said. "The Minsk accords were signed by Russia, they need to be fulfilled, and that would be the first step to resolving the situation with Ukraine." The United States, European Union, and allies responded to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with economic sanctions and other punitive measures. The Minsk accords call for pulling out all foreign armed groups from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, withdrawing heavy weaponry, returning control of Ukraine's border to Kyiv, and ensuring local elections in parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are held by Russian-backed separatists. Russia's next presidential election is scheduled for March 2018, although there has been speculation lately that Putin might move that forward to 2017. Navalny, who announced on December 13 he would run for president but has not yet officially registered for the as-yet unscheduled election, also said he would seek a "fair" referendum in Crimea so that the inhabitants of Ukraine's Russian-annexed peninsula can choose if they want to be with Ukraine or Russia. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after covertly flooding the peninsula with troops to secure key facilities, taking control of the regional legislature, and staging a referendum on annexation that was denounced as illegitimate by Ukraine, the United States, and the UN General Assembly. Navalny has frequently tread a cautious line on topics that resonate particularly in nationalist circles, including migration and the possible return of Crimea, whose Soviet-era handover to Ukraine is seen as illegitimate by many Russians. In October 2014, Navalny vowed that Crimea "will remain part of Russia and will never again in the foreseeable future become part of Ukraine." In the wide-ranging interview with Current Time, Navalny said another of his priorities if elected would be to assure that money hidden abroad by oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin is returned to the country. He said he has confidence that foreign states would cooperate with any efforts to recover such funds. "If the position of Russia itself will be such that we request that money stolen from Russian citizens be returned, it will be returned for the most part," he said. Navalny, who rose to prominence as an anticorruption blogger before entering politics, operates the Anticorruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow. He said upon announcing his election bid on December 13 that he wants to be the voice of "those tens of millions of people who work honestly, raise children, pay taxes, love their country but whose voice the authorities do not hear" and who are "ignored, robbed, deprived of the dignified life they deserve." He has said money returned to the country would be channeled toward hospitals and education. Putin served two presidential terms before stepping aside for four years, then returning for a third term in 2012. Navalny, 40, faces an uphill battle to get on the ballot for a presidential race in which it is still unclear whether Putin would run again for office or step aside in favor of a Kremlin insider. Russian authorities have thrown numerous impediments in Navalnys way as he has emerged as one of the countrys most active opposition figures, with a proven ability to bring out tens of thousands of voters. Navalny ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013, finishing second with more than 27 percent of the vote. Ahead of the election, the Kremlin sought to discredit him with embezzlement charges, saying he used his position as an unpaid consultant to the governor of Russias Kirov region to try to steal timber from the state-run forestry company. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison but after a protest by supporters in Moscow, was released without explanation. As Navalny now prepares to run for the presidency, he faces the likelihood that the Kremlin will again seek to tar him with criminal charges. A retrial of the alleged embezzlement case is now under way in Kirov, east of Moscow, and earlier this month the Russian state prosecutor's office demanded that Navalnys FBK publish information on its sources of funding. The state prosecutors demand raises the possibility that Navalnys foundation will be charged with receiving foreign funding -- a punishable offense under Russias controversial foreign agents law. The FBKs says all of its financing is through donations by Russian citizens. Speaking to Current Time, Navalny said he would also seek to finance his upcoming run for the presidency through citizens contributions. "The first two days of fund-raising, which we are doing through small donations, showed us that we most likely will be able to finance a full-fledged election campaign based precisely upon small individual contributions," he said. He estimated he would need a budget of some 1 billion rubles ($16 million) for campaigning but did not provide details regarding his campaign strategy. Asked if he feared that trying to collect funds across Russia in his presidential bid could make him an easy target for new Kremlin charges of financial misdoing, Navalny said he refused to be deterred by such possibilities. "If we live and make plans while taking into account what kind of accusations they can trump up against us, we will not be able to do anything at all," he said. U.S. President Barack Obama has chastised U.S. Republicans for warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the lead of President-elect Donald Trump. Obama cited a recent poll that found that 37 percent of self-identified Republicans had a favorable view of the Russian leader, although 47 percent retained the party's traditionally unfavorable view. By contrast, the public opinion survey found that 74 percent of U.S. Democrats viewed Putin unfavorably. "Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave," Obama said at his year-end press conference at the White House on December 16. "Some of the people who historically have been very critical of me for engaging with the Russians and having conversations with them also endorsed the President-elect [Donald Trump], even as he was saying that we should stop sanctioning Russia and being tough on them, and work together with them against our common enemies," Obama said. "He was very complimentary of Mr. Putin personally. That wasn't news," Obama continued. "The president-elect during the campaign said so. And some folks who had made a career out of being anti-Russian didn't say anything about it. And then after the election, suddenly theyre asking, well, why didn't you tell us that maybe the Russians were trying to help our candidate? Well, come on." Obama called Russia a smaller and weaker country than the United States, saying it "does not produce anything that others want to buy" except oil, natural gas, and military weaponry. "The Russians can't change us or significantly weaken us," Obama said. "They are a smaller country. They are a weaker country. Their economy doesnt produce anything that anybody wants to buy, except oil and gas, and arms. They don't innovate." But Obama said Russia can "impact" the United States if Americans "lose track of who we are. They can impact us if we abandon our values" and if Americans "start buying into notions that it's okay to intimidate the press, or lock up dissidents, or discriminate against people because of their faith or what they look like." While Reagan viewed what was then the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," Trump has departed sharply from Republican orthodoxy in saying he wants to mend relations with Russia and work with the Kremlin to defeat terrorists. Trump named ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, a friend of Putin's, as his choice for secretary of state. Some prominent Republicans in Congress continue to take a hard line toward Russia, however, including Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (Republican-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina). Addressing the postelection controversy over Russian campaign of e-mail hacking, Obama strongly defended his administration's response, including his refusal before the voting to ascribe motive to the meddling or to discuss now what effect it might have had. Obama said that he confronted Putin at a Group of 20 summit in China in September over the Russian hacking campaign, telling the former KGB chief to "cut it out." Obama noted that the United States could retaliate, saying "whatever they do to us, we can potentially do to them." Asked to state unequivocally whether he thinks Putin ordered Russian hacking attacks against the Democratic National Committee and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign chief John Podesta in order to help Trump win the U.S. presidential election, Obama said: "Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin. This is a pretty hierarchical operation. Last I checked, there's not a lot of debate and democratic deliberation, particularly when it comes to policies directed at the United States." "We have said, and I will confirm, that this happened at the highest levels of the Russian government," Obama continued. "And I will let you make that determination as to whether there are high-level Russian officials who go off, rogue, and decide to tamper with the U.S. election process without Vladimir Putin knowing about it." With reporting by dpa, AP, and Reuters Parents of Pakistani children killed in the 2014 attack on a Peshawar school gathered on December 16 to mark the second anniversary of the massacre. The attack by Taliban militants on Peshawars Army Public School killed 150 people, mostly children. Pakistans army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, told parents gathered at the school on December 16 that the violence against innocent children was an attack "on humanity" and was one of the most painful and unforgettable moments in the countrys history. In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his sympathies to the victims' families, saying the entire country felt and shared the pain of the tragedy. Sharif also said Pakistan has responded to the killings by intensifying action against militants. Pakistans government and army say most of the Pakistani Taliban members linked to the killings have been captured or killed in the last two years. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters Ask Geotripper Is there something about geology that you are curious about? Do you have questions about the scientific aspects of political controversies? I can try to provide a scientist's perspective. Your questions and possible answers could be a springboard to a blog discussion, or they can be private. Anonymity is always assumed. Contact Geotripper at hayesg (at) mjc.edu. The Pentagon says a Chinese warship has seized an unmanned U.S. Navy underwater glider that was collecting unclassified scientific data in the South China Sea. Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis says the United States has issued a formal diplomatic complaint about the incident and is asking for the return of the underwater drone. Davis said a U.S. Navy ship was recovering two unmanned gliders about 85 kilometers northwest of a U.S. naval base in the Philippines when the Chinese warship approached and took one of the small drone vessels. He said the Chinese ship acknowledged radio messages from the U.S. ship but did not respond to demands for the small vessel to be returned. U.S. officials say the drone -- about 3 meters long and less than 1 meter wide was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea. They described the drone as a "sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water" and saying that it is U.S. property. The Pentagon later confirmed that the value of the drone is about $150,000. Davis said: "It is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again." China's embassy in Washington said it had no immediate comment about the incident, which is likely to fray already tense relations between the United States and Beijing. China in recent years has been building up military maritime outposts in the South China Sea. Beijing was angered by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's decision to talk by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on December 2. Trump also has said he does not feel "bound by a one-China policy" regarding the status of Taiwan, unless the United States gains trade or other benefits from Beijing. China claims that most of the South China Sea is its own territorial waters -- a position that has led to maritime territorial disputes with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Indonesia. Chinas government has estimated the South China sea may contain some 17.7 billion tons of crude oil. With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa Members of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province assembly held a memorial on the second anniversary of a deadly militant attack on a school in Peshawar. They lit candles and said prayers on December 16 in honor of the 150 killed when Pakistani Taliban militants targeted mostly children at the Army Public School. (RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal) A Moscow court has sentenced a retired military officer to 12 years in prison after convicting him of treason, a charge that is usually linked to alleged espionage. Retired Colonel Aleksei Sinyakov was found guilty of high treason on December 15 and sentenced the same day. The court also ruled that Sinyakov will be stripped of his rank as a colonel. The court did not make the details of the case public, as it was classified as Top Secret, and the trial was held behind closed doors. Sinyakov's case is one of several in 2016 in which Russian citizens have been charged with high treason. Russia's Supreme Court said in April that 28 people were convicted of high treason in 2015. With reporting by TASS, Meduza, and Interfax Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Japan has produced an agreement to hold talks on joint economic development of four islands claimed by both countries, but no breakthrough in the territorial dispute that dates back to World War II and beyond. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the agreement on December 16, after two days of talks with Putin in Japan. Both Putin and Abe said joint development of the islands, which Russia calls the Southern Kuriles and Japan calls the Northern Territories, would be an important step toward a peace treaty. The dispute over the four islands seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War II has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a treaty formally ending the war. But reaching agreement on joint development of the small, windswept islands northeast of Japan's Hokkaido could be difficult, as observers say Russia is interested in Japanese investment but is highly reluctant to cede sovereignty over the islands. Russia says that any development should be governed by Russian laws. Japan has called for an arrangement that Abe has said would not "infringe the sovereignty positions of either side." Putin's trip to Japan was his first official visit to a member of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations -- the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan -- since Russia angered the G7 by seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. In an interview with Japanese media before the trip, Putin said the sanctions that Japan has joined Western countries in imposing on Russia were an obstacle to cooperation. With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP BRUSSELS -- The European Union (EU) condemned Russia's controversial "foreign agent" law after a Moscow court upheld the Justice Ministry's decision to designate a prominent human rights organization as a foreign agent. The Zamoskvorechye District Court upheld the ministrys October decision to add the Memorial International Society to the registry of foreign agents on December 16. This listing brought the number of NGOs affiliated with Memorial on the registry to eight and the total number of Russian NGOs designated as foreign agents to 149. The EU said in its December 16 statement that the 2012 law "and the ensuing fines, inspections, and stigmatization further tighten the restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Russia, consume the scarce resources of NGOs and inhibit independent civil society in the country." The EU urged Russian authorities "to align their policies and legislation with the human rights obligations and commitments that they have undertaken, and to abandon the practice of branding Russian NGOs as 'foreign agents,' as well as all resulting administrative harassment." The EU also vowed to keep on supporting NGOs and civil society in Russia, "despite existing difficulties." The law, signed by President Vladimir Putin early in his third term, requires any nongovernmental organization that receives funding from abroad and is deemed to be engaged in political activity to formally register as a "foreign agent." Russian and international human rights organizations say the law was introduced to silence independent voices. With reporting by RFE/RL Correspondent Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels On December 9, the Kremlin marked the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland with a lavish event attended by "more than 300 military personnel and civilians who have demonstrated particular courage and heroism, including Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Russia," and other top honorees. President Vladimir Putin personally addressed the audience and thanked them for their service. From state media coverage of the event, St. Petersburg investigative journalist Denis Korotkov identified among the guests a man who he has been writing about for several years: Dmitry Utkin, who uses the nom de guerre "Vagner" and is believed to be the head of an unregistered private military contracting agency called ChVK Vagner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on December 15 confirmed that Utkin, 46, was at the reception, adding that he qualified because he holds the Order of Courage. Asked why Utkin had been given the honor, Peskov only said: "Usually they give it for courage." Korotkov and others who have been researching the shadowy world of Russian mercenaries see Utkins presence as the clearest indication yet of the key role paramilitary mercenary formations have played in Russian foreign policy for at least the last five years, particularly in Ukraine and Syria. A tweet from Fontanka.ru, where journalist Denis Korotkov works, showing a photo of Utkin at the ceremony: "Their function [in Syria] is very unclear," Korotkov told RFE/RL. "Based on how they are trained at their camp in Russia, it would seem to be preparation for special forces. That is -- for reconnaissance, work with diversionary groups, and things like that. Based on information coming out of Syria at first- or secondhand, the Vagner group is often used as elite infantry, which naturally leads to casualties much greater than special forces typically see. But who coordinates this work and who commands them, I dont know." It is a murky topic for many reasons, not least because mercenary activity is illegal in Russia. But by all indications, Russia has been using private military contractors in close cooperation with the military in ways similar to those pioneered by the United States in the early 2000s, particularly during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Using open-source material and contacts within Russian security structures, Korotkov has traced Utkin's career in detail. Prior to 2013, he was a brigade commander of the special forces of the GRU, Russias military intelligence service. Utkin retired in 2013 and began working for the Moran Security Group, a company founded by Russian military veterans that carries out security and training operations around the world, specializing in security against piracy. The same year, senior Moran managers were connected with the formation of a St. Petersburg-based organization called the Slavonic Corps, which advertised online looking for mercenaries to "protect oil fields and pipelines" in Syria. A tweet by the Conflict Intelligence Team shows a photograph of men believed to be Vagner mercenaries in Syria: According to various media reports, Utkin was given the sobriquet Vagner because of his affection for "the attributes and ideology" of Adolf Hitlers Nazi regime. The name ChVK (the Russian abbreviation for Private Military Company) Vagner first appeared in 2014, with reports that mercenaries from the group were fighting with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. In 2015, reports indicated that they had moved back to Syria, and Korotkov published the first reports of Russian mercenaries on the ground in Syria and their recruitment in St. Petersburg just weeks after the beginning of Russian bombing raids there in October 2015. The Vagner mercenaries reportedly played an important role in helping the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recapture Palmyra in May. Around the time that ancient city was captured, Korotkov said he received reports that several Vagner mercenaries had been given Russian military honors for fighting there, but he was unable to confirm them. However, the Kremlin reception on December 9 seems to have provided at least some confirmation. The Rossia state television channel showed retired Colonel Andrei Troshev, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan who officially retired in 2014. At the time of his retirement, Troshev had not received the Hero of Russia medal, but he was clearly wearing one at the Kremlin reception. Ruslan Leviyev, an analyst with the Conflict Intelligence Team project, first identified Vagner mercenaries from a video of killed "Russian soldiers" posted by the militant group Islamic State (IS) in Palmyra on March 17. His team also identified 51-year-old retired Major Sergei Chupov, who was reported killed in Syria on February 8, as a Vagner mercenary on the basis of interviews with his friends and relatives in St. Petersburg. Leviyev said he is convinced the mercenaries are equipped and supported by the Russian Defense Ministry and its main intelligence directorate, known as the GRU. "For one thing, their training ground is adjacent to the training ground of the GRUs 10th Brigade [in the Krasnodar region]," he told RFE/RL. "If their existence was not approved by the government, then that would be impossible -- that they would be right next to an elite GRU special-forces base. "Moreover, there are the photographs of the killed mercenaries that were published by IS -- you can see weapons that only elite GRU special-forces units have," Leviyev added. "We can also see on photographs posted [by mercenaries] that they are moving around Syria in Russian military aircraft. They are photographed next to Defense Ministry helicopters and airplanes. It is clear that they are getting help, transportation, and weapons from the government of Russia, from the Defense Ministry." A tweet from the Conflict Intelligence Team shows photographs of weapons normally only used by elite GRU special-forces units that were shown in an Islamic State video: Leviyev pointed out that the mercenaries in groups like Vagner are different from the unprofessional volunteer fighters who appeared in the early days of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. "These are all people with considerable experience," he said. "As a rule, they are over 30 and have served in the military. There are some quite old people, like Sergei Chupov, who was 51. As a rule, these are not just some volunteers like we saw in Donbas, former miners or auto mechanics. These are people with real military experience serving in well-prepared military units." Journalist Korotkov estimated that at least 600 mercenaries have fought with Vagner in Syria since 2014. He estimated as many as 60 have been killed there. Leviyev said it is difficult to be precise on such numbers. "The people we have spoken with who say they know people fighting with this mercenary group say that in the period of Russia's official involvement in Syria [since October 2015], several dozen of them have been killed," he told RFE/RL. "We have not been able to confirm this. As a rule, even those who are fighting as mercenaries have bereaved posts published by their relatives and friends, as was the case with Sergei Chupov. But we havent seen a flow of grief that would indicate dozens of dead." The website militaryarms.ru reports that the Vagner forces are distinguished by "their very high percentage of losses, which is not characteristic of private military companies." The report says that in both Donbas and Syria, "Vagner mercenaries work in the most dangerous situations, often moving out in the first wave of an attack and storming population centers and enemy positions." The appearance of Utkin and Troshev at the Kremlin function on December 9 raises another important issue, Leviyev says. "I am not sure we can really use the word mercenary in the sense that it is used in the Russian Criminal Code," Leviyev said. "As far as the military honors they have been given, from my point of view it is not possible to do that officially. They do get medals and this information is confirmed by various sources and some documents, but there are rules...and according to the rules it is not possible to give state medals to people fighting in such units on the territory of another country." Russian officials last week acknowledged that 23 active military personnel had died in Syria since its bombing operations there began 14 months ago, according to state broadcaster RT. RFE/RL Russian Service correspondents Andrei Sharogradsky and Mark Krutov contributed to this report Moscow city authorities have refused to allow human rights activists to stage a protest in front of Turkmenistan's embassy on December 19 in support of jailed Turkmen journalists. The Memorial Human Rights Center said on December 16 that city officials justified their refusal by saying the protest could affect "heavy public transport flow" in the area close to the embassy. Memorial says the refusal was politically motivated. An application to conduct the protest was filed by Memorial activist Bakhrom Khamroyev, who is originally from Uzbekistan. The idea to stage the demonstration was initiated by the Association of Central Asian Political Immigrants in Russia after authorities in Turkmenistan on December 3 arrested 27-year-old RFE/RL correspondent Khudayberdy Allashov on charges of illegal possession of chewing tobacco. The United States, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and RFE/RL have all called on Turkmenistan to immediately release Allashov. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says he is confident parliament will approve a compromise he secured from other European Union leaders on an EU-Ukraine pact. Ruttes government on December 16 prepared legislation clearing the way for parliament to approve the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, despite the rejection of the trade pact by Dutch voters in an April advisory referendum. The fresh legislation comes a day after EU leaders offered additional guarantees about the trade pact demanded by The Netherlands. In a special statement, EU leaders who met in Brussels on December 15 said Ukraines Association Agreement "does not confer on Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the union, nor does it constitute a commitment to confer such status to Ukraine in the future." The statement also says the pact "does not contain an obligation for the union or its member states to provide collective security guarantees or other military aid or assistance to Ukraine." The Netherlands is the only EU country that has not ratified the deal. The trade pact is vital to Kyivs efforts to establish closer ties with the West since mass protests toppled pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in early 2014. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP Sarajevo's Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish communities came together this week in the Bosnian capital to send a message of solidarity to the battered and beleaguered Syrian city of Aleppo. More than 1,000 people took part in the somber show of support on December 14. While a number of cities around the world have joined the #StandWithAleppo movement, few places can feel the pain of Aleppo's civilians as acutely as Sarajevo. That city was besieged and shelled by ethnic Serb forces from April 1992 to February 1996. About 14,000 people were killed, and some 350,000 civilians endured the 1,400-day horror, wondering whether the outside world knew or cared about their plight. The head of the Sarajevo Jewish community, Eli Tauber, was one of the speakers at this week's event. He reminded people of Europe in 1933, when the Nazis took power in Germany and the seeds of the Holocaust were sown. He spoke about the 1990s Bosnian war, which took over 100,000 lives. "We have moral obligation to raise our voices," Tauber said. "Aleppo is a test of humanity. We should not be mere observers of the tragedy; we must act." Also among the speakers at the Sarajevo rally was Franjo Topic, head of the Napredak Bosnian Croat Cultural Center. "We want to inspire humanitarian organizations to provide assistance to Aleppo," he said. "There is no holy war; there is only holy peace." The Islamic community was one of the organizers of the Sarajevo demonstration and got several nongovernmental organizations to join them in speaking out on behalf of Aleppo's victims. I myself survived the siege of Sarajevo, working as a journalist and editor of the daily newspaper Oslobodjenje. Every day we feared we were printing the last issue of our newspaper. Our elegant, twin-towered building on the outskirts of the city was ultimately reduced to ruins by constant Serb shelling. The newspaper moved to an underground bunker. We coped somehow with a lack of electricity, of newsprint, of food. I recall a colleague, photographer Salko Hondo, who had retired just before the outbreak of war, returning to work once the fighting started. I also remember that he avoided going to the front lines, preferring to take assignments in the center of the city, where it was supposedly safer. In the summer of 1992, we received a tip that a man had discovered a water source in his backyard near the Ciglane market. Parched Sarajevans rushed to get water and Salko offered to go photograph the scene. On his way back to our bunker, Salko was caught in a shelling of the Ciglane market. Eight people were killed and more than 20 wounded. Salko Hondo was killed on the spot. We manage to retrieve his camera. I remember the next days edition of Oslbodjenje, July 17, carried both Salko's obituary and his last photo -- happy Sarajevans pouring water into canisters. When I look at photos of Aleppo now, I am carried back to that time -- one when there were no safe places and it was hard not to feel alone and forgotten. I know how short the distance is between Sarajevo and Aleppo. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL. The evacuation of civilians and rebel fighters from remaining rebel-held territory in the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on December 16 amid conflicting allegations of cease-fire violations. The Syrian government said it was suspending the evacuations because a convoy leaving Aleppo was fired on by the rebels. However, a rebel official and pro-opposition Orient TV claimed that pro-government Shi'ite militias fired on bus convoys leaving Aleppo, the Reuters news agency reported. Reuters quoted an unnamed Syrian government official overseeing the evacuation as saying: "The operation is not yet complete. There are many who should have left. But the operation halted before its end." It was not immediately clear how long the suspension would last. It was announced several hours after the evacuations resumed for a second day on the morning of December 16. Earlier in the day, Syrian state TV was reporting that four convoys with fighters and civilians had departed from the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo. Meanwhile, the Russian military said that the evacuations have been completed. It claimed that all women and children have been taken out of eastern Aleppo. The statement from what the Russian Defense Ministry calls its Center for Reconciliation in Syria said that government forces are carrying out a final sweep to clear out the last remaining rebels in the city -- although the Associated Press reported that there was no evidence of this on the ground. The Russian statement said that some die-hard militants have stayed behind and are firing on Syrian government forces. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the evacuation of civilians and wounded people had been halted and aid agencies and vehicles ordered to leave the area without explanation. "The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and SARC (Syrian Arab Red Crescent) and WHO [were] informed to leave the area with ambulances and buses, no reason was given," WHO representative Elizabeth Hoff, speaking from western Aleppo, told a news briefing in Geneva. "I assume the message came from the Russians who are monitoring the area," she said. "The worrying part of this is there are still in besieged enclaves of Aleppo high numbers of women and infants, children under 5 that need to get out." 'Nothing Short Of A Massacre' Earlier, Syrian state TV was reporting that the evacuations continued for the second day, saying four convoys with fighters and civilians departed from the rebel enclave in eastern Aleppo December 16. The evacuation was being conducted under a cease-fire deal brokered by Russia and Turkey after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and their allies drove rebels out of most of eastern Aleppo in an offensive that has been sharply criticized by the UN and Western governments. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Assad of committing "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo. "We are convinced that the killing and suffering in Syria could stop, and it could stop very, very quickly if Russia and the [Syrian] regime made the decision to do so, Kerry said on December 15. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking to reporters in New York on December 16, strongly condemned international inaction to stop the suffering in Aleppo. "The carnage in Syria remains a gaping hole in the global conscience. Aleppo is now a synonym for hell," Ban said. "As I told the [UN] Security Council three days ago, we have collectively failed the people of Syria. Peace will only prevail when it is accompanied by compassion, justice, and accountability for the abominable crimes we have seen." Four Syrian organizations accused Russia, a key ally of Assad in the more than five-year-old civil war, of involvement in war crimes in Syria. In a letter to a UN inquiry on Syria, the group said that Russian air strikes in the Aleppo area have killed some 1,207 civilians, 380 of them children. "Evidence clearly indicates that Russia has committed or been complicit in war crimes in Syria," says the letter, which listed 304 alleged attacks carried out in Aleppo primarily between July and December. The letter was signed by the Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Independent Doctors Association, and the Violations Documentation Center. Russia has said it stopped conducting air strikes in Aleppo in mid-October. Rebels had controlled the eastern part of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the civil war, since 2012, and the capture of most of the city is a major victory for Assad. Astana Talks Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 16 that "the next step" would be "to reach agreement on a complete cease-fire across all of Syria." Speaking during a visit to Japan, Putin said that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were working to launch a new round of peace negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition. Putin said the proposed talks could take place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Putin didnt mention any involvement of the United States or the United Nations in the new round of Syria peace talks. However, he played down the idea that the proposed Astana talks would sideline or overshadow similar talks brokered by the United Nations that have been held intermittently in Geneva. "It won't compete with the Geneva talks, but will complement them," Putin said. Putins remarks come a day after UN envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said the United Nations would have to broker any Syria talks for them to have legitimacy. Russia has given Assad crucial military and diplomatic backing throughout the conflict, which began with a forceful government crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 2011 and erupted into a civil war that has killed more than 250,000 people. Moscow helped turn the tide in the government's favor with a major campaign of air strikes that began in September 2015 and that Western governments say has mainly targeted rebels rather than Islamic State militants. The United States is leading a coalition targeting IS militants who sezied large parts of northern Iraq and Syria in 2014. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Four Syrian organizations have accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo area had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. In a letter to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria the groups listed 304 alleged attacks carried out in Aleppo primarily between July and December. The letter -- obtained by news agencies on December 15 -- says "evidence clearly indicates that Russia has committed or been complicit in war crimes in Syria." The letter is signed by the Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group, also known as the White Helmets, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Independent Doctors Association, and the Violations Documentation Center. In the letter, the groups offered to provide the UN commission with evidence and other information to assist its investigations "and help the identification of suspected perpetrators." There were no immediate reactions from the Russian UN mission. Moscow has said it stopped air strikes in Aleppo in mid-October. Based on reporting by AP and AFP ON MY MIND A question that's been on my mind recently is whether the populist antiestablishment wave that has engulfed the West could also strike Russia. As I noted on the blog this week, Aleksei Navalny appears to be betting that it could and is seeking to seize the moment. On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we'll take a look at antiestablishment sentiment in Russia, its sources, and whether it is reaching critical mass. Joining me will be co-host Mark Galeotti, a senior policy fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations; and journalist Anna Arutunyan, author of the book The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia's Power Cult. Also on the Podcast, Mark, Anna, and I will discuss Forbes magazine naming Vladimir Putin the world's most powerful man for the fourth consecutive year. So be sure to tune in later today! IN THE NEWS Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Japan has produced an agreement to hold talks on joint economic development of four islands claimed by both countries, but no breakthrough in the territorial dispute that dates back to World War II and beyond. U.S. President Barack Obama said the United States will "take action" against Russia for interfering in the U.S. presidential election in an interview with National Public Radio released late on December 15. Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, has suggested that Putin personally authorized an alleged Russian hacking operation aimed at meddling in the U.S. electoral process, while the top U.S. diplomat said more facts in the case could soon be made public. Russian officials have dismissed an NBC News report that said U.S. intelligence officials believe with a "high level of confidence" that Putin was personally involved in Russian efforts to interfere in the U.S. Presidential election. Four Syrian organizations have accused Russia of committing or being complicit in war crimes in Syria, saying Russian air strikes in the Aleppo area had killed 1,207 civilians, including 380 children. Italy blocked attempts to extend European Union sanctions on Russia by a year as well as broaden the sanctions to cover alleged crimes by Russia in Syria, EU members said. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says envoys from the alliance will meet with Russian diplomats on December 19 to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists. Amnesty International has decried what it called Russia's "systematic persecution" of the Crimean Tatars since "the occupation and illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation" in 2014. A Moscow court has sentenced a retired military officer to 12 years in prison after convicting him of treason, a charge that is usually linked to alleged espionage. A vote in the European Parliament has brought the goal of visa-free travel to the EU one step closer for citizens of Ukraine and Georgia. Lawmakers approved a mechanism allowing for the suspension of visa-free regimes with Ukraine and Georgia under certain circumstances once they are in place.They are now set to vote on the visa liberalization itself for Georgia in January, and it is possible that they will vote on Ukraine in February. WHAT I'M READING Still More On Russia And The U.S. Election Clint Watts of the the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Andrew Weisburd of the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at the George Washington University have a piece in Politico on "How Russia Wins An Election" abroad. In The Daily Beast, Anna Nemtsova writes that the Kremlin is gloating over the fallout from the hacking of the U.S. election. Paul Waldman has an op-ed in The Washington Post calling for an independent, public investigation of the Trump-Russia scandal. "If this keeps going in the direction its headed, this could stand alongside Watergate and Iran-Contra as one of the most important scandals in modern American history," Waldman writes. "Its increasingly looking like a hostile foreign power run by a murderous thug tried to swing an American election, and may have succeeded -- at least, in helping to tip it." To Russia With Love Matthew Nussbaum has a piece in Politico about how sympathy for Putin among U.S. Republicans "is rising." Hacking And Espionage The Atlantic's Kaveh Waddell has a piece asking whether Russia's election hacking marks "a new era in espionage." Detente? Not So Fast! In a piece for The Cipher Brief, former CIA official Michael Sulick argues that there won't be any detente between Russia and the United States anytime soon. Kremlin Games In Europe The Integrity Initiative has a couple good reports on its website. One looks at Kremlin Disinformation and the Dutch referendum on the EU's association agreement with Ukraine. And another looks at how Moscow has created a "traditionalist counterculture" in Central and Eastern Europe. Syria And Russia After Aleppo Writing in The Moscow Times, foreign affairs analyst Vladimir Frolov explains why the fall of Aleppo "puts Syria's fate in Moscow's hands." Navalny And The Kremlin Bloomberg has a piece suggesting that the Kremlin may actually welcome anticorruption blogger Aleksei Navalny's presidential bid. Russia's War On The LGBT Community Katerina Patin has a piece in Coda about one psychiatrist's secret efforts to assist transgender Russians. Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here. I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what Ive been following during the past week and what Im watching for in the days ahead. The Big Issue Iran has accused two female journalists who covered the hospitalization and funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- whose death in the custody of Tehran's morality police triggered protests across the country -- of being U.S. spies and the "primary sources of news for foreign media." The accusations came in a joint statement by the feared intelligence branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry, which identified the two journalists, Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who are being held in Tehran's Evin prison, by their initials. The statement claims the journalists were trained abroad. It also says the protests that have shaken Iran were planned by the CIA along with other foreign intelligence services, including the British and Saudi spy agencies as well as Israel's Mossad. The statement was met with fear and anger by Iranian journalists and their colleagues, who pushed back against the accusations. Senior editors of Hamedi's Sharq daily and Mohammadi's Hammihan dismissed the charges and said the journalists were only doing their jobs. "Our journalist and our newspaper.....acted within the framework of the journalistic mission," said Mehdi Rahmanian, editor of the reformist Sharq, while Gholamhossein Karbaschi, the editor of Hammihan, said the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency and other news agencies had similar reports that included more details. More than 500 journalists, photographers, and other media workers demanded the release of their colleagues while calling on officials to allow the free flow of information. Separately, Tehran's Journalist Association said that based on the statement by the Iranian intelligence agencies, journalism should be banned because "the normal activity of journalists has been cited as evidence of a crime." For its part, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists dismissed the charges against the two journalists as "conspiracy theories," adding that it will hold Iranian leaders accountable for any harm done to the journalists. Why It Matters: The spying accusations against Hamedi and Mohammadi are a major escalation of state pressure on the media, which is already facing a severe crackdown and tough censorship. The spying charges leveled against the two carries the death penalty. According to the CPJ, more than 45 journalists and columnists have been arrested in the current crackdown. The French media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Iran has become the world's biggest jailer of female journalists in the course of the current crackdown. Meanwhile, reports have emerged that France-based Iranian journalist Vahid Shamsoddinnezhad, who had traveled to Saghez to cover the aftermath of Amini's death for the European TV channel Arte, has been in jail since September 28. What's Next: The judiciary has not officially charged the two journalists with spying. The pushback from the Iranian press and journalists and international pressure could be instrumental in clearing the two journalists of the accusations. Stories You Might Have Missed Iranian authorities secretly buried the body of RFE/RL's Radio Farda broadcaster Reza Haghighatnejad at a location near Shiraz after seizing his body upon repatriation to Iran for burial. Haghighatnejad, 45, died of cancer in Berlin on October 17. His body was flown to Iran on October 25. His family was not allowed to see the body or participate in his burial. Radio Farda obtained a video of Haghighatnejad's gravesite , where the anthem of the current mass protests in Iran, Shervin Hajipur's Baraye, was heard in the background. The U.S. State Department has called on Iran to release Haghighatnejad's body and said the episode showed the extent the Iranian government will go to intimidate the press. at a location near Shiraz after seizing his body upon repatriation to Iran for burial. Haghighatnejad, 45, died of cancer in Berlin on October 17. His body was flown to Iran on October 25. His family was not allowed to see the body or participate in his burial. Radio Farda obtained , where the anthem of the current mass protests in Iran, Shervin Hajipur's Baraye, was heard in the background. The U.S. State Department has called on Iran to release Haghighatnejad's body and said the episode showed the extent the Iranian government will go to intimidate the press. Iran has arrested rapper Toomaj Salehi, who had expressed support for the anti-govenment protests in Iran. Security authorities announced that the rapper was arrested on October 30 while attempting to flee the country. Salehi's uncle denied the claim, saying his nephew was arrested in the southwestern province of Chaharmahal Bakhtiari. Salehi was also detained last year over lyrics he wrote that condemn state repression, the killings of protesters, poverty, and injustice. What We're Watching Iran saw a surge in protests last week when thousands of people marked 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in state custody. In Amini's hometown of Saghez, a massive crowd gathered at the cemetery where the young woman is buried. Many walked to the cemetery amid reports that authorities had blocked the roads leading to Amini's resting place. Mourners also gathered last week at the grave of 16-year-old Nika Shahkarami near the western city of Khorramabad, 40 days after she was killed in the brutal state crackdown amid reports that security forces had opened fire to disperse mourners while also making arrests. Why It Matters: The memorial ceremonies for those killed by security forces have energized the protest movement by fueling more anger with state repression. The establishment has responded with force. More protests could erupt as Iranians mourn those killed by security forces. Thats all from me for now. Dont forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. Until next time, Golnaz Esfandiari If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. One participant runs through the obstacle course during the first obstaplunge last year. ST. ANSGAR | Niman Ranch Corporation, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado, is impacting pork production right here in Mitchell County. The Niman Ranch, which moved away from confinement pork production, began with Paul Willis of Thornton, the initial pork producer for the company. In a telephone interview, Willis said his interest in the project began in the late 1980s, while he was on vacation in California. Willis said his hogs were being discounted on the regular market, because my pigs had deeper bodies which came as a result of being raised free range. While in California, he saw free-range chicken was quite common in supermarkets and wondered if free-range pork could become as popular. During his stay, he crossed paths with Bill Niman, who was involved in meat marketing. He shared his vision, with Niman, of selling free-range pork products. The two collaborated and, in 1995, Willis started providing 30 free-range hogs per week for specialty markets and restaurants. The market grew to where Williss operation could not keep up with demand and soon he was enlisting friends and neighboring farmers in the venture. Today, the Niman Ranch family has grown to 600 pork producers, 65 ranchers and cattle producers and seven lamb producers across the nation. The concept behind the company is producing high-quality meat in a humane manner with no antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products. Niman Ranch producers own their own facilities and livestock, but they must comply with the organizations regulations if they want to market their livestock through the company. Mark Hommez, of Stacyville, is the companys Live Animal Compliance Manager. I make sure all the regulations are followed to meet the label claims that are on our meat products, said Hommez. He has been with the organization for the past 18 months. Ryan Ubben, St. Ansgar, has been a Field Agent for Niman Ranch for the past nine years. I recruit farmers and work with them to meet Niman Ranch standards, as well as trouble-shoot, said Ubben. I get to farm from my desk every day. He helps producers develop plans for their operations, such as the amount of space each hog is required to have, monitoring pork rations to make certain they comply with the companys standards and making certain livestock are treated humanely. Hommez pointed out producers are monitored for compliance annually, and if a Niman Ranch standard is not met, the farmer has 30 days to come into compliance. We dont treat livestock in an inhumane manner, said Hommez. If the animal gets real sick and requires antibiotics, they can be administered, but that animal must be tagged and cant be sold to Niman Ranch, but must be marketed through a commercial market. The companys requirements not only focus on deleting unnatural feed additives, they also focus on the environment in which the animals are raised. Requirements are that each animal is to have a predetermined amount of space, have access to sunlight, with no farrowing crates being used, only free-stall farrowing. Animals are required to have deep bedding and must be treated humanely. Ubben said, This method of pork production is definitely more labor intensive, but getting into todays conventional type of pork production is a lot more costly. Brothers Rob and Ross Sherrard cited lower cost of equipment as a reason for becoming involved with the Niman Ranch in 2014. The brothers, who farm southwest of St. Ansgar, said their dad had quit raising hogs in 2009, yet he had retained all of his equipment. We were looking to get back into pigs, and all of dads equipment was around and it was a lot cheaper to get back into it this way, said Ross. They agreed it would have taken a much larger investment for them to have built a confinement facility. The brothers currently run a feeder pig to finish operation. They buy 18 to 20-pound feeder pigs that come from a Niman Ranch feeder pig producer out of Southern Missouri. They market their animals about 280 pounds. The pigs are processed in a Niman Ranch facility and, later, the pork products are shipped to restaurants and specialty food stores throughout the country where the brand is well known. Because the brand produces no-nitrate bacon, and the meat is free of antibiotics and hormone additives, natural health stores are a major market for the trademark. High-end restaurants in many major cities add the Niman Ranch label to their menu entrees. Many chefs use these meat products because of the intermuscular marbling that comes through this type of pork production, which adds flavor. Because natural health food stores and high-end restaurants are more prevalent in larger metropolitan areas, few vendors in the immediate area carry the companys pork products. Louies Custom Meats in Clear Lake and a vendor in Rochester carry Niman Ranch products. The high quality and healthy products in high-end markets translate into a safety net for the companys livestock producers. With each new batch of pigs, a guaranteed floor market price is given to the producer. No matter how conventional markets fluctuate, the producer has a guaranteed price, which will adjust upward if feed costs rise. Willis, who pioneered Niman Ranchs pork production, said, Many of our farmers wouldnt be raising pigs or even farming if it wasnt for our price protection. The Sherrard brothers agree. Rob said, I like the consistency on profitability. We make money on every group of pigs. Ross added, It is a pretty fast turnaround as these pigs grow well. Its a good consistent income, and if things continue to go well, we can expand. Ubben stated another benefit to the Niman Ranch System has a huge local economic impact, because everything is purchased locally. Having grown from processing 30 hogs per week to processing 200,000 annually, Niman Ranch continues to gain in-market share. We have to expand markets, and as markets expand we will be looking for more pork producers, said Hommez. The top academic officer at the University of Mary Washington will step down from his position, effective immediately. In an email to the campus Thursday evening, UMW President Troy Paino said Provost Jonathan Levin will be reassigned as a tenured professor in the department of English, linguistics, and communication for the fall 2017 term. Paino's email said Levin's reassignment was a mutual decision as they "concluded that it will be in the best long-term interest of the University that I take the opportunity now to begin establishing my own academic leadership team." "I want to thank Dr. Levin for his dedicated service to the University over the past three and one-half years as provost and to wish him well in his new role," Paino said via email. Nina Mikhalevsky, professor of philosophy and interim dean of the College of Education, will assume the role of acting provost. At UMW, the provost is responsible for oversight of all academic programs, academic planning and budgets and faculty matters. Levin was selected for the post in 2013 after a nationwide search. He came to UMW from Drew University in New Jersey, where he had been the dean of the College of Liberal Arts since 2008. Before working at Drew University, he was the dean of humanities at Purchase College in New York. He taught literature there during his time as dean, and previously taught literature at Columbia and Fordham universities. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. DES MOINES Alliant Energy and the Office of Consumer Advocate have reached a settlement agreement, canceling a hearing with the Iowa Utilities Board Monday. The agreement should reduce the number of times customers receive estimated bills that come back later to show higher actual usage rates and therefore additional charges. Alliant is adjusting the billing process to prevent estimates for multiple months and has hired more employees to handle the process of reviewing bills. The agreement was approved by the Utilities Board Friday. Consumer Advocate Mark Schuling is pleased with the outcome, saying that Alliant addressed each issue. We have gotten over 300 complaints and I looked at every one of them, Schuling said. It was a combined effort of us looking at the issues and IPL looking at issues. The issue arose over billing practices this summer. Alliant/Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) said high bills sent to some Iowa customers were caused by higher energy use due to a hotter summer and problems with a new billing system. The new billing system caused some customers to receive bills with their usage estimated based on the previous years use. Customers later received bills adding in actual usage, causing higher bills. Alliant has since identified and fixed a software patch problem that caused a number of bills to be estimated. The boards rules provide for the settlement of issues in contested cases, the board said in the agreement. North Iowans are mad about hefty Alliant bills An unexpected hike in energy bills from Alliant Energy over the past few months has left man Schuling said the biggest issue was the substantial number of bill estimates. In the agreement, Alliant/IPL promises to refrain from estimating a bill when it has an actual meter reading if Alliant is unable to conduct a manual review of the reading within the time required for billing. Alliant will use an estimate only when a manual review is conducted and the review is unable to confirm the accuracy of the reading. The record in this proceeding indicates that, had such practices been employed by IPL this past summer, most complaints relating to underestimated bills would likely have been avoided, the board said. To help reduce the frequency of bill estimation and inaccurate billings, Alliant will also adjust the thresholds that trigger bill review at certain times. IPL will include an additional estimated notation on estimated bills, to apprise customers that they may find a true-up in a subsequent bill, the board said. IPL also promises to make payment agreements available for up to 24 months for customers who received estimated bills in 2016. I feel good about it, Schuling said. They were already in the process of making these changes. The company took steps in October to work with those affected by higher bills by spreading the additional charges over the next 12 months with no negative impact to the account or credit score. It also suspended late payment fees and service disconnection for affected individuals. They were just as interested as we were in resolving it, Schuling said. The settlement also requires Alliant/IPL to submit certain reports to OCA. Schuling said the reason he pushed to resolve the matter before the winter set in was to avoid a similar issue with the cold weather. Alliant did not respond to two phone messages left by the Globe Gazette Friday. Faced with a budget shortfall now estimated at $1.26 billion, Gov. Terry McAuliffe and General Assembly Republicans are bickering instead over whether the governor proposed to expand Medicaid in the budget he presented legislators on Friday. McAuliffe did not include $2.4 billion in federal funds that Virginia could use to expand the health care program under the Affordable Care Act or an estimated state general fund savings of $213 million that he said could have helped offset spending cuts. Citing a great deal of uncertainty over the future of the law, the governor told legislators he chose the fiscally prudent path by leaving enhanced federal Medicaid funds out of the budget. But McAuliffe did propose language that would strip a controversial provision that Republican opponents forced into the budget more than two years ago to prevent him from expanding Medicaid without General Assembly approval. Instead, the governor proposes to give himself authority to expand Medicaid next fall if the Affordable Care Act survives assault by President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, which have vowed to repeal and replace President Barack Obamas legacy achievement. I maintain that when the partisan rhetoric subsides, we will still have some form of enhanced Medicaid coverage, even if it is wrapped in a new package, he said. With this language, if the ACA is repealed or Medicaid expansion is removed from the law, nothing will change in Virginia. But Republicans led by House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford, quickly accused the governor of not telling the truth and attempting to expand the program unilaterally if expansion survives Congress. The House will continue to hold the line against any form of Medicaid expansion, Howell said. McAuliffe and the General Assembly appear to be on parallel tracks in waiting to see how the new president and Congress handle the health care law. Budget leaders said after last months presidential election that they would form a special subcommittee to monitor actions by the Trump administration and Congress. Well be prepared as a legislative body to be able to react in a timely manner, House Appropriations Chairman Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, said after the governors speech. Jones and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment Jr., R-James City, who also is Senate Finance co-chairman, both dismissed McAuliffes proposal to give himself authority to expand the program if Congress leaves the enhanced Medicaid funding intact. He knows were not going to give him that, Jones said. Advocates supported the governors approach, even though he didnt include funds for expansion in the budget. If Congress and the president keep Medicaid expansion in the law, Virginia should fully embrace that opportunity as quickly as possible, said Jill Hanken, a senior attorney at the Virginia Poverty Law Center. The Medicaid squabble ultimately is likely to have less effect on budget deliberations in the upcoming General Assembly than McAuliffes proposals to close the revenue shortfall while finding money for mandatory spending primarily for current Medicaid and other health care costs and new initiatives, including one-time bonuses for state employees, teachers and state-supported local employees. The governors package of $130.6 million to provide 1.5 percent bonuses next Dec. 1, as well as other spending to deal with salary disparities, appears to have no traction with legislators, who prefer instead to look for ways to restore the 3 percent raise for state employees that was cancelled because of a 1.9 percent revenue shortfall in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. We need to do a salary adjustment, Jones said. Assembly budget leaders also arent happy with McAuliffes proposal of deep cuts in spending that had been budgeted for new economic initiatives, including: almost $15 million of the $35 million that had been promised to the new GO Virginia program, $10 million that had been budgeted for a new higher education research initiative and $4 million for the Inova Global Genomics and Bioinformatics Research Institute being developed on the former Exxon/Mobil headquarters property in Fairfax County. GO Virginia doesnt go without money, said Norment, one of the laws principal sponsors. McAuliffe also proposed to reduce economic development incentive payments by $6.9 million over two years, as the administration tries to sell its proposals to reform a program that has come under heavy criticism in a recent legislative study of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Jones said the legislature would present its own package of proposed reforms for the independent state authority, but planned to take a more global view of economic development in the state. McAuliffes budget proposals spared K-12 public education programs but required 5 percent cuts in state funding for public colleges and universities, including about $9.6 million at Virginia Commonwealth University, $8.6 million at Virginia Tech, $7 million at the University of Virginia and $19.7 million for the state community college system. The governor had directed higher education to prepare for cuts of up to 7.5 percent in state funding. Theyre going to be overjoyed today, he predicted in remarks after the speech. The administration identified more than $800 million in spending cuts, but exempted major agencies such as state police, corrections, juvenile justice, forensic science and the beleaguered behavioral health system, which would receive $31.7 million in additional funds to expand critical services for people with opioid addictions and mental illness. While agency spending cuts could result in layoffs, McAuliffe did not propose any direct job cuts. Instead, he restored almost $220,000 that had been cut from the budget of the Library of Virginia in this years budget to help avoid the planned layoffs of 15 library staff. McAuliffe also proposed a number of ways to increase revenues to help pay for spending, particularly the one-time bonuses. He proposed a tax amnesty program that he said would generate $59.2 million; a reversal of the planned rollback of accelerated sales tax collections by small and medium-sized businesses he said would produce about $49 million; and a requirement that online distribution centers register as dealers and collect sales taxes, for another $21 million. The reversal on accelerated sales tax collections would require businesses that generate more than $2.5 million in sales to remit sales taxes in June, a month early, in order to increase revenues in one fiscal year at the expense of the next, which begins on July 1. The budget adopted earlier this year would have raised the threshold to $10 million in sales, but the governor suspended the change in October. McAuliffe proposed to increase the threshold for requiring accelerated payments to $4 million in the budget year that begins on July 1, rather than $25 million as planned in the original budget. Were still unwinding it, just not as fast, Secretary of Finance Richard Ric Brown said in an interview. However, the Virginia Retail Merchants Association is strongly opposed to the policy reversal, which it said would hurt the cash flows of small- and medium-sized businesses that had expected to be exempt. Its like having a second mortgage payment, said Petrina Jones, the associations director of government affairs. Well look at that very closely, Norment said. The size of the shortfall, originally projected at $1.5 billion, shrank by $252 million because of a new revenue forecast recommended recently by the Joint Board of Economists and Governors Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, which raised expectations of growth in the biennium. Two years ago, McAuliffe and the legislature faced a projected shortfall of $2.4 billion, but revenues recovered early the next year and gave them more room to spend. This year, revenues have increased by 5.4 percent since July 1, compared to the first five months of the last fiscal year. Collections are well ahead of the annual forecast of 1.7 percent growth, but McAuliffe said the economists and advisory board, which includes legislative leaders, had recommended that we be conservative in revising the revenue forecast. But the governor and legislators may revise those revenue forecasts again in February, before the General Assembly acts on the budget. On the other hand, McAuliffe said Congress still hasnt adopted a federal budget that forecloses the possibility of spending cuts under sequestration next fall that could hurt Virginias defense-dependent economy and affect state revenues in the next fiscal year. For me, sitting here today, thats still out there, McAuliffe told reporters. BELMOND | A Belmond man burned in a house explosion remained hospitalized Thursday in Iowa City. Officials say Bob Vierkant's house exploded about 5 p.m. Monday while he was in the basement investigating what he suspected might be a propane leak. The house is on Taylor Avenue about a mile north of Belmond. Belmond Fire Chief Dean Adcock said Vierkant, burned over 60 percent of his body, was able to get himself out of the basement. His wife, Kathy, drove him to Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond. He was later flown by helicopter to a hospital in Iowa City. A hospital official said information about Adcock's condition was not available. Kathy Vierkant was in the garage at the time and was not injured, he said. The house was destroyed. The force of the blast blew the bottom of one of the home's walls out a few feet and knocked out some cement blocks from the basement walls, Adcock said. Officials are still investigating the source of the propane leak and what ignited the gas. Firefighters from Goodell and Clarion helped put out the blaze. Molly Montag MASON CITY | The Cerro Gordo County Compensation Board on Thursday recommended 2.5 percent increases for county elected officials for the next fiscal year. It also elected a new chairman, Steve Minert, who will take over next year for Tom Jolas, who has chaired the board for 32 years. Jolas, who turned 85 on Friday, received congratulations from other board members and praise for his years of service. The pay raise recommendations now go to the Board of Supervisors for approval. The proposed raises mean: The county attorney's salary would go from $118,006 to $120,956. The auditor, recorder and treasurer salary would go from $72,716 to $74,533. The sheriff's salary would go from $98,779 to $101,248. Supervisors' pay would go from $52,460 to $53,771. In addition, for the second straight year, the board recommended a $5,000 stipend to County Auditor Ken Kline for GIS duties he has taken on. Two new supervisors, Tim Latham and Chris Watts, who attended Thursday's meeting, both said during their campaigns they favored a freeze on supervisors' pay. When they take office in January, they will represent two-thirds of the three-member board and will vote on the proposed pay raises. HAMPTON | A Hampton man was among eight people in a large drug ring sentenced to federal prison this week. Miguel Mendoza, 26, received a prison term of six years and six months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mendoza and his co-defendants, who were from Marshalltown, Evansdale, Waterloo and California, were responsible for distributing hundreds of pounds of meth, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa. Beginning in the spring of 2013, a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing ice methamphetamine was formed, officials say. The organization brought the meth to Marshalltown from Mexico and California concealed in vehicles. Once in Marshalltown, the meth was broken down and repackaged for further distribution, according to officials. A special assessment of $100 was imposed on all defendants and they must also each serve a three to five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. -- Mary Pieper CARPENTER | A decision on the proposed Mitchell-Worth County pipeline has been moved to a December meeting. No action was taken during a November meeting due to other agenda items needing attention by the supervisors. They met in joint session to possibly consider bid letting for a proposed natural gas pipeline from Joice to St. Ansgar. The board will meet again at 7:45 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19, in the Worth County Courthouse's magistrate courtroom. During a joint meeting in October, both boards reviewed two engineering proposals, which included the design as well as preliminary work required to make the project shovel-ready. Mitchell County Supervisor Stan Walk said he was disappointed in the presentation given by Black Hills Energy during the Nov. 28 meeting. Walk said the company did not seem willing to discuss completing the steps needed to make the project shovel-ready, rather, They just wanted to tell us how they could take care of the project without our input. Im not happy to hear the same story we heard back in October. Walk said it could take up to a year to make the project shovel-ready, a position he believed the counties needed to reach in order for the project to be able to move forward when the time came. In addition to attempting to work with Black Hills Energy, the two boards are also working with Montana-Dakota Utilities. The cost to complete the preliminary work is estimated at approximately $800,000, a cost that would be split between the two counties. Both counties have said tax increment financing could pay for the work. Black Hills Energy submitted a cost estimate of approximately $260,000 in October, a bid which Walk believed Black Hills was leaving things off the table in order to get the low bid. Black Hills Energy was instructed to resubmit an all-inclusive bid for consideration at a joint meeting scheduled for Jan. 24, 2017. A MOVIE-maker whose talent has taken him from Rotherham to San Francisco has scooped a top Hollywood award. Richard Bluff (39) won the Hollywood Visual Effects Award for his work on Doctor Strange and picked up the prestigious award at a ceremony in the US hosted by presenter James Corden. Marvels Doctor Strange stars Benedict Cumberbatch and critics have said Richard, alongside visual effects supervisor, Stephane Ceretti, created action sequences unlike anything audiences have seen and expanded the idea of whats possible in the Marvel cinematic universe. The former Oakwood Comprehensive and Thomas Rotherham College student said the win was an unexpected bonus and a nice ending to the two-year project. Any situation where an independent body recognises the contribution youve made to a movie is an incredible honour, said Richard. Doctor Strange was such a fun project to work on that all I hoped for in the end was that wed helped make a good movie. The father-of-two said working on the film was the highlight of his career because it was the first time he had headed up visual effects on a major motion picture - and was the culmination of 20 years hard work. His parents, Steven (68) and Francis (65) said they were so proud of Richard, who left their Moorgate home for LA in 2000 when he was 22. Admin assistant Francis said they both loved the film - but the most exciting part was always waiting for the credits to roll to see their sons name. Richard has also received another top honour this year after being chosen to be an Academy Award member and will help to decide Oscar nominees. He said: To be part of the academy thats responsible for the advancement of film making and protecting the rich history of cinema will be a lifetime honour. Im now having to watch as many movies as I can between now and February so I can make an informed vote. The Advertiser last caught up with Richard in 2005 when he had landed his dream job at Star Wars director and producer George Lucas effects studio, Industrial Lights and Magic (ILM) and worked on the special effects for Revenge of the Sith. Since then hes climbed through the ranks to become the visual effects supervisor at ILM and has overseen work on Above and Beyond, Lucy, Marvels Agent Carter and The Big Short. A standout job for him over the past few years was being part of the location photography team on Transformers where he was tasked with collecting images to help craft shots. Richard said: This took me around the world from the Pyramids at Giza in Egypt, to landing on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - which required being caught by the tow rope and catapulted off again - to Al Capones speak easy in Chicago. Richard taught himself about film software while he was a student completing an engineering degree at Wolverhampton University and was inspired by Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters films as a youngster. His next project takes him from films to theme parks as he will be creating visuals for two new attractions at Star Wars Land in Disneyland, California. Here's more from our interview with Richard. Q. Any tips for pupils over here who are looking to get into special effects? Richard Bluff: Dont specialise too soon and understand that English, math and science along with art and computer studies all contribute to being a successful artist in the film industry. The most successful artists I know can do a little of everything and experience leadership roles at small companies before joining the bottom rung of the ladder at a bigger company. A nice person who is good at their job will excel more than a horrible person whos exceptional at theirs. Everyone remembers the journey and the people they worked with more than the finished product. Q. Can you give us an overview of your role day-to-day on Dr Strange. I was on Dr Strange for about 20 months from pre-production right through to post-production finishing four weeks prior to the movie hitting the movie theatres. The first six months were spent in office at ILM in San Francisco reading the script, researching the visuals the film-makers wanted and planning the shot execution. Once filming started I was sent to New York to head up a small team shooting background plates and collecting scan data and photographic reference of the city. The highlight of this trip was standing on the lip of the new Four World Trade Centre operating one of our movie cameras shooting various falling plates. As production continued I started visiting the stages in London to oversee the sequences we would be responsible for in post. It was during these trips I had the opportunity to meet with the cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Im happy to report they were all wonderfully nice down to earth people. Over the 12-month period of shooting the movie and post production I spent a total of 18-weeks away from home with six trips to London, five trips to New York and four trips to our offices in Vancouver, Canada. Q. Why was your work on Dr Strange so highly acclaimed? Do you see it as your best work yet? Richard Bluff: I cant honestly say why the work resonated with so many people. I try all the time to remember back almost two years ago when I saw the concepts for the first time. At the time I had the same reaction as I hear from people now but when you work on something every day so intensely for two years its hard to be objective. Im incredibly proud of the work we did and its certainly the highlight of my career so far and for that I can only thank the entire team I worked with at ILM and Marvel. Q. Any other career highlights that stick in your mind? Avatar was an amazing project to work on as it presented me with the opportunity to work directly with James Cameron and John Knoll. James Cameron stands out as one of the finest film makers of his generation and was responsible for some of my favourite movies growing up. John Knoll remains a legendary figure in the visual effects industry and ILM through what hes achieved throughout his career. Knoll, has not only has he won an Academy Award for his work on the Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest movie but many years earlier he was responsible for creating Photoshop. To work on Avatar with these two leading figures was a privilege and I learnt a great deal about what you needed to do, and who you needed to be, in order to be successful. The four detained members of the terrorist group were citizens of Tajikistan and Moldova. Powerful homemade explosive devices were found. The FSB said its forces also managed to seize a large amount of explosive blend material for making a high-energy explosive device. Previously, on Saturday, Russian security services thwarted a plot to blow up targets in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The suspects of Central Asian origin were arrested in collaboration with law enforcement in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, it has been reported. Russia has been a target of Daesh attacks since the countrys military began a campaign in Syria in late September 2015 to assist the Arab country in the fight against terrorism at the official request of the Damascus government. Cambro Manufacturing Representatives from Cambro Manufacturing, the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR) the Alamance Chamber of Commerce celebrated Dec. 15 the completion of a lead track at the North Carolina Industrial Center (NCIC) and the first freight rail shipment received by the manufacturer of food service equipment. Cambro Manufacturing announced plans to open a new plant in Alamance County in 2014, and officials say the plants opening created 100 jobs. The plant also required a rail spur to deliver raw materials. The North Carolina Railroad Company is committed to making investments that drive North Carolinas ability to meet the needs of rail-served industry in our state, said NCRR President Scott Saylor. When Cambro expressed interest in the NCIC and its potential for rail service, we knew that building a lead track would not only serve Cambro, but would also increase opportunities to attract future rail-served industry and create jobs for our state. The NCRR constructed a lead track that will serve several businesses in the industrial park, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation contributed to covering spur track construction costs. Rail service will be a great addition to our manufacturing facility in Mebane, said Cambro Manufacturing President Argyle Campbell. It will allow us to streamline the receipt and distribution of raw material throughout the factory. Thank you Scott Saylor and the [NCRR]. Alamance Chamber President Mac Williams said the lead track into NCIC has been a concept only on paper since the early 90s. We started talking with NCRR about helping make those lines on paper a reality and the timing of the Cambro project presented the opportunity. This lead track project involves a number of partners and represents the kind of collaborative effort that results in successful economic development, Williams said. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Adaptra, a Sydney-based consulting, transformation and IT services provider. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Adaptra specialises in consulting, programme management, and implementation of core platforms such as Guidewire to enable insurance companies to drive improvements across key functional areas. Adaptra works with 5 of the top 10 insurers in Australia and New Zealand, helping them define their target business and operating models and providing platform advisory and implementation services. Cognizant said the acquisition further strengthens its deep insurance, business transformation and platform capabilities to help clients succeed in a - and data-intensive world. As part of the acquisition, approximately 100 professionals will join Cognizant. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News President-elect Donald Trump nominated David Friedman as the United States Ambassador to Israel, one of its strongest allies in the world and the Middle East. A renowned attorney who has been counselor to some of the world's top businessmen and companies, Friedman was one of Trump's principal advisors on the US-Israel relationship during the presidential campaign. The top Jewish surrogate accepted the nomination with a statement saying he will work from Jerusalem and describing the city as "Israel's eternal capital." He vowed that he will work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between the two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region. With Mr. Friedman's nomination, President-elect Trump expressed his commitment to further enhancing the US-Israel relationship and ensuring there will be extraordinary strategic, technological, military and intelligence cooperation between the two countries, the Trump Transition Team said in a statement. Friedman, whose bar mitzvah (the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony) was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem 45 years ago, is a fluent speaker of Hebrew and a lifelong student of Israel's history. He expressed his resolve to be a rock-solid partner with the Israeli leadership as the two countries seek to advance their mutual interests and keep their people safe. Friedman is a founding partner of the national law firm Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP. He has been widely recognized for his outstanding contributions to the legal profession, and has been named one of the 500 leading lawyers in the United States. Friedman is known as a generous philanthropist to Jewish causes. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News President-elect Donald Trump Thursday announced appointments to key leadership of the White House National Security Council. He selected Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Keith Kellogg as Chief of Staff and Executive Secretary of the country's top security advisory body. Dr. Monica Crowley was named Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the National Security Council. The function of the National Security Council (NSC) is to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. General Kellogg is a decorated veteran of the United States Army, serving from 1967 to 2003, including two tours during the Vietnam War, where he earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with "V" device and Air Medal with "V" device. From November 2003 to March 2004, Kellogg oversaw the efforts to form the new Iraqi military after it was disbanded, as well as the reconstruction of the country's infrastructure. Since retiring from the Army in 2003, General Kellogg has gone on to have a successful career in the private sector. A renowned scholar who holds a Ph.D. in international relations, Dr. Crowley is a foreign affairs and political analyst for the Fox News Channel. She is also a New York Times bestselling author and a columnist and online opinion editor of The Washington Times. Dr. Crowley had served as Foreign Policy Assistant and Communications Director to former President Richard Nixon. She was named "Woman of the Year" by the Clare Booth Luce Institute at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2010 and received the "Excellence in Journalism Award" from the Women's National Republican Club in 2014. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Political News ST. ANSGAR | Although it's headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Niman Ranch Corp. is impacting pork production in Mitchell County, giving farmers an alternative to standard mass production. The Niman Ranch, which require sustainable farming methods like raising pigs outdoors, began with Paul Willis of Thornton, the initial pork producer for the company. Willis said his interest in the project began while he was on vacation in California in the late 1980s. He saw that free-range chicken was quite common in supermarkets and wondered if free-range pork could become as popular. During his stay, he crossed paths with Bill Niman, who was involved in meat marketing. He shared his vision with Niman of selling free-range pork products. Willis said his hogs were being discounted on the regular market, because my pigs had deeper bodies which came as a result of being raised free range. The two collaborated and in 1995 Willis started providing 30 free-range hogs per week for specialty markets and restaurants. The market grew to where Williss operation could not keep up with demand, and soon he was enlisting friends and neighboring farmers in the venture. Today, the Niman Ranch family has grown to 600 pork producers, 65 ranchers and cattle producers and seven lamb producers across the nation. The concept behind the company is producing high-quality meat in a humane manner with no antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products. Niman Ranch producers own their own facilities and livestock, but they must comply with the organizations regulations if they want to market their livestock through the company. Mark Hommez, of Stacyville, is the companys live animal compliance manager. I make sure all the regulations are followed to meet the label claims that are on our meat products, said Hommez, who has been with the organization for 18 months. Ryan Ubben, St. Ansgar, has been a field agent for Niman Ranch for the nine years. I recruit farmers and work with them to meet Niman Ranch standards, as well as trouble-shoot, said Ubben. I get to farm from my desk every day. He helps producers develop plans for their operations, such as the amount of space each hog is required to have, monitoring pork rations to make certain they comply with the companys standards and making certain livestock are treated humanely. Hommez pointed out producers are monitored for compliance annually, and if a Niman Ranch standard is not met, the farmer has 30 days to come into compliance. We dont treat livestock in an inhumane manner, said Hommez. If the animal gets real sick and requires antibiotics, they can be administered, but that animal must be tagged and cant be sold to Niman Ranch but must be marketed through a commercial market. The companys requirements not only focus on deleting unnatural feed additives, they also focus on the environment in which the animals are raised. Each animal is to have a predetermined amount of space and access to sunlight, with no farrowing crates being used, only free-stall farrowing. Animals are required to have deep bedding and must be treated humanely. This method of pork production is definitely more labor intensive, but getting into todays conventional type of pork production is a lot more costly, Ubben said. Brothers Rob and Ross Sherrard cited lower cost of equipment as a reason for becoming involved with the Niman Ranch in 2014. The brothers, who farm southwest of St. Ansgar, said their dad had quit raising hogs in 2009, yet he had retained all of his equipment. We were looking to get back into pigs, and all of dads equipment was around and it was a lot cheaper to get back into it this way, said Ross. They agreed it would have taken a much larger investment for them to have built a confinement facility. The brothers currently run a feeder pig-to-finish operation. They buy 18- to 20-pound feeder pigs from a Niman Ranch producer in southern Missouri. They market their animals at about 280 pounds. The pigs are processed in a Niman Ranch facility and pork products are shipped to restaurants and specialty food stores throughout the country. Because the brand produces no-nitrate bacon and the meat is free of antibiotics and hormone additives, natural health stores are a major market for the trademark. High-end restaurants in many major cities add the Niman Ranch label to their menu entrees. Many chefs use these meat products because of the intermuscular marbling that comes through this type of pork production, which adds flavor. Louies Custom Meats in Clear Lake and a vendor in Rochester carry Niman Ranch products. The high quality in high-end markets translates into a safety net for the companys livestock producers, according to the company. With each new batch of pigs, a guaranteed floor market price is given to the producer. The producer has a guaranteed price, which will adjust upward if feed costs rise. Many of our farmers wouldnt be raising pigs or even farming if it wasnt for our price protection, Willis said. The Sherrard brothers agree. Rob said, I like the consistency on profitability. We make money on every group of pigs. Ross added, It is a pretty fast turnaround as these pigs grow well. Its a good consistent income, and if things continue to go well we can expand. Ubben said another benefit to the Niman Ranch System has a huge local economic impact because everything is purchased locally. Having grown from processing 30 hogs per week to 200,000 annually, Niman Ranch continues to gain in-market share. We have to expand markets, and as markets expand we will be looking for more pork producers, said Hommez. Greece's economic growth is set to improve strongly in the coming years, as capital controls are removed and investments recover on conclusion of the country's bailout reviews, the Bank of Greece said Friday. The bank forecast a modest 0.1 percent growth for this year, which is expected to surge to 2.5 percent next year. Growth was seen at 3 percent in 2018 and 2019, supported by investment, consumption and exports. Improvements in the fiscal space, labor, structural reforms, external balances, banking, among others are expected in the long term to raise the growth potential of the Greek by fostering faster labor productivity growth and job creation, the bank said. "The reforms implemented so far have contributed to an emerging restructuring of the economy towards a new, extrovert growth model, based on tradables and a higher share of exports in GDP," the bank said. The bank also warned that the outlook for the Greek economy remains subject to risks despite the current positive indications and the progress achieved. "The most significant and immediate risk relates to a failure to reach a timely completion of the second review of the programme, especially in the light of upcoming national elections in a number of euro area countries," the bank said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. FOREST CITY | A Forest City businessman was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison this week for failing to pay employment taxes. Darrell Smith, 60, also was ordered to serve two years of supervised release after his prison term ends. Smith was the president and general partner of Energae, which was a minority investor in Permeate Refining LLC., an ethanol-production business in Hopkinton. In his position at Energae, Smith had significant control over the finances of Permeate and was responsible for paying over to the Internal Revenue Service the employment tax on behalf of Permeates employees, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa in Cedar Rapids. From the first quarter of 2011 through the third quarter of 2012, Smith failed to pay more than $502,863. After Smith discovered that a subordinate employee had made some payments to the IRS, Smith stopped that employee from making further payments, officials say. Smith pleaded guilty in June to one count of failing to pay employment taxes. Employment tax evasion "results in the loss of tax revenue to the United States and the loss of future Social Security or Medicare benefits for the employees," said Karl Stiften, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation. Smith's co-defendent, Randy Less of Hopkinton, pleaded guilty in June to failing to pay employment taxes and violating the Clean Water Act. His sentencing is scheduled for March 23. MASON CITY | Single parents in North Iowa seek help from the Cheer Fund to give their families a nice Christmas. A 36-year-old widow would like to buy presents for her daughters, 15 and 10. My girls' dad died last October, the woman wrote. It has really been hard. Really doing it on your own gets hard. He daughters need new clothes for Christmas, she said. A 29-year-old mother of three has spent months getting her daughter medical care, leaving little money for Christmas presents. We spent a lot of time at the childrens hospital in Iowa City for my daughter, she wrote. The children wont get many gifts. She is seeking funds to provide gifts and clothes for her sons, 8 and 6, and her daughter, 3. A 36-year-old father would like to give his 6-year-old son something to open on Christmas. I recently lost my job and I would like to use the funding for Christmas presents, a man wrote. Cheer Fund donations are falling behind previous years, making it difficult to process requests before the holidays. As of Thursday, $66,352 has been raised. Another $58,648 is needed to reach this years goal of $125,000. Can you help us help those in need? The Christmas Cheer Fund was established by Globe Gazette Publisher Lee Loomis in 1927 so every child could have a present on Christmas morning. In the years since it has come to mean a little help at Christmastime to people of all ages. Donations may be dropped off at the Globe Gazette or mailed to the Christmas Cheer Fund, Box 271, Mason City, IA 50402-0271. Those in need can apply for help from the Cheer Fund at the Globe Gazette, 300 N. Washington Ave., between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Applicants must use the 2016 request form. Applications will close at noon Dec. 22. A first-of-its-kind journey along India and Pakistan border What binds the two most talked about nations - India and Pakistan together? What makes the Here's what social emotional learning looks like in Salina December 16, 2016 - Aker Solutions employees bought shares for NOK 40 million as part of annual programs for staff and managers. The company for the eighth consecutive year held share purchase programs to encourage employee ownership. About 900 employees, or 10 percent of eligible staff, participated. Eligible staff could buy Aker Solutions shares for as much as NOK 60,000 each. The shares were offered at a 25 percent reduction on the market price and a fixed one-off discount. A group of senior managers were also offered the chance to buy additional shares for as much as 25 percent of each individual's salary. These were also at a 25 percent price reduction. The subscription period for employee and manager programs ran from Oct. 28 - Nov. 11. The shares were allocated on Dec. 15 and priced at NOK 42.1910 each before the price reduction and discount, which was the average volume weighted share price of Aker Solutions on the Oslo Stock Exchange from Dec. 8 - 14. Aker Solutions ASA sold a total of 938,357 own shares in connection with the programs, leaving the company with 508,954 own shares. Acquired shares are subject to a three-year lock-up during which employees will not be able to sell the shares. Enclosed is an overview of shares acquired by primary insiders in this year's programs. ENDS For further information, please contact: Media: Bunny Nooryani, Chief Communications Officer, Aker Solutions. Tel: +47 67 59 42 71, Mob: +47 480 27 575, E-mail: bunny.nooryani@akersolutions.com Anne Cecilie Lund-Andersen, Media Relations Manager, Aker Solutions. Tel: +47 22 94 74 52, Mob: +47 99 62 12 13, E-mail: anne.cecilie.lund-andersen@akersolutions.com Investors: Per Christian Olsen, Analyst, Investor Relations, Aker Solutions. Tel: +47 67 51 36 58, Mob: +47 900 29 077, E-mail: per.christian.olsen@akersolutions.com Aker Solutions is a global provider of products, systems and services to the oil and gas industry. Its engineering, design and technology bring discoveries into production and maximize recovery. The company employs approximately 13,000 people in about 20 countries. Go to http://akersolutions.com for more information on our business, people and values. This press release may include forward-looking information or statements and is subject to our disclaimer, see http://akersolutions.com This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. And so all is well that ends well. Yesterday evening, the largest climate finance meeting to be held in the Pacific, the 15th Global Climate Fund Board meeting, ended with joyous celebration at the T.A.T.T.E Building on Beach Road. Today, the delegates from all over the world who have spent the past few days in rainy Samoa are making their way back home, hopefully with plenty of wonderful memories to share with families, friends and colleagues. By the way, it doesnt normally rain that much in beautiful Samoa. Our slice of heaven is usually associated with beautiful sunny days and tropical weather others can only dream of. But then perhaps Mother Nature knew the officials here for the meeting really needed to see what could happen to the Vaisigano River after a few days of rain and so it poured and poured. Whether that helped Samoas US$58million (T$131m) proposal to enhance climate resilience of the Vaisigano River catchment or not, the outcome is nonetheless worthy of a celebration. Last night, we were told that the proposal has been given the green light by the Green Climate Fund (G.C.F). It was apparently one of eight proposals approved by the Board, worth millions of dollars. For Samoa, of three proposals approved related to the Pacific, we are also involved a US$22million (T$50.6m) grant for a multi-country renewable energy programme with the Asian Development Bank. What it means is that the meeting in as far as Samoa is concerned has been a very positive one. Not only has it helped stimulate the economy by bringing all these visitors to Samoa filling up our hotel rooms and drinking our local beers, the best part is our fight against climate change has received financial injection. Indeed, this is the most pressing need for Pacific countries. We need millions and millions to help us confront climate change. No wonder Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, was pleased. What a fitting finale for the Board meeting that four out of eight proposals approved today are from S.I.D.S, she said. Our S.I.D.S colleagues I am sure will join me in thanking the Board for the recognition given to the vulnerable small islands developing states. We couldnt agree more. Climate change is as real as it gets when one lives on these isolated islands in the middle of the biggest ocean in the world. And for G.C.F officials to be able to come out here and see what its like, it will no doubt give them a new sense of appreciation, understanding and a totally different perspective about the realities we face. Its one thing to read and see videos about something, its another thing to see it for yourself. In the case of this meeting this week, seeing is definitely believing. Wed like to think though that this is only the beginning. You see there are more Pacific islands who are worse off than Samoa. Some of these islands are disappearing underneath rising oceans as we speak. Their lot is literally a matter of sinking or swimming. Which is why is encouraging to note that of eight projects approved yesterday, four are related to Small Island Developing States. These states are carrying the weight of the reckless actions of the bigger nations largely responsible for global warming. Today on the pages of the newspaper you are reading, the Director General of the Vailima-based Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P), Leota Kosi Latu, has hailed the outcome of the meeting. He has reason to. With three multi-million projects proposed by Pacific countries being approved including two involving Samoa who wouldnt be pleased. This is a great achievement for the Pacific islands as a whole, Leota said. Resourcing to help our Pacific islands cope with the impacts of climate change and transition away from dirty and expensive fossil fuels is needed. Having these three projects approved will make a real difference. I congratulate all parties involved in making this happen with the G.C.F and look forward to seeing more projects like this in the future. We couldnt agree more. We reiterate that our hope is this is only the beginning. Earlier this week, Samoas Permanent Representative to the United Nations who serves as the Representative of Small Island Developing States on the Board of the Green Climate Fund, Aliioaiga Feturi Elisaia, wrote an excellent piece about the meeting. Reprinted under the headline Seeing is believing, he made a couple of excellent points worth reflecting upon. The underlying reason for bringing the Board to Samoa is to provide the G.C.F Board members and stakeholders with an opportunity to see and experience first-hand the realities that the Pacific region and island communities are already facing on a daily basis he wrote. In trying to define what constitutes a paradigm shift on the ground, and what projects will deliver transformational impact in our collective action to address climate change, we must never lose sight of the simple truth that even projects by islands states, small as they may seem when compared to other larger and more expensive projects, in absolute term, they can still be impactful, effective, and bring about life-changing results in their own right. After all, everything in life is relative and small can also be beautiful. Well said, Aliioaiga! If we may add, in matters of life and death, as is the case with climate change on these shores, every little step and every dollar we can get counts. Congratulations to everyone involved and have a safe journey home. Have a pleasant Friday Samoa, God bless! Re: Leave our world champion alone The fight night was a spectacular success for Samoa with advertisements for Samoan tourism playing constantly throughout the night. We then had Loau announce the fight followed by a tribute to some of the great Samoan fighters of past years. My only disappointment is that there was no acknowledgement of the Australian-based boxer, Alex Leapai, in the video montage. Also, it could be taken as a bit of insult that The Rock was featured in the video montage when W.W.F. wrestling is not real sport. However, besides from that, Samoa was the winner on the night and Joseph Parker is the champion of the world (W.B.O.). It was a close fight but Parker got the cleaner shots and finished strong. The likes of Lance Revell and Bob Jones havent achieved anything approaching what Parker has achieved. Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, pulled the curtains on the 15th Global Climate Fund board meeting held in Apia yesterday evening. Fiame, who is also the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, expressed Samoas gratitude to the G.C.F Board for choosing Samoa as the venue for its first meeting in the Pacific. The closing ceremony was held at the Samoa Convention Center. Close to two hundred delegates from all around the world gathered to celebrate the end of a hectic week. Fiame spoke about how this meeting is vitally important in the global fight against climate change, especially for small island states like Samoa. In looking back now, the week seems it has lasted forever, she said. In going through it every single day, through the discussions, the debates and over-coffee conversations, did we stop and wonder what impacts we have made on the world around us? Have we made a difference? I hope some, if not all of us, mightve stopped to think and consider if we have left nothing for tomorrow, which can be done today. The Deputy Prime Minister said so much talk has been reported about climate change. However, weve all been inspired to take action as the challenges we face can no longer be left to a future generation, she said. Because the longer we wait, the harder the problems will be to solve. This week has given us the motivation to be the changes we would wish to see in the environment we live in, and in the world that we share. Our actions express our priorities. The decisions of the board demonstrate their understanding of what we as developing countries have prioritised. She was also given the honor on behalf of all the Small Island Countries to announce and thank the board members for recognizing the various proposals which have been approved in this meeting. In this regard, I have the privilege of acknowledging with the deepest sense of appreciation and gratitude the decisions made in favor of the proposals made by the Small Islands Developing States and in particular, our proposal from Samoa. What a fitting finale for the board meeting that four out of eight proposals approved today are from S.I.D.S. Our S.I.D.S colleagues I am sure will join me in thanking the Board for the recognition given to the vulnerable small islands developing states. Finally, she spoke on behalf of the government of Samoa in thanking the outgoing Co-Chairs of G.C.F for their hard work over the past years. We will remember this legacy we inherited while under your watch. May one strong pillar fall and another replace it. English Swedish Finnish Finnvera plc is selling about 80 per cent of its holding in Seed Fund Vera Ltd. This deal is one step in the process where Finnvera gradually gives up its venture capital investments. The holding is being sold to Innovestor Kasvurahasto I Ky, a Finnish limited partnership. Finnvera will remain an owner of Seed Fund Vera Ltd, with a holding of about 20 per cent. The Fund attracted interest among both Finnish and foreign buyers. Innovestors offer corresponded most closely to the sellers objectives. Now that there will be a new private company on the venture capital investment market, the arrangement ensures the continuity of the Funds investment activities and provides better opportunities to obtain further financing for the portfolio companies. Underlying the deal is the policy decision made by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, whereby responsibility for the development of early-stage venture capital investments, which used to be vested in Finnvera, has been transferred to Tekes Venture Capital Ltd. The Seed Fund has activated private investment From the perspective of its impact, Finnveras early-stage investment has been important. Through the Funds activities, portfolio companies have acquired a total of EUR 350 million in private capital. Of this total, business angels have accounted for about EUR 90 million. These sums are important even in international comparison, says Pauli Heikkila, CEO of Finnvera. The sale of Seed Fund Vera Ltd will bring much private capital and know-how to the Fund. This will add stability to the further development of the portfolio companies. The current portfolio companies will gain more networks and new kinds of opportunities for growth. Finnish Industry Investment and Tekes will share responsibility for the States venture capital investments From now on, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd and Tekes will bear the primary responsibility for the States venture capital investments. Of these two, Tekes Venture Capital Ltd, which is administered by Tekes, focuses on early-stage investments through investment funds. Seed Fund Vera Ltd began operations in 2005. Additional information: CEO Pauli Heikkila, Finnvera plc, +358 29 460 2400 HELPING HAND: Australias Minister for International Development and the Pacific Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells visited Aleisa Primary School on Tuesday to officially handover a new fence and water tanks funded by Australia through the Australian High Commissions Direct Aid Programme. The Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, has urged members of the Samoa Hotel Association (S.H.A) to focus on its priority areas. Speaking during the Associations General Members Meeting hosted at the Orator Hotel and co-sponsored by Ah Liki Wholesale, the Minister recognised the current challenges faced by the industry. Among providing constructive advice, he also offered an open invitation to the industry to continue dialogue with his office to assist where possible. You know all the problems, you know all the solutions, he said. Do not try and do a 100 things in one go, focus on five priority areas and we will help you work towards your goals. The Minister of Finance also took the opportunity to present to the membership the Strategy for the Development of Samoa 2016/17 2019/20. The meeting wrapped up an eventful year for the Samoa Hotel Association (S.H.A). On the agenda was a comprehensive Executive and Secretariat Update which included the successful completion of the S.H.A Thank you Campaign.This received support from local Business Houses including A.N.Z., Samoa Beverage Company, A.S.T Hardware, A.C.E Hardware, Eveni Carruthers, S.S.A.B, Bluesky Samoa, Apia Concrete Products and Ah Liki Wholesale. Funds raised from this campaign will be used to implement various Marketing and Events activities planned by S.H.A for 2017. A presentation from the Sustainable Travel International team visiting from Fiji and United States of America was also on the agenda. Jessie McComb (Senior Advisor) and Leah Carriere (Manager of Development Programs) introduced two new pilot projects which will be implemented in collaboration with U.N.D.P, U.N.E.P, S.T.A and S.H.A over the coming months focusing on a Sustainability Charter & Travel Fund as well as Sustainable Resource Management for Hotels. BEIRUT (AP) Weeping, hobbling on crutches or dragging suitcases, hundreds of survivors of a devastating government bombardment and siege left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo on Thursday, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellion's most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syria's 5-year-old civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat. A smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Quran. A U.N. official described it as "a black chapter in the history of international relations." Traumatized residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppo's streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. "We struggled for six years. We were supposed to be the ones to get them out, not them us," said one tearful woman who held a baby, speaking in a video posted online by an opposition activist. She explained that it wasn't the bombardment that forced them out. "We left because we feared for our honor from the regime," the unidentified woman said. Under a surrender deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. They said it was too dangerous to go to government-held areas, where they faced potential retribution from security services alleged to carry out arrests and torture of opposition sympathizers. Many are of fighting age and don't want to be drafted into the military. "We slept in the streets. It's shameful," a unidentified man said in an opposition video. "Where is the world?" Leaning on crutches and sobbing uncontrollably, he described fleeing the bombardment. "You don't know if it's an airplane or shelling or rockets. You never know," he added. Eastern Aleppo rose in revolt against Assad in 2012 and battled since then with the western, government-held part of the city in one of the most horrific and destructive fronts of the civil war. The rebels' hold in Syria's onetime commercial powerhouse was a major point of pride, and at times it seemed an invulnerable part of what was once a growing opposition-held patch of territory in the north. But government forces finally surrounded eastern Aleppo and then battered it to pieces. The air and ground campaign by Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes and forces from Assad's regional allies relentlessly wore away at the enclave. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands fled to government-held areas. The pocket was reduced to a few blocks packed with the bloodied, exhausted and demoralized but also die-hard opposition forces. For Assad, the victory puts most major cities under his control and raises hopes for the beginning of the end of the revolt. "History is being made," an upbeat Assad proclaimed in a video on social media. "What is happening is bigger than congratulations," he said, calling it comparable to Christ's birth and the revelation of Islam's holy Quran to Muhammad. Twenty buses with Assad's picture displayed in the windshields and 26 ambulances carried the civilians, including more than 50 sick or wounded, from the devastated Ameriyeh neighborhood. They drove through government-held districts to Rashideen, a rebel-held area outside Aleppo, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian state media said. Hundreds of government supporters cheered the convoy on as it crossed through government territory. Referring to the rebels, the state's SANA news agency said 951 "terrorists and their families" were evacuated. An estimated 70,000 civilians are waiting to be evacuated, said Mohammed Abu Jaafar, the head of the forensics department in the enclave. He added that a "tremendous crowd" showed up at the buses Thursday. Some of the evacuees burned belongings that they couldn't take with them, said Wissam Zarqa, an English teacher and an opposition activist still in eastern Aleppo. "Maybe most of them are happy that they are going to safety. Some of them are angry that they are leaving their city. Some people want to leave ASAP," he said. "As for me, I will try to leave Aleppo as late as possible." Online video showed hundreds crowding around the buses at the departure site. Many lugged suitcases or dragged bags behind them. Fires were kindled in barrels for warmth as the wounded sat in wheelchairs and others hobbled on crutches. Photos circulated online showed the graffiti on destroyed buildings: "Love will bring us back. 15/12/2016," and "Under each building destroyed, a family is buried with its dreams. Bashar and his allies buried them." Once the evacuees arrived in rural areas, opposition gunmen and locals gathered and chanted, "God is great" less in defiance than in gratitude for their survival. A Syrian opposition figure said local councils in Idlib and Aleppo provinces have been trying to find housing for them, but he said many will have to stay in camps. Turkey, which supports the opposition, promised to treat the wounded, according to Brita Haj Hassan, a member of Aleppo's local council, speaking from exile in Brussels. Syrian state TV said a separate convoy of 29 buses and ambulances moved to Foua and Kefraya, two nearby villages loyal to the government, to evacuate the sick and others who were subjected to a siege by rebels. Iran had demanded to tie the evacuations from Foua and Kefraya with Aleppo's. Syrian rebels say any evacuation of those villages is supposed to be accompanied by one from Zabadani and Madaya, two besieged opposition-held towns west of Damascus, according to an agreement between the government and rebels. The U.N. denounced that deal. In Geneva, U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator for Syria Jan Egeland said the international body was had been locked out of the evacuation plans and pro-government forces have blocked some aid vehicles from entering rebel-held districts. An estimated 50,000 people have fled eastern Aleppo, he said. "It took 4,000 years to build Aleppo hundreds of generations. One generation managed to tear it down in four years," Egeland said. "We feel all strongly that the history of Aleppo through this war will be a black chapter in the history of international relations," he said, adding that the city "gave to world civilization, and world civilization was not there to assist the people of Aleppo when they needed us the most." The Office of the Attorney General, through a private prosecutor, will appeal the decision by the District Court to find suspended Director of the National Prosecution Office, Mauga Precious Chang, not guilty. The appeal was confirmed by the Attorney General, Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff, in a email response to questions from the Weekend Observer. Lemalu, however, was quick to deny that the appeal is personal. Rather, he said the most important consideration is justice. A decision to appeal is the prerogative of the independent prosecutor to pursue, he said. The final say is his, and it is a professional not a personal consideration. This week, District Court Judge, Fepuleai Ameperosa Roma, found Mauga not guilty of three traffic-related charges. The charges include negligent driving causing bodily injuries, an alternative charge of dangerous driving and failure to stop to ascertain whether anyone was injured at the scene. In response to questions from the Weekend Observer, Lemalu said the consideration of whether an appeal should be lodged is a normal decision that follows a ruling by the Court. As you are aware, while I am the Acting Director of Public Prosecution, the decisions on this case are made by the independent prosecutor, said the Attorney General. Confirmation as to whether a decision has been made regarding lodgment of an appeal would have to come from the independent prosecutor. We will then lodge as per his professional opinion. Lemalu made it clear the lawyer who handled the matter at first instance remain on file for the appeal. That lawyer is New Zealand-based prosecutor, Satiu Simativa Perese. Asked if he was concerned about the cost of hiring an overseas prosecutor, Lemalu said costs is always a consideration in litigation whether it be civil or criminal. But the most important consideration is justice. While a Tribunal is pending to look into the conduct of suspended Acting D.P.P. and suspended Director of N.P.O., the Office is under the watch of the Attorney General. Lemalu said Mauga remains suspended pending the outcome of that Tribunal. He added, N.P.O. is not under the Attorney Generals office. I have been made the Acting D.P.P. at this time but the N.P.O. is still a separate body from the Attorney Generals Office. In a world where you are invisible, please know that I see you. Thats the message 18-year-old volunteer from Germany, Julia Jamila Werner, spread throughout the heart of Apia last week when she handed out small gifts to street vendors and beggars on the streets. Julia is in Samoa with Projects Abroad. She is working for the Samoa Observer and during her time in Samoa, she has noticed so many young children are hawking goods on the streets. She has also noticed the growing number of beggars. They are everywhere in Apia, she said. So she decided to do something about it, especially with Christmas around the corner. With baking one of her hobbies, she used her talent to spread the love with little messages to the vendors. The gift parcels were hand crafted carrying pieces of deliciously home made dessert, wrapped carefully in a maroon wrapping paper and finished off with a cute bow. Each parcel carried a unique hand written letter written by Julia herself and translated in Samoan on the backside courtesy of her host family at Vaitele. The preparation took days but they went in minutes. The gesture is Julias self-funded project called, I See You. Its a mission to tackle social issues and be part of the solution and not the problem. The inspiration behind the name I See You is because of Julias experiences walking the streets of Apia and witnessing first hand how people callously pass street vendors and beggars as if they are not even there. I wanted people to stop for a few seconds and open their eyes because homeless people or street kids, they seem to be quiet but I feel that they scream and people want close their eyes to the problems and to the person and just see their own nice world. I want them to pay attention to those who have less, she told the Samoa Observer. Thus, prompted Miss. Werner into action to begin the project. With the support of her host family, she was able to make 50 parcels to deliver to 50 lucky recipients. She ventured unafraid into the dead of the night on late Sunday evening to deliver the parcels to child vendors who are always still roaming the street as well as others who were lingering around about the street of Apia at that late hour. Generally I feel pretty safe in Samoa, maybe because Im used to the European streets, she said. I heard that the parents of the street kids arent far away, so Im not worried about them. I really cant understand how people can treat kids like this. You should never put the children in that situation. Despite the language barrier, the glow and smile that many of the recipients portrayed as they received their presents was enough for Miss. Werner. Im more worried about the homeless people because it takes pretty long until the government reacts. In Germany, everyone gets money and everyone gets a home. You should never be homeless. Here its different. I think that, especially the homeless people, need help from those who have more. You dont need to have a luxurious home, even just a little. Julia puts out a call to action for anyone in a position to help. Its like many people see invisible in this world. And I just wanted to say, there are people who care because I care. And for the people who care to stand up. This is no time for you to be quite and wait for other people to do something. You have to do it on your own and its never a bad idea. Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi is excited. He is looking forward to Samoas WB.O. heavyweight Champion, Lupesoliai Laauliolemalitoa Joseph Parkers visit tomorrow. In confirming the visit yesterday, Tuilaepa said Lupesoliai will be in the country next week for a big celebration. He declined to give the specific date and only pointed out that a statement will be distributed to reveal the details of Parkers visit. Asked if the government was planning a national holiday for the Champion, Tuilaepa was hesitant to comment. The decision has been made and it will be provided, he said. The thing is we will not be announcing this by word of mouth it will be written down properly and distributedso wait for it but dont go ahead without it. A press statement from the Press Secretariat or from the Prime Ministers office was not received by press time last night. The Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters (S.A.M.E) celebrated the successful accreditation of six Samoa Companies with the international code for food safety management system this week. The occasion was also used to launch the S.A.M.E Samoa Export Plan 2016 2020. Held at the Taumeasina Island Resort on Wednesday evening, H.A.C.C.P. Certification is an international standard defining the requirements for effective control of food safety standards. It ia also recognised as a significant tool for quality assurance and provides a platform of confidence and trust between exporters and importers. Funded by the Australian and New Zealand government aid programs, the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program provided support for H.A.C.C.P. training at the request of S.A.M.E. Australian High Commissioner, Sue Langford, congratulated S.A.M.E. The H.A.C.C.P. Accreditation programme run by S.A.M.E. and is supported by P.H.A.M.A, she said. The programme is central to farmers aims and farmers key aims are to maintain improve existing market access by developing the capacity of the public and private sector to make the requirements of markets. So with the certification that is recognised by the Australia and New Zealand these six companies will be able to increase exports of Samoan food and beverages. [And] doing so most importantly all positively contribute to the Samoan economy or provide new jobs and including new jobs for women and young people. And in my view this is what we here to do. We all know that Samoa has a heart for agricultural products and theres tremendous potential for Samoan businesses to share their advertising products with the rest of the world. The H.A.C.C.P. accreditation will not only assist businesses to exist export market but it will also help businesses to develop efficient and affective processes that will make it more competitive overall at international markets. Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti, described the achievment as a milestone. Firstly the achievements by six of your members who through hard work and commitment to excellence and good covenant have successfully attain international certification in food safety and management system, he said. The second achievement is the completion and launching of the S.A.M.E Samoa Export Plan for the period 2016, 2017- 2019, 2020. Minister Sili wished S.A.M.E. and all the companies Gods blessings. The six companies awarded certificates were Fuatino Natural Oil Coconut Product, Le Vai Co Ltd, Pacific Oil, Wilex Samoa, Heavenly Water and S.T.E.C. The National University of Samoa was a place of joyous celebration on Wednesday this week. After the Foundation students graduated last week, this time it was the students of Technical and Vocational Training Programmes who stepped up to the podium to be congratulated for their hard work at the end of the academic year. More than 400 graduates received certificates and diplomas in front of parents, families and friends who came to witness the special celebration. There were tears of joy, laugher and plenty of happiness to be shared among the students and their supporters. The Managing Director of the Samoa Water Authority, Seugamaalii Jammie Saena, was the guest speaker. She congratulated the students and urged them to do their best with the skills they had acquired. This is just the beginning, never stop looking for opportunities to further your education, she said. Never stop looking to increase your knowledge base. Here are some more photos from the graduation ceremony: Miracles happen when God leads. That was the theme of the one-day programme for youth members of the C.C.C.S. in Samoa this week. Held at the E.F.K.S. hall at Sogi, more than 200 youth groups from Savaii and Upolu showcased their talents in singing, skits, hymns traditional Samoan songs and other categories. Rev. Faitoaga Tolua said the programme is all about encouraging young people to be stronger in their walk with the Lord. The main focus of the church is to lead many of these young souls to know more about the Lord, he said. Hes the only answer when we look at many of the challenges theyre facing these days. For theyre the future of the country and the church. Rev. Tolua said its important for young people to fellowship and share their stories about the love of God. Many youths are occupying their time wrongly but having this kind of programme will help them physically but most importantly spiritually. He told Samoa Observer the programme was held at Malua in the past. This is not the first time that the church put together this one day event for our youth. Were praying that the programme will help. Twenty-three year old, Tavita Soolefai from Savaii told Samoa Observer that the programme is an eye opener for the youth of the church. This programme plays an important role for many youth members of the church, this reminds us that we have our role in the community, church and the country. For, miracles happen when God leads. 16 December 2016 HARBOURVEST GLOBAL PRIVATE EQUITY ESTIMATED NAV INCREASES 2% DURING NOVEMBER 2016 HVPE REPORTS ESTIMATED NAV OF $17.83 (14.26) PER SHARE - A 1.9% INCREASE IN US DOLLAR TERMS SHARE PRICE INCREASES 3% TO 11.09 OVER THE MONTH hvpe IS A NET INVESTOR DURING NOVEMBER WITH $27 MILLION INVESTED AND $22 MILLION RECEIVED IN REALISATIONS BORROWING REMAINS AT ZERO; $174 MILLION OF CASH held ON BALANCE SHEET additional $25 million COMMITTED to US MEZZANINE DIRECT CO-INVESTMENT FUND $1.2 BILLION INVESTMENT PIPELINE OF FUTURE COMMITMENTS HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited ("HVPE" or the "Company"), a closed-end investment company, today announces its estimated Net Asset Value ("NAV") at 30 November 2016. HVPE provides a complete private equity solution for public investors, managing the portfolio through four phases of the private equity cycle to create value: Commitments, Investment, Growth, and Realisation. Commitments During November, HVPE committed an additional $25.0 million to HarbourVest Mezzanine Income Fund, increasing the commitment to $50.0 million. The Company's existing HarbourVest fund commitments continued to make new investments. HVPE's Investment Pipeline (unfunded commitments) of $1.21 billion decreased on a net basis by $4.0 million during November as a result of the new HarbourVest fund commitment, capital funded, and foreign currency movements. Investment During November, HVPE invested $26.5 million. The largest investment was to a HarbourVest US buyout-focused fund-of-funds, and the Company invested across its portfolio of HarbourVest global fund-of-funds, secondary funds, and direct co-investment funds. Growth At 30 November 2016, HVPE's estimated NAV per share is $17.83 (14.26), a $0.33 increase and 0.04 decrease from the 31 October 2016 estimate of $17.50 (14.30). This 1.9% increase in US dollar terms compares to the MSCI All Country World Index (USD) increase of 0.6% during November. The change resulted mainly from increasing values for privately-held companies as the entire portfolio was revalued to reflect 30 September 2016 results and increasing valuations for publicly-traded holdings. This was partially offset by negative foreign currency movement and ongoing operating expenses. The GBP/USD rate as of 30 November 2016 was 1.2506, while the rate as of 31 October 2016 was 1.2242. Realisation HVPE received $22.0 million in realisations from HarbourVest funds during November. The largest source of realisations was mature US venture and buyout-focused fund-of-funds HarbourVest VI Partnership. During the month, there were a total of 40 liquidity events across HVPE's underlying portfolio. Balance Sheet and Credit Facility HVPE has no drawings on its credit facility. At 30 November 2016, HVPE's cash ($174.2 million) and available credit ($500.0 million) total $674.2 million. Additional detail about HVPE's NAV and investment diversification can be found on HVPE's website, in the Monthly Update for 30 November 2016. Enquiries: HarbourVest Richard Hickman Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9847 rhickman@harbourvest.com Laura Thaxter Tel: +1 (617) 348 3695 lthaxter@harbourvest.com FleishmanHillard Fishburn Henry Adams Ludo Baynham-Herd Tel: +44 (0) 20 8618 2975 Tel: +44 (0) 20 8618 2897 henry.adams@fhflondon.co.uk HVPE@fhflondon.co.uk Notes to Editors: About HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited: HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited ("HVPE" or the "Company") is a Guernsey-incorporated, closed-end investment company which is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index. HVPE is designed to offer shareholders long-term capital appreciation by investing in a private equity portfolio diversified by geography, stage of investment, vintage year, and industry. The Company invests in and alongside HarbourVest-managed funds which focus on primary fund commitments, secondary investments and direct co-investments in operating companies. HVPE's investment manager is HarbourVest Advisers L.P., an affiliate of HarbourVest Partners, LLC, an independent, global private markets investment specialist with more than 30 years of experience. About HarbourVest Partners, LLC: HarbourVest is an independent, global private markets investment specialist with more than 30 years of experience and more than $40 billion in assets under management. The Firm's powerful global platform offers clients investment opportunities through primary fund investments, secondary investments, and direct co-investments in commingled funds or separately managed accounts. HarbourVest has more than 390 employees, including more than 90 investment professionals across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. This global team has committed more than $31 billion to newly-formed funds, completed over $14 billion in secondary purchases, and invested $5 billion directly in operating companies. Partnering with HarbourVest, clients have access to customised solutions, longstanding relationships, actionable insights, and proven results. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in any jurisdiction and should not be relied upon in connection with any decision to subscribe for or acquire any Shares. In particular, this announcement does not constitute or form part of any offer to issue or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States or to US Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("US Persons")). Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken, released, published or distributed, directly or indirectly to US Persons or in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions), Canada, Australia or Japan, or any jurisdiction where such action would be unlawful. Accordingly, recipients represent that they are able to receive this announcement without contravention of any applicable legal or regulatory restrictions in the jurisdiction in which they reside or conduct business. No recipient may distribute, or make available, this announcement (directly or indirectly) to any other person. Recipients of this announcement should inform themselves about and observe any applicable legal requirements in their jurisdictions. The Shares have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and, accordingly, may not be offered, sold, resold, transferred, delivered or distributed, directly or indirectly, within the United States or to US Persons. In addition, the Company is not registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act") and shareholders of the Company will not have the protections of that act. There will be no public offer of the Shares in the United States or to US Persons. This announcement has been prepared by the Company and its investment manager, HarbourVest Advisers L.P. (the "Investment Manager"). No liability whatsoever (whether in negligence or otherwise) arising directly or indirectly from the use of this announcement is accepted and no representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, is or will be made by the Company, the Investment Manager or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, representatives or other agents ("Agents") for any information or any of the opinions contained herein or for any errors, omissions or misstatements. None of the Investment Manager nor any of their respective Agents makes or has been authorised to make any representation or warranties (express or implied) in relation to the Company or as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of this announcement, or any other written or oral statement provided. In particular, no representation or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts contained in this announcement and nothing in this announcement is or should be relied on as a promise or representation as to the future. Other than as required by applicable laws, the Company gives no undertaking to update this announcement or any additional information, or to correct any inaccuracies in it which may become apparent and the distribution of this announcement. The information contained in this announcement is given at the date of its publication and is subject to updating, revision and amendment. The contents of this announcement have not been approved by any competent regulatory or supervisory authority. This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward looking statements". These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "projects", "estimates", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "goal", "target", "aim", "may", "will", "would", "could", "should" or "continue" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts and include statements regarding the intentions, beliefs or current expectations of the Company. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may be beyond the Company's ability to control or predict. Forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. More detailed information on the potential factors which could affect the financial results of the Company is contained in the Company's public filings and reports. All investments are subject to risk. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any investment decision. The value of investments may fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. This announcement is issued by the Company, whose registered address is Ground Floor Dorey Court, Admiral Park, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 2HT. 2016 HarbourVest Global Private Equity Limited. All rights reserved. San Diego biotech veteran Hank Nordhoff has been named chairman of the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institutes board of trustees. Nordhoff, 74, said he will use his nearly half-century of biomedical experience to advance the La Jolla-based institutes mission of translating basic research discoveries into medical products. He also aims to help the institute resolve a delicate problem with its money-losing branch in Orlando, Florida. Sanford Burnham Prebys had tried to transfer that satellite campus to the University of Florida this year. However, the plan collapsed due to opposition from Floridas governor, Rick Scott. He threatened legal action on the grounds that SBP as the institute is commonly called was violating its contract with the state, an assertion that the institute denies. Advertisement With the Orlando branch losing more than $700,000 a month, its finances arent sustainable, Nordhoff said. Hes perhaps best known for serving 15 years as chairman and CEO of San Diegos Gen-Probe, which was purchased in 2012 for $3.7 billion in cash by Massachusetts-based Hologic. Nordhoff is chairman and CEO of San Diegos Banyan Biomarkers, a developer of tests for traumatic brain injuries. Hes also chairman of Chugai Pharma USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japans Chugai Pharmaceutical. And he serves on the boards of several nonprofits, including UC San Diegos Moores Cancer Center and Jacobs School of Engineering, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Rady Childrens Hospital San Diego. He has been chairman of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. and the California Healthcare Institute. The extensive business and nonprofit background will be useful in tackling the Orlando situation, Nordhoff said. He intends to free up the SBP leadership of CEO Perry Nisen and President Kristiina Vuori, who have struggled to find a solution that would please all parties. Nisen, who was senior vice president for science and innovation at GlaxoSmithKline before joining the institute in 2014, inherited a dream gone bad in Florida. In 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush had offered a total of roughly $1 billion in incentives to induce San Diego biomedical institutes to open branches in his state, part of his goal to make Florida a life-science hub. A $350 million incentive package persuaded SBP, then know as the Burnham Institute, to expand to the Orlando neighborhood of Lake Nona. Bush also helped arrange a package of incentives to convince The Scripps Research Institute to establish a satellite campus in the city of Jupiter, which is part of Miamis northern metropolitan area. Nordhoff said raising money from Florida philanthropists has proven much more difficult than expected. The SBP branch in Orlando has been perceived as an outpost of a California-based organization. If the branch were acquired by the University of Florida, he said, that concern would have gone away. Its difficult to understand why the governor (Scott) did not jump up and down with glee on this transfer from SPB to the University of Florida, Nordhoff said. But since the governor is not going to support it, the University of Florida is out of the picture. The Scripps Research Institute faces similar financial pressures, but has said it regards the Jupiter branch as an integral part of its operations and views its overall fundraising as a means of sustaining both locations. Nordhoff said there are a number of potential solutions to the funding deficit for the SPB branch in Florida. One is to find major philanthropic benefactors. Well make a big effort, Nordhoff said. Thats the obvious thing to do. He said another option is to bring in a pharmaceutical company, perhaps a foreign-based one, to occupy the entire building in Lake Nona. Or it may be possible to spin off the Florida operations as a separate entity, Nordhoff said in response to a question. But from my standpoint, it cant be done without philanthropy local philanthropy, he said. bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1020 In the wake of two major grocery chain bankruptcies, no outlet rushed to fill the void in San Diego County more than Smart & Final. The Los Angeles County-based chain opened 12 new stores in the San Diego region in 2016, bringing their total workforce to just under 1,200 employees. Smart & Finals footprint in the county is now 26 stores, making it one of the biggest food operators here second only to Vons with more than 40. Advertisement It will take time to see if the companys strategy works, but short-term indications are positive. Smart & Final had an 11.9 percent increase in its third quarter sales, $1.4 million, compared to the same time last year. Net income was $7 million, down 43 percent from a year ago, which the company said was, in part, because of new store cost development. Sean Mahony, vice president for Smart & Finals southern region, said the company has more plans for further expansion in San Diego County. When we look at San Diego, while we grew a lot, we still believe theres neighborhoods we have the opportunity to serve that were not today, he said. He said the company is aiming to increase its store count by about 10 percent each year. But in 2016, the number of store openings surged, up 86 percent in the county. The combined bankruptcies of Haggen and Fresh & Easy left open 39 store locations in San Diego County, and led to an explosion in new grocery stores in 2016. In addition to Smart & Final, other grocers snapped up stores: Jensens Finest Foods, Albertsons, Bristol Farms and Gelsons. Burt Flickinger, managing director of retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said Smart & Final benefits a lot from Costcos business model of offering bulk items at low cost. Because Smart & Final is like a Costco-without-a-card, it makes up for all the spots Costco cant get to. He said Costco has been racing to add stores in the Midwest, East Coast, Florida and Texas, while other similar operations like Sams Club have struggled. Its really been Costco against itself, he said. Flickinger said Smart & Final is able to get into smaller spots Costco cant, like open locations in a mall or shopping centers. The countys biggest chains, Ralphs and Albertsons/Vons, hold about 35 percent of the grocery market share in Southern California. But, Flickinger said low-cost outlets will likely continue to show growth as costs go up in other areas and people search for ways to save money. Mahony said Smart & Final has responded to customer feedback in Southern California by adding more organic and gluten-free options. The grocer has only offered organic products for about five years, so adding about 100 different organic produce items per store was a big change. Its something we heard from the San Diego market and responded to, he said. Most of Smart & Finals new local stores are its Extra! format, which has more products than typical stores, such as expanded sections for frozen, deli and meat products and a full produce department. Mahony said it notices a ramp up in sales the longer one of its stores stays open. Consumers who try it seem to come back, but much of the companys effort goes into telling shoppers exactly what Smart & Final is. I think ultimately what people are after is value for their dollar, he said. We get a strong rate of acceptance of people that return. But, just getting them in the door to give it a shake has been our biggest opportunity. Mahony said its most popular stores are in La Mesa, Santee and Mira Mesa. Despite its growth, he said said deflation in the food industry has made revenue growth more challenging. Flickinger said the drop in food prices, while good for consumers, has affected all grocery stores. Low grain prices led ranchers to create a surplus of beef, milk, eggs, butter, pork and poultry. However, he said Southern California grocers are willing to fight it out, largely because of three consecutive years of population and income growth. Also, he said rising restaurant prices may present more opportunities as consumers skip eating out. The grocery sector made up the majority of big box activity in the first half of 2016 said Cushman & Wakefields mid-year retail report, keeping retail vacancy at 4.2 percent. While Smart & Final may be catching on with more shoppers, Mahony acknowledged it has areas it can improve. Regular shoppers might have noticed slow checkout lanes on occasion being backed up, in part because of only one or two cashiers working. Mahony said they have heard from customers and are working on speeding up the process, starting a program that aims to have a maximum of two customers in each line and a supervisor on the front end to help manage lines. We recognize there is a need for improvement, he said. The biggest opportunity for us is speed of check-out. The quicker we can make that happen and end the experience as a positive one is really essential to our growth. Business phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar ALSO San Diego home price gains one of biggest in California Prosecutors rested their obstruction of justice case Thursday afternoon against ex-Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, after calling to the witness stand a former U.S. attorney who recounted Bacas fury upon discovering that the FBI was conducting a civil rights investigation into his department. Andre Birotte Jr., formerly the top federal prosecutor in Central California who has since been appointed as a District Court judge, is among a handful of witnesses who directly interacted with Baca over the six-week period in 2011 during which prosecutors allege the retired sheriff and his subordinates conspired to interfere with a federal investigation into abuse and corruption in county jails. In their weeklong case, prosecutors sought to prove to jurors that Baca, 74, was at the heart of a scheme carried out by his subordinates to hide a federal informant from the FBI and intimidate an agent working on the case. Nine others, including former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, have been convicted of related charges. Advertisement Birotte said Baca, whom he had known for years, was the most upset he had ever seen him in phone calls and meetings after the sheriff learned that FBI agents had smuggled a cellphone to the informant by bribing a corrupt sheriffs deputy as part of an undercover sting. Im the GD sheriff, these are my GD jails, he quoted Baca as saying in a meeting with himself and Steven Martinez, who was in charge of the FBI office in Los Angeles at the time. The former U.S. attorney said he told Baca there was nothing illegal about federal investigators conducting an undercover operation and keeping the sheriff in the dark about it. Thats what cops do Were not going to stop doing this investigation, Birotte said he told Baca. Assistant U.S. Atty. Brandon Fox asked Birotte to read a letter Baca sent him at the time, calling the FBIs actions illegal, unethical and irresponsible, and accusing federal agents of engaging in a fishing expedition by issuing subpoenas for Sheriffs Department records on abuses in the jails. In the letter, Baca demanded that federal authorities allow the Sheriffs Department to conduct its own investigation free from the encumbrance of the FBIs attempt to justify their actions retroactively by now seeking information with an over broad request for documents. Fox asked Birotte how he interpreted Bacas letter. Basically, Back off, were going to do it ourselves, Birrotte responded. Jurors also heard Thursday from FBI agent Leah Tanner. Under cross-examination from defense attorney Nathan Hochman, Tanner testified about how phone records showed that roughly 60 calls were exchanged between Tanaka and the lieutenants, sergeants and deputies who have been charged and convicted in the obstruction case. When it came to Baca, she said, there was only one: a three-minute call between Bacas department-issued cellphone and one belonging to sheriffs Lt. Stephen Leavins. The trial is expected to continue Friday with Bacas defense. Hochman told the judge he would call five character witnesses, and others who would attest to the sheriffs efforts to reform his jails. victoria.kim@latimes.com For more news on the obstruction of justice trial of former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, follow me on Twitter: @vicjkim MORE LOCAL NEWS Major storms barrel into California: Every field is a big lake Police killing of unarmed, 73-year-old grandfather sparks anger, anguish Sex offender convicted of killing 4 women in Orange County A man with a history of violence was sentenced Friday to 56 years to life in prison for beating a woman to death last year at a hotel in downtown San Diego. Jason Bradwell Lewis, 41, was convicted in October of first-degree murder in the slaying of Jhordann Rust, 26, a Wisconsin woman who had arrived in San Diego with her fiance just a couple days before she was killed. Her body was found Dec. 14, 2015, in a shower at the 500 West Hotel on Broadway near Columbia Street. Advertisement The defendant has earned his sentence in this case, Superior Court Judge Amalia Meza said. The judge noted that Lewis shook his head when the victims father and sisters spoke at the sentencing hearing, where they conveyed their hope that the defendant would understand the damage he had caused the family. Lewis interrupted the judge with a single word. No, he said, as he leaned back in his seat at the defense table. Lewis criminal history includes a 2007 conviction for residential burglary in North County. He also has felony and misdemeanor battery convictions for punching or grabbing victims, including what a prosecutor described as an unprovoked attack on a 67-year-old man last year. Investigators believe Rust was killed Dec.12, 2015, the same day she checked into the downtown hotel with her fiance. During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Melissa Vasel said the couple had argued earlier that evening, and the fiance was arrested when he allegedly pushed her. Now alone in an unfamiliar city, Rust called family members to help her feel safe, the prosecutor said. She was on the phone with her mother in Wisconsin when the beating took place. Rusts mother heard sounds of a struggle and her daughters cries before the call was dropped. The mother called police, who later determined that Rust had been seen with Lewis, a resident at the hotel. Surveillance video at a nearby convenience store showed them buying a bottle of wine. A witness saw Rust go into Lewis room. Justice was served in this case because of the quick action and reporting of the victims mother, Meza said at the sentencing hearing. Evidence presented at the trial showed that Lewis beat Rust in his room, then stuffed her body into a suitcase that he used to carry the body to the shower on a different floor. Bed sheets and a mattress pad from his room were found later in a hotel trash can. Lewis DNA was found on Rusts body. Her blood was found inside the suitcase that was recovered from the defendants hotel room. In an interview with a probation officer, Lewis denied involvement in the killing, according to court documents. On Friday, 22-year-old Kalin Rust recalled the last phone conversation she had with her sister, who had already arrived in San Diego. They made plans to speak to each other again the next day, but Jhordann Rust was killed before that could happen. Jhordann was my hero, the sister said. She showed me how to be a loving and kind person. Another sister, Morgen Rust, said she believes her older sibling is watching over her family now. The 23-year-old said she doesnt worry anymore about Jhordann, who no longer feels pain, but she does worry about the kind of environment that caused the defendant to kill. Im am so sorry that you have fallen so far from love that you could hurt our sister, she said. Love will always be stronger than hate. Breaking News dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @danalittlefield More than 103 million people will travel at least 50 miles from their home for the Christmas and New Year holidays, a record number, according to AAA. Thats an increase of 1.5 percent. AAA President and CEO Marshall Doney cited rising incomes and continued low gas prices. Advertisement Road trips will be the most popular mode of travel as almost 94 million Americans will journey by car, also an increase of 1.5 percent over last year. Todays national average gas price is $2.23, 23 cents more than the average price on New Years Day in 2016. More than 6 million travelers will fly to their destinations and about 3.5 million will travel by other modes, including cruises, trains and buses. Popular holiday destinations include warm-weather areas in Nevada, Florida and California. The top 5 based upon AAA bookings are Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, San Diego and Anaheim. The year-end holiday travel period is defined as Friday, Dec. 23 to Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. Data Watch Videos On Now Data Point: Media Mergers 2:58 On Now Jaywalking infractions in San Diego 1:24 On Now Video: Finding the recipe for the perfect burrito 2:09 On Now Video: Where marijuana is legal in the United States 0:53 On Now Report: Correctional system fails women 1:22 On Now San Diego students have larger classes On Now Hierarchy of cuisine prices On Now Pay phones: Is that still a thing? On Now 2016 border apprehensions On Now STD trends, San Diego County michelle.gilchrist@sduniontribune.com A jury has decided in favor of the National School District in a civil lawsuit filed against it two years ago over the way accusations of sexual abuse by a teacher were handled. The district was sued for negligence by three female students who had accused teacher Alejandro Ochoa of touching them inappropriately and exposing himself to them. After more than two weeks of testimony in San Diego Superior Court, the jury decided Nov. 17 that Ochoa did not sexually abuse any of the girls. That determination cleared the district of any wrongdoing. Advertisement According to the district, law enforcement investigated the accusation made by one of the girls in August 2013. No charges were ever filed against the teacher. National was sued in October of the following year. The districts legal costs in the case have totaled almost $1 million. Amy Bianchini, who represents Ochoa, said she could not comment because of a possibility of the verdict being appealed. The students lawyer, John Gomez, did not respond to an email request for comment. The plaintiffs were identified in court documents as Isis R., Tamar R. and Vanessa T. They were all students in Ochoas third-grade class at Palmer Way Elementary School in National City during the 2013-14 school year. Ochoa taught third, fourth and fifth grade at the school from August 2006 to August 2013, said Cindy Frazee, the districts assistant superintendent of human resources. According to court documents, on or about Aug. 19, 2013, Isis R. told her mother about the alleged conduct, and her mother immediately contacted the school. The other girls named in the complaint stepped forward later. Frazee said administrators took immediate and appropriate responsive action when the allegation was made, and that the verdict confirms the district acted appropriately and in the interest of students. Ochoa was removed from his job Aug. 19, 2013, and put on administrative leave. He resigned June 13, 2015, Frazee said. Follow me on Twitter @HuardSDUT Nothing ever seems simple with Childrens Pool in La Jolla, which for two decades has divided San Diegans over how best to deal with a colony of harbor seals that use the beach to rest and give birth. After the city early this week said the site would remain open during seal pupping season to comply with a judges order, an appellate court on Thursday granted city officials discretion on whether to close the area while an ongoing legal battle plays out. If its temporarily going to be closed for this winter, its sad, but in the long run we will prevail on the merits of our case, said Ken Hunrichs, president of Friends of the Childrens Pool. Advertisement For years, the local citizens group has been pushing to keep the beach open year-round. Most recently, it successfully sued to block a 2014 City Council decision to limit access to the beach between Dec. 15 and May 15 pupping season in response to concerns that people were harassing the seals. The city appealed that decision, with support from local animal-rights advocates and the California Coastal Commission. As of Thursday night, after the appellate ruling, it was unclear when the city might make Childrens Pool off-limits to the public. Mayor Kevin Faulconer who voted for the closure in 2014 while serving on the council didnt respond to questions about that issue. UPDATE: The city announced Friday, Dec. 16 that La Jolla Childrens Pool will be closed until further notice. Park rangers and lifeguards will be monitoring the area during the closure. Protecting wildlife is the right thing to do, and ultimately this action protects the public during the sensitive pupping season when harbor seals are on high alert, Mayor Faulconer said in a statement. The court of appeal action lets us move forward with the plan the City Council approved in 2014, and crews are already working to close the beach starting today and lasting through pupping season. We hope that the court will support the local decision on this issue. In the coming weeks, the three-judge appellate panel is expected to review its decision to allow the closure as the case proceeds. Toward that end, the court has requested briefings from Friends of the Childrens Pool. San Diego-based attorney and animal-rights activist Bryan Pease said he expects the appellate court to ultimately uphold its Thursday decision, as well as rule in favor of the city. The writings on the wall, Pease said. Its pretty clear where this is headed because the citys on such strong legal ground. The Coastal Commission has documented nearly 50 incidents of humans harassing seals in 2015. The agency was most concerned with people who scared the seals during pupping season, prompting a flushing stampede of these animals toward the water. This can cause mothers to abandon pups that are too young to swim, or sometimes the pups get trampled. As far back as the 1990s, seals started inhabiting the area, making the waters there unsanitary for swimming and angering many residents who believe the city has unfairly prioritized wildlife protection over the sites long history as a popular swimming spot. The longstanding controversy has led to violent skirmishes between opposing parties at the beach. It also has generated litigation heard in both state and federal courts, along with intervention by the state Legislature. Childrens Pool beach was created using a 330-foot, crescent-shaped concrete seawall that was deeded to the city by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1931. Visitors can observe seals from a pedestrian walkway on the wall. Aside from any closure of Childrens Pool, which in the past involved installing a chain and lock at the top of a staircase leading down to the beach, theres a rope stretched across the sand there year-round to discourage people from approaching the seals. Twitter: @jemersmith Phone: (619) 293-2234 Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com San Diego would allow cultivation and testing of recreational marijuana in addition to sales of the drug at dispensaries under a proposal unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Thursday. A proposed city ordinance unveiled last week recommended the city only allow retail sales of recreational marijuana and prohibit cultivation and testing, but commissioners said that makes no sense. Such an approach would cost San Diego jobs and tax revenue, jeopardize the safety of patients and increase air pollution by forcing tons of marijuana to be trucked into the city from elsewhere, the commissioners said. Advertisement This stuff has to come from somewhere, said Commission Chairman Stephen Haase. To somehow tell our industries here by the way you dont get to play in that sandbox, this is not a business opportunity for you, makes no sense. The commissions revised proposal, which needs City Council approval to become law, would allow testing at local labs and allow legal cultivation under a series of restrictions city staff must devise. San Diego is the only city in the county that has indicated it intends to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, which state voters approved Nov. 8 as Proposition 64. Under the revised proposal, San Diego joins La Mesa as the only local cities signaling they may allow cultivation under Proposition 64. The commissions proposal would also increase the number of dispensaries in the city by eliminating a regulation prohibiting the businesses from opening within 1,000 feet of each other. The city ordinance unveiled last week would permit the citys 15 approved medical marijuana dispensaries to begin selling recreational marijuana and would allow a few more dispensaries to open by tightening the definition of a park. The commissioners agreed with those elements of the proposal, but suggested more was needed. I dont have a problem if they are next door to each other, Haase said, noting that the citys regulations would still cap the number of dispensaries at 36 a maximum of four in each of the citys nine council districts. Because the council districts with the most appropriately zoned properties for dispensaries Districts 2, 6 and 8 each have already hit the cap of four dispensaries, the proposed softer regulations arent expected to sharply increase the number of dispensaries in the city. Eight of the citys 15 approved dispensaries have opened, with two others expected to open early next year and five more at various stages of acquiring their occupancy permits. The citys dispensaries would still face prohibitions against opening near housing, schools, churches, parks and other sensitive uses. The Planning Commission proposal also recommends the city explore stricter design and parking standards for dispensaries and that a comprehensive policy for marijuana deliveries be created. On cultivation, Commissioner Doug Austin said he doesnt want marijuana fields along roads or in other locations where they could be easily accessed by children or even adults, suggesting restricting cultivation to indoors could be a solution. Id hate to see it get into the wrong hands easily, he said. Commissioner Teresa Quiroz said allowing local cultivation would help San Diego meet the goals of its ambitious climate action plan by sharply reducing transportation into the city of cultivated marijuana by trucks and other vehicles, and by eliminating the need to send it out of the city for testing. Austin said allowing local testing and localizing cultivation would also boost public health and safety. Control is something thats very important to me, he said. You have to have the ability to go in and inspect when you need to inspect. He said the higher potency of modern marijuana and less medical knowledge of its effects was also a factor. My understanding of alcohol is you kind of know what youre getting in a sense what the percentage of alcohol is and what its likely to do to you whereas with marijuana its a little tougher, Austin said. Robert Vacchi, the citys director of development services, said the proposed bans on cultivation and testing were based on concerns that allowing several different kinds of local marijuana businesses could create opportunities for abuse of city regulations and possible unintended consequences. Weve seen a lot of things happen, he said, referring to businesses violating the spirit of regulations in shady ways. It was just kind of a broad brush approach to the potential for diluting the regulations. Scott Chipman, leader of the anti-marijuana group San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods, said his group strongly opposes the city allowing cultivation. Grow sites are a public nuisance, he said, adding that he frequently hears complaints from people living near them about odors and spraying of pesticides. Gina Austin, an attorney for some local cultivation businesses, said a ban makes no sense because dispensaries need product to sell. I have been known to say very frequently that our current dispensaries have to receive their product by purple unicorns, because the only way they are going to get this product is magically in the middle of the night from some other place along the line, Austin said. Dan Normandin, a project manager for the city, noted that Proposition 64 also allows outdoor and indoor growth of a maximum of six plants by individuals on their property. State law requires the plants to be out of public view. The personal cultivation rules of Proposition 64 took effect immediately after the election. Rules allowing dispensaries, cultivation and testing wont take effect until the state completes rules for licensing such businesses sometime before Jan. 1, 2018. The local regulations unveiled last week would tighten sign rules to allow only alphabetic characters spelling the name of the business. This change is in response to dispensaries seeking to add graphics of marijuana plants or related images. Dispensaries would also face a new requirement to remove graffiti within 24 hours and keep the area surrounding their businesses free of litter. Customers would need to be 21 years old a requirement under Proposition 64 to buy recreational marijuana, while medical marijuana would still be available to those 18 and up. On Thursday, the Planning Commission endorsed all of those proposed changes. david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick Two Navy contractors were charged Wednesday in connection with separate bomb hoaxes reported at San Diego Naval Base and an adjacent shipyard this year. The scrawled threats, two in a string of at least 25 since November 2015, shut down the ships and piers where they were found. In the first case, Joshua Rice, 26, is accused of reporting to security personnel that he spotted the word bomb written inside a portable toilet near three vessels docked at a San Diego Naval Base pier on May 17. Advertisement Prosecutors allege Rice knew there was no threat. He was a contractor for American Marine, a ship repair company. In an unrelated instance on Sept. 24, Roberto Rubio, 22, is suspected of writing 9-24-16 400 bomb on an interior wall of the guided missile cruiser Cowpens, which was undergoing work at BAE Systems shipyard. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Rubio then told another contractor about the threat that he allegedly knew was fake. Rubio was a BAE Systems-contracted welder. Both Rice and Rubio were arrested Wednesday. Gunnar Newquist, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in San Diego, told the Union-Tribune in June that the motive behind the hoaxes was likely to get time off or burden a boss or co-worker. After a threat is reported, naval security officers and bomb-sniffing dogs sweep the area until it is deemed safe. Navy officials have said the hours-long process halts ship repair work, with the potential to impact Navy readiness. Everyone should know that making false bomb threats is taken very seriously by federal law enforcement, and it is a felony offense, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a statement. This is not a legal or smart way of getting out of work. Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez ALSO Bomb threats keep halting work at naval base In the most recent election, Californians reaffirmed their strong support of the death penalty. California voters simultaneously voted to keep the death penalty as a possible punishment (Proposition 62) and enacted a series of reforms (Proposition 66) to ensure that the death penalty actually works, bringing meaningful justice for murder victims whose lives were cut short and some semblance of closure to the victims loved ones, while still safeguarding the constitutional due process rights of defendants. Related: Flawed death penalty fix will prove costly for taxpayers The death penalty is reserved for the very worst of the worst; less than 1 percent of the thousands of murders committed in California each year are prosecuted as death penalty cases. Californias death row inmates, including some serial killers, have murdered over 1,000 victims, including 226 children and 43 police officers; 294 victims were raped and/or tortured, losing their lives in the most horrific ways. Yet, these brutal murderers sit on death row for 25 to 30 years or more, with endless appeals delaying justice for victims and society, all at continued taxpayer expense. Advertisement With their no vote on Proposition 62, Californians confirmed that the very worst murderers, those who commit the most heinous acts, are deserving of the death penalty. In doing so, voters also rejected the falsehoods and scare tactics employed in this latest attempt to abolish the death penalty. While death penalty opponents pointed to the possibility of a wrongful conviction leading to a subsequent execution, the fact is there is not one documented case of this ever taking place in California, given the painstaking investigative work and prosecutorial expertise that goes into death penalty cases in our state. Opponents also claimed there would be a windfall of savings to taxpayers if these brutal killers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty. Voters were rightly skeptical of this claim, given the obvious enormous cost to feed, clothe, house, guard, and provide health care to murderers until they die of old age. With their yes vote on Proposition 66, Californians enacted fair, meaningful, and common-sense reforms to the death penalty appeals process as well as several changes to the housing and treatment of death row inmates, all while safeguarding constitutional due process rights, saving an estimated $30 million per year, and achieving justice for victims and their families. With regard to appellate reforms, Proposition 66 seeks to avoid unnecessary delays in state court by limiting the appeals process, including the historically lengthy habeas corpus process, to a total of five years. Proposition 66 accomplishes this goal by expediting the appointment of counsel and streamlining the filing of petitions. Currently, death row inmates can wait years, sometimes five years or more, to have an appellate attorney assigned to their case. Proposition 66 requires that an appellate attorney be appointed to the defendant at the time of sentencing, which not only protects a defendants right to counsel but shaves years off the delay in the appellate process. To make this a reality, Proposition 66 expands the pool of qualified attorneys to handle death penalty appeals and mandates that trial courts, instead of appellate courts, handle the initial habeas corpus petitions. Placing such petitions in the courts that handled the death penalty trials in the first place (and know the cases best) will expedite the process, guard against frivolous claims, and reduce the current backlog of cases at the state Supreme Court level. Importantly, while Proposition 66 restricts the filing of frivolous, unnecessary, and repetitive claims, it ensures due process by never limiting claims of actual innocence. In addition to reforms to the appellate process, Proposition 66 directs that death row inmates lose the special privileges they now enjoy. Specifically, Proposition 66 allows prisons to eliminate single-cell privileges for death row inmates, resulting in potential savings of tens of millions of dollars per year, according to the Legislative Analysts Office. Proposition 66 also requires death row inmates to work in prison and to use their earnings to pay restitution to victims families. By choosing to mend rather than end the death penalty, California voters vindicated both societys and victims interests in a fair, efficient and just system for punishing the worst of the worst in our society. Hestrin is Riverside County district attorney. RELATED GEIGER COUNTER LIMITED Date of Announcement: 16/12/2016 RELEASE OF REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The Directors announce the release of the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2016. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT - FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 When I last wrote to Shareholders in June I commentated that the six months to 31st March 2016 had been very interesting for investors in the uranium sector as some of the themes previously mentioned had finally come to pass. Six months further on and this story continues. The spot price of uranium (as measured by the U308 price) has fallen further and ended the financial year at $22.38 per pound. Over the year the price fell by 40 per cent. Away from the spot price of uranium there were significant developments in the underlying uranium equity market. This was characterised by merger and acquisition transactions particularly in the Western Athabascan area of Canada where Chinese state and private entities took significant stakes in some of the attractive plays. For the year to 30th September 2016 the Company's net asset value rose by 39.1 per cent. The investment managers' report on the following page sets out the background to this strong performance and your Company has benefitted from the fact that we had exposure to many of the equities that attracted attention from China. We believe that this trend will continue as China and other emerging market economies continue to build new power stations. The falling spot price of uranium has the effect of curtailing supplies as it becomes more difficult to develop new resources due to cost pressures. We still follow progress in the Japanese nuclear restart programme but note this is a very slow process. The Company's share price lagged the rise in the net asset value and rose by 26.9 per cent over the year with the discount being 21.7 per cent at the end of September. Shareholders have the opportunity each year to vote on the continuation of the Company. Your Board is recommending that Shareholders vote in favour of continuation as we believe there are good opportunities to benefit from corporate consolidation in the uranium equity market. I would like to thank all Shareholders for their interest and support for the Company. The last year has shown the potential from this unique asset class and the Board and the investment management team look forward to achieving better returns for Shareholders in the months and years to come. George Baird Chairman December 2016 INVESTMENT ADVISER'S REPORT - FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2016 With its more predictable demand cycle uranium avoided the deflationary affects which impacted most other industrial commodities from early 2014 and which culminated in their downward price spiral during January this year. Unfortunately uranium's resilient performance has subsequently unwound and following a 2.5% price rise in the year to September 2015 the spot price declined 40% over the following twelve months with declines occurring as other industrial commodities began to recover from their January lows. Despite the disappointing backdrop the Company's performance has nevertheless proved very resilient with the Net Asset Value per share rising 39% with strong performances from Athabasca explorers Nexgen and Purepoint being the prime contributors. By comparison the Solactive Uranium Index and the URA uranium equity ETF generated sterling returns of 15% and 9% respectively. Arguably prompting the uranium commodity price sell off, Japan's reactivation plans continue to suffer inertia. Promising news in early January regarding the country's nuclear restart unfortunately stalled as two reactors at Takahama, of four reactors restarted, again shut down and remain off-line largely in response to local opposition to their operation. Public opinion runs counter to central government plans to reactivate its cheaper-to-run installed nuclear capacity. Nuclear's competitive cost of production remains fundamentally attractive, underpinning the government's drive to restart power stations. Notwithstanding the prospect of deteriorating air quality recent price increases of imported LNG and thermal coal will have only extended the relatively cost advantage of nuclear over fossil fuels for the nation. Both factors may help soften local resistance. Away from Japan, pro-nuclear support in the US state of New York illustrates political recognition of nuclear within the country's power generating mix, having an approximate 19% share of the market. The US election outcome could similarly support the nation's nuclear power industry. This is particularly relevant when considering regional incentives offered to assist market penetration of renewable energy which, despite extreme variability in supplying grid power, now rivals nuclear. The primary driver to NAV performance remains the substantial growth plans of developing markets. In particular China's environmental policy to improve air quality and integral to this, its motivation to expand nuclear power generating capacity. This has seen significant interest in securing long-term supply. Indeed China has followed through on explicit statements early in the year that it was seeking to acquire strategic uranium supplies investing directly in projects owned by Fission Uranium and latterly in NexGen. This has driven strong equity performance from these and neighbouring explorers. Currency has also made a positive contribution to NAV performance as non-sterling equity holdings protected shareholders from sterling weakness post BREXIT. Elsewhere, the weakness of the Kazakh Tenge has had minimal impact on regional mine output, estimated to represent approximately 40% of global primary U3O8 production. Illustrating challenging economics faced even by low cost Kazakh producers, the Naserbayev administration reiterated that it expects the country's production to remain stable following its re-election, despite the cost relief resulting from its currency devaluation. In contrast, production from larger commercial producers such as Cameco, Rio Tinto and Paladin has been curtailed as they retrench strategy to focus on their lowest cost mines and deliver only into higher priced legacy contracts. This marks an important step in the uranium cycle helping to rebalance the market. Similarly retirement of marginal enrichment capacity, recently announced by Urenco, illustrates the challenging conditions in this segment of the market. This too represents a helpful indicator to the uranium cycle. The removal of spare enrichment capacity, which allowed longer processing cycle times allowed more usable fuel to be squeezed from U3O8 feed, should ease. Recent safety checks on steam generators at five French reactors, which necessitated them being taken offline, has also weighed sentiment. France could be reliant on imported, fossil fuel power over the winter, ironically the polar opposite of the intended aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the Paris Accord. As a result prices have slipped further with the U3O8 spot price of US$18.75/lb at the time of writing. Notably, however, having traded at a discount for much of the last year the share price of the physically backed ETF UPC has returned to a premium pointing to an improvement in prices. Reflecting a similarly positive stance the Company has increased exposure to the sector, most recently participating in a recent UPC equity placing, the proceeds of which it use to acquire U3O8. The Fund has also repurchased shares in Athabascan explorers having reduced exposure over summer. Robert Crayfourd and Keith Watson New City Investment Managers December 2016 For further information please contact: Craig Cleland - New City Investment Managers - 020 7201 5368 Lisa Neil - R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited - 01534 825 336 Attachments: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b8f9c0cf-a221-4d03-8d79-ab237ba3459b Proposition 66, the initiative designed to speed up executions in California to mend, not end the death penalty passed with 51.1 percent of the vote. Sweeping legal challenges by former death penalty proponent Ron Briggs and former California Attorney General John Van De Kamp have been prepared and will be filed. Over time, most of the 749 condemned men and women in California will each challenge the revised procedures. The courts will face new litigation by those whose executions have been delayed by problems with lethal injection procedures. Proposition 66s legal challenges will be worth watching as the many trial and appellate courts across the state including those in San Diego County begin to grapple with new workload demands forced on them by this initiative. Related: Heinous acts deserve death penalty At the core, two questions will ultimately find answers can a flawed, costly system be fixed by making it go faster? And if so, are Californians willing to accept the costs of that speed, as well as the probable execution of innocent citizens? Advertisement Since 1978 California taxpayers have spent more than $5 billion seeking to execute those sentenced to death. Most of this cost was incurred by the state not the counties as death penalty appeals went straight to the California Supreme Court along with a streamlined state habeas corpus (post-conviction) review. Post-trial, the counties that sought and obtained death sentences saw little additional cost. That now changes as Proposition 66 compels legal review by the trial and intermediate appellate courts. Estimates are that implementation of Proposition 66 for the 17 San Diego County death row inmates who are currently without counsel will cost local taxpayers at least $5 million dollars. In the first year of implementation of Proposition 66 in San Diego County alone, about one-fifth of our trial courts will be fully occupied with death penalty post-conviction proceedings. In the second and third year of implementation, each of the San Diego based appellate court justices could be fully occupied with the death penalty proceedings required under Proposition 66. To keep the courts available to other litigants for the prosecution of other serious crimes, and access to civil justice there will need to be many more judges and related court staff. Conservative estimates are that the cost of Proposition 66 to San Diego County taxpayers will be in the tens of millions of dollars. Every death case is a complex, highly interwoven maze of fact and law, each of which will necessarily question the legality of the changes brought about by Proposition 66. Issues raised by Proposition 7, which brought back Californias death penalty 38 years ago, are still being litigated. Indeed, the federal courts continue to contend with the provisions of the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, enacted to speed up federal review of capital sentences. If experience is any guide, we are likely to have no greater rate of executions over the next 38 years, but will spend an additional $10 billion or more of taxpayer funds trying. Since 1973, 156 people have been exonerated and freed from the various death rows in this country. For at least 13 of those executed there was strong evidence of actual innocence, and most of these in states with a faster death penalty process. Proposition 66s shortened deadlines compel the courts to work faster and to find more lawyers, including potentially those with no death penalty case experience, to take death penalty appeals. The speed and inexperience forced on the legal system by Proposition 66 will guarantee one of two results: greater delay because of ineffective counsel, or greater risk of innocent executions. The increased cost to taxpayers and risk of innocent executions aside, if Proposition 66 succeeds as it was sold to the voters, it will have the unintended consequence of putting California in the company of countries whose human rights records have been questioned for decades. Indeed, increasing the speed of executions in California the state with the largest death row in the United States will rank our state high on the unsavory list of executions by China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. And this ranking will tarnish Californias image in trade, tourism and popular culture worldwide with a certain but incalculable cost. Proposition 66 may well be the modern-day fools gold in the Golden State. Clarke and Rice, San Diego attorneys, are partners with Clarke Johnston Thorp & Rice. Clarke, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, is known nationally for her work in high profile capital cases. Rice, an international law consultant, specializes in international human rights and international anti-corruption programs. RELATED Usually in American politics, the period between the national election and the administration taking office is typically a calm period excluding the freeing of hostages as in the Reagan transition. But President-elect Trump is upending that tradition, and inflaming longstanding relationships globally. Most closest to home is our relationship with Mexico and in particular the region along the border from San Diego/Tijuana to Mexicali/Imperial Valley known as the Cali Baja Bi-National Mega Region. The Cali-Baja Mega Region enjoys a population of 6.6 million and GDP of over $260 billion. The interdependence of our two countries and the working relationships are an example of how foreign direct investment and years of relationship building works to benefit a bi-national region productively. The rhetoric of building walls, placing tariffs on repatriated manufactured goods and services and stopping outsourcing only fuels uncertainty for those who live and work in this highly productive region. There may be adjustments necessary in NAFTA or the trade and regulatory policies of the United States, and they should be done with consideration, not the ready, fire, aim noise we have been hearing out of Trump Tower. Taking aim of the movement of jobs to offshore locations may be an appropriate step for the U.S. to take; however, placing tariffs on repatriated goods and services is counter to what the Trump campaign rhetoric stated in his new tax reduction policies. Tariffs are taxes, and the U.S. consumer will be the beneficiary of those new taxes. You cannot have it both ways, Mr. Trump! Advertisement Global trade is here to stay; rolling up the drawbridges will not save the castle. However, careful consideration to preserve a positive economic balance and tightening up our trade agreements for a more even playing field certainly is a better way than the contradictory, inflammatory messaging that ignites controversy and unrest. Additionally, saber rattling on immigration is not the answer for needed talent and services. Instead, it continues to exacerbate uncertainty. H1B and H2A guest worker programs can be managed with appropriate accountabilities and better enforcement policies, and at the same time provide our corporations with the solutions to meet their workforce needs. Software outsourcing to Mexico is coming of age, and the quality supply of talent in Mexico is a solution for many U.S. corporations; its the same time zone, close in proximity, language is not an issue and meets a shortage of talent in the U.S. Stopping outsourcing will not only stall technology advancement, it doesnt solve our domestic talent shortages. When it comes to jobs going out, consider jobs coming in, During the past three years, over 1.5 million jobs have been created in Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and California. Approximately 450,000 of those jobs were in California alone from inward investment by foreign companies. Additionally, R&D expenditures in the U.S. by foreign companies exceed $70 billion annually, creating more domestic jobs. Part of the jobs issue is recognizing that advanced manufacturing and automation have made the American workplace the most productive in history. How we deal with those new jobs created and what to do with those that may be impacted is more important than worrying about some jobs that would be terminated or as Mr. Trump says moved to Mexico. As with Carrier, those jobs would be leaving anyway. For those of us in the Cali-Baja Bi-National Mega Region, we must codify our collective advocacy efforts and meet with the new administration to minimize uncertainty, using our influence now rather than waiting for the policies to be determined after the train has left the station. In Sun Tzus book, The Art of War, it is written that Victorious warriors win first, then go to war, defeated warriors go to war then seek to win. Many of the tenets of this book are descriptive of The Art of the Deal by Mr. Trump. If we are to conserve the balance of the region, we must act now, with diplomacy and tact not try to act out a reality show in which our regional economy and its people are at risk. Watkins, a San Diego resident, is founding member and immediate past chair of the Cali-Baja Bi-National Mega Region. The CIAs conclusion that the Russian government acted to covertly influence the U.S. election has elicited anger and concern from across the political spectrum, even as President-elect Donald Trump ridiculed the idea that Moscow helped him to victory. This reaction only intensified after NBC News reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin took a personal role in the covert campaign. But is this a kind of cosmic karma? Most Americans believe, with good cause, that our nation has been hugely positive in world affairs, promoting democracy and human rights, and taking on tyrants in two world wars. And the U.S. military amounts to the biggest humanitarian agency in the world, rushing relief to regions plagued by hurricanes and tidal waves. Yet all these virtues need to be considered in the context of American eagerness to meddle in other nations affairs. In the past century, for various reasons, Washington has played a role in either ousting governments or interfering in elections in Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Italy, the Congo, Chile, Haiti, Grenada, Panama, Honduras and Guatemala and those are just the interventions that have been confirmed. This history led Peter Kornbluh, director of the National Security Archive, to decry a long pattern of U.S. manipulation, bribery and covert operations to influence the political trajectory of countless countries around the world in a 1997 interview. Advertisement In 2000, UC San Diego professor Chalmers Johnson expanded on this observation in his book Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire. Johnson, who died in 2010, argued that the United States would inevitably face the same sort of dirty tricks it had played around the world, paying a price for trying to dominate far-away lands. After the terror attacks on New York City and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 motivated by Osama bin Ladens anger over U.S. overt and covert attempts to annihilate and humiliate Islamic nations Johnson could not have seemed more prescient. None of this excuses what Putin has done, if the CIA is right about Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But Americans rarely make the effort to see the world as it looks from Moscow. In July, writing for The New York Review of Books, Gov. Jerry Brown reviewed My Journey at the Nuclear Brink, by former Defense Secretary William J. Perry, which warned that a nuclear war between the United States and Russia was a much greater risk than conventional wisdom assumed. Brown noted that Russia saw as deeply threatening the expansion of NATO, launched in 1996; the modernization of the U.S. nuclear arsenal; and the building of missile defense sites in Romania and Poland. Why wouldnt Russia be wary? If a large group of other nations took such actions with the goal of containing the U.S. threat, our leaders wouldnt shrug it off. If Putin fears America, why wouldnt he try to help elect a president less hostile to Russia? This line of thinking wont appeal to people who see the world in black and white, but geopolitics has never seemed more complex. The U.S. government should do all it can to keep its elections free of foreign influence. Yet in a world where America is often resented as much as it is admired, its naive to think that what apparently happened in 2016 wont be tried again and again. Americans may believe that we hold the moral high ground but we as a nation shouldnt be foolish enough to assume thats the global consensus. Twitter: @sdutIdeas Facebook: UTOpinion Congratulations to Joan Vokac for taking the top spot this week. Joan, we salute you! She will receive Steve Breens signed original in the mail. Thanks to all those who participated. Next weeks cartoon is below. Please remember to limit your submissions to three and keep em brief. Good luck! Advertisement Winner Id like to purchase health insurance. No, I cant hold ... Joan Vokac, San Diego Finalists Siri, where is the rip cord on the deluxe office chair? Bob Klein, La Mesa Laurel Streets killing me. Jim Valenzuela, Poway Quick, Marge, stack all the cushions you can find at 7th and Elm. George Bullette, Rancho Santa Fe Linda, can you have the front door and elevator opened? Im running a little late this morning. Bob Vavrek, San Marcos Theyre calling it accelerated retirement. Debbie Forbes, Fallbrook Hurry, Martha! Open the garage door ... John Freistedt, El Cajon Yes, Id be interested in the secretary of transportation position. David Narevsky, Poway Best Christmas party ever. Dennis Kar, San Diego Im telecommuting. Iris Price, Ramona To signal a left turn, do I put my tie straight out to the left or out to the right and bent backwards?. David Lambert, San Diego Yes, Id like to make a dental appointment. Tim Smickafram, San Diego Call Shark Tank. Were pitching Chair2Go. John Dischinger, Spring Valley Hello, Anne Eggertsen? I need a clever caption ... quickly! Allen Stanko, Alpine K-12 This seems like a wheelie bad idea. Connor Keus, seventh grade, Correia Middle School Hello, Workaholics Anonymous? Angeline Aloysius, seventh grade, Mesa Verde Middle School My boss said I have to be in my chair by 8. Eddie Toledo, sixth grade, John Muir Magnet School The great thing about taking the chair to work is that the hands-free laws dont apply. Celia Fisher, eighth grade, Correia Middle School Next weeks cartoon To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@sduniontribune.com by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Please remember to limit your submissions to three and keep em brief. View last weeks winners English Norwegian StrongPoint ASA and PYD Seguridad S.L. have signed an agreement today in which StrongPoint acquires 100 percent of the Spanish company. The purchase price is EUR 451 480 and has been paid in full at the signing of the sales- and purchase agreement. The price is based on an expected annual profit of EUR 200 000 in 2017. StrongPoint assumes responsibility for all net interest bearing debt related to operations in PYD Seguridad S.L. at approximately EUR 500 000. In addition, the parties have agreed to an earn-out based on an average annual growth rate of 20 percent in 2017-2019. StrongPoint and PYD Seguridad S.L. have known each other well through years of active cooperation. PYD Seguridad S.L. has been a reseller of StrongPoint's cash management solution, CashGuard, for over 10 years. The company will change its name to StrongPoint S.L.U. and will offer the entire StrongPoint product portfolio. PYD Seguridad S.L. is an ambitious Spanish sales company established in 1999 with headquarters in Madrid. The company has 12 employees and an expected turnover of EUR 3.5 million in 2017. PYD Seguridad S.L. covers the whole of Spain through its own sales staff, service technicians and third-party representatives PYD Seguridad S.L. has delivered and installed several hundred CashGuard systems in Spain, Portugal and Andorra. The company has played a crucial role in the successful deployment of almost 600 CashGuard systems to the Spanish retail chain Alimerka in 2016. The founder and principal owner of PYD Seguridad S.L., Javier Aguilera, will continue as CEO and will join the StrongPoint EMEA team. "StrongPoint ASA already has a leading market position in Norway, Sweden and the Baltics. This transaction strengthens our international profile and gives us direct access to one of Europe's most exciting retail markets," says Jrgen Waaler, StrongPoint ASA CEO. "The overall goal with this acquisition is to invest and build StrongPoint Spain based on the same model as in Norway, Sweden and the Baltics." For further information, please contact Jrgen Waaler, CEO StrongPoint ASA, phone: +47 9059 0010 About StrongPoint StrongPoint's mission: Driving Retailers' productivity by providing innovative integrated Technology Solutions enabling store owners to perform to their full potential. StrongPoint is headquartered in Rlingen, Norway, and has approximately 600 employees in Norway, Sweden, Baltics, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain Russia and Malaysia. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. For further information: www.strongpoint.com Jakarta, Indonesia -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/15/2016 -- With old business models paving way for the new, legal services that are up to date with current legal trends and practices have acquired greater importance. For local and foreign companies that need corporate lawyers in Indonesia, Smart Legal Consulting offers qualified and professional legal services in a wide range of areas. SMART offers legal services to both local and international clients who wish to develop their business in Indonesia. The firm was founded to create long lasting partnerships for providing complete legal counseling and aid in areas such as company formation, corporate secretarial services, business license, expatriate work permit, legal due diligence, litigation support and company search. For thousands of investors in Indonesia, SMART offers a complete package to assist with fillings for legal business entities. It helps with administrative services for top multinationals as well as smaller enterprises for compliance with all government applicable regulations. The firm provides work permit assistance, and solves all legal due diligence issues as a qualified delegate partner. To handle global litigation practices, it uses a suite of specialized litigation support services and is in collaboration with BP Lawyers Counselors at Law for dealing with commercial litigation and arbitration disputes. SMART has set quality benchmarks to ensure its legal services are effective, efficient and budget friendly. Its processes are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and work on a time bound basis. Using the delegation principle, it offers itself as a partner who understands field conditions and the client's business to provide trustworthy, time saving and cost efficient legal aid in Indonesia. Investors and businesses currently operating or planning to set up new operations and requiring legal assistance from corporate lawyers in Indonesia can approach Smart Legal Consulting to hire an appointed partner as a competent legal counsel and resource. About SMART Legal Consulting SMART Legal Consulting is an Indonesian corporate Legal firm (SMART) which provides one-stop legal solution for everyone who runs business in Indonesia. Consisting of professionals, SMART focuses on providing effective and the best solutions and being your full time partner for the development and sustainability of your business. To know more, please visit: www.smartcolaw.com Media contact: SMART Legal Consulting Puri Imperium Office Plaza Unit G-9, Jl. Kuningan Madya Kav 5-6 Kuningan, Jakarta 12980 Tel: +6221 2278 3385 Email: info@smartcolaw.com Provo, UT -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/16/2016 -- Stephen Hopkins was from Hampshire, England. He married his first wife, Mary, and resided in the parish of Hursley, Hampshire. They had three (3) children: Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles; all baptized there. It has long been claimed that the Hopkins family was from Wortley, Gloucester, but this was disproven in 1998 with the discovery of his true origins in Hursley. http://mayflowerhistory.com/hopkins-stephen/ Stephen Hopkins went with the ship Sea Venture on a voyage to Jamestown, Virginia in 1609 as a minister's clerk, but the ship wrecked in the "Isle of Devils" (Bermuda). Stranded on an island for ten months, the passengers and crew survived on turtles, birds, and wild pigs. Six months into the castaway, Stephen Hopkins and several others organized a mutiny against the current governor. The mutiny was discovered and Stephen was sentenced to death. However, he pleaded with sorrow and tears. "So penitent he was, and made so much moan, alleging the ruin of his wife and children in this his trespass, as it wrought in the hearts of all the better sorts of the company." He managed to get his sentence commuted. Eventually the castaways built a small ship and sailed themselves to Jamestown. How long Stephen remained in Jamestown is not known. However, while he was gone, his wife Mary died. She was buried in Hursley on 9 May 1613, and left behind a probate estate which mentions her children Elizabeth, Constance and Giles. Stephen was back in England by 1617, when he married Elizabeth Fisher, but apparently had every intention of bringing his family back to Virginia. Their first child, Damaris, was born about 1618. In 1620, Stephen Hopkins brought his wife and children Constance, Giles, and Damaris on the Mayflower (child Elizabeth apparently had died). Stephen was a fairly active member of the Pilgrim group shortly after arrival, perhaps a result of his being one of the few individuals who had been to Virginia previously. He was a part of all the early exploring missions, and was used as an "expert" on Native Americans for the first few contacts. While out exploring, Stephen recognized and identified an Indian deer trap. And when Samoset walked into Plymouth and welcomed the English, he was housed in Stephen Hopkins' house for the night. Stephen was also sent on several of the ambassadorial missions to meet with the various Indian groups in the region. Stephen was an assistant to the governor through 1636, and volunteered for the Pequot War of 1637 but was never called to serve. By the late 1630s, however, Stephen began to occasionally run afoul of the Plymouth authorities, as he apparently opened up a shop and served alcohol. In 1636 he got into a fight with John Tisdale and seriously wounded him. In 1637, he was fined for allowing drinking and shuffleboard playing on Sunday. Early the next year he was fined for allowing people to drink excessively in his house: guest William Reynolds was fined, but the others were acquitted. In 1638 he was twice fined for selling beer at twice the actual value, and in 1639 he was fined for selling a looking glass for twice what it would cost if bought in the Bay Colony. Also in 1638, Stephen Hopkins' maidservant got pregnant from Arthur Peach, who was subsequently executed for murdering an Indian. The Plymouth Court ruled he was financially responsible for her and her child for the next two years (the amount remaining on her term of service). Stephen, in contempt of court, threw Dorothy out of his household and refused to provide for her, so the court committed him to custody. John Holmes stepped in and purchased Dorothy's remaining two years of service from him: agreeing to support her and child. Stephen died in 1644, and made out a will, asking to be buried near his wife, and naming his surviving children. BAPTISM: 30 April 1581 at Upper Clatford, Hampshire, England, son of John and Elizabeth (Williams) Hopkins. FIRST MARRIAGE: Mary, possibly the daughter of Robert and Joan (Machell) Kent of Hursley, co. Hampshire, prior to 1604. SECOND MARRIAGE: Elizabeth Fisher on 19 February 1617/8 at St. Mary Matfellon, Whitechapel, co. Middlesex, England. CHILDREN (by Mary): Elizabeth, Constance, and Giles. CHILDREN (by Elizabeth): Damaris, Oceanus, Caleb, Deborah, Damaris, Ruth, and Elizabeth. DNA HAPLOGROUP: R1b-M269 Columbus, Ohio General Society of Mayflower Descendant, Adam Paul Green (Ancestor Stephen Hopkins / Gen.No. 86,723) Announces New Geneology Support Website for Local Enthusiasts http://www.g3-development.co/ The Mayflower was hired in London, and sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage--much of which was purchased at Southampton. The Pilgrims were mostly still living in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. They hired a ship called the Speedwell to take them from Delfshaven, the Netherlands, to Southampton, England, to meet up with the Mayflower. The two ships planned to sail together to Northern Virginia. The Speedwell departed Delfthaven on July 22, and arrived at Southampton, where they found the Mayflower waiting for them. The Speedwell had been leaking on her voyage from the Netherlands to England, though, so they spent the next week patching her up. On August 5, the two ships finally set sail for America. But the Speedwell began leaking again, so they pulled into the town of Dartmouth for repairs, arriving there about August 12. The Speedwell was patched up again, and the two ships again set sail for America about August 21. After the two ships had sailed about 300 miles out to sea, the Speedwell again began to leak. Frustrated with the enormous amount of time lost, and their inability to fix the Speedwell so that it could be sea-worthy, they returned to Plymouth, England, and made the decision to leave the Speedwell behind. The Mayflower would go to America alone. The cargo on the Speedwell was transferred over to the Mayflower; some of the passengers were so tired and disappointed with all the problems that they quit and went home. Others crammed themselves onto the already very crowded Mayflower. Finally, on September 6, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, and headed for America. By the time the Pilgrims had left England, they had already been living onboard the ships for nearly a month and a half. The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620. The first half of the voyage went fairly smoothly, the only major problem was sea-sickness. But by October, they began encountering a number of Atlantic storms that made the voyage treacherous. Several times, the wind was so strong they had to just drift where the weather took them; it was not safe to use the ship's sails. The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia, which at the time included the region as far north as the Hudson River in the modern State of New York. The Hudson River, in fact, was their originally intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands. All things considered, the Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees. As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York, where they intended to make their plantation. However, as the Mayflower headed south, it encountered some very rough seas, and nearly shipwrecked. The Pilgrims then decided, rather than risk another attempt to go south they would just stay and explore Cape Cod. They turned back north, rounded the tip, and anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod, trying to decide where they would build their plantation. On December 25, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings. The End of the Mayflower: "Mayflower's End," by Mike Haywood. The Mayflower returned to England from Plymouth Colony, arriving back on 9 May 1621. Christopher Jones took the ship out on a trading voyage to Rochelle, France, in October 1621, returning with a cargo of Bay salt. Christopher Jones, master and quarter-owner of the Mayflower, died and was buried at Rotherhithe, co. Surrey, England, on 5 March 1621/2. No further record of the Mayflower is found until May 1624, when it was appraised for the purposes of probate and was described as being in ruins. The ship was almost certainly sold off as scrap. The claim, first originating from J. Rendel Harris' book The Finding of the Mayflower (1920), that the Mayflower ended up as a barn in Jordans, England, is now widely discredited as being a figment of an overzealous imagination on the tercentenary anniversary of the Mayflower's voyage, combined with a tainted oral history. None of the evidence has withstood subsequent investigation. Regardless of the lack of evidence for its authenticity, it has been featured in National Geographic on several occasions and is a tourist destination. It is important to realize that in 1624, when the ship was scrapped, it was not at all famous, and nobody would have thought twice about letting it rot away. Adam Paul Green was born to a multi-talented beauty queen Mother and a Father who, in addition to being a US Army Spy and a Counter-Intelligence Special Agent, was also a highly accomplished entrepreneur. Adam was taught at a young age that, in both life and business, loyalty is a requirement for success. He's had the honor of working directly with his father in several of the family businesses. In fact, this is where he learned crucial entrepreneurial skills and honed his talents with international business strategies and venture capitalism. http://www.MarketingChocolateInternational.com http://www.AdamPaulGreen.com http://www.ImAdamGreen.com Adam earned his Bachelors of Science Degree in International Business and Marketing from the University of Utah. He was hand-picked by the President of the University's renowned School of Business to compete with dozens of other ambitious nationwide-graduates for the opportunity to secure a lucrative job within a prestigious Fortune 100 company. http://www.mxicorp.com/fab/ http://www.Twitter.com/AdamPaulGreen http://www.ImAdamGreen.com About MayflowerHistory.com MayflowerHistory.com, the Internet's most complete and accurate website dealing with the Mayflower passengers and the history of the Pilgrims and early Plymouth Colony. The website was first created back in 1994 (when the web was still mostly text!) as a simple, but complete, passenger list of the Mayflower. It has grown over the past twenty years as the author, historian Caleb Johnson, has researched and compiled material. http://mayflowerhistory.com Charlotte, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/16/2016 -- CRG is a premier staffing, technology services and managed services company that is headquartered in High Point, North Carolina. This company provides staffing solutions, talent acquisition, and consulting services for areas including Accounting and Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, and more. People who are seeking recruiting companies in Charlotte, NC, the Triad or Triangle markets throughout the holidays and winter after are encouraged to turn to CRG. The company's 'brick and mortar' offices are strategically located in Raleigh, NC, High Point, NC, and Charlotte, NC, which allows them to provide their services across North Carolina, though they also have remote offices across the country, as well as Mexico and South America. This is one of the many reasons why the company is a leading recruiting and consulting company, not only in North Carolina, but across the nation. CRG is focused on empowering people, which ultimately leads to powering success for both the individuals and the company itself. The company is also relationship-driven and focused on helping every single one of their candidates find employment. They will determine a person's skill sets, and then help them find companies that are hiring for positions where they will succeed. This will ensure the success of both the candidate and the company that chooses to hire them. The trustworthiness of this job agency in Charlotte, NC, along with the Triad and Triangle markets, lies within their passion for succeeding. They put people first, and they also have the connections and network that any job seeker will want on their side. To find relationships that help people grow their career, whether it involves IT employment, HR/Administrative positions, or high-level executive jobs, look to CRG. To learn more about finding a job that's the perfect match, contact CRG at 844-CRG-WORK or go to http://www.getcrg.com/. About CRG CRG provides staffing, technology services, managed services and executive search in the areas of Information Technology, Accounting/Finance, Human Resources/Administration, Healthcare and Life Sciences, and Executive Search. Its vision is to empower employees to accomplish their career goals and enable clients to achieve success. For more information, please visit http://www.getcrg.com. New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/16/2016 -- Infectious diseases are the type of disorders caused by different organisms such as bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites. The organism can be harmful or helpful to the human body and under some conditions the organism causes different diseases. Diseases can be transferable from person to person, bites of insects and animals, through ingestion of contaminated food or water or being exposed to organisms in the environment. Signs and symptoms such as fever, fatigue, etc. vary depending on the type of organism causing the infection. Mild infection can be treated through prescribed medicines by physicians while life threatening infections may require hospitalization. Many infectious disease such as measles and chickenpox have been controlled through vaccination programs. Taking precautions such as creating clean environment, proper sanitization and thorough hand-washing also helps to protect individuals from most infectious diseases. Cholera infection re-entered Peru in 1996 and spread through the existing sanitation and water systems, causing over 3,000 deaths. Seafood exports were embargoed from Peru and tourism decreased, costing an estimated loss of at least US$ 770 Mn to the Peruvian economy in one year. International military networks such as the U.S. Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections System (DoD-GEIS), private clinics, individual scientists and public health practitioners are the networks which provide the formal information sources for the spread of infectious diseases. Easy approval from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for drug regulation in market, and role of major key players also plays an important role for the infectious disease treatment market. The bacterial disease type segment is expected to witness remarkable growth in the global infectious disease market due to the increasing evolution of different microorganisms in different environmental conditions, unhealthy food habits among population, and increase in prevention care facilities for patients which will address to various research, other prevention methods, and education in order to prevent the epidemiology of infectious diseases. The parasitic disease and viral disease segment type is expected to register significant growth through 2024 due to the emergence of different mutation technologies and chemical utilization and upcoming research laboratories in emerging countries. Based on treatment type, antiparasite segment is expected to contribute largest share in global infectious disease treatment market by 2016 end owing to the evolution of different disease indication through parasites. For instance, Zika Virus is transmitted through mosquitoes. Based on diagnosis test type, the global infectious disease treatment market has been segmented into laboratory test, biopsies and imaging scans. Laboratory test segment is expected to contribute the maximum share among diagnosis test type segments. Based on the end user, hospital segment is projected to have the largest market share among other segments due to the availability of trained professionals, easy availability of diagnosis methods, and reimbursement policies for major treatment procedures. Request TOC (desk of content material), Figures and Tables of the report: http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/12733 On the basis of regional presence, global infectious disease treatment market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to lead the global infectious disease treatment market due to unhealthy food intake habits of the population, improper sanitization, new disease evolution and environmental conditions. According to the WHO statistics for the year 2011, prevalence of infectious disease treatment is high in developed countries such as U.S. and U.K. More precautions are being undertaken in the MEA region due to the prevalence of various viral diseases which have a potential to spread and create an epidemic situation for the world population. Some of the major players in global infectious disease treatment market are Janssen Global Services, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical, Inc., Pfizer, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Auritec Pharmaceuticals, Isis Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences. etc. To Pre Book Single User License @ http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/12733 Wengen, Switzerland -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/16/2016 -- A luxurious hotel in Wengen, Hotel Schonegg, offers family rooms for peaceful stay of guests and their family. Their family rooms have a capacity to easily accommodate a couple and two children. The guests can enjoy the comfortable stay in their hotel rooms with added amenities, such as sauna bathing facility and massage waterbed. Apart from these amenities, the hotel also provides free Wi-Fi, flat screen television, telephone, safe, bathrobe and slippers, hairdryer, washing services on request, private terrace or balcony, and much more. People planning to spend quality time with their family on vacations can book Hotel Schonegg's family room to enjoy the Wengen trip to the fullest. Hotel Schonegg is one of the prestigious hotels in Jungfrau, when it comes to offering the most comfortable facilities under the single roof. They have a team of highly dedicated staff who take care of each of their guests needs and provide them the most comfortable and pleasant stay as possible. Their Swiss Chef Sylvain Stefanazzi Ogi provides a refined kitchen, with national classic scents inspired by Mediterranean cuisine benefiting from his Italian roots. He holds great experience in preparing the most delicious food from all over the world and ensures to feed mouth-watering cuisines to their guests, no matter from where they are. Speaking more about their family rooms, one of the representatives of the hotel stated, "Our family rooms are the perfect room for 2 adults and 2 children. They are renovated in a cozy style do face the east side towards the town of Wengen and the Mannlichen Mountain. The room is attached with two room sharing one bathroom. We feed our guest from our own cozy Restaurant, which was started in 1903, all in old wood opens only in the evening, in summer these dishes are as well served on our panoramic terrace if weather permits." About Hotel Schonegg Hotel Schonegg is one of the oldest buildings in Wengen. Their guests are taken care of personally in a very warm atmosphere. The breath-taking view of the world famous Jungfrau massif from all rooms, the exquisite Gault ET Millau rated dining experience in their authentically decorated restaurant and a taste from their carefully selected wines will make their vacation unforgettable. Given the charm of the village, the friendliness of the locals and the drama of the scenery, it is easy to see why many people love Wengen. For more information, please visit http://www.hotel-schoenegg.ch/ English Dutch High-voltage network manager Tennet has provisionally awarded the contract for the realisation Wintrack II, Noordwest 380kV and Zuidwest 380kV to the Heijmans-Europoles combination. The project is for the design and realisation of the high-voltage pylons and foundations on the Eemshaven-Vierverlaten (Noordwest 380 kV) and Borssele-Rilland (Zuidwest 380 kV West) grids. The contract (design & construct) represents a value of around 200 million. The project Noordwest 380 kV is for the replacement of the existing high-voltage connection (220 kV) between Eemshaven and Vierverlaten with a 380kV connection, partly in combination with 110 kV. This will make it possible to improve the transport and distribution of electricity from various power plants, (offshore) wind turbine parks and undersea power connections in the north. The Zuidwest 380 kV West project involves the construction of a new connection that will double the transport capacity on the Borssele-Rilland grid, to give the electricity grid additional capacity for power generated by sources such as new offshore wind turbine parks. This provisional contract is in line with Heijmans' selective acquisition policy, which is aimed at acquiring large-scale projects in partnerships and the execution of such projects in cooperation with partners that have a proven track record in their field of expertise. Both projects are part of the current state coordination scheme (rijkscoordinatieregeling). The combination will begin work once the so-called zoning plans associated with the projects have been irrevocably approved. The contract is expected to be granted at the end of January 2017. Innovative design Wintrack is a new pylon concept for high-voltage lines. TenneT has already used the concept in the Randstad 380 kV Zuid and Noordring and Doetinchem-Wesel projects. The innovative Wintrack II pylon is partly made of concrete, unlike the Wintrack I pylon which is made entirely of steel. The new pylon also has a sleek profile and is designed to significantly reduce the so-called magnetic field zone. These features mean it is possible to build new 380kV connections above ground with minimal impact on local residents and the landscape. About Europoles Europoles is market leader in the fabrication of poles, columns and structural systems. Europoles offers standard solutions, special solutions and turnkey systems which include all services from advice to dismantling. Both proven and innovative techniques are used in materials like concrete, steel and glass fibre reinforced plastic. Europoles serves the infrastructural markets for traffic, energy, communications and lighting in Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa and other attractive markets worldwide. With approximately 1200 employees and factories in Germany, Poland, Switzerland and Oman a turnover of 175 million is reached. About Heijmans Heijmans is a listed company that combines activities related to property development, residential building, non-residential building, roads and civil engineering in the working areas living, working and connecting. Heijmans is active in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and as a technology partner delivers know-how and concepts in various markets. Our constant focus on quality improvements, innovation and integrated solutions enables us to generate added value for our clients. Heijmans realises projects for private consumers, companies and public sector bodies. With almost 6,500 employees and close to 950 million in revenues in the first half of 2016, we are building the spatial contours of tomorrow. You will find additional information on www.heijmans.nl For more information / not for publication: Press Rik Hammer Communication +31 73 543 52 17 rhammer@heijmans.nl Analysts Guido Peters Investor Relations + 31 73 543 52 17 gpeters@heijmans.nl Researchers released this year's Arctic Report Card on Dec. 13 and there is bad news -- the Arctic continues to warm up at astonishing rates. Presenting the findings at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its annual Arctic Report Card and it showed a continuation of long-term warming trends in the Arctic. The researchers had tallied record after record of high temperatures, shrinking ice sheets and low sea ice. "Personally, I would have to say that this last year has been the most extreme year for the Arctic that I have ever seen," Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, who was not part of the 106-page report, told the Associated Press. The peer-reviewed report, which has been issued every year for the past decade, includes observations on the Arctic environment. Past reports have regarded 2016 as the hottest year on record but the situation in the Arctic is rather alarming. The highlights of the report include the average surface air temperature for the year ending in September 2016 is the highest since 1990. On the other hand, new monthly record highs were recorded for January, February, October and November. The Arctic Ocean is prone to ocean acidification because of water temperatures that are colder than those further south. The short Arctic food chain in the area makes marine ecosystems vulnerable to ocean acidification events. Ocean temperatures were 5 degrees Celcius higher than the three-decade average off the coasts of Greenland. Also, the snow cover in North America reached a record low for spring, decreasing to 1.5 million square miles in May for the first time since the satellite made observations in 1967. "We are witnessing changes in the Arctic that will impact generations to come. Warmer temperatures and dwindling sea ice not only threaten the future of Arctic wildlife but also its local cultures and communities," Margaret Williams, managing director for US Arctic programs from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said in a statement. "These changes are impacting our entire planet, causing weather patterns to shift and sea levels to rise. Americans from California to Virginia will come to realize the Arctic's importance in their daily lives," she added. For the first time, scientists have unlocked some of the genetic secrets of the most peculiar fish including its unusual male pregnancy -- the seahorse. An international team of researchers has fully sequenced the Southeast Asian tiger tail seahorse, named for its distinctive yellow-and-black striped tail. The genome project, led by evolutionary biologist Professor Axel Meyer, sequenced and studied the genome of the seahorse, obtaining new molecular evolutionary results that could shed light on the unique characteristics of the creature. The study, published in the journal Nature, focused on the genetic underpinning for certain peculiarities of this fish group, including its eccentric male pregnancy. What is unusual about this creatures is that males, not females, give birth to babies. Moreover, they swim upright, have horse-like snouts and have no teeth. Unlike fish, they lack tails, pelvic fins and their bodies are covered in bony plates. "They are such iconic animals, one of the examples of the exuberance of evolution," an evolutionary biologist and genome researcher at Germany's the University of Konstanz and one of the researchers in the study, Axel Meyer, told Reuters. "Their numbers are declining due to habitat destruction and harvest by humans," Byrappa Venkatesh, a molecular biologist at the Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), added. Peculiarities Explained In the study, the researchers found that seahorses do not have a gene linked to having pelvic fins, a characteristic that most fishes need for survival. They also found that when this gene is deactivated in zebrafish, it lost its pelvic fins. In terms of egg hatching, the gene family linked to this ability was expanded in the seahorse -- that is why males have a brooding pouch. The seahorse demonstrates how genetic changes can lead to evolutionary changes in some traits. This study could shed light on understanding the genetic basis of the evolution and odd characteristics of this bizarre and beautiful organism. The Paris Climate Agreement completed its first year on Dec. 12, 2016. Given the changing political scenario and the remarks made by President-elect Donald Trump, the U.S. citizens and leaders are concerned whether the incoming administration will continue to support the country's role as a global climate leader in the future or it is going to back out of the Paris Climate Agreement. On the occasion, Environment America that works for a cleaner, greener, healthier future joined hands with the mayors of cities, such as Orlando, FL, Fayetteville, AR, and Philadelphia, PA, and released a statement that urges Donald Trump to keep the country's commitment in the historical Paris Climate Agreement. According to a news release published on Penn Environment, Donald Trump's statements on climate change issue indicate that he wishes to back out of the agreement and to focus on dirty energy development. This has led to many speculations regarding the position of the U.S. as a global leader and perpetrator of clean energy and climate change. Lindsey Mendelson, Environment America Fellow, said that, "One year ago today, nearly every nation on the planet came together and committed to prevent the worst impacts of climate change." She also remarked that, "Today, we are joining with city leaders who are not only on the frontlines in dealing with climate change impacts but also taking ambitious steps to cut carbon pollution, to call on President-elect Trump to make sure the U.S. keep leading this effort." According to the news release, 70 percent of the total greenhouse emissions are made by the urban cities. Therefore, the role and say of the city administration are vital in deciding the country's policies. "Cities are on the frontlines of climate impacts but we're already spearheading the solutions," said James Francis Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On the other hand, Mendelson further expressed her concern over the present situation and said, "For the sake of our health, our environment and diplomacy, it is imperative that President-elect Trump keeps the United States' end of the deal," and she also stressed on the positive outcomes of the efforts made by the city leaders, "As city leaders show, meeting the requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement is not only achievable, but also paves the way for a cleaner, safer future for us all." A disc-shaped UFO found moving across the Moon early this month convinced alien hunters that it was an evidence of extraterrestrial life. Fox News reported that the flying object captured in the lunar feed of Miami Observatory in Florida on Dec. 3 left a mystery among space fans. While some argue that it was just a play of shadow and light, alien hunters believe that what they saw was a sight of an alien-made spaceship. In a video uploaded on Dec. 6 by YouTube user UFOVNI UFO Sightings, the black circle-shaped object was found hovering the lunar surface. It crossed the frame for about 2 seconds and was replayed for a closer look. "It's not a man-made object, because there are not solar panel wings on it to gather energy," said Scott C. Waring of UFO Sightings Daily. "There are no antennas on it for transmitting, also the surface is not completely round, but has a rough edge to it. Looks like a bio-mechanically grown UFO." While others believe it was an alien sighting, other comments on the video range from people believing it to people saying it was just a shadow of a satellite to space debris up to a lost Frisbee. Some even just had to spoil the mystery, saying it was Donald Trump's wig. A similar disc-shaped object was found in the International Space Station's (ISS) stream last month. While this prompted alien hunters to believe it was an ET sighting, the ISS cut the stream immediately, apologizing they were having technical issues. Does this mean that NASA was hiding the existence of aliens? That is what some alien hunters believe. Nevertheless, since the existence of alien life is yet to be 100 percent proven, ET fans may just have to deal with skeptics until a real alien appears to introduce himself. This news just came in- WordPress.com parent company Automattic signed a pledge. This pledge is that they will not build a Muslim database or registry. Auttomatic is the owner of WordPress.com and a couple of other publishing tools and websites. Matt Mullenweg, the CEO and founder of Automattic, signed this pledge on behalf of his company. The pledge is called neveragain.tech and has been hosted on popular tech site, GitHub. The aim of the pledge is to discourage tech giants and influential companies from participating in creating a Muslim database that could be used by the newly elected President Donald Trump. His administration may use this Muslim registry / database to target Muslims. Till now, the pledge has been signed by more than 1300 people. Needless to say, Automattic joining the list has populated the list and made it noticeable. Before Automattic became a part of it, the list was only signed by individual tech names in the industry. "I'm personally signing, and also speaking on behalf of the entire Automattic company, which makes WordPress.com, Jetpack, Simplenote, and WooCommerce," Mullenweg wrote on GitHub. This move can hopefully encourage other executives to speak on behalf of their own companies on the issue of the Muslim database. The pledge was first published on December 13. Its public mission statement reads: We, the undersigned, are employees of tech organizations and companies based in the United States. We are engineers, designers, business executives, and others whose jobs include managing or processing data about people. We are choosing to stand in solidarity with Muslim Americans, immigrants, and all people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the incoming administration's proposed data collection policies. We refuse to build a database of people based on their Constitutionally-protected religious beliefs. We refuse to facilitate mass deportations of people the government believes to be undesirable. Automattic's public statement on the prospect of a Muslim Database came only days later after journalist forced Facebook to respond to this sensitive topic. The social media giant remained silent, not commenting on this requests for clarification. After a lot of hue and cry, Facebook issued a public statement through its spokesperson. "No one has asked us to build a Muslim registry, and of course we would not do so," read the statement. The population of lions in Zimbabwe is threatened by humans, according to new studies. News 24 reported that the number of lions in Zimbabwe -- where "Cecil the Lion" lived -- has dramatically decreased due to trophy hunting and other human behaviors. Hwange National Park's famous lion was shot dead by a trophy hunter who was misled by a local guide in 2015. This sparked outrage from wildlife conservationists considering that Cecil was a national tourist attraction and that the worldwide lion population is declining year after year. According to the research conducted by Oxford University's Wildlife Research Unit, human activities -- including trophy hunting -- caused 88 percent of male and 67 percent of female mortalities. This is based on their observation of 206 lion deaths from 1999 to 2012 within the park. Published on Monday in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the study also added that lionesses are also being killed by farmers when they wander off into agricultural areas to hunt. Moreover, poachers had taken advantage of these female hunters whenever they step out from park borders as well. Another study published in the journal Biological Conservation also used the same Hwange data. It focused on the major effects of trophy hunting among male big cats in the lion population. The researchers found out that among its negative effects, deaths of territorial males have caused male intruders to kill the cubs in their pride. This has caused a major decline in the lion population and calls for careful attention from wildlife authorities. "These two important new pieces of research, based on long-term understanding of population dynamics, add very significantly to our understanding of the threats faced by lions and other large predators in a world that is increasingly dominated by the human enterprise," said co-author of both studies, Professor David Macdonald, who is also the founding Director of Oxford's WildCRU. Oxford University's WildCRU suggests that authorities need to manage wildlife conservation better by modifying trophy hunting policies among others. NASA has been working with IBM for the longest time and their new collaborative project using Watson's artificial intelligence will put aerospace technology development into new heights. Network World reported that NASA is currently using IBM's Watson machine learning system, which has already been used for healthcare and cybersecurity purposes, to advance its aerospace technology. The space agency is currently testing a number of its projects with the system to develop new directions for future space missions. This recent work is under NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where the machine learning system enables the agency's aerospace engineers to study and create new technologies. Watson's AI system will be a huge help for NASA on its difficult missions. Its uses include a quicker way to study and develop new technologies for long-duration space travels such as its upcoming mission to Mars. The system could also aid the mission's operational requirements as well as its needs for maintenance and healthcare for astronauts. Furthermore, this system could also help in managing routine missions from Earth to the International Space Station (ISS) and back. "Watson digests as much research as it possibly can to help the NASA experts looking to develop complex hypothis'," said IBM Watson Group's Distinguished Engineer Chris Codella, who works with the Langley team. According to Space.com, one of NASA's current projects is to study how commercial airline technicians and pilots get any needed information from the system in real time. Watson is self-learning all the flight information from operations manuals to answer important questions from pilots whenever they need to make sudden decisions. "That was the initial emphasis here: Have a system that could read it all, make sense of it all," Codella added. "The number of documents Watson could read is in principle unlimited." Artificial intelligence does make life easier for humans on Earth and, eventually, in outer space. PASCAGOULA, Miss., Dec. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division was awarded a $51 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification to a previously awarded contract for the first year of life-cycle engineering and support services on the U.S. Navys San Antonio (LPD 17) class of amphibious transport docks. Ingalls has a strong tradition in post-delivery efforts, and we are pleased to receive additional work on this program, said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. Ingalls has delivered 10 ships in this class, and our shipbuilders have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide these important technical upgrades. Services provided in the contract include post-delivery planning and engineering, systems integration and engineering support, research engineering, material support, fleet modernization program planning, supply chain management, maintenance, and training for certain San Antonio-class shipboard systems. The San Antonio class is a key component to the Navys 21st century amphibious assault force. The 684-foot-long, 105-foot-wide ships are used to embark and land Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore via air cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles, augmented by helicopters or vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as the MV-22 Osprey. The ships support a Marine Air Ground Task Force across the spectrum of operations, conducting amphibious and expeditionary missions of sea control and power projection to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions throughout the first half of the 21st century. Huntington Ingalls Industries is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HIIs Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HIIs Technical Solutions division provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet Support, Integrated Missions Solutions, Nuclear and Environmental, and Oil and Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 37,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit: NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transwestern today announces it represented Eurazeo (EPA:RF), a leading European investment firm, in a lease for its first U.S. office. Eurazeo occupies the 32nd floor of 745 Fifth Ave., a 35-story, Class A tower in Manhattans Plaza District. Transwestern Partner Lindsay Ornstein, Senior Vice President David Stockel and Vice President Chase Gordon partnered with Eurazeo in the transaction. We worked diligently to ensure Eurazeos U.S. office matched the caliber of the firms brand, which has a solid reputation rooted in its history of investment excellence, said Ornstein. 745 Fifth Ave. provides Eurazeo with a preeminent address near Central Park with customized office space. The New York office is an anchor for Eurazeos North American operations, a strategic expansion to the U.S. private equity market. The firm leverages its permanent access to capital, proven track record, expert team, and international presence to execute mid-market investments in U.S.-based consumer goods and business services companies. The building owner, Paramount, was represented in-house by Doug Neye. ABOUT TRANSWESTERN Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm of collaborative entrepreneurs who deliver a higher level of personalized service the Transwestern Experience. Specializing in Agency Leasing, Management, Tenant Advisory, Capital Markets, Research and Sustainability services, our fully integrated global enterprise adds value for investors, owners and occupiers of all commercial property types. We leverage market insights and operational expertise from members of the Transwestern family of companies specializing in development, real estate investment management and research. Based in Houston, Transwestern has 34 U.S. offices and assists clients through more than 180 offices in 37 countries as part of a strategic alliance with BNP Paribas Real Estate. Experience Extraordinary at transwestern.com and @Transwestern. For updates from the New York office, follow @TranswesternNYC. ABOUT EURAZEO With a diversified portfolio of 5 billion euros in assets (~$5.5 billion), Eurazeo is one of the leading listed investment companies in Europe. Its purpose and mission is to identify, accelerate and enhance the transformation potential of the companies in which it invests. The Company covers most private equity segments through its four business divisions Eurazeo Capital, Eurazeo Croissance, Eurazeo PME and Eurazeo Patrimoine. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. Eurazeo is notably either a majority or key shareholder in AccorHotels, ANF Immobilier, Asmodee, CIFA, Desigual, Elis, Europcar, Fintrax, Grape Hospitality, Les Petits Chaperons Rouges, Moncler, Neovia, Novacap, Sommet Education and also SMEs or start-ups such as Colisee, Flash Europe International, Farfetch and Vestiaire Collective. To learn more, visit: www.eurazeo.com/en. GLEN ELLYN, Ill., Dec. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Students in the College of DuPages Diagnostic Medical Imaging Radiography (DMIR) program now have access to even more high-tech equipment with the recent purchase of a Model C Arm Fluoroscopic Unit. The equipment is standard in the field but many students dont see the unit on campus or when completing clinical work. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47ff81a1-8528-48e0-8e36-188c8306f759 In a clinical setting, oftentimes students dont get the experience of running some of the equipment because of the fast-paced nature of the hospital setting, said Sue Bertellotti, DMIR assistant professor. Having a C-Arm unit in a learning lab on our campus allows our students to practice in a stress-free environment, giving them valuable experience they need to enter the workforce. The Colleges DMIR program educates students with didactic, laboratory and clinical experience to prepare them for work in the field. Students must demonstrate competency to meet state licensing and/or certification requirements, making hands-on classroom and lab experience all the more valuable. Over the last five years, the program has had a 96 percent pass rate of the ARRT credentialing exam. The Radiography application deadline is March 1 of each year and enrollment is by selected admission only. Admission to College of DuPage does not guarantee acceptance into the Radiography program. For information about the Radiography program, email to healthcareadvising@cod.edu. College of DuPage is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Serving approximately 27,000 students each term, College of DuPage is the largest public community college in the state of Illinois. The College grants nine associate degrees and offers more than 170 career and technical certificates in over 50 areas of study. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES TORONTO, Dec. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shawcor Ltd. (TSX:SCL) (Shawcor or the Company) announced that is has filed its final prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in regards to the issuance of 4,575,000 common shares of Shawcor on a bought deal basis at a price of Cdn $32.80 per common share (the Offering) through a syndicate of underwriters (the Underwriters) led by TD Securities Inc. In addition, Shawcor announces that the Underwriters have provided the Company with notice of the exercise by the Underwriters of their over-allotment option to purchase 686,250 additional common shares of the Company at a price of $32.80 per common share (the Over-Allotment Option), in accordance with the terms of the underwriting agreement dated December 9, 2016 between the Company and the Underwriters. With the Over-Allotment Option being exercised in full, gross proceeds from the Offering will be approximately Cdn $173 million. The Offering and the Over-Allotment Option are expected to close on or about December 23, 2016. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The common shares being offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and accordingly are not being offered for sale and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly within the United States, its possessions and other areas subject to its jurisdiction or to, or for the account or the benefit of a U.S. person, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of that Act. Forward Looking Information Certain statements contained or incorporated by reference in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities law, such as statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as may, should, anticipate, expects, seeks and similar expressions. There can be no assurance that the Offering or any Over-Allotment Option will be completed. Although Shawcor believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and the information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward looking statements and information because Shawcor can give no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Additional details about the risks and uncertainties are included in Shawcors annual Managements Discussions and Analysis which can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. About Shawcor Ltd. Shawcor Ltd. is a global energy services company specializing in products and services for the pipeline and pipe services segment of the oil and gas industry and related products for petrochemical and industrial markets. It operates through eight divisions, with fixed and mobile manufacturing and services facilities located around the world. There are more than one thousand universities in the country and it is no small feat to be one among the Top 30. The ICFAI Foundation for Hi... ED FORMS VERBS OR MODIFIERS Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and root like tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest. VERB-ED CAN BE SIMPLE PAST TENSE OR MODIFIER Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and root like tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest. not as a modifier HOW VERB-ED MODIFIER IS DERIVED HOW CAN THIS HELP YOU ANSWER GMAT SC? Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that flourished at the same time as the civilizations that is required Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization that was destroyed multiple times by flooding of Indus river that can be omitted Salt deposits and moisture threaten to destroy the Mohenjo-Daro excavation in Pakistan, the site of an ancient civilization destroyed multiple times by flooding of Indus river WHERE CAN YOU GET MORE INFORMATION? formed called triggered hoped turned added appeared explored guided earned founded decorated filled This is probably one of the most discussed problems in GMAT Verbal SC section. This sentence is a cake walk for those who understand verb-ing and verb-ed modifiers thoroughly, and is confusing to the hilt for those who have just started to learn these concepts. The tactfully crafted answer choices of this problem keep bringing this question on various forums for discussion and detailed explanation. So lets take a look at those interesting answer choices:A. extendingB. extendsC. extendedD. it extendedE. is extendingIn the first glimpse, the sentence looks simple and easy. You scan the sentence, discover the word spawned, look at conjunction and, think, Oh! Parallelism dude. How simple!, mark Choice C. But all the excitement is robbed off by the Answer Key page that says Choice A is the correct answer.So where did you go wrong? Aren't spawned and extended grammatically parallel? They both have the same structure. The instinct (especially of the non-natives) is to believe that words with ed are simple past tense verbs. So if you took spawned to be the simple past tense verb, you looked for the same for extending and marked extended. You got the incorrect answer.So, what is happening in this sentence? Extended fits as simple past tense verb and looks parallel to spawned. Then how can extended be incorrect? Well, the answer is that Verb-ed forms can be used in two ways One as verb in simple past tense and the other as modifier (also called Verb-ed modifiers) and in this case it is used as the latter (explained later). In essence, the same word, for example extended, can assume the role of a verb in simple past form or that of a modifier. The challenge in the question is to determine whether spawned and extended are verb-ed modifiers or just the verbs and then decide in what form should extended be used.To determine that, lets examine two simple examples:a. The company extended the training period for the interns. extended = simple past tenseb. The training period extended last year made many interns unhappy. extended as verb-ed modifierLet's analyze the meaning of sentence a. The sentence clearly conveys that that the company did the job of extending the training period for the interns. The word extended works as verb in this sentence.Sentence b means that many interns became unhappy because the training period was extended. In this sentence, the verb is "made". "Extended" is the verb-ed modifier that is giving additional information about "the training period". So, here we see that the same word "extended" can work as a verb and as a modifier, depending upon how it has been used in the sentence. In fact, most of the words can be written as verb as well as modifier if we add ed to them. Spawned is also one of them.If you want to know how to tell whether a verb-ed word is a simple past tense verb or a modifier, read in the following section about this simple test that can be very handy.There is a simple test we can perform to find out whether the verb-ed is a verb in simple past tense or the verb-ed modifier. Here is the test:Lets have another look at both the examples above:a. The company extended the training period for the interns.The subject of the sentence above is The Company . Now ask yourself, Is the subject the doer of the verb? In other words, did the company extend the training. The answer is yes it did. The Subject Verb pair makes sense. Hence, in this sentence, extended is used as a verb in simple past.b. The training period extended last year made many interns unhappy.The subject here is The training period. The next word is the verb-ed extended. Is it a verb or a modifier? Ask this question: Did the training period do the action of extending? The answer is No. The action of extension was not done by the training period. In other words, the Subject-Verb pair does not make sense. This tells you that extended is a verb-ed modifier here and not the verb.Now let us apply this test on the giant fungus. After cutting the flab, this is the core that we get:a giant fungus spawned by a single fertilized pore some 10,000 years agoSo lets ask, did a giant fungus do the action of spawning? The answer is no because it is clearly mentioned in the sentence that the action of spawning was done by a single fertilized pore. Hence, the litmus test confirms that spawned is a verb-ed modifier.Therefore, to maintain parallelism we need to use a form of extend that is used as a modifier. Note that extended CAN be a verb-ed modifier. However, we need to find out if this form works in this sentence as a modifier:a giant fungus extended for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest.Did a giant fungus do the job of extension? Yes, it did. It is the giant fungus that extends for more than 30 acres. This means that extended will work as simple past tense verb in this sentence and. This is the reason why extended cannot be used since a verb CANNOT be parallel to a verb-ed modifier.Lets once again quickly look at the answer choices:A. extendingB. extendsC. extendedD. it extendedE. is extendingA quick scan of these choices will tell you that all the answer choices B, C and E are verbs in different forms while Choice E is a clause. Choice A extending is the only modifier that describes one of the characteristics of a giant fungus. Hence, verb-ed modifier spawned and verb-ing modifier extending are parallel entities because they both perform the same function, although they differ structurally.This section is for those who have the grammarian like quest for knowledge. We will explain here in detail how verb-ed modifiers are derived. This knowledge is not imperative to take the GMAT, but is more for personal understanding as to why verb-ed modifiers work the way they do. So lets bring the sentence with verb-ed modifier back here:a. The training period extended last year made many interns unhappy.Now this sentence can be written as:i. The training period that was extended last year made many interns unhappy.So, we have a relative pronoun clause here that is written in simple past tense in passive voice. Per the grammar rules, verb-ed modifiers are derived by removing the relative pronoun modifier that is written in passive voice by removing the relative pronoun and the helping verb (is/are/am/was/were). Hence we derive:that was extended last year = was extended last year = extended last yearLets take another example:b. A good leader who is followed by the mass and is respected for his benevolent qualities is always remembered for several generations.So here we have two relative clauses with passive verbs is followed and is respected. Lets turn both of them into verb-ed modifiers.Who is followed by the mass = is followed by the mass = followed by the massWho is respected for his benevolent qualities = is respected for his benevolent qualities = respected for his benevolent qualitiesc. A good leader followed by the mass and respected for his benevolent qualities, is always remembered for several generationsNotice that active verbs in relative pronoun clause cannot be turned into verb-ed modifiers. Lets try this:a. A leader who guides his followers honestly earns immense respect from the mass.If we apply the rule to derive verb-ed modifier here, this is what we will get:Who guides his followers = guides his followersNotice the limitation with the sentence containing a relative pronoun in active voice and simple present tense. There is no question of getting verb-ed modifier here because originally there is no verb-ed word in this sentence.This method will not work even if we change the tense of the above sentence:a. A leader who guided his followers honestly earned immense respect from the mass.Who guided his followers = guided his followersNow lets put this verb-ed modifier phrase in the sentence:a. A leader guided his followers honestly earned immense respect from the mass.No need to say that this sentence is a fragment because here guided is the simple past tense verb and not a verb-ed modifier. earned again is a verb . So this sentence has two verbs that are not connected properly. We landed up with this disaster because we tried to make the verb-ed modifier out of the verb in active voice in the relative clause.People who are fluent in the language do not need to know the basics behind the derivation of the verb-ed modifiers because they intuitively know that sentence 1 is correct but sentence 2 is incorrect. They may not be able to pin point the reason for the same, but they can distinguish right from wrong. But people who are not that fluent in this language may get confused about the above. For example, one of the students asked me the following question about OG12#85:Can I omit that from this sentence or is that required?The answer =because if you omit it, the sentence will be a run-on sentence. But consider another version of this sentence:Now in this sentence,(obviously along with was)In essence, this information helps build your knowledge about the sentence structure, which in turn results in more solid foundation.Verb-ed modifiers are covered in detail in the concept titled Modifiers verb-ing. This concept is available in the free preview of Sentence Correction course. You will need to login at .com to access this concept.Identify whether the underlined words are verbs or verb-ed modifiers.1. Like birds today, Archaeopteryx had feathers that were fully2. Our powers of color vision are derived from cells in our eyescones, three types in all, eachby different wavelengths of light.3. As Joel Bregman, dozens of young starsup in each of the three dead galaxiesand as ansurprise, they evenin Messier 105.4. Dark matter might actually be produced at the energiesby the worlds most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).5. A leaderby sound principlesimmense respect from the masses.6. A companyon sound business principles achieves much higher success.7. The lampwith starsthe childs room with innocent beauty.Correct these sentences if you feel they are incorrect.1. The lamp decorated the childs room filled his room with innocent beauty.2. A leader guided his followers earned immense respect from the masses.(PS: For solutions, please scroll down)_________________ During the week, the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) slipped again, retreating to the 1,000-mark after Novembers rally 2016. On Wednesday, the BDI stood at 1,003 points, after a drop of 49 points day-on-day bringing it close to the similar level at early November. The slip-up has been aggravated by slowing demand for larger vessels with capesizes starting the week at $8,181 before slipping by almost 24% to $6,231 on Wednesday. Tonnage has been thin and the weather issues in North China made up a very gloomy day for big ships, commented an FIS FFA broker. Similarly, strong demand from China for iron ore also slowed, with steel mills finding spot iron ore priced above the $80 per tonne mark too high for their liking. Thus, many mills decided to wait a for price correction before restocking cargoes for the early Lunar New Year which occurrs at the end of January 2017. In fact, the slow down for freight rates has been long-expected as the winter months approached. Owners had pinned their hopes for an upturn on Chinas imports of thermal coal, as heating demand improved in the cold season. So far, their hopes have yet to translate into financial gains with the exception of smaller vessels which saw gradual gains throughout the week. With reports showing a firm Atlantic but weakening Pacific, the market pushed early on Q1 2017, said an FIS supramax FFA broker. Since the start of the week, supramax rates progressed steadily from $10,123 to $10,198 by Wednesday, while handysize rates increased from $8,177 on Monday to $8,393 by mid-week. When the weather is cold and wet, a few slip-ups are to be expected, but unfortunately they put grease on the wheels of a freight rate recovery. But perhaps we should keep the faith, after all, freight rates have come so far simply by living on a prayer and making ends meet. Though the final destination of freight market may not be a bed of roses, it will is sure to have gone out in a blaze of glory compared to the depths of the lull at the start of this year. Agency Releases White Paper on Risks of Penny Stock Investing FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2016-265 The Securities and Exchange Commission today barred several market participants from the penny stock industry for their roles in various sham initial public offerings (IPOs) of microcap stocks that defrauded investors. In one case, Newport Beach, Calif.-based securities lawyer Michael J. Muellerleile authored false and misleading registration statements used in sham IPOs for five microcap issuers in order to transfer unrestricted shares of penny stocks to offshore market participants. Muellerleiles law firm M2 Law Professional Corp. also is charged along with Lan Phuong Nguyen, an attorney who assisted Muellerleile by signing false and misleading attorney opinion letters, and Joel Felix, the CFO of one of the issuers, for making false and misleading statements. The SEC today suspended trading in that issuer, American Energy Development Corp. In another case, Nevada-based stock transfer agent Empire Stock Transfer and its supervisor of operations Matthew J. Blevins transferred large blocks of several penny stock securities without restrictions to offshore nominees despite red flags indicating the shares were likely part of an illegal operation. The SEC previously charged several offshore entities behind the illegal sales of unregistered penny stocks made possible by Empire Stock Transfer and Blevins. These enforcement actions bar any further penny stock activity by these market participants, including attorneys and a transfer agent supervisor who betrayed the trust that investors place in gatekeepers to protect them in this highly risky market, said Stephanie Avakian, Deputy Director of the SECs Enforcement Division. The SEC is committed to combating microcap fraud through the investigative work of its Microcap Fraud Task Force, the initiatives of its Microcap Fraud Working Group, and repeated warnings to investors about the red flags of penny stock investing. All of the market participants named in todays cases have agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying the SECs findings. Muellerleile agreed to pay $154,267 and Nguyen agreed to pay $13,039 while accepting penny stock bars and permanent suspensions from appearing and practicing before the SEC as attorneys, which includes representing clients in SEC matters including investigations, litigation, or examinations and advising clients about SEC filing obligations or content. Felix agreed to a penny stock bar, officer-and-director bar, and payment of $63,695. Empire Stock Transfer agreed to pay more than $154,000, and Blevins agreed to pay $20,000 and be permanently barred from the securities industry. The SECs investigations were conducted by Tracy Sivitz, Ernie A. Amparo, Douglas Smith, David Stoelting, Christopher Dunnigan, and Sandeep Satwalekar. The cases were supervised by Lara Shalov Mehraban and Anita B. Bandy. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Quebec Autorite des Marches Financiers, British Columbia Securities Commission, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, Turks and Caicos Islands Financial Services Commission, and Guernsey Financial Services Commission. The SEC also has released a white paper produced by its Division of Economic and Risk Analysis outlining some consequences of investing in stocks quoted in the microcap markets versus those listed on a national securities exchange. The white paper analyzed 1.8 million trades by more than 200,000 individual investors and determined that individual investor returns in the microcap markets tend to be negative, with returns worsening for penny stocks of less transparent companies and those that have experienced an alleged promotional campaign. Demographic analysis revealed that older, retired, low-income, and less-educated investors experience significantly poorer outcomes in microcap stock markets. The white paper also reports recent trends in the microcap markets and synthesizes academic research on the documented risks of investing in these stocks. The SECs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy recently issued a series of three bulletins to educate investors about microcap stocks and their marketplaces. The bulletins discuss the unique characteristics of microcap stocks and where theyre traded, outline resources for investors to get information about microcap companies, and note the risks and red flags for investors to keep in mind. Want to know what drones of the future will look like? So does David Lentink, editor of Interface Focus, a journal that, as its title suggests, looks at the interface of different scientific disciplines. Each issue zeroes in on a particular intersection of physical sciences and life sciences and invites the world's top scholars to publish their latest work. The latest issue of Interface Focus brings together biologists and engineers to discuss a topic that's relatively straightforward and, well, pretty empirically cool: "It's completely focused on how animals fly and how that can help us build flying robots," said Lentink, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford. Can't argue with that. The new issue features 18 newly published papers on various ways that engineers are borrowing ideas from nature to make the next generation of drones and aerial robots. Several of the papers detail prototype drones that have already been built and tested. For instance, the bio-inspired drone pictured below uses synthetic feathers that make it easier to fly and maneuver in high winds. Designed by a team of researchers at EPFL's Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, the drone can dodge obstacles, make sharp turns and move through tight spaces by dynamically altering its wingspan in flight. "We were inspired by birds," said researcher Matteo di Luca in press materials. "They can radically transform the size and shape of their wings because they have an articulated skeleton that is controlled by muscles and covered in feathers that overlap when the wings are folded." RELATED: Amazon Completes Its First Commercial Drone Delivery The drone's synthetic wings do much the same, folding and overlapping like a fan depending on conditions. This could make the drone particularly good at flying among skyscrapers in urban environments where winds change rapidly. Another prototype drone, from Imperial College London, is inspired by waterfowl who can dive from significant heights into water, grab a fish, and then fly back out again. The AquaMAV - or Morphing Aquatic Micro Air Vehicle - is also able to dive directly from the air into water at high speeds. According to the paper abstract, the real trick is getting back into the air: "After a dive, the robot uses a powerful water jet to accelerate free of the water and return to flight, allowing it to return water samples and data for analysis." Some of the most potentially groudbreaking research in the new issue is in very early stages, said Lentink, who spent more than a year assembling and editing the new issue. For instance, biologists and engineers at Aachen University in Germany are looking into how owls are able to fly in near silence when stalking prey. Ceres and Vesta, the two largest bodies in the main asteroid belt, may be contemporaries and neighbors, but the similarities stop there. Ceres, which is about as wide as Texas, is filled with frozen water and hydrated minerals, making it more like an icy moon of Jupiter or Saturn than Vesta, its dry, rocky sibling, new research shows. Scientists aren't sure why Ceres and Vesta followed such different evolutionary paths, but they expect more answers as analysis of data collected by NASA's Dawn spacecraft continues. Dawn spent 14 months visiting Vesta before firing up its ion engine and settling into orbit around Ceres in March 2015. Research published in this week's issues of Science and Nature Astronomy confirms a 30-year-old theory that Ceres is an ice-rich world. "In Ceres' crust today we think we see about 10 percent (by weight) water ice," Dawn scientist Thomas Prettyman, with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, told Seeker. RELATED: Weird Polygonal Crater Reveals Ceres' Faults But water in the crust is just the beginning of the story. Ceres is replete with minerals and clays that can only form in the presence of water. Extrapolating from measurements made by Dawn, Prettyman estimates that the dwarf planet as a whole is 30 percent water. Vesta had a different history, one that did not involve much water. "What happened to Vesta is that it completely melted," Prettyman said. Once its radioactive elements decayed, Vesta, made mostly of silicates, cooled and formed a basaltic crust, a mantle and an iron-rich core. "This would have had to happen close to the sun, where you couldn't condense volatiles like water because it was too hot," Prettyman added. Perhaps because Ceres was bigger than Vesta, or positioned farther from the sun, but it was able to accrete water into its body, setting the stage for a cascade of chemical alterations. Some models show that the separation of water and rock caused Ceres to form a frozen shell over a briny liquid layer that may still exist today. RELATED: Ceres' Mysterious Bright Spots Change Unexpectedly "The Dawn mission is trying to look back in time to the very earliest stage of the solar system," deputy principal investigator Carol Raymond, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., told reporters at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. Of particular interest, she added, is if Ceres' water and rock interacted in such a way that the dwarf planet became chemically suited for life. In related research, another team of scientists reported that Ceres is filled with cold, dark craters, several of which contain ice. Similar features have been found on the poles of Mercury and the moon. "Subsurface ice is ubiquitous on Ceres. Exposed ice is rare," said astronomer Norbert Schorghofer, with the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Image: Representation of Ceres' Occator Crater in false colors shows differences in the surface composition. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA WATCH VIDEO: What Is The Deep Space Network & How Does It Work? Press Release December 15, 2016 Legarda: All Filipinos Covered by PhilHealth in 2017 Nat'l Budget Senator Loren Legarda today said that the 2017 national budget will provide healthcare assistance to all Filipinos. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that additional P3 billion was allocated to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to ensure coverage for all Filipinos. "The Department of Health (DOH) said there are some eight million Filipinos still not covered by PhilHealth. It is our duty, in serving the public, to extend basic healthcare protection to all our people. That is why we pushed for the augmentation of the PhilHealth's budget so that in 2017 we achieve universal healthcare coverage," said Legarda. The Senator explained that universal healthcare coverage means that any non-member of PhilHealth will automatically be made a member upon availment of healthcare service in a public hospital. Moreover, indigent patients will not pay for anything in government hospitals under the No Balance Billing (NBB) as mandated under the Amended National Health Insurance Act (Republic Act 10606), which Legarda principally authored. Apart from the Philhealth subsidy, the 2017 national budget will also allocate a total of P96.336 billion for DOH, which includes funds for the construction of additional health facilities and drug rehabilitation centers. The amount is also inclusive of the P800 million funding for the Doctors to the Barrio program, which aims to provide equitable healthcare services to all areas of the country through the deployment of competent and dedicated physicians to serve the doctorless municipalities. "The health of our people deserves to be on top of the priorities of government. What is crucial now is to make these healthcare benefits known by the poorest households who are the intended beneficiaries," Legarda concluded. The proposed 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) worth P3.350 trillion has been approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives and is expected to be signed by the President before Christmas. Press Release December 16, 2016 Legarda: Free Tuition For All in SUCs Under 2017 Nat'l Budget Senator Loren Legarda today said that all students who will enroll in any state university and college (SUC) in the country, including the University of the Philippines (UP), will no longer pay for tuition fee starting next school year as it will now be funded under the 2017 national budget. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that this is the purpose of the additional P8 billion allocation under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). "One of the long-standing concerns of poor families is bringing their children to college because after finishing high school in public schools, most of them have no means to pay for tuition fee in SUCs. The 2017 national budget addresses this concern," she said. The Senator explained that while the budget only covers tuition fee, indigent students may still avail of grants and aid for miscellaneous fees under various programs. College students belonging to family-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are covered by the Expanded Students' Grants in Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation (ESGP-PA). Those who are not part of the 4Ps can avail of financial assistance for educational purposes under the Student Financial Assistance Programs (StuFAPs) both under CHED and SUCs. Under the proposed 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA), there is P5.753 billion funding for StuFAP. "Alleviating our people from poverty entails providing support for education until college so that they have more job opportunities and they are employed as professionals. Now that Congress has provided the funding, we urge the CHED and SUCs to ensure that these funds will go to the intended beneficiaries," Legarda concluded. The proposed 2017 GAA worth P3.350 trillion has been approved by both the Senate and House of Representatives and is expected to be signed by the President before Christmas. Heavy rain on Thursday threatened to send the Russian River overflowing its banks and create minor flooding in low-lying areas. On Thursday afternoon, the river is expected to rise at the Hopland monitoring station to 20.8 feet from just 2 feet on Wednesday reaching two inches below flood stage. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the largest utility in a state with Americas greatest concentration of electric cars, will spend $130 million to install 7,500 charging ports for plug-in vehicles across its territory under a program California regulators approved Thursday. Some of the charging stations will be located at workplaces, others in multiunit apartment buildings. At least 15 percent will be installed in economically disadvantaged communities, part of a concerted push by California officials to make electric cars more accessible and affordable to lower-income families. The PG&E program won unanimous approval Thursday from the California Public Utilities Commission. The savings that people can harness from using this type of vehicle, as opposed to a gasoline-powered vehicle, its a very real per-month savings, said Commissioner Catherine Sandoval, shortly before the vote. Having the infrastructure available so people can make those choices is critical. PG&E will be allowed to own up to 35 percent of the charging stations, while the rest will be owned by building owners or third parties. The owner of each charging station location whether its a residential building or an office will have the choice of paying for the electricity as a perk for workers or tenants or making drivers who use the stations pay as they go. PG&E also will own the wiring and other infrastructure that supports each charging station installed under the program, regardless of who owns the station itself. The utility will spread the programs cost across all of its more than 5 million customers, most of whom do not own plug-in cars. The program is expected to add less than 22 cents to a typical PG&E customers monthly bill. We look forward to partnering with charging service providers to increase access to EVs to drivers and communities that havent previously had the option, said company spokeswoman Ari Vanrenen said in an email. This critical infrastructure will jump-start the EV market with greater access to safe, reliable, affordable and clean electricity. The program is the countrys biggest utility-backed deployment of electric vehicle chargers to date. And yet, PG&E initially wanted it to be far larger, asking the commission to let the company spend $654 million to install 25,000 charging ports across its territory. California Gov. Jerry Brown, who sees electric cars as a potent weapon against climate change, has set a goal of having 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on the states roads by 2025. To reach that target, PG&E estimates that it will need roughly 100,000 public chargers in its service territory, which covers most of Central and Northern California. Consumer advocates, however, balked at the programs size and questioned its basic fairness. About 100,000 PG&E customers drive electric cars or plug-in hybrids, according to the company. Thats more than any other utility, but it represents a small fraction of PG&E customers. PG&E should not be spending ratepayers hard-earned dollars to finance a risky business experiment that wont improve anything for most consumers, said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network consumer group, in an email. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes The programs final version represents a delicate balancing act by the commission, which wanted to minimize costs and encourage competition among the companies that install charging stations. In one major compromise, the final version excludes funding for expensive fast-charging stations that can replenish an electric cars battery in 20 to 30 minutes, compared with four to six hours for a lower-cost, standard charger. The program is designed specifically for lower-income communities, where electric vehicles remain scarce. Even the most modest plug-ins still cost more than comparably sized cars that burn gasoline. But California has launched several experimental efforts to make electric cars and advanced hybrids more accessible to families with limited incomes. One such effort gives qualifying families in the Central Valley vouchers worth up to $9,500 when they trade in older, polluting cars for a new or used electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid. And since electric vehicles tend to lose their value quickly, as newer models improve on battery range and performance, such incentives might finally make electrics affordable to a wider range of families, said Joel Espino, legal counsel with the Greenlining Institute, a racial justice group. I think were going to see a huge jump in EV adoption in low-income communities and communities of color, said Espino, whose group backed the new PG&E charging program. David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF Yahoos humiliatingly huge data breaches could be used as leverage for Verizon, which plans to buy the online giants Web properties, to get a significant discount on its planned $4.8 billion purchase, industry observers said Thursday. Yahoo stock plunged 6 percent, closing at $38.41 per share on Thursday, a day after the company revealed that an unauthorized third party stole information from more than 1 billion user accounts in August 2013. That incident was separate from one that Yahoo had disclosed in September involving a breach of at least 500 million accounts in 2014. Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Verizon threatened to take the matter to court if it did not win concessions on the deals price. The story is like the horror movie where you think its over, and suddenly the zombie comes out again, said Venky Ganesan, a managing director at Menlo Ventures. Its never ending. Ganesan said Verizon has a lot of leverage in renegotiating the deal because Yahoos reputation will be hurt by the data breach reportedly the largest ever from a single source and the company has already had trouble keeping employees. Verizon may be able to snap up Yahoo for as little as half of the original negotiated price, Ganesan said. His firm invested in Flurry, a mobile analytics firm that was purchased by Yahoo in 2014. If Verizon doesnt make the transaction happen, (Yahoo) is going to fall apart, Ganesan said. Several analysts believe that Verizon will still buy Yahoo. At the time the deal was announced, analysts said the purchase would help diversify the telecom giants business and increase its stake in digital advertising. Verizon on Wednesday said that it is still evaluating the situation, and Yahoo said it is moving forward toward integrating with Verizon. In October, Verizons attorney said he believed Yahoos 2014 data breach could be considered material. That designation, which generally means a fact significant enough for investors to take into consideration when evaluating a company, could be used by Verizon to pull out of the deal entirely, analysts said. If Verizon were to cite the recent data breaches as material events and back out of the deal, it could set a new legal precedent, said Ed McAndrew, a data security lawyer at the law firm of Ballard Spahr and a former federal prosecutor who dealt with cyber crimes. McAndrew said he doesnt know of any other cases involving a canceled acquisition that cited a data breach as the material event. Verizons decision-making may go a long way to helping define materiality, but they are in a bit of uncharted territory, McAndrew said. Yahoo said Wednesday it has not been able to identify the intrusion associated with the 2013 breach. Already, one Yahoo user, Amy Vail of New York, has filed a lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, is asking for at least $5 million in damages. Yahoo declined to comment on pending litigation. If the purchase price is renegotiated, factors will include the cost of ensuring that Yahoos systems are secure and the potential expense of lawsuits, as well as the damage to Yahoos brand whether consumers will stick with the company or leave to use a competitors service they believe to be more secure. Lee Cirsch, an attorney representing Vail, said his client is sticking with using Yahoo for now. Shes used Yahoo for more than 10 years. He declined to say what Vail does for a living. While she probably would want to switch, shes been using it for so long and has so many emails archived (that) to now go use another account all the contacts that shes made would have to be notified, Cirsch said. It puts her in a difficult spot. Ganesan, the venture capitalist, said he made his Yahoo account dormant around September, after he learned of the 2014 breach. Ganesan also had been using Yahoo Mail for about a decade. He has since made Googles Gmail his primary personal email account, and he expects to see other Yahoo users making a switch. I lost faith that they care about the users, Ganesan said. Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee Rafe Swan/Getty Image A man and a woman were nabbed Thursday on suspicion of being serial burglars who targeted eight elementary schools throughout the North Bay including one their children go to, officials said. Reports of the thefts began the first week of November from various schools in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and elsewhere in Sonoma County, Santa Rosa Police Department officials said. CHARLESTON, S.C. Dylann Roof was convicted Thursday in the chilling slaughter of nine black church members who had welcomed him to their Bible study, a devastating crime in a country that was already deeply embroiled in racial tension. The same federal jury that found Roof guilty of all 33 counts will reconvene next month to hear more testimony and weigh whether to sentence him to death. As the verdict was read, Roof just stared ahead, much as he did the entire trial. Family members of victims held hands and squeezed one anothers arms. One woman nodded her head every time the clerk said guilty. Roof, 22, told FBI agents he wanted to bring back segregation or perhaps start a race war with the slayings. Instead, the single biggest change to emerge from the June 17, 2015, killings was the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse, where it had flown for 50 years over the Capitol or on the grounds. Roof appeared with the flag in several photos in a racist manifesto. The shooting happened just months after Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, was killed by white police officer Michael Slager when he fled a traffic stop in North Charleston. While that slaying didnt set off the violent protests seen around the country around that time, it deepened the wounds. And just last week, a mistrial was declared in Slagers murder trial. In Roofs confession to the FBI, the gunman said he carried out the killings after researching black on white crime on the Internet. He said he chose a church because that setting posed little danger to him. Roof told the judge again Thursday that he wanted to act as his own attorney during the penalty phase. He will also face a death penalty trial in state court on nine murder charges. In closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Williams mocked Roof for calling himself brave in his hate-filled journal and during his confession, saying the real bravery came from the victims who tried to stop him as he fired 77 bullets at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church. Defense lawyer David Bruck conceded Roof committed the slayings, but he asked jurors to look into his head and see what caused him to become so full of hatred, calling him a suicidal loner who never grasped the gravity of what he did. The defense put up no witnesses during the seven-day trial. Ron Chapple/Getty Images San Francisco police are investigating two kidnapping reports in the last two days one involving a 71-year-old woman being held by her ride-hailing driver, and the other involving a car-jacking and ATM withdrawal demand. In the first case, reported Tuesday night, a young man and woman told police that they were waiting in a car for their friend to use an ATM when a man got into their vehicle and threatened them, demanding they drive six blocks down 19th Avenue, according to Officer Carlos Manfredi, a police spokesman. Milk is a gateway drink: It is the first food we ingest as children, and as adults it is commonly part of the first alcoholic drinks we enjoy. Mudslides, White Russians and Brandy Alexanders are training wheels for future cocktail consumption. The use of dairy in drink isnt simply limited to sweet, creamy drinks, though. The colder winter season demands cocktails with a little more heft, and dairy drinks like egg nogs and milk punches fill the need, without the potency of stirred drinks. Especially during the holidays, Bay Area bartenders are enhancing their tipples with the different components and varieties of milk. Right off the top of my head there are at least a dozen drinks that call for some combination of milk with almost all of the old world spirits, like Scotch whisky, French brandy, Sherry, Madeira, rum and gin, says Craig Lane of Bar Agricole, who is currently offering a brandy milk punch. At its simplest, the addition of cream or milk to a drink will smooth out the edges of the liquor, while imparting a silky texture when shaken or mixed. These qualities are what made milkshakes drinks with milk, sugar and liquor so popular during Prohibition, when sugar and dairy would mask the flaws of poorly made liquor. But these concoctions also unfairly pigeonholed milk cocktails as dessert drinks. Most drinks that call for dairy only become cloying when the balancing ratios of spirits, liqueurs and sugar are out of whack, says Lane. As a basic ingredient, milk is unrivaled in its uses to make hundreds of varieties of cheese, or yogurt, butter, buttermilk, kefir and so on. Each preparation can be used to achieve different effects in drinks. Nearly every Bay Area cocktail bar has some version of a dairy drink at this time of year. At Aina, a Hawaiian restaurant in the Dogpatch neighborhood, bar manager Jason Alonzo makes a Coconut Milk Punch (see recipe) that uses a combination of whole milk and dairy-free coconut milk to get the cocktail weight just right. Penrose in Oakland offers a Baltimore Eggnog, made with light cream, milk, egg, sugar Madeira, rum and brandy. Lolos Perfect Stranger includes Fords gin, Lo-Fi dry vermouth, oloroso Sherry, jalapeno brine, celery bitters and surprise! clarified goats milk. Polk Streets 1760 has an adult version of an Orange Julius (orange, cream, cinnamon, vodka), while Civic Centers new Indian restaurant August 1 Five is doing a boozy lassi (turmeric, dark rum, passion fruit and kefir). The list goes on. But incorporating dairy into a cocktail isnt as simple as adding cream to your favorite drink. You have to be very careful with citrus, says Suzanne Miller, beverage director at Novela. It will curdle. Miller, who currently has an eggnog, hot buttered rum and clarified milk punch on her menu, points to the classic Ramos Gin Fizz as a cocktail that manages to harmoniously incorporate both milk and citrus. However, the curdling effect actually becomes desirable when clarifying milk for punches. Once curdled, the solids are strained out and the drink becomes clear but with a milk flavor. According to author and cocktail historian David Wonderich, this breakthrough happened in the late 1600s. As Wonderich writes in his book Imbibe, the process allowed dairy to be used with improved stability, since it could be kept indefinitely. The clarified milk punch, while time consuming, contributes dairy flavor, without the heft. Like a chef using egg whites to clarify a rich beef stock into a perfectly clear, rich and robust consomme, clarifying milk removes the heavy mouthfeel and it also allows the clarification to be paired with higher acidic cocktails, says Arnold Wong of the Treasury in downtown San Francisco. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle Just like choosing different sorts of whiskey bourbon, Scotch, rye, etc. can transform a cocktail, incorporating different animals milks can offer more flavors and textures. Nathan Maxwell Cann, bar manager at Nomica, uses both goats and sheeps milks, and finds that both offer more flavor, with goats milk being pungent and musky, adding more depth to a drink. Meanwhile, sheeps milk is grassier and sweeter. Sheeps milk is much higher in proteins and fat, and I have always had difficulty in getting it to clarify as well as its other cloven-hoof cousins, says Cann. Goat milk creates the best clarification and flavor profile. When Penrose opened for brunch, bar manager Matthew Harrison, who cant drink dairy, set out to create a vegan version of the Irish Coffee with coconut cream in place of the whipped cream. It didnt quite work. I could not make it happen, says Harrison. It doesn't have the same oil content, and the feel of cream of coconut dissipates quicker. Just more proof that dairy is an invaluable component of the cocktail bar. Or, as Bar Agricoles Craig Lane aptly puts it: Milk is actually a pretty versatile ingredient. Lou Bustamante is a Bay Area freelance writer. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thevillagedrunk The science of milk To help understand the components and processes behind all the milk products, we reached out to David W. Everett, professor of dairy science at the Dairy Innovation Institute at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The easiest way to think about milk is as a suspension of proteins (about 3 percent), with much of those being caseins. What makes up the rest is: water (about 87.5 percent), butterfat (where most of the flavor comes from), sugar in the form of lactose, whey protein and various minerals and vitamins. There are two common ways to coagulate the caseins: by using a rennet enzyme, or by acidifying the milk by natural methods (cultures) or acids like citrus or vinegar. (Surprisingly, a third method to curdle milk is with a high concentration of alcohol above 40 percent where long strands of curd sink to the bottom.) Milk usually has a pH of about 6.7, making it slightly acidic. But when its lowered to 4.6 by acidification, the proteins curdle. The curds, made primarily of caseins and fat, separate and leave the water-soluble components that make up whey. The leftover whey from this curdling process is called acid whey and maintains it acidic pH. Whey left over from the rennet process is called sweet whey and has a pH of around 6.2, making it much milder in flavor. WASHINGTON The Obama administration suggested Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally authorized the hacking of Democratic officials email accounts in the run-up to the presidential election and said it was fact that such actions helped Donald Trumps campaign. The White House also assailed Trump himself, saying he must have known of Russias interference. No proof was offered for any of the accusations, the latest to unsettle Americas uneasy transition from eight years under Democratic President Obama to a new Republican administration led by Trump. The claims of Russian meddling in the election also have heightened already debilitating tensions between Washington and Moscow over Syria, Ukraine and a host of other disagreements. Only Russias senior-most officials could have authorized these activities, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, repeating the words from an October U.S. intelligence assessment. Obamas deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, connected the dots further, saying it was Putin who was responsible for the Russian governments actions. I dont think things happen in the Russian government of this consequence without Vladimir Putin knowing about it, Rhodes said on MSNBC. The explosive accusation paints Putin, the leader of perhaps the nations greatest geopolitical foe, as having directly undermined U.S. democracy. U.S. officials have not contended, however, that Trump would have been defeated by Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 if not for Russias assistance. Nor has there has been any indication of tampering with the vote counting. The Kremlin flatly rejected the claim of Putins involvement, with Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing it Thursday as laughable nonsense. The dispute over Russias role is fueling an increasingly public spat between Obamas White House and Trumps team that is threatening to spoil the delicate truce that Obama and Trump have forged since election day. Although the president and president-elect have avoided criticizing each other publicly since Trumps win, their aides have been more openly antagonistic. Kellyanne Conway, Trumps senior transition adviser, said it was breathtaking and irresponsible that the White House had suggested Trump knew Russia was interfering to help his campaign. That led Obama spokesman Josh Earnest on Thursday to unload, arguing that Trump, who has dismissed the CIAs assessment of Russian interference, should spend less time attacking the intelligence community and more time supporting the investigation that Obama has ordered. Earnest said it was obvious Trump knew what Russia was doing during the campaign, pointing out that Trump had encouraged Moscow during a news conference to find Clintons missing emails. Trump has said he was joking. This agreement created the worlds most important diplomatic and economic relationship of the past 100 years. The Chronicles front page from Dec. 16, 1978, covers the U.S. and China agreeing to recognize each other, paving the way for a mutually beneficial accord. President Carter announced last night that the United States and the Peoples Republic of China will establish diplomatic relations on Jan. 1 and that Teng Hsiao-ping (Deng Xiaoping), the powerful deputy premier of China, will visit this country later that month, the story read. It will be the first such visit by a high-level Chinese official since the Communists took power on the mainland in 1949. Today, the U.S. and China and the worlds first- and second-largest economies in the world, respectively. The countries disagree on many major issues, but they agree that ensuring a strong bond is undeniably important. In 1978, however, the Republican right made it clear that they believed forging this relationship was an awful idea. While conservatives protested, political leaders from Gerald Ford to Edward Kennedy endorsed President Carters decision to extend U.S. diplomatic recognition to Peking (Beijing) and break with Taiwan, a second story on the page read. Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., keynoted the bitter response from the right last night by accusing Carter of a cowardly act and threatening to challenge him in court. Common sense would defeat the backlash. Top O the Top of the News: An inexplicable glow was detected on the dark side of Venus as the Pioneer exploration project climaxed. Page 4. I think we can all relate to an inexplicable glow after climax. See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspapers history. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. Chronicle Covers highlighting one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Alexandra Irving and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke (Click to enlarge) Aleppo was an ancient metropolis, a testament to the riches of previous civilizations. Now thanks to the brutal Syrian president, Bashar Assad, working with his allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Aleppo has been devastated beyond comprehension. Opposition forces in Syrias five-year civil war had sought to make Aleppo their de facto capital. As such, the city once Syrias commercial center had been under siege by different armies for years, with hundreds of thousands of increasingly desperate civilians caught in the crossfire. Last month, Syrian government forces, backed by Iran and Russia, launched an all-out offensive for the city. As the government forces closed in this week, they began what the U.N. has described as mass killings of civilians and rebel forces alike. As reports of indiscriminate slaughter trickled out, shocking the world, Turkey and Russia scrambled to broker an evacuation deal for Aleppos besieged people. On Thursday, buses and ambulances rolled out of the last rebel-held districts of the city. Some 30,000 civilians need to be evacuated; many of them are in great distress. Medicine, food and water has been in short supply in Aleppo for weeks. The final body count the U.N. said there were bodies piled up in the streets may be a long time coming, and it will be ugly. There are no winners in the Aleppo battle. Assad is rejoicing now, but he is destroying his own countrys institutions, history and population in what may prove a Pyrrhic victory. Its difficult to maintain control over a once-grand country after youve terrorized the population and decimated its society and economy. Iran and Russia will have to deal with blowback from those who are opposed to Assad Turkey, the U.S. and in some cases the members of their own populations. Finally, the international community must cope with the reality that none of our leaders were brave enough to prevent such a horrific event. All parties involved in the Syrian war must commit to allowing safe evacuations and medical care for the civilians of Aleppo as well as those in other besieged areas. The alternative is a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions. A titantic clash between climate scientists and climate deniers is shaping up in Washington as President-elect Donald Trump nominates oil industry supporters to head key federal agencies. Yet resistance already is forming among elected leaders, federal bureaucrats and private citizens. Trump may find reversing climate change policies more difficult than he thinks. And we must make sure that is the case. After eight years in the wilderness, the oil and gas industry is finding renewed power and political influence in Washington where a man who has called climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese will be sworn in as president in five weeks. Trump has named an oil industry executive to represent U.S. interests before the world. He has named as energy secretary Rick Perry, a former oil-state governor who as a presidential candidate vowed to abolish the agency he now will lead. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate The leaders of two of the most powerful governmental institutions in San Francisco are at odds over how to deal with one of the citys most enduring problems, demonstrating how little agreement there is when it comes to tackling homelessness. Mayor Ed Lee has condemned San Francisco Superior Courts recall of 64,713 outstanding arrest warrants for quality-of-life offenses dating back more than five years. Lee said he is emotionally angry about the decision and refuses to accept it. Presiding Judge John Stewart says it is a waste of resources to keep track of warrants that are rarely enforced and fines that are almost never paid. No one is taking these warrants seriously and for good reason, Stewart said, adding that Lee cant do anything to reverse the courts action. The disagreement heightens an already rocky relationship between Lee and San Francisco judges. And it demonstrates the lack of coordination among city officials, the courts and law enforcement, each of which plays a critical role in dealing with the homelessness crisis. On Oct. 18, Superior Court Judge Christopher Hite issued a court order suspending the fines and recalling the outstanding arrest warrants for quality-of-life citations, which can be given for everything from sitting on public sidewalks to urinating in public to building illegal encampments. Court spokeswoman Ann Donlan said Hites order was a collective decision by the court, which saw it as being in line with the courts decision in October 2015 to not issue warrants for people with unpaid traffic tickets. Since then, Stewart said, he has tried to meet with the mayor to explain the decision, but was told that Lee didnt have time to meet until January when the court will have a new presiding judge. In the meantime, both sides are making their case publicly in largely moral terms. Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle Lee said this week that he cannot have judges who overlook citations simply because they may hurt poor people. What is the benefit of that except to put the entire burden and responsibility on the city to figure it out? he asked. Lee also said the city needs to use tougher love to make people accept services and help. He said that its clear that someone who, say, gets 10 citations for urinating on the same street has some kind of illness and that enforcing citations can be used to get that person into the citys Community Justice Center. The center is overseen by the Superior Court and allows low-level crimes to be wiped from someones record if he or she accepts services, such as entering into a drug treatment program. My theory is youre going to have multiple citations for certain individuals. Theyre going to be the ones that you know are in very deep challenges with their health, Lee said. He added that he is working to expand the number of beds for the mentally ill at San Francisco General Hospital and that people who pile up stacks of quality-of-life citations may be good candidates for those beds. Citations should be used to compel them to accept treatment, the mayor said. But Stewart said arresting people who failed to pay the citations penalized the poor and mentally ill instead of helping them. The problem, he said, is most people dont appear in court the judges and court staff estimate around 10 to 20 percent show up. Before Hites order, the court issued a bench warrant for those people who didnt pay or show up to court. The police could act on those warrants and take the person to jail. We are not going to put people in jail for failing to pay a fine, Stewart said. In fact, that rarely happened, said San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy. A report by the citys budget and legislative analyst released in June found that just 2 percent of quality-of-life citations in 2015 resulted in arrest. And unless a judge made a special note to detain the person, the sheriffs deputies usually gave the individual another citation, released the person and told him or her to return to court in two weeks or a month, Hennessy said. You dont want to have people in jail just because they couldnt pay a fine. Hennessy said. She said its becoming increasingly clear to her that getting people services before they even get a citation, before they are criminalized in any way, shape or form, is where the investments need to be. Still, Hennessy said she was surprised by the courts decision to recall the warrants. It would have been nice to have a discussion just so we are all on the same page. And while Hites order suspended the fines and fees for people who received quality-of-life citations between Jan. 1, 2011, and Oct. 30, 2015, anybody who received a citation after that date or who receives one anytime in the future still is fined around $200. If they fail to appear in court, the court tacks on a $300 late fee. If they never pay it, a collections agency could get involved to track down the debtor. Interim Police Chief Toney Chaplin said arrests should remain an option. Writing the ticket is an incredibly time-consuming thing for the officers on the streets, Chaplin said. We dont do it with the thought that its going to be a revolving door. We do it with the thought that at the end there is going to be some type of consequence or solution. San Francisco supervisors are also taking sides. Taking potshots at the judicial branch is a slippery slope, said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, a frequent critic of the mayor. Its easy to point fingers at the court, but fundamentally why are we issuing citations to people who cant pay them when we could be spending the same amount of financial resources on mental health care and housing the poorest of the poor. Supervisor Mark Farrell, a leader of the boards moderate bloc, said he agrees with Lee. There has to be consequences to breaking the law, and if our courts are dismissing these warrants, individuals on our streets have little incentive to abide by the law and listen to our police officers, he said. This is not the first disagreement between Lee and San Francisco judges. In May, Lee blamed them for the rising rate of property crime. He said judges ought to be held accountable if they dont give tough enough sentences to people repeatedly charged with car break-ins and other property crimes. Stewart retorted that many low-level property crimes are committed by people with drug addiction and mental health problems who should be in special programs not jail and that it was not the moment for one branch of government to blame the other. Stewart reiterated that sentiment this week. We are saying, lets work together, he said. Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate An odd zeitgeist enveloped the red carpet at the recent Breakthrough Prize gala honoring scientists at NASAs Ames Research Center in Mountain View. This Oscar-style awards event hosted by physicist-turned-billionaire VC Yuri Milner (along with his prize co-founders and funders Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Dr. Priscilla Chan, Lucy and Larry Page, and Anne Wojcicki) celebrated science to the tune of $25 million in prizes for transformative research in mathematics, life sciences and physics. Sure, it was your standard black-tie affair: Actor Morgan Freeman eloquently emceed; Alicia Keys sang a new song; and chef Thomas Keller served up a Michelin-star menu. Yet as roped-off reporters questioned the effects of social medias fake news phenomenon upon presidential election results or potential science funding cuts amid the incoming Republican-era rule, no attending Silicon Valley innovators (some of whom previously proclaimed #ImWithHer) allowed themselves to utter the name Trump. It was as if theyd received a memo for the tightly scripted show to refer to all things political as the new administration. Milner was willing to dip at least one toe into the fake news quandary. We will all benefit, collectively, from applying scientific methods to everything. Those methods involve rigorous fact-checking and intellectual honesty, Milner said. The more we spread those values, the better off we will be. Our public outreach today is about spreading scientific methodology to, really, pretty much every other human endeavor. But good ol Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom chimed in, citing the Republican Congress as already incalcitrant to federal funding for R&D and the National Institutes of Health. Now youve got a Republican president to quantify that, he explained. That funding is a point of real concern as it relates to the fate and future of not only the state but, arguably, the globe. Newsom participated with Milner, Brin and Wojcicki in early prize talks. The vision theyve built is remarkable, he continued. They had the intention of making celebrities out of people who are, frankly, obscure to the general public. Perhaps, one day, US Weekly will feature scientists on their cover instead of reality-TV stars. Irish eyes: A sea of kelly green filled the Four Seasons ballroom at the recent American Ireland Fund Womens Lunch honoring Lee Woodruff. But first this journalist-author-philanthropist had to prove her cred to the sold-out crowd of Ould Sod supporters since, she admitted, some Irish dont think of her as such her family originally hailed from Northern Ireland, where folks often changed Mac to McC. My maiden name is McConaughy. In Ireland, they tell me Im Scottish. In Scotland, they say Im Irish, she said, with a laugh. But we always identify as, and say, were Irish. Whether you see me as Orange Irish or Green Irish, Im one of you today. Organized by lunch co-chairs Jeannie Sangiacomo and Suzi Tinsley, this event celebrates accomplished Irish women the world over while raising funds for the groups education, culture, development and peace programs in Ireland and Northern Ireland. AIF West Coast Director-VP Marjorie Muldowney paid tribute to the thousands of Irish women who, beginning in the 1850s, emigrated to San Francisco, where they ran hospitals and provided their children with educational opportunities that propelled some into City Hall leaders. We commemorate their grit and grace, she toasted. And look back on the sacrifices they made while enduring deprivation, loneliness, prejudice and l hardship. Home run: A special treat was in store at the holiday party hosted by the San Francisco Giants Community Fund: Supporters made merry at AT&T Park inside the Players Clubhouse, which is a tricked-out wood-paneled locker room. Guests gamely posed for photos in front of ace pitcher (and sometime super slugger) Madison Bumgarners locker, which was decked out in snowflakes and tinsel. Now in its 25th year, the fund, led by executive director Sue Petersen, has raised and donated more than $24 million to community health, education and violence-prevention programs and the Junior Giants. Breakfast of champions: For 10 years running, this night owl has managed to arise before sunrise to attend the Tipping Point Community Awards Breakfast. Still weve yet to convince Tipping Point founder-CEO Daniel Lurie that lunch is a better concept than his 7:45 a.m. (sharp) breakfast conclave. But for the 700 local tech, business, culture and philanthropy heavy-hitters who also attend, the timing is terrific. This year Lurie & Co. welcomed 45 TP grantee leaders as they lauded the work of LifeMoves CEO Bruce Ives and client Marquise Murphy; Mission Asset Fund CEO Jose Quinonez; Beyond 12 founder-CEO Alexandra Bernadott e and Rubicon Programs Adrienne Kimball as TPs Community Hero. Lurie also referenced the anxiety and fault lines stemming from the election.For 11 years, weve worked to erase the lines that exist within our community, to break down perceived divisions that separate us, he said. Despite our differences, we connect, he continued. Whether its opening that college acceptance letter, holding keys to your first apartment or the power of being given a shot. When we see each other as people first, those dividing lines begin to fade. Ever the optimist, Lurie sees post-election opportunity if, in the new year, the charitable tax break is reduced or the corporate tax rate drops to a jaw-dropping 15 percent. Our board encourages you to think about that as the year comes to a close, he announced, to knowing laughter. We say it every year but its always true: There is more work to be done in our communities. And theres no better group that I love to stand shoulder to shoulder with than the people in this room. Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Adalberto Roque / AFP / Getty Images Cuban authorities have given two more American mainstream cruise companies Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings approval to sail to Havana. Three things to know if youre planning to book a cruise to Cuba : None of these new offerings departs until March, and even then, only a handful of cruises have been planned. By the time you read this, The OA will be available for streaming on Netflix. Reviews were not allowed until the complete miniseries was available on Friday, Dec. 16. Critics were required to sign an embargo agreement in order to gain access to the eight episodes. Even the release date was top secret until earlier this week, when Netflix released a trailer, which set off a flurry of social media chatter. There are times, as you wade through the binge-defying series, when youll think the whole thing is just a big public relations ploy, that there is no there there, or if there is one, its overcooked, pretentious hooey, with gobs of unintended humor traipsing around in the guise of faux-metaphysical import. But the ending will cause you to reassess much if not all of the skepticism you will undoubtedly experience watching the miniseries, created by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Make no mistake: You still have your work cut out for you this isnt Kevin Can Wait. The OA is so complicated and such a whirl of seemingly conflicting information, youd think it was storyboarded by M.C. Escher. Marling plays a woman named Prairie Johnson, who was born in Russia but adopted and raised in the U.S. by Abel and Nancy Johnson (Scott Wilson and Alice Krige). Prairie went blind at some point in her childhood in Russia. As a young woman, she disappears and then reappears seven years later. What happened to her when she was gone? She and several other people from different backgrounds were kept in a kind of underground terrarium to be observed and studied by a scientist played by Jason Isaacs. After she returns home, she gathers an odd group of people together for nightly storytelling sessions in an empty house, abandoned in the midst of construction. The group includes three high school kids; an oversexed, troubled bully named Steve Winchell (Patrick Gibson); a transgender boy named Buck Vu (Ian Alexander); a bookish, high-strung overachiever named French (Brandon Perea); and a nervous, introverted teacher nicknamed BBA (Phyllis Smith). Every night, Prairie tells more of her story, and we are taken back to the seven years she was held captive in a glass cage in an old mine shaft. At first, there are four captives. The addition of a fifth captive seems to offer an option for escape. JoJo Whilden/Netflix What was the purpose of her captivity? How does her childhood in Russia connect with her life in the U.S. before and after her captivity? Is the Isaacs character a legitimate scientist or some kind of maniac? What is Prairies connection to the other people in separate rooms in the glass-walled prison? Why is it necessary for Prairie to tell chapters of her story to four people, and only four people, every night? Why is she telling them the story anyway? Is this just a way of narrating a flashback? Most of all, what is the OA, what does it mean? Those are just some of the larger questions you will ask yourself. In between, there will be countless others, including the necessity for characters to perform a series of body movements in a precise order. It looks ludicrous at first and bears a resemblance to the hokey pokey if it were re-envisioned by Lucinda Childs. Yet when the ritualized movements are executed in the final scenes of the show, you may well be moved to tears. The series is loaded with what appear to be red herrings, odd character traits, strange references and heaven knows, nonlinear storytelling that may occasionally drive you nuts. But you keep watching. Like the group of listeners in the abandoned house, you cannot look away, no matter how momentarily preposterous the tale may seem. The finale grounds much of what youve seen with retroactively imposed reason, but you are left with only a partial sense of satisfaction, for lack of a better word, by the end of the eighth episode. It is an intentionally unsettling denouement, which is in keeping with the tone and purpose of the entire miniseries. Marling and Batmanglij (who directs) have not created perfection. Many viewers will give up on The OA after a single episode I was tempted to do that on multiple occasions. I had to resist the urge to hurl a nearby shoe at the computer screen. Others who make it through to the end may still hate it for its perceived pretentiousness and rue that they cant get those eight hours of their lives back. If you do end up getting it, youll still be left with unanswered questions. And those questions will lead you to a consideration of mortality, life after death, the interconnectedness of life and the possible relationship of the physical and metaphysical planes. You wont find the answers, of course, but you wont be able to un-ask yourselves the questions. The OA is one of the most significant shows of the year simply because Marling and Batmanglij barrel through so many boundaries, stretch their combined imaginations so far and challenge the shopworn precepts of what is supposed to make an acceptable television series. David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of The Do List every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV The OA: Dramatic series. Eight-episode season available for streaming on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 16. After spending the past few days worrying about a looming visit by city inspectors, the artists at the Cyclecide Swearhouse in San Franciscos Bayview neighborhood said the Thursday morning inspection went as well as it could. Theres a little bit of reprieve here, but we dont know for how long, said John Law, a tenant of the building. Law was not at the inspection but spoke on behalf of his fellow tenants, who form a sort of artists collective. In the wake of the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, many artists spaces around the country have faced building inspections that could force them to pursue prohibitively expensive repairs and upgrades to their buildings or lead to outright evictions. The Cyclecide tenants who had just resolved a legal dispute with their landlord that allowed them to stay through May were worried their space would meet the same fate when they received notice that city officials would inspect their space this week. Chris Harney, Cyclecides landlord, said the inspectors found some building code violations, but they did not elaborate on the nature of the infractions. A spokesman for the Department of Building Inspection could not elaborate on the inspectors findings Thursday. The warehouses tenants allege that Harney is trying to push them out of the space before May. Harney said he has no such plans. I am perfectly happy with them there, Harney said. Of course, as any landlord, you want a safe environment. If the tenants need to fix anything in the building that was built without a permit, Harney said they should be required to correct (it) themselves. John Cote, a spokesman for the city attorneys office, which oversees several city agencies, said Wednesday that the city is not looking to execute mass evictions in the wake of the Oakland fire, but safety is of course paramount. Although the Cyclecide tenants will probably be able to stay in their space until May, Law said they are not completely off the hook from Thursdays inspection yet. They are waiting for an official report from the city, which could take a few weeks. We still dont know at this point in time what is going to happen next, he said. But they didnt put a giant red mark on the door and kick us to the curb. Trisha Thadani and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com, mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani, @michael_bodley Fred D. Fletcher, who for many years was executive secretary of the San Francisco-Oakland Newspaper Guild, a union representing editorial and advertising employees, died Sunday after a long illness. He was 96 and lived in Santa Rosa. Mr. Fletcher was executive secretary and chief negotiator for the Guild for 18 years. He was well known in the newspaper industry for his careful preparation and demanding work ethic. He was one of the most brilliant, dedicated, innovative and effective union professionals around, said Larry D. Hatfield, a former San Francisco Examiner reporter who was president of the Guild local when Mr. Fletcher was executive secretary. Douglas Cuthbertson, who succeeded Mr. Fletcher in the post, called him a brilliant negotiator, and, for me personally, an inspiring teacher. He won dozens of benefits in our newspaper contracts, solid conditions that people take for granted today, but were difficult to achieve at the time. Mr. Fletcher was born in San Francisco in 1920, graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in philosophy and served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war he went to work as a reporter for the Daily Olympian, in Olympia, Wash., and joined the Guild. In 1948, he became a reporter at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, covering local government and the courts at a salary of $60 a week. Ten years later, he became a union professional as assistant executive secretary of the San Francisco-Oakland Newspaper Guild, and in 1962, he was elected executive secretary. He held that post through a major newspaper strike in 1968 and retired on the last day of 1980. Mr. Fletcher was always interested in mountains and the sea. He and his wife, Helen Shane, bought a 29-foot sailboat and sailed it to the South Pacific, a voyage full of adventures that lasted more than two years. He always remained interested in unions and progressive causes. When he retired from union service he said, If I live to be 100, and I may, I know the Guild will be among my last thoughts. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth Fletcher Cook; a son, Clyde Fletcher; two stepdaughters, Dawn Walker and Claudia Holland; his sister, Barbara Fletcher Barbour; and seven grandchildren. A memorial service is pending. Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf The attorneys general in 20 states on Thursday accused six generic pharmaceutical companies, including industry giants Teva and Mylan, of a scheme to artificially inflate the prices of an antibiotic and a diabetes drug. The state officials said the charges were part of a broad investigation into potential price-fixing within the industry, suggesting that more charges could follow. The investigation, at the state and federal levels, has left a cloud of uncertainty over the industry, which has also been subject to a barrage of public criticism about its pricing methods. The complaint filed Thursday describes a cozy industry culture marked by regular dinners and social outings that, the suit says, frequently crossed the line and violated antitrust rules. Generic drugmakers that hoped to begin selling a new drug first sought out competitors, the suit said, in an attempt to reach an agreement on how they could avoid competing on price and keep market share. These agreements had the effect of artificially maintaining high prices for a large number of generic drugs and creating an appearance of competition when in fact none existed, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit names six companies, including Teva, the Israeli drugmaker that is the worlds largest manufacturer of generics, and Mylan, which came under intense criticism this year after it sharply raised prices on EpiPen, its severe allergy treatment. A spokeswoman for Teva said the company was still reviewing the complaint, and a spokeswoman for Mylan said the company knows of no evidence that Mylan participated in price-fixing. The suit focused on two drugs, the antibiotic treatment doxycycline and the diabetes drugs glyburide. But it added that the scheme went far beyond those two treatments and could include more drugs. The lawsuit said the investigation began in July 2014 and was initiated by Connecticut, which uncovered evidence of a broad, well-coordinated and long-running series of schemes to fix the prices and allocate markets for a number of generic pharmaceuticals in the United States. On Wednesday, federal prosecutors made similar claims against two former executives at Heritage Pharmaceuticals, one of the companies named in the suit, accusing them of engaging in a price-fixing scheme for the same two drugs. Heritage has blamed the activity on the two former executives, Jeffrey Glazer and Jason Malek, who were fired from the company in August. Heritage is also suing the two men, claiming that they looted tens of millions of dollars from the company. Other companies named in the suit, including Aurobindo Pharma, Citron Pharma and Mayne Pharma, did not immediately reply to requests for comment. This is huge news, said Michael Carrier, an antitrust professor at Rutgers Law School. He noted that the lawsuit was joined by Democratic and Republican attorneys general. Generic drugs, he said, are supposed to bring drug prices down by introducing competing products once a product loses its patent protection. It blows that entire assumption out of the water, he said, when you hear that generic companies are getting together to increase prices. Besides Connecticut, the plaintiff states include Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. European officials flipped the switch Thursday on a satellite navigation system meant to rival the U.S.-made GPS service thats become a staple feature of smartphones and cars worldwide. The Galileo system named after the Italian engineer and astronomer is designed to provide commercial and government customers with more precise location data than GPS. However, it is eight years late and billions over budget. Being able to accurately pinpoint a position is key to a growing range of products and systems, including real-time logistics, self-driving cars and drone delivery services. Satellite systems such as GPS also play an important role in providing precision timing for financial transactions and energy grids. The launch of the first 18 Galileo satellites was hit by delays and several failures. One satellite has stopped working and two others ended up in the wrong orbit. But the European Space Agency managed to launch four satellites on a single rocket last month and expects to have a full complement of 24 satellites, plus spares, in orbit within four years. While GPS receivers are standard in millions of devices, only a handful of gadgets support the Galileo system so far. Economy Consumer prices inch up Consumer prices rose in November by the smallest amount in three months as the climb in energy prices moderated a bit and food prices remained flat. The Labor Department said Thursday that its consumer price index increased 0.2 percent last month after a 0.4 percent October increase. Energy prices were up 1.2 percent, a slowdown from a 3.5 percent rise in October. The result reflects the fact that gasoline prices rose 2.5 percent last month, less than half the 6.7 percent October gain. Food prices showed no increase for a fifth straight month. Over the past year, consumer prices are up 1.7 percent, below the Federal Reserves 2 percent target. Environment DuPont settles mercury case Chemical giant DuPont will pay more than $50 million but admit no fault under a proposed environmental settlement after releasing toxic mercury for decades into Virginias Shenandoah Valley waterways, authorities announced Thursday. The deal will resolve state and federal litigation over pollution from a company factory. It amounts to the largest environmental damage settlement in Virginia history and the eighth-largest in the nation, officials said. The money will go to wildlife habitat restoration, water quality enhancement and improvements to recreational areas. In bringing this settlement to a close, we are finally righting a wrong that has impacted the South River and the South Fork of the Shenandoah River for so many decades, Gov. Terry McAuliffe said at a news conference announcing the settlement. Mortgages Long-term loan rates rise again Long-term mortgage rates climbed for the seventh straight week after Donald Trumps election victory, again marking new highs for the year. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan rose this week to 4.16 percent from 4.13 percent the previous week. The benchmark rate is well above its 3.97 percent level of a year ago. The rate on 15-year home loans rose to 3.37 percent from 3.36 percent. To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week. The average doesnt include points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. The average fee for 30-year and 15-year mortgages was unchanged this week at 0.5 of a point. Rates on adjustable five-year loans rose to 3.19 percent from 3.17 percent. The fee slipped to 0.4 of a point from 0.5 of a point. Trade U.S. challenges China tariffs The Obama administration has filed its 15th challenge against China at the Word Trade Organization, alleging it is unfairly limiting American farmers ability to export rice, wheat and corn. China had agreed to permit a certain amount of grain and corn to enter the country subject to a reduced tariff rate. The administration says its filing the challenge to hold China to that commitment. Exporters are sometimes concerned that countries make it difficult to take advantage of the lower tariff rates. U.S. trade officials describe Chinas system as not transparent, predictable or fair. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says China is a significant market for U.S. grain farmers. Lawmakers from both political parties are applauding the challenge. Chronicle News Services WASHINGTON Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, announced Thursday that he would leave the agency Jan. 20, guaranteeing Republicans will have a majority after President-elect Donald Trump takes office that day. The move makes it easier for Republicans to try to repeal new online traffic rules known as net neutrality, as well as other controversial actions taken by the agencys Democratic majority under President Obama. Wheeler, 70, a Democrat who has served as chairman since late 2013, was widely expected to leave once Trump became president. The president gets to designate the chairman of the FCC, and Trump would pick a Republican to supplant Wheeler to head the commission. But there was a question about whether Wheeler would buck tradition and stay on as a regular commissioner until his five-year term ends in 2018 to try to preserve some of his major policy actions. Such a move would have left the five-member commission, which will have one vacancy next year, deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans. That would have kept Republicans from having the votes to reverse Wheeler initiatives. But Wheeler ended that speculation Thursday, issuing a news release announcing his plans to leave the FCC. This is in keeping with the commitments that I have repeatedly made since March that I would cooperate with the wishes of the new administration to assure a smooth transition, and that I would follow the precedent that when the White House changes parties, the chairman resigns, regardless of the amount of time left in the term, Wheeler said after the FCCs December meeting. Under Republican leadership, the FCC is expected to try to weaken the net neutrality regulations, which were enacted by a partisan 3-2 vote in 2015. Urged on by Obama, the FCC classified broadband as a more highly regulated service under Title 2 of the telecommunications law. The classification gave the FCC more authority over broadband providers. It also opened the door for the agency to enact rules, approved by another partisan 3-2 vote in October, requiring high-speed Internet service providers to get customer permission before using or sharing sensitive personal data. Republicans on the commission and in Congress strongly opposed the moves, and both are expected to be early targets of the new FCC chairman. Wheeler called his tenure as chairman the greatest privilege of my professional career. He downplayed the partisan divides on that and other key issues under his leadership. The headlines got built around our differences, but the facts are that we accomplished a lot, he said. Wheeler said he tried to make decisions that benefited the common good, and defended government service in the wake of an election in which Trump was elected promising to drain the swamp of Washington. Those who chant that government is the problem are wrong, and their chant is dangerous, he said. The fifth member of the FCC, Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, must leave the commission on Dec. 31 after the Republican-controlled Senate failed to approve her renomination by Obama before recessing last week. That will give Trump two nominations to make, though one would be a Democrat because only three commissioners can be from the same political party. WASHINGTON The eight biggest U.S. banks will be required to build new cushions against losses that would shift the burden to investors. The action by the Federal Reserve was the latest bid by regulators to reduce the chances of future taxpayer bailouts. The Fed governors, led by Chairwoman Janet Yellen, voted 5-0 Thursday to lay down the new requirements. The mega-banks must bulk up their capacity to absorb financial shocks by issuing equity or long-term debt equal to certain portions of total bank assets. The idea is that the cost of a huge banks failure would fall on investors in the bank, not on taxpayers. The Fed action comes as Washington braces for changes to the 2010 law that reined in Wall Street after the financial crisis. President-elect Donald Trump urged during his campaign that the Dodd-Frank law be dismantled, and his transition team has set that as a goal. Today we are putting into place one of the last critical safeguards that make up the core of our ... reform efforts, Yellen said. These banks must bear the costs their failure would impose on the financial system and the economy. The Fed governors imposed the requirements on JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of New York Mellon and State Street Bank. They would have to issue a total of about $70 billion in new equity and long-term debt to meet the requirements, the Fed staff estimates. Four of the eight banks, which werent named, are estimated to have shortfalls. However, most of the requirements wont take effect until 2019, and the remainder not until 2022. Were going to start looking at rolling back (rules) before weve started implementing, said Oliver Ireland, an attorney specializing in banking law at the Morrison & Foerster law firm, who was an associate general counsel at the Fed. Under the new requirements, Ireland said, investors will know that if a bank fails, theyll be on the hook and probably wont recover their stakes. The new cushions come atop rules previously adopted by the Fed for the eight banks to shore up their financial bases with about $200 billion in additional capital over and above capital requirements for the industry. And theyre in addition to 2014 rules directing all large banks to keep enough high-quality assets on hand to survive during a severe downturn. Stricter capital requirements for banks were mandated by Congress after the financial crisis, which struck in 2008. Hundreds of banks received taxpayer bailouts totaling hundreds of billions of dollars during the crisis, including the eight banks, which were called too big to fail. The Fed action puts in place its piece of a plan proposed by international regulators in 2014 for loss-absorbing capacity for the worlds 30 largest banks. Including the eight U.S. banks, they are considered so big and interconnected that each could threaten the financial system if they were to collapse. If its raining in San Francisco, its snowing in Montana. United Airlines began new seasonal flights between SFO and Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell. For those who prefer sun, United also started nonstop service to Miami, restoring a route it dropped 12 years ago. Vanity, thy name is ... Vanity Fair sold a record 13,000 subscriptions Thursday, publisher Conde Nast said, after President-elect Donald Trump attacked the magazine in a tweet that claimed it had really poor numbers and was dead. Trump apparently took offense at a savage review of his Trump Grill restaurant, but Vanity Fair editor in chief Graydon Carter has bedeviled Trump since his Spy magazine dubbed the real estate mogul a short-fingered vulgarian. Number of the day 25,000 Thats how many jobs San Francisco has added annually since 2010, according to a report released Friday by the city controllers office. By contrast, the dot-com boom of the late 1990s added 17,000 jobs each year. The Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techbriefing This article was first published on NerdWallet.com. Students at Minnesota colleges and universities are defaulting on their student loans at a markedly lower rate than the national average, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Education. The study found that 8.8% of students at Minnesota postsecondary schools who were scheduled to begin paying their loans in 2013 were in default by the third year of repayment. Minnesotas default rate was the ninth-lowest in the nation. The overall U.S. default rate was 11.3%. (See the default rates for all 50 states.) The study looked at more than 6,000 postsecondary schools in the nation and 108 in Minnesota, including private, public and proprietary (for-profit) schools. Among the largest in the state by enrollment, default rates were: Walden University: 6.7%. Capella University: 6.5%. St. Cloud State University: 4.2%. Minnesota State University, Mankato: 4.1%. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities: 2.2%. (Click here to search the federal database for default statistics by school, city or state.) Nationwide, public community colleges had an average default rate for 2013 of 18.5%, and proprietary schools were at 15%. For four-year public colleges, the average rate was 7.3%, and for four-year private colleges it was 6.5%. The default rates for community colleges, vocational schools and for-profit colleges tend to be higher because former students are less likely to have completed their studies or see a boost in earnings, and often cant keep up with loan payments, according to a report in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. >> MORE: Student loan default: What it means and how to deal with it The new report provides a detailed look at default rates, but it may not show a complete picture of the debt burden on students. While the report takes a snapshot of borrowers who are within the first three-year window of their repayment phase, it doesnt capture those who delay repayment until after the three-year measurement window expires. Chanhassen advisor: Use projected starting income to set limits on loans People with college degrees earn more, on average, than those with only a high school diploma. In 2014, the median income of young adults with a bachelors degree was $49,900, compared with $30,000 for people who completed high school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. However, excessive student loan debt is a major burden for many Americans. It can significantly hamper borrowers finances by increasing their overall debt burden and cutting into money they could use for mortgages, retirement and other long-term investments. Total student loan debt was $1.36 trillion as of June, according to the Federal Reserve Board, up from $961 billion in 2011. We asked Chanhassen, Minnesota-based financial advisor Mark Struthers about how families can integrate student loans into their financial lives. How can students and families make sure their loans are a good investment in their future? A good rule of thumb is to borrow at a 1-to-1 ratio to your expected income after school. If you expect to make $35,000 your first year or second year out of college, dont take on more than $35,000 in debt. This rule doesnt hold true for some professions, like doctors, who see a substantial jump in salary after residency. Also take into account the opportunity cost of not being able to invest the money that youre paying interest on, and possibly earning 7% or 8% rather than paying 7% or 8%. And consider the income you might earn by going to work sooner, after a shorter college degree or no degree at all. How does taking out student loans potentially affect students future financial lives? It can be extremely negative. The size of the debt is often so large that it becomes the centerpiece of a borrowers life, especially if the amount is two or three times his or her income. The debt can limit your personal options what job you take, where you live, when you buy your first home, even when you get married. If you miss payments because of a bad year or two of work, bad luck or bad decisions, the debt can balloon quickly, making it unmanageable. Throw in a corresponding bad credit score, and things can really spiral out of control. What should parents and students keep in mind when taking out student loans? Know your numbers. Know what a typical job in your chosen field pays out of college. Walk through what your life might look like while making the loan payments. Also, know your options. Federal student loans now come with a lot of flexibility and repayment options. Income-driven repayment combined with the possibility of long-term and public service forgiveness may allow you to take more risks with your career. Finally, know your total cost. Make sure you know how much youll be paying in principal, interest and fees over the entire life of the loan. If you borrow $100,000, you could easily end up paying more than $140,000 over a 10-year repayment period. What options exist to improve the terms of student loan debt? For private loans, there are fewer options than for federal loans, but online student loan refinancing companies are taking a fresh, low-rate approach to lending. They seem to realize that many borrowers offer a lower risk profile than the traditional student loan system acknowledges. For example, nurses have an unemployment rate ranging from 0% to 2%. Assuming other financial factors are reasonable, why should they be paying 7% or 8% interest? Where is the risk if they can easily find work? For federal loans, the options are many. Income-based repayment programs have been rolled out over the past 20 years, making federal loans more flexible and easier to handle. What should families do if they find they cant make payments? For federal loans, contact your loan servicer and look at the income-driven repayment options, as well as deferment or forbearance options. The key is to communicate. Be cautious about leaving the federal student loan system for a private-company refinance. Giving up the options and protections of federal loans is often not worth a slightly lower rate. For private loans, look at one of the new online refinancing companies and then call your lender. Are income-driven repayment plans a good option? What should borrowers know about that? Most of the time, they are a good option. Each case is different, and there are always trade-offs, but having the downside protection of an income-driven repayment plan if you lose your job means a lot. Theres generally no penalty for prepayment, so you can pay more if you wish. Before you decide, learn about those trade-offs, including the higher total cost of the loan if you extend the repayment period to get a lower monthly payment. Know what capitalization of interest is (paying interest on interest) and when it could happen. Know how your tax filing could affect payment. And know how high your payment could get if your income increases. Running through the different scenarios with each type of income-driven plan can help you make an informed decision and help prevent panic if things go south. Mark Struthers, CFA, CFP, is a fee-only planner with Sona Financial in Chanhassen, Minnesota. State student loan default rates The 50 states ranked from highest student loan default rate to lowest. Ranking State Percent defaulting on student loans 1. New Mexico 18.9 2. West Virginia 16.2 3. Kentucky 15.5 4. Mississippi 14.6 5. Indiana 14.2 6. Florida 14.1 7. Arkansas 14 8. Arizona 14 9. Wyoming 14 10. Oregon 13.7 11. Ohio 13.6 12. South Carolina 13.2 13. Nevada 12.7 14. Texas 12.6 15. Oklahoma 12.5 16. South Dakota 12.3 17. Louisiana 12.3 18. Alabama 12.2 19. Georgia 12 20. Iowa 11.9 21. Michigan 11.8 22. North Carolina 11.6 23. Alaska 11.6 24. Colorado 11.5 25. Missouri 11.5 26. Tennessee 11.4 27. Idaho 11 28. Kansas 10.7 29. Washington 10.4 30. California 10.4 31. Hawaii 10.4 32. Maine 10.4 33. Delaware 10 34. Maryland 9.9 35. Montana 9.8 36. Wisconsin 9.6 37. Illinois 9.4 38. Pennsylvania 9.2 39. Virginia 9.1 40. Utah 9.1 41. New Jersey 9 42. Minnesota 8.8 43. Connecticut 8.5 44. Nebraska 8.2 45. New York 8 46. Rhode Island 7.9 47. New Hampshire 7.8 48. Vermont 7.2 49. North Dakota 6.5 50. Massachusetts 6.1 The article Minnesota Students Default Less Than US Average on Student Loans originally appeared on NerdWallet. Daniel Porter-Kelley, one of three men implicated in the November slaying outside an El Sobrante pool hall of a young black musician will proceed to trial for his alleged role in the killing, a judge ruled Thursday. The 31-year-old from Richmond is charged with murder and robbery with hate-crime enhancements and will remain in jail without bail. Porter-Kelleys Berkeley lawyer, Colin Cooper, had asked the judge to drop the states case against his client, saying prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to tie him directly to William Sims Nov. 12 death. His beaten and shot body was found in the street outside the Capri Club in the 4200 block of Appian Way. A friend of Porter-Kelleys who was subpoenaed into testifying at the urging of the prosecutor, Chris Walpole, a Contra Costa County deputy district attorney connected Porter-Kelley to the back patio of the Capri Club that night. Thats where the friend, Alfredo Noriega, and another witness say an altercation broke out between Sims and other men but their accounts of who was involved dont match up. Noriega told a Richmond courtroom Thursday that he was behind the club trying to bum a cigarette when the sound of flesh hitting flesh caught his attention. That sound, Noriega said, was Sims getting pummeled by two men, one he identified as Ray Simons, 32, of Hercules, who was recently taken into custody after investigators found him incarcerated in Salinas on unrelated charges. But despite Walpoles pressing, Noriega repeatedly said in court that Porter-Kelley had nothing to do with Sims death even though another witness told investigators Porter-Kelley threw a punch in the fight before Sims died. I was like, Hey, its time to bounce, Noriega said he told Porter-Kelley, adding that the two watched the fight breaking out on the back patio from a distance before leaving separately. Walpoles evidence also includes a surveillance video inside the Capri Club that shows Sims slapping high-fives with other white patrons before Porter-Kelley passed him. Thats when, said a detective with the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office who testified in the case, Porter-Kelley said to Sims, F that n. Cooper, who has reviewed the tape, denies the claim, saying in an interview that his client wasnt involved in a fight, a robbery or any other hate crime. Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michael_bodley This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Lawrence Colburn, a helicopter gunner in the Vietnam War who helped end the slaughter of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese villagers by U.S. troops at My Lai, has died. He was 67. Lisa Colburn said her husband of 31 years was diagnosed with cancer in late September and died Tuesday. It was very quick, she said by phone from her Canton, Ga., home near Atlanta. He was a very peaceful man who had a great desire for there to be a peaceful world. She also called him a compassionate person who was a hero in many peoples eyes. Pfc. Colburn was the last surviving member of a U.S. Army crew that ended the My Lai massacre of March 16, 1968. According to accounts, pilot Hugh Thompson landed the helicopter between unarmed villagers and American troops and ordered Pfc. Colburn and crew chief Glenn Andreotta to cover him. Thompson then persuaded members of Charlie Company to stop shooting. The companys soldiers had begun shooting that day even though they hadnt come under attack, authorities later said. They added that it quickly escalated into an orgy of killing that claimed as many as 504 civilians most of whom were women, children and the elderly. Thompson biographer Trent Angers, who wrote The Forgotten Hero of My Lai: The Hugh Thompson Story, said Pfc. Colburn played an indispensable role in stopping the massacre at My Lai. He stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Hugh and Glenn, to oppose and stand down against those who were committing crimes against humanity. Without his assistance, Hugh might not have done what he did, Angers said. Pfc. Colburn and Thompson were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for their actions and received the Soldiers Medal, the highest U.S. military award for bravery not involving conflict with the enemy. Thompson, who lived in Lafayette, La., died in 2006. Andreotta was killed in the Vietnam War three weeks after My Lai. PORTLAND, Ore. Erick Dazas girlfriend had to abandon her car in the winter storm that paralyzed the Portland area. On Thursday, Daza and a friend were tasked with retrieving it on a suburban road after only 1 to 3 inches of snow brought Oregons largest city to a halt. Like thousands of others, Dazas girlfriend on Wednesday left work early to try to beat the storm that was creeping north up the Willamette Valley. Abandoned cars still littered streets in Portland and its suburbs the day after a couple of inches of snow brought traffic to a standstill for several hours. She got stranded in Lake Oswego, a Portland suburb. She was trying to go up the hill and she got stuck ... and some nice person gave her a ride home. She was just trying to get home and didnt make it, he said. We have snow chains but she didnt have them. We just didnt expect this. In Linn County about 70 miles south of Portland, sheriffs detectives said a mans body was found covered by a thin layer of snow. Sheriff Bruce Riley says deputies and detectives responded Wednesday night after a caller reported that a stranger was dead in his driveway east of Albany. There was no sign of foul play. Back roads remained extremely slippery with a layer of ice under the snow. Cars without snow chains or tires still struggled to get around, and there was almost no traffic on smaller roads. With no competition from cars, children were having fun on hilly, snow-slickened streets. Kevin Baker of Lake Oswego watched his twins sled down one of those streets, but he was still thinking about the traffic nightmare that hit a day earlier. What normally is about a three- to four-hour drive from Seattle took him eight hours Wednesday. Baker and others talked about whether the city could do more to keep roads clear of snow and ice during a big storm. The Portland area does not use rock salt, for environmental reasons, and because winter storms are rare in the area. Right now they use gravel but they have to do something more than what they were doing last night, because it was unbearable, Baker said. On another Lake Oswego street, Sarah Ehinger was out sledding with her own two children, joined by about a half-dozen other kids and their parents. Every time a car crept by, a chorus of youngsters shouted out, Car!! Ehinger, who is originally from the Midwest, said she didnt agree with Portlanders who were criticizing the city for not using salt during a big storm. I enjoy a good snow day, so I say dont plow and let Mother Nature do its work, she said. But I can see if you have to get to work, they have to do something. Portland is so rarely hit by a big winter storm that it catches many people off guard. It happened again with this storm. There were some scary moments during the storm. A school bus lost control on a hill in southwest Portland on Wednesday, ramming into the back of a truck, which rammed into a car. As divided as the U.S. public may seem, there are still some things on which most people agree. No matter age, party or gender, Americans overwhelmingly believe that the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, played a dominant role in shaping the history of the country, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center with A&E Networks History channel. When asked to name the events in their lifetimes that had the greatest impact on the nation, 76 percent of people surveyed listed the attacks, far surpassing any other event, according to Pew, which conducted the survey of about 2,000 people, in part to better understand the events that drive public discourse. We dont think so much about history, but we know thats one of the things that impacts the way people feel about any modern debate were having, said Claudia Deane, vice president of research at Pew and lead author of a report on the study. Sept. 11 came to mind most often, by a long shot. President Obamas election followed distantly, with 40 percent including it in their list. The tech revolution was next, followed closely by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. The survey found that Americans are primarily united by their age. Like people, generations have distinctive identities that are linked, in part, to singular events that occurred during their members formative years, Deane wrote with co-authors and Pew colleagues Rich Morin and Maeve Duggan. While 9/11 dominated each generations list, the other entries varied by age. The silent and greatest generations, identified as Americans 71 and older, were united by the import they placed on World War II. For Baby Boomers adults 52 to 70 it was the assassination of Kennedy and the Vietnam War that unified them. Millennials and members of Generation X, the groups including those 18 to 51, were united in the importance they placed on Obamas election. Views on history differed by race, too. Black people were the only demographic group for which 9/11s primacy was challenged. About 3 in 5 blacks identified the attacks as having had an impact on the country, about the same share that cited Obamas election. For whites and Hispanics, 9/11 was first, by far, followed by Obamas election. For white people, the third-most-commonly cited event was the tech revolution. For blacks, it was the civil rights movement. For Hispanics, it was the Orlando nightclub shootings in June. (All but a handful of the 49 victims were Hispanic or of Hispanic descent.) The researchers found limited and often only subtle differences by party, gender or region. The same was true of education and income level, though as either rose, so too did views on the prominence of the tech revolution. While Pew did not ask respondents to qualify the impactful events as positive or negative, it did separately ask them to describe a time or event in their lives when they were proudest or most disappointed in the United States. On those topics, Pew found far less agreement. Deane said that happened because the questions failed to elicit the kinds of answers the researchers had hoped to get, or the responses were more scattered and personal in nature. (For example, a person may have been proudest of the nation when a relative obtained citizenship, an experience not shared by a large portion of Americans.) The response to 9/11 topped the list of positive moments, with 19 percent of respondents citing it as the moment they felt proudest of the country. Obamas election or presidency followed with 14 percent. His election or presidency also topped the list of most disappointing moments, with 11 percent citing it, followed closely by 10 percent who cited Donald Trumps campaign as the event that made them most disappointed in the nation. The survey was conducted from June 16 to July 4, with 2,025 participants. Responses were weighted to match the demographic makeup of the population. CONCORD, N.H. Plunging temperatures and gusty winds made their way Thursday into the Northeastern U.S., the next victim in the path of dangerously cold temperatures to hit the country. A strong Arctic cold front moved across the region with temperatures falling throughout the day and commuters, schools and outdoor workers slowing down, girding up, and taking precautions. Vermont public safety officials warned residents to limit their time outdoors at least through Friday with dangerous wind chills of minus-35 in the forecast. Some schools and government offices closed early in upstate New York ahead of lake-effect snow expected to bring 1 to 2 feet. In western Pennsylvania, lake-effect snow bands were blamed for slick roads and poor visibility. Fifty-nine vehicles crashed in a snowy pileup and three people were hurt. The crash was one of three that shut down different stretches of Interstate 80. Blowing snow in Syracuse, N.Y., slowed the morning commute on Interstate 81 to a crawl. It doesnt bother me as long as I go slow, commuter Dawn Coyer, who lives north of Syracuse, told Time Warner Cable News. But I wasnt driving, and she (a friend) said No, were not doing this. Parts of the Adirondack Northway, north of Albany, were closed for more than four hours after a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a snowplow. No injuries were reported. Elsewhere in upstate New York, along the Lake Ontario shore, wind gusts approached 70 mph and the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning effective through early Friday morning. Lake-effect snow was accompanied by winds up to 50 mph causing whiteout conditions in some places. In parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine overnight, the frigid weather and wind was expected to cause temperatures to dip below zero as winds gust up to 30 mph and chills near minus-20. You are talking about 30 degrees below normal highs. That is pretty darn cold, said weather service meteorologist James Brown in Maine. This is pretty much a piece of Arctic air that came off the North Pole and came into New England. Forecasters said a storm will follow the frigid temperatures, bringing chances for snow, sleet and freezing rain across much of the U.S. While it sounded pretty grim, some winter weather veterans took it all in stride. Jon Asmund, a state bridge construction superintendent in New Hampshire, swears by fleece-lined pants. They do wonders, he said. He and his crew were working on a bridge not far from Hampton Beach along the sea coast, dealing with 50 mph wind. Its still painful, but we make it through the day. Some 90 miles north, Will Irvine was hoping to finish up inspection work on a covered bridge in Conway and avoid the low temperatures and strong wind coming Friday. Some of his crew members were suspended underneath the structure for several hours. You manipulate your work schedule for whatever Mother Natures going to give you, because youre not going to change her, he said. Steve Ringman/Associated Press SEATTLE A repeat felon arrested in the shooting of a 61-year-old police officer in a community north of Seattle was ordered held on $1 million bail Friday as the officer remained in critical condition after surgery for a head wound, authorities said. Ernesto Lee Rivas, 44, was taken into custody overnight after an hour-long standoff at a home in Mount Vernon, during which he repeatedly fired at officers, the Washington State Patrol said. Hostage negotiators spent several hours communicating with him. BEIRUT Weeping, hobbling on crutches or dragging suitcases, hundreds of survivors of a devastating government bombardment and siege left the last sliver of opposition-held Aleppo on Thursday, an evacuation that sealed the end of the rebellions most important stronghold and was a watershed moment in Syrias 5-year-old civil war. For the opposition, it was a humiliating defeat. A smiling President Bashar Assad called it a historic event comparable to the birth of Christ and the revelation of the Quran. A U.N. official described it as a black chapter in the history of international relations. Traumatized residents filtered out to green government buses on a chilly day through Aleppos streets lined with flattened buildings. Years of resistance were stamped out in a relentless campaign over the past month that saw hospitals bombed, bodies left unburied and civilians blown apart by shells as they fled for safety. We struggled for six years. We were supposed to be the ones to get them out, not them us, said one tearful woman who held a baby, speaking in a video posted online by an opposition activist. She explained that it wasnt the bombardment that forced them out. We left because we feared for our honor from the regime, the unidentified woman said. Under a surrender deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, tens of thousands of residents and rebel fighters are being evacuated to opposition-controlled areas in the surrounding countryside, a process likely to take several days. They said it was too dangerous to go to government-held areas, where they faced potential retribution from security services alleged to carry out arrests and torture of opposition sympathizers. Many are of fighting age and dont want to be drafted into the military. We slept in the streets. Its shameful, an unidentified man said in an opposition video. Where is the world? Leaning on crutches and sobbing uncontrollably, he described fleeing the bombardment. You dont know if its an airplane or shelling or rockets. You never know, he added. Eastern Aleppo rose in revolt against Assad in 2012 and battled since then with the western, government-held part of the city in one of the most horrific and destructive fronts of the civil war. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate "Today I got to witness the power of amends & healing." Kimberly Soto posted this story about how her boyfriend apologized in person to a man he robbed at gunpoint three years ago. That's them hugging. She wrote: JAN 27th of 2013, my other half was at a dark place in his life and on that horrible night he made the decision that led him into jail & fire camp. He robbed a man that was selling flowers at a local gas station in Baypoint at gun point. Here we are almost 3 years later and he had the opportunity to approach the same man at the same store in the same spot and make amends. He told him he was the guy that robbed him 3 years ago. The guy jokingly said, " I never got my money back for that!" Joey then handed him money & explained to him that it doesn't make up for it, he's not asking for forgiveness, he just wants to give closure and hope that the man can further heal. They put their arms around each other and the man looked at Joey smiling and told him that he forgives him. SO POWERFUL. Joey goes to walk away and the guy brings a dozen roses to him and told him to give them to me and that's exactly what he did. They are beautiful & so was this experience. Thank you god for this man of mine. We do recover. --Kimberly Soto The power of saying your sorrry. And the power of forgiveness. It's a beautiful thing. #RealPeopleRealStoriesRealLife Frank Somerville is a contributor to SFGATE and anchors the 5, 6, and 10 p.m. news on KTVU. This post originally appeared on his Facebook page. MANILA The United States said Thursday it had deferred giving economic aid to the Philippines because of concerns about the rule of law as the brutal campaign on drugs under President Rodrigo Duterte appears to show no signs of slowing down. The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines said that the deferral did not preclude the country from receiving grants in the future. The decision reflected significant concerns around the rule of law and civil liberties in the Philippines, said Molly Koscina, a spokeswoman for the embassy. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, set up by the U.S. government to reduce poverty around the world, said Wednesday that it had deferred a vote on renewing the funding. Neither government indicated the size of the grant, but officials said the figure was lower than the previous aid package, worth about $434 million. The United States has been openly critical of the Philippines bloody crackdown on narcotics, in which more than 2,000 people have been killed at the hands of the police since Duterte assumed office in June. An additional 3,500 killings remain unsolved, but about a third of those have been identified as drug-related. In response to the criticism, Duterte has cursed President Obama and promised to scale back military cooperation with the United States, a longtime ally, while seeking to build closer ties with China and Russia. The Millennium Challenge Corporation would continue to monitor unfolding events to determine the eligibility of the Philippines, Koscina said. For a country to receive funding, it must demonstrate a commitment to just and democratic governance, investments in its people and economic freedom, according to the agencys website. Ernesto M. Pernia, the Philippine socioeconomic planning secretary, said he was not worried about the decision, noting that the funding was much smaller than the initial aid package, which expired in May. Estimados amigos, Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia. Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro. Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras. There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen. You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out. No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca. Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt. Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos. Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada. History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. Nearly one semester after the city implemented a rezoning plan in Brooklyn that garnered widespread attention as a litmus test for integration, Department of Education data shows that one of the two schools it targeted has not seen a significant change in composition. Back in January, an elected group of parents voted to carve incoming kindergarten and pre-k parents living in DUMBO out of PS 8a predominantly white upper-middle-class school in Brooklyn Heights. The goal was to eliminate a kindergarten wait-list at PS 8, while increasing enrollment at nearby PS 307 in Vinegar Hill, a small school that serves mostly low-income black and Latino children. The plan was immediately controversial. Some DUMBO parents expressed concern about PS 307's locationit's across the street from the NYCHA-run Farragut Housesand about its history of low test scores. And some Farragut parents argued that the plan overlooked "obvious racial tensions," and could reverse their efforts to focus on the needs of minority students. At the time, the DOE said it didn't expect immediate change at PS 307: either a spike in overall enrollment, or a dramatic increase in white students. "The at-scale impact of this rezoning will take place after several years," DOE spokesman Will Mantell reiterated this month. So far, there hasn't been a large shift in demographics at PS 307 in the grades impacted by the rezoning. Last school year, there were 10 white students out of 36 students in 307's pre-k and fewer than 10 out of 69 students in kindergarten. (For privacy reasons, the DOE reports single-digit populations as "under 10.") Preliminary DOE data from this year shows that as of October 31, there were fewer than 10 white students out of 47 in the pre-k class and fewer than 10 out of 58 in the kindergarten. Education experts said it's difficult to draw conclusions from the new data. "These aren't big numbers to begin with, so it's hard to say what's a meaningful decrease or increase," said Adriana Villavicencio, deputy director at NYU's Research Alliance for New York City Schools. "I wouldn't hang my hat on anything quite yet." (Emma Whitford / Gothamist) The waitlist at PS 8, meanwhile, has been eliminated. The kindergarten class has 115 students, according to the DOE (PS 8 does not have a pre-k program). It is unclear how many students zoned out of PS 8 went to 307 and how many chose some alternative. The DOE pointed out that DUMBO pre-k parents have another new option this year at Dock Street. Halley Potter, a fellow with the Century Foundation who studies diversity in pre-k, said further integration of PS 307 will depend, in part, on how DUMBO parents feel this first year of rezoning went. "If the community perceives a pretty successful first year for families that are new to 307, and word spreads, you might see next year an uptick in newly-zoned parents opting to attend," she said. "If the lines are redrawn but the families newly zoned to 307 simply aren't opting to attend, then that would suggest that there is a lot more work to be done." DUMBO resident and PS 307 mother Eliza Porter, who is white, said she thinks parents in her neighborhood are warming to the school. "The buzz that I'm hearing from families a little bit younger is at least go tour it, Porter said. "Go look at it first before you make any decisions. Because touring it could change the biases that you have based on its location." "If parents' experiences are positive, the word spreads," said David Goldsmith, president of Community Education Council 13, which voted on the rezoning last fall. His daughter attended PS 8 in the early 2000s, when it had a similar demographic to PS 307. "I remember a time when we had to beg people to go to PS 8, and people were saying, 'No, no, no,' and five years later people were saying, 'Don't you have some kind of in?'" "We recognize and value the importance of continuing to engage families throughout this process," said Mantell, the DOE spokesman. PS 307 Principal Stephanie Carroll has brought in a Teachers College program called The Public Good, intended to help teachers and parents ease the transition to a more racially diverse student body. Earlier this spring, Carroll outlined her efforts to draw more students to the school, including meet-ups for incoming pre-k students and a more navigable website. Kadesha Brimby, a black resident of the Farragut Houses and PS 307 alum, said she had conflicting feelings. "It's nice to see new faces, but don't forget about the old faces," she said. "Don't put all your priorities into what's going in." Over the past four years, New York City's elected officials have decried the dangers of the synthetic cannabinoid "K2"and passed legislation outlawing the stuff. The drug, which is often referred to as "synthetic marijuana," has been sold under a variety of street names. It made headlines in July, when hundreds of users overdosed within the span of a few days near the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Broadway in Brooklyn. "It's zombie land out here," a local resident said at the time. Now, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that the K2 responsible for the Brooklyn overdoses, known as AK-47 24 Karat Gold, was 85 times more potent than marijuana in plant form. This batch of the drug was apparently manufactured in underground Chinese laboratories and was adulterated with a variety of chemicals. The study was conducted using blood and urine samples taken from eight men hospitalized during the July overdose epidemic. Researchers identified the specific drug as AMB-FUBINACA, a substance originally developed by Pfizer to amplify the medicinal aspects of THC while simultaneously muting its psychotropic effects. Eventually, research work on the drug was halted. It was never tested on humans. The Times notes, however, that the patent for AMB-FUBINACA is public, and that as as early as 2008, packaged doses of the drug began appearing on the streets in North America and Europe. For years, manufacturers were able to stay ahead of anti-drug legislation by slightly altering the chemical makeup of the compound, keeping K2 technically legal. Also, included in the medical study is a thorough look at how K2 is sold. The synthetic active ingredients are produced in foreign labs and marketed on semi-secret "dark web" sites. On these sites, a kilogram of powdered AMB-FUBINACA can go for between $1,950 to $3,800. Middlemen drug dealers step on the powder with ground herbs until it reaches a smokeable form. In New York City, mixed K2 is divided into individual bags, distributed to smoke shops and bodegas via wholesalers, and sold for around $5 a packet. In their new study, medical researchers found that smoking K2 can lead to irregular heartbeat, drowsiness, delirium, seizures, and even death. Throughout the summer, residents living near Myrtle-Broadway observed K2 users behaving manically, urinating in public, shouting, and waving their limbs around erratically. Others fell into a near-comatose state after they smoked, stumbling and falling on sidewalks. It's a lucrative business. In 2015, federal agents seized bags of K2 with a street value of $10 million at a Bronx garage. "There is this false idea out there that these drugs are safe, because no one overdoses on marijuana," University of California clinical chemist Roy Gerona told the Times. "No compound that has been made yet has the potential to kill thousands of people. But that is a scenario that is becoming more and more close to reality." We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today Q: I recently was scheduled to fly from Cleveland to Las Vegas on Spirit Airlines. Before I boarded, a gate agent announced that the airline was looking for volunteers to give up their seats because the plane was oversold. Nobody was volunteering because it was a holiday weekend, and after several announcements, my companion and I decided to step forward. A Spirit representative promised that the airline would get us home Tuesday night instead of Monday night we originally were going Friday to Monday and we would be given four vouchers to use anytime and anywhere Spirit flies. We asked several times about restrictions and booking, and the agent adamantly said that we could go anytime, but we had to call to book the new flights within 60 days. The airline actually sent six vouchers. We called with several dates for February, March, April, May and June, and were told that no voucher seats were available on any flights to San Francisco, Orlando or Fort Myers, Fla. the three places we chose because we have family there. We gave Spirit the dates for every weekend in all of those months and were told there were no seats, even though one agent told us that the flights were empty at that point. We were able to book two of the vouchers, but I feel like we were scammed, because we cant use the other ones. Can you help? Kathy Davis, Willoughby Hills, Ohio A: Spirits vouchers have significant restrictions, something the gate agent should have told you. And by the way, Spirits vouchers are more restrictive than most. You have only 60 days to make a reservation. The industry standard is a year. I dont know what the airline employee told you, but lets break this problem down. Spirit overbooked its flight. This should not be allowed. An airline should sell only as many seats as it has. But the federal government, which regulates airlines, allows this practice. So they do it. If no one had volunteered to give up his or her seat, then Spirit would have had to offer a refund under federal regulations and fly that person on the next available flight. That costs the airline real money, so to avoid it, a gate agent will try to entice someone to volunteer. And what matters isnt what the agent says, but what the vouchers say. All of the restrictions for your new vouchers would have been spelled out. This is not a Spirit problem; its an airline problem. As long as airlines can sell more seats than they have available, this will continue. You could have sent a brief, polite email to one of Spirits executive contacts (http://elliott.org/company-contacts/spirit-airlines). The airline is trying to improve its image, and you may have persuaded a considerate manager to give you a little extra time with your vouchers. Im troubled by the disparity between the agents words, promising that you could fly anytime, and the reality, which is that most of the voucher seats were unavailable. That doesnt seem right. I contacted Spirit on your behalf. A representative thanked you for volunteering to give up your seats. The vouchers given at the airport do have some restrictions, he said. However, they are not typically such limited options. I completely understand their frustration. Spirit voided the original vouchers and issued new round-trip vouchers with fewer restrictions, so you can still take advantage of the trips you were trying to schedule. Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Find travel tips at www.elliott.org. Email: chris@elliott.org Twitter: @elliottdotorg Federal and state grand juries are hearing testimony as they consider whether various aspects of Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign fundraising broke laws, according to a report in the New York Times. The paper, citing anonymous sources, says that the federal investigation is focused on whether de Blasio and aides carried out pay-for-play arrangements with campaign donors who had business before the city. De Blasio used a nonprofit called the Campaign for One New York to skirt limits on direct political donations, allowing unchecked donations totaling more than $4 million, including from companies and groups dependent on city money and goodwill. Several witnesses called before the grand jury were reportedly related to the Water's Edge, a now-shuttered Long Island City restaurant owned by Harendra Singh, arrested last year on unrelated bribery charges in Long Island. Singh had meetings with senior City Hall officials as eviction loomed at the Water's Edge because of $1.8 million in unpaid rent and fees for the spot, on city-owned land. Singh and associates gave more than $50,000 to de Blasio's 2013 campaign, and the Times writes that investigators examined whether he used straw donors. In 2015, talks were underway to resolve the restaurant's debt, over the objection of some top officials, when Singh was arrested, according to the paper. Singh is reportedly cooperating with the feds, and two prominent Nassau County politicians tied to him were arrested in October. The state investigation is centered around whether de Blasio or his surrogates violated election laws by raising money for upstate state Senate races through county Democratic committees, funneling the funds to candidates in an unsuccessful bid to gain Dem control of the Senate. Party committees can accept donations of up to $102,300 for general use, as opposed to the $11,000 general-election cap on what candidates can receive. De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips told the Times the mayor "remains focused on running the city." De Blasio has denied wrongdoing, and on Tuesday he told reporters he has not been called before a grand jury, although he said he could not speak for others. Mayor de Blasio with his family at his election night victory party. (Mario Tama/Getty) News of the grand juries directly followed the Thursday announcement that the city Campaign Finance Board fined de Blasio almost $48,000 for improper spending and other campaign finance violations during his 2013 run. The board found that de Blasio had made late filings, accepted donations over the limits, and spent money on things unrelated to the campaign. The latter category included $298 on a flight to Washington, D.C. for de Blasio's son Dante in 2010 to attend a rally hosted by Rev. Al Sharpton, $550 on makeup for TV appearances by de Blasio and his family on election night, and $116,000 to a PR firm after the election. Regarding the Dante D.C. trip, the campaign claimed to investigators that his attendance at a rally honoring Martin Luther King, three years before the campaign began, offered Dante as "a visible manifestation of how the candidates life experience was resonant to the spirit of the occasion." The Campaign Finance Board rejected this and many other attempted rationalizations. Also on Thursday, the City Council pushed through a package of campaign finance reform legislation aimed in part at stopping nonprofits like de Blasio's from circumventing the intent of campaign contribution limits. The 21 bills include one prohibiting donations over $400 from lobbyists and people with business before the city to nonprofits, the same limit governing contributions to candidates, and requires the disclosure of such donations. De Blasio's Campaign for One New York publicized its donors, but only to reporters who asked. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito addressed the nonprofit directly in introducing the bill. "We wont know for certain what happens to the Campaign for One New York until investigations of its practices have concluded," she said. "But we do know that it exposed loopholes in our election and ethics laws that need to be remedied, and we are doing that with this bill." The bills also include one eliminating matching funds for contributions bundled by people doing business with the city. The Campaign Finance Board and good-government advocates criticized the Council for rushing the legislation throughit was introduced last monthwithout ample opportunity for public input. Stephen Curry took to the Oracle Arena court for warm-ups Thursday night, wearing his namesake Under Armour shoes, but with a twist: On the Curry 3 shoes was a graffiti tribute to the victims of Oakland's Ghost Ship fire. Curry announced on social media that the shoes, along with a second custom pair, will both be auctioned off to benefit the Oakland Fire Relief fund. The money raised from the shoes will be added to the team's donation of $75,000, which was announced last week. YAMBA, Australia The life was long drained from Lynette Daley by the time the cops rolled up to the lonely beach where her naked body lay. Her skin was cold, her lips were blue, and her blood was everywhere. It was between her legs and in a large clot by her feet. It was inside the four-wheel drive parked nearby and on the remains of the recently burned mattress partly hidden in the sand. And it was on the jeans worn by one of the two men who were with Lynette when she died. A coroner would later find Lynette bled to death from a sex act she was subjected to while so deeply intoxicated, she could not have consented. A forensic pathologist dubbed her injuries more severe than those which occur in even precipitous childbirth. Yet for five years, despite the urgings of the coroner and police, prosecutors refused to try Adrian Attwater and Paul Maris with her death. It was not until June, amid enormous pressure from an outraged public, that they at last agreed to bring the case to court. Prosecutors have never publicly explained their reluctance to take the case, but Lynettes parents believe the reason is both painful and obvious: Their daughter was Aboriginal. The two men accused in her death are white. If it was two Indigenous people whod done it to a white girl, her stepfather Gordon Davis says bluntly, theyd be in jail. Whether racial prejudice played a role in Lynettes case depends on who you ask. Some suggest there may have been a problem with the evidence that gave prosecutors pause. Others say that, as a poor mother of seven battling alcoholism, the 33-year-old may not have been viewed by prosecutors as an ideal victim. Whatever the truth, the horror of Lynettes death has shaken a nation long uncomfortable talking about race, especially when it comes to the suffering of Australias original inhabitants. The denial runs so deep that anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner once dubbed it the Great Australian Silence. The shame of this country is the treatment of Aboriginal people, says former New South Wales state lawmaker Jan Barham. Lynettes case its an example of that cultural ignorance or denial that we dont value equally the lives and the treatment of an Aboriginal person. Attwater faces a charge of manslaughter, and Maris accessory after the fact. Both also face charges of aggravated sexual assault. They have pleaded not guilty and their lawyers have declined to comment. BEIJING Chinas first aircraft carrier battle group has carried out its first live-fire exercise, the Defense Ministry has announced. Dozens of ships and aircraft took part in the exercise a few days ago in the Bohai Sea in eastern China to test weapon performance and training levels, according to a statement posted Thursday on the ministrys website. LONDON U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and his British counterpart expressed confidence Thursday that the Trump administration will continue Americas role as leader of the international military coalition against the Islamic State group. I do have confidence in the future of the coalition campaign, whose central premise is that local forces must do the fighting, with support from the coalition, Carter said during a news conference. Its logical. It makes sense, he said, adding that he believes that logic will recommend itself to the Trump administration. CAIRO Egypt said Thursday that explosive traces had been detected on the bodies of passengers retrieved from EgyptAir Flight 804, which plunged into the Mediterranean Sea in May and killed all 66 people on board. The announcement by the Civil Aviation Ministry offers the strongest suggestion yet that a bomb might have felled the airliner as it flew to Cairo from Paris. Previously, officials had focused on a fire as a likely cause. Still, it was not clear why Egyptian officials had taken so long to draw the conclusion about explosives most of the bodies were recovered from the sea by July and experts said the cause of the crash remained a mystery. The timing is odd, and the results are very late, said Shaker Kelada, a former chief aviation investigator with the ministry. The announcement came amid new fears in Egypt over intensifying violence by the Islamic State and affiliated groups. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for Sundays deadly bombing of a Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo and pledged more such attacks. Egyptian air crash investigations have a record of being slow, opaque and prone to political considerations. Authorities have yet to officially declare the cause of a Russian airliner crash in 2015 that killed 224 people; the Kremlin says it was caused by a bomb. Kelada said it might be no coincidence that the EgyptAir announcement came after the cathedral attack, at a time when President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was seeking to galvanize the country against the Islamist threat. The whole thing is very much politicized, he said. Maybe the government thought this was a good time to say terrorism. Readings from the planes data and voice recorders, made public by Egypt during the summer, indicated that smoke had spread through the cockpit just before the crash and that one of the pilots had warned of a fire. BERLIN The authorities are investigating whether a 12-year-old boy made a bomb and planted it at a traditional Christmas market in his hometown in southwestern Germany. News of the bomb plot was reported Friday by Focus, a newsmagazine, and quickly dominated airwaves and social media, raising fresh concerns over the potential threats from young people lured by Islamist extremists and radicalized using technology like cell phones. Just this year, three attacks in Germany have been carried out by young people who had claimed to be motivated by the Islamic State; two of the attackers died, and they injured several people but did not kill any. NAGATO, Japan Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of their first round of talks at a hot springs resort in western Japan on Thursday discussing a territorial dispute that has divided their countries for 70 years. For Putin, the summit meeting in Nagato city marks his first official visit to a G-7 country since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. MEXICO CITY So few of Mexicos vaquita porpoises remain that the international committee to protect the endangered species is preparing to catch and enclose as many as it can in a last-ditch effort to save them from extinction, experts said Thursday. According to rough estimates, only about three dozen of the worlds smallest porpoise remain in the upper Gulf of California, the only place it lives. With population numbers falling by 40 percent annually there were 60 left a year ago there could now be as few as eight breeding females left. The species has never been held successfully in captivity. Fishermen lured by Chinese demand for a fish that swims in the same waters have apparently defeated Mexicos efforts to protect the vaquita in its natural habitat. Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho, chair of the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, said an international team is being formed to launch the capture program in the spring. It would involve locating them, capturing them and putting them in some kind of protective area, Rojas-Bracho said, adding that the current plan envisions putting them in a floating enclosure or pen in a protected bay where they would not be endangered by fishing nets. Locating them, capturing them, there is an inherent risk to everything, he said, noting we have to do something, as an emergency measure. Rojas-Bracho said the committee is establishing a group of experts in acoustic monitoring, porpoise capture, veterinary medicine and other specialties to carry out the effort. The team is the best that can be put together in the world. It is the dream team, he said. But catch-and-enclose is risky; the few remaining females could die during capture, dooming the species. Breeding in captivity has successfully saved species such as the red wolf and California condor. But the vaquita has only been scientifically described since the 1950s and has never been bred or even held in captivity. Experts also worry about what will happen if the flagship protected species of the Gulf of California also known as the Sea of Cortez is removed. Local fishermen who can earn thousands of dollars illegally catching the totoaba fish, whose swim bladder is a prized delicacy in China, have chafed at the restrictions and navy patrols that limit their fishing to protect the vaquita. If the porpoise is gone, fishermen may descend in droves and finish off the totoaba and other species. Associated Press TOKYO The Japanese news media gave breathless coverage to President Vladimir Putins two-day visit to Japan this week, training television cameras on the airport in Yamaguchi Prefecture where the Russian leader arrived more than two hours late. Schoolchildren in Nagato, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes hometown, ate borscht and piroshki in honor of Putins trip to hot spring baths there. In Tokyo on Friday, Kodokan, the premier judo school, received the Russian leader, a black belt, for a demonstration and a meeting with Olympic medalists. But in the end, the talks between the officials yielded little other than details of business deals that had already been announced and a commitment to continue discussions about economic cooperation on four islands that both countries claim. The dispute over what Russia calls the southern Kurile Islands and Japan calls the Northern Territories has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty ending World War II. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Photo by via Getty We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today At a rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania on Thursday night, President-elect Donald Trump thanked "the African American community"not for voting for him, but instead for not voting at all. Trump reminded the crowd of giddy supporters of the closest thing his campaign could muster to black outreach. "Remember the famous line, because I talk about crime, I talk about lack of education, I talk about no jobsI say, 'What the hell do you have to lose?'" Trump said. "It's true. They're smart, and they picked up on it like you wouldn't believe. And you know what else? They didn't come out to vote for Hillary." But black voters didn't come out to vote for Trump, either. Despite a dip in black voter turnout, Hillary Clinton won the overwhelming majority of the black vote. In Pennsylvania, where Trump won by a narrow margin48.58 percent to Clinton's 47.85 percentClinton won 92 percent of black voters. Nationwide, 89 percent of black voters chose Clinton, while just 8 percent voted for Trump. Exactly 38 days have passed since Trump won the election, but between recounts, Russian hacking allegations, and Trump's insistence on going on a "victory tour" of all the states he won, it seems like the election is never going to endand if you feel like you've heard Trump's macabre thank you to black voters before, it's because you probably have. Trump dropped the same line at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan just last week. "They came through, big league," Trump said of black voters. "And frankly, if they had any doubt, they didn't vote, and that was almost as good because a lot of people didn't show up, because they felt good about me." The governments of some of the states where Trump won by the narrowest marginslike Michigan and Wisconsinhave been accused of voter suppression both before and after the election. The Michigan Democratic Party filed a suit against the Trump campaign alleging that it was actively working to disenfranchise minority voters. In September, a federal court rejected some of Wisconsin's strictest voter ID laws (but left others untouched). In North Carolina, lawmakers were less subtlethe state's GOP bragged about low turnout among black voters. In Pennsylvania, Trump also thanked "the Hispanic community," which is "great" and "fantastic" and doesn't "want people coming in and taking their jobs." Latino voter turnout was at an all-time-high, but Trump received just 18 percent of the Latino vote to Clinton's 79 percenta record high. According to the Washington Post, the 61-point gap between Clinton and Trump is the largest recorded by Latino Decisions. During the 2012 presidential election, Obama received 75 of the Latino vote. Mitt Romney scored just 23 percent of the Latino vote, and some blamed the GOP candidate's lack of Latino support on his subsequent support for "self-deportation." In retrospect, it almost seems quaint. At this point, it's pretty clear Trump's just rubbing his razor thin electoral victory in our collective faces. (Clinton isn't doing much better.) And for the record, bragging about people not voting or not being able to vote is shameful, but it's long been clear that America's next president has no shame. Do the right thing on Monday, electors. When someone tells you that you're owed a big chunk of money and all you need to do is "claim" it, you're being scammed... Unless that someone is the New York State Comptroller's Office, which each year collects hundreds of millions of dollars in funds that New Yorkers are owed from old bank accounts, utility security deposits, stock holdings, and a range of other places, but that they do not know exist. If you type your name into this database on the Office of The New York State Comptroller's website, and we promise this is not a joke, you can see if there are unclaimed funds you are owed. If there are, the filing process for retrieving the funds is generally simple, and the state will send you a check. Last year, the comptroller's office disbursed $452 million dollars worth of unclaimed funds. I did this two years ago and discovered that the comptroller had collected $425 of money that was apparently mine. I filed a claim and pretty soon after, got a check for $425 in the mail. Recently, I looked up a few friends and found one of them in the database. He applied and he just got his check for $270. He promised to buy me a drink, although I'm thinking maybe he could at least take me out for tacos or something. That's four months of cell phone bills. Most people haven't heard of this program and it sounds too good to be true, but somehow it is not. There's more than $14 billion of unclaimed funds out there, so take the time to look yourself up. It's absolutely worth it. And if you're truly a good friend or a filial son or daughter, you can even look up your buddies or parents and let them know if they've got a little Christmas/non-denominational end-of-year bonus coming their way, courtesy of New York State. 1. Fill in your name or an alias. Do not leave blank or use the name 'guest' or 'anonymous'. 2. No Nivul Peh. Profanity will be deleted. BENGALURU: Today, it has become crucial for small businesses proprietors to step into space for content marketing as it presents a gigantic chance to pull in the right clients and retain them. Also, a variety of online channels can help small businesses to put their products and services on display and persuade targeted audience. The best part of content marketing is that you wont need to launch an expensive ad campaign or practice other traditional marketing efforts. There are a plethora of blogs and other articles that would talk about how one can promote themselves on the online platform or via social media. Here we outline you some of the prevailing reasons that why to dive into content marketing (for businesses of all shapes and sizes): Quality Content Spurs Conversion Business people work very hard every day to grow their sales and draw in new clients for more margins. A relationship is developed with the customers after each sale, and businesses need to gain the trust of customers in order to patronize them. Anyone can get started with it by creating interesting, informative marketing content, blog posts, YouTube videos, newsletters, viral news articles, etc. Sharing posts further across social media platforms strengthens the bonds with existing customers and can win new customers. Opportunity to show your expertise What do people want while looking for a product or service? The explanation of why should they choose a particular provider for their particular need. Exactly! While hiring a service or purchasing any product, consumers tend to favor picking a company which understands their stuff more than they do. Taking advantage of content marketing, businesses need to express their products or services in a way that connects with the onlooker and hitch them. Drive Sales with Innovation Content marketing itself is strategic and innovative. Creating social media campaigns and personalizing content so that business reach to maximum people requires a pool of talented people capable of embedding their creativity to business offerings. These activities will ultimately be covering thousands and millions of people and draw them to the companys website. This increased traffic can be converted to increased sales if approached properly. Read Also: Measures Laid Down for Microsoft's Acquisition of LinkedIn Telecom Customer Base Reached To 1074 Mn With Jio Entry In Sep BENGALURU: As we get closer to 2017, we leave behind a bunch of memories and events that has made this past year great. Although, when it comes to cinema, compared to the glory of yesteryears, 2016 hasnt been great due to unknown reasons. Looking back into 2016, the American Film Institute has officially released the list of top 10 movies thatin every aspectmanaged to impress the audience. The film Arrival grabs the first spot, while Fences holds the second position, Hacksaw Ridge in the third, followed by Hell or High Water, La La Land and Manchester by the Sea in the fourth, fifth and sixth spot respectively. On the seventh position is the Moonlight, followed by Silence, Sully and Zootopia that grabs rest of the AFIs list respectively. The list looks impressive, as the movies enlisted by AFI are from a diverse categories that include the Arrivala sci-fi epic, along with true stories such as Sully and Hacksaw Ridge. It also includes the musical wonder La La Land, Martin Scorsese's period drama Silence, and family dramas such as the Moonlight, Fences, Hell Or High Water, and Manchester By The Sea. Last but not the least, crafted with a beautiful storyline, Disney's animated epic Zootopia also makes its way to the list. With the 89th Academy Awards (Oscars) coming up in 2017, we can expect to see some of these epic films to get honored for their exceptional level of talent in the film industry. Read Also: 'Deepwater Horizon': Disastrously Awful 'Hands Of Stone': Generic Yet Forceful News, analysis, and archives on the grassroots in Haiti. Nouvel, analiz, ak achiv sou baz yo an AYITI. Noticias, analisis y archivos sobre el pueblo de Haiti. NEW DELHI: India has signed agreements with Sri Lanka, Finland, Spain and three other countries whereby airlines from those nations can operate unlimited number of flights to six Indian metro airports. Such pacts have also been inked with Jamaica, Guyana, and Czech Republic. Terming the pact as "Open Skies agreement as per NCAP (National Civil Aviation Policy) 2016", the Civil Aviation Ministry today said the new arrangement would encourage connectivity and passenger travel between India and these countries. The pacts allow "unlimited number of flights to six metro airports namely Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai," it said in a release. New Air Service Agreements have also been signed with Jamaica and Guyana. These agreements were signed during the recently concluded International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN) 2016 at Nassau, Bahamas. According to the release, India held negotiations with 17 countries and 'Memorandum of Understanding' was signed with 12 countries at ICAN. Besides, India has re-negotiated traffic rights with Oman increasing the entitlements with 6,258 seats. With Saudi Arabia, India has agreed to increase the capacity by 8,000 seats per week, the release said. "Indian also agreed with Ghana to increase the present allocation of 2 frequencies to 7 frequencies per week to encourage connectivity between the two countries," it added. The ministry said negotiations were completed with 9 countries to enable the legal framework to make possible code shares between the airlines of two sides. "The negotiations have enabled domestic code shares with Czech Republic, Portugal and Malaysia, domestic and international code shares including third country airlines with Guyana...," the release said. Resolution of other issues relating to Air Services Agreement was also completed with Ghana, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, Hong Kong, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, it added. Read Also: India Remains One Of Fastest-Growing Countries: White House ICFA presents 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Ratan Tata NEW DELHI: Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) on Thursday presented 'Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016' to Tata Sons interim Chairman Ratan Tata in Mumbai. According to ICFA, the Leadership Awards jury conferred on Tata the 'Lifetime Achievements Award 2016' for his transformational role in scaling Tata Group as the globally admired group during his stint of two decades as Chairman. "The Leadership Awards Jury, Chaired by Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, pioneer of India's Green Revolution, decided to confer upon Ratan Tata the Lifetime Achievements Award 2016... for his overall contributions spanning over five decades through industry-led development of the Indian economy and agriculture, which positively impacted the lives of millions of people in India and globally," ICFA said in a statement. "The award was presented to Tata at his office (in Mumbai) this morning, as he could not attend the awards ceremony in New Delhi on September 18." Read Also: The 3rd Largest Military in the World is Fourth Largest Military Spender Not only Film Stars; Even Politicians Own Hi-Tech Buses BENGALURU: It's not just the recently elected U.S President who's hell-bent on military build-up. According to IHS Jane's latest annual Defense Budgets report, amid rising feuds and pockets of instability, global defense spending is expected to grow sharply in the next decade. Principal analyst at the London-based defense and security analysis firm, Craig Caffrey says Global defense expenditures rose to $1.57 trillion this year from $1.55 trillion in 2015 as Asian nations act on growing nervousness around the South China Sea. Fenella McGerty, another analyst at IHS Jane's, expects spending levels to return to pre-2008-2009 financial crisis levels by 2018. Here we bring a breakdown of expenditure on military operations at different regions: Asia, especially India Pakistan spent $9.5 bn on military expenses last year, which is $1.2 bn more than what they did in 2014, according to data published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). China's defense budget is expected to reach $233 billion by 2021, which will be almost four times what the U.K. spends and more than the combined expenditure of Western Europe. India overtakes Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the fourth-largest spender in the world; India's military spending in 2015 was $51.3 billion. Combined budget of EU members According to the report, European Union members boosted their combined budget to $219 billion in 2016, with Western Europe leading the charge. The only thing that has been holding them back is the economic constraints in the south and the problems related to Brexit. Russia Russia, on the other hand, has been cutting budget since the late 1990s to $48 billion this year. "Despite a hit from the dramatic drop in oil prices, the Middle East as a whole is not expected to dramatically reduce expenditures considering regional instability," Caffrey told Bloomberg. America The US remains in pole position at $622 billion in 2016; its budget accounting for about 40 percent of the global total, reveals the report. The Pentagon's "investment levels going forward were to decrease by 1.1 percent in real terms, but with the election of Trump, the expectation is that both investment and readiness will receive injections of much-needed funds," said Guy Eastman, a senior analyst. Read Also: PM Modi Ranked 9th Among World's Most Powerful People By Forbes India Tops Asia In Innovation Chart BENGALURU: As we rapidly move towards 2017, we carry a bundle of hopes to achieve something new, to explore the unexplored paths, to meet new people, and to utilize the opportunities that lie ahead. But, before planning for the long year, you must know that 2017 comes along with a bunch of long weekendsa long-awaited opportunity for travel enthusiasts across the country. To make 2017 memorable for you, we have enlisted some travel destinations that can also help you use the long weekends wisely. 1. In January, Chill Your Senses at Khajjiar Soon after the New Years hangover, you will be forced to get back to the hustle and bustle of urban jungles. But, next year, in the month of January, you will be amazed to know that the Republic day falls on a Thursday. You just have to take a single holiday and head out for a chilling experience at Khajjiar in Himachal Pradesh, also known as the Mini Switzerland of India. Although it will be a short stay, the tiny lake and luscious green meadows will definitely take you to a unique level of calmness. Read Also: Top Southeast Asian Holiday Destinations List of the Social Media Trends Witnessed in 2016 BENGALURU: In a highly anticipated move, Amazon India launched its most awaited global program Amazon Launchpad in India this week. Launchpad will aid startups to market and distribute their products through a dedicated store. In collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Nasscoms 10,000 Startup initiative to help identify and enroll startups, as reported by The New Indian Express. According to Amit Agarwal, Vice President and Country Head, Amazon India, We are encouraging innovations from the start-up community. India is an amazing country with great minds which invent amazing products and we will support their growth by helping customers discover their new products not just in India but other countries around the world. Amazon is very excited about this new venture and Amazon.in has over 400 productsranging from wearable technology, smart homes, food and beverages, home furnishings, toys and much more. The move will help entrepreneurs to leverage the Amazon platform to increase their business. Nasscom is thrilled to support and partner with the Amazon Launchpad program. The timing is just perfect. The nascent Indian hardware/ IoT product ecosystem can now fully leverage the reach and power of Amazons distribution and marketing capabilities. said Dr R. Chandrashekhar, President, Nasscom. The problem that any new company faces is the case of finding early adopters of the products, and Amazon will provide them the perfect platform to get going. Indians are really excited about this opportunity and even before the launch of the program; more than 25 startups have enrolled themselves for the program. India is now placed sixth on the list to have the Launchpad program, joining the likes of the UK, France and US among others. Read Also: Facebook Backs Indian Edu-Tech Platform XPrep ClearTax Platform To Aid Startups Begin Ops In 3 Weeks STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Currently, the drug and substance abuse epidemic on Staten Island is growing faster than ever. Fifth graders are using terms like "pill party" and "K-2" nonchalantly, and it's actually quite disturbing. Adults, as well as children, are becoming addicts at alarming rates. Many of them are turning to heroin as a last resort, because is cheaper and more easily available than the prescription drugs they are hooked on. People are losing loved ones. Kids are losing friends. Families are being torn apart. There's an abundance of reasons for this crisis, as are the ways to combat it. That's why IlluminArt Productions is combatting drug abuse through theater and addressing this crisis with a new play called "Prescription for Addiction." This production tackles the scourge of prescription drug and heroin addiction. Six years ago, IlluminArt Productions started on Staten Island under the direction of Arlene Sorkin, a social worker with a background in blending theater with education. Every year, their programming has expanded. It currently includes a touring company that has performed at over 30 schools and community organizations this school year. One of their notable performances is "Peace Up!" for grades 2 to 5, focusing on constructive ways to channel anger; "What Goes Around." Two more are: "What Goes Around" for grades 6 to 12, addressing violence, bullying, conflict resolution, and respect as a core value and "Sometimes I Just Want Ice Cream" for grades 6 to 12, looking at grief and loss through the eyes of youth. Natalie DiRocco of Tackling Youth Substance Abuse shared, "It's powerful to see Staten Island teens use their voices through creative outlets to educate their peers on issues impacting the community." IlluminArt Productions has a mission to empower individuals through theater and is doing this by performing a play that addresses the current drug abuse crisis. These powerful performances are done for schools, PTAs, community groups, and other organizations. "Prescription for Addiction" was written by seniors at Susan Wagner High School's theater program, in collaboration with IlluminArt's professional teaching artists. The students and artists made sure to use relatable and common language used especially on Staten Island. This play provides people, especially teenagers, with the tools and knowledge they need to prevent drug abuse. Staten Island Borough President James Oddo said, "This is a problem that we as a community must own, keep out in the open, and not be ashamed to talk about or discuss. IlluminArt's combination of compelling theater and a powerful message will help us in these efforts." IlluminArt's Executive Director, Arlene Sorkin, shared "When people -- young people in particular -- are presented with scenes similar to what they might encounter in real life, and are then shown ways to respond appropriately, it empowers them to resist peer pressure." She added, "Parents with a real understanding of what their children might be facing are better equipped to handle situations and will know they are not alone in any struggles they may face." All of the material has been reviewed and edited by addiction specialists and health professionals to assure the accuracy and value of the message displayed in the play. It also has the backing and support of a number of Staten Island elected officials. "Prescription for Addiction" was developed with funding from NYS Senator Andrew Lanza, NYC Council Member Steven Matteo, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. "I have been impressed with the work done by IlluminArt Productions for years now, as its team addresses social issues through theater. I am pleased and proud to support them as they provide another weapon in our arsenal against the plague of heroin addiction that is ravaging our community," said NYS Senator Andrew Lanza. Council Member Matteo added, "IlluminArt does a fantastic job of engaging and educating young people about drugs through performing arts and that is why I am glad to contribute to their efforts for another year." NYS Assembly Member Michael Cusick also supports IlluminArt and their efforts to end this drug epidemic. He said, "I cannot thank the students and staff from IlluminArt and Susan Wagner High School enough for their tremendous efforts in addressing the opioid epidemic that has touched too many lives in our borough." To schedule a showing of "Prescription for Addiction" at your location, call 347-951-9650 or email . You can also visit their website at . STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD is searching for suspects after two East Shore delis were robbed Friday morning. Masked suspects brandished guns in both heists, which occurred less than three miles from one another in Rosebank and Dongan Hills shortly before the start of the morning rush hour. Police are not formally linking the two incidents, but a source with knowledge of the investigation said that some elements of the robberies are similar. While it's not yet known what was taken in the Rosebank incident, the suspects in the Dongan Hills robbery took about $1,000 and 10 packs of Newport cigarettes. The incidents were reported at 4:23 a.m. at All in One Deli & Grocery at 1386 Bay Street in Rosebank and at about 5 a.m. at Giani Foodmart at 1244 Richmond Rd. in Dongan Hills, an NYPD spokeswoman said. A police spokeswoman said a silver firearm was displayed in the Rosebank incident. The two suspects are described as black males wearing hospital-style masks and gloves, the spokeswoman said. One wore a gray hooded top, while the other was dressed in a black hooded top, she added. An undetermined amount of money was taken and no one was injured in the robbery, the spokeswoman said. In the Dongan Hills incident, one of the masked suspects is described as a white male in a white hooded top with a black firearm, while the other is described as a black male in a black hooded top and baseball cap, the spokeswoman said. An NYPD detective who is probing both incidents declined to comment to the Advance. Police mobilizations were called following both robberies as officers searched the neighborhoods for the suspects, according to police radio transmissions. Robberies are down more than 7 percent this year compared to 2015, with 404 incidents as of Sunday, according to NYPD CompStat. NWS DEBLASIO Mayor Bill de Blasio faces Staten Islanders with their questions during his town hall meeting at PS 48 on April 20, 2016. (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores) CITY HALL -- Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to hold at least two more town halls on Staten Island, starting with the North Shore. Councilwoman Debi Rose's office went back-and-forth with City Hall over possible dates this fall but none ultimately worked out. "I know that many of my constituents have questions for the mayor about various issues here on the North Shore," Rose (D-North Shore) said in a statement. "Though we were not able to secure a date this fall, I look forward to working with the mayor's office on a date in the new year for a town hall to discuss North Shore issues." De Blasio spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said the mayor's office plans to host a town hall in each Council member's district. "We will of course be back on Staten Island for another Town Hall," Goldstein said. Staten Island is the only borough where de Blasio hasn't returned for a second town hall. There have been two on Manhattan's Upper West Side alone, most recently on Thursday. Goldstein pointed out that de Blasio has hosted a town hall in a third of Staten Island's Council districts. That compares to 44 percent of Bronx districts that have had a mayoral town hall, followed by 31 percent of those in Brooklyn, 30 percent in Manhattan and 29 percent in Queens. De Blasio held his first Staten Island town hall as mayor on April 20 at PS 48 in Concord, within the district of Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid-Island). "This gave me a lot more insight," de Blasio said at the end of the town hall. "This is my first town hall meeting on Staten Island -- I look forward to the next." A spokesman for Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) said City Hall hasn't reached out to the office yet about hosting a town hall on Staten Island's South Shore. AP-Electors.jpg Republican elector Hector Maldonado, a Missouri National Guardsman, has taken the time to console one correspondent, a single mother and Air Force veteran who is beside herself with worry about what a Trump presidency will mean. (Associated Press) WASHINGTON -- There's more hustle than hope behind an effort to derail Donald Trump's presidency in the Electoral College. Republican electors are being swamped with pleas to buck tradition and cast ballots for someone else at meetings across the country Monday that are on course to ratify Trump as the winner. AP interviews with more than 330 electors from both parties found little appetite for a revolt. Whether they like Trump or not, and some plainly don't, scores of the Republicans chosen to cast votes in the state-capital meetings told AP they feel bound by history, duty, party loyalty or the law to rubber-stamp their state's results and make him president. Appeals numbering in the tens of thousands -- drowning inboxes, ringing cellphones, stuffing home and office mailboxes with actual handwritten letters -- have not swayed them. The interviews found widespread Democratic aggravation with the electoral process but little expectation that the rush of anti-Trump maneuvering can stop him. For that to happen, Republican-appointed electors would have to stage an unprecedented defection. Still, people going to the typically ho-hum electoral gatherings have been drawn into the rough and tumble of campaign-season politics. Republicans are being beseeched to revolt in a torrent of lobbying, centered on the arguments that Clinton won the popular vote and that Trump is unsuited to the presidency. Most of it is falling on deaf ears, but it has also led to some acquaintances being made across the great political divide. "Let me give you the total as of right now: 48,324 emails about my role as an elector," said Brian Westrate, a small-business owner and GOP district chairman in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. "I have a Twitter debate with a former porn star from California asking me to change my vote. It's been fascinating." Similarly deluged, Republican elector Hector Maldonado, a Missouri National Guardsman, has taken the time to console one correspondent, a single mother and Air Force veteran who is beside herself with worry about what a Trump presidency will mean. "Everything's going to be OK," he said he told her. "I know you're scared, but don't worry. Everything's going to be OK. And I know that it will be." Maldonado, a Mexican immigrant and medical-equipment seller in Sullivan, Missouri, backed Ted Cruz in the primaries but will cast his vote for Trump with conviction. "I took an oath once to become a U.S. citizen," he said, "and on Aug. 14, 1995, that was the first oath that I've taken to support the U.S. Constitution. A year later I took the oath again, to support the duties of being an officer in the U.S. Army. This was the third oath that I've taken to execute what I promised to do." Even a leader of the anti-Trump effort, Bret Chiafalo of Everett, Washington, calls it a "losing bet" -- but one he says the republic's founders would want him to make. "I believe that Donald Trump is a unique danger to our country and the Founding Fathers put the Electoral College in place to, among other things, stop that from happening," said Chiafalo, 38, an Xbox network engineer who backed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. It takes 270 electoral votes to make a president. Despite losing the national popular vote, Trump won enough states to total 306 electoral votes. He would need to see three dozen fall away for him to lose his majority. Only one Republican elector told AP he won't vote for Trump. Over the sweep of history, so-called faithless electors -- those who vote for someone other than their state's popular-vote winner -- have been exceptionally rare. Nashville attorney Tom Lawless, who chose Marco Rubio in the primaries, described his vow to cast his electoral vote for Trump in blunt terms. "Hell will freeze and we will be skating on the lava before I change," he said. "He won the state and I've pledged and gave my word that that's what I would do. And I won't break it." Nor will Jim Skaggs, 78, a developer from Bowling Green, Kentucky, despite deep concern about Trump. "His personality worries me," Skaggs said. "He is not open-minded." Skaggs knew Trump's father through the construction business, met the son in his 20s, and "I wasn't impressed." "I hope he is far better than I think he is," Skaggs said. Even so, "I fully intend to vote for Donald Trump," he said. "I think it's a duty." State law and practices vary for electors, but even in states where electors don't take an oath to vote a certain way or don't face legal ramifications for stepping out of line, the heavy expectation is for them to ratify the results. As much as they don't want Trump in office, some Democrats are as reluctant as Republicans to go rogue. "We lost the election," said John Padilla of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Democratic ward chairman. "That's how elections are and you shake hands with your opponent and you get on with what you have to do and support your candidate." Yet Democratic electors, stung by losing an election to a Republican who trails Clinton by more than 2.6 million votes nationwide, spoke strongly in the interviews in favor of overhauling or throwing out the electoral system. Republican electors generally supported it, reasoning that it provides a counterweight to political dominance by coastal states with huge, and largely Democratic, populations, like California and New York. Chiafalo is a co-founder of the Hamilton Electors, a group formed to steer other electors from both parties to a third candidate. "We've stated from Day 1 this is a long shot, this is a Hail Mary," he said. But if the effort fails, it won't be from lack of trying. Most of the pleas to reject Trump are coordinated, automated, professionally generated and, for those reasons, none too persuasive. "We got a stack of letters from idiots," said Republican elector Edward Robson, 86, a Phoenix, Arizona, homebuilder. Fellow elector Carole Joyce, 72, a state committeewoman in Phoenix and retired public health nurse, was more charitable. "They've caused me great distress on my computer, that's for sure," she said. "I average anywhere from a thousand to 3,000 emails a day. And I'm getting inundated in my regular mailbox out front -- anywhere from 17 to 35 letters a day coming from Washington state, Oregon, all around the country. Hand-written, some of them five or six pages long, quoting me the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, asking me again out of desperation not to vote for Donald Trump. "And that's their right," she said. "I've had nothing threatening, I'm happy to say. The election is over. They need to move on." NWS RUMC Dr. Krishne Urs, mid-left, making a donation of $500K to Richmond University Medical Center's new emergency department construction project. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Richmond University Medical Center received a $500,000 donation Friday from philanthropist and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Krishne Urs for its emergency department construction project. Dr. Urs' pledge, which will go toward the medical center's $65 million project, was made during a ceremony in the hospital's MLB conference room. Daniel Messina, president and CEO of the hospital, accepted the donation from Dr. Urs, and thanked him for his generosity. "We would like to celebrate a very dedicated physician of the RUMC family and recognize Dr. Krishne Urs," Messina said. Dr. Urs received his medical degree with distinction from the University of Mysore in India. He arrived in New York City in 1962 and studied to become an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Urs began his practice at St. Vincent's Medical Center -- now Richmond University Medical Center -- in 1970. From 1986 to 2001, he served as chief of orthopaedic surgery at St. Vincent's Medical Center. Richmond University board chairwoman Kate Rooney, and Joe Torres, who chairs the capital campaign for the ER project, discussed Dr. Urs' passion for philanthropy. "Those of us who know Dr. Urs know that philanthropy and generosity are part of his soul and we at the hospital are so fortunate that he and his family have been so generous to our medical center," said Rooney. "I'd like to focus on what I feel is the greatest asset Dr. Urs has given us and that's inspiration," added Torres. "He told us, and I'm paraphrasing, when an opportunity arises to invest in infrastructure that is linked to such a vital community cause, it gives the donor an opportunity to have a lasting impact on the lives of their children and their grandchildren." Dr. Urs discussed the significance of the new emergency department project and what it means to give back to the community. "As many of you know, our community continues to grow and demands have been put on our hospital, especially our emergency room," he said. "We have been treating over 65,000 patients a year in a space originally designed for 22,000 patients. "I have spent my entire career in this hospital and it has been part of the fabric of my life and livelihood and I'm so grateful to give back to this organization and the people that it serves." nws snow globe A Good Samaritan surprised an Eltingville family with a "Frozen" snow globe ornament for their front lawn. Their previous one was taken last week. (Photo courtesy of the family) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A sweet teenager from upstate New York gave up a precious ornament to help an Eltingville family find that Christmas joy after a Grinch had stolen it -- along with their decorations. Lisa Cormier, of Laredo Avenue, was getting ready to head out of her home Wednesday afternoon when the doorbell rang. When she opened the door, a young gentleman from Saugerties, N.Y. invited her to come outside. When she stepped out, she saw a six-foot Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" air-blown snow globe, similar to the one that was taken from the family's front lawn last week. "I came outside and it was immediate tears," said Cormier, who guessed the stranger was around 16 or 17 years old. "He (the Good Samaritan whose last name is Sussin) told me it was his prized possession. I'm humbled someone would give up something so dear to them to make my child happy. "It humbles you." Cormier's 5-year-old daughter, who was distraught over the inflatable snow globe's disappearance, said, "That's mine?" "The smile on my daughter's face was priceless," the mom said. Cormier said the teen runs a Christmas light spectacular in his hometown and heard about the family's stolen Christmas decorations after seeing the Staten Island Advance story on Facebook. "He said, 'It would be better on your front lawn than part of my display,'" she said. "There aren't enough words to say thank you. Now, I will pay it forward." GRINCH STRIKES For three straight nights last week, holiday grinches came to the Cormier's home on Laredo Avenue and stole approximately $500 worth of Christmas ornaments from the front lawn, she said. Surveillance footage shows a man wearing white pants and a black sweater walking in front of Cormier's home on Dec. 5 at around 11:20 p.m. In the video, the man walks around the property, apparently inspecting what was on the front lawn. Then, Cormier claims, he disconnected three inflatables -- Anna and Elsa from "Frozen" and a snow globe -- waited for the ornaments to deflate, folded them up and walked away with them. "My husband left the house at night to go to work and realized that they were gone," the woman said. As if one theft wasn't enough, another one occurred the next day, also around 11:20 p.m., she said. Surveillance that night shows a man wearing black pants and a gray sweater walking onto the lawn, then putting ornaments in a shopping bag and walking off, Cormier said. Cormier said that she woke up the next morning and saw that her Rudolph and Bumble, the Abominable Snowman, lawn displays had disappeared. She didn't have security cameras, but her neighbor did and caught both thefts. "He was treating my property as if he was buying from the store," Cormier said. "This is absolutely ridiculous." The home was hit again after midnight on Dec. 7, the family said, with a thief stealing a polar bear display. According to police, a formal complaint has been filed for petit larceny. As of Thursday, the suspect had not been caught, the family said. Police couldn't confirm whether the suspect for the thefts is the same. The woman said that nothing like this has ever happened to her home and that she didn't have the money to replace all the ornaments. She added her three children, one of whom is a cancer survivor, were terribly sad that the ornaments were "just gone." "My daughter was crying the next day," she said. "Those ornaments were her favorite thing." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- On Dec. 16, 1960, the Staten Island skies experienced what was then considered the deadliest commercial accident in U.S. aviation history when a United Airlines jet collided with a TWA plane. A United Airlines DC-8 jet, carrying 84 passengers and crew members, was en route to what is now John F. Kennedy International Airport from Chicago, Ill. A TWA four-engine Constellation, carrying 44 passengers and crew members, was on its way to LaGuardia Airport from Dayton, Ohio. The DC-8 jet found itself nine miles off its intended course and strayed into the LaGuardia Airport approach pattern over Staten Island. The DC-8 jet and the Constellation collided at 5,000 feet in the air, about a mile west of Miller Field in New Dorp. At the time, the collision marked the deadliest accident in U.S. aviation history, killing 134 people, including 128 from both planes. When the TWA plane crashed into the snow-covered turf of Miller Field, pieces of the aircraft flew off, damaging nearby homes. The DC-8 jet continued flying until it crashed into Park Slope, Brooklyn. It took two years for the Civilian Aeronautics Board to release its findings, eventually placing the primary blame on the United Airlines pilot and crew for letting the DC-8 veer off course. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Those safe Staten Island streets of ours are feeling less safe by the day. And the crime is hitting us right where we live and shop. Here's the latest example: A string of minivan break-ins in North Shore neighborhoods like West Brighton and Grymes Hill. The method is simple and shocking: There are vans where the rear windows can be forced open without breaking them. The crook then slithers through and takes whatever money or valuables can be found. You have to be pretty thin to get it done, but it's all too possible. In one episode last Friday, a thief targeted a van on Delafield Avenue in West Brighton. Unfortunately, the folks who own the van had left two wallets and a purse in the vehicle, all of which were taken. So, don't leave your wallet and your purse in your vehicle. But even more stunning is that the crime occurred around 6:30 p.m. Hardly the dead of night, when you would expect something like this to happen. And, yes, in a neighborhood that most folks would consider safe. There was another through-the-window van robbery in West Brighton last Saturday night. Again, at the early hour of 7:50 p.m. Other episodes have been reported on Grymes Hill. It's starting to feel like no time of day is safe. Like no neighborhood is safe. And that's not all. A 58-year-old man was arrested and charged with three brazen daylight armed robberies that occurred over the last two weeks. The alleged robber, Carlo Dipadova, knocked over a Gamestop store in New Springville, a New York Man Suits store, also in New Springville, and a Payless shoe store in Charleston, according to cops. It was at the Payless that Dipadova's luck ran out. Police apprehended him after a highway pursuit on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Expressway. Oh, and there were two more deli robberies in the early hours of Friday morning. And let's not forget some of the other violence we've seen lately, including the horrific home-invasion robbery we had in Great Kills, where family members were tied up and threatened with a gun. And the shocking broad-daylight shooting in a main shopping area on Forest Avenue in Port Richmond. So, crime continues to blitz Staten Island's ordinary, everyday places. Into our stores and our neighborhoods. It makes you wonder just how much our Staten Island drug crisis is fueling our Staten Island crime problem. Dipadova, the alleged armed robber, was said to have had crack cocaine on him when he was arrested, according to police. And petty crime like car break-ins goes hand-in-hand with a surge in drug use. Addicts need money for a fix quickly. One of the methods is to go down residential streets and look in cars for easy pickings. They'll try to door handle to see if the vehicle is unlocked. Here's the story the crime stats tell: Murder, rape and auto theft are up on Staten Island. Robbery, felonious assault, burglary and grand larceny are down. So we can take comfort in that. You can decide for yourself if you feel safe out there. But, still, New York City is again becoming a place where you can't leave anything in plain sight in your car. And, yes, you should never leave your purse or your wallet or your phone in the car under any circumstances, for any amount of time, even if it's not in plain sight. That's just common sense. But things are getting so dicey that you again worry about leaving even spare change in the cup holder. And make sure you put those Christmas presents in the trunk if you're making multiple shopping stops this holiday season. You can't be too careful these days. A first-class ride for Cowboy Kel Bridle Path residents show love for mail carrier For the past six years, Kelvin Hoang has been delivering mail and smiles to people living in Simi Valleys Bridle Path neighborhood. We love Kelvin. Hes the best. Hes like... SV Womans Club to meet Detectives Kelly King and Jessica Getchius of the Simi Valley Police Department will discuss the problems faced by victims and perpetrators of domestic violence at the monthly luncheon meeting of... Womans flight aboard B-25 bomber honors grandfathers WWII bravery As Kerri Braemer-Castro looked down at the mountains and valleys of Camarillo from the cockpit of a World War II B-25 bomber earlier this month, she finally felt connected to... Shred your documents The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold a drive-thru document shredding event from 1 to 4 p.m. Fri., Nov. 11 in the parking lot behind the Chamber office, 40... By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948 /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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These juvenile flying foxes, known as pups, are among the few survivors of more than 30 cases of malnourished, injured and dead bats reported in the past month. A malnourished flying fox pup getting cared for by ACT Wildlife volunteers Credit:Rohan Thomson ACT Wildlife's Kristie Hawkins said reports like this had been unusually high in Canberra but a lack of food during the species' birthing season was having a "horrendous impact here and on the coast". Without adequate milk, the pups weren't strong enough to be independent, yet they were too heavy to be carried by their starving mothers. Canberra appears further than ever from its 2020 greenhouse gas target, with emissions continuing to rise. The government set a target of emissions being 40 per cent below the 1990 level by 2020. But they are currently 26 per cent higher than 1990, and rising. Wind turbines near Bungendore: Renewable energy contributed 21 per cent of Canberra's electricity in the past year. Credit:Bloomberg But Climate Change Minister Shane Rattenbury said emissions would begin to steeply decline from next year as more ACT-funded wind farms begin operating. "From next year, another large portion of ACT procured clean energy generation will come online, helping commence the dramatic decrease," he said, tabling the latest greenhouse gas report on Thursday. Canberra's only bourbon distillery could shut down if it does not find a permanent fix to its electricity woes. Baldwin Distilling Company was forced to hire a generator in January after it was revealed the Mitchell warehouse did not have enough electricity to keep equipment its bourbon-making equipment running, head distiller Anthony Baldwin said. Owner of Baldwin Distilling Anthony Baldwin at his distillery in Mitchell. Credit:Rohan Thomson Since then, the distillery has been paying $2500 a week to keep the power on. "When we signed the lease for this place last year one of the things I stupidly didn't check was the available power in Mitchell," Mr Baldwin said. There are just four hours of inactivity set aside in Hayley Teasdale's busy monthly schedule. Those hours, fewer than many people would schedule for relaxation or sport, are set aside for her to undergo a regular blood plasma-based medication transfusion. Hayley Teasdale has a rare immune deficiency, which means she needs regular transfusions of medicine made from blood plasma. Credit:Karleen Minney The transfusions help manage the common variable immune deficiency (CVID) Ms Teasdale was diagnosed with as a teenager. Every other minute of every day is set aside for work or other activities, from studying neuroscience for her PhD at the University of Canberra to her role on the institution's science and gender equality taskforce. A performance by an Aussie rock legend followed by more than a week of food and fun? That's what I'm talking about. Shannon Noll braved the rain to wow Christmas in the City crowds at the event's launch on Friday night. Shannon Noll at his soundcheck ahead of the Christmas in the City concert. Credit:Jay Cronan The 2003 Australian Idol runner-up was joined on the custom-built stage by Lah-Lah and her Big Live Band and The Brindabella Chorus ahead of the eight-day Christmas in the City Festival. Speaking ahead of the event, In the City Canberra chief executive Jane Easthope expressed her excitement at Noll's appearance. The system failed Paul Fennessy, when it allowed him to slip through the cracks, become a successful doctor-shopper, and finally administer himself a deadly cocktail of drugs, a coroner has found. Mr Fennessy, 21, died outside near a fence on January 6, 2010. Ann Finlay, whose son overdosed on prescription drugs in 2010. Credit:Rohan Thomson He had survived an overdose that day, one of many in his past. Once revived from unconsciousness by CPR and a dose of Narcan, he told staff at The Canberra Hospital he didn't care if he lived or died. But that afternoon he was allowed to leave the hospital. A 37-year-old probationer is accused of selling methamphetamine out of a Helena restaurant. Police responded to the 800 block of Great Northern Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon on a report of Jeffrey James Medina making drug deals at a restaurant. Court documents say Medina tried to run from officers. Medina, who is on probation for a sexual assault conviction, was apprehended after a short chase. Police reported finding a bag of meth, numerous small Baggies and a scale in his coat. Court documents say Medina told authorities the meth was for his personal use. "He advised he had the Baggies and scale so when he bought meth he knew he was getting the right amount," the documents note. Medina is jailed on a felony charge possession with intent to distribute, a probation violation and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer. -- Angela Brandt, Independent Record Australia must keep pace with the United States and cut its corporate tax rate if President-elect Donald Trump delivers on his promised reforms, ANZ chairman David Gonski says. Mr Trump won the US election last month promising to lower the tax rate for large and small businesses from 35 per cent to 15 per cent. At ANZ's annual general meeting on Friday, Mr Gonski said multinational corporations would not do business in Australia if our government did not match his cuts. "If it is the case that corporations in the US are taxed at 15 per cent, why would new technologies, why would any corporations wish to basically be here, when they're worldwide corporations?" he said. Some time around August 2013, hackers penetrated the email system of Yahoo, one of the world's largest and oldest providers of free email services. The attackers quietly scooped up the records of more than 1 billion users, including names, birth dates, phone numbers and passwords that were encrypted with an easily broken form of security. The intruders also obtained the security questions and backup email addresses used to reset lost passwords valuable information for someone trying to break into other accounts owned by the same user, and particularly useful to a hacker seeking to break into government computers around the world: Several million of the backup addresses belonged to military and civilian government employees from dozens of nations, including more than 150,000 Americans. The hack on Yahoo's email systems, announced this week, was the largest data breach of a company. No one knows what happened to the data during the next three years. But last August, a geographically dispersed hacking collective based in Eastern Europe quietly began offering the whole database for sale, according to Andrew Komarov, chief intelligence officer at InfoArmor, an Arizona cybersecurity firm, who monitors the dark corners of the internet inhabited by criminals, spies and spammers. Three buyers, two known spammers and an entity that appeared more interested in espionage, paid about $300,000 each for a complete copy of the database, he said. The competition watchdog will not appeal a Federal Court ruling that Woolworths did not act unconscionably when it demanded up to $60 million in cash from suppliers to plug a profit shortfall. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said the watchdog had decided not to appeal the judgement after careful consideration. Woolworths has won its case against the competition watchdog. Pictured: Chairman Gordon Cairns and CEO Brad Banducci. Credit:Jessica Hromas "In particular, the ACCC has noted the acceptance by the Court of the evidence given by Woolworths executives, and the Court's comments on the ACCC's reliance on documents to establish its case," he said. "The ACCC will take these comments into account in its consideration of future cases on unconscionable conduct, including in the supermarket sector." Paul Zahra was a poster boy for diversity as the first openly gay leader of an ASX200 company. Credit:Janie Barrett "Sometimes chief executives think they don't have a problem because they're such significant recruiters of women but what they haven't checked is the pyramid," Zahra says. "There's a high proportion of women at the front line but as you go up the hierarchy, it's a very different story." Former Pacific Brands chief Sue Morphet. Credit:Peter Braig The Workplace Gender Equity Agency's (WGEA) most recent data shows the retail sector lags behind key measures of Australia's broader business sector. Close to 60 per cent of retail workers are women and yet more than 88 per cent of chief executives are men, compared to 83.7 per cent across all industries. JB Hi-Fi boss Richard Murray knows his business needs to do better. Credit:Pat Scala There's a high proportion of women at the front line but as you go up the hierarchy, it's a very different story. Paul Zahra Almost 73 per cent of key management personnel in retail are men and not even one-third of general managers are women. This data needs to be considered in the context of shopping and who makes the major purchasing decisions. Fashion industry veteran Karen Webster. In discretionary retail women account for about 70 per cent of all purchases and in shopping centres women easily account for more than half of all customers if not closer to two-thirds. This all makes it even harder to understand why women's voices are not more prominent at the boardroom table and as leaders of the major chains. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyons. Credit:Louise Kennerley Zahra also warns that gender equity is the starting point for any company that's serious about diversity and inclusion. "Until gender equity is achieved we have no hope of achieving inclusion of the other dimensions of diversity such as LGBTI, people with a disability or people who come from a diverse cultural background," Zahra says. "For retailers diversity is about reflecting your diverse customer base at the senior management and board to ensure you continue to be relevant." Fashion industry veteran and head of strategy and development at Whitehouse Institute of Design Karen Webster is optimistic "brilliant" retailers such as the Just Group's Judy Coomber and Colette Garnsey will lead major retail operations in the future. Both Garnsey and Coomber work for the Solomon Lew-controlled Premier Investments, which is led by former David Jones chief Mark McInnes. Webster says there's no lack of women in retail, leading powerful, profitable brands like Mimco and Sussan and she says it wasn't long ago that there were women in charge of some of Australia's biggest chains. "If you go back 10 years there was Dawn Robertson at Myer and then we had Launa Inman chief executive of Target and Sally Macdonald at Oroton and of course Naomi Milgrom is chief executive of Sussan Group," says Webster "I'm not sure why at this moment in time there are not more women in chief executive roles." "But I also think the industry is on the brink of change because of new technology, because of the major retailers coming into Australia, and it's having a massive impact on the processes and systems we embed. "And our industry has to change to be competitive." The problem for the sector and for the thousands of women who serve customers every day is that many of these influential women in senior roles are not highly visible outside their individual brands or businesses. And this is a big challenge for an industry that needs to map out how girls and women can progress from working at a checkout or sales counter to the executive level. Dominique Lambpoints the finger at inaction on the gender equality blueprint developed by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and the recommendations in relation to key issues such as flexible work arrangements. The chief executive of the National Retail Association says most women in retail were in unskilled roles and many of them are part-time and casual roles. "In retail for a long time there's been the view that it isn't necessarily a career ... women typically use retail as a way to remain employed while they care for children," says Lamb. "There's a lack of succession planning and within the industry we don't go far enough to educate the young women in our workforces about what they can do and where they can go." Ironically the flexibility that draws women to many retail roles is not necessarily evident higher up the corporate ladder, according to Lamb. "I don't think retailers purposely set out not to have women in senior leadership roles ... but we haven't seen the kind of support businesses need to understand a complex issue like gender equity," Lamb says. "We are still so far behind as a nation in gender equity, we have both sides of government talking about what gender equity means but some of the policies are counter-intuitive to that. "There's a responsibility for all businesses to educate their workforces about what gender equity is, it's not just about women it's also about giving men access to the same rights as women." JB Hi-Fi boss Richard Murray knows his business needs to do better after recently revealing that none of his direct reports are women. He said the diversity that was obvious when you walked into a JB Hi-Fi store wasn't necessarily reflected in management and that was something that needed to change. "We need a clearer vision internally of what we want to achieve and it's been a busy year but that's no excuse," says Murray. "The reality is half our customers are women and when I go into a store diversity is not an issue but I want to make sure the great DNA at a store level continues to support office and we need to make sure that as people progress through their careers, we need to understand the things we can do to make that a clearer path." Coles and Woolworths have long recognised the power and influence of their female customers but behind the scenes the grocery sector is grappling with some serious legacy issues, according to Sue Morphet. Morphet, who is the former chief of Pacific Brands, as well as a non-executive director and adviser for Chief Executive Women, claims grocery's "blokey" culture could discourage women from pursuing senior roles. "Traditionally grocery has been a very male world and it used to be a very blokey environment," Morphet says, "but I can't understand why that pattern hasn't been broken. "There are some very good women, who are very skilled retailers and it's disappointing they haven't got to the top of the big retail businesses. "But if you look at small to medium-sized retailers, it's dominated by women." Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns was congratulated by a shareholder at the supermarket giant's annual meeting last month for building a board with equal representation of men and women. However Australia's biggest supermarket chain acknowledges there's more to do to improve the representation of women in executive and management roles as well as gender pay gap issues. Workplace Gender Equality Agency director Libby Lyonsis blunt in her assessment of the retail sector's gender equality performance, which she says is pretty much in line with every other Australian industry apart from healthcare and social assistance. Lyons said their data showed female graduates were overwhelmingly moving into female-dominated industries and male grads into male-dominated industries. "This industrial segregation of occupations is a problem across the board," Lyons says. The agency's recently released list of preferred employers did not include one retail trade employer, which Lyons said spoke volumes about the sector You can read James Packer's sell down and impending exit from the Macau market many ways. But there is no mistaking the fact that he is going through a business divorce with Lawrence Ho. It's Packer's second relationship split this year and in most respects this one is far more crucial one than the split with Mariah Carey. The two heir-moguls had big plans to spread their casino money-making machines around the world, but this week Packer announced he was selling around half his remaining stake in the Crown Resorts venture with Ho, Melco Crown, in what looks to be an accident of curious timing. The crackdown by the Chinese Government on Macau gaming that started a few years ago and that decimated the earnings of casino operators like Crown Melco appears to be coming to an end. Over the past six months the tide as started to turn In Macau. The latest gaming revenue figures show signs for optimism. Only this month Deutsche Bank increased its earnings forecasts for Crown Resorts by 3-4 per cent to reflect its revised Macau gross gaming revenue (GGR) and Melco Crown's earnings forecasts. A custom of Hogmanay: the first guest over the threshold on New Year's Day, it was hoped, would bring an assortment of humble, symbolic items of food and drink in order to procure good luck for the host in the coming year. On New Year's Day, she had us over for "a cup of tea". I can't remember if she was born here or an immigrant from Scotland, but she was certainly proud of her Scottish heritage. She explained that we were her first guests on New Year's Day, a detail of significance in her culture. Something called First-Footing. She was the first neighbour we had in Australia. She left us place settings for two, two tea towels, and a kettle on our doorstep after she learned that our things wouldn't arrive from America for another month and a half. Since we had none of these items, our neighbour had them ready for us to give to her: salt, coal, whiskey, shortbread, and a fruit cake of some kind sat upon a plate on the entry table near her front door. She let us choose the items from the plate that we wished to give her, and then we handed them back to her as we stepped inside. While we sat in the foyer of her terrace house and enjoyed her homemade shortbread cookies, she proceeded to tell us about "The Neighbourhood". The neighbours on the other side were an "eyesore", she said. Italians. "Always talking loudly in Italian on their phones, leaning out the windows. I have to ask them to be quiet five times a day or keep my windows shut. And they hang their laundry across that upstairs balcony. The council really should do something about it. I've reported it more than once," she said. The loud-talking Italian neighbours were one thing, but the Chinese who fed the pigeons in the small park behind her house seemed to be an even greater source of agony. According to our neighbour, the Chinese dirtied up the park. They left litter and food around for the pigeons to pick at, and eventually the seagulls would come and really make a mess of things. "Those birds, they just spread garbage and disease. It was discussed at the last council meeting. Something will be done about it." She gave us the lay of the land. The Woolworths on the corner was where the Aborigines gathered. "But they're relatively harmless. Just drunk. Don't give them money." There was a butcher a street over who sold turkeys for the Americans at the holidays, and if I ever needed any jewellery or watches repaired, she knew a good repairman: "He's Greek but trustworthy." My husband and I listened and smiled politely and tried to get out of there as quickly as possible. Our neighbour was kind in her intentions, but her blind unawareness of her basis of judgment of other human beings was disturbing, and in large quantities, a potentially dangerous thing. Remarkable students Congratulations to the three students who received a score of 99.95 in the ATAR results for 2016 ("Top ACT students planning the next course of action", December 14, p2-3) . They are truly remarkable students and we can only wish them a success in their future studies. All three students attended state colleges and yet that was almost not mentioned. If they had been to private colleges I am sure the CT would have sort comments from the various principals, so why not from the state colleges? One of the students was from Melbe Copland, which for many years has been the subject of very unfair criticism. So congratulations Melba Copland. It was also a bit disappointing to see that there was no mention of teachers. As Doug Hodgson (Letters, December 15) points out everyone is quick to blame teachers when things seemingly don't go to plan, so why aren't they given a bit of recognition when things do go to plan? So to all the teachers ... You should be very proud of the part you played in your students' achievements. Geoff Barker, Flynn Maybe becoming not so special Is it not enough that Civic and Northbourne Avenue are already covered by 10 special planning precincts ("New precinct aims for urban renewal", December 16, p4)? The City Centre, Northbourne Avenue and Inner North have had special planning precincts since 2008. By 2012 the ACT Government had set up additional special precincts, each covering a section of Northbourne Avenue, for Braddon, Lyneham and Dickson. Without informing the Legislative Assembly, the Government used a Technical Amendment to cover sections of Northbourne Avenue with more special planning precincts for Acton, O'Connor, and Downer, and to create a special Central Canberra planning precinct that covers all of these areas. If this trend continues, each building on Northbourne Avenue will soon have its own special planning precinct. Leon Arundell, Downer Little hope for fair rules According to your editorial "Reassurance needed on Northbourne" (December 16, p18) "Mr Barr's reference to the 'successful' developments of Southbank in Brisbane and East Perth does not augur well ... But Labor's propensity for putting commercial considerations first is long-standing ... Only by outlining fair and impartial planning rules will Mr Barr reassure those who fear his vision for Northbourne has dollar signs in front of it." One sees little hope of such rules being outlined, far less enacted and adhered to. Gary J Wilson , Macgregor Putting cyclist before the dog The "Cut cyclists speed pleads bereft owner", December 5, pp 6-7, article combines persistent pet related non-news with what seems to be an attempt to engender animosity towards cyclists. The story notes, conveniently ignored by subsequent letter writers, the dog actually strayed into the path of the cyclist. A more accurate title would be "Cyclist avoids a fall after collision with uncontrolled dog". An impact involving a bicycle will almost certainly be painful and potentially expensive for all concerned, including cyclists. This point was diplomatically made by your correspondent (John Rogers, Letters, December 8) who tells us of a friend who died as a result of a fall caused by a dog. The advice from the JACS spokesperson at the end of the article should have been given more prominence, but the CT went for excessive sentiment and uninformed speculation about physics. Pedestrians need to keep left, to walk dogs on a lead on the left hand side and to control them, and parents similarly manage their children. Scott Thompson, Curtin Obeid where he deserves to be Another day, another senior ALP factional leader sent to prison ("Obeid starts life as a prisoner", December 16, p8). Eddie Obeid through his faction effectively ran the NSW branch of the ALP for as long as a decade. Eddie is where he deserves to be. The question that remains is how many of the members of the NSW and Federal Labor Caucus who own their preselection and subsequent election to deals done with Obeid and his mates deserve to be where they are. And what, if anything, has changed? Jon Stanhope, Bruce Well, well, well. While it's the long overdue clink for Obeid, the question this happy event raises is just who and how many past and current Labor luminaries will follow given the difficulties garnering evidence to convict (and we know how bad the past 10 years in NSW has been). Kate McClymont's diligence as an investigative journalist for Fairfax Media sets a benchmark (which should be the norm) to aspiring newshounds everywhere. Go, Kate. William Gray, Bungendore, NSW Leave copyrights Australian artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers have a right to receive fair payment for their work. The sweeping changes to Australian copyright laws being pushed by Peter Martin ("End copyright racket", December 15, p20), the Productivity Commission and big tech companies will see these protections taken away. Mr Martin claims universities can't get ahead because of Australia's copyright framework. And yet, our world-leading copyright licences allow schools and universities to copy and share everything published in the world for less than the cost of a book for every student. This supports a higher education system that last month reported that international students, knocking down the door to get into Aussie universities, generated a record $20.3 billion in income just this year. To say that copyright is holding them back is, frankly, bizarre. Adam Suckling, CEO, Copyright Agency The gift of time I was most impressed with Toni Hassan's article on giving the gift of time to loved ones this Christmas ("Looking for a last-minute Christmas present? Why not give the gift of quality time to your loved ones", December 15, pp20-21). I hope it makes some families reflect on the way in which the electronic media may destroy or erode their relationships. It is also very relevant to the debate on falling educational standards. While computers and tablets may be useful educational tools in the classroom they can clearly destroy conversation and reading and the discipline of learning by heart such elements of our culture as poetry. One of the great ironies of life is that computer search engines such as Google have opened the door to limitless information for all, but the standard of general knowledge remains poor. Data does not necessarily lead to knowledge, much less wisdom. Robert Willson, Deakin APS gets value Noel Towell's reference to the Australian Public Service's leadership development programs as "hosting luxury overnight get-togethers" ("Quest to assess the public service best", December 9, pp8-9) misrepresents the nature of the programs. The Public Service Commission provides leadership development programs to build the leadership skills of APS employees. These service-wide programs include a number of workshops complemented by on-the-job learning. In 2015-16 we held 29 leadership programs for 526 employees from across the Australian Public Service. Of the 29 programs, five programs for Senior Executive Service employees contained residential components as part of their overall design. This is consistent with the approach taken by many private-sector organisations and reflects contemporary practice. The Commission selects venues for residential workshops that are close to Canberra but far enough away to allow for uninterrupted participation in the training. Programs run during the day and into the evening and there is no time allocated to participate in any leisure activities associated with these venues. Value for money is the key consideration in the selection of residential venues. Typically, training venue, accommodation and catering costs for the programs are $340-$370 per day per person. Other non-residential programs are sometimes held at external venues when the Commission's training centre in Woden is unavailable, or when we run programs outside Canberra, for example in Melbourne. Value for money remains the key consideration in selecting suitable venues. Typical costs for training room hire and catering range from $60 to $80 per day per person, depending on the venue and facilities. John Lloyd, commissioner, Australian Public Service Commission Spending scandal The latest scandal to hit Defence spending ("Defence's missing $200m", December 15, p1) only highlights an increasing dysfunction across many areas of government, especially in IT management areas. In the past few months alone we've had the Census fiasco, Centrelink breakdowns and lost data in the Tax Office. All compounded by the recent resignation in despair of Malcolm Turnbull's IT guru. So much for the government's much-vaunted policy of "more efficient outsourcing". And the response from Defence to the National Audit Office's scathing report? If quoted correctly, it's a rambling piece of indecipherable bureaucratic nonsense. Sir Humphrey would have at least made it sound plausible. Eric Hunter, Cook Fair pay at risk I have several friends in the US who rely on food stamps. One couple, for example, have a two-year-old child; he works full time and she has a part-time job, yet without food stamps they wouldn't be able to afford to live. I understand more than 50 per cent of full-time WalMart employees receive food stamps. This is the direction that our federal government is taking us down in their headlong rush to Americanise our economy. Fred Pilcher, Kaleen TO THE POINT LACK OF JUDGMENT Surely a judge should know whether he has jurisdiction or not to issue a warrant ("Police surveillance warrants bungled", December 16, p1). Why imply the police are at fault? M. Davis, Charnwood BANK WON'T STUMBLE If my bank manager walked into my place of business and stubbed his or her toe, I'd be liable. Somehow a major bank is not. Michael F. Buggy, Torrens RESPONSIBLE DISPLAY The Hudson displayed at Canberra airport should remind the naive, ill-informed and ignorant of the federal government's responsibilities to safeguard the Australian nation. I hope other airports will follow with displays of former RAAF craft. Christopher Ryan, Watson OPTIONS FOR DEBATE Two recommendations for republic debate and people's vote. 1. Include fully costed business case for each option. 2. Include option for aboriginal elders to elect head of state, for life, similar to electing the Pope; ending with smoking ceremony when they decide. Jim Thornton, Conder STARTLED CYCLISTS I guess those that insist on cyclists ringing bells have not experienced the "startled rabbit" reaction where the pedestrian automatically jumps to the other side of the path. George Kozakos, Barton WHAT A LOBSTER For most of the day Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull looks to me as though he is unsure of what selection of sauce to order for the lobster. But by late afternoon a confidence appears he has opted for the garlic bearnaise rather than the hollandaise or tartar. So we're driving from Jaipur to Agra slowly, because northern India's December fogs are earlier than usual, and chewier. They're also smellier because let's be frank this is more smog than fog; weeks-long pea-soupers that seem like a hangover from industrial revolution London. Perhaps, indeed, they are and perhaps if I'd seen it this way, more Hogarthian satire than sci-fi future, it wouldn't have scared the tripe outta me quite as it did. Along the road, for hundreds of kilometres, people burn rubbish and crouch for warmth around small roadside fires. In stacks and house-sized mounds, on hayricks, rooftops and median strips, millions of cow-dung patties are drying for burning. In the fields, tall-chimneyed brick kilns belch black smoke into air already viscous with particulates. And then there are the vehicles, in their teeming, honking millions. As we cross from majestic Rajasthan to Uttar Pradesh, our driver, the stoic, blue-turbaned Mr Singh, welcomes us to the crime capital of India. If there's irony here it doesn't translate, but the shift is palpable. Suddenly, after Rajasthan's straight-backed, saried elegance, there are beggars, everywhere. Rag-clad people scrabble in the dust with pigs, monkeys, mangy dogs. Nature, what there is, looks beleaguered. The fog writhes with sirens, and massive black SUVs emblazoned with UP Police insignia swarm the streets like predatory megafauna. I have the impression we've driven onto some post-apocalypse movie set. The previous day, India time, news hit that this week's Australia India Leadership Dialogue in Brisbane would see Malcolm Turnbull meet Gautam Adani to discuss a $1 billion subsidy for Adani's immense Carmichael coal mine. Subsidy, mind you, on top of the already controversial approvals, despite the already parlous state of the Great Barrier Reef and notwithstanding Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg's election promise that the project would need to "stand on its own two feet". There wouldn't have been a heart that didn't melt a little this week when Roxy Jacenko revealed, via yet another media interview, how her little girl/star client/cash cow, five-year-old fashion blogging dynamo Pixie Rose Curtis, cries herself to sleep because she misses her dad, jailed insider trader Oliver Curtis, who lost his appeal on Friday and will remain in prison for Christmas. As PS has previously revealed, Jacenko has enjoyed the support of her former boyfriend, millionaire Nabil Gazal, since Curtis went behind bars. On Friday, friends of the pair told PS that Jacenko and Gazal were "still going strong". This week, Jacenko spoke openly about her hopes for her husband's return home for Christmas, which, with Gazal about, would presumably have made things a bit, ahem, cosy on Christmas morning. Undersheriff Dave Rau entered the search and rescue headquarters Thursday afternoon thinking he was there for a staff meeting. Instead, he was greeted by Sen. Steve Daines, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and his family. "This is a very important moment," Daines said as he thanked Rau and his loved ones for their sacrifices. Daines wanted a chance to thank Rau for his 20 years with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office. Rau is retiring from the force at the end of the month. Daines said he is honored to be able to place a letter he penned regarding Rau's service in the congressional record. Rau is a prime example of those who protect and service, he said. Daines wrote about Rau's law enforcement background starting as a prison guard in Texas and his rise in the ranks at the Sheriff's Office. He thanked the undersheriff on behalf of the Senate. "It'll be forever preserved," he told the crowd gathered. Rau beamed at the acknowledgement. "This is such an honor," he said. The undersheriff then spoke directly to the members of the honor guard and command staff who stood before him. "You guys know I love you," he said. Rau added he appreciates his family for "putting up" with him. "I so much appreciate you taking the time to do this," he said. "I was not expecting this." Fox said Rau, 52, is an inspiration. "He's given so much dedicated service," he said. "He's young enough I'm sure there's more things for him to do in the future," Fox added. Daines said one of the greatest honors he gets in his role as senator is to honor those in uniform. "It's all about Dave Rau," he added. There will be a full independent review into the worst ATO tech crash "in recent memory", the Commissioner of Taxation has pledged. Chris Jordan's apology and promise of a review came as the ATO's website collapsed again on Friday, with insiders saying "server stability problems" were to blame. There will be answers, says Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Jordan has promised to get to the bottom of exactly what happened as in-house Tax Office technicians and their private contractors Hewlett Packard continue to work to restore the revenue agency's full IT capabilities with the "unprecedented" disaster in its fifth day. But the commissioner pledged that no taxpayers would be worse-off as a result of the outage. "No taxpayers will be disadvantaged as a result of the outage," Mr Jordan said in a statement on Friday. "This means if you needed to make a payment or lodge a form but couldn't, you won't be penalised." It is understood that hundreds of IT staff are working "massive hours" at the ATO trying to sort out what is a very complex mess and it is unclear what will happen with the scheduled Christmas shutdown period. Mr Jordan said in his statement that he believed "normal operations" could resume next week. "As we return to normal operations next week, we will be fully investigating the events of the last week," he said. The last time I saw Anne Deveson and Georgia Blain together was in February 2014 at Admiralty House where they, like the rest of us, stood around on the lawns in uncomfortable clumps, clutching glasses as we waited to enter the marquee for the farewell dinner to Quentin Bryce as she ended her term as Australia's Governor-General. Anne was as bright-eyed as she'd been in the 40-odd years that I'd known her although a bit vague and seemingly not quite sure who she was talking with. Georgia explained, sotto voce, that her mother was showing signs of dementia. We commiserated and soon afterwards went to look for our allocated seats in the marquee. Journalist Anne Deveson has died. Credit:Nic Walker In the two and half years since that interlude overlooking Sydney's gorgeous harbour with its unparalleled view of our national icon, the Sydney Opera House, Anne Deveson was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's, like her mother and her grandmother before her, and before long needed care which was undertaken daily by her daughter. Then earlier this year Georgia herself was struck down by a brain tumour that was removed but then returned. We know how this story ends: daughter and mother dying within three days of each other a week ago, a stunning coda to a saga of such sadness that is seems almost unbearable. Innocent people could be wrongfully jailed under reforms put forward by the child sex abuse royal commission, with the Australian Lawyers Alliance describing the proposal as "dangerous". The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has released draft bills which would allow more details about an accused person's past, known as tendency and co-incidence evidence, to be put before a jury. In releasing the draft bills, royal commission chief executive Philip Reed said tendency and co-incidence evidence as well as joint trials, involving a number of alleged victims of the same defendant, could be significant in child sex abuse cases. "Where the only evidence of child sexual abuse offences is the complainant's evidence, it is likely to be more difficult for the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offences occurred because the jury is effectively considering the account of one person against the account of another," he said. A Canadian woman has pleaded guilty to her involvement in importing 95 kilograms of cocaine into Australia while holidaying on the cruise ship, the Sea Princess. Isabelle Lagace on Friday pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of cocaine. She was one of three people arrested over the drugs, which had a street value of $31 million, in August. Isabelle Lagace, 28,(right) has pleaded guilty to importing cocaine. Her travel companion Melina Roberce, 22, (left) appears in court again next week. Credit:Instagram The 28-year-old was detained by Australian Federal Police, alongside her travelling companion Melina Roberce and 64-year-old Andre Tamine when the cruise ship docked in Sydney Harbour. The stash was allegedly found in locked suitcases during a search of two passenger cabins, in what was the largest drug bust of its kind on board a cruise ship. They're calling it the Latte Line. Or perhaps the Goats Cheese Line. Whatever the cliche, a hypothetical boundary drawn on the diagonal between Sydney Airport, Parramatta and Sydney's north-western suburbs has become the guiding principle in planning the city's future. "We talk about the Latte Line," Geoff Roberts, the economic commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, told an audience this week. "If you are north of that line you are largely a 'have'. If you are south of that line, you are largely a 'have-not'," Mr Roberts said. Nurse Megan Haines scoffed as she watched a CSI-style American crime show in her living room one evening in 2009. Haines, who worked in nursing homes, could not believe the plot. She turned to the man with whom she was watching and said she knew how to kill someone and never get caught. Megan Haines, 49, has been sentenced to a minimum 27 years jail for giving two nursing home patients lethal injections of insulin. "It is easy," she said. "Inject them with insulin because the body continues to metabolise insulin so it looks like natural causes." On Friday, seven years after that conversation, Haines was sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court to a maximum of 36 years jail with a non-parole period of 27 years for murdering two women at a nursing home on the NSW North Coast. A Brisbane father-of-three who allegedly tortured his baby son in a hot bath, leaving him with skin flaking off his lower body, will still be allowed to see the boy under supervision. The 27-year-old Bald Hills man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly held the baby down in a hot bath until his mother noticed the boy's skin was red. The man allegedly held his son in water hotter than 48 degrees for more than half a minute, before his mother saw the child's legs were red. Paramedics rushed the boy to the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital about 1pm on Monday, where physicians allegedly identified third degree burns to 30 per cent of his body. In objecting to the unemployed man's bail application, police detailed a June 2015 incident where they claimed not to have been notified after the man's step son presented to hospital with unexplained bruising to his right buttock, groin and outer thigh. Police are searching for a baby boy who was taken by a man known to him more than a week ago. The one-year-old was last seen at Markwell Road at Caboolture on December 8 with a 24-year-old man named Alan Reid. The child has been missing since December 8. Credit:Davidson.BrentP[CCC] Police believe the man and child could be travelling in an unregistered red Nissan Patrol or similar-looking Toyota in the Caboolture, Esk or Ipswich areas. The baby boy is described as Caucasian in appearance with fair hair and blue eyes. Katter's Australian Party MP Robbie Katter has vowed to lead the charge against reclassifying the seven-round Adler shotgun in Queensland's Parliament. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and state and territory leaders agreed to reclassify the seven-round lever action shotgun into the most restrictive category category D. That meant the ban on importing the shotgun into Australia could be lifted, but the seven-shot gun would only be available to professional shooters under certain conditions. But state and territory leaders have to introduce legislation into their parliaments and pass it before the ban can be lifted, meaning if it fails in Queensland, it will have ramifications across the nation. Every teenager wants to be taken seriously, but for Morgan Hipworth, his business relies on it. The 15-year-old from Melbourne's south-east is setting up his first permanent cafe this weekend off the back of a doughnut pop-up and sweet pastry supply business. Morgan Hipworth with parents Mark and Ellie in his new cafe. Credit:Simon Schluter "The hardest thing is that people don't take me seriously because of my age. I'm not your average 15-year-old, I've got all the proper council applications, I've done three barista courses, I think about my business 24/7," said Hipworth. What started around the age of eight as a hobby making cakes for family and friends soon became a thriving doughnut and slice business run out the family garage. WIRTH, Jean A., age 78, of Helena passed away Monday, December 12, 2016. Viewing will be at 11:00 a.m. with the Mass of the Resurrection to be celebrated at 12:00 p.m. on Monday, December 19th at SS Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, 120 W. Riggs Street in East Helena. A snack reception will follow the Mass in the fellowship hall of the church. Interment will take place at 11:30 a.m. on December 23rd at Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive, MT. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorials to the Robert G. McCarvel Memorial Scholarship at Montana State University in Billings at 1500 University Dr., Billings, MT 59101 or the Cancer Treatment Center at St. Peter's Hospital, 2475 E. Broadway St., Helena, MT 59601. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Jean. Arguments over costs have also delayed Australia's website blocking regime, but the judge has finally decreed that ISPs must abide by court orders to block piracy websites. The rightsholders will be forced to foot the bill, paying $50 per blocked domain as well as the ISPs' legal costs. The Dallas Buyers Club case was thrown out because the rightsholders failed to convince the judge that extortion tactics were off the table. Meanwhile the three-strikes rule , threatening to hand over the contact details of repeat offenders, withered on the vine because the movie studios expected Australia's ISPs to pick up the bill. After arguing about online piracy for years, Australia has finally reached the point where internet service providers such as Telstra, Optus and TPG will be forced to block access to BitTorrent search engines like The Pirate Bay and illegal streaming sites like SolarMovie. It's taken this long because, while Australian copyright holders are always quick to complain about piracy, they shoot themselves in the foot whenever they're given the opportunity to do something about it. Australia's ISPs now have until the end of the month to block these sites and redirect users to a landing page notifying them of the court's decision. So was it worth all the trouble? Not really. Just as with the abandoned Great Australian Firewall, it will be ludicrously easy for Australians to beat the new piracy block. For evidence you need look no further than the UK where they've had piracy website filtering in place for five years. When Top Gear hosts Clarkson, Hammond and May defected from the BBC to Amazon, to start The Grand Tour, UK viewers followed but not all of them did the right thing and signed up for Amazon Prime Video. Claims that The Grand Tour is the most pirated show ever are wrong, it's more like the most pirated British show, but of the millions of people who downloaded the show it seems 13.7 per cent of them were located the UK although the percentage is probably higher considering that some Brits would be masking their location. So how can the Brits download the The Grand Tour when British ISPs block access to BitTorrent search engines like The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents? They use tricks so simple that primary school children already employ them to access Facebook in the classroom. Beating Australia's piracy filter will probably be as simple as visiting one of countless proxy websites and using that site as the middleman to access The Pirate Bay. The judge won't sign off on blocking every proxy site on the web, and even if they did new sites pop up faster than you can whack them. Despite a Federal Court decision this week obliging internet service providers to block certain piracy-enabling websites, Australians will continue to easily access such sites via virtual private networks (VPNs) and other technologies they already use. The decision was the first use of new powers granted in 2015, which allow rights holders to request that access be blocked to foreign-hosted websites that facilitate copyright infringement. In this case, ISPs including Telstra, Optus and others were told to take all reasonable action to block access to popular torrenting websites including The Pirate Bay, TorrentHound and IsoHunt. A collection of eight movie studios want up to 135 pirating sites blocked by Australian internet providers. In theory this means anyone attempting to visit the sites from Australia would be redirected, but in practice it is unlikely to significantly impact the number of Australians increasing numbers of whom already use VPN services getting through. "There's no realistic means for an ISP to stop people using a VPN to visit sites", says Finder.com.au's Angus Kidman, because using a VPN renders your ISP unable to tell what sites or content you're accessing. A chiropractic clinic in Melbourne has hosted a screening of the anti-vaccination film Vaxxed, infuriating chiropractors who say a minority of "rogue" practitioners is bringing their profession into disrepute. Directed by Andrew Wakefield, the former doctor whose debunked study played a key role in the anti-vaccination movement, Vaxxed has been scrapped from film festivals in Australia and the United States. Chiropractor Simon Floreani. Before it was pulled from Victoria's Castlemaine Local and International Film Festival in September, the head of the Australian Medical Association and Victoria's Health Minister Jill Hennessy lashed out at the organisers. "It's irresponsible to promote messages that have a harmful impact, not just on kids in Castlemaine but on all kids," Ms Hennessy said. It's December what? We're not sure where the year has gone, but suddenly Christmas is arriving faster than a Melbourne thunderstorm. With it, comes the silly season race to the major shopping centres. So to ease your pain - or alternatively help you indulge your shopping passion - we've compiled a go-to guide of festive trading hours. If crowds don't appeal, don't forget the internet is open for business 24 hours a day. A masseur who raped an 80-year-old woman during a massage in her Victorian home has been jailed for three years and nine months for a crime a judge described as "incomprehensible". Malcolm Lee, 56, was hired by the woman's daughter to provide a massage therapy session for the older woman, and on April 1 attended her home and had her lie on her back, without a towel over her naked body. The judge described the crime as an ''abhorrent violation of a vulnerable woman". Credit:Penny Stephens Lee rubbed her legs, the County Court heard, and then digitally raped the woman, touched her breast and kissed her on the lips. He later told police he thought the woman was consenting to what he was doing, but judge Gerard Mullaly on Friday rejected that explanation as fanciful. Victoria's premier queer festival has cut its sponsorship deal with News Corp amid a community backlash over "homophobic" reporting by Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The decision means News Corp will be banned from next month's Pride March in Melbourne, while Midsumma organisers have also pulled all advertising from the Herald Sun. Couples say "I do" at the 2016 Midsumma Carnival. Credit:Meredith O'Shea Organisers of Midsumma slashed the News Corp deal in the wake of a number of cartoons, news stories and opinion pieces that have vilified the LGBTIQ community over the past six months, and in particular targeted marriage-equality activists and the Safe Schools program. Concerns about the sponsorship were first raised by gay and lesbian community radio station Joy 94.9 in the wake of a cartoon by The Australian's Bill Leak that compared gay people to Nazis. WA Fisheries has pulled another boat from the water off Perth for alleged rock lobster pot interference - this time a fishing tinny up to mischief off Rottnest. A 28-year-old man from Maylands had his 4.5m aluminium vessel hauled onto a flat bed truck and carted away on Wednesday leaving him to face allegations of lobster pot offences. This is the fifth boat seized this recreational rock lobster season under Operation Bagana, with an alleged pot thief's boat yanked from the water in October, two more nabbed in November and a top dollar Assassin craft confiscated earlier this month. The latest boat seizure comes as five men were found guilty on Tuesday in Fremantle Court of serious rock lobster offences, committed during last year's fishing season and as recent as October this year around Rottnest Island. Beirut: The evacuation of the last opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shi'ite villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The operation will only resume once injured people are let out of the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, a Syrian official told Reuters. The second day of the operation to take fighters and civilians out of Aleppo's rebel enclave ground to a halt amid recriminations from all sides after a morning that had seen the pace of the operation pick up. The painstaking evacuation had earlier been halted after a burst of gunfire hit the convoy of buses and ambulances leaving the city under a Russian and Turkish deal. Washington: President-elect Donald Trump will nominate bankruptcy attorney David Friedman as US ambassador to Israel and Friedman said he looked forward to taking up his post in Jerusalem. If that city does become the site of Washington's embassy, it would upend decades of US foreign policy, spark rancour across the Muslim world and call into question the future of the Palestinian quest for statehood. Palestinians pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this year. Credit:AP The US embassy has been located in Tel Aviv for more than 68 years. Trump had pledged during the presidential campaign to move it to Jerusalem - marking a break with diplomatic convention at least as profound as his phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. "[Friedman] has been a long-time friend and trusted adviser to me. His strong relationships in Israel will form the foundation of his diplomatic mission and be a tremendous asset to our country as we strengthen the ties with our allies and strive for peace in the Middle East," Trump said. "Definitely. And we would expect that the UK would honour its commitments... it will be one of the first issues coming up on the table." When asked whether British taxpayers should expect a bill worth tens of billions of pounds, Mr Prouza said this is what the UK has already committed to pay. "We're talking about payments to the existing budget that the UK already voted for, pensions of British citizens working at the EU. This is only things the UK has already committed itself to paying". EU leaders met in a separate session on Thursday evening without Prime Minister Theresa May as they try to chart the way ahead with an EU of 27 members without Britain. Credit:AP "It's playing to the gallery to try and persuade Britain to beg for mercy. We will not. This is based on their fevered imagination, not reality. The remainers will use this to try to stop Brexit, it's project fear all over again. It is utter, total rubbish from Mr Barnier. You expect more. He will keep trying to get his mouth into the media. There are real questions about what we owe, it's probably peanuts. He is deploying the tactics of project fear. People won't believe it," Mr Duncan Smith said. Dominic Raab, a former justice minister, didn't take the idea seriously. "Good luck with that. I'm not sure Monsieur Barnier has quite mastered the art of expectation management, but it's good to know he's got a sense of humour." Steve Baker, the Conservative MP for Wycombe, said: "You would expect a negotiator to make a high demand, if he had come in with a low demand I think we would all have been very surprised. Our membership of the EU has resulted in us accruing liabilities, for example pension rights for staff who have worked for the EU, so there will be some discussion about this but I would obviously like that bill to be as close to zero as possible." Arriving in Brussels, Mrs May reiterated she wanted the transmission to be as smooth and orderly as possible. The state of Montana has again returned a permit application for a proposed White Sulphur Springs-area copper mine, saying that ongoing testing must be completed. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a deficiency notice to Tintina Montana Inc. on Thursday. A deficiency notice identifies aspects of a mine permit application that must be addressed or updated before the state begins environmental analysis for a proposed mine. This is the second deficiency notice returned by the state for the companys proposed Black Butte Copper Project citing incompleteness due to ongoing geochemical and hydrological testing. Tintina first submitted its application for a mining permit in 2015 and resubmitted this fall, again leading to the state requesting final testing information. The companys geochemical testing is still ongoing and the final results need to be incorporated into the application, DEQ director Tom Livers said in a statement. This testing and the hydrologic modeling are important aspects to determining completeness of the application and compliance with state law. The deficiency letter is posted to the DEQs website at: http://deq.mt.gov/Land/hardrock/tintinamines. Tintina spokeswoman Nancy Schlepp said the company expected the deficiency review and were pleased to see the project moving forward through the process. Vice President of Exploration Jerry Zieg said that from his perspective, DEQ was fine tuning some of its questions and that new questions were presented from the initial deficiency notice. Many of these things are stuff that weve talked about but they want to see on paper, he said. Zieg maintained that all data has been gathered for geochemical and hydrological testing, and that the company will address DEQs concerns with additional modeling in its resubmittal. Tintina is under no timeline for resubmitting its application. DEQ was required by law to respond within 30 days to the first resubmittal. Citing the quantity of information to review, the agency received an extension with Tintinas agreement, and Thursdays notice took about 90 days. The Black Butte Copper Project has been controversial since its proposal. Proponents laud the potential economic impact and cite modern mining practices, transparency and environmental safeguards as evidence that the mine would be developed responsibly. Black Buttes location in the Smith River watershed has alarmed opponents of the mine, who note minings poor environmental record in the state and are asking for assurances that the river will not be harmed. Rick Perry is the nominee for Energy Secretary, a department he once sought to dismantle. Credit:Bloomberg Tom Price is at Health and Human Services he wants to eviscerate Obamacare and cut the guts from of Medicare and Medicaid. Elaine Chao is at Transport she wants to rip the innards from regulations that govern big business, especially auto, aviation, railroad and pipeline safety. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary nominee for President-elect Donald Trump, pocketed billions during the housing crisis. Credit:Bloomberg Scott Pruitt is at the Environmental Protection Agency he's a self-described "leading advocate" against the agency's very existence. Alabama senator Jeff Sessions as attorney-general is an unambiguous two-fingered gesture to civil rights and immigration activists Sessions is a strident opponent of the historic Civil Rights Act and of any immigration reform; he wants to strike down federal protection for LGBT victims of hate crimes; and in the Reagan years, he was memorably denied Senate confirmation for a judicial appointment because he was accused of racism. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross is the commerce secretary nominee for President-elect Donald Trump. Credit:Bloomberg Few of Trump's key appointees have any experience in government the joke about his selection of Ben "God's Hands" Carson to run Housing and Urban Development is that Carson's only qualification for the gig is that he lives in a house. But fear of what might be wrought by that lot pales when it comes to the generals in Trump's national security team Mike Flynn as national security adviser, James Mattis as defence secretary and John Kelly as secretary of homeland security Former Texas governor Rick Perry smiles as he leaves Trump Tower. Credit:AP And though he's been plucked from the ranks of Congress and not the military, Mike Pompeo, Trump's choice as director of the CIA, has the same dangerous world view. Their collective commentary on crisis issues puts all of them at odds with Washington's broadly-bipartisan national security establishment, particularly when it comes to balancing mere irritants with consequential big-picture scenarios think Taiwan and China; Israel and the Middle East; Cuba and Washington. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) presents ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson with a Russian medal at an award ceremony in 2012. Credit:AP Whether it's North Korea and its nukes, China's muscle-flexing in the South China Sea, the Middle East meltdown or a border wall with Mexico, all are judged as extremists more likely to stoke than suppress Trump's predilection to abuse and confront any who dare to challenge him. The seriously looney-tune card in the pack is Flynn, whose role as coordinator between the White House and myriad defence and intelligence services would regularly position him as the last to speak to an impressionable president before he acts. Illustration: Richard Giliberto Consider these nonsensical Flynn-isms and how they might inform Trump's Islamophobia: "We are facing an alliance between Radical Islamists and Havana, Pyongyang, Moscow and Beijing." "The 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa for which [Sunni] al-Qaeda took credit were in large part [Shiite] Iranian operations." "Islam is a political ideology it definitely hides behind this notion of it being a religion it's like a malignant cancer." Equally disturbing is the possibility that John Bolton, a George W. Bush-era ambassador to the UN, might get a key post at the State Department. Bolton's disregard for facts and reasoned analysis is matched only by Trump's; and Bolton was a true believer in the wisdom of invading Iraq yes, that's the war that Trump claims he didn't support, but which he did. Just as George W arrived in office with a disdain for nation-building and a team fixated on Iraq, Trump, who campaigned as an isolationist, has assembled a team that is fixated on Iran and while Bush went to war with his ears pinned back in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, there's no sense that the Trump mob has learnt from the huge and costly mistakes of Bush's foreign policy. Americans have never seen a transition such as this Bill Bennett, who served as education secretary under Ronald Reagan, rates Trump's cabinet selections as the most conservative ever. Team Trump is described variously as the "anti-cabinet", an "ungovernment" and the "anti-matter cabinet". At the same time, there has never been such public hostility to Washington conventions and protocols and the perceived wisdom that insiders and experts know best. That was the essence of Trump's campaign and his stunning victory. "To run the government, he has picked men and women who disdain the missions of their assigned agencies, oppose public goods, or conflate their own interests with that of the public," Jamelle Bouie writes in Slate magazine. "It's less a team for governing the country than a mechanism for dismantling its key institutions." The perennial third-party presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader is derisory: "A bizarre selection of men and women marinated either in corporatism or militarism, with strains of racism, class cruelty and ideological rigidity." Indeed, even some Republicans are holding their noses particularly over ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson's nomination as secretary of state, because of his and some of the other appointees' ties to Moscow. But a small army of GOP luminaries are cheering Tillerson's nomination Robert Gates, Condoleezza Rice, James Baker, Dick Cheney and Stephen Hadley. The conservative commentariat insists all the foreboding is needlessly alarmist. There's an element of truth in their "well they would say that" rejection of partisan critics like Bouie. But at this stage of proceedings, all that the Trump team can be judged on is a well-documented record of how its members have conducted themselves. High-profile Republican consultant Whit Ayres was a bit disingenuous in defending the Trump picks in these terms: "From the point of view of liberals [ie. Democrats], most of the appointments are abhorrent, but in many ways the appointments so far could very well have been named by a president Jeb Bush or president Marco Rubio. This is not for the most part revolutionary." GOP consultant Ron Bonjean perhaps was closer to the mark in observing: "It's a reflection of what Donald Trump has been wanting to do, which is to take the establishment and shake it upside down it's as if these Cabinet secretaries are each moving into a house completely demolishing it, turning it upside down and remodelling it the way they want to see it." The team is mostly wealthy dominated by billionaires and multi-millionaires. By one calculation, the combined wealth of Trump's 17 picks to date, more than $US9.5 billion ($12.67 billion), is greater than the combined wealth of the 43 million least wealthy households in the country - about one-third of all American households. The team is mostly white, male and oldish. Only four women have been named to date, compared with seven in the first Obama cabinet. And along with Carson, two of the women double as the only representatives of American diversity. Congress will give some of Trump's appointees a rough confirmation ride, particularly because in true Trump fashion, his transition team's vetting of would-be nominees reportedly has been based more on a "lick and a promise" than a thoroughgoing effort to uncover the kind of financial or other embarrassments that angry Democrats and a few wary Republicans might use against them. But over the years, not many presidential nominees have been rejected. The greater challenge for these outsiders will be to effectively harness their sprawling, unwieldy bureaucracies as The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty put it: "The question is whether those who promise to bring a corporate mindset to governance will change the system or be run over by it." Jeffrey Lord, writing in Conservative Review, warns of open war between the Trump appointees and professional bureaucrats: "Which means when Cabinet appointee X decides to pursue Trump policy Y, there will be the guaranteed internal response that he or she cannot do Y because it has always been done in another, decidedly liberal, fashion. "Trump has mounted a serious challenge to the American Left. He has pushed back against its arrogant presumption that these bureaucracies are the rightful possession of leftist bureaucrats who are the footsoldiers of, among others, environmental fanatics, politicised lawyers, and regulation-crazed ideologues." Ken Duberstein, who was Ronald Reagan's White House chief of staff, thinks this power handover will be different. "The working assumption is that every cabinet officer gets captured by his bureaucracy within a year, a year and a half. Not these people," he told The Washington Post. Under any other president, the Whit Ayres claim that any of Trump's appointees could have been picked to serve in a Rubio or Jeb Bush cabinet might be true, but the big difference this time around is that in this administration the ultimate decision-maker will be Trump, whose temperament for office is questionable and who has gathered moneyed Wall Street veterans, industrialists and the super-rich into an administration that seems more a Russian oligarchy than a liberal, Western government. Despite uncertainty during the campaign as to where Trump would position himself on the political spectrum, it can be concluded from his appointments that as president he'll be very conservative "a Ted Cruz who tweets", as one DC observer had it. But the style and manner of his presidency is likely to be like none before him. Trump is not the kind of individual who is happy to defer to the likes of Congress or even the Supreme Court. Writing in The Daily Beast, William Duggan postulates that Americans will get to see Trump's inner tyrant: "He saw in Putin of Russia a fellow tyrant worthy of his respect. Now as president, Trump retains his disdain for the norms and procedures of our democratic system. "Why should he conform to it? He ran against it, and won. He is appointing anti-government officials and authoritarian figures military generals and business tycoons. He will aim to bypass Congress and rule by executive fiat wherever he can." Trump comes to the presidency as his own man. He ran against both major parties and won. He defied all the conventions of modern campaigning and won. Weaponising social media, he told the mainstream media to take a hike and he won. At a time when virtually all American institutions, save for the military, have lost the trust of Americans, Trump was alone among more than 20 would-be nominees in both major parties in winning that trust. He'll come to every policy decision with a realtor's transactional mindset. And despite his contempt for the mainstream media, he knows how to play the media note that in bribing Carrier to keep up to a thousand jobs in Indiana, rather than relocate them to Mexico, Trump probably got more public acknowledgement than Obama did for saving the entire US economy in his first years in office. The events of 2016 have given us a remarkable insight into how the Trump years might unfold. The swamp has not been drained it has just been populated with a different breed of reptiles. The new president's world view is based on his sense of where he can build hotels. And of all the leaders in the world, it is Putin that is Trump's most likely role model. The President-elect is a serial liar and his millions of supporters believe him. He owns the GOP senior Republicans remain silent or obfuscate rather than dare to challenge the nonsense he utters, like his claim that millions of illegal voters robbed him of the popular vote. Michael Flynn introduces Donald Trump at a rally during the presidential campaign. Credit:AP The transition team also hasn't provided information about Flynn's business dealings in response to congressional requests. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who sits on the House Oversight Committee, wrote to Vice-President-elect Mike Pence last month asking for details of Flynn's business ties and steps he intends to take to avoid a conflict. A Cummings aide said none have been provided. On December 14, two Democratic senators, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, sent a letter to the nation's top intelligence officials arguing that Flynn's ongoing ownership of his consulting company "creates the potential for pressure, coercion, and exploitation by foreign agents." Michael Flynn (centre left) is seated next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event celebrating RT, the government-backed Russian TV station. Credit:AP The letter said FIG is now run by Flynn's son, Michael Flynn Jr., who was removed from the Trump transition team earlier this month after spreading false internet conspiracies that led to a shooting at a Washington pizzeria. Flynn is a retired Army lieutenant general who was fired from his post as director of the Defence Intelligence Agency by President Barack Obama in 2014. His nomination as Trump's national security adviser offers him a key White House role requiring no Senate confirmation. He has been widely scrutinised for his brashness in the two years since leaving the military. He made a paid speech for RT, a news agency run by the Russian government, sat at a table with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a 2015 dinner celebrating RT's anniversary, shared internet conspiracies on social media, and last February tweeted that "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL." But little has been publicly disclosed about the path Flynn has forged in the business world. Like many retired officers, he leveraged expertise he developed in the service into a private-sector career. Rather than join a big defence company, however, he set up his own. "I didn't walk out like a lot of guys and go to big jobs in Northrop Grumman or Booz Allen (Hamilton) or some of these other big companies (like) Raytheon," he told Foreign Policy magazine in 2015. "I'm very independent, and it's very liberating actually. I'm not going to be a general that just fades away." In 2014, he founded his company with Bijan Kian, a prominent Iranian-American banker who served on the board of the Export-Import Bank, was a senior fellow at the US Naval Postgraduate School and a member of the White House Business Council. Federal ethics rules say that executive-branch employees who are in partnerships must avoid potential conflicts with businesses owned by fellow partners. Kian is a principal at Global Capital Markets, a mergers and acquisitions firm that has brokered deals involving an assortment of military contractors, and chairman and chief executive officer of GreenZone Systems, a technology company that sells secure communications chips and computers designed for military and intelligence agencies. Kian didn't respond to numerous attempts to reach him. FIG positioned itself as an elite operation with the state-of-the-art skills to protect global businesses and government agencies. Flynn hired a handful of cybersecurity experts who worked under him in the Defence Intelligence Agency and other military posts. Much of their business centred on providing training and information technology design advice to corporate executives concerned with protecting their companies from hacks. By late 2015, Flynn had raised his public profile through an assortment of speeches and media appearances critical of the Obama administration's anti-terror strategy, and he started advising several Republican presidential candidates. He also began to expand his own circle of business associations and his company's portfolio. In May 2016, Flynn took a paid position on the board of a company that makes surveillance drones, which grew out of a business that Donald Trump Jr represented until 2014. As a board member of Drone Aviation, Flynn has been paid $US3,000 per month and also received 100,000 shares of restricted stock, now valued at more than $US275,000, which will become fully vested next spring. Flynn continued to hold his seat after he began receiving classified intelligence briefings on August 17. Securities and Exchange Commission filings and federal contract databases show the company was awarded one Department of Defence contract in late August and two more in October. FIG worked as a lobbyist for Inovo BV, a Dutch company with close ties to Turkish President Recep Erdogan. When that arrangement was reported last month by The Daily Caller, Flynn responded by having FIG leave the field of lobbying and said he would "sever ties" with his company. It isn't clear whether he will retain an ownership stake. Flynn is a partner in the business, and his son Michael is its chief of staff, so the family would stand to gain financially from any business it does with the government. He was re-elected to his paid position on the board of Drone Aviation on December 6, according to official filings. PHILIPSBURG, SANTO DOMINGO:---- AVA Airways St. Maarten, represented by its Chairman Olivier Arrindell and President of Ava Curacao, Giovanni Atalita, and Capital Partners, represented by Dan Smith have signed a 65-million-dollar Equity/Debt agreement on December 14th 2016 in the Dominican Republic. This deal is an initial investment to start the aviation group of company of AVA Airways. From this 65-million-dollar deal, $20 million is immediately available starting January 2017 to finalize the process to initiate operations from St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic. The representatives of AVA Airways indicated that the company will start operating to and from 15 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. One of those destinations is St. Maarten and also to hub and spoke via its Ava St. Maarten company. The airline is currently in the process with the Aviation Authorities in St. Maarten and according to Mr. Arrindell the Authorities are now in the final stage of selecting a third-party. Mr. Arrindell indicated that he is positive and hopeful that his hometown and place of birth would evaluate the economic benefit to St. Maarten. St. Maarten will become our base of operations for the Eastern Caribbean and fits perfect with our East-west plan. Ava Airways has requesting a permit in St. Maarten since June of 2016 however is under the impression that the Government of St. Maarten is working as fast it can with the infortune it has in place to accommodate Ava Airways St. Maarten. Ava Airways would have full open operation in St. Maarten and there is nothing more emotional for Ava Airways to provide employment to the talented people of St. Maarten, said Arrindell. AVA Airways will start with 4 aircraft type Airbus A319-200. According to Arrindell these aircraft are very comfortable for the passengers. The Capital Partner Team took its time to study our business model and concept over a six-month period and this resulted in the signing of the deal. We also requested our economic permit in Curacao in 2014 but for reasons purely political we werent able to receive this. Our request was rejected in December 2015 and we did appeal. We are still waiting for the Minister of Aviation in Curacao to answer our question on why our request was denied. PHILIPSBURG:---- The suspect O.A. (Oniel Arrindell) (35) has been released on Friday morning December 16, 2016, by the Prosecutors Office. His custody ends today and the prosecutors did not order his prolonged custody because in light of the ongoing investigation its not necessary that the suspects remain in detention. O.A. remains a suspect in the ongoing investigation. On November 28, 2016, a total of seven (7) premises, including the house of the suspect, the offices of the port authority of Sint Maarten and at a security company were searched in light of the investigation code-named Emerald. The Emerald-investigation started in April 2016, following reports in the newspapers and questions asked in Parliament about the contract signed between the suspects security company the port authority of St. Maarten. During this investigation suspicions arose about tax fraud, forgery and money laundering. The investigation is part of a joint intensified fight against international fraud and corruption. Corruption and money laundering threatens the security and economy of the countries in the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom. The special anti-corruption taskforce, TBO of the RST, together with the National Detectives Agencies (Landsrecherches) of Curacao and Sint Maarten and the Prosecutors Office have joined forces to combat corruption. Orders to recover proceeds of crime fit in within the new policy of the Prosecutors Office. The Prosecutors Office will be submitting more of such claims. FlitWays Announces Launch of Southeast Asia Market Expansion CULVER CITY, CA (Marketwired) 12/16/16 FlitWays (OTC PINK: FTWS), a Los Angeles-based ground travel technology company, today announced plans for their expansion into Southeast Asian markets. FlitWays Director of Growth, Zacky Hamraz, commented, Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a major travel destination for both business and vacations, so FlitWays is thrilled to be expanding into a multitude of major Southeast Asian markets. Our flagship FlitWays Start and FlitWays Class vehicles will be available for use by all travelers going to Southeast Asia. This is continuing our on-going strategic international expansion plan. FlitWays will be immediately available in 26 major Southeast Asia cities (8 new countries) with more on the way, including: Singapore- Singapore Vietnam- Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Da Lat, Da Nang, Binh Dinh Laos- Luang Prabang, Vientiane Cambodia- Siem Reap, Phnom Penh Thailand- Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Ko Samui Myanmar- Heho, Nyaung-U, Yangon, Mandalay Malaysia- Kuala Lumpur Phillipines- Manila, Cebu, Pampanga, Tagbilaran, Kalibo FlitWays plans to partner with corporations, travel agencies, and other travel suppliers operating in Southeast Asia. The goal is to make FlitWays ground transportation available to every traveler going to Southeast Asian markets. About FlitWays FlitWays, a Los Angeles-based travel technology company, offers Pre-Booked and On-Demand ground transportation in 170 cities around the world including rideshares, taxis, black cars, and airport shuttles. Currently servicing over 400 airports with a fleet of over 20,000 vehicles, FlitWays is there to handle all travel ride needs. FlitWays provides security and peace of mind for both business and private travelers with secure booking and all-inclusive rates. For additional information regarding FlitWays, visit . Additional information regarding FlitWays Technology, Inc. can also be found in the Companys most recent filings with SEC at and further Company press releases. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of FlitWays Technology Inc. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to; the proposed corporate name change; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as believes, expects or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Companys periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements. Contact Information Hermosa Capital Management Inc. (310) 546-4600 The Lewis and Clark County Commission agreed Thursday to purchase development rights for 836 acres outside of Augusta but will pay less than what was sought. Commission Chairman Mike Murray supported Commissioner Susan Good Geises motion to offer Sally Shortridge, the property owner, $600,000 for the purchase of a conservation easement instead of the $716,500 that had been requested. Commissioner Andy Hunthausen dissented in the vote. After the meeting Jay Erickson, a Montana Land Reliance managing director, said he would have to talk to Shortridge and her advisers on the commissions decision. The Land Reliance is the sponsor for the project. Shortridge was unable to attend the meeting because of illness. Sally makes her own decisions and I support her. Im not sure what shell do but Ill recommend that she take it, Erickson said. Laura Nicoai, who assisted Shortridge in the application process, expressed concern after the meeting that a sponsor and landowner have to make a significant financial investment without input whether its a viable project for the county. The application process needs to be revised so the citizens advisory committee can evaluate a proposal before an investment must be made, she said. The county wants to see leverage -- financial partners -- in such projects that can come from state and federal agencies, Erickson said. However, a substantial amount of private land in the county may lack wetlands or the highly erodible soils that would attract partners, Erickson said and explained that lacking these precludes partnerships. Those who spoke to the commission supported the purchase of the easement. Geise agreed the property is a beautiful place but said that when we hear conversation about things being unique other than the actual view, you dont know how particularly unique this place might be. This is a financial transaction between a willing buyer and willing seller, she said, and noted that this discussion involves whether the county is willing to spend that amount for the conservation easement. Hunthausen said he believed the easement should be funded at the $716,500 level that was requested. The county recognized early in discussions on this conservation easement that there were not many partners helping fund it, Hunthausen said. However, the Land Reliance found organizations to help share the cost, he added. That the Land Reliance was willing to not ask the county to fund its costs was another reason Hunthausen cited in his support for funding the requested amount. The Shoco Ranch property, he added, was an important piece of ground in the Rocky Mountain Front. Funding protection of the property from future subdivision would be a good use of county money, Murray said of the $10 million open lands bond that was approved by voters in 2008. He also said he was taken aback that state or federal agencies were not participating in protecting the land. But I believe the $600,000 is a fair offer on the part of Lewis and Clark County, Murray said. The easement is valued at $810,000 and Shortridge had agreed to donate $81,000 of its value. Also helping to reduce what was being sought from the county was that The Montana Land Reliance agreed to not ask the county for its expenses in preparing the easement for sale to the county. BUTTE -- A toddler undergoing treatment for cancer has a simple wish to receive 500 cheery greeting cards. But little 2-year-old Kaydence Weaver will get 1,152 cards more than twice the request all from Butte kids sent to her home in Indiana. Energetic sisters Zoee and Zaylee Thatcher of Butte Central Elementary have made it their mission to grant the little girls wish. Misty Deavers, Kaydences aunt and guardian, put out a call online to alert readers to the Christmas card drive. The toddlers big sister Salem, 4, joined in the project as a way to help distract Kaydence as she undergoes treatment. Its a novel way to distract Kaydence from yet more chemotherapy treatments for rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft-tissue cancer that affects muscles, connective tissue, or bone. She has been in and out of hospitals for treatments, writes Megan Wrappe at www.littlethings.com. Angie Thatcher, Zoee and Zaylees mother, happened upon the website, mentioned it to her active daughters, and the challenge was on. When my kids got ahold of the idea, they wanted to bring it to school, said Angie. We want to send 500 cards just from Butte. No worries about meeting that quota, as Butte Central Grade School religion/community service teacher Colleen Tutty said Zoees seventh-grade class and Zaylees fifth-grade class plus several Butte public elementary schools have churned out the cards for mailing the past few weeks. Public school students who crafted Christmas cards hail from Hillcrest, West, Margaret Leary, and Kennedy. It was a huge turnout from all the kids in Butte, Tutty added. I think its great that all the Butte elementary schools are working together. Like busy elves, the kid volunteers fashioned enough unique, homemade cards to deck the halls wherever little Kaydence and her sister are at the time. Inspired by the online posting, Zoee initiated the drive, and Tutty gave her the green light. I asked the rest of the classes here at Central Elementary to make cards, and then I made phone calls to the Butte public schools to see if they would want to join us, said Tutty, sporting a festive stocking cap. In the online article, Deavers said: We think she will be a survivor, she has been so strong. Of course, I couldnt say no to them, I just couldnt because I wanted to see them happy. Cards to Kaydence may be sent to: Misty Deavers, c/o Kaydence and Salem, Box 615, Noblesville, IN 46061. To help pay for the childs medical treatments, her family set up a GoFundMe page to accept online donations. The family has raised $8,774 of the $10,000 goal so far. A womens church group comprised of St. Patricks Catholic and Immaculate Conception churches also donated a homemade prayer shawl for the little girl, which Tutty plans to mail with all the cards on Friday. Meanwhile, the Thatchers, their classmates, and public school peers can rest easy knowing they got one little girls Christmas off to a good start. I am excited to say that we did it, Tutty added. We fulfilled the wish of the 2-year-old in Indiana and her sister and made a wish for a wonderful seventh-grader here in Butte come to life. The incident occurred in about 4:30 p..m. Sept. 18, 2021 during a child-custody exchange in the parking lot of the mini-station on Van Dyke near Nine Mile Road, according to police and witness testimony. This holiday season Delta Community College is facilitating two initiatives to support those in need in our community, and help bring a deeper sense of community to their adult learners. The Tree of Hopes and Wishes campaign works to bring adult students together over the holidays. Messages of hope, love and peace are written by students on colourful gift tags and hung on a tree at the college. The expression or message could be a wish for the health of a loved one, support for a friend, happiness for their children, or hope for peace in their former country, says Alyson Caouette, Administrator at Delta Community College. As the tags are completed, students hang the individual hopes and wishes on the tree. The result is a beautifully decorated Christmas tree covered with messages of love, hope and kindness. Delta Community College has a number of adult students from refugee families living in the community. They have experienced enough hardship and trauma, adds Caouette. The intention behind the Tree of Hopes and Wishes is to build a sense of kindness and caring within our school community. In addition to the Hopes and Wishes tree is the annual food drive for Deltassist. Under the Christmas tree adorned with positive messages in Delta Community College, are dozens of boxes of donated foodmuch of it donated by students who may have very little in their own cupboards. This is the second year of partnering with North Delta Rotary and we are very grateful for their support, says Caouette. I am so impressed with the generosity of our students and staff. We encourage everyone to bring non-perishable food items to school, and then on December 16th a volunteer from North Delta Rotary will load up the boxes and deliver them to Deltassist. Delta Community College will also accept donations from community members. Drop your non-perishable food items off before December 16th at the college 11590 83 Avenue, Delta. A guide to voter rights in Indiana. What you need to know before you cast a ballot